"Be doers of the word, and not just hearers, deceiving yourselves" (St. James 1:22).
Thursday
Oct 23/Nov 5 ns
2026
Holy Apostle James, the Brother of God;
St. Ignátios, Patriarch of Constantinople;
St. Makários the Roman
The Holy Apostle James, the Brother of God (Adelphótheos) was the son of the Righteous Joseph before he was betrothed to the Most Holy Theotokos. Tradition says that Joseph had other sons with his first wife. Thus, James was called the Lord's brother. Saint James had been a Nazirite, a man or woman consecrated to God for a limited time. During the period of consecration the Nazirites vowed to to abstain from wine and other intoxicating beverages, they could not cut their hair, and all contact with a corpse was forbidden (Numbers 6:1-21).
When the Savior began to proclaim the Kingdom of God, Saint James believed in Christ and became His Apostle. Later, he was chosen as the first Bishop of Jerusalem.
Saint James presided over the Council of Jerusalem and his word was decisive (Acts 15). In his thirty years as bishop, Saint James converted many Jews to Christianity. Angered by this, the Pharisees and the Scribes plotted together to kill the holy bishop. They led him up on the pinnacle of the Jerusalem Temple and asked him what he thought of Jesus. The holy Apostle bore witness that Christ is the Messiah, which was not the response the Pharisees were expecting. Enraged, the Jewish leaders threw him off the roof. He did not die at once, but gathering his final strength, he prayed to the Lord for his enemies while they were stoning him. Saint James’ martyrdom occurred about 63 A.D.
The holy Apostle James composed a Divine Liturgy, which formed the basis of the Liturgies of Saints Basil the Great and John Chrysostomos. The Church has preserved an Epistle of Saint James, one of the books of the New Testament. In it Saint James advises: "Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath" St. James 1:19) and "Be doers of the word, and not just hearers, deceiving yourselves" (St. James 1:22).
Galatians 1:11-19 KJV
1:11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
13 For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:
14 And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.
15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,
16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:
17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.
19 But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.
Saint Matthew 13:54-58 KJV
54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their
unbelief.
From
ON THE KOMBOSKINI
{Prayer Rope}
Saint Paisios the Athonite
Saint Paisios the Athonite
The komboskini (the prayer rope) is a legacy, a blessing, handed down to us by our Holy Fathers. The fact it is a legacy makes it greatly valuable. If a grandfather hands down to someone something of very little value, he keeps it as an amulet. Much more so, for the komboskini handed down to us as a legacy by our Holy Fathers! In the old days there were no clocks, so the monks were counting the hours of prayer with their komboskini, but the knots were very simple.
Once, an ascetic was working very hard, doing prostrations etc., but the devil was unbinding the knots of his komboskini. He got weary with his prostrations, since he could not count them, as the devil was continuously unbinding the knots. Finally, an Angel of the Lord appeared and taught him how to knit the knots properly, so that with each knot 9 crosses should be formed. The devil, who trembles before the Cross, could not unbind the knots. So, each knot forms nine crosses, which symbolize the nine angelic orders.
Elder, what do the 33, 100, 3000 knot komboskinia stand for?
Only the number 33 is symbolic of Christ’s 33 years on earth. The other numbers simply help us count our prostrations and our prayer. Some engines have a handle with a rope in order to start. So when you want to start the engine, you pull the rope with force, until the stiff oil becomes fluid. Similarly the komboskini is the rope we pull a few times till the spiritual oil melts making the spiritual engine start working the unceasing prayer. Thereafter, the heart starts working on its own. However, even when the heart starts working the prayer we should not stop using the komboskini so as not a prompt others to stop using it while their heart has not started working the prayer yet.
Elder, I am not familiar with using the komboskini.
You should keep the komboskini on you [at all times] so as not to forget the prayer which you should work internally in the heart. Above all, keep in mind that the enemy is always ready to lure you into sin. Therefore, you should imitate the good soldier. The komboskini is very powerful, it is the monk’s defense, its knots bring fear to the enemies of God and you.
Having been given free will Adam and Eve chose to separate from love of God and became friends with one who hates God, taking all their descendants with them. Since God's love is eternal, He left the door open for them and us.
St. James tells us plainly the requirement in order to return. "Be doers of the word, and not just hearers, deceiving yourselves" (St. James 1:22).
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