NO FASTING
Saint Metrophánes, Archbishop of Constantinople;
Sts. Martha and Mary of Bethany
Dometius, the father of Metrophánes and the brother of the Roman Emperor Probus, fled from Rome as a Christian during the persecution of Christians and arrived at Byzantium. Titus, the Byzantine bishop, ordained him a presbyter. Following the death of Titus, Dometius became the bishop of Byzantium. After the death of Domitios, his eldest son Probus occupied the episcopal throne and after the death of Probus, Metrophánes assumed the episcopal throne.
When Emperor Constantine first saw Metrophánes, he liked him as his own father. At the time of the First Ecumenical Council [325 A.D.], Metrophánes was already a man of one-hundred seventeen years and unable to participate in the work of the Council, so he appointed Alexander his Choriepiscopus as his representative. The emperor, by his intervention at the Council, conferred upon him the title of patriarch. Thus, he was the first patriarch of Constantinople. Further, the emperor invited the entire Council to visit the ailing and aged arch-pastor. When the emperor asked him whom he wished to name as successor to the patriarchal throne, Metrophánes named Alexander. Following that, he said to Alexander of Alexandria: "O brother, you will remain my most worthy successor." He then took the hand of Archdeacon Athanasius (later Athanasius the Great and Patriarch of Alexandria) and praised him before all. After this prophecy of his successor Metrophánes sought forgiveness from all and within ten days gave up his soul to God in the year 325 A.D.
Hebrews 7:26-8:2 King James Version (KJV)
26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
28 For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.
8 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
Saint John 10:1-9 King James Version (KJV)
10 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.
7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
Taken from
Evagrios the Solitary
On Prayer
Thy Will be done . . .
Do not pray for the fulfillment of your wishes, for they may not accord with the will of God. But pray as you have been taught, saying: Thy will be done in me (cf. St. Luke 22:42). Always entreat Him in this way - that His will be done. For He desires what is good and profitable for you, whereas you do not always ask for this.
He knows what is best for me . . .
He knows what is best for me . . .
Often when I have prayed I have asked for what I thought was good, and persisted in my petition, stupidly importuning the will of God, and not leaving it to Him to arrange things as He knows is best for me. But when I have obtained what I asked for, I have been very sorry that I did not ask for the will of God to be done; because the thing turned out not to be as I had thought.
The Great Giver . . .
The Great Giver . . .
What is good, except God? Then let us leave to Him everything that concerns us and all will be well. For He who is good is naturally also a giver of good gifts.
Love of God and Communion with Him . . .
Love of God and Communion with Him . . .
Do not be distressed if you do not at once receive from God what you ask. He wishes to give you something better - to make you persevere in your prayer. For what is better than to enjoy the love of God and to be in communion with Him?
+Undistracted prayer is the highest intellection of the intellect.
+Prayer is the ascent of the intellect to God.
+If you long for prayer, renounce all to gain all.
+Pray first for the purification of the passions; secondly, for deliverance from ignorance and forgetfulness; and thirdly, for deliverance from all temptation, trial and dereliction.
+In your prayer seek only righteousness and the kingdom of God, that is, virtue and spiritual knowledge; and everything else 'will be given to you' (St Matt. 6:33).
+It is right to pray not only for your own purification, but also for that of all your fellow men, and so to imitate the angels.
+See whether you stand truly before God in your prayer, or are overcome by the desire for human praise, using prolonged prayer as a disguise.
+Conscious awareness of prayer is concentration accompanied by reverence, compunction and distress of soul as it confesses its sins with inward sorrow.
+Undistracted prayer is the highest intellection of the intellect.
+Prayer is the ascent of the intellect to God.
+If you long for prayer, renounce all to gain all.
+Pray first for the purification of the passions; secondly, for deliverance from ignorance and forgetfulness; and thirdly, for deliverance from all temptation, trial and dereliction.
+In your prayer seek only righteousness and the kingdom of God, that is, virtue and spiritual knowledge; and everything else 'will be given to you' (St Matt. 6:33).
+It is right to pray not only for your own purification, but also for that of all your fellow men, and so to imitate the angels.
+See whether you stand truly before God in your prayer, or are overcome by the desire for human praise, using prolonged prayer as a disguise.
+Conscious awareness of prayer is concentration accompanied by reverence, compunction and distress of soul as it confesses its sins with inward sorrow.
N o t e
The following sermon by +Saint Philaret of New York [of blessed memory] to his Russian Faithful and all faithful Orthodox, should be read before the Period of the Holy Apostles' Fast.
In offering everyone the opportunity to do so, it will remain posted from today Monday, June 7 ns through Monday June 20 ns, when the Apostles' Fast Begins.
In offering everyone the opportunity to do so, it will remain posted from today Monday, June 7 ns through Monday June 20 ns, when the Apostles' Fast Begins.
Our Lord Jesus Christ once said: “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, not one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (St. Matthew 5:18), that is, everything that we are taught by our Orthodox law, everything in the Holy Gospel, all is fulfilled, and those who do not fulfill it will be disobedient to the Law of God.
Look how it was in ancient times. The Church, for instance, glorified the Maccabean Martyrs: all the brothers and their elder, Eleázar, and their mother. Their tormentor, the pagan king, subjected them to terrible torture for their refusal to eat pork, which was forbidden by Mosaic law. In other words, they refused to violate the fast by eating what the Church did not allow them. And for this they met their death.
People today are remarkably negligent about this, but true men of faith, who believe in God, observe all laws as inviolable sacred things which must be obeyed. Once an ascetic in our Mother Russia was asked: Why does the Lord so clearly cease to offer His blessings, His mercy? The elder responded: “Because people refuse to hear God, people have ceased to observe the Lenten periods.” That was then, now it is completely different. At that time, one could still find Orthodox people who observed Lent, but we can’t today. And not only in our difficult lives today.
The writer Khomiakoff, the renowned Russian author, philosopher, theologian, a man of lofty spiritual values and a talented poet, who always strictly followed all Lenten periods and laws, came to St Petersburg, the capital of Russia. He felt as though he were in a wilderness: no one observed Lent—not one person! He worked, he fasted, and surprised everyone with his staunchness and stubbornness. Today it is hard to find anyone who observes the fasting periods.
Let us remember, my dear ones, all the Church laws—there is nothing pointless in the Church, nothing that is useless that is offered to us, no! We are given free will in this life: to choose to live one way or another. But there are Church laws which all Orthodox Christians must observe. One of these laws is about the Lenten periods, when the Church calls upon us to abstain during certain periods during the year. Only those who observe them are Orthodox Christians.
Once we recalled the words of St Seraphim of Sarov, a great ascetic. He stated simply: “He who does not observe Lent is not a Christian!” He may call himself whatever he likes, but he is not a Christian. This is perfectly natural, this strict judgment by a great ascetic, because what school would keep a student who ignored school rules? What workplace would keep an employee who did not observe its regulations? And so the Church has its own laws, its own regulations. I repeat, the Church offers a great deal to select from: ways of life, occupations, She blesses them all if a person lives as a Christian. Where the Church offers its laws, there the Christian must submit without hesitation.
The Church offers this all for our own benefit, because obedience to the Church is one of the greatest virtues. Amen.
Let us remember, my dear ones, all the Church laws—there is nothing pointless in the Church, nothing that is useless that is offered to us, no! We are given free will in this life: to choose to live one way or another. But there are Church laws which all Orthodox Christians must observe. One of these laws is about the Lenten periods, when the Church calls upon us to abstain during certain periods during the year. Only those who observe them are Orthodox Christians.
Once we recalled the words of St Seraphim of Sarov, a great ascetic. He stated simply: “He who does not observe Lent is not a Christian!” He may call himself whatever he likes, but he is not a Christian. This is perfectly natural, this strict judgment by a great ascetic, because what school would keep a student who ignored school rules? What workplace would keep an employee who did not observe its regulations? And so the Church has its own laws, its own regulations. I repeat, the Church offers a great deal to select from: ways of life, occupations, She blesses them all if a person lives as a Christian. Where the Church offers its laws, there the Christian must submit without hesitation.
The Church offers this all for our own benefit, because obedience to the Church is one of the greatest virtues. Amen.
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