TUESDAY April 10/23 ns 2024 • Holy Martyr Terence; Holy Hieromartyr Gregory V, Patriarch of Constantinople • Fast day • Sixth Hour: Pr. Is. 49:6-10 Vespers: Gen. 31:3-16; Prov. 21:3-21 • QUOTE: THE AUTHENTIC NATURE AND GOALS OF ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY by Archbishop Chrysostomos • Link to I USED TO FEAR GOD BUT NOW I LOVE HIM • ANECDOTE: The cashier and the Orthodox priest

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Tuesday
April 10 /23 ns 2024

Great Lent
Fast day

Today we commemorate:

Holy Martyr Terence;

Holy Hieromartyr Gregory V,

Patriarch

of Constantinople

They all suffered for Christ and were crowned with the wreaths of glory during the reign of Emperor Decius. By order of the emperor, the governor of Africa announced to the people that everyone must offer sacrifices to the idols. To those who resisted, the governor threatened with cruel tortures. Upon hearing about these threats many fell away from the Faith and worshipped the idols. However these forty remained unwavering in their faith and were exposed to torture. St. Terentius (Terence) encouraged his companions saying: "Brothers, let us be on guard that we do not deny Christ our God, lest He deny us before His Heavenly Father and Holy Angels." The governor divided them into two groups. Thirty-six of them, after flogging, scrapping of the skin and pouring salt into their open wounds, were all beheaded. The first four they cast into prison with heavy iron chains around their necks, their hands and their feet. An angel of God appeared in the prison, touched the chains of the shackled and the chains fell off. After that, the angel prepared a bountiful table for them and fed them. Once again, they were brought out and tortured and, again, they were imprisoned. Then the governor ordered the soothsayers to gather as many poisonous, loathsome creatures as possible, such as snakes and scorpions and to lock them up in the same cell with the martyrs. The loathsome creatures did not want to touch those chosen by God but rather lay compressed in the corner where they remained for three days. On the third day, when the door of the cell was opened, the repulsive creatures rushed out and bit the soothsayers. Finally, the governor pronounced the death penalty upon the four martyrs. When they were brought out to be beheaded, they rejoicefully chanted Psalms and praised God, Who made them worthy of a martyr's death. They suffered honorably in the year 250 A.D., and were found worthy of the Kingdom.

Holy Prophet Isaiah 49:6-10 KJV

6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

7 Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.

8 Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;

9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.

10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.

Genesis 31:3-16 KJV

3 And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.

4 And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock,

5 And said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me.

6 And ye know that with all my power I have served your father.

7 And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.

8 If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked.

9 Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.

10 And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled.

11 And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I.

12 And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.

13 I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.

14 And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house?

15 Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money.

16 For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children's: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.

Proverbs 21:3-21 KJV

3 To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

4 An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.

5 The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.

6 The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.

7 The robbery of the wicked shall destroy them; because they refuse to do judgment.

8 The way of man is froward and strange: but as for the pure, his work is right.

9 It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.

10 The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.

11 When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise: and when the wise is instructed, he receiveth knowledge.

12 The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness.

13 Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.

14 A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom strong wrath.

15 It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.

16 The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.

17 He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.

18 The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright.

19 It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.

20 There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.

21 He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.

The Authentic Nature and Goals of Orthodox Christianity

by Archbishop Chrysostomos

IN EASTERN ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY, a mere affirmation of belief in and a commitment to Christ, brought to fruition in an indispensable set of doctrines, are not the sine qua non {absolutely essential} of authentic Christian confession. While Orthodox Baptism, or the entrance rite of an individual into Christian life, does entail a statement of intellectual belief by the recitation of the Symbol of Faith (the Creed) and a set of fixed doctrinal beliefs, this is affirmed by a member of the community: the sponsor or Godparent (and the candidate, if an adult). But it is ultimately the Mystery (the more plenitudinous Eastern Christian word for a Sacrament) of Baptism, or φωτισμός (photismos, the Greek word for enlightenment), that activates the spiritual [noetic] faculty, opening it to the Truth of the Faith, which is expressed and symbolized in the credal statements (hence, the Symbol of Faith) and doctrines of the Church. It is, from an Orthodox perspective, not a mere intellectual commitment — however emotionally striking and fulfilling in content — and correct confession and doctrinal firmness alone that lead to Christian life; rather, a mystical experience of that life — an ontological encounter with the Divine in the cleansing and restoring waters of Baptism — unveils what is captured, but not contained, in dogma and in Scripture. Scripture and dogma, however precious and indispensable to Christian life, do not themselves contain the glory of God; they perfectly and infallibly describe that glory. It is from the Word Himself that glory and Grace are conveyed and revealed to the believer, and in dogma and theology that such revelation is taught, in the hermeneutic witness of the Church, and preserved.

According to the Eastern Christian Divines, an individual establishes, in experiencing the mysterium tremendum et fascinans {awe inspiring mystery} of Divine Revelation (which is cultivated and reinforced in Grace by way of the Mysteries), a relationship with the Archetype of the human being restored to what he or she was created to be. One finds true personhood, according to the numinous teachings of the Eastern Church, in the Theanthropic Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Perfect God and Perfect Man. In mystical union with the God-Man, the fallen person is transformed, becoming a novus homo in the household of God, a small “Jesus Christ” within Jesus Christ. For the Orthodox believer, Christianity is, above all else, a transformative experience of Truth, an ontological and noumenal encounter with God that brings together, as the fourth-century Church Father, St. Athanasios of Alexandria, expressed it, what Christ taught, what the Apostles preached, and what the Fathers preserved. Here we have the content of Truth revealed; while conveyed in word and thought, the Truth is lived and preserved in vivid Tradition, which constitutes the catholic (universal) and authentic life and activity of the Christian community. Even theology, as an ever-present axiom in Orthodox Christianity affirms, is not a sufficient thing in its intellectual form; to be true and genuine, theology must always be lived, or experienced.

Without a correct understanding [Confession] of the Messianic promise, expressed in the Eastern Church in both Orthodoxy, or correct doctrine, and Orthopraxy, or a life dedicated to the reacquisition of the divinity of man by union with God in the correct observance of the Faith, the human condition, according to the Greek Fathers, becomes a vain, relentless struggle between an inner desire for theosis (deification) and the fruitless pursuit of a meaningless world in which an immense chasm separates men and women from God. An existential tension thus marks our human lives, as existence defies ontology, imperfection prevails against perfection, and the human will and the Divine Will come into parlous conflict. We are torn between two worlds, one tangible and fanciful and the other hidden but intuitively real. Having sinned, having missed the mark, we pursue the delusions of the human will (a freedom guaranteed to us by the Creator), crushed by the poverty of what we have become and by the weighty depravity and tragedy of human life. Yet, when we encounter Christ, the Archetype of Perfect Man, the Creator in the form of His creation, within our hearts, He beckons us to union with Him and a return to what we were created to be. Bolstered, enlivened, inspired, and given hope by Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy, we rediscover what we truly are. This anagnorisis is the essence of the inner life: the hint within our souls of what can be; the fleeting perception of God that is the mystery of noetic vision; and the spiritual force that binds us to what is foolishness to the world and releases us from the folly of mundane wisdom. We experience the paradox of seeking in witless existence an ineffable God, suspended in the eschatological now, sensing internally what is already present and known but externally unseen, arcane, and distant.

Love Conquers Sin...READ HERE

Be Still and Know that I am God

A cashier, puzzled by Atheism and the existence of God, says to an Orthodox priest who is at the register:

I don't really believe in God but may I ask you a question? 

Certainly! responds the priest.

Why does God speak only to you?

God speaks to everyone!

Aha! says the cashier!  Then why can't I hear him?

If you cannot hear Him it's because you have 3 voices in your head and His is the meekest.  The other two are much louder.

 Ha! And what are the other two?

Your self-centered voice and Satan's tempting you.

 In wisdom hast Thou made them all