O COME LET US WORSHIP
AND FALL DOWN BEFORE
CHRIST
OUR KING AND OUR GOD
For we cannot serve God and mammon.
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How to be Victorious
by St. Isaac of Nineveh
If you call yourself
a right-believing (Orthodox) Christian
What is your Disposition?
a right-believing (Orthodox) Christian
What is your Disposition?
by St. Dorotheos of Gaza
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THE TREASURE
THE ACQUISITION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Tuesday May 22/June 4 ns 2024
We commemorate
The Holy Martyr Basilíscos
Basiliscos was a kinsman of St. Theodore Tiro. He was tortured together with Evtropios and Cleónicos. When the latter two [Evtropios and Cleónicos] were crucified, and expired (March 3), then Basiliscos was again returned to prison. At that time, there occurred a change in the emperor's deputy so that Basiliscos remained imprisoned for a long time. With tears, Basiliscos prayed that God not deprive him of a martyr's death. After lengthy prayers, the Lord Jesus Himself appeared to him, promised to fulfill his wish and sent him to his village to bid farewell to his mother and brothers.
At that time Agrippa, a new deputy, was appointed and ordered that Basiliscos be brought from the village immediately. Enroute from the village to the town of Amaséa the Lord, through His martyr, worked a great miracle and, as a result, many people believed in Christ. Agrippa ordered the martyr to offer a sacrifice to the idol Apollyon. Basiliscos said: "Apollyon means `one who kills - the destroyer,' " and with fervent prayer turned the idol into dust and with a heavenly fire that burned the temple. The frightened Agrippa attributed this to magic and ordered Basiliscos beheaded. At that moment, Agrippa went insane and, in his madness, went to the scaffold, found a little blood of the martyr in the dust, placed it under his belt and he was healed.
Coming to his senses he was baptized. Later on, Marinus, a citizen of Comana, the place of the execution of Basiliscos, built a church over the relics of the saint where many afflicted people found healing.
25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.
13 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.
6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Spirit, set his eyes on him.
10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
Saint John 8:51-59 KJV
51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.
53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
The Prologue from Ochrid
St. Nikolai of Zica
The Apostle Paul knows in advance the objections which the unbelievers will make concerning the resurrection from the dead and, in advance, he rejects them. Even today, the non-believers who have not seen with the physical eyes the miracle of the resurrection in nature, much less the spiritual resurrection, ask: "How will the dead be raised?" "You fool!" continues the apostle, "What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies" (1 Corinthians 15:36). Until the seed dies in the ground, the plant will not grow, in other words, something totally different than the seed will sprout up.
The non-believers see through their eyes and do not see, but further ask: "How will a dead man resurrect?" How? In the same way that Christ resurrected. He lowered Himself lifeless in the tomb and rose alive. Even nature manifests the resurrection from the dead; but stronger than nature, it is manifested by the resurrected Lord. In order to make it easier for us to believe and to hope - to believe in the resurrection in general and to have hope in our own resurrection, He Himself resurrected from the grave and prior to that resurrecting Lazarus who lay in the grave for four days, the son of the widow of Nain and the daughter of Jarius.
The non-believers ask: "With what kind of body will the dead rise?" In that kind of body which God wills. With God there are many kinds of bodies. The Apostle Paul divides all bodies into two groups: into earthly bodies and into heavenly bodies. Therefore, they who have died in earthly bodies will be clothed with heavenly bodies: the incorruptible will replace the corruptible, the immortal will replace the mortal, the beautiful will replace the ugly.
In this heavenly body man will also recognize himself and others around him as man recognizes himself or even when he is clothed in beggar's rags or even when he is clothed in royal purple.
Lord, All-plenteous, do not hand us over to eternal corruption but, as royal sons, clothe us in the garment of immortality. Amen.
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