CHRIST IS RISEN! Saturday April 20/May 3 ns 2025 • St. Theodore Trichinás, St. Athanásios of Metéora, Holy Apostle Zacchæus • Acts 5:21-32; St. John 6:14-27 ~ the faith of the chosen people by Saint Nicolai Velimirovitch

CHRIST IS RISEN!

 Saint Theodore Trichinás

Saint Athanasios of Metéora

Holy Apostle Zacchæus, Bishop of Cæsarea

Theodore was a citizen of Constantinople and the son of wealthy parents. As a young man he left his parent's home and riches and entered a monastery in Thrace. Here, he imposed upon himself a most rigorous life of mortification. He slept on stones in order to sleep less. He traveled everywhere clothed in one garment made of "goat's hair," for which he was called Trichinás [Greek] for goat's hair.

Because of his great self-mortification for the sake of the salvation of his soul, God bestowed upon him the great gift of miracle-working both during his lifetime and after death. He died peacefully about the year 400 A.D. His body was shown to be flowing with oil [Chrism].

♱Acts 5:21-32

21 And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

22 But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned and told,

23 Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within.

24 Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow.

25 Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.

26 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.

27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,

28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.

29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.

31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
♱Saint John 6:14-27

14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

16 And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto the sea,

17 And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.

18 And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.

19 So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.

20 But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.

21 Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.

22 The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that his disciples were gone away alone;

23 (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:)

24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.

25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?

26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

the faith

of the

chosen people

by Saint Nicolai Velimirovitch

"I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods besides Me." 

This was the first testimony of God concerning Himself, the first revelation to men on earth concerning God from God, and the first commandment of God. "You shall have no other gods besides Me," commands God; for if you will have other gods, you will bring two disasters upon yourself. 

First: you will be believing in false, non-existent, imaginary, illusory gods. Second: you will be sharing reverent fear and love, which entirely belongs to Me, the One, Living, and True God, with these false gods. In this way you will darken your faith in Me, and weaken your reverent fear and love for Me. And I shall withdraw far from you, offended and insulted. 

And you will be an atheist, no matter how much you imagine you are rich in piety on account of your belief in many gods. For in the final analysis a polytheist and an atheist are the same thing. Both the one and the other are without one God, without the One, Living, and True God.

Belief in one God, the One, Living, and True God, is the faith of the humble and the wise. This is not the faith of the proud, whom pride makes unwise. For they either deify themselves or some creature of the Creator, but not the Creator. The more humble a man is, the wiser he is; the more arrogant he is, the more foolish he is. God gives understanding to the humble, so that they may know and understand, but He opposes the proud. The more the humble are at peace with the Lord, the more the Lord endows them with understanding. And understanding is light that leads to the One, Living, and True God. 

Blessed are they who have understanding, to see the transitoriness of this world and the nothingness of man. 

Blessed are they who feel small and insignificant, for God will elevate them to the highest knowledge, to the knowledge of the existence and majesty of the Most High God. 

This is your faith, Christ-bearers, and the faith of your most humble and most wise forefathers. Let this also be the faith of your children, from generation to generation, until the end of time. This is the salvation-bearing Orthodox Faith, which has never been put to shame. By this faith your fathers were saved. Truly, this is the faith of the chosen people, of those who bear the image of God in themselves. At the Fearful Judgment they shall not be put to shame before the faces of the angels and the righteous. Instead they shall receive glory, and shall be called blessed.

~ Paragon Archives ~

Do you believe the writings of the saints

serve to expedite the acquisition of the Holy Spirit?

Do you believe Christ quickens the saints with revelations about this life, the LIFE to come

and about His Nature?

Does Christ quicken you?

Have you acquired the Holy Spirit and no longer thirst, if not, be eager to not only read -
but emulate the saints!

There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

St. Luke 13:28 KJV

Read and understand why Christ Himself

warns us, now in this life!

Saint John of Damascus

That Secret Things Might be Revealed...

"All images reveal and make perceptible those things which are hidden. For example, a man does not have immediate knowledge of invisible things, since the soul is veiled by the body. Nor can man have immediate knowledge of things which are distant from each other or separated by place, because he himself is limited by place and time. Therefore the icon was devised that he might advance in knowledge, and that secret things might be revealed and made perceptible. Therefore, icons are a source of profit, help, and salvation for all, since they make things so obviously manifest, enabling us to perceive hidden things. Thus, we are encouraged to desire and imitate what is good and to shun and hate what is evil."

The Precious Pearl 

"The enjoyment of this present life, though it seems to give delight and sweetness, is well thrust from us. At the very moment of its being it ceases to be, and for our joy repays us with sorrow sevenfold. Its happiness and its sorrow more frail than a shadow, and, like the traces of a ship passing over the sea, or a bird flying through the air, quickly disappear. But the hope of the life to come which the Christians preach is certain and quite sure; howbeit in this world it has tribulation, whereas our pleasures now are short-lived, and in the beyond they only win us correction and everlasting punishment without release. For the pleasures of life are temporary, but its pain eternal; while the Christians labors are temporary but their pleasure and gain

 immortal. Therefore, right it is to exchange the corruptible for the incorruptible."

A S C E T I C A L   H O M I L I E S

by Saint Isaac the Syrian

Prayer offered up at night possesses a great power, more so than the prayer of the daytime. Therefore all the righteous prayed during the night, while combating the heaviness of the body and the sweetness of sleep and repelling corporeal nature.

There is nothing which even Satan fears so much as prayer that is offered during vigilance at night. And even if it is offered with distraction, it does not return empty, unless perhaps that which is asked for is unsuitable.

For unless those who travel on the road go forward day by day, shortening their journey -- and, on the contrary, should they stand in one place -- the road before them will never diminish and they will never arrive at their destination. 

So it is with us also.

If we do not constrain ourselves little by little, we shall never have the strength to abstain from bodily things so as to gaze toward God.

A  M U T U A L   E X C H A N G E

by Saint Isaac the Syrian

 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee
the only true God, and Jesus Christ,
whom thou hast sent.
St. John 17:3 KJV

At the time of prayer, when a person's mind is collected and all the senses are brought into harmony, an encounter between God and the person praying takes place. This explains why all spiritual gifts and all mystical visions have been given to the saints at the time of prayer, It was during prayer that an angel appeared to Zacharias and announced the conception of John the Baptist; it was during prayer of the sixth hour that Peter beheld the divine vision; it was while Cornelius the Centurion prayed that an angel appeared to him.

Once a year, when the High Priest, during the dread time of prayer, entered the Holy of Holies and cast himself down upon his face . . . he heard the oracles of God through an awesome and ineffable revelation. O how awesome was the mystery which was ministered in this ceremony! So also at the time of prayer were all the visions and revelations made manifest to the saints. For what other time is so holy, and by its sanctity so apt for the reception of gifts, as the time of prayer, wherein a man converses with God? At this time, when we make our petitions and our supplications to God, and we speak with Him, a human being forcefully gathers together all the movements and deliberations of his soul and converses with God alone, and his heart is abundantly filled with God.

PRAYERS BY THE LAKE

A SOUL THAT LOVES GOD

by St. Nicolai Velimirovitch

You are the only event of my life, O lamp of my soul. When a child scurries to the arms of his mother, events do not exist for him. When a bride races to meet her bridegroom, she does not see the flowers in the meadow, nor does she hear the rumbling of the storm, nor does she smell the fragrance of the cypresses or sense the mood of the wild animals--she sees only the face of her bridegroom; she hears only the music from his lips; she smells only his soul. 

When love goes to meet love, no events overtake it. Time and space make way for love. Aimless wanderers and loveless people have events and have history. Love has no history, and history has no love.

ARE YOU EAGER FOR CHRIST OR LUKEWARM?

{Ed.}

As the period of increased Prayer and Fasting brought us to the Resurrection, have we resurrected a little so we can gaze upon Christ, or are we back to the

"same old, same old" carnal, temporary pursuits?

So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,
I will spue thee out of my mouth. Revelation 3:16 KJV

Are you are eager  to have this or that, to go here and there, veracious for just about anything in Creation and yet minimally attentive (lukewarm) that the Creator of all things wants you to enjoy them with restraint but yet, at the same time, forsake this life entirely because He wants ALL OF YOUR YOUR BEING, ALL OF YOUR HEART?  You can indeed gain much from this mortal, temporary life but for how long and at what cost? Are you willing to lose Jesus Christ, Who is Himself, Paradise without end? 

There WILL be those who will hear from Christ:  

"I never knew you!" 

In fact, they never knew Him.  

If our love for Christ, is confirmed in us by Him, then we need not fear.

Ask yourself:  Do you believe Him when He says that all of the hairs of your head are numbered?  Do you believe He knew every thought you would have before He made you?   And, the same for all the people and all of Creation, who are and have gone before and will come after us?

Be honest, can any transient mind, a mind still inclined to hate, war, ambition, even begin to grasp such a God exists?

Furthermore, ask yourself, did He make this life a desert, void of joy etc.?  No!  Like a mother who pacifies and indulges her child while pushing it to walk on its own, our most merciful and loving God gives us innumerable delights in this brief life but is He not clear about what He expects from us in return?

Well, are you eager for Him? Or are you like those who live in a fantasy, a dream with little to no thought about your judgement date; the time of which you have no say. 

Is this life anything more than ultra real tangible dream, confirmed when we wake from it after death? Yes, but only one thing needful!!

It is an opportunity to PLEASE CHRIST GOD! An opportunity to avoid suffering the consequences from DISPLEASING CHRIST GOD!

And lets ask ourselves:  How hard was it for God to incarnate?  How hard to resurrect from the dead?   Was it something He "needed" to do? Did He not call all things into being without even breathing or a thought? Did He need help to do so and from where would it come?

As the Great Andrew of Crete calls: Arise my soul! Why are you sleeping?  The Holy Trinity has NO needs.  Nevertheless, we know with certainty that He did so in order for us to believe that we, WE, who are temporarily carnal, can live, die to this life, resurrect and our immortal souls ascend with Him into PARADISE/LIFE ETERNAL !  

If we are not eager for Him with all our heart then what value a life of death?  Many individuals, even "religions", fast just as strictly and some even more frequently for who? for what? for peace? for health? for a god who is not God? -Christ is the Prince of Peace, there is no peace without Him. He IS Truth, the Life and the Resurrection. 

Who does the following describe?

This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 

St Matthew 15:8 KJV