ORTHODIXIE ... Southern, Orthodox, Convert, Etc.

One does get tired of the media going into a tizzy every time some idiot comes along with such manifestly baseless claims, and making pronouncements about how this could "rock the Christian faith." It would probably help if more people in the media had a real education of their own -- in some field other than how to look good on camera.

-- Fr John Whiteford

Click the link found H E R E for the whole story.

(What? Milli Vanilli? I dunno. It just made sense at the time.)
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For the past couple weeks I have been posting some of my notes from a clergy retreat led by Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou of the Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist in Essex, England.

Now, just in time for Lent, you can listen to the talks themselves ...

"The Hidden Man of the Heart" the 2007 Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America Clergy Brotherhood Retreat led by Archimandrite Zacharias of Essex is now available in a set of seven audio compact disks.

Each CD contains one of the talks together with Father Zacharias' frequent asides and the insightful Q & A session which followed each talk. See below for titles of the talks and other details.

Cost per set is US$60.50 ($55.00 + $5.50 for priority shipping).
Check payable to Eighth Day Books.

Order from:




2838 E. Douglas
Wichita, KS 67214 U.S.A.
316.683.9446

Or ... Here.

books@eighthdaybooks.com

_________________________________________________

The Hidden Man of the Heart
(I Peter 3:4)
The Christian Anthropology of Elder Sophrony of Essex, spiritual son of St Silouan the Athonite

Disk 1: "The Mystery of Man's Heart"

Disk 2: "The Awakening of the Heart by the Mindfulness of Death and the Moment of Death"

Disk 3: "The Awakening of the Heart by the Fear of God and by Bearing Shame in the Sacrament of Confession"

Disk 4: "The Building Up of the Heart by Vigilance and Prayer"

Disk 5: "The Building Up of the Heart by the Grace of Repentance"

Disk 6: "Go In and You Will Find Rest"

Disk 7: "The Vulnerability of the Gift of Speaking in Tongues"

Copyright 2007
by the Clergy Brotherhood of the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America and the Patriarchal Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist
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Building up the heart by the grace of repentance

Rejoice in temptation: an opportunity to prove our fidelity to God.

We do not choose our cross -- but accept the Cross of Providence.

Choosing a cross can lead to faint heartedness.

St Ambrose of Optina: "No better rule of prayer than that given us by the Publican -- 'Lord have mercy on me a sinner.'"

Two steps toward repentance:
1) sever ties with the world
2) find the heart/unity with God.

Faith & repentance = Church's condition for baptism (2nd birth).
Our third birth is accomplished by ourselves: tears of repentance.

Repentance contains all the virtues.

Repentance breaks down the walls surrounding the heart.

Mingle prayer with tears -- even if they're psychological, make them spiritual.

Through repentance, man becomes true.

Man is infallible when he confesses his sins before God.

The Lord accepts confession as a Thank Offering ... and in return grants Grace, leading to Life.

Christ's call to repentance does not go unheeded -- the Thief repented on the cross (granted Paradise that same day).

Man can only come to true repentance when he has caught a glimpse of the other world.

God is light and we must become as transparent as He is.

Dwell on any remembrance that brings contrition to your soul.

We should not suffer out pains alone -- but include the Lord Jesus Christ.

St Silouan: "If we answer back when corrected, we hate our own soul. We should not have the last word. Our last word should be: Amen."

Part One. Part Two. Part Three. Part Four. Part Five. Part Six.

These notes were taken during the annual Clergy Retreat for the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America, February 6-9, 2007. The retreat was led by Archimandrite Zacharias of the Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist in Tolleshunt Knights-by-Maldon, Essex, U.K. These are my notes and were filtered through my poor faculties. Any and all errors theological are mine. Forgive me.

Image source

UPDATE: Listen to the entire talk -- CDs now available!

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I recently asked two knowledgable Archimandrites the same question: "Is there a set form or protocol for Confession? Perhaps some sort of ancient rules -- a "confession typicon?"

They both, independent of each other, said ...

"No."

Fr Zacharias, of St John Baptist Monastery, admitted that he currently hears most confessions in his office. Fr Daniel Griffith of All Saints, Salina, KS said the same.

That's been the norm for my own confessions. I meet with my Confessor in his office and we talk about my sins, temptations, and struggles. Then we go into the church for the formal rite, prayers, further counsel, etc.

(I keep a "prayer desk," stole, and blessing cross before an icon corner in my office for this same purpose.)

Many people make their Confession in the church prior to, during, or after a service. In Russian practice there's usually a stand, adorned with the Gospel and Cross, before which the Confession is heard by the priest (who serves as witness). Greek practice varies -- but it is common to hear Confessions in front of an icon by the iconostasis. For most, these are the norms.

However, as is usually the case with Orthodoxy, there's lots of room for wiggle ...

And so having a time and place established for sacred confession -- the time being in the morning,* the place being mainly the Church, or as ocassion demands, a modest house, clean and peaceful, as Symeon of Thessaloniki says, in which there also must be an icon of our Master Christ, and certainly His Crucifixion -- you bring the one to confess there ...

* - Although all times are suitable for confession (especially in time of need), according to Job in his Concerning the Mysteries, the most suitable time is in the morning, because at that time, the intellect, of both the Spiritual Father and the penitent, is more clear and collected. That which David says also bears witness to this: "In the morning I slew all the sinners of the land, utterly to destroy out of the city of the Lord all them that work iniquity" (Ps. 100:9), namely, in the morning I killed though confession all those evil thoughts of my heart and destroyed from my soul all the lawless demons and passions. According to Timothy (Canon 18), some should start confessing from ten years old, others from an older age. According to Balsamon, children should confess after six years of age (Responsa ad Interrogationes Marci, Question 48, PG 138, 996C - 997A).

-- Taken from EXOMOLEGETARION - A Manual of Confession by St Nikodemus the Hagiorite (p.137).
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Prayer as Infinite Creation

Prayer = proof of being [created] in the image and likeness of God.

Communication, Man with God, was broken in the Fall. The Son of God came in the flesh to re-establish, continue, the communication.

Prayer accompanies Man by accomplishing his salvation.

Man, of himself, is not a true source of life.

Faith in the divinity of Jesus Christ constitutes a beginning of relationship with the Divine.

Our one concern = not to lose such a goal.

Prayer bears fruits of repentance.

Crucified, hence freed, the mind turns itself over to the Lord -- descends into the heart.

Contemplation of Christ strikes the soul with amazement.

I must let Christ know my deformity; I cannot see him unless I let Him see myself.

"He must increase - but I must decrease."

Transition from psychological to the ontological level.

"Love acts like a transformer" (in every stage).

-- uses every sensation, received from created worls, to intensigy his dialogue with God.

Christ didn't turn his attention horizontally. Rather, He turned to the Father: "Forgive them for they know not what they do."

Charismatic despair gives wing to prayer.

Part One.
Part Two.
Part Three.
Part Four.
Part Five.


These terse notes were taken during the annual Clergy Retreat for the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America, February 6-9, 2007. The retreat was led by Archimandrite Zacharias of the Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist in Tolleshunt Knights-by-Maldon, Essex, U.K. These are my notes and were filtered through my poor faculties. Any and all errors theological are mine. Forgive me.

Image source.

UPDATE: Listen to the entire talk -- CDs now available!

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On decorating our incorruptible house through the assumption of the virtues.

Brethren and fathers, people in the world when they erect a luxurious house give themselves no rest at night and at the end of the day they toil and plan, laboring until they have achieved their object; and such is the longing that fills them that their mind is wholly occupied in this and in considering how the roof may be well-covered, how the floor, adorned with many different marbles with every other form of elegance, will offer lovers of fine sights the most pleasing appearance. But if someone were to wish to tear them away from that care, they would be most distressed, as though they were being seriously wronged. But we, when we are building not a corruptible house but an incorruptible, not one made out of stones and wood but one skillfully constructed from spiritual graces, how can we be idle and come far below these others in zeal? How should this not be the greatest of wrongs? That other house harbors people who love the flesh and when it has passed through many masters it will be pulled down and deserted. The other knows that it welcomes the Holy Spirit, since we are a temple of the living God and the Spirit of God dwells in us, as the divine Apostle says. Moreover with those who depart from things here it leaves too and abides in heaven intact and eternal. What is the material of this building? The assumption of the virtues. Take first, if you will, as a foundation stone, the fear of God, since the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Next understanding, courage, sobriety, justice; and so with one attached firmly to the other and fitted together with the bond of love it will grow into a holy temple of the Lord, as it is written. Let us be building this temple, brethren, at every moment, and let us not fail to adorn it with the beauty of the virtues, so that we may have the Holy Spirit for its inhabitant, so that by the pleasantness of our life we may turn the attention of angels and men to ourselves. But since one of the virtues is self-mastery, and we are more closely concerned about this one, let us give glory to God that we have arrived at the one stadium for it. Your faces have been changed from what they were before, but they shine with a fair change: the pallor that comes from self-mastery; your mouths have become embittered, filled with the bile of eating late, [meaning after Vespers in the late afternoon, when, traditionally, the only meal is eaten on fast days] but your spirits have been sweetened, flying on wings of hope. And these things are opposed to one another, and by mastering the one the other has become weak; so that we may rejoice for we are sided with the stronger. Perhaps someone will say that to eat every day is a failure of perfection. Not at all! Otherwise our Lord would not have ordered us to ask each day for our daily bread; the prophet Elias would not have been nourished each day in the desert by a raven; Paul, who dwelt in the desert before the godly Antony, would have received bread from God every day; Antony the Great preferred as almost necessary eating daily to a fast of above a day or for a week. And this is how it seems to me; for since our body is physically exhausted through its toil for the whole day, like a racing colt, and needs its rest, so necessarily the creator of our nature has arranged for it to be strengthened by its daily nourishment so that it might run well for the future, but not be exhausted and fading, which what they suffer who drag out their fast over two, three and five days. Nor would they be able to prostrate more frequently, not to join more lustily in psalmody, nor to accomplish their other services easily, unless something truly extraordinary happens. And so daily nourishment is not simply for the imperfect, but very much for the perfect by the traditional definition and canon. And thank goodness these things have been laid down by the fathers. And may you be granted again and again both health of body and strength of spirit to serve the living and true God and to await the last day, in which may you shine out like the sun as heirs of the kingdom of heaven, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and might, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always and to the ages of ages.

Amen.

CATECHESIS 55 by Our Venerable and God-bearing Father Ephrem the Syrian -- given on Friday of the First Week.

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Building up the heart by vigilance and prayer

Vigilance = watchfulness of mind

You should regulate your attitude toward God at the beginning of the day.

Exercise self-restraint and patience during prayer = helps direct the intellect.

Three types of prayer:
1) said aloud
2) of the mind
3) of the mind in the heart

The Jesus Prayer is based on a revealed relationship with the Holy Trinity ... other prayers/paths not so based.

Divestiture of the world is only half of the model.
Constant vesting of the soul with the grace of God [is the other half].

God showed His love through offering His pain and suffering.
Man can reciprocate by offering to God his pain and suffering.

When we are unmindful of God, the Enemy slays us.

The Fathers say: Forgetfulness of God = the greatest Passion.


Part One.

Part Two.

Part Three.

Part Four.

These terse notes were taken during the annual Clergy Retreat for the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America, February 6-9, 2007. The retreat was led by Archimandrite Zacharias of the Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist in Tolleshunt Knights-by-Maldon, Essex, U.K. These are my notes and were filtered through my poor faculties. Any and all errors theological are mine. Forgive me.

UPDATE: Listen to the entire talk -- CDs now available!

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It's a pretty good piece.

Really.

Pic & link courtesy of THUNDERSTRUCK
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Once upon a time, Episcopalians were, I believe, personified by Thurston Howell the Third. Every now and then you'd find the bumbling Anglo-Catholic version, ala Hugh Grant, or the warm and homey granddad, ala Bill Cosby. As time passed, one began to see firebrands with faces and viewpoints contorted by controversy -- like, say (in a twisted way) Michael Savage.

Then, for what it's worth, came the E.Y.W. -- the Eternal Year of the Woman. They were ordained illegally ... and later ratified. This, coupled with Prayer Book revision, split the church and set precedent for future distortions. Boy George became Fr George -- who was later, of course, spotted in a tree ... yes ... k.i.s.s.i.n.g.

(Not to mention E.I.E.I.O.)

Now we come to Oz. Which explains the church hymnody, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," mentioned in yesterday's post.

I am finally starting to get it. Not like the folks at Get Religion would define "get it" ... [After all: "The Episcopal Church: Where neither politics or religion is spoken."] ... but, from that venerable site comes this:

There was a time when the Episcopal Church in the United States was known as “the Republican Party at prayer,” but in the last 30 years it has evolved into the Rainbow Coalition of Christianity.

There are hip-hop Masses, American Indian rituals to install a new presiding bishop and legions of gay and straight priests who don the rainbow stoles of gay liberation. Its pews are full of Roman Catholics and Christians from other traditions attracted by its aura of radical acceptance.

Now the conservatives who numerically dominate the global Anglican Communion have handed their Episcopal branch in the United States an ultimatum that requires the church to reel in the rainbow if it wants to remain a part of the Communion.

Read tmatt's take.

The Rainbow Coalition of Christianity, viewed through a proper lens, could be a good thing. But when it fails to continually CONVERT it loses the Christianity part. The Scarecrow still sits in the pew lacking a brain, the Tin Man is missing a heart, and no courage is found in the Lion. Dorothy is still lost. And, forgive me, but God only knows what new ministries might soon be found for Toto if such a bereft coalition continues.

In a very strange way the fault may lie as equally with Billy Graham crusades as with Henry the Eighth. (Ya gotta admit Big Harry -- and, especially, Elizabeth -- must be rolling in the grave over this news.) By that I mean the hymn that helped to shape generations: "Just As I Am" --

Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just a I am; thy love unknown
Has broken every barrier down;
Now to be thine, yea, thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

The perversion enters when "just as I am" becomes "just fine by me." I mean, even the devil accepts you "just as you are." People struggling with sexual sin (I refuse to break it down to the G and L words) have always been welcomed in the multicolored tapestry of the Church. Yet, like the rest of us sinners, all are welcomed to continually struggle toward the Kingdom through fidelity. There's no Fairy Godmothers, Magic Shoes, Flying Monkeys or Talking Trees. But there is forgiveness and salvation available for all.

Some day I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemondrops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me
Source

Uh?

No.

You can't just click your heels nor merely dream of a magical land called heaven. But, by God's grace, you may convert.

The Prodigal when he found himself wallowing in pig slop came to himself and said: How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants."

And he arose and came to his father.

But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him ...
Luke 15:17b - 20

As says our Lord, "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand."

Fall down. Get back up. Fall down. Get back up ...

Goodbye yellow brick road.

Hello Reality.


And, yes, I know that it's Episcopalians, not "Episcopals" ... but.

The Tanzania Communique.
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Pardon my French, but ... Episcopalians!
The Sunday after General Convention I returned to my home parish for Gay Pride Sunday and participated in a Disco Mass for which gays and lesbians turned out in force. The opening hymn was a beautiful jazz rendition of “Over the Rainbow.” Musical offerings came from gay men in sequined tank tops and from the Director of Music who was ushered into the service singing a disco number complete with Go-Go girls. The queen of St. Mark’s appeared in full drag to deliver the homily and the closing hymn was, Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family.” As I stood singing among straight men and women, young parents with their children, gays and lesbians, teenagers in hip hop clothing, Asians, whites, African Americans and Spanish speaking people I realized I was part of the realm of God and I was glad to be there - in a place where God’s creation of a new thing was being lived out.

If you must: Source

[UPDATE: Thanks to a heads-up from tmatt at GR, the above link has been changed due to the website's removal of the original after this story started making the rounds. Just didn't want y'all to think I was making it up.]

HT Bible Belt Blogger

THANKS: Jason

BTW, the pic is not gay -- just funny; Camp St Thekla, 2005.

Oh. On this Lenten Day ... Speaking of the French.

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Spoken at the beginning of the Great Fast by St Theodore the Studite

Brethren and fathers, the season of Lent, when compared to the whole year, may be likened to a storm-free harbour, in which all who are sailing together enjoy a spiritual calm. For the present season is one of salvation not for monks and nuns only, but also for lay people, for great and small, for rulers and ruled, for emperors and priests, for every race and for every age. For cities and villages reduce their hubbub and bustle, while psalmody and hymns, prayers and entreaties take their place, by which our good God is propitiated and so guides our spirits to peace and pardons our offences, if, with a sincere heart, we will only fall down before him with fear and trembling and weep before him, promising improvement for the future. But let the leaders of the churches speak of what is suitable to lay people, for just as those who run in the stadium need the vocal support of their fellow contestants, so fasters need the encouragement of their teachers.

But I, since I have been placed at your head, honoured brethren, will also talk to you briefly. Fasting then is a renewal of the soul, for the holy Apostle says, Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward is being renewed day by day. And if it is being renewed, clearly it is being made beautiful according to its original beauty; made beautiful in itself it is being drawn lovingly to the one who said, I and the Father will come and make our dwelling with him. If then such is the grace of fasting, that it makes us into a dwelling place of God, we must welcome it, brethren, gladly, not grieving at the plainness of the diet, for we know that the Lord, though he is able to nourish lavishly, made a banquet for thousands in the wilderness from bread and water. Also because what is unusual, with enthusiasm becomes acceptable and painless.

Fasting is not defined by foods alone, but by every abstinence from evil, as our godly fathers have explained. And so, I beg you, let us abstain from despondency, idleness, luggishness, jealousy, strife, maliciousness, self-indulgence, self-reliance; let us abstain from destructive desire which the manyshaped serpent lays before us when we are fasting. Let us listen to the one who says, ‘The fruit which slew me was beautiful to behold and fair to eat’. And observe: he says beautiful to behold, not beautiful by nature. For just as if someone taking a pomegranate decked out with a scarlet rind should find it rotten, in the same way pleasure feigns untold sweetness, but when it is plucked it is found more bitter than gall, or rather, than a sharpened two-edged sword which devours the soul it has captured.

This is what our forefather Adam suffered when he was tricked by the serpent; for when he touched the forbidden food, he found death instead of life. This too is what all they have suffered who from then until now have been similarly deceived by the dragon. For just as he, who is darkness, transforms himself into an angel of light, so he knows how to transform bad into good, bitter into sweet, dark into light, ugly into beautiful, deadly into life-giving; and so the all-evil one does not cease to lead the world astray at every opportunity. But let us at least, brethren, not be led astray by his manifold deceptions, nor suffer the fate of the birds who greedily approach what seems to be food and fall into the hunter’s trap. Let us rather look on the outer coverings of evil as dung and when with the mind we have looked on evil in its nakedness we shall flee from it at once.

In addition let us welcome the times of psalmody, be enthusiastic for hymnody, attentive to the readings, making prostrations according to the given measure at each hour; working with our own hands, because working is good and because one who does not work is not judged worthy of eating. Let us bear one another’s burdens, for one is weak and another strong, making use of food and drink and the other necessities with moderation, so that there is no provoking to jealousy among evil people, but zeal in goodness. In everything be good to one another, compassionate, reasonable, obedient, full of mercy and good fruits, and the peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and thoughts.

And now, may you be found worthy without condemnation to reach the supreme day of the Resurrection, but in the age to come at the resurrection of the dead to gain the kingdom of heaven in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be the glory and the might, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages.

Amen.

IMAGE: St Theodore the Studite (from 11th-century mosaic), Nea Moni, Chios. Source
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A Homily for Forgiveness Sunday

Today is called "Forgiveness Sunday." It received this name from the pious Orthodox Christian custom at Vespers of asking each other's forgiveness for discourtesy and disrespect. We do so, since in the forthcoming fast we will approach the sacrament of Penance and ask the Lord to forgive our sins, which forgiveness will be granted us only if we ourselves forgive each other. "If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."(Matt. 6. 14, 15)

Yet it is said to be extremely difficult to forgive discourtesy and to forget disrespect. Perhaps our selfish nature finds it truly difficult to forgive disrespect, even though in the words of the Holy Fathers it is easier to forgive than to seek revenge. (St. Tikhon of Zadonsk after St. John Chrysostom) Yet everything in us that is good is not accomplished easily, but with difficulty, compulsion and effort. "The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."(Matt. 11. 12) For this reason we should not be discouraged at the difficulty of this pious act, but should rather seek the means to its fulfillment. The Holy Church offers many means towards this end, and of them we will dwell on the one which most corresponds to the forthcoming season of repentance.

"Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins and not to judge my brother." The source of forgiving our neighbors, of not judging them, is included in seeing (acknowledging) our sins. "Imagine," says a great pastor, who knows the heart of man, Father John of Kronstadt, "picture the multitude of your sins and imagine how tolerant of them is the Master of your life, while you are unwilling to forgive your neighbor even the smallest offense. Moan and bewail your foolishness, and that obstruction within you will vanish like smoke, you will think more clearly, your heart will grow calm, and through this you will learn goodness, as if not you yourself had heard the reproaches and indignities, but some other person entirely, or a shadow of yourself." (Lessons on a Life of Grace, p. 149) He who admits his sinfulness, who through experience knows the weakness of human nature and its inclination toward evil, will forgive his neighbor the more swiftly, dismissing transgressions and refraining from a haughty judgment of others' sins. Let us remember that even the scribes and Pharisees who brought the woman caught in adultery to Christ were forced to depart, when their conscience spoke out, accusing them of their own sins. (John 8. 9)

Unfortunately, brethren, we do not like to acknowledge our transgressions. It would seem natural and easy for a person to know his own self, his own soul and his shortcomings. This, however, is actually not so. We are ready to attend to anything but a deeper understanding of ourselves, an investigation of our sins. We examine various things with curiosity, we attentively study friends and strangers, but when faced with solitude without extraneous preoccupation even for a short while, we immediately become bored and attempt to seek amusement. For example, do we spend much time examining our own conscience even before confession? Perhaps a few minutes, and once a year at that. Casting a cursory glance at our soul, correcting some of its more glaring faults, we immediately cover it over with the veil of oblivion until next year, until our next uncomfortable exercise in boredom.

Yet we love to observe the sins of others. Not considering the beam in our own eye, we take notice of the mote in our brother's eye. (Matt. 7. 3) Speaking idly to our neighbor's detriment, mocking and criticizing him are not even often considered sins but rather an innocent and amusing pastime. As if our own sins were so few! As if we had been appointed to judge others! "There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy" ? God. (James 4. 12) "Who art thou to judge another's servant? It is before his own master that he stands or falls." (Rom. 14. 4) "Thou hast no excuse, O man, whoever thou art who judgest. For wherein thou judgest another, thou dost condemn thyself. For thou who judgest dost the same things thyself." (Rom. 2. 1) "Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith; put yourselves to the test." (2 Cor. 13. 5) The pious ascetics provide a good example of this. They turned their minds to themselves, meditated on their own sins and avoided judging their neighbors at all costs.

One pious elder, noticing that his brother had committed a sin, sighed and said, "Woe is me! As he sinned today, so will I tomorrow." And the following is a story about another ascetic, Abba Moisei. A monk committed a sin. The brethren, who had assembled to decide his case, sent for Abba Moisei, but the humble elder refused to attend the council. When the rector sent for him a second time, he appeared, but in quite a striking manner. He had taken an old basket, filled it with sand and was carrying it on his back. "What does this mean?" asked the monks, catching sight of him. "See how many sins I bear behind me?" answered Moisei, pointing to the heap of sand. "I don't see them, yet I have come to pass judgment upon another."

So therefore, brethren, following the example of the ascetics, upon observing others' sins, we should consider our own sins, regard our own transgressions and not judge our brother. And should we hold anything against him, let us pardon and forgive him, that our merciful Lord may forgive us also.

St. Tikhon (Bellavin) - 1901

Labels: forgiveness, orthodox

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I'm in North Carolina leading a pre-lenten retreat through Sunday; please pardon the lack of updates and slow comment approval.

In the meantime, here's a few notes on my neighbor in Houston, Joel Osteen.

Forgive me.
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Mindful of death with fear of God

1. The awakening of the heart by the fear of God

2. The awakening of the heart by bearing shame in the sacrament of Confession

A. Adam transgressed (looked upon creation instead of the Creator). He was divested of the luminous garment of divine breath.

B. Thus, naked, he hid.

When he is far from God he is in darkness and cannot perceive how far he has fallen (from Grace).

Whoever is proud ... cannot love.

This is Luciferic self-divinization.

Part One.

Part Two.

Part Three.

These notes [this particular session: rather terse; sorry] were taken during the annual Clergy Retreat for the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America, February 6-9, 2007. The retreat was led by Archimandrite Zacharias of the Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist in Tolleshunt Knights-by-Maldon, Essex, U.K. These are my notes and were filtered through my poor faculties. Any and all errors theological are mine. Forgive me.

UPDATE: Listen to the entire talk -- CDs now available!

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- A second blogger working for Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards quit Tuesday under pressure from conservative critics who said her previous online messages were anti-Catholic.

In one posting, McEwan described Christian supporters of President Bush as his "wingnut Christofascist base." Marcotte once posed a mock question-and-answer session in which she speculated what would have happened if the Virgin Mary had taken an emergency contraceptive.

"You'd have to justify your misogyny with another ancient mythology," came the answer.

The whole story.
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The religion & the fallen will of man

There is only one religion in the world: Christianity.

It is revealed to us from on high through the God-Man.

The moment of our death is the greatest moment of our life.

We must have our protection for that great day prepared in advance.

The body = humility. It is of the earth and shall return to earth.

That which is precious is the breath of God -- THIS is the image & likeness.

Form a habit of self-denial.

The condition, says our Lord to follow Him: self denial.

Rehearse for the hour of death -- so you may die joyfully. (Then you shall not die, but live eternally with God.)

We can never get used to the thought of death -- because it is always yet to come.

At our "Amen" begins God's "Blessed be ..."

"It is impossible to live as a Christian -- it is only possible to die as a Christian." (Fr Sophrony)


Part One.

Part Two.

These notes were taken during the annual Clergy Retreat for the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America, February 6-9, 2007. The retreat was led by Archimandrite Zacharias of the Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist in Tolleshunt Knights-by-Maldon, Essex, U.K. These are my notes and were filtered through my poor faculties. Any and all errors theological are mine. Forgive me.

UPDATE: Listen to the entire talk -- CDs now available!

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On mindfulness of death

Mighty works of God happen after people struggle with silence of the heart.

"All we do is dead -- only the work we do on our heart remains." (Fr Sophrony)

Man wanted to become God ... not with love and divine submission.

Passions tempt to extinguish even the memory of God.

After the Fall, our struggle is centered on survival.

If life ends with death -- nothing has any meaning.

Mindfulness of death = "all is vanity."

[Not mindfulness of merely dying -- a reality which, my words, is not salvific.]

Man projects his despair onto all creation -- when all seems bereft ("all is vanity") -- this is a step toward salvation (mindfulness of death).

Mindfulness of death becomes the possibility of life.

Death, which is a punishment for sin, becomes a step toward reunion of the faculties and life with God.

Self denial, coupled with mindfulness of death, is best suited for prayer.

Our sojourn on this earth is to learn how to die. Yet, our life here prepares us for everything except the end.

Our manner of death is unimportant; how to approach it is.

Part One.

These notes were taken during the annual Clergy Retreat for the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America, February 6-9, 2007. The retreat was led by Archimandrite Zacharias of the Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist in Tolleshunt Knights-by-Maldon, Essex, U.K. These are my notes and were filtered through my poor faculties. Any and all errors theological are mine. Forgive me.

UPDATE: Listen to the entire talk -- CDs now available!

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One hundred Episcopalian, Canadian Anglican and Orthodox Christian clergy and laity, some from as far away as Bar Harbor, Maine; Denver, Colo.; Lakeland, Fla., and Toronto, Ont., attended “Faith of Our Fathers: A Colloquium on Orthodox for Anglicans” Jan. 29-30, 2007 sponsored by St. Andrew House Center for Orthodox Christian Studies.

The colloquium was designed to explain Orthodox Christianity to Episcopalians and Anglicans, according to the Most Rev. Nathaniel, Archbishop of Detroit and the Romanian Episcopate of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA), and founder and president of St. Andrew House. Ancient Faith Radio recorded the sessons and is happy to make them available for download. Please do not make copies or sell the material without the consent of the St. Andrews House Center for Orthodox Christian Studies.

These recordings are made possible by Ancient Faith Radio, a 24 hour a day internet based Orthodox radio station. Listen for the best in Orthodox liturgical music, quotes from the Fathers, lectures, interviews and more. Ancient Faith Radio - Timeless Christianity 24 hours a day.

Simply click on the lecture titles below to listen. To download to your computer, right click and select "save link target as" and choose the location of your download.

Kh. Frederica Mathewes-Green Holy Cross Orthodox Church, Linthicum, MD. Author and speaker: Journey to Orthodoxy

The Most Rev. Nathaniel Archbishop of Detroit and the Romanian Episcopate. Founder and President of St. Andrews House Center For Orthodox Studies: Orthodoxy and Anglicanism

The Rev. Alban Waggener Holy Trinity Orthodox Mission (Western Rite), Lynchburg, VA: Journey to Orthodoxy

The Rev. Dr.Hiermonk Calinic Berger St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, NY and Holy Cross Orthodox Church, Hermitage, PA: Orthodox Theology

The Rev. John E. Parker III Holy Ascension Orthodox Church, Mt. Pleasant, SC: Journey to Orthodoxy

Very Rev. Fr. Gregory Mathewes-Green Holy Cross Orthodox Church, Linthicum, MD: Liturgy and Worship

The Rev. John W. Fenton Holy Incarnation Orthodox Mission (Western Rite), Taylor, MI: Western Rite

The Rev. Alban Waggener Holy Trinity Orthodox Mission (Western Rite), Lynchburg, VA: Western Rite

The Very Rev. Patrick Henry Reardon All Saints Orthodox Church, Chicago, IL and Senior Editor of Touchstone Magazine: Journey to Orthodoxy

The Rt. Rev. Mark Bishop of Toledo and the Midwest, Antiochian Archdiocese: Journey to Orthodoxy

The Rev. James Stephen Freeman St. Anne Orthodox Church, Oak Ridge, TN - Author of "Glory to God for All Things" web blog: Journey to Orthodoxy

The Very Rev. Patrick Henry Reardon All Saints Orthodox Church, Chicago, IL and Senior Editor of Touchstone Magazine: Tradition and Culture

The Very Rev. William Olnhausen St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, Cedarburg, WI: Journey to Orthodoxy

Very Rev. Fr. Gregory Mathewes-Green and Kh. Frederica Mathewes-Green Holy Cross Orthodox Church, Linthicum, MD: Practical Considerations

Courtesy of Ancient Faith Radio.
Thanks to FWD from Tamara.
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The tragedy of contemporary man is that he lives outside his heart.

The heart is the battlefield of our salvation.

The heart is the true temple where meeting with God takes place.

God, who is a jealous God, will not settle for a portion of the heart.

We are held captive by the Passions, leaving no room in the heart.

God knocks at our heart and encourages us to knock at His mercy.

This action [the knocking] possesses the possibility of our rising from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light -- this is the moment when man comes to himself.

Our goal is to convince God that we are His.

When Man made motion to sin, his mind was scattered out. When he "comes to himself," the mind moves back toward the heart ... and from there to God the Father. (Prodigal Son)

Christ bore our sins by ascending the Cross of shame. We do the same in Confession.

Grace purifies the heart so that Man can stand in the presence of God.

Repentance cleanses and justifies.

When mind and heart unite -- then Man possesses his nature.

In our fallen state, we are divided [thinking (or feeling) one thing with the heart and thinking another with the mind, etc.]

No human being can weep having two thoughts. When we weep, we have unity of thought (feeling).

Repentance = to prove that God is good and Man is a liar.

These notes were taken during the annual Clergy Retreat for the Diocese of Wichita and Mid-America, February 6-9, 2007. The retreat was led by Archimandrite Zacharias of the Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist in Tolleshunt Knights-by-Maldon, Essex, U.K. These are my notes and were filtered through my poor faculties. Any and all errors theological are mine. Forgive me.

UPDATE: Listen to the entire talk -- CDs now available!

Image by Paula Wiggins - source.

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Create eyes in me, and so may I see with Your eyes,
for I cannot see with my own eyes.

May my mind travel inwards
towards the hiddenness of Your sacrifice,
just as You have travelled out into the open
and been cojoined to Your Mysteries.

At this moment
may I be totally forgetful of myself,
and remain utterly unmindful
of my own person.

May every bodily image
be wiped away from my mind's Eye,
and may You alone
be depicted before the Eye of my mind.

And now, when Your Spirit descends from heaven
upon your Mysteries,
may I ascend in spirit from earth to heaven.

-- Prayers of Joseph the Visionary in "The Syriac Fathers On Prayer And The Spiritual Life," translated from the original Syriac-Aramaic by Sebastian Brock, Cistercian Publications.

Taken from a Mysticism e-list.
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"My church life got so much better the minute I stopped trying to look for someone to date at Mass," [Dawn Eden] ... said. "I mean, it isn't a good thing if people learn to look each other over at church the same way they look each other over in a bar."

Here's tmatt's whole story.

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As we prepare to enter "Cheese Week" progressing toward the Great Fast of the Church, here follows a repost from years past to aid in the struggle.

Here's some items that can help stock a Lenten Pantry ...

+ dried fruits (raisins, currants, apples, cranberries, apricots, prunes, coconut flakes)
+ fresh fruits and vegetables
+ candied peels, mixed
+ dried beans (black beans, soy beans, navy beans, red kidney beans, great northern beans, mung beans, etc)
+ dried legumes (red lentils, green lentils, brown lentils, chick peas, black eyed peas, split peas, etc)
+ seeds (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, poppy)
+ nuts (almonds, cashews, peanuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts)
+ herbs & spices (peppercorns, old bay seasoning, mint, others to your taste)
+ herbal teas
+ flavored coffees
+ frozen juice concentrates
+ carob (chips, chunks and powder)
+ nondairy creamers (liquid & dry)
+ nondairy whipped topping
+ rose water
+ baking cocoa
+ lenten flavored baking chips
+ non-alcoholic wines & sparkling waters
+ canned fruits and vegetables
+ tomato juice, sauce, paste (& V-8)
+ canned beans & legumes
+ a variety of pastas (check labels for content)
+ lenten breads (purchased or homemade)
+ soy products (soy milk, tofu, tempeh, soy sauce, etc)
+ lenten bouillon cubes (vegetable, mushroom, onion, etc)
+ vegetarian gravy mixes
+ curry powder
+ ketchup, mustards, pickles, relishes, chutneys
+ lenten mayonnaise (no eggs, no whey)
+ asian sauces (black bean, garlic, peanut, etc)
+ taco sauces and relishes
+ lenten margarine (no milk, no whey)
+ egg replacer (no whites!)
+ tahini (sesame seed paste), peanut butter
+ flavored vinegars (apple cider instead of alcohol)
+ vegetable oils (sunflower, soy, peanut, sesame, walnut, etc)
+ honeys, jams, maple syrups, corn syrup
+ barley, cornmeal, oats, wheat germ, wheat
+ rices (brown, cracked, whole, wild, etc)
+ flours (rice, bleached, wheat, all-purpose, etc)
+ vegetarian chili (canned)


Lenten Ingredient Concerns

Noodles ... Be careful of packaged noodles, most have part of egg or milk in them. Replace noodles with pastas or vegan noodles.

Mayonnaise ... Most brands have milk, egg, or both.

Margarines ... If you really want to fast, check your margarines for whey products. A soy margarine is always free of whey. Some vegetable oil margarines are also lacto-free.

Eggs ... If absolutely necessary, use an egg substitute. It tends to make recipes more difficult; you may wish to just get a better recipe rather than determine how much egg substitute it takes to make your recipe work.

Cheeses ... Placing a small bowl of shredded cheese on the table for the [pre-fasting aged] children is an acceptable way to make their meals more appealing to them; as well as adding to the lack of calcium that a vegan diet inherently has.

Broths ... Meat broths can be replaced with vegetable broths. If you use bouillon cubes, remember not to add any salt to your recipes, as the cubes are very salty.

Gelatin, Jello & Marshmallows ... While these products were once considered animal, the process to create these removes the finished product so far from the animal make-up that Orthodox Rabbi's consider it Kosher for non-meat uses. This seems good enough for most Orthodox Christians. (Vegetable based gelatins are also available.)

Peanut Butter & Tahini ... what can I say?

Chocolate ... is really Milk Chocolate and can be replaced with Cocoa or Carob (chocolate chips can be replaced with carob chips).

Alcohol ... Apple Cider is a great substitute for white wine, and sometimes sherry or red wine.

Desserts ... As a host during lent, remember that many people give up desserts and sweets. So keep fresh fruit in a decorative bowl or basket on your table for your guests. The diabetic guests will also appreciate this.


Lenten Breakfast Items
+ fruit kabobs
+ lenten waffles with jam or syrup
+ peanut butter & honey on bagels
+ fruit salad
+ applesauce cake
+ tahini & honey on toast
+ lenten pancakes
+ lenten muffins
+ fresh fruits
+ baked apples
+ baked grapefruit
+ cereal & vanilla soy milk
+ cinnamon toast
+ good morning cake
+ kasha (or, of course, Grits)
+ granola with applesauce
+ granola with pie filling
+ oatmeal with raisins & syrup or jam

Believe it or not, applesauce works great as a milk substitute on cereals ... and, equally hard to believe, OJ sometimes works just fine. (Really.)

Most all of the above suggestions come from St Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church, Wichita, Kansas.
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Due to our annual diocesan pre-lenten Clergy Retreat with His Grace, Bishop BASIL in Wichita, I shall be away from the computer until Friday evening, February 9th; no blog updates or comment approval until that time. This year's retreat, "The Hidden Man of the Heart," is being led by Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou of the Stavropegic Monastery of St John the Baptist in Tolleshunt Knights-by-Maldon, Essex, England.

(Click on the above diocesan link and scroll down for the schedule.)

I covet your prayers.

Speaking of which, here's St Ephraim the Syrian:

ON PRAYER

Not to sin is truly blessed; but those who sin should not despair, but grieve over the sins they have committed, so that, through grief they may again attain blessedness. It is good, then, to pray always and not to lose heart, as the Lord says, And again the Apostle says, ‘Pray without ceasing’, that is by night and by day and at every hour, and not only when coming into the church, and not bothering at other times. But whether you are working, lying down to sleep, traveling, eating, drinking, sitting at table, do not interrupt your prayer, for you do not know when he who demands your soul is coming. Do not wait for Sunday or a feast day, or a different place, but, as the Prophet David says, ‘in every place of his dominion’.

Whether you are in church, or in your house, or in the country; whether you are guarding sheep, or constructing buildings, or present at drinking parties, do not stop praying. When you are able, bend your knees, when you cannot, make intercession in your mind, ‘at evening and at morning and at midday’. If prayer precedes your work and if, when you rise from your bed, your first movements are accompanied by prayer, sin can find no entrance to attack your soul.

Prayer is a guard of prudence, control of wrath, restraint of pride, cleansing of malice, destruction of envy, righting of impiety. Prayer is strength of bodies, prosperity of a household, good order of a city, might of a kingdom, trophy of war, assurance of peace. Prayer is a seal of virginity, fidelity in marriage, weapon of travelers, guardian of sleepers, courage of the wakeful, abundance for farmers, safety of those who sail. Prayer is an advocate for those being judged, remission for the bound, consolation for the grieving, gladness for the joyful, comfort for mourners, a feast on birthdays, a crown for the married, a shroud for the dying. Prayer is converse with God, equal honor with the Angels, progress in good things, averting of evils, righting of sinners. Prayer made the whale a house for Jonas, brought Ezechias back to life from the gates of death, turned the flame to wind of moisture for the Youths in Babylon. Through prayer Elias bound the heaven not to rain for three years and six months.

See, brethren, what strength prayer has. There is no possession more precious than prayer in the whole of human life. Never be parted from it; never abandon it. But, as our Lord said, let us pray that out toil may not be for nothing, ‘When you stand in prayer, forgive if you have anything against anyone, that your heavenly Father may forgive you your faults’.

Do you not see, brethren, that we toil for nothing when we pray, if we have enmity against someone? And again the Lord says, ‘If you offer your gift at the altar, and there you remember that someone has something against you, leave your gift before the altar, and go first and be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift’. Therefore, it is clear that if you do not do this first, all that you offer will be unacceptable, but if you do the Master’s bidding, then implore the Lord with boldness, saying, ‘Forgive me my debts, Master, as I have forgiven my brother, so fulfilling your commandment. I, weak though I am, have forgiven’. For the Lover of mankind will answer, ‘If you have forgiven, I too will forgive. If you have pardoned, I too will pardon your sins. For I have authority on earth to forgive sins. Forgive and you will be forgiven’.
See God’s unfathomable love for humankind. See God’s unbounded goodness. Hear instant salvation of your souls.

Translated by Archimandrite Ephrem Lash
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Joseph the Visionary was born into a Zoroastrian family some time around 710. As a child of seven he was taken captive during a raid, to be sold first to an Arab, and then to a Christian in the region of mount Qardu (north Iraq). Impressed by the example of some local monks, he sought baptism, and when his owner subsequently liberated him, Joseph became a monk himself. For two separate periods in his monastic life he lived as a solitary, but he also twice served as abbot of a community. Joseph has left a considerable number of writings.

PRAYERS

To You BE PRAISE
First-born of Being,
exalted and full of awe,
for, by the sacrifice of your body,
you have effected salvation for the world.

O Christ, Son from the Holy Father,
to you do I pray in awe at this time;
of you, Lord, do I ask your will
and beseech your compassion,
that my whole person may be made holy
through your grace,
and that the enemy's constraint upon me
may be rendered ineffective.

Purify my understanding
in your compassion,
so that my hands may stretch out in purity
to receive your holy and fearful Body and Blood.

Cleanse my hidden mind
with the hyssop of your grace,
for I draw near
to the Holy of Holies of your Mysteries.

Wash from me all understanding
that belongs to the flesh,
and may an understanding which belongs to your Spirit
be mingled within my soul.

Cause to reside in me
a faith that beholds your Mysteries.

-- Prayers of Joseph the Visionary, in, "The Syriac Fathers On Prayer And The Spiritual Life," translated from the original Syriac-Aramaic by Sebastian Brock, Cistercian Publications.

Taken from a Mysticism e-list.
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It was high noon when Doreta Peppa, a woman with long, dark locks and owlish eyes, entered the Sanctuary of Olympian Zeus. At first, tourists visiting the Athenian temple thought they had stumbled on to a film set. It wasn't just that Peppa cut a dramatic figure with her flowing robes and garlanded hair. Or that she seemed to be in a state of near euphoria. Or even that the group of men and women accompanying her - dressed as warriors and nymphets in kitsch ancient garb - appeared to have stepped straight out of the city's Golden Age.

To the astonishment of onlookers, Peppa also began babbling Orphic hymns, before thrusting her arms upwards into the Attic skies and proceeding, somewhat deliriously, to warble her love for the gods of Mount Olympus ...

Here's the whole story.

Ninety-eight per cent of the population may officially be Orthodox Christian, but in many ways Greeks remain bonded to their pagan past. "OK, the ancients had hubris, but the concept of sin was totally unknown to them, as indeed it is in modern Greece," Dimou says. "Greeks today don't observe many of the 10 commandments. Their outlook on life and values are much nearer to pagan ideas than those of the austere Judaeo-Christian faith."
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Last night, the Adult Fellowship of St John the Divine hosted their annual Country Western Dance and BBQ at St George, Houston. Here's some pics -- AND, down at the bottom of this post, you'll also find a music video (apologies to Buck Owens and the whole Hee Haw Gang).


Believe it or not, this man's a cradle Orthodox (Texan).


These guys (Bob Macey, Fr John Salem, and yours truly) are not real performers (though they play the role on YouTube).


Be very afraid!


Future Cowgirls of America!


A has been cowboy (as in pillow case stuffed, painted on face)! Let's call him Earl.


Earl's buddy Pee Dab.


Earl's family A.E., O.U., and Sometimes-Y.


Another Cradle Orthodox Cowgirl!


You don't have to be good lookin' to be a member here. (It just comes naturally!)




Only in Texas!
This year, by popular request, I got a bigger hat than last year.


It's called steppin'. Watch me now!


For some reason, everyone was in red!


You gotta wear your hats, Cowboys!


Red, red, red.


"Put me in coach! I'm ready to ... dance!"


"I'm not too sure about this, Dad."




As you might've guessed: It's about time for the Rodeo in these parts. If you've made it to this point ... you might as well watch a video. The three previously identified "performers" are joined by the omnipresent & multitalented Alvaro! Pardon the quality -- spur of the moment on a little Kodak camera. (Not sure that explains the singing!)


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MOSCOW, January 29 (RIA Novosti) - Imposing on schoolchildren the theory that humans descended from apes is unacceptable, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church said Monday.

"Teaching the biblical theory of the world's creation will not harm students. If people choose to believe that they descended from apes, let them, but without imposing their opinions on others," Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia told an educational conference in the Kremlin ...

Read it all ... H E R E.

We don't need no education.
We don't need no thought control.
No dark sarcasm in the classroom.
Teacher, leave those kids alone.
Hey, teacher, leave those kids alone!

Source
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Here's some good advice for anyone considering faking their death:

Nope. The answer is:

Skip the memorial service.

Actually ... find another church! One more caring, less kooky. Perhaps, this one. Read on ...

Alison Matera of New Port Richey, Fla., should have done just that last Friday, but instead her ruse was exposed when she sat among mourners, listening to friends and family celebrate her life.

Celebrate? You're kidding. They never visited her or, seemingly, carried on a serious conversation with her. [SERIOUS: an archaic word meaning the opposite of ridiculous.] Much less even noticed the chirping birds circling their heads!

It all started, the St. Petersburg Times reported Friday, when the 27-year-old told members of her church choir that she was dying of cancer, and that she soon would start receiving treatments.

Matera then started giving her friends regular updates during her "treatments."

Then, near the end of last year, she told them she was giving up her fight and entering a hospice so she could die, the newspaper reported.

Y'all? Let me repeat:

Y'all?

This sounds fishy. How many people do you know ...? Oh, never mind. Read on ...

She "left" the church, but choir members said they continued to receive calls from a "hospice nurse" with updates on Matera's health. The same "nurse" then called choir director Timothy Paquin on Jan. 18 to say Matera had died. Paquin said he then received a call from someone identifying themselves as Matera's sister, detailing the family's arrangements for the body.

Does this church not have a priest? Why are these folks being called? I mean this is a heckofa ministry for a choir!

The strange thing, according to a report filed with the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, is that all the choir members said the callers all sounded exactly like Matera.

:)

I'm starting, I fear, to lose a grip on reality. Please. Join me in a moment of madness, won't you?

Paquin said he called the hospice and local funeral homes, but none had ever heard of Matera.

So ... what? You scheduled a memorial service? Without, forgive me, a body? And ... people came?

Then, when the church family gathered to mourn Matera's death, a woman looking exactly like Matera showed up [actually, that doesn't look anything like her!], claiming to be her sister, they said.

Choir members called the sheriff's office for help, and when deputies went to Matera's apartment she confessed the hoax, saying she needed to separate from the church community.

Good grief! (Oops, sorry about that.) This is the nuttiest story! I hope she doesn't leave the church. Bloom where you're planted? Right?

Read it all here.
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In addition to being a Great Feast, today, being the Friday of the Publican & Pharisee, is ...

fast-free!

It's a Fast Free Friday Feastday!

And, for your files, here's the Lenten fasting tradition of the Church:

During the week following the Sunday of the Pharisee and Publican there is katalysis [relaxing of rule; allowance] for all things, meaning that there is no fasting on any day of the week.

During the week following the Sunday of the Prodigal Son we observe the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, poultry, eggs, cheese, milk or other dairy products, fish, wine and olive oil) on Wednesday and Friday.

During the week following Judgment (or Meatfare) Sunday we abstain from meat, poultry, wine and olive oil; note however that there is katalysis for eggs, cheese, milk and other dairy products as well as fish on all days of that week.

From the first day of the Great Fast, known as Pure Monday, the day following Forgiveness (or Cheesefare) Sunday, we observe the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, poultry, eggs, cheese, milk or other dairy products, fish, wine and olive oil) on weekdays through Great and Holy Friday, while on Saturdays and Sundays there is katalysis for wine and olive oil;

EXCEPTIONS: on Annunciation (March 25th) and Palm Sunday there is katalysis for fish; on Great and Holy Thursday there is katalysis for wine and oil; on Great and Holy Saturday, if we eat anything at all, we observe the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, poultry, eggs, cheese, milk or other dairy products, fish, and olive oil) with katalysis for wine.

We break the Lenten Fast following the Paschal Orthros and Divine Liturgy.

* * * * * *

PS - Here's Fr Stephen Freeman on the Feast.

PPS - From a couple year's back ...

[2005] Finally, when saying our Evening Prayers last night, my son reminded me of the Feast: February 2nd is the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple. Mind you, we'd just read about the Righteous Simeon and his disbelief that a VIRGIN would conceive and bear a Son. Simeon had even gone so far as to change the wording of the Scripture to say "a young woman" when he was corrected by an angel. And ... so forth. After prayers, Basil (almost 7) said, "Dad, I noticed something about that story ... he did it after Ground Hog Day."

Yes, well, there it is.

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
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There is a section in One Flew Over the Onion Dome entitled "Orthodox Evangelism." It reflects much of what has been shared by others HERE. Thanks to all who are participating!

However, I can't help but return to the question: "Are we doing all we ought?"

I remember approaching my Church History Prof in Seminary for approval on a project. I asked if I could do my paper on Mysticism. He said, "Sure." I replied, "Well, it's not exactly Church History."

"It's all Church History," he said.

If we believe that the Orthodox Church is indeed The Church ... one could say that there is no such thing as Protestant tactics when it comes to Evangelism (unless, of course, they are specifically protesting the Pope). In other words, if the truth is the Truth -- it's all evangelism. Barring bad taste and heresy, it's all good.

Sure, it's a temptation to list our pet peeves and dislikes about "evangelistic efforts" from groups outside the Church. But, again: "Are we doing all we ought?"

Please Comment HERE.

Oh ... here's a press release on Orthodox Radio in Houston.
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Ft. Lauderdale (January 30, 2007) – Come Receive The Light, the national Orthodox Christian radio program produced by Orthodox Christian Network, announces our newest radio affiliate in Houston, Texas.

Starting Sunday, February 4th you can now listen to Come Receive The Light every Sunday at 6:30 PM on KKHT FM 100.7. The station covers the greater Houston area and even reaches as far as Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Fr. Joseph Huneycutt, the assistant priest at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Houston said “The launch of our national Orthodox radio program in Houston represents a united effort by our Orthodox parishes in this area to reach out to our neighbors with the message of Orthodoxy. It is also a powerful tool to keep our faithful connected to the Church between Sunday services.”

Fr. Chris Metropulos, the host of Come Receive The Light, and the executive director of OCN, said “Adding the great city of Houston to our growing number of local communities who hear CRTL is a wonderful opportunity for mission and ministry. I look forward to expanding our outreach all across Texas.”

Come Receive The Light is the flagship radio program of Orthodox Christian Network (OCN) and is dedicated to spreading joy, hope and salvation in Jesus Christ while exploring Orthodox Christianity in contemporary society.

Orthodox Christian Networks is headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and is a commissioned agency of SCOBA (The Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas) and a member of the National Religious Broadcasters. Visit us at www.receive.org.

Press Release
For more information contact:
Charles Powell, Director of Development
800-358-3088
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