Holy and Inspiring Writings From the Holy Fathers of the Church

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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HOLY AND INSPIRING WRITINGS FROM THE HOLY FATHERS OF THE CHURCH ON THE DIVINE IMAGES
By Saint John of Damascus

"Therefore, holding firm in thought to the preservation of the ordinances of the Church, through which salvation has come to us as a kind of keel or foundation...it seems to me a calamity that the Church should...the decline in the smallest degree from perfection, thus bearing a disfiguring mark in the midst of a face so exceeding fair, thus harming the whole by the slightest injury to its beauty. For what is small is not small, if it produces something big, so the slightest disturbance of the tradition of the Church that has held sway from the beginning is no small matter, that tradition made known to us by our forefathers, whose conduct we should look to and whose faith we should imitate...

Therefore I entreat the people of God, the holy nation, to cling to the tradition of the Church. For just as the removal of one of the stones of a building will quickly bring ruin to that building, so the removal, ever so little, of what has been handed down."

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"On The Departure of the Soul According to the Teaching of the Orthodox Church"
By Saint John of Damascus

Death is indeed a mystery, but it is also dreadful as an event because it fills the soul with deep pain and bewilderment, numerous unanswered questions, distress, and uncontrollable fear. Death defeats common sense, breaks down our sentimental world, and exceeds human measures. One cannot comprehend it, bear it, or even deal with it. Only one thing can defeat faith, or even more so, faith in the resurrected Lord. When we chant the Paschal hymn, we say: "Christ is risen from the dead, by death hath He trampled down death, and upon those in the graves hath He bestowed life." The Resurrection of Christ marks the defeat of death and transforms it from a definite end and merciless threat into a passage to the true life. "O Death, where is thy sting?" exclaims Saint John Chrysostom. Man is made for life, not for death. That is why we so greatly honor the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord.

Death, apart from being a terrible mystery, is also beyond reach. Therefore, the only way to approach it is by the revelation and grace of God, not through intellectual theological contemplation. What happens to the body during the moment of death is of medical concern, yet, what happens to the soul, its state and course, is purely a matter of the Church, namely, of its theology and life, of the divine teaching and the experience of its Saints...

"...Within the Church, we experience death as the translation to eternity, the passage from this empheral world to the truth of the real life, to the eternal kingdom of God. That is why in the funeral service we chant to the departed: "Blessed is the way in which thou shalt walk today, O soul; for a place of rest is prepared for thee."

According to Orthodox Christian Theology, our life is the greatest gift from God; its beginning and end are entirely in His hands. In this life, the grace of God encounters the free will of man, and in this way, his salvation is effected. Time constitutes the guarantee of the bond between soul and body.

The moment of death is the par excellence moment during which the value of a human being is defined, and for this reason, we ought to deal with it with humility, awe, respect, and an awareness of our limits. In no way should we degrade the mystery to a mere event occurring in time. It is terrible to remove from the body the magnificent vestment of its dignity when at the same time it is being denuded of the protection of the soul. According to Orthodox Theology, death can be described in general terms, but it cannot be accurately defined, because it is more of an unknown mystery than any biological event. And when it comes, we welcome death, as it introduces us to a higher state of life.

In this sense, we are entitled neither to break the sacred bond between soul and body nor to shorten the lifespan of the psychosomatic union. Although life is a great gift, yet death may become a greater blessing. Therefore, we do no examine the event of death with boldness or excessive curiosity, based on our knowledge, but we stand before this unknown mystery with reservation, respect, and holy fear. (Source: The Departure of the Soul According to the Teachings of the Orthodox Church by Saint Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery, Phoenix, Arizona)

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" -- Saint John Chrysostom

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George