The Definition of Prophesy According to Our Holy Orthodox Christian Church (Part II)

My beloved spiritual children in Our Risen Lord and Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN!

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THE DEFINITION OF PROPHECY ACCORDING TO OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH (Part II)

The Coming of Christ

At the Annunciation (Evanggelismos) of the Ever-Virgin Mary, we chant, "Today is the crown of our salvation and the manifestation of the mystery that is from all eternity. The Son of God becomes Son of the Virgin." The Holy Prophets foretold that He was to become a child, taking flesh from the Virgin, being joined to men and seen by those on earth, even as Baruch proclaimed: "This is our God, and there shall none other be accounted of in comparison of Him. He hath found out all the way of knowledge and hath given it unto Jacob His servant and to Israel His beloved. Afterward, did He show Himself upon the earth, and conversed with men" (Baruch 3:35-37). Jesus is the "expectation of nations" (Genesis 49:10).

"All the Prophets," says Saint Irenaeus, "announced two advents: One, indeed, in which He became man subject to stripes and knowing what it is to bear infirmity (Isaiah 53:3), and when He sat upon the foal of an ass (Zachariah 9:9), and was a stone rejected by the builders (Psalm 117:22), and was led as a sheep to the slaughter (Isaiah53:7), and destroyed Amalek (Exodus 17:11) by the stretching forth of His hands, while He gathered from the ends of the earth into His Father's fold the children who were scattered abroad (Isaiah 11:12), and remembered His own dead ones who had formerly fallen asleep, and came down to them that He might deliver them; but the second time He will come on the clouds (Daniel 7:13), bringing on the day which burns as an over (Malachi 4:1), and smiting the earth with the word of His mouth (Isaiah 11:4), and slaying the impious with the breath of His lips, and having a winnowing fan in His hand, and thoroughly purging His threshing floor, and gathering the wheat indeed into His storehouse, but burning the chaff with fire unquenchable (Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17).

The Prophets and the Apostles

The Venerable Prophets proclaimed the way of salvation, and in the sufferings conformed to the Passion which they foretold. They served as mediators of the New Covenant (New Testament) of Christ. The grace of the Holy Spirit shone in the Holy Apostles. For the Hebrew nation, the Prophets were to foretell the Messiah's Coming and to lead them to the knowledge of God. The Holy Apostles proclaimed the Christ's deeds, and enlightened the nations. According to Saint Justin, "Righteousness is not placed in Jewish rites, but in the conversion of the heart given in Baptism in Christ." On the day of Pentecost, the Comforter descended in all fullness upon the Apostles and the faithful with them.

The Sufferings and Rewards of the Holy Prophets

The Divinely-inspired Prophets preached in word and deed, and they received as their reward life without end. They renounced the whole world for the sake of God's Word and His Law. They endured many trials and afflictions and some were martyred. Prophet Amos received a blow to his brain which led to his repose; Prophet Isaiah was sawn asunder; Prophet Ezekiel was bound to the tails of horses and rent asunder; and, Prophet Jeremiah was stoned. Saint Paul makes mention of their sufferings, writing: "They received trial of mockings and of scourgings, and, moreover, of bonds and of imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted; they died by murder of the sword. They went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being in need, afflicted, ill-treated--of whom the world was not worthy. They were made to wander in deserts, and in mountains, and in caves, and in the holes of the earth" (Hebrews 11:36-38).

1. As a further encomium to their labor and sufferings, Saint Hyppolytos (+ 170-235 A.D.), Bishop of Rome, lauds the Holy Prophets: "With how many mouths and tongues would I praise you, or rather the Logos/Word Who speaks in you! You died with Christ, and you will live with Christ. Hear and rejoice: behold, the things announced by you have been fulfilled in their time. For you saw these things yourselves first, and then you proclaimed them to all generations. You ministered the oracles of God to all generations. You Prophets were called that you might be able to save all. For then is one a Prophet indeed, when, having announced before time things about to be, he can afterward show that they have actually happened. You were the Disciples of a Good Master. These words I address to you as if alive, and with propriety. For you hold already the crown of life and immortality which is laid up for you in heaven" (cf. 2 Timothy 4:8).

The Synagogue (GK. Synagogy)

Saint John Chrysostom comments, "many have tried to destroy the Church, but they did not have the power to do so. Even though many were eager and tried to raise up the Temple again, they could not do so...How is it, then, that they could not build a single temple, especially since they saw that, with no temple, Jews were shackled and constrained from their worship all over the world? Did they not see that their customary ritual had disappeared? Did they not see that their sacrifices, offerings, and other religious rites in which the Law prescribed had been destroyed and ceased to exist? For the Jews were not permitted to erect an altar, nor offer sacrifice, nor pour libations, nor immolate the sacrificial lamb, nor offer incense, nor read the Law, nor celebrate any festival, nor do any other thing connected with their ritual and worship unless they were within the precincts of the temple." (Source: The Lives of the Holy Prophets)

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

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With sincere agape in His Holy Resurrection,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

The Definition of Prophesy According to Our Holy Orthodox Christian Church (Part I)

My beloved spiritual children in Our Risen Lord and Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN!

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THE DEFINITION OF PROPHECY ACCORDING TO THE HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH

On May 1st our Holy Orthodox Christian Church commemorates the Venerable Prophet Jeremiah but who are the Prophets and what is Prophecy? The Greek word προφήτης, derived from the Greek word πρόφημι (propheme), means foretell, that is, to tell beforehand. In Hebrew, the word "prophet" meant not necessarily one who foretold the future, but one commissioned by God to speak to man.

Prophet Jeremias prophesied among the captive Jews transported to Babylon, and foretold their freedom. He also prophesied against nations and cities, including Egypt, Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, and Hazor, Elam, and Babylon.

This ever-memorable Prophet endured insults, hardships, and bore chains and imprisonment by contemporary false prophets. Almost as a solitary during this tragic period of his nation's history, he exposed immoralities, superficial reforms, and fanatical reliance in the temple. When he spoke of the coming destruction of the temple, he incurred the insults and abuse of temple priests (Jeremiah 20:2). He was even in danger of his life from his own townsmen (Jeremiah 11:21), the priests and false prophets of the temple (Jeremiah 33:8), the wayward and erratic king, and also the military (Jeremiah 45:4).

Nonetheless, he received homage from some of his people. There was also the Ethiopian slave, Abdemelech, who was stirred to help the man of God when he was cast into prison (Jeremiah 45:7). The Egyptians revered him as a Prophet while he was among them, and long after his repose.

In Orthodox Christian iconography, the Prophet is characterized as being elderly, small in bodily size, and having a beard wide at the top and narrow at the tip.

Saint Gregory the Dialogist (540-604 A.D.) distinguishes for us the various modes of prophecy used in expressing distinctions of time: "prophecy has three tenses: THE PAST, OF COURSE, THE PRESENT, AND THE FUTURE...We shall speak more truly of the three tenses of prophecy if we quote the evidence of Holy Scripture. The prophecy concerning the future: "Behold, the Virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a son" (Isaiah 7:14). The prophecy concerning the past: "In the beginning, God made the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). For a man speaks of a time when man was not. A prophecy about the present is when Saint Paul the holy Apostle says, "But if all keep on prophesying, and some unbeliever or one unlearned should come in, he is reproved by all, he is examined by all. And thus are the secrets of his heart become manifest; and so falling upon his face, he will make obeisance to God, reporting that God is verily among you" (1 Corinthians 14:24-25). Indeed, when it is said, "the secrets of his heart are made manifest," it is truly shown that through this mode of prophecy the Spirit does not predict what the future will be, but reveals what is. How then may it be called the spirit of prophecy which lays bare no future event but reports the present? In this case, attention must be paid to what is rightly described as prophecy, not because it predicts future events, but because it uncovers hidden truths."

Who is it that prophesies? According to Saint Basil the Great (330-379 A.D.), "the prophetic gift shines clear in souls pure and cleansed from all defilement. In a foul (dirty) mirror, you cannot see what the reflection is, neither can a soul preoccupied with cares of this life, and darkened with the passions of the lust of the flesh, receive the rays of the Holy Spirit. Every dream is not a prophecy even as it is written: "The speakers have uttered grievous things, and the diviners have seen false visions, and they have spoken false dreams" (Zachariah 10:2). Saint Anthony the Great (251-356 A.D.) maintains that in general, visions and revelations were given to the saints only in mountains and in the wilderness."

The Prophet spoke as they saw and heard, "But the prophetic ear was not the ear "of man." says Saint John Chrysostom, "for not as men did they hear, but as prophets." Thus Isaiah says, "He hath added unto me an ear to hear" (Isaiah 50:4), meaning by 'addition,' that which was from the Spirit. From whence it was plain that before hearing it had not entered into the heart of man, as it is written: "From of old we have not heard, neither have our eyes have seen" (Isaiah 64:4). For after the gift of the Spirit, the heart of the Prophets was not the heart of man, but a spiritual heart, as also Saint Paul says, "we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16) as if he would say, "Before we had the blessing of the Spirit and learned the things which no man can speak, none of us nor the Prophets conceived them in his mind. How should we since not even Angels know them?" Now "prophecy is especially the work of God." Saint John Chrysostom informs us, "which devils cannot even imitate, though they strive exceedingly. For in the case of miracles there may be delusion, but exactly to foretell the future belongs to that pure Nature alone; or if devils ever have done so, it was by deceiving the simpler sort, whence their oracles are always easily detected."

The Appearance of Christ in the Old Testament

Saint Irenaeus says that "all visions of His speaking with men and being with them, such as when Jacob sees Him (Genesis 28:12-15), signify the Son of God; for it is not the Father of all, Who is not seen by the world...It is not He Who would stand circumscribed in space and speak with Abraham (cf. Genesis 18:2), but the Logos/Word of God, Who was always with mankind, and foretold what was to come to pass in the future, and, acquainted man with God."

In the Epistle (Letter) to the Hebrews, Saint Paul writes: "God, Who of old, in many parts and in many ways, spoke to the Fathers, through the Prophets, did in these last days speak to us through the Son, Whom He appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the ages" (Hebrews 1:1-2)." Saint John Chrysostom tells us that "this expression "in many parts and in many ways" is the same as, "And I will speak to the Prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and by the means of the Prophets I was represented" (Hosea 12:10). That it was Christ Who in the Old Testament theophanies, and not God the Father, is borne out by the Lord Himself, "The Father Who sent Me, Himself hath borne witness concerning Me. Ye have neither heard His voice at any time nor have seen His form" (John 5:37). When the holy Apostle Philip said, "Show us the Father" (John 14:8), Christ put him in the right way, persuading him to gain the knowledge of the Father through Himself. Jesus said to him, "The one who hath seen Me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9).  (Source: The Lives of the Holy Prophets)

(To be continued)

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

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With sincere agape in His Holy Resurrection,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

April 28 - Nine Martyrs at Kyzikos

My beloved spiritual children in Our Risen Lord and Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN!

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ON THE 28th OF APRIL, OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE HOLY NINE MARTYRS AT KYZIKOS: THEOGNIS, RUFUS, ANTIPATER, THEOSTICHOS, ARTEMAS, MAGNUS, THEODOULOS, THAVMASIOS, AND PHILEMON.

Theognis, the holy Martyr of Christ, and those with whom he suffered martyrdom in Kyzikos were Rufus, Antipater, Theostichos, Artemas, Magnus, Theodoulos, Thavmasios, and Philemon.  These nine men, some country folk, and other city dwellers hailed from various places. They were not in the same group. They also held different positions and occupations: some were in the military or clerical ranks. They nevertheless possessed the same mind and sentiment in matters of the Faith. The Church at predominantly pagan Kyzikos was small. Many of the pagan citizens were drawn into the pit of lawlessness. Some of the Christians had fled before the persecution, while others kept their belief in Christ, secret. But today's nine Christians boldly declared their faith in Christ and prayed for the building up of the Church.

Since they denounced the deceit of idol worship, they were arrested and brought to trial before the ruler of the city. They were subjected to interrogation by the ruler regarding the Faith of Christ. The nine Confessors easily put to shame the ruler of Kyzikos, whose reverence of the idols was scorned by the Christians' noble understanding and valorous character. The ruler, mortified at hearing his superstitions disesteemed by the nine, ordered diverse tortures during their incarceration. All nine, to a man, preferred to offer themselves as living sacrifices to the living God, rather than offer sacrifice to the insensate graven images. Thus, they would be separated neither from Christ nor from one another, as they destroyed the whole legion of the devil. After several days of enduring painful wounds and torture, they were brought before the tribunal seat. Were they to renounce their Christ, they could expect their release. Nevertheless, the valiant nine continued to glorify the Lord Jesus. By the power of the Holy Spirit, they cast down the prompting of the iniquitous to sin. The exasperated ruler then sentenced all nine to have their heads removed by the sword. This took place in the third century, probably during the reign of the hostile polytheist Licinius, Augustus in the East from 308-324 A.D., who openly harassed the Christians after 316 A.D. The precious wonderworking (miracle-working) holy relics of the Nine Holy Martyrs were buried near Kyzikos.

In the year 324 A.D., after Licinius abdicated, the Eastern half of the Roman Empire was ruled by Saint Constantine the Great. The persecution against Christians ended. The faithful of Kyzikos removed the incorruptible bodies of the Nine Martyrs from the ground, translating (anakomide) them to a church built in their honor. Manifold miracles occurred by means of grace working in their holy relics. The infirm received healing and the mentally ill were brought to their senses. The Faith of Christ grew within the city, through the intercessions of these Nine Crowned-bearing Martyrs. Many of the benighted pagans, consequently, were enlightened and converted to Christianity.

Saints Theognis, Rufus, Antipater, Theostichos, Artemas, Magnus, Theodoulos, Thavmasios, and Philemon enlighten all with the effulgence of their miracles as they pour forth healings and deliver from cruel misfortunes. They have gained genuine renown as physicians who wash away the defilement of the passions and dispel them. They also drive away the gloom of the demons.  They can be depended upon to ease and extinguish pain.  A prominent man, reports Saint Joseph the Hymnographer, took recourse with love at the shrine of the right wondrous Martyrs and was healed of dropsy. He says that these Martyrs also were known for setting bones straight, especially bent arms. In another case, says Saint Joseph, a petitioner hastened to the precious reliquaries of the Saints and was freed from the legion of the Evil One. The Nine Holy Martyrs at Kyzikos, therefore, proved themselves to be unmercenary healers. The gates of heaven, thereupon, were opened to them by Christ Himself Who welcomed those who had suffered and received wounds for His Holy Faith. Those who fought bravely are now rejoicing, free from all pain, with the Angels.  (Source: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church)

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

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With sincere agape in His Holy Resurrection,

The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George

The Holy Apostle Thomas (Part II)

My beloved spiritual children in Our Risen Lord and Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN!

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THE HOLY APOSTLE THOMAS (Part II)

On the Sunday of Thomas, the Second Sunday of Pascha, we celebrate the Antipascha, that is to say, the rededication of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and also commemorate the event of the Holy Apostle Thomas' touching the wounds of the Lord.  Antipascha (the Greek prefix, anti, means "in place of")--that is the renewal of Pascha. 

"Peace be with you," says Jesus to His Disciples. He reveals to them and to us that the Cross has ushered in peace: "The Cross has brought peace: now I send you forth to proclaim it." To strengthen and embolden the Disciples, He declares, "As My Father hath sent Me, even so, send I you. It is My work you have undertaken, so do it boldly: I will be with you." Behold the authority of His command: "It is I Who sends you (΄Εγώ πέμπω υμάς)." No longer does He condescend to the limitations of their understanding, saying as He often did before the Resurrection, "I will ask My Father and He will send you." Now He breathes on them and gives them the Holy Spirit--but not the entirety of the gift He would bestow at Pentecost. "Receive ye the Holy Spirit, means, "Let this partial bestowal of grace make you ready to receive later the fullness of the Holy Spirit." The words,"Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them", indicate the particular gift He gives the Disciples now: power to forgive sins. Later, on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit Himself would descend in all His Might, lavishing upon the Apostle every spiritual gift and power to work wondrous deeds, such as raising the dead.

This commemoration is due to the ancient tradition of rededicating important events. As a year would pass and the date of such an event would arrive, a commemoration was made so that the date of such an event would not be forgotten. This is why the Israelites celebrated the Passover at Gilgal, to commemorate the passing through the Red Sea. They also commemorated the consecration of the Tabernacle of Witness that was in the wilderness and many other holy events.

Since the Resurrection of our Lord is the greatest and most important event and beyond all thought, it is rededicated not only once a year, but also on every "eighth" day. The first rededication of the Resurrection was this past Sunday, the Sunday of Thomas, for it is truly both the "eighth" day and the "first." It is the eighth day after Pascha, and the first day, because it prefigures the unending day of the future age to come, which will be truly the “first”day and a day that is not divided by a single night. This is why this Sunday, the Sunday of Thomas, is called the Antipascha, which interpreted means "In the place of Pascha." We should also know that due to the honor given Sunday by the Lord's Resurrection, the Holy Apostles transferred the weekly day of rest from the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) to this most honored day.  Saint Gregory the Theologian writes, "The law of honoring the day of renewal is ancient and of good intent; or it would be better to say, to honor with the day of renewal a new act of goodness.  But was not the first day of Resurrection, the Sunday which followed the holy and light-bearing night, the day of renewal? Why is that name given to the present day? That day was the day of salvation, and this day is the day of remembrance of salvation" (Homily 44, on the Sunday of Renewal).

The third appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ was at the Sea of Tiberias during the catching of the fish where He even ate a meal of broiled fish and honeycomb; this particular food, as He alone knew, was consumed by the Divine Fire. This event gave further proof of the Resurrection of the body - not only His, but ours in the Age to come. After this, He revealed Himself on the road to Emmaus. The fifth time He appeared was in Galilee to the elven, as it is written. From the Resurrection until His Ascension, He worked before His Disciples many signs that surpassed all nature. However, He did not reveal all these signs to very many, for it was impossible for men yet living in this world to hear such inexpressible wonders (thavmata).

The miracles before the Passion were performed in the presence of the multitude of people and revealed Jesus to all as the Son of God. The miracles after the Resurrection were performed while He was alone with His Disciples during the forty days: their purpose was to reassure them that He was still the Son of man, with human body, albeit one now incorruptible, more Godlike, and no longer subject to the laws of the flesh. Of the many miracles after the Resurrection, only these are written. They are not described ostentatiously, to vaunt the glory of the Only-begotten, but simply, as the Evangelist says--"that ye might believe". So what is the profit here, and to whom does it accrue? Certainly not to Christ, for what does He gain by our belief? It is we who gain. The Evangelist himself tells us that he wrote so that believing ye might have life through Jesus' name. When we believe that Jesus rose from the dead and lives, we win for ourselves Eternal Life. He arose and is alive, for our sake. But whoever imagines that Christ is dead and did not rise from the grave has no life in Him. Indeed, by thinking this he confirms and ensures his own eternal death and corruption.

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

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With sincere agape in HIs Holy and Glorious Resurrection,

The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George

CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN!

Second Sunday of Pascha - Thomas Sunday

My beloved spiritual children in Our Risen Lord, Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN!

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THE SECOND SUNDAY OF PASCHA.  THOMAS SUNDAY (John 20:19-31)
By Saint Theophylact, Archbishop of Ochrid and Bulgaria

When Mary Magdalene brought her news to the Disciples, it is likely that they reacted in one of two ways: either they did not believe her, or, if they did, they were crestfallen because they were not deemed worthy to see Christ. Meanwhile, fear of the Jews was increasing the Disciples' longing to see the only One Who could relieve their anxiety. And so the Lord appeared to them that very evening when all of them were gathered together. It is written that He appeared when the doors were shut, meaning, He entered through locked doors. This was to show that He had risen in the very same manner, while the entrance to the tomb was shut with a stone. One would think they might have taken Him for a ghost, but Mary Magdalene's testimony had greatly strengthened their faith. Also, He manifested Himself in such a way as to calm their tumultuous thoughts:  "Peace be unto you," He said gently, meaning, "Be not afraid." This was to remind them of what He had told them before the crucifixion, "My peace I give unto you" (John 14:27).  Then were the Disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. This too, He had foretold before His death: "I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice" (John 16:22). It was well that He should say to them again, Peace, for the Disciples were now engaged in a desperate struggle with the Jews. As He said, "Rejoice to the women" (Matthew 28:9), because sorrows were their lot, so he grants peace to the Disciples, who were now, and would always be, at war with the Jews...

"... It is worth considering why Saint John records only that Christ appeared to His Disciples in Jerusalem, while Sts. Matthew and Mark say that He promised to appear to them in Galilee (see Matthew 26:32; Mark 14:28). Some have explained it this way: "Christ never said He would appear to the Disciples only in Galilee, and not in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, He appeared to the Twelve, whereas in Galilee, He appeared to all His Disciples, in accordance with His promise. The fact that He showed Himself many times to the Twelve indicates that He honored them more highly than the others." From this, we again see that there are no irreconcilable disagreements between the accounts of the Evangelists.

Thomas...was not with the Disciples, perhaps because he had not yet returned from where he was hiding after the Disciples had scattered. Elsewhere, we learned that the Hebrew name "Cephas" means "Rock" (Πέτρος, see John 1:42); here we are told that "Thomas" means "Twin" (Δίδυμος).   The Evangelist provides the meaning of the name here to indicate that Thomas was prone to be of two minds--a doubter by nature. He doubted the news brought to him by the others, not because he thought they were liars, but because he considered it impossible for a man to rise from the dead. And his doubt made him excessively inquisitive. Gullibility is a sign of light-mindedness, but stubborn resistance to truth is a sure indication of thick-headedness.  Thomas would not even trust his eyes, but demanded proof by touch, the least discriminating of the senses; "except I shall...thrust my hand into His side." How did Thomas know there were wounds in Christ's hands and side? Because the other Disciples had told him. And why does the Lord wait eight days before appearing to him? To allow time for each of Thomas' fellow Disciples to tell him what they had witnessed. Hearing the same story from each one individually made him more willing to believe, and increased his desire to see the Lord. In order to show that He was invisibly present eight days earlier, when Thomas had expressed disbelief, the Lord does not wait for Thomas to speak. Instead, He straightway proposes exactly what Thomas desired, quoting his very words.

First He rebukes Thomas, saying, "Reach hither thy hand;" then He admonishes him: "and be not faithless, but believing." From this it is clear that Thomas' doubt was caused by lack of faith, and not because he was careful to verify the facts (as some say, wishing to put him in better light). But as soon as Thomas touched the Lord's side, he was revealed as a superb theologian, proclaiming the two natures and single hypostasis of the one Christ. Thomas refers to the Human Nature of Christ, calling Him Lord; for the term, "Lord" (Κύριος) is applied not just to God, but to men as well. (Thinking that Jesus was the gardener, Mary Magdalene had said to Him, Sir (Κύριε), "if thou have borne Him hence..." (v. 15). But when Thomas cries out, "...and My God," he confesses Christ's Divine essence, and affirms that the names Lord and God refer to one and the same Person. By declaring "blessed those who have not seen, and yet have believed," the Lord teaches us that faith means the acceptance of things not seen. He is referring, first to the Disciples who believed without touching His side or the print of the nails and second to those who would later believe (without any physical confirmation). He is not depriving Thomas of his share of blessedness but encouraging all who have not seen. There was a common saying, "Blessed are the eyes that I have seen the Lord." Christ, however, praises those who will believe without seeing, declaring them to be truly blessed.

A question arises: how can an incorruptible body display the mark of nails and be touched by human hands? The answer is that such things are possible as part of the Divine Economia (dispensation): they are manifestations of God’s condescension and love for man. By entering the room when the doors were shut, Christ makes it absolutely clear that after the Resurrection His body is altered: it is now light and subtle, free of all material coarseness. But to confirm that it is indeed their Lord and Master Who has appeared to them, He permits His Resurrected body, bearing the words of the Crucifixion, to be touched. For the same reason, when He walked on the water before the Passion (see Mark 6:48), His body was unchanged from when He was walking about on land, and this reassured the Disciples. But though He allows His Resurrected body to be touched, it is now impassible and incorruptible. When Christ eats now with the Disciples, it is no longer to satisfy any physical demand of His body (for there were none). Food once eaten is altered in the stomach and passes out into the drain (see Matthew 15:17). But it was not so with Christ after the Resurrection. The food He ate during that time was consumed by an invisible, divine power. His only purpose in eating was to confirm the reality of His Resurrection, and He permitted His incorruptible body to bear the mark of nails, and to be handled, for the same reason. Do you see, O reader, how, in order to save one doubting soul, the Lord did not spare His own dignity, but condescended to bare His side?  Neither should we despise even the least of our brethren.  

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DIVINE SERVICES TOMORROW SUNDAY:

Orthros at 9:00 a.m.Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.

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

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With sincere agape in Our Risen Lord,

The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George

April 24 - Saint Elizabeth the Wonderworker (Part II)

My beloved spiritual children in Our Risen Lord, Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN!

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SAINT ELIZABETH THE WONDER WORKER (Part II)

By the age of three, Elizabeth's father had already given her over to learning the sacred letters, that is, religious texts. The little girl exhibited much skill and ability in her lessons so that she was able to recite the lives of the Saints only after hearing their accounts once. Once she closed her twelfth year, Ephemia, the maiden's mother, departed this life. Evnomianus, her father, wished to arrange her marriage, but Elizabeth could not bear to hear about a match for herself.  Her yearning was rather to be wedded to the Immortal Bridegroom, Christ. Thus the matter was at a standstill for the next three years, that is, until her father was translated to the Lord. The blessed maiden, thereafter, was left alone. She entrusted her life to God, the Father of the orphans. (Psalm 67:5) Since she still longed for the solitary life and poverty, she distributed the inheritance left her by her parents, which estate included gold and silver. There were also other belongings and properties--and they were considerable--which she dispensed. Thus, she offered her fortune to God through the hands of the needy. As for her menservants and maidservants, she gave them their freedom.

Elizabeth then repaired for the queen of cities, that is, Constantinople, without one backward glance. She made haste and went directly to the sacred philosophical school, that is, the Women's Monastery of the Holy and Great-Martyr George of "the little hill" as it was called. Elizabeth's paternal aunt was the Egoumene or Abbess. Thus, Elizabeth, in her early youth, undertook to tread the path of ascetic struggles and to dedicate her life as a bride of Christ. When she entered that hallowed place, she was already resolved to forsake the world and renounce the things of this world. She desired to become one of the assembly of pious nuns. She was clad in the Angelic Schema of the monastics, to which conduct of ascetic struggle she went forth with all her soul. Mother Elizabeth succeeded in attaining every kind of virtue, so as to become replete with all the gifts of the Spirit. Nourished on better hopes, she engaged in lengthy fasts and mortifying her body with hardships so as to bring it into subjection. In imitation of the Great Moses and Elias the Thesbite, she ofttimes engaged in forty-day fasts, without partaking of food.  She never partook of oil, but was nourished solely upon the heavenly bread alone, that is, the Divine Eucharist. Since she was continually adorned with exalting humility and noetically contemplated divine beauty with the eyes of the heart, she did not wish to lift her eyes to heaven at all...

"...Two years after her sojourn in the Women's Monastery, her father's sister departed from this present life after appointing the Righteous Elizabeth as her successor. The office of Egoumene (Abbess) of the Monastery was confirmed by the great Gennadios, who was then steering the Patriarchate. This appointment was in accordance with the tradition of that time for the installation of the Gerondissa. By her godly labors, she manifested the superiority of her excellence and the height of her extreme virtue and perfection. She was accounted worthy by God of such divine energy that she was enabled to heal incurable diseases and dispel demons by invoking Christ.

Saint Elizabeth performed many and countless miracles by healing the sick, the demon-possessed. Those who invoke her name with simplicity, faith, and right intention immediately receive healing, by her holy intercessions, for whatsoever disease afflicts them. It is reported that even the soil about her tomb has proved to be a remedy for every sickness.

Such were the life, the works, and the spiritual gifts by which the Master of all glorified her both while she lived and after she was translated to the realms on high. Through her intercessions, many all of us, who desire to have rendered to us her protection and help, ever be preserved and held above both bodily and spiritual passions! Thus, in this way, may we escape harm from the scandals and stumbling blocks of the invisible and visible enemies. And having finished the present life in peace, may we attain thence that blessedness in Christ Jesus our Lord, to Whom belongs all glory, honor, and veneration, now and ever and to the ages of ages! Amen.

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

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With sincere agape in His Holy Resurrection, 

The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George

CHRIST IS RISEN! TRULY HE IS RISEN!