July 27 - Great Martyr and Unmercenary Healer Panteleimon (Part I)

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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ON JULY 27th OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE GLORIOUS-MARTYR AND UNMERCENARY HEALER PANTELEIMON

Panteleimon, the glorious Great-Martyr, flourished during the years of emperor Galerius Maximian. Panteleimon hailed from the city of Nicomedia. He was born there circa 284 A.D. He was the son of a pagan physician, named Efstorgios. His mother, named Evoulee, came from Christian lineage. As much as Efstorgios depended on the idols to affect cures, so much was Evoulee's love and eagerness heightened toward the Orthodox Faith. She brought up their child, whom they named Panteleimon (meaning "a lion in all"), not only with what was necessary for the body but more so with what was needful for the soul. She would instruct and exhort him in the Faith handed down by Christ. Within a few years, however, the blessed Evoulee reposed. Panteleimon was sent to school, studying first the basic curriculum and then undertaking those subjects integral to Greek education. When he was taught sufficient knowledge, his father apprenticed him to a splendid doctor of that time, named Ephrosynos, that Panteleimon might gain experience in medical science. The young man, on account of his quick mind, surpassed his fellow students.

Panteleimon possessed a handsome countenance. His manner of speech was sweet and soft-spoken. His figure was modest and average. He was a man of excellence with a well-ordered mind. Emperor Maximian, who saw him one day when he accompanied Ephrosynos to the palace, asked after the young man. He learned from Panteleimon's teacher of the apt pupil's dexterity and genius. He was impressed with his demeanor and speech. So pleased was the emperor that he commanded Ephrosynos to instruct Panteleimon as much as possible that he might become the ultimate doctor for his palace. At the same time, in the year 304 A.D., the saintly Hermolaos, the priest of the church at Nicomedia, was in hiding. He was concealed in a house with other Christians for fear of the pagan emperor. Since Ephrosynos' surgery and home were in the same neighborhood, the Christians observed the goodly young man coming and going to read his lessons at his tutor's clinic. Hermolaos discerned that the young man was modest in is deportment. He perceived that his soul was replete with goodness and innocence. The Lord led him to understand that "this one is a vessel of election to Me, to bear My name before the nations, and kings..." (Acts 9:15), as it was once said of the holy Apostle Paul who was then Saul. Hermolaos desired to make the attempt to catch Panteleimon in a dragnet for the Kingdom of the Heavens. The priest, therefore, opened the door of the house and cordially invited the young man inside for a conversation. Panteleimon obliged the venerable elder. The youth was straightforward in his responses. He added that his late mother had been a Christian, but his father was a pagan. Hermolaos interjected, "But thou, child, which religion dost thou love better?" Panteleimon answered, "When my mother was alive, she was always exhorting me to become a Christian when I came of age, which was also my desire as well. But when my mother reposed in my early childhood, leaving me alone with my father, it was he who insisted that I abide in his religion. For it was his ambition that I should honor the emperor." Hermolaos said the Panteleimon the True God is one: Jesus Christ. If you will believe in Him with all your heart, He shall heal every disease without the application of any medicinal herbs or botanicals. By His grace, He cleanses lepers, delivers demoniacs, stanches hemorrhages, and heals other implacable and incurable illnesses. Christ said that the one who believes in Him shall do greater works than He because He would be going to His Father. He promised these and other gifts to His children who love Him. For we, as heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ, would be made heirs of His Kingdom."

Panteleimon, hearing these promises, sensed an abundance of joy in his heart. He judged that all he heard was true and just. Panteleimon expressed his thanks for the counsel rendered by Hermolaos. Then one day, as the young man was coming from his tutor, he encountered a child in his path. The young boy lay dead on the ground, being a victim of a venous snake bite. The reptile was still poised in an upright position over the child. Panteleimon, observing this scene, brought to mind the words spoken by Hermolaos who previously cited the Gospel passage of Christ's words: "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons; freely ye received, freely give" (St. Matthew 10:8). He also remembered the Lord's promise: "Behold, I give you the authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy; and nothing in anywise shall injure you" (St. Luke 10:19). Panteleimon said inwardly, "If Christ should fulfill this request of mine, that is, if He should resurrect the child slain by the serpent, I would ask for no further demonstration. I will believe all the teachings that the honorable elder has imparted to me. Moreover, I am going to become a Christian this instant." Panteleimon, straightway, uttered a prayer. At that same moment, the child rose up as though he had been sleeping. Panteleimon then observed how the viper was suddenly sundered before his eyes and utterly destroyed. 

Panteleimon, true to his word, believed with all his soul and heart in the Christ. He was delighted to raise his soul and bodily eyes heavenward, as he uttered words of glorification and praise to the Lord. He recounted all that transpired, after which he sought to be illumined in holy Baptism. Gladly did Father Hermolaos baptized him, after which he had the newly illumined Panteleimon commune the Master's body and blood. The priest also taught him the mysteries of the Truth of our Faith.  

The Great Persecution in April of 304 A.D. culminated in a final edict commanding all Christians, clergy and laity alike, to offer sacrifice, on pain of death. There was found a certain Christian among the confessors, who was punished brutally for his religion by the ungodly pagan emperor Maximian. Since Panteleimon frequented the prisons in order to offer medical services, he healed this man from wounds received during torture. It was not long before this piece of intelligence was reported to Maximian who was told: "Your Majesty, did you know that Panteleimon, whom you greatly admired and encouraged to study to become an accomplished physician that he might receive the appointment as the royal physician, has no fear now of your imperium's great power or authority. He gives no thought to your friendship or love.

Emperor Maximian was profoundly sorrowed to hear the allegations and summoned the saintly physician before him. Panteleimon hearkened and went along the road to the palace, praying these words of the whole psalm that begins with these words: "O God, my praise do not pass over in silence; for the mouth of the sinner and the mouth of the deceitful man are opened against me" (Psalm 108:1). When he arrived at the palace, the emperor commenced the interrogation and said: "I have heard many unseemly reports regarding you, Panteleimon. I have heard it said that you insult and disdain Asklepios and the other deities, preferring to believe in the Christ and saying that Jesus alone is God. However, I know this also: oftentimes contenders are moved to jealousy and speak falsehoods of their rivals. Surely many others aspire to be appointed as court physician. It is for this reason that I have invited you here to offer a sacrifice. In this way shall I learn the truth about your religious persuasion." The holy physician answered, "Command your men to bring forward someone who is infirm, someone who is suffering from an incurable disease. Then let your priests come forth and call upon as many gods as they please. Afterward, I shall make an entreaty to my God, invoking Him to heal the sufferer for which cure you will be a witness. The Deity that grants healing, we shall name as the one and Only True God, whereas the others are to be despised as imposters."

These words pleased the emperor. He, therefore, gave orders and his men brought a man who was paralyzed. The quadriplegic was borne aloft on his bed since he was unable to move a limb. The pagan priests lifted up their voices, shouting aloud their unholy petitions. They invoked their deities for a very long while but was realized that nothing was going to come from the cries of the pagan priests, the emperor prompted Panteleimon to supplicate his God. Saint Panteleimon raised his eyes heavenward, together with all his mind, reciting the words of this psalm: "Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer, and let my crying come to Thee. Do not ever turn away Thy face from me; in whichever day I may be afflicted, incline Thine ear to me (Psalm 101:1). Panteleimon took hold of the paralytic's hands, addressing him with these words: "In the name of the Christ, Who restores the enfeebled, rise and walk about." Straightaway, with that word of command, the paralytic rose up and walked about eagerly and gladly. (Source: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church)

(To be continued)

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THE DIVINE SERVICES ON MONDAY, JULY 27th:

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 His Holy Diakonia (Ministry)
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

July 26 - Our Holy Mother Paraskeve (Paraskeva)

My beloved spiritual child 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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ON JULY 26th OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE FEAST OF OUR HOLY MOTHER PARASKEVE (PARASKEVA)

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Mother Paraskeve was thirty years old when the pagan emperor of Old Rome was Antoninus Pius (138-161 A.D.). The holy nun preached to both the Greek pagans and the Jews, bringing ma to the knowledge of God. However, in one city, where she proclaimed the Gospel, certain Jews were inimical towards the Christians. When they beheld the Christian community growing, they became antagonistic and outraged at her missionary activities.

Now emperor Antoninus would not execute a Christian without a trial. A Christian could only stand trial if a formal complaint were lodged by a citizen of Rome. However, Antoninus found it expedient to repeal this law after many disasters befell the imperial city. To placate the Roman populace, the persecution of Christians was permitted. It was widely held that the Romans were made to suffer by their deities for laxity in dealing with the Christians. Now the persecution continued for several years until Antoninus found it necessary to reverse his ruling. Indeed, at one point, he found it necessary to protect the Christians against the unjustified hysteria and mania of certain Jews and Greek pagans.

Undaunted, several disgruntled Jews lodged complaints against the venerable Nun Paraskeve. They presented their case before emperor Antoninus, saying, 'Many years to the, O emperor: Though many have conformed to your imperial decree, yet there is a certain woman, named Paraskeve, who preaches Christ, the son of Mary, Whom our fathers crucified as a deceiver and contrary to God. This nun proclaims Him as the only true God and that the deities of your realm are deaf and senseless wood.

Upon hearing this accusation, the emperor was filled with wrath. Straightaway, the emperor sent soldiers to apprehend Nun Paraskeve. Brought before the imperial tribunal, all were astonished at her loveliness. The emperor, admitting her beauty, began to flatter her, saying, 'O Paraskeve, I, by the power of the great gods, praise your youthfulness! On that account, I counsel you to sacrifice unto the gods who gave you your beauty. If you will comply with my words, I shall bestow many gifts upon you. If you will remain steadfast in your own willfulness, disdaining our commands, know this, I shall punish you by many tortures. Indeed, only by hearing and seeing such tortures strikes panic in people, not to mention the actual suffering!

Alternating threats with praises, he uttered many other things. Mother Paraskeve then made the sign of the Precious Cross, and answered him, 'Do not think, O emperor, that either by flatteries or threats that I could renounce my sweet Jesus Christ. Indeed, there does not exist even one torment, punishment, or affliction which can separate me from His love" (Romans 8:35).

Upon hearing this bold response, the pagan emperor, infuriated, ordered that an iron helmet, fired to be burning hot, was to be placed on the nun's head. However, as the Lord preserved the Three Children in the Babylonian furnace (Daniel 3:25-26), He wrought a miracle (wonder) in His Saint, Paraskeve. When the fiery helmet was placed upon her, it felt as cool water upon her head. Then he ordered that the holy nun be imprisoned until he could decide what means of torture would lead to death.

The angered emperor ordered his men to hang the Saint upon a pole by her hair. The soldiers were then ordered to take lit torches and burn her armpits and extremities. Suffering all these torments, the Saint bravely endured, rebuking and mocking the emperor and his false gods.

Observing that this torture was of no account to the holy nun, he commanded a large cauldron of oil and pitch be prepared. Coming to a rolling boil, he had the holy woman cast inside. Saint Paraskeve then stood rejoicing in the midst of the cauldron, as though in a cool and dewy garden.

Astounded at this miraculous spectacle, the emperor approached the cauldron and asked her, 'Sprinkle me with the oil, O Paraskeve, I, too, desire to know if it is indeed burning pitch and oil or if it is an illusion that I see you not burning.' Cupping her two hands together, the Saint filled her hands with oil and pitch. Casting the concoction into his face, instantly, the emperor was stricken with blindness. Letting out a loud cry, he said, 'Grieve for me, O handmaid of the True God! Grant me the light of my eyes, because I too, believe in the God Whom you preach.'

Christ's all-round contestant then left the cauldron. Healing both his body and soul, she baptized him in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, the One Godhead.

 After this, emperor Antoninus Pius came to believe in Christ, and cast off the vile religion of the pagan Greeks. Having formerly received the seeds of impiety, the emperor now enjoyed cultivation by the Gospel. Thus, during this reign, all persecutions against Christians in the Roman Empire ceased. Released, Saint Paraskeve left Rome and went to other cities and countries, heralding the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Meanwhile, in Rome, the death of emperor Antoninus Pius ushered in the reign of his nephew, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (161-180 A.D.). During his reign, pestilence besieged Rome that brought death for much of the populace. The pagans, looking for scapegoats, believed that their gods were punishing them because of their permissiveness with allowing the Christians to flourish. Thus, the emperor felt compelled to change the laws regarding the treatment and persecution of Christians.

Entering a new city, the Saint preached the word of Truth. The king of that region, Tarasios, learning of her missionary activities, had her presented before his tribunal. The unconscionable and hard-hearted king Tarasios had Mother Paraskeve stretched, prone to the earth, by her hand and feet. A large marble slab was then placed upon her chest. Christ's athlete was made to undergo this punishment, by order of the king, until he chose the manner of her death.

That evening, Christ, escorted by a multitude of Angels and Archangels, appeared to the Saint, and said, 'Rejoice, Paraskeve, O beautiful virgin! Do not be timid amid the torments, because My grace shall be with you to deliver you from every temptation. Be patient a little while longer, and then you shall reign with Me forever.' After Christ healed her wounds and released her from her bonds, He ascended into the heavens.

Following this, the king dispatched his soldiers to bring Nun Paraskeve before him. Beholding the prisoner perfectly healthy, without a trace of yesterday's wounds, he marveled and remarked, 'You see, O woman, how the philanthropic and great gods love you?' '...do not appear as an ingrate before them. Come, let us worship in their temple where you shall also receive many of my gifts.'

The holy Nun, consumed with zeal for the Master Christ, answered, 'O king, you gods did not restore my health, but my Christ, the True God, in Whom I believe and worship. However, since you have invited me to enter with you into the temple of your gods, let us go and see which gods you bid me to venerate.'

When everyone entered the temple, all waited with anticipated to view the actions of Christ's athlete. The Saint then raised her right hand before the idol of Apollo, and said, 'Do you, O lifeless idol, want to receive, as God, a sacrifice from me?' Saying these words and making the sign of the Cross, the demon that dwelt in the idol cried aloud, 'I am not God, and neither are any of the idols. Only he Whom you preach is Truly God. The Saint, preparing to drive out the demon with divinely-given authority, responded, 'Why then do you stand now, since I am a handmaid of the True God?' Straightway, while the Saint spoke, emanating from the idol upon the altar could be heard shouts, confusion, and laments. The idol, demolished by the lever of her prayers and presence, fell down and shattered. Whereupon, the temple pagan priests and other idolaters seized the righteous nun from the base of the altar. Beating and pushing her out of the temple, they cried out to the king, 'Slay this sacrilegious woman who offends the gods...

Hearing the demand of the mob and acknowledging the impossibility of dissuading Paraskeve, he pronounced the sentence: 'I command that you be escorted outside the city so that your impious head be struck off!' After this, the soldiers took hold of the Saint and led her out of the city to behead her. Permission was granted to Paraskeve to pray before her execution. Following her prayer to her Master Jesus Christ, Saint Paraskeve inclined her head, which was struck off by a soldier, at the king's command. The date was July 26, 180 A.D.

The Saint's revered holy relics were taken by certain Christians, who hid for fear of the pagan Greeks. Anointing her holy relics with myrrh and sweet-smelling spices, she was laid to rest in a solemn place.

The Lord, desiring to make wondrous His Saint, granted countless miracles at her tomb. Many infirm came and, by only taking the soil from her tomb, received healing.  The Saint lavished healing upon the lame, enabling them to walk. So many blind, received their sight that the Saint came to be known as the patroness of the blind. Many other miracles and extraordinary signs came to those who in faith invoked Saint Paraskeve's intercessions. (Source: The Lives of the Spiritual Mothers)

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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

The Mysterion (Sacrament) of Repentance and Confession (Part IV)

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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THE MYSTERION (SACRAMENT) OF REPENTANCE AND CONFESSION (Part IV)

The Mysterion (Sacrament) of Confession

A Christian, at any rate, an Orthodox Christian, views repentance as a dynamic act of responsibility to God, but also to other people. It is not pining away in narcissistic self-reflection, even while employing self-knowledge and self-examination. Sin itself is a relational act - a break in the "I-Thou" relationship, it concerns my relationship with another person. When the Prodigal son "came to himself" in the Gospel Parable (Luke 15), he did so in relation to his father: "I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you" (V. 18). Nevertheless, the love of God is implicit in His very nature. God, Himself is the Archetype of Divine Love. When Saint John the Theologian says that "God is love" (1 John 4:8-16), love is seen as an established ontological category of both Divinity and humanity in His likeness. In fact, the beauty and loving freedom of the human person is, in the words of Nicholas Berdiaev, God Himself. It is He, 'the Creator of all...Who out of extreme erotic love moves outside Himself...burning with great goodness and love and eros." It is He Who is "the fullness of erotic love." And it is this supreme love that moved God to create human nature in His image and likeness. "As Lover, He creates; and as Loved, He attracts all towards Him." "As a mad Lover He desires His beloved human soul," says Saint Nilos.  

Confession takes place within the Church. It is not a private procedure, a treatment of some guilt-ridden individual on an analyst's couch. It is not based on an admission of guilt and certainly cannot be reduced to a feeling of guilt, of liability for conduct contrary to norms and laws which render a person subject to punishment. It is related to what is deepest in man, to what constitutes his being, and his relationship with other human beings as well as with God. It is a Mysterion (Sacrament) - "the visible form of an invisible grace" (Saint Augustine), re-establishing a bond of union between God and man, between man and man. This is why confession also takes place within prayer because it is there that a personal relationship in all its intensity is realized both with God and the entire world. As such, confession and prayer are not merely technical terms but means and opportunities offered b the Church for overcoming sin and death. Repentance is indeed the cause and consequence of prayer, being the highest and fullest foundation for and form of prayer. "True prayer," according to Saint Anthony the Great, "is that in which one forgets that one is praying," and genuine repentance enables one to forget oneself and simply long for God, who is present in the very depth of repentance. For it is 'before him alone that one sins" (Psalm 50:3-4).

The Supreme act of communion is the Eucharist, the communal sharing of bread and wine, symbolizing sacramentally the reconciliation to come and the reconciliation already achieved in the here and now. Repentance and confession as Mysterion (Sacrament) seal man's change of direction from disruption to reconciliation. An examination of the early forms of confession shows that they are derived from community services and even liturgies.

In the early Church times the exhortation of Saint James served as a foundation for the Mysterion (Sacrament) of repentance: "Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed" (5:116). Confession was regarded as a form of repentance and regeneration (St. Matthew 3:6; St. Mark 1:5; Acts 19:18). This actual ritual aspect of repentance was a direct result of such Apostolic testimony, at first in the form of confession before the entire Church (congregation) and, subsequently, before a spiritual father. Nevertheless, the earliest order of confession is of relatively late origin (10th century and is ascribed to St. John the Faster, Patriarch of Constantinople. This text may well be the source of later Greek and Slavonic services of confession. The communal, sacramental aspect of confession was more apparent in the early Church when penance constituted a public rather than an individual episode. It was only after the 4th century that private confession was more widely practiced. 

In the Orthodox Church, the priest is seen as a witness of repentance, not a recipient of secrets, a detective of specific misdeeds. The "eye," the "ear" of the priest is dissolved in the sacramental mystery. He is not a dispenser, a power-wielding, vindicating agent, an "authority." Such a conception exteriorizes the function of the confessor and of confession which is an act of re-integration of the penitent and priest alike into the Body of Christ. The declaration "I, an unworthy priest, by the power given unto me, absolve you" is unknown in the Orthodox Church. It is of later Roman Catholic (Latin) theology by Latin thought and practice. Forgiveness, absolution is the culmination of repentance, in the response given by the grace of Christ and the Holy Spirit within the Church as the Body of Christ.

Altogether, the function of the priest should not be ignored or minimized. "All who have experienced the blessing of having as their confessor one imbued with the grace of true spiritual fatherhood," writes Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, "will testify to the importance of the priest's role. Nor is his function simply to give advice. He can withhold absolution - although this is very rare - or he can impose a penance (epitimion), forbidding the penitent to receive Holy Communion for a time or requiring the fulfillment of some task. This, again, is not very common in contemporary Orthodox practice, but it is important to remember that the priests possess this right...Not that the penitence should be regarded as punishment; still less should it be viewed as a way of existing an offense...We do not acquire 'merit' by fulfilling a penance, for, in his relation to God, man can never claim any merit of his own. Here as always, we should think primarily in therapeutic rather than juridical terms."

The most significant effect of confession is indeed due neither to the penitent nor to the priest, but to God Who heals our infirmities and wounds. It is not a matter of a let-off, a clearance; it has the force of healing, of making the penitent whole. As such it is a gift from God which man must be open to receive and learn to receive: "Let us apply to ourselves the saving medicine of repentance; let us accept from God the repentance that heals us. For it is not we who offer it to Him, but He Who bestows it upon us." It is significant that the Greek for confession, exomologesis, implies not only confession but also thanksgiving (cf. Matthew 11:25; Luke 10:21): "I shall confess/give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, and tell of all His wonders" (Psalm 9:1). (Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America)

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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  

The Mysterion (Sacrament) of Repentance and Confession (Part III)

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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THE MYSTERION (SACRAMENT) OF REPENTANCE/CONFESSION (Part III)

Human Response

"Pentthos" is the conditioned sorrow of a repentant soul, adding sorrow upon sorrow each day, like a woman suffering in childbirth."

Repentance, as has been noted, is not a mere incident or stage through which one passes and then leaves behind; rather it is an attitude which colors one's whole life and for which, at the same time, one must struggle continually. It is a way of life and as such a way of transfiguration (metamorphosis), in which man's heart and mind continuously receive illumination by the Holy Spirit. It is a continuous pathway, at least in this life, a perennial striving, an all-embracing motion and not merely an occasional emotion. Repentance is ultimately a gift of the Holy Spirit who transforms the heart of the human person, and not a fruit of individual effort or anguish.

Whether related to this continuity and endurance or to the depth of moral sensitivity involved, for the Holy Fathers of the Church there is an intimate link between repentance and tears. There are other criteria but grief is paramount, and its intensity is proportionate to the depth of repentance. "Truly you are blessed, Abba (Father) Arsenios, for you wept for yourself in this world! He who does not weep for himself here below will weep eternally hereafter; so it is impossible not to weep, either voluntary or when compelled through suffering." Saint Gregory the Theologian believed that everyone must weep. He even identified repentance with tears, whatever other ways of expressing it there may be: "All must shed tears, all must be purified, all must ascend." Saint Symeon the Theologian is even more definite: "Remove tears and with them you remove purification, and without purification no one is saved."

The Greek word penthos (mourning) ahs the same root as pathos (passion); both stem etymologically from the verb "to suffer." A Christian speaks of a worthy suffering, of subsuming suffering in God, just as passion and mourning are subsumed in God. There is suffering in compunction (katanyxis = pricking), which also causes tears. 'joyful sorrow' transfigures this suffering and pain through grace. Penthos consists in mourning for the loss of God's presence; it makes for sorrow at His absence and thirst for Him. "Passion" or suffering for God gives rise to tears. Man is in a state of bereavement, and the Holy Church Fathers and liturgical hymnology speak of Adam sitting opposite Paradise in mourning over his bereavement and estrangement from God. The Makarian Homilies say that man must "weep his way back" to Paradise. But tears -- a concomitant and a culmination of repentance -- are also a turning point in homecoming, a pledge of return, and a firstfruit of its joy. The longing for return from exile is also an anticipation of the glory to come. Tears demonstrate the frontier between the present and the future.

The Holy Tradition of Orthodox Christianity gives special prominence to the 'gift of tears." The tradition can be traced to the New Testament, through the Holy Desert Fathers, to Saint John Klimakos, through to later times, with Saint Symeon the New Theologian standing as one of its most important witnesses. "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted" (St. Matthew 5:4). Tears are primarily "up to God", and only derivatively "up to us." There is a 13th-century French tale "Le Chevalier au Barizel" according to which the knight was supposed to fill up a barrel with water; he travels all over the world to do this, but the water always passes through the barrel. Seeing that his efforts achieve nothing, he weeps, and one teardrop is sufficient to fill the barrel. Tears bespeak a promise, and they are also proof of hope fulfilled, of sins, forgiven. But there is a time to weep and a time to rejoice, although the one flows into the other. There is a kairos, "a season and a time" (Ecclesiastes 3:1) for each divine gift, and this kairos (season) is the time in which God acts, calling us to participate in His action. Tears are a way and a consequence of purification through repentance; the ultimate goal is transcending light and delight. (Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America)

(Next: The Sacrament of Confession)

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Please note: Sadly enough there are those Orthodox Christians who are not willing or even interested to either repent or confess. They are not willing to admit that they have sinned against God. That there is sin. That there is accountability for one's actions, thoughts, and passions. They even teach their own children about this. They feel that they are entitled to receive the Sacraments no matter their spiritual condition or not. No matter if they have repented and/or shed tears of repentance. We truly believe that there is no one without sin and therefore no one is worthy of receiving Holy Communion. However, there is one very sure way of cleansing one's sins through the Sacrament of Repentance/Confession, the "second baptism." There are many who arrogantly approach Christ to receive His Precious Body and Sacred Blood without purification and cleansing, without metanoia. This kind of action indicates rebelliousness, defiance, disrespect, arrogance, lack of fear of God, and lack of faith. Under this circumstance why would anyone expect the grace of God? "Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand."

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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

The Good Shepherd (Part II)

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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THE GOOD SHEPHERD (Part II)

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him, the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, but he calls own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers".

Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. So again Jesus said to them, 'Truly truly, I tell you, I am the gate of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gater. Whoever enters by Me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep" (Saint John 10:1-11).

Saint John Chrysostom, one of the great Holy Fathers of the Church, says the door/gate (Gk. Θύρα (Thyra) is the Word (Gk. λόγος τού Θεού) of God. The relationship between a shepherd and his flock is a close and affectionate one, and it is common for the shepherd to give each of his sheep a name by which he calls it. The sheep, moreover, know and understand only their own shepherd's voice, and "they will never answer to the voice of a stranger." In claiming to be "the shepherd of the sheep" (St. John 10:`-2), then, Jesus was, once more, identifying Himself as the Messiah and associating his ministry with the activity of God, He (the Shepherd) will call to the True people of God by name, and they (the flock), sharing and knowing His voice, will follow Him out of the sheepfold of the world and into the green pastures of heaven (10:3-5). The Lord was also clearly implying that those who did not hear and know His voice (for example the Pharisees) were not really members of God's flock (10:6).

When, as usual, the Pharisees did not (or would not) understand what He was saying, Jesus became more explicit: "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep...I am the door; if anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture....[For] I came that they [My sheep] may have life, and have it abundantly" (St. John 10:7-10). In calling Himself "the door", Jesus remains "the shepherd of the sheep." For out in the pastures of Palestine, a shepherd would herd his flock at night into a wall-enclosed sheepfold. Such a sheepfold would have an opening through which the sheep could go in and out, but there was no door at the opening. The shepherd himself would lie down for the night across the opening in the wall in order to keep his flock in the sheepfold. "In the most literal sense the shepherd was the door; there was no access to the sheepfold except through him." Jesus is both the Shepherd and the Door of God's flock. Only through Him may we "go in and out" -- that is, move freely and securely -- in the pasture of our Heavenly Father.

Continuing His discourse, Jesus proclaimed that the good shepherd would "lay down His life for the sheep." He prophesied His impending death, through which His people were to be reconciled to God the Father. Emphasizing the loving unity between Himself and the Father, the Lord made it clear that His atoning death was to be voluntary on His part and that, by the power given him by his Father, He would be raised from the dead. He also made it clear that His death would be redemptively effective, not only for the remnant of Israel but also for those gentiles who turn to him in faith and obedience: the Good Shepherd's Flock will include the sheep of a faithful Israel as well as "other sheep" drawn from "the nations" (St. John 10:11-18).

The climax of the Good Shepherd discourse came in response to the criticisms and questions of the ever-hostile Pharisees. The Pharisees and other members of the Jewish religious establishment demanded to know in plain words whether Jesus was the Messiah or not (St. John 10:19-24). He indicated to them that He was, indeed, the Messiah (10:25-29); and then, duplicating the bold claim which He had made three months earlier at the Feast of Tabernacle, Jesus declared: "I and the Father are one" (10:30). In response to the inevitable charge of blasphemy (10:31-33), the Lord appealed to his accusers to try and view His claim to Divine Sonship both biblically and open-mindedly (10:34-38). "If I Am not doing the works of My Father," He said, "then do not believe Me; but I do them, even though you do not believe Me, believe in the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me and I in the Father" (10:37-38). But His opponents would not listen to reason and tried, once more without success, to have Him arrested (10:39). (Source: The Message of the Bible, an Orthodox Perspective by George Cronk).

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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

The Good Shepherd (Part I)

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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ON THE GOOD SHEPHERD
By the Augustinos Kantiontes bishop of Florina, Greece of blessed memory

The Image of the Good Shepherd

To represent the love that Peter and the disciple should have, the Lord presented Himself as a shepherd. It is not the first time the Lord used the image of a shepherd; He spoke one other time about shepherds and flock, both in the Old Testament and the New (Pss 22:1-5; 77:72-73; 13, Zachariah 10:3 Nah 3:18; Isa 40:11, 63:11; Jer 2:8; 3:1-3; ,15; 10:21; 12:10; 1 Peter 2:25; Heb 13:20; Ezek 34: 2-30, 37:24; Matt 9:36; , 10:16, 18:22; John 10:1-17; Eph 4:12.) In the Gospel of Saint John (10:1-17) two images are presented. One is the bad shepherd who enters the sheepfold, not through a gate, but another way, and is therefore not a real shepherd but a robber and thief who owes obedience to no one. The other is the beautiful image of the good shepherd who labors and sacrifices himself for the sheep. The Good Shepherd is Christ Himself. He said, "I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep" (St. John 10:11).

Those who live in the highlands, the livestock-breeding areas of Greece, have a vivid picture of the laborious life shepherds lead. At sunrise, they get up and lead their sheep to the cool meadows and to clear water. They guard them against the intense heat of summer and the chill of winter. They care for the sick sheep and heal the wounds of those who have fallen and injured themselves, allowing them to rest in the shade of trees. They amuse the sheep with flutes but carry a sling and weapons to drive away packs of robbers and thieves like the beasts of the forest that come out at night to devour the sheep.

A beautiful image of the shepherd can be found in 1 Samuel (17:34-35). David was a shepherd, the youngest son of Jesse. Let's see how he describes himself to King Saul, seeking permission to do battle against the giant Goliath, he said: "I watched over my father's flock in the wilderness, where there are wild beasts, lions and bears. I did not allow them to come near. I struck them. One day a lion…snatched a sheep from me, but I did not let him leave undefeated. I took the sheep from his mouth. He attacked me, but I took the lion by the throat and struck. I squeezed his throat and strangled him. O King, I fought and defeated the east that wanted to eat my sheep, how can I allow that dishonorable foreigner Goliath, who frightens the people of God, to go on? I look at him as one of the beasts of the desert which I attack, fight, and strangle." It was the shepherd's life David had in mind when, as king of Israel, he wrote the 23rd Psalm.

In this beautiful psalm, the Lord is presented as a Shepherd and believers as sheep that go in love under the strong protection of their Good Shepherd. It is as if David were saying, "Lord, when I was a shepherd, I let no sheep be devoured by beasts. My sheep were secure under my pastorage; how shall I not be safe in Your love and protection, for You must see me like a sheep in Your flock. If you are my Shepherd, how could I hunger, thirst, or become the food of wild beasts? No, Lord, You love me; You care for me; it is my steadfast belief that "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters" (Psalm 23:1-2). 

The image of the Good Shepherd should be in the minds of all those who lead those souls for whom Christ Himself shed His Precious Blood.  (Source: Orthodox Heritage)

(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 Diakonia (Ministry)
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George