The Sanctification of the Human Body

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 SANCTIFICATION OF THE HUMAN BODY
By His Eminence Metropolitan Athanasius of Lemessos, Cypress

The human person is the temple of the Living God. This is an Apostolic teaching of our Church, which means that, just as the grace of God, the grace of the Holy Spirit, resides in a Church, the same is true of the human body and we are temples of the Living God. We call God living because He's not cut off somewhere in the heavens and we simply believe in Him, accept Him, but because He resides in us and we are His temple. Naturally, Saint Paul doesn't mean that part of existence is the temple of God, but that the whole person is destined to become the temple of God and when this is achieved, it becomes a reality. This is the reason why we show great respect and honor to the whole human person.

When we honor the Saints of the Church, who are people who have confirmed that they are truly temples of the Living God, who have observed His Commandments and have found the truth, we don't honor just their souls or their teaching or even their intellect. We honor the Saints as whole people, persons who have been sanctified in their entirety, soul, and body. This is why we venerate the Holy Relics of the Saints in the Church, their bones, which received the grace of the Holy Spirit and are temples of the Living God. This is why we Orthodox Christians do not simply honor the relics as we would our ancestors, but we embrace the relics, the objects, the holy icons of the Saints because we really believe that, in this way, we communicate with the grace of the Holy Spirit which these Saints have. Naturally, they did not have it only in this life but have it more so now, when they are alive in the presence of God.

It is difficult for people in the West to understand the reverence we Orthodox Christians feel towards the Saints when we venerate their holy relics. In Orthodox Christianity, it's all around the face of the Saint, because glorification has to do with the whole human being of the Saints and embraces them entirely. This is why, in natural terms, sanctity is identified with morality and external integrity, but this alone is not the case in the Orthodox Church.

The Saints are, of course, moral and upright, but the grace of the Holy Spirit transcends these, human, worldly features and is the uncreated energy of God which covers the whole person's being so that he or she is sanctified as a whole. As it says in the Acts of the Holy Apostles-and this is a clear answer to Jehovah's Witnesses and Protestants-the woman with the issue of blood went and touched the hem of Christ's garment and was immediately healed. So we ask: is it possible that the clothing worked the miracle? Of course not. It was Christ Who performed it. He performed it through the women's faith. It also says in Acts, that soon as the shadow of the holy Apostle Peter fell on the sick, the latter were healed. They even used their cloaks to perform miracles. It's through faith and the grace of the Holy Spirit that miracles (wonders or thavmata) were and are still worked. Naturally, the Saints don't perform miracles themselves: it is the grace of the Holy Spirit residing in them and their things which acts together with people's faith and which performs miracle, cures and all other familiar effects which holy relics and holy icons perform for those who approach them in faith.

And when Saint Paul talks about sins of the flesh, it is because we have a duty to keep our bodies pure and free from any defilement, of any sin, because the body is destined to be glorified, the whole of the body is destined for deification (theosis) and sanctification.

When we are baptized, the whole of us is baptized, because we are sanctified as a unified whole. For this reason, the relics of the departed Christians are always respected and well-preserved. This is also why the Orthodox Church does not accept cremation: not that Christ would have any difficulty in resurrecting the dead who'd been cremated, but rather that the burial and interment of the bodies of the dead is an expression of our faith that the body is sacred and is destined for sanctification and glorification, meanwhile awaiting the resurrection of the dead.

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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
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

The Glorification of the Saints in the Orthodox 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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THE GLORIFICATION OF THE SAINTS IN THE ORTHODOX CHURCH

The following article was written by Father Joseph Frawley, a member of the Orthodox Church in America's in the April-May 2000 issue of The Orthodox Church Newspaper.

While the glorification of Saints in the Orthodox Church has been taking place for nearly 2000 years, few people today are certain about how this really happens. Does the Church "make" a Saint? Are there special panels which decide who can be a Saint? Are Saints "elected" by a majority vote? Does the person have to perform a certain number of miracles in order to qualify as a Saint? The answer to these questions may be surprising to some.

We know that there are several categories of Saints: Prophets, Evangelists, Martyrs, Ascetics, holy bishops and priests, and those who live a righteous life "in the world." What they all have in common is holiness of life. Three times in the Book of Leviticus (Chapters 11, 19, and 20) God tells us to be holy because He is Holy. We must consecrate ourselves, for we are His people. Saint Peter reiterates this commandment in the New Testament, challenging us to obey God's Commandments and submit our will to His Will (1 Peter 1:16). Everyone is challenged to manifest holiness in their lives, for we all must become saints! This is our special - and common - calling from God. It is not something reserved for the clergy, monastics, or those who are "more pious." Everyone who has been baptized into Christ must live in such a way that Christ lives within us. "Do you not know," Saint Paul asks, "that you are God's temple and that God's spirit dwell in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16).

So, the glorification of Saints in the Orthodox Church is a recognition that God's holiness is manifested in the Church through these grace-filled men and women whose lives were pleasing to God. Very early on, the Church recognized the righteous ancestors of Christ (Forefathers), those who predicted His Coming (Prophets), and those who proclaimed the Gospel (Apostles and Evangelists). Then those who risked their lives and shed their blood to bear witness to Christ (Martyrs and Confessors) were also recognized by the Church as Saints. There was no special canonization process, but their holy relics were treasured and the annual anniversaries of their martyrdom were celebrated. Later, the ascetics, who followed Christ through self-denial, were numbered among the Saints. Bishops and priests who proclaimed the True Faith and fought against heresy were added to the list. Finally, those in other walks of life who manifested holiness were recognized as Saints.

While the glorification of a Saint may be initiated because of miracles, is not an absolute necessity for canonization. The Roman Catholic tradition requires three verified miracles in order to recognize someone as a Saint; the Orthodox Church does not require this. There are some Saints, including Saint Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain (+July 14) and Saint Innocent of Moscow (commemorated March 31st), who have not performed any miracles, as far as we know. What is required is a virtuous life of obvious holiness. And a Saint's writings and preaching must be "fully Orthodox," in agreement with the pure faith that we have received from Christ and the Holy Apostles and taught by the Holy Fathers and the Ecumenical Synods (Councils).

Can the Church "make" a Saint? The answer is no. Only God can do that. We glorify those whom God Himself has glorified, seeing in their lives true love for God and their neighbors. The Church merely recognizes that such a person has cooperated with God's grace to the extent that his or her holiness is beyond doubt.

Are Saints "elected" by special panels or by majority vote? Again, the answer is no. Long before an official inquiry into a person's life is made, that person is venerated by the people where he or she lived and died. His or her memory is kept alive by the people who pray for his or her soul or who ask him or her for intercession. Sometimes people will visit his or her grave or have icons painted through their love for the person. A committee, such as the Orthodox Church in America's Canonization Commission, is considered for glorification and to submit a report to the Holy Synod stating its reasons why the person should or should not be recognized as a Saint. Then the Holy Synod decides to number that person among the Saints and have icons painted and liturgical services composed.

The formal Rite of Glorification begins with a final Memorial Service for the person about to be canonized, after which Vespers and Matins with special hymns to the Saint are chanted and the Saint's icon is unveiled. The Saint's life is published and the date of his or her commemoration is established. The other Orthodox Churches are notified of the glorification so that they can place the new Saint's name on their calendars.

Through the prayers of all the Saints, may we be encouraged to follow their example of virtue and holiness. Amen. (Source: Orthodox Church in 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

August 20 - Prophet Samuel

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 AUGUST 20th OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE FEAST OF THE HOLY PROPHET SAMUEL

The fifteenth and last of the Judges of Israel, he lived eleven hundred years before Christ. He was of the tribe of Levi, born of Elkanah and Hannah in a place called Ramatha or Arimathea, where noble Joseph was later born. The barren Hannah besought Samuel of the Lord with tears and dedicated him to God when he was three years old. Living in Shiloh near the Ark of the Covenant, Samuel, at the age of twelve, had a true revelation from God of the punishment which would come upon the house of the High Priest, Eli, because of the worthlessness of his sons Hophni and Phineas. This revelation was swiftly fulfilled: the Philistines routed the Israelites, slew both of Eli's sons, and captured the Ark of the Covenant. When the messenger brought these bad tidings to Eli, he fell dead on the ground, breathing his last at the age of ninety-eight, and the same thing happened to his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phineas. Israel was under the Philistine yoke after this for twenty years. When this time had elapsed, God sent Samuel to the people to preach repentance to them as the one means of their salvation from their enemies. The people repented and cast out the foreign idols which they had served, accepting Samuel as Prophet, Priest, and Judge. Then Samuel set out with the army and slew the Philistines and, with God's help, put them to confusion and slew them, freeing the land and the people. After that, Samuel judged the people in peace to old age. Seeing him growing old, the people asked him to give them a king in his place. In vain, Samuel urged the people against this, saying that God was their only King, but the people remained adamant in their desire. Although this desire was not pleasing to God, He commanded Samuel to anoint Saul the son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, as king. Saul reigned a short time, and God rejected him for impudence and disobedience, and then commanded Samuel to anoint David the son of Jesse as king in Saul's place. At the time of his death, Samuel gathered all the people together and took leave of them, and when he died all Israel wept for him and buried him solemnly in his house at Ramah.

FOR CONSIDERATION

Repent before death closes the door of your life and opens the door of the Judgment. Repent before death, and, because you do not know the hour of your death, repent today, this instant, and stop repeating your sins. Saint Ephraim the Syrian prayed to God:

 "Before the wheel of time comes to a stop in my life, have mercy of me! Before the wind of death blows, and sickness, the herald of death, appears in my body, have mercy on me! Before the majestic sun in the heavens becomes darkened for me, have mercy on me, and may Thy Light shine for me from the heavens and drive out the fearful darkness of my mind. Before the earth returns to earth and becomes corruption, and before the destruction of all the features of its beauty, have mercy! Before my sins are revealed at the Judgment to my shame before the Judge, O Most Gracious Lord, have mercy on me! Before the armies come forth, escorting the King's Son, to gather our miserable race together before the Judge's Throne, have mercy! Before the sound of the voice of the trumpet heralds Thy coming, spare Thy servant and have mercy, O our Lord Jesus! Before Thou shuttest Thy door to me, and before I become food for the unquenchable fires of Gehenna, have mercy on me!"

(Source: The Prologue from Ochrid)

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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

Salvation in Christ According to Orthodox Theology

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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SALVATION ACCORDING TO ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY
By Father Dumitru Staniloae (Romanian theologian)

What follows will be a brief description of the new life and power which the Incarnate Son of God, crucified, resurrected, and exalted, gives us, through the Holy Spirit, as the content of "salvation" according to the Orthodox understanding of that word. The Son of God communicates this life and power in their eschatological fullness to the humanity which He assumed, but He communicates them to us by degrees through His own humanity, and we receive them as a principle of growth, as a gift and a promise implying eschatological development and therefore hope. For as long as Jesus Christ is "full of grace and truth" and as long as He is the "perfect man", then we have only the first fruits of His fullness (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:14), and we must grow in Him into the perfect man according to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13). The life and power communicated by Christ to His humanity are manifested In three directions: towards God, towards human nature as such, and towards His fellow human beings. This new life and power which the Son of God, through the humanity He assumed, communicates to those who believe in Him, are also manifested in the same three directions. And just as the Son of God communicated them to His assumed humanity through His Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension, He communicates them in the same way to those who believe in Him, that is, through the acts which He accomplished and the states, which He reached as man...

"...We shall now consider the new life and power which Christ has brought us, and the ways in which it is manifested through His Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension.

1. Even through His Incarnation the Son of God brings man a new life and power in his dealings with God, with himself and with his neighbor, Christ unites humanity with God through the incarnation in a manner which is most intimate and at the same time indissoluble, inseparable, and definitive. The Son of God made man becomes, even in His quality as man, the Son of God. His eternal and perfect filial love for the Father fills His humanity also, and therefore as Saint John Damascene says, "the incarnation is a modality of the second personal subsistence (τρόπος δευτέρας υπάρξεως) accommodated solely to the Only Begotten Son in such a manner that its personal individual attribute might remain unchanged..."

2. But of the three ways in which the new life and power of Christ are manifested it is much more by His death on the Cross that Christ has effected the restoration of the human nature. The Cross of Christ represents a new step in the work of our salvation. Without the Cross of Christ salvation would not have been achieved. In His death, Christ gives Himself to the Father not merely by an exemplary life but also by the very renunciation of life itself. As man He gives the Father everything and holds nothing back for Himself. In His death, the loving kenosis reaches its climax...
   "...In this sense we too die in baptism in the likeness of the death of Christ, or better, we are rooted in the likeness of His death, and have been buried into His death (Romans 6:3-5). Thus we become righteous in Christ before the Father. This is not a righteousness of vainglory but of our surrender to God...
   Since death entered into the world through sin and Christ committed no sin, it was on account of our sins that He suffered death. And through His death sin and selfishness are destroyed in their very roots together with the fruit which they produce, death. All men can escape these if they in turn are rooted in the death and sacrifice of Christ...

3. If Saint Cyril of Alexandria emphasizes the God-ward direction of Christ's Sacrifice and death--Saint Athanasius, Saint Maximus the Confessor and other Holy Fathers emphasize its man-ward direction, its power to heal and strengthen human nature, to overcome death and sin...Christ accepts death in order to destroy it in the resurrection, but this happens only because He is the Logos/Word of God. The Holy Fathers do not make the death of Christ into a saving event independent of the resurrection and incarnation...Christ does not become incarnate and die simply for the sake of an external reconciliation with us and in order to make us righteous before Him. The purpose of the incarnation was for our deliverance from eternal death, our complete and eternal union with Him in that condition of peace which is constituted precisely by the most complete loving union with Himself and us, a condition in which we live His entire righteousness and holiness in union with Him...

"...In His Resurrection, Christ raises up his entire humanity -- soul and body -- to a state of righteousness, of union with God, of perfect and eternal holiness. This is the state of complete surrender to the Father. In the Ascension the Righteousness of God, the very glory of the Father, is communicated to man. This glory is revealed perfectly through the incarnate Christ in the very moment when, as man, He offers perfect praise to the Father.

All who believe in Him will have a part in this peace, righteousness, holiness, and glory, and through the Spirit of Christ, they participate in the firstfruits of these gifts even in the course of this earthly life...

"...On the Cross, Christ has taken us all into His embrace, for His love has gone out to us all, drawing us all into His condition of self-surrender to God and to man, the condition in which He empties himself (kenosis) for the sake of both God and man. And in His love He gives us too the power to overcome ourselves with all our selfish impulses. (Source: Theology and the 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 Diakonia (Ministry)
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

How Does One Become a Fool-For-Christ?

Venerable Maximus of Moscow the Fool-for-Chrsit

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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HOW DOES ONE BECOME A FOOL-FOR CHRIST?

"Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, 'He catches the wise in their craftiness", and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.'" (1 Corinthians 3:18-20).

"A Saint who has the title 'Fool-for-Christ is one who is known for his apparent, yet holy, insanity."

Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness (I Corinthians 3:18-19).

One form of the ascetic Christian life is called foolishness for the sake of Christ. The fool-for-Christ set for himself the task of battling within himself the root of all sin, pride. In order to accomplish this, he took on an unusual style of life, appearing as someone bereft of his mental faculties, thus bringing upon himself the ridicule of others. In addition, he exposed the evil in the world through metaphorical and symbolic words and actions. He took this ascetic endeavor upon himself in order to humble himself and to also more effectively influence others since most people respond to the usual ordinary sermon with indifference. The spiritual feat of foolishness for Christ was especially widespread in Russia. (Excerpted from The Law of God, Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, N.Y. 1993).

A fool-for Christ is one who truly tries to live their life according to the Holy Gospel teachings, one who loves Jesus Christ above all else and who sincerely strives to live His Divine Teachings:

• one who lives a life of sacrificial agape, love towards everyone, including our enemies, and those who seem so different from us;

• one who lives in humble self-knowledge, knowing that all good comes only from God and we are but instruments, imperfect in God's hands;

• one who lives in unceasing repentance, daily and continuously turning back towards God and away from our sinful passions.

A fool-for-Christ understands that life is not about being comfortable, nor about becoming wealthy and well-known or living a life of luxury. A fool-for-Christ surrenders himself to the will of God and says, "Here I am Lord. Do with me whatever you will. Make me a tool in Your Divine hands. Permit me to exalt Your Holy name in whatever means You approve. I am yours first and foremost, above all else!

Over the many centuries, our Lord Jesus Christ raised up many unusual holy men and women in order to shock us out of our lethargy and complacency, in order to bring us to the realization that there is far more to becoming a participant of the Divine nature. What does it mean to partake of the Divine nature, and how do we experience this? To give an answer, let us first address what deification (theosis) is not, and, then describe what it is.

"What deification (theosis) is not: When the Church calls us to pursue godliness, to be more like God, this does not mean that human beings become divine. We do not become like God in His nature. That would not only be heresy, it would be impossible. For we are human, always have been human, and always will be human. We cannot take on the nature of God.

Saint John of Damascus makes a remarkable observation.  The word "God" in the Holy Scripture refers not to the Divine nature or essence, for hat is unknowable. "God" refers rather to the Divine energies--the power and grace of God that we can perceive in this world. The Greek word for God, Theos, comes from a verb meaning "run," "see," or "burn." These are energy words, so to speak, not essence words...

"...What deification (theosis) is: deification (theosis) means we are to become more like God through His grace according to human nature. In other words, humanity by nature is an icon or image of deity: The Divine image is in all humanity. Through sin, however, this image and likeness of God was marred, and we fell.

When the Son of God assumed our humanity in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the process of our being renewed in God's image and likeness was begun. Thus, those who are joined in Christ, through faith, in Holy Baptism begin a process of re-creation, being renewed in God's image and likeness. We become, as Saint Peter writes, "partakers of the Divine Nature (1:4).

Because of the Incarnation of the Son of God, because the fullness of God has inhabited human flesh, being joined to Christ means that it is again possible to experience theosis (deification), the fulfillment of our human nature destiny. That is, through union with Christ, we become by grace what God is by nature--we "become children of God" (John 1:12). His deity interpenetrates our humanity." (Orthodox Study Bible, p.1692).

There must be something of the holy fool in us all if our eyes are to be opened to a truth that the world does not yet see. So let us not be afraid to live according and to be out of step with the conventional wisdom, for that is how we will follow our Lord Jesus Christ through the folly of the Cross to the Glory of the empty tomb. For Christ foolishness is wiser than the wisdom of the world, and He is our salvation.

For two thousand years, the Church has preserved the memory of the Theotokos as the prototype of all Christians-- the model (paradigm) of who we are to become in Christ. The Mother of God is also our model in that she was the first person to receive Jesus Christ. As the Ever-Virgin Mary bore Christ in her womb physically, all Christians now have the privilege of bearing God within them spiritually. By God's grace and mercy, we are purified and empowered to become like Him. (Source: Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston)

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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 Image Not-Made-By-Hands, the Holy Mandylion of Our Lord Jesus Christ

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 16TH OF AUGUST, THE HOLY ORTHODOX CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE IMAGE NOT-MADE-BY-HANDS, WHICH IS ALSO CALLED THE MANDYLION, OF OUR LORD AND GOD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST THAT WAS TRANSLATED FROM EDESSA TO CONSTANTINOPLE.

When our Lord and Great God and Savior Jesus Christ was found upon earth, He wrought many mighty works. Myriads of sick people, even from countries remote from the land of Judaea, who was afflicted with infirmities and diseases of every kind, were coming to Him in the hope of being healed. At that time, the toparch of Edessa was king Abgar (Avgaros). He gained renown among the nations east of the Euphrates for his valor. Now his body had been wasting away with a grievous disease, such as there is no cure for among men. And when he heard and was informed of the name of Jesus, and about the mighty works which He did--for everyone alike bore witness concerning Jesus to come and heal him of his disease.

Abgar would have gone himself to Jerusalem that he might see the Lord with his own eyes, but the advanced state of his leprosy and arthritis prevented him from making such a journey and public appearance. Furthermore, his entry into Roman lands was not only difficult but bound to be misunderstood. His independent city-state of Edessa, totally outside of the Roman Empire and with allegiance to the kingdom of Parthia, had its capital at Ctesiphon on the Tigris River, far to the east. 

The bitter pangs of these two diseases kept him from exiting his palace. He did not even wish to be seen by his subjects. Thus, in such dire straits, he was emboldened to send an epistle to Jesus the Christ. But our Savior, at the time, on the one hand, did not comply with the king's request, but also, on the other hand, did not disdain the man's evident faith. Jesus deigned to furnish Abgar a letter in reply: for He promised Abgar that He would send one of His disciples, and heal his sicknesses, and give salvation to him and to all who were connected with him. Nor did our Savior delay to fulfill His promise to Abgar. But after Jesus was risen from the place of the dead, and was received into the heavens, Thomas the Apostle, one of the Twelve, as by an impulse from God, sent Thaddaeus, who was himself also numbered among the Seventy Disciples of Christ, to Edessa. Thaddaeus would preach and proclaim the teaching of Christ.

Mar Jacob, Bishop of Nisibis (Mesopotamia, 350 A.D.) writes: "Edessa sent to Christ by an epistle (letter) to come to her and enlighten her. On behalf of all the people did she make intercession to Him that He would leave Sion, which hated Him, and come to the peoples, who loved Him."

Ananias went to deliver the letter, with further instructions to bring back a description of Jesus. Ananias arrived safely in Jerusalem. Now he was among those listening to a sermon on the Mount of Olives. After our Lord preached, Ananias went to one of the Holy Apostles. He asked for an audience with Jesus. Ananias presented the letter of his ailing master, King Abgar, to Jesus. The artist gazed at the Holy face, studying the features with great care. But on account of the press of the multitude, he was unable to stay very long before Him. Ananias then drew back a little, perching himself upon a higher ground that he might better see Jesus over the throngs milling about Him. Ananias attempted to draw the likeness of our Lord. He had a slate and chalk to make the required sketch. But he did not succeed, though he was an artist of some repute. The Savior's grace-filled countenance could not be captured exactly by him. The artist observed that Jesus' face appeared to change as he viewed Him. The Lord, the Knower of hearts and secret intentions, knew the desire of Ananias. Jesus then asked for some water that He might wash. Jesus washed His face and sponged it dry with a piece of linen that was folded in four. After He pressed the towel to His face--behold the wonder!--the imprint of His theandric countenance was transferred to the linen towel. With that ready impression of His Divine features, Not-Made-By-Hands (Acheiropoietos), the Lord said to Ananias, "Remember this to the one who sent thee." The Lord Jesus then answered the epistle (letter) to the king, supplying the following response.

"Blessed is he that has believed in Me, not having seen Me." For it is written concerning Me, that those who see Me will not believe Me, and that those will believe who have not seen Me, and will be saved. But touching that which thou has written to Me, that I should come to thee--it is meet that I should finish here all that for the sake of which I have been sent into the world and after I have finished it, then I shall be taken up into the heavens to Him that sent Me; and, when I have been taken up, I will send to one of My disciples. His name is Thaddaeus, and He will heal thy disease. He will also bring salvation to thee and to those who are with thee. Moreover, to Thy city of Edessa, there shall be rendered sufficient help lest she should be conquered by her enemy.

The epistle (letter) above received seven seals that were imprinted with Hebrew letters. The translation of those Hebrew words into four Greek words beginning with the letter Theta, read: Θεού θέα θείον θαύμα, that is, "Vision of God, Divine Wonder." King Abgar received the Holy Napkin and the letter. We chant today that "when he saw Thy face upon the Napkin, he cried out: 'My Lord and my God art Thou!' With much faith and longing, he made obeisance before the Sacred and Immaculate Image (icon) of Christ. Instantly, he was healed of his diseases. Only on his forehead there remained a small patch of his leprous condition. Then, after the Saving Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension of the Lord into the heavens, the holy Apostle Thaddaeus went to Edessa.

Now a considerable amount of time had passed. Many years later no one remembered that a Sacred Icon had been hidden away over the gateway. The existence of the Mandylion or Holy Napkin is first mentioned in a 6th-century account.

The Holy Napkin is Transferred to Tenth-Century Constantinople

The Mandylion was removed to Constantinople that same year. With solemn ceremony, the holy relic had been liberated from the power of the Hagarene infidel by the grace of God and the strength of Byzantine arms and diplomacy. It was received in the capital that August of 944 when Saint Theophylact was Patriarch of Constantinople (933-956 A.D.). The Holy Napkin was escorted with honor and triumph. This holy victory, more than all of Lourkouas' hard-won battle, made him the hero the moment and at the center of attention for many--along with the Mandylion. It would not be an exaggeration to say that his popularity alarmed the government...Moreover, as the image passed through the streets, a possessed man cried out suddenly, 'Constantinople, take the glory and the blessing, and thou, O Constantine, thy throne.' After the image had been escorted to the middle of the city, it was then put on display on the throne of mercy in the inner sanctuary of Hagia Sophia. It was finally enshrined in the Theotokos Pharos (Lighthouse) Chapel of the Great Palace. This is the translation that is celebrated today, the 6th of August.

The recovery of the Mandylion was the last triumph of the Emperor Romanos I. The Mandylion, on the 15th of August, was brought to the Theotokos Church of Vlachernai. It was placed on the throne of the worldly ruler in the Vlachernai Palace and crowned. The imperial family venerated the Sacred Image with extreme reverence and joy. They were followed by the nobility and the laypeople. The following day, which was the 16th of August, the Holy Icon was placed upon the shoulders of Patriarch Theophylactos. Then, in the company of all the priests and ecclesiastical orders, the Holy Icon was borne aloft to the Golden Gate. The Sacred Image was accompanied by both psalms and hymns, surrounded by tens of thousands of lamps. The procession wended its way toward the Church of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) of God.

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

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

+Father George