October 3 - Hieromartyr Dionysius the Areopagite

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 OCTOBER 3rd OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE FEAST DAY OF THE HOLY HIEROMARTYR DIONYSIUS THE AREOPAGITE

Saint Dionysius the Areopagite was born of noble parents who were pagans and was reared in the most glorious city of Athens, Greece. He began the study of Greek wisdom in his childhood, and such as his success therein, that by the age of twenty-five he had surpassed all his peers in his knowledge of philosophy. Nevertheless, he then departed to the city named Heliopolis, in the land of Egypt, where learned teachers had lived since antiquity, that he might perfect his knowledge. Together with his friend Apollophanus, he was instructed by the wise men of Heliopolis in the science of astronomy. On the day when Christ the Lord was crucified on the Cross for our salvation, when the sun was darkened at midday because it could not bear the sight of the Lord's Crucifixion, and the light was turned to darkness for three hours, Dionysius said in astonishment, "Either God, the Creator of the whole world is undergoing suffering, or this visible world is coming to an end." This he said concerning the Master's Passion through the Holy Spirit and not merely because he was learned in the wisdom of this age.

When Dionysius returned to Athens, he married; and inasmuch as he was the most eminent of the citizens because of his nobility, intelligence, and integrity, the government of the city was committed to him. When the holy Apostle Paul came to Athens, Greece and preached Christ, crucified and Resurrected, before the elders of the city, Dionysius hearkened attentively unto Paul's words, laying them up in his heart. The other elders told Paul that they would hear him speak of Christ again, at another time, but Dionysius, who was wiser than the rest, continued speaking with Saint Paul alone. Saint Paul asked him, "What god do you worship here?"

Dionysius pointed out to him in the city Cronus, Aphrodite, Zeus, Hephaestus, Hermes, Dionysius, Artemis, and many others. As Saint Paul went through the city with Dionysius and saw these gods, he came upon an idol with this inscription: "to the unknown god." He asked Dionysius, "Who is this unknown god?"

Dionysius replied, "He among the gods Who has not yet manifested Himself but Who shall come in his own time. He is the God Who shall reign over heaven and earth, whose kingdom has no end."

When the holy Apostle Paul heard this, he began with success to sow the seed of the word of God on the good earth of Dionysius' heart, proclaiming to him, on the foundation of Dionysius' own words, that God had already appeared and that He had been born of the Most Pure and Ever-Virgin Mary. He also explained how Christ-God had been nailed to the Cross and suffered for the sake of the salvation of man, and that, unable to bear the sight of His suffering, the sun was darkened and did not shed its light upon the world for three hours. Saint Paul told him that this same God arose from the dead and ascended into the heavens, and he ended his words thus: "Therefore, Dionysius, believe in Him, and in truth serve the True God, Jesus Christ."

Dionysius called to mind the darkness of which Saint Paul spoke, which had covered all the earth, and straightway he believed that God had truly suffered at that time in a human body. He opened his heart to the knowledge of the unknown God, our Lord Jesus Christ, and was illumined by the light of the grace of God. Moreover, he entreated the holy Apostle to pray for him to God, that He might show him mercy and number him among His servants.

As Saint Paul was departing from the city of Athens, a certain blind man (whom all knew had been blind from his birth) besought the Apostle to grant him sight. Saint Paul made the sign of the Cross upon his eyes and said, "May my Lord and Teacher Jesus Christ, Who anointed with clay the eyes of the man born blind an granted him sight, likewise enable you to see by His power."

Immediately the blind man saw; and Saint Paul commanded him to go to Dionysius and to say, "Paul, the servant of Jesus Christ, has sent me to you, that you might go to him and be baptized, as you have promised, and receive the remission of sins."

The blind man went and did as he had been told, proclaiming to Dionysius the Divine benefaction bestowed upon him through Saint Paul. When Dionysius saw that the blind man, who was known to him, now saw, he marveled greatly. He did not delay but hastened to Saint Paul, together with his wife Damaris, their sons, and their entire household; and he was baptized by the holy Apostle. After this Dionysius left his house, his wife, and children and joined himself to Saint Paul. For three years he followed Saint Paul wherever he went, and what he learned from him is evident in his treatise On Mystical Theology. Later, Dionysius was made bishop by Saint Paul and was sent from Thessaloniki to Athens that he might serve for the salvation of men there. Dionysius had occasion to hear not only Saint Paul but the preaching of all holy Apostles. He was with them when they were all gathered together for the burial of our most Pure Lady, the Theotokos, and in his writings he states that he was in the city of Jerusalem at the Lord's Sepulchre, where he saw and heard James the holy Apostle, the brother of the Lord, and the eminent Saint Peter the Apostle, Saint John the holy Apostle, the Theologian, Saint Hierotheos, Timothy the holy Apostle, and many of the other brethren, who at that time taught there the mysteries of the faith, proclaiming the Divinity and Humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, just as every True theologian teaches even now.

Dionysius remained in Athens for quite a long time, through his labors causing the Church founded by the holy Apostle Paul to grow. But like the holy Apostles, Saint Dionysius wished to preach the Gospel of Christ in other lands and to suffer and martyrdom for the name of Christ as did his teacher, the blessed Paul, whom he heard had suffered for Christ in Rome under the pagan emperor Nero. He appointed another bishop in his place in Athens and went to Rome, where Saint Clement, the bishop of Rome, received him joyfully. He lived with Saint Clement for a short time and then was sent by him to Gaul (France), together with the priest Rusticus and Eleftherius the deacon, to preach the word of God to the unbelievers there. Saint Dionysius arrived in France with these men and converted many people from idolatry to the Lord in the city of Paris, thus becoming the Apostle of that land. There, with the alms by the faithful, he built a church, in which he celebrated the bloodless sacrifice and prayed God to permit him to gather together a multitude of rational sheep.

As the word of God spread, the pagan Caesar Domitian raised up a persecution against the Christians, similar to the one brought about by Nero. He sent one Sisinius as Governor to Gaul (France), that he might persecute the Christians there. When Sisinius arrived in the city of Paris, he immediately ordered that Dionysius, renowned for his miracles and divine wisdom, be seized and tortured, together with Rusticus and Eleftherius. Saint Dionysius was by this time already aged and very worn by his labors in the preaching of the holy Gospel, He was bound firmly and led with the others before the Governor, who looked upon him and said angrily, "Are you Dionysius, the wicked old man who blasphemes our gods, disdains their worship, and opposes the imperial decree?"

Answered the Saint, "Although my body, as you see, is already aged, my faith blossoms with youth, and my confession ever gives birth in Christ to new children."

Saint Dionysius was asked by Sisinius what god he worshipped and he proclaimed unto the Governor the word of Truth, confessing the Great Name of the Most Holy Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But the Governor, like a deaf asp, did not wish to hear the word of salvation and asked all three prisoners, "Do you agree to submit to the emperor and to sacrifice unto the gods?"

As though out of a single mouth, the Saint answered, "We are Christians and worship but one God, who is in the heavens. We will not submit to the emperor's ordinance."

Then the Governor commanded that Dionysius be disrobed and lashed mercilessly. As the Saint endured this, he thanked Christ that He had permitted him to bear His wounds upon his body. They likewise tormented Rusticus and Eleftherius, who, strengthened by Dionysius and still more by God, glorified Christ as they suffered...The persecutor became enraged and again commanded that they be beaten without mercy after which he condemned them to be beheaded.

As the Saints were being led out of the city to the hill which is called the Hill of Ares, Dionysius prayed, saying, "O God, my God, Who did create me and instruct me in Thine eternal wisdom...I thank Thee for all things which Thou hast wrought for me unto the glory of Thy Most Holy Name, I likewise offer Thee, in mine infirmity and old age and dost summon me and my friends unto Thyself...Accept Thou our labors, for Thine is the power and the dominion, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages."

When he had said the Amen, Dionysius bent his sacred head, which was cut off with a dull axe for the Most Holy Name of Jesus Christ. In like manner Rusticus and Eleftherius were beheaded for Christ after him.

Saint Dionysius suffered when he was 90 years of age, 96 A.D., and at his grave many miracles were worked unto the glory of Christ our God. (Source: The Great Collection of the Lives of the Saints)

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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

Divine Grace According to Orthodox Christianity

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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DIVINE GRACE ACCORDING TO ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY

"But Jesus said, 'Somebody touched Me, for I perceive power going out from Me" (Luke 8:46).

As the Apostle Peter was preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ to Cornelius and the relatives and friends he had gathered together, they received the Gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:44). Even as the Apostle explained that the Logos/Word of God had become flesh to open all flesh to the life and power of God, these Gentiles seekers were filled with Divine grace through the Descent of the Holy Spirit.

Now enlivened and energized by grace, Cornelius finds himself magnifying God in foreign languages, a tangible testimony to the presence of the Spirit. He feels reborn and filled with a new understanding that has enlightened and energized both his soul and body. He has been reborn by the Divine energies of God, just as the Lord breathed His Spirit into the newly created Adam, making him a "living being" (Genesis 2:7). The life of grace lost by the first Adam is restored to mankind by the New Adam, Jesus Christ, for He came "that they may have life," and life "more abundantly" (John 10:10). This is the life God desired for Adam and his descendants from the beginning.

Cornelius realizes he has been enabled to know God in a way that transcends anything he has experienced before. His is not a knowledge of the intellect but of the heart and the understanding, for the grace of God has illumined his heart to "see God" (Matthew 5:8) as Moses met Him in the burning bush. This is not a temporary swell of emotion but a sober and profound encounter with God in the deepest place of his heart. He now understands the words of the psalmist. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me" (Psalm 50[51]:10), and the prophecy of Ezekiel, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezek. 36:26).

Cornelius and his family will now be called to nurture and increase this gift of grace that the Lord has bestowed upon them. For it is only by the acquisition of this grace that one truly becomes perfected as a Son of God.

WHAT IS GRACE IN THE ORTHODOX TRADITION?

The theological controversy that occurred in the 14th Century helps to refine and further clarify the Orthodox Christian teaching on grace. It provides a good background for us to begin to comprehend the Church's teaching on this topic and to compare and contrast with the ideas and formulations of other Christian traditions. Since, as the Holy Scripture tells us, we are saved "by grace," it is imperative to have an accurate understanding of what grace is and is not and of how it is acquired.

GRACE IS NATURAL

After the Lord formed the first man, Adam, from the earth, we are told He then breathed into him the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). Sometimes this breath of life is misinterpreted to mean the creation of Adam's soul. But the teaching of the Church is that Adam's soul was created by God from the dust of the earth concurrently with his body, just as the Saints also teach that the soul of every subsequent human being is created at the time of his or her conception.

If the breath of life is not the soul, then what is it? Saint Seraphim of Sarov addresses this issue directly in his famous conversation with Motovilov. He tells us his friend and disciple that what God blew into Adam at the time of his creation is His Life-Giving Spirit, the Holy Spirit. This teaching harmonizes with the post-Resurrection account in the Gospel of John in which the Lord breathed into the faces of the Apostles, saying, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22). The word for "spirit" in both Hebrew and Greek can also mean "breath."

The Holy Spirit is not the soul itself but rather the life of the soul. The life of the body is the soul, but the life of the soul is the Holy Spirit. It was the very life of God that Jesus breathed into the Apostles after His Resurrection. Without this grace and energy of the Holy Spirit, the soul is, spiritually speaking, dead. Therefore, in the Orthodox understanding, if one is to be an authentic and truly living human being, one must have the grace of God. And the more grace one has, the more truly human one becomes. In the Orthodox anthropology (our understanding of man) we understand the indwelling of grace not as a supernatural phenomenon but as the most natural and normative condition of man.

THE REVELATION OF THE UNCREATED GOD

In the Orthodox teaching, the grace of God is closely associated with the Person of the Holy Spirit, because it is the Spirit's Ministry to take the grace of God that has been made accessible in Jesus Christ and pour it into the hearts of the faithful (Romans 5:5). Grace is something that belongs equally to each person of the Holy Trinity, but it is the Spirit Who makes it manifest.

"However, when He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you" (John 16:13-15).

This grace of God poured out to mankind through the Holy Spirit is not a mere theological idea or even an effect produced in us by God; it is the very life of God, His power and energy, His self-revelation. Grace, therefore, is something real and concrete, although uncreated and immaterial--the energies and rays of Divine Life that flow from God to us. Grace imparts God Himself to His creatures and allows them to share and participate in His own uncreated and eternal life. However, as Saint Gregory Palamas insisted, grace is not a participation in God's essence, because His essence cannot be experienced or comprehended by any creature, as the Holy Scripture (see John 1:18) and the Church Holy Fathers' testify.

To use an earthly example: We all experience the power and energy of the sun. We truly experience and feel its warmth and light through the rays of energy that shine down upon us. These rays do not merely give us an impression of what the sun is; they are not a substitute for the sun; they do not present us with ideas about the sun; they do not merely illustrate what the sun is like; they are a real participation in the very energies of the sun itself. By our contact with the rays of the sun, we actually participate in the light and hearty if produces. The sun's power interacts with our human cells, and real, organic changes occur in our human chemistry.

Similarly, the energy of the sun generates the natural process of photosynthesis in plant life. The sun's light interacts with carbon dioxide in the plant's cells, creating a chemical reaction that converts it into the necessary nourishment for the organism as well as releasing oxygen into the atmosphere.

Yet we cannot participate in or fully experience the essence of the sun. If we were to try to approach the scorching essence of the sun in an attempt to discover the inner source of its energies, we would quickly be overwhelmed and annihilated.

The same is true of God and His grace. His essence--how He exists in Himself--cannot be known or experienced by creatures, but He is known and experienced by His grace, the rays of His Divine energies and activities. As the created energies of the sun are real and provide us with a genuine and actual participation in the sun, so do the uncreated energies and grace of God give us a real experience of the uncreated God. And so, while we are capable of knowing God truly and intimately by His uncreated grace and self-revealing energies, yet He remains incomprehensible and unknowable in His essence.

The Orthodox Church teaches that a True and empirical knowledge of God comes when one directly experiences His uncreated grace in a pure heart, and not by the exercise of human logic or philosophical speculation, which is a product of the fallen human mind. True theologians, then, are those whose hearts have been purified of the sinful passions and are illumined by God's grace. In this way they receive God's self-revelation without distortion or imposition of their own ideas and imaginations. In the Orthodox mind, prayer and spiritual formation, not simply information, is the prerequisite to speaking about God. The Fourth-Century ascetic Evagrius succinctly summarizes the nature of theology when he says, "a theologian is one who truly prays; and one who prays truly is a theologian." (Source: Know the faith. A handbook for Orthodox Christians and inquirers by Rev. Michael Shanbour)

(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

The Forerunner - October 4 - Second Sunday of Luke

Venerable Paul the Simple of Egypt

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September 29 - Holy Father Kyriakos the Anchorite

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True God,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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ON SEPTEMBER 29th OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE FEAST-DAY OF SAINT KYRIAKOS THE ANCHORITE

Kyriakos, our holy Father, was born at Corinth in the Peloponnesus, Greece, in the year 448 A.D. during the reign of the holy Emperor Theodosius. His father, John, was a priest in Corinth. His mother's name was Evdoxia, and it was her uncle, Peter, then Bishop of Corinth, that had ordained him to the Office of Reader (Anagnostis). The blessed Kyriakos would constantly read the Holy Scripture and marveled how, from the very beginning, God, in His Divine Providence, created everything for the salvation of man, and how He glorified His Righteous ones and the Prophets of old. Indeed, he was utterly amazed, yet he had confidence in every word of the Holy Gospel. Thus inclined, his heart was aflame with divine zeal, and he decided to go to Jerusalem and live in silence. Constantly he would meditate on the words of a certain Sunday Gospel Reading that he had heard in church, which said: "If anyone is willing to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and keep on following Me" (Matthew 16:24). Therefore, he wasted no time and departed quietly for Cenchreae, where he found a ship bound for the Holy Land. He was then eighteen years old. It was the ninth year of the reign of Emperor Leo the Great.

Kyriakos arrived safely in the Holy City. At first, he found the Venerable Efstorgios who, being abundantly endowed by the grace of the Holy Spirit, had attained great spiritual heights. Nevertheless, he also heard of the virtues of Efthymios the Great. Therefore, he received permission from the divine Efstorgios and went to him. He was readily received and vested in the Monastic habit. However, the holy Efthymios, as a rule, did not accept beardless youths in his Lavra, so as not to scandalize the brethren. Therefore, Kyriakos was sent to Saint Gerasimos at the Jordan, who did receive him. He was assigned to cook and in this obedience, served the brethren diligently. There, he spent the evenings in divine prayer and would partake only of bread and water every two days. Therefore, he was greatly beloved by the Venerable Gerasimos, who, during the period of the Great Fast, took him and retreated into the wilderness of Rouba, where they shared company with pain and virtue. Also, in that area, the great Efthymios went into solitude and would administer the divine Mysteries every Sunday until the Feast of Palm Sunday. Shortly thereafter, the holy Gerasimos beheld in a vision the soul of the divine Efthymios enveloped in Light, ascending to heaven, escorted by holy Angels with exceeding honor and majesty. Saint Gerasimos took the young Kyriakos and went to the Lavra. Upon his arrival, the newly-reposed Saint Efthymios was interred with fitting reverence, and then he returned to his own monastery.

It was nine years after Kyriakos came to Jerusalem when the wondrous Gerasimos was transmitted to our desired Lord. Kyriakos was twenty-seven at this time and was in the midst of his ascetic struggles when he returned to the Lavra of Saint Afthymios. At that time, Egoumenos (Abbot) Elias was concerned with converting the Lavra into a Koinovion (coenobium). He received Kyriakos and gave him a cell (keli) where he rested. However, the Righteous young man noticed that there was hostility between both monasteries, that is, between those members of Saint Efthymios and Saint Theoktistos, because of certain offering and monies donated by one named Terevon. Kyriakos great weary of the daily scandals. Therefore, he departed and betook himself to the Monastery of Souka, where he remained many years, serving in a variety of obediences, from which he developed his patience and extreme humility. Also, when he was forty years old, he was elevated to the Priestly Office. It is said concerning him that he never let the sun set if he was the cause of a brother's anger, though he was never angry with anyone. Moreover, he was never seen eating during the day.

When he was seventy-seven years of age, he left the monastery for the desert of Natuf, followed by his disciple. Since they could not find any flood to console the necessities of nature, Kyriakos entreated God to alter the taste of certain plants, such as wild onions, from bitter to sweet. He said to his disciple, "Child, gather up these plants and boil them with salt, and blessed be the Lord Who shall satisfy us by them!" God heard his prayer and altered the bitter taste of these plants to a sweet flavor. The blessed ones survived for four years on these wild onions, for as it is said by the divine David: "Indeed I beheld not a righteous man having been forsaken, nor his seed begging bread" (Psalm 36:25). 

"...Although he attained an advanced age, he was never negligent in his duties, that is, in chanting the hymns of the Church or caring for them that visited him. Our Saint was possessed of a meek nature, easy to approach, joyful and sweet, accepting of everyone, possessed of many good natural qualities and talents and able to foretell the future by Divine revelation. In stature, he was tall and robust, his entire body remaining sound despite his advanced age.

He constantly exhorted and confessed the Orthodox Christian Faith. It is recorded that while the blessed man struggled toward salvation in a cramped cell near the Jordan, a certain monk named Theophanes visited him, who as an adherent of the Nestorian heresy (which degrades the Son of God and the Theotokos). On learning this, Saint Kyriakos exhorted and besought him to forsake his errors and to turn to the Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. "There is but one path to our salvation," the Saint said, "and that is to thing and believe as the Holy Fathers thought and believed." Theophanes asked the Saint to entreat God for him, that He grant him understanding from on high by some revelation!"

Saint Kyriakos rejoiced that his brother was willing to accept correction and enlightenment, and said to him, "Remain in my cell, and I trust that God, in His Goodness, will reveal to thee the truth." He then betook himself into solitude and began to beseech God for that brother. Then--lo!--about the ninth hour of the next day, the Nestorian beheld someone who told him sternly, "Come and learn the Truth." The stranger led him to a dark and malodorous place where he was shown heretics Nestorios, Arius, Efthychios, Dioscoros, and the other heretics in the unquenchable fire, groaning and gnashing their teeth because of the unbearable torment. The stranger then said, "Behold the abode of these and their followers who reason impiously! Thus, if this place is pleasing to thee, remain in thy false teaching; but if thou dost not wish to undergo a similar punishment, turn to the Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church to which Kyriakos belongs. I say unto thee that, if a man performs all that is virtuous, yet does not believe in an Orthodox manner, he shall arrive at this place of torment." Thereafter, the herald of the divine will that had appeared became invisible, and the Nestorian, acknowledging his pernicious error, united himself to the Orthodox Church.

Toward the end of Saint Kyriakos' life, he became ill and thus surrendered up his soul to his much-desired Lord Jesus Christ, where he now rejoices with the Righteous in the brightness of the Angels, beholding all the things that he ever desired and the glory of the Holy Trinity, receiving Christ our Lord with the Unoriginate Father and the All-Holy and Life-Giving Spirit, to Whom be Glory, Honor and Dominion and worship to Everlasting Ages. Amen. (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 Diakonia (Ministry)
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

September 28 - Martyr Chariton the Confessor

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 SEPTEMBER 28th OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE HOLY FATHER, THE MARTYR CHARITON THE CONFESSOR

Our Venerable Father Chariton was born in the city of Iconium in Asia Minor, where he was reared in the ways and standards of God. When he reached manhood, he became famous for his piety and achieved prominence in that city. In those days, the pagan Roman emperor Aurelian (270-276 A.D.) reigned in Rome. In the beginning, he did not persecute the Christians nor prevent them from worshiping the True God, even though he, himself, was an idolater. Later, though, incited by the demons that he worshiped, he raised a terrible persecution against the Christians by dispatching godless decrees to all the provinces, requiring the governors to coerce the Christians--by any means possible--to return to the worship of the idols. Those that refused to submit to his orders were to be tortured and suffer a painful death.

The pagan emperor's orders arrived also in Iconium.  Saint Chariton was therefore apprehended and led by the soldiers to the imperial court. He was presented to the second-in-command and questioned by him as to his identity and beliefs. He replied that his name was Chariton and that he believed in Christ the True God. When asked why he defied the emperor's orders and refused to sacrifice to the immortal gods, the holy one answered courageously: "I refuse to pay homage to your gods because they are not gods in truth, but subtle demons that have deceived you into believing that they are gods, for two reasons: Firstly, so that they may be honored with the glorious appellation of gods, because they rejoice when they are honored as such--being proud in nature; and, secondly, that they might draw their worshippers with them into everlasting damnation."

When the judge heard this, he said, "I should show thee my anger by submitting thee to the worst punishment, O Charition, for thou blasphemest the gods! However, because they too are merciful and forgiving, I shall emulate them by advising thee to do what is for thine own good. Sacrifice to the gods, that thou mayest obtain honor and rewards at the hands of the emperor!" The valiant soldier of Christ answered him: "If these deaf and inanimate objects are gods, O judge, then thou art wrong to tolerate the abuse I heap upon them. If they are not gods--as indeed, they are not--then thou dost toil in vain, urging me to do wrong, for in no way will I ever deny the True God and worship the vile demons. I am an emulator and follower of Thekla, our first martyr, who shines like the sun with the rays of her martyrdom in this very city of the Iconians. Likewise, I am a disciple of the great teacher of Truth, Paul, who encouraged Thekla to withstand the tortures of martyrdom for the love of Christ. Therefore, I, too, declare before all, according to what the divine Paul has written in his Epistle to the Romans: "Who shall separate me from the love of Christ? Shall affliction, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?" (Romans 8:35). Or shall any other evil or good? Nay! None of these shall separate me from the love of my Christ."

The Magistrate, desiring to win Chariton over to his side, said to him in a mild voice: "My good Chariton, if our deities are not gods, as thou sayest, then why is it that the pious emperors, who worship and venerate them, and we Magistrates as well, attain such glory and happiness?" The Martyr answered: "Deluded indeed are the idolaters, claiming that these wooden objects, which are made by men's hands and possess neither mind, nor reason, nor senses, are gods. As the Scripture says: "The idols of the nations, are silver and gold, the works of the hands of men. They have mouths but shall not speak, eyes have they and shall not see. Ears have they and shall not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouth. All that make them and put their trust in them, let them become like them" (Psalm 134:15-18).

"...When the tyrant heard this, he ordered that they whip him the more. They lashed him so many times that there was no more flesh on him, and his bodily organs were exposed. He was then rendered speechless from the pain, but the pernicious ones continued to beat him. The emperor's deputy then ordered the torture stopped--not out of pity, but lest he die and escape the rest of the tortures. The servants lifted up the blessed man, who was nearly dead, and carried him on their shoulders to prison...So the holy Chariton was subjected to more punishment. He was burned with torches and cast into prison again. Not long after, though, the impious emperor was censured by God for the wicked deeds that he perpetrated against the Christians, and died an evil death. His successor, Tacitus, was taught a lesson by Aurelius' demise, and therefore, he feared that if he, too, persecuted the Christians, he would indeed be punished like his predecessor. Consequently, he put an end to the persecutions throughout the provinces of the empire. This came to pass by God's economy, so that the holy Chariton might not suffer death, to the loss of many who would gain by his remaining among the living. Therefore, that many might benefit, Divine Providence, granted that Chariton be released from his fetters and imprisonment. The new imperial decree granted freedom to all.

Saint Chariton, even though he did not repose in this martyric state, bore on his body the signs and vestiges of his victory for Christ. He was like one dead in this temporal life and had a desire to live alone in Christ; therefore, he trod the narrow road of asceticism. However, once again, he encountered many temptations. On his way to Jerusalem, he was taken captive by violent thieves and criminals. Tying the blessed one's hands behind him and placing a chain about his neck, they brought him back to their caved, leaving him bound.

As the holy Chariton pondered upon these matters, he was unaware that a poisonous snake had crawled into one of the wine jars lying about and secreted its venom. When the criminals returned to their hideout they were parched from thirst and drank the poisoned wine. Instantly, they died in their sins. Straightway, the holy Chariton was loosed from his bonds. Inasmuch as the location was ideal for quietude, he remained and thus inherited their booty, which was well spent. He distributed part of it to the poor and to the fathers of the desert and, with the rest, constructed a church of God and a monastery in the cave, naming it Faran. Eventually, the church was consecrated by Patriarch Makarios of Jerusalem, who was one of the 318 God-bearing Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod.

The Testament of the Saint

"Moreover, keep yourselves blameless and do not take part in any evil things, and if you cannot attain to this state, diligently seek to cleanse yourselves daily. Keep inviolate the virginity and sanctity of your bodies to the point that you may become pure temples, that the All-Holy God may dwell in your hearts and fill your souls with His blessedness and ineffable fragrance. Anger and wrath are the greatest evils; no other passion sullies the love of neighbor as do these..."

These were Saint Chariton's last instructions, as he wished them the salvation of their souls from on high. Then, without any apparent illness or pain, he fell on his bed, stretching out his legs, and surrendered his soul to the holy Angels. Thus, in the year 276 A.D., he was translated to eternal bliss, where rest awaits those who have sorrowed and toiled in the vineyard of the Lord and have trodden the narrow and difficult road of virtue. The deeds of the ever-memorable Chariton that have escaped all-consuming time and oblivion we have narrated for your ears, O blessed disciples of virtue, by the present biography, to the glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the one Godhead and dominion, to Whom be glory, honor and worship, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. (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 Diakonia (Ministry)

The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

The Seventy Apostles

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 SEVENTY APOSTLES

In Luke 10:1-17, the Lord appointed seventy men to go out as missionaries--as Apostles. Though not so prominent as the Twelve, the Church confirms that the Seventy remained true to the Lord and their calling, fulfilling a vital role in the spread of the Gospel. These were not random choices or accidental volunteers but true Disciples, True Apostles, whose labors carried the message of their Lord throughout the Roman Empire and beyond.

Though lists of the Seventy vary somewhat, all these men are remembered on the calendar of the Church. One day, January 4, is set aside to remember them all, and the record of their work is preserved in accounts handed down through the centuries from place to place, especially in those locations where they labored.

To tell all the stories passed down in the Church concerning the Seventy would fill a book of considerable size, but the stories of a few will convey the conviction and faith of this illustrious body.

Barnabas, a Jew of the Tribe of Levi, was born in Cyprus of wealthy parents. He is said to have studied under Gamaliel with Saul of Tarsus, who was to become Paul the Apostle. Originally named Joseph, he was called Barnabas (Son of Consolation) by the Apostles (Acts 4:36) because he had a rare gift of comforting people's hearts. He sought out Paul when everyone else was afraid of him, bringing him to the Apostles. It was Barnabas whom the Apostles first sent to Antioch with Paul. Their long association was broken only when Barnabas was determined to take his cousin Mark, whom Paul did not trust just then, on a missionary journey. The three were later reconciled (Col. 4:10). Many ancient accounts say Barnabas was the first to preach in Rome and in Milan, but he was martyred in Cyprus and then buried by Mark at the Western Gate of the city of Salamis.

Also among the more prominent of the Seventy was the Apostle Titus, whom Paul called his brother (2 Corinthians 12:18) and his son (Titus 1:4), educated in Greek philosophy, but after reading the Prophet Isaiah he began to doubt the value of all he had been taught. Hearing the news of the coming of Jesus Christ, he joined some others from His works, the young Titus joined those who followed Him. Baptized by the Apostle Paul, he worked with and served the great Apostle to the Gentiles, traveling with him until Paul sent him to Crete in Greece, making him bishop of that city. It is said that Titus was in Rome at the time of the beheading of Saint Paul and that he buried his body of his spiritual father before returning home. Back in Crete, he converted and baptized many people, governing the Church on that island until he entered into rest at the age of ninety-four.

Many less prominent among the Seventy also labored for Christ unto death. Aristarchus, whom Saint Paul mentions several times (Acts 19:29; Col. 4:10) calling him a "fellow laborer," became bishop of Apamea in Syria. Sosthenes (Acts 18:17; I Col. 1:1) became bishop of Caesarea and Tychicus (Acts 2:4; Eph. 6:21; Col 4:7; 2 Titus 3:12) succeeded him in that city, Simeon (Mat 13:53; Mark 6:3), son of Cleopas (who was the brother of Joseph, the Betrothed of the Virgin Mary), succeeded James as bishop of Jerusalem. Aristovoulos (Romans 16:10), the brother of the Apostle Barnabas, preached the Gospel in Britain and died peacefully there.

The lives of these few are quite representative of the Seventy, who were instrumental to plant the Church throughout the world. Many became bishops, but the names of all are numbered in heaven in the Book of Life as faithful servants of the Lord, Apostles and foundations of the Church.

Please note: If you are interested in learning the names of the Seventy Apostles you may turn to page 1822 of the Orthodox Study Bible where they are listed.

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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