Orthodox Christian Fellowship (F.O.C.U.S) UNSW

Search me, God, and know my heart

2011-09-27T23:09:00.000+10:00

¹ You have searched me, LORD,
   and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
   you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
   you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
   you, LORD, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
   and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
   too lofty for me to attain.
⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
   Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
   if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
   if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
   your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
   and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
   the night will shine like the day,
   for darkness is as light to you.
¹³ For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
   when I was made in the secret place,
   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
   all the days ordained for me were written in your book
   before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts,^[a]God!
   How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
   they would outnumber the grains of sand—
   when I awake, I am still with you.
¹⁹ If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
   Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
²⁰ They speak of you with evil intent;
   your adversaries misuse your name.
²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD,
   and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
²² I have nothing but hatred for them;
   I count them my enemies.
²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;
   test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
   and lead me in the way everlasting.

His Grace Bishop Iakovos visiting FOCUS this Wednesday‏

2011-09-19T15:49:00.000+10:00

Dear FOCUS members,

This Wednesday at 1pm we will be extremely blessed to welcome His Grace Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis at our fellowship. Bishop Iakovos was enthroned earlier this year and made history by becoming the first ever Australian born Orthodox Bishop. He grew up in Sydney, but currently acts as an assistant bishop in Melbourne.

This rare honour of a Bishop visiting our university is perhaps a once in a lifetime opportunity. We will not only hear him talk, but will be able to ask questions and have a discussion with His Grace.

Please make every effort to come this Wednesday so that we can give Bishop Iakovos the best welcome possible. This is an opportunity for all of us which cannot be missed!

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday,

FOCUS UNSW

Our meetings are held on Level 3 Squarehouse at 1pm. Sometimes we use the large room (Room 301) which is near the top of the stairs, other times we are in the small office which can be found down the corridor and to the left.

If anyone has trouble finding our room on the day, or for any other inquiries, please contact Kosmas on 0400 734 538

Photos from our Forum: The Problem of Pain

2011-09-06T14:06:00.000+10:00

"That way ~>"

Fr Dimitri and Pan Tsomis

Our beautiful uni

Anastasia Chrisos and Fr Nicholas

Isn't it nice?

Life of Our Holy Father, St. Poimen The Great

2011-08-27T14:20:00.000+10:00

The Monk Poimen the Great (Abba Poimen) was born in about the year 340 in Egypt. With his two brothers, Anubios and Paisios, he went into one of the Egyptian monasteries, and all three accepted monastic tonsure. The brothers were such strict ascetics that when their mother came to the monastery to see her children, they did not come out to her from their cells. The mother stood there for a long time and wept. Then the Monk Poimen said to her through the closed door of the cell: "If thou bearest with the temporal parting from us now, then in the future life wilt thou see us, since we do hope upon God the Lover-of-Mankind!" The mother was humbled and returned home.

Fame about the deeds and virtues of the Monk Poimen spread throughout all the land. One time the governor of the district wanted to see him. The Monk Poimen, shunning fame, reasoned thus: "If dignitaries begin coming to me with respect, then also many of the people will start coming to me and disturb my quiet, and I shalt be deprived of the grace of humility, which I have found only with the help of God." And so he relayed a refusal to the messenger. For many of the monks, the Monk Poimen was a spiritual guide and instructor. And they wrote down his answers to serve to the edification of others besides themselves. A certain monk asked: "Ought one to veil over with silence the sin of a transgressing brother, if perchance one see him?" The elder answered: "If we reproach the sins of brothers, then God will reproach our sins, and if thou seest a brother sinning, believe not thine eyes and know, that thine own sin is like a wood-beam, but the sin of thy brother is like a wood-splinter, and then thou wilt not come into distress and temptation." Another monk turned to the saint, saying: "I have grievously sinned and I want to spend three years at repentance. Is such a length of time sufficient?" The elder answered: "That is a long time." The monk continued to ask how long a period of repentance did the saint reckon necessary for him -- a year or forty days? The elder answered: "I think that if a man repenteth from the depths of his heart and posits a firm intent to return no more to the sin, then God would accept also a three-day repentance." To the question, as to how to be rid of persistent evil thoughts, the saint answered: "If a man has on one side of him fire, and on the other side a vessel with water, then if he starts burning from the fire, he takes water from the vessel and extinguishes the fire. Like to this are the evil thoughts, suggested by the enemy of our salvation, which like a spark can enkindle sinful desires within man. It is necessary to put out these sparks with the water, which is prayer and the yearning of the soul for God."

The Monk Poimen was strict at fasting and did not partake of food for the space of a week or more. But others he advised to eat every day, only but without eating one's fill. For a certain monk, permitting himself to partake of food only on the seventh day but being angry with a brother, the saint said: "Thou wouldst learn to fast over six days, yet cannot abstain from anger for even a single day." To the question, which is better -- to speak or be silent, the elder said: "Whoso doth speak on account of God, doeth well, and whoso is silent on account of God -- that one doth act well." And moreover: "It may be, that a man seems to be silent, but if his heart doth judge others, then always is he speaking. But there are also those, who all the day long speak with their tongue, but within themself they do keep silence, since they judge no one."

The saint said: "For a man it is necessary to observe three primary rules: to fear God, to pray often and to do good for people." "Malice in turn never wipes out malice. If someone doeth thee bad, do them good, and thine good will conquer their bad." One time, when the monk with his students arrived at an Egyptian wilderness-monastery (since he had the habit to go about from place to place, so as to shun glory from men), it became known to him, that the elder living there was annoyed at his arrival and also was jealous of him. In order to overcome the malice of the hermit, the saint set off to him with his brethren, taking along with them food as a present. The elder refused to come out to them. Thereupon the Monk Poimen said: "We shall not depart from here, until we are granted to see and pay respect to the holy elder," -- and he remained standing in the bright heat at the door of the cell. Seeing such perseverance and lack of malice on the part of the Monk Poimen, the elder received him graciously and said: "It is right what I have heard about you, but I see in you the good deeds and an hundred times even more so." Thus did the Monk Poimen know how to extinguish malice and provide good example to others. He possessed such great humility, that often with a sigh he said: "I shalt be cast down to that place, whither was cast down Satan!"

One time there came to the saint a monk from afar, to get his guidance. He began to speak about sublime matters difficult to grasp. The saint turned away from him and was silent. To the bewildered monk they explained, that the saint did not like to speak about lofty matters. Then the monk began to ask him about the struggle with passions of soul. The saint turned to him with a joyful face: "Here now thou well hath spoken, and I must speak for it needs answer," -- and for a long while he provided instruction, as to how one ought to struggle with the passions and conquer them.

The Monk Poimen died at age 110, in about the year 450. Soon after his death he was acknowledged as a saint pleasing to God and received the title "the Great" -- as a sign of his great humility, modesty, uprightness, and self-denying service to God.

Source: http://members.cox.net/orthodoxheritage/Venerable%20POIMEN%20The%20Great.htm

The Problem of Pain

2011-08-14T22:34:00.000+10:00

We have all experienced grief, suffering and pain both physical and emotional. We all know there is gross injustice in the world. We have all wondered how God can allow natural disasters, or let 'bad' things happen to 'good' people.

Therefore, the Orthodox Christian fellowships of UNSW and USYD have asked a group of speakers to answer our questions and to share their experiences and opinions.

The name of the forum is:

THE PROBLEM OF PAIN: Making Sense of Human Suffering

Our speakers include:

Fr Dr Dimitri Kokkinos is a priest and neurologist who has examined the issue of suffering throughout his life, and experienced its effects in both parishioners and patients.

Fr Nicholas Stavropoulos is our second priest, and the CEO of St Basil's Homes, examining the suffering particular to the field of aged care.

Anastasia Chrisos is a social worker at Saint George hospital who, rehabilitates and helps people work through their pain.

Pan Tsomis is a forensic psychologist, dealing with both people who cause pain, and the aftermath of trauma with patients.

All four of our speakers have experienced first-hand the issues we are raising in this forum, both in their professional and spiritual lives. We know their experiences will be beneficial to questions about pain and suffering.

WHERE:The forum will be held in the Scientia building, Ronald Lu room, UNSW Kensington Campus.

WHEN: September 1st 2011

TIME: 6:30-9pm

Refreshments will be provided.

We look forward to seeing you and hearing your questions.

Please invite your friends and get the word out about this forum!

Q&A Forum: The Problem of Pain

2011-08-10T23:06:00.001+10:00

St Andrew's Seminary Patristic Symposium

2011-07-20T14:33:00.000+10:00

Psalm 102 (103): Bless the Lord, O my soul (Ευλόγει η Ψυχή μου τον Κύριον)

2011-07-08T13:01:00.001+10:00

What shall we give to the Lord in return for all that He has given us?

2011-06-25T00:48:00.000+10:00

What shall we give to the Lord in return for all that he has given us? For our sake, God lived among us. On account of our corrupt nature the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He became the benefactor of the ungrateful, the liberator of those in captivity. He is the sun of righteousness for those sitting in darkness. He who is impassible is on the cross. He is the light in Hades. He is life in death. He is the resurrection of the fallen, and we cry to him: Glory to you, our God.

This hymn is a summary of the whole of true Orthodox Christian theology, the life in Christ, in a simple, yet powerful, verse. It can be said that the texts we read and chant during the Divine services are an unlimited source of theology and poetical beauty.

Here we encounter the profound mystery of Christ: He is Light (John 8:12), He is Life (John 14:6), He is the Resurrection (John 11:25), He is the Word (John 1:1), He is our Benefactor (Hebrews 2:18), Liberator (John 8:32) and Redeemer (Galatians 3:13), the Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4:2) and the Impassible One (John 8:7) (without sins/passions). In a phrase, Christ is all and in all (Colossians 3:11). We are corrupt, we are ungrateful, we are in captivity, we are sitting in darkness, we are dead (emotionally, spiritually and physically) and we are fallen.

All these descriptions of Christ warrant deep contemplation individually, but we will focus on one: Christ is Life. In today’s world where so many brilliant scientific discoveries are made all the time, we still do not have the answer to this fundamental question: What is life? Many a great scientist have studied life and its origins: Darwin, Lamarck, Dawkins, Watson, Crick, Mendel, and the list goes on. Yet the question remains:

What is life?

Metropolitan Tryphon, who wrote the Akathist ‘Glory to God for all things’, gives us the answer:

"Christ is life. The familiar and operative term life is not at all a simple phenomenon. When Darwinism recently brought to the fore the question of life and tried to formulate its essence in precise terms, subjecting it to specific laws, it turns out that even in its biological sense life is one of the most impenetrable mysteries. All scholars halted before this problem of life as before a massive locked door. To describe the process as a chance movement of atoms and electrons, to say that the living cells of the body possess a consciousness, still falls very far short of explaining what life is. All scientific theories can have meaning only as more or less satisfying descriptions of a living process, the source of which apparently lies beyond the boundaries of this life itself. Old Testament Jewish religion affirmed that the source of cosmic life, the earth, the plants, and animals and humans, all lies in God, that is, an independent entity who has no prior origin. As the true Image of God, as God Incarnate, Jesus Christ, in this biological sense has the full justification to declare about Himself: I am the Life."

A certain doctor in Sydney asked a Priest, “Father, it’s been such a long time since you have had a blood test. Don’t you think you should come to me soon?” The Priest’s reply was, “Why do I need a blood test when I have Christ running in my veins?”

"I am the Resurrection and the Life...Do you believe this?" (John 11: 25)

Indeed, when we partake in the Sacramental life of the Church, we can say the same thing. That is the reason why we are brothers and sisters in Christ; not because we have a common ancestor, but because Christ’s blood runs in our veins and He abides in us (John 15:4).

So, Christ through His extreme humility lived among us, for our sake. What else can we possibly chant to Him except these words from the Psalms (Psalm 116:12):

What shall we give to the Lord in return for all that he has given us?

What can we possibly give the Lord Almighty, the Omnipotent, the Omniscient, the All-Good, our Creator, for giving us Life, Light, Redemption, Resurrection?

The Priest says in the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom and St Basil, “Your own of Your own we offer to You”.

We do not own anything, even our bodies. Everything has its existence in and through God, as it says in the Scriptures, "in whom we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).

Our answer is simple, yet profound. We chant to Him, we cry out as it says in the hymn, with all our heart which is the centre of our Personhood:

Glory to you, our God!

Glory to you my God for my pain, my suffering, my struggle, my difficulties, my sicknesses, my weaknesses, my woes, my family and friends, my intellect, my skills, my virtues, my whole life.

Repeating the eternal words of St John Chrysostom:

δόξα τῷ θεῷ πάντων ἕνεκεν

Glory to God for all things

Address by His Grace Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis

2011-06-15T22:58:00.000+10:00

From Mode of Life

Dear friends, I stand before you all, deeply honoured and thankful for the kind invitation extended by the Dean of the Sydney College of Divinity, Professor Diane Speed, to offer the Occasional Address at this year’s Graduation Ceremony of the S.C.D.

I remember fondly, my own graduation some 15 years ago, in May 1996 from St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College and the S.C.D. I remember the sense of awe as we entered this Great Hall, the pomp and ceremony, the sense of achievement and the overwhelming anticipation of what lay ahead for each one of us. I felt a sense of solidarity with those graduating then, and I feel a deep connection with you all now.

I was deeply privileged to study at St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College, which this year celebrates 25 years since its opening. My time there provided me an introduction to the inexhaustible wealth of the pristine beauty and richness of the Early Church: Her Fathers, Her Ecumenical Councils, Her Liturgy, Music and Iconography, all were lived and experienced doxologically as ethos and phronema of the College, or more precisely Ethos and Phronema of the Orthodox Church. It was at St. Andrew’s where the necessary foundations were given and nurtured in order to be where I am today, a Shepherd in the Church, and for this I am eternally grateful.

And I am sure that I could speak on behalf of all graduates past and present of the S.C.D., that as students and graduates we all feel deeply indebted and connected not only to our own Colleges, but rather to all Member Institutions of the S.C.D. as well. More specifically, to our lecturers, staff members and fellow students, who have now become life-long friends and colleagues, and all those who labored to nurture and provide each one of us an amazing opportunity to participate in this sacred journey.

Now, as graduates of theology, we are often asked, what did the study of theology give you?

Well in the words of St. Silouan the Athonite, ‘it is one thing to speak of God; it is quite another to know God’. And I always remember with fondness my first lecture in Introduction to Theology when myProfessor and Dean Archbishop Stylianos said that theology was not ‘merely intellectualism but actually ‘eating’ and ‘drinking’ from the table of Life of the humble who seek the Lord.’ This for me, at first, was an enigma, but also a revelation, which required nothing less than a revolution.

And it was in this way that I came to see the sacred study more than simply comprehending knowledge but actually humbly trying to under-stand or better still trying to stand under and with the Lord. For without this revolution, you cannot have metanoia [this radical change of mind], or alloiosis [namely, a deep change from within]. Consequently, we can become guilty, according to St Paul, from the passage we just heard, ‘of always learning and never being able to come to the knowledge of the Truth’ (2Tim 3:1-17, 4:1-5), or worse still, ‘having the form of godliness but denying its power.’

Quite simply and sincerely, more than being immensely informative, this sacred study was deeply formative and ultimately transformative.

But how could it not be so?

This sacred study radically changed my life. It opened my experience and understanding to the reality that God truly is Love, and thatout of love He creates, and out of Love He nurtures, provides, suffers, is Crucified and Resurrected, so that we may all experience and abide, in Love, with Him and each other.

And it is with this conviction that I serve, suffer and am saved in the diakonia of His Flock. And I pray that you too have this experience and conviction as well.

Now, having been prepared in such a way, you, as graduates, have the enthusiasm of dreams and aspirations of how and where you see yourselves now and in the future, and these are wonderful and necessary.

However, the reality of what actually lies ahead can devastate these dreams and any romantic notions of ministry. But this is not something that should stifle or discourage all sincere endeavours in our ministries or vocations.

In anticipation of the ‘perilous times that will come’, since ‘people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, blasphemers, unthankful, traitors, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God’, we choose to accept this reality knowingly and willingly, and to remain steadfast out of Love for God and love for His suffering servant.

Furthermore, it is because of the anticipated difficulties, dangers and even persecutions, that St. Paul reminds us: ‘continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them.’ And since he truly stands a bright example to all as one who has ‘fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith’, we too are encouraged in fact to expect all types of challenges and tribulations, even persecution and death, ‘with longsuffering, love, perseverance’, ‘with the knowledge and faith that the Lord will deliver’, ‘all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus’.

Therefore, we as students of theology – for that is what we all are – have a responsibility to see and speak ‘the truth in love’, in all situations and on every topic.

And if we take a snap shot of our world in 2011, we will see that it is not all that different to the world of the Apostles, essentially.

Considering the advancements in technology, science, medicine and communication, humanity still suffers so much conflict, famine, disease, injustice, instability and loneliness.

Yet I feel there is a most recent ‘plague’ afflicting us especially in the last decades. And that is…political correctness.

Yes, political correctness!

And where political correctness abounds, Truth suffers!

Is this not the case?

- Who can be a student of the sacred study, with good conscience, and not be wounded deeply at the constant negation of God’s truth around us, as revealed to us in Holy Scripture and Sacred Tradition?

- Who cannot see that eternal moral laws and values are negated or audaciously corrected by secular arguments?

And St. Paul tells us, by whom these things will occur. By those ‘who will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers, turning away from truth and be turned aside to fables’.

Now, please do not mistake me for a pessimist or fatalist, but do take me for a realist!

For we are called to go forth, engage and respond to the challenges realistically, genuinely that is, truthfully and in love.

My friends, don’t be discouraged at the difficulty of witnessing the truth in a time that ‘distracts us’ ever so subtly. For Christ reassures us that He has overcome the world and so it is in Him and through Him that our true victory lies.

Dear friends, there is no greater joy than to know that being in the service of others, you serve God Himself.

Whether in ordained or lay ministries or through personal witness in our lives, the purpose of our life has now been changed through this sacred study.

We could say much more but time does not permit.

Therefore, allow me to congratulate the Sydney College of Divinity Graduates of 2011 for your remarkable achievements.

I congratulate your families, teachers and all who have labored with and for you during your time at the various Member Institutions.

I pray that the Merciful Lord will bless, guide and protect you in every way as you commence this new stage in your lives.

And finally, I thank the S.C.D. family once again, for giving me the privilege and honour of addressing you all here today.

Please allow me to finish with the words of St. Paul to each and everyone of us:

‘I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom. Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season…be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry!’

This address was made on Saturday, 21st May, 2011 at 11am

At the 27th Graduation Ceremony of the Sydney College of Divinity

In the Great Hall

University of Sydney

Doxastiko of the Sunday of the Blind Man

2011-06-01T16:43:00.000+10:00

Who can speak of Your mighty works, O Christ,

or enumerate Your many miracles?

You appeared on earth in two natures, in Your goodness;

and You likewise granted twofold cures to the sick.

For example, You opened not

only the bodily eyes of the man born blind,

but also the eyes of his soul.

And for this he confessed You to be God,

though concealed, who grants to all the great mercy.

The Fall Of Constantinople

2011-05-29T19:41:00.001+10:00

O God, the heathen have come into your inheritance, they have defiled your holy temple, O Lord. They have given the dead bodies of your servants to the beasts of the earth. They have shed their blood like water round about Jerusalem and there was no one to bury them. We have become a reproach to our neighbors, subjected to scorn and derision from those around us. How long, O Lord? Again how long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? How long shall your jealousy burn as fire? Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not know you, and on kingdoms which have not called upon your name. Do not remember our old sins, but quickly help us, and have mercy on us.

Our Monasteries need your help!

2011-05-27T12:45:00.000+10:00

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We need your assistance - action is needed prior to Tuesday 31 May 2011!

After many years of hard work and fund-raising, and with the support of all the Greek Orthodox Australian faithful of NSW and other States, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia has been developing two Monasteries on the Central Coast of NSW: Pantanassa Monastery at Mangrove Creek and Holy Cross Monastery at Mangrove Mountain. At the time of acquiring these lands, the construction of a monastery, including a church was permissible within the current zones, and on this basis the lands were acquired and the monasteries planned

NOW, Gosford Council is proposing to eliminate "places of public worship" from the zones on which the Monasteries are located under its "Gosford Draft LEP 2009". This means that future development and expansion of the monasteries, including construction of new churches, is threatened and may not be permissible on monastery lands.
We have:
made detailed submissions to Council opposing the proposed change to the zoning - these have been rejected! and
asked Council to acknowledge the monasteries future development needs by placing the monasteries in the SP1 'Special Activities Zone' which would allow for development of the monasteries with Council consent based on merit considerations - this too was rejected!
On Monday 23 May 2011 we were informed that Council plans to consider the adoption of the "Gosford Draft LEP 2009" on Tuesday 31 May 2011!

You can help by sending letters we have prepared for you to the Councillors and Ministers at the click of one button. We have less than one week to let Councillors and NSW State Government Ministers know that we are very upset and disappointed with this whole matter! We must act before Tuesday 31 May 2011.

CLICK HERE TO ACT NOW!

We thank you in advance for your support and pray that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ bless you and your families. We will email you further developments if needed.

Prayerfully Yours,
Pantanassa Monastery
&
Holy Cross Monastery

'Home' Revisited

2011-05-14T23:22:00.000+10:00

A gem from Romanos' blog from about a year ago...

http://cost-of-discipleship.blogspot.com/2010/05/home.html

Home...
What’s that supposed to mean?
Isn’t it supposed to be a place where you go after a long, hard day in the world, to relax, to restore yourself, to feel welcome in the company of family and friends?
That’s what I’ve always thought it was supposed to be, but that’s not what it has always been, for me.

What we find is that, unless we live alone, home is often none of these things.

Instead, for some, home is a place to throw down your things, dump yourself into a comfortable chair, and try to blot out the memories of the day by immersion in television or a computer game. For some, it’s a place where there may be food laid out on a table, or left sitting on the stove, where you might hear somebody call out, “Supper’s on the table if anybody wants it!”
It may be a place where you’re afraid to come home, because the criticism you encounter there is a 24/7 experience, where you feel disapproved of, pushed around, and in general made to feel less worthy than you’re made to feel even in the world. “Don’t do that! Don’t touch this! Hey, that’s mine, hands off! You’re messing up my kitchen (or bathroom, or livingroom)!”

Sometimes it’s even a place where the people you live with are always on the edge of hinting, by gestures if not by words, “Are you still here? Why aren’t you out on your own already?” It seems like they just can’t wait to get you out. And why? Can being alone really be that much fun? Always an unwanted guest, sometimes even in your own house. That’s what it can be like for some people, even for Christians.

What do we want? What do we expect? Does the golden rule not apply here? “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” or even its silver equivalent “Do not unto others what you would not want done to you.” As C. S. Lewis says, there’s been no shortage of good advice around since the beginning of human history, yet we never seem to take it. And the golden rule is no mere advice, it’s the words of Jesus Himself.

The holy Apostles teach us to “give way to one another, just as we give way to Christ” (cf. Ephesians 5:21). What do we think this means? It’s not another legalism, though we might want to make it one. It’s a word of encouragement to us, to be humble, welcoming and supportive of others, in whom Christ lives, and for whom Christ died, to love others as we love ourselves—something we can only do if we really do love ourselves, because a friend is another self.

A perfect example of making “home” a reality is shown in the ikon called “the hospitality of Abraham.” He and Sarah were camped out at the oak of Mamre. He was sitting in front of the tent.
Out on the horizon of that desolate landscape he saw three figures approaching.
Did he wait for them to come closer?
Did he pick up his blanket, go back into his tent and pull the flap over the opening, pretending to not be at home?
No, he didn’t.

He went running towards the three figures and when close, he bowed before them, much as the Japanese do today, and offered to make them comfortable, to let them rest, refresh themselves, and be fed in his humble home. He called them, “my Lord,” and then made good his offer, with Sarah’s help, to welcome them “home,” be it ever so humble. He never thought of himself, only of his guests.

Even before Christ came in the flesh, here was a man on the lookout for God coming to visit him, and He did, and in a manner that suggested something more than we could have guessed. Even though God is One, He is also Love and therefore must be more than One. Abraham made his guests feel at home, made them feel as though they belonged there, as we sometimes say without really meaning it,“Mi casa es su casa.”

I want where I live to be home, not just for me, but for anyone who knocks at my door.

Home, because the door is never locked.
Home, because anyone can take off
his shoes and coat
and sit down anywhere.
Home, because whatever is in the kitchen is to be eaten.
Home, because there’s always a spare pillow, blanket and bed.
Home, because your thoughts
and feelings are as much respected
as my own.
Home, because you are safe here, just as I am,
from the world’s guile.
Home, because Jesus lives here with us.
Home, because you know that I want to be with you.

How can we make home a reality for ourselves and for others?
How can we make Christ welcome, since He is in our midst?

Why do we use candles in Church?‏

2011-05-03T14:58:00.001+10:00

“I offer light to the Lord, in order that He may bestow the light of grace, spiritual light, upon me, that He may lead me from the darkness of sin into the light of the knowledge of God and of virtue; I offer fire that the fire of the grace of the Holy Spirit may be kindled in my heart, and that it may quench the fire of the vices of that miserable heart. I bring a light that I myself may become a light, burning and shining to all that are in the church.” St John of Kronstadt

h/t to FOCUS President's email

"ΑΝΑΣΤΑΣΕΩΣ ΗΜΕΡΑ" ΜΑΪΣΤΟΡΕΣ ΤΗΣ ΨΑΛΤΙΚΗΣ

2011-04-27T18:32:00.000+10:00

By St. Gregory the Theologian

Yesterday the Lamb was slain and the door-posts were anointed, and Egypt bewailed her Firstborn, and the Destroyer passed us over, and the Seal was dreadful and reverend, and we were walled in with the Precious Blood. Today we have clean escaped from Egypt and from Pharaoh; and there is none to hinder us from keeping a Feast to the Lord our God— the Feast of our Departure; or from celebrating that Feast, not in the old leaven of malice and wickedness, but in the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, carrying with us nothing of ungodly and Egyptian leaven.

Yesterday I was crucified with Him; today I am glorified with Him; yesterday I died with Him; today I am quickened with Him; yesterday I was buried with Him; today I rise with Him. But let us offer to Him Who suffered and rose again for us — you will think perhaps that I am going to say gold, or silver, or woven work or transparent and costly stones, the mere passing material of earth, that remains here below, and is for the most part always possessed by bad men, slaves of the world and of the Prince of the world. Let us offer ourselves, the possession most precious to God, and most fitting; let us give back to the Image what is made after the Image. Let us recognize our Dignity; let us honour our Archetype; let us know the power of the Mystery, and for what Christ died.

Let us become like Christ, since Christ became like us. Let us become God's for His sake, since He for ours became Man. He assumed the worse that He might give us the better; He became poor that we through His poverty might be rich; He took upon Him the form of a servant that we might receive back our liberty; He came down that we might be exalted; He was tempted that we might conquer; He was dishonoured that He might glorify us; He died that He might save us; He ascended that He might draw to Himself us, who were lying low in the Fall of sin. Let us give all, offer all, to Him Who gave Himself a Ransom and a Reconciliation for us. But one can give nothing like oneself, understanding the Mystery, and becoming for His sake all that He became for ours.

Source

Combined University Orthodox Fellowship's Easter BBQ

2011-04-24T18:53:00.000+10:00

Christ is Risen!

2011-04-24T10:59:00.000+10:00

Christ is Risen from the Dead, by Death tramping down Death,

and to those in the Tombs, Bestowing Life.

ΠΡΩΤΗ ΑΝΑΣΤΑΣΗ

2011-04-24T10:49:00.003+10:00

It is Holy Saturday morning. We do not hear the usual service for a morning, rather it is the Vespers served with the Divine Liturgy of St Basil. It begins as usual with the evening psalm, the litany, the hymns following “Lord, I cry out to You” and the chanting of “O Gladsome Light”. Following the entrance, fifteen readings from the Old Testament are read which relate to God's work of Creation and Salvation, fulfilled in the coming of Christ. In the place of the Trisagion Hymn, the baptismal verse is chanted: “As many as have been baptised into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). Then the epistle reading from Romans takes place: “Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him” (Romans 6:8).

The Royal Gates are closed. The Priest changes from dark, mournful vestments into the bright, joyous vestments. Then, in anticipation of what is to come, he bursts out of the Royal Doors chanting the victory hymn: “Arise O God and judge the earth, for You shall inherit all the nations”. He frantically makes a procession around the Church throwing about leaves, signifying Christ’s victory over death. Indeed, it is truly a Victory Procession. A victory over all of God’s enemies, as well as ours: the devil, sin and finally death itself.

This victory hymn is extracted directly from Psalm 82. The Psalmist commonly uses the phrase “Arise O God”, meaning “rise up victoriously over Your enemies, O God” but, more significantly for us Christians, it prefigures the real resurrection of Christ from the dead. If God is victorious over His enemies, then through Him we become victorious.

How does God “judge the earth”? We are judged by being in the presence of the risen Christ: not by some unjust judge or a corrupt juridical system, but by standing in the presence of Christ, crucified and glorified, our hearts are laid bare and we cannot hide from ourselves or from God. Hence, we are judged.

Finally, the hymn ends with the phrase, “for You shall inherit all the nations”. In the Old Testament, it is clear that the coming Messiah is the inheritor of Israel. Jesus Christ, being the Messiah and the Son of God, not only inherits Israel, but inherits the whole earth and everything on it. And through Him we are made heirs of the promise, we all become sons of God.

Behold, the Bridegroom...

2011-04-18T16:44:00.000+10:00

"Ἐρχόμενος ὁ Κύριος πρὸς τὸ ἑκούσιον πάθος, τοῖς Ἀποστόλοις έλεγεν ἐν τῇ ὀδῶ˙ Ἰδοὺ ἀναβαίνομεν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα, καὶ παραδοθήσεται ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου, καθὼς γέγραπται περὶ αὐτοῦ. Δεῦτε οὒν καὶ ἠμεῖς, κεκαθαρμέναις διανοίαις, συμπορευθῶμεν αὐτῶ, καὶ συσταυρωθῶμεν, καὶ νεκρωθῶμεν δί΄αὐτὸν ταὶς τοῦ βίου ἠδοναῖς˙ ἴνα καὶ συζήσωμεν αὐτῶ καὶ ἀκούσωμεν βοῶντος αὐτοῦ. Οὐκέτι εἰς τὴν ἐπίγειον Ἱερουσαλήμ διὰ τὸ παθεῖν, ἀλλὰ ἀναβαίνω πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα μου, καὶ Πατέρα ὑμῶν, καὶ Θεόν μου καὶ Θεὸν ὑμῶν. Καὶ συνανυψῶ ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν ἄνω Ἱερουσαλήμ, ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν Οὐρανῶν"

As the Lord went to His voluntary Passion, He said to His apostles on the way:

"Behold we go up to Jerusalem and the Son of man shall give Himself up as it is written of Him."

Come then and let us journey with Him with pure minds,

let us crucified with Him and die for His sake to the pleasures of this life,

that we may also live with Him and hear Him no longer as now in the earthly Jerusalem due to suffer,

but rather saying to us: I ascend to My Father and your Father

and to My God and your God and I shall raise you up to the Jerusalem on high in the Kingdom of heaven.

Hear it on Youtube

Fr Nicholas visits UNSW

2011-04-14T21:51:00.000+10:00

Fr Nicholas Stavropoulos visited our fellowship today to discuss the very important topic of 'Choices' in our lives. Very briefly, he said that the only real goal in our life we should have is reaching God and the rest of our life is part of the journey of struggling with God's will in our everyday living; we may have certain goals that we have set for ourselves, but God might have other plans for us.

Saint Thomais the Martyr

2011-04-14T18:43:00.000+10:00

From: http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2011/04/saint-thomais-martyr-of-alexandria.html\

St. Thomais of Alexandria (Feast Day - April 14)

The Holy martyr Thomais was born into a Christian family in the city of Alexandria. She was raised in piety, and loved to read spiritual books.

When she was fifteen, the girl married a fisherman, who was also a Christian. The young couple lived in the house of her husband's family, where St Thomais was loved for her mild and gentle disposition, and for other good traits.

St Thomais' father-in-law, at the prompting of the devil, was captivated by her beauty. One night, when his son went out fishing, he attempted to lead his daughter-in-law into sin. Horrified, St Thomais admonished the senseless old man, reminding him of the Last Judgment and the penalty for sin. Infuriated by her steadfastness, he seized a sword and threatened to cut off her head. St Thomais answered resolutely, "Even if you cut me to pieces, I shall not stray from the commandments of the Lord." Overcome with passion, the old man cut St Thomais in two with the sword. The saint received the crown of martyrdom in the year 476.

Divine punishment overtook the murderer. He became blind and could not find the door in order to escape. In the morning, the companions of the saint's husband came to the door. They saw the body of the saint, and the blind old man covered with blood. The murderer confessed his evil deed and asked to be taken to the judge for punishment. He was beheaded for his crime.

At this time, St Daniel of Skete (June 7) happened to be in Alexandria. He told the monks of the Oktodekadian monastery (at the eighteenth mile on the road leading west from Alexandria) to bring the body of the martyr to the monastery and bury her in the cemetery with the departed fathers. Some of the monks were scandalized because he wanted to bury a woman's body with the monks. St Daniel replied, "She is a mother to me and to you, because she died for her chastity."

After the funeral St Daniel returned to his own skete. Soon one of the young monks began to complain to him that he was tormented by fleshly passions. St Daniel ordered him to go and pray at the grave of the holy martyr Thomais. The monk did the bidding of the Elder. While he prayed at the grave, he fell into a light sleep. St Thomais appeared to him and said, "Father, accept my blessing and go in peace."

When he awakened, the monk felt joy and peace in his soul. After this, he told St Daniel that he was no longer bothered by the temptations of the flesh. Abba Daniel exclaimed, "Great is the boldness of those who have struggled for chastity."

Many found both spiritual joy and release from their passions at the grave of St Thomais. Her holy relics were transferred to Constantinople to one of the women's monasteries. The Russian pilgrim Archdeacon Zosimas venerated them in 1420.

St Thomais is invoked by those seeking deliverance from sexual impurity. Other saints whose intercession we seek for this purpose are: St John the Much-Suffering (July 18) and St Moses the Hungarian (July 26).

Source

HYMN OF PRAISE: SAINT THOMAIS

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Whoever suffers because of his evil deeds

Does not have a share with the angels:

Whoever suffers for the will of God,

And for the sake of Christ, misfortunes endures,

Either from the faithful or from the unfaithful,

That one, will gaze upon the face of God.

Thomais, handmaiden of God,

According to her heart, was, a true, devoutly-praying person.

But, for the sake of God's law, she suffered

From her father-in-law, arrogant.

Leave, O father-in-law, my poor body alone!

Of the Most High God are you not afraid?

The human body, even though it is plain mud

Because of the soul, by God, to us, it is given.

If, with sin, the body we defile,

Of our soul, we are breaking the wings,

From the Living God, we are separating it,

And to the unclean one, we give it as a booty.

From passion blind, the father-in-law axed her to pieces;

May God forgive! The righteous one uttered.

But to the murderer, blindness befell -

The two-fold blindman, around Hades crawls.

Hosanna!

2011-04-13T22:46:00.000+10:00

From: http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/hopko/hosanna

The Christian Church celebrates the event of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem on the Sunday before the great celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection from the dead, the holy Pascha. The event of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem is recorded in all the four Gospels. It is one of the things that is found in all of the Gospels. In Mark and in Matthew and in Luke, the entrance into Jerusalem is also connected, after the entrance, with the cleansing of the Temple by Jesus when he sees that the Temple is somehow being violated by becoming a house of commerce and buying and selling and so on that Jesus gets angry over, whereas in St. John’s Gospel, the theological Gospel, the cleansing of the temple actually begins in the beginning of the Gospel.

Now in Mark and Matthew and Luke, we have the recording of Jesus entering into the city. We have this recording actually recorded before the final discourses of Jesus about the coming of the end and the end of the world which will be read in the Church during Holy Week. So in Mark, for example, we have in the eleventh chapter simply stated, very simply and starkly as is in the custom of Mark: When they drew near to Jerusalem to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you. Immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied and which no one has ever sat, untie it and bring it and if anyone says to you, ‘What are you doing? Why are you doing this?’ you just tell them the Lord has need of it, and they will send it back here immediately.”

And they went, they found the colt, they untied it, and then when they were asked, “Why are you untying it?” They say that Jesus has need of it, and they let them go, they bring the colt to Jesus, throw their garments upon it. He sits upon it, and they spread their garments on the road and they spread leafy branches that have been cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed cried out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is coming. Hosanna in the highest!” Then he enters Jerusalem and cleanses the Temple.

Basically that’s the same story that you find in Matthew and Luke. In Matthew there is an interesting touch because Matthew directly quotes the prophet Zachariah, where you have this double expression in the Hebrew Bible: the foal of an ass. And it’s funny that Matthew uses a plural. He says, “He puts the cloaks on them,” but there was only one donkey, as just they repeat in a different way the saying about the one animal. But Jesus is on it, and he enters into the city and you have these lines from the great psalm, the victory psalm, Psalm 118, which will be used again on the Holy Pascha: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest! God is saving us!”

But in Mark and Matthew and Luke just like in John we should know that, contrary to what people imagine on Palm Sunday, this entry into Jerusalem was no great long-lasting, universal celebration of the Lord’s coming. Probably it was even done by a handful of people with a bunch of children at a very short period of time that he comes in on that donkey. The people see him in John’s Gospel. They know that he has raised Lazarus. They call out to him with this marvelous name: “Hosanna! Alleluia! Blessed is he who comes, [the] son of David!” and then it’s over. And then it’s over, and it says in the Gospels the disciples didn’t even quite understand what was going on. In St. John’s Gospel it says specifically that they didn’t understand it.

But we do understand it. We understand that it was the one time on earth when Jesus, by children—out of the mouths of the babes and sucklings—the prophecy says, “He has received perfect praise.” That’s a prophecy. It had to be fulfilled. He had to enter the holy city before he was kicked out of the city. He had to cleanse the Temple before he himself became the living Temple. And the Temple was destroyed, and he speaks about the Temple of his own body at the Passion. That’s one of the accusations against Jesus: that he would destroy the Temple and raise it up. And it says he spoke about the Temple of his own body, so he has to enter the city in glory in order to be expelled from it in ignominy—to be expelled from it in degradation and humiliation and revilement and debasement—but that moment did take place. We believe it took place: that he entered the city, and he was glorified even by the mouths of children and babes, and then the leaders of the people saw it and they became terrified and they decided to kill him. So this is what is celebrated on Palm Sunday.

And it’s interesting to note not only the Gospel readings for Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday, which go together, but also to note the epistle readings on these days, because on Saturday, on Lazarus Saturday, the epistle reading is taken from Hebrews, and it’s a reading that people could wonder, “Gee, why is this particular reading read on the festival of the raising of Lazarus? Is it simply because we’re coming to the end of the epistle of the Hebrews that’s read during Lent so we have to end it and get it over with and move on?” No, I don’t think that’s the answer. What it really seems to be is, strangely enough, a warning, a connection that if we do celebrate the raising of Lazarus and Palm Sunday, then we had better take care of the poor. So you have the linking again to that parable in Luke of Lazarus and the rich man, because the reading begins, “Let’s be grateful for having received the kingdom that can not be shaken, let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” So it tells us we are to be in terror of what God is doing here, what he’s showing us.

And then you have: “Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers. Do not neglect to visit those who are in prison, who are ill-treated. Don’t commit adultery. Honor marriage. Honor the poor. Let your life be free from love of money.” There you have the connection with the rich man in the parable: “Be content with what you have. I will never fail you.” And then it says, “Remember your leaders. remember who taught you.” And that could go back to Moses, even: “Consider the outcome of their life.” And then it says, it ends with: “Jesus Christ: the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Yesterday in the time of Moses, today in the time of Paul, and forever, including our time here in the 21st century: Jesus Christ the same.

So we are warned: if he is our Lord, we have to keep his commandments. we have to flee from luxury, carnality, just building up our own treasures on earth. And we have to care for the poor, the prisoners, those who have nothing. We have to be faithful in our marriages. We have to avoid all immorality and adulterous and carnal living. We have to be free from the love of money, which St. Paul says is idolatry. We have to do all these things, otherwise the resurrection of Christ doesn’t save us: the resurrection of him who is the same yesterday: in the time of Moses and the prophets; today: at the time of Paul, whoever is writing this letter; and forever and ever: including today in the 21st century.

And then we can know that the epistle for the Sunday Liturgy of the entry of Lord to Jerusalem is taken from the letter to the Philippians, and it’s so wonderful, because on Palm Sunday you have that one time—the only time when on the planet Earth Jesus was hailed as king and Lord. He was rejected here, [but] there was that one moment, that one period, on that afternoon when he came riding on that donkey as a victory procession. And it was a victory procession. That’s why it says: “bearing the branches of victory,” and the Gospel is the victory of the king, and the king is Christ, but he will be victorious through the Cross. But before the Cross, he is hailed as the victorious king. And we should not forget that the title on his Cross, in all four Gospels was “King of the Jews.” He is the king of the Jews. Palm Sunday is the most Hebraic and Jewish of all the festivals in the Christian Church, the beloved people Israel with their beloved Messiah, the one that God loves and was faithful to to the end, through whom he saves all the Gentiles and the whole of creation: Jesus, the king of the Jews. So he is honored on that day as the king, the king of the Jews.

And so the epistle on Palm Sunday, it seems to me, is a kind of statement to us believers in Jesus, those who believe: it is all written that we may believe how we ought to be, what our life ought to look like if Jesus is our king, what our life ought to look like if we hold in our hands the palms and the branches, what our life ought to look like if we sing, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes, the son of David, the king of Israel!” what ought our life to look like if Jesus is our king. And the celebration of Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday is the celebration of the kingdom, the kingship of Christ it is sometimes called in Jewish tradition, the feast of the kingdom, the feast of Christ as king.

So what does that epistle say? It begins by saying, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I would say rejoice!” Because if Christ is our king, then we rejoice. It’s a sign on our face that we have the joy that no one can take away from us. Those who belong to Christ who are morose, dark, irritated, judgmental: they are not Christians; they are not disciples of Christ. Christ’s disciples are characterized by joy, rejoicing in the victory of Christ, the victory of God in Christ, filled with exceedingly great joy, from the beginning of the Gospel when the shepherds, through the angels, they were filled with exceedingly great joy at hearing these glad tidings. The Gospel in the New Testament writings, the Gospels and the Acts will end with exceeding great joy, exceeding great joy.

So we are commanded to rejoice, on the Sunday of Myrrh-bearing women after Pascha there would be songs that say the myrrh-bearing women were commanded to rejoice. We have the commandment of God to be joyful, so it says, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice!” The second verse says, “Let all people know your forbearance, your patient endurance, your suffering, your long-suffering, because the Lord is at hand.” Then it says, “Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with eucharistia, with thanksgiving let your petitions, your requests, be made known to God.”

So Christians are characterized [as] people devoid of anxiety. No anxiety about anything, because we trust, we make our needs known to God with gratitude, with thanksgiving for his victory and [the knowledge] that he will take care of us. And then it says, “And the peace of God”—theshalom, the peace that characterizes the kingdom that passes all understanding “will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” So: peace and joy. The Apostle Paul would say that the kingdom of God is the peace and the joy and the righteousness in the Holy Spirit, and those are the great characteristics of the kingship of the Messiah, the kingdom of God shalom, eirini, peace, joy, en dikaiosini, sadaka in Hebrew, righteousness, justice, these are the things that characterize the Christian life if Christ is our king.

And then you have this marvelous sentence: “And, finally, brothers and sisters, finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” That’s what a Christian is: a Christian is a human being who believes that the one true and living God has acted in this world through his Son and Word and icon, Jesus of Nazareth, born of the virgin, who is crucified and raised and glorified for our salvation, the Lord of the living and the dead, the judge of the universe. And those who belong to him, those who have him as their king, those who hold the palms and the branches in their hands, those who sing “Hosanna” to him are people who only think about whatever is true, whatever is precious, honorable, whatever is just or righteous, whatever is pure or clean, whatever is lovely or beautiful, whatever is gracious, anything excellent, anything worthy of praise. This is where their minds and hearts are. True, honorable just, pure, lovely, gracious, excellent, worthy of praise: that’s where the Christian is.

And then the epistle reading ends. It’s a short epistle reading. It ends: “And what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me,” the apostle Paul writes, “you do it, and the God of peace will be with you.”

So we pray on Palm Sunday when we glorify Jesus as our king, before his saving passion. We pray that what we have learned, what we have received, what we have heard and seen, not only in the Apostle Paul but in Christ himself and all his saints, that we would do it. And we know that in doing it, the God of peace will be always with us, and we will have that peace that passes human understanding.

We celebrate the raising of Lazarus and the Lord’s entrance into [Jerusalem on] Palm Sunday before the week of his saving passion. And that celebration—it’s a foretaste, it’s a victory foretaste, within the conditions of the fallen world, of the victory that will take place a week later, that will recreate the whole world and transform, as it says in the service, “even the place of the skull, Golgotha, into Paradise.” We celebrate the universal resurrection and the glorification of Jesus by the raising of Lazarus before we celebrate his own death and his own raising by God the Father into the glory of the kingdom that literally has no end.

PANTANASSA MONASTERY - EASTER CANDLES

2011-04-06T09:20:00.001+10:00

A message from Elder Eusebios of Pantanassa Monastery:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I am writing to you from Pantanassa Greek Orthodox Monastery. You may not have heard about our monastery before. We are a Greek Orthodox monastery located on the Central Coast of N.S.W. Australia. Our monastery was established with the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church, in 1976, and currently consists of 5 monks. In May 2005 we began constructing a monastic complex in a beautiful location on top of a cliff overlooking the Dubbo Valley and nearby National Parks at Mangrove Mountain. Although construction has progressed well we have only completed about 45% of the project. In order to raise funds, the fathers of the monastery make and sell pure beeswax Easter Candles. These candles are ideal Easter gifts for relatives and God-children or for taking to Church for the Easter – Resurrection Service.

...

https://www.pantanassamonastery.org/easter-products.html

We thank you in advance for your assistance and pray that by the intercessions of our Lady Theotokos Pantanassa, the blessings of our Lord be upon you and your families this Easter. Prayerfully yours

Fr Eusebios

PANTANASSA MONASTERY

567 Mangrove Creek Rd

Mangrove Creek NSW 2250

AUSTRALIA

t 4374 1060

f 4374 1422

Fellowship Stall - UNSW Library

2011-03-31T22:54:00.000+11:00

"This is the generation of those who seek the Lord"

Psalm 24:6

Thank you to all who helped today at our stall and God bless our work for the rest of the session!

Whom Shall I Fear?

2011-03-31T22:40:00.001+11:00

St John Chrysostom

The waters have risen and severe storms are upon us, but we do not fear drowning, for we stand firmly upon a rock. Let the sea rage, it cannot break the rock. Let the waves rise, they cannot sink the boat of Jesus. What are we to fear? Death? Life to me means Christ, and death is gain. Exile? ‘The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord. The confiscation of goods? We brought nothing into this world, and we shall surely take nothing from it. I have only contempt for the world’s threats, I find its blessings laughable. I have no fear of poverty, no desire for wealth. I am not afraid of death nor do I long to live, except for your good. I concentrate therefore on the present situation, and I urge you, my friends, to have confidence.

Do you not hear the Lord saying: Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst? Will he be absent, then, when so many people united in love are gathered together? I have his promise; I am surely not going to rely on my own strength! I have what he has written; that is my staff, my security, my peaceful harbour. Let the world be in upheaval. I hold to his promise and read his message; that is my protecting wall and garrison. What message? Know that I am with you always, until the end of the world!

If Christ is with me, whom shall I fear? Though the waves and the sea and the anger of princes are roused against me, they are less to me than a spider’s web. Indeed, unless you, my brothers, had detained me, I would have left this very day. For I always say “Lord, your will be done”; not what this fellow or that would have me do, but what you want me to do. That is my strong tower, my immovable rock, my staff that never gives way. If God wants something, let it be done! If he wants me to stay here, I am grateful. But wherever he wants me to be, I am no less grateful.

Yet where I am, there you are too, and where you are, I am. For we are a single body, and the body cannot be separated from the head nor the head from the body. Distance separates us, but love unites us, and death itself cannot divide us. For though my body die, my soul will live and be mindful of my people.

You are my fellow citizens, my fathers, my brothers, my sons, my limbs, my body. You are my light, sweeter to me than the visible light. For what can the rays of the sun bestow on me that is comparable to your love? The sun’s light is useful in my earthly life, but your love is fashioning a crown for me in the life to come.

Excerpt from a homily by St. John Chrysostom (Ante exsilium, nn. 1-3, PG 52, 427-430).

By the Rivers of Babylon

2011-03-30T13:57:00.000+11:00

Selected verses from Psalm 136/7.

2011-03-24T09:13:00.000+11:00

Do not turn Your face away from Your servant, for I

am in trouble; hear me speedily: hearken unto my

soul, and deliver it. (Psalm 68:18-19)

Week 3: The Assurance of Salvation in the Church

2011-03-22T22:25:00.000+11:00

Last week at our weekly fellowship meeting we had the blessing of hearing about the Assurance of Salvation in the Church by Theophan, one of our fellowship members, who has recently converted to the Orthodox Faith.

Theophan began his talk by asking us a question: Since we are university students, why are we studying the courses that we are doing?

He then asked another question. What do we do with the money that we make?

So when we look at the Church and its role, we can see it as our university degree or as the money we put in the bank, but instead of it being for this life, the church helps us reach eternal life, a life close to Christ.

Like a university degree the church provides us with the knowledge, the support and the stepping stones to form a close relationship with God and ultimately eternal life.

Like the money we place in the bank we too use the church to cultivate our spiritual lives and by investing time in this our spiritual life we aim to receive an eternal reward.

We as Orthodox Christians know that the Church is something that supports us and helps us to grow spiritually; why then do we insist on taking risks and moving away from the Church? Theophan used the example of the recent disasters which have occurred in Japan, in particular the nuclear disaster following the earthquakes and tsunami. Before building the nuclear power plants, there were other options that the Japanese authorities could have taken to supply power to the country, however they went with the risky option and built the nuclear plants to facilitate for the economic growth of the country. This risk that was taken has now resulted in a potentially devastating event that will have many consequences.

Like the Japanese, we too take risks, we move away from God even though we know that it may mean that we will lose our opportunity to gain eternal life.

Theophan concluded by talking about the Sacraments of our Church, Holy Communion and Confession, and how it is vital to participate in them. If you want to defeat death, you can only go to Christ.

Wholeness of the Person

2011-03-21T14:42:00.000+11:00

Coptic Orthodox Hymn

2011-03-16T22:40:00.000+11:00

Your mercies O my God, are countless, and exceedingly plenteous, are Your compassions.

All the rain drops, are counted by You, and the sand of the Sea, is before Your eyes.

How much more are, the sins of my soul, manifest before You, O my Lord.

The sins that I have committed, do not remember my Lord, and do not count, my iniquities.

For You have chosen the publican, and the adulteress You have saved, and the right hand thief, my Lord You have remembered.

And I too, the sinner, teach me O my Lord, to offer repentance.

For You do not desire, the death of a sinner, but rather that he returns, and that his soul may live.

Restore us O God, to Your salvation, and deal with us, according to Your goodness.

For You are good, and merciful, let Your compassion, speedily come to us.

Have compassion upon us all, O Lord God our Savior, and have mercy upon us, according to Your great mercy.

Remember those, O Christ our Master, be among us, and proclaim and say.

"My peace I, Give to You, the peace of My Father, I leave with you."

O King of peace, grant us Your peace, render unto us Your peace, and forgive us our sins.

Disperse the enemies, of the Church, and fortify her that she, may not be shaken forever.

Emmanuel our God, is now in our midst, with the glory of His Father, and the Holy Spirit.

May He bless us all, and purify our hearts, and heal the sicknesses, of our soul and bodies.

We worship You O Christ, with Your good Father, and the Holy Spirit, for You have risen and saved us.

God and Suffering

2011-03-14T21:44:00.000+11:00

In light of the latest world tragedy in Japan, we may ask ourselves why this happens or why there is suffering and death. Let us hear what Fr Thomas Hopko has to say on this difficult topic:

Please listen to the whole 7 videos covering his talk by clicking on the related videos.

FOCUS Schedule Session 1, 2011

2011-03-14T18:54:00.000+11:00

Great Lent

2011-03-13T14:11:00.000+11:00

h/t to Steven Robinson (Pithless Thoughts)

As some may know, there is an Orthodox Fellowship at the University of Sydney which runs like our Fellowship at UNSW. Last week they had the pleasure of hosting Mr Tasos Kalogerakis from St Andrew's Theological College who spoke about Great Lent. Here is a sample of his talk, but please follow the link to read the whole talk:

In the second and third centuries, there was only ever a 2-day fast. It was a fast of complete abstinence - no food or drink whatsoever. In the third century, this was extended to a six-day fast for Holy Week. By the fourth century, however, documents such as the Pilgrimage of Etheria (or Egeria) show that a forty-day fast had been well-established by then. By now, it was a fast not of abstinence, but more of a limited diet.

So, what I call fast, you call diet. But it is important to understand that fasting is not just a matter of diet - it is diet partnered with prayer and almsgiving. In Greek, 'almsgiving' is known as eleimosini - which means acts of mercy. Fasting is a grouping of three. And, as we heard in the hymn last night: "true fasting is to put away evil". Be careful - it is very easy to think of fasting in terms of diet only, and even easier to let this diet control Lent. But it gets a bit ridiculous when our fasting food reaches gourmet status. If we are spending more time preparing fasting food than we would on normal food, we are doing something wrong. Whatever we eat, the most important thing is to thank God for it.

The Church knows that we're only human, and that it is difficult for us to jump straight away into this full-on kind of fasting. Therefore, it prepares us for the start of Lent by gradually easing us into both different eating patterns, and emphasising the spiritual requirements of Lent. In particular, there is a huge emphasis on repentance, forgiveness and not judging. Think of the Gospel readings we have heard over the last few weeks:

The tax collector and the Pharisee: think of how the Pharisee judged the tax collector. The Prodigal Son: not only a lesson in repentance, but also judgement - look at how the elder son judges the younger son, and suffers jealousy through his actions. Jesus separating the goats and the sheep: the lesson here is that Jesus is the only one who can judge people. The Epistle reading of St Paul: "let him who eats not judge he who does not eat ..."
...
Please continue at http://suofusyd.blogspot.com/

May we all have a blessed Lent.

Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!

2011-03-11T21:06:00.000+11:00

An archangel was sent from Heaven to say to the Theotokos: Rejoice! And beholding Thee, O Lord, taking bodily form, he was amazed and with his bodiless voice he stood crying to her such things as these:

Rejoice, thou through whom joy will shine forth:
Rejoice, thou through whom the curse will cease!
Rejoice, recall of fallen Adam:
Rejoice, redemption of the tears of Eve!
Rejoice, height inaccessible to human thoughts:
Rejoice, depth undiscernible even for the eyes of angels!
Rejoice, for thou art the throne of the King:
Rejoice, for thou bearest Him Who beareth all!
Rejoice, star that causest the Sun to appear:
Rejoice, womb of the Divine Incarnation!
Rejoice, thou through whom creation is renewed:
Rejoice, thou through whom we worship the Creator!
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!

The Stadium of Virtue is Now Open

2011-03-05T18:42:00.000+11:00

The stadium of virtue is now open;

those who wish to compete,

enter therein, girded for the good contest of Lent,

for those who compete according

to the rules shall receive their laurels rightfully.

Taking up the full armour of the Cross,

let us do battle against the Enemy.

As an impregnable wall,

we have the Faith, prayer as our breastplate,

and acts of mercy as our helmet.

Instead of sword, there is fasting,

which cuts every evil from the heart.

He who does this shall attain a true

crown from Christ, the King of all, on

Judgment Day.

O-Week 2011 Feb 21-25

2011-02-28T08:45:00.001+11:00

As the 2011 University year draws closer this can only mean one thing, O-Week (Orientation Week). A week full of fun, free give-aways and of course countless societies and groups to join. This year was no different, with our fellowship setting up a stall from Monday-Thursday, selling icons, spiritual books, livani (incense), komboskinia (prayer ropes) and of course signing up new members to our fellowship.

Despite the constant showers, there were many new members eager to join a fellowship which focuses on the Orthodox faith. Only with God's help was this O-Week able to be so successful.

We hope to see you all at our fellowship meetings and events! Check your emails!

Thank you to all who helped for a great O-Week and your zeal to be part of our fellowship ad volunteer to man our stall. We would like to wish you all a blessed start to the new year and may God's grace guide and guard you all throughout the year.

Here is a small paragraph describing what it was like for a new member to help at our stall:

"I had no idea what to expect being part of a stall at my first O-week would be like. I was able to have my first experiences at uni belonging already without even trying. To be part of a group, particularly one so inviting and loving as FOCUS, is so important for everybody. To speak to other people about your common beliefs and ideals is also so rewarding. I wish everyone could share such an experiences at O-week from behind the stall of the Orthodox Christian Fellowship at UNSW."

When: Every Thursday 2-3pm

Where: Level 3, Squarehouse, UNSW

All are welcome!

Baptism and Chrismation of Theophan 19/2/2011

2011-02-27T14:14:00.001+11:00

On Saturday 19th February at St Catherine's Greek Orthodox Church, Mascot, Sydney, one of the members of our fellowship was Baptised and Chrismated into the Orthodox Church, taking on the name 'Theophan', after St Theophan the Recluse and the Theophany of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was a great blessing to our fellowship, to say the least, and for those who were able to witness it. Welcome home, Theophan!

What god is so great as our God? You are the God who alone works wonders.

Ps. 76/77:13-14

Photos by V. Dokos

The Episcopal Ordination of His Grace Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis

2011-02-22T22:16:00.000+11:00

by Michael Psaromatis from here

On Sunday the 20^th of February 2011 the ordination to the Episcopate of Bishop-elect Iakovos of Miletoupolis was held in the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation of our Lady Theotokos, Redfern NSW. It was a historic day as His Grace Bishop Iakovos is the first Australian born person to be consecrated a bishop.

The ordination of His Grace Bishop Iakovos was the epitome of a weekend which celebrated the 25 year Anniversary of St Andrew’s Theological College in Sydney of which His Grace is a graduate of. The ordination was presided over by His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos of Australia along with the co-consecrating hierarchs, their Graces: Bishop Ezekiel of Dervis, Bishop Seraphim of Apolonias and Bishop Nikandros of Dorylaeon and the assistance of six priests and two deacons.

His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos with great emotion and paternal love spoke about his spiritual child Iakovos and emphasised that he is an above-worthy(υπέρ άξιος) candidate for the high office of a Hierarch. His Eminence also thanked the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, for their reciprocation to his request in not only electing Fr Iakovos to the rank of a bishop, but also for giving Fr Iakovos the title of “Bishop of Miletoupolis” that he himself was ordained to and carried, prior to his election to the position of the Archbishop of Australia.

In attendance were many clergy, laity and distinguished guests who had travelled from all over Australia. In particular many faithful made their way from Melbourne and more specifically from the Community and Parish of Oakleigh were Bishop Iakovos had served as a parish priest. It was an immensely spiritually uplifting and emotional day which was filled with the Grace and presence of the Holy Spirit. This was felt throughout the whole service which was harmoniously and superbly adorned by the chanting of hymns from the great Feast day of Pentecost, by the 26person choir which was formed by chanters from all over Australia. The spiritually awe-inspiring and moving moment came when all present knelt as the consecrating prayers and petitions were read by the co-consecrating hierarchs, followed by the chanted replies of the thrice Kyrie Eleison. This was a memorable moment where heartfelt prayer and the descent and presence of the Holy Spirit united all. Reverberating in every ones soul were the words of the Kontakion which was panegyrically chanted by the hierarchs and clergy shortly before the Trisagion hymn:

“...When He dispensed the tongues of fire, He called all to unity, and with one voice we glorify the Most Holy Spirit.” This feeling was of course sealed by the emphatic cry of Axios by both clergy and laity, as His Grace the newly ordained Bishop of Miletoupolis was vested in hierarchical vestments by His Eminence and their Graces.

It was truly a day of Light and illumination for everyone. The feeling of many who were present both in body and spirit was indescribable. Yet one thing was clear that everything seemed bright. Perhaps the only way to express what was felt was only by affirming that “The Father is Light; the Word is Light; and the Holy Spirit is Light, Who was sent to the Apostles in the form of fiery tongues; and thus through Him all creation is illumined and guided to worship the Holy Trinity.” (2nd Exapostelarion of Holy Pentecost)

We take this opportunity to congratulate the newly ordained Bishop of Miletoupolis Iakovos. We wish him Eis Polla Eti Despota and affirm that he is thrice Axios. May our Holy Consubstantial and Life-giving Trinity through the intercessions of the Theotokos, St John the Baptist, St Iakovos the Brother of our Lord, Sts Anargyroi and all the Saints preserve and strengthen His Grace Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis in his new ministry.

The Orthodox View of Salvation (in a nutshell)

2011-02-20T18:25:00.000+11:00

By Subdeacon Steven Robinson of Pithless Thoughts

Encounter with the Lord

2011-02-11T23:27:00.001+11:00

This is an excerpt from a transcript of a talk by Fr Thomas Hopko on Jesus as God from Ancient Faith Radio.

...Sometimes people say, “Gee, God could have done a much better job in revealing Himself.” I have heard people say this —young people, old people, they will say, “Man, God made it so hard for us to understand Him.” It is almost as if people would want Him to say, “Okay sit down in your chair, take out your notebook, and I am going to give you all the truths about God, and now you will know everything.” That is not the way it works, and that is not the way it can work.

Or sometimes people say, “Well, why doesn’t God just tell us openly about everything? Why doesn’t He go to a Bhuddist and say, “Hello, Mr. Bhuddist, or Ms. Bhuddist, I just want to tell you, there really is a personal God, and this God is merciful, gracious and longsuffering, and He is an I Am, and He is perfectly revealed in Jesus, so you ought to be a Christian. Or why doesn’t God just go around infusing all this knowledge or telling this to all these people? Why does He have to bother with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all those stories and all those myths and sagas about kings and Davids and Solmons and tabernacles and clouds and animals and fighting, and then finally an incarnation of a virgin, and Jesus as a meek, humble man being killed? Why does He have to do it that way? Couldn’t He do it a better way?” And our answer is, no He could not. Because He would violate Himself and He would no longer be the true God, because that is how the true God is. And the true God has to elicit from us a free recognition and a free response. And that is, by the way, why Jesus never calls Himself the Son of God. He says, “You have said so.” He calls Himself the son of man. And it is also why whenever people ask him a question, he asks a question back. Even John the Baptist —that difficult sentence where John sends his disciples to ask Jesus —“Are you the One who is to come?” Some people think John only did it pedagogically, he knew it, not knew it, I do not know about that. I actually think that he really was being tempted, because he was a real human being and he was free, and we cannot ever be to the point where we just are locked in as prisoners with this divine knowledge —it is free, it is an interpersonal relationship, it is a friendship, it is a recognition, it is a confession, it is an avowal. But in any case, the point is that Jesus says, “What do you see? You have eyes, what do you see? The lame walk, the deaf hear, the dumb talk, the blind see, the demons are cast out.” He can even say to the apostles, what did you see? Did you see me walking on the water? Did you see the calming of the winds? Did you see the feeding of the 5000? What did you see?

You have to answer! You have to decide what your God is like. And you do not make it up. And this is the very important point. We do not begin with an idea of what we think God ought to be like and then try to fit other things into it. We do not begin with our idea of how God should be, and then say, “Well, I rejected Christianity, because Christianity does not teach a God the way I think God ought to be, if there is a God.” Oh, no, we go the other way around. We say, “Look at the man, Jesus, see what He has said and done, and then you will know who God really is and how He acts.” It begins the other way. You do not being with your idea. You begin with an encounter with Jesus. And with an encounter of any divine action, anywhere, anyhow, but you have to bow down to it, you have to recognize it. And according to Jesus, Himself, you will not recognize it if your heart is impure. Because only the pure in heart see God. Jesus says, “How can you believe, how can you know, how can you understand, when you seek the glory that comes from men, and not the glory that is revealed and given to you by God?” How can you possibly know when your mind is made up to begin with? When you have decided how God ought to be? Or when you have decided that there is no God? Or you just sit in judgment on reality, yourself, and do not have the purity —and I would even say, the courage and the guts, to encounter this revelation that says, “Encounter it!” Encounter it —encounter Jesus. Read the Scriptures. Call out to God. See what you see. And then you will come to know...

Praise the Lord from the Heavens

2011-02-11T23:19:00.000+11:00

Medieval Byzantine Chant.
Title: "Communion: Praise the Lord from the Heavens"
Service: Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom (IN ENGLISH)
Composer: Maistor Ioannes Koukouzeles
Performers: Cappella Romana
Album: "The Divine Liturgy In English In Byzantine Chant"

The whole chant consists of the first verse of Psalm 148:

English: Praise the Lord from the heavens, Alleluia.
Greek: Αἰνεῖτε τὸν Κύριον ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν, ᾿Αλληλούια.
Latin: Laudate Dominum de caelis, Alleluia.

Fr Eusebios Tonsured into the Great Schema

2011-02-04T22:02:00.000+11:00

Source

On the evening of Friday 10 December 2010, at an all night vigil held in the Pantanassa Monastery Katholikon (main church), Fr Eusebios, a priest-monk of our monastery, with the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos, was tonsured a Great Schema monk by the Very Rev. Geronta Theodore, Abbot of the ancient monastery of Panagia Molivdoskepasti. The monastery Panagia Molivdoskepasti is located in Konitsa, Greece, and was founded by the King-Emperor of Byzantium Constantine IV the Pogonatos in 675AD. The Abbot of Pantanassa Monastery, the Very Rev. Geronta Stephanos, celebrated the Divine Liturgy along with Geronta Theodore and other priests. The vigil was a very moving service with beautiful byzantine chanting and was the first Divine Liturgy to be celebrated in the Monastery’s Katholikon.

Seeing the Sun hide its rays...

2011-02-02T15:08:00.000+11:00

Medieval Byzantine Chant.
Title: "Τον ήλιον κρύψαντα"
Service: Matins of Holy and Great Saturday
Performers: Vatopaidi Monastery Choir

This hymn is a lament chanted from the perspective of Joseph of Arimathea, pleading with Pontius Pilate for the Body of Jesus. It is one of the most beautiful hymns of the Holy Week and it is of particular notice that Jesus is referred to as the "Stranger", thus pointing out both the divinity of Jesus and the fundamental principle of unconditional love towards the unknown brother, the stranger.

Dedicated to all the strangers of this world...

Greek:

Τὸν ἥλιον κρύψαντα τὰς ἰδίας ἀκτῖνας
καὶ τὸ καταπέτασμα τοῦ ναοῦ διαῤῥαγὲν τῷ τοῦ Σωτῆρος θανάτῳ
ὁ Ἰωσὴφ θεασάμενος, προσῆλθε τῷ Πιλάτῳ καὶ καθικετεύει λέγων·
Δός μοι τοῦτον τὸν ξένον,
τὸν ἐκ βρέφους ὡς ξένον ξενωθέντα ἐν κόσμῳ.
Δός μοι τοῦτον τόν ξένον,
ὃν ὁμόφυλοι μισοῦντες θανατοῦσιν ὡς ξένον.
Δός μοι τοῦτον τὸν ξένον,
ὃν ξενίζομαι βλέπειν τοῦ θανάτου τὸν ξένον.
Δός μοι τοῦτον τὸν ξένον,
ὅστις οἶδε ξενίζειν τοὺς πτωχοὺς καὶ τοὺς ξένους.
Δός μοι τοῦτον τὸν ξένον,
ὃν Ἑβραῖοι τῷ φθόνῳ ἀπεξένωσαν κόσμῳ.
Δός μοι τοῦτον τὸν ξένον,
ἵνα κρύψω ἐν τάφῳ, ὃς ὡς ξένος οὐκ ἔχει τὴν κεφαλὴν ποῦ κλίνῃ.
Δός μοι τοῦτον τὸν ξένον,
ὃν ἡ μήτηρ ὁρῶσα νεκρωθέντα, ἐβόα·
Ὦ Υἱὲ καὶ Θεέ μου, εἰ καὶ τὰ σπλάγχνα τιτρώσκομαι
καὶ καρδίαν σπαράττομαι νεκρόν σε καθορῶσα,
ἀλλὰ τῇ σῇ ἀναστάσει θαῤῥοῦσα μεγαλύνω.
Καὶ τούτοις τοίνυν τοῖς λόγοις δυσωπῶν τὸν Πιλᾶτον
ὁ εὐσχήμων λαμβάνει τοῦ Σωτῆρος τὸ σῶμα,
ὃ καὶ φόβῳ ἐν σινδόνι ἐνειλήσας καὶ σμύρνῃ κατέθετο ἐν τάφῳ
τὸν παρέχοντα πᾶσι ζωὴν αἰώνιον καὶ τὸ μέγα ἔλεος.

English:

Seeing the sun hide its rays
and the veil of the Temple rent asunder at the Saviours death,
Joseph came before Pilate, beseeching him, saying;
Give me this stranger,
who from infancy guested in the world as a stranger,
Give me this stranger,
whom his own people have hated and slain as a stranger,
Give me this stranger,
at the sight of whose strange death I am bewildered
Give me this stranger,
who knew how to give hospitality to the poor and the stranger,
Give me this stranger,
whom the Hebrews have estranged from the world out of envy,
Give me this stranger,
so that I may hide in a tomb him,
who as a stranger has nowhere to lay his head,
Give me this stranger
whom his Mother saw dead and cried out
"O my Son and God, even if I am wounded to the core and my heart stricken,
as I see you a corpse,
yet with confidence I magnify your Resurrection".
facing down Pilate with these words
the noble one took the Saviours body
and in fear wrapped it in linen and sweet spices
and laid in a new tomb him who bestows on all
eternal life and great mercy.

Chant of Grottaferrata - Αλληλουάριον, Ήχος α'

2011-01-31T23:17:00.000+11:00

Medieval Byzantine Chant from the Basilian Monastery of Grottaferrata.
Title: "Αλληλουάριον, Ήχος α' " (Alleluarion in 1st Mode)
Performers: Cappella Romana
Album: "Byzantium in Rome - Medieval Byzantine Chant from Grottaferrata"

The Basilian Monastery of the Mother of God (Theotokos) was founded by St Nilus the Younger in the town of Grottaferrata, 20 km south of Rome, in 1004. It was a Byzantine Rite abbey following the Rule of St Basil and was (uncommonly) under the See of Rome and remained so after the Great Schism. Two of its abbots, St Nilus the Younger and St Bartholomew the Younger, are saints of both the Latin and the Greek Church as they both died before the schism. In later years one of its most illustrious abbots in commendam was Cardinal Bessarion, himself a Basilian monk.

From the day of its foundation to modern times the Monastery has remained in Byzantine rite, despite being so near to Rome and despite the uniformity of rite imposed by several councils - most notably the Council of Trent. Moreover, due to the loss of contact with the rest of the East and the Basilian Order (which in its vast majority remained Orthodox), the Abbey uses the Byzantine chant as delivered at the date of its foundation, unaffected by later changes that occurred in the east.

The lyrics of this piece are comprised by 3 "Alleluia"s and in between the chanter sings verses 6 and 13 from Psalm 32 in Greek:

Αλληλούια
- Τῷ λόγῳ Κυρίου οἱ οὐρανοὶ ἐστερεώθησαν καὶ τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ πᾶσα ἡ δύναμις αὐτού.
Αλληλούια
- Εξ οὐρανοῦ ἐπέβλεψεν ὁ Κύριος, εἶδε πάντας τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ανθρώπων.
Αλληλούια

Latin:

Alleluia
- Verbo Domini caeli firmati sunt; et spiritu oris eius omnis virtus eorum.
Alleluia
- De caelo respexit Dominus; vidit omnes filios hominum.
Alleluia

English:

Alleluia
- By the word of the Lord the heavens were established; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
Alleluia
- The Lord looks out of heaven; he beholds all the sons of men.
Alleluia

How Christians have crippled Christianity...

2011-01-30T23:17:00.000+11:00

Don't Put Yourself in Despair - Mή εἰς ἀπόγνωσιν ἐμβάλῃς σεαυτόν

2011-01-29T18:00:00.000+11:00

From the Moral Speeches of St Symeon the New Theologian

Εἰ ἀγνοεῖς ταῦτα, ἀγαπητέ, μὴ εἰς ἀπόγνωσιν ἐμβάλῃς σεαυτὸν λέγων· “Ἐγὼ ταῦτα οὔτε οἶδα οὔτε μαθεῖν δύναμαι· οὔτε μὴν εἰς τὸ ὕψος τῆς γνώσεως ταύτης καὶ θεωρίας καὶ καθαρότητος φθάσαι καὶἀνελθεῖν ἰσχύσω ποτέ”. Μηδὲ πάλιν εἴπῃς· “Ἐπειδή, ἐὰν μή τις τοιοῦτος γένηται καὶ τὸν Χριστὸν ἀπ᾿ ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη ὡς Θεὸν ἐπενδύσηται καὶ αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον ὅλον θεάσηται καὶ ἔνοικον ἑαυτοῦ τοῦτον κτήσηται, εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτοῦ οὐκ εἰσέρχεται, τί μοι τὸ ὄφελος κἂν ποσῶς ἀγωνίζεσθαι ἢ καὶ τῶν παρόντων ὑστερεῖσθαι τῆς ἀπολαύσεως;” Μή δὴτοῦτο εἴπῃς, μή δὴ λογίσεσαι· ἀλλ᾿ εἰ βούλει, ἄκουσόν μου τῆς συμβουλῆς καὶ ἀναγγελῶ σοι τὴν ὁδὸν τῆς σωτηρίας, τῆς χάριτος τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος συνεργούσης.

If you ignore these things, my beloved one, don’t put yourself in despair, saying, ‘I have not seen these things, nor can I ever know them; I will never have the power to reach and rise up to the height of this knowledge, contemplation and cleanness’. Don’t you say, again, ‘Because, if someone won’t become like this, to ware in himself the Christ as God in this life already, and see the Christ himself and whole, and take Him to dwell in himself, one won’t enter in His Kingdom, of what use is it to me to fight, even a little, or even to lose the current pleasures?’ Don’t say this; don't even think about it, but if you wish, listen to my advice and I will announce you the way of salvation, with the help of the Grace of the all-holy Spirit.

Πίστευσον οὖν ἐν πρώτοις ἐξ ὅλης ψυχῆς ὅτι οὕτως ταῦτα πάντα ἃ εἴπομεν κατὰ τὰς θείας καὶθεοπνεύστους Γραφὰς ἀληθῆ εἰσι καὶ οὕτως ὀφείλει γενέσθαι πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐπειδὴ ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν ἐξουσίαν υἱοὺς γενέσθαι Θεοῦ, καὶ ἐὰν θελήσωμεν, τὸ κωλύον οὐδέν. (...) Καὶ γάρ, εἰ μὴ πιστεύσεις ταῦτα οὕτως ἀληθῶς γίνεσθαι, πάντως οὐδὲ ζητήσεις· εἰ δὲ μὴ ζητήσεις, οὐδὲ λήψῃ· “Ζητεῖτε γάρ, φησί, καὶ λήψεσθε· αἰτεῖτε καὶδοθήσεται ὑμῖν” (Ματθ. 7.7). Πιστεύων δέ, ἀκολούθει ταῖς θείαις Γραφαῖς καὶ ὅσα σοι λέγουσι ποίησον, καὶεὑρήσεις πάντα ἀνελλιπῶς καθὼς γέγραπται, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ πολλῷ πλείονα τῶν ἐν ταῖς θείαις Γραφαῖς. Ποῖα δὲ ταῦτα; “Ἃ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδε καὶοὖς οὐκ ἤκουσε καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη” τὰ ἀγαθὰ “ἃ ἡτοίμασεν ὁ Θεὸς τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν.“ (Α' Κορ. 2.9). Ταῦτα, εἰ πιστεύσεις βεβαίως, ὡς εἴρηται, θεάσῃ ἀναμφιβόλως ὡς ὁ Παῦλος καὶ σύ· οὐ μόνον δέ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀκούσεις ἄρρητα ῥήματα, προαρπαγεὶς δηλονότι εἰς τὸν παράδεισον. Ποῖον τοῦτον; Ὅπου ὁ ληστὴς μετὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ συνεισῆλθε καὶ νῦν ἐκεῖ ἐστιν.

First of all, believe with all your soul that whatever we said according to the divine and god-inspired Scriptures, are all true, and that whoever believes in the Son of God has to become this, because He granted us power to become sons of God, and if we want it, nothing can stop us. (...) For it is certain, that if you won’t believe in these, that they happen indeed this way, you won’t ask for them to happen at all, and if you won’t ask you won’t receive. Because He says, "Seek, and ye shall find, ask, and it shall be given you" (Matt. 7.7). If you believe, follow the divine Scriptures and do what they say and you will find everything without exception as it is written - rather, you will find much more than what is in the godly Scriptures. And what are these? ‘What eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man’, the gifts ‘which God hath prepared for them that love him’ (1 Cor. 2.9). These gifts, if you believe with certainty, as we said, you will see, without any doubt at all, just as Paul, so you too - and not only this, but you will also hear ineffable words, since, as you understood, you will be seized to Paradise, even now. Which Paradise? Where the thief entered together with the Christ, and there now remains.

If you have a heart...

2011-01-24T15:37:00.000+11:00

Abba Pambo said, "If you have a heart, you can be saved."

God is the life of all free beings. He is the salvation of all, of believers or unbelievers, of the just or the unjust, of the pious or the impious, of those freed from passions or those caught up in them, of monks or those living in the world, of the educated and the illiterate, of the healthy and the sick, of the young or the old. He is like the outpouring of light, the glimpse of the sun, or the changes of the weather which are the same for everyone without exception.

The problem of evolution in a one-storey universe

2011-01-19T10:40:00.000+11:00

This is a very thought-provoking and interesting reflection from Future Hope. Any comments/criticisms may be voiced and are encouraged.

...Before I get directly to my main point, let me remind the reader of Father Stephen’s brilliant analysis of the main spiritual problem in the modern world: the problem of the two-storey universe. Father Stephen uses a house as a metaphor to explain Man’s view of the cosmos. Most modern people view the universe as having two-storeys–a first floor where people live and where the physical laws of nature operate and the second floor where God lives (we hope). All spiritual and metaphysical experiences are relegated to the above floor…away from the every day experience of humanity. Father Stephen points out, brilliantly, I think, that so many of the arguments between “fundamentalists” and atheists are only arguments about the existence of the second floor: but their understandings of the first floor are actually identical.

Father Stephen has pointed out that Christianity should be a religion of a one-storey universe not a two-storey universe. In other words, God should be recognized by us as being “present and filling all things” as the ancient prayer testifies. The Holy Spirit, the Lord and the Giver of Life is very much present throughout His creation. As Saint Dionysius explains: “Fire is in all things, is spread everywhere, pervades all things without intermingling with them, shining by its very nature and yet hidden, and manifesting its presence only when it can find material on which to work, violent and invisible, having absolute rule over things…It comprehends, but remains incomprehensible, never in need, mysteriously increasing itself and showing forth its majesty according to the substance receiving it, powerful and mighty and invisibly present in all things.” It is this view of the universe–the universe as charged with the grandeur of God…that so many modern people, Christians and atheists, fail to perceive.

So this brings me back to the topic of evolution, or more specifically, to the topic of the transmutation of species. I have heard it said numerous times by numerous Christians that the Bible is not a science book. Meaning I think that we are not to take the Book of Genesis as being a literal scientific narrative of the doings of the first people. Even if we admit that the Bible does not have to be read as literally describing the doings of the first people, it does not follow that Darwin’s ideas must be accepted as the alternative. Darwin’s view is, after all, Godless. If we let Darwin exclusively describe the science for us then that would leave the Bible as only describing the upper floor of our house…not the first floor where everybody really lives. I do not think that is the situation we really want to find ourselves in: it is certainly not the situation Christians were in for Christianity’s first 1800 years. Many modern Christians, however, have expressed their desire to allow the narrative of modern evolutionary science to be taught in the science classrooms; religious ideas, in this model, should only appear in the religious or literature classrooms (or even better–they probably should just be confined to the home). I even once knew a devout Christian who nonetheless insisted that Darwinian evolution must exclusively be taught in all science classes because “we all know its true.” She went on to explain that Christians should be ”okay” with the modern evolutionary explanation of life (inspired by Darwin). She said as long as Christians mentally inserted God “somewhere in the process” of evolution then there should not be any conflict between Darwin and Christ.

What could be more symptomatic of the modern malaise that we live in. An anti-Christian account of our origins, natures, and destinies can be rendered Christian simply by a private, mental, personal insertion of God into the story. Just don’t share your private vision with anyone else in the class!

But is the modern evolutionary account of our origins necessarily anti-Christian? Yes. The entire project of Charles Darwin was to create a system of understanding life where the presence of God was completely unneeded. The “laws” of biology, after Darwin, were understood like the laws of physics: as functioning automatically and without any purpose or goal in mind. Christians were free to imagine that God began the process, or that He specifically created the human soul as distinct from animal souls; Christians were free to pretend this as long as they kept their imaginings private. This schizophrenia of thought is symptomatic of living in a two-storey universe: Darwin will explain the first floor to us…and Saint John will explain the second floor. There is no interconnecting between these two separate realities…meanwhile, atheists smile believing that there is no second floor, and that they have in fact carried the day. Stephen Gould explained as much: he was “fine” with religions existing…as long as they kept their ideas to their own modality (the imaginary one) away from the modalities of science. For Gould, the point of religion was to tell us how to act–religion does not inform us of what we are, or what we are to become. The amazing thing to me is how many Christians agree with him. These Christians may not realize that by siding with Gould, they render Christianity to be little more than a moral code, and Jesus to be little more than an ethics teacher. And of course the One-Storey Universe that Father Stephen has described as the true model of our universe is very different from the truncated and incomplete one-storey universe that the atheists image: their one-storey universe is one where there was a second floor, but the second floor has been violently torn off–as if by a tempest. I am thinking of the scientific view as a truncated one-storey house because it addresses the physical, but not the spiritual aspects of Man.

So what is the solution to the problem of evolution? The first solution, I think, is for people to begin to think of the universe–the cosmos–as an integrated one-storey reality, where God is “everywhere present and filling all things.” We need to incorporate into this understanding of the universe a more worthy understanding of ourselves: that we, as Saint Basil the Great tells us, are the only creatures to have received the order to become a god. Or as Saint Athanasius [the first person to list the exact canon of the New Testament as we have it today--in A.D. 367] reminds us ”God assumed humanity so that we might become God.” And as Saint Thomas Aquinas instructs us: “the only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods.” The creation of humanity was not a random acting out of mere physical laws. Our destinies transcend the physical, so a merely physical description of who we are…one that does not teach that we are created in the image of God and are destined to return to Him…is a radically incomplete and incompetent vision of ourselves. Any class or program that teaches that we are merely physical and accidental (while allowing us to privately “insert” an imaged creator “somewhere in the process” is nothing more than a lie–a damned lie we might say).

The second solution to the problem of evolution would be for us to admit that modern science does not know as much about it as some might believe. There are many, many areas of life and the evolutionary process that biological scientists do not understand. And although they tell a convincing and complete narrative [it is always presented complete-no matter how much they continue to add] to their students, many scientists should, in all honesty, label most aspects of the evolutionary theory as X for unknown at this time. The fact that many parts of the evolutionary narrative are speculative, somehow, is not getting across to undergrads…much less the public at large. As a Christian biology professor once observed: his biology textbook that he wrote had to be updated some 30 times in 15 years to keep abreast of all the new scientific data, but yet the Bible does not require editing.

The third solution to the problem of evolution would be for Christians to think about the possibility of evolution in theological terms. What are the theological implications of evolutionary theory? Specifically, what are the implications on our human natures–considering the Christian understanding of ancestral (or original) sin–when one considers the possibility of evolution? Any discussion of our origins–for a Christian–would have to factor in Adam and Eve and humanity’s original fall from Grace. There are several different ways to consider the fall, and before any Christian begins thinking about evolutionary matters, he should begin by understanding what we know about what the Fathers of the Church tell us about our origins.

The older understanding of humanity’s fall comes to us from Saint Irenaeus around the end of the 2nd century. Saint Irenaeus was a disciple of Saint Polycarp, who in turn was a disciple of Saint John, who in turn was an apostle of Christ. Saint Irenaeus understood the fall of humanity in this way: in the beginning, human beings were created in the image of God, but we still had to grow into the likeness of God.  God created us in the beginning in His image (we are his icons–to use the Greek word) in that we have free will, reason, and a sense of moral responsibility, but we are created in the likeness of God only in potential. Likeness to God, according to Irenaeus, means assimilation to God through virtue and it is something that human beings would achieve by degrees. Humans would have been allowed to eat of the tree of the knowledge of evil and of the fruit of the tree of immortality–in the fullness of time.  The chief implication of the transgression of Adam and Eve is that they experienced the knowledge of evil too early–thus darkening the likeness of God within us. Jesus Christ Himself, of course, is the fruit of the tree of immortality. So, in this model, Man is endowed with God’s image from the start, but Man was called to acquire the likeness of God by working in synergy with God’s Grace. Thus the approach of Saint Irenaeus does not posit too exalted of a state for Man before the fall, and it still strongly makes the point that we are still very much the icon of God.

Two hundred years later, Saint Augustine also wrote about Man’s origins. And although Saint Augustine did embrace an evolutionary theory of sorts, his understanding of the fall and its implications is a lot different from Saint Irenaeus’s. Saint Augustine understood that humanity had been created in the full image and likeness of God in the beginning. Adam and Eve were perfect and they possessed all possible wisdom and knowledge. Man was a realized, and in no sense potential, perfection.  And when Man fell, in Saint Augustine’s model, Mankind became depraved and completely sinful. Saint Augustine goes on to write: “Man is under a harsh necessity of committing sin [and that] Man’s nature was overcome by the fault by which he fell, and so came to lack freedom.” One can see how Saint Augustine’s view, taken to extremes by social and religious revolutionaries, could produce a very deformed theology: one that does not see salvation as union with God, but rather as escape from something (from punishment usually–signified by Hell). In other words it leads to a penal view of Man’s nature and salvation–i.e., Adam committed a crime and no human can atone for it–instead of a holistic view of Man’s salvation where humans are organically and holistically changed from within until they do possess the likeness of God.

The Augustinian view is the one that was adopted by most theologians in the West. All the great religious epics incorporate it into their theologies to some degree or another…from the Catholic epic of Dante, to the Anglican epic of Spenser, to the “fundamentalist” epics of Milton. It was in reading Paradise Lost where I actually began to wonder about Saint Augustine’s views on Man’s origins. Milton goes to great lengths to show how perfect Adam and Eve were before the fall, but yet they fell! Milton posits a little “chink”–a little defect in Eve that allowed her to sin…but I always wondered…where did the defect come from?

In any case, I think it is appropriate when discussing evolutionary theories, human nature, and human origins to refer back to the great theologians and mystics within Christianity. They should inform the discussion in a one-storey universe. It seems to me that the view of Saint Irenaeus is more compatible with a type of evolutionary development, but I would always remember point two above: scientific speculation is just that: speculation. I am not in favor of rashly linking Christian theology (which “was delivered once and for all to the saints”) to the scientific idea of the moment.  Dialogue is needed…not a marriage.

I am suggesting that one cannot remove Christian thought from scientific speculations, one cannot remove Christian Truth from evolutionary theories, and one cannot separate Man’s spiritual truth from his physical truth.  Scientists’ understanding of evolution is still in a nascent stage–but it is far too rash and spiritually damaging to exclude Christian thought from the ever-changing and developing scientific narrative: we cannot have a separation of Church and reality. For Man (who is a synergy of body and soul) to be complete–he must understand that he lives in an integrated one-storey universe.

Flood disasters in Australia

2011-01-18T22:02:00.000+11:00

It was only a few years ago that Australia suffered one of its most disastrous bushfires in Victoria, and now another tragedy faces our country.

Here is an evening situation report updating you with Australia’s flood disaster as of Tuesday, January 18, 2011.

Please consider donating to the flood relief appeal

The Australian Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan, said the flood disaster will be the most expensive in Australia’s history, and Julia Gillard, the Australian Prime Minister, has hinted that the Federal Government may impose a flood levy or tax on all Australians to help pay for the cost of rebuilding after the flood disaster. Some private estimates now say the cost could even exceed $30 billion nationally.

Queensland

The death toll from the Queensland floods has now reached 20, with 12 still known to be missing.

The Queensland Premier Anna Bligh yesterday announced a Commission of Enquiry into the flood disaster to examine how prepared Queensland was for the floods, and how well it’s emergency services handled to the crisis. The Enquiry will take one whole year and will be conducted by dams expert, a Supreme Court judge and a former police commissioner.

The search for more dead bodies in the Lockyer Valley will continue for several more days, but surviving residents have been allowed to return to their homes for the first time since the inland tsunami wiped much of the community off the map.

An Australian navy minesweeper and two other navy ships have arrived in Brisbane to start surveying Moreton Bay and the Brisbane River to map all the sunken debris for later removal.

People have started returning to their workplaces in Brisbane since the city’s mayor said they need businesses to be back up and running again as soon as possible.

Tens of thousands of volunteers are being moved around the city in buses to continue the big flood clean up. That will take months, but repairing the damage could take years.

And 200 police officers are now deployed to Brisbane and Ipswich, hunting for would-be looters. Half the police come from interstate and had to be sworn in before they had police powers in Queensland. The police already have 15 people locked up for looting and, if they are convicted, they face up to ten years jail.

New South Wales

The flood emergency in NSW is winding down as flood waters slowly recede. Many towns and communities are still cut off by water, but the focus in New South Wales now is on getting food supplies and clean water to isolated communities and farms.

Victoria

The body of the missing 8-year-old boy was recovered today from a flooded billabong (water hole) near Shepparton. He had been swimming there with his older brother and sister when he disappeared.

Major flood warnings are current for the Avoca River, Campaspe River downstream of Lake Eppalock, the Loddon River and Wimmera River. And Water Police have been sent to Horsham, Kerang and Dimboola to help police flooded areas there.

Residents of Horsham are watching as flood waters from the Wimmera River fill their town and inundate their homes. The water peaked a few hours ago, reaching the 3.8 metre level.

The floods are already the worst in Victoria’s recorded history, with more than 60 towns affected and thousands of homes inundated with water.

Tasmania

There is still some flooding and some roads remain closed in the northwest part of the state. A major Tasmanian insurance company expects a significant number of claims as the clean-up from the heavy rains continues.

Source

May our prayers be with all Australians affected by this tragedy.

Archimandrite Iakovos Tsigounis elected Assistant Bishop

2011-01-15T20:02:00.001+11:00

Archimandrite Iakovos Tsigounis was unanimously elected on Wednesday as assistant bishop to His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos of Australia by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The newly elected bishop will bear the title Iakovos of Miletoupolis. He is 44 years old and a graduate of St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College. He serves as Parish Priest of the Greek Community of St. Anargyroi in Oakleigh, Melbourne. His Grace was ordained by Archbishop Stylianos who named him after the late Metropolitan Iakovos of Ikonio, head of the Theological School of Halki when Archbishop Stylianos was studying there.
It is a fortunate occurrence that this February, St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in operation and also its first Hierarch graduate, Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis, the first Australian born Hierarch.
Two other Archimandrites were also included from the list submitted by Archbishop Stylianos: Archimandrite Nektarios Zorbalas (75 years old) and Archimandrite Eleftherios Kambourakis (35 years old).
The vote of the absent Metropolitan of Buenos Ayres (due to illness) was given to the Metropolitan of Spain and Portugal Polykarpos, while the officiator of the canonical election ceremony was Metropolitan Theoliptos of Iconium.
Source
Archimandrite Iakovos Tsigounis will be ordained on the 20th of February and will be staying in Melbourne.

Elder Paisios - A modern day Saint

2011-01-04T17:11:00.000+11:00

Life of St Seraphim of Sarov (with Greek subtitles)

2011-01-03T14:50:00.000+11:00

h/t Vatopaidi Wordpress

St Basil the Great, pray for us!

2011-01-01T11:17:00.000+11:00

A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love. ~ St Basil

Ignatius the God-bearer

2010-12-29T23:13:00.001+11:00

From Ancient Faith Radio: Part 1 and Part 2.

Fr. Andrew Damick presents a study of major themes of the Orthodox Christian faith as found in the letters of the 2nd century martyr and 3rd bishop of Antioch, Ignatius the God-bearer. In the 2nd half of part one, Fr. Andrew talks more extensively about martyrdom and the statement by St. Ignatius:

“I am the wheat of God. Let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts,

that I may be found the pure bread of Christ.”

The Letters of St Ignatius of Antioch.

Christ is Born, Glorify Him!

2010-12-22T23:02:00.001+11:00

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

In a couple of days we celebrate the greatest event in all history: the Incarnation of Christ, God the Word becoming flesh, the Son of God becoming the Son of Man. It is simply an unbelievable event, even for the angels who worship Him unceasingly. It is truly a great, miraculous paradox, as the Psalmody of our Church describes it. In the Kathismata of Christmas day we hear: "Your (the Theotokos') timeless Son is born in time..." and again, "...Being without a man, how can I (the Theotokos) conceive a son?" "You Who are boundless, how are you bound in the Womb? You Who are in the bosom of the Father, how have You come into the embrace of Your mother? For being fleshless, You became flesh. And He Who Is came among us"(*).

We receive the answer in the 2nd Kathisma chanted on Christmas day: "Whenever God wills, He can overcome the natural order (nikatai physeos taxis), as it is written."

St Irenaeus writes something very interesting about the Incarnation: "Since He Who saves already existed, it was necessary that he who would be saved should come into existence, that the One Who saves should not exist in vain". This seems very odd, but its consequences are profound. Tertullian also writes, "As Adam was a figure of Christ, Adam's sleep shadowed out the death of Christ, who was to sleep a mortal slumber, that from the wound inflicted on his side might be figured the true Mother of the living, the Church".

What do we learn from these short phrases?

Firstly, Adam was made in the Image of Christ, not the other way round, which is mind-boggling but theologically significant. Secondly, the sleep of Adam foreshadows the death of Christ. Thirdly, Christ's speared side was foreshadowed by the creation of Eve. Fourthly, Eve is a symbol of the Church, from the 'side' of Christ, and who who foreshadows the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos. The Theotokos was and is always a symbol of the Church. In the Gospel according to St John (and significantly only in that Gospel) when Christ was on the cross He speaks to the Theotokos and the Beloved Disciple. Historically the Beloved Disciple is understood to be St John himself, but there is another interpretation. The Beloved Disciple is he who follows Christ, irrespective of when and where he lived or lives, it is each one of us who listens to Christ when he calls to us "Follow Me". And He puts His Beloved Disciple in the care of His Mother, the Theotokos, the Church.

Our Salvation didn't start at the Passion of Christ, it was effected at His birth. God's Divine Plan, His economy (oikonomia), slowly unravelled through the Prophets and when the right time had come (the 'fullness of time'), He sent His Son to save us. St Maximus writes, "Christ eternally wills to be born mystically, becoming incarnate through those who are saved and making the soul which begets him to be a virgin mother".

There is so much to say about this event, but I leave the last word for St John of Damascus about the Theotokos: "It is proper and true that we call the holy Mary the Theotokos ('God-bearer'), for this name expresses the entire mystery of the economy".

May you all have a blessed Nativity!

(*) All translations from the Greek are amateur.

(Any corrections in the interpretation of the above texts will be gratefully received)

Mystery

2010-12-15T18:26:00.000+11:00

In everyday English, the word “‘mystery” implies a puzzle to be solved, a conundrum to be unraveled.

The idea is that if you think about a problem long enough, you will find a solution.

In the East, on the other hand, a mystery is an area where the human mind cannot go, where the heart alone makes sense-not by knowing, but by being. The Greek word mysterion leads you into a sense of “not knowing” or “not understanding” and leaves you there.

Having arrived, all you can do is gaze and wonder; there is nothing to solve.

Bread &Water, Wine & Oil: An Orthodox Christian Experience of God
by Archmandrite Meletios Webber

Mother Gavrilia: Fluent in five languages

2010-12-08T23:11:00.000+11:00

Once when I was there where I was, some foreign missionary came and said to me, “You may be a good woman, but you’re not a good Christian.”

I said, “Why?”

“Because you have been here so long and you only go about speaking English. What local languages have you learned?"

I said to him, “I haven’t managed to learn any of the local languages, because I travel a great deal from place to place. As soon as I learn one dialect, they start speaking another. I’ve only learned ‘Good morning’ and ‘Good evening.’ Nothing else.”

“Bah, you’re no Christian. How can you evangelize? All the Catholics and Protestants learn all the local dialects in order to . . .”

Then I said, “Lord, give me an answer for him.” I asked it with all my heart, and then I said, “Ah. I forgot to tell you. I know five languages.”

“Really? What are these five?"

“The first is the smile; the second is tears. The third is to touch. The fourth is prayer, and the fifth is love. With these five languages I go all around the world.”

Then he stopped and said, “Just a minute. Say that again so I can write it down."

With these five languages you can travel the whole earth, and all the world is yours. Love everyone as your own — without concern for religion or race, without concern for anything.

Source

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Christmas Carols 2010

2010-12-08T13:17:00.000+11:00

Behold, let all glorify in faith...

2010-12-04T14:08:00.001+11:00

Mode Varys, neo-Byzantine melody (20th century) from Forefather's Matins.