God... is Eternal Being. And this is the Name that He gives to Himself when giving the Oracle to Moses in the Mount.

For in Himself He sums up and contains all Being, having neither beginning in the past nor end in the future; like some great Sea of Being, limitless and unbounded, transcending all conception of time and nature, only adumbrated [intimated] by the mind, and that very dimly and scantily.

+St Gregory the Theologian (Jan 25/ Feb 7)

Icon painted by the Holy Fathers of Vatopedi Monastery

Supreme Leaders of the heavenly hosts, we implore you to ceaselessly encircle us unworthy as we are with the shelter of your prayers and to cover us beneath the wings of your immaterial glory. We fall down before you crying aloud: protect us from all danger, O princes of the powers on high! - Troparion for the Holy Angels from the Weekly Cycle of Prayer for Monday

"As a fish cannot swim without water, and as a bird cannot fly without air, so a Christian cannot advance a single step without Christ."

+ St. Gregory the Theologian (Nazianzus) (Jan 25/ Feb 7)

Surely He scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble. - Proverbs 3:34

From the Psalter

The Lord is King, He is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength and He hath girt Himself.
For He established the world which shall not be shaken.
Thy throne is prepared of old; Thou art from everlasting.
The rivers have lifted up, O Lord, the rivers have lifted up their voices.
The rivers will lift up their waves, at the voices of many waters.
Wonderful are the surgings of the sea, wonderful on high is the Lord.
Thy testimonies are made very sure.
Holiness becometh Thy house, O Lord, unto length of days.

Psalm 92 (Psalm 93 - Hebrew Numbering), from Thursday Matins, Kathisma 13. Verse 1 is sung at every great Vespers service.

Saint-a-day tunnel! A pedestrian tunnel connects the main road and a wooden church dedicated to Saints Constantine and Helen (May 21/ June 3) in the mountain resort area of Straja, Romania. It features icons of 365 saints, one for each day of the year.

When "Dialogue" is Diabolical

Fr. Mark Hodges says that an open letter to his Archbishop on the blog “Orthodoxy in Dialogue” played a crucial role in his recent suspension by Archbishop Paul Gassios. The blog is run by Giacomo Sanfilippo, a deposed Orthodox priest with a history of “relentlessly defaming and attacking” Orthodox Christian priests, bishops, and seminary professors, writes Fr. Ioannes Apiarius in Orthodoxy Today (Feb. 2020).

Fr. Hodges is not the first target of Sanfilippo's "dialogue." “Sanfilippo has used his inappropriately named 'Orthodoxy in Dialogue' website, his Facebook pages, and his Twitter accounts to maliciously condemn ... good men and smear their reputations,” asserts Fr. Apiarius, because they “dare to publicly and fearlessly defend the Orthodox Church teaching on homosexual sin.”

The suspended priest attended the January 6 “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington, D.C. not as a Donald Trump supporter, as he has been portrayed,

[continued] When "Dialogue" is Diabolical

but as a supporter of election integrity.

Fr. Hodges left the Capital grounds before a group of troublemakers took control of the White House. However, Fr. Hodges association with the event was seized upon by the "Dialogue" blog as an opportunity to establish, he says in Lifesite News, "an ominous link between his presence outside the capitol building to the deaths which occurred inside."

Archbishop Gassios has issued a "no comment" response to the suspension. Fr. Hodges' clergy profile page has been removed from the Orthodox Church in America website.

"It would be better for the sun to fall from its orbit than to neglect reading the Psalter, for it is of great benefit to study the psalms, and to read the Psalter diligently. For all books are profitable for us, and grieve the demons, but there is none like the Psalter.”
+St John Chrysostom

Beautiful Church Carved from Bedrock

Karanlik Kilise (or the Dark Church) was a part of monastic compound built in the 11th century in Cappadocia, now in Turkey, a region rich with early Christian history. An elaborate cross-in-square church, carved from the bedrock, Karanlik Klise is a supberb example of a "negative" architecture, created by removing rather than adding material.

Let us honour with hymns the three great torch-bearers of the triune Godhead: Basil, Gregory and John (Jan 30/ Feb 12).

"Rejoice, sweetest food, who fillest the souls that are starved of right teaching! Rejoice, Blessed Father Paisios, enlightener of the latter times!"

Rare photo of St Paisios (June 29 / July 12) with candy in his hands for children

O Christ, Who alone art our Defender: Visit and heal Thy suffering servant _____________, delivering him (her) from sickness and grievous pains. Raise him (her) up that he (she) may sing to Thee and praise Thee without ceasing, through the prayers of the Theotokos, O Thou Who alone lovest mankind.

Orthodox Faith on the road

☦️ I will come into Your house in the greatness of Your mercy: and in fear I will worship toward Your holy temple. Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way straight before me, that with a clear mind I may glorify You forever, One Divine Power worshiped in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. ☦️

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace, according to Your Word, for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples: a light to enlighten the Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel.

+ Luke 2:25-32, from the Gospel Reading for The Meeting of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, in the Temple

"Let worldly news be bitter food, and the words of saints as honey." + St Basil the Great

"Glory to God for all things!" were the last words of St John Chrysostom. At the crypt of St Basil, St John was comforted by a vision of the martyr, who said, "Despair not, brother John! Tomorrow we shall be together."

In the Era of Comforts, There Is So Much Discomfort

Because modern conveniences have exceeded all bounds, they have become inconveniences. Machines have multiplied and so have distrac­tions; man has been turned into a machine. All kinds of machines and inventions now rule over man. This is why human hearts too are turning into steel. All of these modern comforts make the cultivation of conscience in people difficult. In the old days, people used to work with animals and were more compassionate. If you overloaded an animal and the poor thing kneeled down from the weight, you felt bad for it. If it was hungry and looked at you sniveling, it broke your heart. I remember, when a cow of ours fell ill, we suffered with it, because we considered it a member of the family. Today people own lots of devices made of steel, but, unfortunately, even their own hearts have turned into steel. + St Paisios of Mt Athos

Weekly Cycle of Prayer for Monday

Troparion for the Holy Angels Tone 4

Supreme Leaders of the heavenly hosts, we implore you to ceaselessly encircle us unworthy as we are with the shelter of your prayers and to cover us beneath the wings of your immaterial glory. We fall down before you crying aloud: protect us from all danger, O princes of the powers on high!

Kontakion Tone 2

Supreme leaders of the hosts of God and ministers of the divine glory, princes of bodiless angels and guides of men, ask for what is good for us and great mercy, as the leaders of the bodiless hosts!