"Our aim should not be to have spiritual experiences or to feel 'peaceful,' for that aim is only anther egotistic ambition and another way of escaping from ourselves. Nor should our aim be to be enlightened by profound insights. Watchfulness is not a means of getting what we want; it is a means of knowing what is right. It is not in order to feel better; it is in order to be better.“
—Hieromonk Damascene, “Christ the Eternal Tau”
—Hieromonk Damascene, “Christ the Eternal Tau”
Christ the Pantocrator is one of the most widespread icons of Christ.
The word “Pantocrator” is translated from Greek as “the one who governs everything, the one who can do everything.”
Let us praise Him thus: “The very elements of nature obey You. Nothing happens by chance. What happens to us does not happen at random. Not a single hair from our heads falls to the ground without Your powerful will. We are in Your hands. What we are, whatever good we have in us, comes from You, the source of every goodness.”
—Father Emmanuel Hatzidakis
The word “Pantocrator” is translated from Greek as “the one who governs everything, the one who can do everything.”
Let us praise Him thus: “The very elements of nature obey You. Nothing happens by chance. What happens to us does not happen at random. Not a single hair from our heads falls to the ground without Your powerful will. We are in Your hands. What we are, whatever good we have in us, comes from You, the source of every goodness.”
—Father Emmanuel Hatzidakis
The Holy Confessor John the Russian (May 27/ June 8) steadfastly refused attempts by his Muslim master to convert him. "Neither by threats, nor with promises of riches and delights wilt thou be able to turn me away from my holy faith. I was born a Christian, and a Christian I shalt die". Eventually, the brutal heart of the master was tempered.
Confined to a cot in the corner of a horse-stable, he prayed compassionately for his fellow suffering Christians, even those who mocked him for his resolve in the midst of adversity. After his repose, Christian believers from various places came to Prokopia in Asia Minor to venerate his incorrupt and miracle-working holy relics. Saint John came to be venerated not only by Orthodox Christians, but also by Armenians, and even Turks, petitioning him with “Servant of God, disregard us not in thine mercy".
Confined to a cot in the corner of a horse-stable, he prayed compassionately for his fellow suffering Christians, even those who mocked him for his resolve in the midst of adversity. After his repose, Christian believers from various places came to Prokopia in Asia Minor to venerate his incorrupt and miracle-working holy relics. Saint John came to be venerated not only by Orthodox Christians, but also by Armenians, and even Turks, petitioning him with “Servant of God, disregard us not in thine mercy".
"But the souls of the righteous are in God's hand, and death cannot lay hold of them." (Wisdom of Solomon 3:1) On the second Sunday after Pentecost, each local Orthodox Church commemorates all saints, known and unknown, in its jurisdiction.
All Saints of ____, you have shone for as the fulfillment of God’s promise to redeem fallen humanity. Pray for us!
All Saints of ____, you have shone for as the fulfillment of God’s promise to redeem fallen humanity. Pray for us!
Saint John of Kronstadt (Glorification May 31/ June 13) “was granted by our Lord great gifts of clairvoyance and miracle-working, to such a degree that in the last years of his life miracles of healings — both of body and of soul — were performed countless times each day through his prayers, often for people who had only written to him asking his help. During his lifetime he was known throughout Russia, as well as in the Western world.
He has left us his diary My Life in Christ as a spiritual treasure for Christians of every age; simple in language, it expounds the deepest mysteries of our Faith with that wisdom which is given only to a heart purified by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Foreseeing as a true prophet the Revolution of 1917, he unsparingly rebuked the growing apostasy among the people; he foretold that the very name of Russia would be changed. As the darkness of unbelief grew thicker, he shone forth as a beacon of unquenchable piety, comforting the faithful through the many miracles that he worked and the fatherly love and simplicity with which he received all. Saint John reposed in peace in 1908." (Great Horologion)
St Theophan the Recluse: “You ask about the prayer rule. Yes, because of our weakness, it is proper to have a prayer rule. For one thing, it controls excessive zeal. The great men of prayer had a prayer rule and kept to it. Every time, they began prayer with the established prayers, and then, if self-initiated prayer came, they turned to it from reciting prayers. If they needed a prayer rule, then we need one even more! Without formal prayers, we would not know how to pray correctly at all. Without them, we would be completely without prayer. Nevertheless, we should not collect too many prayers. A few prayers, correctly read, are better than many prayers raced through.”
"The Church in The British Isles will only begin to grow when She begins to again venerate Her own Saints" + Saint Arsenios of Paros †1877
On the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, the Orthodox Church commemorates All Saints of Britain and Ireland.
"O come, all ye faithful, now let us praise the saints of the Isles, the venerable monastics, the holy bishops, the right-believing princes, all the martyrs and the company of holy women, those known by name and those unknown, for truly by their words and deeds and manifold ways of life and gifts of God, they became saints and God made glorious even their graves with wonders. And now, standing before Christ Who hath glorified them, they pray fervently for us who celebrate the splendour of their feast with love."
On the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, the Orthodox Church commemorates All Saints of Britain and Ireland.
"O come, all ye faithful, now let us praise the saints of the Isles, the venerable monastics, the holy bishops, the right-believing princes, all the martyrs and the company of holy women, those known by name and those unknown, for truly by their words and deeds and manifold ways of life and gifts of God, they became saints and God made glorious even their graves with wonders. And now, standing before Christ Who hath glorified them, they pray fervently for us who celebrate the splendour of their feast with love."
On the second Sunday after Pentecost, each local Orthodox Church commemorates the choir God-pleasing Saints in its territory, known and unknown.
Some saints are formally recognized by the Church as intercessors. There are also saints who come from all corners of the earth, yet no one on earth knows by them by name. They, too, stand in Christ's presence with love, reverence, and rejoicing -- joining with angels, Christian kings and queens, prophets, martyrs, ascetics, monastics, righteous men and women.
"The universe offers You the God-bearing martyrs, As the first fruits of creation, O Lord and Creator. Through the Theotokos, and their prayers establish Your Church in peace!" (Kontakion, Tone 8)
Some saints are formally recognized by the Church as intercessors. There are also saints who come from all corners of the earth, yet no one on earth knows by them by name. They, too, stand in Christ's presence with love, reverence, and rejoicing -- joining with angels, Christian kings and queens, prophets, martyrs, ascetics, monastics, righteous men and women.
"The universe offers You the God-bearing martyrs, As the first fruits of creation, O Lord and Creator. Through the Theotokos, and their prayers establish Your Church in peace!" (Kontakion, Tone 8)
“Rejoice, All Saints of North America and pray to God for us!”
As the brightest sun, as the brilliance of the Morning Star, the precious feast of the Saints of North America has dawned for us, to illumine us and to set our hearts on fire, to imitate their godly lives, and to follow their example of zeal for God.
- From the Stichera
As the brightest sun, as the brilliance of the Morning Star, the precious feast of the Saints of North America has dawned for us, to illumine us and to set our hearts on fire, to imitate their godly lives, and to follow their example of zeal for God.
- From the Stichera