Orthodox Faith
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Orthodoxy: the unbroken unity of the Christian faith, the “One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church,” "catholic" meaning full and complete, lacking nothing. The Orthodox Church precedes Roman Catholicism and denominations. The Bible came from us!
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Bright Wednesday

On Bright Wednesday we commemorate the holy monastic Fathers who have shone forth on the God-trodden Mt Sinai.

Icon: Saints slain at Mt Sinai
The Life Giving Spring of the Mother of God is commemorated on Bright Friday (Renewal Friday). Churches built at the miraculously-revealed Fountain of healing at Constantinople have been successively destroyed but the Spring remains.

"O Lady graced by God, you reward me by letting gush forth, beyond reason, the ever-flowing waters of your grace from your perpetual Spring. I entreat you, who bore the Logos, in a manner beyond comprehension, to refresh me in your grace that I may cry out, 'Hail redemptive waters.'"
Forwarded from Orthodox Christians Pro-Life (Dimitri Baranov)
The icon of Christ, sorrowing about children that killed by abortion. It’s located at the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God Church in Perdikas, region of Aegina, Greece. #OrthodoxIcon #Orthodoxy #OrthodoxChurch #prolife #abortion

Shared from https://www.afistemenaziso.gr
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me."

Under Romania's communist dictatorship secret police tortured Fr. George Calciu to such exhaustion that he could only pray "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me." With this prayer, he was able to survive.
Before becoming emperor, Leo the Great was walking in a wooded area where he met a blind man. The man asked Leo to help him find water. Unable to find any, Leo heard a voice telling him that there was water nearby. Still unable to locate water, he heard the voice speaking again: “Emperor Leo, go into the deepest part of the woods, and you will find water there. Take some of the cloudy water in your hands and give it to the blind man to drink. Then take the clay and put it on his eyes. Then you shall know who I am.” Leo obeyed and the blind man regained his sight. Later, Saint Leo became emperor, just as the Theotokos had prophesied.

Leo built a church over the site at his own expense, and the water continued to work miraculous cures. Therefore, it was called “The Life-Giving Fountain.” This Life Giving Spring of the Mother of God is commemorated every Bright Friday.
Churches built at the site of the Life-Giving Spring at Constantinople have each been destroyed during tumultuous times under Moslem rulers and fanatical mobs. However, the Life-Giving Spring remains and the Orthodox of Constantinople visit it, especially on Bright Friday.
Prayer against demonic snares

Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, having struck down the ancient serpent and bound him by bonds of darkness, protect me from his snares. Through the prayers of our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-virgin Mary, of the Holy Archangel Michael and all the Heavenly hosts, of the Holy Prophet and Baptist John, of the holy Evangelist John the Theologian, of the holy Martyr Cyprian and the Martyr Justinia, of St. Nicholas the wonderworker, of St. Nikita of Novgorod, of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, the wonderworker … and of all the saints, by the power of the life-giving Cross and by the intercession of my
Guardian Angel, deliver me from evil spirits, from cunning people, from sorcery, curses, the evil eye, and from any slanders of the enemy. By Thine almighty power preserve me from evil, so that I, enlightened by Thy light, may safely reach the quiet anchorage of the Heavenly Kingdom and there eternally thank Thee, my Savior, together with Thine unoriginate Father and Thy Most Holy and Life-giving Spirit. Amen.
“The Divine Liturgy is truly a Heavenly Service upon Earth, during which God Himself, in a particular, immediate, and most close manner, is present and dwells with men, being Himself the Invisible Celebrant of the Service, offering and being offered.

There is nothing upon Earth Holier, higher, grander, more solemn, more Life-Giving than the Liturgy. The Temple, at this particular time, becomes an Earthly Heaven; those who Officiate represent Christ Himself, the Angels, the Cherubim, Seraphim and Apostles.

The Liturgy is the continually repeated solemnization of God’s Love to mankind, and of His All-Powerful mediation for the Salvation of the whole world, and of every member separately: the marriage of the Lamb – the marriage of the King’s Son, in which the bride of the Son of God is – every faithful Soul; and the Giver of the bride – the Holy Spirit.” ☦️ St John of Kronstadt
"As a life-giving fount, thou didst conceive the Dew that is transcendent in essence, O Virgin Maid, and thou hast welled forth for our sakes the nectar of joy eternal"

The feast day of the Life-Giving Spring is commemorated every Bright Friday, honouring all at once a miracle-working spring, the Life-Giving Spring icon, and the Theotokos herself. The Mother of God is often hymned as a holy fountain or spring.

In some places, there is custom to sanctify springs located near churches, dedicate them to the Holy Mother, and paint icons of The Life-Giving Spring.
When “Pope” Paul VI went to Jerusalem, Patriarch Benedict said, “I will make you an offer: Go to the Holy Tomb and bring out the Holy Fire for us, just once, and if you succeed in this, we will all become “Catholics,” including myself. But if you fail, I am asking you, will you become Orthodox?” The Pope refused the Patriarch's request. So, do you see? They see Orthodoxy as the only truth, but they do not wish to change.

☦️ Elder Ephraim of Saint Andrew's Skete of Mount Athos, who reposed March 30, 2023
I remember once I told Saint Porphyrios: "I'm afraid of what is to come, the ugly times."

He looked at me puzzled and giving me a swift slap on the hand he said: "Who can do you harm, my child, if you have Christ inside your heart. Turn your eyes towards Christ. You don't become saints by chasing away the evil. Forget about the evil. You should actually turn your eyes towards Christ and He will save you. Instead of standing at the door and shooing away the enemy, despise him. When you see evil approaching from one direction, you softly give your attention to something else. So, when the evil is coming to offend you, give your interior strength to good, to Christ. Plead: "Our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me."
He knows how to give you His mercy and in whatever way that is best for you. And after you are full of good, then you no longer turn your attention towards the evil. With the grace of God, you become good. And then the evil is unable to find a place to stand and disappears."

—His Grace Bishop George of Canberra
The Warrior Saints are a group of saints who were usually actual soldiers in life and martyrs to Christ in death. Their prototype was Holy Martyr Longinus, the centurion who witnessed the Crucifixion and confessed, “Truly this was the Son of God” (Mt. 27:54). He was later beheaded for preaching the Gospel.

St Longinus was the first of a wave of soldier-martyrs who converted to Christ while in the Roman military. These soldiers would inevitably come to find their faith at odds orders to sacrifice to idols or to persecute Christians. These martyrs' steadfastness in the midst of the most brutal tortures and executions would lead thousands to Christ.
They remain our heavenly protectors and continue to work miracles centuries after their deaths.

Images

+St Longinus icon from the Nea Moni, 11th-century monastery on the island of Chios, Greece
+17th-century icon of Demetrius, George, Procopius and Artemy from the Hilander Monastery, Mt Athos
What is Orthodoxy? “The answer is two words: Jesus Christ. There is no other definition needed.”—Archpriest Theodore Gignadze
“Death puts an end to all! Your thoughts at death are how everything will end for you. We must always be prepared: let us be united with Christ and pray much, so that we end our life in peace and obtain a little corner of Paradise. But the road there is difficult."

—Elder Paisius (Olaru) of Sihla