A certain monk asked one of the elders, "Why are my thoughts always inclined to defilement, so that they give me no rest even for an hour, and my soul is troubled?" The elder said to him, "If the demons inspire thoughts in you, do not give in to them." It is their nature to tempt constantly. .. "Guard against them, and when they begin to speak to you, do not answer them, but pray to God: Son of God, have mercy on me!"
Ancient Patericon
Ancient Patericon
“I ascend unto My Father and your Father, and to My God, and Your God”+ John 20:17
"In the Ascension resides the meaning and the fullness of Christ’s Resurrection." - Fr. George Florovsky
With Christ, man’s nature ascends also. As God-man, Christ's ascension shows that we are capable of being deified-- united, both body and soul, eternally.
The Ascension is also a sign and token of Pentecost and of the Second Coming. “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
"O Christ God, You have ascended in Glory, Granting joy to Your disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit. Through the blessing they were assured That You are the Son of God, The Redeemer of the world!" (Troparion, Tone 4)
"In the Ascension resides the meaning and the fullness of Christ’s Resurrection." - Fr. George Florovsky
With Christ, man’s nature ascends also. As God-man, Christ's ascension shows that we are capable of being deified-- united, both body and soul, eternally.
The Ascension is also a sign and token of Pentecost and of the Second Coming. “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
"O Christ God, You have ascended in Glory, Granting joy to Your disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit. Through the blessing they were assured That You are the Son of God, The Redeemer of the world!" (Troparion, Tone 4)
"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." Philippians 4:8
“When your children are still small, you have to help them understand what is good. That is the deepest meaning of life.”'
+St Paisios
“When your children are still small, you have to help them understand what is good. That is the deepest meaning of life.”'
+St Paisios
The miraculous role of the Kazan icon of the Mother of God, the Protectress of the Russian land (July 8/ July 21), is richly woven into the complex history of Russia.
On the night before Russian troops stormed the insurgent-occupied Kremlin, St Sergius of Radonezh said to Archbishop Arsenius of Elassona, who was in the Kremlin during its siege: “Arsenius, our prayers have been answered. Through the intercession of the Theotokos, the Lord’s judgment upon our homeland has been changed to mercy. In the morning Moscow will be in the hands of the insurgents and Russia will be saved.” On October 25, 1612, Russian volunteer army officers walked in a cross procession into the Kremlin, carrying the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, the Protectress of the Russian land, at the head of the procession.
Prayers before the holy icon also helped Russian civilians survive during the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany and its allies (1941-1945).
On the night before Russian troops stormed the insurgent-occupied Kremlin, St Sergius of Radonezh said to Archbishop Arsenius of Elassona, who was in the Kremlin during its siege: “Arsenius, our prayers have been answered. Through the intercession of the Theotokos, the Lord’s judgment upon our homeland has been changed to mercy. In the morning Moscow will be in the hands of the insurgents and Russia will be saved.” On October 25, 1612, Russian volunteer army officers walked in a cross procession into the Kremlin, carrying the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, the Protectress of the Russian land, at the head of the procession.
Prayers before the holy icon also helped Russian civilians survive during the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany and its allies (1941-1945).
( continued) The original image of Our Lady of Kazan is believed to had come to Russia from Constantinople in the 13th century. After the Tatars besieged Kazan and made it the capital of their khanate in 1438, the icon disappeared, After a fire destroyed Kazan in 1579, the Most Holy Theotokos appeared in a dream to a young girl named Matrona and told her where to find the Our Lady of Kazan icon. The girl and her mother dug the icon from the ashes of a burned house. That very day the icon healed a blind man. The icon is now located in the Kazan cemetery church named for the holy Prince Theodore and his sons David and Constantine.
The story of the original Our Lady of Kazan and its many revered copies located throughout Russia is as complicated as the history of Russia. So, also complex are the histories of the many churches and cathedrals dedicated to Our Lady of Kazan. A more complete story can be found at orthochristian.com/114554.html
The story of the original Our Lady of Kazan and its many revered copies located throughout Russia is as complicated as the history of Russia. So, also complex are the histories of the many churches and cathedrals dedicated to Our Lady of Kazan. A more complete story can be found at orthochristian.com/114554.html
Orthodox Christianity
The Complicated History of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
The history of the Kazan icon began in the sixteenth century. Yet people find the circumstances and place of its appearance unusual and surprising even to this day.
"Over the entire twenty-five years since the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident, radiation levels in the area of St. Elijah Church, the only church operating in the exclusion zone, was well below levels across the zone" . . .
After the explosion in the fourth unit of the Chernobyl Power Plant, the cloud containing uranium particles started moving in the direction of the city of Pripyat, a mere 1,800 meters from the plant. On a pine-tree in its way, is a well-known icon, Chernobyl's Savior.
"The cloud stopped short of this pine, divided into two parts by some unknown cause, and continued moving to the left and right sides of the city, instead of covering its residential areas. The radiation level in contamination areas was four or five roentgen per hour, and the city showed only half a milliroentgen." https://bit.ly/2QFaENI
After the explosion in the fourth unit of the Chernobyl Power Plant, the cloud containing uranium particles started moving in the direction of the city of Pripyat, a mere 1,800 meters from the plant. On a pine-tree in its way, is a well-known icon, Chernobyl's Savior.
"The cloud stopped short of this pine, divided into two parts by some unknown cause, and continued moving to the left and right sides of the city, instead of covering its residential areas. The radiation level in contamination areas was four or five roentgen per hour, and the city showed only half a milliroentgen." https://bit.ly/2QFaENI
For many consecutive years, a miracle has occurred at Pentecost at the Church of the Krasnogorsky (“of red hill”) Monastery in Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region.
Lillies are kept inside the icon case of the “Joy of All Who Sorrow” icon of Holy Theotokos. Although withered prior to Pentecost, they blossom when Pentecost again arrives, filling the temple with their fragrance. Glory to God!
Lillies are kept inside the icon case of the “Joy of All Who Sorrow” icon of Holy Theotokos. Although withered prior to Pentecost, they blossom when Pentecost again arrives, filling the temple with their fragrance. Glory to God!
The grave of the Holy Apostle Barnabas of the Seventy (June 11/ June 24) was a place where many people had been healed of sickness even before St Barnabas appeared to Archbishop Anthemius of Cyprus three times and revealed its location. At the time, Peter, the power-hungry Patriarch of Antioch, was seeking to bring the Cypriot Church under his jurisdiction. St Barnabas' appearance and finding of his miraculous relics established the apostolic foundation of the Church of Cyprus and autocephaly was finally given.
“They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service." + John 16:2
“The universe offers You the God-bearing martyrs“, Holy Apostles Bartholomew of the Twelve and Barnabas of the Seventy (June 11/ June 24)
“As the first fruits of creation, O Lord and Creator.
Through the Theotokos, and their prayers establish Your Church in peace!“
“The universe offers You the God-bearing martyrs“, Holy Apostles Bartholomew of the Twelve and Barnabas of the Seventy (June 11/ June 24)
“As the first fruits of creation, O Lord and Creator.
Through the Theotokos, and their prayers establish Your Church in peace!“
“Make your heart a monastery. There sound the semandron, there call your vigil, cense and whisper ceaseless prayers. God is next to you...”
+St Luke the Surgeon of Simferopol (repose June 11, 1961).
As a Bishop, St Luke preached incessantly not only about the need to live Orthodoxy but against the perils of the “Living Church”. The latter was a defiled heretical sect propagated by the communist regime." https://orthodoxwiki.org/Luke_(Voino-Yasenetsky)_of_Simferopol_and_Crimea
+St Luke the Surgeon of Simferopol (repose June 11, 1961).
As a Bishop, St Luke preached incessantly not only about the need to live Orthodoxy but against the perils of the “Living Church”. The latter was a defiled heretical sect propagated by the communist regime." https://orthodoxwiki.org/Luke_(Voino-Yasenetsky)_of_Simferopol_and_Crimea
Among the 318 bishops who gathered at the First Ecumenical Council of the Church were many confessors who bore the marks of torture upon their bodies. At Nicea, they would confront not the instruments of physical torture, but the heresy of Arianism which was spreading across the Empire and infecting the Church.
Arius, a priest, denied the divine nature of Jesus Christ and His equality with God the Father. He falsely taught that the Saviour is not consubstantial with the Father. Arius' Christ was a creature, a most honourable one, but a creature nonetheless. Arius' Christ was not the true Saviour for Whom the martyrs gave their lives. Arius' clever teachings received their "walking papers" at Nicea.
Our Lord's promise, “I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mt. 16:18), was fulfilled at Nicea and continues to be fulfilled until His coming again.
Arius, a priest, denied the divine nature of Jesus Christ and His equality with God the Father. He falsely taught that the Saviour is not consubstantial with the Father. Arius' Christ was a creature, a most honourable one, but a creature nonetheless. Arius' Christ was not the true Saviour for Whom the martyrs gave their lives. Arius' clever teachings received their "walking papers" at Nicea.
Our Lord's promise, “I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mt. 16:18), was fulfilled at Nicea and continues to be fulfilled until His coming again.
An icon of the Holy Prophet and Forerunner John (Nativity June 24/ July 7) began streaming myrrh in 2015 at Assumption Greek Orthodox Church of St John the Baptist in Homer Glen, Illinois. The holy icon has brought many healings and conversions.
“Holy Prophet and Forerunner John, we honour you in love for your fearless proclamation to the world of the Incarnation of the Son of God!”
“Holy Prophet and Forerunner John, we honour you in love for your fearless proclamation to the world of the Incarnation of the Son of God!”
Cell Phones don't belong in the nave of the church! From the website of St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral, Montreal::
"Please switch off cell phones or put them into silent/vibrate mode BEFORE stepping into Church. If your cell phone does go off accidentally then do not answer it in church and start speaking loudly. To prevent the noise of the call from interfering with the service you should answer the call (accept it), but do not start speaking until you have stepped away (outside or in the narthex). Walk out of the church quietly and calmly. Do not sprint/dash out of the church when this happens. Make the caller wait. You can also try to cover the phone with both hands to minimize the sound as another option. Usually one incident like this will make you remember to always switch off before stepping into church."
"Please switch off cell phones or put them into silent/vibrate mode BEFORE stepping into Church. If your cell phone does go off accidentally then do not answer it in church and start speaking loudly. To prevent the noise of the call from interfering with the service you should answer the call (accept it), but do not start speaking until you have stepped away (outside or in the narthex). Walk out of the church quietly and calmly. Do not sprint/dash out of the church when this happens. Make the caller wait. You can also try to cover the phone with both hands to minimize the sound as another option. Usually one incident like this will make you remember to always switch off before stepping into church."
A Story of Saint Moses the Black (St Moses the Ethiopian)
A brother at Scetis committed a fault. A council was called to which Abba Moses was invited, but he refused to go to it. Then the priest sent someone to say to him, ‘Come, for everyone is waiting for you.’ So he got up and went. He took a leaking jug, filled it with water and carried it with him. (Some versions of the story say he carried a leaking bag of sand.) The others came out to meet him and said to him, ‘What is this, Father?’ The old man said to them, ‘My sins run out behind me, and I do not see them, and today I am coming to judge the errors of another.’ When they heard that they said no more to the brother but forgave him.
A brother at Scetis committed a fault. A council was called to which Abba Moses was invited, but he refused to go to it. Then the priest sent someone to say to him, ‘Come, for everyone is waiting for you.’ So he got up and went. He took a leaking jug, filled it with water and carried it with him. (Some versions of the story say he carried a leaking bag of sand.) The others came out to meet him and said to him, ‘What is this, Father?’ The old man said to them, ‘My sins run out behind me, and I do not see them, and today I am coming to judge the errors of another.’ When they heard that they said no more to the brother but forgave him.