Saint John Chrysostomos (the Golden-Tongued), Patriarch of Constantinople (Part II)

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

THE LIFE OF OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS, SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOMOS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE FEAST DAY ON NOVEMBER 13TH.

[Compiled from the writings of George, the Bishop of Alexandria; the Emperor Leo the Wise; Metaphrastes; Nicephoros; Socrates Scholasticus; and other historians worthy of credence.]

God bestowed upon Saint John Chrysostomos the gift of teaching and the grace of the Holy Spirit, which worked in him even as it had in the Apostles. This was revealed to one of the monks living in that monastery, an ascetic named Hesychius was also clairvoyant. One night, while keeping vigil and praying, he beheld in a vision two men of a magnificent appearance, clad in white garments and shining like the sun, who came down from heaven and entered the cell (kellion) of the blessed John as he stood in prayer. One of them held a scroll covered with writing and the other held keys. When St. John saw them, he was afraid and hastened to fall down to the ground before them. But they took him by the hands, and raising him up, said, "Take heart and have no fear."

Saint John asked them, "Who are you, my lords?"

They said to him, "Do not fear, O man of lofty desires, O new Daniel, in whom the Holy Spirit has deigned to make His abode, on account of your purity of heart. We have been sent to you by the Great Teacher, Our Savior Jesus Christ."

The first of the two men stretched forth his hand and gave St. John the scroll. As he did this he said, "Take this scroll from my hand, for I am John, who rested on the Lord's breast at the Mystical Supper and received from Him Divine Revelations. The Lord shall also bestow upon you the depths of wisdom, enabling you to nourish the people with the imperishable food of the teaching of Christ. Your lips shall stop the mouths of Jews and heretics who utter blasphemies against God."

Then the second man stretched forth his hand and gave St. John the keys, saying, "I am Peter, and the keys of the Kingdom have been entrusted unto me. The Lord wishes to grant you the keys of the holy Churches as well so that whomsoever you shall bind may be bound and whomsoever you shall loose may be loosed."

The blessed John again prostrated himself before the two men, and asked, "Who am I dare to take upon myself such great and fearful tasks? I am a sinner and worse than all other men."

But the Holy Apostles took the Saint by the right hand, and raising him up, said, "Stand firmly, take courage, and be strong. Do what has been commanded you, and do not conceal the gift that our Lord Jesus Christ has bestowed on you. Enlighten His people and confirm them in the faith, for He shed His blood for their sake so that they might be freed from the deception of the enemy. Teach the word of God without hesitation, remembering the Lord's saying: "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom?" Do not be timid: Christ our God is pleased to bring many souls to sanctification and enlightenment through you. Numerous woes will befall you for righteousness' sake, but you must remain as firm as adamant, for thus you shall inherit the Kingdom of God."

So saying, the Apostles made the Sign of the Cross over John, gave him a kiss in the Lord, and departed. Such of the brethren as was tried in the virtues the blessed Hesychius told of his vision, and they were amazed and glorified God, Who has many hidden servants, unbeknown to all. But Hesychius forbade them to tell the other monks, lest John learn of the vision and depart from them, for he did not wish that they be deprived of the presence of God's great favorite.

Saint John did not cease to toil either for his own salvation or for that of others, laboring fervently himself and arousing other to struggle. The slothful he inspired to strive for heavenly things, to mortify their flesh, and to subject it to the spirit. Moreover, the blessed one worked numerous miracles while living the ascetic life in that monastery.

Saint John remained in the monastery for four years. Then, desiring a life of silence, he secretly departed into the desert where he found a cave, in which he remained for two years, living only for God.

After this, Saint John fell ill, enfeebled by his indescribable labors. The cold had harmed his legs, and he was no longer able to care for himself because of his infirmity. For this reason, he was compelled to leave the wilderness and to return to Antioch. This occurred in accordance with God's Providence for His Church so that the brilliant lamps would not remain hidden in a desert cave, as though beneath a bushel, but would be placed on the lampstand of the Church to illumine all. Thus Saint John ceased to have his dwelling among wild beasts and began to live amid men and to profit not only himself but others as well.

Upon his arrival in the city of Antioch, the blessed John was received with joy by the Most Holy Patriarch Meletius, who gave him a place to live. A short time thereafter, the Patriarch ordained John to the diaconate. He remained a Deacon for five years and became the adornment of the Church, both because of the virtue of his life and on account of the edifying treatise which he wrote at that time.

One night, while Flavian occupied the throne of Antioch, an Angel of the Lord appeared to the Patriarch as he stood at prayer. The Angel said, "Go tomorrow to the monastery where John, the favorite of God, has his dwelling. Bring him back to the city and ordain him Presbyter (Priest), for he is a chosen vessel and God will turn a multitude of people unto Himself through him."

An Angel also appeared to John at the same time. The Saint was praying in his cell (kellion) during the night, according to his custom when the Angel came to him and commanded him to return with Flavian to the city and to accept the Priesthood. The next day, the Patriarch arrived at the monastery, and the blessed John and all the monks came forth to meet him. They bowed down before him, received his blessing, and then led him to the church with fitting honor. The Patriarch served the Holy Liturgy, communed all the brethren with the Divine Mysteries (Sacraments), and after blessing the brethren again, returned to the city with John. The monks wept inconsolably because they did not wish that John is taken from them.

The next day Saint John was ordained. When the Patriarch placed his hand upon John's head, a shining white dove suddenly appeared, flying above the Saint. Seeing this, the Patriarch Flavian and all those present were amazed and stood there marveling. Word of this miracle spread throughout Antioch, the neighboring cities, and all Syria, and those who heard of it said, "What shall this mane become? The glory of the Lord has overshadowed him from the very day of his ordination.

(To be continued)

_____________________________

"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostom

+++

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

Saint John Chrysostomos (the Golden-Tongued), Patriarch of Constantinople

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE. Ο ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΕΝ ΤΩ ΜΕΣΩ ΗΜΩΝ! ΚΑΙ ΗΝ ΚΑΙ ΕΣΤΙ ΚΑΙ ΕΣΤΑΙ.

+++

SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOMOS (THE GOLDEN-TONGUED), PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE. OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHURCH COMMEMORATES HIM ON NOVEMBER 13TH.

He was born in Antioch in the year 347 A.D., his father's name being Secundus and his mother's Anthusa. Studying Greek philosophy, St. John became disgusted with Hellenic paganism and turned to the Christian faith as the one and all-embracing Truth. St. John was baptized by Meletius, Patriarch of Antioch, and, after that, his parents were also baptized. After their death, St. John became a monk and began to live in strict asceticism. He wrote a book: On the Priesthood, after which the Holy Apostles John and Peter appeared to him, prophesying for him great service, great grace and also great suffering. When the time came for him to be ordained Priest, an Angel of God appeared at the same time to Patriarch Flavian (Meletius's successor) and to St. John himself. When the Patriarch ordained him, a shining white dove was seen above St. John's head. Renowned for his wisdom, his asceticism and the power of his words, St. John was, at the desire of Emperor Arcadius, chosen as Patriarch of Constantinople. He governed the Church for six years as Patriarch with unequalled zeal and wisdom, sending missionaries to the pagan Celts and Scythians and purging the Church of simony, deposing many bishops who were given to this vice. He extended the Church's charitable works, wrote a rite for the Divine Liturgy, put heretics to shame, denounced the Empress Evdoxia, interpreted the Holy Scripture with his golden mind and tongue and left to the Church many precious books of sermons. The people glorified him; the jealous loathed him; the Empress twice had him sent into exile. He spent three years in exile, and died on Holy Cross Day, September 14th, 407 A.D., in a place called Comana in Armenia. The holy Apostles John and Peter again appeared to him at the time of his death, and also the holy martyr Vasiliskus (see May 22nd), in whose church he received Holy Communion for the last time, "Glory To God for Everything (All Things)! were his last words, and with them the soul of Saint John Chrysostomos the Patriarch of Constantinople entered into Paradise. Of his holy relics, the head is preserved in the Church of the Dormition (Koimisis) in Moscow, and the body in the Vatican in Rome. Some of his holy relics were given back to Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinope as a gesture of friendship by the Vatican. (Source: The Prologue from Ochrid)

(To be continued)

__________________________

DIVINE SERVICES TOMORROW, NOVEMBER 13TH AT SAINT ANDREW:

Orthros (Matins) at 9:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.

__________________________

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

The Sacred Writings of Saint Nektarios, Bishop of Pentopolis and Wonderworker (Part II)

My beloved spiritual children in Christ in Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

+++

THE SACRED WRITINGS OF SAINT NEKTARIOS BISHOP OF PENTAPOLIS THE MIRACLE WORKER (Part II)

The path of virtue is a path of effort and toil: "Straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it;" whereas the gate is wide and the way spacious, but lead to perdition.

Spiritual training (pneumatic gymnasia) is askesis for piety. It is most valuable, "having promise for the life that now is, and for that which is to come." The efforts made for the sake of piety bring spiritual gladness.

Theophylaktos says: "Train yourself for piety, that is, for pure faith and the right life. Training, then, and continual efforts are necessary; for he who trains exercises until he perspires, even when there is no contest."

Training accustoms one to be lenient, temperate, capable of controlling his anger, subduing his desires, doing works of charity, showing love for his fellow men, practicing virtue. Training is virtuous askesis, rendering one's way of life admirable.

Askesis is practice, meditation, training, self-control, love of labor.

Fasting is an ordinance of the Church, obliging the Christian to observe it on specific days. Concerning fasting, our Savior teaches: "When thou fastest, anoint thine head and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father Who is in secret: and thy Father, Who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." From what the Savior teaches we learn:

a)     that fasting is pleasing to God, and

b)     that he who fasts for the uplifting of his mind and heart towards God shall be rewarded by God, Who is a Most liberal bestower of Divine gifts, for his devotion.

In the New Testament fasting is recommended as a means of preparing the mind and the heart for divine worship, for long prayer, for rising from the earthly, and for spiritualization.

Attention is the first teacher of Truth and consequently absolutely necessary. Attention rouses the soul to study itself and its longings, to learn their true character and repulse those that are unholy. Attention is the guardian of the intellect, always counseling it this: be attentive. Attention awakens the soul, rouses it from sleep...Attention examines every thought, every desire, every memory. Thoughts, desires, and memories are engendered by various causes, and often appear masked and with splendid garb, in order to deceive the inattentive intellect and enter into the soul and dominate it. Only attention can reveal their hidden form. Often their dissimulation is so perfect that the discernment of their true nature is very difficult and requires the greatest attention. One must remember the saving words of the Lord: "Be wakeful and pray that ye enter not into temptation." He who is wakeful does not enter into temptation, because he is vigilant and attentive.

True prayer is undistracted, prolonged, performed with a contrite heart and alert intellect. The vehicle of prayer is everywhere humility, and prayer is a manifestation of humility. For being conscious of our own weakness, we invoke the power of God.

Prayer unites one with God, being a divine conversation and spiritual communion with the Being that is Most beautiful and highest.

Prayer is forgetting earthly things, an ascent to heaven. Through prayer we flee to God.

Prayer is truly a heavenly armor, and is alone can keep safe those who have dedicated themselves to God. Prayer is the common medicine for purifying ourselves from the passions, for hindering sin and curing our faults. Prayer is an inexhaustible treasure, an unruffled harbor, the foundation of serenity, the root and mother of myriad's of blessings.

The Mysterion (Sacrament) of the Divine Eucharist that has been handed down by the Lord is the highest of all the Mysteria (Sacraments); it is the most wondrous of all the miracles which the power of God has performed; it is the highest which the wisdom of God has conceived; it is the most precious of all the gifts which the love of God has bestowed upon men. For all the other miracles result through a transcendence of certain laws of Nature, but the Mysterion (Sacrament) of the Divine Eucharist transcends all these laws. Hence it may justly be called, and be viewed as, the miracle of miracles and the Mysterion of Mysteria (Sacrament of Sacraments).

Do you want to become a partaker of the blessing conferred by Divine Communion? Do you want your salvation? Become a true Christian, have fear of God, faith in the Mysterion (Sacrament) of Divine Communion, and love for God and for your neighbor.

Miracles are not impossible from a logical standpoint, and right reason does not deny them. Natural laws do not have the claim to be the only ones, nor are they threatened with being overturned by the appearance of other laws, supernatural ones, which also are conducive to the development and furtherance of creation...Miracles are consequence of the Creator's love for his creatures.  

(Source: "Modern Orthodox Saints, Saint Nectarios of Aegina," by (Dr.) Constantine Cavarnos, Institute for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, Belmont, Massachusetts, 1981., pp. 154-187)

_____________________________________

"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!"--Saint John Chrysostom

+++

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

The Sacred Writings of Saint Nektarios, Bishop of Pentopolis and Wonderworker

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

+++

THE SACRED WRITINGS OF SAINT NEKTARIOS BISHOP OF PENTAPOLIS THE WONDERWORKER

It is evident that unbelief is an evil offspring of an evil heart; for the guileless and pure heart everywhere discovers God, everywhere discerns Him, and always unhesitatingly believes in His existence. When the man of pure heart looks at the World of Nature, that is, at the sky, the earth, and the sea and at all things in them, and observes the systems constituting them, the infinite multitude of stars of heaven, the innumerable multitudes of birds and quadrupeds and every kind of animal of the earth, the variety of plants on it, the abundance of fish in the sea, he is immediately amazed and exclaims with the Prophet David: "How great are Thy works, O Lord! In wisdom, Thou made them all." Such a man, impelled by his pure heart, discovers God also in the World of Grace of the Church, from which the evil man is far removed. The man of pure heart believes in the Church, admires her spiritual system, discovers God in the Mysteria (Sacraments), in the heights of the theology, in the light of Divine Revelations, in the Truths of the teachings, in the Commandments of the Law, in the achievements of the Saints, in the very good deed, in every perfect gift, and in general in the whole of the creation. Justly then did the Lord say in His Beatitudes of those possessing purity of heart: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

He who does not know himself does not know God, either. And he who does not know God does not know the truth and the nature of things in general...He who does not know himself continually sins against God and continually moves farther away from Him. He who does not know the nature of things and what they truly are in themselves is powerless to evaluate them according to their worth and to discriminate (discern) between the mean and the precious, the worthless and the valuable. Wherefore, such a person wears himself out in the in the pursuit of vain and trivial things and is unconcerned about and indifferent to the things that are eternal and most precious.

Man ought to will to know himself, to know God, and to understand the nature of things as they are in themselves, and this becomes an image and likeness of God.

Man is a complete being, made up of an earthly body and celestial soul...The soul is closely united with the body, yet wholly independent of it.

Man is not only reason but also heart. The powers of these two centers, mutually assisting one another, render man perfect and teach him what he could never learn through reason alone. If reason teaches about the natural world, the heart teaches us about the supernatural world...Man is perfect when he has developed both his heart and his intellect. Now the heart is developed through revealed religion.

The rational soul of man has supernatural, infinite aspirations. If the rational soul were dependent upon the body and died together with the body, it should necessarily submit to the body and follow it in all its appetites. Independence would have been contrary both to the laws of nature and to reason because it disturbs the harmony between the body and the soul. As dependent upon the body, it should submit to the body and follow it in all its appetites and desires, whereas, on the contrary, the soul masters the body, and directs its will upon the body. The soul subjugates and curbs the appetites and passions of the body, and directs them as it (the soul) wills. This phenomenon comes to the attention of every rational man, and whoever is conscious of his own rational soul is conscious of the soul's mastery over the body.

The mastery of the soul over the body is proved by the obedience of the body when it is being fed with self-denial to sacrifice for the sake of the abstract ideas of the soul. The domination by the soul for the prevalence of its principles, ideas, and views would have been entirely incomprehensible if the soul died together with the body. But a mortal soul would never have risen to such a height, would never have condemned itself to death along with the body for the prevalence of abstract ideas that lacked meaning, since no noble idea, no noble and courageous thought has any meaning for a mortal soul.

A soul, therefore which is capable of such things, must be immortal.

The teachers of the Eastern Orthodox Church, having Holy Scripture as their foundation, teach that those who die in the Lord go to a place of rest, according to the statement of the Apocalypse (Revelation): "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them" (Revelation 14:13). This place of rest is viewed as spiritual Paradise, where the souls of those who have died in the Lord, the souls of the righteous, enjoy the blessings of rest, while awaiting the day of rewarding and the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus...

About the sinners, they teach that their souls go down to Hades, where there is suffering, sorrow, and groaning, awaiting the dreadful day of the Judgment.

The Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church do not admit the existence of another place, intermediate between Paradise and Hades, as such a place is not mentioned in Holy Scripture.

After the end of the General Judgment, the Righteous Judge (God) will declare the decision both to the righteous and to the sinners. To the righteous He will say: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;" while to the sinners He will say: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." And these will go away to eternal Hades, while the righteous will go to eternal life. This retribution after the General Judgment will be complete, final, and definitive. It will be complete, because it is not the soul alone, as the Partial Judgment of man after death, but the soul together with the body, that will receive what is deserved. It will be final because it will be enduring and not temporary like that at Partial Judgment. And it will be definitive because both for the righteous and for the sinners it will be unalterable and eternal.

Our Holy Church honors Saints not as gods, but as faithful servants, as holy men and friends of God. It extols the struggles they engaged in and the deeds they performed for the glory of God with the action of His grace, in such a way that all the honor that the Church gives them refers to the Supreme Being, Who has viewed their life on earth with gratification. The Church honors them by commemorating them annually through public celebrations and through the erection of churches in honor of their name.

The holy men and women of God, who were magnified on earth by the Lord, have been honored by God's Holy Church from the very time it was founded by the Savior Christ.

Two factors are involved in man's salvation: the grace of God and the will of man. Both must work together if salvation is to be attained.

Repentance is a Mystery through which he who repents for his sins confesses before a Spiritual Father who has been appointed by the Church and has received the authority to forgive sins, and receives from this Spiritual Father the remission of sins and is reconciled with the Deity, against Whom he sinned.

Repentance signifies regret, change of mind. The distinguishing marks of repentance are contrition, tears, aversion towards sin, and love of the good.

We ought to do everything we can for the acquisition of virtue and moral wisdom (phronesis), for the prize is beautiful and the hope great.

(To be continued)

______________________________

"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostom

+++

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

Our Holy Father Saint Nektarios of Aegina, Bishop of Pentopolis and Miracle Worker (Part III)

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

+++

OUR HOLY FATHER SAINT NEKTARIOS OF AEGINA, BISHOP OF PENTOPOLIS AND MIRACLE WORKER (Part III)

Saint Nektartios writes: Christian religion is not a certain philosophic system, about which learned men, trained in metaphysical studies, argue and then either espouse or reject, according to the opinion each one has formed. It is faith, established in the souls of men, which ought to be spread to the many and be maintained in their consciousness.

There are truths in Christianity that are above our intellectual comprehension, incapable of being grasped by the finite mind of man. Our intellect takes cognizance of them, becomes convinced of their reality, and testifies about their supernatural existence.

Christianity is a religion of revelation. The Divine reveals its glory only to those who have been perfected through virtue. Christianity teaches perfection through virtue and demands that its followers become holy and perfect. It disapproves of and opposes those who are under the influence of the imagination. He who is truly perfect becomes through Divine help outside the flesh and the world, and truly enters another, spiritual world; not, however, through the imagination, but through the effulgence of Divine grace. Without grace, without revelation, no man, even the most virtuous, can transcend the flesh and the world.

God reveals Himself to the humble who live in accordance with virtue. Those who take up wings of the imagination attempt the flight of Ikaros and have the same end. Those who harbor fantasies do not pray; for he that prays lifts his mind and heart towards God, whereas he that turns to fantasies diverts himself. Those who are addicted to the imagination have withdrawn from God's grace and from the realm of Divine Revelation. They have abandoned the heart in which grace is revealed and have surrendered themselves to the imagination, which is devoid of all grace. It is only the heart that receives knowledge about things that are not apprehended by the senses, because God, Who dwells and moves within it, speaks within it and reveals to it the substance of things hoped for.

Seek God daily. But seek Him in your heart, not outside it. And when you find Him, stand with fear and trembling, like the Cherubim and the Seraphim, for your heart has become a Throne of God. But in order to find God, become humble as dust before the Lord, for the Lord abhors the proud, whereas He visits those that are humble in heart, wherefore He says: "To whom will I look, but to him that is meek and humble in heart?"

The divine light illumines the pure heart and the pure intellect because these are susceptible to receiving Light; whereas impure hearts and intellects, not being susceptible to receiving illumination, have an aversion to the Light of knowledge, the Light of Truth; they like darkness...God loves those who have a pure heart, listens to their prayers, grants them their requests that lead to salvation, reveals Himself to them and teaches the mysteries of the Divine Nature.

The term church (ecclesia), according to the strict Orthodox Christian view, has two meanings, one of them expressing its doctrinal and religious character, that is, its inner, peculiarly spiritual essence, and the other expressing its external character. Thus, according to the Orthodox confession, the Church is defined in a twofold manner: as a religious institution, and as a religious community (koinonia).

The definition of the church as a religious institution may be formulated thus: The Church is a Divine religious institution of the New Testament, built by our Savior Jesus Christ through His Incarnate Dispensation, established upon faith on the day of Holy Pentecost by the descent of the All-Holy Spirit upon the Holy Disciples and Apostles of the Savior Christ, Whom He rendered instruments of Divine grace for the perpetuation of His work of redemption. In this institution is entrusted the totality of revealed truths; in it operates Divine grace through the Mysteries; in it are regenerated those, who with faith, approach Christ the Savior; in it has been preserved both the written and the unwritten Apostolic teaching and Holy Tradition.

The definition of the church as a religious community may be formulated thus: The church is a society of men united in the unity of the Spirit, in the bond of peace.

The right view of the church is that the church is distinguished into the Militant and the Triumphant; and that it is Militant so long as it struggles wickedness (evil) for the prevalence of the good, the Triumphant in the heavens, where there dwells the Choir of the Righteous, who struggled and were made perfect in the faith in God and in virtue.

Sacred (Holy) Tradition is the very church; without the Sacred (Holy) Tradition the Church does not exist. Those who deny the Sacred Tradition deny the Church and the preaching of the Apostles.

Before the writing of the Holy Scripture, that is, of the Sacred Texts of the Gospels, the Acts and the Epistles of the Holy Apostles, and before they were spread to the churches of the world, the Church was based on Sacred Tradition...The holy texts are in relation to Sacred Tradition what the part is to the whole.

The Church Holy Fathers regard Holy Tradition as the safe guide in the interpretation of Holy Scripture and absolutely necessary for understanding the Truths contained in the Holy Scripture. The Church receives many traditions from the Holy Apostles...The constitution of the Church services, especially of the Divine Liturgy, the Holy Mysteria (Sacraments) themselves and the manner of performing them, certain prayers and other institutions of the Church go back to the Sacred Tradition of the Apostles.

In their conferences, the Holy Synods (Councils) draw not only from Holy Scripture but also from Sacred Tradition as from a pure fount. Thus, the Seventh Ecumenical Synod says in the 8th Decree: If one violates any part of the Church Tradition, either written or unwritten, let him be anathema."

(To be continued)

______________________________

"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" -- Saint John Chrysostom

+++

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

Our Holy Father Saint Nektarios of Aegina, Bishop of Pentopolis and Miracle Worker (Part II)

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE. Ο ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ ΕΝ ΤΩ ΜΕΣΩ ΗΜΩΝ! ΚΑΙ ΕΣΤΙ ΚΑΙ ΕΣΤΑΙ.

+++

OUR HOLY FATHER SAINT NEKTARIOS OF AEGINA BISHOP OF PENTAPOLIS AND MIRACLE WORKER (Part II)

Saint Nektarios lived like an Angel in the flesh with the rays of the Uncreated Light shining around him, yet once again he was calumniated by certain members of the Hierarchy who made malicious accusations about his monastery. He bore these latter trials with the patience of Christ, meekly and without complaint, as he did the painful illness which afflicted him for more than eighteen months before he spoke of it. He thanked God for putting him to the test in this way and did his best to keep the pain he suffered secret until the last days of his life. After a final pilgrimage to an icon of the Mother of God venerated not far from the monastery, he told his disciples of his coming departure for Heaven and was taken to a hospital in Athens where, after fifty days of suffering borne with a patience that edified all who visited him, he gave up his soul in peace to God on November 8th, 1920.

The faithful Orthodox Christians of Aegina, the nuns of his monastery and all the Christians who had come close to him, mourned the loss of the meek and compassionate disciple of Christ who, in the likeness of the Divine Image of his Master, endured all his life calumnies, persecutions, and false accusations. But God has glorified him, and miracles have abounded since his departure for those who approach his holy relics with faith or who rely on his powerful intercession. His body remained incorrupt for more than twenty years, distilling a delicate, heavenly scent, and then returned to the earth in the usual way. His holy relics were strongly redolent with the same perfume at the time of their translation (anakomide) in June 1953. This sweet perfume has continued ever since to rejoice the faithful Orthodox Christians who come with faith and love to venerate his precious holy relics with the assurance that Saint Nektarios has been received by God into the abode of the Righteous. His veneration was formally recognized in 1961. The list of his miracles grows longer every day, and his shrine at Aegina has become the most visited place of pilgrimage in all of Greece.

We, at Saint Andrew parish, have witnessed at least two miracles at our Saint Nektarios Chapel by him.

+

Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn of Saint Nektarios:

Selyvria's offspring and Aegina's guardian, the true friend of virtue revealed in these last times, Nektarios let us, the faithful, praise as inspired servants of Christ; for he pours out healings of every kind for those who devoutly cry: Glory to Christ who gave you glory! Glory to Him who made you wondrous! Glory to Him who through you works healings for all!

+

The Holy Spirit has enlightened the gathered members of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa, under the leadership of H.B. Petros VII, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, more than a century since Saint Nektarios, the Great Teacher and Father of the Holy Eastern Orthodox Church was expelled from the Church of Alexandria, to reach the following decision:

"Taking into account the resolution of the Church to rank Saint Nectarios amongst the Saints because of his innumerable miracles and his acceptance within the religious the conscience of the Orthodox Christians throughout the world, we appeal to the mercy of the Ever-Charitable God.

We hereby restore the ecclesiastical order of the Saint of Our Century, Saint Nektarios, and grant to him all due credits and honors. We beseech Saint Nektarios to forgive both us, unworthy as we are, and our predecessors, our brothers of the Throne of Alexandria, for opposition to the Saint and for all which, due to human weakness or error, our Holy Father, Bishop of Pentapolis, Saint Nektarios, suffered."  

PETROS VIII, By the Grace of God Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa.

Beloved and faithful children of the Church,

In these modern times, when our way of life is constantly changing, when the products of technology and the numerous experiences of our daily life, confused man's incurable, crushing the hope of our hearts and destroying man's character, the Saints of our Church bear witness to man's salvation, the majesty of man's spirit and the ontological concept of hope and the recognition of human life.

One of the Great Saints of our Orthodox Church, who lived and experienced the joyful meeting and continuous coexistence with Christ our God, who aimed to build a new world, to separate man from his stained inheritance and to reform the human personality, is Saint Nektarios, Bishop of the ancient Kyrenian Pentapolis, the Wonder-worker.

All that our Church believes and experiences is to be found in the inner personality of Saint Nektarios. This is substantiated through our life experience.

The whole grace of the Church exists in his life, and the burning flame which is Saint Nektarios, passes on to us the essence of the mystery of the Church.

He is truly formed by great experiences. He is able to transfuse us with holiness and grace because he himself was tested and saved.

Saint Nektarios lived in our Patriarchate and became the humble servant of the world, despite the difficulties caused by malicious intent, the atmosphere of contempt and defeat, enmity and injustice. He achieved absolute humility. In virtuous silence, he endured the turmoil of his flaming soul. Like Noah in his ark, he relived the experience of humanity mixing the waters of the deluge, the water of Baptism and the tears of his eyes. He overcame every trial and temptation through continuous prayer.

He became the vessel of God's Grace. He is the poor, the unseen, the meek, the kind, the wonder-worker, the protector of God's Divine Love for mankind.

In the life of Saint Nektarios, the world, mankind, every one of us finds his measure, the scale by which to compare, the Truth. We realize the ugliness of our spiritual self-centeredness; we see perfection in the fear that we might wound God's Love; we search for the only, the essential evangelical reality - that we must renounce ourselves and take up our cross in our daily lives. And the life of Saint Nektarios also reveals something completely different: the power of man, mobilized by the presence of God, freedom of choice and the deep desire to be a child of God.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ through the holy intercessions of our Father Saint Nektarios be with you all.

(To be continued)

________________________________

"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" -- Saint John Chrysostom

+++

With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George