The Holy and Great Feast of Pentecost (June 16)

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.

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THE HOLY AND GREAT FEAST OF PENTECOST
(Celebrated on June 16th this year)
By His Eminence Metropolitan of Nafpaktos, Greece HIEROTHEOS

Before Christ Ascended into Heaven Hi gave a command to His Disciples to return to Jerusalem after His Ascension and remain there until they were invested with power from Heaven. Thus He gave them the promise that they would receive the Holy Spirit, about which He had spoken during His life.

This promise by Christ to the Disciples was realized fifty (50) days after Pascha and ten days after His Ascension to Heaven. Thus in the Church, we observe the Feast of Pentecost, in which we honor the Holy Trinity, and on the following day, we celebrate and glorify the Holy Spirit. So the feast of Pentecost is a feast of the Holy Trinity.

The feast of Pentecost is also included in what the Church calls the "Twelve Feasts" because it is the last feast of the Divine Economy. The Incarnation of Christ was aimed at victory over death and the coming of the Holy Spirit into the hearts of men. Moreover, it is well known that the purpose of the ecclesiastical and spiritual life is that we should become members of the Body of Christ and receive the Holy Spirit. These two are inseparably linked together.

The holy hymnographer calls Pentecost the last feast concerning man's reformation and renewal: "Let us, believers, joyfully celebrate a last feast: it is Pentecost, fulfillment, and deadline of a promise". Thus, if the Annunciation to the Theotokos is the beginning of the Incarnation of the Logos/Word and the Divine Economy, Pentecost is the end, since it is then that man, through the Holy Spirit, becomes a member of the Risen Body of Christ.

We can also place Pentecost, as well as what relates to the Holy Spirit and Christ, in this framework because Christology cannot be understood apart from Pneumatology, nor Pneumatology apart from Christology.

The descent of the Holy Spirit took place on Sunday. And here we see the value of Sunday, for the Great Feasts of the Lord, took place on it. According to Saint Nicodemus the Hagiorite, the creation of the world began on the first day, that is to say on Sunday, for it was then that light was created; the renewal of creation began on Sunday with the Resurrection of Christ; the completion of creation took place on Sunday with the descent of the Holy Spirit. The making of creation was done by the Father with the cooperation of the Son and the Holy Spirit, the renewal of the Son with the good will of the Father and the cooperation of the Holy Spirit, and the completion of creation was done by the Holy Spirit, which proceeds from the Father and is sent by the Son.

The Christian Pentecost in which we celebrate the Descent of the Holy Spirit coincides with the Jewish Pentecost. It was on the day when the Jews were celebrating Pentecost that the Holy Spirit Descended upon the Holy Apostles and made them members of the Risen Body of Christ.

Pentecost is the second most important feast of the Jews after the Passover, and they were celebrating Moses' receiving God's Law on Mt. Sinai according to the tradition. Forty (40) days after the first feast of the Passover, Moses had gone up on Mt. Sinai and received God's Law. But in parallel with that, the Jewish Pentecost was an expression of their thankfulness for the harvest of fruits. Since it coincides with the period of the harvest, they called it a "harvest festival" and they offered the first-fruits in the Temple. The feast of Pentecost, which was celebrated with great splendor by the Jews, was called the Feast of Weeks.  (Source:  The Feasts of the Lord)

(To be continued)

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

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

+Father George

Service of the Consecration of an Orthodox Church: The Deposition of the Holy Relics

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.

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SERVICE OF THE CONSECRATION OF AN ORTHODOX CHURCH: THE DEPOSITION OF THE HOLY RELICS

The Bishop enters the Sanctuary, carrying the Paten with the Holy Relics. Uncovering the Paten, he places the Holy Relics in a small gold box. He then pours Holy Chrism over the Relics; this act symbolizes the union between our Lord, and His Martyrs. Having done this the Bishop prays for the founders of the Church who have fallen asleep (died).

The Bishop: Eternal be the memory of the builders of this Holy Church.

Congregation: Eternal be their memory.

[In the early years of Christianity the Church was not allowed to exist; for many years the early Christians were persecuted and killed for their faith in Christ. In those days, the Christians met in underground burial places and celebrated the Eucharist on the graves of the martyred Saints. When the persecutions ended, and the Church was allowed to exist, the tradition of celebrating the Divine Eucharist over the graves of Martyrs continued by placing Holy Relics in the Altar at the time of the Consecration.  In this manner, we are always reminded that the Church was built on the Blood of the Martyrs and their faith in the Lord.]

Since the Consecration centers around the Holy Altar Table (for it represents the center of all Mysteries (Sacraments) and services of the Church), the Bishop asks God's help to accomplish the service:

Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord.

Choir: Kyrie eleison

The Bishop: O Lord our God, Who hast bestowed upon the holy Martyrs which suffered for Thy sake this glory also, that their relics should be sown in all the earth, in Thy holy churches, and should bring forth fruits of healing: Do Thou, the Same Master, Who art the giver of all good things, through the intercession of the Saints whose relics Thou has graciously permitted to be placed in This Thy venerable Altar, enable us without condemnation to offer unto Thee thereon the bloodless sacrifice: And grant us all those petitions which are unto salvation, vouchsafing also to the relics therein of those who have suffered for Thy Holy Name, that they may work miracles into our salvation.

For Thine art the Kingdom and the power and the glory, of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.

Cantors: Amen

There follows a shorter prayer in which the Bishop once again asks for God's Blessings and 

help:

Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord.

Cantors: Kyrie eleison

The Bishop: O Lord, God our Savior, Who createst all things and makest the race of man for salvation, accept the prayer of us, Thine unworthy servants; and enable us at this present hour without condemnation to accomplish the consecration of this Church, founded to Thy praise in the name of (Church's Name) and to consumate the building therein of an Altar.

For unto Thee are due all glory, honor and worship, to the Father and  to the Son and to the 

Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.

Cantors: Amen.

[Following these two prayers the Bishop places the gold box containing the Holy relics into a special cavity (crypt) in the altar. In order to seal them permanently the Bishop pours wax/mastic over them. The wax/mastic contains many sweet smelling and fragrant spices, which were used by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus to anoint the Body of Christ in preparation for burial. The Holy Altar represents the Tomb in which our Lord's Body was placed. All of this takes place during the reading of Psalm 145.]

As the Bishop removes the excess wax/mastic, Psalm 23 is read. The Deposition (placing of the Holy Relics in the Altar Table) is now completed, and the Bishop prepares to wash and anoint the Altar Table.

The Holy Relics of the Saints That are Entombed in the Saint Andrew Altar Table

The Consecration of Saint Andrew was conducted by Metropolitan Iakovos of Chicago of blessed memory on October 7, 1990.

The Holy Relics are of:

Saint Haralambos the Hieromartyr (February 10), Saint Kerykos the Martyr (July 15), and the Holy Fathers of Sinai and Raitho (January 14).

We are blessed also to have two portable Reliquaries that sit on top of the Altar Table: Saints John Chrysostom (November 13), Saint Vlassios the Holy Martyr (February 11), Saint Mark, Bishop of Ephesus (January 19), Saint Artemios the Great Martyr (October 20), Saint Antipas, Bishop of Pergamos (April 11), 614 Holy Martyrs of the Holy Monastery of Hotzeva and Saint Christophoros the Holy Martyr (May 9).

[Please note: The Consecration Service is of course much more involved, extremely memorable, and beautiful. For example there is after the Deposition of the Holy Relics the Washing of the Altar Table since the Altar Table represents the Tomb of Christ and His body lies therein. The Altar must undergo its own "Baptism" (washing) and "Chrismation" (anointing). Then there is the Anointing of the Altar Table.  The Bishop sprinkles rosewater on the Altar Table as he recites: "Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop and I shall be clean: Thou shalt wash me and I shall be whiter then snow. Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness, that the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice." Rosewater is a sweet smelling fragrance which was used to anoint the Body of Christ for burial. The Bishop continues the rest of Psalm 51 while the Altar Table is wiped dry by the assisting Priest. The Priests use Antimens to do this.

Then there is the Vesting of the Altar Table.  The Altar Table isnow covered with the "Katasarkion".  This white linen cloth represents the Lord's burial shroud. The Katasarkion is tied with a cord which represents the cord with which our Lord's hands were tied as He stood before the High Priests. The Katasarkion will never be removed and will remain on the Altar for as long as the Church remains standing. As the Katasarkion is being placed on the Altar, Psalm 132 is read by the chanter.

Then there is the Anointing of the Church itself.

Lighting of the Vigil Light

[During the service the Bishop invites the faithful to come forward and to offer a few drops of oil in a Vigil Light. This they do as an offering to the church. The Bishop will later light the Vigil Light and will place it on the Altar Table near or front of the Artoforion. This light will be kept burning at all times and is symbolic of the never failing Light of Christ which came into darkness of the world to be a Light to enlighten all people. The Bishop the removes the Savanon (shroud). The Savanon will be cut into small pieces and each person in church will receive a piece of it to keep as a "Phylakton" (a blessed object worn to help ward off evil).

At the end of the Consecration Service the church has now been Baptized, Chrismated, Sanctified, Consecrated, and dedicated to God for eternal use as an Orthodox Christian House of Worship. The first Divine Liturgy is then celebrated in the newly consecrated "House of the Lord."

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Next time you enter a Consecrated Orthodox Church, remember that it is a Holy Place, a Holy Space, a Place of Prayer and Worship. Make sure that you show the proper reverence, respect, and piety. It absolutely matters how one behaves or conducts himself/herself inside the House of God. It matters how one dresses, how one sits, how one follows the divine service, how one participates in the Divine Liturgy or any of the Mysteries (Sacraments) of the Church. The Orthodox Christian is not in the House of God to observe a performance by the priest or choir. The Orthodox Christian attends for the purpose of worshipping our Ever-Loving God and of receiving the Divine Eucharist through which we receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life. 

Never but never disrespect the house of god whether there is a service taking place or not!

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

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

+Father George

The Second Coming (Parousia) of Christ

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

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THE SECOND COMING (PAROUSIA) OF CHRIST

The Orthodox Christian understanding of the Second Coming (Theftera Parousia) of Christ is clear: the Lord Jesus Christ truly will return. His Second Advent is not a myth, nor an empty promise, nor is it a metaphor. In fact, each time the Divine Liturgy is celebrated, the priest makes a proclamation to the Father which reveals how the Church responds not only to the Second Coming of Christ, but all of His work.

"Remembering this saving commandment [Jesus' command to eat His Body and drink His Blood] and all that has been done for us...the Cross, the Tomb, the Resurrection on the third day, the Ascension into Heaven, the sitting at the right hand of the Father and the Second and glorious Coming -- we offer You Your own, from what is your own, on behalf of all and for all."

Orthodox Christians also believe the New Testament revelation of the Second Coming of Christ is meant to stimulate our preparation for it, not our speculation about it. This explains the relative simplicity with which the Nicene Creed, the most universal Confession of faith I all of Christendom, addresses Christ's return:

"He...will come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead, whose Kingdom shall have no end." The emphasis of historic Orthodoxy is that Jesus will come again, not when He will come again."

Thus, Saint Paul the Apostle writes, "denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works" (Saint Titus 2:12-14).

All of the events that are linked to the Second Coming of Christ are called "eschatological" because they pertain to the last things, the ultimate day; in other words, they pertain to the events that will take place after the present world has come to its end. We usually refer to "the end of history", but this does not fully express the reality of matters, given that History is not strictly confirmed to historical events, but also embraces the lives of the Saints. The lives of the Saints after death, as well as the lives of the people after the Second Coming of Christ, do not constitute a so-called meta-historical era; they too are regarded as part of a historical era; it is the history of the Saints.

Just as the world will not be destroyed altogether but will be renovated, so will mankind not be annihilated but transformed; and History likewise will also never cease, but merely change its content and its life.

Thus, whenever we refer to eschatolgical events, we mainly refer to all things that will take place during the Second Coming of Christ, when He will be passing judgment on mankind. Therefore although we may be waiting for those eschatological events, we can nevertheless say that - from the aspect of our way of living - the "final times" are already present, given that Saints are already savoring the Kingdom of God, from this lifetime. As we shall see further along, the saintly persons are already given a foretaste of all things that are to be revealed during the so-called "end time." Temporally speaking, we may be awaiting the eschatological events, but modally, they arrive and are experienced, by Saints.

We shall preoccupy ourselves here with three specific topics that are linked to the eschatological events that have to do with Christ's Second Coming. First of all, we shall take a general look at Christ's Second Coming; secondly, we shall set out the theological truth behind the resurrection of our bodies and thirdly, we shall examine the events pertaining to God's Judgment, which are linked to both the Coming of Christ and the bodily resurrection of Man.

The Glorious Coming of Christ

Throughout all the Biblical-Patristic Tradition, it is stated that Christ will come once again to this world, this time to judge mankind. This is a fact that cannot be doubted by Christians. Christ Himself - in the excerpt referring to the Coming Judgment Day - speaks of His new and glorious Arrival. He says: "...when the Son of man comes, in all His glory..." (St. Matthew 25:31). The word "when" is not a hypothetical term; it is a temporal one, which implies that there is a time when Christ will come to this world once again, and in fact with immense glory. And elsewhere, Christ said: "... and then they shall behold the son of man, arriving in clouds..." (St. Mark 13:26).

In the Acts of the Apostles, where Christ's Ascension is recorded, it is said that the Angels had remarked to the astonished Disciples: "...men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing toward the heavens? This Jesus, who was swept away from you up to the heavens, will come in the same manner that you had seen Him heading toward the heavens..." (Acts 1:11). The manner in which He rose to the heavens will therefore be the same one, when He returns to earth.

The holy Apostle Paul teaches us that those who will be alive at the time of arrival of the Son of Man - and in fact those who are righteous -- will be seized "within clouds, to encounter the Lord in the air..." (1 Thess. 4:17). And it is also written in the Book of Revelation that: "...behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye shall behold Him..." (Rev. 1:7). Christ will come to earth to judge mankind, when the end of this world comes, along with the beginning of the new life. That is the reason the Creed includes the confession: "...and coming once again in glory; to judge the living and the dead, Whose Kingdom is never-ending."

(To be continued)

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

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

+Father George

The Consecration of an Orthodox Church and the Placing of Holy Relics in the Crypt in the Altar Table

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

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THE CONSECRATION OF AN ORTHODOX CHURCH AND THE PLACING OF THE HOLY RELICS INSIDE THE CRYPT IN THE HOLY ALTAR TABLE
The Place of Holy Relics in the Orthodox Church
By Saint John Popovich

Without doubt, matter is represented in the human body in a manner which is most puzzling, most mysterious, and most complex. The brain: What wondrous mysteries pass between its physical and spiritual parts! How vast is the experience of the human race. In no manner can one ever fully comprehend or grasp these mysteries. Indeed, little of this is accessible to the human senses or intellectual investigation. So it is also with the heart of man, formed as it is entirely and solely from cosmic mysteries. So formed, too, are every cell, every molecule, every atom. Everyone and all are set on their mystical path toward God, toward the God-Man. Inasmuch as it was created by God, the Logos/Word, matter possesses this same theocentricity. Moreover, by His advent into our earthly world, by His All-embracing condescension that not only the soul, but matter also was created by God and for God, and that He is God and Man; and for it, matter, He is all and everything in the same manner as for the soul. Being created by God, the Logos/Word, matter is, in its innermost core, God-longing and Christ-longing.

The most obvious proof of this is the fact that God the Logos/Word has become Incarnate, has become man (Saint John 1:14). By His Incarnation, matter has been magnified with Divine glory and has entered into the grace- and virtue-bestowing, ascetic aim of deification (theosis), or union with Christ. God has become flesh, has become human, so that the entire man, the entire body, might be filled with God and with His miracle-working forces and powers. In the God-Man, the Lord Christ and His Body, all matter has been set on a path toward Christ - the path of deification (theosis), transfiguration (metamorphosis), sanctification, resurrection, and ascent to an eternal glory surpassing that of the Cherubim (Archangels). And all of this takes place and will continue to take place through the Divine and human Body of the Church, which is truly the God-Man Christ in the total fullness of His Divine and human Person, the fullness "that fills all in all" (Ephesians 1:23). Through its Divine and human existence in the Church, the human body, as matter, as substance, is sanctified by the Holy Spirit and in this way participates in the life of the Holy Trinity. Matter thus attains its transcendence, diving meaning and goal, its eternal blessedness and its immortal joy in the God-Man.

The holiness of the Saints-both the holiness of their souls and of their bodies--derives from their zealous grace-and virtue-bestowing lives in the Body of the Church of Christ, of the God-Man. In this sense, holiness completely envelops the human person-the entire soul and body and all that enters into the mystical composition of the human body. The holiness of the Saints does not hold forth only in their souls, but it necessarily extends to their bodies; so it is that both the body and the soul of a saint are sanctified. Thus we, in piously venerating the Saints, also venerate the entire person, in this manner not separating the holy soul from the holy body. Our pious veneration of the Saints' relics is a natural part of our pious respect for and prayerful entreaty to the Saints...

"...By piously venerating the holy relics of the Saints, the Church reveres them as temples of the Holy Spirit, temples of the Living God, in which God dwells by grace even after the earthly death of the Saints. And by His most wise and good Will, God creates miracles in and through these holy relics. Moreover, the miracles which derive from the holy relics witness also to the fact that their pious veneration by the people is pleasing to God.

The pious veneration of holy relics, based on their miraculous nature, originate from Divine Revelation. Even in the Old Testament God deigned to celebrate with miracles the holy relics of certain of those who were-pleasing to Him. Thus, by the touch of the holy relics of the Prophet Elisha, a dead man was resurrected. The tomb and bones of this Prophet, who had prophesied to Jeroboam the destruction of idolatrous altars, were greatly revered in Judea. The Patriarch Joseph also left a testament to the sons of Israel to preserve his bones in Egypt and, during their exodus, to carry them to the Promised Land (Genesis 50:25).

The New Testament raised the human body to the sublime and divine heights, endowing it with a glory which the Cherubim and Seraphim do not possess. The Good News of the New Testament concerning the body -- the significance and goal of the human body--is that, together with the soul, it achieves and inherits immortal life in Divine eternity. The Lord Christ has come to deify (Theosis), to make Christ-like, the entire man, that is, the soul and body, and this by the resurrection, insuring thereby victory over death and eternal life. No one ever elevated the human body as did the Lord Christ by His bodily Resurrection, the Ascension of His body into heaven, and its eternal session at the right hand of God the Father. In this way, the Resurrected Christ extended the promise of resurrection to the nature of the human body--"having made for all flesh a path to eternal life." Thus man now knows that the body is created for eternity through union with the God-Man and that his divine work on earth is to struggle, with the soul, for eternal life; to struggle, with all those means that convey grace and virtue, to make himself grace-filled, fulfilled by Divine grace, and created anew as the Temple of the Holy Spirit, the temple of the Living God.

Bearing in mind that this New Testamental notion of the human body has been achieved and realized in the persons of the Saints, Christians show a pious veneration for the bodies of the Saints, towards holy relics, the temples of the Holy Spirit, Who by God's grace abides within them. But Holy Revelation indicates that by God's immeasurable love for man, the Holy Spirit abides through His grace not only in the bodies of the Saints but also in their clothing.  So it is that the handkerchiefs of the holy Apostle Paul healed the ill and expelled unclean spirits (Acts 19:12). With his mantle the Prophet Elias struck the water, separating the waters of the Jordan, and along the dry bed of the river crossed the Jordan with his disciple Elisha (IV Kings 2:8). The Prophet Elisha did the very same thing himself, with the same mantle, after the taking-up of Elias into heaven (IV Kings 2:14). All this has its verification and source in the Divine power that rested in the garments of the Savior, which encompassed His Most Pure and Divine Body. Moreover, by His inexpressible love for man, the Divine Lord allows the servants of His Divinity to work miracles not only through their bodies and clothing but even with the shadow of their bodies, which is evident in an occurrence with the holy Apostle Peter: his shadow healed an ill man and expelled unclean spirits (Acts 5:15-16).

The Universal faith of the Church concerning the pious veneration of holy relics was confirmed by the God-bearing Holy Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Synod in its decrees: "Our Lord Jesus Christ granted to us the relics of Saints as a salvation-bearing source which pours forth varied benefits on the infirm. Consequently, those who presume to abandon the relics of the martyrs: if they be hierarchs, let them be deposed; if however monastics or laymen, let them merely be excommunicated."

(Next: The Orthodox Tradition of placing holy relics in the crypt of the altar table during the consecration of the church.)

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

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

+Father George  

Through the Holy Intercessions of Saint Andrew the First-CAlled and Apostle

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.

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THROUGH THE HOLY INTERCESSIONS OF SAINT ANDREW FIRST CALLED AND APOSTLE

Saint Andrew is our Patron and Protector Saint

According to Orthodox Christian Tradition soon following the erection of the church edifice the local Bishop or Metropolitan consecrates the church. The consecration of the church is not only solemn and inspiring but historic

The Consecration Service of a Church bears the theme of initiation and renewal. To consecrate a church, means to initiate and dedicate the edifice into the service of God, and to set it apart for exclusive use as a House of Worship.

The faithful are spiritually renewed and regenerated at Baptism and Chrismation. They are filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit and pledge to live a new life in Christ. In like manner, the church building is renewed by its Baptism and Chrismation; i.e., Consecration, and becomes the House of God. It is filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit and dispenses this grace to the Orthodox Christians believers within its sacred walls.

Once a Christian accepts the Christian faith, he/she does so forever. Once a church building is consecrated, it remains a place of Christian worship for as long as it exists.

The "Consecration Service" is weaved with threads of the Old and New Testaments, the Theology of the Orthodox Christian Church, and trimmed with Eastern Christendom's symbolism.

The local church, just as at the Sacrament of Baptism receives a Christian name, the name of a Saint of the Church and the Saint whose name one bears becomes his/her intercessor and protector for life. The local church is dedicated to a Saint or in some cases, named of one of the Major Celebrations in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ i.e., Ascension, and of the Mother of God i.e., Annunciation. The Saint then becomes the intercessor, protector and patron Saint of the church.  

The Orthodox Christians who worship at that church turn to the patron Saint of their church to intercede for them and their families. As members of the local church they honor and serve the Patron Saint not some secular community. What makes an Orthodox Christian a member of the local church is not their annual donation or stewardship. What makes them members of the Church, the Body of Christ, is their baptism and chrismation. The Stewardship is given for the purpose of meeting the needs to operate the local parish and not to be so called "members."

A Patron Saint is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a Nation, place, craft, activity, class, or person. Since the time of the early Christians up to the present, a vast number of Patron Saints have been recorded.

The following Saints who are often called upon to intercede for special purposes:

Against demons and witchcraft:  Saints Cyprian and Justina (October 2)

Against the plague: Saint Bessarion of the Saviour, Archbishop of Larissa (September 15), Saint Haralambos (February 10), Saint Marina the Great Martyr (July 17)

Delivery from sudden death: Saint Barbara the Great Martyr (December 4)

For care and protection of infants: Saint Stylianos (November 26)

For Children: Saint Nicholas of Myra (December 6th)

For ears: Saint Spyridon the Wonderworker (December 12)

For eyes: Saint Lucia of Sicily (December 13), Saint Paraskevi (July 26)

For finding employment: Saint Xenia of Saint Petersburg (January 24)

For finding things: Saint Menas the Great Martyr of Egypt (November 11), Saint Phanourios the Great Martyr (August 27)

For headaches: Holy New Martyr Demas of Smyrna (April 10)

For help against quick-temper and despondency: Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk (August 13)

For help in studies: Saint John of Kronstadt, hree Hierarchs: Saint Basil the Great, Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Gregory the Theologian (January 30)

For marital difficulties: Saints Peter and Fevronia of Muron; also for newlyweds (June 25)

For meeting a difficult situation: Holy Archangel Raphael (November 8), Saints Cosmas and Damian and their mother Saint Theodoti of Asia Minor (November 1), Saint Nektarios of Aegina (November 9)

For mental disorders: Saint Anastasia (October 12), Saint Gerasimos of Cephalonia: the possessed (August 16)

For physicians: Saint Panteleimon (July 27), The Holy Unmercenaries, Saint Agape the Physician (June 1)

For safe childbirth: Saint Eleutherios (August 4 and December 15)

For soldiers: Holy Archangel Michael (November 8), Saint George the Great Martyr (April 23)

To have a child: Saint Anna, Mother of the Theotokos (September 9), Saint Elizabeth, Mother of the Forerunner (September 5), Saint Irene of Chrysovalandou (July 28), Saint Savvas the Sanctified of Palestine (December 5)

OH SAINTS OF GOD INTERCEDE FOR US!

In Christ's Service,

+Father George

The Divine Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ (June 6)

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.

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THE DIVINE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST (June 6th)
By His Eminence Metropolitan of Nafpaktos HIEROTHEOS

The theology of the feast of the Holy Ascension cannot remain on a theoretical and mental plane but must go on to practical applications. This means that when we experience in our life Christ's Cross and Passion, what Christ did and suffered for us through the mystery of the Divine Dispensation, then we can also experience the mystery of theology, which is theosis (deification).

In this framework, we can look at the teaching of the Holy Fathers of the Church that in order to experience Christ's Ascension and comprehend the mystery as far as possible, we must keep the Life-Giving Commandments, acquire the deifying virtues, especially humility and agape (love), so that we can endure every tribulation and temptation which comes by reason of our being Christians, but even to have the desire for Martyrdom for the glory of Christ's name (Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite).

Since we are members of the Church in which the whole work of divine dispensation is experienced, we have obligations. As citizens of the incorporeal, we must be far removed from desires of the flesh. As members of the holy humanity and temples of God, we must live in holiness. Since God has granted us the royal house, the Church, instead of hell, we must make our peace with God (Proklos, Archbishop of Constantinople).

It is necessary to practice purity of body and soul. A person must keep the eye of his soul as a watchful guard so that when the robber devil comes to pollute him with bodily sins, he will be ready to say: "I am not going to turn traitor to the lord's possession" (Saint Epiphanios). That is to say, I will not betray the property which belongs to the Lord Christ.

After Christ's Disciples had passed through all the trials, the purification, that experience of the Cross, then they remained in the Upper Room and in this way received the Holy Spirit. And we, when we worship Christ, must return to Jerusalem, which means peace. We must make peace with ourselves and others. And not only should Jerusalem, but we should wait in the Upper Room, which is our nous, where we should be in constant prayer and take care to purify ourselves from passions and base thoughts. In this way, we shall attain the visitation of the Comforter (Holy Spirit) and worship in Truth the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Saint Gregory Palamas).

Christ's Ascension is celebrated in hymns and spiritual chants, but at the same time in action and vision of God, which means with purity and illumination of the nous. Within this struggle and illumination, the person rejoices at the great meaning and very deep content of the feast. Then he can rejoice exceedingly over this feast o of the Lord.  

This joy, which is not a sentiment, but comes from the experience of the dispensation and the theology, has two basic causes. The first is that by His Ascension "to the place where he was before", Christ showed that He was not merely a man or the son of Joseph the carpenter, but the Son of God (Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite). And the second is that the joy comes from the lifting up and ascent of our nature (Saint Gregory Palamass). This of course is also closely connected with the ascension of every person who believes and is joined to Christ. Thus the Head of our body is on the throne of God. So also our limbs can awaken from the sleep of sin and be deified (theosis).

Christ's Ascension is the jewel of all the Feasts of the Lord, the completion of all that Christ did for us, through the work of the Dispensation. This consummate feast invites us to spiritual perfection and fullness, to participate in Christ's Ascension and the experience our own ascension. (Source: The Feasts of the Lord)

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

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

+Father George