The Lily announcing Christ's birth.Father Arseni Boca.

The soul that reaches the state of purity receives the Lily announcing Christ's birth. At this time the unfolding of gifts received through Holy Chrism occurs. Now the soul must pass against its will through tribulations not dependent on it though ordained by God, completing what was missing from the soul's understanding of things in its life on earth. Throughout this time, the power of Holy Spirit continues working within the ascetic. Let us not forget: the Holy Spirit acted only after the ascetic disengaged all of his soul's powers from working against nature and set them to work for their originally intended purpose: in accordance with nature. Once this conversion and inner harmony of powers is obtained in us, then comes the work of the things above human nature, assisting the growth and development of the Holy Spirit is gifts ordained by God for each of us.

A new child has been born in the flesh, bringing it into a state of purity. Then the child grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon Him."He is the morning star which arises in the hearts of the believers," as Peter says. He is God -as- Light - our light - the one covered by the darkness of ignorance from the time of passions, which will rise like the dawn and will speed your healing.' And thy old waste desert places shall be built up, and thy foundations shall last through all generations:" Jesus Christ. The Light of the world and your light will glow more brightly. The child Jesus became perfect man in the army of perfected men and comes, bowing his head under the hand of dust of His creation, showing His humility in receiving Baptism.

Saints Sergius and Bacchus.

          

Saints Sergius and Bacchos.
Byzantine icon,  Monastery of Saint Catherine, Sinai.

          Saints Sergius and Bacchus, were officers of high rank in the "Schola Gentilium" which was an equestrian body of men from all races. Sergius was one of the commanding officers of that equestrian body, and Bacchus was his second in command. According to their official functions and to their direct relation with the Emperor whose trust they had gained, these two young officers of high rank enjoyed great influence at the palace, and their prestige was felt in all the Orient, so much so that Antiochus, the commanding officer had been appointed to his post thanks to the influence of Saint Sergius.

          We do not know whether Saints Sergius and Bacchus were born Christians; but it is certain that they were so when they commanded that equestrian body. They had news about the martyrs, and listened to their stories with emotion. They may have seen martyrs being tormented, condemned and put to death; and it is possible that some of these military martyrs were their comrades.

          It is certain that there were many jealous fanatic pagans, or weak people paid by the authorities, who were ready to denounce the Christians to their persecutors. The Emperor learned that his devoted friends, these faithful military chiefs, these noble figures so familiar to him, whom he fully trusted, were Christians.

What is the purpose of life.?!.Father Andrew Philip.

Saint John the Baptist.
Constantinople, Turkey,
 circa 1300.

Throughout the ages at various times in their lives people in every generation have asked the questions: "What is the purpose of life? What is the point of life?".

Ancient, primitive people, obeying animal instincts, decided that the purpose of life is to multiply, to reproduce, to have as many offspring as possible, simply in order to ensure the survival of the race.

We can see this near the beginning of the Old Testament when Abraham was told “to go forth and multiply”. Gradually, however, as revelation came upon revelation to the chosen people of God in the Old Testament, this command was refined. It was revealed that people were to multiply for a reason other than survival. Barrenness was a stigma, not only because through it men and women failed to ensure survival, but also because it was revealed that somewhere one woman was called to give birth to the Messiah. The Messiah meant the Savior. Thus children were born to various devout and often aged couples, to Adam and Eve, to Abraham and Sarah, to Jacob and Rachel. Thus sons like Abel and Joseph or Joshua and Samuel and many others all in some sense prefigured the Messiah.

Miracles of Saint Seraphim of Sarov.

*A story recorded by doctor S.Apraxin.

 On March 8, 1903, I was invited to Andrew Vasilievitch Vinokurov’s house. After a talk about his own illness, I was asked by the parents to see their daughter, a thirteen-year-old girl. They told me that just before Christmas, Manya, who was a pupil in a college, became ill with acute arthritis. This illness was soon complicated by chorea (an involuntary movement disorder) in its worst stage, so that the patient could neither sit, on account of a motor trouble of the tongue. She could only lie down while her body kept tossing from one side to the other on her bed.

Saint Serphim of Sarov.

After some time, this serious illness was aggravated by a still graver one-namely, endocarditic." Besides the twitching of the limbs caused by chorea, the girl began to have fits of convulsions at night. The neu­ropathologists who treated her pronounced her case very serious and warned the parents to be ready for anything. After five weeks of un­successful treatment, the parents of the girl, on the advice of a relative had recourse to God's help through His Saint, Seraphim of Sarov.

From the Manger to Holiness.Archimandrite Touma Bitar.

Archimandrite Touma Bitar.

Brothers, who is a poor person? A poor person, for us, is someone who hardly possesses anything. And who is a rich person? He is the one who possesses much. This is according to people, but according to God, poverty and wealth have a different meaning. According to the Lord God, the rich person is someone who only loves himself and the poor person is prepared to give everything he has, whether he possesses a little or a lot. The rich person is someone who loves himself and so whether he possesses a little or a lot, he is rich in what he possesses. But the poor person, who is prepared to give everything, is the one to whom the Lord God gives the kingdom of heaven.

“Mon fils, donne-moi ton Cœur” (Pr23 : 26).Père Boris Bobrinskoy.

Père Boris 

Bobrinskoy.

Père Boris Bobriskoy, est l’un des grands Théologiens Orthodoxes des XXe et XXIe siècles, auteur de plusieurs ouvrages de théologie et de liturgie.

Il est clair que dans le cadre de l'anthropologie de la Bible et de l'Église, la prière et la vie intérieure engagent l'homme tout entier. Les psaumes offrent des exemples saisissants du rôle du corps dans la prière: “Mon âme a soif de toi, mon Dieu; après toi languit ma chair, Comme une terre sèche, altérée, sans eau.” La chair a part à cette soif, à cette recherche de Dieu. Lorsque Dieu rencontre l'homme et le pénètre, il le pénètre dans sa totalité, le transfigure dans son âme et dans son corps.

Dans une telle perspective, l'origine de la vie spirituelle ne sera plus l'Intellect, l'intelligence de l'homme ne sera plus considérée comme le lieu de la connaissance et de l'union avec Dieu, comme dans les mystiques platoniciennes de contemplation de l'Intelligible par ce qui dans l'homme lui est le plus semblable, c'est-à-dire l'intelligence. Dans les Écritures et l'expérience traditionnelle de l'Église, ce n'est plus l'intelligence, mais le cœur de l'homme qui est l'organe moteur par excellence de toute la vie,

Antiochian testimonies. Father “Amphilochios Makris”.

Saint Amphilochios Makris.

 From the prologue of the Arabic version of the book “Our Geronda: The Life and Miracles of the Late Elder of Patmos, Amphilochios Makris”, (2001)

*Metropolitan Georges Khodr.

I would like to quote father “Amphilokhios” in the following 4 phrases: “Every Holy Liturgy is new”, "I am the son of the Church and I cannot give myself a break”, “whenever you see a spiritually exhausted person, don’t overburden him”, “Ask God’s forgiveness for I have given you nothing”.

Metropolitan Georges Khodr.

I had the chance to know the man. I met him in Patmos where Saint John saw his “revelation”. The light in his face was exactly the one described in this book, and this light was much more expressive than the words we exchanged. After all, words were not my aim. I wanted to go on pilgrimage to the place where the “Revelation” was given to Saint John. That great monk came across as one of those who lived for “the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus”. One of those who didn’t leave their first love, or one of the 24 elders who where kneeling “before the One seated on the throne”. A meek and humble monk, whose raso’s tail touched the floor’s dust and was made for him in the shape of a Cross. He considered himself as nothing, but considered greatly  contemplating in the face of  “the lamb slain from the foundation of the world”.

Saint Arsenius bishop of Tver(1409).

Saint Arsenios.

Our holy father Arsenius was born in 1350 to pious and humble Serbian parents in the town of Tver, about 150 miles northwest of Moscow, Russia. (His grandparents had migrated to this territory in Russia some seventy-five years before his birth.)

He was a very serious and intelligent boy, excelling in school while also delighting in serving the Lord as an acolyte in his local Orthodox Church. When Arsenius was still a young boy, both his parents became grievously ill; and just prior to his thirteenth birthday, they both fell asleep in the Lord. On their deathbed they asked Arsenius to fulfill one last wish: to live a holy and devout life, remembering the Lord God all his days, and to remember the poor and needy. At this time, because Arsenius was their only child, they willed all their possessions to him.

After the repose of his pious and God-loving parents, Arsenius spent many hours in prayer, seeking guidance from the Lord as to how to carry out his parents’ last request. During this time, two particular passages of the New Testament continually spoke to his heart: “For what is a mall profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26).

La Reine des saints et leur Mère.Chez Saint Siméon le nouveau théologien.Archevêque Basile Krivochéine.

Mgr. Basile (Krivochéine)

Mgr. Basile (Krivochéine), archevêque de Bruxelles et de Belgique, est l’un des prélats les plus marquants dans l’histoire de l’Eglise Orthodoxe Russe de la deuxième moitié du XX siècle. Ayant prononcé ses vœux – sous le nom de Basile – au monastère russe de Saint-Panteleimon, il y demeurera vingt-deux ans, dans l’ascèse, la prière et le travail, notamment administratif (en tant que secrétaire du monastère). Après la Seconde guerre mondiale, le contexte de la guerre civile grecque forcera cependant des moines russes – dont Basile Krivochéine – à quitter le Mont Athos. Invité à participer au Patristic Greek Lexicon édité à Oxford par le professeur Lampe, l’ancien athonite s’installera dans cette ville, où il sera ordonné prêtre. Basile Krivochéine est appelé à l’épiscopat dans l’Église russe. Sacré à Londres le 14 juin 1959, il sera d’abord évêque auxiliaire à Paris, puis archevêque diocésain à Bruxelles à partir de 1960.L’archevêque Basile contribuera au développement de l’Église orthodoxe en Belgique et aux Pays-Bas. Le 22 septembre 1985, l’archevêque Basile Krivochéine sera rappelé à Dieu durant un voyage en Russie, et inhumé dans sa ville natale. Traduites en différentes langues, plusieurs fois rééditées, ses œuvres constituent, jusqu’à nos jours, une référence dans le domaine des études patristiques notamment.

Saint Syméon le nouveau Théologien, au commencement de sa conversion à Dieu « récitait avec instance des prières à la Mère de Dieu, avec gémissements et larmes». Et son grand zèle dans les prières « attira la compassion de la Mère du Christ et par son intercession se rendit la Divinité propice, et fit descendre jusqu'à lui la grâce de l'Esprit. Et celle-ci (à son tour) lui donna la force d'atteindre jusqu'au Ciel et le fit digne de voir la lumière que tous désirent et que bien peu obtiennent. »

Saint Syméon raconte que, tourmenté par le chagrin de ne plus voir le Christ et du désir de Le voir encore une fois,

“un jour que j'étais allé saluer l'image immaculée de celle qui T'a enfanté et que je me prosternai devant elle, Toi-même, avant que je me fusse relevé, au-dedans de mon cœur misérable, comme si Tu l'avais transformé en lumière, Tu Te fis voir; et alors je connus que je Te possédai consciemment en moi. »

Why tremble?.Saint John Chrysostom.

Saint Paul helping Saint John Chrysostom

in interpreting his teaching.

For all those who suffer...
A selected passage from the commentary of Saint John Chrysostom on the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God”.

 Saint Paul seems to me to have mooted this whole topic with a view to those who were in danger; or, rather, not this only, but also what was said a little before this. For the words, the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us; and those, that the whole creation groaned; and the saying, that we are saved by hope; and the phrase, we with patience wait for; and that, we know not what we should pray for as we ought; are all of them said to these. For he instructs them not to choose just what they may think, themselves, to be useful, but what the Spirit may suggest ; for many things that seem to one's self profitable, do sometimes even cause much harm. Quiet, for instance, and freedom from dangers, and living out of fear, seemed to be advantageous for them.

Conseils spirituels.Mère Mariam Zacca.

Conseils spirituels prodigués par Mère Mariam (Zakka) higoumène du monastère de Saint Jean Baptiste à Douma au Liban. Ces conseils s’adressent à un groupe de jeunes laïcs orthodoxes du Liban. Certains pensent à la vie monastique. La question posée par l’un d’entre nous était la suivante : « Mère Mariam, j’ai un problème, je trouve que certains frères ne changent pas, bien que nous recevons un enseignement, que nous lisons les vies des Saints ainsi que les Écritures, je commence à avoir des doutes sur le bien-fondé de notre action…peux-tu me conseiller ?!. »

Mes bien-aimés vous vous réunissez pour vivre en Christ !. Pour être à Lui ! Vous êtes avec Lui et en Lui alors pourquoi perdre espoir ?!. Vous pensez que l’être humain change vite ?!…L’être humain n’est pas un appareil que l’on pourrait confier à un réparateur pour le remettre en marche et qu’il se mette à fonctionner selon nos souhaits, à notre image et selon nos conceptions et sans doute pas à l’image du Seigneur.

Ce qui est essentiel lors de vos réunions est la patience qui vient juste après l’amour évangélique.

Avoir de la patience envers ses proches est le « cinquième clou » enfoncé sur le côté du Seigneur, qui est à la fois notre Seigneur et le Seigneur de ceux qui l’ont cloué sur la croix de notre Salut.

“ Prenez donc garde à vous-mêmes”. Archimandrite Touma Bitar.

En ce jour, la Sainte Église célèbre la mémoire des saints-Pères, qui se sont réunis au premier concile œcuménique, à la ville de Nice près de la ville de Constantinople. Le saint empereur Constantin faisait appel à ce concile nommé “le grand”, après avoir concerté avec certains évêques proches de lui, en ce qui concerne un enseignement étrange, que l’Église appelle “hérésie”. Ils se sont délibéré pour mettre fin au trouble causé par l’hérésie attribuée à un archimandrite Égyptien, nommé “Arius”.    

L’empereur  Constantin a pris l’initiative de convoquer les évêques de l’univers, c'est-à-dire le monde Byzantin, dans le temps. Il a voulu s’informer d’eux de l’enseignement officiel de l’Église Sainte Catholique Apostolique.

WHY DO WE NEED THE LADDER?.Priest Dimitry Shishkin

In our time, many laypeople ask the question: Why should people of the twenty-first century act according to rules written by monks and for monks in deep antiquity?. Why should they read monastic books in which there isn’t even a remote mention of the problems that we face today?.

Here it is, the fourth Sunday of Great Lent, dedicated to a monk who lived one and a half millennia ago. Just how relevant are the writings of St. John, abbot of Sinai, to the twenty-first century?. Could there really be something of value?. 

“Asceticism irritates and even angers some people, because it disrupts the momentary comfort that doesn’t want to know anything about eternity.”

Priest Dimitry Shishkin, rector of the Church of the Protection of the Mother of God in the village of Pochtovoe, Bakhchesar region (diocese of Simferopol, Crimea). 

The main problem of our times is man’s loss of understanding of his higher calling. More and more the idea is spreading in the world that the meaning of human life consists in living here, on earth, with the maximum comfort and happiness. And by happiness is meant some average set of emotional-physical joys and conveniences. Having “waved away” the ascetical experience collected by the Church over the centuries, man handicaps himself, makes his life catastrophically truncated,  because he rejects help in the most difficult and most important work- discovering the fullness of love and harmony with God. Moreover, having completely immersed himself in emotional-fleshly life, man completely loses the true concept of spiritual life. He may even know about it from books, can think about it and discuss it, but no more than that. This is because the living experience of discovering the grace of the Holy Spirit, the experience of growing in the knowledge of God is acquired in no other way than by “love for the very venerable commandments and sacredly fulfilling them.” Without this experience, eternal grace-filled life becomes a certain culturological fact, and nothing more.

How can we paint His form?!. Elder Cleopa of Romania

Q.: God did not become visible to men and therefore no one knows how He appears, nor can they paint His form in an icon or fashion a true likeness of His Countenance. He Himself has said, "Thou canst not see My face, for there shall no man see Me and live." The Evangelist John says the same: "No man hath seen God at any time." Likewise, the Apostle Paul says: " ... who only hath immortality, dwell­ing in the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen nor can see, to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen."