Are Americans Really Free?

"Regard as free not those whose status makes them outwardly free, but those who are free in their character and conduct. For we should not call men in authority truly free when they are wicked or dissolute, since they are slaves to worldly passions. Freedom and happiness of soul consist in genuine purity and detachment from transitory things."

St. Antony the Great.

NATO Bombing Of Serbia 10 Years Ago, Code Name: "Merciful Angel"

What did these Orthodox people do to bring the wrath of the West against them and what sick group of people would call an unwarranted 78 day bombing siege of innocent civilians, "Merciful Angel"?  I am ashamed to be an American for we are a nation of war mongers, who go about in the name of God destroying, maiming, torturing and lying.  We Christians mourn over the abortion holocaust but the real holocaust are the heresies that opened the door for abortion to become a legal right in this nation.  Abortion, war mongering and materialism are the consequences of a false belief system and this American nation was built on a foundation of false beliefs and heresy. When Christ cast demons into the wilderness, they were sent to this continent where they patiently waited for men to come who would embrace their strategies of war against the apple of God's eye, the Orthodox people.   

For every action of man, there is a reaction of God and America will reap what it sows and we will have to pay for every unjust, immoral and violent act that we have inflicted upon the nations of this world.  We are a false light to the nations, a wolf in sheep's clothing, spreading disease, famine and suffering to every corner of the world and our actions have absolutely nothing to do with righteousness and absolutely everything to do with wickedness.  Our father is Satan and America is the apple of his eye.  Oh Lord Jesus Christ, come quickly and have mercy on us.

No Weapon Formed Aganist You Shall Prosper

Abba John the Dwarf said, "If a king wanted to take possession of his enemy's city, he would begin by cutting off the water and the food and so his enemies, dying of hunger, would submit to him. It is the same with the passions of the flesh; if a man goes about fasting and hungry the enemies of his soul grow weak." 

The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Our enemy has accomplished the amazing feat of poisoning and adulterating the food and water supply of the entire world.  Yet, all things work together for good to those who love God...and our King is faithful to use the prowess of accomplished swordsmen (demons) to train us for spiritual battle.

All Is Vainity But This One Thing

"For a man to know God, and to know himself and his proper rank - a knowledge now possessed even by Christians who are thought to be quite unlearned - is a knowledge superior to natural science and astronomy and to all philosophy concerning such matters. Moreover, for our intellect to know its own infirmity, and to seek healing for it, is incomparably greater than to know and search out the magnitude of the stars, the principles of nature, the generation of terrestrial things and the circuits of celestial bodies, their solstices and risings, stations and retrogressions, separations and conjunctions and, in short, all of the multiform relationships which arise from the many different motions in the heavens. For the intellect that recognizes its own infirmity has discovered where to enter in order to find salvation and how to approach the light of knowledge and receive the true wisdom that does not pass away with this present world."

St. Gregory Palamas.

Unidentified Flying Object Or Identified Flying Object?

What are we to make of UFO's?  The mere mention of UFO's brings up images of extraterrestrials and demons evoking confusion and wonder.  Actually, research and development of these flying machines began in Austria and Germany early in the 20th century and development was accelerated during the years of Nazi reign.  Victor Schauberger, one of the great minds of this last century was one of the chief engineers working on the development of flying saucers using technology that few understood in his time or even now and unfortunately he has been left to dwell in obscurity having died a penniless and broken man.  Victor's genius saw in nature a potential for clean, silent and awesome power never before known by man.  He was a man of extraordinary insight and perception into the mysterious workings of nature, water and levitation and he learned of these truths unknown by most even in our day by simply observing natural phenomena in a pristine environment.  The development of his amazing flying machine was cut short by the defeat of Germany and whatever evidence not destroyed by the Nazis was gathered up by Russian and American military.  Our military continued to do secret research and development on these flying machines for many years after the war.  I am of the opinion that this clean, silent and powerful technology was so unusual and advanced compared to our archaic fire breathing combustible engines that it was finally scraped due to the influence of the petroleum, power, aircraft and auto industries.   I also think it was in their best interest to perpetuate the myth of UFO's being associated with demons and extraterrestrials because in doing so, it created a rabbit trail to keep the focus off of technology that would have shaken the foundation of so-called modern society, requiring a rewriting of all textbooks and a retooling of all assembly lines in just about every factory in the world that had anything to do with power and transportation.  Bizarre as my analysis may seem,  the behavior of big industry and our government is consistent with the brokenness of our world while at the same time revealing what life would be like on this planet if mankind wasn't so corrupt.  

Centrifugal Force - Godly Fact or Manly Fiction?

Which is natural and thus of God and which is unnatural and thus of man; centrifugal or centripetal actions?  The centrifugal principle is an explosive action projecting matter from an organized state into a disorganized state.  I would propose that this is not a natural condition but is a man induced action which is not consistent with the natural order of the universe.  To prove this theory we need only observe earthly and universal phenomena.  For instance, what occurs when you pull the plug out of the bath tub drain?  The water naturally creates a vortex flowing in a centripetal motion drawing in on itself and creating energy as it flows down the drain.  The forces of a hurricane, a tornado or a typhoon could be described in a similar fashion in that these energies are drawn inward creating a tremendous amount of force and compressed energy displaying a centripetal action.  The galaxies also reveal a centripetal motion in that we can observe matter rotating towards a center point much like a hurricane.  Black holes as well reveal the sheer cosmic power of centripetal action much like water flowing through the drain of a giant cosmic bath tub.

As we consider this phenomena, is there any proof of a centrifugal force occurring in nature apart from man?  Centrifugal forces in as much as I understand them are associated with explosions such as in the combustion engine, atomic fission and incendiary devices with all of these actions producing toxic fallout of varying proportions.  Centrifugal actions do not fit within the natural cycles of life, rejuvenation or regeneration whereas centripetal forces create clean and structured energy fitting splendidly into the natural cycles of life although it should be noted that hurricanes, tornados and typhoons are able to create tremendous energies that contribute to a restructuring of nature, never the less, they are natural forces with no toxic consequences. 

So, why am I talking about centripetal and centrifugal forces in a blog that is devoted to Orthodoxy?   Because Orthodoxy is all about right thinking, right belief, right doctrine and right worship and heresy is all about distorting truth and the conclusion we can draw from this observation is that if it isn't orthodox it's heresy.  There is no in-between existence although the ecumenical movement would prefer that we believe otherwise.  

As I discuss this subject, I need to emphasize that I am not in any stretch of the imagination a scholar or an authority on science, creation, the Bible or Orthodoxy.  I am just a fool with a blog who occasionally enjoys sharing his feeble thoughts as well as posting the wonderful wisdom of our ancient fathers.  So, I will continue to contemplate my mental wanderings.  As we all know, all perspectives on how the universe and the earth began, evolved or came into existence are merely speculations based on observations of nature and the question I have is this, "Why is it that man would even begin to entertain a big bang theory based on the so-called principle of centrifugalism?".  The only 'big bangs' observed in nature are those created by man.  All other observations of nature reveal a centripetal force at work which would indicate that all matter has always been observed to revolve in a circular inward motion moving towards a center point.  This force and corresponding action are undeniable and irrefutable, whereas centrifugal force has no natural occurrence anywhere in the observable universe of inner space or outer space, at least in as much as my feeble mind is able to comprehend.

In saying this, I am not even beginning to address the subject of where matter came from in the first place, although I think it would be appropriate to state that all matter originally generated as vibrational energies emanating from the mind of God and those vibrational energies have been manifest to us as observable matter in a myriad of different shapes, sizes, masses, textures, colors and variations of life form.  

It is also apparent from observing nature that she seeks equilibrium and order so long as life energies are present and as those vibrational energies seemingly fade, living matter begins to break down towards disorder, yet from a disordered and decaying state, this de-energized matter wonderously continues to contribute to the cycles of nature sacrificially contributing it's transmuted and re-energized properties to other life forms.  Thus there is a continual and balanced building up and breaking down process that occurs in nature and in some mysterious manner, the forces of centripetal action contribute to this balanced restructuring of the vibrational energies of nature present within the entire universe.  Again, in observing nature, it would appear that centripetal movements contribute to the cycle of life while centrifugal forces disrupt the cycle of life and thus appear contrary to nature.

What I am proposing in this little dialogue is that all disciplines of science as well as any academic discipline are heretical unless they are founded on an orthodox premise and any belief that deviates from an orthodox premise is really a propagation of the Evil One introduced to mankind as reality which is actually a distraction from what is true and sound doctrine, belief and understanding.  Thus, I would propose that centrifugal force is but one more creation of the Devil embraced by mankind to keep us in a state of confusion thus obscuring our vision so that we are not able to grasp or comprehend the magnificent mysteries of creation because if we did understand them correctly, we would be creating clean energy based on centripetal principles that fit within the natural cycle of nature.  Ultimately, this shortcoming reveals two facts; the Evil One's preoccupation with inflicting death and suffering on manikind and our broken condition which inhibits us from enjoying more fully the benefits that God has gifted to us as His beloved children.

We Moderns Have Many Lessons To Learn From Nature

"Contemporary agriculture treats Mother-Earth like a whore and rapes her.  All year round it scrapes away her skin and poisons it with artificial fertilizer, for which we have to thank a science that has lost all connection with Nature"  Viktor Schauberger  

As we treat the earth, so we treat one another and any and every observation of nature and our interaction with it will reveal and enlighten for us what is really going on with mankind.  We moderns are so full of ourselves and what we think we know, yet the more knowledge we acquire, the dumber we become.  Our scientists are deranged fools, our physicists are truly lost in space, our college professors are talking heads with no brains and our theologians have received their doctorates from demons.  

Modernity and its seemingly great accomplishments is the greatest con ever perpetrated in the history of the world and it could only be pulled off by the greatest con in the history of the world.  He has always been the greatest con and will continue to be the greatest con until God Almighty casts him into the lake of fire reserved for him and his fallen angels. 

In the meantime he continues to dazzle and confound the masses by choosing unsuspecting men in high places through whom to work his magic.  These albeit innocent men believe with all their heart they are serving mankind, blazing new trails of enlightenment, bringing light to the masses when all they are doing is gathering the sheep for the great slaughter and this delusion will continue until it is too late to turn back and then he who they thought was the Great Shepard will cast off his disguise and in great derision will sound forth uproariously with howl of screeching laughter that will crush and destroy the spirit of every man in his presence.  

The moral of the story is that heresy has born nothing but death for our society and it has saturated every fibre of our being.  Our only hope is to repent and return to the way of the ancients, the way of our early apostolic church fathers, to the precious traditions of the church (not of men and there is a difference)  and to begin to embrace a right belief.  Repentance always has consequences and the loss of earthly goods and security is an absolute necessity if you are going  to gain entrance to the Kingdom of God.  Are you ready for that?

  

Heresy Trumps Abortion As The Worst Abomination

"...And be certain of this! There is no Christianity without iconography. Icons are not an addendum to the Orthodox faith. Icons are an integral and necessary expression of true belief in God and in the Gospel. Icons are the visible Word of God. The Holy Gospel has been proclaimed to man in God’s will by two means: in word (Holy Scripture) and in images (Holy Icons). We can no more dispense with Holy Icons and believe we have Christianity than we can dispense with the Bible. 

Icons proclaim and preserve the fundamental truth of the Gospel that God has become man. The presence of the Holy Icons in the churches is the pre-eminent sign of God’s new covenant with mankind, that the desire of Israel and of the nations has come to earth. It is no wonder that the Jews and the Muslims, incessant deniers of the Saving Incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, have always attacked our icons, and it is no wonder that iconoclasts in the church have been branded as Judaizers. To live without icons is to live in the Old Covenant, to live under the shadows of the law as though God has not permanently and irrevocably yoked Himself to creation and made Himself visible! This is why the hymnody for this Sunday of Orthodoxy says that iconoclasm is the “worst of all heresies…subverting the incarnation of our Savior”.

The Triumph of Orthodoxy: Like all of the precious aspects of the faith the Evil One despises the sacred icons. He despises them because they are the means by which his overthrow is proclaimed. He despises them because they lead men to the knowledge of the true God and proclaim in a loud and material voice the Gospel that God has become man, reconciling the world to Him. How he laments the day when the envoys of Prince Vladimir gazed upon the Sacred Iconography of Hagia Sophia, and found themselves unable to discern whether they were in heaven and on earth which led to the conversion of the Russian nation to Orthodoxy. Truly in this the words of St. John of Damascus, that great champion of icons, were fulfilled when he said, “If a pagan asks you to show him your faith, take him into church and place him before the icons” (On the Divine Images). 

The Evil One despises icons because they instruct the illiterate, and make the mysteries of Orthodoxy clear to all of the faithful. The Evil One despises icons because they assist the faithful so greatly in their quest for salvation, serving as a point of contact with the heavenly world, beckoning and calling all to strive for the divine life and the next world, giving birth to all sorts of devout emotions and inspiration, and actually sanctifying the faithful and healing the sick! For these reasons and more the Evil One stirred up a great tumult in the church for some 150 years, as he encouraged phony bishops, priests, monks and emperors to attack iconography and charge the venerators of icons with idolatry! Can you imagine?! The Church, which wiped idolatry from the face of the earth, is being charged with idolatry! It is this pernicious and soul-destroying heresy which was definitively overthrown when on the First Sunday of Lent in AD 843 the Empress Theodora and her pious son Michael re-established the icons for the last time in Hagia Sophia. Today we join that celebration and proclaim the victory of the Holy Icons! 

(Click on the title to read this most excellent sermon in it's entirety)

Your Uncle Is A Liar

March 5th was a day to remember our brethren, the thirty-four venerable fathers of the Monastery of the Transfiguration at Valaam on Lake Ladoga who were massacred by a party of converts to Lutheranism who besieged the monastery and attempted to make the brethren renounce the Orthodox Faith. This kind of activity is standard operating procedure for the Romans and Protestants and as usual these events will never be recorded in revisionist history books.

Today, I also reminded of the tens of millions of our Russian Orthodox brothers and sisters who were slaughtered and starved to death in the first half of the 20th century. I lament the fact that our government along with many elite American citizens supported the Russian revolution that was in reality perpetrated to destroy the largest Orthodox Church in the world and of course, revisionist history hides this fact.

Today, I also remember our suffering brethren in the Orthodox country of Serbia which NATO forces bombarded relentlessly with dirty bombs (filled with nuclear waste) which will cause disease and sickness for many generations. American forces also wrote messages of Easter greetings on bombs which were purposely dropped on the holiest day of the year for Orthodox. This is what typically happens to countries that don't embrace American foreign policy. Again, you won't read about this in the history books.

He'll Be Coming Around The Corner When He Comes!

Listed below is a suggested strategy that could be used to establish a one world government system which will prepare us for the coming of the anti-Christ:

Eliminate the sovereignty of influential nations by melding their borders with surrounding countries.

Replace the currency of a country with a multi-national currency.

Centralize all power by controlling the food supply, health care and transportation system.

Place restrictions on the people using legislation to control all public dialog.

Bring conformity to the masses through government controlled education from the cradle to the grave.

Impoverish the people through debt load, heavy taxation, legislated theft and reallocation of property.

Weaken the masses with dead food, toxic water, pharmaceutical poisons and a polluted environment.

Remove all incentives for the citizens to seek an independent lifestyle.

Maintain control of the masses through a steady supply of propaganda through all media sources.

Take measures to minimize, marginalize and homogenize all Christian religious organizations to reduce their influence.

Take measures to maximize, protect and empower the state of Israel.

None are more hopelessly enslaved, as those who falsely believe they are free. - Alexis de Tocqueville

Cancer - A Sign Of The Times

Cancer has been so effective and unassailable because for more than one hundred years its actual cause has been camelflouged by medical science. The demons inciting the passions of greedy men within the medical establishment have enabled these corrupt and perverse men to effectively maintain that cancer is a mystery disease and so long as it remains a mystery disease the medical establishment will reap billions of dollars from unsuspecting, innocent, suffering human beings. A sick patient is worth much more to these men than a healthy patient. While a human being is not seen as sacred anymore, they are definitely seen as valuable. 

What is happening within the medical community is also occurring within every human institution in America and is rapidly spreading across the entire world. In biology, physics, food and nutrition, business, chemistry, engineering, history, religion, government and every other institution, it is the same story of deception, corruption and cover-ups all for the sake of greed. Money truly is the root of most evil and it is a grievous thought to consider that America has set a standard for the world and the world is following our lead into a depth of depravity as yet unknown in the history of mankind. The world is rapidly being prepared for the coming of the antichrist and America is at the vanguard preparing the way.

I have no doubt that most will read this and shake their heads in disbelief and consider that I have grossly and mistakenly over reacted, yet the truth will eventually be known and by then it will be too late for the damage will have already been done and that is something each of us will have to live with. I am only doing what God has put on my heart to do and that is to shine His light in a dark world to warn of the great deception that is upon us at the very moment and only increasing with each day that passes.

The antichrist will have the ability to deceive all mankind including many of God's elect. Yet, in saying this, our God has not left us without a voice crying in the wilderness, a watchman sounding the trumpet or the fool mocking the hard hearted and proud who could not recognize reality even if it were as an elephant lounging in their living room. The time will come when we will wish that the rocks of the mountains would fall on us for the suffering that is coming upon the entire world will be very great indeed. At least we can be comforted in knowing that the greater the suffering, the closer will be His coming. O Lord Jesus, come quickly.

The First Day Of Lent - A Holy And Solemn Day

The first day of Lent is a strict fast day which is one of the few days of the year in which Orthodox Christians are to refrain from all food. As we begin our forty day journey of repentance with fasting and good deeds, the church has wisely given us a selection of scripture passages to contemplate and prepare us for coming difficult yet rewarding days of self sacrifice. 

From one of these passages, our holy God, blessed teacher and friend, the Holy Spirit, speaks to us through Isaiah the great prophet with these powerful words: "Learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow". Isaiah 1:17

In this passage, the Holy Spirit gives us an injunction to learn to do good. Apparently 'doing good' is a practice not known unless we learn it. To learn it, we need someone to teach us, to show us, to instruct us in what it means to do good and the Holy Spirit being our friend and teacher is faithful to do so. He lays out for us in the following phrases what it means to do good. "Seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow". 

Our typical and logical response to these instructions is, "How do I promote justice, who do I rebuke and where is he, how do I defend and where are they and for whom do I plead and where is she?" We need not look very far to realize we are surrounded by injustice, oppression, attacks against the fatherless and widows being neglected. We need only open our eyes and look at what we read on our computers or in the newspaper or what we observe as we go about our day today and we will see it. The question will then be, "What are you going to do about it?"

Satan's Strategies

The most dangerous weapon in Satan's arsenal is his ability to marginalize his great powers using a number of different strategies. One simple strategy is to convince mankind that he doesn't exist and to infer that he does exist, invites ridicule and disdain. For those who are steadfast in their belief that he does indeed exist, he promotes the idea that his power is greatly marginalized because he is presently bound with chains somewhere in a celestial dungeon. To deal with the modern materialistic Christian who can't deny the presence of evil in the world and yet has trouble accepting the presence of invisible forces, the demon simply whispers in his ear, "Satan used to exist but now only evil concepts and dark principles remain which are embraced by ungodly men to feed their deranged, selfish and dark desires". 

Orthodox believers are taught to believe in the manifest presence of Satan and a multitude of demons who are actively working to deter all men everywhere from successfully embracing the holy trinitarian God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit and if the evil one can't keep a seeker from Chrismation and Baptism then the enemy will seek to undermine holiness and faith of the believer up until the moment of his last dying breath.

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 1 Peter 5:8-9

Apocolypse

The song birds are silent
The whales lie beached on the sands
The wooly beasts have left the plains

The waters no longer dance with light
The trees are infested and fallen
The treasures of the terrain have left their dwelling place
Desolate and barren, the earth falters

The heavens no longer reveal wonders
Breath bears death and confusion
Clouds have lost their glory
The spirit of earth has become defliled

Nature wallows and sways in her infirmities
Men of strength have overcome her
The flowers are crushed
All that was living has been trampled

Stars fall from the heavens
The moon no longer shines
The sun burns hot
Yet darkness overtakes us
What was, shall be no more

Shall the earth ever breath again?
Will darkness and death be the victor?
Who has directed darkness and death?
Who has been it's general?

Beauty has been plundered and raped?
How did this happen to my beloved?
Is revenge forthcoming?
Or will beauty be left to the worms?

How I long for the beginning and the past
Why has the flower faded?
Why does the grain bring death?
How is it that waters once so pristine and lively
have become bitter with poison?

Is this the work of the laborer?
And who is this laborer and where is his taskmaster?
And where is the king of this land?
Have we been cast off and abandoned?
Are we of no value and given up as dung?

I cry out into the darkness
Who hears me?
My voice is lost in the vastness of the unknown
My heart yearns for what has been lost

I have given myself over to the destroyer and in faithfulness
I have been destroyed.
My blood is split and my life is done

Yet, he who was in the beginning shall come again
In glorious light, he will shine upon the earth
The waters will be made clean
The animals will be brought back
The trees will be for the healing of mankind
And that which was dead shall live again.
And darkness shall forever be swallowed up
never to be known again.

What Ever Happened To Onysimos?

The Disciple from the 70 Onysimos in his youth was a servant of Philemon, a Christian of distinguished lineage, living in the city of Phrygian Colossa. Guilty of an offense against his master and fearing punishment, Saint Onysimos fled to Rome, but as a runaway slave he wound up in prison there. In prison he encountered the Apostle Paul held in chains, was enlightened by him and accepted holy Baptism. In prison Saint Onysimos served the Apostle Paul like a son. The Apostle Paul was personally acquainted with Philemon, and wrote him a letter filled with love, asking him to forgive the runaway slave and to accept him like a brother; he dispatched Saint Onysimos with this letter to his master, depriving himself of help, in which he was very much in need.

Saint Philemon, having received the letter, not only forgave Onysimos, but also dispatched him to sail back to Rome to the first-rank apostle. Saint Philemon was afterwards ordained bishop of the city of Gaza 

After the death of the Apostle Paul, Saint Onysimos served the apostles until their end, and he was ordained bishop by them. After the death of the holy apostles he preached the Gospel in many lands and cities: in Spain, Carpetania, Colossa, Patras. In his old age, Saint Onysimos occupied the bishop's throne at Ephesus, in succession after the Disciple Timothy. When they took Ignatios the God-Bearer to Rome for execution, Bishop Onysimos came to meet with him with certain Christians, about which Saint Ignatios makes mention in his Epistle to the Ephesians.

During the reign of the emperor Trajan, Saint Onysimos was arrested and brought to trial before the eparch Tertillus. He held the saint for 18 days in prison, and then sent him for imprisonment to the city of Putiola. After a certain while, the eparch sent for the prisoner and, convincing himself that Saint Onysimos quite firmly confessed his faith in Christ, had him subjected to a fierce beating with stones, after which they beheaded the saint with a sword. A certain illustrious woman took the body of the martyr and placed it in a silver coffin. This was in about the year 109.

The Devil's Strategy

"A 'heretic' is simply one who maintains a 'heretical doctrine.' The sincerity and good will of the 'heretic' is not in question. Nevertheless, 'heresy' is evil, because it is a powerful means by which the Devil seeks to 'prevail' against the Church ..."

The Use of the Term "Heretic"

The Use of the Term "Heretic"

Lord, Have Mercy On Our Fallen Brothers

In the end, even many of the elect will be deceived and Christ Himself reveals to us the state of the Church upon His return in His statement, "Will the Son of Man find faith on the earth when He returns?" The Orthodox Church around the world is becoming increasingly compromised. Ecumenicalism is growing and the heresy of the West is continually encroaching into the Orthodox Church. The gates of hell will not prevail but it is sure appearing to get close.

We American and Western Orthodox believers must ask ourselves, "How are we dealing with the modern world in which we live?" It is a world of confusion, delusion and allusion of truth. The Bible teaches us that heresy is of the devil and if this is so, then the Protestants and Romans are following the devil. How else can we explain their condition? Saint Paul's admonition to us is to have nothing to do with heretics, yet is this taught in the Orthodox Church today? It seems to me that we have forgotten how great the chasm is between those who have fallen away and those who have stayed faithful to the ancient Church. How can we call those who are not of the Church but claiming to be the Church anything else but heretics? How are these modern schismatics any different than the ancient schismatics? I have confronted many Protestants and Romans regarding this issue and up to now, every one of them consider themselves fully in the Church and look at me with blank stares or else consider Orthodox believers to be narrow minded or worse yet, idolators. What excuses can we make for not calling them heretics? Many times, I have heard this statement from Orthodox brothers, "We must love them and not do anything to inflame the situation." This statement is true, in that, yes, we must love these fallen brothers but what does it mean to love our fallen brother who is following the devil? According to Paul, it means we are not to eat with such a one and according to the Church fathers, we are not to pray with such a one and we are to confront them and remind them of their fallen condition. We are also taught to confront them two or three times and no more, lest we be infected by their disease of heresy. It seems to me that the Orthodox Church of our day has contracted this serious disease and as a result we are losing touch with our traditions, the decrees of the Church councils and even the Holy Scriptures. 

Although the Orthodox Church of our day is in a grievous condition, at least we can be comforted knowing that the prophecy of Christ is being fulfilled in our day and that the day of Lord is near. Although it will be a terrible and awesome day with much tribulation, the faithful can be encouraged knowing that the Lord is near and those who endure to the end shall receive a great reward. Come quickly, oh Lord Jesus!

Restoration Of The Veneration Of Icons

The Righteous Empress Theodora was the wife of the Greek emperor Theophilos the Iconoclast (829-842), but she did not share in the heresy of her husband and secretly she venerated holy icons. After the death of her husband, when Saint Theodora governed the realm together with her in age minor son Michael, she restored the veneration of icons, bringing back the deposed holy Patriarch Meletios and convened a Council, at which the Iconoclasts were anathematised. And by her was started the celebration of this event – the Triumph of Orthodoxy, which annually is celebrated on the 1st Sunday of Great Lent.

St. Blaise - Caregiver To Man and Beast

During the reign of the Roman emperors Diocletian (284-305) and Licinius (307-324) – Christians were fiercely persecueted. Saint Blaise had to encourage his flock, visit the imprisoned, and give support to the martyrs.

Many hid themselves away from the persecutors by going off into desolate and solitary places. Saint Blaise likewise took the opportunity to hide himself away on Mount Argeos, where he asceticised in a cave. Wild beasts came up to him and meekly waited until the saint finished his prayer and gave them blessing; the saint likewise healed sick animals by laying his hands upon them. The refuge of the saint was discovered by servants of the governor Agricolaus, being in the area to snare wild beasts to use to tear apart the Christian martyrs. The servants reported to their master that Christians were hidden away on the mountain, and he gave orders to arrest them. But those sent out found there only the Sebasteia bishop. Glorifying God Who had summoned him to this exploit, Saint Blaise followed the soldiers.

Along the way the saint healed the sick and worked other miracles. Thus, a destitute widow complained to him of her misfortune: a wolf had carried off her only possession – a small pig. The bishop smiled and said to her: "Weep not, thine piglet wilt be returned to thee...". And actually to the astonishment of everyone, the wolf came running back and returned his booty unharmed.

Agricolaus, greeting the bishop with words of deceit, called him a companion of the gods. The saint answered the greeting, but the gods he called devils. Then they gave him a fierce beating and led him off to prison.

On the next day they again subjected the saint to tortures. When they led him back to the prison, seven women went along behind and gathered up the drops of blood. These they arrested and tried to compel them to worship the idols. The women in pretending to consent to this said, that they needed cleansing beforehand in the waters of a lake. They took along the idols and submerged them in a very deep portion of the lake, and after this the Christians were fiercely tortured. The saints stoically endured the torments, strengthened by the grace of God, their bodies were transformed and became white like snow, and together with the blood there flowed what seemed like milk. One of the women had two young sons, who implored their mother that she help them attain the Kingdom of Heaven and she entrusted them into the care of Saint Blaise. The seven holy women were then beheaded. 

Saint Blaise was again brought before Agricolaus, and again he unflinchingly confessed his faith in Christ. The governor gave orders to throw the martyr into a lake. The saint, going down to the water, signed himself with the Sign of the Cross, and he went about on it as though on dry land. Addressing the pagans standing about on shore, he challenged them to come to him whilst calling on the help of their gods. To this, 68 men of the governor's retinue made bold and entered the water, and all immediately drowned. The saint, however, heeding the Angel that had appeared to him, returned to shore.

Agricolaus was in a rage over having lost his finest servants, and he gave orders to behead Saint Blaise, and together with him the two boys entrusted to him, the sons of the martyress. Before death, the priestmartyr prayed for all the whole world, and especially for those honouring his memory. This occurred in about the year 316. The relics of the PriestMartyr Blaise were carried off to the West during the time of the Crusades, and portions of the relics are preserved in many of the lands of Europe.

Righteous Simeon the God-Receiver

Righteous Simeon the God-Receiver was, according to the testimony of the holy Evangelist Luke, one of the chosen of God in expectation of the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit dwelt upon him. It was announced to him from God, that he would not die until that time, when the Promised Messiah – Christ the Lord – would be come into the world.

Ancient historians relate that the Egyptian emperor Ptolemy II Philadelphos (285-247 BC) wished to add to the famous Library at Alexandria with texts of Holy Scripture. He invited scholars from Jerusalem, and the Sanhedrin sent their wise men. Righteous Simeon was also among the 72 scholars in Alexandria for the translation of the Sacred Scriptures into the Greek language. (The work was accomplished and received the title "Translation of the 72 Interpreters". Righteous Simeon translated a book of the Prophet Isaiah, having read in the original the words: "Behold, a Virgin shalt conceive and give birth to a Son" (Is 7: 14). He decided, that the word "Virgin" was incorrectly used here in place of the word "Woman", and he wanted to correct the text. At that moment an Angel appeared to him and held back his hand saying: "Have faith in the words written down; thou thyself shalt be persuaded that they will be fulfilled, whereof thou shalt not taste of death until thou behold Christ the Lord, Who shall be born of a Pure and Immaculate Virgin".

From this day righteous Simeon began to await the coming of the Promised Messiah.

And here one day righteous Simeon, knowing of it by the Holy Spirit, was come to the Jerusalem Temple. It was on that very same day (the fortieth after the Birth of Christ), when the All-Pure Virgin Mary and Her Betrothed Joseph had come there in order to perform the ritual set down by Jewish Law – to present before the Lord His Own Divine First-Born and to offer the established sacrifice.

When righteous Simeon beheld their arrival, the Holy Spirit revealed to him that the God-Infant Whom the All-Pure Virgin Mary held, – was the Promised Messiah, the Saviour of the world. The elder took into his arms the Infant Christ and pronounced his prophetic words: "Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart, O Lord, with peace according to Thy word, wherefore hath mine eyes beheld Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to the enlightening of gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel". He blessed the All-Pure Virgin and Righteous Joseph and, having turned to the Mother of God he said: "Behold, This One is set for the fall and rising up of many in Israel and for the sign spoken against, and for Thee thyself a sword shalt pierce the soul, so that the thoughts of many hearts might be revealed" (Lk 2: 22-35).

About the righteous and holy Simeon the God-Receiver is known that he died in extreme old age.

One Of The Greatest Women In History

The Eastern Orthodox Church maintains that Mary Magdalene, distinguished from Mary of Bethany, and further distinguished from the "sinful woman", had been a virtuous woman all her life. This view finds expression both in her written life and in the liturgical service in her honor that is included in the Menaion and performed on her annual feast-day. There is a tradition that Mary Magdalene led so chaste a life that the devil thought she might be the one who was to bear Christ into the world, and for that reason he sent the seven demons to trouble her.

Mary Magdalene is honored as one of the first witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus, and received a special commission from him to tell the Apostles of his resurrection (John 20:11–18). Mary's role as a witness is interesting due to the fact women at that time could not be witnesses in legal proceedings. Because of this, and because of her subsequent missionary activity in spreading the Gospel, she is known by the title, "Equal of the Apostles". She is often depicted on icons bearing a vessel of ointment, not because of the anointing by the "sinful woman", but because she was among those women who brought ointments to the tomb of Jesus. For this reason, she is called a Myrrhbearer.

According to Eastern traditions, she retired to Ephesus with the Theotokos (Mary, the Mother of God) and there she died. Her relics were transferred to Constantinople in 886 and are there preserved.

Spit At Them And On Them

"Anger is by nature designed for waging war with the demons and for struggling with every kind of sinful pleasure. Therefore angels, arousing spiritual pleasure in us and giving us to taste its blessedness, incline us to direct our anger against the demons. But the demons, enticing us towards worldly lusts, make us use anger to fight with men, which is against nature, so that the mind, thus stupefied and darkened, should become a traitor to virtues." 

Abba Evagrius the Monk

The Monk Ephrem the Syrian 4th Century

"If the Son of God be within thee, then also His Kingdom is within thee. Here then  is the Kingdom of God – within thee, a sinner. Go inwards into thine self, search diligently and without toil thou shalt find it. Outside of thee – is death, and the door to it – is sin. Go inwards into thine self, dwell within thine heart, for since there – is God".

A Heap Of Ruins

"The days are coming when the world will go mad and those who are mad will look at those who are not crazy and say, you are crazy for you are not like us". St. Anthony of Egypt 251-356

"Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, 

And have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold, 

Therefore you will plant pleasant plants 

And set out foreign seedlings; 

In the day you will make your plant to grow, 

And in the morning you will make your seed to flourish; 

But the harvest will be a heap of ruins" Isaiah 17

America, under the guise of peace and prosperity is bringing havoc, destruction, death and suffering to the entire world through food and medical technology that is leaving the earth and mankind in a massive heap of ruins. There has never been a more successful, powerful, evil, cunning, delusional or deceptive force acting upon the entire world to destroy mankind. What we are witnessing in our time is unprecedented, cataclysmic and so sophisticated as to deceive even the elect of God.

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12

My World

This new technology is way cool!

Is Your Reality A Delusion?

"Orthodox spirituality differs distinctly from any other "spirituality" of an eastern or western type. There can be no confusion among the various spiritualities, because Orthodox spirituality is God-centered, whereas all others are man-centered.

The difference appears primarily in the doctrinal teaching. For this reason we put "Orthodox" before the word "Church" so as to distinguish it from any other religion. Certainly "Orthodox" must be linked with the term "Ecclesiastic," since Orthodoxy cannot exist outside of the Church; neither, of course, can the Church exist outside Orthodoxy."
click the title to read on...

An Unknown Monk Speaks On Fasting

Armored with holy fasting, St. Elias the Tishbite withstood Ahab and his army singlehandedly and called down fire from the heavens. By fasting St. Moses, the seer of God and the elder of Israel, prepared to ascend the mountain in the desert and behold the Glory of God. By fasting the Three Children were shown forth to be fairer than the other children in Babylon in the house of the king, and Daniel was shown forth to be a shepherd of lions. Fasting, therefore, should always be understood as a thing most necessary in our battle with the evil one. Only a man who has lost his mind would put down his weapons, strip himself naked of his armor and then jump into the line of fire to do battle with the enemy. Such a one would be committing suicide. A man who calls himself a Christian and does not fast, is such a man. In the final analysis he who does not fast does not believe in God, for he does not really believe in the existence of the enemy and the great victory gifted to us over him by our Saviour. He who does not fast does not believe in Him Who said to the enemy, "Man shall not live by bread alone." This is why Apostolic and Patristic canons proclaim that all who do not keep the fasts have fallen away from the Faith (i.e., have become excommunicated), and our Holy Father St. Seraphim of Sarov instructs us not even to speak with such persons. 

Those who fell away from our Holy Faith through schism and heresy, by distorting the dogmas and truth of Holy Orthodoxy, in consequence distorted the life of the Church also, and especially the teaching concerning fasting. Thus, to the Latins, fasting became primarily a means of atonement, satisfaction, retribution, payment for sins committed or for earning merits, wages, favor, etc., when all sins had been paid for. The Protestants correctly abhorred the use of fasting as "works" which won merits which, in turn, were banked as surplus in the treasury of the the Popes to be dispensed to "poor souls" in purgatory; the few that continued to fast, however, were not able to free themselves from the error of Anselm concerning atonement and punishment. Thus, after some centuries of keeping fasts as "a pious and ancient custom,' yet having lost the correct understanding and position of fasting in the life of the Church, both Latins and Protestants have totally abandoned fasting!

St. Abba Isaac the Syrian says, "The Saviour began the work of our salvation with fasting. In the same way, all those who follow in the footsteps of the Saviour build on this foundation the beginning of their endeavor, since fasting is a weapon established by God. Who will escape blame if he neglects this? If the Lawgiver Himself fasts, how can any of those who have to obey the law be exempt from fasting? This is why the human race knew no victory before fasting, and the devil was never defeated by our nature as it is: but this weapon has indeed deprived the devil of strength from the outset. Our Lord was the Leader and the first example of this victory, in order to place the first crown of victory on the head of our nature. As soon as the devil sees someone possessed of this weapon, fear straightway falls on this adversary and tormentor of ours, who remembers and thinks of his defeat by the Saviour in the wilderness; his strength is at once destroyed and the sight of the weapon given us by our Supreme Leader burns him up. A man armed with the weapon of fasting is always afire with zeal. He who remains therein, keeps his mind steadfast and ready to meet and repel all violent passions."

The Holy Emperor Theodosius the Great

The Holy Emperor Theodosius the Great during the period of his reign (379‑395) delivered a decisive blow to paganism: he issued a legal edict, under which any sort of service to the pagan gods was considered a transgression. The zealous proponent of Orthodoxy issued many laws in defense of the Church and against heretics. The Second Ecumenical Council (381) was convened by him.

St. Vitalis Loved Prostitutes

He lived for many years as a monk in Palestine, then went to Alexandria to labor for the salvation of women living as prostitutes. He worked with his hands by day, keeping only a tenth of his earnings for himself. By night, he would take the rest of his earnings to the prostitutes' quarter and offer his money to one of them, on condition that she would not give herself up to sin that night, but instead stay with him, praying all night for his salvation. When he left her, he would make her promise to tell no one of this arrangement. Not surprisingly, complaints soon reached the Patriarch, St John the Merciful about this monk who was causing scandal by his immoral life; but the Patriarch, discerning Vitalis' heart, did nothing. When St Vitalis died, a writing tablet was found near his body, on which was written: "Inhabitants of Alexandria, judge not before the time, until the coming of the Day of the Lord." Then many women who had been converted from an immoral life by the Saint came forward and told of his good deeds. The people of Alexandria honored him with a lavish funeral.

  Saint Vitalis shows us in at least two ways that the wisdom of the holy is foolishness to the world: He never sought to justify himself in the eyes of the world, but on the contrary did everything he could to hide his virtues; and, for all his holiness, he counted himself more sinful than the "fallen," , asking them to pray for his salvation

The Fervent Prayers Of A Righteous Man Do Great Good

The Monk Theodosios the Great was extremely compassionate. One time when there was a famine in Palestine and a multitude of people gathered at the monastery, the monk gave orders to allow everyone into the monastery enclosure. His disciples were annoyed, knowing, that the monastery did not have the means to feed all those who had come. But when they went into the bakery, they saw that then through the prayers of the abba, that it was filled with bread. And suchlike a miracle was repeated every time, when the Monk Theodosios wanted to give help to the destitute. (click on heading to continue reading)

Saint Gregory of Nyssa, The Younger Brother of Saint Basil The Great

"Saint Gregory has come down in history as one of the most obvious and active Christian thinkers of the IV Century. Endowed with a profound philosophical talent, he perceived philosophy but as a means for a deeper penetration into the authentic meaning of Divine revelation."

"Where the bishops are gathered, where there is Jesus Christ, there is the Catholic Church." St. Ignatius of Antioch 107 AD

From the Introduction to I.M. Kontzevich's book, The Holy Fathers of Orthodox Spirituality. "We must face squarely a painful but necessary truth; a person who is seriously reading the Holy Fathers and who is struggling according to his strength (even if on a very primitive level) to lead an Orthodox spiritual life-must be out of step with the times, must be a stranger to the atmosphere of contemporary "religious" movements and discussions, must be consciously striving to lead a life quite different from that reflected in almost all "Orthodox" books and periodicals today."...and must suffer joyously as did the holy prophets, fathers and confessors that have gone before us.

As Has Always Been Taught In All Places At All Times - All Else Is Heresy

"And this food is called among us Eucharistia, of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise we have been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. For the Apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels have delivered unto us which was enjoined upon them.”

- St Justin the Martyr - 100-165

To this day he is quoted as being evidence that Early Christians professed the Eucharist to be the Real Presence of Christ. The word 'sacrament' can be translated 'mysteries' and the Orthodox Church has for two thousand years accepted the Eucharist as a mystery, something which cannot be humanely understood. We accept this mystery by faith alone and seek not to rationalize it or logically understand how mere bread and wine can be the actual body and blood of Christ.

Saint Gregory of Nyssa was the younger brother of Saint Basil the Great and is also named as a great teacher in the church. 

"When we lay bare the hidden meaning of history, scripture is seen to teach that the birth which distresses the tyrant is the beginning of the virtuous life. I am speaking of the kind of birth in which free will serves as the midwife, delivering the child amid great pain. For no one causes grief to his antagonist unless he exhibits in himself those marks which give proof of his victory over the other.”

From: "The Life of Moses"

"...composed of bread and wine. He thus is commingled with us, so that by our union with the immortal, we might share in immortality.

In Memory of the Glorious Saint Basil...

"...The emperor Valens, mercilessly dispatching into exile any bishops that displeased him, and having implanted Arianism into other Asia Minor provinces, suddenly appeared in Cappadocia for precisely this purpose. He sent off to Saint Basil the prefect Modestus, who began to threaten the saint with ruin, banishment, beatings and even death by execution. "All this, – replied Basil, – for me means nothing, since one cannot be deprived of possessions that one does not have, beyond some old worn-out clothing and some books, which comprises the entirety of my wealth. For me it would not be exile, since I am bound to no particular place, and this place in which I now dwell is not mine, and indeed any place whither I be cast shalt be mine. Better it is to say: everywhere is the place of God, whither be naught stranger nor new-comer (Ps. 38 [39]: 13). And what tortures can ye do me? – I am so weak, that merely but the very first blow will be felt. Death for me would be an act of kindness: it wilt bring me all the sooner to God, for Whom I live and do labour, and to Whom moreover I do strive". The official was bewildered by such an answer. "Perhaps, – continued the saint, – thou hast never had encounter with a bishop; otherwise, without doubt, thou wouldst have heard suchlike words. In all else we are meek, the most humble of all, and not only afront the mighty, but also afront all, since such is prescribed for us by the law. But when it is a matter concerning God and they make bold to rise up against Him, then we – being mindful of naught else, think only of Him alone, and then fire, sword, wild beasts and chains, the rending of the body, would sooner hold satisfaction for us, than to be afraid".

Reporting to Valens on the not to be intimidated Saint Basil, Modestus said: "Emperor, we stand defeated by a leader of the Church"."

May You Be Enlightened By His Radiant Light

“ The heart that is constantly guarded and not allowed to receive the forms, images or thoughts of the dark and evil spirits, will give birth from within itself to thoughts that are radiant with light. ”

- St Hesychios the Priest

Our fallen brethren outside of the One True Church live as the prodigal, surrounding themselves with forms, images and thoughts of the dark and evil spirits while zealously guarding themselves from the beauty and mystery of the ancient and sacred forms, images and thoughts of the one true belief. 

St. Anthony our blessed Father among the ascetics, proclaimed to us that the days are coming when the world will go mad and those who are mad will look at those who are not crazy and say, 'you are crazy for you are not like us'.

It is not the wise and scholarly man who will enter into the Kingdom of God but the fool, the one with child like faith, the one who acknowledges his sickness, his infirmities and his brokeness.

Today is the day to enter into the fullness of the faith to experience the beauty of His blessed kingdom and His healing presence.

The Sobor-Assemblage of the Most Holy Mother of God:

On the day after the Nativity of Christ (which is today on the Old Calendar which the Russian Orthodox Church follows) is celebrated the Sobor-Assemblage of the MostHoly Mother of God, commemorating together with Her also Saint Joseph the Betrothed, King David (an ancestor by flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ), and Saint James the Brother of the Lord, a son of the first marriage of Saint Joseph the Betrothed. Saint James accompanied his father Joseph and the Mother of God and the Divine-Infant Jesus on the Flight into Egypt.

The Devil Disarms And Defeats Those Who Do Not Keep The Fast

St. Basil wrote, “Because we did not fast, we were chased out of Paradise; let us fast now, so that some day we may return there.” Similarly, St. Isaac of Syria said, “The first commandment given to our nature in the beginning was the fasting from food, and in this the head of our race (Adam) fell. Those who wish to attain the fear of God, therefore, should begin to build where the building was first fallen. They should begin with the commandment to fast.”

This is where our Lord himself began. Just as Genesis opened with Adam’s breaking of the fast, the Gospel opens with Christ’s keeping of a fast for forty days in the wilderness, immediately following his baptism. Where Adam had succumbed to Satan’s temptation to eat, Christ, in facing the same temptation, gained his first victory over Satan. Thus began his campaign to dethrone Satan and reverse the effects of the fall. In fasting, we learn to participate with Christ in resisting the temptations of Satan.

There is, of course, more to fasting than simply abstaining from food and drink, and Fr. Milan’s article explores the many aspects of fasting. (Click on the title)

A Good Reason To Fast As The Church Teaches

"A full stomach abhors examining spiritual matters, just as a prostitute dislikes talking about chastity."
- St Isaac of Syria

With Stories Like These, Who Needs Videos?

The Holy Martyr Boniface

Commemorated on December 19

The Holy Martyr Boniface was the slave of a rich young Roman woman named Aglaida and he dwelt with her in an iniquitous cohabitation. But they both felt the sting of conscience and they wanted somehow to wash away their sin. And the Lord deigned to grant them the possibility to cleanse away their sin with their blood and to finish their sinful life with repentance. Agaliada learned, that if relics of the holy martyrs be reverently kept in the home, then through their prayers it becomes the easier to receive salvation, since under their graced influence sinfulness is diminished and virtues prevail. She arranged for Boniface to go to the East, where at the time there was a fierce persecution against Christians, and she asked him to bring back the relics of some martyr or other, who would become for them a guide and protector. In making his farewell Boniface laughed and asked: "And what if, lady, I do not find the relics, and instead I myself suffer for Christ, – wilt thou accept my body with reverence?" Aglaida took his words seriously and she scolded him, that he was setting off on a sacred matter, but he was not taking it seriously. Boniface pondered over her words, and the whole while of the journey he was absorbed in thought.

Having journeyed to Cilicia, to the city of Tarsus, Boniface left his companions at the inn and proceeded to the city square, where they were torturing the Christians. Struck by the beastly horrible torments, and seeing the faces of the holy martyrs radiant with the grace of the Lord, Boniface was drawn to them with sympathy in his heart, and he rushed up to them, kissed their feet and besought their holy prayers, that he also might be found worthy to suffer with them. The judge thereupon asked Boniface, who was he? Boniface answered: "I am a Christian", – and then refused to make the sacrificial offering to idols. They therewith gave him over to torture: they beat him so hard, that the flesh lay bare the bones, they stuck needles under his nails, and finally they poured molten tin down his throat, but by the power of the Lord he remained unharmed. The people round about the judgement-seat went into an uproar, they began to throw stones at the judge, and then they headed off for the pagan temple, to cast down the idols. On the following morning, when they had quieted down the unrest somewhat, the judge directed that the holy martyr be thrown into a cauldron of boiling tar, but this also caused the sufferer no harm: an Angel come down from Heaven moistened him, and the tar overflowed the cauldron, splattering and burning the torturers themselves. Saint Boniface was then sentenced to beheading by the sword. From his wounds flowed blood and a milky fluid; beholding such a miracle, about 550 men believed in Christ.

Amidst this the companions of Saint Boniface, waiting at the inn for him for two days in vain, began searching around for him, thinking that he had gotten caught up in some frivolous past-time. At first their search was without success, but finally they came across a man, who had been an eyewitness to the martyr's death of the saint. The eyewitness also led them to the place, where lay the decapitated body. The companions of Saint Boniface with tears besought of him forgiveness for their unseemly thoughts about him, and having ransomed for a sizeable sum of money the remains of the martyr, they brought them back to Rome.

On the eve of their arrival an Angel appeared to Aglaida in her sleep and bid her prepare herself to receive her former slave, now his own man and a patron, serving together with the Angels. Aglaida summoned the clergy, with great reverence she received the venerable relics, and then she built on the place of his grave a church in the name of the holy martyr and put there his relics, glorified by numerous miracles. Having distributed to the poor all her wealth, she withdrew to a monastery, where she spent eighteen years in repentance and during her lifetime she acquired the miraculous gift to cast out unclean spirits. She herself was buried nearby to the tomb of the Martyr Boniface.

John of Antioch, also called Malala, from his Chronography concerning the "Woman with the Issue of Blood, who erected a Monument to Christ."

From that time John the Baptist became known to men, and Herod, toparcha of the Trachonitis region beheaded him in the city of Sebaste, on the eighth day of the kalends of June, Flaccus and Ruffinus being consuls. King Herod, Philip's son, in grief at this event, left Judea. A rich woman, Berenice by name, who was also living at Paneada, sought him out wishing as she had been cured by Jesus, to erect a monument to Him. Not daring to do it without the king's consent, she presented a petition to King Herod, asking to be allowed to erect a golden monument in that city to our Lord. The petition ran thus:--

To the august Herod, toparcha, law-giver of Jews and Greeks, King of Trachonitis, a suppliant petition from Berenice, an inhabitant of Paneada. You are crowned with justice and mercy and all other virtues. Knowing this and in good hope of success, I am writing to you. If you read my beginning you will soon be instructed as to facts. From child hood I suffered with an issue of blood, and spent my time and my substance on doctors, and was not cured. Hearing of the wonderworking Christ, how He raised the dead to life again, put forth devils, and cured the sick by one word, I also went to Him as to God. And approaching the crowd which surrounded Him fearing lest He should turn me away in anger on account of my complaint, and that I should feel it more, I said to myself, "If I could only touch the border of His garment, I should be cured." I had no sooner touched it than the hemorrhage stopped, and I was cured on the spot. And He, as if He had read my heart's desire, said aloud, "Who has touched Me? Power has gone out of Me!" And I pale and trembling, thinking to throw off my sickness the sooner, prostrated myself at His feet, bathing the ground with my tears, and confessed my action. He in His goodness compassionating me, assured me of my cure, saying: "Be of good heart, daughter, thy faith has healed thee. Go in peace!" Do you now, august ruler, grant my righteous petition. King Herod receiving this petition, was struck with wonder and in awe at the cure, replied: "The cure wrought for you, O woman, deserves a splendid monument. Go then and put up any memorial you like to Him, in praise of the Healer." And immediately Berenice the sick woman of yore, set up in the midst of her own city of Paneada a monument in bronze, adorned with gold and silver. It is still standing in the city of Paneada. Not long ago it was taken from the place where it stood to the middle of the city, and placed in a house of prayer. One, Batho, a converted Jew, found it mentioned in a book which contained an account of all those who had reigned over Judea.

Saint John of Damascus

"Be assured that any one wishing to pull down an image erected out of pure zeal for the glory and enduring memory of Christ, or of His holy Mother, or any of the saints, to put the devil and his satellites to shame,--anyone, I say, refusing to honour and worship this image as sacred--it is not to be worshipped as God--is an enemy of Christ, of His blessed Mother, and of the saints, and is an advocate of the devil and his crew, showing grief by his conduct that the saints are honoured and glorified, and the devil put to shame. The image is a hymn of praise, a manifestation, a lasting token of those who have fought and conquered, and of demons humbled and put to flight."

Matter Matters!

St John of Damascus

"Answer me this question. Is there only one God? You answer, "Yes, there is only one Law-giver." Why, then, does He command contrary things? The cherubim are not outside of creation; why, then, does He allow cherubim carved by the hand of man to overshadow the mercy-scat? Is it not evident that as it is impossible to make an image of God, who is uncircumscribed and impassible, or of one like to God, creation should not be worshipped as God. He allows the image of the cherubim who are circumscribed, and prostrate in adoration before the divine throne, to be made, and thus prostrate to overshadow the mercy-seat. It was fitting that the image of the heavenly choirs should overshadow the divine mysteries. Would you say that the ark and staff and mercy-seat were not made? Are they not produced by the hand of man? Are they not due to what you call contemptible matter? What was the tabernacle itself? Was it not an image? Was it not a type and a figure? Hence the holy Apostle's words concerning the observances of the law, "Who serve unto the example and shadow, of heavenly things." As it was answered to Moses, when he was to finish the tabernacle: "See" (He says), "that thou make all things according to the pattern which was shown thee on the Mount." (Heb. 8.5; Ex. 25.40) But the law was not an image. It shrouded the image. In the words of the same Apostle, "the law contains the shadow of the goods to come, not the image of those things." (Heb. 10.1) For if the law should forbid images, and yet be itself a forerunner of images, what should we say? If the tabernacle was a figure, and the type of a type, why does the law not prohibit image-making? But this is not in the least the case. There is a time for everything. (Eccl. 3.1)

Of old, God the incorporeal and uncircumscribed was never depicted. Now, however, when God is seen clothed in flesh, and conversing with men, (Bar. 3.38) I make an image of the God whom I see. I do not worship matter, I worship the God of matter, who became matter for my sake, and deigned to inhabit matter, who worked out my salvation through matter. I will not cease from honouring that matter which works my salvation. I venerate it, though not as God. How could God be born out of lifeless things? And if God's body is God by union (kaq upostasin), it is immutable. The nature of God remains the same as before, the flesh created in time is quickened by a logical and reasoning soul. I honour all matter besides, and venerate it. Through it, filled, as it were, with a divine power and grace, my salvation has come to me. Was not the thrice happy and thrice blessed wood of the Cross matter? Was not the sacred and holy mountain of Calvary matter? What of the life-giving rock, the Holy Sepulchre, the source of our resurrection: was it not matter? Is not the most holy book of the Gospels matter? Is not the blessed table matter which gives us the Bread of Life? Are not the gold and silver matter, out of which crosses and altar-plate and chalices are made? And before all these things, is not the body and blood of our Lord matter? Either do away with the veneration and worship due to all these things, or submit to the tradition of the Church in the worship of images, honouring God and His friends, and following in this the grace of the Holy Spirit. Do not despise matter, for it is not despicable. Nothing is that which God has made. This is the Manichean heresy. That alone is despicable which does not come from God, but is our own invention, the spontaneous choice of will to disregard the natural law,--that is to say, sin. If, therefore, you dishonour and give up images, because they are produced by matter, consider what the Scripture says: And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Behold I have called by name Beseleel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Juda. And I have filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom and understanding, and knowledge in all manner of work. To devise whatsoever may be artificially made of gold, and silver, and brass, of marble and precious stones, and variety of wood. And I have given him for his companion, Ooliab, the son of Achisamech, of the tribe of Dan. And I have put wisdom in the heart of every skilful man, that they may make all things which I have commanded thee." (Ex. 31.1-6) And again: "Moses said to all the assembly of the children of Israel: This is the word the Lord hath commanded, saying: Set aside with you first fruits to the Lord. Let every one that is willing and hath a ready heart, offer them to the Lord, gold, and silver, and brass, violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and fine linen, goat's hair, and ram's skins died red and violet, coloured skins, selim-wood, and oil to maintain lights and to make ointment, and most sweet incense, onyx stones, and precious stones for the adorning of the ephod and the rational. Whosoever of you is wise, let him come, and make that which the Lord hath commanded." (Ex. 35.4-10) See you here the glorification of matter which you make inglorious. What is more insignificant than goat's hair or colours? Are not scarlet and purple and hyacinth colours? Now, consider the handiwork of man becoming the likeness of the cherubim. How, then, can you make the law a pretence for giving up what it orders? If you invoke it against images, you should keep the Sabbath, and practise circumcision. It is certain that "if you observe the law, Christ will not profit you. You who are justified in the law, you are fallen from grace." (Gal. 5.2-4) Israel of old did not see God, but "we see the Lord's glory face to face." (IICor. 3.18)"