From a discussion with the students of the Moscow Theological Academy at the Lavra of Saint Serge with the Metropolitan of Nafpaktos and Saint Vlassios, Hierotheos Vlachos.

Question: How many times a year must one receive Holy Communion?

Is the Sacrament of Confession necessarily tied to Holy Communion?

Answer: Holy Communion is not absolutely linked to Confession. In the ancient Church, people had the Grace of God in them; they were in a state of enlightenment of the nous* and they of course prayed and received Holy Communion frequently. When someone committed a sin, it meant that they had forfeited the Grace of God, in which case, they would remain outside the Temple, together with the catechumens. This is because one cannot have the Grace of God and yet deny Christ. When one sins, and especially in the flesh – and I am not referring to the carnal relations within a marriage in Christ – it shows that they are preferring carnal pleasure more than Christ and as such, are denying Christ in practice. This reduces them to the ranks of the repentants, and they will need to re-attain the state of enlightenment of the nous, following a specific procedure.

In Basil the Great and other Fathers, we notice that there were four ranks of Christians.

• Firstly, there were the “forgiveness-seekers”, who sat outside the Holy Temple and asked for forgiveness from the Christians that went into the Temple.
• Secondly, there were the “beseechers”, who remained in the Temple only up to the recitings of the Divine Liturgy and would depart along with the catechumens.
• Thirdly there were the “aligned”, who remained in place until the end of the Divine Liturgy, but without receiving Holy Communion. And fourthly, there were the partakers of Holy Communion.

In other words, when someone committed a sin, they would have to go through a period of repentance and repentance meant that the person had to reach the enlightenment of the nous through catharsis – he would have to alter his nous, and from a darkened state make it light again.

The Bishop would then read a blessing and that person could afterwards receive Holy Communion.

That is why I mentioned that Confession is not absolutely tied to Holy Communion. If someone sins and he needs to confess, then he must confess. If there are certain sins – the so-called “excusable” ones – they are forgiven with the Service of Communion and with the prayer

“…and forgive us our trespasses….”

which is included in the “Lord’s Prayer”.

As to how many times a year one can receive Holy Communion – well, that is determined by one’s Spiritual Father.

That is, we go to our Spiritual Father and we open up our heart completely; we tell him all of the problems that we have, we report on the condition we are in, and he will give us the appropriate instructions. The same thing takes place here, as it does with doctors. We visit the doctor, we inform him of our ailment and the doctor will make the appropriate diagnosis and prescribe suitable medication and treatment. For example, he might tell us to abstain from certain foods because our organism can’t tolerate them, and that we will be free to consume those foods only after we are cured.

It is in this context that we should also look upon Holy Communion, because to some, Holy Communion can be Light, while to others it can be fire.

The Holy Fathers say that when we place two objects – that is, mud and wax – under the sun, then the sun’s rays will harden the mud and melt the wax. Although the sun’s energies are the same, however, the substance of the objects is different, which is why the results are different. In the same way, God and Holy Communion become [are experienced as] Light to some, and to others, fire.

In the churches of Monasteries they depict the scene of the Second Coming. At the top of the icon is the Throne, and from the Throne emanates the Light which illuminates the saints, while from the Throne flows the river of fire that consumes the sinners. Saint Isaac the Syrian says that “hell” is God’s “whip of love” – a love that mankind cannot comprehend, because their hearts are unclean and incurable. God loves both the righteous AND the sinner, but not everyone can experience God in the same manner.

Basil the Great wrote that the Light has two energies: the illuminating and the caustic, and as such, it illuminates and it burns. Whoever has eyes will avoid its caustic energy and will enjoy the illuminating energy of the Light. Those who have no eyes to see, will accept the caustic characteristic of the light. That is what will happen during the Second Coming: the righteous will perceive God’s light and sinners will perceive His fire.

The exact same thing takes place during the Divine Liturgy. Some receive Holy Communion and are illuminated, while others receive Holy Communion and are condemned. The Apostle Paul says in his Epistle to Corinthians:

“For this, there are among you many who are weak and sick, and a great many are reposed” (1 Cor.11:30).

That is why the work of a priest is not to distribute tickets so that people might enter Paradise; he must heal people, so that when they encounter God, God will become Light and not fire to them.

We must clarify at this point the question of how frequently a healthy person and a sick person can receive Holy Communion; for example, a paralytic person. It appears that a healthy person has many more sins and a paralytic does not have as many. But that is not correct. It does not mean that a healthy person sins and a paralytic doesn’t. Sins are committed with one’s thoughts and one’s desires as well as with the body. One can be healthy and spend all day glorifying God and live an angelic life, and the other – a sick person – can live with faithlessness and indignation. What is important, is for one to glorify God – whether in health or in sickness.

Notes

*Nous = The human nous in Eastern Orthodox Christianity is the “eye of the heart or soul” or the “mind of the heart”. The soul of man is created by God in His image; man’s soul is intelligent and noetic. St Thalassios wrote that God created beings “with a capacity to receive the Spirit and to attain knowledge of Himself; He has brought into existence the senses and sensory perception to serve such beings”.Eastern Orthodox Christians hold that God did this by creating mankind with intelligence and noetic faculties. Angels have intelligence and nous, whereas men have reason – both logos and dianoia – nous and sensory perception. This follows the idea that man is a microcosm and an expression of the whole creation or macrocosmos. The human nous was darkened after the Fall of Man (which was the result of the rebellion of reason against the nous), but after the purification (healing or correction) of the nous (achieved through ascetic practices like hesychasm), the human nous (the “eye of the heart”) will see God’s uncreated Light (and feel God’s uncreated love and beauty, at which point the nous will start the unceasing prayer of the heart) and become illuminated, allowing the person to become an orthodox theologian.

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This day is not all about leprechauns, shamrocks and green beer. This is a day to honor and pray to St. Patrick. He was an influential saint who, 1,500 years ago, brought Christianity to the little country of Ireland. He was born about 385 in the British Isles, was carried off while still very young during a raid on Roman Britain by the Irish and sold as a slave.

1. I, Patrick, a sinner, a most simple countryman, the least of all the faithful and most contemptible to many, had for father the deacon Calpurnius, son of the late Potitus, a priest, of the settlement [vicus] of Bannavem Taburniae; he had a small villa nearby where I was taken captive. I was at that time about sixteen years of age. I did not, indeed, know the true God; and I was taken into captivity in Ireland with many thousands of people, according to our deserts, for quite drawn away from God, we did not keep his precepts, nor were we obedient to our priests who used to remind us of our salvation. And the Lord brought down on us the fury of his being and scattered us among many nations, even to the ends of the earth, where I, in my smallness, am now to be found among foreigners.

2. And there the Lord opened my mind to an awareness of my unbelief, in order that, even so late, I might remember my transgressions and turn with all my heart to the Lord my God, who had regard for my insignificance and pitied my youth and ignorance. And he watched over me before I knew him, and before I learned sense or even distinguished between good and evil, and he protected me, and consoled me as a father would his son.

3. Therefore, indeed, I cannot keep silent, nor would it be proper, so many favours and graces has the Lord deigned to bestow on me in the land of my captivity. For after chastisement from God, and recognizing him, our way to repay him is to exalt him and confess his wonders before every nation under heaven.

4. For there is no other God, nor ever was before, nor shall be hereafter, but God the Father, unbegotten and without beginning, in whom all things began, whose are all things, as we have been taught; and his son Jesus Christ, who manifestly always existed with the Father, before the beginning of time in the spirit with the Father, indescribably begotten before all things, and all things visible and invisible were made by him. He was made man, conquered death and was received into Heaven, to the Father who gave him all power over every name in Heaven and on Earth and in Hell, so that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in whom we believe. And we look to his imminent coming again, the judge of the living and the dead, who will render to each according to his deeds. And he poured out his Holy Spirit on us in abundance, the gift and pledge of immortality, which makes the believers and the obedient into sons of God and co-heirs of Christ who is revealed, and we worship one God in the Trinity of holy name.

5. He himself said through the prophet: ‘Call upon me in the day of’ trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.’ And again: ‘It is right to reveal and publish abroad the works of God.’

6. I am imperfect in many things, nevertheless I want my brethren and kinsfolk to know my nature so that they may be able to perceive my soul’s desire.

7. I am not ignorant of what is said of my Lord in the Psalm: ‘You destroy those who speak a lie.’ And again: ‘A lying mouth deals death to the soul.’ And likewise the Lord says in the Gospel: ‘On the day of judgment men shall render account for every idle word they utter.’

8. So it is that I should mightily fear, with terror and trembling, this judgment on the day when no one shall be able to steal away or hide, but each and all shall render account for even our smallest sins before the judgment seat of Christ the Lord.

9. And therefore for some time I have thought of writing, but I have hesitated until now, for truly, I feared to expose myself to the criticism of men, because I have not studied like others, who have assimilated both Law and the Holy Scriptures equally and have never changed their idiom since their infancy, but instead were always learning it increasingly, to perfection, while my idiom and language have been translated into a foreign tongue. So it is easy to prove from a sample of my writing, my ability in rhetoric and the extent of my preparation and knowledge, for as it is said, ‘wisdom shall be recognized in speech, and in understanding, and in knowledge and in the learning of truth.’

10. But why make excuses close to the truth, especially when now I am presuming to try to grasp in my old age what I did not gain in my youth because my sins prevented me from making what I had read my own? But who will believe me, even though I should say it again? A young man, almost a beardless boy, I was taken captive before I knew what I should desire and what I should shun. So, consequently, today I feel ashamed and I am mightily afraid to expose my ignorance, because, [not] eloquent, with a small vocabulary, I am unable to explain as the spirit is eager to do and as the soul and the mind indicate.

11. But had it been given to me as to others, in gratitude I should not have kept silent, and if it should appear that I put myself before others, with my ignorance and my slower speech, in truth, it is written: ‘The tongue of the stammerers shall speak rapidly and distinctly.’ How much harder must we try to attain it, we of whom it is said: ‘You are an epistle of Christ in greeting to the ends of the earth … written on your hearts, not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God.’ And again, the Spirit witnessed that the rustic life was created by the Most High.

12. I am, then, first of all, countryfied, an exile, evidently unlearned, one who is not able to see into the future, but I know for certain, that before I was humbled I was like a stone lying in deep mire, and he that is mighty came and in his mercy raised me up and, indeed, lifted me high up and placed me on top of the wall. And from there I ought to shout out in gratitude to the Lord for his great favours in this world and for ever, that the mind of man cannot measure.

13. Therefore be amazed, you great and small who fear God, and you men of God, eloquent speakers, listen and contemplate. Who was it summoned me, a fool, from the midst of those who appear wise and learned in the law and powerful in rhetoric and in all things? Me, truly wretched in this world, he inspired before others that I could be– if I would– such a one who, with fear and reverence, and faithfully, without complaint, would come to the people to whom the love of Christ brought me and gave me in my lifetime, if I should be worthy, to serve them truly and with humility.

14. According, therefore, to the measure of one’s faith in the Trinity, one should proceed without holding back from danger to make known the gift of God and everlasting consolation, to spread God’s name everywhere with confidence and without fear, in order to leave behind, after my death, foundations for my brethren and sons whom I baptized in the Lord in so many thousands.

15. And I was not worthy, nor was I such that the Lord should grant his humble servant this, that after hardships and such great trials, after captivity, after many years, he should give me so much favour in these people, a thing which in the time of my youth I neither hoped for nor imagined.

16. But after I reached Ireland I used to pasture the flock each day and I used to pray many times a day. More and more did the love of God, and my fear of him and faith increase, and my spirit was moved so that in a day [I said] from one up to a hundred prayers, and in the night a like number; besides I used to stay out in the forests and on the mountain and I would wake up before daylight to pray in the snow, in icy coldness, in rain, and I used to feel neither ill nor any slothfulness, because, as I now see, the Spirit was burning in me at that time.

17. And it was there of course that one night in my sleep I heard a voice saying to me: ‘You do well to fast: soon you will depart for your home country.’ And again, a very short time later, there was a voice prophesying: ‘Behold, your ship is ready.’ And it was not close by, but, as it happened, two hundred miles away, where I had never been nor knew any person. And shortly thereafter I turned about and fled from the man with whom I had been for six years, and I came, by the power of God who directed my route to advantage (and I was afraid o nothing), until I reached that ship.

18. And on the same day that I arrived, the ship was setting out from the place, and I said that I had the wherewithal to sail with them; and the steersman was displeased and replied in anger, sharply: ‘By no means attempt to go with us.’ Hearing this I left them to go to the hut where I was staying, and on the way I began to pray, and before the prayer was finished I heard one of them shouting loudly after me: ‘Come quickly because the men are calling you.’ And immediately I went back to them and they started to say to me: ‘Come, because we are admitting you out of good faith; make friendship with us in any way you wish.’ (And so, on that day, I refused to suck the breasts of these men from fear of God, but nevertheless I had hopes that they would come to faith in Jesus Christ, because they were barbarians.) And for this I continued with them, and forthwith we put to sea.

19. And after three days we reached land, and for twenty-eight days journeyed through uninhabited country, and the food ran out and hunger overtook them; and one day the steersman began saying: ‘Why is it, Christian? You say your God is great and all-powerful; then why can you not pray for us? For we may perish of hunger; it is unlikely indeed that we shall ever see another human being.’ In fact, I said to them, confidently: ‘Be converted by faith with all your heart to my Lord God, because nothing is impossible for him, so that today he will send food for you on your road, until you be sated, because everywhere he abounds.’ And with God’s help this came to pass; and behold, a herd of swine appeared on the road before our eyes, and they slew many of them, and remained there for two nights, and the were full of their meat and well restored, for many of them had fainted and would otherwise have been left half dead by the wayside. And after this they gave the utmost thanks to God, and I was esteemed in their eyes, and from that day they had food abundantly. They discovered wild honey, besides, and they offered a share to me, and one of them said: ‘It is a sacrifice.’ Thanks be to God, I tasted none of it.

20. The very same night while I was sleeping Satan attacked me violently, as I will remember as long as I shall be in this body; and there fell on top of me as it were, a huge rock, and not one of my members had any force. But from whence did it come to me, ignorant in the spirit, to call upon ‘Helias’? And meanwhile I saw the sun rising in the sky, and while I was crying out ‘Helias, Helias’ with all my might, lo, the brilliance of that sun fell upon me and immediately shook me free of all the weight; and I believe that I was aided by Christ my Lord, and that his Spirit then was crying out for me, and I hope that it will be so in the day of my affliction, just as it says in the Gospel: ‘In that hour’, the Lord declares, ‘it is not you who speaks but the Spirit of your Father speaking in you.’

21. And a second time, after many years, I was taken captive. On the first night I accordingly remained with my captors, but I heard a divine prophecy, saying to me: ‘You shall be with them for two months. So it happened. On the sixtieth night the Lord delivered me from their hands.

22. On the journey he provided us with food and fire and dry weather every day, until on the tenth day we came upon people. As I mentioned above, we had journeyed through an unpopulated country for twenty-eight days, and in fact the night that we came upon people we had no food.

23. And after a few ‘ears I was again in Britain with my parents [kinsfolk], and the welcomed me as a son, and asked me, in faith, that after the great tribulations I had endured I should not go an where else away from them. And, of course, there, in a vision of the night, I saw a man whose name was Victoricus coming as it from Ireland with innumerable letters, and he gave me one of them, and I read the beginning of the letter: ‘The Voice of the Irish’, and as I was reading the beginning of the letter I seemed at that moment to hear the voice of those who were beside the forest of Foclut which is near the western sea, and the were crying as if with one voice: ‘We beg you, holy youth, that you shall come and shall walk again among us.’ And I was stung intensely in my heart so that I could read no more, and thus I awoke. Thanks be to God, because after so many ears the Lord bestowed on them according to their cry.

24. And another night– God knows, I do not, whether within me or beside me– … most words + … + which I heard and could not understand, except at the end of the speech it was represented thus: ‘He who gave his life for you, he it is who speaks within you.’ And thus I awoke, joyful.

25. And on a second occasion I saw Him praying within me, and I was as it were, inside my own body , and I heard Him above me– that is, above my inner self. He was praying powerfully with sighs. And in the course of this I was astonished and wondering, and I pondered who it could be who was praying within me. But at the end of the prayer it was revealed to me that it was the Spirit. And so I awoke and remembered the Apostle’s words: ‘Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we know not how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for utterance.’ And again: ‘The Lord our advocate intercedes for us.’

26. And then I was attacked by a goodly number of my elders, who [brought up] my sins against my arduous episcopate. That day in particular I was mightily upset, and might have fallen here and for ever; but the Lord generously spared me, a convert, and an alien, for his name’s sake, and he came powerfully to my assistance in that state of being trampled down. I pray God that it shall not be held against them as a sin that I fell truly into disgrace and scandal.

27. They brought up against me after thirty years an occurrence I had confessed before becoming a deacon. On account of the anxiety in my sorrowful mind, I laid before my close friend what I had perpetrated on a day– nay, rather in one hour– in my boyhood because I was not yet proof against sin. God knows– I do not– whether I was fifteen years old at the time, and I did not then believe in the living God, nor had I believed, since my infancy; but I remained in death and unbelief until I was severely rebuked, and in truth I was humbled every day by hunger and nakedness.

28. On the other hand, I did not proceed to Ireland of my own accord until I was almost giving up, but through this I was corrected by the Lord, and he prepared me so that today I should be what was once far from me, in order that I should have the care of– or rather, I should be concerned for– the salvation of others, when at that time, still, I was only concerned for myself.

29. Therefore, on that day when I was rebuked, as I have just mentioned, I saw in a vision of the night a document before my face, without honour, and meanwhile I heard a divine prophecy, saying to me: ‘We have seen with displeasure the face of the chosen one divested of [his good] name.’ And he did not say ‘You have seen with displeasure’, but ‘We have seen with displeasure’ (as if He included Himself) . He said then: ‘He who touches you, touches the apple of my eye.’

30. For that reason, I give thanks to him who strengthened me in all things, so that I should not be hindered in my setting out and also in my work which I was taught by Christ my Lord; but more, from that state of affairs I felt, within me, no little courage, and vindicated my faith before God and man.

31. Hence, therefore, I say boldly that my conscience is clear now and hereafter. God is my witness that I have not lied in these words to you.

32. But rather, I am grieved for my very close friend, that because of him we deserved to hear such a prophecy. The one to whom I entrusted my soul! And I found out from a goodly number of brethren, before the case was made in my defence (in which I did not take part, nor was I in Britain, nor was it pleaded by me), that in my absence he would fight in my behalf. Besides, he told me himself: ‘See, the rank of bishop goes to you’– of which I was not worthy. But how did it come to him, shortly afterwards, to disgrace me publicly, in the presence of all, good and bad, because previously, gladly and of his own free will, he pardoned me, as did the Lord, who is greater than all?

33. I have said enough. But all the same, I ought not to conceal God’s gift which he lavished on us in the land of my captivity, for then I sought him resolutely, and I found him there, and he preserved me from all evils (as I believe) through the in-dwelling of his Spirit, which works in me to this day. Again, boldly, but God knows, if this had been made known to me by man, I might, perhaps, have kept silent for the love of Christ.

34. Thus I give untiring thanks to God who kept me faithful in the day of my temptation, so that today I may confidently over my soul as a living sacrifice for Christ my Lord; who am I, Lord? or, rather, what is my calling? that you appeared to me in so great a divine quality, so that today among the barbarians I might constantly exalt and magnify your name in whatever place I should be, and not only in good fortune, but even in affliction? So that whatever befalls me, be it good or bad, I should accept it equally, and give thanks always to God who revealed to me that I might trust in him, implicitly and forever, and who will encourage me so that, ignorant, and in the last days, I may dare to undertake so devout and so wonderful a work; so that I might imitate one of those whom, once, long ago, the Lord already pre-ordained to be heralds of his Gospel to witness to all peoples to the ends of the earth. So are we seeing, and so it is fulfilled; behold, we are witnesses because the Gospel has been preached as far as the places beyond which no man lives.

35. But it is tedious to describe in detail all my labours one by one. I will tell briefly how most holy God frequently delivered me, from slavery, and from the twelve trials with which my soul was threatened, from man traps as well, and from things I am not able to put into words. I would not cause offence to readers, but I have God as witness who knew all things even before they happened, that, though I was a poor ignorant waif, still he gave me abundant warnings through divine prophecy.

36. Whence came to me this wisdom which was not my own, I who neither knew the number of days nor had knowledge of God? Whence came the so great and so healthful gift of knowing or rather loving God, though I should lose homeland and family.

37. And many gifts were offered to me with weeping and tears, and I offended them [the donors], and also went against the wishes of a good number of my elders; but guided by God, I neither agreed with them nor deferred to them, not by my own grace but by God who is victorious in me and withstands them all, so that I might come to the Irish people to preach the Gospel and endure insults from unbelievers; that I might hear scandal of my travels, and endure man persecutions to the extent of prison; and so that I might give up my free birthright for the advantage of others, and if I should be worthy, I am ready [to give] even m life without. hesitation; and most willingly for His name. And I choose to devote it to him even unto death, if God grant it to me.

38. I am greatly God’s debtor, because he granted me so much grace, that through me many people would be reborn in God, and soon a after confirmed, and that clergy would be ordained everywhere for them, the masses lately come to belief, whom the Lord drew from the ends of the earth, just as he once promised through his prophets: ‘To you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Our fathers have inherited naught hut lies, worthless things in which there is no profit.’ And again: ‘I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles that you may bring salvation to the uttermost ends of’ the earth.’

39. And I wish to wait then for his promise which is never unfulfilled, just as it is promised in the Gospel: ‘Many shall come from east and west and shall sit at table with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.’ Just as we believe that believers will come from all the world.

40. So for that reason one should, in fact, fish well and diligently, just as the Lord foretells and teaches, saying, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men,’ and again through the prophets: ‘Behold, I am sending forth many fishers and hunters, says the Lord,’ et cetera. So it behoved us to spread our nets, that a vast multitude and throng might be caught for God, and so there might be clergy everywhere who baptized and exhorted a needy and desirous people. Just as the Lord says in the Gospel, admonishing and instructing: ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always to the end of time.’ And again he says: ‘Go forth into the world and preach the Gospel to all creation. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he who does not believe shall be condemned.’ And again: ‘This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached throughout the whole world as a witness to all nations; and then the end of the world shall come.’ And likewise the Lord foretells through the prophet: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days (sayeth the Lord) that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams; yea, and on my menservants and my maidservants in those days I will pour out my Spirit and they shall prophesy.’ And in Hosea he says: ‘Those who are not my people I will call my people, and those not beloved I will call my beloved, and in the very place where it was said to them, You are not my people, they will be called ‘Sons of the living God’.

41. So, how is it that in Ireland, where they never had any knowledge of God but, always, until now, cherished idols and unclean things, they are lately become a people of the Lord, and are called children of God; the sons of. the Irish [Scotti] and the daughters of the chieftains are to be seen as monks and virgins of Christ.

42. And there was, besides, a most beautiful, blessed, native-born noble Irish [Scotta] woman of adult age whom I baptized; and a few days later she had reason to come to us to intimate that she had received a prophecy from a divine messenger [who] advised her that she should become a virgin of Christ and she would draw nearer to God. Thanks be to God, six days from then, opportunely and most eagerly, she took the course that all virgins of God take, not with their fathers’ consent but enduring the persecutions and deceitful hindrances of their parents. Notwithstanding that, their number increases, (we do not know the number of them that are so reborn) besides the widows, and those who practise self-denial. Those who are kept in slavery suffer the most. They endure terrors and constant threats, but the Lord has given grace to many of his handmaidens, for even though they are forbidden to do so, still they resolutely follow his example.

43. So it is that even if I should wish to separate from them in order to go to Britain, and most willingly was I prepared to go to my homeland and kinsfolk– and not only there, but as far as Gaul to visit the brethren there, so that I might see the faces of the holy ones of my Lord, God knows how strongly I desired this– I am bound by the Spirit, who witnessed to me that if I did so he would mark me out as guilty, and I fear to waste the labour that I began, and not I, but Christ the Lord, who commanded me to come to be with them for the rest of my life, if the Lord shall will it and shield me from every evil, so that I may not sin before him.

44. So I hope that I did as I ought, but I do not trust myself as long as I am in this mortal body, for he is strong who strives daily to turn me away from the faith and true holiness to which I aspire until the end of my life for Christ my Lord, but the hostile flesh is always dragging one down to death, that is, to unlawful attractions. And I know in part why I did not lead a perfect life like other believers, but I confess to my Lord and do not blush in his sight, because I am not lying; from the time when I came to know him in my youth, the love of God and fear of him increased in me, and right up until now, by God’s favour, I have kept the faith.

45. What is more, let anyone laugh and taunt if he so wishes. I am not keeping silent, nor am I hiding the signs and wonders that were shown to me by the Lord many years before they happened, [he] who knew everything, even before the beginning of time.

46. Thus, I should give thanks unceasingly to God, who frequently forgave my folly and my negligence, in more than one instance so as not to be violently angry with me, who am placed as his helper, and I did not easily assent to what had been revealed to me, as the Spirit was urging; and the Lord took pity on me thousands upon thousands of times, because he saw within me that I was prepared, but that I was ignorant of what to do in view of my situation; because many were trying to prevent this mission. They were talking among themselves behind my back, and saying: ‘Why is this fellow throwing himself into danger among enemies who know not God?’ Not from malice, but having no liking for it; likewise, as I myself can testify, they perceived my rusticity. And I was not quick to recognize the grace that was then in me; I now know that I should have done so earlier.

47. Now I have put it frankly to my brethren and co-workers, who have believed me because of what I have foretold and still foretell to strengthen and reinforce your faith. I wish only that you, too, would make greater and better efforts. This will be my pride, for ‘a wise son makes a proud father’.

48. You know, as God does, how I went about among you from my youth in the faith of truth and in sincerity of heart. As well as to the heathen among whom I live, I have shown them trust and always show them trust. God knows I did not cheat any one of them, nor consider it, for the sake of God and his Church, lest I arouse them and [bring about] persecution for them and for all of us, and lest the Lord’s name be blasphemed because of me, for it is written: ‘Woe to the men through whom the name of the Lord is blasphemed.’

49. For even though I am ignorant in all things, nevertheless I attempted to safeguard some and myself also. And I gave back again to my Christian brethren and the virgins of Christ and the holy women the small unasked for gifts that they used to give me or some of their ornaments which they used to throw on the altar. And they would be offended with me because I did this. But in the hope of eternity, I safeguarded myself carefully in all things, so that they might not cheat me of my office of service on any pretext of dishonesty, and so that I should not in the smallest way provide any occasion for defamation or disparagement on the part of unbelievers.

50. What is more, when I baptized so many thousands of people, did I hope for even half a jot from any of them? [If so] Tell me, and I will give it back to you. And when the Lord ordained clergy everywhere by my humble means, and I freely conferred office on them, if I asked any of them anywhere even for the price of one shoe, say so to my face and I will give it back.

51. More, I spent for you so that they would receive me. And I went about among you, and everywhere for your sake, in danger, and as far as the outermost regions beyond which no one lived, and where no one had ever penetrated before, to baptize or to ordain clergy or to confirm people. Conscientiously and gladly I did all this work by God’s gift for your salvation.

52. From time to time I gave rewards to the kings, as well as making payments to their sons who travel with me; notwithstanding which, they seized me with my companions, and that day most avidly desired to kill me. But my time had not yet come. They plundered everything they found on us anyway, and fettered me in irons; and on the fourteenth day the Lord freed me from their power, and whatever they had of ours was given back to us for the sake of God on account of the indispensable friends whom we had made before.

53. Also you know from experience how much I was paying to those who were administering justice in all the regions, which I visited often. I estimate truly that I distributed to them not less than the price of fifteen men, in order that you should enjoy my company and I enjoy yours, always, in God. I do not regret this nor do I regard it as enough. I am paying out still and I shall pay out more. The Lord has the power to grant me that I may soon spend my own self, for your souls.

54. Behold, I call on God as my witness upon my soul that I am not lying; nor would I write to you for it to be an occasion for flattery or selfishness, nor hoping for honour from any one of you. Sufficient is the honour which is not yet seen, but in which the heart has confidence. He who made the promise is faithful; he never lies.

55. But I see that even here and now, I have been exalted beyond measure by the Lord, and I was not worthy that he should grant me this, while I know most certainly that poverty and failure suit me better than wealth and delight (but Christ the Lord was poor for our sakes; I certainly am wretched and unfortunate; even if I wanted wealth I have no resources, nor is it my own estimation of myself, for daily I expect to be murdered or betrayed or reduced to slavery if the occasion arises. But I fear nothing, because of the promises of Heaven; for I have cast myself into the hands of Almighty God, who reigns everywhere. As the prophet says: ‘Cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you.’

56. Behold now I commend my soul to God who is most faithful and for whom I perform my mission in obscurity, but he is no respecter of persons and he chose me for this service that I might be one of the least of his ministers.

57. For which reason I should make return for all that he returns me. But what should I say, or what should I promise to my Lord, for I, alone, can do nothing unless he himself vouchsafe it to me. But let him search my heart and [my] nature, for I crave enough for it, even too much, and I am ready for him to grant me that I drink of his chalice, as he has granted to others who love him.

58. Therefore may it never befall me to be separated by my God from his people whom he has won in this most remote land. I pray God that he gives me perseverance, and that he will deign that I should be a faithful witness for his sake right up to the time of my passing.

59. And if at any time I managed anything of good for the sake of my God whom I love, I beg of him that he grant it to me to shed my blood for his name with proselytes and captives, even should I be left unburied, or even were my wretched body to be torn limb from limb by dogs or savage beasts, or were it to be devoured by the birds of the air, I think, most surely, were this to have happened to me, I had saved both my soul and my body. For beyond any doubt on that day we shall rise again in the brightness of the sun, that is, in the glory of Christ Jesus our Redeemer, as children of the living God and co-heirs of Christ, made in his image; for we shall reign through him and for him and in him.

60. For the sun we see rises each day for us at [his] command, but it will never reign, neither will its splendour last, but all who worship it will come wretchedly to punishment. We, on the other hand, shall not die, who believe in and worship the true sun, Christ, who will never die, no more shall he die who has done Christ’s will, but will abide for ever just as Christ abides for ever, who reigns with God the Father Almighty and with the Holy Spirit before the beginning of time and now and for ever and ever. Amen.

61. Behold over and over again I would briefly set out the words of my confession. I testify in truthfulness and gladness of heart before God and his holy angels that I never had any reason, except the Gospel and his promises, ever to have returned to that nation from which I had previously escaped with difficulty.

62. But I entreat those who believe in and fear God, whoever deigns to examine or receive this document composed by the obviously unlearned sinner Patrick in Ireland, that nobody shall ever ascribe to my ignorance any trivial thing that I achieved or may have expounded that was pleasing to God, but accept and truly believe that it would have been the gift of God.

And this is my confession before I die.

This item 7480 digitally provided courtesy of CatholicCulture.org

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As we approach the holy Feast of the Annunciation of our Lord, we offer this encyclical letter from Metropolitan Gerasimos of San Francisco. It is worthy of note that this great feast is the feast of the Incarnation, a powerful statement of the sanctity of life from the very moment of conception, and that as Christ has freed us from the death and sin, today is the beginning of our freedom, indeed, “Today is the beginning of our salvation…” for every human soul at every moment of their existence. It is most fitting that it celebrates also the freedom of a nation.

ENCYCLICAL FOR THE FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION 2010

“Today is the beginning of our salvation…”

Apolytikion of the Annunciation

Beloved in the Lord,

Just a few days before we complete our Lenten journey this year we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation. The Good News that the Savior shall be born of Mary cannot be overlooked, and even though it is still Great Lent, we shall joyously celebrate this feast of freedom.

The Apolytikion of the Feast reminds us that our salvation, our liberation from the power of death and all that “death” symbolizes, begins with the proclamation that God becomes man in the womb of the Virgin Mary. The Son of the Most High God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, becomes one of us by taking on human flesh, in order to rescue us from our fallen condition. That the Feast falls so close to the beginning of Holy Week this year should remind us that the liberation that the Lord brings to humanity and indeed all creation is ultimately through His glorious Resurrection.

The Feast of the Annunciation is always a double celebration for our community because on this day in 1821 the Greek people proclaimed their liberation from the oppression of the Ottoman yoke. On this day, one hundred eighty-nine years ago, our ancestors began a struggle that led to the creation of the modern Greek State. Singing the songs and retelling the stories from those historic days need not become an act that only a segment of our community finds meaningful. While perhaps just some of us are the descendants of that struggle, all of us can share in the bravery and sacrifices that were made for the cause of freedom.

We should not neglect either of these celebrations because they stand before us as reminders of the hopes of people throughout time. The Good News that freedom has come through Christ has too often fallen on deaf ears. World history has been filled with too many stories of oppression, slavery, corruption, injustice, and many other evils of “brother against brother”. Yet oppression and slavery do not seem to be “natural” to us. Our true nature is one of freedom; for our Creator is free and as His children we share His attributes. Thus, even under the most oppressive circumstances, men and women have placed their lives at great risk for liberty.

This year, as you celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation and participate in the many local celebrations of Greek Independence Day, turn to the Lord in prayer and thank Him for the gift of freedom, remember the bravery of those who have risked or given their lives for it, and ask Him for strength and inspiration to support those who still hope for the day of their liberation.

With Love in the Lord,

+ G E R A S I M O S

Metropolitan of San Francisco

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Senior Editor of Touchstone Magazine, and archpriest of All Saints Orthodox Church in Chicago, IL, Fr. Patrick is, perhaps, the most erudite writer in the Orthodox Church in North America today. This article, one of his Pastoral Ponderings, was published by Orthodoxtoday.org.

Two parallel scenes in the Pentateuch indicate the spiritual growth of Aaron over the years of Israel’s desert wandering. Standing in opposition to one another in the general structure of the Torah, each scene also contains further elements of internal contrast.

The earlier story is preserved in Exodus 32, which describes the incident of the golden calf. Aaron, in that episode, appears as a craven and double-minded hireling, and no shepherd. At the people’s first idolatrous impulse, in fact, he accedes to their wishes, telling them to hand over their jewelry, which he then uses to construct a molded calf.

Although very involved in the people’s sin, Aaron never admits his association in their guilt. He becomes, rather, a classical example of a sinner rationalizing an infidelity, pretending his is not an act of apostasy, but an example (as the saying goes) of “accepting people where they are.” Aaron does not love them enough to resist them.

Then, taken to task by his brother for this complicity, Aaron shamelessly denies his fault. “You know the people,” he tells Moses, “they are set on evil.” In a line of supreme mockery, the cowardly Aaron tries to minimize his involvement by claiming, “I cast [the gold] into the fire, and this calf came out.” He is portrayed as a truly unsuitable priest.

Within the structure of this story, furthermore, Aaron is dramatically contrasted with Moses: At the very moment he is down in the valley, enabling the infidelity of the Israelites, faithful Moses stands on top of the mountain, praying the Lord to spare His people. The prayer of Moses prevails.

There is an additional irony in this contrast between Moses and Aaron: At the time the restless Israelites in the valley had been plotting their rebellion, Moses had been receiving the Lord’s detailed instructions concerning Aaron’s priesthood (Exodus 28-31). That is to say, even as his priesthood was in the process of formation, Aaron already proved himself unqualified for it. Even as his vestments were being designed, he showed himself unworthy to wear them.

In pointed contrast to this early portrayal of Aaron stands a later scene in Numbers 16. In the latter case we find a much improved Aaron, who has now become a genuine high priest with

“compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness” (Hebrews 5:2).

As the Israelites in the later scene are being punished by plague for their most recent rebellion — thousands of them dying in a single day — Aaron takes up his priestly censor and runs down among them, placing his body between the dead and the living, and

“making atonement for the people.”

The Sacred Text tells us,

“he stood between the dead and the living; so the plague was stopped.”

In this riveting scene, Aaron is not contrasted with Moses. On the contrary, the two brothers are now at one in their concern for the people. When the Lord tells them,

“Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment,”

Moses and Aaron alike fall on their faces in joint intercessory prayer. In the earlier story, Moses had made that prayer alone, while his brother was being complicit in the people’s sin, but now the two brothers are in complete harmony.

The tension of the earlier story is resolved:

“So Aaron returned to Moses at the door of the tabernacle of meeting, for the plague had stopped.”

The internal contrast in this second account is, rather, between Aaron and a Levite named Korah. Forgetting that “no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron (Hebrews 5:4), Korah coveted the priestly office as a position of honor and power, both for himself and his household. So in the rebellion Korah and his family were the first to be punished:

“the ground split apart under them, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods. So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly.”

If we compare Korah’s sin with the earlier infidelity of Aaron, it appears to be far worse. Whereas Aaron’s had been the failing of a weak and unworthy man, Korah’s is the more terrible offense of malice, pride, and deliberate rebellion.

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My Dear Students!

To my great disappointment, I am no longer your teacher of ecclesiastical law and can only appeal to you in writing. Two school years I spent with you, teaching you the truths of the Holy Orthodox Church and preaching to you the word of the Lord. The time I spent with you will never vanish from my memory. As always, even now I often remember all of you, each of you individually, and wish you all the best. I will always consider you my dear students, and it would be good if you did not forget me; from time to time you should write to me.

I always receive and read all your letters with great satisfaction.

But more than this, I will always rejoice when I learn that my labors with you were not for naught, that you remember and act upon that which you learned from me. Love God, be devoted to the Orthodox faith. Remember that without God there is no good, no joy, that

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).

Let every one of you have the Holy Scripture and read from it, since these are God’s words, they teach us how to live and prepare ourselves for the future life. Pray at home daily, and on Sundays and holidays, come to church, to this holy place which is devoted to service to God, where God’s angels abide and pray together with you.

Do not think that now you do not need to come to church if I am not here to look after you. You must attend church not for people, but for God, Who sees the hearts of those who come. Listen to the one who will be your teacher of law, and learn the Law of God not for grades, but to discover the will of our Heavenly Father. Be obedient to your parents, as Christ was obedient to the Most-Holy Virgin Mary.

Be obedient to your teachers and all elders who teach you goodness. Labor, and guard yourselves against laziness, which is the mother of all sins. More than anything, guard yourselves against conflict, forgive each other when you are insulted. Remember: he who quarrels consoles the devil; he who makes peace gladdens Christ; he who makes peace among others helps Christ and will be accepted into the Heavenly Kingdom as a Son of God (Matthew 5:9).

Having no way of sending each of you this letter, I send it to all whose addresses I have, but through them I appeal to everyone and I would hope that, if possible, every one of my students, male and female, would read it, and that my words would fall into your hearts and leave a mark upon your souls. I bid farewell with each of you and invoke God’s blessing upon you. God is omnipotent and merciful, may He bless you, preserve and guide you to all good things! Glory to Him for ever and ever.

Hieromonk John

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Thanks to Moses over at the Burning Bush weblog for this.

God loves every person very much, knows the problems of each one of us perfectly and is wishing to give help before our asking for it, because nothing is too difficult for the all-mighty God. But even God is facing a difficulty in the case of a non-humble man! I repeat that there is but one problem that God can face — that He “cannot” help as long as the soul of a person is not humble. Then the all-good God, in a way, is “upset,” seeing that His creation is thus tortured, and He “cannot” help, because He knows that what is requested will harm the person, the latter lacking a humble disposition. Whatever happens to us is absolutely dependent of humility. We see, for instance, that someone is fought and conquered by a certain passion. God allows this only because his soul has the thought or is close to accepting it (that is, has a disposition towards pride). A man can hate certain passions and not wish them, and even shed blood to get rid of them — but he will not be successful in the very least, because God is not helping him. And He will not help, until the latter humbles himself (because, although he hates some of the passions, he is still the slave of pride, which lets in all the other passions).

*Taken from Missionary Leaflet E 125.

Source

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Our father among the American saints, St. Nicholai Velimirovich, wrote this in response to a request from one of his priests.

This is  from the 1929 letter to priest K.

This is timeless wisdom, and especially helpful in our own economic crisis. It also reminds us of what must be done about it.

You are asking me, man of God, about the reason and meaning of the present crisis. Who am I that you ask me about this great mystery?

“Speak if you have something greater than silence,”

said St. Gregory the Theologian.

And although I find that presently silence is higher than any word, I will, out of love for you, write what I think about this question.

“Crisis” is a Greek word, and in translation it means “judgment”. In the Holy Scripture the word “judgment” is used many times. We read in the Psalms,

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment (Ps. 1:5).

Later again,

I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing. (Ps. 101:1).

The wise king Solomon writes that

the judgment will come to everyone from the Lord (Proverbs 29:26).

The Savior himself said,

“For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son.” (John 5:22).

Apostol Peter writes,

“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Pet. 4:17).

Replace the word “judgment” with the word “crisis” and read, “I will sing of mercy and crisis”, “Crisis will come to everyone from the Lord”, “The Father committed all crisis unto the Son”, “For the time is come that crisis must begin at the house of God”.

Previously the Europeans, when some trouble befell them, used the word “judgment” instead of the word “crisis”. These days the word “judgment” is replaced with the word “crisis”, a clear word with one less clear.

The drought would come, people would say, “God’s judgment!”, flood – “God’s judgment!”. A war or epidemic would start, “God’s judgment!”, earthquakes, locust, other trials, always the same – “God’s judgment!” Therefore, crisis is because of the drought, because of the flood, of the wars and epidemics. And people see the present financial, economic catastrophe as God’s judgment, but they call it “crisis” rather than “judgment”.

So that the trouble would increase from lack of reason! Because when the clear word “judgment” was said, the reason that led to the trouble was clear, and the Judge who allowed the trouble was known, and so was the purpose for which the trouble was allowed.

But after replacing the word “judgment” with the word “crisis”, which is unclear for the most, no one can explain why it is, from whom, and for what. And this is the only thing in which this crisis differs from the crisis that happens from drought and flood, war or epidemic, locust or other tribulation.

You are asking about the reason of today’s crisis, or God’s judgment? The reason is always the same. The reason for all droughts, floods, epidemics and other troubles is the same as of today’s crisis – the falling away from God.

The sin of falling away from God has resulted in this crisis as well, and the Lord allowed it so as to wake people, sober them, so that they would repent and come back to him. The crisis is commensurate to sins. And truly, the Lord used modern means to teach modern people: he struck the banks, the stock exchanges, the entire financial system. He overturned the tables of money-lenders just as he once did in the temple in Jerusalem.

He created an unprecedented panic between merchants and money-lenders. Stirred up, brought down, mixed up, confused, bestowed fear. And all that so that proud European and American wise men would wake up, repent, remember God. So that they who are anchored in the haven of material comfort would remember their souls, acknowledge their trespassings and bow down before God the Highest, the living God.

How long will the crisis last?

Until the proud culprits acknowledge the victory of the All-Powerful. Until the people would realize that they have to translate the unclear word “crisis” into their native language and would exclaim with the repentant sigh, “God’s judgment!”

Therefore you, honest Father, should also call “crisis” “God’s judgment”, and you will understand everything.

Greetings to you and Lord’s peace!

Source

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Our father among the saints, Ignatius , was a bishop of the Church of Russia and ascetical writer. He is best known for his spiritual and ascetic writings, particularly ‘The Arena.’ His feast day is celebrated on April 30.

O tree of knowledge of good and evil! You killed our ancestors in Paradise, you deceived them by the delusions of sensual pleasure and the delusions of reason. Christ, the Redeemer of the fallen, brought His Cup of Salvation into this world — to the fallen and to those who are exiled from Paradise.

The bitterness of this Cup cleanses the heart from forbidden, destructive and sinful pleasure. Through the humility that flows from it in abundance, the pride of understanding on the carnal level is mortified. To him who drinks from the Cup with faith and patience, the eternal life, which was -and still is – lost to him by his tasting of forbidden fruit, will be restored.

I will accept the Cup of Christ — the cup of salvation.

The Cup is accepted when the Christian bears earthly tribulation in the spirit of humility learnt from the Gospel.

St. Peter turned swiftly with a naked sword to defend the God-Man, Who was surrounded by evil doers; but Jesus said to Peter:

“Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?” (John 18:11).

So, too, when disaster surrounds you, you should comfort and strengthen your soul, saying,

“The Cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” The Cup is bitter: at first sight all human reasoning is confounded. Surmount reason by faith and drink courageously from the bitter Cup: it is the Father Who gives it to you, He who is all good and all wise. It is neither the Pharisees, nor Caiaphas, nor Judas who prepared the Cup; it is neither Pilate nor his soldiers who give it! “The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?”

Pharisees think evil, Judas betrays, Pilate orders the unlawful killing, the soldiers of the government execute his order. Through their evil deeds all these prepared their own true perdition. Do not prepare for yourself just such a perdition by remembering evil, by longing for and dreaming of revenge, and by indignation against your enemies. The heavenly Father is almighty and all-seeing. He sees your affliction, and if He had found it necessary and profitable to withdraw the Cup from you, He would certainly have done so.

The Lord – as the Scriptures and Church history testify – has often allowed afflictions to befall His beloved, and often warded off afflictions from them, in accordance with the unfathomable ways of Providence. When you are faced with the Cup, turn your gaze from the people who gave it to you; lift up your eyes to Heaven and say:

“The Cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?”

“I will take the cup of salvation… ” (Psalm 115: 4 [LXX])

I cannot reject the Cup — the promise of heavenly and eternal good. The Apostle of Christ teaches me patience when he says:

“…we must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).

How can we reject the Cup, which is the means of attaining this Kingdom and growing with it? I will accept the Cup — the gift of God. For the Cup of Christ is the gift of God. The great Paul writes to the Philippians:

“For unto you is given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Phil. 1:29).

You receive the Cup, which seemingly comes from the hand of man. What is it to you whether the bearer of the Cup acts righteously or unrighteously? As a follower of Jesus, your concern is: to act righteously; to receive the Cup with thanksgiving to God and with a living faith; and to courageously drink it to the dregs.

In receiving the Cup from the hand of man, remember it is the Cup of Him, Who is not only innocent but All-Holy. Thinking on this, remind yourself, and other suffering sinners, of the words that the blessed and enlightened thief spoke when he was crucified on the right hand of the crucified God-Man:

“We receive the due reward of our deeds… Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom” (Luke 23:41-42).

And then, turning to the people, you will say to them: Blessed are you who are instruments of righteousness and of God’s mercy, blessed are you from henceforth and for ever! (If they are not in a fit state to understand and receive your words, do not cast your precious pearls of humility under the feet of those who cannot value them, but say these words in thought and heart.) By this alone will you fulfill the commandment of the Gospel which says:

“Love your enemies, bless them that curse you…” (Matt. 5:44).

Pray to the Lord on behalf of those who have insulted and outraged you that what they have done for you should be repaid by a temporal blessing and the eternal reward of salvation, and that, when they stand before Christ to be judged, it should be counted to them as if it had been an act of virtue.

Although your heart does not wish to act in this way, compel it to do so, because only those who do violence to their own heart, in fulfilling the commandments of the Gospel, can inherit Heaven.

If you have not the will to act in this way, then you have not the will to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look deep within yourself and consider searchingly: have you not found another teacher, the teacher of hatred – the devil – and fallen under his power?

It is a terrible transgression to offend or to oppress one’s neighbor: it is a most terrible transgression to commit murder. But whoever hates his oppressor, his slanderer, his betrayer, his murderer, and whoever thinks ill of them and takes revenge on them, commits a sin very near to their sin. In vain does he pretend to himself and others that he is righteous.

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer of man, proclaimed St. John, the beloved disciple of Christ (I John 3:15).

A living faith in Christ teaches one to receive the Cup of Christ, and the Cup of Christ inspires hope in the heart of him who receives it; and hope in Christ gives strength and consolation to the heart. What torment, what torment of hell, to complain or to murmur against the Cup that is pre-ordained from above! Murmuring, impatience, faintheartedness and especially despair are sins before God — they are the ugly children of sinful disbelief.

It is sinful to complain of neighbors, when they are the instruments of our suffering; still more sinful is it when we cry out against the Cup that comes down to us straight from Heaven — from the right hand of God.

But he who drinks the cup – with thanksgiving to God and blessings on his neighbor – achieves holy serenity — the grace of the peace of Christ. It is as if already he enjoys God’s spiritual Paradise.

Temporal suffering has no importance in itself: we lend it significance because of our attachment to the earth and to all corruptible things, and through our coldness towards Christ and eternity. You are prepared: to bear the bitter and repellent taste of medicines; to bear the painful amputation and cauterization of your limbs; to bear the long drawn out suffering of hunger, and prolonged seclusion in your room.

You are prepared to bear all this to restore lost health to your body, which after it is healed will certainly become ill again, and will certainly die and become corrupt. Bear, then, the bitterness of the Cup of Christ, which brings healing and eternal beatitude to your immortal soul.

If the Cup appears to you to be unbearable, deadly, then it reveals that although you bear Christ’s name, you do not belong to Christ. For the true followers of Christ, the Cup of Christ is the Cup of joy. Thus, the holy apostles – after having been beaten before the gathering of the elders of the Jews – went out from the presence of the council rejoicing — that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the Name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 5:40-41).

Righteous Job heard bitter news. Tiding after tiding came to pierce his steadfast heart; the last of these was the hardest: all his sons and daughters had been struck down suddenly by a cruel and violent death. In his great sorrow, he rent his clothes and covered his head with ashes. And then – in submissive faith – he fell down upon the ground, and worshiped the Lord saying,

“I myself came naked from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, the Lord has taken away: as it seemed good to the Lord, so has it come to pass; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

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Our father among the saints Gregory I, also known as Gregory the Great, was the Pope of Rome from September 3, 590, until his death on March 12, 604. He is noted for his writings.

Also, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts has been attributed to him.

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‘Below are some excerpts from St. John Chrysostom, found throughout his writings, that deal with the relationship between Faith and Reason. For St. John, there is not a contradiction between Faith and Reason when used for their own purpose, since both are gifts of God, but he does demonstrate and drive home strongly that Faith is far superior to Reason. Moreover he continuously warns against misusing Reason to be an enemy of Faith.

Reasoning should not interfere in matters of Faith, because Reason cannot even hope to comprehend the transcendent nature of Faith.

Reason cannot enlighten Faith, but Faith can enlighten Reason. Reason diminishes Faith because it limits it and does not allow it to grow. And Faith that does not increase eventually withers and dies. At the same time Reason unenlightened by Faith is like being born and raised in a dark prison cell, confined and unaware of the world beyond your limited experience. Reason can never move us beyond its own ignorance and it serves its purpose only when it drives a person to deeper Faith.’ – John Sanidopoulos.

“In that God has bestowed upon us benefits that surpass man’s reasoning, suitably enough He has brought in faith. It is not possible to be steadfast when demanding reasons. For behold all of our noble doctrines – how destitute they are of reasoning, and dependent upon faith alone. For example, God is not anywhere, and is everywhere. What has less reason in it than this? Each – by itself – is full of difficulty. … He was not made, He made not Himself, He never began to be. What reasoning will receive this, if there be not faith?”

“If any one should tell you descend into the deep, and trace out things at the bottom of the sea, you would not tolerate the command. Therefore, when no one compels you, why do you willingly seek to comprehend the unsearchable abyss [of our divine dogma with your reasoning]? I beseech you, do not do this. Instead, let us sail upwards — not floating, for we shall soon be weary and sink; but using the divine Scriptures, as some vessel, let us unfurl the sails of faith. If we sail in them, then the Word of God will be present with us as our Navigator….”

“This is the work of faith: If you believe, suffer all things; if you do not suffer, you do not believe. For are not the things promised [so great], that he who believes would choose to suffer even ten thousand deaths? The kingdom of heaven is set before him — and immortality, and eternal life. Therefore, whoever believes will suffer all things. Then faith is shown through his works. In truth, one might have said: Not merely did you believe, but through your works you manifested it — through your steadfastness, through your zeal.”

“Where faith exists, there is no need of question. Where there is no room for curiosity, questions are superfluous. Questioning is the subversion of faith. For he that seeks, has not yet found. He who questions cannot believe. Therefore, it is [St. Paul's] advice that we should not be occupied with questions; since, if we question, it is not faith. For faith sets reasoning at rest. …”

“But why then does Christ say, ‘Keep on seeking and ye shall find, keep on knocking and it shall be opened unto you’ (Matt. vii. 7); and, ‘Keep on searching the Scriptures, for in them you think to have eternal life (John 5:39)? With regards to ’seeking’, it refers to prayer and vehement desire. And He invites us to, ‘Keep on searching the Scriptures,’ not in order to introduce the labors of questioning, but to end them — so that we may ascertain and settle their true meaning; not that we may be always questioning, but that we may be done with it. …”

“And [St. Paul] rightly said, ‘Command some not to teach different doctrines, nor to give heed to fables, and endless genealogies, which produce questions rather than the dispensation of God, which is in faith’ (I Timothy 1:4). Justly has he said, ‘the dispensation of God.’ For great are the blessings, which God is willing to dispense; but the greatness of them is not conceived by reasoning. This must, then, be the work of faith, which is the best medicine of our souls. This questioning, therefore, is opposed to the dispensation of God. For [this is] what is dispensed by faith: To receive His mercies and become better men; to doubt and dispute of nothing; but to repose in confidence.”

“It is not faith merely to profess belief, but to do works worthy of faith; … for sound doctrines avail nothing towards our salvation, if our life is corrupt. … For even though we have all faith and all knowledge of the Scriptures, yet if we are naked and destitute of the protection derived from (holy) living, there is nothing to hinder us from being hurried into the fire of hell; and burning for ever in the unquenchable flame. For as they who have done good shall rise to life everlasting, so they who have dared the contrary shall rise to everlasting punishment; which never has an end. Let us, therefore, manifest all eagerness not to waste the gain, which accrues to us from a right faith, by our vile actions; but becoming well-pleasing to Him by these [i.e., our actions] also, boldly to look upon Christ. No happiness can be equal to this.”

“Some, who seek out everything by reasoning, turn aside from the faith; but reasoning produces shipwreck, while faith is as a safe ship. For where there is no faith, there is no knowledge; when anything springs from our reasonings, it is not [true] knowledge.”

“What the wisdom of men cannot discover, faith abundantly comprehends and achieves. Therefore, let us cling to this; and not commit to reasonings what concerns ourselves. For tell me, why have not the Greeks been able to find out anything? Did they not know all the wisdom of the heathen? Why then could they not prevail against fishermen and tentmakers, and unlearned persons? Was it not because the one committed all to argument, the others to faith?”

“Therefore, [St. Paul] shows that the greatest things are attained through faith; and not through reasonings. And how does he show this, tell me? It is manifest, he says, that God made: the things which are, out of things which are not; things which appear, out of things which appear not; things which subsist, out of things which subsist not. … For reason suggests nothing of this kind; but on the contrary, that the things which appear are [formed] out of things which appear.”`

“Where is the proof … that God made these things [i.e., all of the visible and invisible creation]? Reason does not suggest it; no one was present when it was done. [Therefore], how is it shown? It is plainly the result of faith. “Through faith,” [St. Paul exclaims], we understand that the worlds were made. Why “through faith”? Because “the things which are seen have not come into being out of things which appear.” (Hebrews 11:3) For this is Faith.”

“Moved with fear,[Noah] prepared an ark” (Hebrews 11:7). Reason indeed suggested nothing of this sort; for “they were marrying and being given in marriage” (Luke 17:27); the air was clear, there were no signs [of change], but nevertheless he feared: “By faith”[St. Paul says], “Noah being warned by God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house” (Hebrews 11:7).” … Faith is all. If [faith] stabilizes the heart, then it stands in security. It follows that Faith gives stability, consequently reasonings shake. For Faith is contrary to reasoning.”

“Faith needs: a generous and vigorous soul; and one rising above all things of sense; and passing beyond the weakness of human reasonings. For it is not possible to become a believer, other than by raising one’s self above the common customs [of the world].”

“Everywhere, beloved, we have need of faith — the mother of blessings, the medicine of salvation; and without this, it is impossible to possess any one of the great doctrines. Without this, men are like those who attempt to cross the open sea without a ship; who – for a little while – hold out by swimming, using both bands and feet. However, when they have advanced farther, they are quickly swamped by the waves. In like manner, those who use their own reasonings, before they have learned anything, suffer shipwreck; as also Paul says, “Who concerning faith have made shipwreck.” (1 Tim. i. 19.) In order that this not be the case with us, let us hold fast to the sacred anchor [of faith]…”

“This is what we [should] learn: rather to raise questions, not to solve the questions that are raised. For even if we do solve them, we have not solved them altogether; but (only) as far as man’s reasoning goes. The proper solution of such questions is faith — knowing: that God does all things justly and mercifully, and for the best; that to comprehend the reason of them is impossible. This is the one solution, and no better one exists… This is a chief characteristic of faith: to leave all the consequences of this lower world, and [thereby] seek that which is above nature; … cast out the feebleness of forethought; and accept everything from the Power of God.”

“Faith requires obedience, and not curiosity; and when God commands, one ought to be obedient, not curious.”

“There is need not only of faith, but also of a spiritual way of life — that we may keep the Spirit that was given once for all.”

“Faith is – indeed – great, and brings salvation; and without it, never is it possible to be saved.”

“For the wonderful qualities of faith are two: that it both accomplishes great things, and suffers great things; and regards the suffering as nothing.”

“Wherefore I entreat you: let us use much diligence — both to stand in the right faith, and to show forth an excellent life.”

And a few by Saint Basil the Great…

“We must neither doubt nor hesitate respecting the words of the Lord, but be fully persuaded that every word of God is true and possible — even if nature rebels; for therein is the test of faith.”

“Let the simplicity of Faith be stronger than the deduction of reason.”

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