Old Calendar Theophany

When You, O Lord were baptized in the Jordan
The worship of the Trinity was made manifest
For the voice of the Father bore witness to You
And called You His beloved Son.
And the Spirit, in the form of a dove,
Confirmed the truthfulness of His word.
O Christ, our God, You have revealed Yourself
And have enlightened the world, glory to You!

The Orthodox Church unfortunately follows two calendars, the Julian (Old Calendar) and the Gregorian (New Calendar). All of us follow the Old Calendar when it comes to Easter (Pascha), because despite disagreements within the Church about which calendar to use, we all want to celebrate the Lord's resurrection together. So Pascha and all the time leading up to it, Sarakostí (Lent), and all the time after it up to Pendekostí (Pentecost) are on the Old Calendar. The rest of the year, Orthodox churches in the Western World (Greek mainly, and American Orthodox in the lower 48) follow the New Calendar (the standard calendar reformed during the pontificate of Pope Gregory XIII) so as to be in line with the rest of Christendom. There are now 13 days between the Old and New Calendars, so Theophany (January 6) is observed on January 19 in terms of the standard calendar. Numerically speaking, more Orthodox Christians follow the Old Calendar, and most of the monasteries on Mount Athos use it also. There may be a very good reason for doing so. Two public miracles happen regularly every year in the land of Israel on Old Calendar dates: Pascha (Easter) and Theophany (January 6, but 19 as the world reckons it).

I have known about the public miracle that occurs on Pascha for many years: God sends a mysterious "fire" (phos, in Greek) in the Church of the Resurrection's kouvouklion (the actual tomb of Jesus, inside the church), which lights two bundles of candles that the patriarch takes with him into the tomb. He is searched ahead of time, and so is the tomb, by Israeli authorities, to make sure that there is nothing on him or in the kouvouklion that can be used to make fire. Then the patriarch is sealed into the tomb. After he prays, he waits until the fire appears and lights the candles, which he shoves through two apertures in the wall to worshippers waiting outside. When the Latins (Roman Catholics) took over the church during the Crusades and ejected the Orthodox patriarch, they tried to obtain this "holy fire" but were unable to. In the end they decided that the fire must be some kind of Greek trickery, and left it at that. The fire only appears on Orthodox Easter, except in those years when Orthodox and Western Easter fall on the same day. More about this miracle can be learned at this site.

The other public miracle, I think I heard tell from a Greek priest once, but I forgot all about it until today, when I noticed this post on Fr Milovan's blog, Again and Again. This miracle is the reversal of the flow of water in the Jordan River every year during the Great Blessing of the Waters that takes place on Old Calendar Theophany. Someone correct me if I'm wrong about this, but it seems that this happens only on Old Calendar January 6. As I wrote earlier, this gives one pause to consider whether there is something to the Old Calendar, or at least what it represents, after all. You can see a video of this miracle (or phenomenon, for those who don't believe in miracles) and read about it, by going to Fr Milovan's post, The Jordan Reversed Its Flow!

I just wanted to share this with my brother Christians, as another testimony that Jesus Christ is among still, just as He said He would be, "till the end of the age."
Glory be to Him, to His Father and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Word of God

I have just read the best explanation of the Orthodox view of holy scripture that I have ever found, and I want to point any readers of my blog to it, in case they might also like to read "another point of view" which lies wholly outside the frame of reference and the battle of "science versus the Bible." I have tried to explain this view in my own way many times in my blog, and in testimonies I have given about the Word of God both locally in person, and to people I have met over the internet. I’ve profited much from reading Fr Stephen's post, Is the Bible True? and I hope you will too. Some of his approach is a little different from mine, but we both end up at the same place. These were a few of my favorite passages…

The Bible is not God’s revelation to man: Jesus Christ is God’s revelation to man. The Scriptures bear witness to Him and are thus “true” as a true witness to the God/Man Jesus Christ.

Not only does Scripture treat history as quite relative (Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, He is also the “Lamb slain from the foundations of the earth”), it in fact makes history subject to the end of things - making history simply one aspect of lived eschatology. Thus time and chronology do not govern reality - God governs reality. By the same token, Holy Scripture is a Divine account of reality, not itself explained by chronology nor subject to historical validation, but subject to the Truth as it is made known to us in Jesus Christ.

The Scriptures tell us that Jesus Christ Himself is the Truth. This is not to say that He is the Truth as compared to some external criterion of truth, but rather that He Himself is the criterion and definition of what is true. Things are true and false only as they are compared to Him. He may be compared to nothing else.

Well, I could end up copying Fr Stephen's entire post, but I'd like you to just go to his blog and read it yourself, which you can do by clicking HERE.

Thank you, Fr Stephen, for your testimony on the Word of God.
Axios!

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28 NIV

I commented this on the blog of a Christian brother who had expressed the following…

But what I was doing was trying to remind God of His Words. I was trying to throw the bible at Him and say “Look, God, you said it right here. Are you going to live up to it?”

This is what must happen in the mind of every Christian soul at the beginning of his walk with Christ, particularly in those churches that push this attitude down his throat and tell him it is the right way to think. "Take God at His word!" and "Name it, and claim it" and the so-called Word of Faith preaching that abounds on TBN and is central to the "prosperity gospel"… "God doesn't want you, precious saints, to be poor, so be rich!" and "If you are poor, you do not trust in God enough to bless you." All this pathetic, nauseating, gut-busting, false prophesying just turns my stomach. Forgive me for mentioning it, but it has destroyed individuals, families, even whole churches.

But, as I said, every Christian, perhaps, has had this thought, and it comes from the Bible, especially in Psalms, that if you fear God and keep the commandments, God will bless you.

The first half of my adult Christian life was a gradual proof of this principle, and I really identified with Joseph in Egypt—even though I was “in prison” in the world system, by having faith in God, keeping my mind on the things above, staying simple and uncontaminated by the world, etc., by just being consistent, I found myself being advanced into not only prosperity but even domestic happiness—for a while. Like I said, it seemed like my life was “proving” God’s Word right, just as I expected.

Then, in the second half of my adult Christian life, uh oh, things started changing. From being a mere laborer I had been raised to general manager of a company that I had helped get started; then overnight, one day, for no apparent reason (and none was ever given), after seven years of service I was demoted to the bottom of the corporate pile, becoming the subordinate of a middle manager I had hired (now he was upper management). No matter what I did, I was never allowed to be even a lower manager again. As I said, all this was done to me without any explanation. I should have left, but I didn’t, because I follow the principle of following the cloud: when the cloud moves, I move. The cloud didn’t move! Oh well, so much for identifying with Joseph in Egypt. But this was not all.

Gradually (now that I look back, I can see it started about twenty years ago), my domestic life, wife and family, started going awry. What about the rewards of a man who fears Yahweh? “Your wife a fruitful vine on the inner walls of your house, your sons around your table like olive shoots,” and all that kind of blessing. Everything was developing so nicely, not that we didn’t have periodic challenges on the material level, but the spiritual blessings made up for them—until some dark shadow started coming between family members, driving us apart like an irresistible wedge. Now, I have found a new character from the Bible to identify with—Job. All this time I have feared God, fulfilled the commandments, kept away from sin, etc., etc., and look at me now! I’m not sitting in the ash pit scraping my sores, not yet anyway, but where did the “blessing” go, and why?

I have been studying the book of Job a lot lately, but I don’t presume to compare what has been happening to me with what happened to him. Still, the mystery is there, and I am exploring it because I have no choice. God’s will is inscrutable, and He is not a tame God, yet He is not capricious either—He works everything to obtain the good of His worshippers, even when the things that happen to them don’t fulfill the “promises” and the “blessings” in the pages of scripture.

The result of my life experience of 33 years as an adult Christian is that I trust God more than ever, and trust myself less, including how I view what happens to me. I don’t use the Bible anymore (if I ever did) to “gauge” God’s promises against my expectations, or to keep accounts to make sure I am being rewarded by Him tit for tat. The fact alone that God is, and that He is with me, whatever more could I want or desire? As for His blessing and protection, why it’s always been there even in the worst of circumstances. As deep as the hole is that we can ever fall into, He is always waiting at the bottom to break our fall, and lift us up, perhaps in a way we never could have imagined.

Blaise Pascal carried his testimony on a piece of parchment sewn into the inner lining of a jacket that he always wore. I carry a piece of my testimony, which I wrote down in a time of great anxiety and trouble that I was going through about fifteen years ago, in the inner fold of my wallet. It’s written on a now much frayed old piece of yellow notepad paper. I will take it out of my wallet, and copy down what it says for me and you…

In times of suffering and distress
remember that the Holy Spirit is still present with you.
Hardships are there to remind us that we are,
after all, only disciples.
And Jesus can walk anywhere.
7/27/92

There, I’ve put it back in the little zipper-protected hiding place inside my wallet. I haven’t looked at it in a couple of years, but it is in this knowledge and realization that I have been living my life at least since the time I wrote it down.

Where did the words come from?
Oh, nowhere in particular, just from the Lord.
You see, He talks to me a lot,
and sometimes I actually listen.

If you desire…

Here I am stealing again, Romanós the thief. "The thieves were stealers, but reason condemned Him, and the grave was empty where they had laid Him." (Incredible String Band, Job's Tears)
I have run across a testimony of great value, translated from the Serbian by Fr Milovan and published at his blog Again and Again.
If the passage I am quoting below sounds helpful to you, read the entire piece by clicking the link If you desire…

If it is to be first you desire, be last. If to rule, be the servant. If to be heard, be silent. You desire to have, then give. If you desire to buy, then save. If it is a well mannered child you desire, nourish him. If a learned child, teach him. If the love of the child, love him first. If respect, respect them first. If honor, love those around you. If you desire they love you, suffer long, be amiable, do not get angry, nor exaggerate, nor boast. Love your neighbors and you, too, will be loved. If you desire to be God’s, do good for life, respect your older brother and you will have the respect of the younger one…

The testimony from which this passage was taken is of Fr Simon Turkic, a Serbian Orthodox presbyter. The translation of the entire testimony into English is by Fr Milovan Katanic.

Thank you, Fr Milovan!

He never did take off his hat

In my childhood in Chicago, Gypsies were the people who lived in store fronts and hung sheets in the display windows for privacy. They told fortunes, and you had to be desperate to go and knock on the window or door of a Gypsy "tent" and ask for an oracle, since (believe it or not) fortune-telling for money was illegal in those days. I don't ever remember seeing Gypsy children.

In Portland, I met the Gypsies. They are likeable folk, and the years between childhood and manhood having passed through the marches of Hippiedom, for me there was no strangeness in dealing with or seeing them.

They have a local hierarchy. The "king of the Gypsies" lives on a large suburban estate on the east side of town in a rambling ranch house surrounded by immaculate white corral fencing, and there are cast lions on either side of the driveway entrance. My godmother, who is a real estate professional, knows the king (or knew him, I heard he recently passed away, and I'm not sure who his successor is), and many other gypsies. They tend to interface more with our women than with us men, except in the case of an incident I will now relate.

One day a late middle aged gypsy gentleman waltzed into Aghía Triás church after liturgy had started, like most of us do. He was wearing a floppy hat hung with pins, had on a nice Gypsy sport jacket with a clutch of numerous heavy occult and Christian trinkets and baubles suspended against his chest between its lapels. He gamboled down the middle aisle, which none of us would do, and found a seat right in the center of the sanctuary, grinning broadly as he looked about him in an outgoing manner.

Communion time finally came, and I wondered what he would do.

As the usher invited the people in his pew to enter the communion line that forms in center aisle, surprisingly he left his place and stepped right in line, grinning and flirting with the children and babies like a clown. I was far enough back to where I never even got into the line while he approached Father Elias (eternal be his memory) holding the Communion cup and spoon.

As the Gypsy came face to face with Father Elias, there was a distinct pause, and you could see that Father was questioning him. (Communion is only for the Orthodox, and a stranger has to identify himself to the priest in order to receive communion.) After the brief interruption, it looked like Father Elias gave the Gypsy communion, and the man walked off, forgetting to pick up a chunk of antídoron (the bread of fellowship we all take after receiving communion) as he walked back. (Gypsies are sometimes Orthodox.)

Smiling now more broadly than ever, and even chortling audibly to himself as he flashed happy eyes at everyone he passed on the side aisle, he finally came to my row, though I was standing in the middle, not the end, of the pew. At the end, however, stood a very handsome Greek-American man groomed and dressed in Country Western style, complete with gleaming cowboy boots, someone whom I knew slightly, but a very private kind of guy and perhaps a little older than me.

As the Gypsy came up to him, he suddenly turned aside toward my friend, grabbed him in an irresistible bear hug, and planted a big, luscious kiss on his cheek, let him go briefly, gave him a mighty friendly handshake, and then continued on his way down the side aisle, and out the door.

I looked back over my shoulder to see where he went. Still smiling and congratulating the people standing around in the narthex by brusquely shaking their hands, he passed out of view, out the door and into the street.

He never did take off his hat.

He proved himself their saviour

He proved himself their saviour
in all their troubles,
It was neither messenger nor angel
But his presence that saved them.
Isaiah 63:8b-9a Jerusalem Bible

Though there are indeed angels, as scripture informs us, to do God’s bidding, as did the one named Gabriel in bringing to the Jewish girl Mary the good news that she had found favor with YHWH, Israel’s saviour and the world’s only living God, and had been chosen to bear His people’s King, His Son, though she had known no man and was yet a virgin—it is YHWH Himself through His presence among us that saves us, and nothing but nothing else, and that, only when we respond to His call with, “Yes, Lord, let it be done unto me according to Your Word.”

Religious animals

Sometimes it seems to me that modern man, modern Christian man, is no better off with regard to God than were his ancient pagan ancestors. The gods of the nations, our old gods, were very mysterious, very enigmatic, hiding themselves from us by day, revealing themselves to us in fleeting, dreamlike encounters by night, fostering an ever-increasing legacy of mythology that, poetic though it was, offered no real clues that could be followed to their source. As C. S. Lewis mused in his greatest novel Till We Have Faces, “why must holy places be dark places?”

So the modern Christian often complains of finding God, his God, mysterious, elusive, unresponsive, disprovidential, and even absent. It makes good subject matter for book writers, both for those who lodge the complaint and for those who seek to defend God against it, as well as for those who try to lay down some method to track and trap God, so that the believer can finally pin Him down and make Him own up to His responsibilities.

All this comes from a pre-existing religious condition in mankind. This is something that, like original sin, seems to be universal. Every race of mankind has it, something like a spiritual birth defect, a built-in compensation for original sin. It makes mankind a species of religious animals, always trying to cover up their nakedness before God, while simultaneously shifting the blame elsewhere, and hoping to gain God’s approval somehow.

Religious animals is what we became after the fall of Adam. Before that fall, there was no such thing as religion. Man walked with God, and God walked with man. Our mutual familiarity and intimate friendship left no room for religious exercises. We walked with God, He walked with us. That was all the exercise we had need of.

But after the fall, what do we find?
Starting with Adam’s grandson Enosh the son of Seth, scripture says, “At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD” (Genesis 4:26 NIV). Now it’s not a bad thing to call upon the name of the Lord, but it shows perhaps that we believe that God is somewhere else, or that we are, and He has to be called. Hence, religion came into being as a channel of communication with Him with whom we used to talk face to face.

Now, this is where we find ourselves in the natural man. An opaque veil shrouds us from the Divine Nature, to protect us, in the same way that the Ark of the Covenant is shrouded when carried among the people, not to hide the Ark from their eyes, but to protect them from it. The natural man follows after the First Adam, no longer able to walk with God because of sin, or to see Him and speak to Him face to face.

There has come a Second Adam, however, who like the first is called “the Son of God” but who, unlike the first, has not disobeyed and fallen. He still walks with the Lord and speaks to Him face to face, and this ability to speak to the Father and to walk with Him side by side, as in the Garden, He has given “to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name.” To them, to us, “He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13 NIV). This is something that appears quite incredible to the world, and to the natural man, but to the spiritual man, the man of faith, this is an open door. The Second Adam has opened the gates of Paradise to us, starting with the repentant thief who, not being able to steal the things of this world anymore because he was nailed like Jesus to a cross, stole something immeasurably greater, re-admittance to the Garden, going in as thoroughly naked as an infant enters into this world.

What happened to the religious animal that is the natural man? Walking in the Garden with Jesus, side by side with His Father and our Father, speaking to Them both face to face as one speaks to his friend, religion like the skins of animals has been left behind without being replaced by fig leaves.

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.”
Luke 2:14 NIV

Canonized by Jesus

This year so far, thank God, I don't seem to have any thoughts of my own. I've been stealing good words and good thoughts right and left, from the holy scriptures and from the brethren. This afternoon, looking at a blog post on OrthoDixie, my attention was turned once again to the good thief, the man who was crucified next to Jesus, and who said, "Lord, remember me when you come into Your Kingdom," and to whom Christ replied, "I tell you truly, this day you will be with Me in paradise."

Looking this man up in Wikipedia (he has been given a personal name in the Orthodox Church—Dysmas), I found this interesting passage (the first line, especially, grabbed me for some reason):

Though never canonized by the church, "Dismas" carries the distinction of being the only human to be canonized by Jesus himself, if by 'canonized' one means the formal recognition of a person's place in heaven. According to tradition, the Good Thief was crucified at Jesus' right hand, and the other thief was crucified at his left. For this reason, depictions of the crucifixion often show Jesus' head inclined to his right, showing his acceptance of the Good Thief.

In the Russian Orthodox Church, both crucifixes and crosses are usually made with three bars: the top one, representing the titulus (the inscription that Pontius Pilate wrote and was nailed above Jesus' head; the longer crossbar on which Jesus' hands were nailed; and a slanted bar at the bottom representing the footrest to which Jesus' feet were nailed. The footrest is slanted, pointing up towards the Good Thief, and pointing down towards the other.

The biblical account of the repentant thief is foundational to the teaching of the church regarding Baptism of desire, whereby one who desires baptism, but is prevented by circumstances beyond his control from actually being baptized, may be saved by the grace and mercy of God. Traditionalist Catholics who argue that the Church has never taught Baptism of Desire say that Dismas died and was saved under the Old Law, not under the New Law in which all must be baptized.

Just for the record, I strongly disagree with the last line in the preceding paragraph.

Oh, and I guess I do have a thought of my own after all—if I should ever hope to be canonized as a saint, I too want to be canonized by Jesus!

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Matthew 16:24-26 NIV

In general about the close of the age…

Last week I was going through a book shelf that I don't visit very much. All the books I use on a regular basis are in my little office, the "cave," but the upstairs book shelf has books that I've read once and didn't really need to read again… with some exceptions, as I found out!

There I found a softbound booklet with colorful glossy covers that I'd forgotten I even owned, a publication of Orthodox Kypseli Publications, of Thessalonica, Greece—the city whose church the holy apostle Paul wrote two letters to, both of which had teachings about the end times, and in the first of which occurs one of my favorite Greek words, ἁρπαγησόμεθα (arpaghisómetha, Greek, "to take by force" or "be caught up"), describing one of the events of the last days, "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

Having quite forgotten what this booklet contained, and thinking it might be an Orthodox interpretation of the book of Revelation, I started perusing it. As I did, it came back to me that this was not an interpretation of Revelation at all, but on the contrary, just passages from scripture and the Church fathers that offered us who are living at the close of the age instructions and guidelines to follow, so we will not be lost. This is very much in keeping with the sorts of things I have written both in my blog, A ramble on Revelation, and in comments on the subject to others. I was happy to see that all I've been doing is handing over what was handed to me in this booklet.

I'm also posting the front and back covers of the booklet. The back cover shows the whole icon from which I used an excerpt, a close up of Christ with the seven stars in His hand on my post ごらんなさい 私はすべてを新しくします. Both images will come up large if you click on them, even though the back cover is shown smaller (right).

Here are some excerpts I'd like to share for the benefit of the brothers who are not within the Orthodox koinonía. (This booklet is an English translation out of a modern Greek original, and somewhat awkward in places. I have not edited anything.)

The Revelation of the Evangelist Saint John the theologian is the last godly inspired book of the New Testament. It was written on Patmos in 95 A.D. and comprises 22 Chapters, which refer to prophecies which are mainly ecclesiastical, political and about wars. What people could not even think about one hundred years ago, [e.g., the possibility of nuclear wars] the Book of Revelation foretold nearly 1,900 years ago.

It is time for the godly inspired book of the Revelation of the Evangelist John the Theologian to be studied by all the faithful Christians, in order to avoid the dreadful traps which the instruments of the Antichrist are craftily setting up. The Holy Spirit Himself urges us to do this through the godly-wise Evangelist, John, not only to hear and read; but also to keep the godly inspired words it teaches us, telling us: "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep what is written in them. For the time is near" (Revelation 1:3)

The word of God is always useful to us, especially during these last wicked times; when, because of our many and great sins, the all-seeing God will allow the just punishment of unrepentant humanity with a multitude of great afflictions.

The signs of the times shout to us that we are living in apocalyptic times, and the things which the Holy Spirit has prophesied about our days are being fulfilled. Our general apostasy bears witness to the worldly and satanic train of thought—contrary to God's will—that imbues us.

Then, the booklet first goes through the New Testament, particularly the epistles, quotes passages, then applies them to how we must conduct ourselves in the last days. After it reviews the teachings of the Bible, it then gives a number of quotations from the Church fathers, and also shows how to apply them in the last days.

This little booklet in all is only 45 pages long, and it was prepared and published in Greece, where as a result of being absorbed into the European Union, Christians are starting to see the beginnings of the regime of Antichrist. Reading it, I wondered to myself if they weren't perhaps "jumping the gun" on some things, but then, mentally looking around where I live, maybe we are just not as vigilant as they, or as perceptive.

As we prepare to enter the "new era" promised by the supporters of our next American president, let's continue to be watchful, for as the Word of God says, "the time is close."

Καλημέρα Πάντες ω! Αδελφοί

The Lord's Epiphany
Kaftoun, Mount Lebanon.
Anonymous, 13th Century A.D.

The epigraphy of the icon is written in three languages: In Greek, we find below the circle segment in the center, the main inscription: "The Baptism", above Jesus' crucifix halo: "Jesus Christ". In the upper left corner abbreviated: "The Prophet David" and in the upper right corner: "The Prophet Isaiah". In Syriac, on the open scroll that the prophet Isaiah holds in his hand, we read a composed text: "Thus the LORD has spoken: Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." (Isaiah 1: 16; 12: 3). In Arabic, on the scroll held by David: "The sea saw it and fled; Jordan turned back. The mountains skipped like rams, The little hills like the lambs of the forest. What ails you, O sea, that you fled? O Jordan, that you turned back?" (Psalm 114) "The waters saw You, O God, the waters saw You and were troubled."

The music that is playing when you enter this blog is my favorite Greek Epiphany song. The commemoration of the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan by the honourable prophet and forerunner John the Baptist is coming up quickly, January 6th to be exact. I want to share this song with everyone who visits my blog. Of course, on the eighth day of Epiphany, I'll be removing the song. If you like it as much as I do, you can download it from here.

Καλημέρα Πάντες ω! Αδελφοί, ακούσατε την σήμερον εορτήν.
Σήμερον τα Φώτα και εορτή και λαμπρά ημέρα δεσποτική.
Καλημέρα, καλημέρα, καλή σου μέρα αφέντη με την κερά.

Εν αρχή ως ήρχισεν ο Θεός εποίησεν την γην και τον ουρανόν.
Ύστερον δε πάλιν από αυτά, έκαμεν τα ζώα και τα φυτά.
Έκαμεν την θάλασσαν, ποταμούς, τον μέγαν Ιορδάνην και αλλουνούς.
Καλημέρα, καλημέρα, καλή σου μέρα αφέντη με την κερά.

Ο Αδάμ και η Εύα ημάρτησαν και εις αμαρτίαν υπέπεσαν.
Την απάτην στον όφην την έριξαν και του θεού δεν είπαν πως έφταιξαν.
Αλλ’ ο όφις ήτον διάβολος, των πονηρών δαιμόνων διδάσκαλος.
Καλημέρα, καλημέρα, καλή σου μέρα αφέντη με την κερά.

Μα ο Ιησούς ο φιλάνθρωπος ήρθεν εις τον κόσμον ως άνθρωπος.
δια να λυτρώσει πάντας ημάς από αυτάς τας χείρας τας μιαράς.
Καλημέρα, καλημέρα, καλή σου μέρα αφέντη με την κερά.

Και τον Ιωάννην εζήτησεν και στο βάπτισμά του τον έκραξεν.
«Ιωάννη Πρόδρομε σου ζητώ, στον μέγαν Ιορδάνην να βαπτιστώ».
Καλημέρα, καλημέρα, καλή σου μέρα αφέντη με την κερά.

Και ο Ιωάννης του έλεγεν και σφοδρώς το σώμαν του έτρεμεν.
«Πώς να σε βαπτίσω ω! Λυτρωτά όπου η χειρ μου τρέμει και δειλιά!
Πως τολμώ να βάλω την χείραν μου, εις την κορυφήν του Σωτήρα μου»!
Καλημέρα, καλημέρα, καλή σου μέρα αφέντη με την κερά.

«Άφες φόβον Πρόδρομε σου ζητώ στον μέγαν Ιορδάνην να βαπτιστώ».
Τότε τον βαφτίζει ο Βαπτιστής και έλαμψεν η έρημος παρ’ ευθύς.
Καλημέρα, καλημέρα, καλή σου μέρα αφέντη με την κερά.

Και το πνεύμα ως είδος περιστεράς και λεπτής και ωραίας και καθαράς.
Και φωνή ηκούσθην εκ’ του πατρός, «ούτος είν’ ο υιός μ’ ο αγαπητός»
και τα χερουβείμ θυμιάζουσιν και τα σεραφείμ τον δοξάζουσιν.
Καλημέρα, καλημέρα, καλή σου μέρα αφέντη με την κερά.

Δια τούτο πάντες ω! Αδελφοί ακούσατε την σήμερον εορτήν.
Να την εορτάσομεν αδελφοί, ότι είν’ ημέρα δεσποτική.
Καλημέρα, καλημέρα, καλή σου μέρα αφέντη με την κερά.

Και εις έτη πολλά. Και του χρόνου να ’στε καλά.

A very loose translation of this song is in the first comment…

Λειτουργία — Worship

As the door of the year AD 2008 closes, and that of the year AD 2009 opens, the Lord finds me with Him in the apostle’s letter to the Hebrews, cover to cover. In the twelfth chapter we find what describes heavenly worship…

What you have come to is nothing known to the senses.
Hebrews 12:18a

What you have come to is Mount Zion and the city of the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem where the millions of angels have gathered for the festival, with the whole Church in which everyone is a “first-born son” and a citizen of Heaven. You have come to God Himself, the supreme Judge, and been placed with the spirits of the saints who have been made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator who brings a new Covenant and a Blood for purification which pleads more insistently than Abel’s. Make sure that you never refuse to listen when He speaks.
Hebrews 12:22-25a

We have been given possession of an unshakable Kingdom. Let us therefore hold on to the grace that we have been given and use it to worship God in a way that He finds acceptable, in reverence and fear. For our God is a consuming fire.
Hebrews 12:28-29

…and in the thirteenth chapter, how we are to walk in the presence of Jesus, our great High Priest…

Continue to love each other like brothers, and always remember to welcome strangers, for by doing this, some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Keep in mind those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; and those who are being badly treated, since you too are in the one Body. Marriage is to be honored by all, and marriages are to be kept undefiled, because fornicators and adulterers will come under God’s judgment. Put greed out of your lives and be content with whatever you have; God Himself has said, “I will not fail you or desert you,” and so we can say with confidence: With the Lord to help me, I fear nothing: what can man do to me?
Hebrews 13:1-6

Remember your leaders who preached the Word of God to you, and as you reflect on the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same today as He was yesterday and as He will be forever.
Hebrews 13:7-8

…and finally, in the apostle’s own words, my prayer for the new year.

I pray that the God of peace, who brought our Lord Jesus back from the dead to become the great Shepherd of the sheep by the Blood that sealed an eternal Covenant, may make [us] ready to do His will in any kind of good action; and turn us all into whatever is acceptable to Himself through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:20-21

Revelation 1:8

Ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ Α καὶ τὸ Ω, λέγει Κύριος ὁ Θεός, ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος, ὁ παντοκράτωρ.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

ごらんなさい 私はすべてを新しくします

Goran nasai. Watashi wa subete o atarashiku shimasu.

ἰδοὺ καινὰ ποιῶ πάντα
Behold, I make all things new.
(Revelation 21:5 KJV)

Naikū 内宮, the great shrine at Ise 伊勢, Japan, is the earthly residence of the sun goddess Amaterasu 天照, who is the divine ancestor of the imperial family.
According to the Nihon shoki 日本書紀, around 2,000 years ago Yamatohime-no-mikoto, daughter of Emperor Suinin, set out from Mt. Miwa in search of a permanent location to worship the goddess Amaterasu, wandering for 20 years through the regions of Ohmi and Mino. Her search eventually brought her to Ise, where she established Naikū after hearing the voice of Amaterasu saying, "Ise is a secluded and pleasant land. In this land I wish to dwell." Previously, Amaterasu had been worshiped at the Imperial residence in Yamato, then briefly at Kasanui in the eastern Nara basin.
Strangely, the traditional establishment date of the shrine is 4 B.C., the same year as Jesus of Nazareth is thought to have been born. The first shrine building at Naikū was erected by Emperor Temmu (678-686), with the first ceremonial rebuilding being carried out by his wife, Empress Jito, in 692. It is the ceremonial rebuilding of the shrine that concerns us. The shrine buildings at Naikū and Gekū, as well as the Uji Bridge, are rebuilt every 20 years as a part of the Shinto belief of the death and renewal of nature and as a way of passing building techniques from one generation to the next. The next rebuilding of Ise Shrine is due in 2013.

The wood to rebuild the shrines comes from a sacred mountain where the gods are supposed to dwell. No one cuts wood there, except to rebuild or repair shrines or the imperial residences. The Japanese emperor is considered divine.

There are always telltale traces of the Gospel truth scattered throughout the pagan religions, of ancient times as well as those of today. Why is this? In my view, it seems to me that this is part of the preparation of all nations for receiving the Good News of Jesus Christ before He comes to them. Just as satan plants tares among the wheat, so does our God plant wheat among the tares, hints, so to speak. He does this, so that when Jesus Christ the Son of God arrives in a culture, He isn’t a total stranger, and His words are not completely unintelligible. The Good News, in fact, reveals the full significance of the hints planted in each culture, and completes them.

There are many hints in Japanese culture, that Jesus comes to build upon and complete, if we let Him. This rebuilding of temples every generation is not done only to teach carpentry skills and as a symbol of the renewal of nature. Far from it! What this rebuilding demonstrates is the acts of the living and true God, who says, “Behold, I make all things new,” and He not only says it, He does it as well. As followers of Jesus and disciples of the Word of God, we should take this lesson to heart. Even among the pagan myths and customs can be found reminders of, and even correctives to, our faith and works. The Christian world has built mightily and in everlasting stone the temples where we worship, and this may demonstrate some aspect of God’s sovereignty. But if the Church is the people of God, and the Temple of the living One, well, I think we can learn something from the Japanese about the crafting of buildings for worship, don’t you?

Earlier this year, I was in Japan with Brock, my synergos and brother in Christ, for two full weeks, and Ise was one of the places we visited. Brock later returned and lived and worked in Japan for three months with our friend Taka. What we both observed, especially Brock during his longer stay, is the pervasive, rampant and hopeless materialism of many of the Japanese people. I don’t mean that there aren’t spiritual people in Japan. There certainly are those who have leisure and resources to pursue the many historic and artistic traditions that comprise their religious culture. But the majority of people are driven to work hard, almost to knock themselves out achieving, and then trying to fill what little leisure time they have with meaningless pastimes—gambling, drinking or entertainment—and their souls have no real refreshment. Life is accepted with a kind of hopeless fatalism.

Shinto is an animistic religion. Everything in the world, especially in the wild, is inhabited by spirits. The human response to this ranges from superstitious fear to veneration of what they know not, except by traditional myths. Worship consists mostly in asking for favors, and seeking oracles about the future. This goes very deep, much deeper than what we consider “superstition” in the West. We haven’t seen the likes of this in our cultures for a thousand years, and our wiccans and druids are paltry posers compared to the priests of Shinto and the devotees of the shrines. To an ordinary tourist, it adds color and flavor to a visit to Japan. But the Japanese people, who think of themselves as the only divine race and their land as the country of the gods, are in need of salvation as much as anyone. Whether they or we realise it enough, the traditional culture and religion of Japan is very close to spiritual implosion, much as Greco-Roman culture was in the time of Christ. And our response is…?

Our visit was during the Orthodox Easter season, and we attended liturgy at Nagoya’s Annunciation Orthodox church, a very small, humble community meeting in a large converted house. The service was chanted in the archaic form of Japanese that was translated by the original 19th century Russian missionaries. My friend Taka who agreed to come with us is not a Christian, but we had hopes he would hear something in the morning service of Holy Saturday that would confirm our witness to him about Christ’s power over sin and death. He couldn’t understand a thing he heard! It was as meaningless to him as were the Buddhist mantras chanted at the morning service at Kosho-ji temple.

The Orthodox community has purchased land in central Nagoya for the erection of a proper church. I saw the model. It will be a replica of an 11th century Russian cathedral, an imposing cube with arches along the roof line and covered with numerous domes. This is what the people of Nagoya will see when they pass by—a Russian cultural phenomenon. That is what Christ will be for them.

My mind wanders back to Ise, and the shrines that get torn down and rebuilt of new materials every twenty years. A religion of nature spirits is infused with hints of the Christ who makes all things new, and the faith of Jesus is overlaid with the crust of a thousand years of plaster and gilding. When witnessing Christ to a nation without tradition, without history or roots, show them the ancient Tree and teach them how to eat of its fruit and live forever. When witnessing Christ to a nation enslaved to tradition, history and the nature gods of its ancient land, show them the living Christ who makes all things new, who empties Hades of its captives, and who walks among them, unhindered by our past, gathering His sheep.

What we do not see

This is Christmas time, the part of the church year focusing on the incarnation of the Word of God in Jesus Christ. Yet an Orthodox presbyter who has a wonderful blog has posted some remarkable insights on—the Resurrection.

In an old book that I have in my library (Early Christian Prayers) which was a discard from Mount Angel Abbey, and which I picked up for a buck at a used book store in Albany, Oregon in 1975, occurs these words quoting the paschal homily of John Chrysostom:

Isaias knew it would be so,
The world of shadows mourned, he cried,
when it met you,
mourned at its bringing low, wept at its deluding.
The shadows seized a body
and found it was God;
they reached for earth
and what they held was heaven;
they took what they could see:
it was what no one sees…

This is the passage I thought of when I read the title of Fr Stephen's post.

Here are a few passages from What we do not see. If you want to read the whole post (which is perhaps only twice as long as this excerpt), just click on the link at the end. You will not regret it.

There are many who want to speak about the resurrection as if it were a car wreck down at the corner drugstore. Whatever it was (is), it is very much more, even, indeed, something completely different - not like anything else.

And it is here, that the continuing problem of vision is made manifest. Orthodox Christian writers are wont to utter things like, “God will save the world through beauty” (Dostoevsky), or “Icons will save the world” (recently in First Things) all of which makes some people want to run out and complain. But at their heart, such statements are trying to say something about the nature of the resurrection and its action in our world.

The resurrection of Christ is something completely new. It is a manifestation of God unlike anything we have ever known. It is Truth made manifest in the flesh - not the truth to be found in an average living man. I am 55 and I look very unlike what I did at 10. I look decidedly unlike what I will in another 100 years (you probably wouldn’t like to see that). Thus we never see anything in an eternal state. But the resurrection is just that. It does not belong exactly to the classification of “things created,” for it is the “uncreated” before our eyes.

And thus the Church paints the things that pertain to the resurrection (including the saints) in an iconic fashion - not like portraiture or the “truth” that generally lies before our eyes. Icons paint the Truth as it appears to eyes that behold the resurrection. By the same token, the Church does not write about the resurrection in the way we write about other things, for the resurrection is not one of the other things but a thing that is unlike anything else. Thus the Fathers of the Church said that “icons do with color what Scripture does with words.”
And both have something to do with vision…

Read everything from start to finish here.

Axios, Father Stephen, áxios!

η γενεσις του Ιησου Χριστου

This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)

Her husband Joseph, being a man of honor and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:19-21)

Some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east. "Where is the infant king of the Jews?" they asked. "We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage."
(Matthew 2:1b-2)

And there in front of them was the star they had seen rising; it went forward and halted over the place where the child was. (Matthew 2:9b)

Joseph set out from the town of Nazareth in Galilee and traveled up to Judaea, to the town of David called Bethlehem, since he was of David's house and line, in order to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to a son, her first-born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger. (Luke 2:4-7)

In the countryside close by there were shepherds who lived in the fields and took it in turns to watch their flocks during the night. (Luke 2:8)

The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shown around them. They were terrified, but the angel said, "Do not be afraid! Listen! I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a savior has been born to you: he is Christ the Lord. And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." And suddenly with the angel there was a great throng of the heavenly host, praising God and singing, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace to men who enjoy his favor." (Luke 2:9-14)

Listen, you heavens; earth attend for Yahweh is speaking, "I reared sons, I brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner and the ass its master's crib, Israel knows nothing, my people understands nothing." (Isaiah 1:2-3)

A shoot springs from the stock of Jesse, a scion thrusts from his roots: on him the spirit of Yahweh rests, a spirit of wisdom and insight, a spirit of counsel and power, a spirit of knowledge and the fear of Yahweh. (Isaiah 11:1-2)

His state was divine, yet he did not cling
to his equality with God but emptied himself
to assume the condition of a slave,
and became as all men are.
(Philippians 2:6-7)

The Word was made flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father's heart, who has made him known. (John 1:18)

As for me…

As for me, my spirit is all humble devotion to the Cross: the Cross which so greatly offends the unbelievers, but is salvation and eternal life to us. Where is your wise man now, or your subtle debater? Where are the fine words of our so-called intellectuals? Under the Divine dispensation, Jesus Christ our God was conceived by Mary of the seed of David and the Spirit of God; He was born, and He submitted to baptism, so that by His Passion He might sanctify water.

Mary's virginity was hidden from the prince of this world; so was her child-bearing, and so was the death of the Lord. All these three trumpet-tongued secrets were brought to pass in the deep silence of God.

How then were they made known to the world?
Up in the heavens a star gleamed out, more brilliant than all the rest; no words could describe its lustre, and the strangeness of it left men bewildered. The other stars and the sun and moon gathered round it in chorus, but this star outshone them all. Great was the ensuing perplexity; where could this newcomer have come from, so unlike its fellows?

Everywhere magic crumbled away before it; the spells of sorcery were all broken, and superstition received its death-blow. The age-old empire of evil was overthrown, for God was now appearing in human form to bring in a new order, even life without end. Now that which had been perfected in the Divine counsels began its work; and all creation was thrown into a ferment over this plan for the utter destruction of death.

— Ignatios of Antioch, Letter to the Ephesians

Mother Gavrilía in India

God had sent her to India. At the time, she herself did not know why. What is important, though, is that all who came to know her, whether Indians or Westerners, saw and recognized in her a completely different way of life. They saw and discovered the ascetic character, the humility and deep spirituality that Orthodoxy has preserved through the centuries. Those of the East saw another West. Those of the West saw their own East, the existence of which they did not even suspect. Had any other «missionaries» identified themselves, to such an extent, with those they served? [Yes!—J. Hudson Taylor] Who had ever eaten, drunk, slept or travelled the way these people ate, drank, slept or travelled? Who else had done that? In those days, too, almost all the «missionarizing» lived, wherever they went, under exceptional conditions—good hotels, special food and water, comfortable travelling arrangements—so as to care better for «their» Locals. Who were these people they were calling «theirs»? By never assuming this (sometimes imperceptible and latent in Missionary work) attitude of superiority towards those one is ministering [to], she always tended and helped without hurting… Yes… This is why her passage left a deep mark. «Indeed, I have become everything in turn to men of every sort» (1 Corinthians 9:22). Actually, she never preached Orthodoxy, but rather, catechized with the heart, without words, with the unique example of her own life.

—The Ascetic of Love, p. 47,
a biography, with her sayings and personal testimonies,
of Gavrilía Papayánni (1897-1992)

Some of the sayings (numbered as in the book)…
4. Orthodox spirituality is knowledge acquired through suffering, rather than through learning.
7. There is nothing cheaper than money.
29. True inner progress begins only when a person stops reading anything but the Gospel.
45. The faculty of judgment (Greek, krísis) comes naturally to man. Criticism (Greek, katákrisis) and reproval spring from malice. Discernment (Greek, dhiákrisis) is a gift from God, and we should pray for it; it is essential to our protection and progress.
48. When we must be helped, God will send someone to us. We are all fellow-travellers.
58. We are the first to feel the joy we give to others.
63. Miracle is the normal course of events according to God's will. What we call a Miracle is only what is natural to God.
81. Do what you must do, and God will do what He must do.
85. We must not «surrender» to His will. This is what soldiers do. We, who are His children, must offer Him our own will along with all our being—and tell Him: «Lord, take all my faults and imperfections and set them right».
99. Some of the sailors on a ship may quarrel and fight each other, but the ship sails on and reaches its destination. The same is true of the Church, because Christ Himself is at the helm.
101. Love alone is enought to make a miracle happen. Neither prayer nor the komboskini (prayer rope) have such power.
115. If we are interrupted while speaking, we must not continue. It means that what we were about to say should not be heard. The Angels do this.
124. To love someone with all one's soul is to pray for him. Whoever has this experience is in Paradise.
157. Never take part in a conversation when someone is being criticised or commented upon.
173. If you want to do something, do not announce it openly. In this way it will materialize in words rather than in reality. So, keep it secret from everybody until the last moment.
175. Speaking spontaneously about God comes truly from God, whereas in «preaching» the Ego comes first. In the first case, the seed takes root, in the second it does not.
201. Two things are of great importance: «Love one another» and «Do not be afraid; only have faith».
244. Only men of God who make no compromises can recognize each other.
258. Every person is «sent».
386. We should be interested neither in the other person's response nor in the results of our efforts. We must simply try—God will do the rest.

What do I mean by these words

What do I mean by these words
which contradict each other?
What is this course I am counseling
that seems to lead nowhere sound?

These words,
like sparks spraying
from the sharpening wheel,
while what really is the matter
is shaped and sharpened,

they only indicate,
not the direction of my soul
nor advice to any,
but there is a wheel turning,
and one fashioning a tool
somewhere.

Again, seek,
stopping to undo your shoes,
the holy mountain,
and then cease,
dropping to your knees
beside the stream
that issues from the root
of an enormous tree,
flowering and bearing fruit
like a luscious fountain,
and know this — unlike my poems,
this is no dream,
only attainable ingress
into living eternity.

Leave behind all the talk
lavishing your spirit.
Approach the source of song,
more searing as you near it.

After words,
return to your proper place and peel
the skin from your eyes
that were so draped and darkened.

They only vindicate,
not the inspection of your soul
nor the price of plenty,
but Wisdom is wild,
learning does not languish
in its lair.

Where have you been by your own words,
my sister or my brother?
Take your resourcefulness querying
beyond me to holy ground.

—Romanós

The blood, and the joy, of freedom

It is meet and right to sing of Thee, to bless Thee, to praise Thee, to give thanks to Thee, to worship Thee. For Thou art God ineffable, incomprehensible, invisible, inconceivable;
Thou art from everlasting, and art ever the same.
Prayer at the Anáphora

This is a hymn of apophatic theology, an apophatic exclamation.
In other words, it is a hymn born from the life of the Cross and Resurrection, from the inalienable joy and life which come through the Cross into all the world. It is meet and right for God to be everywhere hymned, blessed, praised, thanked and worshipped by man because He is ineffable, incomprehensible, inconceivable, and from everlasting and ever the same. If He were not invisible and incomprehensible, He would not be God and it would not be worth the trouble of singing of Him; indeed it would be wrong for us to do anything of the sort. As it is, He keeps us watchful and sober, and gives us life through incorruption.

What reassurance this gift from the Liturgy brings!
What an opening into life, what a victory this is!

We give thanks, we hymn, we bless God for the difficulties we have, for what we cannot approach or attain. For it is these things alone, as realities and trials and not artificial verbal constructions, that pour into the veins of our existence the blood of freedom and life which the living God has given us and gives us still.

We are nothing and less than nothing, and He who is all and more than all draws near, and becomes permanently one with us: one soul, one body. He gives His soul and body, the whole of His divinity and His humanity to us.

If He were not invisible and incomprehensible, He would not be God. He would not have led us up to heaven. He would not now be able to bestow upon us the Kingdom which is to come; and we should not be able to give thanks for benefactions “known and unknown.” In the “unknown,” in ignorance, in the area we cannot approach, we should never be able to find and see the most marvellous and endless of His benefactions towards us. “Now all things have been filled with light, heaven and earth and what is under the earth.”

Only He who is true God, in His true worship, can create true men.

Thus the statement “For Thou art God ineffable, incomprehensible, invisible, inconceivable…” rises before us “like a very mountain, steep and hard to approach,” from which the uncreated breeze descends and swells the lungs of man, bringing life to his innermost parts with the joy of freedom, of something unqualified, dangerous, and wholly alive.

How often we want to make God conceivable, expressible, visible, perceptible with worldly senses. How much we want to worship idols—to be shut into the prison of the non-essential, of error and heresy. The Divine Liturgy, however, does not allow us to do anything of the sort. It destroys our idols of God and raises up before us His saving Image, the Word “who is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), the archetype of our true, hidden, God-made being.

—Hymn of Entry, pp. 63-64, by Archimandrite Vasileios