Mary and Martha, the Sisters of Righteous Lazarus

June 4th

Together, they witnessed one of the most beautiful moments in the life of Christ Jesus, the Son of God – that extraordinary moment when He restored their dead brother to life. The two sisters, St. Mary and St. Martha, were devoted to the Savior, and he loved them and their brother Lazarus with a special kind of affection that resonates deeply throughout the New Testament. TAKEN FROM

Both young women had been born and raised in the Palestine town of Bethany, along with their faithful brother. When the two sisters happened to come upon Jesus preaching to crowds of amazed onlookers in the region of Galilee, they were both drawn to him with great energy and fervor. Soon they became extremely devoted servants of their Lord and accompanied him on many of his forays into the countryside.

Dorotheus the Hieromartyr

June 5th

The executioner was holding an enormous club, and the life of the valiant old bishop was about to end.

Strangely enough, however, the victim felt absolutely no fear. Smiling calmly, he closed his eyes and said a brief prayer to God Almighty. It was a prayer of thanks . . . a prayer of gratitude. After so many years of dedicated service to the Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ, the old man was about to receive a most precious gift – the crown of blessed martyrdom!

Now he watched the heavy wooden club rising above his head. In a few moments, it would all be over. What a wonderful life Dorotheus had enjoyed as a servant of God, and as the venerable Bishop of the great Phoenician city of Tyre! How he loved that ancient seaport (today the fourth-largest city in modern Lebanon), and the loyal Christians who had spent so many years celebrating their noble faith with him! And how remarkable it seemed – on this mild afternoon in the Year of Our Lord 362 – that TAKEN FROM 

Dorotheus was experiencing so much joy.

TEACHINGS OF

THE ORTHODOX CHURCH

Rev. Thomas Fitzgerald

The Orthodox Church throughout the ages has maintained a continuity of faith and love with the apostolic community which was founded by Christ and sustained by the Holy Spirit. Orthodoxy believes that she has preserved and taught the historic Christian Faith, free from error and distortion, from the time of the Apostles. She also believes that there is nothing in the body of her teachings which is contrary to truth or which inhibits real union with God. The air of antiquity and timelessness which often characterizes Eastern Christianity is an expression of her desire to remain loyal to the authentic Christian Faith.

Saint Leo the Great on the Apostles Fast and its Significance

Saint Leo the Great (Sermon 78 - On the Whidsuntide or Pentecost Fast)

I. Since the Apostles' Day Till Now Self-Restraint is the Best Defence Against the Devil's Assaults.

Today's festival, dearly-beloved, hallowed by the descent of the Holy Spirit, is followed, as you know by a solemn fast, which being a salutary institution for the healing of soul and body, we must keep with devout observance. For when the Apostles had been filled with the promised power, and the Spirit of Truth had entered their hearts, we doubt not that among the other mysteries of heavenly doctrine this discipline of spiritual self-restraint was first thought of at the prompting of the Paraclete in order that

What the Holy Communion Means

to Me

Written by Right Revd. Nicholas

The Sacrament of the Holy Communion means to me the intimate, unrestricted love of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the dwelling and enthronement of the Lord in my heart, the union of my soul and body in my moral regeneration and salvation as a worthy communicant.

I believe and feel and affirm that the Sacrament of the Holy Communion is the most evident proof of the love of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who suffered on the Cross for our salvation. When His disciples, afraid and broken-hearted, heard during the Lord’s Supper His last divine teaching about His coming departure, He himself consoled them by telling that He would not leave them alone but would always be with them. And He sent the Holy Ghost and constituted the Sacrament of the Holy

لماذا ندعوا القديسين بالقديسين؟

2010 مايو 20

كتبه الأب سلوان

طرح علينا خلال السنوات السابقة والعمل على الانترنت مجموعة من الأسئلة التي قمنا بالإجابة عليها بشكل شخصي للسائل، واليوم نعمل على اختيار مجموعة منها وتنقيح الإجابة فيها كي تكون عامة والفائدة أكبر، ونضع بين أيديكم السؤال الأول:

مادام الله السيد يسوع المسيح وحده القدوس، لماذا ندعوا القديسين بالقديسين؟ وكيف يمكن للإنسان أن يتقدس؟

القديس بالمعنى المطلق هو الشخص الذي بلا خطيئة، والقدوس فقط هو الله، كما نرتل في القداس الإلهي: “قدوسٌ واحد، ربٌّ واحد، يسوع المسيح، لمجد الله الآب، آمين”. ولكن من

احد جميع القديسين

جاورجيوس مطران جبل لبنان جبيل والبترون وما يليهما

"يسوع المسيح هو هو امسًا واليوم والى الأبد" (عبرانيين 13: 8)0 هو دائما مصدر القداسة0 ذلك انه وعدنا اننا "نثبت فيه وهو يثبت فينا"0 ونحن صرنا به "امة مقدسة"0 وهو يجعلنا له بالروح القدس0 لذلك تقيم الكنيسة في الأحد الواقع بعد حلول الروح القدس ذكرى لجميع القديسين0 نحن كل يوم من السنة نقيم ذكرى لقديس او اكثر0 ولكن في الملكوت قديسون لا نعرفهم ولم تعلن قداستهم رسميا0 فأردنا بإقامة هذا العيد ان نقول اننا مرتبطون بهم وانهم يشفعون لنا0

انهم اولا الرسل الاثنا عشر والأنبياء والشهداء ورؤساء الكهنة والنساك والأبرار (اي

The Sunday of All Saints

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12: 1 – 2).

So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven (Matthew 10: 32 -33).

In the Eastern tradition, the Sunday after Pentecost is the Sunday of All Saints. As Pentecost is tied to the ascension of Christ, so is All Saints tied with Pentecost. Pentecost brought down the Holy Spirit

في التفجّـــــع عنـــــد المـــــوت

المطران جورج خضر

رأيت قلّة من الرجال يتفجّعون، ورأيت أكثرهم صابرين، وهذا في الديانتين، وكأن المسألة نفسانية ومجتمعيّة. هل هذه إرادة في إظهار الرجولة، وهل في بكاء النساء وما يصحبه من غلوّ متعلّق بالطبيعة الأنثوية الأقوى عندها الانفعال؟ ما من شك أن المرأة تكره الموت. ربما كان ذلك في المسيحية والإسلام عندنا لأنها الكائن الحافظ الحياة والناقل الحياة وتاليا كان الموت ضد طبيعتها. ولكن ما من شك ايضاً أن في الأمر جانبا حضاريا، فالأوروبية تعلّمت أن الغلوّ في التفجّع منافٍ للكياسة المطلوبة في المجتمع الراقي. من هنا أن المسألة تبدو بالغة التعقيد مع اقتناعي أن تهذيب الطبائع ممكن بلوغه على مستوى التربية.الى هذا أظن اننا كلّنا في حاجة الى دراسة المجتمعات الدينية لنعرف تأثير العامل الديني في موت يتحوّل الى فاجعة أو موت يُزيّن بالصبر. فيما شاهدته على شاشة التلفزيون أن النسوة المسلمات يبكين ايضاً والرجال المسلمون يبقون على هدوئهم. هل هذا ناتج من عقيدة القضاء والقدر ومن حكم هذه العقيدة للنفوس؟ ولكن يبدو أن موت الشهادة جعل في نفوس النسوة صبراً جميلاً. الى هذا هل المشهد الشيعي أعظم إيلاما بسبب من كربلائيّته ولا سيّما في العراق؟

The Church's Prayer for the Dead

The Holy Orthodox Church, like a concerned mother, daily, at every divine service, offers up prayers for all her children who have departed for the land of eternity. Thus, at the midnight service troparia and prayers for the departed are read, and they are commemorated at its concluding ektenia. This is so also at compline. At matins and vespers the departed are remembered by name at the Augmented Ektenia, "Have mercy on us, O God ..." They are commemorated three times during the Liturgy: at the Proskomedia, at the ektenia following the Gospel, and after the consecration of the Precious Gifts when "Meet it is in truth . . ." is sung. Furthermore, one day of the week is set aside for prayers for the dead -Saturday, on which it is customary to have a service for the dead, unless it coincides with a feast, if such is to be served on that day.

حول الصلاة لأجل الراقدين

من كتاب "الأرثوذكسية والبروتستانتية

"للأرشمندريت أمفروسيوس يوراسوف

إن صلة الإنسان المسيحي بسائر أعضاء الكنيسة لا تنقطع أبداً حتى بعد رقاده فيموت الجسد أما الروح فتبقى خالدة. إن جميع المسيحيين يكوّنون جسدا واحدا وهو كنيسة المسيح (أف 23:1؛ 1كو 18:1؛ عب 23-22:12) والتعبير الظاهري عن هذا الارتباط هو صلاة أعضاء الكنيسة الأحياء لأجل الراقدين. فما هي ضرورته لا أظن أن هناك إنسان يتجرأ أن يقول وهو على وشك الموت إنه قد تطهر من الخطايا إلى درجة كافية. من المعروف أنه في الحياة ما بعد الموت لا توجد فرصة للتوبة وليس بإمكان الخطاة تخفيف آلامهم بجهودهم الشخصية. ولا يمكن أن يساعدهم في ذلك إلا صلاة الأحياء أي صلاة

تأمل بعيد العنصرة

جاورجيوس مطران جبل لبنان جبيل والبترون وما يليهما

نزل الروح القدس على الرسل، وفاض عليهم روح فهم وقوة وحكمة.

اليوم تولد الكنيسة من الروح القدس، اذ هو روحها وعصبها، وهو موحد أبنائها، والعامل فيهم الى منتهى الأجيال.

اليوم تمّ الخلاص، فالآب وعَدَ ووفى، والابن تمَّمَ إرادة الآب، والروح القدس بدأ يعمل في الكنيسة.

بقي الرسل خمسين يومًا خائفين من اليهود، رغم ان المخلص ظهر لهم مرارًا كثيرة بعد القيامة، ورغم انه صعد أمامهم، في الجليل الى السماء، فقد بقيت قلوبهم مضطربة. فاذا

Pentecost

Before Christ ascended into heaven he commanded his disciples to return to Jerusalem after His Ascension and to remain there until they were empowered with power He would send from heaven. (Lk 24:49) He promised to send them the Holy Spirit.

They did as He commanded and remained in Jerusalem in quiet prayer in the “Upper room for the ten days. (Lk 24:53)

This promise was realized 50 days after Pascha and 10 days after His Ascension.

This event is what we celebrate as Pentecost.

Why is this such a significant event?

The incarnation of Christ was aimed at victory over death and the coming of the Holy Spirit into the Hearts of men. On this day the Apostles received the Holy Spirit in their hearts and were empowered to carry the Good News to all nations without fear. This was their Baptism. Christ said right after his resurrection: “For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5). When the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles it baptized them. This is when they

Sermon on

the Feast of Pentecost

by St. John Chrysostom

Our father among the saints John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, was a notable Christian bishop and preacher from the fourth and fifth centuries in Syria and Constantinople. He is famous for eloquence in public speaking and his denunciation of abuse of authority in the Church and in the Roman Empire of the time. His banishments demonstrated that secular powers had strong influence in the eastern Church at this period in history.

Let us spiritually extol the grace of the Holy Spirit in spiritual hymns, since spiritual grace has on this day shown upon us from heaven. Though our words are too weak to express adequately the greatness of this grace, we shall praise its power and activity to the extent of our abilities; for the Holy Spirit probes all things, even the depths of divinity.

الاعتراف اليوم 

 مقاربة واقعية

إذا أردنا أن نكون صادقين مع أنفسنا، فلنعترف أن ممارستنا الخاطئة أحياناً لسر الاعتراف، هي التي تقف وراء نفور الكثيرين من الاعتراف، ونتحوّل إلى فاشلين في جذب الشباب إلى حياة الإيمان. وسأورد هنا بعض الأمور السلبية التي يجب الانتباه إليها وتجنُّبها:

1- فرض الأب الروحي:

أن يفرض المرشد على أبنائه الاعتراف عند نفس الأب الروحي الذي يعترف عنده! هذا ليس أمراً ضرورياً أو حتمياً أو صائباًن بل يكفي أن يكون أحد الاقتراحات وفقط. وإلا تحوّل الأمر إلى تسلط على نفوس البشر، وهذا لا يريح الإنسان بل يبعده عن الله

Byzantium:

Constantine and the Founding of Constantinople

By the 3rd or 4th Century, Rome had expanded to a vast empire, which was beset by enemies around it. The early Roman emperors were not like modern British kings and queens, inheriting the throne from their fathers; they were generals who had the command of the armies and as a result could protect Rome from its enemies. The emperor's first and foremost task was to protect the Empire and keep the peace, either by commanding his generals or by leading the army himself.

There was no requirement that the emperor should be from the city of Rome itself. The Emperor Diocletian was from Illyrica, which is now Croatia; having served much of his working life as a soldier at the frontiers of the Empire, he had no great ties to Rome. When he became emperor, he decided to move to Nicomedia, which is now Izmit in Turkey1. The Senate and all the rest of the trappings of government remained in Rome. This was just a temporary move, in that Diocletian was the only emperor who ruled from Nicomedia, but it set the scene for the move to Constantinople.

The Spiritual Father

in Orthodox Christianity

-- by Bishop Kallistos Ware

One who climbs a mountain for the first time needs to follow a known route;  and he needs to have with him, as companion and guide, someone who has been up before and is familiar with the way. To serve as such a companion and guide is precisely the role of the "Abba" or spiritual fatherwhom the Greeks call "Geron" and the Russians "Starets", a title which in both languages means "old man" or "elder". [1]

The importance of obedience to a Geron is underlined from the first emergence of monasticism in the Christian East. St. Antony of Egypt said: "I know of monks who fell after much toil and lapsed into

 تذكار المجمع المسكوني الأول

وعظة الأحد

بسم الآب والابن والروح القدس الإله الواحد. آمين.

في هذا النهار المبارك، تُعيد كنيستنا المقدسة لتذكار المجمع المسكوني الأول، الذي أنعقد في مدينة نيقية، والذي به صار تأكيدٌ وتثبيتٌ للعقيدة المسيحية بعيداً عن الانقسام، وعن البدع والهرطقات إنجيل اليوم يُطالعنا فيه يوحنا الرسول بأن يسوع وقف ورفع عينيه إلى السماء مصلياً، وقال: "يا أبتي"، وكأنه بهذا يرشدنا إلى الطريق الذي من خلاله على كل واحدٍ منا أن يصلي، ويرفع عينيه إلى السماء. رفع العينين إلى السماء يعني أننا لا نرى إلا أياك أيها الإله الآب، يعني أنك أنت الوحيد الذي تستقطب أنظار عيوننا، أنك أنت الذي إليك نهتدي، ومنك نأخذ التعاليم والقيم.

On the Lord's Ascension, II

Leo the Great

(Sermon LXXIV in Volume 12 of NPNF, Series 2)

I. The Ascension Completes Our Faith in Him, Who Was God As Well as Man.

The mystery of our salvation, dearly-beloved, which the Creator of the universe valued at the price of His blood, has now been carried out under conditions of humiliation from the day of His bodily birth to the end of His Passion. And although even in "the form of a slave" many signs of Divinity have beamed out, yet the events of all that period served particularly to show the reality of His assumed Manhood. But after the Passion, when the chains of death were broken, which had exposed its own strength by attacking Him, Who was ignorant of sin, weakness was turned into power, mortality into eternity, contumely into glory, which the Lord Jesus Christ showed by many clear proofs in the sight of many, until He carried even into heaven the triumphant victory which He had won over the dead. As therefore at the Easter commemoration, the Lord's Resurrection was the cause of our rejoicing; so the subject of our present gladness is His Ascension, as we commemorate and duly venerate that day on which the Nature of our humility in Christ was raised above all the host of heaven, over all the ranks of angels, beyond the height of all powers, to sit with God the Father. On which Providential order of events we are founded and built up, that God's Grace might become more

ON THE SUNDAY OF THE HOLY FATHERS OF THE FIRST UNIVERSAL COUNCIL

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

At the beginning of the fourth century, to be precise, in the Year 325, when persecution of Orthodox Christianity had largely ceased, was held the first Universal Council of the Church. 318 Bishops gathered together from all over the Orthodox Christian world. Together they drew up a written summary of the Orthodox Faith, which was confirmed later in the same century at the Second Universal Council of the Church.

We still sing and read that written summary of our Faith, drawn up all those years ago. It is known in English as the 'Creed'. This word comes from the Latin for 'I believe'. The Creed is that text which we read every morning at morning prayers and that which we sing at every Divine Liturgy, beginning: 'I

من اقوال القديس افرام السريانى

...لا يستطيع أحد ان يعرف امك ايها الرب

هل نسميها عذراء؟ هوذا ابنها موجود

هل يسميها متزوجة؟ فهى لم تعرف رجلاّ

فان كان لا يوجد من يفهم أمك,من يكون كفء لفهمك انت؟

مريم نالت من قبلك ايها الرب كل كرامة المتزوجات ... لقد حبلت بك بغير زواج ... كان فى صدرها لبن على غير الطبيعة اذ اخرجت من الارض الظمأة ينبوع لبن يفيض ... ان حملتك فبنظرتك القديرة تخفف حملها ...

عجيبة هى أمك ... سيد الكل دخلها فخرج انسانا. الرب دخلها فأصبح عبدا. الكلمة دخلها فصار صامتا داخلها.

الايقونات في البيت وفي حياتنا

كل أسرة عندما ُتكون مسكنها تستعمل غرفة كمجال لإستقبال زائريها توجد في هذه الغرفة رسومات مختلفة لاشخاص احياء وأموات تربط وتمثل العائلة بتاريخها . وتوجد أيضا رسومات ليس فقط لاشخاص منعزلين بل ولاحداث ومناسبات مثل : اعراس , عماميد , لحظات طلابية , مثلا عندما يأخذ الابن شهادتة او الجنود عندما يخدمون في الجيش .

إنها لتاريخ ووصف لحياة العائلة الحاضرة والشالفة .ففي اسئلة الضيوف والزوار يجيب صاحب البيت او سيدتة :هنا صورة جدنا او جدتنا ,وهنا صورة ابننا الكبير الذي يستلم شهادته . وهنا صورة زواج إبنتنا وكل رسم يصير وصفا حياً لتاريخ العائلة .لكننا في بيت اورثوذكسي وهذا البيت يجب ان يكون فيه ايقونات شريفة في مجال استقبال الغرباء , ايقونة السيد المسيح , ايقونة والدة الاله الكلية القداسة والايقونة الخاصة التي تكرمها الاسرة .اعني الايقونة التي يرتسم فيها القديس الذي يسمى باسمه صاحب البيت او ايقونة نتوارثها من آبائنا وأجدادنا . 

On The Lord’s Ascension I

by St. Leo the Great

Our father among the saints, Leo the Great was the bishop of Rome during difficult times. He was an eminent scholar of Scripture and rhetoric. During an invasion by Attila the Hun, St. Leo met him outside the gates of Rome. After some short words, to everyone’s surprise, Attila turned and left.

Three years later, during an invasion by Genseric the Vandal, St. Leo’s intercession again saved the Eternal City from destruction.

I. The Events Recorded as Happening After the Resurrection Were Intended to Convince Its Truth.

Since the blessed and glorious Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, whereby the Divine power in three days raised the true Temple of God, which the wickedness of the Jews had overthrown, the sacred forty days, dearly-beloved are to-day ended, which by most holy appointment were devoted to our most profitable instruction, so that, during the period that the Lord thus protracted the lingering of His bodily presence, our faith in the Resurrection might be fortified by needful proofs.

الصعود الإلهي

0 الصعود الإلهي هو حدث ارتفاع المسيح الى السماء، وهو حدث كنسي بمعنى أنه يعبر بنا الى زمن الكنيسة. إنطباع الرحيل فيه لا يسمح للمستنيرين أن يتحسّروا تحسّرا عقيما على الماضي ولا أن يلقوا نظرة سراب الى المستقبل، فمع كون الصعود مفرقا حاسما ونهاية علاقة خارجية مع يسوع إلا أنه، بنوع خاص، افتتاح علاقة إيمان جديدة كليا وإعلان زمن جديد. والصعود، تاليا، هو عيدُ الكنيسة لأنه، بالنسبة اليها، يحوي أكثر الوعود تمجيدا، لكونه باكورة صعودها هي الى السماء. فالمسيح الرب بما أنه رأس الجسد – الكنيسة – (أفسس 1: 20 – 23) وهو قائم بجسده عن يمين العظمة الإلهية (أعمال 7: 55؛ عبرانيين 1: 3 و8: 1) فالكنيسة تعلم علم اليقين أنها تشترك بالمجد ذاته ولو كان عليها أن تجاهد، إلى حين،