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St. Spyridon, Bp. of Trimythus, Akathist, Troparion, prayers (for various occasions)

 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jy3ZJGkmEahYzqRgoC0KZWqGEASINQD82jMqH9kZ_t0

Troparion to Saint Spyridon, bishop of Trimythus

Thou wast the Champion of the First Synod and [thou appeared] a wonderworker, / O God-bearing Spyridon, our father. / Thou didst speak to one dead in the grave, / and transformed a serpent into gold, / and while thou wast chanting the holy prayers / the Angels were serving with thee. / Glory to Him Who hast glorified thee gave, / glory to Him Who hast crowned thee, / glory to Him Who through thee works healings for all.

 

Saint Spyridon

 

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Ukraine Condemned - Metropolitan Agafangel

 

Transl. from Russian

 

Author: Metropolitan Agafangel. Publication date: December 06, 2022. Category: Author's column.

It is obvious that today the Russian Federation is returning to the Soviet political system, where the place of communist ideology is occupied by the pseudo-Orthodoxy of the Moscow Patriarchate. But a new society is obviously being built in Ukraine, as well, but what result this construction activities lead to, we can only guess. Let's look at this question from several points of view.

Ukraine in the Field of Political Structure

The first Slavic state-empire of the Rurikhs, which united many nationalities, with the center in Kyiv – the Kievan Rus, - began its existence as an Orthodox state from the moment of the adoption of Christ in 988, and has, one way or another, existed as a single entity for 250 years, up until the Mongol invasion (1237-1240). Kievan Rus partially covered the territories of the modern states of Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Belarus and Poland.

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Spiritual Talk #325, #326

 

Spiritual talk #325

           

            The first gift of the Holy Spirit is wisdom (fore-wisdom). More precisely, the wisdom that comes from above, about which the Apostle speaks: "The wisdom that comes from above is first pure, then peaceful, lenient, yielding, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and not hypocritical." /James. 3:17/ The opposite of this wisdom is carnal wisdom, about which the Apostle says: " In simplicity and sincerity before God, not with carnal wisdom, but with the grace of God, we lived in the world ." /2 Cor. 1:12/ Borrowing testimony from the Old Testament / Is. 29:14/, the same Apostle speaks against this carnal and worldly wisdom in another of his epistles: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and reject the understanding of the prudent.” Where is the wise man? Where is the librarian? Where is the debater of this century? Has not God made the wisdom of this world mad?" /1 Cor. 1:19-20/

           

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'The Conscience of the Bulgarian Church' - THE CRISIS IN OUR SCHOOL

 

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T A L M A C H

so much and simple

 

 

Translated from Bulgarian
Vladimir Djambov ©

 

Saint Boris (Razumov)
Metr. of Nevrokop

THE CRISIS IN OUR SCHOOL

 

A brochure published in 1928 by the then Archim. Boris of Nevrokop [PhD in Philosophy, future Metropolitan - 1935, now St.], called
'THE CONSCIENCE OF THE BULGARIAN CHURCH'.        
For his life, activity and the attitude of the Bulgarian Church towards Metropolitan Boris, see also:

http://borisnevrokopski.blogspot.com/2015/01/blog-post_50.html – in Bulgarian

Blog dedicated to Metropolitan Boris of Nevrokop – in Bulgarian

 

 

The last public execution in Europe took place in Sofia, 3 Bulgarians were hanged:
namely the perpetrators of the coup-d-etat [аt the Tsar] in the "St. King" cathedral,
[1925, 213 people killed, 400 – wounded]
Marko Friedman, Petar Zadgorski and Georgi Koev.

 

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Върви, народе възродени...-Stoyan Mikhailovski

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‘Words about Repentance, Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ and the correction of life.’ - St. Theophan the Recluse

 

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T A L M A C H

so much and simple

 

 

Translation from Russian
Vladimir Djambov ©

  

St. Theophan the Recluse

Collection of sermons
Words about Repentance,
Communion of the
Holy Mysteries of Christ and
the Correction of Life

 

 

Collection of sermons ‘Words about repentance, communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ and the correction of life.’
Words for the Holy Forty Days and
weeks of preparation for it

 

Part 1. In the week of the publican and the PhariseeIn the week of the publican and the Pharisee (do not rely on your righteousness)In the week of the publican and the Pharisee (complacency and self-justification is the most pernicious charm)In the week of the publican and the Pharisee (persuasion to persuade the soul to be ashamed and disgusted with sin and its sinful state)Part 2. In the week of the prodigal sonIn the week of the prodigal son (the Church wants to elevate us to an inspired determination, leaving sin, to walk the right path to the Heavenly Father)In the week of the prodigal son (which means to wake up from the sleep of sin)In the week of the prodigal son (about the attempts and tricks of the enemy, seeking to devour every zealot of goodness and purity)Part 3. Meat-fare weekIn the week of meat-fare (let us draw in our mind a picture of the Terrible Judgment and we will wear it incessantly)In the meat-fare week (the secret of preparing an acquittal at the Last Judgment)In the week of meat-fare (about the Second and terrible coming of our Lord Jesus Christ - abbreviated from the words of our holy father Ephraim the Syrian on the Second Coming)Part 4. Cheesefare weekOn a cheese week (on the matter of remembering where we fell from)In the week of cheese-fare (in Lent for the last time we were given time for repentance)In the cheese-fare week (fasting seems gloomy until they enter its field)Part 5. On Wednesday of the week of the first Great LentOn Wednesday of the week of the first Great Lent (the main thing for us is the cleansing of conscience)On Wednesday of the week of the first Great Lent (on the knowledge of sins and self-knowledge)On Wednesday of the week of the first Great Lent (the spiritual father is the face of all mankind; do not be ashamed to expose yourself at confession)On Wednesday of the week of the first Great Lent (sorrow for sins and a decisive change for the better is the heart of fasting)Part 6. On the heels of the week of Great LentOn the heel of the week of Great Lent (contrition for sins is not a simple feeling: the limit of heartfelt contrition for sins is a firm intention not to offend God with your sins anymore)On the heels of the week of Great Lent (wait for the Lord in reverent silence: get ready to meet him, receive him and rest in yourself in a worthy way)On the heels of the week of Great Lent (how should we settle down and act in order to worthily proceed to the Holy Mysteries)Part 7. On Saturday of the week of the first Great LentOn Saturday of the week of the first Great Lent (in the honoring of Holy Communion is not the end, but the beginning of labors and deeds)On Saturday of the week of the first Great Lent (about the spiritual pleasure of prayerful stay with the Lord)On Saturday of the week of the first Great Lent (the real change and correction of life is the goal of the whole dispensation of our salvation)On Saturday of the week of the first Great Lent (no matter how many of you there are, everyone has the whole Lord)On Saturday of the week of the first Great Lent (the more often one takes communion, the closer one is to the Lord)Part 8. On the first week of Great LentOn the first week of Great Lent (which should be in every partaker of Christ's Mysteries, who has received the Lord in them; and in whom there is no Lord)On the first week of Great Lent (how to behave in order to avoid new falls into sins)On the first week of Great Lent (if you fall again, who knows if you will get up?)Part 9. On the second week of Great LentOn the second week of Great Lent (what parts of nature we have, what attacks on them and what weapons of our spiritual warfare against them)On the second week of Great Lent (the most important tricks to ensure your success in the struggle)On the second week of Great Lent (how does it happen that when we destroy ourselves, we do not destroy, but save)On the second week of Great Lent (fighters of passions, do not weaken and do not heed their flattering speeches)On the second week of Great Lent (what is the crucifixion of the world to us and us to the world)Part 10In the week of the cross (or die, or be on the cross of self-crucifixion)In the week of the cross (about three types of crosses: about external crosses)In the week of the cross (about three types of crosses: about internal crosses)In the Week of the Cross (about three types of crosses: about the cross of devotion to the will of God)In the week of the cross (you went up to the cross, letting you resist sin)Part 11. On the Fourth Week of Great LentOn the fourth week of Great Lent (depiction of the life of St. John of the Ladder; how to become a complete imitator of St. John)On the fourth week of Great Lent (the main content of the "Ladder" and a brief outline of our entire path to the Lord, under the guise of climbing the ladder)On the Fourth Week of Great LentOn the fourth week of Great Lent (an excellent alphabet for everyone, or about three rows of feats)Part 12. On the fifth week of Great LentOn the fifth week of Great Lent (here is the lesson for us: do not appropriate the Kingdom of Heaven for ourselves)On the fifth week of Great Lent (how can we learn from the conversion of St. Mary of Egypt, or about the veils of sin)On the fifth week of Great Lent (about the three classes of sinners, or what is the key to the door of repentance?)On the fifth week of Great Lent (two powerful ways through which Saint Mary of Egypt withstood the struggle and overcame sin)Part 13. In the Passion Week of Great LentOn Tuesday of Passion WeekOn Wednesday of Passion Week (how to avoid the fate of Judas bitter)On the Great Thursday (The Lord is in us! Let us take care to keep him in ourselves forever)On Great Thursday (The Body and Blood of the Lord is a great gift)Great Thursday (as you wish, but make sure that you are always as if you just received communion)

Part 1. In the week of the publican and the Pharisee

In the week of the publican and the Pharisee
(do not rely on your righteousness)

Here comes the preparatory week for Lent again! Thanks be to the Lord, who has made it possible for us to live up to this soul-saving time! Let us pray that He will help us and use it, according to His good intentions for us. In this respect, however, I do not find it necessary to tell you much. This is not the first time you meet this time; more than once heard an explanation of the meaning of these days and an indication of what should be taken from them as a lesson; more than once, it’s true, and by the very fact they experienced how they are spent on building themselves up and how they are spent on ruin. And yet, what is the need for lengthy instructions? It is enough to say: “Brothers and fathers, do as you already know, as your conscience inspires you and your experience teaches, only so that everything turns into your creation and the salvation of your souls.”

With all that, I do not want, however, to leave you without some, although general, reminders as a guide to the salutary passing of the time that has come.

There are patients who go to the waters for treatment. How from a distance they begin to think about the upcoming journey and how carefully they prepare everything so that they can quickly and conveniently reach the healing waters and how fruitfully they can use the appointed time of treatment! Here we are approaching our own course of salvific healing of our souls - holy fasting. And here we will bathe in the tearful waters of repentance, and take inside the multi-healing medicine - the Body and Blood of our Lord. It is necessary for us to prepare for it, and moreover, as much as the soul is higher than the body, our concern for this should be stronger and more effective than those of those.

For the first time, there is no need to burden yourself with many things. Let us only take care to enter into the intentions of our mother, the Church, and reproduce in ourselves the preparatory dispositions indicated by her. In fasting, we will work on cleansing our conscience and correcting our lives. And just as the success of these labors depends on the softening of the heart through contrition, so the Holy Church predisposes us to this feeling and in various ways wants to arouse and strengthen it in us. Now, by the parable of the publican and the Pharisee ( Lk. 18:10–14 ), she inspires us that the surest way to contrition is to destroy the Pharisaic conceit in oneself and root the repentant cry of the publican in the heart: “God, be merciful to me a sinner” ( Lk. 18, 13 ). Next Sunday the parable of the prodigal son (OK. 15:11-32 ) she teaches that no matter how deep someone's fall, but if he turns to the Lord with a contrite and humble heart, crying: “I am not worthy to be called Your son; accept me among Your hired servants ” ( Lk.15, 19 ), will be accepted into the arms of the Heavenly Father, the most merciful. If whose soul turned out to be too petrified and insensible, the Holy Church , further, wants to crush it, painting the Last Judgment. If someone has become so accustomed to his humiliating condition in sin that he would consider it his natural position, and not imagining a better one, - Holy Churchfor such a man he remembers the fall of his forefathers, in order to irritate in his heart sorrow for the lost and arouse jealousy for its return, leading to the thought of how great it was and how it is therefore worth pitying for it and working in every possible way to again become its owner.

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The Most Soulful Book about the Unceasing Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ - St. Nicodemus (Kallivroutzis)

 

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T A L M A C H

so much and simple

 

 

Translation from Russian
Vladimir Djambov ©

 

St. Nicodemus the Hagiorite (Kallivroutzis)

The Most Soulful Book about the Unceasing Communion of
the Holy Mysteries of Christ

below:
Saint Gregory Palamas

On Divine and Deifying Communion, or
On Divine and Supernatural Simplicity

 

I. That Orthodox Christians must often partake of the Divine Body and Blood of our Lord.

II. About the useful and salutary frequent Communion of the Holy Mysteries.

III. About the fact that if someone hesitates to take communion, then this causes great harm to himself.

IV. Answers to objections to the unceasing Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ
                 Objection 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

V. Epilogue

 

 

 

On the need for Orthodox Christians to often partake of the Divine Body and Blood of our Lord

It is commanded to all Orthodox Christians to partake often, firstly, of the Sovereign Commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ, secondly, of the Acts and Rules of the Holy Apostles and Holy Councils, as well as the testimonies of the divine Fathers, thirdly, by the words themselves, the rite and sacred action of the Holy Liturgy, and fourthly, and finally, Holy Communion itself.

1. Our Lord Jesus Christ , before giving the Sacrament of Communion, said: “The bread that I will give is My Flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” ( John 6:51 ). That is, the food that I want to give you is My Flesh, which I want to give for the revitalization of the whole world. This means that Divine Communion for believers is a necessary component of spiritual and Christ-like life. But since this spiritual and according to Christ life should not be quenched and interrupted (as the Apostle says, do not quench the spirit ( 1 Thess. Risen One (according to the same Apostle ¹), that is, that the living faithful should no longer live a life of their own and of the flesh, but the life of Christ, who died and rose again for them—thus, it is absolutely required that that which constitutes it, that is, Divine Communion, be permanent.

And in another place the Lord says commandingly: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you” ( John 6:53). From these words it becomes clear that Divine Communion is as necessary for Christians as Holy Baptism is necessary. Because the same double command that He spoke about Baptism, He also said about Divine Communion. Of holy Baptism He said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God” ( John 3:5). And about Divine Communion in a similar way: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you.” And so, just as it is impossible for anyone to live a spiritual life and be saved without Baptism, so it is impossible for anyone to live without Divine Communion. However, since these two [Sacraments] have this difference, that Baptism takes place once, while Divine Communion is celebrated constantly and daily, it is concluded from this that there are two necessary things in Divine Communion: firstly, it must be performed, and secondly , take place constantly.

Moreover, when the Lord gave this Sacrament to His disciples, He did not say to them in the form of advice: “Whoever wants, let him eat My Body, and whoever wants, let him drink My Blood,” as He said: “If anyone wants to follow Me " ( Matt.16:24 ) and "if you want to be perfect" ( Matt.19:21 ). But He proclaimed commandingly: “Take, eat, this is My Body”, and “drink everything from it, this is My Blood” (see Matt. 26: 26-28 ). That is, by all means you must eat My Body and must necessarily drink My Blood. And again he says: “Do this in remembrance of Me” ( Luke 22:19). That is, this Sacrament I commit to you, so that it is performed not once, or twice, or three times, but daily (as the divine Chrysostom explains) in remembrance of My sufferings. My death and all My economy of salvation.

These words of the Lord clearly represent two necessary [points] in Communion: one is the obligatory command they contain, and the other is the duration indicated by the word “do”, which, understandably, means that we are commanded not just to take communion but keep communion unceasingly. So, everyone now sees that the Orthodox are not allowed to violate this command, no matter what rank it may be, but he is charged with a duty and duty to keep it without fail, to accept it as the Master's commandments and ordinances.

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About Priesthood - Bp. Arseny Zhadanovsky; St. John Chrysostom; St. Ephraim the Syrian; St. Simeon of Thessalonica;

 

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T A L M A C H

so much and simple

 

 

Translation from Russian
Vladimir Djambov ©

 

Bishop Arseny (Zhadanovsky)

 

About Priesthood:

(dedicated to modern pastors)

I.

The priesthood is not a human institution, but a divine one. In fact, read the holy Gospel. Christ proclaimed the gospel to all people. Many people followed Him, but at first He chooses only 12 apostles, and then 70 others, and only these chosen ones are empowered to continue His work. In His High Priestly Prayer, His Savior clearly singles out the heralds of His Gospel and prays for them to the Heavenly Father, so that He would strengthen them for the feat of serving the world. After His resurrection, being His disciples, the Savior endows them with special gifts of grace. So, one day, appearing to them, He said to them: “Receive the Holy Spirit: by whom you forgive your sins, they will be forgiven them: and by whom you hold, hold on” ( John 20:23 ). Or, another time:“go and teach all languages, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all the commandments to you: and behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the age. Amen" ( Matt.28:19-20 ). Or: “when you go into the whole world, preach the gospel to every creature. Whoever has faith and is baptized, he will be saved; but whoever does not have faith, he will be condemned” ( Mark 16:15-16 ). The Apostle Peter, and in his face to all the apostles, the Savior commands to feed the verbal sheep ( John 21:15). The selection of a special class of people to continue the work of the Savior on earth and endowing them with special powers and gifts of the Holy Spirit - this is so clearly revealed from the word of God that, it seems, there can be no objections to this. Yes, it could not be otherwise, the work of shepherding is too great. We need a special grace, we need separate people who would be clothed with this authority. True, Protestants like to say that the apostles had special, exclusive powers, and it is impossible to assert the significance of hierarchy in the Church on their powers. But isn't the work of Christ relevant to all times and peoples? After all, people of all times, countries and peoples have the same need to assimilate the work of Christ, therefore, there is always a need for continuers of the work of the apostles, a priesthood or, in the church's expression, a hierarchy. One of the most important signs of the truth of the hierarchy is succession. On the succession of hierarchical persons, their truth and all the fullness of the grace of the priesthood, given by the Lord Christ to St. apostles. This is so understandable for the faithful children of the Church, and at the same time it is comforting! The apostles received grace from the Chief Shepherd Christ Himself, and then successively this grace passes to the pastors to this day. The break in this respect is equal to the loss of the grace of the priesthood. Happy therefore Orthodox The break in this respect is equal to the loss of the grace of the priesthood. Happy therefore Orthodox The break in this respect is equal to the loss of the grace of the priesthood. Happy therefore Orthodox Church that undeniably has a succession hierarchy. And our Church values ​​succession so much that in other Christian societies, if she sees it, she is ready to honor the hierarchy there too. For example, let's take Catholicism, where succession has also been preserved. Our holy Church hierarchical persons - Catholics are accepted into their bosom in the existing rank, i.e. if someone was a bishop or a priest in Catholicism, it remains so with us, only, of course, a renunciation of former errors is required. 

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St. Onuphrius the Great - Life & Akathist

 

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Translated from Russian
(and proto-Bulgarian -
i.e. Church-Slavonic]

Life of St. Onuphrius the Great

Rev. Onuphrius the Great was one of those glorious desert-dwellers who took refuge in the wild, picturesque Thebaid desert in Egypt, who in the 4th century, during the time of the emperors Constantius and Valens, defended the holy Christian faith, persecuted by the Aryan heretics, with fervent prayer, fasting and repentance.

Rev. Onuphrius was born around the year 320 into the family of a Persian king. His father, having no offspring for a long time, prayed with all his soul to the Lord to give him a son, and God heard him. But even before the birth of St. Onuphrius, one day a demon came to his father disguised as a wanderer and said: “Oh Tsar, your wife will give birth to a son, but not from you, but from one of your servants. If you want to make sure that I'm telling the truth, order the newborn to be thrown into the fire. And if I tell a lie, then God will keep him safe.” The father did not comprehend the deceit of the enemy and, believing the imaginary wanderer, fulfilled the crafty advice, throwing the newborn child into the fire. A miracle happened: the child stretched out his hands to the sky, as if praying to the Creator for salvation, and the flame, splitting into two sides, left the baby unharmed. Meanwhile, an angel of God appeared to the father and, having exposed him of reckless trust in the slanders of the devil, ordered him to baptize his son, to name him Onuphrius and take him where God would indicate.

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ABC: From a sermon by Metropilitan Chrysostomos (MRMDC FAMEE)

 March 12, 2017:

От проповед, произнесена
на празника на св. Григорий Палама
от митрополит Хризостом:

Митрополит Киприян на Оропос и Фили, който пребивава в манастира на Свв. Киприян и Юстина във Фили, Гърция, на който този манастир е μετόχιον, или метох, много обича да цитира нещо, което може да се нарече "мантра"-та — ако мога да използвам така възприетия термин по един изцяло християнски начин — на св. Григорий Палама: "Kύριε, φώτισόν μου τὸ σκότος!" или "Господи, просвети моя мрак!" Това била постоянната молба на светеца, и бих искал да я използвам, за да въведа няколко елементарни думички за двете нива на духовния живот, които св. Григорий, архиепископ Солунски от четиринадесети век и един от най-видните богослови на Православната Църква, така перфектно и прозорливо осветли за нас: едно светило хвърлящо светлина върху нашия мрак.

 Свети Григорий, роден в благородно византийско семейство, дало шест други светци монаси, беше богослов и гений, донесъл похвала за себе си от най-високопоставените представители на императорския двор. И все пак, той избра да служи на Бога като прост монах, като отшелник (аскет), и дори, за кратко време, като пещерен обитател. Той се бореше, като всички нас, да угоди на Бога, да се предаде на Църквата и да достигне до познаване на Бог чрез искрена вяра. Той стори вътрешен – така, че съзнанието му и човешката му воля да съответстват на Божия шепот и на Божията Воля вътре в сърцето му – земния си живот на външноо подчинение на – и любов към – семейството му, колегите му, монашеските му събратя, страната му и ближния му.

 Правейки това, той със сигурност се приближил до Бог, първоначално, както всички ние правим: през завесата на плътта, с антропоморфни представи за Него. Но той не сякаш не бил обременен – както повечето от нас сме – от съмненията за Бога, че Злият посява в нас като ни подбужда – ако не към неверие, най-малкото към изкушението да схващаме Бога, Който ни е е сътворил, в габаритите на създадени от самите нас мисли и заблуди – сътворените от Бога да сътворяват Твореца по собствения си образ. Той имал дълбоката добродетел да се бои от Бога, което води до любов към Бог. И тъй като любовта към Бог прогонва съмненията, Той открил Бога на Нетварната Светлина, Който се надвишава – както ни учи Отец – всички човешки образи и представи.

 Свети Григорий Палама, отново като всички нас, трябвало да се задоволи с онези, които се стремят да превърнат Църквата е едно удължаване на егото си, придавайки на институцията на църквата човешки страсти: арогантност, както сред вярващите, така и сред духовниците, ревност, негодувание, дребнавост, понасянето на недоволства, омраза към (на) другите в името Христово, триумфализъм и прокламации на лична "чистота" на изповеданието. (И наистина, каква чистота на Вярата има в нещо, което не води до любов към враговете ни, към грешниците, и дори към еретиците, за които трябва да жадуваме с цялата си душа да излекуваме от духовната им болест?) Също така сигурен съм, че той виждал и ония, които в заблудата си и болни от грях оскверняват Църквата със своите страсти и извращения, твърдейки, че са свети. И подобно на много мъченици и светци, той претърпя затвор, не само по време на залавянето му от неверници, а също така и в ръцете на Църквата и на византийските "латинизатори", които го презираха за неговата защита на Православието.

 При сблъсъка с всички тези неща на по-ниското ниво на духовен живот, които са отразени в институционалните несъвършенствата на Неопетнената Църква, той ни предаде един чудесен урок. Той не извика със силни викове на праведен гняв; не заяви предпочитанието си да умре, пред лицето на едно Православие, нападнато от противящите му се сили; нито укори онези, които, съвсем истинно, наистина бяха достойни за укор по действията си да го преследват. Вместо това, обръщайки уйора и отговорността за всичко, сполетяло го, върху самия себе си и осъждайки собствения си мрак (защото колкото по-близо стигаме до Бог, толкова повече считаме себе си за грешни – и в тази близост до източника на Любовта, прощаваме и прегръщаме онези, които ни правят лошо), той неумолимо извика: "Kύριε, φώτισόν μου τὸ σκότος!" "Господи, просвети моя мрак"!

 Като го чул, Бог излял Нетварната Светлината на Своето Същество върху св. Григорий, който бил предал сърцето си на Бог, а ума си на духовно съзерцание. Сърцето на светеца станало изгарящ пламък, светъл факел на таинствено прозрение, и хранилище на мъдрост. Това преобразявало него, следващите го, както и света около него. Бог, изцяло неизразимият Бог, Бидейки Сам Себе Си, разкрил Себе Си в сърцето и пречистените ум и емоции на св. Григорий, така че той станал едно с Божествените Енергии на Бог. Той се обединил с Благодатта Христова, превръща се в един "малък Иисус Христос" вътре в Иисус Христос, и по един непознаваем начин достигнал до познание на Бог, Който е и не е, Чието "биване" надминава категориите ни за съществуване и несъществуване, Който е самото Биване, и Който Се разкрива на онези, в които Той обитава с оглушителния гръм от духовна тишина, на която светът не обръща никакво внимание.

 Ако в този по-висок духовен живот, св. Григорий Палама имаше девиз, който присъства навсякъде в неговите писания и учения, то със сигурност ще бъде утвърждаването, което предварително направил в съвет към една монахиня: утвърждаването, че "Ζωὴ δέ ἐστι τῆς ψυχῆς, ἡ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν ἕνωσις, ὥσπερ καὶ τοῦ σώματος ἡ πρὸς ψυχήν ἕνωσις; тоест, "Животът на душата е единение (съюз) с Бога, точно както животът на тялото е съюз с душата." Когато обединяваме нашите тела с душите си, а сетне душите си с Бог, това единение с Любовта в Бога ни завещава Нов Живот и едно вътрешно виждане за духовните неща, което променя – следва да го кажа, изцяло преобразява – разбирането ни за Бог и за Църквата.

 Ние вече не вярваме в Бог, борейки се със спънките на арогантния човешки интелект, тегленето на страстите, или с тежкото, депресиращо теглото на съмнението; по-скоро, ние живеем вътре в Бога, общуваме (причастяваме се) с Божествените Му Енергии, обединени по Благодат с Христа, като ставаме истински наследници и синове и дъщери Божии. Като вземаме своето съществуване отвътре на Неговото Биване (Същество), ние преминаваме от това да вярваме в Бога, към това да намираме реалността на нашето съществуване в Него, като Го прегръщаме чрез Иисуса Христа, с Когото Отец е Едно, като наш Отец по осиновение и (като) източник на това, за което истински сме предназначени: да сме перфектни служители и деца на непознаваемия ни Отец, Когото сме виждали в Неговия Син, Архетипът на собствената ни истинска природа.

 Църквата, в по-възвисения живот на Христос, не е просто едно събрание. Това не е просто едно място, където ние участваме в богослужение и се пристъпяме към Бог. Това не е просто място за другарство. Това не е просто място, където несъвършените ни човешки личности се присъединят с други, за да се стремят към познаване на Бога. Тя не е онази институция, която е така затрупани с човешките слабости и страсти, че дори и Злият успява да си намери едно ъгъл в нея, от където да хвърля своите стрелички и стрели. Това – за просветените – се превръща в "Божия дом," свещено пространство, в "духовна дупка" водеща от една реалност в друга, и в мястото, където в страхопочитание се срещаме с Бога. Именно поради тази причина ние правим Църквата великолепна и богата, понеже напасваме най-финото и най-чистото от това, с което разполагаме на земята с (да съответства на) неизразимата, неописуема красота, която просиява, в това свещено пространство, от Бога. Онова което човешките ни усилия за красота не успяват да осигурят, Бог ни дарува по своята Любов и Благодат.

 В по-възвисения живот на Църквата, ние биваме издигнати, преобразавани, обвързани един с друг, и защитени и усъвършенствани от Таинствата, които се извършват там. В Църквата, ние намираме ядрото на човешкия живот: източникът на всичко, което търсим и от което се нуждаем. Ние го запечатваме и го премахваме, ако напълно го разбираме, от всичко, което е "ежедневно" и обикновено. Ние се опияняваме от Новото му Вино, което не замърсява ума, а пречиства сетивата, очиства емоциите, и ни носи умосърдечна радост и тържествуващи настроения, които избухват в сълзи, течащи по душата като нектар по вече узрели и сладки плодове. В края на краищата, когато осъзнаем пълнотата на живота, съдържащ се вътре в Църквата, тя вече не е прозорец към един друг свят; тя е врата от преддверието на нашия лъжеживот към истинския живот. Институцията на Църквата избледнява с присияването на същността й с преобразяващи лъчи светлина.

 Свети Григорий Палама, следователно, обединява земния ни живот с вечния живот. Ако се вслушваме в него, то се радваме там, където сме: монаси, които танцуват от радост от това, което вкусват, и от това това, с което някой ден, в другия живот – който вече е нахлул в този живот – ще пируват, а миряните се присъединяват в този танц. Свети Григорий обединява живот и задгробен живот ведно с Христа; той ни отвежда от борба към триумф, и ни дава да сурнем – още в този живот – онова, що ни очаква в при завръщането към истинския наш дом и Иснтинния ни Отец.

From a sermon preached
on the Second Sunday of Lent
by Metropilitan Chrysostomos:

A Sermon on the Feast Day of
St. Gregory Palamas
Great Lent 2017

by the Most Reverend Chrysostomos

Former Metropolitan of Etna

In the Name of the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spir­it.
At the re­quest of His Emi­nence, Bish­op Aux­en­tios, I would like to say a few words about St. Gre­go­ry Pala­mas, whose mem­o­ry we cel­e­brate to­day and to whom our monastery is ded­i­cat­ed, and about the Or­di­na­tion that will oc­cur to­day.
I would like to be­gin my re­marks by con­grat­u­lat­ing His Emi­nence, our Rul­ing Bish­op (prop­er­ly and his­tor­i­cal­ly our “Metropoli­tan”); all the mem­bers of the broth­er­hood, and es­pe­cial­ly Archi­man­drite Gre­go­ry, who is cel­e­brat­ing his Name­day to­day; as well as Father Pho­tios Coop­er, the Rec­tor of the small parish in Port­land, Ore­gon, that serves as the Cathe­dral Church for the Dio­cese of Et­na and Port­land, who is cel­e­brat­ing the an­niver­sary of his Or­di­na­tion on this day. Χρόνια Πολλά! Many Years!
I would al­so like to con­grat­u­late Sub­dea­con James Kal­basky, whom His Emi­nence will or­dain to the first lev­el of the Apos­tolic Pri­est­hood, the Di­a­conate, lat­er this morn­ing in the Li­tur­gy. Sub­dea­con James is one of the finest stu­dents that we ev­er had in the for­mer the­o­log­i­cal pro­gram of the Cen­ter for Tra­di­tion­al­ist Ortho­dox Stud­ies, and he brings great joy to us by his ad­vance­ment in ec­cle­si­as­ti­cal ser­vice. By an­tic­i­pa­tion, I wish you—soon to be, by the Grace of God, Dea­con Father—James, and your wor­thy wife—soon to be Di­akonis­sa—Mar­i­anne ev­ery bless­ing. Ἄξιος!
I al­so wel­come all of our vis­i­tors, as His Emi­nence will do for­mal­ly at the Or­di­na­tion ban­quet lat­er this af­ter­noon, to our monas­tic com­mu­ni­ty, my spir­i­tu­al home in re­tire­ment, thank­ing you for your pres­ence on this aus­pi­cious oc­ca­sion for the monastery and for Sub­dea­con James. With un­bri­dled joy, I es­pe­cial­ly wel­come His Emi­nence, the Most Rev­erend Ser­gios, re­tired Bish­op of Port­land, Archi­man­drite Father Pa­trick, who will short­ly be en­throned as Ab­bot of our sis­ter in­sti­tu­tion, the Monastery of St. Gre­go­ry of Si­nai, in Kelseyville, Cal­i­for­nia, where Bish­op Ser­gios lives in re­tire­ment, and Hierodea­con Father Mos­es, a broth­er of the monastery. Last­ly, al­low me the lib­er­ty, which I know that he will grant me, of ex­tend­ing to all of you the bless­ing of the First Hier­ar­ch of the Amer­i­can Eparchy of our Church, Metropoli­tan Demetrios.

Metropoli­tan Cypri­an of Oro­pos and Phyle, who re­sides at the Monastery of Sts. Cypri­an and Justi­na in Phyle, Greece, of which this monastery is a μετόχιον, or de­pen­den­cy, is very fond of quot­ing what one might call the “mantra,” if I may use that adopt­ed term in a whol­ly Chris­tian way, of St. Gre­go­ry Pala­mas: “Kύριε, φώτισόν μου τὸ σκότος!” or “Lord, en­light­en my dark­ness!” This was the Saint’s con­stant im­plo­ration, and I would like to use it to in­tro­duce a few el­e­men­tary words about two lev­els of spir­i­tu­al life that St. Gre­go­ry, the four­teenth-cen­tu­ry Arch­bish­op of Thes­sa­loni­ki and one of the most em­i­nent the­olo­gians of the Ortho­dox Church, so per­fect­ly and per­spi­ca­cious­ly il­lu­mi­nat­ed for us: a lu­mi­nary shed­ding light on our dark­ness.

St. Gre­go­ry, born in­to a no­ble Byzan­tine fam­i­ly that pro­duced six oth­er monas­tic Saints, was a the­olo­gian and ge­nius who brought praise on him­self from the high­est rep­re­sen­ta­tives of the im­pe­ri­al court. Yet, he chose to serve God as a sim­ple monk, as an as­cetic, and even, for a short time, as a cave-dweller. He strug­gled, like all of us, to please God, to sub­mit him­self to the Church, and to come to know God through sin­cere be­lief. He in­ter­nal­ized, so as to con­form his mind and hu­man will to the whis­pers of God and to God’s Will with­in his heart, his earth­ly life of ex­ter­nal obe­di­ence to, and love for, his fam­i­ly, his col­leagues, his monas­tic brethren, his coun­try, and his fel­low man.

In so do­ing, he sure­ly ap­proached God, ini­tial­ly, as we all do: through the veil of the flesh, with an­thro­po­mor­phic no­tions of Him. But he was not, it seems, bur­dened, as most of us are, by the doubts about God that the Evil One sows in us, prod­ding us, if not to un­be­lief, at least to the temp­ta­tion of grasp­ing God, Who cre­at­ed us, in the di­men­sions of our own cre­at­ed thoughts and delu­sions—those cre­at­ed by God cre­at­ing the Creator in their own im­age. He had the pro­found virtue of fear­ing God, which leads to lov­ing God. And since the love of God dis­pels doubt, He dis­cov­ered the God of Un­cre­at­ed Light, Who tran­scends, as the Fathers teach, all hu­man im­ages and con­cep­tions.

St. Gre­go­ry Pala­mas, again like all of us, had to con­tend with those who seek to make the Church an ex­ten­sion of their egos, en­dow­ing the in­sti­tu­tion of the Church with hu­man pas­sions: ar­ro­gance, both among the faith­ful and the cler­gy, jeal­ousy, re­sent­ments, pet­ti­ness, the bear­ing of grudges, the ha­tred of oth­ers in the name of Christ, tri­umphal­ism, and procla­ma­tions of per­son­al “pu­ri­ty” of con­fes­sion. (In­deed, what pu­ri­ty of Faith is there in any­thing that does not lead to love for our en­e­mies, for sin­ners, and even for heretics, whom we should pine with our whole souls to cure of their spir­i­tu­al ill­ness?) I am al­so sure that he saw those who, in their delu­sion and sick with sin, de­file the Church with their pas­sions and per­ver­sions, claim­ing to be holy. And like many of the Mar­tyrs and Saints, he un­der­went im­pris­on­ment, not just dur­ing his cap­ture by in­fi­dels, but al­so at the hands of the Church and the Byzan­tine “La­tiniz­ers,” who de­spised him for his de­fense of Ortho­doxy.

In con­fronting all of these things at the low­er lev­el of spir­i­tu­al life, which are re­flect­ed in the in­sti­tu­tion­al im­per­fec­tions of the Spot­less Church, he taught us a won­der­ful les­son. He did not cry out with loud cries of righ­teous in­dig­na­tion; de­clare his pref­er­ence for death, in the face of an Ortho­doxy as­sailed by the forces coun­ter­ing it; or place his blame on those who, in all truth, were in­deed blame­wor­thy by their ac­tions for his per­se­cu­tion. Rather, turn­ing the blame and re­spon­si­bil­i­ty for all that be­fell him on him­self and con­demn­ing his own dark­ness (for the clos­er we come to God, the more we think our­selves sin­ful and, in this close­ness to the source of Love, for­give and em­brace those who do us ill), he in­ex­orably cried out: “Kύριε, φώτισόν μου τὸ σκότος!” “Lord, en­light­en my dark­ness!”

Hear­ing him, God poured forth the Un­cre­at­ed Light of His Be­ing on St. Gre­go­ry, who had sur­ren­dered his heart to God and his mind to spir­i­tu­al con­tem­pla­tion. The Saint’s heart be­came a burn­ing flame, a lu­mi­nous torch of mys­ti­cal in­sight, and a repos­i­to­ry of wis­dom. This trans­formed him, those who fol­lowed him, and the world around him. God, the whol­ly in­ef­fa­ble God, Be­ing It­self, was re­vealed in the heart and pu­ri­fied mind and emo­tions of St. Gre­go­ry, such that he be­came one with the Divine En­er­gies of God. He was unit­ed by Grace to Christ, be­came a “small Je­sus Christ” with­in Je­sus Christ, and came to know in an un­know­able way the God Who is and is not, Whose “Is­ness” sur­pass­es our cat­e­gories of ex­is­tence and non-ex­is­tence, Who is Be­ing it­self, and Who re­veals Him­self to those whom He in­dwells with the deaf­en­ing thun­der of a spir­i­tu­al si­lence un­heed­ed by the world.

If, in this high­er spir­i­tu­al life, St. Gre­go­ry Pala­mas had a mot­to that is ev­ery­where present in his writ­ings and teach­ings, it would sure­ly be the af­fir­ma­tion that he made in ad­vice giv­en to a cer­tain nun: the af­fir­ma­tion that “Ζωὴ δέ ἐστι τῆς ψυχῆς, ἡ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν ἕνωσις, ὥσπερ καὶ τοῦ σώματος ἡ πρὸς ψυχήν ἕνωσις; that is, “The life of the soul is union with God, just as the life of the body is union with the soul.” When we unite our bod­ies to our souls, and then our souls to God, this union with Love in God be­queaths to us a New Life and an in­ner vi­sion of things spir­i­tu­al that changes—I should say, whol­ly trans­forms—our un­der­stand­ing of God and the Church.

We no longer be­lieve in God, strug­gling with the im­ped­i­ments of the ar­ro­gant hu­man in­tel­lect, the pull of the pas­sions, or the heavy, de­press­ing weight of doubt; rather, we live with­in God, com­muning with His Divine En­er­gies, unit­ed by Grace with Christ, be­com­ing true in­her­i­tors and sons and daugh­ters of God. Tak­ing our ex­is­tence from with­in His Be­ing, we pass from be­liev­ing in God to find­ing the re­al­i­ty of our ex­is­tence in Him, em­brac­ing Him through Je­sus Christ, with Whom the Father is One, as our Father by adop­tion and the source of what we were tru­ly meant to be: per­fect ser­vants and chil­dren of our un­know­able Father, Whom we have seen in His Son, the Archetype of our own true na­ture.

The Church, in the lofti­er Life of Christ, is not just a gath­er­ing. It is not just a place where we wor­ship and ap­proach God. It not just a place of fel­low­ship. It is not just a place where our im­per­fect hu­man per­son­al­i­ties join with oth­ers to strive to­wards a knowl­edge of God. It is not that in­sti­tu­tion so be­set with hu­man foibles and pas­sions that even the Evil One finds a cor­ner in it from which to throw his darts and ar­rows. It be­comes, for those who are en­light­ened, the “house of God,” sa­cred space, a “spir­i­tu­al worm­hole” from one realm to an­oth­er, and the place where we en­counter God in awe. It is for this rea­son that we make the Church splen­dorous and rich, since we match the finest and purest of what we have on earth with the in­ef­fa­ble, un­speak­able beau­ty that shines forth, in this sa­cred space, from God. What our hu­man ef­forts at beau­ty fail to pro­vide, God gives us by his Love and Grace.

In the high­er life of the Church, we are lift­ed up, trans­formed, bound to one an­oth­er, and pro­tect­ed and per­fect­ed by the Mys­ter­ies that are per­formed there. In the Church, we find the nu­cle­us of hu­man life: the source of all that we seek and need. We seal it off and re­move it, if we ful­ly un­der­stand it, from all that is “ev­ery­day” and com­mon. We be­come ine­bri­at­ed on its New Wine, which does not pol­lute the mind, but cleans­es the sens­es, pu­ri­fies the emo­tions, and brings us noet­ic joy and ex­ul­tant sen­ti­ments that burst forth in tears that flow over the soul like nec­tar over an al­ready ripened and sweet fruit. In the end, when we re­al­ize the full­ness of life that is con­tained with­in the Church, it is no longer a win­dow in­to an­oth­er world; it a door from the an­techam­ber of our false life in­to true life. The in­sti­tu­tion of the Church fades as its essence shines forth with trans­form­ing beams of light.

St. Gre­go­ry Pala­mas, there­fore, brings to­geth­er our earth­ly life with eter­nal life. If we heed him, we re­joice where we are: monas­tics danc­ing with joy at what they taste and what they will one day, in the oth­er life—which has al­ready in­vad­ed this life—feast up­on, the lay peo­ple join­ing them in this dance. St. Gre­go­ry brings life and af­ter­life to­geth­er in Christ; he takes us from strug­gle to tri­umph, and he gives us a glimpse, even in this life, of what awaits us in the re­turn to our True Home and our True Father.

Let me fi­nal­ly say to Sub­dea­con James, whose soul is preg­nant, at this mo­ment, with the Pri­est­hood, that he, like all but the very best of us, will serve in the Pri­est­hood by oikono­mia, bur­dened by im­per­fec­tions and past sins. In know­ing so and feel­ing this pain, I urge him to call out to God for for­give­ness. If he will do this un­til his last breath, God will, in the course of his strug­gles, grant him, from time to time, by virtue of the Grace of Pri­est­hood, a high­er vi­sion and an ex­pe­ri­ence of high­er things. Hold on firm­ly to your gift, at such mo­ments, and mov­ing from a plea for for­give­ness, thank God with tears for the gift of union with Him in your in­ner man, touched by God’s Grace. Like St. Gre­go­ry Pala­mas, who passed from plead­ing for light to shin­ing forth with light, as those who saw and knew him in his time at­test, you will find great com­fort and hon­or in the Saint whom we to­day hon­or and who will, with­out doubt, bless your Or­di­na­tion.

Bοηθειά μας ὁ Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Παλαμᾶς. May St. Gre­go­ry Pala­mas come to our aid. 

Святыедня, молите Бога о нас!

Преподобный Шио Мгвимский

Преподобный Шио (Симеон) Мгвимский родился в Антиохии Сирской. Родители его были христианами и воспитывали своего сына как единственного наследника. Юноша получил хорошее образование, изучил Священное Писание. Любовь к Слову Божию так глубоко внедрилась в сердце молодого Шио, что он постоянно держал его в уме своем и даже всегда носил при себе Евангелие, послания Апостола Павла и Псалтирь. И уже в ранние годы был одарен способностью толкования Слова Божия.

Узнав о святом подвижнике Иоанне Зедазнийском, Шио тайно покинул родительский дом и направился к святому. Преподобный Иоанн возвратил юношу родителям, предсказав, что и они станут иноками. Предсказание скоро исполнилось: Шио убедил их провести остаток их жизни в иночестве, а сам, употребив в пользу бедных и монастыря оставшееся после них имущество, пришел к преподобному Иоанну, сиявшему в то время в Антиохии и, получив от него пострижение в иночество, сделался его учеником.

Спустя 20 лет преподобный Шио, в числе 12 других избранных учеников святого Иоанна, отправился в Иверию (Грузию) для проповеди Слова Божия.

Послужив этому делу, распространения веры Христовой преподобный Шио пожелал жить отшельником. И по благословению Католикоса Евлалия и своего учителя преподобный Шио направил свой путь на запад от Мцхета в непроходимые дебри лесные. Здесь в пустыне, защищенной отвесными и совершенно крутыми стенами песчаной горы от взора людского, Шио поселился в тесной пещере, им самим высеченной в скале, едва достаточной, чтобы укрыться в ней. И за суровый аскетический подвиг Шио удостоился чудных видений. В скале открылся родник, источающий для отшельника воду, а с пищей прилетал к нему голубь. Этот-то голубь, по изволению Божию, определившему не оставлять под спудом благодатный светильник, открыл людям жилище Шио.

Некто — Евагрий, знатный царедворец, охотясь по обыкновению за рекой Курой, проследил за голубем, носящим пищу отшельнику, и нашел его, погруженного в молитву, с воздетыми к небу руками. Он был так поражен встречей с этим укрывшимся от мира человеком молитвенно предстоящим в пустыне пред лицем Единаго Бога, что, пленившись этим, внезапно сознал и в себе отречение от всего мирского и стал просить дивного отшельника взять его под свое руководство и подвизаться в пещере, всецело предавшись Богу.

С этих пор о Шио стало известно и другим людям в окружности, которые стали селиться близ него, и таким образом собралось до 25 добровольных пустынножителей. На избранном по откровению блаженному Шио месте выстроили они церковь во имя образца пустынножителей — Иоанна Крестителя. Молва о святом подвижнике распространялась, и место его уединенной жизни и подвига стало превращаться в обитель. Когда царь Парсман VI навестил бывшего любимого своего Евагрия в пустыне, то с благоговением отнесся к подвижнику Шио и подарил ему землю под монастырь, доставив значительные средства для построения храмов. Главным из них был храм в честь Успения Божией Матери; второй — в честь Рождества Иоанна Крестителя, где впоследствии и почивали останки преподобного Шио. Все храмы были освящены Католикосом Макарием. Таким образом, преподобный Шио устроил обитель, которая некогда включала в себя множество иноков и называлась, по имени основателя, Мгвимскою (в 30 верстах от Тифлиса). Здесь навестил его бывший учитель его Иоанн Зедазнийский и, погостив три дня, имел отраду удостовериться в высокой степени духовного совершенства новых иноков.

Но стремление к полному уединению преобладало в душе Шио. Он оставил основанную им обитель, простился с братией назидательнейшим словом, оставил для них 160 письменных поручений и, прервав всякое сообщение с миром, обрек себя на затворническую жизнь в темной, глубокой пещере. Пища святому спускалась туда по веревке. Кто может постичь и исчислять несказанные подвиги этого ангела в человеческом теле! Предузнав по откровению час кончины и приобщившись Святых Тайн, преподобный Шио 9 мая кончил свое земное житие. Тело великого затворника, при напутственном пении собравшихся иноков, было погребено в основанной им обители. Святые мощи его и доныне служат ограждением обители, которая одна из немногих уцелела посреди опустошений Грузии.

Преподобный Авксентий

Преподобный Авксентий, по происхождению сириец, служил при дворе императора Феодосия Младшего (418 - 450). Он был известен как добродетельный, ученый и мудрый человек, и имел дружбу со многими благочестивыми мужами своего времени.

Тяготясь мирской суетой, святой Авксентий принял сан пресвитера, а потом и иноческий постриг. После этого, удалившись в Вифинию, он нашел уединенное место на горе Оксия, недалеко от Халкидона, и стал там вести жизнь отшельническую. (Гора эта впоследствии названа была Авксентьевой.) Место подвигов святого было обнаружено пастухами, искавшими заблудившихся овец. Молва о нем разнеслась, и к нему стали приходить люди за исцелением. Именем Божиим святой Авксентий исцелял множество больных и недужных. "

В 451 году святой Авксентий был призван на IV Вселенский Собор в Халкидоне, где и прославился как обличитель Евтихиевой и Несториевой ересей. Великий знаток Священного Писания, святой Авксентий легко посрамлял вступавших с ним в спор противников. По окончании Собора святой Авксентий снова вернулся в свою уединенную келлию на горе. Духовным взором он видел на большом расстоянии кончину святого Симеона Столпника (459). Преподобный Авксентий скончался около 470 года, оставив после себя учеников и устроив многие монастыри в Вифинской области.

Тропарь преподобного Авксентия
глас 1

Пустынный житель, и в телеси Ангел,/ и чудотворец явился еси, Богоносе отче наш Авксентие,/ постом, бдением, молитвою Небесная дарования приим,/ исцелявши недужныя и души верою притекающих ти./ Слава Давшему тебе крепость,/ слава Венчавшему тя,/ слава Действующему тобою всем исцеления.

Кондак преподобного Авксентия
глас 2
Насладився, богомудре, воздержания/ и желания плоти твоея обуздав,/ явился еси, верою сияя,/ якоже сад посреди рая, процвел еси,// Авксентие отче священне.