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24 September 2023

What sayest thou? (Where are those accusers?)

 

The Lord wrote with a finger on the earth;

Meshulam - the kidnapper of church treasures, 

Asher - committed adultery with his brother's wife;

Shalum - an oath-violator;

Eled - hit his father;

Amarnah - appropriated the estate of a widow;

Merari - committed Sodom sin;

Joel - worshiped idols.

01 July 2023

 



St. John Maximovitch

St. John (Maximovitch)
of Shanghai and San Francisco
A sermon in Varna
by Bishop Fotii of Triditsa



T A L M A C H
so much and simple




July 06 (June 23 O.S.) 2010
Delivered in the Church of “St. Xenia of Petersburg”, Varna

2014/02/03 RE-POST




Bishop Fotii [Photios]





In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!

       Today, beloved, you and I commemorate St. John Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker. Many Orthodox outside the Russian local Church also venerate sacred the memory of the St. John and assiduously revere him. A sad fact is, however, that some dare to employ the saint’s name deviously! For ‘ecclesiastical and would-be-politician’ purposes – no matter how ridiculous this last phrase may sound. The year is 2005. Negotiations are underway between Commissions of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad with its then Primate – Archbishop Laurus, and the Moscow Patriarchate – an MP Commission, with the aim to achieve unification. Two ROCOR priests refer to places of texts by St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco the Wonderworker: one – [refers to] his decree [ukaz] of September 1945 and the other – to his address to the congregation of July 1946 – in order to prove that the Shanghai Saint participated in a unifying process of the ROCOR Diocese in China with the Moscow Patriarchate then – in the postwar years – a process similar to the modern one. I feel a particular sense of severity when someone or some [more] employ the authority or the memory of a God’s pleaser, of a holy man in order to defend their own ‘ecclesiastical and would-be-politician’ purposes.

03 June 2023

On the End of the World - St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov)

  



Table of Contents

·      About the End of the World.

o   1. About the Reason for man’s Apostasy from God

o   2. About the Kingdom of God

o   3. About the second coming of Christ

o   4. Networks of the peacekeeper

o   5. Reflections at Sunset

o   6. Conclusion from the "Otechnik" [on Fatherland] compiled by Bp. Ignatius

 

 

About the end of the world.
 

 1. About the reason for man’s apostasy from God

He that believeth on the Son (of God) hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).

 

So defines the unfalse Word of God. This determination of the Word of God takes place, in particular, over people, and takes place over entire nations. It happened with particular obviousness over the people of Israel, who were originally chosen by God's people, and subsequently became a predominantly outcast people. In the womb of the Israelite people, the God-man became human and accomplished the salvation of mankind; to no other people did he address his divine sermon; all His blessings He poured out exclusively on the chosen people; the chosen people rejected the God-man. In vain for fifteen centuries the divinely inspired legislator of Israel proclaimed terrible executions to him if he disobeyed God. In vain, for a whole millennium, the royal prophet of Israel delivered an exhortation to Israel about accepting the Redeemer granted by God to mankind: accept the punishment (kiss the Son — according to the translation from the Hebrew), lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath be kindled but a little” (Ps.2:12). In vain was Moses recited every Saturday, in vain were the psalms of David sung at every divine service, in vain were the threats of the holy legislator and the exhortation of the holy king repeated: the Jews rejected the Savior, stretched out their god-killing hands on the incarnate God. They reckoned the All-Perfect God to the category of criminals and gave him a reproachful execution as a criminal, as a criminal among criminals.


Letter 235 [BG] - Hieromonk Seraphim Rose - Step One in any kind of Spiritual Life

 



                     

Letters 1976-61                 /                 1982-1977



235.

 

10/23 август 1976 г.
Архидякон Лорънс

Скъпи брате в Христа, Николае,

Поздрави в нашия Господ Иисус Христос. Благодаря за писмото Ви . Оценявам сериозността на това, което сте написали, и ще отговоря със същата сериозност.

Преди всичко трябва да Ви кажа, че доколкото ни е известно, днес няма старци, т.е. истински богоносни старци (в духа на Оптинските старци), които биха могли да Ви ръководят не със собствената си мъдрост и разбиране на светите отци, а с просвещението на Светия Дух. Този вид напътствие не е дадено на нашето време – и честно казано, ние в своята слабост, корупция и грехове не го заслужаваме.


02 June 2023

 

Не е ли жалко - Джордж Харисън
/Нина Симоне/

(touching remix!)

 

А Не е ли жалко
все още не знаеш за какво говоря
но скоро ще ти кажа
жалко си е

А не е ли жалко
а не е ли срамно
да, как разбиваме сърцата си
и си причиняваме болка


01 June 2023

 

Armageddon Tomorrow (EXCERPT) - Sergey Valyansky, D. Kalyuzhny


Not blind opposition to progress, but opposition to blind progress.

Abstract

Armageddon as the expected end of the world is considered a religious myth.

But now science confirms: Armageddon has ALREADY BEGIN.

But it was prepared not by God, but by man.

What have we done with the PLANET?

What have we done with our own SOCIETY?!

What awaits us TOMORROW?!

The authors of this book - well-known experts in history, political science and sociology - answer many of the "damned questions" of our days and show what options for the near future humanity has left.


28 May 2023

“There are many seductive things in our day” (from a letter to a person who had long avoided visiting temples)

 

Non-commemorating

While sorting through the letters received by Leonid Ivanovich from Bishop Athanasius, I found a message in which Vladyka, addressing “one person”, calls on his spiritual children to start visiting churches. Here Bishop Athanasius tells about his disagreements with Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) . But in order to understand what is at stake, we will have to go back to 1922, to the beginning of Vladyka's torment.

* * *

It was then, in the 22nd, shortly after ow. Athanasius became bishop of Kovrovsky, vicar of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) , a dramatic story of their relationship began, which led to a break.



09 April 2023

Archangels - by Ion Agârbiceanu /an excerpt/


III /excerpt/

or opt at BOOK INVENTORY  

...

Йеротей замълча, наведе глава и само от време на време поглеждаше встрани. Мълчеше и Василе. Той с удоволствие крачеше по пътя. Птици чуруликаха по клоните на дърветата, дрозд пееше на една малка поляна.

Тъй вървяха те доста дълго: работникът отпред, младият собственик отзад; когато изведнъж Йеротей обърна към семинариста тъпото си лице.

- Видя ли? – попита той и продължи напред.

Василе Мурешану достигна работника и закрачи до него.

- Какво?

- Гората! – въздъхна Йеротей.

- Че какво й е, на гората? - попита Василе.