Mother Theoliptie Amma Demiana

One of our beloved Fathers sent out this article about Omina (Mother) Theoliptie of St Demiana Monastery in Egypt: (Note: Though the narrative contains some of the aesthetic of sentimentality characteristic of Modern Evangelical discourse, this post is not intended to perpetuate, encourage or reinforce the tropes of therapeutic evangelicalism.) (Please remember all our monastic mothers and fathers in your prayers.)

Chinese-Canadian wanted the best and found this in the Monastery of Saint Dimyana

by Cornelis Hulsman (Arab-West Report, April 23, 2014)

Singing to the Lord all my life

"The second goal of the choir is to teach the liturgy. This goal is subtle, and never really formalized, but it is there. Part of singing any piece well, whether it is just one song, or an entire musical is to understand the meaning and context behind the words. A musician visualizes why they are expressing the message of their piece and conveys that message through the dynamics of their voice. In the Liturgy we sing as the faithful and as the angels. We sing words asking for mercy, describing the Lord’s Power and enter into dialogue with the priest and the Lord. The entire text of our service is taken from both the Old and New Testament.  The more these children understand the context of the words they are singing, the more they understand the depth of the service they attend every week. The more they understand, the more they remember and hopefully value the service."

+ http://orthodoxwoman.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/singing-to-the-lord-all-my-life-beginning-with-a-junior-choir/

Worship as a 'Category'

A very moving guest post by an Orthodox Young Adult who wrote the following communiqué a few years ago: 

"Here I am, another long night with no sleep. I usually don't offer my reflections or thoughts on forums or on the internet for many reasons...

1) It is hard for me to communicate on the internet, and if you know me well... I usually don't reply to text messages or private messages. I don't know why, but usually I prefer that I speak to the person face to face to avoid any misunderstandings. Smiley faces just don't do the job all the time :P

2) I am beginning on my journey in the Orthodox Church. For those who know me, I was born Orthodox but spent many years of my life away from the Church and now I am, by the grace of God returning to Christ and His Church. So for me to offer my reflections on certain Church teachings would be a dangerous task that can mislead others.

I ask you my dear readers to keep these things in mind, are you ready? Great, let us begin... From what I'm seeing and hearing, I believe that there are a lot of youth who have lost touch with the Church, and I am one of them. I am not lying just to be "humble", I am simply being honest with you so you know that what I am going to talk to you about is from what I am personally going through.

Becoming Christian

A beautiful quote from Abouna Maxym's article on Serving Through Outreach which calls attention to authentic expression of Orthodoxy and of living in and participating in the Divine Life of Christ. Again the theme is being not just doing, being Christian and not artificially implementing a 'Christian' worldview, genre, philosophy, programme, ethic or activity.

"The first thing that must be said about acquiring this spirit of service is that it will not happen by simply reading about Christ’s acts of service in the Gospel and trying, with no preparation, to imitate Him.  The fact of the matter is that the Lord did not simply perform acts of service; rather, His deeds of love flowed naturally from His gracious character.  His deeds reveal His identity.  If we try to analyze the activity of Christ in the Gospel with a view to implementing a programme of Christ-like service to others, we will fail.  Acts of service that do not have their origin in a gracious character are not credible and are often undertaken for the wrong reasons.  Unfortunately, the wounded human heart is capable of sin even in performing good deeds if it is not being purified, enlightened and strengthened by the Holy Spirit.  We come face to face with a fundamental problem: we cannot act as Christ acts through observation and implementation alone.  We cannot acquire the spirit of service as we would a skill or a discipline.  We must instead receive Christ’s life and then struggle to allow His character to emerge in us.  This is why the Orthodox Church carefully distinguishes between the imitation of Christ and the life in Christ.  The former allows us to learn about Christianity; the latter allows us to become Christians."

+ Very Rev. Maxym Lysack, Serving Through Outreach

Also check out Fr Maxym's talk entitled "Orthodoxy and the World."

Where are the Children?

"BIG does NOT equal successful. Especially in the church. One of the church things I participated in had huge numbers, but very little depth; theologically and relationship-wise."

WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN?

Reblogged from http://orthodoxwoman.wordpress.com/2014/04/21/where-are-the-children/

Christ is Risen!

Christ is Risen!! Wishing you and your families a blessed and joyful Pascha (Resurrection Feast)!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3exhc29WpQ

The Papal Encyclical for the Glorious Feast of the Resurrection 2014

The Papal Encyclical for the Glorious Feast of the Resurrection 2014

"In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.

Ekhristos Anisti, Alithos Anisti. Christ is Risen, Indeed He is Risen.

I congratulate you my beloved with the Glorious Resurrection Feast that is the crown of our feasts and joy. Christ's Resurrection is the main foundation in our Christianity, our Church, our evangelism and our daily life. Christ's Resurrection is considered everything to us. The Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is considered our new life that we can live in.

In Christ's Resurrection, we have three main aspects.
(1) Before Crucifixion and Resurrection, Our Lord Jesus Christ was a teacher and a shepherd
(2) During Crucifixion until Resurrection, He was a reconciliator and a liberator
(3) After Resurrection, our Lord Jesus Christ was present and became a companion to every man. How?

Before Crucifixion and Resurrection, our Lord Jesus Christ was a teacher. He taught the multitude and individuals. He used all available means at that time. He gave sermons, interviews, and meetings. He performed miracles and gave many various and different parables. In His service, He met all people from all levels; He met people from upper classes in society and others from lower classes in the community. He met great multitudes and individuals, in different dialogues. He met Zacchaeus at the tree and the Samaritan woman at the well. At night, He met with Nicodemos. Teaching was the starting point as well as to influence change. before Crucifixion, our Lord Jesus Christ was a teacher and a shepherd.

From the time of Crucifixion until the Resurrection, Christ was a reconciliator and a liberator for mankind. Man looks for freedom at all times. Freedom became desirable for mankind. Man looks for it in any form, as it takes many forms, colors and kinds. There is social freedom, civil freedom, family freedom, religious freedom, etc. But the true freedom is the freedom that comes from inside a man, the freedom from the sin. Sin is the only disaster of this world as said St. John Chrysostom. Freedom from the sin is gained only through the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ ascended to the cross specifically to give us this freedom. Through the cross, He gave us the freedom from sins that He carried. We were granted forgiveness of sins and became free when we were forgiven. The cross became the key for wiping out the sin of man. "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." (John 8:36)

The true freedom is the freedom of man from the sin. That is why the cross became the reconciliator and the liberator of man. Man was reconciled with God and with the Resurrection, man started the new covenant with God.

After Crucifixion and Resurrection, Christ became a companion to everyone. After His Resurrection, Christ appeared to individuals like Mary Magdalene, then to the two disciples of Emmaus. Then to the disciples without Thomas, then to them with Thomas with them, then to others, etc. The appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ during the forty days after His Resurrection meant that Christ was present there. He also appeared during catching the 153 fishes for both St. Peter and St. John. The appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ meant His presence.

And after His Ascension to the heavens, after the 40 days of His Resurrection, He remained a companion to mankind. If you read the last verse of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, the Lord says: "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20). Christ is present and a companion to man. He is now present and walks with everyone all times. He knows the life of everyone and guides it. That is why we pray in the third hour of the Agpeya and say: "Blessed is the Lord day by day. He prepares our way, for He is God of our salvation." Christ walks with man day after day; He "prepares" means that He makes it in best condition. As He is our God of our salvation, He desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:4)

This is the new glorious Resurrection, and these are the fruits we get from the Cross and Resurrection. He says: "In the world you will have tribulation..." This tribulation could be our cross that we should carry. "...but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33). This "Overcoming" is the new Resurrection He grants to every man.

I congratulate you for the Glorious Resurrection Feast. I hope for all our churches, families, youths, children everywhere to rejoice with the Glorious Resurrection.

It is so blessed to have the Glorious Resurrection feast to be at the same day for all Christians at the whole world. This is a good starting point for all Christians, in hope of unifying our feasts, starting with the Feast of the Glorious Resurrection to be in one date in the whole world. We pray for this, and we work for this. May the Lord fulfil His work. May the resurrected Christ bless you. And bless your lives, works, services, and all that is in your hands. May the Lord keep you in His holy Name. To Whom is all glory and blessing, from now and forever. Amen."

Tawadros II
Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark.

The Paschal Canon

"O Great and Holiest Pascha, Christ! O Wisdom, Word and Power of God! 

Grant that we may partake of Thee more perfectly in the unending Day of Thy Kingdom." 

+ Paschal Canon

"Father, I desire that they also, Whom Thou hast given Me, may be with Me where I am, to behold My glory which Thou hast given Me in Thy love for Me before the foundation of the world." 

The Odes of The Paschal Canon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edZ12iknxmk

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

+ From the Gospel of St John the Theologian

And who would you be?

And who would you be?
Reblogged from CanAmOrthodox Blog
http://canamorthodox.wordpress.com/2014/04/17/who-would-you-be-2/

It is Holy Thursday. Most of us are anticipating a beautiful Liturgy, a moving Paschal evening, and looking with eagerness toward Great Friday and then the conclusion of the Pascha. Hopefully this week is more than just feeling good about being in church so much. Hopefully we do not take a comfort in merely having gone to so many Paschal services, beating our records from last year. Hopefully, we are looking at ourselves and crying at our sins.

The Glory of Abandonment

"My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" - The Glory of Abandonment

by Fr. Kyrillos Ibrahim

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYfDBbnv-5Q

Pascha, Baska & Holy Week in the Coptic Orthodox Church

If you're visiting a Coptic Orthodox Parish to celebrate Holy Week in the Coptic Orthodox Rite, here are some terminology to keep in mind:

On The Power of Orthodox Christian Liturgy

On The Power of Orthodox Christian Liturgy
by Fr Maxym Lysack

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh5Te0CKWoc

Transcript:

The Mystery of Holy Week

The Mystery of Holy Week
by Fr Stephen Freeman
http://glory2godforallthings.com/2014/04/07/the-mystery-of-holy-week-2/

For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. (1Co 15:16-19 NKJ)

Secularism and Reductionism

Secularization, Schmemann continues, causes a reduction of the Church on two levels; the reduction of the person and the reduction of the parish. These reductions diminish the Church by separating it from its meaning and fulfillment, making it dependent on the proximity of this world.

The reduction of the personal character of man is a reduction “of his life and his religion to history and sociology”, Schmemann articulates in an article published in 1965. The historical reduction makes truth relative in the eyes of the world; what was once true may not be true today. The sociological reduction has claims that man is determined by his sociological context.  Together these two reductions makes man unable to present himself as a person before God, but salvation in orthodox tradition, according to Schmemann, is entrusted to a person and not merely to man. To reduce the person to mere man is to enslave the person to the “impersonal” nature, where man becomes an object to himself.

In the Christian teaching man is always a person and thus not only a “microcosm” reflecting the whole world, but also a unique bearer of its destiny and a potential “king of creation.” The whole world is given—in a unique way—to each person and thus in each person it is “saved” or “perishes.” Thus in every Saint the world is saved and it is fully saved in the one totally fulfilled Person: Jesus Christ.

“The parish constitutes the main battlefield of the war between Orthodoxy and the growing secularization of the American Orthodox”, Schmemann argues in the same article. The second reduction, that of the parish, is therefore the more striking of the two. From being a natural community gathered for service it has, according to Schmemann, become an organization to fulfill the needs of its members. Instead of being a communion of holy people, gathered in the name of the Lord, its main purpose has become to uphold the ancient culture of the old “nation”, often with an ethnocentric focus. The final outcome of this double reduction, stemming from secularization, is the surrender of the Church, for the needs of the people, making it a “philosophy of life”. This meant a loss of the Church’s independence, not to an Empire but to a far more expansive threat: the objectification of the Church where the Church becomes an object in itself.

In his book For the Life of the World (1963), reprinted in an extended version in 1973, Schmemann visualizes the solution by making an analogy: when we enter into the Life of Christ, into His Resurrection, we add another dimension. This does not mean that we abandon the other dimensions, but they are fulfilled in this new dimension. If you look at color images, two dimensionally, they are lacking life and depth. The same goes for life without the dimension that Christ offers us in His Resurrection. The solution then is not to abandon this world. On the contrary, this world is already fulfilled in Christ, but not in us. We need to enter into this dimension of fulfillment in order to be fully Church and fully Man. The solution therefore emerges as a responsibility, first on a personal level and then as a community in order to be subjects.

According to Schmemann, secularization poses a threat to the Church not because it challenges religion, rather it is in itself a religion, with its intrinsic answers of life and death. It is a religion for those who are tired of the world being explained in the categories of another world, of which we know nothing. The secularized religion is compelled to withdraw from any relation to “otherness” or the “other” world. The only world we know is the one we live in. Secularization is the very “explanation” of death with the terminology this cessation of life gives us.

+ Michael Hjälm, Liberation of the Ecclesia: The Unfinished Project of Liturgical Theology, (Sweden: ScandBook AB, 2011) 42-44. http://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:441148/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Healing the Unspeakable: The Life of Saint Mary of Egypt

Healing the Unspeakable: The Life of Saint Mary of Egypt
by Presbytera Kyriaki Karidoyanes FitzGerald
(FitzGerald, Kyriaki Karidoyanes. "Healing the Unspeakable: The Life of Saint Mary of Egypt" in "Encountering Women of Faith: The St. Catherine's Vision Collection, Volume 2" Edited by Kyriaki Karidoyanes FitzGerald (Brookline, MA: Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2011) 173-194.)


"The power of Your Cross, O Christ, has worked wonders,
for even the woman who was once a harlot 
chose to follow the ascetic way.
Casting aside her weakness, bravely she opposed the devil; 
and having gained the prize of victory, 
she now intercedes for our souls."

+ Adapted slightly from the “Canon of St. Mary of Egypt,” in The Lenten Triodion, 

trans. Mother Mary and Kallistos Ware (London: Faber and Faber, 1978), 448.

On Saint Mary of Egypt

On Saint Mary of Egypt

By Metropolitan Anthony Bloom

http://www.mitras.ru/eng/eng_32.htm

In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

We keep today the memory of Saint Mary of Egypt in the gradual progression from glory to glory which Lent is, and which must lead us step by step to facing the supreme glory of the Divine Love crucified, the sacrificial love of the Holy Trinity.

Sister Magdalen on Liturgical Experience

Liturgical Experience

'During divine service be trustful, as a child trusts his parents. [...] Cast all your care upon the Lord [...]; "Take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in the same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father, which speaketh in you." Long ago has the Lord freed us from this care, having by His Spirit taught the Church what to say, how to pray, at divine service." Such an attitude to the worship of our Church does not stem from conservatism.