Resources

Many informative articles were published in our parish newsletters in the years prior to Covid. Email to the friends and faithful of Holy Cross has replaced our newsletters, but many of the articles are collected here. Use the indexes below to find the topic or author you’re interested in. (Once you click on a topic or author, scroll to the bottom of the page to see the search results.)

Also, have a look at the Recommended Readings on the OCA (Orthodox Church in America) website for a list of books covering a wide range of topics. Essential Orthodox Christian Beliefs: A Manual for Adult Instruction is also available for free download on the OCA’s website.

(Speaking of our parent jurisdiction, the OCA traces its origins to the arrival in Kodiak, Alaska in 1794 of eight Orthodox missionaries from the Valaamo Monastery in the northern Karelia region of Russia. Today, the OCA includes some 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries, and institutions throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico.)

We hope you’ll find these suggested readings to be both edifying and encouraging!

Fr Christopher Foley 11/1/25 Fr Christopher Foley 11/1/25

Be Here Now: Stability as Virtue

It all begins with an idea.

Fr. Christopher Foley

February 2008

" A tree which is often transplanted does not bear fruit."
St. Euthymius the Great

As we begin this month our journey towards Great Lent let us take some time to contemplate the importance of stability. This crazy, technologically advanced world we live and participate in presents us many choices. We are barraged constantly with choices and options. It has become a virtue to change often. Whether it be something as simple as brands, stores or any consumer product, or as serious as job, church, city, religion, political party or sexual orientation. We can recreate ourselves every day and this is seen as a good thing. As holistic beings, we can not help but be affected by all of this. As consumers we get to choose whatever we want, when we want it and can have it immediately. This is innocent enough, but when it comes to more important things like relationships, vocation and religion this can be a very serious matter. The most serious side effect of this is how we approach our spiritual life, and this is where we must give our attention.

We must begin by stating emphatically the conviction that the spiritual life is lived right in front of us, right here, right now. It is not lived in some other distant, remote place. We can so easily make excuses, "if only I lived in such and such a city or time, then things would be easier", or "if only I didn't have to work here, I could live a more peaceful life." We make many excuses as to why we don't simply take up our cross and embrace the present as the reality that our Lord has given to us for our salvation and healing. Within the various writings of the Fathers and Mothers of our Church, we can find many that deal with the issue of stability, vigilance, steadfastness as a virtue of the spiritual life as a Christian. There is the monastic adage that says, "stay where you are until you are compelled by the Spirit to go elsewhere" and "stay where you are and don't easily leave it." Obviously this has real meaning for one who has dedicated his or her life to the monastic life, but this has meaning for us as well. St. Euthymius the Great once said,

We must never admit evil thoughts that fill us with sorrow and hatred for the place in which we live, and suggest that we go somewhere else. If someone tries to do something good in the place where he lives but fails to complete it, he should not think that he will accomplish it elsewhere. It is not the place that produces success, but faith and a firm will. A tree which is often transplanted does not bear fruit.

This is the essence of stability - faith and a firm will in the presence of God here and now, and in this place. We can often be tempted to be elsewhere - another church, another family, a different job, etc. We pray often to our Lord God "who is present everywhere and fillest all things." Do we really have this as a conviction? As we mature in Christ we begin to realize that Christ came to smash all idols especially the ones that tell us that the spiritual life is lived elsewhere or that it looks the way we expect.

If we look at a thesaurus for synonyms for stability we find words such as adherence, assurance, backbone, balance, cohesion, constancy, dependability, determination, durability, endurance, firmness, maturity, permanence, security and steadfastness. Should not these be words that describe a mature Christian who takes his faith seriously and who is actively and intentionally engaging and actualizing this faith into his or her life? This is done primarily through seeing God in the midst of all of our circumstances.

In our thirst for holiness we must realize that God is here present with us in the present moment. There is a classic book by Jean-Pierre de Caussade where he speaks of the value of the "sacrament of the present moment." He says that if we truly desire and thirst for holiness we must actively engage God's will right in front of us. He says, "If we are thirsty we must not worry about books which explain what thirst is. If we waste time seeking an explanation about thirst, all that will happen is that we shall get thirstier." He says that it is the same with holiness and doing the will of God and that we should accept what God presents to us with child-like faith. "What God arranges for us to experience at each moment is the best and holiest thing that could happen to us." This acceptance of God's will in the present creates a strong foundation of stability upon which to build the house of our life in Christ which is experienced in active participation in the life of the Body of Christ, the Church. Let us, as we approach Great Lent, be mindful of these things and, with St. Herman of Alaska, " all make a vow: at least from this day, this hour, this very minute, we should strive to love God above all else and do His will!"

O Lord our God , help us to realize that our true life is only in Thee. Help us to do Thy will in all things and to be ever mindful of Thy glorious presence in all things. Help us to find our true stability in Thee alone. Amen.

Fr Joseph Allen 11/1/25 Fr Joseph Allen 11/1/25

What is So Orthodox at Thanksgiving?

It all begins with an idea.

Fr. Joseph Allen

November 2009

There is no "feast" that seems more "American" than Thanksgiving. Many of us Orthodox also recognize this holiday in some sort of way. Usually we say that it is a day in which "they" remember that the Pilgrims landed in this country. Of course, the "they" that we use in such a sentence refers to any of the non-Orthodox Americans that we live with.

And yet, this is real chance for us – it may be one of the few "American" things that we can truly make Orthodox. We will never be able to totally interpret the secular things of America in an Orthodox way – such as hot dogs and beer, or Rock and Roll Masses. But here on Thanksgiving Day is exactly where it should be done. This is so because if you think about and are especially aware of the words and feeling of our Divine Liturgy, there is nothing more Orthodox than giving thanks or "thanksgiving."

It is, therefore, on Thanksgiving Day that we have a chance to help America look deeper into itself – by looking at this "typical" American holiday of Thanksgiving from an Orthodox point of view. We know that to be Orthodox, if we really know about Orthodoxy, implies that "deeper look." But what is meant by looking deeper?

To begin with, if we as Americans, both Orthodox and non-Orthodox, fail to see the greater lesson of what "Thanksgiving" means, if it is just the remembering of an historical event, it will remain only a memory and not something that we call a Holiday, or better yet, a Holy Day. This is so because just the memory is not enough. Memory may be helpful, but it does not guarantee holiness. Why do we say Holy Day? When we answer this question, we will have taken that "deeper look."

Surely those that landed in America understood why the day was "holy." They were not only celebrating their historic landing as holy, as we do today in this shallow way; they looked deeper and when they did, they gave thanks together in a real communion with each other and with God for all the bountiful gifts with which they were blessed. Perhaps they understood, even better than we do, what it means when we sing in our Liturgy: "for the abundance of the fruits of the earth and for peaceful times…." That's it! That's the deeper look; men standing together before God in thankfulness. Men bound by common problems. Men bound by common goals.

Orthodoxy, therefore, has the great opportunity to be able to dissect the word "Thanksgiving," to show this fullness. In fact, we are constantly showing what it really means at every Liturgy, for it is here that thanksgiving is not only a memory, not only a day; it is a "state" or a "position" that we are in. What is that "state" which is holy? It is a standing together – no, it begins earlier – it begins with the procession of each of us from the bed of our homes to the place where we will stand, to be together, even as those pilgrims were, to give thanks. The height of this thanksgiving is when we offer up the gifts of bread and wine – "Thine own of Thine own, we offer unto thee, in behalf of all and for all" – while we are offered life in return from God.

Can we take America back to that original meaning, to that deeper look? The pilgrims had it, but we have preserved it! Perhaps now we can say "we" instead of "they" to show that Thanksgiving is not only for non- Orthodox. Certainly, it is at the Divine Liturgy where "we" should begin this Day of Thanksgiving. Is there less that we can do?

What's so Orthodox about Thanksgiving? Orthodoxy.

Anonymous 10/31/25 Anonymous 10/31/25

The Holy Supper at Nativity

It all begins with an idea.

Anonymous

December 2010

Christians of the Orthodox Faith have developed many meaningful customs which are associated with the feasts and fasts of the Church Year. These are especially recognizable during the feast of the Nativity of Jesus Christ.

One of the most prominent of these customs among the people who emigrated from the Carpathian mountain region is the Holy Night Supper. Each village retains its own variations regarding the actual ritual, but all the customs in general enrich the Christmas Eve Supper. Many of these customs have been handed·down by word of mouth. Others have been forgotten. Many are perpetuated here in America by the second and third generation of Orthodox Christians. Though it is traditionally served at home it has become customary in some Orthodox churches to preserve this family tradition where parishioners bring their favorite Nativity Lenten food and share it with all present. This family tradition is in danger of being lost since families no longer live close together and few have the time to cook the necessary dishes. The priest who is the father of the church family performs the prayer ritual.

The entire drama of events, associated with the “Birth of Christ” at Christmas is re·enacted through the customs at the “Holy Night Supper.” The Advent season does not conclude until the feast of Christmas. The Lenten rule of abstinence from meat and dairy products is strictly observed. Therefore, the Holy Night Supper consists of lenten foods.

Traditionally, the entire family prepares for the Holy Supper on the vigil of Christmas by washing themselves. The clean body is reflective of an unblemished soul and reminds us of the special state of grace, the result of having received the Holy Eucharist in Church during the Advent season.

The Supper begins at about the time the first star appears in the sky. The entire family assembles in the dining room. The star represents the star of Bethlehem. The “gazda” or master of the home proceeds to feed the animals with a generous portion of food. This custom reminds us of the animals present In the stable at the birth of Christ. The father spreads hay or straw in the dining room. As he does this, special prayers are recited. He greets the family with the words: “Christ is Born,” to which all reply, “Glorify Him!”

The dining room represents the cave and manger of Bethlehem, the humble surroundings of the Lord’s birth. The four legs of the table are tied with rope or chain by the father. This represents the asking of blessings and protection from all corners of the world. The chain symbolizes the unity of love which prevails among the members of the family.

The mother of the house sprinkles all present with holy water. She also sprinkles all the livestock In the barn and the animals in the home. She gives each of the animals some sugar or salt and plenty of feed. Candles are lighted on the table, as well as on the Christmas tree. The tree represents that one from which Adam and Eve had eaten. The candles remind us of Christ the “light of the World” at the time of His Birth. A candle is placed in the window as a Sign of welcome to any stranger or traveler who seeks shelter.

A clean white linen cloth is placed on the table. The linen represents the swaddling clothes with which the Mother of God clothed the Infant Child. Four candles are placed on the table symbolizing Christ and the three wise men. A manger scene is also placed on the table.

During the initial prayers by the father, blessed incense is burned on hot coals or charcoal. It reminds us of the gift of frankincense and myrrh. The smoke symbolically elevates the prayers to the throne of God. An empty chair is set at, the table in memory of deceased family members. It also reminds us of those family members who are unable to be present at the Supper. Members of the family who are absent, represent those people who were not present at the birth of Christ.

According to the custom, the father or the eldest son leads the family in prayer, in a kneeling position. This reminds us of the adoration of the Christ Child by the shepherds and wise men. The prayer expresses gratitude of God for His blessings during the past year. Included in the prayer are special petitions for health, happiness, longevity, peace and love. The father then blesses the food with holy water.

The father offers the traditional Christmas toast with a drink of sweet wine or brandy. All members of the family drink the toast, including the children. The mother gives a tooth of garlic, dipped in honey, to each member. She makes the sign of the cross on the forehead of the father, and on each of the other members of the family according seniority. The honey is symbolic of the sweetness of life, while the garlic represents the bitterness. The Trinity is invoked to fortify all family members against the tribulations of life in the coming year.

The father takes the home-made bread, blesses it, and distributes a piece to everyone. The sign of the cross is made with the bread, before it is consumed. Customarily, twelve traditional foods are served, representing the twelve Apostles. The food is served from a common bowl, from which all eat, as it is passed-around. This is symbolical of the family unity. The following lenten foods are served at the Supper. They may vary according to each village, county, and even from each household: (Only 12 of the following foods are served)

Bread
Vegetables
Honey
Fish
Garlic
Prunes
“Bobalky” (small biscuits)
Prune Soup
“Pirohy”
Stuffed Cabbage
Mushrooms
Sauerkraut
Mushroom Soup
Tea
Pea Soup
“Kolachy” (cakes)
Nuts
Borsch (beet soup)

Sounds like a feast instead of a fast, doesn’t it? Only a small portion of the food is consumed.

After dinner, the father reads the narrative of Christ’s Birth from the Scripture. A prayer of thanksgiving is recited, including thanks for the most precious gift of all, the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ. Carols are sung as the children eagerly hunt for pennies and small toys hidden in the straw, or in some secluded place of the home. Later, gifts are exchanged.During this time many carols are sung reminding the family of the birth of our Savior in the cave in Bethlehem. Then after the singing of the carols the family, like the shepherds, hasten to attend worship services.

Bethlehem has Opened Eden:

Come, and let us see!
Bethlehem has opened Eden: come, and let us see! We have found joy hidden! Come, and let us take possession of the paradise within the cave.
There the unwatered stem has appeared, from which forgiveness blossoms forth! There is found the undug well from which David longed to drink of old, and there the Virgin has borne a child, and at once the thirst of Adam and David is made to cease.
Therefore let us hasten to this place where for our sake the eternal God was born as a little child!
Ikos from Nativity Matins

A Note from Fr. Christopher

We have begun to incorporate this into our Nativity celebration at Holy Cross between the Vesperal Liturgy and the Nativity Vigil on Christmas Eve. This is a great way to solemnize this lenten meal together as a parish family. If there are any other Nativity customs from the various Orthodox traditions that you come from, please do not hesitate to let me know as it would be great to incorporate more of “our” traditions into our Holy Cross celebration of Nativity.

This article was taken and adapted from a short article called “Holy Night Supper Customs” and from the following website:
http://www.lenten-season.com/article-index.php?ID=3

Fr Basil Biberdorf 10/31/25 Fr Basil Biberdorf 10/31/25

Orthodoxy and Politics

It all begins with an idea.

Rev. Priest Basil Biberdorf

October 2012

Our American political season is reaching a fever pitch in this final month before election day. We can expect to be bombarded with robo-calls and television advertisements, each candidate vilifying the other and attempting to make gold from the base metal of his own career, all in an attempt to sway our votes. We will not be able to open a newspaper without hearing of the daily ebbs, flows, and floods of the campaign.

What perhaps makes this more difficult for us is the desire of many candidates to present their positions as uniquely Christian. America has a long history of organizations arising to defend particular positions as “Christian,” in matters of slavery, alcohol, arms control, tax policy, sexual behavior, and free speech, to name just a few. Consider some of the organizations interested in these causes: the Moral Majority, the Christian Left, Focus on the Family, the Manhattan Declaration, and the Evangelical Climate Initiative.

From an Orthodox perspective, some of these make their cases better than others, articulating points in agreement with Christian belief and our moral tradition. Nonetheless, the reality we face is that the political realm operates according to the rules of a fallen world. It is a world where scarcity prevails and not everyone can have everything, where one wins and another loses, where motives are impure, and where the worst aspects of the fallen human nature—preeminently greed, lust for power, and pride—corrupt the best intentions of many candidates.

The political process itself, in whatever form, is a manifestation of sin in the world. After all, God established the judges to govern ancient Israel, only to see them rejected by his people in favor of kings and princes, with tragic results. “And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day” (1 Samuel 8:18; read the entire chapter). Indeed the kings of Israel are divided into good and bad, with the bad far outnumbering the good.

The Christian encounters this fallen world and must engage it and seek to transform it through the softening of the hearts of men and their return to God. Nonetheless, the Christian must never forget that his own world has little to do with this one. As Christ tells Pilate before his crucifixion: “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). We confuse Christ’s kingdom (of which we are a part) with the world’s at our peril.

In the first place, there is the risk that we confuse the message of the Gospel: God became man, submitted to death, and overcame death in order for all men to live. What can the political process do about this? Surely we must remain free to speak openly and pointedly about sin and redemption. We should fight the political battle to do so. We must also seek to end gross injustice, and the loss of human lives, each one bearing the image of Christ, through willful violence. Yet the Gospel endures in spite of persecution by the state, just as it endured the Jews, Roman emperors, Islam, and the Communists.

We must also not allow an interest in politics to corrupt our mission. Our aim as Christians is not the transformation of the state into some kind of imagined “Christian realm,” but the salvation of souls by uniting them with Christ and his Church. Many contemporary denominations attract members by promoting their political biases using important code words: “We believe in the Bible,” or “God is still speaking.” Orthodox Christians do not “recruit” on the basis of political affinity, but rather guide men, women, and children to pursue and cling to Christ, receiving the life and love that flows from him alone. We must always present ourselves not as conservative or liberal Christians, but as authentic Christians.

Authentic Christians cannot transfer their obligations to the state. If it is our obligation to care for our neighbor (“When did we see you hungry...?” Matthew 25:31ff), it does no good to transfer our responsibility to politicians and bureaucrats. It is our calling, not someone else’s, especially if “someone else” isn’t a Christian at all.

Authentic Christians also cannot focus on one issue at the expense of another, as often happens with matters of abortion and war, where a given candidate supports one and deplores the other. Unjustified killing is unjustified killing, after all.

Finally, as authentic Christians, we must be careful not to despise our neighbor on the basis of his political beliefs. While some positions are quite clearly wrong (e.g., abortion), Christ says to “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Our political discourse often leads us to dehumanizing our opponents, thinking less of them, or considering them stupid. The Gospel ultimately relates to a world restored in Christ rather than one run by politicians. Our Christian calling does not mean we must be politically apathetic, but it limits our expectations, reminding us “put not your trust in princes, in sons of men, in whom there is no salvation” (Psalm 146). For that, we can give thanks.

Fr Stephen Freeman 10/30/25 Fr Stephen Freeman 10/30/25

Cynicism and the Goodness of God

It all begins with an idea.

Fr. Stephen Freeman

November 2009

I admit to being a child of the 60’s (which means I was born in the early 50's). I have lived through a period in American history marked by assassinations, abuse of power, incompetence and unrelenting and outrageous pieties from the lips of the impious. As such, like many in my generation, I am tempted by cynicism – an assurance that things are never as they seem but that things seem mainly because someone wants them to seem that way. Of course, cynics rarely have to repent because history frequently supports their suspicions.

The difficulty comes, however, when cynicism becomes rooted in our hearts. Its cold distance from the world can also dampen the warmth of love – its constant position of suspicion robbing us of the joy of simple wonder.

On a theological level, cynicism is largely irreconcilable with a belief in the goodness of God. It is true that the world is filled with sin, and that other people and our institutions fail us. The Scriptures tell us to "put not your trust in princes nor in the sons of men." However, the same Psalm that warns us about such false hopes, is an exceedingly hopeful Psalm:

Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! While I live I will praise the LORD; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. Do not put your trust in princes, Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help. His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish. Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the LORD his God, Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them; Who keeps truth forever, Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The LORD gives freedom to the prisoners. The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; The LORD raises those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow; But the way of the wicked He turns upside down. The LORD shall reign forever — Your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD! (Psalm 146/145)

Like so many other aspects of our spiritual life, emptiness cannot replace fullness. To trust in God and to rejoice in His goodness is an act of fullness, an act that fills the heart with good things. However, to refuse to put our trust in things human is not a command to cynicism. It is, instead, a commandment to center our hearts and lives on the goodness of God rather than placing our hope in the works of man.

The difference is not simply a matter of emphasis, but goes to the very heart of the spiritual life. It is easy to view many practices of devotion in a negative manner – to see fasting simply as abstinence from food, chastity as abstinence from sex, and so on. Such an attitude towards the disciplines of the spiritual life yields the opposite of its intent. We abstain from certain foods when we fast (and eat less as well), in order to give ourselves more fully to God. Fasting without prayer is known in Orthodoxy as "the fast of demons," for though the demons never eat, neither do they pray. Chastity is not simply a resistance against the temptations of our flesh, but, again, and effort to give ourselves to God.

The statement of St. John the Baptist when comparing his ministry with that of Christ's, placed things in their proper order: "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:22). Cynicism with regard to the things of the world is not the same thing as trust in the goodness of God. Indeed, cynicism need have no God at all.

In C.S. Lewis' classic The Last Battle (part of the Narnia series), cynicism plays a large role in the lives of a small band of dwarves. Having been fooled by a false pretender to the throne of Aslan (the lion who allegorizes Christ), they refuse to be "fooled" again, and in so doing refuse to recognize the true Aslan when he comes. Sitting in the new Narnia, paradise itself, they think they are in a dirty barn. However, until the end they comfort themselves with the false claim that "they are not fooled."

Cynicism may refuse to believe what is false, but it does not possess the virtue of seeing what is good. Such virtue only comes because we rejoice in the good and set our hearts on God. Though we put not our trust in princes nor in the sons of men, we nevertheless recognize the goodness of God, Who keeps truth forever; Who executes justice for the oppressed; Who gives food to the hungry; Who sets the prisoners free; Who opens the eyes of the blind; Who raises those who are bowed down; Who loves the righteous; Who watches over the strangers and relieves the widow and the fatherless.

Such hope does not disappoint nor does it poison our heart with the cold wisdom of those who cannot be fooled. The wisdom of the world is never the same thing as the wisdom of God – one offers only an emptiness while the other is the very fullness of God's own goodness.

Bogdan Gabriel Bucur 10/30/25 Bogdan Gabriel Bucur 10/30/25

One of Us! Praising Christ with the Hymns of the Nativity

It all begins with an idea.

Bogdan Gabriel Bucur

December 2017

In case the title startled you a bit, you can relax: I’ve taken the liberty to quote from Joan Osbourne’s 1995 hit, “One of Us,” but “just a slob like one of us” is nowhere to be found among the hymns chanted in the Orthodox Church! Osborne’s song, nonetheless, is a beautiful piece of music, with intriguing lyrics. If I am allowed to pick and choose, these are the verses I like best: “What if God was one of us? Just like one of us? Just a stranger on the bus, trying to make his way home? . . . If God had a face, what would it look like? God is great, God is good, yeah, yeah, yeah!”

I am often reminded of this song during the tiresome Christmas bustle at Walmart, with the crowds of compulsive shoppers (of whom I am fi rst), and with the jingles and the commercials repeated ad nauseam. Too much of all that and I start feeling lonely and lost, like Osbourne’s stranger on the bus, wondering how much of God’s face can still be discerned in this merrygo-round of special offers, reindeer, the obligatory new Christmas movie, “Ho-Ho-Ho” and the Santas at the mall. I also think that, while this song expresses a very deep and pure yearning — wrapped, certainly, in the cynicism and disillusionment of our age — it leaves us, at best, with only a trace of an anonymous and faceless God, who might or might not have been there on the bus.

Our Christmas hymns, the witness of the apostles and martyrs and saints, by contrast, speak boldly of “what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we observed and touched with our own hands” (1 John 1:1): a God great and good precisely because he came to be “just a slob like one of us.” Here is what we sing at the Great Hours of the Nativity:

Today is born of a virgin He who holds the whole creation in His hand.
He whose essence none can touch is bound in swaddling clothes as a mortal man.
God, who in the beginning fashioned the heavens, lies in a manger.
He who rained manna on his people in the wilderness is fed on milk from His mother’s breast.
The bridegroom of the Church summons the wise men; the Son of the virgin accepts their gifts.
We worship Thy birth, O Christ! We worship Thy birth, O Christ! We worship Thy birth, O Christ!
Show us also Thy holy Theophany.
(Eve of the Nativity, sticheron at the Ninth Royal Hour)

A Palestinian baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, sucking milk at his mother’s breast — one of us! The point of this hymn, however, is that this baby is also the maker and fashioner of the universe (“who holds creation in the hollow of his hand,” “who established the heavens”); he is also the Lord God of Israel, who freed his people from slavery, led it and fed it miraculously in the desert. He is also the light of all mankind, who summons the pagan stargazers, and, as another hymn (the Nativity troparion) says, he taught them to worship the sun of righteousness rising in Bethlehem. This baby, we are told, is the Bridegroom of the Church, and, as we have promised at Baptism, we bow down to him in worship.

The point is this: that Palestinian baby is no less than God. The icon of the Nativity – as a matter of fact, any icon of Christ – teaches the same truth, by showing a halo around the baby’s head, inscribed with Greek words declaring “He Who Is.” This is the name that God reveals to Moses on Mount Sinai: ego eimi ho on, “he who is,” “the existing one.” Those in the Church more philosophically inclined referred to this God as “the one beyond being” – beyond any affirmation and negation, beyond the grasp of human language, thought, feeling or imagination. Christianity does not begin, however, with metaphysical speculation, but with the amazing news of the Nativity: “Today the Virgin gives birth to the one beyond being”! Today, “he who is,” who spoke to Moses in the burning bush, and who inspired the lofty thought of all those who searched for him throughout the ages, has come to us as a baby. Wrapped in swaddling clothes, sucking at the breast – one of us!

Christ in the Nativity Hymns

In the Orthodox Church, one becomes familiar with “Christology” – what we confess about Jesus Christ – by participating in the Church’s worship. Explaining who this baby born at Bethlehem is constitutes precisely the liturgical program of Nativity: Bethlehem, make ready; Eden, open thy gates; for He Who Is [Exodus 3:14 ] becomes that which He was not, and the Fashioner of all creation is fashioned . . . (Sunday before Nativity, Sticheron at Litya). As another hymn explains, born in Bethlehem is He who fashioned all creation, yet reveals Himself in the womb of her that He formed (Eve of the Nativity, Sticheron at the Sixth Royal Hour). Indeed, to the discerning eye of faith, the cave holds far more than a helpless “baby Jesus.” We hymn Christ, who comes to save the man He fashioned (Sunday before Nativity Vespers, Apostichon at Lord I have cried). This is the very Lord God who separated the waters and suspended the earth upon the void (Job 26:7): When creation beheld Thee born in a cave, who hast hung the whole earth in a void above the waters, it was seized with amazement and cried: “There is none holy save Thee,O Lord!” (Compline Canon of the Forefeast of the Nativity, Ode 3, Eirmos).

The Virgin Theotokos offers, in the words of the hymnographer, the pattern of our worship of the baby: “O, sweetest child, how shall I feed Thee who give food to all? How shall I hold Thee, who holdest all things in Thy power? How shall I wrap Thee in swaddling clothes, who wrap the whole earth in clouds?” So cried the all-pure Lady whom in faith we magnify … (Matins Canon of the Forefeast of the Nativity, Ode 9, Sticheron 5).

Indeed, it is Christ who bowed the heavens (Psalm 17:10/ 18:9), and holds the creation in the hollow of his hand (Isaiah 40:12):

Open to me the gates, and entering within,
I shall see as a child wrapped in swaddling clothes
Him who upholds the creation in the hollow of His hand,
whose praises the angels sing with unceasing voice, the Lord and Giver of Life who saves mankind (Vespers of the Forefeast of the Nativity, Apostichon).

Very often the hymns speak of Christ as occupying the throne of God. This is common biblical language. Scripture depicts the God of Israel as the ruler of a heavenly world: seated on a fiery throne of cherubim – a living throne, as it were – in the innermost sanctum of a heavenly temple attended by thousands upon thousands of angels, who perform their celestial liturgies according to precisely appointed times and rules. This imagery looms large in the Psalms and in prophetic and apocalyptic literature (e.g., Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1, Daniel 7), as well as in the New Testament and later Christian literature. “Throne” implies divine status: only God is depicted as seated on his heavenly throne; all others – angels and archangels, patriarchs, prophets, and saints – stand before him. To say that Jesus Christ is enthroned amounts, therefore, to proclaiming him as Lord and God. As Christians, we do not worship a mere human being, nor have we invented a second God: rather, in Jesus Christ we have the very image – the Face, as it were – of God (2 Corinthians 4:4; Colossians 1:15; cf. Matthew 18:10). This is also true of the Nativity hymns, which have a very precise Christological message: Make merry, O Bethlehem! . . . Christ, the shepherd of Israel, who rides on the shoulders of the cherubim, has come forth from you for all to see . . . (Canon of the Nativity, Ode 3, Sticheron 4);

Before Thy birth, O Lord, the angelic hosts looked with trembling on this mystery and were struck with wonder: for Thou who hast adorned the vault of heaven with stars hast been well pleased to be born as a babe; and Thou who holdest all the ends of the earth in the hollow of Thy hand art laid in a manger of dumb beasts
(Eve of Nativity, Sticheron at the Third Royal Hour).

If the manger holds no less than the Lord, who in heaven is enthroned on the living cherubic throne, what of the Virgin? A strange and most wonderful mystery do I see: the cave is heaven; the Virgin – the throne of the cherubim (Canon of the Nativity, Ode 9, Eirmos). The virgin mother, truly “Theotokos” (God-bearer), is herself a living throne. This “strange and most wonderful mystery,” however, is not her exclusive privilege. It is rather the mystery of our call to what theologians call “deification,” that is, the vocation to an ever-increasing growth in the likeness to God. We too, as we sing at Liturgy, “represent mystically the cherubim”; we too, therefore, are called to be God-bearers.

Doxological Christology

The Christology – the teaching about Christ – that is found in the hymns complements that set forth by the ecumenical councils, and the Church views both as divinely inspired. Beginning with the apostolic council in Jerusalem, around 45 A.D., councils have prefaced their decisions with the formula, “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and also to us” (Acts 15:28). The hymns lay claim to the same inspiration by the Holy Spirit. As we sing in the Canon of the Annunciation (Ode 1, Eirmos), “My mouth shall I open wide, and it will thus be with Spirit fi lled. A word shall I then pour out unto the Mother and Queen. I will joyously attend the celebration and sing to her merrily, praising her miracles.”

But there is a distinction between the Christology of the hymns and that of the councils. The latter were compelled to articulate the faith of the Church in the face of heretical distortion, by using definitions of faith to delimit authentic Christian faith from false experience and belief. In doing so, they used the language most apt as instruments to formulate the definitions, borrowing from disciplines such as philosophy, logic, or medicine. With the hymns, however, the situation is quite different. Leaving aside the special of category “dogmatic hymns,” the hymns I have quoted so far are not engaged in demonstration, clarification or, polemics, but in worship. They do not address the adversaries of faith, but give expression to the spiritual intimacy between the Bride and the Bridegroom, the Church and Christ, constantly recalling their covenant recorded in the Scriptures. This is “doxological language,” the language of praise. In the absence of heresies (which forced the Church to express her faith in a more precise and technical language), doxology may very well have been the only Christology. Of course, these two types of language – doxological and dogmatic – are often intertwined, and have always coexisted. One finds a perfect illustration in the person of St. John of Damascus, hailed both as the author of the Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith and as an inspired hymnographer.

Hymns are Theology

In “performing” the hymns in worship, theology comes alive, becomes praise, becomes a dialogue with God. Its vantage point is no longer outside the event to which it refers, but rather the event itself, made present liturgically and encompassing worshippers past, present and future: “Today, He who holds the whole creation in the hollow of His hand is born of the Virgin”; or, at Pascha, “This is the Day of Resurrection.”

The hymns anchor all of us in the living experience of Israel’s walk with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Law-giver and “God of our fathers” – the same one whom the hymns proclaim Jesus Christ, the Lord. There is no need to argue for the importance of the hymns in Christian devotion – this is quite self-evident. But it is worth repeating that, in the Orthodox Church, hymnography can never be isolated from doctrinal inquiry: hymns are theology! They are bearers of an elaborate Christology, which essentially proclaims the same mystery of Christ that the ecumenical councils sought to defend, yet in a language very different from that of conciliar definitions.

Learning theology from the hymns helps reeducate our religious sensibility. It is not enough to ask, “What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us?” and remain suspended between the obligatory cynicism of our time and the hope that Christmas will remain somehow “magical.” And Nativity is certainly about much more than our pious emotions before “sweet baby Jesus” in the crib, just as Holy Week is about much more than our pious emotions aroused by the sufferings of an innocent. The Byzantine hymns invite us rather to approach both crib and cross with the awe that the people of Israel approached Mount Sinai, where Christ spoke to them in flashing light and rolling thunder: This is the “fear of God, faith, and love” with which the Divine Liturgy bids us approach the Son of God become son of the Virgin.

Christ is born, glorify Him!

Bogdan Gabriel Bucur is a member of the community at St. George Orthodox Cathedral in Pittsburgh. He is also an assistant professor of Theology at Duquesne University, where he teaches Bible and Patristics.

Source: The Word Magazine, Volume 52, No 10, December, 2008

Fr Thomas Zell 10/30/25 Fr Thomas Zell 10/30/25

The Trail of the Tithe

It all begins with an idea.

Fr. Thomas Zell

February 2016

One of my earliest childhood memories is of piling into the back of our family car on Sunday morning and heading off to our little Baptist church in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Along with ensuring that my brother and I were properly cleaned and dressed for the occasion, my father would always drop several coins into our hands, so that we in turn could drop them into the offering plate at church. Tithing was something Dad faithfully practiced all his life, and he wanted to make sure his sons followed suit. Having lived with this tradition for so long, and loving it so much, it is hard for me now to stop and look at it objectively. But since the concept has become somewhat an object of debate today, I would like to examine both the myth and the realities behind this practice, and to follow the trail of the tithe.

Tithing in the Old Testament

In English, Greek, and Hebrew, the word “tithe” comes from a derivative of the number “ten,” and means the setting aside of a tenth of one’s income for a specific, often religious purpose. Tithing is an ancient practice—very ancient.The Trail of the TitheWhile tithing is a critical practice of the Old Covenant, it did not originate with Moses and the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. In the biblical account, the tithe actually shows up some five centuries before the Law was given. We first hear of it in the Book of Genesis. On his way home from rescuing his nephew Lot from captivity, Abraham journeys through the land of Canaan and encounters a mysterious man named Melchizedek, who was both king of the city of Salem (modern Jerusalem) and priest of the most High God. In Genesis 14:18–20 we read that when Abraham drew near, Melchizedek came out to meet him, blessed him (a story in itself), and Abraham in return gave Melchizedek “a tithe of all.” The writer of the Book of Hebrews makes a point of saying that through Abraham Levi himself, and thus, the entire levitical system established through Moses, paid a tithe to this ancient and enigmatic figure.The Trail of the TitheWe are not told who told Abraham to tithe (it wasn’t Melchizedek), what guidelines he was following, why he felt compelled to provide this portion of his goods, where the idea originated, or when it came to be a custom. The Genesis story simply relates what took place and moves on without comment. While scholars disagree as to the meaning of all this, we do know for certain that the custom was not unique to Israel. It is a matter of historical record that many other ancient nations (Sumer, for example) practiced some form of tithing in the early days of civilization. As the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia notes, tithing is a practice that is “ancient and deeply rooted in the history of the human race.”

Not a Tithe but Tithes

It is also important to remember that for the nation of Israel and for faithful Jews during the Old Testament period, not just one, but three separate tithes were prescribed. In simplified form, the three tithes were:

1) An annual tithe, to be paid towards the support of the Levites, priests, and other religious personnel, who were not allowed an inheritance of their own and thus were at the mercy of the state (see Numbers 18:21–24).

2) A separate annual feast tithe, which went towards the expenses and upkeep of the Temple, and the various feasts and sacrifices surrounding it (see Deuteronomy 14:22–27).

3) A third-year tithe for the poor of the land, and again for the Levite (see Deuteronomy 26:12f). So to “run the numbers,” by the time all of these various tithes were paid into the treasuries, along with the various other taxes, offerings, and contributions, it is likely that a faithful Israelite male under the Old Covenant paid closer to a third of his annual income toward some form of tithe, not just ten percent!

The Spirit Behind the Law

Crunching numbers is one thing. More significant is the question why? Why did God demand this regular offering of a percentage of personal income? Consider the following observations.

1) The tithe was not optional under the Old Covenant. It’s not human nature to reach into hard-earned savings and pull out a portion for a purpose beyond the support of one’s family. Many ancient Israelites were tempted to look for loopholes in this commandment—and to their spiritual detriment, some succeeded. The prophet Malachi speaks directly to this point. By his day, Malachi needed to address his message not to a single group, but to practically the entire nation: “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house” (Malachi 3:8–10). This is tough talk—and it is not unique to Malachi. Many other harsh words such as this can be found elsewhere in the writings of the Old Testament prophets.

2) The paying of the tithe was first and foremost an act of worship, not merely a duty. When it comes to finances, we often tend to think in secular, rather than religious concepts. We owe our money to the bank, the credit card company, or the IRS. God, on the other hand, gets the spiritual stuff—or at least it often plays out that way. The perspective of the Mosaic Covenant was much more holistic when it came to such matters. Rather than a nagging debt to be settled over and over again, year after year, the payment of the tithe was seen to be a privilege—an act of worship, a reasonable sacrifice, a giving back to God of a portion of that which He has given to His people.

This is even more obvious in an agrarian economy such as that of the ancient world. Today, we rarely even see the money used to pay most expenses. It clicks over from some unseen electronic fund, and tumbles out of an impersonal bank account over the phone lines. Other than a deduction in the checkbook, we hardly notice the transaction. In ancient days, the tithe was not so much a matter of bringing in gold and coins (although that happened). It was more a giving to God from the fruit of one’s own toil and sweat. It was the first and best fruit of the land: wheat, wine, oil, produce, and firstlings of livestock.

3) The tithe was considered to be a minimum standard, not the total of all giving. This can be seen clearly throughout the passages of the Old Testament, and especially in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament), where the teaching is most clearly expanded and set forth.

Jesus may have had this teaching in mind when He spoke to the Pharisees of first-century Jerusalem about tithing. He railed against these “teachers of the Law” not because they had failed to follow the letter of the Law (by all appearances, they had meticulously followed the minimum standard and kept current with all accounts), but because in the scrupulous performance of this minimum, they had totally missed the true spirit behind the Law. To them, Jesus raised His voice in righteous indignation: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!” (Matthew 23:23–24).

Tithing in the New Testament

This quote from the Gospel of Matthew represents the very mind and heart of God Himself regarding this matter of tithing. Jesus was not seeking some type of financial compensation from His people—a paying back of the debt owed to the Holy Trinity for services rendered. It is ridiculous to imagine God needing, or in any way desiring, any physical remuneration from the helpless creatures He had come to save. Speaking through the Psalmist, God declares: “For every beast of the forest is Mine, / And the cattle on a thousand hills. / I know all the birds of the mountains, / And the wild beasts of the field are Mine. / If I were hungry, I would not tell you; / For the world is Mine, and all its fullness” (Psalm 50:10–12).

The above passage from Matthew is interesting for another reason. It is one of only a handful of passages in the New Testament that speak of tithing. The only others are its parallel account in the book of Luke (11:42), the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9–14), and a handful of passages in the Book of Hebrews relating to the story of Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek.

Why is this so? Why don’t we read about the brethren in Corinth being told to set aside part of their tithes for the suffering church in Jerusalem? Why are there no instructions for new convert churches regarding how to set up a ten-percent tithe? Why did Jesus Himself only refer to the tithe on two occasions, both of them at least slightly negative in connotation? (The first is quoted above. The second is found in Luke 18, where the self-righteous Pharisee boasts, “I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.”)

Answers to this question have varied widely, depending on the perspective of the interpreter. Some have said that this silence reflects nothing more than the fact that the practice of tithing continued unabated into the New Testament period. Jewish converts to Christianity, already accustomed to paying their tithes to the Temple, simply transferred those offerings to the Church. Gentile converts would have been taught the importance of tithing from the beginning. It wasn’t even worth writing about, end of discussion.

But others have argued that the ten-percent tithe faded away under the New Covenant, as did worship on the Sabbath, Temple rites, and the entire sacrificial system as it existed under the Mosaic Law. The reason it is not mentioned in the New Testament is that there was nothing to talk about—tithing had ceased to exist.

Let’s set aside that discussion for a few moments in order to make some fundamental observations about the issue of money and giving in the New Testament.

1) Although our Lord spoke little about the practice of tithing in the Gospels, He had much to say about the spirit of giving that formed the basis of the Old Covenant system of tithing. How much did He say? He had more to say about the proper stewardship of money than about any other single topic—including love, family, holiness, sin, honesty, and more. It is curious that many pastors recoil at the thought of discussing financial issues from the pulpit. Yet our Lord returned to these matters over and over again. God treats giving like a joyful topic, not a burden. This shouldn’t really surprise us. After all, the basis for true and God-pleasing giving is a thankful heart with a joyful spirit. “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

2) The supreme model of giving in the New Testament was not based on ten percent, but on a hundred-percent commitment of personal resources. As St. Paul reminds us, our Lord provides the ultimate example of hundred-percent sacrificial giving. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9; see also Philippians 2:5-8). No wonder Jesus praised the widow in Jerusalem for placing two small copper coins into the Temple treasury, yet had little to say to the wealthy benefactors who were probably depositing the exact amount of money prescribed by the Mosaic Law: “For all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had” (Luke 21:4). We read in the Book of Acts that early believers sold all they had—both lands and houses—and brought the proceeds to the apostles, who distributed them to each according to need (Acts 4:34–35).

3) The principle of New Testament giving is clearly the principle of wise stewardship and concern for the needs of others. Saint James reminds us that: “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27). St. Paul praises the Philippian believers for their faithful and generous support of his apostolic ministry: “When I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities” (Philippians 4:15–16). A few verses later, he calls their financial gifts “a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.” This beautiful imagery confirms the Mosaic understanding of tithing and giving as an act of worship.

Tithing in the Church

Sadly, there are Orthodox Christians who argue that tithing is merely a Protestant phenomenon. As we have seen, tithing is an ancient practice—it most certainly did not originate at a meeting of the Southern Baptist convention. The real question is, should we practice this discipline today, or has it passed away, like the rites of purification? To answer this question, Orthodox Christians must look beyond the pages of Scripture to the ongoing presence of the Holy Spirit as expressed through the Holy Tradition of the Church. What happened after the close of the Book of Acts and the end of the first century?

The writings of the Church Fathers include a number of intriguing references to tithing. Here are just a few quick examples:

From the third-century document Didascalia Apostolorum: “Set aside part offerings and tithes and first fruits to Christ, the true High Priest, and to His ministers, even tithes of salvation to Him. . . . Today the oblations are offered through the bishops to the Lord God. For they are your high priests; but the priests and Levites are now the presbyters and deacons, and the orphans and widows. . . . Your fruits and the work of your hands present to him, that you may be blessed; your first fruits and your tithes and your vows and your part offerings give to him; for he has need of them that he may be sustained, and that he may dispense also to those who are in want, to each as is just for him.”
From Saint John Chrysostom, Homilies on Ephesians: “Woe to him, it is said, who doeth not alms; and if this was the case under the Old Covenant, much more is it under the New. If, where the getting of wealth was allowed and the enjoyment of it, and the care of it, there was such provision made for the succoring of the poor, how much more in that Dispensation, where we are commanded to surrender all we have? For what did not they of old do? They gave tithes, and tithes again upon tithes for orphans, widows, and strangers, whereas some one was saying to me in astonishment at another, ‘Why, such an one givest tithes.’ What a load of disgrace does this expression imply, since what was not a matter of wonder with the Jews has come to be so in the case of the Christians? If there was danger then in omitting tithes, think how great it must be now.”
From St. John Cassian, The Conferences, Chapter XXIX: “He who retains his goods of this world, or, bound by the rules of the old law, distributes the tithe of his produce, and his first fruits, or a portion of his income, although he may to a considerable degree quench the fire of his sins by this dew of almsgiving, yet, however generously he gives away his wealth, it is impossible for him altogether to rid himself of the dominion of sin, unless perhaps by the grace of the Savior, together with his substance he gets rid of all love of possessing.”

A search of the patristic writings will uncover these and more quotes regarding the issue of tithing. The New Catholic Encyclopedia summarizes this by saying, “The payment of tithes was adopted from the Old Law, and early writers speak of it as a divine ordinance and an obligation of conscience. The earliest positive legislation on the subject seems to be contained in the letter of the bishops assembled at Tours in 567 and the canons of the Council of Macon in 585.”

It is clear that tithing is addressed in the patristic literature. But on the other hand, I think it is also important—and honest—to say that the subject does not comprise a major portion of thought for any of the fathers of the Church. The pattern is reminiscent of the New Testament. Countless patristic writers talk about giving everything we have to God, giving to the poor, not being obsessed with worldly possessions, renouncing the world, and so on. We could fill up libraries with books, treatises, and discussions about these subjects.

But regarding the ten-percent tithe specifically, there are no major treatises, no full books, no passionate apologetics either in favor or against. On this subject, the writings of the Church are actually fairly quiet! As a matter of fact, for a variety of reasons (some political, some historical, some economic), there are entire periods of time throughout the history of the Church where the practice seems to disappear altogether, and nobody seems to care. At times, the churches were controlled by the state, and received money directly from the government rather than through tithes. At other times, the practice of tithing pops up again.

Such vagary is not the case in the West. The practice seems to have been codified, sometimes wildly abused, and generally set in stone in the Western churches—especially the Roman Church (with various of her wayward Protestant children following suit) and the Anglican Church. Tithes have been flowing down the aisles in those traditions for centuries without let-up. Richard Schebera, Associate Professor of Religion at St. Louis University, summarizes this whole tangled story for the World Book Encyclopedia by saying, “The early Christian church did not require tithing. By the 500’s, church law required payment of a tax on income and lands. In the late 700’s, Charlemagne made this civil law. Tithing was more common in the West than in the East.”

Where do we go from here?

Over the last 30 years, as more and more Protestant Christians have joined the Orthodox Church, the practice of tithing has surfaced as an emotional topic of discussion. Large numbers of these converts have come from backgrounds in which faithful participation in the practice of tithing comes as naturally as buckling up before heading out the driveway in the family automobile.

Many of these new Orthodox Christians look at the landscape of contemporary Orthodox giving and ask why it is that an ancient and venerable practice such as the tithe should now be abandoned. After years of consistent giving through the tithe, they ask: “Must we now abandon tithing as our way of offering our finances to God, and instead support other approaches to church giving such as pledges and monthly dues, bazaars and raffles, bingo games, and yearly church festivals and ethnic events?”

I’ve rarely heard of a priest forbidding converts to tithe to the local parish. It’s hard to say “no” to consistent, generous financial support. And in many cases, the people dropping their regular tithe checks into the church offering box every month are also the ones helping to man the booths at the church festival, learning to bake baklava for the bazaars, and sending in extra donations for emergency appeals. In my experience, it’s rarely a matter of “either/or” for those who tithe.

In case you haven’t guessed it, I am a firm believer in the practice of tithing today. I’ve tithed all my life, and have no intention of abandoning the practice. But after nearly 20 years in the Orthodox Church, my understanding of this discipline has definitely matured. Here’s what I’d say now:

1) For those who tithe, remember that God desires every corner of our heart, not a percentage. The tithe—even from its most ancient days—was a minimum standard, a guide to ensure basic, consistent giving, not a be-all and end-all. If we think that giving a tithe “gets us off the hook,” we’re placing ourselves in the company of those Pharisees the Lord debated with on a daily basis. We use a rule of prayer each day to guide us in our prayer life. But we don’t say, “Thank God! I’ve done my ten minutes of prayer this morning, now I don’t have to pray again until tonight!” A rule of prayer is just a starting point for prayer, a call to order, not the total of all we do. The same thing applies to the tithe.

2) For those who do not tithe, exercise caution. There’s one really wonderful excuse for not tithing, as long as it’s honest: “I give way more than ten percent already, and would need to reduce my giving considerably to get down to a tithe.” It’s tempting to think we’re giving vast sums to the Church, when in fact our giving amounts to pocket change by year’s end. The statistics here are grim. In the typical church today, 5 percent of the congregation gives 50 percent of the weekly offering. Another 20 percent of the congregation gives 40 percent of the church’s income. The remaining 75 percent of the typical congregation contributes 10 percent of the incoming dollars. Nearly 75 percent of American church attendees drop only about one dollar a week into the offering plate by the time everything is said and done. [Refs in Handmaiden?]

3) Our contribution to the Church should never be a matter of personal ego inflation. How sad it is that the Church often encourages more giving by posting the names of donors, and making flattering speeches about how much so-and-so has given. Our Lord spoke about the evils of public religiosity: “But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly” (Matthew 6:3–4).

4) Be honest. While precedents for tithing exist in Church history, things did change after the coming of Christ. We do find more references to tithing in the writings of the Church than we do to bingo! But I don’t believe any of us can just pull out our favorite Old Testament proof text or patristic quote and hammer people over the head with it today. The patristic evidence is mixed. Not every Church Father taught on tithing. Not every Church Father tithed.

5) For those just becoming aware of this conversation, be patient. It is easy for someone like me to get carried away with this topic. As I’ve said, emotions run high when it comes to tithing. But our Church also includes many people who have not given it much thought one way or the other. They may feel like they’ve walked into a room where a heated argument is under way, and find themselves being challenged to immediately commit to one side or the other. Those of us with strong beliefs on the question need to treat these brothers and sisters with love, acknowledging that this is a challenging topic in many ways. And those working to form their beliefs should approach the question of tithing with patience and prayer, turning to their spiritual elders for guidance. Don’t panic if you feel that you are so unable to manage your money as it is that you don’t know how to even begin when it comes to giving to the Church. In peace begin the crucial work of developing godly financial stewardship, addressed in other articles in this issue of AGAIN.

I am certain we still need to hear the prophetic voice of Malachi. Remember the words God gave him to cry out: “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.” When we fail to use our finances properly—to be good stewards of that which God has so freely given to us—we are robbing God. There’s no nice way to say it. If our priests are living on substandard wages, our ministries understaffed, our churches dilapidated, and our almsgiving to the poor and underprivileged a sham, while we personally surround ourselves with all the unnecessary possessions and expensive toys our culture offers us on a daily basis, we stand under the same condemnation. How dare we!

We must also remember that our God is a loving God, and He does not leave us without encouragement. The conclusion of that Malachi passage provides “the rest of the story” regarding not just tithing, but the spirit behind all giving to God: “‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.”

May He receive from us the dollars and cents of our existence, and with them the heartfelt love and worship we so imperfectly desire to give to Him. And may He send down upon us in return the true blessings we seek: the Kingdom of Heaven, and the gift of the Holy Spirit!

From: http://www.antiochian.org/node/16719

Fr. Thomas Zell is the Editor-in-Chief of AGAIN Magazine and the pastor of St. James Orthodox Mission in Modesto, California.

This article was originally published in AGAIN Magazine, Fall 2005. AGAIN Magazine is published by Conciliar Media Ministries, a Department of the Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.

Fr Lawrence Farley 10/30/25 Fr Lawrence Farley 10/30/25

Appreciating Vespers

It all begins with an idea.

Fr. Lawrence Farley

October 2016

The service of Vespers is, I think, dramatically under-appreciated today. The temptation for us busy people is to reduce our church-going to Sunday mornings only, and let everything else slide. Since we under-appreciate Vespers, it often tends to slide with other things we deem relatively unimportant. But Vespers warrants a second look, and a renewed appreciation.

The word “vespers” comes from the Greek ἑσπέρα (hespera) and the Latin vesper, both meaning “evening”, because it is the evening service of the Church. Christians are to pray to God not just on Sunday mornings, but constantly, sanctifying time by offering prayer throughout the day. In the eighth chapter of the Didache (or “teaching”), a church manual dating from about 100 A.D., believers are urged to stop and pray three times throughout the day, at least saying the Lord’s Prayer. Soon enough a certain pattern would become standard, with believers praying at the third hour, the sixth hour, and the ninth hour (that is, at 9.00 a.m., noon, and 3 p.m. respectively). Christians were encouraged to pray in the evening also, and the pious were even encouraged to rise at midnight and pray at home for a bit (easier to do then than now, since people then went to bed earlier).

In those days, the believers would say a prayer of thanksgiving when the evening lamp was brought in. Back then there was no electric light of course, and unless one lit a lamp for illumination, one sat in the dark. Accordingly, everybody kept the daily practice of lighting lamps when it began to get dark (that is, when each evening came), and bringing in the lamp to the place where everyone was. Because the Lord described Himself as “the light of the world” (see Jn. 9: 5), believers inevitably thought of Him when they saw the comforting lights of evening. Thus, one prayer that became standard when the Christians gave thanks to God for the light of the lamp referred to Jesus. We know it today as the hymn “Gladsome (or joyful) light”: “O gladsome light of the holy glory of the immortal Father: heavenly, holy, blessed Jesus Christ! Now that we have come to the setting of the sun, and behold the light of evening, we praise God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. At all times You are worthy of praise, O Son of God and Giver of life. Therefore the world glorifies You!” Believers would recite this prayer every evening when the lamp was brought in to provide light for the evening until everyone went to bed.

This practice became the daily experience of Christians. St. Gregory of Nyssa relates that when his sister Macrina was dying, the evening lamp was brought into her room at dusk as usual. Seeing it, she tried to utter the customary prayer, but her voice failed before she could finish the prayer. She lifted her hand to sign herself with the Cross, drew a final breath, and died, praying silently the thanksgiving prayer for the lamp. (No bad way to die.)

This domestic rite was preserved when the Christians met together corporately in church at evening time. When dusk came, the lamps were brought into the church just as they were at home, and the customary prayer sung. Thus the hymn “Gladsome Light” became an invariable part of the evening Vespers service. As Gregory and Macrina’s brother St. Basil wrote, “Our fathers thought that they should welcome the gift of evening light with something better than silence, so they gave thanks as soon as it appeared. We cannot say who composed these words of thanksgiving at the lighting of the lamps, but the people use these ancient words [of the hymn ‘Gladsome Light’]…” In St. Basil’s day, this prayer/hymn was already ancient.

In the church in Jerusalem, the light was brought in, not from the outside (the usual custom), but from the lamp that burned perpetually before the Lord’s Tomb. In Constantinople the more usual practice prevailed, and the lamps were brought in from outside and all the candles in the darkening church lit from them. Today when the hymn is sung, often no lamps are lit, but the hymn remains as a reminder and vestige of the practical lighting of the lamps in church for the purpose of illumination. Even today at the evening Presanctified Liturgy (which is essentially simply Lenten Vespers with a rite of Communion appended to it), the celebrant still brings forward a light with the words, “The light of Christ illumines all!” In Constantinople, these words were the signal for all the lamps in the church to be lit.

Vespers preserves other ancient features as well, including the offering of incense. The original sung Vespers service included three units each consisting of three psalms. One of these was Ps. 141, obviously chosen for the line “Let my prayer arise in Your sight as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.” The reference to “evening” dictated the choice of psalm; the reference to incense made the offering of incense more liturgically relevant. As such, when this psalm is chanted as part of the remnants of the original three-psalm units (consisting now of Psalms 141, 142, 130 and 117), the deacon censes the church as these psalms are chanted. The current practice is not simply to chant the psalms, but also to insert brief hymns or stichs into the final verses of the psalms. This incense reminds us of the acceptability of our worship to God—through Christ, we now have access to the Father, and He accepts our praises since we offer them to Him as disciples of His Son. The fragrant incense we smell as these psalms and hymns are sung remind us of our exalted status in Christ.

There are other elements in the service as well, such as the chanting of psalms. The monks originally lived far from parish churches and did not have the ability to sing complicated musical services, such as those who lived in urban parishes did. They therefore concentrated more on psalmody than on church-composed hymns, more on the Psalter than on troparia and stichs and hymns. Their practice was to chant the entire Psalter from beginning to end, as often as possible. One system of chanting the Psalter involved incorporating all the Psalms into the daily services of Matins (in the morning) and Vespers (in the evening) in such a way as to go through the entire Psalter in one week. That is, they would incorporate two sizable “chunks” of the Psalter, in series, into each Matins service, and one “chunk” into Vespers. The Psalter was divided for this purpose into twenty “chunks”, each chunk called a “kathisma” or sitting—so-called because sitting was allowed the monks while the Psalter was read. On Saturday, the first “kathisma”, consisting of Psalms 1-8, was read at Vespers. Nowadays, this “chunk” is greatly abbreviated to a few verses, or even simply omitted. This is perhaps unfortunate, because it means we lack the exposure to the Psalter that the monks deemed essential to spiritual growth. But in many parishes the chanting of the Psalter is retained, even if only for a few short verses. The psalms of the first kathisma begin with the words “Blessed is the man”. Many think this is another hymn, like “Gladsome Light”. In fact it is the beginning of the first eight psalms, originally intended to be chanted in their entirety.

Thus, three main components of the Vespers service are the lamp-lighting prayer “Gladsome Light”, the offering of incense, and the chanting of Psalmody. The structure of the service has of course changed over the years. The original service with its three series of three psalm units has given place to our present collection of psalms strung together and chanted as the temple in censed. Also, Vespers previously began in the center of the temple with the exclamation “Blessed is the Kingdom…”, the clergy entering the altar area at the beginning of the second three-psalm unit. Also, the catechumens were prayed for at the end of Vespers, just as they are presently during the Divine Liturgy. Finally, Vespers concluded with processions to the sacristy (or skeuophylakion, the place where the vessels were stored) and to the baptistery, where special prayers were said.

Why these processions? They were modelled after processions and prayers of the church in Jerusalem located at the Holy Sepulchre. In that church, when evening came, the people realized that they were at the very place and at the very time where Christ was taken down from the cross and prepared for burial. It was natural for them to stop at that place and at that time to offer special prayers. Jerusalem soon became the pattern for churches everywhere, even though these other churches did not enjoy the same geographical and liturgical advantage of being located at the holy places where Christ suffered, was buried, and rose from the dead. So, these other churches adapted their worship to Jerusalem’s situation as best they could. The Jerusalem procession to the places where Christ was buried became processions to the places in their own churches which symbolically portrayed Christ’s death and burial—places such as the skeuophylakion (or “little altar”) and the baptistery, in which the candidates for baptism sacramentally participated in Christ’s death and resurrection (see Rom. 6).

So, though the structure of Vespers may have changed, its heart remains the same, and it still provides a good way to end the day. Vespers now opens with the chanting of Psalm 104. In this psalm we give thanks to God for creation, confessing that the whole world lies in His loving hands, and therefore we may commit ourselves into His hands as well. God made all that exists, and sustains it every day through His ceaseless care. As the Psalmist says, “He made the moon for the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting; You appoint darkness and it is night. How manifold are Your works, O Lord! In wisdom have You made them all.” We may lie down in peace and rest in confidence, knowing that God in His wisdom is in control.

After Psalm 104 is sung and prayers are said, other psalms are chanted and incense offered, as we sing “Let our prayer arise in Your sight as incense, and let the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice.” Through the sacrifice of prayer and praise, we seek for and receive the forgiveness we need daily from God. The world can be a hard place, and we often stumble and fall, sinning against our good Lord. In these prayers we lift up our hands and hearts to God, asking for pardon for whatever we may have done amiss during the day.

Then the prayer of the lamplighting is sung (“Gladsome Light”), as well as the hymn “Grant us, O Lord, to keep us this evening without sin…” Through these hymns, prayers and litanies, we offer ourselves with our multitude of needs into God’s hands. God who provides food for the young lions which call to Him, and gives to all their food in due season (Ps. 104:21, 27), can be trusted to provide for us also. It is as St. Paul said: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7). Having made our evening requests, we may lie down in the peace of God.

The service of Vespers therefore provides a fit conclusion to the day. But it also prepares us to greet the coming day, since the day begins not with morning, but with evening. (We think of the Jewish reckoning of the Sabbath as beginning Friday evening, and of the order of creation: “There was evening and there was morning, one day” (Gen. 1:5). Note: evening comes first. The restful repose we receive from God is His gift to us to prepare us for the challenges of the coming day. It is also why the Church serves Saturday evening Vespers as a liturgical preparation for Sunday morning Liturgy. First comes the preparation, then the fulfillment. First the repose, then the rising. First the darkness, then the light. First the incense of Vesperal penitence, then the festal Eucharistic rejoicing. This sequence is why the Old Testament lessons are most appropriately read on Saturday evening, following the prokeimenon (which always functions to introduce a lesson)—for the Old Testament serves to prepare us for the New, and the Law gives way to the Gospel.

For many of us who do not live close to a church or monastery where Vespers is served every day, ending each day with Vespers is not possible. But certain of its prayers can still be offered at home privately. Rather than ending the day by watching the 11.00 news and then falling into bed fretting about all the evil we have seen reported, how much better to end the day by singing to God, by chanting one of the Vesperal psalms or hymns. Regardless of what the newscaster might suggest, God is still in control of His world: the sun knows its time for setting; He appoints darkness and it is night. How manifold are Your works, O Lord! In wisdom have You made them all.

From: https://oca.org/reflections/fr.-lawrence-farley/appreciating-vespers

Fr Stephen Freeman 10/30/25 Fr Stephen Freeman 10/30/25

Living with a Calendar

It all begins with an idea.

Fr. Stephen Freeman

January 2017

The human relationship with time is a strange thing. The upright stones of neolithic human communities stand as silent reminders of our long interest in seasons and the movement of the heavens. Today our light-polluted skies shield many of us from the brilliant display of the night sky and rob us of the stars. The modern world is not only shielded from the stars, but from many aspects of time itself. Artificial lighting has made the setting of the sun into an unremarkable event and extended daylight into whatever hour we might wish. And though the seasons are worth noting, it is primarily their effect on clothing choices that seem important – foods have become omni-seasonal (for a price).

With all of that, the Church’s calendar becomes an intrusion and a disruption, almost an antique artifact. On the secular calendar, days of the week are but markers for which television shows are showing, a fact which itself is increasingly irrelevant in the digital world of delivery-on-demand. Days and years have importance only for writing a check correctly (something that is itself disappearing). But the Church calendar colors days, marking some for fasting and others for feasting and makes of time a complication that demands attention.

The Church calendar was once described to me as the “sanctification of time.” In this part of the modern world I would describe it not only as the sanctification of time, but the insistence that there even be time.

This is a common pattern within Orthodox Christianity. To outsiders, the calendar may seem exotic – but it represents nothing more outlandish than an affirmation of what it means to be a human being. Our humanity is a tradition. I can only learn what it is to be a human being from another human being, someone who has successfully fulfilled that reality. Animals are no different. Birds do not suddenly fly – their flight is traditioned to them. Human beings learn to walk in a traditioned manner as well. Your computer or your phone will not teach you how to be a human being.

So many things that modern people see as strange or unusual within the traditional life of Orthodox Christianity are no more than the encounter with living memory of what it is to be human. And time in its traditional form is one of them.

What is time? Science describes time as a function of space. Space describes an expanse and time locates something within that expanse. And although this description of time is not “traditional,” it nevertheless works. Time helps us to locate ourselves. To be human includes time and space. I cannot be human everywhere – but only at a particular place and a particular time (which are the same thing). It is this aspect of our humanity that our jettisoning of time seeks to ignore.

As we entertain ourselves to death, we become more and more abstracted from both space and time. Wandering in a digital world we have forgotten how to return to ourselves and simply be present to a particular point. Tragically, that particular point is always (and only) the place where we meet God. The calendar is thus something like an “appointment device.” This feast, this day, this time in my life, if I will keep the appointment, I can meet God.

The feasts on the calendar are not appointments with memorials, the recollection of events long past. They are invitations to present tense moments in the liturgical life of the world. In those moments there is an intersection of the present and the eternal. They are theophanies into which we may enter.

The events in Christ’s ministry that are celebrated (to use one example) are of little importance if viewed in a merely historical manner. It is not enough to say and remember that Christ died. The Christian faith is that I must become a partaker of Christ’s death. Christ is Baptized, but I must be a partaker of His Baptism. This is true of all the feasts and is the reason for our liturgical celebrations. The Church is not a memorial society – it is the living presence of Christ in the world and the primary means by which we may share in His presence.

There is no time like the present for only in the present does time open its riches to us and bestow its gifts. Only at the present moment do the doors to eternity offer us union with what would otherwise seem lost.

For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (2 Cor 6:2)

From http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/76286.htm

Fr Alexander Shargunov 10/29/25 Fr Alexander Shargunov 10/29/25

Entry of the Holy Theotokos Into the Temple

It all begins with an idea.

Archpriest Alexander Shargunov

November 2016

The feast of the Entry of the Holy Theotokos into the temple is a marvelous model of our entry into the Heavenly Kingdom. The church itself symbolizes the Kingdom of God on earth. In church we see the altar table, which is like a throne on which the Lord God sits, just as He does on His heavenly throne. In church, through the partaking of holy communion, we become united with the Lord Himself. In church, as in heaven, we are surrounded by hosts of angels and saints. In church, by means of the divine services we glorify God, as do the angels and saints in heaven.

When the righteous Joachim and Anna brought the Holy Virgin to the temple, they offered to the Lord a gift that was most pure.

So should we, in order to enter the Heavenly Realm, be absolutely pure, because the Lord Himself said that nothing unclean can enter the Kingdom of God. But we can cleanse ourselves of our sins and all manner of spiritual impurity only through the sacrament of penitence, through confession and communion.

As the righteous parents of the Holy Virgin prepared to take Her to the temple, they first dressed Her in royal garments, adorned Her, and provided Her with an escort of maidens carrying lighted candles. So should we, in order to enter the Heavenly Realm, first clothe our souls in the garment of obedience to the Lord’s commandments, adorn our souls with virtues, and accompany them with the lighted candles of prayer and charity.

Upon arriving at the temple, the 3-year-old Infant Mary had to make an effort to ascend 15 high steps in order to enter the temple. So should we, in order to enter the Heavenly Realm, make the effort to ascend the ladder of virtues, to labor at fasting and prayer. The Holy Virgin went up the steps by Herself, without any help from others, but with the miraculous help of God. So should we, in our attempt to attain the Heavenly Realm, make the effort ourselves, but constantly asking God for help along the way.

Such is the lesson we receive from this wondrous holiday! The Holy Mother of God, by entering the temple, clearly shows us the Way, and through the earthly temple lies the way into the heavenly temple, the Kingdom of God. Let us follow the Holy Theotokos into the temple, into the church. Now is the time of the Nativity fast, a time for preparing oneself to greet the Saviour on earth, a time for purifying oneself through fasting, prayer and repentance, a time of increased church attendance. Let us not pass by this important period of time, for from this holiday, and throughout the entire Nativity fast, we will hear in church the joyous tidings of our coming salvation, we will hear the joyous appeal: “Christ is born - glorify Him!”

* * *

The Entry of the Holy Theotokos into the Temple is one of the twelve major church feasts and is numbered among those that affect our salvation. What takes place on this day? The three-year-old Child, the Most-holy Virgin Mary, is brought by Her parents to the temple of Jerusalem. She is placed on the temple steps and, moved by Divine revelation, the high priest Zacharias comes out to Her and leads Her into the Holy of Holies – the place where God Himself was mysteriously present, the place which no man could ever enter except the high priest, who, moreover, went in only once a year and not without sacrificial blood. And it is precisely this place, the Holy of Holies, which the Virgin Mary enters, invisibly carrying within Herself a new, living sacrifice – the forthcoming Christ, Saviour of the world, Who will sacrifice Himself in order to deliver all men from sin and death.

This holiday is “wondrous,” as sings the Church, not finding words to express the inexpressible joy, hope and expectation which commence with today’s event.

From a mysterious and grace-filled seed there will grow up a new covenant between God and man. The Saviour’s most-pure, animate temple – the Most-holy Maiden, precious bridal chamber, sacred treasure of God’s glory – is led into the Lord’s temple. And She brings with Her the foreshadowing of God’s goodwill to all of mankind, the beginning of a new covenant between God and man, the end of the many centuries of man’s alienation from God, and the end of our bondage to sin. Only a brief time remains, only several more years, for the fulfillment of that which the entire humanity awaits – the appearance of God Himself in the flesh, by way of the Most-holy Virgin.

She will be brought up in God’s temple – a place of holiness, purity and the power of God. She will be nourished by Divine grace, in order to become capable of containing Divinity Itself, so that the mystery of God’s incarnation could take place through Her. She must become used to conversing with the angels, in order to harken to the Archangel Gabriel’s glad tidings. She must encompass God within Her heart, in order to truly become a new temple of God.

We are all familiar with the words of the Apostle Paul: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” This mystery is revealed to us because we are called upon to become the temples of God, and this is the reason for today’s celebration.

Today’s feast reminds us of the unique significance of man-made temples (i.e. churches). Let us ponder today: what is a church of God? When we come here today to celebrate the feast, we not only participate in wondrous hymn-singing, but we touch upon eternity, which is always present in a church of God. And nothing else in life makes sense except in the light of eternity. We should ponder this and repent of how often we remain deaf and blind to these great mysteries, and reject God’s gifts.

The Church cannot save us by itself. For our salvation we must actively participate in church life. The Lord calls upon us today to think of this, and to see the sinful condition in which each one of us lives. The Lord continues to await our repentance. He continues to patiently tolerate our detrimental lack of faith, and continuously wishes to enfold us within His grace, in order that we may be saved from the terrible misfortunes that are coming upon the world.

And we know that the Most-holy Virgin Mary, Mother of the suffering mankind that is being destroyed by its sins, will surely intercede for all those who appeal to Her with faith and love, and who offer their lives unto Her.

Let us thank God that our churches are still standing, and that the Lord and the Mother of God are present in them along with us. We magnify Thee, O Most-holy Virgin, God-chosen Maiden, and we honor Thine Entry into the Temple of the Lord.

The feast of the Entry of the Holy Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, into the temple is a feast of the Church itself. It is also a feast of all of us, because the Holy Virgin, ascending the steps of the temple of Jerusalem, presages not only Her future life, Her ascension into the Holy of Holies, but also presages the affiliation of mankind with Christ’s way of the cross and with His Resurrection. This feast tells us that the Mother of God, Who now enters the Holy of Holies, is even greater than the Holy of Holies. By the grace of God She is more honorable than the cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the seraphim. She is above all creation. And not only by the grace of God, but by the hope of all of mankind, which has rushed towards this light, towards this holy of holies, towards this focal point of life and the source of life itself – the Lord – through the darkness of ages, through all sorrows, through all the sins and horrors of history.

The entry of the Most-holy Mother of God into the Holy of Holies is revealed to us as the path each one of us must take. It has been said: “The virgins that follow Her shall be brought unto the king, Her companions shall be brought unto Thee” (Psalm 45:14). This has been said about every person and primarily about children. For this reason children participate in a special way in today’s feast along with us. This is always very joyful, because if everyone were to participate in what the Lord gives us, our entire being would be transformed. The salvation which the Lord grants us depends on our offering of our children and on our own lives. It also depends primarily on how we lead our children through life, for what we prepare them and to what we actually dedicate them. What Joachim and Anna did was a great labor of love. Having been barren their entire life, they gave up their sole daughter. They gave Her to God, dedicated Her to the Lord, as though they separated Her from themselves, in order that She belong entirely to God alone.

What Joachim and Anna have done, offering to God the fruit of their prayers, far exceeds any spiritual labors that we could set up as an example. But let us ponder the following: often we find ourselves in a situation similar to these people – Joachim and Anna, – when misfortune befalls us, when we are in need, when we are ready to promise the Lord everything, say all kinds of words of love, just so He would help us, would deliver us from such a state. And then sorrow passes, need passes. But when the time comes to fulfill our promise, we begin to vacillate. We begin to delay the fulfillment of our own words: “I will definitely do this, Lord, only I pray Thee, do such-and-such for me, what I ask of Thee…”. And for this reason our life turns out to be barren. It is barren not in terms of childlessness (although that may also be possible), but in a deeper and more significant sense.

Thinking about this, we should pray today to the Lord and the Mother of God that we may be granted the grace of understanding that we have a true life, that we may be aware that the event which the Church celebrates today is the entry of the holy 3-year-old maiden into the Holy of Holies and Her sanctification by the grace of God for Her future encompassing of God the Word. And all of this for the fulfillment of the sacrament of God’s incarnation and for our salvation, which is already coming to pass. For it is not in vain that we sing: “Christ is born – glorify Him, Christ descends from heaven – meet ye Him.”

Remember that our salvation has actually come to pass already, and it is not only a remembrance. Over and over again we are given the Lent and the approach to the Nativity of Christ in order for our life to become truly more profound, truly deepen with the knowledge of the one unique mystery – that God has become man, that He is present in the life and destiny of each one of us. He always hears our every prayer, because there is no longer that curse which used to hang over every person, there is no longer that inescapable and ineffaceable stamp of evil which tainted mankind before Christ’s incarnation. The way to heaven is open to every person. We must only desire and want genuine truth, genuine beauty, and the light which had once shone for us, the light which the Lord sometimes gives back to us, and without which everything becomes extinguished.

What can we bring to the Lord on this feast day? The parents of the Most-holy maiden Mary – Joachim and Anna – brought Him their own child, but what shall we give the Lord? Does the One to Whom belongs the entire earth and before Whom all the stars in heaven shine need the candles and the vigil lights which we offer to God? They are needed only to testify to the meaningfulness of our prayers and our standing before God. There are no other sacrifices which we can offer Him except one, of which He says: “Son, give Me thy heart,” because our heart is the only thing which does not yet fully belong to Him. He has given us His own heart and wishes us to give Him ours. He, Who loves us and gives all of Himself for us, is waiting for our love in return.

Let us pray to God that we may learn this love. Every person understands what reciprocal love is, and how terrible is unrequited love. It is precisely love which each person needs, every human soul needs. And the Lord Himself needs us to love Him with all our heart, all our thoughts, all our strength, our entire life. And to love God means to keep His commandments, as He Himself has said. Only when we keep His commandments can we learn what this all means and of what kind of love Christ is speaking. Only then can we learn this love and be worthy of the Lord, be able to stand up for Christ’s honor in this world where childhood, purity, and sanctity are being defiled. And this we can accomplish only when we go to church and receive God’s grace there, which is always given as long as we are turned towards the Lord.

Let us entreat the Lord for this incorruptible wealth, which He bountifully grants to all of us by the prayers and intercession of the Holy Theotokos. Let us also entreat Him for the ability to respond to His immeasurable gifts with our love, our entire life, the offering of our children to Him. And most precious of all – the unity which we achieve through Him. Amen.

St John of Kronstadt 10/29/25 St John of Kronstadt 10/29/25

The House of God

It all begins with an idea.

Homily on the Day of the Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple

St. John of Kronstadt

November 2013

Translated by Nun Cornelia (Rees)

Let us faithfully praise the Virgin Mary,
for she is brought into the Holy of Holies,
to be raised in the Lord. (Ekos from Matins)

On this day, my brethren, the holy Church celebrates the solemn Entry into the temple in Jerusalem of the three-year-old child, Mary—the blessed daughter of righteous parents, Joachim and Anna—to be in instructed in the Lord. Zacharias—the elder and high priest—meets her with priestly splendor; and as he was instructed to do by the Spirit of God, he brings her, accompanied by young maidens, into the most interior part of the temple, the Holy of Holies, where the high priest himself enters but once a year, and where the Holy of Holies, the Lord Himself dwelt—for she was to become the Mother of His flesh.

How did the most blessed Virgin spend her time in the temple? Taught the Hebrew written language and prayer by the Holy Spirit through the maidens, she spent her time in prayer, reading of the word of God (as you can see on the icon of the Annunciation), in divine contemplation, and handiwork. Her love for converse with God and for reading the word of God was so great that she forgot about food and drink, and an Archangel brought her heavenly food at God’s request, as the Church sings in the stichera for today’s feast.

What an excellent example for fathers, mothers, and their children; for Christian maidens and youths! They are obligated as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, as servants of the Heavenly Queen, the Mother of God, and Founder of Spiritual Instruction1 (meaning the Church to which they belong), to emulate as well as they can her fervent love for God, her zeal for reading the word of God, for prayer, for divine contemplation, self-restraint, and love of labor! If we do not want to be falsely called spiritual members of Christ’s Church—that holy House of God, the Queen and Mother of which is the Most Holy Virgin—then we should also have the same thoughts as She has. May her children by grace be of one spirit with Her! Let them learn from her how to love the Lord, our Creator, more than anything else in the world, more than father and mother, more than anyone dear to us; how to avidly study the word of God—something unfortunately not seen amongst the disciples of Jesus Christ; learn with what warmth of heart and love we must pray to the Lord; how we must dedicate ourselves to him wholeheartedly; how to entrust our fate to His wise and all-good Providence; with what purity, meekness, humility, and patience we must always clothe and adorn ourselves and not with the vain embellishments of this adulterous and sinful world which knows no bounds of luxury and elegance in bodily clothing; how to love a life with God and the saints more than to dwell in the tents of sinners (Ps. 83:11).

Since the Most Holy Virgin was brought into the temple to be instructed in the Lord, let us talk now about the benefit and necessity of going to the church of God as the house of God and place where we are raised for the Heavenly Fatherland. We are called Christians, and we are all called by Jesus Christ to the Heavenly Fatherland, to be heavenly citizens, Divine inheritors, co-inheritors with Christ. Our calling is very high, our duties are also just as important; our spirit should be very exalted, holy, meek, and humble.

Who will show us what makes up our Christian calling and duty, of what spirit we must be, and how we should behave ourselves in various life situations? Who will give us the strength to live in the spirit of Christ—holy? The Church gives us all this. We can receive these spiritual powers in the temple of God through the Sacraments. Here a heavenly, unearthly spirit hovers; here is the school of Jesus Christ, in which future heavenly citizens are educated. Here you will receive heavenly lessons from the Divine Teacher, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit in the Gospels. Here is heavenly food and heavenly drink, spiritual, heavenly garments, and spiritual armaments against the enemies of salvation. Here you will receive the peace that is a foretaste of heaven, so necessary to our spiritual activity and education, and strength for spiritual labors and struggle with sin. Here we partake of sweet conversation with our Heavenly Father and the Most Holy Queen and Mother of God, with the angels of the Lord and saints. Here we learn how to pray, and for what to pray. Here you will find examples of all the Christian virtues in the saints who are glorified each day by the Church. Here, gathered together in the house of God, as children of one Heavenly Father, as members of the mystical body of Christ, we learn how to love one another—member loving member, as members of Christ, as Christ Himself.

See how beneficial, how necessary it is for a Christian to visit God’s church. It is a school of faith and piety founded by God, a sacred treasure According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3), the treasury of all the Mysteries of Christ! But the benefit and necessity for the Christian of attending God’s church is more clearly revealed by comparing the church with the vain world, to which we prefer to go instead of church. What do you find in the world, and what in church?

In the world, at every step there is vanity, delusion, and vice; in the church is truth, sanctity, and every kind of virtue. In the world is corruption, sin, and death; in the church is the incorruption of the saints and eternal life. Outside the church you see objects of worldly vanity that feed on the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 Jn. 2:16). You see the things that constantly entice and captivate people, and cause them to neglect the commandments of God, the Creator and Savior of all. For example, here in this building were kept fabrics of every sort and color. Those fabrics are the object of adoration of the daughters of men. They lived for them, were inspired by them, rejoiced over them, but not over God. Here the sparkle of various items of silver and gold stunned and enticed the gaze of those who worship everything glittering and beautiful. In a word—no matter where you direct your attention in the world, you will see only decay, vanity, and sin; everywhere is the earthly and worldly. Empty, vain conversations, vain activity that gives almost no reminder of heaven, God, and the other life. Only in pious homes do the icons of the Lord Jesus Christ, His Most Pure Mother, and His saints remind the thoughtful that we, Christians and members of Christ, members of His kingdom, look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come, in which we shall unite with the Lord and the saints, having cleansed ourselves of all defilement of flesh and spirit.

Thus, do you see what a difference there is between the temple--the house of God, and the world? Do you see how beneficial and necessary it is for a Christian to visit the temple of God in order to educate himself for the Heavenly Fatherland, in order to bring the spirit of Christ into himself, to engender heavenly, saintly manners? For, where else besides God’s temple will you hear the word of God; where, beside in church, will you receive the mysteries of faith; where will you obtain the strength to live in a Christian way? All of this is in church and from church.

Love going to God’s church, and prepare a temple of your own selves for God: Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 2:5). Let parents, teachers, and relatives take or send their children to church often, every Sunday and feast day without fail, and not to the theatre, where they will only learn what the young should not know. In church, they will hear the name of the Lord more frequently; they will learn the great truth of the creation of the world and mankind; they will come to know the Savior, the Mother of God, and the names of the saints. They will learn about the resurrection of the dead, the future judgment, the future life, and the eternal torments of sinners. They will learn from the Spirit of God to be good Christians; and that is more valuable than anything in the world. Amen.

Footnote:

1 Akathist to the Mother of God, Ekos 10

Benjamin D. Williams 10/28/25 Benjamin D. Williams 10/28/25

An Orthodox Understanding of Stewardship

It all begins with an idea.

Benjamin D. Williams

September 2015

How should a person living at the close of the second Millennium, especially one living in our North American culture, approach and understand the subject of Stewardship? Clearly it is not a new subject. We have all grown up hearing about it, being told what it means, and instructed in how to practice it, have we not? Yet if our instruction had been as good as we recall it, if we had learned our lessons well, if we truly understood the historic Orthodox Christian meaning of stewardship, wouldn’t we be better stewards? Would not our Churches be in better condition? The fact is that much of what we have learned about stewardship is either incorrect or only partly correct. There are two main reasons for this: much of what we have learned has been out of context, and much of what we think is Christian teaching on stewardship is not - it has been imported from our culture.

Let’s briefly consider these two problems. Most Orthodox Christians only hear about the subject of stewardship when it is related to money. When dues are being assessed, when there is a fund drive or some other financial program, then homilies are preached on stewardship, much talk goes on about "financial stewardship," and we are challenged to become better stewards by giving more money! In other words, for most of us, stewardship and the giving of money to the Church are one and the same. That is not Christian stewardship. That understanding of stewardship has been ripped out of the larger context of living all of our lives as "good and faithful stewards."

As if that problem is not bad enough, much of our understanding, definition and practice of stewardship are shaped by our culture and society. We grow up and live in a society where material advancement and personal pleasure are the number one goals. The purpose of life, our culture tells us, is personal satisfaction. This cultural perspective on the purpose of life shapes our thinking about the faith, and all of us bring it into the Church. It shapes our understanding of stewardship, among other things, because it is the exact opposite of what Christian stewardship is all about. We are persons created in the image and likeness of God, and we were created to be stewards. We are called to live a life of stewardship, stewarding the life and creation of which we have been created a part, in the most responsible and productive way. The message of our culture, that our purpose is to "live the good life," is the opposite of our purpose as Christians. Stewardship is the golden thread that runs through and holds the Christian life together.

Stewardship As Christian Identity

Within this understanding, we must begin with the acknowledgment that all of life is a sacrament, in that in every aspect of life we may experience and commune with God. This communion ranges from the most natural - like experiencing a beautiful sunset, to the most divine, communion with God in the eucharist. We must come to see that "all the earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it." (Psalm 24:1) As Fr. Schmemann challenges us, our human role is to offer back to God in thanksgiving, all that He has given to us. (For the Life of the World, SVS Press, Crestwood, NY, p. 24)

From this realization comes our understanding of Christian stewardship - managing the resources that God has given us, administering the elements of life. One of the best ways of thinking about stewardship is that it is the only truly appropriate human response to what God gives us. We experience all of life as a sacrament, and we steward all of life in response.

Consider for a minute the original usage of the term "steward." Our English word steward comes from the Greek word oikonomos, and literally means "house manager." Oikonomia, or stewardship, literally refers to the management of a household. Stewardship is a task, a responsibility bestowed on one person by another - usually by a master. Our Lord used the terms steward and servant frequently, as recorded in the Gospels. St. Paul uses them the same way in his epistles. In I Peter, every Christian is charged to "be a good steward of God’s grace." (I Peter 4:10) St. Ignatius of Antioch told the faithful that they were "stewards in God’s house, members of His household, and His servants." (Epistle to Polycarp, 99) He holds these three aspects of our way of life in dynamic tension: being stewards, being members of God’s household, and being servants. St. Ignatius can encourage us to toil, suffer, run, and rest, because these important aspects constitute our way of life as Christians.

Stewardship does not mean being hit up for an annual pledge to the Church. It is not being enlisted in a financial campaign for the new building. It is not even tithing. Rather, it is a well-rounded view of life and an incarnation of that view based on theology and ecclesiology – the giving of time and talent and treasure. Thus stewardship is a state of being. It is based in service. The steward is in the employ of his master. Therefore the most important aspect of being a steward is serving.

We Act As If We "Own" Creation

We modern humans act as if we "own" the creation and can do with it as we wish including destroy it. We treat and mistreat animals as if we had the right to destroy them. In a passage by Erik Herbermann (a contemporary horse trainer) that should give us pause about how we order our lives and how we treat creation (or those we are responsible to lead), he says:

Since by the power of our free will, we are agents over our own desires, we are fully responsible for our thoughts and words and, subsequently, the deed or physical manifestations which result from them. We are responsible for what we do with all the things over which we have stewardship. We horsemen, therefore, are responsible for our relationship with the horse and for its well-being while it is in our care. Accordingly, it is our duty, as stewards, to come to know enough about the horse that we do not, in any way, cause it mental or physical grief, either because of ignorance about its nature or due to lack of control over ourselves while we are dealing with it. (Erik F. Herbermann, "On Stewardship," Dressage and CT’, August, 1992, p. 5)

This is a Biblical view of stewardship, and it should typify our lives. If it should be true of the horseman and the horse, how much truer for the Christian? Think of the parables Christ Himself used to convey the same message: the vine dresser, the good and faithful servant, the good Samaritan, the talents. Out of this understanding of stewardship, out of this worldview, we realize that all we have is really the Lord’s, that we must care for it and offer it back to Him in thanksgiving. We are all called to be "good and faithful stewards." Then, and only then, is stewardship real. Then, and only then, are we fully living life. Then, and only then, are our tithes and offerings acceptable in the sight of God. (This principle is reiterated at every Divine Liturgy, when after the Commemoration the priest proclaims with the Gifts of bread and wine elevated, "Thine own of Thine own we offer unto Thee, in behalf of all, and for all.")

Transforming The World In The Wrong Way

We have a world full of examples of bad stewardship: e.g., pollution, brutality, pornography, waste, servitude, apathy, abortion, environmental destruction. We must understand and incarnate stewardship at both the micro and the macro level. The micro level means me: where I live, how I live, and how I interact with all with which I come into contact. The macro level means the world and how I interact with it, and how I am a responsible member of the human race.

These are not just abstract philosophical concepts having no direct bearing on our lives. Bad stewardship is in fact transforming our world in precisely the wrong way. The negative health and economic consequences of it fill the news. Such things as the deforestation of the Amazon, the desertification of large land masses in Africa caused by over-grazing and stripping the land of all vegetation, the changes of weather due to depletion of the ozone layer, the unchecked release of pollutants that destroy ozone, are directly caused by bad stewardship. The rampant increase in world population is due to many different causes, but it also adds up to bad stewardship - more people than our world can support.

The imbalance between available food supplies and rampant population growth fuels much of the death and suffering in our world today. Consider the growth in world population: in 200 AD it was approximately 200 million people; by 1825 it reached the one billion mark. "The next billion was added in only a hundred years. A further billion (taking the total to 3 billion) took about thirty-five years from 1925 to 1960. The next billion was added in only fifteen years (by 1975) while the increase from 4 billion to 5 billion took about twelve years and was completed in the late 1980s." (Clive Ponting, A Green History of the World, New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1991, p. 240).

Need we be concerned that the population has grown so exponentially? In one sense, perhaps we needn’t, as long as we can feed and care for all those people and not irreparably damage the earth. But we cannot. Notwithstanding the development of agriculture and industrialization, most of the people in the world live a meager existence with inadequate food and shelter. However, since stewards are supposed to care for the world and to "steward" its resources, consider a very graphic example of the consequences of human population growth: animal extinction. "Between 1600 and 1900 an animal species was made extinct about one every four years. By the 1970s this had risen to a rate of about 1,000 a year. At present about 25,000 species of plants, 1,000 species of birds and over 700 species of animals are on the verge of extinction. In the tropical forests about fifty species of plants and animals are being eliminated every day. At this rate it is estimated that in the 1990s about 1 million species (almost 20 percent of the total in the world) will become extinct." (Ibid., p. 193)

Would it surprise you to hear that even the AIDS epidemic may be the result of bad stewardship? In a recent article on viral epidemics, the following excerpt describes the process and the future consequences for the human race of this form of bad stewardship:

The emergence of AIDS appears to be a natural consequence of the ruin of the tropical biosphere. Unknown viruses are coming out of the equatorial wilderness of the earth and discovering the human race. It seems to be happening as a result of the destruction of tropical habitats. You might call AIDS the revenge of the rain forest. AIDS is arguably the worst environmental disaster of the twentieth century so far. Some of the people who worry in a professional capacity about viruses have began to wonder whether H.I.V. is the only rain forest virus that will sweep the world. The human immunodeficiency virus looks like an example rather than a culminating disaster. (Richard Preston, "Crisis in the Hot Zone," The New Yorker, October 26, 1992, p. 58)

Not only does this research neutralize the hysteria about the origins of AIDS, it also clearly lays the guilt at our own doorstep. Like the Pogo cartoon of so many years ago, "We have seen the enemy. . . and he is us!"

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that these "environmental concerns" only matter to the environmentalists. On the contrary, these issues must be of concern to every Christian because we are called to be stewards. Not only is environmental concern part of our stewardship, the enormity of the problem today should make us realize that the solutions are very limited. That is why the late Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios issued a landmark message on the protection of the environment in 1989. After lamenting the extent of environmental destruction, he said, "Man is destined not to exercise power over creation, as if he were the owner of it, but to act as its steward, cultivating it in love and referring it in thankfulness, with respect and reverence to its Creator. Unfortunately, in our days under the influence of an extreme rationalism and self-centeredness, man has lost the sense of sacredness of creation and acts as its arbitrary ruler and rude violator." (Patriarch Demetrios, reprinted in The Orthodox Church, v. 29, Nov/Dec 1993, p. 5)

A Spiritual Crisis

A sacramental understanding of life drives us to recognize that the environmental crisis is not merely a physical one. It is a spiritual crisis. Consider this eloquent observation by Elizabeth Theokritoff:

Increasing numbers of people conclude that the way out of the crisis requires spiritual renewal: not just a change of habits, but a change of hearts - in Christian terms, repentance. Tragically, the environmental implications of our Christian Faith are so little understood, even among Christians, that the Church is the last place most people look for spiritual solutions. They are more likely to turn to the worship of Mother Earth, or native American religions, or witchcraft, or New Age spirituality. Yet this realization that the world needs salvation requires a change of heart, is a challenge to the Church." (Elizabeth Theokritoff, "Thine Own of Thine Own," The Orthodox Church, v. 29, Nov/Dec 1993, p. 5.)

The proclamation of Patriarch Demetrios calls all human beings to repentance, and asserts that the Orthodox Church believes the solution is to be found in the liturgical, eucharistic and ascetic ethos of the Orthodox Tradition. Theokritoff points out that "A eucharistic ethos means, above all, using natural resources with thankfulness, offering them back to God. Such an attitude is incompatible with wastefulness. Similarly, fasting and other ascetic practices make us recognize even the simplest of foods and other creature comforts as gifts, provided to satisfy our needs. They are not ours to abuse and waste just so long as we can pay for them. We worship as a community, not as individuals: so a liturgical ethos is also one of sharing."

Personal Stewardship

But what about stewardship in my own life? It is one thing to see and understand and critique good or bad stewardship on the macro scale; it is another to take personal responsibility for it. And, besides, while it may be in vogue to do certain things which smack of good stewardship (like recycling newspapers or not using wood stoves), it is easy to cop out of any responsibility for macro-level stewardship. It is "the government’s problem," it is "such a big issue," and besides, "I can’t change anything, anyway!" In our hearts we all know that this isn’t true, but one of our fundamental flaws as humans is to be reactive, not proactive. In other words, rather than be responsible and anticipate problems, we wait for them to develop before we realize we have to change our behavior.

This irresponsible approach occurs on the personal level, too. Consider our personal stewardship of the earth as it relates to the transportation we use. We choose to drive cars that pollute the air, soil, water, and vegetation because cars are fast, powerful, and convenient. We even insist on having multiple cars for convenience sake, largely refusing to be a part of mass transportation. Thus, we Americans have a highly polluted economy that is dependent on oil companies and auto manufacturers - so dependent that we find it difficult to implement better stewardship methods.

What about other resources which we are to steward? Certainly they include the things around us: e.g., land, animals, possessions. And what about our children? Are they not God-given "resources" put in our charge to steward for a reason? Are we practicing good stewardship toward our children when both parents work and our children are raised (shaped and influenced) by others who may not share our values? Is it good stewardship to allow our children to spend as much as 500 hours a year (as some researchers tell us) of unsupervised TV viewing — knowing full well that they are spending more time with the TV than with either of their parents or teachers? Is it good stewardship to allow our children to unquestioningly absorb the values of our hedonistic society? Are we not being poor stewards of their moral and ethical instruction?

We may even see child molestation as a result of bad stewardship. Experts tell us that children who have a poor relationship with their parents are most at risk to be molested. Such children quickly follow someone who seems willing to befriend them - primed for abuse by their parents’ poor stewardship.

If on the Day of Judgment you are asked how you stewarded the God-given resources put in your charge, how will you answer? Will you just say, "But Lord, come on, nobody ever told me they were resources! How was I to know I was supposed to steward them?" And what will Church leaders say when confronted with the fact that the word "stewardship" has come to be narrowly used as a way to get money? Shame on all of us for either letting it happen or condoning and perpetuating the improper use of the word.

Are Humans An Integral Part of Nature?

Why have we lost the Christian ideal of stewardship? To answer this question we must first answer another - are humans an integral part of nature, or are they separate from it and superior to it? The modern scientific worldview regards the world of nature as something external to humanity - not as something of which we are intrinsically a part. This worldview assumes no living connection between humanity and creation. It no longer sees nature as "the living garment of [man’s] own inner being. Consequently, man has also lost the sense of his role in relationship to the rest of creation. Displacing himself from nature, depersonalizing and objectifying it, he has destroyed the harmony and reciprocity that should exist between them." (Philip Sherrard, The Eclipse of Man and Nature, West Stockbridge, MA: Lindisfarne Press, 1987, 39) This change in worldview is so fundamental, so basic to who we are as members of modern Western society that most of us don’t even know it is ours; and fewer still realize that it is an inherently un-Christian and ungodly view of life. The result of this change is that mankind has become the exploiter of nature, rather than the steward of it.

Stewardship is clearly a part of the Christian worldview that is based on the fact of unity with nature and the desire for harmony with it. We have to realize that it is not enough to want to be good stewards, to long for a society that practices stewardship, to try to bring about stewardship in our own society. We have to realize that we live in a culture that is fundamentally opposed to stewardship! Sure, there is lots of talk about stewardship, but most of the talk is romantic and based in idealism. There are lots of hard-working and well-intentioned people trying to improve things in our society, but they are unlikely to make any change, because the society we live in is fundamentally opposed to it. Why is this?

It is because "The West has developed technically in direct relationship to the decline of the Christian consciousness, for the simple reason that the ‘secularization’ of nature that permits it to be regarded as an object and so to be exploited technically, is in direct contradiction to the sacramental spirit of Christianity, wherever and whenever this is properly understood . . . " (Ibid., 67) In other words, as soon as you tell yourself that you are not a part of nature, but are apart from it, you are in the position to exploit it. As soon as you lose the sacramental view of life, life becomes something to be used for your own selfish purposes. It is not easy to be a steward in a culture that denies stewardship.

There are as many suggested solutions for the environmental crisis as there are concerned people. So what do we do? Most of the suggestions are good ones, but in and of themselves they will do little. The starting point has to be a change of heart. We have to re-discover the historic Christian view of life as sacred, as a sacrament of which we are a part and which we may offer back to God in thanksgiving. And then, we have to participate fully in the sacramental life of the Church, for unless we become part of the sacrament of life, unless we have a eucharistic understanding of life, we will be unable to be good stewards and will have little effect in the world.

Stewardship As A Way Of Life

If I am serious about stewardship, I have to be serious about restoration and full communion with God. And, if I am serious about full communion, I will undertake the spiritual struggle to achieve it - and with the grace of God and many tears, I will attain it. Then, when I have my own house in order, I may begin to consider focusing on other things. That is the spiritual foundation of stewardship. If we would begin to approach stewardship in that manner—spiritually, and with a commitment to purity ourselves—our stewardship would please God. Instead of just worrying about recycling aluminum and plastic, we would be focusing on fulfilling our role in the sacrament of Life. Only when we see life as a sacrament of which we have an intrinsic part, will we change our hearts and our behaviors, and be good stewards. And only when we have a grasp of the spiritual dimension of stewardship, can we begin to understand and practice servant leadership and be good leaders.

Have you ever thought about your relationship with the Church from the perspective of good stewardship? It is a challenging proposition. We are to care for and nurture all those resources (God’s gifts) within the Church. We are to care for and nurture the Church itself, because she is a resource - a gift from God for the life of the world. We are to love and support, care for and nourish all who are in it - those within and without our little circles, those who dress well and those who don’t, those who are cool and those who are crass, those who are successful and those who are failures. And then, recognizing Christ’s challenge, we have to look at being a good steward within the Church as nothing less than practice for being a good steward outside the Church.

We are each ordained (Contrary to what most lay people think, ordination is not reserved for the clergy. Baptism and chrismation are rites of ordination for every believer into the "royal priesthood." See I Peter 2:9) by God to be stewards of His spiritual gifts, seen and unseen, material and immaterial, physical and mystical. Stewardship within the Church is not just limited to the building or to financial offerings. A good steward is concerned with the optimal use of all the gifts, talents, and responsibilities of the organization placed in his or her charge. This means that a caring attitude cannot be limited to some aspects at the expense of others. A good steward’s decisions and actions must reflect a caring for the entire body, from the least to the greatest within it.

An Inclusive Way of Life

Good stewardship is an inclusive way of life. It includes the loving treatment and care of others. It includes giving to the poor. It includes financial support of the Church. If we have a Christian understanding of stewardship, and if we are good stewards, then all of these elements are part of our lives. We move beyond selfishness and stinginess toward giving as Christ gave. We do so because we realize that selfishness is a sin; it deceives us into thinking we "own" things eternally. Consider the revelation that was given to St. Anthony, founder of monasticism, about the holiest person he ever met. "It was revealed to Abba Anthony in his desert that there was one who was his equal in the city. He was a doctor by profession and whatever he had beyond his needs he gave to the poor, and everyday he sang the Trisagion with the angels." (The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, translated by Benedicta Ward, SLC, Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1975, p. 8) The physician in Alexandria gave to the poor whatever he had beyond his needs.

Holiness and good stewardship are inseparably linked. This physician was a good steward because he was holy. Or, should we say that he was holy because he was a good steward? The point is, we cannot separate them.

Good stewardship is meaningless without spiritual practice, because of sin and its endemic selfishness. Our salvation depends on us being self-less; to give of ourselves to others as Christ gave Himself to us so that we may thereby be restored to the divine image.

Can non-Christians be good stewards? Certainly! Orthodox Christianity teaches us that life itself is a journey in and toward the Kingdom of God. Every human being is on that journey. (Consider the opening sentence from the final prayer of The First Hour: "Oh Christ the True Light, who enlightens and sanctifies every person who comes into the world, may the light of Your countenance shine on us so that in your light we may see the unapproachable Light.") And, God gives gifts to each one for their life’s sustenance. (" . . . for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." Matthew 5:45.) What motive do non-Christians have for practicing good stewardship? Who knows? Maybe they are close to the Kingdom. Maybe it is out of pure selfishness. Maybe it is out of concern for the environment they will leave the next generation. The point is, our faith teaches us that the higher way of stewardship is out of love for God. We cannot and should not concern ourselves with trying to judge the orthodoxy of the motives of others. Rather, we should focus on our own goals of achieving purity and sanctity.

A Practical Counsel

So then, how do we live as stewards? One of the counsels of St. Anthony is perhaps the most practical and cuts through all of the mixed motives: "Indeed, if we too live as if we were to die each new day, we shall not sin . . . When we awaken each day, we should think that we shall not live till evening; and again, when about to go to sleep we should think that we shall not awaken ...If we are so disposed and live our daily life accordingly, we shall not commit sin, nor lust after anything, nor bear a grudge against anyone, nor lay up treasures on earth. . . " (St. Athanasius, Life of St. Anthony, 36) Nor, we might add, will we be anything less than good stewards!

If we understand stewardship properly, then being stewards will become our way of living; and this higher calling will experience and encounter life in all its facets - its joys and its sorrows, its victories, and its setbacks. We can muster the courage and strength to travel on this stewardship journey because "God is with us." Good stewardship brings joy into the lives of others, helps those in need, enables those who desire to improve, loves and cares for the people in our lives, cares for God’s creation, supports the Church financially, participates in the sacramental life of the Church, teaches and guides others, nurtures the gifts which God has given us. All of these factors are qualities of good stewardship. If practiced well, all of these qualities can become normal parts of life. Returning to St. Anthony, which event in his life do you think provided the holy physician in Alexandria the most joy? Giving away all of his excess to the poor-the very thing that convinced St. Anthony of the physician’s holiness!

One of the greatest limiting factors to our stewardship is that we don’t practice good discernment. We make decisions on a legal, contractual level. You see, most of us bring a contractual understanding to the subject of stewardship. This simply means that for most of our lives, and especially at work, we have learned that we are supposed to get something in exchange for what we give! We must have an equal exchange of value. If I give you forty hours of my time per week, then I expect to get paid in return. I contribute my expertise, I get paid. A contractual mindset, applied in all circumstances, will kill stewardship. A contractual approach to giving means we are not truly free. By contrast, unqualified giving without constraint is a mark of freedom. When we bring a contractual understanding to our giving, then not only are we not free, but God is shortchanged. God has already given us much; our life, our possessions, and His Son! And now we want to strike bargains with Him?

St. John Climacus said, "It is better to insult your parents than it is to insult God." (St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 3, "On Exile," Classics of Western Spirituality, New York, NY: Paulist Press, 1982) God gives to us without strings. We must reach a level of spiritual maturity from which we can give back to God without expecting to get more in return. If we don’t, then our attitude and behavior are downright sinful. Broadening this discussion to include God’s Church, the problem is that we, in our contractual mindset, expect to receive in like kind from the Church when we give. We expect to get equal or greater value for our money. This attitude can easily degenerate into viewing the Church as a dispenser of goods and services. This is not a Christian attitude, it is a cultural understanding we have accepted. Such a view betrays a lack of understanding of the Church’s vision and misunderstands our identity as members of the Body of Christ.

Toward A Definition of Christian Stewardship

Can we now build a definition for stewardship? How might we describe "stewardship in action?" The following list is adapted from one prepared by Ron Nicola:

Stewardship is our active commitment to use all our time, talent and treasure for the benefit of humankind in grateful acknowledgment of Christ’s redeeming love.
Stewardship is caring for the needs of others.
Stewardship is offering one’s self to God as He offered Himself to us.
Stewardship is what a person does after saying "I Believe . . . ", as proof of that belief.
Stewardship is learning how to be a responsible and concerned caretaker of Christ’s Church; it is learning how to enjoy Church life and be happy in Church work, for in Her dwells the fullness of the Spirit of God.
Stewardship is devotion and service to God and his Church as persons, as families, as deaneries, as diocese, as national Church, and as the Church universal. (Ron Nicola, "Stewardship - A Set of Basic Principles," The Word, November 1982,4.)

Perhaps we could summarize the points just mentioned this way: Christian stewardship is a life in service to God and His Church motivated by our thankfulness for His love to us . ".... in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." It is the wise and proper use of all the gifts God has entrusted to our care. (See Romans 5:8) What then are the essential elements of stewardship?

THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP

Acceptance of the belief that all life and life itself is a gift from God.
Freedom to choose not to sin and freedom from the constraints, pressures and temptations of the world that smother the expression of this belief.
Life in the Spirit which is characterized by behavior that uses and nurtures the time, talents, and treasure entrusted to us by God.

Ben Williams is the national sales manager for Protocol Systems Inc., manufacturers of hospital technology and support equipment. Ben is a member of the Orthodox mission in Midvale, Utah and is author of the books, Oriented Leadership and Orthodox Worship.

Taken from the OCA Resource Handbook for Lay Ministries.

Fr Stephen Freeman 10/28/25 Fr Stephen Freeman 10/28/25

Saved in Weakness

It all begins with an idea.

Fr. Stephen Freeman

March 2015

We are not saved by our talents and gifts nor by our excellence – we are saved by our weakness and our failure. I have made this point in several ways in several articles over the recent past – and the question comes up – but what does that look like? How do I live like that? The question can be somewhat urgent for some because the message is so utterly contrary to cultural assumptions that have been drilled into our minds. We are consumers and producers in the modern world. If I am not producing then I am being consumed – and so we rush to find a way to produce whatever is demanded. Just tell me the demand so that I can produce it!

How frustrating it is to be told that weakness and failure are the fulcrum point of salvation. For though we are all experienced in failure and weakness (who is not?), we have learned both to downplay those deficits (even to hide them) and to get on with our success no matter what. Occasionally (and not so rarely), someone finds their failures and weaknesses to have overwhelmed their lives. We give them medical treatment (where appropriate) or sadly watch them pass into a dependent stage of life, and quietly thank God that our own lives are not like theirs. We may have deep compassion for them – but we absolutely do not care to share their lot.

It is absolutely essential, however, that we understand that Christ voluntarily chose to share their lot and announced it as the very pathway to salvation. The Cross is not a transaction that takes place apart from our lives. It is not a moment between Christ and the Father, the settling of an account that was owed by us: it is something that also takes place within our lives and in the most intimate and profound manner. Uncomfortably, we must say that Christ Crucified is only effective when He is crucified within us and when we are ourselves are crucified with Him. If Christ is not crucified in you and you in Him, then there is no salvation.

So what does this look like in our daily lives?

It begins within the Church with Holy Baptism. In Baptism we are united with Christ in His death. This is the heart of repentance. Acknowledging and confessing our sins is the recognition of death in our lives. A man/woman confesses their brokenness, their failures to live by the commandments, even their lack of desire to live by the commandments. This is sealed in Baptism and becomes the pattern by which we live. Repentance (confession and absolution) is called a “second Baptism” by the Fathers.

How do we confess? I include here a remarkable passage from The Way of A Pilgrim that describes a good sense of saving confession and repentance:

The Confession of an Interior Man Leading to Humility
Turning my gaze at myself and attentively observing the course of my interior life I am convinced, through experience, that I love neither God nor my neighbor, that I have no faith, and that I am full of pride and sensuality. This realization is the result of careful examination of my feelings and actions.
1. I do not love God. For if I loved Him, then I would be constantly thinking of Him with heartfelt satisfaction; every thought of God would fill me with joy and delight. On the contrary, I think more and with greater eagerness about worldly things, while thoughts of God present difficulty and aridity. If I loved Him, then my prayerful communion with Him would nourish, delight, and lead me to uninterrupted union with Him. But on the contrary, not only do I not find my delight in prayer but I find it difficult to pray; I struggle unwillingly, I am weakened by slothfulness and am most willing to do anything insignificant only to shorten or end my prayer. In useless occupations I pay no attention to time; but when I am thinking about God, when I place myself in His presence, every hour seems like a year. When a person loves another, he spends the entire day unceasingly thinking about his beloved, imagining being with him, and worrying about him; no matter what he is occupied with, the beloved does not leave his thoughts. And I in the course of the day barely take one hour to immerse myself deeply in meditation about God and enkindle within myself love for Him, but for twenty-three hours with eagerness I bring fervent sacrifices to the idols of my passions! I greatly enjoy conversations about vain subjects which degrade the spirit, but in conversations about God I am dry, bored, and lazy. And if unwillingly I am drawn into a conversation about spiritual matters, I quickly change the subject to something which flatters my passions. I have avid curiosity about secular news and political events; I seek satisfaction for my love of knowledge in worldly studies, in science, art, and methods of acquiring possessions. But the study of the law of the Lord, knowledge of God, and religion does not impress me, does not nourish my soul. I judge this to be an unessential activity of a Christian, a rather supplementary subject with which I should occupy myself in my leisure time. In short, if love of God can be recognized by the keeping of His commandments—“If anyone loves me he will keep my word,” says the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:23), and I not only do not keep His commandments but I make no attempt to do so—then in very truth I should conclude that I do not love God. St. Basil the Great confirms this when he says, “The evidence that man does not love God and His Christ is that he does not keep His commandments.”
2. I do not love my neighbor. Not only because I am not ready to lay down my life for the good of my neighbor, according to the Gospel, but I will not even sacrifice my peace and my happiness for his good. If I loved my neighbor as myself, as the Gospel commands, then his misfortune would grieve me also and his prosperity would bring me great joy. But, on the contrary, I listen with curiosity to accounts of my neighbor’s misfortune and I am not grieved but indifferent to them and, what is more, I seem to find satisfaction in them. I do not sympathize with the failings of my brother but I judge them and publicize them. My neighbor’s welfare, honor, and happiness do not delight me as my own; I am either completely indifferent to them or I am jealous or envious.
3. I do not have faith in spiritual realities. I believe neither in immortality nor in the Gospel. If I were firmly convinced and believed without a doubt in eternal life and in the consequences for our earthly actions, then I would be constantly thinking about this; the very thought of immortality would inspire me with wonder and awe and I would live my life as an alien who is getting ready to enter his native land. On the contrary, I don’t even think of eternity and I consider the end of this life as the limit of my existence. I nurture a secret thought within and wonder, “Who knows what will happen after death?” Even when I say that I believe in immortality, it is only from natural reasoning, for down deep in my heart I am not convinced of it and my actions and preoccupations with earthly cares prove this. If I accepted the Holy Gospel with faith into my heart as the word of God, then I would be constantly occupied with it; I would study it, would delight in it, and with deep reverence would immerse myself in it. Wisdom, mercy, and love hidden within it would lead me to ecstasy, and day and night I would delight in the lessons contained in the law of God. They would be my daily spiritual bread and I would earnestly strive to fulfill them; nothing on earth would be strong enough to keep me from this. But on the contrary, even if I sometimes read or listen to the word of God, it is either out of necessity or curiosity; I do not delve deeply into it but feel dryness and indifference to it and I receive no greater benefit from it than I do from secular reading. Further, I am eager to give it up promptly and go to worldly reading, in which I have greater interest and from which I get more satisfaction. I am full of pride and self-love. All my actions confirm this. When I see something good in myself, then I wish to display it or brag about it to others, or interiorly I am full of self-love even when outwardly I feign humility. I ascribe everything to my own ability and I consider myself more perfect than others, or at least not worse. If I notice a vice in myself, then I try to excuse it or justify it; I pretend to be innocent or I claim that I couldn’t help it. I am impatient with those who do not show me respect and I consider them incapable of judging character. I am vain about my talents and cannot accept any failure in my actions. I grumble and I am glad to see the misfortune of my enemies, and my intention in doing anything good is either praise, self-interest, or earthly comfort. In a word, I continuously make an idol out of myself, to whom I give unceasing service as I seek sensual delights and try to nourish my carnal desires.

This is a 19th century Russian expression of such a confession but represents the character of our self-examination and repentance. It is an acknowledgement on a deep level of our weakness and failure.

When we come to such a realization – in a deep manner – our instinct is shame. It is an appropriate instinct. We feel vulnerable and we want to run from such an admission as soon as possible. We want to know what we can do to change – and change quickly. Worse yet, we may want to excuse ourselves and make explanations for why we are as we are. But our weakness has to begin with our own patient acceptance of what is true of ourselves.

And it is at that point of truth, the point of our failure, that we “bear a little shame,” in the words of the Elder Sophrony. If we will accept that little shame, we will meet the Crucified Christ at that very point, for it is He who bears our shame. It is not in our strengths and wonderful qualities that we meet Christ. Our egos are so impregnable at those points that such a union is impossible.

But the vulnerable point of shame is the place where the ego can give way and break and where it can admit the presence of another. This, too, is difficult because the instinct of shame is to cover itself and hide. Thus, we are asked to “bear a little.”

Shame is the ego’s deepest instinct (and the first recorded reaction of man after the Fall). It is the fear of being seen for who we truly are rather than who we want to be or pretend to be. But there is a self that is deeper than the shame – and it can be found if we are patient and dare to stay put for a short time. This is hesychia and nepsis, stillness and sobriety.

This self is also described as the “place of the heart,” and in some places as the “deep heart.” In that place we cease to judge, to critique, to measure, to compare. We are aware and observe but in a manner that doesn’t separate the self from other people or other things. It is a place where we will find union with God and the ability to pray. It is also the place where the tears of repentance can be shed.

All of this is the patient inner journey of repentance and the gateway into the Kingdom of God. The bearing of a little shame is our own crucifixion. It unites us with Christ’s bearing of the whole Adam’s shame (the shame of the whole of humanity), which is His crucifixion.

I encourage anyone who undertakes such repentance to be moderate in their approach (a “little shame” is enough at any time). It is good to do this before an icon of Christ and His Cross. This helps us to hold ourselves together with Him rather than be consumed in our ego. If you “fail,” then don’t despair. Use that failure and its “little shame” instead.

All of this is better undertaken with a good spiritual father and his encouragement and help. A requirement in this way of things is safety. If you do not feel safe sharing such shame with your spiritual father, then it shouldn’t be pushed. I will add a note of caution to priests who hear confessions. It is incumbent upon priests to be a reliable place of safety. There is no call for berating or controlling or causing shame in a penitent. Generally, such behaviors in a priest constitute spiritual abuse.

I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
(Psa 4:8)

Hesychia requires a measure of safety.

The practice of such regular repentance strengthens us for spiritual warfare, for it teaches us a way of life that is deeper than the ego and promotes true humility. In time, we become “unassailable” by the hostile powers. They “find no place in us.”

I pray these thoughts will be found useful.

From Fr. Stephen’s Blog, Glory to God for All Things: http://blogs.ancientfaith.com/glory2godforallthings/2015/01/21/saved-weakness/

Elder Paisios 10/28/25 Elder Paisios 10/28/25

“A Christian Must Not Be Fanatical”

It all begins with an idea.

by Elder Paisios

February 2014

A Christian must not be fanatical; he must have love for and be sensitive towards all people. Those who inconsiderately toss out comments, even if they are true, can cause harm.

I once met a theologian who was extremely pious, but who had the habit of speaking to the secular people around him in a very blunt manner; his method penetrated so deeply that it shook them very severely. He told me once: “During a gathering, I said such and such a thing to a lady.” But the way that he said it, crushed her. “Look”, I said to him, “you may be tossing golden crowns studded with diamonds to other people, but the way that you throw them can smash heads, not only the sensitive ones, but the sound ones also.”

Let’s not stone our fellow-man in a so-called “Christian manner.” The person who – in the presence of others – checks someone for having sinned (or speaks in an impassioned manner about a certain person), is not moved by the Spirit of God; he is moved by another spirit.

The way of the Church is love; it differs from the way of the legalists. The Church sees everything with tolerance and seeks to help each person, whatever he may have done, however sinful he may be.

I have observed a peculiar kind of logic in certain pious people. Their piety is a good thing, and their predisposition for good is also a good thing; however, a certain spiritual discernment and amplitude is required so that their piety is not accompanied by narrow-mindedness or strong-headedness. Someone who is truly in a spiritual state must possess and exemplify spiritual discernment; otherwise he will forever remain attached to the “letter of the Law”, and the letter of the Law can be quite deadly.

A truly humble person never behaves like a teacher; he will listen, and, whenever his opinion is requested, he responds humbly. In other words, he replies like a student. He who believes that he is capable of correcting others is filled with egotism.

A person that begins to do something with a good intention and eventually reaches an extreme point, lacks true discernment. His actions exemplify a latent type of egotism that is hidden beneath this behavior; he is unaware of it, because he does not know himself that well, which is why he goes to extremes.

This is like the Icon-worshippers and the Icon-fighters. Extreme was the one, and extreme was the other!

The former reached the point of scraping the icon of Christ to throw the dust into the Holy Chalice, so that Holy Communion could become better; the others again burned the icons and threw them away.

This is why the Church was forced to put the icons high and, when the persecution passed, they brought them low, so that we could venerate them and honor the person depicted.

From Spiritual Awakening (Vol. 2).

The following is taken from the book Elder Paisios of Mount Athos -- Spiritual Counsels I: With Pain and Love for Contemporary Man.

Someone asks,

Geronda, why does St. Cyril of Jerusalem say that the Martyrs of the last days will surpass all Martyrs?”

And he responds,

Because in the old times we had men of great stature; our present age is lacking in examples, /and I am speaking generally about the Church and Monasticism. Today, there are more words and books and fewer living examples. We admire the holy Athletes of our Church, but without understanding how much they struggled, because we have not struggled ourselves. Had we done so, we would appreciate their pain, we would love them even more and strive with philotimo to imitate them. The Good God will of course take into account the age and conditions in which we live, and He will ask of each one of us accordingly. If we only strive even a little bit, we will merit the crown more than our ancestors.

In the old days, when there was a fighting spirit and everyone was trying to measure up to the best, evil and negligence would not be tolerated. Good was in great supply back then, and with this competitive spirit, it was difficult for careless people to make it to the finish line. The others would run them over. I remember once, in Thessaloniki, we were waiting for the traffic light to cross the street, when I suddenly felt pushed by the crowd behind me, as if by a wave. I only had to lift my foot and the rest was done for me. All I am trying to say is that when everybody is going toward the same direction, those who don’t wish to follow will have difficulty resisting because the others will push them along.

Today, if someone wishes to live honestly and spiritually, he will have a hard time fitting in this world. And if he is not careful, he’ll be swept by the secular stream downhill. In the old days, there was plenty of good around, plenty of virtue, many good examples, and evil was drowned by the good; so, the little disorder that existed in the world or in the monasteries was neither visible nor harmful. What’s going on now? Bad examples abound, and the little good that exists is scorned. Thus, the opposite occurs; the little good that exists is drowned by an excess of evil, and evil reigns.

It helps so much when a person or a group of people has a fighting spirit. When even one person grows spiritually, he does not only benefit himself, but helps those who see him. Likewise, one who is laid back and lazy has the same effect on the others. When one give in, others follow until in the end there’s nothing left. This is why it’s so important to have a fighting spirit in these lax times. We must pay great attention to this matter, because people today have reached the point where they make lax laws and impose them on those who want to live strict and disciplined lives. For this reason, it is important for those who are struggling spiritually, not only to resist being influenced by the secular spirit, but also to resist comparing themselves to the world and concluding that they are saints. For when this happens, they end up being worse than those who live in the world. If we take one virtue at a time, find the Saint who exemplified it and study his or her life, we will soon realize that we have achieved nothing and will carry on with humility.

Just as in racing, the runner speeding for the end line does not look back toward those lagging behind, but fixes his eyes forward, so too in this struggle we don’t want to be looking back and thus left behind. When I try to imitate those who are ahead of me, my conscience is refined. When, however, I look back, I justify myself and think that my faults are not important compared to theirs. The thought that others are inferior consoles me. Thus, I end up drowning my conscience or, to put it better, having a plastered, unfeeling heart.

Alexander Bogolepov 10/27/25 Alexander Bogolepov 10/27/25

Christmas Hymns in the Orthodox Church

It all begins with an idea.

by Alexander A. Bogolepov

December 2013

The observance of a special period of preparation before the Feast of the Nativity of Christ has long been an established part of Christian practice. In the Orthodox Church this period is made up of the Christmas Fast and the special days of preparation before Christmas itself, with the week of the Holy Forefathers and the week of the Holy Fathers. The Church services for these days of preparation commemorate the patriarchs, the prophets and all who had lived by faith in the Saviour who was to come and had prophesied about Him long before His coming. The hymns for the Feast of the Nativity are full of the original joyful excitement at the thought of God’s appearance on earth. The Christmas canon begins with a joyous declaration, gradually swelling in volume, of the Savior’s birth:

“Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Christ descends from the heavens, welcome Him!
Christ is now on earth, O be jubilant!
Sing to the Lord, the whole earth,
And sing praises to Him with joy, O ye people,
For He has been exalted!”1

In her Christmas hymns, as in her other hymnody, the Orthodox Church does not limit her vision to earthly happenings alone. In these hymns she contemplates the events of Christ’s life on earth from a dual perspective. Beyond the birth of a child in the poverty of a squalid cave, beyond the laying of the infant in a manger instead of a child’s crib, beyond His poor mother’s anxiety and alarm over His fate, supermundane events emerge -- events which are outside this world’s natural order:

“Today doth Bethlehem receive Him
Who sitteth with the Father forever”2

This was not the first birth of the One “who lay in a manger.” First He was begotten of His Father “before all ages” as God; moreover He was begotten of the Father alone, without His Mother. In Bethlehem He was born as men are born, but in contrast to all the sons of earth He was born of His Mother alone, without an earthly father. Having proclaimed “Christ is born!” in the 1st Song of the Christmas canon, the Church next calls upon the faithful to praise

“...the Son who was born of the Father
Before all ages, and in this latter day
Was made incarnate of the Virgin
Without seed; Christ our God”.3

In the last Song of the Christmas canon the feeling of the human mind’s powerlessness to comprehend this union of Divine majesty and human insignificance, this glorious mystery, is expressed even more brilliantly and eloquently.

A dark cave had replaced the resplendent heavens; the earthly Virgin had taken the place of the Cherubim as the “throne” of the Lord of Glory; a little manger had become the receptacle of the omnipresent God Who could never be contained in space:

“I behold a strange but very glorious mystery:
Heaven -- the cave;
The throne of the Cherubim -- the Virgin.
The manger -- the receptacle in which Christ our God,
Whom nothing can contain, is lying”.4

But nowhere does the attitude of reverence before this incomprehensible union of things heavenly and earthly find a more forceful expression than in the Kontakion for Christmas written by the greatest Greek hymn-writer, St. Romanos Melodus. Every word in it is full of meaning and one brilliant image follows another:

“Today the Virgin brings forth the Supersubstantial One
And the earth offers a cave to the Unapproachable One”.

Mary gave birth but remained a virgin, and gave existence to the One who is above all that exists in the world. And in the cave the earth provided a sanctuary for the One whom, as a general rule, men may not even approach. Next, the second part of this kontakion gives us two pictures of events which unfolded simultaneously and harmoniously on earth and in heaven. In heaven the angels glorify God in unison with the shepherds on earth, and the Wise Men move across the earth according to the direction taken by the heavenly star. The meaning of all this is that the Child whose life on earth was as yet only a few hours old is at the same time God, who existed before time itself and yet was born now for our salvation:

“For for our sakes, God, Who is before all the ages, is born a little Child”.5

What does the coming to earth of the Son of God really mean? Above all it means that people are illumined, that spiritual light is bestowed upon them. This idea is continually being put forward in the Christmas hymnody of the Orthodox Church. The Troparion for the Christmas Feast explains the basic meaning of the Feast. There is this direct statement:

“Thy Nativity, O Christ our God,
Has illumined the world like the Light of Wisdom”.

God enlightens each of us in the way that is most accessible and understandable to the particular person. And when He wished to enlighten the Wise Men, whose custom it was to observe the stars and their movements, He sent them an unusual star which guided them to the Christ.

“... They who worshipped the stars were through a star,
Taught to worship Thee, the Sun of Righteousness,
And to know Thee, the Day-Spring from on high”.

The star of Bethlehem gave the Wise Men an opportunity to see the rise of the Sun of Righteousness. But the light of Christ’s righteousness is not an earthly light. Its motion was not from out of the earth towards the firmament of heaven, but from above downwards. Shining high above the earth, it descended thereon from the heights of heaven and illumined the world with Divine light. It was the Day-Spring from on high. And all who have sat in spiritual darkness and waited for the true light have, like the Wise Men, come to know this extraordinary Day-Spring of the Sun of Righteousness.

“Our Saviour hath visited us from on high...
And we who were plunged in darkness and shadows
Have found the truth,
For the Lord hath been born of the Virgin”.6

The Church addresses this prayer of praise and thanksgiving to the Infant born in Bethlehem:

“Glory and praise to the One born on earth Who hath divinized earthly human nature.”7

The gifts of grace in the Holy Mysteries which strengthen enfeebled humanity, cure men, and regenerate them to a Godlike life, were imparted by Christ in the final, culminating days of His earthly mission and are linked to His death on the cross and Resurrection. But these last things were prepared for by Christ’s entire earthly life from Bethlehem to Golgotha. The Coming of Christ was the beginning of the salvation of mankind. And the Orthodox Church sings of Christ’s Nativity as the morning of men’s salvation, as the dawn after a long and anxious night -- the dawn with which the new, shining day in the life of the human race has already started.

The triumphal hymn of the Feast of Christmas is the “Gloria” sung by the angels to the Shepherds, to herald the coming of the Messiah.

“Glory in the Highest to God, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:14).

It is just as characteristic of Christmas as the hymn “Christ is Risen from the dead” is of Pascha (Easter).

According to the text of the second chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel the “good tidings” proclaimed by the angels was not a repetition from the heavens of things that were well-known before. The innumerable heavenly host which appeared suddenly in the wake of the Angel who had stood before the shepherds of Bethlehem confirmed his “tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” (Luke2:10). They also sang of the new, marvelous act of God’s goodwill, His sending the Saviour to this earth. This was the meaning of their good news: “Glory to God in the Highest; salvation had come to a sinful earth with the birth of the Christ Child, the loving-kindness of God had descended upon men.”

The extraordinary and wondrous Birth from a Pure Virgin is one of the fundamental themes of Christmas hymnody; at the same time the Mother of God, whom the Orthodox Church venerates with such pious devotion, is given in this hymnody a special place of honour. A number of examples from sacred history are used in these hymns in order to glorify Her perpetual virginity, Her conception by the Holy Spirit and Her “supermundane act of giving birth to God.” The most important of these are the prophet Jonah’s sojourn in the belly of the sea-monster and the Babylonian fiery furnace.” The fiery furnace of Babylon did not burn the young men, who were covered with its flames, likewise:

“The fire of the Godhead scorched not the Virgin,
When He entered into Her womb”.8

Despite the birth Mary was preserved a virgin like the Burning Bush on Mt. Sinai which could not be consumed but remained green in the flames.9 The Church sings praises to Mary alike for Her virginity and Her touching maternal love. Her tenderness as a mother toward Her wondrous Infant Child, whom as Her son She held in Her arms at Her breast, but before whom She bowed in worship as before “the Son of the Highest,” is expressed in the following lullaby which Church hymnody assigns to the lips of the Lady Most Pure, calling upon us men “to magnify Her without ceasing”:

“O my child, child of sweetness,
How is it that I hold Thee, Almighty?
And how that I feed Thee,
Who givest bread to all men?
How is it that I swaddle Thee,
Who with the clouds encompasseth the whole earth”.10

She who “knew not a man” and yet gave birth to the Incorporeal God is for the Orthodox Church at once mother and virgin.

“Magnify, O my soul, the Virgin Most Pure,
The God-Bearer, who is more honourable
And more glorious than the heavenly hosts”.11

The best and holiest of earthly creatures, exalted above the angels, the God-Bearer is the pride of this earth, a fitting gift from mankind to the Creator and Saviour:

“What shall we present unto Thee, O Christ,
For Thy coming to earth for us men?
Each of Thy creatures brings Thee a thank-offering:
The angels -- singing; the heavens -- a star;
The Wise Men -- treasures; the shepherds devotion;
The earth -- a cave; the desert -- a manger;
But we offer Thee the Virgin-Mother. O Eternal God, have mercy upon us”.12

In rendering “maternal-virginal glory” to Mary Full-of-Grace the Church venerates Mary because, through Her unspotted purity, She was made worthy to bring the Saviour into this world and Herself became the door of salvation and deliverance from the curse of sin which had weighed upon men:

“Magnify, O my soul, Her who hath delivered us from the curse”.13

Paradise is now once again opened to us. If sin entered the world through Eve, it is also through the New Eve (the Mother of our God) that victory over sin has come into the world.

The Church likewise summons us:

“Let us glorify in song the true God-Bearer
Through who sinners have been reconciled with God.14

The Mother of God represents the point at which the Godhead came into direct contact with Old Testament humanity. She is in this respect the living symbol of all the triumphant joy of Christmas, which is the celebration of God’s reestablished union with men. God, who had driven our forefathers out of Paradise, had set them far apart from Himself. Now, with the birth of Christ, He has again come to men, just as He once came to them in Paradise. It has become possible again for men to be in communion with God. The barrier between,Heaven and earth has fallen and so we sing along with Adam and Eve:

“The wall of partition is destroyed,
The flaming sword is dropped,
The Cherubim withdraw from the Tree of Life,
And I partake of the fruits of Paradise,
Whence, for my disobedience, I was driven forth”.15

The underlying feeling of the Christmas Feast is one of peace. This is a result of the reconciliation and new unity between heaven and earth:

“Heaven and earth now are united through Christ’s Birth!
Now is God come down to earth
And man arisen to the heaven”.16

This unity is the source of general exultation -- a note which resounds vigorously in the Christmas hymnody:

“Today Christ is born in Bethlehem of the Virgin.
Today He who is without a beginning begins,
And the Word is made flesh.
The powers of Heaven rejoice,
The earth and her people are jubilant;
The Wise Men bring gifts to the Lord,
The shepherds marvel at the One who is born;
And we sing without ceasing:
“Glory to God in the Highest, And on earth peace, (God’s) good will toward men”.17

There is one solitary note, however, which breaks into these hymns of general rejoicing like a forewarning of future lamentations. The Wise Men -- according to the Christmas Eve stichera -- came toworship the Incarnate God and devotedly offered Him their gifts -- gold, because He is the King of ages; frankincense, because He is the God of all men; but then they also brought Him myrrh, with which the Jews were accustomed to anoint their dead, because He was to “lie three days in death.”

The heart of the Mother of God must have been seized by a premonition of that which awaited the innocent Child who was sleeping peacefully in the manger. This minor note of sadness is drowned, however, in the general chorus of exultation. Heaven and earth rejoice together and this does not mean simply that the angels’ singing harmonises with that of the shepherds. The Church does not even view so-called “inanimate nature” as indifferent to the higher world. The Creator has willed the existence of a special link between them. At an earlier time man’s sinfulness had brought general disorder into nature, but now all nature leaps for joy, rejoicing at the overcoming of this sin:

“Today the whole creation rejoices and is jubilant,
For Christ is born of the Virgin”.18

In the Christmas hymnody the Star is not merely the voice which made known to the world the Saviour’s appearance. It is also a sign, a symbol of this appearance, just as the Cross is the symbol of victory over the forces of darkness. Then, too, the Star is a symbol of Christ Himself, “the Star which rose from Jacob”.19

For more than nineteen centuries Christ has been shining down upon mankind as a guiding star, not as a myth or mirage, but as the living God, who has been on earth and spoken with men. There have been many subsequent attempts to obscure the pure silver light of the Star of Bethlehem in human consciousness. But the centuries of the Christian era have not passed by in vain. And if the Christmas hymns continue to resound each year in churches scattered all over the world and to be sung as they were sung many hundreds of years ago by the grandparents and forbears of the present generation, this means that the light shed by the Christmas Star is deeply rooted in human hearts and shines on in them undimmed.

From Orthodox Hymns of Christmas, Holy Week and Easter, published by the Russian Orthodox Theological Fund Inc.

Footnotes

1 Christmas Canon, 1st Song, Irmos
2 Christmas Matins, stichera after the Gospel
3 Christmas Canon, 3rd Song, Irmos
4 Christmas Canon, 9th Song, Irmos
5 Kontakion
6 Christmas Matins, Protagogion
7 Christmas Matins, Sedalen
8 Christmas Canon, 8th song, Irmos
9 2nd Christmas Canon, 1st song, Troparion
10 Pre-Christmas,, 9th song, Troparion
11 Christmas Canon, 9th song, verse
12 Stichera by Patriarch Anatolios on “O Lord, I have cried unto Thee”
13 Christmas Canon, 9th Song, verse
14 Christmas Canon, 5th Song, Troparion
15 Stichera by Patriarch Hermanos on “O Lord, I have cried unto Thee”
16 Stichera on the Litiya
17 Stichera before the great Doxology
18 Christmas Canon, 9th song, verse
19 Christmas Canon, 6th song, Troparion

Mtk Dennise Kraus 10/27/25 Mtk Dennise Kraus 10/27/25

October: Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month

It all begins with an idea.

By Matushka Dennise Kraus

October 2013

Thy departure from this earthly life is a cause of grief and sorrow for your parents and all who love you, O little child; but in truth you have been saved by the Lord from sufferings and snares of many kinds.
O Savior and Master of our life: comfort the faithful parents of this departed child with the knowledge that to innocent children, who have done no deeds worthy of tears, are granted the righteousness, peace and joy of Thy kingdom.
Canon Ode 9, The Service of Burial of an Infant

Each year, approximately a million pregnancies in the U.S. end in miscarriage, stillbirth or the death of a newborn child. But this is not just a statistic. This is a life and a death.

It is my belief that both the Gospel and the Orthodox Church hold that life begins at conception—that is, the fertilization of the ovum by the sperm. God knows the name and age of each person from their mother’s womb, is what we pray during the Liturgy of St. Basil. We must therefore recognize that pregnancy loss—miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy or stillbirth—all result in the death of a human being, a baby, a Child of God. Parents who were anticipating life are now confronted with death. These deaths result in millions of parents and families grieving.

Grieving Alone

Fr John Breck writes of the mother who has miscarried, “Her pain needs to be acknowledged, accepted, and palliated through words and gestures of understanding, sympathy and love, offered by her family and the parish community.” In reality, most of the parents who experience the loss of a child during pregnancy, suffer alone. This is especially true in the instance of early pregnancy loss (i.e. miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies) where there is no “body” to be seen and often the mother shows no outward signs of pregnancy. Many people are unaware of the grief that pregnancy loss causes. Sometimes the grieving parents, themselves, reinforce the idea that they are not grieving, by pretending they do not experience hurt, as they try to “get on with their lives” and to “try again.”

It is important to note that not only is a parent’s grief over a pregnancy loss real and normal, it is also Christian. Too many times it is assumed that grief is not Christian; that the bereaved should accept the reality of the loss as being “God’s Will.” However, we know that when Jesus found out about the death of his friend Lazarus, that “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). Especially in early losses (most miscarriages occur before the twelfth week of pregnancy) people often use the clichés “It’s God’s will,” “God wanted the baby in heaven for himself,” “God knows best; the baby would have probably been deformed.” The only thing these sayings do is indicate to the parents that they should not mourn, that if they “are Christian” they will accept God’s Will and not “complain.”

National Observance of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness

In 1988, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed October as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month throughout the United States noting that, “National Observance of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month offers us the opportunity to increase our understanding of the great tragedy involved in the deaths of unborn and newborn babies. It also enables us to consider how, as individuals and communities, we can meet the needs of bereaved parents and family members on work to prevent causes of these problems….”

Subsequently, the resolution to declare October 15 Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day passed the United States House of Representatives on September 28, 2006. In honor of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, it is suggested by many bereavement groups that grieving parents light a candle at 7 p.m. in their respective time zones to create a wave of light around the world in memory of babies lost to pregnancy and infant loss. At Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in East Meadow, NY we have been holding a Molieben (prayer service) each year on October 15th beginning at 7pm. A copy of the service can be found at our parish prayer ministry website, http://holytrinityeastmeadow.org/Ministries/prayerministry.html. Following the service, it is good to have fellowship and refreshments of some sort. It would also be a good idea to have pamphlets on grieving available. Pamphlets and resources can be found on the internet, but especially from the National Share Office, http://www.nationalshare.org/.

Guidelines for Helping a Friend or Family Member to Grieve

Not everyone grieves the same. It is important to create a loving and understanding atmosphere to help those affected. Always work in cooperation with your pastor. In 2002, I wrote an article for our Diocesan Journal, Jacob’s Well entitled “Comforting Those Who Have Lost a Baby During Pregnancy or Shortly Thereafter.” I am including the guidelines from that article for people who may not know what to say or how to help a friend or family member who is grieving.

The first and likely the most important thing you can do is realize that a baby has died and this death is just as “real” as the death of an older child. The parents’ grief and healing process will be painful and take time, lots of time. They may not be recovered or done “thinking about their baby” after a month or even a year. Realize that the parents are sad because they miss their baby, and that he or she can never be replaced by anyone else, including future children or children they may already have.
Let the parents know that they and their family and the baby are in your prayers. Call or send a sympathy card. You don’t have to write a lot inside, a simple “You and your baby are in my thoughts and prayers” is enough.
What the parents need most now is a good listener and a shoulder, not a lecture or advice. Listen when they talk about the death of their baby. Don’t be afraid, and try not to be uncomfortable when talking about the loss. Talk about the baby by name, if they have named the child. Ask what the baby looked like, if the parents saw the baby. Most parents need and want to talk about their baby, their hopes and dreams for their lost child.
It is okay to admit that you don’t know how they feel. A good thing to say is, “I can’t imagine how you feel. I just wanted you to know that I am here for you and am very sorry.”
Give a hug. This is a sign of love and concern. Even if this is all you do, it’s a nonverbal way of saying “I’m sorry” or that “I’m praying for you.”
Offer to baby-sit their other children. Often there are follow-up doctor’s visits and the parents need a chance to be together as a couple as well.
Offer to bring over meals; often mothers have no energy to do even basic things.
Offer to go food shopping, help clean the house, do laundry; anything that lightens the burden of daily chores that need to be done. This is especially helpful if the mother is still waiting to miscarry the baby. That process may take days and is physically and emotionally draining.
Be careful not to forget the father of the baby. Men’s feelings are very often overlooked because they seem to cope more easily. The truth is that they are quite often just as devastated as their partner.
Try to remember the anniversary of the death and due date with a card, call, or visit. Anniversaries can trigger grief reactions as strong as when the loss first happened. Months down the road a simple “How have you been doing since you lost your baby?” can give much comfort.
Give special attention to the baby’s brothers and sisters. They too are hurt and confused and in need of attention which their parents may not be able to give at this time.
If the children want to talk about the death, don’t be afraid to engage them in conversation. Children have a natural relationship to death and they are open and direct with adults with whom they feel comfortable. When children are allowed to share their dreams and thoughts openly, they are not usually impacted by death in a negative way.
If you are pregnant, it may be hard for the bereaved parents (especially the mother) to see or even talk to you. You will need to be very understanding and extra patient with them. They still love you and are happy for you, but it is just such a huge reminder of what they have lost. Your bereaved friends may even feel a little jealous of you (especially after your baby comes), and then get angry with themselves for feeling that way.
Remember that any subsequent pregnancies can be a roller-coaster ride of joy, fear and bittersweet memories.
Remember also that mourning puts a tremendous strain on relationships between family and friends.

Your help, comfort, and sensitive support can be very influential in how the parents cope with the death of their baby and how they recover. You are important; they need you now more than ever.

After giving birth to two beautiful children, my husband and I experienced the deaths of two babies during pregnancy. Our second baby died while we were attending St Vladimir’s Seminary. The prayers and support that we received from the community aided in our healing. The molieben (prayer service) that my husband serves on October 15th, holds special meaning for us. We hope that such prayers will help others to heal as well. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (II Corinthians 1:3-4 RSV)

Definitions

Grief:

The thought and feeling experienced within oneself upon the death of someone loved. It is the internal meaning given to the experience of bereavement.

Mourning:

is the taking of the internal experience of grief and expressing it outside oneself.

Miscarriage:

Death of an infant during the first 20 weeks of gestation. Usually a miscarriage occurs in the first 12 weeks. In most states the hospital is responsible for the remains of the baby. However, some states are introducing legislation that would allow parents to request the body for burial.

Ectopic Pregnancy:

When the baby (fertilized egg) implants itself outside of the uterus. Medication or surgery is necessary to remove the conceptus (baby), prevent rupture of the fallopian tube, and to safeguard the mother’s life. A ruptured ectopic pregnancy is a potentially life-threatening event for the mother.

Stillbirth:

Death of an infant in the last 20 weeks of gestation, but prior to birth. In most states it is the responsibility of the parents to bury the baby.

Neonatal Death:

Death of an infant during the first 28 days after birth.

Perinatal Loss:

Death of an infant during pregnancy, childbirth or during the first 28 days after birth.

Helpful Websites

http://holytrinityeastmeadow.org/pregnancyloss.html—Articles and prayer services for pregnancy loss.

http://namingthechild.com/—Hope-filled reflections on miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant death, many from an Orthodox perspective.

http://www.nationalshare.org/—Helping those who have experienced the death of a baby due to early pregnancy loss, stillbirth, or in the first few months of life.

http://www.compassionatefriends.org/—A national self-help organization providing friendship, support and resources for parents and siblings grieving the loss of a child.

Bibliography

The Great Book of Needs, Expanded and Supplemented, Volume III. “The Order for the Burial of an Infant”. St. Tikhon’s Seminary Press. South Canaan, PA. 1999.

Borg, Susan and Lasker, Judith. When Pregnancy Fails: Families Coping with Miscarriage, Stillbirth and Infant Death. 1981. Revised 1989.

Breck, John. The Sacred Gift of Life. Orthodox Christianity and Bioethics. St. Vladimir’s Press. Crestwood, NY. 1998.

Elliott, Martha. An Orthodox Christian Response to the Death of a Child. SVS MA Thesis May, 1998 p9.

Klunger-Bell, Kim. Unspeakable Losses. Understanding the Experience of Pregnancy Loss, Miscarriage and Abortion. New York, London: WW Norton and Company, 1998.

Kohn, Ingrid and Perry-Lynn Moffitt. A Silent Sorrow: Pregnancy Loss: Guidance and Support for You and Your Family. New York: Routledge, 2000.

James, John and Frank Cherry, The Grief Recovery Handbook.

Limbo, Rana K. and Sara Rich Wheeler. When A Baby Dies: A Handbook for Healing and Helping. Bereavement Services. LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Revised Printing 1998.

Lothrop, Hannah. Help, Comfort and Hope After Losing Your Baby in Pregnancy or in First Year. Fisher Books, 1992.

Moe, Thomas. Pastoral Care in Pregnancy Loss: A Ministry Long Needed. The Haworth Pastoral Press. New York. 1997.

Olson, Heidi B. When the Bough Breaks—Working with Families Who have Experienced The Death of an Infant (A Guide For Healthcare and Other Professionals).

Panuthos, Claudia and Catherine Romeo. Ended Beginnings. Massachusetts: Bergin & Garvey Publishers, Inc., 1984.

Shimchick, John. Sharing The Loss Of The Wished For Child. The Resource Handbook for Lay Ministers. Orthodox Church in America. New York. p. 5

Vogel, Gary E. A Caregiver’s Handbook to Perinatal Loss. deRuyter-Nelson Publications, Inc. St. Paul, Minnesota. 1996

Walker, Gordon T. Dealing with Grief. Second Edition. Conciliar Press, 1988.

Worden, William. Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy. A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner. Second Edition. New York: Springer Publishing Company, 1991.

Dennise Kraus is the wife of Fr. Martin Kraus, Holy Trinity Church, East Meadow, NY and the mother of four children.

This article was taken from http://oca.org/resource-handbook/familylife/october-pregnancy-and-infant-loss-awareness-month

Fr Christopher Foley 10/27/25 Fr Christopher Foley 10/27/25

Spiritual Reading

It all begins with an idea.

Father Christopher Foley

September 2012

The Holy Fathers set forth their thoughts, their heart, the image of their activity in their writings. This means: what a true guidance to heaven, which is borne witness to by heaven itself, are the writings of the Fathers.
- Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov
Tire yourself in reading spiritual books, as they save you from impurity.
- Saint Anthony the Great

Starting this fall we will begin a new adult class based on the writings of the Holy Fathers. We will be taking some time to establish a habit of spiritual reading as part of our daily spiritual exercise. We will take some time also to reflect together on what we are reading and discuss how the Fathers’ guidance is helpful for us. Before we begin, it is important for us to take some time to reflect on why this is important in the first place.

Why Should We Read The Holy Fathers?

Spiritual reading should be a normal part of one’s devotional and contemplative life. But why should we read the Holy Fathers? Don’t we have enough in the Scriptures and is it not enough to come to church and participate in the services? Of course, Holy Scripture is paramount and is, par excellence, the main source of Holy Tradition and it is within the Divine Services that we come to understand these Scriptures. However, it is important for us first to remember that the writings of the Holy Fathers of the church are also part of the Holy Tradition. Holy Tradition is nothing less than the full proclamation of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. There are many monuments to this Gospel: Holy Scripture, Patristic texts, conciliar decrees, Liturgical rites, church art, hymnography, architecture, etc. to the extent that they accurately manifest Christ to us. Thus, the writings of the Holy Fathers, present to us one of many ways to continue participating in the fulness of the Gospel. There is a continuity of this proclamation of the Gospel within the Holy Tradition of the Church.

The Troparion to the Holy Fathers says that they are “lights upon the earth.” They refract and distill the light of the Gospel in unique ways. Saint Gregory Palamas, offering the example of the mother who chews hard food and then gives to her baby to eat, says that the holy fathers prepare the word of the Gospel for us so that the spiritual discernment and understanding in the hearts of the God-bearing fathers come to offer nourishment to those who listen and obey. This “softening” of the meat of the Gospel is not a watering down of Truth but an aide in digesting the tough sayings of Christ so that we could more readily hear them and apply them. This is what compels us to peruse these writings daily.

The Holy Fathers provide a solid foundation upon which to build. Their teaching is bedrock, a cornerstone, a firm wall and bullwark against the enemy. Elder Ameilianos states that,

The Word of God conceals within itself the power of God, the power of Christ. And when you immerse your mind and heart in spiritual books, you will always be filled when you come forth from your reading. What then do spiritual books give us? They give us, first of all, a foundation in God. The power of the word of God conquers our sins and defeats the devil, as St. John Chrysostom says (Third Homily on Lazarus).

We find strength and power in their works as they are writing out of their own lived experience and the struggles that they too have faced trying to fully live out the Gospel.

Reading the Holy Fathers helps us to acquire the mind of the Church. We realize that we are still in process and are still learning to die to our old self - our ideas, our conceptions, our opinions and that there really is nothing that is “ours.” We want to strive to acquire the mind of Christ and be able to see things more clearly, which includes ourselves. We read the Fathers in order to continue to awaken as from sleep and illumine our darkened mind and reasoning.

How Should One Approach Reading The Holy Fathers?

One should approach the Fathers with openness and a willingness to apply their simple truths to our lives. We read as a spiritual discipline, not to acquire knowledge or argue with the author, but in order to engage and hear and do. It is not like reading theology or a novel, it is devotional reading meant for contemplation.

Saint Maximus the Confessor, in his introduction to his four hundred chapters on love tells the recipient of his writing,

If anything in these chapters should prove useful to the soul, it will be revealed to the reader by the grace of God, provided that he reads, not out of curiosity, but in the fear and love of God. If a man reads this or any other work not to gain spiritual benefit but to track down matter with which to abuse the author, so that in his conceit he can show himself to be the more learned, nothing profitable will ever be revealed to him in anything.

This means that we approach this spiritual literature with an open and uncritical spirit. The point is to listen, contemplate and engage the text in order to put it into practice, not in order to study it as a scientist in a laboratory. One reads with their heart rather than with their mind. “Occupy yourself with reading with a calm spirit,” says Abba Evagrius, “so that your mind may be constantly raised up to contemplation of the wondrous acts of God, lifted, as it were, by some hand outstretched to it.”

The best way to train oneself to read devotionally is to read in shorter segments, daily (preferably at the same time every day) after one’s morning prayers or evening prayers. The goal is not to “finish the book” in order to check it off the list, but to slowly read and chew on it, slowly digesting the spiritual treasure that is there. It may be helpful to highlight and take notes or journal about what one finds helpful and challenging. When one finds a passage that is difficult instead of trying to figure it out, just close the book, make the sign of the Cross and pray a simple prayer for discernment. Then come back the next day and simply continue reading. Many of the writings on the spiritual life are very practical and profound in their simplicity and have a way of getting straight to the heart of things. We read in order to be led by these “lights on the earth.” We humble ourselves and sit at the feet of these spiritual giants receiving their words as guidance on the journey of salvation in Christ. The Desert Fathers say that the one who chooses himself as a spiritual guide chooses a fool and a blind man. We need this direction and it is amazing to see how fresh and current the writings from the Holy Fathers are.

Beginning this fall we will begin trying to make this a vital part of our daily discipline. We will read texts through the week and then when we gather on Wednesday nights we can discuss what we have read. I will make the readings available at church and, if I can find them electronically, I will send the links out. This way, even if you can’t make it to the discussion class, you can still benefit from the readings. I think you will find them a treasury of spiritual guidance and a true gift and encouragement.

Fr Kyrill Williams 10/27/25 Fr Kyrill Williams 10/27/25

Prayer is the Currency of Change

It all begins with an idea.

Fr Kyrill Williams

July 2012

When our lives are jolted by suffering, a setback, or any bad news, very often our first reaction is “I’ve got to do something about this.” Our initial response is we have to react or do something to change suffering into joy, a setback into victory, or bad news into good. It’s almost as if we believe we have the power to change water into wine. Part of this reaction is natural given our fallen state and part of it is cultural. We are programmed to believe that we have a God-given right to be happy and anything or anyone that encroaches on that happiness has to be dealt with by any means necessary. While this is perhaps the reality of our state according to nature and culture, it isn’t the Gospel. It’s not where God resides.

When we respond according to the ways described above, our head (intellect) is in control which leaves little room for the nous (heart, as understood by the Fathers). In Orthodox theology, the nous is the highest faculty or power of the human soul. It is the faculty that knows God directly; it is the seat of our personhood, which experiences the Person of God in a communion of love. St. Gregory Palamas and other Holy Fathers say that it most precisely defines what is the “image of God” in us. Yet, in our fallen state, we live our lives completely controlled by the other faculty, the intellect. We see this most clearly when we engage in theological disputes with those who don’t hold our viewpoints or when we gossip about the lives of others or what’s going on in the church. In allowing our intellect to rule our lives, we shut out and bury the nous, where God resides. As a result, we have to win every argument or debate, we have to stay current on the latest gossip, and we have to constantly demonstrate to others our own abilities and superiority.

Yet in all this activity, God is not to be found because the nous is subjected to the intellect. It’s analogous to the person whose garage becomes so cluttered that one can’t find anything in it any longer. There’s no room for anything else. Unfortunately, this is often how we live our lives. Fr. Damascene puts it this way, “The sickness of the nous leads to spiritual death. The darkness of the nous leads to spiritual darkness, in which we cannot see things clearly and soberly. We cannot see things as God sees them; instead, we see them through the filter of our passions. Thus we grope about blindly in life, hurting ourselves and hurting others, either wittingly or unwittingly. We stray far from our purpose in life, which is union with God. Although we might think we have lots of important things to do, we wander aimlessly through life; and all our busyness only serves to distract us from our diseased spiritual state, from the fact that we are not fulfilling our life’s true purpose. Our nous is sick because we have separated ourselves from God, because we have sought after our passions rather than Him.” When someone injures us, we seek to strike back and avenge our honor. In reality, such thinking is not about honor or justice. It’s really about allowing our passions to have free rein in our lives. Inevitably, this leads to more sin, further alienation from God and from our brothers and sisters. In the end, it never leads to true happiness or lasting peace.

The Gospel calls us to a different hierarchy of values and a different order between the intellect and the nous. St. Theophan the Recluse describes it in these terms,

You’ve got to get out of your head and into your heart. Right now your thoughts are in your head, and God seems to be outside you. Your prayer and all your spiritual exercises also remain exterior. As long as you are in your head, you will never master your thoughts, which continue to whirl around your head like snow in a winter’s storm or like mosquitoes in the summer’s heat. If you descend into your heart, you will have no more difficulty. Your mind will empty out and your thoughts will dissipate. Thoughts are always in your mind chasing one another about, and you will never manage to get them under control. But if you enter into your heart and can remain there, then every time your thoughts invade, you will only have to descend into your heart and your thoughts will vanish into thin air. This will be your safe haven. Don’t be lazy. Descend. You will find life in your heart. There you must live.

Prayer is solely operative in the nous. It’s not an intellectual formulation or an abstract concept. It’s where we meet and are transformed through repentance by God. Once the head is subjected to the heart and enters therein, real change becomes possible. As prayer matures and begins to bear fruit in our lives, we begin to see as God wants us to see. We begin to see noetically. We begin to understand humility is preferable to arrogance. We begin to prefer silence over gossip and idle talk. We begin to prefer prayer to action. Noetically, we understand prayer is the only currency of change. That’s when the words of Elder Paisios begin to take root in our heart and spur us to inner transformation,

If you wish to be calm do not read rebellious books or pamphlets that mention Church matters, since you are not responsible for such serious affairs. You have need of books that will assist you in YOUR repentance. If you want to help the Church, correct YOURSELF and immediately amendment is made to a small part of the Church. Naturally, if everyone did this, then the Church would be put in order.

Prayer as the only real currency of change isn’t recognized because it the the “pearl of great price” that lays hidden in the nous of every individual. One who lives life noetically recognizes that prayer is the only currency of change because it has the power to raise those who are dead back to life, life in Christ.

Hieromonk Calinic (Berger) 10/26/25 Hieromonk Calinic (Berger) 10/26/25

Guarding the Thoughts, Guarding the Heart

It all begins with an idea.

Hieromonk Calinic (Berger)

September 2011

One of the major themes in the Philokalia and the writings of the Holy Fathers in general is that of the “guarding of thoughts.” A thought is a seed which, when planted in the heart, can affect the totality of not only how we act, but of our entire attitude towards life, towards a particular situation, towards others and even towards ourselves. Thoughts are powerful, and can either motivate us or totally discourage us.

For this reason, the Orthodox Fathers placed great emphasis on the guarding of the thoughts and the guarding of the heart. They recommend a constant vigilance over oneself effected by perpetually standing before God in the depth of one’s heart. Here, each thought is brought before Christ to be judged. Unworthy thoughts are expelled from the mind. More simply, we need to pay attention to our inner monologue. If we give place to negative or defeatist thoughts, they will become a prophecy that we ourselves will fulfill.

Prayer is the greatest aid to maintaining positive thoughts. When we invite God into any situation, He will come – and His presence is always one of power, energy and light. He may not reveal Himself immediately, but He is not absent from that moment forward. An old saying goes, “the Lord may not come when you want Him to, but He’s always right on time.” But it is up to us to invite him. A simple “Lord have mercy,” or “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner” is powerful enough to do this.

Prayer cracks the stronghold of negative or defeatist thinking. God is all-powerful. He created the world out of nothing. There is no situation in our lives too difficult, nor too trivial, for God’s help and action. But again, it’s up to us to make the first move, and to persist in our supplications.

Discouraging thoughts are not necessarily irrational. Often, they are mixed with truths, or half-truths. Sometimes thoughts come to us from others, sometimes from ourselves. But what others think is ultimately meaningless. Only God’s “opinion” matters. Take, for example, both Joseph and David. Both were called by God to be kings, yet both came from large families in which their own brothers and parents did not believe in their calling or abilities. Both were unjustly accused; one imprisoned, the other persecuted. Yet by keeping their eyes focused on God, they did what no one thought they could do. They overcame the negativity and discouragement of others.

Often, however, our own thoughts are more difficult to conquer than those coming from others. Here we only wrestle with ourselves. This is why prayer is so important – prayer is the bringing in of another, independent perspective: that of God.

How do we know if thoughts come to us from God, or from the devil? What should we do if thoughts of our failings and sins are presented to us? The Fathers give a simple rule: if the thought of a past failing discourages us to the point of depression, draining all our energy and zeal, tempting us to quit every struggle for virtue, or to remain complacent, it is from the devil. If, however, the sorrow such a thought brings gives us a desire to change, energy to repent, fast, pray, forgive, etc., it is from God. St Paul himself talks about these two sorrows: one which is worldly, and brings death; one which is godly, and brings zeal and energy to change (2 Cor 7:10).

If we turn our thoughts over to God for His judgment, they become pure, and catalysts to a correctly ordered life. More than this, healthy even in the midst of great trials. Only a soul filled with God’s love is such, and the first step is in our thinking. Love for God leads to pure thinking, and vice versa. “Love is essentially the banishment of every kind of contrary thought, for love thinks no evil (I Cor 13:5),” wrote St John of the Ladder.

Our thoughts must be turned over to God, such that their effects will be positive. Yes, we need to encourage ourselves in our inner monologue, but most importantly, we need to bring God into our thinking and hearts by prayer. Then our thoughts will become seeds of transformation and victory in our lives, aiding and abetting us to fulfill God’s purposes.

The article above is by the pastor of the Holy Cross Orthodox Church in Hermitage, PA, the Rev. Hieromonk Calinic (Berger), from his column in Solia, the diocesan publication of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America: http://www.holycrosshermitagepa.org/files/2008_01_GuardingThoughts.pdf (Link now broken)

Anonymous 10/24/25 Anonymous 10/24/25

On the Nativity Fast

It all begins with an idea.

December 2011

Make ready, O Bethlehem: let the manger be prepared, let the cave show its welcome. The truth has come, the shadow has passed away...1

The herald of the pending miracle begins. It is the Eve of the Nativity as these words are sung. The transformation of the world, the birth of God, is but hours away, and it is through such words that the faithful are called into attentiveness and anticipation. ‘Make ready, O Bethlehem!’ We can see the radiant lights of of the feast just beyond the horizon, we can taste the sweetness of the miracle that took place beneath a star; and through the words sung around and within us in the Church, the great eve of the birth of God is made a reality in our present experience. We make ready, and we wait.

But this is not the first moment of preparation for the Feast. For ‘forty days’, with the usual adjustments to that length for Sabbaths and Sundays causing it to begin on 15 November 2, the Church has been setting herself in readiness, drawing her attention to the mystery to come, waiting in expectation. She has made use of the great joy that will arrive on Christmas day as occasion to take up the task considered by so many as opposite to joy: fasting, with all its rigour, its harshness, its discomfort. These are the steps which, for Orthodox Christians throughout the world, lead to the radiant wonder of the Nativity of Christ.

Whence the spirit of this fast, which each year ‘stands in the way’ of our arrival at Christmas rejoicing? The question itself helps guide the way to an answer: the fast seems awkward because so often we see Christmas as joy alone and do not appreciate fully the deep and profound mystery that is at the heart of our rejoicing. ‘Hark, the herald angels sing!’ we are eager to recall, but quietly we forget the universal significance of the event that is the cause of their singing. It is not just that a babe is born: He who is without birth is born. He who created all is made a created child. He who holds the universe in the palm of His hand, is held in the hands of a tender mother.

Before Thy birth, O Lord, the angelic hosts looked with trembling on this mystery and were struck with wonder: for Thou who hast adorned the vault of heaven with stars hast been well pleased to be born as a babe; and Thou who holdest all the ends of the earth in the hollow of Thy hand art laid in a manger of dumb beasts. For by such a dispensation has Thy compassion been made known, O Christ, and Thy great mercy: glory to Thee. (Sticheron of the Third Hour, Eve of the Nativity)

We do not tremble when we think of Christmas, we are not always struck with the wonder of the Nativity. Instead, we buy gifts and plan parties, catching a glimpse of the joy of the Feast, but without a heart immersed in its wonder. Thus the fast becomes that which we must ‘get through’ in order to reach that joyful day. When we arrive there, however, if this has been our attitude, we are caught askance by the hymns the Church feeds into our hearts. We find ourselves joined to a celebration of triumphal release from bondage, but we little understand what that bondage means. We sing songs of joy for deliverance, but we do not truly comprehend how we are enslaved. We find ourselves suddenly transported to the mountaintop, but without having climbed there from the valley far below, the scene we see is only another beautiful picture casually set before our eyes, and not the vision for which we have worked and struggled and longed with all our being. We may feel joy, perhaps even Christmas joy; but we will know, deep inside, that our joy is not like that which is exalted in the hymn:

Make glad, O ye righteous! Greatly rejoice, O ye heavens! Ye mountains, dance for joy! Christ is born; and like the cherubim the Virgin makes a throne, carrying at her bosom God the Word made flesh. Shepherds, glorify the newborn Child! Magi, offer the Master gifts! Angels, sing praises, saying: ‘O Lord past understanding, glory to Thee!’ (First sticheron of the Praises, Nativity Matins)

A Time of Preparation

The Fast of the Nativity is the Church’s wise solace and aid to human infirmity. We are a forgetful people, but our forgetfulness is not unknown to God; and our hearts with all their misconceptions and weakened understandings are not unfamiliar to the Holy Spirit who guides and sustains this Church. We who fall far from God through the magnitude of our sin, are called nonetheless to be close to Him. We who run afar off are called to return. Through the fast that precedes the great Feast of the Incarnation -- which itself is the the heart and substance of our calling -- the Church helps draw us into the full mystery of what that call entails.

Like Great Lent, the fast of the Nativity is a journey. ‘Come, O ye faithful, and let us behold where Christ is born. Let us join the Magi, kings from the east, and follow the guiding star’ 3. Let us ‘join the Magi’, let us ‘follow’ and ‘behold’. On the fifteenth of November, the Church joins together in a journey toward that salvation first promised to Adam in God’s curse laid upon the serpent (Gen 3.14-15). The One who will crush the head of the serpent, of sin and the devil and all that is counter to the life God offers, is Him to whom the star leads us. The fast of the Nativity is our journey into the new and marvellous life of the Holy Trinity, which is offered by God but which we must approach of our own volition. In this act, we are joined to the story of our fathers. The gift of a new land and great blessings was freely given by God to Abraham, but in order to obtain it, ‘Abram went, as the Lord had told him’ (Gen 12.4).

A journey is, by its nature, naturally ascetic. Unless my life is already very humble, I cannot take the whole of my possessions on a journey. I cannot transport social and political ties along a journey’s path. I can never be too reliant on the plans I have made for my journey: a control lying beyond the self must be admitted and accepted. This is the spirit to which the fast calls us.

A journey is, by its nature, an act of movement, of transportation, of growth. What is old is left behind, newness is perceived and embraced, growth of understanding takes place. And even if the journey comes to a close in the same physical location from which it began, that place is transformed for us by the journey through which we have re-approached it. The aid shelter on a street corner in London is no different after a journey to the Middle East; but after witnessing there first-hand the struggles and torments of poverty, of suffering, of sorrow, the meaning and importance of that small shelter is indeed different for me.

Here the importance of the fast. As the Nativity approaches, that great feast of cosmic significance and eternal, abounding joy for which heaven and earth together rejoice, the fast calls me to consider: do I rejoice? Why do I rejoice? The hymnography of the Church makes it clear that this is a feast for all the world, for all creation; and the fast calls me to take my place in that creation, to realise that, despite all my infinite unworthiness, Christmas is a miracle for my soul too.

Make ready, O Bethlehem: let the manger be prepared, let the cave show its welcome. The truth has come, the shadow has passed away; born of a Virgin, God has appeared to men, formed as we are and making godlike the garment He has put on. Therefore Adam is renewed with Eve, and they call out: ‘Thy good pleasure has appeared on earth to save our kind’.

Adam and Eve, all of humankind, are renewed and made alive in the Incarnation of God in Christ, who ‘appeared on earth to save our kind’. Fallen flesh, so long bound to death, so long yearning in for growth and maturation into the fullness of life, is sewn into the garment of Christ and at last made fully alive. There is a pleasing old saying, with perhaps more than a touch of truth to it, that humankind drew its first full breath at the infant Christ’s first cry.

We are called, then, to approach this great mystery as God’s condescension into our own lives, personally and collectively. The Canon of Matins for the Nativity lays it out clearly: ‘He establishes a path for us, whereby we may mount up to heaven’ 4. The Nativity is not only about God’s coming down to us, but about our rising up to Him, just as sinful humanity was lifted up into the person of Christ in the Incarnation itself.

We are called to arise, then, during the fast that is the journey into this Feast. ‘O blessed Lord who seest all, raise us up far above sin, and establish Thy singers firm and unshaken upon the foundation of the faith’ 5. The faithful take up this call through the abandonment of those things which bind, rather than free, in order that a focus on God as ‘all in all’ might become ever more real and central to daily life.

Meals are lessened and regimented, that a constant, lingering hunger may remind us of the great need we each have for spiritual food that goes beyond our daily bread. The number of Church services is gradually increased, that we might know whence comes that true food. Sweets and drink are set aside, that we might never feel content with the trivial and temporal joys of this world. Parties and social engagements are reduced, that we might realise that all is not so well with us as we often take it to be. Anything which holds the slightest power over us, whether cigarettes or television, travel or recreation, is minimized or -- better -- cast wholly aside, that we might bring ourselves to be possessed and governed only by God.

The fast is an ascetic time, designed by the Church to strip away common stumbling blocks into sin, to provide us with the means of self-perception that we lack in our typical indulgence, and to begin to grow the seeds of virtue. All these are necessary if we are ever to know even partially, or appreciate even menially, the ‘depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God’ 6. We must take up the task of our own purification, gifted by God and achieved only through His grace, that we might approach Him on Christmas Day as did the Magi and the shepherds in Bethlehem:

Come, O ye faithful, inspired by God let us arise and behold the divine condescension from on high that is made manifest to us in Bethlehem. Cleansing our minds, let us offer through our lives virtues instead of myrrh, preparing with faith our entry into the feast of the Nativity, storing up treasure in our souls and crying: Glory in the highest to God in Trinity, whose good pleasure is now revealed to men, that in His love for mankind He may set Adam free from the ancestral curse. (Sticheron of the Sixth Hour, Christmas Eve)

True Joy in the Mystery of the Nativity

The Church journeys toward the birth of Christ God, steered by the ship that is the Nativity fast. She does so with the knowledge that unless she struggles up the mountain that is desperately too steep for her to climb, she will never know the breadth of the gift that is the mountain’s levelling by the hand of God. Resurrection unto life is the ultimate gift of the Incarnation, but unless a man understands that he is dead, he will never know the meaning of resurrection.

The fast is a holy and blessed tool that brings us closer to such self awareness. It reveals to us who we are, perhaps more importantly who we are not, and makes us more consciously aware of that for which we stand in need. Then and only then, with eyes opened -- even only partially -- by the ascetic endeavour, we will truly know the life-giving light of the Nativity of Christ. We will hear with awe the proclamation of the hymn at vespers, taking the mystery presented therein as united directly to us:

Come, let us greatly rejoice in the Lord as we tell of this present mystery. The middle wall of partition has been destroyed; the flaming sword turns back, the cherubim withdraw from the tree of life, and I partake of the delight of Paradise from which I was cast out through disobedience. For the express Image of the Father, the Imprint of His eternity, takes the form of a servant, and without undergoing change He comes forth from a Mother who knew not wedlock. For what He was, He has remained, true God: and what He was not, He has taken upon himself, becoming man through love for mankind. Unto Him let us cry aloud: God born of a Virgin, have mercy upon us! (Sticheron of Vespers of the Nativity)

We will never fully comprehend this ineffable mystery; some knowledge is properly God’s alone. But by His grace through the ascetic effort, we will come to understand -- perhaps, most of us, only to the slightest degree -- how this mystery is our own mystery, how His life is our own life, and how the salvation of Christmas Day is, indeed, our own salvation. And with this realisation, joy: joy far greater than a mere entrance into the temple on Christmas Day could ever bring us. This is the joy of the age-old journey of man, our own journey, come to its fulfilment in the awe-inspiring mystery of God Himself become a man. With this joy in our hearts, we shall embrace the hymnographer’s words as our own:

Today the Virgin comes to the cave to give birth ineffably to the pre-eternal Word. Hearing this, be of good cheer, O inhabited earth, and with the angels and the shepherds glorify Him whose will it was to be made manifest a young Child, the pre-eternal God. (Kontakion of the Forefeast)

Article from Monachos.net with permission: http://www.monachos.net/content/liturgics/liturgical-reflections/97 (Link no longer works but left here for attribution.)

Notes:

1. Sticheron at the Royal Hours, by St Sophronius of Jerusalem.

2. According to the Church Calendar; 28th November on the civil calendar.

3. Sessional Hymn of the Nativity Matins.

4. Irmos of Canticle Two, from the Iambic (second) Canon of the Nativity Matins.

5. Irmos of Canticle Three, Iambic Canon of Nativity Matins.

6. Cf. Romans 11.33; found in the sticheron in tone four from the Sixth Hour of Christmas Eve.