Η ΤΡΙΧΑ...

Ένας άνθρωπος είχε ωραία και πλούσια μαλλιά. Κάθε πρωί τα χτένιζε με προσοχή και τα καμάρωνε! Όμως, κάποια στιγμή τα μαλλιά του άρχισαν να πέφτουν! Όχι βέβαια όλα μαζί! Λίγες τρίχες κάθε φορά.

Με αποτέλεσμα: Όλο και λιγόστευαν. Έτσι μετά από λίγο καιρό, άρχισε να φαίνεται η φαλάκρα του. Και τέλος τα μαλλιά του έπεσαν όλα! Και ο άνθρωπός μας έμεινε με μία μόνο τρίχα στο κεφάλι του. Και για
να παρηγορείται, αυτήν την μία τρίχα, κάθε πρωί την «χτένιζε» με θρησκευτική ευλάβεια!
Μια ημέρα όμως... έγινε το κακό! Μόλις έβγαλε το καπέλο του, τι να δει! Η μοναδική τρίχα της κεφαλής του είχε μείνει μέσα. Κολλημένη στο καπέλο! Κούνησε το κεφάλι του πικραμένος. 
Και είπε:Τι έπαθα! Έμεινα φαλακρός!
Θα απορείτε. Μα δεν έβλεπε την φαλάκρα του τόσον καιρό;
Την έβλεπε. Αλλά του άρεσε να έχει μαλλιά. Και έτσι καλλιεργούσε μέσα του την ψευδαίσθηση ότι έχει μαλλιά. Έστω και αν αυτά τα μαλλιά ήσαν μία μόνο τρίχα!
Ίσως γελάμε εις βάρος του. Αλλά γιατί; Μήπως το ίδιο δεν κάνουν και οι σημερινοί άνθρωποι; 
Αδιαφορούν οι γονείς για την Χριστιανική ανατροφή των παιδιών τους. Και λοιπόν; Όταν οι νεαροί βλαστοί τους στα δεκαοκτώ τους χρόνια γίνουν ναρκομανείς, υψώνουν οι γονείς φωνή απογνώσεως:
-Γιατί Θεέ μου; Όλα πήγαιναν καλά. Το παιδί μεγάλωνε φυσιολογικά! Πήγαινε όπου ήθελε. Διασκέδαζε όπως ήθελε.
Αλήθεια όμως. «Πήγαιναν όλα καλά»; Η απλώς αυτοί αγαπώντας το παιδί τους έμοιαζαν με τον γέρο, που καλό χτένιζε τις λίγες τρίχες πρώτα και την μία και μοναδική στο τέλος, δίνοντας κουράγιο
και παρηγοριά στον εαυτό του, ότι είχε μαλλιά;
Δυστυχώς, τα μάτια μας ανοίγουν μόνο όταν το κακό προχωρεί τόσο που δεν μας επιτρέπει πια, να τα κλείνουμε και να βλέπουμε νοερά ψεύτικους κόσμους όμορφους!
Και λοιπόν;
Λοιπόν χρειαζόμαστε κατεπειγόντως «επέμβαση» στο μυαλό! Για διόρθωση. Και θεραπεία. Πως θα γίνει;
Να, ο άνθρωπος προχωράει πάντοτε σιγά-σιγά. Από τα μικρά πάει στα μεγάλα. 

Αυτό το είχε καταλάβει πολύ καλά ένα δεκαπεντάχρονο παλληκάρι ο Ιωάννης από την Μονεμβασία. Βρέθηκε με τη μάνα του αιχμάλωτος σ’ ένα Τούρκο. Και βάλθηκε ο αγάς να τον τουρκέψει. Και όταν έφθασε
η νηστεία του Δεκαπενταύγουστου, ο Τούρκος δεν του έδινε νηστίσιμα φαγητά, για να χαλάσει ο νέος την νηστεία της Παναγίας. Και να αρχίσει να γίνεται πλαδαρή η συνείδησή του. Αλλά ο Ιωάννης δεν
υποχώρησε δεν κάμφθηκε. Έμεινε δύο και τρεις μέρες νηστικός. Η μητέρα του έλεγε:
-Φάγε, παιδάκι μου! Να μην πεθάνεις. Ο Θεός συγχωρεί! Αφού δεν το κάνεις με την θέλησή σου. Άφησε προσωρινά την νηστεία. Είναι μικρό πράγμα. Την πίστη να μην χάσουμε. Αυτή είναι το μεγάλο!
-Τι λες μάνα! Αν δεν κρατούμε τα μικρά, πως θα κρατήσουμε τα μεγάλα;
Μπορείς να μην θαυμάσεις την σοφία του μικρού Ιωάννη;
Μπορείς να μην λυπηθείς, για εκείνους που έχουν τετραπλάσια τα χρόνια του, αλλά ούτε το μισό μυαλό του;
Μετά από λίγο ο αγάς θανάτωσε τον Ιωάννη (21 Οκτωβρίου 1773). Και έτσι έγινε νεομάρτυρας της Εκκλησίας του Χριστού. Μεγάλος ενώπιον Θεού και ανθρώπων.

St.Theophylact of Ochrid-Third Sunday after Pentecost The Eye is the Lamp of the Body

Matthew 6:22-33

From The Explanation of the Gospel of St. Matthew

by Blessed Theophylact, Archbishop of Ochrid and Bulgaria

22-23. The eye is the lamp of the body: if therefore thine eye be sound, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness. This means, if you fill your mind with worries over money, you have extinguished the lamp and darkened your soul. Just as the eye that is sound, or "healthy" brings light to the body, and the eye that is evil, or "diseased" brings darkness, so also does the state of the mind affect the soul. If the mind is blinded by these worries, it is cast into darkness; then the soul becomes dark, and how much more so the body as well?

24. No man can serve two lords. What He means is this: no man can serve two lords who command things that are opposed to each other. Such lords are God and mammon. We make the devil our lord when we make the belly our god. But by nature and in truth God is the Lord, and mammon is unrighteousness. For either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Do you see that it is not possible for a rich man and unrighteous man to serve God? His love of money drives him away from God.

25. For this reason I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. For this reason: for what reason? Because concern over money drives a man away from God. The soul does not eat, for it is bodiless, but Jesus said this according to the common use of the word (1) For it is obvious that the soul does not consent to remain in a body if the flesh is not fed. Jesus does not forbid us to work, but rather He forbids us to give ourselves over entirely to our cares and to neglect God. Hence we must work for our livelihood while not neglecting the soul. Is not life more than food, and the body more than raiment? This means: He gave us much greater things, life itself, and formed our bodies. Will He not give us food and clothing?

26. Behold the birds of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much more than they? Although He could have given the example of Elijah and John the Baptist, instead He mentions the birds in order to shame us, for we are even more witless than these creatures. God feeds them by having given them the instinctive knowledge for finding food.

27. Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? This means: Even if you take the utmost care, you can do nothing if God does not will it. Why then do you drive yourself to exhaustion with futile worries?

28-29. And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. He shames us not only by the birds, which lack reason, but also by the lilies, that wither. If God adorned the lilies in such a manner, without any necessity to do so, how much more will He fulfill our own need for clothing? He shows that though you go to great lengths, you are not able to be adorned as beautifully as the lilies. Even Solomon the most wise and splendid, with all his kingdom at his disposal, could not array himself in such a manner.

30. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? We learn from this that we ought not to be concerned with beautifying ourselves, for our adornments wither like the fading flowers. Therefore one who beautifies himself is like grass. But you, He says, are creatures endowed with reason, whom God fashioned with both soul and body. Those "of little faith" are all those who concern themselves with such thoughts. If they had perfect faith in God, they would not give such anxious thoughts to these things.

31-32. Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. He does not forbid us to eat, but to say, What shall we eat? The rich say in the evening, "What shall we eat tomorrow?" Luxury and excess are what He forbids.

32-33. For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. The kingdom of God is the enjoyment of all that is good. This comes through righteousness. To him who seeks after spiritual things God in His generosity adds what is needed for physical life.

---

1. Take no thought for your life [psyche] Psyche can also mean "soul": here Blessed Theophylact has both meanings in mind.

Elder Amphilochios Makris -Spiritual Counsels

                           Spiritual Counsels

From time to time Elder Amphilochios delivered wise advice to his spiritual children, for their personal benefit, spiritual illumination and direction, "as the spirit gave him utterance" . These sayings are the fruit of experience of his holy life, which was a continuous struggle and a succession of trials.His life was a model and example of his words. He did not just talk and give advice. First and
foremost he practiced what he preached. Here we present some examples from the wealth of his spiritual counsel, chosen from whatever was saved like valuable diamonds by his spiritual children, who were taught by him and confessed to him.

When you cultivate prayer the Tempter's blusterings will not trouble you. Prayer diminishes his
strength, he cannot do anything to us.

The end of my life draws near I ask you to live a holy life, to walk along holy paths, so that you may
help both our Church and Greece.

Remaining faithful to Monasticism is considered to be a martyrdom.

Christ often comes and knocks at your door and you invite him to sit in the living-room of your soul.
Then, absorbed in your own business you forget the Great Visitor. He waits for you to appear and
when you are too long in returning, he gets up and leaves. At other times, you are so busy that you
answer him from the window. You don't even have time to open the door.

You are royalty, destined for the heavenly bridal chamber.

We you see a person who is spiritually tired do not burden him any further, because his knees won't
be able to bear it

Love the One, so that even wild beasts will love you.

True wealth, for me, is to see you in the Kingdom of Heaven.

When the flame of love exists, it consumes whatever evil approaches.

The person who loves spiritually, feels prayerful, that he can be found within God and his brother.
He is saddened when his brother is not advancing well and prays for his progress. Whoever has
Christian love never changes.

Hold the banner of Christ up high, so that you've always got your elder's telephone number no
matter where you are.

Christ is the same, yesterday and today, but we have closed our eyes and look into the darkness. It
is because we carry on like this that some fall in the mud and others are killed.

Those things we hear about, war, earthquakes, catastrophes, thunderings, expect rain too.

We must be ready for our defence and our martyrdom.

I beseech the Lord to sanctify you, so that I may see you in Paradise. This is the dowry which I seek
from the Lord for you.

For God's grace to come during the Liturgy you must be concentrated and untroubled.

The more a person loves God, the more he loves other people. He loves them with holiness, respect
and refinement, as images of God.

When a person lacks inner warmth, he will be frozen and cold, even in summer.

When your heart does not have Christ, it will contain either money, property or people instead.

Please put this commandment into practice. Cultivate love towards the Person of Christ to such an
extent that, when you pronounce His name, tears fall from your eyes. Your heart must really burn.
Then He will become your teacher. He will be your Guide, your Brother, your Father, and your
Elder.

Love your Bridegroom Christ with all your heart and then everyone will love you and take care of
you.

I desire the rebirth of Monasticism, because in my opinion, monasticism is the evzone [elite military
unit] battalion of the Church.

God's protection diminishes temptation.

Because of widespread corruption, people cannot understand that spiritual love exists.

Worldly people tire you, because whatever is stored up inside them comes at you like waves of
electricity. We must be people of grace so much so that whoever comes to us may find rest.

Let us look upon everyone as our superiors, however weak they may appear. Let us not be harsh,
but always bear in mind that the other person also has the same destination as us.

We must have Love, even if they do us the greatest harm, we must love them. We will be able to
enter Paradise only with love.

Cultivate the Jesus Prayer and a time will come when your heart will leap with joy, just as it does
when you are about to see a person who you love very much.

Do not neglect evening prayer. Pray with eagerness like those who are going to a feast. They are
awake and feel joy alone. Thus, since you are going to speak with your Bridegroom, do not listen
when the Tempter tells you various things in order to hinder you, because you know there is
someone who cares for you.

Question: "Elder, how must we picture Christ?" Answer: "We must always bring to Christ to mind
with love. We could be holding the photograph of someone in our hands, but since we do not know
them, we do not love him, we are not moved. Whereas, when we pick up a photograph of our
mother, our soul immediately leaps and cries out with love.

A person can be raised up above the earth by two wings, one is simplicity and the other is purity of
heart. You must be simple in your actions and pure in your thoughts and feelings. With a pure heart
you'll seek God and with simplicity you'll find Him and be glad. A pure heart passes through
Heavens gate with ease.

Self-denial must be cultivated with discernment, otherwise we reach the point of suicide.

We are on the high seas of life, sometimes there are storms and at other times calm. God's grace
does not leave us. Else, we would have sunk, if he had not held us up.

The saints always look to the other life. It is the grace of the remembrance of death.

God guards us from temptation. He does not allow us to be tempted beyond our strength.He allows
everything for our good.

When spirituality increases, even sleep will have been fought off.

Prayer is grace. God gives it when zeal and humility exist.

Fight the Hater of Good, who envies you, bravely suffer whatever befalls you with fortitude, patience
and faith.

Do not allow your soul's enemy to wage war against you. He appears in sheep's clothing,
supposedly wanting your soul's benefit.

Trust in the Lord always and he will nourish you in time of hunger.

With a good word for your neighbour, supporting him, you buy paradise.

Repentance must occur, not from fear of punishment but because we have sinned before God.
Sweeten your thoughts with words of consolation and hope. Warm your words with the warmth of
your love towards your Bridegroom and remember His Passion, which he underwent for you, so
that you would remain firm, devoted and humble. Give your whole self completely over to the
protecting veil of the Panagia.

Love giving hospitality, my child, for it opens the gates of Paradise. In this you also offer hospitality
to angels. "Entertain strangers so that you won't be a stranger to God."

The saints submitted to whatever God sent them, with childlike simplicity, "That's the way You want
it. Let Your will be done."

Hospitality... the greatest of virtues. It draws the grace of the Holy Spirit towards us. In every
stranger's face, my child, I see Christ himself.

Sorrow is pleasing to God, in as much as it doesn't take away our courage to fight.

It is necessary and beneficial for a general self-examination to take place from time to time,
remembering all former sins.

Leave all your concerns to the hands of God. Ask for whatever you want, like a child asking from its
father.

Prayer is a gift from God. Always ask with hope.

Our deeds, dear sister, will not save us; God's infinite mercy will.

Spiritual bonds become unbreakable when they come across a child-like spirit, innocence and
sanctity.

Everything seems dark and difficult to a person without Christ.

Every day I pray that I may see you amongst the ranks of women saints.

I don't want to be in Paradise without you, my children.

Question: How do you manage to have such patience and perseverance in everything? Answer: The
grace of God helps. I always believe in the power of God, my child, Who alters and adjusts
everything for the benefit of our soul.

The person who gets agitated doesn't think straight, logically.

When I see a person who is irritated, I don't listen to what he is saying, but pray for God to pacify
him. That's why I don't get distressed. When they calm down, when the time is right, I talk to them
because they are then in a position to comprehend their foolishness.

The Grace of God and spiritual union with Him transform a person Fears and suspicions go away,
he doesn't fear death, and views this life, however good it may be, as slavery

God is visiting you when tears come during prayer.

When a person is simplified, he is deified. He becomes innocent, humble, gentle, free.

Never ever give importance to anything earthly and fleeting. Take care of your spiritual union with
God instead.

When you hear your name being criticized act as if you didn't hear. This is Paradise, this
is perfection.

Our religion slays the passions not the body.

Where thee is fear of God wisdom is given.

I want you to be calm so that we can meet. When you're tired the wireless doesn't work.

The Christian is a true human being He is courteous and polite. He doesn't want to sadden anybody.

Innocence is greater than genius.

A person who suffers from egotism attracts no-one. And if he does attract someone he will soon go
away. When one comes across a childlike spirit, innocence and holiness the bond becomes
unbreakable.

The spiritual life has great pleasures. You fly, you leave the world , you don't consider anything. You
become children and God dwells in your heart.

The Grace of the All-Holy Spirit makes a person send out rays. However, other people must have a
good receiver in order to realise this.

We must have our gaze fixed on heaven. Then nothing will shake us.

Take communion regularly, pray warmly, be patient and you will see a strong hand holding you.

Christ is near us even if we don't see Him. Sometimes, from his great love, He gives us a slap too.

You should be glad. Jesus holds an artists chisel in His hands. He wants to prepare you a statue for
the Heavenly Palace.

The person who shouts has no strength.

Elder Amphilochios Makris,Evangelismos Monastery. Patmos

Translated by Marina Robb
Source: http://agrino.org/cyberdesert/makris.htm

αρχ. Αιμιλιανός Σιμωνοπετρίτης: "Χαρά, Λύπης ολεθρος"

 Άρχ. Αιμιλιανός Σιμωνοπετρίτης

Ο πόνος, η στενοχώρια, η αγωνία, η ψυχική τραγωδία είναι αποτέλεσμα της πτώσεως του ανθρώπου, η οποία οφείλεται στον εγωισμό του. Οι αναθυμιάσεις του εγώ γεννούν στην ψυχή την στενοχώρια, ενώ η φυσιολογική της κατάσταση είναι η χαρά, διότι ο Θεός είναι ειρήνη, είναι χαρά, και η ψυχή είναι εμφύσημα του Θεού, δημιουργήθηκε από Αυτόν και οδεύει προς Αυτόν. Επομένως, η στενοχώρια είναι ξένη και αδικαιολόγητη μέσα στην ανθρώπινη ζωή.

Και όμως σήμερα δεν βρίσκεις άνθρωπο χαρούμενο, που σημαίνει πως δεν βρίσκει κανείς άνθρωπο ισορροπημένο, ήρεμο, φυσιολογικό. Η στενοχώρια είναι αρρώστια τρομερή που μαστίζει την οικουμένη, η μεγαλυτέρα ίσως βάσανος της ανθρωπότητος, το μεγαλύτερό της δράμα. Δεν είναι απλώς τα προοίμια της κολάσεως αλλά η βίωσις της κολάσεως από της παρούσης ζωής.

Έλλειψις χαράς σημαίνει έλλειψις Θεού, ενώ η χαρά απόδειξις της παρουσίας αυτού. Εάν κανείς είναι κοσμικός άνθρωπος και τέρπεται επί τοις επικήροις, χαίρεται για τις ηδονές, για τα παροδικά και μάταια, αυτός ίσως έχει κάποια ηδονή, κάποια ευχαρίστηση, αλλά στην πραγματικότητα, αν προσέξει κανείς, θα δει ότι υπάρχει θλίψις και στενοχώρια στην ζωή του, όπως λέγει η Αγία Γραφή: <θλίψις και στενοχωρία επί πάσαν ψυχήν ανθρώπου του κατεργαζομένου το κακόν>. Δεν είναι δυνατόν να υπάρχει χαρά εκεί όπου υπάρχει παράβασις της εντολής του Θεού, όπως είναι αδύνατον να υπάρχει στενοχώρια με την εφαρμογή του νόμου του Θεού.

Χαρά, Λύπης Όλεθρος. Λύπη είναι ένα ξίφος που έρχεται αιφνιδίως και χτυπάει το σώμα, ιδιαίτερα όμως την ψυχή του ανθρώπου. Και μάλιστα κάτι που εξέρχεται από την κακία των ανθρώπων, από την αμαρτία, από την δυσωδία, από την αντίθεση των άλλων. Η λέξη λύπη είναι συγγενήςπρος την λέξη λύμη, η οποία σημαίνει πληγή, κάτι που στάζει πύον. Επομένως, λύπη είναι η κατάσταση της ψυχής, η οποία στάζει πύον. Κυρίως προέρχεται από βέλη τα οποία εξακοντίζονται από την κακία των ανθρώπων ή και από τις κακίες της δικής μας ψυχής. Η λύπη εδώ δεν είναι αυτό που λέμε, είμαι λυπημένος. Όταν λέμε, είμαι λυπημένος, κατά κανόνα εννοούμε, ζω τις αναθυμιάσεις της δικής μου αμαρτίας, της δικής μου εγωπάθειας, της δικής μου απομονώσεως από τον Θεό. Όταν οι πατέρες ομιλούν για την λύπη, εννοούν κάτι διαφορετικό.

Η χαρά λοιπόν είναι λύπης όλεθρος. Επομένως όταν μας χτυπήσουν τα βέλη αμαρτίας, των πονηρών παθών, των εμπαθών λογισμών, τα βέλη των κακών ανθρώπων ή οποιαδήποτε άλλα, όταν φαίνεται η δυσωδία του προτέρου μας βίου, όταν η αποτυχία της ζωής μας έλθει να μας χτυπήσει, τότε η χαρά είναι όλεθρος της λύπης. Η χαρά είναι σαν μια ασπίδα που χτυπούν τα βέλη και φεύγουν και δεν παθαίνεις τίποτε. Όλοι εκείνοι και όλα εκείνα που έρχονται να θλίψουν την δική μας ψυχή καταστρέφονται, απόλλυνται.

Η τροφή των εν Χριστώ ασκουμένων είναι η χαρά. Η χαρά τρέφει την ψυχή , το πνεύμα, τον νου, ώστε να μπορούν να ανεβαίνουν και να δίδωνται εις τον Θεόν. Καμία άσκησις, καμία εγκράτεια, κανείς πόθος, καμία αγάπη δεν μπορεί να φτάσει εις το τέρμα εάν δεν τρέφεται. Σκεφτείτε κάποιον που θέλει να είναι καλός αθλητής και δεν τρώει. Απλούστατα θα πέσει εις τον δρόμο. Έτσι ακριβώς παθαίνει και κάποιος πνευματικός ασκητής αν δεν έχει χαρά.

WHO IS A PROPHET IN THE NEW TESTAMENT?

—Protopresbyter John S. Romanides

The Church bases Her entire teaching about both the Holy Trinity and the Incarnation of God the Word on Her teaching about divine grace. St. Paul writes, “God has placed in the Church, first Apostles, second prophets, third teachers ….”64 In time, most would interpret this passage as indicating that for St. Paul, the prophet was the bishop in the churches of the early Christians. So first there are the Apostles, then the bishops, and after that the presbyters who, according to this interpretation of St. Paul, are teachers in the Church.

If you read St. Paul’s fourteenth chapter in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, you will see that in this chapter he clearly refers to the existence of many prophets, or Christians with the prophetic gift of clairvoyance in the parish of Corinth. Since he writes, “Let the prophets speak in groups of two or three,”65 there must have been at least three prophets, and perhaps there were as many as six or seven. From this, we can conclude that all the prophets in Corinth were not bishops.

So what does St. Paul mean by the word ‘prophet’? his meaning becomes clear in another epistle where the Apostle Paul writes that the mystery of God has not been revealed to previous generations in the way that it has been revealed to his own generation, namely, in the way that it has been revealed “now to the Apostles and prophets.”66 This means that in the Old Testament Christ did not reveal Himself in the way He has now revealed Himself to the Apostles and prophets. At this point, St. Paul is not talking about the Old Testament prophets, but about the prophets in the Church.

First of all, this means that an apostle is someone to whom Christ has revealed Himself in glory. This explains why in chapter fifteen of his First Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul’s list of all the people to whom Christ appeared includes not only those appearances after Christ’s resurrection, but also after Pentecost. In other words, St. Paul does not distinguish between appearances of Christ before Pentecost and afterwards.

So merely being a disciple of Christ before His crucifixion is not the primary way to know that someone is an apostle. The primary characteristic of any apostle includes having an experience in which Christ reveals Himself in glory to that person after His resurrection. St. Paul writes, “I do not know Christ according to the flesh, but according to the spirit,”67 because in order to know Christ according to the flesh St. Paul would have had to spend time with Christ before His crucifixion, something that St. Paul did not do. After the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection, we do not know Christ according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. In other words, we see Christ noetically with the eyes of our soul and in glory during an experience of theosis.

Secondly, St. Paul’s words about the mystery of God now being revealed mean that a prophet is another type of believer to whom Christ has revealed Himself. So when someone acquires this particular experience in which the post-resurrectional Christ appears to him in glory or when someone sees Christ in glory, this experience automatically makes that person either an apostle or a prophet. This means that when St. Paul refers to a prophet, he is speaking about someone who has reached theosis. We can see this dearly in St. Paul’s statement, “ … when one member of the Church is glorified, then all the members of the Church rejoice with him,”68 which he mentions before listing “… those whom

Christ has placed in the Church, first, apostles, second, prophets, and so forth.”69

Moreover, scholars now admit that St. Dionysios the Areopagite’s comments about bishops from that time period reflect this historical reality. In other words, just as the Apostle Paul’s prophet is someone who has reached theosis, so St. Dionysios the Areopagite’s bishop is someone who has reached theosis. Furthermore, at that time the bishops of the Church were selected from those prophets whom St. Paul mentions.70

Now we learn from Nikitas Stithatos that there are people who have been consecrated bishops directly by God Himself, although they are not recognized as bishops by others. Nevertheless, they really are bishops. In other words, by having reached theosis, they have the spiritual authority of a bishop.

At that time, the parish of Corinth was apparently in commotion because believers with “kinds of tongues,” which are the different forms of noetic prayer, or at least some of them, thought that they should be put on par with everyone else. This is why St. Paul tries to restore good order to the Church by telling them that in the Church there are first apostles, then come the prophets, then the teachers, and finally those with kinds of tongues.

In chapters thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen of his First Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul takes pains to give a thorough presentation of Orthodox ecclesiology. Apparently, in the Apostle Paul’s parishes all the members of the Body of Christ were clearly called by God,71 because everyone had received a visitation by the Holy Spirit in his heart. They were divinely-called members of the Body of Christ, because they were all ordained by the Holy Spirit Himself. So the prophets in his parishes attained to glorification or theosis just like the Apostles did. Meanwhile, the parish’s teachers and those ranked below them had only attained to illumination.

Notes:

64 I Corinthians 12:28.

65 I Corinthians 14:29.

66 Ephesians 3:5.

67 II Corinthians 5: 16.

68 I Corinthians 12:26.

69 Cf. I Corinthians 12:28.

70 “The prevailing custom was to use the title ‘bishop’ for the first among the prophets in a parish and to refer to the remaining prophets as ‘presbyters,’ although in the beginning it was common for all the prophets to be called ‘presbyters.’ It is noteworthy that the Church at Corinth had at least five prophets (1 Corinthians 14:29). Paul was not very concerned with the title ‘bishop’ or ‘presbyter,’ since he considered them all to be prophets and as such to be at the foundation of the Church together with the Apostles (Ephesians 2:20). As in the case of the Apostles, their ordination was directly from Christ by means of theosis (Ephesians 3:5) and afterwards by means of the recognition of this theosis by their peers who had also experienced theosis.” Father John Romanides, Roman Fathers of the Church: The Works of Gregory Palamas (Thessalonica: Pournara Publications, 1984), vol. 1, p. 7 (in Greek).

71 “Of course, Saint Paul stresses that God is the One Who places each one in the Church. He begins with the Apostles and prophets who have reached theosis and ends with ‘kind of tongues’ (I Corinthians 12:28). These spiritual stages are the result of the baptism of the Spirit, which is distinguished from the baptism of water, as it appears until today in the services of Baptism and Chrismation. Those who are found in this number comprise the royal priesthood. The ‘private persons’ (I Corinthians 14:16) are the laymen who do not have the baptism of the Spirit; they are not yet numbered by Paul among the members that God has placed in the Church.” Ibid., p. 7

Source:thoughtsintrusive.wordpress.com

Ο ΓΙΟΣ..

Κάποιος πλούσιος άνθρωπος είχε μια συλλογή από πίνακες γνωστών ζωγράφων. Είχε συλλέξει πίνακες σημαντικής αξίας του Πικάσο και του Van Gogh που στόλιζαν τους τοίχους της μεγάλης βίλας του. Όταν ήρθε ο χειμώνας, ένας πόλεμος ξέσπασε σ’αυτή την χώρα και ο γιος αυτού του πλουσίου έπρεπε να τον αφήσει και να πάει στον πόλεμο. Μετά από λίγες εβδομάδες πήρε ο πατέρας την είδηση, ότι ο γιος του σκοτώθηκε στο μέτωπο.
Μονάχος τώρα και τσακισμένος στην καρδιά έβλεπε ο πατέρας να πλησιάζουν τα Χριστούγεννα. Η χαρά των χριστουγέννων τώρα είχε χαθεί με τον θάνατο του γιού του. Το πρωί της παραμονής των Χριστουγέννων ξύπνησε από ένα χτύπημα στην πόρτα του. Όταν άνοιξε είδε ένα στρατιώτη ο οποίος κρατούσε ένα μεγάλο πακέτο στο χέρι του και Του είπε: «Ήμουν φίλος τού γιου σας. Ο γιος σας μου έσωσε την ζωή. Με αυτό τον τρόπο όμως έχασε την ζωή του. Να μπω μια στιγμή μέσα; Σας έχω φέρει κάτι.»
Ο στρατιώτης είπε, ότι είναι καλλιτέχνης και του έδωσε το πακέτο. Όταν ξετίλιξε το πακέτο ο γέρο πατέρας, είδε πως ήταν ένας πίνακας με το πορτρέτο τού γιου του. Ο πίνακας έδειχνε με μεγάλη λεπτομέρεια το πρόσωπο τού γιου του.
Κατασυγκινημένος και με δάκρυα στα μάτια ο γέρος πατέρας, κρέμασε τον πίνακα στο καλύτερο μέρος του σαλονιού, στη θέση ενός άλλου πίνακα αξίας πολλών εκατομμυρίων. Ύστερα, κάθισε στην πολυθρόνα και πέρασε την γιορτή των Χριστουγέννων κοιτάζοντας τον πίνακα. Το πορτρέτο του γιου του έγινε γι’ αυτόν το πολυτιμότερο αντικείμενο καλλιτεχνίας που είχε στο σπίτι του. Ήταν ο σπουδαιότερος πίνακας απ’ όλους του υπόλοιπους μεγάλης αξίας που κατείχε.
Την επόμενη άνοιξη, ο πατέρας πέθανε. Μετά από μερικές μέρες μαζεύτηκαν πολλοί καλλιτέχνες για να πάρουν μέρος στην δημοπρασία των πινάκων που είχε ο πλούσιος αυτός άνθρωπος. Πριν αρχίσει η δημοπρασία, ανακοινώθηκε ότι η επιθυμία του ανθρώπου που τους κατείχε, ήταν, η δημοπρασία να γίνει την ημέρα των Χριστουγέννων, και κάτι ακόμη: Να αρχίσει με τον πίνακα που έδειχνε το πορτρέτο του γιου του.
Τα Χριστούγεννα ήρθαν και μαζευτήκανε συλλέκτες από όλο τον κόσμο για να συμμετέχουν στην δημοπρασία παγκοσμίου φήμης έργων. Όλοι πιστεύανε ότι θα εκπλήρωναν τα όνειρα τους να αποκτήσουν ένα από τους ακριβούς πίνακες. Η δημοπρασία ξεκίνησε με έναν πίνακα, ο οποίος δεν αναφερόταν στον κατάλογο. Ήτανε το πορτρέτο του γιου του. Ο διαχειριστής ρώτησε για μια πρόταση προσφοράς, όμως στην αίθουσα απλώθηκε σιωπή. «Ποιος θέλει να διαθέσει εκατό δολάρια;» Κανείς όμως δεν προσφέρθηκε. Μετά από λίγο, φωνάζει κάποιος: «Ποιος ενδιαφέρεται γι’ αυτό τον πίνακα; Είναι απλά η απεικόνιση του γιου του. Αφήστε μας επιτέλους να ασχοληθούμε με πίνακες αξίας. «Όχι, είπε ο ντελάλης, ρητώς αναφέρεται στην διαθήκη ότι πρέπει να αρχίσουμε μ’ αυτόν το πίνακα. Λοιπόν, ποιος θέλει να πάρει τον πίνακα που εικονίζει τον γιο;» Τελικά προτείνει ένας γείτονας του γέροντα 10 δολάρια. «Είναι ότι έχω, περισσότερα δεν μπορώ να διαθέσω. Γνώριζα τον γιο. Θα ήθελα πολύ να αποκτήσω τον πίνακα.» Ο διαχειριστής φωνάζει: «Ένα, δύο, τρία!» Χτυπάει το σφυρί. «Κατοχυρώθηκε!» Ακούστηκαν χειροκρατήματα και ένας από τους συλλέκτες φωνάξε ανακουφισμένα: «Τώρα μπορούμε επιτέλους να ασχοληθούμε με της πραγματικές αξίες.»
Τότε, ο ντελάλης ανακοίνωσε, ότι η δημοπρασία κύριοι τελείωσε. Στην συνέχεια υπήρξε μεγάλη αμηχανία. Κάποιος σηκώθηκε και ρώτησε: «Τι εννοείτε, τελείωσε η δημοπρασία; Ξέρουμε ότι υπάρχουν κι άλλοι πίνακες μεγάλης αξίας, εκατομμυρίων! Τι συμβαίνει;» Τότε ο διαχειριστής της δημοπρασίας εξήγεισε: «Είναι πολύ απλό. Σύμφωνα με την τελευταία επιθυμία του Διαθέτει πατέρα, όποιος πάρει τον γιο, θα του ανήκουν και όλα τα άλλα.
Ο μεγάλος διαχειριστής, ο Θεός, ρωτάει σήμερα κι’ εσένα: Θέλεις να πάρεις τον Υιό μου, τον Ιησού Χριστό; Αν δεχτείς και πιστέψεις στον Ιησού Χριστό, τότε ο Θεός θα σου χαρίσει και όλα τα άλλα.

ST. THALASSIOS THE LIBYAN-ON LOVE, SELF-CONTROL, AND LIFE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE INTELLECT

              

                    by St. Thalassios the Libyan

-- An all-embracing and intense longing for God binds those who experience it both to God and to one another.
-- An intellect that has acquired spiritual love does not have thoughts unworthy of this love about anyone.
-- He who has acquired love endures calmly and patiently the injuries and sufferings that his enemies inflict on him.
-- A person who does not tolerate suspicion or disparagement of others possesses true love.
-- If you tell your brother how someone else denigrates him you conceal your own envy in the guise of goodwill.
-- Worldly virtues promote human glory, spiritual virtues the glory of God.
-- A strong man is one who repels evil through the practice of the virtues and with spiritual knowledge.
-- If you wish to overcome impassioned thoughts, acquire self- control and love for your neighbor.
-- Firmly control anger and desire, and you will speedily rid yourself of evil thoughts.
-- Inner work destroys self-esteem and if you despise no one you will repel pride.
-- The genuineness of a friend is shown at a time of trial, if he shares the distress you suffer.
-- Waste your body with fasting and vigils, and you will repulse the lethal thoughts of pleasure.
-- The proper activity of the intellect is to be attentive at every moment to the words of God.
-- It is God's task to administer the world and the soul's task to guide the body.
-- Hardship and distress, whether of our own choosing or providential, destroy sensual pleasure.
-- The amassing of money fuels the passions, for it leads to increasing indulgence in all kinds of sensual pleasure.
-- How God treats you depends upon how you treat your body.
-- Virtue and spiritual knowledge lead to immortality, their absence is the mother of death.
-- If you wish to attain salvation, renounce sensual pleasure and learn self-control, love and how to pray with concentration.
-- There are three ways through which thoughts arise in you: through the senses, through the memory, and through the body's temperament. Of these the most irksome are those that come through the memory.
-- The intellect freed from the passions becomes like light, unceasingly illumined by the contemplation of created beings.
-- He who stands in awe of God searches for the divine principles that God has implanted in creation; the lover of truth finds them.
-- Stillness and prayer are the greatest weapons of virtue, for they purify the intellect and confer on it spiritual insight.
-- Only spiritual conversation is beneficial; it is better to preserve stillness than to indulge in any other kind.
-- The person who is unaffected by the things of this world loves stillness; and he who loves no human thing loves all men.
-- The conscience is a true teacher, and whoever listens to it will not stumble.
-- Only those who have reached the extremes of virtue or of evil are not judged by their consciences.
-- Spiritual commerce consists in being detached equally from the pleasures and the pains of this life for the sake of the blessings held in store.
-- Love and self-control strengthen the soul; pure prayer and contemplation, the intellect.
-- When you hear something to your benefit, do not condemn the speaker; for if you do you will nullify his helpful admonition.
-- A pure conscience rouses the soul, but an impure thought debases it.
-- If you want to be free of all the passions, practice self- control, love, and prayer.
-- Forgiveness of sins is betokened by freedom from the passions; he who has not yet been granted freedom from the passions has not yet received forgiveness. 

 -- The soul's health consists in dispassion and spiritual knowledge; no slave to sensual pleasure can attain it.
-- Self-love -- that is, friendship for the body -- is the source of evil in the soul.
-- It is an insult to the intelligence to be subject to what lacks intelligence and to concern itself with shameful desires.
-- You were commanded to keep the body as a servant, not to be unnaturally enslaved to its pleasures.
-- Break the bonds of your friendship for the body and give it only what is absolutely necessary.
-- The greatest weapons of someone striving to lead a life of inward stillness are self-control, love, prayer, and spiritual reading.
-- Let us strive to fulfill the commandments so that we may be freed from the passions; and let us struggle to grasp the divine doctrine so that we may be found worthy of spiritual knowledge.
-- The soul's immortality resides in dispassion and spiritual knowledge; no slave to sensual pleasure can attain it.
-- Fear of the Lord conquers desire, and distress that accords with God's will repulses sensual pleasure.
-- The Scriptures contain four things: commandments, doctrines, threats, and promises.
-- Self-control and strenuous effort curb desire; stillness and intense longing for God wither it.
-- Long-suffering and readiness to forgive curb anger; love and compassion wither it.
-- Woman symbolizes the soul engaged in ascetic practice; through union with it the intellect begets the virtues.
-- The study of divine principles teachers knowledge of God to the person who lives in truth, longing and reverence.
-- What light is to those whose and to what is seen, God is to intellective beings and to what is intelligible.
-- Do not neglect the practice of the virtues; if you do, your spiritual knowledge will decrease, and when famine occurs you will go down into Egypt (Genesis 41:57, 46:6).
-- Spiritual freedom is release from the passions; without Christ's mercy you cannot attain it.
-- The Egypt of the spirit is the darkness of the passions; no one goes down to Egypt unless he is overtaken by famine.
-- If you make a habit of listening to spiritual teaching, your intellect will escape from impure thoughts.
-- Control your stomach, sleep, anger, and tongue, and you will not "dash your foot against a stone" (Psalms 91:12).
-- Strive to love every man equally, and you will simultaneously expel all the passions.
-- The intellect cannot devote itself to intelligible realities unless you sunder its attachment to the senses and to sensible things.
-- A sign that the intellect is devoted to the contemplation of intelligible realities is its disdain for all that agitates the senses.
-- When the intellect is rich in the knowledge of the One, the senses will be completely under control.
-- The intellect becomes a stranger to the things of this world when its attachment to the senses has been completely sundered.
-- The intellect is perfect when transformed by spiritual knowledge; the soul is perfect when permeated by the virtues.
-- We are sons of God or of Satan according to whether we conform to goodness or to evil.
-- A wise man is one who pays attention to himself and is quick to separate himself form all defilement.
-- An obdurate soul does not notice when it is whipped and so is unaware of its benefactor.
-- He who fears God will pay careful attention to his soul and will free himself from communion with evil.
-- If you abandon God and are a slave to the passions you cannot reap God's mercy.
-- A soul defiled by the passions becomes obdurate: it has to undergo knife and cautery before it recovers its faith.
-- Concern for one's soul means hardship and humility, for through these God forgives us all our sins.
-- Just as desire and rage multiply our sins, so self-control and humility erase them.
-- All sin is due to sensual pleasure, all forgiveness to hardship and distress.
-- If you are not willing to repent through freely choosing to suffer, unsought sufferings will providentially be imposed on you.
-- Struggle until death to fulfil the commandments: purified through them, you will enter into life.
-- Make the body serve the commandments, keeping it so far as possible free from sickness and sensual pleasure.
-- Blessed stillness gives birth to blessed children: self- control, love and pure prayer.
-- Spiritual reading and prayer purify the intellect, while love and self-control purify the soul's passable aspect.
-- If you lay down rules for yourself, do not disobey yourself; for he who cheats himself is self-deluded.
-- Spiritual poverty is complete dispassion; when the intellect has reached this state it abandons all worldly things.

from G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Kallistos Ware, trans., The Philokalia -- vol. II, (London: Faber and Faber, 1981), pp. 313 - 318.