tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79822447713198103012024-03-21T19:58:54.086-04:00KANDYLAKI Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.comBlogger2145125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-32504255079714594672020-06-28T21:56:00.000-04:002020-06-28T21:56:44.160-04:00Saint Gregory Palamas-Homily on Saints Peter and Paul<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguQypkGhWaa3Ck9QkE227RkkHIkJRNVPa-shyWPG90wUTPaNcDk_g0FciIXiN7zQkyJMnfYZSV5pqn7ckW9cajn2uq8ygyxYXQmlQRfpzOfqOf5XwhAL9aGLVM38-wZiuCYYVYitUDwcPr/s1600/sts-peter-and-paul+edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguQypkGhWaa3Ck9QkE227RkkHIkJRNVPa-shyWPG90wUTPaNcDk_g0FciIXiN7zQkyJMnfYZSV5pqn7ckW9cajn2uq8ygyxYXQmlQRfpzOfqOf5XwhAL9aGLVM38-wZiuCYYVYitUDwcPr/s1600/sts-peter-and-paul+edited.jpg" width="458" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="color: orange;">By St. Gregory Palamas</span><br /><br />1. The commemoration of each of the saints on the appointed feast day is an occasion for town and country, citizens and their rulers to share in rejoicing, and brings great benefit to all who celebrate. "The memory of the just is praised", says the wise Solomon (Prov. 10:7 Lxx), "When the righteous is praised the people will rejoice" (cf. Prov. 29:2 Lxx). If a lamp is lit at night, its light shines for the service and enjoyment of everyone present. Similarly, through such commemorations, each saint's God-pleasing course, his blessed end, and the grace bestowed on him by God, because of the purity of his life, bring spiritual joy and benefit to the whole congregation, like a bright flaming torch set in our midst. When the land bears a good harvest everyone rejoices, not just the farmers (for we all benefit from the earth's produce); so the fruits which the saints bring forth for God through their virtue delight not only the Husbandman of souls, but all of us, being set before us for the common good and pleasure of our souls. During their earthly lives, all the saints are an incentive to virtue for those who hear and see them with understanding, for they are human icons of excellence, animated pillars of goodness, and living books, which teach us the way to better things. Afterwards, when they depart this life, the benefit we gain from them is kept alive for ever through the remembrance of their virtues. By commemorating their noble deeds, we offer them that praise which, on the one hand, we owe them for the good they did our ancestors, but which, on the other, is also fitting for us at the present time, on account of the help they give us now.</span></b></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><br />2. When we call to mind what they accomplished we add nothing to their good deeds. How could we, given that we are not even competent to depict their virtue as it really is. For the sake of the sublime rewards promised by God, they strove honourably to the limit of human nature and showed us a way of life that was equally sublime. We certainly do not augment their treasures by praising them. Not at all! But we do increase their bounty to us by looking up towards them as lanterns aglow with divine light, and by understanding better and welcoming the beautifying power which comes from them.<br /><br />3. If, as we have said, we commemorate each of the saints with hymns and appropriate songs of praise, how much more should we celebrate the memory of Peter and Paul, the supreme Leaders of the pre-eminent company of the Apostles? They are the fathers and guides of all Christians: Apostles, martyrs, holy ascetics, priests, hierarchs, pastors and teachers. As chief shepherds and master builders of our common godliness and virtue, they tend and teach us all, like lights in the world, holding forth the word of life (Phil. 2:15-16). Their brightness excels that of the other radiantly pious and virtuous saints as the sun outshines the stars, or as the heavens, which declare the sublime glory of God (cf. Ps. 19:1), transcend the skies. In their order and strength they are greater than the heavens, more beautiful than the stars, and swifter than both, and as regards what lies beyond the realm of the senses, it is they who reveal things which surpass the very heavens themselves and indeed the whole universe, and who make them bright with the light "in which there is no variableness neither shadow of turning" (cf. Jas. 1:17). Not only do they bring people out of darkness into this wonderful light, but by enlightening them they make them light, the offspring of the perfect light, that each of them may shine like the sun (Matt. 13:43), when the Author of light, the God-man and Word, appears in glory.<br /><br />4. The appearance to us this day of both these luminaries together brightens the Church, for their meeting produces a wealth of light, not an eclipse. It is not the case that one has a higher orbit and is placed above, while the other is lower down and passes under his shadow. Nor does one rule the day, the other the night, such that one would overshadow the other if they appeared opposite each other. Light is not produced by one and received by the other in such a way that the latter?s radiance would vary sometimes depending on the distance between them. Rather, both share equally in Christ, the everlasting Source of eternal light, and have attained to the same height, glory and radiance. That is why the coming together of these lights signifies their solidarity and support for one another and illuminates the souls of the faithful twice over.<br /><br />5. The first traitor, who incited the first man to desert God, saw Him Who had earlier made Adam, the father of the human race, later re-creating Peter as the father of all true worshippers. He not only saw, but also heard the Creator saying to Peter: "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church" (Matt. 16:18). Once the prince of evil found this out, being the epitome of wicked envy, he tempted Peter, the first leader of God's faithful people, as he had previously tempted Adam, the founder of the race of men. Realizing that Peter was endowed with intelligence and afire with love for Christ, he did not dare make a direct attack. Instead he came upon him from the right flank, cunningly deceiving him into being excessively eager. At the time of the saving Passion, when the Lord told His disciples, "All ye shall be offended because of me this night" (Matt. 26:31), Peter disobediently contradicted Him. He also exalted himself above the others, saying that even if everyone else were offended, he would not be (Matt. 26:33). Because he had been beguiled into arrogance, he fell further than the rest, so that by humbling himself more than them he might eventually appear more radiant. Unlike Adam who was tempted, vanquished and completely brought down, Peter, having been tempted and led astray a little, overcame the tempter. How? Through his immediate condemnation of himself, his intense sorrow and repentance, and the medicine which brings forgiveness, tears. "A broken and contrite heart", it says, "O God, thou wilt not despise" (Ps. 51:17), and "Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of" (2 Cor. 7:10), and "They that sow their supplications in tears shall joyfully reap forgiveness" (cf. Ps. 126:5).<br /><br />6. Anyone who looks at Peter will see that through repentance and painful grief he not only adequately healed the denial into which he had been drawn, but he also completely rooted out of his soul that passion which had made him fall behind the others. Wishing to demonstrate this to everyone, the Lord, after His Passion in the flesh for our sake and His rising on the third day, used those words to Peter which we read in today's Gospel, asking him, "Simon, son of Jonah, lovest thou me more than these" (John 21:15), meaning, "more than these disciples of mine". But see how much humbler he has become. Whereas before, even without being asked, he set himself above the rest and said that even if all forsook the Lord, he would not; now, on being asked whether he loves Him more than the others do, he affirms that he loves Him, but leaves out the word "more", saying "Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee" (John 21:15, 16, cf. 17).<br /><br />7. What does the Lord do? Since Peter has shown that he has not lost his love for Him and has now acquired humility as well, He openly fulfils the promise made long before and tells him, "Feed my lambs" (John 21:15). When He was referring to the company of believers as a building, He promised to make Peter the foundation stone, saying, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church" (Matt. 16:18). On the other hand, when He was talking in terms of fishing, He made him a fisher of men with the words, "From henceforth thou shalt catch men" (Luke 5:10). But when He speaks of His disciples as sheep, He sets Peter over them as a shepherd, saying, "Feed my lambs, feed my sheep" (John 21:15-17). It is clear from this that the Lord's desire for us to be saved is so great, that He asks of those who love Him only one thing: to lead us to the pasture and fold of salvation.<br /><br />8. Let us long to be saved, and obey those who lead us in that direction through their words and deeds. As long as each of us wishes to take the road leading to salvation, the teacher, prepared by our common Saviour, is at hand, together with the Giver of salvation, Who, in His overwhelming love for mankind, is more than ready without being called or beseeched. Christ asks Peter three times so that three times he can reply affirming his faith, thus healing his threefold denial with his threefold confession. Thrice Christ appoints him over His sheep and lambs, placing under him the three categories of those being saved: slaves, hirelings and sons, or, alternatively, virgins, chaste widows and those honourably married. But when Peter was asked again and again if he loved Christ, the Scripture tells us he was grieved by the repeated questioning (John 21:17), supposing that the Lord did not believe him. Knowing that he loved Christ, aware that his questioner knew him better than he knew himself, and feeling under pressure, Peter not only confessed that he loved Him, but also proclaimed that the Lord he loved was "God over all" (Rom. 9:5), by saying, "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee", because only "God Who is over all" is all-knowing.<br /><br />9. Once Peter had made this heartfelt confession, the Lord ordained him Shepherd and Chief Pastor of His whole Church, and also promised to encompass him with such strength, that he who previously was unable even to stand being spoken to and questioned by a young girl (John 18:17), would endure unto death, even death on a cross. "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast younger", both physically and spiritually, "thou girdest thyself", meaning, you used your own strength, "and walkest whither thou wouldest", doing what you liked and living according to your natural inclinations. "But when thou shalt be old", having reached the peak of your physical and spiritual age, "thou shalt stretch forth thy hands". With these words, Christ indicates that Peter will die on a cross, and bears witness that his crucifixion will not be involuntary. "Thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee", meaning strengthen, "and carry thee whither thou wouldest not", that is to say, out of this life (cf. John 21:18). Our nature is unwilling to be dissolved in death, and Peter's superhuman martyrdom also demonstrates our attitude as human beings to life. "Strengthened by Me", Christ tells him, "you will willingly endure all these things for my sake and bear witness to me; for the desire to do so is not natural but supernatural to human nature".<br /><br />10. Peter was the sort of man who can be described in a few words. As for Paul, on the other hand, what tongue, or how many and what sort of tongues, can depict even to a limited extent his endurance unto death for Christ's sake? He was put to death every day, or rather he was always dead, no longer alive himself, as he tells us, but having Christ living in him (Gal. 2:20). For love of Christ he not only counted everything in the present world as dung (Phil. 3:8), but even put things to come in second place compared to the Lord. "For I am persuaded", he says, "that neither death, nor life, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (cf. Rom. 8:38-39). He had zeal for God, and was jealous over us with divine jealousy (2 Cor. 11:2). The only one to equal him in this was Peter, but hear how humble he is when he says of himself, "I am the least of the Apostles, that am not meet to be called an Apostle" (1 Cor. 15:9).<br /><br />11. Given that Paul made the same confession of faith as Peter, and had the same zeal, humility and love, surely they received the same rewards from Him Who measures everything with completely just scales, yardstick and plumbline. Anything else would be unreasonable. That is why the Lord told Peter, "Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church" (Matt. 16:18), whereas He said to Ananias of Paul, "He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings" (Acts 9:15). Which name? Clearly the name we have been given, the name of Christ's Church, which rests on the foundation stone of Peter. Notice that Peter and Paul are equal in prominence and glory, and both hold up the Church. Consequently the Church now bestows one and the same honour on both, and celebrates them together with equal esteem. As we consider the outcome of their lives, let us imitate how they lived, or at least how they were restored through humility and repentance, even if we cannot attain to their other great and exalted achievements, which are appropriate to great men and fitting for great men to emulate. In fact, some aspects of their lives are probably impossible for anyone to imitate. Amendment through repentance, however, is more appropriate for us than for the great, since we all sin many times every day, and unless we lay hold of salvation through continuous repentance, we have no hope of it from any other source.<br /><br />12. Repentance is preceded by awareness of our sins, which is a strong incentive to mercy. "Have mercy upon me", said the Psalmist and Prophet to God, "for I acknowledge my transgressions" (Ps. 5 1:1, 3). Through his recognition of sin he attracted God's compassion, and through his confession and self-condemnation he obtained complete forgiveness. "I said", the Psalmist tells us, "I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my heart" (cf. Ps. 32:5), because acknowledgment of our sins is followed by condemnation of ourselves, which in turn is followed by that sorrow for our sins which Paul calls "godly sorrow" (2 Cor. 7:10). After godly sorrow confession and prayer to God with a contrite heart come naturally (Ps. 51:17), as does the promise to keep away from evil from now on. This is repentance.<br /><br />13. This is how Manasseh escaped being punished for his sins, even though he had fallen into many great and serious transgressions, and wallowed in them for years on end (2 Chr. 33:1-20). As for David, the Lord set aside his sin because of his repentance, nor did he deprive him of his Prophetic gift. When Peter resorted to repentance, he not only recovered from his fall and obtained forgiveness, but was also appointed to protect Christ's Church. As you see, Paul too was rewarded with this role after his conversion, once he had made progress and become more closely God's own than the others. Repentance which is true and truly from the heart persuades the penitent not to sin any more, not to mix with corrupt people, and not to gape in curiosity at evil pleasures, but to despise things present, cling to things to come, struggle against passions, seek after virtues, be self-controlled in every respect, keep vigil with prayers to God, and shun dishonest gain. It convinces him to be merciful to those who wrong him, gracious to those who ask something of him, ready with all his heart to bend down and help in any way he can, whether by words, actions or money, all who seek his assistance, that through kindness to his fellow-man he might gain God's love in return for loving his neighbour, draw the divine favour to himself, and attain to eternal mercy and God's everlasting blessing and grace.<br /><br />14. May we all attain to this by the grace of the only-begotten Son of God, to Whom belong all glory, might, honour and worship, together with His Father without beginning and the all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and for ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Source- The Homilies of Saint Gregory Palamas, Volume Two, translated by Christopher Veniamin (St. Tikhon's Seminary Press, 2004).</b></span></span></div>
Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-48992031156112364252020-06-28T21:44:00.000-04:002020-06-28T21:44:59.866-04:00ΑΓΙΑ ΣΥΓΚΛΗΤΙΚΗ-Τό κουτσομπολιό τυφλώνει τόν ἄνθρωπο<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2flLoJ2ptWJVCbdSE8QtilaJBeYpB38pkQED_PBCZAMHEb6GWcGcOD7K3sKyZE8n35toktiyKW-jfiSuv6eBCkeQ9tcrMeUdDMGKEWa58n-AZhJZwPT5G_zhtuCRYB4EmUMsXq66P2dM/s1600/%CE%91%CE%B3%CE%AF%CE%B1-%CE%A3%CF%85%CE%B3%CE%BA%CE%BB%CE%B7%CF%84%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE1+edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2flLoJ2ptWJVCbdSE8QtilaJBeYpB38pkQED_PBCZAMHEb6GWcGcOD7K3sKyZE8n35toktiyKW-jfiSuv6eBCkeQ9tcrMeUdDMGKEWa58n-AZhJZwPT5G_zhtuCRYB4EmUMsXq66P2dM/s400/%CE%91%CE%B3%CE%AF%CE%B1-%CE%A3%CF%85%CE%B3%CE%BA%CE%BB%CE%B7%CF%84%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE1+edited.jpg" width="272" /></a><span style="color: cyan; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Η
καταλαλιά είναι πολύ βαρύ και ολέθριο αμάρτημα. Ωστόσο μερικοί άνθρωποι
την έχουν σαν τροφή και ξεκούραση. Εσύ όμως, πιστή στον Κύριο αδελφή, να
μη δεχθείς μέσα σου τα ξένα κακά, αλλά να διατηρείς την ψυχή σου
αμόλυντη. Γιατί, αν δεχθείς τα βρωμερά λόγια εκείνου που καταλαλεί, θα
προξενήσεις στην προσευχή σου, με τους λογισμούς, κηλίδες ακαθαρσίας και
θα μισήσεις αδικαιολόγητα αυτούς που σε συναναστρέφονται. Γιατί, όταν
τ’ αφτιά σου θα γεμίσουν από την απανθρωπιά αυτών που καταλαλούν, τότε
όλους θα τους υποτιμάς και όλους θα τους θεωρείς το ίδιο ακάθαρτους·όπως
ακριβώς και το μάτι, όταν θαμπωθεί από δυνατό έγχρωμο φως, δεν μπορεί
να διακρίνει καθαρά το σχήμα των αντικειμένων που βλέπει.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: cyan;">Πρέπει λοιπόν να φυλάμε τη γλώσσα μας
και τ’ αφτιά μας, ώστε μήτε να λέμε τίποτα κακό για τον πλησίον μας,
μήτε ν’ ανεχόμαστε καν ν’ ακούμε κάτι τέτοιο. Γιατί έχει γραφτεί: «Ου
παραδέξη ακοήν ματαίαν» (Εξ. 23:1). Και αλλού: «Τον καταλαλούντα λάθρα
τον πλησίον αυτού, τούτον εξεδίωκον» (Ψαλμ. 100:5). Και σ’ άλλο σημείο
πάλι: «Όπως αν μη λαλήση το στόμα μου τα έργα των ανθρώπων…» (Ψαλμ.
16:4). Εμείς όμως μιλάμε ακόμα και για έργα που δεν έκαναν οι άνθρωποι!
Γι’ αυτό πρέπει όχι μόνο να μην πιστεύουμε όσα μας λένε και να μην τα
παραδεχόμαστε καθόλου, αλλά και να ενεργούμε και να μιλάμε σύμφωνα με το
παράδειγμα του προφήτη: «Εγώ δε… εγενόμην ωσεί άνθρωπος ουκ ακούων και
ουκ έχων εν τω στόματι αυτού ελεγμούς” (Ψαλμ. 37:15).</span><br />
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<span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Από το βίο της αμμάς Συγκλητικής</span></span></div>
Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-25461237048598129732019-03-14T22:23:00.000-04:002019-03-14T22:23:51.626-04:00Εὐχάριστο πάθος;<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">τοῦ κ. Γεωργίου Θ. Μηλίτση, διδασκάλου</span></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">᾽Α</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">πό
τά πανάρχαια χρόνια οἱ ἄνθρωποι πίστευαν ὅτι ρίζα καί αἰτία πολλῶν
ἀσθενειῶν πού τυραννοῦν τούς ἀνθρώπους εἶναι ἡ πολυφαγία ἤ ἡ
γαστριμαργία, ὅπως ἀλλοιῶς λέγεται.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">῾Η
᾽Εκκλησία μας θεωρεῖ τήν γαστριμαργία αἰτία πολλῶν κακῶν καί μητέρα
πολλῶν ἄλλων ἁμαρτημάτων, διότι αὐτή ἔβγαλε τόν ἄνθρωπο ἀπό τόν
παράδεισο.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">῾Η
γαστριμαργία εἶναι ἕνα ἐλάττωμα, ἕνα πάθος, πού μᾶς παρακινεῖ νά τρῶμε
καί νά πίνουμε περισσότερο ἀπ᾽ ὅσο χρειάζεται τό σῶμα μας γιά νά
συντηρηθεῖ. Οἱ ἅγιοι Πατέρες, καί μάλιστα ὁ ἱερός ᾽Ιωάννης ὁ
Χρυσόστομος, λένε ὅτι πρόκειται γιά βαρειά ἁμαρτία, ὅπως ἀποδεικνύεται
ἀπό τήν ἱστορία τοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου γένους: «Αὐτή ἐξόρισε τόν ᾽Αδάμ ἀπό τόν
παράδεισο, αὐτή προκάλεσε τόν μεγάλο κατακλυσμό, αὐτή ἔκανε τούς
᾽Ισραηλίτες εἰδωλολάτρες, αὐτή ἔριξε τούς ἀνθρώπους σέ πολλά ἄλλα κακά».</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">῾Η
γαστριμαργία καταβάλλει σχεδόν ὅλους μας, ἐπειδή εἶναι εὐχάριστο πάθος.
Εἶναι ἀμφίβολο καί ἐπίφοβο ἄν πρό τοῦ θανάτου ἐγκαταλείπει τόν ἄνθρωπο˙
εἰδικά σήμερα, ἐποχή ἀφθονίας καί καλοζωίας, ἔχει δημιουργηθεῖ τό πλέον
κατάλληλο κλίμα, αὐτό τή βοηθεῖ να γιγαντώνεται καί νά διαφεντεύει σ᾽
ὅλη σχεδόν τήν ἀνθρωπότητα.</span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Τί λέμε γαστριμαργία;</span></span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";"> </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">῾Η
γαστριμαργία εἶναι ἕνα ἐλάττωμα, ἕνα πάθος, πού κυριεύει πολλούς
ἀνθρώπους. ῾Η λέξη γαστριμαργία εἶναι σύνθετη καί παράγεται ἀπό τό
οὐσιαστικό γαστήρ (κοιλιά) καί τό ρῆμα μαργαίνω (κατέχομαι ὑπό μανίας
καί μάργος λέγεται ὁ μανιώδης), ἔτσι ὅταν καταλαμβάνει κάποιον ἡ μανία
νά γεμίσει τήν γαστέρα (κοιλιά) του, αὐτό λέγεται γαστριμαργία˙ ἄρα
γαστριμαργία εἶναι τό πάθος πού μᾶς παρακινεῖ νά τρῶμε καί νά πίνουμε
περισσότερο ἀπ᾽ ὅσο χρειάζεται τό σῶμα μας γιά νά συντηρηθεῖ.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Τόν
ἀκριβή ὁρισμό τῆς γαστριμαργίας δίνει ὁ ῾Αγ. ᾽Ιωάννης ὁ Σιναΐτης στό
βιβλίο του "Κλίμαξ„: «Γαστριμαργία εἶναι ἡ ὑποκριτική συμπεριφορά τῆς
κοιλίας, ἡ ὁποία ἐνῶ εἶναι χορτασμένη, φωνάζει πώς εἶναι ἐνδεής (φτωχή)
καί ἐνῶ εἶναι παραφορτωμένη μέχρι διαρρήξεως ἀνακράζει ὅτι πεινᾶ.
Γαστριμαργία εἶναι ἡ δημιουργός τῶν καρυκευμάτων, ἡ πηγή τῶν τέρψεων τοῦ
λάρυγγα. Γαστριμαργία εἶναι μία ἀπάτη τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν. Καθ' ἧν στιγμήν
κάποιος τρώγει τό μέτριο σέ ποσότητα φαγητό του, ἡ γαστριμαργία τόν
κάνει νά σκέπτεται πώς νά ἦτο δυνατόν νά καταβροχθίσει διά μιᾶς τά
σύμπαντα». (Κλίμαξ, ἔκδ. Παρακλήτου 1985).</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">῾Ο
Εὐάγριος καί ὁ Μάξιμος ὁ ῾Ομολογητής τήν ὀνομάζουν «ἐμπαθή λογισμό», μ᾽
ἄλλα λόγια «τό σῶμα παρεμβαίνει μόνο ὡς ὄργανο πραγμάτωσης τῆς
ἐπιθυμίας τῆς ψυχῆς» (Συμεών Νέος Θεολόγος).</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Γαστριμαργία,
κατ᾽ ἄλλον Πατέρα, εἶναι ἡ κατανάλωση ποσότητας φαγητοῦ μεγαλύτερης ἀπ'
ὅση εἶναι ἀπαραίτητη γιά τήν ἐπιβίωσή μας, ἐνῶ λαιμαργία ἡ τάση πρός
φαγητά πού ἔχουν ἀπολαυστική γεύση ἤ ἡ κατανάλωση φαγητοῦ ἀποκλειστικά
γιά εὐχαρίστηση.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Συμπερασματικά
ἡ γαστριμαργία, κατά τούς Πατέρες, εἶναι «ἀναζήτηση τῆς ἡδονῆς τοῦ
ἐσθίειν», «ἐπιθυμία τοῦ ἐσθίειν γιά τήν ἠδονή», ἀκόμα ἡ «ἀκράτεια τοῦ
στόματος καί τῆς κοιλίας».</span></span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";"> </span><br /><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Θυγατέρες της</span></span></span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";"> </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Σύμφωνα
μέ τούς Πατέρας τῆς ᾽Εκκλησίας μας ἡ γαστριμαργία δέν βλάπτει μόνο τήν
ψυχή καί τό σῶμα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀλλά γεννᾶ καί ἄλλα πάθη καί ἁμαρτήματα.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Τό
πρῶτο πάθος πού τήν ἀκολουθεῖ εἶναι «ἡ πορνεία καί κάθε σαρκική
ἀκαθαρσία». Κατά τό ὅσιο Μάρκο τό ἀσκητή τήν γαστριμαργία «ἀκολουθοῦν ἡ
λήθη καί ἡ ραθυμία». ῎Αλλοι Πατέρες τονίζουν ὅτι τήν ἡδονή πού προκαλεῖ
τό φαγητό ἤ τό πιοτό διαδέχεται ἡ ὀδύνη. Τήν εὐχαρίστηση τοῦ λάρυγγα
διαδέχεται καταρχήν ὁ πόνος καί τό βάρος τοῦ στομάχου, καί στή συνέχεια ἡ
παχυσαρκία και τά ἄλλα ἀναρίθμητα δεινά πού προέρχονται ἀπό αὐτή.
Κυρίως ὅμως, ἡ γαστριμαργία προκαλεῖ ζάλη στό κεφάλι, βάρος καί ἀτονία
στό σῶμα. ῎Ετσι ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐγκαταλείπει τό πνευματικό του ἔργο, ἐπειδή
ἔρχεται σ᾽ αὐτόν ἡ ὀκνηρία. ᾽Ακολουθεῖ ἡ σκότιση τοῦ νοῦ καί τῶν
λογισμῶν καί ἡ ταραχή τήν ὥρα τῆς προσευχῆς. ῾Ο νοῦς γίνεται ἀδιάκριτος
καί οἱ πονηροί λογισμοί βρίσκονται στό ἀποκορύφωμα τους˙ ὅταν κανείς δέν
ἔχει καθαρό νοῦ δέν μπορεῖ νά ασχοληθεῖ μέ πνευματικά πράγματα.</span></span></b></span></div>
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</span></b></span>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Οἱ Πατέρες γιά τή γαστριμαργία</span></span></span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";"> </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Στά
πατερικά κείμενα διαβάζουμε ὅτι τά πάθη δέν ἀνήκουν στή φύση τοῦ
ἀνθρώπου. Εἶναι ἀρρώστιες τῆς ψυχῆς. ῞Οταν ὅμως χρονίζουν στόν ἄνθρωπο,
γίνονται δεύτερη φύση του καί δέν ἀπομακρύνονται. ᾽Ακόμα κι ὅταν ὁ
ἄνθρωπος μετανοεῖ καί δέχεται τή χάρη τοῦ Θεοῦ, δέν ἀπαλλάσσεται μέ μιᾶς
ἀπ᾽ αὐτά, ἀλλά χρειάζεται νά προσπαθήσει καί νά ἀγωνισθεῖ γιά πολύ
καιρό ἄν θέλει νά τά καταπολεμήσει.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Γιά
τή γαστριμαργία λέγουν ὅτι εἶναι ἀτομικό ὀλίσθημα. Γίνεται, ὅμως,
θανάσιμο ἁμάρτημα γιά τόν ἄνθρωπο, ὅταν προξενεῖ βλάβη καί σκάνδαλο στόν
πλησίον, ὅταν γνωρίζει ὅτι θά πάθει κάποια σοβαρή ἀσθένεια καί δέν
ἐγκρατεύεται, ὅταν ξοδεύει πάρα πολλά χρήματα γιά νά τρώει πλούσια τή
στιγμή πού ὁ πλησίον του στερεῖται τά ἀναγκαία καί δέν τόν ἐλεεῖ κι ὅταν
δέν τηρεῖ τίς καθιερωμένες ἀπό τήν ᾽Εκκλησία μας νηστείες ἐφόσον δέν
ἐμποδίζεται ἀπό κάποια ἀρρώστια.</span></span></b></span></div>
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</span></b></span>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Πῶς θεραπεύεται</span></span></span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";"> </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">῞Οπως
γιά ὅλες τίς ἀσθένειες τοῦ σώματος ὑπάρχουν φάρμακα πού τίς
καταπολεμοῦν καί τίς θεραπεύουν ἔτσι καί γιά τίς ἀσθένειες τῆς ψυχῆς, τά
πάθη, ὑπάρχουν τά κατάλληλα φάρμακα πού ὄχι μόνο τίς θεραπεύουν ἀλλά
ἀπελευθερώνουν τόν ἄνθρωπο ἀπό τόν τυραννικό ζυγό τους.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">᾽Ισχυρό
ὄπλο γιά τήν καταπολέμηση τῆς γαστριμαργίας εἶναι ἡ νηστεία. Αὐτή
δόθηκε σάν ἐντολή στόν παράδεισο˙ διαβάζουμε στή Γένεση: «Καί ἐνετείλατο
Κύριος ὁ Θεός τῷ ᾽Αδάμ λέγων˙ ἀπό παντός ξύλου τοῦ ἐν τῷ παραδείσω
βρώσει φαγῇ, ἀπό δέ τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ γιγνώσκειν καλόν καί πονηρόν, οὐ
φάγεσθε ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ˙ ᾗ δ᾽ ἄν ἡμέρα φάγητε ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ, θανάτῳ ἀποθανεῖσθε»
(Γένεση β´ 16).</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">῾Η
ἁγία μας ᾽Εκκλησία προκειμένου νά βοηθήσει τούς πιστούς ὄχι μόνον νά
ἀπαλαχθοῦν ἀπό τό πάθος τῆς γαστριμαργίας, ἀλλά καί νά ἀνεβοῦν
πνευματικά θέσπισε περιόδους νηστείας˙ ἔτσι οἱ ᾽Ορθόδοξοι νηστεύουμε
κάθε Τετάρτη καί Παρασκευή˙ σαράντα ἡμέρες πρίν ἀπό τήν ἑορτή τῶν
Χριστουγέννων (ἀπό 15 Νοεμβρίου μέχρι καί 24 Δεκεμβρίου)˙ τήν ῾Αγία καί
Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή (ἀπό τήν Καθαρά Δευτέρα μέχρι καί τό Μεγάλο Σάββατο,
εἶναι πολύ αὐστηρή νηστεία)˙ τή νηστεία τῶν ῾Αγίων ᾽Αποστόλων (ἀρχίζει
τή Δευτέρα μετά τήν ἑορτή τῶν ῾Αγίων Πάντων καί τελειώνει στίς 28
᾽Ιουνίου)˙ τέλος ἔχουμε καί τή νηστεία πρός τιμήν τῆς Παναγίας (ἀρχίζει
ἀπό τήν 1η Αὐγούστου καί τελειώνει τήν παραμονή τῆς ἑορτῆς τῆς Κοιμήσεως
τῆς Θεοτόκου).</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Οἰ
Πατέρες λέγουν ὅτι οἱ πιστοί πρέπει νά δείνουν προσοχή διότι ἡ νηστεία
χρειάζεται διάκριση, δέν πρέπει νά νηστεύουμε πάνω ἀπό τίς δυνάμεις μας,
ὅταν ἡ ὑγεία μας δέν τό ἐπιτρέπει˙ δέν πρέπει νά ξεχνοῦμε ὅτι οἱ
ἔρευνες πού ἔκαναν οἱ εἰδικοί ἔδειξαν ὅτι ὅταν κάνουμε νηστεία σύμφωνα
μέ τίς ὑποδείξεις τῶν Πατέρων ὄχι μόνον δέν κινδυνεύει ἡ ὑγεία μας ἀλλά
ἀπεναντίας ὁ ὀργανισμός ἀποτοξινώνεται καί δέν προσβάλεται εὔκολα ἀπό
διάφορες ἀσθένειες. Χριστιανική νηστεία καί ὑγιεινή διατροφή εἶναι γιά
τήν ᾽Ιατρική σχεδόν ταυτόσημες ἔννοιες.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Μαζί
μέ τή νηστεία οἱ Πατέρες, σάν ἀντίδοτό της συνιστοῦν καί τή μνήμη τοῦ
θανάτου, καθῶς καί τῆς μέλλουσας κρίσεως• «῞Οταν λάβεις θέση σέ πλούσιο
τραπέζι - συμβουλεύει ὁ ῞Αγ. ᾽Ιωάννης τῆς Κλίμακος - φέρε ἐμπρός σου τή
μνήμη τοῦ θανάτου καί τῆς κρίσεως˙ ἴσως ἔτσι νά συγκρατήσεις λίγο τό
πάθος. ᾽Αλλά κι ἄν ἀκόμη δέν ἐγκρατευθεῖς, τουλάχιστον θά ταπεινωθεῖς
καί θά ἀναστενάξεις, συγκρίνοντας τήν πολυφαγία σου μέ τό πάθος τοῦ
Χριστοῦ» (Κλίμαξ σελ. 191).</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Δέν
πρέπει νά μᾶς διαφεύγει ὅτι στή γαστριμαργία συνήθως πέφτουμε ὅταν
τρῶμε συχνότερα ἀπ᾽ ὅσο πρέπει ἡ νωρίτερα ἀπό τήν κατάλληλη ὥρα, ὅταν
τρῶμε καί πίνουμε περισσότερο ἀπ᾽ ὅσο μᾶς χρειάζεται, ὅταν ἐπιζητοῦμε
πλούσια, ἀκριβά καί ἐξεζητημένα φαγητά, ὅταν τρῶμε μέ βουλιμία κι ὅταν
σπαταλᾶμε μεγάλο μέρος τοῦ πολύτιμου χρόνου τῆς ζωῆς μας σέ
γαστρονομικές ἀσχολίες καί φροντίδες.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">῾Ο χρυσός κανόνας εἶναι «νά δίνουμε στό σῶμα ὅσα ἡ ἀνάγκη θέλει καί ὄχι ὅσα ἡ ἠδονή ἀπαιτεῖ».</span></span></b></span></div>
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</span></b></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Οἱ Πατέρες γιά τήν τροφή</span></span></span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";"> </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">῎Ισως
κάποιος νά πεῖ ὅτι οἱ Πατέρες τῆς ᾽Εκκλησίας μας εἶναι ἐναντίον τῆς
τροφῆς˙ αὐτό δέν εἶναι σωστό, διότι κανένας ἐκ τῶν Πατέρων δέν πέθανε
ἀπό ἀσιτία διότι ἔτρωγαν τό ἀναγκαῖο φαγητό πού χρειαζόντουσαν γιά νά
διατηρηθοῦν στή ζωή. ᾽Ακόμη οἱ Πατέρες δέν θεωροῦν ὅτι ἡ τροφή εἶναι
ἀκάθαρτη καί κακή ὥστε νά κάνει τήν γαστριμαργία πάθος, αὐτό
ἐπιβεβαιώνεται καί ἀπό τή Γραφή: «οὐ τό εἰσερχόμενον εἰς τό στόμα κοινοῖ
τόν ἄνθρωπον» (Ματθ. ιε΄ 11). ῾Ο ᾽Απόστολος Παῦλος γράφει στό μαθητή
του Τιμόθεο: «πᾶν κτίσμα Θεοῦ καλόν, καί οὐδέν ἀπόβλητον μετά
εὐχαριστίας λαμβανόμενον» (Α' Τιμ. δ΄4). ῎Αρα τό πάθος τῆς γαστριμαργίας
δέν εἶναι ἐπακόλουθο τῆς τροφῆς πού παίρνουμε, ἀλλά στό σκοπό καί στό
στόχο πού βάζουμε ὅταν καθόμαστε νά φᾶμε.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">῾Ο
ἅγιος Δωρόθεος Γάζης ἔλεγε: «῎Αλλο πρᾶγμα εἶναι τό νά φάγει κάποιος διά
νά ἱκανοποιήσει τήν φυσικήν ἀνάγκην λήψεως τροφῆς καί ἄλλο νά φάγει διά
νά δοκιμάσει τήν ἐκ τοῦ φαγητοῦ ἡδονήν. ῾Ο σκοπός διά τόν ὁποῖον τρώγει
τις εἶναι ἐκεῖνος ὁ ὁποῖος δημιουργεῖ τήν ἁμαρτίαν. Τό νά τρώγει δέ
κανείς ὅσον ἐπιβάλλουν αἱ σωματικαί του ἀνάγκαι σημαίνει ὅτι οὖτος
ὁρίζει εἰς τόν ἑαυτόν του πόσον πρέπει νά φάγει καθ᾽ ὅλην τήν ἡμέραν».</span></span></b></span></div>
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</span></b></span>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Τέλος</span></span></span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";"> </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Πρέπει
νά γνωρίζουμε, ὅτι τό φοβερό πάθος τῆς γαστριμαργίας εἶναι ἀνελέητο καί
ὁ ἀγώνας γιά τήν καταπολέμησή του δέν εἶναι εὔκολος. Εἶναι σκληρός καί
κουραστικός. Συνεχής καί ἰσόβιος. Πρέπει νά παλέψουμε μ᾽ ἕναν πολύ
δυνατό ἐχθρό, πού μᾶς βλάπτει σωματικά, ἀλλά κυρίως ψυχικά. ῎Ας πάρουμε
τήν ἀπόφαση κι ἄς τήν τηρήσουμε «μακριά ἀπό τήν πολυφαγία καί τήν
πολυποσία». ῎Ας ἔχουμε πάντα στό μυαλό μας αὐτά πού ἔλεγε ὁ Μέγας
᾽Αντώνιος: «᾽Εγκράτεια, εὐδαιμονία ἐστί καί ἐλπίς ἀγαθή ταῖς ψυχαῖς τῶν
ἀνθρώπων» καί νά μή ξεχνοῦμε ὅτι «ἡ νηστεία, τό ἀντίδοτο τῆς
γαστριμαργίας, εἶναι βία φύσεως καί περιτομή τῳν ἡδονῶν τοῦ λάρυγγα,
ἐκτομή τῆς σαρκικῆς πυρώσεως, ἐκκοπή τῶν πονηρῶν λογισμῶν, ἀπελευθέρωσης
ἀπό λογισμούς ὀνείρων, καθαρότητα προσευχῆς, φωτισμός τῆς ψυχῆς,
διαφύλαξης τοῦ νοῦ, διάλυσης τῆς πωρώσεως, θύρα τῆς κατανύξεως..
ἐλαφρότης τοῦ ὕπνου, ὑγεία τοῦ σώματος, πρόξενος τῆς ἀπαθείας, ἄφεση τῶν
ἁμαρτημάτων, θύρα καί ἀπόλαυσης τοῦ Παραδείσου» (Κλίμαξ, σελ. 191).</span></span></b></span></div>
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Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-57345343338183932532018-01-09T09:33:00.000-05:002018-01-09T09:33:55.444-05:00Understanding the Soul..<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjw9Cg8WrXp8r12lldxTQtt9qcAAk84eAofZTOwpyYMZHVt0Evx2V4t_Ed2BnK6NfLBdCVJppP_whZJcfSngDLNYXk8ws4OYNPWlszZ_Ojc4lNfA4jS6FrneiDeyM-44mlhUhJN1lFRo/s1600/89564-%C3%AB%C3%A1%C3%A8%C3%B1%C3%A1%C3%9F%C3%A1+%C3%BC%C3%AD%C3%A5%C3%A9%C3%B1%C3%A1+edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjw9Cg8WrXp8r12lldxTQtt9qcAAk84eAofZTOwpyYMZHVt0Evx2V4t_Ed2BnK6NfLBdCVJppP_whZJcfSngDLNYXk8ws4OYNPWlszZ_Ojc4lNfA4jS6FrneiDeyM-44mlhUhJN1lFRo/s400/89564-%C3%AB%C3%A1%C3%A8%C3%B1%C3%A1%C3%9F%C3%A1+%C3%BC%C3%AD%C3%A5%C3%A9%C3%B1%C3%A1+edited.jpg" width="277" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: red;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I
remember many years ago a spiritual teacher asking me this simple
question, "Can you describe your soul?" This question haunted me for
several years. So, what is the nature of our soul? How do we get to
know it? Knowing soul is something that requires stillness in the mind.
Our mind is continually in motion distracting us from a deep inner
knowledge. Saint Theophan suggests that we divide the soul into
different parts to know it –– intellectual, desiring and sensual.</span></span></b><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br /><b><span style="color: yellow;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Intellectual Aspect</span></span></b></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: yellow;">:</span></b> </span><span style="color: cyan;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">You
intellect stands about your memory and imagination; this intellect,
among with intellectual labor, obtains for you definite concepts or
cognitions about things.... This leads to thoughts, opinions and
suppositions. Its business is to reason, think things over, and reach
necessary conclusions.</span></i><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But,
normally our mind is filled with thoughts of all kinds. It is not
still so we can make reasoned choices. We become driven by our passions.</span></span>
<br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></b><br /><b><span style="color: yellow;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Desirous Aspect</span></span></b></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: yellow;">:</span> </b> </span><span style="color: cyan;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The
faculty that operates here is the will... At its foundation lies zeal,
or ardor––the thirst for something.... In a person who has lived for
some time almost everything is done by habit.</span></i><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Normally
instead of using the will to do God's will we instead override it with
our habits to meet the demands of our passions. So, not only do we have
the confusion with the scattering of our thoughts but we also have a
distorted inconsistent use of our desiring aspect seeking selfish
desires.</span></span>
<span style="color: cyan;"><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span></b></span><br /><b><span style="color: yellow;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Sensual Aspect: the Heart</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">.</span></span></b></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
<span style="color: cyan;"> Everything which enters the soul from the outside, and which is shaped
by the intellectual and desirous aspects , falls to the heart;
everything which the soul observes on the outside also passes through
the heart, That is why its called the center of life... It constantly
and persistently senses the condition of the soul and body, and along
with this the various impressions from the individual actions of the
soul and body... compelling and forcing man to furnish everything which
is pleasant to its.</span></span></i><span style="color: cyan;"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But
it is most commonly tormented by the passions and it does not operate
in peace. It then leads us to emotions and attachments that may not
lead us to unity with God.</span></span>
<span style="color: cyan;"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We
can now begin to understand the nature of our spiritual life which is
for our soul to regain its proper place so we can center our life on the
will of God instead of the passions of our body. Of course it still
needs to care for the body but as a secondary effort. The soul longs to
be reunited with God, a unity broken by Adam and Eve, and a brokenness
that Christ showed us how to heal, establishing His Church to help us in
this effort.</span></span>
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Source: </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Spiritual Life,</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> pp 48 - 60</span></span></span></span></span></div>
Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-59595728031895949042017-06-28T09:18:00.001-04:002017-06-28T09:21:58.307-04:00Πώς είναι ο Θεός; <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ένας νέος πήγε σ ‘ έναν σοφό γέροντα και τον παρακάλεσε θερμά:<br />
-Με απασχολεί το ερώτημα: Υπάρχει Θεός; Ειπέ μου, σε παρακαλώ! Εσύ το πιστεύεις ότι υπάρχει Θεός;<br />
-Και βέβαια το πιστεύω, του απάντησε ο γέροντας.<br />
-Και ότι ο Θεός δημιούργησε τον κόσμο, το πιστεύεις κι αυτό;<br />
-Και βέβαια, το πιστεύω.</span><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="more"></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />
-Και τον Θεό ποιος τον έφτιαξε;<br />
-Εσύ, του απάντησε σοβαρά και ξερά ο γέροντας.<br />
Ο νεαρός σοκαρίστηκε με την απάντηση του γέροντα.<br />
Τον ρώτησε και πάλι λοιπόν:<br />
-Γέροντα, εγώ σε ρωτάω σοβαρά, του είπε. Κι εσύ μου λες πως εγώ έφτιαξα το Θεό.<br /> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">-Μα κι εγώ σοβαρά σου μιλάω, του απάντησε ο γέροντας. Πολύ σοβαρά. Και
πρόσεξε γιατί. Εσύ μ’ όλ’ αυτά που με ρωτάς, δείχνεις πως δεν ψάχνεις να
βρεις το Θεό όπως είναι. Εσύ ψάχνεις να βρεις έναν Θεό όπως τον θέλεις
εσύ, όπως τον φαντάζεσαι εσύ, κομμένον στα μέτρα σου. Αυτόν τον Θεό
λοιπόν θα τον έχεις φτιάξει εσύ. Δεν θα είναι ο αληθινός Θεός. Και
πρόσθεσε ο άγιος αυτός γέροντας:<br /> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">-Ψάξε να βρεις τον αληθινό Θεό, παιδί μου. Να Τον δεχτείς όπως είναι.
Μην Τον θέλεις όπως εσύ τον φαντάζεσαι. Προσπάθησε να γίνεις εσύ όπως σε
θέλει ο Θεός. Προσπάθησε να Τον καταλάβεις όπως είναι. Και ν’ αγαπήσεις
το θέλημά Του, όπως είναι.</span></span></div>
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Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-59637090561815249812017-05-03T20:49:00.000-04:002017-05-03T20:49:35.116-04:00Saint Nektarios On The Inviolability of Free Will <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulsIE0Ml0yFigwEq_8qrV2zZhbwKBgrt_JJ-ZjR0GbRfapXSBYnMqUmIushuKu2WpgW1Cdrs5-8VS2FSIDLEox9l9d51uy0mSFTQ_brHBS0zzJ6tyXonau6F6_RO8uPUe5XnaGkCg7Rd2/s1600/ag-nektarios-agiografeio-monis-vatopaidiou1+edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulsIE0Ml0yFigwEq_8qrV2zZhbwKBgrt_JJ-ZjR0GbRfapXSBYnMqUmIushuKu2WpgW1Cdrs5-8VS2FSIDLEox9l9d51uy0mSFTQ_brHBS0zzJ6tyXonau6F6_RO8uPUe5XnaGkCg7Rd2/s1600/ag-nektarios-agiografeio-monis-vatopaidiou1+edited.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><b><span style="color: orange;"> Βy Saint Nektarios of Pentapolis</span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"></span></span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"> “If anyone would come after me, let them deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me” (Matth. 16, 24).</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"></span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><br /> “Human free will is sacrosanct”. This saying demonstrates the profundity of our moral freedom. The Saviour invites people to follow Him and then leaves us free to decide this most important question for ourselves: to follow Him or turn against the way of God. He came for our salvation but does not encroach on our free will. He invites us to take an active part in our salvation, but does not violate our free will in the slightest. If people were not free and self-determining beings, we would never have deserved such great respect, we’d never have been accorded such great honour, that is to work with Christ the Saviour for our own salvation; nor, of course, would it have been left to our personal inclination, but rather we’d have been led to salvation as passive and inert creatures and would have simply accepted the effect of divine grace, which would have worked exclusively for our redemption. Truly, this is how respected and inviolate God desires our moral freedom to be; how imperious He wants our free will to be.<br /><br />A study of the history of the redemption of humankind reveals the Son of God, Who became a person in order to save all of us, treading the path to His voluntary passion, bearing the sin of the world, healing our wounds, fulfilling the great mystery of divine dispensation, reconciling us with God and yet in no way infringing our free will. There you are! The gate of Paradise, which had been shut, was opened; the fiery sword which guarded the entrance was removed and the voice of the Lord invited excluded humanity to enter thereby into a place of peace and quiet. But we were left free to enter or not, as we choose.<br /><br />This freedom, that is to act by choice and to follow His laws, not influenced even by God Himself, demonstrates the absolute nature of our free will, which derives from our moral freedom, our great value, and the high position we occupy in the creation. What great honour is rendered to us by the fact that our free will is inviolate. At the same time, with what clarity are we taught our responsibilities: that we should respect our free will; have fervent zeal; and not allow, under any circumstances, our free will to be enslaved and our moral freedom to become dependent on humiliating passions and desires.<br /><br /> Our moral freedom obliges us to make provision for our salvation, because otherwise we’ll be lost. The formal recognition of our moral freedom by the Saviour Himself teaches us that our salvation is not going to be achieved solely by the absolute action of God’s grace, but also by our own consent and simultaneous action. Concerning this necessity, let’s see what the wise Fathers of the Church have to say. Chrysostom says: Even though grace is grace, it saves only those who desire to be” (Discourse 18 on Romans). Gregory the Theologian stresses that: “Our consent is necessary; but we’ll be saved by God” (Discourse 31). Clement the Alexandrian adds: “God inspires the souls that desire; but if their readiness abandons them, then the very grace which has been given them by God will be denied them”. And Justin concludes: “God did, indeed, make people without their consent, but is unable to save them against their will”. So we are expressly and clearly taught that there are two factors in our salvation: a) the free desire of the human will and b) the grace of God.<br /><br /> The prime agent in the work of our salvation is indeed the grace of God, because Christ the Saviour came as Light to those who were in the dark and shed the light of His Grace on those “dwelling in darkness and the shadow of death”. He sought the lost sheep, called back those who had strayed, spoke secretly to people’s hearts and showed us the way to salvation. It’s the grace of God which perfects and saves, yet our own will should not be accounted of any less importance. We should regard it as the outstanding gem in the crown of our salvation, since it’s the main lever that shifts our outlook that has been rendered inert by sin.<br /><br />This is what urges our footsteps to follow the Saviour, this is what strengthens our hearts to show self-denial, this is what bears the cross on the shoulder. Because, although grace invites us, dispels the gloom and illumines the dark places, it’s possible nevertheless, due to the carelessness and slothfulness, the contamination and spiritual idleness of the carnal view of life, for our free will to feign deafness, to close its eyes, to remain in darkness and to proceed in exactly the opposite direction: the one to perdition. In other words, our free will can act in total contradiction to what it actually wants. So it’s necessary for us truly to want our salvation, to seek it.<br /><br />We have to want to hear, in order to hearken to the voice of Him Who is calling us. We need to want to see in order to open our eyes to the brilliant, abundant light. We have to want to move, to follow the Saviour, to refuse to be the people we once were, with our passions and desires, in order to take the cross upon our shoulders. We must follow the “strait and circumscribed road” so that we may pass through the narrow gate of Paradise<br /><br />Our own will has to come first, because this is required by the terms with which the Saviour calls those who are of a mind to follow Him. Without this disposition, it would be impossible to fulfill the terms offered, and thus salvation itself would be beyond us. On the one hand, grace is granted, but our will and concurrence are necessary if we are to receive it. Even more so, what is required is self-denial, self-sacrifice, a stable outlook which will not allow for any deviation from the path of constantly following the voice of the Saviour, Who calls and is the voice of grace and of truth. If the grace of God which comes to us saved people by itself, the call would be entirely superfluous, as would be the terms and conditions. But though the grace of God is infinite, it doesn’t save by itself, because it doesn’t want to violate our free will. <br /><br />Were it not that our consent is a vital factor in our salvation, God, in His infinite love for humankind, would, of course, save everyone, but without their consent. And yet, with very precise terms, He did indeed call us who are enslaved to our sentiments and who tend towards sin. He offered salvation, but demanded that we conform, because this was required by a great and important provision: the stipulation that we be reborn and renewed in Jesus Christ our Saviour. Because in our former state, we could not enter the Kingdom of God, since we’d been corrupted by sin. So we had to cast off this person, with its desires and passions and put on a new person, who had been reborn, in the awareness that they were made by God in His “image”.<br /><br />But in order to cast off the old person, we first have to want to do so. So our cooperation in the task of our perfection is exceptionally important. Our Saviour has told us that in His Father’s house, “there are many rooms”. The people who dwell therein are those who have lived their lives on earth in an appropriate manner. Our life-style here, therefore, defines our position in Paradise. Saint Gregory Nazianzinos has this to say on the matter: “Just as there are various, separate ways of living, so there are “many rooms with God”, which are allocated depending on each person’s worth. One of us might have one virtue, another have them all. Given this, let each of us, from now on, cease from wandering off wherever the mood takes us and instead follow Him Who guides us well and directs us along the narrow path, in order to bring us to the broad highway of blessedness”.<br /><br /> So we have to work for our salvation, otherwise we run the ultimate risk of perdition, since there’s nothing in common between light and darkness, any more than there is between good and evil. Sin, which has corrupted us, is darkness and the great evil, because it conflicts with the will of God. Since we have the privilege of moral freedom, any misconduct on our part is counted as a sin that sets us apart from God. The greater the good of moral freedom, the greater also are the responsibilities this entails. People who are morally free should become holy. This is why, in the Old and New Testaments God gives commands saying: “Become holy as I am holy” (Levit. 20, 7, 26 and I Peter, 1, 16).<br /><br />Because how can people who are loathsome, people who are worthy of aversion have any sort of communion with God? And the Saviour also gives us a similar commandment when He says: “You, too, should be perfect, as our Father in heaven is perfect” (Matth. 5, 28), because His children should be like the Father Who has called them. God, then, wants us to be holy and perfect, because only those who are holy and perfect are really the children of our Father in heaven and they alone have the right to invoke His gifts, taking courage precisely from the love of a child for its Father.<br /><br />They alone will inherit the kingdom of heaven. Saint Paint wrote about all of this in his epistle to the Corinthians: “Don’t you know that the unrighteous won’t inherit the kingdom of God? Don’t be deceived: no fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminates, sodomites, thieves, drunkards, nor those given to cursing, avarice and peculation will inherit the kingdom of God” (I Cor. 6, 10). This is why the Saviour calls upon us to deny ourselves, to take up the cross on our shoulders and follow Him. “If anyone would come after me, let them deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me” (Matth. 16, 24). He recognizes our moral freedom and our free will, and leaves our salvation in their care. So that people who seek their salvation will have to work to acquire it, otherwise they’ll be deprived of it. Otherwise, through their carelessness and lack of concern, they’ll be preparing themselves for the loss of eternal life and will inherit eternal hell, from which I pray that God will spare us all. Amen.<br /><br /><b><span style="color: orange;">Saint Nektarios of Pentapolis, Περί επιμελείας ψυχής, Athos editions, pp. 25-32</span></b></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange;">Source-Pemptousia.con</span></span></b></div>
Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-89706338154432732722017-02-23T09:37:00.000-05:002017-02-23T09:37:36.265-05:00π Ανδρέας Κονάνος-Αρχή Σαρακοστής <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Εκπομπή Αθέατα Περάσματα του π.Ανδρέα Κονάνου</span></b></span></div>
Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-45765835058354934882017-01-02T10:52:00.000-05:002017-01-02T10:52:26.110-05:00Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk - "REMEMBER YOUR BAPTISMAL VOWS"!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Holy Baptism is like a door by which those that are baptized enter into the holy Church
and become <i>fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God</i> (Eph.
2:19). And not just so, but before Baptism there are renunciations and vows: </b></span></span></div>
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</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">1. We then renounced Satan and all his evil works. Satan is a wicked and evil spirit.
He was created good by God, but he and those of like mind with him apostasized from Him,
and so from light they became dark, and from good they became evil and wicked. His works
are idolatry, pride, adultery, prodigality, all uncleanliness, slander, blasphemy and
every sin; for he is the inventor of sin, and he beguiled our ancestors in paradise and
led them into sin and apostasy from God. We renounce this wicked spirit and all his evil
works before Baptism. </span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></b></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">2. We renounce every vanity, pride and pomp of this world, as ones called to and
renewed for everlasting life. </span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></b></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">3. We promise to serve Christ the Son of God in faith and in truth together with the
Father and the Holy Spirit, and to follow in His footsteps. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">4. Thus we establish a covenant between God and us. We, who have renounced Satan,
promise to serve God and be faithful to him. God accepts us in His supreme mercy and
promises us an inheritance in everlasting life and the Kingdom, and washes us who are
defiled by sin in the laver of Baptism. He sanctifies and justifies us, as the priest says
over everyone who is baptized, <i>Thou art washed, thou art sanctified, thou art
justified</i> (cf. I Cor. 6:11). </span></b></span></div>
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</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Beloved Christians, let us remember these renunciations and vows, and consider whether
we keep them, for it is a grave thing to lie to God, and it is very dangerous to be found
false before Him. Let us consider, then, whether any of us have not gone back to Satan,
whether we have not renounced Christ and abandoned Him? Let us consider on whose side we
find ourselves, on Satan's or on Christ's. One serves and belongs to him whose will he
performs. He renounces Christ not only he who renounces His holy name and does not confess
Him to be the Son of God and his Saviour, but also he who sins against conscience and
recklessly breaks His holy commandments. This is the teaching of the Apostles. For the
Apostle says, <i>They profess that they know God; but in works they deny Him,</i> and
the rest (Tit. 1:16). </span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></b></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Do you see that people reject God in works too, and not just with their lips? Is anyone
a prodigal, and does he commit adultery? He rejects Christ. Does anyone hate his neighbor
and seek him out to harm him? He has apostasized from Christ. Does anyone steal; does he
rob and take away his neighbor's goods? He has departed from Christ. Does anyone deceive
and flatter his neighbor? He is no longer with Christ, but in all these things he submits
to the enemy of salvation, and so he does not stand in the promises which he made to God,
and so he has lied to God. Let us examine then, beloved, our conscience and our life. To
which side do we belong, to Christ's or to His enemy's? To the good, or to the evil? To
the lot of the saved or to that of the lost? He that is not with Christ is the enemy of
Christ. For Christ Himself said,<i> He that is not with Me is against Me</i> (Matt.
12:30). </span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></b></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Beloved, let us watch ourselves and let us be with Christ here in this world, as we
have vowed at Baptism: let us be with Christ here that we may be with Christ in the age to
come, according to His promise that cannot lie, <i>Where I am, there shall also My
servant be</i> (John 12:26). Let us serve Him here as our King and God, that on the Day
of Judgment He will acknowledge us as His laborers and number us with His faithful
servants and open unto us the doors of everlasting joy. Remember the vows made at Baptism.
</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">So that you may act on the aforementioned points, you must remember the vows you made
at holy Baptism. For though not you yourself but your sponsor made those vows before God
on your behalf, you promised then, spitting on Satan, and on his pride, and on his
service, and on his evil works-you promised, I say-and vowed to serve Jesus Christ your
Lord and Redeemer in faith and in truth, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. </span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></b></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Consider, Christian, what vows you made and to Whom. It is a grievous thing to lie to a
man; how incomparably more grievous it is to lie to God. <i>God is not mocked</i> (Gal.
6:7). When a Christian does not stand on his promises and does not keep them, what mercy,
then, should he expect from God, to Whom he lied? He that keeps his promises shall find
himself in God's mercy and in His Kingdom. He remains faithful to God, and God will hold
him in mercy and in His protection as His own. And this is what the prophet sings to God,<i>
With the holy man wilt Thou be holy, and with the innocent man wilt Thou be innocent. And
with the elect man wilt Thou be elect, and with the perverse wilt Thou be perverse</i>
(Ps. 17:26-27). </span></b></span></div>
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</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Christians! All they that commit iniquity and act against their conscience do not keep
their vows. These include fornicators, adulterers, and all defilers, robbers, thieves,
brigands, the sly, and crafty, deceivers and the guileful, revilers and men of evil
speech, drunkards, fault finders, the hateful, and the malicious; they that live in the
pride and pomp of this world, and all that do not fear God. They have all lied to God and
have not kept their vows, and are outside of the holy Church, though they may even go to
churches and pray and receive the Mysteries and build churches and adorn them and display
other signs of a Christian. Since they shall be powerfully put to the test at the Judgment
of Christ and tormented more there than Turks and idolaters, avoid these deeds, Christian
and do not imitate the aforementioned doers of iniquity, lest you be condemned with them
to eternal fire by the just judgment of God, <i>where their worm dieth not, and the fire
is not quenched</i> (Mark 9:44, 46, 48), but by all means endeavor so to live and act as
the word of God teaches, as was said above. Keep in mind those vows of yours, and this
will guide you toward the Christian life and restrain you from every evil and do you good.
If you notice that you do not keep those vows, then repent and begin the Christian life
anew, lest you appear before God in a lie, and perish with liars. </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="color: orange;"><i>The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable,<br />
and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers,<br />
and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their<br />
part in the lake which burneth with fire<br />
and brimstone: which is the second death</i> (Apoc. 21:8).</span> </span></b></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</div>
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</span></b></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">(A chapter from The Journey to Heaven, translated by Fr. George Lardas) </span></b></span></div>
Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-90111240082211555402016-12-19T10:06:00.000-05:002016-12-19T10:06:20.453-05:00Θα έλθεις στη γιορτή μου;<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEmME8lIefr2GkaTdDNeYoUm7QXCqv-mBA4DO7Oxf_sSlj6am5iKHzdyTYxpo_KCGKZzMNlttu0RlsdmHBxWd7EeLGKFGFUqCc8kKj9gw-FgQ0X0Vj0j9ajbmokQRxj0qfw5mFJ57YFYEE/s1600/205934_461558637237744_386849615_n+edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEmME8lIefr2GkaTdDNeYoUm7QXCqv-mBA4DO7Oxf_sSlj6am5iKHzdyTYxpo_KCGKZzMNlttu0RlsdmHBxWd7EeLGKFGFUqCc8kKj9gw-FgQ0X0Vj0j9ajbmokQRxj0qfw5mFJ57YFYEE/s1600/205934_461558637237744_386849615_n+edited.jpg" width="444" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Όπως θα ξέρεις, φτάσαμε ξανά στην ημερομηνία των γενεθλίων μου. Κάθε χρόνο γίνεται γιορτή προς τιμήν μου, έτσι κι εφέτος. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Αυτές
τις μέρες ο κόσμος κάνει πολλά ψώνια, γίνονται διαφημίσεις στο ράδιο,
την τηλεόραση, το Διαδίκτυο και παντού κανείς δεν μιλά για κάτι άλλο
εκτός από το τι λείπει μέχρι να έρθει εκείνη η μέρα... </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Είναι ευχάριστο να ξέρω ότι τουλάχιστον μία μέρα τον χρόνο κάποιοι με σκέφτονται! </span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Όπως
θα γνωρίζεις πριν από πολλά χρόνια ξεκίνησαν να γιορτάζουν τα γενέθλιά
μου. Στην αρχή φαίνονταν να καταλαβαίνουν και με ευχαριστούσαν γι’ αυτό
που έκανα για εκείνους. Όμως σήμερα κανείς δεν γνωρίζει πια τι ακριβώς
γιορτάζουν. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Οι άνθρωποι συναντώνται και περνούν πολύ καλά, όμως κανείς δεν ξέρει περί τίνος πρόκειται.... </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Θυμάμαι
πέρυσι, την ημέρα των γενεθλίων που έκαναν μια μεγάλη γιορτή προς τιμή
μου. Στο τραπέζι υπήρχαν τα πάντα, όλα ήταν διακοσμημένα όμορφα και
υπήρχαν πολλά δώρα, αλλά… </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Ξέρεις κάτι;... </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Ούτε
που με κάλεσαν! Ενώ ήμουν ο επίτιμος καλεσμένος κανείς δεν θυμήθηκε να
με καλέσει. Και η γιορτή, τάχα, γινόταν για μένα... </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Και όταν έφτασε η μεγάλη μέρα... με άφησαν απ’ έξω, μου έκλεισαν την πόρτα...</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Παρ΄ όλο που εγώ ήθελα τόσο πολύ να βρεθώ στο τραπέζι μαζί τους...</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Η
αλήθεια είναι ότι δεν εξεπλάγην, γιατί τα τελευταία χρόνια όλοι μου
κλείνουν την πόρτα. Μιας και δεν με κάλεσαν λοιπόν, σκέφτηκα να
παραβρεθώ χωρίς να κάνω θόρυβο κι έτσι μπήκα και στάθηκα σε μια γωνίτσα.
</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Διασκέδαζαν όλοι, κάποιοι έλεγαν ιστορίες, γελούσαν, πέρναγαν πολύ καλά, μέχρι που έφτασε ένας.... </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Γέρος
χοντρός, ντυμένος στα κόκκινα με άσπρα γένια... Και φώναζε... χο, χο,
χο!, λες και είχε πιει λίγο παραπάνω... κάθισε βαριά βαριά σε μια
πολυθρόνα και... Όλοι έτρεξαν καταπάνω του λέγοντας... Άγιε Βασίλη! …λες
και η γιορτή ήταν γι’ αυτόν... Και ούτε που ήταν ο Άγιος Βασίλειος!</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Ήρθαν
τα μεσάνυχτα και όλοι άρχισαν να αγκαλιάζονται, άπλωσα κι εγώ τα χέρια
μου ελπίζοντας πως κάποιος θα με αγκαλιάσει... Και ξέρεις; Κανείς δεν με
αγκάλιασε! </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Ξαφνικά
άρχισαν όλοι να ανταλλάσσουν δώρα, ένας ένας τα άνοιγαν μέχρι που
τελείωσαν
όλα... </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Πλησίασα να δω μήπως παρ’ ελπίδα υπήρχε κάποιο δώρο για μένα, αλλά μάταια, δεν υπήρχε τίποτα... </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Πώς θα αισθανόσουν αν την ημέρα των γενεθλίων σου αντάλλασσαν δώρα όλοι μεταξύ τους κι εσένα δεν σου δώριζαν τίποτα; </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Τότε κατάλαβα ότι εγώ περίσσευα σ΄ εκείνη τη γιορτή, βγήκα χωρίς να κάνω θόρυβο, έκλεισα την πόρτα κι αποσύρθηκα... </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Κάθε χρόνος που περνάει είναι χειρότερα, ο κόσμος θυμάται μόνο το δείπνο, τα δώρα και τις γιορτές. Κανείς δεν θυμάται εμένα... </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Θα
ήθελα αυτά τα Χριστούγεννα να μου επιτρέψεις να έρθω στη ζωή σου, να
αναγνωρίσεις ότι πριν από δύο χιλιάδες χρόνια ήρθα σε αυτόν τον κόσμο
για να δώσω τη ζωή μου για σένα, για να φέρω τη σωτηρία στους ανθρώπους,
για να τους φανερώσω την αλήθεια, να τους κάνω πραγματικά
ευτυχισμένους.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Το μόνο που θέλω σήμερα είναι να το πιστέψεις αυτό με όλη σου την καρδιά ... </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Θα
σου πω κάτι: σκέφτηκα, μιας και πολλοί δεν με προσκαλούν στη γιορτή που
κάνουν, θα κάνω τη δική μου γιορτή και θα είναι σπουδαία, όπως κανένας
δεν την έχει φανταστεί, μια γιορτή πολύ μεγάλη. Ακόμη κάνω τις
τελευταίες προετοιμασίες, στέλνω πολλές προσκλήσεις και σήμερα υπάρχει
μία ειδικά για εσένα. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Θέλω
μόνο να μου πεις αν θέλεις να βοηθήσεις, θα σου κρατήσω μια θέση και θα
γράψω το όνομά σου, στη μεγάλη λίστα μου με τους καλεσμένους
... Ετοιμάσου γιατί όταν όλα θα είναι έτοιμα, μια μέρα που δεν θα το
περιμένει κανείς, θα κάνω μια μεγάλη γιορτή...</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><b><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Στους καιρούς της κρίσης...</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">ετέχθη ημιν σήμερον Σωτήρ.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Η Πίστη, η Ελπίδα κι η Αγάπη</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">ας φωλιάσουν στις ψυχές μας.</span></span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";"><b><span style="color: orange;">Ευλογημένα Χριστούγενα</span></b>.</span></span></span></div>
Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-3649727860836446362016-11-03T11:30:00.000-04:002016-11-03T11:30:40.070-04:00Education in God,By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrcs6Cd9E1VgvsjJxbBBMIhb2m_Y_xJ0Uxc1X10ovhSdwSvSocn7rsE6tI9P3T43vlyioXV7tp5oAsPQ7EiDKm12FgYecrEEcKZAqr0y2UIERV007V4qIX-jhcyVrNcwisr4bEmqaVMT2S/s1600/Met+Heirotheos+blaxos+edited.jpg" width="532" /></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="color: orange;"><i>Lecture to Athens University students in the Hall of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece on the 2nd Sunday of the Lent 1989 (9th of April 1989).</i></span><br /><br />Education is a widely discussed issue in our days. The problem is that we have very much distorted views on this important subject. We hear various things that are at least unorthodox. By this we do not mean humanists, that is, those who have a humanist education based mostly on the intellect and rationality, but rather we mean those Christians who identify man-centered education with Christian education. The identification and equality of these two wisdoms, these two types of knowledge is a heretical position and has been denounced by all holy Fathers.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><br />The subject is very serious. In this speech we intend to elaborate on the great subject of education in God. Before proceeding to a precise analysis of education in God, I think it is worthwhile to see the differences between the two educations, in accordance to the teaching of a great Father of the Church, St. Gregory Palamas. St. Gregory lived in the 14th century when there was a strong humanist trend out of which humanist renaissance was born. The 14th century has many common features with our own era, so the reference to the debate between St. Gregory and Barlaam is very constructive.<br /><br /><b><span style="color: orange;">1. The two types of education</span></b></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><br />Barlaam, being a bearer of a humanistic spirit, taught that there exists one and single truth. In other words, truth is single and was given by God to mankind by the prophets and the philosophers. Naturally, St. Gregory refutes this position. After presenting his whole teaching which is inspired by the Holy Spirit, which we will quote below, he ends with a question: “How is the truth one?” More specifically, Barlaam argued that what happens in philosophy is similar to what happens in health. There is no difference between the health offered by God and the health offered by medical care, and the same holds true of wisdom. “God gave it to the prophets and the apostles, and He gave it to us through the words of the divine workers (“theourgoi”) and the lessons of philosophy, by which we seek and find wisdom” . Barlaam’s teaching is revealed clearly in the question posed by Akindynos to St. Gregory Palamas. As is well known, Akindynos expresses Barlaam’s view. He (Akindynos) says that he has heard some people saying that monks, too, should seek worldly wisdom, because one cannot be delivered from ignorance and false beliefs, nor attain perfect dispassion, nor achieve sanctity “unless he collects knowledge from everywhere, especially from Greek education”. In other words, Barlaam argued that ancient Greek philosophy is God’s gift given to philosophers by revelation, similar to the way it was given to the Apostles and the Prophets, and, therefore, this education provides the knowledge of beings as well as the knowledge of God . So Barlaam and many others like him argued about the singleness of truth and this was done to the detriment of Revelation and in favor of philosophy. It was truly a great danger for the Orthodox Church.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><br />St. Gregory Palamas detected the risk of the secularization of the Orthodox theology and this is why he addressed this falsehood. I do not intend to include all arguments and the whole teaching by St. Gregory. I will mention only the central points which will illustrate his differentiation from Barlaam the philosopher.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><br />First of all, in his writings the saint had to make a distinction between the two wisdoms and the two types of knowledge. There can be no confusion between these two wisdoms. A strong support for this teaching, apart from his own personal experience, is derived from the experience and teaching of St. Paul. Our saint uses the words of the Apostle repeatedly: “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe” (1 Cor. 1, 21). He also uses another quote by the Apostle: “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2, 4-8). He also refers to the passage by St. James the Lord’s Brother who says on divine wisdom: “Such wisdom does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic” (James 3, 15). He also mentions other passages from the Bible to show the difference between the two wisdoms and types of knowledge, but I am not going to cite them all. I think that what has been mentioned is sufficient to show that the teaching about the distinction of the two types of knowledge, the mental and the spiritual, is the Church’s teaching and an experience of all saints.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><br />Analysing the apostolic passage from the epistle to the Corinthians we mentioned above , St. Gregory states that there is abyssal difference between the wisdom of the philosophers and the wisdom of the Prophets and Apostles. He writes characteristically: “the mind of the worldly philosophers is God-given, having by nature intellectual wisdom, but has been diverted by the evil one’s suggestions to foolish and wicked and senseless [wisdom], and transformed wisdom to dominating such ideas” . Like sensual pleasure for child-bearing in lawful marriages cannot be called God’s gift, but rather of the flesh and of nature, even if nature was created by God, we can say the same about worldly knowledge. Even if man uses it well, it is “a natural not a spiritual gift” . If we add that there is a worldly education which is against God, then we can say that this wisdom is mental and demonic. This is why St. Gregory asks: “What is the relationship between a God-inspired teaching and vanity? And what does divine wisdom care about the truths of the stars?” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><br />But very often humanistic wisdom is not simply different from divine wisdom. It is also opposite to it. Human wisdom “is contrary to the true and spiritual knowledge” . In fact, St. Gregory argues that all human heresies have sprung out of human wisdom, whose center is rationality and human thinking. “And if you examine, you will see that all or most of the heresies have their origin here” .</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"> The saint’s observation is remarkable. If we examine church history carefully we will find out that all heretics originated from human thinking and a man-centered view of life. They always tried to explore and analyse the Church’s truth through their reason. On the contrary, the holy Fathers were based on the method of orthodox piety, which is the purification of the heart and the illumination of the nous. After these two stages of spiritual life, they attained the knowledge of God and theologized inspired by God and unerringly within the Church.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><br />But St. Gregory Palamas does not limit himself to this general point. He goes deeper. He stresses that there is a huge difference between the Prophets-Apostles and the philosophers. If it is true that human wisdom and knowledge brings sanctity to man and guides him to the knowledge of God, then those who have this education would be “more God-like” and “more God-seers” than the Fathers and the Prophets during the times of the Law of Moses. He brings the example of John the Forerunner, who reached a very high level of grace, without ever studying human wisdom. As is well known, St. John the Forerunner lived in the desert since his early childhood. St. Gregory asks: “where in the desert are the schools of this futile philosophy, which they call redeeming?” . He stresses the difference between the principle of the philosophers “know yourself” and the teaching of the saints “watch yourself”. If one looks carefully at the philosophers’ command “know yourself”, he will realize that it contains a lot of false belief. It is closely related to the teaching of reincarnation. The philosophers teach that one can obtain perfect knowledge if he examines thoroughly himself and find out where he lived in the past, in what body he was attached, what he did and how he was called. Naturally, by doing this search to himself, in reality he becomes the devil’s obedient instrument who whispers various interpretations to him . For this reason, according to St. Gregory Palamas, there is no relationship and no similarity whatsoever between the saints and the philosophers, nor, of course, between the teaching of the Apostles-Prophets and the teaching of the philosophers. If it seems that there is agreement in certain words and terms, it is an agreement only on external words, while in the depth there is a difference. He writes: “If a Father happens to say the same things as those in the world, the similarity is only in the words; in the meanings there is a lot of distance; because the first have, according to Paul, the mind of Christ, while the second speak out of human intellect, if not something worse” . The holy Fathers have the mind of Christ, while the philosophers and the worldly wise men speak out of their own thinking and sometimes are instruments of the devil.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><br />This position is not an exclusive teaching of St. Gregory Palamas. It is the teaching of the Church, which is expressed by her genuine children, namely the holy Fathers. The saint cites passages from the teaching of St. Basil the Great who, speaking on hesychasm as a basic requirement for the acquisition of the knowledge of God, writes: “this is the good and beneficial school for someone devoted to learning; while the school of the Athenians is wicked, for they do nothing but saying and hearing what is new, even though now there are some who imitate the way of life, being a friend of evil spirits” . St. Basil the Great calls the school of the Athenians wicked and pre-occupation with it is a friend of wicked spirits. He also presents part of St. Basil’s letter to Eustathios, where it is clearly shown that St. Basil regretted for his occupation with human education: “I have wasted a lot of time in useless things and ruined almost all my youth in futility, by spending time in attending lessons of a wisdom made fool by God, and then, like waking up from a deep sleep, I realized the uselessness of the wisdom of the rulers of an age which will be abolished, and I cried a lot for my wretched life, wishing to find some guidance” . In addition to St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory Palamas cites a passage by St. Gregory of Nyssa on philosophy. According to this passage, philosophy is “barren and fruitless, giving product to no one, nor leading to the light of the knowledge of God”, while the wisdom of the Spirit is “most fertile and gives birth to many children”, has given rebirth to thousands of people right away and led them from dreadful darkness to the marvelous light of God . <br />St. Gregory Palamas defines also the true philosopher. A true philosopher is “he who seeks and does the will of God”, “he who has active word and wise act” . This passage reminds us the truth that when Patristic texts mention that a Christian is a true philosopher they do not mean one who possesses worldly wisdom and education, who has an advanced intellect, but rather one who has the Grace of God in him. I point this out because, based on such patristic passages, there are some who claim that the Fathers of the Church were philosophers and cultivated philosophy. But as we have seen before, there is a great difference between theologians and philosophers.<br />There is also a great difference between worldly education and education in God. St. Gregory teaches that education in God starts with the fear of God, which then brings continuous prayer to God in compunction and the keeping of the gospel commandments. When through these ways man experiences reconciliation with God, fear is transformed to love and the pain of prayer is converted to joy, and then the flower of illumination blossoms, and by illumination man is offered the knowledge of the mysteries of God. This is true education. On the other hand, an education which starts not from fear of God, as is done with worldly education and wisdom, does not lead to the knowledge of God . Therefore, education in God is offered to a man whose soul is imbued with the fear of God, compunction, unceasing prayer. He who follows and studies this wisdom reaches the knowledge of the mysteries of God, that is, salvation.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><br />Since I would not like to remain on a theoretical level, in what follows I will analyze in more detail the progression of the education in God. It will be shown that education in God is something specific. Only those who follow this course can become true theologians and, therefore, move from the image to the likeness, that is, to deification. It will be shown that human education is intellectual, rational, while education in God is of the heart. Therefore, there exists an abyssal difference between the two.<br /><br /><b><span style="color: orange;">2. Education in God</span></b><br /><br />Education in God consists of the coming and hiding of the Grace, of all the knowledge about God and the eternal life offered to man who receives these comings and hidings of uncreated Grace. This education in God is a mystery, because everything acted within the Church is a mystery. We are based very much on the teaching of holy Fathers, who are “initiated by experience” and have received God’s revelation about these realities.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><br />There are several passages about education in God in the Old and the New Testament. We do not intend to cite them extensively. We may refer only to St. Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews. By way of introduction we may state that Christians who originated from the Jews, to whom St. Paul addresses his epistle, received Christ’s Grace and right after that were persecuted by their compatriots. They were a little shaken, so the Apostle writes this epistle stressing some truths including that persecution and, generally, temptation is inextricably linked to the children of God. The whole Chapter 12 of the Epistle to the Hebrews is devoted to this mystery of education.<br />But this temptation was not only external. It was internal, too. The first Christians faced the problem of the lifting of God’s Grace from their heart and could not comprehend this abandonment by God. They were completely unable to interpret this phenomenon of spiritual life, that is, the participation in the Cross of Christ. St. Paul aims at this objective. We may say, according to the testimony of our saints, that the Apostle mostly refers to this kind of education. Because God works in a way incomprehensible to human reason.<br />In the works of the holy Fathers, spiritual life is presented as having several stages. They mostly distinguish three, the purification of the heart, the illumination of the nous and deification. St. Maximos calls them “practical philosophy”, “natural theoria” and “mystical theology”. This distinction originates with Aristotle and continues to the holy Fathers with a different content, though. Professor Panagiotis Christou elaborating on the “method of religious experience” describes the distinction of the three phases in religious life . Aristotle divides the phases of religious life in ethical, natural and theological. “Origen in his beloved metaphorical method says that a Christian acquires Christ through the practical one as a host, through the natural one as a King, and through theology as God” . The steps of spiritual life are three, according to Christ’s saying “I am the way (ethical) and the truth (natural) and the life (theology)” (John 14, 6). Evagrius defines Christianity as “doctrine of our Savior Jesus Christ constituted of practical and natural and theological”. The same distinction is observed in St. Diadochos of Fotiki, in St. Symeon the New Theologian (who divided his chapters in practical, gnostic, theological) and even in St. Gregory Palamas who used the same distinction in his chapters (ethical, natural, theological).<br />However, when studying the works of the holy Fathers, especially the so-called neptic ones, we encounter another gradation of spiritual life. This gradation is deeper without abolishing the former stages of spiritual life. Because, according to the experience of many holy Fathers, the transition from one stage to another is achieved by the working of the Grace of God and the pain from the deprivation of Grace until its new coming. So, according to this, we can distinguish three stages in spiritual life: the coming of Grace, the hiding of Grace from man, and its new coming to man’s heart. The God-bearing Fathers express this deep experience in their works, and, in what follows, we will try to present it to the extent possible.<br />St. Makarios the Egyptian refers to this fact in his spiritual sermons. He writes: “He who hears a word reaches compunction and, after this, grace is lowered by divine providence to man’s benefit, and he enters war exercises and education, and struggles and competes against Satan, and after a long road and struggle he is awarded victory and becomes a Christian” .<br />This is a remarkable observation. It manifests what was said before, namely that education is the fight during the lifting of Grace, and also shows clearly that the stages of spiritual life are identified with the coming, the lowering, and the new coming of the Grace of God. Indeed, he remarks characteristically that a person becomes a Christian not with the compunction caused by the coming of Grace, but rather with the struggle that will follow. Then he acquires the experience and knowledge of God, as will be expressed below.<br />St. Siluan the Athonite expresses the same experience: “The Elder had an empirical knowledge of spiritual progression. He showed three essential stages of it: first, the receiving of grace; second, its lifting and, third, its reacquisition by a struggle of humility. There have been many who received the grace, not only within the Church but outside it too -- because there is no favoritism in Lord – but there is no one who has kept the first grace and only a few have re-acquired it. Someone who ignores the period of the second coming, someone who has not passed through the struggle for its return, essentially has an incomplete spiritual experience.<br />Elder Siluan was rich through his personal experience and also well trained theoretically in the ascetic writings of the Fathers of the Church; by God’s gift he was not only faithful to the tradition of the Church but also the experience of the great Fathers was repeated in him” .<br />Let us see in more detail these three stages of spiritual life.<br /><br /><b><span style="color: orange;">a) The first coming of Grace</span></b><br /><br />In the texts of the Old and the New Testament we see clearly that God manifests Himself to the Prophets in various ways. “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Hebrews 1,1).<br />God contracts with each person a personal covenant. He does not want us to have knowledge about Him through the testimonies of others, He Himself appears and gives His knowledge, and man acquires his own personal testimony about God. This first personal contact with God occurs at a time unanticipated by man or even after a painful search. It might also happen to a man fighting against Him. This is the case of St. Paul who sees God, Christ Himself appears and contracts a personal covenant with him, at the time he was going to fight against Him. This personal coming of the Grace is a holy state. Man’s soul gets to know God as a person, albeit dimly. He understands with his heart, his nous as the Fathers say, that God is not an abstract state nor an impersonal power or a great value, but a Person.<br />This first coming of God’s Grace, which is tasted differently by each one, is a life full of inner experiences of the heart and of mystical spree. St. Diadochos of Fotiki writes: “In the beginning Grace is accustomed to illuminate the mind in much [spiritual] perception in Grace’s own light” .<br />At another point he writes: “In the beginning of our progress, if indeed we warmly and ardently desire the virtue of God, the Holy Spirit makes the nous taste in every [spiritual] perception and inner spiritual assurance the sweetness of God, so that the nous be able to know in exact knowledge the perfect reward of the God-loving ascetical practices” .<br />With this first period of the coming of God we receive one chapter of a new life, one chapter of Grace. God attracts us to Him, so that after a lot of struggle and sacrifices we become acquainted with Him. We will refer to this pain, this struggle below. Here we must note that this new period of God’s calling is a period of sweetness, spiritual joy, of inner experiences of the heart.<br />A lot of people live this paschal atmosphere. It suffices to mention a written testimony about the state in which St. Siluan lived after Christ’s appearance to him. “At the moment of God’s Epiphany his whole existence was informed that his sins had been absolved. The flames of Hades that roared around him disappeared, the hell he experienced for half a year stopped. He was now granted to live the special joy and great rest of appeasement with God. In his soul a new sweet feeling of love for God and people, each one person, dominated. The prayer of repentance ceased, that unbearable fiery search for absolution which did not allow sleep to come to his eyelids went away. Did this mean that he could now quietly give over to sleeping? Of course not.<br />The first period after Epiphany, Symeon’ soul, who got to know its resurrection and saw the light of true and eternal existence, lived in a paschal feast. Everything was beautiful: the world was magnificent, people were congenial, nature was unspeakably beautiful, the body changed and became lighter, strength was added, God’s words gave joy to the soul, all-night vigils in the church and, above all, prayers in the cell became sweet. Overflowing by joy the soul felt compassion for people and prayed for the whole world” . <br />It is impossible to describe this state in words. The experience of uncreated Grace cannot be contained in created words. Only a reborn person, a person initiated by experience, is able to perceive this reality. Everything is new during this period. He feels the presence of God as a personal experience, he views the essence of beings in all creation. Everything is clear. Birds, trees acquire a new dimension. He sees everything in the perspective of eternity, under the energy of uncreated Grace and uncreated Light. Mankind’s common problems no longer occupy him. He does not care for others’ opinion about him. He is indifferent to any hardship. His sole preoccupation is prayer and communion with God. It is a life centered on love. This love was born by the coming of Grace. “Blessed is he who has acquired such a desire for God, like a maniac lover has for his beloved one … Pierced by such an arrow, someone said about himself (and I admire it) that “I sleep”, due to the need of nature, “but my heart is alert”, due to the multitude of love” .<br />Passions are not activated. Man “suffers deification”.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><br />The first coming of Grace to man’s heart is a shocking experience. Man feels a whole life inside him. When St. Symeon was asked how one can know that he has the holy Grace in him, he said that this is most natural. He realizes that he has become a temple of the Holy Spirit and that the Grace of God camps in him the same way a pregnant woman realizes the existence of an embryo in her womb. It is not a sentimental excitement and elation, but rather a sense of life.<br />In this state man finds what the Holy Scripture and the holy Fathers call “deep heart”. The nous, returning to the heart from its previous dispersion through the senses in the surrounding world, initially locates the bodily organ of the heart and then enters the so-called spiritual heart, that is, the center of man’s existence. We can say, according to the teaching of the so-called neptic fathers, that the heart is the place which is discovered by asceticism in Grace, and where God Himself is revealed. In reality, when we speak about the person in the Church we mean this place of the heart. A person is the “inner self, the unfading … spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight” (1 Peter 3, 4). Finding this blessed place is essential, because this constitutes man’s salvation. When asked on this, Abbot Pamvo replied: “if you have heart you can be saved”. Inside the heart, which in patristic theology is identified with the nous, man is united with God, as St. Gregory the Theologian says, “God united with gods and becoming known in the heart”. Then the heart becomes a Temple where an unceasing Divine Liturgy is celebrated, and in this case man becomes a true priest of the holy Grace, “spiritual clergy”, according to St. Gregory Sinaite.<br />The union of the nous – attention -- with the heart is evident, that is, man has proofs of this union. I would like to mention three proofs at this point.<br />The first is that there is a pain in the bodily organ of the heart. A pain which seems like a wound, but causes a spiritual pleasure, tranquility and inner peace. This pain holds the nous to the prayer done in the heart. This pain brings together the whole existence of man on this point. In this state, man thinks and acts through the heart. A faith is developed which, according to St. Gregory Palamas, is a “comprehension of the heart”.<br />A second indication is that tears of compunction start flowing. The holy Fathers teach that when there is a sweetest state of compunction, this is a clear indication that the nous has been united with the heart. This compunction is associated with joyful tears. <br />A third indication is that prayer is done by itself. This unceasing prayer is not simply a movement of reason, it is something deeper. Man hears clearly the bodily heartbeat, and simultaneously under this beat at a long distance, as he feels it, another beat is heard, faster than the natural heartbeat. This is the beat of spiritual heart, a fact which means that the spiritual heart has been discovered and then man becomes a person. For the person is revealed from above, it is the coming of the Rule of God in the heart. The Jesus prayer is said unceasingly with this spiritual beat. Man does not try to pray, prayer is done by itself. It is self-activated, both during the work of daytime and even during sleep-time. That is, while he sleeps a few hours so that the body gets a rest, during that state he feels very well that the heart is sleepless and prays, in accordance with the saying of St. John of the Ladder who comments on a passage in the song of Songs “I am asleep and my heart is awake. I sleep due to the need of nature and my heart is alert due to the multitude of love”. When he wakes up he senses very well that the body has slept, but he also senses very clearly that the heart has not stopped praying.<br />I would like to describe a few more states experienced by man when he becomes a temple of the All-Holy Spirit, that is, when the holy Grace dwells in his heart.<br />A communion of love with God is established. It is not simply a psychological state or even simply a spiritual experience of the element of physical love. It is a purely spiritual experience. Then man comprehends St. Maximus’ the Confessor saying that God “is love and beloved” or that St. Ignatius the God-bearer calls Christ love (“eros”): “my love has been crucified”. I repeat this is not physical eros, because it has been preceded by the purification of the heart. In fact, when this spiritual eros operates, the passions become inoperative. Man lives in a state of impassion. He experiences God in the desert as well as in the crowds.<br />The spiritual senses are also developed, namely, noetic sense, noetic vision and noetic hearing. The whole nous is concentrated inside the heart. This way it achieves the unification of man’s entire existence. He realizes very well that he is reborn. He senses warmth in the heart, both the physical and the spiritual one. It is the same experience the Disciples had on the road to Emmaus, when they said: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road?”. This warmth rejuvenates man’s entire existence. It feeds him and gives life to him.<br />This causes a deepest peace of thoughts. In the process of purification the nous discards continuously all foreign elements which like scales covered it before. It thus becomes lighter and always finds shelter in the heart. There it hears the voice of God several times. God speaks to him and reveals his will inside the heart. There is a personal acquaintance with God and thus he acquires the spiritual knowledge of God.<br />However, this course is not a course of emotional joy. Spiritual joy is closely associated with spiritual mourning. The holy Fathers use a word to express this well. It is the word “harmolype”(joy-sadness). Despite the certainty of God’s existence, despite the feeling of God’s presence and of His love, he feels simultaneously deep repentance. This is how we realize that this joy is genuine and true. The nous, entering the heart, sees on the one hand God’s love and on the other his own impurity, because man’s sanctity cannot even be compared to God’s sanctity. Therefore, he often immerses in lamentation. This may be expressed physically, but, mostly, it is done inside the heart. He feels his heart shedding tears, weeping, and these tears cleanse the heart from sin and the passions.<br />Having this inner life, man sees the essence of beings in all nature, since in the teaching of the holy Fathers there are uncreated reasons in all nature, not simply natural laws. He sees all things differently. He feels he has acquired a new sense of life. He reads the texts of the Holy Scripture and of the holy Fathers in a different way. He acquires new eyes and a new perception. Even a brief reading transfuses blood of life to the heart.<br />At that point the passions no longer act. Man experiences his rebirth. At the same time other people around him have an irrepressible thirst for contempt. He is not saddened by this contempt, in fact he loves it and seeks it even more.<br />St. Basil the Great analyzing this severe and unbearable desire felt by those who have the Grace of God says characteristically: “blessed are those who love to see the true beauty; having attached themselves to it through love, and being in love with the heavenly and blessed love, they neglect their family and friends and their houses and all their possessions; and neglecting even their physical need for food and water they cling only to the divine and pure love”.<br /><br /><b><span style="color: orange;">b) The lifting of the Grace – A Course in the desert</span></b><br /><br />However, this state is not going to last for long. The duration of the Grace after the first coming is different for each person. It depends on various factors. On his zeal, on God’ economy, on his way of life, etc. Nevertheless, after a certain period Grace is lowered. <br />In the works of the holy Fathers this state is known. There are differences in the terminology. Lowering, lifting, abandonment, abandonment by God, etc. Nevertheless, it refers to the same thing which is due to various reasons.<br />What is the lifting of the Grace? Is it a real lifting and abandonment? How is it possible for God to completely abandon man?<br />The Fathers are expressive on this point. “Of course it is not an objective full withdrawal of Grace, rather the soul subjectively experiences the reduction of the power of Grace as abandonment by God” .<br />The “vision” of God is reduced by various degrees and man experiences this reduction as abandonment by God.<br />St. Diadochos of Fotiki refers to an educational concession and a concession by aversion. The first occurs for reasons God knows, they contribute to our salvation and our education, the second for our sins .<br />These show clearly that the Grace is not completely removed from man, but rather hides itself, or better, lowers itself, to give man the opportunity to grapple with sin, to fight against passions, and to seek fiercely its new return. This fight, as will be shown below, is painful and has a different duration for each person. Nevertheless, man is in a desert for several years… He feels as if walking in a spiritual desert, in a land without the life-giving breath of the holy Grace.<br />What is the purpose of the lowering of the holy Grace? St. Diadochos writes: “…being true infants of the Grace of God, we believe that we are nurtured by it by small concessions and abundant invocation, so that by its goodness we manage to become a perfect man, to attain to the whole measure” . This way we grow up spiritually and from “breast-fed” infants we attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ, that is, we reach communion with Christ. This communion is man’s salvation.<br />Besides, we are impassioned men, and thus we are unable to hold the Grace of God. Grace indicates the road and the goal to us and then leaves us to cleanse ourselves in order to achieve this “goal”. Several times in our spiritual life we feel that the body is unable to follow the soul’s progression to Deification. “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26, 41). Through education in God the body acquires a certain ability to follow the course of the soul.<br />St. Nikodemos Hagiorite referring to the journey of the Magi, to the adoration of Christ, and specifically to the fact that they lost the star guiding them, writes: “… like the bright star that guided and consoled the Magi in their journey hid itself, in order to test their patience and their bravery and then reappeared and caused them greater joy than before; “when they saw the star, they were overjoyed” (Matthew 2, 10), the grace of God usually does the same to its servants and friends, as the so-called neptic Fathers say, and especially St. Diadochos. Sometimes, like a child-loving mother, she consoles and gladdens her children with her noetic illumination and divine energy and gifts, illuminating their nous, bringing contrition most sweetly to their heart and warming it and stimulating it towards the love of God; and sometimes it hides itself from them and allows temptations to go to them, like a mother often hides from her children to test their patience and brave heart, so that through temptations and grief they become grownups and not remain infants forever, to cry and ask strongly for the holy grace they have lost. And thus, after they enjoy it again, they rejoice even more, like a child who loses his mother and searches for her weeping and crying, and when he sees her somewhere runs in unspeakable joy and crying and laughing at the same time falls into her lap” . <br />This period is a period of assimilation of the Grace which man had tasted in his first contact with it. Doctrinal consciousness is born out of this assimilation. And this assimilation lasts many years for an ascetic and athlete of this spiritual course .<br />However, this par excellence blessed period is not so easy. Man goes through pain and great sorrow. The holy Fathers stress this side too in their works, speaking out of personal experience.<br />St. Isaac the Syrian describes part of this pain: “And at some point our soul is drowned and becomes like being in the waves. Even if one reads the scripture, or celebrates the Liturgy, or does anything, whatever he approaches he receives darkness upon darkness. And he goes out and often is not even allowed to approach. And he does not believe that he undergoes a transformation and this is done in peace. That hour is full of despair and fear, and the hope in God and consolation by his faith have been completely ejected out of his soul; and it is throughout filled with hesitation and fear” .<br />The pain is great. The soul has known God and now has lost this communion. Before it got to know God, everything was agreeable. Human life with its details and its pleasant moments gladdened it. Now they no longer do. At the same time it has lost God’s Grace and is inconsolable. It falls to a despair in God. This is the privilege of despair. Crying becomes a way of life. Repentance is insatiable. God’s Grace which lies secretly in man’s heart helps him not despair. Thus he starts concentrated prayer, undeterred sigh, an inexhaustible source of tears. He cries out for God. His life is imbued in pain.<br />St. Symeon the New Theologian describes vividly this experience:<br />Oh, what is this reality hidden to all created essence!<br />What is this intelligible light, which no one sees<br />And what is this abundant wealth, which no one in the world<br />Has ever been able to discover or possess totally?<br />It is elusive to all, the world cannot contain it.<br />It is most longed for, more than the entire world;<br />It is desirable also, as much as this God surpasses<br />Visible things created by Him.<br />It is in that that I am wounded by His love,<br />Insofar as I do not see it, I dry up in my mind,<br />My nous and my heart are burning and groan.<br />I wander and I am on fire, searching here and there,<br />And nowhere do I find the Lover of my soul.<br />I frequently cast glances all around to see my Beloved<br />And He, the invisible One, never shows Himself to me” .<br /><br />Then we are able to speak about Adam’s lament within the confines of our personal life. Then we are able to understand Adam’s grief after he committed the sin. This is how Elder Siluan felt it. He felt the loss of Grace or the lowering of Grace as Forefather Adam did. This is why he writes in a doleful and supplicatory way.<br />“The silence of the desert does not delight me.<br />The mountain tops do not attract me.<br />The beauty of forests and meadows does not bring me rest.<br />The singing of the birds does not sooth my pain. Nothing, nothing gives me joy now.<br />My soul has cracked of too much sorrow.<br />I have insulted my beloved God.<br />Even if the Lord would take me to paradise again I would lament there sadly, sorely:<br />For I have embittered my beloved God”.<br /><br />Expelled from Paradise springs of tears gushed out of Adam’s wounded heart. Similarly, every soul that has known the Lord laments for Him and says:<br />“Where are you Lord?<br />Why do you hide Your face?<br />My soul has not seen your Light for long and seeks You full of sorrow.<br />Where is my Lord?<br />Why don’t I see Him in my soul?<br />What hinders Him from dwelling in me?<br />So, Christ-like humility and love for my enemies are not in me.<br />For God is love infinite, love impossible to explain” .<br /><br />Then, the athlete experiences death existentially. Because man’s separation from God is true death. God is life. Departure from life inevitably brings death. During this period man may experience the memory of death as a gift. We repeat, this is not human despair, it is in-God despair. It is not a human fear of God, it is a fear of God by Grace. We realize this because in the second case there is inspiration, prayer! According to the Fathers, the memory of death is not a remembrance of death, because this is something anyone can have by viewing the corruptibility of the world. It is that too, but mostly the memory of death is a gift .<br />God has died for him. Essentially he himself has died for God. The athlete of this spiritual life sees death in his depths, throughout his existence. And, as he lives a Paschal experience and everything outside is bright when he feels the Grace inside him, the opposite happens with the feeling of death dominating his existence. Everything is dead. Nothing satisfies him. He sees death everywhere. He sees that all humans are mortal. For this reason he does not ask for power from mortals. Is it not a macabre sight to see someone being the ruler of mortals and of the dead, to be the ruler in a cemetery? <br />This is man’s self-emptying in the model of Christ’s self-emptying. The saints definitely pass through this state. It is hades, an experience of hell. The flames of hell burn everything. Inner disposition, desire, even the body itself .<br />It is important to mention and try to explain this period of spiritual life, because there are many who go through it but do not know what exactly it is. They reach complete despair, ignoring the character of spiritual life, ignoring education in God. Thus, they feel lost, they despair. There are cases where monks abandoned monastic life and went to the world violating the promises they gave to God during their tonsure. Others run to psychiatrists to obtain an explanation of these states, and others still go mad. <br />To all these we say that this is a natural state. All those fighting the good fight pass through this temptation. This way they acquire spiritual experience. For this reason there is need for a lot of patience, intense and concentrated prayer. St. Paul the Apostle writes: “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons at all” (Hebrew 12, 7-9)<br />It must be said that even a little prayer during this period is equivalent with many hours of prayer of the previous period. Man learns to pray noetically during this period. He learns many ways of noetic prayer. Because of severe pain, of great repentance, the athlete’s nous concentrates on the heart. He cries. Like a ship throwing an anchor to the bottom of the sea, similarly the nous is thrown to the heart. It stays there and this constitutes noetic prayer.<br />After learning that this is a natural state, we have to learn the ways of dealing with it.<br />Patristic teaching recommends patience, prayer, and resorting to teachers who know these truly blessed states by experience. Obviously we need persons who have passed through these stages. These are true and proper spiritual fathers who can guide the people of God. This is the great value of the monks for our times. They comfort, they guide, they inspire and calm people.<br />St. Diadochos stresses that it is impossible to acquire the perfection of divine Grace. This is why the soul aches, this is why it has to struggle, so that it receives Grace bit by bit, until man acquires life and immortality devours mortality .<br /><br /><b><span style="color: orange;">c) The new coming of the Grace</span></b><br /><br />After many year of struggle, the Grace comes again to man and fills him with inner joy. It also brings the knowledge of God and everything divine to him. St. Symeon the New Theologian is a bearer of this tradition and life. He writes in a poem:<br />“But when I begin to weep, as desperate, then<br />He shows Himself and He looks at me, He who contemplates all creatures.<br />In amazement, I admire the splendour of His beauty,<br />And how, having opened the heavens, the Creator inclined<br />And showed me His glory, indescribable, marvellous.<br />And so who could draw nearer to Him?<br />Or how would he be carried away towards measureless heights?<br />While I reflect on this, He Himself is discovered within myself,<br />Resplendent in the interior of my miserable heart,<br />Illuminating me on all sides with His immortal splendour,<br />Shining upon all my members with His rays,<br />Completely intertwined with me, He embraces me totally,<br />He gives Himself to me, the unworthy one,<br />And I am filled with His love and His beauty,<br />And I am sated with divine delight and sweetness.<br />I share in the light, I participate also in the glory,<br />And my face shines like my Beloved’s,<br />And all my members become bearers of light.<br />Then I finally become more beautiful than those who are beautiful,<br />Wealthier than those who are wealthy and more than all the mighty<br />I am mighty and greater than kings,<br />And much more precious than all that is visible,<br />Not only more than the world or the men of the world, but also more than Heaven<br />And all the angels of Heaven, for I possess the Creator of the whole universe.<br />To whom is due glory and honour, now and forever. Amen” .<br /><br />And in another poem the same Father writes:<br />“Again the light illumines me, again it is distinctly seen,<br />Again it opens the heavens, again it cuts through the night.<br />Again it brings all things into being, again it alone is seen.<br />Again it takes me out of all visible things” .<br /><br />The new coming of God’s Grace takes man out of the spiritual desert in which he lived before and moreover liberates him from the spiritual hades in which he was. The hades is a place where the rays of uncreated Grace do not enter or rather where they are experienced as fire. The hades of personal life is filled with light with the coming of Christ’s Grace. Christ liberated the just ones of the Old Testament with His descent to hades and likewise He Himself takes man out of the peculiar spiritual mortification. The fire of hell and despair, which burned him before, is now transformed to the light of eternal life. He comprehends very well the distinction between cerebral knowledge and empirical knowledge of God, because the knowledge of God is offered through the illumination of the nous and the vision of God. <br />He then acquires an inner tranquility which is not shaken, not affected by anything external. Everything psychological is transformed to spiritual experience. The Grace of God is united with man’s nature and makes it light.<br />In his previous states man experienced intense fluctuations and changes, sometimes fire sometimes light, but now he lives a spiritual balance.<br />Man’s existence has been cured. The struggle with God has ceased. The soul knows God well. Although he feels that he is the biggest sinner, he also feels that he is reborn and is certain that some other body sinned, some other person committed sins. And, indeed, he is another person, because now there is a new, reborn man. The body is transformed and is able to withstand the new life. In general, he feels a deep tranquility and spiritual balance. Christ becomes his life and his delight. Despite his unworthiness he feels a member of the risen body of Christ.<br />In this state, man becomes a theologian or rather a spring of theology. Theology springs, emanates from all his existence. St. John of the Ladder writes: “The growth of fear is the beginning of love, but a complete state of purity is the foundation of theology. He who has perfectly united his feeling to God is mystically led by Him to an understanding of His words. But without this union it is difficult to speak about God. The engrafted Word perfects purity, and slays death by His presence; and after the slaying of death, the disciple of theology is illumined. The Word of the Lord which is from God the Father is pure, and remains so eternally. But he who has not come to know God merely speculates. Purity makes its disciple a theologian, who of himself grasps the dogmas of the Trinity” . <br />He who has passed through this course becomes “a God-inspired book for others” according to the words of St. Symeon the New Theologian .<br />If man does not go through these stages, he cannot be considered a Christian, according to the words of St. Makarios we mentioned in the beginning. It is only then that he “becomes a Christian”. Moreover, one cannot be considered to be a priest, a spiritual father, if he has not known the coming, the hiding and the new coming of the divine Grace. Because then he will have a mutilated spiritual experience. Of course, it is possible for man to leave this world while being in the desert of spiritual life, that is, during the period of the lifting of Grace. This is what happens with most Christians. Nevertheless, if he has patience and if he perseveres, he will also enter the Rule of God, as happened with Moses. He did not enter the land of promise, but he is Moses the Great who has so much glory that he appeared during Christ’s Transfiguration.<br />This is education in God. It is neither a rational knowledge nor a memorization of scriptural and patristic passages; it is a personal knowledge of the coming and lifting of Grace. This education has no relation with Schools and books; it is related to our staying within the whole atmosphere of Orthodox Tradition.<br />We must pray to God to open for us the way of His knowledge, to acquire this education, even if we pass through a lot of spiritual pain. At the same time, we must ask him not to abandon us completely, but give us consolation and comfort during that period, so that we manage to withstand the great burden of sorrows.<br />The road to the Rule of God passes through mysterious paths. Education in God is incomprehensible to human reason and to the criteria of this world, but is the only secure way to attain communion with God.<br /><br /><br /><span style="color: orange;">© 2013 Holy Metropolis of Nafpaktos and Saint Vlassios.</span></span></span><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></div>
Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-24498544838993566652016-09-30T09:30:00.000-04:002016-09-30T09:30:53.114-04:00The Theology of Christian Marriage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xPQo9Cmk7gRFibXgdWingx34WtQ6cOI_llWej4Ln9x0yiuAY3UNmcC8FQHo2elAh_hPy8DCJfFKu3h_Ate6HVHtdHuq003XPOJwGGv3mCqs5sEYQJ0UB35948H2h-GygNmmX2i3hXHGP/s1600/Russian+marriage+edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xPQo9Cmk7gRFibXgdWingx34WtQ6cOI_llWej4Ln9x0yiuAY3UNmcC8FQHo2elAh_hPy8DCJfFKu3h_Ate6HVHtdHuq003XPOJwGGv3mCqs5sEYQJ0UB35948H2h-GygNmmX2i3hXHGP/s640/Russian+marriage+edited.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>Marriage: an Orthodox view</b></span></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">The Orthodox Church understands
marriage as a holy mystery (sacrament); the union of two human persons,
one male and the other female, as a sign of the love of Christ for the
Church, fulfilled in the Kingdom of God. There can be no such thing as a
homosexual marriage.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US">[1]</span></span></span> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US">1 Introduction</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">Christian theologians do not
seem to have paid very much attention to marriage in the past. There
have not been such clearly worked out dogmatic definitions for marriages
as there have been, for example, in Christology.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">In Christology, however, until
the First Ecumenical Council (Nicaea, 325) there were also not such
clearly articulated dogmas concerning the nature of Christ. It was only
when the divinity of Christ was questioned by Arius that the need was
felt for a clearer statement, and it was one of our own African bishops,
St Athanasius the Great, who helped to formulate the Nicene Creed that
was produced by the council. And it took several more councils before we
had the doctrinal statement, the Symbol of Faith we have today.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">As in the time of Arius and
Athanasius, the nature of marriage is being questioned today, and so
there needs to be a more carefully-worded and clearly worked out
statement of the theology of marriage. This paper is not such a
statement. This paper is merely an attempt to draw together some strands
of what the Orthodox Church has taught about marriage up till now.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US">2 The theology of marriage</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">The Orthodox Church’s understanding of marriage is primarily ontological and sacramental, not juridical.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">The Orthodox sacrament of holy
matrimony does not carry the meaning of a legal contract. By considering
the institution of marriage as a legal contract, one begins the process
of transforming the whole sacrament into a juridical issue, and
transforming the Church into a mundane legislator.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">Consequently, it eliminates the
principles of love and grace which make love grow immeasurably. It also
emphasizes the concept of ownership, which is encompassed in the concept
of contract.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">Though marriage often has a legal and juridical aspect, that is not the starting point for a discussion of what marriage is.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US">2.1 The anthropology of marriage</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">The starting point for
understanding marriage can be seen in Mark 10:27, when the Pharisees
came to our Lord Jesus Christ and asked him about the lawfulness of
divorce. In other words, it was a juridical and legal question. But
Jesus does not answer the question in a juridical and legal manner, but
rather in an ontological one: “But from the beginning God made them male
and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and
cleave to his wife.”</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">Our Lord Jesus Christ was
referring to two passages from the beginning of Genesis. “So God created
man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and
female created he them” (Gen 1:27) and “And Adam said, This is now bone
of my bones, flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she
was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his
mother and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Gen
2:23-24).</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">According to the Scriptures,
therefore, God did not start by making an individual, but a community, a
marriage. “It is not good for man to be alone” so God made man male and
female. There is a Zulu proverb that illustrates this: Umuntu ungumuntu
ngabantu — a person is a person because of people.<span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-US">[2]</span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">In making man male and female, God deliberately creates sexuality.
The author of Genesis knew the difference between a cow and a bull, but
did not see fit to mention this sexual difference when describing the
creation of cattle. This is because man can debase sexuality in a way
that cattle cannot. Man can treat sexuality as something alien and
hostile, as an invention of demons, as many gnostics did. It is also
noteworthy that having made the sexual distinction in man at creation,
God makes no other distinction. There is no distinction between Greek
man and Jewish man, black man and white man. There is only man, male and
female.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">Male and female are not
interchangeable. There is a unity and a difference; male man is
incomplete without female man; female man is incomplete without male
man. Western culture tends to deride and devalue this complementarity
and the need for community. There was a saying that was common a few
years back that illustrates this: “A woman without a man is like a fish
without a bicycle”. This rejects the idea of “bone of my bone, flesh of
my flesh”. Denying the complementarity, however, is like saying that
having two left feet is the same as having a left foot and a right foot.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">In all this we are considering
marriage from an ontological and anthropological point of view. This is
what human beings are. This is what God made man to be; not alone, but
longing for the other, different yet the same.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">In human history, marriage has
taken many forms. In some societies there have been polygamous
marriages, and polygamy has been seen as normal. This has very often
been caused by the mode of production. When economic circumstances
change, the pattern of marriage changes. But in discussing creation the
authors of Genesis, even though they themselves lived in polygamous
societies, described the ideal of marriage, the God-intended form of
marriage, as the marriage of one male person with one female person.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US">2.2 Marriage as a sacrament</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">The anthropological and
ontological view of marriage looks at what marriage is, as a human
institution. There have been various laws and customs in different
societies that have applied to marriage. But the legal and social
dimensions of marriage do not determine what marriage is.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">What of Christian marriage? Or a specifically Christian understanding of marriage?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><i><span lang="EN-US">We do not even remember today
that marriage is, as everything else in “this world,” a fallen and
distorted marriage, and that it needs not to be blessed and “solemnized”
– after a rehearsal and with the help of the photographer – but
restored. This restoration, furthermore, is in Christ and this means His
life, death resurrection and ascension to heaven, in the pentecostal
inauguration of the “new eon,” in the Church as the sacrament of all
this. Needless to say, this restoration infinitely transcends the idea
of the “Christian family,” and gives marriage cosmic and universal
dimensions (Schmemann 1982:82).</span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">The Christian understanding of
marriage, therefore, is primarily in relation to the Eucharist, which is
the sacrament of all these things. In the early Church there was no
separate marriage ceremony. Married couples brought their life together
into the Church by participating together in the Eucharist. The
development of a separate marriage service is basically an extension of
this.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US">2.2.1 The marriage service</span></b></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">The Orthodox marriage service is in two parts: the Betrothal and the Crowning.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">The Betrothal, in which the main
feature is the exchange of rings, normally takes place in the narthex
of the temple. It represents the natural marriage, marriage as a human
institution, Even in Western Christian marriage rites, in the past the
custom was for marriage to take place at the church door or porch.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">The prayers mention the
betrothal of Isaac and Rebecca, and the priest, after blessing the
rings, makes the sign of the cross over each of the parties three times,
saying that “The servant of God N is betrothed to the servant of God M,
in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">The priest then puts the bride’s ring on the bridegroom’s right hand, and the bridegroom’s ring on the bride’s right hand.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">This concludes the betrothal. Unlike Western marriage services, there is no exchange of vows, no legal contact that is ended by death “till death us do part”.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">The priest then leads the couple
into the nave of the church, to the singing of a psalm, and the
crowning service takes place in front of the royal doors, with more
prayers. The crowns are placed on the heads of the bridegroom and bride,
and, in some traditions, exchanged between them either by the priest or
by the best man.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">The crowning expresses the
distinctively Christian and sacramental aspect of marriage. The priest
says “Crown them with glory and honour”, which recalls Psalm 8, and also
Hebrews 2, in which the Psalm is quoted. This refers to fallen man
restored to fellowship with God in Christ, and restored to rightful
dominion over the earth. The couple are to be king and queen to each
other, and their life together is to be a witness (martyria) to the
kingdom of God, a little kingdom, and a little church, a cell of the
Body of Christ. And so the crowns are also martyrs crowns, and this is
referred to in the song that is sung as they circle the analogion three
times anticlockwise:</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">Rejoice O Isaiah, a virgin is with child</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">And shall bear a Son Emmanuel</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">He is both God and man</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">And Orient is his name.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">Magnifying him, we call the virgin blessed.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">O holy martyrs</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">Who fought the good fight</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">and have received your crowns</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">entreat the Lord God</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">that he will have mercy upon our souls.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">Glory to Thee, O Christ God</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">The apostles’ boast, the martyrs’ joy</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">Whose preaching was the consubstantial Trinity.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">Christian marriage, therefore,
is to be a sign and a witness of the restoration of marriage, and of
mankind and all creation from their fallen state, and to be restored to
fellowship and communion with God. The love of the married couple for
each other must overflow as a witness of the love of God. So Christian
marriage, as expressed in the crowning, is to transform the fallen human
institution of marriage itself, and also to participate in the
transformation of the fallen world.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">The marriage is not simply
between the couple themselves, but there is a third person present,
Christ Himself. If their life together is to be a “little church”, then
it cannot be without Christ who said “without me you can do nothing”. So
everything in the service is done in threes: the rings and crowns are
blessed three times, and the Dance of Isaiah is a triple circling of the
analogion. And their marriage is a preaching without words, a preaching
whose content, like that of the apostles and martyrs, is the
consubstantial Trinity.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">One of the primary features of
their witness (martyria) will be that if God blesses them with children,
they will bring up their children in the knowledge and fear of the
Lord.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">Holy Matrimony is a sacrament
indeed, because through marriage the Kingdom of God becomes a living
experience, in the midst of the Eucharistic community. In the Body of
Christ the husband and wife can become the flesh of each other in a way
unique to the measure of the unity of Christ and His Church. Sacramental
marriage is like other marriages, but it does not belong to this world
in its content and experience. Holy matrimony is a testimony to God and a
way toward theosis, a way toward eternity (Fr. Michel Najim).</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">Fr Alexander Schmemann (1982:88) also points out what marriage is not:</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><i><span lang="EN-US">We can now understand that
its true meaning is not that it merely gives a religious “sanction” to
marriage and family life, reinforces with supernatural grace the natural
family virtues. Its meaning is that by taking the “natural” marriage
into “the great mystery of Christ and the Church,” the sacrament of
matrimony gives marriage a new meaning; it transforms, in fact, not only
marriage as such, but all human love…</span></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><i><span lang="EN-US">For the Christian, natural
does not mean either self-sufficient – a “nice little family” – or
merely insufficient, and to be, therefore, strengthened and completed by
the addition of the “supernatural.” The natural man thirsts and hungers
for fulfillment and redemption. This thirst and hunger is the vestibule
of the Kingdom: both beginning and exile.</span></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US">2.3 Marriage, virginity and celibacy</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">We have seen that the sexual
distinction in man is one made by God in creation. God made man male and
female, and sexuality is therefore not something intrinsically evil.
But, like many other things, it has been debased, abused, and distorted
since the Fall.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">One of the ways in which
sexuality has been abused is by idolising it, by turning it into a
little god, and then claiming that anything and everything that impedes
or hinders the acting on any sexual urge is bad. For Christians, such a
belief is an error, as is the opposite error (propounded by many
Gnostics) that sexuality and sexual urges are bad in themselves.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">For this reason Orthodox
Christians practise fasting on certain days and seasons, restraining not
just sexual urges, but restraining other bodily appetites as well.
Fasting is, of course, primarily the abstention from food, or certain
kinds of food. According to Genesis 3, it was failure to abstain from
certain kinds of food that led to the Fall in the first place.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">In addition to saying that a man
leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife, our Lord Jesus
Christ also said that “in the resurrection they neither marry nor are
given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven” (Matt 22:30). And
so there are those whom God calls to forgo the blessings of marriage,
and to live the angelic life on earth. And this too is a witness; a
witness that we do not need to be slaves to our bodily desires, that sex
or food are not the last word in human fulfilment.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">Thus for Orthodox Christians
marriage and monasticism go together. Marriage and monasticism are two
different ways of manifesting the mystery of our communion with Christ.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">As one monk put it, the
monasteries are the lungs of the church. The world is enemy-occupied
territory, enveloped in a mantle of pollution. But Christ did not come
into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him
might be saved. But in order to participate in that work of salvation
the Church needs to be able to breathe the pure air of heaven, and so we
need monasteries as the lungs. But we also need to descend into the
muck and pollution in order to be able to participate in Christ’s saving
work.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">In both of these ways, however,
we cannot expect unbroken success in this world. Some marriages fail,
and end in divorce. Some that do not end in divorce are nonetheless
marred by the adultery of one or both partners, or by violence or
cruelty. As Schmemann (1982:89) puts it,</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><i><span lang="EN-US">This is what the marriage
crowns express: that here is the beginning of a small kingdom which can
be something like the true Kingdom. The chance will be lost, perhaps
even in one night; but at this moment it is still an open possibility.
Yet even when it has been lost, and lost again a thousand times, still
if two people stay together, they are in a real sense king and queen to
each other. And after forty odd years, Adam can still turn and see Eve
standing beside him, in a unity with himself that in some small way at
least proclaims the love of God’s Kingdom.</span></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">And so too with monasteries. One
monk said that monastic life was not for the faint-hearted, because
more people went to hell from monasteries than from anywhere else. It
was so easy for a monk to lose his nipsis (watchfulness) and to fall
into sin.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US">3 Legal and social dimensions of marriage</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">It should be clear by now that
in the Orthodox view marriage is not primarily a legal contract, and the
ontological and sacramental meaning is far more significant.
Nevertheless, marriage does have legal and social dimensions, and these
may or may not be compatible with the Church’s understanding of
marriage.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US">3.1 The social dimension of marriage</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">The sacramental dimension of
marriage is not something that the Orthodox Church would wish those who
are not members of the Church to follow, though there have at times been
problems with this. In the past, for example, the Greek government
would not recognise the marriage of Greek citizens unless it was
performed by an Orthodox priest, even if both were atheists.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">But natural marriage is
something given by God to the whole human race. It may be fallen, but
even in its damaged form it can, through human love, reflect something
of God’s love.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">In South Africa, however, this
natural marriage suffered almost irreparable damage from the ideology of
apartheid and its implementation. Migratory labour and influx control
meant that in many areas 90 percent of first babies were born to
unmarried mothers. And the effects are felt even today, years after the
end of apartheid. A large proportion of those coming to baptism from
non-Orthodox families do not know who their fathers were. Even from the
point of view of African traditional religion, they cannot venerate
their ancestors, because they have no idea who those ancestors were.
Thus the very concept of marriage is alien to many people in our
country.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US">3.2 The legal dimension of marriage</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">The Constitutional Court of
South Africa found in Minister of Home Affairs vs Fourie & Bonthuys
(CCT 60/04) that by restricting marriage to couples of different sexes,
the Marriage Act and the common law definition of marriage infringed the
constitutional rights of those who wished to marry someone of the same
sex.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">In its judgement the Court
referred to Discussion Paper 104 of the South African Law Reform
Commission (SALRC), which had suggested three possible alternatives:</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">1. </span><span lang="EN-US">Amending the Common Law definition of marriage and the Marriage Act to include same-sex couples.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">2. </span><span lang="EN-US">Separating
the civil and religious elements of marriage so that the Marriage Act
will only regulate the civil aspects of marriage.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">3. </span><span lang="EN-US">Providing a “marriage-like” alternative of civil unions with the same legal consequences of marriage.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">Before being heard in the
Constitutional Court the matter was heard in the Supreme Court of Appeal
(SCA), where Farlam JA pointed out, in a minority judgement, that in
the Roman Empire marriage was not a concern of the State at all and even
after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire
this did not change.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">One way of avoiding the
difficulties arising from conflicting understandings of marriage might
be to combine proposals 2 and 3 of the South African Law Reform
commission in the light of the observations of Farlam JA and repeal the
Marriage Act altogether, and for marriage to cease to be a concern of
the State.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">As the State registers
commercial partnerships, it could replace the Marriage Act with
legislation for the registration of social and domestic partnerships,
which could include, but not be limited to marriage, regardless of what
form such partnerships might take. Such partnerships could have similar
legal consequences to those of marriage today, and clarify the legal
rights and responsibilities of partners (I have said more about this
here: Notes from underground: The State should get out of the marriage
business).</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US">4 Conclusion</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">The Orthodox Church believes
that marriage is intrinsically and ontologically based on the union of
two human beings, one male and the other female. Though this has become
distorted in human society as a result of the fall, the aim of Christian
sacramental marriage is to express and make present the promise of its
restoration. Natural marriage has the potential of being restored in
this way, as shown in the dual rite of Betrothal and Crowning.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span lang="EN-US">There is, however, no way that a
“marriage” between two persons of the same sex can be seen in this way.
In the view of the Church such a union is not a marriage at all.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange;"><b><span lang="EN-US">5 Bibliography</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange;"><span lang="EN-US">Schmemann, Alexander. 1982. For the life of the world: sacraments and Orthodoxy. Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange;">
</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange;">
</span></span>
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<hr size="1" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" width="33%" />
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<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[1]</span></span><span lang="EN-US">
In this paper I refer to “homosexual marriage”, and not “gay marriage”.
While “homosexual” can refer to sexual orientation, in the phrase
“homosexual marriage” it refers to the sex of the parties, whereas “gay”
in this context refers to sexual orientation. While in Orthodox
theology there can be no such thing as homosexual marriage, there is no
legal or theological obstacle to gay marriage, and I know of no country
where there has been. A gay person can marry someone of the opposite
sex, who may or may not themselves be gay, and that has often happened.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
</div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference">[2]</span></span><span lang="EN-US">
English-speaking Orthodox Christians are also uneasy about the current
trend to use the word “man” to refer exclusively to male persons. There
is no other word in English that expresses the notion of the human
person in community. Most other languages have two words where English
has only one. Greek has anthropos and aner, Zulu has umuntu and indoda,
Russian has chelovek and muzhchina; but English has to make do with man
and man for both meanings. The worldview of Western individualism means
that Western people feel no loss in this, but it goes against Orthodox
anthropology, which makes a distinction between the individual and the
person. The individual is isolated, a person is in community and
relationship with others and with God. Some recent translations have
fallen into this error. One translation of the Symbol of Faith has
changed “for us men and our salvation” to “for us and for our
salvation”. The omission of tous anthropous is at least as great an
error as the addition of the Filioque and opens the way to interpreting
it as “for us Greeks and our salvation” (or Serbs, or Russians, or any
other ethnic group one happens to belong to).</span></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange;"><span lang="EN-US">Source-Pravmir.com </span></span></span></div>
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Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-4661370435711858082016-08-13T08:26:00.000-04:002016-08-13T08:27:12.957-04:00Οἱ τελευταῖες στιγμές τῆς Παναγίας<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiknhJiN_ojMnSjhKziEzUb33Jkqg0sMnDRQXZk9p3-WklLIF7g1J8iI3CPRggq1YjyYm9MlWb0ACdt_E3qN8eF6Wl7BChxuWzNILX-oR5wAdrSAguISo15DYrttcMgysd0i5OAXN3rXKjm/s1600/Dormition+of+The+Theotokos1+edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiknhJiN_ojMnSjhKziEzUb33Jkqg0sMnDRQXZk9p3-WklLIF7g1J8iI3CPRggq1YjyYm9MlWb0ACdt_E3qN8eF6Wl7BChxuWzNILX-oR5wAdrSAguISo15DYrttcMgysd0i5OAXN3rXKjm/s640/Dormition+of+The+Theotokos1+edited.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Ἰωάννης ὁ Γεωμέτρης</span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"> </span></span>
</div>
<div id="text">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ἡ
Μητέρα τοῦ Θεοῦ λοιπόν ἔδειξε στούς Ἀποστόλους, πού ἤδη τό γνώριζαν, τό
σύμβολο τῆς ἀναχωρήσεώς της, τό φοίνικα, τούς μετέδωσε ἐπίσης εὐλογία
καί ἀνάλογη παρηγοριά καί ἀφοῦ τούς μίλησε γιά τήν ἔξοδό της καί τούς
προθυμοποίησε γιά τό κήρυγμα, τούς εἶπε μέ λίγα λόγια ὁλόκληρη τήν
οἰκονομία τῆς ἀποστολῆς τους. Ἔπειτα ἀσπάσθηκε τόν Πέτρο καί τούς ἄλλους
Ἀποστόλους, “χαίρετε”, λέγοντας, “τέκνα καί φίλοι καί μαθηταί τοῦ Υἱοῦ
καί Θεοῦ μου καί νά αἰσθάνεστε εὐτυχεῖς, πού ἀξιωθήκατε τέτοιο δάσκαλο
καί Δεσπότη καί νά ὑπηρετεῖτε τέτοια μυστήρια καί νά μετέχετε τῶν
διωγμῶν καί τῶν παθημάτων του, γιά νά γίνετε κοινωνοί τῆς δόξας καί τῆς
Βασιλείας Του”.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ἀφοῦ
τούς μίλησε γιά τά τελευταία γεγονότα, τούς ζήτησε νά ψάλλουν τούς
ἐπιτάφιους ὕμνους, ἐνῶ Ἐκείνη ἄρχισε τίς πρός τόν Θεό εὐχαριστίες της.</span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Η ΠΡΟΣΕΥΧΗ ΤΗΣ ΘΕΟΤΟΚΟΥ</span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">«Σέ
εὐλογῶ”, ἔλεγε, “Δέσποτα καί Θεέ καί Υἱέ τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ προανάρχου σου
Πατρός καί δικέ μου υἱέ, τῆς δούλης σου, γιά τήν φιλανθρωπία σου. Σέ
εὐλογῶ, πού μᾶς λύτρωσες ἀπό τήν κατάρα καί μᾶς ἔδωσες τήν εὐλογία. Σέ
εὐλογῶ τόν αἴτιο ὅλων τῶν ἀγαθῶν μας, τῆς ζωῆς, τοῦ φωτός, τῆς εἰρήνης,
τῆς δυνατότητας νά γνωρίσουμε τόν Πατέρα σου καί τό συνάναρχό σου καί
ζωοποιό Πνεῦμα. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Σέ εὐλογῶ Λόγε, πού εὐλόγησες τήν κοιλιά μου κατοικώντας
σ’ αὐτὴ μέ ἀνέκφραστο τρόπο. Σέ εὐλογῶ, πού μέ τέτοιο τρόπο μᾶς
ἀγάπησες ὥστε καί γιά μᾶς νά σταυρωθεῖς καί νά πεθάνεις. Σέ εὐλογῶ, πού
κατέστησες μακαρία τήν κοιλιά μου καί πιστεύω ὅτι θά ἐκπληρωθοῦν καί ὅλα
τά ἄλλα, γιά τά ὁποῖα μοῦ ἔχεις μιλήσει».</span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Η ΠΑΡΑΔΟΞΗ ΚΑΘΟΔΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ<span id="more-11062"></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Μετά
ἀπό αὐτά τά λόγια ἀκολούθησε ἀμέσως ἡ παράδοξη κάθοδος τοῦ Υἱοῦ της πού
συνοδευόταν ἀπό τούς Προφῆτες, τούς Πατριάρχες καί ὅλους τοὺς Δικαίους.
Μπροστά πήγαιναν οἱ Ἄγγελοι καί Ἀρχάγγελοι καί ὅλες οἱ ὑπόλοιπες
Ἀγγελικές δυνάμεις. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Τότε ὁ ἀέρας καί ὁλόκληρο τό σπίτι γέμισε. Ὅλα
ἐκεῖνα πού ἡ Παρθένος προγνώριζε, τότε τά ἔβλεπε μπροστά της, ἐνῶ οἱ
ἄλλοι ἔβλεπαν μέρος ἀπό αὐτά τά θαυμάσια, ὁ καθένας ἀνάλογα μέ τήν
ἁγιότητά του. Ἔτσι ἡ δεύτερη κατάβαση ἔγινε ἐνδοξότερη καί φρικωδέστερη
τῆς πρώτης, καί προφανεστέρα γιά ὅσους εἶχαν ὅραση πνευματική. Δέν ἦσαν
μόνον παρόντα τά κατώτερα ἀγγελικά τάγματα καί δυνάμεις, ἀλλά καί αὐτά
ἀκόμη τά Σεραφείμ καί τά Χερουβείμ καί οἱ Θρόνοι παρευρίσκονταν μέ φόβο,
ἱεραρχικά σύμφωνα μέ τήν τάξη τους. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ἔβλεπαν μέ φόβο ὄχι μικρότερο (ἴσως
μεγαλύτερο θά ἔλεγα, ἄν ἐπιτρεπόταν), γεμάτοι ἔκπληξη γιά τήν δεύτερη
κένωση καί συγκατάβασή του. Ὅ,τι ἔγινε ἄλλοτε γιά χάρη ὁλόκληρου τοῦ
ἀνθρωπίνου γένους, τώρα γιά μιὰ μόνο ψυχή, γιά μιὰ μόνον γυναίκα γινόταν
ἕνα τέτοιο θαῦμα.</span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ἡ
συνοδεία ἦταν λαμπρή καί πολυάριθμη, ὅπως ἅρμοζε γιά τήν ἄφιξη τοῦ
Δεσπότη καί τήν ἀναχώρηση τῆς Δέσποινας, ἀλλά ἡ θέαση αὐτῶν πού
γίνονταν, ὅπως ἤδη εἶπα, γινόταν μόνον ἀπό τούς καθαρούς, ἄν καί ἡ
παρουσία τοῦ Δεσπότη ἦταν ἀκατανόητη καί σ’ αὐτούς τούς Μαθητές καί
Ἀποστόλους πού ἦσαν γεμάτοι ἀπό τή δύναμη τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Ἁγίου
Πνεύματος, πού κατοικοῦσε μέσα τους. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Παρευρισκόταν ἐκεῖ ὁ Χριστός μέ
σῶμα καί μορφή πλήρως θεωμένη, λαμπρότερη τῆς ἀστραπῆς καί τῆς λάμψεώς
της, ἀπό ὅ,τι στό Θαβώρ, ἀλλά μικρότερη τῆς φυσικῆς της λαμπρότητας ἐνῶ
οἱ Ἀπόστολοι ἦσαν σάν νεκροί. Ὁ Κύριος ἀμέσως τούς λέγει, “εἰρήνη ὑμῖν”,
ὅπως ἄλλοτε ὅταν «εἰσῆλθε τῶν θυρῶν κεκλεισμένων», στό ἴδιο σπίτι πού
μαζεύτηκαν καί τότε καί τώρα, τό σπίτι τοῦ Ἰωάννη. Τότε συγκεντρώθηκαν
γιά τόν φόβο τῶν Ἰουδαίων. Σήμερα τούς συγκέντρωσε αὐτή πού γέννησε τόν
Κύριο, ἡ ὁποία καί κατοικοῦσε σ’ αὐτό μέ τόν ἀγαπημένο καί παρθένο
μαθητή του, τό δεύτερο καί θετό υἱό της.</span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ἀκούοντας
οἱ Μαθητές αὐτήν τή γλυκειά, τήν ἤρεμη καί γνώριμη φωνή, πῆραν θάρρος
στό σῶμα καί στή ψυχή καί, ὅσο τούς ἦταν δυνατό, ὕψωσαν τά μάτια τους
πρός τόν ἥλιο, τήν ὥρα πού Ἐκεῖνος χαμήλωνε λίγο τή λαμπρότητα τῆς
ἀνατολῆς του καί τούς περιέλαμπε μέ μικρότερο φωτισμό.</span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ἀλλά
ἄς σταθοῦμε λίγο στά ἐπιθανάτια τῆς Παρθένου. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ἡ ψυχή της βρίσκεται σέ
μία μεγάλη συγκίνηση καί σχεδόν σκιρτᾶ καί προφθάνει ἀσυγκράτητη καί
τρέχει νά ἀπομακρυνθεῖ ἀπό τό σῶμα ὥστε τό γρηγορότερο νά βρεθεῖ μέ τόν
Υἱό της καί νά προσπέσει στά χέρια του καί νά ἀναχώρησει μαζί του. Πῶς
ἦταν δυνατό νά ὑπομείνει αὐτή τή χαρά, ὅπως τή λύπη τόν καιρό τοῦ
Πάθους, καί πῶς ἐμεῖς νά μήν ἐπιθυμοῦμε νά ποῦμε πώς αὐτή δέν πέθανε, ἄν
καί δέν τό λέμε αὐτό, γιά νά μήν ποῦμε πρωτάκουστα διδάγματα.</span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Δάκρυσε,
καί πάλι ἔγινε ἀνώτερη τῶν δακρύων ἀπό τή μεγάλη εὐτυχία καί τό
παράδοξο θέαμα, ὅταν εἶδε μέ σῶμα ἐκεῖνον, πού λίγο παλιότερα τόν εἶδε
νά σύρεται, νά καθυβρίζεται καί νά κτυπιέται, ἐνῶ περιβαλλόταν ἀπό τόσες
μυριάδες Ἀγγέλων, ἀπό τόση λαμπρότητα καί τόση δόξα. Ἔβλεπε τό πρόσωπο
καί τή μορφή ἐκείνου, πού ἄλλοτε τόν κορόιδευαν καί τόν ἔφτυναν, πού
ἦταν ντυμένος τήν κόκκινη χλαίνα τῆς ντροπῆς, νά περιβάλλεται τώρα μέ
τόση ἀξία καί λαμπρότητα. Αὐτόν πού δέν εἶχε οὔτε εἶδος οὔτε ὀμορφιά,
τώρα νά ἀστράφτει ἀπό τήν ὀμορφιά τῆς θεότητάς του. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ἔβλεπε τόν ἄλλοτε
νεκρό πού καταδικάστηκε σάν ἀντίθεος, Θεό καί Βασιλέα καί Κριτή τῶν
πάντων, ἀθάνατο καί ἀνίκητο. Ὤ, πῶς ζοῦσε καί πάλι μέσα στίς ἀντιθέσεις,
ὅπως τόν καιρό τῆς Σταυρώσεως. Τό ὅραμα τή γέμιζε εὐφροσύνη, χαιρόταν
ὑπερβολικά ἡ ψυχή της, ἀλλά συστελλόταν ἐπειδή ἀναχωροῦσε πρός ἐκείνη τή
δόξα καί λαμπρότητα.</span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Τώρα
πλέον δοξολογοῦσε περισσότερο ἀπό πρίν ἐκεῖνον πού τήν δόξασε.
Προσευχόταν γιά τούς Ἀποστόλους καί γιά ὅλους τοὺς παρόντες, ἱκέτευε γιά
τούς πιστούς ὅλης τῆς γῆς ἤ μᾶλλον γιά ὅλο τόν κόσμο καί αὐτῶν ἀκόμη
τῶν ἐχθρῶν καί τῶν σταυρωτῶν. Ζητοῦσε νά λάβει ἀπό τό Δεσπότη κάποιο
λόγο ἤ κάποιο σημεῖο ὡς ἐγγύηση τῆς σωτηρίας τους, ἁπλώνοντας ἱκετευτικά
τά χέρια ἐκεῖνα μέ τά ὁποῖα τόν ἀγκαλίαζε, κινώντας τή γλώσσα καί τά
χείλη μέ τά ὁποῖα τόν ἀσπαζόταν, θυμίζοντας τόν θηλασμό του, καί
κλαίοντας ἀπό εὐτυχία, ἔκαμε τό πᾶν, λέγοντας ἀποχαιρετιστήριους λόγους
καί προσευχές. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Τότε ἀρχίζουν τήν ὑμνωδία οἱ Ἄγγελοι καί ὅλοι μένουν
ἀκίνητοι καί ἐκστατικοί, ὄχι ἀπό φόβο ἀλλά ἀπό χαρά. Οἱ Ἀπόστολοι
ἀντιφωνοῦν μέ τή δική τους ψαλμωδία, καί ἔτσι, περνώντας ἀπό τό πανάγιο
στόμα ἡ ὑπεραγία ψυχή της, σάν σέ ὕπνο, παραδίδεται στόν Υἱόν της,
ξεφεύγοντας τούς πόνους τοῦ θανάτου, ὅπως τούς διέφυγε καί κατά τήν
γέννηση ἤ μᾶλλον μέ τήν ἴδια καί μεγαλύτερη χαρά καί ὅπως τότε, ὅταν
ἀνέκφραστα γεννιόταν ἀπ’ αὐτή ὁ Υἱός καί Θεός της, καί τώρα πού αὐτή
πήγαινε πρός τόν Θεό, ὁ ὁποῖος βρισκόταν μπροστά της ὄχι μόνο νοερά ἀλλά
καί αἰσθητά.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ἀμέσως
ὅλοι οἱ Ἄγγελοι ἄρχισαν νά ψάλλουν, καί μετά τοῦ πνεύματος μέν ἔβγαινε
κάποια ἄφθονη καί ἀνεξήγητη εὐωδία, ἐνῶ τό σῶμα περιβαλλόταν ἀπό πλούσιο
καί ἀπλησίαστο φῶς, ὥστε καί ὁ ἀέρας γέμισε ἀπό ἤχους καί ἄσματα,
περισσότερο ὅμως ἀπό τήν εὐχάριστη εὐωδία, τό δέ σῶμα ἀκτινοβολοῦσε ἀπό
παντοῦ, ὥστε νά γίνεται κάπως ἀθέατο. Ἔτσι λοιπόν διαμοιράζονται τήν
Παρθένο, οἱ μαθητές καί ὁ Διδάσκαλος, τά ἐπίγεια καί τά οὐράνια, ὅπως
καί μετά ἀπό λίγο ὁ οὐρανός καί ὁ παράδεισος. Ὁ Κύριος καί τά γύρω ἀπό
αὐτόν λειτουργικά πνεύματα πῆραν τή ψυχή, ἐνῶ οἱ μαθητές τό σῶμα.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange;">Πηγή:Αγία Ζώνη</span></span></div>
</div>
Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-11760858296635457502016-06-13T13:30:00.000-04:002016-06-13T13:33:11.976-04:00Τις δικές μας αμαρτίες πρέπει να προσέχουμε και όχι του πλησίον μας!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKsdHEelsliX6xwuah4SQwKJANBsyPjMgRp8qrWfXLDt1T4B0xxgNqOMiZl16PlkxLxD_z4-a4eGPEH9u3S_Rd_-Itd3rF4U9RNGHJCDb1uZEwIqX0VshptKovbiu07MsaEut-2fAitME/s640/ag-loukas-episkopos-symferoupoleos-o-iatros-23+edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKsdHEelsliX6xwuah4SQwKJANBsyPjMgRp8qrWfXLDt1T4B0xxgNqOMiZl16PlkxLxD_z4-a4eGPEH9u3S_Rd_-Itd3rF4U9RNGHJCDb1uZEwIqX0VshptKovbiu07MsaEut-2fAitME/s640/ag-loukas-episkopos-symferoupoleos-o-iatros-23+edited.jpg" width="470" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Άγιος Λουκάς ο Ιατρός</span></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Μεγάλη και φοβερή είναι αυτή η εντολή του Χριστού. </span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Όλοι
μας, αρχίζοντας από μένα, συνεχώς κρίνουμε και κατακρίνουμε ο ένας τον
άλλον και γι’ αυτό θα δώσουμε λόγο στη Φοβερά Κρίση του Κυρίου και Θεού
μας Ιησού Χριστού. Θα μας κρίνει Αυτός διότι και εμείς κρίνουμε τους
άλλους, ψάχνουμε να βρούμε στον πλησίον μας το παραμικρό σφάλμα ενώ τις
δικές μας αμαρτίες δεν τις βλέπουμε και ούτε θέλουμε να τις σκεφτόμαστε.</span></span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ο
άγιος απόστολος Παύλος στην προς Ρωμαίους επιστολή του λέει το εξής:
«Διό αναπολόγητος ει, ω άνθρωπε πας ο κρίνων εν ω γαρ κρίνεις τον
έτερον, σεαυτόν κατακρίνεις· τα γαρ αυτά πράσσεις ο κρίνων, οίδαμεν δε
ότι το κρίμα του Θεού έστι κατά αλήθειαν επί τους τα τοιαύτα πράσσοντας.
Λογίζη δε τούτο, ω άνθρωπε ο κρίνων τους τα τοιαύτα πράσσοντας και
ποιών αυτά, ότι συ εκφεύξη το κρίμα του Θεού» (Ρωμ. 2, 1-3).</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Μεγάλη
αλήθεια βρίσκεται σ’ αυτά τα λόγια του αποστόλου Παύλου. Δεν προσέχουμε
τα δικά μας ελαττώματα και τις αμαρτίες, ενώ στους άλλους βρίσκουμε
πολλά σφάλματα. Ψάχνουμε να τα βρούμε και όταν τα βρίσκουμε, πάμε και τα
διαλαλούμε σε όλον τον κόσμο. Έγινε πλέον κακή συνήθεια, μόλις
μαθαίνουμε κάτι για τον πλησίον μας, να πηγαίνουμε και να το διαλαλούμε
παντού. Η γλώσσα μας καίει και σπεύδουμε να πούμε στους άλλους αυτό που
είδαμε και ακούσαμε.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ξεχνάμε
ότι αν εμείς κρίνουμε τους άλλους θα μας κρίνει και εμάς ο Θεός.
Ξεχνάμε ότι δεν έχουμε κανένα δικαίωμα να κρίνουμε τον πλησίον διότι
αυτό δεν είναι δική μας υπόθεση αλλά του Θεού, ο οποίος είναι Υπέρτατος
Κριτής, ο οποίος μόνος γνωρίζει την καρδιά του ανθρώπου και μπορεί να
αποδώσει δικαία κρίση. Εμείς όμως κατακρίνουμε τον πλησίον και πολλές
φορές με πολύ βαριά λόγια. Δεν σκεφτόμαστε ότι ο αδελφός μας μπορεί να
μετανόησε ήδη και να του αφέθηκε η αμαρτία του, επειδή μετανόησε βαθιά.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />«Ώστε
μη προ καιρού τι κρίνετε, έως αν έλθη ο Κύριος, ος και φωτίσει τα
κρυπτά του σκότους και φανερώσει τας βουλάς των καρδιών, και τότε ο
έπαινος γενήσεται εκάστω από του Θεού» (Α’ Κορ. 4, 5). Εμείς, όμως,
πάντοτε βιαζόμαστε να κρίνουμε τους άλλους και δεν περιμένουμε την κρίση
του Χριστού. Είμαστε κριτές του πλησίον και όχι του εαυτού μας.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ένας
σοφός του Ισραήλ, ο υιός του Σειράχ είπε: «ακήκοας λόγον; συναποθανέτω
σου θάρσει, ου μη σε ρήξει» (Σειρ. 19, 10). Πολύ σπουδαία είναι αυτά τα
λόγια του. Εμείς ξεχνάμε ποτέ τα σφάλματα του αδελφού μας; Πεθαίνει μαζί μας ο κακός λόγος; Όχι, ποτέ.
Εμείς τον διαδίδουμε και μ’ αυτόν τον τρόπο γινόμαστε σαν τις μύγες οι
οποίες κυκλοφορούν παντού και παντού μεταδίδουν την μόλυνση. Πρέπει να
είμαστε όχι σαν τις μύγες αλλά σαν τις μέλισσες οι οποίες πετάνε από το
ένα λουλούδι στο άλλο μαζεύοντας το μέλι. Και εμείς πρέπει να μαζεύουμε
το μέλι δίνοντας σημασία μόνο στο καλό που υπάρχει στον αδελφό μας.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Γι’
αυτούς που κακολογούν και κατακρίνουν τον αδελφό τους ο ψαλμωδός και
προφήτης Δαβίδ είπε: «τάφος ανεωγμένος ο λάρυγξ αυτών» (Ψαλ. 5, 10).
Ανοίξτε έναν τάφο και θα δείτε τι ακαθαρσίες υπάρχουν μέσα του και τι
δυσοσμία. Η ίδια δυσοσμία, πνευματική δυσοσμία, βγαίνει από το στόμα μας
όταν κατακρίνουμε τον πλησίον. Στον ίδιο ψαλμό που διαβάζεται στην
πρώτη Ώρα ο προφήτης λέει: «απολείς πάντας τους λαλούντας το ψευδός»
(Ψαλ. 5, 7). Εμείς όμως διώχνουμε αυτούς που κακολογούν μπροστά μας τον πλησίον; Όχι, δεν τους διώχνουμε αν και έπρεπε να το κάνουμε.</span></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />Αυτό
που πρέπει εμείς να κάνουμε είναι να δαμάσουμε τη γλώσσα μας. Όλοι
είμαστε ένοχοι ενώπιον του Θεού και όλοι έχουμε πολλές αμαρτίες. Τις δικές μας αμαρτίες πρέπει να προσέχουμε και όχι του πλησίον μας.
Είπε ο ψαλμωδός: «ου δικαιωθήσεται ενώπιόν σου πας ζων» (Ψαλ. 142, 3).
Κανείς δεν είναι δίκαιος ενώπιον του Θεού, όλοι είμαστε ένοχοι. Αυτοί
που κατακρίνουν τους άλλους, πολλές φορές, γίνονται και συκοφάντες
επειδή τους κατηγορούν για κάτι αβάσιμο.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ο
άγιος Ιωάννης ο Ελεήμονας, Πατριάρχης Αλεξανδρείας, για να διδάξει
αυτούς, που τους άρεσε να κατακρίνουν τους άλλους, διηγήθηκε μια φορά
την εξής ιστορία. Σε μία πολύ μεγάλη πόλη, στην Τύρο, ζούσε κάποτε ένας
μοναχός, ζούσε εκεί και μία πόρνη ονόματι Πορφυρία. Μια μέρα όταν ο
μοναχός αυτός περπατούσε στο δρόμο τον πλησίασε η Πορφυρία και του είπε:
«πάτερ άγιε, σώσε με όπως και ο Χριστός έσωσε κάποτε μία πόρνη». Ο
άγιος εκείνος μοναχός την πήρε από το χέρι και την πήγε έξω από την
πόλη. Την οδήγησε σ’ ένα γυναικείο μοναστήρι για να καθαρθεί εκεί η ψυχή
της με τα δάκρυα της μετανοίας. Στο δρόμο βρήκαν ένα μωρό που οι γονείς
του το είχαν αφήσει και η Πορφυρία το πήρε για να το μεγαλώσει.</span></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Όταν
αυτό έγινε γνωστό μερικοί άνθρωποι που τους άρεσε πολύ να κατακρίνουν
τον πλησίον τους άρχισαν να κακολογούν την Πορφυρία, λέγοντάς της:
«Μπράβο, Πορφυρία, ωραίο παιδάκι κάνατε με τον μοναχό». Και τον μοναχό
τον περιφρονούσαν και τον κακολογούσαν. Ο μοναχός όμως προσευχόταν
αδιαλείπτως και για την Πορφυρία και για τον εαυτό του. Ήρθε η ώρα του
να πάει σε άλλο κόσμο και όταν βρισκόταν στην επιθανάτια κλίνη
παρακάλεσε να του φέρουν ένα θυμιατό με αναμμένα κάρβουνα. Πήρε τα
κάρβουνα και τα έβαλε πάνω στο στήθος του. Η φωτιά δεν άγγιξε ούτε το
σώμα του αλλά ούτε ακόμα και τα ρούχα. Τότε είπε ο μοναχός: «Να ξέρετε
εσείς που κατακρίνατε την Πορφυρία και εμένα ότι είμαι αθώος. Η σαρκική
αμαρτία δεν με έχει αγγίξει όπως δεν με άγγιξε τώρα η φωτιά αυτή».</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Δεν
αρκεί αυτό το παράδειγμα σ’ εκείνους που τους αρέσει να κατακρίνουν
τους άλλους. Δε σταματάνε τις κακολογίες τους. Αλλοίμονό τους, όπως
κρίνουν αυτοί τον πλησίον τους έτσι θα κριθούν από τον Θεό. Ο δικός μας
μεγάλος άγιος, ο άγιος Δημήτριος, μητροπολίτης Ροστόβ, λέει το εξής,
όταν αναφέρεται στην κατάκριση: «Μη κοιτάς τις αμαρτίες των άλλων αλλά
πρόσεχε τη δική σου κακία. Διότι δεν θα δώσεις λόγο για τους άλλους αλλά
μόνο για τον εαυτό σου. Δεν υπάρχει ανάγκη να προσέχεις τους άλλους,
πως ζει ο καθένας και ποιές αμαρτίες κάνει. Εσύ πρόσεχε τον εαυτό σου,
Ευαρεστείς τον Θεό; Μοιάζει η ζωή σου με την ζωή των αγίων; Ακολουθείς
και εσύ την οδό που ακολούθησαν αυτοί στη ζωή τους; Είναι ευχάριστο
μπροστά στον Θεό το έργο σου; Ο άνθρωπος που κατακρίνει τους άλλους
μοιάζει με έναν πονηρό καθρέφτη, ο οποίος ενώ αντανακλά τους άλλους, τον
εαυτό του δεν τον βλέπει. Μοιάζει επίσης και με ένα ακάθαρτο λουτρό το
οποίο τους άλλους τους πλένει ενώ το ίδιο μένει άπλυτο.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Το
ίδιο και αυτός που κρίνει τους άλλους. Βλέπει τι τρώει, τι πίνει και
ποιές αμαρτίες κάνει ο καθένας, τον εαυτό του όμως δεν τον βλέπει. Στον
πλησίον του βλέπει ακόμα και την παραμικρή αμαρτία. Η δική του όμως η
αμαρτία, όσο μεγάλη και να είναι, γι’ αυτόν είναι σαν να μην υπάρχει.
Θέλει να μην ξέρει κανείς την αμαρτία του και να μην λέει τίποτα γι’
αυτή. Ενώ ο ίδιος τους άλλους τους συκοφαντεί, τους κρίνει και τους
κατακρίνει». Δεν είναι δική μας η εικόνα που δίνει ο άγιος Δημήτριος;
Ασφαλώς για μας μιλάει εδώ ο άγιος και ιδιαίτερα γι’ αυτούς που η
κατάκριση και η συκοφαντία έγινε πλέον η ζωή τους και που βρίσκονται
πολύ μακριά απ’ αυτό που λέει ο Ιησούς. Είναι οι άνθρωποι που θέλουν να
βγάλουν το σκουπιδάκι από το μάτι του αδελφού τους ενώ οι ίδιοι έχουν
στο δικό τους το μάτι ολόκληρο δοκάρι. Να μην τους μοιάζουμε. Να
προσέχουμε τον εαυτό μας και να ζητάμε τη βοήθεια του Θεού σ’ αυτό τον
δύσκολο αγώνα κατά του πάθους της κατακρίσεως. Να μην κρίνουμε για να
μην κριθούμε και εμείς από τον Έναν Μοναδικό και Αιώνιο Κριτή, τον Κύριο
μας Ιησού Χριστό, του οποίου η τιμή και το κράτος μετά του Ανάρχου
Αυτού Πατρός και του Παναγίου και Ζωοποιού Πνεύματος. Αμήν.</span></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Άγιος Λουκάς ο Ιατρός</span></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Δύο
ώρες περίπου προσευχόταν κλαίγοντας ο κ. Κωνσταντίνος Πολυχρονίου,
ανώτερος κρατικός υπάλληλος μπροστά στη Λάρνακα του Οσίου Ρώσου.</span></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";"> </span></span></span></b>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Φορούσε
πιζάμες και ένα ταξί τον περίμενε στην Βορεινή πύλη της Εκκλησίας. Όταν
τελείωσε τη μυστική του συνομιλία με τον Όσιο, ξεκίνησε με αργά βήματα,
σέρνοντας τις παντόφλες στο δάπεδο και προχωρούσε προς την έξοδο.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Τον
σταμάτησε ένας ιερέας της μονής και τον ρώτησε γιατί έκλαιγε τόση ώρα,
γιατί δεν ήταν ντυμένος κανονικά και ήρθε στην εκκλησία με πιζάμες και
αν...</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">επιθυμούσε νατου έδινε δωμάτιο στον ξενώνα να αναπαυθεί για λίγο αν το είχε ανάγκη.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">-
Όχι πάτερ, απάντησε και συνέχισε, με ξεκούρασε για πολλά χρόνια ο
Άγιος, αυτός, ο μεγάλος και θαυματουργός γιατρός που υπηρετείτε. Σήμερα
το πρωί στον «Ευαγγελισμό», στο Νοσοκομείο, ήρθε η γυναίκα μου να με
δει.</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Έχει
περάσει δεκαετία και πλέον να σταθώ όρθιος όπως με βλέπετε τώρα. Μία
χρόνια πάθηση του νευρικού συστήματος και μία αρρώστια που είχα περάσει
μου έφεραν αναπηρία τόση που έχασα τη θέση μου, πήρα πρόωρα σύνταξη και
οδηγήθηκα στα Νοσοκομεία γιατί μετά το δεύτερο χρόνο είχα πάνω από 80%
παράλυση των κάτω άκρων.</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Ή
παράλυση, η κακή ψυχολογική κατάσταση, η πρόωρη έξοδος μου από τη
δραστηριότητα της ζωής με οδηγούσαν σε μαρασμό, σχεδόν στο θάνατο.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Σήμερα,
λοιπόν, το πρωί η γυναίκα μου ήρθε στο Νοσοκομείο, με βρήκε να
κοιμάμαι, δεν με ξύπνησε, παρά κάθισε δίπλα στο κρεβάτι μου σε μια
καρέκλα. Για λίγα δευτερόλεπτα την πήρε ο ύπνος.</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Βλέπει στο όνειρο της ότι, στο διπλανό θάλαμο γινόταν επισκεπτήριο γιατρών. Ανάμεσα τους ήταν ένας άγνωστος ξένος γιατρός.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Τον
πλησιάζει η γυναίκα μου και του λέει: Γιατρέ μου, είστε ξένος; Σας
βλέπω για πρώτη φορά στο Νοσοκομείο. Σας παρακαλώ στο διπλανό θάλαμο έχω
τον άνδρα μου πάνω από δέκα χρόνια παράλυτο. Οι γιατροί μου έχουν πει
την αλήθεια, ότι χάνω το σύντροφο μου. Χάνω το στήριγμα μου. Θα πεθάνει ο
σύζυγος μου. Ελάτε, γιατρέ μου, να τον δείτε, να του δώσετε κουράγιο,
να μας πείτε κάτι και σεις</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">- Πήγαινε, κυρία μου, περίμενε και θα δω και το σύζυγο σου.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Ναι, γιατρέ μου, πέστε μου το όνομα σας, να σας περιμένω ...</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">- Ιωάννης Ρώσος, της απαντά.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Ξυπνάει, πετιέται από το κάθισμα της.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Με βλέπει που προσπαθώ μόνος μου, στηριγμένος στους αγκώνες μου, να σηκωθώ.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Βοήθησε με, γυναίκα, της λέγω, κάποιος με κρατάει άπ' τις μασχάλες και με σηκώνει, βοήθησε και συ ...</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Σηκώθηκα, πάτησα στο έδαφος, όταν τα κλάματα της γυναίκας μου είχαν φέρει γύρω μας γιατρούς και βοηθητικό προσωπικό.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Ό
υπεύθυνος γιατρός του τμήματος, ένας πιστός χριστιανός, συγκλονίζεται
από τη διήγηση της συζύγου μου και προτρέπει: Κύριε Πολυχρονίου όπως
είσαι, μη ζητάς, να αλλάξεις τις πιζάμες σου, φύγετε, πάρτε ταξί στην
είσοδο του Νοσοκομείου και πηγαίνετε στο Πνευματικό θεραπευτήριο, στην
Εκκλησία του Αγίου Ιωάννου του Ρώσου, που είναι στην καταπράσινη κοιλάδα
του Προκοπίου της Ευβοίας, όπου και ολόκληρο το ιερό του Λείψανο.
Πηγαίνετε, πέστε το μεγάλο σας ευχαριστώ και γυρίστε για το εξιτήριο που
αυτή τη φορά -σπάνια βέβαια- το υπογράφει όχι γιατρός αλλά ένας "Άγιος!</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Και
σαν χριστιανός και σαν επιστήμονας ό,τι είπα το πιστεύω. Πάνω από την
επιστήμη μας είναι η παντοδυναμία του Θεού και των Αγίων του.</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Αυτά μας είπε, Πάτερ. Αυτά ... Δώστε μας και σεις την ευλογία σας.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Αυτά
είπε, αυτά είδαμε από τον ευλογημένο αυτό άνθρωπο που με τα κλάματα του
(οι άνδρες για να κλάψουν πρέπει κάτι το πολύ σοβαρό να συμβαίνει)
έλεγε στον Άγιο εκείνο το «ευχαριστώ» που είναι πρόθυμοι να το πουν όσοι
άρρωστοι στα Νοσοκομεία, στα παντός είδους Νοσηλευτικά Ιδρύματα και
Άσυλα ανιάτων περιμένουν κάποιον Άγγελο, κάποιον Άγιο, τον Ίδιο τον
Κύριο να ταράξει τα νερά για να μπουν σ' αυτό το μυστήριο που λέγεται
θαυματουργική θεραπεία, που όντως γίνεται κατά καιρούς σε ασθενείς που ο
Θεός επιλέγει με τα δικά του κριτήρια, σχεδόν άγνωστα σε μάς.</span></span></span></div>
Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-24647269513467048422016-04-24T09:14:00.000-04:002016-04-24T09:15:29.388-04:00Οἱ ἑπτὰ λόγοι τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐπὶ τοῦ Σταυροῦ<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhme8J_YyuKe82lUrS7pYlRPpIi9tNA4yLxZOB7onJLku22rLisLRq1xpd7ajZNvAWFH70QWqOmD8SYWVISfKE4UmGKqZ8ukQE72-2fU3_o6tOsoTnDBErPUCb9n6g3JeWz7gWGCgKSZ11-/s1600/Starwsis_Kuriou_3987+edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhme8J_YyuKe82lUrS7pYlRPpIi9tNA4yLxZOB7onJLku22rLisLRq1xpd7ajZNvAWFH70QWqOmD8SYWVISfKE4UmGKqZ8ukQE72-2fU3_o6tOsoTnDBErPUCb9n6g3JeWz7gWGCgKSZ11-/s1600/Starwsis_Kuriou_3987+edited.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Ἀπ᾿
τὴ στιγμὴ ποὺ τὸ ἄχραντο σῶμα τοῦ λατρευτοῦ μας Χριστοῦ ξαπλώθηκε πάνω
στὸ Σταυρό, μέχρι τὴ στιγμὴ ποὺ ἡ σταυρωμένη ἀγάπη παρέδωσε τὸ πνεῦμα,
ἑπτὰ λόγοι βγῆκαν ἀπὸ τὸ γλυκὸ καὶ ἄκακο ἐκεῖνο στόμα του. Καὶ εἶναι
δικό μας καθῆκον νὰ ἀκούσουμε καὶ σήμερα μὲ ἱερὸ δέος αὐτοὺς τοὺς
λόγους, ὄχι μόνο γιατί εἶναι τὰ τελευταῖα λόγια τοῦ Κυρίου μας, ποὺ
πρέπει νὰ τὰ θυμόμαστε συχνά, ἀλλὰ καὶ γιατί ἀποτελοῦν, θὰ ἔλεγε κανείς,
τὴν διαθήκη Του, τὴν ἔκφρασι τῆς μεγίστης Του δωρεᾶς πρὸς τὴν Ἐκκλησία
καὶ τὴν ἀνακεφαλαίωσι ὅλης της διδασκαλίας Του.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">*</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Ὁ
πρῶτος λόγος ἀκούσθηκε τὶς πρῶτες κιόλας στιγμὲς τῆς σταυρώσεως. Κι ἐνῶ
πάνω σὲ κεῖνον τὸν λόφο ἀποκορυφώνεται ἡ ἔσχατη κραιπάλη καὶ μανία τῶν
ἀνθρώπων, ποὺ καρφώνουν, βρίζουν καὶ βλασφημοῦν τὸν Ἀναμάρτητο, Ἐκεῖνος
ἐκδηλώνει ἀνάμεσα ἀπ᾿ τοὺς φρικτοὺς πόνους τοῦ σώματος καὶ τῆς ψυχῆς Τοῦ
τὴν ὑπέρτατη ἀγάπη Του γιὰ τοὺς παραστρατημένους.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";"> <b>«ΠΑΤΕΡ, ΑΦΕΣ ΑΥΤΟΙΣ,
ΟΥ ΓΑΡ ΟΙΔΑΣΙ ΤΙ ΠΟΙΟΥΣΙ». </b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Αὐτὴ εἶναι ἡ ἀπάντησί Του στὴν ἀνθρώπινη
κακία. Στὴν ἄβυσσο τῆς ψυχικῆς πυρώσεως, ἀντιπαρατάσσεται τὸ μεγαλεῖο
τῆς θείας συγγνώμης, ποὺ βρίσκει, στὶς τραγικὲς τοῦτες ὧρες, λόγους
ἀφέσεως καὶ μεσιτείας γιὰ κείνους πού, ἐκτροχιασμένοι ἀπὸ τὴ μέθη τῆς
ἔκδικησεως καὶ τοῦ φθόνου, εἶχαν αὐτοκαταδικασθῆ στὴν ἴδια τὴν ταλαίπωρη
συνείδησί τους, τὴν βάναυσα κακοποιημένη. Ὁ πρῶτος λόγος τοῦ Σταυροῦ
εἶναι ἡ ἔμπρακτη ἐφαρμογὴ καὶ ἐπικύρωσις τοῦ μοναδικοῦ στὸν κόσμον ὅλο
κηρύγματος ποὺ ἀκούσθηκε ποτὲ στὸν πλανήτη μας. Τοῦ κηρύγματος τῆς
ἀφειδώλευτης καὶ γνήσιας ἀγάπης πρὸς ὅλους, καὶ πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἀκόμη τοὺς
ἐχθρούς μας. Ἦταν μία δέησι καὶ ἱκεσία, μὲ ἐπίκλησι σὰν ἐλαφρυντικοῦ της
ἀγνοίας, ὑπὲρ τῶν διωκτῶν καὶ δημίων Του, ἔτσι γιὰ νὰ ἀντηχεῖ ἔκτοτε σὲ
ὅλα τὰ πλάτη καὶ μήκη τῆς γῆς ὁ ἀπόηχός της, ἐμπνέοντος τὶς μυριάδες
τῶν χριστιανῶν, ποὺ θὰ ἤθελαν, μιμούμενοι τὸν ἀρχηγό Τους, νὰ δείξουν
πὼς μποροῦν νὰ νικοῦν τὸ κακὸ μὲ τὸ καλό, τὴ μοχθηρία μὲ τὴν ἀγάπη, τὸ
συμφέρον μὲ τὴν ἀνιδιοτέλεια.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">***</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Ὁ
δεύτερος λόγος τοῦ Σταυροῦ εἶναι ἀπάντησις σὲ μία φωνὴ μετανοίας καὶ
πίστεως. Στὴ φωνὴ τοῦ εὐγνώμονος ληστοῦ, ποὺ ἀνοίγει τὰ μάτια τοῦ
μπροστὰ στὴν ὑπέρτατη κένωσι τοῦ Θεοῦ μὲ τὶς πραγματικές της διαστάσεις
τὴν αἰωνιότητα τῆς Βασιλείας Του.<b> </b></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">«ΑΜΗΝ, ΛΕΓΩ ΣΟΙ, ΣΗΜΕΡΟΝ MET᾿ ΕΜΟΥ ΕΣΗ
ΕΝ ΤΩ ΠΑΡΑΔΕΙΣΩ». </span></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Ποιά, ἄραγε, πιὸ αὐθεντικὴ μαρτυρία περιμένουν ν᾿
ἀκούσουν ἢ νὰ βροῦν ποτέ, ὅσοι μὲ δυσπιστία στέκονται μπροστὰ στὴ
μεταθανάτια ὀντολογικὴ πραγματικότητα; Καὶ πόσους, ἀλήθεια, θὰ
καταδικάση καὶ ἡ μετάνοια ἡ ἔστω ὄψιμος καὶ ἡ πίστις τοῦ ληστοῦ αὐτοῦ,
ἀπὸ ἐκείνους ποὺ παρὰ τὶς κατακτήσεις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ μένουν ἀκόμη ἄπιστοι. Ὢ
ναί. Ὅταν τὶς πύλες τοῦ Παραδείσου διασκελίζει πρῶτος ἕνας μέγιστος
ἁμαρτωλὸς ἀνανήψας ἐγκαίρως, ποιὸς ἀπὸ μᾶς τοὺς ταλαίπωρους ἁμαρτωλούς
της ζωῆς θὰ βρεῖ ποτὲ δικαίωσι γιὰ τὴν ἐμμονή του στὸν κόσμο τῆς
ἁμαρτίας καὶ τῆς πτώσεως; Γιατί τὸ παράδειγμα τοῦ ληστοῦ ὄχι μόνο
βεβαιώνει τὴν ὕπαρξι τῆς οὐράνιας Βασιλείας, ἀλλὰ καὶ πείθει πὼς ὅλοι,
ἀνεξαιρέτως ὅλοι, ἔχουν δικαίωμα συμμετοχῆς στὴν αἰωνιότητα ἀρκεῖ νὰ τὸ
θελήσουν καὶ ἀνάλογα νὰ πράξουν ὅσο εἶναι καιρός.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">***</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Καθὼς
τώρα γιὰ τρίτη φορὰ ἀνοίγει τὸ στόμα Του ὁ Ἐσταυρωμένος ἀφήνει νὰ
ξεπηδήσουν λόγοι στοργῆς καὶ προνοίας γιὰ τὴ μητέρα Του. «Ἰησοῦς οὖν
ἰδὼν τὴν μητέρα καὶ τὸν μαθητὴν παρεστῶτα, ὃν ἠγάπα, λέγει τῇ μητρὶ
αὐτοῦ:</span></span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">ΓΥΝΑΙ, ΙΔΟΥ Ο ΥΙΟΣ ΣΟΥ. Εἶτα λέγει τῷ μαθητῇ ΙΔΟΥ Η ΜΗΤΗΡ ΣΟΥ». </span></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";"> Καμιὰ μητέρα στὸν κόσμο δὲν ἔδειξε τόση στοργὴ γιὰ τὸ παιδί της, καὶ
καμιὰ μητέρα δὲν δέχθηκε τόση στοργὴ ἀπὸ τὸ παιδί της, ὅσο ἡ Παναγία. Κι
ἔπρεπε στὶς τραγικὲς τοῦτες ὧρες τῆς μεγάλης Του ὀδύνης νὰ μιλήσει τόσο
εὔγλωττα ὁ Ἰησοῦς, γιὰ ν᾿ ἀφήση σὰν παρακαταθήκη σὲ ὅλους μας τὴν
ἀνάγκη γιὰ ἰσόβιο σέβας καὶ φροντίδα γιὰ κείνους, ποὺ μᾶς χάρισαν τὴ
ζωή.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">***</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">Ὁ
τέταρτος λόγος τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀπ᾿ τὸν Σταυρὸ ἔχει μίαν ἀνείπωτη
τραγικότητα καὶ δυσθεώρητο βάθος καὶ πλάτος. </span></span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";">«ΘΕΕ ΜΟΥ, ΘΕΕ ΜΟΥ ΙΝΑ ΤΙ ΜΕ
ΕΓΚΑΤΕΛΙΠΕΣ;»</span></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "times";"> Αὐτὸς εἶναι ὁ δυσκολότερος λόγος, ποὺ κρύβει μέσα του
ὠκεανὸ θεολογίας. Πολλοὶ τὸν ἐξήγησαν σὰν ξέσπασμα ἀπελπισμοῦ. Ἄλλοι σὰν
γογγυσμὸ καὶ ἄλλοι σὰν ἀπογνώσεως φωνή. Ὄχι. Ὁ Κύριος δὲν ἐγόγγυσε ὅταν
τὸν ἐγκατέλειψαν οἱ φίλοι, οὔτε ὅταν τὸν κατεδίκασαν ἀδίκως, οὔτε ὅταν
τὸν ἐμαστίγωσαν. Παραπονεῖται τώρα γιὰ κάτι ποὺ τοῦ κοστίζει ἀκριβά. Κ</span></span></span><br />
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Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-37170943470220934742016-03-25T10:13:00.000-04:002016-04-07T15:07:06.612-04:00Ο ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΣΜΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΘΕΟΤΟΚΟΥ ΚΑΙ Η ΕΡΜΗΝΕΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΕΙΚΟΝΑΣ ΤΟΥ ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΣΜΟΥ<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Ο Ευαγγελισμός της Θεοτόκου είναι η αρχή όλων των Δεσποτικών εορτών. Στο απολυτίκιο της εορτής ψάλλουμε: "σήμερον της σωτηρίας ημών το κεφάλαιον και του απ' αιώνος μυστηρίου η φανέρωσις...". Το περιεχόμενο της εορτής αναφέρεται στο γεγονός κατά το οποίο ο αρχάγγελος Γαβριήλ – ο άγγελος εκείνος με τον οποίο συνδέονται όλα τα γεγονότα που έχουν σχέση με την ενανθρώπηση του Χριστού – επισκέφθηκε με εντολή του Θεού την Παναγία και την πληροφόρησε ότι έφθασε ο καιρός της σαρκώσεως του Λόγου του Θεού, και ότι αυτή θα γίνη η μητέρα Του. (βλ. Λουκά α', 26-56). <br /><br />Η λέξη "ευαγγελισμός" αποτελείται από δύο επί μέρους λέξεις, ήτοι εύ και αγγελία, και δηλώνει την καλή είδηση, την καλή αγγελία. Πρόκειται για την πληροφορία που δόθηκε δια του αρχαγγέλου ότι ο Λόγος του Θεού θα ενανθρωπήση για την σωτηρία του ανθρώπου. Ουσιαστικά πρόκειται για την εκπλήρωση της υποσχέσεως του Θεού, που δόθηκε μετά την πτώση του Αδάμ και της Εύας (βλ. Γεν. γ', 15), η οποία λέγεται πρωτευαγγέλιο. Γι' αυτό, η πληροφορία της ενανθρωπήσεως του Λόγου του Θεού είναι η μεγαλύτερη είδηση μέσα στην ιστορία. <br /><br />Ο αρχάγγελος Γαβριήλ απεκάλεσε την Παναγία "κεχαριτωμένη". Της είπε: "Χαίρε, κεχαριτωμένη, ο Κύριος μετά σού, ευλογημένη συ εν γυναιξίν" (Λουκ. α', 28-29). Η Παναγία αποκαλείται "κεχαριτωμένη" και χαρακτηρίζεται "ευλογημένη", αφού ο Θεός είναι μαζί της. <br /> <br />Κατά τον άγιο Γρηγόριο τον Παλαμά, και άλλους αγίους Πατέρας, η Παναγία είχε ήδη χαριτωθή, και δεν χαριτώθηκε την ημέρα του Ευαγγελισμού. Παραμένοντας μέσα στα άγια των αγίων του Ναού έφθασε στα άγια των αγίων της πνευματικής ζωής, που είναι η θέωση. Εάν το προαύλιο του Ναού προοριζόταν για τους προσηλύτους και εάν ο κυρίως Ναός για τους ιερείς, τα άγια των αγίων προορίζονταν για τον αρχιερέα. Εκεί εισήλθε η Παναγία, δείγμα ότι έφθασε στην θέωση. Είναι γνωστόν ότι στην χριστιανική εποχή ο νάρθηκας προοριζόταν για τους κατηχουμένους και τους ακαθάρτους, ο κυρίως ναός για τους φωτισθέντας, τα μέλη της Εκκλησίας, και τα άγια των αγίων γι' αυτούς που έφθασαν στην θέωση. <br /> <a name='more'></a>Έτσι, η Παναγία είχε φθάσει στην θέωση και πριν ακόμη δεχθή την επίσκεψη του αρχαγγέλου. Για τον σκοπό αυτό χρησιμοποίησε μια ειδική μέθοδο Θεογνωσίας και Θεοκοινωνίας, όπως ερμηνεύει θαυμάσια και θεόπνευστα ο άγιος Γρηγόριος ο Παλαμάς. Πρόκειται για την ησυχία, την ησυχαστική οδό. Κατάλαβε η Παναγία ότι δεν μπορεί κανείς να φθάση στον Θεό με την λογική, την αίσθηση, την φαντασία και την ανθρώπινη δόξα, αλλά δια του νού. Έτσι νέκρωσε όλες τις δυνάμεις της ψυχής που προέρχονται από την αίσθηση, και δια της νοεράς προσευχής ενεργοποίησε τον νού. Με αυτόν τον τρόπο έφθασε στην έλλαμψη και την θέωση. Και γι' αυτό αξιώθηκε να γίνη Μητέρα του Χριστού, να δώση την σάρκα της στον Χριστό. Δεν είχε απλώς αρετές, αλλά την θεοποιό Χάρη του Θεού. <br /><br />Η Παναγία είχε το πλήρωμα της Χάριτος του Θεού, συγκριτικά με τους ανθρώπους. Βέβαια, ο Χριστός, ως Λόγος του Θεού, έχει όλο το πλήρωμα των Χαρίτων, αλλά και η Παναγία έλαβε το πλήρωμα της Χάριτος από το πλήρωμα των Χαρίτων του Υιού της. Γι' αυτόν τον λόγο σε σχέση με τον Χριστό είναι κατώτερη, αφού ο Χριστός είχε την Χάρη κατά φύσιν, ενώ η Παναγία κατά μετοχήν, σε σχέση όμως με τους ανθρώπους είναι ανώτερη. <br /> <br />Η απάντηση της Παναγίας στην πληροφορία του αρχαγγέλου ότι θα αξιωθή να γεννήση τον Χριστό ήταν εκφραστική: "Ιδού η δούλη Κυρίου, γένοιτό μοι κατά το ρήμά σου" (Λουκ. α', 38). Φαίνεται εδώ η υπακοή της Παναγίας στον λόγο του αρχαγγέλου, αλλά και η υπακοή της στον Θεό, για ένα γεγονός που ήταν παράδοξο και παράξενο για την ανθρώπινη λογική. Έτσι υποτάσσει την λογική της στο θέλημα του Θεού.<br /> <br />Η ένωση της θείας με την ανθρώπινη φύση στην υπόσταση του Λόγου, μέσα στην κοιλία της Θεοτόκου, συνιστά την άμεση θέωση της ανθρωπίνης φύσεως. Δηλαδή, από την πρώτη στιγμή που ενώθηκε η θεία με την ανθρώπινη φύση υπάρχει θέωση της ανθρωπίνης φύσεως. <br /> <br />Ο Ευαγγελισμός της Θεοτόκου- Ερμηνεία εικόνας<br /> Τη συμβολή της Θεοτόκου στη σάρκωση του Λόγου του Θεού φέρνει η Εκκλησία μας στη μνήμη των πιστών με την εορτή του Ευαγγελισμού. Η ακολουθία της εορτής είναι στηριγμένη στην αφήγηση του Ευαγγελιστή Λουκά: <br /><br />«Εν δε τω μηνί τω έκτω απεστάλη ο άγγελος Γαβριήλ υπό του Θεού εις πόλιν της Γαλιλαίας, ή όνομα Ναζαρέτ, προς παρθένον μεμνηστευμένην ανδρί, ω όνομα Ιωσήφ, εξ οίκου Δαυιδ, και το όνομα της παρθένου Μαριάμ. Και εισελθών ο άγγελος προς αυτήν είπε χαίρε, κεχαριτωμένη ο Κύριος μετά σου, ευλογημένη συ εν γυναιξίν. Η δε ιδούσα διεταράχθη επί τω λόγω αυτού, και διελογίζετο ποταπός είη ο ασπασμός ούτος. Και είπεν ο άγγελος αυτή, μη φοβού, Μαριάμ, εύρες γαρ χάριν παρά τω Θεώ. Και ίδου συλλήψη εν γαστρί και τέξη υιόν, και καλέσεις το όνομα αυτού Ιησούν. Ούτος έσται μέγας και υιός υψίστου κληθήσεται, και δώσει αυτώ Κύριος ο Θεός τον θρόνον Δαυίδ του πατρός αυτού, και βασιλεύει επί τον οίκον Ιακώβ εις τους αιώνας, και της βασιλείας αυτού ουκ έσται τέλος. Είπε δε Μαριάμ προς τον άγγελον, πώς έσται μοι τούτο, επεί άνδρα ου γινώσκω; Και αποκριθείς ο άγγελος είπεν αυτή, Πνεύμα Άγιον επελεύσεται επί σε, και δύναμις υψίστου επισκιάσει σοι, διό και το γεννώμενον άγιον κληθήσεται υιός Θεού... Είπε δε Μαριάμ, ιδού η δούλη Κυρίου, γενοιτό μοι κατά το ρήμα σου. Και απήλθεν απ'; αυτής ο άγγελος» (Από το Ευαγγέλιο της εορτής, Λουκ. 1, 26-38). <br /> <br />Τα όσα εξιστόρησε πιο πάνω ο ιερός Ευαγγελιστής, συνοψίζονται στο απολυτίκιο της εορτής του Ευαγγελισμού, «Σήμερον της σωτηρίας ημών το κεφάλαιον (= η αρχή, η βάση), και του απ'; αιώνος μυστηρίου η φανέρωσις, ο Υιός του Θεού, Υιός της Παρθένου γίνεται, και Γαβριήλ την χάριν ευαγγελίζεται. Διό και ημείς συν αυτώ τη Θεοτόκω βοήσωμεν, Χαίρε κεχαριτωμένη, ο Κύριος μετά σου». Το απολυτίκιο, καθώς και οι λοιποί ύμνοι της εορτής, ζωντανεύει τη σκηνή, τη στιγμή που ο αρχάγγελος Γαβριήλ αναγγέλει στην Παρθένο Μαρία ότι με την επισκίαση του Αγίου Πνεύματος θα γίνει η Μητέρα του Θεού. <br /> <br />Εκείνα που αφηγείται ο Ευαγγελιστής Λουκάς και με την ωραία γλώσσα της ποίησης διαλαλούν οι ύμνοι της Εκκλησίας, τα προβάλλει η βυζαντινή εικόνα του Ευαγγελισμού. Η στάση των προσώπων, η έκφραση και οι χειρονομίες τους, καθώς τα χρώματα και οι λεπτομέρειες της παράστασης, υπομνηματίζουν το γεγονός. <br /> Περιγραφή της εικόνας <br /> <br />Α) Ο αρχάγγελος Γαβριήλ. Είναι ο «πρωτοστάτης άγγελος», ο αγγελιοφόρος του Θεού, που έφερε στην αγνή κόρη της Ναζαρέτ το χαρμόσυνο μήνυμα. Η στάση του σώματός του εκφράζει τη χαρά που έφερε το άγγελμά του. Παρόλο που ο αρχάγγελος βρίσκεται στο έδαφος, παρουσιάζεται με ορμή κίνησης, όπως άλλωστε μαρτυρεί το άνοιγμα των ποδιών του. Στον Ευαγγελισμό της Μονής Δαφνίου η στάση του αγγέλου δίνει με αριστουργηματικό τρόπο την εντύπωση πως η πτήση του δεν έχει τελειώσει, καθώς μιλάει στη Θεοτόκο. Ο Γαβριήλ με το αριστερό του χέρι κρατεί σκήπτρο, που συμβολίζει τον αγγελιοφόρο και όχι κρίνο, όπως μάς έχει συνηθίσει η δυτική ζωγραφική. Το δεξί του χέρι απλώνεται με βίαιη κίνηση προς τη Θεοτόκο σε σχήμα ομιλίας. Βόα σ'; αυτήν κατά το γνωστό τροπάριο «ποιον σοι εγκώμιον προσαγάγω επάξιον; τι δε ονομάσω σε; απορώ και εξίσταμαι. Διο, ως προσετάγην (=διατάχτηκα), βοώ σοι, Χαίρε η Κεχαριτωμένη». <br /> Β) Η Θεοτόκος. Η Μητέρα του Θεού είναι η «κεχαριτωμένη», η ευλογημένη μεταξύ των γυναικών. Η βυζαντινή εικόνα του Ευαγγελισμού την παρουσιάζει άλλοτε να κάθεται στο θρόνο της και άλλοτε όρθια. Στην περίπτωση που η Θεοτόκος εικονίζεται καθισμένη, η εικόνα υπογραμμίζει την υπεροχή της απέναντι στον αρχάγγελο. <br /><br />Στην Εκκλησία μας υμνούμε, ως γνωστό, τη Θεοτόκο ως «την τιμιωτέραν των Χερουβίμ και ενδοξοτέραν ασυγκρίτως των Σεραφίμ» (των αγγελικών δηλαδή ταγμάτων). Εδώ ο αγιογράφος είναι και συνεπής στο απόκρυφο κείμενο. Το Πρωτοευαγγέλιο του Ιακώβου γράφει πως η Παναγία «πήρε την πορφύρα, κάθησε στο θρόνο της και την έγνεθε. Και κείνη τη στιγμή στάθηκε μπροστά της ένας Άγγελος». Σ'; άλλες εικόνες η Θεοτόκος είναι όρθια. Με τη στάση αυτή ακούει, κατά κάποιο τρόπο, καλύτερα το θείο μήνυμα. <br />Στην περίπτωση της Θεοτόκου αξίζει να μελετηθούν κυρίως τα αισθήματά της και οι σκέψεις της, ο ψυχικός της γενικά κόσμος την ώρα του Ευαγγελισμού. <br /> <br />Η εμφάνιση, πρώτα, του αρχαγγέλου και ο χαιρετισμός του, τάραξον τη Θεοτόκο. Το αδράχτι με το νήμα που σύμφωνα με την παράδοση (Πρωτοευαγγέλιο του Ιακώβου) κρατούσε στο χέρι της, έπεσε από το φόβο της. Βυθίστηκε σε σκέψεις. Σκεπτόταν τη σημασία του αγγελικού χαιρετισμού. Δεν αμφιβάλλει, δεν απιστεί στη διαβεβαίωση του αρχαγγέλου ότι θα γίνει Μητέρα του Θεού, μόνο με φρόνηση ρωτάει «Πώς έσται μοι τούτο, επεί άνδρα ου γινώσκω;». Εδώ η Θεοτόκος διαφέρει από την Εύα. Εκείνη παρασύρθηκε από τον εγωισμό της και δέχτηκε ανεξέταστα όσα ο σατανάς της πρότεινε. Η Θεοτόκος, αντίθετα, στολισμένη με ταπεινοφροσύνη και υπακοή στο θέλημα του Θεού, ζητάει να μάθει με πιο τρόπο θα πραγματοποιηθούν τα λόγια του αγγελιοφόρου του Θεού. Όταν όμως ο αρχάγγελος τη διαβεβαίωσε πως όλα θα γίνονταν με τη χάρη του Αγίου Πνεύματος και τη δύναμη του Θεού (το μαρτυρούν το τμήμα του κύκλου και οι ακτίνες που εκπέμπονται από αυτό στο πάνω μέρος της εικόνας), εκείνη ολόψυχα και ανεπιφύλακτα συγκατατέθηκε, «ίδου η δούλη Κυρίου, γένοιτό μοι κατά το ρήμα σου». Στο δοξαστικό των αποστίχων του εσπερινού της εορτής, η Εκκλησία μας δίκαια ψάλλει «Άγγελος λειτουργεί τω θαύματι, παρθενική γαστήρ τον Υιόν υποδέχεται Πνεύμα Άγιον καταπέμπεται, Πατήρ άνωθεν ειδοκεί και το συνάλλαγμα (=συμφωνία) κατά κοινήν πραγματεύεται βούληση, την επιθυμία, τη συμφωνία μεταξύ του Θεού και της Παρθένου, Πλάστη και πλάσματος, γιατί «η σάρκωσις του Λόγου ήτο έργον όχι μόνον του Πατρός και της Δυνάμεώς Του και του Πνεύματος... αλλά και της θελήσεως και της πίστεως της Παρθένου» (άγιος Νικόλαος Καβάσιλας, «Η Θεομήτωρ», σ. 134). <br /><br />Η αμηχανία και η φρόνηση της Θεοτόκου, που με υπέροχους διαλόγους παρουσιάζουν τα τροπάρια της εορτής του Ευαγγελισμού, εκφράζονται σ'; άλλες εικόνες με την ανοιχτή παλάμη του δεξιού της χεριού. Η χειρονομία αυτή της απορίας είναι σαν να λέει «Γάμου υπάρχω αμύητος, πως ουν παίδα τέξομαι;» (β'; στιχηρό του εσπερινού). <br /> <br />Άλλες εικόνες του Ευαγγελισμού μάς τονίζουν τη συγκατάθεση της Θεοτόκου στα λόγια του αρχαγγέλου. Η Μητέρα του Θεού εικονίζεται με σκυμμένο το κεφάλι (όπως στην εικόνα μας) έχοντας το δεξί της χέρι πάνω στο στήθος της, ή να βγαίνει από το μαφόριό της. αυτά μάς θυμίζουν το «ιδού η δούλη Κυρίου...». Στην εικόνα μας ο αγιογράφος συνδυάζει στη στάση της Θεοτόκου την αμηχανία με τη συγκατάθεση. Παρουσιάζει τη Θεοτόκο με σκυμμένο το κεφάλι και βυθισμένη στις σκέψεις της. <br /> <br />Ο πιστός, καθώς ατενίζει και μελετά και προσκυνεί την εικόνα του Ευαγγελισμού, γεμάτος από χαρά και ευγνωμοσύνη σιγοψάλλει «Άξιον εστίν, ως αληθώς, μακαρίζειν σε την Θεοτόκον, την αειμακάριστον και παναμώμητον και μητέρα του Θεού ημών». <br /> <br />Από το βιβλίο<br /> «Ο Μυστικός Κόσμος των Βυζαντινών Εικόνων»<br /> (α'; τόμος)<br /> Χρήστου Γκότση<br /> Εκδ. Αποστολική Διακονία</span></span></span></div>
Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-7311444553015528902016-02-15T10:36:00.000-05:002016-02-15T10:36:48.270-05:00Και λίγο μυαλό να έχει κανείς, αν κάνει υπακοή, γίνεται φιλόσοφος<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LFQRpko03mKmI-cCq_EHhv4bdKkukLyzGTvj3dscXePXMtaKXeoVdz130PeLcrDA6w8uAgNBDkHSFF4RK_u2B0fnPbpdoxlKDUtFgPX-XHitgkNq7PP5yTA1YmrY60ojINMpngGMKYiw/s1600/Elder+paisios+painting+edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LFQRpko03mKmI-cCq_EHhv4bdKkukLyzGTvj3dscXePXMtaKXeoVdz130PeLcrDA6w8uAgNBDkHSFF4RK_u2B0fnPbpdoxlKDUtFgPX-XHitgkNq7PP5yTA1YmrY60ojINMpngGMKYiw/s1600/Elder+paisios+painting+edited.jpg" width="558" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Γέροντας Παΐσιος</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Ο ταπεινός άνθρωπος και θαύματα να
κάνει, πάλι δεν πιστεύει στον λογισμό του. Ήταν στην Ιορδανία ένας πολύ
απλός παπάς που έκανε θαύματα. Διάβαζε ανθρώπους και ζώα που είχαν
κάποια αρρώστια και γίνονταν καλά.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Πήγαιναν και μουσουλμάνοι σ’ αυτόν, όταν
έπασχαν από κάτι, και τους θεράπευε. Αυτός, πριν λειτουργήσει, έπαιρνε
ένα ρόφημα με λίγο παξιμάδι και μετά όλη την ημέρα δεν έτρωγε τίποτε.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Κάποτε έμαθε ο Πατριάρχης ότι τρώει πριν
από την Θεία Λειτουργία και τον κάλεσε στο Πατριαρχείο. Πήγε εκείνος,
χωρίς να ξέρει γιατί τον ζητάνε.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Ώσπου να τον φωνάξει ο Πατριάρχης,
περίμενε μαζί με άλλους σε μια αίθουσα. Έξω έκανε πολλή ζέστη· είχαν
κλειστά τα παντζούρια και από μια τρυπούλα περνούσε μια ακτίνα. Αυτός
νόμισε ότι είναι σχοινί. Επειδή είχε ιδρώσει, βγάζει το ράσο του και το
κρεμάει πάνω στην ακτίνα.Όταν το είδαν οι άλλοι που κάθονταν εκεί στην
αίθουσα, τα έχασαν.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Πάνε και λένε στον Πατριάρχη: «Ο παπάς που κολατσίζει πριν από την Θεία Λειτουργία κρέμασε το ράσο του πάνω σε μια ακτίνα!».</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Τον κάλεσε μέσα ο Πατριάρχης και άρχισε
να τον ρωτάει: «Τι κάνεις; Πώς πας; Κάθε πότε λειτουργείς; Πώς
ετοιμάζεσαι για την Θεία Λειτουργία;».«Να, λέει, διαβάζω την ακολουθία
του όρθρου, κάνω και μερικές μετάνοιες και ύστερα φτιάχνω ένα ρόφημα,
κολατσίζω λίγο, και έπειτα λειτουργώ». «Γιατί το κάνεις αυτό;», τον
ρωτάει ο Πατριάρχης. «Άμα φάω λιγάκι πριν από την Θεία Λειτουργία, λέει
εκείνος, όταν κάνω κατάλυση , πάει ο Χριστός επάνω!!! Ενώ, αν φάω μετά
την Θεία Λειτουργία, πάει ο Χριστός από κάτω»!!!</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Με καλό λογισμό το έκανε! Του λέει τότε ο
Πατριάρχης: «Όχι, δεν είναι σωστό αυτό. Πρώτα να κάνεις κατάλυση, και
έπειτα να τρως λίγο». Έβαλε μετάνοια και το δέχθηκε.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Θέλω να πω, παρόλο που είχε φθάσει σε
τέτοια κατάσταση, να κάνει θαύματα, το δέχθηκε απλά· δεν είχε δικό του
θέλημα. Ενώ, αν πίστευε στον λογισμό του, μπορούσε να πει: «Εγώ διαβάζω
ανθρώπους και ζώα άρρωστα και γίνονται καλά, κάνω θαύματα· τι μου λέει
αυτός; Έτσι που το σκέφτομαι, είναι πιο καλά, γιατί αλλιώς πάει το
φαγητό πάνω από τον Χριστό».</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Έχω καταλάβει ότι ή υπακοή πολύ βοηθάει.
Και λίγο μυαλό να έχει κανείς, αν κάνει υπακοή, γίνεται φιλόσοφος. Είτε
έξυπνος είτε κουτός είτε υγιής είτε άρρωστος πνευματικά ή σωματικά
είναι κανείς και βασανίζεται από λογισμούς, αν κάνει υπακοή,
ελευθερώνεται. Λύτρωση είναι η υπακοή.</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>(Διήγηση Γέροντος Παϊσίου)</b></span></span></div>
Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-48511257608414430422015-12-24T07:42:00.000-05:002015-12-24T08:25:12.411-05:00Ὁ ἅγιος Ἱερώνυμος στὴ σπηλιὰ τῆς Βηθλεὲμ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV8x3Bni5mj4Afy8fnyTOdDMN4H6RoVjw-lO_SINCFCVOm5p41gGGnocUncUEQehZTIvQVfXaF7fEFo2TNRjhtsr7yGN2_5Zd9mmWnotlCAVaL-S2qO1VR4tDaSMBFb3FE1QMttHwt8_Un/s1600/676x380+edited+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV8x3Bni5mj4Afy8fnyTOdDMN4H6RoVjw-lO_SINCFCVOm5p41gGGnocUncUEQehZTIvQVfXaF7fEFo2TNRjhtsr7yGN2_5Zd9mmWnotlCAVaL-S2qO1VR4tDaSMBFb3FE1QMttHwt8_Un/s640/676x380+edited+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Νύχτα Χριστουγέννων. Ἕνας ἅγιος καὶ
σοφὸςἀ σκητὴς προσεύχεται ἀπὸ ὥρα γονατιστὸς μέσα στὸ ἅγιο Σπήλαιο, στὴ
Βηθλεέμ. Στὸ σπήλαιο ποὺ πρὶν ἀπὸ περίπου 400 χρόνια εἶχε φιλοξενήσει τὸν
νεογέννητο Χριστό μας. Ὁ ἀσκητὴς δὲν εἶναι ἄλλος ἀπὸ τὸν μεγάλο Πατέρα
τῆς Ἐκκλησίας μας, τὸν ἅγιο Ἱερώνυμο, ποὺ κατέγραψε καὶ τὰ ὅσα συνέβησαν
ἐκεῖ.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Ἐκείνη τὴ νύχτα ὁ Ὅσιος εἶχε ἀφήσει τὸ ἀσκητήριο του, ποὺ ἦταν
κοντὰ στὸ ἅγιο Σπήλαιο, καὶ εἶχε ἀποφασίσει νὰ τὴν περάσει ξάγρυπνος καὶ
προσευχόμενος μπροστὰ στὴν ἁγία Φάτνη.<br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Ἡ καρδιά του ἦταν γεμάτη
εὐγνωμοσύνη γιὰ τὴ μεγάλη δωρεὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ: νὰ ἔλθει ὁ Ἴδιος στὴ γῆ, νὰ
γίνει ἄνθρωπος, γιὰ νὰ μᾶς γλυτώσει ἀπὸ τὴ δουλεία τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ἀπὸ τὴν
τυραννία τοῦ διαβόλου καὶ τὰ νύχια τοῦ θανάτου!<br />Ἀπόλυτη σιωπὴ ἐπικρατοῦσε μέσα στὴ νύχτα στὸν ἱερὸ χῶρο...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Ξαφνικὰ ἀκούστηκε νὰ προφέρει τὸ ὄνομά του μιὰ γλυκιὰ φωνή:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">–Ἱερώνυμε!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Ξαφνιάστηκε ὁ Ὅσιος... Κοίταξε παραξενεμένος γύρω του... Τίποτε... Δὲν ὑπῆρχε κανείς.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">–Ἱερώνυμε! ξανακούστηκε ἡ φωνή...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Ναί! Ἐρχόταν ἀπὸ τὴν ἁγία Φάτνη... καὶ ἔκανε τὴν καρδιά του νὰ τρέμει συγκλονισμένη.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">–Ἱερώνυμε, τί δῶρο θὰ μοῦ κάνεις ἀπόψε στὴ γιορτή μου;</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Ἦταν πράγματι ἡ γλυκιὰ φωνὴ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Ξέσπασε σὲ λυγμοὺς ὁ Ἅγιος:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">–Ὦ Κύριε, τὸ ξέρεις ὅτι γιὰ Σένα τὰ
ἄφησα ὅλα: τὸ παλάτι τοῦ αὐτοκράτορα, τὰ μεγαλεῖα τῆς Ρώμης, τὶς
ἀνέσεις. Ἡ καρδιά μου, ἡ σκέψη μου, ὅλα σὲ Σένα εἶναι στραμμένα! Τί ἄλλο
μπορῶ νὰ Σοῦ προσφέρω; Δὲν ἔχω τίποτε!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">–Καὶ ὅμως, Ἱερώνυμε, ἔχεις κάτι ἀκόμα
ποὺ μπορεῖς καὶ πρέπει νὰ μοῦ τὸ προσφέρεις... Αὐτὸ θὰ μὲ εὐχαριστήσει
πιὸ πολὺ ἀπὸ ὅλα τὰ ἄλλα, καὶ αὐτὸ θέλω...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Ἔπεσε σὲ συλλογὴ ὁ Ὅσιος... Πέρασαν λίγα λεπτὰ καὶ μετὰ τόλμησε νὰ ψελλίσει:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">–Κύριε, δὲν βρίσκω κάτι... Πές μου, τί θὰ μποροῦσα ἀκόμη νὰ Σοῦ προσφέρω καὶ δὲν μπορῶ νὰ τὸ σκεφτῶ;</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Μεσολάβησε μικρὸ διάστημα σιγῆς καὶ ἡ φωνὴ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ξανακούστηκε:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">–Ἱερώνυμε, τὶς ἁμαρτίες σου θέλω. Δῶσε μου τὶς ἁμαρτίες σου!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">–Τὶς ἁμαρτίες μου; Τί νὰ τὶς κάνεις, Κύριε, τὶς ἁμαρτίες μου;</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">–Θέλω τὶς ἁμαρτίες σου γιὰ νὰ σοῦ τὶς συγχωρήσω, ἀφοῦ γι᾿ αὐτὸ ἦρθα στὸν κόσμο, ἀπάντησε ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ ἐπικράτησε βαθιὰ σιωπή.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Συγκλονισμένος ὁ ἅγιος Ἱερώνυμος ἄφησε τὰ δάκρυά του, δάκρυα εὐγνωμοσύνης, νὰ πλημμυρίσουν τὸν ἱερὸ χῶρο ὅλη τὴ νύχτα.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Ἄφησε καὶ σὲ μᾶς τὴν ἔμπρακτη παραγγελία
νὰ μὴ λησμονοῦμε κάθε Χριστούγεννα τὸ ὡραιότερο δῶρο πρὸς τὸν Σωτήρα
μας, τὴ μετάνοιά μας γιὰ τὶς ἁμαρτίες μας. Αὐτὸς εἶναι ὁ καλύτερος
ἑορτασμὸς τῆς μεγάλης ἑορτῆς...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange;">Περιοδικό «Ο ΣΩΤΗΡ», Τεῦχ. 2057</span></span></div>
Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-3566182675330993742015-10-17T12:53:00.002-04:002015-10-17T12:53:56.856-04:00Ο Θεός γνωρίζει αλλά δεν προορίζει (Αγίου Πορφυρίου του Καυσοκαλυβίτου) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3R9V3K5Ndc_yi2dJ5ILAmbcMk3SHBVAKhIbyivVa3uQskq5LZmKyXBoE5HJgJxspoIgFfylRfiDQHGaD0SjygbUgHHkGyu7JStZALW2Waa5oddKpyaiNSkQwpQroYDl8ZE0o1a-MINXuT/s1600/o-theos-prognorizei+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3R9V3K5Ndc_yi2dJ5ILAmbcMk3SHBVAKhIbyivVa3uQskq5LZmKyXBoE5HJgJxspoIgFfylRfiDQHGaD0SjygbUgHHkGyu7JStZALW2Waa5oddKpyaiNSkQwpQroYDl8ZE0o1a-MINXuT/s640/o-theos-prognorizei+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Είναι ασύλληπτη η γνώση του Θεού απ’ το δικό μας νου. Είναι άπειρη,
περιλαμβάνει όλα τα όντα, ορατά και αόρατα, έσχατα και αρχαία. Τα
γνωρίζει ο Θεός όλα με ακρίβεια, σε όλο το βάθος και το πλάτος τους. Ο
Κύριος γνωρίζει εμάς, πριν γνωρίσομε εμείς τον εαυτό μας.<br /> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Γνωρίζει
τις διαθέσεις μας και την παραμικρή μας σκέψη, τους λογισμούς, τις
αποφάσεις μας, πριν να τις πάρομε. Αλλά και προ της συλλήψεώς μας και
προ καταβολής κόσμου μας γνώριζε καλά. Γι΄αυτό ο Δαβίδ θαυμάζει και
φωνάζει: «Κύριε, εδοκίμασάς με και έγνως με …»</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Το Πνεύμα το Άγιον εισχωρεί παντού. Γιαυτό εκείνος που εμφορείται υπό
του Αγίου Πνεύματος έχει και αυτός τη γνώση του Θεού. Γνωρίζει το
παρελθόν, το παρόν, το μέλλον. Του τα φανερώνει το Άγιον Πνεύμα. Τίποτα
δεν είναι άγνωστο στον Θεό απ’ τις πράξεις μας, αλλά γράφονται όλα.
Γράφονται κι όμως δεν γράφονται. Γεννιούνται και υπάρχουn, αλλά δεν
γεννιούνται. Αυτό που ξέρετε εσείς τώρα, το ξέρει ο Θεός προ καταβολής
κόσμου. Σας θυμίζω αυτό που λέει ο άγιος Συμεών ο Νέος Θεολόγος στην
Ευχή προ της Θείας Μεταλήψεως. Ακούστε: «Το μεν ακατέργαστόν μου έγνωσαν
οι οφθαλμοί Σου· επί το βιβλίον δε Σου και τα μήπω πεπραγμένα
γεγραμμένα Σοι τυγχάνει». </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Αυτά τα λόγια κάποιοι τα παρεξηγούν και τα μπερδεύουν. «Αφού ο Θεός
τα έχει όλα γραμμένα, έχομε μοίρα, λένε, έχομε τύχη, έχομε πεπρωμένο.
Άρα ήταν γραμμένο και πεπρωμένο να κάνεις, για παράδειγμα, φόνο· σε είχε
προορίσει γι’ αυτό ο Θεός». Θα μου πεις: «Αν είναι γραμμένο ότι εγώ
επρόκειτο να σκοτώσω εσένα, είμαι εγώ υπεύθυνος ή ανεύθυνος; Αφού και τα
«μήπω πεπραγμένα γεγραμμένα Σοι τυγχάνει», γιατί να είμαστε υπεύθυνοι
οι άνθρωποι; Τώρα πες μου εσύ, που λέεις ότι ο Θεός είναι αγαθός, γιατί
το έγραφε και δεν με απέτρεπε να το κάνω;».</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Εδώ είναι το μυστήριο. Ο Θεός εν τη παντοδυναμία Του και παγγνωσία
Του γνωρίζει τα πάντα, και τα μέλλοντα να συμβούν, αλλά δεν είναι
Εκείνος υπαίτιος για το κακό. Ο Θεός προγνωρίζει αλλά δεν προορίζει. Για
τον Θεό δεν υπάρχει παρελθόν, παρόν και μέλλον. Όλα είναι γυμνά και
τετραχηλισμένα ενώπιόν Του. Πως το λέει ο απόστολος Παύλος; «Πάντα δε
γυμνά και τετραχηλισμένα τοις οφθαλμοίς Αυτού». Ως παντογνώστης γνωρίζει
και το αγαθό και το κακό. Συνεργάζεται με το αγαθό ως φύσει αγαθός και
είναι ξένος του κακού. Αφού είναι ξένος του κακού, πώς είναι δυνατόν να
μας προορίζει γι’ αυτό; Ο Θεός εδημιούργησε τα πάντα καλά λίαν και έδωσε
σε όλα αγαθό άγιο προορισμό.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Το κακό είναι πρόβλημα, το οποίο η θρησκεία μας το εξηγεί μ’ ένα
θαυμάσιο τρόπο, που καλύτερος δεν υπάρχει. Η εξήγηση που του δίνει είναι
η εξής:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Το κακό υπάρχει και προέρχεται απ’ τον διάβολο. Μέσα μας έχομε και το
κακό πνεύμα και το αγαθό πνεύμα και μάχονται αλλήλους. «Ή γαρ τον ένα
μισήσει και τον έτερον αγαπήσει ή ενός ανθέξεται και του ετέρου
καταφρονήσει· ου δύνασθε Θεώ δουλεύειν και μαμωνά».Μέσα μας δηλαδή
γίνεται πάλη μεταξύ καλού και κακού. Σ’ αυτήν όμως την πάλη ο άνθρωπος
είναι ελεύθερος ν’ αποφασίσει τι θα διαλέξει. Άρα δεν είναι ο Θεός που
προορίζει κι αποφασίζει αλλά η ελεύθερη βούληση του ανθρώπου.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Ο Θεός εν τη παντογνωσία Του γνωρίζει μ’ όλη την ακρίβεια όχι απλώς
από πριν αλλά προ καταβολής κόσμου ότι ο τάδε θα κάνει, παραδείγματος
χάριν, φόνο, όταν γίνει τριάντα τριών ετών. Αλλά ο άνθρωπος εν τη
ελευθερία της βουλήσεώς του – δώρο που του έδωσε ο Θεός και το
διαστρέβλωσε – ενεργεί αυτοβούλως.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Δεν είναι ο Θεός ο αίτιος, ούτε μας προορίζει γι’ αυτό το σκοπό. Η
παγνωσία Του δεν μας υποχρεώνει. Σέβεται την ελευθερία μας, δεν την
καταργεί. Μας αγαπάει, δεν μας κάνει δούλους, μας δίνει αξία. Ο Θεός δεν
επεμβαίνει στην ελευθερία μας, τη σέβεται, μας δίνει το ελεύθερο. Άρα
είμαστε υπεύθυνοι, διότι κάνομε αυτό που θέλομε εμείς. Δεν μας αναγκάζει
ο Θεός. Είναι προδιαγεγραμμένο και γνωστό στον Θεό ότι θα σκοτώσεις εσύ
αυτόν τον άνθρωπο, αλλά δεν είναι κανονισμένο υπό του Θεού να το
κάνεις.<br /> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Πώς είναι δυνατό ο Θεός, που μας εδημιούργησε από άπειρη
αγάπη κι ο ίδιος είναι απόλυτη αγάπη και θέλει μόνο την αγάπη, να
θελήσει να σε οδηγήσει στην κακία και στο φόνο; Σου δίνει την ελευθερία
και μετά σου την παίρνει; Εσύ ενεργείς ελεύθερα, εσύ αποφασίζεις αυτό
που ο Θεός γνωρίζει εκ των προτέρων, χωρίς να σε αναγκάζει, γι’ αυτό και
είσαι εσύ υπεύθυνος.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Αυτά τα θέματα είναι πολύ λεπτά, θέλουν θείο φωτισμό, για να τα
κατανοήσει ο άνθρωπος. Είναι μυστήρια. Το αγαθό στη φύση είναι μυστήριο.
Δεν είναι ωραίο ένα λουλουδάκι με ποικίλα χρώματα, που σε τραβάει και
σε κάνει να το αγαπήσεις; Το πλησιάζεις κι έχει άρωμα τόσο ευγενικό,
τόσο λεπτό, που σε κάνει να το αγαπάεις πιο πολύ. Αυτό είναι το αγαθό. Έ
ναι, αλλά δεν είναι όμως κι αυτό μυστήριο; Πώς έγιναν αυτά τα χρώματα,
πώς έγινε αυτό το άρωμα; Το ίδιο μπορούμε να πούμε για τα πουλιά, για τα
ζώα, για τα υδρόβια. Όλα εκφράζουν την αγαθότητα του Θεού.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Ο Θεός έδωσε στον άνθρωπο ό,τι πιο ωραίο και καλό. Τον προόρισε να
γίνει τέλειος. Του έδωσε, όμως, και την ελευθερία κι έτσι έγκειται και
σ’ εκείνον ν’ ακολουθήσει το αγαθό ή το κακό. Από το ένα μέρος η αγάπη
του Θεού κι από το άλλο η ελευθερία του ανθρώπου. Αγάπη και ελευθερία
μπλέκουν. Ενώνεται το πνεύμα με το Πνεύμα. Αυτή είναι η μυστική ζωή.
Όταν το πνεύμα μας ενώνεται με το Πνεύμα του Θεού, τότε κάνομε το αγαθό,
γινόμαστε αγαθοί.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Για τα πάθη μας ευθύνεται άλλος, η βούλησή μας. Ο Θεός δεν θέλει να
περιορίσει τη βούλησή μας, δεν θέλει να μας πιέσει, δεν θέλει να
επιβάλει τη βία. Από μας εξαρτάται τι θα κάνομε και πώς θα ζήσομε. Ή θα
ζούμε τον Χριστό και θα έχομε τα θεία βιώματα και την ευτυχία ή θα ζούμε
στη μελαγχολία και στη λύπη. Μέση κατάστασις, μέσος όρος δεν υπάρχει. Ή
θα είσαι ή δεν θα είσαι. Ή το ένα ή το άλλο. Η φύση εκδικείται, μισεί
το κενό. Το καθετί μπορεί να είναι έτσι, αλλά μπορεί και να μην είναι.
Το φίλημα επί παραδείγματι μπορεί να είναι άγιο και μπορεί να είναι
πονηρό. Αλλ’ αυτό έχει αξία, να ενεργεί ο άνθρωπος ελεύθερα. … Ο Θεός
έκανε τον άνθρωπο να ζητάει μόνος του να γίνει καλός, να το επιθυμεί
μόνος του και να γίνεται, τρόπον τινα, σαν δικό του το κατόρθωμα, ενώ
στην πραγματικότητα προέρχεται απ’ την χάρι του Θεού. Έρχεται πρώτα στο
σημείο να το θέλει, να το αγαπάει, να το επιθυμεί και κατόπιν έρχεται η
θεία χάρις και το κατορθώνει.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Ο Θεός είναι αγάπη δεν είναι απλός θεατής της ζωής μας. Προνοεί και
ενδιαφέρεται ως Πατέρας μας που είναι, αλλά σέβεται και την ελευθερία
μας. Δεν μας πιέζει. Εμείς να έχομε την ελπίδα μας στην πρόνοια του Θεού
και, εφόσον πιστεύομε ότι ο Θεός μας παρακολουθεί, να έχομε θάρρος, να
ριχνόμαστε στην αγάπη Του και τότε θα Τον βλέπομε διαρκώς κοντά μας. Δεν
θα φοβόμαστε μήπως παραπατήσομε.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Πόσες βελόνες έχει το κάθε πεύκο; Ο Θεός τις γνωρίζει και χωρίς τη
δική Του θέληση ούτε μία δεν πέφτει κάτω. Όπως και οι τρίχες της κεφαλής
μας και αυτές όλες είναι ηριθμημέναι. Εκείνος φροντίζει και για τις πιο
μικρές λεπτομέρειες της ζωής μας, μας αγαπάει, μας προστατεύει.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Εμείς ζούμε σαν να μην αισθανόμαστε το μεγαλείο της θείας προνοίας. Ο
Θεός είναι πολύ μυστικός. Δεν μπορούμε να καταλάβομε τις ενέργειές Του.
Μη νομίζετε ότι ο Θεός το έκανε έτσι και μετά το διόρθωσε. Ο Θεός είναι
αλάθητος. Δεν διορθώνει τίποτα. Ποιος είναι, όμως, στο βάθος ο Θεός,
στην ουσία, εμείς δεν το γνωρίζομε. Τις βουλές του Θεού, δεν μπορούμε να
τις εξιχνιάσομε.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Όταν ο Θεός μας δωρίσει το χάρισμα της ταπεινώσεως, τότε όλα τα
βλέπομε, όλα τα αισθανόμαστε, τότε Τον ζούμε τον Θεό πολύ φανερά. Όταν
δεν έχομε την ταπείνωση, δεν βλέπομε τίποτα. Το αντίθετο όταν αξιωθούμε
της αγίας ταπεινώσεως, τα βλέπομε όλα, τα χαιρόμαστε όλα. Ζούμε τον Θεό,
ζούμε τον Παράδεισο μέσα μας, που είναι ο ίδιος ο Χριστός.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange;">Agiameteora.net </span></span></div>
Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-27799577953540257312015-08-05T22:49:00.001-04:002015-08-05T23:02:17.748-04:00Τι σημαίνει: Μαρία – Θεοτόκος – Παναγία<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: orange;">Μαρία </span><br />Ασφαλώς δεν είναι γνωστό σε πολύ κόσμο το τι σημαίνει το όνομα Μαρία, και το οποίο είναι το καθ” αυτό όνομα που της δόθηκε αρχικά, και που αναφέρεται στην Καινή Διαθήκη και δεν της δόθηκε τυχαία.<br /><br />«Το πανσεβάσμιον και κεχαριτωμένον όνομα της Μαρίας προσφυέστατα και αρμοδιώτατα εδόθη εις την αειπάρθενον Θεοτόκον κατά πρόγνωση και βουλή Θεού,παρά του οποίου ήταν ωρισμένη να γίνη Μητέρα Αυτού.<br /><br />Σημαίνει δε το όνομα Μαρία: Παντοδυναμία, τουτέστιν εκείνη η οποία ήνωσε τα δύο άκρα αντικείμενα Θεό και άνθρωπο.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Ακόμη σημαίνει Σοφία, η οποία βρήκε τον τρόπο δια να ενώση δύο φύσεις σε μια υπόσταση, χωρίς να συγχύση τα ιδιώματα των φύσεων.<br /><br /><br />Και τρίτον σημαίνει Αγαθότης, ήτοι χάρις, η οποία εθεοποίησε την ανθρώπινη φύση και ανεβίβασε αυτή υπεράνω των ουρανίων δυνάμεων. Αυτά τα τρία περιέχει το όνομα Μαρία.<br /><br /><br />Δόθηκε διότι έμελλε να υπηρετήσει το μυστήριο της ενσάρκου οικονομίας.<br /><br /><br />…» Το όνομα Μαρία παράγεται από το εβραϊκό Αϊός το οποίο δηλοί Κύριος και ερμηνεύεται Κυρία διότι, ως Μήτηρ Θεού κυριεύει και εξουσιάζει ουράνια και επίγεια κτίσματα.<br /> Έχει δε την κυριότητα της δυνάμεως επειδή το θεμέλιο της κυριότητος είναι η δύναμις».<br /><br /><br />(Αγ. Νικοδήμου Αγιορείτου, στην ερμηνεία της ενάτης ωδής της Παρθένου)<br /><br /><span style="color: orange;">Θεοτόκος</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />Το κατ” εξοχήν θεολογικό όνομα της Μητέρας του Θεού είναι Θεοτόκος. Δι αυτό έγινε λόγος σ” όσα αναφέρθηκαν. Εδώ χρονολογικά πότε δόθηκε αυτό στη Μητέρα του φωτός.<br /><br /><br />«Θεοτόκον ονόμασαν την Παρθένον Πατέρες προ της Γ” Οικουμενικής Συνόδου. Στη δε Σύνοδο αυτή εδιορίσθη το πρώτον να καλείται Θεοτόκος η Παρθένος Μαρία. Ακόμη η Σύνοδος αύτη την γλυκυτάτην ταύτην της Παρθένου προσηγορίαν επικυρώσασα, ως όρον δογματικόν εις πάσαν την οικουμένην παρέδωσε. Πρώτος γαρ ο Ωριγένης Θεοτόκον την Παρθένον εκάλεσε… Ο δε Αλεξανδρείας Κύριλλος, γράφων προς Νεστόριον λέγει, ότι και ο Μέγας Αθανάσιος Θεοτόκον αυτήν και ωνόμασε και ωμολόγει».<br /><br />(Πηδάλιον Εκκλησίας σ. 168)<br /> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: orange;">Παναγία</span><br /> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Το προσφιλέστατο όνομα της Παναχράντου Δέσποινας είναι χωρίς άλλο το «ΠΑΝΑΓΙΑ». Πότε ιστορικά έλαβε αυτή την προσωνυμία η Παρθένος;<br /><br /><br />«Αποδίδεται εις την Θεοτόκον και σταθεροποιείται δι αυτήν η προσωνυμία «Παναγία». Ταύτην γνωρίζει ως επικρατούσαν πλέον κατά τον Ε” αιώνα ο Βασίλειος Σελευκείας<br /> (P.G. 85 425). Βραδύτερον κατά τον Ζ” αιώνα, ο Ανδρέας Κρήτης αποκαλεί επιμόνως την Άχραντον «αγιωτέραν των αγίων» (P.G. 97 2108).<br /><br /><br />Το όνομα πλέον Παναγία υπερίσχυσε, ταυτίστηκε με την ιερά μορφή και προσωπικότητά της. Το πόσο έχει το όνομα Παναγία επικρατήσει στο Χριστεπώνυμο πλήρωμα, φαίνεται κυρίως στις δυσκολίες της ζωής, και μάλιστα σε ξαφνικούς κινδύνους, όπου αυθόρμητα προέρχεται εκ των έσωθεν το όνομα «Παναγία μου».<br /><br /><br />Σ” αυτές τις περιπτώσεις ούτε μάνα μου, ούτε, ούτε, όλα τότε δεν μετρούν υποχωρούν. Πώς συμβαίνει αυτό σε μικρούς και μεγάλους;<br /><br /><br />Μήπως οι πολέμιοι οι ολιγόπιστοι οι είρωνες της πίστεως μπορούν να μάς πουν πώς το όνομα της Παναγίας στις φουρτούνες της ζωής σε πολλούς ανθρώπους εκτοπίζει κάθε άλλο προσφιλές όνομα; Ασφαλώς η Παναγία δεν επέβαλε να την επικαλούνται,αυτό είναι θέμα επιλογής και αυθορμήτου ψυχικής ανάγκης των πιστών, που το αλάνθαστο ψυχικό τους κριτήριο, τους πληροφορεί, ότι απ” Εκείνη, θα έλθει η δύναμη η βοήθεια. <br /><br />Αλλά γιατί; Διότι έχει όλη τη Χάρη του Θεού για παροχή βοηθείας σε ώρες κινδύνου που άλλες δυνάμεις, πρόσωπα, δεν δύναται να προσφέρουν. Διάχυτο πλέον τούτο ότι η θεία δύναμις παρέχεται μέσω της Παναγίας. Βέβαια, το πότε κανείς λαμβάνει και σ” αυτές τις ώρες του κινδύνου είναι αστάθμητο.<br /><br />Από το βιβλίο «Σαράντα Εικόνες της Παναγίας»</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />xristianos.gr</span></span></div>
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Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-52001881867932618922015-07-15T17:45:00.002-04:002015-07-15T17:45:50.637-04:00Saint Paisios The Athonite-ON OUR TIMES<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">ON OUR TIMES</span></b></span></span>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">St Paisios of the Holy Mount Athos.</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Τ</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">he
spirit of lukewarmness reigns. There’s no manliness at all. We’ve been spoiled
for good. How does God still tolerate us? Today’s generation is the generation
of indifference. There are no warriors. The great majority are fit for parades
and feasts only.</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Godlessness and blasphemy are allowed to appear on
television. And the Church is silent and doesn’t excommu¬nicate the
blasphemers. And they need to be excommunicated. What are they waiting for?
Let’s not wait for someone else to pull the snake out from its hole so that we
can live in peace.</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">They’re silent out of indifference. What’s bad is that
even people who’ve got something inside have begun to grow cool, saying: “Can I
really do anything to change the situation?” We have to witness our faith with
boldness, because if we continue to be silent we’ll have to answer in the end.
In these difficult days each must do what’s in their power. Leave what’s out of
their power to the will of God. In this way our conscience will be clear.</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">If we don’t resist, then our ancestors will arise from
their graves. They suffered so much for the Fatherland, and we? What are we
doing for it? If Christians don’t begin to witness their faith, to resist evil,
then the destroyers will become even more insolent. But today’s Christians are
no warriors. If the Church keeps silent, to avoid conflict with the government,
if the metropolitans are silent, if the monks hold their peace, then who will
speak up?</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Alukewarm clergy lulls the people to sleep, leaves
them in their former condition so they won’t be upset. “Look,” they say, “by
all means do not tell them that there will be a war, or the Second Coming, that
one must prepare oneself for death. We must not make people alarmed!” And
others speak with a false kindness, saying: “We mustn’t expose heretics and
their delusions, so as to show our love for them.” Today’s people are
water-soluble. There’s no leaven in them.</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">If I avoid upsetting myself to protect my fleshly
comfort then I’m indifferent to holiness! Spiritual meekness is one thing, and
softness and indifference are quite another. Some say: “I’m a Christian and
therefore I have to be joyful and calm.” But they’re not Christian. They’re
simply indifferent. And their joy is only a worldly joy.</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">The person in whom these worldly seeds are present is
not a spiritual person. A spiritual person consists of nothing but pain. In
other words, he’s in pain at what’s going on, he’s in pain for people’s condition.
And divine comfort is bestowed upon him for his pain.</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Our goal is to live an Orthodox life, not just to
speak or write Orthodox. If the preacher has no personal ex¬perience then his
sermons won’t go to the heart, won’t change people. To think like an Orthodox
is easy, but to live an Orthodox life requires effort.</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Today God tolerates what’s going on. Tolerates, so
that evil people will be un-able to justify themselves. God expects patience,
prayer and struggle from us. If you anger when you yourself are of-fended, your
anger is unclean. But if someone is offended in the service of holiness, that
means the zeal of God is in him. Indignation can be righteous when </span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">it’s indignation for God’s sake. That’s the only
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">It’s unseemly to become angry in one’s own defense.
Resisting evildoers is another matter, however, when it’s in defense of serious
spiritual matters, when our holy faith, Orthodoxy, is concerned. Then it’s your
duty. To think of others, to counter the blasphemers in order to defend one’s
neighbor—this is pure, because it is carried out in love.</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Evil lies within us. There is no love in us, so we
don’t feel all people to be brothers and are tempted by [our knowledge of]
their sinful ways. But it’s not right when moral failings become known to all.
The injunction of the Gospels to “tell it unto the church” (Mt 18:17) doesn’t
mean that everything has to become known to everyone. By exposing the moral
failings of our brother we arm the enemies of the Church, give them another
pretext to escalate the war against Her. And the faith of the weak is shaken in
this way too.</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">If you want to help the Church, then try to mend your
own ways, rather than others’. In straightening yourself out you straighten out
a particle of the Church. If everyone were to do that then the Church would be
in perfect order. But today’s people attend to everything under the sun, only
not to themselves, because it’s easy to teach others, while mending one’s own
ways requires effort.</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">If we expose someone out of love, with pain in our
hearts, then a change will occur in his heart whether he understands us or not.
But to expose without love, with partiality, only enrages the object of our
exposure. Our hostility strikes against his egoism, producing sparks like flint
against steel.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">If we tolerate our brother out of love, he will feel
it. But he also feels our hostility, even if we keep it inside and don’t </span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">express it. Our hostility arouses alarm in him. We
must always ask ourselves: “Why do I want to say what I’m about to say? What is
motivating me? Do I really care about my neighbor or do I just want to show him
how wonderful I am, to show off a bit?” If someone tries to solve
ecclesiastical problems al¬legedly out of faith, but really thinking of his own
advantage, then how can such a person win God’s blessing?</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Sweet words and great truths have value when uttered
by righteous lips. They take root only in people of good will and clean
conscience.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Truth, when used without judgment, can commit a crime.
And he who possesses sincerity without reason commits a twofold evil, first
against himself, then against others, because there’s no empathy in his
sincerity. </span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">A Christian must not be a fanatic but have love in his heart for
all. He who throws words around carelessly, even true words, does evil.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Veneration is a good thing, and the predisposition for
good is also good, but spiritual judgment and breadth are needed to guard
against fanaticism, that false companion of reverence.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Wakefulness and sobriety are needed. All that a person
does he must do for the sake of God. Christ must be at the source of every
movement. Much attention is required, for when we do something with the aim of
pleasing others we gain no benefit.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">We ascend to the heavens not through earthly striving
but by humbling ourselves spiritually. He who goes low goes sure and never
falls. Ours is an age of sensationalism and hullabaloo. But the spiritual life
is not noisy. Divine enlightenment is required and when it’s not there the
person abides in darkness. He may act out of good intentions but create many
problems in his confusion, both for the Church and for society. </span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">There was a time when the Holy Spirit enlightened us
and showed us the way. A grand business! Today it finds no reason to descend to
us. Difficult years are ahead. The Old Testament Tower of Babel was child’s
play compared with our age.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">It’s possible that you’ll live through much which is
described in the Book of Revelations. Much is coming to the surface, little by
little. The situation is horrible. Madness has gone beyond all bounds. Apostasy
is upon us, and now the only thing left is for the son of perdition (2 Thess
2:3) to come.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">The world has turned into a madhouse. A great
confu¬sion will reign, in which each government will begin to do whatever comes
into its head. We’ll see how the most unlikely, the most insane, events will
happen. The only good thing is that these events will happen in very quick
succession.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Ecumenism, common markets (European Union), a one
world government, a single made-to-order religion: such is the plan of these
devils. The Zionists are already preparing their messiah. For them the
false-messiah will be king, will rule here on earth.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">A great discord will arise.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">In this discord everyone will clamor for a king to
save them. At that moment they’ll offer up their man, who’ll say: “I’m the
Imam, I’m the fifth Buddha, I’m the Christ whom Christians are awaiting. I’m
the one whom the Jehovah’s Witnesses have been waiting for. I’m the Jewish
messiah.”</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Very difficult times are ahead for the faithful. Great
trials await us. Christians will suffer great persecutions. Meanwhile, it’s
obvious that people don’t understand that we’re on the verge of the end times,
that the seal of the Antichrist is becoming a reality. As if nothing’s
happening. That’s why Holy Scripture says that even the chosen will be
deceived.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">The Zionists want to rule the earth. To achieve their
ends they use black magic and satanism. They regard satan-worship as a means to
gain the strength they need to carry out their plans. They want to rule the
earth using satanic power. God is not something they take into account.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">One sign that the fulfillment of prophecy is near will
be the destruction of the Mosque of Omar in Jerusalem. They’ll de¬stroy it in
order to restore the Temple of Solomon which used to be on the same place. In
the end the Jews will pronounce the Antichrist messiah in this rebuilt temple.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">The rabbis know that the true Messiah has already come
and that they crucified Him. They know this, and yet they are blinded by egoism
and fanaticism.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Two thousand years ago it was written in the Book of
Revelations that people will be marked with the number “666.” As Holy Scripture
says, the ancient Hebrews laid a tax on the peoples they conquered in various
wars. The yearly tax was equal to 666 talents of gold. (1 Kgs 10:14: the weight
of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six
talents of gold-, and 2 Chr 9:13: the weight of gold that came to Solomon in
one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold). Today, in
order to subjugate the whole world they’ll once again introduce the old tax
number linked to their glorious past. That is, “666” is the number of mammon.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Everything is going as planned. They put the number a
long time ago on credit cards. As a result, he who is not marked with the
number “666” will be unable to buy, sell, get a loan,or find work.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Providence tells me that the Antichrist wants to subjugate
the world using this system. It will be foisted upon people with the help of
the mechanisms which control the world economy, for only those who receive the
mark, an image with the number “666,” will be able to take part in economic
life.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">The mark will be an image which will first be placed
on all products, and then people will be compelled to wear it on their hand or
forehead. Little by little, after the introduction of ID cards with the three
sixes, after the creation of a personal dossier, they’ll use cunning to
introduce the mark.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">In Brussels a whole palace with three sixes has been
built to house a central computer. This computer can keep track of billions of
people. And we Orthodox are resisting this because we don’t want the Antichrist
and we don’t want dictatorship either.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">The most we can suffer is martyrdom.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">There will be three and a half hard years. Those who
don’t agree with the system will have a rough time. They’ll constantly be trying
to imprison them, using any pretext they can find. They won’t torture anyone,
but without the mark it will simply be impossible for a person to live. “You’re
suffering without the mark,” they’ll say. “And if you had just accepted it you
would have had no difficulties.”</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">For this reason, by learning to live a simple,
moderate life here and now you’ll be able to get through those years. By
getting a little bit of land, raising a little wheat and some </span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">potatoes, planting some olive trees, and keeping animals
of some sort, a goat or chickens, the Christian will be able to feed his
family. Stockpiling is of little use: Food doesn’t keep for long before
spoiling.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">But these oppressions will not last for long: three,
three and a half years. </span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">For the sake of the chosen the days will be hastened.
God won’t leave a person without help. Tomorrow thunder will strike, and the
brief dictatorship of the Antichrist-satan will come. Then Christ will
intervene, will give the whole anti-Christian system a good shaking up. He’ll
trample upon evil and turn everything to good use in the end.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">-<span> </span>And if
someone receives the mark unknowingly?</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">It’d be better to say “uncaringly.” How can one be unknowing,
when everything is crystal clear? And if a person doesn’t know, then he should become
interested and find out. By accepting the mark, even unknowingly, a person loses
Divine Grace and gives himself up to demonic influence. When a priest immerses
the infant in the baptismal font, the infant receives the Holy Spirit without
knowing it, and Divine Grace begins to abide in him.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">-<span> </span>Some
people say: “What’s destined by God to be will be. What business is it of ours:</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">They can say whatever they want, but in reality it’s
not like that! Unfortunately, some modern priests diaper their flock like
infants, to keep them from getting upset. “What’s going on today isn’t
important,” they say. “Don’t be alarmed. All you need is to have faith in your
hearts.” Or they scold: “Don’t speak on that topic, about ID cards or the mark
of the beast. It will just upset people.” If they were to say instead: “Let’s
try to live more spiritually, to be nearer to Christ and not to be afraid of
anything. You see, the most we can suffer is martyrdom,” then they’d at least
be preparing their flock for the com¬ing tribulations.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Knowing the truth, a person will begin to mull things
over and shake himself out of his sleep. What’s going on will begin to cause
him pain. He’ll begin to pray and to be on his guard, so as to not fall into
that trap.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">What do we see now? It’s bad enough that cunning “interpreters
of Scripture” are commenting prophecy after their own fashion. They’re
representatives of the clergy, but they’re more cowardly than lay people. </span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">And
it would behoove them to exhibit a healthy spiritual unease and help Christians
by sowing beneficial concern so they’ll be strengthened in their faith and
receive divine consolation.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">I’m amazed: Doesn’t what’s happening give them any
cause for concern? And why don’t they at least add a question mark to the
interpretations they come up with? And if they help the Antichrist and thus
lead other souls to perdition?</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">No, behind the “perfected credit card system,” behind
“computerized security," lurks worldwide dictatorship and the yoke of the
Antichrist: And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and
bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in theirforeheads. And that no
man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or
the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count
the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six
hundred threescore and six. (Rev 13:16-18).</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">The world has lost control of itself. Honor and
self-sacrifice have abandoned people. The taste of sacrificial joy is unknown
to to-day’s people, and that’s why they’re so tortured. For only when you
co-participate in the pain of another do miracles happen.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">If a person doesn’t cultivate in himself the spirit of
self- sacrifice then he thinks only of himself and doesn’t receive Divine
Grace. The more a person forgets himself, the more God remembers him Those who
die heroically don’t really die. And where there’s no heroism nothing worthwhile
can be expected.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Our time is like a bubbling and steaming cauldron. One
needs temperament, audacity, courage. Take care not to be caught unprepared, if
something is to happen. Start getting ready now so that you’ll be able to
resist difficulties. Christ Himself tells us: Therefore be ye also ready (Mt
24:44), doesn’t He? Today, living in such complicated times, we have to be not
merely ready, but triply ready, at the minimum!</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Possibly we may meet not only with sudden death, but
with other dangers. So let’s drive away the desire to arrange our lives
comfortably! May love of honor and the spirit of self-sacrifice live in us.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">I see that something is in the works, that something
lies just around the corner, but it’s constantly being put off. Little delays
all the time. Who’s creating the delays? God? Another month passes, then
another couple of months! </span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">That’s how it all goes. But since we know what awaits
us, let’s develop love in ourselves, to the degree that we can. That’s the main
thing: for true brotherly love to exist between us. Kindness, love — that’s
strength! Guard the secret as well as you can and don’t indulge in excessive
frankness. If “he and I and the bell-ringer” are all in on the secret, then
what will come of that?</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Death in battle adds greatly to God’s mercy, for a
person who dies the death of the brave sacrifices himself to defend others.
Those who give up their lives out of pure love in order to defend their
neighbor are imitating Christ. These people are supreme heroes. They arouse
fear in our enemies. Death herself trembles before them, because they scorn her
due to their great love, and attain immortality in this fashion, find¬ing the
key to eternity under the gravestone. They enter into eternal blessedness
without difficulty.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">That’s why I say to you: Cultivate self-sacrifice,
brotherly love. May each of you attain a spiritual condition which will allow
you to get out of difficult situations. Without a spiritual condition a person
loses courage, because he loves himself. He can renounce Christ, betray Him.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">You must be ready for death. We believe that nothing
is in vain, that our sacrifice has meaning.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Remove your “I” from everything you-do, The person
who- leaves his “I” rises above the earth, moves in another atmosphere. As long
as he remains inside himself he cannot become a heavenly being.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">There is no spiritual life without sacrifice. Try to
remember, at least a little bit, that death exists. And since we’ll die in any
case, let’s not take care of ourselves too much. Look after your health, but
not to the degree where you begin to bow down before your peace and well-being.
I’m not asking anyone to throw themselves headlong into dangerous adventures,
but you have to have at least a bit of heroism, my brother!..</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Feats are committed not by the tall in size but by the
audacious, the heartfelt, and the self-sacrificing. There’s no barbarity in
spiritual audacity. Such people don’t fire at the enemy, but over his head,
forcing him to surrender. A kind man prefers being killed to killing. The
harmonious person is prepared for accepting divine powers.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">The mean, the cowardly, and the small of spirit, on
the other hand, use impudence to hide their fear. They’re afraid of themselves
as well as others and shoot without stopping. Courage and audacity are one
thing; criminality and malice quite another. In order to succeed at anything
one needs a wild streak, in the positive sense. He who lacks this wild streak
can become neither a hero nor a saint. The heart must become uncalculating.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">In our age audacity has become a rarity. Water, not
blood, flows in people’s veins. So if a war were to break out, God forbid, many
would simply die of fright while others would lose heart, because they’re used
to an easy life. Fear is necessary when it helps a person turn to God. Fear
from lack of faith, from lack of trust in God, on the other hand, is ruinous.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Such fear is driven out by audacity. We must remember:
The more a person fears, the more he is tempted by the enemy. If a person
refuses to strive to become courageous, and doesn’t strive for real love, then
when a difficult situation arises he’ll become a laughingstock.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">The warrior takes joy in the fact that he’s dying so
that others won’t have to. If you dispose yourself this way then nothing will</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">be frightening. Courage is born from much love,
kindness and self-sacrifice. Today people don’t even want to hear about death. However,
the person that does not maintain remembrance of death is living outside of
reality. Those who fear death and love life’s vanities are in a state of
spiritual stagnation. Bold people, who always keep death before them and think
about it constantly, on the other hand, cuuquei “vanity and begin to 'live in
eternity and heavenly joy while still here on earth.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">May he who fights in the war for Faith and Fatherland
cross himself and not fear, for God is his helper! God Himself will decide
whether he is to die or to live. One needs to trust God, not oneself.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Providence tells me that many events will happen: The
Russians will take Turkey and Turkey will disappear from the world map because
a third of the Turks will become Christians, another third will die in the war
and another third will leave for Mesopotamia.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">The Mid-East will become a theater of a war in which
the Russians will take place. Much blood will be spilled. The Chinese, with an
army of 200 million, will cross the Euphrates and go all the way to Jerusalem.
The sign that this event is approaching will be the destruction of the Mosque
of Omar, for its destruction will mark the beginning of work by the Jews to
rebuild the Temple of Solomon, which was built on the same spot.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">There will be a great war between Russians and
Europeans, and much blood will be spilled. Greece won’t play a leading role in
that war, but they’ll give her Constantinople. Not because the Russians adore
the Greeks, but because no better solution will be found. The city will be
handed over before the army has a chance to get there.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">The Jews, inasmuch as they’ll have great power and the
help of the European leadership, will become proud and insolent beyond measure
and conduct themselves shamelessly. They’ll try to rule Europe.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial Black","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">They’ll play all sorts of tricks, but the resulting
persecutions will lead Christians to unite completely. However, they won’t
unite in the way desired by those who are now engaging in various machinations
to create a single church united under a single religious leadership.
Christians will unite because the unfolding situation will naturally separate
the sheep from the goats. Then the prophecy of one flock and one shepherd will
actually come to pass.</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b> </b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>ORTHODOX HERITAGE MAY-JUNE 2015</b></span></span></div>
Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-79255643824783794222015-06-30T07:24:00.001-04:002015-06-30T07:24:11.346-04:00Τα δάκρυα του Αποστόλου <div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Του Σεβασμιωτάτου Μητροπολίτου Καστορίας κ.κ. Σεραφείμ</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><br />Στον Απόστολο Παύλο, «τον υψηλό και τον μέγα...τον σχεδόν ασώματο και τον αιχμάλωτο της αγάπης του Χριστού»1, τον κυβερνήτη της Εκκλησίας2 και τον διορθωτή της οικουμένης3, τον παιδαγωγό και πατέρα, τον σκηνοποιό και ακτήμονα4, όπως τον χαρακτηρίζει ο Άγιος Ιωάννης ο Χρυσόστομος, θα σταθεί ο πτωχός και ασήμαντος λόγος μας.<br /><br />Ποιός ο Απόστολος Παύλος; Τον περιγράφει ο χρυσούς την γλώτταν Ιωάννης:<br /><br />Είναι εκείνος που έτρεχε όλον τον κόσμο κηρύτοντας.<br />Είχε ξεπεράσει τις φυσικές του ανάγκες.<br />Ζούσε σαν να μην είχε σώμα.<br />Κατατρόπωνε τους δαίμονες.<br />Ακόμη και τα ρούχα του θεράπευαν.<br />Την φωνή και τη σκιά του την έτρεμε ο διάβολος.<br />Ακόμη και τα θηρία τον σεβάστηκαν, κι η αγριεμένη θάλασσα τον φοβήθηκε.<br />Ήταν πολίτης του Παραδείσου.<br />Ανέβηκε έως τρίτου ουρανού.<br />Ήταν το σκεύος της εκλογής.<br />Ήταν ο νυμφαγωγός της Εκκλησίας.<br />Έτρεξε στη γη και στη θάλασσα.<br />Παντού έστησε τα τρόπαια της δικής του ανδρείας.<br />Ήταν ο παράφορος εραστής του Χριστού, πιο θερμός από τη φωτιά, πιο δυνατός από το σίδηρο, πιο σκληρός από το διαμάντι5.<br /><br />Μας συγκινεί η μορφή του. Είναι ο Απόστολος της Πατρίδος μας, ο Απόστολος της Ευρώπης που συνεχώς σπαράσσεται και η γη της βάφεται στο αίμα. Αυτήν την ύστατη ώρα αξίζει να σταθούμε σε έναν λόγο του μεγάλου Αποστόλου που αποτυπώνει την αγωνία του και συγχρόνως το κλάμα και τα δάκρυά του στο χαρτί της επιστολής του :<br /><br />«Πολλοί γαρ περιπατούσιν ους πολλάκις έλεγον ημίν, νυν δε και κλαίων λέγω, τους εχθρούς του Σταυρού του Χριστού»6.<br /><br />1. «Κλαίων τους εχθρούς του Σταυρού του Χριστού» : Δεν είναι η πρώτη φορά που ο Απόστολος χρησιμοποιεί αυτήν τη σωτήρια ποιμαντική. Αφού συμβούλευσε, παρακάλεσε και προέτρεψε, γιατί ήταν πράγματι η «μέριμνα πασών των Εκκλησιών»7, η ευαίσθητη καρδιά του καταφεύγει και στα σωτήρια δάκρυα που σαν πολύτιμοι μαργαρίτες φθάνουν ως ικεσία στον θρόνο της Θείας Μεγαλωσύνης. Τα δάκρυα του Αποστόλου τα συναντούμε, ακόμη, στο βιβλίο των Πράξεων των Αποστόλων : «διό γρηγορείτε, μνημονεύοντες ότι τριετίαν νύκτα και ημέραν ουκ επαυσάμην μετά δακρύων νουθετών ένα έκαστον»8. Και το κλάμα αυτό του Αποστόλου αφορά τους Χριστιανούς εκείνους οι οποίοι διάλεξαν αντί του Σταυρού του Χριστού, για τον Οποίον ο φτερωτός Απόστολος καυχάται («εμοί δε μη γένοιτο καυχάσθαι ει μη εν τω σταυρώ του Κυρίου ημών Ιησού Χριστού»9), τον ευρύχωρο δρόμο που οδηγεί στην απώλεια της αιωνίου ζωής. Όχι μόνο δεν ήταν συν-κυρηναίοι του Χριστού, όχι μόνο δεν σήκωσαν στους ώμους τους τον Σταυρό, αλλά κατάντησαν και εχθροί Του.<br /><br />2. «Κλαίων τους εχθρούς του Σταυρού του Χριστού» : Στην εποχή του Αποστόλου Παύλου ήταν οι ιουδαϊζοντες και οι ψευδάδελφοι· εκείνοι οι οποίοι προτιμούσαν την περιτομή, τον νεκρό πλέον τύπο, χωρίς να ενδιαφέρονται για την ουσία της σωτηρίας τους. Ήταν εκείνοι, που προτιμούσαν τη ζωή της ανέσεως και όχι τη ζωή του Σταυρού, το φρόνημα του Σταυρού που είναι η άσκηση, η θυσία και η νέκρωση των παθών. Ήταν εκείνοι, που δεν είχαν συνέπεια στη ζωή τους και, αντί να ζουν με σύνεση κάτω από τη σκιά του Σταυρού, χριστολογούσαν μετά πάσης ανέσεως, προκειμένου να ελκύσουν περισσοτέρους οπαδούς. Η καλοπέραση, η άνεση και η κοσμική εξέλιξη ήταν οι επιδιώξεις αυτών των «Χριστιανών», για τους οποίους τρέχουν πύρινα δάκρυα από τα μάτια του Αποστόλου. Γι’αυτούς, αλλά και για τον καθένα μας, ο λόγος του Ιερού Χρυσοστόμου είναι χαρακτηριστικός :<br />«Ο Δεσπότης σου εσταυρώθη κι εσύ άνεσιν ζητείς; Ο Δεσπότης σου προσηλώθη κι εσύ τρυφάς; Και πού τοσαύτα στρατιώτου γενναίου;»10.<br /><br />3. «Κλαίων τους εχθρούς του Σταυρού του Χριστού» : Αν βρισκόταν σήμερα σωματικά ανάμεσά μας αυτός ο στρατηγός της Εκκλησίας και πάλι τα δάκρυά του θα έτρεχαν ασταμάτητα από τα μάτια του. Δάκρυα :<br />για εκείνους που καταπατούν και βλασφημούν τον Σταυρό του Χριστού,<br />για εκείνους που ντρέπονται να κάνουν το σημείο του Σταυρού και δεν αγαπούν την ζωή του Σταυρού,<br />για εκείνους που δεν συμβαδίζουν με το πολίτευμα του Σταυρού,<br />για εκείνους που με την πρόσκαιρη δύναμή τους δοκιμάζουν την υπομονή των λαών και καταπιέζουν και τυραννούν το ανθρώπινο πρόσωπο, περιφρονούν και ασεβούν απέναντι στο ανεπανάληπτον της θείας εικόνος του ανθρώπου,<br />για εκείνους που σαν τον Ιούδα προδίδουν τον Χριστό,<br />καθώς και για τους πάσης φύσεως αιρετικούς που σαν «λύκοι βαρείς μη φειδόμενοι του ποιμνίου», λαλούν «διεστραμμένα του αποσπάν τους μαθητάς οπίσω αυτών»11.<br />για κείνους που δημιουργούν σχίσματα και διαιρέσεις, που προβάλλουν το πρόσωπό τους και το δήθεν έργο τους παρουσιάζοντας τον εαυτό τους ως σωτήρα κι όχι τον αληθινό Σωτήρα που είναι ο Χριστός. Ο λόγος του Αποστόλου είναι συγκλονιστικός «Εγώ μεν ειμί Παύλου, εγώ δε Απολλώ, εγώ δε Κηφά, εγώ δε Χριστού. μεμέρισται Χριστός; μή Παύλος εσταυρώθη υπέρ υμών;»12.<br /><br />4. «Κλαίων τους εχθρούς του Σταυρού του Χριστού» : Είναι όλοι εκείνοι οι οποίοι, ενώ τάχθηκαν να είναι ηγέτες του λαού του Θεού, πέρασαν στην οπισθοφυλακή. Έτσι, ενώ έπρεπε να ήταν «πόλις επάνω όρους κειμένη»13, ξέχασαν την αποστολή τους και το άλας, κατά τον λόγο του Χριστού, μωράνθηκε στα χέρια τους. Τους χαρακτηρίζει η νοθεία, το ψέμα, η αναλήθεια, η έλλειψη ακεραιότητος, η απουσία της αγωνιστικότητος, με αποτέλεσμα να έχουν φτάσει στην ανυποληψία, αφού χρεωκόπησαν στις συνειδήσεις των ανθρώπων και έγιναν αναξιόπιστοι.<br /><br />Είναι εκείνοι, που με την δική τους ιδεολογία και φιλοσοφία, στάθηκαν εχθροί της πίστεως και με το δηλητήριο της αρνήσεως και της συκοφαντίας ποτίζουν τις καρδιές των ανθρώπων και προσπαθούν με τον δόλο και το ψέμα να επιβάλλουν τις απόψεις τους χρησιμοποιώντας άριστα την τέχνη των εντυπώσεων. Είναι τα πρόσωπα αυτά, που έχουν ως σύνθημά τους τη διαγραφή του Θεού από το λεξιλόγιο της ζωής τους και που λένε : «απόστα απ’ εμού, οδούς σου ου βούλομαι ειδέναι»15. Και, ενώ μετά από τόσα χρόνια ζωντανής παρουσίας του Χριστού στον κόσμο και στην ιστορία θα έπρεπε να επικρατεί η αγάπη και η ειρήνη «η υπερέχουσα πάντα νουν», απεναντίας επικρατεί το ψέμα και η αναλήθεια, το μίσος και η λατρεία των ειδώλων και κυρίως η λατρεία του χρήματος.<br /><br />Για όλους αυτούς αλλά και για όλους εμάς, αλλά και «για την Ευρώπη που έβγαλε τον Σταυρό του Χριστού από την καρδιά της και τον έραψε στην πλάτη της και έκανε το ματωμένο σύμβολο της ελευθερίας αιμοβόρο όπλο τυραννίας, ρήμαξε χώρες και λαούς και αυτήν τη βασιλεύουσα γη»16, κλαίει και θρηνεί ο Απόστολος Παύλος.<br /><br />Αυτά τα δάκρυα είναι θεραπευτικά, πατρικά και αγαπητικά, όπως τα δάκρυα των Προφητών της Παλαιάς Διαθήκης για τον αποστάτη λαό, όπως η θυσίες του Δικαίου Ιώβ υπέρ των υιών αυτού.<br /><br />Αυτά τα δάκρυα του Αποστόλου, των Αγίων του χθες και του σήμερα, παρακλητικά προς το Θεό, θα μας σώσουν.<br /><br />Σήμερα, λοιπόν, που στην πατρίδα μας, με τις δυσκολίες που αντιμετωπίζει, τιμάται η μνήμη του, ο λόγος του είναι και πάλι παρεμβατικός και θεραπευτικός. Είναι ο ίδιος λόγος που απηύθυνε στο δεσμοφύλακα των Φιλίππων : «πίστευσον επί τον Κύριον Ιησούν Χριστόν, και σωθήση συ και ο οίκος σου»17.<br /><br />Η πίστις στο πρόσωπο του Χριστού θα είναι η σωτηρία μας και η ανατολή μιας καινούριας ζωής, και επίγειας αλλά και κυρίως ουράνιας.<br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Παύλε Απόστολε των Εθνών διδάσκαλε,<br />Φωτιστά της πατρίδος μας και όλης της Ευρώπης,<br />Ικέτευε τον Σωτήρα Χριστό για τη σωτηρία του λαού του Θεού<br />Για τη σωτηρία της πατρίδος μας, την έσχατη αυτή ώρα.</span></span></div>
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Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-8585301184557216132015-06-25T09:24:00.000-04:002015-06-25T09:24:00.147-04:00Ποιός εἶναι «ψυχοπαθής», κατά τούς Πατέρες τῆς Ἐκκλησίας<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Πατερική Θεολογία</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Πρωτοπρ. Ιωάννου Σ. Ρωμανίδου (+)</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times; text-align: right;">Καθηγητού Πανεπιστημίου</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Επιμέλεια – Σχόλια: Μοναχού Δαμασκηνού Αγιορείτου</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Μέρος Πρώτον: Στοιχεία Ορθοδόξου ανθρωπολογίας και Θεολογίας</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">2. Ποιός εἶναι «ψυχοπαθής», κατά τούς Πατέρες τῆς Ἐκκλησίας</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Ο
κάθε άνθρωπος είναι ψυχοπαθής κατά την Πατερική έννοια. Δεν είναι
ανάγκη να είναι κάποιος σχιζοφρενής για να είναι ψυχοπαθής. Ο ορισμός
της ψυχοπάθειας από Πατερικής απόψεως είναι ότι ψυχοπάθεια υπάρχει στον
άνθρωπο εκείνον που δεν λειτουργεί σωστά η νοερά ενέργεια μέσα του. Όταν
δηλαδή ο νους του ανθρώπου είναι γεμάτος από λογισμούς, όχι μόνο κακούς
λογισμούς, αλλά και καλούς λογισμούς8.</span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Όποιος
έχει λογισμούς, καλούς ή κακούς μέσα στην καρδιά του, αυτός ο άνθρωπος
από Πατερικής απόψεως είναι ψυχοπαθής. Ας είναι οι λογισμοί αυτοί
ηθικοί, ακόμη και ηθικώτατοι, ανήθικοι ή οτιδήποτε άλλο. Δηλαδή κατά
τους Πατέρες της Εκκλησίας όποιος δεν έχει περάσει από κάθαρσι της ψυχής
από τα πάθη και δεν έχει φθάσει σε κατάστασι φωτισμού με την Χάρι του
Αγίου Πνεύματος είναι ψυχοπαθής. Όχι όμως με την έννοια της Ψυχιατρικής.
Ο ψυχοπαθής για τον ψυχίατρο είναι κάτι άλλο. Είναι εκείνος που πάσχει
από ψύχωσι, είναι ο σχιζοφρενής. Για την Ορθοδοξία όμως ένας που δεν
έχει περάσει από κάθαρσι της ψυχής από τα πάθη και δεν έχει φθάσει σε
φωτισμό, είναι νορμάλ ή δεν είναι νορμάλ; Αυτό είναι το θέμα.Ποιος είναι
ο νορμάλ Ορθόδοξος Χριστιανός στην Πατερική παράδοσι; Αν θέλετε να το
δήτε αυτό ξεκάθαρα, διαβάστε την ακολουθία του Αγίου Βαπτίσματος,
διαβάστε την ακολουθία του Αγίου Μύρου, η οποία τελείται στο Πατριαρχείο
Κωνσταντινουπόλεως την Μεγάλη Πέμπτη· διαβάστε την ακολουθία των
Εγκαινίων των ιερών ναών. Εκεί θα δήτε τι σημαίνει ναός του Αγίου
Πνεύματος, εκεί θα δήτε ποιος είναι ο φωτισμένος.9</span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Όλες
οι ακολουθίες καθώς και η ασκητική παράδοσις της Εκκλησίας αναφέρονται
κυρίως σε τρεις πνευματικές καταστάσεις: Στην κάθαρσι από τα πάθη της
ψυχής και του σώματος, στον φωτισμό του νου του ανθρώπου από την Χάρι
του Αγίου Πνεύματος, και στην θέωσι της ψυχής και του σώματος του
ανθρώπου. Κυρίως όμως μιλούν για την κάθαρσι και τον φωτισμό, επειδή οι
ακολουθίες της Εκκλησίας είναι εκφράσεις της λογικής λατρείας. Οπότε ο
νορμάλ Ορθόδοξος ποιος είναι; Ο βαπτισμένος, αλλά μη κεκαθαρμένος; Ο μη
φωτισμένος; Ή ο κεκαθαρμένος και φωτισμένος; Ο τελευταίος φυσικά. Αυτός
είναι ο νορμάλ Ορθόδοξος.</span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Άρα
σε τι διαφέρουν οι νορμάλ Ορθόδοξοι από τους άλλους Ορθοδόξους; Στο
δόγμα; Όχι, βέβαια. Πάρτε τους Ορθοδόξους, γενικά. Μεταξύ τους όλοι
έχουν το ίδιο δόγμα, την ίδια παράδοσι και την ίδια κοινή λατρεία. Μέσα
σε έναν ιερό ναό μπορεί να υπάρχουν π.χ. τριακόσιοι Ορθόδοξοι. Από
αυτούς όμως μόνο οι πέντε να είναι σε κατάστασι φωτισμού, ενώ οι άλλοι
να μην είναι. Και μάλιστα οι άλλοι να μην έχουν ιδέα του τι είναι
κάθαρσις. 10</span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Οπότε τίθεται το ερώτημα: Οι νορμάλ Ορθόδοξοι Χριστιανοί μεταξύ αυτών πόσοι είναι; Δυστυχώς μόνο οι πέντε.</span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Η
κάθαρσις όμως και ο φωτισμός είναι συγκεκριμένες καταστάσεις θεραπείας,
που μπορούν να εξακριβωθούν από εμπείρους και φωτισμένους πνευματικούς
πατέρες. Οπότε έχομε εδώ καθαρά ιατρικά κριτήρια. Ή μήπως δεν είναι
καθαρά ιατρικά τα κριτήρια; Εφ' όσον ο νους είναι ένα φυσιολογικό όργανο
του ανθρώπου, του κάθε ανθρώπου – διότι όχι μόνο οι Έλληνες ή οι
Ορθόδοξοι έχουν νουν, αλλά και οι Μουσουλμάνοι και οι Βουδιστές και όλος
ο κόσμος -, άρα όλοι οι άνθρωποι έχουν την ίδια ανάγκη για κάθαρσι και
φωτισμό. Η δε θεραπευτική αγωγή είναι μία. Ή υπάρχουν πολλές
θεραπευτικές αγωγές γι' αυτό το νόσημα; Και είναι πράγματι νόσημα ή όχι;</span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Σημειώσεις:</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">8.
Βλ. Ιωάννου Ρωμανίδου: «Η θρησκεία είναι νευροβιολογική ασθένεια, η δε
Ορθοδοξία η θεραπεία της», εν Ορθοδοξία – Ελληνισμός, Πορεία στην Τρίτη
Χιλιετία, Β' τόμος, έκδοσις Ι. Μ. Κουτλουμουσίου, Άγιον Όρος, 1996, σσ.
67-76.</span></span></b></span></div>
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</span></b></span>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">9.
Ο καθηγητής κ. Γεώργιος Μαντζαρίδης, σε σχόλιό του σχετικό με το
περιεχόμενο του βιβλίου του Αρχιμ. Ζαχαρία Ζάχαρου με τίτλο Αναφορά στην
Θεολογία του Γέροντος Σωφρονίου (έκδοσις Ι. Μ. Τιμίου Προδρόμου, Έσσεξ
Αγγλίας, 2000), το οποίο δημοσιεύθηκε στο περιοδικό Σύναξη (τεύχος 85,
Ιαν. – Μάρτ. 2003, σσ. 94-98), αναφέρει τα εξής (σ. 98): «... Η αγάπη
προς τους εχθρούς αποτελεί το αψευδές κριτήριο της αλήθειας και της
καθολικότητας της Εκκλησίας. Στην διδασκαλία του αγίου Σιλουανού και του
Γέροντα Σωφρονίου οι άνθρωποι δεν διακρίνονται σε εχθρούς και φίλους
(ή, σε καλούς και κακούς), αλλά σε γνωρίσαντας και αγνοούντας τον Θεόν.
Όπου αναγνωρίζονται εχθροί, σημαίνει ότι απορρίπτεται μέρος του σώματος
της ανθρωπότητας και φαλκιδεύεται η παγκοσμιότητα. Η τήρηση της εντολής
της αγάπης προς τους εχθρούς σημαίνει ότι ο άνθρωπος αγκαλιάζει όλους
τους ανθρώπους, (ότι) γίνεται καθολικός, παγκόσμιος. Και σε
εκκλησιολογικό επίπεδο η αγάπη προς τους εχθρούς αποτελεί κριτήριο που
βεβαιώνει την καθολικότητα. Αληθινή Εκκλησία είναι εκείνη που διατηρεί
ζωντανή την αγάπη προς τους εχθρούς (σ. 350). Η επισήμανση αυτή είναι
βαρυσήμαντη και ιδιαίτερα επίκαιρη στην εποχή μας».</span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">10.
Η λέξις Δυτικός εδώ νοείται όχι γεωγραφικά, αλλά πολιτισμικά και
θρησκευτικά και σημαίνει την Δυτική, Παπική και Προτεσταντική,
θρησκευτική και πολιτισμική παράδοσι.</span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;"><span style="color: orange;">Πηγή- www.impantokratoros.gr</span></span></span></b></span></div>
Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-18393432844286315372015-06-04T12:11:00.002-04:002015-06-04T12:11:38.603-04:00«Τά Σά ἐκ τῶν Σῶν»<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAhclp0x-7iSEldogNuJ3PwJBuvHX7tdvnT8sq246AlhKOr_zWynlI9r_cVQ0qh5Af-wViunK04_pMQh7n8LobfNihthatkt7tk2xuclQmlgbmgtsu-GRI4QcK4QoHseREsWJRsbo6_GXr/s1600/ceb8ceb5ceafceb1_cebbceb5ceb9cf84cebfcf85cf81ceb3ceafceb1+edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAhclp0x-7iSEldogNuJ3PwJBuvHX7tdvnT8sq246AlhKOr_zWynlI9r_cVQ0qh5Af-wViunK04_pMQh7n8LobfNihthatkt7tk2xuclQmlgbmgtsu-GRI4QcK4QoHseREsWJRsbo6_GXr/s640/ceb8ceb5ceafceb1_cebbceb5ceb9cf84cebfcf85cf81ceb3ceafceb1+edited.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Στά
Τίμια Δῶρα δέν ἔχουμε κρυμμένον τόν Χριστό (δέν ὑποκρύπτεται, δέν
εὐρίσκεται ἁπλᾶ μέσα, οὔτε εἶναι ἁπλᾶ σύμβολα ὁ ἄρτος καί ὁ οἵνος αὐτοῦ
τοῦ Σώματος καί τοῦ αἷματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅπως ἰσχυρίζονται οἱ
προτεστάντες) καί, πολύ περισσότερο, δέν ἔχουμε ἁπλή μυστική ἕνωσι τῆς
ψυχῆς τοῦ κάθε πιστοῦ μετά τοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ὄχι! Θά μποροῦσα νά φωνάξω
χίλιες φορές: ὄχι! Στήν πραγματική καί ἀληθινή Μεταβολή βρίσκεται Ο
ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ! καί μόνον ὁ Χριστός. Γι᾿ αὐτό λέμε «ἐσθίομεν καί πίνομεν», καί
ἔτσι γινόμεθα σύσσωμοι καί σύναιμοι καί χριστοφόροι καί ἀποτελοῦμε μέ
τόν Ἰησοῦ Χριστό, πού λαμβάνουμε μέσα μας, ἕνα σῶμα καί ἕνα αἷμα. Ἔχουμε
τόν Θεάνθρωπο Κύριο Ἰησοῦ Χριστό «κατοικοῦντα καί μένοντα σύν τῷ Πατρί
καί τῷ Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι», ὅπως μᾶς βεβαιώνει ὁ Μέγας Βασίλειος σέ μιά
Λειτουργική του Εὐχή.Βέβαια, τά μάτια μας βλέπουν ἄρτο καί οἵνο, καί ἡ
γλῶσσα μας ἔχει γεῦσι ψωμιοῦ καί κρασιοῦ, ἀλλά δέν εἶναι ἔτσι. Καί θά
τολμήσω νά πῶ: πολλοί ἥταν ἐκεῖνοι, οἱ ὁποῖοι δέν ἐμάσησαν, δέν ἔφαγαν,
δέν κατάπιαν ψωμί καί κρασί, ἀλλά Σῶμα καί αἷμα, Σάρκα καί αἷμα Χριστοῦ,
γιά νά ἀκολουθήση ἀπέραντη εὐφροσύνη τῆς ψυχῆς τους καί γενικά
ψυχοσωματική ἀλλοίωσις διά Πνεύματος Ἁγίου.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;"></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Ἀπό
τή στιγμή, πού κατέρχεται τό Ἅγιο Πνεῦμα καί ἱερουργεῖται τό Μυστήριο,
δέν ἔχουμε πλέον μπροστά μας ὅ,τι βλέπουν τά μάτια μας, ἤ ὅ,τι
αἰσθάνεται ἡ γλῶσσα μας, ἀλλά ἔχουμε Αὐτό πού πιστεύουμε, Αὐτό πού
προσκυνοῦμε, Αὐτό πού λατρεύουμε· ἔχουμε Αὐτό τό θεωμένο Σῶμα καί αἷμα
τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Τό ἀληθινό, τό πραγματικό.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Ζοῦσε
σ᾿ ἕνα μοναστήρι τῆς Ρουμανίας, ἕνας κεχαριτωμένος ἱερεύς, ὁ πατήρ
Μηνᾶς, ὁ μετέπειτα Ὄσιος Μηνᾶς. Αὐτός, μετά τή Θεία Λειτουργία, γιά νά
ξεκουραστῆ, ἔβγαινε στό δάσος, διότι τό μοναστήρι ἥταν μέσα σέ δάση, κι
ἐκεῖ ἔψελνε καί δοξολογοῦσε τόν Θεό μέ ἀναστάσιμα τροπάρια καί μέ πολλά
ἄλλα.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Τότε
μαζεύονταν τά πουλιά τοῦ δάσους γύρω του: στό κεφαλάκι του, στούς ὤμους
του, στά χέρια του, αὐτός δέ τρυφερά τά χάϊδευε. Τίς περισσότερες
φορές, ὅταν ὁ πατήρ Μηνᾶς ἔψελνε, τά πουλιά βουβαίνονταν καί τόν
ἄκουγαν.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Ἐπειδή
οἱ Λειτουργίες ἄρχιζαν νύχτα καί τελείωναν μέ τό χάραμα, ὤσπου νά κάνη
Κατάλυσι καί νά ξεντυθῆ, ξημέρωνε, ἔβγαινε ὁ ἥλιος κι ἔτσι ἔβγαινε πρωΐ –
πρωΐ μέσα στό δάσος καί χαιρόταν τή φύσι καί τήν παρουσία τῶν πουλιῶν.
Κι ἐκεῖ ὅλοι μαζί αἰνοῦσαν καί δοξολογοῦσαν τόν Θεό.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Παρατηρήθηκε,
λοιπόν, στά τελευταῖα χρόνια τῆς ζωῆς του, ὅτι, ὅταν εἶχαν πανηγυρική
Θεία Λειτουργία καί ἀργοῦσε νά τελειώση, καί μάλιστα ἀργοῦσε πολύ μετά
τήν ἀνατολή τοῦ ἡλίου, τά πουλιά μαζεύονταν πάνω στήν Ἐκκλησία!</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Τήν
ὥρα τῆς Μεταβολῆς τῶν Τιμίων Δώρων, πού ὁ ἱερεύς ἔλεγε «τά Σά ἐκ τῶν
Σῶν», τότε ὅλα τά πουλιά πάνω στήν Ἐκκλησία βουβαίνονταν! Καί στό
«ἐξαιρέτως τῆς Παναγίας, Ἀχράντου…», στά Ρουμανικά βέβαια, καί ἐνῶ ἡ
χορωδία ἔψαλλε τό «Ἄξιόν ἐστι», τότε πάλι τά πουλιά ἄρχιζαν νά
κελαηδοῦν!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><br /><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">
Παρόμοιο γεγονός μοῦ ἀφηγήθηκε κάποιος πιστός, πού συνέβη καί στόν Ναό
τῆς Παναγίας τῆς Ἑκατονταπυλιανῆς στήν Πάρο, κατά τήν Θεία Λειτουργία
τῆς παραμονῆς τῶν Θεοφανείων τοῦ ἔτους 1998.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Δεκάδες
σπουργίτια καί ἄλλα πουλιά, φτερουγίζοντας μέσα κι ἔξω ἀπό τόν Ναό, ἀπό
τά ἀνοικτά παράθυρα τοῦ τροῦλλου, κελαηδοῦσαν καί τιτίβιζαν ζωηρά. Τήν
ὥρα, ὅμως, τοῦ Καθαγιασμοῦ τῶν Τιμίων Δώρων βουβάθηκαν καί
ἀκινητοποιήθηκαν ὅλα, γιά νά ξαναρχίσουν μετά τό » Ἐξαιρέτως τῆς
Παναγίας Ἀχράντου… »</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Τήν
πραγματικότητα αὐτή τῆς Μεταβολῆς τοῦ ἄρτου καί τοῦ οἴνου σέ Σῶμα καί
Αἴμα Χριστοῦ μαρτυροῦν καί τά ἴδια τά λόγια τοῦ Κυρίου στό Μυστικό
Δεῖπνο, τό βράδυ τῆς Μεγάλης Πέμπτης: «Τοῦτο ἐστι τό σῶμά μου… τοῦτο
ἐστι τό αἵμά μου…» Θεία λοιπόν εἶναι ἡ σύστασις τοῦ Μυστηρίου. Τό
συνέστησε ὁ Ἴδιος ὁ Χριστός.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Πρωτ. Στεφάνου Κ. Ἀναγνωστόπουλου</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman',times;">Ἀπό τό βιβλίο: «ΕΜΠΕΙΡΙΕΣ ΚΑΤΑ ΤΗΝ ΘΕΙΑ ΛΕΙΤΟΥΡΓΙΑ»</span></span></span></div>
Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7982244771319810301.post-55396249785183627042015-05-30T14:01:00.001-04:002015-05-30T14:01:22.370-04:00Την Πεντηκοστή κλειδώνονται οι ψυχές;<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLUTZn8zDJ8Gtbc684tjcbnqD1FpF6Gu6Hw8Z725tbNu4qO-FxgnWRwSS8Sd2QCaCeMaT-fMfGetn3IglEM5up80XFptPwz3C5KR0Vw6PFXqV1qI7_M4UQ0Fbot5Yoj0qGLxEeY0QRk6p/s1600/30126+edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="636" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLUTZn8zDJ8Gtbc684tjcbnqD1FpF6Gu6Hw8Z725tbNu4qO-FxgnWRwSS8Sd2QCaCeMaT-fMfGetn3IglEM5up80XFptPwz3C5KR0Vw6PFXqV1qI7_M4UQ0Fbot5Yoj0qGLxEeY0QRk6p/s640/30126+edited.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong>Πάτερ, είναι αλήθεια ότι της Πεντηκοστής κλειδώνονται οι ψυχές;</strong></span></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Τούτη την περίεργη ερώτηση μου έκανε χθές το απόγευμα μία κυρία.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Και
ουδέν όμως το περίεργον, αφού η Εκκλησία μας πολλές φορές έλαβε εορτές
ειδωλολατρικές και τις νοηματοδότησε με τις αξίες του Ευαγγελίου
διαβαίνοντας ως γέφυρα τους ανθρώπους από την πλάνη στην αλήθεια του
Ι.Χριστού.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Συγκεκριμένα, <strong>κατά την τρίτη ημέρα της εορτής των Ανθεστηρίων στην Αθήνα πραγματοποιούνταν τα Υδροφόρια,</strong> εις ανάμνησιν όσων χάθηκαν στον Κατακλυσμό του Δευκαλίωνα.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Οι
Αθηναίοι έριχναν αλεύρι από σιτάρι ζυμωμένο με μέλι προς τις χθόνιες
Κατά τη λήξη της τελετής, πίστευαν ότι οι ψυχές επέστρεφαν στον Κάτω
Κόσμο, οπότε και φώναζαν:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">«Θύραζε Κάρες ουκέτ” Ανθεστήρια» (εξ’ού και το κλείδωμα των ψυχών)</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Αναλαμβάνοντας λοιπόν η Εκκλησία μας τις εορτές των Υδροφορίων <strong>έδωσε το εύνασμα και την ευκαιρία στους Χριστιανούς να μνημονεύουν τους κοιμηθέντες και τις βασανισμένες ψυχές,</strong>
ούτως ώστε με τις προσευχές και τις ελεημοσύνες να αναπαύονται και
αυτές οι λησμονημένες ψυχούλες, που ως φυλακισμένοι στα κρατητήρια του
Άδου, περιμένουν από εμάς λίγη αγάπη και προσευχή, για να ανακουφισθούν
λιγάκι. Γι’αυτό και τα Ψυχοσάββατα που έχει ορίσει η Εκκλησία μας, τα
οποία αποτελούν επισκεπτήρια ανακούφισης για τις ψυχές που έφυγαν από
τούτο τον εφήμερο κόσμο</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong>Έλεγε σχετικά ο Όσιος Παΐσιος: </strong>«Όπως
ανακουφίζουμε τους φυλακισμένους με αναψυκτικά κ.τ.λ. που τους
πηγαίνουμε, έτσι τους νεκρούς τους ανακουφίζουμε με τις προσευχές και
τις ελεημοσύνες που κάνουμε για την ψυχή τους»<span id="more-41972"></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong>Επίσης και ο όσιος Παπαδημήτρης ο Γκαγκαστάθης έγραφε:</strong>
«Ο Θεός θέλει να βοηθήσει τους κεκοιμημένους, γιατί πονάει για τη
σωτηρία τους… Με τα κόλλυβα του δίνουμε το δικαίωμα να επεμβαίνει.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Σε αυτές λοιπόν τις ημέρες ας προσευχηθούμε και εμείς για τους κοιμηθέντες με την εξής προσευχή:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong>Προσευχή υπέρ των Κοιμηθέντων</strong></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Μνήσθητι
Κύριε ημών Ιησού Χριστέ δια πρεσβειών της Παναχράντου Σου Μητρός
Δεσποίνης ημών Θεοτόκου και Αειπαρθένου Μαρίας των δούλων σου, των
κοιμηθέντων, και συγχώρησον, ανάπαυσον και ανάστησον αυτούς, ψυχή τε και
σώματι, εις ανάστασιν ζωής εν τη εσχάτη Σου ημέρα:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><strong>Έτι δε, μνήσθητι πάντων των:</strong></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Εν παντί καιρώ και τόπω της Δεσποτείας σου κοιμηθέντων τέκνων Σου.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Των ακηδεύτων και ατάφων Ορθοδόξων χριστιανών.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Των εκτρωθέντων και αποβληθέντων παιδίων.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Πάντων ων ουδείς εστίν ο μνημονεύων αυτούς.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Πάντων των ελαχίστων, περιφρονημένων και βασανισμένων ψυχών.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Πάντων των υπέρ της Ορθοδόξου πίστεως και της Πατρίδος τελειωθέντων .</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Πάντων των σήμερον και ως σήμερον απελθόντων εκ του βίου τούτου.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Πάντων των σήμερον εορταζουσών ψυχών.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Παντων των οικείων, φίλων και συγγενών ημών.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Πάντων των εν ατυχήμασιν, βιαίω θανάτω και πολέμοις τελειωθέντων.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Και πάντων των κοιμηθέντων και λυπησάντων ημάς.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><em><strong>Επιμέλεια: π.Διονύσιος Ταμπάκης</strong></em></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">agioritikovima</span></span></span></div>
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Tom Manakishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00417702329130753065noreply@blogger.com0