The Dormition of The Theotokos- Icon of Hope

Dormition of the Mother of God (from the Pskovo-Pechorskiy Monastery)

On August 15, the Dormition of the Mother of God is celebrated by most Christians in the world. The Church year begins on September 1, and the first Great Feast of the year is the Nativity of the Theotokos, making the Dormition of the Theotokos the last great feast of the year. It is entirely fitting that these two feasts – celebrating the birth and falling-asleep of Mary respectively – should buttress the entire church calendar. The Church calendar tells us the story of our Salvation in the traditional way, with the climax of the story coming in the middle, which is when Easter is celebrated, before ending in a way which is somewhat symmetrical and complimentary to the beginning. Therefore, the final “scene” in our story of Salvation is the Dormition of Mary, the Mother of God.

The Icon of the feast depicts various strands of the story in one single frame. The story is this:

At the time of Her blessed Falling Asleep, the Most Holy Virgin Mary was again at Jerusalem. Her fame as the Mother of God had already spread throughout the land and had aroused many of the envious and the spiteful against Her. They wanted to make attempts on Her life; but God preserved Her from enemies.
Day and night She spent her time in prayer. The Most Holy Theotokos went often to the Holy Sepulchre of the Lord, and here She offered up fervent prayer.
In one such visit to Golgotha, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Her and announced Her approaching departure from this life to eternal life. In pledge of this, the Archangel gave Her a palm branch. With these heavenly tidings the Mother of God returned to Bethlehem with the three girls attending Her (Sepphora, Abigail, and Jael). She summoned Righteous Joseph of Arimathea and other disciples of the Lord, and told them of Her impending Repose.
The Most Holy Virgin prayed also that the Lord would have the Apostle John come to Her. The Holy Spirit transported him from Ephesus, setting him in that very place where the Mother of God lay. After the prayer, the Most Holy Virgin offered incense, and John heard a voice from Heaven, closing Her prayer with the word “Amen.” The Mother of God took it that the voice meant the speedy arrival of the Apostles and the Disciples and the holy Bodiless Powers.
The faithful, whose number by then was impossible to count, gathered together, says St John of Damascus, like clouds and eagles, to listen to the Mother of God. Seeing one another, the Disciples rejoiced, but in their confusion they asked each other why the Lord had gathered them together in one place. St John the Theologian, greeting them with tears of joy, said that the time of the Virgin’s repose was at hand.
Going in to the Mother of God, they beheld Her lying upon the bed, and filled with spiritual joy. The Disciples greeted Her, and then they told her how they had been carried miraculously from their places of preaching. The Most Holy Virgin Mary glorified God, because He had heard Her prayer and fulfilled Her heart’s desire, and She began speaking about Her imminent end.
During this conversation the Apostle Paul also appeared in a miraculous manner together with his disciples Dionysius the Areopagite, St Hierotheus, St Timothy and others of the Seventy Apostles. The Holy Spirit had gathered them all together so that they might be granted the blessing of the All-Pure Virgin Mary, and more fittingly to see to the burial of the Mother of the Lord. She called each of them to Herself by name, She blessed them and extolled them for their faith and the hardships they endured in preaching the Gospel of Christ. To each She wished eternal bliss, and prayed with them for the peace and welfare of the whole world.
Then came the third hour (9 A.M.), when the Dormition of the Mother of God was to occur. A number of candles were burning. The holy Disciples surrounded her beautifully adorned bed, offering praise to God. She prayed in anticipation of Her demise and of the arrival of Her longed-for Son and Lord. Suddenly, the inexpressible Light of Divine Glory shone forth, before which the blazing candles paled in comparison. All who it saw took fright. Descending from Heaven was Christ, the King of Glory, surrounded by hosts of Angels and Archangels and other Heavenly Powers, together with the souls of the Forefathers and the Prophets, who had prophesied in ages past concerning the Most Holy Virgin Mary.
Seeing Her Son, the Mother of God exclaimed: “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God My Savior, for He hath regarded the low estate of His Handmaiden” (Luke 1:46-48) and, rising from Her bed to meet the Lord, She bowed down to Him, and the Lord bid Her enter into Life Eternal. Without any bodily suffering, as though in a happy sleep, the Most Holy Virgin Mary gave Her soul into the hands of Her Son and God.
Then began a joyous angelic song. Accompanying the pure soul of the God-betrothed and with reverent awe for the Queen of Heaven, the angels exclaimed: “Hail, Full of Grace, the Lord is with Thee, blessed art Thou among women! For lo, the Queen, God’s Maiden comes, lift up the gates, and with the Ever-Existing One, take up the Mother of Light; for through Her salvation has come to all the human race. It is impossible to gaze upon Her, and it is impossible to render Her due honor” (Stikherion on “Lord, I Have Cried”). The Heavenly gates were raised, and meeting the soul of the Most Holy Mother of God, the Cherubim and the Seraphim glorified Her with joy. The face of the Mother of God was radiant with the glory of Divine virginity, and from Her body there came a sweet fragrance.
Kissing the all-pure body with reverence and in awe, the Disciples in turn were blessed by it and filled with grace and spiritual joy. Through the great glorification of the Most Holy Theotokos, the almighty power of God healed the sick, who with faith and love touched the holy bed.
Bewailing their separation from the Mother of God, the Apostles prepared to bury Her all-pure body. The holy Apostles Peter, Paul, James and others of the Twelve Apostles carried the funeral bier upon their shoulders, and upon it lay the body of the Ever-Virgin Mary. St John the Theologian went at the head with the resplendent palm-branch from Paradise. The other saints and a multitude of the faithful accompanied the funeral bier with candles and censers, singing sacred songs. This solemn procession went from Sion through Jerusalem to the Garden of Gethsemane.
With the start of the procession there suddenly appeared over the all-pure body of the Mother of God and all those accompanying Her a resplendent circular cloud, like a crown. There was heard the singing of the Heavenly Powers, glorifying the Mother of God, which echoed that of the worldly voices. This circle of Heavenly singers and radiance accompanied the procession to the very place of burial.
Unbelieving inhabitants of Jerusalem, taken aback by the extraordinarily grand funeral procession and vexed at the honor accorded the Mother of Jesus, complained of this to the High Priest and scribes. The Jewish priest Athonios, out of spite and hatred for the Mother of Jesus of Nazareth, wanted to topple the funeral bier on which lay the body of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, but an angel of God invisibly cut off his hands, which had touched the bier. Seeing such a wonder, Athonios repented and with faith confessed the majesty of the Mother of God. He received healing and joined the crowd accompanying the body of the Mother of God, and he became a zealous follower of Christ.
When the procession reached the Garden of Gethsemane, then amidst the weeping and the wailing began the last kiss to the all-pure body. Only towards evening were the Apostles able to place it in the tomb and seal the entrance to the cave with a large stone.
For three days they did not depart from the place of burial, praying and chanting Psalms. Through the wise providence of God, the Apostle Thomas was not to be present at the burial of the Mother of God. Arriving late on the third day at Gethsemane, he lay down at the tomb and with bitter tears asked that l he might be permitted to look once more upon the Mother of God and bid her farewell. The Apostles out of heartfelt pity for him decided to open the grave and permit him the comfort of venerating the holy relics of the Ever-Virgin Mary. Having opened the grave, they found in it only the grave wrappings and were thus convinced of the bodily ascent of the Most Holy Virgin Mary to Heaven.

(Source: http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=102302)

The miraculous transportation of the Apostles is shown in the top of the Icon, though the main scene depicted within the icon is the funeral procession itself. The Apostles are shown reverencing the body of the Mother of God: St. Paul at her feet; St Peter at the head with censer in hand.

Archangel Michael severs the impious hands of Athonios

Together with the Apostles are several bishops – indicated by their white sashes with crosses embroided upon them – and women. The bishops traditionally represented are James, the brother of the Lord, Timothy, Heirotheus, and Dionysius the Areopagite, who first recorded the story of the Dormition in the 2nd century AD. The women are Sepphora, Abigail, and Jael, along with other members of the church in Jerusalem.

The account of the impious Jewish priest is not shown in the icon above, but is usually shown, as it is in this Dormition Icon. At the top centre of the icon, the unwitnessed assumption of Mary’s resurrected body into the open gates of Heaven.

Jesus Christ in Glory, holding the soul of Mary

Yet the main aspect of the Icon – to which all eyes are inevitably drawn – is the image of Christ in Glory holding the pure soul of Mary in His arms, shown as an infant. The parallel between the image of the God-Man Jesus holding the child-like soul of Mary and the image of the Mother Mary holding the Christ-child in her own arms is, of course, deliberate. The title of “God-bearer” is given to other Saints, such as St. Ignatius. To carry the Word of God, Jesus Christ, within us is the calling of all Christians: to bear Him spiritually within us during our lives, and shine with His glory. The “reward” for this in our earthly life is suffering at the hands of enemies, even to the point of martyrdom, as in the case of St. Ignatius. Yet the reward after our repose is that God bears our soul into His own hands and carries us into eternity, as we carried Him, for just a short time.

Elsewhere I wrote that no human being resembled Jesus Christ – the Son of God – more than His Mother, Mary. And yet this does not make the Theotokos the great exception to the human race, but the great exemplar. Jesus Christ Himself corrected the woman who shouted that Mary was blessed because she had the honour of being the Mother of God: “yea, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” This is why Mary is blessed – because more than any other person she heard the words of her Lord and kept them. This path toward Heavenly joy is open to us all.

And just as we look to Mary’s life for an example, we look to her bodily death – in this Icon – for hope as to where such an example leads us. The hope is in the bodily Resurrection and the life of the age to come. Both are shown in the Icon: the bodily assumption of Mary into Heaven, as well as the commendation of her soul into the hands of Jesus Christ.

Like those who gathered around the body of the Virgin Mary, we gather around our departed loved ones and commend their souls into the hands of Christ. As we remember those who have reposed in the faith before us and have passed on into the communion of the Saints, we prepare ourselves to one day be received into the new life of the age to come.

Source: http://iconreader.wordpress.com/2010/08/15/the-dormition-icon-of-hope/

Τι σημαίνει: Μαρία – Θεοτόκος- Παναγία

Ασφαλώς δεν είναι γνωστό 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.«Το πανσεβάσμιον και κεχαριτωμένον όνομα της Μαρίας προσφυέστατα και αρμοδιώτατα εδόθη εις την αειπάρθενον Θεοτόκον κατά πρόγνωση και βουλή Θεού, παρά του οποίου παρά του οποίου ήταν ωρισμένη να γίνη Μητέρα Αυτού. Σημαίνει δε το όνομα Μαρία: Παντοδυναμία, τουτέστιν εκείνη η οποία ήνωσε τα δύο άκρα αντικείμενα Θεό και άνθρωπο. Ακόμη σημαίνει Σοφία, η οποία βρήκε τον τρόπο δια να ενώση δύο φύσεις σε μια υπόσταση, χωρίς να συγχύση τα ιδιώματα των φύσεων. 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. Δόθηκε διότι έμελλε να υπηρετήσει το μυστήριο της ενσάρκου οικονομίας.
...» 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. Έχει δε την κυριότητα της δυνάμεως επειδή το θεμέλιο της κυριότητος είναι η δύναμις». (Αγ. Νικοδήμου Αγιορείτου, στην ερμηνεία της ενάτης ωδής της Παρθένου).

Το όνομα Μαρία περιγράφει τα χαρίσματα της Παναγίας.

Της έδωσαν τ όνομα της γιαγιάς της, όμως το καθένα από τα πέντε γράμματα του ονόματός της παραπέμπεικαι σε ένα γυναικείο πρόσωπο της Παλαιάς Διαθήκης το οποίο διακρίθηκε για μία τουλάχιστον αρετή:

η Μ- αριάμ, για την αγνότητά της

η Α- βιγαία (πηγή χαράς) για ταπείνωση και σωφροσύνη

η Ρ- αχήλ (αμνάδα) για την ομορφιά της

η Ι- ουδήθ, για την ανδρειοφροσύνη και την πίστη της

η Ά- ννα (Θεία Χάρη) για την υπομονή της.  Θεοτόκος
Το καθ' 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.
«Θεοτόκον ωνόμασαν την Παρθένον Πατέρες προ της Γ' Οικουμενικής Συνόδου. Στη δε Σύνοδο αυτή εδιωρίσθη 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 ονόμασε και ομολόγει». (Πηδάλιον Εκκλησίας σ. 168) Παναγία
Το προσφιλέστατο όνομα της Παναχράντου Δέσποινας είναι χωρίς άλλο το «ΠΑΝΑΓΙΑ». Πότε ιστορικά έλαβε αυτή την προσωνιμία η Παρθένος;
«Αποδίδεται εις την Θεοτόκον και σταθεροποιείται δι ατυήν η προσωνυμία «Παναγία». Ταύτην γνωρίζει ως επικρατούσαν πλέον κατά τον Ε' αιώνα ο Βασίλειος Σελευκείας (P.G. 85 425). Βραδύτερον κατά τον Ζ' αιώνα, ο Ανδρέας Κρήτης αποκαλεί επιμόνως την Άχραντον «αγιωτέραν των αγίων»
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». Σ' αυτές τις περιπτώσεις ούτε μάνα μου, ούτε, ούτε, όλα τότε δεν μετρούν υποχωρούν. Πώς συμβαίνει αυτό σε μικρούς και μεγάλους; 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. 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. Έγινε λόγος γι' αυτό.
Από το βιβλίο
Σαράντα Εικόνες της Παναγίας
Αρχιμ. Νεκταρίου Ζιόμπολα

St. Gregory of Nyssa-After our Baptism, the devil plots

 St. Gregory of Nyssa

“IT IS AFTER the dignity of adoption [Baptism] that the devil plots more vehemently against us, pining away with envious glance, when he beholds the beauty of the new-born man, earnestly tending towards that heavenly city from which he fell; and he raises up against us fiery temptations, seeking earnestly to despoil us of that second adornment, as he did of our former array. But when we are aware of his attacks, we ought to repeat to ourselves the Apostolic words, As many of us as were baptized into Christ were baptized into His death (Rom. 6:3). Now if we have been conformed to His death, sin henceforth in us is surely a corpse, pierced through by the javelin of Baptism, as that fornicator was thrust through by the zealous Phineas (see Num. 25:7-8). Flee therefore from us, ill-omened one! for it is a corpse thou seekest to despoil, one long ago joined to thee, one who long since lost his senses for pleasures. A corpse is not enamoured of bodies, a corpse is not captivated by wealth, a corpse slanders not, a corpse lies not, snatches not at what is not its own, reviles not those who encounter it. My way of life is regulated for another life. I have learnt to despise the things that are in the world, to pass by the things of earth, to hasten to the things of Heaven, even as Paul expressly testifies, that the world is crucified to him, and he to the world (Gal 6:14). These are the words of a soul truly regenerated; these are the utterances of the newly-baptized man, who remembers his own profession, which he made to God when the mysterion was administered to him, promising that he would despise, for the sake of love towards Him, all torment and all pleasure alike.”

 

Saint Gregory of Nyssa, + c. 395 A.D.

Άγ. Ιωάννης ο Χρυσόστομος-Όσοι φεύγουν πριν τελειώσει η Θεία Λειτουργία

Ήρθες, λοιπόν, στην εκκλησία και αξιώθηκες να συναντήσεις το Χριστό; Μη φύγεις, αν δεν τελειώσει η ακολουθία.

Αν φύγεις πριν από την απόλυση, είσαι ένοχος όσο κι ένας δραπέτης. Πηγαίνεις στο θέατρο και, αν δεν τελειώσει η παράσταση, δεν φεύγεις.

Μπαίνεις στην εκκλησία, στον οίκο του Κυρίου, και γυρίζεις την πλάτη στα άχραντα Μυστήρια; Φοβήσου τουλάχιστον εκείνον που είπε: «Όποιος καταφρονεί το Θεό, θα καταφρονηθεί απ” Αυτόν» (Πρβλ. Παροιμ. 13:13).

Τι κάνεις, άνθρωπε; Ενώ ο Χριστός είναι παρών, οι άγγελοι Του παραστέκονται, οι αδελφοί σου κοινωνούν ακόμα, εσύ τους εγκαταλείπεις και φεύγεις;

Ο Χριστός σου προσφέρει την αγία σάρκα Του, κι εσύ δεν περιμένεις λίγο, για να Τον ευχαριστήσεις έστω με τα λόγια;

Όταν παρακάθεσαι σε δείπνο, δεν τολμάς να φύγεις, έστω κι αν έχεις χορτάσει, τη στιγμή που οι φίλοι σου κάθονται ακόμα στο τραπέζι.

Και τώρα που τελούνται τα φρικτά Μυστήρια του Χριστού, τ” αφήνεις όλα στη μέση και φεύγεις;

Θέλετε να σας πω τίνος το έργο κάνουν όσοι φεύγουν πριν τελειώσει η θεία Λειτουργία και δεν συμμετέχουν έτσι στις τελευταίες ευχαριστήριες ευχές; 

Ίσως είναι βαρύ αυτό που πρόκειται να πω, μα πρέπει να το πω. Όταν ο Ιούδας πήρε μέρος στον Μυστικό Δείπνο του Χριστού, ενώ όλοι ήταν καθισμένοι στο τραπέζι, αυτός σηκώθηκε πριν από τους άλλους κι έφυγε.

Εκείνον, λοιπόν, τον Ιούδα μιμούνται… Αν δεν έφευγε τότε εκείνος, δεν θα γινόταν προδότης, δεν θα χανόταν.

Αν δεν ξεχώριζε τον εαυτό του από το ποίμνιο, δεν θα τον έβρισκε μόνο του ο λύκος, για να τον φάει.

 

 

 Άγιος Ιωάννης ο Χρυσόστομος

 

Πηγή:agios-dimitrios

Π.ΣΤΕΦΑΝΟΣ ΑΝΑΓΝΩΣΤΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ -Η ΚΑΤΑ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΝ ΟΙΚΟΓΕΝΕΙΑ

Homily On The Dormition Of The Mother Of God By Elder Thaddeus

 Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica

I thank the Lord and the Most Holy Mother of God that He has willed to embellish this feast day of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos through the angelic voices of the children who sang so beautifully. This reminds me of the days of my youth, before the war, when I was a monk in the holy Patriarchate of Pech, the Serbian Zion as some call it. The choir from Pech used to sing the responses at Holy Liturgy every feast day at the monastery. It was a mixed choir, very well organized, and the choir director was a remarkable person. I have heard many choirs from Belgrade and other places, but that choir from Pech was quite extraordinary. Today, when I said, "Blessed is the Kingdom …,” the children responded with "Amen." This reminded me of those days of my youth and it touched my heart.

When the chanting is as beautiful as this, we are freed from all our cares and our interest for earthly things and we ascend into eternity with the Lord, His angels, and the saints, where our true Fatherland and our Kingdom is. If our Fatherland were of this world, then we would live here in a state of well‑being, peace, and joy. However, this life for us Christians is, so to say, an epitimia. In this life we must prepare ourselves for life in the Heavenly Kingdom and we must attain Divine peace. No one can give us that peace; only God can give peace to created beings and to us if we seek Him and long for Him with all our heart and if we desire to become one with Him. He wants our souls to be united with Him, with His Divine will. He wants our entire being to become one with Him in order that we may feel the joy of living. We, on the other hand, get very involved in this material life and we have no time to think about our soul, about our inner peace. We are always shattering our inner peace.

We have many examples by which we can learn. The Lord gave us first of all the Most Holy Theotokos. It was His will that the Most Holy Theotokos remain with the holy Apostles to comfort and encourage them after His Resurrection and Ascension. One of the God‑bearing Fathers, a native of Athens, St. Dionysios the Areopagite, wished to see the Most Holy Mother of God. When he arrived in Jerusalem, they took him to the home of St. John the Theologian, where the Most Holy Theotokos lived. When he entered her chamber, he was at once free of all cares and worries and was overcome with ineffable joy and peace. This is how he describes his meeting with the Most Holy Theotokos: "Had I not learned in my Youth about the True God, for me the Most Holy Theotokos would have been God."

See what peace, stillness, and joy radiate from the Most Holy Theotokos! God has allowed peace and joy to radiate from every soul that is one with Him. Divine peace and joy emanate from such a person and we feel good in his presence. Do you see what the Kingdom of Heaven means? The Kingdom of God is… righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14: 17).

The Most Holy Mother of God prays for us ceaselessly,. She is always visiting us. Whenever we turn to her in our heart, she is there. After the Lord, she is the greatest protection for mankind. How many churches there are in the world that are dedicated to the Most Holy Mother of God! How many healing springs where people are cured of their ailments have sprung up in places where the Most Holy Theotokos appeared and blessed those springs to heal both the sick and the healthy! She is constantly, by our side, and all too often we forget her.

You have seen that in this life anyone, even our closest of kin, can abandon us. We all have our weaknesses and often hurt the people closest to us. They can turn their backs on us because of our rudeness, or they can forgive us but still be hurt. But the Lord and His Most Holy Mother ... Oh, how many times have we insulted God and the Most Holy Theotokos, but when we repent and turn to them in our hearts, they forgive us everything, never remembering our sins and evil deeds!

You have already realized how unbelievably quickly life goes by. One does not notice this as much in one's youth, but when the years bear down upon us, we see that a lot of time has passed and that very little is left of this life. Where do we go when the end of our life comes? We know where we are going while we are still here, but what happens afterwards? Where are we going? Have we prepared for the Heavenly Kingdom, for our true homeland? Only the meek and those with pure hearts will enter it. Have we taken care to cleanse our heart while in this life, the heart that gives us such a hard time in this life? Have we said to ourselves, "Heart, you have caused me enough pain; humble yourself and be a patient, long‑suffering heart!"

The Lord has said that we save our souls by patient long-suffering. We know that many misfortunes and sorrows come upon both the pious and the impious, both the righteous and the sinful. We all receive our share of misfortunes––this is a means of learning to accept everything in peace. On our own we have no strength, but God has strength. It is to Him that we must turn, deep down in our heart, and He will give us the strength to overcome all difficulties, for it is very important to rise above all those little things that take away our inner peace. We rarely pay any attention to this but allow the injustice that we come across everywhere in our lives to shatter our inner peace. Often we are the ones who do injustice to others. It may seem to us at the time that we are doing the right thing, but later it turns out that we were very wrong. We must learn to overcome all these little things with peace, united with the Lord, so that disquiet will not enter us from the outside, and so that we will always have our inner peace.

God is at the center of every persons life. He is in our heart whether we accept Him or not. He never separates Himself from us because He is the Giver of life Who gives life to every created being. We have buried Him with our worries and worldly cares, which destroy the peace within us, and that is why we have no peace or rest. No one on earth can give us unshakable inner peace. Money cannot give us peace, neither can fame, honor, a high-ranking position, nor even our closest friends and family. The only Giver of peace and life is the Lord. He gives peace, stillness, and joy to the angels and the saints, to us and to every created thing. Therefore we must repent and turn to the Lord.

What is repentance? Repentance is a change of one's way of life; it is discarding the old man and all of his evil habits and turning toward God, toward the Truth. Repentance means becoming quiet, peaceful, humble, and meek. Everyone knows that it is very pleasing to be in the company of a person who is meek, peaceful, and kind. A person who has no peace generates restlessness and radiates it all around, so that in the company of such a person we feel unsettled, and we too become restless. This is because we have not united with the Lord through unceasing prayer. We have peace when we are with the Lord and His Most Holy Mother; she is always here to help whenever we call upon her. In her we have unshakable support, which remains the same for all ages and which will not change. We cannot find this support anywhere else on earth, not even among our family members, let alone in things like riches, earthly power, and honor. We can be left without all these things, but the Lord and His Most Holy Mother will never leave us.

And so, my children, as we celebrate the great feast day of the Most Holy Theotokos, let us prepare ourselves for the heavenly life, let us teach our hearts to always long for God as the angels do, and for the Most Holy Theotokos, for she is our Intercessor and prays unceasingly for us weak ones before the throne of her Son. Whenever we turn to her in our hearts, she is always there to help. Countless are those on this earth whom she has comforted, and countless are the souls she has led from the depths of hades to the Kingdom of Heaven. Let us, therefore, learn to become accustomed to the Heavenly Kingdom while we are still in this life. The Heavenly Kingdom is peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. We need to humble our hearts, which take insults so deeply, and also our so‑called dignity, for we cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven in pride, as when we take to heart each slander our neighbor casts. We must accept our lessons from everyday life, for each day brings us cares, worries, and insults. We must learn not to take insults to heart, for who knows what awaits us during the course of our earthly lives? God is merciful to us and has concealed our future from us. Otherwise, not one among us would be able to go on, knowing what the future holds for him. We must live through many misfortunes and sorrows in order to learn how to rise above all these problems that disturb our inner peace. We must learn to acquire the Divine peace and joy of the angels and saints, for the Kingdom of Heaven is acquired while we are still in this life.

In this life we are in heaven one moment and in hades the next. You can see this for yourself and learn from it. When our thoughts are quiet and kind, when we forgive every slander and insult, we have Divine peace, joy, and stillness! But when we become angry because of someone's unkind words, we are at once in hades! Everything collapses, and we lose all the joy of living that we had before. Can you see how terrible living in hades is? Here, in this life, we are given the chance to taste both the heavenly life and the life of hades. We should choose that which gives us peace, the Heavenly Kingdom. We all desire this, without any exceptions, whether our lives are good or bad. All people long for peace and goodness, for ineffable love that never changes, and only God is this kind of love. He alone is unchangeable. He is always the same, and He is the  basis of all things––preeminently of mankind. He is ever waiting for us to return to His embrace, but all we do is shy away from Him. He wants to give us peace and to comfort us so that we may experience the joy of living, but all we ever see are the cares and worries of this world.

From the beginning of our lives, we have all sinned gravely. The Lord has warned us to be very careful lest we have a life of hardship and sorrow, and endure much pain until we humble ourselves and realize that we have sinned. For the Lord has said, Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee (Ex. 20:12). That is the law. The Lord showed us how to honor our parents by His own example when, as His suffering on the Cross was nearing an end, He entrusted His Most Holy Mother to His beloved disciple, John. He said to His Mother, Woman, behold thy son! (John 19:26). And to His disciple He said, Behold thy mother! (John 19:27).

(In the Aramaic tongue in which our Lord spoke, the word “woman" implies greater honor than the word "mother." Today it is difficult for us to understand how the Lord could have addressed His mother as "woman." Likewise, when the Lord was in Cana of Galilee, the Most Holy Theotokos turned to Him and said, They have no wine (John 2:3). And He said to Her, Woman, what is that between Me and thee? Mine hour is not yet come (John 2:4). In our language, when we say "woman" this has a somewhat disrespectful meaning, but when we say "mother" it is much more intimate and affectionate. But in the Aramaic tongue, the word "woman" is much more respectful.)

See how the Lord took care of His Mother in His last hour upon the earth! What do we do with our parents? God forbid that we should continue to treat our parents the way we do. Even from our childhood we do not honor our parents, but we want to live long and well. How can we live well if we have disobeyed this God-given law from our childhood? 'The law of this world, which is ever changing, punishes every violation against it. How then do we expect not to be punished for disobeying the Heavenly Law?––the Word of God, which never changes, but stays the same for all ages, for it is Spirit and Life.

We are the offspring of disobedient parents. When disobedience entered our forebears Adam and Eye, our nature suddenly changed. It became corrupt, foul smelling, prone to decay, and mortal. Death entered us. Before the Fall our forebears were immortal. Only God, our Creator, can bring us back to our original state, as He created us. It is for this reason that He Who is love came down to earth and was born of the Virgin as a child. It is for this reason that He lived for thirty‑three years among men. He wanted to teach us the truth and to show us that He is love. We need to look to the Lord, His Mother, the apostles and the saints as examples and renew our life. We must repent and leave behind our former way of life with all our bad habits, and we must strive to learn obedience. If anyone has hurt us––our parents, our brother or sister, a neighbor––then we must forgive them all from the heart, and when we have done so, the Lord will know. Our forgiveness must not be confined to words only. The Lord wants us to forgive from the heart. Our neighbor will then feel our forgiveness and no words will be necessary. The person will know in his heart that we have forgiven him.

How does a person know in his heart that he has been forgiven? People have thoughts. We are like a fine thought‑apparatus. We are connected to each other by our thoughts. When we think of a person, he immediately receives our thoughts. But since we are distracted and our thoughts are scattered, we cannot discern who it is that is sending us thoughts or the kind of thoughts he is sending us. On the other hand, the person who has peaceful thoughts, who is united with the Lord and whom the Lord has freed from distractions, this person knows exactly which thoughts are his own, which ones come from the enemy and which ones are from friends. Feelings and thoughts coming from the minds of our fellow men reach us. This is why I say to you that when we forgive from the heart, our neighbor can feel this and the burden that has been oppressing his soul is no more.

This is the way to learn about the heavenly life and to acquire inner peace. Let us turn to the Most Holy Theotokos in our hearts and ask her to intercede for us, that the Lord might give us strength and that He might number us among His angels and saints who glorify God throughout all eternity. Amen. 

Reference:  Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives, pp163 - 170

Νά εἶσαι , ὄχι νά φαίνεσαι! Νεανικά ζητήματα.

Κ. Γ. Παπαδημητρακόπουλος

Καλοί μου φίλοι, δὲν ξέρω, ἂν τὸ ἔχετε προσέξει. Σήμερα δίνεται πολὺ μεγάλη σημασία στὸ «φαίνεσθαι» καὶ ἐλάχιστη ἢ καὶ καθόλου στὸ «εἶναι». Δηλαδὴ στὸ ποιὸς εἶσαι ἐξωτερικὰ καὶ καθόλου στὸ ποιὸς εἶσαι ἐσωτερικά! Αὐτὸ ποὺ μετράει, εἶναι ἡ ἐξωτερική σου εἰκόνα καὶ καθόλου ἡ ἐσωτερική.

Ἢ μὲ ἄλλα λόγια δίνεται βάση στὸ περιτύλιγμα καὶ καθόλου στὸ περιεχόμενο, ποὺ ἀσφαλῶς εἶναι καὶ ἡ οὐσία τῶν πραγμάτων.

Βλέπετε ἡ κοινωνία μας σήμερα δίνει ἰδιαίτερη σημασία στὸ λεγόμενο «πρεστίζ», ἀκόμη δὲ καὶ σʼ ἐκεῖνο τὸ καπιταλιστικὸ «ἔχειν» καὶ σχεδὸν καθόλου στὸ ποιοὶ εἴμαστε πραγματικά. Δηλαδὴ δίνει βάση στὸ προσωπεῖο καὶ τὴ μάσκα, ποὺ φορᾶς κι ὄχι στὸ ἴδιο τὸ πρόσωπο κι αὐτὸ ποὺ ὄντως εἶσαι!

Κι ἐμεῖς ἐνεργώντας σύμφωνα μὲ τὴ λογικὴ αὐτὴ τί κάνουμε; Μὰ τὰ πάντα γιὰ τὴν εἰκόνα μας πρὸς τὰ ἔξω!

Κι ὄχι μόνο δὲν κάνουμε κάτι γιὰ τὸ μέσα, δηλαδὴ γιὰ τὴν ἴδια μας τὴν προσωπικότητα καὶ τὴν ψυχή μας, ἀλλὰ τὰ θυσιάζουμε κιόλας αὐτὰ γιὰ νὰ ἐπιτύχουμε τούτη τὴν εἰκόνα μας πρὸς τὰ ἔξω. Εἶναι ἀλήθεια πὼς ὅλα μᾶς παρασύρουν στὸ νὰ μὴ ἐξετάζουμε καὶ νὰ μὴ ἀσχολούμαστε μὲ τὸ βάθος τῶν πραγμάτων.

Ζοῦμε μόνο γιὰ τοὺς γύρω μας, γιὰ τὸ τί θὰ ποῦν οἱ ἄλλοι γιὰ μᾶς. Ὁπότε «φαίνεσαι» πρὸς τὰ ἔξω ὅτι «εἶσαι» κάποιος, ὅταν οὐσιαστικὰ δὲν εἶσαι τίποτα!

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Ἀλλʼ αὐτὸ δὲν εἶναι κι ἕνα ἀπὸ τὰ ἰδιαίτερα χαρακτηριστικὰ γνωρίσματα τῆς ἁμαρτίας; Δηλαδή, νὰ κομπάζει καὶ νὰ δείχνει πὼς μονάχα αὐτὴ ὑπάρχει τάχα καὶ κανένας ἄλλος! Τῆς δὲ ἀρετῆς τὸ χαρακτηριστικὸ γνώρισμα εἶναι τὸ ἀντίθετο ἀκριβῶς! Ὅτι δηλαδὴ πὼς αὐτὴ δὲν ὑπάρχει! Εἴδατε ποτὲ ἕναν ἐνάρετο νὰ λέει πὼς εἶναι κάποιος σπουδαῖος; Μάλιστα ἀπὸ τὴν στιγμὴ ποὺ θὰ τὸ κάνει αὐτό, τότε πραγματικὰ μὲ τίποτα δὲν εἶναι. Τί διαφορὰ λοιπόν!

Ὁ Χριστὸς σὲ κανένα δὲν εἶπε «οὐαί», δηλαδὴ «ἀλλοίμονο». Οὔτε στοὺς τελῶνες οὔτε στὶς πόρνες οὔτε καὶ στὴν ὁποιοδήποτε ἄλλο ἁμαρτωλό. Μάλιστα σὲ ὅλους αὐτοὺς ἔδειξε ἰδιαίτερη συμπάθεια κι ἔφαγε μαζί τους. Καὶ ὅλους τοὺς μετέβαλε τὸ «εἶναι» καὶ τοὺς ἔκανε Ἁγίους. Ποῦ εἶπε τὰ τόσα «οὐαὶ» καὶ δὲν μπόρεσε νὰ τοὺς μεταβάλλει; Μὰ στοὺς Φαρισαίους καὶ τοὺς Γραμματεῖς. Γιατί; Ἐπειδὴ ἔξω «φαίνονταν» ὡραῖοι, δηλαδὴ ἅγιοι τάχα καὶ εὐσεβεῖς, ἐνῶ στὸ βάθος ἦταν ἀκριβῶς τὸ ἀντίθετο! Ὑποκριτὲς ὅλοι τους...

Αὐτὴ δὲ ἡ κατάστασή τους, τοὺς ἐμπόδισε καὶ νὰ Τὸν προσεγγίσουν καὶ νὰ βελτιωθοῦν. Καὶ πῶς τοὺς παρομοίασε; Σὰν τοὺς καλλιμάρμαρους καὶ ὡραιότατους τάφους, ποὺ ἐξωτερικὰ μὲν εἶναι ὁλόλαμπροι, μέσα ὅμως; Ἀκριβῶς αὐτὸ κάνει καὶ ἡ ἐποχή μας ποικιλοτρόπως. Μᾶς αὐξάνει πολὺ τὴν ἐξωτερικὴ «ὡραιότητα» καὶ ἀδιαφορεῖ γιὰ τὴν ἐσωτερική μας σήψη! Κι ὅταν γνωρίσουμε καλύτερα ἕνα ἄνθρωπο, μὲ πολὺ θελκτικὴ ἐξωτερικὴ ὀμορφιά, πόσο ἀπογοητευόμαστε γιὰ τὸν ψεύτικο ἑαυτό, ποὺ ἔδειχνε καὶ μᾶς καταγοήτευε!

Καὶ τί παράξενο! Ὅλοι τοῦτοι, οἱ ἐξωτερικὰ ὡραῖοι, αὐτοὶ μὲ τὴν μεγάλη φήμη καὶ δόξα, ὅσο πιὸ πολὺ «φαίνονται» καὶ «ἀκούγονται», τόσο πιὸ ἄδειοι εἶναι! Συμβαίνει δηλαδὴ αὐτὸ ἀκριβῶς, ποὺ λέει ἡ παροιμία: «Οἱ ἄδειοι τενεκέδες κάνουν τὸν πολὺ θόρυβο, οἱ γεμάτοι κανένα»! Ὁπότε, ἐνεργώντας κανεὶς σύμφωνα μὲ τὴ λογικὴ αὐτή, κάνει τὰ πάντα γιὰ τὴν εἰκόνα του πρὸς τὰ ἔξω. Κι ὄχι μόνο δὲν κάνει κάτι γιὰ τὸ μέσα, δηλαδὴ τὴν ἴδια του τὴν προσωπικότητα καὶ τὴν ψυχή του, ἀλλὰ τὰ θυσιάζει κιόλας αὐτά, γιὰ νὰ ἐπιτύχει τούτη τὴν εἰκόνα του πρὸς τὰ ἔξω!

Τονίζει ὁ Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Θεολόγος: «Δὲν θέλω πολλά, ἀλλὰ πολὺ νʼ ἀξίζω ὁ ἴδιος». Καὶ νὰ πῶς τὸ ἐξηγεῖ αὐτό. «Τί ἀξία ἔχει, ἂν ἔχεις πίθηκο, ἀνθρωπόμορφη ντροπή, μὲ τὸ λαιμὸ γεμάτο χρυσὰ περιδέραια; Γιατί τὰ στολίδια δὲν ἀλλάζουν τὴν κούφια καὶ γελοία ὄψη. Καὶ τί ἀξία ἔχει γιὰ τὸ γάϊδαρο νὰ σηκώνει δεκάδες χρυσάφι; Ὁ γάϊδαρος καὶ βουτηγμένος νὰ εἶναι στὸ χρυσάφι θὰ γκαρίζει πάλι. Οὔτε ἔχει ἀξία ξίφη καμωμένα ἀπὸ μολύβι νὰ τὰ κρύβεις σὲ ἀσημένιες θῆκες, ἀφοῦ εἶναι στὸν πόλεμο ἄχρηστα. Τέτοιος εἶναι ὁ θνητός, ὅταν ξεχωρίζει μόνο ἀπʼ ἔξω». Σοφότατο!

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Τί νὰ πρωτοαναφέρει κανεὶς ὡς παράδειγμα; Τοὺς «στὰρ» ὅλων τῶν εἰδῶν, δηλαδὴ τῆς πολιτικῆς, τῆς μουσικῆς, τοῦ θεάτρου, τοῦ ἀθλητισμοῦ, τοῦ κινηματογράφου; Τὴν τόσο καλοστημένη παγίδα τῆς μόδας καὶ τῆς ἐξωτερικῆς ὀμορφιᾶς; Ἢ τὸν «κόσμο» τοῦ διαδικτύου, ἰδιαίτερα δὲ τῆς λεγόμενης «κοινωνικῆς δικτύωσης»; Ἐκεῖ ὅλα τους καταλάμπουν, διακατέχονται ἀπὸ ἐξωπραγματικὴ ὡραιότητα, ἐνῶ στὴν οὐσία μπορεῖ νὰ μὴ εἶναι καὶ τίποτε ἀπολύτως!

Μάλιστα στὴν λεγόμενη «κοινωνικὴ δικτύωση», γιὰ νὰ σταθοῦμε σ᾽ αὐτὴν λίγο, προβάλλεις ὅσο τίποτε ἄλλο τὸν ἑαυτό σου, τὸ πόσο σπουδαῖος εἶσαι, καὶ τὸ πόσο καλὰ περνᾶς, ὅταν ὄχι μόνο δὲν εἶσαι τίποτε, ἀλλ᾽ εἶσαι καὶ μοναχικός, καταθλιπτικὸς καὶ πνευματικὰ πολὺ πεσμένος!

Τὸ ἴδιο γίνεται καὶ μὲ τοὺς ἠλεκτρονικοὺς «φίλους». Τὸ ὅλο «σύστημα» σὲ βοηθάει πολὺ στὴν παραγωγὴ πολλῶν, μὰ πάρα πολλῶν, προκειμένου νὰ φαίνεσαι ὅτι τάχα εἶσαι δημοφιλής, ὅτι δῆθεν ἔχεις μεγάλη κοινωνικὴ ἀξία, ἐκεῖ ποὺ γνωρίζεις πολὺ καλὰ πὼς δὲν ἔχεις κανένα φίλο πραγματικό! Πῶς φαίνεται ἀπʼ αὐτὸ πεντακάθαρα πὼς ὄχι μόνο δὲν ὑπάρχει κανένα ἐνδιαφέρον γιὰ τὸ «εἶναι», ἀλλ᾽ ὅλα γίνονται γιὰ τὸ «θεαθῆναι»!

Ἔγραψε κάποιος σὲ ἱστοσελίδα τοῦτα τὰ ὑπέροχα: «Δὲν μπορῶ νὰ ἐξηγήσω πῶς τὸ 90% τῶν χρηστῶν τοῦ διαδικτύου, ποὺ γνωρίζω, εἶναι ψαγμένοι, μορφωμένοι, ἰδεολόγοι, προβληματισμένοι, ὡραῖοι σὰν χαρακτῆρες, πρότυπα πολιτῶν (σύμφωνα πάντα μὲ ὅσα γράφουν) κι ὅταν περπατάω στοὺς δρόμους διαπιστώνω πὼς εἴμαστε ὅλοι ἕνα μάτσο χάλια»! Ἀκριβῶς σʼ αὐτὴ τὴν ἄθλια κατάσταση δὲν εἶναι στημένη ὅλη ἡ βιομηχανία τῆς ὀμορφιᾶς; Καλλιεργεῖ μ᾽ ἕνα ἰδιαίτερο τρόπο κι αὐτή, τούτη τὴν κυριαρχία τοῦ «φαίνεσθαι».

Ἀκόμη δὲ καὶ οἱ πωλήσεις τῶν πανάκριβων πολυτελῶν ἐπωνύμων προϊόντων μόδας καὶ ὀμορφιᾶς, ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῦ στηρίζονται. Γιατί οἱ περισσότεροι θέλουν νὰ «φαίνονται» ἀκόμη καὶ μὲ τὴν βαρύγδουπη ἐτικέτα τῆς μάρκας, ποὺ φοροῦν! Ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ἐν γένει καταναλωτικὰ προϊόντα πῶς προωθοῦνται στὴν ἀγορά, μέσα ἀπὸ τὶς διάφορες διαφημιστικὲς καμπάνιες; Μὰ μὲ τὴν λογικὴ πὼς σὲ κάνουν «ξεχωριστὸ» ἀπὸ τοὺς ἄλλους!

Στὴν ἴδια βάση εἶναι χτισμένη καὶ ἡ ἐπιτυχία στὴ ζωή. Ἐπιτυχία δὲν εἶναι τὸ πνευματικό σου ἀνέβασμα, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐξωτερικό σου «προφίλ». Τὸ σπίτι, τὸ αὐτοκίνητο, ἡ ἐνδυμασία, οἱ διασκεδάσεις σου... Τέτοια! Τί ματαιότητες! Τί κατάπτωση!

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Παιδιά, θὰ τὸ πῶ καθαρὰ καὶ μὲ δυὸ λέξεις: Ὅσο θὰ δίνουμε βάση στὸ «φαίνεσθαι», τόσο θὰ χάνουμε στὸ «εἶναι». Σκεφτεῖτε το...