"Main Posts" after Saint or Feast of the Day

Please be sure to scroll down past the Saint or Feast of the day.

After the Saint or Feast of the day I post my "Main Posts". These may be anything including original articles, book reviews, adding new blogs to my web page and just about anything new I may wish the reader to read.

Please note I do not always have "Main Posts" posted.

I tend to leave "Main Posts" up for several days.

Sophocles

Synergy in Christ According to Saint Maximus the Confessor (I)

I have been meaning to begin this series of posts for a long time now, since about the beginning or so of Lent this year and already it's like, almost, July. C'est la vie.

For those who may not know, I regularly follow the blog, Energetic Procession and can say my understanding of the Orthodox Catholic Church has been greatly enriched through this site.

I have a high amount of respect for Perry Robinson and Photios(Daniel) Jones. Their posts often deal with difficult theological and or philosophical matters.

This series of posts will broken up into five parts, the number of parts Photios wrote his paper in, dated March 29, 2005. To find the original link he provided on Energetic Procession, follow this link: http://energeticprocession.wordpress.com/2005/05/04/synergy-in-christ/

I am grateful to him for allowing me to post his paper here as well as to Perry who also gave me permission to post freely from their blog.

After posting Photios' paper in five parts, I will post it in its entirety and then place it on my sidebar under "Essays and Articles on the Orthodox Catholic Church and Her Faith".

I have read the paper personally now 6 times very carefully, doing my own personal research into much of the material for my own aid in understanding.

I'm a stickler for definitions and side by side with this paper I had my dictionary and where the dictionary proved inadequate, I did online searches for terms and historical events used as the paper's context.

I would urge the reader to take this paper seriously and to not to understand the thesis merely in a theoretical sense, i.e. , not having a bearing on "real life", but to understand and wrestle with what Photios has written here and bear out its implications on one's own life. For how we understand theology has a definite cause and effect in "real life".

I firmly believe a correct and firm theology(and please understand, I don't approach the issue of theology as some lifeless thing but as our Lord Himself and the correct understanding of Him and living of His Life) is therapeutic.

In posting this paper, I will ask some questions on certain things for more clarification and to deepen my own understanding as I feel the necessity.

So without further ado, here is the paper, its first part. Enjoy.

Synergy in Christ According to Saint Maximus the Confessor

by Daniel Jones(Photios)

I. Introduction

No doctrine of free choice, according to Saint Maximus the Confessor, can be understood apart from the
theology of the Incarnation. It is this “mystery of Christ” in the words of Polycarp Sherwood that forms the
centre and “stands at the very heart of the Maximian synthesis.”1 It is important to note that Maximus stands within the Neo-Chalcedonian position, or as Fr. John Meyendorff correctly calls it ‘Cyrillian Chalcedonian.’ This position is distinguished by three main features: 1) the acceptance of the Theopaschite Formula of St. Cyril, 2) that there was no contradiction whatsoever between St. Cyril and the Council of Chalcedon, and 3) the use of a consistent terminology between Triadology and Christology that is applicable to both.2 As we will see later on in this paper, the Chalcedonian theme of “unconfused” and “undivided,” with respect to Christ’s natures, plays a similar (if not the same) role in Maximus’ understanding of the divine logoi or energies with respect to each other and the divine essence. It is within this paradigm that Maximus “was capable of establishing the orthodox solution of the Monothelite question.”3
In this paper I will sketch the underlining metaphysic of Monenergism,4 its three fold dialectic, Maximus’s break-up of this dialectic, and conclude with Maximus’s over-all grid for a coherent doctrine of predestination subsumed under Christology and Eschatology.

1 Sherwood, ACW vol. 21, p. 29
2 Meyendorff, Byzantine Theology, p. 34-35
3 Thunberg, Microcosm and Mediator, p. 9
4 I will be using Monenergism and Monotheletism interchangeably throughout this paper for practical purposes.

Spiritual Journal-The "neutrality" of the human person

After reading Father Seraphim Rose, His Life and His Works, I decided to keep a spiritual journal. I can't remember where it is mentioned in that book but it made an impression on me.

I will be posting my thoughts on this book as part of my series I keep on this blog of "Books I've Read or Am Reading" at a later date, when I wade through the stack of books and articles that I have procrastinated posting on and I arrive at this book.

But in the meantime, I will begin putting down some of my thoughts from the journal and fleshing them out some if need be.

This is my first post from this journal and God willing, I will continue putting out these posts.

As some of you may know, I mention the Anti Christ fairly frequently and only because of his lack of mention amongst fellow bloggers and many of those I know in my day to day life in the Church. I will in the future be posting a lot more on this subject matter and by doing this I hope to make it clear that what I have in mind is not the Evangelical Protestant teaching and emphasis of the Left Behind variety but something I believe much more significant and necessary to be understood from within the Church.

Once again, I wish to reiterate that my focus is not to pinpoint dates, times, events but my concern is the understanding the "mystery of iniquity" itself which itself is "timeless", manifesting itself in each age and showing itself more concretely as each day progresses.

Yes, we have been in the last days since the fall but also yes, each day is a day closer. And again: Technology. And again"America" qua America in relation to the prior age that preceeded her and what she means in and of herself when observed within the Church, the kingdom of our Lord. I think we are so confused about what America is as a spiritual concept and that her design is specifically designed to confuse.

Also, the lack of teaching of these issues may be the danger that places us in the category of those the apostle Peter speaks of in Second Peter 3 where he speaks of scoffers coming in the last days who in essence will say, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation".

This, in essence, if you may accept it, sounds a lot like what we're told when we speak about Christ's return and the "End times" by our pastors. Or, often it's said when broaching this subject: "We've been in the last days for the last 2000 years" and that is the extent really that is said about this very important event which is what the early Church looked for with longing.

I must also state once again that warnings about this were spoken about frequently and with knowledge, in an Orthodox manner by our Lord, His Apostles, in nearly every if not every book of the New Testament and this teaching is not merely confined to the Book of Revelation.

Many if not all the Holy Ones of our Church mention the teaching on the Anti Christ and what exactly this means for us to understand and to help us break from the world and not to be taken into the deception under which the whole world lies.

What does this have to do with the "neutrality of the human person?

This.

The Kingdom of Heaven is here, now.

The Kingdom of Anti Christ is here, now.

The human being is of such a nature that he is able to plug into either one. His nature is "neutral" so to speak, in this regard. It is a free choice who we will follow.

Post Twenty-One: "Steps of Transformation" by Father Meletios Webber

(click on images to enlarge)





















One reason I've hesitated to get on with this series of "Books I've Read or am Reading" is because I knew this one was approaching and I felt a real reluctance to post on it as it is very personal to me.

I guess I might as well publicly announce on this blog that I have intimate knowledge with Alcoholics Anonymous as of this writing I have been without a drink or drug for a little over 9 years now, my anniversary being June 20, 2000 in that fellowship. I can honestly say that God used AA to literally save my life and that without this intervention, I'm not too sure I would be here right now. It had gotten really bad for me. Perhaps one day I will do a more in depth autobiography and explain much about how I ended up there.

I have not been an active member of the fellowship now since November of 2007 and my reasons are varied and lengthy. But to make it clear, I have many people I love and hold dear and whom I call "friend" today through my time there. Leaving was difficult for me and for those I sponsored and to this day I have people check up on me to see if I'm OK.

Which brings me to the book. It is very well written and has a lot of very good information. On a surface level, I could even say I endorse it. Actually, an excellent book.

However, I have some problems with Father Meletios' worldview in relation to AA and the Church and to explain them, I would need to go into my own reasons for leaving Alcoholics Anonymous. Bound up with my decision to leave are the reasons why I would have to be critical of the approach Father Meletios takes here in this book.

In my course of being in AA, as per my own peculiar make-up, I got into the guts of the program with the full force of my entire being. This is all to the good, I must say, but only because I had the back drop of the Church by which to measure and check myself.

I became associated with a group here in Las Vegas in which I devoted my life. I spent hours upon hours with the people(usually men) who asked for me to sponsor them and my method of sponsorship was to focus around a set time and place with each other around the reading of the "Big Book", the name given to the basic text of Alcoholics Anonymous in which the path to "the spiritual awakening", or "vital spiritual experience" outlined in the Twelve Steps of the Fellowship.

I would stress to those I worked with that recovery does not take place with a mere acquiescence with the intellectual principles stated by the Steps. Recovery is the taking of the actions of the Steps within the context of the Fellowship.

As a quick aside, this "living of the Steps within the Fellowship" has provided some rich thoughts for me about the Church and how everything is to be related and made sense of within the context of the Church as hospital.

As I've stated already, the purpose of AA is to provide the sufferer with that spiritual experience which releases the sufferer from the bondage of active alcoholism. Now without going into too much depth, I would like the reader to know that alcoholism as AA understands it has a very specific meaning and "cure"(cure- i.e., to not be actively drinking- not that once coming to AA one can drink in a fashion that is no longer harmful).

As with the spiritual awakening experienced by the taking of the Twelve Steps provided within the context of AA the fellowship formed by those who have recovered from a "seemingly hopeless state of mind and body"(i.e. active alcoholism), so the Church as Hospital in this Fallen World provides theosis to those who live Her Life, that is Christ Himself.

Orthodoxy, correct belief or correct glory, is inextricably linked and cannot be separated from orthopraxy, that is, correct practice, without Orthodoxy being reduced to a mere theoretical belief and system.

Returning to my sponsorship, I would say that I repeated this process many times, spending hours with the guys in the text of the Big Book and explaining it and relating historical anecdotes about the founders of AA and other historical things of significance.

Now in conjunction with this, I chaired a meeting I built on Saturday evenings and titled the meeting "The Psychic Change" Meeting. "Psychic Change" is also interchangeable with "spiritual awakening" and "spiritual experience" which I have related above is the necessary component to bring about recovery from active alcoholism.

Note that I have repeatedly said "active" alcoholism for a reason. In the fellowship of AA, much gets put under the umbrella of alcoholism even in the state of not actively drinking. Bad habits and/or thought patterns that persist are often diagnosed as stemming from the conditions which brought about active alcoholism and hence a lot of emphasis is placed on inventorying ones' past and working on eliminating those defects of character with the help of God(or as it is commonly spoken of in AA, "a Power greater than oneself", a "Higher Power").

I chaired this meeting for about 5 years and the meeting itself was used to speak about how to go about getting the spiritual experience to bring about recovery from alcoholism. I approached the meeting in a very systematic way and started at the beginning of the Big Book and we worked our way through it each week a little at a time and kept the topic presented in the reading as the subject matter of the meeting.

The basic text of the Big Book is 164 pages long. Using select passages from the book, to go through one "cycle" on one night of the week, reading a little at a time, took about 1 and 1/2 years. I did this "cycle" three times.

Here is the format I used through which I attempted to outline in brief form what AA was all about:

F. ALCOHOLISM ADDRESSED: “ Alcoholics Anonymous began on June 10th, 1935 through a long chain of improbable events which brought together Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith. Both men were alcoholics of the ‘hopeless variety’. This means they both belonged to a class of drinkers who had a very definite and adverse reaction to alcohol. Both men found intense pleasure in the effect drinking created in them and would often return to the drink in hopes of firing their inward being. They would seek this ease and comfort to the exclusion of the normal demands of life. In other words, they fled from life and would withdraw within themselves, surrounded by the vaporous illusions alcohol gave them.
“Both men at some point gained an awareness of the destruction they were inflicting upon themselves and
upon all who loved them. They resolved to give up alcohol. Both men discovered they could not. They absolutely were unable to not pick up that first drink no matter how many times they swore they would never get drunk again. The peculiar obsession with alcohol had become ingrained into the fiber of their souls.(Their psyche had become scarred). Inevitably, against their own will and against their own judgment, they would take that first drink and for a time they would find that peace alcohol could always be counted on to bring them. And having taken that first drink, all was well, they felt alive, they could get by OK , but desperately they clung to the hope that reality would not come crashing in on them.
“Both men, no matter how drunk they became, could not escape the knowledge somewhere deep down inside that they were just not right, that something was terribly wrong with them and that pouring all the alcohol they could on top of this feeling they could, would not drown it. So they drank to oblivion to escape that gnawing guilt. Then they would wake up to face their close companions: Terror, Bewilderment, Apologies, Regrets, Remorse, Frustration, and Despair.
“Again and again the promises went out to those around them they would stop, but as if on cue, the first drink came and they repeated the whole cycle. They were doomed men, alcoholics of the hopeless variety. Doctors with the desire to see these men put down the drink once and for all threw their hands up in despair, unable to use moral psychology to rearrange their thoughts, emotions, and feelings so they would not find it necessary to take that 1st drink. Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith were only 2 men of a vast class of people with this kind of reaction to alcohol.
“Both men recovered completely from this condition. They had experienced a change in their soul, their personalities, a psychic change. Both men reached the place of utter despair in their own lives in their own
very individual ways and undertook a program of action that if followed closely, to the best of their own individual abilities, insured them for that one day that they would not pick up that first drink.
“The two friends commenced taking this program of action to others afflicted with the same symptoms and hallmarks of the doomed alcoholic. With much hard work a fellowship of men and women who had discovered a sure path out of alcoholism sprung up and the Twelve Steps were formally accepted. In the year 1939 the book ‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ was written to bear record, without distortion, of the experience of these first 100 people who practiced a way of life that produced a psychic change, the change somewhere deep down, of their personalities.
“These people emphasize again and again that the power to change
did not originate from within their own old selves, but came from a Power ‘greater than themselves‘. They discovered, each in their own way, that self could not change self. And having discovered this Power they made a decision to begin trusting Him in the care and direction of their unmanageable lives. With this trust and willingness they began to examine their own selves and many for the first time ever saw their extreme self-centeredness. They began to see how afraid they were and became open and vulnerable with someone else. Someone knew them and understood them! They were no longer so utterly alone. Those that heard their stories helped them to see their defects and helped them to offer these shortcomings to God in the hope that He would remove these things in His own time. Of course, much hurt had been produced in the effort to live their lives without regard for anyone or anything else. Many relationships had been severely or permanently damaged. In an effort to be square with life and to be of more use to God and their fellows, they set out to acknowledge those they had hurt and sought to make right the wrong. They did not go to justify themselves.
“And having done all these things, they continued a daily practice of taking stock of themselves and setting right any new wrongs as they became apparent. They continued to seek more intimacy with God as each understood Him through prayer and meditation. Others, they knew, wanted to be free of this dreadful cycle of alcoholism so they presented this program to them in the hope they too would change from within.”

I later revised the "Alcoholism Addressed" section to the following(because it was so long and those who attended week after week had to hear it over and over):

Saturday Night MOM Group-Psychic Change Meeting
(to be used on every Saturday except each first Saturday of the month)

This meeting is based on what is to be found in the Big Book in the “Dr’s Opinion” on page Roman numeral xxviii where we read:



“” Men and women drink essentially because they like the effect produced by alcohol. The sensation is so elusive that, while they admit it is injurious, they cannot after a time differentiate the true from the false. To them, their alcoholic life seems the only normal one. They are restless, irritable and discontented, unless they can again experience the sense of ease and comfort which comes at once by taking a few drinks—drinks which they see others taking with impunity. After they have succumbed to the desire again, as so many do, and the phenomenon of craving develops, they pass through the well-known stages of a spree, emerging remorseful, with a firm resolution not to drink again. This is repeated over and over, and unless this person can experience an entire psychic change there is very little hope of his recovery.
On the other hand—and strange as this may seem to those who do not understand—once a psychic change has occurred, the very same person who seemed doomed, who had so many problems he despaired of ever solving them, suddenly finds himself easily able to control his desire for alcohol, the only effort necessary being that required to follow a few simple rules. “

Through bitter experience with this alcoholic cycle as described in the “Dr.’s Opinion“, we have come to believe in the necessity of experiencing this psychic change to overcome this grim and fatal malady which once it has gotten a hold of the sufferer refuses to loose its grip until the alcoholic inevitably visits jails, institutions or the grave receives him into its bosom.

We have come to believe in the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous taken in the context of the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous as the means to take us to the solution, a spiritual awakening. The Spiritual Awakening sufficient to bring about recovery from alcoholism as Alcoholics Anonymous understands it is obtained through the taking of the 12 Steps, a series of actions spiritual in nature.
Step 12 reads: “Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principals in all our affairs”.

This meeting is dedicated to focusing on the psychic change as experienced by the first 100 people and the countless others who followed their example throughout these many years.

I have given the foregoing information to let the reader know that I am very familiar with AA and hold no grudge towards it or its members.

But, from the very beginning of my attendance, I can honestly say that something just didn't jive somewhere deep down. There was a disconnect of some kind between what its spirituality is and that of Christ.(At the beginning of my time in AA, I had not yet returned to the Church and was still somewhat an Evangelical Protestant in my thinking about Christianity). I had learned to strive to judge all things according to Christ and when I returned to the Church's embrace, the disconnect only became more pronounced and difficult to bear and ignore.

One major reason for me to leave was that one can have a very powerful spiritual experience, a real one in which one's world view is forever changed without Christ. This always made me queasy but I managed to rationalize my disquiet away.

I should quickly explain that a "spiritual awakening/spiritual experience/psychic change" does not necessarily denote always a sudden upheaval of previously held notions and beliefs and their uprooting to replace them with a whole new set instantaneously. More often than not, members of AA acquire the "spiritual awakening/spiritual experience/psychic change" in what AA terms of an educational variety, meaning it happens slowly over time.

There are many other reasons I left which I will not go into here and which related to my reading of "Steps of Transformation". One major one is that all spiritual beliefs are held on an equal plane. Also, even as Father Meletios mentions in the book, AA is seen as "spiritual" and religion is down a notch or two from the spirituality of AA.

If anyone wishes to inquire, I will gladly give more of those reasons.

But one more I wish to mention is that the very real threat of Modernity is felt in all places, not only within the Church but I encountered it within AA and noticed that even though AA is only 74 years old right now, yet many who called themselves members did not understand the Tradition of Alcholics Anonymous(yes, Tradition with a capital "T") and there was a battle, though not often recognized and/or voiced, between those who understood AA accoriding to its essence and the new "psychologized" approach to AA.

I bring this up as a reason for leaving because seeing this in AA and within the Church, I realized that I did not wish to fight this War against Modernity on these two fronts and decided to draw the line in the Church which I would defend to the upmost of my ability and strength.

There is a lot of rich information I would like in the future to write on this subject matter and compare/contrast with the Church but will leave it at what I have written for now.

READ THE PREVIOUS POST IN THIS SERIES:

St Basil the Bishop of Ryazan

Commemorated on July 3

Saint Basil, Bishop of Ryazan and Murom: His memory is celebrated by the Church on June 10 and July 3 (the day of his death in 1295). On June 10, 1609 the holy relics of Bishop Basil at Ryazan were uncovered and transferred to the Dormition cathedral church.

St Basil I, Wonderworker of Ryazan, is mentioned in the Lavrentian Chronicles. In the ancient list of Ryazan hierarchs, he is mentioned as the fourth. (Basil II was consecrated as bishop in 1356 by St Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow,). An older tradition connects with St Basil the transfer to Ryazan of the wonderworking Murom Icon of the Mother of God (April 12). St Basil was at first bishop of Murom. But by the slander of the spirit of evil, the citizens rose up against him, unjustly accusing him of transgressions unbecoming an archpastor. Then the saint, after prolonged prayer, left for the River Oka, and spreading out on the water his bishop's mantiya he stood upon it, holding in his hands the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of Murom. A strong wind carried him against the current and after several hours he reached Ryazan, where he was received with reverence by the prince and people of Ryazan.

Even during his lifetime St Basil was regarded a righteous and pious man. Long before his relics were uncovered at the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Ryazan people cherished his memory and called him "their constant intercessor, helper in sorrows and travail." To him most often they turned before setting out on journeys: seeking his help against problems on dry land, and to protect them from drowning in the water.

In about the year 1540 the monk Erazm Ermolaev wrote "An Account of Basil, Bishop of Ryazan and Murom".

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2008:

The Human Person - Body, Soul and Spirit

Hat tip to George for sending this to me. Very informative for aid in beginning to rightly think about what it is to be a being, a human person. A firm and correct theology is therapeutic and to be sought after.

St Photius the Metropolitan of Kiev

Commemorated on July 2

Saint Photius, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia, was by birth a Greek from the Peloponnesian city of Monembasia (Malbasia). While still in his adolescence he entered a monastery and was tonsured under the Elder Acacius, a great ascetic (afterwards the Metropolitan of Monembasia). In 1408, when Photius was in Constantinople with the Patriarch on church matters, the question arose about a replacement for the Russian See after the death of St Cyprian (September 16). The choice of Patriarch Matthew (1397-1410) fell upon Photius, known for his learning and holiness of life. On September 1, 1408 St Photius was made Metropolitan and in the next year arrived in Rus.

He spent half a year at Kiev (September 1409-February 1410), concerning himself with settling affairs in the southern dioceses of the Russian Church, then included within the principality of Lithuania, or more precisely, of Lithuania and Russia. The saint perceived that the throne of the Metropolitan, the spiritual center of churchly life in Rus, could not remain in the Kiev lands, where everything increasingly fell under the dependence of Catholic Poland. On the day of Holy Pascha in 1410, Metropolitan Photius arrived in Moscow following the example of former Russian Metropolitans, who transferred their residence first to Vladimir, then to Moscow.

For 22 years the saint labored in the difficult service of archpastor of the Russian Church. In grievous conditions of war, fratricidal strife, and pillaging incursions of Tatars he knew how to highly advance the spiritual significance, the material prosperity and well-being of the churches under the See of Moscow.

Favorable conditions in the Church allowed St Photius to render great assistance to the increasingly impoverished Patriarch of Constantinople, and to strengthen the international position of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian realm.

The enemies of Orthodoxy tried to subvert the churchly-patriotic service of St Photius more than once. In the spring of 1410, when St Photius arrived in Vladimir from Moscow, Khan Edigei, having laid waste this portion of the Russian Land for two years, undertook a new campaign with the intent of capturing the Metropolitan himself. A Tatar detachment, headed by Prince Talychoi "the Exile," suddenly and quickly took Vladimir, but God preserved His righteous saint.

The evening before, not suspecting danger, the saint had gone off to the Svyatoozersk (Holy Lake) monastery beyond the city. When the Tatars attempted pursuit, he concealed himself in a small settlement, surrounded by impassable swamps, at the River Senega. Unable to capture the Metropolitan, the rapacious Tatars plundered Vladimir, especially the Dormition cathedral church. The doorkeeper of the cathedral, Patrikii, endured terrible torments and accepted a martyr's death from the plundering Tatars, but he did not reveal where the church sacred items and treasury were hidden.

Through the efforts of Metropolitan Photius the canonical unity of the Russian Church was restored. The separate Lithuanian metropolitanate, established by Prince Vitovt for the southern and western eparchies [dioceses], was abolished in 1420. In that same year the saint visited the returned eparchies and greeted the flock with an instructive encyclical. The wise and erudite pastor left behind many instructions and letters. Of great theological significance was his denunciation of the heresy of the Strigolniki, which had arisen at Pskov prior to his time. By his wise efforts the heresy was put to an end in 1427.

Important Church historical sources compiled by St Photius are his "Order of Selection and Installation of Bishops" (1423), " Discourse on the Seriousness of the Priestly Office and the Obligations of Church Servers," and also the "Spiritual Testament", in which he tells of his life. Another great work of the saint was the compilation, under his guidance, of the Obscherussk (All-Russian) Chronicle (about 1423).

On April 20, 1430 the holy archpastor was informed by an angel of his approaching end, and he reposed peacefully on the Feast of the Placing of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos at Blachernae, on July 2, 1431. His relics were uncovered in the year 1471. Two sakkoi (robes) of St Photius are preserved in the Armory Palace of the Moscow Kremlin.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2008:

Translation of the relics of the Venerable John of Rila from Trnovo to Rila

Commemorated on July 1

On October 19, 1238 the relics of St John of Rila were solemnly transferred to the new capital, Trnovo, and put in a church dedicated to the saint. Then on July 1, 1469 the holy relics of St John were returned to the Rila monastery, where they rest to the present day, granting grace-filled help to all the believers.

See his Life on August 18.

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2008:

Apostle Andrew

Commemorated on June 30

The Synaxis of the Glorious and All-Praiseworthy Twelve Apostles of Christ appears to be an ancient Feast. The Church honors each of the Twelve Apostles on separate dates during the year, and has established a general commemoration for all of them on the day after the commemoration of the Glorious and First-Ranked among the Apostles Peter and Paul.

The holy, glorious, all-laudable Apostle Andrew the First-called is also commemorated on November 30. He was the brother of St Peter (June 29).

For lists of the Apostles' names, see: Mt.10:2, Mark 3:14, Luke 6:12, Acts 1:13, 26.

Troparion - Tone 4

First-enthroned of the apostles,
teachers of the universe:
Entreat the Master of all
to grant peace to the world,
and to our souls great mercy!

Kontakion - Tone 2

Today Christ the Rock glorifies with highest honor
The rock of Faith and leader of the Apostles,
Together with Paul and the company of the twelve,
Whose memory we celebrate with eagerness of faith,
Giving glory to the one who gave glory to them!

SOURCE:

SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2008:

The Holy Glorious and All-Praised Leader of the Apostles, Peter & Paul

Commemorated on June 29

Sermon of Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

Today the Holy Church piously remembers the sufferings of the Holy Glorious and All-Praised Apostles Peter and Paul.

St. Peter, the fervent follower of Jesus Christ, for the profound confession of His Divinity: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God," was deemed worthy by the Savior to hear in answer, "Blessed art thou, Simon ... I tell thee, that thou art Peter [Petrus], and on this stone [petra] I build My Church" (Mt.16:16-18). On "this stone" [petra], is on that which thou sayest: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God" it is on this thy confession I build My Church. Wherefore the "thou art Peter": it is from the "stone" [petra] that Peter [Petrus] is, and not from Peter [Petrus] that the "stone" [petra] is, just as the Christian is from Christ, and not Christ from the Christian. Do you want to know, from what sort of "rock" [petra] the Apostle Peter [Petrus] was named? Hear the Apostle Paul: "Brethren, I do not want ye to be ignorant," says the Apostle of Christ, "how all our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ" (1 Cor.10: 1-4). Here is the from whence the "Rock" is Peter.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the final days of His earthly life, in the days of His mission to the race of man, chose from among the disciples His twelve Apostles to preach the Word of God. Among them, the Apostle Peter for his fiery ardor was vouchsafed to occupy the first place (Mt.10:2) and to be as it were the representative person for all the Church. Therefore it is said to him, preferentially, after the confession: "I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in the heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth: shall be loosed in heaven" (Mt.16: 19). Therefore it was not one man, but rather the One Universal Church, that received these "keys" and the right "to bind and loosen." And that it was actually the Church that received this right, and not exclusively a single person, turn your attention to another place of the Scriptures, where the same Lord says to all His Apostles, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit" and further after this, "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them: and whose soever sins ye retain, are retained" (John 20: 22-23); or: "whatsoever ye bind upon the earth, shall be bound in Heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosened in heaven" (Mt.18:18). Thus, it is the Church that binds, the Church that loosens; the Church, built upon the foundational cornerstone, Jesus Christ Himself (Eph 2:20), doth bind and loosen. Let both the binding and the loosening be feared: the loosening, in order not to fall under this again; the binding, in order not to remain forever in this condition. Therefore "Iniquities ensnare a man, and everyone is bound in the chains of his own sins," says Wisdom (Prov 5:22); and except for Holy Church nowhere is it possible to receive the loosening.

After His Resurrection the Lord entrusted the Apostle Peter to shepherd His spiritual flock not because, that among the disciples only Peter alone was pre-deserved to shepherd the flock of Christ, but Christ addresses Himself chiefly to Peter because, that Peter was first among the Apostles and as such the representative of the Church; besides which, having turned in this instance to Peter alone, as to the top Apostle, Christ by this confirms the unity of the Church. "Simon of John" -- says the Lord to Peter -- "lovest thou Me?" -- and the Apostle answered: "Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee"; and a second time it was thus asked, and a second time he thus answered; being asked a third time, seeing that as it were not believed, he was saddened. But how is it possible for him not to believe That One, Who knew his heart? And wherefore then Peter answered: "Lord, Thou knowest all; Thou knowest that I love Thee." "And sayeth Jesus to him" all three times "Feed My sheep" (John 20:15-17).

Besides this, the triple appealing of the Savior to Peter and the triple confession of Peter before the Lord had a particular beneficial purpose for the Apostle. That one, to whom was given "the keys of the kingdom" and the right "to bind and to loose," bound himself thrice by fear and cowardice (Mt.26:69-75), and the Lord thrice loosens him by His appeal and in turn by his confession of strong love. And to shepherd literally the flock of Christ was acquired by all the Apostles and their successors. "Take heed, therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock," the Apostle Paul urges church presbyters, "over which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers, to feed the Church of the God, which He hath purchased with His own blood" (Acts 20:28); and the Apostle Peter to the elders: "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof not by constraint, but willingly: not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind: neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock. And when is appeared the Prince of pastors, ye will receive unfading crowns of glory" (1 Pet. 5:2-4).

It is remarkable that Christ, having said to Peter: "Feed My sheep," did not say: "Feed thy sheep," but rather to feed, good servant, the sheep of the Lord. "Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?" (1 Cor.1:13). "Feed My sheep". Wherefore "wolfish robbers, wolfish oppressors, deceitful teachers and mercenaries, not being concerned about the flock" (Mt.7:15; Acts 20:29; 2 Pet 2:1; John 10:12), having plundered a strange flock and making of the spoils as though it be of their own particular gain, they think that they feed their flock. Such are not good pastors, as pastors of the Lord. "The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep" (John 10:11), entrusted to Him by the chief Shepherd Himself (1 Pet 5:4). And the Apostle Peter, true to his calling, gave his soul for the very flock of Christ, having sealed his apostleship by a martyr's death, is now glorified throughout all the world.

The Apostle Paul, formerly Saul, was changed from a robbing wolf into a meek lamb. Formerly he was an enemy of the Church, then is manifest as an Apostle. Formerly he stalked it, then preached it. Having received from the high priests the authority at large to throw all Christians in chains for execution, he was already on the way, he breathed out "threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord" (Acts 9:1), he thirsted for blood, but "He that dwells in the Heavens shall laugh him to scorn" (Ps 2:4). When he, "having persecuted and vexed" in such manner "the Church of God" (1Cor.15:9; Acts 8:5), he came near Damascus, and the Lord from Heaven called to him: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?" and I am here, and I am there, I am everywhere: here is My head; there is My body. There becomes nothing of a surprise in this; we ourselves are members of the Body of Christ. "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me; it is hard for thee to kick against the goad" (Acts 9:4-5). Saul, however, "trembling and frightened", cried out: "Who art Thou, Lord?" The Lord answered him, "I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest."

And Saul suddenly undergoes a change: "What wantest Thou me to do?" -- he cries out. And suddenly for him there is the Voice: "Arise, and go to the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do" (Acts 9:6). Here the Lord sends Ananias: "Arise and go into the street" to a man, "by the name of Saul," and baptize him, "for this one is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel" (Acts 9: 11, 15, 18). This vessel must be filled with My Grace. "Ananias, however, answered: Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he hath done to Thy saints in Jerusalem: and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Thy Name" (Acts 9:13-14). But the Lord urgently commands Ananias: "Search for and fetch him, for this vessel is chosen by Me: for I shall show him what great things he must suffer for My name's sake" (Acts 9:11, 15-16).

And actually the Lord did show the Apostle Paul what things he had to suffer for His Name. He instructed him the deeds; He did not stop at the chains, the fetters, the prisons and shipwrecks; He Himself felt for him in his sufferings, He Himself guided him towards this day. On a single day the memory of the sufferings of both these Apostles is celebrated, though they suffered on separate days, but by the spirit and the closeness of their suffering they constitute one. Peter went first, and Paul followed soon after him. Formerly called Saul, and then Paul, having transformed his pride into humility. His very name (Paulus), meaning "small, little, less," demonstrates this. What is the Apostle Paul after this? Ask him, and he himself gives answer to this: "I am," says he, "the least of the Apostles... but I have labored more abundantly than all of them: yet not I, but the grace of God, which was with me" (1 Cor.15:9-10).

And so, brethren, celebrating now the memory of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, remembering their venerable sufferings, we esteem their true faith and holy life, we esteem the innocence of their sufferings and pure confession. Loving in them the sublime quality and imitating them by great exploits, "in which to be likened to them" (2 Thess 3: 5-9), and we shall attain to that eternal bliss which is prepared for all the saints. The path of our life before was more grievous, thornier, harder, but "we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses" (Heb 12: 1), having passed by along it, made now for us easier, and lighter, and more readily passable. First there passed along it "the author and finisher of our faith," our Lord Jesus Christ Himself (Heb 12: 2); His daring Apostles followed after Him; then the martyrs, children, women, virgins and a great multitude of witnesses. Who acted in them and helped them on this path? He Who said, "Without Me ye can do nothing" (John 15: 5).

Troparion - Tone 4

First-enthroned of the apostles,
teachers of the universe:
Entreat the Master of all
to grant peace to the world,
and to our souls great mercy!

Kontakion - Tone 2

O Lord, You have taken up to eternal rest
and to the enjoyment of Your blessings
the two divinely-inspired preachers, the leaders of the Apostles,
for You have accepted their labors and deaths as a sweet-smelling sacrifice,
for You alone know what lies in the hearts of men.

Kontakion - Tone 2

Today Christ the Rock glorifies with highest honor
The rock of Faith and leader of the Apostles,
Together with Paul and the company of the twelve,
Whose memory we celebrate with eagerness of faith,
Giving glory to the one who gave glory to them!

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SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2008:

Synaxis of all Saints of Pskov

Commemorated on June 28

The Russian Orthodox Church commemorates All Saints of Pskov on the Third Sunday after Pentecost.














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SAINT OR FEAST POSTED THIS DATE 2008: