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Bulletin - 8/24/08
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ WHY OUR PRAYERS DO NOT REACH GOD
Conversation with Mitred Archpriest Father John
Mironov,
Answer: Once, Venerable Paul of Thebes was conversing with a desert-dweller Venerable Mark of Trache about the fact that the faith in the world had declined and there were no more true Christian ascetics. Mark agreed and answered: “Yes, although you remember that the Lord told us that if we had faith everything would be possible. Here, if we only could command this mountain: move and go to another place”. He just said those words and lo, the mountain began to smoke and started to move. “Stop”, the elder screamed, “ I am not talking about you!” And the mountain stopped right away. So you see, there were such ascetics in the history of the Church who could move the mountains. Another saint, in the 6th century, Bishop Gregory was conversing with a learned Jew Ermin who demanded that Saint Gregory show him Christ alive, saying that then he would believe in Him. After Saint Gregory prayed, there started a powerful earthquake and thunder. Then everybody saw the Lord Jesus Christ with the angels on the clouds. After that Ermin and many of his followers believed in Christ, but all of them went blind (from beholding such a vision), whereas Saint Gregory’s disciples not only didn’t go blind but their vision got much better. When the Jews entered the baptismal font they regained their sight and they were healed. This is how strong was the faith in the ancient times. Now there are almost no people of holy life and firm faith, although we still have ascetics. In our age, there were great pleasers of God: Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt, Elder Seraphim of Vyritsa. They had a living faith and the Lord heard their prayers. You see, it is not the point to move the mountains. Drunks and drug-addicts come to the church. First their faces are so scary, even black, as if the re-generation and spiritual life are off-limits for them. But sometimes a month or two pass by and their souls become lighter, their faces clear up. The past sin becomes a burden and, terrified, he looks at what he had done. For the priest, this is a great joy from the Lord — to see how the person is being transfigured. This is the greatest miracle of our times. Question: Father, perhaps our prayers do not reach God because we pray absent-mindedly? Answer: Of course. Absent-minded prayer is akin to when beat water with your row: only noise and no movement. So is the absent-minded prayer doesn’t produce any benefit. We have to be concentrated when we pray. Why do the ascetics pray at night? Because at night we pray together with the angels — the angels rejoice and people exult. Therefore the elders would choose nighttime for prayer, when the whole world goes into a deep sleep. They prayed for the entire world so that it wouldn’t perish. Question: Father, some people might pray, but if a black cat crosses their path they won’t go there. Is prayer compatible with superstitions? Answer: This is a sign of our little faith. We should think simple: we are going where we need to go, and the cat is going where it wants to go — maybe to catch a mousy or, let’s say, to the bathroom. Some people justify themselves: “But Father, what if it is a some sort of warning?” What kind of warning it might be?! It is a sheer stupidity! Do not believe omens and they will not come true. Why do you believe the omens and do not believe that the Lord can deliver you not only from all those black cats but from all misfortunes? Question: Father, could You please tell what is the difference between the prayer at home and at the church? Answer: It is good to pray at home, but the communal prayer is above all. Even simple “Lord, have mercy”, when said in church during the communal prayer, is loftier than many-hours-worth of praying at home. When the people pray together, “with one mouth and one heart”, then the Lord and the grace of God are with them. “Where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there I am in their midst” (Matt. 18:20). Therefore, to praise the Lord in the church, in the joint prayer is above all. Since at home, as you know, the daily cares and concerns draw us away from the Lord. Sometimes in our temple we pray all together for an afflicted person. Then the ailing comes and says: “Father, I am better after the joint prayer of all people”. Unfortunately it is rare that people pray as the whole church for its parishioners, not often does one find such a loving and caring parish. It is a great pity that we forget what is most important — love in Christ for our brethren! We might also be some day abandoned by our relations and friends. Question: Father, why make the sign of the cross when praying? Answer: “Guard me, O Lord, by the power of the Precious and Life-giving Cross and protect me, O Lord, from all evil” (Father makes a broad sign of the Cross over himself). Cross protects us from anything evil. What does the enemy afraid of most of all? — Cross, prayer and fasting. The sign of the cross accompanies any prayer. But first — the sign of the cross, and then –– a bow. It is incorrect to make the sign of the cross and bow at the same time. Such practice lacks the fear of God. Question: What should we do if we can’t pray standing, if it is hard to make prostrations? Answer: Let’s say, an old woman comes to me — legs hurt, her life is spent in sorrows and labors. Am I going to tell her to make prostrations? Let her pray sitting. Due to my feebleness, I too read the canons sometimes sitting, you know my old legs hurt (Father John is over 80 years old). As for the young, they can do both the prostrations and more good deeds: wash floors for the infirm, visit an elderly person, do laundry, cook a meal, go to buy medicine… Question: At times some people pray but view the prayer as a spell. What is the difference between a prayer and a spell? Answer: It is essential that there should sincerity, child-likeness, trust in God. Childlike faith and child-like prayer are received by God. What do we read in the Gospel: “Unless you convert and become like little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt. 18:3). More often should we flee to the Mother of God. One prayer says about her: “To whom shall I flee in my grief, if not to thee, the Queen of Heaven?” She will accept our cry and our sighing, and she will dispel my sorrow. Question: Should we seek some special place for prayer: where we can be alone, where it is quiet, as it says in the Gospel: “When you pray, enter into thy room, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to Thy Father Who is in secret” (Matt. 6:6), or we can pray in any place and in any time, “every where” (1 Timothy 2:8)? Most faithful do not have a separate room for prayer… Answer: If you live in your own home, then you can create a good place for prayer. And those who do not have a home to themselves shouldn’t despair either. In this case we should learn to get up earlier, to go to bed later — then we would be able to pray. It is unlikely that you could make your room-mate create a place for prayer. To Be Continued +++ Some time ago we already mentioned that it is not proper for a Christian who is not ordained to holy priesthood to say, after ‘Our Father’, “For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory…”. Below, we offer an explanation of why it is so, given by Archpriest Dimitrii Smirnov. The text is adopted and translated from Radonezh.ru. Question: When saying “Our Father” in the morning and in the evening we do not finish it, it is only priest who can finish it by saying “For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory...” and so on, as it is given in the Gospel. Answer: Such is the Church tradition. This prayer is said on behalf of all God’s people which presupposes presence of a priest. So when saying our prayer rule we say it without the final doxology, thus stressing the fact that this prayer is said on behalf of all (that we, not being thieves, do only that which is our due in praising God). You know, all our life is something like a dialogue which includes both the priest and the people, or the church choir which sends up hymns to God on behalf of all the faithful; and this entire dialogue is offered to God. It is simply a Church tradition, and if you for some reason would say in your prayer rule “For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory…” there won’t be any sin in it. But in the church, where priest is the liturgical image of Christ and we — of the apostles, the Church is in her fullness.
. . . . . . . . News From All The Ends Of The Earth . . . . . . . .
Tskhinvali, South Ossetia:
"Georgian militants located its headquarters in an Orthodox church
in the Tskhinvali district and fired from it," said Abdul-Vahed
Niyazov who headed the Muftis' Council delegation to North and South
Ossetia and met with eyewitnesses of the recent military actions.
According to him, peaceful Tskhinvali residents sheltered in the
church "and were subjected to bombing and this was done on purpose."
Niyazov said that the Council of Muftis planned to urge Muslim
Islamic community "to support Russian humanitarian mission completed
in such a difficult situation." Head of the Department for regional
religious organizations of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of the
European Part of Russia Arslan Sadriyev noted at the press
conference that the country's mosques collected donations to help
victims of the Georgian genocide. Sadriyev believes, the most
blasphemous act was shelling Orthodox churches of South Ossetia with
people sheltered in and destructing architectural sites of the
Byzantium period. Sarajevo, Croatia: The Croatia Libertas NGO says that the decision to paint pavements in Sarajevo in green is pure provocation. The non-governmental organization stated that the painted pavements were a clear message from Muslims to all the city’s other residents that Sarajevo was not the capital city of Bosnia-Herzegovina, but an ethnically Bosniak capital. “This is a message of intolerance and a perfidious scene of ethnic cleansing that was preconceived as a way to drive away people of other ethnicities and religions living in Sarajevo,” said NGO President Leo Pločkinić. He said that nowhere in the world were streets and pavements painted green—the color traditionally linked with Islam — not even in Tehran. “It is clear that Sarajevo wants to be a greater Tehran than the capital city of the Islamic Republic of Iran itself,” Pločkinić surmised. Sarajevo Mayor Semiha Borovac said that painting the pavements and streets green would be good for the city, because the city lacked greenery. Kiev, Ukraine: Orthodox patriotic Ukrainians are outraged at the country’s authorities who ignored “barbarian aggression” of Georgian troops in South Ossetia and condemned Russian army. “We urge to stop any kind of anti-Russian policy in Ukraine right now and to retire its initiators, in particular acting Foreign Minister Vladimir Ogryzko,” reads the statement of the Ukrainian organization ‘Orthodox Choice’. Besides, Orthodox community believes it necessary to retire the head of the national Ukrainian radio company and the head of supervisory board on television – for “kindling Russophobia” in mass media, “informational war against Russia” and “special cynicism” while covering South Ossetian war. “Ukrainian authorities are indirectly guilty in death of peaceful residents and soldiers from the both sides including Russian peacekeepers and destruction caused by military actions. Thus Ukrainian authorities are indirectly guilty in the crime committed by Georgian commandos in South Ossetia,” the statement notes. Its authors stress, such policy not only contradicts the opinion of “the majority of Ukrainian people, who want to live in peace and friendship with their Russian brothers of the same faith,” but also “the Christian conscience” Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko often “referred to”. Tskhinvali, South Ossetia: Many residents of Tskhinvali saw the Mother of God during the most violent battles. "She was seen in long garments. She mournfully passed along the streets. She was seen in the evening and at night in places of most violent and cruel battles. Militiamen realized, the Holy Virgin didn't leave the city to save it from total destruction. She came to help us," say the people of Tskhinvali. Many residents and policemen from various parts of the city described the same vision.
Father Dimitrii Smirnov Moscow, Russia: The Russian Orthodox Church reminds Georgia that Russia once saved it from slavery and urges it to reconciliation. “It seems the right time to remind Georgian government and its people what Russia has done for this country. It was time when Georgia asked Russia to take it in to escape Turkish enslavement. And only thanks to the support and protection of our empire and the blood shed by Russian soldiers, they were able to preserve their state system and remain a nation,” says head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for Relations with the Armed Forces Archpriest Dimitrii Smirnov. However, he says, “unfortunately, for the time present Georgia is intoxicated by Saakashvili's propagandistic speeches.” Speaking about Georgian military aggression in South Ossetia, the priest said, “the nation, which had joint the Russian Empire long ago, was subjected to genocide and this fact forced our country, Russians, Orthodox to extend help to Ossetia. Today we suffer losses: human, material, and even moral ones. Our help is only sacrificial service to our brothers. I lament that the other historically and spiritually close nation has abandoned its brotherly feelings,” said Father Dimitrii. “Today the priority task for fraternal peoples of Ossetia, Georgia and Russia is to come over this nightmare, to cast aside alien harmful influence and reconcile with each other.” Boston, M.A.: 15 Palestinian and Jordanian Orthodox communities in the US refuse to accept the recent agreement between the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, according to Rev. Nicola Matar, a priest who serves the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Anaheim, CA. According to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, they will be under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate through the Archdiocese. About 30 years ago, the above-mentioned communities had sought to place themselves under the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which had sent Archbishop Damaskinos of Iopes to look after them. In February 2006, the Ecumenical Patriarchate worked out an agreement with Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem – but without consulting or notifying the parishes in question. The Palestinian/Jordanian communities had alerted Patriarch Theophilos that they would not accept transference to the Archdiocese, but their pleas and demands went unheeded. This past August 5, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese announced the administrative transfer of the 15 parishes in question to its ecclesiastical, canonical and spiritual oversight. Archbishop Demetrios appointed the Very Rev. George Jweinet, pastor of Saint George Church in San Francisco, to serve as vicar of the new Vicariate and intermediary between the Jerusalemite parishes and the Archdiocese, but those parishes, including his own, do not recognize him. “All the churches of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, including Father George Jweinet’s church, are standing against the agreement between Constantinople and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. He is the only one who is accepting it. There will be a board meeting on Wednesday, and he will have a great problem with his own parish,” said Fr Nicola Matar. “I disagree with Metropolitan Philip of the Antiochian Archdiocese of America who says that those parishes belonged to him. I do not like to say it, but I think his memory is not clear. Everything was running fine when we had the Vicariate under the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, but when Patriarch Theophilos was elected, we heard he had an under-the-table agreement with Patriarch Bartholomew to give our churches to Constantinople. A year later, we heard that our (former) vicar, Metropolitan Damaskinos, resigned and that there was an agreement and things like this.” Speaking about Archbishop Demetrios, Rev. Matar said, “He never called us, but just five days ago, we started receiving certified letters in the mail from the Greek Orthodox Archbishop, who wants us to sign a declaration of this, and of course, all of us are standing very firm that we are not accepting it, and some of us do not even accept the mail. We returned it to the sender. I am one of them.” Asked why he does not accept the agreement between Theophilos and Bartholomew, he said, “Our roots come from there, and we feel that we should belong to our Mother Church, just like everyone else here in America, including the so-called ‘self-ruled’ Antiochian Archdiocese of America. We feel that, in 1948, Palestinians and Jordanians were thrown out from our land, and now it is being done again by our Patriarchate. We are not Greek. We are Palestinian and Jordanian Orthodox from the Holy Land, and we have the right to belong to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem today, tomorrow and forever.” Rev. Matar also said, “We were in Jerusalem two months ago, and we had a meeting with Patriarch Theophilos, and we told him to his face that we heard of such-and-such agreement. We told him we are staying with Jerusalem. He kept telling us, ‘You are my children. I do not throw you away or abandon you, but I have to respect the jurisdictions in America, and I do not want problems with the other Orthodox. I do not want other jurisdictions to come to my jurisdiction and establish their own jurisdictions.’ I do not understand what he meant by jurisdictions in America. Everybody is here, and why does only Jerusalem have be under Constantinople, and everyone else is not under Constantinople?” The Jerusalemite communities in question have formed a committee, Rev. Matar said, “and we are staying with Jerusalem for ever and ever.” Asked why he feels Patriarch Theophilos did not tell him the truth, he said “Today, I do not want to call my Patriarch a liar, but I do not believe that there is such an agreement the way they are saying to us, or I do not believe that this was passed through the Synod because we have evidence that the Synod knows nothing about it.” The Palestinian communities have sent letters to Archbishop Demetrios and to all the Patriarchates and the autonomous Churches that they do not accept the Agreement, and that they want to stay under the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. According to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem’s official website, nine of the 15 parishes are in California; one is in Seattle; one in Arizona; one in New York; one in Pennsylvania; one in Massachusetts; and one in Georgia. They consist of some 1,500 families. Beijing, China: At the beginning of the Olympic Games, the Divine Liturgy was celebrated with the permission of city authorities in Beijing's Roman-Catholic church of the Archangel Michael, since the Orthodox do not have a church in the city. It was attended by Orthodox athletes from many countries, representatives of Russia's Olympic team leadership, and Chinese Orthodox residing in Beijing. The Liturgy was served by Archpriest Nikolai Sokolov and Archpriest Dionisii Pozdn’aev who were sent by the Moscow Patriarchate to Beijing to spiritually nurture the Orthodox athletes.
ANNOUNCEMENTS1. August Bulletin Cover Sponsors are Nicholas and Patricia Yacko — in memory of Nicholas Yacko. 2. To pay off the painting of our church, we have raised $5.079.00, with only $274.00 yet to be collected. 3. Last Sunday was the last day of our parish’s participation at Hobart Lake Front Festival where we had a food tent. A core group of our faithful was working at out tent during the entire four days of the Festival. They were aided by other people who would come at designated times to work their shifts helping customers with the food and selling the raffle tickets. We had two parishioners who worked at the Festival for the first time: Marlene Glisich and Desa Lajovic. All the laborers worked hard and very long hours. Especially we would like recognize Patricia Yacko who, despite of her ill health, seemed to overdo everybody else in distributing the raffle tickets. We still do not have a final report on how much money the parish made during those four days. Nevertheless, it is obvious that the parish’s participation at Hobart Lake Front Festival was a success. 4. This year our parish is hosting the Distinguished Diocesan Donors Dinner for the Chicago Deanery. The Dinner is scheduled for September 28th. Since we host the event, it would be good if we could have a good number of our faithful as donors, or at least to be present at the dinner as guests. The Distinguished Diocesan Donors contribute $100.00 or more to Camp Nazareth. Guests at the dinner contribute $30.00, which covers their dinner selection and adds a few dollars to the DDD program. Therefore, even if we come as guests we still help the camp and will have an opportunity to hear about our diocesan Camp Nazareth, its history, different events the camp is available for and the important place it holds in the hearts of the hundreds of our diocesan children who flock to the camp every summer. 5. In September we are resuming our Bible Study classes. The date the classes begin is to be announced next week. +++++++++++++++++
Bulletin - 8/17/08
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++ WHY OUR PRAYERS DO NOT REACH GOD Conversation with Mitred Archpriest Father John Mironov, of the Church of the ‘Inexhaustible Cup’ Icon of the Mother of God in St.-Petersburg, Russia Original is published in Russian by Stasis Derzhava Publishing House, St.-Petersburg, 2008
Question: Father, what should we do so that our prayer would be not only correct, but that it would be unceasing, too? Answer: For this we have the Jesus Prayer, which we pray throughout the day. The Holy Fathers say that in this prayer the entire Gospel is contained in an abridged form. We turn to the Lord and ask Him: "Lord, Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner". By so doing we bring to remembrance Our Lord Jesus Christ and ask Him: "Have mercy on us sinners", as He was merciful to the harlot, to the publican and to the thie4 and the Lord will have mercy on us. This prayer, although supplicatory, is very pleasing to God. But to say this prayer constantly, one needs guidance of an experienced spiritual father. Question: What is a sign that the Jesus Prayer is not practiced properly? What should alert us in the first place? Answer: Praying the Jesus Prayer we should be able to fed that this prayer is beneficial for us, that it is brings peace to our souls. Therefore, if you see that the prayer is fruitless it is time to see of your spiritual father. Question: You know how it can be: exhausting day at work, many things to do and your mind is running in circles because of all that. And if I try to pray - it only gets worse. Then what should I do? Answer: Well, in this case it is best to simply sit down, to rest, not to get depressed nor to get excited, but rather to ponder: "O Lord, what should I do? Help me come before You." Even monks, men and women of prayer have time for rest and they vary their activities. We read in the Live of Venerable Anthony the Great that once the monks were playing a ball game. A hunter who was passing by stopped amazed: how could it be that they, instead of praying, were playing ball? Then the venerable one said to him: "Draw your bow". He did, but the elder said: ''Draw harder". The hunter drew it harder. But the elder asked again: ''Draw it harder". Then the hunter answered that he couldn't - the string would break. The same applies to our spiritual life. Nevertheless, we have to force ourselves to prayer. Some might think: "Since prayer doesn't come to me, I don't need to pray". This is wrong, we have to force ourselves, as we read in the Holy Scripture: "It is through much sorrows that we must enter into the Kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). The Kingdom of Heaven is "taken by force". On the other hand, man is inclined to laziness, very few - to virtue. Idleness, as it is well known, is the mother of all vices. Question: Father, you have spoken about several prayers that we should pray. Those prayers are read in the church, written down in the Gospel and the prayer books. But what about praying in our own words? Answer: It is most pleasing to the Lord when we pray in our own words; not when we automatically repeat some words, but when our souls are opened in prayer before the Lord. Our Lord is the Reader of our hearts - He can see what we have within us. Since He can see into our hearts, let us not fill them with filth and all sorts of rubbish, but let us get acquainted with the spiritual activity which the church life teaches us. Nonetheless, the first period of our prayer life is inseparable from the prayer book. Until we have acquired solid skills in prayer, she should start with the prayer book, as Holy Fathers advise us; because if there is no skill, there is no prayer. Even the greatest ascetics began that way; and no matter how great their podvigs were, they never dared omit their cell prayer rule. As for us, we skip our prayers once, twice, then perhaps we abandon the prayer entirely. Prayer requires consistency and discipline. Question: But you know that laity often find themselves in such circumstances, cares and activities, when one just can't stand up and pray. . . Answer: Pray while you are doing whatever you might be doing. It is a must! I can recall how Professor Andrew Sergienko (he taught us theology; prior to that, in Paris, where he lived as an émigré, he had graduated from the Theological Institute) would tell us how in Paris a factory worker got used to saying a prayer every time he finished the machine piece he was working on. Once the piece was finished, he would take it in his hands and turn inwardly to the Lord with prayer: ''Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner". So you see that he was with prayer all day long. As a result he acquired such a discipline of prayer that being a layman and working on his lathe, he grew to the measure of the venerable fathers. Question: Father, can we, from all what you have said, conclude that unless learn to keep pray the prayer rule, we shall never be able to pray in our own words? Answer: Of course, we shan't. Question: We can pray in our own words only in conjunction with the prayer rule, after reading of the rule itself, never omitting it, but only in addition to it? Answer: Yes, in addition to it. Having completed the prayer rule, we can add something in our own words, we can add specific requests and give thanks. But here too, we should not forget the prayers of the Church, we should say the Jesus Prayer, ''Virgin Theotokos, rejoice", "Our Father". Question: Father, for the beginner who doesn't know how to pray, it is perhaps better to pray out loud? Answer: Yes, of course! Because the mental prayer, inner prayer cannot be acquired right away, but in due time. Even the experienced elders do not cease praying out loud. We know how once an elder was reading the Psalter in his hotel room out loud, and he was reading it so loud that the harlot who stayed in the next room heard how dreadful the sufferings in hell are. So she came to the elder and begged him to receive her in repentance and make her a nun. See, how powerful is the prayer when said aloud! Well, of course it is not the point to read the prayers as loud as we can. We can pray simply moving our lips, as Righteous Anna prayed that God would grant her a child Therefore the way we pray must match the way we feel the prayer. The Lord is not really concerned with the way we pronounce the words - He sees our thoughts. Question: Here is another question. Some people, who just came to the faith, hear that their work is salvation of their souls. They think that they need only to pray and everything else in their lives will work out on its own. They leave what they are responsible for, sometimes they leave their work, their families fall apart… So it appears that even prayer can be a temptation? Answer: Nothing can be done right away. We have to work. As the Holy Fathers say: ''Labor and prayer are needed". Apostle Paul says: "Any who would not work, should not eat, either". Remember that the elders also labored: some weaved baskets, others did other useful things. Once, a woman who helped at the monastery came to Mother Theodora and saw he weaving a basket, instead of praying. "Today is a day of prayer", said the woman, whereas Theodora answered her that she was working and praying at the same time. If her labors were pleasing to the Lord, she would sell the basket and succeed in prayer. Another example. Once, pilgrims came to an elder. He gave them some work to do, but they refused saying that they had come to pray. Soon was time to eat. Those who had worked ate, but nobody called to the table those who had 'come to pray'. The day was drawing to a close when they asked: "Father, is there any food for us?" And they heard the answer: ''Why, you are men of pray and have no need for food". Then they understood that they were wrong, so they went to the elder to hear his counsel The elder told them: ''Prayer must be dissolved in labor". When a beginner gets excited, tries to get straight off to heaven, Venerable John of the Ladder says: "He should be put down on the ground". In the world, instead of long prayers it is far better to do good deeds - to help the sick who need our help, to help the infirm who cannot wash the floors or do something else. The Lord says: ''When you pray do not be like the Scribes and Pharisees. They stand long and pray, but they do not do the work" (cf. Matt. 6:5). And more: ''Not everyone that saith unto Me: 'Lord, Lord', shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of My Father Who is in Heaven" (Matt. 7:21). Modem person cannot stand long and pray: the thoughts get scattered, worldly cares distract. Therefore, we need to say at least the short prayers: the morning prayer rule, evening prayer rule (it is good when someone knows them by heart), and run to work. Only our activity shouldn't be hectic, but good. We must be in a hurry to do good deeds - life is short. Archbishop John (Shahovskoi) says: "Hurry, while there is time, to do good!" For at times it happens that I would do something good for this person, but it's too late now - he has departed from this life. Question: The Lord warns us in the Gospel against verbosity in prayer... Answer: Yes. In order to avoid verbosity we are given a short prayer: "Lord, have mercy". True, the prayer rules can be lengthy, but it is not verbosity, because all the words in our prayers are about the same - about repentance and expectation of God's mercy. To Be Continued ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ . . . . . . . . . . . News From All The Ends Of The Earth . . . . . . . . . . . Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: A row over a Malaysian court ruling that Muslim men can divorce their wives via SMS using their mobile phones has outraged women's groups and puzzled Malaysia's prime minister. Malaysian prime-minister Mahathir bin Mohamad, who has positioned his country to take advantage of the hi-tech information revolution, said on Tuesday he did not like the idea of divorce by the popular short message service (SMS). ''Nowadays, we can even divorce our wife by sending messages. I am not so keen on that, but they say it is perfectly legal, perfectly Islamic," he told assembled reporters. "I think that if people want to divorce their wife, they should resort to a much more personal approach than that. We hope of course that instead of sending messages, you should look at the beautiful wife that you're going to divorce ...maybe she would cry a bit and you would change your mind," he added. Women's groups have had stronger words for the decision last week by an Islamic Sharia court that a man's pronouncement of divorce via SMS to his wife was valid. Ivy Josiah, director of the Women's Aid Organisation in Kuala Lumpur said the method was "distant, cowardly, undignified and rude". A Muslim man can end his marriage by telling his wife "I divorce you" three times. Tskhinvali, South Ossetia: In the course of the Georgian aggression against South Ossetia, the Georgian army units, comprised not only of Georgian nationals, but also of foreign mercenaries, guided by the US military advisers, in the course of the operation under the code name "Scourged Land", destroyed a unique 10th century Orthodox church which was one of the region's spiritual centers. In the ruins of the church the rescuers found dead bodies of elderly people. On August 8, all defenders of the village were killed and the elderly took refuge in the church. People hoped that the supposedly Christian Georgians would spare them., the old crippled people, hiding in the church. Nevertheless, the Georgian troops burned down the church together with the old men and women hiding inside. With all the able men killed, elderly burned, the soldiers raped the younger women. As the people were running for their lives, they were crushed by the tanks. Only a handful of the villagers managed to survive hiding in the woods. Throughout their foray in South Ossetia, the Georgian air- and artillery strikes destroyed an 8th century church, as well as number of churches dating from 15th to 19th centuries. The main targets of the Georgian armed forces, whom the Ossetians refer to as 'fascists', were schools, museums, municipal buildings, churches and columns of refugees. By the time the Georgian forces were driven back, they had killed over 1,600 civilians, hundreds are wounded, 18 peace-keepers are killed, 52 - wounded and 14 are not accounted for. According to the Prime-Minister of Georgia, there was no civilian casualties on the Georgian side. Moscow, Russia: Last Wednesday many Russian churches are praying for repose of the people killed in course of military operations in South Ossetia and Georgia. ''Today Orthodox churches have sent up prayers for the victims, as we did on all the previous days. Eternal memory and repose to warriors-peacemakers, to all peaceful citizens who perished in the area of conflict," said Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin. He laments that "in the beginning of the 21st century peoples, who in spite of all contradictions lived in relative peace, suddenly were divided by mass armed struggle. Thank God, major war actions are stopped and there's a new hope for reconciliation. This war violently divided two nations, but most important today is not to return to total violence but observe rules of cease-fire. The one who will resume operations, will take the heaviest responsibility before God and history," Fr. Vsevolod stressed. He hopes Orthodox peoples - Georgians, Ossetian, Russian and others - ''will do everything to give each other a hand of fraternity," and "they will never be enemies." Fr. Vsevolod notes that today "the majority of people, at least in Russia, feel compassion rather than malicious joy and hostility." Churches and monasteries of the Stavropol diocese receive refugees, thousands of people make up humanitarian parcels for South Ossetia. ''Today we discuss with Christians of Europe and the whole world a possibility to extend major humanitarian help to the affected regions of the conflict area including the Georgian districts that don't relate to South Ossetia. There are certain signs that Christians of many countries will answer this appeal," he said Gori, Georgia: Katholikos-Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia visited Gori on Thursday as a member of delegation, which included over 120 representatives of mass media and diplomatic missions. He witnessed that nothing was destroyed in the city. "They made sure there were no destructions vividly depicted by the Georgian side and parroted by the western media," stated a member of the delegation. Moscow, Russia: Congress of the Jewish Religious Organizations and Associations in Russia believes, when Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili initiated military operations in South Ossetia, he committed the sin of Babylon king Nebuchadnezzar, whose army had destroyed Old Testament Temple in Israel. The Congress' chair Rabbi Zinovy Kogan in his statement reminds that approximately these days about two thousand and a half years ago ''Nebuchadnezzar, obsessed by Satan, demolished Jerusalem temple and crowds of refugees went to the North. Thus the community and the oldest synagogue in Tskhinval was established 2600 years ago", the rabbi says. ''Nowadays Georgian President Saakashvili seized by Satan razed old Tskhinval to the ground" As thousands years ago, blood was shed, people perished, Kogan's statement says. "Saakashvili repeated the sin of Nebuchadnezzar, but now Christians, Muslims, Jews - children of Abraham seek salvation on the roads leading to North, to Russia. As 2600 years ago, the Lord urges people to give up hatred and calls those who are blind with anger for the insight," the rabbi said. Lowell, Massachusetts: A 2,000-year-old relic of an apostle has been stolen from the altar of the Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church. The bone was Saint Andrew had been passed down through generations of a family and was given to the church six years ago. It was kept in a silver box under glass on a shelf in a wooden shrine under an icon of the saint, who was the first-called of the Twelve Apostles. Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Greece, Scotland, Russia and Romania. Church officials believe that the thieves stole the relic because they thought the silver case was valuable. A gold plated chalice was also taken. Kiev, Ukraine: About 25 operators of cable television in Kiev, Sevastopol and Odessa terminated their cooperation with Soyuz: "Broadcasting of the Soyuz Orthodox TV channel is stopped in Ukraine," press-service of the Ukrainian Union of Orthodox Citizens told Interfax-Religion.The interviewee of the agency said it became a compulsory measure taken by operators "to execute decisions of the Ukrainian National Security Council on "cleanup" of informational space in the country." "These repressions will have the opposite effect - people will strive to get Soyuz back, to pick up Orthodox broadcast through satellites and Soyuz will have more actual analytical programs especially on situation in Ukraine," the Union of Orthodox Citizens said They reminded it was "not the first "Orange" act against Orthodox television: Orthodox channel Kievskaia Rus was barred from broadcasting after the infamous "Orange Revolution", which was funded by the US tax-payers. "Information is the most important factor of our life, thus the attempts to deprive millions of Orthodox Ukrainian citizens of their right on information are the direct persecutions of Orthodoxy," the press service stressed. "It is clear Orthodox majority in Ukraine doesn't want to listen to anti-canonical anti-church absurd about ''local Ukra.1nianChurch" and "Orthodox Pope" in the person of the Constantinople Patriarch, but those who seek separation of the Ukrainian Church from the Russian spare no effort to impose this absurdity on Ukraine," representatives of the Orthodox community stated. Warsaw, Poland: A walk of more than 180 kms lies before Orthodox p11grimswho have started out from the locality of Sokolka for the holy mount of Grabarka, south-east Poland Pilgrims carry large crosses which are then planted on the mountain to symbolize their repentance and prayer. Thousands of such crosses stand on the hillside and around the wooden church of the Transfiguration on Grabarka, which since the year 2000 houses an icon of the Most Holy Mother of God donated by monks from Greece. Grabarka, with its church and convent is the most important Orthodox holy place in Poland The biggest pi1grimageon foot to the mountain left this Thursday from Bialystok, for the observations of the Feast of the Transfiguration on August 18th and 19th. Moscow, Russia: All grandsons of Yakov Yurovsky, who was in charge of the execution of the Royal Passion-bearers Nicholas II and his family, died tragically and all his granddaughters died in their early years. Thus, 'iron Commandant' Yurovsky left a dark imprint not only in Russian history, but also brought trouble on his family, his great-grandson Vladimir is quoted as saying by Express-Gazeta paper. One child of his beloved daughter Rimma perished in fire, her second son fell down from the roof, another one got poisoned with mushrooms, the forth one hung himself and the fifth one died while driving. ''Rimma was also misfortunate", Vladimir further said "She was arrested in 1935 and sent to the camp for political convicts. Yurovsky was sorry for her daughter, but did nothing to free her." Vladimir's granny, Yurovsky niece Maria ran away with a Gypsy, who soon left her alone with their son Boris. Boris’ life was difficult: when a boy he nursed and then buried his brothers and sisters his mother got from various men. They all died from cold and hunger, Boris' son Vladimir Yursky said "Neither good undertakings nor honest living of his descendants can redeem what Yakov Yursky did with the Romanovs", Yurovsky said, "I am really concerned with the future of my son and daughter." Murderer Yakov Yurovsky died alone from lung cancer. This serves to illustrate once again that a sin of one person echoes in the lives of his descendents. New York, N.Y.: After a long process that began in 1993 related to the ecclesiastical status of a portion of the Palestinian and Jordanian communities in the USA, the portion connected to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, there has been a final agreed decision by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem concerning these communities. The Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Jerusalem Patriarchate have agreed that the canonical and pastoral supervision of these communities and their clergy should belong to the canonically established jurisdiction in the United States which is the Eparchy of the Ecumenical Throne in America, that is, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Henceforth, the Patriarch ate of Jerusalem no longer asserts any jurisdiction in the Western Hemisphere. On Tuesday, April 1, 2008, His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew received His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, together with the senior member of the Holy Synod of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, Metropolitan Vasilios of Caesaria (Palestine) and other clergy. Final details for the implementation of the agreements were completed, with a mutual decision that these communities come under the canonical jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of America. Following the meeting at the Phanar, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America was directed to proceed with the implementation of the agreements by the creation of a Vicariate for the inclusion of the clergy and communities within the Archdiocese of America. The official name of the Vicariate is: Vicariate for Palestinian/Jordanian Communities in the USA. The clergy and communities of the Vicariate will be directly under the Archbishop of America and will report to the Archdiocese through the Vicar. Through the Archdiocese, all of these clergy and communities will be able to participate in the programs and agencies of SCOBA.
ANNOUNCEMENTS1. August Bulletin Cover Sponsors are Nicholas and Patricia Yacko - in memory of Nicholas Yacko. 2. To payoff the painting of our church we have raised $5.014.00, with only $339.00 yet to be collected. 3. Today is the last day of the Hobart Lake Front Festival where our parish has tent. A good group of people has been working there during the last several days. If you had signed your name on the schedule, please come and work. If you hadn't, then perhaps you can stroll to our tent at the Lake Front Fest and work for a little bit, so that those who have been there for a long time could rest. 4. This year our parish is hosting the Distinguished Diocesan Donors Dinner for the Chicago Deanery. The Dinner is scheduled for September 28th. If you haven't received your DDD donation form last week - they may be found in the narthex of the church. For those of us who may not know: every year the faithful are encouraged to donate for the upkeep of our diocesan Camp Nazareth in Mercer, PA. For us to be part of DDD program we should donate $100.00 or more towards this fund. Now is the time when such donations may be given either to your parish priest or sent directly to the Diocesan Chancery in Johnstown, PA. As a way to thank all the donors, a dinner is given in their honor (free for the donors and $30.00 per each guest). At the dinner, the camp director tells us about the camp and shows the slides of this year's camping sessions. +++++++++++++++++
Bulletin - 8/10/08
I WANT TO WANT WHAT GOD WANTS Translated from Svetoch № 2, 2004 Final Part
Question: Tell us about baptism in Greece? Answer: Baptism is a great family celebration, therefore they do not baptize their children right away, for first they need to save up money for the celebration. The baptismal festivities are so joyful as if it were a wedding. Question: Well, what impact to one’s wallet does church attendance have? Answer: All sorts of people come to the churches, including those who are very poor, which you can tell by the way they dress, although as a whole the people there live well. There is no set fee for candles, nor for the commemoration at the Proskomedia. They have a box where people put their offering — you put as much as you can or want. It is a manifestation of their complete trust in the will of God. I remember well how attentive the faithful listened to the church service, people were every concentrated. Question: Can you paint for us a Cretan scenery: nature, holy places, sights worth seeing?
Answer: They showed us many things worthy on attention both on Crete and in Greece as a whole. While traveling to the holy places, you usually go down narrow city streets buried in verdure and flowers. First floors of the houses are occupied by little shops. Leave the city and everything opens before you: sea, mountains, blue sky, bright sun. Rains come only in the winter months. The shore is littered with entire “villages” of hotels and places for entertainment. Here and there, in the mountains among the rocks where no one lives one can see white spots — those are churches and chapels. Some people might have a chapel built in their own yard or amidst their vineyards. Along the sides of the roads one can see small posts which have niches for an icon and a small lampada. In the past there were beautiful forests in the mountains, but during the Turkish yoke they were all burned and do not grow anymore. High up in the mountains we visited two monasteries, both consecrated in honor of Holy Martyr Irene (one has 6, the other — 20 people in them). At times the serpentine road takes the pilgrims so high where only birds can fly, and then, winding among the burrs, stones and pine trees, it comes down to the sea. Such a road took us to a men’s monastery consecrated in honor of Saints Parthenios and Eumenios, where only two monks work out their salvation. During the snow season the monastery is cut off from the world. We visited an ancient men’s monastery in honor of the Odigitria icon of the Mother of God, in Gonia. There, a Turkish shell miraculously “stopped” in the Altar wall and didn’t destroy the holy place. And here is what happened in another monastery during the German occupation: the Germans couldn’t take the monastery treasures — three planes could not take off until they gave back the sacred load, which included a particle of the Cross of the Lord. By the Iraklion Mountain we venerated the tomb of the first archbishop, Titus, a disciple of Apostle Paul. Last Pascha, he tomb exuded myrrh and fragrance. Under the mountain there is a narrow cave where Vladyka Titus was working out his salvation. We saw the ruins of 16th century cities, fortresses, castles, which now are turned into museums. We walked in Minotaur’s labyrinth. The care with which the Greek people preserve the holy places and historical monuments deserves great respect. Question: Do you remember anything else special? Answer: I remember feast days and traditions. For example, on the feast of the Lord’s Baptism, after the Liturgy, they take the holy water, everyone gets just a little bit of it in a cup. Then they all go to bless the sea. After the Moleben, the Metropolitan throws a Cross into the sea. The most courageous jump into the water (the water is pretty chilly in the winter) and look for the Cross, because the one who finds it receives a special blessing for the whole year. The nature that day is unusually radiant — everything is sanctified by God. I often recall the feast of Christ’s Nativity, when they also have an interesting custom. After the All-Night Vigil (in Greek agrypnia) they bring out a pie with a coin or a little icon inside. When the pie is divided among the present, a lucky one gets a piece with the gift. This is an ancient custom, coming to us from a miracle of Basil the Great. Once Saint Basil the Great announced a collection of funds for construction of a temple. They collected so much money and jewelry that some of it were even left over. They wanted to return the left-over items but they couldn’t tell to whom belonged those earrings, to whom that bracelet, and so on. Then Saint Basil gave a blessing for breads to be baked and the jewelry was inserted in the loaves. People were summoned to the new temple and after the service they cut up the breads and distributed the pieces among the people. And what a miracle! The jewelry returned to its owners — people were finding their own things in their pieces of bread. Also, I especially would like to emphasize the Greeks’ radiant hospitality, joyfulness and compassion. Question: Did these eight months in Greece help you answer any questions? Would you want to go back? Answer: I want to want what God wants. We shall see where He will bless me to go and how He will bless me. As far as the questions and answers... Before, I used to ask myself: who are monks? Now I think I know: monks are just people, but very good people. A true monk is indeed a light to the world. The End +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ WHY OUR PRAYERS DO NOT REACH GOD Conversation with Mitred Archpriest Father John Mironov, of the Church of the ‘Inexhaustible Cup’ Icon of the Mother of God in St.-Petersburg, Russia Original is published in Russian by Stasis Derzhava Publishing House, St.-Petersburg, 2008
Question: Father, many are at loss: why our prayers are not reaching God? Answer: Every prayer reaches God. But how do we pray and about what? Mostly we are used to asking God for something: wealth, health and good living. However, we haven’t learned to thank God. Prayer of thanksgiving is most fundamental, for it is most pleasing to God. If only we would learn to pray as monks and ascetics do… They do not wish anything but give thanks to the Lord and have a strong faith. They see the sun light, starts at night, rain, and they give thanks for everything, everything what the Lord has created. It would be good for us, to begin with, to learn to thank the Lord, as we sing in the hymn: “We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee, we glorify Thee, we thank Thee for the sake of Thy great glory”. Prayer of thanksgiving always reaches God. God doesn’t answer only that prayer when we pray for what is not beneficial for us. Let’s say, someone offended me and I say: “O Lord, punish him — he has done so much evil”. How can God fulfill such a request? He answers us with the words of the Holy Gospel: “First cast out the beam out of thine own eye”. Such a prayer ricochets like a shrapnel to him who wishes evil in prayer. Most important in prayer is not to judge anyone, not to annoy anyone… as Father Amvrosii of Optina used to say: “My compliments to everyone”. Then we shall have peace and concord. “Peace and concord is the best — you won’t need a treasure chest”, Father Amvrosii would say. The Lord Himself knows what is beneficial for us. He loves us more than we love ourselves, and He always gives us what we really need. Holy Hierarch Philaret of Moscow taught not to ask for anything in prayer: “O Lord, Thou knowest all my needs, even those which I do not know. Deal with me according to Thy mercy. Give me that which I myself do not know how to ask for”. Question: Well, if God Himself knows everything about us — why ask, if everything is recorded in the Book of Life anyway? Answer: To this Holy Fathers say that it is not God Who needs our prayer but we do. Prayerful disposition of the soul is the only correct spiritual disposition. When we pray — we are with God, with the Heavenly Father. Therefore, the Lord commands us to pray: “Pray, lest you come to misfortune”. If we abandon prayer we become like white-washed sepulchers. (“White-washed sepulchers” is a Gospel image signifying a seemingly good well-being, a disposition of a hypocritical believer: “Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like white-washed sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but within are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Matthew 23:27-28).) Question: Jews also prayed, but in the Gospel the Lord reproaches them as sons of devil. Answer: Their prayer was incorrect, it was sly. This is why in the Gospel the apostles ask Jesus Christ: “Lord, teach us how to pray”, and He gives us “Our Father”. Now, this prayer is not sly. On the contrary, here we are asking the Lord God to deliver us from the evil one, to deal with us according to His holy will. To Be Continued ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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Athens, Greece: The wildfire that broke out Thursday morning in a wooded ravine in the region of Lakkoskiti on Mt Athos, in Halkidiki northern Greece, is in progress without threatening any of the monasteries nearby. Two water dropping helicopters participate in the fire-fighting efforts while a 10-firemen strong force is on its way to the area. Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Margaritis Tzimas is currently on a pilgrimage visit to the monastic community of Mt Athos and according to statements by Civil Protection Agency alternate general secretary Nikos Kortsaris, who is accompanying him, the blaze is expected to be put under control soon as a result of the coordinated fire fighting efforts underway. Nicosia, Cyprus: August 2, Turkish police burst into Saint Barnabas Monastery in the northern (occupied by Turkey) part of Cyprus and stopped the festive Divine Liturgy at the tomb of Apostle Barnabas buried here, even though the UN representation had given its authorization for the service. Metropolitan Isaiah of Tamas and the abbot of the monastery, archimandrite Gabriel, were roughly put out of the church, along with all the congregation. In the words of an eyewitness, when a tourist bus drove up to the church, the police stopped throwing the Orthodox out, but as soon as the witnesses drove away, they resumed their use of force. The Orthodox were not allowed to remain even in the yard of the monastery, so that the Liturgy could only be completed in the monastery of Saints Gabriel and Marina, that is, in the free, Greek part of the island. Metropolitan Isaiah gave the following statement: "Yet again, we have come up against the worst aspects of the Turkish occupation. Our human and religious rights are trampled upon, we have been denied the right to serve in the churches that were built by our ancestors. We were doing no one any harm, we were acting in accord with the UN, we had been given authorization. We were praying together, people from both parts of Cyprus. Yes, we as Orthodox must pray patiently for our persecutors. But it is time for them to understand that we live in a democratic, European society, where the people's rights and freedom are supposed to be respected".
. Moscow, Russia: Alexander Solzhenitsyn, a great Russian writer in the mold of Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoyevsky, died of heart failure last Monday in his Moscow home. He was 89 years old. As hundreds gathered in the rain on Tuesday to pay their last respects to Solzhenitsyn, other writers, national leaders and public figures began pondering the essence of who he was for Russian society - dissident, writer, a historical figure endemic to the 20th century, thinker or simply legend. He was buried Wednesday at the Donskoi Monastery. Patriarch Aleksii II
together with many other people prayed for the repose of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's soul. His Holiness addressed those who came to the writer's funerals held at the Moscow Donskoi monastery: "I kiss the departed for the last time and pray to Master of life Our Lord Jesus Christ to rest His departed servant Alexander in the heavenly dwellings." The patriarch noted that Solzhenitsyn reflected on the end of his earthly life "with Christian dignity and calmness... he believed death is a transition from temporary existence to life everlasting. The Lord granted him power and courage to bear the cross of standing for truth, to work in the literary field for the memory of those who suffered for faith and truth in dark years of the last century but managed to live honestly and in good conscience." The whole Solzhenitsyn's life is "a worthy example of serving to truth, devotion to his vocation and God-given mission. He spared no effort to make people know the truth about tragic but heroic past of our country. In his witness to truth, suffering for it, he stuck to his life principle: a word of truth conquers the world. His spiritual testament to the present and future generations is based on this conviction and adherence to truth." The Patriarch of the Orthodox Church believes and hopes the Lord will forgive "all transgressions both voluntary and involuntary of His departed servant."
London, U.K.: A new report released Monday by the London-based Center for Social Cohesion reveals that British Muslim students are not far behind their Middle Eastern counterparts. The report, entitled "Islam on Campus: A Survey of UK Student Opinion," reveals that a third of those surveyed supported the idea that one can kill in the name of religion. "Universities should be places where people of all faiths and backgrounds can come together in an environment of mutual tolerance," said Center director Douglas Murray. Among the Muslim students surveyed, 32% said killing in the name of religion could be justified. However, almost double that number, 60% of those who are active members of Islamic student organizations, supported the idea. Only 2% of non-Muslims felt killing in the name of religion was justified. "These findings are deeply alarming," said one of the authors of the report, researcher Hanna Stuart. "Students in higher education are the future leaders of their communities." She noted, however, that there was a striking difference between the average Muslim and those who join on-campus Islamic groups, who "often hold opinions that are significantly more extreme than those of ordinary Muslim students." The study also found that 40% of the students supported introduction of Islamic Sharia law in Britain, as well as significant support for the concept of worldwide Islamic rule. A third were in favor of a worldwide caliphate (worldwide Islamic government) based on Sharia law, as opposed to the 58% of active members of Islamic student organizations, who supported the idea. In addition, there are signs of growing religious segregation on campus. These results are deeply embarrassing for those who have said there is no extremism in British universities. Moscow, Russia: The Orthodox Church laments over decision of the Anglican Church to consecrate women bishops taken on July 7, 2008. "The Russian Orthodox Church has to state with regret that the decision to install women bishops impedes the dialogue between Orthodox Christians and Anglicans developed for some decades," Communication service of the Moscow Patriarchate says in its special statement. According to the document, this decision "alienates Anglicans from the Orthodox Church and contributes in further division of the Christian world. Such practice contradicts centuries-old Church tradition dating back to the first Christian community. Orthodox Christians consider women bishops even more unacceptable." Christian tradition has always considered bishops as "direct spiritual successors of apostles, who grant them a special blessing to lead God's people and a special responsibility to keep the purity of faith and be symbols and guarantors of Church unity." Thus, installing women-bishops contradicts "the course of Savior, holy apostles and ancient undivided Church." In conviction that revision of the original church norms contradicts the Lord's idea on priestly ministry, the Church states "it is not a theological or practical need of the church that dictated this decision to the Anglican General Synod, but rather its strive to keep step with secular idea of sexual equality in all spheres of life." The Church reminds, "Secularization of Christianity makes many believers to abandon it as they strive to find spiritual support in secure Gospels and apostolic traditions introduced by Eternal and Unchangeable God." Madrid, Spain: The Association of the Sovereign Order of the Temple of Christ, whose members claim to be descended of the infamous crusaders, have filed a lawsuit against Benedict XVI calling for him to recognise the seizure of assets worth 100 billion euros. They claim that when the order was dissolved in 1307, more than 9,000 properties as well as countless pastures, mills and other commercial ventures belonging to the knights were appropriated by the Roman Church. Their motive is not to reclaim damages but only to restore the "good name" of the Knights Templar. "We are not trying to cause the economic collapse of the Roman Catholic Church, but to illustrate to the court the magnitude of the plot against our Order," said a statement issued by the self-proclaimed modern day ‘knights’. The Templars was a powerful secretive group of Roman Catholic warrior monks founded after the First Crusade of 1099. They amassed enormous wealth and helped to finance wars waged by European monarchs, but fell from grace after the rumors surfaced of their pagan practices. The Knights were accused of denying Christ, worshipping images of the devil in secret initiation ceremonies, and practicing sodomy. Many Templars confessed to their crimes under torture and some were burned at the stake. The legal move by the Spanish group comes following the unprecedented step by the Vatican towards the rehabilitation of the group when last October it released copies of parchments recording the trials of the Knights between 1307 and 1312. The Chinon parchment revealed that, contrary to common belief, Clement V had declared the Templars were not heretics but disbanded the order anyway to maintain peace with their accuser, King Philip IV of France, reports The Telegraph. Kiev, Ukraine: 66-year old woman performed a ritual murder of her 9-year-old grandson. She hit the boy with an iron and completed the crime with a rope. Then a woman carried a boy to the living room where she had everything prepared beforehand including candles and a brochure with "a prayer to enter paradise" given to her by Jehovah's Witnesses. Neighbors said that the day before she murdered her grandson she spoke about religion and upcoming apocalypses. Jehovah's Witnesses convinced the woman the Lord would come on 2014 and raise the dead, then all the righteous will go to paradise and take their children with them. "I was shocked and don't remember the funeral. If I didn't believe in God, I would have gone mad," the boy's mother Elena Ponomarenko, 36, said. After her son's death, Elena retired to the monastery of the Kiev Caves Lavra to overcome her sorrow. London, U.K.: Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh reposed on August 4, five years ago. "His missionary achievements are generally recognized, his personal spiritual heroism converted thousands of people into Orthodox. His sermons broadcasted by radio for the Soviet Union were a gulp of freedom," said the Sourozh Diocese's (UK) cleric Archpriest Michael Dudko. According to him, Metropolitan Anthony "was never afraid of advocating the truth no matter how hard he was criticized for it both from the right and from the left." He founded a diocese in Great Britain at the time when emigration could call you "red" for attribution to the patriarchal Church and he remained faithful to the Church until his last days. The Sourozh Diocese prayed for its archpastor on Sunday, on the eve of the commemoration day, when the London Cathedral conducted a panihida, and on the very day of his repose on August 4. The metropolitan's spiritual children, priests whom he consecrated, and his followers from Britain and abroad prayed at the memorial liturgy.
ANNOUNCEMENTS1. August Bulletin Cover Sponsors are Nicholas and Patricia Yacko — in memory of Nicholas Yacko. 2. To pay off the painting of our church we have raised $4,994.00, with $359.00 yet to be collected. 3. This Sunday, August 10th, the Eternal Light is offered by Nicholas and Patricia Yacko in memory of the servant of God Nicholas Yacko. May his memory be eternal! 4. For our food tent at the Hobart Lake Front Festival we need to have workers for every shift during the four days of the event, Thursday through Sunday (there are yellow sign-up sheets for every day of the Festival in the narthex of the church). We also need cash donations for the change and some necessities which might become apparent in the beginning of the Festival before we make any money (for instance, for propane gas, bags of ice, and who knows what else might be needed). Please, remember to have a hat or hair net on when working. 5. On Friday, at the end of the Liturgy for the Dormition of the Theotokos, a traditional blessing of the flowers will take place. 6. This year our parish is hosting the Distinguished Diocesan Donors Dinner for the Chicago Deanery. The Dinner is scheduled for September 28th. Please, find enclosed in your bulletin a donation form. For those of us who may not know: every year the faithful are encouraged to donate for the upkeep of our diocesan Camp Nazareth in Mercer, PA. For the person to be part of DDD program, the donation must be $100.00 or more. Now is the time when such donations may be given either to your parish priest or sent directly to the Diocesan Chancery in Johnstown, PA. As a way to thank all the donors, a dinner is given in their honor (free for the donors and $30.00 per each guest). At the dinner, the camp director tells us about the camp and shows the slides of this year’s camping sessions. ++++++++++++
Bulletin - 8/3/08
I WANT TO WANT WHAT GOD WANTS Translated from Svetoch № 2, 2004 Part IV Question: Does the monastery have a tradition of daily confession of thoughts? Answer: Yes, of course. Gerontissa faithfully keeps sisters’ thoughts (disclosed at such a confession) secret. Question: Thoughts are revealed only to her? Answer: Only to her. In the large monasteries, like in Ormylia, Surot, the sisters communicate with the Gerontissa with aid of handwritten notes, because there are so many sisters there that the eldress does not have time to talk to everyone. Sometimes older sisters are appointed to help the sisters in their spiritual life. But should one need to talk with the Gerontissa, an opportunity will definitely be provided. She might herself summon a sister. Meeting with the spiritual father for confession usually occurs once or twice a year, because the spiritual life of every monastic in the community is in the Gerontissa’s care.
Question: Do you mean they allow one to receive communion without confession? Answer: In the monastery, they commune very frequently: weekly on Saturdays and Sundays, with the Gerontissa’s blessing. Well, to do so the sisters must be in a proper spiritual disposition. Those who have quarreled, who are unstable or have some passionate inner motives are not allowed to receive communion. During the times of fasting they commune even more often, as it is considered that the mutual efforts help one to live a holy life. Overall, the whole monastic way of life benefits to their living as one closely-knit family. One another’s shortcomings are covered with love, there is no petty quibbles, no criticism, but only humility and self-reproach. Question: If a person is obstinate and inclined to conflicts, can she be admitted into the community? Answer: They admit all kinds of people. Sometimes there come difficult people who did not receive enough love in their childhood. With time, as they enter the community, they learn humility and the laws of communal living. But what is most important is the activity of the Grace of God that is sent to the one who needs it most through the prayers of all sisters. Sisters told me that in the monastery love is acquired through patience, through the spiritual struggles of the older sisters, as well as through the prayers of the monastery’s spiritual father and the Gerontissa. Question: It is interesting that the names of both Geronstissas begin with “theo” — Theoxeni, Theosemni. Answer: This is a monastery tradition that all the names begin with “theo”. Question: “Theo” is from “Theos”, which means “God”.
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