“He has risen.” Mark16:6 Whosoever is a devout lover of God, let him enjoy this beautiful bright Festival. And whosoever is a grateful servant, let him joyously enter into the joy of his Lord. And if any be weary with fasting, let him now receive his reward. If any has toiled from the first hour let him receive his just debt. if any came after the third let him gratefully celebrate. If any arrived after
By Very Rev. Stephen Rogers, from The Word, January 2001 As the month of January draws to a close, the Church calls us on the 30th to celebrate the Feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs: St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian and St. John Chrysostom. In celebrating these three great teachers of the Church, the Church in its hymnody refers to them as “harps of the Spirit,” “rays of light,” “scented flowers of Paradise,”
Behold a new and wondrous mystery. My ears resound to the Shepherd’s song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn. The Angels sing. The Archangels blend their voice in harmony. The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise. The Seraphim exalt His glory. All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven. He Who is above, now for our redemption dwells here below; and he
By Nabil Semaan GLADNESS OF ANGELS (17) “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (Hebrew 1:14). St. John Chrysostom comments on this verse by saying, “Look how God loves man so that He created holy creatures to serve the man created according to His image.” Humans, although heavier than angels by their body and in a state of sin, death and corruption, when they
The icons seen on church walls are not merely images or paintings: an icon is a focus of real presence. St John Chrysostom advises us, before we start praying, to take our stand in front of an icon and to shut our eyes. He says ‘shut your eyes’, because it is not by examining the icon, by using it as a visual aid, that we are helped by it to pray. It is not a
By Hieromonk Damascene The Consequences of Christ’s Redemptive Work, Part II In the Gospels, especially the Gospel of St. John, Christ makes several statements which reveal how His followers would be able to receive the Grace of the Holy Spirit by means of His death. In the temple Christ preached: He that believeth on Me … out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. After quoting these words of Christ, the Apostle John explains: But this
By Hieromonk Damascene The Means of Redemption, Part III Many of the Holy Fathers wrote on this theme of Christ as sacrifice. Origen (who is not a Holy Father) and, following him, St. Gregory of Nyssa, posited that the sacrifice was offered to the devil. But St. Gregory the Theologian and all the Fathers after him rejected this idea. They often spoke of the sacrifice as being offered to God the Father, and sometimes they
By Hieromonk Damascene The Primordial State Let us begin by discussing the state of man and the world before the Fall. A right understanding of this pre-Fall state is actually essential to a right understanding of the meaning of Christ’s death on the Cross. We have to understand what Adam fell from in order to understand what Christ restores us to. According to the Patristic interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, before the Fall man’s body was not subject
Now all things are filled with light; heaven and earth, and the nethermost parts of the earth… Christ is Risen! Children of God! From a fullness of unearthly joy I greet you with words full of Divine power: “Christ is Risen!” The holy fire of this salvific tiding has burst anew with bright flames over the Lord’s Tomb, and has spread throughout the world. The Church of God, filled with the light of this fire,
After the consecration in the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, this prayer follows: “that they (3l) may be unto watchfulness of soul (32), unto forgiveness of sins … “. Not only before but also after Holy Communion we have need of watchfulness and vigilance toward ourselves. According to St. John Chrysostom, watchfulness of the soul is the first blessed fruit of Holy Communion. In the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, in the prayer
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