Glory to God for All Things
The Tree Heals the Tree
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Readers of the New Testament are familiar with St. Paul’s description of Christ as the “Second Adam.” It is an example of the frequent Apostolic use of an allegoric reading of the Old Testament (I am using “allegory” in its broadest sense – including typology and other forms). Christ Himself had stated that He was the meaning of the Old Testament (John 5:39). Within the Gospels Christ identifies His own death and…
The Morning Offering
September 16
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September 16 / 3 Holy Martyred King Edward of England Saints of the Day Hieromartyr Anthimus, Bishop of Nicomedia, and those with him: Martyrs Theophilus deacon, Dorotheus,Mardonius, Migdonius, Peter, Indes, Gorgonius, Zeno, Virgin Domna, and Euthymius St. Theoctistus, fellow-faster with St.Euthymius the Great. (services combined) Martyr Aristion, Bishop of Alexandria. Martyr Basilissa of Nicomedia. St. Pheobe,deaconess at Cenchreae near Corinth.…
The Morning Offering
September 15 / 2
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Saints of the Day Martyr Mama of Caesarea in Cappadocia, and his parents, Martyrs Theodotus and Rufina [Rom 8:28-39; Jn15:1-7]. St. John the Faster, Patriarch of Constantinople. 3,618 Martyrs who suffered at Nicomedia. Righteous Eleazar, son ofAaron, and Righteous Phineas. (Greek Calendar: Martyrs Aeithalas and Ammon of Thrace.) Kaluga Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. Quote of the Day “…When…
The Morning Offering
September 14 / 1
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Beginning of the Indiction (Orthodox New Year) Saints of the Day Church New Year. St. Symeon Stylites (the Elder) and his mother St. Martha. (The services to the Saint and forthe New Year are combined.) (Vespers only) Martyr Aeithalas of Persia. Holy 40 Women Martyrs and Martyr Ammon the deaconand their teacher, at Heraclea in Thrace. Martyrs Callista and her…
Praying in the Rain
The Virtues are the Christian Way
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St. Maximos the Confessor, in his forth century on love, verse 74, in the Philokalia (vol. 2) says that the biblical use of the word “way” is equivalent to the classical word “virtues” as it is used in patristic Christian teaching. The Greek of the Bible is called Koine Greek. It is a simplified form of Greek developed under Alexander the Great and his descendants in the third century BC so that…
Glory to God for All Things
The Cross of Christ
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The Mystery of our Salvation is contained within the Cross of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. And it is correct to say the “mystery of our salvation,” for what is contained there is more than a cosmic transaction (Christ pays for our sins): it is also the whole of our way of life. It is truly the mystery of our salvation. The extent of this mystery is hinted at in Christ’s…
The Morning Offering
September 13 / August 31
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Saints of the Day: The Placing of the Cincture (Sash) of the Most Holy Theotokos Hieromartyr Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage. St. Gennadius, Patriarch of Constantinople. St. Gennadius Scholarius, Patriarch of Constantinople. St. John, Metropolitan of Kiev. (Greek Calendar: Four Martyrs of Perge in Pamphylia. Martyrs Menas, Fausus,Andrew and Heraclius. Martyr Phileortus. Martyr Diadoch. Eight Virgin Martyr of Gaza. 366 Martyrs…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Can you then think that you are still among men?
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For the priestly office is indeed discharged on earth, but it ranks among heavenly ordinances; and very naturally so: for neither man, nor angel, nor archangel, nor any other created power, but the Paraclete Himself, instituted this vocation, and persuaded men while still abiding in the flesh to represent the ministry of angels. Wherefore the consecrated priest ought to be as pure as if…
The Morning Offering
September 12 / August 30
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Saints of the Day: Saints Alexander, John and Paul the New, Patriarch of Constantinople. Repose of St. Alexander, Abbot of Svir. Translation of the Relics of St. Alexander Nevsky. St. Christopher of Palestine. St. Fantinus of Calabria. Opening of theRelics of St. Daniel, prince of Moscow. Synaxis of the Serbian hierarchs: Saints Sabbas I, Sabbas II, Arsenius I, Eustathius I,…
The Morning Offering
September 11 / August 29
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In memory of all those who lost their lives on 9/11 Saints of the Day: The Beheading of the Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John St. Alexander, abbot of Voche.New-Martyr Anastasius of Bulgaria. New-Martyr Peter, Metropolitan of Krutitsa (1936). (Greek Calendar St. Theodora ofThessalonica. St. Arcadius of Arsinoe on Cyprus, Bishop of and Wonderworker. Translation of the Relics of St.…
Praying in the Rain
On Interpreting the Interpreters of the Holy Fathers on Education
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I have not read most of what St. Gregory Palamas (or any Church Father for that matter) has written. I have read his homilies (at least those recently published in English by Mount Thabor Publishing), bits from the Philokalia, and about twenty years ago The Triads, published in the Classics of Western Spirituality series–of which I understood absolutely nothing. However, the great majority of what he has written I have not read.…
Glory to God for All Things
Something from Nothing and the Apostolic Hypothesis
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On September 8 the Orthodox Church celebrated the Nativity of the Mother of God. This is one of a number of feasts involving the life of the Virgin Mary, particularly during this time of the year. Many of the feasts mark events that are unfamiliar to many Christians, in that they are based on Tradition and have no direct account within the Scriptures. This would be especially troubling for some, if these…
The Morning Offering
September 10 / August 28 Saints of the Day:
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St. Moses the Black of Scete. Uncovering or the relics of St. Job of Pochaev. St. Sabbas, abbot of Krypetsk. Righteous Anna the Prophetess. Righteous Hezekiah, king of Judah. Synaxis of the Saints of the Kiev Caves whoserelics repose in the Far Cave of St. Theodosius. St. Amphilochius, Bishop of Vladimir in Volhynia. St. Theodore (Theodosius inmonasticism), prince of Volhynia…
Praying in the Rain
St. Maximus on Hoarding
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This morning I was reading St. Maximus the Confessor (“Four Centuries on Love” in volume two of the Philokalia) and I came across these verses. It is not so much because of need that gold has become an object of desire among men, as because of the power it gives most people to indulge in sensual pleasure. There are three things which produce love of material wealth: self-indulgence, self-esteem and lack of faith.…
The Morning Offering
Mark 7:24-30
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September 9 / August 27 Saints of the Day St. Poemen the Great. St. Poemen of Palestine. St. Sabbas of Benephali.St. Liberius, pope of Rome. St. Hosius the Confessor, Bishop of Cordova. Hieromartyr Kushka and St. Pimen (Poemen) of the Kiev Caves. Martyr Anthusa. Translation of the Relics of Saints Theognostus, Cyprian and Photius, Metropolitan of Moscow. Great-Martyr Phanurius the…
Praying in the Rain
Education and Illumination
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Referring to St. Gregory Palamas, Metropolitan Hierotheos (in The Science of Spiritual Medicine: Orthodox Psychotherapy in Action) makes the following comment: Secular learning (philosophy) is not a spiritual gift, which someone can only acquire through study and reading. “Our divine wisdom,” however, is not a natural gift, but a gift bestowed by God on those who have purified their hearts. If this gift comes to fishermen, it makes them sons of thunder…
Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick
Arise, O Lord, Thou and the Ark of Thy holiness
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The Nativity of the Theotokos, September 8 In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. In the Book of Exodus, after the Hebrew people left the land of Egypt, they wandered in the desert for some forty years before they finally came to the Promised Land. During this time, they met with God on…
The Morning Offering
September 8 / August 26
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Saints of the Day: Martyrs Adrian and Natalia and 33 companions of Nicomedia. Martyr Adrian at Nicomedia. St. Tithoes ofthe Thebaid, disciple of St. Pachomius the Great. St. Adrian, abbot of Ondrusov (Valaam). Blessed Cyprian of Storozhev, formeroutlaw. St. Adrian, abbot of Poshekhonye (Vologda). St. Ibestion the Confessor, Egyptian ascetic. St. Adrian of Uglich, disciple ofSt. Paisius of Uglich. Finding…
The Morning Offering
September 7 / August 25
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Saints of the Day Return of the relics of Apostle Bartholomew from Anastasiopolis to Lipari. Apostle Titus of the Seventy. Saints Barses and Eulogius, Bishops of Edessa, and St. Protopgenes, Bishop ofCarrhae, confessors. St. Menas, Patriarch of Constantinople. St. John the Cappadocian and St. Epiphanius, pats. Constantinople.Repose of Abbess Magdalena of Sevsk Convent (1848) and Monk Benjamin of Valaam (1848).…
Praying in the Rain
"Go and Learn What This Means..."
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Twice in the Gospel of Matthew Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 to the Pharisees, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice” (9:13 and 12:7). The full quote from Hosea goes like this: For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. In the context of the prophecy of Hosea, the knowledge of God does not refer to merely a mental or even a heart knowledge. The knowledge of…
The Morning Offering
September 6 / August 24
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Saints of the Day August 24 / September 6. Hieromartyr Eutychius, disciple of St. John the Theologian. Translation of the Relics of St. Peter,Metropolitan of Kiev. St. Arsenius, abbot of Komel (Vologda). St. George Limniotes the Confessor of Mt. Olympus. Martyr Tation(Tatio) at Claudiopolis. Virgin Martyr Cyra of Persia. New Hieromartyr Cosmas of Aetolia, Equal-to-the-Apostles (also entered atAugust 4). St.…
The Morning Offering
Photo of the Day:
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September 5 / August 23 Saints of the Day Apodosis of the Dormition (Epistle & Gospel of the Feast). Martyr Lupus, slave of St. Demetrius ofThessalonica. Hieromartyr Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons. St. Callinicus, Patriarch of Constantinople. Saints Eutychius and Florentiusof Nursia. (Greek Calendar: 38 Martyrs of Thrace. St. Nicholas the Sicilian who struggled on Mt. Neotaka in Euboea.) Quote of…
Glory to God for All Things
It's All in the Family
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Fr. Thomas Hopko has observed on occasion that many times saints of the Church are found in “clusters,” particularly in clusters of a single family. Thus it is that within St. Basil the Great’s family, his brothers, Gregory of Nyssa and Simeon, as well as his sister Macrina, and his mother are all saints of the Church (did I leave any out?). At one point, during the history of Orthodox Britain, there…
Praying in the Rain
Still Thinking About Money
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In 2 Corinthians we see St. Paul walking a tight rope. St. Paul spends a good deal of the first part of the letter saying that he does not “peddle” the Word of God, he is not commending himself, and he sincerely preaches the Gospel; yet in many respects, 2 Corinthians could be read basically as a fund raising letter. The letter reveals the awkward position “bondservants” (slaves) of the Church–ministers–find themselves…
The Morning Offering
September 4 / August 22
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Saints of the Day Martyr Agathonicus of Nicomedia and his companions Martyrs Zoticus, Theoprepius, Acindynus,Severian, Zeno and others who suffered under Maximian. Virgin Martyr Eulalia of Barcelona. St. Anthusa. Hieromartyr Athanasius,Bishop of Tarsus in Cilicia, and Martyrs Charesimus and Neophytus. St. Bogolep of St. Paisius of Uglich Monastery. New-MartyrsBishop Ephraim of Selenginsk and Priest John Vostorgov (1918). (Greek Calendar Martyrs…
Praying in the Rain
The Poor
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In the discussion of a previous post, someone brought up a quotation by St. John Chrysostom found in the Orthodox Study Bible (Matthew 26: 6-13). St. John’s commentary concerns the anointing of Jesus by a woman in Bethany before His death, and the disciples’ indignant response to the waste. St. John comments that the disciples were not wrong “in principle.” He goes on to say, “If anyone had asked Christ before the…
The Morning Offering
September 3 / August 21
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Saints of the Day Apostle Thaddeus of the Seventy. Martyr Bassa of Edessa and her sons Theogonius, Agapius andPistus. St. Abramius, archimadrite, Wonderworker of Smolensk, and his disciple St. Ephraim. St. Abramius the Lover-of-labor ofthe Kiev Caves. St. Theocleta the Wonderworker of Asia Minor. St. Cornelius, abbot of Paleostrov, and his disciple St. Abramius.St. Isaiah of Mt. Athos. Quote of…
