St. LukeDiocese Orthodox Christian Church of the South, Orthodox Church in America The Rev. Father Basil Henry, Priest 1415 Woodstock Ave. • Anniston, Alabama • www.stlukeanniston.org/ basilncana@yahoo.com • (256) 235-3893
Sunday, March 13, 2011 • 1st Sunday of Lent Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy
Translation of the relics (846) of St. Nicephorus the Confessor, patriarch of Constantinople (829). Martyrs Africanus, Publius, and Terence, at Carthage (250). Hieromartyr Publius, bishop of Athens and the disciple of St. Dionysius the Areopagite (2nd c.). Martyr Alexander of Thessalonica (ca. 305). Marryr Christina of Persia (4th c.). St. Leander, bishop of Seville (596). New Hieromartyr Stephen (Belth), bishop of Izhevsk (1933).
Announcements
After Liturgy today we will have a Procession of Icons to celebrate the Triumph of Orthodoxy. Remember to move your clocks an hour forward if you forgot to do so last night. The cover photo is of the Holy Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas in Zabłocie, Poland.
This Week’s Service Schedule & scripture readings Isaiah 4:2-5:7
Genesis 3:21-4:7
Proverbs 3:34-4:22
Isaiah 5:7-16
Genesis 4:8-15
Proverbs 5:1-15
Isaiah 5:16-25
Genesis 4:16-26
Proverbs 5:15-6:4
Monday, 3/14
St. Benedict of Nursia
Tuesday, 3/15
Matins 8 a.m.
Wednesday, 3/16
Matins 8 a.m.
Thursday, 3/17
Matins 8 a.m.
Isaiah 6:1-12
Genesis 5:1-24
Proverbs 6:3-20
Friday, 3/18
Akathist 8 a.m.
Isaiah 7:1-15
Genesis 5:32-6:8
Proverbs 6:20-7:1
Vespers 4 p.m.
Hebrews 3:12-16
Mark 1:35-44
1 Thess. 4:13-17
John 5:24-30
Divine Liturgy 10 a.m.
Hebrews 1:10-2:3
Mark 2:1-12
Hebrews 7:26-8:2
John 10:9-16
St. Patrick of Ireland St. Nicolai of Zica
Presanctified 4 p.m.
Saturday, 3/19
Memorial Saturday
Sunday, 3/20
St. Gregory Palamas
Hours 9:40 a.m.
Service times are subject to change. Please check with Fr. Basil if in any doubt.
This Week’s Fasts Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Great Fast
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
“Lord, I Call”
Great Vespers sunday (Tone 1)
Lead forth my soul from prison, that I may confess Thy name!
Accept our evening prayers, O holy Lord! Grant us remission of sins, for Thou alone hast manifested the Resurrection to the world. The righteous await me, till Thou shalt reward me.
Encircle Zion and surround her, O people! Give glory in her to the One Who rose from the dead! For He is our God, Who has delivered us from our transgressions! Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord; O Lord, hear my voice!
Come, O people, let us hymn and fall down before Christ, glorifying His Resurrection from the dead! For He is our God, Who has delivered the world from the Enemy’s deceit! Let Thine ears give heed to the voice of my prayer!
Be glad, O heavens! Sound trumpets, O foundations of the earth! Sing in gladness, O mountains! Behold Emmanuel has nailed our sins to the Cross! Granting life, He has slain death. He has resurrected Adam as the Lover of Man. If Thou observest transgression, Lord, O Lord, who shall stand? For with Thee is propitiation.
Let us praise Him Who voluntarily was crucified in the flesh for our sake. He suffered, was buried, but rose from the dead. By Orthodoxy, confirm Thy Church, O Christ. Grant peace for our life, as the gracious Lover of Man. For Thy name’s sake have I waited upon Thee, O Lord; my soul hath waited upon Thy word; my soul hath hoped in the Lord.
assume the form of a child, from her who is ever-Virgin. Thou didst live among men; Thou wast seen by material creation. Through the prayers of the prophets, O compassionate One, make us worthy to receive Thy light, for we sing praises to Thy glorious Resurrection! For with the Lord there is mercy and with Him is plenteous redemption, and He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
The Prophets bore the fruit of eternal life; they prepared the way of the Lord. By their words they proclaimed Thee; by their deeds they honored Thee: they would not worship creation instead of Thee, the Creator. As Thy Gospel commands, they renounced the world. They foretold Thy passion by suffering themselves. Through their prayers, O Lord, enable us to pass over the battlefield of Lent without sin! O praise the Lord, all ye nations, praise Him, all ye people!
Thou art infinite in Thy divine nature, O Master; in these latter days Thou didst accept the limitations of the flesh. By assuming our body, Thou didst accept all its weaknesses. Therefore we make images of Thy form; we venerate them, having Thee in mind. We fall down before Thee in love; by so doing we follow the tradition of the Apostles and are given the grace of healing. For His mercy hath been confirmed upon us and the truth of the Lord remaineth forever.
Today the Church of Christ receives honorable adornment: the holy icons of Christ our Savior, the Theotokos, and all the Saints. The Church exults in their grace. We lift them up with joy and gladness. We glorify God, the Lover of man, Him Who patiently suffered for our sake.
We stand before Thy Life-Bearing tomb unworthily O Sunday of Orthodoxy (Tone 2) Christ God, offering glory to Thine unspeakable comGlory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit… passion. Thou has accepted the cross and death, O Grace and truth have shone forth. The predictions of Sinless One, to grant resurrection to the world, as the old have been clearly fulfilled. Behold, the Church Lover of Man. adorns herself with the form of Christ incarnate! The Sunday of icons of the new creation transcend the adornments of Orthodoxy (Tone 6) From the morning watch even to the night, let Israel hope in the old. As the Ark of the Covenant held the presence of the Lord! God, so now the icons reveal the presence of the One we O Lord, Whom nothing can contain or grasp, from adore. By honoring them we will never go astray. It is all eternity Thou didst shine forth from the Father be- our glory to fall down and worship Christ in the flesh. fore the morning star. The Prophets, inspired by the Come, O faithful, venerate His image and cry out: “O Holy Spirit, foretold that Thou wouldst take flesh and Lord, save Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance!” ~3~
Dogmatikon (Tone 1)
the heretics! For as Saint Basil says: “The honor shown to the image passes to its prototype.” By the prayers of Thy pure Mother and of all the saints, we beseech Thee, O Christ our God, to grant us great mercy!
Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Let us praise the Virgin Mary. The gate of heaven, the glory of the world, the song of the angels, the beauty of the faithful. She was born of man, yet gave birth to God. Theotokion (Tone 2) She was revealed as the heaven, as the Temple of the Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. God-head. She destroyed the wall of enmity. She com- A new miracle surpasses all ancient miracles! Who knows menced the peace, she opened the Kingdom. Since she of a Mother who gave birth without a man, who carried is our foundation of faith, our defender is the Lord, in her arms her Creator? This birth is the will of God! whom she bore. Courage, courage! O people of God, for Since thou didst carry Him as an infant in thy arms, O Christ will destroy our enemies, since He is all powerful. most pure one, and since thou didst possess motherly boldness before Him, do not cease praying for us who Aposticha honor thee, that He may be bountiful and save our souls! sunday (Tone 1) We have been freed from sufferings by Thy suffering, Troparia O Christ. We have been delivered from corruption by sunday (Tone 1) Thy Resurrection. O Lord, glory to Thee! When the stone had been sealed by the Jews and the The Lord hath become King; with beauty hath he clothed soldiers were guarding Thine immaculate body, Thou himself. didst rise on the third day, O Savior, granting life to Let creation rejoice! Let the heavens be glad! Let the the world. The powers of heaven therefore cried to nations clap their hands with gladness, for Christ our Thee, O Giver of life: Glory to Thy resurrection, O Savior has nailed our sins to the Cross. Slaying death, Christ, Glory to Thy Kingdom, Glory to Thy dispenHe has given life. He has resurrected fallen Adam as sation, O only Lover of man. the Lover of Man. For He hath established the world, which shall not be moved.
Sunday of
Orthodoxy (Tone 2)
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit…
As King of heaven and earth, Thou wast voluntarily crucified in Thy love for Man. Hell was angered when it met We venerate Thy most pure image, O Good One; and Thee below. Adam rose seeing Thee, the Creator, under ask forgiveness of our transgressions, O Christ our the earth. O Wonder! How has the Life of All tasted God. Of Thy good will Thou wast pleased to ascend death? Thou didst enlighten the world which cries: “O the cross in the flesh and deliver Thy creatures from bondage to the Enemy. Therefore with thankfulness Lord, Who didst rise from the dead, glory to Thee!” we cry aloud to Thee: “Thou hast filled all with joy, O Holiness belongeth to Thy house, O Lord, unto length of days! our Savior, for Thou didst come to save the world.” The myrrhbearing women came with haste to Thy tomb, bearing myrrh and lamentations. Not finding Resurrectional Dismissal Theotokion (Tone 2) Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. Thy most pure body, they learned from the Angel of the new and glorious wonder. They told the Apostles: All beyond thought, all most glorious, art thy mysteries, “The Lord is risen, granting to the world great mercy.” O Theotokos. Sealed in purity, preserved in virginity, thou wast revealed to be the true Mother who gavest Sunday of Orthodoxy (Tone 2) birth to the True God. Entreat Him to save our souls.! Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit… Advancing from false doctrine to true faith, illumined with the light of knowledge, let us clap our hands and offer grateful praise to God in song! With due honor let us venerate the holy icons of Christ, of the all-pure Virgin, and of all the saints, depicted on walls or panels or sacred vessels, rejecting the godless teaching of
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Divine Liturgy of St Basil the Great Beatitude Verses
Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
He who of old commanded Moses to set up the ark of sunday the testimony, came to dwell in you, Virgin, as in a Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. Through food, the enemy led Adam out of Paradise; spiritual ark: He alone is glorified, and He makes your and through the Cross Christ led the thief back into it temple glorious with miracles. crying: Remember me, O Lord, when Thou comest Troparia into Thy kingdom.
sunday (Tone 1)
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
I venerate Thy sufferings and glorify Thy resurrection. With Adam and with the thief I raise a shining cry to Thee: Remember me, O Lord, when Thou comest into Thy kingdom. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
When the stone had been sealed by the Jews and the soldiers were guarding Thine immaculate body, Thou didst rise on the third day, O Savior, granting life to the world. The powers of heaven therefore cried to Thee, O Giver of life: Glory to Thy resurrection, O Christ, Glory to Thy Kingdom, Glory to Thy dispensation, O only Lover of man.
Without sin, hast Thou been crucified, and of Thine own will hast Thou been laid in the tomb. But Thou Sunday of Orthodoxy (Tone 2) as God hast risen raising Adam with Thyself, crying: We venerate Thy most pure image, O Good One; and Remember me, when Thou comest into Thy kingdom. ask forgiveness of our transgressions, O Christ our Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, God. Of Thy good will Thou wast pleased to ascend for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. the cross in the flesh and deliver Thy creatures from On the third day, O Christ our God, Thou hast raised bondage to the Enemy. Therefore with thankfulness from the tomb the temple of Thy “body raising with we cry aloud to Thee: “Thou hast filled all with joy, O Thyself Adam and those descending from him, crying: our Savior, for Thou didst come to save the world.” Remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom. Sunday of
Kontakia
Orthodoxy
Sunday of
Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.
Orthodoxy (Tone 8)
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Once more the Master’s countenance is depicted, venerated and honored with faith; once more the Church No one could describe the Word of the Father; but regains her boldness of approach to God, reverently when He took flesh from thee, O Theotokos, He accepted to be described, and restored the fallen image to glorifying the Savior! its former state by uniting it to divine beauty. We conRejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in fess and proclaim our salvation in words and images. heaven.
The Church of Christ is delivered from the dark despondency of heresy: she puts on a robe of gladness, and is clothed in the light of divine grace. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit…
Prokeimenon
Song of the
Fathers (Tone 4)
Blessed art Thou, O Lord God of our Fathers, and praised and glorified be Thy name unto the ages!
Through the decision of the Empress Theodora and her pious son the Emperor Michael, the Orthodox Vs: For Thou art righteous in all things which Thou people regained the light and glory which it had of old. hast done unto us!
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Epistle Reading
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and Orthodoxy the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with Hebrews 11:24-26,32-12:2 Brethren, by faith Moses, when he was come to years, re- patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus fused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing the author and finisher of our faith. rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to Alleluia Verses enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reSong of the Fathers (Tone 8) proach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: Vs: Moses and Aaron were among His priests; Samuel for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. also was among those who called on His Name. And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Je- Vs: They called to the Lord and He answered them. phthah; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Gospel Reading Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righSunday of Orthodoxy teousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, John 1:43-51 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the At that time: Jesus decided to go to Galilee. And he sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philin fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women ip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. received their dead raised to life again: and others were Philip found Nathanael, and he said to him, “We have tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might ob- found him of whom Moses in the law and also the tain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jewere tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered sus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said of him, about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, af- “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” Naflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) thanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael angood report through faith, received not the promise: God swered him, “Rabbi, you are the son of God! You are having provided some better thing for us, that they with- the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I out us should not be made perfect. And all these, though said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you bewell attested by their faith, did not receive what was prom- lieve? You shall see greater things than these.” And he ised, since God had foreseen something better for us, that said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see apart from us they should not be made perfect. heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and Sunday of
descending upon the Son of man.”
“Worship is the norm of Christian existence. It should be the constant disposition or attitude of the Christian man. Indeed, to worship God means precisely to be aware of His presence, to dwell constantly in this presence. It is through worship that the ‘new man’ is being formed in the believer, and the baptismal grace of adoption is actualized. The Christian man must be always in the state of worship, whether it is expressed in words or not. In its essence worship is the orientation of man towards God.” Protopresbyter Georges Florovsky (1893-1979) ~6~
T
Sunday of Orthodoxy
The first Sunday of the Great Fast is called the Sunday of Orthodoxy. On this day, in commemoration of the victory of Orthodoxy over heresies, the holy Church, as a loving Mother, invites her faithful children to venerate and honor in piety the holy icons of the Savior, the Mother of God and the Saints. At the start of the eighth century in the Church there began a catastrophe that continued for more than a hundred years. A cruel persecution arose against the holy icons and those who venerated them. The holy vessels used in the celebration of divine services were trampled under foot, because the Saints were depicted on them. Everywhere holy icons were removed, taken from the temples and cast into rivers or burned. The defenders of the veneration of icons were subjected to all possible kinds of persecution, even capital punishment. At that time many bishops, priests and others were tortured for venerating the holy icons. They were shut up in prisons and tortured. Some had their noses or ears cut off. Others had their eyes put out or their hands severed. But the word of Christ, that the gates of Hell should not prevail against the holy Church, and that He would remain with it until the end of the age is immutable. In the year 842, after the last enemy of the veneration of icons finished his days in horrible torment, the emperor Theophilus and his wife the empress Theodora put an end to the persecution and unrest. At her command on the forthcoming first Sunday of the Great Fast, February 19, the Patriarch Methodius in a solemn procession, accompanied by a multitude of joyful Orthodox faithful, entered the cathedral church and offered a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the restoration of the veneration of icons. The blood shed by the holy martyrs for their faith was victorious; the torments of the Church were triumphant. Truly “this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith,� in the
words of the holy Apostle John. The holy Church ordained that this solemnity should be observed each year always on this day in gratitude to the Lord God for His saving grace and strength in the time of crisis and for the edification of the faithful. Yet it is sad and distressing to both hear and observe the terrible blindness regarding the holy icons on the part of sectarians who were once Orthodox. Some, on the pretext of identification with idols, denounce the holy icons; others with boastful pride in their hearts critically condemn the obsolete custom of venerating the holy icons. Respect for the holy icons, which is their due according to the highest principle, has unfortunately been lost among contemporary modern demands. Rarely do we find holy icons in the house as a sacred ornament. Rarely do they generate those worshipful sentiments, which should arise in us on seeing them. The icon in a Christian house is often not seen, having been conspicuously replaced by sensual artwork or colorful photos. And this is all because the holy faith has been weakened, and former religious convictions have been shaken. This is really not the way it should be! Every Christian believes and confesses that there is one God glorified in the Trinity, and that no glory or worship may be given to any other God or idol. For this reason sectarians reproach the Orthodox unjustly for their worship of the one true God through sacred images. If a person consisted of spirit alone, if one had no body, then during
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worship services there would be no need for visual representations of unseen things. But since we are clothed in flesh, it is natural to require visual objects to influence our souls through our bodies and stimulate a prayerful attitude.
missionary philosopher, that convinced him to accept Christianity. This image resolved his uncertainty and indecision. It made him a follower of Christ. It made us Christians through him, and Orthodox as well.
Bowing before visual sacred images, the soul of the Orthodox Christian is elevated in spirit to its prototype. For, after all, icons are only a representation of the true God in the form in which He revealed Himself to mankind. And who of the mindful children of the Church does not experience the strength of grace from the holy icons as a visual representation of the Lord, the Mother of God and His Saints? Standing before a holy icon, we are spontaneously lifted in spirit to that very personage depicted as a living person, we are inevitably reminded of his virtues and life of piety, of the grace of God which worked and works in him still. Standing before a holy icon we are transported in spirit to another, higher world, where all is pure and holy. We reject this vain and sinful world, and are elevated in mind and spirit. Our heart is filled with joyful thanksgiving to the Lord. We stand in front of the holy icon and feel that our joy is made stronger through communion with the depicted saint as a living intercessor for us before the throne of grace. If we experience sadness in our lives, we stand before the holy image and feel spontaneous relief in our hearts, because before our eyes our heavenly comforter actually stands in front of us, praying to God, always ready to help us in the fullness of love of his pure and holy spirit. And how many and varied lessons may be learned from the holy icons! What was it that converted the heart of Saint Vladimir, the equal of the Apostles, to the truth of Christ, when he was uncertain and wavered in choosing a faith? It was the depiction of the last judgment of God, unrolled before his eyes by a
An officer who returned not long ago from Siberia was showing a small icon of Saint Nicholas which he wore on his chest. It was a blessing from his mother, who had sent him off to war in 1914, and he had never taken it off. The little icon was slightly dented on one side, where it had been hit by a German bullet intended for his heart. The bullet did no harm to the soldier, and in his words Saint Nicholas through his little icon invisibly protected him during many dangerous battles. We can truly say, “Thy faith has saved thee!” When we enter a church decorated with icons, we feel that we are in another world. We are spontaneously carried off in spirit to the community of the Saints whose visages are turned to us. We forget all the misfortune that assails us, and we lift up our hearts, soaring to the heavens in spirit. What can compare with this edification of the holy temple? “Standing in the temple of Thy glory, we think ourselves in heaven.” Bless yourselves with the sign of the Cross, O holy people! Kiss the icon of the Savior reverently and cry out from the depths of your heart along with your mother, the Church, “We venerate Thy most pure image, O Good One, and we ask forgiveness of our transgressions, O Christ our God.” Amen. Priest Vladimir Sakovich 1919 Archpriest Vladimir was Dean of Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Cathedral, San Francisco, from December 12, 1917, until his death on September 13, 1931.
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St Patrick the Bishop of Armagh and Enlightener of Ireland
S
Saint Patrick, the Enlightener of Ireland was born around 385, the son of Calpurnius, a Roman decurion (an official responsible for collecting taxes). He lived in the village of Bannavem Taberniae, which may have been located at the mouth of the Severn River in Wales. The district was raided by pirates when Patrick was sixteen, and he was one of those taken captive. He was brought to Ireland and sold as a slave, and was put to work as a herder of swine on a mountain identified with Slemish in Co. Antrim. During his period of slavery, Patrick acquired a proficiency in the Irish language which was very useful to him in his later mission.
He prayed during his solitude on the mountain, and lived this way for six years. He had two visions. The first told him he would return to his home. The second told him his ship was ready. Setting off on foot, Patrick walked two hundred miles to the coast. There he succeeded in boarding a ship, and returned to his parents in Britain. Some time later, he went to Gaul and studied for the priesthood at Auxerre under St Germanus (July 31). Eventually, he was consecrated as a bishop, and was entrusted with the mission to Ireland, succeeding St Palladius (July 7). St Palladius did not achieve much success in Ireland. After about a year he went to Scotland, where he died in 432.
Patrick had a dream in which an angel came to him bearing many letters. Selecting one inscribed “The Voice of the Irish,” he heard the Irish entreating him to come back to them. Although St Patrick achieved remarkable results in spreading the Gospel, he was not the first or only missionary in Ireland. He arrived around 432 (though this date is disputed), about a year after St Palladius began his mission to Ireland. There were also other missionaries who were active on the southeast coast, but it was St Patrick who had the greatest influence and success in preaching the Gospel of Christ. Therefore, he is known as “The Enlightener of Ireland.”
His autobiographical Confession tells of the many trials and disappointments he endured. Patrick had once confided to a friend that he was troubled by a certain sin he had committed before he was fifteen years old. The friend assured him of God’s mercy, and even supported Patrick’s nomination as bishop. Later, he turned against him and revealed what Patrick had told him in an attempt to prevent his consecration. Many years later, Patrick still grieved for his dear friend who had publicly shamed him. St Patrick founded many churches and monasteries across Ireland, but the conversion of the Irish people was no easy task. There was much hostility, and he was assaulted several times. He faced danger, and insults, and he was reproached for being a foreigner and a former slave. There was also a very real possibility that the pagans would try to kill him. Despite many obstacles, he remained faithful to his calling, and he baptized many people into Christ. The saint’s Epistle to Coroticus is also an authentic work. In it he denounces the attack of Coroticus’ men on one of his congregations. The Breastplate (Lorica) is also attributed to St Patrick. In his writings, we can see St Patrick’s awareness that he had been called by God, as well as his determination and modesty in undertaking his missionary work. ~9~
He refers to himself as “a sinner,” “the most ignorant and of least account,” and as someone who was “despised by many.” He ascribes his success to God, rather than to his own talents: “I owe it to God’s grace that through me so many people should be born again to Him.” By the time he established his episcopal See in Armargh in 444, St Patrick had other bishops to assist him, many native priests and deacons, and he encouraged the growth of monasticism. St Patrick is often depicted holding a shamrock, or with snakes fleeing from him. He used the shamrock to
illustrate the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Its three leaves growing out of a single stem helped him to explain the concept of one God in three Persons. Many people now regard the story of St Patrick driving all the snakes out of Ireland as having no historical basis. St Patrick died on March 17, 461 (some say 492). There are various accounts of his last days, but they are mostly legendary. Muirchu says that no one knows the place where St Patrick is buried. St Columba of Iona (June 9) says that the Holy Spirit revealed to him that Patrick was buried at Saul, the site of his first church. A granite slab was placed at his traditional grave site in Downpatrick in 1899.
The Orthodox Faith > Doctrine > The Symbol of Faith
... One God, the Father Almighty ... The fundamental faith of the Christian Church is in the one true and living God. Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one God; and you God’s name is Yahweh which means I AM WHO I AM; shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with or I AM WHAT I AM; or I AM WILL BE WHAT I all your soul and with all your might. And these words WILL BE; or simply I AM. He is the true and living which I command you this day shall be placed upon God, the only God. He is faithful and true to his people. your heart, and you shall teach them to your children, He reveals to them His divine and holy Word. He gives and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, to them his divine and holy Spirit. He is called Adonai: and when you walk by the way, and when you lie the Lord; and his holy name of Yahweh is never mentioned by the people because of its awesome sacredness. down and when you rise...” (Deut 6:4-8). Only the high priest, and only once a year, and only in the These words from the Law of Moses are quoted by holy of holies of the Jerusalem Temple dared to utter the Christ as the first and greatest commandment (Mk divine name of Yahweh. On all other occasions Yahweh 12:29). They follow upon the listing of the Ten Comis addressed as the Almighty Lord, as the Most High mandments which begin, “I am the Lord your God ... God, as the Lord God of Hosts. you shall have no other gods besides me” (Deut 5:6-7). According to the Scriptures and the experience of the The one Lord and God of Israel revealed to man the saints of both the old and new testaments, Yahweh is mystery of his name. absolutely holy. This means literally that He is absolutely And Moses said... “...if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ different and unlike anything or anyone else that exists (Holy literally means totally separated, different, other). what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, According to the Biblical-Orthodox tradition, even to say that “God exists” must be qualified by the affirma“Say to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” tion that He is so unique and so perfect that His exisGod also said to Moses, “Say to the people of Israel, tence cannot be compared to any other. In this sense ‘ Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, God is “above existence” or “above being.” Thus, there the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob has sent me to you: would be great reluctance according to Orthodox docthis is my name forever, and thus I am to be rememtrine to say that God “is” as everything else “is” or that bered throughout all generations.’” (Ex 3:13-15) ~10~
God is simply the “supreme being” in the same chain of “being” as everything else that is.
Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit. And so we say in the Orthodox Divine Liturgy:
In this same sense the Orthodox doctrine holds that God’s unity or oneness is also not merely equivalent to the mathematical or philosophical concept of “one”; nor is his life, goodness, wisdom, and all powers and virtues ascribed to Him merely equivalent to any idea, even the greatest idea, which man can have about such reality.
And make us worthy, O Master, that with boldness and without condemnation, we may dare to call upon Thee, the Heavenly God as Father and to say : Our Father, who art in heaven...
However, having warned about an overly-clear or overly-positivistic concept or idea of God, the Orthodox Church—on the basis of the living experience of God in the saints—still makes the following affirmations: God may certainly be said to exist perfectly and absolutely as the one who is perfect and absolute life, goodness, truth, love, wisdom, knowledge, unity, purity, joy, simplicity; the perfection and superperfection of everything that man knows as holy, true, and good. It is this very God who is confessed formally in the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom as “...God, ineffable, inconceivable, invisible, incomprehensible, ever-existing and eternally the same.” It is this God—the Yahweh of Israel—whom Jesus Christ has claimed to be His Father. God Almighty is known as “Father” through His son Jesus Christ. Jesus taught man to call the Almighty Lord God of Hosts by the title of Father. Before Jesus no one dared to pray to God with the intimate name of Father. It was Jesus who said, “Pray then like this: Our Father who art in heaven ...” Jesus could call God Father because He is God’s onlybegotten Son. Christians can call God Father because through Christ they receive the Holy Spirit and become themselves sons of God. For when the time had fully come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the Law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons (or, so that we all might be made sons). And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying “Abba! Father!” So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir [of the Kingdom of God]. (Gal 4:4-7, The Christmas Epistle Reading in the Orthodox Church) Thus no man is naturally a son of God and no man can easily call God Father. We can only do so because of
In contemplating the revelation of God our Father in the life of His people in the Old Testament and in the life of the Church in the New Testament, certain attributes and properties of God can be grasped by men. First of all, it can be clearly seen that God is Love, and that in all of His actions in and toward the world, God the Father expresses His nature as Love through Christ and the Holy Spirit. Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only-begotten Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the expiation for our sins. So we know and believe that love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (1 Jn 4:7-16) ... God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us (Rom 5:5). Being the God who is Love, our Father in heaven does all that He can for the life and salvation of man and the world. He does this because He is merciful and kind, longsuffering and compassionate, willing to forgive and to pardon man’s sins so that man might share in the life and love of God. These gracious attributes of God are recalled in the scriptural psalmody normally chanted at the beginning of the divine liturgy in the Church. Bless the Lord, O my soul! And forget not all His benefits! Who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases! The Lord is compassionate and merciful, long suffering and of great goodness! (Ps 103). The series The Orthodox Faith is intended to provide basic, comprehensive information on the faith and the life of the Orthodox Church for the average reader. The author is Fr. Thomas Hopko, Dean Emeritus of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, Crestwood, NY.
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A priest at the Orthodox Church of St. Nektarios the Wonderworker in Coslada (Madrid), Spain receives kolyva from a parisioner.
St. Luke Orthodox Christian Church 1415 Woodstock Ave. Anniston, AL 36207