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, April 3rd, 2011 • 4th Sunday of Lent Sunday of St. John Climacus (of The Ladder)
Ven. Nicetas the Confessor, Abbot of Medikion (824). Virgin Martyr Theodosia of Tyre, and Martyr Irene (307-308). St. Illyricus of Mt. Myrsinon in the Peloponnesus. Martyrs Elpidephorus, Dius, Bithonius and Galycus. Icon of the Most-holy Theotokos “THE UNFADING BLOOM.”
Announcements
The Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annuniciation in Atlanta will be hosting His Excellency Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) for the Signing of a Joint Declaration on the Sancitity of Life this evening at 7 p.m. (eastern time). More information can be found on page 11 of the bulletin. The cover photo is of the Resurrection church in Voskresenskoe (Shubino) village on Volga river. Yaroslavl region, Central Russia.
This Week’s Service Schedule & scripture readings Monday, 4/4
No Service
Isaiah 37:33-38:6
Genesis 13:12-18
Proverbs 14:27-15:4
Tuesday, 4/5
Matins 8 a.m.
Isaiah 40:18-31
Genesis 15:1-15
Proverbs 15:7-19
Isaiah 41:4-14
Genesis 17:1-9
Proverbs 15:20-16:9
Presanctified 4 p.m.
Wednesday, 4/6 Thursday, 4/7
Matins 8 a.m.
Isaiah 42:5-16
Genesis 18:20-33
Proverbs 16:17-17:17
Friday, 4/8
Akathist 8 a.m.
Isaiah 45:11-17
Genesis 22:1-18
Proverbs 17:17-18:5
Hebrews 9:24-28
Mark 8:27-31
Hebrews 9:1-7
Luke 10:38-42; 11:27-28
Hebrews 9:11-14
Mark 10:32-45
Galatians 3:23-29
Luke 7:36-50
St. Tikhon of America
Vespers 4 p.m.
Saturday, 4/9 Sunday, 4/10
St. Mary of Egypt
Hours Divine Liturgy 9:40 a.m. 10 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
Great Vespers “Lord, I Call”
From the morning watch even to the night, let Israel hope in the Lord!
sunday (Tone 4)
Lead forth my soul from prison, that I may confess Thy name!
We glorify Thy Resurrection on the third day, O Christ God, by always honoring Thy life-creating Cross; by it Thou hast renewed the corrupted nature of man, O Almighty One. By it, Thou hast renewed our entrance to heaven, for Thou art good and the Lover of man. The righteous await me, till Thou shalt reward me.
O Lord, Thy begetting from the Father is timeless and everlasting. Thine Incarnation from the Virgin is beyond words and understanding. Thy descent into hell is terrible for the devil and his angels. Thou hast trampled on death, rising on the third day and granting men incorruption and great mercy.
St. John of the Ladder (Tone 8)
For with the Lord there is mercy and with Him is plenteous redemption, and He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
Thou didst loose the Tree’s verdict of disobedience, O The Lord’s praises were always on your lips, O holy Savior, by being voluntarily nailed to the tree of the Father John. With deep wisdom you searched the Cross. By descending to hell, O Almighty God, Thou Scriptures, which teach us to deny ourselves. You bedidst break the bonds of death. Therefore, we adore came rich in the blessings of grace, overthrowing the Thy Resurrection from the dead, singing in joy: “Glo- craftiness of the devil. ry to Thee, O all powerful One!” O praise the Lord, all ye nations, praise Him, all ye people!
Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord; O Lord, hear my voice!
You washed your soul in a fountain of tears, O most glorious Father John. You kept vigil for God and gained Thou didst smash the gates of hell, O Lord, and by Thy His mercy. Upborne on the wings of prayer, you flew to death, Thou didst demolish the kingdom of death. divine love and beauty. Now, together with your fellow Thou didst deliver the race of men from corruption, soldiers, O holy one, you dwell in His spiritual light granting to the world life, incorruption and great mercy. and unending joy. Let Thine ears give heed to the voice of my prayer!
For His mercy hath been confirmed upon us and the truth of
Come, O people! Let us sing of the Savior’s Resurrecthe Lord remaineth forever. tion on the third day! By it, we have been freed from On the wings of faith you raised your mind to God, O the unbreakable bonds of hell. By it, we have received holy Father John. Hating the world’s confusion and life and incorruption. Save us by Thy Resurrection, O vanity, you took up your cross and followed Him Life-creating and Almighty Savior, glory to Thee! Who sees all things. You submitted your rebellious flesh to His guidance, through the discipline of selfIf Thou observest transgression, Lord, O Lord, who shall stand? For with Thee is propitiation. denial, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Angels and men sing of Thy Resurrection on the third St. John of the Ladder (Tone 5) day, O Savior. By it, the ends of the earth have been Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit… illumined. By it, we have been delivered from bondage O holy Father, hearing the Lord’s voice in the Gospel, to the Enemy. Save us by Thy Resurrection! O Life- you spurned the riches and glory of the world. You cry creating and Almighty Savior, glory to Thee! out to all: “Love God and find eternal grace! Set nothFor 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.
Thou hast shattered the gates of brass and destroyed the chains of death, O Christ God. Thou hast raised the fallen human race. O Lord, risen from the dead, glory to Thee!
ing higher than His love; thus, you will find rest with all the saints, when He comes in glory!” Through His prayers guard and save our souls, O Christ!
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Dogmatikon (Tone 4)
St. John of the Ladder (Tone 2)
Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
The Prophet David was a Father of the Lord through thee, O Virgin. He foretold in songs the One Who worked wonders in thee. “At Thy right hand stood the Queen,” Thy Mother, the Mediatrix of life, since God was freely born of her without a father. He wanted to renew His fallen image, made corrupt in passion, so He took the lost sheep upon His shoulder and brought it to His Father, joining it to the heavenly powers. Christ who hast great and rich mercy hast saved the world, O Theotokos.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit…
Let us honor John! He is an earthly angel and a heavenly man, the adornment of the world, the joy of the virtuous, the glory of ascetics. He was planted in the house of God, and blossomed with the flower of sanctity. He flourished in the desert like a cedar of Lebanon. Through him the sheep of Christ’s flock grow in holiness and righteousness.
Theotokion (Tone 2)
Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
A new miracle surpasses all ancient miracles! Who knows of a Mother who gave birth without a man, who carried sunday (Tone 4) in her arms her Creator? This birth is the will of God! By ascending the Cross, O Lord, Thou hast annulled Since thou didst carry Him as an infant in thy arms, O our ancestral curse! By descending to hell, Thou hast most pure one, and since thou didst possess motherly freed the eternal prisoners, granting incorruption to boldness before Him, do not cease praying for us who the human race! Therefore in songs we glorify Thy lifehonor thee, that He may be bountiful and save our souls! creating and saving Resurrection.
Aposticha
Troparia
The Lord hath become King; with beauty hath he clothed himself.
sunday (Tone 4)
By hanging upon the tree, O only powerful Lord, Thou Having learned the radiant proclamation of the Resdidst shake all of creation! By being laid in the tomb, urrection from the Angel, the women disciples of the Thou hast raised those who dwelt in the tombs, grant- Lord cast off the ancestral curse, and boasting they ing life and incorruption to the human race! Therefore told the Apostles: Death hath been despoiled. Christ in songs we glorify Thy rising on the third day. God is risen, granting unto the world great mercy. For He hath established the world, which shall not be moved.
St. John (Tone 1) Thy lawless people, O Christ, handed Thee over to PiGlory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit… late, condemned to be crucified, by proving themO dweller of the wilderness and angel in the body, you selves ungrateful before their Benefactor! But volunwere a wonderworker, O our God-bearing Father tarily, Thou didst endure burial, rising by Thine own John. You received heavenly gifts through fasting, vigpower on the third day as God, granting us life everil and prayer, healing the sick and the souls of those lasting and great mercy. drawn to you by faith. Glory to Him Who gave you Holiness belongeth to Thy house, O Lord, unto length of days! strength! Glory to Him Who granted you a crown! With tears the women reached Thy tomb, searching Glory to Him Who grants healing to all! for Thee, but not finding Thee. They wept with wailing and lamented: “Woe to us! Our Savior, King of all, Resurrectional Dismissal Theotokion (Tone 1) Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. how wast Thou stolen? What place can hold Thy lifebearing body?” An Angel replied to them: “Do not When Gabriel announced to thee, O Virgin, “Rejoice,” with that word the Master of all was incarnate in thee, weep but go and proclaim that the Lord is risen, O holy Ark. As the righteous David said, thy womb became more spacious than the heavens, bearing thy Creator. Glory to Him Who took abode in thee! Glory to Him Who came from thee! Glory to Him Who freed us by being born of thee!! ~4~
of the Ladder
Divine Liturgy of St Basil the Great Beatitude Verses
rial prayer. Through the perfection of your life you received an inheritance on high.
sunday
Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.
Through a tree, Adam was deprived of his home in Paradise; while through the wood of the Cross, the thief went there to dwell. For the one by tasting set aside the commandment of the Maker, while the other, crucified with Him, confessed the hidden God crying aloud: ‘Remember me in Thy kingdom.’ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit…
You quenched the fiery darts of the enemy with the sweat of your ascetic toil; kindling the fire of faith, you burnt up the proud insolence of unbelief and heresy! Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
The majesty of the Most High has shone forth from Zion! He has put on flesh from you, O Virgin, in an ineffable union, and has brought light to the world.
Lifted upon the Cross, Thou, O Lord, as God, hath both destroyed the power of death and blotted out the Troparia handwriting against us. Do Thou Who alone lovest sunday (Tone 4) mankind, grant us the repentance of the thief as we Having learned the radiant proclamation of the Resurserve Thee with faith, O Christ our God, and cry to rection from the Angel, the women disciples of the Thee: ‘Remember us also in Thy kingdom.’ Lord cast off the ancestral curse, and boasting they Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. told the Apostles: Death hath been despoiled. Christ Crucified and rising from the tomb in power on the God is risen, granting unto the world great mercy. third day, with Thyself hast Thou, only Immortal, St. John of the Ladder (Tone 1) raised Adam, the first-formed man. Make me also wor- O dweller of the wilderness and angel in the body, you thy, O Lord, to turn to repentance with my whole were a wonderworker, O our God-bearing Father John. heart and with warm faith ever to cry to Thee: ‘Re- You received heavenly gifts through fasting, vigil and member me, O Savior, in Thy kingdom.’ prayer, healing the sick and the souls of those drawn to
you by faith. Glory to Him Who gave you strength! Glory to Him Who granted you a crown! Glory to Thou hast torn to pieces on the Cross, the handwriting Him Who grants healing to all! against us and counted among the dead, Thou hast bound yonder tyrant, delivering all from the bonds of Kontakia hell by Thy resurrection. Through it we have been enSt. John of the Ladder (Tone 4) Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit… lightened and cry aloud to Thee, Lord who lovest The Lord truly set you on the heights of abstinence, to mankind: ‘Remember us also in Thy kingdom.’ be a guiding star, showing the way to the universe, O St. John of the Ladder our father and teacher John. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.
Steadfast protectress (Tone 6)
You received the divine wealth of the Spirit in your Both now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. soul: blameless prayer, chastity and purity with un- Steadfast Protectress of Christians, constant Advocate ceasing watchfulness and the labors of abstinence. before the Creator; despise not the entreating cries of Through these you became a dwelling place of God. us sinners, but in thy goodness come speedily to help Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. us who call on thee in faith. Hasten to hear our petiYou passed by the worthless joys of this material world, tion and to intercede for us, O Theotokos, for thou wise father, raising your mind on the wings of immate- dost always protect those who honor thee! ~5~
Prokeimenon
ing the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord SUNDAY (Tone 4) How great art Thy works become, O Lord; in wisdom is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in hast Thou made them all. psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and Vs: Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, Thou making melody in your heart to the Lord; art become exceeding great.
Alleluia Verses
St. John of the Ladder (Tone 7)
SUNDAY (Tone 4)
Vs: Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at His Vs: Go forth, prosper and reign, for the sake of meekfootstool, for He is holy. ness, righteousness and truth!
Epistle Reading
Vs: For Thou lovest righteousness, and doth hate iniquity
SUNDAY
St. John of the Ladder (Tone 8)
Hebrews 6:13-20
Brethren, when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
St. John of the Ladder Ephesians 5:9-19
Brethren, walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeem-
Vs: They that are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.
Gospel Reading
SUNDAY
Mark 9:17-31
At that time: a man came to Jesus kneeling and saying: “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit; and wherever it seizes him it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” And they brought the boy to him; and when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has he had this?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “If you can! All things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again.” And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse; so that
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most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.” They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he would not have any one know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise.”
St. John of the Ladder Matthew 4:25-5:12
At that time: great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decap’olis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan. Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men.” Please note Holy Communion is reserved for Orthodox Christians who have prepared themselves beforehand. All are welcome to receive the blessed bread and Father’s blessing after services.
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St. John of the Ladder
Born in the sixth century, John spent the first sixteen years of his life in Palestine, the ancient Holy Land of his birth whose traditions he respected and whose Christian heritage is cherished. His early ambitions were realized when he went to the monastery of St. Catherine at Mt. Sinai, the oldest Christian monastery in the world. There he became one of the most scholarly monks in Christendom. The site of St. Catherine’s was conducive to prayer and meditation, for there the scene of the burning bush took place and there Moses received the word of God himself. Moreover, to this place the grieving St. Helen, mother of St. Constantine the Great, came on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land some three hundred years before. ~7~
John is remembered not only as the author of the masterful “Ladder of Perfection,” but also as the originator of hesychasm, the divine quietness that leads one to God through constant prayer, the prayer which has come to be known as the pure or intellectual “Jesus Prayer.” Regarding this John wrote: “ Let the remembrance of Jesus be present with each breath, and then you will know the value of hesychia.” He continued to champion this doctrine which found eager support among Christian thinkers, chief among them was St. Gregory Palamas, whose sponsorship brought about official Church recognition of hesychasm in the fourteenth century. For more than seventy years, John of the Ladder practiced what he preached in the confines of his desert monastery. He achieved such a reputation for piety and wisdom that men from all walks of life were drawn to his side and came from all over the east to make a pilgrimage to his retreat. From John’s strong faith and fervent prayer came the power of healing through the divine intervention of the Jesus. If nothing else, St. John’s visitors would leave him with a serenity which they had never before experience and with a sense of fulfillment that would last a lifetime. One of the Christendom’s finest figures, he died on March 30 at the age of eighty-six. His feast day is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent.
St. Tikhon, Enlightener of North America, Patriarch of Moscow
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The American Orthodox Church was blessed to have as its bishop for 9 years, the recently glorified St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow (1865-1925). Throughout his life he was known for his simplicity, humility, kindness, uncompromising devotion to Truth, and a boundless love for the Church and Her people. In 1898 the young Bishop Tikhon, named for St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, arrived in America as the bishop of the one, united Orthodox Diocese. He did much for the Church in America. He established a seminary in Minneapolis, a monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, dedicated to St. Tikhon, and the St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York City. He consecrated 2 auxiliary bishops to serve Alaska and non-Slavic immigrants. With true spiritual vision, he stressed the unique missionary nature of the American diocese, its need for multi-ethnic unity and its destiny to be self-governing. After being recalled to Russia, he was elected Metropolitan of Moscow in 1917, and, in the middle of the Communist Revolution, presided at the 1917-18 Council that re-established the Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was chosen by lot to become the first Patriarch in 200 years. Under the Soviet regime, he defended the Church and its people and refused to compromise the Faith, for which he was tortured and imprisoned. Even while in prison, his peacefulness, patience, humility, compassion, strength and faith during great suffering were an example and inspiration to his people, then and now. He was buried at the Donskoi Men’s Monastery, and now his relics have been placed in a beautiful reliquary and transferred to the main Cathedral of the monastery, up front, on the left, by the solea. ~8~
The Orthodox Faith > Doctrine > The Symbol of Faith
Man Man is God’s special creature. He is the only one “created in the image and likeness of God” (Gen 1:26). He is created by God from the dust at the end of the process of creation (the “sixth day”) and by the special will of God. He is made to breathe “the breath of life” (Gen 2:7), to know God, to have dominion over all that God has made. God created humans as male and female (Gen. 1:27; 2:21) in order “to be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1:28). Thus, according to Orthodox doctrine sexuality belongs to the creation which God calls “very good” (Gen 1:31), and in itself it is in no way sinful or perverse. It belongs to the very nature of humanity directly willed by God.
beyond compare more glorious than the seraphim.” For what is glorified as already accomplished in the human Mary is precisely what is expected and hoped for by all men “who hear the word of God and keep it” (Lk 11:28).
Thus we see the great dignity of man according to the Christian faith. We see man as the “most important” As the image of God, ruler over creation and co-cre- of God’s creatures, the one for whom “all things visator with the Uncreated Maker, man has the task to ible and invisible” have been created by God. “reflect” God in creation; to make His presence, His It is the Orthodox doctrine that one can understand will and His powers spread throughout the universe; and appreciate what it means to be human only in to transform all that exists into the paradise of God. the light of the full revelation of Jesus Christ. Being In this sense man is definitely created for a destiny the Divine Word and Son of God in human flesh, Jehigher than the bodiless powers of heaven, the angels. sus reveals the real meaning of manhood. As the PerThis conviction is affirmed by Orthodox Christianity fect Man and the Last Adam, the “man from heaven,” not only because of the Scriptural emphasis on man Jesus gives us the proper interpretation of the story as made in God’s image to rule creation, which is of creation given in the book of Genesis. For as the not said about angels; but it is also directly affirmed Apostle Paul has written, Adam finds his significance because it is written of Jesus Christ, Who is truly the as “the type (or figure) of the one who was to come,” perfect man and the Last Adam (1 Cor 15:45) that namely Jesus Christ (Rom 5:14). “God has highly exalted him and bestowed upon Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a him the name which is above every name, that at living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven spirit. But it is not the spiritual which is first but and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue the physical, and then the spiritual. The first man should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man of God the Father” (Phil 2:10-11). (Christ) is from heaven ... Just as we have borne the It follows from belief in Jesus that man is created image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the imfor a life far superior to that of any creature, even age of the man of heaven. (1 Cor 15:45-49). the angels who glorify God and serve the cause of According to Orthodox theology, to bear the image man’s salvation. It is precisely this conviction which of God is to be like Christ, the uncreated Image of is affirmed when the Church hails Mary the Mother God, and to share in all of the spiritual attributes of of Christ as “more honorable than the cherubim and ~9~
divinity. It is, in the words of the holy fathers, to become by divine grace all that God Himself is by nature. If God is a free, spiritual, personal Being, so human beings, male and female, are to be the same. If God is so powerful and creative, having dominion over all creation, so human creatures, made in His image and according to His likeness, are also to exercise dominion in the world. If God exercises dominion and authority not by tyranny and oppression, but by loving kindness and service, so are His creatures to do likewise. If God Himself is love, mercy, compassion and care in all things, so must His creatures, made to be like Him, also be the same. And finally, if God lives forever in eternal life, never dying, but always existing in perfectly joyful and harmonious beauty and happiness with all of creation, so too are human beings made for everlasting life in joyful and harmonious communion with God and the whole of creation. According to Orthodox doctrine, human being and life is never completed and finished in its development and growth because it is made in the image and according to the likeness of God. God’s being and life are inexhaustible and boundless. As the Divine Archetype has no limits to His divinity, so the human image has no limits to its humanity, to what it can become by the grace of its Creator. Human nature, therefore, is created by God to grow and develop through participation in the nature of God for all eternity. Man is made to become ever more Godlike forever, even in the Kingdom of God at the end of this age, when Christ will come again in glory to raise the dead and give life to those who love Him. Thus the holy fathers of the Orthodox faith taught that whatever stage of maturity and development man attains and achieves, whatever his power, wisdom, mercy, knowledge, love, there continually remains before him an infinity of ever-greater fullness of life in the most blessed Trinity to be participated in and lived. The fact that human nature progresses eternally in perfection within the nature of God constitutes the meaning of life for man, and remains forever the source of his joy and gladness for all eternity. It must be mentioned at this point as well that according to Orthodox Christian doctrine, the fact that humans are created male and female is the direct will of God and is essential for proper human life and activity as reflective of God. In a word, human sexuality is a necessary element in human being and life as made in the image of God. This does not mean that there is any sort of sexuality in God, but it does mean that human life must be sexual—male and female—if it will be what God Himself has made it to be. Man and woman, male and female, are created by God to live together in a union of being, life and love. The man is to be the leader in human activities, the one reflecting Christ as the new and perfect Adam. The woman is to be man’s “helpmeet,” the “mother of all living” (Gen 2:18; 3:20). Symbolized in the relationship of Mary and the Church, the New Eve, to Christ, the New Adam, as the one who inspires man’s life and completes his being and fulfills his life, the woman is not man’s instrument or tool. She is a person in her own right, a sharer of the nature of God, a necessary complement to man. There can be no man without woman—no Adam without Eve; just as there can be no woman without man. The two exist together in perfect communion and harmony for the fulfillment of human nature and life. To be continued ~10~
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Pilgrim visitng the Holy Mount of Grabarka, a center of pilgrimage for Orthodox Christians from Poland and other countries since the 18th century
St. Luke Orthodox Christian Church 1415 Woodstock Ave. Anniston, AL 36207