The Catalog of Good Deeds

In a tiny Greek village in the south of Kefallonia, a miracle occurs every year after the feast of the Transfiguration (Aug 6). Around the bell-tower of the chapel at Markopoulo, small venomous snakes appear. These snakes crawl around the church, and upon the icons of the Mother of God in an act of apparent veneration. The snakes remain in the confines of the chapel, docile throughout, until the feast of the Dormition (Aug 15), when they disperse and become almost impossible to find on the island. This is a strange miracle, especially given the association of the serpent with Satan, so what is the significance?

The chapel at Markopoulo is built on the ruins of a convent. In the early 18th-century, the nuns there were attacked by pirates. After praying to the Mother of God for help, the church was filled with snakes; when the pirates entered the convent they were terrified by the sight and fled. Every year since then, snakes have appeared during the Dormition fast around the church, venerating the icons there, leaving after the feast itself. In recent years, the snakes have failed to appear twice: in 1940, the year Greece was brought into the Second World War, and 1953, the year of a devastating earthquake on Kefallonia. Because of this, it is believed to be a portent of coming disaster if the snakes do not appear, or appear in small numbers. The first, straight-forward, meaning of the snakes appearance in Kefallonia is simply to remind us of one of the many times the Mother of God has helped those who prayed to her.

Yet there is much symbolic history associated with snakes in Christianity, much of it relating to the serpent being a representation of the devil (Gen 3; Ps 91:13; Rev 12:9; 20:2) and evil in general (Num 21:4-9; Matt 3:7; 23:33). This symbolism is so deeply implanted in our historically Christian culture that it may seem as though the snake by its very nature is a wily, slippery, evil creature. Yet the holy fathers remind us that our current instinctive revulsion to vipers is something that came after the Fall:

Do not regard the present serpent; do not regard how we flee it and feel revulsion towards it. It was not such in the beginning. The serpent was the friend of man and the closest of those who served him. and who made it an enemy? The sentence of God: “Cursed are you above all the cattle, and above all wild animals… I will put enmity between you and the woman” (Gen 3:14-15). It was this enmity that destroyed the friendship. I mean not a rational friendship, but one of which an irrational creature is capable. Similar to the way that now the dog manifests friendship… just so did the serpent serve man. As a creature who enjoyed great closeness to man, the serpent seemed to the devil to be a convenient tool (for deception)… Thus, the devil spoke through the serpent, deceiving Adam. (St John Chrysostom, On the Creation of the World; 6.2)

Blessed Theodoret and St John Damscene set forth the same teaching, the latter summarizing:

The serpent was accustomed to man, and approached him more readily than it did other living creatures, and held intercourse with him in delightful motions. and hence it was through it that the devil, the prince of evil, made his most wicked suggestion to our first parents. (On the Orthodox Faith; 2.10)

The serpent – in all its varieties and species – were thus cursed because it was used as an instrument of Satan:

But perhaps some will say: If the counsel was given by the devil, using the serpent as an instrument, why is this animal subjected to such a punishment? This was also a work of God’s unutterable love for mankind. As a loving father, in punishing the murderer of his son, breaks also the knife and sword by which he performed the murder, and breaks them into small pieces – in similar fashion the All-good God, when this animal, like a kind of sword, served as an instrument of the devil’s malice, subjects it to a constant punishment, so that from this physical manifestation we might conclude the dishonour in which it finds itself. (St John Chrysostom, Homilies on Genesis; 17.6)

The world suffered from the condemnation given to Adam, Eve, and the serpent, as it still does today. However, with the advent of Jesus Christ in the world, His death, resurrection, and ascension, the curse is lifted, and the means of our restoration is available. And through our restoration to our pre-fallen state, the fallen state of the world is also reversed. This is why St Paul was unharmed by the snake that bit him (Acts 28:3-5), why Jesus said we would be able to pick up serpents with our hands (Mk 16:17-18), and why numerous other Saints have lived in peace with wild beasts. These examples show to us that with faith and through God, the harmony of Paradise is restored even in this life.

The miracle bestowed upon Kefallonia every year is just another example, and a particularly fitting one. As one Sunday hymn proclaims:

You are exceedingly blessed, O Virgin Mother of God, for Hades has been taken captive by him who was incarnate of you. Adam was recalled, the curse was abolished, Eve was delivered, death was put to death and we were given life. Therefore, praising you we cry aloud: Blessed are you Christ our God, who thus was well pleased, glory to you.

Jesus redeems mankind and the entire created world, so what is true of Adam and Eve is true also of the snake. And so this animal, through which the devil tempted Eve, comes to venerate icons of the “second Eve”, Mary: the woman who brought forth the seed, Christ, through Whom “the curse was abolished.”

Source: https://iconreader.wordpress.com/2013/08/01/the-snakes-that-venerate-icons/

When you choose a patron saint, you bear their name. Naming and name changes play a significant part of biblical history. Abram is changed to Abraham. Sarai to Sarah. Jacob is changed to Israel. The Apostle Peter from Simon. Many early Christians took the names of martyrs. The man who murdered Saint Matthew the Apostle, when he became a Christian, took the name of Matthew. When the Orthodox are baptized as children or adults they take a name of a saint. When an Orthodox Christian becomes a monk, a new name is given at that time as well. In the life after this one, we are told we will be given a new name still (Revelation 2:17).

We do this to honor the saints, to remember their sacrifice and example. It unites us to the ancientness of the faith through their personhood. Beside walking into a parish and seeing the icons of the saints lining the walls being a physical representation of that "great cloud of witnesses", we pick one saint amongst them all and keep them close to us. We pray with them as we might pray with those still on this side of the eternal. As Paul instructed the faithful to follow after his example, we also try to follow the example of those faithful servants of God who have already carved out a path.

With patron saints also come name days. A name day is the day one's patron saint is honored. I will celebrate Saint Nicholas's name day on December 6th and Laura will celebrate Saint Bathildis's name day on January 30th. A name day is considered to be more important that one's own birthday as it represents one's baptism. If possible we will attend a service at church, have some sort or celebration at home, reflect on their example and try to do likewise.

There are various ways in which one takes a saint's name. It is common for converts to take a name of a saint whose name they already share. A person named Andrew will choose Saint Andrew. Someone named James might choose Saint James. It is also common to choose a saint that is nothing like your name. Sometimes a saint will be honored by the baptized's middle name. I have some friends who no longer go by the name they were born with and I have only know them by their baptismal name. In Serbian churches, there is a patron saint for the entire family rather than for every individual.

I chose Saint Nicholas because of my love for Christmas and his association with the season makes Nativity all the more richer. Also, for his charitable works, his love for those in need, and his concern for those who are treated unjustly. Most importantly, I would like to gain the wisdom to know when to be genteel in regards to my faith, and in the example with Arius, to know when to be unwaveringly firm. In her previous post, Laura gives her reasons for choosing Saint Bathildis.

I will be referred to by my baptismal name every time I partake of the Eucharist, "The servant of God Nicholas receives the precious and all-holy Body and Blood of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ for remission of sins and for eternal life", and when I die, "For You are the resurrection, the life, and the repose of Your servant Nicholas, who has fallen asleep, O Christ our God..."

Source: http://ourorthodoxlife.blogspot.com.by/2010/12/patron-saints.html

Now begins the part of the Divine Liturgy called the eucharistic canon. It is also called the anaphora, which means the lifting-up or the elevation. At this time the gifts of bread and wine which have been offered on the altar are lifted up from the altar to God the Father, and receive divine sanctification by the Holy Spirit who comes to change them into the very Body and Blood of Christ.

The general form of the eucharistic canon is that of the Old Testamental Passover ritual, now fulfilled and perfected in the new and everlasting covenant of God with men in the person and work of Jesus Christ the Messiah, “our Paschal Lamb Who has been sacrificed” (1 Cor 4.7; See also Heb 5–10). Thus the eucharistic anaphora begins:

Let us stand aright! Let us stand with fear! Let us attend! That we may offer the Holy Oblation in peace.

The people respond: A mercy of peace! A sacrifice of praise!

The Holy Oblation is Christ, the Son of God who has become the Son of Man in order to offer Himself to His Father for the life of the world. In His own person Jesus is the perfect peace offering which alone brings God’s reconciling mercy. This is undoubtedly the meaning of the expression a mercy of peace, which has been a source of confusion for people over the years in all liturgical languages.

In addition to being the perfect peace offering, Jesus is also the only adequate sacrifice of praise which men can offer to God. There is nothing comparable in men to the graciousness of God. There is nothing with which men can worthily thank and praise the Creator. This is so even if men would not be sinners. Thus God himself provides men with their own most perfect sacrifice of praise. The Son of God becomes genuinely human so that human persons could have one of their own nature sufficiently adequate to the holiness and graciousness of God. Again this is Christ, the sacrifice of praise.

Thus, in Christ, all is fulfilled and accomplished. In Him the entire sacrificial system of the Old Testament, which is itself the image of the universal striving of men to be worthy of God, is fulfilled. All possible offerings are embodied and perfected in the offering of Christ on the Cross. He is the offering for peace and reconciliation and forgiveness. He is the sacrifice for supplication, thanksgiving and praise. In Him all of men’s sins and impurities are forgiven. In Him all of men’s positive aspirations are fulfilled. In Him, and in him alone, are all of men’s ways to God, and God’s ways to men, brought into one Holy Communion. Through Him alone do men have access to the Father in one Holy Spirit (Eph 2.18; Also Jn 14, 2 Cor 5, Col 1).

The celebrant now addresses the congregation with the Trinitarian blessing of the Apostle Paul (2 Cor 13.14). This is the more elaborate Christian salutation than the simple Peace (Shalom) of the Old Testament:

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father,and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

And the people respond: And with your spirit.

The grace of Christ comes first. In this grace is contained the fullness of the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit. The celebrant offers this entire abundant outpouring of the inner life of the Holy Trinity to the People of God. And they in turn respond with the prayer that this “fullness of God” would be with his spirit as well.

The eucharistic dialogue continues:

Let us lift up our hearts!

We lift them up unto the Lord!

Let us give thanks unto the Lord!

It is meet and right to worship the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; the Trinity one in essence and undivided.

As men in Christ lift up the eucharistic gifts, they lift up their hearts as well. In the Bible the heart of man stands for his whole being and life. Thus in the anaphora, as the Apostle Paul has stated, the whole man is taken up into that realm where Christ is now seated at the right hand of God.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God (Col 3.1–3).

The manner of lifting up oneself to God is through thanksgiving. The word eucharist in Greek means thanksgiving. The eucharistic Divine Liturgy is preeminently the action of lifting up one’s heart and giving thanks to God for all that He has done for man and the world in Christ and the Holy Spirit: creation, salvation and eternal glorification.

The original sin of man, the origin of all of his trouble, corruption and ultimate death, is his failure to give thanks to God. The restoration of communion with God, and with all creation in him, is through thanksgiving in Christ. Jesus is the only man truly grateful, humble and obedient to God. In him, as the only Beloved Son of God and the only perfect Adam, all men can lift up their hearts and give thanks to the Lord: “For there is . . . one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all . . .” (1 Tim 2.5).

It should be noted here that the affirmation “it is meet and right” is expanded into a longer form only in the Slavic tradition of the Church. In other churches it remains in this simple and more ancient form.

With hearts lifted up to the Lord, and thanksgiving rendered to God, the prayer of the eucharistic canon continues:

It is meet and right to sing of Thee, to bless Thee, to praise Thee, to give thanks to Thee and to worship Thee in every place of Thy dominion. For Thou art God ineffable, inconceivable, invisible, incomprehensible, ever-existing and eternally the same, Thou and Thine only-begotten Son and Thy Holy Spirit. Thou it was who brought us from non-existence into being, and when we had fallen away, didst raise us up again, and didst not cease to do all things until Thou hadst brought us up to heaven and hadst endowed us with Thy Kingdom which is to come. For all these things we give thanks to Thee, and to Thine only-begotten Son and to Thy Holy Spirit; for all things of which we know and of which we know not, whether manifest or unseen; and we thank Thee for this liturgy which Thou hast found worthy to accept at our hands, though there stand by Thee thousands of archangels and hosts of angels, the Cherubim and the Seraphim, six-winged, many eyed, who soar aloft, borne on their pinions, singing the triumphant hymn, shouting, proclaiming and saying:

Holy! Holy! Holy! Lord of Sabaoth! Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory! Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!

At this point in the Divine Liturgy man’s thanksgiving to God the Father for all that he has done in Christ and the Spirit is brought to its climax. The man in God remembers all things and is grateful to God. His remembrance and his thanksgiving take him into the very Presence of the Kingdom to the Throne of the Father to sing the Thrice-Holy Hymn with the angelic choirs (Is 6.1–5).

Through Christ and the Holy Spirit, the man of faith is transported in spirit to be with his Lord. The limitations of this age are left behind through grateful remembrance of Christ and his accomplishment of salvation. Thus the eucharistic prayer continues with the whole focus of attention brought to that One Man and that one night in which the Divine Son gave himself as food for the faithful, offering himself in sacrifice for the life of the world.

With these blessed powers, O Master, Who lovest mankind, we also cry aloud and say: Holy art Thou and all-holy, Thou and Thine only-begotten Son and Thy Holy Spirit! Holy art Thou and all-holy, and magnificent is Thy glory! Who hast so loved Thy world as to give Thine only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Who when He had come and had fulfilled all the dispensation for us. in the night in which He was given up—or rather gave Himself up for the life of the world—He took bread in His holy, pure and blameless hands; and when He had given thanks and blessed it, and hallowed it and broken it, He gave it to his holy disciples and apostles saying:

Take! Eat! This is My Body which is broken for you for the remission of sins. Amen.

And likewise after supper, He took the cup saying: Drink of it all of you! This is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins! Amen.

Remembering this saving commandment and all those things which have come to pass for us: the cross, the tomb, the resurrection on the third day, the ascension into heaven, the sitting at the right hand of God the Father, the second and glorious coming.

Thine own of Thine own we Offer unto Thee, in behalf of all and for all!

As the celebrant intones these last words which proclaim that all that is offered to the Father is already his—for every creature and all of creation are his, together with the Beloved Son and the Holy Spirit who are uncreated and divine—the eucharistic gifts are lifted up and elevated towards the heavens. It is the sign that the faithful Christians have been exalted together with their Lord into the Kingdom of God.

For Christ has entered, not into a sanctuary made with hands . . . but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf . . . we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all . . . for when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God . . . for by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified (Heb 9.24, 10.10–14).

Heaven and earth are now blended into one, filled with the glory of God. The ages past and the ages still to come are brought into unity. The night, the supper, the cross, the tomb, the resurrection, the ascension, the kingdom to come—all merge together in the eucharistic moment of the Divine Liturgy. Man is with God in a holy communion which is “not of this world.” All boundaries of time and of space are utterly broken. All walls of division are totally destroyed. Man’s sins are forgiven in Christ, his impurities are cleansed, his corruption is healed. His mortal nature is restored to immortality with God. His created humanity is filled with the Uncreated Divinity of the All-Holy Trinity. It only remains now to seal this action by the invocation of the Spirit of God.

Source: https://oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/worship/the-divine-liturgy/eucharistic-canon-anaphora

Whoever believes in chance doesn’t believe in God. These forthright words of Father Alexander Elchaninov gain a new meaning when it comes to misfortunes, whether they are of a personal, canonical or even worldwide nature.

Misfortunes never come singly. When they come, we have to open our doors, otherwise misfortunes break right through and we can lose not only the doors but also the whole façade. However, the doors can be opened in different ways.

While a person is young they have unlimited opportunities and hopes ahead of them. They are determined and focused on their future, the anticipation of which makes them happy and cheerful. All misfortunes seem negligible, swiftly passing on the way to the “wonderful future”.

However, a person feels completely different when one day they realise that life’s clock is ticking and that it is impossible to restore their losses, to recover from hardship, to replace loved ones, while the emotional ability to make new friends diminishes every year. Just as water leaks gradually out of a solid but cracked barrel until instead of clear fresh water there is nothing left but filthy dregs.

Please don’t try to comfort such a person or indignantly protest against their low spirits. The truth is that their situation has nothing to do with either melancholy or despair. On the contrary, they have come to an understanding that life is offering them some new, real, authentic prospects.

Some time ago I was struck by the words of Ivan Ilyin that suffering is the main means of understanding the reality of the universe. At that time I thought these words meaningful and beautiful, although rather useless with regards to day-to-day life. Moreover, these words didn’t seem particularly Christian either – who would ever say to someone in distress that now they really know what real life is like! That would not only be cruel but also wrong: according to the Scriptures we should not rejoice with those who weep but share their grief and sorrow.

At the same time, if it is not a stranger but you who hears the clock ticking, then that is a completely different matter.

The first thing to happen is that one starts bringing structure to ones life. This is to be expected, because when one has an endless road ahead, it is impossible and even unpleasant to focus on down-to-earth things. However, the moment one finds oneself in a situation with very clear-cut stipulations, especially if those are provided not by you but by Divine providence, one has to return ones gaze to reality and concentrate on the familiar and simple things which had been neglected earlier.

Instead of waiting for something grand and glorious in the future, one starts to find joy in ordinary and small matters, which one previously only glanced at with contempt. The truth of each moment becomes very vivid, almost tactile; and this everyday truth results in gratitude to God for granting yet another wonderful day.

The second thing I would like to point out is about resonance. When someone is running along the platform, pushing everyone around and trying to catch a train, they are not concerned with anybody else but themselves, even if people around get hurt or upset. They think they will never see those people again, so why bother worrying about them? But if one is locked in a submarine, where every gesture will be mirrored and reciprocated by one’s fellow passengers, often in the worst possible way, then one quickly masters some patience and self-control – even when one is in the right – as well as some good sense and tact towards people who happen to be around. Nobody wants to upset the delicate balance and to fall victim to it. Better a little fire to warm us, than a great one to burn us.

Finally, it is true to say that to lie on the ground is to be in the most stable position. The more we want to take control over everything, the faster water leaks out from the barrel. The very moment when one is confident of having omnipotent power in their hands, it turns out that this is only a little thread leading back to oneself, not the universe. Humbleness never falls because it never holds its head up high. The less we rely on ourselves in our lives, the better, smoother and more balanced our lives are.

You probably think that the author is referring to himself. Not at all. I am mainly talking about our Christian life in general. It doesn’t matter what pulls the trigger and starts that clock. What most important is that this ticking sound could – and should – be a turning point in the lives of church people, prompting them to seek the truth and become more mature. Isn’t it time for us to grow up and stop dreaming about the Third Rome, New Byzantium or the pan galactic influence of the true faith? Sadly, we will probably have to end our walks in the moonlight with nightingales and endless courting in a faraway land. We are not needed there, and we will always be unwanted strangers there. But don’t we have our own family? It is time to take care of it and be responsible for it. For example, heated discussions about the projects of the Inter-Council Presence, especially concerning monasticism, remind us that we have a great deal of work left to do in our own back yard. Who knows; perhaps there is not much time left, and we had better spend it on our own problems.

“Come, Lord Jesus! For Your Kingdom is not of this world!”

Source: http://www.bogoslov.ru/en/text/2903799.html