The Catalog of Good Deeds: Quick Facts

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Orthodox cross themselves from right to left. First, we will describe the mechanics of making the sign of the Cross, then explain why it is indeed important that we make the sign of the cross correctly.

Placing the cross on oneself

1) We place our thumb and first two fingers together in a point, and our last we fingers flat against our palm. The three fingers together represent the Holy Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the two fingers in the palm represent the two natures of Christ.

2) We touch our forehead, then our belly, tracing the vertical part of the cross.

3) From our belly, we bring our hand up to our right shoulder, touching it.

4) We finish placing the cross on ourself by touching our left shoulder.

The act of "Placing the cross on oneself" is a request for a blessing from God. We make if from right to left to mirror the actions of the priest when he blesses us. The priest, looking at the parishioners, blesses from left to right. Therefore, the parishioners, putting on the sign of the cross on themselves, do it from right to left.

Because the Lord separated the sheep from the goats, putting the faithful sheep on His right side, and the goats on the left, the Church always treats the right side as the preferred side. We only cross ourselves with our RIGHT hand. The priest, when blessing a person, first touches or points to their RIGHT side, then their left. Also the censing of the Holy Table in the Altar is always done from the RIGHT side first; censing of the Ikonostasis, the Congregation and of the Church itself always begins with the right side. The priest always gives communion with his RIGHT hand, even if he is left handed. There are other examples of this right side preference.

When a parent makes the sign of the cross over a child, they will cross them from left to right, just as the priest blesses. When they make the sign of the cross over themselves, they would do it, logically, the other way.

The Catholic Encyclopedia states that in the Roman Catholic Church, the faithful crossed themselves from right to left, just as the Orthodox do, until the 15th or 16th century. They must explain why they have changed an ancient and apostolic tradition. We cannot answer as to their motivations.

Is it important to cross ourselves a particular way? In a word, YES. We do not have the authority to choose willy-nilly what parts of the Christian Tradition we want to follow. Our fathers, and countless saints crossed themselves from right to left. Ancient icons show Christ or bishops beginning a blessing from right to left. the right side is referred to in a preferential way many times in scripture and our sacred hymns What should we want to change?

Source: http://www.orthodox.net/articles/about-crossing-oneself.html

The main parts of the Cross were two bars: one was vertical (the longer one), while the other one was horizontal and was joined with the long bar at right angles. The Savior of the world was nailed to these bars. In the top of the Golgotha Cross was a small plate – titulus – about which it is said in the Gospel: “And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS” (John 19:19). There was also a third bar which served as a footboard. Without it a body nailed to the cross could fall down.

However, the crosses on church domes often differ in their shape from a usual eight pointed cross. The cross on the Orthodox church’s dome expresses an idea of the House of God and the ship of Salvation and has the appropriate symbols. Very often the questions and misunderstandings arise concerning the crescent (tsata), located at the bottom of the cross. What is the meaning of this symbol?

First of all, we must understand that the crescent in the Orthodox cross has no relation to either the Muslim religion, or to a victory over the Muslims. The Crescents were used as decorations of Orthodox crosses much earlier: for example, the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl (1165), Dimitrievsky Cathedral in Vladimir (1197) and others.

The crescent in ancient times was a sign of the Byzantine state, and only after 1453, when Constantinople was captured by the Turks, the Christian symbol became the official emblem of the Ottoman Empire. The Orthodox Byzantine crescent symbolized royal power.

Often, a crescent is portrayed as part of Episcopal vestments of St. Nicholas. It can also be found in other icons: the Holy Trinity, the Savior, and the Blessed Virgin Mary. All this makes it right to assume that the crescent on the cross is a symbol of the Lord Jesus Christ as the King and High Priest. Thus, the installation of a cross with a crescent on the dome of a temple reminds us that this temple belongs to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Moreover, from the past — from Christ and the first centuries of Christianity — we received another meaning of the cross with a crescent. St. Paul teaches in one of his epistles that Christians are able to "hold upon the given hope that is the Cross, which is as the safe and steadfast anchor for a soul." (Hebrews 6:18-19). The cross overcomes death and devil. Holding this "anchor," we are able to go through the waves of a stormy lifetime to a quiet bay, the Kingdom of Heaven.

The crosses with beautiful ornaments are set on the domes of St. Sophia Cathedral in Vologda (1570), Holy Trinity Cathedral in Verhoturye (1703), and the church in honor of blessed Cosmas in Kostylevo. They are decorated with twelve stars in the rays emanating from the center and with a crescent on the bottom. The symbolism of the cross vividly conveys the image from the book of Revelation: "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head”. There are researches who assume that it is an apocalyptic image referring to the Mother of God, while Christ is often called the Sun of Truth. Twelve stars could be the twelve apostles.

In addition to the described above symbolism of the crescent, there are also other meanings, which belong to the patristic tradition. For example, the image of the Cradle of Bethlehem, which held the Divine Infant Christ; the Eucharistic cup; the Church’s Ship on the board of which a person can reach the bay of salvation. It is also a symbol of baptistery. Sometimes it happens so that a cross on the dome does not eight eight but four points (with or without a crescent). The crosses on some well-known cathedrals have this very shape – for example, St. Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople (13^th century), St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev (1152), Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir (1158) and many others. Since the 3th century, when the four pointed crosses were found on the walls of the Roman catacombs, this form of the cross is considered equal to all the other forms.

Translated from: https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/b48266_9fe1af5a08874918bb79992858a428bd.pdf

"On this day, the Tuesday of St. Thomas week, according to the order instituted by our Holy Fathers, we call to remembrance, in Paschal joy, all those who have died from the beginning of the ages in faith and in the hope of resurrection and life eternal.

"Having previously celebrated the radiant feast of Christ's glorious Resurrection, the faithful commemorate the dead today with the pious intent to share the great joy of this Pascha feast with those who have departed this life in the hope of their own resurrection. This is the same blessed joy with which the dead heard our Lord announce His victory over death when He descended into Hades, thus leading forth by the hand the righteous souls of the Old Covenant into Paradise. This is the same unhoped-for joy the Holy Myrrhbearing Women experienced when discovering the empty tomb and the undisturbed grave clothes. In addition, this is the same bright joy the Holy Apostles encountered in the Upper Room where Christ appeared though the doors were closed. In short, this feast is a kindred joy, to celebrate the luminous Resurrection with our Orthodox forefathers who have fallen asleep.

"There is evidence of the commemoration of the dead today in the writings of the Church Fathers. St. John Chrysostom mentions the commemoration of the dead performed on Tuesday of St. Thomas week in his "Homily on the Cemetery and the Cross."

"Today, the faithful departed are remembered in Divine Liturgies, 'koliva' is prepared and blessed in the churches in memory of those who have fallen asleep, and the Orthodox graves in cemeteries are blessed by the priests and visited by the faithful. On this day alms are given to the poor. Furthermore, it should be noted that due to the great spiritual joy this jubilant commemoration bears, it is called in the Slavonic tongue, 'Radonitsa,' or Day of Rejoicing."

From the "Synaxarion of the Lenten Triodion and Penecostarion" (published in 1999 by HDM Press, Rives Junction, Michigan) on "Radonitsa'

***

A note in the English-language edition of the Synaxarion says that the above account was written "by a monk who wished to remain annonymous." This account does not appear in the Slavonic or Greek Pentecostaria.

The development of a special commemoration of the dead during Thomas Week is undoubtedly related closely to the fact that memorial services are prohibited by the Typicon from being served from Great Thursday through Thomas Sunday. Thus, in the entry for Holy and Great Thursday, the Typicon states: "It is fitting to know: That the Litia for the reposed does not take place in the narthex until Thomas Sunday." Then, in the entry for Monday of Thomas Week, the Typicon states at the end of the instructions for Matins and the First Hour: "And the usual Litia in the narthex." Thus, the begining of Thomas Week presents the first opportunity to commemorate the departed (other than at the Proskomidia) since the middle of Passion Week.

It is interesting to note that in the Typicon and Pentecostarion that are currently in use in the Russian Church, there is no specific mention of a commemoration of the dead on Tuesday of Thomas Week, and the services appointed for that day do not contain any requiem elements. Nonetheless, it is quite common to serve a General Panikhida in church on that day and also to serve Requiem Litias at the graves of the departed.

Their are many folk customs associated with Radonitsa. Perhaps other members of the Ustav List would like to share their knowledge and experience of these customs with us.

By Daniel Olson

Source: http://www.orthodox.net/ustav/radonitsa.html

On the Bright Saturday, the believers have an opportunity to get Artos in churches. What is the origin of the tradition of taking Artos and how should one do this in the right way?

What is Artos?

The word artos is translated from Greek as “leavened bread” – the common bread blessed for the all members of the Church, in other words the communion bread.

During the whole Bright Week, artos is placed on the most prominent place in the church near the icon of the Resurrection, and when the Paschal celebrations are over, it is handed out among the believers.

What is the origin of the tradition of artos consumption?

Artos consumption began with Christianity itself. On the 40^th day after the Resurrection, Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven. The disciples and followers of Christ found solace in prayerful commemoration of the Lord, they recalled His every word, every step and every action. When they gathered for a common prayer, they recalled the last Suppers and partook of Holy Communion. Preparing a usual meal, they left the first place at the table for the Lord who sat there invisibly and put a bread on this place.

What does it symbolize?

Emulating the apostles, the first shepherds of the Church began to put bread in the church as a visible expression of the idea that the Savior, who has suffered for us, became the true bread of life. On an artos we can see a cross with the crown of thorn, but there is no the Crucified One, which is the symbol of Christ’s victory over death or His Resurrection.

There is another ancient church story connected with artos. It states that the apostles always left a piece of bread – the part of the Mother of God – in a reminder of the constant communion with Her. After the meal, they shared that piece of bread between themselves. In monasteries, this tradition is called the rite of Panagia, i.e. the commemoration of the Most Holy Mother of God. In parish churches this bread of the Mother of God is recalled once a year, when artos is shared.

How is artos consecrated?

Artos is consecrated with a special prayer, besprinkling with holy water and censing it at the Liturgy on the first day of Holy Pascha and after the prayer behind the ambo. An artos is placed in front of the Royal Gates on a table or analogion. After the consecration, the analogion with the artos is put on the solea before the image of Christ, where artos will stand during the whole Bright Week. It is kept on the analogion before the iconostasis for the whole week.

Every day during the Bright Week, cross processions with artos take place after the liturgy. On Saturday of the Bright week, a prayer for fragmentation of artos is read. The artos is divided into pieces and given to people during the kissing of the cross after the Liturgy.

How should we keep and consume artos?

Faithful people keep the particles of artos they got in the church as a spiritual remedy from weaknesses and diseases. Artos is taken in special cases, for example, in case of sickness and always with the words “Christ is risen!”.

Source: http://www.pravmir.ru/zachem-razdayut-artos-5-voprosov/

There is no canon, at least to my knowledge that teaches Christians should not get a tattoo. However, we do find the following in the Law of Moses:

"Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord" (Leviticus 19:28).

Unfortunately, I do not have any patristic commentaries that address this verse, though they may be some out there. But if all we had was this verse, it could be argued that this is just a ceremonial law that no longer applies to Christians. However there are several reasons why that would be an incorrect conclusion:

1. With the exception of the Copts, Ethiopians, and Bosnian Croats, the Christian Tradition has universally rejected tattoos. And there are historical reasons why these Christian groups are an exception -- they tattoo their children with crosses so that if they are kidnapped by Moslems, they can later be identified as Christians; and given the intense level of persecution they have faced, this has also been a way of proclaiming their intention of remaining a Christian, no matter what may come (a tattoo being, by its nature, a very permanent statement). However, it is both interesting and instructive that Orthodox Christians living in the same circumstances never adopted a similar custom.

2. Most of the tattoos that people have in our culture are not modest and pious crosses designed to protect children from kidnapping or to testify to one's commitment to standing firm for Christ, but are all kinds of things that are usually frivolous at best, and often unwholesome. If you read what the Scriptures have to say about modesty, it is unlikely that the inspired writers would have spent so much time encouraging us to dress in ways that are not immodest, or draw unnecessary attention to ourselves, and yet would be O.K. with a tattoo just above the crack of your behind (just to cite one popular trend as an example).

3. St. Paul says that our bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Imagine if someone took a spray paint can, and expressed themselves over the walls of a Church. We would all be shocked that someone would do such a thing, but it is no different to express yourself by defacing your body -- because you are bought with a price, and are not free to so whatever you want with your body... if indeed you are a believer.

Of course if someone already has a tattoo, it is certainly not an unpardonable sin. And when we see someone with a tattoo, we should not judge them, because they may have repented of getting that tattoo a long time ago. But those contemplating getting a tattoo should ask themselves why they want one in the first place, and they should ask whether this is really something that pleases God. Once you get a tattoo, they are not easy to get rid of, and what you think looks cool today, may not seem so cool to you in ten or twenty years.

Here are two replies to some comments this post has received on Facebook:

In response to a comment that saw a contradiction between acknowledging that there are no canons against tattoos, but my statement that the Christian Tradition has universally rejected tattoos:

The actual practice of the Church is a testimony to the Tradition of the Church. It is not as if tattoos were a recently discovered technology, They had tattoos when Moses wrote the Law. But aside from the unique cases of the Copts and Ethiopians, Christians have universally rejected tattoos. It is only in my lifetime that having a tattoo has gone from something those on the fringes did (sailors, soldiers, and marines -- away from home; gang members, and convicts) to something that young ladies from decent homes are doing.

In response to a catechumen who has religious tattoos, and similarly questioned whether the Church really has rejected tattoos.

Not all of the Tradition of the Church has been written out in the form of canons. We generally only have canons to guard against people doing something when there are some people in the Church who are doing it. Tattoos were something that no Christians (outside of the exception I discussed) did. Until only very recently, no Christian group of any kind would have suggested that such a practice was befitting a Christian. Now, in your case, your tattoos were probably very well intentioned, but people often do things in ignorance that they should not do. As St. Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 11:16: "But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God."

And on the authority of unwritten Traditions, consider St. Basil's words, which were specifically endorsed by the 4th, 6th, and 7th Ecumenical Councils:

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf208.vii.xxviii.html

In response to some who have disputed whether Christians really have historically rejected tattoos:

It is not merely coincidence that the pagan Romans, Slavs, and Germans practiced various forms of tattooing, but when Christianity was established in those areas, these practices ceased. Even the word "tattoo" demonstrates that this was not part of the Christian culture, because it is a Polynesian word, that was not in use in English prior to the 18th century, and there is no record of any tattoo artists in either England or the United States prior to the 19th century.

Source: http://fatherjohn.blogspot.com.by/2015/05/stump-priest-tattoos.html

Cheesefare Sunday received it's name because the previous week we did not eat meat, but only dairy products, such as milk, cheese, etc., as well as eggs and fish.

Many find this rule of the Church to be "unreasonable", saying: "How is milk of a lamb allowed but not the meat of the lamb, since milk is produced by the lamb? How are eggs allowed and not chicken, since the first are produced by the second?"

Of course these people would have a point, if we maintained that the meat of the lamb or fowl was tainted and for this reason we do not eat it. Then we should not eat what is produced by them, since these also would be tainted. But through our Church no food is tainted. This is what is taught by the apostle Paul in his First Epistle to Timothy (4:3-5). Rather the Church simply divides food into greater or lesser consumption towards self-restraint and, at certain times, allows the one and forbids the other.

An accurate response towards those who say the above has been answered by Athanasios of Parios, a wise and important teacher of the Church, when he writes to a certain doctor:

"You criticize your friend because during Cheesefare he eats eggs, yet does not eat the chicken which gives birth to the egg...? But what similarity can be made between an egg, which is not alive, and a chicken, which is alive? The egg is much lower than the fowl. And as proof I appeal to your own opinion, that is, the opinion of a doctor. To whomever is sick and begins to approach the stages of recovery you prescribe as food small and delicate chicks and not tough fowl. For what reason do you do this? Because, you say, the fat and greasy foods will harm him who now begins to recover from his sickness, since his stomach does not have the strength to endure and digest heavy foods. If therefore there is a difference between a small chick and a big chicken and the chick is, as a food, much lower in strength than the chicken, and no doctor has ever said that the egg of a chick or chicken is the same food or equally suitable for the sick, is it not clear that unreasonable are those who criticize us for eating eggs and not fowl?... They criticize us also that we eat olives, but not olive oil, even though inside the olives is the olive oil. But within grapes is wine also. Yet however many grapes we eat we will not get drunk; at most we will become stuffed in our stomachs...."

Besides this, it is well-known that with olive oil we are able to cook innumerable and delicious foods, though olives are considered xerophagy (dry foods). Xerophagy is to not eat cooked foods, but unprepared ones, such as bread with olives or dry fruit, etc.

By Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

Translated by John Sanidopoulos

Source: http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2011/03/why-only-no-meat-during-cheesefare-week.html

How can we help our loved ones who have departed this life? Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) talks about the commemoration of the dead.

According to Orthodox teaching, through the prayers of the Church the dead can receive relief or freedom from their punishments beyond the grave. “Anyone who wishes to show his love for those who have died and give them real help can do this in the best way by praying for them, and especially by commemoration at the Liturgy, when a particle removed [from the prosphora, or communion bread] for the living and the dead is immersed in the Blood of the Lord with the words, ‘O Lord, take away the sins of those whom we commemorate here by Thy precious Blood, through the prayers of Thy saints’” (St. John [Maximovich], Life afer Death.)

In keeping with this the Church has established special services:

1. Prayers commemorating the dead at Divine Liturgy (at the proskomedia, after the sanctification of the Holy Gifts, and at the litany for the dead).

2. Pannikhidas and litias.

3. Reading of the Psalter.

In order of significance, the commemoration at the proskomedia and after the sanctification of the Holy Gifts stands above the rest. The outstanding expert in Church service rubrics St. Athanasius (Sakharov) writes, “The commemoration of the living and the reposed at the proskomedia and after the sanctification of the Gifts, albeit unspoken, for its significance, power, and effectiveness cannot be compared with any other commemoration prayers—prayers for the living, Pannikhidas, or any other pious labors in memory of the living or the dead. It cannot be compared with spoken commemoration at the same Liturgy at the great and augmented litanies (which are allowed in some places) and at the special litanies for the reposed” (On the commemoration of the dead according to the rubrics of the Orthodox Church).

At every proskomedia, one of the prosphora used in the service (the fifth, in the Russian practice) is offered particularly for the dead. It is necessary to regularly give lists of names at the proskomedia. We can also order daily commemorations at the Liturgy for forty days, a half-year, or a year.

The Church has established special commemorative Saturdays, which have been named ancestor Saturdays: Before Meatfare Sunday (that is, before the fast-free Cheesefare week), before the feast of the Holy Trinity (Pentecost), before the day of St. Demetrios of Thessalonica, and on the second, third, and fourth Saturdays of Great Lent. Every Orthodox Christian should strive to fulfill his duty before his parents and other departed relatives and submit lists of names at the Liturgy and Pannikhida served on these days. “Pannikhida” (Greek: pan—“all” and nikh—“night”) literally means “all night service”. This name is given to the prayer service for the reposed because its composition resembles a part of the All-Night Vigil service, and also because in the early days of the Church, during the time of persecutions, it was served at night, like the All-Night Vigil. Any [Orthodox] person can order a Pannikhida for his departed relatives. This is most often ordered on days that are special for the reposed persons (their name days or anniversary of their day of death).

Sometimes people want to know why we [at Sretenky Monastery] ask not to submit long lists. This is only because the serving priest’s possibilities are very limited. He has to commemorate hundreds and hundreds (on feast days over a thousand) names at the proskomedia, which lasts only 30–40 minutes. During this time he must also commemorate those names written in the church’s synodic (commemoration books for the living and the dead). If he were to commemorate them all at the litany, it would take up a third of the Liturgy, which would disrupt the good order of the service. Those who wish to commemorate their relatives can do so themselves during the time that the priest is serving the proskomedia by reading their own commemoration books. The brother of St. Nikon (Belyaev), John, when he was a novice with St. Barsanuphius, recalled that in the Optina Skete of St. John the Forerunner there were huge commemoration books in which were entered the names of benefactor and their families for many decades. Strictly according to the rule, in the altar there would be only the serving priest, a hierodeacon, and a sexton. The elders blessed all the brothers to read the commemoration books not in the altar but in the church, while the proskomedia was being served. He writes that earlier he would submit lists of names, but later he also began reading them during the proskomedia. So also can any person in church read commemoration lists that were not submitted due to the large number of names. We have to believe that the merciful Lord, Who sees our circumstances, will accept this prayerful request for the living and the dead. We can also read our prayer books while the priest or deacon is pronouncing the litany for the living and the dead.

From deep antiquity there has also been the tradition of commemorating at home. Those who want to fulfill their duty before their reposed relatives can regularly read the Psalter. Some read a kathisma every day, others with a specific regularity. The commemoration of the living and the dead is also a part of the Morning Prayer rule.

Close relatives of the reposed (especially children and grandchildren, i.e, immediate family) have the great opportunity to help their departed ancestors—to manifest fruits of spiritual life (to live in the prayerful experience of the Church, participate in the holy Sacraments, to live according to Christ’s commandments). Although our ancestor may not have grown these fruits themselves, but their children and grandchildren did, they (the departed ancestors) are participants in these fruits as the root or trunk of the tree. Just how great this help is even for relatives who lived outside the Church we know from the letters of St. Ambrose of Optina to Count Alexei P. Tolstoy. A mullah was baptized in his house church. The great elder wrote on this occasion, “The baptism of this mullah, the conversion to Christianity of the Lezgin [a nation in the Caucasus Mountains] Assan, the reception into the Church of an Abyssinian, and several similar examples has given us the thought that God also honors various tribes and peoples with various errors relative to the one true Divinity; because although it happens rarely, from almost all existing tribes in different times people have converted to true Christianity… This means that if out of the darkness of impiety one has turned to the Lord, then this is sufficient for the Lord; and for the sake of this one convert, He will honor the whole generation [i.e., lineage] that produced him” (Collected Letters [Moscow, 1995], 7).

“The lot of the departed is not considered decided until the general Last Judgment. Until then, we cannot consider anyone as finally judged; and on the basis of this we pray, convinced in our hope in God’s immeasurable mercy!” (St. Theophan the Recluse, Collected Letters, v. 6, letter 948).

By Hieromonk Job (Gumerov)

Source: http://www.pravoslavie.ru/101172.html

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Matushka: Lots of Titles for the Priest’s Wife

The Reason Why Orthodox Christians Cross Themselves from Right to Left

The Origins of Orthodox Crosses with a Crescent

Being a Reader in the Orthodox Church: Ordination, Terminology, Vestments and Duties

On the Meaning of Radonitsa

5 Questions You May Have About Artos

What does the Orthodox Church say about tattoos?

Why we abstain from meat during the Cheesefare week?

Commemoration of the Reposed in the Orthodox Liturgical Tradition

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