The Catalog of Good Deeds

Question: "How does one become a Reader, and what does a Reader do?"

Answer: We learn a great deal about what it means to be a Reader from the admonition that the bishop gives to a Reader after he is tonsured (i.e., made a Reader):

"My son, the first degree in the Priesthood is that of Reader. It behooveth thee therefore to peruse the divine Scriptures daily, to the end that the hearers, regarding thee may receive edification; that thou in nowise shaming thine election, mayest prepare thyself for a higher degree. For by a chaste, holy and upright life thou shalt gain the favor of the God of loving-kindness, and shalt render thyself worthy of a greater ministry, through Jesus Christ our Lord: to whom be glory unto the ages of ages. Amen."

This tells us that the office of the Reader is the first rank of the priesthood. There are two types of clergy: minor clergy, and major clergy. Readers are tonsured, which means that rather than being ordained in the Altar, they are set apart by having some of their hair cut in the form of the Cross (as also happens at baptism, and when someone is made a monastic) and ordained in the Nave of the Church, as are Subdeacons, who are also minor clergy. The major clergy are Bishops, Priest, and Deacons.

But what it means for this to be the first rank of the priesthood is that the same basic requirements to be ordained a Priest are also required of a Reader. A reader must of course be Orthodox. He must also be a man who has not been married more than once. He must be of a good reputation. There are other possible impediments to ordination, and most of them apply equally to readers (there are different age requirements for deacons, priests, and bishops, and bishops are required to be monastics).

A Reader should also read the Scriptures daily, and be familiar enough with the texts that he reads that those who hear him are able to understand him, and be edified by his reading. In addition to that, a Reader should learn the rubrics of the services, and should learn to sing his way through the services by learning the tones, and how to use and combine the liturgical texts at the kliros. In most parishes, there are choir directors who do most of that work at the main services, but a Reader should learn this as well, so that if he is the only person at the kliros (as can happen at some of the daily services) he will be able to read and sing all of the parts of the services that are not specific to the Bishop, Priest, and Deacon.

The admonition to the Reader that he "in nowise" shame his election means that he should be an example to others in the Church. As St. Paul admonished St. Timothy: "be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conduct, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12). And a reader should do this in order to prepare himself "for a higher degree." In other words, a reader should be preparing himself for the possibility of serving in a higher rank of the clergy. Of course all Christians should try to be an example "in word, in conduct, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity," but this should be especially the case for clergy. This means a Reader should be personally pious, loving towards others, and should love the services of the Church.

Anyone who is able (and of course an Orthodox Christian) can serve the function of a Reader, when needed. And there are many people who are not tonsured as Readers who do. However, one who actually is a Reader has a duty to fill this role, and so should be zealous to prepare himself to fulfill this role, and should be eager to actually do it, being present whenever possible for the services, and making themselves available to do their duty.

If someone is interested in becoming a reader, they should speak to the priest and begin applying themselves to learning how to properly do it. Even if they are not eventually tonsured as a Reader, the knowledge they acquire is beneficial to any Orthodox Christian.

For more on what it means to be a Reader, I would recommend reading Instruction for the Church Reader as well as A Guide for Readers in the Orthodox Church, by Fr. Geoffrey Korz.

By Fr. John Whiteford

Source: http://fatherjohn.blogspot.com/2016/10/stump-priest-readers.html

Compared to the contemporary worship of most Protestant churches and post-Vatican II Roman Catholic churches, the worship of the Orthodox Church seems overly-formal, complicated, and rigid in its rubrics. Why are there so many rituals in the Orthodox Church? Why isn’t there more spontaneity, creativity, and freedom of expression? Why is the Orthodox Sunday worship service—the Divine Liturgy—essentially the same week after week, every year, for more than fifteen-hundred years? Most Orthodox believers would respond, “Because it is our Tradition.” However, do you know why it is our Tradition and why rituals are so important to our Christian Faith?

The Need For Peace And Order

Actually, the Bible and the Church Fathers rarely use the word “ritual” or “rite” when describing Judaic or Christian religious ceremonial practices. The words more often used are “ordinances” and “observances.” These words are more descriptive of what should be going on. For many, “rites” are just a series of behaviors people customarily do without knowing its meaning—perhaps there was once a reason for the behavior, but now people just “go through the motions.”

An “ordinance” is a decree that an activity be regulated (Hebrews 9:1)—kept to a particular sequence or boundary. In regards to worship services, the Apostle Paul stated, “all things should be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40). The reason for this is given in a previous verse: “for God is a God not of disorder but of peace” (v.33). In fact, St. Paul praises the church at Colosse for how orderly (τάξιν) they are (Colossians 2:5). Being that our present day Liturgy of St. Chystostom is based on the first century Liturgy of St. James, the first Bishop of Jerusalem, the Orthodox Church has always practiced a formal, orderly pattern to its worship.

However, the formality of worship really goes back to Judaic practices starting 13 centuries before Christ with the exodus of Israel from Egypt. God, through Moses, gave explicit details about a very orderly and elaborate form of worship centered around the Tabernacle or Temple. Why? Because God knows how easy it is for mankind to argue about worship practice differences to the point of confusion (Acts 19:32), prejudice (John 4:20), and violence (Genesis 4:3-8). It is not hard to look through the history of mankind and find wars which were in part justified over disputed religious beliefs and practices. Though inter-faith conflict will likely continue (John 17:14), God wants to prevent intra-faith conflict within His Church (John 17:22-23). Therefore, it is necessary the Church be unified in Her worship practices. The Orthodox Church has kept the unity of the Faith in part by preserving a precise formula in Her worship. In doing so, the Orthodox Church has avoided a lot of dissension that has plagued other branches of Christianity.

The Need For Attention and Remembrance

“Observance” denotes the need to pay attention and to remember. Six times during the Divine Liturgy the priest or deacon is giving the exhortation “Let us be attentive.” God doesn’t want us to just show up at church and habitually say and do the rites while our minds are occupied with work, grocery lists, or a recent argument with our spouse. Such worship is not “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24). God desires we focus on what every word said and every gesture made alludes to within the Divine Liturgy (and other worship services). This takes discipline on our part, but it is through discipline we become righteous sons and daughters of our Father (Hebrews 12:4-11). Observing the Divine Liturgy disciplines us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).

It is only by being attentive we will gain understanding (Proverbs 4:1, 20; 5:1; 7:24; 22:17), find God’s direction for us (Exodus 23:20-21), and enjoy His blessing (Deuteronomy 7:12-13; 28:13). Attending to the teachings of the Church both through Scripture (2 Peter 1:19) and Tradition (Hebrews 2:1) keeps us from drifting into heresy. A good Biblical definition of observance, that we should remind ourselves of as we enter a church, is: “Mortal, look closely and listen attentively, and set your mind upon all that I [God] shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you” (Ezekiel 40:4; see also Isaiah 28:23; 34:1).

The Bible is filled with exhortations to not only attend but to also remember. We need to continually be reminded of: who God is, how God has saved us, the miracles which attest to God’s love for us, the commands God taught us, the saints of old who inspire us, and also remember those that need charitable aide or divine intervention. The high point of the Divine Liturgy is when we observe the sacrament of communion, which was commanded by God to be done “in remembrance” of Christ (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25). Orthodox worship services, particularly in its litanies and hymns, are specifically designed to help us remember.

The Need For Growth and Transformation

Some may argue it is easier to lose one’s attention within Orthodox services because they are so repetitive. It is believed contemporary services draw one’s attention better because they change from week to week and are therefore more stimulating. First, it should be noted that Orthodox services are not completely repetitive—the readings, the homilies, and a few of the hymns do change every week. Second, repetition is good for us: it is how we learn. Besides being an assembly by which we give God His due—praise and thanksgiving—Orthodox worship services are also classrooms of instruction about how to rightly believe and behave.

Part of the reason why the worship of the Orthodox Church is so ritualistic is because a lot of information is being condensed within a ninety minute service. You can spend decades going to Divine Liturgies every Sunday and still not plumb all the rich, symbolic depths of meaning found in that ceremony. The Divine Liturgy is unchanging because its formula works to help us grow in knowledge and virtue to become Christ-like—which is the purpose of our lives (Colossians 1:28-29; 2 Peter 3:18). Even if our attentions occasionally wander (which they shouldn’t!), something of the service is still absorbed within our spirit to bless our souls. Repetition is transformational. After a while, the Divine Liturgy becomes more than an ordinance or an observance; it becomes something intimately a part of out lives—like the beating of our hearts (and no one complains when are hearts keep the same life-giving rhythm!).

The contemporary worship services of non-Orthodox churches can be very entertaining. The electronically amplified instruments, the emotional praise choruses, the dramatic preaching, the multimedia presentations, can all make for an enjoyable service. However, watching TV, going to a movie, or being at a music concert can also be pleasurable. Yet how much do we actually remember from these events? How much of it helps us to grow towards maturity in the Faith (Hebrew 5:12-6:1)? We must ask ourselves whether worship was meant by God to be entertaining. Shouldn’t worship be something different than what the world produces? Shouldn’t worship be something that reverences God rather than regales the congregation?

The Need For Costly Worship

“Liturgy” means “work of the people.” God desires that we love Him with all our heart, all our soul, and all our might (Deuteronomy 6:5, emphasis added). Participating in the Divine Liturgy is not a physically comfortable experience: there is standing, kneeling, and prostrations. One doesn’t (or shouldn’t!) just passively watch a performance at an Orthodox church service. The laity is invited to be involved throughout the service in reverencing icons, joining in the singing of the hymns, reciting the Nicene Creed, and adding their hearts or voices to the prayers. It you are not a little tired when the Divine Liturgy is finished then you haven’t fully been worshiping God.

Though worship can be a joyful celebration (Psalm 100:1-2), Scripture makes it clear that God desires worship to also be costly. The first recorded act of worship was the story of Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve, when God accepts Abel’s sacrifice but rejects Cain’s (Genesis 4:3-7). God explained that not just any offering will do, but only the best of what we have to give will receive His approval. The animals sacrificed to God had to be without defect and therefore they were the most valuable of the herd (Leviticus 1:3). The Divine Liturgy was refined over the early centuries to make it the best worship service we can offer to God. It has stayed the same since then because no Orthodox theologian has figured out how to make it any better than St. Chrystostom’s fourth century version.

In summary, Orthodox worship services are ritualistic because: (1) God desires that our services be orderly as a reflection of Himself. (2) Our Lord desires a set pattern of worship to maintain unity and avoid dissension. (3) The services require we discipline ourselves to attend, remember, and participate; so that we might be perfected in the Faith. (4) Worship was meant to be costly—requiring the best that we have to honor God with. “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:28-29).

“It behooves us to do all things in order, which the Lord has commanded us to perform at stated times. He has commanded offerings and service to be performed. And these things are not to be performed thoughtlessly or irregularly, but at the appointed times and hours.” — St. Clement of Rome, 96AD

Source: http://pemptousia.com/2016/11/why-all-the-rituals/

She thanks the Lord not only for joys but also for sorrows. Anna has had more than her fair share of sorrows in the course of her life. Her oldest son Alexander fell prey to drug dependency… Today I talk with this outstanding woman who can honestly be called a warrior for Christ.

Anna, there is a stereotypical perception of drug addicts as children from dysfunctional families. If an individual starts to use illicit drugs, it invariably means that his or her parents “missed out”. Is this the case?

No-no-no! Guilt is the first feeling that a mother runs into, and it’s not quite right! Psychologists unanimously say that you mustn’t regard yourself, and yourself only, guilty of the problem. When I first came to a mutual-aid group, I saw that drug abuse impacts poor and affluent families equally. One’s status or level of education just doesn’t matter! Drugs don’t spare anyone. That is why you can’t say that a child decided to taste the forbidden fruit because he lacked something. I can say even more: this problem may hit a Christian home, too… Every teenager has his wishes and desires. Every teenager wants to achieve something and to stick out of the crowd.

However, I must admit that almost all co-dependent mothers look alike. We forced our children to run from home by terrorizing them with excessive care and total control. You know, when I came to mutual-aid group meetings, I saw my own reflection in other mothers. My life consisted of serving my child almost exclusively: I checked his school bag; I made sure that he returned home from school in time; I’d heat up the cooked meal and fetch it to his room, and then wash his dirty plate. My husband and I did everything on our own and didn’t entrust it to our children. We didn’t even teach them to spend money properly and sensibly.

Can you please tell us what your family lifestyle was like?

You know, it was the worst thing that can happen in a family: the loss of natural hierarchy. I mean, the husband must be the head under all circumstances! His wife must be his handmaid, and children must take up the third place. Nowadays, children are the centre of the world for most families. Even secular therapists notice that. Those who are familiar with Christianity must remember Apostle Paul’s words, I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God (1 Cor. 11:3).

If the atmosphere in your home is healthy, i.e., when the wife obeys her husband, respects and admires him, their children will internalise it. They will be able to avoid an immense lot of problems.

We’ve always had good relationship with my husband but children were the most important still.

I know that Alexander was 20 when you learned about the trouble that he found himself in and started visiting mutual-aid groups for co-dependent relatives. Was it hard to recognise and acknowledge your errors?

It’s always hard to own your errors. For me, the fact that I was intuitively drawn to God was really helpful. I had been to church before but as soon as I heard the horrible news, I made up my mind to change my life thoroughly. You know, I didn’t grudge against God, I mean, I didn’t ask him why it had happened to me. On the contrary, I felt such an urge to lead the life of spirituality, prayer, and church worship that I even wept in church. I was weeping and thanking God for calling me, even if it happened in these conditions… Nevertheless, I became closer to him.

Well, and of course, they explained to us during our meetings in the mutual-aid groups: if you want your children to change, you must change, too. It was difficult because we had always given the best to our sons but now we had to do otherwise! However, our effort yielded positive outcomes. I used to cry and yell at my son when he came home stoned… After I turned to God, I became calmer. I would cross him secretly, and then run to the church and pray because hysteria won’t solve anything, whereas prayer can work wonders.

That was how, step by step, everything started to change. My relationship with my husband changed drastically! It was almost as if we re-discovered one another… Of course, it is very difficult to be a decent wife and mother. It is hard to struggle with your pride and wilfulness. Anyway, you can’t change anything without effort!

Anna, your son served two jail terms for theft. By that time, you had already been a practising Christian. Did you feel upset or disappointed? It appeared as if God had stepped aside and stopped helping you, didn’t it?

Praise the Most High, I never harboured this kind of thoughts. Actually, it was in jail that my son took communion as an adult for the first time (I had taken him and his brother to church as kids, of course). He was serving his second time in jail at that moment. I saw the Mother of God in a dream that night. I saw her image, which covered the entire sky. I woke up and couldn’t figure out the meaning of that dream all morning. I felt that it was somehow related to my son. I couldn’t call him, but he called me during the day. They were allowed to make a phone call once a month. I told him about my dream and asked, “What happened, son?” He replied, “Yes, mum! I went to church and took communion today.”

I sent him letters with paper icons. I even sent him a photo of Father Andrew Lemeshonok and told him about the remarkable priest that we have in the Convent. My son later went to the Convent to talk with him.

You see, God was as close to us as always. Or maybe even closer than usual…

You were the first member of your family who became a practising Christian. How did your family react?

They were sceptical and scornful at first. Later, they got used to it, and then God’s grace touched their hearts, too. For instance, when I invited a priest to consecrate our flat, my older son wasn’t home. We told the priest about our tragedy, and he said that the son would feel better after the consecration. Indeed, we did not quarrel any longer. Our house became a peaceful place. I told Sasha about it later, and he responded, “Mum, you won’t believe me but when I came home on that day, I could clearly feel the new atmosphere of peace and grace!”

Generally speaking, spiritual effort is never in vain. During one of our meetings, a woman shared that while she was kneeling in front of an icon and praying, her son, who suffered from drug addiction, entered the room and asked angrily, “Are you praying again?!” She said that she was scared by that alien, non-human voice of his. It was full of hatred.

Anna, your son doesn’t do drugs for a year now but you continue to attend mutual-aid groups. Why do you feel that it’s necessary?

I see that I’m still co-dependent. Although Sasha is 29 already, I sometimes go too far with my micromanagement of his affairs, and he has to stop me. You just can’t imagine how terrible this illness is! There was a time when I was brought to the point of spending all nights walking around the neighbourhood looking for him. It was absolutely useless… I was wasting all the energy that I could have used to pray and create a warm atmosphere at home on anxiety and panic.

Dear mums, if you read this and these words sound familiar, this is my advice to you: start by changing yourselves until it’s too late! You can change a lot! May the Lord help us all!

Interview by Natallia Klimova

September 5, 2018

St. Elisabeth Convent

The Orthodox calendar is rich for mysteries. There are apparently simple and even trivial things, we do not even think about. For example, we can mention the date of the beginning of the new year. Any reasonable person of the modern world, if only they are not the stickers of an exotic tradition, will say that the date is January 1. It seems natural since we count months beginning from January. Here is also the winter solstice, after which days become longer. What is more, the feast of the Nativity of Christ is celebrated on December 25, and we can state that when the Word became flesh, God was born into this world, it became the moment from which we could count our time.

However, the Orthodox Church considers September 1 as the first day of the year. Why so? There are several answers to this question but most of them are connected with the number 7, one way or another, while September is the 7^th month if counting from March. The thing is that March was the first month of the biblical year for ancient Hebrews.

The number 7 is symbolic for biblical consciousness. According to the biblical story, “on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Genesis 2:2-3). So, for people living in the world of the Bible, the number 7 and the 7^th month are some kind of wholeness, like something completed, after which the cycle begins again.

However, Christian theology is not limited to the number 7 only. It comes out of the cycle, since the Christian perception of time is lineal and eschatological. It is lineal because the human history began at the certain moment of time and will come to its end once – at least, to its end in a usual earthly sense. With the Coming of Christ, the old world will end and the time will come in which there will be no time at all: “Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28). Living in the world of Sabbath, Christians know and can experience the 8^th day in the Eucharist – the day of a new Aeon, the day when death is defeated, the day when the Kingdom of Heaven penetrated to this world. The kingdom is already among us, and this is why we can await for this Kingdom, because we have already partaken of It, we have already become a part of It since we are the people of God and gather at Christ’s Supper in His Kingdom (ref. Luke 22:30). Each week has 7 days, and after the 7^th day, the 8^th day comes, which seems to fall out of the week; every year and every feast of Pascha tell us about what is the only thing important for us – the Kingdom of Heaven.

The feast of the Church New Year testifies that the era of the new and old world is coming to its end. As Jesus Christ says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19). Thus, let us all follow the calling of St. Apostle Paul: “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

By John Nichiporuk,

a Bachelor of Theology, a student of

the Minsk Theological Academy .

The Catalog Of Good Deeds, 2018

The Orthodox Church in the United States has problems. One of the problems the Orthodox Church currently suffers in this country is a lack of converts. There are other problems as well: overlapping jurisdictions, lack of communication across jurisdictional lines, and a tendency to isolate ourselves from communities in which we live. But it is our lack of converts that strikes me as particularly troubling.

Doubtlessly, some will correct me and remind me that the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of America and the Orthodox Church in America are made up largely of converts. While this is certainly the case, it may be so only from a numbers perspective (though, together, they comprise less than 20% of Orthodox in America). “But how else can we measure a shortage or a surplus of converts except in terms of numbers?” some may ask.

First, let’s examine what is meant by convert. Most of us would say that a convert is a person who was not raised in the Orthodox Faith but later chose to embrace it. By this definition, I am a convert. I was raised in the Episcopal Church up to the age of 13, when my parents moved us to the Roman Catholic Church. I was 23 when I embraced Orthodox Christianity.

However, there are some who would not consider my conversion a conversion at all. “You just switched church buildings,” they say. “All the Orthodox Church did was steal a sheep from the Church of Rome.” There may indeed be some substance to this charge. On the one hand, it might be true if all churches are simply different articulations of the same message—different branches of one tree. On the other hand, it might be true if there are substantial—even fundamental—differences between the churches, but I had not fully embraced the teaching of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

We can safely dismiss the first possibility. The differences between the various churches are simply too wide and too deep to traverse for anyone who understands such differences to be able to consider all churches “basically the same.” The modern ecumenical movement, despite nearly a century of work, has failed to reverse the fragmentation of the Protestant world, just as it has failed to reunite the Church of Rome with the Orthodox Church. It is, therefore, the second possibility that may give credibility to the charge of “sheep stealing” as opposed to genuine conversion. If I have not fully embraced the paradigm of the Orthodox Church, believing all that the Church preaches about God and man’s proper response to God, then I am no convert.

Consider the recent case of Matthew Heimbach. A now prominent figure among American white nationalists and most recently an organizer for the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, he expressed an interest in Orthodox Christianity a few years back. He was received into the Orthodox Church in a parish of the Antiochian Archdiocese in 2014. Having learned of his racist background after his reception into the Church, his parish priest, Fr. Peter Jon Gillquist, with the support of his bishop, insisted that Heimbach publicly renounce “violence, hate speech, and the heresy of Phyletism.”

Ultimately, Heimbach did not comply and was excommunicated from the Orthodox Church, although he currently seeks communion in non-canonical groups. It is clear that he was intrigued on some level by one or more aspects of the Orthodox Church, but he found it impossible to embrace the teaching and lived experience of the Church, which urges the faithful to love their neighbors as themselves (Mk. 12:31). He was willing to accept the Orthodox Church only insofar as he was able to cram it through his white nationalist framework, which he prized above all else. Whether or not Matthew Heimbach was a “stolen sheep” is debatable. Whether or not he was actually a convert to Orthodox Christianity is not.

When we step back from this one sad story of a failure to convert and look at the Church in our country, we begin to see that the failure to convert is actually fairly common for many Orthodox Christians who remain in the Church’s communion. But when we look to see who has not fully embraced the teaching and preaching of the Church, it not just those who have come to the Church from outside but also those who were born and raised in the Church. It is not uncommon for self-professed Orthodox Christians to vocally support abortion and gay marriage.

Indeed, some of these people call upon the Orthodox Church to alter her teaching on such matters, even though the Church has clearly and unambiguously proclaimed her position. They are sorely displeased that the Church is not as “enlightened” as they are, when it is they who cling to paradigms incompatible with the Gospel, which they doubtlessly value more than the Gospel. Some of them eventually leave, and some of them stay. All of them are only too happy to tell us how the Church is wrong.

The leap to Orthodox Christianity from wherever we have been is difficult, to say the very least, even if it is a leap from within the Church. After all, there is a good reason why we think and act the way we do. Right? But the call to discipleship comes with an all-encompassing price: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matt. 16:24).

It is not that only some of us have a hard time denying ourselves, setting aside what we personally think is best and trusting in Christ. All of us do. Who is the true convert? It is the person who turns away from himself or herself and turns to Christ endlessly.

The Church does not ask us to abandon reason or decency, nor does she ask us to blindly follow her leaders. On the contrary, the Church asks us to carefully consider what we mean by “reason” and “decency” and measure them by the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Church calls us to follow her leaders with our eyes open to the commandments of Christ. The Church is the Bride of Christ calling us to a life of faithfulness to the Bridegroom. A life which faithfully reflects the light of Christ—such is the life of the convert.

By Fr. Photius Avant

Source: https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/orthodoxyandheterodoxy/2017/09/21/orthodoxy-america-convert-problem/

Growing up I was blessed to have many mentors and guides in the Faith. One of my role models was, and continues to be, my grandmother Nikonia, whose life helped shape my commitment to Christ.

I would often stay at my grandmother’s house for weeks at a time during summer vacation. She would take me to church services on Sunday. On weekdays she would rise early, offer her daily prayers, and cense the house. Since I slept in the room with the icon corner, my grandmother would unintentionally wake me from a deep sleep during censing. One day I asked her why she was praying since it was not Sunday. She responded lovingly, “God blesses us seven days a week. Should we not do the same?” I learned at that moment about the importance of daily prayer. In the twenty-four hours God gives each day, certainly we can find a portion of that time to share with God our praise, our problems, our thanks, our love.

My grandmother was very active in her church, participating in choir, Philoptochos, festivals, and other activities, but she made the greatest impression on me when she took me to the hospital to visit people. Being a patient can be lonely, frightening, and painful. The comfort of a friendly visit is usually appreciated. My grandmother and I would visit people she knew, and then she would take the extra step. She would peek into other hospital rooms to see if someone else might benefit from a warm conversation. This spoke volumes about my grandmother’s gifts of compassion, conversation, and concern for others. She modeled for me the importance of using the gifts that God has given us to serve our parish and the community at large.

My grandparents raised their three children during the Depression years of the 1930s. Many people suffered terrible financial hardships during that era. It was a common practice for my grandmother to prepare a plate of food—not the leftovers, but the first fruits—and bring it to those who struggled to support their families. During my childhood, my grandmother continued this practice by preparing covered dishes to deliver to her neighbors in need.

I share these reflections not for sentimental reasons but to highlight how one person, one witness, made a permanent impression on me about Jesus Christ. Faith must be modeled by people we love and trust. Once we see that example in others, we will be inspired to follow suit.

Who are the people that brought you to Christ? What values did they model for you?

By Fr. Alexander Goussetis,
the director of the Center for Family Care

Source: https://blogs.goarch.org/blog/-/blogs/who-brought-you-to-christ-

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