The Catalog of Good Deeds

“So, you’re Christian…What type of Christian are you?” I overheard the conversation of some high-school-aged people sitting next to me.

“Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Catholic?” he questioned the girl sitting next to him.

“I’m not really anything. I’m just Christian,” she answered back.

He forgot to mention “Orthodox Christian,” I thought to myself. Did he know about Orthodox Christianity? I didn’t feel like speaking up or barging into the conversation. But something kept tugging at me. I will admit, at that moment, I didn’t want to be the voice for Orthodoxy. I just wanted to be in the background.

But I said it anyway.

“You know, there’s also Orthodox Christian.”

“Oh yeah. That’s right. I’ve heard about them,” he said. “It’s like Catholic, right?”

“It’s more traditional, like Catholic. But it’s the original Christian church, the one all the other Christian churches came out of.”

“Oh, that’s cool.”

“I’m actually Orthodox Christian,” I said.

This was totally out of my comfort zone, but I felt the need to plant a seed. Not in a know-it-all, holier-than-thou way, but as a laid-back invitation. My hope was that someone would think, “Hmmm…I’ve heard about the Orthodox church. What is that all about anyway?”

And who knows? Maybe one month down the road, maybe ten years later, they might walk into an Orthodox church and experience it for the first time. And maybe, they might choose to stay.

It drives me nuts how much misinformation is out there about Orthodoxy. I can’t even count how many times I’ve been asked:

“Do I have to be Greek to go to your church?”

Of course, I always say, “No,” and I explain the roots of the church and the Greek influence.

A few months ago, I took my children to an ice cream shop. Noticing that they were playing Christian music, I commented to the teenagers who rang up my order.

“I like that you guys are playing Christian music. You don’t see that very often.”

“Oh yeah. The owners are Christian,” the young woman behind the register said. “Do you guys go to

church around here?”

“Yes, we do,” I said, and told her we attended an Orthodox Christian church.

“Orthodox Christian? I’ve never heard of that,” she said.

“It’s basically the early Christian church, way back from the times of the Apostles,” I said.

“Oh. That’s interesting. The early church. Cool.”

It’s so crazy to think that so many people still don’t know about Orthodoxy, or they think it’s only a church for certain ethnic groups.

The way I see it, it takes each Orthodox Christian going out there into the world and living their lives as examples, sharing the treasure of our faith. If we do our best to be loving, caring Orthodox Christians, contributing to our communities, people will start to put a face to the words “Orthodox Christianity.” They will begin to see it as real, not ancient buried history. And for those who have had bad experiences with Orthodoxy, or are ignorant, maybe we can be the change that softens their heart.

What are you doing to put a face to your Orthodox Christianity? Go out there and plant the seeds!

By Christina Pessemier in The Sounding Blog

Source: http://myocn.net/you-are-the-face-of-orthodox-christianity/

"The feast day of this great apostle and evangelist is celebrated on September 26. This day (May 8) commemorates the miracle which appeared at his grave. When John was over one hundred years old, he took seven of his disciples, went outside the town of Ephesus and ordered them to dig a grave in the form of a cross. After that, the elder went down into this grave and was buried. Later on, when the faithful opened John's grave, they did not find his body. On May 8 of every year, dust [also called 'manna'] is raised from his grave from which the sick are healed of various diseases."

St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Each year, for about a thousand years, from the grave of the holy Apostle John on May 8th, there came forth a fine ash-dust, which believers called "manna", and gathered it up after an All-Night Vigil and were healed of sicknesses by it. Therefore the Church celebrates the memory of the Apostle John the Theologian still on May 8 to commemorate this annual miracle, even though his main feast is on September 26.

Many pilgrims of medieval times made note of this extraordinary annual miracle. Both Augustine and Gregory of Tours make reference to it. Anglo-Saxon Willibald, later a bishop and a saint, visited Ephesus in 724 and marveled at the miracle of the manna that bubbled from the tomb of the Apostle. Symeon Metaphrastes in the tenth century writes of the festival on May 8th being of such great magnitude that it seemed there were more people in attendance to take part in the miracle and receive a portion of its distribution than there were stars in the sky. For the unhappy Metropolitan George Tornikes (1155–56), the tomb with its inexhaustible dust was his sole consolation for having to live in what he considered a barbarous place with a dilapidated church.

Abbot Daniel, a Russian pilgrim of the early 12th century, visited the Basilica of St. John that was built over his tomb, and described the feast celebrated on May 8th as well as the shrines and relics surrounding the area:

"It is 60 versts from the isle of Chios to Ephesus; and at this latter place is seen the tomb of St. John the Evangelist. On the anniversary of his death, holy dust rises from this tomb, which believers gather as a remedy against every kind of disease; the garment which John wore is also here. Quite near is the cave in which rest the bodies of the Seven Sleepers who slept for 360 years, having fallen asleep in the reign of the Emperor Decius, and awakened in the time of the Emperor Theodosius. In this same cavern are the (remains of the) three hundred Holy Fathers and of St. Alexander; the tomb of Mary Magdalene is also here, as well as her head; and the holy Apostle Timothy, the disciple of St. Paul, reposes in his ancient coffin. In the old church the picture of the Holy Virgin is preserved; it was with this that the holy (fathers) refuted the heretic Nestorius. Here, too, one sees the Bath of Dioscorides, where St. John the Evangelist labored with Prochorus in the house of Romana. We saw, also, the harbor, named the 'Marble Port', where St. John the Evangelist was cast up by the sea."

According to one author, the most elaborate description of the miracle dates to 1304 by Catalan Muntaner who arrived in a mercenary force:

"On Saint Stephen’s day, every year, at the hour of Vespers, it comes out of the tomb (which is four-cornered and stands at the foot of the altar and has a beautiful marble slab on the top, full twelve palms long and five broad), and in the middle of the slab there are nine very small holes, and out of these holes, as Vespers are being sung on St. Stephen’s day, (on which day the Vespers are of St. John), manna like sand comes out of each hole and rises a full palm high from the slab, as a jet of water rises up. And this manna issues out . . . and it lasts all night and then all Saint John’s day until sunset. There is so much of this manna, by the time the sun has set and it has ceased to issue out, that, altogether, there are of it full three cuarteras of Barcelona [about 120 quarts]. And this manna is marvelously good for many things; for instance he who drinks it when he feels fever coming on will never have fever again. Also, if a lady is in travail and cannot bring forth, if she drinks it with water or with wine, she will be delivered at once. And again, if there is a storm at sea and some of the manna is thrown in the sea three times in the name of the Holy Trinity and Our Lady Saint Mary and the Blessed Saint John the Evangelist, at once the storm ceases. And again, he who suffers from gall stones, and drinks it in the said names, recovers at once. And some of this manna is given to all pilgrims who come there; but it only appears once a year."

Regarding the Basilica of St. John the Theologian built by the Emperor Justinian, originally it had been in a cruciform shape with six massive domes. More recently they have uncovered a baptistry and and a small chapel to the side. The tomb of the Apostle is today exposed to the elements, but originally it was located under the main central dome of the church. Unfortunately three relics which were still in the church during Ottoman times are now lost to us - a piece of the True Cross worn by the Apostle John around his neck, a garment of the Apostle made by the Theotokos, and most significantly for biblical scholarship today was the original manuscript of the Apocalypse (Book of Revelation) which was authored by this apostle. Today the Basilica is in ruins.

Source: johnsanidopoulos.com/2010/05/manna-of-saint-john-theologian.html

Question: What are we to make of passages of Scripture in the Old Testament in which God commanded the Israelites to slaughter entire cities or tribes, including the women and children? How do we square such a vengeful God with the merciful God we find in the New Testament?

Answer: This is a question that is often raised by atheists to attack the Christian Faith, but it is also raised by sincere laymen who are unsure of how we should understand these passages. To answer the question requires that we consider several issues, and not look at the question in a superficial way.

What is interesting is that people do not generally raise moral objections to the flood in the days of Noah, even though every man, woman, and child, except Noah's family, was drowned. Nor do they raise moral objections to the fact that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even though women and children were no doubt killed. And no one raises moral objections when the Scriptures talk about God sending other nations to destroy the Israelites, even though men, women, and children were killed as a result.

The problem we have with God telling the Israelites to kill women and children is that we live in a rationalistic age, and people are not so sure God really talked to people like Joshua. Also, we don't want folks to go around killing people because they claim God told them to do it. But if God could wipe out a city with fire and brimstone, there's no reason why He couldn't do it via the Israelites if that was indeed His choice. And so if He did indeed tell the Israelites to utterly destroy a city, He had the sovereign right to do so, and the people of Israel, who had seen so many miracles worked by God had every reason to believe that God was speaking to them through, Joshua, and later through their Judges. The Church has not taken this as a precedence, but has seen it as something of literal application only to that specific time and place. The applications we can make from these passages today would be primarily of an allegorical nature, from a patristic perspective.

Another thing that we should keep in mind is that, if you really believe in God and in the afterlife, death is not the worst fate that could befall someone. Far worse than physical death is spiritual death, and it was for the salvation of future generations that these things were commanded. Death is a punishment for sin, but it is also a mercy in that it puts limits on the evil men may do, and also gives them cause to repent and turn to God. God sometimes allows people to die young in order that they might be spared worse things that would come their way. For example, the wicked king Jeroboam’s son was allowed to die at a very early age, “because in him there is found something good toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam,” and so of the house of Jeroboam, only this child died in peace, and was properly buried. And no doubt, in his early death he was also spared the evil influence of his family (1 Kings 14:13).

God judges nations in history. Nations do not have an afterlife in which they can receive punishment or reward. God dispenses His justice upon nations in history, and so this justice by its very nature is dispensed collectively. If a nation is wicked, it will suffer the fruits of that wickedness, and unfortunately that means even the youngest children in that nation reap the bitter harvest sown by their parents. Our culture is very individualistic, but in Scripture, we find a view of the human race that sees us as having a corporate personality as well as being individuals. We are ultimately judged as individuals in eternity, but in this life we are not just individuals... we are part of families, tribes, and nations. If our forefathers make wise decisions, we reap benefits that are not due to our individual choices or merit. If our forefathers make wicked decisions, we also reap what they have sown. This is why you find people in Scripture not only repenting of their own sins, but of those of their forefathers. Of course if we come from a line of unbelievers, we can make the decision to embrace the Gospel and change the future for our descendants for the better. Is it “fair” that a child who is born in a Christian home hears the Gospel, and is more likely to grow up as a Christian than a child born to an unbeliever? Is it fair that a child born to a drug addict will grow up facing challenges that other children do not? If you look at this with a purely individualistic mindset, it might seem unfair, but the Biblical worldview is that we are not islands unto ourselves. We are not just souls who had the misfortune or fortune to be born to a particular set of parents, but we are their offspring, and are connected to them on a deeper level. Adam and Eve’s choice to sin has affected all of their offspring – we were not consulted before they made their decision, and yet we have suffered the effects of their decision. However we have been given the option of placing ourselves under a new head, and aligning ourselves with a new Adam – Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:20-49), and so we can change the future for our offspring for the better, though they have not been consulted either.

The other thing that has to be kept in mind is that the level of civilization at the time, made things like internment camps impossible. If the Israelites were going to spare the children, they would have had to have spared the mothers, and unless they were going to marry the mothers or keep them as slaves, they would have needed to spare the men also. But the Canaanites were an incredibly evil people who engaged in ritual prostitution and child sacrifice, and so leaving Canaanite culture in their midst would prove to be a snare to the Israelites, who were like children spiritually, and more likely to be influenced by the Canaanites than to be able to convert them to a better way of living and thinking. It was God’s intention that the Canaanite culture be wiped out, and that could not be accomplished if the adults of the Canaanites were spared. Even the pagan Romans were shocked by the evils of the Carthaginian culture, which was Phoenician colony, that shared the same religion as that of the Canaanites – which is why their battle cry was "Carthago delenda est!" (Carthage must be destroyed!).

But the fact is, the Israelites did not obey God. They did not kill all the Canaanites, and in fact the Canaanites and their culture were a thorn in their side that continually led them astray up until the time that God finally sent the Babylonians to destroy Jerusalem, and to take the people into exile. When Israelite farmers had Canaanites telling them that if they wanted their crops to grow, they had to make Baal happy, they repeatedly gave in to the temptation to cover all the bases, and engage in the ritual prostitution and child sacrifice that the Canaanites believed were the only sure way to ensure good harvests. As it says in Psalm 105 (106):34-39: "They did not destroy the heathen, concerning which the Lord had spoken to them. They mingled among the nations and learned their works; and they served their graven things, and it became for them a stumbling-block. And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto demons. And they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the graven things of Canaan. And the land was befouled with the blood of murder, and it was defiled with their works; and they went a whoring with their own inventions."

It was only after this experience of the exile that the Jews matured spiritually enough that they would never again be tempted into idolatry by their neighbors, though they often lived in a diaspora, in which they were a small minority surrounded by a pagan majority. Having the fullness of Gospel, we are better able to resist the temptations that come with being surrounded by evil people, and in fact, we are called to bring the Gospel to those wicked people, and to change the spiritual climate by the power of the Gospel, and not by the sword, as before, in the Old Testament.

What is perhaps most ironic about this issue is that the atheists that point to these passages to argue against Christianity are appealing to a Christian sense of morality, love, and mercy, in order to be outraged. But the fact is, as Dostoyevsky pointed out, if there is no God, all things are lawful. If there is no God, the slaughter of innocent children is of no more moral significance than when a colony of ants is washed away in a flood. There is no moral standard that one can appeal to. There is only power, and those who have the will to use it. And in fact, if you want to see the worst and most monstrous examples of the brutal slaughter of innocents by the millions, no one has surpassed brutality of militant atheism in the Soviet Union, Communist China, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, etc.

The only moral standard that can have any real meaning is one based on what God has revealed. God has revealed the most excellent way of the Gospel to us, and that is the standard we live by now. God, who is the giver of life, does not have to answer to us when He chooses to take it. We know that He is Love, and we know that He is Holy. We know that He always seeks the salvation of men, but we also know that He punishes the wicked, and places limits on their wickedness by His judgments, and that “the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether” (Psalm 18(19):9).

None of this means that we should read these accounts and feel no sense of grief over what happened. In fact, we have an entire book of the Bible that is called "Lamentations", and it was written by the Prophet Jeremiah, who prophesied that the judgment of God would fall on the Kingdom of Judah, and he lived to see it come to pass. And this book is a lament over the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophesy, because the people did not listen before it was too late. Obviously, he knew that the judgment of God was just, but he nevertheless wrote:

"Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!" (Jeremiah 9:1).

"My eyes fail with tears, my heart is troubled; my bile is poured on the ground because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because the children and the infants faint in the streets of the city" (Lamentations 2:11).

"The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword; Thou hast slain them in the day of Thine anger; Thou hast killed, and not pitied" (Lamentations 2:21).

But even in the midst of the Prophet Jeremiah's lament over the destruction of his people, he also confesses:

"But though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. For He doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men" (Lamentations 3:32-33).

We should grieve over such destruction, but we should grieve for the right reason – not because God wished to destroy the Canaanites for some arbitrary reason, and that this was unjust of Him; but rather because sin and rebellion against God inevitably lead to such horrible ends as this.

It should also be pointed out that one finds a great deal of God's mercy revealed in the Old Testament, and one finds a great deal of God's wrath revealed in the New Testament. There was a heresy in the early Church called "Marcionism" and this heresy taught that the God of the Old Testament was not the same as the God of the New Testament, and so Marcion, the heresy's founder, rejected all of the Old Testament, but also much of the New Testament – he only accepted the Gospel of Luke and 10 of St. Paul's epistles, but he also edited those books he did accept in order to come up with a version of Scripture that matched his views. But the Church decisively condemned Marcionism as a heresy, and so the God of the Old Testament is the same God that we find in the New. He find God more fully revealed in the New Testament, but rejecting what we find in the Old is heretical.

Finally, it is a tempting approach to this problem to simply say “Those Israelites were primitive people, and God wouldn’t have really said those things.” However, if you say that about the passages in which God commanded the Israelites to kill all of the Canaanites, there is no reason why someone else could not come along and apply the same logic to the question of sodomy, for example, and say “Those Israelites were primitive people, and God wouldn’t have really said those things.” In fact, once you go down that road, there’s no reason why you couldn’t dismiss just about anything in Scripture that you may happen to not like. However, if we believe, as the Church always has, that the Scriptures are fully inspired, this solution to this question is unacceptable.

Source: http://fatherjohn.blogspot.com.by/2013/06/stump-priest-what-about-violence-in-old.html

Most of what has been written about St. Patriarch Tikhon since his repose on the Feast of Annunciation in 1925, has centered on the short years of his patriarchate. Although this coincided with the most complex and difficult time in all of Russian Church history, all who take up the pen in his regard agree that he was the "right" man, chosen by God, for that critical hour.

The Saint's English language biographer Jane Swan, has written: "It is difficult to assess the greatness of Tikhon....His spiritual growth was far beyond that of the ordinary mortal." This finds agreement with the opinion of the Saint's contemporary, Prof. Pavel Zaichenko: "in speaking about Bishop Tikhon, I am seized with reverent trepidation This was a giant among Russian Orthodox hierarchs; he was truly worthy of the honor and respect of the entire Christian world.'

The key to St. Tikhon's greatness lies in his personality, his character. Prof. Zaichenko recalls: "By nature Bishop Tikhon was kind, responsive and unusually sensitive. In his character he was quiet, merciful, good-natured and always tried to preserve in himself serenity, a serenity which he transmitted to the souls of all those around him." Elsewhere it has been said that "he had a strong sense of duty and responsibility...moreover, he was possessed of an iron like self-possession and circumspection''

These were the qualities on which he built his fruitful activity as a missionary hierarch in North America. It was during these seven years, in the crucible of a pluralistic spiritual wilderness, that he refined and honed his insights into human nature and arch-pastorship. This period of Patriarch Tikhon's life and personal development has received little attention. Yet, his "years in America were not only extremely productive, as far as successful administration of his diocese was concerned, but for Tikhon personally, they were years of useful experience which served him well later on. Later in life, he mentioned the fact that his American sojourn not only widened his ecclesiastical horizon but also his political outlook...[since he] was thrust into a completely new environment including freedom of religion, no censorship, [and] the hurrying business-like American bustle...''

Indeed, his experience on this continent contributed no small measure towards the rational and balanced way he had of thinking, and of dealing with events that would have overwhelmed a lesser man. At the same time, it was precisely during his American sojourn--an elementary stage in American Orthodoxy - that a whole "tone" was set, and a direction given, to the Faith on this continent.

It was on September 14, 1898 that St. Tikhon was appointed Bishop of the Aleutian Islands and Alaska, with his cathedral in San Francisco. In 1901 the future Patriarch blessed the cornerstone for the new cathedral of St. Nicholas in New York. On the occasion of its consecration a year later, the future Patriarch expressed a feeling that became very familiar to the Orthodox in the following decades:

"The present day," he said, "is as joyous for us as was the day for Israel when, in the reign of Solomon, the temple of the Lord was erected in place of the tabernacle. Truly enough, until now in New York we had but a tabernacle. Like the tabernacle carted from one town to another, our Church also moved from one place to another. And like David, being sorry that he dwelt in a house of cedar while the ark of God dwelt within curtains, we also many a time were sorry that our church was small, poor, and uncomfortable. Today we put an end to regrets of this kind: the Lord took notice of our heartfelt longings that in this great city there should be erected a church answering to the greatness of the Orthodox Faith.''

As a true Christian missionary, however, it was not the building of temples that concerned Saint Tikhon primarily, but the building up of the Faith in temples not made with hands--human souls. To this end he made frequent tours of his vast diocese--Alaska, the U.S. and Canada, undaunted by the physical hardships which traveling often presented. Details have been preserved by those who shared in these trips.

“On May 6, 1900, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, His Eminence Tikhon set sail for Alaska on the ship of the Northern Commercial Company, "Homer". This time His Eminence wished to visit the Kuskokvimsk Mission, established by Bishop Nicholas. Inasmuch as the sole means of communication with this mission is by dogsled, Vladika is now faced with the difficulty of traversing on foot the marshy tundra; in especially difficult places he must trust himself to the porters' skill. The lack of any means of contact with this mission in summer hindered previous hierarchs from visiting this corner of the diocese”

Priest Ioann Orlov wrote this in his diary:

"...In 1905 God deigned that I should accompany Bishop Tikhon, and Priest James Korchinsky on a trip from the Russian Mission on the Yukon, through portages along the tundra, through lakes and rivers, along the Kuskokva, to my St Paul Mission... The weather was clear, still, sunny. The entire trip we were tormented by myriads of mosquitoes. When we 'broke camp for the night, we all, together with Vladika, gathered dry branches for a fire. Along the way we managed to shoot some wild ducks or geese. Vladika helped me to pluck the feathers. I was both hunter and cook for our company. When it came time to go through the forest. Vladika sent me on ahead with a gun, in case we should be met by a bear or other wild animal.

As an arch-pastor, Saint Tikhon encouraged the development of a missionary attitude not only among his clergy but also among the laity, in a sermon on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, 1903, he exhorted his flock from the ambo of the Cathedral Church of San Francisco:

"Holding: to the Orthodox Faith as to something holy, longing it with all their hearts and prizing it above all, Orthodox people ought...to endeavor to spread it among people of other creeds. Christ the Saviour has said that neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house (Matt. 5:15) The light of Orthodoxy was not lit to shine only on a small number of men. The Orthodox Church is universal; it remembers the words of its Founder: Go ye unto all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15) ..We ought to share our spiritual wealth, our truth, light, and joy with others who are deprived of these blessings, but often are seeking them and thirsting for them...

"But who is to work for the spread of the Orthodox Faith for the increase of the children of the Orthodox Church? Pastors and missionaries, you answer. You are right; but are they to be alone? St. Paul wisely compares the Church of Christ to a body, and the life of a body is shared by all the members. So it ought to be in the life of the Church also...The spread of Christ's faith ought to be near and precious to the heart of every. Christian In this work every member of the Church ought to take a lively and heartfelt interest...''

The respect and affection of the faithful was made clear when, in that same year, Bishop Tikhon returned to Russia for what was intended to be a brief visit:

"In him said a writer at the time, "we had a Guardian Angel, protecting and encouraging us in the darkest moments when the ignorance of the people whom we were called upon to save, and the continuous intrigues of the enemies of Orthodoxy contrived to dash our brightest hopes and to frustrate our efforts--,' was such a comfort to know that in difficult moments our leader was with us''.

While in Russia, St. Tikhon was appointed to the Holy Synod, necessitating a longer stay. His American flock sent congratulations, but added: “We pray that this great joy be not followed for us by sorrow; that our greetings on this occasion do not turn into farewell from the American Diocese to our beloved Shepherd, but that we shall see you soon, rested and invigorated for the continuation of the preaching of he Gospel of Christ here".

Eventually Bishop Tikhon was able to return to San Francisco , "having gathered physical strength through contact with Russian earth," as he wrote, 'and not only in a physical sense, but above all in a spiritual one. In the spring of 1905 he was elevated, at the young age of 40, to the rank of Archbishop. At the same time the Saint had petitioned the Holy Synod to transfer his cathedral city to New York. Upon receipt of the imperial consent, the transfer of administrative offices from San Francisco was made. It was while traveling east that the new Archbishop stopped in Denver, Colorado, to receive into the Orthodox fold a former Uniate parish-which was but part of a widespread movement of many Uniate groups back to Orthodoxy under the vigorous leadership of St. Tikhon, working with the energetic Priest, Alexey Toth.

In his first sermon back in New York Archbishop Tikhon said:

"To the gifts already received by your church from the Heavenly King and from the earthly Tsar, in recent days there was added the gift of the transferred Diocesan Cathedral into your city and into your church. This is given to you according to your ability. Your city is the second in the world and the first in this country. All the nations are represented here. And how many churches of different traditions are found here! Why not also have the representation of the true Orthodox Church?.,.But.,you should take care that this gift is not wasted, or buried, but that it bring profit to your church life and to yourselves". This was a theme the Saint sounded repeatedly in America.

Within two months Archbishop Tikhon left the metropolis, braving blizzards and snow drifts so that he could consecrate a new church in what remained of America's "wild west'--Montana. The number of his parishes had grown from 15 to 70--all of them self-supporting--and there were also two seminaries, one in Minnesota and the other in Pennsylvania. (St. Tikhon's, in South Canaan, still functions as both a monastery and seminary.) The Archbishop particularly wanted to train American clergy so that his parishes would no longer be dependent upon Russia for priests. Through his efforts a seminary was also founded in Alaska. There, too, he was active in opening a school for women, with an affiliated orphanage.

Too soon came sad news for the American flock. In February of 1907 a decree signed by the Emperor arrived, appointing the Saint to the Sees of Yaroslavl and Rostov in Russia, In his farewell communication to his American flock, Archbishop Tikhon expressed a concern for the Church in America that is still valid today:

"How can we help fearing for our small flock? How easily the candle can be extinguished by the wind coming through the open window. How easily can an oarsman in a frail boat be overturned by the sea-waves. Here we cannot boast of great numbers, neither of renown, nor of wealth, nor of learning--all that is valued in this world. We are strong here only in one thing- in possessing the True Orthodox Faith, and that not of yourselves; it is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8'), and we should ask the Lord for the increase of this gift. Let them stand fast in Thy Holy Church in the Orthodox Faith…”

Soon Archbishop Tikhon was back in his homeland, where events of cataclysmic proportions were about to erupt, and where his Golgotha-and his glory-awaited him. But in America his voice continued to echo with a missionary fervor the Church most still heed today.

“…Do not lose the chance of helping the cause of the conversion of your neighbors to Christ, because by so doing, in the words of St. James, you shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins (James 5:20).

“Orthodox people!.., you must devote yourselves to the Orthodox Faith not in word or tongue only, but in deed and in truth”.

O Holy Patriarch Tikhon, pray to God for us!

An article by Fr. Alexey Young

Source: http://www.roca.org/OA/90/90g.htm

The Responsibilities of the Godparent only begin at baptism, the role really expands and hopefully blossoms as the Godparent and Godchild develop a close and loving relationship. As with any relationship, this spiritual one needs to be fostered and cared for in order for it to develop. The best way for this relationship to grow is through prayer. Pray for your Godchild and his or her parents, and the parents should encourage their child to pray for the Godparents. By doing this you are encouraging a relationship and giving it the spiritual basis on which to mature.

Here are some practical ideas offered by the Orthodox Church In America website and Fr. Timothy Sawchak of SS. Peter & Paul Orthodox Church in Lakewood, Ohio:

1) Celebrate the anniversary of the baptism with a card or a telephone call. Along with learning about the child's patron saint, learn about the saint whose feast day is celebrated on the date of his or her baptism and share the story of that saint's life with your Godchild.

2) Model your faith through your actions. Understand the sacraments as well as the teachings of the church so that you will be able to answer questions that your Godchild may have.

3) Encourage the faith life through the types of gifts that you give your Godchild. Some examples of gifts are a bible, prayer book, books on the lives of saints, prayer rope, etc. By doing this you are giving tools to help your Godchild grow in the faith, and are helping him/her to start a personal library of Orthodox teachings.

4) If you live in close proximity to your Godchild make yourself available to spend time with him or her. Find out when school activities and sports events are scheduled and try to go to a few. Plan a special time, whether for lunch or a trip to the zoo, to be with your Godchild. These times together will only help to make your relationship closer.

5) If you live far away, call, write, or e-mail your Godchild. Send a letter at the beginning of a church season (Advent, Lent, etc.) to let him or her know that you will be praying for him. If possible, plan visits to see your Godchild.

6) From the moment of Baptism, your Godchild deserves a very special place in your prayers, for on the day of judgment you will be asked about your Godchild's soul.2

7) A faithful Godparent will be a friend in Christ and maintain close contact with his Godchild. The focus at all times is to progress the child in the knowledge and practice of the Orthodox Faith. He should at all times model a Christ-like example. The relationship between the Godparent and the baptized is so important and so close that the Church forbids marriage between the Godparent and Godchild.

8) Pray through the ups and downs of life with your Godchild. Find out what's troubling or challenging your Godchild, what he or she is excited about or eagerly anticipating, then do your best to talk about God in that context. Encourage your Godchild to pray, pray together, and let your godchild know that you are praying for him or her every day.

9) Make a big deal of your godchild's names day. Celebrate with a special visit and dinner if you're nearby, and give a "spiritually oriented" gift to celebrate, like an age-appropriate book of his patron saint's life, a new icon, etc.

10) Emphasize the spiritual aspects of holidays. Make it a tradition to read the stories of the Nativity and Pascha morning with your godchild, and help his or her parents downplay the material and commercial aspects (Santa, the Easter Bunny, loads of loot in pretty wrapping). Play up the feasts of the Church instead - by bringing candles to be blessed at the Feast of the Presentation and flowers at the Dormition of the Theotokos and sharing them with your godchild, or by baking a birthday cake for the nativities of the Theotokos, Jesus, and St. John the Baptist.

11) Invite your godchild to go with you to Great Vespers, Matins, or weekday services for the feasts if you live close by. Encourage your whole "god-family" to come to Church for services other than the Sunday/resurrectional Divine Liturgy, if they don't do so regularly.

12) Ask what your godchild is learning in Church school Discuss the lesson of the week, and offer to help with Church school homework, prepare for oratorical competition or catechism bowl, etc. Buy your godchild's first Bible, and update it regularly as his or her reading level increases. Encourage him or her to study the gospel!

13) Help your godchild serve God. Choose a service project to work at regularly together, such as working at a hot-meal program or visiting parishioners in the hospital. Help him or her discover new ways to use God-given talents to help others - the artistic might design posters or programs for retreats, the musical might record Church music for shut-ins, etc. Encourage your godsons to serve in the altar, too, and "cheer them on" each week.

14) Encourage both boys and girls to attend seminary, and explore the monastic lifestyle, if they show interest. Mention the priesthood as a "career choice" to your godsons, and help them learn more about what our Orthodox clergy do - and how important their calling to guide others in the Faith is to all of us!

15) Make your godchild "one of the family". Include your godchild, and his or her parents and siblings, in your own family's "social" events: reunions, picnics, camping trips, and zoo and museum outings.

16) Spend time together. Keep in touch by phone, e-mail, or postcard if your godchildren are out of state or across the globe. Prayer and love in Christ know no distance!

Source: http://www.orthodoxconvert.info/Q-A.php?c=Piety-About%20Being%20a%20Godparent

The Royal Voice International Church Music Festival will take place in St Elisabeth Convent on October 28 and 29 for the 16^th time. Choirs and singers from Minsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Donetsk, and Kyiv Oblast will participate in the festival.

During this annual event, the audience at the Church in honor of the Reigning icon of the Mother of God will hear not only church chants but also spiritual songs authored by great composers and the people alike. Aside from church and secular choirs, an Orthodox singer-songwriter will also take part in the festival. This laudable tradition of the Royal Voice Festival adds a special touch to the event.

The main concert of the Festival will begin at 11:30am on October 28 with a performance of the Maidens’ Choir of St Elisabeth Convent. If you listen to them, you will hardly believe that this choir is a new one. The love and professionalism of Matushka Maria Bakhvalova has been able to bring into the spotlight the talents of each girl. Singing of this choir is characterised by exceptional spiritual purity.

Listening to a famous choir can be as simple as opening your browser tab and searching for its records but listening to the singing of small parish choirs demands more effort, possibly even coming to church during worship. Few residents of Minsk know the choir of the Church in honour of Pantanassa icon of the Mother of God, conducted by Olga Sholkova and Daria Svetchenkova. We hope that some new listeners will enjoy their performance and make friends with the Pantanassa parish.

Archpriest Sergius Kiselev, our guest from Kyiv Oblast, will play the guitar and sing his own songs. His songs are called “a combination of author music and a call to repentance”. Father Sergius has already performed in our city at various venues, including the Boarding Home and the Men’s Rehabilitation Centre. However, it will be his first concert in St Elisabeth Convent.

We can enjoy the spiritual heritage of renowned Russian composers thanks to the participation of Nizhny Novgorod Chamber Choir, which is a professional choir, and an almost professional Chamber Choir of Donetsk State Academy of Music n.a. Sergey Prokofiev. Both choirs preserve and popularise the traditions of their schools. Thanks to the guests from Nizhny Novgorod and Donetsk who will participate in our Festival for the first time, we will be able to appreciate these traditions.

Alimeh Murzaeva, the choir director of the Chamber Choir of Donetsk State Academy of Music emphasised in her application for the Festival, “Although the choir works under the auspices of a secular educational institution, performing church music has always been our priority. Almost all choir members are singers or precentors in various churches of the Diocese of Donetsk.”

Nun Juliania (Denisova), the chairperson of the Royal Voice Festival, got the chance to hear Nizhny Novgorod Chamber Choir during a choir contest in Penza. The crispness and prayerfulness of their singing made her so excited that she could not help inviting the choir to Minsk.

The members of the choir and their director Ivan Stolnikov put a lot of effort into preparing for the Royal Voice Festival. Not only will they participate in the main concert of the festival in the Church in honor of the Reigning icon of the Mother of God but they will also sing during the Liturgy the following day together with the Festive Choir of St Elisabeth Convent. They will also have a solo concert in the Verkhni Horad Concert Hall on October 29 at 4pm.

October 4, 2017

St. Elisabeth Convent

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Royal Voice: The 16th International Church Music Festival will take place in St Elisabeth Convent

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