The Catalog of Good Deeds

The Orthodox Church proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the Greek language, the word for Gospel is Evangelion which means literally "the good news." The good news of Orthodox Christianity is a proclamation of God's unbounded and sacrificial love for man kind, as well as the revelation of the true destiny of the human person. Reflecting on the joyous message of the Gospel, Saint Gregory of Nyssa wrote in the fourth century: The good news is that man is no longer an outcast nor expelled from God's Kingdom; but that he is again a son, again God's subject.

Orthodoxy believes that the supreme treasure which God wishes to share with us is His own life. Our faith begins with the affirmation that God has acted in history to permit us to participate in His love and His goodness, to be citizens of His Kingdom. This conviction is expressed so beautifully in the prayer of the Liturgy which says: "You have not ceased to do all things until You brought us to heaven and granted us the Kingdom to come."

The initiation of love of God the Father is perfectly expressed and embodied in the Person and Ministry of Jesus Christ. The whole purpose of the Incarnation of the Son of God was to restore humanity to fellowship with God. The great teachers and Fathers of the Orthodox Church constantly reaffirmed this conviction by proclaiming that God had become what we are in order that we could become what He is.

Christ is exalted as our Light and our Life. In His Person there is a unity of humanity and divinity which each of us is called to share. In His way of life. there is the model of authentic human life which we are invited to follow. In His victorious Resurrection, there is liberation for us from all powers which can keep us from the Kingdom. Through Christ, then, God the Father has repossessed us and has called us to be His sons and daughters.

Theosis

The fundamental vocation and goal of each and every person is to share in the life of God. We have been created by God to live in fellowship with Him. The descent of God in the Person of Jesus Christ has made possible the human ascent to the Father through the work of the Holy Spirit. Orthodoxy believes that each Christian is involved in a movement toward God which is known as theosis or deification.

Theosis describes the spiritual pilgrimage in which each person becomes ever more perfect, ever more holy, ever more united with God. It is not a static relationship, nor does it take place only after death. On the contrary, theosis is a movement of love toward God which begins for each Christian with the rites of Baptism and which continues throughout this life, as well as the life which is to come. Salvation means liberation from sin, death, and evil. Redemption means our repossession by God. In Orthodoxy, both salvation and redemption are within the context of theosis. This rich vision of Christian life was expressed well by Saint Peter when he wrote in the early pages of his second Epistle that we are called "to become partakers of the Divine nature." It was also affirmed by Saint Basil the Great when he described man as the creature who has received the order to become a god.

These are certainly bold affirmations which must be properly understood. The Orthodox Church understands theosis as a union with the energies of God and not with the essence of God which always remains hidden and unknown. However, the experience of the Church testifies that this is a true union with God. It is also one which is not pantheistic, because in this union the divine and the human retain their unique characteristics. In this sense, Orthodoxy believes that human life reaches its fulfillment only when it becomes divine.

The Holy Spirit

The ever-deepening union of each Christian with God is not a magical or automatic process. While Christ has destroyed the powers of sin, death, and evil once and for all, this victory must be appropriated by each person in cooperation with the Holy Spirit. Each person is called to join with the lifegiving and liberating Spirit" in realizing the fulness of human life in communion with the Father. The Holy Spirit is the agent of deification whose task it is to incorporate us into the life of the Holy Trinity. However, the Spirit always recognizes our human freedom and invites our active cooperation in perfecting the "image and likeness of God" with which each of us is created.

Our participation in the life of the Holy Trinity, which we know as theosis, takes place within the Church. For the Orthodox, the Church is the meeting place between God and His people. The Holy Spirit and the Church are organically linked. In the second century, Saint Irenaeus reminded us of this by saying: "Where the Church is there is the Spirit, and where the Spirit is there is the Church." The Holy Spirit moves through the life of the Church to reveal our common humanity in Christ and to unite us with the Father. We acquire the Holy Spirit through our celebration of the Eucharist and the reception of Holy Communion, through our participation in the Sacraments, through our discipline of daily prayer, and through the practice of fasting, all of which result in a Christ-like life.

The Holy Spirit, Who is honored as the Lord and Giver of life, is manifest in the life of the Church in order to bring our lives to perfection, and to make us responsible and loving human beings. The fruit of Worship is the gifts of the Spirit. In his letter to the Galatians, Saint Paul identified these as: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, fidelity, gentleness, and self-control." Certainly, these are the virtues of a Christ-like life. They testify to the fact that the love of God and the love of neighbor are inseparable.

The Individual and the Church

The reality of theosis not only bears witness to the love of God who wishes to share Him self with us but also expresses a very positive view of the human person. Orthodoxy believes that each person has an intrinsic value and importance in virtue of his or her unique relationship to God. The human person is never seen as being totally depraved. The "image of God" which can be distorted by sin, can never be eradicated. Through the life of the Church, there is always the opportunity for fulfillment. When the Sacraments are administered, they are always offered to the individual by name. This action not only reminds us of the dignity of each person but also emphasizes the responsibility each person has for his or her relationship to God.

While Orthodoxy recognizes the value of the person, it does not believe that we are meant to be isolated or self-sufficient. Each person is called to be an important member of the Church. Orthodoxy believes that one cannot be a Christian without being a part of the Church. The process of theosis takes place with the context of a believing community.

To be united with God within the midst of the Church does not mean that our unique personalities are destroyed. We are not engulfed by an impersonal force or power. As with all love which is true and valuable, God's love for each of us respects our personhood. His love is not one which destroys. God's love is one which reveals, elevates, and perfects our true selves. By entering into the life of God, we become the persons we are meant to be.

Source: http://www.stpaulgoc.org/our-faith/spirituality

On Sunday morning, the family should get up in a timely manner, so that all can be properly prepared to go to Church. Large families sometimes find it difficult to have all the children washed, dressed, and brushed in time without a lot of nagging, arguing, and rushing around frantically trying to attend to last minute details. A little organization can go a long way toward a serene beginning to this holy day. First of all, have each child's church clothes laid out the night before, already inspected by a parent so that there will be no last minute arguments about inappropriate, mismatched, stained or torn apparel. Children four years old and older can certainly dress themselves. Older siblings can help the younger ones.

Good grooming is important, both from a spiritual and a psychological standpoint. Dress a child in playclothes and he will be prepared to play. This was once a guiding principle behind school dress codes and is a reason that many public schools nowadays are requiring uniforms. Little boys should wear suits to Church, just as the men do (or should). It is not necessary to spend a fortune. A hand-me-down or a thrift shop bargain will suffice as well a new suit to fix the idea in the child's mind that he is wearing special clothing to a special place where he is expected to act like a man. Not only will the suit serve to instill in him a sense of dignity, but it will also restrict his movements somewhat so that sloppy, casual behavior is rendered far more difficult. Dress shoes go with a suit. Not only do tennis shoes look ridiculous on someone attired properly for Church, but they contradict the message (which should be reinforced constantly) that Church is not a place to play.

Little girls should wear nice dresses and dress shoes. Even from infancy, their heads should be covered. Some people who are misinformed about Orthodox tradition may try to tell you that girls do not need to wear a scarf or hat until they are twelve. Perhaps this has become confused with the age children are usually confirmed into the Roman Catholic Church or they think that the head covering somehow signals to the community that the girl will soon be available for marriage.

Whatever the source of the misconception, it has no basis in Orthodox tradition whatsoever. Girls and women should arrive at Church with their heads covered, stand throughout the service with their heads covered, and leave Church the same way. This is done for spiritual purposes concerning modesty and humility. Therefore, do not be misled into believing that the headcovering needs to be worn only when confessing or communing (another popular myth).

Girls, no matter what age, should NEVER wear pants to Church (or anywhere else, for that matter). It is easy to fall to the mistaken idea that toddlers should be exempt from such a rule. Yes, they are cute and they crawl around on the floor but little girls are not puppies. They will grow up to be women, hopefully women worthy of praise and emulation. It is much better to train a child correctly from a very young age than to impose something suddenly at an arbitrary stage of maturity. The very fact that it is arbitrary and based on personal opinion rather than any teaching of the Church will create feelings of rebellion in the child for which you may have difficulty finding an adequate response. In any case, if your concern is primarily that the weather is cold, have the child wear leggings or tights under her dress.

Boys and girls should be clean and their hair brushed. Even a very small child experiences anticipation and a sense of awe about an event for which they are being so carefully prepared. When a child is allowed to go to Church looking unkempt, dressed in whatever assortment of clothes that came to hand that morning, that child will look and feel like an afterthought - someone who had to be dragged along when the parents wanted to go to Church. No one should expect an "afterthought" to be terribly thrilled about the idea of attending services or to be very cooperative when he gets there. Another important aspect to be considered is that, fair or not, the child will judged by the adults at Church according to his or her appearance and treated accordingly. Warm approval and compliments from adults other than his parents can have a very positive and encouraging effect on a small child. He will not receive any such attention if it does not appear that even his parents think enough of him to do more than toss some wrinkled clothes at him in the morning.

The tone of parental expectations and familial participation can be set during communion prayers before the family even leaves for Church. As at all prayer times in the icon corner, the children should be expected to stand quietly and reverently. Even very small children should be with their parents at this time because even if they do not understand the words of the prayers, they do understand the serious attitude of the parents. This will help to accustom them to particular behavior whenever prayer is being said, thus preparing them to be quiet and attentive in Church. Children who are old enough to read should be allowed to read some of the communion prayers. This will help them to understand that, as they mature, they will be expected to take on some of the responsibilities of adults. Spiritually, psychologically, and emotionally they will respond with enthusiasm to this invitation to become a contributing member of the family Church.

Source: https://stjohntheforerunnerblog.blogspot.com.by/2016/11/young-children-in-orthodox-church.html

“Lord Jesus Christ, You are the true vine, and Your Father is the vinedresser, and You called Your apostles the brunches”.

This prayer is read when the vineyard is being planted. Vine, grape and wine are the most common examples used in the Gospel parables. In Gospel, it symbolizes life, joy and Christ. The words “wine” and “vine” are mentioned in Bible more than 250 times. Wine was always treaded in Christianity as a blessed creation. It can be explained by the fact that Christianity spread in the regions where the Greek-Roman Empire had been thrived earlier. People thought there that wine was not just one of the numerous products of farming activity, but it was also connected with the veneration of Dionysius, the god of winemaking.

In the Old Testament, wine plays a very important role too. Most often vineyards were compared with Israel. Noah planted a vineyard after the great flood ended. During the exodus, God promised the Jews to bless their bread, wine and water, i.e. everything what was necessary for living. At that time, the climate and the soil of Palestine contributed to the development of vineyards and winemaking.

King David often praised the product of winemaking: “And wine that maketh glad the heart of man” (Psalm 104:15) or “Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased” (Psalm 4:7). David thought that wine was one of the most important food elements for a person. Wine softens a person’s heart, which is the center of all feelings.

Since ancient times, religious traditions and wine coexist harmoniously in Christianity. Christ began to reveal His miracles turning water into wine at the marriage at the Cana of Galilee. The evangelists provided us with precious information about wine, when they described this miracle. They say it is the drink of joy and happiness.

Wine gains the true mysterious meaning during the Last Supper, when Christ gave His disciples the cup and said: “This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:25). Thus, wine and bread become the Divine gifts during the Eucharist.

The blessed product of winemaking could not stay outside the walls of the Athonite monasteries. Nama is a sweet red wine traditionally used in Greek Orthodox Churches for the sacrament of the Holy Communion. This type of wine is usually made of black grapes dried in the sun.

Preparing wine for the Holy Communion is not the natural reason why monks have begun to deal with winegrowing. Wine is an important food additive for monks, whose daily ration is poor in calories because they do not receive any animal proteins and rely on their nutrition mostly from plant food. Monasteries host many pilgrims who are also offered wine twice a day during the meal excerpt from the fast days.

Moreover, many workers live on Athos, who help monasteries with the household work. Monasteries at their turn should provide them with wine and rakia. Guests are also offered rakia when they arrive to the guesthouse of any monastery on Athos. This traditional Athonite treat is served with coffee and lokum. Fathers said that a glass of rakia prevents you from breaking a sweat, while the sugar of lokum diminishes the sense of fatigue. The thing is that earlier there were no cars on the Holy Mount and monks and pilgrims had to make great distances on foot.

What is more, monks knew the healing qualities of wine. Monastic manuscripts contain numerous recipes of different medications, which were based from wine. Besides, according to the recipe found in the manuscript dated back to the 17th century, grapes were used for making ink.

In the very beginning of the 10th century, the founders of the monasteries knew a lot about the beneficial qualities of grapes and organized vineyards to have their own products of winemaking. Wine was not only a Divine gift for the monastic society but also an exchange unit that helped monasteries to provide themselves with what they needed and to cover other costs.

Archimandrite Emilian, the abbot of the monastery of St. Peter, said: “Prayer warms the hearts of monks”. We can say also that wine warms the body of a monk. It becomes his relief and break from his daily hard physical and mental labor.

Source: http://dishupravoslaviem.ru/vino-v-xristianstve/#more-8201

We are keeping today the feast of St Andrew, whom we call in the Orthodox Church “The First-Called”. We meet him for the first time in the Gospel on the banks of the River Jordan as disciple of St John the Baptist, together with him that later becameе St John the Divine, St John the Evangelist. Together with him, and hundreds of people he heard John, his teacher, his guide in the life of repentance proclaim Jesus who was coming towards them as the Lamb of God who takes upon Himself the sins of the world, declare Him to bе Him for whose sake he has come to the banks of Jordan to preach repentance, to turn the hearts of men towards their God, to call them to a new life of faithfulness.

And having heard that in Jesus this expectation, this longing had been fulfilled, Andrew, together with John, leaves his master, his teacher, the one who has turned his soul towards God, given him newness of life, he turns away from him, leaves him to follow Jesus, because this is why his master had come into the world: that he may proclaim Jesus in His coming, and then diminish for Christ to grow, before the eyes of men, in the lives of men, to be forgotten, because he was only the Forerunner.

To act as St Andrew did proved him to be a true disciple of his master; and how much each of us, all of us, we could learn in this act of greatness of heart, because it is hard to have found one who discloses to you what is precious in life, what is significant before God, who sets you on the way of repentance and of a new life, and then discover that he was nothing but a forerunner, nothing but one who was there to prepare the way of the Lord, and turn away from him, leave him to bring his message to others in order oneself to follow the Lord for whose sake he had preached, he had taught, he had been in the midst of men.

And John and Andrew leave him, and follow Christ who gradually leaves the banks of Jordan, going they do not know where; and Jesus stops and turns towards them because they are following Him, they pursue Him, having heard the message of John they will no longer let go of Him; and Jesus stops and says: what do you want of Me?.. And their answer is: we want to know where Thou dwellest… A simple phrase… And Jesus takes them with Him, and they spend a day with Him – but what do they discover? Is it only а wooden cabin, a hut of mud where Christ has been dwelling for a few days? One of the spiritual writers of our century says, No; they discovered two things. They discovered that the Annointed of God, the Christ, the Son of God incarnate lives indeed in a humble hut, that He Whose presence fills the Heaven which cannot contain Him, can dwell in a small cabin; but at the same time, listening to His word, looking into His face, plunging their gaze into His eyes they discover that before them there is One Whose dwelling is in Heaven, that they are in the presence of the living God Who has become man in order to save, to renew, to redeem, to live and to die for their sakes.

From that moment they become His disciples, they never will separate themselves from Him, they remain with Him, and their story merges with that of the other disciples – Peter, whom Andrew brings to Jesus, to whom he discloses Him Whom he has already discovered; John, who brings his brother, and all the other ones — Philip and Nathaniel, and everyone else.

And we meet him again in the Gospel, once, when, before the Crucifixion, fulfilling the prophecies of old, the Gentiles come to Jesus; and they turn to Philip and to Andrew because they recognise them as men of Galilee, of that region that was partly pagan, recognise in them people who will understand their language and understand also their desperate longing, because he has lived in their midst and he knows how poor they are and how their hearts long for fulfillment from Heaven, from God. And they them to Jesus. They are the first ones who opened the doors to the Gentiles, to bring them to the Lord. They prepared the way which later Paul will tread so gloriously, so conqueredly. Then, after the Crucifixion he shares with the other ones the agony, the horror of the death of Christ, and comes to life, no longer with the old, earthly life that has been his, but a new life, the life of the Risen Christ, the life of eternity in the resurrection of his blaster, his Saviour, his Lord and his God.

And when the Apostles dispersed to bring the good news to the whole world, he also goes to preach, and the story of his life brings him to the East and to the North, and we are told that he reaches as the ultimate point of his preaching the hills of Kiev in pagan Russia. And then he returns to die the death of martyrdom, in a manly, in аn unhesitating wау, dies, crucified as his Master.

How much we can learn from the life of this man, a simple man of Galilee who knew how to listen to a message, and to follow, first him who prepared the way of the Lord and then had the greatness of heart, the faithfulness to let go of the first hand that had brought him to the gates of eternity to follow Him Who was eternity, Life, God come into the world, and who throughout his life remained faithful, and was proof-prepared to pay the cost of this faithfulness, so that we may live, we may receive his message, we may also, through him, discover our Lord, and follow our only God, our only Lord, our only Saviour. Amen.

By Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh

Source: http://www.pravmir.com/can-learn-st-andrew/

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