The Catalog of Good Deeds

Saturday is the day which the Church has set aside for the commemoration of faithful Orthodox Christians departed this life in the hope of resurrection to eternal life. Since the Divine Liturgy cannot be served on weekdays during Great Lent, the second, third, and fourth Saturdays of the Fast are appointed as Soul Saturdays when the departed are remembered at Liturgy.

In addition to the Liturgy, kollyva (wheat or rice cooked with honey and mixed with raisins, figs, nuts, sesame, etc.) is blessed in church on these Saturdays. The kollyva reminds us of the Lord’s words, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24).The kollyva symbolizes the future resurrection of all the dead. As Saint Simeon of Thessalonica (September 15) says, man is also a seed which is planted in the ground after death, and will be raised up again by God’s power. Saint Paul also speaks of this (I Cor. 15:35-49).

It is customary to give alms in memory of the dead in addition to the prayers we offer for their souls. The angel who spoke to Cornelius testifies to the efficacy of almsgiving, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God” (Acts 10:4).

Memorial services for the dead may be traced back to ancient times. Chapter 8 of the Apostolic Constitutions recommends memorial services with Psalms for the dead. It also contains a beautiful prayer for the departed, asking that their voluntary and involuntary sins be pardoned, that they be given rest with the Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles in a place where sorrow, suffering, and sighing have fled away (Isaiah 35:10). Saint John Chrysostom mentions the service for the dead in one of his homilies on Philippians, and says that it was established by the Apostles. Saint Cyprian of Carthage (Letter 37) also speaks of our duty to remember the martyrs.

The holy Fathers also testify to the benefit of offering prayers, memorial services, Liturgies, and alms for the dead (Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Saint John of Damascus, etc.). Although both the righteous and those who have not repented and corrected themselves may receive benefit and consolation from the Church’s prayer, it has not been revealed to what extent the unrighteous can receive this solace. It is not possible, however, for the Church’s prayer to transfer a soul from a state of evil and condemnation to a state of holiness and blessedness. Saint Basil the Great points out that the time for repentance and forgiveness of sins is during the present life, while the future life is a time for righteous judgment and retribution (Moralia 1). Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Gregory the Theologian, and other patristic writers concur with Saint Basil’s statement.

By praying for others, we bring benefit to them, and also to ourselves, because “God is not so unjust as to forget your work and the love which you showed for His sake in serving the saints...” (Heb. 6:10).

Source: https://oca.org/saints/lives/2018/03/03/11-2nd-saturday-of-great-lent-memorial-saturday

Too much to learn? Too little time?

Why read Scripture? Certainly important reasons are as numerous as readers; however, the simplest answer comes from Christ, Himself. Almost all of His words come from ancient Jewish scriptures. To look more like Him, we have to do as He did. Understood in this way, embracing Scripture makes us more Christlike.

Still, isn’t it true that the Bible has been hyped, interpreted, reinterpreted, and misused many times so much so that it seems to cause more confusion than it solves? Is there something a little dangerous about it?

This is also true. So Reading God’s word should be intimidating for us, or more accurately, utterly awesome. In fact, the Church continuously participates in a profound discipline of study, reflection, wonder, patience, and humility before the words of God in Scripture. However, the modern critical intellect is slippery and trained to question this received reverence. We can’t casually sidestep significant issues: Is the Bible fallible or infallible? Is it history or myth? poetry or an instruction manual? Did God write it or not? Wouldn’t I have to be a fanatic or a saint or a Greek professor to read it? Why does the Bible have such unpredictable effects?

The Church’s answers fill libraries, largely because the concerns are not new. Debates have raged around them for two thousand years. Unfortunately, the vastness of this discussion only worsens our modern dilemma. How can busy Orthodox Christians really hope to figure it all out? Where do we begin?

In this context, The Bible and the Holy Fathers for Orthodox, edited and compiled by Johanna Manley, comes to the rescue. Inside one convenient cover, the text offers readers a solution that has been used throughout Orthodox history.

Unlike a Bible, this volume presents Scripture passages in an order appointed by the Church for prayer and meditation each day for a year. In this sense, it is a lectionary. Over time, two sorts of lectionaries developed in the Greek Orthodox church. The Bible and the Holy Fathers for Orthodox Christians principally follows the Synaxarion and therefore is based on the liturgical cycle in which the Church continually represents Christ’s life from Pascha through Holy Week. Three appendices add elements of the Menologion, which contains readings for various saints’ and Church festivals on the Byzantine civil calendar, beginning September 1.

In turn, the commentaries on each text are simply this: windows into the minds of saints. No higher recommendation can be attempted. Though individually brief as a collection the passages reveal an ever-flowing tide of Orthodox theological thought, consistent in terms of rationality, faith, and love, but highly diverse in terms of pulse and tone.

Consider, for example, these poignant words from Saint John of Damascus, reflecting on the paradoxes of existence: “God made man…a sort of miniature world within the larger one, another adoring angel…earthly and heavenly, passing and immortal, visible and spiritual, halfway between greatness and lowliness…” (Saturday in the Third week of Great Lent).

In contrast, the same paradox moves Saint John Climacus to brittle irony: “He who has lost sensibility is …a self-contradictory windbag, a blind man who teaches others to see…He praises prayer but runs from it like the plague. He blesses obedience, but he is the first to disobey. He praises detachment, but is not ashamed to be spiteful and to fight for a rag.. .All the time he is his own accuser, and he does not want to come to his senses I will not say cannot” (Thursday of the same week).

In general, however, the straightforward, clear explanations of Saint John Chrysostom dominate, providing overall continuity and thoroughness to this introduction to patristic thought. Nevertheless, the book’s Index of Holy Fathers and Authors notes more than sixty commentators representing Orthodox thought from Saint Justin the Martyr (+165 AD) through our own time.

What the commentaries lack in completeness by being excerpted, they more than make up for in ease of use and access. Beyond that, references and study helps provide a solid starting point for further inquiry. Serious Orthodox who have time and leisure will prefer to read these selections and others not represented from original, unabridged sources, but for the majority The Bible and the Holy Fathers for Orthodox provides a much-needed resource for daily study of Scripture within the Orthodox tradition.

As a caution, The Bible and the Holy Fathers is not a substitute for a Bible. Bible study within the Church is vitally important for understanding the theology, history, personalities, and complexities of Scripture as a whole. This text is, however, an outstanding devotional aid and highly recommended for any Christian, especially read prayerfully in conjunction with Church worship, sacraments, and hymnody.

The Bible and the Holy Fathers for Orthodox: Daily Scripture Readings and Commentary for Orthodox Christians. Compiled and edited by Johann Manley. Menlo Park, California: Monastery Books, 1990.

From the American Orthodox Journal "Praxis", v. 2

Source: http://pemptousia.com/2017/07/reading-holy-texts-a-solution-for-busy-orthodox/

By these terms, cradle Orthodox and convert, we mean, on the one hand, someone who is born into an Orthodox family and is baptized as an infant, and on the other hand, someone who converts to the Orthodox Faith from some other religion or from none. As far as the Orthodox Church is concerned, the answer to the question is that there is no difference. They are both members of the Holy Orthodox Faith and have the opportunity to grow toward theosis and salvation through a sacramental life of faith. Each of these individuals has positive and negative possibilities for their spiritual lives, arising from their life situations.

On the positive side, cradle Orthodox have the wonderful opportunity of growing up in the Orthodox life and faith from their earliest years. They have the opportunity to partake in the Holy Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ Himself, each week throughout their lives. They can also be blessed with other sacraments of the faith, such as Holy Confession and Holy Unction, regularly. They live in a community of Faith where they may find a spouse one day and participate in the Sacrament toof Holy Matrimony. They also can witness some of the community being ordained to the Holy Priesthood or tonsured as Monastics. They can also experience the support of the entire Orthodox family when a loved one falls asleep in the Lord and is provided an Orthodox funeral. Throughout their lives they are in an environment where they can learn and grow spiritually to become mature Orthodox Christians.

On the negative side, cradle Orthodox may be raised in a very nominal home, where the Faith is not practiced or even talked about. They can think of themselves as Orthodox because they show up at Church on Pascha and Christmas, but know very, very little of what it means to be a practicing Orthodox Christian. Cradle Orthodox may be raised in a home where they go to Church most Sundays, but it has become more of a “club” to which they belong, without ever learning about their Faith. They may enjoy their friends and family, but not enter into an Orthodox life. Because of this, they can sometimes resent the “converts” or “seekers” who come to the Church and may actually discourage visitors from the pursuit of Orthodoxy. Some cradle Orthodox may even fall away from the Faith when they become teenagers or while in college. Some may return later when they marry, but some end up becoming converts to a different religion because they never really knew what Orthodox believe. Others may continue to go to Church, but never have a hunger to learn more about their Faith.

On the positive side, some converts may become Orthodox because they have studied the Faith and have come to believe with all their hearts that the Orthodox Church is indeed the very Church that Christ started on this earth. They may bring a hunger and a zeal for the Faith that is infectious to many others in their Church. They may be excited to serve the Lord and His Church in any way they can. Converts often recognize the need to support the Church with both their time and their finances. Some of them also bring a love of the Holy Scriptures and of the writings of the Early Fathers to the Church. Converts may also share their Orthodox Faith with others and help them eventually to become members of the Faith as well. Because this is a conscious decision they have made, often they are very committed to living and growing in their faith.

On the negative side, some “converts” may become Orthodox for the sake of marrying an Orthodox person. They may have no desire to learn about, or practice, the Faith. They may simply want to get married. They may not be seen much around the Church until their children need baptism or someone needs a funeral. Some “converts” may become overzealous, taking on a legalistic, “super-Orthodox” approach to the Faith. They may fast, pray, and attend Church better than anyone, and become judgmental of those who are not following the Faith as they do. They may come to Orthodoxy but not leave behind their previous religious beliefs. They may become argumentative and divisive within the Church. Some have even left Orthodoxy and taken others with them to some other religion. Some other “converts” may come to Orthodoxy because they love the services, but when their Faith is tested by someone or something, they leave because they were never really convinced that this is the Church that Jesus started on this earth.

Despite these differences in opportunities and temptations, the Church does not view cradle Orthodox and converts as spiritually different. In that case, why should members of the Church see a difference? Being Orthodox Christians in good standing with the Church and practicing the Faith to the best of their abilities are what is really important. The date of baptism or chrismation is simply the starting line to the glorious race that God has called us to run with perseverance:

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls” (Hebrews 12:1-3).

It is the finish line that all of us should be concerned about. With that in mind, perhaps we should drop the term convert and simply view each other as brothers and sisters, helping each other on the path to salvation. In the case of the individual, at what point should the term convert be dropped: one year, ten years, thirty years, at his or her funeral? Perhaps it should be dropped when he or she comes up out of the baptismal waters or Holy Chrism is applied. At that point, they are Orthodox believers, entirely members of the household of Faith!

By Fr. Stephen Powley

Source: http://ww1.antiochian.org/content/what-difference-between-cradle-orthodox-person-and-convert

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