Featured from the Workshops: Handmade Tabernacle
3 Answers from Father Andrew: How Should Breastfeeding Mothers Fast?
Archpriest Andrew Lemeshonok, the spiritual
father of St. Elisabeth Convent, answers various questions of the parishioners.
How Should Breastfeeding Mothers Fast? Can
Toddlers Do Without Meat?
Every
breastfeeding mother has her own distinct physical and spiritual condition, so
we can’t generalise. We must follow a one-on-one approach. There are those who
have only recently come to church, those who don’t have enough experience of
living in the Church, so they have a hard time fasting. It is painful for them.
They are struggling with it. We have to bear in mind the resources that the
person has at hand and the conditions he finds himself in.
A
breastfeeding mother must take care not only of herself but also of the baby
she feeds. Therefore, she must eat enough healthy and nourishing food. With
that in mind, we sometimes say that she can take a more lenient approach to
fasting or stop fasting partially.
On the
other hand, we know the example of St Sergius of Radonezh who would refuse the
breast whenever his mother would eat meat. We know people who are unbending in
following rules of fast. I believe that if one has faith, God will help him.
Anyway, you must do everything with a blessing. You shouldn’t overestimate your
resources and do harm to your health or lose lactation. Still, I don’t think
it’s possible if you fast with humility and obedience: God will pay you back
with more.
When
children grow in an Orthodox family, their parents serve as their most
important role models. Certainly, you should supply your kids with wholesome
food but I suppose they can forgo meat easily, and it won’t do them any harm.
Again, this refers only to the families where parents stick to the norms of the
Orthodox Church. We tell those who are afraid and hesitant that you can replace
fasting with other exercises, such as abstaining from sweets or other favourite
meals. You’ve got to use your imagination. In any case, everything must be
negotiated in advance. We must be looking for God’s will and figure out the
acceptable level of self-denial. It is better to underestimate your power than
to overestimate it.
Why is it prohibited to get married during
extended fasting seasons such as the
Great Lent but allowed on regular fasting days, i.e., Wednesday and Friday?
We all
know that after a wedding, people normally consummate their marriage, as
blessed by God. That is why the Church does not allow weddings on the eves of
great holidays, Sundays, and Wednesdays and Fridays.
Why is the Great Lent often referred to as
“the Forty Days”? It does last longer, doesn’t it?
We have
forty days of the Lent, plus the Holy Week, plus Saturdays and Sundays that
aren’t included in the Lent. You may have noticed that black vestments of the
clergy are replaced by purple ones on Saturdays and Sundays during the Great
Lent. That is, Lenten services end on Fridays. We celebrate full-rite Liturgies
on Saturdays and Sundays. We prepare Holy Gifts for the communion of the flock
during the Lenten days, i.e., Wednesdays and Fridays, on Sunday. There is a
Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts every Wednesday during the Great Lent for
those who are so busy that they cannot attend services on a Saturday or a
Sunday.
March 7, 2018
St.
Elisabeth Convent
Why are our Orthodox Single Parents so seemingly neglected in the writings and life of the Church?
Why are
our Orthodox Single Parents so seemingly neglected in the writings and life of
the Church? Our Orthodox Christian
treasure of writing does not contain much on single parenting. But in our society, single parenting is a
common reality. So why the darn-near
silence from the Church of Christ on the matter?
We are
beginning to see a lot more written about divorce, and there is certainly a lot
written about grieving a loved one’s loss (such as a spouse or parent). These are the two ways a marriage is
split. But we have yet to see much
written about life AFTERWARD. The
frequent occurrence of divorce that we see today is novel- new to our society
and certainly new to Orthodoxy. The idea
of having a child outside of wedlock (whether purposely or not) is also
novel. And because children were often
raised by multiple generations of family, not just the parents, the loss of one
parent was not as devastating as it is in today’s isolationist society. So maybe we are still dealing with these
newer realities theologically and just haven’t gotten as far as what happens
afterward yet.
I think
it is also rare to see writing in the Orthodox Tradition about single parenting
because the instructions that are given to married parents within the
Scriptures and the writings of the fathers remain constant for single parents
as well. A parent is still a parent and
has the same responsibilities and privileges given to them by God, whether
married or not. In addition, again,
divorce was not nearly as common then as it is now. It was shameful then, whereas now it is
commonplace, still painful, yes, but it does not carry as much shame as it did
in previous ages. As a result, there
would not have been much written about it.
I’ve been
thinking a lot about single parents lately.
I have friends and family who are either single parents or soon to be
who are struggling with the burdens of parenthood. I am a crisis/trauma/grief counselor in
training, and much of grief counseling deals with life after the loss of a
loved one. So this topic is on my heart,
and I want to offer some thoughts in a small series that will hopefully be a
little nugget of help and comfort for single parents among the faithful out
there, a little Avgolemono (the Greek equivalent of chicken soup) for the
Orthodox Single Parent’s Soul.
Navigating
the journey of parenting in a one man boat ain’t no Carnival Cruise, that’s for
sure. Almost every occurrence of single
parenting begins with hard times.
Whether it’s caused by a divorce, a death, or never involved a spouse to
begin with, single parenting almost always brings with it difficulty. We cannot
ever answer the question, “why did this happen to me?” To know the answer would be to know the mind
of God. He knows something we
don’t. He sees a big picture that we
can’t see. He knows that this difficult
time is going to lead us somewhere that He plans for us to go. Our challenge is to be patient, trust Him,
and wait for all to be revealed.
In the
meantime, what we do know is that He suffers right along with us. What you are feeling right now, He
feels. The most profound sentence in the
Gospels, in my opinion, is in the Gospel of John, where it is written, “Jesus
wept.” He suffered at the loss of his
friend Lazarus. He suffers with you,
too.
All of the
emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual responsibilities that parents have
to their children are easier fulfilled when there are two people to do the
work, right? Unfortunately, this means
that you are doing the work of two people on your own. But should you be? You cannot realistically, as a single parent,
do double duty. You physically cannot be
both mom and dad. God understands this.
In His great love for us, He knows that there is no way for you to expend the
same amount of energy on parental tasks as two parents would. And he knows that
the uniqueness of motherhood and fatherhood cannot be achieved by the remaining
parent when one is missing. So don’t
push yourself to try and be all things to all people. Our comfort, then, is that God is always able
to mystically fill that which is lacking.
As a single parent, you are going to need to trust Him to fill that
which would normally be filled by a spouse.
So, the
most important thing to know as a single parent is that while you may be rowing
this boat all on your own, God is the one directing the winds, controlling the
currents, and steering the sharks clear of your little dinghy. The point is, you really are not on your own. God has not, and never will, abandon
you. Your first responsibility as a
parent, single or not, is to not abandon God.
More on that point to come.
Single
parents, we hear you! Watch for more
articles on single parenting in this series by Presbytera Mari, as well as
other authors and other tools and resources just for you!
Source: http://www.familylifeministry.atlanta.goarch.org/avgolemono-for-the-orthodox-single-parents-soul/
The Meaning of Various Inscriptions on the Orthodox Cross
The Third
Sunday, and mid-point, of Lent celebrates the Holy Cross. In Orthodoxy the
cross has always been a symbol of great victory and power, as it was through
the Christ’s voluntary sacrifice on the cross that death was overcome and
salvation became possible for us. Crosses and crucifixes, therefore, are
extremely common and widely used.
Orthodox
Crucifixes are often elaborately decorated, as in the one shown above, which is
a modern wooden cross with a card print glued to the surface. These type of
crucifixes are, in effect, cross-shaped icons of the Crucifixion. However,
crucifixes are often covered with inscriptions – usually in Greek or Slavonic –
which are worth translating, as they proclaim clearly Christian teaching on
Christ and the Cross.
The Russian-Orthodox Cross (or Crucifix)
The most
“complete” Crucifix is the so-called eight-pointed cross, which shows Christ
crucified. Note that Jesus is not shown wearing a crow of thorns, but with a
halo of glory, and that He is not shown in agony and suffering, but peacefully
reposed. As is often the case in icons, the Slavonic inscriptions on the cross
are sometimes shortened, with curly lines over the letters which are omitted.
In the explanation below, I mainly give the full inscriptions.
The Top Bar
The top
bar of the Cross is the title-board which Pilate ordered to be hung in mockery
over Christ’s head. On this board was inscribed: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of
the Jews”, abbreviated to the Greek initials “INBI”, or the Latin initials
“INRI”. In modern Russian crosses, as here, the Russian abbreviation “І.Н.Ц.І.”
is used. Around the top bar, this inscription has been supplemented with the
title: “King of Glory” (Царь славы).
At the
top of the Cross is the Image of Christ “Not made by hands” (Нерукутвореному
образъ). It is through the Cross that Christ rose from the dead, and the Cross
is believed to be a source of miracles and healing. It is therefore appropriate
that atop the cross is a towel showing the face of the living Christ, which is
also believed to be miraculous.
Ministering
to the Crucified Lord are two flying angels, with the inscription between them:
“Angels of the Lord” (Ангели Господни).
The Middle Bar
The
middle bar is that on which the Lord’s hands were nailed. On this Crucifix, the
Mother of God (ΜΡ ΘΥ – Greek, rather than Slavonic) and St John the Theologian
(св. Иоанн Богослов) are shown as in icons of the Crucifixion, though they are
not always present on crosses like these. Immediately on either side of Jesus
Christ‘s head, His name is inscribed as the abbreviation IC XC. Further down
the Cross, by His feet, is the Greek word “NIKA”, which means “conquer”, giving
the full inscription: “Jesus Christ Conquers”. Note that, as is the custom,
Christ and His Mother’s name are inscribed in Greek, whereas St John’s is
written in Slavonic.
The
inscription: Son of God (Сынъ Божіи) is placed on both sides of Christ’s head,
and below His arms we read the inscription: We bow down before Thy Cross, O
Master, and we worship Thy holy Resurrection (Кресту Твоему покломняемся
Владыко, и святое воскресение Твое славимъ).
On other
Crucifixes, placed in roughly the same position as Mary and John here, are
placed a picture of the sun (солнца) and the moon (луна), for “The sun hid its
light, and the moon turned to blood.” (Joel 2:31). The sun and moon are also
often shown on icons of the Crucifixion.
The Bottom Bar
The
foot-brace of the cross is slanted to remind us that the Church likens the
Cross to a “balance-beam of righteousness”, whereby a man is condemned or
justified by how they respond to Christ’s cross. Behind the foot-brace are the
walls of Jerusalem, as Christ was crucified outside the city walls. Just above
the footrest is the Greek word for “conquer”, completing the inscription Christ
Conquers (IC XC NIKA) mentioned above.
Behind
the body of Christ, on either side, are a lance (К, short for копие) and a
sponge on a pole made of reed or cane (Т, short for трость, meaning reed). The
lance pierced Christ’s side, whilst the sponge was soaked with gall and offered
Him to drink.
By the
foot of the Cross are the letters: Г Г standing for Mount Golgotha (Гора Голгофа);
this is the hill outside the city gates upon which Christ was crucified. Hidden
in a cave under the earth is the skull of Adam, identified with the letters: Г
А (глава Адама). Sometimes, the arm bones will be shown crossed, the right arm
over the left, just as believers cross their arms to receive communion.
Not shown
here, but often present on below the feet of Christ are four Slavonic letters:
М.Л.Р.Б., meaning: The place of the skull, where Adam was (Место лобное рай
бысть). We are reminded that Adam our forefather lost Paradise through wrongly
eating from the tree, and that Christ is the new Adam, bringing us Salvation
and Paradise through the tree of the Cross.
As You were voluntarily raised upon the cross
for our sake,
Grant mercy to those who are called by Your
Name, O Christ God;
Gladden all Orthodox Christians by Your
power,
Granting them victories over their
adversaries,
By bestowing on them the Invincible trophy,
Your weapon of Peace.
Source: https://iconreader.wordpress.com/2012/03/17/the-slavonic-russian-inscriptions-of-the-orthodox-cross/
Patriarch Tikhon's 1918 Letter to Lenin
Patriarch
Tikhon was head of the Russian church during the revolution, and courageously
condemned what he saw as a demonic attack on a Christian civilization.
Previously he was a bishop in the US, from 1898 - 1907, where he was a very
successful missionary.
The first
Bolshevik government, which consisted mostly of atheists, tolerated the
popular Patriarch for a while, realizing that if they martyred him, it would
only increase the church's influence, but eventually they pushed him out, put
him under house arrest, and demonized and harassed him until his death in 1925.
The Russian church made him into a saint in 1989.
This
remarkable letter survives as a testimony of what was really happening in
Russia at the time, and to the extraordinary courage of this man to speak the
truth, knowing it would cost him his life.
It is all
the more important because the accounts to the West that came out of Russia at
the time, and subsequent histories, were mostly written by left-leaning
sympathizers who cheered the revolution on, having little idea what it really
was. This obfuscation continues to this day.
Take a
few minutes to read this passionate and poetic condemnation of evil. Its
startling clarity comes down to us through the years with great force. We
highlighted a few of the more moving lines, but honestly, almost every sentence
is gripping.
This view
of what actually happened during the revolution is as important today as it was
100 years ago. The 100 year commemoration of the Russian revolution shows
starkly divergent views of what it was continue to our own day.
This
excellent translation is by Nun Cornelia Rees:
“We address this prophecy of the Savior to
you, the current makers of our Fatherland’s fate, who call yourself “the
people’s” commissars.
For an
entire year, you have been gripping the power of the government in your hands,
and you are already preparing to celebrate the anniversary of the October
revolution; but the rivers of the blood of our brothers, pitilessly murdered at
your rallying, cry out to heaven and force us to tell you the bitter truth.
You have
traded the Fatherland for soulless internationalism, although you yourselves
know perfectly well that when it comes to defending the Fatherland, the
proletarians of all countries are those countries’ faithful sons, and not their
betrayers.
Having
seized power and called the people to entrust themselves to you, what promises
have you given them, and how have you kept these promises?
Truly you
have given them a stone instead of bread, and a serpent instead of a fish (cf.
Matt. 7:9-10). To a people worn out by a bloody war you promised to give peace
“without annexation or contribution”.
What
victory could you have turned down, you who have led Russia to a shameful
truce, with humiliating conditions that even you did not resolve to make fully
public? Instead of “annexations and contributions” the great Motherland is
conquered, diminished, dismembered; and as pay for the tribute placed on it you
secretly transport to Germany gold that you yourself did not amass.
... the
great Motherland is conquered, diminished, dismembered; and as pay for the
tribute placed on it you secretly transport to Germany gold that you yourself
did not amass.
You have
taken away from the soldiers everything for which they had valorously fought.
You have taught them, only recently brave and invincible, to leave off
protecting the Motherland and to run from the field of battle.
You have
extinguished in their hearts the inspiring consciousness that there is no
greater love than should one lay down his life for his friends (Jn. 15:13).
You have
traded the Fatherland for soulless internationalism, although you yourselves
know perfectly well that when it comes to defending the Fatherland, the
proletarians of all countries are those countries’ faithful sons, and not their
betrayers.
... the
freedom you have given consists in all manner of indulgence to the lowest crowd
instincts, in murder and theft with impunity.
And
although you have refused to protect the Motherland from external enemies, you
are ceaselessly gathering armies.
Against
whom will you lead them?
You have
divided the entire nation into warring camps and cast it into a fratricide
unprecedented for its cruelty.
You have
openly exchanged love of Christ for hatred, and instead of peace you have
artificially fomented enmity between the classes. And there is no end in sight
to the war you’ve generated, since you aim to deliver triumph to the phantom of
world revolution with the hands of Russian worker and peasants.
I will
not speak of the collapse of a once great and mighty Russia, of the total
fracturing of our railroad, of unprecedented agricultural devastation, of
hunger and cold that threatens death in the cities ...
It was
not Russia who needed the disgraceful peace with its external enemy but you
yourselves, who have plotted to irreparably destroy Russia’s internal peace.
No one
feels safe; everyone lives in constant fear of searches, robbery, eviction,
arrest, and execution.
Hundreds
of defenseless people are seized, then languish for whole months in prisons,
are often executed without investigation or trial, even without going to the
court you have simplified.
Not only
those who are somehow guilty before you, but even those who are in no way
guilty, but were taken only as “captives”—these unfortunate people are killed
to answer for crimes committed by persons who not only are not of one mind with
them, but very often your own followers or those with convictions similar to
yours.
Bishops,
priests, monks and nuns who are guilty of nothing are executed simply because
of some wild accusations of vague and indeterminate “counterrevolution”. This
inhuman execution is made even more onerous for the Orthodox because they are
deprived of the final consolation before their deaths—the Sacraments—and the
bodies of the slain are not given to their families for a Christian burial.
Isn’t
this the height of aimless cruelty on the part of those who pretend to be the
benefactors of mankind and who themselves supposedly suffered from cruel
rulers?
But it’s
not enough for you that you have reddened the hands of the Russian people with
their brother’s blood; hiding behind various names—contributions, requisitions,
and nationalization—you have pushed them into the most barefaced and wanton
thievery.
At your
hinting were plundered or seized lands, mansions, factories, houses, farm
animals, money, personal things, furniture, clothing.
First the
wealthy, whom you’ve called “bourgeois”, were robbed; then under the epithet of
“kulaks” were the more well-off and industrious peasants also plundered, thus
increasing the number of paupers—although you cannot but recognize that with
the impoverishment of a great multitude of individual citizens the wealth of
the nation as a whole is lost, and the country is impoverished.
Tempting
uneducated and ignorant people with the opportunity for easy and unpunished
gain, you have fogged their consciences and muffled in them the awareness of
sin; but no matter what names you hide this evil-doing behind, murder,
violence, and robbery will ever remain serious sins and crimes that cry out to
heaven.
You
promised freedom.
Freedom
is a great good, if it is properly understood—like freedom from evil, not oppressing
others, not turning into lawlessness and willfulness.
But you
have not given that freedom; the freedom you have given consists in all manner
of indulgence to the lowest crowd instincts, in murder and theft with impunity.
All manifestations of both truly the civilian and higher spiritual freedom of
mankind have you mercilessly crushed.
Is it
freedom when no one can bring home food or rent an apartment without special
permission, when families, and sometimes all the inhabitants of whole buildings
are evicted and their possessions are thrown into the street, and when citizens
are artificially divided into ranks, certain of which are consigned to hunger
and being plundered?
Is it
freedom when no one can speak his opinion openly without fear of being accused
of counterrevolution?
Where is
freedom of speech and press, where is freedom for preaching in church?
Many bold
preachers have already paid with their martyrs’ blood; the voice of social and
governmental discussion and criticism is being stifled; all press, other than
the narrow Bolshevik press, has been completely strangled.
Especially
painful and cruel is the violation of freedom in matters of faith.
Not a day
goes by when the most monstrous slanders against Christ’s Church and her
servants are not published in the agencies of your press, along with malicious
blasphemy and mockery. You deride the servants of the altar, force bishops to
dig trenches, and send priests to do dirty work. You have raised your hand
against the Church’s inheritance gathered through many generations of the
faithful, and have given no thought to violating their posthumous will.
You have
closed a large number of monasteries and churches without any excuse or reason.
You have blocked access to the Moscow Kremlin—that sacred inheritance of the
faithful people. You are destroying the ancient form of church community—the
parish; you destroy brotherhoods and other charitable and educational Church
institutions, close and rout diocesan meetings, and interfere with the Orthodox
Church’s internal government.
By
banishing sacred images from schools and forbidding the teaching of faith to
children there, you deprive them of the spiritual food necessary for an
Orthodox upbringing.
What else
can I say? The time fails me (Heb. 11:32) to describe all the catastrophes that
have stricken our Motherland.
I will
not speak of the collapse of a once great and mighty Russia, of the total
fracturing of our railroad, of unprecedented agricultural devastation, of
hunger and cold that threatens death in the cities, and of the lack of
everything needed for maintaining a household in the villages. This everyone
can see.
Yes, we
are experiencing terrible times in our reign, and it will not be erased from
the peoples’ soul for a long time, having darkened the image of God in it and
stamping in it the image of the beast. The words of the prophet have been
fulfilled:
Their
feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts
are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.(Is.
59:7).
We know
that our rebukes will evoke only anger and indignation in you and that you will
look for an excuse in them for accusing us of opposition to the authorities,
but the higher your “column of wrath” rises, the more proven will be the
testimony to the truth of our rebukes.
It is not
our business to judge earthly authorities; all authority, allowed by God, would
attract our blessing if it were truly “God’s servant” for the good of its
subjects, and not a terror to good works, but to the evil (Rom. 13:3).
Now to
you, who are using your authority to persecute your neighbors and decimate the
innocent, we extend our word of instruction: celebrate the anniversary of your
coming to power by freeing the prisoners, putting a stop to the bloodshed,
violence, devastation, and persecution of faith; turn not to destruction but to
the establishment of law and order, give the people their desired and deserved
rest from civil war.
Otherwise
all the righteous blood you have spilled will be required of you (cf. Lk.
11:50), and you who took sword in hand will yourselves die of the sword (cf.
Matt. 26:52).”
November 7, 1918
Source: https://russian-faith.com/persecution/church-leaders-brilliant-1918-letter-lenin-speaks-truth-about-revolution-n1265
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)
About Our Blog
Welcome to the official blog of the Catalogue of St.Elisabeth Convent! The blog includes recent ministry updates of the convent, sermons, icons, personal stories and everything related to Orthodox Christianity. Join our Catalog of Good Deeds and become part of the ministry of St.Elisabeth Convent! #CatalogOfGoodDeeds