The Catalog of Good Deeds

A new CD album of the Monastic Choir of St Elisabeth Convent has been released. The album was recorded under the supervision of Nun Juliania (Denisova). We hope that the listeners will enjoy the new album Our Faith with its diverse tracklist, which includes:

– Church hymns of Byzantine, Macedonian, and znamenny chants;

– Music by P. Chesnokov, P. Tchaikovsky, I. Boldysheva, V. Basner, Nun Juliania (Denisova);

– Spiritual canticles with lyrics by classical poets and contemporary authors, including St Nikolaj of Serbia, Archpriest Andrei Logvinov, and Archpriest Artemius Vladimirov;

– Folk songs.

These hymns and songs gained popularity among parishioners and audiences in many cities and towns around the world where the sisters had concerts or participated in church worship. It was thanks to numerous requests of the music lovers that the sisters decided to record some chants from the repertoire of the Monastic Choir, which normally consists of no more than 10 sisters.

Nun Juliania (Denisova), the Precentor-in-Chief of St Elisabeth Convent, points out that the new album of the Monastic Choir includes chants from the Shining Bright album, chants from the repertoire of the Festive Choir of St Elisabeth Convent, and songs specially harmonised for the tours of the Monastic Choir. Belarusian and Russian folk songs are mingled with a French song. Tchaikovsky’s piece When Jesus Christ Was Yet A Child is followed by an ancient (7^th – 8^th century) canticle Walking Down God’s Mountain. All these pieces are joined together by the peculiarities of treatment and sound of this choir.

Konstantin Karmanov, the head of the Audio Studio of St Elisabeth Convent and the sound engineer of the Our Faith project, emphasises that this project has a missionary purpose, “We speak about Christ through the brilliant art of church singing. The sisters sing wholeheartedly and take to heart the music pieces they perform. Beside that, this album contains a chronicle of the development of contemporary art of church singing, expressed through the traditions of choir singing upheld in St Elisabeth Convent.”

Total runtime of this album is 54 minutes.

Download this CD here: https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/our-faith-cd-the-monastic-choir-of-st-elisabeth-convent-download.html

Archpriest Andrew Lemeshonok, the spiritual father of St. Elisabeth Convent, answers various questions of the parishioners.

Have you ever met people whose repentance was similar to the repentance of St Mary of Egypt?

The repentance of St Mary of Egypt is an extraordinary example. Having worked in the Church for a long time, I have seen people come in a miserable and poor condition, and the Lord provided them with a chance to begin a new life. They went through a complete transformation. Of course, they didn’t walk on water and they didn’t live in deserts but it was evident that the Lord gave them power to oppose sin, to get the better of their own self, and the outcomes were visible.

When you see the result, it makes your faith stronger. In any case, we need to witness the acts of God with our own eyes. We need it badly, particularly when we are in trouble.

Why are we more accustomed to the time of repentance and fasting than to the season of Easter joy?

We all are ill, both spiritually and physically. We are more likely to feel sorrow than joy. It is much harder to be happy than to cry. Joy is beyond our capabilities.

It is with this long fast, self-denial, temperance, and restrictions of earthly joys that the Church prepares us for celestial delight. We will embrace that delight when we arrive at the Bright Resurrection of Christ. However, we have to work hard to preserve that joy through the entire Bright Week, the entire Easter season until the Ascension, and throughout the entire year in general.

Orthodoxy does not necessitate one’s grim and stiff repentance, when one doesn’t care about anyone else. Orthodoxy is primarily centred around the joy of the Risen Christ, which ensues when an individual humbles down and feels that God loves him and is always near.

When anything bad happens, it has become common to hear, “Well, that’s the Great Lent for you…” Is Great Lent really to blame for all our misfortunes?

We are always looking for someone to blame for our own sins or the trials and sorrows that we have to go through.

Whenever someone tries to make any spiritual effort and to get closer to God, there are more sorrows, that’s true. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. If you want to get a result, if you are not afraid of moving forward, if you exert yourself and start working spiritually and fighting the sin, you must be aware of the fact that the sin won’t give in so easily. It will fight tooth and nail. You will observe within yourself the things you have never thought existed. You may have had a peaceful life and thought that you were a good person who loved God and your neighbour. Nevertheless, when you get more involved in Christian living, when you start going to church and trying to lead a spiritual life, everything goes awry. You are shocked to find out that you are not actually a decent person: in fact, you are a disgraceful sinner. Your mask goes off. It is baffling for a proud person to see his sins and his nefariousness, so he becomes desperate and dreary. That’s the usual scenario.

What you should do in this case is be patient. You talk the talk, you gotta walk the walk. You decide to follow Christ to the end. You might choose a big and unbearable prayer rule and appear to be holy in your own eyes but then you will turn out to be incapable of anything… It is extremely embarrassing to humble down in this case. It is hard to admit, “Yes, Lord, forgive me, I am but a little child who has put on a grown man’s clothes.” You’ve got to know your level. That is why it is greatly beneficial if you seek advice of more experienced people and ask your spiritual father for his blessing of your abstinence and prayer rule.

March 21, 2018

St. Elisabeth Convent

This is a translation, exclusively for Russian Faith, of an interview which appeared in Today, a Russian news site, with Father Joseph Gleason, an Orthodox priest who moved to provincial Russia with his wife and 8 children, primarily in order to raise his family in an Orthodox Christian country.

They settled in Rostov-the-Great, 3 hours north of Moscow, not far from Yaroslavl (not to be confused with Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia). The interview was conducted by Artemy Schmidt, a sociologist at the university of Yaroslavl, who also wrote the introduction.

This article was also published on Russia Insider, where it is generating a lively discussion in the comments section.

The modern world is seeing increased immigration activity due to wars, conflicts, natural disasters, globalization, and many other factors. Traditionally, the immigration stream primarily goes to prosperous countries with welcoming legal systems. When inviting foreign workers, students or refugees, these countries inevitably face the challenges of cultural and confessional assimilation. These problems are especially acute in the EU and USA where Middle Eastern refugees fail to assimilate, ruining the Western ideal of a cultural “melting pot”.

Meanwhile Russia, which traditionally attracts immigrants from all over the world, is offering its own approach to cultural integration. It is one of the main advantages of coming to this great country.

Consider the unique path taken by Fr. Joseph Gleason from the USA. Formerly a Protestant pastor, Joseph and his family converted to Orthodoxy several years ago. Eventually he became a priest in the Orthodox Church. In 2017, Fr. Joseph moved to Russia with his wife Amy and their 8 children, and they settled in Rostov-the-Great. He is building a house in a nearby community, and he looks forward to spending his life as a village priest.

Many thanks to Fr. Joseph who kindly agreed to answer my questions.

– Father Joseph, please tell me your story. What brings you to Russia?

– I would say the first step was the religion itself. I was formerly a Protestant pastor, and had a small church in Omaha, Illinois. Then all of us became Orthodox Christians.

We didn’t want to be hypocrites, visiting church on Sunday and then watching “Game of Thrones” at home afterwards. That would make no sense. When the Faith is the most important thing in your life, you want to devote your entire life to it.

We didn’t want our children studying in government schools, so we homeschooled them. The USA is a good country in many ways, with many good people. But for various reasons, my family and I no longer felt good about living there. I was looking for a different country where we could live, and I began to research countries with strong Orthodox traditions: Serbia, Georgia, Greece, and of course Russia.

– Why were you disappointed with life in the USA?

– In America, many things were very good. We had 6 acres of land, I had a tractor, my children milked goats, and our church was not far from home. I was also working as a computer engineer. All of these things were great.

But I didn’t want to live in a country without a future. When the Supreme Court legalized so-called “gay-marriage”, we were very frustrated. Every society is built on the foundation of the family. When the family is strong, society and the state are strong too. History has confirmed this many times. But without strong families, society crumbles. The homosexual lifestyle is a sin, and it destroys families.

In Russia it is possible to find people who practice the homosexual lifestyle, but it is not promoted by the Government. And as St. Paisios says: When an individual sins, God punishes the individual, but when the government sins, God punishes the whole nation. I don’t know if it will take 10 years, or if it will take 50 years, but if America does not repent, then the nation will fall.

The second reason was related to foreign policy. They put hundreds of military bases around the world, and have supported numerous unjust wars. And whenever they bring war to Orthodox lands, it seems that they are always attacking Christians, rather than protecting them.

However bad the leader of Iraq may have been, at least he protected the Christians who lived there. But after war was forced upon Iraq, the Christian populations were mercilessly exiled or slaughtered. There were around one million Christians there prior to the war, and today there are virtually zero.

In December, 1998, western armed forces stopped bombing Iraq during Ramadan, out of respect for Muslims, yet in 1999 they had no qualms about bombing Serbia on Pascha, the holiest day of the year for Orthodox Christians.

Consider the recent war in Syria. The Orthodox Christian faith has been native to Syria for 2000 years, going all the way back to the first century. In ancient times Antioch was a Syrian city, and according to the New Testament scriptures, Antioch is the very first place where the word “Christian” was used. These ancient Orthodox Christian communities have been around for 2000 years, and they still exist in Syria today. And the current leader of Syria protects them.

Meanwhile, in the recent war, opposition forces were systematically torturing, raping, and slaughtering Christians without mercy. And when the West entered the fray, they supported the opposition. Over and over again, Western countries continue to support those who kill Orthodox Christians. This is not acceptable.

Because I am a Christian, I believe that supernatural beings are among us, and that they influence the course of history. I am confident that international policy is not merely a confrontation between human beings – it’s also a battle between angels and demons. If you on God’s side, then you should protect Christians, not try to destroy them.

Russia openly promotes the Orthodox Christian faith. And in various military conflicts, Russia has fought for the side which protects Orthodox Christians. So if there is ever another major war, I do not want my children to be in an army that fights against Russia. I would rather they be in the Russian army, so they can help protect Christians.

– Why did you choose Russia?

– The most important reason is religion. The Orthodox Church has been in Russia for over 1000 years. And today, millions of devout Orthodox Christians are living life and raising their families in Russia.

Whenever firemen fight a large fire, and they need a safe meeting place, they go to a part of the forest that has already burned out. For 70 years, the fires of atheistic Communism burned through Russia, bringing oppression and martyrdom to millions of faithful Christians. But that fire has burned out, and Russia has learned its lesson.

In Russia for the past 25 years, over 25,000 churches have been either built or rebuilt. That’s an average of over three new churches built every day. While the rest of the world is turning its back on Christian principles, spiritually burning itself to a crisp, the Church has found a safe haven within the borders of Russia.

We could have moved to Canada, Mexico, or a number of South American countries, but homosexuals are allowed to “marry” each other there. And if you don’t support the sodomites, then you risk losing your job, or even losing your children. Western European countries also have fallen into the claws of the homosexual movement.

I love the churches in Greece. But homeschooling is prohibited there, and they too have succumbed to sodomite propaganda. Thankfully, some African nations have rejected the homosexual nonsense. But many of these countries are in chaos, with Muslims killing Christians, blacks killing whites, and unhealthy levels of civil unrest.

It is also important to consider national security. Most countries have a relatively weak military, and they would not be able to withstand an attack from a major world power. For example, what if I had settled in Chile, Paraguay, Serbia or Greece? Hypothetically, if any of these countries were attacked by America, or attacked by a coalition of U.N. forces, they would probably not be able to defend themselves.

Russia is better: Orthodox Christianity is respected, homeschooling is legal, and sodomite propaganda is forbidden. And the Russian army is very strong. Instead of putting military bases all around the world, they focus on defending national borders. If any nation is foolish enough to attack Russia, I believe they will lose. I feel safer in Russia than I do anywhere else.

– What was your family’s reaction to your decision?

– Very positive. We talked a lot during the whole process, and I explained my thoughts along the way. They understood the dangers of remaining in a country where the traditional family is under attack. And they were excited to see the ancient Orthodox churches in Russia, and to meet Orthodox Christians living there.

As a family, we all started studying the Russian language, even before moving across the ocean. Since arriving here in 2017, my family and I have grown to love Russia more and more. It is a good place to live.

When a spaceship travels from earth to the moon, the first step is to escape the earth’s gravity. But when it reaches a certain point, the moon’s gravity takes over, and pulls the spaceship towards itself. Our journey to Russia worked in a way that is similar. Initially, we were just trying to escape the troubles of our former country. But the more we learned about Russia, the more it attracted us.

Regardless of how good or bad other countries may be, Russia itself is a good place to live.

– Did you have some fears before moving?

– Nearly a decade ago I became an Orthodox Christian, but I still had the mindset of an average American. I did not think of Russia in a positive way. I remembered Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and the Berlin Wall. I was naive, and I trusted the mainstream news.

But thankfully, over time, the Orthodox Christian faith helped give me a better understanding of Russia.

Surprisingly, I have met Americans who still think of Russia as a communist country. They are amazed to find out there are so many churches here. It helps open the eyes of American readers, when I post photos of beautiful Russian villages and churches on my blog.

Many Americans think Russians don’t smile, so some of them have been impressed, seeing a simple picture of a Russian person smiling.

Before moving here, many Americans told me that Russia is a dangerous place. They worried that I would be robbed and that my children would be kidnapped. Yet the reality is that life here is quite safe for families.

Here in Rostov, many times I have let my children walk from home to church and back again. That is not something I would allow them to do in Chicago. The people here in Rostov are very kind, and life is peaceful and quiet.

I think propaganda is the main reason why most Americans misunderstand Russia. They don’t know anything about Russia, except what they have seen in the movies and on the news, so they just don’t have an accurate picture.

But when a person finally travels to Russia, the reality becomes much clearer. People come here to visit once, and then they want to come back again and again, and they want to bring their relatives and friends.

– Where do the false stereotypes come from?

– In this modern world, most people are preoccupied with entertainment and pleasure. Most people don’t know history well, and they don’t watch the news critically. Too many people trust mass media, and the news stations and movie studios are really good at manufacturing propaganda. The main aim of propaganda is to dehumanize your enemy.

But if you just once visit Russia and see Russia with your own eyes, you will never believe the news stations again.

Thankfully, I have not seen the same sort of propaganda here in Russia. The news is not filled with anti-American bias, and the people here do not hate Americans. People here know that I am from America, and they have been very welcoming and kind.

– Why was Russia chosen as a main rival?

– During the Cold War, the Soviet Union was considered enemy number one, and in 1991 this enemy lost. Russia struggled for a while afterwards, and many Western influences tried to work their way into the country. But after several years, a strong leader arose who was not willing to let Russia be a servant to the West.

Russia is willing to work together as an equal partner with other countries, but Russia is not willing to be a vassal. Unfortunately, the U.S. doesn’t seem willing to treat Russia as an equal. Thus, there has been a lot of anti-Russian rhetoric among politicians, and the mass-media has been a major source of anti-Russian propaganda.

For much of history, the word “Russian” has been hated by Western Europe and the U.S., regardless of whether one is discussing the Russian government or the Russian Orthodox Church. Many of the reasons can be traced back to ancient grudges held by opposing religions.

A thousand years ago, Rome was still part of the Orthodox Church. But then the Roman Catholic Church went into schism. Ever since, Western Europe and Eastern Europe have been at odds with each other.

Eight hundred years ago, St. Alexander Nevsky agreed to pay tribute to the Mongols, because they didn’t try to impose their religion on him. But Sweden tried to force Russians to become Roman Catholics, so Nevsky fought them.

In some respects, little has changed since then. The West still tries to control the East, and the East still refuses to be controlled.

Much earlier, in the 4th century, the Roman Empire had moved its capital from Rome to Constantinople. Thus Constantinople became known as the “Second Rome”.

1000 years later when Constantinople fell to the Muslims, Russia picked up the torch, building an Empire closely integrated with the Orthodox Christian Faith. Thus Moscow has often been called the “Third Rome”.

Throughout the middle ages, the Roman Catholic Church stood in opposition to the Orthodox Church. And this influenced international relations on numerous occasions. The West opposed the East. The First Rome was at war with the Third Rome. And this ancient grudge has continued until the present day.

Like two families that have been feuding and fighting for multiple generations, many people have forgotten the original reasons for disagreement. They just know they are on opposite sides, and that they are at war with one another. Multiple centuries of fighting have led to a very deep-seated animosity, almost down to the level of one’s DNA. The culture in America and Western Europe conditions people to think of Russia as the enemy, and it is very difficult to overcome such ancient grudges.

That may help explain why Westerners are so quick to forgive Western nations for past sins, yet so unwilling to forgive Russia. Of course, bad things have been done in this part of the world. In the Soviet Union, the Orthodox Church was under attack, churches were destroyed, and many Christians were martyred. The murder of the Royal Family was a terrible crime. The West is always quick to remember the sins of Russia’s past.

Meanwhile, Hitler and Napoleon also did terrible things, and committed many crimes. Yet time has passed, and Western nations have been willing to forgive Germany and France.

Why can’t they also forgive Russia? Perhaps it is because conflicts with France and Germany are assumed to be “internal affairs”, while conflicts with Russia are assumed to be risky interactions with a dangerous foreign power. The descendants of the First Rome are still trying to fight against the Third Rome.

– Why do some critics accuse the Russian Orthodox Church as if it were an instrument of the Kremlin?

– In America, many people push for the separation of Church and State, where government operates without regard to religion or Christian morality. Of course, this approach is wrong. It is just an excuse for a nation to ignore God. Such people are worried by any cooperation between the Church and the government. As far as I can tell, the Russian government and the Russian Orthodox Church don’t try to control one another. They just work together in a brotherly way, to accomplish common goals. Of course, this annoys the West.

– The Russian Constitution provides the freedom of religious choice. Religions are separate from the state. Why is Orthodoxy so heavily criticized?

– Yes, Russia has a long history of religious freedom. For centuries, Christians, Buddhists and Muslims have lived in Russia, without being a danger to one another. But in the West today, respect is usually only given to non-Christian religions. Muslims, Buddhists and atheists are praised, while Christians are called bigots. The West hates Russia, and the West also hates Christianity. The Russian Orthodox Church is both Christian and Russian, so it is doubly hated by the West.

– What were your first steps in moving to Russia?

– When I first became interested in visiting Russia, I didn’t know anyone here. Then on Facebook I became acquainted with an American who had moved to St. Petersburg and had been living there with his family for several years. In 2015 he invited me for a visit. I visited Russia two more times in 2016. I visited many places, including Moscow, Pskov, Voronezh, Kostroma, Galich and Unorozh. In January 2017, I moved here to Rostov with my family.

– Did you have any problems?

– My friend from St. Petersburg told me that Russian people are good people. If you are friendly, then they will be friendly. But if you are arrogant and triumphalistic, then things won’t go so well. If you are humble and grateful, then everything will be OK. That’s true. He also said there would be many problems with documents and bureaucracy – unfortunately, that’s also true. Also, in Rostov it has been difficult to find a Russian language teacher.

– Did you have any problems based on your nationality?

– No. Most people here think I look like a native Russian. When I try to speak Russian, people are friendly and they try to understand, even when I don’t speak perfectly. So it’s not really an issue.

The family from St. Petersburg that invited me in 2015 is also multinational: he was from California, his wife was from Russia, and her father was of Mongolian background. The family was very kind and friendly. More recently, while returning from a trip to Suzdal (my favorite Russian town), we visited an Armenian café. The owner, an Armenian man, was also very hospitable and kind.

Not far from Rostov is the village of Davidovo, where my friend Fr. Vladimir is the village priest. One of his parishioners has a wife who is Chinese. In my travels, I have had no problems with people of various nationalities. They have all been very kind and friendly. I think we can say the “melting pot” phenomenon takes place in Russia rather successfully.

– What are your plans for the future?

– I look forward to being a village priest, and to farming my own land. I want to raise my children here, and see my grandchildren grow up here as well. Life here is not easy, but it is good. Everyone in my family can uphold traditional Chrsitian marriage, without anyone losing a job as a result. If the Lord allows, we can live our lives in peace as Orthodox Christians.

Source: http://www.pravmir.com/us-orthodox-priest-wife-and-8-children-move-to-russia-rostov-the-great-interview/

Q: Why do seminarians wear the cassock?

A: Seminaries are a relatively recent thing in Church history. The first seminaries were established in the wake of the Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation in the 16th century, and were only later adopted as a model by both Orthodox and Protestants.

The first Orthodox Seminary was the Kiev Theological Academy, which was founded in 1615, on the grounds of the Theophany Monastery. Perhaps because of this historical connection of Orthodox seminaries with monasteries the practice is for Orthodox Seminarians to wear a cassock and a monastic belt, just as would a novice monastic.

The Holy Trinity Seminary Student Handbook says the following about the wearing of a cassock by seminarians:

"Being a theological school, Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary is guided in its activities by canon law. In accordance with the canons and decisions of the Orthodox Church, all inhabitants of the monastery are obligated to be in obedience to the Abbot.

Students enter the theological seminary wearing cassocks and belts like novices in the monastery but with a specially modified regime. Therefore they are obliged to submit to the seminary and monastery authorities according to the dictates of their consciences and Christian obedience which call for humility and respect for spiritual superiors. Students must be clearly aware of these things and must consider beforehand whether they are really inspired by an Orthodox Christian attitude, and whether it makes sense for them to study in the Seminary under such conditions."

Most seminaries are still connected with monasteries, and participation in the liturgical life of the monastery is one of the more important aspects of an Orthodox seminary education.

Bishop Irenei (Steenberg) had the following observations regarding the traditions of wearing a cassock (podryasnik) and an outer cassock (ryasa), in a discussion on his Monachos.net website:

"The normal custom vis-a-vis cassocks varies between the Byzantine and Russian traditions.

In general terms, and largely common to both traditions, the inner cassock (in Russian the подрясник) is to be worn by all persons in tonsure - that is, by all those of the higher orders of the clergy (bishops, priests, deacons), all those of the lesser orders (subdeacons and readers), as well as by monastics, and often (though not always) by seminarians. It is fundamentally a sign both of the obedience of the tonsure (in the cases of all but seminarians), and of self-effacement. In proper terms, no person in any of these categories should be in the church without being attired properly in the подрясник.

Practices regarding the outer cassock, the ряса, vary by tradition:

In the Russian tradition, it is the more formal outer garment of bishops, priests, deacons and monastics (of the rank of ryassophor, named specifically for the wearing of this garment, which is in origin monastic), worn over (not instead of) the cassock. The ряса is not normally worn by subdeacons or readers, and never by seminarians. In normal Russian practice, one receives a blessing to wear the ряса either on ordination to the diaconate, or when advancing in the monastic life.

In the Byzantine tradition, the same general practice often applies; however, it is common for readers to wear this outer garment when reading in church (usually without the cassock beneath, unique to Byzantine practice) - and in some cases others also will wear the ryassa in the same manner (choir directors, etc)."

By Fr. John Whiteford

Source: http://fatherjohn.blogspot.com.by/2017/10/stump-priest-seminarians-and-cassocks.html

In both Eastern and Western liturgical traditions, March 25th marks a special event in the life of Jesus Christ: His conception in the womb of the Virgin Mary. This event is also known as the Annunciation, when according to the Gospel of St. Luke, the Archangel Gabriel came to the Virgin and announced, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” (Luke 1:30-31)

Mary’s response to this announcement is a familiar and beloved one: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) According to Church tradition, her words of acceptance were what allowed God’s Word to enter and initiate within her the human conception of her Son.

Less well known is why March 25th is the date of the Annunciation. Some scholars argue that Christian chose the pagan feast of Sol Invictus (“the Invincible Sun”) on December 25th to celebrate the birth of Jesus. As a result, the feast of Jesus’ conception was established nine months earlier on—you guessed it—March 25th.

This line of argumentation has recently been replaced by a more interesting explanation. Scholars now suggest that some early Christians believed that Jesus actually died on March 25th. And because they ascribed to Him the ancient Jewish piety that a prophet died on the same day as he was conceived, they also established the date for His conception. While the celebration of Jesus’ death later shifted, becoming dependent on the lunar cycle, the Annunciation remained fixed, with Christmas nine months later.

Whether this explanation is ultimately factual, I neither know nor care; entertaining its possibility does, however, offer a rich opportunity for reflection. If Jesus did die on the same day as He was conceived, then from the moment of His conception, He was destined to die. Further, if Jesus is the pattern after which every human being is supposed to be made, then you and I are also born to die, as He was.

This is more than just to say that one day, all of us are going to die. The coincidence of Jesus’ conception and His death suggest to that the purpose of our existence is to die, not just “in the end,” but every day, moment by moment. Just as Jesus’ ultimate death coincided with His conception, every instant of my life must also coincide with a death—an offering of myself for others without concern for my own welfare.

Frankly, the world around us takes the opposite tack. We are born, are taught to survive, are filled with knowledge and skills, find jobs and careers, acquire wealth and material possessions, invest, save money for day—all so that we can manage our destinies, if not completely then a little more completely than before.

Beneath that imperative to manage and control is a more primeval impulse: the fear of death, over which we have no control. The need to survive, to cheat death or put it off for as long as possible is the ultimate driving force behind almost every aspect of individual, social, economic and political life in this world.

The Annunciation, linked with the Cross, is a flat out rejection of this Darwinian way of thinking. When I affirm that my life is a series of deaths to self, I choose something other than “survival of the fittest” and “kill or be killed.” Rather, I make choices as a consumer, as a parent, as a spouse, as a citizen, as a member of the Church, that benefit someone other than myself. I am willing to take cuts, live with less, deprive myself of comforts and conveniences, so that other individuals, communities, species, the world outside myself—might survive and thrive. It’s counterintuitive and revolutionary.

Am I destroyed when I make the decision to make my life choices a series of little deaths? By no means. After all, if I die to myself so that you might live, and you die to yourself so that I might live, we both end up, not just alive, but enriched by one another’s lives. And even if you refuse to respond in kind to my act of self-sacrifice, I can still choose to die in imitation of Jesus’ own self-emptying death for me and the entire human race, and in doing so, I find myself resurrected and transformed by a His resurrection.

The Annunciation, then, is a call to death, but not destruction. It is a challenge to relinquish fear, to reject self-interest, to demonstrate the courage and the conviction of the Virgin Mary’s simple acceptance of Gabriel’s announcement, trusting like her that though the water may come up over our heads, God will not allow us to be drowned in our sufferings, but will lead us through into the promised land of life and joy.

Source: http://stillwaterorthodox.org/2016/04/annunciation-call-life-death/

This Saturday we chant the Akathist Hymn during Matins. In our days however this does not happen except in the holy monasteries, since in the parishes it is chanted the evening before, on Friday during the Small Compline.

The Akathist Hymn is a "Kontakion". In olden times a Kontakion was a series of hymns, analogous with a "Canon". The name probably comes from the short stick with which the parchment that contained the hymn was unwrapped [kontakion means "short stick" in Greek]. The first troparion is called a "prooimion" or "koukoulion" and those after are called "oikoi", hence why the entire hymn is considered an entire structure [oikos in Greek means "house"] dedicated to the memory of a certain saint. Today the first troparion of such a hymn is usually called a Kontakion.

The Akathist Hymn contains a prooimion and 24 "oikoi". The prooimion in the olden days was not where "O Champion General" is today, but after ("When he perceived what had secretly been ordered"). The "acrostic" of the hymn is alphabetical, that is it follows the order of the alphabet [in Greek] A, B, C, D, etc. An acrostic is a phrase that is formed when the first letter of an eirmos and troparion continues in a certain continuous order for a hymn. This phrase sometimes refers to the name of the author of the hymn, or at other times to the subject of the feast, and so on. Of course not all hymns have acrostics. There are also two "Ephymnia" [Refrains] in the Akathist Hymn: "Rejoice, Bride unwedded" and "Alleluia". The first is the response for the odd numbered "oikoi" (1, 3, 5, 7, etc.) and the second is for the even numbered "oikoi" (2, 4, 6, 8, etc.). An "ephymnion" is the last word or phrase of a hymn which the people repeat, since the chanters of course chanted the entire hymn.

The Akathist Hymn begins with the Annunciation of the Virgin, and then refers to the events thereafter. It speaks of the visitation of the Virgin to Elizabeth, of the suspicions of Joseph the protector of the Virgin, of the veneration of the Lord by the shepherds and magi, of the fleeing of Christ to Egypt and the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. These are in the first half. In the second half of the Hymn are words about the incarnation of Christ, the theosis of mankind and the worthiness of the Panagia to be the Mother of God.

Who was the author of the Akathist Hymn? To this question there has not been given an answer till this day which would not be disputed. Despite all the research and discussions the problem remains a problem. Some - and these are the majority - theorize the Hymn was written by Romanos the Melodist. Others theorize it was Patriarch Sergios of Constantinople. Others bring forward George Pisida, while others bring forward others. What seems most likely is that the Hymn was composed during the reign of Emperor Justinian, if not even a bit older.

The reason the Hymn is called "Akathist" is the following, in accordance with tradition:

About the year 626 Constantinople was beseiged by the Persians and Avars for some months. Emperor Heraclius at the time was in Asia Minor battling the Persians. When he found out his city was beseiged he sent 12,000 men of his soldiers to the patrician Bonos in Constantinople in order to defend, with the patrician, the capital of the empire. Bonos along with Patriarch Sergios gathered as many citizens as possible with weapons. They all swore to fight till the end. The Patriarch was running around the city encouraging the people and the fighters. The entire city placed their hopes in their Protectress, the "Champion Leader", the Most Holy Theotokos. The seige was near and strong. Despite this the city withstood the attacks of the seige, yet the seige persisted. Suddenly a fearsome hurricane broke up all their ships, and they rushed throughout the night from the 7th till the 8th of August to abandon their seige and leave empty-handed. The kingdom was saved! The people of the city, celebrating their salvation, which they ascribed to the Mother of God, assembled at the Blachernae Church of the Theotokos, where they gathered for an all-night vigil of thanksgiving, presided over by Patriarch Sergios. During this the entire crowd chanted the Hymn while standing, and from this time on it became known as the Akathist Hymn [akathist means "not sitting" in Greek]. Indeed the Hymn existed before this time and was chanted to the Most Holy Theotokos, but on that night it was established in a festive way for our Church. The troparion "O Champion General" (which replaced the pre-existing "When he perceived what had secretly been ordered") was unquestionably composed at that time. For this reason the entire deliverance of the city from clamity "ascribed the victory" to their Protectress the Theotokos.

The Akathist Hymn begins with a particular Canon, which begins "I will open my mouth". This is an even numbered Canon, which means that it has eight Odes. The acrostic says: "Giver of joy, to you alone belongs rejoicing. Joseph." The name Joseph refers to the author of the Canon. This is probably Joseph the Hymnographer, who was from Sicily and lived during the ninth century. The eirmoi do not belong to him, but were from the Canon of the Dormition of the Theotokos. They probably belong to John the Damascene. Every Ode in the Canon has an eirmon and four troparia. Thus the Canon has 8 eirmoi and 32 troparia.

This Canon is most beautiful and festive, and characterized as a poetic masterpiece. It sings of the Ever-Virgin Daughter as "the living book of Christ", as "the palace of the only King", as a "fiery throne of the Almighty", as a "treasury of purity", as a "sweet smelling lily", as a "dwelling place of light", as a "mercy seat for the world", as "higher than the heavens", as "incomprehensible depth", as "height unspeakable", as "the bridal chamber full of light", as "the fiery chariot of God the Logos", as the "living Paradise", as "the cause of all the deified", as the "unconsumed bush", as the "mystical rod", as the "pillar of fire", etc.

The Akathist Hymn is also chanted in sections in our churches in the first four Fridays of Great Lent. The entire Canon which accompanies the Akathist is also chanted on these Fridays.

Well-known and much-loved is the troparion which is chanted during the Service of the Akathist Hymn:

O Champion General, we your City ascribe to you the victory in gratitude for being rescued from calamity, O Theotokos. But since you have invincible power, free us from all kinds of perils so that we may cry out to you: Rejoice, O Bride unwedded!

Most beautiful also is the apolytikion:

When he perceived what had secretly been ordered, to the abode of Joseph urgently reported the bodiless one and said unto the Unwedded: The Lord who has bowed the heavens in His descent, in you is contained completely and without change; and beholding Him in your womb taking the form of a slave, astounded I cry out to you: Rejoice, O Bride unwedded!

By Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

Translated by John Sanidopoulos

Source: johnsanidopoulos.com/2011/04/saturday-of-akathist-hymn.html

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