The Catalog of Good Deeds

“Fr. Dustin, aren’t all those extra services (feast days, Vespers, Matins) just for monks and retired people?” Here’s my brief response.

Before explaining the “why” of the services, you should know what the services of the Orthodox Church are. We follow an ancient calendar, so the day begins when the sun sets, so the first service of the day is Vespers. So, technically, the Saturday evening Vespers is the first service of Sunday. Then, in the morning, we celebrate Matins, called Orthros in Greek. If there’s a special celebration–such as a feast day, or the day of resurrection (Sunday)–then Divine Liturgy is celebrated. These three services–Vespers, Matins, and Divine Liturgy–make up the cycle of services in most parishes.

In monasteries, the Vespers-Matins-Liturgy cycle could be done all at once. In this case, it would be a Vigil that lasts through the night. Monasteries, of course, would add in the Hours (1st, 3rd, 6th, and 9th) as well as Compline and the Mid-night office. This is what’s considered a full liturgical cycle.

OK, now the answer.

Firstly, Orthodox Christians understand the Bible to be very supportive of a cycle of prayers:

“Seven times a day I praise thee for thy righteous ordinances.” (Psalm 119:164 RSV)

”...pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 RSV)

Secondly, we believe that prayer–including a cycle of services–is a way of sanctifying time. We’re so used to what, in Greek, is called chronos time. This is the time set by your watch. But sanctified time, in Greek, is kairos. This time is much different. We believe we are called to sanctify all aspects of our life, including time.

Thirdly, each of these services is different and has different hymns. Because we have a cycle of feasts (celebrating biblical events as well as saints), the hymns contain much of our theology about those feasts and saints. The best seminary education isn’t in a classroom or in books, it’s going to all the services, every day, in the Orthodox Church for a year (this is why we had daily Vespers and Matins at seminary). If you want to know what we believe, see how we worship (lex orandi, lex credendi).

Fourthly, it’s this cycle of services that have produced thousands (millions?) of saints over 2,000 years, so we know it works. Don’t fix what’s not broken!

Fifthly, it refocuses a very ego-driven mindset in us. We’re forced to actually devote time to worshipping God more than an hour once a week. It creates a pattern of prayer in us.

Sixthly, the services take us through the crucifixion and resurrection. In the evening, we are led into the darkness of the night (crucifixion and burial) and then, in the morning, we are led out of death and into life. One can’t beat this theme! “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2 RSV)

By Fr. Dustin Lyon

Source: http://www.dustinlyon.org/?p=1742

The prayers and services of the Church demonstrate to us the need for regular, weekly Communion. Without it, we cannot expect to live our lives any differently than the rest of the world - we are simply too spiritually weak to do so.

If we have acquired a correct eagerness to receive Holy Communion, let us not fall into the trap of approaching it casually. Most people are quite faithful in this regard, observing the necessary prayers before Communion, and fasting from food, drink, marital relations, and smoking prior to receiving the Body and Blood of Christ. This kind of preparation allows us to be ready to receive the Lord under the roof of the spiritual house of our soul.

One area of the preparation for Holy Communion which is most often missed, however, is the preparation of the heart through silence and prayers then evening before. The early Church observed an all-night vigil, which was literally all night! Some parishes today observe the vigil as it has come down to us: a two to three hour service of psalms, prayers, and spiritual hymns. But in many parishes, only the service of Vespers remains as a means of proper preparation for the night before Liturgy, and for the Liturgy itself.

Vespers in fact the beginning of the process of approaching for Holy Communion. We cannot and should not approach the Holy Mysteries without it, unless we are sick. Saturday night is also the ideal time to go for Holy Confession, allowing that Holy Mystery to prepare us for the next. While some parishes with more than one priest can offer Confession on Sundays, it is simply impossible to have a full and proper Confession before the Liturgy in places where only one priest serves. Like anything, there are always exceptions for real emergencies.

Knowing all this, we may be tempted to reason our way out of frequent participation in Holy Communion, in the following manner: "Since I cannot make time to attend Vespers, and I cannot sacrifice a loud and wild Saturday night, I will simply resolve to receive Holy Confession and Communion only infrequently - perhaps a few times each year." What madness! The certain next step in our thinking will be to say, "I know Communion is the main part of the Liturgy - since I cannot receive it, I will just stay home!" Brothers and Sisters in Christ, these are thoughts from the evil one, who wants us to feel either rebelliousness or guilt when confronted with the norms of the Christian life. He wants us to be paralyzed, and he does not care how this happens.

God's peace is accessible to us. It is even offered in abbreviated forms, because of our weakness (Vespers and the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom on most Sundays are both much abbreviated from earlier services).

If we say we want this peace, we must take the steps needed to set aside our Saturday evenings - or at least an hour of it - for the prayers with the Church which prepare us for Communion. We must decide that the eve of the day of the Resurrection - Sunday - must be spent in quiet activities that truly reflect the life of a Christian.

God doesn't ask everything of us, but He does ask something: that we take part in the spiritual struggle against the tendencies so strongly reinforced in our age of hedonism, and prepare ourselves like Moses to ascend the Holy Mountain each week. The generations of the Old Testament awaited our day and our opportunity to do just this; many would have died for the spiritual opportunity we enjoy each week.

Let us fully recognize the gift that God has given us in Confession and Holy Communion, and let us prepare ourselves in a worthy and Christian way, not simply when guilt strikes us, or when it is a feast day, but each week, so we may be prepared to fight the good fight for the week ahead.

By Archpriest Geoffrey Korz

Source: http://www.asna.ca/articles/200809-01.html

I lost my patience recently. Then, I lost my temper. These are two things that I rarely experience, and, as self-flattering as this pronouncement may appear, they are behaviors I would like to believe would not be associated with me by those who know me. Yet, under the escalating weight of a host of professional demands and other pressures that had been building for several weeks, I reacted with anger and indignation at two young men, both of whom are my juniors in age and station, and both of who unfairly suffered my misdirected frustration. My immediate embarrassment and my subsequent apology to these two young men were genuine and sincere, but I remained very upset and disappointed with myself. I shared my distress with a Greek Orthodox priest and friend who himself was privy to the situation that had produced my pique. In so doing, I was reminded why priests—good priests—matter.

I have been a steward, and, in some cases, a parish council member, of Greek Orthodox communities in places as diverse as a predominantly working-class, immigrant parish in an industrial city in northern Indiana; an enormous suburban church in New Jersey; an affluent, professional congregation in Manhattan; and a large, once-thriving parish in a Boston area town. One thing that I found to be a constant in all of these different congregations was the decisive, determinant role that the priest played in shaping the life and character of the parish community. Priests clearly at peace with themselves and happy with their pastoral ministry tended to lead communities that were united, whole, and spiritually alive. To what extent each—priest or parish—had either a positive or negative influence on the other could be debated. Nonetheless, what was clear and recurrent in my experience was the simple, and perhaps not surprising, fact that priests who were in harmony with their calling not only deepened the unity and well-being of their parishes, but, in those instances where churches had experienced strife, they were able to restore health and love to their communities. Conversely, priests in personal crisis, whose calling was imperiled, inexorably exported their own crises into their parishes.

We are all “priests.” Indeed, Orthodox Christianity proceeds from the understanding that inasmuch as the whole body of the faithful—His Church—forms a holy and royal priesthood, we, the people of God, are all priests. Nonetheless, it is recognized from the time of the Apostles that within the universal priesthood of believers there is a special, sacramental priesthood, hence the distinction between clergy and laity. The sacramental priest—known originally and formally as presbyteros (from “elder,” as in the Jewish rabbinic tradition)—is established through the sacrament of ordination. Ordination, which invests a new priest with the ecclesial authority to administer sacraments, is performed by a bishop, with the consent of the people of God—meaning, in practice, a congregation which completes the ordination by shouting “Axios, Worthy!”

Dispensing the sacraments—holy rites, mysteries, in which Orthodox Christians experience the reality of God through the enacting of His Grace—are the exclusive responsibility and prerogative of the priesthood. Nonetheless, the effectiveness and fullness of the sacraments are not dependent on the personal virtue or character of the administering priest. Precisely because the sacraments are understood to constitute the presence of Christ acting through the Holy Spirit, the priest, despite considerable popular misunderstanding among Orthodox faithful (and even among some priests), is neither a vessel nor an intermediary between God’s Grace and God’s people. Instead, Orthodox teaching explains that the priest is an icon of Christ. His role is weighty, a fact reflected in every aspect of a priest’s life, both public and private, both pastoral and non-ministerial.

The priesthood is a calling, meaning a dedication to a way of life, not merely a chosen profession. In short, this means that a man has been called by God to commit his life to serve God’s Grace. The priest assumes throughout his life the responsibility of uniting all the people of God together in Christ and sacramentally manifesting the presence of Christ in the Church.

In carrying out his calling, the ordinary parish priest must do extraordinary things: he must preach the message of Christ; promote love and peace; enrich the religious and theological literacy of his communicants; deepen his community’s understanding of the teachings of the Church; and foster awareness and respect for the Orthodox Church’s history and traditions. Furthermore, he has to accomplish all this in the midst of answering the day-to-day needs and demands and challenges of a parish community. Above all, the priest must live a life that is always unwaveringly centered on Christ’s love, and that is consistent with the principles, morality, and ethics he—the priest—preaches. I recall from my youth, a visiting priest at my parents’ Sunday table confiding to my sympathetic father that the priesthood is simultaneously both the greatest blessing and the greatest cross to bear. Truly, only a genuine calling can lead to the making of a priest capable of facing and fulfilling such imposing, yet stirring, responsibilities.

I have known many extraordinary priests. Few among us have not had our lives blessed or have not been inspired by a great priest. All the same, Orthodoxy correctly affirms that priests do not manifest the presence of Christ through their talents, charisma, knowledge, or other personal attributes, but through their sacramental function, which is not affected or influenced by a priest’s qualities. But what is also clear is that a priest’s imprint extends beyond his sacramental functions. In that sense, and in that sphere of life in the Church, we most often encounter the benefit and grace of a good priest.

The priest in whom I confided my recent story of pressure, anger, and regret is an extraordinary priest and a good man. He responded to me with this liberating Christian perspective:

"Aleko, I understand. Just know that there is so much love in the world, that no matter what others say to us it can never diminish God's love for us. Try to focus and search for this love even in the most trying circumstances. You will see that you will find joy in even the uncomfortable times and with the most difficult people. God loves you, as do I."

In my friend priest’s earnest words to me I sensed the presence of Christ’s message of love, and so I was reminded of why good priests matter. Their commitment to live according to God’s love, along with their ability to fervently convey that love to the world, is what makes priests not only important, but also, good.

By Dr. Alexandros K. Kyrou, a Professor of History

at Salem State University in Salem, Massachusetts,

where he teaches on the Balkans, Byzantium,

and the Ottoman Empire

Source: https://blogs.goarch.org/blog/-/blogs/-why-good-priests-matter-

The tradition of Jews and Christians (and also later of Muslims) is that God is the creator of both the material and spiritual world. Angels as well as humans are both part of the same created order. The traditions of these three major religions give an account for how Satan came into existence – he was an angel who rebelled against God, and then led a rebellion of other angels. Satan is not a creator and can not bring demons into existence. Satan is not Sauron of the Rings Trilogy who can summon into existence orks and goblins nor is Satan a wizard Saruman. Satan is not an evil god or God’s opposite and equal. Satan is a creature belonging to the created order and subject to God’s grace and power.

The theology of Scripture, at least for Christians, says God had a wish for His human creatures, who also failed Him and rebelled against God. God wanted the material world and spiritual world to be united and so God became human so that humans might share in the divine life. The centrality of God’s plan for humanity is in the Quran and other related traditions the very cause of the rebellion of Satan and the other demons. They cannot accept that God ranks the humans above the angels. Fr. John Behr describes St. Irenaeus of Lyons’ understanding of God’s plan and love for humans.

“A further point of interest is that man, although made to be the lord of the earth, was, according to Irenaeus, but newly created, and so appeared as a child in a world specially prepared for his nourishment and growth. The angels were also appointed to be the servants of man.”

The angels are not the focus of creation, but humans are. Angels are created to serve God and to serve humans. This fact, according to some traditions explaining the existence of Satan, is precisely what these rebellious angels could not abide. These rebellious angels refuse to serve or kowtow to mere humans. Additionally, as Irenaeus points out, the first humans were created as children, while the angels were created as fully developed. This is a reason why Satan so resented being asked to serve an immature being.

“But as they [the angels] are eternal, and thus not subject to change or growth within the temporal unfolding of sensible creation, they were already fully developed. The infant man was thus ‘secretly’ established as their lord. Neither in protology nor in eschatology does Irenaeus ever characterize or assimilate man or human life to the angelic: it is man, and the becoming fully human in communion with God in Christ, that is the center of the divine economy and of Irenaeus’s theology.” (John Behr, Asceticism and Anthropology in Irenaeus and Clement, p 43)

The goal of the human life is not to become angels – the angels were created to serve us. The goal of the spiritual life for Orthodox Christians is to become fully human – to become fully realized material beings. There is no dualism in Christian thinking opposing the material to the physical or portraying the spiritual as good and the material world as evil. In fact, Satan and demons belong totally to the spiritual world, not to the physical world. Being totally a spiritual being does not automatically make one good! Our goal is not to become “angelic”, rather it is to be fully in communion with Christ our God.

As our Scriptures teach:

“For to what angel did God ever say, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’? Or again, ‘I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son’? And again, when he brings the first-born into the world, he says, ‘Let all God’s angels worship him.’ Of the angels he says, ‘Who makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire.’ But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever, the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your comrades.’ And, ‘You, Lord, did found the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all grow old like a garment, like a mantle you wilt roll them up, and they will be changed. But you art the same, and your years will never end.’ But to what angel has he ever said, ‘Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies a stool for your feet’? Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?” (Hebrews 1:5-14)

By Fr. Ted Bobosh

Source: https://frted.wordpress.com/2016/04/16/becoming-human-not-angels/

“Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house.” A godly heart feels God’s beauty and tries to multiply it and spread it around. Churches of God are under particular care. They are adorned by the grace-inspired labor of architects, icon painters, and skilled woodworkers. Metalworkers also have a vast field for applying their creativity, especially thanks to the fact that every church requires a number of items that are inevitably made of metals, e.g., censers, vigil lamps, candle holders, and a lot more. The shine of the polished metal resembles effulgent halos on icons because it goes well with sacred objects, such as crosses, worship books, and liturgical supplies. It reflects the grace that God pours down on the faithful flock.

The Non-Ferrous Metals Workshop of St Elisabeth Convent has been doing the Lord’s work for over a decade now. It brings together various specialists: artists, chemists, solderers, and jewelers. They make perfect and lovely sanctuary items. Our craftspeople combine ancient and modern technologies of metalwork in order to make high-quality products characterized by an original and distinct design. The workshop enjoys making both serial items and custom-made items: our artisans like to demonstrate their skills.

We would like to tell you about the primary methods that make outstanding church decorations. We hope you’ll appreciate the hard work and professionalism of our craftspeople.

1. Wrought Metal

This method allows to copy a drawing from a matrix onto a thin metal sheet. We get a homogeneous-looking relief ornament with smooth transitions. Wrought decorative elements are used for decorating icons, icon cases (kiots), reliquaries, and tabernacles. Wrought metal combined with wood looks fantastic.

2. Filigree

Filigree offers an unmatched delicate pattern made of small pieces of thin coiled brass wire, placed on a metal plate in such a way so as to form a drawing, which is then soldered into the decorative pattern with fire. This method is used to decorate vigil lamps, crosses, and reliquaries. An ingenious and capable craftsperson can make certain items using only filigree.

3. Casting

This technique is ideal for making solid items with complex curves and basic curved details. Initially, the piece is cut out from wax by hand to make an alabaster mold for the molten metal. It is the principal technology used for making pectoral crosses, bells, cast candle holders, and censers.

4. Etching

This method is used to furnish an iconographic or other image on metal. The item is covered with a protective acid-resistant ground. The artists scratches the drawing out on the item and then dips the item into a bath of acid, which dissolves the exposed parts and makes lines in the metal. Etching is a great way to produce the necessary image with well-defined contours on flat and convex surfaces. This method is well-suited for making inscriptions and patterns on especially thick items.

5. Electrotype

Electrotype is an electrochemical process, which makes an exact facsimile of any object having an irregular surface. There is a wire connected to a rubber mold coated with silver powder. The mold is dipped into a special chemical bath with a copper plate in it. The electric current makes copper enter the conducting surface of the mold and make up a layer of desired shape. It is thanks to electrotyping that we are able to make three-dimensional sacred images from metal and plant them in Holy Table Gospel covers and other worship book covers.

Our craftspeople typically make use of several methods at the same time. It makes it possible to fully implement their ideas, take into account the customer’s preferences, and make original items, which you can see and purchase in the Catalog of Good Deeds. Products made in our Non-Ferrous Metals Workshop are popular with many people and parishes around the world.

The Church always mentions those who bring offerings and do good works in this holy and all-venerable house in litanies during the Divine Liturgy. The history of this good work begins in the Old Testament Tabernacle, which was built according to God’s plan to serve as an example for the future generations of those who believe in His Holy Name. Centuries have passed and styles have changed but the principle of zealous commitment to making one’s faith visible by building and decorating churches, including the churches of our own souls, has remained intact. May the Lord bless everyone who works hard to achieve it.

By Vladislav Gurin,

the Master of Theology,

a PG student of the Minsk Theological Academy

The Catalog of Good Deeds, 2018

Parents are faith models for their children. The light of faith in a child’s heart is sparked by his or her environment, which should be full of faith and love, good thoughts, pious lifestyle, and supportive mutual relations among his or her family members. Schools have to help families in raising their children.

We send our children to school. What do we expect from the school? What do parents look for when they choose the school? Is it quality of education, comfortable surroundings, or sufficient equipment? Do they hope that seeds of Christianity will be sown in their child’s souls along with reading and writing skills? How to make a balanced choice of the right educational framework?

Competition is growing in the world in the recent decades. Sadly, schools are trying to build competitive and successful personalities but they often forget about the most important aspect, i.e., children’s souls.

History has preserved numerous vivid examples of good educational frameworks that haven’t lost their value even today. Some of these frameworks and approaches should be our beacons in the “sea of education”.

Sergey Alexandrovich Rachinsky, an outstanding scholar, teacher, educator, professor of Moscow University, botanist and mathematician, associate member of the Imperial Saint Petersburg Academy of Science, aptly called “the teacher of the century”, had his 185th anniversary in 2018. Emperors Alexander III and Nicholas II thanked him for his selfless work. Even his contemporaries called him the “school apostle”, “a teacher from God”. Pyotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky inscribed his First String Quartet to Prof. Rachinsky. His students achieved success in diverse fields. There were teachers, priests, scientists, and artists among them, including Archpriest Alexander Vassilyev, who was the spiritual counselor of Emperor Nicholas II family.

N. Bogdanov-Belsky, "The Portrait of Nicholas II", 1908

More than ten books were written about Rachinsky’s life and work during the pre-Revolution decade. His innovations were used in England and Japan.

Family upbringing and a traditional lifestyle based on Orthodoxy are key to understanding the educational concept of this scholar and practical teacher. Meanwhile, schools in Russia in Rachinsky’s time modeled themselves on foreign educational systems and were utterly secular.

The famous teacher believed that the upbringing of a true Christian is possible only through interaction of the school and the Church. The curriculum in his school incorporated religious practices, esthetical subjects, introduction to various sciences, and manual labor.

N. Bogdanov-Belsky, "In Church", 1939

Liturgy was the core of all learning in Rachinsky’s school. His school put an emphasis on teaching the God's Law, which was underpinned by practical participation of students in worship as singers and readers. Church services in the church were awe-filled and solemn. Singing was excellent. After church services, Rachinsky’s students had tea and spent their free time relaxing and visiting their families.

Prof. Rachinsky taught Church Slavonic. He entrusted the teaching of the God's Law only to a priest, insisting that the classes were to consist of an open and sincere discussion.

Prof. Rachinsky’s school had the same purpose as the Orthodox Church: it aimed at educating people, that is, restoring the Image of God in which they had been made. The God's Law and church singing, exegesis of the Holy Scripture and the Psalms, pilgrimages on foot to holy places were a natural and meaningful continuation of the children’s life and not something imposed on them.

N. Bogdanov-Belsky, "Symphony", 1920

Esthetic studies went hand in hand with religious and moral cultivation of the children’s feelings and self-discipline. Apart from well-organized church choir, the children learned to play the violin, the piano, and reed organ. They played the music on holidays and in the evenings.

There was a professional arts workshop in Rachinsky’s school. He taught graphics, painting, and drawing. It was there that would-be talented artists, such as Nikolay Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky (1868-1945) - an artist and an icon painter whose works are used in this article, Tit Nikonov, renowned for his portraits, and Ivan Peterson, known for his portraits and icons, got the initial inspiration for their future lifelong occupation.

Rachinsky’s school taught children to work hard. The students did all chores themselves: they would bring buckets of water, kindle fire in the stoves, wash the school floor, put everything in order, guard the school, and help in the kitchen. Teachers set examples for their students and passed on labor skills. The school was neat and clean thanks to the students working under Rachinsky’s supervision.

Festivals and celebrations were the most memorable parts of the everyday life in the school. Sergey Rachinsky thought that school had to be remembered for its festivities and not its routines. He penned scripts for a number of drama plays. The students’ favorite holiday events were Christmas celebrations around the Christmas Tree and the Feast of Slavic ABC dedicated to Ss. Cyril and Methodius, the great enlighteners of the Slavs. This holiday coincided with the end of the school year. There was a solemn service in the church, and then the procession with crosses and icons went to the school, where there was a festive meal for the students, teachers, and guests. All children received gifts.

N. Bogdanov-Belsky, "The Teacher's Guests", 1928

Sergey Rachinsky accumulated vast pedagogical expertise, which can be successfully used nowadays. This is especially true of spiritual and moral aspects of children’s upbringing and education thanks to the connection between the church and the school. The teacher wrote, “Truly educated people are produced only by those schools that are managed and run by churches.”

Classmates, teachers, and the school environment as a whole undoubtedly and objectively impact a child’s development. People are shaped by their environment. It is no accident that the Scripture states, [W]ith the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward (Ps. 18: 26).

Both in his time and now schools pay too much attention to “pure knowledge”, in spite of the fact that even the most advanced and strong knowledge will not benefit an individual without the proper disposition of his soul.

A child’s soul is like a clean slate: it will display everything that an artist draws on it, be it good or bad.

Let us ponder on what the school we send our children to should be like. What are the artists in whose hands we entrust our kids? What marks will they leave in our children’s souls?

By Michael Mironenko,

a Bachelor of Theology,

the director of the Sunday School at the Church
in honor of St. Prince Vladimir in Minsk,

a father of two children

The Catalof of Good Deeds, 2018

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Do We Really Need So Many Services?

What Is the Most Suitable Time for Confession?

What Does It Mean to Be a Good Priest?

Some Thoughts on the Purpose of Angels and their Role in Our Spiritual Life

Non-Ferrous Metals Workshop: How the Craftspeople of St. Elisabeth Convent Create High-quality Church Goods

What Should School Be Like? An Example of True Orthodox Education

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