The Catalog of Good Deeds

The All-Night Vigil is one of the most important Services of the Orthodox Church. First, Jesus Christ Himself used to spend “all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12). Second, in the times of early Christianity the faithful used to gather for prayer services in a lonely place or a cemetery in the night because they had to hide from the Romans who constantly persecuted them. Today the All-Night Vigil lasts about two hours in parish Churches and three to four hours in monasteries. According to the Russian Orthodox tradition the All-Night Vigil consists of two parts: 1) the Vespers dedicated to the events of the Old Testament and prophecies about the Messiah, and 2) the Matins, which is a representation of the New Testaments stories about Jesus Christ, His Earthly Life, Crucifixion, and Resurrection.

The Monastic choir of St Elisabeth convent has recorded an album consisting of the most important chants sung during the All-Night Vigil. Unlike most Belarusian Orthodox choirs, which stick to the four-part harmony music, the Monastic choir is reviving an old tradition of the Znamenny and Valaam unison chants. However, apart from professional musicians and conservatory students who study them as a part of their curriculum, these chants might seem very unusual and even odd to the people of the XXI century.

The Znamenny chant is not often welcome in the parish Churches because there are priests who think this old-style singing can scare away the people. On the other hand, the Old Believers and other enthusiasts of “the good old days” contemptuously call the four-part harmony music “Italian” and only consider the Znamenny chant to be the “angelic singing”. Probably, both extremes are dangerous. We should neither reject the ancient unison chants nor claim that they are the only true genre of Orthodox music. After all, the Optina elders did not use the Znamenny chant and still achieved spiritual heights.

In my opinion, the Znamenny and Valaam chants are especially good for the Great Lent services since they are calm and correspond well to praying for repentance. Even non-monastic Church choirs can include such chants as “O Gladsome Light” (track No. 3) and “Praise Ye the Name of the Lord” (track No. 8) into their repertoire. The monks and nuns can sing the angelic Znamenny and Valaam chants throughout the whole year, all the more so since they dedicated their whole lives to the worship and repentance.

Listen to a short preview of the "All-Night Vigil" album on the Catalog of St. Elisabeth Convent.

By Vladimir Sypchu,

the chorister from the parish of

the Entry of the Most Holy Mother of God

into the Temple, Minsk

The Catalog of Good Deeds, 2019

In the course of our lives, we are often faced with the choice of how to proceed, which path to walk down, and not just to walk down, but how to know that this path corresponds to God’s will for us. And how can we know the will of God? How do we know that we’re making the right choice? Several pastors of the Russian Church offer their advice:

Archpriest Igor Shumilov:

How to know the will of God? Primarily through Holy Scripture, continually training yourself in reading it, and studying patristic commentaries and teachings. It’s also necessary to pray a lot and to ask the Lord to teach you His will.

Fr. Peter Guryanov:

The question about how to learn the will of God is, perhaps, one of the most important of our lives. You will agree that the will of God is the most precise and faithful criterion for what to do.

In order to learn or feel the will of God in this or that situation many things are needed, including a good knowledge of Holy Scripture, deliberateness in decision-making, and the advice of a spiritual father.

In order to properly understand the Holy Scriptures, firstly, they should be read with prayer, that is, not read as a text for deliberation, but as a text to be understood through prayer. Secondly, to understand Holy Scripture, we must, as the apostle says, “be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of our minds” (cf. Rm. 12:2). The Greek verb for “conformed”—“συμμορφώνονται,” means to have a framework in common with this age: that is, as they say: “everyone thinks so nowadays”—it’s a kind of framework, and we must not comply with it. If we want to know the will of God, we must deliberately reject and ignore what one of the seventeenth century’s wise men, Francis Bacon, called the “idols of the crowd,” that is, the opinions of those around us.

It is said to every Christian without exception: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God … be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Rm. 12:1-2); be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is (Eph. 5:17). And generally, the will of God can only be discovered through personal communion with Him. Therefore, a close relationship with Him, prayer, and service to Him are prerequisites for seeking the answer to our question.

To live in accord with the commandments of God

Fr. Dmitry Shishkin:

Discovering the will of God is quite simple: open the New Testament, to the First Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians, and read: For this is the will of God, even your sanctification (1 Thess. 4:3). We are sanctified by obedience to God.

Thus, there is only one sure way to learn the will of God: to live in harmony with the Lord. And the more we are established in this life, as if putting down roots, and established in God-likeness, we acquire true skill in perceiving and fulfilling the will of God; that is, in conscious and consistent fulfillment of His commandments. They are general, but the particular flows from the general. If a person in some concrete life situation wants to know God’s will for him, and, for example, learns it from some Spirit-bearing elder, but the person himself does not have a spiritual disposition, then he will be able neither to understand this will, nor accept, nor fulfill it… Thus the main thing is, without a doubt, a sober spiritual life and careful observance of the commandments of God.

If some important stage in life arrives in someone’s life, and he truly wants to make the right choice, to act in a godly manner in this or that difficult situation, he can learn the will of God precisely on the basis of what I have just said—strengthening his Church life; that is, to bear a special spiritual work: fasting, going to confession, receiving Communion, exercising diligence in prayer, and reading the word of God more than usual—this is the main work for someone who truly wants to know the will of God in this or that matter. And the Lord, seeing such temperance and a serious disposition of heart, will always allow such a person to understand His holy will and give him strength for its fulfillment. This is a fact, proved many times over by many different people. We only need to show persistence, patience, and determination in our quest for the truth of God, and not in satisfying our own dreams, desires and plans… Because all these I have just named already have their own willfulness; that is, not the plans, dreams, and hopes themselves, but the desire that all would be just as we want. The question here is of true faith and self-denial—if you want and are ready to follow Christ, and not your own notions of what is correct and useful. Without this it’s impossible.

In Russia it’s customary to ask advice in especially important moments in life from an elder, from an experienced spiritual father, endowed with a special grace. It’s an urge that is deeply rooted in the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church. But in going for advice we must remember, again, that it demands spiritual labor from us: strong prayer, humble temperance and repentance, readiness and determination to fulfill the will of God—everything that we have just discussed. But besides that, it’s necessary to fervently pray that your spiritual father would be enlightened by the grace of the Holy Spirit, that the Lord by His grace through the spiritual father would open His holy will to us. We have such prayers; the holy fathers write about them. For instance, we have this prayer introduced by Abba Isaiah:

“O God, grant me Thy mercy and that which is pleasing unto Thee, and inspire Father (name) to reveal something about me.”

To desire the will of God, and not your own

Fr. Michael Gaponenko:

The will of God can be discovered in various ways—through the advice of a confessor or the blessing of your parents, by reading the word of God or by casting lots, and so on. But most important is to have the desire to know the will of God—it’s the readiness to unquestioningly follow it in your life. If there is such readiness, then the Lord will of course open His will to man, and possibly in unexpected ways.

Fr. Svyatoslav Shevchenko:

I like patristic advice. As a rule, we are eager to know the will of God when we stand at a crossroad—facing a decision, or when we want events to develop one way, but they go another less appealing to us. First, we must try to have the same attitude to any path or course of events, that is, to internally prepare ourselves for any outcome, not getting attached to any one option. Second is to sincerely and fervently pray that the Lord would arrange everything according to His good will and do all that would be useful for us in the plan of our salvation in eternity. And then, as the holy fathers affirm, His Providence for us will be revealed.

Be attentive to yourself and your conscience

Fr. George Merzlikin:

Be attentive!—to yourself, to the world around you, and your loved ones. The will of God is revealed to Christians in Holy Scripture: you can find there an answer to your questions. According to Blessed Augustine, when we pray, we turn to God, and when we read the Holy Scriptures, the Lord answers us. The will of God is that all would arrive at salvation. Knowing this, seek to direct your will in all life’s events towards the God Who saves.

And, in every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (1 Thess. 5:18).

Fr. Paul Konkov:

It’s easy enough to find the will of God: if after examining your conscience with a period of prayer it does not “rebel,” if your decision in this or that circumstance does not contradict the Gospel, and if your spiritual father is not against your decision, it means the will of God is in that decision. We must examine our every step through the prism of the Gospel and accompany it with prayer—even the very shortest one: “Lord, bless.”

Prepared by Novice Nikita Popov

Translated by Jesse Dominick

Source: http://orthochristian.com/98629.html

The word 'fate' comes from the Latin word fatum, which broadly translates as 'God's judgment'. Therefore, the foreordained plan of our lives, which we call fate, is in fact the fulfillment of God's will with regard to each human being.

With that said, Orthodox theology has never supported the idea of fate as a steadfast course that we're bound to follow. Of course, God knows everything there has ever been, everything there is, and everything there will be. There is no moment in time hidden from the Creator. However, God's omniscience isn't binding.

Saint John of Damascus writes, "You must be aware that God knows everything in advance but He doesn't predestine everything."

The Holy Fathers say that God doesn't prescribe our actions; instead, He foreknows them. What does it mean? First of all, if there is a total predestination, there is no place for our freedom. If everything is foreordained, there isn't anything in our lives that depends on us. If we are meant to perish, we surely will, regardless of whether we do good or bad. In other words, if our 'fate' is to go to hell, there is nothing we can do to avoid it. Hence, we might as well do nothing, given that it doesn't matter if we follow God's commandments or not, if we love God and our neighbor or not.

The Orthodox Church has always rejected this line of thinking. Human freedom is a most important principle in the relationship between man and God. Hieromartyr Irenaeus of Lyon says that freedom is the greatest gift of the Creator, and that's why God will never intrude on human freedom.

Consequently, our fate depends solely on whether we use our freedom to serve God and people or to serve sin. Our eternal destiny doesn't depend on an arbitrary decision or sheer luck. It depends on how we use our freedom—this great God's gift that we received at the moment of creation.

By Andrei Muzolf, an associate professor

of Kiev Theological Academy

Translated by The Catalog of Good Deeds

Source: https://pravlife.org/ru/content/sushchestvuet-li-ponyatie-sudba-ot-kotoroy-ne-uydesh

Every male Jewish baby was to be circumcized on the eighth day of his life, in accordance with the Mosaic Law. Circumcision was a sign of his belonging to the God's chosen people. Our Lord Jesus Christ went through that ritual, too, For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (Matthew 5:18). The Lord came not to break the Law but to fulfill it because He is the Lawmaker. It was him that Moses concluded the Covenant on Mt. Sinai with.

The Church of Christ hailed the Lord for his wise stewardship and utmost condescension to us with unparalleled beauty and theological depth. The Bride of the Lamb conveys the immense experience of prayerful contemplation and spiritual insight, which inspired her best sons. Let's quote some of such spiritual insights and be amazed at the bountiful wisdom of God, which enlightened the hearts and minds of the greatest Orthodox authors.

The all-good God was not ashamed to be circumcized. He gave himself as the image and example for the salvation of all: for the Lawmaker submits to the law and the prophecies of the prophets. O Lord who holds everything in his hand and is swaddled in cloth, glory to You!

This wonderful sticheron by a monk named John is sung during the Vespers of the holiday. The holy father aptly underlines God's goodness and the fact that He wasn't ashamed of this ritual but performed it for the sake of our salvation, as ancient prophets had foretold. The book of Psalms contains the following words, Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart (Ps. 40:7-8). God came to earth and although He holds all universe firmly in his hand, He willed to be born as a small and vulnerable baby, wrapped in cloth.

Not as a God-opposer but as the performer of the Law, the incarnated Christ appeared and voluntarily submitted himself to circumcision on the eighth day.

This troparion of Ode 3 of the feast canon stresses a very important fact of the Christian faith, which was frequently doubted both in ancient times and nowadays. The Lord goes through circumcision, which means that He doesn't oppose Old Testament regulations. He does not oppose the God of the Old Testament: in fact, He came to accomplish his Father's will. We often hear, “The God of the Old Testament is bitter and angry, while in the New Testament God is gentle and merciful, and therefore they are two different gods.” We can't agree with that because the entire Old Testament preaches the imminent coming of the Messiah and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. I and my Father are one, said Jesus. Moreover, according to the Christian revelation, the God of Old Testament spoke with the forefathers and prophets via his Son, his divine Logos.

The Master is circumcized on the eighth day as a baby and adopts the name of Jesus, for He is the Savior of the world and its Lord.

The Lord takes the name ‘Jesus’ which means ‘God saves’. The Church instructs parents of newborn babies to name them on the eighth day of their lives, the day when the Lord was circumcized. What is the connection between the name of God and naming of a baby on the eighth day? The answer lies in the prayers from the Book of Needs. Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann explains the meaning of the Sacrament of Baptism and related rites and points out that the eternal life, the overabundant life consists of knowing the Name of God and glorifying it with one's entire life. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent (John 17:3). It is for the sake of this life that we get a name on the eighth day, the day that symbolizes eternity and plenitude, which means that our names and our personalities must be sanctified by the Name of God and lit up by the knowledge of God and his will. That's why the Lord came into this world and willingly submitted himself to circumcision and swaddling. Let's praise his holy Name and do everything we can to please God.

By John Nichiporuk,

a Bachelor of Theology,

specialized in Biblical Studies.

The Catalog Of Good Deeds, 2018

See full Nativity infographics here.

The people of Appalachia, with whom we at the monastery share a home in West Virginia, are a people who have been Protestant for many generations past. Though they aren’t Orthodox, and though many of their ancestors in America may never have been exposed to the Orthodox Church, they are people who, in their own way, hold a deep faith in God and have preserved many traditions that hearken back to ages past.

The Scotch-Irish pioneers who settled in the deep hollows and rugged hills of the Appalachian Mountains carried on with many traditions that they preserved from the Old World. While some of those traditions and beliefs might seem rather like superstitions to most modern people, they were held by a devout majority whose very survival and well-being could be attributed to their observance of each and every detail of their surroundings—whether it be the height of a hornet nest, the date of a killing frost, the place in the woods where some rare herb grew, or an arcane bit of Scripture printed upon the yellowed pages of an old family Bible.

As a Russian Orthodox monastery which observes the Julian, or “old,” calendar, we were surprised to learn about Appalachian “Old Christmas,” which is a most solemn and reverent time for families living in the mountains. The initial change-over from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar by the British Empire and the American colonies in 1752 caused a difference of eleven days. Thus, the date of “new” Christmas on December 25^th was eleven days ahead of “old” Christmas, which fell (at that time) on January 5^th. Some Protestants refused to honor the new calendar because it was decreed by the Pope, so their celebration of Christmas remained on the Julian calendar – which now falls on January 7. In the Appalachian Mountains, the celebration of Old Christmas remained until about World War I. Though they might also observe “new” Christmas on December 25^th, the festivities were very different. December 25^th was marked with revelry and parties and visiting, but January 6^th was primarily a reverent family observance.

The people of Appalachia regarded Old Christmas Eve as a night when the Holy Spirit would manifest Himself upon the earth in many subtle ways. On that night, mountain folk believed, no matter how hard the ground was frozen, elder bushes would sprout up out of the ground. More miraculously, however, it was believed that if a person would stay awake until almost midnight on Old Christmas Eve, then sneak quietly out to a barn or a field where any cattle or sheep were kept, they could hear the animals pray. Supposedly, at the exact stroke of midnight on Old Christmas Eve, the animals would start moo-ing and baa-ing in a peaceful way as they reverentially knelt on the ground. This belief undoubtedly harkened back to the stable in Bethlehem, and to the animals that were present when the Christ Child was revealed to the Magi.

Today, hardly anyone knows of Old Christmas. But, the elder bushes and the animals of the barn and field have surely not forgotten… should anyone like to find out for themselves, on Old Christmas Eve.

Based on Bill Baker, “Old Christmas Eve”,

Gary Holbrook, “Appalachian Christmas”.

Source: https://www.holycross-hermitage.com/blogs/articles-sermons/113633542-appalachian-old-christmas

“We must force ourselves to do good.”

St. Seraphim of Sarov

Orthodox Christians do very little by whim. This is not to say that there is no room for genuine freedom or spontaneity in one’s life of faith. For as the Lord Himself says, “The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)

Yet there is a big difference between living by the Holy Spirit and living by caprice. On the one hand, the Spirit of God often inspires believers with the gift of a marvelous, creative spontaneity that cannot be dictated by any formal agenda. Having brought the Ark into the city of Jerusalem, David the King spontaneously dances for joy, leading the way. In the book of Acts, the Holy Apostle Philip spreads forth the gospel, not according to any worldly plan, but by being so caught up by grace that he is like the wind, gusting forth from one place to another. “And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught up Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.” (Acts 8:39).

On the other hand, it must be stated that whim is born not of grace but of individual impulsiveness, which is an enemy of the spiritual life. All too often, many Christians fall into a whimsical, inconsistent type of shallow faith dictated by mood. When one feels cheerful and elevated, when the heart is full of light and joy and peace, one may choose, at that moment, to pray, or to read the scriptures, or perhaps even attend the Holy Liturgy. But when things grow dark and the inner man of the heart is lonely and sorrowful – trodden low to the ground, one finds it “impossible” to pray or read or worship.

Yet this is in actuality a delicately laid trap of the devil who knows that if he can convince believers that feelings are paramount, it is only a matter of time before they can be torn from the fold. So the point is this: Faith must be grounded and nourished by something deeper and more trustworthy than human emotions. Yet American Christians, by and large, have shown themselves to be especially susceptible to this kind of “feel-good” capricious spirituality which is its own benchmark of success. Millions of dollars pour into the pockets of religious charlatans who proclaim a one-sided gospel devoid of the message of the Cross and the hardship it necessitates. Religion is here to make people feel good. If it doesn’t, then why bother?

But here is where self-denial comes into play. Part of denying oneself for the love of Christ means, as St. Seraphim of Sarov says, to “force ourselves to do good.” In the most practical sense, this means doing the right thing, for the right reason and at the right time, not whenever one “feels like doing it.” Those who follow Christ and pick up their Cross know that this means the cutting off of the self-will, or more accurately, the complete renouncing of the “will-to-self.” “For not everyone who prays ‘Lord, ‘Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in Heaven.” (Matthew 7:21).

Obedience to prayer, fasting, and the liturgical worship of the Church functions as a good test of self-denial. Indeed, sometimes what the Lord loves more than anything else is a heartfelt prayer offered at the right time of the day (or week) – even when it is born from a thread-bare heart that is weighed down with weariness. The psalms not only bear witness to this truth by showing us how to praise God in all circumstances, good and bad, but also provide the “voice” by which every follower of Christ can pray in joy or in sorrow. “O Lord, my heart is in anguish within me, the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.” (Psalm 55:4-5).

Those who surrender themselves to the life-long rhythm of the Church’s prayer, fasting, and worship are sooner or later blessed by a depth of soul that bears much fruit. Sooner or later they discover marvelous well of grace that is infinitely deep. As they plunge deeper and deeper into their heart of hearts, they are led to a place of total mystery, to a place where heaven and earth meet, to the living throne of Christ Itself. “For the Kingdom of God is within you.” But this never comes easily. It is a gift the grace given to those who know how to fight the good fight.

So again, it must be stressed that this face to face divine-human encounter cannot and will not happen all at once. Rather, it is given to those who have labored in the spiritual life, day in and day out, as true followers of Christ, by having remained with Him at the “foot of the Cross” – throughout good times and bad.

How tragic, indeed, that some have come see the Church’s regimen of both private and corporate prayer as a burden, as a repetition of rituals devoid of meaning and purpose. But those who worship the Lord “in Spirit and truth” know something different: that a whimsical faith is no faith at all, and that practicing one’s faith only when it is convenient or when one “feels” like it is to practice no faith at all.

By Fr. Paul Jannakos

Source: http://www.stlukeorthodox.com/nothing-by-whim/

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One of the Most Important Services: “The All-Night Vigil” Album Review

Orthodox Priests on How We Can Know the Will of God

Is There a Fate That You Can't Avoid?

"God Isn't Ashamed of His Law": the Role of Circumcision

The “Old Christmas” of the People of Appalachia

Doing the Right Thing, for the Right Reason and at the Right Time

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