The Catalog of Good Deeds

By Father Valeriy Zakharov

Repentance… We continue to cry about our sins even after they have been defeated. A cry about sins is the cry of Adam, who conceives his disloyalty to God. Even if we have defeated a particular sin, we understand, that we are sinful by our nature.

We can only mourn over the sins which we have overcome. We cry because we are imperfect, and it is not like feeling sorry about ourselves. Of course, God evaluates what we do differently, as He considers the abilities and conditions of each particular human being. However, knowing our sins, knowing that we are responsive for our actions in the face of God, in our mind we should acknowledge repentance and it must not terrify or weaken us. It should be not a suffering, but a kind of a border between the real and unreal, when we understand we are sinful people, but at the same time God purifies our souls. This knowledge should not make us despair. We should rather rejoice because God loves us and forgives us just like the prodigal son, who wasted all his property. This condition can save a person from sin and teaches to live with God.

Pious Saint Augustine said: “Love God and do what you want”. What a simple advice! However, God looks at us with the eyes full of purity and majesty on the one hand, and appears full of mercy and with empathy on the other hand. Some people see Christ as someone who is strict, others see Him as the suffering Christ and others are certain that Christ looks upon us with empathy. All of these aspects can be connected with our Lord. The cure He wants to give us is unique for each person. God has no patterns.

I wish that we can all accept everything that God does for us, and be kind to our neighbors just like He is kind to us, because this is how our relationship towards God is strengthened – by our attitude towards other people. But how can we bring the light of Christ to our souls? How can we let this light melt our heart and burn the mold in which our sins are growing? A sin will repeat itself until we reach the place where it is growing, until we crush the reason of this sin, until we ask God that He helps us to better ourselves. To do this we have to see it, to see the reason, but this will be a feat of faith for us. Thus we show that we place out hope in God. We can pray for years and even decades asking God to heal us. And he certainly will. God says: “And him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John, 6:37). And this concerns each person, who does not give up and tries to overcome his sinful nature and bring joy to the people around, but does not turn back on God, waiting for His mercy.

A Sermon by Father Valeriy Zakharov on November 29, 2016,
St. Elisabeth Convent

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The sisters from the Orthodox Convent in Belarus invite you to visit the Christmas charity fair!

14 years in a row the Christmas fair featuring the products made by the workshops of St. Elisabeth Convent in Belarus has opened its doors for visitors in Brussels. This year the sisters will be glad to see you on December 3, 2017 – January 14, 2017 in UOPC book store located at the following address:
Avenue Gustave Demey 14-16, 1160 Bruxelles
(Mon - Sat, 09.30 - 19.00).

The Convent and the Sisterhood in honor of St. Martyr Grand Duchess Elisabeth serve, visit and support the National Mental Health Hospital, Boarding Home №3 for adults with special needs, a boarding school for children with special needs, a tuberculosis hospital, a hospice, and the boarding homes for orphaned children. The aim of the Charity fair is to help the afflicted people, who need our attention and support.

“More than 2000 years ago the Wise Men gave their gifts to the Savior who had come to this world. Today there are gifts we can give to the Lord as well – these are: our love to our neighbors and the deeds of charity”, say the sisters.

At the fair of the Convent’s products you will see a wide range of icons, handmade ceramic goods, souvenirs and many others.

This year the visitors of the Christmas fair will have an opportunity to venerate the icon of St. Martyr Grand Duchess Elisabeth, who is the patron saint of the Convent, with the particle of her holy relics.

A festive fair of St. Elisabeth Convent is a great opportunity to for everyone to take part in deeds of mercy and spend time in a kind and warm family setting.

During the fair the following events will take place:

December 3, Saturday, 13:00 – A moleben devoted to the opening of the Christmas fair.

December 7, Wednesday, 19:00 and

December 14, Wednesday, 19:00 – An evening presentation “Healing power of herbals”. You will acquaint yourself with the Convent’s wide range of health care and cosmetic products (creams, balsams, herbal collections and many others).

December 6, Tuesday, 17:00 – A feast for children “St. Nicholas’ Day” (a stage play “The life of St. Nicholas”, an entertainment program).

December 16, Friday, 17:00 – A festive evening event for children “The Light of Christmas”. The games and competitions with fun surprises for you and your children!

On Tuesdays and Thursdays (December 6 – 22), 19:00 – A master class “Crushed stone painting”.

You will learn about an unusual painting technique – crushed stone painting. Using the crushed semi-precious stones instead of usual paints, an artist creates beautiful icons, sceneries and atill-life paintings. You can not only watch a painter at his work, but try to make your own small work of art as well!

You can send your requests for participation via e-mail: st.elisabeth.shop@gmail.com (with a note “Signing up for a master class”)

A similar fair of the products made by the workshops of St. Elisabeth Convent will take place to the address: Abdij van Park 5, 3001 Leuven (Kerk in Nood) – on December 6 – 16.

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Though more likely to appear in the Western art, any experience of Christian iconography will present us at one time or another with the image of some odd, winged creatures, with the heads and features of animals. Usually on Gospel Books, though sometimes in the architecture of church buildings, the appearance of such fantastical creatures might seem bewildering to those who are new to the Christian Faith. Yet these angel-winged creatures – collectively called the Tetramorph – are found in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, and their symbolism explains their presence on the binding of Gospel Books.

It is the Prophet Ezekiel, exiled along with the Israelites in the 6th century B.C, who first reveals to us the vision of the four angelic beings. In a vision, and coming from amidst the flames, Ezikiel relates:

As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.
(Ezekiel 1:10)

This image is again seen by St. John the Apostle in the Book of Revelation, where the Tetramorph surround the Enthroned Christ:

And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
(Revelation 4:7)

It is this setting shown in the picture at the top of this post, and the most common depiction of the four creatures in Christian artwork.

As to why the Tetramorph appears on Gospel Books, this is because of the identification of the four creatures as symbols for the Four Evangelists:

Matthew is represented as the winged man, because his Gospel begins with the human genealogy of Jesus.

Mark is represented as the winged lion, as his Gospel begins with John the Baptist and his “voice crying out in the wilderness”; the lion being an animal of the Middle East’s wilderness.

Luke is the winged Ox of the Tetramorph, because his Gospel begins in the Temple with Zacharias – the father of John the Baptist; the Ox being a sacrificial animal.

Finally, John is represented as an Eagle, because John’s Gospel begins with a soaring overview of the Incarnation: “In the beginning was the Word…”

The symbolism of representing the Four Evangelists as the Four Winged Creatures has developed over time, so that by the High Middle Ages it was extremely common to find these symbols in the West. It would also be common to see the Evangelists depicted as humans, but flanked by “their creature”. Although this symbolism dates from the First millennium A.D., and so certainly belongs to the Tradition of the Orthodox Church, it is also true that the symbolism is used less frequently in the East.

It is also important to say such symbolism is very rare in Orthodox Icons. As Icons are not merely examples of “Christian Art”, but are images which are venerated and honored, this distinction should be emphasized. Although the Tetramorph is a beautiful way in which to decorate Christian manuscripts or the edifices of churches, our Orthodox forefathers have not seen it fit to put these creatures in images which are venerated. Or, at least, not put into icons of the Evangelists which are venerated.

Source: https://iconreader.wordpress.com/2010/09/17/the-tetramorph-in-christian-art/

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I have been confused about the fasting regulations; I understand them with regard to what we can or cannot eat on certain days, but when does the day begin? I am a simple soul and was simply keeping the day from the time I got up till I went to bed, then someone said that in the Orthodox Church the day begins at Vespers and so we should keep the fasts from evening (say 6 p.m) to evening. What is right? — S.B.,Whitchurch, Avon.

ESSENTIALLY what you are doing is right, the day is calculated from midnight to midnight with regard to the fasting prescriptions. However, the Vespers-to-Vespers idea seems to be one that is being floated in various circles. I read one church magazine where this method was being promoted so that one's social life need not suffer too much. The writer suggested, quite correctly, that one cannot have a "night out" on Saturday because of preparing for Holy Communion on Sunday and because of the Vigil. Friday night, another "traditional" night out, is spoiled by the fact that it is a fast day, and so the solution was to fast from Vespers (which presumably one hasn't attended) on Thursday until the Vespers that one won't attend of Friday (because you are getting ready for your night out), and this way you can nicely dovetail your social life into your Orthodox observance without too much trouble. The fatal flaw in this calculation is that we are not supposed to dovetail our church-life into our social life so that it causes the least upset — we are called upon by the Church to set Jerusalem (our spiritual life) above all other, as at the head of our joy (see Ps. 136:8). In acting thus, we are making the same mistake with regard to our time, as we so often do with regard to our possessions, when we give alms of the residue that remains over (if any) when we have spent all we need to or, even worse, all we want to, rather than giving our alms as a matter of first import. It is not a saving course.

Another reason for following the evening-evening fasting regime is much more high-brow. Having learned, as converts do, that the liturgical day in Orthodoxy begins at Vespers. We think that we will be more correct in doing it this way. This way has nothing of the carnal self-interest of the reasoning outlined above! When we come into Orthodoxy, we learn that there is a right and a wrong way with regard to almost everything that touches upon church-life. We also notice, very quickly, that some of those already in the Church, are doing things the "wrong" way. We see icons that are not painted in the traditional style, we hear polyphonic singing in church choirs, we see people kneeling on Sundays, taking the Holy Mysteries infrequently, and a host of other things, and so we set about to correct these things. But here is where we so often stumble.

"Ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted," writes the Apostle Paul with regard to correcting others. We should note that he speaks of those "overtaken in a fault," not that we should minutely examine the supposed errors of others to find some fault in them to correct. He addresses his admonition to those who are "spiritual" which might be read either as a specific injunction to those with pastoral care of others (the clergy) or those who have already made some spiritual progress and are spiritually mature—either way most of us are not included! Also we note the Apostle says "restore such a one," not judge him, or condemn him, or lord it over him. And he adds "in a spirit of meekness" and "considering thyself," and "lest thou also be tempted"—most of which things we usually neglect in our desire to correct someone else, or even the whole body of the believers, rather than ourselves.

So our method of "correcting" is often ill-conceived and badly executed, but indeed we also have to be sure that we are correcting something which is a "fault." And with that thought let us return to your specific query regarding fastdays.

The general usage of the Orthodox Christians is to keep the day with regard to the fasting prescriptions from midnight to midnight. Now, is this right, or is it something, as it at first appears, like the sentimental icons or the harmonized singing, which is a departure from the Church's true tradition, and which then we should perhaps set about correcting, if only with regard to our own spiritual lives? The answer is that it is not a fault. It is the proper usage. And so the old adage (one that in many spheres the present "government" might have profitably taken on board fifteen years ago!), "don't mend it if it isn't broken," applies here.

How do we recognize what is and what is not a fault? Or know when to leave things well alone? Well, first we must study the teaching of the Church, as best we can. We must try to find out why certain things are done the way they are, whether they truly express the Church's mind or are accretions, distortions or perversions of her teaching and practice. And as with everything we should humbly seek spiritual counsel in doing this and not simply follow the dictates of our own particular mindset at the time.

Generally in the first instance, it is good, humbly but not mindlessly, to accept the tradition as it is handed on to us. This is after all of the essence of tradition. It places us in the position of sons to the older generation within the Church and we are thus able to inherit a blessing from them. As we grow we are perhaps able through reading to discern some of the "wrongs" or "faults" and in our own lives to eliminate them, but we should not be too ready to set about "correcting" the Church which we have joined.

So with regard to your question, the midnight-to-midnight practice is the tradition as we have received it—that fact alone should be enough to sustain us for the while. When we hear doubts raised against the practice, then we have to look more deeply. We have already seen the carnally self-interested motive for trying to change the practice—it was clean contrary to Scripture. What now when someone raises the objection that the practice is at fault? How can we demonstrate for ourselves they are mistaken?

We must bear in mind that in Orthodoxy our fasting discipline is both an ascetical practice and is linked to our Eucharistic life. If we look at the matter in these two ways we can see that the current general practice does not need our "correction."

Among the ascetic fathers it was the practice on weekdays not to eat until the ninth hour of the day, three o'clock in the afternoon. This practice is still kept during the Great Lent in some monasteries and indeed among many lay people. A liturgical "reminder" of this is the fact that, during the Great Fast, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served; it is a Vespers service and during it the Holy Mysteries are imparted to the Faithful, who are therefore completely abstaining from food. They eat on that day therefore afterVespers*. A further hint is that in some, admittedly rather clumsy, translations of the services, Compline is referred to as the After-Supper Service. This sounds odd and rather humorous, but it is an exact translation of the Greek and Slavonic words for the service and does indicate to us that the meal of that day properly comes after Vespers and before Compline. The only other possible interpretation of this practice, the idea that we are doing this so as to begin the day with a good meal, would be something completely surprising to the ascetic fathers!

If we remember the Eucharistic significance of the fast; then we know that in preparation for receiving the Holy Mysteries, we fast from all foods and all drink from midnight before the Liturgy (whether it be a morning or evening one), during which we partake of the Mysteries. The Eucharistic fast begins at midnight. Of course usually it ends in the morning, because the Divine Liturgy is properly celebrated at the third hour of the day (9 a.m.), but it is permitted that it be served at any time between dawn and midday. However, some Liturgies, the Presanctified and those on the eves of certain festivals or on Great Thursday, are appointed to be celebrated with Vespers—the fast (complete abstinence) is then broken after Vespers, and so what we eat for that day is eaten after Vespers—it is not a meal that pertains to the following day for, if that were the case, we would have had a meal before the Eucharist itself on that (second) day. Our Eucharistic fasting discipline is not something totally eccentric and wholly disconnected to the fasting regime which runs throughout the year. Indeed the latter in part is a preparation for the reception of the Eucharist, and so the two disciplines are concurrent. Were one to keep the Vespers-to-Vespers day for fasting, one would find that one's weekly fasting discipline would be out of kilter with one's Eucharistic fasting discipline.

One practical thought is that on those days when we have more than one meal— the vast majority of days for most of us I expect!—if we keep to the faddish idea of fasting Vespers-to-Vespers there would in fact never be a day when we abstained from meat, or dairy products or whatever, because one of the meals would fan into another "day" and would be subject to a different discipline.

Also, you would probably find if you are anything like me,—and I do not expect you to be that bad, but you probably share some of the same inclinations, — that you would soon be "having Vespers" later on days before fasts and earlier on fastdays themselves. So that you will probably end up having Vespers on Tuesday and Thursday evenings as late as midnight, but on Wednesdays and Fridays as early as noon! As you are probably only having a grapefruit juice and a slither of carrot for breakfast every day (because you are slimming) you will have then conveniently abolished the fasts from your life!

In short what you have been doing is proper, sober, commonsensical, and Orthodox — keep to it.

* The fasting rules for the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts vary, even among the more strict Spiritual Fathers. In my experience, the normative rule is not to eat or drink anything six hours prior to communing in the evening. A light, Lenten meal around noon is thus usually permissible for those who cannot fast the entire day. (It goes without saying that fasting the entire day is more beneficial, for those who have the strength.) But one should always discuss this with his or her Spiritual Father or Priest

Source: http://orthodoxinfo.com/praxis/fast_timing.aspx

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In recent years there has been a renewed emphasis on the cycle of the liturgical year. The traditions of an earlier age are being presented to the contemporary membership of our churches in an attempt to bring a spiritual element to the cycle of daily life, which has become so secularized.

One of the most important seasons to be re-discovered has been the season of Advent, the fast before the celebration of Christmas. Advent, the Western name of this fast period, comes from the Latin verb "advenire" meaning "to reach" or "to arrive at." Advent is the preparation for the arrival of the Messiah in the birth of the Christ Child.

Among Western Christians the Advent season begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve. The four candles of the Advent wreath represent the four Sundays of Advent. Advent also marks, for Western Christians, the beginning of the Church year.

The season of Advent, or as it is most often referred to in the Orthodox Liturgical books, the Nativity Fast, begins in the Orthodox Church on the day after the Feast of the Apostle Philip, November 15th. In fact, it was popularly referred to by Carpatho-Rusins as Philipovka, that is "Philip's Fast." According to legend, St. Philip the Apostle called down the wrath of God upon those who were torturing him to death. As a penance for presuming on the vengeance of God, it was revealed to him by an angel that he would not enter paradise until forty days after his death. Philip then sent word to the other living Apostles and begged them to fast for forty days after his death. The Canons attributed to St. John the Faster, the sixth century Patriarch of Constantinople, do in fact refer to this fast as the fast of St. Philip.

While it is entirely possible that this fast began as a popular custom not necessarily associated with Christmas, it is more likely that the forty day fast grew out of an attempt to imitate the fast of Great Lent preceding Pascha. Although it was only in the fourth century that the Feast of the Nativity of Christ was celebrated by itself on December 25th, from its inception it was seen as a feast only rivaled by the Resurrection. The celebration of the Incarnation of the Word of God provided an excellent forum for the Churchmen of the late fourth and early fifth centuries to attack the then rampant heresies of Arianism (denial that Jesus, as the "Word" of God, was of one essence with God the Father) and Monophysitism (denial of the effective presence of the human nature in Christ).

The Advent Fast, just as with the Lenten fast, developed from popular piety reflecting on the Scriptural fasts. However, unlike the Lenten fast, which was soon regulated by the Church in terms of its severity and duration, the Advent fast's severity and duration were for many centuries governed by local custom and tradition. It was not until 1166 that a church council meeting in Constantinople fixed the length of the fast at forty days. However, the famous Canonist and Patriarch, Theodore Balsamon of the Great Church of Constantinople (1185-1204), noted in interpreting this council that only monastics were obligated to keep the forty days and that lay people might shorten it to only seven days.

It is interesting to note that unlike Great Lent, with its Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, Presanctified Liturgies and Lenten Triodion, the liturgical life of the Church scarcely notices the existence of Advent. The Sundays are observed as "Sundays after Pentecost" and there are no special services prescribed. The approach of Christmas is mentioned only on the two Sundays directly preceding it, although the Christmas Canon (Christ is Born, glorify him...) is sung as a refrain at the Matins for the Presentation of the Mother of God on November 21st and also on St. Nicholas Day on December 6th.

One of the perpetual questions that is always asked at this time of year is, "when is it proper to sing Christmas Carols or decorate for Christmas." Unlike the Fast of Lent, which is really a preparation for Holy Week, the Nativity Fast is one of joyful expectation. As mentioned above, the Church begins to sing "Christ is born, glorify Him!" already on November 21st (December 4th). There is nothing wrong or inappropriate about decorating or singing the traditional Kol'jady after the fourth of December (or November 21st on the New Calendar). Unfortunately, since Matins has been discontinued in many of our churches, this refrain is no longer heard. This fact, coupled with the feeling in many "Old Calendar" parishes that to decorate the Church or to sing the Kol'jady before Christmas Eve will somehow mean that the Calendar is being changed, often leads to the practice of refusing to do anything that pertains to the Nativity until after December 25th.

Besides singing the Christmas Canon at Matins, the Kontakion of the Preparation for the Nativity is to be sung on the Sunday after the Feast of the Presentation of the Mother of God and to continue through the Advent season until the Nativity. In some parishes the custom still exists of having either Paraklis' or other devotions to the Mother of God during the Advent season. However, these are considered "paraliturgical" services that are celebrated out of piety. They are not formally prescribed by the Church.

The tremendous influence of monasticism after the fall of Constantinople in 1204, certainly contributed to the observance of the forty-day Nativity Fast by all Orthodox Christians, whether they were monastics or not. In light of the gross materialism of the secular Advent - the Christmas shopping season - the season of Advent has a valuable place in our spiritual lives. Through this season's emphasis on prayer, fasting and charity, the spiritual reality of Christ's Incarnation is brought to bear on our daily lives, thereby preparing us to welcome the Messiah into our hearts at time of His Advent.

Fr. Lawrence Barriger

Source: http://www.acrod.org/readingroom/spirituallife/7161

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The sisters from St.Elisabeth Convent invite you to the Charity Christmas Fair in Brussels in December 2016

The Tetramorph in Christian Art

When Are We to Fast: Midnight-to-Midnight, or Vespers-to-Vespers?

Photo Contest Updates: The First Photos of the Miracles

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Mourning over your Sins

The sisters from St.Elisabeth Convent invite you to the Charity Christmas Fair in Brussels in December 2016

The Tetramorph in Christian Art

When Are We to Fast: Midnight-to-Midnight, or Vespers-to-Vespers?

Photo Contest Updates: The First Photos of the Miracles

About The Nativity Fast

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