The Catalog of Good Deeds

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved:

but he that believeth not shall be condemned. (Mark, 16: 16)

One of the teaching challenges of those committed to the Mind of Christ and His One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Orthodox Church is the homogenization of Christianity by those who have been ensnared by the spiritual cancer of religious relativism that has permeated the Western world. Political, religious and social correctness is the mantra of the 3rd Millennium. It is also the great scourge of our modern world. It is the duty of all true and committed Christians, especially those charged with the guiding others in Orthodoxy, to be steadfast to the mind of Christ and His Church (Morelli, 2010). It must begin in the little church in the home the 'domestic church,' then be connected to the local parish and its clergy and then on to the Church universal.

An example of this spiritual virus occurred in a recent conversation I had with an Orthodox Christian who told me they had been told by another 'Orthodox' Christian that one should be happy that anyone would go or pray at any 'Christian' community. It doesn't matter that the community calling themselves 'Christian' was not one of the Apostolic Churchesi. Unfortunately, this view overlooks the fairly obvious fact that some of these 'Christian' fellowships teach what is "man-made," or omit from their teaching what a man or woman wants omitted and still call it 'Christian.'ii The dogmatic teaching of Christ and His Church, as witnessed by the Apostolic Churches, has been relegated to the realm of bias, discrimination and as proclaiming a radical violation of human rights. However, consider this question: Is one Church really as good as another?

The teaching of an Orthodox Metropolitan on the criticality of Dogma

The critical necessity of dogma for the Orthodox commitment to Christ and His Church was recently strongly proclaimed by Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev (2002, p. xiii), Chairman of the Department of External Affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate:

In our own day there is a widely held view that belief in religious dogma is not obligatory; even if they still have a certain historical value, they are no longer vital for Christians. Moral and social agendas have become the main preoccupation of many Christian communities, while theological issues are often neglected. This dissociation between dogma and way of life, however, contradicts the very nature of the religious life, which presupposes that faith should always be confirmed by deeds, and visa versa.

Underlying Processes in Observational Learning

Why is this important? Because our beliefs inform what we say and do, and consequently when and where they are heard and/or seen, they thus serve as models for others to observe, learn and perform. (Morelli, 2006a)

Modeling and Behavior

The essential role of such modeling in influencing behavior is a well supported by behavioral research (Bandura, 1986, Morelli, 2005a, 2005b, 2006a,b,c, 2007). In fact, it is also known that in children's early life parents are the main models. As individuals develop in age, the role of other adults, peers and surrounding society become increasingly efficacious as models. (Grusec, 1992) In as much as so many individuals in modern society are actively hostile to the Orthodox teaching of Christ, the implications are grave. As I emphasize in a previous article (Morelli, 2007): "If a parent capitulates to the culture, then the culture will assume the teaching authority of the parent." In fact, secular culture, with its undisguised enmity to Christ and His orthodox Church, will take over the teaching authority not just of children, but of those of all ages. The first step in attempting to tear down the authentic teaching of Christ and His Church is the homogenization of Christianity, as witnessed by the inference in the example stated earlier in this article that being actively attached and committed to the Orthodox Church 'doesn't matter.'

The Forcing of compliance to immorality by the legal system

Another egregious attempt to attack orthodox morality is to force legalization of immoral behavior. A recent online guest columnist described this trend by saying that some "seek to "rehabilitate" Christians to their way of thinking under penalty of law. ... of old [they] just threw us to the lions. I guess that's what they mean by "progress."iii Another currently well-reported example is the government mandating of abidance by religious institutions to healthcare programs that are clearly not in accord with orthodox Christian teaching.iv

The signs of Christ's orthodox Church

"Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." (Jn 20: 21-23).

This passage is, of course, the scriptural basis of the Holy Mystery of Confession. It has implications, however, that can be applied to all that makes up the Church. Christ gave Holy Spirit to His Apostles and their successors, the bishops and priests of His Orthodox Church, to safeguard and transmit His truth from age to age. And it is important to remember Christ's warning in St. Matthew's Gospel (7: 15): "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." St. Paul tells us: "For such false apostles are deceitful workmen, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ." (2Cor 11:13)

Continuing with the Holy Mystery of Confession as a springboard toward understanding Christ's true Church. Who has retained this Holy Mystery? Only the Apostolic Churches-The Orthodox Church-the preeminent focus of this article. Who has thrown Holy Confession and most of the other Holy Mysteries out? The non-Apostolic Christian communities. The other Holy Mysteries of the Church are not exempt from either elimination or fundamental re-definition. For example, to align themselves with political correctness, some communities calling themselves Christian perform baptism in the name of the 'Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier,' thus countermanding Christ's explicit teaching as recorded by St. Matthew (28: 19-20): "Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world."

The Holy Mystery of the Eucharist can also be considered in this regard. The Apostolic Churches retain Christ's very own words when He instituted the Holy Eucharist:

And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke: and gave to his disciples, and said: Take ye, and eat. This is my body. And taking the chalice, he gave thanks, and gave to them, saying: Drink ye all of this. For this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins. (Mt 26: 26-28)

Christ does not say the bread and wine is a figure, memorial or symbol of "my body" or "my blood", but "this is my body ...this is my blood."

Furthermore, those infected with homogenized Christianity fail to understand the reason the Apostolic Churches only give the Eucharist to those who are baptized and who hold the fullness of the teaching of Christ and His Church. Others are excluded until they have fully "put on Christ." The ancient testimony of St. Justin Martyr (c 147-161 AD) bears this out: The Apostolic orthodox Churches of Christ, therefore, maintain that the Holy Eucharist is the true body, blood, soul and divinity of Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ.

And this food is called among us the Thanksgiving [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Savior, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh.

A personal example of 'church relativism'

I would like to give a very personal example, edited, of course, for purposes of anonymity and charity. Some years ago I was invited, as a friend of the bride's family, to attend the wedding of a Roman Catholic male and a Protestant female at a Catholic Church. The Protestant denomination of the bride considers itself "a branch of the Catholic Church," but this pretentious claim is completely unrecognized by the Eastern and Roman Catholic Churches, and the Orthodox Churches as well. I did not know beforehand who the officiating priest would be, so I was greatly surprised when I saw that he, a member of a Roman Catholic religious order, was someone I knew very well. Many times he and I had had serious discussions and diverged on the issue of 'open communion.' During the Nuptial Mass, I was seated about six rows back , dressed in my clerical street garb. Several pews ahead of me were several girlfriends of the bride, well known to the other guests for their 'party' lifestyle.

At Communion time, the officiating priest turned and invited all to receive the Eucharist. I and others saw the girls joking among themselves, asking if they should go up to receive. They did go and received communion in the hand, and on the way back to the pew were flipping the host up and down, laughing joking, and finally consuming. After the service, I told this incident to the celebrant, and this time even he was in dismay. I said in charity: "Fr. X, this is one of the reasons that in Orthodoxy we reserve communion only to those who are fully united to the Church." I think he got the message.

The Christ-way Church is not a my-way church

Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain [Mt. Athos] (2011, p. 37) comments: "People are in such a state today that they do whatever comes to their mind. . . . Every so often, a few people will get together and start a new religion."

Actually, this state of mind goes back many years. All one has to do is review the founders of non-Apostolic Christian communities. To name a few: Anglican-Protestant Episcopal communities: Henry VIII; Lutheranism: Martin Luther; Presbyterian: John Calvin; Methodist: John Wesley; Ana-Baptists: Balthasar Hubmaier, et. al. These communities, along with too numerous to mention community congregations and mega communities (with members numbering in thousands), thrive in the United States and other countries. On the other hand, the Apostolic Churches are traced back with unbroken succession to the Apostles of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ and sanctified by the descent of Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

As previously noted, many of these groups have changed the meaning of the Holy Mysteries, completely eliminated them or retain only Baptism and the Lord's Supper, and communion merely as a 'memorial,' not as the true Body Blood and Divinity of Christ. Some other worship practices and teachings are equally egregious: seducing people by bright lights, sounds & pop music; equating holiness with feelings, instead of as taught by Orthodoxy: having a mind and heart filled with Godliness.

Worship in the Apostolic Church

For God's presence in the heart is a sense of God's absence: silence (as in the desert). St. Peter of Damaskos tells us ". . .for since God is undetermined and indeterminate without form or color, the intellect that is with God alone should itself be without form or color, free from all figuration and undistracted." (Philokalia III, p. 236). St. Peter, in the 12th Century, is expanding on the teaching of an early spiritual father of the 4th Century, St. Evagrius the Solitary, who said "Never try to see a form or shape during prayer . . . do not long for a sensory image." (Philokalia I, p. 68). St. John of the Ladder (1991) goes on to explain: "silence is the mother of prayer . . . creator of divine vision . . .the friend of silence draws us near to God and, by secretly conversing with Him is enlightened by God." (p. 92). It should be noted that in the public worship of the Apostolic Churches, the Divine Liturgy, the music is reverential and meant to raise one hearts and minds to God. That is to say, to cultivate an 'interior silence.'

Some non-Apostolic communities have also departed far afield from Christ and His Church on moral-social and theological issues, including espousing abortion, pre-marital sex, same-sex marriage, and female ordination. Another comment by Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain is particularly apt in this regard: "they have turned sin into a fashion."

The importance of being in union with the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Orthodox Church

Critical to understanding the importance of unity with the Orthodox Church of Christ are the words of Fr. Georges Florovsky as quoted by Alfeyev: "Personal convictions and even one's way of life do not yet make one a Christian. Christian existence assumes inclusion and implies membership in the community" (from Florovsky, My Father's Home, 10-11) This supports Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev's statement that: "The Church is synonymous with Christianity: one cannot be a Christian without being a member of the Church." In a later work (2012) he specifies exactly what "Church" membership means: . . . the oldest and most indispensable [ministry in the ancient Church] has turned out to be that of leadership. In the first years of the Church's existence, the apostles began to ordain presbyters and bishops to lead the local churches, creating an apostolic preaching as a result. Thus was the implementation of apostolic succession in the Church. The apostolic succession of hierarchy is a key concept of Orthodox ecclesiology: only that Church in which an unbroken succession of the hierarchy exists, coming from the apostles, is the true Church of Christ. If such a succession is absent or somehow broken [as in the Reformed communions including the Anglican and Protestant-Episcopal communities], the Church cannot be considered true, the hierarchy cannot be considered legitimate, and the sacraments cannot be considered efficacious.

An article by Fr. George Morelli

Source: http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/view/living-as-an-orthodox-christian-in-a-non-orthodox-world

To understand the various liturgical particularities of the Lenten period, we must remember that they express and convey to us the spiritual meaning of Lent and are related to the central idea of Lent, to its function in the liturgical life of the Church. It is the idea of repentance. In the teaching of the Orthodox Church however, repentance means much more than a mere enumeration of sins and transgressions to the priest. Confession and absolution are but the result, the fruit, the "climax" of true repentance. And, before this result can be reached, become truly valid and meaningful, one must make a spiritual effort, go through a long period of preparation and purification. Repentance, in the Orthodox acceptance of this word, means a deep, radical reevaluation of our whole life, of all our ideas, judgments, worries, mutual relations, etc. It applies not only to some "bad actions," but to the whole of life, and is a Christian judgment passed on it, on its basic presuppositions. At every moment of our life, but especially during Lent, the Church invites us to concentrate our attention on the ultimate values and goals, to measure ourselves by the criteria of Christian teaching, to contemplate our existence in its relation to God. This is repentance and it consists therefore, before everything else, in the acquisition of the Spirit of repentance, i.e., of a special state of mind, a special disposition of our conscience and spiritual vision.

The Lenten worship is thus a school of repentance. It teaches us what is repentance and how to acquire the spirit of repentance. It prepares us for and leads us to the spiritual regeneration, without which "absolution" remains meaningless. It is, in short, both teaching about repentance and the way of repentance. And, since there can be no real Christian life without repentance, without this constant "reevaluation" of life, the Lenten worship is an essential part of the liturgical tradition of the Church. The neglect of it, its reduction to a few purely formal obligations and customs, the deformation of its basic rules constitute one of the major deficiencies of our Church life today. The aim of this article is to outline at least the most important structures of Lenten worship, and thus to help Orthodox Christians to recover a more Orthodox idea of Lent.

Sundays of Preparation

Three weeks before Lent proper begins we enter into a period of preparation. It is a constant feature of our tradition of worship that every major liturgical event – Christmas, Easter, Lent, etc., is announced and prepared long in advance. Knowing our lack of concentration, the "worldliness" of our life, the Church calls our attention to the seriousness of the approaching event, invites us to meditate on its various "dimensions"; thus, before we can practice Lent, we are given its basic theology.

Pre-lenten preparation includes four consecutive Sundays preceding Lent.

1. Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee

On the eve of this day, i.e., at the Saturday Vigil Service, the liturgical book of the Lenten season – the Triodion makes its first appearance and texts from it are added to the usual liturgical material of the Resurrection service. They develop the first major theme of the season: that of humility; the Gospel lesson of the day (Lk. 18, 10-14) teaches that humility is the condition of repentance. No one can acquire the spirit of repentance without rejecting the attitude of the Pharisee. Here is a man who is always pleased with himself and thinks that he complies with all the requirements of religion. Yet, he has reduced religion to purely formal rules and measures it by the amount of his financial contribution to the temple. Religion for him is a source of pride and self-satisfaction. The Publican is humble and humility justifies him before God.

2. Sunday of the Prodigal Son

The Gospel reading of this day (Lk. 15, 11-32) gives the second theme of Lent: that of a return to God. It is not enough to acknowledge sins and to confess them. Repentance remains fruitless without the desire and the decision to change life, to go back to God. The true repentance has as its source the spiritual beauty and purity which man has lost. "…I shall return to the compassionate Father crying with tears, receive me as one of Thy servants." At Matins of this day to the usual psalms of the Polyeleos "Praise ye the name of the Lord" (Ps. 135), the Psalm 137 is added, "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea we wept, when we remembered Zion... If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning..." The Christian remembers and knows that what he lost: the communion with God, the peace and joy of His Kingdom. He was baptized, introduced into the Body of Christ. Repentance, therefore, is the renewal of baptism, a movement of love, which brings him back to God.

3. Sunday of the Last Judgment

(Meat Fare)

On Saturday, preceding this Sunday (Meat Fare Saturday) the Typikon prescribes the universal commemoration of all the departed members of the Church. In the Church we all depend on each other, belong to each other, are united by the love of Christ. (Therefore no service in the Church can be "private".) Our repentance would not be complete without this act of love towards all those, who have preceded us in death, for what is repentance if not also the recovery of the spirit of love, which is the spirit of the Church. Liturgically this commemoration includes Friday Vespers, Matins and Divine Liturgy on Saturday.

The Sunday Gospel (Mt. 25, 31-46) reminds us of the third theme of repentance: preparation for the last judgment. A Christian lives under Christ’s judgment. He will judge us on how seriously we took His presence in the world, His identification with every man, His gift of love. "I was in prison, I was naked..." All our actions, attitudes, judgments and especially relations with other people must be referred to Christ, and to call ourselves "Christians" means that we accept life as service and ministry. The parable of the Last Judgment gives us "terms of reference" for our self-evaluation.

On the week following this Sunday a limited fasting is prescribed. We must prepare and train ourselves for the great effort of Lent. Wednesday and Friday are non-liturgical days with Lenten services (cf. infra). On Saturday of this week (Cheesefare Saturday) the Church commemorates all men and women who were "illumined through fasting" i.e., the Holy Ascetics or Fasters. They are the patterns we must follow, our guides in the difficult "art" of fasting and repentance.

4. Sunday of Forgiveness

(Cheese Fare)

This is the last day before Lent. Its liturgy develops three themes: (a) the "expulsion of Adam from the Paradise of Bliss." Man was created for paradise, i.e., for communion with God, for life with Him. He has lost this life and his existence on earth is an exile. Christ has opened to every one the doors of Paradise and the Church guides us to our heavenly fatherland. (b) Our fast must not be hypocritical, a show off. We must "appear not unto men to fast, but unto our Father who is in secret" (cf. Sunday Gospel, Mt. 6, 14-21), and (c) its condition is that we forgive each other as God has forgiven us – "If ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you."

The evening of that day, at Vespers, Lent is inaugurated by the Great Prokimenon: "Turn not away Thy face from Thy servant, for I am in trouble; hear me speedily. Attend to my soul and deliver it." After the service the rite of forgiveness takes place and the Church begins its pilgrimage towards the glorious day of Easter.

The Canon of St. Andrew of Crete

The Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete. On the first four days of Lent – Monday through Thursday – the Typikon prescribes the reading at Great Compline (i.e., after Vespers) of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, divided in four parts. This canon is entirely devoted to repentance and constitutes, so to say, the "inauguration of Lent." It is repeated in its complete form at Matins on Thursday of the fifth week of Lent.

Weekdays of Lent – The Daily Cycle

Lent consists of six weeks or forty days. It begins on Monday after the Cheese Fare Sunday and ends on Friday evening before Psalm Sunday. The Saturday of Lazarus’ resurrection, the Palm Sunday and the Holy Week form a special liturgical cycle not analyzed in this article. The Lenten weekdays – Monday through Friday – have a liturgical structure very different from that of Saturdays and Sundays. We will deal with these two days in a special paragraph.

The Lenten weekday cycle, although it consists of the same services, as prescribed for the whole year (Vespers, Compline, Midnight, Matins, Hours) has nevertheless some important particularities:

(a) It has its own liturgical book – the Triodion. Throughout the year the changing elements of the daily services – troparia, stichira, canons – are taken from the Octoechos (the book of the week) and the Menaion (the book of the month, giving the office of the Saint of the day). The basic rule of Lent is that the Octoechos is not used on weekdays but replaced by the Triodion, which supplies each day with,

— at Vespers – a set of stichiras (3 for "Lord, I have cried" and 3 for the "Aposticha") and 2 readings or "parimias" from the Old Testament.

— at Matins – 2 groups of "cathismata" ("Sedalny," short hymns sung after the reading of the Psalter), a canon of three odes (or "Triodion" which gave its name to the whole book) and 3 stichiras at the "Praises," i.e., sung at the end of the regular morning psalms 148, 149, 150 – at the Sixth Hour – a "parimia" from the Book of Isaiah.

The commemoration of the Saint of the day ("Menaion") is not omitted, but combined with the texts of the Triodion. The latter are mainly, if not exclusively penitential in their content. Especially deep and beautiful are the "idiornela" ("Samoglasni") stichira of each day (1 at Vespers and 1 at Matins). And it is a sad fact that so little of the Triodion has been translated into English.

(b) The use of Psalter is doubled. Normally the Psalter, divided in 20 cathismata is read once every week: (1 cathisma. at Vespers, 2 at Matins). During Lent it is read twice (1 at Vespers, 3 at Matins, 1 at the Hours 3, 6 and 9). This is done of course mainly in monasteries, yet to know that the Church considers the psalms to be an essential "spiritual food" for the Lenten season is important.

(c) The Lenten rubrics put an emphasis on prostrations. They are prescribed at the end of each service with the Lenten prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian, "O Lord and Master of my life," and also after each of the special Lenten troparia at Vespers. They express the spirit of repentance as "breaking down" our pride and selfsatisfaction. They also make our body partake of the effort of prayer.

(d) The Spirit of Lent is also expressed in the liturgical music. Special Lenten "tones" or melodies are used for the responses at litanies and the "Alleluias" which replace at Matins the solemn singing of the "God is the Lord and has revealed Himself unto us."

(e) A characteristic feature of Lenten services is the use of the Old Testament, normally absent from the daily cycle. Three books are read daily throughout Lent: Genesis with Parables at Vespers. Isaiah at the Sixth Hour. Genesis tells us the story of Creation, Fall and the beginnings of the history of salvation. Parables is the book of Wisdom, which leads us to God and to His precepts. Isaiah is the prophet of redemption, salvation and the Messianic Kingdom.

(f) The liturgical vestments to be used on weekdays of Lent are dark, theoretically purple.

The order for the weekday Lenten services is to be found in the Triodion ("Monday of the first week of Lent"). Of special importance are the regulations concerning the singing of the Canon. Lent is the only season of the liturgical year that has preserved the use of the nine biblical odes, which formed the original framework of the Canon.

Non-Liturgical Days

The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts

On weekdays of Lent (Monday through Friday) the celebration of the Divine Liturgy is strictly forbidden. They are non-liturgical days, with one possible exception – the Feast of Annunciation (then the Liturgy of St. Chrysostom is prescribed after Vespers). The reason for this rule is that the Eucharist is by its very nature a festal celebration, the joyful commemoration of Christ’s Resurrection and presence among His disciples. (For further elaboration of this point cf. my note "Eucharist and Communion" in St. Vladimir’s Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 2, April 1957, pp. 31-33.) But twice a week, on Wednesdays and Fridays, the Church prescribes the celebration after Vespers, i.e., in the evening of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts (cf. the order of this service in I. Hapgood, The Service Book, pp. 127-146.) It consists of solemn Great Vespers and communion with the Holy Gifts consecrated on the previous Sunday. These days being days of strict fasting (theoretically: complete abstinence) are "crowned" with the partaking of the Bread of Life, the ultimate fulfillment of all our efforts.

One must acknowledge the tragical neglect of these rules in many American parishes. The celebration of the so called "requiem liturgies" on non-liturgical days constitutes a flagrant violation of the universal tradition of Orthodoxy and cannot be justified from either theological or pastoral points of view. They are remnants of "uniatism" in our Church and are in contradiction with both – the Orthodox doctrine of the commemoration of the dead and the Orthodox doctrine of Eucharist and its function in the Church. Everything must be done in order to restore the real liturgical principles of Lent.

Saturdays of Lent

Lenten Saturdays, with the exception of the first – dedicated to the memory of the Holy Martyr Theodore Tyron, and the fifth – the Saturday of the Acathistos, are days of commemoration of the departed. And, instead of multiplying the "private requiem liturgies" on days when they are forbidden, it would be good to restore this practice of one weekly universal commemoration of all Orthodox Christians departed this life, of their integration in the Eucharist, which is always offered "on behalf of all and for all."

The Acathistos Saturday is the annual commemoration of the deliverance of Constantinople in 620. The "Acathist," a beautiful hymn to the Mother of God, is sung at Matins.

Sundays of Lent

Each Sunday in Lent, although it keeps its character of the weekly feast of Resurrection, has its specific theme, Triodion is combined with Octoechos.

1st Sunday — "Triumph of Orthodoxy" — commemorates the victory of the Church over the last great heresy – Iconoclasm (842).

2nd Sunday — is dedicated to the memory of St. Gregory Palamas, a great Byzantine theologian, canonized in 1366.

3rd Sunday — "of the Veneration of the Holy Cross"– At Matins the Cross is brought in a solemn procession from the sanctuary and put in the center of the Church where it will remain for the whole week. This ceremony announces the approaching of the Holy Week and the commemoration of Christ’s passion. At the end of each service takes place a special veneration of the Cross.

4th Sunday —St. John the Ladder, one of the greatest Ascetics, who in his "Spiritual Ladder" described the basic principles of Christian spirituality.

5th Sunday — St. Mary of Egypt, the most wonderful example of repentance.

On Saturdays and Sundays – days of Eucharistic celebration – the dark vestments are replaced by light ones, the Lenten melodies are not used, and the prayer of St. Ephrem with prostrations omitted. The order of the services is not of the Lenten type, yet fasting remains a rule and cannot be broken. Each Sunday night, Great Vespers with a special Great Prokimenon is prescribed.

At the conclusion of this brief description of the liturgical structure of Lent, let me emphasize once more that Lenten worship constitutes one of the deepest, the most beautiful and the most essential elements of our Orthodox liturgical tradition. Its restoration in the life of the Church, its understanding by Orthodox Christions, constitute one of the urgent tasks of our time.

An article by Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann

Source: http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/lent.html

By Father Andrew Lemeshonok

It appears that the result of our live depends on our neighbors. We will not be judged for some thoughts or words we cannot even recall. We nervously think: “What else have I done? What have I thought or said?” A person is anxious: “Maybe, I have missed something. Maybe, I have confessed something wrong or have forgotten to confess at all”. All these thoughts confuse us even more. We should remember: there is nothing we can do perfectly, and our life is in our neighbors’ hands, who are sent us by God. These are the people, who are close to us, with whom we communicate and share our sorrows. The ones, whom we should serve. We must not be indifferent, we must respond. We must see a human being, but not turn away saying. “I am late for the service”, just like the Levite did, when he met a man of different faith, who had been beaten by the robbers. We are late for the service too. We should hurry and pray. For whom? For ourselves? For our neighbor?

Today we have everything at hand. Everything is clear and could not be more simple. We have read the words from the prayer just now, which was written by Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov: “My sister and my brother are my life”. If a sister lives in a monastic cell, then her life depends on the sister she lives with. Will she serve her sister so that she in turn would be in a good mood? Will she wait for her sister to come or will she think: “I cannot wait for her to leave me alone, so that I can pray in silence without hearing her talks and seeing her looming around”. But Christ feels otherwise. Conciliarity means a lot. The more people there are in the church, the more people are praying around us, the better. “But I like to pray in silence…” Are you sure that you pray in silence? Don’t you pray in the void, if you cannot stand a person near?

It is all about us. We feel discomfort because of people living with us in the same flat, so we want to run away from them. Why so? Because everyone is bad, and I am the only one who is nice! Don’t you think it could be vice versa? What would we say, should we appear today at the Last Judgment? Are we ready to say that there is place for other people in our heart? We need all these people for our salvation. Or do we choose like: I need this one, but I do not need that one, and what concerns the third one, then I would rather never meet him again? Of course, we have a lot of questions, and we cannot find all the answers on our own. We need God’s help, and we get it in church, as a remedy for our immortal soul, so that it begins to understand that Christ is the main Healer in this world, and He loves us all.

Just look at what we are. We will betray Christ. We will deceive Him, we will quarrel with Him. But He still needs us. However, this is a question, whether we need Him as well. Sometimes we want to hide from God. “May God not see me today, I want to live for myself”. It is impossible to live for yourself. There is no truth in you, there is only the sin. The changes in our life depend on whether we understand what is right or wrong. You may be a person of certain age, but you still understand nothing at all. A person may attend a church for twenty or thirty years, but he has understood nothing and does not know what is the most important thing in his life. You may want to help such a person, to give a piece of advice or to correct - the person will feel insulted. By what? It is so difficult for us to hear not what we want to hear! However, we should thank for this, as this lets us see what we cannot see from our viewpoint. A person prompts you – thank him! It turns out, that we are too arrogant, touchy and inpatient. It is so great that someone could tell what is wrong with us. There is time for improvement! But no, the devil blocks such thoughts, and a person feels insulted and get personal: “And you? Look at yourself! Are you much better?!” Awful… The Lord knows this, for He sees us arguing. We constantly bargain with God and make demands: “I am going to read the akathist for forty days to make everyone obey me”. Or something like: “I going to fast, because I want to feel winged”. You will not feel like this. One must not bargain with God. We can only trust Him, for this trust is the main thing. “According to your faith be it unto you” (Matthew, 9:29).

Today we are in limbo: we cannot live in the old way, but we are still afraid of living in the new way. We are afraid that we do not have the heart for it, and our life will ruin. It will not, so be not afraid. The more strength and time you devote to God, the more you gain. And of course we need these people, as it depends on them what we will hear at the Last Judgment. There should be no human discourse, everything is simple: “Those who are blessed come with Me and share My joy, and those who are not dressed in the wedded clothing, depart from me into everlasting fire” (Refer to Matthew, 34-46). That is it: we can be either with God or not. And what can we do without God? Without God it is all over for us. This is why we should value the time the Lord gives us for living.

The favorable and redemptive time is coming – the time of the Great Lent. Next Sunday we will try to come to our senses and to ask each other for forgiveness. We ask God for forgiveness through each other. A different life is coming, and in this life there is a possibility for us to fix ourselves, to tune ourselves to the “frequency” of God’s love.

St. Elisabeth Convent,

February 19, 2017

Maslenitsa, also known as Butter Week, Pancake week, or Cheesefare Week, the Russian religious and folk holiday.

Perhaps the most cheerful holiday in Russia is Maslenitsa (Shrovetide). This holiday is considered to come from pre-Christian times, when the Slavs were still pagans. In the old days Maslenitsa was for remembrance of the dead. So the burning of the figure of Maslenitsa means her funeral, and blini (pancakes) – coliphia. But with time the Russians longing for fun and entertainment turned the sad holiday into jolly Maslenitsa with blini – round, yellow and hot as the sun, sledding and horse sleigh riding, fistfights and mother-in-law chatting. The rituals of Maslenitsa are very unusual and interesting because they combine the end of the winter holiday rituals and the opening of new spring festivals and ceremonies, which were to promote a rich harvest.

Maslenitsa is celebrated during the week preceding the Lent or the 7th week before Russian Orthodox Easter (Pascha). Every day of Maslenitsa was devoted to special rituals.

Maslenitsa. Monday is “Vstrecha” – “Meeting”. On that day people made the straw-stuffed figure of Winter, dressed it in old women’s clothing and singing carried it on sleigh around the village. Then the figure was put onto snow-covered slope that people used for tobogganing, which was considered not just fun, but the ancient rite, because it was thought that the one who came down the hill more than once was likely to have tall flax in summer.

Tuesday is “Zaigryshi” which can roughly be translated as “games”. From that day on the whole village started all sorts of activities: sleigh riding, folk festivals, skomorokh (traveling actors) and puppet shows. The streets were full of people in carnival costumes and masks, who visited homes of their neighbours and organised impromptu concerts. Large groups of people rode troikas and simple sleighs. Pancake Week in 18th century Moscow was hard to imagine without bear shows. Bear fun was very popular among all classes of the population of towns and cities, towns, and villages. Trained bears amused the audience, imitating girls putting makeup are in front of the mirror or women baking pancakes.

Pancakes Wednesday is “Lakomki” – “gourmands” – opened feasts in houses with blini and other dishes. Each household had tables with delicious food, baked pancakes, and brewed beer. Tents selling all kinds of food appeared everywhere. They sold hot sbiten (drinks from water, honey and spices), nuts, honey gingerbreads and poured tea from boiling samovars.

Thursday is called “Shirokii razgul” which means “show time” or “revelry”!” It was then that the hottest fistfights took place.

If on Wednesday sons-in-law were treated with pancakes in their mothers-in-law homes, on Friday it was their turn to arrange evenings with blini. On the day before mothers-in-law had to send to their sons-in-law homes everything necessary for blini making: pans, ladles etc., and fathers-in-law sent a bag of buckwheat and some butter. The disrespect of the tradition from the part of a son-in-law was considered dishonor and insult; it was a reason for life-long enmity.

A special attention during Maslenitsa was paid to conjugal relations: the couples, married the previous were honored and celebrated. The newlyweds were put on the spot in villages: they were forced to each other in public, thrown at with old bast shoes and straw and sometimes could come to the home of newlyweds and kiss the young wife. Tradition required that they dress smartly and go to public places in painted sleigh, pay a call to all who had visited their wedding, and go down icy slope under accompaniment of a solemn song. Maslenitsa was the time of mutual visits of families, which recently became related

Saturday is “Zolovkiny posidelki” – newlywed wives visit their sisters-in-law, and bring them some gifts.

Sunday is *the* most important day of all – “The Forgiven or Forgiveness Sunday”. On that day people asked each other for forgiveness for all grievances and troubles; in the evening people went to cemeteries and “bid farewell” to the dead. On the last day of Maslenitsa comes the most interesting event – saying goodbye to Maslenitsa – a solemn burning of the stuffed figure of winter. People threw the remnants of pancakes and food to the huge bonfire explaining their children that all the nourishing food disappeared in fire to prepare them for the Lent.

Maslenitsa ended with the first day of the Lent – Clean Monday, which was considered the day of purification from sin and fast forbidden food. On Clean Monday people usually washed in a bath; women washed dishes, cleaning them from grease and remains of forbidden food.

Get ready – everyone will be asking you to forgive them. In that case, you must answer “Bog prostit – i ya proschau”, which means “God will forgive – and I do, as well”.

Oh, and don’t forget to ask for forgiveness by yourself – that way, you’ll enter Great Lent completely cleansed!

On Sunday, Lady Maslenitsa figurine gets burned, and her ashes thrown on the soil to fertilize it – that way we’ll be sure the spring is finally coming!

Source: http://www.russianchurchcheltenham.org.uk/2013/03/russian-rituals-of-maslenitsa/

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Living as an Orthodox Christian in a Non-Orthodox World, Part I

The Liturgical Structure of the Great Lent

The Last Judgment will Tell the Truth about us

Maslenitsa: The Cheesefare Week

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