The Catalog of Good Deeds

A Saint (from the Latin sanctus) is one who is holy, that is, set apart for God’s service. It is a person who has cooperated with God’s grace to the extent that his or her holiness is beyond doubt.

Saints in the Bible

In the Holy Scripture, the word saint is used to refer to those who have been set apart for the service of God, consecrated for his purposes. As such, all members of the Church are called saints, regardless of their personal holiness or sinlessness. It is still appropriate to use the term in this way.

Christ is shown enthroned in heaven surrounded by the ranks of angels and saints. Adam and Eve are on either side of the throne. At the top are Kings David (left) and Solomon (right). At the bottom is Paradise with the Bosom of Abraham (left), the Good Thief (center), and Israel (right).

Saints in the Church

Aside from the more general use of the word saint to refer to all members of the Church, Holy Tradition also ascribes Saint as a title to particular persons whose lives have shown most clearly what it means to follow Jesus Christ. These saints are popularly glorified (canonized) by the Church, often in the modern era with a formal service to recognize and affirm the veneration of them by the faithful.

Saints are not thought of as either perfect or infallible, and it is only because of the work of Christ in them that the Church praises these people. It is because we see our Lord’s countenance reflected most clearly in their faces that we publicly laud them, ask them to pray for us, and encourage one another to follow their examples.

Recognition of Saints

The people of the church do not create saints, they recognize as saints those whom God himself has glorified, seeing in their lives true love for God and their neighbors. From the beginning, the Church recognized the righteous ancestors of Christ, forefathers, as grace-filled men and women whose lives were pleasing to God. Also the prophets who predicted Christ’s coming and the apostles and evangelists who proclaimed the Gospel were assumed to be saints. Next the martyrs and confessors who risked their lives and shed their blood in witness to Christ were also recognized as saints. In time, ascetics who followed Christ through self denial, were numbered among the saints. Bishops and priests who fought against heresy and proclaimed the true faith are recognized by the Church as saints. Today, holy people, in all walks of life, can be recognized as saints. (—From OrthodoxWiki, Saints)

Prayer to the Saints

Prayer to the Saints is encouraged by the Orthodox Church, because physical death is not a defeat for a Christian. It is a glorious passage into heaven. The Christian does not cease to be a part of the Church at death, nor is he or she set aside, idle until the Day of Judgment.

The Church is composed of all who are in Christ—in heaven and on earth. It is not limited in membership to those presently alive. Those in heaven with Christ are alive, in communion with God, worshiping God, doing their part in the Body of Christ. They actively pray to God for all those in the Church and perhaps, indeed, for the whole world. So we pray to the saints who have departed this life, seeking their prayers, even as we ask Christian friends on earth to pray for us. (—From Antiochian.org, Prayer to the Saints)

The Virgin Mary

Mary is called Theotokos, meaning “God-bearer” or “the Mother of God,” because she bore the Son of God in her womb and from her He took His humanity. Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, recognized this reality when she called Mary, “the mother of my Lord” (Luke 1:43). Mary said of herself, “All generations will call me blessed” (Luke 1:48). So we, in our generation, call her blessed. Mary lived a chaste and holy life, and we honor her highly as the model of holiness, the first of the redeemed, the Mother of the new humanity in her Son. (—From Antiochian.org, Mary)

Source: http://stgeorgegr.com/orthodoxy/beliefs/saints/

An exhibition that takes place in the Museum of Icons is for people, no matter how they read the information – either with their eyes or with their hands. The exhibits are supposed to be touched. If fact, you NEED to touch them.

The aim of the exhibition is to tell people about the world of icon painting from the very beginning, which is making paints, till the finished image.

The visitors can see the mortars in which the icon painters pound the paints, the paint-brushes with which they paint, and the boards on which icons are painted.

- The exhibition includes also the materials from which icons are created – wood, ceramics, alabaster, smalt and metals. – says Ekaterina Vasina, the head of the public affairs office of the Museum of Icons.

- The tradition of the relief icons is rather ancient. – said Alexey Lidov, an art historian, the head of the Eastern Orthodox Culture research center, a member of the Russian Academy of Art. – During the period of the early Christianity, there were even the statues depicting Christ and the apostles. Later they were rejected because of the fear of being accused of idolatry.

The icons created with such a technique always existed in the Byzantine Empire. Concerning the material, some of them were made of wood, but more often, it was either marble or ivory. There was also a tradition of making icons of special wax pasta – a mastic which reminds clay or playdough, in which a small particle of relics was added. The material itself became sacred, and such an icon became a great sacred image.

From the viewpoint of our secular and sensuous sight, we need to become blind if we want to perceive an icon for real. At the same time, there is no need to do this for the blind. The only way for them to see an icon is to imagine it in their mind.

One of my acquaintances, an iconographer, was bothered when she heard about icons for the blind: “How can you touch a holy face! Isn’t this blasphemous?”

“No one, including the Patriarchy, had no doubts about that. Every person has his own way of perceiving the world and faith. If we forbid a person to touch the images, we can prevent him from understanding art, from knowing faith and God. I do not think this is right.” – said Ekaterina Vasina.

Moscow know-how

“We can say that the exhibition of the relief images for blind people, organized by the Museum of Icons, is a know-how. – says Alexey Lidov. – However, if we speak about demonstration of other types of works for the blind, then we can say that special exhibitions for them are organized in Europe since the 90s.

I have seen a beautiful exposition, which took place in the Royal museum in Brussel and I have noticed the influence it had on children. When I was there, a group of blind children came. They were given various original works of art, such as an ancient Egyptian statue, some works of ancient Greek plastic arts and so on. I remember the look of joy and some kind of revelation on their faces, which transfigured through that spiritual experience. They saw those works, but with a different sight.

I would say that the idea to share the art of icon painting with those who are blind deserves to be commended. An icon as a piece of art is connected with the definition of seeing. It is a mediator image, which joins two worlds together. This is why, it is not just sight, contemplation of a plain picture, what plays an important role in perceiving an icon, but some kind of communication with the image, which brings the one who looks at it into a different world. The moment of seeing which is available to the blind is quite strong in the art of icon painting.”

What next?

The organizers are currently working on the audio accompaniment of the exhibition. Not all blind people can read Braille. What is more, audio information can be useful for seeing visitors as well.

Another point of the plan is to widen the exposition so that there will be more exhibits which the visitors can touch. Next step – partially sighted children from special schools will come to the Museum of Icons and have lessons there: not only in the subjects, which are connected with religion and art, but in other subjects as well. Children will have an opportunity to learn more about icons and to ask the staff of the museum any questions, which they will answer with pleasure.

An excerpt Translation from: http://www.pravmir.ru/kak-delayut-ikony-dlya-slepyx-foto/

The first day of September is celebrated as the Ecclesiastical or Church New Year by Orthodox Christians. It is also a day marked by prayers for the environment, reminding us to be good stewards of the world around us.

So This is the New Year?

The old Roman term for this day is Indictio, meaning “definition” or “order.” This was a day established as the beginning of a fifteen year cycle, marking the redefinition of tax obligations for Roman citizens (especially since Roman soldiers served fifteen-year terms), likely from the time of Caesar Augustus.

One of the Emperor St. Justinian’s novellas (AD 537) decreed that all official documents of the Empire should include the indiction reference. When attempting to date manuscripts from this era, it can be helpful to know the year of the indiction (1–15), as exact dates or years are less commonly found. And when a date is found, it usually corresponds to Anno Mundi (Hebrew: לבריאת העולם) or “the year of the world” since the date of Creation.

Anno Mundi (AM) served as the beginning point for calendars until the modern era in many parts of the world, and is still a liturgical point of reference for both modern Judaism and Christians. (Jews also mark the New Year in September, but on a floating date.)

The date of the creation of the world—as discerned by a literal reading of the Patriarchal histories of the Greek Septuagint—was determined to be around 5500 BC on our modern calendar, with variations here and there. On the Julian calendar, the date of creation was said to be September 1, 5509 (BC), with the birth of Jesus Christ taking place in 5509 AM–that is, 5,509 years from the foundation of the world.

In 1597, Patriarch Theophanes I Karykes of Constantinople first utilized a date based on the Christian Era. Instead of marking dates based on the foundation of the world, the Incarnation of Jesus Christ became the crux of human history—and thus the distinction between BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini or “in the year of our Lord”).

This became official in Constantinople in 1728 and in Russia (by Peter the Great) in 1700, with the Julian calendar still serving as the underlying reckoning of days and months.

While the Anno Mundi calendar is no longer mainstream (or part of the civil calendars of predominately Orthodox nations), it still serves as the basis of our liturgical calendar.

Harvest, Thanksgiving, and Sowing

By marking the start of a new year in September, the Empire—and later, the Orthodox Church—was associating the new year with harvesting crops. As preparations for winter were being made, so too were preparations for the upcoming year.

For Christians, it was a time of thanksgiving, remembering the good weather and abundant rain the Lord provided for that year’s harvest—something we pray for at every Divine Liturgy.

This draws close parallels with the Feast of Trumpets for the pre-Incarnation people of God (Lev. 23:23–25):

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘The seventh month, on the first of the month, rest will be yours, a memorial of trumpets; it will be a holy assembly to you. You will not perform any servile work, and you will bring a whole burnt offering to the Lord.’”

As the Synaxarion notes, this was also the day Christ entered a synagogue and read from the scroll of Isaiah (cf. Luke 4:16–30).

By marking the new year at harvest time, we remind ourselves annually of our dependence on both hard work and the blessings of God. Going beyond material blessings and healthy crops, this applied (as do many of our hymns) to Imperial concerns, including prayers for protection from our enemies:

Creator of the universe, setting times and seasons by Your sole authority, bless the cycle of the year of Your grace, O Lord, guarding our rulers and Your nation in peace, at the intercession of the Theotokos, and save us.

— Apolytikion (Second Tone)

You who created all things in Your infinite wisdom, and set the times by Your own authority, grant Your Christian people victories. Blessing our comings and goings throughout this year, guide our works according to Your divine will.

— Kontakion (Fourth Tone)

And if one considers the increasing natural disasters, droughts, floods, wildfires (especially here in the Pacific Northwest), hurricanes, and famines, we should be all the more mindful in this modern era of technology and abundance to pray for such things—not less so.

We have not engineered our way out of dependence on God. If anything, the more our abilities increase, the more we have shown need for God’s favor and mercy.

Ecological Stewardship

And that leads to my final point: the Ecclesiastical New Year is now a day marked by prayers for the care of the environment.

Patriarch Demetrios of Constantinople issued an encyclical on the environment in 1989, calling all Orthodox Christians to both pray for and protect the world around us. His encyclical also established September 1—the beginning of the new Church year—as “a day of prayer for the protection of the environment” for the Ecumenical Patriarchate, something adopted soon after by the rest of the canonical Orthodox churches. (The Vatican has recently followed suit.)

Since his elevation to Ecumenical Patriarch, an encyclical has been issued each year on September 1 by Patriarch Bartholomew on the environment. Bartholomew is affectionately known as “the Green Patriarch,” and he often speaks on an international stage regarding the protection of Creation.

And this all makes perfect sense.

The beginning of the New Year was for centuries a commemoration of the foundation of the world (Anno Mundi). It is a day for giving thanks to God for plentiful harvest. It is a day that recognizes God’s protection over and providence for the world, along with our responsibility and stewardship towards the same.

This all goes back naturally to the story of Creation itself, and a story where mankind—represented by Adam and Eve—is given the awesome responsibility of caring for every living creature. A restoration of peace between mankind and the created order lies at the heart of redemption and deification, and that is ultimately what the Ecclesiastical New Year is all about.

Conclusion

As I’ve mentioned in other articles, our Church Year begins and ends with the life of Mary. The Nativity of Mary is the first Great Feast of the year, while her Dormition or “falling asleep” is the last.

In this cycle we see the Incarnation of the God-Man Jesus Christ at the heart of our story as God’s people. And in between those two reference points we have this feast that could, at first glance, seem a peculiar or even irrelevant holdover from the Roman Empire.

Rather, the Ecclesiastical New Year serves as the crux for our entire liturgical life each and every year.

We say goodbye to the old and welcome the new. We give thanks for what the Lord has done, and petition his lovingkindness and protection for the days yet to come. We take a moment to consider our impact on the world around us, and whether our actions proceed from hearts of selfishness or hearts of compassion.

This is a feast day that points to the very core of Christ’s message of true, Christian spirituality: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Prayers for blessings seen and unseen, fasting for the sake of the world and our own mortification, and almsgiving for the care of others. Self-sacrifice and promise, beauty and self-restraint.

So pop open a bottle of champagne and bring your petitions to the Lord. It’s the start of a new year.

Source: https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/onbehalfofall/why-orthodox-christians-celebrate-the-new-year-on-the-first-of-september/

An interview with Bishop Benjamin of Borisov and Maryina Horka about the monastic life.

- Your Grace, you have a great experience of the monastic life for you have gone through the stages of being a simple monk, you have been a dean and an abbot of a monastery. What do you think, to which factors should we pay special attention while accepting people into a monastery?

Bishop Benjamin

- It is necessary that a person feels that it is the calling which makes him come to a monastery. It should be his conscious choice so that neither he nor the one who accepts him regrets this decision.

- What are the main criteria according to which people are accepted into a monastery?

- It is important that a person is non-confrontational and has a desire and ability to obey, to reject his own will and to put the Gospel ideals into life.

- For how long should the probation period last? In your opinion, are there any standards?

- At least a year. As a rule, if a person comes to a monastery, at first a person behaves almost perfectly. But after a year spent in the monastery, he begins to behave freely and naturally. Then his weaknesses are better revealed, and thus we can make a conclusion, whether this person can live in the monastery or not. If the question is whether to accept a person as a novice, then it is a year. However, if he is going to become a monk, then this period should be even longer because sometimes it just so happens that a person, who accepts someone, can make a mistake. Thus, a longer trial period can help to avoid such a mistake. Of course, everything depends on a person who comes. If those who live in a monastery know him well for a long time, then this period can be shortened.

- Minsk Theological Institute has developed a two-year distance learning course for monastics, which allows them to get a minimum level of spiritual education without leaving the monastery. The brethren from the Lyadansky monastery have almost finished this course. It is the first monastery of the Belarusian diocese that has such a learning experience. Could you tell us how did the brethren react this initiative?

- The brethren undertook this obedience with humility. Later they expressed a keen interest because they began to get some new knowledge, which helped them both to look at the Divine Services from a different viewpoint, and to have an indepth understanding the history of the Church. This enriched their monastic life with new content and this is why they studied with great pleasure and were happy about their new knowledge.

- In your opinion, what is the role of spiritual education in the life of monastics?

- At the present day, it is stated by the Church authority that it is necessary to provide monastics with such an education. It will help not only them in their spiritual life, but it can also help the people who come to monasteries to get the right answers to their questions. However, everything should be conducted in accordance with the monastic tradition. It is also important that theoretical knowledge and the practical experience of spiritual life should be gained simultaneously.

- The abbot’s credibility, good and warm relationships among the inhabitants of the monastery – these are the main factors of the spiritual prosperity of the monastery. How can an abbot earn this credibility?

- If the brethren see his sincere concern for them and if this reflects in some practical deeds, for example, if he is patient to their weaknesses and sometimes covers these weaknesses with his love, or even hides them from others – then all of these dispose to believe such an abbot and to seek help and support from him. This unites the brotherhood as well.

- Today, people speak a lot about the restoration of the ancient monastic traditions. What do you think, what do the words “restoration of the ancient monastic traditions” mean in terms of the modern world and modern monasteries?

- Perhaps, it would be better to say "monastic" traditions, instead of "ancient" traditions. Indeed, there are traditions that existed in ancient times, but today they are not typical for us. It may concern the clothing or any other thing. At the same time, there are traditions that are constant and set for all time. These traditions are connected with the vows, which all the monastics make, with their relationships with each other and with the abbot. These traditions must be firm and must be observed at all times. It is important that these traditions should be restored not just in words, but in spirit. We should know that there is a spiritual filling behind the external form. Restoration is possible only in case the monastics will gain necessary spiritual experience, which can help them to understand this or that tradition and to follow it in their lives.

- Monastic life implies some sort of solitude. A large number of pilgrims, who want to pray together with the brethren and to communicate with them, often visit our monasteries. Thus, they become stronger spiritually and keep their strength. How can we preserve the balance between the necessity to live in seclusion from the world and the necessity to spend time with those who come to the monastery?

- The abbots and the abbesses should be especially attentive to these questions. If we find out from the confessions of the brethren that the visitors have bad influence on the life of the monastery, then it is necessary to regulate this somehow, to establish certain restrictions. Here we can recall the experience of the Greek monasteries and the monastery in Suroti, where St. Paisios of Mount Athos reposed. Because of the ever increasing number of pilgrims, it was decided there to limit the flow of people, so that the sisters could rest and spend some time in seclusion. There is a practice, according to which the monastery is closed for the outer visitors in fasting days. Not all people agree with such a decision, but this rule is necessary for the monastery. This is why everyone should be attentive to this and obey.

- Is a poor health condition an obstacle for a person who wants to come to a monastery?

- It is knows that sometimes people come to monasteries when they are about to die. And the Lord extends their lives not just for one year, but for many years and even for decades. Everything depends on the inner condition of a person. In the life stories of saints we can see the examples showing that ill people – and St. Pimen in particular – do not become a burden for monasteries. On the contrary, the brethren, who serve them, have a great possibility to attain many virtues, such as patience and love to a neighbor. The only thing which is important again, is that it should be a calling. It should be not just a person’s desire, but God’s calling.

- Is there a large difference between male and female monasticism?

- Yes, just like a man differs from a woman. This is defined by our nature; our emotional and mental abilities are different. But it does not mean that someone is wiser and someone is less intelligent. Elder Paisios said that mental activity is more typical for men, while their heart does not work in some cases, when it is actually needed. In case of women, their heart and emotions are involved more, while their mind stays away. And our goal is to be a harmoniously developed person, so that our heart and our mind work together. This is why in women's convents there should be less physical activity than in monasteries. The nature itself tells us about the necessity of such a division. At the same time, both monasteries and convents are intended to shape the perfect person for the Kingdom of Heaven – the place, where there is there is neither male nor female.

There are also some external moments: it is natural for the sisters from the convents to decorate everything. There is always many flowers and the order is kept everywhere. At the same time, in men’s monasteries something is always overlooked, everything is more ascetic.

- What do you think, can modern monks acquire the teachings written by the Holy Fathers of the first millennium? Can they understand their spirit and accept these teachings in the right way?

- The Lord is always the same. As far as a person becomes stronger in his spiritual life and purifies his heart, he can better understand the holy fathers. You know that the books of Dostoyevsky or any other soviet author who wrote on spiritual topics are perceived in a different way over the years. However, when you read spiritual literature, you can understand it better and deeper in case you gain new spiritual experience.

- Secularism is the foe of monasticism. How can we withstand this process of entry of the world into a monastery?

- This is the concern of the abbot. He must be attentive to himself and strive to live spiritually, to preserve his heart and to stay in a prayerful state. If an abbot lives like this, then he will manage to see the danger, which threatens his monastery, and the ways of how to overcome this danger.

- Your Grace, thank you for this interview.

Source: http://monasterium.by/publikatsii/intervyu/intervyu-s-episkopom-borisovskim-i-marinogorskim-veniaminom-o-monasheskoy-zhizni/

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What Orthodox Christians Believe about the Saints

The Making of Orthodox Icons for the Blind

Happy (Ecclesiastical) New Year: Why Orthodox Christians Celebrate the New Year in September?

Excerpts from Sermons: Our Task is to Respond to God's Love

An Interview with Bishop Benjamin: Preparing to be a Monastic in the Modern World

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