The Catalog of Good Deeds

The Feast of the Meeting of Christ in the Temple (February 2) is a feast of the elderly. When the Holy Family entered the Temple courts to offer the required sacrifice for the purification of Mary after her giving birth to Jesus, her Son was recognized as the Messiah by only two people, picked out by the power and illumination of the Spirit from all the multitudes of people swarming through the holy courts, and these two were very elderly. Christ was practically a newborn (little over forty days old) and His Mother was young herself, probably about fourteen years old. But the two people who identified them as the Messiah and His Mother were themselves “well stricken with age” (as the phrase has it), so that fresh-faced youth collided with the wrinkled faces of the elderly.

The first wrinkled face belonged to Simeon. God had promised him that he would not die before he saw the Messiah, and he lived in that luminous hope. Every day he rose up from his bed wondering if today would be the day, and every night he retired a disappointed man. Year succeeded year and still he went to his bed with the promise unfulfilled. Then one day, led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple and God pointed out among the hundreds thronging those sacred courts a young woman accompanied by a much older man, and in her arms, a young baby: that child was the Messiah. Boldly he approached them and took the child into his aged arms, praying, “Lord, now You are dismissing Your servant”—a declaration, not a prayer; the Greek verb is in the present tense—and he knew that this child was the sign that he God was dismissing him and he could now die in peace. His eyes had beheld the Messiah, He who was to enlighten all the nations of the world and glorify the people of Israel. Simeon’s age is not given, but he was clearly elderly, for he was now ready to die a happy man. (Traditions which make him one of the translators of the Greek Septuagint offer poetic symbolism and not sober history, for that would make Simeon about 250 years old.)

The other person to recognize the babe in arms as the Messiah was also elderly. Anna was a prophetess—not someone who stood and publically proclaimed oracles like Isaiah did, but a woman to whom God confided things and who stood deep in His secret counsels. St. Luke reported that after her marriage she lived with her husband for seven years, making her about twenty-one or so when she suddenly became a widow. Instead of remarrying she remained in that state, taking her grief into the presence of God and remaining in the Temple day and night—not literally day and night, for there is no reason to think that the Jewish Temple offered dormitories for women—but virtually day and night. She was the first one to enter the Temple when its gates opened and the last one to leave, and she spent all her time fasting, praying, worshipping, and pouring out her heart to the Lord. The Greek text of Luke 2:37 says she was “a widow of eighty-four years”, which could mean that she was eighty-four when she met the Holy Family or that she remained a widow for eighty-four years, which would make her about 105 when she met the Holy Family. Either way, she was a very, very old woman.

God thus chose as the vehicles for His revelation two people who had walked with Him for many years, and who had served Him for decades. He could have chosen anyone, including younger people, people with strength, vigour, and the ability to cross land and sea with the important news. He didn’t. Instead He chose two people who were wrinkled, white-haired (or balding), stiff and bent with age, people who had grown old in His service, people who were soon to die. What does this mean? It means that faithful service is important, and that God honours age. It means that our own goal should be to grow similarly old in the service of God, so that God can confide in us as He did to Simeon and Anna.

Our own culture does not value age. Age is shameful, and the elderly are often shunted off, disappearing into nursing homes, their presence an unwanted burden, their witness and voice of no account. Our culture instead values youth, and we are often treated to the sight of young celebrity twenty-somethings being interviewed on television and consulted about their views on everything from politics to spirituality. When I see such young wrinkle-free celebrities sitting on talk shows and pontificating I often want to shout at the television, “Why are you asking them? They are scarcely old enough to legally vote, drink, or drive, and you think they have some secret wisdom to impart? Their grandparents have forgotten more than they themselves know! Why aren’t you asking their grandparents?” Alas, the experience of the elderly, accumulated often through suffering, too often counts for nothing. They have committed the ultimate offense: they are old, wrinkled, and not pretty. Not even Botox could disguise their shame.

Saner societies than ours take a different view. The Scriptures counsel us to “rise up before the hoary head and honour the face of an old man” (Leviticus 19:32)—i.e. to stand up when a person old enough to have white hair enters the room. Significantly the commandment is rooted in basic respect not just for the elderly, but for God, for the verse ends with the words, “and you shall fear your God; I am the Lord”. Indeed, many if not most societies demand respect for the elderly. Even our own canonical tradition insists upon a certain maturity for its office-holders: deacons may not be ordained until they reach twenty-five years; presbyters until they reach thirty years, and bishops until they reach thirty-five. And in those days, thirty years of age was older than it is now, for a man thirty years old had been married for a while and you could tell how his children were turning out. It is otherwise now; thirty is the new twenty. The point is the Church valued maturity, and made it an essential requirement for those in its service.

Simeon and Anna thus counsel us to flee from the inanity of our culture which despises age and idolizes youth, and return again to a place which respects the wisdom which only the passing of years can bestow. There are exceptions, of course. Some old people remain foolish and stupid, and some young people are replete with a wisdom beyond their years. But these exceptions prove the rule. The Feast of the Meeting brings to our attention God’s choice of the elderly as His vehicles for divine insight. Let us aspire to follow in their footsteps, and grow old in the service and wisdom of God.

Source: http://frlawrencefarley.blogspot.com.by/2017/02/the-feast-of-meeting-celebration-of.html

During Lent we make more prostrations. That’s a process that begins by making the sign of the Cross, then bowing down, resting your knees on the floor and then touching your forehead to the floor. I’ve collected, below, some photos of people making prostrations from around the internet.

It’s a prayer posture that we often see in the Old Testament, when we read that people “fell on their faces.” (I don’t know if prostrations are ever used in Judaism any more.) Here’s a detail of the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser, (827 BC, now in the British Museum), which depicts the Jewish King Jehu (2 Kings 9-10) making a prostration before the conqueror Shalmaneser III of Assyria.

What prostrating most looks like to Western people is Muslim worship; Muslims carried it over from their earlier history as Orthodox Christians, just as Christians continued the practice from their Jewish roots. When Orthodox make prostrations, we don’t do them as neatly as Muslims do, all in a row, and men and women worship together.

(A point of confusion can be that the term “prostrate” or “prostration” in English literaly means lying flat on the floor. In Western liturgical practice, if a prostration is called for, that’s what is meant. In the East the term got applied instead to this act of “falling on your faces.”)

People might do prostrations all together during a service, or privately, apart from liturgical worship. If you visited a holy site, you might feel like expressing your awe and gratitude with a prostration. Some people make prostrations when they say the Jesus Prayer, during their private prayer time. When you ask someone to forgive you, it is beautiful (though not required) to accompany the request with a prostration. It represents your recognizing the presence of Christ in the person you have offended.

There is a prayer we say frequently in Lent, and accompany with prostrations. It is the Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian (AD 306-373):

We make a prostration at the end of each line, so three in all. It’s not a uniform process, and some do it more quickly, others more slowly. Some can’t make a prostration very well (or maybe they can get down easily enough, but have trouble getting back up!), and instead make a “metania,” making the sign of the Cross and then bowing and reaching to the floor with the right hand. It’s not like everyone is *required* to make a prostration; it’s meant instead to help you express your sorrow for sin with your whole body, not just your words, and your gratitude for forgiveness.

How-to: Begin by making the sign of the Cross. Begin bending forward, and begin to lower the palms of your hands to rest on the floor. It’s more efficient to focus on what you do with your hands that what you do with your knees, because if you focus on knees, it tends to become an awkward 2-stage camel-like process. But if you instead follow the sign of the cross with a gentle controlled-fall forward, aiming to rest your palms to the floor, and allowing your knees to fall into place—then you can push off lightly from your palms and return to a standing position.

It’s a way the Judeo-Christian tradition has expressed awe, documented back to 827 BC (and remember all those who “fell on their faces” from Genesis to Revelation). Why not give it a try?

By Frederica Mathewes-Green

Source: http://frederica.com/writings/about-prostrations.html

Valentine's DayValentine day: “A Pink Holiday”

Red hearts, pink ribbons, candy packaged in purple, “angels” suspended in fluffy and blue clouds, among other sweet things that feel “good” – to the soul eager for “cute happenings” – are just some of the elements of Valentine’s Day.

Every February 14th – the day of St. Valentine in the West – is celebrated with great fast, and this “holiday” had penetrated so deeply into the mind of modern man, for if you ask what greater holiday is to be celebrate in February, you are been answered without hesitation: Valentine’s Day! This day becoming a clear marking on the twisted map of consumerism.

Valentine’s day – a business under the mask of a “holiday”

Absolutely all traders are trying to profit from this; in fact, this commercial love lasts only for a day. A day in which most business are trying hard to give “deals”: a bouquet of flowers – 40 dollars, a puffy heart – only for few dollar, a candle shaped as a heart to burn just for one hour – few dollars. Everything that you may want…ceramic vases, underwear, monkeys, jewelry, books, and why not, slippers and bath towels so naturally, as long as there is a demand, these toys will continue to sell.

All like in the real story of the Tower of Babel …

Valentine’s Day – the invasion of red hearts

Almost all the products that vendors offer for the so-called day of love, have at least one red heart. Obviously, these offers are designed for every budget, so that anyone by spending a small or great amount, may get into the “spirit” of the American celebration of St. Valentine.

Valentine’s Day – Origin!

The Valentine’s Day has its origins in the tradition of ancient Rome, when festivities were organized on February 15, in the honor of the pagan gods Juno and Pan. Because it was also a celebration of fertility, the pagan practice required that the unmarried young girls may write love notes, and these messages were placed in an basket for the boys to extract one randomly. According to that tradition, the participants were obliged to court primarily the one “elected” based on the message written on that note, and of course, this started all sorts of stories …

Valentine’s day was also called long ago, the Birds Wedding Day, because it was thought that the birds choose their mate on this very day.

With time, these pagan Roman habits acquired a Christian character becoming falsely a celebration of fertility attributed to St Valentine.

Be my Valentine?!

The day of Saint Valentine, the “patron of lovers”, had lost its meaning in legends and the history of the Roman Empire. Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints all martyred, called Valentine or Valentinus, but not on this day.

Valentine's Day One legend says that Valentine was a priest who served the III-rd century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius the II-nd decided that unmarried men were better soldiers than those with wives and families, outlawed marriage for young people. The Emperor wanted to form a “real team” of unmarried men as potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of this decree, continued to officiate marriages for young lovers in secret. When his work was discovered, the king sentenced him to death. Other traditions say that Valentine was killed for attempting to help Christians to escape from the terrible prisons where Christians were beaten and tortured.

According to another legend, Valentine is the one who sent the first valentine greeting while in prison, after he fell in love with the daughter of a prison guard and, before he died, it is said that he wrote a letter which he signed it “from your Valentine”.

St. Valentine in the Orhodox Church

Every year, on February 14, Orthodox Christians are facing a double paradox. First, everyone heard of Valentine’s Day, so in a sense, anyone can define briefly this “holiday” while not many seem to know who is Saint Valentine.

On the other hand, many are annoyed by the fact that on this day in the Orthodox calendar, we do not see any saint to bear this name. Another intersting fact is that even the Roman Catholic calendar doesn’t post a saint with this name on this day. St. Valentine mentioned in one of the legend above, was removed from the Roman Catholic calendar in 1969 due to ambiguity of this man life that wound lead to his consecration. Currently, on February 14, the Roman church comemorates Saints Cyril and Methodius.

So from a Christian view, we are not mastaken to say that Valentine’s Day, dispite all “marketing” is a “holiday” when we remember no one! Saint Valentine been commemorated by the Orthodox Church on July 30th.

Saint Valentine the Bishop was born in 175, in Interamna (an italian region called today Umbria). He was ordained priest by St. Feliciano of Foligno, and Bishop of Interamna by Pope Victor the Ist, in 197.

An outstanding preacher of Christ Gospel, a wonder-worker and healer, St Valentine was much loved by his followers. He healed Frontanus, the brother of a Roman governor, from a very difficult disease. When Cherimon the son of the famous philosopher Craton, got sik, under Frontanus’s instructions, called Bishop Valentine of Rome for councel. Cherimon suffered from a debilitating disease that contorted his whole body. After St. Valentine spent a night in prayer, Cherimon was completely healed. After showing himself to his father Craton, the philosopher decided to be baptized and his whole family embraced Christianity along with his three disciples.

Saint Valentine was arrested, tortured and beheaded in Rome, at the age close to one hundred years, from the order of governor Furius Placid, during the persecution of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Saint Valentine was murdered in secret, at night, to avoid any rebellion form the people of Terni. His holy relics are found today in the church of Terni, Italy.

The three baptized disciples of Craton: Procus, Ephiv and Apollo, were murdered together with St. Valentine in 273.

In the Orthodox calendar, the Holy Martyr and Bishop Valentine, is commemorated on July 30. In the Orthodox Church. there are many martyrs who bared his name: Holy Martyrs Mark Sotirih and Valentine – October 24, Holy Martyr Valentina – February 10, St. Valentine the Martyr – April 24, St. Valentine the priest – July 06, and Holy Martyr Valentina – July 18.

Source: https://orthodoxword.wordpress.com/2011/02/14/thoughts-for-the-valentine%E2%80%99s-day/

Now a commercialized holiday celebrating modern Western courtship and romance, the ancient Christian origins of Saint Valentine’s Day are largely forgotten. The actual Orthodox liturgical Feast Days of Valentinos (Greek)/Valentinus (Latin) commemorate two Early Christian saints, Saint Valentine the Presbyter of Rome (July 6) and Hieromartyr Valentine the Bishop of Intermna (Terni), Italy (July 30). Although the historical records for these two saints are not complete, and what we do know about their lives has often been subjected to considerable confusion, their martyrdoms are well known to us. Because of their refusal to renounce their faith in Christ, both Valentines were imprisoned, tortured, and executed around 270, during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor, Claudius II.

Because they shared the same name, were contemporaries, resided near each other in central Italy, and ultimately, shared similar fates, the two Valentines’ personal histories were intermingled and conflated over the centuries, producing inconsistencies and puzzlement in many accounts of their lives. What most sources indicate, however, is that Bishop Valentine was renowned during his lifetime as a healer of the sick and blind, while Valentine the Presbyter would become notable in the historical memory of Christians, originally both Eastern and Western, as a courageous steward of marriage. Indeed, because of his connection to the sacrament of marriage, it would be the latter Valentine, the Presbyter from Rome, who would serve as the inspiration for the Late Medieval Western literary foundations for what would by the nineteenth century evolve into today’s popular, secular Valentine’s Day.

According to the most common narrative, Presbyter Valentine, a priest in Rome, drew the ire of Emperor Claudius by ignoring the imperial ban against allowing men who had not fulfilled their military obligations to the Empire to marry. Remaining loyal to his moral commitment and beliefs as a Christian priest, Valentine refused to compromise the sanctity of marriage to the will of the state. In defiance of imperial edict, Valentine continued to unite and bless Christian couples, which were legally barred from marrying. This association with young Christian beloveds became the muse over several centuries for an increasingly fictionalized, romantic expropriation and reconstruction of Saint Valentine in the West, one that has led to the modern Saint Valentine’s Day. Indeed, the memory of Saint Valentine became so distorted and uncertain over the centuries, that the Roman Catholic Church ended its commemoration and veneration—traditionally associated with mid-February in the West—of him as a calendar saint in 1969, effectively surrendering the historical Valentine to his appropriation and exploitation by Western popular culture.

As in other matters of reverence and faith, the Orthodox Church’s veneration of Saint Valentine remains immutable. Secularization in the West accounts in large part for the Papacy’s move to discard the memory of Saint Valentine’s martyrdom in the face of commerce and frivolity, but Orthodoxy still honors Saint Valentine, the Presbyter from Rome, for his martyrdom—and as for all its saints, the Orthodox Church honors St. Valentine as a model of the life in Christ.

For Orthodox Christians, Saint Valentine’s Day is most fully understood as a celebration of romantic love and of God’s love. Indeed, Valentine was willing to sacrifice his life not for Eros but in order to sanctify and make whole the union of young couples through the blessing of God’s love. Demonstrating our love for God and reaching our fulfillment in Christ through our relationships with our spouses, families, and communities, is a way of life that is at the heart of Orthodoxy. By living a life in emulation of Christ, Saint Valentine shared this fundamental truth of Orthodox Christianity with the world, one that is more beautiful and lasts longer than flowers and cards—it is eternal.

By Dr. Alexandros K. Kyrou,

Professor of History at Salem State University

Source: http://blogs.goarch.org/blog/-/blogs/the-historical-and-orthodox-saint-valentine