The Catalog of Good Deeds

Archpriest Andrew Lemeshonok, the spiritual father of St. Elisabeth Convent, answers various questions of the parishioners.

How Should Breastfeeding Mothers Fast? Can Toddlers Do Without Meat?

Every breastfeeding mother has her own distinct physical and spiritual condition, so we can’t generalise. We must follow a one-on-one approach. There are those who have only recently come to church, those who don’t have enough experience of living in the Church, so they have a hard time fasting. It is painful for them. They are struggling with it. We have to bear in mind the resources that the person has at hand and the conditions he finds himself in.

A breastfeeding mother must take care not only of herself but also of the baby she feeds. Therefore, she must eat enough healthy and nourishing food. With that in mind, we sometimes say that she can take a more lenient approach to fasting or stop fasting partially.

On the other hand, we know the example of St Sergius of Radonezh who would refuse the breast whenever his mother would eat meat. We know people who are unbending in following rules of fast. I believe that if one has faith, God will help him. Anyway, you must do everything with a blessing. You shouldn’t overestimate your resources and do harm to your health or lose lactation. Still, I don’t think it’s possible if you fast with humility and obedience: God will pay you back with more.

When children grow in an Orthodox family, their parents serve as their most important role models. Certainly, you should supply your kids with wholesome food but I suppose they can forgo meat easily, and it won’t do them any harm. Again, this refers only to the families where parents stick to the norms of the Orthodox Church. We tell those who are afraid and hesitant that you can replace fasting with other exercises, such as abstaining from sweets or other favourite meals. You’ve got to use your imagination. In any case, everything must be negotiated in advance. We must be looking for God’s will and figure out the acceptable level of self-denial. It is better to underestimate your power than to overestimate it.

Why is it prohibited to get married during extended fasting seasons such as the Great Lent but allowed on regular fasting days, i.e., Wednesday and Friday?

We all know that after a wedding, people normally consummate their marriage, as blessed by God. That is why the Church does not allow weddings on the eves of great holidays, Sundays, and Wednesdays and Fridays.

Why is the Great Lent often referred to as “the Forty Days”? It does last longer, doesn’t it?

We have forty days of the Lent, plus the Holy Week, plus Saturdays and Sundays that aren’t included in the Lent. You may have noticed that black vestments of the clergy are replaced by purple ones on Saturdays and Sundays during the Great Lent. That is, Lenten services end on Fridays. We celebrate full-rite Liturgies on Saturdays and Sundays. We prepare Holy Gifts for the communion of the flock during the Lenten days, i.e., Wednesdays and Fridays, on Sunday. There is a Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts every Wednesday during the Great Lent for those who are so busy that they cannot attend services on a Saturday or a Sunday.

March 7, 2018

St. Elisabeth Convent

Why are our Orthodox Single Parents so seemingly neglected in the writings and life of the Church? Our Orthodox Christian treasure of writing does not contain much on single parenting. But in our society, single parenting is a common reality. So why the darn-near silence from the Church of Christ on the matter?

We are beginning to see a lot more written about divorce, and there is certainly a lot written about grieving a loved one’s loss (such as a spouse or parent). These are the two ways a marriage is split. But we have yet to see much written about life AFTERWARD. The frequent occurrence of divorce that we see today is novel- new to our society and certainly new to Orthodoxy. The idea of having a child outside of wedlock (whether purposely or not) is also novel. And because children were often raised by multiple generations of family, not just the parents, the loss of one parent was not as devastating as it is in today’s isolationist society. So maybe we are still dealing with these newer realities theologically and just haven’t gotten as far as what happens afterward yet.

I think it is also rare to see writing in the Orthodox Tradition about single parenting because the instructions that are given to married parents within the Scriptures and the writings of the fathers remain constant for single parents as well. A parent is still a parent and has the same responsibilities and privileges given to them by God, whether married or not. In addition, again, divorce was not nearly as common then as it is now. It was shameful then, whereas now it is commonplace, still painful, yes, but it does not carry as much shame as it did in previous ages. As a result, there would not have been much written about it.

I’ve been thinking a lot about single parents lately. I have friends and family who are either single parents or soon to be who are struggling with the burdens of parenthood. I am a crisis/trauma/grief counselor in training, and much of grief counseling deals with life after the loss of a loved one. So this topic is on my heart, and I want to offer some thoughts in a small series that will hopefully be a little nugget of help and comfort for single parents among the faithful out there, a little Avgolemono (the Greek equivalent of chicken soup) for the Orthodox Single Parent’s Soul.

Navigating the journey of parenting in a one man boat ain’t no Carnival Cruise, that’s for sure. Almost every occurrence of single parenting begins with hard times. Whether it’s caused by a divorce, a death, or never involved a spouse to begin with, single parenting almost always brings with it difficulty. We cannot ever answer the question, “why did this happen to me?” To know the answer would be to know the mind of God. He knows something we don’t. He sees a big picture that we can’t see. He knows that this difficult time is going to lead us somewhere that He plans for us to go. Our challenge is to be patient, trust Him, and wait for all to be revealed.

In the meantime, what we do know is that He suffers right along with us. What you are feeling right now, He feels. The most profound sentence in the Gospels, in my opinion, is in the Gospel of John, where it is written, “Jesus wept.” He suffered at the loss of his friend Lazarus. He suffers with you, too.

All of the emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual responsibilities that parents have to their children are easier fulfilled when there are two people to do the work, right? Unfortunately, this means that you are doing the work of two people on your own. But should you be? You cannot realistically, as a single parent, do double duty. You physically cannot be both mom and dad. God understands this. In His great love for us, He knows that there is no way for you to expend the same amount of energy on parental tasks as two parents would. And he knows that the uniqueness of motherhood and fatherhood cannot be achieved by the remaining parent when one is missing. So don’t push yourself to try and be all things to all people. Our comfort, then, is that God is always able to mystically fill that which is lacking. As a single parent, you are going to need to trust Him to fill that which would normally be filled by a spouse.

So, the most important thing to know as a single parent is that while you may be rowing this boat all on your own, God is the one directing the winds, controlling the currents, and steering the sharks clear of your little dinghy. The point is, you really are not on your own. God has not, and never will, abandon you. Your first responsibility as a parent, single or not, is to not abandon God. More on that point to come.

Single parents, we hear you! Watch for more articles on single parenting in this series by Presbytera Mari, as well as other authors and other tools and resources just for you!

Source: http://www.familylifeministry.atlanta.goarch.org/avgolemono-for-the-orthodox-single-parents-soul/

The Third Sunday, and mid-point, of Lent celebrates the Holy Cross. In Orthodoxy the cross has always been a symbol of great victory and power, as it was through the Christ’s voluntary sacrifice on the cross that death was overcome and salvation became possible for us. Crosses and crucifixes, therefore, are extremely common and widely used.

Orthodox Crucifixes are often elaborately decorated, as in the one shown above, which is a modern wooden cross with a card print glued to the surface. These type of crucifixes are, in effect, cross-shaped icons of the Crucifixion. However, crucifixes are often covered with inscriptions – usually in Greek or Slavonic – which are worth translating, as they proclaim clearly Christian teaching on Christ and the Cross.

The Russian-Orthodox Cross (or Crucifix)

The most “complete” Crucifix is the so-called eight-pointed cross, which shows Christ crucified. Note that Jesus is not shown wearing a crow of thorns, but with a halo of glory, and that He is not shown in agony and suffering, but peacefully reposed. As is often the case in icons, the Slavonic inscriptions on the cross are sometimes shortened, with curly lines over the letters which are omitted. In the explanation below, I mainly give the full inscriptions.

The Top Bar

The top bar of the Cross is the title-board which Pilate ordered to be hung in mockery over Christ’s head. On this board was inscribed: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”, abbreviated to the Greek initials “INBI”, or the Latin initials “INRI”. In modern Russian crosses, as here, the Russian abbreviation “І.Н.Ц.І.” is used. Around the top bar, this inscription has been supplemented with the title: “King of Glory” (Царь славы).

At the top of the Cross is the Image of Christ “Not made by hands” (Нерукутвореному образъ). It is through the Cross that Christ rose from the dead, and the Cross is believed to be a source of miracles and healing. It is therefore appropriate that atop the cross is a towel showing the face of the living Christ, which is also believed to be miraculous.

Ministering to the Crucified Lord are two flying angels, with the inscription between them: “Angels of the Lord” (Ангели Господни).

The Middle Bar

The middle bar is that on which the Lord’s hands were nailed. On this Crucifix, the Mother of God (ΜΡ ΘΥ – Greek, rather than Slavonic) and St John the Theologian (св. Иоанн Богослов) are shown as in icons of the Crucifixion, though they are not always present on crosses like these. Immediately on either side of Jesus Christ‘s head, His name is inscribed as the abbreviation IC XC. Further down the Cross, by His feet, is the Greek word “NIKA”, which means “conquer”, giving the full inscription: “Jesus Christ Conquers”. Note that, as is the custom, Christ and His Mother’s name are inscribed in Greek, whereas St John’s is written in Slavonic.

The inscription: Son of God (Сынъ Божіи) is placed on both sides of Christ’s head, and below His arms we read the inscription: We bow down before Thy Cross, O Master, and we worship Thy holy Resurrection (Кресту Твоему покломняемся Владыко, и святое воскресение Твое славимъ).

On other Crucifixes, placed in roughly the same position as Mary and John here, are placed a picture of the sun (солнца) and the moon (луна), for “The sun hid its light, and the moon turned to blood.” (Joel 2:31). The sun and moon are also often shown on icons of the Crucifixion.

The Bottom Bar

The foot-brace of the cross is slanted to remind us that the Church likens the Cross to a “balance-beam of righteousness”, whereby a man is condemned or justified by how they respond to Christ’s cross. Behind the foot-brace are the walls of Jerusalem, as Christ was crucified outside the city walls. Just above the footrest is the Greek word for “conquer”, completing the inscription Christ Conquers (IC XC NIKA) mentioned above.

Behind the body of Christ, on either side, are a lance (К, short for копие) and a sponge on a pole made of reed or cane (Т, short for трость, meaning reed). The lance pierced Christ’s side, whilst the sponge was soaked with gall and offered Him to drink.

By the foot of the Cross are the letters: Г Г standing for Mount Golgotha (Гора Голгофа); this is the hill outside the city gates upon which Christ was crucified. Hidden in a cave under the earth is the skull of Adam, identified with the letters: Г А (глава Адама). Sometimes, the arm bones will be shown crossed, the right arm over the left, just as believers cross their arms to receive communion.

Not shown here, but often present on below the feet of Christ are four Slavonic letters: М.Л.Р.Б., meaning: The place of the skull, where Adam was (Место лобное рай бысть). We are reminded that Adam our forefather lost Paradise through wrongly eating from the tree, and that Christ is the new Adam, bringing us Salvation and Paradise through the tree of the Cross.

***

As You were voluntarily raised upon the cross for our sake,

Grant mercy to those who are called by Your Name, O Christ God;

Gladden all Orthodox Christians by Your power,

Granting them victories over their adversaries,

By bestowing on them the Invincible trophy, Your weapon of Peace.

Source: https://iconreader.wordpress.com/2012/03/17/the-slavonic-russian-inscriptions-of-the-orthodox-cross/

Patriarch Tikhon was head of the Russian church during the revolution, and courageously condemned what he saw as a demonic attack on a Christian civilization. Previously he was a bishop in the US, from 1898 - 1907, where he was a very successful missionary.

The first Bolshevik government, which consisted mostly of atheists, tolerated the popular Patriarch for a while, realizing that if they martyred him, it would only increase the church's influence, but eventually they pushed him out, put him under house arrest, and demonized and harassed him until his death in 1925. The Russian church made him into a saint in 1989.

This remarkable letter survives as a testimony of what was really happening in Russia at the time, and to the extraordinary courage of this man to speak the truth, knowing it would cost him his life.

It is all the more important because the accounts to the West that came out of Russia at the time, and subsequent histories, were mostly written by left-leaning sympathizers who cheered the revolution on, having little idea what it really was. This obfuscation continues to this day.

Take a few minutes to read this passionate and poetic condemnation of evil. Its startling clarity comes down to us through the years with great force. We highlighted a few of the more moving lines, but honestly, almost every sentence is gripping.

This view of what actually happened during the revolution is as important today as it was 100 years ago. The 100 year commemoration of the Russian revolution shows starkly divergent views of what it was continue to our own day.

This excellent translation is by Nun Cornelia Rees:

“We address this prophecy of the Savior to you, the current makers of our Fatherland’s fate, who call yourself “the people’s” commissars.

For an entire year, you have been gripping the power of the government in your hands, and you are already preparing to celebrate the anniversary of the October revolution; but the rivers of the blood of our brothers, pitilessly murdered at your rallying, cry out to heaven and force us to tell you the bitter truth.

You have traded the Fatherland for soulless internationalism, although you yourselves know perfectly well that when it comes to defending the Fatherland, the proletarians of all countries are those countries’ faithful sons, and not their betrayers.

Having seized power and called the people to entrust themselves to you, what promises have you given them, and how have you kept these promises?

Truly you have given them a stone instead of bread, and a serpent instead of a fish (cf. Matt. 7:9-10). To a people worn out by a bloody war you promised to give peace “without annexation or contribution”.

What victory could you have turned down, you who have led Russia to a shameful truce, with humiliating conditions that even you did not resolve to make fully public? Instead of “annexations and contributions” the great Motherland is conquered, diminished, dismembered; and as pay for the tribute placed on it you secretly transport to Germany gold that you yourself did not amass.

... the great Motherland is conquered, diminished, dismembered; and as pay for the tribute placed on it you secretly transport to Germany gold that you yourself did not amass.

You have taken away from the soldiers everything for which they had valorously fought. You have taught them, only recently brave and invincible, to leave off protecting the Motherland and to run from the field of battle.

You have extinguished in their hearts the inspiring consciousness that there is no greater love than should one lay down his life for his friends (Jn. 15:13).

... the freedom you have given consists in all manner of indulgence to the lowest crowd instincts, in murder and theft with impunity.

And although you have refused to protect the Motherland from external enemies, you are ceaselessly gathering armies.

Against whom will you lead them?

You have divided the entire nation into warring camps and cast it into a fratricide unprecedented for its cruelty.

You have openly exchanged love of Christ for hatred, and instead of peace you have artificially fomented enmity between the classes. And there is no end in sight to the war you’ve generated, since you aim to deliver triumph to the phantom of world revolution with the hands of Russian worker and peasants.

It was not Russia who needed the disgraceful peace with its external enemy but you yourselves, who have plotted to irreparably destroy Russia’s internal peace.

No one feels safe; everyone lives in constant fear of searches, robbery, eviction, arrest, and execution.

Hundreds of defenseless people are seized, then languish for whole months in prisons, are often executed without investigation or trial, even without going to the court you have simplified.

Not only those who are somehow guilty before you, but even those who are in no way guilty, but were taken only as “captives”—these unfortunate people are killed to answer for crimes committed by persons who not only are not of one mind with them, but very often your own followers or those with convictions similar to yours.

Bishops, priests, monks and nuns who are guilty of nothing are executed simply because of some wild accusations of vague and indeterminate “counterrevolution”. This inhuman execution is made even more onerous for the Orthodox because they are deprived of the final consolation before their deaths—the Sacraments—and the bodies of the slain are not given to their families for a Christian burial.

Isn’t this the height of aimless cruelty on the part of those who pretend to be the benefactors of mankind and who themselves supposedly suffered from cruel rulers?

But it’s not enough for you that you have reddened the hands of the Russian people with their brother’s blood; hiding behind various names—contributions, requisitions, and nationalization—you have pushed them into the most barefaced and wanton thievery.

At your hinting were plundered or seized lands, mansions, factories, houses, farm animals, money, personal things, furniture, clothing.

First the wealthy, whom you’ve called “bourgeois”, were robbed; then under the epithet of “kulaks” were the more well-off and industrious peasants also plundered, thus increasing the number of paupers—although you cannot but recognize that with the impoverishment of a great multitude of individual citizens the wealth of the nation as a whole is lost, and the country is impoverished.

Tempting uneducated and ignorant people with the opportunity for easy and unpunished gain, you have fogged their consciences and muffled in them the awareness of sin; but no matter what names you hide this evil-doing behind, murder, violence, and robbery will ever remain serious sins and crimes that cry out to heaven.

You promised freedom.

Freedom is a great good, if it is properly understood—like freedom from evil, not oppressing others, not turning into lawlessness and willfulness.

But you have not given that freedom; the freedom you have given consists in all manner of indulgence to the lowest crowd instincts, in murder and theft with impunity. All manifestations of both truly the civilian and higher spiritual freedom of mankind have you mercilessly crushed.

Is it freedom when no one can bring home food or rent an apartment without special permission, when families, and sometimes all the inhabitants of whole buildings are evicted and their possessions are thrown into the street, and when citizens are artificially divided into ranks, certain of which are consigned to hunger and being plundered?

Is it freedom when no one can speak his opinion openly without fear of being accused of counterrevolution?

Where is freedom of speech and press, where is freedom for preaching in church?

Many bold preachers have already paid with their martyrs’ blood; the voice of social and governmental discussion and criticism is being stifled; all press, other than the narrow Bolshevik press, has been completely strangled.

Especially painful and cruel is the violation of freedom in matters of faith.

Not a day goes by when the most monstrous slanders against Christ’s Church and her servants are not published in the agencies of your press, along with malicious blasphemy and mockery. You deride the servants of the altar, force bishops to dig trenches, and send priests to do dirty work. You have raised your hand against the Church’s inheritance gathered through many generations of the faithful, and have given no thought to violating their posthumous will.

You have closed a large number of monasteries and churches without any excuse or reason. You have blocked access to the Moscow Kremlin—that sacred inheritance of the faithful people. You are destroying the ancient form of church community—the parish; you destroy brotherhoods and other charitable and educational Church institutions, close and rout diocesan meetings, and interfere with the Orthodox Church’s internal government.

By banishing sacred images from schools and forbidding the teaching of faith to children there, you deprive them of the spiritual food necessary for an Orthodox upbringing.

What else can I say? The time fails me (Heb. 11:32) to describe all the catastrophes that have stricken our Motherland.

I will not speak of the collapse of a once great and mighty Russia, of the total fracturing of our railroad, of unprecedented agricultural devastation, of hunger and cold that threatens death in the cities, and of the lack of everything needed for maintaining a household in the villages. This everyone can see.

Yes, we are experiencing terrible times in our reign, and it will not be erased from the peoples’ soul for a long time, having darkened the image of God in it and stamping in it the image of the beast. The words of the prophet have been fulfilled:

Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.(Is. 59:7).

We know that our rebukes will evoke only anger and indignation in you and that you will look for an excuse in them for accusing us of opposition to the authorities, but the higher your “column of wrath” rises, the more proven will be the testimony to the truth of our rebukes.

It is not our business to judge earthly authorities; all authority, allowed by God, would attract our blessing if it were truly “God’s servant” for the good of its subjects, and not a terror to good works, but to the evil (Rom. 13:3).

Now to you, who are using your authority to persecute your neighbors and decimate the innocent, we extend our word of instruction: celebrate the anniversary of your coming to power by freeing the prisoners, putting a stop to the bloodshed, violence, devastation, and persecution of faith; turn not to destruction but to the establishment of law and order, give the people their desired and deserved rest from civil war.

Otherwise all the righteous blood you have spilled will be required of you (cf. Lk. 11:50), and you who took sword in hand will yourselves die of the sword (cf. Matt. 26:52).”

November 7, 1918

Source: https://russian-faith.com/persecution/church-leaders-brilliant-1918-letter-lenin-speaks-truth-about-revolution-n1265

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Photo Blog: The Week of the Cross in St. Elisabeth Convent

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3 Answers from Father Andrew: How Should Breastfeeding Mothers Fast?

Why are our Orthodox Single Parents so seemingly neglected in the writings and life of the Church?

The Meaning of Various Inscriptions on the Orthodox Cross

Patriarch Tikhon's 1918 Letter to Lenin

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