The Catalog of Good Deeds

Theophany Season:

Theophany, sometimes called Epiphany, is upon us (Богоявление in Russian, Θεοφάνεια in Greek). The sixth of January is the official date that the baptism of Christ is celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is not to be confused with the Western holiday also called Epiphany which is a celebration of the magi presenting the baby Christ with their gifts.

The word Theophany means “Revelation of God;” Theophany therefore marks the revelation of the Trinitarian nature of God when Jesus was baptized. Those who witnessed heard the Father’s voice from Heaven, saw the Spirit descending upon Jesus, and could see Jesus in the flesh, whom God confirmed to be His Son with His voice.

Theophany Icon:

The symbolism of this icon is deep and rich. There is one particular part I want to focus on for this blog entry.

Jesus is naked, or nearly so.

Christ is purposely depicted with little or no clothing. But why is that significant?

All throughout the creation narrative in Genesis we see God creating and then saying it is “good.” Man and woman were created together in God’s image. They were both beautiful, and while they lacked physical garments, they were clothed in the glory of the “image” and “likeness” of God. However, when they fell into sin, they hid in shame until God brought them garments of skin to wear (which symbolizes the sinful tendency that now obscures our true nature). Their natural beauty was transformed into an object of shame. Adam and Eve fell, and with them fell creation.

Now, enter Jesus Christ: he represents the second Adam (1 Cor 15). In shame and nakedness, Adam hid. Yet Christ comes in His majesty, both as God and man, both in glory and nakedness completely unashamed, representing the beauty of the undefiled human made possible through Him (and in the subsequent centuries, Christians were often baptized without any clothing, shedding the garments of the “old man” to die in Christ and be resurrected in Him). But why was Christ baptized if He had no sin?

While Christ was baptized in the Jordan River, it was really the Jordan and all of creation that was baptized in Christ. As Canticle Four of Compline of Theophany states, At Thine appearing in the body, the earth was sanctified, the waters blessed, the heaven enlightened, and mankind was set loose from the bitter tyranny of the enemy.

We see the beginning of a new creation in Theophany. Things are being set right. Christ has come not only to cleanse and restore mankind, but to adopt us as heirs into His Kingdom. And when we receive His glory, not only are we redeemed, but we draw all of creation with us into the final restoration. That is why “creation groans” in eager expectation, awaiting the glorification of the children of God. (Rom 8)

A few other notes about the Icon:

- At the top the Holy Spirit is descending upon Jesus as a dove, the Holy Spirit is depicted in a Mandorla. In this manner, The Father, using His own pre-eternal and consubstantial and subracelestial Spirit as His finger, crying out and point from heaven, openly declared and proclaimed to all that the one then being baptized by John in the Jordan was His beloved Son, while at the same time manifesting His unity with Him.” (St. Gregory Palamas, Homily 60.15). St. John Chrysostom also emphasizes that the Gospels state the Heavens were opened, the Spirit descends upon us so that we can ascend with Christ and the Spirit to the Father in Heaven. For the first time since the fall of mankind, the Heavens were opened to us.

- The angels on the right side are waiting to attend and dress Him after the baptism is over.

- John the Baptist, while baptizing Jesus is usually turned away or looking at the Spirit descending upon Christ. This signifies that Theophany is about elevating Jesus Christ. If this were an Olympic race, it would be as if the Old Testament (John the Baptist and all before him) were passing the baton to the New Testament (Jesus Christ and all of the saints).

- There is an axe near John the Baptist, which reflects his warning that our lives must bear the fruit of the Spirit or else we will be removed. We cannot get comfortable or spiritually lazy.

- Jesus is not submerged in the water, for creation was baptized in Him, not vice versa.

Lastly, the strange little creatures riding fish at the bottom represent the Jordan River and the Sea, both fleeing at the sight of something much bigger and greater than themselves entering the water. As the Psalms say:

Psalm 73:14 –Thou did establish the sea by Thy might, Thou did break the heads of the dragons in the water.

Psalm 76:15 – The waters saw Thee, O God, the waters saw Thee and were afraid; the abysses were troubled.

Psalm 113:3 – The sea beheld and fled, [the River] Jordan turned back.

Theophany Music:

There are several hymns sung during this season, but the forefeast Troparion hymn confirms some of the things I write about here: O Adam, be glad with our first mother, Eve; hide not as you did of old in Paradise. Seeing you naked, He has appeared now to clothe you in the first robe again. Christ has appeared, for He truly wills to renew all creation. If you can get a copy of The Festal Menaion produced by Mother Mary and Met. Kallistos Ware (St. Tikhon’s Seminary Press), then you will find nearly 100 pages of deep theology regarding this feast day.

Theophany Celebrations:

During this time of the year, a beautiful ceremony is carried out and holy water is prepared in each parish. Congregants are free to take the holy water home with them. A portion is kept and used by the church throughout the year.

Also, house blessings are completed during the subsequent weeks using the holy water prepared during the Feast of Theophany. It is not unusual to give a small gift to the priest who has blessed the home (many priests do not receive a salary and these types of events help carry them financially through the year) and/or you may cook a meal for him. Don’t take offense though if he has several house blessings lined up for that day and does not have time to sit down for a full meal.

Source: http://www.orthodoxroad.com/theophany-icon-explained/

Make a Vow

As soon as they are consecrated, new priests acquire a new life. Similar to the Sacrament of Baptism, which restores the purity of God’s image in a human being, the Sacrament of Priesthood also revives the image of God.

When a person becomes a priest or a monk, he crosses the threshold of a new reality and declares that it is God who is the purpose of his life.

The vows that the person takes demonstrate that the Lord becomes the reference point of his entire life, and that there aren’t any values of this world that could undermine his desire to come closer to God and to serve Him.

The Spiritual Code

If we look into it carefully, we’ll see that the vows taken by a priest or a monk in front of God and people imply his acceptance of a certain spiritual code of conduct. It is an oath that he has to abide by till the end of his days. Finally, it’s an examination of his decency and courage, accountability and honesty, and his allegiance to his cause.

It brings to memory Moonzund, a novel by Valentin Pikul, which describes the last months of the First World War and underlines how important it was to preserve one’s honor, courage, and allegiance to one’s cause in the wake of various difficult and contradictory circumstances.

First Lieutenant Artenyev who serves on a destroyer, maintains the qualities of a true naval officer in spite of the difficult situation. He is a brave and resolute man, who is also capable of compassion and who becomes sad when his crew faces a tough luck.

As an officer, he cannot yield to the destructive tendencies on the warship, and doesn’t want to placate rudeness, knavery, and cowardice.

He does everything he can to prevent anarchy and lawlessness.

Letting go of the reins and backing down is fraught with peril, judging by the example of another officer who was in charge of the engine room.

Afraid for his life, he started appeasing the sailors as soon as the riot broke out on the ship. He tolerated humiliation and mockery. He broke the code of honor and smeared his dignity, at which point he lost the other officers’ respect while not becoming a comrade for the rank-and-file sailors. He was openly despised and later blamed for disorder and collapse of the engine room.

Once a Priest, Always a Priest

Nowadays, there are priests who cannot withstand external pressure of the hateful society, agitated by the slanderous and misleading mass media accounts, which love to spit out libel about the Church, as well as internal provocations of other clergymen, who are unqualified for this sacred calling due to a number of factors, including their personal qualities. Those priests fail the test, betray the Church and the vows that they promised to God, and infect other priests with their rebellious “revolutionary” talk.

They find it hard not to kowtow to those who, in their opinion, possess power and wealth. They do their best to demonstrate to the outsiders that they are “good fellas”, accommodating and harmless.

It is a great personal tragedy for those priests. Trials must make us stronger, unite us, and help us to find out what is the most important for us. They must make our souls free from debris. That is something every Christian, especially a priest, must remember.

A priest’s heart requires constant purification to be a worthy container for God. Self-improvement is key for a successful priest. Abba Isaiah instructs, “If you want God to dwell in your heart, keep it spotless.” You must always remain honest and sincere with yourself, the Lord, and other people.

If there is just a bit of an unrepented and hidden sin in your heart, all your efforts, your ministry, and your achievements will be null and void. You won’t be able to resist temptations. You won’t be able to walk down your path till the end. You won’t be able to respect yourself.

One has to be true to his calling in every aspect. Spiritual life in general has no trivial or less important details.

It is not accidental at all that the Church puts special clothes on her priests. Those clothes must ensure their proper functioning. One must never be shy of wearing the priestly clothes under any circumstances!

Obviously, clothes don’t make us any better ipso facto. At the same time, they have been known to shield priests from many temptations.

Aside from that, the appearance and prudent behavior of a priest or a monk serve as a guidance for our contemporaries.

It isn’t easy to defy the pressure of the ever-changing world and not to get caught under the millstones of popular trends and tendencies. Christianity is for the strong in spirit.

Every person who chooses this path must be aware of the high dignity of a Christian, and especially of a priest or a monk. When you break these vows, you betray yourselves first of all. The Church was, is, and will remain forever. She is like a ship in a turbulent sea. She resists all storms and torrents. She saves and protects everyone who is inside.

Only those who don’t forget the vows that they’ve made before God and stick to those vows, will be saved.

By Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanic)

Recorded by Natallia Goroshkova

Translated by The Catalog of Good Deeds

Source: https://pravlife.org/content/kodeks-chesti-svyashchennika-chem-opasno-stremlenie-stat-svoim-sredi-chuzhih

Question: Father Andrew, your blessing. I’ve been pregnant for 20 weeks already. I didn’t plan to have a baby and I wasn’t prepared for it. The last couple of years was challenging for me both mentally and physically. I even had a nervous breakdown and suffer from panic attacks. I graduated from a university this June and decided to quit my job and spend a year dealing with my health issues, and then move on. Suddenly, I got pregnant in July… I didn’t want to get an abortion because I know that it’s a sin. However, the sin still persists in my soul: I can’t accept my baby. In an attempt to avoid feeling desperate, I went to church and asked for a permission to come and help other people, just to find something to distract my brain. However, I saw many ill people in the church, and I felt uneasy. What do I do with all that? Darya.

Answer by Fr. Andrew Lemeshonok: Man proposes, God disposes. We plan one thing but the Lord has something else in mind. We have to accept what He gives us. We have to struggle with lack of faith and the doubts that destroy us from the inside.

What are panic attacks, really? They are a sin that oppresses a person. They are rooted in self-pity, cowardice, fear, and disbelief. We’ve got to ward it off. You shouldn’t remain like that because it has a direct influence on your baby. The thoughts of not having the baby, while you have him or her already, also impact his or her life. You are responsible for that.

Thank God that you’ve been strong and smart enough not to get an abortion. Your life could have taken a completely different turn. It seems to me that your health will improve after you give birth to your baby. What you need to do now is pull yourself together, carry your baby, and resist panic attacks. I recommend you to take the Body and Blood of Christ during pregnancy. Don’t feel uneasy seeing that there are so many ill people in Church. The Church is a hospital. Naturally, there are extremely large numbers of ill people there. In fact, we all are ill.

Look for help and support from God. He is an indestructible pillar. You should thank God today. Imagine what a shame it could be when your baby is born and you see his or her Angel-like face and the smile and the outstretched arms, and you’ll recall how you planned to murder him or her… That’s why you should forget yourself now and get down to thinking about the human being who lives inside you and who you are responsible for. Your panic attacks will go away. Make it your habit to thank God for your baby, and for the new day, and for everything that you have, every morning as soon as you get up. If you manage to bring yourself into the correct mood, you’ll be able to organise both external and internal aspects of your life. May the Lord help you.

December 24, 2018

St. Elisabeth Convent

The fathers of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, which took place in Moscow in 1917-1918, asserted that the task of “singing the chants at the Church Service can be assigned both to special choirs consisting of the professional musicians and to all people who are praying in the temple.” They even planned to include the Church singing into the curriculum of primary schools in order to help students be ready to sing at the Church Services.

Unfortunately, the Bolshevik revolution and persecution of the Orthodox Church did not allow to implement these decisions of the Local Council. As a result of the long history of atheism in the Soviet Union, now many people who call themselves Orthodox Christians represent a passive audience during the Church Service. They know how to light a candle in front of the icon and pray for their individual needs. But few understand what it really means to “glorify and hymn God’s most honorable and majestic name with one mouth and one heart.” For the most part, singing the Symbol of Faith and the Lord’s Prayer is the best they can do at the Liturgy.

In Belarus there are some parishes where the priests encourage all the parishioners to sing at the Liturgy. Of course, the introduction of this practice is a lengthy process, which requires much energy and patience from the priests and choir conductors. Naturally, common people cannot rival the professional singers who dedicated their whole lives to music. Hence, the chants performed by the whole Church congregation should be as simple as possible as far as the melody is concerned. In my opinion, we face yet another problem. Although the Divine Liturgy is the most important Church Service, the Vespers and the Matins are much more difficult regarding the structure of the Service. Without long and substantial preparation people with no music education cannot even think of taking part in such Services as singers. Nevertheless, even during the All-Vigil Night all the parishioners can sing together a few prayers, such as “Vouchsafe, O Lord”, “Rejoice! O Virgin Theotokos!”, etc.

I think that practicing Orthodox Christian should realize that their participation at the Church Service cannot be limited to listening only. After all, the fathers of the Local Council of 1917-1918 unambiguously stated that the choirs of parishioners have a right to sing at the Services. As for the professional choir conductors and professional musicians, they should be more lenient to the “common people” who possess neither musical skills nor nice voices. By the way, according to Saint Ambrose of Optina, “If you have a good voice, beware of demons.” Moreover, in the eyes of God our souls are more important than voices; “we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.” (John 9:31). No doubt, when we learn to obey the commandments of God, we can truly glorify God with one mouth and one heart.

By Vladimir Sypchu,

the chorister from the parish of

the Entry of the Most Holy Mother of God into the Temple,

Minsk, Belarus

The Catalog of Good Deeds, 2019

There was a little store on the outskirts of the Universe. It didn’t have a sign because it had been blown away by a hurricane. The owner of the store didn’t bother to put up another sign, since every local knew that the store was selling dreams.

The store offered a tremendous choice. One could buy almost anything: huge yachts, mansions, marriages, a position of a vice president of a corporation, money, children, an interesting job, an attractive body, a victory in a contest, big cars, power, success, and a whole lot more. What you couldn’t buy were life and death: those goods could only be ordered from the head office, located in another galaxy.

Everyone who came to the store (it must be noted that there were people who never crossed its threshold: they kept dreaming their dreams at home) would inquire about the price of their dream first.

Prices varied. For example, to get a good job one had to give up stability and predictability, and had to be able to plan forward and to structure their life, believe in their own power, and let themselves work where they wanted, not where they had to.

Power was more expensive: one had to shun certain personal convictions, find a rational explanation for everything, learn to say no to others, know one’s worth (and the perceived worth had to be high enough), be able to say I and talk about oneself in spite of others’ approval or disapproval.

Some of the prices seemed weird: marriage was dirt cheap, while a happy family life cost exorbitantly much: one had to pay for it by being responsible for his or her own happiness, being able to find pleasure in life, knowing his or her desires, suppressing the urge to match others’ expectations, being able to appreciate what they’ve got, allowing themselves to be happy, realizing their own worth and importance, refusing to be a victim, and carrying a risk of losing some friends and acquaintances.

Not everyone who entered the store was ready to buy a dream immediately. Some people looked at the price, turned back, and left. Others stood there for a long time, counting their money and trying to figure out where to find more. Others started complaining that the prices were too high, asked for a discount or inquired about a sale.

Certainly, there were people who pulled out their wallet and paid full price for their dreams. They got their dreams packed in nice rustling paper. Other visitors of the store looked at the buyers with envy, rumoring that the store owner was the buyers’ friend and that they received what they dreamed of for nothing, without any effort.

People would suggest to the store owner to lower the prices so as to make the dreams more affordable to more people. He always declined to do so because in that case, their quality would drop, too.

When asked if he wasn’t afraid of going bankrupt, he shook his head and said that there would always be the brave souls who are ready to risk and change their lives, giving up on the routinely and predictable way of doing things, capable of trusting themselves, and powerful enough to pay for the realization of their dreams.

There was a note on the door, which read, “If your dream doesn’t come true, it hasn’t been paid for yet.” The note was up there for a hundred of years or so.

By Yulia Minakova

Translated by The Catalog of Good Deeds

And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:17)

Jesus Christ begins his public ministry with a seemingly weird and unexpected action. He decides to go to the shore of the Jordan River to get baptized by Prophet John. In fact, people would come to John in order to admit that they were sinful and deprived of God’s grace. Those people yearned for spiritual renewal and repentance. It was precisely what St. John called them for: And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. (Luke 3:3-4).

Why did Lord Jesus go to the Jordan River to be baptized from John, given that He was absolutely sinless, according to the doctrine of the Orthodox Church based on Divine Revelation? We may find a very profound answer in some worship hymns of the Baptism of the Lord, following the time-honored maxim Lex orandi est lex credendi (the law of prayer is the law of faith).

1. Consecration of Waters

O ye faithful, let us hymn the magnitude of God’s benefactions toward us; for having become man for the sake of our transgressions, He Who alone is pure and incorrupt, Who sanctifieth me and the waters, and crusheth the heads of the serpents in the water, is purified in the Jordan with our purification. Wherefore, let us draw forth water with gladness, O brethren; for the grace of the Spirit is invisibly imparted to those who draw it forth with faith, by Christ God, the Savior of our souls. (Sticheron of the Baptism of the Lord, tone 6, during the great consecration of water)

During the entire service of the Baptism of the Lord, church hymns keep repeating that when the Savior descended into the waters of the Jordan, He purified waters by his divinity. What does it mean? And why does water need purification? In fact, the world is literally contaminated with sin and lies in wickedness. When Jesus walks into the waters of the Jordan, He performs his first exorcism, his first purification of the matter poisoned by the sin, his first transformation of the creation, which groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now (Romans 8:22). The Church of Christ keeps doing what her Head once did even now: She purifies everything; She transforms matter and the cosmos itself with her Sacraments and rituals, and brings it to God, for She deems it the purpose of a redeemed human to transform the matter and to dedicate it to the Creator.

2. Destruction of Evil Forces.

Thou didst bow Thy head before the Forerunner, and didst crush the heads of the serpents. Having come to the streams, Thou didst illumine all things, that they may glorify Thee, O Savior, the Enlightener of our souls. (Sticheron on Now and Ever: Lord, I Have Cried of the Theophany Vespers)

We often hear about the Lord crushing the heads of the serpents in water. What are those serpents? They are mentioned not only on Theophany Day but also during all blessings of water, including every Sacrament of Baptism. Do some spiritual entities or beings swim in the water font in the middle of a church before the consecration of water? That’s what Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, an outstanding liturgical scholar and theologian of our time, has to say about it: “Matter is never neutral according to Christian worldview. If it isn’t attached to God, i.e., not interpreted and used as a means to interact with God, as a way of living with him, it turns into a carrier and dominion of demonic powers. It is not surprising that the rejection of God and religion goes hand in hand with materialism, which claims that it possesses the latest scientific ‘knowledge’. The unprecedented war against God, which has taken hold of more and more of the so-called civilized world lately, happens in the name of that ‘scientific truth’. It is not accidental, either, that pseudo-religiosity and pseudo-spirituality are more often than not based on rejection of matter and therefore of the world itself: the matter is viewed as evil, which is a blasphemy against God’s creation. Only the Bible and Christian faith view the matter as something that’s essentially good but on the other hand also a tool of human downfall and enslavement to death and sin, by which the Satan stole the world from God. Only in Christ and by his power can matter be liberated and become the symbol of God’s glory and presence, the mystery of his action and unity with man, again.” (Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, Of Water and the Spirit).

3. Fulfillment of the Law.

Desiring to fulfill that which Thou hast established from before time, O Lord, Thou didst accept ministers of Thy mystery from among all creatures: Gabriel from among the angels, the Virgin from among men, the star from among the heavens, and the Jordan from among the waters, wherein Thou didst destroy the iniquity of the world. O our Savior, glory be to Thee! (Sticheron on Glory at Litya, tone 8. All-Night Vigil of Theophany)

Although the Lord didn’t need to be baptized because He had never committed any sin, He nevertheless allowed John the Baptist to baptize him, in spite of the fearful protest of the Forerunner - I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? (Matthew 3:14). He did it for our sake because our nature, which the Savior had assumed, was in need of Baptism and purification from the ancient curse. Also, the Lord came not in order to break the Law but to fulfill it. John’s Baptism was the last Old Testament ritual because John the Baptist was the greatest and the last prophet of the Old Testament who proclaimed God’s will, which all people had to abide by. The Lord replies to St. John, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness (Matthew 3:15).

4. Apparition of the Holy Trinity. Epiphany.

Christ is baptized. He cometh up out of the waters and leadeth the world up with Himself. And He beholdeth the heavens opening, which Adam closed to himself and to those with him. And the Spirit beareth witness to His divinity, for He maketh haste to come to His like. And a voice is heard from heaven; for the Savior of our souls is borne witness to from thence. (Sticheron on Litya of the All-Night Vigil. By Cosmas of Maiuma)

The Baptism of the Lord marked one of the greatest apparitions of the Godhead in the history of the humankind, hence the ancient name of this holiday, Epiphany. The Lord reveals himself as the Holy Trinity, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, while at the same time being One God. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is the most marvelous and majestic truth of Christianity made known by Jesus Christ. The Holy Trinity is the absolute plenitude of goodness, love, harmony, and agreement, which constitutes His greatest beauty and freedom. Most strikingly, every individual of any age and any rank is called to enter the relationship with the Triune God and let the Lord into their heart. The love of the Holy Trinity will animate everything and everyone around that person.

To sum up, we can say that the Lord was baptized by John in the waters of the Jordan River in order to purify water and to pave the way for the restoration and purification of the created world. Today, every Orthodox Christian who is vested with priestly grace can do what Jesus once did by putting his fingers into the baptismal font and making the sign of the cross with them. Moreover, all Christians are able to perform the great Sacrament of Baptism in extreme cases. If we recall that we are the universal royal priesthood, as Holy Apostle Peter said, we can transform the entire Cosmos with our prayer, multiply love, crush invisible serpents, and purify ourselves, our food, and our houses with the Holy Hagiasma, that precious gift that the Lord gives us on this day. Christ came to the world to fulfill the Law of God and to bring grace into the world. He came to us in order to reveal the Mystery of the Holy Trinity, to redeem us from our sins, and to pour God’s love into our hearts. Let us exclaim Amen happily and accept His gift.

By John Nichiporuk,

a Bachelor of Theology,

specialized in Biblical Studies.

The Catalog of Good Deeds, 2019

See full Nativity infographics here.

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