Orthodox Faith

The Internet: Pray before using. We are “in the midst of many snares."

“Find the door of your heart, and you will discover it is the door to the kingdom of God.”

☦️ St John Chrysostom

☦️ St. Justin Popovich

"My heart, beset by passions, hath been weakened by the evil one, shamefully laying in the tomb of slothfulness, covered by a lack of feeling as with a tombstone, O Savior. Do Thou by Thy lifegiving Cross by which Thou hast enlivened all those in Hades, awaken me and grant me life." + Elevation of the Venerable and Life-Giving Cross, Sept 14/ Sept 27

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18

The Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross (Sept 14/27)

As You were voluntarily raised upon the cross for our sake, Grant mercy to those who are called by Your Name, O Christ God;
Make all Orthodox Christians glad by Your power,
Granting them victories over their adversaries,
By bestowing on them the Invincible trophy, Your weapon of Peace.

The Nativity of the Most Holy Virgin Mary (Sept 8/ Sept 21) is a day of universal joy, a day chosen before the ages by Divine Providence to bring about the Mystery of the Incarnation of the Word of God. She is revealed as the Mother of the Saviour of the World, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

O Most Holy Theotokos, save us!

Through the intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God and the protection offered by a wonder-working icon, Moscow was delivered from the Invasion of the fearsome Khan Tamerlane in 1395. This event and the icon associated with it is commemorated on the Julian Calendar date of Aug 26 (Sept 8 ).

The “Vladimir” Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos was painted by the Evangelist Luke on a board from the table at which the Saviour ate together with His All-Pure Mother and Righteous Joseph.

The icon was brought from the city of Vladimir to Moscow as Khan Tamerlane was preparing an invasion of Russia. Along the way, on both sides of the road, countless people prayed kneeling: “O Mother of God, save the land of Russia!” At that same hour, Khan Tamerlane had a dream of a Radiant Lady commanding him to leave the domains of Russia. His experts explained that the Radiant Lady was the Mother of God, the great Protectress of Christians. Tamerlane then gave the order for his troops to retreat.

Let us be attentive.

"Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.”

☦️ Luke 12:8

Christ my Lord, grant me strength to bear this present affliction with patience and trust in Your loving care.

“God is everywhere. There is no place God is not…You cry out to Him, ‘Where art Thou, my God?’ And He answers, “I am present, my child! I am always beside you.’ Both inside and outside, above and below, wherever you turn, everything shouts, ‘God!’ In Him we live and move. We breathe God, we eat God, we clothe ourselves with God. Everything praises and blesses God. All of creation shouts His praise. Everything animate and inanimate speaks wondrously and glorifies the Creator. Let every breath praise the Lord!”

☦️ St. Joseph The Hesychast

Not too many years ago the Abbess of a convent of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, a woman of righteous life, was delivering a sermon in the convent church on the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God. With tears she entreated her nuns and the pilgrims who had come for the feast to accept entirely and wholeheartedly what the Church hands down to us, taking such pains to preserve this tradition sacredly all these centuries—and not to choose for oneself what is “important” and what is “dispensable”; for by thinking oneself wiser than the tradition, one may end by losing the tradition.

Thus, when the Church tells us in her hymns and icons that the Apostles were miraculously gathered from the ends of the earth in order to be present at the repose and burial of the Mother of God, we as Orthodox Christians are not free to deny this or reinterpret it, but must believe as the Church hands it down to us, with simplicity of heart.

☦️ Fr. Seraphim Rose

A prayer from the heart has more power than a thousand words, especially for someone who won't listen.

☦️St. Paisios the Athonite

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." —The Holy Apostle Paul to the Colossians (1: 15)

Saint Sophrony of Essex (1896-1993) considered the image on Shroud of Turin as the authentic image of the crucified Christ. St Sophrony always had a photo of the negative as inspiration when he painted (wrote) icons of Christ. But for St Sophrony, writing icons was neither simply an imitative effort nor simply a work of the imagination. The icon, he said, “is a vision of another, transfigured world, granted to man through grace. The iconographer must first purify his heart so that the light of God can pass through him without distortion. Then he paints not according to his imagination, but according to the life of the Church and the experience of the Saints.”

Many of the icons at St John the Baptist Monastery in Essex were painted by St Sophrony, including Christ at the Last Supper, shown here, written in the early 1980s.

I cannot describe to you how much our Panagia likes chastity and purity. Since she is the only pure Virgin, she wants and loves everyone to be like that. As soon as we cry out to her she rushes to our help. You don’t even finish saying, ‘All-holy Theotokos, help me’ and at once, like lightning, she shines through the nous and fills the heart with illumination. She draws the nous to prayer and the heart to Love.

✠ St Joseph the Hesychast

"If a pagan asks you to show him your faith, take him into church and place him before the icons."

☦️ St. John of Damascus

Life in Christ means nurturing our soul. St Paisios of Mount Athos emphasized that we must trust God always, seek simplicity, humility, and acquire thankfulness in all things.

Rejoice Virgin Theotokos, Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you have borne the Saviour of our souls!

"Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach,and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons" Mark 3:14-15

On the day after the Feast of the Glorious and First-Ranked among the Apostles Peter and Paul (June 29/ July 12) we commemorate all of the Apostles:

Peter, Andrew, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James, the son of Alphæus, Jude, the brother of James, Simon the Zealot, and Matthias

(Synaxis June 30/ July13)

O holy Apostles of Christ Pray to our merciful God, That He may grant us remission of our sins!