DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ST. JOHN, ARCHBISHOP OF SHANGHAI AND SAN
FRANCISCO
ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN WITNESS (USPS 412-260)
is published monthly by St. Nectarios American Orthodox Cathedral,
10300 Ashworth Avenue North, Seattle, Washington 98133-9410.
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Fr. Neketas S. Palassis, Editor Email: frneketas@stnectariospress.com
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SEPTEMBER, 2006, Vol. XL, No. 9 (1564)
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. CONSECRATION TO THE EPICOPATE OF BISHO DEMETRIUS
2. ON PEACE IN THE HOLY LAND (continued)
3. HOW WE SHOULD CONDUCT OURSELVES IN OUR DAILY WORK
4. MINI-CONFERENCE IN LOS ANGELES
5. NEW ITEMS FROM THE BOOK CENTER.
All well-pleasing and all service are in the thoughts. Therefore
endeavour to please the Lord, always looking for Him within, seeking
Him in thy thoughts, and forcing and constraining thine own will and
purpose to stretch upwards continually towards Him. Then see how He
comes unto thee and makes His abode with thee. In proportion as thou
gatherest up thy mind to seek Him, He is far more constrained by His
own tender compassion and kindness to come to thee and give thee rest.
He stands contemplating thy mind, thy thoughts, thy intentions,
observing how thou seekest Him, whether with thy whole soul, not
indolently, not carelessly.
Saint Macarius the Great, Homily xxxi, 3
1. THE CONSECRATION TO THE EPISCOPATE OF BISHOP DEMETRIUS
The Gift of the Holy Spirit
By Metropolitan Moses
For those who attended the Saturday night Vespers the night before
the consecration Priestmonk Demetrios at Saint Mark's Cathedral in
Roslindale, the solemnity and festivity of the event was already made
manifest. I was the only clergyman from the west coast who was able to
be present and as I stood during the vespers, I heartily wished that my
clergy could have been there. Our hearts and minds were feasted with a
selection of hymns from Holy Pentecost. We were reminded of and
participated in the mystery of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and
the beginning of the New Testament priesthood given to us by our Savior:
Lord I Have Cried
First Tone
We celebrate Pentecost and the coming of the Spirit, and the time
appointed for the promise, and the fulfillment of hope. How great is
this mystery: it is both exceeding great and most venerable. Wherefore,
we cry unto Thee: O Creator of all, Lord, glory be to Thee.
The Saint Mark's Cathedral Choir of young men, formed and developed by
Protopresbyter Christos Constantinou many years ago, shone forth as a
rare and superb example of blended voices chanting in the traditional
Byzantine Style.
There were many present at the Vespers and it was a treat for me to see
many familiar faces from the pious flock of Saint Mark's pious flock
and other parishes in the area. The service ended and we all departed
for the church hall for refreshments and conversation. As always, the
Saint Mark's and Saint Anna's Philoptochos outdid itself and made us
all feel welcomed by their generous hospitality. Not long after we got
settled, the bus from Toronto arrived and a warm welcome and food was
offered to the weary travelers. Once again, it was a great joy to see
members of our Christian family from Toronto, relatives and friends of
the Bishop-elect Demetrius. The night ended in fellowship and
anticipation of the great event on the next day.
On the morrow, I arrived before the beginning of matins and said
my entrance prayers. Matins began at 7 a.m. at Saint Mark's and little
by little the Church began to fill. Once again, we were stirred in our
hearts to hear a selection of hymns from Pentecost, reminding us of the
gift of grace the Church was about to receive through the ordination of
the new bishop.
Although Metropolitan Ephraim was recently released from the hospital,
he made the effort to participate in the consecration and he and
Bishop-elect Demetrius arrived on Sunday just after the Matins gospel
reading. Metropolitan Makarios arrived just before the ninth ode,
greeted the clergy and blessed the laity from the cathedra and waited.
Before the Glory verse of the Praises he made his entrance prayers and
was then vested in the nave of the Church while the choir chanted Of
Old The Prophets. Archdeacon Andrew did the prayers of the vesting
while being assisted by Protodeacon Demetrios Houlares and Deacon John
Mihopoulos. (Metropolitan Ephraim and I vested in the sanctuary.)
The vesting ended and Metropolitan Ephraim and I joined Metropolitan
Makarios in the center of the nave, the other clergy following
according to rank. (By the time we began the service there were three
hierarchs, the bishop-elect, nine priests, and ten deacons.)
Bishop-elect Demetrios came forth from the sanctuary wearing a
phelonian and carrying the Holy Gospel escorted by Archdeacon Andrew
and Protodeacon Demetrios.
Bishop-elect Demetrius was given the texts of the divine Confessions of
the Orthodox Faith to read before everyone. The First Confession of the
Orthodox Faith is the Nicene Creed and the Second Confession of the
Orthodox Faith consists of theological statements regarding the Divine
and Human Natures of our Savior. The Third Confession of the Orthodox
Faith consists of promises to uphold the Holy Canons and order of the
Church, concluding with these words:
"I promise to visit and watch over the flock now confided to me, after
the manner of the Apostles, to discern whether they remain true to the
Faith, and in the exercise of good works, more especially the Priests;
and to inspect with diligence, and to exhort and inhibit, that there
may be no schisms, superstitions and impious veneration, and that no
customs contrary to Christian piety and good morals may injure
Christian conduct.
And all those things, my bounden duty, which I have this day promised
in word, I also promise to perform in deed unto my uttermost breath,
for the sake of the covenanted good things to come. And may God, Who
seeth the heart, be the witness to my vow. And may our Saviour Himself
by my helper, in my sincere and zealous governing and my performance
thereof; and unto Him, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be
glory and dominion, honour and worship, now, and ever, and unto ages of
ages. Amen."
And when Bishop-elect Demetrius completed his Confessions of the
Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Ephraim blessed him saying:
"The grace of the Holy Spirit, through my humility, exalteth thee, most
God-beloved Priestmonk Demetrius, to be the Bishop-elect of the
God-preserved city of Carlisle."
We all proceeded back into the sanctuary and began the liturgy. After
the Thrice-Holy Hymn and the Episcopal Acclamations, Archimandrites
Panteleimon and Isaac lead Bishop-elect Demetrios through the north
door of the Iconostas and out into the middle of the church. They bowed
together with him first towards the sanctuary saying, "At thy bidding,"
next towards the people saying, "At your bidding." Finally, they turned
with the bishop-elect once more towards the sanctuary and bowed and
said, "O holy Master, bid him that is brought before thee." After this,
they lead him through the Beautiful Gate. Metropolitan Makarios and I
took him from them and began to lead him around the Holy Table three
times, while the Bishop-elect kissed each corner of the Holy Table and
the epigonation of the seated Metropolitan Ephraim as he passed by
during the chanting of the hymns:
Grave Tone
O holy Martyrs, who have contested well and have been crowned:
Intercede ye with the Lord that He have mercy on our souls.
Glory to Thee, O Christ God, the boast of the Apostles, the joy of the
Martyrs, who proclaimed the consubstantial Trinity.
Plagal of First Tone
Dance, O Esaias, the Virgin hath conceived and hath given birth to a
Son, Emmanuel, Who is both God and Man; Orient is His Name. In
magnifying Him, we call the Virgin blessed.
Bishop-elect Demetrius was then led to the middle of the Holy Table and
reverently laid his forehead thereon. Metropolitan Ephraim placed his
omophorion and hand upon Bishop-elect Demetrius' head and Metropolitan
Makarios and I opened the Holy Gospel and laid it upon his head with
the writing downward. At this point, the prayers of Consecration were
read with great solemnity by Metropolitan Ephraim. One could not help
but be consoled by the grace made present and the knowledge that we
were at that moment active participants in the continuation of the
greatest gift of God to mankind, the sanctified priesthood of the
God-Man, Jesus Christ. (This priesthood is continued through the
bishops of the Church.) For all those present, our communion with all
the confessing saints from ages past was not some abstract concept, but
a living reality. The world may be confused, but we have a but we have
a place of certainty to stand upon. Our materialistic culture is a
wasteland wherein parched souls find no relief, but we partake of the
deep wells of the ancient Christian Faith, "the rivers of living water"
(John 7:38) as it says in the gospel for the liturgy of Pentecost.
At this point Bishop Demetrius was clothed in his Episcopal vestments,
each article of the vestments being brought out by Metropolitan
Makarios who exclaimed each time, "Axios!" (Which means, "He is
worthy!") and faithful thunderously responded, "Axios!" And the
choir chanted "Axios....."
We completed the liturgy and Metropolitan Makarios returned to the
cathedra in the middle of the nave with the staff of the
newly-consecrated Bishop Demetrios. The new bishop met him there and
Metropolitan Makarios delivered the staff to him with the following
exhortation:
"Receive this staff that thou mayest shepherd the Flock of Christ
entrusted unto thee; and unto those under thee that are submissive, let
it be a staff and support; but unto those that are unsubmissive and
unstable, use it as a rod of restraint, a rod of discipline."
As we receive our new member of the Synod of Bishops, we pray for the
love of our Savior and one another, unity for the support of our Faith,
and for the continuation in the witness manifesting the One, Holy,
Catholic and Apostolic Church in North America. May the grace of the
Holy Spirit guide and direct the decisions of our Holy Synod for the
sake of this generation and future generations to come. Amen.
_______________________________________________________________________
2. AN ENCYCLICAL ON PEACE IN THE HOLY LAND
AND ON CONFESSING THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN FAITH
by His Eminence, Metropolitan Ephraim of Boston
(continued from the August, 2006 issue of The Orthodox Christian
Witness)
Elsewhere, in his commentary on the same book, Saint Cyril writes:
As for those that are the remnant, that is, the saved who have believed
in Christ, though they be a remnant of Israel, they shall become, it
says, a great multitude. PG, 70:188c.
In his interpretation of Isaias 45:25 ("and in God shall all the seed
of the sons of Israel be glorified" Septuagint), the same Saint has
this to say:
Those who are called the sons of Israel among them, we affirm, are the
holy Apostles and Evangelists; for they were Jews according to the
flesh. And their sons, in turn, are those who are called through them
to the knowledge of Christ PG, 70:988c.
In the Paschal Megalynarion, we Orthodox Christians chant, "Shine,
shine, O new Jerusalem, for the glory of the Lord is arisen upon thee."
What is this "new Jerusalem" but the spiritual city of God that
presides over the "new Israel," that is the true followers and
disciples of the Messiah and God of Israel? Orthodox Christians are, as
the Saints teach us, the New Israel, the true Israel, God's Chosen
People, a People for His own possession (Titus 2:14).
In his commentary on the Heirmos of the Ninth Ode of the Pascal Canon,
Saint Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain writes:
O New Jerusalem, the catholic Church of Christ, shine, shine ...for the
glory of the Lord, that is, the Cross of Christ (John 13:31), the
divinity of Christ (Ephesians 1:17), and the divine radiance of
Christ's countenance [at Christ's transfiguration on Mt. Tabor] have
arisen upon thee, the Church from among the nations. The people that
sat in darkness (that is, the nations) have seen the great light of
divine knowledge; but for the unbelieving Jews, Christ the Sun of
Righteousness, has hidden [His light], whereas for us who are from the
nations and have believed He dawned forth, because we acknowledged the
dawn of His divinity, and we have been illumined with the light of
piety and virtue. Furthermore, the Melodist tells the New Sion to dance
spiritually and to rejoice over the resurrection of Christ her
Bridegroom.
St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain
Eortodromion, p. 448
Of course, this is only a small selection of what the Church Fathers ha
ve to say about who is the true Israel today. Many more sources could
be quoted (for example, Saint John Chrysostom's 18th Homily on the
Epistle to the Romans speaks eloquently and comprehensively about "the
remnant" of Israel); the citations mentioned above suffice to show us
the spiritual insights of the Saints on this particular subject.
As it stands now, my beloved, we have today two warring camps in the
Holy Land - the Muslims and the Jews -with unforgiving fanatics on both
sides. The Palestinians desire to drive the Jews into the
Mediterranean, and the Jews aspire to drive the Palestinians beyond the
Jordan. Both the Muslims and the Jews have rejected the incarnate Word
of God, the Messiah and Redeemer. Both stubbornly refuse to accept our
Saviour as the Son of God and to cry, "Blessed is He that cometh in the
name of the Lord."
How, then, can there be peace in the Holy Land when the Prince of Peace
is so intractably rejected?
According to our Saviour's prophecy, their "house is left desolate"
indeed (Matthew 23:38), and there shall be no peace until both warring
camps turn and are converted and acknowledge Christ as the God-man He
is, and learn to chant, "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the
Lord" (Psalm 117:26, Matthew 23:39).
We believe and say these things, "speaking the truth in love," that we
may confess our Saviour, Who is the Head, even Christ (cf. Ephesians
4:15).
If we are to be serious Orthodox Christians who believe in the Holy
Scriptures, we are obliged to say to both sides in this conflict: there
can be no lasting peace unless you lay aside your mutual hatred and
submit to the Prince of Peace. Not to believe this is to gainsay our
Saviour Himself and to reject His prophetic words.
There is yet one more very important element in this problem, and we
mention it here only briefly, only because we have touched upon it so
many times in other encyclicals and publications of our Church. The
Patriarchates of "World Orthodoxy" have not kept their confession of
the holy Orthodox Christian faith pure; indeed, they have been grossly
and increasingly negligent in this matter. To be brief, they are quite
blatantly in communion with heresy and are no longer Orthodox Christian
bishops, whatever they may claim. Also, their lack of pastoral concern
for the Palestinian Orthodox Christian flock and the disrespect shown
in the holy shines (in dress codes, etc.) is a universal disgrace. If
only the so-called Orthodox Patriarchates were in order in these
matters, God is not without strength to bless and increase the numbers
and the spiritual progress of the Orthodox Christians in the Holy Land.
We all know that there will be certain individuals today who will say
that these sentiments are held only by those who are "bigoted,"
"uncharitable," "mean-spirited," "intolerant," and so on. But this
exercise in name-calling does not alter the fact that it is they
themselves who have become bigoted, uncharitable, mean-spirited and
intolerant towards anyone who expresses a belief in absolute Truth, in
right or wrong, in evil and good, or in a God Who will hold us
accountable and judge us after we have passed from this life.
Recently, one congressman -Thomas Delay - went so far as to say the
following to a Protestant congregation in Texas:
Christianity offers the only viable, reasonable, definitive answer to
the questions of "Where did I come from?" "Why am I here?" "Does life
have any meaningful purpose?" Only Christianity offers a way to that
physical and moral border. Only Christianity offers a comprehensive
world view that covers all areas of life and thought, every aspect of
creation. Only Christianity offers a way to live in response to the
realities that we find in this world - only Christianity.
(Washington Post, April 21, 2002)
It is necessary to emphasize that these words were spoken in a church
-not in Congress, nor in some House committee meeting, nor to the
United States armed forces, nor even to the Daughters of the American
Revolution. The man was simply confessing his personal faith to some
300 fellow Baptist believers.
What happened next? It was as though some Pentecostal minister had
crashed an airliner into the White House. Not only secular writers, but
even religious commentators were quick to raise voices of alarm.
Pandemonium broke loose everywhere! A Washington-based advocacy group,
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, released a
tape-recording of Delay's speech. The group's executive director, the
Reverend Barry W. Lynn of the United Church of Christ, declared that
Delay's remarks show that he "lacks appreciation for the religious
pluralism" of the United States. Delay, on his part, responded by
pointing out that, "I respect people's right to have their own
beliefs." Undeterred, the media found its opportunity to point a finger
at this congressman who dared to hold an "exclusive" view of
Christianity, even if it was expressed in a church. For a society that
rejects the very concepts of absolute Truth, right and wrong, good and
evil - any expression of the viewpoint that there can be just one true
religion is deemed intolerant and bigoted. Of course, the irony is that
any society that believes this is itself guilty of intense intolerance
and bigotry the very moment it accuses others! In a letter to the
editor of the New York Times in November of 2001, one Jewish man, David
Zwiebel, wrote that "the vision of America as a country where religious
belief is welcome only if it abandons claims to exclusive truth is
truly chilling -and truly intolerant."
As Orthodox Christians, we know how to respond to these expressions of
secular bias and prejudice. What we need to be reminded of is that we
must not be intimidated into fearing to proclaim our faith in our
Saviour and His unique and saving message to the world -to Jews, to
Muslims, to Protestants, to Roman Catholics, to pagans, to the secular
and unbelieving. We are duty-bound "to speak the truth in love" when it
is needful and when the moment is appropriate. We have as much a right
to our convictions as anyone does. Indeed, our convictions, unlike
those of our secular antagonists, carry the weight of long-term
consequences, very long term.
Let us all avail ourselves, my beloved, of the opportunities that are
given us to grow in our knowledge of our faith, and in our love for God
and mankind, and to pray for the enlightenment and conversion of all to
Christ in the holy Orthodox Christian faith, for the true peace of
Jerusalem, and for our attainment to the Heavenly Jerusalem that awaits
us. Amen.
Your fervent supplicant unto God,
+Ephraim, Metropolitan of Boston
The Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, 2002
Protocol Number 2210
________________________________________________________________________
3. HOW WE SHOULD CONDUCT OURSELVES INOUR DAILY WORK
(from Saint Cosmas Aitolos Orthodox Church Bulletin)
In order to live, most of us have to work. There are many types of
work: manual work, such as various trades, agriculture, and so forth;
and intellectual work, such as administration, law, management,
education, etc. There is important and unimportant work, difficult and
easy, extraordinary and conventional, work for yourself, for your
family, for society, etc.
All work that is not opposed to moral law and that we do to support
ourselves and our families, is work entrusted to us by God Himself. It
is the Lord God Who established and sanctioned various professions in
human society, and it is He Who allows us or arranges for us to be in
the positions or professions in which we find ourselves in life.
Without God's will or God's forbearance nothing takes place on earth.
God is the King of all the earth (Ps. 46:8). Therefore, the holy
Apostle Paul told slaves, who were working not for themselves, but for
their masters, that they didn't actually work for their masters, but
for the Lord Himself Servants, he wrote in his Epistle to the
Colossians, obey in all things your masters, except, of course, for
sin, and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto
men (Col. 3:22-23).
So, whatever work you have to do in your position or profession,
whether it is to hold the reins of some governmental agency, to judge
people, to teach people, to write something, to engage in some kind of
art or handiwork, to plow the fields, to labor in construction, to
bring up children, and so on, do all of this, for whomever you do it,
whether for yourself and your family, or as a duty to others--- do all
this as for the Lord God Himself. Do it because the Lord God demands it
of you, and because that work is God's work. Do it and say to God in
your heart: "O Lord, You assigned me this work. I am doing it in
obedience to You and to please You." Or: "O Lord, bless my labor. It
was not without Your will that I found myself in the position in which
I live, and the work that I do or should do is work demanded by my
position. You assigned it to me, so bless me and help me."
Whoever does his daily work with such an attitude, no matter what it is
and for whom he does it, works actually for the Lord God, and therefore
will receive a reward from Him, as the holy Apostle says to slaves,
whatsoever ye do for your masters in the flesh, do it heartily, as to
the Lord, and not unto men, knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive
the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ (Col.
3:23-24). But whoever works without this disposition of soul, labors as
worldly people and pagans do, that is, he labors not for the Lord Jesus
Christ, not out of love for the Lord God, not to the glory of God, but
labors only for himself, for some temporary need or gain -- for
sustenance, to gain wealth and pleasure in life, to obtain honor, or to
satisfy his own inquisitiveness. Or he may work temporarily for other
people. But he does not think of God. The work of whoever works this
way is pitiful, because this person awaits a reward only from himself
or from other people, and not from the Lord God. But the reward from
other people, whatever it consists of, is only earthly, temporary, and
therefore of little importance; what kind of reward can you get from
yourself? But work for the Lord God, and expect your reward principally
from Him. Only He is the true recompenser.
In doing all your work for the Lord Himself, always do it as God's work
should be done; that is, do all your work from the soul, gladly and
without complaining. How can one do any kind of work for the God
unwillingly, grudgingly, and with grumbling? A grateful person does
everything gladly, even for a low-ranking earthly boss; how, then, can
we do something unwillingly or grudgingly for our greatest and constant
benefactor, the Lord God?
Do every task required by your position diligently and correctly; do
not in any case permit unwarranted slowness and carelessness. Do
everything as well as you possibly can. Because work not done as
quickly and as well as you can, just like work done incorrectly or
carelessly, is done deceitfully, and the holy prophet says, cursed be
he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully (Jer. 48: 1 0). My
friends, remember these terrible works and be careful!
If your work goes successfully, do not take pride in this, and in
particular do not ascribe this success to your own powers. Never say in
your heart my power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this
wealth (Deut. 8:17) Rather always remember that the Lord gave you that
power (Deut. 8:18). For without Me ye can do nothing, He said to His
disciples (John 15:5). Remember these words of the Lord. They are a
great defense against pride and arrogance, toward which we are all
inclined and which are spiritually ruinous for us.
If the work you have to do is difficult and demands great effort, or is
unpleasant and demeaning, demanding much patience, or is hindered and
slowed by ill-intentioned people or by unfortunate circumstances, and
leads you to despondency, or is little respected or even despised, do
not be fainthearted, do not be lazy, and do not give in to anger,
impatience, annoyance, complaining, etc. Will your work go better and
be finished faster if you are lazy or angry or grumble or use bad
language? No, it will be harder and go more slowly, and may not even
get done at all. My friend, it is bad to behave this way. Only
unbelievers behave like this, because they do not have faith in God's
control over the world. But we are Christians. We know that our job and
our position in life is given to us by God.
To help keep your soul in a holy attitude during hard, prolonged, or
unpleasant work and to protect it from any attitude that is not
pleasing to God, it is good to strengthen yourself with thoughts such
as the following:
"This work, which seems to me to be so difficult and unpleasant,
undoubtedly helps to save my soul. I know that God does nothing without
the most saving intentions for us. He truly wants to save everyone. So,
of course, He desires to save me also. Without His action and
foresight, I would have been lost long ago. Having assigned me the work
at hand, He undoubtedly wishes to deliver me from grievous sins or from
temptations, errors, or dangers. So I shall try to do my work
diligently and wholeheartedly.
"Perhaps the work that I am doing right now is the last in my life, and
after this work God will immediately demand from me an account of all
my deeds at His eternal Judgment. How can I not work diligently and
wholeheartedly?
"This work, which is so trying and such a burden, will not last
forever. It will end with my earthly life. And even if it lasts a
hundred years, is this earthly life long,? All of eternity is the
reward for life on earth, if it is spent in obedience to God. How can I
not work diligently and wholeheartedly?"
If you think such thoughts, your difficult or unpleasant work will
never serve as a cause for sin, but for eternal blessedness. Because in
thinking this way, you won't avoid your work, no matter how difficult
or unpleasant it may seem, but will pray in your heart to the Lord that
He help you to begin and furnish your work worthily, and, indeed, you
will do so. And in doing so, perhaps you will be delivered from serious
sins and from the perdition of your soul. For after such prayers, as
holy toilers have already found out a thousand times by experience, God
has often eased the difficulty and unpleasantness of hard daily labor
to the point where the laborers do it and finish it without difficulty,
sometimes even easily and even pleasurably. But if this doesn't happen
to us, we must remember that every diligent work and every diligent
worker will indeed be rewarded appropriately, not in the present life,
but in the future one. It is precisely in the future life, as the holy
Apostle attests, that the Lord will render to every man according to
his deeds (Rom. 2:6). So let us be patient. Are not all our temporary
burdens and difficulties worth eternal happiness?
An edited and somewhat condensed portion of the book How to Live a Holy
Life by Metropolitan Gregory Postnikov (1784-1860), published in
Russian in I 9O4.
________________________________________________________________________
4. MINI-CONFERENCEIN LOS ANGELES
The Parish of St. Demetrios in Pomona, California will sponsor a
Min-Conference on the week-end of November 11-12, 2006, celebrating
both the parish feast and the 40th anniversary of the ordination of Fr.
Nicholas Liberis. The topic of the mini conference is The Orthodox
Christian Family in Today's Pagan World. Speakers will be: Metropolitan
Moses, Bishop Sergius, Fr. Simon, Iconographer of the St.
Gregory of sinai Monastery and Fr. Panagiotes Carras.
Arrangements have been made to visit the opening of a large exhibition
of icons and religious items from Mt. Sinai at the Getty Museum on the
Tuesday following the Conference, led by Metropolitan Moses.
For further information contact:
Justine
Hernandez
or
Sister Mary Miller
email:
justine4moi@aol.com
phone: 626-786-2302
phone: 760-949-9306
REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS OCTOBER 15, 2006
________________________________________________________________________
5. NEW ITEMS FROM THE BOOK CENTER
(OFC)
ORTHODOX FLASH CARDS A boxed set of 3-1/2 by 5-1/2 inch cards for
50 different saints with a full color icon, commemoration date and
dismissal hymn (troparion) on one side and the life on the other side.
Sturdy laminated card stock. A great learning tool for children and
church schools. e$15.00/set
(MSE)
MAN.S SPIRITUAL EVOLUTION by Constantine Cavarnos. Although a sequel to
Dr. Cavarnos' book Holiness: Man's Supreme Destiny, this volume
approaches man's spiritual evolution towards union with God in a
step-by-step progression, drawing upon the Scriptures and examples from
the lives of several saints. Contains descriptions of some valuable
spiritual reading. 95pp. Paper d$7.00
(FRF)
FRAGRANT FLOWERS: Orthodox Homilies on the Lives of the Saints by
Augoustinos N. Kandiotes, Bishop of Florina, Greece, trans. by Asterios
Gerontergios. A collection of 52 homilies on Old and New Testament
saints, briefly recounting their lives as the miracles of God in the
world and living examples for us to follow. 221pp.
Paper d$18.00
(RHH)
REFLECTIONS OF A HUMBLE HEART: A fifteenth century text on the
spiritual life. A Byzantine manuscript translated into Russian and from
Russian into English. A small, simply written book that speaks to the
heart of a person seeking to learn about Christian life, vigilance and
love for God. 99pp Paper e$8.00
(TM79)
HYMNS TO THE ARCHANGELS, from the service at the Stavropoleos Monastery
in Romania. A unique recording of Byzantine chant in Romanian very
beautifully done. d$16.00