FROM THE FATHERS “EVEN if you are not what you should be, you should not despair. It is bad enough that you have sinned; why in addition do you wrong God by regarding Him in your ignorance as powerless? Is He, Who for your sake created the great universe that you behold, incapable of saving your soul? And if you say that this fact, as well as His incarnation, only makes your con- demnation worse, then repent; and He will receive your re- pentance,as He accepted that of the prodigal son(Lk.15:20) and the harlot (Lk. 7:37-50). But if repentance is too much for you, and you sin out of habit even when you do not want to, show humility like the publican (Lk. 18:13): this is enough to ensure your salvation. For he who sins without repenting, yet does not despair, must necessarily regard himself as the lowest of crea- tures, and will not dare to judge or censure anyone. Rather, he will marvel at God’s compassion, and will be full of gratitude towards his Benefactor, and so may receive other blessings as well. Even if he is subject to the devil in that he sins, yet from fear of God he disobeys the enemy when the latter tries to make him despair. Because of this he has his portion with God; for he is grateful, gives thanks, is patient, fears God, does not judge so that he may not be judged.” Peter of Damascus,+ Eleventh or Twelfth Century

“HAS some good thought come to you? Have you felt some good impulse or inclination in your heart? Stop! Check it with the Gospel.” Saint Ignatius of the Caucasus, +1867 A.D.

1 O n R eligiousIgnorance

. . . for s o m e have not t heknow l edgeo f G o d : I s p eakt his t o you r s ham e ( 1 C o r.15:34). TOACC U S E s o me o neo f ig norance , t o c all t h e m ig norant, is o neo ft h emos tb it ingo ff e nce st h ato nec o u l dd ire c tt o w ardsa p e rso nino u r “ e nlig ht e ne d ” e ra. Itisc o nsid e re dt ob eag re at at t ainme ntf orane d u cat e dp e rsont omast e rknow le d g ein mat t e rst h atarenotd ire c t l yc o nne c t e dt oh isp rof e s s ion alt h o u g hitisnotc o nsid e re ds h ame f u lt ol ackt h ise xt raknow - le d g e .Fore xamp le ,socie t yhold st helaw y e rinsp e cialre g ardif hep osse sse ssomeme d icalknow le d g e . Ith ig h l yre g ardst h e d oct orw hohasknow le d g eoft helaw ,t hecit y -d w e lle rw ho u nde rst ands f arming , o rt h ef arme rw h oh asmast e re dat rad e . I re p e att h atallo ft h ise xt raknow l e d g eish ig h l yre g arde d alt h o u g hw ec annotd e mandito fe veryo ne .N oo new o u l de ven d re amo fu p b raid ingu sf o ro u rl acko fknow l e d g eo nt h o s e s u b je c t sw h ichd onotf allw it h int h es p h e reo fo u rw o rkand re s p o nsibilit ie s .O nt h eo t h e rh and,itisd e mande d ,ands h o u l d bere quire d ,t hatw ep osse sst heknow le d g ew hichd ire ct ly re l at e st oo u rd u t ie sandre s p o nsibilit ie s .Ignoranceint h e s e are asisc o nsid e re d t o b e d isg race f u l ands h ame f u l . AllO rth o d o xC h rist ians,re g ardl e s so fc all ingo rp o s it ionin l if e ,s h o u l dh aveap rop e rknow l e d g eo ft h et rut h so fo u rO rth o - d o x F ait h . Thisd e mandiss o me t h ingintrinsic, nat u ral, and absolu t e lyne ce ssary. Ifitisd isg race f u lands h ame f u lnott oknowt h atw h ich ap p l ie st oo u rp rof e s s ion,ifw earee mbarrass e dw h e ns o me o ne u p b raid su sb e c au s eo fig noranceint h isare a,t h e nh o wmu c h mores h ame f u l andd isg race f u l isitt o b e ig noranto f o u r F ait h ? Thisisnoto u ro w n[ p rivat e ]t h o u g h to ro u ro w ne xp re s s ion. S aintPau lh imse l fc o nsid e rsits h ame f u lt ol ackac o mp l e t eand s o l ids p irit u alu nde rst anding : I s p eakt his t o you r s ham e, h e s ay s , for s o m e have not t heknow l edgeo f G o d ( 1C o r.15:34).

2 Further, we might say that, if everyone is expected to have knowledge, if it is demanded of us to know the slightest detail about our work, it is certainly imperative that we possess the knowledge of that which is most important. Our religion, our Faith, is not only important to us, but it is the most important thing on earth. Through faith, we come to a know- ledge of God and His holy will. Through faith, we learn how to serve Him, and we learn the means by which we may attain salvation. There are fields of knowledge which are associated with earthly success, honour, or disgrace. It is important for a mer- chant to have a solid understanding of his profession, for the labourer to know his trade, for the farmer to know agriculture. One makes his livelihood through these means. One attains a good position, wealth, and respect through knowledge. What is all of this compared to what faith offers us? Only through faith can we please God. Only our religion (Orthodoxy) can give us inner peace, without which true happiness in this life is unthinkable despite the greatness of our external well-being. All human knowledge which departs from God and His holy will is empty and dangerous. We read in the Wisdom of Solo- mon,Surely vain are all men by nature, who are ignorant of God (Wis. 13:1). In the Gospel of Saint John, we read that the knowledge of God is most important and of the utmost necessity: And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent (Jn17:3). The most important of all of the things that we can do on this earth is to know, to love, and to serve God. Man naturally wants to know much. However, what is all of this knowledge if its entire foundation is not in God? Since faith is most important to us, we are acquainted with it, with its teachings, and with its demands from our infancy. Christian parents already converse with their children about the merciful Heavenly Father, about that which pleases Him, and about that which offends Him, before they even begin to ac- quaint them with worldly matters. In our churches, we hear

3 sermons about faith and Christian morality on Sundays and on feast days during the services. Our pastors are always prepared to offer their knowledge to those who have a desire to acquire it. If we agree that faith is the most important thing for a man, if we do not lack the means and opportunity to acquire information about our Faith, then our ignorance of the truths of Orthodoxy and our Christian obligations should be considered disgraceful in the highest degree. This ignorance is a result of the fact that we refuse to take advantage of the means and circumstances to enlighten ourselves although we understand the importance of this matter. Let us turn our attention to the means which is available to all, that is, the reading of spiritual books. The ability to read, which we learned while in school, is in no way shameful. What is disgraceful is to either forget to read or to use this ability for idiotic and harmful reading. The majority of people do not even pick up books. If they do read, they read that which is useless and, frequently, harmful. We would have no complaint if they would at least read those books which would offer practical information on housekeeping or some trade. On the other hand, as we have noted, the best reading is of spiritual books since we acquire from these books the most important information, knowledge of our Faith.[Nowadays, of course, we have the internet as well and can learn many things from it if we are carefully selective - ed.] No doubt, as we see, spiritual ignorance is shameful to the highest degree. However, this is not all. It is also extremely harmful and destructive. Let us examine a few of the sad consequences of spiritual ignorance. Faith is understood to be the greatest good in this life only if we might attain to blessedness in the future world through it. Faith can make us blessed only if it is firmly established in the heart and faithfully applied to life. He who possesses some kind of good but who does not recognise its worth will not value or love it as he should. He will show no care in preserving this good, whether material or spiritual. He who is ignorant of the Orthodox Faith cannot know that its commandments are superior, holy, and divine. Therefore, he

4 cannot possess and respect the Faith as the greatest good with complete conviction. He does not consider himself to be Ortho- dox as a result of firm conviction, but only out of habit. As a result, he easily falls into doubts and begins to waver if he hears criticism of the Faith. One could not even begin to speak of such a person in terms of his ability to defend the Faith. FaithistherootofalifewhichispleasingtoGod. Onlythose things which proceed from the foundation of faith have value in God's eyes. If you damage the root, you are likely to ruin the whole tree with its branches, flowers, and fruit. The enemy, the devil, has tried to undermine faith from the beginning of time whenever he is in the position to do so. Therefore, the devil's temptations are especially directed to stir up spiritual doubt in a man. In our time, the devil has no shortage of helpers with regard to this aim. We hear much propaganda today against faith and religion. We come across these attacks in newspapers and new books. It is not rare that those who believe and fulfil the requirements of their faith are mocked. The Orthodox believer who has no firm understanding of the Faith will hardly be able to sacrifice for it if circumstances demand this. Such a person will even be ashamed of his Faith if people begin to make fun of it. This type of person belongs to that group of people which Apostle Paul calls children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the slight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive(Eph. 4:14). It might seem strange that ignorance, which forms the basis of indifference and lack of firmness in faith, frequently is also the cause of excesses; more precisely, people will believe in that which is unworthy of belief (i.e., superstition). Frequently, we meet people who are, on the one hand, very superstitious, and on the other are rather cold and indifferent in matters of the Faith. These people regard secondary matters of the Faith with great importance while ignoring its essence. Various customs and rituals are treated with great exactness and zeal, even more than God's commandments. They attribute supernatural power to such customs, which could neither by their own essence nor by the blessing of the Church possibly fulfil those goals which

5 these superstitious people would have them fulfil - for example, arriving consistently late for Liturgy on Sundays but attributing almost magical power to putting up candles, even when done thoughtlessly. What kind of people embrace such superstitious attitudes? Isn’t it those who have no foundation in spiritual matters? A lack of understanding in matters of the Faith and con- science is the mother of various sins, which occur as a result of this ignorance and often as God's punishment. A result of insufficient knowledge of the Faith and the lack of heartfelt acceptance of spiritual truths is manifested in the breaking of the most important divine commandments. True, there is the saying, “One does not sin, when one does not know.” However, this proverb can apply only to that kind of ignorance which we cannot avoid. If the situation is one wherein we could have avoided ignorance, then our actions must be considered our fault. As already stated, we are guilty of our ignorance since we have so many means already at our disposal to know the Faith. Our Lord Jesus Christ confirms this when He speaks of the Jewish people: If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not sin; but now they have no cloak for their sin (Jn.15:22). The Prophet reveals those foul sins which he attributes to a lack of spiritual knowledge: There is no knowledge of God in the land,he says: by swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood (Hos.4:1-2). When people abandon their natural instincts and become enamoured of evil, as a result of their indifference to that which is most holy and important in life, we can view this occurrence to be a result of divine retribution. In Saint Paul's epistle to the Romans, we understand his reasoning concerning the guilt of ignorance with its resulting sin: And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not right; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornica- tion, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness(Rom. 1:28-29). Thus, we see how spiritual ignorance is harmful and shameful. If people had more spiritual knowledge, many sinful deeds and much unrighteousness would disappear from the life

6 of man. When the Saviour spoke of mankind's unrighteousness towards those who preached the Gospel, He said:And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father nor Me (Jn. 16:3). We can repeat the same words con- cerning many contemporary unrighteous people, that they conduct themselves according to the words of the Saviour be- cause they know neither the Father, nor the Son, nor the Holy Spirit. In general, they do not know their Faith. E. I. Translated from“Orthodox Russia,”No. 22,1990, and published in English in“Orthodox Life,” No 6,1992.

❇❇❇❇❇❇❇ “The Ultimate Guaranty of Truth:” God and His Word1 by His Grace, Cyprian of Oreoi, Now Metropolitan of Oropos & Fili IT has been very aptly observed that the passage from the Acts of the Apostles² which is read at the commemoration of the three hundred and eighteen Holy and God-bearing Fathers of the First Œcumenical Synod in Nicæa has a theological density and a perduring timeliness that render it a cornerstone of the whole of the teaching of the Apostles and, by extension, of the teaching of the Church throughout the ages.³ In his celebrated oration to the Shepherds of the Church in Ephesus, the Holy Apostle Paul prophesies (“for I know”) that the local Church will be assailed by heretics (“men speaking perverse things”), who will provoke schisms (“to draw away disciples after them”).

7 These heretics and schismatics will come forth, the Holy Apostle stresses, from among yourselves, from you, the appointed by God (“of your own selves shall [they] arise”), and the fall of these Shepherds will be not only most tragic, but also most perilous for the Church, for her inner identity, and for her soteriological mission. Since, therefore, not even Bishops are exempt from a “fall from within [the Body of the Church],” Saint Paul’s firm exhor- tation, “Therefore watch,”⁴ assumes pan-ecclesiastical dimen- sions; that is, it is directed both to the Shepherds and to the flock. *** THE FAITHFUL bear an equal responsibility before the Truth and ought likewise not to relax their vigilance or have blind confidence in their Shepherds; indolence and spiritual drowsiness have no place in the Living Body of Christ. For this reason, “the Orthodox Christian should always seek with perspicacity the dividing line that separates Orthodoxy from heterodoxy; and one’s concern in this instance should be all the more deep and intense, since he is dealing with a matter of eternal life and salvation.”⁵ The spiritual content of the injunction “Watch!” pertains not just to the safeguarding of our personal integrity from the machinations of unclean spirits through our passions, but also to the safeguarding of Apostolic and ecclesiastical Tradition, since right Faith and Truth are identical with salvation. Prayer, as a personal and collective exercise in the Church, as a fountain of - and pathway to - purification, illumination, and deification, cannot be permitted to function at the cost of attentiveness to the integrity of the Faith and the integrity of those who transmit that Faith. The charismatic life in Orthodoxy has always been indissolu- bly bound up with charismatic zeal for the preservation of the sacred legacy of Orthodoxy, and it is because of this connection that the Confessors of our Faith have always beenpar excellence monastics.

8 *** CONSEQUENTLY, a crucial question arises: If even Shep- herds are subject to “falls,” to heresy and apostasy, does this entail some “sense of general insecurity” within the Church? If such is the case, what, for the faithful, should be “the ultimate guaranty of Truth”?⁶ The Holy Apostle Paul is crystal-clear in his response: “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His Grace.”⁷ I commend you to God and to the word which His Grace has revealed to us. This word of His will safeguard you from every error and deviation. The word that derives from revelation is for the Church a foundation and a yardstick: God, through the word of His Grace as it is revealed to us in the sacred texts of the Church (Biblical, Synodal, and Patristic), constitutes for the faithful the ultimate guaranty of Truth, grounds us unshakeably in the Body of Christ, and guides us unerringly to the “inheritance among all them which are sanctified.”⁸ Therefore, for the God-Bearing Paul, the highest and sole hope and, at the same time, our totally infallible criterion of Truth is God Himself and His word,which authoritatively judges, assays,and appraises the theologies,the theories,and the actions of the fallen ecumenists, who in our age speak and do perverse things. Absolute fidelity, in deed and word, to this ultimate guaranty of Truth demonstrates who is truly keeping watch in the Holy Spirit.… 26th May, 2008 (Old Style) Sunday of the 318 God-bearing Fathers

1 Translated from “«Τὸ ὕστατο ἐχέγγυο τῆς ἀληθείας» ̔Ο Θεὸς καὶ ὁ λόγος Του” inὈρθόδοξος Ἔνστασις καὶ Μαρτυρία, Series 3, Number 2, April-June 2008, pp. 3-4. 2 Acts 20:16-18, 28-36. 3 Archbishop Stylianos of Australia,Στὸ Περιθώριο τοῦ Διαλόγου (1980-1990) [On the Peripheries of Dialogue (1980-1990)] (Athens: Ekdoseis “Domos,” 1991), p. 79. 4 Acts 20:31. 5 Archbishop Stylianos,Στὸ Περιθώριο τοῦ Διαλόγου,p.85. 6Ibid.,p.83.7 Acts 20:32. 8 Ibid.

9 How to live in accord with the Gospel A translation of a Booklet published by the Synodal Press in Russia in 1905, somewhat adapted to meet the needs of our times. Guarding the Conscience Continuation ACCORDING to the teaching of Saint John Chrysostom, the conscience is an incessant unmasker within us, which it is im- possible to deceive or to seduce. “Let the person,” he says, “who is subject to sin and commits unlawful acts take pains to hide himself from all people. Nonetheless, he will be unable to hide himself from this judge. On the contrary he always carries this denouncer within himself, one that disquiets him, torments him and is never quieted. Like a genuine physician it does not cease from applying its remedies. And should he not pay attention to it, then it will not stop, but will prolong its constant worrying, uninterruptedly recalling the sin and not allowing the sinner to cast it into oblivion, lest thereby it make him more susceptible to former sins.” What is it that forces hardened offenders to hide their secret offences, even though they know that the punishment of human judgment threatens them thereby, even though the denuncia- tion of their conscience gives them no peace? Why is the thief overcome by timidity, the adulterer by shame, the murderer by fear, when they had committed their evil deeds in the darkness of night, unseen by anyone else? Is this not because of the torment of their conscience? Because of this many well-rooted in evil and in grievous transgressions, which were committed without any embarrassment or any fear concerning their many evil acts, finally come to commit suicide? From being withstood by the conscience, which until then had been suppressed, from

10 its sharp exposure and its unbearable pangs. Thus it happened with Judas the betrayer, who being fiercely tormented by the conscience that had awakened within him hanged himself, and thus it happens with other impious people. It is true that there are people whose conscience does not judge them, does not denounce them or torture them, but these people are either journeying along the heights of virtue or have fallen into the abyss of vice. The conscience in no way exposes or pains the perfect righteous person, but in the conscience which is soiled by sins, and by great sins which have not been noticed, it is exactly the same as when in a mirror absolutely covered with grime the person standing before it does not see his face nor its imperfections. The Saint, Abba Dorotheus, writes: “It is now in our hands either to bury it [the conscience] again or, when we conform to its directions, to let it shine and illuminate us. For when our conscience commands that we do something and we ignore it, or, again, if it tells us to do something and we do not, but firmly and persistently trample upon it, in this way we bury it, and it can no longer call out strongly within us, because of the weight of what covers it. Just like an oil lamp that gives off a murky light, so the conscience begins to reveal things in an ever more blurry way, as happens with water that is made cloudy by soil and in which one cannot see his face. Thus, we are slowly rendered unable to sense those things that our conscience commands us to do, such that we reach the point that we have no conscience at all. Nonetheless, there is nobody who does not have one. For the conscience is something divine, as we have already said, and is never lost, but always reminds us of what we should do. Yet we do not sense it because, as I said, we ignore it and trample upon it… Let us therefore be careful, brothers, to guard our conscience, as long as we are still in this world, without giving it cause to censure us for anything, trampling upon it in absolutely nothing, even the slightest thing. For heed well that from sneering at those things small and by nature lowly, as they say, we end up sneering at greater things.” … to be continued with “The cleansing of the heart.”

11 THE COMING MONTH ON the first Sunday in June this year (7th / 20th) we celebrate“the last day, that great day of the feast,” that is the feast that we have been celebrating for fifty days since Pascha. Thisis,of course, theday of Pentecost,whentheHoly Spirit came down upon the Apostles assembled in Jerusalem. Although the Gospel for the day begins with the proclamation that it is the great day of the feast, sadly in contemporary practice it seems that only the really committed members of the Church observe it with any great attention. It is not only one of theTwelve Great Feasts of the Church Year,but even one of the greatest of these. For this reason, the week after the Day of Pentecost is kept as a fast-free week, something which happens otherwise only with Pascha itself and Christmas. Saint the Syrian says of the mystery of Pentecost, “The power to bear mysteries, which the humble man has received, which makes him perfect in every virtue without toil, this is the very power which the blessed Apostles received in the form of fire. For its sake the Saviour commanded them not to leave Jerusalem until they should receive power from on high, that is to say, the Paraclete, which, being interpreted, is the Spirit of consolation. And this is the Spirit of divine visions. Con- cerning this it is said in divine Scripture: Mysteries are revealed to the humble (Ecclus.3:19). The humble are accounted worthy of receiving in themselves this Spirit of revelations, Who teaches mysteries.” And so,that we might participate in this mystery,we are given a sign that we must humble ourselves. For the fifty days since Pascha, as on all the Sundays of the year,we have not knelt down or prostrated during the Divine services in church, instead standing and proclaiming our joy at the Saviour’s triumph over the powers of darkness, sin and death. Now, on the evening of Pentecost, during Vespers, we have three long prayers, written by Saint Basil the Great, read in church, and during them we kneel down, thus humbling ourselves, and thus also asking that the blessings of the feast may be granted to us and our loved ones in the months ahead.

12 By kneeling, we confess that it was through sin that we fell to earth, and thus we humble ourselves. By then standing up again, as the litany which follows each prayer calls us to do, we proclaim that through the kindness of the One Who created us we have been called back onto our heavenly course. The three kneeling prayers are not read at the third hour of the day, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles (Acts 2:15), nor at the Liturgy on Pentecost, but at Vespers and after the entrance, and thus at a time which liturgically is already part of the following day, Monday. This the holy Church enjoins so as not to break her ancient tradition, that we do not kneel on Sundays. The First Kneeling Prayer calls to mind that our Saviour knelt when praying to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke22:41). We ask God to hear us, accept us, forgive our sins, purge our sinful thoughts, make us worthy to return to Him, to visit us, and deliver us from the evil one. In the Second Prayer, we ask God to teach us how to pray and what to pray for, to govern our life, and to make known the way we should walk. We ask for wisdom, the renewal of our spirit that we might resist worldly delights and desire the enjoyment of future heavenly treasures. The Third is largely for our departed loved ones. We ask God to grant rest to their souls, place their names in the Book of Life, and forgive their sins. This final prayer is also for us, as we anticipate the time when we will leave this earthly life and join our departed loved ones. The Holy Spirit gives us the strength to live as He would have us live. Our faith should make a difference in our lives, and it is for that grace that we humbly ask on this day, and this fact underlines why participation in these prayers is so important for each and every one of us. Because of the renewal granted by the gift of the Holy Spirit, Orthodox churches are decorated on this day with greenery and flowers. And there is a pious custom that those attending, men, women and children, should prepare posies of flowers at home and bring them and hold them through the festal services. Again in contemporary usage there is a sad distortion of this beautiful custom and often the bunches of flowers are provided, or even sold by (!), the church. But this destroys one of the fundamental

13 purposes of the custom, that we should prepare for our church participation, and that we should devote time, effort and love into that preparation. On the Sunday after the Day of Pentecost, we celebrate the harvest of that outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the festival ofAll the . The Synaxarion for the day explains: “On this Sunday, which follows immediately after Holy Pentecost, the Divine Fathers ordained that we should celebrate the memory of all the Saints who have existed throughout the world. Initially, the most ancient Fathers made this a Feast solely of the Martyrs who suffered throughout the world, as attested by the encomium of Saint John Chrysostom, in which he praises only the Martyrs.” Remember this was in the fourth century in the period immediately after the end of the persecution of the Church by the Roman Emperors. The Synaxarion continues: “The later Fathers, however, made this Feast more general, calling it the ‘Sunday of All Saints,’ including in it Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, Hierarchs, Ascetics, and all the Righteous together, of every age and race. The reason for the present feast is, as our Lord Jesus Christ said before His suffer- ing, And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me (John 12:32) - which was the whole purpose of His descending to earth, taking flesh, and becoming perfect Man, while Himself remaining perfect God, namely, to save human nature and exalt it to Heavenly blessedness. The nature, there- fore, that He assumed in His Divine Hypostasis He raised up to the Heavens through His Divine Ascension and made it to sit at the right hand of God the Father. But even so, the promise that He gave when He said, I will draw all men unto Me, wasnotyet fulfilled. For this reason, He sent the All-Holy Spirit to His Holy Apostles, so that they might go and preach the one Godhead to all the nations through His power, and gather the elect into the Kingdom of Heaven, which His good and faithful servants did with all zeal, with all their soul and heart, and unto the shedding of their blood. In this way, the world above, from which the apostate angels had fallen, was replenished. This is what we celebrate today, that is, the fruit of the Apostolic preaching. It is said that there is another reason for this common feast: that

14 many, very many, and almost innumerable persons have become sanctified in different places and regions, whom, on account of their multitude and anonymity, it was not possible for us to honour individually. Therefore, in order to honour them appro- priately and to gain their help and succour, our Mother, the Church, decreed that we should observe a common feast of all the saints in general, and that at the same time this feast should be celebrated also for those who would hereafter either suffer martyrdom or in general be sanctified.” The Synaxarion also adds a thought that we often fail to realise. We simply think that we go to church, attend to the hymns to the saints, put out their icons, venerate them, attending more as spectators than participants, and we have done our bit, but the Synaxarion adds: “The most important reason for this feast, as for any Saint that we celebrate, is the exhortation of ourselves, the living, to emulate those being celebrated. That is, we should compel ourselves to attain to the praiseworthy life of those blessed and renowned servants of our true God.” The very next day, as if readily taking up that task, we begin theApostles’ Fast,which leads up to the martyrdom of the holyChiefs of the Apostles Peter and Paul,celebrated on 29th June/12th July. This fast, unlike the other three fast periods in the year, varies in length because its start is determined by a moveable feast kept on the paschal cycle and it ends on a day fixed on the monthly cycle of celebrations. It can be as short as eight days, never less than that, or last as long as forty-two days. This year it is relatively short, lasting fourteen days. Among the saints we celebrate in June, we have two great saints from this land, Saint Boniface of Crediton (5th / 18th) and the holyProtomartyr of Britain Alban(22 nd June / 2nd July), and two that are especially dear to the confessing tradi- tionalist Orthodox of our generation, Saint John of Shang- hai the Wonderworker(19 th June / 2nd July) andSaint Glicherie the New Confessor of Romania (15th / 28th). Among the many others we also have:- Our Holy Father Nicephorus the Confessor, of Constantinople (2nd / 15th June) was the son of one Theodore, who was secretary to the Emperor Constantine

15 Copronymus: but when that tyrant declared himself a per- secutor of the Church, the faithful minister remembering that we are bound to obey God rather than man, maintained the honour due to holy icons with so much zeal, that he was stripped of his honours, scourged, tortured, and banished. The young Nicephorus was thus from his cradle animated to the practice of virtue by the example of his father. In his education, as his desires for improvement were great and the instructions he had very good, the progress he made was as considerable; till, by his maturity in age and in his studies, he made his appearance in the world. When Constantine and Irene were placed on the Imperial throne, and restored the Orthodox faith, our saint was quickly introduced to their notice, and by his gifts attained a large share in their favour. He was advanced to his father’s dignity, and, by the lustre of his sanctity, was the ornament of the court, and the support of the state. He distinguished himself by his zeal against the Iconoclasts, and was secretary to the Second Council of Nicæa. After the repose of Saint Tarasius, Patriarch of Constantinople, in A.D. 806, no one was found more worthy to succeed him than Nicephorus. To give an authentic testimony of his faith, during the time of his consecration he held in his hand a treatise which he had written, in defence of holy icons, and after the ceremony laid it up behind the altar, as a pledge that he would always maintain the tradition of the Church. As soon as he was seated in the patriarchal throne, he began to consider how a reformation might be wrought, and his precepts from the pulpit received a double force from the example he set to others in an humble comportment, and steady uniform practice of eminent piety. He applied himself with unwearied diligence to all the duties of the ministry; and, by his zealous labours and invincible meekness and patience, maintained virtue and stemmed the tide of iniquity. But these glorious successes rendered him not so conspicuous as the constancy with which he despised the frowns of tyrants, and suffered persecution for the sake of justice. The government having changed hands, the patrician Leo the Armenian became Emperor in A.D. 813, and being, an Iconoclast, endeavoured both by artifices and open violence, to

16 establish his heresy. He studied in the first place, by crafty suggestions, to gain over the holy patriarch to favour his design. But Nicephorus answered him: “We cannot change the ancient traditions: we respect holy icons as we do the Cross and the Book of the Gospels.” The saint showed, that far from dero- gating from the supreme honour of God, we honour Him when for His sake we pay a subordinate respect to his angels, saints, prophets, and ministers: also when we give a relative honour to inanimate things which belong to His service, as sacred vessels, churches,and icons. But the tyrant was fixed in his errors,which he at first endeavoured to propagate by stratagems. He there- fore privately encouraged soldiers to treat contemptuously an image of Christ which was on a great cross at the brazen gate of the city; and thence took occasion to order the icon to be taken off the cross, pretending he did it to prevent a second profana- tion. Saint Nicephorus saw the storm gathering, and spent most of his time in prayer with several holy bishops and abbots. Shortly after, the Emperor, having assembled together certain Iconoclast bishops in his palace, sent for the Patriarch and his fellow bishops. They obeyed the summons, but entreated his majesty to leave the government of the church to its pastors. Emilian, bishop of Cyzicus, one of their number, said: “If this be an ecclesiastical affair, let it be discussed in the Church, according to custom, not in the palace.” Euthymius, bishop of Sardis, said: “For these eight hundred years past, since the coming of Christ, there have been always depictions of Him, and He has been honoured in them. Who shall now have the boldness to abolish so ancient a tradition?” Saint Theodore the Studite spoke after the bishops, and said to the Emperor: “My Lord, do not disturb the order of the Church. God hath placed in it Apostles, prophets, pastors, and teachers. You He hath en- trusted with the care of the state; but leave the Church to its pastors.” The Emperor, enraged, drove them from his presence. Some time after, the Iconoclast bishops held a council in the Imperial palace, and summoned the Patriarch to appear before them. He returned this answer: “Who gave you this authority? was it the Pope,or any of the Patriarchs? Inmydioceseyouhave no jurisdiction.” He then read the canon which declares those

17 excommunicated who presume to exercise any act of jurisdiction in the diocese of another bishop. They, however, proceeded to pronounce against him a mock sentence of deposition; and the holy pastor, after several attempts made secretly to deprive him of life, was sent by the Emperor into banishment. the Stutterer,who in A.D.820 succeeded Leo on the Imperial throne, was an adherent of the same heresy and was also a persecutor of our saint, who died in his exile, on the 2nd June, A.D. 828, in the of Saint Theodore which he had built, in the four- teenth year of his banishment, being about seventy years old. By the order of the Orthodox Empress Saint Theodora, his sacred relics were brought to Constantinople with great pomp, in 846, on the 13th March, on which day we celebrate the feast of that translation. Our Venerable Mother Melania the Elder (8th / 21st) was of Spanish origin but grew up in Rome, for she was the daughter of Marcellinus, a man who had held consular rank. Now her husband was a man who performed a large number of duties under the Government, and she became a widow when she was twenty-two years old. This woman, having been held worthy to be seized upon by Divine love, revealed the matter to no man, for she would not have been permitted to perform her own will, because she lived in the time of the rule of Valens (A.D. 364–378); and having arranged that he should be named the procurator of her son’s affairs, she took everything which she possessed which could be easily moved and carried off, and placed it in a ship with tried servants, and sailed hastily to Alexandria, where she sold her property and changed it into gold. She then went into the mount of Nitria, and saw the fathers, that is to say, Pambo, and Arsenius, and Serapion the Great, and Paphnutius of Scete, and Isidore the Confessor and Bishop of Hermopolis, and Dioscurus; and she remained with them for half a year, and she went round about through all that desert, and saw all the holy men and was blessed by them. She clave to them and Orthodox fathers, and she ministered unto them of her own possessions. And when the servants whom she used to send unto them were stopped, this brave woman used to clothe herself in the garment of one of her servants, and carry

18 unto them late in the evening the food which they needed. When the governor of Palestine learned this, wishing to fill his purse, and hoping and expecting to make profit by her, he seized her and cast her into prison, being unaware that she was a woman of noble rank. Then she sent unto him a message, saying, “I am the daughter of such and such a man, and I am the handmaiden of Christ. Do not treat lightly my poor garb and estate, for I have the power to exalt myself if it pleaseth me to do so, and thou hast no authority either to hamper me in this fashion or to carry off any of my property. Now, in order that thou mayest not dare to do anything in ignorance, and so fall under condemnation, behold, I send thee this message; for it is meet that towards senseless and foolish men we should act in a masterful manner, and with hauteur, even as our noble rank enableth us to do, and should treat them as fools and men of no understanding.” And when the governor learned this thing he apologised to Melania, and begged her to forgive him, and gave orders that she should have the power to visit holy men without hindrance. Thereafter this holy woman built a house in Jerusalem, wherein she dwelt for twenty-seven years, and wherein she had a congregation of sisters, who were in number about fifty; and moreover, the honourable nobleman Rufinus, who came from Italy and belonged to the city of Aquileia, clave unto her her whole life long, and he led a life of glorious works, and finally he was held to be worthy of the office of elder. Now among men one would not quickly find one who was more understanding,and gracious, and pleasant than he. And Rufinus and Melania during the whole of that period of twenty-seven years received and relieved at their own expense all those people who came unto Jerusalem to pray, bishops, and dwellers in , and virgins, and they edified and benefited all those who thronged to them. They healed the schism of the Paulinists, who were in number about four hundred , who were all heretics who fought against the Holy Spirit; and having made entreaty unto them they turned them back unto union with the Church. And they loaded with their gifts all the clergy who were in the cities, and they provided with food all those who were strangers and needy. In this manner they ended their lives, and they never became a

19 stumbling-block unto any man. Now as concerning the possessions of which she stripped herself, and the money which she distributed, there was no man who was deprived of her alms and gifts whether he came from the east, or the west, or the north, or the south. She lived in exile for thirty-seven years, and her possessions sufficed for her to give alms to churches, and to religious houses, and to strangers, and to those who were in prison. And meanwhile her relatives and her kinsfolk were sending money unto her continually, and her own son, and those who had charge of her property also sent some of their own money unto her;and she never lacked anything,and during the whole of the time in which she was in exile she never con- sented to the acquisition of a span of land. And she was never drawn to long for her son, and the love for her only child neither parted her nor divided her from the love of Christ, but through her prayers her son attained unto perfect discipline and unto the ways and habits of excellence; and he became the son-in-law of honourable and noble people, and there also came upon him much power and divers positions of great honour; now he had two children, one boy and one girl. After a long period of time had elapsed, when she heard that the daughter of her son and her husband wished to be sanctified, and fearing lest they should fall into the hands of the heretics who would sow in them evil doctrines, and lest they should grow up in a life of dissolute luxury, that old woman, who was then sixty years old, embarked once again in a ship, and sailed from Caesarea, and after twenty days arrived in Rome. And whilst she was there she converted and made to become a Christian a man called Apronianus, who was of exceedingly high rank and was also a pagan; and she moreover persuaded him by means of most perfect admonition and exhortation to become sanctified, and also his wife, who was her own sister and whose name was Avita, to receive the garb of the followers of the ascetic life, and to become pros- perous in all patience in the labours of the life of abstinence and self-denial. She also strengthened by means of her excellent counsels the daughter of her son, whose name was Melania [St Melania the Younger - ed.], and her husband, whose name was Pinianus, and she also converted her daughter-in-law, whose name was Albina; and she persuaded all these to sell everything which they possessed and to give to the poor; and she brought them out from Rome, and led them into the quiet and peaceful

20 haven of the life and labours of asceticism. She contended with all the women of senatorial rank and with the women of high degree, and strove with them as with savage wild beasts, for the men tried to restrain her from making the women do even as she had done, that is to say, to prevent her from converting them and making them to forsake their worldly rank and position. And she spake unto them thus, “My children, four hundred years ago it was written that that time was the last time (John 2:18). Why do ye hold fast thus strenuously to the vain love of the world? Take ye heed lest the day of Antichrist overtake you, and keep not fast hold upon your own riches and the possessions of your fathers;” and having set free all these she brought them to the life of the ascetic and recluse. As for her grandson Publicola, who was a child, she converted him and brought him to Sicily; and she sold the whole of the residue of her possessions and taking the price came to Jerusalem, and, having distributed it in a wise fashion and arranged all her other affairs, after forty days she died at a good old age, being crowned with an abundance of gratification and happiness; and she left in Jerusalem a house for religious folk and money for the maintenance thereof. When all those who clave unto her had gone forth from Rome the great barbarian whirlwind, which had also been mentioned in ancient prophecies, came upon the city, and it did not leave behind it even the statues of brass which were in the marketplaces, for it destroyed by its barbaric insolence everything whatsoever; and it so thoroughly committed everything to destruction that the city of Rome, which had been crowned and adorned for twelve hundred years with edifices and buildings of beauty, became a waste place. Then those who without contention had been converted by means of her admonition, ascribed glory unto God Who, by means of a change in temporal affairs, had persuaded those who did not believe her; for whilst the houses of all the latter were plundered, the houses of those only who had been persuaded by her were delivered, and they became perfect burnt-offerings unto the Lord, through the care and solicitude of the blessed woman Melania. And it happened by chance that I [Palladius, the writer of the Lausiac History - ed.] and they once travelled

21 together from Aelia [i.e. Jerusalem] to Egypt, and we were accompanying on our journey the gentle virgin Sylvania, the sister of Rufinus, a man of consular rank, and Jovinianus was also with us; now he was at that time a deacon, but subsequently he became bishop in the Church of God of the city of Askelon, and he was a God-fearing man and was exceedingly well versed in doctrine. And it came to pass that a fierce and fiery heat overtook us on the way, and we came into Pelusium that we might rest therein; and Jovinianus, who is worthy of admira- tion, came by chance upon a trough for washing, and he began to wash his hands and his feet in a little water that by means of the coolness thereof he might refresh himself after the intensity of the blazing heat. Then having washed himself he threw on the ground a sheepskin whereon he might rest from the labour of the journey. And behold, the mighty one among women [Saint Melania] stood up over him like a wise mother, and in her simplicity rebuked him by her words, saying, “Seeing that thou art still in the heat of youth, how canst thou have confidence that by means of carefulness on thy part thou wilt be able to resist the natural heat of the constitution of the body which still burneth in thy members? And dost thou not perceive the injurious effects which will be produced in thee by this washing? Believe me, O my son, for I am this day a woman sixty years old, from the time when I first took upon myself this garb water hath nevertouchedmoreofmybodythanthetipsofthefingersofmy hands, and I have never washed my feet, or my face, or any one of my members. And although I have fallen into many sick- nesses, and have been urged by the physicians, I have never consented nor submitted myself to the habit of applying water to any part of my body; and I have never lain upon a bed, and I have never gone on a journey anywhere reclining on a cushioned litter.” This wise and blessed woman also loved learning, and she turned the nights into days in reading all the books of the famous Fathers, I mean to say the works of the blessed Gregory and of the holy man Stephen, and of Pierius and of Basil also, and of others, more than two hundred and fifty thousand sayings; and she did not read them in an ordinary fashion or just as she came to them, and she did not hurry over them in an

22 easy and pleasant manner, but with great labour and with understanding she used to read each book seven or eight times. And because of this she was enabled, being set free from lying doctrine, to fly by means of the gift of learning (or doctrine) to great opinions, and she made herself a spiritual bird, and in this wise was taken up to Christ her Lord in the year 410. Her strug- gles, almsgiving, devotion to doctrine, and care for the salvation of her loved ones and her family dependants should be an example to each and every one of us, and yet many of us neglect them, and particularly it sadly seems in our days the last of them. The life here was very slightly adapted from Palladius’s own account in the Lausiac History. qqq(rrr POINTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE “1) I HAVE READ that at the Holy Œcumenical Councils lots were cast when there was a making of important decisions? May a lay person today do the same thing if faced with a difficult spiritual decision? 2) If such is possible/allowed, I presume that such an act must surely be preceded by a fast and also by prayers peculiar to this. 3) If the answers to (1) and (2) are 'yes': Could you, would you, give me advice on: a) how long such a fast should be; b) would the fast be a 'xero'? c) what prayers would be suitable (as part, or in addition to those coming from one's own heart)? 4) If the above procedures are accepted ones, what then? How does one ‘cast lots’? Can it be done like a raffle by using bits of paper mixed up in a bowl? If so, it is obvious that one must allow for there to be a negative reply and this could be done by putting in one or maybe even several blank pieces of paper in addition to the real questions. 5) Is my making this enquiry at all a sign of wickedness?” - G.A.P., London, NW1. I WILL TRY to answer. First the casting lots one:- 1) Where on earth did you read this? Have you been reading "Bluff your Way through Holy Orthodoxy" again? The Orthodox be- lieve that the decisions of the Œcumenical Councils were made by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, through Spirit-enlightened Fathers.

23 However, in some instances lots have been used, not in elucidating the Faith, but in organisational matters. Saint Mathias was chosen by lot (Acts1:23-26), Saint Tikhon of Moscow was finally chosen as Patri- arch by lot; we sometimes draw lots to choose names for new cate- chumens and for new monastics, etc. May a lay person do the same? Well, this all depends on several things - what the question is, whether the alternatives are equally sinless or profitable. For instance, you cannot cast lots to decide whether or not to take a lover, because one thing would be sinful, the other not. But, by far the better course, is to ask your spiritual father. Safer, more sober, more Orthodox. 2) Well, depends on circumstances, but if you ask advice you will avoid all these religious shenanigans and show humility. 3) Have no idea, I am not a wizard. 4) Well, why not just ask instead. 5) No, but it is always good to ask. Of course, if you do resort to lots, you have to be strict with yourself and accept the answer unquestioningly, and not try to re- interpret it afterwards. qqq(rrr TWO NOTICES FIRST, we have now been able to restart theCatechumen Talks, held every Saturday evening at 5p.m.,before Vespers. These are not confined to people who are catechumens, but to any and all of you who wish, or need, to learn more about the Faith. The first two articles in this issue were prompted because with horror we noted that one of our people was advocating a kind of holy ignorance! There is no such thing-we should, as far as our capabilities allow be able and willing to speak up for our Faith, and to instruct those in our spiritual care (see example of Saint Melania above who was tireless in this work). SECONDLY, on a much more mundane level:we no longer have a US dollars bank account.We were unable to obtain a cheque book for the one we had with HSBC and so closed it. We can still receive cheques in American dollars, but this is only feasible if they are for considerable amounts, otherwise the bankers’ charges for negotiating them will make then useless. So, if you wish to send pay- ments or make donations & you live in the States,please resort to other means, even, if necessary, sending bank notes for small amounts.

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