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Home , John of Damascus

FROM THE FATHERS “WHEN THE EVILS of this world mount up, when the dread of this judgment (Luke 21:27) is shown even by the trem- bling powers (Mark13:25), lift up your heads(Luke 21:28), that is, be joyful in your hearts, because the world, with which you are not friends, is drawing to its end; the redemption you have been seeking is coming close. In Scripture the head is often used for the soul, because as the members are ruled by the head, so thoughts are governed by the soul. To life up your heads there- fore means to raise the heart to the joys of the heavenly father- land. They therefore, who love , are bidden to be glad, and to rejoice, because of the end of the world; since they will soon meet Him Whom they love, and that is passing away which they have never loved. Far be it then from any of the faithful that they should grieve over the stricken world, which we know will end in these catastrophes.” Gregory the Great, of Rome,+ 604 A.D.

“HE (Antichrist) will allow the to exist, permit her Divine services, promise to build magnificent churches… on condition that all recognize him as‘Supreme Being’and worship him. Antichrist will have a personal hatred for Christ; he will see Him as a rival and look upon Him as a personal enemy. He will live by this hatred and rejoice in men’s apostasy from Christ. Under Antichrist, there will be an immense falling away from the Faith. Many bishops will change in faith, and in justification will point to the brilliant situation of the Church. The search for compromise will be the characteristic disposition of men. Straightforwardness of confession will disappear. Men

1 w illc l e verlyju s t if yt h e irf all , and ‘graciou s ’ e vilw ills u p p o rts u c h ag e ne rald isp o s it ion.The rew illb et h eh abito fap o s t asyf rom t rut h andt h e s w e e t ne s s o f c o mp romise ands ininme n.” S a i n tJoh nofSh a ng h a i ,t h eW on derw or k er , +1966A.D...... THEC HUR C H OFC HRIST INTHETIME OFTHE A N TICHRIST. A ccor d ing toThe Teaching s o f the H o ly S criptur esand the H o lyF athers . By Hi eromon k Ig n aty

… Andu p o n t his r o ckI w i l l bui l d m y chur ch,andt he gateso f hell s hall not p r evai l agai nst i t ( M at t . 16:18) . “ True ist h e w o rd, firmist h e p romise . The C h u rch isinsu rmou nt- abl e , e venifh e l lit s e l fw asmovedandt h erul e ro fd arkne s s s u mmone d t u rmoil” ( S t At h anasiu s ) . The Antich rist w ill ap p e arimme d iat e l y b e f o ret h e s e c o ndc o ming o fC h rist ,asat t e s t e dt ob yt h eHol yS c rip t u re s( D an. c h s . 7 ,11,12;Re v. c h s . 12,13,17 ,20; M t . c h . 24; M k c h . 13; Lukec h s . 17 , 21; 2 The s s . c h . 2), andb yt h eHol yF at h e rso ft h eC h u rch .S aintJoh no fD amasc u ss ay s : “ Its h o u l db eknow nt h att h eAntich ristmu s tc o meb e f o ret h ee ndo f t h ew o rld .” Whatme answ illt h ise ne myo fG o du s et oe s t abl ishh isau t h o rit y o ver all kindre d s , andt o ng u e s , andnat ions( Re v. 13:7) ? Will h e b e abl e t o re alizeh isw icked rul e amongp e o p l e ando verco meC h rist ’s Hol yC h u rch ?Howw illt h eb at t l eb e t w e e nt h eAntich ristandt h e HolyChu rchbef ou g ht ?

2 Through the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers of the Church, we know, first of all, what battle plan the Antichrist intends to use against the Holy Church. His intention is to root out from among people faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the God-Man and Saviour, and to replace Christ with himself as the object of worship. He will try to overthrow Christ’s teachings and , and will openly promote himself as the only true Christ and God. To realize this end he will use not only deceit and false wonders, but will also fiercely persecute those who resist his reign. But even though he will establish his reign over many, he still will not overcome the Church of Christ. The Saviour Himself says that the Jews will recognize the Anti- christ as their Messiah: “I am come in My Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive” (John 5:43). So we see that there cannot be faith in two Christs (2 Cor. 6:4,15). Therefore, those who have accepted the true Christ must shun the false one; and those who have accepted the false one must renounce the true Christ-the Messiah. From this, it is clear that the Antichrist must first openly renounce the true Christ in order that he himself be accepted as the Messiah. Thus, Saint of Lyons calls the Antichrist the apostate from Christ, who demands that he be raised up and be adored as God. The Apostle John writes:Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son (1Jn2:22). Therefore, according to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, the most substantial and evident sign of the Antichrist will be his rejection of the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. In his first epistle, the Evangelist John plainly witnesses that the Antichrist will not secretly reject the Lord Jesus Christ who came in the flesh, but quite openly: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is the spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world (1 John 4:3). The words “confesseth not” not only make manifest the hidden denial of faith in the divinity of Christ, but also show the open confirmation of his denial before others. These words are used by the Saviour with the same idea when He says: Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God (Luke 12:8; Matt. 10:32; Mark 8:38). Generally, in the language of the Holy Scriptures, the word

3 “confess” is used in terms of an open, vocal confirmation of a certain truth and is distinct from internal, hidden faith (compare Rom.10:10; Tit. 1:16; 1 Jn. 1:9; 2 Jn. 1:7; Rom. 10:9). The Apostle John uses the term “confess not” to mean the same as an open rejection of the Divinity of Christ. Here he points out an obvious indication through which believers are able to recognize the Antichrist. Try the spirits, he says, hereby know ye the Spirit of God… every spirit that con- fesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. He foresaw that the Antichrist will openly reject the Father and the Son. He uses this warning precisely so Christians would not fall into the nets of the Antichrist when he appears. Like Saint John, the Apostle Paul foretold that the last enemy of Christ will openly rise up against the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church. The hostile actions of all the heretics, which already began to appear in his time and continued to appear after his departure to the Lord (Acts 20:29), he calls “the mystery of iniquity,” (2 Thess. 2:7) because in a secretive manner they tried and are trying to bring harm to the Church of Christ. Saint Paul calls the Antichrist the revelation of this mystery of iniquity, which follows after the final apostasy from faith. For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition….whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power…. (2Thess.2:3,9). Thus, did the ancient ecumenical Church teach by the mouths of Her renowned Fathers and Teachers. Saint Irenaeus writes that the Antichrist will show himself to be impious, unrighteous, and iniqui- tous as an apostate. Saint Hilary testifies that through the Arians, the devil is trying to convince people that Christ is not the Only-Begotten Son of God, but is adopted as a son by grace. Through the Antichrist, however, he [the devil] will try to convince people that Christ is not the Son of God even by adoption, thus completely defaming the name of the true Christ. Blessed Augustine says that the Antichrist will hinder the baptism of infants, even though there will be pious parents who will decide to endure all tortures rather than to leave their children unbaptised. Saint foretold that the enemy of Christ will win over the trust of the Jews through rejecting the sacred ordinances of Christ, while according to Saint Ephraim the Syrian,“the beast will lay his mark, i.e. an evil inscription, … on the right hand, so that it will be impossible for a man to make the sign of the Cross, and on the forehead, so as not to allow man to keep the holy name of the Saviour

4 in his mind. The serpent will inscribe his mark instead of the Cross of the Saviour. In order to do this, undoubtedly he will use a method so that the name of the Lord and Saviour will not even be allowed to be said during this time.” (See also “On Christ and the Antichrist” by Saint , and the Commentary on Revelation by Saint Andrew of Caesarea). In addition to openly rejecting the Divinity of the Saviour, His relation to God the Father, and His teachings, the Antichrist will like- wise openly appropriate for himself divine dignity and will spread a new godless teaching, which will oppose the teachings of Christ. The Lord clearly refers to this –another shall come in My name (John 5:43), i.e., not in the name of God the Father, as came our Saviour, and not even in the name of Christ, but he shall come in his own name and will propagate a new teaching, not recognizing anyone’s authority above his own. “Seest thou,” explains Saint , “that He everywhere declareth that He hath been‘sent,’that judgment hath been committed to Him by the Father, that He can do nothing of Himself, in order that He may cut off all excuse for their [the Jews] unfairness? But who is it that He here saith shall come ‘in his own name’? He alludeth here to the Antichrist, and putteth an incontro- vertible proof of the unfairness. For if as loving God ye persecute Me, much more ought this to have taken place in the case of the Antichrist. For he will neither say that he is sent by the Father, not that he cometh according to His will, but in everything contrariwise, seizing like a tyrant what belongeth not to him, and asserting that he is the very God over all. As Saint Paul saith,exalting himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, showing himself that he is God (2 Thess.2:4). This is to ‘come in his own name.’” The holy Apostle Paul offers an even more detailed teaching of how the Antichrist will pronounce himself God and openly demand of people reverence as such. And that man of sin, he says,will be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as god sitteth in the temple of God showing himself that he is God (2 Thess. 2:3,4). By these words, Saint Paul foretells that the Antichrist will preside over those Christians which used to belong to the True Church of Christ, but later fell away from Her, and recognize as their head the enemy of Christ and worship him. “In the temple of God he shall sit,” says Saint Irenaeus, “deceiving only those who worship him, as though he were Christ.”

5 Overseers [i.e. Bishops], ordained by the Holy Spirit preside in the Church of God (Acts 20:28), are entrusted with the guidance of Christians by the Saviour Himself, but nevertheless hold themselves as servants of the only Overseer, that is, Christ. In order to show that this will not be the way in which the Antichrist will preside over the Church, and that he will not hold the Lord Jesus Christ as his guide, the holy Apostle Paul says that he will seize the lordship over the Church as a usurper of divine greatness. For having said that he will raise himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, immediately he adds: showing himself that he is God. This shows that he will openly assimilate to himself divine reverence, that he will not only show himself like God, but that he is God, presenting himself as God. Adhering to Holy Scripture, the Holy Fathers teach the following:- Saint Irenaeus of Lyons: “The adversary will sit in the temple of , in order to show himself as Christ, he will demand that those who are captivated by him should worship him as Christ. The Antichrist will demand worship as if he were God.” St Hippolytus of Rome:“Having filled himself with pride,the Anti- christ will begin to set himself up and glorify himself as God, belching forth slanderagainst Christ.” He will do this so openly that he will com- mand that all those who do not want to serve him as God be killed. SaintAmbrose of Milan:“A false prophet will prophesy concerning the Antichrist saying he is Christ, and he himself will try to convince everyone that he is Christ.” Saint Ephraim the Syrian: “Many will believe the Antichrist and will glorify him as God,” and “many will worship the torturer with trembling crying out: ‘Thou are our saviour!’” Blessed of Cyrus: “The Antichrist will not only pro- nounce himself highest of the false , but will sit in the Temple of God, as if he were God….the Jews, who did not want to believe in the Lord, as though He were an adversary to God, will believe in the Antichrist who will pronounce himself to be the god of all.” Saint John of asserts: “The Jews, who did not accept the Lord Jesus Christ as the true Son of God and God, will receive a deceiver who will call himself God.” Thus, the entire ancient Christian Church believed that the ultimate enemy of Christ, who will renounce the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, will openly call himself Christ and God.

6 What means will the Antichrist use among people in order to weaken their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel? According to Holy Scripture and the Holy Fathers, in order to carry out his devilish scheme, the enemy will, on the one hand, use constant and vicious persecutions by which he will try to extract Her weaker members from the midst of the Holy Church; on the other hand, he will try to use false wonders and signs to seduce, if possible, eventheelect. Our Saviour foretold that these very same calamities would befall believers before the end of the world. Thus, the Holy Apostles asked Him: “What will be the sign of Thy coming at the end of the world?” The Lord answered by explaining that the first sign will be the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and then added this description of the end: the appearance of false prophets, wars among nations, the increase of lawlessness, and a complete chilling of mutual love, so that many will grow to hate one another. The Saviour drew exceptionally vivid images of various calamities as signs of the end. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened (Matt. 24:21,22). At that time, salvation will be gained through hope in God and long-suffering patience. Our Lord warns His followers, when that time comes, not to believe the false prophets or the Antichrist (Matt. 24:23-26). We find in the book of the Prophet (11:44; and elsewhere), and especially in the (11:7; 13:7; etc.), references to the great calamities that will afflict the Holy Church in the last times. The Holy Fathers are in agreement with the teaching of the Holy Scriptures when they say that the Church will endure cruel and constant persecution from the Antichrist from which the only deliver- ancewillbethesecondcomingoftheSonofGod. Saint says that the “man of apostasy” will not only utter blasphemy against the Most High, but will take up arms against Christians by means of persecutions. Saint Irenaeus of Lyons calls the time of the Antichrist a time of cruelty and heavy persecution of the Church, which will be worse than any other time in history.

7 Saint Hippolytus writes that the Antichrist, arrogant with pride, will send out orders among all nations to punish with death all Christians who refuse to serve and worship him as God. Having mentioned the Antichrist’s pretence earlier, Saint continues:“He shall be known by his crimes of inhumanity and lawlessness, so as to outdo all unrighteous and ungodly men who have gone before him; displaying against all men, but especially against us Christians, a spirit murderous and most cruel, merciless and crafty” (Catechetical Lecture 15, ch. 12). Saint Ephraim the Syrian, in particular, vividly expresses the last persecution of Christians by the Antichrist, saying, that he will deal with those who do not believe in him “in a severe, cruel, hateful, fierce, murderous manner,” that “in that time, infants will die on their mother’s lap, and the mothers will die over their children, fathers will die with their wives and children in the marketplace, and there will be nobody there who will bury them.” “For the Antichrist will come for the destruction of men, and to injure them,” says Saint John Chrysostom. “For what will he not then work? He will change and confound all things, both by his command- ments and by the fear of him. He will be terrible in every way: by his power and by his unlawful commandments.’’ Blessed Augustine says that in the times of the Antichrist, the devil will be freed. So much more (uncontrollable) will be the violence of the freed devil than when he was bound, that the persecution of that time will surpass all previous persecutions in its cruelty. Thus, he will use all the power he has to persecute the Church. We find similar thoughts expressed in the works of Saint Andrew of Caesarea and Saint John of Damascus. In addition to cruel per- secutions, the Antichrist will use deceit to seduce Christians. False wonders and signs will he work as the means to this, according to the Holy Scriptures. The Lord spoke further about these wonders worked by the servants of the Antichrist. He said that they would seem to be true miracles if judged from their external appearance and by the effect they will have on people. The false christ and false prophets shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch, that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect (Matt.24:24). The extraordinary character of the signs, according to the words of the Saviour, will be such that

8 the very elect will be open to the danger of deceit. “Then the deceit will be great because of the delusive signs,” notes Saint John Chrysostom. Saint Paul has a specific idea concerning the wonders that the Antichrist will work. He says, He will come after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceit of unrighteousness in them that perish (2Thess.2:9,10). These words show the essential differences between the false miracles of the Antichrist and the true miracles of Christ. First, the Apostle said that the Antichrist will wield great power and will work wonders, but he warns Christians not to think that the enemy of God is able to work true miracles. Therefore, the Apostle calls the miracles of the Anti- christ false. And, indeed, his wonders will be false. “Just as the Son of God, having been incarnate and having become man,” says St of Milan, “proved His Divinity by signs and wonders, so will Satan open himself to man in order to show himself as God by means of false wonders.” They are false by their origin, for they will belch forth from the father of lies through whom will come the Antichrist. Thus, the Fathers of the Church taught, “Satan will use the Antichrist as a tool, acting himself through him.” The miracles will be false in their es- sence because they will not surmount the natural of nature, as do true miracles, worked in harmony with the will of God, which defeat the laws of nature. Being false in all respects, they will yet appear as true. Thus, Apostle Paul says that they will manifest great power. In addition, these words of the Apostle clearly show the difference between false wonders and deceit or treachery, which the Antichrist will use as a stumbling block for the weak in faith. Saying that the enemy of God will come with every power and sign, he adds, and with all deceit of unrighteousness in them that perish (2 Thess. 2:10). “One of the servants of the Antichrist,” says Saint John Chryso- stom,“having been before the Apostles, seduced many. ‘He will come,’ says the Saviour, ‘and will seduce many’; but others who are to appear before the second coming of the Saviour will be even more deceitful than the first: ‘they will work signs and wonders in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect.’ He refers not only to the Antichrist, but to those who will serve him.” Expounding the words of Christ,wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth: behold, he is in the secret

9 chambers; believe it not (Matt.24:26), Saint John Chrysostom writes: “See how Christ warns us. Do not go forth, He says, into the desert… He did not say: go aside and believe not; but go not forth and do not go aside. For in those days, the temptation will be great because of deceitful signs.” Saint Cyril of Jerusalem teaches that the adversary of Christ will be “a sorcerer who is very experienced in the art of deceit, sorcery and enchantment.” He will conjure up “false wonders in order to tempt people so that they will think they see a resurrected man, when in reality he was not resurrected. They will see the lame who are walking, they will see people who were blind before suddenly start to see, when in fact, they were never healed.” Having painstakingly taken into account the miracles of the Anti- christ, St Ephraim the Syrian says: “Mountains and islands will arise out of the ocean in plain sight for all to see, but all this will be deceit and an illusion and not real. In addition,he will seduce the world and will deceive all eyes. Many will believe and will glorify him.” All of the references of Holy Scripture that we have cited, as well as of the Holy Fathers, show that the Antichrist will use cruelty and force, as well as trickery and false miracles, as means for rooting out faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. “The persecution of the Church,” observed Blessed Augustine, “when Christians were forced to bring sacrifices to idols by threat of exile, torture and death, was carried out by force. The second per- secution the Church endures is from false teachers and false brethren, and is carried out by means of craftiness and deceit. The third persecution will be from the Antichrist, and will be the most danger- ous of all because it will be accompanied by force, craftiness and deceit. His power will be used for enforcing his will, and his miracles will be used for deceit.” The end result of the Antichrist’s insurrection against the Church will be that he will attract to his side those who received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved (2Thess.2:10). The Holy Church will not only not waver under the persecution of the Antichrist, but will be even more glorified in the face of her faithful followers who will suffer for Christ. According to the Holy Scriptures, the Antichrist will reign not only over the minds and hearts of those who reject Christ, but will create an entire community with them, which will recognize him as their head and will follow his ordinances.

10 Scripture frequently refers to the Antichrist as contending and as a conqueror who will wage war with many kings and will defeat them, utter blasphemous words against God, and oppress the of the Lord (Dan. 7:23-25). “All the ancient writers of the Church teach, that during the end of the world, there will be ten kings… and then there will arise an eleventh lesser king (i.e. the Antichrist), who will defeat three of the ten… and with the defeat of the three, the other seven will submit to his authority.” In the Holy Scriptures, the kingdom of the Antichrist is described as a society in opposition, even in its external organization, to the Church of God. We find in the book of Revelation, that Satan will be permitted to act freely, then he will gather people from all nations under himself and with them he will surround the camp of the saints and the beloved city, (Rev. 20:7-9). In reference to this, Saint Augus- tine comments, “this will be the last persecution, which will precede the last judgement; throughout the whole world the Holy Church will be exposed to all the servants of the devil.” Saint Irenaeus of Lyons says that the Antichrist will seduce a king- dom and will gather the unbelieving Jews under himself. “Christ is King, likewise, the Antichrist is a king. The Lord gathered together His sheep that went astray, and the Antichrist in like manner will gather his strayed people.” Saint Ephraim the Syrian testifies: “Many classes and nations will develop similar thoughts, and with great happiness will pronounce the Antichrist as king.” Likewise, Holy Scripture clearly indicates that all members of Antichrist’s kingdom will have a special mark, which will distinguish them from Christians. The Antichrist causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name(Rev. 13:16-17). How will people reach such blindness that they will begin to consider a human being like themselves as God? Will mankind have lost its right reason? This deception will occur at a time when the faith of man in the True God will have run dry, and thus God will give them overto a re- probate mind, to do those things which are not convenient(Rom.

11 1:28). He will give them up because of their countless offenses, their opposition to Truth, and the extreme corruption of their hearts. Thus, they will be stricken with blindness, and will become unable to differentiate lies from truth, and will change the truth of God into lies, and will worship and serve creation instead of the Creator (Rom. 1:25). Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send themstrong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Thess. 2:10-12). These people will forget the Creator and will serve creation. At that time, when no visible creation will be in a condition to compare with the Antichrist, in power and might, nor wield such influence as he does by means of those things that blind and awe man, then they will worship and serve this unusual being. Even though the Antichrist will spread his influence to every nation on earth, the Holy Church of Christ will exist on earth until the very time of the second glorious coming of the Lord. The Lord gave this promise to His Apostles concerning the Church:I will build my Church,and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matt.16:18). Here the word “Church” should be understood as those faithful to Christ and following His teaching. With the words “gates of hell,” the Saviour points out every type of persecutor of the Church, for exam- ple, temptations, , and all forces used by the devil, including the Antichrist. Saint Athanasius the Great takes note of the promise of the Lord regarding the perseverance of the Church saying, “The word is sure, the promise holds strong: the Church is invincible, even if hell itself were raised and the rulers of darkness brought forth turmoil.” Saint John of Damascus, teaches: “Even though the ‘gates of hell’ will rise up against the Church, i.e.,the mouths of heretics, the tools of the demons, they will not conquer the Church; even though they will arm themselves, they will not defeat Her.” The words ‘will not conquer’ mean, according to St John Chrysos- tom, that the Church will not be destroyed by any means. “That which the Lord has created, no man can destroy.” Because the Saviour gave His promise about the unquestionable and uncompromising invincibility of the Church, we should firmly believe that no efforts of the enemies will ever destroy Her. No

12 persecutions of the Antichrist will destroy that which the Lord Himself has established. “The enemies of the Church,” says [Saint] Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, in one of his sermons, “will rise up against the Church, but they will not crush Her. For how long? Undoubtedly, until the end of time. For, if they were able to overcome Her at some time in the future, then the Lord, the Seer of all time, would not have said so assuredly that they would never overcome.” Before His Ascension, the Lord gave a similar comforting promise to His disciples. With the following words, He sent them forth for the preaching of the Gospel, strengthening their courage and patience so that they might endure the forthcoming struggles:I am with you always, even unto the end of the world (Matt.28:20). “Doyounotsee the power of Christ? Do you not see the condescension with which He says this? He will not only be with them, He says, but He will be with all people who believe in Him. For the Apostles were not able to live until the end of time, but He, to all the believers, as if one body, says: I am with you, I tear down all barriers.” In another place, the Lord says,And I will pray to the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever (John 14:16). Saint John Chrysostom asks: “What does it mean when He says, that He may abide with you unto the ages? And he answers: It means the same as when Jesus Christ says about Himself: I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” It follows from this promise that the Holy Spirit will always abide in the Church with His grace, regardless of circumstances, never leaving Her without His protection and safekeeping. Along with stating that the Holy Church will endure until the end of time, Holy Scripture also tells us that there will remain an elect of God in the last difficult times. Speaking about His second coming, the Saviour said: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matt. 24:30-31). These words clearly indicate that prior to the second coming, there will still be people who are pleasing to the Lord God, not only in one obscure place, but in various locations.

13 That Christian divine worship and the serving of the Holy Mys- teries will not be terminated during the time of the Antichrist, is confirmed by Saint Paul. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup (i.e., the Body and ),ye do show the Lord’s death till He come(1 Cor. 11:26). “Here we find an important truth,” says Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, “in the small word ‘till.’ In order to better understand this, I direct the speech of the Apostle to the question: will Christians eat the mystical Bread and drink of the Chalice of the Lord? We find the answer in the words of the Apostle: ‘till He come,’ i.e.the mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ will take place without interruption in the true Church of Christ till the very second coming of Christ, or till the end of time, which has the same meaning. Since this cannot be without the grace of the priesthood, and the grace of the priesthood cannot exist without the grace of an hierarchy, then clearly the grace of the office of bishop, according to the foresight of the Apostle, will be in the Church in all times and uninterrupted channels will flow even up to the brink of the approach of the kingdom of glory.” The ancient Fathers of the Church express the same opinion. Saint John Chrysostom says: “Showing that the Holy Eucharist will be till the end of the world, the Apostle Paul said: ‘till He come.’” St John of Damascus and St Ephraim the Syrian concur with this view. Faith in the insurmountability of the Church was generally accep- ted in the ancient Christian Church. teaches: “Christian society will never be depleted and will particularly become strong when in its appearance it will seem to wane.” Saint Ambrose of Milan adds: “The Kingdom of the Church will abide unto the ages,” since God founded the Church and has fore- ordained to extend its existence unto the ages. Saint John Chrysostom writes, “Do not leave the Church, for there is nothing mightier than She; She will never grow old and will always bloom; thus the Scriptures, showing Her durability and stability, call Her a mountain.” This holy Father adds in his Commentary on the Gospel of St Matthew that in the times of the Antichrist, the Church will become filled with Jews who have converted to Christ. Saint John of Damascus teaches: “We firmly believe that the Church will never fall,will never waiver and will not bedestroyed. For this is what Christ taught, by Whom the heavens were established and

14 the earth was founded, and stands firmly as the Holy Spirit says” (Ps. 32:6). The Antichrist will lure to himself “those who have a weak and feeble mind, will seduce and will tear them away from the living God.” Saint Hippolytus confirms that even though the Church will be exposed to cruel persecution, it will not cease to exist. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, supporting his homily on the Prophet Daniel (12:1-3), teaches: “God will allow persecution from the Anti- christ not because He cannot stop it, but because He desires, as usual, His strugglers to be crowned,” and for this reason, “the reverent ones among the living will be taken up into the clouds, receiving, as a reward of honour, that which is higher than any man.” Saint Ephraim says: “Many people will be found pleasing to God, for whom it will be possible, in the mountains and in desert places, to save themselves by much prayer… for God, seeing their many tears and sincere faith, will have mercy on them, as a tender Father, and will keep them.” Blessed Theodoret writes: “The Antichrist will not rule over all, but only over those who are worthy of perdition, who, even if he did not come, still would have deprived themselves of salvation.” Saint Andrew of Caesarea teaches that the Antichrist will defeat only thosewhose names are not written in the book of life. Many of the faithful, because they have loved Christ with their whole heart, will defeat the enemy of Christ. Thus, from the teachings of the Holy Scriptures and writings of the holy Fathers, we see that the Holy Church, with all its sacraments, will remain steadfast till the end of the world......

“HOW TERRIBLE is the love of the world! It enters a person gradually and imperceptibly; but once it gets in, it becomes his cruel and absolute lord. Gradually men developed a disposition and acquired a state of soul capable of deicide; gradually they will develop a disposition and acquire a temper and character of welcoming Antichrist.” Saint Ignatius of the Caucasus, + 1867 A.D.

15 Howtoliveinaccord 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. The Saviour’s Sermon on the Mount Continuation Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. The followers of Christ, according to the interpretation of Saint Isidore of Pelusium, abide “in peace with one another, and are not instigators of disturbances, but rather are those who even bring an end to the interior warfare, because they subject the body to the soul;” they also establish peace among those others, who live in discord within themselves and with each other. Behaving with everyone in a friendly manner and not giving cause for disagreement, they calm down those at odds with each other, they quiet dis- sensions and contentions. And although all the faithful, through the grace of redemption, are called children of God (John 1:12, Rom. 8:16, Gal. 4:5-6), yet this distinction, this advance in bles- sedness, relates most appropriately to the peacemakers, who have become like unto the Son of God, Who came into the world to reconcile everyone with the Father, Who Himself , through the blood of His Cross, reconciled earth and heaven (Col.1:20). Blessed are they which are persecuted for right- eousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. With these words the Lord reveals the future judgment of His followers. He proclaims to them not glory or riches, not gain and satisfaction, but contrary to the dreamy expectations that the Jews expected in the glorious kingdom of the Messiah,

16 poverty, dishonour, persecution and rejection. They would be hunted down for righteousness sake, that is, as Saint John Chrysostom explains, for their virtue and piety, and because they remined constant to what was commanded them and firm in virtue, courage and patience amidst the temptations and the dangers menacing the faith. On account of the loss of worldly advantage and peace, they would be rewarded in the heavenly kingdom with an incorruptible, undefiled and unfading inheri- tance (1Peter1:4). Finally, the Lord, addressing His talk to the Apostles, indi- cates that the teachers themselves would suffer particular abuse:Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake…and (from Luke 6:22) cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingglad: forgreatisyour rewardinheaven: forsoperse- cuted they the prophets which were before you(Matt. 5:12). Not everyone who is reviled will achieve this exalted degree of beatitude, but “only the one who suffers abuse for Christ and falsely” says the Blessed Theophylact. This evil report, borne for Christ in humility of heart, wins for the struggler a great reward in the heavens. “There is a twofold reward,” Nil Sorsky pronounces, “the one indeed crowns a man, but there is another one for slander.” In contrast to these beatitudes, which belong to the true dis- ciples of the Gospels, the Lord pronounces woe to those haughty and vainglorious people, who set riches and emotional satis- faction as their desires’ exclusive aims, and as the focus of their every activity. Furthermore, in the sermon on the mount Jesus Christ explains the relationship of His New Testament teaching to that of the Old Testament. “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time,” said the Lord, “thou shalt not kill;” thou shalt not deprive a man of life. “But I say unto you, be not angry with thy brother without a cause;” be fearful of offending him even with thy speech, and depriving him of his worthiness as a person by thy words. “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit” fornication, do not misuse the body which

17 has been set aside as the dwelling place of the Spirit of God (see 1 Cor.6:19), making it a tool in the service of the baser instincts of the flesh. But I say unto you: beware even of dirty thoughts; turn your eyes away from anything which might defile the purity of your thoughts. “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time,” thou “shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths,”trying not to be shown as infringers of them. But I say unto you: Watch over your every word that you might be sanctified, so that you will always only speak the truth whether with or without an oath. If it is Yes, then say Yes; and if it is No, say No! “Ye have heardthatitwassaid,Aneyeforaneye,andatoothforatooth.” This means, if you avenge your neighbour, do not avenge him with added interest, do not give, as said Lamech, “seventy and seven-fold” (Gen.4:23), but for a wound give a wound, for a sore onlyasore.ButIsayuntoyou:Ingeneraldonotpaybackwrong for wrong. Vengeance for wrongs brings evil; throw oil on the fire and it will flare up, a flame of enmity. Meekness and guileless-ness disarm hatred; humility disarms rage; they drive base instincts into disarray. But this does not apply in those circumstances when we are obliged to protect other people. If danger threatens sacred things or defenceless people, the Christian may, and is even obliged to, defend them; if necessary with a strong weapon. The commandment that one should not withstand wrong, applies only to one’s personal enemies. Saint Philaret, the Metropolitan of Moscow, said that one must forgive one’s personal enemies; the enemies of the Church one must denounce, and one must fight against the enemies of one’s homeland. For this reason, as history shows us, the Church has blessed the protection of one’s homeland with weaponry. So it was too that that great saint of Russia, the venerable Sergius of Radonezh the Wonderworker, blessed the right-believing Prince Dmitri Donskoy and his war- riors in their battle with the Tartars, and sent them two of the monks from his brotherhood.The saint himself prayed fervently for the gift of victory. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.” But I say unto you: Love all people and hate only their evil deeds; pursue evil, destroy falsehood, denounce, as if it were the devil incarnate, violence

18 19 Margaret Woodrow in time for the Vespers service here. Our own had been celebrated byFr Borislav Popov and Hieromonk Sabbas, and Fr Nicolae Capitanu served at the newly opened church atNaphill, High Wycombe. On the following day,the Synaxis of the All-holy Mother of God, His Grace celebrated the here, assisted by all three of our serving priests, Frs Borislav, Nicolae and Sabbas. On the third day, thefeast of , he celebrated at Naphill, and there he, Fr Nicolae and Fr Sabbas were joined by Archimandrite Christodoulos, who was visiting from Greece. The service was chanted in Romanian, Greek and English, with the Gospel read in all three languages. On the Friday, His Grace returned to Greece, and Fr Chris- todoulos and Fr Sabbas concelebrated here for the feast of the Twenty Thousand Martyrs of Nicomedia, the thirteenth anniversary, as it happened, of Bishop Ambrose being our arch- pastor. Pavlos Deskos helped by chanting much of the choir parts in Greek,as Fr Christodoulos knew no English,and Pavlos’s wife,Athina,providedabeautiful breakfast afterwards. On the Sunday of the Lord’s Kinsmen,Bishop Sofronie of Suceavacelebrated the Divine Liturgy at Naphill, assisted by Fr Christodoulos and Fr Nicolae. Here Fr Sabbas celebrated the Divine Liturgy of St James. OnChristmas Day itself we had our Parish Breakfast at the Lord Pirbright Hall,and as usual as well as breaking the fast with the plentiful foods provided by our parishioners, and organised byElena Holden, we had a “concert.” Four groups, one after another, sang Christmas carols in English, Greek, Romanian and Russian. The younger children sang those in English, and they were brilliantly organised this year by Galina Bezroukova and Nektaria Papanicolaou. They were ably compered by Leah Matthews.In addition to the choral parts, Andrea Turcuand Edward Kalnikov gave solo recitals on the keyboards,Teodora Sion on the flute; Cecelia Papa- nicolaou did a turn in ballet, Thomas Matthews sang a modern Christmas carol solo; andEvangelia Jewell recited a poem in Russian.

20 THEOPHANY THE VIGIL for Theophany was celebrated here by Archimandrite Daniel,and for the Liturgy of St Basil on the day of the feast, he concelebrated with Frs Borislav and Sabbas. After the service we made our way to Chertsey, for thePro- cession toJordan. Fortuitously,FrDaniel had mentioned this in his festal sermon, referring to it as a joyous event.This rather heartened us, as a modern tendency particularly among converts is to try and translate Russian terms, which in any case are often poor translations of Greek ones, too literally and we get a kind of cod-translation of the Russian: altar feast for patronal or dedication festival (we suppose one should be relieved that at least they do not have it asthrone feast!);temple (!) for church;writing rather than painting them, and evencross processions. It generally seems a poor sort of trans- lation which rather than providing a text which might have been written by a native speaker of that language, instead tries to bastardise that language by attempting to force it to adopt usages only current in the original language. However, happily our celebration was certainly notcross but joyous! Again through the generosity ofRobin and Mary Haigh of the Abbey Bridge Farm, we were welcomed to use the quay alongside their home. This year, because of the previous torrential rains, the river was high and running fast, and so they did request that the children in particular watch from the bridge, for safety’s sake. There the visiting townspeople gathered, who had brought their dogs to be blessed with the holy water - a custom which sprang up spontaneously among them some years ago. After theGreat Blessing of the Waters,Fr Daniel walked through the crowds blessing them and their pets. At the request of Robin and Mary, he also blessed the bridge, which had been renovated in the last twelve- months, and named it theSaint Edward Bridge. Then the Haighs invited us to refreshments they had prepared and set up, with the help of several young ladies in the town, in the medi- eval barn that stands on their property. When we started blessing the waters at Chertsey, there being no river in Brookwood, and Chertsey being one of England’s holy places,

21 about eight or ten of us would gather on the river bank for the ceremony. Now, although some of the elderly and those from afar are unable to follow us after the Liturgy, the numbers at the river are about a hundred, and so this yearNektaria Papa- nicolaou liaised with Mary Haigh and arranged for members of our congregation to bring foods too and there was a plentiful supply. We believe that with certainty our Procession to Jordan this year was indeed a joyous occasion and certainly not cross, and we owe an immense debt of gratitude to Robin and Mary Haigh for their part in this.

METROPOLITAN ’S VISIT ON his return to Canada from celebrating Theophany in Greece, His Eminence, Metropolitan Moses of Toronto made a twenty-hour stop-over in England. On Wednesday, 22nd January, he was met by members of our Brotherhood at Heathrow, and brought to Brookwood, where he joined us for Vespers, and the next morning for Matins. Unfortunately his visit was very brief, and after breakfast we had to take him back to Heathrow. However, he saw something of our Brotherhood and talked to us about situations within the Church. He and Fr Alexis had been in the same monastic community in the States in the mid-1970s, and this was the first time they had met again since then.

FR ANDREW’S VISIT AFTER making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Father Andrew Frick of theHoly Ascension (ROCA), Fairfax, Virginia, paid a short visit to our Brother- hood. He was met at Heathrow by members of the Brotherhood on Friday, 24th January, and on the Saturday concelebrated the Liturgy at Brookwood with our Fr Sabbas. After breakfast, we took him to Winchester, where we visited the Cathedral and the excellent museum that has been established in the south transept. We were particularly moved by the kindness and helpful-ness of the cathedral staff. We returned to Saint

22 Edward’s for Vespers, and on Sunday morning, Fathers Andrew, Borislav and Sabbas served together, and Fr Andrew gave the sermon. Fr Andrew left to fly back to America on the Monday morning, and on the following morning another priestly visitor arrived from the States (see March issue!).

CONVENT A.G.M. AFTER the St Stephen’s day Liturgy at Naphill, Bishop Ambrose, Fr Alexis and Fr Sabbas drove to theConvent in Willesden, where with Darren Harding, their accountant, we were provided with a festal lunch by the sisters and their helper,Tanya James. After the meal, theAnnual General Meeting of the Convent trustees was held under the chair- manship of Bishop Ambrose. At the end of the day, the Brotherhood fathers took His Grace back to his lodgings at the priest’s house to prepare for his journey back to Greece, and we returned to Brookwood after a very long day.

BAPTISM AT SAINT EDWARD’S ON Saturday, 29th December / 11th January, Ecaterina, the baby daughter ofDumitru and Nicoletta Ververis of Telford was baptised, Fr Nicolae Capitanu being the cele- brant. Ecaterina’s godparents areAlexandru and Tatiana Petrea, and she is named after the holy Catherine of Alexandria; feast day: 25th November/8th December.

ORTHODOX AID FUND IN 2019, according to the civil calendar, our Brotherhood’s “Orthodox Aid Fund” gave donations totalling £15,322.53 to various Church, humanitarian and environmental charities. None of this money was given to churches within our diocese, but was all given out. The previous year’s total was £14,745.87. We would like to thank all of our readers who have supported us in being able to achieve this. May our Saviour grant mercies unto you who have shown mercy, according to His promise.

23 CLOTHING FOR RUSSIA & UKRAINE OUR PARISHIONER, Elena Stanbridge who collects clothing to send to Russia and Ukraine, reports: “This year I have been lucky as the van always came regularly and nuns in Ukraine changed their post office address so their appointed member of the parish can pick up the parcels easier. This year (2019)47 large parcels were sent to Russia and Ukraine to help those in need. Thanks to all of you who contributed by donating clothes or helping with postage.” ...... PRACTICAL TIP BEFORE starts, every year the Church gives us four special Sunday commemorations and the three weeks in between as a period of preparation for the fast. This year most of this falls within February. Use this period of preparation! Very often people seem to sail though those twenty-two days thoughtlessly, and then the fast hits them. They are unprepared, and in any case, as they scarcely ever come to a service except on a Sunday, they hardly know what a lenten service is like. At best they simply change their diet! The fast is much more than that. Many people who do not believe in any religious principles at all keep a stricter vegan diet than is required of us in the fast. So what thank have we? Some may even come to confession during the fast, but all conscientious Orthodox Christians should never leave a six week period at any time of the year without coming to confession. So prepare to keep the fast. Reflect on the meanings of the four Sunday commemorations; follow the appointed scriptural readings; set aside some spiritual reading to be used daily in the fast; examine your life and how you are living; even do seemingly trivial things like making sure the fridge is clear of non-lenten foods before Clean Monday, and checking through your finances so that you can plan to give alms generously. A fast prepared-for will be of far greater spiritual benefit, than your just paying cursory observance to a custom.

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