Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women

Christ is Risen!

The first to know about the Resurrection of the Lord was “Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles” (Luke 24:10), a group of women who “On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb” (Luke 24:1).

They became, as St. John Chrysostom put it, “Apostles to the Apostles”, those who first announced the good news that Christ rose from the tomb, as He foretold. In the Gospel there are no insignificant details at all, and the fact that women were the first to learn about the Resurrection was not merely chance.

In apostolic times the testimony of women was not given merit. Even the Apostles themselves perceived the witness of the Myrrh-bearing women with obvious distrust: “But they (apostles) did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense” (Luke 24:11). In that era, women were considered clearly unsuitable witnesses for an event of such importance.

A reason that God honored women to be the first witnesses of the Resurrection consists in the fact that God confounded human pride, selecting those who society were inclined to consider as inferior. This is reminiscent of the words of the Apostle Paul from the Epistle to the Corinthians:

“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him” (1 Corinthians 1: 26-29).

God exalts the lowly and downtrodden!

It is also noteworthy that the women go to Jesus not at the moment when He is surrounded by an enthusiastic crowd doing miracles, nor when people expect His accession, but when He seems to have lost completely and is humbled, destroyed, killed, and buried. They are faithful to the Lord at a time when His defeat seemed certain. That’s why they were granted the grace to be the first to learn of His Resurrection. Truly He is Risen!

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Sunday of Saint Thomas

Christ is Risen!

In the Byzantine Rite, the Sunday after Easter is known as “Thomas Sunday.” On this day we commemorate the belief of Saint Thomas the Apostle, who is often referred to as “Doubting Thomas.” Rather than focusing on doubt, however, the Church sees in Thomas’ unbelief an opportunity for great faith.

After the crucifixion and death of Jesus, Thomas was lost in despair and confusion, so much so that he didn’t gather with his fellow disciples for their evening meal when the Risen Lord first appeared to them. On the following day, they found Thomas and related to him the good news of the Resurrection. Despairing, Thomas said:

“Unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my hand into His side, I will not believe it.”

The next Sunday evening Jesus once again stood among the disciples in the same locked room. This time Thomas was present. Jesus turned to Thomas and said:

“Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

When Saint Thomas touched the Life-giving side of the Lord, he no longer had any doubts. He fell to his knees in awe and professed:

“My Lord and my God!”

Thomas’ initial unbelief transformed into a greater manifestation of the reality of Christ’s Resurrection in the flesh. The Slavonic inscription on his icon reads “The Belief of Thomas,” emphasizing his confession of faith rather than his doubt. The writings of Saint John Chrysostom and Blessed Archbishop Theofylact of Bulgaria, among others, explain that the expression “My Lord and my God” indicates the dual nature of Christ.

It is believed that Saint Thomas preached the gospel in India, where he angered local religious authorities, who martyred him by running him through with a spear.

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Paschal Greetings

Christ is Risen from the dead, by death He trampled Death and to those in the tombs, He granted Life!

Хс҄рсто́съ воскре́се ᾿изъ ме́ртвыхъ, сме́ртїю сме́рть попра́въ, ᾿и су́щимъ во гробѣ́хъ Живо́тъ дарова́въ!

Χριστὸς ἀνέστη ἐκ νεκρῶν, θανάτῳ θάνατον πατήσας, καὶ τοῖς ἐν τοῖς μνήμασι, ζωὴν χαρισάμενος!

O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? Christ is risen and you are abolished. Christ is risen and the demons are cast down. Christ is risen and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen and life is freed. Christ is risen and the tomb is emptied of the dead: for Christ, being risen from the dead, has become the Leader and Reviver of those who had fallen asleep. To Him be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen! – Excerpt from Easter Homily of St. John Chrysostom

May the peace, joy, and hope of the Resurrection reign in your hearts!

Christ is Risen!  Христос Воскресе!  Χριστὸς ἀνέστη!

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Great and Holy Saturday

“Do not mourn for me, O Mother, when you see in the grave the Son whom you conceived in your womb without seed. For I will arise, and as God I will be glorified, and will raise up in glory those who extol you with faith and with love” (Ninth Ode of Holy Saturday Jerusalem Matins).

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The Good Thief

One thief, releasing his spirit, cursed the Son of God: “If you are the Christ, save yourself and us.” The other thief prayed to the Lord: “Remember me, O Lord, when you come into your kingdom!”

The torments of crucifixion killed both the body and the soul of one thief, whereas the sufferings killed the body but saved the soul of the other.

The Cross of Christ was destruction for one of the thieves, but salvation for the other.

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Great and Holy Friday

Filled with infinite love in inexpressible humility, Jesus accepted the supreme abasement of the Cross.

“He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” – (Isaiah 53:5).

What can we offer Our Lord in return for His immeasurable sacrificial love poured out for us on the Cross? He Himself answered this question:

“A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34–35).

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Holy (Maundy) Thursday

When the glorious disciples were enlightened at the washing of their feet before the supper,
the impious Judas was darkened by the disease of avarice,
and to the lawless judges he betrayed You, the Righteous Judge.
Behold, this man because of avarice hanged himself.
Flee from the insatiable desire which dared such things against the Master!
O Lord Who deals righteously with all, glory to You! – Troparion for Holy Thursday

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“Bible Answer Man” Hank Hanegraaf joins Orthodox Church

The “Bible Answer Man” addressed his conversion to the Orthodox faith on his program in response to a caller who had seen remarks claiming that, in becoming Orthodox, Mr. Hanegraaff had left the Christian faith. He responded:

“I am now a member of an Orthodox Church, but nothing has changed in my faith. I have been attending an Orthodox church for a long time—for over two years, really, as a result of what happened when I went to China, many years ago. I saw Chinese Christians who were deeply in love with the Lord, and I learned that while they may not have had as much intellectual acumen or knowledge as I did, they had life. And so I learned that while truth matters, life matters more, and I remember flying back from China after spending time with just common people who had a deep, intense love for the Lord, and wondering, ‘Was I even a Christian?’

I was comparing my ability to communicate truth with their deep and abiding love for the Lord Jesus Christ… One man, by the way, said to me, truth matters but life matters more. In other words, it is not just knowing about Jesus Christ, it is experiencing the Resurrected Christ. As a result of that I started studying what was communicated by the progeny of Watchman Nee with respect to theosis and that drove me back to the early Christian Church.

And I suppose over that period of time I have fallen ever more in love with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It’s sort of like my wife—I have never been more in love with my wife than I am today, and I’ve never been more in love with my Lord Jesus Christ than I am today. I’ve been impacted by the whole idea of knowing Jesus Christ, experiencing Jesus Christ, andpartaking of the graces of Jesus Christ through the Eucharist or the Lord’s Table. And that has become so central in my life, but as far as the statement that you mentioned, that I’ve left the Christian faith—nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact I believe what I have always believed, as codified in the Nicene Creed, and as championed by mere Christianity.

After reciting the entire Nicene Creed, he concluded:

“In other words, I am as deeply committed to championing mere Christianity and the essentials of the historic Christian faith, as I have ever been.”

Hank Hanegraaff has served as the president and chairman of the board of the North Carolina-based Christian Research Institute (CRI) since 1989, when he also took over previous-president’s radio talk-show “The Bible Answer Man.” The show includes answering questions about matters of Christian doctrine and history and Biblical interpretation, and denominational particularities. He has been an outspoken critic of non-Christian religions, new religious movements and cults, and heresies within conservative Christianity. He is also the author of over twenty books.

In March, Mr. Hanegraaff answered a caller’s question about the Orthodox teaching of theosis, ably explaining the doctrine of man’s sanctification on both a Biblical and Patristic basis. “We become Christ-bearers since His Body and Blood are distributed throughout our limbs, as Cyril of Jerusalem said… The whole idea being that we become by grace what God is by nature… We become, as Peter put it, partakers in the divine nature,” the Bible Answer Man explained.

– Excerpted from Pravoslavie, 10 April 2017

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Holy Wednesday: Unction of Healing and Forgiveness

“Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the presbyters of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven” (James 5: 14–15).

Healing of the infirm was one of the signs of our Lord’s divine ministry. He healed those who were blind, paralysed, possessed, crippled, deaf, dumb, and all types of infirmities. The gift of healing was given to the Holy Apostles and through them to the bishops and priests. One of the ways that healing was done was through the anointing of the sick with blessed oil.

The Mystery (Sacrament) of Holy Unction is a service of the anointing of the sick with blessed oil. It is the Church’s specific prayer for the spiritual, physical, and mental healing of the infirm. Is there any one of us who does not need healing for some physical, emotional, or spiritual illness? As Saint James says in his Epistle, Holy Unction is not only for healing, but it is also for the forgiveness of our sins.

Although this service can be celebrated any time during the year when one is ill, the Mystery (Sacrament) of Holy Unction is traditionally celebrated on Holy Wednesday evening in parishes observing the Byzantine Rite tradition.

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Bridegroom Matins: Tuesday of Holy Week

How shall I, the unworthy one,
appear in the splendor of Thy saints?
For if I dare enter Thy bridal chamber with them,
my garments will betray me;
they are unfit for a wedding.
The angels will cast me out in chains.
Cleanse the filth of my soul, O Lord,
and save me in Thy love.

+ Praise Verse (Tone 1) of Bridegroom Matins of Holy Tuesday

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Patriarch Joseph the All-Comely: A Prefigure of Christ

On Holy and Great Monday, the Byzantine Rite churches commemorate the righteous Patriarch Joseph, the son of Jacob in the Old Testament. In our churches, he is referred to as “Joseph the All-Comely,” a reference to the beauty of his deeply spiritual life. Joseph is mentioned in the New Testament by Saint Paul as an example of faith (Hebrews 11:22).

Joseph was considered the favorite son of his father. Out of envy, his brothers trapped him and threw him into a pit. In an attempt to deceive their father, Joseph’s brothers used a bloody garment to convince him that Joseph had been devoured by a wild animal. The brothers then sold Joseph as a slave to traders, who in turn sold him to the chief chef of the Pharaoh of Egypt.

Having become known for his astute ability of dream interpretation, Joseph was summoned by the Pharaoh to interpret his dreams. Impressed with Joseph’s interpretations, the Pharaoh appointed Joseph as second-in-command of Egypt (Genesis 41:41). Therefore, Joseph is frequently depicted in icons wearing the headdress of an Egyptian vizier.

In addition to honoring him, the Byzantine Rite of the Church considers Joseph as a typological precursor or prefigure of Christ. Saint John Chrysostom taught that Joseph’s suffering was “a type of things to come.” Like Joseph, Christ was betrayed and sold by a trusted source. Whereas Joseph saved his people by the distribution of grain, our Lord feeds and sanctifies us with the Heavenly Bread of His own life-bearing flesh. In certain patristic texts, Joseph’s famous coat is viewed as a symbolic representation of the diversity of peoples that would ultimately be evangelized and converted to faith in Christ.

As we remember the righteous Patriarch Joseph, may our hearts be inflamed with love and gratitude for our Savior, who suffered and arose victoriously, granting us forgiveness and salvation. And through the prayers of Saint Joseph the All-Comely, may Christ our God have mercy on us and save us!

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Reflection for Passion Week

We began this Great Lent with an eight-part series on the Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian. Let us once again return to the spiritual wisdom of Saint Ephraim for a reflection as we enter Holy Week…

“Do not look for the faults of your friend. Do not repeat the shortcomings of your neighbors in your talk. You are not the judge of creation. You do not have dominion over the earth. If you love righteousness, admonish your soul and yourself. Be the judge of your own sins, and chastise your own transgressions.” — St. Ephraim the Syrian

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Why Pussy Willows on Palm Sunday?

In western Christian churches, palm fronds are traditionally blessed and distributed on Palm Sunday. But in Ukraine, Russia, and Slovakia, pussy willow branches are blessed in Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Rite Catholic churches.

Since there are no palm trees in Central and Eastern Europe and other trees do not leaf so early due to the harshness of the climate, only pussy willows reveal their tender catkins in time for Willow Sunday, as it is commonly called in Byzantine churches.

Traditionally people “beat” each other with the pussy willows on the way home after Liturgy. This was a reminder of the upcoming flogging that our Lord was to endure for our salvation and was superstiously considered to bestow good luck.

The pussy willow is a sign of spring and of the earth’s rebirth. It harbors leaves in itself, but does not yet put them out, and thus symbolizes that our joy from the feast of our Lord’s Triumphal Entrance into Jerusalem is not complete, but conceals in itself the approaching great joy of Pascha (Easter).

The blessed pussy willows are taken home, where they are kept reverently until the following year, when the branches are traditionally burned and replaced by new ones. In some villages, pious individuals each year stuff some of the catkins into a pillow, which will then be laid under their head in their coffin.

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Triumphal Entrance of Our Lord into Jerusalem

Following His glorious miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead and only five days before his crucifixion, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey greeted by throngs of people waving palm and olive branches. We typically refer to this day as Palm Sunday.

On this day, the prophecy of Zechariah recorded some four hundred years earlier was fulfilled:

”Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zechariah 9:9).

As Jesus entered through the city’s Eastern Gate, throngs of people greeted Him with cheers and shouts:

”Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest” (Matthew 21:9).

Only a king would be greeted this way, and the people wanted Jesus to be their king. However, most of the people did not understand what kind of king Jesus would be. They expected their king to be a great political and military leader who would free them from the tyranny of the Roman Empire. They missed Jesus’ repeated messages that the kingdom of God is not of this world.

Jesus didn’t come as an aggressive and dominating earthly king to rule by force; He came as the Heavenly King of love to rule over people’s hearts. This is equally true today as it was two thousand years ago. The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom that reigns in the hearts of those who put their faith and trust in Jesus as Savior. May you have a blessed and spiritually edifying Holy Week!

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Lazarus Saturday

Advances in DNA testing are allowing people to uncover information about their genetic ancestry and find out where their ancestors originated. I was curious by the potential knowledge I could gain from this new generation of tests for genetic ancestry, so I contributed my sample and received my results a few months later. Some of the results were predictable, some were surprising! Through my amateur genealogical sleuthing, I have learned fascinating information about some of the courageous and strong individuals whose DNA flows in me and makes me “me”.

None of us obviously fell from the sky. Behind each of us stands an invisible army: those who gave us life, who fought and survived over hundreds of generations. We do not know all their names and may not remember or be able to identify these people who lived centuries before us. But we are the fruit of their lives, we are connected with them by a million threads, which we cannot sever from the unconscious memory of the past.

For Orthodox Christians, Lazarus Saturday is a type of Day of the Dead. The day of our dead, who are yet alive, because we are alive. They are in us, so the prayer offered for the reposed (panikhida) is not only intercession for them, but also a prayer for ourselves. Because these genetic connections are invisible does not mean they are unimportant. We depend on our deceased ancestors, even if we do not understand this. Our deceased loved ones do not abandon us in our troubles.

But the deceased also depend on the living. In God’s marvelous and mysterious creation, it is established that the human will is connected with the body. A person cannot repent after death, because the person has no means by which to do so. Through the power of our love, by our prayer and charity, we are able to help those who have departed. Remember, we are forever connected, and this interwoven relationship works in both directions.

Today’s holiday is for this reason especially close to our hearts, especially joyful. Before this upcoming week’s commemoration of the suffering, passion, and death of our Lord, we celebrate resurrection. To illustrate how this will occur, how the dead will rise from their graves to the sound of the voice of the Son of God, the Lord raised the four-day dead Lazarus. The feast’s hymn (troparion), which will be sung today and tomorrow, proclaims:

“By raising Lazarus from the dead before Your Passion, You confirmed the universal resurrection, O Christ God!”

—that is, it confirmed that there will be resurrection for all.

Since Lazarus’ resurrection confirmed the universal resurrection, it is said that every person is a “Lazarus” and that the burial garment is called a “Lazaroma,” thus hinting at our own resurrection from the dead at the last trumpet.

By the intercessions of Thy friend, Lazarus, and of all our holy and righteous ancestors, O Christ God, have mercy on us. Amen!

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Feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos

Commemoration: 25 March/7 April
Gospel: Luke 1:26-38

The Annunciation is a day of good news found among people all over the world that the Virgin, so believing God, so deeply capable of obedience and trust, that the Son of God could be born of Her.

The Incarnation of the Son of God is, on one hand, the suffering, affectionate, and salvific love and power of God; but at the same time, the Incarnation of the Son of God is a matter of human freedom. Saint Gregory Palamas says that the Incarnation would be just as impossible without the free human consent of the Mother of God, as it would be impossible without the creative will of God. And on this day of the Annunciation we contemplate in the Mother of God the Virgin, who with all her heart, with all her mind, with all her soul, with all her strength, managed to trust God to the end.

The good news was also truly shocking news. The appearance of an angel with the greeting: “Blessed are you among, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” did not only cause astonishment and trepidation, but also fear in the soul of a virgin who did not know her husband. How could this be?

And then we recall the difference between the wavering – albeit profound – faith of Zechariah, the father of the Forerunner, and the faith of the Mother of God. Zechariah also proclaimed that his wife had a son – naturally, despite her advanced age. And his answer to this message of God: “How can this be? This can not happen! How can You prove this? What kind of assurance can you give me?” The Mother of God poses the question only this way: “How can this happen to me as I am a virgin?” And in response to the angel that it was to be, She responds only with the words of full surrender of Herself into the hands of God. Her words: “Behold, the Servant (Handmaiden) of the Lord, may it be to Me according to your word.”

The word “servant” in our present usage speaks of enslavement. In the Old Slavonic language, a person who called oneself a servant was one who voluntarily gave one’s life and will to another. And She certainly gave her life, her will, her destiny to God, accepting in faith – that is, in incomprehensible trust – the message that She was to be the Mother of the incarnate Son of God. About Her, the righteous Elizabeth says: “Blessed is She who has believed, for it will be unto to Her as spoken by the Lord.”

In the Mother of God, we find an amazing ability to trust God to the end, but this ability is not inherent, not natural. Such a faith must be forged in oneself by the feat of love for God. A feat described by the fathers: “Spill blood and receive the spirit.” One of the Western writers says that the Incarnation became possible when was discovered the Israeli Virgin, Who with all her mind, with all her heart, with all her life, pronounced the name of God so that He became flesh in Her.

This is the good news that we now hear in the Gospel. The human race gave birth, offering as a gift to God the Virgin, Who was able in her royal human freedom to become the Mother of the Son of God, Who freely gave Himself for the salvation of the world. Amen!

Sermon of Blessed Metropolitan +Anthony of Sourozh
– translated from Russian

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Fifth Sunday in Lent: Saint Mary of Egypt

On the Fifth Sunday in Lent, the Eastern Church commemorates Saint Mary of Egypt. Her life is an amazing story, in which there is everything: crime and punishment, sin and repentance, walking on water and a grave dug together by a monk and a wild lion.

“If you go beyond the Jordan, you will find a blessed peace” – the Blessed Virgin promised the fallen woman, and she kept her word. Mary crossed over and lived the remainder of her life on the far side of the Jordan River. This crossing over the Jordan symbolizes the first step from her life of sin to the salvation of her soul. This transition from sin to salvation is uniquely experienced in the life of every believing person.

Although an obvious theme of this story is about the sin of fornication, the main focus is perhaps not sin but rather repentance. The primary message of Saint Mary’s life is in the depth and truth of repentance and the unbearably heavy spiritual struggle that accompanies it.

Mere mental or emotional remorse does not save us from sin or from the temptation or inclination to indulge again. Let us recall that Judas Iscariot was remorseful over his sin of betrayal of the Son of God, but his regret did not lead him to God. Remorse alone is not true repentance.

Repentance begins with remorse and continues with metanoia (changing one’s mind, one’s attitude, and one’s ways). If we are truly repentant, our remorse manifests in action. And God, seeing that we are earnest, blesses our efforts and grants us the gift of grace and salvation.

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