Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;  + Ephesians 6:11-18

We are in a fight. Who are we fighting against? Who is on our side? What do we do when wounded?

 

Falling asleep of the Mother of our Lord

by Daniel Manzuk (from The Word, June 2008)

It would be a gross understatement to say that much has been written about the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos. Yet very little has been written about the fast that precedes it.

Every Orthodox Christian is aware and generally knows the reason behind the fasts for Pascha and Christmas. But while they may know of the Dormition Fast, few follow it, and more than a few question why it is there, neither knowing its purpose. First, given the pervasive misunderstanding of

The Feast of the Transfiguration is one of the most important and revealing Feasts concerning not only the Life of Christ and the revealing of who He is as God incarnate; but also, since we are in union with Him, our ultimate destiny in His Kingdom. On Mount Tabor, Christ took His three chief disciples, Peter, James, and John, and there He showed forth Himself in what can only be described in human terms as brilliant white raiment, His face shining like a sun. In doing so He reveals Himself to be truly God incarnate; but that is not the only important truth that was revealed, for along with Christ there appeared Moses and Elijah who also appeared looking exactly like Christ in that they were also adorned in white and glowing just as brightly as Jesus. This confused the disciples who thought they might be seeing three Divine beings, so they wanted to build three Tabernacles to commemorate the experience.

Some fatherly reflections

I hope to share with all of you how very blessed I am to know each one of you. Our little flock of the Lord and we its lambs come together on the Lord's Day from each home; some rising from bed even before the Sun casts its first rays of dawn, some getting in the family auto with very sleepy and/or crying children, or not, to drive for several miles just to gather together to worship and praise God. Some I know have only slept a few hours, others I know suffer painful bodies and even know the cost of this worship will be more pain. Some come with problems in their souls that are so heavy to bear alone to confess their burden before God hoping to have it lifted or given the strength to bear it. Some come totally indifferent to it all; just out of habit, but that's okay. They come, with us, to be with their family in Christ and that is what is important. As I said, to know your sacrifices, your unique God given personalities, your love for one another, and your love for Christ and his church, is my blessing as I said above.

With much love;
Fr. Athanasius

Why do Christians fast?

Seeing that bodily disposition is important in worship and spiritual life, in general, great emphasis is placed in the Orthodox Church on fasting; if one should add up all of the fasting seasons and days of the Church calendar, he would find that more than half of the year is devoted to this ascetic labor. The question might rightfully be asked, then, as to why this is so.

According to St. Basil the Great, Adam, the first-created man, loving God of his own free will, dwelt in the heavenly blessedness of communion with God, in the angelic state of prayer and fasting. The cause of this first man’s fall was his free will; by an act of disobedience he violated the vow of abstinence and broke the living union of love with God. That is, he held in scorn the heavenly obligations of prayer and fasting by eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Lack of abstinence, then, was the cause of the Fall and, as a result, because of this original greed, the soul becomes dimmed, and is deprived of the illumination of the Holy Spirit.

Our Lord Jesus Christ calls all of us to salvation through self-denial (Luke 14:26) and this is addressed to the free will of fallen man: If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me (Matt. 16:24). Thus, the Savior calls man to the voluntary fulfillment of those heavenly obligations, which he freely forsook, of observing prayer and fasting.

Repentance without fasting is made ineffectual since fasting is the beginning of repentance. The aim of bodily fasting is the enslavement of the flesh, for fasting bridles the lust of the stomach and of that below the stomach, meaning the removal of the passions, the mortification of the body and the destruction of the sting of lust. Thus it is necessary to overcome the stomach for the healing of the passions. The personal example of the Lord Himself bears witness to the absolute necessity of bodily fasting. Did not the Savior fast for forty days and nights after His baptism to prepare for His earthly ministry (Matt. 4:2)? So too, many of the Saints of the Church were especially noted for their ascetic labors, which saw fasting as being of especially great importance.

In fasting the flesh and the spirit struggle one against the other. Therefore bodily fasting leads to the triumph of the spirit over the body, and gives a man power over the stomach, subdues the flesh and permits it not to commit fornication and uncleanness. Abstinence is the mother of cleanliness, the giver of health and is good for rich and poor, sick and healthy, alike. It strengthens the seeker after godliness in spiritual battles and proves to be a formidable weapon against evil spirits. As the Lord Himself said, concerning the casting-out of certain demons: This kind never cornea out except by prayer and fasting (Matt. 17:21).

This fasting, however, is not to be done out of pride or self-will; It must be observed in the praise of God and must be in accordance with the canons of the Church, since it consists in the complete renunciation of self-will and of the desires. At the same time, we must realize that for fallen man to attain perfection, even intensive fasting is insufficient, if in his soul he does not abstain from those things which further sin. Fasting is not only the abstinence from food, but also from evil thoughts and all passion, for, as the Savior says: “Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and so passes on? But what conies out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a man...” (Matt. 15:17-20). Thus exterior fasting, without the corresponding interior fasting is in vain.

It has always been held that fasting should be relaxed in the case of anyone elderly or in poor health. Personal facts also need to be taken into account, as, for example, the situation of an isolated Orthodox living in the same household as non-Orthodox, or one obliged to take meals in a factory or school lunchroom. In cases of uncertainty, however, one should always seek the advice of his or her spiritual father.

At all times, however, it is essential to bear in mind that you are not under law but under grace (Rom. 6:14), and that the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Cor. 3:6). The fasting rules, while they do need to be taken seriously, are not to be interpreted with the strict legalism of the Pharisees of Holy Scripture, for the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17).

Excerpt taken from “These Truths We Hold - The Holy Orthodox Church: Her Life and Teachings”. Compiled and Edited by a Monk of St. Tikhon’s Monastery.

Let us come with branches to praise Christ the Master in faith like babes, purifying our souls, and crying to Him with a loud voice: Blessed art Thou, O Savior, Thou Who didst come into the world, and did become a new, spiritual Adam from the first curse, and didst prepare all things for the best, O Thou Word, Lover of mankind, glory to Thee.

O Christ Savior, Thou didst shed tears in secret over Thy friend Lazarus lying dead. Thou didst raise him from the dead, thereby declaring Thy pity in love to mankind. And when the multitude of little children knew of Thy presence they went out today carrying branches in
their hands and crying to Thee: Hosanna! Blessed art Thou Who didst come to save the world.

Give praise with one accord, O peoples and nations, for the King of the angels rides now upon a foal, and He comes to smite His enemies with the Cross in His almighty power.  Therefore, the children sing to Him with palms in their hands: Glory to Thee Who hast come as Conqueror! Glory to Thee, O Christ the Savior! Glory to Thee, our God, for Thou alone art blessed!

He Who sits upon the throne of the Cherubim, for our sake sits upon a foal; and coming to His voluntary Passion, today He hears the children cry “Hosanna!” while the crowd replies, “O Son of David, make haste to save those whom Thou hast created, blessed Jesus, since for this cause Thou hast come, that we may know Thy glory.”

From Synaxarion for Lazarus Saturday

On this day, the Saturday before Palm Sunday, we celebrate the fourth-day raising from the dead of Lazarus, the righteous friend of Christ.



Lazarus¹ was a Hebrew, of the sect of the Pharisees and, as far as is known, he was the son of Simon the Pharisee, who dwelt in the village of Bethany.

Jesus raised Lazarus (John 11:43).

This strange wonder roused the Hebrew people to