The Catalog of Good Deeds

One can understand much about a group through their music. I vividly remember the music when I once visited a Kingdom Hall with some Jehovah’s Witnesses. Many of their songs could be summed up as, “Jehovah’s mad and he’s gonna smite you unless you join our organization, cause this is the only safe place. So, convert lots of people, or Jehovah’s gonna smite you!” I was torn between bursting out laughing at how ridiculously obvious the Watchtower’s fearmongering is, or crying because I was surrounded by people who had swallowed this lie about God being a monster from Whom we need to be saved.

In Eastern Orthodoxy, our hymnography is also our theology. In it, I am constantly finding songs that speak of the goodness of God, His love, and the significance of different biblical and historical events. The songs essentially are the sermon, and many sermons can be derived from the songs.

Without further ado, here are several hymns from Theophany that explain the significance of Christ’s baptism and what that means to us (none of this was ever explained to me in my pre-Orthodox days).

Tropar of Theophany – Tone 1:

At Your baptism in the Jordan, O Lord, worship of the Trinity was revealed, for the Father’s voice bore witness to You, calling You His beloved Son and the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the truth of these words, O Christ God, Who appeared and enlightened the world – glory to You. (this hymn is repeated several times throughout the service)

Kondak of Theophany – Tone 4:

You have appeared today to the inhabited earth and Your Light, O Lord, has been marked upon us, who with knowledge sing Your praise. You have come, You are made manifest, the Light that no man can approach.

The Litija Verses – Bolharsky Tone 4:

He Who covers Himself with Light as with a garment has deigned for our sakes to become as we are. Today He is covered by the streams of the Jordan, though He has no need to be cleansed by them, but through the cleansing that He Himself receives, He bestows rebirth upon us. Without fire He casts anew, and without shattering, He refashions; and He saves those who are enlightened in Him, Christ our God the Savior of our souls.

John the Baptist saw You draw near, the one Who cleanses by Spirit and by fire the sins of the world, and he cried aloud in fear and trembling saying: I dare not touch your Immaculate Head. Instead, O Master, sanctify me by Your Theophany, O You Who alone loves mankind.

Christ is baptized He comes out of the waters, and carries up the world with Him. He sees the heavens opened that Adam has closed against himself and his descendants. The Spirit bears witness to the Divinity of Christ, for He hastens toward His creation; and a voice sounds from Heaven for it is from Heaven that He has come down to give testimony, and He is the Savior of our souls.

Samoholasen Tone 8:

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Today all creation is enlightened. Today all nature is glad, things of Heaven and things upon earth. Angels and men mingle with one another, for where the King is present there His army also goes. Let us run then to the Jordan. Let us all see how John baptizes a sinless and uncreated Head. Therefore let us cry aloud with one accord, echoing the voice of the Apostle: the grace of God that brings salvation to all men has appeared, shining upon the faithful and granting them great mercy.

The Aposticha – Samohlasen Tone 2:

Seeing You, O Christ our God, drawing near to Him in the river Jordan, John the Baptizer exclaimed: “Why do You, Who are without defilement come to Your servant, O Lord? In whose name shall I baptize You? Of the Father? But You bear Him in Yourself! Of the Son? But You are Yourself this Son made flesh! Of the Holy Spirit? You know that through Your own mouth You give Him to the faithful.” O God, Who has been manifested, glory to You.

CANTOR: The sea saw it and fled, Jordan was driven back.

ALL: The waters saw You, O God, and were afraid. For the cherubim cannot lift their eyes upon Your glory, nor can the seraphim gaze upon You. But standing by You in fear, the first carry You and the second glorify You. We proclaim with them, O merciful Lord: O God Who has appeared to the world, have mercy on us.

CANTOR: What ailed you, O sea, that you fled? O Jordan that you were driven back?

ALL: Today the Maker of heaven and earth comes to the Jordan in the flesh. For baptism the sinless One asks, that He might cleanse the world from the error of the enemy, He Who is the Master of all is baptized by a servant, and He gives mankind cleansing through water. Let us cry aloud unto Him: O God Who has appeared to the world glory to You.

Verse – Tone 6:

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Seeing the Sun that came forth from a Virgin, asking for baptism in the Jordan, the shining Lamb that was born of a barren woman, [John] cried to Him in fear and joy: Sanctify me, O Master, by Your divine Theophany.

St Simeon’s Prayer:

Now let Your servant, depart in peace, O Master, according to Your Word. For my eyes have seen Your Salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people. The Light of revelation for the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.

The Great Blessing of Water – Stichera – Samohlasen Tone 8:

The voice of the Lord upon the waters cries aloud saying: “Come all of you, and receiving the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of the fear of God, from Christ Who is made manifest.”

Today the nature of the water is sanctified and the Jordan is parted in two, it holds back the stream of its own waters, seeing the master wash Himself. O Christ our King, You have coming into the river as a man and in Your goodness You make haste to receive the baptism of a servant at the hands of the forerunner for the sake of our sins, O God Who loves mankind.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

At the voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord.” You have come, O Lord, taking the form of a servant, and You Who are sinless ask for baptism. The waters saw You and were afraid. The Forerunner was seized with trembling and cried aloud saying: How shall the lamp illuminate the Light? How shall the servant set his hand upon the Master? O Savior Who takes away the sins of the world, sanctify both me and the waters.

Prokimen – Tone 3:

The Lord is my Light and my Salvation, whom shall I fear? Whom shall I fear?

Source: http://www.orthodoxroad.com/hymns-from-the-vigil-service-for-theophany/

On Monday, January 1, 2018, the Department of Antiquities of Israel announced a unique discovery: during the excavations near the Wailing Wall, a unique seal was found, which belonged to a Jerusalem ruler, who lived 2700 years ago, as the Israel mass media say.

The seal has the shape of a clay oval (13-15 mm) and is 2-3 mm thick. Two men dressed in striped clothes and greeting each other with raised hands are pressed on the seal.

The scientists decoded the inscription on the seal as, “belongs to the Ruler of Jerusalem”.

According to the archeologists, the finding dates back to the 7-6^th century B.C., which is the late period of the Solomon’s Temple. The Department of Antiquities states that “rulers of Jerusalem” (another variants of translation are “town governor”, “governor”) are mentioned twice in the Torah. The same name belonged to Joshua, who ruled in Jerusalem during the time of Hezekiah’s reign (the 8th century B.C.), as well as Maaseah, who was the governor of Jerusalem during the reign of Josiah (the 7^th century B.C.).

Shimon Kohen, an archeologist, found the seal when he was sifting the soil near the ruins of the building, which dates back to the late period of the Solomon’s Temple. This building is 100m to the West from the western wall of the Temple (the Wailing Wall).

It is not a fact that the seal belonged to one of the Jerusalem governors. His owner could be one of the reputable citizens, who received it from the governor as the sign of their friendship or just as a souvenir. Such seals could be also used as stamps on goods.

Another version says that this is a seal used for covering letters. Earlier, archeologists have found dozens of such seals of that time, but none of them had inscriptions indicating that the seal belonged to the governor of Jerusalem.

Source: http://pravoslavie.by/news/u-steny-placha-nashli-pechat-prinadlezhavshuju-pravitelju-ierusalima-kotoryj-zhil-2700-let-nazad

A man once heard that there is Truth in the world. He set out to find her. During his travels, he met the Lie.

– Where are you going to? – The Lie asked him.

– I'm looking for the Truth.

– Oh, that's great, – the Lie says. – I’ve never seen her. I would like to see her, too. Let's go together!

They came to a town and started asking around.

– Does Truth live here?

– Yes, she does, but she’s now gone and we don't know where.

The man and the Lie kept traveling until they came to another town and asked its residents:

– Does Truth live here?

– She’s been lurking around, – was the response. – Who is that with you?

– It’s the Lie, – the man replies.

– Who can find the Truth if he hangs around with the Lie? – the people exclaimed in surprise. – Get rid of the Lie!

– Sounds reasonable, – the man said.

As soon as he parted with the Lie, the Truth came to greet him.

– Hello, – she said, – now you’re a good man.

A miracle, isn’t it?

“...believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.” (John 12:36)

There was a man who took a long journey to see the extraordinary abilities of a famous elder with his own eyes. He could not notice anything uncommon, so he asked one of the elder’s disciples:

— Where are the much-praised miracles that your teacher performs?

— It depends on what you call a miracle. Most people think that a miracle is when God obeys someone’s will. We consider it a miracle if someone obeys the will of God.

A Recipe For Heresy

Take a dish of pride (preferably made of gold).

Put some Truth on the dish (for credibility).

Dilute it with poison (to taste).

Sweeten it with adulation (generously).

Decorate it with words that appear wise to an un-educated listener.

Serve to everyone who is accustomed to eating meals without scrutiny!

By Monk Barnabas (Sanin)

There was a monk who lived in a desert and prayed so fervently that he would even get up at night to do his prayers. The peasant who brought him food was just a regular fellow, a little somber, as if he didn’t sleep well at night. The monk decided to spend a whole day with that peasant, and that was what he noticed. The peasant would get up early in the morning and say, “O Lord,” and then go to the fields. He would spend the entire day working in the fields, and when he returned home late at night, he would say, “O Lord” again before he went to bed. “Is that all?” the hermit was upset. He decided to ask his spiritual father for advice on how to teach the peasant to pray. The elder suggested to the monk to do the following, “Take this full cup of oil and walk around the village but be careful not to spill a single droplet.” The young monk did what he had been told and came to his spiritual father again. “Please tell me how many times did you remember God while carrying the cup?” the spiritual father asked. “Not once,” the monk was speechless, “I was thinking of how not to spill the oil.” The elder continued, “This cup of oil made you so busy that you did not remember God even once. The peasant feeds himself and his own family and you with his labor, and he still invokes God twice a day.”

There was a man who decided to visit a hermit who lived not far from a monastery in Skete. He was wandering around the desert when he finally saw the hermit.

— I’d like to know what my first step on the road to spiritual development should be, — the visitor said.

The hermit brought the man to a small well and asked him to look at his own reflection in the water. The man tried doing so but the hermit started throwing stones into the water, and the water was too rippled to see anything.

— I can’t see my face if you keep throwing stones.

— It is impossible for a person to see his face in troubled water, and it’s equally impossible to look for God if one’s mind is troubled by seeking and fearing failure, — the monk announced. — That’s your first step.

Two friends were going back to their town from a village and were attacked by robbers. The friends ran away, jumped over a fence, and found themselves in a graveyard. They quickly hid among the tombstones. The robbers were afraid to climb the fence and stood outside talking.

One of the friends whispered to the other:

— You know, I’m afraid to stay here. Let’s get out.

— Don’t worry, you shouldn’t be afraid of the dead, — the other friend replied. — The living are much scarier.

“[H]e is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him” (Luke 20:38).

A wandering monk went to a church to pray. Suddenly, he saw a demon wearing a priest’s clothes and preaching. The monk stood in the corner and listened intently to the words of the demon, trying to find fault with what he would say. However, the demon said everything in full compliance with the Good Book, and did not alter a single word. When the sermon was over and people left the church, the monk came to the demon and said:

– I know who you are: you are a demon!

– That’s right, – the demon confirmed.

– I wanted to find fault with you but you made no mistakes! – the monk said.

– I did my best, – the demon sounded flattered.

– So what’s your secret? – the monk asked in surprise.

– I was speaking without love and I know that these people won’t follow my words. And that’s enough for me, – the evil one explained.

God appeared to an old lady who lived in a village.

She told her parish priest who, concerned about the spiritual well-being of his parishioner, told her:

— When God comes to you next time, please ask him to tell you about my sins that are known only to him. It will be a sufficient proof that he is God and not someone else.

The woman came to the confession one month later. The priest asked her if God had appeared to her again. She nodded.

— Did you ask him about my secret sins?

— Yes, I did.

— What did He tell you?

— He said, “Tell your priest that I’ve forgotten his sins.”

— It must have been God, indeed, — the priest said.

Translated from: https://azbyka.ru/days/

By Fr. Andrew Lemeshonok

Recently, three new novices joined our Convent! It has been a long-standing tradition in our Convent that postulants become novices during a midnight office in a fasting season. This ceremony is accompanied by the singing of "Behold The Bridegroom Cometh." They are making their first steps on the monastic path. It is crucial that they set out on this journey with proper feelings and attitudes. It depends to a large extent on the words and the support of their spiritual father. We were present during Father Andrew's conversation with the new sisters before and after the ceremony.

Before

You must learn to live like humans. You must not be crybabies. You must not gossip. You must not walk around with sad faces.

You should live simply. Every person has a heart and a mind that he has to protect. Mind includes imagination. If you want to seek God, you must carry in your mind only the things that are godly. You must control your heart if you want to do anything good. As soon as you run into something bad, you must immediately reveal it at a confession, and you will be clean. The algorithm is simple. When someone doesn't care about his own soul, he will find it hard to fight. On the contrary, you can always start all over again in any situation.

Once you receive God's grace, you should take care of it as hard as you can, with God's help. You can be puffed up beyond measure and then explode. You must be aware of the extent of your capabilities, and to do so, you must ask for prayers and advice. Life cannot be squeezed into fixed sets of instructions and rules, however wonderful they might be. Sometimes, you have to laugh or joke. Sometimes, you have to cry or just to keep silent. You must be a sentient being, not a doll that can take any shape you want. A living human being changes over time. It's like natural phenomena: rain or snow, hot or cold, that's life as it is. People cannot be the same. Someone may be naughty, someone may be silent, and someone may be sulky. Everything changes rapidly.

People must realise that they are in the Convent now. That's why they must keep going forward. Respect your Mother Abbess! An unpredictable person though she might be, she does not claim to be the big boss. She has her positive and negative traits but God can tell you a lot through her. You mustn't be carried away by your dreams. You should be simpler and more understandable so as not to be messed up. Carry your own burdens. I think that God will do everything, you just shouldn't interfere with him. Start a new life! Go with God!

After

We congratulate our sisters who are now wearing undercassocks. They have become novices. They have prayer ropes in their hands in order to learn to live with God. This step is their first step on the road to Golgotha, but there will be Resurrection, too. Each person must go through the process in which his or her old self dies and a new self is born.

It is a joy for us because we see three new warriors who have decided to challenge their flesh and blood and the devil, and to challenge this world that does not accept Christ, crucifies him, and lives by its own laws, which result in eternal death.

We thank God for the fact that our Convent is growing and new sisters are coming. I would like to wish them to move forward gradually and not to justify themselves. I would like them to learn humility and obedience. May their progress be small but persistent. Dear sisters, I wish you to gain salvation in your newly-acquired status of novices! Learn to listen, to talk less, to be patient more, so that you would be a quiet God's blessing for our Convent.

December 29, 2017

St. Elisabeth Convent

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An Overview of the Major Hymns from the Theophany Vigil Service

Why do we Bless Homes on Theophany with Holy Water?

Ancient Seal Found Belonging to a Jerusalem ruler who lived 2700 years ago

Photo Blog: How St. Elisabeth Convent Celebrated the Feast of Nativity in 2018

Seven Parables and Stories for the Week: Issue 18

Start a New Life: Becoming a Novice in St. Elisabeth Convent

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Search This Blog

featured Slider

An Overview of the Major Hymns from the Theophany Vigil Service

Why do we Bless Homes on Theophany with Holy Water?

Ancient Seal Found Belonging to a Jerusalem ruler who lived 2700 years ago

Photo Blog: How St. Elisabeth Convent Celebrated the Feast of Nativity in 2018

Seven Parables and Stories for the Week: Issue 18

Start a New Life: Becoming a Novice in St. Elisabeth Convent

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