March, 2024


Orthopraxis - Why the Horrible Violence?

Choir Directors Corner

You may have noticed an addition to the hymns during clergy communion in the weeks preceding Lent, based on Psalm 36 (this is also added to the Polyeleios during Matins).

By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and we wept when we remembered Sion.
Upon the willows in the midst thereof did we hang our instruments.
For there, they that had taken us captive asked us for words of song.
And they that had led us away asked us for a hymn, saying: Sing us one of the songs of Sion.
How shall we sing the Lord?s song in a strange land?
If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten.
Let my tongue cleave to my throat, if I remember thee not,
If I set not Jerusalem above all other, as at the head of my joy.
Remember, O Lord, the sons of Edom, in the day of Jerusalem,
Who said: Lay waste, lay waste to her, even to the foundations thereof.
O daughter of Babylon, thou wretched one, blessed shall he be who shall reward thee wherewith thou hast rewarded us.
Blessed shall he be who shall seize and dash thine infants against the rock.

The psalm is one written in captivity, and speaks to us about our captivity - to the passions. Some folks are jarred (especially if we don't know the reason why the Church gives us these things) by the rather violent imagery of the last verse. This psalm can be read on an historical as well as an allegorical level.

On the historical level, the last verse is discussing a grim reality of pre-technological and tribal warfare. If your tribe went and attacked a town, presumably killing the men, and taking spoils, the infants were the ones that were going to grow up and take revenge on you if you left them alive. So killing them with the adults was a way to stop that. Lest you think that such imagery is unthinkable in our day, consider little Vito Corleone in "Godfather II." The Sicillian gangster tried to kill him as a child for the same reason. He failed, and little Vito grew up and came back to revenge his family.

But the Church gives us these verses, not to train us in warfare that is physical, but warfare that is spiritual. According to commentary by various Holy Fathers, the infants in question, are our passionate thoughts and the rock is Christ. We dash our thoughts on the Rock, in order that they may not grow up to be passions that will come back and take us captive. These verses remind us of the real battle in our lives and remind us to refocus and redouble our efforts during the opportunity of the great fast. Many other psalms are read during lenten services, and similar allegories may be found throughout Lent. As we hear the psalms, we are invited to a strategy meeting where we are instructed how to guard the walled city of our hearts and preserve there the treasures we receive from the King. In this sense, the only violence called for is that mentioned by Christ in Matthew 11:12:

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

In this is all the "warfare" of Great Lent: self-opposition against giving into the passions, self-forcing in the good: prayer, fasting, almsgiving and all other good spiritual practices, especially watchfulness and the Jesus Prayer, which creates in us, the state which in which we are able to dash our tempting and useless thoughts against the Rock of Christ.

Upcoming Events

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February, 2024


Focus on the Faith

THE FEAST OF THE “MEETING OF THE LORD”

On the 2nd of February, our Holy Church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. The Church also refers to this Feast as the Synaxis (or Meeting) of the Lord in the temple.

In accordance with the Law of Moses, 40 days after the birth of a male child, his mother is required to present the child in the tabernacle and offer, as a sacrifice, either a lamb or a pair of doves or pigeons for her purification. The presentation of a first-born son also signified redemption, or “buying back,” of all first-born creatures (both humans and animals) for they were considered as belonging to God.

The Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary and the Righteous Joseph obeyed this commandment of the law. They brought Jesus to the Temple where he was met and blessed by a very old Holy man. On that day in the Temple, both Simeon and a woman by the name of Anna, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, recognized the infant Jesus as the Messiah and Saviour of the world. Simeon, who had been one of the original translators of the Septuagint, had been promised by God that he would live to witness the coming of the Messiah to the world. These events are the subject of today’s Gospel reading. (Luke 2:22-40)

Imagine this blessed scene, an old man - barely able to hold himself upright due to his advanced years- fully clothed in the traditional vestments of the High Priest of the Temple, cradling the infant Jesus in his arms. It is the meeting of the Old Testament Priesthood in the Temple with the New Testament Priesthood in Christ. Hence, this Feast day is called the "Synaxis" or Meeting of the Lord in the Temple.

The Church today calls each one of us to make our soul a Temple of God, where the Holy Virgin can bring her Divine Child. And each one of us should, like Simeon, take the Child in our arms and say to the Father:

"Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, O Master, according to Thy word, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation."

This Prayer of St. Simeon is used every day at Vespers in the Orthodox Church. But this prayer should be more to us than a description of someone who has been allowed to see and hold the Christ child, and requesting a peaceful departure from this life. It should also mean for us, in particular, that having seen and touched the Saviour, we are released from the hold that sin and death has on us, and that we may, in peace, depart from the realm of evil.

Orthopraxis

Be The Candle!

“O Almighty God, Pre-Eternal God, Who didst command Thy servant Moses to make ready a preparation of purest oil to be a light before Thy presence: Do Thou mercifully pour out the grace of Thy blessing upon these candles, that they might bring brightness to the people outwardly, as by Thy gift the brightness of the Holy Spirit shines inwardly in our thoughts, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to Whom is due all glory, honor, and worship, together with Thee, O Father without beginning, and Thy Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages, Amen.”

–Orthodox Prayer for the Blessing of Candles

Let’s all shut our eyes for a minute and remember a time when we were sitting with our family in the living room or at the dinner table during a big storm that was raging outside. The lights in the house began to flicker and everyone stopped what they were doing to look around at this temporary break from normalcy. We shrugged it off and then continued to go about our business until we heard: “bzzt!” The lights all went out, leaving our families to freeze in their tracks.

Before the invention of flashlights on our phones, what did we do? The kids would scream while the adults stretched out their hands to try and gain an idea of where they were at in the room. Bruised knees were practically a given as we slammed into the coffee table, trying to remember where we kept the matches and the candles. Once we found them, and with a quick “swatch” of the match against the box, the small flame illuminated our entire room. We then quickly found a large candle so that the light could continue to shine until full power had been restored.

This is the primary purpose candles serve isn’t it? They help us to keep light in the midst of darkness…to bring clarity in the midst of chaos. If a small flame can do that in the middle of a dark room, how much more can our Savior…the True Light…illuminate the dark recesses of the world which we find ourselves in?

On the feast of the Presentation of our Lord, it is the custom to bless candles in the Church. One of the things that I am reminded of this day is how similar our own spiritual life is to a candle. The flame…the Light and Love of Christ…is ignited within us at Chrismation, providing within us a natural illumination to protect us from the darkness.

St. Nikolai of Zica once said:

“Candles remind us that before anything else, the Creator of the world created light, and after that, everything else in Order: “And God said, let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). And so it must be so also at the beginning of our spiritual life…so that before anything else, the light of Christ’s truth would shine in us. From this light of Christ’s truth, subsequently, every good is created, springs up, and grows in us.

This past year, how many times have we either experienced or heard stories of those who have been driven to the brink of despair, shrouded in darkness, and seemingly absent of hope? As difficult as things have been for us Orthodox Christians, imagine how much more difficult it must be to those who do not have the light of Christ in their lives…who have been bumping into the proverbial “coffee tables” and searching for the “matches of meaning” where they can’t be found. It is our calling as bearers of Christ’s Light to illuminate not just our own lives, but all of those who are searching for that gentle presence of Christ in the midst of chaos.

Great and Holy Lent will soon be upon us. Now is the time to put forward our best efforts to test the purity of our inner candles that hold the Light of Christ. If there is a vice or impurity that we have allowed to plague us during the past year, wipe it away with tears of repentance. If the foundation of our spiritual life has melted away, let us strengthen it with spiritual reading, fasting, and prayer. Keep the flame of God brightly burning with us, allowing His Life to shine from our souls, illuminating not just us, but all those who are searching for meaning in the midst of chaos.

From the Fathers

We don’t have to look very far to see the darkness in the world. We see so much pain and destruction, so much needless suffering, so much hatred, such clear failure of empathy, so many people crying out in distress yet so few ears open to hear their cries. How do we battle such monstrous darkness? St. Porphyrios of Kafsokalivia (Athos) has a simple answer, as he does to most complex issues. “Don’t fight to expel darkness from the chamber of your soul. Open a tiny aperture for the light to enter, and the darkness will disappear.” Think of this along with John 1:5: “And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” What darkness can overpower light? Light always wins out over darkness; there is simply no other way for things to be. If there is darkness, light is not present, and if there is light, there cannot be darkness.

Upcoming Events

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January, 2024


Focus on the Faith: Fr. Andrew Damick’s 14 New Year’s Resolutions for Orthodox Christians

  1. Get serious about coming to church (more).
  2. Get to church on time.
  3. Begin to tithe.
  4. Pray more at home.
  5. Sing along at church (Join Choir?) and stand more.
  6. Memorize a psalm.
  7. Encourage your priest.
  8. Invite someone to church.
  9. Visit a monastery.
  10. Read the Old Testament.
  11. Attend an adult education class.
  12. Volunteer.
  13. Go to confession.
  14. Read a spiritual book.

From the Fathers

"And what more requisite gift...is there than the element of water? For with water all things are washed and nourished, and cleansed and bedewed. Water bears the earth, water produces the dew, water exhilarates the vine; water matures the grain in the ear, water ripens the grapecluster, water softens the olive, water sweetens the palm-date, water reddens the rose and decks the violet, water makes the lily bloom with its brilliant cups. And why should I speak at length? Without the element of water, none of the present order of things can subsist. So necessary is the element of water; for the other elements took their places beneath the highest vault of the heavens, but the nature of water obtained a seat also above the heavens. And to this the prophet himself is a witness, when he exclaims, Praise the Lord, you heavens of heavens, and the water that is above the heavens. Nor is this the only thing that proves the dignity of the water. But there is also that which is more honourable than all — the fact that Christ, the Maker of all, came down as the rain, and was known as a spring, and diffused Himself as a river, and was baptized in the Jordan. For you have just heard how Jesus came to John, and was baptized by him in the Jordan. Oh things strange beyond compare! How should the boundless River that makes glad the city of God have been dipped in a little water! The illimitable Spring that bears life to all men, and has no end, was covered by poor and temporary waters! He who is present everywhere, and absent nowhere — who is incomprehensible to angels and invisible to men — comes to the baptism according to His own good pleasure.”

(St Hippolytus of Rome, +236 AD, Discourse on Theophany)

Orthopraxis: House Blessings and Theophany

Blessing of the Home

While you may certainly bless your own home with the Theophany water, it is also possible, to invite your priest to bless your home with holy water within the few weeks following Theophany and before the beginning of the Great Fast (Lent.). Prepare by cleaning the house and opening and lighting all the rooms.

What you need for the house blessing:

  • An icon corner or wall, or at least an Icon of Christ and the Mother of God
  • A small table, preferably covered, in front of your home icon corner.
  • A candlestick with a new candle in it, placed on the otherwise cleared table

Using a “krupilla”(a special horse hair sprinkler) the priest will go to each room and sprinkle it in the four corners blessing the home with the grace of the Holy Spirit which also protects you from evil spirits. If you were unable to attend the Theophany Liturgy, the priest will bring extra Holy Water so that you may keep some at home, near your icons. Please have a dedicated jar or vessel prepared for this water. It can only be used for Holy Water thereafter. For House Blessings, it is appropriate that all family members are in attendance, but if this is not possible, at least those who are home should participate in the service. All TV's, electronics, music, etc., should be turned off. House Blessings are a yearly tradition.

Personal Use of Holy Water

According to Orthodox doctrine, holy water has the power to sanctify and heal. Have each family member drink a small amount of the holy water from Theophany. Keep the unused holy water in your home icon corner (krasny ugol) for future use: times of adversity, before starting a new venture or trip, to give thanks, or when someone is ill. You may drink it or anoint yourself when you feel spiritually afflicted. It should be taken when fasting, if at all possible. To rid the house of evil spirits, it should be sprinkled in the four corners of each room, so no one will step on it. In the countryside, the holy water is often sprinkled in the fields and on the animals.

If you would like to have your home blessed, please contact Fr. Basil or use the Sign-up sheet at the candle desk in the Narthex of the church.

Save the Date! Burns Supper on January 25th!

This event is coming up. go to the bottom for a downloadable and printable flyer that you can share!

 

Burns_Supper_Flyer (Downloadable PDF)

Upcoming Events

Upcoming events this month are in the online calendar, which you can subscribe to on your phone or tablet. Use the print button on the calendar to print a copy.

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December 2023


Christmas Appeal Letter

12/10/2023

Dear Parishioners, Members, Friends, and Visitors of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church,

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

St. John Chrysostom said, “Come, then, let us observe the Feast. Truly wondrous is the whole
chronicle of the Nativity. For this day the ancient slavery is ended, the devil confounded, the
demons take to flight, the power of death is broken, paradise is unlocked, the curse is taken
away, sin is removed from us, error driven out, truth has been brought back, the speech of
kindliness diffused, and spreads on every side, a heavenly way of life has been ‘in planted on
the earth, angels communicate with men without fear, and men now hold speech with angels.
Why is this? Because God is now on earth, and man in heaven!”

How wonderful it is that we can share the joy of Christ’s birth together this year, unhindered by
the constraints of the recent pestilence that infected the whole world. Thankfully, through it
all, our parish continued to offer prayers, services, Sacraments, classes, and programs, due to
your “fervent and effectual prayer” (James 5:16), and your equally fervent and effectual
generosity! We could not, and we cannot, do it without your continuing help and support. We
need you because together we are the Church, the light that shines for the salvation of the
world, the city set on a hill (Matthew 5:14).

Come then and bring gifts worthy of the Infant Christ, like those Wise Men of old. Help your
parish, and thereby help your own soul too!

With Love in Christ,

Fr. Basil & Family, The Parish Council, The Choir and Choir Director

Click here to give online

(Note:PayPal was down at publication time - check back plater if the link doesn’t work)

Focus on the Faith

ON THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST

“Behold, I bring you good tidings of a great joy which comes to all people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11)

This day is a day of “great joy,” because it is the fulfillment of all those wishes offered for a “Merry Christmas!” Right? This IS a merry day, it IS a happy day, this IS a thrilling day, not because of the food, or the presents, or the family and friends, although these all contribute to it. No, this day is merry because the Lord God Himself descended from Heaven to be born on earth for us men, and for our salvation!
What Orthodox Christian can greet this day with a feeling of coldness? Who will not rejoice deep in his soul, hearing that “a Saviour is born today, who is Christ the Lord?” It is for this reason that one of the Church hymns sung so joyously today, says: “Let Heaven and earth rejoice today… let Angels and men exult . . . the whole creation dances because the Saviour and Lord is born in Bethlehem!”

But while radiantly rejoicing today, brothers and sisters, let’s not forget that this day is also one of a great Divine mystery—as the Apostle says to Timothy: “A most devout mystery—God has appeared in Flesh” (I Timothy 3:16). This mystery is incomprehensible to our mind, it is comprehended only by faith. That which has no beginning—begins. The Eternal Spirit receives a beginning in the flesh. The Almighty God humbles Himself to take the form of a human slave, for He “took the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:7).
St. John Chrysostom, in his homily on the Nativity of Christ, says this “Imagine to yourselves that the Sun had humbled itself and descended to the earth - not burning it, and not destroying it, but warming, lighting, and vivifying it! So it is that the Eternal Sun of Righteousness—Christ the Lord—descends to this tiny earth, to us, infirm creatures, who are weak and sinful, in order to enlighten, vivify, and save us!”

This greatest miracle of Divine Love brought God to earth. Love performed this great miracle. “For God so loved the world (that’s US!), that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3: l6).

How shall we respond, beloved brothers and sisters, to this immeasurable Divine love? Love ought to be answered with love. May our love be demonstrated in our hymns and carols to the new-born God¬-Child! May it be demonstrated in our compunctionate prayers to Him! May it be demonstrated in our pious contemplation and meditation on the great mystery of the Incarnation of God! Most of all, may it be demonstrated in love and compassion we show towards the “least”—to all the poor and unfortunates, to those who are forced to greet even this great day with tears, in want, in sickness and sorrow. Our Lord is so full of love and compassion for mankind that He considers everything that is done for them, as being done for Him “As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me,” He says (Matt. 25:40).
Thus, in these holy days let the holy joy of the Birth of Christ delight not only our personal hearts, but also those who are in need of our mercy and our help! May we all celebrate and exult together, glorifying the immeasurable Love Divine manifested to us now and which has shone forth in the Birth of Christ Amen.

Orthopraxis

SOME NOTES ON CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS & PRACTICES

by Matushka Ioanna (Joanie) Rhodes
As Christmas is just around the corner I am looking forward to it with great anticipation. It is the joy of the Incarnation of our Lord that comes to mind and I stand in awe and wonderment at this occurrence. It’s not the glitz and glitter and the commercialism that we see all around us that represents the tradition of the season. It is how the church gives to us the way by which we celebrate and rejoice within our homes. Most of us decorate our homes by having a Christmas tree and bringing in greenery from the outdoors for decoration. Some of us make special foods of the season, much like Pascha. This is not something that is arbitrarily done. The greenery and the garlands we bring in, to our homes represent eternal life, because they are “ever” green, eternally alive.  The Christmas Tree represents the tree of life.  I have always believed that in the church we all have the same or similar traditions and customs, but we express them differently depending on what our cultural background is. So, as I say,” It is the same but different.  Amongst the Russians, the Greeks, and the English it is common to make a Christmas bread, the Russians call it Krendel,  the Greeks, Hristopsomo (Christ’s Bread), the English, Christmas Bread. Both the Krendel and the Christmas Bread are made with dried fruit, while the Greek is not.  Fruit represents the fruit of Paradise.  Another custom amongst the Russians is to have Koutyia on Christmas Eve, which is similar to Frumenty that was had amongst the English. The wheat here is foreshadowing the resurrection and the sweetening of it, the sweetness of Paradise. Another common food amongst the English was Mincemeat pie, which was originally not made round at all, but rectangular to represent the manger of Christ and it is made with spices such as cloves and cinnamon as a remembrance of the spices brought to the Christ Child by the Magi. In the center of the mincemeat pie was placed an image of the Christ Child. The spices were also foreshadowing Christ being anointed with spices, after his death on the cross. This particular pie was only made for Christmas and at no other time. Due to the Protestant movement in England it was against the law for a while to even make it. Later on it was brought back and refashioned to be circular with no crèche in the center. in America, it was transferred to Thanksgiving time instead of Christmas.

From the Fathers

THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST: THE FEAST OF RENEWAL

By St. John of Kronstadt

We are approaching, beloved brethren, the world-saving feast of the birth in the flesh of our Lord God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. For several days before the feast, the holy Church will celebrate this wondrous mystery in the spiritual hymns of her daily services. These hymns remind us of our divine birthright, and the squandering of our sonship through sin; of its restoration through repentance of our common spiritual kinship and of the spirit of love and care for one another.

In order that we celebrate this feast of God's limitless love and His extreme condescension, not in a worldly, but in a spiritual manner, let us briefly consider the following: Why did God become man while remaining God? And what does God's incarnation require of us? Having set forth these two questions, I shall answer the first one with the words of the Archangel to Joseph, the betrothed of the Holy Virgin: God became man to save His people from their sin. (Mt 1:21). For this reason He is called Jesus, which means Saviour. And so, it was for our salvation that the Lord came to earth and became man, for the regeneration in us of the image of God which had fallen. The Son of God became the Son of  Man in order to make us sons of God who were the children of wrath and eternal damnation. In the words of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian: that we should be called the sons of God (I Jn 3:1); Now God became man, that He may make Adam a god. (Stichera for lauds of Annunciation).

O the unutterable love of God! O the unspeakable compassion of the Lord! And He, the Most Holy, did this: He deified mankind in His chosen ones, cleansed them from all evil both of soul and body, sanctified, glorified, led them from corruption to everlasting life, made them worthy to stand in blessedness before the terrible throne of His glory. And He deified us also, brothers and sisters; He gave us a new birth through water and the Holy Spirit, sanctified us, made us His sons, gave us the promise of eternal life and eternal blessings, surpassing all telling and imagining. And in confirmation, as a surety of the future blessings, He gave to us, still here on earth, the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts: God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. (Gal 4:6) writes the Apostle.

And so, my brothers, the feast of the Nativity of Christ reminds us that we are born of God, that we are sons of God, that we have been saved from sin and that we must live for God and not sin; not for flesh and blood, not for the whole world which lies in evil and wickedness (I Jn 5:19), not for earthly corruption. We must live for an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you (1 Pet 1:4), and for which the Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel. (Isa 7:14). You who are preparing yourselves to meet the feast of Christ's Nativity, ask yourselves: Have you preserved that spiritual birth from God which we each received in baptism? Are you always heedful of your Divine sonship and the sacred treasure of the Spirit which you acquired in baptism? Have you grown closer to God through faith and love, like His beloved children?

Have you loved one another as befits children of God? Have you despised ugly, evil and all-destructive sin? Have you loved truth and every virtue? Have you loved immortal and eternal life prepared in a land which will not pass away and to which we are called by Him Who now has come to our corrupt earth? These are questions which we must ask ourselves now and decide; our decisions cannot be only with our minds, but above all, with our hearts and with our very deeds. In general, we should not allow ourselves to celebrate any Christian feast without seriously considering: What is its meaning and what is its purpose?

What is our responsibility towards it? We must know the Christian meaning behind every feast. Then the feast will become profitable for our soul's salvation. Otherwise, the enemy of our salvation will snatch us and turn the feast of God into a feast of the flesh, of lawlessness, as so often happens. Having resolved the first question on "why did God become man?", we came also to the resolution of the second: What does the Incarnation of the Son of God require of us? It requires of us to remember and hold in sacred honor the fact that we are born of God, and if we have sullied and trampled upon this birthright with our sins, we must restore it by washing it with tears of repentance; we must restore and renew within us the image of God which has fallen and the union with God of blessedness, truth and holiness which has been destroyed.

The incarnation of the Son of God requires from us, above all, mutual love, humility, that we help and serve one another; for how can we not love one another when we see the love that God has towards us? How can we not be humble, seeing such humility, such voluntary condescension for our sake of the Son of God? How can we not help one another in every way possible, when the Son of God Himself came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many (Mt 20:28). Like the wise men, let us, brothers, also prepare gifts for the new-born King. Instead of gold, frankincense and myrrh, let us bring Him the gifts of faith, hope, and love. Amen.

Upcoming Events

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November, 2023


Focus on the Faith

ADVENT & THE NATIVITY FAST

On November 15, forty days before Christmas, the Church begins to prepare for the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord. This time of preparation is sometimes called 'Advent,' because advent means the coming or arrival of someone or something. During these forty days, we prepare to celebrate the coming of God's Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, into this world. Jesus came into this world as a little child born as an infant from Mary, His Most-holy mother.

Many faithful people had waited a long time for the coming of Jesus. God had promised to send a Savior to His people, hundreds, and even thousands, of years before Jesus was born on earth. During that long period of time when people were waiting, God spoke to prophets -- holy men and leaders among His people -- and told them how He wanted His people to prepare for the coming of His Son. He told them that they must repent, change their way of life, make peace with one another, care for each other, and be obedient and faithful to God.

Every year, during these forty days, we also wait and prepare for the coming of Jesus. We repent of our bad habits and try to change our way of life. We think about how we have behaved toward other people, and we try harder to be helpful to our friends, our neighbors, and members of our family. We also try to be faithful and obedient to God in all that we do. Through fasting and extra effort in prayer, we try to prepare both our bodies and minds to receive Christ into our lives and homes.

Forty days can seem like a very long time to wait for something; it is more than one month, almost six weeks. We know how anxious we are when a birthday or name day approaches; we want to start planning a party and inviting our friends. If we are preparing for someone else's special day, we begin thinking about the kind of gift we wish to give them. As the day draws near, we can hardly wait to begin the celebration. When we stop to think about it, we realize that part of the enjoyment of each celebration is the time we spend getting ready for it and waiting for it. The Church helps us to get ready for the celebration of Jesus' birth. First, the Church issues an announcement, like an invitation, telling us that the Feast of the Nativity is approaching. Then, during the last weeks of November and the beginning of December, there are more announcements made which tell us what to look for as the feast approaches and how to get ready. These are the days on which some of the announcements are made:

November 15 - This is the first day of the Nativity Fast, which begins forty days before Christmas. It is a good day for deciding how we should spend these days of Lent, what we should do to try to improve our way of living, and how we should spend our time in order to allow more time for prayer and preparation for the coming feast. On this day, we might mark the special days on the calendar that lead us to Christmas, or we might begin to make an Advent Calendar or make an Advent Wreath to help us keep track of the days before Christmas. We can also start an Advent Chain of good deeds that can be used to adorn our Christmas Tree.

November 21 - This day is a major feast which commemorates the Entrance of the Virgin into the Temple. It is a feast that honors Jesus' mother, the Theotokos and Ever-virgin Mary, and it marks the first announcement that is given in the Church of the coming of Jesus. During the Matins service, the words, 'Christ is born! Glorify Him!" are sung for the first time. They will be sung at every Sunday Matins until Christmas.

November 30 - The last day of November is the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle. During the services commemorating the life of St. Andrew, the Church adds two more hymns which tell us what will happen on the day of Jesus' birth.

December 6 - This day is dedicated to the memory of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. The life of St. Nicholas is a good example for us to follow if we want to learn how to care for and help one another. In the services on this day, we hear another hymn which tells us how the whole earth prepares to glorify the birth of Jesus.

The Two Sundays Before the Nativity of Christ (Christmas)

The first of these days is called the Sunday of the Forefathers. The verses from the services on this day tell us how the people of the Old Testament prepared for the coming of the Savior. The Sunday before Christmas is the Sunday of the Fathers. The services repeat some of the same hymns that were sung on the Sunday of the Forefathers. The Gospel lesson read on this day lists all the generations of the ancestors of Jesus who lived on earth.

Orthopraxis

Candles in the Orthodox Tradition

“The candles lit before icons of saints reflect their ardent love for God for Whose sake they gave up everything that man prizes in life, including their very lives, as did the holy apostles, martyrs and others. These candles also mean that these saints are lamps burning for us and providing light for us by their own saintly living, their virtues and their ardent intercession for us before God through their constant prayers by day and night. The burning candles also stand for our ardent zeal and the sincere sacrifice we make out of reverence and gratitude to them for their solicitude on our behalf before God. (St. John of Kronstadt)

What does an Orthodox person, entering the temple, do first of all? Nine times out of ten — he or she buys a candle. Our initial participation in authentic Christian liturgical prayer begins with a small wax candle. It is impossible to imagine an Orthodox church without burning candles, unless, of course, we have a pandemic ravaging the world.

The Holy Fool-for-Christ Simeon of Thessalonica (XV century), said that pure wax symbolizes the purity and innocence of people offering it. The wax is offered as a sign of our repentance for our obstinacy and willfulness. The softness and malleability of the wax speaks to our readiness to obey God. The flame of the candle shows the warmth of our love to God, and hence the domes on top of most Russian Orthodox churches are in the shape of a candle flame (not an onion!). That flame also represents our Christ as the Light of the World Who will draw all people to Himself. We should not put up a candle just for the sake of ritual, with our hearts remaining cold. The outward action must be supported by an inward prayer, be it even a simple one expressed in your own words.

Candles are integral to our Orthodox worship. The newly baptized and those receiving the Mystery of Holy Matrimony hold candles. The burial service is read in the presence of many burning candles. Believers who participate in a Cross Procession around the temple hold candles and shield the flame from the wind with their hands. There are no strict rules about the number of candles to be offered or any definite place to put them, with this exception: that candles placed at the memorial table are for the dead. To buy a candle is a small sacrifice to God, anoffering which is voluntary and not burdensome. A big and expensive candle does not possess any more grace than a small one.

Those who come to church regularly usually place candles near the icon of the feast or saint celebrated on that day. It is also customary to place them at the icons of the Savior and the Holy Theotokos — offering a prayer for your living friends and relations. If you wish, you can offer a candle at any icon, of any saint where a candle stand is provided.

Sometimes there are so many burning candles on the candle stand in front of an icon, that there is no room to put yours. You should not put out somebody else’s candle so that you can light yours, unless theirs is down to the very end. Just light yours elsewhere. God knows your heart and knows your good intention. Also, if there is plenty of room on the candlestand, dont place your lit candle directly next to another lit candle, but put space between them. Why? The will last longer, burn straighter, and wont melt, creating a fire hazard. Do not be embarrassed or upset by somebody putting out “your” candle when the service is over — your offering has already been accepted by God. The candle is no longer “yours” but His. You should pay no heed to foolish tales about the necessity to place a candle “only with your right hand,” or about the misfortunes that will happen if the flame of your candle goes out, or that it is a deadly sin to melt the candle at the bottom in order to fix it better in the candleholder, etc. There are many traditions (one might say “superstitions”) associated with church life, and many of them are meaningless.

Your beeswax candle is pleasing to God. But He appreciates the burning zeal of your heart much more. Our spiritual life and participation in services cannot be limited to putting up a candle. The candle itself will not deliver us from sins, will not bring us closer to God, neither will it give us strength for resistance in the “unseen warfare.” A candle is full of symbolic meaning, but we are not saved by symbols, but by the grace to which the symbol draws us, God’s grace.

Proper Times to Light Candles As I said before, Orthodox people typically light candles when coming into the churchprior to the beginning of a service, and that is usually the best time to light them. But there are times when candles should not be lit. It is not proper to light candles during the Epistle or Gospel readings, during the sermon, the Little or Great Entrances, the Creed, the Lords Prayer, the Anafora and consecration of the Holy Gifts, or basically anytime when the faithful are called upon to stand upright: and “attend.

Also, its good to remember that candles are not playthings, lit or unlit. They are holy things, consecrated to God. Only those children who are old enough and have shown a certain degree of spiritual maturity should be allowed to light their own candles before the icons, but only under the watchful supervision of their parents. If, however, the child makes a game of this, the privilege should be revoked until such time as he/she understands what they are doing. Always stand next to your child as he/she handles the candle because a moment of inattention on the part of the child (or the parent) can have serious consequences. Let us also refrain from sending bored children to "tend" the candlestands. The distraction often created by adults noisily blowing out candles and tossing them into a box is bad enough, but the effect is magnified when the job is undertaken by a child who craves diversion or attention.  

 

Feasts and Saints

Entrance of the Mother of God Into the Temple
21 November 2020

Like the feast of the Nativity of the Mother of God, the feast of her Entrance into the Temple was derived from the Oral Tradition, which is the church's historical memory. In order to emphasize the person of the Virgin, and her consecration of herself to the service of God, the Church celebrates her as “the fulfillment of the economy of the Creator.” The mystery of this feast, like the Dormition, leads us into the very treasure-trove of the Holy Tradition. The Orthodox Church, due to her 2,000-year link with the people and the events of the New Testament period, breaks the silence of the Scriptures and shows us the amazing and inconceivable ways of God. She shows us how God Himself prepared the world, and prepared this extraordinary young girl, to become the receptacle of God the Word, "the Mother predetermined before the ages.” It is the Church that explains to us, how she who was “preached by the prophets,” is now escorted into the Holy of Holies, like a “Hidden Treasure of the Glory of God.”

The "temple" is the dominant focus of the services and in the icon of the feast itself. The Holy Spirit abandoned the old Temple in the end, yet He conferred upon it a glory unimagined under the covenant of the Law. And what glory was that? The entrance of the Virgin into the Holy of Holies - she who would give birth to “Jesus, made a Hight Priest forever after the order of Melchisedec” (Heb. 6: 20). He who received and welcomed the Holy Virgin, the priest Zacharias, (the future father of John the Baptist,) recognized in Her the new Ark of the Covenant, "the living Ark” which would replace the one that was lost. In the 9th Ode of the Canon for the feast we hear these words: “Beholding the Entry of the All Pure One, the angels were struck with amazement, seeing how the Virgin entered into the Holy of Holies.” The Divine plan of the Incarnation remains incomprehensible to the angels. They themselves will come to understanding only through the Church. Only in and through the Church is revealed “the mystery, which, from the beginning of the world, hath been hidden in God” (Eph. 3: 9-10). Which mystery? It is the mystery of the preparation of the humanity of Christ, the very flesh of God. In the temple in Jerusalem, God's chosen Maiden prepared herself to later become “the Temple of His Body.” The feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos, allows us a glimpse of the revelation of the Mother of God as the new Ark of the Covenant, and gives us the clear understanding of the verse of Psalm 130 sung at the Vespers of the Dormition: “Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou and the ark of thy holiness.”
In the icon of the Feast, the scene first unfolds in the narthex or porch of the temple, near the entrance to “the Holy Place," the "nave.” The priest Zachariah, arrayed in his priestly vestments, stands before the doors on the first step of the staircase (the fifteen steps or degrees of the temple which correspond to the fifteen “psalms of the degrees.”) Below, the Holy Virgin, outstretching her arms towards Zachariah, starts to climb the steps which lead towards “the Holy of Holies.” At the top, she is seen again, already there, sitting on the highest step, near the door of the “Holy of Holies,” where an angel comes to assist her. It is here, in this earthly heaven, where the holy maiden ascends the spiritual ladder of contemplation, her beginning on the way of union during which she will be “nourished on heavenly bread.” The Theotokos is represented twice on the festal icon. Her features are not at all child-like, but her small size indicates that she is very young. She is already a perfected person and is seen clothed in her traditional maphorion, her outer cloak of reddish royal purple, decorated with the three stars representing her virginity before, during, and after the birth of Christ.

Behind the Virgin, in the center of the courtyard, Ss. Joachim and Anna move towards the priest Zachariah, presenting their Daughter to him. They are followed by young girls, who with lit tapers in their hands accompany the Virgin on her path to ultimate dedication to God. These young girls, in essence, represent all of us. Like the wise virgins of the parable, we want to be with the Virgin today, holding our lit tapers, contemplating the Mystery of this wonderful feast. There is great grace for us in this holy image, and in this holy contemplation. Glory be to God, Who bestows upon us such a great and soul-profiting Feast!

From the Holy Fathers

"Now, when Righteous Joachim and Anna saw that they had been granted their wish, and that the divine promise to them was realized in fact, then they on their part, as true lovers of God, hastened to fulfill their vow given to God as soon as the child had been weaned from milk. They have now led this truly sanctified child of God, now the Mother of God, this Virgin into the Temple of God. And She, being filled with Divine gifts even at such a tender age, ... She, rather than others, determined what was being done over Her. In Her manner She showed that She was not so much presented into the Temple, but that She Herself entered into the service of God of her own accord, as if she had wings, striving towards this sacred and divine love. She considered it desirable and fitting that she should enter into the Temple and dwell in the Holy of Holies.” (St. Gregory Palamas)

Upcoming Events

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