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Fr. Anthony talks with Fr. Gregory Jensen about his most recent "Father, Speak a Word" substack article, "The Problem is I'm Shallow." The idea is that our lives are superficial and unlikely to lead to the kind of healing and growth that we are called towards. They also discuss a great irony: those who seem most motivated to move towards depth (the rigorists and gerundists) do it in a way that only increases the problem because they get distracted by the forms rather than inward discernment and change. The answer to superficiality is 1) to become part of the Orthodox Church and 2) to immerse oneself in the (seemingly mundane and certainly repetitive) faith as it should be lived within our very real and often messy families and parishes. Enjoy the show!
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Flavius is an independent researcher and journalist who travels the world collecting and sharing the stories of how people and their faith are affected by war and hardship. I think you will enjoy our conversation about his previous work, how he came to it, and the hardships too many Ukrainians are facing as a result of the combination of Russia's unjust and fratricidal war and local corruption. Flavius's witness and voice are important and compelling. You can read his article, "Ukraine's Two Wars: Ukrainians are dying on the frontline while fighting to preserve their faith" at The American Conservative. Enjoy the show!
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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2 Corinthians 9:6-11. If we are not careful, the seeds we sow will grow briars. Sow well, in Christ!
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Ten Commandments of Chanting
Bring and maintain peace in the kliros. It’s a witness of cooperation, harmony, and reverence – nothing else belongs there (any more than it does in the altar or nave).
Come early and be prepared. This is especially true if you are reading an epistle. Prayer is part of the preparation. Spend time with the priest before the service to compare notes/get on the same page (and get a blessing).
Our ears are more important than our voices.
Make the hand-offs sound like you are part of the same team, not separate or (egad!) competing. In chanting, this includes re-pitching only when there is a problem.
Chant clearly and confidently. This is the Word of God, offered to His people.
Chant humbly and without vainglory. The kliros is a magnet for pride.
Don’t settle for “good enough”. Even beginners get the notes right. Good chanting requires making the services witness to the harmony and unity of God.
Match the tempo of the service. It’s not a race, nor is it a dirge.
Let the service speak for itself. It is perfect, we become perfect in and through it.
Sing with joy and thanksgiving! We bring beauty to the services as much through our witness as our voices.
Terms:
Intoning – musically reading simply around a single note. Often done with Psalms.
Chanting – singing the words according to a set pattern or Tone.
Tone – a set melody based on a given system (e.g. Byzantine or Common).
Plain Reading – can be done with a normal reading voice or intoning
Kliros – the home base of the chanter(s).
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Revelation, Session Five
Christ the Savior, Anderson SC
Fr. Anthony PerkinsSources:
The translation of the Apocalypse is from the Orthodox Study Bible.
Lawrence R. Farley, The Apocalypse of St. John: A Revelation of Love and Power, The Orthodox Bible Study Companion (Chesterton, IN: Ancient Faith Publishing, 2011),
Bishop Averky, The Epistles and the Apocalypse (Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament, Volume III. (Holy Trinity Seminary Press, 2018).
Andrew of Caesarea, Commentary on the Apocalypse, ed. David G. Hunter, trans. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou, vol. 123, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2011).
Jack Norman Sparks, The Orthodox Study Bible: Notes (Thomas Nelson, 2008), 1712.
Venerable Bede, The Explanation of the Apocalypse, trans. Edward Marshall (Oxford: James Parker and Co., 1878).
William C. Weinrich, ed., Revelation, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005).
Review – from the Orthodox Study Bible
Introduction and Blessing
1:1. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants – things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John.
2. Who bore witness to the Word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. [speaking of the Gospel of St. John]
3. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
Greeting to the Seven Churches
4. John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,
5. and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
6. and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever. Amen. (OSB)
7. Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
8. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord (God), who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
10. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,
11. saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last.” And, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.
12-13. Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
New Material – from the Orthodox Study Bible
14-20. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.
1:14. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire
OSB. Further, Christ is here described as God, His hair (v. 14) being that of Daniel’s vision of God as the “Ancient of Days” (7:9; see also 1En 46:1). His eyes signify knowledge; His feet (v. 15), permanence and stability; His voice, authority or teaching; His right hand (v. 16), power; His two-edged sword, complete discernment. This imagery continues throughout Revelation to affirm the preexistence and eternal divinity of the Son of Man (see also Jn 1:1–18). Thus, in Christ man (v. 14) and God (vv. 15, 16) are united.
St. Bede.
14. white. The antiquity and eternity of majesty are represented by whiteness on the head, to which all the chief ones adhere, as hairs, who, because of the sheep which are to be on the right hand are white, like wool, and because of the innumerable multitude of the white-robed and the elect, who come forth from heaven, are glistering like snow.
eyes. The eyes of the Lord are preachers, who, with spiritual fire, bring light to the faithful, and to the unbelieving a consuming flame.Andrew of Caesarea.
1:14. His head and his hair were white as white wool, as snow, and his eyes as a flame of fire.For even though he is recent amidst us, nonetheless he is ancient; rather, he is before time. His white hair is a symbol of this. And his eyes are as a flame of fire, on the one hand, illuminating those who are holy and, on the other hand, burning the sacrilegious.
1:15. His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;
OSB. 1:15 Dan 2:31–44 indicates this mysterious metal foundation not only provides stability but has the ability to forcibly crush all opposition as well. These images are contrasted with the feet of clay found in Dan 2:33, 43: the kingdoms of this world are not permanent, nor ultimately triumphant.
St. Andrew of Caesarea.
1:15a. And his feet were like glowing brass, red-hot as in a furnace. [21]
The divine Gregory also understood that the feet meant the divine condescension through the flesh. For his feet by treading on the divinity achieved our salvation. The feet are also the foundations of the Church, like glowing brass, which physicians say is a sweet-smelling incense, which they call masculine incense. Or otherwise: On the one hand, meaning the human nature by the glowing brass, and on the other hand the divine nature by the incense, through both of which is also shown the sweetness of the faith and the unconfused union . Or the fine brass signifies the beautiful melody of the gospel proclamation, and the incense is the return of the nations by which the bride is summoned. And the feet of Christ are also the apostles, who have been tested by fire in the furnace of trials in imitation of their Teacher.
1:15b. And his voice like the sound of many waters.
Naturally. His voice is in common with that of the Spirit, from which “rivers of living water flowed from the belly” of the faithful, and it made a penetrating sound over all the earth.
St. Bede.
15. feet. By the “fiery feet” he means the Church of the last time, which is to be searched and proved by severe afflictions. For orichalcum is brass, which, by much fire and various ingredients, is brought to the colour of gold. Another translation, which renders it, “like orichalcum of Lebanon,” signifies that in Judæa, of which Lebanon is a mountain, the Church will be persecuted, and especially at the last. The temple also frequently received the name of Lebanon, as there is said to ito, “Open, O Lebanon, thy gates, and let the fire devour thy cedars.”
voice. The voice of confession, and preaching, and praise does not resound in Judæa alone, but among many peoples.1:16. He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.
OSB: 1:16 The Lord holds the stars that represent the seven churches (1:20), and hence, the Church. For Christ is Lord of the Church. In His just judgment, the sword He wields is the Word of God, which cuts effortlessly to the very marrow and heart of humanity (see 2:16; 18:15; Is 11:4; 49:2; WSol 18:15; Eph 6:17; 2Th 2:9; Heb 4:12). The brilliance of His face recalls the Uncreated Light John saw radiating from the Savior at the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor.
Andrew of Caesarea.
1:16. And he had in his right hand seven stars, and coming out from his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword, and his appearance as the sun shines in its power. [22]
Further down he says that the seven stars are the seven angels of the churches. The sharp, double-edged sword means his decision against the wicked, “sharper than any two-edged sword,” or the sword of the Spirit circumcising our inner man.38 Like the sun his face shines, not in a splendor to the senses, but to the intellect. For he is the “sun of righteousness,” shining with his own power and authority, not like the sensory sun, which as a created object by God-given power and divine command.
St. Bede.
16. right hand. In the right hand of Christ is the spiritual Church. “On Thy right hand,” he says, “stood the queen in a vesture of gold.” And as it stands on His right hand, He saithq, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, receive the kingdom.”
mouth. He, the Judge of all things visible and invisible, “after He has killed, has power to cast into hell fire.”
countenance. Such as the Lord appeared on the Mount, will He appear after the judgment to all the saints, for at the judgment the ungodly will behold Him Whom they pierced. But all this appearance of the Son of Man belongs also to the Church, for He Himself was made the Christ in the same nature with it, and He gives to it a sacerdotal dignity and a judicial power, and to “shine as the sun in the kingdom of His Father.”1:17-18. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen.
OSB. 1:17, 18 Mortal humanity cannot bear the revelation of divine glory, a frequent biblical theme (see Ex 19:21; 33:20; Is 6:5). Just as he fell prostrate at Mount Tabor (Mt 17:6), so also does John here, in the presence of the glorified Savior (see Ezk 1:27; Dan 10:7–9; see also 1En 14:24). Do not be afraid is a revelatory formula from the OT. As a signal for the theophany, it was carried over into the NT (see the Annunciation, Lk 1:30; Jesus walking upon the water, Mt 14:27—“Fear not, I AM”; the Transfiguration, Mt 17:7). In the OT God was called “the first and the last” (Is 44:6; 48:12), and so, too, is the Messiah. Some early heresies (e.g. Docetism) held that Jesus only seemed to die. But the Lord Himself testified, I … was dead, affirming the authenticity of His death; alive forevermore, His Resurrection—the power of which effects His lordship over death and its realm. The Orthodox icon of the resurrected Christ depicts Him with these keys (v. 18) in hand, standing triumphantly on the open gates of Hades.
Fr. John Farley. Like those receiving such theophanic appearances in Old Testament days (e.g. Ezek. 1:28; Dan. 8:17), John fell at His feet as if dead. Even though he had leaned in familiarity upon His breast at the Last Supper (John 13:23), yet such is the power of the Lord in His heavenly exaltation that even the beloved disciple is overwhelmed. The Lord restores him in preparation to write the things he has seen and will see.
He tells John, “Do not be afraid,” and in this He tells all of John’s churches not to fear. They need not fear death, martyrdom, or anything in all the world. Why? Because Christ has overcome the world, trampling down death by death. He became dead, but now He is alive to ages of ages. As such, He is the first and the last, sovereign over all (compare God as the Alpha and Omega in 1:8) and the Living One, the source of all life. He had authority over death and Hades by His Resurrection. Death cannot now separate us from Him, for He is Lord of both the living and the dead.
St. Andrew of Caesarea.
Christ revived the Apostle himself who had suffered through the weakness of human nature like Joshua son of Nun and Daniel, by saying to him, “Do not fear, for I have not come near to kill you, since I am beginningless and endless, having become dead for your sakes.”
1:18b. And I have the keys of Hades and of death. [23]Instead , he has authority over bodily and spiritual death.
St. Bede. 17.
I fell. As a man, he trembles at the spiritual vision, but his human fear is banished by the clemency of the Lord.
the first. He is the first, because “by Him were all things made;” the last, because in Him are all things restoredu.
18. keys. Not only, He saith, have I conquered death by resurrection, but I have dominion also over death itself. And this He also bestowed upon the Church by breathing upon it the Holy Spirit, saying, “Whose sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them,” and the rest.
1:19. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.
OSB. John’s visions have to do with both the present (things which are) and the future.
Fr. John Finlay. Then Christ gives John a command: he is to write the things which he has seen, and the things which are, and the things which are about to happen after these things and send them to the main churches under his care in Asia. (From these seven main locations, they could be sent out to other smaller church communities as well.) This gives a basic outline of the Book of Revelation as a whole: it relates what John has seen (the vision of Christ in ch. 1), the things which are (the present state of the churches, described in chs. 2–3), and the things which are about to happen in the future (the prophecies of chs. 4–22).
St. Andrew of Caesarea. [nothing]
St. Bede. Reveal to all the things which thou alone hast seen, that is, the various labours of the Church, and that the evil are to be mingled in it with the good unto the end of the world.
1:20. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.
OSB. The angels of the seven churches have been variously interpreted as being (1) the guardian angels of the church communities; (2) the pastoral leadership of these local churches; (3) a personification of the prevailing spirit of the given congregations; or (4) simply the messengers responsible for delivering the letters. The term “angel” (heavenly or earthly messenger) is used over 60 times in Revelation.
Fr. John Farley. The introduction concludes with an explanation of the meaning of the seven stars in His hand and the seven lampstands among which He stands. The seven lampstands are the seven churches of Asia, and the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. This is a reference to what may be termed the individual corporate personality of each church community. Each local church is thus portrayed as having an angel, even as each person has his guardian angel. Just as a person’s guardian angel resembles that person (see those who reacted to the announcement that Peter was standing unexpectedly at the door by suggesting that it was not Peter but his angel; Acts 12:15), so the church’s angel sums up and embodies the local church. The angel of the church is an image of the strengths and weaknesses of each church. In writing to the angel of the church of Ephesus, the Lord actually speaks to the church of Ephesus in its corporate aspect. We see this today as well, in that church communities have corporate characteristics—some are loving, some judgmental, some zealous, some lax. The reference to each church’s “angel” is a way of addressing each community as a community, using the language of the apocalyptic.
St. Andrew of Caesarea. Since Christ is the “true light,” because of this, those abundant in his light are lamps as they shine in the night of this present life. Naturally, the churches are called lampstands, because, as the luminaries, they “have the word of life” according to the Apostle. The lamps and lampstands are gold because of the honor and purity of the faith in them. An angel has stood guard for each of these, just as the Lord says,44 and Gregory the Theologian had understood the present chapter: he figuratively called them “stars” because of the brightness and clarity of their nature.
St. Bede. stars. That is, the rulers of the Church. For the priest, as Malachi says, is “the angel of the Lord of hosts.”
Malachi 2:7. “for the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and people should seek the law from his mouth, for he is the messenger (malakh/angel) of the Lord Almighty.”
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St. Luke 8:5-15. In today's homily, Fr. Anthony speaks about how a marriage should function in an Orthodox context and how that translates to our life in the Church. Enjoy the show!
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Here's the homily I planned on giving before I called an audible.
Homily Notes: Tending the Garden of our Souls
St. Luke 8:5-15: The Gospel of the Sower
“Have you rejected Satan and all his works and all his pomp and all his pride?
Have you rejected Satan and all his works and all his pomp and all his pride?
Have you rejected Satan and all his works and all his pomp and all his pride?”“Have you accepted Christ?
Have you accepted Christ?
Have you accepted Christ?”Our affirmation of these questions before our baptism, the sacramental participation that followed, and the fact that we are here today means that we are Christians. We have rejected the way of the world – which is ruled by Satan – and have become part of the New Humanity that is preparing to inherit the New World; a world that is uncorrupted by Satan and the sins of the Old Humanity.
To move away from eschatological and theological terms into the beautiful metaphors Christ gave us in today’s parable: the seed of perfection (Christ Himself!) has been planted in our souls.
A seed is a miraculous thing; it contains all the information needed for the growing of a perfect plant. The DNA is all there. A wheat seed has everything needed to grow up to be a perfect stalk of wheat. More amazingly, a small acorn can grow into an enormous tree. The seed of Christ that has been planted in our souls is jut like that: we have been given everything we need – all the information – to grow into perfect men and women, into saints, into little Christ’s… to grow into the kind of peaceful, loving, and productive humans we were conceived and born to become. The perfect seed is within our souls.
But is that enough? We have all planted many seeds in our lifetime. Good seeds. Good soil. And yet we know that if we are not careful, we will still end up with a terrible harvest of weeds and brambles.
Why? How does this happen?
We live in a world that is full of loose spores. The winds are full of the world’s little seeds. They, too, carry all the potential of full growth within themselves. At some point, some of these spores are bound to find their way into our gardens … and into the soil of our souls.
The corruption of our gardens may begin through inattention – a lack of what we call “nepsis” – but that doesn’t explain why we end up with a bumper crop of thistles and thorns, leaving the seed we originally planted weak or even completely dead. How did it happen? It certainly wasn’t the seed. And it wasn’t just that we weren’t paying attention – we always notice when something has changed in our gardens and in our lives.
It happened because we didn’t bother with the difficult work of weeding.
Weeding is such a judgmental term – it assumes a discernment that we have all but forgotten. It requires, for instance, the realization, that Church on Sunday is more important than sports or sleeping in; that Feast Days are even more worthy ways to spend vacation days than trips to the beach; that spending a few minutes in prayer is worth the sacrifice of a few minutes of facebook or television; and that chastity is better in every respect than the transitory joy of serial monogamy, pornography, and adultery.
New gardeners can’t tell a beautiful weed from beanstalk; they need to learn. We also need to learn. We need to realize
1. That there are such things as weeds;
2. That they are dangerous threats to our souls, our families, and our communities; and
3. That it is our responsibility as human beings (God’s imagers on this earth; the New Humans!) to pull them out.
Terrible and noxious things have made their way into our souls. We don’t like to call them weeds because some of them are pretty and it sounds so judgmental. But as Christ says, you know a plant by its fruit;vand the plants of this world may look nice for a while, but their fruit is death and damnation (see Luke 6:44).
The Tree of the Cross is the plant that rises from the well-tended garden of the Christian soul, and its fruit is eternal life.
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Fr. Anthony speaks about discernment, the perils of pride in the priesthood, and CS Lewis’ The Abolition of Man.
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Revelation, Session Four
Christ the Savior, Anderson SC
Fr. Anthony PerkinsSources:
The translation of the Apocalypse is from the Orthodox Study Bible.
Lawrence R. Farley, The Apocalypse of St. John: A Revelation of Love and Power, The Orthodox Bible Study Companion (Chesterton, IN: Ancient Faith Publishing, 2011),
Bishop Averky, The Epistles and the Apocalypse (Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament, Volume III. (Holy Trinity Seminary Press, 2018).
Andrew of Caesarea, Commentary on the Apocalypse, ed. David G. Hunter, trans. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou, vol. 123, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2011).
Jack Norman Sparks, The Orthodox Study Bible: Notes (Thomas Nelson, 2008), 1712.
Venerable Bede, The Explanation of the Apocalypse, trans. Edward Marshall (Oxford: James Parker and Co., 1878).
William C. Weinrich, ed., Revelation, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005).
Review
Introduction and Blessing
1:1. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants – things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John.
2. Who bore witness to the Word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. [speaking of the Gospel of St. John]
3. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
Greeting to the Seven Churches
4. John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,
5. and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
6. and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever. Amen. (OSB)
7. Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
New Material
8. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord (God), who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Andrew of Caesarea. Christ is shown here both as God and as the Ruler of all things, both beginningless and at the same time endless, existing now and existing before and having no end, since he is coeternal with the Father, and on account of this he will render to each one the wages of deeds done. Ps 62(61):12; Prv 24:12; Wis 16:14; Rom 2:6; 1 Cor 5:10
St. Bede. Who is. He had said this same thing of the Father, for God the Father came, as He also is to come, in the Son.
St. Augustine. The Lord himself said plainly in the Apocalypse, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first”—before whom is nobody—“the last”—after whom is nobody; he precedes all things and sets a term to all things. Do you want to gaze upon him as the first? “All things were made through him.”49 Do you seek him as the last? “For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified.” In order for you to live at some time or other, you had him as your creator. In order for you to live always, you have him as your redeemer.
9. I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
OSB. Patmos: A small rocky island 40 miles off the western coast of modern Turkey, fifty miles south of Ephesus, to which the Romans exiled criminals. John’s preaching must have been considered a seditious threat to the public interest if he was indeed a prisoner there.
Logos. According to a tradition preserved by Irenaeus, Eusebius, Jerome and others, John, the author of Revelation, was exiled there in the 14th year of the reign of Domitian and subsequently released to Ephesus under Nerva (96 ad).
St. Andrew of Caesarea. “Inasmuch as your brother,” he says, “being also a co-participant in the tribulations on account of Christ, I naturally have acquired trustworthiness among you. Being condemned to live on the island of Patmos on account of the witness of Jesus, I will announce to you the mysteries seen by me on it.”
10. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,
OSB. In the Spirit may mean John received the revelation in a visionary ecstasy (see Ezk 3:12 - Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place.), but more probably that he was in the worship (“in Spirit and in truth”) of the Lord. The Lord’s Day is the earliest reference to the Christian name for Sunday. The Didache and St. Ignatius of Antioch show this name was used very early for the day when Christians gathered to celebrate the Resurrection in the Holy Eucharist. As a fulfillment of the first day of the week of the old creation, Sunday becomes the “eighth day,” the “first day of the new creation.” The term “eighth day” is seen in 2En 33:1 (“On the eighth day I likewise appointed, so that the 8th day might be the 1st, the first-created of my week, and that it should revolve in the revolution of 7000; ⟨|so that the 8000|⟩ might be in the beginning of a time not reckoned and unending, neither years, nor months, nor weeks, nor days, nor hours ⟨like the first day of the week, so also that the eighth day of the week might return continually”⟩. and inaugurates the first day of the timeless age to come. The loud voice, as of a trumpet is a traditional, eschatological, apocalyptic introduction describing an appearance of the Lord (see Ex 19:16, 19; Mt 24:31; 1Co 15:52; 1Th 4:16).
Andrew of Caesarea. Having been possessed by the Holy Spirit and having a spiritual ear on the Lord’s day, also would have been honored by him on account of the resurrection, he heard a voice that seemed like a trumpet because of the loud sound—“the sound of their voice went out to all the earth”—declaring the beginninglessness and endlessness of God signified by the Alpha and Omega. By it he was commanded to send out his visions to the seven churches, because of the aforementioned number seven applying to the Sabbath period of the future age. For this reason also the great Irenaeus had written that the seven heavens and seven angels leading the rest of them had been created by God first.
11. saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last.” And, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.
OSB. The glorified Christ introduces himself as the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, thus identifying Himself with God the Father (v. 8; 22:13). His position amidst the seven lampstands signifies His presence in the Church (see Mt 5:14)
St. Bede. Seven Churches. The Church of Christ was not at the time in these places alone, but all fulness is comprised in the number seven. Asia, which is interpreted elevation, denotes the proud exaltation of the world in which the Church is sojourning, and, as is the method of the divine mystery, the genus is contained in the species. For the Apostle Paul also writes to seven churches, but not to the same as St. John. And although these seven churches are a sevenfold figure of the whole Church, still the things which he blames, or praises, came to pass in them one by one.
Apringius of Beja (Latin Father of the 6th Century). Ephesus means “my will” or “my plan.” He wills that we know that the whole reality of our faith and the dignity of the catholic church is not to be ascribed to human merit, but they are the will of God and the disposition of the divine purpose. Smyrna means “their song.” And what else is the song of the perfect if not the celestial doctrine and the preaching of the gospel and the advance of the Christian religion, or the melodious confession of the catholic church? Pergamum means “to him who divides their horns.” This refers either to the insolence of the powers of the air, or to the arrogance of the heretics. And he teaches that the pride of the powers is always to be separated and divided from the congregation of the church, for the horns are either power or arrogance. He writes to Thyatira, that is “enlightened.” This signifies that, after the expulsion of heretical pride and after the defeat of temptations from the powers of the air, the holy church is deserving of the light of righteousness. Sardis means the “beginning of beauty.” The church is seized by the sun of righteousness and is illumined by the light of truth, so that she might have the beginning of beauty, the Lord Jesus Christ, and might always shine in perpetual light. Philadelphia means “preserving devotion to the Lord.” After possessing the sun of righteousness, after the illumination of holiness, after the comeliness of holy beauty, the church rightly is devoted to the Lord and preserves herself by an inviolable observation of devotion. Laodicea means either “a tribe beloved of the Lord,” or, as some would have it, “a birth is expected.” Both are meaningful, for she who has merited the beauty of faith and the sun of righteousness and knows that through faith the Lord cleaves to her, might also be a tribe whom the Lord loves, who is both loved by the Lord and preserved by the Lord. Furthermore, the church might well await her own birth, either the regeneration of baptism or the glory of the resurrection, whenever she preserves herself by humility and patience.
Pulpit Commentary (BibleHub). [This] is just the order in which St. John would visit the Churches in making an apostolic circuit as metropolitan. With the exception of what is told us in these chapters, the history of the Churches of Pergamum, Thyatira, and Sardis in the apostolic or sub-apostolic age is quite unknown.
12-13. Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
St. Bede.
Here the figure of the Church is beautifully represented, as holding forth the light of divine love in the brightness of a chaste breast, according to that which the Lord saith, “Let your loins be girt, and your lamps burning.” And he denotes its perfection within and without by the two parts of the number seven; and the individual members of it, consisting of the four qualities of the body, “love the Lord their God with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their strength.”
13. Son of Man. He means that he is like the Son of man when He had overcome death, and had ascended into heaven. For “Although we knew Christ after the flesh, yet henceforth know we Him no more.” And it is well said, “in the midst,” for “All,” he saysl, “who are round about Him shall offer gifts.”
garment. “Poderis,” which is called in Latin, “tunica talaris,” and is a sacerdotal vestment, shews the priesthood of Christ, by which He offered Himself for us, as a victim to the Father, upon the altar of the cross.
girdle. By the “paps” he here means the two Testaments, with which He feeds the body of the saints in communion with Himself. For the golden girdle is the choir of saints, which cleaves to the Lord in harmonious love, and embraces the Testaments, “keeping,” as the Apostle says, “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”Andrew of Caesarea. That the voice was not sensory he signifies saying, I turned, not to hear it, but to see the voice, for spiritual hearing and seeing are the same. I turned, he says, and I saw seven lampstands—which he understood as representing the churches—and in their midst Christ, resembling a man—because he is also God and not a mere man—clothed in a long garment as a high priest of the things above, “according to the order of Melchizedek.” A golden belt was wrapped around him, not on the hip as other men in the era of hedonisms—the divine flesh is inaccessible to these —but on the chest by the breasts also how the boundless and righteous divine anger is restrained by love for humankind. The truth is shown in the girding of the Master’s breasts, that is, the two Testaments, through which the faithful are nourished. The belt is gold on account of honor, purity, and genuineness.
St. Jerome. In the law, John had a leather girdle because the Jews thought that to sin in act was the only sin.… In the Apocalypse of John, our Lord Jesus, who is seen in the middle of the seven lampstands, also wore a girdle, a golden girdle, not about his loins but about the breasts. The law is girdled about the loins, but Christ, that is, the gospel and the fortitude of the monks, binds not only wanton passion but also mind and heart. In the gospel, one is not even supposed to think anything evil; in the law, the fornicator is accused for judgment.… “It is written,” he says, “in the law, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ” This is the leather girdle clinging about the loins. “I say to you, anyone who even looks with lust at a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” This is the golden girdle that is wrapped around the mind and heart.
OSB. One like the Son of Man recalls Daniel’s messianic figure (Dan 7:13—repeated by Stephen at his martyrdom, Acts 7:56). Christ called Himself Son of Man (see especially Mt 24:30ff.), for He is the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy. Additional parallels may be seen in both the Old and New Testaments (Dan 10:6; Mt 17:2; Eph 6:17; Heb 4:12). We also see Him vested in high-priestly garments (see Ex 28:4; 29:5; Lv 16:4; WSol 18:24; Zec 3:4, 5). The gold with which He is girded is both royal (1Mc 10:89) and priestly.
14-16. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. [17a. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.]
OSB. Further, Christ is here described as God, His hair (v. 14) being that of Daniel’s vision of God as the “Ancient of Days” (7:9; see also 1En 46:1). His eyes signify knowledge; His feet (v. 15), permanence and stability; His voice, authority or teaching; His right hand (v. 16), power; His two-edged sword, complete discernment. This imagery continues throughout Revelation to affirm the preexistence and eternal divinity of the Son of Man (see also Jn 1:1–18). Thus, in Christ man (v. 14) and God (vv. 15, 16) are united.
1:15 Dan 2:31–44 indicates this mysterious metal foundation not only provides stability but has the ability to forcibly crush all opposition as well. These images are contrasted with the feet of clay found in Dan 2:33, 43: the kingdoms of this world are not permanent, nor ultimately triumphant.
1:16 The Lord holds the stars that represent the seven churches (1:20), and hence, the Church. For Christ is Lord of the Church. In His just judgment, the sword He wields is the Word of God, which cuts effortlessly to the very marrow and heart of humanity (see 2:16; 18:15; Is 11:4; 49:2; WSol 18:15; Eph 6:17; 2Th 2:9; Heb 4:12). The brilliance of His face recalls the Uncreated Light John saw radiating from the Savior at the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor.St. Bede.
14. white. The antiquity and eternity of majesty are represented by whiteness on the head, to which all the chief ones adhere, as hairs, who, because of the sheep which are to be on the right hand are white, like wool, and because of the innumerable multitude of the white-robed and the elect, who come forth from heaven, are glistering like snow.
eyes. The eyes of the Lord are preachers, who, with spiritual fire, bring light to the faithful, and to the unbelieving a consuming flame.
15. feet. By the “fiery feet” he means the Church of the last time, which is to be searched and proved by severe afflictions. For orichalcum is brass, which, by much fire and various ingredients, is brought to the colour of gold. Another translation, which renders it, “like orichalcum of Lebanon,” signifies that in Judæa, of which Lebanon is a mountain, the Church will be persecuted, and especially at the last. The temple also frequently received the name of Lebanon, as there is said to ito, “Open, O Lebanon, thy gates, and let the fire devour thy cedars.”
voice. The voice of confession, and preaching, and praise does not resound in Judæa alone, but among many peoples.
16. right hand. In the right hand of Christ is the spiritual Church. “On Thy right hand,” he says, “stood the queen in a vesture of gold.” And as it stands on His right hand, He saithq, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, receive the kingdom.”
mouth. He, the Judge of all things visible and invisible, “after He has killed, has power to cast into hell fire.”
countenance. Such as the Lord appeared on the Mount, will He appear after the judgment to all the saints, for at the judgment the ungodly will behold Him Whom they pierced. But all this appearance of the Son of Man belongs also to the Church, for He Himself was made the Christ in the same nature with it, and He gives to it a sacerdotal dignity and a judicial power, and to “shine as the sun in the kingdom of His Father.”Andrew of Caesarea.
1:14. His head and his hair were white as white wool, as snow, and his eyes as a flame of fire.For even though he is recent amidst us, nonetheless he is ancient; rather, he is before time. His white hair is a symbol of this. And his eyes are as a flame of fire, on the one hand, illuminating those who are holy and, on the other hand, burning the sacrilegious.
1:15a. And his feet were like glowing brass, red-hot as in a furnace. [21]
The divine Gregory also understood that the feet meant the divine condescension through the flesh. For his feet by treading on the divinity achieved our salvation. The feet are also the foundations of the Church, like glowing brass, which physicians say is a sweet-smelling incense, which they call masculine incense. Or otherwise: On the one hand, meaning the human nature by the glowing brass, and on the other hand the divine nature by the incense, through both of which is also shown the sweetness of the faith and the unconfused union . Or the fine brass signifies the beautiful melody of the gospel proclamation, and the incense is the return of the nations by which the bride is summoned.33 And the feet of Christ are also the apostles, who have been tested by fire in the furnace of trials in imitation of their Teacher.35
1:15b. And his voice like the sound of many waters.
Naturally. His voice is in common with that of the Spirit, from which “rivers of living water flowed from the belly” of the faithful, and it made a penetrating sound over all the earth.
1:16. And he had in his right hand seven stars, and coming out from his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword, and his appearance as the sun shines in its power. [22]
Further down he says that the seven stars are the seven angels of the churches. The sharp, double-edged sword means his decision against the wicked, “sharper than any two-edged sword,” or the sword of the Spirit circumcising our inner man.38 Like the sun his face shines, not in a splendor to the senses, but to the intellect. For he is the “sun of righteousness,” shining with his own power and authority, not like the sensory sun, which as a created object by God-given power and divine command.
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2 Corinthians 4: 6-15. What is the light that God brought into the world? What did it do for the world? For mankind? The light is both the revelation itself and the very thing that grants the ability for it to be revealed. The revelation itself is the logic, beauty, and love that is the world’s foundation and driving law. And it must be admitted that such an underlying order is necessary for revelation: nothing intelligible can be revealed and understood if it has no logic or meaning. Chaos cannot be revealed, only endured: there is no sense to it. But in addition to creating the thing that would be revealed, God was also allowing for the possibility of its revelation: light was given so that man might see logic, beauty, and love and through this to know his Creator. Enjoy the show!
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In this lecture, Fr Anthony further explores the role of beauty in music and iconography especially as it relates to the culture or "spirit" of a people. He reviews the following articles:
https://orthodoxartsjournal.org/the-idea-of-canonicity-in-orthodox-liturgical-art/ https://orthodoxartsjournal.org/the-recovery-of-the-arts/ Enjoy the show! -
Revelation, Session Three
Christ the Savior, Anderson SC
Fr. Anthony PerkinsWe also went over:
https://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org/orthodoxy/articles/tremors_of_doubSources:
The translation of the Apocalypse is from the Orthodox Study Bible.
Lawrence R. Farley, The Apocalypse of St. John: A Revelation of Love and Power, The Orthodox Bible Study Companion (Chesterton, IN: Ancient Faith Publishing, 2011),
Bishop Averky, The Epistles and the Apocalypse (Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament, Volume III. (Holy Trinity Seminary Press, 2018).
Andrew of Caesarea, Commentary on the Apocalypse, ed. David G. Hunter, trans. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou, vol. 123, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2011).
Jack Norman Sparks, The Orthodox Study Bible: Notes (Thomas Nelson, 2008), 1712.
Venerable Bede, The Explanation of the Apocalypse, trans. Edward Marshall (Oxford: James Parker and Co., 1878).
William C. Weinrich, ed., Revelation, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005).
Correction from Last Week
Revelation was removed from active use because it was being used to support the Marcionists, not the Gnostics [or Montanism as I said in the class!]. Lord have mercy, my brain is too small!
Review of Last Week
1:1-3. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants – things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John. Who bore witness to the Word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
New Stuff
1:4 - 6. (4) John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, (5) and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, (6) and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever. Amen. (OSB)
Orthodox Study Bible Notes
1:4 Church tradition maintains St. John dwelt and was bishop in Ephesus, in an area where the seven churches were located along a major roadway. The number seven signifies fullness, suggesting the entire Church is also in view.
The doxology is Trinitarian, involving the Father (vv. 4, 6), the Spirit (v. 4), and the Son (vv. 5, 6). This initial greeting (lit., “the Existing, the Was, and the Coming”) may express the Father, the one who is (Ex 3:14); the Son, who was (Jn 1:1); and the Holy Spirit, who is to come (Acts 2) at Pentecost and shall always be present. Or it may denote the character of the Holy One, who is eternally present and exercises lordship throughout history (see Heb 13:8 – Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow). God reveals the meaning of the present in light of the past and the age to come. This title may be a paraphrase of the Tetragrammaton, YHWH (“I Am”), of Ex 3:14.
Seven is the number of fullness or completion. The seven Spirits of God most likely refers to the Holy Spirit and His several gifts, as this phrase is included in the blessing with the Father and the Son. Alternately the term could refer to the seven archangels who, according to Jewish tradition, stand before the throne of God (Tb 12:15; see also 1En 20:1–8; 90:21, 22; TLev 8:2; “I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One.”).
1:5 Jesus Christ is presented as the Risen Savior, Lord of all (see Zec 12:10), giving hope to the early Christians that the Church will not always be dominated by a cruel state. Instead of washed, many Greek texts read “freed.”
The term witness (Gr. martys), used only here and in 3:14 in the entire NT, refers to Christ, the authentic witness of all divine revelation; all that God has revealed is summed up in His life, witness, Passion, Resurrection, and exaltation. He has inaugurated the new age, for He is firstborn from the dead in His humanity and has achieved a universal sovereignty by His death, Resurrection, and revelation of His Kingdom for the world’s salvation.
1:6 Those joined to the body of Christ in baptism comprise the messianic royal priesthood promised of old (see Ex 19:5, 6; Is 61:6; 1Pt 2:9; and the Anaphora of the Liturgy of St. Basil). This priestly ministry is to offer the world back to God in a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving—eucharistically—as in the Orthodox Church’s Divine Liturgy. The universe itself thus becomes hallowed, transfigured, and sacramental. Amen is Semitic. It signifies ratification: an acknowledgment of something trustworthy.
From Fr. Lawrence Farley
John sends this message to the seven churches in Asia who were under his pastoral care. By choosing but seven of these churches, John widens the intended audience, for seven is also the number symbolic of perfection. Thus the Revelation is intended not only to the seven churches of Asia, but also for the perfect totality of all God’s churches.
In calling God Him who is and was and who is coming, John describes God the Father as the One who is sovereign over time and history and therefore over all the historical events that touch us. God sits enthroned as Lord of the present, the past, and the future, and therefore there is nothing in the past, present, or future that can ever hurt us. God is the Lord of time and of all our days.
The message not only comes from the hand of God, it also comes from the entire heavenly court. All in heaven offer the Church on earth this word of encouragement and triumph. The seven spirits before His throne are the seven archangels (see 5:6, “the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth,” and 8:2, the “seven angels who stand before God”). (In chapter 20 of the Book of Enoch, these angels are listed as Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Saraqael, Gabriel, and Remiel.) Once again, the number seven is symbolic, an image for all the archangels who stand closest to God’s throne and hear His counsel. In saying that this message comes from the seven spirits before His throne, John means that this message comes directly from the Throne itself, with secrets not given to the world at large.
Later liturgical usage, in which reference to the Father and the Son was always followed by reference to the Holy Spirit, has misled some interpreters into seeing this reference to the seven spirits as a reference to the Holy Spirit. But when the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the Book of Revelation, He is referred to simply as “the Spirit” (e.g. 2:7; 14:13; 22:17), always in the singular and never as “seven spirits” or as a “sevenfold” Spirit. These seven spirits stand before God’s throne; that is, they are portrayed as waiting upon God as a part of His heavenly court. It is inconceivable that the Divine Spirit, co-eternal and consubstantial with the Father and the Son, could be portrayed as such a servant. Indeed, the other references to the Spirit in the Apocalypse carry the suggestion of His sovereignty and authority.
The message also comes from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness (Gr. martus; compare our English “martyr”). Christ bore faithful witness before Pilate to the Truth, even at the cost of His Life (1 Tim. 6:13); John stresses this so that we may imitate His faithfulness. The Lord does not call us to walk in any place where He has not gone before.
Jesus is further described as the firstborn of the dead. In using this Jewish concept of the firstborn (in which the firstborn son is the main heir), John shows that Jesus Christ is the heir of the whole age to come; the entire coming Kingdom belongs to Him. His faithfulness unto death resulted in His victory and His inheriting all the world. Our faithfulness unto death will result in our sharing that victory. Death has no terrors for Jesus Christ, and so it need have none for us.
Thus Christ is also the ruler of the kings of the earth. Caesar may think he has no superior or master, but Jesus, the humble carpenter crucified under the governor Pontius Pilate, is the true Master of the Roman Empire and indeed of the whole cosmos. The Christians of St. John’s day, haunted by a sense of their own powerlessness and humility, were thus made to see their true dignity and power.
The Church is described as those whom the Lord loves and therefore continues to protect and care for (the present tense is used to denote Christ’s ongoing care), and as those who were loosed from their sins by His Blood. This is an important theme in the Apocalypse. The Cross of Christ was seen by secular Rome as His defeat and proof of how pathetic and deluded the Christians were—that they would worship a crucified man. But for John, the Cross is proof of the power of God that defeats all other powers. The Lord Himself said of the Cross, “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). For St. John, our faith in Christ and His Cross also “overcomes the world” (1 John 5:5). Thus the Apocalypse speaks not only of us “making our robes white” in His Blood (7:14) but also of us overcoming Satan “by the Blood of the Lamb” (12:11). The Christians are not to be ashamed of Christ’s Cross, for through His Blood they overcome death, Satan, and the whole world.
In describing the Christians as a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, John asserts the privileges of the Christians in the face of the pride of Rome. The Roman powers may think the Christians are but poor, uneducated, and powerless, to be utterly disdained. John knows them to be God’s own Kingdom, one destined to outlast all the kingdoms of the earth, and to be priests to God Himself, with access to His awe-inspiring Presence. Priests had status and honor in the Roman secular world, and St. John says this is the true status of the Christians before God.
Bishop Averky
1:4. The number seven is usually taken as an expression of fullness. St John addresses here only the seven churches with which he, as one who lived in Ephesus, was in especially close and frequent contact. But in these seven he addresses, at the same time, the Christian Church as a whole.
Grace to you and peace from the Tri-Hypostatical Divinity. The phrase ‘which is’ signifies the Father, Who said to Moses: I am He that Is (Exod 3:14). The expression ‘which was’ signifies the Word, Who was in the beginning with God (John 1:2). The phrase ‘which is to come’ indicates the Comforter, Who always descends upon the Church’s children in holy baptism and in all fullness is to descend in the future age (Acts 2). (St. Andrew of Caeserea, Commentary on the Apocalypse, chapter 1).
By these “seven Spirits,” it is most natural to understand the seven chief angels who are spoken of in Tobit 12:15. St Andrew of Caesarea, however, understands them to be the angels who govern the seven churches. Other commentaries, on the other hand, understand by by this expression the Holy Spirit Himself, Who manifests Himself in seven chief gifts: the spirit of the fear of God, the spirit of knowledge, the spirit of might, the spirit of light, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of the Lord or the spirit of piety, and inspiration in the highest degree (compare Isa 11: 1-3; “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;.”)1:5. The Lord Jesus Christ is called here “the faithful witness” in the sense that He has witnessed His Divinity and the truth of His teaching before men by His death on the Cross.
“As Life and Resurrection, He is the first-born from the dead (Col 1:18, I Cor 15:20), and those over whom He rules will not see death, as did those who died and rose before, but will live eternally. He is ‘prince of kings,’ and Lord of lords (1 Tim 6:15), equal in might to the Father and one in Essence with Him” (St Andrew, chapter 1).
1:5-6. “Kings and priest” are to be understood here not in the strict meaning, of course, but in the sense in which God has promised this to His chosen people through the prophets (Exod 19:6); that is, He has made us, true believers, to be the best, the holiest people, which is the same thing that a priest and king are with relation to the rest of mankind.
Venerable Bede.
4. seven. By these seven churches he writes to every church, for universality is wont to be denoted by the number seven, in that all the time of this age is evolved from seven days.
Grace. Grace he desires for us, and peace from God, the eternal Father, and from the sevenfold Spirit, and from Jesus Christ, Who gave testimony to the Father in His Incarnation. He names the Son in the third place, as he was to speak further of Him. He names Him also the last in order, as He is the first and the last; for He had already named Him in the Father by saying, “Who was to come.”
5. the first-begotten. This is the same that the Apostle says, “We have seen Jesus Christ for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour.” And in another place, in setting forth the reproach of the cross, he added, “Wherefore also God highly exalted Him, and gave Him the Name which is above every name.”
6. priests. Because the King of kings and heavenly Priest united us unto His own body by offering Himself for us, there is not one of the saints who has not spiritually the office of priesthood, in that he is a member of the eternal Priest
7. cometh. He Who was concealed, when at the first He came to be judged, will be manifested at the time when He shall come to judge. He mentions this, that the Church which is now oppressed by enemies, but is then to reign with Christ, may be strengthened for the endurance of sufferings.
pierced. When they see Him as a Judge with power, in the same form in which they pierced Him as the least of all, they will mourn for themselves with a repentance that is too late.
Amen. By interposing an Amen, he confirms that without doubt that will happen, which, by the revelation of God, he knows most surely is to come to pass.
Gregory of Caesarea.
1:4. John, to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from the One who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits which are before his throne.
Due to the existence of many churches in many places, he sent to only seven, mystically meaning by this number the churches everywhere, also corresponding to the present-day life, in which the seventh period of days is taking place. For this reason also he mentions seven angels and seven churches, to whom he says, Grace to you and peace from the Tri-hypostatic Divinity. For by the who is the Father is signified, who said to Moses, “I am He who is,” and by the who was the Logos, “who was in the beginning with God,” and by the who is to come the Paraclete, who always enlightens the children of the Church through holy Baptism, more completely and more strongly in the future. It is possible to understand the seven spirits as the seven angels who were appointed to govern the churches, not counting them equal to the most divine and royal Trinity, but mentioned along with it as servants, just as the divine Apostle said, “I call upon you in the presence of God and the chosen angels.” By the same token, this may be understood differently: the One who is, and who was, and who is to come, meaning the Father, who contains in himself the beginning, middle, and end of all that exists, and the seven spirits the activities of the Life-giving Spirit, following Christ God, who became man for our sake. For in many places each divine Person is indifferently placed and arranged by the Apostle. For this he says here:
1:5a. And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
He is the one who witnessed to Pontius Pilate, faithful to his words in all things, the firstborn of the dead as life and resurrection, for those whom he governs will no more see death, like those who were dead before and rose, but will live eternally. Ruler of the kings, as “King of kings and Lord of lords,” equal in power with the Father and consubstantial. Elsewhere, ruler of the kings of the earth is also said earthly desires. If, according to the Blessed [15] Gregory, this usage of he who is, who was, and who is to come, the ruler of all refers to Christ, then it is not unreasonable that words similar to those which will be said shortly after refer to him, to which also the ruler of all is attached and without the repetition or introduction of another person. For here the addition of and from Jesus Christ appears to confirm the understanding we have presented. For it would be unnecessary if he were talking about the only Logos of God and the person of the Son to add immediately and from Jesus Christ in order to show him as distinct from the other one, the expressions that befit God equally honor and are appropriate to each of the divine Persons, and are common to the three, except for their distinctive properties, that is to say, the relationships , as said by Gregory the Theologian, and except for the Incarnation of the Logos. also clear from the things from which we learn, that in the Gospel the thrice-holy hymn of the Seraphim16 is said about the Son, in the speech of Paul in the Acts about the Holy Spirit, and then about the Father, in the offering of the awesome mysteries, to whom we are accustomed to say this prayer,19 as the blessed Epiphanios says in his homily On the Holy Spirit. these things to show that our own understanding does not contradict the patristic voices, and also, with God’s help, we continue.
1:5b–6. To the One who loved us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and made us kings and priests to God and his Father. Glory and dominion to him to the ages of ages. Amen.
The glory belongs to him, it says, who freed us through love from the bondage of death, and washed the stains of sin through the outpouring of his life-giving blood and water. And he has made us “a royal priesthood” so that we may offer, instead of irrational sacrifices, “rational worship”22 as a living sacrifice to the Father.
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In today's homily, Fr. Anthony reflects on our tendency to fear. He encourages us to remember that we are safe, and to not be anxious about anything but our sin. Enjoy the show!
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St. Luke 5:1-11. In today's homily, Fr Anthony stresses the importance of building in God's name. Using marriage as an example, he speaks on how we must strive to have Christ as the foundation for all we do; and we must build marriages that produce joy, not just endure to the end. He reminds us that we should never think we could build anything worthwhile without Christ. Enjoy the show!
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In this lecture, Fr Anthony reviews Nobel Prize Winner Alexander Solzhenitsyn's acceptance speech. He shares how this concept of beauty fits into the Orthodox world and briefly touches on how today's culture has undermined the traditional values rooted in beauty, truth and goodness. Enjoy the show!
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Revelation, Session Two
Christ the Savior, Anderson SC
Fr. Anthony PerkinsSources:
The translation of the Apocalypse is from the Orthodox Study Bible.
Lawrence R. Farley, The Apocalypse of St. John: A Revelation of Love and Power, The Orthodox Bible Study Companion (Chesterton, IN: Ancient Faith Publishing, 2011),
Bishop Averky, The Epistles and the Apocalypse (Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament, Volume III. (Holy Trinity Seminary Press, 2018).
Andrew of Caesarea, Commentary on the Apocalypse, ed. David G. Hunter, trans. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou, vol. 123, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2011).
Venerable Bede, The Explanation of the Apocalypse, trans. Edward Marshall (Oxford: James Parker and Co., 1878).
William C. Weinrich, ed., Revelation, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005).
Correction from Last Week
Revelation was removed from active use because it was being used to support the Marcionists, not the Gnostics [or Montanism as I said in the class!].
The Orthodox Study Bible; “[I]n the second and third centuries Revelation was widely twisted and sensationally misinterpreted, and the erroneous teachings brought troublesome confusion to Christians – a trend that continues to this day.”
Review of Last Week
The Church wants us to be aware of the Last Judgement but from WITHIN the sacraments and the “good defense” God gives us through them.
Authorship and Dating of the Work
The author was St. John the Theologian
St. John’s disciple Papias of Hierapolis, St. Justin the Martyr (lived in Ephesus), St. Irenaeus (disciple of Polycarp of Smyrna who was a disciple of St. John), St. Hippolytus (disciple of St. Irenaeus), St. Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian and Origen were early leaders of the Church who knew and witnessed to this.
The work itself (see 1:2; also exile on Patmos).
The date of the work is AD 95/96
St. Irenaeus; Against Heresies (5.30.3)
Purpose of the Work
To show things that must shortly come to pass (1:1).
Pastoral protection and encouragement to the early Church against state persecution and (internal) heresy.
Apokalypsis means uncovering of something that has been hidden.
Style and Interpretation of the Work
Apocalyptic Literature. A “visceral” (Fr. Lawrence) and heavily symbolic genre. It is meant to be prophetic in every sense of the word.
“It is a human work. But it is also an apostolic work, and as an apostle, John tells the truth, striving to convey to us the substance and power of what the Lord revealed to him for our sake.” (Fr. Lawrence)
What are we to make of the diverse interpretations offered by saints?
Not to be taken literally in the modern sense; “Thus, for example, a literalistic understanding of the images of this book has given occasion, and even now continues to give occasion, for the false teaching of “Chiliasm” – the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth.” (Bishop Averky)
Bishop Averky says four main categories of interpretation (and calls for a combination):
Visions and symbols of the “last times” (end of the world, the anti-christ, second coming)
Description of the historical pagan Roman persecutions against the Church in the first century.
Look for realization of the prophecies in recent history.
Allegorical and moral meaning.
The Orthodox Study Bible: “Faithfulness in tribulation” is the main theme, with subthemes of
Divine Judgment of human wickedness and
The symbolic presentation of most major New Testament teachings concerning eschatology, the study of the last things.
1:1. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants – things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John.
Andrew of Caesarea. “An apocalypse is the manifestation of hidden mysteries when the intellect is illuminated either through divine dreams or according to waking visions from divine enlightenment. To be given to Christ, it says, making this statement about him especially with respect to his human , since in the Gospel he above all others dwelt on the sublime and things that befit God. And here, the magnitude of the divinity of Christ is shown through the attending angel, and through the name of the teaching servants, for “all things are his servants.” The must come to pass soon means that some of the predictions concerning them are to come to pass immediately thereafter and the things regarding the end are not to be delayed, because “one thousand years” to God is “like yesterday’s day, which is reckoned as having elapsed.”
St. Bede. The revelation of Jesus Christ.
The progress with which the Church that had been founded by the Apostles was to be extended, or the end with which it was to be perfected, had need to be revealed, in order to strengthen the preachers of the faith against the opposition of the world. And John, in his own manner, refers the glory of the Son to the Father, and testifies that Jesus Christ has received from God.
shortly. That is, which are to happen to the Church in the present time.
signified. He wrapped up this revelation in mystical words, that it might not be manifested to all, and become lightly esteemed.
angel. For an angel appeared to John in the form of Christ, as will be seen more clearly in that which follows.
John. That through John He might lay open to all His servants the things which he, by the privilege of a peculiar chastity, obtained above all others to behold.
Oecumenius: When it is said to him, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him,” it is as though he said, “This revelation is given from the Father to the Son, and then from the Son to us,” his servants. By calling the saints the “servants” of Christ, he safeguards what is proper to his deity. For, to whom would men belong, unless to him who is the Maker and Creator of humankind? And who is the Creator of human-kind and of all creation? No one other than the only begotten Word and Son of God! For, the present author says in the Gospel, “All things were made through him.” And why does he wish to add “what must soon take place,” although those events which will take place have not yet occurred, even though a considerable span of time has passed, more than five hundred years, since these words were spoken? Because to the eyes of the eternal and endless God all ages are regarded as nothing, for, as the prophet says, “A thousand years in your sight, O Lord, are as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.”3 For this reason, therefore, he added “soon,” not to indicate a measure of time which must pass before the fulfillment of what must happen, but to indicate the power and eternality of God. For to him who is, any passage of time, even should it be great and considerable, is something small when compared with that which is unending
1:2. Who bore witness to the Word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.
OSB: Testimony of Jesus refers to a witness concerning Jesus; not the testimony of Christ Himself.
Andrew of Caesarea. “Christ,” he says, “declared these things to me through an angel, as a master to a household servant, as I had borne witness to my confession to him,” of which, on the basis of the visions to bear witness and, in view of the return of those who hear, to preach both the things which are and which escape human understanding and the things which will occur in the future, for, prophetically, he had seen them both. And clear from what he says: those things which are and those which must come to pass. These are descriptions both of the present time and of the future.
St. Bede; testimony. That thou mayest not doubt of the person of John, he is the same who gave testimony to the eternal Word of God incarnate, according as he saw, saying, “Whose glory we saw, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father.”
1:3. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
Andrew of Caesarea. He blesses those who read and hear through the actions, for the present time is near, through which it is possible to acquire the blessing, and to all the work is laid open. As the Lord says, “Work [13] while it is day.” And elsewhere, the time is near, the time of the distribution of prizes, on account of the brevity of the present life in comparison to the future.
St. Bede. Blessed. Teachers and hearers are therefore blessed, because they who keep the Word of God find that a short time of labour is followed by everlasting joys.
Averky; “The book of the Apocalypse has, consequently, not only a prophetic but also a moral significance. The meaning of these words is as follows: blessed is he who, reading this book, will prepare himself by his life and deeds of piety for eternity, for the translation to eternity is near for each of us.
Fr. Lawrence. Seven beatitudes (blessings) are pronounced upon (Fr. Lawrence):
1:3 “the one who reads and the ones who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things which are written in it”
14:13 the martyrs “who die in the Lord from now on”
16:15 “the one who keeps alert,” faithfully awaiting the Lord’s Coming
19:9 “those who are called to the wedding supper of the Lamb”
20:6 the martyrs who have “a part in the first resurrection”
22:7 all who “keep the words of the prophecy of this book”
22:14 all those in the martyric Church, “those who wash their robes, so that they may have their right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.”
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(Galatians 2:16-20) Fr. Anthony kept close to his notes this week so as to avoid last week’s “hostage situation.” He addressed the temptation to recreate the Old Testament Law using The Way of Orthodoxy. This would be similar to the Judaizing and Babelizing temptation he warned against last week. Enjoy the show!
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Sources:
Andrew of Ceasarea: Commentary on the Apocalypse
Bishop Averky, The Epistles and the Apocalypse, Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament (Volume III)
Fr. Lawrence R. Farley. The Apocalypse of St. John; A Revelation of Love and Power
St. Bede. Explanation of the Apocalypse; Letter of Bede to Eusebius
Fr. Thomas Hopko: AFR podcast - A Walk Through the Apocalypse (three parts)
Dr. Jeanie Constantinau: Search the Scriptures Live – Series
Fr. Stephen De Young; The Whole Counsel of God; Series on Revolution
Oca.org (Rainbow Series)
There was a certain hesitation on the part of the early Church to include the book of Revelation in the canonical scriptures of the New Testament. The reason for this was obviously the great difficulty of interpreting the apocalyptic symbols of the book. Nevertheless, since the document carried the name of the apostle John, and since it was inspired by the Holy Spirit for the instruction and edification of the Church, it came to be the last book listed in the Bible, although it is never read liturgically in the Orthodox Church. [Comment on historical reasons why!]
It is indeed difficult to interpret the book of Revelation, especially if one is unfamiliar with the images and symbols of the apocalyptic writings of the Bible, that is the Old Testament, and of the Judeo-Christian Tradition. There exists, however, a traditional approach to the interpretation of the book within the Church which offers insight into its meaning for the faithful.
The wrong method of interpreting the book of Revelation is to give some sort of exclusive meaning to its many visions, equating them with specific, concrete historical events and persons, and to fail to understand the symbolical significance of the many images which are used by the author following biblical and traditional sources.
First of all, the letters to the seven churches have both a historical and a universal meaning. The messages are clear and remain relevant to situations which have always existed in the Church and which exist today. For example, many older churches in all ages of history can he identified with the Church of Ephesus. Those under persecution can be compared with the Church in Smyrna. And not a few—perhaps some in America right now—can be judged with the Church in Laodicea. The seven letters remain forever as “prototypical” of churches that will exist until Christ’s kingdom comes.
The visions and prophecies of the main body of the book of Revelation present great difficulties, but mostly to those interpreters who would attempt to apply them to one or another historical event or person. If the general vision and prophecy of the book is seen as revealing the correlation between events “in heaven” and events “on earth,” between God and man, between the powers of goodness and the powers of evil, then, though many difficulties obviously remain, some will also immediately disappear.
In the book of Revelation, one comes to understand that the Kingdom of God is always over all and before all. One sees as well that the battle between the righteous and the evil is perpetually being waged. There are always the faithful who belong to the Lamb, being crowned and robed by Him for their victories. There are always the “beasts” and the “dragons” which need to be defeated. The “great harlot” and the “great Babylon” are forever to be destroyed. The “heavenly Jerusalem” is perpetually coming, and one day it will come and the final victory will be complete.
One notices as well that there is a universality and finality about the symbols and images of the book of Revelation, a meaning to be applied to them which has already been revealed in the scriptures of the Old Testament. Thus, for example, the image of Babylon stands for every society which fights against God, every body of persons united in wickedness and fleshliness. The image of harlotry universally applies as well to all who are corrupted by their passions and lusts, unfaithful to God Who has made them and loves them. The symbolic numerology also remains constant, with the number 666 (13.18), for example, symbolizing total depravity, unlike 7 which is the symbol of fulness; and the number 144,000 (14.3) being the symbol of total completion and the full number of the saved, the result of the multiplication of 12 times 12—the number of the tribes of Israel and the apostles of Christ. Thus, through the images of the book of Revelation, a depth of penetration into universal spiritual realities is disclosed which is greater than any particular earthly reality. The insight into the meaning of the book depends on the inspiration of God and the purity of heart of those who have eyes to see and ears to hear and minds willing and able to understand.
In the Orthodox Church, the book of Revelation has great liturgical significance. The worship of the Church has traditionally, quite consciously, been patterned after the divine and eternal realities revealed in this book. The prayer of the Church and its mystical celebration are one with the prayer and celebration of the kingdom of heaven. Thus, in Church, with the angels and saints, through Christ the Word and the Lamb, inspired by the Holy Spirit, the faithful believers of the assembly of the saved offer perpetual adoration to God the Father Almighty.
The book of Revelation, although never read in the Orthodox Church, bears witness to the divine reality which is the Church’s own very life. [Comment on other reasons!]
The Spirit and the Bride [the Church] say, “Come.” And let him who hears say, “Come.” And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price.
“Surely I am coming soon” [says Jesus, the Lord].
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (22.17, 20)
From: https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine-scripture/new-testament/book-of-revelation on 9/11/2024
The Last Judgment – The Experience of Prayer and Worship
St. Tikhon’s Seminary, Orthodox Daily Prayers (St. Tikhon’s Seminary Press, 1982).
Morning Prayers:
The Judge will come suddenly and the acts of every man will be revealed; but in the middle of the night we cry with fear: Holy! Holy! Holy! art Thou, O God; through the Theotokos, have mercy on us.
6th Prayer, by St. Basil the Great
… Grant us to pass through the entire night of this present life with a watchful heart and a sober mind, awaiting the coming of the bright and manifest day of Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, when the Judge of all will come with glory to reward each according to his deeds. May we not be found fallen and lazy, but alert and roused to action, prepared to enter into His joy and the divine chamber of His glory, where the voice of those who feast is unceasing and indescribable is the delight of those who behold the inexpressible beauty of Thy countenance. For Thou art the true Light which enlightens and sanctifies all, and all creation hymns Thee unto ages of ages. Amen.
A Midnight Song to the Most Holy Theotokos
I am tossed in the tempest of life: direct me to the path of repentance. Deliver me from the eternal flame, from the evil worm, and from hell. Make me not a joy for demons, though I am guilty of many sins.
Compline
O Christ, give rest to the souls of Thy servants with the saints, where there is no sickness, sorrow or sighing, but everlasting life.
Resurrection Tropar, Tone 3
Let the heavens rejoice! Let the earth be glad! For the Lord has shown strength with His arm! He has trampled down death by death! He has become the firstborn of the dead! He has delivered us from the depths of hell, and has granted the world great mercy!Prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos
Guard my wretched soul at the time of my death, driving away the dark forms of the evil demons. Deliver me from eternal torments at the Day of Judgment and reveal me an heir of the inexpressible glory of your Son and our God.
Evening Prayers
4th Prayer, of St. Macarius the Great
… Covering me Thyself, protect me from every assault of the enemy through Thy divine Power, inexpressible Love for mankind and Strength. Cleanse, O God, cleanse the multitude of my sins. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me from the snares of the Evil One, and save my passionate soul. When Thou comest in glory, illumine me with the light of Thy countenance. May I fall uncondemned into a sleep free of apparitions. Keep the thoughts of Thy servant untroubled, and keep far from me every satanic activity. Enlighten the reason-endowed eyes of my heart, that I fall not into the sleep of death. Send to me an angel of peace, the guide and guardian of my soul and body, that he may deliver me from my enemies. Then, when I arise from my bed, I shall offer Thee prayers of thanksgiving…
For the Day
Lord, exclude me not from Thy heavenly blessings.
Lord, deliver me from eternal torments…
Lord Jesus Christ, inscribe me, Thy servant, in the book of life, and grant me a good end.…
Lord of Heaven and earth, remember me, Thy sinful, shameful and impure servant, in Thy Kingdom. …
8th Prayer, to our Lord Jesus Christ
… Yea, O Lord my Creator, Who desirest not the death of the sinner, but that he should return to Thee and live: grant repentance to me, wretched and unworthy. Snatch me from the jaws of the consuming serpent, its mouth opened to devour me and take me down to hell alive. …
Canon of Repentance
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me!
When the thrones will be set up for the dread Judgment, the deeds of all men will be recalled. Alas for the sinners who will be sent to torment! Knowing this, my soul, repent of your evil deeds!
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me!
The righteous shall rejoice, but sinners shall lament. No one will be able to help us at that moment—our deeds will condemn us! Before the end comes, repent of your evil deeds!
…
Our present path is wide and conducive to pleasures, but bitter will the Last Day be when the soul will part from the body. O man, beware of those pleasures, for the sake of the Kingdom of God.
…
Contemplate, my soul, the bitter hour of death and the dread judgment of your Creator and God. Threatening angels will seize you, my soul, and lead you to eternal flames. Repent before your death, therefore, crying: O Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner!
…
Put not your hope in corruptible wealth, my soul, nor in things unjustly gathered. You do not know to whom you will leave it all. Instead, cry out: O Christ God, have mercy on me, the unworthy!
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me!
Remember, my soul, both the eternal life and the Heavenly Kingdom prepared for the saints and the outer darkness and divine wrath prepared for the wicked. Then cry out: O Christ God, have mercy on me, the unworthy!
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me!
How can I not weep when I think of death? I have seen my brother lying in the tomb without glory and without form. What can I expect? What can I hope? Only grant me, Lord, repentance before the end. (twice)
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me!
I believe that Thou wilt come to judge the living and the dead, and that everyone will stand in his rank: the old and the young; masters and princes; virgins and priests. Where will I find myself? Therefore, I cry out: grant me, Lord, repentance before the end.
…
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me!
I now turn to you, angels, archangels, and all the heavenly host who stand by the throne of God: pray to your Creator that He deliver my soul from eternal torments.
Have mercy on me. O God, have mercy on me!
I now weep before you, holy patriarchs, kings and prophets, apostles and hierarchs, and all the elect of Christ: help me at the Judgment, that my soul be saved from the strength of the Enemy.
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me!
I now lift up my hands to you, holy martyrs, desert-dwellers, virgins, righteous ones, and all saints who pray to the Lord for the whole world: may He have mercy on me at the hour of my death.
Most Holy Theotokos, save us!
Help me, Mother of God, for I have great hope in you! Pray to your Son, that when He sits to judge the living and the dead, He may place me at His right hand, even though I am unworthy.
Canon to the Guardian Angel
I think of the Dread Day and weep over my evil deeds. How shall I answer the immortal King? Or how shall a prodigal like me dare to look up at the judge? O compassionate Father, only-begotten Son, and Holy Spirit: have mercy on me!
PRAYERS IN PREPARATION FOR HOLY COMMUNION
1st Prayer, of Saint Basil the Great
O Lord Jesus Christ my God, may the communion of Thy most pure and life-creating mysteries not bring me into judgment, nor may I become weak in soul and body by partaking in an unworthy manner, but grant me to receive communion of Thy holy things without condemnation even to my very last breath, and by them to receive communion of the Holy Spirit, provision for the journey of eternal life, and an acceptable answer at Thy dread judgment seat; that I, together with all Thy chosen ones, may also be a partaker of the incorruptible blessings which Thou hast prepared for those who love thee, O Lord, in whom Thou art glorified forever. Amen.
…
3rd Prayer, of St. Simeon Metaphrastes
Through Thy glorious Ascension Thou didst deify the flesh which Thou didst assume, and placed it on the throne at the Father’s right hand. Grant me to receive a place at the right hand with the saved through communion of Thy holy mysteries…
Thou hast promised to come again to judge the world in righteousness. Grant that I may go to meet Thee in the clouds, my Judge and Creator, with all Thy saints; that I may glorify and praise Thee without end, together with Thy Father Who is without beginning, and Thy most holy and good and life-creating Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
5th Prayer, of St. Basil the Great
for the correction and grounding of my life, for the increase of virtue and perfection, for the fulfillment of Thy commandments, for the communion of the Holy Spirit, for the journey of eternal life, for a good and acceptable answer at Thy dread judgment, but not for judgment or condemnation. Amen.
Troparia
With love hast Thou drawn me, O Christ, and with Thy divine love hast Thou changed me. Burn away my sins with a spiritual fire and satisfy me with joy in Thee, that I may joyfully magnify Thy two comings, O Good One.
How shall I, who am unworthy, enter into the radiance of Thy saints? If I dare to enter the bridal-chamber, my garment accuses me, for it is not a wedding garment, and the angels will bind me and cast me out. Cleanse, O Lord, the filth of my soul and save me, for Thou lovest mankind.
And this prayer:
O Master Who lovest mankind! O Lord Jesus Christ my God! May these holy things not be to my condemnation, though I am unworthy of them. May they be for the cleansing and sanctification of my soul and body and a pledge of the life and Kingdom that are to come…
PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING AFTER COMMUNION
Glory to Thee, O God! Glory to Thee, O God! Glory to Thee, O God!
… let them be for the healing of soul and body, the repelling of every adversary, the illumining of the eyes of my heart, the peace of my spiritual powers, a faith unashamed, a love unfeigned, the fulfilling of wisdom, the observing of Thy commandments, the receiving of Thy Divine Grace, and the attaining of Thy Kingdom. Preserved by them in Thy holiness, may I always remember Thy Grace and live not for myself alone, but for Thee, our Master and Benefactor. May I pass from this life in the hope of eternal life, and so attain to the everlasting rest, where the voice of those who feast is unceasing, and the gladness of those who behold the goodness of Thy countenance is unending. For Thou art the true desire and the ineffable joy of those who love Thee, O Christ our God, and all creation sings of Thy praise forever. Amen.
Another Prayer
O Lord Jesus Christ our God: let Thy holy Body be my eternal life; Thy precious Blood, my remission of sins. Let this Eucharist be my joy, health, and gladness. Make me, a sinner, worthy to stand on the right hand of Thy glory at Thine awesome second Coming, through the prayers of Thy most pure Mother and of all the saints.
Sacraments Etc.
St. Tikhon’s Monastery, trans., The Great Book of Needs: Expanded and Supplemented, vol. I.
Naming on the Eighth Day
…, and that he (she) may be perfected by the dread Mysteries of Thy Christ, so that, having lived according to Thy commandments, and having preserved the seal unbroken, he (she) may receive the blessedness of the Elect in Thy Kingdom: By the grace and love for mankind of Thine Only-begotten Son, with Whom Thou art blessed, together with Thy Most-holy, Good and Lifegiving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. [1]
Making of a Catachemen
Inscribe him (her) in Thy Book of Life, and unite him (her) to the flock of Thine inheritance
Exorcism
for He shall come, and shall not tarry, to judge all the earth; and He shall punish thee and thy cooperating host in the fiery Gehenna, consigning thee to outer darkness, where the worm ceases not and the fire is not quenched.
Baptism
… that, being planted in the likeness of Thy death through Baptism, he (she) may become a partaker of resurrection; and, preserving the gift of Thy Holy Spirit, and increasing the deposit of grace, he (she) may receive the prize of his (her) high calling, and be numbered with the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven.
Chrismation
confirm him (her) in the Orthodox Faith; deliver him (her) from the evil one and all his devices; and preserve his (her) soul in purity and righteousness, through the saving fear of Thee, that, in every deed and word, being acceptable unto Thee, he (she) may become a son (daughter) and heir of Thy heavenly Kingdom.
After Prayer
… Yes, for now he (she) that is illumined by the rays of grace through spiritual birth, has been given into your arms by me, a sinner: that he (she) that was in darkness, after rebirth, will stand before the Heavenly Father in another age, as pure as today, and, in soul, whiter than snow, from the bath of regeneration. Thus, undefiled and unblemished by the action of the serpent which comes from the flesh, he (she) shall stand before the sincere Judge, Who will render to each according to his deeds. And clearly today, through your lips the cursed satan was cast out and all his activities; and God the Creator of all adopted him (her), who by grace acquired spiritual birth, and was clothed as a member of the Church of Christ with the confession of the True Christian Faith. Thus, all the days of his (her) life let him (her) remain in the One Faith without parting from the Church, and in the grace of adoption by the immutable God. Let him (her) never turn aside to the works of the evil satan, and let him (her) ever stand opposed to him. And, with the help of God he (she) shall be revealed as a mighty destroyer of all his snares, as a soldier of Christ, strengthened by the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit in the war against him. And after such God-pleasing struggles, he (she) shall receive from the Originator and Judge of struggles labor in the Heavenly Kingdom—the great blessedness of life eternal.
Confession (this is not generally read, but is part of the teaching)
…. But do not conceal even one sin, not even because of shame, for I also am a man subject to passions, able to fall into similar sins, and I have experience of the weakness of man. And when despising the shame which you shall expose to the One God, through me, you will not be accused of these sins before the Angels of God and before all men at the dread Judgement. But if you hide anything, before me, from the One God, then you will be accused before the universal assembly, and you shall not be delivered from eternal punishment…
Another exhortation for Confession
… But abiding in continual repentance for sins, strive to increase good deeds, that, through repentance, you not only be delivered of eternal torment, but also that you may be counted worthy, by God, of unending life for your good work, from whom will always come assistance to you for all your good beginnings, for the performing of good deeds, and mercy and blessing all the days of your life, and that you may be counted worthy to receive in the future age the gift of eternal life.
Weddings/Crowning
O God, our God, Who didst come to Cana of Galilee, and didst bless the marriage there: Do Thou bless also these Thy servants, who, by Thy providence, are joined together in the communion of marriage. Bless their comings in and their goings out, replenish their life with good things, and accept their crowns in Thy Kingdom, preserving them spotless, undefiled, and without reproach, unto the ages of ages.
The Office of Holy Oil/Annointing
… For Thou didst not create man for destruction, but for the keeping of Thy commandments, and for the inheritance of life incorruptible, and unto Thee do we send up glory, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.
Choir: Amen.
Funeral
St. Tikhon’s Monastery, trans., The Great Book of Needs: Expanded and Supplemented, vol. III
BEFORE THE PARTING OF THE SOUL FROM THE BODY (comfort and protection against terror)
The rending of the bonds, the sundering of the natural law that holds the whole fleshly composition together, causes me anguish and unbearable necessity.
Glory.…
Do thou translate me, O Sovereign Lady, in the sacred and precious arms of the holy Angels, that sheltered by their wings, I not see the impious, foul and dark form of the demons.
Now and ever.…
O All-pure Chamber of God, count me worthy of the heavenly, supersensual Chamber, and kindle thou my smoldering and dimming light with the holy oil of thy mercy.
…
Do thou count me worthy to escape the hordes of bodiless barbarians, and rise through the aerial depths and enter into Heaven, that I may glorify thee unto the ages, O holy Theotokos.
O thou that gavest birth to the Lord Almighty, when I come to die, do thou banish far from me the commander of the bitter toll-gatherers and ruler of the earth, that I may glorify thee unto the ages, O holy Theotokos.
Let us bless the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Lord.
When the last great trumpet sounds at the fearful and dread resurrection of judgment unto all that shall arise, do thou remember me then, O holy Theotokos.
THE OFFICE AT THE DEPARTURE OF THE SOUL FROM THE BODY
[rest, forgiveness, bosom of Abraham, deliverance from death, eternal life, paradise vs hell]
We beseech Thee, O Unoriginate Father, Son and Holy Spirit: Cast not into the bottom of [Hell] the soul that was infected by the plague of the soul-corrupting world, and has passed over unto Thee, the Creator, O God, my Savior.
With the Saints give rest, O Christ, to the soul of Thy servant, where sickness is no more, neither sorrow nor sighing, but life everlasting.
In the nourishment of Paradise where the souls of the Righteous who served Thee abide [repeated often], do Thou, O Christ, join with them the soul of Thy servant who is singing: O God of our fathers, blessed art Thou.
… Deliver him (her) from eternal torment and the fire of Gehenna, and grant him (her) the participation and delight of Thine eternal good things prepared for them that love Thee...
Matins– rest, forgiveness, eternal life with the blessed
O God of spirits and of all flesh, Who hast trampled down death and overthrown the devil, and given life unto Thy world: Do Thou Thyself, O Lord, give rest unto the soul of Thy departed servant, N., in a place of brightness, in a place of green pasture, in a place of repose, whence sickness, sorrow and sighing have fled away. As Thou art a good God and the Lover of Mankind, do Thou pardon every transgression that he (she) has committed, whether by word or deed or thought, for there is no man that lives yet does not sin. For Thou only art without sin; Thy righteousness is righteousness forever, and Thy word is truth.
I am an image of Thine ineffable glory, though I bear the wounds of sin. Take pity on Thy creature, O Master, and cleanse me by Thy loving-kindness. And grant me the desired fatherland, making me again a citizen of Paradise.
Refrain: Blessed art Thou, O Lord; teach me Thy statutes.
O Thou Who of old didst fashion me out of nothingness and didst honor me with Thine Image divine, but when I transgressed Thy commandment, didst return me again unto the earth whence I was taken: Raise me up according to Thy Likeness, that I may be restored to my former beauty.
Refrain: Blessed art Thou, O Lord; teach me Thy statutes.
Give rest, O God, to Thy servant and establish him (her) in Paradise, where the choirs of the Saints and the Righteous shine like the stars, O Lord. Give rest to Thy servant who has fallen asleep, overlooking all his (her) transgressions.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
(To the Holy Trinity) The threefold radiance of the one Godhead let us piously hymn, crying out: Holy art Thou, O Father Who hast no beginning, Co-unoriginate Son and Divine Spirit. Illumine us who serve Thee in faith, and snatch us from the fire eternal.
Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
(Theotokion) Rejoice, O pure One, who gavest birth to God in the flesh for the salvation of all, and through whom mankind has found salvation. Through thee may we find Paradise, O Theotokos pure and blessed.
In the dread day when Thou shalt come in Thine ineffable glory upon the clouds to judge the whole world, be Thou well-pleased, O Redeemer, that Thy faithful servant whom Thou hast received from the earth may meet thee with brightness.
May Christ give thee rest in the land of the living and open unto thee the gates of Paradise, and declare thee a citizen of the Kingdom. And may He grant thee forgiveness for those things wherein thou hast sinned in life, O thou who lovest Christ. …
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven.
Let us give ear unto what the Almighty saith: Woe unto them that seek to behold the terrible day of the Lord! For it is darkness; for all things shall be tried with fire.
The First Epistle to the Thessalonians (Pericope 270—1 Thess. 4:13–17):
Brethren, I would not have you to be ignorant concerning those who are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so will God bring with Him those also who die in Jesus. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord: that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have died. For the Lord Himself, with a shout of command, with the voice of the Archangel and with the trumpet of God, shall come down from Heaven; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord.
The Gospel according to John (Pericope 16—John 5:24–30):
The Lord said to the Jews that came unto Him: “Verily, verily I say unto you, he that hears My Word and believes in Him that sent Me, has eternal life and shall not come into condemnation, but passes from death unto life. Verily, verily I say unto you, the hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so has He given to the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God and shall come forth—they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. I can of Mine own Self do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, for I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father Who has sent Me.”
The Last Kiss.
When the soul is about to be carried away from the body with violence by dread Angels, it forgets all kinsmen and acquaintances and is troubled concerning standing before the tribunal that is to come, that shall pass judgment upon vain things and much-toiling flesh. Then, entreating the Judge, let us all pray that the Lord will forgive him (her) the things that he (she) has done.Save them that put their trust in thee, O Mother of the Sun that setteth not, O Begetter of God. With thy prayers entreat the Most-good God, we pray, that He will give rest unto him (her) that now has been taken away, where the souls of the Righteous repose. Show him (her) to be an heir of divine good things, in the courts of the Righteous, unto memory eternal, O all-undefiled One.
Glory … (TONE 6):
Beholding me voiceless and deprived of breath, weep for me, O brethren and friends, kinsmen and acquaintances. For yesterday I conversed with you, and suddenly the dread hour of death came upon me. But come, all you that love me, and kiss me with the last kiss. For no more will I walk with you or converse with you. For I depart unto the Judge with Whom there is no respect of persons. For slave and master stand together before Him, king and warrior, rich and poor, in equal worthiness; for each, according to his deeds, is glorified or put to shame. But I beg and entreat you all, that you pray without ceasing unto Christ God for me, that I not be brought down unto the place of torment according to my sins, but that He will appoint me to the place where is the light of life.
9th Hour (Final Prayer of St. Basil the Great)
Rescue us from the hand of the adversary, and forgive us our sins, and mortify our carnal mind; that, putting aside the old man, we may be clad with the new, and live for Thee, our Master and Benefactor; and that, so following after Thy commandments, we may attain unto rest eternal, where is the abode of all who rejoice.
Great Vespers
None – note that it does NOT include Octoechos and Menaion!
Orthros/Matins
Does NOT include Octoechos and Menaion.
Prayer of Light. . Illumine in our hearts the true Sun of Your righteousness, enlighten our minds and guard all our senses, that, as in the day, walking nobly in the way of Your commandments, we may attain to life eternal, for with You is the fountain of life, and that we may be vouchsafed to come to the enjoyment of Your unapproachable light.
Evlogetaria. Blessed art Thou, O Lord; teach me Thy statutes.
The company of the Angels was amazed, when they beheld Thee numbered among the dead, yet Thyself, O Savior, destroying the power of death, and with Thee raising up Adam and releasing all men from hades.
Tropar after Psalm 50. Jesus, having risen from the grave as He foretold, hath given unto us life eternal and Great Mercy.
Divine Liturgy
Does NOT include Octoechos and Menaion
Creed. …I look for the Resurrection of the dead, And the Life of the world to come. Amen.
Anaphora.
… Thou it was who didst bring us from non- existence into being and, when we had fallen away, didst raise us up again and didst not cease to do all things until thou hadst brought us up to heaven and hadst endowed us with thy kingdom which is to come…… Having in remembrance, therefore, this saving commandment and all those things which have come to pass for us: the cross, the grave, the third-day resurrection, the ascension into heaven, the sitting at the right hand, and the second and glorious coming:
Thine own of thine own…
… That to those who shall partake thereof they may be unto vigilance of soul, unto forgiveness of sins, unto the communion of thy Holy Spirit, unto the fulfillment of the kingdom of heaven and unto boldness toward thee, not unto judgment nor unto condemnation…
Before Lord’s Prayer… Vouchsafe us to partake of thy heavenly and dread mysteries of this sacred and spiritual table, with a pure conscience, unto forgiveness of sins, unto pardon of transgressions, unto communion of the Holy Spirit, unto inheritance of the kingdom of heaven, unto boldness toward thee, and not unto judgment nor unto condemnation.
Lord’s Prayer. ..thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven…
Communion Prayer. …unto forgiveness of sins and unto life everlasting….
[1] St. Tikhon’s Monastery, trans., The Great Book of Needs: Expanded and Supplemented, vol. I (South Canaan, PA: St. Tikhon’s Seminary Press, 2000), 7–8.
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Galatians 6:11-18. In today's episode, Fr. Anthony jokes that this homily might get him fired. He drew on St. John Chrysostom’s homily on these verses to make the case that what Circumcision is to Judaizing, Nationalism is to Babel. Both the Jewish law AND the division of people into nations have lost their justification thanks to the Incarnation and Pentecost. (Note: both Judaizing and ethnophylatism are heresies). Even though his point could have been made in half the time, and he gets lost in the weeds a few times, he made some important points, glory to God! Enjoy the show!
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In this episode, we are taken through a teaching liturgy in its full length. Enjoy the show!
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Before the service.
After attending the Divine Liturgy at Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, emissaries of St. Volodymyr, the King of Kyivan-Rus’ reported: “We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth. One thing we understood, was that God was in our midst!” This is the experience that is available to all of us when we come to Divine Liturgy; but as with all things, this experience will be greater the more we prepare for it and the more we understand and open ourselves up to it. The time of preparation is over – now is the time to grow in our understanding of it and to open ourselves up to it.For the next hour or two you can relax, open yourself up, and be vulnerable; you can’t really do that at school or work; you may not even be able to do it with your friends. You certainly can’t do it on social media. But if you do it here, you open yourself up NOT to the risk of hurt or manipulation but to the love and transformational mercy of God. The words, hymns, and actions of the Divine Liturgy are the way that God has chosen to work with us to accomplish His will that “all be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.” Through these words, hymns, and actions, He will strengthen our hearts, heal our pain, and help us realize just how good it is to be alive.
Today’s Liturgy is a Teaching Liturgy; I will be taking time at various points in the service in order to explain what is going on. Right now, I encourage you to strap in and prepare yourself for the powerful way God has chosen to meet and help us, His children: the Divine Liturgy.
After the First Antiphon
Right now, this may still look like a former medical center in downtown Anderson. But it is not; it is now a place of power. The barrier between earth and heaven has dissolved. This is what is known in mythologies and fairy tales as a “thin place.” But this is no mere story. Our reality is being merged with the reality of the constant and eternal worship that surrounds God’s throne. The beauty of the icons and altar, the music, the chanting, the vestments, the incense, the cloud of confessors, and the angels who came here with us; all these are part of the majesty of heavenly worship into which we are being drawn; this experience merging with that of the tens of thousands of angels, the thousands of archangels and the cherubim and seraphim who do this at the throne of God 24/7. We are like the Prophet Isaiah, the Prophet Daniel, the Apostle Paul, or St. John the Theologian, allowed to live through things that the eye cannot see nor the mind comprehend. If we open our hearts to this reality, we will be transformed by this mystical journey.After the Second Antiphon.
Why do we repeat things? Because they are important. Because they make us part of something greater. They pattern our souls according to the logic of love. When we pray, we are part of something magical: God working through us and with us to transform this world. Our every moment throughout the preceding days has been transformed by prayer; this is the continuance and crowning of that prayer.Before the Entrance
The Divine Liturgy did not always look exactly like it does now. For one, there used to be a lot more movement. Instead of singing the first antiphons in church, we would have sung them on the way to church. The service would have begun as the Gospel was brought from the outside into the sanctuary. Now the ritual of bringing the Gospel out of the altar to the people reminds us of something very important: that Christ God has come from heaven to be in our midst! This is what we are celebrating and confirming when we kiss the Gospel and exchange the words; “Christ is in our midst – He is and shall be.” God did not just take on flesh two thousand years ago, He lives in the Church and its voice is His voice.After the “Holy God”, Before the Epistle
In conversations, especially in conversations with people wiser and more knowledgeable than us, we should spend more time listening than speaking. Our liturgical dialogue with God is the same. Up to this point, we have been doing most of the talking, sharing our litanies of concerns with Him and asking for His mercy. Now it is time for us to stop talking and listen to His Word. The Epistles and Gospel readings are like food for our hungry souls. Before each reading, the deacon says; “Let us be attentive!” This is not the time for us to let our minds wander or count the number of tiles in the ceiling but rather a time to ask what God is trying to say to us and think of how we can improve our lives by putting His words into practice.After the Gospel Reading
For today’s homily, I want to address a common question that many of us have but are afraid to ask out loud: “Why do we do this every week?” We sometimes forget that the central action of the Divine Liturgy is a ritualized “meal”, when we all eat the “Mystical Supper” together. Meals need to be repeated regularly. This isn’t just because our bodies need nourishment. If this were the case we could just shove something into our mouths when our bodies started getting hungry. That’s important, but meals are more than that. Every evening when families sit down together to eat, they are affirming some very important things. They aren’t just a collection of hungry people, satisfying their bodily needs – they are a family that gathers to share stories and remember who they are. In fact, it is when they eat together that the family is most itself. No matter how busy their schedules are, families have to set aside this time together to maintain their connection and shared identity. I am convinced by observation and research that families that build their schedules around an evening meal are more resilient and that the children in such families are given a psychological boost that goes far beyond the nutrients they have been given.It can be a real drag to eat dinner together: we all have to set down our phones and pause our video games, leave the discord servers, and stop bingeing TikTok, YouTube, and Netflix! But the benefits are clear and this sacrifice is worth making. Even if it is the same thing pretty much every evening.
It’s the same for the Divine Liturgy. There are always other things that seem more fun to do on Sunday mornings: video games, doom-scrolling, movies, sports, and how about just sleeping in and going to Waffle House for breakfast? But there is no better way to build resilience and a healthy identity – I mean to know who we are at the deepest level, even below ideology and whatever other attribute the world is trying to get us to obsess over at the moment – than to set all that stuff aside for a couple of hours and enjoy the meal that the Lord has set aside for us.
Just like it’s okay for us to rather be doing something else at dinner time, it’s okay that part of us would rather be doing something else on Sunday morning. Part of growing up is learning to do what is good and right even when we’d rather be doing something fun and easy. That’s commitment. And commitment is both a critical component and a consequence of love.
Before the Great Entrance and the Cherubic Hymn
We are about to sing about how this is the time when we need to “Set aside our earthly cares” so that we can open ourselves up to something greater. The King of All Creation, the Ruler of the Heavenly Hosts, the One Who Is is with us now. We all know how crazy it is to see two people out on a date spending the whole time on their phones. But that is what we would be like if we used this time to worry about all the crazy things going on in our lives. At least for now, we need to let them go. Our problems will still be there when this is over … and if we do this thing well, we’ll be able to meet them with newfound strength. So let us lay aside all earthly cares as we ritualize the triumphant God in our midst.Before the Creed: The Kiss of Peace
The Divine Liturgy would be a waste of time for us – an empty ritual – if we did not have love for one another and for God. The priest reminds us of this right before we say the Creed when he says; “Let us love one another so that with one mind we may confess.”In the early Church, this would be the point in the service when everyone would greet one another with the “kiss of peace.” We symbolically offer this kiss of peace to one another as the priest says “Christ is in our midst” and everyone responds “He is and shall be.”
After the Creed and before the Holy Anaphora
Through our participation in this worship, the grace of God has allowed us to enter into a very special psychological, spiritual, and communal state. There is only love within us. There is only love among us. There is no remembrance of past wrongs, no prejudice, no expectations; there is only the reality of the God who lives in us and draws us as one towards His peace and perfection.This is not just some feeling that we cultivate – our salvation should never rely on something so unreliable as our feelings. God is not with us like some kind of imaginary friend or even just as a spirit whose presence cannot be known with the senses. He is actually with us. We have heard His words and we have sung His praises. Now we will do something that no mind can ever fully understand. It is hard enough for us to accept that the uncontainable and all-powerful God became fully human to be with and save us; it is an even greater mystery to understand why and how He – the God-man – decided to continue His salvific ministry to us by giving us His flesh to eat and His blood to drink in the Eucharistic Communion. This is how the God-man explained this to His followers back in the day;
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. (John 6: 53-55)
And St. John, a witness to these events, then describes that “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” (John 6:66)
Again, we cannot understand why or how the Lord has given us this method to accomplish our continuing transformation. It alternately mystifies, frightens, and humbles us. Without understanding, with the fear of God and with faith and love we join all of the saints from every place and age who have participated in this very same Communion – for there is only One Sacrifice. It is a Sacrifice that exists at the center of all our time and of all our space, a singularity that draws us towards it and through it and then on into something greater. Further up and further in!
During the upcoming prayers, the priest will ask for the Holy Spirit to come upon all of us and on the gifts being offered. God reliably answers this prayer, changing the bread and wine into Christ-God’s flesh and blood. The miraculous transformation then continues as we follow His command – eating His flesh and drinking His blood. For this is no ordinary meal but the medicine of immortality that transforms us into something better, something eternal, and something glorious.
So as to preserve the dignity of the Eucharistic Meal, I will not pause the service again until the end. Let us now enter into these, the most powerful prayers we know.
Before the Dismissal
This has been a miraculous time. God has come into our midst and then into our bodies through the Holy Eucharist. This is not just so that we can become better people, taking it “for the remission of sins” but so that we be the instruments that God uses to heal, transform, and bring joy to this fallen world.Let me leave you with this final thought;
How would you react if you found out your Army instructor was a Medal of Honor winner, your coach had won the Olympic gold, your medical school lecturer was a Nobel Prize winner, or your business school teacher was a member of the Fortune 500 who did it all from scratch? You’d pay more attention to their words. You’d have more respect for them and everything they said. You would not want to miss a single lesson. And the beauty is that you would become better by your extra attentiveness. Christ the Great Rabbi is here. Among us. Teaching us. Preparing us for paradise. We become better by attending to Him and all He teaches through His Church.
- Visa fler
