Christ is Risen!

Truly He is Risen!

I will write more here in the future, but for now it is time to celebrate and rejoice in the hope we all have in Christ!

The Transition

Holy Saturday is a neglected day in parish life. Few people attend the Services. Popular piety usually reduces Holy Week to one day — Holy Friday. This day is quickly replaced by another — Easter Sunday. Christ is dead and then suddenly alive. Great sorrow is suddenly replaced by great joy. In such a scheme Holy Saturday is lost.

In the understanding of the Church, sorrow is not replaced by joy; it is transformed into joy. This distinction indicates that it is precisely within death the Christ continues to effect triumph.

We sing that Christ is ". . . trampling down death by death" in the troparion of Easter. This phrase gives great meaning to Holy Saturday. Christ's repose in the tomb is an "active" repose. He comes in search of His fallen friend, Adam, who represents all men. Not finding him on earth, He descends to the realm of death, known as Hades in the Old Testament. There He finds him and brings him life once again. This is the victory: the dead are given life. The tomb is no longer a forsaken, lifeless place. By His death Christ tramples down death.

Today Hades cries out groaning:
"I should not have accepted the Man born of Mary.
"He came and destroyed my power.
"He shattered the gates of brass.
"As God, He raised the souls I had held captive."

Glory to Thy cross and resurrection, O Lord!

Triumph of Evil

The priest holds the Crucifix, heavy against his face as it is held aloft, and starts his procession around the church. His somber hymn clang and echo around the walls:

"Today is hung upon the Tree, He Who did hang the land in the midst of the waters. A Crown of thorns crowns Him Who is King of Angels..."

As the scandal of the Crucifixion is bought before the congregation, each member kneels and bows his head; each member's head is bowed.

"He is wrapped about with the purple of mockery Who wrapped the Heavens with clouds. He received buffetings Who freed Adam in Jordan..."

Each one kisses the Crucifix as the instrument of our salvation and shame passes them by. Dry lips, or moist, a misguided peck or a pious lingering on the wood, every one leaves their impression on the cross. Every one is is collusion.

"He was transfixed with nails Who is the Bridegroom of the Church. He was pierced with a spear Who is the Son of the Virgin...."

At the front of the nave the Crucifix is raised up. Our Lord, scoured, spat upon, nails driven into feet and hands is raised up. The congregation flow forward as a mass, pressing onwards at the back, but slowing at the front as the approach to the Messiah, God in suffering flesh brings sorrow and regret. Yet still each one kisses those wounds weeping blood into Golgotha, hoping to be like the good thief.

"We worship Thy Passion, O Christ..."

Head crowned with thorns and bowed to the right, his side throwing forth His blood and water; Our Lord already having commended His spirit to the Father...

"Show also unto us thy glorious Resurrection

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With a Single Kiss, Two Souls Reveal Themselves

Holy Wednesday

Loving God, the woman taken in sin approached You, pouring out on Your feet myrrh mixed with tears, and at Your word she is rid of the odiousness of her acts. But the disciple, lacking all grace, though he lived by Your grace, rejects it and covers himself in mire, selling You out for greed. Glory to Your forbearance, O Christ. The wily Judas, possessed by love of money, plotted craftily how to betray You, Lord, the very treasure-house of life. Besotted, he runs tothe lawless men and says, "What will you give me to turn Him over to you to be crucified?" As the harlot lovingly dried Your undefiled feet with her hair, weeping, groaning from deep within, she cried out to You: "My God, do not cast me away or regard me with loathing, but accept me repenting and save me, as the One who alone loves mankind!"


The sinful woman in her humility was raised up while the chosen Apostle was lost. Bestir yourself, then, and sing out: "Holy, holy, holy are You, our God; through the prayers of the Theotokos, save us."

Keep Watch

See! The Bridegroom sets forth in the dead of night. And blessed is that servant whom he shall find on watch; unworthy the one he shall come upon lazing. See to it, soul, that sleep does not overtake you, lest you be given up to death and be shut out of the kingdom. Bestir yourself, then, and sing out: "Holy, holy, holy are You, our God; through the protection of the bodiless powers, save us."

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The Triumphal Entry

"Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of an ass"
-Zech 9:9

The liturgy of the Church is more than meditation or praise concerning past events. It communicates to us the eternal presence and power of the events being celebrated and makes us participants in those events. Thus the services of Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday bring us to our own moment of life and death and entrance into the Kingdom of God: a Kingdom not of this world, a Kingdom accessible in the Church through repentance and baptism.

On Palm Sunday palm and willow branches are blessed in the Church. We take them in order to raise them up and greet the King and Ruler of our life: Jesus Christ. We take them in order to reaffirm our baptismal pledges. As the One who raised Lazarus and entered Jerusalem to go to His voluntary Passion stands in our midst, we are faced with the same question addressed to us at baptism: "Do you accept Christ?" We give our answer by daring to take the branch and raise it up: "I accept Him as King and God!"

Thus, on the eve of Christ's Passion, in the celebration of the joyfulcycle of the triumphant days of Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday, we reunite ourselves to Christ, affirm His Lordship lover the totality of our life and express our readiness to follow Him to His Kingdom:

"... that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead"

-Philippians 3:10-11

(From the Very Rev. Paul Lazor)

Stop being Rational!

"Both read the Bible day and night, but thou read black where I read white."
-William Blake

There is a pernicious idea abound that the correct interpretation of Scripture can be found if only the correct scholarship is applied: a scholarly understanding of Hebrew (or Greek), an understanding of ancient Jewish culture, of the history of the 1st century Holy Lands, or even what St. John might have been eating while on Patamos. With a good grasp of these background details, the correct, orthodox, meaning of a passage can be teased out - the truth can be discovered.

It's called exegesis and it must stop! This is not what the faith of our fathers is built upon!

The opposite of exegesis, is eisegesis, a word so derogatory that it is used as an insult all on its own in certain academic circles. Eisegesis is reading into scripture presuppositions; not coming to the Bible with an "open mind."

But consider this:

In the second chapter of his gospel, St. Matthew tells us with confidence that Jesus flight into Egypt as a boy (and his eventual return to Galilee) fulfilled Hosea 11:1, "Out of Egypt I called my son." But Hosea 11:1 is simply describing the Exodus; it is a passage that is not predictive of Christ's coming but retrospective of Israel's disobedience. Or so would say any half-decent Biblical scholar.

Or consider Paul's use of Isaiah 59:20 in his letter to the Romans, where he finishes an argument by announcing, "And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: 'The deliverer will come from Zion.' " But Isaiah says something quite different: "The Redeemer will come to Zion." This is how a scholar would read the verse, painstakingly examining every word of the original text.

So who do we believe? Apostle or scholar?

Many of the Church Fathers have been, throughout history, responsible for the grossest of eisegesis. Quite right too. Matthew ate with, lived with, touched, Jesus Christ, God made flesh. Paul was physically blinded by the revelation he received, and then healed by the love of one of Christ's disciples.

You don't just put that experience aside and get out your interlinear for a long, hard, study session. Even Thomas Aquinas, who wrote the favourite "theological proof" of all Western scholastics (even many Protestants) put down his pen before it was finished after receiving a revelation, declaring the whole thing "of little value" compared to what God directly imparted to him. So this is how I take the Church to be infallible in matters of faith. Not because she has the best scholars, but because her members pray, and pray, and pray, until spiritually they are caught up in heaven, just as St Paul described. From these people miracles flowed, healings flowed, prophesies, visions, and for some their own blood.
These are the saints of the Church I listen to, and trust. This is my proof.

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The time for looking at things in a calm, reasonable, manner is long gone. It's later than you think!

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Let It Be

In those days, Elizabeth the wife of Zacharias conceived and for five months she hid herself, saying, "Thus the Lord had done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men." In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

And he came to her and said, "Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you! But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end." And Mary said to the angel, "How shall this be, since I have no husband?" And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible."

And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

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"It is truly right to bless you O Theotokos, ever blessed and most pure and the Mother of our God. more honorable than the cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the seraphim. without corruption you gave birth to God the Word: true Theotokos we magnify you"

Islands of Faith

In church, during the Liturgy, is when God can best speak to us, or rather, we are better able to listen. This is where we are immersed in the mysteries of faith, and in constant prayer. It is here where any of us can receive the call of Ss Paul and Barnabas, or even receive revelation as the Beloved Apostle did whilst in the Spirit, upon Patamos.

In the past prayer-life could continue outside, as even our secular life was orthodox. Now, the black waters of the world lap against the very steps of the outer sancturary. Our church is but the smallest of islands in a sea of iniquity. But the Christian way is not to hide away, wrapped in the incense and hymns of church. Find strength in her, and then, renewed in your faith, step out onto the waters like St Peter and with faith in Christ we will not drown.

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+ Holy Cross +

When the angelic powers appeared at Your grave, the soldiers guarding it feared and became as dead. And standing by the sepulcher was Mary who was seeking Your immaculate body. You devastated Hades, not afflicted by it. You went to meet the virgin, and granted eternal life. You resurrected from the dead. O Lord, glory to You.

With the help of God, we have almost reached the middle of Lent, where our strength has been worn down through abstinence, and the full difficulty of the labour set before us becomes apparent. Therefore our holy Mother, the Church of Christ, now brings to our help the all-holy Cross, the joy of the world, the strength of the faithful, the staff of the just, and the hope of sinners, so that by venerating it reverently, we might receive strength and grace to complete the divine struggle of the Fast.

'The Lord said: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."'
-Mark 8:34-38; 9:1

Why We Need the Poor

Without the poor we have no quick way to lay up treasures in heaven.

Without the poor after we "sell all" that we have, who will we give it to?

Without the poor there is no way to give directly to Christ.

Without the poor we are hopelessly deluded by materialism.

Without the poor we have no vision of a simple lifestyle.

Without the poor we cannot learn to be content with what we have.

Without the poor we have no people to thank God for us.

Without the poor can not learn to be generous.

Without the poor we cannot receive from God as we have given.

Without the poor our riches become chains that fasten us to this life and condemn us to poverty hereafter.

The poor don't need us, but we need the poor!!

Beauty Touches but Clutching Devours

What beauty there is in the world! But why must we fight with the temptation to own it for ourselves? Where does this unwarranted desire come from? We encounter beauty, we admire beauty. That is a blessing for which we should thank God. Beyond that is a perversion. To take hold of that beauty, to own that beauty and deny it to others, what are we doing but stealing from God what is meant for all?


Divine creation cannot be stolen! Take that beauty if your flesh is weak; lock her away and deny her to others. The beauty will fade almost in an instant. A cut flower will wither, a caged bird will not sing, and the smile of a girl will fade if she is lusted after as a possesion. Either that or her continued delight will tear her veil of chastity in two.


I know this, but still I cannot enjoy the beauty of girl, the joy of her laughter, the pleasure of her conversation. Because although all this is a gift from God my deceitful heart wants more. I want sole propierty of that smile, that laughter, those words. This is not about sex, for sex is merely the easiest way to stake a claim of ownership. The pleasure in fornication is merely the spur with which to take that easy route to ownership. This is how our own body conspires against us!


Lord deliver unto us bromide for our tea! So that we may press ourselves as close as we wish to the beauty of Your creation and enjoy the dance.

An Assurance of Hope

I must admit that I never felt such joy the day I learned to pray for the salvation of the whole world and everything in it. But it didn't come immediately after my conversion, because then there was still the idea of Hell and everlasting torment for those who "rejected Christ."

Yet this is not part of any Orthodox creed, nor has it ever been Orthodox dogma. The concept of Hell as a place for punishment is largely a western construct (specifically medieval). This view is held by some in the Eastern church, but it is also held alongside others who view Hell as something else, and here I must use the words of others:

"It remains spiritually impossible to talk of Hell for others. The theme of Hell can only be broached in terms of I and Thou. The threats in the Gospel concern me; they formulate the serious tragic element in my spiritual destiny; they prompt me to humility and repentance, because I recognize them as a diagnosis of my state.But for you, the numberless you of my neighbour, I can only serve, bear witness, and pray that you will experience the Risen Christ and that you and everyone will be saved."

-Olivier Clement

This leads us to the practice of praying for all, and that includes the dead, so that all may be saved. This is not a new teaching, and Church fathers throughout history, from St. Paul ("that God may be all in all"), through St Issac, up until present day saints such as Silouan, have taught us to hope and pray for universal salvation.

"The assurance of the salvation of all cannot be an assurance of faith, because there is no clear and affirmative statement about this in Holy Scripture; but it can be an assurance of hope, because, knowing God as we know Him, we have the right to hope for everything."
- Metropolitan Anthony of Sourzoh

We cannot say that all will be saved, or even that all must be saved. But how can we imagine that the saints in Heaven won't continually pray for those on earth who have not met Christ, and even more, those who are still suffering in Hell? I too think that living Christians should pray in a like manner, and knowing God, have an assurance of hope. At least some of us should. Just some thoughts (not all my own) I felt like sharing.

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Saturday Prayer for the Dead:
Remember the souls of Thy servants O Lord,for Thou art good,and insofar as they sinned in this life,forgive them;for no one is sinless but Thee,Who canst also give rest to the departed
Now and forever and to the ages of ages.
Amen

Pray Without Ceasing

"We say 'Jesus' and we rest in plenitude and totality that can no longer be taken from us. The name Jesus then becomes a bearer of the whole Christ. It brings us into His total presence. In this total presence are found all the realities towards which the name has served as a means of approach: salvation & pardon, the Incarnation & the Transfiguration, the Church & the Eucharist, the Father & the Spirit.

All things appear to us "gathered togther in Christ" (Ep 1:10). If we cling to the name of Jesus we shall receive the special blessing that the scripture promises, "Have mercy on me as is Thy custom toward them that love Thy name" (Ps 119:132). And may the Lord be pleased to say of us what He said of Saul:
"He is a chosen vessel of Mine. to bear my name" (Acts 9:15)"

- A monk of the Eastern Church

Despite Myself

After my christmation I returned to China with zeal and fire, crucifix and Bible, icon of the beloved son of thunder, Tupperware full of cubed antidoran, and prayer rope around my wrist. Everyday I would eat a piece of the incorruptible antidoran to break fast, read from the scriptures, and pray the hours.

But I soon fell in with my familiar demons; those that know my name, who stroke and caress my flesh and lust for my soul. After falling into sin and forsaking God's grace yet again, the remaining bread decayed overnight, literally, so that in the morning my breakfast was denied to me. A warning and reproof from God to be sure. Yet despite this I know that just as Christ's flesh suffered and bore the pain for man's illness, so too did the antidoran bear the marks of my own wickedness, and spare my soul from blackening mould.

I repented. And more, I repented with knowledge given to me by the Spirit of Truth that my stumble had come not from submitting to my demons but before then: by allowing them near me. Neglecting my study, ignoring prayer; these things allowed the demons to rush upon me - just as now that I type this at night, those same demons cower in the shadows.

Lord have mercy! And drive those demons yet further away. (But not too far else I would miss them...)

How much wonder there is in the fact that through this humble sign, God can chastise me, forgive me, and teach me, despite myself. How great is God! The treasury of Truth from now and unto the ages of ages.

Amen.