Saint Mary of Egypt

The Eastern Rite of the Church dedicates the Fifth Sunday of the Great Fast (Lent) to the memory of Saint Mary of Egypt, who lived circa 344–421 AD. Saint Mary was born in Egypt, and at the age of twelve ran away to the city of Alexandria where she lived an extremely dissolute life for more than seventeen years.

When she was twenty-nine, she decided to accompany a group of Libyan and Egyptian men who were voyaging to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which attracted pilgrims from all over the empire. Mary joined the pilgrims, offering sexual favors to the sailors in return for her passage.

It was at Golgotha in Jerusalem where she underwent a mystical experience that led to her conversion, repentance, and eventual expiation of her sins. After buying three loaves of bread for sustenance, she crossed the river Jordan and settled in the desert. There she lived for forty-seven years without encountering any other human being, until she met Zosimas, a devout monk of a monastery in the vicinity of the river Jordan.

A year later, on Maundy Thursday, Zosimas brought her the holy eucharist as he had promised. He then went to meet her a third time in the following year as they had agreed. By then, however, Mary was dead. Zosimas discovered her body in the desert, and buried her with the help of a lion that appeared out of nowhere.

The life of Saint Mary of Egypt shows us that overcoming passions and temptations is a long and difficult process, even for those who have no other desire than to please Jesus. It takes a great struggle to put off the old person and be clothed in the new. But God gave her the grace every step of the way and was always there with her, supporting her, holding her hand, and guiding her to the Heavenly Kingdom. Saint Mary is revered as the patron saint of penitents.

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The Struggle of Despair in Our Lives

The “Prayer of Saint Ephraim” is ubiquitous during Great Lent and is recited in all weekday services. In the Byzantine tradition, this prayer is considered to be the most succinct summation of the spirit of Great Lent and is hence the Lenten prayer par excellence.

“O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions, and not to judge my brother, for blessed art Thou, unto ages of ages. Amen.”

Despair/Унынія

The Slavonic word унынія (unyniia) is translated as “despair”; another possible translation is “faint-heartedness”. In today’s terms we might think of it as “depression,” considered by many spiritual fathers and mothers as one of the principle sins, such as Saint Seraphim of Sarov:

“There is no worse sin, and nothing more terrible and pernicious than the spirit of despair. It is imperative to free oneself from despair and strive for a joyful spirit, rather than depressed. A person can accomplish anything in joy, however one can accomplish nothing if weighted with inner burdens.” (2)

A sad truth is that many believers suffer from despair but fear to admit it, because they think that would be admitting what is considered to be a grave spiritual problem or sin. So they suffer in silence, hoping and praying for deliverance; but the consequences of doing nothing often result in further complications. Depression can have its source in our body, soul or spirit. Our body can affect our soul and spirit and vice versa. Regardless, the soul suffers leading to depression which then affects one’s spiritual life.

When we suffer, our sufferings become worse when we think there is no end or purpose for them, and we become despondent and fall into despair. As long as we have this mindset, tough times are going to defeat us. But once we believe that God is sovereign, and that God doesn’t create evil—but that God can use evil for good and for a greater purpose—that transforms our view of suffering. Trust there’s a purpose in this suffering somewhere!

Not to sin is truly blessed; but those who sin must strive not to fall into despair, but rather to confess the sins they have committed, so that, through repentence and absolution, they may again attain blessedness and joy. It is good, then, to pray always and not to despair!

*Russian/Slavonic:

(1) “Господи и владыко живота моегω, духъ праздности, оунынїѧ, любоначалїѧ и празднословїѧ не даждь ми. Духъ же цѣломѹдрїѧ, смиренномѹдрїѧ, терпѣнїѧ и любве, дарѹй ми рабѹ твоемѹ. Ей Господи Царю, даруй ми зрѣти моѧ прегрѣшенїѧ, и не ωсуждати брата моегω, якω благословенъ еси во вѣки вѣковъ. Аминь”

(2) “Нет хуже греха, и ничего нет ужаснее и пагубнее духа уныния. Нужно удалять от себя уныние и стараться иметь радостный дух, а не печальный. От радости человек может что угодно совершить, от внутренней натуги – ничего.” – Преподобный Серафим Саровский

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Feast of the Annunciation

For those who observe the Julian Calendar, the Feast of the Annunciation is observed today, commemorating the moment the Angel Gabriel announced to the Holy Virgin Mary that she was chosen to be the Birthgiver of God (Θεοτόκος / Богородица).

The hymn of the day (troparion) describes this feast as the “beginning of our salvation” for on this day the Son of God became the Son of Man. Through the meek and humble obedience of the Virgin Mary, the uncontainable God comes to dwell in her womb, taking on our human nature in order to heal our brokenness and to redeem us.

The feast of the Annunciation is both a feast of the Mother of God, and a feast of the Lord. Indeed, it shows the intimate relationship between the Theotokos and her divine Son. For, in her, God’s careful work of preparation reaches its fulfilment.

On a personal note, this day holds a very special place in my heart, as I was ordained a priest on the Feast of the Anunciation in 1984.

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+ Sunday of the Cross + Крестопоклонная

On the Third Sunday of Great and Holy Lent, the Eastern Orthodox Church commemorates the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Saint Augustine teaches:

“Know this: just as the wood of the ark saved the just from drowning, so too, by the mystery of His wooden Cross, does Christ, the Church’s God and King, save us from drowning in the sea of this world. In the symbol of a thing made of wood He gave human beings a foreshadowing of both the judgment to come and the salvation of the just.”

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Terror Attacks in Belgium, Pakistan, and Around the World*

March 28, 2016

WASHINGTON, DC: The National Council of Churches mourns for those who died in recent terrorist attacks in Brussels, Belgium, and Lahore, Pakistan and prays for those who are recovering from injuries. We condemn all acts of violence that intentionally target innocent people. We view these incidents as attacks on individual human lives, communities, people of faith, and on civilization itself, abhor this cowardly violence, and call for its end.

We are shocked the attack in Lahore was carried out on the holiest day of the Christian calendar. We mourn also for victims of attacks, seemingly too frequent to count, in Turkey, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, and Honduras. Although media attention tends to focus on terrorism in Western European countries, God is the God of all. God cares for all, grieves with all, and desires justice and love above all.

The terrorist organizations that carry out such acts must be brought to justice through a coordinated, international police and intelligence effort. The vast majority of people of faith oppose terrorism carried out in the name of religion, for it is antithetical to the tenets of our faiths. We stand with those of all faiths who seek justice and peace and an end to terrorism and the killing of innocents.

*Statement from National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA

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+ Triumph of Orthodoxy + Торжество Православия

The Sunday of Orthodoxy is the first Sunday of Great Lent according to the Eastern Orthodox (Julian) calendar. The dominant theme of this Sunday since 843 AD has been that of the victory of the icons. In that year the iconoclastic controversy, which had raged on and off since 726, was finally resolved by the Church, and icons and their veneration were restored on the first Sunday in Lent. Ever since, this Sunday has been commemorated as the Triumph of Orthodoxy.

The Council decided on a doctrine by which icons should be venerated but not worshipped. The decree of the Seventh Ecumenical Council of 787 restoring icons to churches added an important clause which still stands at the foundation of the rationale for using and venerating icons in the Orthodox Church to this very day:

“We define that the holy icons, whether in color, mosaic, or some other material, should be exhibited in the holy churches of God, on the sacred vessels and liturgical vestments, on the walls, furnishings, and in houses and along the roads, namely the icons of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, that of Our Lady the Theotokos, those of the venerable angels and those of all saintly people. Whenever these representations are contemplated, they will cause those who look at them to commemorate and love their prototype. We define also that they should be kissed and that they are an object of veneration and honor (προσκύνηση και τιμή), but not of worship (λατρεία), which is reserved for Him Who is the subject of our faith and is proper for the divine nature. The veneration accorded to an icon is in effect transmitted to the prototype; the person who venerates the icon, venerated in it the reality for which it stands.”

The theme of the victory of the icons, by its emphasis on the incarnation, points us to the basic Christian truth that the one whose death and resurrection we celebrate at Pascha (Easter) was none other than the Word of God who became human.

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Sunday of Forgiveness

Brothers and Sisters

Please forgive me

For the sake of Christ!

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