31/01/2012
Program of Holy Services for February 2012
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of New Zealand
Holy Church of the Dormition of Virgin Mary, Christchurch
Program of Holy Services for
February 2012
2 Thursday The Presentation of Our Lord and Savior in
the Temple, Gabriel the New Martyr of Constantinople ,Jordan the New Martyr
Matins & Divine Liturgy 9:00 –
11:45 a.m.
5 Sunday Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee: Triodion Begins Today, Agatha the Martyr,
Polyeuktos, Partriarch Of Constantinople
Matins & Divine Liturgy 9:00 –
11:45 a.m.
9 Thursday Leavetaking
of the Presentation of Our Lord and Savior in the Temple,
Nicephoros the Martyr of Antioch
Service of Supplication to the Mother
of God 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.
12 Sunday Sunday of Prodigal Son. Meletios, Archbishop of Antioch.
Antonius, Archbishop of Constantinople
Matins & Divine Liturgy 9:00 –
11:45 a.m.
16 Thursday Pamphilios the Martyr & his
Companions.
Flavianos, Patriarch
of Constantinople
Service of Supplication to the Mother
of God 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.
18 Saturday Saturday of Souls. Leo the Great, Pope of Rome. Agapetus the
Confessor, Bishop of Sinai
Matins, Divine Liturgy &
memorials 9:00 – 11:45 a.m.
19 Sunday Judgment Sunday
(Meatfare Sunday) Philemon & Archippos, Apostles of the 70. Philothea
the Righteous Martyr of Athens
Matins & Divine Liturgy 9:00 –
11:45 a.m.
23 Thursday Polycarp
the Holy Martyr & Bishop of Smyrna.
Proterios, Archbishop of Alexandria
Service of Supplication to the Mother
of God 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.
26 Sunday
Forgiveness Sunday. Porphyrios, Bishop of Gaza. Photini the Samaritan Woman & her
martyred sisters: Anatole, Phota, Photis, Paraskevi, & Kyriaki
Matins & Divine Liturgy 9:00 –
11:45 a.m.
27 Monday First Monday in Lent. Prokopios the Confessor of Decapolis. Raphael
of Brooklyn
Great Compline 6:00 – 7:30 pm
29 Wednesday Righteous
John Cassian the Confessor
9th Hour, vespers and Liturgy of the
Presanctified Gifts 9:00 – 12:00 am
I wish you to have a nice and blessed month!
Hello,rejoy!
I wish you
to have a nice and blessed month!
February
has just appeared
with Christ's Love
Rev. Am.
30/01/2012
The Symbol of Faith of Orthodox Christians (Nicene Creed)
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker
of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible: And in one Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, Begotten of the Father before
all ages, Light of Light, True God of True God, Begotten, not made; of one
essence with the Father, by whom all things were made: Who for us men and for
our salvation came down from the heavens, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit
and the Virgin Mary, and became man; And was crucified for us under Pontius
Pilate, and suffered and was buried; And rose again on the third day, according
to the Scriptures; And ascended into the heavens, and sitteth at the right hand
of the Father; And shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and
the dead, Whose kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord,
the Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father, Who with the Father and the
Son together is worshiped and glorified, Who spake by the Prophets; In One Holy
Catholic and Apostolic Church. I Confess one Baptism for the remission of sins.
I look for the Resurrection of the dead, And the life of the age to come, Amen.
27/01/2012
23/01/2012
Daily readings from scriptures January 2012
1 Col 2:8‐12 Lk 2:20‐21,40‐52
2 Heb 5:4‐10 Jn 3:1‐15
3 2Ti 4:5‐8 Mk 1:1‐8
4 Acts 10:44‐11:10 Jn 1:18‐28
5 1Co 9:19‐27 Lk 3:1‐18
6 Gen 1:1‐13; Exod 14:15‐29; Exod 15:22‐16:1 (E)
Titus 2:11‐14;3:4‐7 Mt 3:13‐17
7 Acts 19:1‐8 Jn 1:29‐34
8 Eph 4:7‐13 Mt 4:12‐17
9 2Ti 2:1‐10 Mk 1:9‐15
10 Eph 4:7‐13 Lk 3:19‐22
11 Heb 13:7‐16 Mt 11:27‐30
12 Acts 18:22‐28 Jn 10:39‐42
13 Heb 10:32‐38 Lk 12:32‐40
14 Heb 6:10‐17 Mt 4:1‐11
15 Col 3:4‐11 Lk 17:12‐19
16 Acts 12:1‐11 Jn 21:15‐25
17 Heb 13:17‐21 Lk 6:17‐23
18 Heb 13:7‐16 Mt 5:14‐19
19 Gal 5:22‐6:2 Mt 22:2‐14
20 2Co 4:6‐15 Lk 6:17‐23
21 Php 1:12‐20 Lk 12:8‐12
22 1Ti 4:9‐15 Lk 19:1‐10
23 Php 3:20‐4:3 Mk 2:23‐3:2
24 Gal 5:22‐6:2 Mt 22:35‐46
25 Heb 7:26‐8:2 Jn 10:9‐16
26 2Co 1:21‐2:4 Mt 25:14‐30
27 Heb 7:26‐8:2 Jn 10:9‐16
28 Gal 5:22‐6:2 Lk 6:17‐23
29 2Co 6:16‐7:1 Mt 15:21‐28
30 Heb 13:7‐16 Mt 5:14‐19
31 1Co 12:27‐13:8 Mt 10:1,5‐8
18/01/2012
Do you profess yourself a Christian?
Several years ago, a preacher from out-of-state accepted a
call to a church in Houston,
Texas.
Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the
bus from his home to the downtown area.
When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had
accidentally given him a quarter too much change.
As he considered what to do, he thought to him self, 'You'd
better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it.'
Then he thought, 'Oh, forget it, it's only a quarter. Who
would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company gets too much
fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a 'gift from God' and keep quiet.'
When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, and
then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, 'here, you gave me too much change’
The driver, with a
smile, replied, 'Aren't you the new preacher in town?'
'Yes' he replied.
'Well, I have been
thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just wanted to see
what you would do if I gave you too much change. I'll see you at church on
Sunday.'
When the preacher
stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on,
and said, 'Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter.'
Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read.
This is a really
scary example of how much people watch us as Christians, and will put us to the
test!
Always be on guard -- and remember -- You carry the name of
Christ on your shoulders when you call yourself
'Christian.'
* Watch your
thoughts; they become words.
* Watch your
words; they become actions.
* Watch your
actions; they become habits.
* Watch your
habits; they become character.
* Watch your
character; it becomes your destiny.
I'm glad a friend forwarded this to me as a reminder. So, I
choose to forward it to you - my friend. God bless you; I hope you are having a
wonderful day!
Stay FAITHFUL and Be GRATEFUL!
Do you speak English ?
"The
genesis of classical drama was not symptomatic. Aneuphoria of
charismatic and talented protagonists showed fantastic scenes of
historic episodes. The prologue, the theme and the epilogue, comprised
the trilogy of drama while synthesis, analysis and synopsis
characterized the phraseology of the text. The syntax and phraseology
used by scholars, academicians and philosophers in their rhetoric, had
many grammatical idioms and idiosyncrasies.
The protagonists periodically used pseudonyms. Anonymity was a syndrome that characterized the theatrical atmosphere.
The panoramic fantasy, the mystique, the melody, the aesthetics, the use of the cosmetic epithets are characteristics of drama.
Eventhrough the theaters were physically gigantic, there was noneed for microphones because the architecture and the acoustics would echo isometrically and crystal - clear. Many epistomologists of physics, aerodynamics, acoustics, electronics, electromagnetics can not analyze - explain the ideal and isometric acoustics of Hellenic theaters even today.
There were many categories of drama: classical drama, melodrama, satiric, epic, comedy, etc. The syndrome of xenophobia or dyslexia was overcome by the pathos of the actors who practiced methodically and emphatically. Acrobatics were also euphoric. There was a plethora of anecdotal themes, with which the acrobats would electrify the ecstatic audience with scenes from mythical and historical episodes.
Some theatric episodes were characterized as scandalous and blasphemous. Pornography, bigamy, hemophilia, nymphomania, polyandry, polygamy and heterosexuality were dramatized in a pedagogical way so the mysticism about them would not cause phobia or anathema or taken as anomaly but through logic, dialogue and analysis skepticism and the pathetic or cryptic mystery behind them would be dispelled.
It is historically and chronologically proven that theater emphasized pedagogy, idealism and harmony. Paradoxically it also energized patriotism a phenomenon that symbolized ethnically character and phenomenal heroism."
The protagonists periodically used pseudonyms. Anonymity was a syndrome that characterized the theatrical atmosphere.
The panoramic fantasy, the mystique, the melody, the aesthetics, the use of the cosmetic epithets are characteristics of drama.
Eventhrough the theaters were physically gigantic, there was noneed for microphones because the architecture and the acoustics would echo isometrically and crystal - clear. Many epistomologists of physics, aerodynamics, acoustics, electronics, electromagnetics can not analyze - explain the ideal and isometric acoustics of Hellenic theaters even today.
There were many categories of drama: classical drama, melodrama, satiric, epic, comedy, etc. The syndrome of xenophobia or dyslexia was overcome by the pathos of the actors who practiced methodically and emphatically. Acrobatics were also euphoric. There was a plethora of anecdotal themes, with which the acrobats would electrify the ecstatic audience with scenes from mythical and historical episodes.
Some theatric episodes were characterized as scandalous and blasphemous. Pornography, bigamy, hemophilia, nymphomania, polyandry, polygamy and heterosexuality were dramatized in a pedagogical way so the mysticism about them would not cause phobia or anathema or taken as anomaly but through logic, dialogue and analysis skepticism and the pathetic or cryptic mystery behind them would be dispelled.
It is historically and chronologically proven that theater emphasized pedagogy, idealism and harmony. Paradoxically it also energized patriotism a phenomenon that symbolized ethnically character and phenomenal heroism."
17/01/2012
The Divine Gift of Kindness. (Two Choices)
At a fundraising dinner for a
school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of
the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who
attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a
question:
'When not interfered
with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection.
Yet my son, Shay,
cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other
children do.
Where is the natural
order of things in my son?'
The audience was
stilled by the query.
The father
continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and
physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human
nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'
Then he told the
following story:
Shay and I had
walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked,
'Do you think they'll let me play?' I knew that most of the boys would not want
someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that
if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of
belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his
handicaps.
I approached one of
the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The
boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game
is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him
in to bat in the ninth inning.'
Shay struggled over
to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched
with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my
son being accepted.
In the bottom of the
eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.
In the top of the
ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no
hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the
field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.
In the bottom of the
ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.
Now, with two outs
and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was
scheduled to be next at bat.
At this juncture, do
they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?
Surprisingly, Shay
was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay
didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.
However, as Shay
stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was
putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to
lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.
The first pitch came
and Shay swung clumsily and missed.
The pitcher again
took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
As the pitch came
in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the
pitcher.
The game would now
be over.
The pitcher picked
up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first
baseman.
Shay would have been
out and that would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher
threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team
mates.
Everyone from the
stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first!
Run to first!'
Never in his life
had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.
He scampered down
the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
Everyone yelled,
'Run to second, run to second!'
Catching his breath,
Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
base.
By the time Shay
rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball . the smallest guy
on their team
who now had his
first chance to be the hero for his team.
He could have thrown
the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's
intentions
so he, too,
intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.
Shay ran toward
third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward
home.
All were screaming,
'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
Shay, run to third!'
As Shay rounded
third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet
screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!'
Shay ran to home,
stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and
won the game for his team
'That day', said the
father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams
helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.
Shay didn't make it
to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero
and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace
her little hero of the day!
AND NOW A LITTLE
FOOT NOTE TO THIS STORY:
We all send
thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it
comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate.
The crude, vulgar,
and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about
decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
If you're thinking
about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the
people in your address book who aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive this
type of message Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can
make a difference.
We all have
thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural order
of things.'
So many seemingly
trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice:
Do we pass along a
little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and
leave the world a little bit colder in the process?
A
wise man once said every
society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
16/01/2012
Anagrams
Someone out there
must be "deadly" at Scrabble.
(Wait till you see the last one)!
PRESBYTERIAN:
When you rearrange the letters:
BEST IN PRAYER
ASTRONOMER:
When you rearrange the letters:
MOON STARER
DESPERATION:
When you rearrange the letters:
A ROPE ENDS IT
THE EYES:
When you rearrange the letters:
THEY SEE
GEORGE BUSH:
When you rearrange the letters:
HE BUGS GORE
THE MORSE CODE:
When you rearrange the letters:
HERE COME DOTS
DORMITORY:
When you rearrange the letters:
DIRTY ROOM
SLOT MACHINES:
When you rearrange the letters:
CASH LOST IN ME
ANIMOSITY:
When you rearrange the letters:
IS NO AMITY
ELECTION RESULTS:
When you rearrange the letters:
LIES - LET'S RECOUNT
SNOOZE ALARMS:
When you rearrange the letters:
ALAS! NO MORE Z 'S
A DECIMAL POINT:
When you rearrange the letters:
I'M A DOT IN
PLACE
THE EARTHQUAKES:
When you rearrange the letters:
THAT QUEER SHAKE
ELEVEN PLUS TWO:
When you rearrange the letters:
TWELVE PLUS ONE
AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE:
MOTHER-IN-LAW:
When you rearrange the letters:
WOMAN HITLER
15/01/2012
What are the differences between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism?
By Father Michael Azkoul
This question has been asked many
times. Most Orthodox, in attempting to distinguish between Orthodoxy and Roman
Catholicism, usually mention the Pope or Purgatory, sometimes the filioque.
Historically, the differences, however, are far more numerous and quite
profound.
Also, in modern times, since Vatican II
of thirty years ago, that major, if not tragic attempt, to "update"
Roman Catholicism (e.g., the revision of canon law), the differences between
Orthodoxy and the followers of the Pope have widened.
In our present discussion, however, the
concern will be those differences which have grown since Orthodoxy and Roman
Catholicism separated almost a thousand years ago.
1.
Faith and Reason
Following the Holy Fathers, Orthodoxy
uses science and philosophy to defend and explain her Faith. Unlike Roman
Catholicism, she does not build on the results of philosophy and science. The
Church does not seek to reconcile faith and reason. She makes no effort to
prove by logic or science what Christ gave His followers to believe. If physics
or biology or chemistry or philosophy lends support to the teachings of the
Church, she does not refuse them. However, Orthodoxy is not intimidated by
man's intellectual accomplishments. She does not bow to them and change the
Christian Faith to make it consistent with the results of human thought and
science.
St. Basil the Great advised young monks
to use Greek philosophy as a bee uses the flower. Take only the
"honey," ---- the truth --- which God has planted in the world to
prepare men for the Coming of the Lord.
For example, the Greeks had a doctrine
of the Logos. The Gospel of John opens, "In the beginning was the Word
(Logos, in Greek). For the pagans, the Logos was not God, as He is for
Christians; rather he is a principle, a power or force by which "God:
formed and governs the world. The Fathers pointed to the similarity between the
Logos or Word of the Bible and the Logos of Greek philosophy as a sign of Providence. The
difference between them, they attributed to the sinfulness of men and the
weakness of the human intellect. They remembered the words of the Apostle Paul,
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after
the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after
Christ" (Col. 2: 8).
Roman Catholicism, on the other hand,
places a high value on human reason. Its history shows the consequence of that
trust. For example, in the Latin Middle Ages, the 13th century, the
theologian-philosopher, Thomas Aquinas, joined "Christianity" with
the philosophy of Aristotle. From that period til now, the Latins have never
wavered in their respect for human wisdom; and it has radically altered the
theology, mysteries and institutions of the Christian religion.
2.
The Development of Doctrine
The Orthodox Church does not endorse
the view that the teachings of Christ have changed from time to time; rather
that Christianity has remained unaltered from the moment that the Lord
delivered the Faith to the Apostles (Matt. 28: 18-20). She affirms that
"the faith once delivered to the saints" (Jude 3) is now what it was
in the beginning. Orthodox of the twentieth century believe precisely what was
believed by Orthodox of the first, the fifth, the tenth, the fifteenth
centuries.
To be sure, Orthodoxy recognizes
external changes (e.g., vestments of clergy, monastic habits, new feasts,
canons of ecumenical and regional councils, etc.), but nothing has been added
or subtracted from her Faith. The external changes have a single purpose: To
express that Faith under new circumstances. For example, the Bible and divine
Services were translated from Hebrew and Greek into the language of new lands;
or new religious customs arose to express the ethnic sensibilities of the converted
peoples, etc.; nevertheless, their has always been "one faith, one Lord,
one baptism" (Eph. 4: 4).
The fundamental witness to the
Christian Tradition is the holy Scriptures; and the supreme expositors of the
Scriptures are the divinely inspired Fathers of the Church, whether the Greek
Fathers or Latin Fathers, Syriac Fathers or Slavic Fathers. Their place in the
Orthodox religion cannot be challenged. Their authority cannot be superseded,
altered or ignored.
On the other hand, Roman Catholicism,
unable to show a continuity of faith and in order to justify new doctrine,
erected in the last century, a theory of "doctrinal development."
Following the philosophical spirit of
the time (and the lead of Cardinal Henry Newman), Roman Catholic theologians
began to define and teach the idea that Christ only gave us an "original
deposit" of faith, a "seed," which grew and matured through the
centuries. The Holy Spirit, they said, amplified the Christian Faith as the
Church moved into new circumstances and acquired other needs.
Consequently, Roman Catholicism,
pictures its theology as growing in stages, to higher and more clearly defined
levels of knowledge. The teachings of the Fathers, as important as they are,
belong to a stage or level below the theology of the Latin Middle Ages
(Scholasticism), and that theology lower than the new ideas which have come
after it, such as Vatican II.
All the stages are useful, all are
resources; and the theologian may appeal to the Fathers, for example, but they
may also be contradicted by something else, something higher or newer.
On this basis, theories such as the
dogmas of "papal infallibility" and "the immaculate
conception" of the Virgin Mary (about which we will say more) are justifiably
presented to the Faithful as necessary to their salvation.
In any case, the truth of these dogmas
have always belonged to the Christian Tradition. They have been present from
the beginning of that Tradition as "hints," seeds that only waited
for the right time to bloom.
3.
God
13/01/2012
I was born alive during a saline abortion
Watch the video
I am adopted and my biological mother was 17 and so was my biological father. She was seven and a half months pregnant when she decided to go to the Planned Parenthood, which is the largest abortion provider and they counseled her to have a late term saline abortion, which is a saline solution and it is injected into the mother’s womb, baby gulps the solution and it burns the baby inside and out and then she is to deliver a dead baby within 24 hours.
And to everyone’s great shock and surprise I did not arrive dead but alive on April the 6th, 1977, in a Los-Angeles county abortion clinics.
What’s fantastic about this, about the perfect timing of my arrival is that the abortionist was not on duty yet, so he was not even given an opportunity to continue on with his plans for my life which was death.
And I know that I’m in a government building, in a beautiful one, it is, and I love your country as well as my own.
But I know in the age that we live it is not at all politically correct to say the name of Jesus Christ in the places like this, to bring Him into these sorts of meetings, because His name can make people terribly uncomfortable.
But I did not survive so I could make everyone comfortable.
I survived so I could stir the things up with that.
And I have a great time doing it.
And so I was delivered alive as I have already said, after 18 hours.
I should be blind, I should be burnt, I should be dead, and I am not.
You know what is fantastic of indication, is the fact that the abortionist had to sign my birth certificate.
So I know who he is.
And it also says for any skeptics listening on my medical record “born during saline abortion”.
Ha! They did not win.
I’ve done some research on the man performing the abortion on me, and his clinics are the largest chain of clinics in the United States of America and they gross 70 million dollars a year.
I’ve read him say, I’ve read some call from him, that’s some point, several years ago, and he said
I have aborted over a million babies and I consider it my passion.
I tell you these things because listen ladies and gentlemen, we are entering in an interesting battle, whether we realize it or not in this world.
It is a battle between life and death.
What side are you on?
10/01/2012
Five tips for a woman....
2. It is important that a man makes you laugh.
3. It is important to find a man you can count on! And doesn't lie to you.
4. It is important that a man loves you and spoils you.
5. It is important that these four men don't know each other.
Foot Note:
One saggy boob said to the other saggy boob:
'If we don't get some support soon, people will think we're nuts.'
It's BEAUTIFUL WOMAN MONTH & TAG YOU'RE IT!
Did you know that it's Beautiful Women Month? Well, it is and that means you !!! I'm supposed to send this to FIVE BEAUTIFUL WOMEN, and you are one of them !!! Below is a wonderful poem Audrey Hepburn wrote when asked to share her 'beauty tips.'
For attractive lips, speak words of
kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in
people
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run
his/her fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that
you never walk alone. People, even more than things, have to be
restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw
out anyone. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will
find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older, you will discover that
you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for
helping others.If you share this with another woman, something good will happen . . You will boost another woman's self esteem, and she will know that you care about her.
02/01/2012
The Candles and Their Symbolism
 The Acts of the Apostles mentions the lighting of lamps during the services in the time of the Apostles. Thus, in Troas, where Christ's followers used to gather on the first day of the week (Sunday) to break bread, that is, to celebrate the Eucharist, there were many lights in the upper chamber (Acts 20:8). This reference to the large number of lamps signifies that they were not used simply for lighting, but for their spiritual significance. |
Saint Ahmed (3 May)
On
May 3, 1682 Ahmed, the secretary to the Deutardare, the one called
Patsourounis, was martyred in Constantinople. His martyrdom was written
by an anonymous person.
From the New Martyrologion of Saint Nicodemos
From the New Martyrologion of Saint Nicodemos
He
(Ahmed) had a Russian slave woman with whom he had relations. However,
he would allow her to go to the church of the Christians on feast days.
Seeing as he sensed a pleasant fragrance emanating from her mouth every
time she returned from Church, he asked her what she ate to smell this
way. She told him that she ate prosphora and drank holy water. Having
heard this, he summoned a priest of the Great Church and told him to
prepare a space for him to go there when the Patriarch officiated. And
when this had been done – oh what a miracle! When the Patriarch blessed
the people, rays would emanate from the trikerion and from his fingers
and fall on the heads of all the Christians, but not his. As soon as he
saw this wonder, he called for the priest and was baptized a Christian,
and for a long time he was a secret Christian. However, at a meeting
where the nobles were discussing who was the most powerful, they asked
him, and he shouted as loud as he could, “The faith of the Christians
has the greatest power of all.” He then confessed himself to be a
Christian and having preached with courage the testimony of the mystery
of the incarnate Christ, he received the blessed end of martyrdom.
Source: Synaxarion Neomartyron (Book of the New Martyrs)
Publication: Orthodox Kypseli
Publication: Orthodox Kypseli
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