St Olga of Kiev

 

Giving thy mind wings with the knowledge of God, thou didst soar beyond visible creatures, seeking the God and Creator of all things; and having found Him, thou didst receive rebirth by baptism. Since thou dost enjoy the Tree of Life, thou remainest incorrupt for all eternity, O ever-glorious Olga.

    If ever the church had its own version of John Wick, it would be St. Olga of Kiev. St. Olga was the spiritual daughter of the Emperor of Byzantium, Constantine, Son of Leo, and while conflicting reports are spread about her in regards to her conversion, it is known she was one of the first pagans to convert to Christianity from Kievan Rus.  She was the regent for her son, Sviatoslav, who refused to convert to Christianity, unlike his mother.  Her husband, Igor was the successor to Rurik, founder of the Rurik Dynasty and it was this marriage that caused the John Wick scenario that I alluded to at the beginning of this post. 

    During this pagan period in the eastern part of Europe rival tribes and rival lords competed with each other for control of land, supremacy and wealth. Igor, was the leader of Kievan Rus, the eventual state that would form what we know as Russia today. Igor was the Prince of Kiev and as such had many tribes which paid tribute. One of those was Drevlians.  Igor not satisfied with the tribute given to him by the Drevlians returned to their capital and was subsequently tortured, eventually being torn completely in two.  I will spare the more graphic details, but Olga upon hearing this plotted her revenge by agreeing to marry the Prince of the Drevlians. The diplomatic party was then buried alive by her forces, and at a funeral party she hosted with the Drevlians, 5,000 were executed.  This was not a lady to mess with. She laid siege to Korosten.  She used pigeons to set the city ablaze and executed the surviving members of the city. After this she continued to rule in place of her son, as the Grand Princess of Kiev. 

    This is where Christianity finally enters into the narrative for Olga. She decided some time in the 950s AD, to visit Emperor Constantine VII, son of Leo in Constantinople. While there she was overcome with the beauty of Christianity and the life of the Church.  Recognizing her misdeeds and her desire for more from life than what it had given her, she was instructed by the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Emperor in the faith and converted receiving the name Elena, and becoming the spiritual daughter of Constantine to avoid marrying him.  She returned to Kiev and earnestly tried to convert her son, but Sviatoslav refused saying his subjects would laugh at him if he decided to convert to Christianity. However she planted the seeds of faith in her grandson, Vladimir, who would convert the entire nation to Christianity a few decades later. She is known to have built churches in Kiev and Pskov, among other places and is renowned throughout Eastern Europe as equal to the apostles for her undying faith and loyalty to Christ. Though her reign started out as a bloodbath in revenge for the death of her husband, she was able to repent of her sins that she committed to become one of the Church's most beloved saints.  

Amen.  

Lovers of Themselves

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,  treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.  But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

    Throughout Church history, there have been heretics. From the very beginning with the Arians, and the Nestorians, various sects and people have risen up to claim that they have the form of the true Christ and that the Church though it appears genuine has somehow lost the true path even though it has remained unchanged for centuries.  As I mentioned, the first heresy recorded by the Church is Arianism. Arianism, teaches that Jesus was begotten of the Father in time, and was not co-eternal with him at the beginning, thus making Jesus a subordinate of God the Father, a creation set a part, and not as the Creed teaches, Light of Light, True God of True God.  Today two religious heretical groups, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) and the Jehovah's Witnesses still claim this as the true doctrine.  The Mormons teach that Jesus is completely subordinate to God the Father and that Jesus while a creation of God, has perfected his will with God's in that he is now eternal.  While they reject some of the basic tenants of Arianism, they certainly derive their theology from Arius and his so called disciples.  Jehovah's Witnesses on the other hand also state that Jesus is a created being, they see God the Father as the only "true God" and Jesus as a mediator.  Thus both of these heretical groups deny the teachings of the Church as established in the Symbol of Faith.  They claim to be continually learning and developing ideas about God but never coming to the truth.  The truth being that Jesus was co-eternal with the Father before all ages, and that he is the second person of the Trinity...the Logos. St. Paul warns us in the reading to be wary of this, because we could continually question God, about everything, and never really come to know him.  The second heresy I mentioned was Nestorianism. That Jesus was 100% both God and Man, and that there was no union of the two or rather, that the Logos entered the physical body of Jesus and that he was a man, given the power of God.  The Church teaches a hypostatic union of both human and divine. He was not sometimes human, sometimes divine, but 100% both God and Man at all times.  This was formalized at the Council of Chalcedon, which was rejected by the Assyrian Church of the East, and is the only true form of Nestorianism still practiced today.  

    Let us continue our quest to outline more fully the reading from today.  As you can already tell, both heresies arose out of a love for themselves, for their knowledge that supposedly no one else had and it placed themselves as God rather than God himself and His established One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Orthodox Church.  More recently we have seen the likes of organizations like TBN, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, TD Jakes, Joyce Meyers, Paula White, and of course the largest prosperity gospel preacher, Joel Osteen flout the prosperity gospel, becoming lovers of money and lovers of themselves...hence the name of this blog post. They promote that by sending in money to their ministries, that people will be given vast amounts of wealth and that God will bless them.  However if we look at even modern church history through the eyes of the Church under Soviet era Russia, we understand that the Church is not meant for prosperity on earth.  We are meant for prosperity in heaven.  In the Russian Civil War alone, 652 clergymen were executed by the Soviet Atheists, and 579 monasteries completely destroyed. But of course it gets worse as this story continues. Kiev was completely obliterated when 28 bishops, and 6,775 priests were condemned to death by the Soviet regime in 1921. The Soviets violated the 73rd Orthodox Canon, and manipulated church law to install Metropolitan Sergius as the so called head of the church. 8,000 were killed in 1922.  Finally the worst came in 1937-38 when 106,300 were executed for their faith alone. No crimes, except for being Christian.  The Gospel therefore is not one of peace and prosperity, but one that brings us to the fullness of Christ. If Christ suffered, then so must we.  

    Finally let us briefly mention those who are the renovationists, the ones trying to renovate the church.  While the protestants certainly are renovationists in the fullest extent, the ones I am most concerned about were those within the Russian Orthodox Church at the time of the Soviets.  These are the treacherous, rash and conceited that Paul discusses in the reading from today. These men, having no concern for their flock subjected them to the horrors and tortures of the Soviets without regard for their wellbeing or their salvation.  They believed just like the Arians and Nestorians through their own intellect they knew more than God himself and could bring the church into a new era with new ideas. They rejected the lives of the saints, they rejected the teachings of the church, and refused reason. Though they claimed they had more reason than the Church.  They were content with the pleasures of this world, being protected by the government to live their lives in peace, while their flocks were pushed underground into the catacombs to pray and worship.  They saw the church not as a eternal ship guiding the world to salvation in Christ, but as an earthly ship guiding man to a better life on earth.  They are anathema.  

    Today's blog post might not be the most wonderful you have ever read, nor will it be the most cheerful. But we can see that through the eyes of this passage that I stated in the beginning that Paul knew what was to come. He was warning not just his spiritual son Timothy, but the church throughout history to be on the lookout for those who seek the destruction of the faith and to turn it into something foreign, something demonic.  This is the work of the antichrist, in preparation for the Antichrist.  Let us as St. Theophan says to watch carefully for the Second Coming of Christ and to prepare inward our hearts that our hearts may be the throne of God. We must prepare ourselves not for comfort but for persecution. 

Amen. 

  

Ye Condemn yourselves

     Let us take a moment and reflect on our lives.  Whether we have lived up to the standards of the saints, or even of Christ himself.  I can guarantee that many, if not all of us have not lived our lives according to the commandments of God, and that we have all fallen short.  In fact, Romans 3:23 says as much.  However often times when we look at our own lives, we constantly esteem ourselves as better than our neighbor. We say, "Well at least I'm not doing that." However this is a grievous error on our part.  Simply because we refuse to accept our own sins, our condemnation that we have heaped on ourselves by our own rejections of God. We push away God, and we dont even realize the judgements we have reaped because so often we are concerned with others. While we are right to be concerned for our neighbors, there is a difference between being concerned and being judgmental. That is where often times we blur the lines and enter into the realm of hatred and sin.  We become eager to catch our brother or sister in an act of grave sin, so that we may laud it over them that they are worthless and do not deserve the love of God.  When we do this, we cause many to fall out of the faith and leave the church all together.  We are seeing this so much in the church today, with young people and old a like leaving the church all together and falling into the heresy of atheism, all because the Church is failing to love like it should and to join together with our brothers and sisters.  I am not saying that we should enter into sin with them, by no means.  Entering into sin with those people who are committing atrocities like ecumenism, abortions, homosexuality, and the like does not uphold the teachings of the church. However offering compassion, correct teachings, and providing the pathway of repentance through Christ to those who wish to repent must take place.  We must like the river flow towards God, towards unity in faith.  We must first correct ourselves then we can correct others.  Returning to the traditions of the church, restoring the canons in their proper place, fulfilling the prayer life of the church, all of these things we can do to draw people back into the faith of the apostles. Because we offer nothing different than that of the world, the world does not see the benefit of being a part of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.  The World (and with a capital W I mean those outside of the Church) see us act in the same manner that they do, they see us judge, they see us condemn, they see us ridicule those who commit sin.  We must be set a part.  We must be Holy, as our Father in Heaven is Holy.  And unlike the Protestants, this is not a one time deal, we don't say a prayer and some sort of magic comes over us and we instantly are Holy. No, this is a struggle, this is the struggle of ascetism, each day we must get up and esteem others better than ourselves.  We must love like Christ loved.  We must pray that God will forgive our sins as he forgives those around us.  We must go into the world and preach the gospel through our actions not through words.  Giving up our own desires, giving up our egos and our lives for the sake of the Gospel. We are called to heal the world, and to draw it back to Christ. When we give of ourselves, when we feed the homeless, when we clothe the naked, visit the infirm, provide for those in prison, then we begin to live in earnest the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Lent is coming swiftly upon us, and it is during this time that we can cleanse ourselves and make room for Jesus Christ in the throne of our hearts.  I pray that during this lent, that while the attacks of the enemy will be strong, that we will resist those attacks and draw upon the living water of Jesus Christ to strengthen us.  

Amen. 

Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee

​"'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'”

(Luke 18:13)

It's upon us again dear brothers and sisters, the opening of the Lenten Triodion and the beginning of the long trek to the Holy Sepulchre and the celebration of Pascha.  As we do every year, we begin this trek with the gospel reading from the story of the Publican and the Pharisee. As many know this passage contrasts the two hearts of the men detailed in the parable. The Lord wants to show us the proper way of repentance. It isn't the titles or the amount of prestige we have in the church or in the world that matters. Rather what matters is in our hearts. Are we willing to submit ourselves to God entirely? Are we willing to admit that we have not lived to standards that God has ordained for us? Within the passage that we read on this Sunday, only one of the men leaves justified. The Publican leaves the temple with his sins forgiven. The Pharisee does not. In fact he condemns the Publican because he says he is thankful he is not like him. That is not the Christian way, and never will be. Pray for those around us, because we seek all to be saved all to enter into the kingdom of God. Let us not act like the Pharisee but rather the Publican and enter Lent this year with a clean heart and mind. 

Amen 

Even to the least of these

​And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

How often do we think about the consequences of our actions? Do we spend deep in thought about how in 10-15 years those actions will reap exactly what we sowed all those years ago? I can tell you from personal experience that I don't. I usually go about my day after my actions have taken place and forget about them...unless it was a really traumatic experience, I move on and I will only think about it in passing. However in the scripture that I presented in the beginning of this blog post, our Lord, Jesus presents to us a picture of the final judgement.  The King is judging those of his kingdom by their actions. Those on right, are the sheep. Those on his left, the goats. But he also says that those who are being judged will ask when they did the things that the King speaks of and then that is when the King utters the phrase posted above. To the least of these. God isn't expecting us to behave some way in front of those in authority and another way to those behind closed doors like our friends and family. God is commanding us in that scripture to have a way of life. A way of life where we take care of those around us, the poor, the sick, the suffering. But not only that but every action we undertake should be one that is spiritually edifying and glorifying God.

This starts in the home. Parents are often the first interactions children have with others and the actions of the parents will shape and mold the child. When the parents lives reflect Christ and the teachings of the chufch, the child is more likely to grow into a strong Christian example. The opposite could be said for those who are raised by non Christian parents. Those children will often times follow in their footsteps into the sins of this world. Now this is not always the case, but for the most part that is the case. Teaching our children to take care of the poor, to love their neighbors as theirselves, is the job of the parents. When they fail, then they have failed in their responsibility before God. 

Continuing on, not only are parents responsible, but all Christians are responsible for the raising and spiritual edification of those around us. Godparents are to assist the parents in raising the child in the love of Christ, Priests are the spiritual fathers of the entire parish and bishops, the spiritual fathers of the diocese. We must lead by example. In the West so many have forgotten their call to take care of each other because we are constantly drawn to think about ourselves and how something will make us look better in the eyes of society. Instead we should be out there visiting prisons, going into hospitals, establishing orphanages and homes for the destitute and downtrodden. And yes I'm preaching to myself as much as to all of you. So the next time you see the person on the street begging for money, spare a moment in prayer or spare a few cents, after all, you can always acquire more money, but you can't acquire more time. 

May God have mercy on us all. 

Amen. 

Elder Cleopa of Romania

​Elder Cleopa of Romania is one of the most beloved elders and saints of the 20th century, especially in Romania. At the age of 17 he entered the monastery and six years later he took the name Cleopa which means guide upon his tonsure into the monastic life. In 1948 he was ordained a deacon and a year later in 1949 he was ordained a priest monk. Between 1952-1954 he was sought after by the secret police of Serbia but by the grace of God he was not found In 1956 he returned to Sihastria Monastery where he had been anointed and in 1964 he retired there spending the next 34 years offering his advice to clergy and laity a like. He reposed in 1998 having given Romania everything he could. 

May he intercede for us before God. 

Amen. 

Saying Yes to the Icons

​Today is the celebration of St Theodora the Empress within the Church. Especially in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America of which I belong. And it is a commemoration of which holds significant place among the history of the church and the profession of the Orthodox faith. Most often we recognize this commemoration as being held on the First Sunday of Lent, also referred to as the Sunday of Orthodoxy. St Theodora, who ruled alongside her iconoclast husband Theophilus, was a true venerator of the icons even to his disdain and anger. Upon his death she returned icons to their rightful place in the worship of Orthodox Christians and brought an end to the second iconoclasm. With this, Orthodoxy triumped once again over the heretics which wished to destroy the very heart of the church and discredit it as the witness of Christ upon earth. Icons hold a special place in the hearts of Orthodox Christians everywhere, they are the windows to heaven, giving us a glimpse of the beauty that awaits us in the Bosom of Abraham. It gives us a reminder that those we call saints were humans just like us, that they were not superheroes who had special powers but were granted the ability to do extraordinary things by God for his glory. Those who seek to discredit their veneration do not understand that it is not idol worship, but rather giving of honor to the person the same way you would a celebrity or high ranking political figure. The saints are our family as we are a part of theirs because we are brothers and sisters in Christ and they though not physically alive on earth are more alive than we are because they sit at the footstool of God. Let's not forget the boldness of Theodora the Empress who restored this sacred tradition and very heart of Orthodoxy. May she intercede for us and may we be found worthy of Jesus Christ.

Amen.