True Marian Apparitions-The Theotokos as she really is

 

There is a lot of talk recently regarding the consecration of Russia by the Pope, and the so-called secrets of Fatima.  I have no doubts believing that the apparition saw by the children in Portugal was nothing more than a demonic interpretation of the Theotokos and that it was not the Theotokos herself. Because of this along with some sources provided by friends of mine, I want to clarify some actual identifiable Marian apparitions that have appeared to those of us who have remained Orthodox. I myself have never had the pleasure of witnessing such greatness, but I am humbled by those who have. Today let us look at few and show the world the true nature of Our Lady the Ever-Virgin Mary.

            The first apparition I want to detail is that of the 4^th century. Our Lady the Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary appeared to sailors who were distressed. These sailors, two of them in fact, built The Theotokos a shine In Theoprospon, Lebanon where she is referred to as Our Lady of Light. The story goes that these gentlemen were lost at sea, scared out of their minds and wanting to find land as soon as possible. The Theotokos as the intercessor for mankind appeared to them as a bright and shining light guiding them to the afore mentioned town in Lebanon where they were safely protected. The Orthodox Monastery on the sight is known for its miraculous icon that still to this day shines for those who have wayward ships and guides them home.

            The second commemoration of The Theotokos is when she appeared to Emperor Leo I of Byzantium in 450 AD. She led him to a spring where there was an eventual church built. Giving her the name, Our Lady of the Life-Giving Spring. According to the story, the then not Emperor Leo I was traveling through Constantinople when a blind beggar began calling out for him to find water to quench his thirst. As he was walking through the wooded part of the district, he heard a voice calling out to him to give the blind man some water from the deepest part of the forest and to put the clay from the water in his eyes. There he did so and the Theotokos as the intercessor for mankind was once again revealed.

            The third apparition I wish to detail is that of St. Andrew of Constantinople. While not much can be found in English on this story, I will try to cover the gist of it. St Andrew was praying in the church in Blachernae when he saw that the veil of the Theotokos was protecting St. Andrew and his fellow believers from enemies both seen and unseen. As the intercessor for mankind, she continually protects us through her prayers whether we know about them or not. This apparition shows the love she has for all mankind, just like her beloved Son and God Jesus Christ.

            The fourth apparition is that of the apparition that appeared to St. Gabriel of Iveron, on Mount Athos. This one is most interesting, as it happened during a particular difficult time within the Church when people were forsaking Orthodoxy for a shallow false shell of the faith. The people of this time were rejecting the icons, forgetting their heritage as Orthodox Christians and believing them to be idols and pagan worship. As Orthodox we know that they are not Idols, but rather gifts and tools from God to strengthen our faith. The soldiers of this time came to a widow and her son, where they demanded she hand over an Icon of the Theotokos. When she decided to not hand it over, she tearfully took the Icon to the sea and cast it in. However, by miraculous intervention, it did not sink. It stood upright. The Theotokos appeared to the widow and said that she was guiding it to a monastery where it would be kept and venerated for centuries. She also said that upon the repose of the widow she would guide her son there as well. St. Gabriel was the son, and after his mother’s repose, he went to the Iveron Monastery on Mount Athos. At his own repose, he requested the monks write his story down for the keeping of records and we have been handed down this miracle to this day. The Theotokos not only intercedes for us, but through the Divine Grace given to her by her Son and God Jesus Christ she rewards those who have faith and protects those who honor her.

            I could write many more humbling appearances by the Mother of God to our saints and other people throughout the world. However there are too many to list here, and I would ramble on for hours upon end. I have detailed four different ones that I believe show the true nature of Theotokos and how she works in the world. Russia is a place full of Orthodox Christians, a place that has never abandoned the true faith, and fallen away like Rome did in 1054. While I do believe that the Mother of God can appear to those she chooses, I also believe that the Theotokos would never contradict herself. At Fatima she truly did because Russia has honored her for centuries and yet the “Mary” that appeared to the children there acted as if she had never received any honor from them. That is because while it may have appeared to be Mary, it was in fact a demonic deception passed as truth. May God have mercy on their souls and all our souls through the prayers of the Mother of God, the Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary.

A look into Orthodox Africa

 

Its not very often that I take a break from the theology of the Orthodox Church and delve into something that is different and unique. I believe in wholeheartedly sharing the faith as best I can, and time does not allow for frivolities. You must always be on a mission from God. However today we are going to look in depth at an organization that is doing just that. One that I support and believe are doing some phenomenal work in the world of Orthodoxy. Today we are going to be looking into Orthodox Africa and the work they are doing on that continent.

I was first introduced to Orthodox Africa through a friend of mine, Subdeacon Nektarios, who works in conjunction with the organization. I was not too familiar with what they were doing in Africa, but he suggested I check them out and discover the joy of missionary work they are carrying out for myself. So, I did. After brief research into this fine group of dedicated people, I can assure you that they are indeed bringing the spirit of the apostles with them to Africa.

Orthodox Africa was founded in 2015 by a Hieromonk, Silouan Brown. He received the blessings of Metropolitan Hilarion of ROCOR and Metropolitan Jonah Paffhausen who is the former Primate of the OCA. His mission was simple. Hieromonk Silouan would go into orthodox communities in Africa and establish self-sustaining missions where the parishes could take care of themselves without the need for foreign aid. They have now established parishes, agricultural projects, raising animals, schools and clean water programs. The spiritual director of the organization is Metropolitan Jonah of who I mentioned earlier. Hieromonk Silouan remains as the director of Orthodox Africa. My friend Subdeacon Nektarios is the Associate Director and long-time priest Father Seraphim Holland is a member of the board. The two countries in which Orthodox Africa works in at the present time is Kenya and Uganda. Both countries have a growing population of Orthodox Christians.  Because of the nature of the orthodox in Africa liturgical items are very hard to come by and must be sourced from Orthodox countries, especially in Eastern Europe. It is my hope that one day we as Orthodox Christians will be able to have supplied Africans with enough time and effort that these items can be produced within the countries themselves. Father Silouan himself is currently in Georgia to obtain these items and he also recently relocated to Uganda full time. He has established St. John of Shanghai Orthodox Christian Mission Center in Kampala to become the very first headquarters on the continent. Eventually a school for clergy will be established there, training locals to become priests and tend the flock themselves. All in all the work that this organization is doing is very helpful to Africa and is bringing the people closer to Christ. While I am not asking for you to donate, if you feel compelled to do so, the website is orthodoxafrica.org. I pray for all Orthodox Christians and especially those on the continent of Africa that their faith remains strong and that do not fall away. May God bless Father Silouan and all who work for Orthodox Africa.

Amen.

The Apostles of Jesus Christ: The First Bishops

 

Today we are going to look at the Apostles, the First Bishops of the Church. In the course of this article, I am once again going to show how the Orthodox Faith has maintained the apostolic tradition of the church and give a little background into the lives and the teachings of the apostles found outside of scripture.  Many of you may already know these stories, but I am assured that many of you don’t. It seems like in the world today we almost make the people of the Bible as otherworldly figures, heroes and characters in a story. But like me and you reading this article today, these were actual people with actual lives and all the shortcomings and faults that we have present in our own daily lives. The difference is simply that they had the courage and faith to act on what they believe whereas today many people do not. So without further ado, I give you, the Apostles: First Bishops of the Church.

Let’s start with St. Peter. Obviously and perhaps the most famous of the Apostles. In the Roman Catholic papist theology, he was also appointed by Jesus to be a sort of earthly successor, to be his one and only vicar on earth. We as Orthodox do not hold to this tradition and deem it a heresy. As would St. Peter himself. St. Peter was the son of Jonas and the brother of Andrew, who is the first-called. Originally named Simon, Jesus renamed him Cephas, or Peter in English upon his calling to the Apostleship. He would never leave Christ’s side and was one of the core apostles within the twelve. St. Peter as we know denied Christ three times upon his arrest and also received forgiveness three times by Christ after his resurrection. From there Peter began in earnest to preach the gospel in all of Judea, Antioch and parts of Asia. Peter would eventually end his life in Rome, the most famous church he established within the collection of local churches at the time. Peter would be crucified upside down at the hands of Emperor Nero for his firm holding to the faith in around 66 AD. Now earlier I mentioned Antioch and this is of great importance because while Rome can also claim their bishop is the successor of Peter, so to can Antioch. The Patriarch of Antioch is also a successor to St. Peter and is still located on the Street called Straight within the city.

Next, we arrive at St. Andrew the first called.  St Andrew is one of the most widely reaching of the apostles as he traveled far and wide around the known world to preach the gospel. The son of Jonas and brother of St. Peter, Andrew was originally a disciple of St. John the Forerunner.  When the lots were drawn to determine the location that Andrew would go to preach the gospel, he was given Byzantium, the Greece, Georgia and of course Kievan Rus’. There, St. Andrew would establish the See of Constantinople which is still the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Greek lands where he baptized many and established churches, giving us Greeks the heritage and firm foundation of Christianity in the country. He preached in Georgia and established a few small churches there before moving to Kiev where he planted a cross and prophesied that this land would see a great city built with many golden domed churches. Finally in Patras, he was flailed and crucified on an x-shaped cross after Proconsul Aegeates’ family believed in the miracles and teachings of St. Andrew. St. Andrew’s relics were sent to Constantinople, his head to Rome, and a hand of his to Moscow.

St. James, the son of Zebedee is one of the inner circle of Christ and another far reaching apostle. We know from the scriptures that James was present for the transfiguration of Christ. From there St. James was drawn by lots to the region of Spain and preached the gospel there. He converted many to the faith and left a lasting mark on the entire region. St. James eventually returned to Jerusalem and defended the Holy Scriptures vehemently. St. James was condemned to death after false witnesses were brought against him. One of these false witnesses was Josias. Josias was so overcome by the witness of St. James that he too believed and was executed for his faith in Christ. James was beheaded in Jerusalem where it is said he forgave the axman right before the blade was swung.

The next apostle is St. John the theologian, of whose books we still have bound within Holy Scripture. He was the son of Salome and Zebedee his brother was St. James. St. John as I have stated wrote many of the books of the New Testament, and was eventually exiled to the island of Patmos where he wrote the Book of Revelation. St. John did not die a martyr’s death as did the other apostles, but was granted to live into old age by the Lord. He was one hundred years old when the time came for his repose. In Ephesus, he took seven of disciples outside the city and had them dig a grave in the shape of a cross. There they buried him alive. After a period of time, his grave was opened but the body of St. John was not there. Every year a dust rises from the ground and people are healed of diseases.

St. Phillip is the next apostle to discuss and one that I find very interesting myself. This young man, though not the youngest of the group, was well versed in the scriptures of the Jewish people. From there he immediately recognized Jesus for who he was, and accepted him as Messiah. St. Phillip too went to Asia and Greece and preached throughout the land. While there the high priest tried to club St. Phillip to death before he was stricken blind and turned completely black. Many of the pagans were then swallowed up by the earth, and those who were sick were healed. Because of this pagans flocked in droves to the faith and accepted Christ. While in Hieropolis he killed a giant snake the pagans worshipped as their god. Because of the anger of the pagans, he was crucified upside down along with St. Bartholomew. Again the earth swallowed many people up and pagans flocked to take down the apostles from their torments. By this time, St. Phillip had reposed.  His relics were then sent to Rome.

St. Bartholomew, also called Nathaniel was there along side St. Phillip when he was martyred.  St. Bartholomew went from there to India where he translated the gospel of St. Matthew and eventually made his way to Armenia where he was able to cure the king’s daughter of insanity. From there, the king’s brother had him skinned, crucified, and eventually beheaded. Because of the miracles associated with the tomb of St. Bartholomew, the pagans threw his coffin in the sea, where it eventually ended up on the Island of Lipara where the local bishop buried it again inside a church.

St. Thomas, often called Doubting Thomas by the West, is of great importance to our brothers and sisters of India where he preached. He is also associated with the churches in Syria and Persia, and the Patriarchate of Antioch hold him within high regard. Though many lies are often told about St. Thomas, we can understand that while his faith did become weak for a moment after Christ’s death, by the divine grace given to Thomas he was never again someone who doubted the power of Christ. While in India preaching the gospel he converted the wife and son of a local chieftain. The local chieftain imprisoned and tortured him, eventually executing him using five spears. He reposed in the Lord having given his entire life to the work of Christ.

Matthew the tax collector, the writer of the Gospel of Matthew, was originally called Levi, but like Peter his name was changed. He wrote about his life with Christ in the gospel that bears his name and upon the resurrection was sent to Ethiopia to preach the gospel. He returned and preached mainly among the Jewish population. He received the wrath of Fulvian the prefect of the region. Though Fulvian would have Matthew burned alive for his crimes against Rome, he immediately recanted of his deeds and ordained a priest by the local bishop. Fulvian eventually was granted a vision by St. Matthew who told him that it was his duty to become the bishop after the bishop’s repose.

Though it is often confusing, yes there were indeed two James’ in the twelve apostles. St. James the son of Alphaeus was the other St. James within the twelve. He too preached the gospel among the Jewish people in Judea, Edessa, Gaza, and Eleutheropolis. He would eventually finish his missionary journeys in Egypt where the local pagans would crucify him.

One of the brothers of Christ through St. Joseph’s first marriage, Jude was the brother of St. James the Just. He did not believe in Christ at the beginning of his ministry, and was deeply ashamed of the fact, because he had lived with Christ his entire life. He protested giving Jesus a portion of Joseph’s estate upon his repose and rejected Christ for a time. Eventually though Jude became one of the twelve apostles preaching in Judea, Samaria, Galilee, Idumea, Syria, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Armenia. He was preaching Ararat when the pagans there decided they were going to kill him and crucified him before shooting him with arrows.

St. Simon the Zealot is the next to last apostle of Jesus Christ. He was at the wedding in Cana when Jesus turned the water into wine and immediately left his family and became a follower and apostle of Jesus Christ. He reached as far south as Mauritania in Africa before returning and heading to Georgia. St. Simon was eventually killed for his faith in Abkhazia.

 

Though many would assume that St. Matthias is the logical choice as the final apostle of Jesus, and others would assume it would be Judas, the Orthodox Church does not recognize either of them as being apostles of Jesus Christ. The Final apostle is of course St. Paul. St. Paul the Apostle of Jesus Christ is the most widely read of the apostles writing the majority of the New Testament and his missionary journeys are very well known. I will not try to recount every detail of those because they are recorded in scripture. St. Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles, preaching not to his own people but those of different ethnic and religious backgrounds. He of course worked most closely with Luke the Evangelist. St. Paul traveled to Rome, the see of St. Peter and was martyred together with Peter. While Peter was crucified, St. Paul was beheaded by Nero.

These are the lives of the apostles of Jesus Christ. The men closest to him in his earthly ministry and the ones who established churches and sees across the world. Though some have fallen away due to error of their successors, all of these men are an example to us all. I pray that they intercede for us daily before the Lord and I humbly ask for their prayers. As we celebrate the Annunciation tomorrow I pray that the Theotokos also prays for us and we are found worthy of Christ.

Amen.

The Heart of the Mother

 “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

As we prepare for one of the great feasts of the Church, the Annunciation of the Theotokos I am once again reminded of the courage and the love the Mother of God, showed by accepting the calling that God himself placed upon her.  As the story reads, we find Mary, the virgin from birth in the sixth month of her cousin’s pregnancy herself. Elizabeth six months earlier had become pregnant with John the Forerunner and Baptist.  Through the tradition kept by the Church through the records that have been handed down to us, there is much more to this story than one can find in the scriptures. Though of course the scriptures tell us what we must know for salvation, it does not give us the entire detail of who the Theotokos was what her life was like before and even after this. Today I want to look at the Theotokos more closely and discover the heart of the greatest woman to have ever lived. Come take this journey with me.

Mary, was the daughter of Saints Joachim and Anna of that we can be most certain. Both Joachim and Anna were elderly upon the birth of the Theotokos and had been humiliated and run at the temple. Joachim and Anna went to the very cave that Elijah had several hundred years earlier. There they prayed for the shame and humiliation to come to an end. At that time, an Angel of the Lord appeared to them, blessing them and announcing that they would bear a child who would give birth to the Life of the World. Saints Joachim and Anna then proclaimed they would give the child back to God, and that she would be in service to God her entire life. At the age of three she was given to the Temple and when Zacharias the High Priest saw her he carried her into the Holy of Holies, knowing she would be the New Ark. The New Covenant would be carried through her and she would bless all generations through the giving of her life for God.  As she grew in stature at the temple, she became well versed in the theology of God and the life of a true witness for Christ. At the age of 13, she was forced to leave the temple because of her menstrual cycle according to Jewish law. Thus, enters Joseph into our story. As I previously stated, you cannot find this in the scriptures, but it has been handed down to us through the tradition of the Apostles. Joseph was elderly, around 80 years of age. He himself had been previously married and had several children. These are the brothers and sisters of Jesus that read about in scripture. From there our story continues as Joseph and Mary remained only betrothed and never consummated their marriage. The early church always view Mary as being ever-virgin and it wasn’t until the Protestant Reformation that many came to believe that Mary was not a virgin after her marriage to Joseph. We know from scriptures that Mary and Joseph lived together in their home, and that Mary became pregnant through the Holy Spirit and Jesus was conceived within her womb. Though Joseph sought to divorce her and send her away, he did not. From there she gave birth to Jesus Christ.

After the birth of Jesus Christ we know that Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus traveled to Egypt to hide from Herod who sought to kill the babe. As Mary walked with God through Egypt idols would crumble at her feet, and she was amazed at the power of God that he was showing through her. On their way out of Egypt into the Holy Land once again, a tree that was possessed by a demon bowed at her feet, and the demon was cast out by the mere presence of Christ. The tree is still there by the way and you can visit it. We know from there that Jesus was raised in Galilee and he became strong in stature in the Lord. Mary would ponder often the fate that Simeon had prophesied about her son. She never left his side. She went where he went and traveled where he traveled. We know the story from scripture at this point. Jesus was crucified for our sins on the cross and rose on the third day. While on the cross he entrusted the care of his beloved mother to St. John the Apostle.   From there St. John did not leave her side. Mary became not just the Theotokos but was now the Mother to the Apostles. She and St. John traveled and visited the bishops of the Church and gave them encouragement and comfort along the way. We then know that Mary on one such voyage was travelling to Cyprus where St. Lazarus who Christ had resurrected a week before his own passion was now bishop. Mary and St. John were blown off course by a violent storm and landed on the peninsula now known as Mount Athos one of the holiest places in Orthodoxy. The Lord gave this place to her as his gift and Mount Athos to this day is regarded as her garden. That is why no women are allowed. St. Luke the Evangelist painted the first icon of her during this time and it is still with us to this day. After this, it came time for her repose. Like all humans it is appointed once for us to die. Mary was no exception.

At her repose, all eleven of the apostles, minus Thomas gathered to her side. They knew her time had come and it was good to see their beloved mother one last time. At this point we pick up again with tradition and know from there Mary reposed in the Lord and her funeral bier was carried to Gethsemane. While on their way a man called Jephonias, seeing the funeral bier being carried tried in earnest to push the body of Mary into the dirt to destroy her. The Lord in his righteousness sent the Archangel Michael to defend her body.  Jephonias’ hands were cut from his body and he could not complete his task. Three days passed. By this point Thomas had arrived and was greatly distressed that he had not been there at the moment of her repose. The apostles agreed to open the tomb one last time to venerate her body together.  Upon their discovery of the tomb, there was not a body laying in the tomb. The Apostles believed that someone had come to desecrate her relics and destroyed the body of the Mother of God. At dinner that evening, the Theotokos appeared to them and comforted them, telling them that Christ in his love and devotion to His mother had glorified her earthly body and raised her to his own right hand to be the intercessor for the entire Church. She herself could not be contained by death because she had the Life of the World in her womb. She was sanctified by Christ. 

We learn of the devotion that Mary had for her son, and love she always carried. Many people today try themselves to discredit Mary and bring her lower than she really is. But she is the epitome of motherhood. She never once questioned the plan that God had for her Son. She gave her whole heart and life for Christ. Teaching, comforting, encouraging those around her by her love and compassion. She gave when she should have been given to. Instead of thinking about herself she always thought of others. Mary is the person we should all strive to be. That is the heart of the mother. That is the Theotokos.

Amen.

 

Tollhouse Cookies or Tollhouse Road: The Final Ascent Tollhouses 11-20

 

Yesterday we looked at the first ten tollhouses in which God will allow the demons to test your faith on your journey after death. We looked at how one would be judged and the sort of things that will be asked of you by the angels and demons as God makes his judgment regarding your soul. The first ten were relatively concentrated on the pride and the dereliction of your duty with fellow man. We have seen that pride is the root cause of all life’s problems and as we reach further up the ascent into heaven we no doubt will as well encounter the tollhouse of pride. While I would again stress this is figurative language, the journey of the soul is something that we Orthodox take seriously. Especially as it regards to the prayers for the dead and if you haven’t read that blog I suggest you do so.  May God grant us understanding as we continue this discussion on the tollhouse road.

The eleventh torment is that of pride. Yes, after we have endured all our sins that we have committed regarding avarice, envy, and love of riches we come to heart of the matter. We come to pride. It is here at the eleventh tollhouse all of the prideful moments of our lives will be laid bare. All the times we have forgotten to honor our parents, our government, and the superiors God has placed over us, will be exposed. We will be asked to account for our sins as they have taken place. There is often a lot of talk in the media today about pride. The LGBTQ+ community has even rallied around the very term in a sense to be proud of who they are. God does not ask us to proud of ourselves. Because without Him our lives are nothing. God asks us to be humble, to be meek, to seek Him and Him alone. Being self-absorbed in ourselves we lose the focus to focus on those around us. Taking care of others, being kind and in short we become lovers of ourselves.  God does not look kindly on us rejecting his plan for our lives, seeking our own earthly desires. But here the pride we have accumulated in ourselves will be exposed. It is a grave sin brothers and sisters. Do not fall into it.

The twelfth torment is that of anger. Christ himself was once filled with holy anger for the things that he found in the temple, and how he drove the moneychangers and others from the temple in Jerusalem. However, we are not so much concerned with holy anger for the things that God abhors and detests. We are talking about the things said to those out of anger and hatred for our fellow man. How many times do we lose our temper when things aren’t going our way and we lash out because we are filled with such rage that we become hostile to those around us. We speak ill of each other and we harm the salvation and very being of people by our actions. Do we punish our children severely when an encouraging word or a light punishment was sufficient for their actions? Do we show wrath against people who have wronged us? Oftentimes we do. We live in a world today where people are seeking to be first without equals, not among equals. We don’t treat each other with respect. We cancel those who disagree with us, and we shame those with a dissenting voice. We create in ourselves this self-righteousness that is not at all how Christ acted. He could have gotten angry and lashed out at Pilate, Herod, the pharisees and Sanhedrin. But he did not. We must control our temper lest it is laid bare for us at this tollhouse and exposes us as a fraud and hypocrite. We must walk with humility and patience. Knowing that our fellow man is also sinful. Anger and hatred have no place in the heart of a Christian. We must root this out with prayer, fasting and the Holy Eucharist. Otherwise here at the 12^th tollhouse the demons will come and will be able to overcome us.

The thirteenth torment is again exposing more of the same, but it hearkens back to what Christ says, “love your enemies.” The thirteenth torment is that of holding grudges. How many people do we absolutely hate and cannot forgive them for their actions? Here I am convicted again of my own sins in my own life where I have despised someone for a wrong they have committed against me. And I humbly ask you to pray for me that I might forgive them for their actions. I pray that we will forgive all people for their actions. People today do not want to forgive their neighbor, believing themselves to be above reproach and that what they want is more important. Holding grudges and basically already judging them in place of God is a dangerous sin. Are we better than God? Do we have more knowledge and wisdom than the God that created all things? If we believe this brothers and sisters, we must repent immediately. We must turn from our wicked ways and go and seek forgiveness not just from God but from the person we have a grudge against. We must learn to let it go. The thirteenth tollhouse will expose this and I would not want for Satan to have any way of accusing us at the judgement of my failure to love.

The fourteenth torment is murder. Christ says hating one’s brother or sister is already committing murder in the heart. Have we killed? Have we struck someone down because we wanted to? Taking a life is never easy, but so too is holding anger in hearts. Committing murder in our souls against our neighbor. We must restrain ourselves from harming one another. Even if it means rejecting our passion of harming someone who has harmed us.

The fifteenth torment is that of sorcery. Now today’s world places a large emphasis on sorcery with the Harry Potter novels, the Charmed television series, and other books that feature fantastical feats with use of magic. We dear brothers and sisters, must reject it for what it is. We must reject it, because magic is using the power of the demons to achieve our goals. To achieve what we want. Magic is real. Wiccans today perform magic through the use of their spells and other acts that a Christian must reject. It may be enjoyment for us to watch shows and want to have that sort of power. But when we let the demons creep into our minds using their subtle but effective methods we could get the idea that we too should practice witchcraft and use the power of the demonic arts to achieve our goals. Here the sins of sorcery and witchcraft will be laid bare for us. If we have not participated in this we have nothing to fear for we must be reminded that God sees all and forgives all. If we only repent we will not be subject to the terrors of the demons.

Now we come to the sexual torments. Those of which are terrible and great in the world today. We see these most often in the culture that we live in especially here in the United States. The sixteenth torment is fornication. Lust and the power of sex is rampant in the world today. We see this with Onlyfans, with Instagram, and other social media sites catering to our desire to fulfill our sexual urges. Porn is easily accessible to our youth, to everyone really. Pornhub caters to people who are seeking to fulfill a longing for companionship. We do not wish to seek the companionship of God. We want earthly desires to take away the responsibility of living our lives in fellowship with God and do not want to account for our actions. It is said here that these sins will be exposed and the demons as our prosecutors will accuse of us all the sins we have committed in fornication and lusting after those who we find desirable.

Next is the seventeenth torment. Getting closer to paradise, but still a ways to go. Adultery is here exposed. The seventeenth torment will see all that which we have done in relation to the marriage bed laid bare. Have we been faithful to our spouse? Have we sought another while being married to the person God has intended? For most Christians and people this will be an easy tollhouse as for most keeping the marriage bed sacred has been a duty and an honor. They have found the person they want to spend the rest of their lives with and will do anything to keep it pure. But for others, through divorce and their own pride they have sought to destroy it whether openly or secretly. Swinging and websites like Ashley Madison have made it easy for a person to cheat on their spouse with the help of few people or a few simple clicks. People have rejected the love of their spouse and the love of God for love of themselves.  We must not fall into that trap brothers and sisters. We must rise above it, whether we are celibate for the glory of God or have found a spouse. We must keep the marriage bed sacred and love the person God has entrusted to us with the upmost purity.

The eighteenth torment is that of homosexuality and sodomic sins. These sins are those where we have lusted after the person of our same gender our same kind. We have turned from the love between a man and woman and twisted it. We see this with the LGBTQ+ community today, calling for love is love. We see people accept it as natural, as a way in which God has intended but this tollhouse and Christianity in general know that it is not. It is a foreign concept that has invaded the minds and hearts of the people of this generation.  I have known many people who were of this persuasion in my life and it is an unnatural persuasion. It is not the life God has intended for us. Yet, through repentance they too can be saved. It is not that God will condemn them and sentence them, for we know God will forgive everything if we only confess. But confession must be pure, it must be an about face. We cannot continue to live in sin when we know it is not God’s chosen plan.

The next to last torment, the nineteenth torment is that of heresies. I have spoken quite often on heresies here, but this is once again a serious issue and must be taken accordingly. Here we will be asked if we upheld the doctrines of the Church. Whether we held within our hearts the true faith, or if we have allowed false teachings to permeate our lives. Have we clung true to the faith that has been preserved for 2000 years or have we allowed new ideas and teachings to be adopted as our own. The Orthodox Church is unchanging and unrepentant in our belief that we have protected the faith that God established and that everything outside of it is heresy. Yes that will be off putting for some, but you must look and discover the truth for yourself. I nor anyone else can come to a realization of faith for you. Heresy is a dangerous game, one that if not carefully discerned can lead to the corruption of the soul and eventually its condemnation.

Finally the twentieth and last torment. Here the soul will experience the greatest of trials, where nothing else but mercy will matter.  Have we granted mercy in our life time to those who deserve it? Have we rejected giving it when it mattered most? This is the last and greatest trial the soul will take up in the ascension to heaven. But do not fear, for God forgives all. We must only be able to understand and ask for mercy. Here in this lifetime we must seek mercy for all people, not just our own life. We must be willing to give mercy to even those who we believe do not deserve it. It is difficult, but with God’s grace and love in our hearts everything is possible.

We have reached the end of our journey and have completed the road to paradise. The tollhouse road was filled with distressing things. My mother told me other day after reading Part 1, that I need to remember that the demons do not have the power to drag us to hell. And yet she is indeed right. Only ourselves condemn us. The demons do not have the authority to drag us down and bring us into hell. Only by the judgment from God. Though this is figurative language and much of it is misunderstood by even the most scholarly of priests and clergy, we must understand that these torments are indeed real and will be used to judge us as to whether our salvation has been secured through Jesus or if we were simply going through the motions. Our lives are filled with opportunities to turn to Christ or to turn away. I am saved, am being saved, and will be saved. It is not a once saved always saved mentality. It is a living our lives in accordance to the commandments and we must fulfill them to have a true Christian faith. For most they will fall away. Others will rise to the occasion and live out as best they can the teachings of Christ. So I leave you with a question. Will you take up your cross and follow Christ or will you follow Satan and his demons?

Amen.

Tollhouse Cookies or Tollhouse Road: Part 2 the First Half of the Journey to Paradise Tollhouses 1-10

 

So, today’s blog after taking yesterday off is in regards to the second part of our Tollhouse cookies… no wait. The Tollhouse Theology that’s better. I explained in the last blog why Tollhouses are important to the faith and I want to reiterate that God is the impartial judge and that the demons cannot drag someone to hell without God passing judgment on that person. Only apostates and heretics are immediately sent to hell because God has already passed judgement on them.  Today’s blog will deal with each of the tollhouses and give a brief description of what someone will face within each portion of the journey. This will be taken from St. Theodora’s account of her ascension to heaven, and I cannot claim all of this as my own thoughts. So please bear with me, as I try and explain as best I can what the saint of blessed memory is trying to convey through the figurative language she passed onto to Gregory.

She claims the first torment, or tollhouse is that of idle speech. Therefore one must guard their tongue in this life, for all idle talk and speech will be presented before the judge (God) for the condemnation and salvation of the soul. All shameless songs, foul speech, hateful words, wild cries and laughter will be brought before the judge to accuse the soul of being idle in its time on earth. Your good deeds and the prayers offered by the church will be given to you as satisfactory for the committing of these offenses against God.

The second torment is that of lying. All lies that you have spoken in the mortal life will be used to accuse you of being a wretched soul. Any oaths you have broken, promises unkept and so forth will be used against you to convince God of your unworthiness of salvation. Again God knows all so he knows what you have done in this life. This is not new to him. None of these are. He is giving you the chance to see your sins as they are and how they have effected the life you lived by going through the tollhouses.

The third torment is that of speaking evil against your neighbor. Here St. Theodora says that all who do this are themselves considered Antichrists. That they are the epitome of evil. These are heinous because you have not seen the good, the pure in people who are created in the image of God. You have accused them of terrible sins, of horrible lies and made them out to be the worst of people. You have made yourself lordly in your eyes and everyone else lowly. Therefore St. Theodora says for us to not speak ill of anyone and to live our lives with humbleness and respect. Reminding ourselves that each person is a mini-Christ, created in the image of God.

The fourth torment is that of gluttony. How often to we fast? Reject food? This will be tested here. How much do we enjoy the pleasures of this world and focus on the things that give us pleasure now instead of the pleasure that is eternal? All the times we have not prayed before eating, not fasting before holy communion, and so on will be brought to our attention at this point in the tollhouses they will accuse us with the very goblets and dishes we ate and drank from. The demons will rejoice in their ability to accuse us of these sins for we have felt the urge to satisfy our pleasures instead of satisfying our souls before God. Once again, the prayers of the church are lifted up for the passing of this tollhouse.

The fifth torment is sloth. How much of our time are spending working, enjoying life, and not focusing on God? Are we willing to sacrifice our reputation and our livelihoods for the sake of the Kingdom? This is what God will ask of us in this tollhouse. How did we spend our lives for his Kingdom? Did we pray? Did we attend Divine Liturgy? Vespers? Compline? What did we reject because we were too lazy to get off our butts and go and act on our faith.  I know this will probably be the torment that the demons will have the most to accuse me of. I know that exercising my faith is my weakest point.

The sixth torment is stealing. How much have we coveted the riches of others? How much have desired that which is not ours? Have we been willing to take things that are not ours without any thought to the repercussions of others? Have we taken that which rightfully belonged to another and passed it off as our own? God will judge us here for the things that we have stolen and taken because of our lust for the things of this world.

The seventh torment is riches. How much have strived for the rich things of this world? Nice cars, nice houses, the ability to lord it over others that we have more than they do. Do we hoard when we should give? Do we take bribes? Embezzle? This is what we must be weary of in this tollhouse. God will judge us for those things that we have acquired. How much did we desire the things of this life, and not the riches of paradise?

The eight torment is usury. Have we exploited those we have lent money to? Have we done evil to those we lend? As you can see God takes mistreating others and the love of money very seriously. Several of the torments or tollhouses as they are more commonly called deal with the love of the pleasures of this life and not those of paradise. I speak for myself when I say I would not want to risk my salvation and my eternal soul on the pleasures of this life. I would reject them to the highest degree if possible to be rid of the cares of this world. I do not have never cared for riches or the pleasures of this world. And so usury, by exploiting those I have lent money to is just sad to me and a horrible thought. Do not give something to someone expecting it to be returned, but give freely just as God gave his Son freely.  

The ninth torment is injustice. How have we treated those around us? Have we mistreated them harshly because they are different than us? Have we cursed them when we should love them? Have we spoken ill of them? Do we use false weights and measures to accuse people of not being able to pay? Do we confine people to certain locations due to the color of their skin? Do we harm our neighbors to be seen as great in the eyes of our fellow man?

The tenth torment and the torment I will stop with today, and finish with the other ten in another post is that envy. Many of these torments or tollhouses can be summed up as envy, but this one hits it head on. How much mercy have we shown? Or are we filled with hatred for our neighbors, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we unfriendly? God here will see into the portion of our souls that reveal the deepest darkest envious portions and how we have either loved our neighbors or have rejected them completely.

As you can see I have asked a lot of questions rather than given straight and specific things for you to understand today. That is what awaits us in the tollhouses of God, these questions will be asked of us. How will we give an account for our actions.  We have completed half the journey. In the next article, I will finish the journey and describe what will come upon entering paradise. Please bear with me, and understand that as I writing this I too am learning from this. This is actually one of the first times I have studied in depth this great teaching of the church.

Amen.

Delicious Tollhouse Cookies or The Tollhouse Road: Part 1 of the Discussion on Tollhouses

 

            Nothing is more misunderstood in the world of Orthodoxy and the faith in general than that of the soul after death. I recently discussed why I do not fear death, and not only do not fear it, but I embrace it. There is another topic that the world of Orthodoxy loves to debate and discuss and that is tollhouses. To the uninitiated, tollhouses seem almost like an Orthodox view of purgatory, or some other holding place for the soul until it awaits final judgement at the Awesome Judgement Seat of Christ. However, I would like to clearly state from the onset that the Orthodox view purgatory as a heresy. It was invented by the Roman Catholics without fully understanding the scriptures and with their own biases mixed in, which as we have discussed before and I will always say is dangerous. Myself coming from a Southern Baptist background before my conversion was very distrustful of the tollhouses, and the theology behind them. Learning and growing in the faith these past five years has given me a new look and perspective on the tollhouses and their role in God’s redeeming of mankind. I also will not say that I am an expert on this theology, so this is not a conclusive definitive definition of the tollhouses. It is also not a theological treatise about the tollhouses. This is simply and as usual a presentation of the facts as they relate to the faith that has been preserved by God for the past two thousand years. If you would prefer a more in depth look at the soul and soul after death, my recommendation is as always Father Seraphim Rose who wrote “The Soul After Death” and of course The Departure of the Soul by St. Anthony’s Monastery in Arizona where the relics of Elder Ephraim reside.

            Tollhouses. The very word starts to confuse and discombobulate people into a panic and also into fits of madness. People have spent years, decades even trying to grasp the nature of tollhouses. The short answer is that the Orthodox Church teaches that upon the repose of a person the angels, particularly your guardian angel, will come to your side to carry you to heaven. The demons will likewise come to carry you to hell with them. However, you will be judged in a series of “tollhouses” as the saints describe them. It must be noted here that God is the impartial judge in all of this, and the angels and demons merely act as a defense and prosecution. It is also a figurative language that is used to describe this event as actual tollhouses do not exist, it is simply a figure of speech to describe the event that the soul must go through before entering either into eternal glory, or eternal torment.  This figure of speech is laid out by Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos when he says in one such sermon, “First. The symbolic language of the Bible requires the necessary interpretation. Anyone who only keeps to the images used distorts the Gospel message. For instance, we must say that words in the Bible can be misinterpreted if we only look at their theological meaning. The same thing is true in the case of the customs houses. We should not be thinking only of today's customs houses, through which everyone has to pass at the national borders. The symbolic image is intended to present something, but it must be interpreted in an orthodox way. Second. There are demons, which are dark angels. They are persons and therefore have freedom, and with God's permission, but also through the wrong use of freedom by man, they have been able to dominate him. That is to say, after the soul's departure from the body, the demons demand to possess a soul which they have mastered because of its unrepentance. In Christ's well-known parable about the foolish rich man there is the sentence: "Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?". According to the patristic interpretation it is the demons who demand possession of the soul of the foolish rich man after its departure from the body. Third. The demons have no authority over the men of God. All who are united with God and have within their soul and heart the uncreated energy of God are outside the control of the demons. So the deified will not go through the so-called customs houses. Fourth. According to the teaching of the Fathers, as we have seen before, the demons, which are real spirits, act by means of the passions. The fact that the passions cannot be gratified after the soul's departure from the body is a suffocation of the soul.” Such great ascetics as St. Anthony the Great, St. Athanasius and even St. Justin Martyr describe that the demons will come to accuse our soul of the terrible and great deeds we have done in our life. But through repentance and confession of our sins we have nothing to fear from these wretched creatures.  The clearest example we have of the tollhouses comes from St. Anthony the great in his vision regarding the forgiveness of sins, it is stated in that vision the following, “and that he was led in the air by certain ones. Next certain bitter and terrible beings stood in the air and wished to hinder him from passing through. But when his conductors opposed them, they demanded whether he was not accountable to them. And when they wished to sum up the account from his birth, Antony's conductors stopped them, saying, 'The Lord has wiped out the sins from his birth, but from the time he became a monk, and devoted himself to God, it is permitted you to make a reckoning.' Then when they accused him and could not convict him, his way was free and unhindered.”

How then can we be saved from these tollhouses and the judgement of God? St. Justin Martyr says in his dialogue with Trypho, “And the prayer that His soul should be saved from the sword, and lion's mouth, and hand of the dog, was a prayer that no one should take possession of His soul: so that, when we arrive at the end of life, we may ask the same petition from God, who is able to turn away every shameless evil angel from taking our souls. And that the souls survive, I have shown to you from the fact that the soul of Samuel was called up by the witch, as Saul demanded. And it appears also, that all the souls of similar righteous men and prophets fell under the dominion of such powers, as is indeed to be inferred from the very facts in the case of that witch. Hence also God by His Son teaches us for whose sake these things seem to have been done, always to strive earnestly, and at death to pray that our souls may not fall into the hands of any such power.” St. Theodora on the other hand in her description of the tollhouses to Gregory a disciple of St. Basil the New, says in about the departure of this world, “Those who believe in the Holy Trinity and take as frequently as possible the Holy Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ our Savior’s Body and Blood—such people can rise to heaven directly, with no hindrances, and the holy angels defend them, and the holy saints of God pray for their salvation, since they have lived righteously. No one, however, takes care of the wicked and depraved heretics, who do nothing useful during their lives, and live in disbelief and heresy. The angels can say nothing in their defense.” She also says regarding the prayers of the church, “Having said this, he took something out that appeared like a little bag of gold and gave it to the angels with the words: 'Here is the treasure of prayers before the Lord for this soul! If you want to learn more about prayers for the dead, I suggest you read that blog as well.

Furthermore, it can be said that these tollhouses are an opportunity for Satan to collect a debt he believes is owed to him by our souls for the sins we have committed upon earth. St. Cyril says in his commentary on Luke the following passage, “Now all of us, without exception, upon earth are guilty of offences: he who has a suit against us and accuses us is the wicked Satan: for he is "the enemy and the exactor." While therefore we are in the way: that is, ere yet we have arrived at the termination of our life here, let us deliver ourselves from him: let us do away with the offences of which we have been guilty: let us close his mouth: let us seize upon the grace that is by Christ, which frees us from all debt and penalty, and delivers us from fear and torment: lest if our impurity be not cleansed away, we be carried before the judge, and given over to the exactors, that is, the tormentors, from whose cruelty no man can escape: yea, rather, who will exact vengeance for every fault, whether it be great or small.” So, it is also confirmed that our actions in this life will determine our fate. What we do with the time given to us is very important. Will we use it to serve Christ, or ourselves and by extension the demons themselves? How will we react to teachings of the church? How we will conduct ourselves knowing that the eternal tormentors and torments of hell are awaiting us if we do not seek to repent from the sins that we have committed. St. Cyril says that those who are searching and rooted in the Faith are then, “Far removed from this danger are those who search for the time of Christ's corning, and are not ignorant of His mystery, but well know that the Word, though He be God, has shone forth upon the inhabitants of earth in likeness as one of us, that freeing them from all blame, He may bless with exceeding happiness those who believe in Him, and acknowledge Him as God and the Son of God: by Whom and with Whom to God the Father be praise and dominion, with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever, Amen.”  Very comforting words indeed for those of us who are rooted in the faith. Protected by God from the wiles and schemes of the demons we can then safely pass through the tollhouses as our journey to heaven ascends. But woe to those who are living in sin and unrepentant such as heretics and apostates, for those will be cast into hell with no recompense.

This is but the first part in this discussion of the tollhouses. I had a thought to finish it in one blog, but realize that it is such a in depth topic that it will require more study and more quotes from the early Christians to understand fully. I hope that this has been as informative for you as it was for me studying this. There is more to come on our tollhouse road.

Amen.