Tag: Christianity

A ape is offended that Darwin called himself its descendant.     

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us. Amen.

Introduction

We talked about meekness and simplicity, and now we definitely need to talk about A Well of HumilityThe humble man is incomprehensible in his greatness, because through humility, the Lord Himself is present with him, and he becomes like God.

“>humility. But as far as humility is concerned, I completely agree with St. John of the Ladder (Climacus)It is known from St. John’s life that he ate what was allowed by the rule of fasting, but within measure. He did not go without sleep at night, although he never slept more than was needed to support his strength for ceaseless vigilance, and so as not to negatively affect his mind. ”I did not fast beyond measure,” he said of himself, ”and I did not conduct intensified night vigil, nor did I sleep on the ground; but I humbled myself…, and the Lord speedily saved me.”>St. John Climacus, who said that he who has no humility does not care what it is, and he who has it cannot speak about it. It’s like trying to describe the taste of honey to someone who has never tasted it. Or, to give more modern definitions, it’s like trying to explain to a deaf person what music is. We would tell him that this is an order, combination, or interference of vibrations, pressure variations, or particle velocities in a certain medium. These vibrations have a frequency range of twenty to 20,000 Hz. Then the deaf person will say:

“Thank God that I finally understood what music is!”

But then he will ask perplexedly:

“But why is everyone so interested in it?”

Do you understand? Someone who has never tasted the love of God has a similar attitude towards humility, because in fact humility is a feeling and the work of the love of God in a person’s life. This love is so sweet that it encourages a person filled with happiness to repent of all his sins and weaknesses with his whole being. This state is utterly blissful, and yet it is full of a certain moderation, sensitivity, and fear of spoiling, destroying this crown of beauty, this Divine state, which is as fragile as a spider’s web. It is an extremely subtle state that disappears once we become “barbarians” or “animals,” and wound the soul, distancing ourselves from God and slapping love in the face.

The Definition of Humility

Truly, brethren, it is very hard to be humble, because ancestral sin, death, the fall of Adam and the continuation and spread of this mortal state afterwards turned us into animals. You know that there is such a Latin proverb: “homo homini lupus”, which means “man is a wolf to man.” And now, since we have started talking about animals and humility, I recall the definition of humility that Fr. Raphael (Noica) gave me: Humility is accepting the truth as it is, and not as we would like it to be. The truth is that we humans did not evolve from animals, because we have eternal souls and we are the image of God. But due to sin, we have become worse than animals. Brethren, we must never forget this if we want to attain salvation.

The struggle against the truth

Today, alas, there is a fierce war against the truth because the truth is the most important thing for our salvation. Its most famous enemy is Darwinian theory, which states that we evolved from apes; a theory that in its classical form was refuted in the scientific world decades ago. Why? Because in fact not a single piece of evidence has been found in fossils that could confirm the continuity of evolution proclaimed by Darwinian theory—that is, there is no “missing link”, and in fact there are even several missing links. For this reason, the theory was far-fetched: it claims that evolution manifests itself in leaps and bounds, which has been refuted today, again due to the lack of clear evidence.

It may be useful for you to know that the so-called “proofs” of evolutionists are indirect ones, which apply only to individual cases, but are arbitrarily transferred to complex systems. Because there is a huge interest in the spread of this theory.

Curiously enough, the absence of the “missing links” actually indicates that species differ from each other, even if they adapt to their environments. St. Maximus the Confessor made it very clear when he said that species do not transform from one to another, because no species changes its purpose, its state (λόγος in Greek), the aim for which it was created.

If God improves the design and reuses what He Himself created in another form of His creation, it means that He is a wise and skillful Creator Who does not contradict Himself, and not that one species evolves from another. Brethren, this is a fact. We must be extremely careful, brethren! For example, take a look at my hand: I have a little finger, a ring finger, a middle finger, an index finger and a thumb. Do you see that they look very similar and are arranged in an apparent evolution? But it does not mean that they evolve from one another, but that all these fingers have one common source—they were created by one Creator.

Brethren, randomness and explosion, even the “Big Bang”, do not create order and reason. If you accidentally detonate a Molotov cocktail or an atomic bomb, you will not create order; on the contrary: you will have to wait for the consequences of the explosion to pass so that someone smart can restore order. When it comes to randomness, do you think that the human eye is a product of chance? Or, if we assume that you flew to a faraway planet and found a very complex clock in the desert that is perfectly accurate, would you think that this is a product of chance? No, certainly not!

This, of course, does not exclude the possibility of environmental adaptability and genetic mutations within the same species, which God provided out of His love so that the species, and especially man, could respond to various changes that arise in the course of history. But still, as St. Paisios said, a cucumber can become better and you can improve tomato, but you can’t turn a chimpanzee into a human, no matter how hard you try. Do you understand?

You see, our very consciousness resists this. If someone calls another person an evolved chimpanzee, an evolved orangutan, or an evolved gorilla, it will be perceived as an insult, and in all fairness. Man is something fundamentally different: he was created in a completely different way (that is, by Divine counsel, not by His word) and for a different purpose—for theosis.

The problem with modern science is that it only deals with the immanent. It is a science without God, an ultimate goal, or real meaning. Evolutionism tries to patch this up without providing a fulfilling explanation for personality, because it confines man in the realm of animals and in the realm of chance. In addition, evolution is based on the struggle for existence between species, natural selection, and the urban jungle, which totally contradicts the healthy state of a loving and peaceful soul.

In fact, evolutionism is turned towards death, in which the rational soul has no place, and it knows it. It accumulates, memorizes, improves, struggles in labyrinths without meaning and eventually everything disappears in death! This is so-called evolutionism.

There is no absurdity

Everything would be ominously absurd if there were no Paradise and no eternal life. This can be seen in the example of modern atheistic art, especially music. Do not listen to it, brethren, because it will drive you into depression or rebellion. Only theosis, the attainment of a perfect likeness to God as far as possible, can quench man’s thirst for victory, for an end goal.

You see that animals have souls subordinate to matter—they limit their interests to the flesh, mainly food and sexual life. They don’t know more than that. We see that throughout the period of history spanning several thousand years, which we know very well, animals have never had a tendency to build a spiritual civilization or to grow spiritually. They do not ask spiritual questions, do not experience the drama of sin, and do not set spiritual improvement as their main goal and occupation. As we said, they are limited to the flesh. And what we call intelligence in animals is actually the ability to learn and adapt, also limited by their bodily needs, the flesh—the things that make their bodies feel good.

Today, since we have begun to limit our lives to the flesh, many do not see a problem in the fact that we allegedly evolved from apes, from a common ancestor. Moreover, the vision of humans as advanced animals lulls a person’s conscience, which torments him if he behaves brutally or aggressively with others, because then he justifies himself by the “struggle for existence”, saying: “This is life! Big fish eat little fish!”

You can see that Darwinian theory has become the dominant ideology in atheistic, aggressive societies, even if it has not succeeded in zoology. Why? Because it asserts and legitimizes the aggressiveness of society. For this reason, St. Justin (Popovich), was strongly opposed to Darwinism.

If everything comes down to blind, random evolutionism—even if there is a God somewhere above—then the problem of ancestral sin (the sin that oppresses us so much) disappears. The need for salvation and for the Savior also disappears, which means that the Resurrection and the phenomenon of holiness are eliminated. According to atheistic science, sin does not exist. There is only blind progress without real meaning, which crashes apart against the wall of death.

Brethren, only Christ offers us salvation and the defeat of death. Brethren, we have more evidence of the Resurrection of Christ than of the existence of Julius Caesar. Study, brethren, the New Testament a little more broadly than its theological aspect, examine the historical and philological quality of the books of the New Testament—and you will see that if we do not accept the facts recorded there, then we should not accept anything at all from the era of Antiquity. Of all the books written in Antiquity, from a historical and philological point of view, nothing compares with the philological and historical quality of the corpus of the New Testament. For this reason, we have more evidence of the Resurrection of Christ than the existence of Julius Caesar.

As for the miracles of the saints, truckloads of books have been written, coming from too many sources, absolutely independent of each other, for all this to be manipulation (in addition to those miracles that I know about from people who are still alive or those that occurred to me personally).

Two stories concerning eternity

Of course, these miracles testify to the immortality of the soul. I have already talked about such miracles in several videos. Now I will only recall the case of a monk who died, and when after some time they wanted to lower him into the grave, he suddenly rose and told those around that Christ had sent him back to confess a sin and he needed a priest. Of course, everyone was shell-shocked. A priest came up, the “resurrected” monk whispered something briefly in his ear, after which he lay down in the coffin and fell asleep again. And it all happened within five minutes. Such miracles occur not only to monastics, but also to laymen.

I also told you about an elderly couple. When the husband died, leaving his wife alone, she cried over his coffin at the Vigil in church and reproached him for leaving her alone. To comfort the poor old woman, the people around her tried to divert her attention and asked her what food she wanted to prepare for the wake. At that moment the deceased rose to ninety degrees in the coffin, leaving everybody dumbfounded, and uttered:

“Cook stuffed cabbage rolls for me!”

Do you understand? I really like this miracle. Besides, I was an eye-witness to it.

Man has an eternal soul, brethren, as the Holy Scriptures show in many places. In addition to many cases of rising from the dead in the Old and New Testaments, we have the Book of Job where God promises Job as a reward for his patience to give him twice as many children and twice as many cattle. Although He really gave him twice as many animals, He gave him the same number of children. Why? Because the children who had died before live forever, whereas animals do not have an eternal soul, as St. Maximus the Confessor asserts.

A miracle with Elder Joseph

Since we’re talking about miracles and Darwin, I can’t help but recall Anecdotes About St. Joseph the HesychastThe following stories were included in the published editions of Elder Ephraim’s biography of St. Joseph only in English and Russian.

“>St. Joseph the Hesychast, who once came to the cathedral church of St. Basil’s Skete, found a layman there and felt a bad stench coming from him. The saint came up to him and said that he had committed a grave sin. The man did not know what he was talking about, but he was disposed to talk to the saint. During the conversation that took place after that it turned out that although the man had graduated from the Theology Department, had written a book in support of Darwinian theory. Do you understand?

The stench of people who committed grave sins was felt and is still felt by spiritual people, by the saints. And I hear about it quite often on Mt. Athos. For example, St. Ephraim of Katounakia spoke about that more than once as well.

A story from the life of St. Paisios

If we are talking about the Athonite saints, then it’s worth mentioning that St. Paisios the AthonitePaisios the Athonite, St.

“>St. Paisios was critical of the theory of evolution from one species to another. He said that man had learned to make rockets for so many thousands of years, whereas not a single ape had been able to invent a bicycle. And he was right. St. Paisios would say:

“When I see a chimpanzee inventing and assembling a bicycle, I’ll believe it.”

In fact, St. Paisios had a wonderful experience related to this in his childhood. He was very virtuous from an early age, so his brother envied him. He tried in every possible way to make him turn away from the Church and Christ, because he knew that little Arsenios, the future St. Paisios, loved Christ very much. One day a guest came who was an ardent advocate of Darwinian theory, and he assured little Arsenios’ brother that he would out-argue him. He found Arsenios and told him:

Listen, I won’t say that Christ was a bad man. No. Christ was one of the great initiates of mankind on a par with Buddha, Mohammed and others. But man was not created by God, because God does not exist. Man evolved from apes through the process of natural selection.

It crushed the inner world of little Arsenios, and every day he began to weep and run to St. Barbara’s Chapel, which stood not far from their house, and pray there in solitude. After a fierce battle with thoughts and a feeling of utter God-forsakenness, little Arsenios got totally exhausted and called out to Christ with his whole being.

“Lord, I don’t know if You are God or not. But since You’ve been so kind to us, I still love You alone!”

Then the royal doors of the chapel opened by themselves, and Christ Himself appeared standing in them, alive and full of love, with an open book in His hand. And the Lord told little Arsenios the words written in the book that He was holding open:

I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live (Jn. 11:25).

At that moment all the evil and darkness disappeared from the heart of little Arsenios, and his whole being was filled with light.

To be continued…

Kiev, February 13, 2024

Photo: news.church.ua     

His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine spoke about the importance of faith for receiving what we ask for in prayer and of gratitude for God’s blessings in homily this Sunday.

The primate of Orthodox Christians in Ukraine celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Church of St. Agapit of the Caves in the Holy Dormition-Kiev Caves Lavra together with five other hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

After the reading of the Gospel, Met. Onuphry offered a homily in which he explained that the blind man was healed by the Savior due to his faith. People can come to believe in God through the Scriptures and through the testimony of others. The blind man came to faith after hearing from others about how Christ is the Messiah Who heals human infirmities, the Ukrainian primate preached, reports the Information-Education Department of the UOC.

Then the blind man turned to God with prayer and the Lord healed him.

Everyone asks God for something, Met. Onuphry said. “Most of us ask for what we need to live today. The more perfect pray that God will forgive them their sins. And the even more perfect ask that God might have mercy on them.”

His Beatitude emphasized that the Lord responds to prayers in different ways, sometimes quickly, sometimes after many years, as was the case with the Righteous Sts. Joachim and Anna, who long asked for a child. The Lord answered their prayers after 50 years, giving them such a wonderful child who became the Mother of God, Met. Onuphry emphasized.

“When we receive some gift as a result of our prayers, we mustn’t forget to be grateful,” he stressed. “When we receive some grace from God, we must strengthen ourselves in following the Lord and glorifying Him even more. God glorifies such people even in this earthly life.”

His Beatitude also wished his flock God’s help to become stronger in faith and to lead a pious life adorned with prayer, fasting, and good deeds.

“When we do so, the Lord will heal our infirmities, will help us in everything we need in our earthly life. And most importantly, the Lord will grant us eternal salvation in Heaven in Christ Jesus our Lord,” said the Metropolitan.

Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!

On Feb. 10 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Archbishop José H. Gomez celebrated the 22nd Annual Black History Mass sponsored by the African American Catholic Center for Evangelization. The following is adapted from his homily.

Black Catholic history is American history. It is American Catholic history. And it is also a chapter in God’s beautiful plan for salvation history.

It is the story of men and women walking together with Jesus Christ in holiness, love, and service, building his kingdom in America.

And this history has created a strong community of faith, not only here in Los Angeles but all across the country — men and women who are keepers of the flame, carrying out the mission of evangelization in our parishes and homes, in our schools and in our communities.

And in this work, we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us, holy men and women like the Venerables Henriette Delille and Augstus Tolton, the Servants of God Julia Greeley and Thea Bowman, and so many more.

We still have work to do to break down the barriers of prejudice, in our society, and also in the Church.

But throughout history, holiness has always been God’s response to injustice. So we pray to grow in holiness as we follow ever more faithfully in the footsteps of Jesus Christ.

We ask the intercession of those holy men and women who have gone before us. We ask that they help us to proclaim the beautiful truth that every man and woman is a child of God, made in his image, no matter what the color of their skin or the place where they were born.

And Jesus gives us a powerful picture of that truth in the tender Gospel story of his healing of the leper.

This leper knows that he needs Jesus. He knows that only Jesus can set him free from his illness. He trusts in Our Lord’s healing mercy.

In those days, we know, lepers were forced to live at the margins of society, shunned as “unclean” and forbidden to come in contact with others. But this leper refused to let these social barriers prevent him from meeting Jesus.

He comes to Jesus, kneels down, and begs him with a simple prayer: “If you wish, you can make me clean.”

Jesus is touched by the man’s faith, he is “moved with pity.”

And even though the law of his time forbids Jesus from coming near this man, Jesus not only allows the leper to approach him, he stretches out his hand and touches the man.

He answers the leper’s prayer with such a tender reply: “I do will it,” he says. “Be made clean.”

Nothing can separate us from the love of Jesus!

Jesus came into this world so that every person might seek him and find healing and salvation. He came to make all of us brothers and sisters in the family of God.

This is our work now. This is the mission of every member of the Church.

St. Paul tells us, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”

There is no better definition of what it means to be a Christian! We are called to live by Our Lord’s words and example, to be imitators of Christ.

The saints say that each one of us must become an “alter Christus,” another Christ.

We see this in the lives of so many of the Black Catholics who went before us.

Each of them was an alter Christus, another Christ, imitating Jesus, spreading the love of God, sharing his mercy, speaking to the hearts of their neighbors in need.

They called the Servant of God Julia Greeley “Denver’s Angel of Charity.”

She was an emancipated slave who used her freedom to serve others, wheeling a little red wagon all around the city, bringing food, clothing, firewood, and more to the poor. Often she would work at night or in secret, leaving her gifts of charity on people’s doorsteps.

Mother Mary Lange, another Servant of God, started schools for African Americans and immigrants. She took care of orphans and cared for the dying and terminally ill. 

You and I are called to walk in their footsteps, as they walked in the footsteps of Jesus.

We are called to be peacemakers and healers in our world, as Jesus was. We are called to spread his tender love, to reach across every barrier, to break down the walls of hostility that divide us and keep us apart from others.

So let us honor the proud legacy of our Black Catholic ancestors by continuing their work of building Christ’s kingdom in America.

May holy Mary, our Blessed Mother go with us, and may she help each of us to become more and more an imitator of her Son, and “another Christ.”

St. Catherine de Ricci was born in Florence in 1522, and was baptized Alexandrina. Her mother died when she was an infant, and when she was six or seven, her father placed her in the Convent of Monticelli to be cared for by her aunt, Louisa de Ricci, who was a nun there.

After her father took her home, Catherine was still drawn to life as a sister, and with his consent, she received the religious veil in the convent of Dominicanesses in 1535, when she was 14. She took the name Catherine.

For two years, Catherine suffered extreme pains, and remedies only seemed to make them worse. She offered her suffering up for Christ, and meditated on the Passion whenever possible. She prayed constantly, making no room for anything but God in her heart and in her life.

When she was very young, Catherine was chosen as mistress of the novices, and then was made sub-prioress. When she was 25, she was appointed as perpetual prioress. Catherine had a great reputation for holiness and prudence, and many bishops, princes, and cardinals (three of whom went on to become popes) came to visit her.

After a long illness, Catherine died at the age of 67 on Feb. 2, 1589. She was beatified by Pope Clement XII in 1732, and canonized by Pope Benedict XIV in 1746.

Photo: A. Tchebotar / Temples.ru     

Beloved brothers, sisters and children in Christ, incline your ear—not just the external, but, more importantly, the one within, about which our Lord Jesus Christ said: He that has ears to hear, let him hear (Matt. 11:15, Mk. 4:9, Lk. 8:8); incline, I say, your ear to listening to the commandments of our Lord to attain beatitude. In the beginning, God created the human being in and for beatitude, for the beatitude that is eternal; but the Sin is DestructiveDeath, infirmity, temporality and susceptibility to passions entered this world with the sin; they are interwoven. Sin destroys everything in a man, both his body and his soul. Any doctor is perfectly aware of it.

“>sin that appeared in the world and penetrated in all people through a single person, destroyed the beatitude of the people and subjected them to damnation, all kinds of sorrows, misfortunes, diseases and, finally, temporary and eternal death. Only the infinite love of God the Creator for his fallen creature, honored to be made in the image and likeness of God, could find a way to open a return path to the lost beatitude. This way to restoration of the fallen is the incarnation, the life among people, the divine teaching and miracles, suffering, death on the cross and the resurrection from the dead of the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ; and the way back to beatitude lies through abiding to his teaching, adhering to his ordinances, and obedience to lawful pastors and teachers of the churches. There is no other way to beatitude, as Christ says: I am the way and the truth and the life: no one comes to the Father, but by me. I am the door: by me if any one enter in, he shall be saved (Jn. 14:6, 10:9).

How much do all of us crave for beatitude! How much do we fear and avoid How to Bear SorrowsWhat will help us become stronger in sorrows? How can we prevent them? What can we do if grief over our children overcomes us?

“>sorrows and Sickness is the Best Teacher of HumilityOn the one hand, illnesses are understood in the Church as a punishment for sin. On the other hand, we know that there are no uncrucified people in heaven.”>sicknesses! Though, unfortunately, we crave and seek beatitude on earth, where there is none, and not in Heaven, where it abides forever. We fear and avoid sorrows and sicknesses, while they are mostly, if not necessary, useful for us, for they heal the immortal soul suffering with many different passions. And, for sure, what beatitude can be in expulsion, in exile, in prison? This is our condition, our sins have banished all of us from paradise to this world, as though to a prison. What beatitude is there for those condemned to death?

You may say: there are many innocent pleasures on earth, which God does not forbid: for example, God gave wine that delights the heart of man, and opened the art of playing the psaltery, harp, organ, cymbals and many other musical instruments. he taught us to form choirs and sing with jubilation; he surrounded us with the birds that sing, as calling us to bliss and joy; and before our eyes he spread the majestic spectacle of nature, in which we see the joy and happiness of creatures everywhere who call us to rejoice with them.

So, by the goodness of God, in this world there are some innocent consolations for us, wounded by a sting of mortality, to relieve our wanderer’s fate and sorrows. But these consolations must used with moderation, without holding on to them in any way. We must strive for the promised beatitude through the hardest way of labor, vigil, prayer, abstinence, purity and every virtue in which it is impossible to succeed without great suffering and temptation. Brothers, our true, complete and eternal beatitude is in Heaven, where the All-Blessed God lives in unapproachable light, where the forefathers, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, hierarchs, martyrs, monks, the righteous and all the saints dwell; where the queen of Heaven and Earth, the Most Holy Mother of God, reigns together with her Son. The beatitude we have here, the earthly, bodily, and evanescent fleets like a dream; it is often coarse and impure. Only true virtue may anticipate the Heavenly beatitude on earth.

So, where can we seek the true way to beatitude? What guidance and which commandments should we observe to achieve it? Under the guidance of the Lord’s nine Beatitudes, which he recounted on the mount to his disciples and people, and which are chanted or recited to us as a daily instruction at the Liturgy, at the Little Entrance, when the royal doors are opened for the first time. They read like this: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when people shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven (Matt. 5:3–12).

This is the way to true beatitude!

Next Sunday we will talk about why these Beatitudes are sung or recited at the Little Entrance and by the open royal doors. We will discover the meaning of the Little Entrance, the altar and the royal doors, for this will make the commandments on beatitude clearer. And now I ask you to remember by heart the truth that we were created by God for eternal life and eternal beatitude, which we lost through sin and were banished from Heaven, subjected to God’s damnation, and doomed to labor, sorrow, sickness and death, condemned to wandering in exile, seeking this home and beatitude. It may only be returned to us by the Heavenly Father through the intercession and merit of his beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, if we have faith in Him and follow his commandments. Amen.

Chicago, February 12, 2024

Photo: domoca.org     

For 55 years, the wonderworking Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God was housed and venerated in the Orthodox Church in America’s Holy Trinity Cathedral, where it was safe from the godless Soviet authorities. In 2004, it was returned to its home in the Tikhvin Monastery in Russia

The OCA’s Diocese of Chicago and the Midwest is holding a series of events throughout 2024 to mark the 20th anniversary of the icon’s return.

In particular, the event will be celebrated with the travels of the replica Chicago Tikhvin Icon throughout the country, the diocese reports.

The replica was gifted to the diocese by His Grace Bishop Mstislav of Tikhvin in Reproduction of Tikhvin Icon enshrined in Chicago’s historic Holy Trinity CathedralAccording to ancient tradition, the Tikhvin icon of the Mother of God is one of several painted by Saint Luke the Evangelist.

“>November 2016.

Photo: domoca.org The icon will first travel to the Cleveland Deanery on February 22–23. There will be a large celebration at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Chicago, June 25–26.

The diocese relates the history of the Tikhvin Icon:

According to ancient tradition, the Tikhvin icon of the Mother of God is one of several painted by St. Luke the Evangelist. In the fifth century, the icon was taken from Jerusalem to Constantinople, where it was enshrined in the Church of Blachernae, which was built especially for this purpose. In 1383, seventy years before the fall of Constantinople, fishermen on Lake Ladoga in the principality of Novgorod in northern Russia witnessed the icon miraculously hovering over the lake’s waters amidst a radiant light. Shortly thereafter, the icon appeared in several neighboring towns, including the village of Motchenitsy on the bank of the Tikhvinka River, before it finally appeared near the town of Tikhvin. A wooden church dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God was built on the site. In 1560, by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, a men’s monastery was established near the church. Over the centuries, the icon’s fame spread far and wide, with copies of the original adorning countless churches throughout Russia and beyond.

During the World War II German occupation, the Nazis removed the icon from the Tikhvin Monastery, from whence it was taken to Pskov and subsequently to Riga, Latvia. When Riga was evacuated, His Grace, Bishop John [Garklavs] of Riga — later Archbishop of Chicago and Minneapolis — in whose care the icon was placed, took the icon to Bavaria, where it was venerated by Orthodox faithful who had been displaced because of the war. While Soviet agents had spotted the icon, Bishop John was permitted to take the icon to the US in 1949, where it was venerated for many years at Chicago’s Holy Trinity Cathedral. After Archbishop John’s repose in 1982, Archpriest Sergei Garklavs, his adopted son and Dean of Holy Trinity Cathedral, became the icon’s guardian. In July 2004, the icon was returned to Russia and once again enshrined in the Tikhvin Monastery.

Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!

St. María Antonia de Paz Figueroa, known as Mama Antula, devoted herself completely to helping others experience God’s closeness and compassion, Pope Francis said after he declared the 18th-century consecrated laywoman a saint.

By letting her heart and life be “touched” and “healed” by Christ, he said, “she proclaimed him tirelessly her whole life long, for she was convinced, as she loved to repeat: ‘Patience is good, but perseverance is better.’”

“May her example and her intercession help us to grow according to the heart of God, in charity,” the pope said in his homily after proclaiming her a saint during a Mass Feb. 11 in St. Peter’s Basilica.

St. María Antonia de Paz Figueroa is Argentina’s first female saint. She was closely tied to the Jesuits and continued to lead Ignatian spiritual exercises in Argentina after the expulsion of the order.

Argentine President Javier Milei was present at the Mass and was to have a private meeting with the pope Feb. 12. At the end of the Mass, the two shook hands, spoke briefly, smiled and laughed. The president, who has made disparaging remarks about the pope in the past, leaned down and gave a big hug to the pope, who was seated in his wheelchair.

Claudio Perusini, whose unexplained recovery from a severe stroke became the second miracle attributed to the new saint, also was present. He has known the pope since he was 17 and he, his wife and two adult children brought the offertory gifts to the pope during the Mass.

Sickness and healing were the key themes in Pope Francis’ homily during the Mass Feb. 11, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day of the Sick.

Reflecting on the day’s readings, which included St. Mark’s account of Jesus’ “cleansing of a leper,” the pope spoke about other forms of “leprosy” that lead some people, even Christians, to ostracize and scorn others.

Those who were afflicted with Hansen’s disease during Jesus’ time were further wounded by ostracism and rejection because of fear, prejudice and a false religiosity, the pope said.

People were afraid of contracting the disease and they were prejudiced by believing those who were ill were being punished by God for some sin they had committed and, therefore, deserving of their fate, the pope said.

Also, the belief that even slight contact with someone with leprosy made one “impure” is an example of false or “distorted religiosity,” which “erects barriers and buries pity,” he said.

Fear, prejudice and false religiosity represent “three ‘leprosies of the soul’ that cause the weak to suffer and then be discarded like refuse,” he said.

Many people suffering today also are scorned and discarded because of so many “fears, prejudices and inconsistencies even among those who are believers and call themselves Christians,” he said.

The way to tear down those barriers and cure new forms of “leprosy,” he said, is with the same style as Jesus, which is to draw near to those who are shunned to touch and heal them.

Jesus responds to the leper’s cry for help “knowing full well that in doing so he will in turn become a ‘pariah,’” the pope said.

“Oddly enough, the roles are now reversed: once healed, the sick person will be able to go to the priests and be readmitted to the community; Jesus, on the other hand, will no longer be able to enter any town,” he said.

Jesus could have avoided touching the man and instead perform “a distance healing,” he said. “Yet that is not the way of Christ. His way is that of a love that draws near to those who suffer, enters into contact with them and touches their wounds.”

Christians must reflect whether they, like Jesus, are able to draw near and be a gift to others, the pope said. The faithful should ask if they “withdraw from others and think only of ourselves” or believe “the problem is always and only other people.”

This “leprosy of the soul,” he said, is “a sickness that blinds us to love and compassion, one that destroys us by the ‘cankers’ of selfishness, prejudice, indifference and intolerance.”

“Once we let ourselves be touched by Jesus, we start to heal within, in our hearts. If we let ourselves be touched by him in prayer and adoration, if we permit him to act in us through his word and his sacraments, that contact truly changes us,” he said.

“Thanks to the love of Christ, we rediscover the joy of giving ourselves to others, without fears and prejudices, leaving behind a dull and disembodied religiosity and experiencing a renewed ability to love others in a generous and disinterested way,” he said.

Later, after reciting the Angelus prayer with visitors in St. Peter’s Square, the pope recalled the day’s celebration of Our Lady of Lourdes and World Day of the Sick.

“The first thing we need when we are sick is the closeness of loved ones, health care workers and, in our hearts, the closeness of God,” he said. “We are all called to be close to those who suffer, to visit the sick” the same way Jesus did with “closeness, compassion and tenderness.”

“We cannot be silent about the fact that there are so many people today who are denied the right to care, and, therefore, the right to life!” he said.

In those places where people live in extreme poverty or war zones, he said, “fundamental human rights are violated there every day! It is intolerable. Let us pray for the tormented Ukraine, for Palestine and Israel, let us pray for Myanmar and for all war-torn peoples.”

Prizren, Kosovo, February 12, 2024

Photo: eparhija-prizren.com     

Amidst the continuing campaign against the Serbian Orthodox population of Kosovo and Metohija by the Prizren authorities, His Grace Bishop Teodosije of Raška-Prizren issued a pastoral appeal for the encouragement of the faithful yesterday.

“We appeal to our people in these moments to show dignity, courage, strength, national unity, and patience,” His Grace writes, detailing the government’s actions against the Church.

“In this situation, we must not be faint-hearted. We must not allow ourselves to be intimidated, for every act of violence comes from fear and insecurity, as every fear and worry from a lack of faith in God,” the Bishop states.

Read his full statement:

Confronting an extremely difficult situation for our people in Kosovo and Metohija, we feel a pastoral duty and the need to encourage our faithful people who are increasingly exposed to the open repression by the Kosovo authorities, more so now than ever since the end of the armed conflict in 1999. The institutional terror of Priština is conducted in various ways, ostensibly in the eyes of the world under the guise of supposed adherence to the law, but actually with the aim of forcing our people to flee and abandon the lands on which they have lived for centuries. Daily brutal manifestations of police force, searches, arrests, unwarranted detentions, threats, the hindrance of receiving pensions and social contributions, along with the crude toleration of imposed Albanian municipal authorities in the north of Kosovo who lack the majority of citizens’ legitimacy, are used as a means of coercion against our people who are denied a normal life, basic rights, and freedoms. Clearly, for the authorities in Priština, Serbs have been and remain second-class citizens, evident at every turn despite hypocritical invocations of the Constitution and laws of Kosovo, under which supposedly all citizens should have the same rights, with the most vulnerable being specially protected. Such behaviour not only fails to contribute to solving problems but deepens mistrust, creates ethnic barriers and intolerance, and destroys all the bridges that have been built between the Serbian and Albanian peoples in Kosovo and Metohija so far. This situation may benefit the authorities in Pristina in the short term, but in the long run, it keeps us all hostages to instability, uncertainty, and a difficult economic situation, so it’s no wonder that so many young Kosovo Albanians are leaving Kosovo in search of a better life abroad.

Feeling deeply and living through the suffering of our people who turn to us daily for help, we issue this appeal – not to the Kosovo authorities, for they evidently have no readiness to create normal living conditions for our people and build a vision of a society in which all people, regardless of ethnic origin and faith, live peacefully and securely; nor to international representatives, who despite the official stance that everyone must be enabled to live a normal and equal life, tacitly tolerate the violence of Priština’s authorities, especially the Kosovo police, but to our own faithful people with whom the Serbian Orthodox Church has shared all the troubles during the Ottoman occupation, during the suffering in the first and second world wars, during the time of communist rule as well as during all recent events, especially from 1999 to today.

Our Church has, even before the armed conflict, expressed strong disagreement with the policy of the then regime in Belgrade towards the Albanian civilian population, as it has openly testified and raised its voice against the violence carried out by various extreme Kosovo Albanian groups after the war, advocating all the time for dialogue and communal living. Despite all this, the Church itself has suffered violence, 150 of our holy sites have been destroyed, and dozens of cemeteries vandalised. The role of the Church is not to engage in politics, but when her people suffer injustice, she has a duty to raise her voice against terror. We are not in a position to decide on political solutions, but we have a duty, regardless of the society we live in, to do everything in our power to ensure the dignity of all people, their human and religious rights and freedoms are respected.

Unfortunately, the Kosovo authorities have responded to everything our Church has done in the last 25 years with pressure on the Church itself, which is now openly denied its identity, basic religious and property freedoms. Such behaviour cannot bring good to anyone because what is built on injustice inevitably collapses sooner or later, and this applies to all the mighty ones of this world who misuse power and authority against those who are unprotected and vulnerable. Such can never achieve anything other than to disgrace their name before history. As the great poet Njegoš wisely said: “To him who relies on the force of the club, the tracks of his deeds reek of inhumanity.”

Therefore, we appeal to our people in these moments to show dignity, courage, strength, national unity, and patience. For centuries, precisely on these Gospel principles and faithfulness to God and our Saint Sava tradition, we have preserved the faith, language, our name, and memory, gathering in our holy sites, remaining faithful to the covenant of Saint Prince Lazar, which is of universal significance for everyone in the world – “the earthly kingdom is temporary, but the heavenly is forever and ever.” This is not just a phrase but a profound truth. Many empires have passed, but the Church of Christ, comprised of her people with clergy and monastics, has remained and survived, and His name is glorified throughout the world to this day.

Therefore, in this situation, we must not be faint-hearted. We must not allow ourselves to be intimidated, for every act of violence comes from fear and insecurity, as every fear and worry from a lack of faith in God. The spiritually wisest people of this world have never shown violence but have won others over with their wisdom and generosity, and for this, they are remembered in history. Therefore, the arrogant behaviour of the authorities in Priština is, above all, an expression of cowardice and blind hatred, because it is easy to enforce terror on those who are unprotected and who live in Kosovo and Metohija as living hostages. That is precisely why we must not give in to blackmail, but must struggle for our rights peacefully, with dignity, remaining above all faithful to God and devoted to this marvellous land, where we have lived and thrived for centuries. Let us remember the terror inflicted on our people during the previous centuries of Ottoman rule and the bravery of our people who, despite all difficulties, remained in their homeland, their churches, their graveyards. The Lord teaches us to pray for those who persecute us and do evil, and not to respond to hatred with hatred or violence.

Our people need and must know that many authorities have changed in this area, but their Church has remained with her people, as the fabric that unites us all together as the Body of Christ, which is what the Church is in its essence. Therefore, in all these difficulties, we call upon our people to, with their Church, as faithful children of Saint Sava, Saint Prince Lazar, and the many saints who have shone and lived in Kosovo and Metohija, preserve composure, peace, and firm trust in God that He will not abandon us. With such faith, no force of this world can defeat us, and punishment for those who do evil and injustice is always in God’s hands.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, let us constantly remember the prayerful words of our holy Patriarch Pavle of blessed memory, who in his time of persecution of our Church himself bore the cross with his faithful people in Kosovo and Metohija as the former Bishop of Raška-Prizren and prayed to the Lord:

“Lord, how numerous are the enemies who wage war against us and say: there is no help for them, neither from God nor from men. Lord, stretch out Your hand to us that we remain Your people in faith and in deeds. If we must suffer, let it be on the path of Your righteousness and Your truth, and do not allow it to be because of our injustice or hatred towards anyone. Likewise, we pray for our enemies, that the Lord, in His love, turns them away from violence against our Orthodox people, that they do not destroy our churches and graves, do not kill our children and do not persecute our people, but that they too turn to the path of repentance, righteousness, and salvation.”

Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!

Months after throwing verbal jabs at Pope Francis along the campaign train, Argentine President Javier Milei brought smiles and cookies to the Vatican for his highly anticipated meeting with the pope Feb. 12.

The 60 minutes they spent speaking privately was significantly longer than usual for a meeting between the pope and a head of state, especially considering that no translator was needed between the Buenos Aires natives. Pope Francis’ meeting with the president of Tanzania earlier in the morning, by comparison, lasted only 25 minutes.

Although the Vatican did not share the content of their conversation, edited video footage shows the pope and the president having a friendly conversation and sharing a laugh. Among the gifts Milei brought for the pope were traditional Argentine sweets, dulce de leche alfajores, and the pope’s favorite brand of lemon cookies, the president’s spokesperson said in a post on X. He also gave the pope a commemorative postcard of St. María Antonia de Paz Figueroa — canonized by Pope Francis the previous day — distributed by the Argentine post office for her beatification in 2017.

After his meeting with the pope, the Argentine president met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, and Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, Vatican foreign minister, with whom he discussed the new government’s plans to address the economic crisis in Argentina and ongoing global conflicts, the Vatican said.

The long pedestrian street leading to the Vatican was closed off for the president’s motorcade the morning of their meeting. A group of people waiting for the president to pass was gathered outside the Argentine embassy to the Vatican, and Milei stopped the car to take pictures with them on his way to the Vatican. He arrived in the San Damaso Courtyard of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace about 10 minutes later than scheduled.

Milei is a Catholic, but he has publicly expressed his interest in converting to Judaism later in life.

In the leadup to Argentina’s presidential election in October 2023, Milei had publicly called Pope Francis an “imbecile,” a supporter of “communist killers” and other derogatory terms involving expletives. Asked about the comments in a December interview, the pope said “it is important to distinguish between what a politician says on the campaign trail and what he or she will actually do afterward.”

Pope Francis “is not bothered” by hearing hostile remarks about him, Argentine Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, told reporters Feb. 12. “He took it as a campaign strategy, or that it could be some kind of marketing strategy.”

Pope Francis had even called Milei shortly after he won Argentina’s presidential election, and over the phone the newly elected president invited the pope to visit Argentina.

Nonetheless, the president’s tone was markedly different when he gave the pope a big hug after papal Mass Feb. 11.

The Argentine president was in Rome for the canonization of Argentina’s first female saint, St. María Antonia de Paz Figueroa, known as Mama Antula, celebrated by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica. In a Vatican video of their meeting in the basilica, the pope can be heard asking the notoriously disheveled Milei in jest, “Did you cut your hair?” and after a laugh the Argentine president asked the pope if he could hug him. “Yes, son, yes,” the pope replied, and the two shared a warm embrace. Pope Francis and Milei also met before the Mass, the Vatican said.

During a Feb. 10 interview on Italian radio, Milei called the first pope from the Western hemisphere “the most important Argentine in history.”

Milei arrived in Italy Feb. 10 after a three-day trip to Israel, where he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He also met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella in Rome after his visit to the Vatican.

Odessa, Odessa Province, Ukraine, February 12, 2024

Photo: Twitter The Italian government has made a sizable contribution towards the restoration of the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in Odessa, which was severely damaged in July.

In October, Italy and Ukraine signed an agreement of cooperation on the project, and according to a new agreement made with UNESCO, Italy’s first allotment amounts to $539,200 (500,000 euros), reports the Information-Education Department of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Recall that the cathedral was badly damaged during a Russian missile attack on the seaport infrastructure in the city on the Black Sea Wonderworking icon survives severe damage to Odessa Cathedral (+VIDEO)Later, hundreds of Odessans came to pray before the icon and clean up the cathedral.

“>in late July. The central altar and cathedral office space were completely destroyed, though a wonderworking copy of the Kasperov Icon of the Mother of God, which is housed in the cathedral, was safely pulled from the rubble.

His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine visited the badly damaged cathedral Metropolitan Onuphry visits severely damaged Odessa cathedral (+VIDEOS)His Beatitude travelled to Odessa on Thursday and Friday for the feast of St. Kuksha of Odessa, whose relics are housed at the Holy Dormition Monastery.

“>in late September and served a memorial litiya before the surviving copy of the Kasperov Icon.

Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!