Ezekiel Sees God's Glory

Wesley's Notes on the Bible

1:22 Likeness - The appearance or resemblance. As crystal - For splendor, purity, and solidity, all that was above these creatures and wheels was beautiful and very majestic, and 'tis therefore called terrible, because it impressed a veneration upon the mind of the beholders.

23 And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies.

The Coming Judgment

by Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos

The Second Coming of Christ and the resurrection of the dead are closely connected with the coming judgement, the so-called future tribunal. All men will stand before the dread judgement seat of Christ.

In the Creed we confess that Christ will come with glory "to judge the living and the dead". This conviction constitutes the central teaching of the Church, as we shall verify in what follows. In all the assemblies for worship and in the Divine Liturgy there are words about presence before the throne of God. The priest prays: "For a Christian end of our life, painless, peaceful and unashamed, and for a good answer before the dread judgement seat of Christ, we beseech Thee."

3 Holy Fathers On the Parable of the Ten Virgins

Saint Macarios the Great

The five wise virgins, watchful and alert, had taken oil in the vessels of their heart. That oil, not part of their own nature, means the grace of the Spirit. They were enabled to enter with the Bridegroom into the heavenly bridal chamber.

St. Seraphim of Sarov 

on the Parable of the Ten Virgins

The parable about the ten virgins has been clearly and convincingly explained by St. Seraphim of Sarov in his conversation with Motovilov: 

Some say that the shortage of oil of the foolish virgins signifies their shortage of good works in their lives. Such understanding is not exactly correct. How can they be short of good works if they, though foolish, are still called virgins? Chastity is a supreme virtue, the state of being equal to angels, and could itself serve as a substitute for all other virtues. I humbly think that they were actually short of the grace of God's All-Holy Spirit. These virgins did good, and out of their spiritual foolishness supposed that doing good was exactly the point of Christianity. They did good works and by this obeyed God, but they did not care in the least beforehand whether they had received or reached the grace of God's Spirit. This very gaining of the Holy Spirit is that oil which the foolish virgins lacked.

Do we know who “the woman fallen into many sins” was?

 Athanasios Moustakis

On Great Tuesday, in the evening, the tropario of Kassiani is sung in Orthodox Churches. This is a poetic rendition of the event described in the Gospels where a sinful woman shows her repentance by laving Christ’s feet with precious ointment and wiping them with her hair.

The woman’s action is significant for two main reasons:

Nikolai Velimirovich: 

Being “in Adam” and “in Christ”

“For just as in Adam all die, so too, in Christ, shall all be brought to life” (1 Corinthians 15:22).

Following Adam’s example, life is sown in shame, and following Christ’s example, life is raised in glory.

Sin is from Adam and justice is from Christ. Weakness and death come from Adam and strength and life come from Christ.

Accordingly, in Adam we all die. Accordingly, in Christ, we shall all be brought to life.

SYNAXARION: HOLY AND GREAT TUESDAY

On Holy and Great Tuesday, we commemorate the parable of the ten virgins, because the Lord related this parable to His disciples as He was going toward Jerusalem to His Holy Passion.

He told the parable of the ten virgins to call attention to almsgiving, at the same time teaching that every man must be ready before the end comes. He had spoken many times to them about chastity. Virginity is held in great honor, because it is indeed a great thing. Yet, lest anyone, while practicing this one virtue, neglect the others, and particularly love, by which the lamp of virginity is given light, he will be put to shame by the Lord.

St. John Chrysostom, 

Homily 67 on Matthew

GREAT AND HOLY TUESDAY

Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Matthew 24:13

On Monday evening, Jesus Christ also tarried in Bethany, and on Tuesday morning he again came to the temple in Jerusalem and taught much in the both inside and outside the temple (Mt. 21:1). The high priests and elders heard His parables and understood that He was talking about them, and so they tried to catch Him and kill Him. However, they were afraid to take Him openly because the people revered Him as a prophet (Mt. 21:46), and were astonished at His doctrine (Mk. 11:18), and heard Him gladly (Mk. 12:37).

Sermon On Joy After Sorrow

by St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice" (John 16:22).

The father steps up to the gallows and his sons are crying around him. Instead of the sons comforting him, he comforts his sons. Something similar to this happened to the Lord and His disciples. Walking toward His bitter death, the Lord is more saddened because of the grief of His disciples, rather than by that which He has to endure. He caresses them with consolation and encourages them with the prophecy of the new and impending vision: "But I will see you again." This is a prophecy about the resurrection.

The Lord Comes To His Voluntary Passion

As the Lord was coming to His voluntary passion, He said to His Apostles on the road, ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man will be betrayed, as it is written of Him’. Come then, let us too, with minds made pure, journey with Him, and let us be crucified with Him, and for His sake become dead to the pleasures of life, that we may live with Him and hear Him as He cries, ‘I am no longer going up the earthly Jerusalem to suffer, but to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God. And I shall raise you up with Me to the Jerusalem above, in the kingdom of heaven’.

"Bring More Evils Upon Them, O Lord"

In the Septuagint version of Isaiah 26:15, we read the following:

"Bring more evils upon them, O Lord, bring more evils upon those who are glorious upon the earth."

Orthodox are familiar with this verse because it is chanted during Great Lent and Holy Week for the Orthros service. Those unfamiliar with the Old Testament, in which verses like these are quite common, often get scandalized by such verses due to misunderstanding and ignorance. Below is an explanation by Elder Paisios the Athonite taken from the book With Pain and Love for Contemporary Man:

Who Sold Joseph Into Slavery?

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Abba John the Short asked the monks: "Who sold Joseph?" [Genesis 37-50] One monk replied: "His brothers." To that, the elder replied: "No brethren, rather his humility. Joseph could have said that he is their brother and could have protested to being sold but he remained silent. His humility, therefore, sold him. Afterward, this same humility made him master over Egypt." In surrendering ourselves to the will of God, we defend ourselves too much from external unpleasantness, that is why we lose the good fruits which is harvested at the end of unpleasantness endured with humility. Abba Pimen wisely spoke: "We have abandoned the easy yoke, i.e., self-reproach and we have burdened ourselves with a heavy yoke, i.e., self-justification." The Christian accepts every unpleasantness as deserving of their present or their past sins; seeking in all the will of God with faith and awaiting the end with hope.

A Homily on Joseph, the Chaste and Innocent

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

"And Joseph left his garment in her hand, and fled outdoors" (Genesis 39:12).

The innocent and chaste Joseph endured two great and difficult temptations and overcame them: the temptation of wicked envy on the part of his blood brothers, and the temptation of adulterous passion from the Egyptian temptress. Jealousy sold him as a slave, and the passion of adultery drove the innocent one to prison.

Enter in Great Week

Fr. Vasileios Kalliakmanis 

            a) Joseph the Most Comely[1] leads the chorus of the celebrants at the great and universally important event of divine compassion, the path of the Lord to His voluntary suffering. In his person, the Gospel messages of reconciliation and forgiveness, of mature restraint and purity of heart all find their application.

Synaxarion: Holy and Great Monday

BIBLE SET OUT FOR FAMILY READING

GREAT MONDAY

Curse of the fig tree parable incriminating

On this day - the second after the grand entrance into Jerusalem - coming back to town in the morning, Jesus Christ, "he was hungry and saw a fig tree by the road, went up to her and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no will also continue to fruit from you again. And immediately the fig tree withered away. "(Jn 12, 24-33, 35-36, 46-48. Mt. 21, 18-19)

The Services Of The Bridegroom

Sunday Evening through Tuesday Evening

Introduction

Beginning on the evening of Palm Sunday and continuing through the evening of Holy Tuesday, the Orthodox Church observes a special service known as the Service of the Bridegroom. Each evening service is the Matins or Orthros service of the following day (e.g. the service held on Sunday evening is the Orthros service for Holy Monday). The name of the service is from the figure of the Bridegroom in the parable of the Ten Virgins found in Matthew 25:1-13.

Background

Passion Week: Holy and Great Monday

Archpriest Victor Potapov, Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh

On Passion Week

Jacob, Joseph, and his brothers.

We are entering into difficult days today: days when we recall the Passion of Christ; days when it will be difficult for us to come to church and endure long services, to pray. Many ask themselves: is there any point in coming to services when we are so physically tired, when our thoughts are flying here and there, when we have no inner concentration and true participation in what is going on?

Palm Sunday: The Feast Of The Entrance Of Our Lord Jesus Christ Into Jerusalem

Introduction

On the Sunday before the Feast of Great and Holy Pascha and at the beginning of Holy Week, the Orthodox Church celebrates one of its most joyous feasts of the year. Palm Sunday is the commemoration of the Entrance of our Lord into Jerusalem following His glorious miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. Having anticipated His arrival and having heard of the miracle, the people when out to meet the Lord and welcomed Him with displays of honor and shouts of praise. On this day, we receive and worship Christ in this same manner, acknowledging Him as our King and Lord.

St. Romanos the Melodist on Palm Sunday

FOR THE FEAST OF PALMS

Acrostic: OF ROMANOS FOR THE PALMS

Proemium 1

Mounted on the throne in heaven, Christ God, and on the colt on earth, You accepted the praise of the angels and the hymn of the children who cried to You, ‘Blessed are You Who come to call back Adam.’

The Temporary Recognition of Christ

Varnavas, Metropolitan of Neapolis and Stavroupolis 

The raising of Lazarus was an event which could hardly have passed unnoticed. The resurrection­­­­­­­ of a dead person, four whole days after their death, produced an enormous impression in Jerusalem and the surrounding area and there were many who believed in Jesus and wished to see Him at first hand. As soon as they were told that he was coming into the city, therefore, they lost no time in receiving Him with great enthusiasm.

Traditions: remembering St. Lazarus

Sylvia Leontaritis

I can remember jumping off the front porch steps in excitement as I hurried into the car to get to the church as quickly as possible to find out which group I was in. Every year the Jr. Choir of Archangel Michael Church in Campbell, Ohio would split into groups and go to all the Orthodox homes in town to sing the kalanta or carols. We did this three times a year, Christmas, St. Basil’s and Lazarus Saturday.

Abba Dorotheos on the Sunday of Palms

Palm Sunday + Entrance into Jerusalem 

(John 12:1-18)

From The Explanation of the Gospel of St. John

by Blessed Theophylact, Archbishop of Ochrid and Bulgaria

Synaxarion For Palm Sunday

By Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos

PALM SUNDAY

On this day, the Sunday of Palms, we celebrate the radiant and glorious Feast of the Entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.

Sitting on a foal, He Who stretched out the Heaven

By a word seeketh to loose mortals from irrationality.

Synaxarion

After Lazarus had been raised from the dead, many, on beholding this event, came to believe in Christ.

Palm Sunday - Gospel Commentary

By Saint Theophylact, Archbishop of Ochrid and Bulgaria

From The Explanation of the Gospel of St. John (John 12:1-18)

1-3.Then Jesus six days before the Pascha came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with Him. Then took Mary a pound of myrrh of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the fragrance of the myrrh. 

The Lord's Entry Into Jerusalem

by Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh

30 March 1980

In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.

Today Christ enters the path not only of His sufferings but of that dreadful loneliness which enshrouds Him during all the days of Passion week. The loneliness begins with a misunderstanding; the people expect that the Lord's entry into Jerusalem will be the triumphant procession of a political leader, of a leader who will free his people from oppression, from slavery, from what they consider godlessness - because all paganism or idol-worship is a denial of the living God.

On the Services of Passion Week

As we approach the great solemn days of Holy Week, we bring to mind how our Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed and seized, tortured and crucified, died and was buried, and arose from the dead. The services of Holy Week, beginning with Lazarus Saturday, show us in symbols, readings and chants the account of our Saviour’s love and sacrifice ‘unto death, even the death of the cross’ for our sake (Phil. 2:8).

Homilies on Hebrews (Chrysostom)
Hebrews 12:28-29

 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace [or gratitude,] whereby we serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.

Homilies on the Gospel of John (Chrysostom)

John 11:1-2

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, of the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment.

The Feast of Friendship: On Lazarus Saturday

Metropolitan Daniel of Arkhangelsk and Kholmogory 

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!

I wish to congratulate you all – Fathers, brothers, and sisters – on the completion of the Holy Forty Days and on the feast of the Rising of Lazarus and Palm Sunday!

Holy Week is a special week. As the Church teaches, Great Lent is a time when we go to God, and Holy Week is when God comes to us.

HOMILY 

ON THE ENTRY OF THE LORD INTO JERUSALEM (PALM SUNDAY)

St. Nikolai Velimirovich

One of the most miraculous details of our Savior’s life was foreseen by the Prophet Zacharias through the dark glass of time, and described thus: And Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion; proclaim it aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, the King is coming to thee, just, and a Saviour; he is meek and riding on an ass, and a young foal  when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem. And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him.(Zach. 9:9). The Apostle Luke, an eyewitness, describes this event:

And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? And they said, The Lord hath need of him. And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves. And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, and could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him (Lk. 19:28–48).

This is the description of an historical event that took place twenty centuries ago, as related by an eyewitness. But this event has more than historical significance; it also has a spiritual meaning, and therefore also a moral meaning for every modern-day Christian. According to the spiritual meaning, Jerusalem signifies the human soul, and the entry of the Lord into Jerusalem signifies the entrance of God into the soul.

The multitudes of people, crowded and pushing one against another, joyfully awaiting and greeting Christ, symbolize the noble sentiments and exalted thoughts of a person who joyfully greets God, his Savior and Deliverer. The leaders of the crowd of people, who hate Christ and want to kill Him, personify the lower desires and earthbound thoughts, which take the upper hand over man’s noble nature and oppress it. Now this lower human nature rebels against God’s entry into the soul, for when God is enthroned there, the lower nature will inevitably be destroyed.

The Temple in Jerusalem symbolizes the holy of holies of the human soul—that sacred place where the Holy Spirit has if only a miniscule haven even in the greatest sinner. But earthly passions penetrate there also, and lower human nature has used even it to achieve its base aims.

Christ heals the soul of those sick ones who fall down before Him with faith, and this means that certain impulses of the soul, although sick, thirst for unity with God and seek for Him, the only true Doctor in the world. Christ’s prophecy of Jerusalem’s destruction symbolizes the destruction of any soul that God rejects, lays low, and spews forth from Himself.

No one in this world is happy unless he has opened wide the gates of his spiritual Jerusalem—his soul—and received God into himself. A godless man feels lonely to despair. The society of others does not make his loneliness go away, but only increases it. However he who has taken God into his soul will never feel lonely even in a desert. No one dies an eternal death other than one in whom God has died.

ON PALM SUNDAY

Archpriest Andrew Phillips

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Today the Maker of the Universe enters Jerusalem. He is seated not on a white stallion with a 100,000 strong army to escort Him like the King of Babylon. He is seated on a young ass, the lowest of creatures, and escorted by street children like the King of Jerusalem. For He is not the King of Babylon, the King of War and Power and Pride and Riches, He is the King of Jerusalem, the King of Peace and Humility. And this is only right, for the name 'Jerusalem' means 'the City of Peace'; Christ alone, the King of Peace, is therefore its rightful King.

Children greet Him with palms, the symbols of victory, and they cry 'Hosanna', meaning 'Save, we pray'. Their cry and their deed are greater than they know, for in their innocence they speak and do truth, for Christ alone saves us, if we pray to Him; and the palm branches are indeed tokens of victory, for Victory comes through the Tree of the Cross.

This is not just an historic event, but an event that can be repeated at every communion. For whenever we seek peace and humility as if seated on an ass, as innocent as children crying 'Save, we pray', then Christ enters our souls and makes them into Jerusalems within us.

However, we know that in Jerusalem there were not only children, 'babes and sucklings', who greeted Him, there were also others, Scribes and Pharisees who, as the Gospels say, 'were displeased'. They are those who wanted a worldly leader, a man of violence, a rival to the Romans, and they will lead Christ to Golgotha, preferring an unrepentant thief to the Son of God. Within a few days our Lord will suffer, because He is innocent and all the innocent suffering of the world, of which we have seen so much in our own days, is taken up in Him.

The division between, on the one hand, babes and sucklings and, on the other hand, the worldly Scribes and Pharisees is a division which is repeated through time and space, and all of us have at some time or another been on both sides. For whenever we sin we are on the side of the Scribes and Pharisees, and whenever we are innocent, we are on the side of the babes and sucklings. But whose side are we on today and whose side will we be on this coming week?

For in this coming Great and Holy Week, Passion Week, the Church calls us to follow Christ. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, we begin to relive the dramatic events in Jerusalem of this Week. On Thursday morning we come to the celebration of the Last Supper, which was and is the First Liturgy. On Thursday evening we have the beautiful Service of the Twelve Gospels when the Church tell us all the details of Christ's betrayal, of Judas, of Christ's trial, of Pilate, of Christ's scourging and Crucifixion. On Friday afternoon Christ is taken down from the Cross and on Friday evening He is buried and we shall sing together the Lamentations around His Tomb. On Saturday morning, we shall witness the first Resurrection Liturgy with the changing of vestments from violet into white and then on Saturday at midnight Christ will make clear His Resurrection. This by tradition is the moment when Christ returns to earth and we feel His presence amongst us most clearly.

How can we not come to these services and yet still call ourselves Orthodox? How can we not follow Christ through all the events of this Great Week which changed the history of the whole world? Let us be as babes and sucklings, let us put away our worldly calculations and free ourselves from our laziness, let us be with the family of God, with the Mother of God and St John, and follow Christ to the Cross, so that then we can follow Him to His Resurrection, to Victory and Triumph, and so be resurrected in spirit together with Him.

Amen.

Saturday Of The Holy And Righteous Friend Of Christ, Lazarus

Introduction

On the Saturday before Holy Week, the Orthodox Church commemorates a major feast of the year, the miracle of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when he raised Lazarus from the dead after he had lain in the grave four days. Here, at the end of Great Lent and the forty days of fasting and penitence, the Church combines this celebration with that of Palm Sunday. In triumph and joy the Church bears witness to the power of Christ over death and exalts Him as King before entering the most solemn week of the year, one that leads the faithful in remembrance of His suffering and death and concludes with the great and glorious 

The Lazarus of the Parable and Lazarus who was Four Days in the Tomb

By Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky

Have you ever noticed, dear reader, that in all of Christ’s Parables there occurs but one proper name? If you have noticed, have you ever tried to ascertain why our Lord calls only this Lazarus by name, while even his rival during his earthly sojourn remains under the title of the Rich Man?... Perhaps we would sooner find what we seek, were we to attempt to make a little clearer the individual ideas expressed in the Lord’s parable. Is everything in it clear?

Saturday of the Raising of Lazarus

By Sergei V. Bulgakov

On Saturday of the Sixth Week, the Holy Church commemorates the miracle of raising Lazarus accomplished by the Savior six days before the Jewish Passover during which He suffered (John 11:45-57). The Holy Church glorifies the raising of Lazarus, as proof of the divine power of Jesus Christ and as evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and in the general resurrection of all the dead, as is expressed in the Troparion of the feast. The faithful finding out the great value accomplished by the Lord remembered in today's miracle, the Holy Church hymns:

Saint Lazarus In Orthodox Tradition

Superior-Priest of the Church of St. Lazarus in Larnaka, Cyprus

Bethany is a Jewish word which means "the home of the Phoenicians". It has remained known in history as the homeland of Lazarus the friend of Christ. Although it is a small and insignificant Palestinian village, it has an important place in the history of Christianity. It was one of the places for which Christ had a special affection and would visit frequently. This was due to the strong bonds of friendship that Jesus Christ had with the family of Lazarus and with the leper who some believed was the father of the saint.

Lazarus Saturday

Archbishop Andrei (Rymarenko)

“In the same way we cry to Thee, O Conqueror of death: Hosanna in the highest, blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord”

 Troparion on Lazarus Saturday

Great is this Holy Day, brothers and sisters! Just think of it, “Conqueror of death”! There have been many conquerors in the history of humanity: many gifted doctors have conquered many sicknesses, many military leaders have conquered tremendous armies, even entire countries. There have been conquerors of space such as the inventors of automobiles, airplanes; conquerors of distance — the inventors of the telephone, telegraph, and so on. 

The resurrection of Lazarus, the four days dead, of Bethany

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lazarus Saturday

The Gospel for the Raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-45)

Kontakion on the raising of St Lazarus

Written by Romanos the Melodist.

This kontakion is read on the Saturday of Holy & Righteous Lazarus in the Orthodox Christian tradition.

O Christ, Thou who knowest all things,

Thou hast asked to learn where the tomb of Lazarus is, 

And arriving there, Thou hast raised him up on the fourth day, 

O All-powerful One, 

Taking pity, Merciful One,

On the tears of Mary and Martha.

THE EPISTLES OF ST. ABBA DOROTHEUS

1. Instructions to a brothewho has asked him about insensitivity and the growing cold of love.

When your soul becomes insensitive, brother, it is useful to read the Holy Scriptures and the heart-touching words of the Holy and God-bearing Fathers, to remember God's Last Judgment, the departure of the soul from the body, and the terrible powers that can greet it, and with whose cooperation the soul committed evil acts in this brief and tormented life. It is also useful to remember how we shall appear before the terrible and righteous judgment seat of Christ, and not only for our deeds, but for words and thoughts shall we give an answer before God, before all His angels, and in general before all creation.

SYNAXARION FOR LAZARUS SATURDAY

On this day, the Saturday before Palm Sunday, we celebrate the fourth-day raising from the dead of Lazarus, the righteous friend of Christ.

Lazarus[1] was a Hebrew, of the sect of the Pharisees and, as far as is known, he was the son of Simon the Pharisee, who dwelt in the village of Bethany. He became a friend of our Lord Jesus Christ when He sojourned on earth for the salvation of our race. For when Christ continually conversed with Simon, entering his house and discoursing on the resurrection from the dead, Lazarus was quite pleased with the genuineness of this teaching, and not only he, but also his two sisters, Martha and Mary.

Nineteenth Instruction

Some brief instructions

Abba Dorotheos

Abba Dorotheus said that one who trusts in his own understanding or judgment[1] cannot submit to nor follow the good example of his neighbor.

He likewise said: Being passionate, we cannot at all believe in our own hearts; for a crooked rule will make even the straight crooked.

He likewise said: It is not a great matter to withhold judgment of or to feel compassion for someone who is in sorrow and submits to you; but it is a great thing not to judge one who contradicts you, not to take revenge on him according to your passion, not to agree with those who condemn him, and to rejoice together with those who respect him.

Eighteenth Instruction

To the brother who served as cellarer

Abba Dorotheos

If you do not wish to fall into irritability and remembrance of evil, have no attachment whatever to things and do not be overly concerned for them, neither despise them as being of little importance or insignificance.When someone asks something of you, give it to him; and if he by chance, or by carelessness, should break or lose something, do not be grieved. You should act this way not out of carelessness for the monastery's things--for you are obliged with all your might and strength to be concerned for them--but rather out of the desire to preserve yourself from disturbance and quarrels, constantly showing to God your mighty striving. You can achieve this only when you will dispose of the monastery things not as your own property but as things which are offered to God and only entrusted to your care. For first you must be disposed not to have attachment to things, and secondly disposed not to despise them. If you will not have this in mind, then be convinced that you will not cease to be subject to disturbance, and you will disturb both yourself and others.

In the Tomb of Lazarus

St. Lazarus’ tomb, Bethany.

Largely ignored by much of Christendom, the Orthodox today celebrate ”Lazarus Saturday” in something of a prequel to next weekend’s Pascha. It is, indeed a little Pascha just before the greater one. And this, of course, was arranged by Christ Himself, who raised His friend Lazarus from the dead as something of a last action before entering Jerusalem and beginning His slow ascent to Golgotha through the days of next week (Orthodox celebrate Pascha a week later than Western Christians this year).

Apocalypse Now

Fr. Stephen Freeman

Few teachings of the Christian faith are as easily misunderstood and equally misapplied as the things pertaining to the “End of the World.” Christian history, both East and West, offers numerous examples of popular misunderstandings – some of which led to bloodbaths and the worst moments in Church history. By the same token, apocalypticism, the belief in an end of history, has had a powerful impact on the cultures in which Christianity has dwelt. Various Utopias (Marxism, Nazism, Sectarian Millenarianism, etc.) are all products of a misunderstood Christian idea. They are not the inventions of Christianity – but they could hardly have originated in any other culture. The same can be said for various Dystopias (the belief in very difficult and hard times). The imagery of the end of the world can be read both ways. In either case, the worst outcomes generally are found in groups who not only believe in one form of apocalypticism or another, but believe that their own actions can have a direct effect on the advent of the end.

Mystagogical Catechesis

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem

I received from the Lord that which also I handed on to you, how that the Lord Jesus, on the night in which He was betrayed, took bread, etc.

1 COR. xi. 23.

1. The teaching of the Blessed Paul is in itself sufficient to give you full assurance concerning those Divine Mysteries, having been deemed worthy of which you become of the same body and blood as Christ. For you have just heard him say distinctly, that, on the night when He was betrayed, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread, and when He had given thanks, broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying: “Take, eat, this is My Body”; and having taken the cup and given thanks, He said: “Take, drink, this is My Blood”. Since He Himself declared and said of the Bread, “This is My Body”, who then will dare to doubt any longer? And since He Himself affirmed and said, “This is My Blood”, who will ever have reservations, saying, that it is not His blood?

Having Completed the Forty Days That Profit Our Souls

By Sergei V. Bulgakov

Friday of the Sixth Week ends the Holy Forty Day Fast. In the services for this day we sing:

Having completed the forty days that profit our souls, we ask You, O Lover of man: Grant us also to behold the Holy Week of Your Passion, that we may glorify Your mighty acts and Your ineffable plan for our sakes.

Together with these in the service for this day the Holy Church prepares her children to worthily commemorate Lazarus raised from the dead and especially the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, appealing:

Having completed the Forty Day Fast that is pleasing to our soul, let us cry out: Rejoice, O City of Bethany, the home of Lazarus, rejoice Martha and Mary, his sisters. For tomorrow Christ will come, by His word to give life to your dead brother.
Those who are in the deserts and on the mountains, and in the caves, let us gather together carrying palms, to meet the King and the Master: for He comes to save our souls.

For this meeting we carefully go, offering branches of virtue to Him.

The days of holy Great Lent are a time of preparation for confession and Holy Communion. These days have come to us once again. But how often do they pass us by without bringing us palpable benefit? Of course, this is not because they are unable to do us any good, but because we are too careless, we dismiss them too easily. Think seriously about what confession and Communion grant to us, and why they exist in the Orthodox Church. 

There is Hope for Power-Hungry Disciples, a Prostitute, and Us

Fr. Philip LeMasters 

The tragic events of the last week both in Boston and in West have reminded us all of the brokenness, pain, and corruption of life in the world as we know it. God did not create humanity for terrorist bombings, industrial explosions, fear, mourning, and suffering, but to participate in the peace, joy, and holiness of the heavenly Kingdom even as we live in the world He created. As we near the end of Lent this year, we should have no illusions about how far human beings have fallen short of fulfilling the Lord’s purposes for us.

The Seventeenth Instruction

To those who are instructors in monasteries and to disciples: How one should instruct the brethren and how one should receive instruction

Abba Dorotheos

If you are a superior of brethren, take care of them with a contrite heart and a condescending mercy, instructing and training them in virtues by deed and word, but most of all by deed, because example is more effective than words. If you can, be for them also an example in bodily labors; but if you are infirm, then be an example of a good state of soul and of the fruits of the spirit enumerated by the Apostle: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith meekness,

SIXTEENTH INSTRUCTION

TO CERTAIN KELLIOTES

Abba Dorotheos

Photo: Shio Otarashvili/Pravoslavie.ru

To certain kelliotes¹ who asked St. Abba Dorotheos about visiting the Brethren

The Fathers say that half of spiritual life is to remain in the cell, and visiting the elders is the other half. This expression means that both inside the cell and outside the cell we must be equally heedful, and we must know why we should keep silence in the cell and why we should go to the fathers and brethren; for one who keeps sight of these aims strives to act as the Fathers teach. These aims are: when the monk remains in his cell he prays, studies the Holy Scriptures, he occupies himself with a little handiwork and according to his strength concerns himself with his thoughts. When he goes out somewhere he notices and examines his state of mind: does he receive benefit from meeting with the brethren or not? And can he return without harm to his cell? If he sees that he has suffered some harm, then he will thereby come to recognize his infirmity; he can see that he has not yet acquired anything from his hesychia, and, being humbled, he returns to his cell, repenting, weeping and praying to God over his infirmity. Thus he resumes abiding in his cell and being attentive to himself.