Blessed Forgiveness Sunday and approaching Great Lent to all brothers and sisters!
May God forgive us all!
Forgive me and I also forgive you!
Prayer for Travelers
"Lord Jesus Christ our God, the true and living path, who deigned to wander into Egypt with your supposed father Joseph and your Most Pure Virgin Mother, and who journeyed to Emmaus with Luke and Cleopas! We humbly pray to you, Most Holy Master, that you now also, with your grace, accompany these servants of yours (names) , and, as with your servant Tobias, send them a guardian angel and guide, who would preserve and deliver them from every evil danger, from visible and invisible enemies, guide them to the fulfillment of your commandments, accompany them in well-being and good health, and bring them back safe and sound. And grant them to successfully fulfill their good intentions for your pleasing and for your glory. For it is in Your power to have mercy and save us, and we send up glory to You with Your Beginningless Father and with Your Most Holy, All-Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen."
How can we become humble (Hieromonk Savvas Aghioreitis)
I remember a contemporary Elder on Mount Athos whom I once asked:
— How can we become humble?
And he told me this:
— When we accuse ourselves.
With which “universal church” are they teaching us to unite? (against the Pope). (Averky Taushev)
"The Pope is a divine man and a human God. Therefore, no one can judge him or about him. The Pope has divine authority, and his authority is unlimited. He can do on earth the same thing as God can do in heaven. What the Pope does is the same as what God has done. His commandments must be fulfilled as the commandments of God. Only God alone is like the Pope; the Pope commands heavenly and earthly things. The Pope is in the world what God is in the world, or what the soul is in the body. The authority of the Pope is higher than any created authority, for it in some way extends to things in heaven, earth, and the underworld, so that the words of Scripture may be justified in him: 'You have put all things under his foot.' Everything is given over to the power and will of the Pope, and no one and nothing can resist him. If the Pope were to drag millions of people into hell with him, none of them would have the right to ask him: 'Holy Father, why are you doing this?'
An Analysis of the Roman Error about the Primacy and Infallibility of the Pope (Bishop Mitrofan Abramov)
The primacy of the pope
The cornerstone of all the errors of the Catholic Church is the doctrine of papal primacy. The essence of this doctrine is as follows: the Roman Pontiff, Catholics teach, is the supreme ruler of the entire Church founded by the Savior; he is God's vicar on earth and the head of all believers. As such, the Pope is superior to the Ecumenical Councils, which receive their confirmation and sanction from the Pope.
On what do Catholics base this anti-Christian teaching about the visible primacy of the Roman Pontiff in the Church?
On the Worship of God in Spirit and Truth (Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov)
“The true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth: for the Father seeks such as these, who will worship him” ( John 4:23 ).
Beloved brethren! We have now heard in the Gospel that true servants of the true God worship Him in Spirit and Truth, that God seeks , that is, desires, such worshipers. If God desires such worshipers, then it is clear that only such worshipers and servants He accepts, only such worshipers and servants are pleasing to Him. This teaching was proclaimed to us by the Son of God Himself. We believe the teaching of Christ! With all love, we accept the all-holy teaching of Christ! To follow Him faithfully, let us consider what it means to worship God the Father in Spirit and Truth.
Why did the Japanese accept Orthodoxy and reject Catholicism and Protestantism (Saint Nicholas of Japan)
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The Japanese seem to be showing an inclination toward Orthodoxy. They dislike, and such a sophisticated and inquisitive people cannot dislike, the oppression of Catholicism, which, while preaching Christianity, does not allow the teachings of Christ to be read in the original, thereby arousing mistrust and doubt about the authenticity of what is preached. The Japanese attitude toward Catholicism is quite characteristically expressed by the following circumstance: Catholic missionaries, try as they might, were unable to establish their own seminary in Japan. No sooner had they gathered students, surrounded them with strict rules, and seemingly the most reliable barriers to contact with the outside world, than a ray of light would quickly penetrate the school, and the students would scatter. So, finally, the missionaries conceived the idea of founding a Japanese seminary in China, in Fuchau, where they send their young proselytes as soon as possible after winning them, and from which, undoubtedly, escape is impossible.
The Japanese also dislike Protestantism. They are exhausted by their own religious confusion and emptiness, and Protestantism, which places only the Bible in their hands but allows everyone to interpret it as they please—that is, the same as paganism—leaving people in matters of religion to be guided by human views, without clearly and definitely pointing out Divine truth, naturally cannot satisfy or reassure them. Characteristic of Protestantism in Japan is that the best of the Protestant proselytes, who for many years were devoted Protestants and preachers of Protestantism, even suffering persecution for it, without any outside influence, voluntarily abandon it and become bitter enemies and vilifiers of it and, in their ignorance, of all Christianity. This means that they have passed through a narrow and meager teaching and once again found themselves in emptiness, with a religious thirst as unsatisfied as before.
What a difference all this makes with Orthodoxy , which is all light and depth, which, giving the word of God into everyone’s hands, itself commands in the words of Scripture to “test the Scriptures,” and to those who test and question, in Holy Tradition, it allows them to hear the living voice of the universal Mother Church, clarifying everything and reliably guiding them in everything!
It is also characteristic of Orthodoxy in Japan that the Orthodox mission, which has existed for only 8 years, with two permanent missionaries during this time, without any specific material resources, is already twice as strong in number of Christians as the Catholic and all Protestant missions taken together, despite the fact that the Catholic and Protestant missions have been founded in Japan for more than 20 years, that they have hundreds of missionaries, both men and women, and inexhaustible material resources.
Apparently, the time is not far off when the question of which religion will be dominant in Japan will be resolved. In Russia, Prince Vladimir, in view of the extraordinary importance of this issue for Russia, once took every measure to ensure its best resolution—he personally listened to all missionaries of different faiths, consulted with nobles, and sent a special embassy abroad to study the faiths and select the best of all. May God grant that the Japanese government, with all prudence and wisdom, resolve this question for Japan, both in the interests of truth itself and in view of the spiritual and material benefits of its people! This question is of immeasurable importance. The enlightenment of other Mongolian peoples will depend greatly on the enlightenment of Japan with Christianity.
Source: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Nikolaj_Japonskij/izbrannye-uchenye-trudy-svjatitelja-nikolaja-arhiepiskopa-japonskogo/#0_5
Prepare your soul for temptation (Saint Nicholas of Japan)
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A sermon by St. Nicholas of Japan at the Council of the Japanese Church in July 1887
Holy Scripture says, "Son, when you come to serve the Lord God, prepare your soul for temptation. Prepare your heart and be patient. And do not be hasty in time of adversity. Cleave to Him and do not turn aside, that you may grow up in your latter end" ( Sirach 2:1-3 ). All of us here, of course, have come to serve God and thus know well that serving God means forcing ourselves to work. But we also know that this service also contains great joy. For the all-seeing God not only sees those who serve Him but also helps them, and the merciful One loves them. However, the path of serving God is filled with dangers and stumbling blocks, weaknesses and falls, and therefore Holy Scripture teaches us that if you want to serve the Lord God, then prepare your soul for temptations.
Life of Saint Nicholas of Japan (+1912)
This selfless missionary devoted his entire life and energy to preaching the Gospel and sowing the Word of God in the Land of the Rising Sun, and his apostolic labors bore rich fruit. Naganawa Mitsuo writes: "He left behind a cathedral, eight temples, 175 churches, 276 parishes, and raised one bishop, 34 priests, eight deacons, and 115 preachers. The total number of Orthodox believers reached 34,110…"
Archpriest I. Vostorgov , who visited Japan, wrote: "No one in Japan, after the Emperor, enjoyed such renown. In the Japanese capital, there was no need to ask where the Russian Orthodox mission was; it was enough to say the word 'Nikolai,' and literally every rickshaw driver immediately knew where to take a mission guest. The Orthodox church was called 'Nikolai,' and the mission site was also called 'Nikolai,' even Orthodoxy itself was called 'Nikolai.' Traveling through the country in the garb of Russian priests, we always and everywhere encountered kind glances, and in the greetings and conversations about us, we caught with our ears, amidst the incomprehensible words and expressions of an unfamiliar language, one familiar and dear one: 'Nikolai.'"
The renowned orientalist D. M. Pozdneev, who knew the saint closely, recalls: "Along with gentleness, he was a man of iron, unaware of any obstacles, a practical mind and administrator who knew how to find a way out of any difficult situation. Along with his kindness, he had the ability to be icy, unyielding, and harsh with people whom he found necessary to discipline with strict measures, to punish or stop for something. Along with his sociability, he possessed a very strong reserve, acquired through long experience and bitter trials, and it took much time and effort to earn his trust and frankness. Along with a certain childish naiveté of a cheerful conversationalist, he possessed the breadth of ideals of a great statesman, an endless love for his homeland, suffering with its sufferings, and tormented by its torments... Broad and holy ideals, an iron will, and an inexhaustible love of work—this is the essence of Archbishop Nicholas."
One cannot but agree with A. Platonova, the author of one of the saint’s biographies, who wrote: “It is the duty of every Russian person to know about him in as much detail as possible, because people like Archbishop Nicholas are the pride and adornment of their country.”
His activities were fraught with many sorrows. Archbishop Nicholas was persecuted from two sides: by the Japanese, as a Russian political agent, a spy, and an agitator sowing treason and sympathy for a perfidious, predatory Russia on Japanese soil; by the Russians, as someone telling Japan things about Russia it didn't need to know... The archbishop's activities were thus declared not only useless but also harmful, and many in Russia viewed him as an eccentric possessed by a strange mania. Archbishop Nicholas was saved for his work by two ideas that guided him throughout his life: the first was the idea of apostolic service, the feat of spreading Orthodoxy among the pagans; the second was a fervent conviction that his work should stand apart from any connection with politics." And elsewhere: "He was imbued with something he kept within himself not for earthly purposes."
Homily for the Meeting of the Lord (Fr. Daniel Sysoev)
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!
I congratulate you all on the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord! This is the day when we celebrate the meeting of two Covenants: the Old Covenant, made with the people of Israel, and the New Covenant, made with the Universal Church, now including all nations. We must ponder the words of prophecy proclaimed by the ancient elder Symeon, taking the Creator of the Universe in his arms: "Now let Your servant depart in peace, O Master, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel." (By word — according to promise. By revelation — for enlightenment. By Gentiles — the nations.)
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