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Despre puterea rugăciunii (din Pelerinul rus)

Rugăciunea este atât de tare şi de puternică, încât poţi să te rogi şi să faci ce vrei, căci rugăciunea te va povăţui spre adevărata şi dreapta lucrare.

Ca să fii plăcut lui Dumnezeu n-ai nevoie de nimic altceva decât să iubeşti. „Iubeşte şi fă ce vrei”, spune Fericitul Augustin, căci cine iubeşte cu adevărat, acela nu poate şi nu vrea să facă ceva ce nu este plăcut fiinţei iubite… Cum însă rugăciunea nu este decât revărsarea şi lucrarea dragostei, atunci se poate spune cu toată dreptatea despre ea acelaşi lucru: pentru mântuire nu e nevoie de nimic altceva decât de rugăciune neîncetată. Roagă-te şi fă ce vrei, şi vei atinge ţelul rugăciunii, vei dobândi iluminarea prin ea!…

Spre a înfăţişa mai amănunţit înţelesul acestei chestiuni, o vom lămuri prin pilde:

1. Roagă-te şi gândeşte ce vrei, iar gândurile tale se vor curaţi prin rugăciune. Rugăciunea îţi va lumina mintea, va izgoni şi va linişti toate gândurile necuviincioase. Aceasta o întăreşte Sfântul Grigorie Sinaitul: „Dacă vrei, ne sfătuieşte el, să-ţi alungi gândurile şi să-ţi cureţi mintea, atunci izgoneşte-le cu rugăciunea, căci, în afară de rugăciune, nimic nu le poate opri.” Sfântul Ioan Scărarul spune în această privinţă acelaşi lucru: „Caută să biruieşti vrăjmaşii ce ţin de gânduri prin Numele lui Iisus. Afară de această armă, nu vei găsi alta.”

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Doamne ajuta!

Daca aveti vreun pic de timp si puteti sa-l cheltuiti cu noi, ne puteti ajuta cu traduceri de articole pentru revista noastra, din diferite limbi, dar mai cu seama engleza, franceza, rusa, greaca. Avem si citeva manuscrise in limba romana scrise in slova veche pe care as vrea sa le tansliteram. Daca stiti alte limbi straine si ne puteti ajuta, e foarte probabil sa putem sa ne folosim de acest prilej pentru a cauta materiale din limbile respective. Nu e vorba de un volum mare de lucru si nici de un orar fix. Pur si simplu, daca puteti sa ne ajutati, dati-mi de stire.

Puteti sa traduceti doar o pagina,  sau citeva, la un interval de timp pe care il fixati dumneavoastra.  Ar fi un pas inainte sa alcatuim astfel un grup de colaboratori. Din pacate, nu avem inca bugete pentru aceste articole, dar poate cindva vom izbuti sa le obtinem.

Va multumesc!

CANONICAL CHURCHES: What Does It Mean?

A new definition has crept into World Orthodoxy in recent years. World
Orthodoxy has begun to recognize Orthodox Churches on the basis of
their being ‘canonical’. By this newly accepted definition, to be
‘canonical’ a church must be in full communion with Constantinople.
Constantinople has become World Orthodoxy’s touchstone. In fact,
occasionally there are press releases that describe the Patriarchate
of Constantinople as an Eastern Papacy or “the leader of World
Orthodoxy.” The late Patriarch Demetrius described the Ecumenical
Patriarch as the foremost bishop of Orthodoxy. If a church falls away
from communion with him, it is no longer
‘canonical’.

Let’s ask a simple question: How did the understanding of the term
‘canonical’ change? According to the Holy Fathers, the venerable term,
‘Canonical’ always referred to the pious observance of the Holy Canons
of the Church, and, most certainly, to those Canons relating to
the beliefs and pious practices of the holy Orthodox Church.
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Ortodoxie sau moarte: inscriptie de pe manastirea Esphigmenou.

Archbishop Theophan on the new calendar

In 1926, Archbishop Theophanes of Poltava and Pereyaslavl, wrote the following in his work, “Short canonical judgements on chronology”:

Question. Have the pastors of the Orthodox Church made a judgement concerning the calendar?
Answer. They have, many times – with regard to the introduction of the new Roman calendar – both in private assemblies and in councils. A proof of this is the following. First of all, the Ecumenical Patriarch Jeremiah II, who lived at the same time as the Roman calendar reform, immediately, in 1582, together with his Synod condemned the new Roman system of chronology as being not in agreement with the Tradition of the Church. In the next year (1583), with the participation of Patriarchs Sylvester of Alexandria and Sophronius VI of Jerusalem, he convened a Church Council. This Council recognised the Gregorian calendar to be not in agreement with the canons of the Universal Church and with the decree of the First Ecumenical Council on the method of calculating the day of Holy Pascha.

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Dupa ce Patriarhul Constantinopolului s-a rugat in Capela Sixtina, iata o stire despre o alta ceremonie de tip religios, la statuia braziliana a lui Hristos:

Bishops of the Russian Church Abroad and the Moscow Patriarchate celebrate Divine Liturgy At the Famous Statue of our Lord Jesus Christ

For the first time in history, on October 26, 2008, bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church prayed for Russia and Brazil and for the unity of the Church at the world-famous statue of our Lord Jesus Christ in the city of Corcovado, over 700 meters above Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The unprecedented divine service was held as part of the program called “Days of Russian Spiritual Culture in Latin America.”
Afterwards, a Russian flag was unfurled at the feet of the statue of Jesus Christ, held aloft by enthusiastic Brazilians, along with tourists from other countries.

“We prayed for Russia and for the well-being of the Brazilian people and this magnificent country,” said His Eminence Metropolitan Platon of Argentina and South America. “We also prayed for the unity of our Holy Church.”
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O marturie:

People of all faiths from the world over-Jews, Copts, Armenians, Jacobites, Latins, Moslems, Protestants, etc.-flock every year to the Holy City to witness for themselves this living connection between the earthly and the Heavenly realms, which only takes place according to true ecclesiastical chronology, viz., the Orthodox Church Calendar. Testifying to the uncanny connection between the miracle of the Holy Fire and the Church Calendar, Archimandrite Sergius (Iazadjiev) relates the following:

In August of 1971, Nikolai [now Hieromonk Theophan] and I were coming back from rest and medical treatment at Narechen. Passing through the town of Plovdiv, we called in at the Metochion of Zographou to venerate the tomb of the Holy King Boris [ 906]. Schema-monk Seraphim of Zographou was in attendance at the tomb. He told us that recently (1969-70), under pressure from the Geneva-based World Council of Churches, the Jerusalem Patriarchate had introduced the ‘New Julian’ Calendar (as had the Bulgarian, Macedonian, and other Patriarchates, since there was overwhelming pressure at the time to introduce the New Calendar). That same year, on Great Saturday, when from time immemorial the Holy Fire descends on the Lord’s Sepulchre, this year the Fire did not appear. Shocked, Patriarch Benedict of Jerusalem commanded that the Old Calendar, which had been in use until then, be restored immediately in the jurisdiction of his Patriarchate. The next year, the Holy Fire once again descended on the Lord’s Sepulchre on Great Saturday; the same occurs even until the present.

Bula papala “Inter Gravissimas”, care introducea calendarul gregorian si continutul acesteia:

Inter Gravissimas  Kalendarii nuper restituti, pro festivitatibus S. R. E., suo tempore celebrandis divinisque ibidem officiis recitandis approbatio, et veteris kalendarii abolitio.

Gregorius episcopus servus servorum Dei, ad perpetuam rei memoriam.
Inter gravissimas pastoralis officii nostri curas, ea postrema non est, ut quae a sacro Tridentino concilio Sedi Apostolicae reservata sunt, illa ad finem optatum, Deo adjutore, perducantur.

1. Sane eiusdem concilii patres, cum ad reliquas cogitationes breviarii quoque curam adiungerent, tempore tamen exclusi, rem totam ex ipsius concilii decreto ad auctoritatem et iudicium Romani Pontificis retulerunt.

2. Duo autem breviario praecipue continentur, quorum unum preces laudesque divinas festis profestisque diebus persolvendas complectitur, alterum pertinet ad annuos Paschae festorumque ex eo pendentium recursus, solis et lunae motu metiendos.

3. Atque illud quidem felicis recordationis Pius V, praedecessor noster, absolvendum curavit atque edidit.

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VATICAN CITY (Associated Press) – The spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians has prayed with Pope Benedict XVI in the Sistine Chapel in an historic first and urged Catholics and Orthodox to work together to combat fundamentalism and to promote religious tolerance.

Benedict praised his guest, Patriarch Bartholomew I, on the occasion of an Orthodox leader’s first time at a service in the chapel, frescoed by Michelangelo. Bartholomew’s participation in the Vespers service and speech, in the chapel where pope are elected, is a “joyous experience of unity, perhaps not perfect, but true and deep,” Benedict said.

The two men are keen on bridging a nearly millennium-long schism between the two churches.

Irenaios. L-am intilnit in Ierusalim, numai prin voia Domnului, anul trecut. Era inca in birourile sale, cu citiva monahi care ii ramasesera fideli. Trei, poate patru. Unul dintre ei, parintele Hrysanthos, avea intotdeauna la el o icoana a Maicii Domnului si cind era salutat de un cunoscut, raspundea cu un glas ferm: “Irenaios!“. Rareori primea raspunsul asteptat, “Axios!“, dar asta nu-l dezamagise pina atunci.

Vizitele la Patriarhul Irineu al Ierusalimului erau cu neputinta de planificat, chiar “excluse“, imi zicea un monah din cetate. Insa Dumnezeu a rinduit sa ma pot vedea pe indelete cu acest ierarh condamnat la singuratate.

Inlaturat in urma cu mai bine de trei ani din Patriarhie pentru un scandal imobiliar cu care, s-a dovedit apoi, nu avea nici o legatura, Irenaios este astazi o amintire suparatoare pentru multi dintre cei cu care am vorbit despre el. “NU mai e patriarh“, am fost asigurat de citeva fete bisericesti din Tara Sfanta, “si ar face bine sa accepte asta mai repede, indiferent de motivul pentru care a fost judecat. Acum e un simplu monah.”

Daca motivul inlaturarii sale e nedrept, cum de au tacut vocile care trebuiau sa-l apere pina acum pe ierarhul Sfantului Mormant?

E o poveste cu destule subtilitati, care nu au loc aici, dar, daca ma ajuta Dumnezu, unele vor fi spuse cindva. Pina atunci, ma marginesc sa il pomenesc aici cu un gind bun pe Irineu, Patriarhul Ierusalimului, fie si numai pentru ca acum citeva zile am aflat ca toti calugarii care erau cu el au fost inlaturati si aproape nimeni nu mai stie precis nimic de soarta inaltului ierarh. Intr-o zi, cind va fi indepartat din Ierusalim cu totul,  multi vor fi ales deja sa nu-si mai aminteasca nimic despre el.

The Church in the Home

The Holy Apostle Paul constantly refers to the “Church which is in the House “of various persons. No apostle, ever held services in a church in his entire life. All services were held in homes, every one of countless thousands. Not one single church ever existed in Apostolic Times.
Well, what did they do on Sundays? We know exactly what they did, word for word and when and how. St. Justin Martyr, a first century Palestinian from Nablus, who was almost certainly the best educated Christian in his time, wrote two letters to two Emperors, explaining exactly what Christians believed and what they did, and when, and why (they were accused of Cannibalism). Everyone should have a copy of the History of the Church by Eusebius (Written in 325 when he was in his late 80’s and was Bishop of the Capital of Palestine) and read these and other early Christian Documents, such as the Martyrdom of Polycarp.
Christians never went to church on Sundays then, and at this time, Christians are distant from an Orthodox Church, especially a really Orthodox Christian Church (since most have mixed heresy with truth, belief with unbelief, that the Apostle Paul himself tells us have nothing to do with heretics.
For a really Orthodox Christian, this is not important. No one is ever saved by going to Church on Sunday, and better never to go than to go to a heretical anti-church.

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Anatemele impotriva comunismului la care se refera Sf. Filaret (a Patriarhului Tihon si a catacombnicilor) sunt citate de Vladimir Moss:

… On January 19, 1918 Patriarch Tikhon anathematised the Bolsheviks in the following words:

“By the power given to Us by God, we forbid you to approach the Mysteries of Christ, we anathematise you, if only you bear Christian names and although by birth you belong to the Orthodox Church. We also adjure all of you, faithful children of the Orthodox Church of Christ, not to enter into any communion with such outcasts of the human race: ‘Remove the evil one from among you’ (I Corinthians 5.13).”

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