The Repose of St. John the Theologian according to the testimony of St. Prochorus, his disciple and one of the original seven deacons of the Church

In our first visit to Ephesus, we were there for nine years, and then spent fifteen years of exile in Patmos. After twenty-six years had passed from the time we came from Patmos to Ephesus again, John came out of the house of Domnus and assembled seven of his disciples – myself and six others – and said to us: “Take spades in your hands and follow me.”

So we did as we were instructed and followed him outside the city to a certain place, where he said: “Sit down.” He then went a little apart from us to where it was quiet and began to pray. It was very early in the morning; the sun had not quite risen. After his prayer he said to us: “Dig with your spade a cross-shaped trench as long as I am tall.” So we did it while he prayed. After he had finished his prayer, he laid himself in the trench we had dug, and then said to me: “Prochorus my son, you will go to Jerusalem. That is where you must end your life.” He then gave us instructions and embraced us, saying: “Take some earth, my mother earth, and cover me.” So we embraced again, and taking some earth, covered him only up to his knees. Once more, he embraced us, saying: “Take some more earth and cover me to the neck.” So we embraced him again and took some more earth and covered him up to the neck. Then he said to us: “Bring a thin veil and place it on my face, and embrace me again for the last time, for you shall not see me anymore in this life.” So we embraced the apostle again, grief-stricken.

We then returned to the city and were asked: “Where is our teacher?” So we explained what had just occurred in great detail. They begged us that we show them the site. Therefore, we went back to the grave with the brethren, but John was not there. Only his shoes were left behind. Then we remembered the words of the Lord to the Apostle Peter: “If I will that he tarry until I come, what is that to you?” And we all glorified God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, to Whom is due glory, honor, and worship, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

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HOW TO: How One Should Pray in Church

The below is from the ROCOR Jordanville Prayer Book and may vary slightly from your local practice.

Orthodox Christians have received from the Holy Fathers and observe the following practice throughout the world:

1. Entering the holy temple and making the sign of the Cross upon oneself thrice, one makes a bow with each, saying:

• "Thou hast created me, O Lord, have mercy."

• "God be merciful to me a sinner."

• "Countless times have I sinned, O Lord, forgive me."

2. Then, having bowed to the right and the left, one stands in one's place and listens to the psalms and prayers read in church, but one does not say to oneself other prayers of one's own choosing nor read them according to books different from the church chanting, for such things the holy Apostle Paul condemns as having forsaken the assembly of the Church (Hebrews 10:25).

3. Prostrations and bows should not be made according to one's inclination, but according to the regulations of the holy apostles and holy fathers, namely: at the reading of the Trisagion ("Holy God,"), "O come let us worship," and the threefold "Alleluia," one makes upon himself the sign of the Cross thrice, concluding with bows; likewise also at the reading: "Vouchsafe, O Lord," as well as at the beginning of the Great Doxology ("Glory to God in the highest,"), and after the words of the priest: "Glory to Thee, O Christ God, our hope." After each exclamation of the priest, and also at the reading by the reader of. "More honourable than the Cherubim," one makes the sign of the Cross and a bow. On weekdays prostrations are made at the Liturgy:

• at the beginning of the chanting of "it is meet and right";
• when the prayer "We praise Thee" is finished;
• at the end of the prayer: "It is truly meet," or its substitute megalynarion;
• at the beginning of the prayer "Our Father";
• at the bringing forth of the Holy Gifts for Communion;
• and at the words "Always, now and ever."
• At Matins or Vigil, when "The Theotokos and Mother of the Light let us magnify in song" is exclaimed, we make a prostration.

4. On Sundays, and likewise from the day of Holy Pascha until Vespers on the day of Pentecost (i.e., the "Kneeling Service"), and also from the day of the Nativity of Christ until Theophany, and likewise on the day of Transfiguration and on the Exaltation (except before the Cross), the Holy Apostles utterly forbid kneeling and prostrations, concerning which St. Basil the Great testified in a letter to the Blessed Amphilochius. Thus also the First and Sixth Ecumenical Councils established; for Sundays and other feasts of the Lord serve as reminders of our adoption by God, according to the word of the Apostle: "Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son" (Galatians 4:7); for it is not proper for sons to make servile adoration.

5. Customarily, Orthodox Christians do not kneel, heads upright, but at the words of the priest (or deacon,: "Again and again, on bended knee," and the rest, they bow the face to the ground; the custom of kneeling at will, folding the arms, and beating oneself on the breast comes from the Western heretics, and in the Orthodox Church it is not allowed. Orthodox Christians, in accordance with the Church rule, make prostrations at the appointed times, bowing prone upon the ground and again standing on the feet.

6. In church, whenever the people are blessed with the Cross or the Gospel, with an icon or the chalice, they all make the sign of the Cross, bowing the head; but when blessed with candles, or the hand(s), or censed, Orthodox Christians ought not to make the sign of the Cross, but only bow the head. However, during the week of Holy Pascha when the priest censes with the Cross in his hand, then all make the sign of the Cross and answer: "Truly He is risen!" In this way ought we to distinguish between reverence toward holy things and toward persons, although they be of priestly rank.

7. When receiving a blessing from either a priest or a bishop, a Christian kisses the right hand of him who bestows the blessing, but does not make the sign of the Cross before doing so. It is not proper to kiss the left hand of clergy, for this is a Jewish usage, but the right hand with which the blessing is given. (One should bow down, touching the ground before receiving a blessing from a bishop or monastic priest, but not for married clergy)

8. According to the teaching of the Holy Fathers, the sign of the Cross should be made in the following manner: the thumb and first two fingers of the right hand are joined at their tips and the other fingers folded across the palm. We then touch the brow, the belly, and the right and left shoulders, and make a slight bow. Of those who sign themselves with all five fingers, or who bow before finishing the Cross, or simply wave their hand in the air or before their breast, Chrysostom says: "The demons rejoice at these mad gestures." On the other hand, the sign of the Cross, properly made with faith and reverence, terrifies the demons, calms sinful passions, and calls down divine grace.

RULES FOR BOWS AND THE SIGN OF THE CROSS

The Sign of the Cross without Bows:

1. At the middle of the Six Psalms, at Alleluia, thrice.
2. At the beginning of the Creed.
3. At the dismissal: "May Christ our true God."
4. At the beginning of a reading from Holy Scripture: Gospel, Epistle, Parable (at Vespers, Royal Hours).

The Sign of the Cross with Bows from the Waist:

1. When entering or leaving a church (thrice).
2. At each petition of the ecteniae.
3. At each exclamation of the priest offering up glory to the Holy Trinity.
4. At the exclamations: "Take, eat"; "Drink of it, all of you"; "Thine Own of Thine Own"; and "Holy Things are for the holy."
5. At the words: "More honourable."
6. At each of the words: "Let us worship," "Worship," "We fall down."
7. During the words: "Alleluia," "Holy God," "O come let us worship," and after the exclamation "Glory to Thee, O Christ God," before the dismissal - thrice.
8. At the canon, at the first and ninth odes, at the first refrain to the Lord, the Mother of God, or the saint.
9. After each sticheron (at which time the choir that has finished chanting makes the sign of the Cross).
10. At the Litia, after each of the first three petitions we sign ourselves and bow three times; after the remaining two petitions we sign ourselves and bow once.

The Sign of the Cross with Prostrations:

1. During fasts, on entering and leaving the church, thrice.
2. During fasts, after each refrain to the Song of the Theotokos, "Thee do we magnify."
3. At the beginning of the hymn: "It is meet and right to worship the Father."
4. After "We praise Thee."
5. After "It is truly meet," or its substitute megalynarion.
6. At the exclamation: "And vouchsafe us, O Master."
7. At the bringing forth of the Holy Gifts, at the words: "With fear of God," and the second time, at the words: "Always, now and ever."
8. During the Great Fast, at Great Compline, at the chanting of "O most holy Lady," at each verse; at the chanting of "O Theotokos and Virgin, rejoice," and the rest, at Great Lenten Vespers, three prostrations.
9. During fasts, at the prayer, "O Lord and Master of my life."
10 During fasts, at the concluding chanting: "Remember us, O Lord, when Thou comest in Thy kingdom," - always three prostrations.

Bows from the Waist without the Sign of the Cross:

1. At the words: "Peace be unto all."
2. "The blessing of the Lord be upon you."
3. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ."
4. "And may the mercies of our great God."
5. At the words of the deacon: "And unto the ages of ages" (after "For holy art Thou, O our God").

The Sign of the Cross is not to be made:

1. During psalms.
2. Generally while chanting.
3. During Ecteniae by the choir that chants the responses.

Additionally:
The making of the sign of the Cross and bows should be done after the chanting is finished, and not during the closing words.

Prostrations are not allowed:
On Sundays; from the Nativity of Christ through Theophany; from Pascha until Pentecost Sunday; on the day of Transfiguration; and on the Exaltation of the Cross (except three prostrations before the Cross).

Prostrations cease from the Entry at the Vespers of a feast, until "Vouchsafe, O Lord," at Vespers on the day of the feast itself.

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Personal Update

Just a quick personal update which will explain why I have been unable to blog much recently. On March 27th, my 3rd child, Cyril EngJun was born. I am on 12 weeks of paternity leave, but taking care of my wife, YanFei, my son Daniel, and my newest son, Cyril is taking up pretty much all of my time. Chinese tradition is that the mom does nothing but feed the newborn, so I get to change the diapers, burp the baby, cook the food, clean the house, do dishes, laundry, go grocery shopping etc. Here are a few pictures of Daniel and Cyril together.

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HOW TO: What to do if you are having a baby!

Contact the priest as soon as possible. There are special prayers that the priest reads on the day of the birth, and thus he will come visit the new mother and child in the hospital. If the child is not healthy the priest should be informed about this as well. If the prognosis is poor the child may be baptized in the hospital. In an extreme emergency the child may be baptized by one of his parents. The priest should be consulted in such a situation if at all possible. Prenatal care is key here. If it is known that the child will be born in poor health these sorts of things (baptism in the hospital, etc.) can be planned for.

The priest should again be invited to the home on the 8th day (remember, when counting days since birth, the day OF THE BIRTH is 1, the day after the birth is 2, etc.). On this day the child is given its Christian name. Yes, it is true, you had to put a name on the birth certificate, but the child doesn't “really” receive its name until these prayers are read. The prayers are short. The priest doesn't expect a clean house or a meal, but it is very important that these prayers be read. In Russia before the Revolution the priest often chose the name of the child rather than the parents. The child needs to have a name on the 8th day. If you haven’t chosen a name by that time (this is unusual, but not unheard of) the priest will help you (or will name the child himself).

When should the child be baptized? Certainly not later than about the 40th day after birth. The mother comes to the Church for the first time after the birth on the 40th day and prayers are read especially for her on this day. If possible, assuming good health of the baby, the baptism would ideally be done at this time.

The choosing of Godparents if very important. The Godparents should be chosen with this in mind: that at the untimely death of the parents one of the Godparents would raise the child. Also, Godparents should participate in the spiritual upbringing of the child by making sure that the parents bring the child to Church regularly. Someone may be your good friend, but at the same time not make a good Godparent. The Godparents should be of an upstanding moral character, regular churchgoers, and not living in violation of the Church’s canons. The Godparent must be an Orthodox Christian. One Godparent of the same gender as the child is mandatory, a second (of the opposite gender) is optional.

Orthodox Christianity Must Be Experienced and Lived!

Tonight my wife chose to attend Forgiveness Vespers for the first time ever. She was not going to go up and ask forgiveness of Father Vasile, but then she saw how everyone was so happy to ask forgiveness of Father Vasile and everyone else, that it touched her heart and she went up. She said, seeing this service, she realized now why in the evening prayers in most Orthodox Christian prayer books, one asks forgiveness of any offenses to their Guardian Angel. It was experiencing this service that helped her understand it, no any reasoning by men.

O Holy Angel, attendant of my wretched soul and of mine afflicted life, forsake me not, a sinner, neither depart from me for mine incontinency. Give no place to the evil demon to subdue me with the oppression of this mortal body; but take me by my wretched and outstretched hand, and lead me in the way of salvation. Yea, O holy Angel of God, the guardian and protector of my hapless soul and body, forgive me all things whatsoever wherewith I have troubled thee, all the days of my life, and if I have sinned in anything this day. Shelter me in this present night, and keep me from every affront of the enemy, lest I anger God by any sin; and intercede with the Lord in my behalf, that He might strengthen me in the fear of Him, and make me a worthy servant of His goodness. Amen.

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America explains Forgiveness/Cheesefare Sunday like this:

The Sunday of Forgiveness, the last of the preparatory Sundays before Great Lent, has two themes: it commemorates Adam’s expulsion from Paradise, and it accentuates our need for forgiveness. There are obvious reasons why these two things should be brought to our attention as we stand on the threshold of Great Lent. One of the primary images in the Triodion is that of the return to Paradise. Lent is a time when we weep with Adam and Eve before the closed gate of Eden, repenting with them for the sins that have deprived us of our free communion with God. But Lent is also a time when we are preparing to celebrate the saving event of Christ’s death and rising, which has reopened Paradise to us once more (Luke 23:43). So sorrow for our exile in sin is tempered by hope of our re-entry into Paradise.

The second theme, that of forgiveness, is emphasized in the Gospel reading for this Sunday (Matthew 6:14-21) and in the special ceremony of mutual forgiveness at the end of the Vespers on Sunday evening. Before we enter the Lenten fast, we are reminded that there can be no true fast, no genuine repentance, no reconciliation with God, unless we are at the same time reconciled with one another. A fast without mutual love is the fast of demons. We do not travel the road of Lent as isolated individuals but as members of a family. Our asceticism and fasting should not separate us from others, but should link us to them with ever-stronger bonds.

The Sunday of Forgiveness also directs us to see that Great Lent is a journey of liberation from our enslavement to sin. The Gospel lesson sets the conditions for this liberation. The first one is fasting—the refusal to accept the desires and urges of our fallen nature as normal, the effort to free ourselves from the dictatorship of the flesh and matter over the spirit. To be effective, however, our fast must not be hypocritical, a “showing off.” We must “appear not unto men to fast but to our Father who is in secret” (vv. 16-18).

The second condition is forgiveness—“If you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you” (vv. 14-15). The triumph of sin, the main sign of its rule over the world, is division, opposition, separation, hatred. Therefore, the first break through this fortress of sin is forgiveness—the return to unity, solidarity, love. To forgive is to put between me and my “enemy” the radiant forgiveness of God Himself. To forgive is to reject the hopeless “dead-ends” of human relations and to refer them to Christ. Forgiveness is truly a “breakthrough” of the Kingdom into this sinful and fallen world.

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Types and Anti-types in the Holy Bible

There are a lot of types and antitypes in the Holy Bible. Two of the most obvious are King David the Prophet and the Temple. However I wanted to explore some of the types revealed by Saint Paul in his writings and related types that can help strengthen our Biblical understanding.

Saint Paul was the first to write concerning the types in the Old Testament in 1st Corinthians 10:1-4 talking of the Red Sea as a type of Baptism and God the Son as the Rock in the Old Testament. The passage of Israel through the Red Sea is a type of Baptism. The water spared Israel and defeated their enemy, while Baptism spares us and defeats the enemy, the Devil.

Now I do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, that all of our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all had themselves baptized to Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink; for they were drinking from a spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was the Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. Now these things become types for us, in order that we not become desirers of bad things, even as they also desired.

King David called the God of Israel his rock and redeemer in the Psalm 18(19):15. He is the rock of stumbling in Isaiah 8:14 and Romans 9:33. In the New Testament, faith in Him is also called the Rock in Matthew 16:18 and He is the cornerstone of the Church in Ephesians 2:19-20. He is the rock or stone that the builders rejected in Psalm 117(118):22, Isaiah 28:16, and 1st Peter 2:4-8.

O Lord, my rock and redeemer! 

So if you trust in Him, He shall be as a sanctuary for you, and you shall not come against Him as a stumbling stone nor as a rock of disaster. 

Even as it hath been written: “Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling stone and rock of offense; and everyone who believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.” 

And I say also to thee that art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against her. 

So then ye are no longer strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens of the saints and of the household of God, who were built up on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the cornerstone, 

The stone which the builders rejected, this became the head of the corner;
Therefore, thus says the Lord: “Behold, I lay for the foundations of Sion a costly stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone for its foundations, and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.” 

To Whom coming, a living Stone--having indeed been rejected by men, but chosen by God--precious, ye also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house,--a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Sion a cornerstone, chosen, precious; and the one who believeth on Him in no wise shall be put to shame.” To you, therefore, who believe, is the honor, but to those who disobey--the “stone which the builders rejected, this became, this became the head of the corner,” and “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”--they stumble at the word, being disobedient, in regard to that which they also were appointed.

We recall too, the discussion between Christ and the Samaritan woman where He referred to Himself as the living water (John 4:10) surely not oblivious of Jeremiah’s description of God as the fountain of living water (Jeremiah 2:13).

Jesus answered her and said to her, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and Who is the One Who saith to thee, ‘Give Me to drink,’ thou wouldest asked Him, and He would have given to thee living water .” 

For My people have committed two evils: They forsook Me, the fountain of living water, and hewed for themselves broken cisterns, unable to hold water.

But what other types are in the Holy Bible that are not spelled out by the New Testament authors?

Another type is found in the meeting of Abram with Melchisedek, King of Salem (Peace), a priest of the Most High who brought out bread and wine to the patriarch. (Genesis 14:18-20) The Christ, as King David the Prophet declares in Psalm 109(110):5, and Saint Paul repeats in Hebrews 5:6 and 7:9-11, will be a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedek.

Now Melchisedek the king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. He blessed Abram and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hands.” Then Abram gave him a tithe of all.

The Lord swore and will not change His mind, “Thou art a priest unto the age, according to the order of Melchisedek.” 

Even as He saith also in another place, “Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedek”; 

And so to speak, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, hath been tithed through Abraham, for he was yet in the loins of his father when Melchisedek met him. If indeed then perfection were through the Levitical priesthood--for the people upon the basis of it had been furnished the law--what need was there for a different kind of priest to arise according to the order of Melchisedek, and not one according to the order of Aaron?

The Hospitality of Abraham, the appearance of the three angels at the Oak of Mamre is a type of that symbolizes the Holy Trinity. (Genesis 18:2-3)

So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood before him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, “O Lord, if I have now found favor in your sight, do not pass by Your servant.”

Abraham’s son Isaac is a type of the Christ a the incident at Moriah where Abraham is commanded by God to offer up his son as a sacrifice to Him. (Genesis 22:9) The sacrifice of of Isaac on the wood was a type of God the Father offering us His Son on the wood of the cross (John 3:16).

They came to the place where God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the firewood in order; and he bound Isaac his son hand and foot and laid him on the altar, upon the firewood. 

For God so loved the world that He gave His Only-begotten Son, that everyone who believeth in Him should not perish, but may have everlasting life.

The Passover, which the Israelites eat on the 6th day (liturgically Friday) is a perfect type of the Lamb of God, Christ, who is sacrificed for us then is consumed, just like Christ says we must truly eat his body and drink His blood or we have no life in us. (John 6:53-56, Matthew 26:26-28). Moreover, as Moses sprinkled hyssop on the Paschal lamb, so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to His mouth (John 19:29). The Gospels also record that, like the lamb of the ancient Passover, not a bone of His body was broken. (Exodus 12:10, 22, 46; Numbers 9:12; John 19:33, 36). The blood of each lamb prevented death. Just like the Paschal lamb, the Early Church insisted that any remaining Eucharistic Communion be consumed by either the Bishop, Presbyter, or Deacon.

Then Jesus said to them, “Verily, verily, I say to you, unless ye should eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, ye are not having life in yourselves. The one who partaketh of My flesh and drinketh My blood hath eternal life; and I will raise him up in the last day. For My flesh is true food and My blood is true drink. The one who eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood abideth in Me, and I in him.” 

And as they ate, Jesus took the bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and was giving it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; for this is My blood, that of the new covenant, which is being poured out for many for remission of sins.” 

A vessel therefore full of vinegar was set; and they filled a sponge with vinegar and put around it hyssop, and brought it to His mouth. 

You shall let none of it remain until morning, nor shall you break a bone of it; and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. 

Then you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood in the basin. But none of you shall go out from the door of his house until morning. 

In one house shall it be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall your break one of its bones. 

The shall leave none of it until morning, nor break one of its bones. According to all the rule of Pascha, they shall keep it. 

But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead. they did not break His legs. 

For these things came to pass, in order that the Scripture should be fulfilled: “Not a bone of Him shall be broken.” and again, another Scripture saith: “They shall look at Him whom they pierced.”

An Exodus type is the battle of Israel with the Amalekites (Exodus 17:9-13). Moses, standing on the hill above the fray with his arms outstretched. Whenever he held them up, Israel prevailed, and when he lowered them, Amalek won. Because he was weary, Aaron and Hur placed stones under his arms while he cheered on Jesus(Joshua), the son of Nun(Nave).

So Moses said to Jesus, “Choose for yourself some mighty men and go out, and set the army in array against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.” So Jesus did as Moses said to him and set the army in array against Amalek. Then, Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And so it was, when Moses held up his hands, that Israel prevailed; but when he let down down his hands, Amalek prevailed. Now Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and one on the other; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. So Jesus defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

Mount Sinai is a type of Mount Tabor of the Transfiguration. The Sinai experience of Elias(Elijah) as well as Moses images the Lord’s Transfiguration on Tabor which is itself a type or image of the radical transformation of the whole universe at Christ’s Second Coming. Moreover, He who spoke to Moses and Elias through symbols of Mount Sinai of old, saying, “I AM WHO AM”, hath manifested Himself on Mount Tabor to His disciples”. (Exodus 34:29, Deuteronomy 18:15, 3 Kingdoms(1 Kings) 19:8-12) (Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36)

Now when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), he did not know the skin of his face was glorified while God talked to him. 

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear, according to all you asked from the Lord your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let us not hear again the voice of the Lord our God, nor let us see this great fire any more lest we die.’” 

So he arose, ate and drank; and he went with the strength of that food forty days and forty nights, as far as Mount Horeb. There he went into a cave and rested. Behold, the Word of the Lord came to him and said, “Elias, what are you doing here?” And Elias said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord Almighty since the children of Israel have forsaken You. They tore down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.” Then He replied, “Go out tomorrow and stand on the mountain before the Lord; and behold, the Lord will pass by, and before the Lord, a great and powerful wind will be rending the mountains and shattering the rocks; but the Lord will not be in the wind. After the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord will not be in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there will be a fire, but the Lord will not be in the fire. After the fire, there will be a sound of a gentle breeze, and he Lord will be there.” 

And after six days Jesus taketh along with Him Peter and Iakovos(James) and John, and bringeth them up alone into a high mountain in private; and He was transfigured before them. And His garments became shining, exceedingly white as snow, such as no fuller on the earth is able to whiten. And Elias appeared to them with Moses; and they were talking together with Jesus. And Peter answering, saith to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.” For he knew not what he should say, for they were greatly afraid. And there came to be a cloud overshadowing them. And a voice came to be out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, the Beloved; be hearing Him.” And suddenly, after they looked round about, they saw no one any more, but Jesus alone with themselves.

The brazen or bronze serpent lifted up on a pole by Moses in the desert (Numbers 21:8-9) is everywhere recognized as a type of the passion of salvation accomplished by means of the Cross. Moses struck the rock in unbelief, and this action would keep him from leading Israel into the land of promise. It is unbelief to disobey the Lord’s direction, for He told Moses to take the rod and speak to the rock. However, he struck the rock twice. So he violated the type. This rock represented the spiritual Rock (1st Corinthians 10:1-4). After His Incarnation, He would be smitten once, not twice, for the sins of the world (Romans 6:9-10). From His life-giving cross would come the waters of life, “springing up into everlasting life”. (John 4:14)

“Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before them, and it will give its waters; thus you shall bring them water out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” So Moses took the rod from before the Lord as the Lord ordered him.

Now I do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, that all of our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all had themselves baptized to Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink; for they were drinking from a spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was the Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. Now these things become types for us, in order that we not become desirers of bad things, even as they also desired. 

Knowing that Christ Who was raised from the dead dieth no more; death no longer hath dominion over Him. For the death which He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life which He liveth, He liveth to God. 

“But whosoever drinketh of the water which I shall give him in no wise shall ever thirst. But the water I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing into eternal life.”

The tabernacle is a type of Mary, the Theotokos, who like the Ark was overshadowed by the cloud of the Holy Spirit. God was present in her too and took his human nature from her. The Mother of God is the living tabernacle of God, which contained the uncontainable.

Jesus of Nun was a type of Jesus the Christ. When he began his government of the people, he began at the Jordan where, Jesus Christ Himself, after His Baptism, started to preach the Gospel. The son of Nun appointed the twelve who divided the inheritance; and Christ sent the Twelve Apostles, the heralds of truth, into the world.

Baptism is the antitype to circumcision. Israel circumcised their children on the 8th day and brought them to the temple on the 40th day along with a sacrifice. The Early Church gave the newly born children their names on the 8th day and Baptized and Chrismated them (Sealed them with the Holy Spirit) on the 40th day when they were presented at the Christian temple and offered a lock of their hair as a sacrifice to God.

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This blog post could not be assembled without the assistance of the following books:

The Teachings of the Holy Orthodox Church Volume 1: God, Creation, Old Israel, Christ
by the Very Reverend Protopresbyter Michael Azkoul

The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today's World
by the Academic Committee of Saint Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology

The Orthodox Psalter: The Psalterion According to the Seventy
by Holy Apostles Convent

The Orthodox New Testament Volume 1: The Holy Gospels (Evangelistarion)
by Holy Apostles Convent

The Orthodox New Testament Volume 2: Acts, Epistles and Revelation (Praxapostolos)
by Holy Apostles Convent

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The First Sunday Of The Triodion Period: Sunday Of The Publican And Pharisee

From http://Lent.GOArch.org

Icon of the Publican and the Pharisee provided by Theologic and used with permission.

Learn About The Sunday Of The Publican And The Pharisee

The Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee is the first Sunday of a three-week period prior to the commencement of Great Lent. It marks the beginning of a time of preparation for the spiritual journey of Lent, a time for Orthodox Christians to draw closer to God through worship, prayer, fasting, and acts of charity. It is also on this day that the Triodion is introduced, a liturgical book that contains the services from this Sunday, the tenth before Pascha (Easter), to Great and Holy Saturday.Learn More »

Listen To The Hymns From The Sunday Of The Publican And The Pharisee

Doxastikon of the Aposticha, Saturday Vespers (Tone Plagal of the First)

Mine eyes are weighed down by my transgressions, and I cannot lift them up and see the height of heaven. But receive me, Savior, in repentance as the Publican and have mercy on me. Listen »

Troparion after "Have Mercy", Matins Service (Tone plagal of the second)

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy loving kindness and according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
As I ponder in my wretchedness the many evil things I have done, I tremble for the fearful day of judgment. But, trusting in Thy merciful compassion, like David do I cry out to Thee: have mercy upon me, O God, in Thy great mercy. Listen »

Doxastikon of the Ainoi, Matins Service (Tone Plagal Fourth)

O Lord, Thou hast condemned the Pharisee who justified himself by boasting of his works, and Thou hast justified the Publican who humbled himself and with cries of sorrow begged for mercy. For Thou dost reject proudminded thoughts, but Thou dost not despise a contrite heart. Therefore in abasement we fall down before Thee who hast suffered for our sake: grant us forgiveness and great mercy.

Kontakion (Tone Four)

Let us flee the proud speaking of the Pharisee and learn the humility of the Publican, and with groaning let us cry unto the Savior: Be merciful to us, for Thou alone art ready to forgive.

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A Conversation about the Toll-Houses in the Bible

From a conversation that happened on OCnet:

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James: The toll-houses don't bother me, the only thing about them that bothers me is the concept that Angels and Demons will be the ones to judge me. The fact that God seems so distant in this concept is frightening to me, and it seems like the concept of Angels/Demons judging me undermines the mercy of God. If demons and angels want to tempt me, take me to all these places and accuse me and all this crap, I don't mind, but is it so much to ask for that God judges me and not them?

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Nicholas: That is the thing, the demons and angels are more like lawyers, not judges.

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Christos: This is a very important point. I find that critics of the toll-house teaching approach this subject with a literalist Protestant fundamentalist mentality which typically doesn't characterize their approach to other subjects within Orthodox theology. For instance, Protestants are so afraid to detract from the glory due to God that they completely ignore, and even protest against, the role that God has given to the saints and angels in the economy of our salvation. Saints and angels are not to be worshiped as God, but God Himself has given them a role to play. Our guardian angel has been given to us by God Himself to help and protect us, and the saints and angels may intercede for us before God. The fact that they have such roles, and the fact that we acknowledge their roles, does not mean that we therefore put all of our hope in the saints and angels and forget about God. It also does not mean that the saints and angels save us rather than God.

Similarly, with regard to the so-called toll-house teaching, the Lord himself speaks of angels carrying the soul away at the time of death. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the Lord says that "So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom (Luke 16:22)." In the story of the rich fool who stored up treasure and then died, the Lord said, "But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided (Luke 12:20)?'" In this text, "required" could also be translated "demanded". The Fathers have pointed out that this "demanded" refers to the fact that while angels carry the souls of those pleasing to God to Paradise, demons carry away the souls of those who are not fit for the kingdom of heaven. This is just to point out that the angels and demons have a role to play in carrying out the particular judgment after the separation of the soul and body. To recognize that they have this role affirms rather than denies the Scriptures, and affirms the way in which God has chosen for our judgment occur rather than denying God's role in judging us. As with much of Orthodox teaching, it is not a matter of "either/or", but "both". The Particular Judgment is not the Final Judgment, neither is God absent from the Particular Judgment just because the angels and demons have a role to play.

It is true that the Scriptures do not spell out with great clarity what the soul encounters after its separation from the body. There is actually a great deal that the Scriptures do not spell out in great detail, but which the Fathers explain more completely later. To expect the Scriptures to spell out everything in great detail is to have a Protestant rather than an Orthodox understanding of the Scriptures, their purpose, their function, and their role in the life of the Church. Any attempt to invalidate Tradition by using one's own view of what the Scriptures say, or to consign to "theolgoumena" a teaching that is found throughout the patristic literature, hagiography, hymnography, etc. just because someone doesn't like it or understand how this teaching relates to Scripture - this approach is not an Orthodox but a Protestant one.

The Scriptures themselves testify that "the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Cor 2:14)." To rightly understand the Scriptures one must first become a dwelling place of the same Spirit that inspired the Scriptures. In other words, the proper interpretation is known only to the deified. It is from the deified saints, not simply by their written words, but from their recorded experiences and from what God revealed to them, that the teaching regarding the toll-houses has come down to us. The Church has used this imagery in its hymnography, and the Church throughout the world has testified to this teaching by singing and chanting this hymnography with one accord.

The problem with this teaching in Orthodoxy in America has mostly to do with certain argumentative people who wanted to start a fight about this at a time when much of the hymnography, hagiography, and patristic writings were not available in English. This was also a time when certain persons in a certain jurisdiction were trying to make a name for themselves, trying to set themselves up as teachers, and trying to lead others into their own factions. They attempted to do so by denouncing this teaching as "gnostic heresy", so as to exalt themselves as "pillars of Orthodoxy".

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Saint Boniface on the Aerial Toll Houses After Death

Saint Boniface, the 8th century Anglo-Saxon Apostle to the Germans, relates in one of his letters the account given to him personally by a monk of the monastery at Wenlock who died and came back to life after some hours.

"Angels of such pure splendor bore him up as he came forth from the body that he could not bear to gaze upon them.... 'They carried me up.' he said, 'high into the air ...' He reported further that in the space of time while he was out of the body, a greater multitude of souls left their bodies and gathered in the place where he was than he had thought to form the whole race of mankind on earth. He said also that there was a crowd of evil spirits and a glorious choir of higher angels. And he said  that the wretched spirits and the holy angels had a violent dispute concerning the souls  that had come forth from their bodies, the demons bringing charges against them and aggravating the burden of their sins, the angels lightening the burden and making excuses for them." 

"He heard all his own sins, which he had committed from his youth on and had failed to confess or had forgotten or had not recognized as sins, crying out against him, each in its own voice, and accusing him grievously.... Everything he had done in all the days of his life and had neglected to confess and many which he had not known to be sinful, all these were now shouted at him in terrifying words. In the same way the evil spirits, chiming in with the vices, accusing and bearing witness, naming the very times and places, brought proofs of his evil deeds.... And so, with his sins all piled up and reckoned out, those ancient enemies declared him guilty and unquestionably subject to their jurisdiction." 

"'On the other hand.' he said, 'the poor little virtues which I had displayed unworthily and imperfectly spoke out in my defense.... And those angelic spirits in their boundless love defended and supported me, while the virtues, greatly magnified as they were, seemed to me far greater and more excellent than could ever have been practiced by my own strength.'"

From The Letters Of Saint Boniface, translated by Ephraim Emerton, Octagon Books (Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux), New York, 1973, pages 25-27.

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State of the Soul After Death According to the Teachings of Saint John Damascene

This article by Hieromonk Dionysios is reprinted from the DIAKONIA journal for Eastern Christian Studies

The Orthodox view of the state of the soul after death is presented in the teachings and writings of Saint John of Damascus. The Orthodox world has debated the state of the soul after death (active versus soul slumber) and the tollhouses (real or imaginary). It is thus my intent to draw mainly from the writings and hymnology of Saint John of Damascus to show what the Orthodox view actually holds and the reality of the toll houses. I will also discuss the resurrection of the dead, a resurrection of soul AND body when the resurrected enter the joy of their Lord or suffer eternal torment.

In the Octoechos attributed to Saint John of Damascus, we find a clear reference to the tollhouses. The eigth canticle from the canon at Matins reads, "O Virgin, in the hour of death rescue me from the hands of the demons, and the judgment, and the accusations, and the frightful testing, and the bitter tollhouses and the fierce prince, and the eternal condemnation, O Theotokos." By this hymn, we see clearly Saint John of Damascus’ belief in a judgment at death. This judgment involves some type of meeting with demonic spirits (rescue from the hands of demons, the fierce prince) and the testing of souls. It is the testing of souls itself, which occurs at the various tollhouses. The tollhouses are the places of judgment of the soul after death. The questions then become: what judgments actually occur, who is the judge, and who does the accusing.

In another hymn attributed to Saint John of Damascus we read, "When my soul shall be released from the bond with the flesh, intercede for me, O Sovereign Lady.. that I may pass unhindered through the princes of darkness in the air." Last among these canticles of Damascene is "Grant me to pass through the noetic satraps and the tormenting aerial legions without sorrow at the time of my departure, that I may cry joyfully to Thee, O Theotokos, who heard the cry, ‘Hail’:Rejoice, O unshamed hope of all."

Bishop Ignatios Brianchaninov states that the teaching of the tollhouses is an accepted teaching throughout the Divine Services of the Orthodox Church. It certainly is made clear in numerous hymns attributed to Damascus. Father Seraphim Rose states the teaching of the tollhouses is given to us that we might learn to struggle against the demons of the air in this life and in our meeting with them at death obtain victory. The Orthodox teaching taught and held by Saint John of Damascus according to Father Seraphim is that the tollhouses are indeed real, not imaginairy places. These tollhouses are a series of judgments and the angels are the judges. They also stand to defend the soul against the false accusations of the demonic spirits. In reality, however, it is the persons themselves who determine their own fate, for the soul will cling to that which fits it nature, be it the nature of the demons or the heavenly nature of the angels. The accusers are the demons who stop us at various tollhouses and continue to tempt us and show forth how by our actions we lived as one of them and not as a true servant of God. The first two days after death, the soul spends on earth, visiting places with which it was familiar. At the third day, it begins its ascent through these aerial tollhouses, being tested by the various legions of demonic spirits. This is what Saint John of Damascus refers to when he speaks of the ‘princes of the air’ and the ‘frightful testing’. Until the ninth day, the soul is given a glimpse of the beauty of Paradise prepared for those who loved and served the Lord. At the ninth day, the Orthodox Church holds a special commemoration for the soul, as it is from this time forth until the fortieth day that the soul sees the torments of Hell, this is the ‘eternal condemnation’ to which Saint John of Damascus refers. At the fortieth day, the judgment is complete, the soul has either a foretaste of Heaven (its fulfilment in the Second Coming of Christ) or a foretaste of Hell. Saint John goes further in his explanation of the mystery of death:

Truly most frightening is the mystery of death, how the soul is violently separated from the body, and by divine decree, the most natural bond of their cohesion is severed. Wherefore, we implore Thee, O Giver of Life who loves mankind, to grant rest to the soul to the newly departed one in the dwelling of the righteous.

Vespers of Friday of the Plagal Tone (Tone 1), not written by Saint John of Damascus but closely related to the theme of his hymnology, states, "O Christ, spare me, thy servant, when my soul is separated from the body at the command given by Thee, Who didst unite dust and spirit by divine beckoning, spare me from the assault and ill treatment of invisible enemies that lie in wait to wrench me away mercilesly." From this, the time of our death rests in the will of God. At the separation of the soul from the body, we see the demonic spirits mentioned again, the invisible enemies who wait to take our souls to their abode.

Can the soul after leaving earth and passing through the judgment experience any change in its state? Indeed, according to Saint John of Damscus, until the time of the Second Coming and the general judgment of Christ the state of the soul can be changed for the better. He states:

Do not reject bringing oil for the sacred lamp at the tomb and lighting candles there when entreating Christ God, for these are acceptable to God and bring great return. For the oil and wax are sacrifices of a burnt offering, the bloodless sacrifice (Eucharist) is an expiation, and benevolence extended to the poor are an addition to every good return.

2 Maccabees 12:44 attests to the offering of prayer for the sake of souls, for its benefit even after death. "For if he had hoped that they who were slain should have risen again, it had been superfluous and vain to pray for the dead" The Gospel of Matthew also attests to this: "Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the Scripture, nor the power of God…God is not the God of the dead, but the living." The implication here is that the dead are truly alive. I will deal with this further in my discussion of ‘soul slumber.’

The soul thus can change its state as it awaits the General Judgment. At the General Judgment all things are final, all things are sealed, and the state of the soul at this time determines the state of the resurrected person for eternity. The resurrection, the uniting of the soul and body once again, occurs at the Second Coming of Christ and the General Judgment as Damascus states:

We also believe in the resurrection of the dead. For in truth it will happen, there will be a resurrection of the dead. But when we say resurrection, we mean a resurrection of bodies. For resurrection is a second standing of that which has fallen. And souls are immortal, hence, how can they rise again? For if death is defined as a separation of soul from body, resurrection is surely the rejoining of soul and body and the second standing of the dissolved and fallen creature. It is, then, the very body that is corrupted and dissolved that will resurrect incorruptible. For He who formed it in the beginning from the dust of the earth is not incapable of raising it up again after it has again been dissolved and returned to the earth from which, by decision of the Creator it was taken. Therefore, there will be, indeed, there will be a resurrection. For God is just, and He is the rewarder of those who await Him patiently. Now, if the soul had engaged in the contests for virtue itself, then it would be crowned alone. And if it indulged in the pleasures, then it alone would be justly punished. But since the soul pursued neither vice nor virtue without the body, it will be just for them both together to receive that which is their due. Moreover, the divine Scriptures also witness that there will be a resurrection of bodies. Therefore we shall rise again, with our souls once more united to our bodies, which will have become incorrupt and put off corruption. And we shall stand before the fearful judgment seat of Christ.

It is necessary now having examined what occurs to the soul to define the nature of the soul according to Saint John of Damascus. The soul is not contained; it is immaterial yet intimately connected to the body.

Every man is a combination of soul and body…The soul is a living substance, simple and without body, invisible to the bodily eyes by vir of its peculiar nature, immortal, rational, spiritual, without form, using the bodily organ, in which it occassions for growth, sensibility, and productiveness. The mind is not something apart from the soul, but its purest part, since what the eyes are to the body, such is the mind to the soul. The soul is independent, with a will and energy of its own, and changeable, capable of altering itself, since it is a created thing.

Thus, the soul is connected to the mind.

Within the body, and as Damascus states, the soul changes form, as a result of its being a created thing, and having free will. The soul is a reflection of the nature of God, and while immortal, is still a created thing, subject to change, and connected intimately with the body.

Bodily place is the limit of that which contains, by which that which is contained is contained: for example, the air contains but the body is contained. But it is not the whole of the containing air which is the place of the contained body, but the limit of the containing air, where it comes into contact with the contained body…But there is also mental place where mind is active, and mental and incorporeal nature exists; where mind dwells and energizes and is contained not in a bodily but in a mental fashion…But the (soul) is circumscribed alike in time and in place and in apprehension.

There are some Orthodox who have argued that the soul does not pass through the tollhouses, but rather is in a state of slumber. This term ‘slumber’ means that the soul is inactive, and as Father Michael Azkoul, one of the proponents of the soul slumber theory states, "(the soul) is in a condition of inactivity, a sort of inactivity in which it does not function, hear, or see." Father Seraphim argues against this notion, comparing it to the common misconceptions of the Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses. He states rather that the souk is quite alive and aware. To give evidence to this argument he qoutes from Saint Dorotheos, "(the soul) remembers everything at its exit from this body and more clearly and distinctly once freed from the earthliness of the body." He cites Saint John Cassian, "(the soul) becomes yet more alive (after death)." We must ask if the idea of soul slumber is true, then what is the purpose of prayer for the dead if they are in a state in which their souls are inactive and cannot change state. The reasoning of Father Michael Azkoul and those ahderents to his position has no solid patristic basis nor is it sensible in light of the Church’s prayer for the dead. Also we must realize that even Christ Himself descended to Hades, and that his soul was certainly not inactive after his death that was life-restoring. In the Divine Liturgy, the priest prays, "In the tomb with the body, in Hades with the soul, on the throne with the Father and the Spirit, was thou, O Christ infinitely filling everything." This prayer in itself disproves any notion of soul slumber. Lastly as recorded in Saint Archbishop John Maximovitch’s writing on the Life After Death, he argues as well that the soul does remain conscious. He also quotes from Saint John Cassian who sets forth clearly the active state of the soul: "Souls after the separation from this body are not idle, do not remain without consciousness; this is proved by the Gospel of the rich man and Lazarus…The souls of the dead not only do not lose their consciousness, they do not even lose their dispositions."

A final argument among the Orthodox is whether or not the tollhouses are real or imaginary Father Azkoul rejected the notion of the reality of the toll houses, stating not only that they are not present in the Church;s tradition (this has been addressed in the above arguments) but stating as wel that such an idea must be rejected because it makes the demons as the determiners of one’s salvation, and through ‘excess merits’ of saints, the ‘toll’ is paid. He thus rejects the tollhouses believing it to parallel the Latin idea of Purgatory.

Father Seraphim Rose refuted this idea of comparing the tollhouse to purgatory as farfetched in that the toll houses are part of the Orthodox ascetic teaching and have to do solely with the testing of man for his sins committed by him. There is no idea whatsoever he states of there being a satisifaction to God, ‘excess merits’, and the purpose is certainly not ‘torture’ as Father Michael Azkoul suggested. Within the Church’s tradition in regards to the reality of the toll houses exist not only the previous mentioned hymnology and quotations from the Fathers, but also detailed descriptions of the dying experiences and the passages through the tollhouses by such holy ones as Saint Theodora. Saint Theodora gives a detailed account of the reality of the toll houses and her passage through them before her soul returned to her body. Saint Makarios of Egypt gives a clear expression of the reality of these tollhouses:

When the soul of a man departs out of the body, a great mystery is there accomplished. If it is under the guilt of sins there come bands of devils, and angels of the left hand, and powers of darkness that overtake the soul, and hold it fast on their side. No one ought to be surprised at this. If, while alive in this world, the man was subject and compliant to them, and made himself their bondsman, how much more, when he departs out of this world, is he kept down and held fast by them."

He continues in Homily 43: "Like tax collectors sitting in the narrow ways, and laying hold upon the paserby, and extorting from them, so do the devils spy upon souls, and lay hold of them: and when they pass out of the body, if they are not perfectly cleansed, they do not suffer them to mount up to the mansions of Heaven and to meet their Lord, and they are driven down by the devils of the air. 

We can find numerous references to the reality of the tollhouses within the writings of the Philokalia. One example is from Saint Hesychios in which he states:

If the soul has Christ with it, it will not be disgraced by its enemies even at death, when it rises to heaven’s entrance; but then, as now, it will boldly confront them…the hour of death will come, and we will not escape it. May the prince of the world and of the air find our misdeeds few and petty when he comes, so he will not have good grounds for convicting us.

This quotation from the Philokalia this shows what occurs at death, and that there is indeed a confrontation (the toll houses) with demonic spirits. Saint John of Karpathos states:

When the soul leaves the body, the enemy advances to attack it, fiercely reviling it and accusing it of its sins in a harsh and terrifying manner. But if a soul enjoys the love of God and has faith in Him, evne though in the past it has often been wounded by sin, it is not frightened by the enemy’s attacks and threats. Strengthened by the Lord, winged by joy, filled with courage by holy angels that guide it, encircled and protected by the light of faith, it answers the malicious devil with great boldness. When the soul says all this fearlessly, the devil turns his back…"

The tollhouses and the judgment of the soul is and was nothing imaginary to the Fathers such as Saint Hesychios and John of Karpathos who described these things, but rather as a true spiritual reality.

In conclusion, the toll houses are indeed real and a part of the entire teaching of the Orthodox Church in regards to the state of the soul after death. Saint John of Damascus as well as other Church Fathers and the hymnology of the Church all attest to the judgment after death, the frightful testing, and our warring with the spirits in the air. The toll houses are not imaginary, and the soul is not in a state of slumber but active, hence the reason for the Church’s prayers for the dead, as the state of the soul can continually be effected upon until the final judgment.

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