Orthodox and church holidays and fasts
Today is an Orthodox church holiday: * Great Martyr Euphemia the All-Praised (memory of the miracle by which Orthodoxy was established, 451). * Equal to the Apostles Grand Duchess Olga of Russia, in holy baptism Helena (969) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... Tomorrow:
* Martyrs Proclus and Hilary (c. 98-117).
* St. Michael Malein (962) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... Holidays are expected: 07/26/2021
- * Cathedral of the Archangel Gabriel.
* St. Stephen Savvait (794) and other saints whose names we remember on this day... 07.27.2021
- * Apostle Aquila of the 70 (I) and other saints whose names we remember on this day...
07.28.2021
- * Martyrs of Kirik and Julitta, his mother (c. 305). *** Equal to the Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, in holy baptism Vasily, Baptist of Rus' (1015) and other saints whose names we remember on this day...
All Orthodox and church holidays and fasts...
Orthodox Saints of God
The holy saints of God show special love and mercy to those who honor their holy memory.
It seems to many that the saints are far from us. But they are far from those who have withdrawn themselves, and very close to those who keep the commandments of Christ and have the grace of the Holy Spirit.
The holy saints in their earthly life turned to God for help in healing their ailments, sorrows and deliverance from temptations, asking God that even after death He would honor them with the gift of helping people in various cases of life.
The saints have reached the Heavenly Kingdom and there they see the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ; but by the Holy Spirit they also see the suffering of people on earth. Many holy saints of God received special grace from God, and He deigned them to be intercessors before Him for deliverance from our sorrows and bodily ailments, in which they themselves were tempted.
The saints rejoice at our repentance and mourn when people leave God and become like foolish cattle. They feel sorry that people live on earth, not knowing that if they loved each other, then there would be freedom from sin on earth: and where there is no sin, there is joy and gladness from the Holy Spirit, so that, wherever you look, everything sweet, and the soul wonders why it feels so good, and praises God. The saints hear our prayers and have the power from God to help us. The entire Christian race knows about this. We must remember: in order for a prayer to be heard, one should pray to the holy saints of God with faith in the power of their intercession before God, in words coming from the heart.
In our prayers we turn to the Lord God, to His Most Pure Mother - our Intercessor and Helper, to the holy Angels and holy people - the saints of God, because for their sake the Lord God is more likely to hear us sinners, our prayers. The Saints have different names: prophets, apostles, martyrs, saints, saints, unmercenaries, blessed, righteous, confessors. more>>
The Lord says: “When you light a candle, you do not put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it gives light to everyone in the house. So let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:15-16). Saints are bright stars that show us the way to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Let us treasure the closeness of the holy saints of God to God and turn to them for help, remembering that they love us and care about our salvation. It is good to pray to the holy saints of God on those days when the Church celebrates their memory.
«Holy Saints of God, pray to God for us!»
Saints: life, memory, suffering...
Authorship of the Book of Jonah
Of course, the author of the book could not be the prophet Jonah himself, whose historical prototype lived (if he lived at all) half a millennium before the writing of this work. Most likely, it was composed by a Jew who lived in an area with strong pagan influence, such as a port city. This explains the moral universalism of this work. It is not possible to establish more precisely the identity of the author.
Orthodox prayers and icons of the Mother of God and saints
The word “icon” comes from the Greek language and means “image”, “image”. The image of the icon is consecrated with holy water and special prayers, through this consecration the grace of the Holy Spirit is imparted to the icon, and the icon is already revered by us as holy. According to the Orthodox dogma of icon veneration, approved by the VII Ecumenical Council, “the honor given to an icon relates to its prototype, and the one who worships the icon worships the hypostasis of the person depicted on it.” The Council especially emphasizes that we give veneration to icons, and not the worship that is due to God alone. “The icon mysteriously contains within itself the presence of the one whom it depicts, and this presence is the closer, more grace-filled and stronger, the more the icon corresponds to the church canon.”
All Icons of the Mother of God and Saints
Historicity of the Book of Jonah
It is highly doubtful that the events described in this work took place. The fabulous components that permeate the entire narrative outline reveal the fact of literary influence of non-Jewish origin. Sea voyages, rescue by fish, etc. are all common motifs in ancient fairy tales. Even the name Jonah itself is not Hebrew, but most likely Aegean. Nineveh, at the supposed time, was not at all what it is presented in the book - a Great City with a population of one hundred and twenty thousand people (taking into account that this number, according to the customs of the time, did not include women and children, the number of inhabitants for the city of this era turns out to be simply fantastic). Most likely, the plot of the book was compiled from various fairy tales and folk fables for pedagogical purposes.
Prayer in the Christian life. What is prayer? About prayer
Prayer is the most important part of the spiritual life of every believer. Through prayer, a person turns to God, asks him and asks for forgiveness from him. In other words, prayer is nothing more than a person’s way of talking with God. About prayer...
The basis of the life of an Orthodox Christian is fasting and prayer. Prayer, said Saint Philaret of Moscow, “is a conversation between the soul and God.” And just as in a conversation it is impossible to listen to one side all the time, so in prayer it is useful to sometimes stop and listen to the Lord’s answer to our prayer.
Prayer does not require a specific time, place, circumstance or form. It can be verbose - long, and laconic - short. The prayer can be said at any time of the day or night, and anywhere. A person can pray under all circumstances of his life: when he is sick or healthy, when he is happy or sad, when he succeeds or fails, when he is in the company of his enemies or in the circle of his friends, when he is abandoned by everyone, or when he in the midst of your beloved family. But God’s temple serves as a special place of prayer. On Sundays, as well as on weekdays, if time permits, we should go to church to pray, where our brothers and sisters in Christ - Christians - gather to pray together, all together. This kind of prayer is called church prayer.
Every Orthodox Christian must pray daily, morning and evening, before and after eating food, before starting and at the end of any task (for example: before teaching and after teaching, etc.).
In the morning we pray to thank God for preserving us last night, to ask for His Fatherly blessing and help for the day that has begun.
In the evening, before going to bed, we also thank the Lord for a successful day and ask him to keep us during the night.
Before and after meals we pray to thank God for His gifts and ask Him to bless and sanctify the food.
In order for the work to be done successfully and safely, we must also, first of all, ask God for blessings and help for the upcoming work, and upon completion, thank God.
Unfortunately, many people forget about the necessity and importance of prayer, and resort to it only in cases of feeling hopeless. However, even in these cases, as practice shows, God does not forget about the person and gives him his love and support. But not a single prayer will bring anything good to a person if he simply reads it without thinking about what is said. Therefore, it is extremely important, when turning to the Creator in prayer, to truly feel every word.
God is the best of interlocutors; he will always hear a person and help him. You should not be embarrassed to talk to God even about the most secret things that are in your soul. The main thing is to do it with true faith in God.
“True prayer does not consist in words and saying them, but true prayer consists “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). When we pray to God, we must stand before Him not only in body, but also in spirit; and say prayer not only with your lips, but also with your mind and heart; and not only bow our heads and knees, but also our hearts before Him; and raise our intelligent eyes to Him with humility. For all prayer must come from the heart; and what the tongue says, the mind and heart must say.” Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk.
And no matter what happens during the day, everything happens according to the will of God; all, without exception, are circumstances in which the Lord wished to place you, so that you could be His presence, His love, His compassion. His creative mind, His courage... And, besides, whenever you encounter this or that situation, you are the one whom God put there to carry out the ministry of a Christian, to be a part of the Body of Christ and the action of God. If you do this, you will easily see that sometimes you will have to turn to God and say: “Lord, enlighten my mind, strengthen and direct my will, give me a fiery heart, help me!” At other times you will be able to say, “Oh my God, thank you!”
In the Christian catechism, that is, in the instruction on the Christian faith, it is said about prayer this way: “Prayer is the offering of the mind and heart to God and is a person’s reverent word to God.” Prayer has extraordinary power. “Prayer not only defeats the laws of nature, not only is it an insurmountable shield against visible and invisible enemies, but it even holds back the hand of the Almighty God Himself, raised to defeat sinners,” writes Saint Demetrius of Rostov.
In the New Testament, prayer is a living connection between the children of God and their infinitely good Father, with His Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit. The grace of the Kingdom is “the unity of the entire Holy Trinity with the entire spirit.” Thus, prayer life is a constant and natural presence in the presence of the Trisagion of God and in communion with Him. Such vital communion is always possible because through baptism our being has become one with Christ. Prayer is Christian because it is communion with Christ and grows in the Church, which is His Body. Its dimensions are the dimensions of Christ's love.
“Prayer is not telling God our needs. Prayer is the condition under which Divine power can contact our spirit and act in us. God is omniscient and knows us better than we know ourselves.” Archimandrite Rafail (Karelin) (XX century).
Chapter first.
1. And the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amatha, and said:
2. Arise and go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach in it, for the cry of its wickedness has come to Me.
3. And Jonah arose to flee from the presence of the Lord to Tarshish 1); and he went down to Hoppia and found a ship going to Tarshish, and gave his wages for the passage, and entered into it to sail to Tarshish with them from the presence of the Lord 2). And the Lord raised up a strong 3) wind on the sea, and there was a great storm on the sea, and the ship was in danger of being broken.
4. And the shipmen were afraid and each cried out to his god, and began to throw the things that were on the ship into the sea in order to relieve (him) of them. And Jonah went down to the bottom of the ship, and there he slept and snored.
5. And the helmsman came up to him and said to him: “Why are you snoring?” get up and pray to your God that God will save us and we will not perish.”
6. And they said to each other: “Come, let’s cast lots and find out for whom this disaster (came) upon us?”
7. And they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
8. And they said to him: “Tell us for whom this disaster (has come) upon us; what is your business, where are you coming from and where are you going 4), and what country and what people are you from?
9. And he said to them: I am the servant of the Lord and I honor the Lord God of heaven, who created the sea and the dry land.
10. And the people were afraid with great fear and said to him: “What is this that you have done?” for (these) people knew that he had fled from the presence of the Lord, as he had declared to them.
11. And they said to him: “What
1) They think that Tarshish was in Spain. Plot. Bible VII, 220. Knabenbauer. 1. p. RUB 1,367
2) “Thinking that the Lord shows His presence in Jerusalem alone.” Theodorite.
3) Slav. great resp. μέγα in 22, 42, 45, 51, 63, 97, 132, alt. ed., in Vulg. magnum, in others no.
4) Slav. and kamo go accordingly. καὶ ποῦ πορεύῃ—22, 36, 40, 42, 62, 68, 87, etc. and alt., Vulg. quo vadis, and in alex., wat. etc. no.
55
What should we do with you so that the sea calms down for 1) us? for the sea rose and increased the excitement more and more.
12. And Jonah said to them: Take me and throw me 2) into the sea, and the sea will calm down for 3) you, for I learned that this strong disturbance arose against you because of me.
13. And people tried to stick 4) to the ground, but they could not, for the sea kept coming and rising on them.
14. And they cried to the Lord and said: No, Lord! Let us not perish for the soul of this man, and let us not lay righteous blood on us 5), for You, Lord, have done as You willed.
15. And they took Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea became calm from its turbulence.
16. And the men feared the Lord with great fear, and offered sacrifice to the Lord and prayed fervently 6).
Holy Fathers on Prayer
“Prayer is a great weapon, an unfailing treasure, wealth that never runs out, a serene haven, a foundation of peace; prayer is the root, source and mother of countless blessings and is more powerful than royal power.” St. John Chrysostom.
“Prayer in its rank is higher than alms.” St. Isaac the Syrian.
“Prayer is the emergence in our hearts of one after another reverent feelings towards God.” St. Feofan, the Recluse of Vyshensky.
“During prayer, let our speech and supplication be combined with decorum, calmness and modesty. Let us think about the fact that we stand before the face of God and that we must please the eyes of God both by the position of the body and the sound of the voice.” Sschmch. Cyprian of Carthage.
“You must abstain from marital affairs in order to engage in prayer; to abstain from worries about wealth, from the desire for earthly glory, from the enjoyment of pleasures, from envy and every evil deed against our neighbor, so that when our soul is in silence and not disturbed by any passion, in it, as in a mirror, God’s purity and uncloudedness will be insight." St. Basil the Great.
“When starting a prayer, leave yourself, your wife, your children, part with the earth, pass through heaven, leave every creature visible and invisible, and begin by praising Him who created everything, and when you praise Him, do not wander your mind here and there, do not talk about fabulous things. pagan, but choose words from the Holy Scriptures.” St. Basil the Great.
“Every place and every time is convenient for us to pray.” St. John Chrysostom.
Orthodox prayers to the holy saints. Holy saints of God.
Orthodox prayers for those in need for various needs and infirmities.
What a Christian Should Remember
There are words of Holy Scripture and prayers that it is advisable to know by heart.
1. The Lord's Prayer “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4). 2. The main commandments of the Old Testament (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18). 3. The main gospel commandments (Matt. 5, 3-12; Matt. 5, 21-48; Matt. 6, 1; Matt. 6, 3; Matt. 6, 6; Matt. 6, 14-21; Matt. 6, 24-25; Matthew 7, 1-5; Matthew 23, 8-12; John 13, 34). 4.Symbol of Faith. 5. Morning prayers and evening prayers according to a short prayer book. 6. The number and meaning of the sacraments.
The sacraments must not be mixed with rituals. A ritual is any outward sign of reverence that expresses our faith. A sacrament is a sacred act during which the Church calls on the Holy Spirit, and His grace descends on the believers. There are seven such sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Communion (Eucharist), Repentance (Confession), Marriage (Wedding), Blessing of Anointing (Unction), Priesthood (Ordination) ...
Chapter three.
1. And the word of the Lord came a second time to Jonah, saying:
2. Arise and go to Ninene, the great city, and preach therein according to the former commandment 9), which I spoke to you.
3. And Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, as the Lord had said. Nineveh was a great city of God,
1) Gr. περιεχύθη—drinking, poured it all around.
2) That is, she is ready to take my life. Slav. my resp. μου in ХII, bow. and isikh. spp., ald., Theophilus, vulg. and ev. t., and in alex., wat. no.
3) Gr. ἐσχάτη—the last one.
4) Gr. κάτοχοι αἰώνιοι—rivet the eternal.
5) Slav. to You, respectively. in ald., onion. and isikh. pp., in Theof. πρός Σε in others no.
6) That is, they honor pagan gods.
7) “They handed me over to the sea without mercy.” Theodorite.
Slav. the Lord commanded (d. z. and im. p.) accordingly. προσέταξε Κύριος—onion. 22, 36, 45, 51, 62, 147, 238, 240, 310, and vol. suffering προσετάγη ἀπὸ Κυρίου—it was commanded by the Lord. whale, and he spewed Jonah onto land. Three-day stay (1st century) and eruption (11) Jonah from the belly of the whale prefigured the three-day stay of Jesus Christ in the earth, His death and resurrection (Matt. 12, 40. Luke 11, 31-33 ;. The prayer of Jonah serves as the content for the sixth hymn of the morning canon in the Orthodox service.
9) Of course, the command in 1, 2. Sl. κήρυγμα - means: command, order. Here this meaning is more appropriate than glory. sermon.
57
about three days of travel 1).
4. And Jonah began to walk around the city, as far as could be walked in one day 2), and preached, saying: Three more days, and Nineveh will be overthrown.
5. And the men of Nineveh believed God, and appointed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them 3).
6. And this word reached the king of Nineveh, and he rose from his throne, and took off his robe, and put on sackcloth, and sat down on ashes.
7. And it was announced and proclaimed in Nineveh by the king and his nobles and said 4): people, and cattle, and oxen, and sheep must not eat anything, nor go to pasture, nor drink water.
8. And the people and the cattle put on sackcloth, and cried out diligently to God, and each one turned from the way of his evil and from the iniquity of his hands, and said:
9. “Who knows, maybe the Lord will take pity and be merciful 5), and turn away from His furious wrath, and we will not perish”?
10. And God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked ways, and God repented of the disaster that he had spoken of to send upon them, and did not send 6).
