English Corner

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A basic condition for the spiritual life is that we should understand that, on our own, we can do absolutely nothing. No matter how hard we try, the spiritual life is something that someone else gives to us.

And the “someone else” is the Spirit of God, the Comforter, the “treasury of good things and the giver of life”, the treasury from which all the riches of spirituality come forth, the source from which the spiritual life emerges and overflows.

Of course, sometimes we get confused, and think that to be spiritual means to be a “good person”: not to steal, not to kill, not to go to bad places or with bad friends, to go to Church on Sunday, to read spiritual books, and so on. But no, this is not the spiritual life.

A spiritual person, a true Christian, is someone whose entire life is sworn to God.

- Archimandrite Aimilianos of Simonopetra

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Orthodox Prostration

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFBH1Ws2VmY

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“The truly intelligent man pursues one sole objective: to obey and to conform to the God of all. With this single aim in view, he disciplines his soul, and whatever he may encounter in the course of his life, he gives thanks to God for the compass and depth of His providential ordering of all things. For it is absurd to be grateful to doctors who give us bitter and unpleasant medicines to cure our bodies, and yet to be ungrateful to God for what appears to us to be harsh, not grasping that all we encounter is for our benefit and in accordance with His providence. For knowledge of God and faith in Him is the salvation and perfection of the soul.”

- St. Anthony the Great

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36-year-old deacon Father Seraphime is Assyrian by ethnicity and his native language is Aramaic. The deacon lived an ordinary life until 24 years of age, trained in Eastern wrestling and was head of security of a government member in Ukraine. But certain events that had occurred in his life made him take up the mantle of a priest. Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II learned of his fate and presented him to Assyrians living in Georgia as a "€œconfessor of all Assyrians"€. It was Ilia II'€™s idea of Father Seraphime learning Aramaic and then perform public worship in the presence of Assyrians in this language. Currently Father Seraphime lives in the village of Kanda, where we visited him for an interview:

- As we know, you lived an earthly life until you were 24: you did martial arts and worked as a bodyguard. What made you turn your life towards divine worship?

-€“ I didn'€™t really believe in God back then. I would enter a church, light a candle or two and think myself a believer. I read the Bible when I was eleven years old, but took it as a fairy tale. Then when I actually realized God existed, I went and became a monk. That'€™s pretty much it.

-€“ Was there any significant event in your life that pushed you towards this decision?

-€“ I spent a large part of my childhood and youth in hospital beds. I experienced a most devastating trauma when I fell into a concrete mixer. Not a single man in history returned alive from such an incident -€“ except me. For two years I wasn'€™t even able to walk. First I was chained to a bed, then to a wheelchair, then to crutches.

- What other injuries did you receive in the past?

- Once I got hit by a car. Then there was this bottle of hydrogen peroxide; I took it for a bottle of water and drank it. I survived a lot of things by a hair'€™s breadth, such as falling from several meters'€™ height. Long story short, a lot of occurrences pushed me towards taking up a monk'€™s life. Once I had quite an experience: someone very close to me, a relative, was in mortal danger. I went to the grave of the last Georgian saint, Father Gabriel, and said "€œGod will, I shall become a monk, just leave him with his life"€ And when we thought all hope was lost, a miracle happened and this man survived.
For some time after this, I lived in Kiev. As I told you, I was into martial arts back then, namely wrestling. I even won a Trans-Caucasian Championship. Soon I became chief of security for a government official. Then something happened that I do not wish to speak of. It was a miracle; you can call it enlightenment or a dream. I was reminded that I was chosen and that it was time to keep the promise I made to God about becoming a priest. This miracle reminded me of my words daily for two months, so eventually, at Holy Trinity'€™s Jonah Monastery, I died, figuratively speaking, and was reborn as a monk.

- What can you tell us about your people, the Assyrians?

- My people, Assyrians are probably the only ethnic group in the world who still pay with their lives for their worship of Christ. In Eastern countries such as Iraq, Iran, Syria and other war zones, Assyrians get attacked in their churches and beheaded if they refuse to convert to Islam. They are being destroyed en masse. The apocryphal story regarding Assyrians being the first Christians comes from the story when Christ'€™s face appeared on a canvas. The canvas was presented to the last king of Assyrians, Abgarus the Fifth.
As for Assyrians in Georgia, there are about 4000 of them. The Assyrian language is basically Neo-Aramaic. Many historians write about Christ speaking the Chaldean language, which almost exactly the same as Aramaic. Just like in Georgia there exist Gurians, Imeretians and Megrelians, so were Assyrians and Chaldeans: the same people but from different corners, so to say. Neo-Aramaic language is about 2500 years old. The wonderful thing is that this language allows us insight into what people living centuries ago sounded like. Out of 4000 Assyrians living in Georgia, 2000 of them live in my village of Kanda and comprise 95% of its population. Almost 90% of these people speak Neo-Aramaic.

-€“ Upon becoming fluent in Aramaic, you are now able to perform divine service in it. How difficult is it for you and in general, what is the process like?

-€“ When His Holiness talked with me, he confided with me this idea: since I am Assyrian, why not perform divine service for my people in my own language? He conferred a lot of responsibility on me. Ilia II treated Assyrian issues with great attention, responsibility and love. I love him a lot as well. There was a time when I said to myself "€œI probably love him the most of all"€ But after I was appointed as shepherd over my people, the Assyrians, I realized that they where who I loved the most. We are very grateful to His Holiness for giving us the right to praise God in our own language while living in Georgia.

-€“ The video that depicts you, together with the church choir, chanting in Aramaic, is quite popular on the internet. What is chanting in Aramaic like, what quirks does it have? How is it different from chanting in another language, Georgian for example?

-€“ Chanting, be it in Aramaic or Georgian, is a unique thing. The main difference is, of course, in the language itself, and another in the tune and cadence. Chanting in Aramaic is completely different culture-wise. It is Eastern, after all, and we replicated it exactly as it sounded in ancient times. Well, almost exactly.

-€“ You have probably seen Mel Gibson'€™s movie "€œThe Passion of the Christ"€, where Aramaic is spoken. Can you understand it? Is it identical to the language you speak?

€- There are three languages used in the movie: Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew. And yes, I can freely understand Aramaic that is spoken in "€œThe Passion of the Christ" -€“ it is the same language that I wield.

Author: Eka Abashidze - for Georgian Journal http://www.georgianjournal.ge/societ...88381481237582

[tabitha]

"When I was driven from the city, I felt no anxiety, but said to myself: if the empress wishes to banish me, let her do so; the earth is the Lord's. If she wants to have me sawn in sunder, I have Isaiah for an example. If she wants me to be drowned in the ocean, I think of Jonah. If I am to be thrown into the fire, the three men in the furnace suffered the same. If cast before wild beasts, I remember Daniel in the lion's den. If she wants me to be stoned, I have before me Stephen, the first martyr. If she demands my head, let her do so; John the Baptist shines before me. Naked I came from my mother's womb, naked shall I leave this world. Paul reminds me, 'If I still pleased men, I would not be the servant of Christ'."
St. John Chrysostom
"On Pleasing God Not Men"

[redemptor]

"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.
Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which You have broken may rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with Your generous Spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You.
Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart –– these, O God, You will not despise,
Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem.
Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering; then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen."

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Orthodox author Frederica Mathewes-Green was interviewed by National Review Online recently about the Orthodox faith, particularly why she became an Orthodox Christian.

Question: How does life in Christ differ from life without him?

Answer: In the book, I say that the Eastern Orthodox have not had a lot of practice explaining their faith to other Christians, and so aren'€™t familiar with many of the historic theological controversies of the West. But they did have lots of experience with non-Christians (Persians, Mongols, Muslims, Communists), and they "€œknew well how life in Christ differs from life without him."€

Now that you ask, I don'€™t really know how to express it! Christ is life. It'€™s having the Creator of the Universe with you. It'€™s having the source of all love with you. It'€™s indescribable. And it'€™s real, palpably real. I had a miraculous conversion experience, 41 years ago. I was hitchhiking around Europe (at that time, calling myself a Hindu), and went into a church to look around. I was looking at a statue of Jesus, and then I had an overwhelming sense of his presence, with me, within me. I "€œheard"€ him speak to me (not with my ears, but inside). It was kind of scary, and also really wonderful, and it turned my world upside down.

Ever since, all I have wanted is to be closer to him -€” to stay in his presence. When I became Orthodox some 22 years ago, I was amazed to find that that'€™s what it'€™s all about. It'€™s a "€œway",€ a program, a science, of union with God -€” 2,000 years of wisdom on how to safely, sanely, increase in the presence of Christ. That'€™s why I'€™m excited about Orthodoxy; it'€™s what I always wanted, and I didn'€™t even know it existed.

Full interview : http://www.nationalreview.com/articl...x-nr-interview

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Do not claim to have acquired virtue unless you have suffered affliction, for without affliction virtue has not been tested.

+ St. Mark the Ascetic