Uncategorized – Faith Unto Ages

On the Rejection of Divine Order and the Rise of Chaos

In the very beginning, Christ the Eternal Word created order. He created the law of physics, assigned all of the celestial bodies to their proper places, divided the waters, made land appear, etc. (See Genesis 1).

He likewise created mankind, who was made in His very image and likeness. Thus, man was granted a gift to have a share in expressing the mind of God in a limited degree, which is why Man has rationality and therefore free will. Hence, man was granted a gift in assisting God in keeping order (not that God needed an assistant, but willfully shared limited authority with Man out of His Love, as, again, they were made in His image):

“Then the Lord God took the man He formed and put him in the garden to tend and keep it.”

– Genesis 2:15.

Divine Inspiration tells us that this gift was abused, and that order was rebelled against, as in the case of our first parents who ate of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3). Thus, God’s original plan and intention for us to never die was ruined by the fault of man; who dethroned God and His will from their hearts and enthroned themselves and their own will.

And what was the offspring of it, save: corruption, sin, and death? And from what sprouted from this poisonous plant but war, destruction, enmities, famines, and the like? If dethroning God from one’s heart individually brings forth spiritual, mental, and even physical mayhem and internal bitter poison; how much more the world?

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Lenten Reflection: What the Censor can Teach Us about Ourselves

A vessel which is used within the Divine Liturgies of the Orthodox Church is the Censor. It has various other names as well, such as Thurible, Shoria, Tsena, and Poorvar.

It has its origins in the Old Testament Levitical offerings, with God commanding through Moses that Aaron “shall then take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, with his hands full of the incense compound, beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil. He shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat on the testimonies, lest he die” (Leviticus 16:12-13).

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“There is one God, the Father of the living Word, who is His subsistent Wisdom and Power and Eternal Image: perfect Begetter of the perfect Begotten, Father of the only-begotten Son. There is one Lord, Only of the Only, God of God, Image and Likeness of Deity, Efficient Word, Wisdom comprehensive of the constitution of all things, and Power formative of the whole creation, true Son of true Father, Invisible of Invisible, and Incorruptible of Incorruptible, and Immortal of Immortal and Eternal of Eternal. And there is One Holy Spirit, having His subsistence from God, and being made manifest by the Son, to wit to men: Image of the Son, Perfect Image of the Perfect; Life, the Cause of the living; Holy Fount; Sanctity, the Supplier, or Leader, of Sanctification; in whom is manifested God the Father, who is above all and in all, and God the Son, who is through all. There is a perfect Trinity, in glory and eternity and sovereignty, neither divided nor estranged. Wherefore there is nothing either created or in servitude in the Trinity; nor anything superinduced, as if at some former period it was non-existent, and at some later period it was introduced. And thus neither was the Son ever wanting to the Father, nor the Spirit to the Son; but without variation and without change, the same Trinity abides ever.” - A Declaration of Faith, St. Gregory Thaumaturgus

“Having therefore received a charge, and having been fully assured through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and confirmed in the word of God with full assurance of the Holy Ghost, they (the apostles) went forth with the glad tidings that the kingdom of God should come. So preaching everywhere in country and town, they appointed their first-fruits, when they had proved them by the Spirit, to be bishops and deacons unto them that should believe. And this they did in no new fashion; for indeed it had been written concerning bishops and deacons from very ancient times; for thus said the scripture in a certain place, I will appoint their bishops in righteousness and their deacons in faith.”
- St. Clement of Rome (A.D. 96).

“A brother came to see Abba Macarius the Egyptian, and said to him, ‘Abba, give me a word, that I may be saved.’ So the old man said, ‘Go to the cemetery and abuse [insult] the dead.’ The brother went there, abused [insulted] them and threw stones at them; then he returned and told the old man about it. The latter said to him, ‘Didn’t they say anything to you?’ He replied, ‘No.’ The old man said, ‘Go back tomorrow and praise them.’ So the brother went away and praised them, calling them ‘Apostles, saints and righteous men.’ He returned to the old man and said to him, ‘I have complimented them.’ And the old man said to him, ‘Did they not answer you?’ The brother said no. The old man said to him, ‘You know how you insulted them and they did not reply, and how you praised them and they did not speak; so you too if you wish to be saved must do the same and become a dead man. Like the dead, take no account of either the scorn of men or their praises, and you can be saved.’”