Prothesis list October 2011

 

Living: Metropolitan Cyprian; Archbishop Chrysostomos; Bishop Auxentios; the Hierarchs Cyprian, Chrysostomos, Ambrose, Klemes, Michael, Johannes, Silvano, George; Photii; Vlasie, Gennadie, Demosten, Sofronie, Theodosie, Flavian, Joseph, Antonie, Glicherie, Dionisie, Evloghie; Agafangel, Andronik, Sophrony, Gregory, George, Joseph, Ioann, Afanasy, Nikon, Kirill, Dionisiy, Iriney; the Hieromonks Akakios, Athanasios, Glykerios, Seraphim, Dionysios, Evgenikos, Evphrosynos, John, Mark, Hilarion, Theophanes, Kallistos, Pachomios, Antonios, Gregory, Neilos, Nectarios, Alexis, Gorazd, Gregory, Patapios; the Hierodeacons Nectarios, Joseph, Theochares, Niphon, Sabbas; the monastics Nectarios, Antonios, Niphon, Amphilochios, Gabriel, Demosthenes, Savvas, Theodosios, Abramios, Theoktistos, Vlasios, Isidoros, Nikephoros, Cyprian, Alexios, Ignatios, Chrysanthos, Philaret, Evthymios; Cyprian, Chrysanthos, Vlasios, Chrysostomos, Photios, Serge; Euthymius Panteleimon, Sofrony; Savvas, Konstantinos, Georgios, Alexander; Niphon, Thomas, Ephraim; Elizabeth, Kypriane, Justina, Synkletike, Mariam, Helen, Barbara, Cassiane, Myrtidiotissa, Evpraxia, Cecilia, Seraphima, Glykeria, Vera; Amvrosia, Varsanofia, Paisia, Rafaela, Gabriela, Nektaria, Vasilissa, Mary; Vikentia, Vasilia, Ioana, Germana; Anastasia, Magdalene, Philothei, Elizabeth, Justina, Fevronia, Galene; Hilaria and Synodeia, Taxiarchia and Synodeia, Macrina and Synodeia, Anastasia and Synodeia, Parthenia and Synodeia, Bryenne and Synodeia, Evpraxia and Synodeia; Christonimfi and Synodeia; the Presbyters Raphael, David, George, Ieronymos, John, Gabriel, Anders, Gregory, Demetrios, Joseph, Michael, James, Nicholas, Yakov, George, Andreja; the Presbyteras Vasilissa; Juliana; Alypia; Mary; Xenia; Akylina; Birgitta; Maria; Barbara; Barbara; Elizabeth; Christina; Agnia; Mary; the Deacons George; George; Peter; the Diakonissas Helen; Catherine; Melissa; the Abbots and their Synodias Evtimi, Pafnutie, Spiridon, Seraphim; the Abbesses and their Synodias Theodosia, Chipriana, Olimpiada, Barbara, Evtropia; Evfrosinia; Agapia; the Archimandrites Nifon, Zosima, Cyprian, Eufrosin; the Hieromonks Iustin, Chariton, Chrisostomos, Antim, Ananias, Teofan, Agathangel, Sebastian, Anatoli, Avvakoum, Evgeni, Spiridon, Ghelasie; Seraphim, Ephraim, Theophan; the Hierodeacons Theoctiste, Romanos, Theodore, Macarii, Glicherie, Sava; the Presbyters and their families Jeremiah; Vladimir; Apostolos; Demetrios; Dorotheos; Athanasios; Angelos; Antonios; Bitalios; Konstantinos; Konstantinos; George; Chariton; Soterios; Nikolaos; Ioannes; Sebastian; Panagiotes; Stephen; Paul; Wsewolod the Presbyter, Irina the Presbytera; Valentina the Presbytera & family; Romanos the Presbyter & family; Anastasios the Presbyter, Maria the Presbytera & family Nikolaos; Justina, Ioanna; Hunna, Sophia, George, Emilia; Jordan, Barbara; Alexander, Patrick, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Andrew; Matthew, Xenia, Theodora, Irene; Michael; Serge, Alexei, Vasili, Symeon, Dmitri; Chrestos, Sophia; Christopher; Maximos, Markella; Sarah; Leah, Cosmas, Damian; David, Justina, Stephen, Cecilia; Evangelos, Christine; Lawrence, Victoria, Irene; Maria, Darius; Jameel; David; Joseph; David, Kristina, Antim, Kossara, Abraham, Symeon; Joshua, Charis, Michael, Gabriel; Gaius, Anna, Dorotheos, Noah, Elizabeth; Tsegaye; Michael, Mary; Kondilia; Vasili, Maria; Romanos; Theodosia; Joshua, Magdalena; Nikola; Jeremias; Deborah; Vladislav, Marina; George; Andrei, Anna & children; Johna; Christina and children; John,Mary and children; Mark, Anna; Joseph, Brenda; Michael, Vivian, Nadezhda, Larissa; Peter, Leanna; Victor, Tania, Anastasia, Michael; Victoria; Elena & children; Elena; Elena; Paul, Vera, Anna; Luba; Mary; Elizabeth; Catherine; Sergei, Valeria; Alejandro, Marina, Michael, Xenia, Nicholas, Sophia, Nadezhda; Adam & family; Nicholas; Alexander, Euphrosyne; Alexis, Katherine, Alexander, Anastasia, Elizabeth, Alexandra; Vladimir, Luba; Evgenia, Andrey, Iulia, Daniel, Alexander; Victor, Nina; Raïsa, Irene; Alexander; Anatoly, Maxim; Larissa, Natalia; Svetlana; Nadezhda, Ilya, Daniel; Oleg, Ludmila, Claudia; Gheorghe, Lucia, Iustina; Niculae, Niculina; Ion; Mihai, Angela, Matei, Maria, Parascheva, Iorgu, Constantin; Georgii, Igor, Ekaterina, Anna; Elias & family; Aliki; Dionysios, Photini & family; Irene & family; Athanasios, Stamatia; Kerkyra; Stamatia, Anthoula; Angelike; Andrei, Maria & family; Ioannis; Ioan, Ecaterina; Constantin, Mihaila & children; Konstantin & family; Elena; Michael, Nicholas, Demetra; Eleni, Constantia, Ioannes, Eleni, Elias; Maria, Magdalena, Julia; Symeon; Paul, Gregory, Theodore; Themistocles, Andreas, Georgia; Emmanuel, Argyria,Anastasia, Panagiotes, Demetra, Nicholas, Demetrios; Chrestos, John; Ekaterina; Panagiota; Nicholas, Aliki; George & family;Andromache; Peter and family;Michael;Magdalene, Kouris; Milan & family; George & family; Constantine the Monk; Basileios; Vladimir, Milena, Elia, Rosa, Tzvetana; Georgia, Christina, Antonios; Loukas; Sophia; John;Angela & family; Spyridon, Sophia; Gregory, Sophia; Taras the Presbyter, Sonia the Presbytera; Patrick the Presbyter; (additions: David Wright daughters Anastasia & Photini)

Departed: The Hierarchs Chrysostomos, Mercurios, Kallistos, Galacteon, Silvestru, Anthony, Giovanni, George, Leonty, Averky, Diodoros, Peter, Ioasaph, Nectary, Antony, Pahomie, Chrysostomos; the Hieromonks David, Seraphim, Sergius, Panteleimon, Philotheos, Amphilochios, Chrysanthos, John, Seraphim, John, Niphon, Cyprian, Taxiarchis, Theophylact, Konstantine; the Hierodeacon Silvestru; the Presbyters Nicholas, Georges, Theodore, John, Eugene, Nicholas, Nicholas, Mykola, Stylianos, Jordan, Thomas, Kyrillos, Pavel, Vasilie; the monastics Christophoros, Galacteon, Kypriane, Olga, Anastasia, Alexandra, Bryenne, Kypriane, Magdalene, Taxiarchia, Macrina, Magdalene, Sarah, Kallinike, Parthenia, Melania, Kypriane, Seraphima, Andrew, Evpraxia, Maria, Elizabeth, Evgenia; Arthuros Damaskinos, Marina, Irene, Gerasimos, Olga, Zoia, Andrew, Margaret, Arthuros Ioannis, Basilios, Constantine, Mary, Samuel, Zakiyat, Ibraheem, Michael, Vsevolod, Olga, Constantine, Demetrios, Ivan, Helene, Spyridon, Helen, Haralambos, Helena, Spyridon, Susan, Donat, Mystislav, Paul, Natalie, Andreas, Elena, Eftichia, Ekaterine, Ivan, Andreas, Xanthippe, Joseph, Spyridon, John, Vladimir, Evstratios, Evdosia, Basiliki, Vladimir, Basil, Alexander, Constantine, Pavel, Thomas, John, Catherine, Igor, David, Maria, Demetrios, Mary, Anthoula, Martha, Helen, Efrosini, Parasceva, Olga, Rudolph, Dionysios, Roman, Nicholas, Elizabeth, Mariam, Antonios, Ludmila, Yelitsa, Nicholas, George, Constantine, John, John, Elena, Elena, George, Thomas, Anastasia, Jean, Yelena, Michael, Cyprian, Ioan; Zenaïda, Chrysostomos, Daniel, Nikolai, Anna, Parthenia, Anne, Constantine, Leonidas, Veronica, Petko, Garyfallia, Vasilios, Dimitra; Leo; Alexander; Lydia; Zoe; Penelope; Michael; Hanna; Boris, Glafira; Nikolai; Helen; Gregory; Nina; Angela; George; Olga; Victor; Tatiana; Lavrentia; Vasilike; Nicholas; Yuri; Ekaterina; John; Yakov;Maiko; Dimana; 

(Parish additions: Joseph, Skundariyie, Joseph, Samuel, George, Saeedie, Racheedie, Thublee, Elias & wife, Samuel & Mary, Adbdullah, Saeedie, Nina, Theodore, Elizabeth, Katherine, Nick, Deacon Philip).

On the burden of sin and deliverance from sin - St. Nicolai of Zica

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered (Psalm 32:1).
Fear, confusion, weakness, infirmity and darkening of the mind are born of sin. By sin, a man provokes others against himself, confuses his own conscience, attracts demons to himself, and gives them weapons against himself. By sin, a man separates himself from God, estranges himself from his guardian angel, and walls himself off from the source of all good. The committing of sin signifies a declaration of war against God and all godly powers. This is more preposterous than if a withered autumn leaf were to declare war on the wind. And, indeed, the most preposterous thing of all occurs: a man declares war on God! This declaration alone guarantees ruin and destruction for a man if he does not quickly come to himself, repent and flee to God for mercy.
The great King David was well aware of the terrible predicament of the sinner, and he himself experienced it. He felt inexpressible fear, confusion, weakness and loneliness; he felt the arrows of men and the arrows of demons. But, realizing his horrible situation, David acknowledged his sin, prostrated himself in ashes before God, soaked the ground with tears of repentance and words of anguish that burned like fire, and prayed to the merciful God to forgive him. And, when all was forgiven him, he felt inexpressible blessedness. This blessedness of the forgiven soul he could not express in words. He could only declare, confirm and assure us of the condition of sinfulness and the condition of forgiveness from God, based on his direct experience of both conditions: Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered (Psalm 32:1). What is this blessing? Freedom, courage, indescribable joy, power, strength, clarity of thought, peace of conscience, hope in God, hymnody to God, love for one's neighbors, and meaning to one's life! In other words: light, joy and strength are the blessing. This is the blessing that one who is forgiven of sin feels here on earth. If this is so, then what is the blessing that awaits him in heaven, that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man (I Corinthians 2:9)?
O Lord our God, forgive us our transgressions by Thine infinite mercy, and cover our sins!
To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.

On Useful Anger - St. Nicolai of Zica

Be angry and sin not (Psalm 4:4).

Be angry with yourself, brethren, and sin no more. Be angry at your sins of thoughts and deeds, and sin no more. Be angry with Satan the father of lies (John 8:44), and no longer do his will. Be angry at sin in the world and the trampling of God's holy Church by godless men, but beware that you do not cure sin by sin. Be angry with your friends when they sin; but be angry with the intention to correct them, and not to embitter them even more. The anger of a friend toward a friend, and the anger of parents toward their children-and of God toward men-is not a storm that uproots the tree but a wind that strengthens the tree, and rids it of rotten fruit so that the healthy fruit will increase in number and beauty. But let your anger have measure, so that it may be healing and not poisonous. In order to have this kind of control, keep God before you in your anger. There is no stronger containment for anger than God. All anger that is not in the name of God and God's righteousness is a sin. Do not become angry for the sake of idleness, but become angry for that at which God is angered. If your will is firmly set in God's law, you will always know when it is necessary to be angry, and how much is needed. This cannot be expressed entirely in words, nor can it even be explained to the uneducated. Anger, in its place, acts as mercy does in its place. O my brethren, do you see how various powers are placed in our souls, and man, by his free will, can utilize them for life or death? Anger toward oneself can never be recommended enough. Here is a wonderful example: the more a man learns to be angry with himself, the less he is angry with others. Carried away with anger at his own weaknesses, he either does not see the weaknesses of others, or when he does see them, he judges them kindly.
 

O Lord God, Thou only righteous One, implant in us the remembrance of the Day of Thy righteous anger, so that we may protect ourselves from spiritual sin.
To Thee be glory and praise forever. Amen.

Unceasing Practice of the Jesus Prayer

Unceasing Practice of the Jesus Prayer

In Optina, during the time of Elder Macarius, there was a monk who often came to the Elder for advice, obviously with a sincere desire for correction. The Elder told him that the closest path to perfection is the unceasing practice of the Jesus Prayer.

“Why that prayer in particular, Batiushka (father)?” objected the monk. “After all, there’s nothing said about it in the Gospels.” 

“And do you read the Gospels?”

“Of course – a chapter a day.”

“Well, if you read them, then you must remember the words of the Savior, ‘In My Name shall they cast out devils’.”

The monk began to practice the Jesus Prayer. Some time later he again came to Fr. Macarius with sorrow.

“Well, what is it, brother?” asked the Elder.

“I’m doing the Jesus Prayer, Father, but what kind of benefit can there be from it if I pronounce it only with my lips, not understanding what I’m saying? My mind keeps running off.”

“You may not understand,” said the Elder, “but then again, the demons understand and tremble. Be at peace, brother, and continue the Prayer according to your strength.”

A little time went by after this conversation and the monk came to see the Elder. With joy he informed him that the Jesus Prayer had revealed the mysteries of God to him.

The Elder said to him, “Don’t pay attention to it and don’t attach any importance to it.”

Soon the monk again informed Fr. Macarius about those spiritual gifts which the Jesus Prayer grants one, and again the Elder forbade him to attach any meaning to it. But to others Fr. Macarius reported what a great mercy of God the brother had been make worthy of in such a short time. They objected, “But so-and-so has been doing the Jesus Prayer for many years and has no revelations. What’s the cause of this?”

“A lack of humility,” said the Elder.