Category: The Church in History

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St. Theodore the Studite

Today our Holy Church commemorates the feast of St. Theodore the Studite. I feel a special closeness to St. Theodore. He was a leading voice that loudly called for the use of icons in the Church. He lived in the latter part of the 8th century and the early part of the 9th. century. This was the time that the Church was torn apart by the controversy concerning the use of Holy Icons. This controversy was divided into two distinct period. The first period was that time prior to the 7th Ecumenical Council (Nicaea II). The great writer in defense of Icons of this time was St. John of Damascus. After the Council, there was a resurgence of iconoclasm lead by the Emperors Constantine V and Leo V.  During this time Theodore, the abbott of the Studium Monastery of Constantinople rose up and wrote a wonderful treatise “On the Holy Icons,” which is available in translation for all to appreciate. Additionally, Theodore wrote many hymns used during Great Lent and other feast of the church year. His many  letters are  also available for us to really get to know this great monastic father.  Theodore suffered torture and pain for icons and stood his ground in spite of all the forces against him. He renewed monastic rules and these rules are used by Orthodox monasteries all over the world today.  May the strength and faith of St. Theodore guide us and may he always intercede to our Lord on our behalf.    

Apolytikion of Theodore the Studite

Plagal of the Fourth Tone

You are a guide of Orthodoxy, a teacher of piety and modesty, a luminary of the world, the God inspired pride of monastics. O wise Theodore, you have enlightened everyone by your teachings. You are the harp of the Spirit. Intercede to Christ our God for the salvation of our souls.

Kontakion of Theodore the Studite

Second Tone

Ascetic in truth and equal to the Angel’s life, thy life was made bright with contests and martyric trials; and the holy Angels’ companion was thou, Theodore, blest of God; now together with them, O Saint, thou ceaselessly prayest Christ in our behalf.

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St. Raphael of Brooklyn

Our Father among the Saints

St. Raphael, Bishop of Brooklyn

“Good Shepherd of the Lost Sheep in America”

(November 8, 1860 – February 27, 1915)

On the Saturday prior to the commemoration of the Feast of the Holy Archangels (November 8) our Church commemorates the Feast of Our Father Among the Saints, St. Raphael (Hawaweeny), Bishop of Brooklyn. St. Raphael   was born to a Syrian Orthodox family in Beirut (now Lebanon). Educated in Syria, at Halki, the Ecumenical Patriarchal School near Constantinople, and at the Theological Academy of Kiev. Fluent in several languages, he came to America attached to the Church of Russia and was assigned to lead the Syrian Orthodox Spiritual Mission in North America. He was elected bishop and was the first Orthodox hierarch consecrated in North America (1904). He served as bishop guiding the  Orthodox, at a time that all ethnic groups were ministered under the Russian mission on this continent. He traveled extensively visiting the scattered Orthodox immigrants  all over North America. He founded many churches across the country, including Archangel Michael’s Orthodox Church in Beaumont, TX. He also helped established St. Tikhon’s Monastery in Pennsylvania. He reposed in the Lord, February 27, 1915. He is buried at the Antiochian Village in Ligonier, PA. St. Raphael was glorified by the OCA in 2000   

For an excellent article on his life by Bishop Basil (Essey) please see:

http://www.angelfire.com/pa3/straphaelcanonized/lives/TheWordMay2000.pdf

Hymns of Bishop Raphael of Brooklyn: 

Troparion (Tone 3)

Rejoice, O Father Raphael, Adornment of the Holy Church!

Thou art Champion of the true Faith,

Seeker of the lost, Consolation of the oppressed,

Father to orphans, and Friend of the poor,

Peacemaker and Good Shepherd, Joy of all the Orthodox,

Son of Antioch, Boast of America:

Intercede with Christ God for us and for all who honor thee.

Kontakion (Tone 3)

Today the memory of blessed Raphael hath shone on us;

For having received Christ’s call, he faithfully took up his cross

and followed Him becoming a fisher of men.

Let us cry aloud to him saying: Rejoice O Father Raphael!

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St. Ioannikios the Great

Today our Holy Church celebrates the great monastic father of the 8th-9th century. St Ioannikios the Great , a fervent iconodule (supporter of icons). He lived in seclusion as a hermit on Mt. Olympus of Asia Minor. In his Canon in tribute to Saint Ioannikios, Patriarch Methodios I related that as a young military office serving in the war against the Bulgars, Ioannikios was so appalled by the slaughter; he left the battlefield to become a “soldier for Christ” as a monastic. He lived the remained of his life as a hermit on Mt. Olympus. He wrote the following prayer which the Church declares today.

 The Prayer of St Ioannikios the Great

This prayer is attributed to St. Ioannikios the Great. It is said that he would repeat a version of this prayer between verses of the Psalms, the entirety of which he had memorized:

My hope is the Father, my refuge is the Son, my shelter is the Holy Spirit. O Holy Trinity, glory to You.

This prayer is read at the end of the each of services of the Akathistos Hymn during Great Lent 

The hymns in honour of St. Ioannikios

Apolytikion in Plagal of the Fourth Tone

By a flood of tears you made the desert fertile, and your longing for God brought forth fruits in abundance. By the radiance of miracles you illumined the whole universe. O our holy father Ioannikios, pray to Christ our God to save our souls.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone

Today we celebrate together your honored memory, and we faithfully beseech you, O holy Ioannikios that we may find mercy with the Lord.

Apolytikion in Plagal of the First Tone

Thou didst abandon earthly glory and wast illumined by the light of God’s inspiration. Wherefore thou didst shine on earth like a fadeless star. For thou wast found worthy to hear the divine voice like Moses and wast also like the Angels and a treasury of grace, O holy Father Ioannikios.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone

We have come together today to honour thy memory, and implore thee to obtain mercy for us from the Lord, O holy Father Ioannikios.

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Sts. Cosmas and Damian – November 1

Sts. Cosmas and Damian, the Physicians

My sons the doctors, this rather stereotypical phrase is descriptive of a proud parent speaking of the accomplishment of their children. Even today, we express great joy when our sons or daughters reach that lofty position of becoming a physician.  The place of doctors has always been one of respect and admiration. Throughout history, the dedication of healers has usually brought prestige, social status as well as financial reward. This is true today and it was true in antiquity.  This brings us to a series of saint-brothers who shared their given names and were all physicians. The brothers commemorated November 1st. are the first in this remarkable grouping.  We have become familiar with their stories.  As Christians, they shared the conviction that the gifts which God had given them and which they had nurtured through study and hard work should be given back to those whom they served.  Physicians who served and asked nothing in return, but why?  First and foremost, these men were raised in an environment which allowed them to understand their gifts and abilities realistically.  Their upbringing allowed them to look at their talents as “on-loan” from God.  Each of us are given gifts to nourish and develop; most do this wither it is by education or practice or both. What many of us forget, in the process, is the source of our gifts.  These three pairs of brothers knew that God had given them their gifts, the development of these gifts was inspired by God’s Holy Spirit and most importantly, the use of them was directed by Christ and His message of Love.

The greatest gift all these doctors have shared with us is not the gift of healing, as profound as it is, nor the example of giving as admirable as we know it to be; but the lesson of perspective. They knew the source of all gifts and thanked God by developing them and offering them back to God through His people. What are your gifts? What are you doing with them? How do you look upon them: as your right or the gift of a generous God?

Hymns of The Feast:

Holy Wonder-workers and Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian of Mesopotamia

Troparion — Tone 8

Holy unmercenaries and wonderworkers, Cosmas and Damian, 

heal our infirmities.

Freely you have received; freely you give to us.

Kontakion — Tone 2

Having received the grace of healing, 

You grant healing to those in need. 

Glorious wonder workers and healers, Cosmas and Damian, 

visit us and put down the insolence of our enemies, 

and bring healing to the world through your miracles.

    

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Hagia Sophia

The Church of the Holy Wisdom

Dumbarton Oaks is a Harvard University research institute, library, museum, and garden located in Washington, DC. It is a world renown site of research in the area of Byzantine Studies. On September 1, 2020 they will present a scholarly webinar on Hagia Sophia: The History of the Building and the Building in History

The Great Church of the Holy Wisdom is the perpetual symbol of the Orthodox grandeur of Byzantium build to the Glory of God. If you wish to attend this educational webinar this is the link to register: https://www.doaks.org/research/byzantine/scholarly-activities/hagia-sophia-the-history-of-the-building-and-the-building-in-history

“Dumbarton Oaks is conceived in a new pattern . . . it is the home of the Humanities, not a mere aggregation of books and objects of art.”


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