The War Between Russia & Turkey is Over Control of The Eastern Orthodox Church

💭ግሩም መልዕክት ነው ወንድማችን ቴዎድሮስ ሹባት ያስተላለፈልን። እርሱና አባቱ በጣም አስተዋይ ግለሰቦች ናቸው።

💭 Since 1453, when the Turks took Constantinople, patriarch of that city has been a puppet for the government. In our own time, the Turkish government used the Patriarch, Bartholomew, to permit the Ukrainians to have their own church independent of the Moscow Patriarchate. The story showed that the war between Russian and Turkey is not just over territory, but religion. Turkey wants to be the Vatican of the Eastern Orthodox world and to undermine the religious influence of the Moscow Patriarchate.

👉 Courtesy: Shoebat.com

ልክ እንደኛዎቹ የቤተ ክህነት አባላት፤ በቁስጥንጥንያ/ ኢስታንቡል ተቀማጭነት ያላቸው የምስራቅ ኦርቶዶክስ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ፓትርያርክ አቡነ በርቶሎሚዮም በፈሪሳውያኑ ወረርሽኝ ተለክፈዋል፤ እሳቸውም የግራኝ ሞግዚት የጂኒው ኤርዶጋን አሻንጉሊት በመሆን የዩክሬንን ኦርቶዶክስ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ከሩሲያ ኦርቶዶክስ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ለመነጠል በመስራት ላይ ናቸው። ልክ እንደኛዎቹ፤ በጣም ያሳዝናል!

ለመሆኑ አቡነ ማትያስ ምነው ድምጻቸውን አጠፉ? እስከመቼ፟? እሳቸውንስ የሕወሓትና ብልጽግና መልዕክተኛ አድርገው እንደ አትሌቶቹ ወደ መቐለ፤ “ሰላም! ሰላም!” ለማስባል ይልኳቸው ይሆን? እንግዲህ እንደተለመደው ለዚህ እያዘጋጇቸው ይመስለኛል። ሕወሓት + ሻዕብያ እና ብልጽግና/ኦነግ በአክሱም ጽዮናውያን ላይ የዘር ማጥፋቱን ከመጀመራቸው ከሦስት ዓመታት በፊት መጀመሪያ አትሌቶቹን እነ ኃይለ ገብረ ሥላሴን፤ ቀጥሎ ደግሞ የሃይማኖት መሪዎችን ነበር ወደ መቐለ የላኳቸው። ታዲያ አሁንስ ተመሳሳይ ሤራ በድጋሚ ጠንስሰው ትግራይን ለአንዴና ለመጨረሻ ጊዜ የሚገነጥለውን ጭፍጨፋ እንደገና ይጀምሩት ይሆን? እንግዲህ ሕወሓትም፣ ሻዕቢያም ኦነግ–ብልጽግናም ትግራይን ከሌላው ለይተውና ዙሪያዋን አጥረው መፈናፈኛ በማሳጣት ሕዝቡን ተመጽዋች፤ የተበከለ ምግብና ክትባት ዒላማ በማድረግ ለሺህ ዓመታት እያዳከሙ መግዛት ይሻሉ።

ላለፉት መቶ ሰላሳ ዓመታት ኢትዮጵያን የተቆጣጠሯትና እስከ ስልሳ ሚሊየን የሚሆኑ አክሱም ጽዮናውያንን ለመግደል የበቁት የምንሊክ ጭፍሮቹ ጋላ–ኦሮሞዎች፣ ጋላማራዎችና በአደዋው ጦርነት ወቅት የተደቀሉት ሻዕብያ ሕወሓቶች ክርስቲያኑ ሕዝባችን ቢያልቅ ሁሉም ግድ የላቸውም። እየተገበሩት ያሉትም ይህን ነው። ዋናው ዓላማቸው ሉሲፈርን ማንገስ፣ ምልክቶቹን/ባንዲራውን ማውለብለብና ማስተዋወቅ መሆኑን ዛሬ እንኳን እያየነው ነው። ግን ካሁን በኋላ የክርስቶስን ቤተሰቦች እንዳሻቸው ማሰቃየት፣ ማስራብና መጨፍጨፍ ብሎም ሉሲፈርን በሃገረ ኢትዮጵያ ማንገስ ፈጽሞ አይቻላቸውም። ዕቅዳቸው አይሳካላቸውም!

ጋላ–ኦሮሞዎችና ጭፍሮቻቸው ለኢትዮጵያ ደማቸውን እያፈሰሱ፣ እየተራቡና እየተሰደዱ ለዘመናት መስዋዕት የሚከፍሉትንና በእግዚአብሔር ዘንድ የሚወደዱትን አክሱም ጽዮናውያንን ጨፍጭፈውና አስርበው እነርሱ ጤፍና ስንዴ እየዘሩ፣ የጣዖት ዛፋቸውን እየተከሉ ጠግበው በሰላም ሊኖሩ? በጭራሽ! ጊዚያቸው አክትሟል! እንደቀድሞው ለሠሩት ግፍና ወንጀል ሁሉ በጭራሽ ይቅርታ አይደረግላቸውም። አሁን የበቀል ጊዜ መምጣቱ አይቀርም። በሁሉም ክፍለ ሃገሮች ላይ፤ በተለይ ሶማሌ እና ኦሮሚያ በተሰኙት የአጋንንት ማደሪያ ክልሎች ላይ እሳቱ፣ ዕልቂቱ፣ ረሃቡ፣ ቸነፈሩ፣ ወረርሽኙና በሽታው እየጨመረ ይመጣል። ግድ ነው። እራሳቸውን “አማራ” የሚሉት ነገር ግን “አምሐራ” ያልሆኑት ኦሮማራዎችም ከመንፈሳውያኑ ወንድሞቻቸውና እኅቶቻቸው ይልቅ ለስጋ አጋሮቻቸው ለጋላ–ኦሮሞዎች ልባቸው ስለሚመታ እንዳሰኛቸው እንደ አህያ በሚነዷቸውና ተገቢ ያልሆነ አደገኛ ድጋፍ በተደጋጋሚ በሰጧቸው በሻዕቢያዎችና ኦነግ–ብልጽግናዎች ወጥመድ ውስጥ ይገባሉ።

ቀደም ሲል በሕወሓቶች፣ ላለፉት አራት ዓመታት ደግሞ በፈረንሳዮች፣ ቱርኮችና አረቦች ከመቶ ዙር በላይ ሲሰለጥን የከረመውና፣ “ኦላ…ሸኔ ቅብርጥሴ” በሚል የዳቦ ስም ኦሮሞ ባልሆኑት ዜጎች ላይ ልምምድ የሚያካሂደው የጋላ–ኦሮሞ “ልዩ” ሃይል የብሔራዊውን መለዩ አጥልቆ መላው የአማራን ክልል ለመቆጣጠር ዘመቻውን ይጀምር ዘንድ ትናንትና በጉብኝት ላይ በነበሩት የፈረንሳይ እና ጀርመን የውጭ ጉዳይ ሚንስትሮች ፊሽካ ተንፍቶለታል። በስምምነታቸው መሠረት ላሊበላን ለፈረንሳይ አክሱምን ለጀርመን፣ አስመራን ለአሜሪካ፣ ደቡብን ለአረቦችና ቱርኮች ለማስረከብ ነው የኢትዮጵያ ማሕፀን ያለወለደቻቸው እነ ግራኝ አብዮት አህመድ አሊና ጃዋር መሀመድ እየሠሩ ያሉት። ባለፉት ሁለት ዓመታት የተካሄደው “ጦርነት” ሰሜኑን ለማዳከምና ጋላ–ኦሮሞ ያልሆኑትን በሚሊየን የሚቆጠሩ ወጣት የመከላከያ አባላትን መንጥሮ ለመጨረስ በስልት የተደረገ ፀረ–ኢትዮጵያ የዘር ማጥፋት ጦርነት ነው። ስንቱ ወጣት እንዳለቀ እናቶቻቸውን ይጠይቁ! እግዚአብሔር አያድርገው እንጂ በእኔ በኩል በጥቂቱ ሦስት ሚሊየን የሚሆኑ ሰሜናውያን አልቀዋል!

🔥 በቀል! በቀል! በቀል!🔥

💭 የሩሲያው ፕሬዚደንት ፑቲን አማካሪና አጥባቂ ኦርቶዶክስ ክርስቲያን ለመሆን የበቁት አስተዋዩ የቀድሞው ፕሬዚደንት ዲሚትሪ ሜድቪዴቭ ከሳምንት በፊት በቴሌግራም ቻነላቸው ላይ የሚከተለውን መልዕክት አስተላልፈው ነበር፤

“ሕዝባችንን እየገደሉ ያሉት እነሱና ጀሌዎቻቸው ይቅርታ አይደረግላቸውም። በሌላ መልኩ ካልተረዱ በአመጽ ቋንቋ እናናግራቸዋለን። እና ተጨማሪ ዘመናዊ የጦር መሳሪያዎችን እናመርታለን። በእነዚህ መሳሪያዎች ምዕራባውያን በ21ኛው ክፍለ ዘመን ያፈራውን የናዚ አተላ እንደቁሰዋለን። እያንዳንዱን ወንጀለኛ ለተገደለው ለእያንዳንዱ የሀገራችን ዜጋ እንበቀልለታለን።”

“They and their henchmen who are killing our people will never be forgiven. We will speak to them in the language of violence if they don’t understand otherwise. And produce more modern weapons. With these weapons we will grind up the Nazi scum that the West has produced in the 21st century. We will take revenge on every criminal for every murdered citizen of our country.”

👉 Courtesy: Shoebat.com

💭 ትንቢተኛው የግሪኩ ‘አባ ዘወንጌል’ | ቱርክ የምትባል አገር አትኖርም፤ በቅርቡ ትፈራርሳለች

💭 Elder Paisios’ Amazing Prophecies About Constantinople

______________

It’s Friday the 13th: Ukraine’s President Zelensky Has Stripped Ukrainian Citizenship From 13 Orthodox Clergy

💭 ዛሬ ቀኑ አርብ ፲፫/13 ኛው ነው፤ የዩክሬኑ ፕሬዝዳንት ዘለንስኪ የዩክሬን ዜግነትን ከ፲፫/13 የኦርቶዶክስ ቀሳውስት ነጠቀ።

👉 Courtesy: Breitbart News + RT

President Zelensky stripped the 13 priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of their citizenship late last month and this week stripped several prominent opposition politicians of their Ukrainian citizenship as well, among them Viktor Medvedchuk, who was given to Russian authorities as part of a prisoner exchange in September of last year.

“I have decided to terminate the citizenship of four persons,” Zelensky stated earlier this week, with former MPs Andriy Derkach, Taras Kozak, and Renat Kuzmin also having their citizenship revoked by the government.

Medvedchuk had fled his home in the early days of the conflict with Russia and was arrested in April, accused of treason and attempting to leak military secrets to the Russians.

Derkach, Kozak, and Kuzmin have also been alleged to have ties to Russia or have supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Derkach, in particular, was also accused of smearing U.S. President Joe Biden regarding Hunter Biden’s activities in Ukraine, which involved work for the energy company Burisma for as much as $83,000 a month.

The stripping of citizenship of the opposition politicians comes after Zelensky stripped 13 Ukrainian Orthodox Church clergy of their citizenship, including the Metropolitan Archbishop of Tulchin and Bratslav, Ionafan, announcing the move last Saturday.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova did not mince words following the move by Kyiv: “And this is on Orthodox Christmas! This is pure Satanism.”

The move by the Zelensky government comes after it set its sights on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), a branch of Orthodoxy which retained links to the Patriarch of Moscow after the rival state-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) was formed, heavily restricting the church late last year.

Since then, Ukrainian intelligence authorities have raided several Orthodox churches, leading to former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev to comment: “The current Ukrainian authorities have openly become enemies of Christ and the Orthodox faith.”

Ukraine has claimed that the raids uncovered various materials, including pro-Russia literature and Nazi symbols.

The Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the state-backed church, “reclaimed” the Dormition Cathedral and the Refectory Church of the nearly 1,000-year-old Pechersk Lavra last week after the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was forced to give it up by the government.

Moscow’s Patriarch Kirill released a statement following the handover of the historic cathedral

asking believers to pray “for our brothers in Ukraine, who are being expelled today from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, that Lavra, which for centuries has been the guardian of true, undistorted Orthodoxy.”

______________

Ethiopia’s Ancient Monastery That Canadian Television (CTV) Visited Was ‘Looted & Bombed’

✞ Monks on ደብረ ዳሞ Cliff Top:

“Our languages are different – but our origins are the same – we’re all brothers!” 👏

“ቋንቋዎቻችን የተለያዩ ናቸው ፥ ግን መነሻችን አንድ ነው ፥ ሁላችንም ወንድማማቾች ነን!” 👏

👉 „ጠሪጥኩም‘ዶ?! ሳብ…ጣጥ! ሳብ…ጣጥ!”😂 እንደው በጣም ደስ የሚሉ ደግና የዋሕ አባት፤ ከአምስት ዓመታት በፊት በቀድሞው ቻነሌ አቅርቤው ነበር፤ ልክ ዛሬ በአቡነ አረጋዊ ዕለት ቪዲዮውን ሳገኘው በጣም ደስ አለኝ። እግዚአብሔር እና ቅዱሳኑ እነ አቡነ አረጋዊ ከእናንተ ጋር ናቸው! አባቶቻችን ጸሎታችሁ አይለየን!

✞✞✞[መዝሙረ ዳዊት ምዕራፍ ፸፩]✞✞✞

፩ አቤቱ፥ ፍርድህን ለንጉሥ ስጥ፥ ጽድቅህንም ለንጉሥ ልጅ፥

፪ ሕዝብህን በጽድቅ፥ ችግረኞችህንም በፍርድ ይዳኝ ዘንድ።

፫ ተራሮችና ኰረብቶች ለሕዝብህ ሰላምን ይቀበሉ።

፬ ለችግረኞች ሕዝብ በጽድቅ ትፈርዳለህ የድሆችንም ልጆች ታድናለህ፤ ክፉውንም ታዋርደዋለህ።

፭ ፀሐይ በሚኖርበት ዘመን ሁሉ፥ በጨረቃም ፊት ለፊት ለልጅ ልጅ ይኖራል።

፮ እንደ ዝናብ በታጨደ መስክ ላይ፥ በምድርም ላይ እንደሚንጠባጠብ ጠብታ ይወርዳል።

፯ በዘመኑም ጽድቅ ያብባል፥ ጨረቃም እስኪያልፍ ድረስ ሰላም ብዙ ነው።

፰ ከባሕር እስከ ባሕር ድረስ፥ ከወንዝም እስከ ምድር ዳርቻ ድረስ ይገዛል።

፱ በፊቱም ኢትዮጵያ ይሰግዳሉ፥ ጠላቶቹም አፈር ይልሳሉ።

👉 ለኢትዮጵያ መጥፎ ዕድልን፣ ሃዘንን፣ ባርነትን፣ በሽታን፣ ረሃብንና ሞትን ይዘው የመጡት፣ ከሞትና ባርነት አፈር የተገኙት የግራኝ ኦሮሞ አህዛብ እና ጭፍሮቹ የትግራይን ሕዝብ ከምድረ ገጽ ለማጥፋት በአክሱም ጽዮን ላይ እያካሄዱት ያሉትን የጭፍጨፋ ጂሃድ፤ እግዚአብሔር ኢትዮጵያዊ አድርጎ የፈጠራቸው ከነፃነትና ከሕይወት አፈር የተገኙት ደገኞቹ ኢትዮጵያውያን አምላካቸው በኃላፊነት ያስረከባቸውን ሃገር ነፃነት ለማስጠበቅ እና የሕይወትንም ዛፍ ከዲያብሎስ ጠላት ለመከላከል በተፈጥሮ የተሰጣቸውን የተዋጊነት መንፈስ ዛሬ በትግራይ ቀስቅሰውታልና መስቀላቸውን ይዘው ስልጣን ላይ ያሉትን ቆለኛማዎችን የዋቄዮ-አላህ ጭፍሮችን አንድ በአንድ በመጠራረግ ላይ ይገኛሉ። ይህ ከዚህ ከአቡነ አረጋዊ ዕለት ጀምሮ እየተከሰተ ለመምጣቱ ምስጋና የሚገባቸው ሥላሴ፣ ጽዮን ማርያም፣ ቅዱሳኑ እነ አቡረ አረጋዊ እና አባቶቻችን ናቸው። ስለዚህ ዛሬ የትግራይ ኢትዮጵያውያን ለሌላ ለማንም ኃይል፣ ለማንም ቡድን፣ ለማንም ፖለቲከኛ፣ ለየትኛውም ምልክትና ባንዲራ በይበልጥ ምስጋና ከመስጠት መቆጠብ አለብን ፤ እንደ እስራኤል ዘ-ስጋ ፈጥሪያችንን አስቀይመን ቅጣታችንና ስቃያችን እንዳይቀጥል መጠንቀቅ ይኖርብናል።

👉 ታች የቀረበውንና በዛሬው ዕለት የሚነበበውን የሥላሴን ተዓምር በተለይ ኢ–አማንያን ለሆኑት የትግራይ ወገኖች ትልቅ ትምህርት ነውና ይህን ተቀብለው ወደ እግዚአብሔር ይመለሱ፤ ከትግራይ/ኢትዮጵያ አፈር የተገኘ ሰው ኢ–አማኒ ሊሆን በጭራሽ አይገባውምና።

✞✞✞የሰኞ ሰይፈ ሥላሴ ተአምር✞✞✞

ጢሮአዳ በሚባል አገር የፋርስ ንጉስ ጭፍራ የሆ አንድ ሰው ነበረ፡፡ ይህም ሰው ከእለታት በአንድ ቀን የክርስቲያንን አገር ለማጥፋት ሰንጋ ፈረሱን ጭኖ ከቤቱ ወጣ፡፡ በዚህም አገር ውስጥ የአብ የወልድ የመንፈስ ቅዱስ ስዕል ያለበት የተቀደሰ ቦታ ነበር፡፡ ከዚያም ንዋያተ ቅድሳቱን ለመመዝበር አማረውና ወደ ተጌጠው አዳራሽ በገባ ጊዜ የስሉስ ቅዱስ ስዕል ካለበት ቦታ ደረሰ፡፡ ይህም ወታደር የስላሴን ስዕል በእሳት ሰይፍ ታጥሮ ባየው ጊዜ በዚያ የነበሩትን ሰዎች “ወንድሞቼ ሆይ ይህ እንደ ነደ እሳት የሚያንፀባርቅ ስዕል ምንድነው? አርአያው እጅግ አስፈራኝ ወደ እሱ ቀርቤም ሁኔታውን ለመረዳት ተሳነኝ” አላቸው፡፡ እነዚያም የክርስቲያን ወገኖች “አንተ ወታደር ፈጥነህ በምድር ወድቀህ ስገድ ይህ የስላሴ ስዕል የስላሴ አርአያ ገፅ ነውና” አሉት፡፡ በዚያን ጊዜ ፈጥኖ በጉልበቱ ተንበርክኮ ሰገደ እጁንም ወደ ሰማይ በመዘርጋት “እኔ ለጌቶቼ ለስላሴ ስዕል እሰግዳለሁ” እያለ ማለደ፡፡ “ከአረማውያን አገር አውጥታችሁ ከክርስቲያኖች አገር አድርሳችሁኛልና ስለዚህም ምስጋና ላቀርብላችሁ እገደዳለሁ” አለ፡፡ እንዲህም እያለ ሲፀልይ የእግዚአብሔር የጌትነቱ ብርሃን በዚያ ቤት ውስጥ መላ፡፡ በዚህም ጊዜ “አንተ የንጉስ ወታደር ሆይ መንግስተ ሰማያት ትገባ ዘንድ ስሉስ ቅዱስ ጠርተውሃል” የሚል ቃል ከሰማይ መጣ፡፡ ይህንንም ከመስማቱ የእግዚአብሔር መልአክ መጋቤ ብርሃናት ራጉኤል በፍጥነት ወደርሱ መጥቶ ወደ ሰማይ አሳረገውና በስላሴ ፊት አቆመው፡፡ ስላሴም “ከሌሎቹ የንጉስ ሰራዊት ተመርጠሸ ወደዚህ የመጣሽ አንቺ ምርጥ ነፍስ ሆይ ወልድ በአባቱ ጌትነትና በመንፈስ ቅዱስ ክብር እስኪመጣ ድረስ በህያዋን አገር ገብተሸ በዚያ ትቀመጪ ዘንድ ፈቅደንልሻል” አሏት፡፡ ይህንንም ካሏት በኋላ ወደዚያ አስገቧትና በዚያ ተቀመጠች፡፡

👉 Back in 2015 the Canadian Crew was there not only for adventure, but somehow also to live and witness the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo faith, to discover the central element of Orthodox Christian belief and theology — The Love of Christ, The Love of Jesus Christ for humanity, The Love of Christians for Jesus Christ, and The Love of Christians for others. These aspects are distinct in Orthodox Christian teachings—the love for Christ is a reflection of his love for all. That’s what these Canadian Television crew members got climbing on a rope to reach the top of Mount Zion where this marvelous 6^th century Debre Damo / St. Abuna Aregewai Monastery is located.

This made the devil mad. We know Satan hates love, and gets angry when good things happen – so a coalition Army of Satan consisting of the Gog/Magog armies of the Muslim-Protestant Oromo Abiy Ahmed Ali (ENDF), Eritrean Army (EDF), Amhara Militias, Somali Soldiers and army of drones from the United Arab Emirates decided to blow up this 6th-century Christian Monastery. We still don’t know regarding loss and damage. Until today, medias and teams who try to investigate the bombardment of the Monastery were denied entry. But, in this Jihad some Monks were killed and injured.

_________________________________

To Be Black And Orthodox: Part Of My Story

I have a friend who is considering becoming an Orthodox Christian. She is African-American and is concerned that by joining the Orthodox Church that she would be turning her back on black culture. While she likes everything about the ancient faith, she notices the lack of Negro spirituals and the preaching style of the church we grew up in. Also, except for me, I am the only native black American in the parish. While she is used to being the only black in some circles in her upbringing, that she would be a little more comfortable making the same plunge that I did if she saw more of us in the same pool. How is it possible to maintain a strong black identity in this white church?

As I have written in a previous article, the Orthodox Church is the white church that is not. Much of its spirituality comes from the teachings of the Desert Fathers of the Nile Valley. It is not uncommon for Eastern European monks and nuns to trace their ascetic practices back to St. Anthony of Egypt or St. Moses of Ethiopia. St. Athanasius, who was described by his rivals as a black dwarf, is the acknowledged hero of the First Ecumenical Council which underlined the true doctrine of the pre-existence of Jesus Christ. This saint would go on to be Bishop of Alexandria and all Africa and compile the books of the New Testament in 367 AD and the New Testament was officially canonized in a conference in Carthage 30 years later. Almost no White Anglo-Saxon Protestant church in this country would admit to such things. What saddens me is that very few, if any, African-American Protestant churches teach these things on a regular basis.

Also, the whites from Eastern Europe had nothing to do with the chattel slavery of our ancestors nor established the Jim Crow laws. Greeks and Serbs were slaves to the Ottoman Turks up until the early 1800’s. Russian monks defended the humanity and rights of Native Alaskans and helped push for the liberation of serfs (semi-slaves) in their own nation. Arabs, Lebanese, and Syrians do not consider themselves to be white. As for the Egyptians and Ethiopians, they certainly aren’t white. Thus, for a black American to become an Orthodox Christian is to join a universal body of believers that are not defined by Thomas Jefferson’s assumed white supremacy and Finis Dake’s Biblical misinterpretations of black “inferiority.”

Being an Orthodox Christian, I see myself as transcending America’s ignorant defining wall of race and embracing the ancient sense of being both black and Christian. In my icon corner, I have Cyprian of Carthage, Moses the Ethiopian, John the Dwarf and other heralded saints of Africa. As well, I have a dark skinned Theotokos and Christ that was written in the Slavic tradition and the Kursk-Root Icon of the Theotokos which is one of the holiest images of the Russian Orthodox Church. The pale skinned Christ Pantocrator at the top of my corner is the 6th century icon from Africa’s Sinai Peninsula. But, there is an Ethiopian icon of the Nativity beside it. I reject the American tradition of iconoclasm as it lends itself to white supremacy. I fully embrace the Orthodox tradition of iconography as ours is the faith of all peoples from the very beginning. Of course, my Baptist upbringing is against “graven images” on biblical grounds. But, Orthodoxy Christianity also uses the bible to support the use of these “windows into heaven.” And the very first Orthodox Church I attended, St. Cyprian of Carthage in Richmond, I saw full sized icons of black saints and saw “white” people going up to, bowing before, and kissing them. Who’s interpretation should I trust; that of the ones who defended legal segregation and still maintains it by custom? Or, the multi-racial church leaders who came together in the eighth century who defined the proper place and use of holy images in the life of the Christian who knew no reason for skin color prejudice?

Being Orthodox, I am opposing the American Protestantism which ignores the history and wisdom of the African saints. Why should I not pray the words of St. Macarius the Great when Serbian school children have them in their prayer books? Why should I not seek guidance in the wisdom of St. Pachomius when Russian monks in West Virginia embrace the very lifestyle he taught? Oh don’t get me wrong; I honor my mother and father, rely on the strength of Harriet Tubman and David Walker, enjoy traditional black spiritual music, and have nothing against the Black Lives Matter fight against police brutality. But, any faith that teaches me that the African Saints don’t matter is a faith that does not teach black people the fullness of who they are in the eyes of God. The Orthodox maintain this Christian fullness with that of other holy men and women from Europe and the Near East. Fathers Seraphim Rose and Alexander Schmemann (two pillars of the Orthodox Church in the United States) frequently referred back to desert fathers in the formation of Christian worship and spiritual discipline as well as the monks of Mt. Athos or Valaam Monastery. Even in those hallowed places of contemplation, the African saints are highly revered. I see no reason why I shouldn’t follow suit.

Do I miss the form and style of African-American preaching? Sometimes I do. But, style without substance and sincerity is wasted. You take Dr. CAW Clarke, one of the greatest black preachers from back in the day. That man could “whoop” a sermon from the invocation to the benediction. But, his style was born out of the intense suffering of our people during the Jim Crow era that he lived in. Clark didn’t just “whoop,” but gave a lot of spiritual truth to his listeners. Too many preachers try to imitate his style not because of shared suffering, but out of the idea giving people what they like to hear. The same is true with the delivery style of Gardner C. Taylor (my biggest preaching influence). His slow and deliberate rise to a rousing crescendo of a shout was a reflection of the pain we suffer in this world rising to the hope and victory in the life of Christ. He did this with a theological mind second to none. While racism is still alive and well in this country, most black Christians have little or no idea what it is to have suffered like our parents and grandparents. We have lost the sense of humble suffering and reliance on God that they had as we are often too quick to protest the very slightest insult against us. Thank God the days of Jim Crow are (well, mostly) gone. But, without the sense of humble suffering and reliance on God for deliverance from this world and personal sin, our best Clarke and Gardner styles are mere mockeries.

Sadder still is the fact that so many black preachers today aren’t even trying to emulate these classic ministers. Way too often, modern preaching is dictated by whatever seems popular on “Christian” television. The mannerisms and styles of whatever preacher is amassing a great number of followers and generating the largest income is the patter that is being pedaled as “anointed preaching.” There is a great reliance on “Christianized” secular slogans to excite people to a point that some of the same things heard in a Friday or Saturday night dance club can be heard in a Sunday Morning sermon. “Turn around three times and give a ‘high five’ to your neighbor.” “Ain’t no party like a Holy Ghost party ’cause a Holy Ghost party don’t stop.” If the old mothers of the Baptist church I grew up in could rise from the grave and hear this sort of preaching, a lot of ministers would be getting whippings!

The same is true for black religious music. Our slave ancestors didn’t have the luxury of pianos. They clapped, stomped, and perhaps played a drum. The songs they made came out of a faith born in struggle with both the outer demons that oppressed them and the inner demons of sin. During segregation, that same sense of music made in a faith born out of struggle carried over on pianos and in some cases, other instruments (at least one branch of black Pentecostalism had horns). Contemporary Gospel, like that in white American Christian circles, is nothing more than a Christian label thrown on the secular music forms. What is heard on a Rhythm & Blues radio station is no different than the Gospel station. Some of the “liturgical dance” performed even in the morning worship in some churches is the same as seen in dance clubs. Instead of the church being a thermostat of Godly change in the souls of black Christians, it is too often a thermometer going along with whatever is going on for the sake of being “relevant” and keeping young folk in the church. Sadly enough, one of the reasons why youth and young adults leave and aren’t very active in the church (black or white) is that secular music and dance is a lot more professionally done and done with more talent than the entertainment that is in church.

I recognize the best of my African-American Christian heritage. Among my treasured icons of the saints are photos of people who contributed greatly to my spiritual development. My cousin Oppielee, Deacon Louise Kersey, was known for her godly wisdom and love for others. Alex and Zechariah Jones were uncles I never knew but were known as no-nonsense deacons at St. John’s Baptist Church. Deacon H. L. Mays was my shop teacher and a well-loved example of Christian manhood. My mentor in ministry and grandfather in law, Rev. Carter Wicks, took my narrow behind under his wing when it came to being a preacher and pastor. I am ever mindful of the road they paved for and the legacy they left me as I pray before them and the other icons every morning and evening. I kept the name I was given at birth when I was Chrismated into the Church out of respect for the two men whose legacy I will carry unto death. My Uncle John R. Thompson was a United States Marine when blacks weren’t supposed to be good enough to be Marines. After serving our nation in WWII, Johnny was known as a giving man who extended a hand of friendship to anyone who needed one. My father, John Robert, Sr., quietly broke color barriers as his aptitude test scores for AT&T technical trainees were among the highest in his entry class. Today, he is one of the most respected deacons in King William County for his wisdom and community service. I wasn’t asked to change my upbringing to become an Orthodox Christian. I didn’t.

But, my father also taught me not to follow what everyone else was doing for the sake of being like everyone else. So, I stand on his shoulders and those of Uncle Johnny. I am rooted in the faith of Dr. Clarke and Deacon Oppeliee. But, I have taken my African-American identity to the table where Moses the Black speaks with John Chrysostom. I stand with Ephrem the Syrian and Cyprian of Carthage. I take from the chalice of Ireland’s Patrick and Egypt’s Mary. Just as Malcolm X urged black Americans to look beyond the struggle of national Civil Rights and bring our struggles into the realm of worldwide human rights, I have brought my faith to the older and broader Church. I pray my friend will see this and, in God’s time and way, come home to Orthodoxy. I pray others will do likewise.

Source

______

Holy Spirit: The Most Precious Gift

This Sunday marks the high point in the Church’s post-Paschal celebrations. After proclaiming the Resurrection of Christ for the past several weeks, the Church has called our attention to several post-Resurrection appearances to underscore the reality of the risen Lord for the life of the Church.

Today marks the highpoint of those celebrations. Today we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on the twelve disciples in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost. Why is this so important? Historically, Pentecost was the Jewish feast which celebrated the first fruits of the harvest. Every Jewish home celebrated God’s good gifts to them by giving the Lord a portion of their grain harvest, in anticipation of the full crop to come. It is simply a thank-you gift.

On this day the Church celebrates God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church. Much of the service is devoted to two things: the Trinity and the coming of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. There is so much to say on a day like today, but there is one truth that especially stands out that I would like to emphasize. It comes from a phrase we find repeated several times in the special hymns for today, which reads, “Verily, the fire of the Comforter has come and lit the world.”

Verily, the fire of the Comforter has come and lit the world. Let’s look at this a little closer. The comforter is the Holy Spirit, described by Jesus in John 14 when he said, “I will pray to the Father and he will give you another Helper, or Comforter, that he may abide with you forever: the Spirit of truth.”

That’s what the Holy Spirit does for us. He is sent by the Father, through the Son, and abides in us through his Holy Spirit. That’s where the Church gets its emphasis on the Trinity today. But the other lesson focuses on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the disciples.

In Acts 1:8 Jesus said:

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth.

Why did Jesus focus on the power of the Spirit’s presence in the life of the disciples? Simply because they needed it. Up to now they were shaky and timid people, for the most part. They were following Jesus, but the Jesus they followed died and rose from the dead, and now they did not know what to do except to wait for the Spirit, as Jesus told them to do.

And then, it happened. We are told in Acts 2:

When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place, and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing, mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat on each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with tongues, as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance.

And then, shortly after that:

Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea, let this be known to you. This is what was spoken by the Prophet Joel.”

Power, power, power. That’s one of the most important truths we learn from Pentecost. Christ gave his Holy Spirit to his followers to take his place on earth, and to empower them for Christian service. That’s what Peter was doing when he preached. Why is the power of the Holy Spirit so important to have?

The power of the Holy Spirit is important because he enables us to fulfill Christ’s demands. It is as simple as that. We simply cannot fulfill the Lord’s commands apart from the inner strength to obey them.

Every once in a while I meet people who tell me, “I have tried and tried to live the Christian life, but just cannot do it. I have this hang-up, and I just cannot get over it. I have tried hard, and, well, I just cannot do it. I cannot live, and I cannot obey, Jesus’ teachings, even though I have tried with all my heart.”

Have you ever felt like that? Have you tried living the Christian life and felt like giving up because you do not have the power to live it? If so, I have good news for you today. You are absolutely right. You have just discovered one of the most important truths you could ever learn about the Christian life. That truth is the truth that will set you free from all self-help and all the self-reliance that has made you so discouraged.

And what is that truth? It is the truth that only the Holy Spirit can give you the power to live as Jesus wants you to live. You cannot live by the power of your own sweat. On the contrary, the inner power for living the Christian life is summed up on this Day of Pentecost, and it is given in the words of Jesus, who declared, “Without me you can do nothing.”

And that is the good news of the Gospel.

Source: AncientFaithRadio

• Menfes Qedus

• Acquisition of The Holy Spirit

________________________________________

Losing My Religion – Reformation To Blame?

 

Belief in God is slowly declining in most countries around the world, according to a new poll, but the truest of the true believers can still be found in developing countries, Orthodox and Catholic societies.

The “Beliefs about God Across Time and Countries” report, released 18 April 2012 by researchers at the University of Chicago, found the Philippines to be the country with the highest proportion of believers, where 94 per cent of Filipinos said they were strong believers who had always believed. At the opposite end, at just 13 per cent, was the former East Germany, Religion News Service reports.

“The Philippines is both developing and Catholic,” said Tom W. Smith, who directs the General Social Survey of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. “Religion, which is mainly Catholic, is very emotionally strong there.”

The report covered data from 30 countries that participated in at least two surveys in 1991, 1998 or 2008. In 29 of the 30 countries surveyed in 2008, belief increased with age: Belief in God was highest for those ages 68 or older (43 per cent), compared to 23 per cent of those younger than 28.

While overall belief in God has decreased in most parts of the world, three countries — Israel, Russia and Slovenia — saw increases. The report said religious belief had “slowly eroded” since the 1950s in most countries of the world.

The percentage of believers in the former East Germany is lower than anywhere else. Although, the after effects of the communist society in East Germany are still being felt all over Eastern Germany more than 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the main culprit of religious illiteracy there could only be found in the Reformation of Martin Luther, and in the self-worshiping materialistic ethic of Bismarck’s Prussia.

The six states that make up former East Germany which have the highest percentage of atheists (52 percent of respondents), compared with Western part of Germany, have all originally Protestant background. In Western Germany, predominantly Catholic, only 10.3 percent of those who responded were atheists.

“Countries with high atheism (and low strong belief) tend to be ex-socialist states and countries in northwest Europe,” writes study author Tom W. Smith. “Countries with low atheism and high strong belief tend to be Catholic societies, especially in the developing world, plus the United States, Israel, and Orthodox Cyprus.”

Yet, unlike East Germany, former communist states like Russia, Slovenia or China do have a growing numbers of Christian believers. In fact, China will be the largest Christian nation of the World in a couple of years.

So, what do atheist regions like East Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark all have in common? Protestantism and Prussian way of life.

 

Download the full report here

 

______________________________________________

 

The Amazing Prophecies of Dimitry Tarabich

Below are extracts from prophecies attributed to a righteous Serbian layman, Dimitry Tarabich. He was an illiterate, but clairvoyant layman who lived as a hermit in the 1850s. It appears that these prophecies were written down by his godfather, a priest called Fr Zacharias. Although we lack the sources to vouch 100% for their authenticity, they are surely of interest to the reader, who may wish to reflect on them and pray for the rest of the souls of those concerned. We thank Georgios Alexandrou for bringing them to our attention.

‘You see my godfather, when the world starts to live in peace and abundance after the Second Great War, it will all only be a bitter illusion, because many will forget God and worship only their own human intelligence. And do you know, my godfather, what human intelligence is, compared to God’s will and knowledge? Not even one drop in the ocean.

Men will build a box and there will be some kind of device with pictures inside it, but they will not be able to communicate with me who will already have died, even though this picture device will be as close to this world as hairs on the human head are to each other. With the help of this device, people will be able to see everything that is happening all over the world.

People will drill wells deep into the earth and dig out gold (another name for oil is ‘black gold’), which will give them light, speed and power. The earth will shed tears of sorrow, because there will be much more gold and light on its surface than in its interior. The earth will suffer because of these open wounds. Instead of working in the fields, people will dig everywhere, in good and bad places, but the real power will be all around them, not being able to tell them: ‘Come on, take me, don’t you see that I am here, all around you’. Only after many years will people remember this real power and then they will realise how foolish it was to dig all those holes. This power will also be present in people, but it will take them a long time to discover it and use it. Thus, people will live for a long, long time, unable to know themselves. There will be many learned men, who will think that they know and can do everything because of their books. They will stand in the way of this realization, but once men have this knowledge, they will see what kind of delusion they had been under from listening to their learned men. When that happens, people will much regret that they had not discovered that knowledge before, because it is so simple.

They will believe that their illusion is the truth, although there will be no truth in their heads. Here at home (in Serbia) it will be the same as all over the world. People will start to hate clean air, divine freshness and all divine beauty and will be concealed in rankness. Nobody will force them to do that, but they will do it of their own free will. Here in Kremna (in Serbia) many a field and home will be abandoned, but then those who have left will return to find healing by breathing fresh air.

In Serbia it will be impossible to tell men from women. Everybody will dress in the same way. This calamity will come to us from abroad, but it will stay with us the longest. A groom will take a bride, but nobody will know who is who. People will be lost and become more and more senseless day by day. Men will be born, not knowing who their grandfather and great-grandfather were. People will think that they know everything, but they will know nothing.

The whole world will be contaminated by a strange disease and nobody will be able to find a cure. Everybody will say I know, I know, because I am learned and intelligent, but nobody will know anything. People will think and think, but they will not be able to find the cure, which will be obtained only with God’s help, all around them and inside themselves.

People will travel to other worlds to find lifeless deserts, and still, God forgive them, they will think that they know better than God himself. There, except for the eternal peace of God, they will see nothing, but they will sense with their hearts and souls all of God’s beauty and power. People will drive in machines on the moon and the stars (planets). They will look for life, but life similar to ours will not be found. It will be there, but they will not be able to understand it and see that it is life.

One who goes there, God forgive him, not believing in God, as it is proper for an honourable and decent person to do, will say on his return: ‘Oh, you people, who mention God’s name with doubt, go there where I was, then you will see what God’s mind and power are.

The more people know, the less they will love and care for each other. Hatred will be so great between them that they will care more for their different devices than for their relatives. People will trust in their devices more than their closest neighbours.

Among people of a nation far to the north, there will appear a little man who will teach men about love and compassion, but there will be many Judases and hypocrites around him, so that he will have many difficulties. None of these hypocrites will want to know what real human grace is, but his wise books will remain, and all he says, and then people will see how self-deceived they were.

Those who read and write different books with numbers will think that they know the most. Those learned men will live by their calculations and they will do and live exactly as the numbers tell them. Among those learned men there will be good and evil men. The evil ones will do evil deeds. They will poison the air and the water and spread pestilence over the seas, rivers and the earth, and suddenly people will start to die of various illnesses. The good and wise will see that all this effort and hard work are worthless and that it leads to the destruction of the world, and instead of looking for wisdom in numbers, they will start to seek it in prayer.

World War III

When they start to pray more, they will be closer to God’s wisdom, but it will be too late, because the evil ones will already have ravaged the whole earth and men will start to die in great numbers. Then people will run away from the towns to the country and look for the mountains with three crosses, and there, inside, they will be able to breathe and drink water. Those who escape will save themselves and their families, but not for long, because a great famine will appear. There will be plenty of food in the towns and villages, but it will be poisoned. Many will eat it from hunger and die immediately. Those who fast to the end will survive, because the Holy Spirit will save them and they will be close to God.

The greatest and the angriest will strike the mightiest and the most furious. When that horrible war starts, woe to the armies that fly in the skies. Those who fight on the earth and the water will be better off.

Those who wage this war will have scientists who will invent different, strange cannonballs. We will not fight in this war, but others will do battle overhead. Burning people will fall from the sky over Pozega (in Serbia). Only one country at the end of the world, surrounded by great seas, as big as our Europe, will live in peace, without any trouble. Not a single cannonball will explode on it or over it. Those who run and hide in the mountains with three crosses will find shelter and be saved, but not for long, since a great famine will appear. Food will be everywhere in the towns and villages, but it all will be poisoned. In order to feed themselves, many will eat everything and will die immediately. Those who fast and have endured fasting will survive because the Holy Spirit will preserve them and they will be closer to God in the time of great famine and perdition.

At that time, far away in the Russian mountains, a young man named Mikhail will appear. He will have a bright face and his entire appearance will radiate mercy. He will go to the nearest monastery and ring all the monastery bells. To those who gather around him there, he will say; ‘You forgot who I am, that I did not die, but am alive’. Mikhail will go everywhere, but mostly he will live in Constantinople. Let him who has ears hear’’.

 

 

Additional reading…

 

 

 

A History of Christianity

 

A six-part BBC series

 

Infertile Muslim Woman Gave Birth to Son After Prayer to St. Nicholas

A Muslim woman in Russian Republic of Bashkiria, who was unsuccessfully treated for infertility for 14 years, gave birth to a son after praying before the icon of St. Nicholas in an Orthodox church.

“I’m a Muslim, but for some reason I believed that it (the icon – IF) will help me,” the happy mother is quoted as saying by Ufa edition of the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily.

Her friends advised her to go to the church: her marriage has almost failed and the diagnosis sounded as a death verdict to family happiness – it is impossible to give birth with such decease.

It was the first time the woman came to the church, she was a little bit scared and did not how to pray. Parishioners told her “sincerely, from the heart” ask St. Nicholas.

Then she invented a simple prayer: “Nicholas the Wonderworker help me, give us a son, please…” Finally, the woman took off her favorite golden chain and left it near the icon – there is a belief that such gifts make a prayer more effective.

She understood that she is pregnant a month after. Her son Tamerlan makes his parents happy: he is so cheerful and clever.

Source

 

 

 

 

Russian Patriarch Who Saw End Of Communism, Dies

 

 

The Christian world has lost one of its principal advocates.

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexiy II, who revived the nation’s main religion after decades of Soviet atheism and healed an 80-year rift with a branch of the Russian Orthodox church in the West, died on Friday. He was 79.

Enthroned in 1990 a year before the Soviet Union’s collapse, Estonian-born Alexiy II was relieved of the state ideological control that weighed on his predecessor in the ancient chambers of Moscow’s Danilovsky Monastery.

In one of his biggest achievements, the patriarch signed a pact in May 2007 with Metropolitan Laurus, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, ending an 80-year split begun by White Russians who fled Soviet Russia to set up a rival faction.
Alexiy II made the most of Russia’s spiritual vacuum after the long-held Communist beliefs crumbled.

But he was also criticized for supporting measures to restrict the freedom of other confessions, including Roman Catholics, to work in Russia.

He stood in the way of a visit to Russia by the Polish-born former leader of the Catholic church, Pope John Paul II.

And although he expressed similar views on same-sex marriage, euthanasia and abortion as Pope Benedict XVI, this never resulted in a meeting.

Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe last year, Alexiy II denounced homosexuality as a sin, an illness and “a distortion of the human personality like kleptomania”. He also said European civilisation was threatened by a divorce of human rights from Christian ethics.

POLITICAL CIRCLES

Alexiy II moved the Orthodox Church closer to the centre of political power, despite repeatedly voicing support for Russia’s constitutional separation of church and state.
He was a frequent visitor to the Kremlin, and then Russian President Vladimir Putin was often seen at key church services held at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral, demolished by Soviet ruler Josef Stalin and rebuilt in the 1990s.

Alexiy Mikhailovich Ridiger was born on Feb. 23, 1929, in the Estonian capital Tallinn, into the family of a Russian Orthodox priest.

He later said his family’s many pilgrimages to the then Soviet Union’s key religious sites were crucial to moulding his future path.

In 1953 he graduated from the St Petersburg Spiritual Academy as a priest. He served in Estonia and Russia before becoming a monk in 1961, taking the vow of chastity necessary for any orthodox clergyman seeking a top position in the church.

In 1961 he was appointed Bishop of Tallinn and Estonia and in 1986 was consecrated Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod.

In 1990 he became the 15th patriarch to lead the Orthodox Church since the position was established in 1589. The patriarchate was abolished between 1721 and 1917.

God Bless His Soul!