Divination And Prophecy

Is there a difference between divination and prophecy? 

The knee jerk reaction, of some orthodox Christians, to immediately attribute to demons anything having to do with the supernatural elements of the faith, is alarming. The alarm is not over the fact  that the church needs to be reminded that Satan roams to and fro, about the earth, seeking whom he may devour, and his sights are always set on the people of God, for Satan would diminish the capacity of the church to move through time, equipped with the demonstrated power of God. One of the ploys of Satan is to mimic the gifts of God. Moses saw this in Pharaoh's court, when the magicians were able to reproduce the staff-to-serpent trick. We see it also today, as there seems to be a satanic supernatural counterfeit gift to every one of God's gifts. Cloaked as an angel of light, Satan would lure seekers and orthodox faithful, by offering them supernatural demonstrations. Through this deception, Satan would have even the faithful following signs and wonders, which he controls. "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." This is indicative of the modern, so-called, Charismatic Movement. The end of this path is spiritual and physical death.  

There is another deceptive ploy, however, for which the alarm must be sounded, for its fiery dart is aimed at the heart of the Church. Alarming, is the propensity of some to so fear the satanic supernatural, that they ignore the fact that the Christian faith is inherently, divinely supernatural. In their initial, sincere effort to keep the false gifts out of the Church, they become unwitting emissaries of resistance to God's good gifts. In this, they have become unwitting emissaries of Satan.  Even with several biblical lists which contain specific, demonstratively supernatural gifts, that God instills in humans, and the clear warning from Saint Paul not to dismember the body by removing any gift, these emissaries relegate those gifts to another time or place. They suggest that such gifts are "not common" or are only seen in "very holy" people, such as monks, bishops, or those who have long since died, and never in contemporary laymen. To bolster this view, the emissaries, will quote their preferred Church Father, with little regard to the context in which the Father wrote. They will find Church Fathers who warn about deceptive supernatural practices or cults. They will ignore, or cast dispersion on saints such as Symeon the New Theologian, who was very specific concerning the ethereal means by which God communicates His will to the "brethren". Then, the emissary will add to their charge, many anecdotes of people who have been deceived, or a gifted person who turned out to be demonized. Some of these things may be factual, however, the emissary ignores the fact that no Church Father ever denied the existence, or operation, or dispensing of all of the gifts of the Spirit as God chooses.  The emissary's conclusion, and his core motivation, is the dogma that anyone who believes in, operates in, or supports the more demonstratively supernatural gifts today is demonized, and must be denounced and silenced. In this, the emissary does the work of Satan, when they attack the Holy Spirit's work in and through His people. The scripture says to "test the spirits to see if they be of God", but the emissaries ignore this God-given method of determining the origins of a gift, and go straight to denouncement.  The emissary, themselves, are deceived into thinking they are doing God's work, as they aggressively attack and isolate even orthodox Christians, making charges, judgments and character assassinations. They lump all supernatural gifts under the term, "charismatic movement", and, in effect, throw the authentic Gifts of God out with the proverbial bathwater, making the gifted person, suspect. In this, they feel justified to make public their accusations and have no remorse toward the destruction they do to the individual on whom they have set their sights. This is demonstrated most often in the attack on God's prophets in the Church. The emissaries will denounce the current authenticity of God's prophets by calling the gift, "divination". But, is there a difference between Satan's diviners and God's prophets?

Divination and Prophecy

"Similarities between inspirational divination and Old Testament prophecy ought never to be allowed to blind one to their radical and essential differences. It is true that both take into account the human instinct for secret knowledge, especially that appertaining to the future, and they agree in the conviction that such knowledge is possessed by certain spiritual beings who are willing, upon certain conditions, to divulge it, and that such secret information is imparted to special classes of men called diviners, seers, and prophets. But the likenesses end here. All the rest is in fundamental contrast.

The Old Testament prophet believed in a personal God. uniquely one, infinitely holy, righteous, and powerful, whose spokesman he claimed himself to be. When he spoke or wrote, it was by direct inspiration from the Spirit of God. "Thus saith Jehovah" was the authoritative formula that stamped his message with finality and infallibility of divine truth. The Greek and the Roman "soothsayer" (mantis), on the other hand, having no sublime ethical God, but gods many and lords many, went through various crude contortions, until he worked himself up to the necessary pitch of ecstasy, by music, drugs, sacrificial smoke, and similar helps. When, finally, in his insane excitement, he did speak, it was not truth by divine power, but error and deception by demonic cunning." (Unger, Biblical Demonology)

Rather than rightly divine the difference between God's prophets and Satan's diviners, the unwitting emissary for Satan challenges the very existence of the Holy Gift and those whom God has gifted. 

The test of a true prophet of God is very specific.

"You may be privately wondering, 'How are we to tell that a prophecy does not come from Yahweh'? When a prophet speaks in the name of Yahweh and the thing does not happen and the word is not fulfilled, then it has not been said by Yahweh. The prophet has spoken presumptuously. You have nothing to fear from him."

"This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus, that spirit is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world"

The test of a false prophet is very specific,

 "...the prophet who presumes to say something in my name which I have not commanded him to say, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die."

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."

"At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. . . . For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect – if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time"

"Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets"

"But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them – bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping"

 ***

The work of the people of God, concerning prophets, is to, first, hear their words. Then, ask, "are their words true and do their words bear fruit?" Testing the truth of a "Thus saith Jehovah" word, often takes time, but Satan's unwitting emissaries are quick to speak and slow to listen. These emissaries, left unchecked, become the real enemies within the gates of the Holy Church, by calling unholy, that which God has called, holy. These emissaries are empowered by the Spirit of Jezebel. They would silence the prophets for they know that,

"...He Himself gave some to be prophets...for the Lord does nothing unless he reveals His instructions to His servants the Prophets." 

In these spiritually perilous times of great apostasy, when supernatural forces of darkness are being unleashed in an unprecedented manner, to deceive, "if it were possible", the very elect, God's prophets are anointed to expose and bring down the strongholds of the enemy and protect the body of Christ. They are diviners of God's will, equipped to root out the diviners of darkness. The irony exists in the fact that it is God's prophets who often expose the false prophets! Satan is working, through his unwitting emissaries, however, to cut of this vital gift, dismembering them from the body. Brethren, let it not be so!

"He who receives a prophet, will receive a prophet's reward."

*COMING NEXT: The Jezebel Spirit, enemy of the prophets of God, and infiltrator of the Church.

Related Articles: Is Orthodoxy Charismatic?

RIP Cheetah

I just learned that Cheetah, the chimpanzee sidekick to Tarzan in the 1930's movies, died today‎. It is interesting to note that he was indeed a Protestant Ecumenist as any good chimp would be. Here is the proof:

"Cheetah moved to the sanctuary around 1960, where he remained the most famous of its primate residents until his death. His interests included finger-painting, watching football and nondenominational Christian music." 

(Come on folks...lighten up!)

JTO Recommends

Ron Paul was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Gettysburg College and the Duke University School of Medicine, before proudly serving as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force during the 1960s. He and his wife Carol moved to Texas in 1968, where he began his medical practice in Brazoria County. As a specialist in obstetrics/gynecology, Dr. Paul has delivered more than 4,000 babies! He and Carol, who reside in Lake Jackson, Texas, are the proud parents of five children and have eighteen grandchildren.

While serving in Congress during the late 1970s and early 1980s, Dr. Paul’s limited-government ideals were not popular in Washington. He served on the House Banking committee, where he was a strong advocate for sound monetary policy and an outspoken critic of the Federal Reserve’s inflationary measures. He also was a key member of the Gold Commission, advocating a return to a gold standard for our currency. He was an unwavering advocate of pro-life and pro-family values. Dr. Paul consistently voted to lower or abolish federal taxes, spending, and regulation, and used his House seat to actively promote the return of government to its proper constitutional levels. In 1984, he voluntarily relinquished his House seat and returned to his medical practice.

Dr. Paul returned to Congress in 1997 to represent the 14th Congressional district of Texas. He serves on the House Financial Services Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee. On the Financial Services Committee, Rep. Paul serves as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology. He continues to advocate a dramatic reduction in the size of the federal government and a return to constitutional principles.

Dr. Paul is the author of several books, including The Revolution: A Manifesto, End the Fed, Liberty Defined, Challenge to Liberty; The Case for Gold; and A Republic, If You Can Keep It. He has been a distinguished counselor to the Ludwig von Mises Institute, and is widely quoted by scholars and writers in the fields of monetary policy, banking, and political economy. He has received many awards and honors during his career in Congress, from organizations such as the National Taxpayers Union, Citizens Against Government Waste, the Council for a Competitive Economy, and countless others.

Dr. Paul’s consistent voting record prompted one Congressman to comment that “Ron Paul personifies the Founding Fathers’ ideal of the citizen-statesman. He makes it clear that his principles will never be compromised, and they never are.” Another Congresswoman added that “There are few people in public life who, through thick and thin, rain or shine, stick to their principles. Ron Paul is one of those few.”

See Ron Paul's Statement of Faith. HERE

Put A Bit In It

"Someone who does not trip up in speech has reached perfection and is able to keep the whole body on a tight rein. Once we put a bit in the horse's mouth, to make it do what we want, we have the whole animal under our control..."

As one might understand, in having a presence as a blogger on the Internet, I am subject to various responses, comments and conversations with people all over the world. Some are civil and know the art of discussion. Others are more venomous and have little restraint in their verbiage, often getting off topic and resorting to impugning my character or analyzing my emotional or spiritual health.

Occasionally, I will have an opportunity to have an off-site dialogue by e-mail with a JTO visitor. It was one such dialogue recently that followed this unproductive and divisive pattern:

1. The blogger writes  a discourse disagreeing with something I have written.
2. I write back a gracious response, showing that the disagreement is not actual, but a result of semantics.
3. The blogger pushes back harder, dumping on more disagreements and adding more to the topic, before resolving the first issue.
4. I attempt to cut through the increasingly confusing blogger communication, by asking civil, but direct questions, so as to understand the blogger's true motivation.
5. The blogger reacts strongly at having been questioned and a personal attack ensues.

This "Orthodox" blogger said I need to undergo an exorcism. This, because the blogger took exception to my use of the phrase, "prophets speak when they are inspired by God..."  This blogger did not like the word, inspired, and thought it was too charismatic, protestant, or some other such negative, and the blogger's conclusion is that I have demons. It is a fearful thing to cast such judgement on a brother, and arrogant to usurp the authority of one's own priest in his spiritual life.

"...but nobody can tame the tongue-it is a pest that will not keep still, full of deadly poison. We use it to bless the Lord and Father, but we also use it to curse people who are made in God's image: the blessing and the curse come out of the same mouth. My brothers, this must be wrong..."

"Where do these wars and battles between yourselves first start? It is not precisely in the desires fighting inside your own selves? You want something and you lack it; so you kill. You have ambition that you cannot satisfy; so you fight to get your way by force." 

"Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." 

Real wisdom, and that which comes from God, is knowing when to bridle your tongue.

PUT A BIT IN IT.

One Desire

Now being in a Russian Diocese under our blessed Bishop Agafangel and our blessed priest, Father Gregory Williams, I have submitted all of my blogs and Internet activity to their wisdom and advise. So it is with fear and trepidation that I post this, for I know that Father Gregory likes to remain "off the radar" and is not comfortable when anyone would highlight him in any way. I look forward to the day when I might kiss the hand of my Bishop, but I am honored to kiss the hand of my priest every week. I am so honored that Father Gregory recently mildly rebuked me for asking for his blessing so often.

Under my blog photo, which was taken in front of our home altar, is the scripture that best reflects my heart. In all of my Journey To Orthodoxy, my heart has yearned for only one thing:

"One thing have I desired and that will I seek after. That I may dwell in the house of the lord all of my life and inquire in His holy temple. "

As I sit here blogging, my mind must catch up with the fact that the desire of my heart is being fulfilled. I entered the Agape Community/Holy Annunciation Orthodox Church, one year ago this month, only with a desire to serve, to fill in the gaps of need in this small community of believers. If that meant to only fix a broken cabinet, polish the brass, repair a lectern, or cabinet door, then my joy would abound. During liturgy, I was content to stand in the corner and worship the God. I found, however, a priest, who, in his wisdom and need, allowed me to chant the very first vigil we attended. In his wisdom he also gave to my wife his holy vestment to repair, trusting us, though he had just met us. It was that discernment of the spirit, that knowing, that our souls had been so oppressed by two former priests, that that trust, that putting us to work of the Kingdom, was the fulfillment of our hearts.

I so fear the thought that I might be accused of self-promotion, that I have the tendency to stand back and wait. The discernment of our blessed Matuska Anastasia, Father Gregory's wife, drew me to out of my waiting when she told me, "Father will not ask for help but needs it and would welcome it." This is how I now find myself assisting my priest at the Holy Alter. I told him I so desired to assist him if he needed me, and he has allowed me to do just that. Through the years, in this small community of Orthodox Believers, he has had to "do it all". But why should an arch-priest, a faithful servant of God, these 30 plus years, have to do it all? Why should he have to trim the wicks, light the incense, move a table,  prepare the blessed prosphora, especially if there are faithful men in the church to assist?

There are moments during the Liturgy, when Father is in the nave and I am awaiting him to returned to the altar, that I look at the holy altar and suppress the tears of joy, for it is an awesome thing to know that I, yes I, in my sinfulness and weakness, am allowed to stand in the presence of the King of all creation. I am humbled. God be merciful to me a sinner.

The Useful Idiots

From http://www.therealcuba.com/index.htm

"Through the years, many famous people, including politicians, sport figures, millionaires and Hollywood luminaries have been going to Cuba and allow themselves to be used by Castro's propaganda machine. Many have done it out of sheer ignorance; some have done it because they are dumb; and some others because they are benefiting economically from their association with this brutal dictator. 

 

It is a great propaganda tool for the Castro regime. Cubans who are enslaved by this brutal dictator are told that they can't expect much international help when all these famous people are going there to make jokes, play games or show their support for the dictator. Some day, these people will have to hang their head in shame for having used their names and fame to support Castro's genocide against the Cuban people.

Here is what some of the useful idiots have said:

Supermodel Naomi Campbell said Fidel Castro was "a source of inspiration to the world. "I'm so nervous and flustered because I can't believe I have met him. He said that seeing us in person was very spiritual," said Campbell after meeting with Castro, according to the Toronto Star.

Comedian Chevy Chase, at Earth Day 2000 in Washington D.C., said he believes "socialism works" and explained that "Cuba might prove that."

Kevin Costner after going to Cuba in 2001 to preview his film "13 Days": "It was an experience of a lifetime to sit only a few feet away from him and watch him relive an experience he lived as a very young man."

"He is a genius. We spoke about everything," actor Jack Nichols after meeting with Castro in 1998. Saul Landau, an Emmy award-winning filmmaker: Castro "has brought a greater equality in terms of wealth distribution than I guess any country in the world today."

Film director Steven Spielberg visited Cuba and met with Castro in November of 2002 and dined with the dictator until the early morning hours. Afterward, Spielberg announced that his dinner with Castro "was the eight most important hours of my life." Not the day of his wedding. Not the day that his kids were born. The most important hours of his life was the time that he spent with this criminal. Click here to read more about Spielberg's visit to Havana.

Ralph Nader: "Nader also spoke in favor of abandoning a 40-year-old US trade embargo against Cuba, saying the United States should treat Cuba as it treats China. He said the two nations should also launch a dialogue on the meaning of democracy." Click here'

The most recent Useful Idiot? 

[Idiot: Informal: an utterly foolish or senselesserson.]

August 13, 2011 23:30

Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Kirill congratulates Fidel Castro on his 85th birthday anniversary.
  
"Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools."

 Monsieur Fidel Castro   
Dear Comandante!

What Is Orthodoxy?

THE ORTHODOX CHURCH: HEAVEN ON EARTH

"We knew not whether we were in heaven or earth...We only know that God dwells there among men, and their service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations."

With these words, envoys sent by pagan Russian Prince Vladimir in the year 987 recorded their impression of Constantinople's awesome Orthodox Cathedral, the Hagia Sophia. They had been sent to search for the true religion. Within a year of their report, Prince Vladimir and the Russian people were baptized into Christ by Orthodox missionaries.

Today, as in Prince Vladimir's time, the Orthodox Church-fully aware that man is a union of body and soul-uses all the beauty of creation to move her faithful children to prayer and worship: icons (holy pictures), beautiful singing, sweet smelling incense, and majestic services.

Yet if the visible beauty of the Church is dazzling, her unseen beauty and glory are even more compelling, for the Orthodox Church is the Bride of Christ, and within her shelter we can begin to struggle for our salvation.

ORIGINS OF ORTHODOXY

The Greek word Orthodoxia means "correct praise" or "correct teaching" and in Orthodox worship the praise and teaching are closely interwoven. If you attentively follow the prayers and services of the Church, you can learn from them all her teachings and rich spiritual experience. The services trace their beginnings back to the Old Testament rites of the Hebrews. They are a treasury of Scripture readings, prayers, hymns and canons composed by the Saints and pious Christians throughout the ages.

Pascha (Easter in western parlance - a name derived from a pagan goddess) is the Feast of Feasts, the high point of the Orthodox year. During Pascha, the Church shines with the glory of Christ's resurrection. Clouds of fragrant incense accompany prayers heavenward; choirs and bells sing out the triumphant news; the faithful greet one another with the holy kiss of peace and the greeting, "Christ is risen!" The altar doors are left open all week to show that the Gates of Paradise are opened by Christ for us sinners to enter in for eternal life and joy in heaven.

SACRED TRADITION

Just as the Grace of the Holy Spirit which descended on the Apostles at Pentecost flows in a living stream down through today's bishops and priests, so Sacred Tradition carries the spiritual life of the Church in an unbroken stream from the time of the Apostles down to Orthodox believers today.

Sacred Tradition includes the unwritten acts and teachings of Christ and the Apostles which the Church preserves unchanged for us all. (John 21:25; 2 Thess. 2:15; 2 Thess. 3:6)

The power of Sacred Tradition is the power of the Holy Spirit as it influences Orthodox Christians in all ages. Through Sacred Tradition we are in communion with the spiritual life of all preceding generations back to the Apostles.

ORTHODOX BELIEFS AND SACRAMENTS

We worship God in Trinity, glorifying equally the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God, begotten before all ages, and that He is of one essence with the Father. We believe that Christ incarnate is truly man, like us in all respects except sin. We worship the Holy Spirit as Lord and Life-giver who proceeds from the Father.

We honor and venerate the saints and ask their intercession before God. Of the saints, Mary, the Mother of God, holds a special place "More honorable than the Cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim."

Baptism and Chrismation are the two sacraments essential to enter into the saving shelter of the Church. Baptism by triple immersion washes away our sins and restores the image of Adam. With Chrismation, we receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, becoming partakers of the fullness of Christ.

In the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, we partake of the true Body and Blood of Christ in the form of bread and wine for the remission of sins, the healing of body and soul, and for life eternal.

Confession is the fourth essential sacrament for the life of all Christians. In confession, Christ gives us, through our father confessor, the forgiveness of the sins we commit after Baptism if we truly repent of them.

Ordination, Marriage, and Holy Unction complete the central Mysteries of Orthodoxy. By the laying on of hands, a bishop transmits Divine Grace to the person being ordained, linking him-through the continuing flow of Grace that descended on the Apostles at Pentecost-to the uninterrupted succession of Orthodox clergy.

Divine Grace sanctifies the union of two people in matrimony. (Orthodox parish priests are usually married; bishops now come from the Church's monastic tradition.)

The sacrament of Holy Unction heals infirmities of body and soul.

CHURCH SYMBOLS

Virtually everything you see in an Orthodox Church symbolizes and calls to mind some aspect of our meeting with eternal Divinity.

The Domes. The peaked Russian dome draws our yearning and aspiration upward toward God and spiritual life. Like its ancestor the round Byzantine dome, the Russian dome celebrates in architecture what is accomplished by the Eucharistic Sacrament-the communion of heaven and earth. A single dome symbolizes the One Head of the Church, Jesus Christ; three domes stand for the Holy Trinity; five domes point to Christ and the Four Evangelists.

The Russian Orthodox Cross. On top of every dome, and throughout the church, you see the unique Russian three-bar cross. The top bar bears the sign "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews," reminding us that Christ is the King of Glory. The footboard, which was used by Roman executioners in Christ's time, is slanted up on the right for the thief who repented and down on the left for the thief who railed at Christ.

An Open Church. There are no pews or chairs in most Orthodox Churches. We stand during worship services out of reverence and humility before God. The absence of rigid pews gives us freedom to move about the Church and feel at home. We are free to venerate icons and light candles, as well as to bow and do the prostrations necessary at times of worship.

Candles. Candles burn before the icons and on the altar, signifying the light of truth given by the Lord, illuminating the world with spiritual radiance. Candles also symbolize our soul's burning love of God and the spiritual joy and triumph of the Church.

The Sanctuary. Raised above the nave (body of the Church), the sanctuary is where the Church's consecrated clergy perform divine services. The altar in the center of the sanctuary is known as the Holy Throne because the Lord God Himself is present on it.

The screen (called iconostasis, or image stand) is not placed in front of the altar to hide it, but to emphasize the inner mystery of the sacraments.

ICONS

On small stands, on the large iconstasis (icon stand) in front of the sanctuary, encircling the walls, and even up to the highest dome-holy pictures draw you into the spiritual life of the Church like silent, ever-preaching sermons. Called icons, from the Greek word for image, the holy pictures of Christ, the saints, and martyrs have deep significance in Orthodox life.

Because the Son of God took on human flesh and became incarnate as the God-man Jesus Christ, it became possible to portray the glory of God incarnate. "Blessed are the eyes which see what you see!:" (Luke 10:23).

The icons' style may seem austere and strange at first; they do not depict the natural beauty of the material world, but the spiritual beauty of the Kingdom of Heaven. Icons are venerated, but not worshipped, by Orthodox Christians.

Free from the subjective, sentimental, and fleshly quality of Western religious art, the true icon is part of the Church's Sacred Tradition. A true icon, painted through the power of the Holy Spirit, is in communion with the spiritual life of the Church back to its earliest days.

Because of the unity of Sacred Tradition, icons-like Orthodoxy itself-exist as unchanging and ageless windows into the spiritual world. As you gaze into an icon, the calm eye of eternal truth falls upon you. And you begin to realize the true beauty and order of all things visible and invisible.

THE CATACOMB CHURCH

The 1917 revolution destroyed the Russian Empire and plunged the world, and especially the Orthodox world, into darkness. The Church in Russia was subjected to vicious persecution by the atheist Bolsheviks.

Patriarch Tikhon, Head of the Church, anathematized the Bolshevik rulers and suffered imprisonment and torture for his refusal to submit to their demands. However, his successor, Metropolitan Sergius, gave in and with his notorious Declaration of 1927 made the church in the Soviet Union a political tool of the atheist government. The majority of the clergy vehemently protested against this concordat, but they were systematically killed. Not only the clergy, but Orthodox throughout the land suffered incredibly. According to the Soviet government's own statistics, there have been over 20 million new Christian martyrs who have died for the Orthodox Christian Church. Sorrowing for their suffering but rejoicing in the strength of their faith, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the millennium of Russian Orthodoxy (988-1988) by glorifying her Holy New Martyrs.

Even after the collapse of the Bolshevik state, large numbers of Orthodox Christians continue a catacomb existence within post-Soviet Russia and other former Soviet states. Far too frequent attacks on the visible churches of Orthodox Christians who refuse to submit to the Moscow Patriarchate, the successor to the Soviet Church created by the subservience of Metropolitan Sergius and his successors, bear witness to the wisdom of those who prefer to remain barely visible.

THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH ABROAD

Millions of Russians fled their homeland and settled in exile after the Bolsheviks established their control of Russia. On 7 November 1920, Patriarch Tikhon issued an Encyclical ordering all Russian Orthodox leaders outside Russia to organize a supreme Church authority and establish Church life and order independent of the church in the Soviet Union, which was and remains under communist control. Thus the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad was organized under the senior hierarch outside Russia, Metropolitan Anthony.

After the submission of most if its hierarchs to the Moscow Patriarchate on Ascension 2007, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (including Agape Community/ Church of the Annunciation and a large number of priests and parishes around the world) continues under the omophorion of Bishop Agafangel of Odessa, chairman of the Provisional Higher Church Authority, pending consecration of additional bishops and formal re-organization at the anticipated 2008 Sobor.  It continues in communion in prayer with the Old Calendar Church of Greece (Met. Cyprian of Fili), Romania (Met. Vlasie) and Bulgaria (Abp. Photi).

An unexpected action of its first Conference in Astoria NY, July 2007, was the establishment (pursuant to never-implemented resolutions of the All-Russian Sobor of 1917-18) of a Department of Missions, with an administration specifically for non-Russian/Slavonic missions throughout the world.

From http://www.annunciation.us/what_is_orthodoxy.html

Quit Acting Like A Baptist

Even though the Baptists provide a written statement refuting all systems of theology that would "deny the supernatural elements of our faith", in fact, with few exceptions, they relegate those elements to the New Testament days and cast great suspicion on any and all who claim that God speaks, moves, or works through them in a demonstratively supernatural way today.

I was delighted along my Journey To Orthodoxy to discover all of the supernatural elements of the Christian faith, alive and well in the orthodox Christian Church.  I have also been surprised lately to discover a propensity in many orthodox Christians to act like Baptists. It seems it is acceptable to talk of Saints and other dead believers to whom God spoke and demonstrated his power supernaturally, but let such happen to a living person and immediate condemnation occurs.  There seems to be a little more room to accept that an aesthetic, a monk, or a clergy has such a relationship with Holy Trinity, but should a layman experience a like walk with God, he is likely to be accused of being deceived by demons.  I have been the subject of such accusations, not for anything I have said or written, but simply for advocating that our God speaks to and through us in supernatural ways that can transcend the natural human experience. One JTO reader, after having read my some of my posts, affirmed me in that he saw nothing erroneous in any of the posts or words. He later, after talking to a few people, decided that I was influenced by demons. I was also chided, and even hounded by another JTO reader to the extent that I had to block all further e-mail correspondence from him, only the second person I have had to deal with in such a manner.

I wonder what these opponents, these Baptistesque, purveyors of the existence of only a humanistic relational Christianity, have to say to Saint Symeon The New Theologian.

"Believers acquire the knowledge of God by means of various and divers signs: mystical and unutterable workings, ambiguous sayings, divine revelations, flashes, contemplation of creation and many other means to increase the faith of such believers and raises them to the love of God. Not only this, but God informs them, as he did the Apostles, through the bestowal and presence of the Holy Spirit, and they are illumined more fully and are taught by the light, since God is ineffable and inexpressible, uncreated and eternal and incomprehensible. We are able to possess all knowledge and every word of wisdom and word of more mystical science. Furthermore, we are able to manifest the working of miracles and the grace of prophecy and diverse kinds of tongues and interpretation of tongues, helps and the administration of cities and people, and the full knowledge of  future blessings, and the gaining of the Kingdom of Heaven, adoption and the putting on of Christ and the knowing of the mysteries of Christ and His mystery of dispensation toward us and, simply, all things which the unbelievers are ignorant of. We who are believers are able to know and to believe and to say these things, being taught by the Holy Spirit alone." 

Would anyone care to pray to Saint Symeon and tell him that he, too, was deceived by demons?  Quit acting like a Baptist.

As Wise As A Serpent, As Harmless As A Dove

Okay, I am afraid I got the scripture backwards today when two teen females attempted to snap a photo of me in a shopping mall. I became as wise as a dove and as harmless as a serpent. I was accosted by two girls who thought it an important part of their life experience to participate in the fad of planking. 

As I was sitting on a bench in the food court, enjoying some tabbouleh and rice, the young lady came and lay beside me with her head not 10 inches from my waist. It took my brain a few seconds to grasp the strange event. When I saw her accomplice snapping the photo, I immediately jumped up from the table and got away from the planker. I proceeded, in no uncertain terms, to inform these two immature, subculture, fad-driven, Internet influenced, teens, that what they were doing could destroy a person's reputation and good standing. As they tried to leave, I demanded that they stay. I called a mall security guard to come and assure that they had erased the photo, which they described as "an Internet thing." The young ladies' greatest concern was that they might be banned from the mall, not that they had caused a stranger harm, and in her defiance and rebellion, the planking girl exclaimed, "you are not my father." Of that there was no doubt.

I heard the story years ago of the evangelist, Billy Graham, arriving at his hotel room to find a woman in it. Sensing the set-up that it was, he immediately bolted out of the room and ran down the hall. I always appreciated the wisdom of that reaction. Sometimes fleeing the very appearance of evil requires a quick sprint.

A Blessed Land

We were blessed this week and so was our land and the house that sits on it. It must have been a strange sight, to those passing by, to see a tall, bearded man, dressed in a cassock, walking barefoot, swinging a censor. This is especially true since my wife and I have recently acquired a property in a small community in Tennessee, that still has the old country store and "fillin' station", the small post office, and the staple southern protestant churches, Baptist and Church of Christ.  What an honor it was to walk with our beloved priest as he prayed prayers of blessing and dispelled any demonic forces that may have made the place home over the years. With this blessing came notice to the heavens and to the earth, that there are new inhabitants now, orthodox Christians. 

Our four walls were anointed with oil,  covering the East, West, North, and South. Since our priest had not been able to find his "regular" anointing oil as he was heading over, he grabbed a bottle of oil that he had obtained some thirty plus years ago. It was not until he started making the sign of the cross on the walls, with the oil, that he informed us that the oil was from the vigil lamp of Saint John the Wonderworker. It was those many years ago that our priest had sojourned, at the suggestion of Father Seraphim Rose, to San Francisco, to the church and tomb of Saint John. There, he was allowed in alone, at night, and filled his vial with the precious oil. It was later that Saint John was canonized.

I pray that the land and house, with which our Lord has entrusted us, will be a place of healing and peace to all to step foot here, for we are stewards of His gracious gifts. 

"Owning nothing but possessing everything."