ORTHODOX THANKSGIVING DAY

ORTHODOX THANKSGIVING DAY

Preparation for Christmas

     As Orthodox Christians, we celebrate Thanksgiving, not with sumptuous meals for we have learned how to fast and how to feast. In every season we render thanksgiving to God, and are now in the midst of the annual 40 day fast before the Nativity of Christ, preparing to celebrate the Nativity of Jesus Christ, being born in the flesh from the Virgin in Bethlehem.  But we celebrate our American Thanksgiving with a feast of fish which we greatly enjoy. We strive to keep the our lives centered on the New Child to be born in Bethlehem lying in the manger. He is our Lord, for and the source of our lives and our existence who is also our great Benefactor. We also are most thankful for our country and its many benefits and we thank the Lord for our  life in the United States of America.

     There is something very important about the subject of  thanksgiving to Orthodox Christians that sets it apart for us from everything else.  While, according to American tradition, we celebrate Thanksgiving Day once a year, we celebrate and offer prayers and thanksgiving to God , not on one day, but every single day of our lives, for it is from Him whom we live and have our being. It is from Him that our country has received its bounty. No matter much and how often we offer thanksgiving to God, we can never offer enough gratitude, considering  all that he has done for us and given to us.  If we could offer him songs as numberless as the sand we would still have done nothing worthy of all that He has given to us. We will name a few. Our very existence and being. Our body soul and spirit. Our intellect, consciousness, our freedom and fervent hope.

      The importance of continuous thanksgiving is apparent to us for it is the name of the mystery celebrated at every Divine Liturgy, which is “the Eucharist”, a Greek word which translated is

Thanksgiving!

REBUTTAL OF STATEMENTS BY DOSITHEOS ANAGNOSTOPOULOS OF THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE

REBUTTAL OF STATEMENTS BY  DOSITHEOS ANAGNOSTOPOULOS 

 OF THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE

      Recently a spokesman for the Ecumenical Church, Dositheos Anagnostopoulos said some outrageous things about our holy faith and the inevitable union, in his view of Holy Orthodoxy with the unholy papacy.  He evens speaks more like a papist than an Orthodox, saying that the Patriarch and Pope  will  “hear Mass”.  While this phrase may apply to the papal  mass, it is most inappropriate to apply it to Orthodox Christians who do not go to hear, but to celebrate the greatest and most glorious mystery in all history, wherein  angels concelebrate with us and heaven bends down and embraces us so that we are in the kingdom of heaven – this is the Holy Orthodox Divine Liturgy!

   The spokesman says that there is different canon law but “no theological dispute.”  Orthodoxy does not have Canon Law, but we do have the Law of Christ. Sacred Canons have never been considered as laws and that is why they are limited to be used by bishops, who can apply them with leniency or strictness.

   "No theological dispute?” It is a gigantic theological dispute! And this man is an Orthodox clergyman?  The Pope claims to be the head of the church, the only one who represents God on earth, the infallible master of the all Christianity answerable to no one but never allowing himself to be questioned or challenged. The pope also considers himself the only guide of the church.  What does this mean and is it a theological dispute? Not at all. It is the overthrow of Jesus Christ as the only Head of the Church and of the Holy Spirit as the only Guide of the church, and the popes have usurped the authority of God himself, waged war against the Church, slaughtered Orthodox Christians, is in apostasy from the Church, reject the Holy Fathers and the Sacred Canons. They have attacked and torn down the Roman Church and on its ruins have built the papacy which is not a church at all, but a fabrication by the apostates.

  The spokesman says that “the pope is considered as the representative of Jesus Christ on earth that is for all Christians”.  This is an false statement or a gross error.  The correct statement should be: “the pope has been dogmatised by the papacy as the sole representative of Christ on the earth, stating that all Christians must submit to him.”

     The spokesman claims no theological disputes, and this is untrue. One dispute was argued by St. Gregory Palamas with the papacy who claimed that divine grace was created, while Orthodoxy calls it uncreated coming from directly from God. He says that "dogmas hardly differ.

     Dogmas hardly differ! So untrue!

    Let us examine the fundamental dogmas of both Orthodoxy and the papacy and behold the extreme difference.

Orthodoxy: Fundamental Dogma: Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and head of the Church

Papacy Fundamental Dogma: Believe that the Pope of Rome is the Vicar of Christ, the supreme and only authority in the church whom we must accept as head, guide and teacher of the church.

SUPREME AND ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY

ORIGIN OF THE GREATEST  LIE EVER TOLD 

The Popes of Rome without shame dogmatized as truth from heaven the extreme falsehood that the Pope alone  is the supreme authority in the Church:  Here is what they say: 

PAPAL DEFINITION

      “We renew the definition of the ecumenical council of Florence, in virtue of which all the faithful of Christ must believe that;  “the Holy Apostolic See and the Roman Pontiff possesses the primacy over the whole world, and that the Roman Pontiff is the successor of Blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostle, and is the true Vicar of Christ, and the Head of the whole Church, and the Father and teacher of all Christians, and that full power was given to him in Blessed Peter to rule, feed, and govern the Universal Church”. 

(Decrees of Vatican Council on Faith and the Church,  p 15, Chair of Unity Apostolate, Graymoor Garrison NY.  

Conclusion:

    Whoever accepts and joins in union with the pope and papacy separates himself from union with Holy Orthodoxy and eternal life, loses union with the Head of Orthodoxy Jesus Christ, union with the Holy Apostles and Holy Fathers, union with the Theotokos and Holy Martyrs; union with the entire Kingdom of heaven.

GOD WANTS TO ENTER OUR SOULS ONLY IF WE CONSENT

 GOD WANTS TO ENTER OUR SOULS

 ONLY IF WE CONSENT

    The Elder Saint Porphyrios commenting on the Athonite vigils at Kavsokalyvia, said:  the Holy Spirit came and flooded the monk’s souls with heavenly joy.”  Saying this he offered us a wake up call,  “Even now the Holy Spirit wants to enter our souls, like it did them, but it respects our freedom.”   It does not want to violate it.  It wants for us to open the door on our own, and then it will enter the soul and transfigure it.” His words reminded us of the book of Revelation, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with me.” ( Rev. 3:20)

     Our good and compassionate  God discreetly knocks at the door of every frail man and awaits patiently for him to open it for Him.  This He does so as to render him truly fortunate. Yet man frequently wastes the freedom that God has granted to him, and remains closed in within his shut door and misery.  How many of us have the good sense to put into practice the supplication, to the Holy Spirit:“Heavenly King and Comforter, Spirit of Truth, come and abide in us?”  We are very foolish  in not desiring what is good and best for us, and even ignoring it. How many of us , while repeatedly uttering the appeal to “come, and abide in us”,  that  are not barred in to ourselves with the loneliness of our own security?  God respects our foolishness because that is also an expression of our freedom. One day the Elder said to me, “God respects our will.”  And other day he said: “Whatever we do, do it because we want to be  freely  responsible for  our own decisions.”

    Reflecting on this, God gave us freedom because He wants us to be like Him. God is love and we must become like Him, loving even our enemies as He commands.   Love is freedom and is bestowed freely on another, as we choose.  It is impossible to genuinely love without freedom. If we were as slaves we would obey and do what our master commands out of fear of punishment. If we were as servants we would do the same out of desire for wages. But we who love God and are free men we do it willingly, for only a free man is capable of love.  

Christ says: “If you love me keep my commandments.”  

POPE TO VISIT ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH THE PAPACY – EMBRACING HER IS DISASTER AND BLASPHEMOUS

POPE TO VISIT ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH

THE PAPACY – EMBRACING HER IS DISASTER AND BLASPHEMOUS

     Why does the  pope appears to be so friendly and exactly what are his motives?  He certainly does not want to become Orthodox for he believes that he is the vicar and infallible head of the Church of Christ, and he cannot  deny his primacy and infallibility, then what is his purpose in conducting meetings with Orthodox and others?  The answer lies in his thirst for universal domination of all Christians. He wants to swallow up the Orthodox, which is the objective of the papacy, rule over them  placing them under his dominion like the apostate uniates, who left Orthodoxy and commemorate his name. All he wants is recognition of who he is not, the head of the church and the only representative of Christ on earth.

  Sadly, we forget, but God and the victims never forget, the many crimes committed in the name of Jesus Christ by the papacy.  We Orthodox confess ourselves as being the Body of Christ and His holy Church, Why then do our upper leaders embrace and keep company with the very same inimical organization, whose past is stained with human blood.. Not only through their killer Crusades, but also through their demonic Inquisitions wherein they slaughtered myriads  and myriads 

     The Pope is not the Roman Papacy, for he comes and goes as its temporary head. Their claim that there were good and bad popes means nothing.  The crimes committed are by the organization called the papacy.  Popes claim to represent Jesus Christ.  How could anyone believe this when Christ is the humble and meek Godman who did only good, healing the sick, gave sight to the  blind, cleansed lepers and raised the dead. They cannot possible represent  Christ for Christ did not send out bloody crusades, nor did he conduct murderous inquisitions against opponents.   Here are a just a few of the tools which the papacy used against those who disagreed with them in their horrible inquisitions. If anyone says, well that was some time ago, they would like to forget but God never forgets, for every crime they committed is in the books of life and death. Take thought of the horror of the tools used by them and think – do we want to be their friend and fellow traveler?  Do we want to exalt those who debased humanity by their actions?  God does not forget.

These vicious tools were used by the inquisition against their own people.

Heavy pincers to tare out fingernails

The rack which stretched to dislocate joints

Thumbscrews to dislocate fingers

Molten lead to be poured into ears and mouth of victims

Hanging by the neck till dead

“Spanish boots” made to crush legs and feet

The Iron virgin was a hollow metal case with knives inside, which pierced the victim placed in it

Tools to gouge out eyes

Forced to jump off cliffs onto sharp spikes below

     "Making every allowance required of a historian and permitted to a Christian, we must rank the papal Inquisition along with the wars and persecutions of our time, as among the darkest blots on the record of mankind, revealing a ferocity unknown in any beast."
                                    (Will Durant,,  The Age of Faith p 784)

Let us heed the words of St. John of Kronstadt, who fell asleep in the Lord in December of 1908