MAN – THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS

MAN – THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS

     God’s original plan for which everything else exists is the creation of man “in Our own image and likeness.” The first man Adam was not the man “in the image and likeness of God,” for Scripture says that Adam  the first man, was created in the image of God, but not the likeness. The perfect and holy man in the perfect image and likeness of God is Jesus Christ, by whom and for whom everything was created. He is the first of many in the image and likeness, who would become like Him, sinless and perfect. Many writers misread Scripture and say that Adam was created in the image and likeness of God. Adam was created in the image of God but not in His likeness, the likeness he would have to acquire, but he fell into sin and inherited death.  Christ however, being God was in need of nothing except the Virgin Mary, through whom He became the first man "in the image and likeness of God." Christ became what every person in the world needs to attain in order to live in eternal joy as God desires.

     An erroneous teaching has entered some parts of Orthodoxy perhaps by way of western churches and ideology, which is that man is created only dual, body and spirit. This is a misreading of the Gospel which clearly declares this truth:  “God formed man out of the clay of the earth and breathed into his person a breath of life, and the man became a living soul.”  The correct interpretation of this is that God formed man (not the body or soul of man, but man, both body and soul). At the time of his creation the  man was not yet alive, for life is derived from the spirit or breath of life breathed into him from God who endowed him with intelligence and life, for “the man became a living soul.”

     The one God in whom we believe is a Trinity, and when He created man in His own image and likeness He would certainly make him  a trinity like himself! Otherwise he would not be in His image. For these reasons, man, the image of God, is certainly triune, body, soul and spirit. Also even though sin entered the world, by breaking the commandment, man remained the image of God in whose image he was created though it was marred.  Satan, by instigating the violation was able to inflict upon man a portion of his hideous image. Through his wicked inspiration eventually sin would increase followers in the world, causing the Devil to exult thinking that he was destroying God’s most beloved creation.

     Man has always enjoyed the freedom of accepting or rejecting either God or the evil one’s words which he heeded. The first  result of agreeing with the  Devil’s malignant words was bitterness, hatred and murder, the fratricide of Abel by his only brother Cain. Abel delighted in serving God and did not live for the flesh alone as did Cain, who fell into his malicious trap.

THREE HUMAN BIRTHS AND LIVES

TO THE GLORY OF THE HOLY TRINITY

     God is one, a Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and He leaves His trinitarian mark on creation in various ways. One mark is a complete family consists of three. Another mark is the three births and lives of mankind, as follows.

     The Church weds a new bride to her husband and in due time she has a new  child in her womb. This child will be born in about nine months and this will be the first birth of a new person,  a stage which every one of us has already passed through for it is a birth into this present material life.

     After the nine months the child having gone through its first birth comes from its mothers womb. Before birth the child was without form and in need of its mother’s womb to survive. Gradually formation takes place and after nine month period the child emerges in the birth process, no longer dependent on its mother’s womb. The new born breathes from the atmosphere and eats and drinks foods externally, to maintain its life, for it is no longer dependent upon the mother’s womb for sustenance.

     In holy Orthodoxy the time comes for holy baptism and the child is brought to the Church where  in this baptism he will undergo a symbolic death in Christ and a second birth in the holy waters. This birth takes place in the baptismal waters being a symbolic death into Christ’s death, by being buried under the water three times. Coming up out of the water three times symbolizes Christ’s Holy third day resurrection, which for a new child and for all baptized Orthodox Christians a second birth and life.  Following entrance into this spiritual life, the newly baptized is sealed with Holy Spirit who will become His inspiration and divine guide, who leads and protects him but does not violate his freedom. This second life is spiritual and nourishment will include wisdom, love and under-standing becoming his spiritual food and drink. 

     In the first life the body and soul grows and eventually reaches adulthood. There it will live by eating and drinking wholesome foods and drink. In this first life the child will mature and able to live a pure Christian life here on earth. This second life is a period wherein it will be determined what will happen in the third birth and life which takes place after a time, usually up to a hundred or more years. Death will take place but remember that in holy Baptism, the former baby died in Christ. Herein is the difference between pious and faithful Orthodox Christians and others in the world.

For Christ established death, a second birth, and life in His death and resurrection. He says much about His and our death as follows.

Christ says: “Amen, amen, I say unto you. If a man keep my saying he shall never see death”      (John 8:51).

                                                                                                      

“Being in the form of a man, He humbled himself and became even unto death, even the death on the Cross.  For this reason God has also highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philip. 2:8).

     Our Lord Jesus came down and was born of the Virgin, so as to prepare the faithful for the third and final birth into third and eternal life through the door of death. He completely transformed the nature of death for believers He removed the sting from death, so that death, instead of a threat, leads into the reality of the third birth and life. Death has always appeared to men as a threat to be feared and most men seek to avoid death at any cost for as long as possible, but Christ conquered and transformed it.

YOU LIVE- YOU DIE- THAT’S IT!

YOU LIVE- YOU DIE- THAT’S IT!

     This is the believe of countless millions of people including many who call themselves Christian.  All they care to know is you live and then you die, and that’s it. These people will be judged as all men will be judged and ignorance is no excuse, for conscience is God’s voice to all mankind. There are some who believe that everyone goes to heaven when they die and that’s it.  But this can’t be, for everyone will be rewarded according to their faith and deeds, whether they did good or evil, for good and evil have opposite rewards. Others say, I am a good person;  I never did anything bad to anybody therefore I am a good Christian, and have nothing to be concerned about, but this is completely false, for no one can be his own judge and all of us are sinners and no one can claim to be sinless except our Lord Jesus Christ who alone is without sin. In this present article we will speak only to Orthodox Christians who are in His Church and should, by their strong  faith and sincere love of Christ  be a living example before all mankind.

     The first and most important thing is an exclusive and major difference in the true Church and all other churches is the presence under the form of leavened bread and wine in the Holy Eucharist which is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord and God. This was made possible through His terrible suffering and passion and crucifixion followed by His death on the Cross. After His death on the Cross, He arose in the third day according to the Scripture. And He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. He taught us through the Scriptures, and said: “Search the Scriptures.”  The Scriptures contain divinely inspired words o Christ and the apostles, guiding us on the true path. We will certainly be judged by the Godman Jesus, according to our faith and works we accomplished, whether good or evil. This judgment will deliver us to eternal life or eternal death, to joy and gladness or sorrow and distress. 

     What is faith, which according to Scripture without faith no one can be saved? Faith in God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit begins with acknowledging that He exists, and as this faith develops it arouses hope in the soul, coming from the realization of Him as the Creator of all and will reward each of us when He judges all.  Through faith we learn much about Him, that He is all powerful, that he is holy and all-wise; that he is good, perfect, in need of nothing being the  absolute God and Creator of all.  Initially, faith arouses within us the fervent hope to know Him better as we begin to  communicate with Him directly.  

MORALITY NECESSARY AMONG PEOPLE

MORALITY NECESSARY AMONG PEOPLE

     American politicians and courts have been leading this great country down the slippery and dangerous slopes of increased immorality. Morality is absolutely necessary for the peaceful coexistence of society. Immorality is against the law of God and conscience, and is detrimental to the lives of men, for morality is the root of decent behavior among people. Morality benefits every member of society, and in fact the entire human race. It produces a better and more pleasant climate for marriage and the raising of children who will grow up as moral citizens. Faith in the true God increases the moral behavior of men, for He legislates good moral behavior by means of the  divine law. Moral behavior includes truth and not lying, generosity not stealing, not bearing false witness, honorable marriage and not committing fornication nor adultery, no forbidden sodomy, no killing infants by abortions, no mercy killing, no rape, no kidnapping, sobriety not drunkenness, generosity and not robbery, no burglary, etc. In a positive sense it includes respecting others, giving help where needed, looking for the welfare of others, practicing honesty, justice, mercy and kindness. 

     Once a person neglects a part of the moral law, such violations will gradually increase and spread like a cancer until he will soon be violating a major part of moral law and instead of a blessing he will become a plague upon society. For example stealing is against moral and political criminal laws, but stealing can lead to robbery and even murder. Gross violation of the even the smaller moral law will render a person crude, cruel and disrespectful with much harm to society.

      Moral laws aim to govern and protect the whole of body of society. There are man-made laws which include moral laws. Automotive laws are a good example, for they deal with many relationships with many people. Automobiles run nicely and last longer when automotive laws are obeyed, for accidents are decreased and injuries are diminished. We follow these laws by regulations such as  proceeding on green, stopping on red and at stop signs, allowing cars the right of way, observe speed limits, by being cautious, not driving aggressively but defensibly. When your red light turns green, you can go, but you morally might give way top a cat that jumps his red light. 

     When everyone observes and acts morally with these laws, smooth driving without accidents are the results. But when violations come from even from one driver, disaster can  loom for many. The moral aspect is important in driving, for moral behavior makes drivers more careful and considerate . The moral aspect to driving, is  for respectful and kind hearted drivers to give up right of way and signal other drivers to proceed, thus contributing to safety. It is easy to see that men have established moral laws in order to govern and protect all society and it has shown to be very  effective.

      Immoral authorities have eliminated several important moral laws which govern human behavior. Abortion!  Who would believe that killing infant babies is a good thing?  How did it happen that helpless and innocent infants became subject to the death penalty? This terrible immortality is now  legal and is an typical example of the harmful destruction of moral laws. A woman knows in her heart and soul that killing the baby who came from her womb is a violent and  criminal act before God and man and herself and she never forgets it.. But now that it is “legal” the authorities say, let the woman herself “decide.” Babies are being murdered and we consider ourselves, not barbarians, but a  civilized people!  Doctors who through medical science seeks to save lives are now destroying thousands of lives.

The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by the Lord with fire and sulpher from heaven due to their terrible sins. Homosexuality which is forbidden in both the old and new testaments of Scripture is a great sin which bears the name of one of the cities, “sodomy,” or unlawful intercourse. Contrary to common opinion the The New Testament speaks strongly against this gross immorality: “For this cause God gave them up to vile affections; for even their women did change their natural use into that which is against nature; and likewise also the men,  leaving the natural use of a woman, burned in their desire one towards another . . .  " (Romans 1:26,27) 

     Legislating by elimination any immoral act in order to make it “legal” changes nothing for it remains an immoral act. Though some men always choose to perform various immoral acts, this  does not change the truth that what is immoral will always remains immoral. Freedom of deciding to commit an immoral act is a dangerous position because, freedom always includes the preservation of moral law and all other laws. Freedom is good when it abides in a moral upright society, otherwise it is not truly freedom, but becomes slavery. 

     The  legalization of an immmoral act does not render it into something legal but can never make it become moral. Morality is necessary in order to remain civilized humans and for the preservation of a moral and ethical society.

ORTHODOXY IS THE ONLY WAY

ORTHODOXY IS THE ONLY WAY

     There exists different branches in what is called Chrstianity, Ecumenism, Roman Catholicism (the Papacy), the Anglicans or Episcopalians, all the many Protestants, with Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons and  and all are by nature, inimically disposed against the truths of our Orthodox Faith. 

There exists the holy Orthodox Christian Church and the vasrious sects which are called Christian but remain outside of the Church.

     None of these sects have the truths regarding our beliefs and faithful heritage, but teach and practice their own viewpoints. Ecumenism  is promoted by many Orthodox leaders as being useful and beneficial to the Orthodox Church but they are completely wrong for ecumenism opposes the Orthodox Church, and is evil because it corrupts and wars against the truths of Orthodoxy. The fundamental purpose of ecumenism is their claim that the church, meaning all outside Orthodoxy and Orthodoxy itself, is divided and needs to be reunited into a single belief and onr body. However the true Church  can never be included with them nor be divided for it remains one, but they are speaking of their various heresies which divides them. Orthodox leaders have no right to change what the Church has already decided. They have no authority to drag pernicious Ecumenism into the faultless and pure Church that Christ founded, for it spirit its totally foreign to the Holy Spirit which unites and protects Orthodoxy. So erroneously proclaiming the disunity of the Church, Ecumenism is seeking to reunite the various heresies as if they were the church, the evil being, that they all include the Orthodox Church in their calculations.

     One example, is the heretical so-called “Oriental Orthodox” being a new dishonest name,  for they are not Orthodox, having been outside the Church for over 1500 years because of their monophysite, heresy, which is their recognition of a single nature in Jesus Christ instead of His two natures, divine and human, this being the truth established by the Church.  These heretics reject four out of seven Ecumenical Synods, more than half, which has separated them even further from the Church. They were specifically condemned for rejecting the Fourth Ecumenical Synod at Chalcedon, and became known as pre-Chalcedonians, due to their rejection of  the truth established by Synod of Chalcedon.  This Synod had ruled that Jesus Christ as the result of two births, eternally from the Father the divine and from the Virgi the human,  Jesus Christ had two natures. Born of God He had a divine nature, and born in time of the Virgin He had a human nature. He raised the dead by His divine nature and was crucified and put to death in His human nature, but the Godman resurrected on the third day!

ORTHODOX OBSERVER AND THE PAPACY

ORTHODOX OBSERVER

 AND THE PAPACY

ORTHODOXY IS TRUTH

     On the front page of the Orthodox Observer (October 2015 Vol. 80, No. 1309) which is  the official publication of the Greek Archdiocese, is depicted a happy meeting in which are shown the embracing of Archbishop Demetrios and the Bishop of Rome Pope Francis! What was this happy occasion?  Perhaps the Pope had decided to become Orthodox? Or has the Pope sheathed his two-edged sword and become a toothless tiger?  Neither of these!  The Pope doesn’t change but continually seeks domination. The Pope is doing what he always does, waging incessant warfare against Orthodoxy, through its leaders,  posing as the chief infallible bishop of Christ’s holy Church, which he is not.  The Pope continuously seeks to devour the true Church and place it under his dominion. Here he has accomplished a great deal getting an archbishop to show  approval of him and to embrace him with sweet affectionate smiles!

     Orthodox leaders who embrace the Pope and recognize him as a true bishop of Christ are necessarily either deluded or unfaithful to Orthodoxy, for by their actions, in recognizing the Pope as a legitimate bishop they are necessarily denying that we are the one and only true catholic and apostolic Church. We the faithful are correct when we confess Orthodoxy to be true and this makes it impossible to recognize another church and its leaders to also be true. The papacy has never been the Church but is the papacy led not by a genuine bishop but by an “infallible” pope, with absolute authority and absolute  power.

     Jesus Christ, the Founder and Head of His  Holy Orthodox Church is God who became an incarnate man being both divine and human.  As Christ the Head is one so His Body the Church He founded is also one. The Roman Catholic church or Papacy is not the church which Christ founded but is extremely foreign to Christ and His Church. The Orthodox Church, the Body of Christ, like its Head is also divine and human. The Papacy makes no claim to divinity but addresses itself as a mere human institution with a human head for an ordinary sinful man replaces Christ as its head. The Pope, not Christ, is the head of the Papacy. The Pope, usurping the Holy Spirit, teaches his followers and reminds them of all that he believes they must know. Christ teaches that the Holy Spirit is sent by Him for this exact purpose. The papacy has nothing in common with Orthodoxy for it preaches different doctrines and man-written gospels, also they do not baptize by triune immersion. The Pope does not seek union with the Orthodox but domination sin order to take complete control of Christ’s holy Church. He could be successful except for this one reason. Christ is the Head of our Church and we strongly believe that He will not allow an enemy to take control of His Church. However those within the Church who embrace and recognize and proclaim that the pope is legitimate and true to Christ will have to answer for unfaithful behavior.  For almost two-thousand years, Orthodoxy has preserved true doctrine as taught by Christ and permanently preserved in sacred written and oral tradition. For almost a thousand years, Rome has chosen to leave the Church and continues to claim itself and their Popes to be the one and only true church of Christ.

     Orthodox leaders have apparently disregarded history, including the papal invasion of Constantinople by the murderous crusaders. The destruction and rape of the city and its inhabitants can never be reversed or forgotten, for they never stop their attacks. The city was so badly affected and softened that it fell to the Moslems in 1453. The papists set up of a western type government, always seeking to unite the Orthodox under the Pope, and this continued until their defeat by the Orthodox. Some will say that this took place long ago which is true. So what?  History shows it to be continuing and frequent events. 

     Let’s look at modern times! During WWII the Serbians were slaughtered by  papal forces blessed by papal Archbishop Stepinac, whom the papacy has made a cardinal and he is soon  to be made a saint! During WWII the papists made sport when they murdered the Serbian Orthodox Christians.  Dancing around the Orthodox prisoners, bellowing and laughing, they slowly cut them to death in pieces with their swords. (This is recorded in history)

     In the thousand years before Rome became the papacy they were part of the true Orthodox Church but they arrogantly sought but failed to take under their dominion the entire Church. They abandoned the  Orthodoxy faith and designed  a  new religion wherein the Pope replaces both Jesus Christ as the only Head and the Holy Spirit as Guide.

     The papacy is not a friend of Orthodoxy, for one who seeks to devour and destroy you cannot be  your friend but is surely an enemy. History shows this to always have been true but these are dark days. The Pope only smiles and the Orthodox leaders appear to be thrilled, deliberately publishing without shame happy pictures wherein they embrace the enemy of Orthodoxy.  Worse, having the pope as their friend, they continually neglect to teach the faithful the truth that Orthodoxy alone remains the one and only true Church, the only Body of Christ, and is the one and only way that leads to salvation and eternal life.  As Bishops these leaders who joyfully and publicly embrace the Pope, by their example teach the faithful that he is a benign and harmless friend and fellow Christian who serves Christ and has no interest in devouring the Orthodox. They forget that the popes have already robbed countless Orthodox churches, placing them under his dominion. The Pope created an organization known as the Unia and formerly Orthodox Christians, abandoned the Church and are now under the popes and known as Uniates, also as Greek Catholics. (Note: Google “uniates” if unfamiliar)

   The Orthodox Observer dutifully ought to publish and do the following subjects. Teach the faithful what Orthodoxy is about, that there is only one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, that outside of the Church there is no hope of salvation according to Jesus Christ.  That the Pope’s claim to be the head of heaven and earth is false and that union with the Pope is not the path to heaven. That Holy Communion does not exist in the papacy but only in Orthodoxy. That the Protestants who reject the truth of the Body and Blood of Christ forfeit their salvation, for they contradict Christ himself, who clearly says: “Take eat, this is my Body.”  The Observer ought to re-introduce Christ as the divine human Head of our divine human Church being the only Godman. They ought to teach about the myth of purgatory. They ought to teach that the Holy Spirit is our divine Guide whom Christ sent to remind us of everything. They ought to teach the faithful that there are no divine mysteries outside of the Church.  That Christ did not establish an infallible Pope, as the only real bishop in the true Orthodox Church. Real bishops are only found in Orthodoxy and outside of Orthodoxy there are no genuine bishops,  priests or deacons, no Eucharist and no forgiveness. If the Orthodox Observer teaches these truths, the apparently friendly relations and friendship with the Pope and their papal friends would soon cool off and the smiles will disappear.

     After writing this previous article, I glanced quickly through the Orthodox Observer to be check out certain facts. Then I read the following in amazement: 

“The Archbishop attended as a special guest of honor at the evening Roman Catholic Mass presided over by Pope Francis on September 26 at Madison Square Garden.”

     How can an Archbishop of Orthodoxy attend a forbidden papal mass as a  special honor? How can this be honorable when it recognizes the papacy as a church? How will the faithful Orthodox be edified when they confess Orthodoxy as the only true Church after these types of demonstrations?  It is forbidden by the Lord through Scripture to celebrate with them for this honors the papacy and recognizes it as being holy and equal to Orthodoxy which is an impossibility. 

ADDITIONAL ON HOLY KING MILUTIN

ADDITIONAL ON HOLY KING MILUTIN

SAVED THE ORTHODOX FROM THE PAPACY

From the Prologue of Ochrid, Vol 4 p 130,131

The   Holy King Milutin

      “The son of Uros I and Queen Helena and brother of Dragutin, he fought fiercely to defend his faith and his people.  He fought against (Emperor) Michael Palaeologus because the latter had accepted union with Rome and was putting pressure on the whole Balkan people and the monks of Athos to accept the Pope. He fought against Shishman, King of Bulgaria, and Nogai, King of the Tartars, to defend his country from them. All his wars were successful, for he prayed constantly to God and put himself in His hands. He built more than forty churches, both in his own land (Treskavac, Gracanica, St. George in Nagorie, the Holy Mother of God in Skoplje, Banjska and so forth) and in Salonica, Sophia, Constantinople, Jerusalem and on the Holy Mountain.  He entered into rest in the Lord on October 29th, 1320, and his body was soon seen to be uncorrupt and wonderworking. It is still preserved in that state today in the Church of the Holy King in Sophia.

Author’s note: Milutin was married twice, not four times as detractors would have it; first to Elizabeth, a Hungarian princess, and then to Simonida, a princess of Byzantium.

FOR CONSIDERATION

     That great son of the Orthodox Church, King Milutin, saved the Balkans from Uniatism.  At the moment when the Byzantine Emperor’s conscience was weakened, this knightly and godly Slav stood decisively, and with God’s help saved Orthodoxy, not only in his own land but throughout the Balkans.  He who examines the live of this holy King closely will understand why God gave him success after success throughout his life in all that he did.  When Milutin came to his throne, he immediately vowed to God that he would build as many churches as the years he reigned. He reigned for forty-two years, and built forty-two churches.  Besides some of his churches, as in Salonica and Constantinople, he built hospitals for the poor, where they received everything without payment. 

     Apart from that, he took   pleasure in giving to the poor out of his own enormous wealth.  This powerful and wealthy king often dressed himself in simple clothing and, at night, with two or three of his servants, walked among the people, enquring for the needy and generously helping the poor.  In the midst of his great wealth, he lived a very simple family life, though he never showed this side of himself to outsiders.  He had become accustomed to a simple way of life when still in the house of Uros his father. It is told how the Emperor Michael Palaeologus sent his daughter Anna with a delegation to the court of King Uros, offering her to Milutin in order to win the Serbian king to union with Rome.  But King Uros, seeing the senseless Byzantine luxury of the princess and her entourage, exclaimed: “‘hat is all this, and what is it for We are not accustomed to this sort of life! He indicated a Serbian princess with a distaff in her hand: See, he said, this is the sort of thing we expect in our daughter-in-law.’”     (Prologue of Ochrid)

SAINT KING MILUTIN SAVED ORTHODOXY FROM 

THOSE SEEKING UNION WITH THE POPE

Serbian Saint King Milutin

SAVED THE ORTHODOX PEOPLE

FROM THE POPE- UNIATISM

 St. Milutin defeated Constantinople Emperor Michael Palaologus

Roman Catholic troops slaughter Athos monks.

     Emperor of Constantinople Michael Palaologus who accepted union with the Pope, and was putting extreme pressure on all Balkan churches and the monks of Mt. Athos to unite with the Pope of Rome. Saint Milutin completely stopped the nefarious plans of the Emperor. He was a beloved Saint of God defending His holy Church. He promised God that he would build a church for every year of his reign, which was forty two years and he built them forty two of them. When he left this world his relics remained incorrupt.

     Uniatism is a great danger in our times, for the Orthodox leaders are still looking up to the Pope of Rome seeking unity, not the Pope with Orthodoxy, but union of Orthodoxy under the Pope.
St. Milutin wisely saw the dangers and waged successful wars against Orthodox submission to the Pope.

     When the Emperor Michael Paleologos contracted the ill-famed Union of Lyons with the Pope to receive his help against the Bulgars and Serbs, the monks of the Holy Mountain sent the emperor a protest against this union, and urged him to set it aside and return to orthodoxy. During these very trying times for the Holy Mountain, there lived a monk who resided near the Zografou Monastery and would try ascetically on his own, with great labors and effort.

This monk had this holy custom of reading the Akathist Hymn many times while praying in front of this Icon of the Mother of God. One day, while he was chanting "Rejoice unwedded Bride" he heard the following words from the Icon: "Rejoice too, Elder of God!" The Elder was frightened but the voice continued calmly: "Do not fear, but rush to the Monastery and announce to the brothers and the Abbot that the enemies of myself and of my Son have drawn near. Thus, whoever is weak in the spirit let them hide in patience. The ones desiring a martyr's crown let them stay inside the Monastery; now leave quickly".

     The Pope sent an army to the Emperor's aid, and this Latin army went onto the Holy Mountain and set about such barbarism as the Turks never perpetrated in 500 years.  Hanging members of the Council and slaughtering many of the monks of Vatopedi, Iviron and other monasteries, the Latins attacked Zografou. The blessed Abbot Thomas told the brethren by inspiration that those who desired to save themselves from the Latins should flee the monastery, and those who desired a martyr's death should stay.  Twenty-six men stayed: twenty-two monks with their abbot and four laymen who worked for the monastery.  They all shut themselves in the monastery tower.  When the Latins arrived, they set the tower on fire, and these twenty six heroes found a martyr's death in flames.  While the tower was burning, they sang hymns of the Akathist to the Mother of God and gave their holy souls into God's hands on October 10th, 1282.  In December of the same year, the dishonorable Emperor Michael Paleologos died in poverty, the Serbian King Milutin having risen up against him in defense of Orthodoxy, has been glorified and his relics remain  uncorrupted.  Union with the Pope with its unorthodox doctrine would destroy the Orthodox Church.

     King Milutin was powerful and wealthy; he dressed in very simple clothing and at night walked among the people, seeking their needs and helping those in poverty. He built hospitals for the poor, where they received all their needs without payment. What he gave to the poor came from his enormous wealth. His body is preserved today in the Church of the Holy King in Serbia and is wonderworking.

ONE AND ONE IS NOT TWO

ONE AND ONE IS NOT TWO

     Not following the truths of the Orthodox Faith, a group of Orthodox theologians* during the sixties met with the heretics known as Non-Chalcedonians, and mislabeled “Oriental Orthodox”. The Non Chalcedonians have been outside the church for about 1500 years, because they rejected the Church’s decision that Jesus Christ was of two natures, divine and human. They falsely believed that in Christ the nature merged into a single nature, thus they were known as monophysites or one naturists. 

     This erroneous belief was condemned by the Fourth Ecumenical Synod of Chalcedon, and confirmed by the fifth, sixth and seventh ecumenical synods. There are many monophysites among the Armenians. The Orthodox referred to the heretics as being Orthodox also and sought, not to establish truth, but to restore unity!  With no changes on the part of the heretics they decided to unite with them, declaring: 

     “We have spoken to each other in the openess of charity and with the conviction of truth. All of us have learned from each other. Our inherited misunderstandings have begun to clear up. We recognize in each other the one orthodox faith of the Church. Fifteen centuries of alienation have not led us astray from the faith of our Fathers.” 

From The Greek Orthodox Theological Review, Volume X Number 2, Winter 1964-1965.

     With these words the Orthodox theologians  agreed that the heretical monophysites and the Orthodox Church believe the same thing. All Orthodox Christians believe as a fundamental doctrine that there were Seven Ecumenical Synods inspired by Holy Spirit. These monophysites only accept three Ecumenical Synods because they are heretics and outside the Church

FROM THE GOSPEL LAW 1

FROM THE GOSPEL LAW  1

“And if your right hand scandalizes you, cut it off and cast it far from you, for it is beneficial for you that one of your members should perish, and not your whole body go into Gehenna.” 

      The desire for adultery can be implanted in the soul not only by looking with the eyes, but also by touching and handling when for the purpose of greeting we take in our right hand the right hand of the woman we are greeting. Then through a regular handshake the illegal thought aroused in the desirous faculty of the soul.  Then as Christ says, it becomes his duty to cut off his right hand that is, by never extending it to the woman that causes him such trouble and by his keeping away from her, he also keeps away from the fire of Gehenna and of everlasting hell. This preventative method is binding and to be used with every other illicit desire, such as acquiring money by theft, injustice, perjury fraud, etc. He who desires someone’s money or property, and decides to steal it but somehow he is prevented from carrying out his desire. Before Christ he is convicted for not only the act but also the desire is punished by our Lord.  But if such a man, changes his mind and decides against his plan, and before death he repents and confesses, he then escapes the penalty of the law. Our Lord established that although the act of stealing is punishable, merely the decision without the action is also punished as if the action took place.     

     No excuse will be found for those who  defend their hard-heartedness and unrepentance, and such attitudes will cause a person’s certain condemnation.  There is also the law which commands that we do unto others as we would have them do to us, which is widely applicable. None of us wants our wife to be taken or our goods stolen, thus we should not take another’s wife or steal another’s goods.

PERMANENT HAPPINESS

PERMANENT HAPPINESS

      Men seek permanent happiness which inspires them to aim toward a variety of promising  goals which apparently will fulfill the permanent happiness for which they are seeking.  Some men surmise that happiness can be found  in the accumulation of   lots of money so that they start a business, while others take advantage of  a potentially good investment with the hope that it will multiply and place them on the path leading to permanent happiness which also gives them feelings of security and well being.  In time their financial situation  may greatly increase, and blossom into immense funds. In every case, even though money becomes more than abundant, certain happiness remains evasive, and  various troubles may arise and many things can happen to affect the apparent happiness they hoped for in accumulating  riches. These things are well known to those who have already experienced this course for the quest of money to fulfill the high hopes of happiness. Some may decide to keep the money at home, avoiding the bank, then thieves may break in and steal, or fire could wipe out their money and perhaps their home, and they quickly become poor, for their money disappears, and they believe with it goes their dhope for happiness.  Another with his accumulated wealth marries a most beautiful woman who swindles him of all his money. His hopes go up in smoke! Investment and other methods of increasing money are attractive but are  also dangerous even leading to sickness and death.

   

      History shows that even banks have failed wiping out  peoples savings. There are countless ways to lose money such as business or investment failure. There are many dangers such as armed robbery and kidnaping for ransom. If nothing detrimental happens there remains no permanent and lasting happiness in the possession of great wealth for it is a  delusion that money can purchase permanent happiness. Others may become caught up with possessing great wealth that cause them do without essentials so as to possess even more, and they accumulate more and more money becoming more and more miserable. But happiness always remains evasive and will never be found in the accumulation of great wealth. Neither will it be found in material things which for all of matter’s life eventually dies.

VARIETY #  ONE

THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF CHRIST 

Great members of the Kingdom!

Martyrdom for them is the door to eternal life.

Andrew the first call was crucified.
Bartholomew was crucified, skinned, beheaded.
James, son of Zebedee was beheaded.
John the Theologian translated without death.                                                                                                                         
Matthew the Evangelist was burned by fire.
Matthias, replaced Judas Iscariot he was stoned;
then after death he was beheaded with an axe.
Peter (Simon), Andrew’s brother was crucified                                 upside down.
Philip was crucified.
Simon the Zealot of Canna was crucified.v    
Thaddeus was crucified.
Thomas was pierced with five spears.

MISTRANSLATION OF SCRIPTURE
Pre-eternal, no such word or no such place
for only God is eternal and nothing precedes Him
Mistranslation of (pro-aionion) before the ages

Lust; There us no such word in the Greek Bible;
It is a mis-translation of the Greek word                                              (epithimyou)  “desire”

Righteous, no such word in Greek Bible. This
mistranslates dikeosyni the correct word for justice

This is found in the phrase: This is my beloved son                           in whom I am well pleased (evdokisa) should read:                           in whom I have well-decided or in whom I approve

You are a loving God, (filanthropos) correctly                                   translated isYou are the lover of man.

In the Lord’s Prayer; Give us this day our daily                                 Bread;Correct translation of (ton arton imon, ton                               epiousion) is Give us this day our most essential                               bread, referring to the Holy Eucharist, this is used                             right before partaking.

THE DANGER OF ECUMENISM

     The danger of Ecumenism is not dangerous to the Church for the Church is the Body of Christ. Having Him as its Head, and is not subject to error or any other ill. The only danger in Ecumenism is to the souls of those who preach it or adapt it, for it removes their souls from the book of eternal life. The Orthodox leaders who brought ecumenism into Orthodoxy. They first changed the name of those outside the Church from heretics, which they are to brothers in Christ, which they are not, recognized their infernal sacraments performing action which is outside their authority and power, and eventually the Church will reject. 

     The name heretic as applied to those outside the Church has been in use in the Orthodox Church for almost two-thousand years! Scripture commands that if a man is a heretic, admonish him several times and then have nothing to do with him, being that he is self-condemned. Orthodox Christians should never dialogue with heretics, unless they have shown a desire to learn and enter the Church. This is accomplished not so much by dialogue but by teaching. All those who preach and embrace the heresy of “ecumenism” will find themselves outside the grace of God. For the doctrine of “ecumenism” denies the existence of the one and only Orthodox Church, and they spread the outright lie which announces that “the church” is divided and seeks to be reunited! Thus they invent a second church which is divided, which is not a real church but consists of whole groups of condemned heresies. The great danger of ecumenism is not to the Church which cannot be damaged, but the loss of eternal life to its advocates and all those who accept this heresy which wars against Orthodoxy through unfaithful leaders within the Church.

Various heresies of ecumenism are: 

1. They preach different Gospels.

2. They establish numerous different churches.

3. They fail to honor the Virgin Mary.

4.  They fail to connect with the true Church.

5. Their bishoprics are non-existent or invalid.

6.  The fail to accept and honor holy icons.

7. They fail to accept validity of the Church Fathers.

8. They fail to accept the Seventh Ecumenical synods.

9. They are without priests and bishops.

10. They do not celebrate the Church Mysteries.

11. The Pope of Rome is the man in charge.

12. They accept the pope’s infallibility.

13. They believe in a mythical purgatory for suffering.

14. They have women bishops and priests.

15. They preach myriads of false doctrines.

16. They have no genuine mysteries (sacraments).

17. Some fail to accept Christ as God.

18. They fail to pray for saints.

19. They fail to pray for the dead.

20. They accept Church-condemned heretics

21. They reject the Fathers and accept Luther, Calvin and Zwingli.

MAKING USE OF OUR TIME

      Our lives are composed of periods of time and we frequently ask, what time is it?  We see hours  come and go as do the days, the weeks, the months, and the years which are divisions of time. They pass quickly and leave us with memories of the past and hope for the future. We have times  for work and play, for meals and for entertainment. Time is finite and limited, but eternity, having no yesterday or tomorrow always remains the same. It is said: “Our days are numbered” and this is true, for God determines the length of our days which are not within our power to extend or determine.  Death is very unpredictable in most cases. Infants and youths  die and the elderly realize the approach of death.  Death sometimes comes very slowly and at other times suddenly without warning. 

Each day quickly comes and goes  and we usually utilize most of our days for working and other activities and our nights are darkened for sleeping. The successive days quickly add up to  weeks then months and eventually years. The days come and go as do the months and years and we anticipate old age until certain death brings everything we have done to an end, and we take nothing material from this world with us. The only thing we bring into the next world is a soul filled with faith, hope and love, and which did good works with the body. Death appears to be an end but it is not really an end but a new beginning and another life, a life that is endless and eternal.  To the glory of the Divine Trinity, we who are formed in the image of God have three lives, each different, in the womb, in this world, and in the future world

     There are many who do not believe that there is another endless life and that death is not the end.  Nor do they believe that we will be held responsible for how we spent our lives while in this world. What about those who lived wickedly and leave this world without punishment?  And those who have done only good deeds in the name of Christ, certainly they will receive a reward. Many holy people have returned from the dead and told us what awaits us.  So we know for certain what is true and beneficial regarding life after this life. Jesus Christ spoke on these matters and being that He is the Lord of all, He instructed us concerning these matters. Jesus Christ speaks of  every important question, and guides us along the path that we must travel to gain everlasting life and avoid eternal punishment. He is the conqueror and destroyer of death and the Giver of eternal life.;

“O, when will we get to the point of making as much effort over our souls as we do over our bodies?  When shall we come to the desire to adorn ourselves with virtues before God and His glorious angels as much as we adorn ourselves with vain and transitory outward gaudy apparel? 

(Prologue 4). 

     We take good care of our bodies that worms will one day consume and neglect our souls which will appear before the dread judgment seat of Christ. Of all the time allocated to us by God how much do we utilize in offering thanksgiving and gratitude? What answer will we give for wasting all of our time on earth on foolish things and using none of it to acknowledge God and to give Him glory and thanksgiving. Being in communication with God sweetens our souls and strengthens our bodies, and our keen desire for a  a future kingdom that is endless. 

None of us have any idea as to when we will leave this world but we know that we will. So today is the time for communication with the Lord, offering gratitude, repentance and thanksgiving to the Creator who brought everything into existence.

     The freedom we enjoy comes with responsibility before the law of God. In our societies we see policemen, court systems judges, lawyers, all designed to regulate and govern a free people. They receive punishment when the do wrong, because they understand the rewards and penalties The laws warn of penalties for violation but rewards for conformance.  How much more important are the laws of God than the laws of man! For human laws are temporary and will one day end but divine laws are endless and their rewards or penalties are for ever. Today is the time for us to freely choose, either everlasting life or everlasting punishment, heaven above or hell below!

     But time will keep on passing and will surely come to an end on the last day. The days of our lives rapidly fly by. The end of this life is also the beginning of the second life which is different from this present life and it never changes back to time. The second eternal life will be without days and nights for all time is eradicated and we live in eternity which never is endless It is a permanent life which is not changeable and is filled with joy or with misery as we freely chose in this present life. If we make no choice we will end in misery, for by not choosing we ignore and insult the Godman Jesus Christ who came to speak of the things written herein. Choose life that you may live! All that we do in time, whether good or evil, will determine our place in the life to come.

THE GOSPEL LAW

The Beatitudes

     The Gospel Law is found in Matthew chapters 5 to 7, and begins with the Beatitudes.”

     “And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain, and when He was set; and He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: 

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 

Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall be filled. 

Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. 

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. 

Blessed are they which are persecuted for justice’s sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Blessed are you when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. 

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” 

     “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” Ordinarily poverty is not considered a blessing and usually we seek to escape poverty by working or begging. But it is not poverty itself that is being blessed, but it is the realization of our poverty of spirit that is indeed blessed, for we must struggle to become rich in the spirit of God. Poverty of spirit makes us feel deprived and naked , and thus moves us to seek wisdom and knowledge in accordance with the divine proverb: “Blessed is the man that has found wisdom, and the mortal that has seen prudence.”   So those who are poor in sprit are blessed, not for their poverty, but for the realization of their poverty. Those who realize their poverty of spirit seek to acquire spirit so this is a beginning.

“Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” 

     Those who are poor in spirit mourn their condition, being conscious of their misery and wretchednes in having transgressed the law of God. Their mourning attracts God’s mercy for He is good and is the only Lover of man. Worldly mournfulness  does not attract God’s mercy, for worldly mourners seek not spirit but material things. But holy mournfulness attracts the grace of God.

“Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.”  

     The opposite of unreasonable anger is meekness, for the meek, having experienced the mercy and kindness of God do not become angry, but are filled with gratitude. Meekness is a social virtue and the meek become innocent  lambs . They do not become  angry neither do they take the law into their own hands. We must all become  meek like Christ and inherit the earth over which God will reign forever.

“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice for they shall be filled.” 

POPES AND MORE POPES

     Who is the Pope? Roman Catholics when asked, who is the head of their  church, will respond: the pope of Rome of course, perhaps surprised that you even asked for this is common knowledge. Recently during the event of the present pope’s tour and mission to the U. S., it was brought to my attention that some Orthodox priests had spoken of the pope quite favorably, as though he is one of us, even though he openly believes and declares that we are inferior and he is superior. Priests and bishops who speak well of him are setting fire to their own homes, for the pope’s existence is anti-Orthodox and the pope is an enemy of Orthodoxy and its bishops and priests. He does not seek to change but to dominate Orthodoxy, the true Church. Since they left the Church, their plans are to swallow up and destroy Orthodoxy by bringing it into the papal kingdom

     The papacy has no resemblance to the church which Christ built when He sent His Apostles to preach the Gospel to all the nations. He did not send Peter as chief over all  the other Apostles, for He established the apostles with equal authority, and sent them all, not just Peter, to go forth and proclaim the Gospel, baptizing believers in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The papacy claims that all bishops in the world, including the Orthodox,  are inferior to the pope. They claim is that he is the single bishop who directs the world following direct orders from God. Further they claim that he is the sole representative of God and that the pope and papacy are the only source of divine truth, divine doctrine and divine grace!

     The following facts describe who the pope of Rome really is and what he represents. He is not the vicar of Christ which is impossible. Impossible, because a vicar represents someone who is absent, and Christ is not absent for He promised to be “with us to the close of the age”.  The Roman church defines the pope and papacy with preposterous claims that are just clever lies which come from the father of lies. So why admire and exalt a man whose source of authority is falsehood?  Or what claim to fame can a liar possess?

ORTHODOX PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

Part 18   CONCLUSION

     Having presented herein a series entitled “Orthodox Problems And Solutions,” the next to last was the seventeenth article of the series. In this Part 18 which is the conclusion, we will have  mentioned the most important problems and their solutions. We firmly established that Orthodoxy alone is the Church built by Jesus Christ on the firm  rock on which He built Orthodoxy, “You are the Christ the Son of the Living God,” We presented many aspects of the Church and its functions.  During the present time our bishops and rulers are not living up to their duties, the main thing being, feeding their flock with the teaching of Jesus Christ and His holy commandments.

     Every Orthodox Christian needs to realize that,  concerning the many Orthodox problems and their solutions, including lack of leadership by many bishops and other clergy, an important thing is our own personal responsibilities and our duties to testify to Christ by our lives.  Realistically the problems are  that each and every one of us are responsible because we are not faithfully living the true life in Christ. Bishops and priests come from families and if we in these families  are  not living a life of piety and love for Christ, the Christian life of the Church will not flourish. So each one of us must accept our own responsibility for the condition of our Church. The Lord completed His terrible suffering and great sacrifice, and then sent us the Holy Spirit as our Comforter and Guide; Also He nourishes and energizes us with His divine Body and precious Blood. We must remember that the present temporary world is not our final destination and our days are numbered. If we live only for this world we are far from Christ. But we are seeking eternal life and the heavenly kingdom, which is acquired by our personal deep faith and love for Jesus Christ and the earnest and total dedication of our lives to Him.

     Prayer, fasting and almsgiving are the basis of the Orthodox spiritual life. Studying the Holy Scriptures daily accompanied by a faithful prayer life with a rule of prayer, will develop our souls rendering them spiritually healthy and  filling them with divine life.

     This can only be accomplished by those who realize and wish to avoid the threats of eternal fire and set their goal on eternal life. Christ makes this clear and warns that he will be our Judge, judging us according to His words, a few of which are “Therefore whoever confesses me before men him will I confess before my Father in heaven.”  “I am the Light of the world; he who follows me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.”  “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood, has eternal life.” The words and wisdom of Jesus Christ need to nourish our minds and arouse our hearts to love Him who is the Logos and Wisdom of the Father.

ORTHODOXY – PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

Part Seventeenth,

 PART 2

REFUTATION OF THE PAPACY OR ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

     There are some people within Orthodoxy who assert that the Roman Catholic Church is quite similar to Orthodoxy, but nothing could be further from the truth. The differences are of immense proportions Why? Because of the impossibility of lies being dogmas. It is a blatant lie that the pope is the one and only bishop in the whole world who represents God and derives his knowledge, authority and power directly from the Creator. Further that God created and shaped the papacy as Christ’s church.  It is another lie and an impossible claim that the pope of Rome or any other man is infallible, for God alone is infallible.  It is a lie that there is a genuine place called purgatory, which was introduced by Pope Gregory the Great in the late 6th century. False also is the papacy’s claims that most souls enter this fictional place to suffer for their sins. It is a lie that the many successive popes were all holy men, the opposite being true, for many of them were evil and wicked men, who could never be successors of holy Peter the Apostle/

     The Church canons strictly forbid Orthodox intermarriage with Roman Catholics, and though it takes place it remains illicit. And the marriages?  Their baptisms cannot be considered as baptisms for theydo not use triune immersion. Their bishops and priests have no canonical connections and are thus invalid and empty. They changed the divine services by introducing strange and abbreviated ones. They falsely claim that Joachim and Anna’s  conception of the Virgin Mary was without sin, when Christ is the only sinless one.

     They lay all their claims by classifying their popes to be successors of Peter, which means that each pope has a sacred obligation as Peter’s successor to live a life in holiness and truth. But we will see that this is not the reality. Here is a quick glance at a few of their morbid and sickly lives.

Pope John XII (963

     Became pope at twenty being one of the lowest and most miserable figures ever to occupy the Holy See of Rome. Under him the Lateran degenerated into little more than brothel. Pope John who had taken savage revenge on his enemies, died on May 14, 946.

Leo IX: and the use of known forgeries -1054

The rise to power of the papacy was fueled by known forgeries well known as” the Donations of Constantine.

ORTHODOXY – PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

Part Sixteenth

REFUTATION OF THE PAPACY OR ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

     The divine authority prescribed in the Bible is totally different than papal authority, which is man devised and worldly and is not divine. The Father spoke of the divinely ordained authority of His Son and subsequently He remained silent, and with His words He introduced Jesus Christ, saying: “This  is my beloved son in whom I have well decided; listen to him.” After this command, authority went from the Father to Jesus and Jesus began to instruct His disciples. Jesus spoke in His own authority which He had assumed. This established Jesus as the Head and authority over the Church which He was now building. Jesus did not transfer that authority to Peter or any other disciple as the popes falsely assert, for He would have to say, as did the Father: “This is my beloved disciple Peter in whom I have decided; listen to him.” So Peter could not exercise authority (which he did not have) over the other disciples and so could not possibly pass authority which he did not have to the popes of Rome. 

     Anyone reading the Bible will see that Christ is the authority and He speaks as such.  He says: “Do this in remembrance of me.” Also: “Receive Holy Spirit.”  “Whosoever’s sins you retain are retained and whoever’s sins you remit are remitted.”but he does not pass any authority to Peter alone, but he does transmit authority equally to all His disciples. Nor did He send Peter to Rome to become pope, but He did send all of His apostles into the world to preach the Gospel and “baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

     In order to properly examine any structure’s integrity the foundation must be primarily examined. To examine an organization’s structural integrity, the fundamental law must be examined, for it is vital. The fundamental law of the true and Orthodox Church is found expressed in Peter’s confession: “You are the Christ, son of the living God”. Jesus replied by declaring Peter’s confession saying: “Upon this rock I will build my Church.” This means that everyone who enters the Orthodox Church must abide by its fundamental law and declare: “You are the Christ Son of the living God.”

ORTHODOXY – PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

Part Fifteen

CHURCH GOVERNMENT

     Most organizations adopt laws and strive to govern themselves  in accordance with the laws which they have established. Governing the Church is similar for to govern and rule the Church means to conduct it to the end for which it was originally proposed. Ideally in the Church all sincere members have one desire, to be sanctified and justified in the eyes of the Father in heaven, who is the greatest of all, and to inherit everlasting life in His heavenly kingdom. Any soul is able to be sanctified through the propitious sacrifice of Christ, by eating and drinking the Body and Blood of the Lamb of God, who  lifts away the sins of the world. They are justified by behaving in agreement with the fundamental law of the Church, which bids us to listen to Christ and do all that He commands. In other words every soul can be justified and saved by doing the will of the heavenly Father.

     The will of the heavenly Father is expressed in the fundamental law of the Church and is the same as the wills of the Son and the Holy Spirit, which is that everyone accept Christ and keep His commandments. The rulers of the Church rule and act in accordance with the Holy Spirit should have the fundamental law constantly before them. Celebrating the propitious sacrifice and the divine mystery, they distribute the food of God to the children of God, thus strengthening them. Within the temple of God the rulers (apostles and bishops) must never cease performing these duties in Holy Spirit. The duties of the rulers includes also to observe  all that happens to the faithful outside the Church, seeing to what extent each person fulfills or fails to fulfill their particular duties. By doing this they will know how to treat each individual within the Church.

     The Church of Christ can be likened to a sheepfold and its rulers to shepherds. In the same way that a shepherd leads his sheep to pasture, and protects them from wolves and robbers, so the rulers of the Church feeds the Christians with the bread of life, watering them with the divine doctrine. If a Christian lacks the Christian nature of sheep he will be excluded from the flock. Spiritual children must be like bees continually eating their flowers, they must produce honey, and those who do not are excluded from the hives as being drones rather than bees.