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St John Chrysostom or goldenmouth as he is known as a result of
his eloquent preaching, was of
Greek origin born in Antioch(Syria) in approximately 347. The
liturgy that the Orthodox celebrate
most Sundays of the year isattributed and named after him. His
life was neither calm nor easy
although it could have been giventhat he belonged to the intellectual
and aristocratic circles of his day.He was an ascetic towards the
beginning of his life and a martyr
towards the end of it. He spent his
life as an evangelist and a preacher
of the Gospel dealing withcontemporary issues of the fourth
century. His father died following
his birth, leaving his mother ayoung widow at 20 years of age.
She wished to remain unmarriedand devoted her life to St Johns
upbringing and good education.
At 18 years of age St John wassent to study grammar, poetry,
rhetoric and philosophy and soonbecame a most outstanding pupil.He decided to practice law opening
his door to wealth and a high publicoffice. As an upright young man
distinguished by a high moral
character, Antiochian societyclashed with his emerging sense of
identity leading him to abandon the
legal profession. At that time
Chrysostom met and came under the
influence of archbishop
Meletius, under whosegentle guide he began towithdraw from secular life
and apply himself to thestudy of religion. After
undergoing catechism and a
period of probation, he wasbaptised by Meletius in
approximately 369. He waslater ordained reader by
Meletius but as yet had not
received his call to the
ministry.
Some five years after hisbaptism, St John withdrew
into the ascetic life. He
became a monk and
connected to a community ofhermits in the mountains ofAntioch, remaining there for fouryears. Following this period he
retired deeper into the desert to livein a cave by himself. Within two
years however he had exhausted his
body and impaired his healthforcing him to withdraw completely
from the desert. He went back toAntioch in 381 where he gavehimself to pastoral ministry. As one
commentator has described thisperiod in Chrysostoms life, he
went back to Antioch tempered,
chastened, and strengthened by histime of contemplation in the
wilderness, ready to do whatever itmay be Gods will he should do.The silence of the desert had
prepared his mind to shape thewords which were to stir mens
minds and hearts (Donald Attwater,
St John Chrysostom (The BrucePublishing Company, Milwaukee,
USA, 1939) 24).
page 2
yearXXX
N
ovember-December
C H R I S T M A SChrist is Born!Glorify Him!
Bishop Seraphim Joseph Sigrist
The Life of St John
Chrysostom
by V ick i Petrak is
Sydney
the Fathers of the Church
A child looks forward to Christmas,
and so do we, because at thismoment considering what Paul
Claudel called the Eternal
Childhood of God we are free to setaside just for a moment ourtiredness and our experience andbecome like the children we really
in our deep heart never ceased to be.The child expects...And it is certain that as long as thereis time there is expectation. We livefrom moment to moment inexpectation. But we cannot reallyexpect what we have notexperienced; without an experience
first there can be a longing but notexpectancy. If we have never been
loved, how will we expect orpage 2
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St Meletius ordained Chrysostomdeacon at the age of 37. He became
know to common people and was
loved by them. In 386 archbishop
Flavian ordained Chrysostom into
the priesthood. At the cathedral inthe Old Town called the Palea and
in other churches, Chrysostom
devoted himself to cultivating his
gift as preacher for the next twelve
years.Chrysostom was later to become
bishop of Constantinople, when hewas just over 50 years of age. He
did not take this new role lightly.Constantinople was in need of
reform following the degradation ofsociety under the influence of Arianclergy for many years. Chrysostom
took courage and commenced
reform, first in his own house. He
refused to attend dinner parties, theimperial court or ride about in a
chariot. He sold the extensive
episcopal wardrobe, works of art
and other possessions, and used theproceeds for his charitable causes.
In a city where society was living in
its peak element, materially,Chrysostom the monk on the throne
of bishop, offended.
He continually attacked the rich
for their luxury and extravagance
and the empress Eudoxia took this
matter personally. In all sectors of
the community he gained enemies,especially in the person of the
bishop of Alexandria, Theophilus,
who rallied against him and where
in a meeting of 36 bishops they
accused Chrysostom on 29fabricated accounts. He was deposed
from his office in August 403, but
was recalled the next day because ofthe uprising of the people.
Following his return St John was
again exiled to Cucusus in Armeniafive days following Pentecost (June
9), 404, where he remained for threeyears. From there he was further
banished to the end of the Black Sea
and forced to travel on foot in severe
weather until his death onSeptember 14, 407 in Pontus prior toreaching his final destination ofexile. The Church remembers him
on January 30th, and November 13th.
The fathers...page. 1
imagine love except as amysterious word with noknown connotation, as alonging.
But children haveexperienced Christmas andso has the world andbecause of Christmas,expectation is possible...At Christmas the world
moves from longing toExpectation (allowing a
capital E to thatExpectation grounded in a
certain hope and not just ina dull sense of passingtime) and what a greatdifference that is, and howit is at the centre of the joyat the deep heart of nature,and how indeed Christmasis not only the beginning ofExpectation but really thebeginning of the Creationof all things... For it is thatfinal union of Creator toCreation which is the goal
of Creation and itsbeginning...
Let Expectation begin foryou again, or for the first
time, this day, and pray thesame for me! Unless youbecome as a little child...it is said, and here thereason why is clear. That
the heart of Expectation ispossible first to the child...May this heart be born inus also!Merry Christmas!
[His Grace, The RightReverend BishopSeraphim, is a retiredbishop of the OrthodoxChurch of Japan. Born in
New York as Joseph
Sigrist, he studied at StVladimirs OrthodoxTheological Seminary,Crestwood, NY,graduating in 1967. Aftergraduating he travelled toJapan teaching English. Hewas ordained deacon andpriest, later taking his
monastic vows on October18, 1969, where he
received the nameSeraphim. On December18, 1971, he wasconsecrated Bishop of
Sendai and East Japan.He has taught EasternChristianity and Arthurianstudies at Drew Universityand has written several
books, the most notablebeing Theology of Wonder
(Crestwood, NY: StVladimirs Seminary Press,1999). He currently residesin New York and
participates in the liturgyof various parishes
throughout themetropolitan area of New
York. He is activelyinvolved with youth andmission in Moscow known
as the HosannaCommunity, whose effortsreach out to youth, poor,prisoners and thehandicapped. Bishop
Seraphim maintains anactive and informativediary, which may bevisited on http://www.livejournal.com/users/seraphimsigrist/
I gratefully acknowledgeVladyka Seraphim as my
spiritual father and thankhim for his contribution to
this issues Parochial Life(D.C.)]
CHRISTMAS...page 1
BishopSeraphimJ
osephSigrist
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The Orthodox service of matins
for the Nativity of Christ is
abundantly filled with ecclesial
theology on the Birth of Christ. It
is resplendent with biblical
references and connotations. In
this article, I would like to travel
through matins on a rather simpler
level to gather some thoughts on
the idea of gifts. Gift giving has
become an integral part of ourChristmas celebrations. What,
however, are the most valuable
gifts?
Christ is born, meet him! Once
more, I come to the Christ child
and stand there agog. Shepherds
stood amazed. Where is my gift?
The magi bring theiracceptable
gifts and worship Him. Gold,
frankincense and myrrh. Gold
represents a gift to honour a king,
frankincense is a fitting oblationfor the Divine and myrrh for the
Son of Man (who will die).
Make a joyful noise unto the
Lord(Psalm 65:1). The little
drummer boy, in a carol of
secular repute, has no gift to bring.
He gives to the Lord what he
himself has been given. He was
given the talent to play the drum,
so he plays the drum for the Lord.
Have I used my talents wisely andgenerously?
All things are filled with joy
today; Christ is born of the Virgin.
Am I filled with joy? Does it
show? Do I understand the
magnitude of this great wonder?
God is mingled with the form of
mortal man. Do I cry aloudwith
AdamO You, who for my sake
has become as I am, Holy are You,
O Lord?
Wherein is my joy? My Lord of
his own will has come forth, taking
flesh from the Virgin, to purge the
poison of the serpents head.
Christ has raised us who were sunk
in corruption and has released us
fromperdition of the adversary.
Ought we not lift up our hands and
clap them in songs of praise to
honour Christ alone, our
Benefactor Who in His compassion
is come into our midst?
I say again, Christ voluntarily
comes to earth. We read in matins:
How is He contained in a womb,whom nothing can contain? And
how can He who is in the bosom of
the Father be held in the arms of
His Mother? This is according to
His good pleasure, as He knows
and wishes. For being without
flesh, of His own will has He been
made flesh; and He who is, for our
sakes has become that which He
was not. Without departing from
His own nature he has shared in
our substance. Desiring to fill theworld on high with citizens, Christ
has undergone a twofold birth.
Do I give with a willing hand?
Am I pleased to give with alacrity,
without coercion or begrudging for
God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor
9:7).
Furthermore may my praises
extend to the Theotokos (Mother
of God) through whom we are
reconciled to Godfor she broughtforth God made man and she
remained still a Virgin.
Christ gifts travel the vertical
axis both ways, to man and to God.
Uniting the world to the
immaterial essences,
He has made the Father merciful
to the creation.
The people that before walked in
darkness
This day have seen a light from the
beacon on high,
The Son offers to God the nations
as His inheritance.
Bestowing grace past telling
Where sin once flourished
abundantly.
Angels sing praises without
ceasing and shepherds in the fields
offer fitting hymns. The earth
offers a cave. Bethlehem has
opened Eden so let us come to see
it and to receive the things of
Paradise that are in the cave.The starspreads the good news
afar. What gift shall we bring?
Through Germanoss hymns in the
matins, we offer You the wealth of
our Orthodox faith, O God and
Saviour of our souls. Through
John the Monks hymn we offer
Glory to God in the highestand
prayforpeace on earth and
goodwill among men.Graciously
accept, O Benefactor the praises of
Your servants and establish Yoursingers firm and unshaken upon
the foundations of the faith.
Our prayer, our hope and our
praise are justified, for when we go
into the liturgy we hear St Paul
remind us that we are no more
servants, but sons and heirs of God
through Christ.
Being baptized in Christ, I have
put on Christ. I wish to give Him
my heart, my mind, and my soul sothat He may abide in me and I in
Him.
Finally every good and perfect
gift is from above, coming down
from Him, the Father of lights
(James 1:17). Thanks be to God
for all things.
Note: Words from matins in
italics are based on The FestalMenaion translated from the
original Greek by Mother Mary &Kallistos Ware, Faber & Faber,1977.
Gifts: A Meditation on the Matins
of the Nativity of Christ
by Presbytera E isodia M enis(Melbourne)
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editor:Rev. Doru Costache, PhD
layout design:Ion Nedelcu (Bucharest)
address:64 Linthorn Ave,
Croydon Park,NSW 2133.
phone: (02) 9642 02 60www.geocities.com/
sfmaria_sydney
Middle wayA nomaloguehttp://www.livejournal.com/users/anomalogue/USA
Enter through the narrow gate; for
the gate is wide and the road is
easy that leads to destruction, and
there are many who take it. For the
gate is narrow and the road is hard
that leads to life, and there are few
who find it (Matthew 7:13).
No narrow path is narrow on one
side only.
Some people warn that the road is
narrow, and that many fall off the
left side into secularist pity-mongering. They say there is no
wading through the bottomless
mud, even if you wanted to. They
say everyone drowns on the left
side veer hard to the right.
The others point to the dark ditch
that lies on the right side of the
road fuming with myrrh and rot
and retribution. They say it is dark,
but echoes sound the bottom, that a
fall will break you stay far on theleft side.
***
When the Pharisees heard that he
had silenced the Sadducees, they
gathered together, and one of them,
a lawyer, asked him a question to
test him. Teacher, which
commandment in the law is the
greatest? He said to him, You
shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart, and with all yoursoul, and with all your mind. This
is the greatest and first
commandment. And a second is
like it: You shall love your
neighbour as yourself. On these
two commandments hang all the
law and the prophets (Matthew
22:34).
When one law is said to be like
another, both laws inter-define
the meanings converge and narrow.Imagine a Venn diagram: The first
circle is the broadest interpretation
of the first greatest commandment,
You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart, and with all
your soul, and with all your mind.
The second circle is the broadest
interpretation of second greatest
commandment, You shall love
your neighbour as yourself. Where
those two laws intersect, that isChristianity.
Usually people pick the highest
law they like, and crush the other
into it, iron maiden style. They
make the one like the other.
That is off-the-mark. The highest
law is one and both at once: a
paradox.
ITS STRANGE
ISNT IT?
Isnt it strange how a 20 dollarbill seems like such a large amount
when you donate it to church, but
such a small amount when you goshopping?
Isnt it strange how 2 hours seemso long when youre at church, and
how short they seem when youre
watching a good movie?
Isnt it strange that you cant finda word to say when youre praying,
but you have no trouble
thinking what to talk about with a
friend?
Isnt it strange how difficult andboring it is to read one chapter of
the Bible, but how easy it is to read
100 pages of a popular novel or
ZANE GREY book?
Isnt it strange how everyonewants front-row-tickets to concerts
or games, but they do whatever ispossible to sit at the last row in
Church?
Isnt it strange how we need toknow about an event for Church 2-
3 weeks before the day so we can
include it in our agenda, but we
can adjust it for other events in the
last minute?
Isnt it strange how difficult it is
to learn a fact about God to share itwith others, but how easy it is to
learn, understand, extend and
repeat gossip?
Isnt it strange how we believeeverything that magazines and
newspapers say, but we question
the words in the Bible?
Isnt it strange how everyone
wants a place in heaven, but they
dont want to believe, do, or say
anything to get there?
Isnt it strange how we sendjokes in e-mails and they are
forwarded right away, but when we
are going to send messages about
God, we think about it twice before
we share it with others?
[We thankCarolyn for sharing thiswith us. D.C.]
In the Kingd om of Go d
one d oes not go from
vic tory to vic tory, but for
the m ost part from
de feat to defea t but
those a rrive who, afte r
ea c h de feat, instead o f
sitting dow n a nd
mourning a bout it, standup a nd go forwa rd
St T ik hon of Zadonsk