Christ is Born! Glorify Him! Hristos se Nasçte! Ma ¨riòi-L! The Herald... · Grass Lake, MI 49240-0185, U.S.A. Articles and news published in SOLIA do not necessarily reflect the

VOL. LXXIV,Nos. 11-12

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

THE HERALD•••••

JACKSON, MI

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

Hristos se Nasçte! Mariòi-L!

2 SOLIA NOV/DEC 2009PRAY AND WORK FOR ORTHODOX UNITY IN NORTH AMERICA

SOLIA — THE HERALD (ISSN 0038-1039)is published bi-monthly for $15.00 per year:United States, $20.00 per year: Canada, and$25.00 per year in other countries by The Ro-manian Orthodox Episcopate of America, 2535Grey Tower Road, Jackson, MI 49201-9120.Periodicals postage paid at Jackson, Michigan,and additional offices. Phone: (517) 522-3656,Fax: (517) 522-5907. E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.roea.org.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:SOLIA — THE HERALD, P.O. Box 185,Grass Lake, MI 49240-0185, U.S.A.

Articles and news published in SOLIAdo not necessarily reflect the views orthe endorsement of the Romanian Or-thodox Episcopate of America.

CHAIRMAN:Most Rev. Archbishop

Nathaniel Popp

VICE-CHAIRMAN:Right Rev. Bishop Irineu Duvlea

ENGLISH EDITOR / SECRETARY:Archdeacon David Oancea

ROMANIAN EDITOR:Rev. Fr. Anton Frunza ¨

STAFF:Hieromonk Calinic Berger Ph.D.

V. Rev. Dr. Remus GramaHdcn. Sebastian Dumitrascu

Mr. Mark ChestnutMr. Richard C. Grabowski

CONTENTSEnglish Section

Nativity Pastoral Letter 2009,His Eminence Archbishop NATHANIEL ................. 3-4

The Holy Angels: Our Guides andGuardians, Hieromonk Calinic (Berger) ............... 5, 16

The Psalms, and My Grain of Sand,Psa. Nicole Mitescu ................................................... 6, 9

Orthodox Brotherhood, USA Annual Conference .............7Meditation for Christmas,

A Monk of the Eastern Church ................................. 8-9Nativity Sermon, Saint John Chrysostom ................. 10, 15Hierarchal Schedule ......................................................... 11Children Love the Manger,

V. Rev. Dr. Remus Grama .......................................... 11Celebrating “80 Years” of the ROEA,

V. Rev. Fr. Dimitrie Vincent ...................................... 12World Church News ..................................................... 13-14Fr. Remus Grama Receives “Bishop Policarp

Gold Medal” ................................................................. 14The Role of Women in the Orthodox Church,

Lucy Pop ....................................................................... 15Honoree – Leah (Sandru) McIntyre ................................ 16

Romanian SectionScrisoare Pastorala¨ la Nasçterea Domnului,

Dumnezeului sçi Ma[ntuitorului nostruIisus Hristos 2009,+ NATHANIEL, Arhiepiscop ................................ 17-18

Cuva[nt de Suflet, Noiembrie - Decembrie 2009,+ IRINEU, Episcop Vicar .............................. 19, 22, 24

Rolul Femeilor ôn Biserica Ortodoxa¨, Lucy Pop .......... 20ön memoria vrednicului de pomenire Pa¨rinte

Nicolae Zelea - doi ani de la plecarea ôntruDomnul (1916-2007), Alexandru Tomescu ............... 21

Eternul Colind Roma[nesc, Pr. Dr. Nicolae Stoleru ....... 22Educarea Cresçtina¨ a Familiei, Maica Preoteasa¨ ...... 23-24Colindul Bradului, Dumitru Ichim .................................. 24

OUR COVER: Icon of the Nativity of Our Lordand God and Savior, Jesus Christ from Romania.

All Good Wishes &Many Years to

His EminenceArchbishop NATHANIEL

on the occasion of

the 25th Anniversary ofhis Enthonement as Ruling Hierarch

of the ROEAon November 17.

öntru Mulòi AniSta¨pa[ne!

SOLIA NOV/DEC 2009 3PRAY AND WORK FOR ORTHODOX UNITY IN NORTH AMERICA

PASTORAL LETTER 2009†

NATIVITY OF OUR LORD AND GOD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRISTChrist is born! Let us glorify Him!

“O Lord my God, I will sing a birthday hymn, a song on the Forefeast to you who by yourbirth gives me a divine rebirth and leads me up to my first excellence.”

Compline: Canon, Ode I, b.Beloved Spiritual Children in Christ,Reverend Clergy, Venerable Monastics and Devout Faithful of our God-protected Episcopate:

“May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send you grace and peace,”and from us, hierarchal blessings!

It is Orthodox tradition to celebrate the Feastday of one’s patron saint which is the day on which thesaint fell asleep in the Lord. Sometimes death came from the natural weakness of the body and sometimesby martyrdom. In any case, we celebrate the entrance of the saint into the realms of the heavenly andunending kingdom on the day of falling asleep.

Orthodox Christians also have a special “birth day,” the day of their baptism into Christ. This is a veryimportant day in the life of the Christian, for on this day we begin a new existence, a new birth into aspiritual and authentic life in God. It would be good for each of us to know and give special recognitionto our “baptism birth day.”

In some parts of the world, in particular North America, it is the custom to celebrate the physical birthof an individual, the day in which we “enter” the world. In this case, the celebration is centered on anindividual and not on someone else, as is the case in celebrating one’s patron saint. Congratulations areoffered for a long life and happiness and prosperity in this world. Part of that celebration is in joiningtogether to sing the song, “Happy Birthday to You.”

Paul, Bishop of Emesia, calls us together to celebrate the Birthday of Christ in a special way: “It isfitting that on this day we should exhort your pious devotion, that you form together with us a holychoir...”1 to sing together in honor of the Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ. We bring to your attention thisreminder of a “birth-day,” because of the hymn quoted above in which it is stated that, “I will sing abirthday hymn” to you O Lord my God! Strange as this may seem to say that we sing a birthday hymn toGod, we do sing this to our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ who was born in the flesh. In the Creed,we confess: “I believe ...in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God,...who for us and for our salvation camedown from heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man.” Byincarnate, we mean that Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, taking on our human nature, living on earth,dying on the cross and being buried, arising on the third day and ascending into heaven.

Jesus, eternal Son of God, was born in the village of Bethlehem, a village which still exists. His mother,the Holy Virgin Mary, gave birth to him in a stable for want of a room in the village inn. At his birth,shepherds left their flocks to come to see him as they had been informed by a host of angels. Wisemen fromthe east left their cities to come to see the Christ child, for they had been lead to him by an unusually long-visible star. The unusual visit of these Wisemen to worship the “new-born King of the Jews” caused muchwonder in the capital city of Jerusalem. This wonder turned the ruler, Herod, into a furious tyrant whoissued a command to murder all male children born in Bethlehem and in the surrounding area. Herod wouldhave no future child-king live to take away his throne! All of this is told to us in the Gospel of Saint Lukewho, no doubt, heard it from Saint Peter who learned these things from the Virgin Mary herself. 2

A Christian, in addition to reading the New Testament, must also read the Old Testament, because, inaddition to proclaiming the history of the presence and actions of God in human history, the Old Testamentincludes the prophecies and psalms proclaimed centuries before the birth of Christ referring to his comingon earth as Messiah, or “Chosen one of God.” It is in these prophecies and psalms that the unique events,such as the virgin birth, the appearance of the star, and the worship of the Wisemen are foretold. In otherwords, these references which long before preceded the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem, were fulfilledin his birth inasmuch as such was the divine plan of God.

Saint John the Beloved states: “No one has ever seen God: it is the only Son, who is nearest to theFather’s heart who has made him known.”3 Jesus, Only-Son of God, the Messiah, came to reveal to us the


promise of the Father, that is, the gift of reconciliation and salvation into eternal existence. Certainly, itis only by the coming of our Lord Jesus and through his Gospel that the Old Testament comes to befulfilled. It was the Christ himself who opened the minds and hearts of his disciples to the fulfillment ofthe prophets and psalms after his resurrection during his forty days with them before his ascension intothe heavens.

The second part of the hymn states, “your birth gives me a divine rebirth.” What does this mean, “yourbirth gives me a divine rebirth?” Aren’t we already born? What rebirth do we need? We are born of ourparents, mother and father, but are re-born in baptism which is a “divine” rebirth. We even have“Godparents!” We are baptized into Christ and are clothed with Christ. We are “re-newed”; we have adivine new beginning through the birth of Jesus. Saint Gregory of Nazianzus clarifies for us: “There aremany celebrations corresponding to each of the mysteries of Christ! Yet they all have one completion, myperfection and refashioning and restoration to the state of the first Adam” .4

The rest of the hymn states that we are “...lead to our first excellence,” which is to the state of beingbefore the fall of Adam and Eve. This then, is the calling of all humanity by God’s grace to struggle, towork, to become what Adam and Eve were before their sin and the resulting unhappy rejection from theParadise into which they had sojourned. Saint Irenaeus of Lyon reminds us that: “...Christ Jesus our Lordand God, Savior and King...would bestow on (the righteous) as a grace the gift of incorruption and clothethem with everlasting glory.” 5

Dearly beloved, Christ took on our human nature so that he would be like us in everything except insin. In taking on our human nature, he lifted it up. “You have taken our fallen human nature on yourshoulders, O Christ, and in ascending, you took it to God the Father.”6 Saint Leo, Pope of Rome, exhortsus: “...the Birth Day of Life Itself...fills us with gladness. No one is excluded from sharing in thischeerfulness, for the reason our joy is common to all men. Our Lord, the Conqueror of sin and death, sincethere was no one free from servitude, came that He might bring deliverance to all.” 7

This “birthday hymn” we propose to offer to God is not the common song we join in singing to oneanother; rather, it is the song of all humanity to its Creator, Savior and Sanctifier. It is a song ofunspeakable joy and thanksgiving that God has not abandoned fallen humanity, but rather has come amongus, as St. John states in his Gospel: “Something which has existed since the beginning, that we have heard,and we have seen with our own eyes; that we have watched and touched with our hands: the Word, whois life - this is our subject. That life was made visible; we saw it and are giving our testimony.” 8

In a hymn of Vespers of the Nativity, we sing: “Come, let us greatly rejoice in the Lord as we tell ofthis present mystery. The middle wall of partition has been destroyed; the flaming sword turns back, thecherubim withdraw from the tree of life, and I partake of the delight of Paradise from which I was castout through disobedience.”9 Of course, this hymn was chanted last evening at the vespers during whichyou would have heard this and other explanations of our holy faith. How good our Holy Church is toproclaim to her faithful the wonders of God in holy hymns and services.

Thus, we come together as a “holy choir” to sing this “birthday hymn” to Christ our Lord, while at thesame time, in a mystical way, we are singing it to ourselves. We are singing that it is also our birth, a newbirth made possible through Jesus’ coming on earth to prepare us to return to our true home, the heavenlykingdom. It is there where we shall meet our patron saints, and it is there where we shall become what wehad been, true children of God, true sons and daughters, true in his image and likeness.

Dearly beloved, on this celebration of the Birth of Christ Jesus, let us be courageous in our lives; letus put first things first; let us rejoice in God’s love for us and greet him on this day of his incarnation withsongs of joy and with resolutions to seek with our whole life the Kingdom of Heaven.

Christ is born! Glorify Him!The Messiah is among us! Let us go forth and receive Him!

+ NATHANIEL, Archbishop of DetroitRomanian Episcopate

1 Homily 5, par. 12 Luke 2:1-203 John 1:184 On the Nativity of Christ, 16-1255 Against the Heresies, 1-9-4

6 Vesting of the hierarch7 Homily Three, par. 1, 11-28 1 John 1-29 “Lord I have Called,” 1


They continued to guide the Church throughout thelives of the Holy Apostles as recorded in the Book ofActs. It is clear that the belief in angels is central toOrthodoxy, as to any Biblical faith. For this reason,the Creed confesses belief in “all things visible andinvisible,” which St. Cyril of Jerusalem refers to asangels. The life and destiny of mankind is inseparablyinterwoven with that of the angelic world. The sameis true for each individual human being.

Hence, each and every Christian is given a “radiantangel” at baptism. According to Christ, “in heaventheir angels do always behold the face of my Father”(Mt 18:10). In other words, the presence of an angelis a manifestation of personal holiness, of a personwho is constantly in communion and communicationwith God, in our midst. Who are they? What is ourrelationship with them?

To begin, angels are not cute, little baby-faced “cher-ubs” as they are depicted most frequently in Westernart. Rather, from the Holy Scriptures we know thatthey are imposing, powerful, even intimidating. Evenwhen they take a human form do they retain thesecharacteristics. They always manifest a commanding,divine authority. Angels worship God, abide in Hispresence, receive His words directly, are sent to re-veal His will, and at times even to effectuate it.

Among the most important tasks of angels is toguide and protect men. This is a sign of blessing fromGod. St. Basil the Great refers to the guardian angel asa “protector” and “shepherd” of the believer entrustedto him. From the daily prayers and the various canonsto angels read in church, we learn that our guardianangels know us intimately. They rejoice when we do

THE HOLY ANGELS:OUR GUIDES AND GUARDIANS

There is not a single significant event recorded inthe Holy Scriptures that does not include the presenceand contribution of angels. This includes the verycreation of the material world (Job 38:7). Angels –good and evil – are present in all Old Testamentturning points: at the garden of Eden, throughout thelives of the Patriarchs, the giving of the law to Moses,

byHieromonk Calinic (Berger)

the worship in the temple, the takingpossession of the promised land, etc.Similarly, they accompany the entirelife of Jesus Christ: angels addressthe Virgin Mary, announce His birthto shepherds, strengthen him in fast-ing, are present at His Passion, Res-urrection, Ascension, and, accordingto Christ’s own testimony, will ac-company Him when He returns inglory to judge the world (Mt 25:31).

an angel with them.How are we to understand the nature of angels? On

the one hand, they are spiritual, “bodiless,” “pureintellects,” such that they need only to think of a placeand they are there instantly. This is not so hard tobelieve, since even in our material world our voicescan travel through phone connections instantly allover the globe. Yet angels do have a spiritual “body,”for only God is purely immaterial. Thus, the angelscannot be in multiple places at the same time, whichis evident from the Biblical witness (Dan 10:13). St.John of Damascus articulates the Church’s teachingmost concisely: “An angel is an intellectual essence,in perpetual motion, with free will, incorporeal, min-istering to God, having obtained by grace an immortalnature … it is not as they really are that they revealthemselves to worthy men … they are present afterthe manner of a mind and energies, and cannot bepresent and active in various places at the same time…They are guardians of the divisions of the earth…They behold God according to their capacity, and thisis their food.”

The proper relationship between the angelic andhuman orders was distorted in the fall of mankind,since Adam not only rebelled against God but submit-ted to the rebellious advice of a fallen angel. The devilbecame the “prince of this world” to whom its human“power” and “glory” were delivered (Lk 4:6). OnlyJesus Christ restored man’s proper relation with an-gels by settling that score. Thus, he comes to judgeJesus but “has nothing in Me” (Jn 14:30) and on thecontrary is himself “cast out” (Jn 12:31) and judged

vices. The contingency of this bless-ing is most succinctly expressed inGod’s words to Moses: “Behold, Isend an angel before you, to keepyou in the way, and to bring you intothe place which I have prepared.Beware of him, and obey his voice,provoke him not; for he will not par-don your transgressions: for My nameis in him” (Exodus 23:20-1). Thesewords are applicable to all who have

well and sorrow when we do evil – they are evenembarrassed for us. Their vigilance is unfailing, solong as we do not “drive them away.” So, an angel isa sign of God’s blessing but, as with all His blessings,it is also dependent upon our own behavior. For thisreason, the Church continually petitions for “an angelof peace, a faithful guide, a guardian” in all its ser-

Cont. on page 16


grain of sand miserable, and by extension, everyonewho is around him or her.

Anyway, it seems to be an inevitable part of ourhuman nature, not a very good part, but one we trymore or less successfully to overcome or at least hide.

I was thinking about it, because I have discovereda big help – if not a cure – for treating this grain ofsand. While reading the Matins service, I stopped toread the six morning Psalms. They are great! Youneed to read all six of them, one after the other, to getthe full benefit. They take you from feeling over-whelmed by those all negative forces outside of you(your "enemies") to being overwhelmed by your ownsinfulness, to feeling the full weight of despair, thensuddenly the sun breaks through and you are remem-bering to be thankful to God for all his blessings, loveand forgiveness towards you. The final Psalm seemsto sum up what all the other Psalms have been saying.

If you have an Orthodox Study Bible (with both theOld and New Testaments in it), the numbers of thePsalms are 3, 37, 62, 87, 102, 142 (the Septuagintnumbering – if you have another version of the Bible,

THE PSALMS, AND MY GRAIN OF SANDby Psa. Nicole Mitescu

I used to watch my students come through the doorof my classroom when I was still teaching, and as Igot to know them better, it was easy to pick out theones who were coming in with a grain of sand in theirhearts.

Do you know that feeling? Some people describe itas a chip on their shoulder or getting out of bed on thewrong side. But it always seemed to me that it was aninterior problem, in their minds and spirits, like agrain of sand irritating an oyster. No matter whatanyone did, it was the wrong thing for them. Holi-days, ice cream and blueskies would still be wrongbecause if you mentionedthem, they would suddenlyprefer to be alone in a darkroom with their favoriteTV program.

And to be honest, therehave been days and per-haps even weeks when Ihave felt that same grainof sand. I've tried to puzzleit through – was it tired-ness, stress, depression,hidden anger, or was it justplain "overload" of stuff Ididn't really want to do?Or, perhaps boredom andnot enough to do? What-ever it is, it makes theperson with this irritating

good. The modern-day equivalent is probably theinfomercials that offer us everything from amazingkitchen gadgets to rapid ways to lose weight ("Butwait!" they tell you, "For only $19.99, you can findhappiness with a 30-day money back guarantee!").However, I can do much better than that. These Psalmsare free – and there is so much more! They come withan eternal guarantee from God to help our spiritualgrowth and healing.

This made me think about the analogy, or the sym-bolic reality, of the Church as a hospital – many of thegreat Church Fathers made this comparison, and Ithink in today's world it is especially appropriate. ThePsalms are just one of the Church's great medicines.

We hear friends and neighbors say that they are"spiritual" but they feel no need to be part of a church.This sounds so odd to us Orthodox. We are continu-ally aware that we are sinners in need of God's mercybut, for us, the place to heal the wounds that sininflicts on us is in our church. We belong to theOrthodox Church as a whole, and we belong to a

expressed there and youfind God's way for you toget beyond it.

As I was thinking aboutthis, I wondered if per-haps the suggestion ofreading these Psalmsmight sound a bit like a"snake oil" sales pitch.You remember in the oldWestern movies when themedical salesmen wouldcome around with theirwagon full of some "snakeoil potion" that was sup-posed to cure all your ail-ments. Of course, the po-tion was generally uselessif not actually harmful, butthe slick-talking salesmansurely made it sound very

the Psalms are probably 3, 38, 63, 88, 103 and 143).The reason I like these Psalms is that they are so

honest with their emotions. No false cheerfulness, nofake faith, no half-hearted humility here, but realemotions that we all feel from time to time. And it'sonly when we recognize and face our feelings that wecan start to work on them. With that grain of sand inyour heart, it is surely easy to blame everyone andeverything else for what is wrong in your life. Butwhen you read these Psalms, whether you are sad orafraid or angry, whatever the emotion is, you find it

Cont. on page 9


The Orthodox Brotherhood, USA held its 42nd An-nual Brotherhood Conference on the weekend of Oc-tober 16-18, 2009 at Holy Cross Orthodox Church inHermitage, Pennsylvania.

Brotherhood President Nick Avramaut opened theconference by referencing two important functions ofthe Brotherhood – promotion and sponsorship of chari-table works and enhancement of the bonds of Chris-tian brotherhood among its members. He noted that inkeeping with the spirit of those goals, during the pastyear, the Brotherhood continued to offer its supportthrough donations to Camp Vatra and by providingOrthodox calendars and prayer books to our membersand parishes in the Episcopate. He also noted that theBrotherhood continued to provide services throughhours of volunteer work to the Church Congress, CampVatra and other Auxiliary events, as well as to ourown local parish activities.

He concluded by extending his gratitude to themembers of the National Board, especially to theBrotherhood’s Spiritual Advisor, Fr. Dimitrie Vincent.

Highlights of the Conference consisted of:An educational forum, with presentations made by

V. Rev. Archmandrite Joseph Morris, who presentedon the topic of The Stewardship of the People of God,Psa. Stefanie Y. Yazge, who presented on How Is theLaity To Do Ministry, and Archbishop Nathaniel, who

ORTHODOX BROTHERHOOD, USA

Participants at the 42nd Annual Orthodox Brotherhood Conference, Hermitage, Pennsylvania with HisEminence, Archbishop Nathaniel (center).

spoke and answered questions on the continuing dia-logue between our Episcopate and the Romanian Or-thodox Archdiocese of America;

Election of a new slate of officers for the 2009 –2010 year as follows: James M. Carabina, President;Ron Muresan, Vice President; Pauline Trutza, Secre-tary; Marie Avramaut, Treasurer; John Hategan, Mem-bership Chairman; Val Pufescu and George Cantor asCongress Delegates (Luminita Nikodin as AlternateDelegate) and Gus Vincent and Mary Sankey as Au-ditors.

Finally, the Brotherhood’s evening banquet wasdedicated to Archbishop Nathaniel in honor of his 25th

Anniversary as the ruling hierarch of the Episcopate(November 17, 1984) and in honor of his 10th Anni-versary as Archbishop (elevated to the rank of Arch-bishop on October 20, 1999 by the Holy Synod of theOrthodox Church in America). The Archbishop madea special presentation, noting the deep appreciation ofthe Brotherhood for his dedication to, sacrifice for,and leadership of the Episcopate.

December marks the kick-off of the Brotherhoodmembership drive. Annual dues are only $20.00 andmay be sent to the Membership Committee ChairmanJohn Hategan at 33919 Reserve Way, Avon, Ohio44011.

Participant


. . .“The shepherds said one to another, Let us nowgo even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which iscome to pass, which the Lord has made known untous” (Lk. 2:15). Let us, too, go even to Bethlehem. Inspirit, let us climb that hill “unto the hills, from whencecomes my help” (Ps. 121:1). Climbing up to Bethlehemimplies an effort; but shall we let such a great occa-sion slip by?

“Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the cityof Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, whichis called Bethlehem. . . To be taxed with Mary hisespoused wife, being great with child. . .” (Lk. 2:4-5).It is no longer Caesar Augustus, but the King of kingswho decrees that “all the world should be taxed. . .every one into his own city” (Lk. 2:1,3). Each personmust declare sincerely which city he has chosen, towhich group he allies himself. Some will choose Rome;others Athens. Shall I choose riches, or power, orintelligence? No. Those cities are not for me. I shallnot even choose Jerusalem, the place where Godmanifests his glory. During my earthly life, I wish tobe a citizen of Bethlehem, and to have that humilityand that poverty as my share; with Mary, with Josephand with Jesus, I would like my name to be enrolledin that little town which may be despised or ignoredby men, but is so great before God.

“Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy. ..unto you is born this day. . .a Savior. . .” (Lk. 2:10-11). The birth of Jesus at Bethlehem is not a far-distant historical event which is of no concern to me.And, if it does concern me, it is not merely because Iam a member of the great human collectivity. Themessage of Christmas is not addressed to humanity ingeneral; it is addressed to each person in particular. Itreaches each soul in a way that is unique and excep-tional. This joy is announced to me in a different waythan to any one else; it is to me and for me that aSavior is born. Let us recognize the Nativity of Christas a very personal gift. Let us receive this gift withfaith and thankfulness.

“And lo, the star, which they saw in the east, wentbefore them, till it came and stood over where theyoung child was” (Mt. 2:9). The Magi followed thelight which was given to them faithfully: being obedi-ent to this light, they were led by it to the child. If Itry to be faithful to the full measure of light that Godhas given me, if I have the courage to leave all tofollow the star, if I decide to be true and obedient tomy conscience (whatever may happen), and ready to“bear witness of the Light. . .that was the true Light,which enlightens every man that comes into the world”(Jn. 1:7,9), the divine light will not fail, in spite of myignorance, to lead me - not in any abstract way, butthrough all the concrete circumstances of life, and

whenever it is needed - right up to the Child in whomI have placed all my hope.

“And she brought forth her first-born son, andwrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in amanger; because there was no room for them in theinn” (Lk. 2:7). This birth in a manger declares thatJesus wants to be counted among the poorest, amongthe most humble; he will be found among the disin-herited, the sick, the prisoners, the sinners. I wouldrather be poor with Jesus than be rich without Jesus.I prefer to be in a cave with Jesus, Mary and Josephthan in the inn where there is no room for them. Then,too, we must accept the fact that, for those who loveJesus, there is no place in this world. “The Son of manhas not where to lay his head” (Lk. 9:58).

“And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall findthe babe wrapped in swaddling clothes. . .” (Lk. 2:12).I seek a God and Lord, and I find a tiny child. Themessage of Christmas is a message of childhood: “VerilyI say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the king-dom of God as a little child shall in no wise entertherein” (Lk. 18:17). God does not ask us to renouncethe adult knowledge and discretion needed to accom-plish our earthly tasks, but, in our relations with him,he wants us to return to the trusting simplicity of achild. The child has faith in his father; he walks handin hand with him; he knows that his father will leadhim where he needs to go, he knows that his fatherwill protect him, feed and shelter him; he allows him-self to be led by his father, eyes shut without the leastanxiety. When he speaks to his father, he does not tryto use any complicated formula, he says quite simplyand affectionately what he wants to say. And this iswhat the little child of Bethlehem symbolizes for us.Furthermore, Jesus’ childhood is more than a modelto be imitated; it is one of those mysteries of theSavior’s life which, although they are historical andtransitory, also have an eternal reality; Christmas is afavorable time at which to honor the mystery of Jesus’childhood.

“They saw the young child with Mary his mother,and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they hadopened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts;gold, and frankincense, and myrrh” (Mt. 2:11). Likethe Magi, we offer our treasures and we offer the littlechild the most precious things we have. In spirit weoffer gold, the sign of Jesus’ sovereignty over allriches and all created things, a sign also of our owndetachment from earthly goods. In spirit we offerincense, the sign of adoration, for Jesus is not only theking of the universe, he is our God. We offer in spiritmyrrh, the spice with which we honor in advance thedeath and burial of Jesus and through which too, is

MEDITATION FOR CHRISTMASby A Monk of the Eastern Church

Cont. on page 9


The Psalms ... Cont. from page 6

parish in particular. It is a place where we meet andgrow with a specific group of other Orthodox who arealso seeking healing and salvation. The Church is theBody of Christ, and somehow in God's plan for us,this parish, this community, becomes our spiritualfamily, helping each one of us on our individual pathsever closer to God.

In the Church, there are many medicines. Two es-pecially important ones are Confession and HolyCommunion. In Confession, we ask God's forgivenessfor our sins – it reveals the wounds to the Physician.In the Holy Eucharist, Communion, in which we arespiritually and physically in the presence of God,those wounds are healed.

St. Simeon the Translator understood about the grainof sand, although he used a different image to de-scribe the problem. Part of his prayer, which we readafter Communion, says, "Burn me not, my Creator,but instead enter into my members, my veins, myheart and burn the thorns of all my sins." Confessionand Communion are very powerful aids or "medi-cines" against our sinfulness and spiritual weakness.

The Church is a holy place, filled with God's heal-ing presence and people who need healing. We are all"spiritually ill" and in need of the Church's help in asimilar way that a sick person needs a hospital. Youmay not like the food at the hospital, or the doctors,nurses or medical tests. But once you recognize thatyou are seriously ill, you know that it is the best placeto be in order to get well. The bed may be uncomfort-able, but the medical specialists are there to help youin your struggle. The goal of all of it is to be healthyagain. Neither the Church nor the hospital can "guar-antee" a cure, but they offer you the best help andmedicines on your own journey toward that goal.

Yet the Church is not a hospital in the sense ofbeing a place of last resort, a place you are afraid togo to unless you are very ill. Instead, it is a place tofind love and forgiveness and healing on a continualbasis. We need to be part of the Church every singleday of our lives. It gives us a structure – the churchyear of feasts and fasts, the services, the candles andincense and singing, the prayers and sacraments thataccompany all the important events in our lives – alldesigned to help us to maintain our spiritual health.And it offers us its humanity also, so that in ourefforts to discern and do God's will, we all rememberthe importance of unity, of faith, of love, of forgive-ness.

The Church as hospital helps us not only with bigproblems, but also with our grains of sand. I found thesix Psalms in the service of Matins to help me with mygrain of sand. I would encourage each of you to finda part of a service, a prayer, one of the hymns, andmake it a healing part of your spiritual lives too.

Our Church offers us the true faith and genuinehealing, not false guarantees. So let us pray with

God's help that our thorns may become roses and ourgrains of sand may be changed into beautiful pearls.

Meditation ... Cont. from page 8

represented our own renunciation of bodily pleasures.Lord Jesus, accept my offering.

“And the shepherds returned, glorifying and prais-ing God for all the things that they had heard andseen…” (Lk. 2:20). Lord Jesus, before we leaveBethlehem, or come to the end of this feast of theNativity, allow us to see something of what the shep-herds saw, to hear something of what they heard, andto receive in our hearts the message which is preachedto us from the manger.

“You are the body of Christ, and members in par-ticular” (1 Cor. 12:27). The feast of Christmas is thefeast of the mystical Body, for it is through the Incar-nation that men have become members of Christ.Whatever theological interpretation we give to thisgreat spiritual and patristic affirmation of our incor-poration into Christ, we must believe that with theIncarnation, an ineffable union - that passes all under-standing - began, in human flesh, between Jesus Christand men. Beyond the particular historical event whichtook place at Bethlehem and through which the Son ofGod took on a visible human body, another event tookplace that concerns the whole human race: God, inbecoming incarnate, in some way weds and assumesthe human nature which we all share and creates be-tween himself and us a relationship which, without itsever ceasing to be that between the Creator and hiscreature, is also that between the body and its mem-bers. There is union without confusion. Christmasallows us to become most deeply conscious of what isour true nature, human nature, regenerated by JesusChrist.

“And the Word was made flesh” (Jn. 1:14). Thesewords summarize and express the feast of Christmasperfectly. If we give them their full meaning, we willunderstand that they do not only concern the mysteryby which the Son and Word of the Father becameman: this formula also carries an implication of amoral and practical order. Our flesh is often a sourceof temptation and sin to us. May the Word of Godtherefore become flesh in us, may it enter into ourbody. May the power of this Word (for there can be noquestion of its being an Incarnation in substance) passfrom the exterior to the interior, and so, into ourbodies; then the law of the Spirit will prevail over thelaw of the flesh. Christmas will have a true meaningfor us only if our own flesh becomes transformed,changed and ruled by the Word made flesh.

Excerpted from the book The Year of Grace of theLord: A Scriptural and Liturgical Commentary onthe Calendar of the Orthodox Church, pp. 68-71.SVS Press, 1980.


I behold a new and wondrous mystery!My ears resound to the shepherd’s song, piping no

soft melody, but loudly chanting a heavenly hymn!The angels sing!The archangels blend their voices in harmony!The cherubim resound their joyful praise!The Seraphim exalt His glory!All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the

Godhead herein... on earth and man in heaven. Hewho is above now, for our salvation, dwells herebelow; and we, who were lowly, are exalted by divinemercy!

Today Bethlehem resembles heaven, hearing fromthe stars the singing of angelic voices and, in place ofthe sun, witnessing the rising of the Sun of Justice!

Ask not how this is accomplished, for where Godwills, the order of nature is overturned. For He willed.He had the powers. He descended. He saved. Allthings move in obedience to God.

Today He Who Is, is born! And He Who Is be-comes what He was not! For when He was God, Hebecame man - while not relinquishing the Godheadthat is His...

And so the kings have come, and they have seen theheavenly King that has come upon the earth, not bring-ing with Him angels, nor archangels, nor thrones, nordominions, nor powers, nor principalities, but, tread-ing a new and solitary path, He has come forth froma spotless womb.

Yet He has not forsaken His angels, nor left themdeprived of His care, nor because of His incarnationhas He ceased being God. And behold,

Kings have come, that they might serve theLeader of the Hosts of Heaven;

Women, that they might adore Him Who wasborn of a woman so that He might change thepains of childbirth into joy;

Virgins , to the Son of the Virgin...Infants, that they may adore Him who be-

came a little child, so that out of the mouths ofinfants He might perfect praise;

Children , to the Child who raised up martyrsthrough the rage of Herod;

Men, to Him who became man that He mightheal the miseries of His servants;

Shepherds, to the Good Shepherd who haslaid down His life for His sheep;

Priests, to Him who has become a High Priestaccording to the order of Melchizedek;

Servants, to Him who took upon Himself theform of a servant, that He might bless our stew-ardship with the reward of freedom (Philippians2:7);

Fishermen, to the Fisher of humanity;

NATIVITY SERMONPublicans, to Him who from among them

named a chosen evangelist;Sinful women, to Him who exposed His feet

to the tears of the repentant woman;And that I may embrace them all together, all

sinners have come, that they may look upon theLamb of God who takes away the sins of theworld!Since, therefore, all rejoice, I too desire to rejoice!

I too wish to share the choral dance, to celebrate thefestival! But I take my part, not plucking the harp norwith the music of the pipes nor holding a torch, butholding in my arms the cradle of Christ!

For this is all my hope!This is my life!This is my salvation!This is my pipe, my harp!And bearing it I come, and having from its power

received the gift of speech, I too, with the angels andshepherds, sing:

“Glory to God in the Highest! and on earth peaceto men of good will! “

by Saint John Chrysostom

FINANCIAL REPORT

Cont. on page 15

EPISCOPATE SUPPORTERSDumitru & Mariana Sandulescu, Troy, MI .......$500.00John & Mary Vilcu, Griffin, SK ..........................$200.00Alexa & Florica Mindea, Morton Grove, IL......$100.00Carrie Steski, Winnipeg, MB................................$100.00M/M Stephen Maximo, Philadelphia, PA..............$30.00Dorothy Bondar, Warren, MI .................................$25.00Psa. Victoria Moldovan, New Castle, PA.............$25.00Adela Price, New Castle, PA..................................$25.00Psa. Silvia Yova, Fairlawn, OH..............................$25.00

GENERAL DONATIONSMarc Yland MD, New York, NY...................... $1,500.00St. Dumitru, New York, NY.............................. $1,000.00

(Hierarch Travel Fund)Anonymous..............................................................$500.00Sts. Constantin & Helen, Lil burn, GA ................$500.00

(Hierarch Travel Fund)Zina Dart, Easton, PA............................................$300.00

(Camp Vatra)St. Mary, Calgary, AB ...........................................$141.00

(Canadian Flag for Vatra)Steve & Katherine Miroy, Stafford, VA .............$260.00

(Camp Vatra)Dorothy Bondar, Warren, MI ...............................$100.00

(Camp Vatra)Florence & Bobby Westerfield, Warren, MI ........$30.00Erna & H. Joseph Harrington, Shelby Twp., MI $20.00

MEMORIAMDoina & Alexis C. Vircol, Wilmette, IL .......... $1,000.00

(IMO Zamfira Posteuca)Doru & Una Posteuca, Apple Valley, MN.........$300.00

(IMO Zamfira Posteuca)


HIERARCHAL SCHEDULE

September 30 – October 1. Ottawa, ON. Annun-ciation Cathedral. Wednesday: Rite of Nomination,Proclamation and Acceptance by Arhimandrite Irenee.Vigil for Feast of Protection of the Mother of God.Thursday: Hierarchal Divine Liturgy & Consecra-tion of Bishop Irenee (Rochon) for Quebec City (OCA)– concelebration with Metropolitan Jonah and severalhierarchs. Banquet.

October 1-5. Regina / Ft. Qu’Appelle, SK. St.George Cathedral / Romanian Orthodox DeaneryCentre. Friday/Saturday: Canada Deanery Meeting.ARCOLA & Brotherhood Annual Conference. Sun-day: Hierarchal Divine Liturgy.

October 9-11. Cleveland, OH. St. Mary Cathe-dral. Saturday: Episcopate Council Meeting. Evening:Great Vespers. Reception for Cathedral’s 105th Anni-versary. Sunday: Hierarchal Divine Liturgy. Ordina-tion to Holy Priesthood of Deacon Rares Onofrei.Banquet.

October 16-18. Hermitage, PA. Holy Cross. Fri-day: Reception for Annual Orthodox BrotherhoodAnnual Conference. Saturday: Annual BrotherhoodConference. Evening: Great Vespers. Dinner. Sun-day: Hierarchal Divine Liturgy.

October 23-25. New York, NY. St. Dumitru.Saturday: Great Vespers. Sunday: Hierarchal Di-vine Liturgy. Banquet for 70th Anniversary.

October 26. Hermitage, PA. Holy Cross. Funeral& Burial of Nick Moga.

October 27-31. Ligonier, PA. Antiochian Vil-lage. Tuesday: Guest of Ukranian Metropolia retreat.Wednesday-Friday: Orthodox Christian Laity An-nual Meeting and Road to Unity Conference. Satur-day: Hierarchal Divine Liturgy concelebrated withMetropolitan Jonah and Bishop Melchizedek.

October 31-November 1. Fairlawn, OH. Presen-tation of Our Lord. Saturday: Great Vespers. Sun-day: Hierarchal Divine Liturgy. Lunch.

November 2-7. Regina, SK / Lennard, MB. St.Elias the Prophet. Tuesday: Funeral Service andBurial of V. Rev. Fr. Nicolae Marioncu.

November 8. Dearborn Heights, MI. Sts. Peter& Paul. Hierarchal Divine Liturgy. Ordination to theHoly Priesthood of Deacon Mircea Vasiu.

November 13. Hartford, CT. Holy Transfigura-tion Mission. Pastoral Visit. Te Deum.

November 14. Manchester, NH. St. John ofSuceava Mission. Pastoral Visit. Divine Liturgy.

November 14-15. Woonsocket, RI. St. John theBaptist. Saturday: Great Vespers. Banquet for 75th

Anniversary of Ladies Auxiliary. Sunday: HierarchalDivine Liturgy. Luncheon. Sunday evening: Cam-bridge, MA. Nativity of the Ever-Virgin MaryMission. Pastoral visit. Akathist. Reception.

November 19-22. Washington, DC area. Friday

evening: Hagerstown, MD. St. Philothea Mission.Vespers. Pastoral Visit. Friday night: Potomac, MD.Visit to future site of St. Andrew Mission. Saturdaymorning: Falls Church, VA. St. Mary. HierarchalDivine Liturgy. Pastoral Visit. Saturday evening:Alexandria, VA. Holy Cross. Great Vespers. Recep-tion. Pastoral Visit. Sunday: Potomac, MD. St. An-drew Mission. Hierarchal Divine Liturgy. Banquet.Pastoral Visit.

November 29. Detroit, MI. St. Raphael of Brook-lyn. Hierarchal Divine Liturgy. Pastoral Visit.

Treasuring our annual tradition to keep our citychildren in touch with the experience of the manger,the children of St. Mary Cathedral in Cleveland onceagain spent a Sunday afternoon at the farm. It seemsto be the perfect appetizer before the “entrée” to theNativity fast. Supervised by their teachers and par-ents, the younger groups of our Church School visitedagain the Phillips Farm, in Seville, Ohio. There, theyhad the chance to experience the simplicity of life, theblue skies and fresh air, the sheep, the oxen and thestraw of the manger. A bonfire not only warmed thecold little fingers, but also stirred up the imaginationof the young and favored story telling. The fun wasabundant and the hot dogs, cider and marshmallowswere great. Our talented Victor Lupu played the guitarand sang for us. The hayride was of course the thrillof the day. Yes, there were no tractors in Jesus’ time,but the stillness of the farm of today brings anyonecloser to the humbleness of His time. Our fun timeand family bonding combined the Northeast Ohio fallcolors at the farm and a few, but pointed religiousteachings, have made our practical Bible lesson abiblical archeology experience for all. The upcomingcelebration of the Birth of Christ will certainly bemore vivid for those who attended.

Fr. Remus Grama

CHILDREN LOVETHE MANGER


The following is an excerpt of a speech by V. Rev.Fr. Dimitrie Vincent delivered to the Orthodox Broth-erhood at their Annual Conference at Holy CrossChurch in Hermitage, PA on October 17, 2009.

In the past eighty years, the Romanian OrthodoxEpiscopate of America has given birth to four genera-tions of faithful people in North America. In this time,we have defined our vision, created our identity, de-veloped our community through work and thus ourown history. The story of our Episcopate has takenshape and our leaders and heroes have emerged. Theirlives and stories over these 80 years form our legacy,which is to be shared and passed on to future genera-tions. There are literally hundreds of clergy and laitythat have fought for, protected, nurtured and shapedthe development of our Episcopate and the lives herpeople.

The early Church fathers taught us through theirlives that, “Wherever the bishop shall appear, therelet the people be; just as where Christ Jesus may be,there is the Catholic Church” (Ignatius, 1st-2nd c).They also taught us that, “Where the Church is, thereis the Spirit of God; and where the Spirit of God is,there is the Church and every kind of grace” (St.Irenaeus, 2nd c). Archbishop Nathaniel and ArchbishopValerian have kept these teachings and balance in theChurch as they worked to unite the Episcopate.

Archbishop Valerian, of thrice blessed memory,under whom the Brotherhood was founded with hisencouragement and blessing, was described by Arch-bishop Nathaniel in the Introduction to the book DearlyBeloved, this way:

Among the people of every nation, there areleaders who, by the sheer power of their innategifts, rise to positions of authority and power. Bytheir action, they shape life and lives aroundthem. . . Among the Romanian people, one suchindividual is Valerian Viorel Trifa. . . from thetime of his public address as bishop, ValerianTrifa expressed his intention to work for a unityof all American Orthodox. [Installation July 4,1952, p 29]Archbishop Nathaniel, who in October celebrated

10 years as our Archbishop, and in November cel-ebrated 25 years since his enthronement as rulingBishop of the Romanian Episcopate, has dedicated hislife to steering the Church, passed on to him, throughthe watery shoals of this truly unique historical time.Fr. Vasile Hategan, of blessed memory, wrote at thetime of his Archpastoral elevation in 1999:

Archbishop Nathaniel has his own unique per-sonality and style. . . Fate would have it that hewas elected during a time of political turmoil inRomania and that he would have to spend muchof this time and efforts to meet many problems ofthese newly-arrived Romanians, though he al-

ways looked beyond them, visualizing a unitedand autocephalous Orthodox Church in Americawith its own patriarch.Both of our hierarchs have struggled to help build

the Church in North America during difficult andtrying times. This cross of suffering love they haveborne is similar, yet uniquely their own. One transitionedfrom a European land and culture to America, bring-ing his flock with him against great odds and adver-sity; and the other has carried on and guided his flockforward, further establishing an indigenous localChurch.

We are reminded that, Every Fatherland is a for-eign land and every foreign land is a fatherland (Epistleto Diognetus). The Church of Christ is a holy nation,divine and human; the material and spiritual realmsare two aspects of the same incarnational life. Moneyand prayer go hand in hand; they are both necessarycurrency and tools, for the Church is in the world butnot of the world.

We know that Orthodoxy in the United States wasnot established with mission in mind by trained per-sons or evangelizing monks, such as in Alaska, hun-dreds of years ago. However, the Romanian OrthodoxEpiscopate was established in 1929 as something muchmore than a local Romanian society or ethnic club; thefounders of the Episcopate grew a local church thatwas more than an ethnic-centered society. It was andis a God-centered, Christ-like and Spirit-filled Body.

Like every local Eucharistic community, we in theROEA, as part of the Orthodox Church in America,have a responsibility and duty that we accepted by ourchoice to be Orthodox Christians. As such, we have acalling as reason-endowed sheep to act on the com-mand of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ today: “Go,therefore and make disciples of all the nations, bap-tizing them in the name of the Father and of the Sonand of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe allthings that I have commanded you [and] I am withyou always to the end. . .” (Matthew 28: 19-20).

May all our efforts and programs in this adminis-trative year be energized with renewed vigor and com-mitment to this end. Let us take the zeal of this 80th

Anniversary year, and let us burn with faithfulness fora more perfect union with God, illuminating otherswith hope and growing in divine love of the Father,Son and Holy Spirit and for one another, so that wemay be found worthy to hear our Lord say to us: “Welldone, good and faithful stewards.” Only then can werealize greater internal unity while examining the other.

CELEBRATING “80 YEARS” OF THE ROEA


Patriarch Pavle of Serbia Falls Asleep in theLord (Nov. 19, 2009) BELGRADE, SERBIA — HisHoliness, Patriarch Pavle of Serbia fell asleep in theLord on November 15, 2009 at the age of 95. OnNovember 19, 2009, the Divine Liturgy was led byHis All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomewof Constantinople, together with His Eminence, Met-ropolitan Amphilochije of Montenegro and theCoastlands and Locum Tenens of the Serbian Ortho-dox Church; His Beatitude, Archbishop Daniel ofBucharest, Metropolitan of Muntenia and Dobrogea,Locum Tenens of the throne of Caesarea of Cappadocia,Patriarch of Romania; His Beatitude, Anastasios, Arch-bishop of Tirana, Durres, and All Albania; and HisBeatitude, Metropolitan Christopher, Primate of theChurch of the Czech lands and Slovakia. Alsoconcelebrating were the official representatives of all15 Autocephalous Orthodox Churches at Belgrade’sArchangel Michael Cathedral, across from thePatriarchate’s official Chancery. After the conclusionof the Patriarchal Divine Liturgy, PatriarchBartholomew, together with the other Primates of theLocal Autocephalous Orthodox Churches and theconcelebrating hierarchs and clergy, processed to theMemorial Church of Saint Sava of Serbia, where thefuneral service was celebrated in the open air beforethe church’s main entrance. In attendance at the fu-neral was the President of Serbia, Boris Tadic, whooffered words at an appropriate time, following ser-mons by Patriarch Bartholomew and MetropolitanAmphilochije on the life and legacy of the newly-departed and ever memorable Serbian Patriarch. Alsoin attendance were other members of the Serbian gov-ernment, foreign ambassadors and official representa-tives of numerous sovereign nations, inter-faith reli-gious leaders, and over one million Serbian Orthodoxfaithful.

Metropolitan Jonah Signs Declaration Concern-ing Sanctity of Life, Marriage, Religious Freedom(Nov. 20, 2009 - OCA Communications) NEW YORK,NY — His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, Primate ofthe Orthodox Church in America, and the Very Rev.Chad Hatfield, Chancellor of Saint Vladimir’s Semi-nary, were among some 125 US religious leaders whosigned a 4,700-word declaration addressing the sanc-tity of life, traditional marriage, and religious libertyhere recently. The statement, known as the “Manhat-tan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience,” is-sues “a clarion call” to Christians to adhere to theirconvictions and informs civil authorities that the sign-ers will not “under any circumstance” abandon theirChristian consciences. The text of the declaration,which already has generated considerable controversy,was released on Friday, November 20, 2009. “TheManhattan Declaration is the result of several months

of dialogue among Orthodox, Catholic, and evangeli-cal Christian leaders culminating in a gathering ofapproximately 100 leaders in New York City on Sep-tember 28, 2009,” Catholic News Agency [CNA] re-ports.

Murder of Priest Highlights Missionary Role inRussian Church (Dec. 1, 2009 - Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty) [By Kevin O’Flynn – MOSCOW] Flow-ers still decorate the gates of St. Thomas, the smallwooden church in the south of Moscow where FatherDaniil Sysoyev served. They represent an outpouringof grief for the priest who had built his parish fromnothing and hoped to eventually build in place of themodest wooden structure a brick church big enough tohold 2,000 people. Four red carnations adorn a photoof the priest, who was murdered November 19 after anunidentified gunman entered his church and shotSysoyev twice. St. Thomas held a service on Novem-ber 28 to mark the ninth day after the killing. Sysoyevwas only 35 years old but had already built a reputa-tion as a priest who stood out for his proselytizingwork among Russia’s Muslim community — a rela-tively new phenomena for the Orthodox Church. AndreiZolotov, a journalist specializing in religious issues,says Sysoyev was known for his missionary zeal. “Hewas one of the several most prominent missionaries,and also someone who was known as a bit controver-sial — one of those who insisted on the necessity ofmissionary work among Muslims,” Zolotov says.Sysoyev actively sought to convert Muslims, workingin the capital city’s Muslim communities and reach-ing out to the thousands of immigrant workers whohave come to Moscow from Central Asia, the NorthCaucasus, and elsewhere. He would routinely go tothe city’s construction sites, where many immigrantsare employed, and successfully converted as many as80 people. But his work didn’t stop there. He alsowrote books warning Christians not to marry Muslimsand posted online videos that attacked Islam. Copiesof his book, “An Orthodox Response to Islam,” havesold out at St. Thomas in the days since his death.Sysoyev also posted videos of himself on YouTube,in which he would often be heavily critical of theMuslim faith. In one of them, he ends his lecture withan expression of hope that all Muslims would eventu-ally convert to Christianity. “That’s it. May God helpall of us,” he says in the video. “We will pray so thatMuslims will come to Christianity and not follow theconspiracy of the Prophet.” Sysoyev’s outspokennessdid not go unnoticed, and he wrote that he was con-tinually threatened by Muslims angered by his work.The Orthodox Church has come around to the impor-tance of missionary work in Russia in recent years.Zolotov says it is a trend that has been especially

WORLD CHURCH NEWS

Cont. on page 14


evident under the new patriarch, Kirill, who has ledthe church for less than a year. “In the last severalyears, missionary work has been increasingly recog-nized as a top priority, or one of the top priorities,”Zolotov says. “Basically, the election of PatriarchKirill to a large extent was the manifestation of thisrecognition that we need to carry out a mission. It isnot enough to just be reconstructing the church or sitthere saying how important we are for Russian his-tory.” Part of that mission is to reach out to nominalRussian Orthodox Christians who do not attend church.Different figures show that only between 3 to 10percent of Russians attend Orthodox Church services,when as many as 80 percent identify themselves asOrthodox. But many in the church believe that mis-sionary work extends beyond activating dormant Or-thodox Christians to attempting to convert membersof the Muslim community as well. Zolotov says whileofficial church policy does not publicly endorse pros-elytizing of Muslims, it does not discourage priestsfrom missionary work. Patriarch Kirill presided overSysoyev’s funeral, a gesture that many saw as empha-sizing the Orthodox Church’s tacit support for con-version work. . . Not all parishioners are convincedthat an Islamic extremist was to blame for the killing,however. Some point instead to a land dispute. St.Thomas was facing problems getting permission toconstruct a larger building on its grounds. Some ofSysoyev’s followers say that his death may have beenconnected to that dispute and not to his proselytizingwork.

Data Center Underneath Orthodox Church toHeat Helsinki Homes (Dec. 1, 2009 - Web HostIndustry Review) — Set upon a hillside overlookingHelsinki, the main cathedral of the Finnish OrthodoxChurch will be housing a computer room that willgenerate enough heat to warm 500 single-family houses.Located in a cave below Helsinki’s Uspenski Cathe-dral, this two-megawatt capacity data center projectcould result in the world’s most efficient computerroom, according to Finnish energy company HelsinginEnergia (www.helen.fi), which will be pumping heatfrom the servers to Helsinki buildings. The data center’slocation is another bonus for security — it is buildingthe room in a former bomb shelter, which was carvedby a WWII fire brigade underneath the cathedral as arefuge for city officials from Russian air raids.

Bulgarian Orthodox Consider Julian ChristmasDate (Dec. 2, 2009 – Examiner.com) The BulgarianOrthodox Church may be close to marking this year’sChristmas as the last to be celebrated on December 25in Bulgaria. The Holy Synod will meet in three weeksto decide if a move needs to be made back to theJulian Calendar. If this decision is to be made, Christ-

mas will once again be celebrated on January 7. Theplea to make this choice was filed in late November,a similar argument having been made in 1997 with theagreement of only five bishops at the time. Currently,the Church is set to the Gregorian Calendar, whichwas put in place in Bulgaria in 1916. The BulgarianOrthodox Church has celebrated Christmas on De-cember 25 as an official holiday since the fall ofcommunism.

rounding this moment. His Eminence, ArchbishopNATHANIEL presided over the event, assisted by theV. Rev. Dr. Remus Grama, Dean of the Cathedral andvisiting clergy, among whom were V. Rev. Fr. LaurenceLazar of Southfield, Michigan and the newly-ordainedPriest, Rares Onofrei. During the festive banquet, af-ter the viewing of the documentary movie “100 Yearsof Romanian Orthodoxy in Cleveland,” His Eminencereminisced about the 27 years of activity of FatherRemus Grama and his work for the Episcopate. Heunderlined especially his contributions to the writingof the history of the Episcopate, materialized in hispastoral work, articles and the book “Policarp Morusca,”in Romanian and English editions. In appreciation, heoffered him the newly-issued Episcopate distinction,“Bishop Policarp Morusca Gold Medal.” This was thesecond such award offered by Archbishop Nathaniel.On the same day, Father Remus and Preoteasa Elenawere honored by their parishioners on their 20 yearsof intense pastoral work in the parish.

FR. REMUS GRAMARECEIVES

“B ISHOP POLICARPGOLD MEDAL”

Cleveland - Thecelebration of the105th anniversaryof the oldest Roma-nian Orthodox par-ish in the UnitedStates of Americawas ceremoniouslyobserved on Octo-ber 11, 2009, at St.Mary RomanianOrthodox Cathedralin Cleveland. Hun-dreds of faithfulparticipated in theservices and cul-tural events sur-

World Church NewsCont. from page 13


Life in the Orthodox Church is not a simple matterof just attending Sunday Services, and an Orthodoxwoman is not just someone to prepare the coffee forthose who have attended the service. Orthodoxy is notwearing a big cross, nor making the sign of the HolyCross. These things may be an indicator of something;an act of love and piety, but without Christ’s love andteachings, they remain fruitless. An Orthodox Chris-tian woman uses the Sacramental Life of the Churchto strengthen her family’s faith in the Risen Lord andto practice His Commandments. She understands thenecessity for Christ to be within her life, and withinthe life of her family and the community.

The advent of Christianity provided a voice for thecause and understanding of women as intelligent,courageous and virtuous. In effect, Christianity em-powered women in an unprecedented manner. Withinthe pages of the Gospels, the female followers ofJesus are often described as courageous and faithfulbelievers in His teachings. For instance, while St.Peter denied Christ out of fear, and all other maledisciples except St. John fled during the crucifixion,several women stood at the foot of the cross withoutfear. Likewise, when men were locked indoors forfear of the Jews, the women went out to anoint thebody of Jesus.

“Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother,and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, andMary Magdalene” (St. John 19.28). “On the eveningof that day, the first day of the week, the doors beingshut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews,Jesus came and stood behind them. . .” (St. John20.19). Again within the pages of the Gospel, womenare considered as honest, trustworthy and reliable,faithful witnesses. Indeed, women were the first per-sons to receive the news of the Resurrection of Christand commissioned to relay to men the most importantmessage in the annuals of history: “And he said tothem, ‘Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth,who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here; see theplace where they laid him. But go tell his disciplesand Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; thereyou will see him; as he told you’. . .” (St. Mark 16.6-7).

Beyond merely praising women as trustworthy, thereis also evidence in early teachings of recognizing theshared responsibility and blessings bestowed on menand women. In his letter to the Galatians, St. Paulannounces that there is neither male nor female, butboth are considered equal in Christ’s redemptive work.This represents, from a historical perspective, an illu-minated and radical statement made on the status ofwomen. In the final analysis, Christianity claims that

both men and women equally receive the gifts andvirtues from the Holy Spirit.

Ultimately, this tells us that the role of a woman inthe church is, in a way, the same as the role of a man;it is to be a member of the body of Christ. As part ofthis body, the Church, we are all called to listen toGod. We have many male and female saints who havegiven us examples of Christian ministry from whichwe can learn. Your challenge as a young woman orman is to look beyond some of the misconceptionsthat exist in the church and cultivate the gifts that Godhas given you. When you use them to serve humanityin His name, then you will have found your specialrole in the Church.

Lucy PopA.R.F.O.R.A. President

THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THEORTHODOX CHURCH

Financial Report Cont. from page 10

Costica and Anghelina Iftimie, Chicago, IL......$250.00(IMO Parents)

Dr./Mrs. Adam Frent, Tamarac, FL....................$100.00(IMO John Serban)

Samuel Todor, Boca Raton, FL............................$100.00(IMO Wife, Grace)

John Posteuca, Minneapolis, MN.........................$100.00(IMO Zamfira Posteuca)

Tudor Murgoci, Kitchener, ON..............................$50.00(IMO Wife, Emmi)

EPISCOPATE ASSESSMENTSt. Mary, Chicago, IL (2010)...........................$16,380.00Holy Cross, Hermitage, PA (2009).................... $2,000.00St. George, Toronto, ON (2009)........................ $3,580.00Holy Trinity, Youngstown, OH (2010)............. $2,500.00Descent of the Holy Spirit,

Warren, MI (2009)........................................... $2,000.00St. Dimitrie, Easton, CT (2009)......................... $1,670.00

NEW 50TH ANNIVERSARYEDITION OF THE

POFTA¨ BUNA¨ COOKBOOK

LARGER PRINT

Easy to read

$14.00 ea. – U.S. Funds

Make check payable to:ST. MARY’S SOCIETY

c/o Marie Sandru3097 W 230th ST

NORTH OLMSTED OH 44070


Systems Engineer for the National Aeronautics andSpace Administration (NASA) Glenn Research Cen-ter in Cleveland. McIntyre’s job responsibilities in-clude being a key contributor in the RequirementManagement Office team that has the overall projectmanagement and technical responsibility for the OrionProject. Orion is the Crew Exploration Vehicle con-sisting of the Crew Module, Service Module, LaunchAbort System and Space Adapter. The Orion sits ontop of a rocket that powers it into space.

The Requirement Management Office is respon-sible for identifying and managing the resources, sched-ule and technical expertise required for accomplish-ing the Orion requirement tasks. As part of this team,McIntyre is the Interface Requirements Lead for theentire project. Prior to this, McIntyre’s experiencehas been leading the Water Thermal Control System(WTCS) for the Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF).The FCF consists of two refrigerator-sized racks thathouse NASA-designed hardware to conduct experi-ments on board the International Space Station.McIntyre helped design, test and procure the WTCS,which has a primary purpose of providing cooling toall FCF equipment by removing all waste thermalenergy to the International Space Station, InternalThermal Control System and Moderate TemperatureLoop.

McIntyre is affiliated with the following organiza-tions / awards: Systems Engineering, Space MissionExcellent Program Level II, Engineering Process Group;Wings of Success, two awards; INCOSE in 2007,American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics;Group Achievement Award for FCF DevelopmentTeam; and Significant Contributions to the manage-ment and development of the Orion requirements.While at GlenOak High School, McIntyre volunteeredat the McKinley Museum, played varsity tennis, wasa member of National Honor Society, and won first

HONOREEMember of Episcopate is

Aerospace Engineer at NASA

Leah (Sandru) McIntyre

In October 2009,Leah (Sandru) McIn-tyre, a member of St.George the Great Mar-tyr Romanian OrthodoxChurch, Canton, Ohio,was inducted into thePlain Local SchoolsAlumni Hall of Distinc-tion. McIntyre, thedaughter of Nick andJulie Sandru of NorthCanton, Ohio, is a 2000graduate of the Univer-sity of Cincinnati andcurrently an Aerospace

place at the state competition representing GlenOak atthe Ohio High School Space Olympiad.

Leah (Sandru) McIntyre’s parents, grandparents andgreat-grandparents have all been faithful, dedicatedmembers of St. George (Canton). Congratulations toLeah in her fascinating career, and may God continueto bless her and her family (husband Greg and sonCase, and a second son expected in January) withpeace, safety, honor and good health.

The Holy Angels Cont. from page 5

by Christ (Jn 16:11). For this reason, we can onlyhave a proper relationship to angels through JesusChrist, who “is so much better than the angels” and isworshipped by all of them (Heb 1:4,6). Angels werepresent throughout the life of Christ and even witnessto the Gospel (1 Tim 3:16; Rev 14:6), yet they are notabove apostolic authority (Gal 1:8; 1 Cor 6:3). Christis their head as He is the head of the Church (Eph1:10, Col 1:20). On this account, the Mother of Godalso has a special place among the angels as she doesin the Church, being confessed to be the “Queen of theHeavenly Host” who is “more honorable than theCherubim and more glorious than the Seraphim.”

Today, the popularity of “angels” and other spiri-tual phenomena has reached a new high. A word ofcaution must therefore be added. Much of this con-temporary fad is just a re-run of an age-old temptationwhich expresses mankind’s desire to be led by a higherintelligence – a being from another world who givesguidance for every type of (worldly) activity – with-out, however, any moral accountability to God. Suchoccurrences are well known in the Lives of Saints, inwhich demons appear as angels, giving guidance andeven “praying” for others who are now prepared to dotheir every bidding. So, we Orthodox do believe inspirits – in angels and demons – but not withoutdiscernment. The Apostle John therefore advises hisflock “to test the spirits, whether they are from God”(1 John 4:1), and St Paul warns that “Satan himselfappears as an angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14). The HolyFathers teach that one should never give credence tovisions and apparitions of other beings.

Our guardian angels do make their presence known,however, in other tangible ways. For example, throughthe peace that comes from their protection, the intu-ition that they can give to guide us, a feeling of holi-ness in churches where they too worship, and aboveall, by inspiring devotion to Jesus Christ, whose crea-tures they are and whom they serve, “for in Him allthings were created in heaven and on earth, visibleand invisible, whether thrones or dominions or princi-palities or authorities—all things were created throughHim and for Him” (Col 1:16). As such, then, weshould see our angels: as messengers, guides, protec-tors, and as helpers in all things, but most especiallyin drawing closer to Christ. Let us not neglect to asktheir prayers for us.

SOLIA NOV/DEC 2009 17RUGATçI-VAË SçI LUCRATçI PENTRU UNITATE ORTODOXAË IN AMERICA DE NORD

SCRISOARE PASTORALA LA NASçTEREA

DOMNULUI, DUMNEZEULUI SçI MA[NTUITORULUI

NOSTRU IISUS HRISTOS 2009Hristos se nasçte ! Ma¨riòi-L !

™™Doamne Dumnezeul meu, lauda¨ de nasçtere, sçi ca[ntare de praznic ônainte voi ca[nta òie, celuice cu nasçterea ta dumnezeiasca¨ ônnoire mi-ai dat, sçi la bun neamul cel dinta[i m-ai adus.££

(Slujba Pavecerniòei Ajunului Cra¨ciunului, Canonul, Peasna 1, stihul 2).

Iubitului nostru cler, cinului monahal sçi dreptcredinciosçilor cresçtini aiEpiscopiei noastre de Dumnezeu-pa¨zite,

||Har voua¨ sçi pace de la Dumnezeu, Tata¨l nostru, sçi de la Domnul nostruIisus Hristos\\ (I Cor. 1< 3), iar de la noi pa¨rinteasca¨ dragoste sçi arhieresçti binecuva[nta¨ri!

Iubiòi credinciosçi,Este o tradiòie ortodoxa¨ de a celebra sa¨rba¨toarea unui sfa[nt ôn ziua cônd acel sfa[nt s-a mutat la Domnul.

Uneori moartea a venit pe calea naturala¨ a ba¨tra[neòii, iar alteori sfinòii au suferit moarte martirica¨. ön ambelecazuri noi sa¨rba¨torim intrarea sfinòilor respectivi ôn ômpa¨ra¨òia vesçnica¨ a raiului, ôn ziua ôn care ei au adormit.

Cresçtinii ortodocsçi au, deasemenea, o zi speciala¨ de ||nasçtere\\, ôn ziua botezului lor ôn Hristos Domnul.Aceasta este o zi foarte importanta¨ ôn viaòa unui cresçtin, pentru ca¨ ôn aceasta¨ zi noi ôncepem o existenòa¨ noua¨,o nasçtere din nou ôntr-o viaòa¨ spirituala¨ sçi autentica¨ ôn Hristos. Ar fi bine ca fiecare dintre noi sa¨ da¨mimportanòa cuvenita¨ acestei zile de ||nasçtere prin botez\\.

ön unele pa¨ròi ale lumii, ôn special ôn America de Nord, exista¨ obiceiul de a sa¨rba¨tori nasçterea fizica¨ a unuiindivid, ziua ca[nd ||intra¨\\ ôn lume. ön acest caz, sa¨rba¨toarea este centrata¨ pe un individ sçi nu pe altcineva, caôn cazul sa¨rba¨toririi zilei unui sfa[nt patron al cuiva. Ura¨ri de bine pentru o viaòa¨ lunga¨, fericire sçi prosperitateôn aceasta¨ lume sunt oferite. O parte a acestei celebra¨ri consta¨ ôn a ne aduna ômpreuna¨ sçi a ca[nta ||La mulòi ani!Happy Birthday to You!\\

Pavel, Episcop de Emesia, ne cheama¨ sa¨ sa¨rba¨torim Nasçterea lui Hristos ôntr-un mod special> || E bine caôn aceasta¨ zi sa¨ va¨ ôndemna¨m la pioase ruga¨ciuni, sa¨ forma¨m ômpreuna¨ un cor sfa[nt\\1 pentru a ca[nta ômpreuna¨ôn cinstea Nasçterii Domnului nostru Iisus Hristos. Va¨ atragem atenòia asupra acestui fel de a sa¨rba¨tori ||ziuade nasçtere\\, pentru ca¨ ôn imnul menòionat la ônceputul scrisorii noastre, se spune ca¨ ||voi ca[nta òie, DoamneDumnezeul meu, lauda¨ de nasçtere, sçi ca[ntare de praznic ônainte!\\ Orica[t de ciudat ar pa¨rea ca noi sa¨ ca[nta¨mun imn de nasçtere lui Dumnezeu, cu adeva¨rat, noi ca[nta¨m aceasta Domnului, Dumnezeului sçi Ma[ntuitoruluinostru Iisus Hristos care S-a na¨scut cu trup. ön Simbolul Credinòei, noi ma¨rturisim> ||Cred ... ôntr-Unul Domn,Iisus Hristos, Fiul lui Dumnezeu,...care pentru noi oamenii sçi pentru a noastra¨ ma[ntuire, s-a pogora[t dinceruri sçi s-a ôntrupat de la Duhul Sfa[nt sçi din Fecioara Maria sçi s-a fa¨cut om.\\ Prin ôntrupare, ônòelegem ca¨Hristos s-a na¨scut din Fecioara Maria, lua[nd natura noastra¨ omeneasca¨, traïnd pe pa¨ma[nt, murind pe cruce sçifiind ôngropat, pentru a ônvia a treia zi sçi a se sui la ceruri.

Iisus, vesçnicul Fiu al lui Dumnezeu, s-a na¨scut ôn satul Betleem, o localitate care ônca¨ exista¨. Maica Sa,Sfa[nta Fecioara¨ Maria, L-a na¨scut ôntr-un staul aflat ôntr-o pesçtera¨, lônga¨ un han. La Nasçterea Sa, pa¨storii sçi-au la¨sat turmele pentru a veni sa¨-L vada¨ asça cum le-au spus cetele ôngerilor. Magii de la Ra¨sa¨rit au plecat dinorasçele lor sa¨-l vada¨ pe Pruncul Hristos, fiind condusçi spre Da[nsul de o stea deosebit de stra¨lucitoare. Vizitaneobisçnuita¨ a acestor magi care au venit sa¨ se ônchine ||Regelui nou-na¨scut al evreilor\\ a generat multa¨ uimireôn orasçul capitala¨ – Ierusalim. Aceasta¨ uimire a transformat pe regele Irod ôntr-un tiran furios care a ordonatca toòi copiii de parte ba¨rba¨teasca¨ na¨scuòi ôn ômprejurimile Betleemului ôn acea perioada¨ sa¨ fie omora[òi. Irodnu vroia ca Acest Copil sa¨ devina¨ viitor rege ôn locul saü! Toate ne sunt istorisite ôn Evanghelia dupa¨ Sf. Lucacare, fa¨ra¨ ôndoiala¨, a auzit aceste lucruri de la Sf. Apostol Petru, ca¨ruia i le-a spus önssçi Fecioara Maria. 2

Orice cresçtin trebuie sa¨ citeasca¨ nu numai Noul Testament ci sçi Vechiul Testament, pentru ca¨ pe la[ngaïstoria prezenòei sçi acòiunilor lui Dumnezeu de-a lungul istoriei omenirii, Vechiul Testament cuprinde profeòiisçi psalmi care proclameaza¨ cu secole ônainte Nasçterea lui Hristos, referindu-se la venirea Sa pe pa¨ma[nt caMa[ntuitor sau ||Alesul lui Dumnezeu.\\ ön aceste profeòii sçi psalmi ni se descriu aceste evenimente unice aleNasçterii din Fecioara¨, ale apariòiei stelei pe cer sçi ale ônchina¨rii magilor. Cu alte cuvinte, aceste lucruri profeòitecu mult ônainte de Nasçterea Ma[ntuitorului ôn Betleem, s-au ômplinit ôn Nasçterea Sa pentru ca¨ asça a fost planuldivin al lui Dumnezeu.

Sf. Ioan Evanghelistul ne spune> ||Pe Dumnezeu nimeni nu L-a va¨zut vreodata¨< Fiul cel Unul-Na¨scut, Care

18 SOLIA NOV/DEC 2009RUGATçI-VAË SçI LUCRATçI PENTRU UNITATE ORTODOXAË IN AMERICA DE NORD

este ôn sa[nul Tata¨lui, Acela L-a fa¨cut cunoscut.\\ 3 Iisus Hristos, Unul-Na¨scut Fiu al lui Dumnezeu, Ma[ntuitorul,a venit pentru a ne descoperi fa¨ga¨duinòa Tata¨lui, care este darul ômpa¨ca¨rii sçi ma[ntuirii ôn existenòa vesçnica¨. Cusiguranòa¨, numai prin venirea lui Iisus Hristos sçi Evanghelia Sa s-a ômplinit Vechiul Testament. Hristos a fostCel care a deschis inimile sçi minòile ucenicilor Saï spre ônòelegerea profeòiilor sçi psalmilor, dupa¨ önvierea Sa,ôn timpul celor patruzeci de zile petrecute cu ei ônainte de öna¨lòarea Sa la ceruri.

A doua parte a imnului spune> ||cu nasçterea ta, dumnezeiasca¨ ônnoire mi-ai dat.\\ Ce ônseamna¨ aceasta, ||cunasçterea ta, dumnezeiasca¨ ônnoire mi-ai dat=\\ Nu suntem noi deja na¨scuòi= Oare de ce renasçtere avem nevoie=Suntem na¨scuòi din pa¨rinòii nosçtri, mama¨ sçi tata¨, dar suntem rena¨scuòi prin botez, care este o ||renasçtere\\dumnezeiasca¨. Avem pa[na¨ sçi nasçi! Suntem botezaòi ôn Hristos sçi ômbra¨caòi ôn Hristos. Suntem ||ônnoiòi\\< avemun ônceput nou, dumnezeiesc prin Nasçterea lui Hristos. Sf. Grigorie de Nazians ne arata¨ ca¨> ||Sunt multe feluride a sa¨rba¨tori, corepunza[nd fieca¨rei taine a lui Hristos! Cu toate acestea, toate au un singur scop, desa¨va[rsçireasçi restaurarea noastra¨ la starea ônta[iului Adam.\\ 4

Restul imnului afirma¨ ca¨ noi suntem || ...la bun neamul cel dinta[i adusçi\\, care este starea ôn care s-au aflatoamenii ônainte de ca¨derea ôn pa¨cat a lui Adam sçi a Evei. Aceasta este chemarea ôntregii omeniri, sa¨ sestra¨duiasca¨, ca prin harul lui Dumnezeu, sa¨ devina¨ ceea ce Adam sçi Eva au fost ônainte de ca¨derea lor ôn pa¨catsçi de alungarea lor din Rai. Sf. Irineu al Lyonului ne amintesçte ca¨> ||...Iisus Hristos, Domnul, Dumnezeul,Ma[ntuitorul sçi ömpa¨ratul nostru... va pogor\\ peste cei vrednici darul nestrica¨ciunii sçi \\i va ômbra¨ca cuma¨rire nesfa[rsçita¨.\\ 5

Iubiòi credinciosçi,Hristos a luat natura omeneasca¨ pentru ca sa¨ fie ca sçi noi ôn toate cu excepòia pa¨catului. Lua[nd natura noastra¨

umana¨, El ne-a ridicat. ||Ai luat natura noastra¨ omeneasca¨ ca¨zuta¨ pe umerii Taï, Hristoase, sçi ôn öna¨lòareaTa, ai ridicat-o la Dumnezeu Tata¨l.\\ 6 Sf. Leo, Papa Romei, ne ôndeamna¨> ||... Ziua Nasçterii Vieòii önsa¨sçi...ne umple de bucurie. Nimeni nu este exclus de la a se ômpa¨rtsçi ôn aceasta¨ bucurie, pentru ca¨ bucuira aceastaeste a tuturor oamenilor. Domnul nostru, Biruitorul pa¨catului sçi al moròii, ôntruca[t nimeni nu era liber depa¨cat, a venit ca sa¨ aduca¨ izba¨vire tuturor.\\ 7

Aceasta¨ ||ca[ntare la nasçtere\\ pe care noi o oferim lui Dumnezeu nu este ca[ntarea obisçnuita¨ pe care noi oca[nta¨m la sa¨rba¨torirea zilei de nasçtere unul altuia< ci, este ca[ntecul ôntregii omeniri ca¨tre Ziditorul, Ma[ntuitorulsçi Sfinòitorul ei. Este un ca[ntec de nema¨rginita¨ bucurie sçi mulòumire ca¨ Dumnezeu nu a pa¨ra¨sit omenireaca¨zuta¨, ci a venit ôntre noi, precum Sf. Ioan afirma¨ ôn Evanghelia sa> ||Ce era de la ônceput, ce am auzit, ceam va¨zut cu ochii nosçtri, ce am privit sçi ma[inile noastre au pipaït despre Cuva[ntul vieòii, aceea va¨ vestim. Sçiviaòa s-a ara¨tat sçi am va¨zut-o sçi ma¨rturisim...\\ 8

öntr-un imn la Vecernia Nasçterii, ca[nta¨m> ||Veniòi sa¨ ne bucura¨m de Domnul, aceasta¨ taina¨ de acumspuna[nd, peretele cel din mijloc al zidului s-a stricat, sabia cea de foc se ôntoarce, sçi heruvimul se depa¨rteaza¨de la pomul vieòii sçi eu desfa¨ta¨rii raiului ma¨ ômpa¨rtsçesc, din care am fost lepa¨dat pentru neascultare.\\ 9 Acestimn se ca[nta¨ seara la Vecernie, ôn timpul ca¨reia auzim sçi alte explicaòii ale sfintei credinòe. Ca[t de frumosproclama¨ credinciosçilor Sfa[nta noastra¨ Biserica¨ minunile lui Dumnezeu prin ca[nta¨ri sfinte!

Astfel, ne aduna¨m ca un ||cor sfa[nt\\ pentru a aduce lauda¨ la nasçterea Domnului Hristos, ôn timp ce, ôn acelasçitimp, ôntr-un mod mistic, ca[nta¨m noua¨ ônsçine. Ca[nta¨m pentru ca¨ este ôn acelasçi timp nasçterea noastra¨, orenasçtere posibila¨ prin venirea lui Hristos pe pa¨ma[nt pentru a ne prega¨ti de ôntoarcerea ôn adeva¨rata noastra¨casa¨, ômpa¨ròia cea cereasca¨. Acolo ne vom ônta[lni cu sfinòii nosçtri ocrotitori, sçi acolo vom deveni ceea ce amfost, adeva¨raòi copii ai lui Dumnezeu, adeva¨raòi fii sçi fiice, cu adeva¨rat dupa¨ chipul sçi asema¨narea luiDumnezeu.

Iubiòi credinciosçi,La aceasta¨ sa¨rba¨torire a Nasçterii lui Iisus Hristos, haideòi sa¨ fim curajosçi ôn vieòile noastre< haideòi sa¨ punem

lucrurile dinta[i, ônta[i< haideòi sa¨ ne bucura¨m ôn dragostea lui Dumnezeu pentru noi sçi sa¨-L ônta[mpina¨m ônaceasta¨ zi a öntrupa¨rii Sale cu imne de bucurie sçi cu determinarea de a caüta cu toata¨ fiinòa noastra¨ ömpa¨ra¨òiaCerurilor!

Hristos se nasçte ! Ma¨riòi-L ! Hristos ôn mijlocul nostru !Hristos din ceruri, ônta[mpinaòi-L !

+Nathaniel,Din mila lui Dumnezeu, Arhiepiscop al Detroitului sçi al

Episcopiei Ortodoxe Roma[ne din America

1 Omilia a 5-a, par. 12 Luca 2>1-203 Ioan 1>184 Despre Nasçterea lui Hristos, 16 - 1255 Adversus Haeresus, 1-9-4

6 Ruga¨ciune la ômbra¨carea arhiereului7 Omilia a treia, par. 1, 11-28 I Ioan 1>1-29 Doamne strigat-am, Stihirile Praznicului, Stihira önta[i


Iubiòi Fraòi Preoòi sçi iubiòi Cititori>||önchina¨mu-ne Nasçterii Tale Hristoase, arata¨-ne noua¨

sçi dumnezeiasca¨ ara¨tare a dumnezeirii Tale\\.Noi, prin Dumnezeu putem ônòelege minunile lui

Dumnezeu. öntr-o alca¨tuire ôn care amintim sçi nasçtereaMa[ntuitorului, sçi Ara¨tarea Lui, sçi Ra¨stignirea Lui, sçiônvierea Lui, sçi ôna¨lòarea Lui.

Zicem> ||Te-ai na¨scut precum ônsuòi ai voit< te-aiara¨tat precum ônsuòi ai socotit< te-ai ra¨stignit cu trupul,Dumnezeul nostru, din moròi ai ônviat, ca¨lca[nd moartea<Te-ai ôna¨lòat ôntru slava¨, Dumnezeul nostru, Cel cetoate le ômplinesçti sçi ne-ai trimis noua¨ pe dumnezeiesculDuh, ca sa¨ laüda¨m sçi sa¨ ma¨rim Dumnezeirea Ta\\.Numai prin Duhul Sfa[nt ônòelegem noi lucrurile acesteamai presus de noi. Sçi chiar sçi cu Duhul Sfa[nt, leônòelegem la ma¨sura noastra¨. De unde sçtim= Pentru ca¨la Schimbarea la Faòa¨, troparul spune> ||Te-ai schimbatla Faòa¨, Hristoase, Dumnezeul nostru, ara¨ta[nducenicilor ma¨rirea Ta\\, ca[t puteau ei sa¨ cuprinda¨. Sçimai zicem> ||stra¨luceasca¨ sçi noua¨, pa¨ca¨tosçilor, lu-mina Ta cea pururea fiitoare, pentru ruga¨ciunileNa¨sca¨toarei de Dumnmezeu, Da¨ta¨torule de lumina¨ sçine ma[ntuiesçte\\.

Toate acestea ni le pune ôn atenòie Sfa[nta noastra¨Biserica¨, toate acestea sunt taine ale credinòei noastre.Pentru toate acestea ne prega¨tim cu ônaintepra¨znuire,toate acestea le traïm la ma¨surile noastre, sçi sa¨ nuuita¨m niciodata¨ cuvintele Sfa[ntului Ioan Gura¨ de Aur>||Consçtiinòa curata¨ face sa¨rba¨toare\\. Deci sa¨rba¨toareanu e o zi anume< daca¨ n-ai consçtiinòa¨ curata¨, nu poòitraï sa¨rba¨toare nici atunci ca[nd este sa¨rba¨toare. Iarcine are consçtiinòa curata¨ se poate ga[ndi la evenimentelesa¨rba¨torite nu numai ca[nd e sa¨rba¨toare calendaristica¨,ci orica[nd. Omul care crede sçi are consçtiinòa¨ curata¨,orica[nd poate traï evenimentele de la sa¨rba¨tori< sçiniciodata nu le poate ônòelege sçi nu le poate traï omulcare nu are consçtiinòa curata¨. ||Fericiòi cei curaòi cuinima\\ a zis Domnul Hristos, ||ca¨ aceia vor vedea peDumnezeu\\. ön urcusçul nostru ca¨tre sa¨rba¨toarea NasçteriiDomnului nostru Iisus Hristos avem prilejul sa¨ auzimôn biserica¨ sçi sa¨ spunem noi ônsçine> ||Hristos Se nasçtema¨riòi-L, Hristos din ceruri, ônta[mpinaòi-L, Hristospe pa¨ma[nt, ôna[lòaòi-va¨, Ca[ntaòi Domnului tot pa[ma[ntulsçi cu veselie laüdaòi-L, popoarelor, ca¨ S-a preama¨rit.\\Spunem ||Hristos Se nasçte\\ sçi apoi urmeaza¨ un ôndemn>||Ma¨riòi-L\\. De unde este Hristos= Din Cer. Sçi trebuiesa¨-l ônta[mpina¨m. Hristos Cel din ceruri dupa¨ fireadumnezeiasca¨ vine pe pa¨ma[nt, sçi zicem> ||Hristos pepa¨ma[nt , ônalòaòi-va¨\\ Sculaòi-va¨, cei lenesçi, ||Ca[ntaòiDomnului tot pa¨ma[ntul sçi cu veselie laüdaòi-l,popoarelor\\. De ce= ||ca¨ S-a preama¨rit\\. Sçi tot ônsçirul ga[ndurilor de felul acesta se adauga¨ sçi> ||Taina¨

CUVA[NT DE SUFLET

Noiembrie - Decembrie 2009

GA{NDURI PENTRU SAËRBAËTORILE CRAËCIUNULUI.straïna¨ va¨d sçi preama¨rita¨, cer fiind pesçtera, scaun deheruvimi Fecioara, ieslea sa¨la¨sçluire ôntru care S-aculcat Cel neônca¨put, Hristos Dumnezeu, pe Care,laüda[ndu-L, Il ma¨rim\\.

Deci, ce spunem= Spunem sa¨ privim la pesçtera ôncare S-a na¨scut Domnul Hristos. Sçi ce este pentru noipesçtera ôn care S-a na¨scut Domnul Hristos= Nu este osimpla¨ pesçtera¨, ci este cer.

||Taina¨ straïna¨ vad sçi preama¨rita¨, cer fiind pesçtera,scaun de heruvimi Fecioara, ieslea sa¨la¨sluire ôntrucare S-a culcat Cel neônca¨put, Hristos Dumnezeu, peCare, laüda[ndu-l, Il ma¨rim.\\ sçi mai spunem lasa¨rba¨toarea Nasçterii Domnului> ||Nasçterea Ta,Hristoase Dumnezeul nostru, ra¨sa¨rit-a lumii luminacunosçtinòei. Ca¨ ôntru tine cei ce slujeau stelelor (magii)de la stea s-au ônva¨òat sa¨ se ônchine òie, SoareluiDrepta¨òii, sçi sa¨ te cunoasca¨ pe Tine, Ra¨sa¨ritul cel deSus, Doamne, ma¨rire òie\\. Aici vorbim cu DomnulHristos.

||Fecioara asta¨zi pe Cel mai presus de fiinòa¨ nasçtesçi pa¨ma[ntul pesçtera Celui neapropiat aduce. öngeriicu pa¨storii ma¨resc, iar magii cu steaua ca¨la¨toresc.Ca¨ pentru noi S-a na¨scut prunc ta[na¨r. Dumnezeu Celmai ônainte de veci\\. Ma[ntuitorul nostru Cel maiônainte de veci, S-a fa¨cut om pentru vremelnicie sçipentru vesçnicie. ön faòa acestor evenimente, ca[tônòelegem noi din ele, ne adresa¨m Ma[ntuitorului nostrusçi zicem> ||Ce-òi vom aduce òie, Hristoase Dumnezeule=Ca¨ te-ai ara¨tat pe pa¨ma[nt ca un om, pentru noi.Fiecare din fa¨pturile Tale mulòumita¨ aduce òie> ôngeriica[ntare, cerurile steaua, pustiul ieslea, iar noi pePreasfa[nta Fecioara¨.

Dumnezeule, cel mai ônainte de veci, miluiesçte-nepe noi\\. Ne ga[ndim la Ma[ntuitorul nostru sçi vrem sa¨-I aducem ceva. Ce sa¨-I aducem= Inima¨ curata¨> ||Inima¨curata¨ zidesçte ôntr-u mine, Dumnezeule, sçi duh dreptônnoiesçte ônlaüntrul meu\\ (PS.50). Asça cum cerul aadus steaua, ôngerii au adus ca[ntarea, sa¨ aducem sçi noidin partea noastra¨ inima¨ curata¨< sçi pentru ca¨, orica[tam aduce, totdeauna e prea puòin faòa¨ de ca[t ar trebuisa¨ aducem, trebuie sa¨-I cerem lui Dumnezeu sa¨ nemiluiasca¨ pe noi, sporindu-ne ra[vna sçi sporindu-necunosçtinòa de Dumnezeu.

Prin urmare sçi noi trebuie sa¨-I oferim lui Dumnezeuceva, sçi ôi oferim ceea ce purta¨m ôn suflet, mai alesdorinòa de a ne asema¨na cu Ma[ntuitorul. öntrupareaFiului lui Dumnezeu s-a fa¨cut ||pentru noi sçi pentru anoastra¨ ma[ntuire\\.

Domnul Hristos a spus uncenicilor Saï dupa¨ ônviereaSa din moròi> ||Merga[nd, ônva¨òaòi toate neamurile,boteza[ndu-le ôn numele Tata¨lui sçi al Fiului sçi al Sfa[ntului

Cont. la pag. 22


Viaòa spirituala¨ ôn Biserica Ortodoxa¨ nu se rezuma¨doar la a fi prezent Duminica la slujba religioasa¨, iarviaòa femeii ortodoxe nu se rezuma¨ la a prepara cafeauapentru cei ce participa¨ la agapa de dupa¨ Sfa[nta Liturghie.A fi Ortodox nu ônseamna¨ a purta o cruce la ga[t, oria te ônchina, ori a colecta bani pentru un scop anume.Toate acestea au rolul lor, dar fa¨ra¨ dragostea pentruMa[ntuitorul Iisus Hristos sçi ônva¨òa¨turile Lui, nu ausens. Femeia ortodoxa¨ se folosesçte de slujbele BisericiiOrtodoxe ôn a ônta¨ri credinòa familiei ôn Dumnezeu sçia practica cele Zece Porunci. Ea ônòelege nevoia caDomnul nostru Iisus Hristos sa¨ fie parte din viaòa ei sçia familiei, sçi ôn general din viaòa comunita¨òii ôn caretraïesçte.

Cresçtinismul s-a dovedit a fi o voce pentru cauzafemeilor care au fost considerate ca inteligente,curajoase sçi virtuoase. ön paginile Sfintelor Evanghelii,femeile care l-au urmat pe Ma[ntuitorul Hristos suntdescrise ca fiind curajoase sçi ada[nc credincioase. Deexemplu, ôn timp ce, de frica¨, Sf. Petru a negat de treiori ca¨-l cunoasçte pe Hristos sçi ceilalòi apostoli, cuexcepòia Sf. Ioan, au fugit ôn timpul ra¨stigniriiMa[ntuitorului, femeile au stat la picioarele crucii fa¨ra¨teama¨. De asemenea, ca[nd barbaòii s-au ônchis ôn casa¨de frica evreilor, femeile au mers sa¨ unga¨ trupul luiHristos. ||La[nga¨ crucea lui Iisus erau Maria, mamaLui, sora mamei lui, Maria, soòia lui Cleopa, sçi MariaMagdalena\\. (Ioan 19>25). ||ön aceeasçi seara¨, ôn primazi a sa¨pta¨ma[nii, usçile unde sta¨teau apostolii fiind ônchisede frica evreilor, Iisus a venit sçi a stat ôn mijlocul lor\\(Ioan 20>19).

Vedem, asçadar, din paginile Sfintei Evanghelii, ca¨femeile l-au urmat pe Ma[ntuitorul sçi dincolo de moarteaSa pe cruce, fiind martore credincioase. Primelepersoane care au primit vestea ônvierii lui Iisus Hristossçi care au fost ôncredinòate sa¨ comunice cea maiimportanta¨ veste din anuarele istoriei, au fost femeile.||Iar ôngerul le-a zis> ||Nu va¨ ônspaïma[ntaòi! Caütaòi peIisus Nazarineanul, cel ra¨stignit= A ônviat! Nu esteaici. Iata¨ locul unde a fost pus. Dar mergeòi sçi spuneòiucenicilor Lui sçi lui Petru ca¨ merge ôn Galileea, maiônainte de voi sçi acolo ôl veòi vedea, dupa¨ cum v-aspus.\\.... (Marcu 16> 6-7).

Mai mult, nu numai ca¨ Noul Testament ne ônfa¨òisçeaza¨femeile ca fiind credincioase sçi urma[nd noua ônva¨òa¨tura¨,ci ne prezinta¨ sçi faptul ca¨, ata[t ba¨rbaòii ca[t sçi femeileau aceeasçi responsabilitate ôn faòa lui Dumnezeu. önEpistola ca¨tre Galateni, Sf. Apostol Pavel spune ca¨,de acum, nu mai este nici ba¨rbat, nici femeie, ci ama[ndoisunt consideraòi egali ôn faòa lui Hristos. Aceastareprezinta¨, din punct de vedere istoric, cea mai radicalaäfirmaòie despre statutul femeii pa[na¨ ôn acel moment.ön analiza finala¨, Cresçtinismul afirma¨ ca¨ sçi ba¨rbaòii sçifemeile primesc ôn egala¨ ma¨sura¨ darurile Sfa[ntuluiDuh.

ön final, aceasta ne arata¨ ca¨ rolul femeii ôn Biserica¨

ROLUL FEMEILOR ôN BISERICA ORTODOXAeste complementar rolului ba¨rbatului, ama[ndoi fiindma¨dulare ale Trupului lui Hristos. Fiind cu toòii Trupullui Hristos, suntem chemaòi sa¨ asculta¨m de ônva¨òa¨turileLui. Avem mulòi sfinòi ôn Biserica Ortodoxa¨, ata[t ba¨rbaòica[t sçi femei, care ne-au dat exemple ce ônseamna¨ sa¨traïesçti ca un adeva¨rat cresçtin.

Ce trebuie sa¨ facem, ca sçi cresçtini ortodocsçi, este sa¨cultiva¨m darurile date noua¨ de Dumnezeu. Folosindaceste daruri ôn folosul semenilor nosçtri sçi ôn numelelui Hristos, putem afirma ca¨ ne ôndeplinim rolul nostruôn Biserica¨.

Lucy Pop, Presçedinta - A.R.F.O.R.A.


Despre Pa¨rintele Nicolae Zelea, slujitor ôntru Hristossçi pentru oameni, mi-a fost greu sa¨ scriu, atunci ônseptembrie 2007, ca[nd a ra¨spuns chema¨rii ôna¨lòimilorceresçti.

Ajuns la va[rsta marilor ômpliniri, Pa¨rintele NicolaeZelea pa¨stra ôn fiinòa sa resursele fizice sçi spirituale dea veghea, cu o aleasa¨ generozitate sufleteasca¨, pa[na¨ ônultima clipa¨ la Casa Domnului, Biserica ||Sfa[ntulGheorghe\\ din Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

önca¨ din prima Duminica¨, ca[nd am pa¨sçit pragulacestei biserici, ôn 1995, am auzit spuna[ndu-se ca¨ este||pa¨rintele ortodoxiei\\ ôn acea parte a provinciei,ctitorind patru parohii> ||Sfa[ntul Gheorghe\\ - Toronto,(1954) ||Sfa[ntul Ioan Boteza¨torul\\ - Kitchener, (1967),||Sfa[nta Cruce\\ - London, (1987) sçi ||Sfa[ntul Nicolae\\- Ottawa, (1989).

Prezenòa Cucerniciei Sale la Sfa[nta Liturghie sa¨deamare bucurie ôn inimile noastre. Cuva[ntul Pa¨rinteluiera ziditor, cu o mare ta¨rie spirituala¨, purta¨tor de DuhSfa[nt, care ne ônva¨luia ca o apa¨ binecuva[ntata¨.

öN MEMORIA VREDNICULUI DE POMENIRE

PARINTE NICOLAE ZELEA -DOI ANI DE LA PLECAREA ôNTRU DOMNUL

(1916-2007)ömpova¨raòi de ispite sçi pa¨cate, ôngenuncheam laspovedanie, care nu dura prea mult< dupa¨ ma¨rturisire,inimile erau usçurate, iar feòele luminoase, ca de sfinòi.Lua pe umerii saï pa¨catele noastre. Iubirea lui faòa¨ desemeni era nema¨rginita¨.

Obisçnuia sa¨ oficieze la sa¨rba¨torile hramurilor ônLocasçurile Sfinte unde asçezase prima piatra¨. Cresçtiniilocurilor ôl asçteptau cu evlavie sçi emoòie. önviora privirilecelor din jur, radiind buna¨tate sçi ônòelegere, izvora[tedin da¨ruirea faòa¨ de oameni, limpede sçi simpla¨ caadeva¨rul ônsusçi.

Iubea mult ||Vatra\\. Regreta ca¨ ôn ultimii ani, dinmotive de sa¨na¨tate, nu a mai putut fi prezent la toateevenimentele ei. ömi amintesc ca¨ pe 20 august 2007,la Sa¨pta¨ma[na Ca[mpului Roma[nesc din Hamilton, undea conferenòiat sçi IPS Arhiepiscop Nathaniel, ne-a spus>||Sa¨ aveòi grija¨ de Vatra!\\.

Pa¨rintele Nicolae Zelea a ra¨mas ôn sufletele noastre,ca o adeva¨rata¨ consçtiinòa¨ cresçtina¨ ortodoxa¨ a exiluluiroma[nesc, o legenda¨ vie a unor vremuri memorabile,peste care nu ar trebui sa¨ se asçterne colbul uita¨rii.

Alexandru Tomescu


Taina sçi minunea ôntrupa¨rii Fiului lui Dumnezeu s-a vestit la poporul roma[n sçi a fost ta¨lma¨cita¨ ôn decursulveacurilor ôn incantaòia sçi frumuseòea colindelor.Poporul nostru, a ca¨rui oba[rsçie urca¨ pa[na¨ la vremeavestirii mesajului ma[ntuirii neamului omenesc prinIisus Hristos, a primit dintru ônceput dumnezeiesçtileadeva¨ruri sçi le-a ômbra¨cat ôntr-o poezie de aleasa¨ simòiresçi fior al credinòei, ca o adeva¨rata¨ comoara¨ de suflet.Puòine neamuri ale lumii au ônta[mpinat NasçtereaMa[ntuitorului Hristos exprima[nd boga¨òie neasemuita¨de sentimente ôn versul sçi refrenul de colind, precumroma[nii.

ön colindele stra¨bune se cuprinde o sublima¨ sçi subtila¨||teologie populara¨\\, despre ma[ntuirea adusa¨ lumii deca¨tre Hristos Dumnezeu, din iubirea pa¨rintelui ceresc,ma¨rturisita¨ la toata¨ intensitatea sçi cura¨òia bucurieiduhovnicesçti. ||Asta¨zi s-a na¨scut Hristos / Mesia chipluminos / Laüdaòi sçi ca[ntaòi sçi va¨ bucuraòi!\\ De ofrumuseòe unica¨ sçi netreca¨toare, colindele sunt asemeneaunor flori, ra¨sa¨rite pe ||pajisçtea\\ sufletului credinciossçi ôn care s-a stra[ns nectarul ônva¨òa¨turii cresçtine, izvora[ta¨din pagini de Scriptura¨ sçi din preòioasa Tradiòie aBisericii dreptma¨ritoare.

Din stra¨vechime, prin mijlocirea colindelor, s-a

ETERNUL COLIND ROMA[NESC

Duh\\, sau ||Mergeòi ôn toata¨ lumea sçi propova¨duiòiEvanghelia la toata¨ faptura. Cel ce va crede sçi se vaboteza, se va ma[ntui, sçi cel ce nu va crede, se vaosa[ndi\\.

Asçadar, credinòa ne descopera¨ tainele sçi tainele nedau putere sçi ne dau ava[nt pentru cele bune, pentrucele curate, pentru cele ônalte. Iata¨ nisçte ga[nduri pecare le putem avea, pentru ca¨ ni le ofera¨ Sfa[nta noastra¨Biserica¨. Iata¨ nisçte ga[nduri pe care le putem avea,pentru ca¨ se spun, se exprima¨ la Sfintele Slujbe, daca¨suntem cu luare-aminte, daca¨ urma¨rim adeva¨rurilecuprinse ôn ele.

Asça ca¨ va¨ dau o sugestie> sa¨ va¨ ga[ndiòi mai mult laceea ce se spune, sa¨ va¨ ga[ndiòi mai mult la comorileOrtodoxiei, sa¨ va¨ ga[ndiòi mai mult la ceea ce ne da¨Dumnezeu ôn ga[nd pentru ma[ntuirea noastra¨, pentrubinele nostru, pentru societatea ôn care traïm. Sa¨ nuuita¨m de Dumnezeu, sa¨ nu uita¨m de ruga¨ciune sçi, maiales, sa¨ caüta¨m sa¨ cuprindem ôn consçtiinòa noastra¨, ôncugetul nostru, cele ce ni se ofera¨ pentru noi sçi pentrua noastra¨ ma[ntuire.

Acum la ceas de aleasa¨ sçi Sfa[nta¨ Sa¨rba¨toare apraznicului Nasçterii Ma[ntuitorului nostru Iisus Hristos,Anul Nou 2010, sçi Sa¨rbatoarea Botezului, sa¨ fie pentrunoi toòi prilej binecuva[ntat de bucurie, de sa¨na¨tate, depace ôn lume sçi ôn sufletele noastre, de unitate sçiiertare, de belsçug ôn casele noastre, prega¨tindu-ne asçacum se cuvine sa¨-L primim pe Ma[ntuitorul Iisus Hristos

ôn viaòa sçi ôn consçtiinòa noastra¨. Sa¨ fim mai buni!Sa¨rba¨tori fericite sçi binecuva[ntate tuturor!

önchei cuva[ntul meu cu poezia ||COLIND\\de Vasile Voiculescu.

ön coliba ôntunecoasa¨.Din carne sçi os lucrataÄ intrat Hristos deodata¨Nu fa¨clie ce se stinge,Nu icoana¨ ce se fra[ngeCi El ônsusçi, trup sçi sa[ngePreschimbat pentru fa¨ptura¨öntr-o scumpa¨ pica¨tura¨,Dulcea Cumineca¨tura¨,Coliba cum L-a primitS-a fa¨cut cer stra¨lucitCu bolta¨ de ma¨rga¨ritSçi pe ea soare sçi steleCu luceferi printre ele.ön mijloc tron luminosSçi pe el Domnul HristosCare mult se bucuraDuhul Sfa[nt Se-ala¨turaSçi acolo ra¨ma[neaSçi acum sçi pururea.

Sçi noi, Doamne, ne-am sculatColibele am cura¨òat

Cuva[nt de Suflet Cont. de la pag. 19

mosçtenit, ôn sçirul lung de generaòii, un buchet de alesevirtuòi ce au ômpodobit sufletul roma[nului, precumiubirea de Dumnezeu sçi de oameni, ônfra¨òirea sçi bunaônòelegere cu semenii, buna¨tatea sçi milostenia, na¨dejdeasçi omenia.

Intrate de timpuriu ôn panoplia spirituala¨ a tradiòieiroma[nesçti, colindele sunt oglinda ôn care se reflecta¨componenta religioasa¨ a spiritualita¨òii neamului nostru.Ele constituie deopotriva¨ elementul valoros sçi binearticulat al bogatei sçi perenei noastre culturi populare.

Ca[nta[nd sau asculta[nd ||colindul sfa[nt sçi bun\\ nesimòim una ôn credinòa¨ sçi traïre cu mosçii sçi stra¨mosçiinosçtri sçi pa¨stra¨m ôn vatra sufletului fiorul unirii cuDumnezeu sçi cu neamul roma[nesc de pretutindeni.Colindul stra¨bun este ||sfa[nt\\ prin mesajul saü ma[ntuitorca¨ Fiul lui Dumnezeu vine ôn lume ||sa¨ se nasca¨ sçi sa¨creasca¨, sa¨ ne ma[ntuiasca¨\\. Colindul stra¨mosçesc estesçi ||bun\\ fiindca¨ ||vestea minunata¨\\ ne lumineaza¨ sçitransfigureaza¨ viaòa, ne aduce bucurie sçi ma[nga[iere.Colindul roma[nesc este ||sfa[nt sçi bun\\, ca icoana¨ acredinòei fiilor Bisericii noastre sçi scumpa¨ zestre aspiritualita¨òii tradiòionale.

Pr. Dr. Nicolae Stoleru, Note de lectura¨

Cont. la pag. 24


Cuviosul Laza¨r s-a na¨scut ôn Asia din pa¨rinòi cresçtini.La nasçterea sa, un nor luminos s-a ara¨tat ôn casa¨, semnal vieòii sfinte pe care avea sa¨ o duca¨. ön copila¨rie,ônva¨òa cu dragoste despre cresçtinism. Cresca[nd, l-acuprins dorul sa¨ mearga¨ la Sfa[ntul Morma[nt i sega[ndea sa¨ fuga¨ acolo.. Pentru a-l opri, pa¨rinòii l-auônchis ôn ma¨na¨stirea Orovilor. Profita[nd de neatenòiaca¨luga¨rilor, foarte ta[na¨rul Laza¨r a reusçit sa¨ fuga¨. Pedrum a ga¨sit un tovara¨sç de ca¨la¨torie, dar acesta, ôn locsa¨-i fie sprijin a ôncercat sa¨-l va[nda¨ sarazinilor. Pringrija lui Dumnezeu,un cresçtin a auzit cum se fa¨ceatocmeala sçi i-a spus lui Laza¨r, iar acesta a reusçit sa¨scape fugind ôntr-un munte din apropiere. Ra¨ta¨cindprin munte, a ônta[lnit un ca¨luga¨r ca¨ruia i-a povestittotul, iar acesta l-a sfa¨tuit, òina[nd cont de va[rsta luifrageda¨ sçi de lipsa de experienòa¨ ôn lupta spirituala¨, saäma[ne plecarea la Ierusalim sçi sa¨ stea, pentru un timpôn ma¨na¨stirea din acest munte, la care ca¨luga¨rul erastareò. Laza¨r a ônòeles ca¨ asça era bine, a intrat ônma¨na¨stire sçi pentru mulòi ani a dus viaòa aspra¨ aca¨luga¨rilor. Dupa¨ moartea stareòului, Laza¨r s-a retrassingur ôntr-o pesçtera¨. Cu timpul, ôn jurul lui s-au stra[nsmai mulòi ca¨luga¨ri. Vestea despre sfinòenia lui se dusesepa[na¨ departe sçi mulòi erau cei ce veneau sa¨ ôl vada¨.Deci s-a va¨zut nevoia construirii unei ma¨na¨stiri, ceeace s-a sçi fa¨cut.

Dupa¨ mulòi ani, Cuviosul Laza¨r a decis ca¨ estetimpul sa¨ mearga¨ la Ierusalim. Sçi merga[nd acolo,dupa¨ ce s-a ônchinat la locurile sfinte s-a retras lalavra Sfa[ntului Sava. Dupa¨ 6 ani a fost hirotonit preotde ca¨tre Patriarhul Ierusalimului, iar dupa¨ alòi 7 ani s-a retras ôn pustie unde sçi-a construit un sta[lp pe carea stat mulòi ani de zile lupta[ndu-se cu ispitele sçi nevoile.öndemnat de o voce divina¨, a plecat ônapoi spre patrialui. Pe drum, treca[nd printr-o pa¨dure i-au iesçit ôn cale2 ursçi, dar neputa[nd sa¨ fuga¨ a fa¨cut asupra lor semnulcrucii sçi ursçii s-au dat la o parte la¨sa[ndu-l sa¨ treaca¨.Dupa¨ un drum greu sçi anevoios, Cuviosul Laza¨r s-aôntors la ma¨na¨stirea Orovului, de unde fugise ôn tinereòe.Sçi s-a dus vestea despre ôntorcerea sa sçi lume multa¨venea sa¨ ôl vada¨ sçi a venit, fericita¨, sçi mama sa. Dartata¨l murise. De acolo Cuviosul Laza¨r a plecat lasiha¨stria din dreptul muntelui Galisiului unde a statpentru un timp, duca[nd o viaòa¨ sfa[nta¨ sçi muncind greula ômbuna¨ta¨òirea sufletelor credinciosçilor. Doritor desingura¨tate sçi ruga¨ciune ôn linisçte, s-a retras ôntr-opesçtera¨ din va[rful muntelui, unde s-a luptat cu multeispite sçi greuta¨òi. Cu timpul, au ônceput sa¨ se stra[nga¨ca¨luga¨ri ôn jurul saü, deci, s-a ga[ndit sa¨ construiascaö ma[na¨stire. öntr-o noapte, ôntr-un loc, i s-a ara¨tat unsta[lp de foc care ajungea pa[na¨ la cer sçi a va¨zut ôngeriiurca[nd sçi cobora[nd pe el. A sçtiut ca¨ acela e locul undetrebuie sa¨ construiasca¨ ma¨na¨stirea. Sçi acolo a construitma¨na¨stirea, fa¨ca[nd sçi un sta[lp . ||Sçi s-a suit deasupra

EDUCAREA CRESçTINA A FAMILIEI

Cuviosul Laza¨r

lui, lua[nd numai o haina¨ de piele, cu capul descoperitsçi desculò sçi purta[nd fiare grele.\\ (Vieòile Sfinòilor peNoiembrie). Cuviosul Laza¨r a fa¨cut multe minuni,printre care, sa¨turarea a sçapte sute de monahi cu 3pa[ini binecuva[ntate de el. ömbolna¨vindu-se grav,Cuviosul Laza¨r ôsçi asçtepta sfa[rsçitul, dar ceilalòi ca¨luga¨rise ôntristasera¨ ata[t de mult, ônca[t, Cuviosului fa¨ca[ndu-i- se mila¨ de da[nsçii s-a rugat la Maica Domnului sa¨-i mai dea timp de traït. Cuviosul Laza¨r a va¨zut-o peMaica Domnului cerônd de la Domnul nostru IisusHristos sa¨-i mai dea 15 ani. Sçi ôntr-adeva¨r, CuviosulLaza¨r a mai traït 15 ani, duca[nd o viaòa¨ plina¨ denevoinòe, iar ôn ultimul an suferind mult. A sçtiut dinainteca[nd va muri, dar nu le-a spus ucenicilor. Ca[nd atrecut la Domnul, un nor luminos s-a ara¨tat la sta[lpulpe care ôsçi da¨duse sufletul Cuviosul Laza¨r sçi ca¨luga¨rii,va¨za[nd norul luminos, se stra[ngeau la sta[lp. CuviosulLaza¨r a fa¨cut minuni sçi dupa¨ moartea sa.

Cuviosul Laza¨r se sa¨rba¨toresçte ôn fiecare an pe 7Noiembrie.öntreba¨ri pentru pa¨rinòi>- Am fost tulburaòi ga[ndindu-ne la ôncercarea ta[na¨rului

Laza¨r de a fugi la Ierusalim sçi de pericolul prin carea trecut pentru ca¨ nu sçi-a ascultat pa¨rinòii= Ne cercopiii nosçtri sfatul ca[nd au de luat hota¨ra [riimportante= Am reusçit sa¨ ne apropiem sufletesçte deei astfel ônca[t sa¨ ne spuna¨ toate fra¨ma[nta¨rile lor sçiatunci ca[nd sunt derutaòi sa¨ fie dornici sa¨ asculteopinia noastra¨= Sçi totusçi, se ônta[mpla¨ uneori caörica[t de mult am ôncerca sçi orica[t am explica,tinerii fac tot ceea ce vor ei, uneori, cu rezultatetriste pentru ei sçi pentru alòii. Suntem noi gata sa¨-i ierta¨m pe copiii nosçtri, asça cum Tata¨l nostru dinceruri ne iarta¨ pe noi, sçi suntem noi gata sa¨-i ajuta¨msa¨ iasa¨ din necaz= Iar daca¨ au gresçit foarte, foarteraü, fa¨ca[ndu-ne sa¨ spunem > ||m-a fa¨cut de ra[s ônfaòa lumii|| avem noi dragostea necesara¨ de a trecepeste ma[ndria noastra¨ sçi peste ||ce zice lumea\\ sçiapropiindu-ne de ei, cu iubire, sa¨-i aducem ônapoila viaòa normala¨ a unui adeva¨rat cresçtin= Grea eviaòa pa¨rinòilor din ziua de azi, dar nici viaòa tinerilornu e usçoara¨. Nu ma¨ refer numai la viaòa fizica¨ simateriala¨ ci mai mult la viaòa spirituala¨ care estebombardata¨ de tot mai multe sçi mai multe ispite,ôndoieli, incertitudini, minciuni.

- Oare Cuviosul Laza¨r a mai cerut timp pentru ca¨ ôiera frica¨ de moarte sçi pentru ca¨ vroia ||sa¨-sçi traïasca¨viaòa\\= Nu. Cuviosul Laza¨r era prega¨tit sçi chiarbucuros sa¨ plece din aceasta¨ ||vale a lacrimilor\\,dar grija pentru ucenicii saï l-a fa¨cut sa¨ ceara¨ maimult timp. Asça cum unele mame, suferind mult,desçi sunt gata ||sa¨ plece\\ mai cer ônca¨ timp sa¨-sçimai creasca¨, oleaca¨, copiii. Ce a fa¨cut Laza¨r cu

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Educarea ... Cont. de la pag. 23

- Norule cu stele\n gaica¨n\ai va¨zut pe Sfa[nta Maica¨=De-ata[ta ha¨la¨duire,de drumeagul ei n\ai sçtire=Norule cu frunza rara¨n\ai va¨zut Sfa[nta Fecioara¨=

- ... ba sçi eu m\am lega¨nattot a freama¨t luminat,tot mereu ha¨la¨duindca[nd a cer, ca[nd a colindsçi-am va¨zut-o, ma¨re, sus,se ruga pentru Iisus.

Timp puòin mai e\n caüsç,Pruncul n\are lega¨nusç,n\are fasça¨, scutece...Bradul zice> ||Uite ce,Maica¨ Sfa[nta¨, Preacurata¨,trupul meu i-L fac covata¨,va[ntul bate, traga¨na¨,sçi Pruncul òi-L leaga¨na¨,steaua\n sçovaïre ningeglas nespus, dar nu-L atinge.Prin dumbra¨vile de fagivor veni trei regi sçi magisçi pa¨storii cu un mielsla¨vind pe Emanuel.sçterge-òi ochii de sçiroaie,iata¨-mi inima - copaie -ca sa¨ doarma¨\n cald sçi\n lin...Lerui Doamne, ler... Amin.

Dumitru Ichim

timpul primit= I-a ajutat pe ucenicii saï, a postit sçimai mult ||ca¨ci ôn cele sçapte zile ale sa¨pta¨ma[nii numa[nca nimic, iar ca[nd trebuia sa¨ ma¨na[nce, hranalui era verdeòurile crude\\ (Vieòile Sfinòilor peNoiembrie) . Iar ôn ultimul an a avut dureri groaznicede picioare, care i se umflasera¨ sçi ||erau pline dera¨ni\\. Oare noi am fost vreodata¨ ôn pericol de amuri (accident sau boala¨ grea) sçi ni s-a mai dat timpde traït= Cum am folosit timpul ôn plus care ni s-adat= Dar cum folosim timpul pe care ôl traïm dreptacum= önòelegem noi ca¨ fiecare zi din viaòa noastraë un cadou de la Dumnezeu= önòeleg copiii nosçtriacest lucru= Oare, de ca[te ori, ca[nd i-am ôntrebat pecopiii nosçtri ce fac ei ne-au ra¨spuns> ||killing time||( ||omor timpul\\)= Oare timpul nostru ne-a fost datpentru a fi omora[t sau pentru a fi folosit= Sçi oare cesunt jocurile pe internet sçi televizorul deca[t ||kill-ing time\\, timp care ar trebui sa¨ fie timpul de familie,ca[nd pa¨rinòii sçi copiii stau de vorba¨ unii cu alòii, ôsçiômpa¨rta¨sçesc necazurile, se ajuta¨, timp ôn care pa¨rinòiisçi bunicii pot sa¨ le vorbeasca¨ copiilor despre religialor, sa¨-i ônveòe sa¨ se roage, sa¨-i ônveòe sa¨ se poarte,sa¨-i ônveòe ce e bine sçi ce e raü. Sçtim noi sa¨ nefolosim timpul astfel ônca[t sa¨ sa¨rba¨torim ôn familiesa¨rba¨torile cresçtine, ma¨car cele mai importante dintreele= Dar oare avem un calendar cresçtin ôn casa¨, neuita¨m ôn el sçi sçtiu copiii nosçtri cum sa¨ cercetezeacest calendar= Poate, doar oamenii aflaòi pe pragulmoròii ônòeleg adeva¨rata valoare a timpului, pe caren-o sa¨-l mai aiba¨. Fie ca Dumnezeu sa¨ ne ajute sa¨folosim cu ônòelepciune timpul nostru ra¨mas.

Maica Preoteasa ¨

COLINDUL BRADULUI

Usçi, ferestre, toate-s noi,Doamne, intra¨ sçi la noi!Trup tu dormi= Domnul te pasçte!Suflete, scoli sçi cunoasçteLuminos Prunc ca¨ Se nasçteön pesçtera inimii, ôn palatul Treimii.Dara¨ Pruncul cine mi-I=Mi-e Hristosul DumnezeuCobora[t ôn pieptul meu.Maica Sfa[nta¨-n braòe-L òine,Duhul Sfa[nt cu drag L-alina¨,öngeri cu raze se-nchina¨.Nu dorm, trupul meu ômi spune,Ci-nclesçtat de grea minuneStau ôn multa¨ ruga¨ciune,Sa¨ ma¨ misçc nu se cuvine,Ca¨ci cu harul care vine,Raiul tot se afla¨-n mine.

+ IRINEUEpiscop Vicar

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