The Old Church of the Assumption in Bucharest

In honour of the Dormition this August 15, I offer you an old photo from a Church that was destroyed by the Communists in 1983. The Church was dedicated to the Assumption and was located in Bucharest. This photo was taken in December, 1977 from archives found in a certain Hermitage in that area. 

Messengers of God

"When the stars were made, 

all my Angels praised Me with a loud voice"

said the Lord to Job (Job 38.7)

We have all heard about Angels ... from the very beginning of man they have been there. God placed a Cherubim with a flaming sword to guard the entrance of Paradise (Gen 3:24); Jacob saw Angels in his vision (Gen 23:12); Genesis 32:1-2; Psalms 148:2; Psalms 90:11; the Prophet Isiah saw Seraphim surrounding the Throne of God; the Prophet Ezekial saw Cherubim in his vision of the House of God. The New Testament also contains many references to angelic beings, example Luke 1:11, 12 and 19.

Seven of the high-ranking Angels have been revealed to us:

Michael, 

"Who is Like God" (Dan 10.13)

  

Gabriel, 

"Man of God" (Luke 1.19 and 26)

* * *

Raphael,

 "The Help of God" (Tobit 3.17 and 12.12-15)

Uriel, 

"The Fire of God" (III Esdras 4.1 and 5.20)

Salathiel, 

"Prayer of God" (III Esdras 5.16)

* * *

* * *

Jegudiel, 

"Praise of God"

Barachiel, 

"Blessing of God"

* * *

*

"Grace be unto you and peace from Him, 

which is, and which was, and which is to come, 

and from the seven spirits which are before His Throne"

writes Apostle John the Theologian in Apoc. 1.4.

Calm the Storm, O Lord

Calm me, O Lord, as You stilled the storm;

Still me, O Lord, keep me from harm.

Let all the tumult within me cease.

Enfold me, Lord, in Your peace;

And may the peace of all peace be mine this day:

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen

(prayer from Compline)

Distinguishing the penitent from the sinner

One needs to distinguish a sinner from a penitent.

If you have taken upon yourself the role to rebuke the sinner, guard yourself well, that you do not rebuke the penitent also. How dear the repentant sinner is to God; call to mind the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Therefore, let it be very dear for you, he who has become dear to God.

At one time it happened that a monk succumbed to sin for which he was banished from the monastery. This monk went to St. Anthony, confessed his sin, repented and remained with Anthony for a period of time. Then Anthony sent him back again to the monastery but they did not receive him and, again, they banished him. Again, the penitent came to Anthony. Again, Anthony sent him back to the monastery with a message to the fathers of the monastery:


"One boat experienced shipwreck and lost its cargo; with great difficulty did that boat arrive in the harbor and you wish to drown even that which was saved from drowning!" 


Hearing this wise message, the fathers received with joy the penitent brother into the monastery.

You must endure

"Tremble with awe, O men! The insults God suffered for the sake of our salvation you too must endure! God is slapped on the face by the basest of slaves (Jn. 18:22). He gives you an example of victory, yet do you refuse to undergo this at the hands of a man of like passions as yourself? You are ashamed of becoming an imitator of God (Eph. 5:1), how then will you reign with Him and share in His glory in the kingdom of heaven if you do not endure that man?

- From St. Symeon the New Theologian (The Discourses; Paulist Press pg. 292)

"…the more have been your trials, look for a more perfect reward from your just Judge. Do not take your present troubles ill. Do not lose hope. Yet a little while and your Helper will come to you and will not tarry (cf. Hab. 2:3)."

- From St. Basil the Great (The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Second Series Vol. VIII pg. 280)

Let fall a tear ...

Once Father Herman was invited to dine aboard the frigate which had arrived from St. Petersburg, with Captain G., who had been sent, on Imperial instructions, to inspect all the colonies. Captain G. was a very intelligent and educated man. At his table there were some 25 officers, chosen from the best in the fleet, all well educated and learned. And in such a company of educated men, together at table with them, sat a simple monk, a small man, wearing threadbare clothes, ill-educated. And he put to them questions which stumped them all, which they could not answer. Captain G. told me this himself: "We had no answers, we were like fools in front of him!" 

He put to them the question, 

"What do you love most and dearest of all? What would make you happy?"
Many wishes were expressed in answer to this: one wanted riches, another fame, another a beautiful wife, another a splendid ship to sail on, and many other things. 

Father Herman said, "Is it not true that of all your answers and desires one thing may be concluded: each of you gentlemen requires that which he thinks best and loves most?" 

They all answered that this was so. Then he said to them, 

"What could be better, higher, more worthy of love and more splendid than Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Who created the firmament, and adorned everything, gave life to everything, Who keeps everything, feeds everything and loves everything -- Who is Himself love, more splendid than all men! Should you not love God above all things, wish for Him and seek Him?" 

They all answered, "Of course we love God; how can one not love God?" 

At this he sighed, let fall a tear, and said, 

"I, poor sinner, have been trying to learn how to love God for more than forty years, and I cannot say even now that I love Him properly." And he showed them how one should love God, "If we love someone, then we think of them always. We try to please them day and night, our heart and mind are full of the object of our love. So then, gentlemen, do you love God? Do you turn to Him often? Do you remember Him always, always pray and perform His will, His Holy Scriptures?" 

They had to admit that they did not.

"For our good, for our happiness," he said, "let us make a vow: at least from this day, from this hour, from this very minute, we should try to love God above all else and carry out His teachings."

 

-- Letter from Simeon Ianovskii (Yanovsky) to Igumen Damascene of Valaam, 22 November 1865

Milk and honey ...

From the height of the heavenly sky, I could see below me a most magnificent sight - an enormous city of unfathomable size ...everything shimmered and shone from the unusual heavenly dazzle of light. My attention was attracted by two huge rivers which flowed slowly through the city; in one of them flowed a yellow liquid and in the other a white one. This puzzled me and my Angel understood, so he explained that they were milk and honey ...

Under the influence of this sight before me, I felt a kind of flutter in my soul which filled me with such rapture that, unconsciously, I stretched my arms in that direction. My wish to touch and stroke all this was so great, but my Angel guide took me and we descended quickly into these beautiful surroundings. There was no end to my joy and surprise when I saw everything around us.

I didn't know where to look first.