Εμφάνιση αναρτήσεων με ετικέτα Orthodox Angola. Εμφάνιση όλων των αναρτήσεων
Εμφάνιση αναρτήσεων με ετικέτα Orthodox Angola. Εμφάνιση όλων των αναρτήσεων
Τετάρτη 2 Οκτωβρίου 2019
Σάββατο 15 Δεκεμβρίου 2018
Congratulations, Angola! Today your saint is celebrating (December 15)!
Please, see:
The Martyrdom of Sts. Eleutherios and Anthia (source)
The Orthodox Church in Angola, st. Eleutherios (the "Man of Freedom") & st. Paisios of Holy Mount
Sts. Eleutherios the Hieromartyr and his mother Anthia
Orthodox Angola (tag)
Κυριακή 18 Νοεμβρίου 2018
Jesus Christ & Capitalism: The Parable of the Rich Fool (three Orthodox voives from Africa)
Image from the page of Orthodox Diocese of Mozambique about the Parable of the Rich Fool
THE GOSPEL (For the Ninth Sunday of Luke)
Orthodox Diocese of Mozambique
The Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (12:16-21)
The Lord spoke this parable: The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?
And he said, I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.
But God said to him, Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
As He said this, Jesus called out, He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Glory to Thee, O Lord, glory to Thee.
For Children Click on the link to listen to the Holy Gospel here.
The Parable of the Rich Fool can
be found in Luke 12:13–21. The key to understanding this parable is in
verse 15 (and later summarized in verse 21). Luke 12:15 says, “Take
care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does
not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Jesus says this to
the man who asked Him to arbitrate between him and his brother. In
ancient times, the firstborn was guaranteed a double portion of the
family inheritance. More than likely, the brother who was addressing
Jesus was not the firstborn and was asking for an equal share of the
inheritance. Jesus refuses to arbitrate their dispute and gets to the
heart of the matter: Covetousness! Jesus warns this person, and all
within earshot, that our lives are not to be about gathering wealth.
Life is so much more than the “abundance of possessions.”Jesus proceeds to tell the man the Parable of the Rich Fool. This person was materially blessed by God; his land “produced plentifully” (verse 16). As God continued to bless the man, instead of using his increase to further the will of God, all he was interested in was managing his increase and accumulating his growing wealth. So the man builds larger barns in place of the existing ones and starts planning an early retirement. Unbeknownst to him, this was his last night on planet earth. Jesus then closes the story by saying, “So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
So the point of the Parable of the Rich Fool is twofold. First, we are not to devote our lives to the gathering and accumulation of wealth. There is an interesting point made in the parable. God says to the man in the story, “And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” This echoes the thought expressed in Ecclesiastes 2:18 (“I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me”). You see it all the time in people who are singularly devoted to the accumulation of wealth. What happens to all that wealth when they die? It gets left behind to others who didn’t earn it and won’t appreciate it. Furthermore, if money is your master, that means God is not (Matthew 6:24).
The second point of the Parable of the Rich Fool is the fact that we are not blessed by God to hoard our wealth to ourselves. We are blessed to be a blessing in the lives of others, and we are blessed to build the kingdom of God. The Bible says if our riches increase, we are not to set our hearts upon them (Psalm 62:10). The Bible also says there is one who gives freely and grows all the richer (Proverbs 11:24). Finally, the Bible says we are to honor God with the first fruits of our increase (Proverbs 3:9–10). The point is clear; if we honor God with what He has given us, He will bless with more so that we can honor Him with more. There is a passage in 2 Corinthians that summarizes this aptly (2 Corinthians 9:6–15). In that passage Paul says, “And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that having all contentment in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” We are blessed by God, so we can in turn “abound in every good work” and be a blessing in the lives of others. So, if God has blessed you with material wealth “set not your heart on it” and “be rich toward God.” That is the message of the Parable of the Rich Fool.
On the 9th Sunday of Luke (Luke 12:16-21)
Metropolitan Sotirios of Pisidia
Orthodox Archbiscopic of Zimbabwe & Angola
The parable in today’s Gospel is a brief, but powerful story. If every person were to learn from it, millions of our fellow human beings would not die from hunger or poverty. In addition, many rich people would not suffer from agonizing worry and anxiety over their possessions, and maybe save their souls from being lost due to their wealth.
Let’s look at the rich person in the parable. God gave him fruitful land with an amazing yield of crops. Instead of rejoicing in God and glorifying him for this blessing, he was overwhelmed with worry: “What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?” (verse 17).
“What shall I do?” People who say this usually have no house to live in, no clothes to protect them from the weather, or bread to give to their children to keep them alive! But a rich person who suddenly becomes even richer saying these same words is outrageous. Sadly, this is our reality. There are countless examples of wealthy people who suffer serious psychological problems and anxiety over how to maintain and increase their wealth. Those who cling to material things and are constantly trying to get more will suffer a great fall. “Rich men turned poor and went hungry” (Psalm 33:11), and the Apostle Paul warns us: “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition” (1 Timothy 6:9).
But the great misery of the rich in the parable would come quickly. While he wondered where he would store his crop, and dreamed of living high for many years, he heard the voice from Heaven say to him, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?” (verse 20). By acting in this way, the rich person loses both his earthly goods and the treasure of Heaven. This treasure is denied because the rich person, due to their greed, was not able to do the good works needed to get it.
Maybe the rich would ask: “Why am I dying now? What did I do wrong? There was no stealing here, and this is what I have earned. It’s mine!”
Here we see the great mistake, both of the rich in the parable and of every person of wealth. They are under the illusion that the riches they possess are for them alone. They do not understand that God has given them this to share it. This goes back to the teaching of St. Basil the Great: You are a keeper of your fellow human beings. Do not think that all this was given to you for yourself only…For all this, you will be asked directly….Do you think that this is unfair, with so much given to you, and you give nothing to others? The extra food you keep belongs to the person who is hungry. The clothes you have filling your closet are for the naked. The money you get and hide away is for the one who needs it. So much inequality, and so many people in need who could be helped.
In God’s Wisdom, he allows rich people their wealth to benefit not just them, but all people. If everyone just kept what they needed, and gave away the rest, there would be no poor in the world.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, let us apply the teaching of the Apostle Paul: “Having food and clothing, with these we shall be content (1 Timothy 6:8). Let us make sure that we are rich in what will earn us our permanent riches in Heaven. Amen.
Capitalism (tag)
An african orthodox christian voice about the Parable of the Sower
Orthodox Church & Capitalism: Orthodox Fathers of Church on poverty, wealth and social justice
Is capitalism compatible with Orthodox Christianity?
Grace and “the Inverted Pyramid”
Πέμπτη 11 Οκτωβρίου 2018
Back to the old way of life! (A voice from Zimbabwe & Angola)
Photo from here (Cameroon)
Οrthodox Archbishopric of Zimbabwe & Angola
“…because, if I rebuild that, which I demolished, it is as though I admit that I made a mistake when I was demolishing it.”
This, beloved Christians, is the phrase Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians, and is full of tragedy.
T h e y s a w t h e l i g h t !
- In these few words lies the whole spiritual drama that many Christians live, those who have the good fortune to have seen the light of the Faith, who have known the Word of Christ, who have repented and renounced their previous way of life, which was dark and sinful, who have managed to cleanse their soul and mind of all the remnants of their sinful life.
They, then, felt the deep and moving joy, which Christ grants to his faithful followers. They have taken the beautiful and productive path in life and have felt the truth of the Word of God: “Come unto me all of you who are tired and bear heavy loads, and I shall give you rest. Take up your yoke and follow my example, because I am meek and humble at heart and your souls will find rest, because my yoke is gentle and my load is light.” (Matthew. 11΄ 28-30)
- In short, beloved brothers and sisters, the souls of these people have succeeded in triumphing over evil and sin and have inwardly raised the flag of spiritual virtue. They have ‘demolished’ and renounced sinful and harmful passions, they have stopped living the life of vice and villainy and they felt the joy of being delivered from the fatal clutches of sin. They had stopped drinking, playing cards and other such games, stopped wasting away their lives and their fortunes and they had forgotten the disgrace and all those things that destroyed their health and self-esteem.
B a c k t o t h e o l d w a y o f l i f e !
- The phrase of the Apostle Paul refers to those people who have seen and have known the light of truth and suddenly, as if caught up in a terrible storm, have been drawn back down the slope of sin, blind and deaf to the tears and supplications of their families and genuine and sincere friends. These are the people who begin to rebuild their old way of life which they lived before they knew the light of Christ, and in so doing, say: “We acknowledge that the difficult battle that we have fought, in order to see the light, was our mistake. Now we prefer to return to our old way of life and to rebuild that, which we painstakingly demolished.”
Back in prison Again !
- My God! How did these souls become this way? Until now, one would look at them and admire them. Enlightened, they lived the life of peace, considerate and dynamic in their good works.
And today! In a short period of time, they have totally changed. Their virtue and decency was lost. They have chosen the way of darkness over
light. They decided to choose the chains of the devil over the ‘gentle yoke ’ of Christ. They decided to exchange the freedom of their Christian life with the prison of sin.
- Here beloved Christians, we are not referring to the people who make mistakes as a result of human weakness, who slipped in an unguarded moment.
These types of mistakes are human, and God forgives them when He sees sincere repentance, because the powers of evil exist inside us and lead us to sin. The devil is our eternal enemy who tempts us and plans and rejoices at our downfall.
We all sin, we all make mistakes. A Christian is not he who does not succumb to sin. A Christian is he who, having sinned, lifts himself up and does not lie in the mud forever.
- The Apostle Paul does not refer to those who have fallen into sin, but those who insist on living the life of sin. Those who willingly become slaves of the devil, who consciously exchange the love of the light of Christ for the love of sin.
Even the Apostle Peter fell into the clutches of sin and denied Christ. When he heard the cock crow, he remembered the word of Christ, he repented and ‘wept bitterly’ and he therefore received forgiveness.
- Many are not able to escape from the clutches of sin and repent.
Unfortunately it is so, beloved brothers and sisters. Those who, after serious contemplation, consciously betrayed the Christian Faith, will later find great difficulty in repenting again. This is the greatest misfortune which can befall man. It would have been better if they had not been born at all. If these people had never known the law of God, they would have the excuse that they did not know any better. But those who came to know Christian life and the law of God and subsequently rejected it, what excuse can they give?
How terrible! How these souls began and where they have ended up! From being blessed to being accursed.
“Lord, do not allow us to abandon your path! Help us remain close to you steadfastly, sincere, faithful, until the end!”
Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, the Christian life is one of safety, of joy, of true productivity.
In contrast, the life of sin, which is often opted for over the life of faith, is similar to certain pits of quicksand in Brittany, where, if one steps into it, it is impossible to be saved, because first the sand swallows the man until the knees, and no matter how much he tries to escape and be saved, he sinks further down, with the result that the sand becomes his frightful grave.
- Let us therefore follow the path of Christ. It is the safest path that leads to happiness and to immortality…
Δευτέρα 16 Απριλίου 2018
Sunday of Saint Thomas (2nd Sunday after Easter) - The example of the doubting
Orthodox Archbishopric of Zimbabwe & Angola
In the joy of Resurrection, our Church spotlights the example of the doubting Thomas, who through the greatness of his faith, constitutes a lesson for all those who pass through the phase of unbelief.
So, even if the doubting Thomas was close to Christ for three whole years where he had an opportunity to witness miracles and various good works, still he found himself doubting the Resurrection of Christ, insisting on touching and feeling the nail marks of the crucified body of Christ.
The meaning of unbelief has either a well-intentioned or ill-intentioned quality.
It has a well-intentioned quality when you are struggling to believe something because it seems to you unlikely and you are seeking more evidence, more information, so that you might believe. However, unbelief also has an ill-intentioned quality when you reject something, which can help you simply, and only because you are negatively predisposed towards whatever it is that you cannot comprehend.
Naturally, the term unbelief has many meanings, like the mistrust between spouses when their love begins to fray. Beyond however the moral and material quality of unbelief, there exists also the religious quality of unbelief. This is the situation where man falls into the error of rejection of every religion and religiousness.
It is the situation where man becomes presumptuous, arrogant, and selfish, where he levels out everything, rejects everything in order to give an exclusive priority to himself, to his self, to his ego. However, a person can also be unbelieving in relation to contemporary scientific knowledge, where he finds it impossible to believe new scientific facts and he insists on living in his enclave of darkness.
Today’s Gospel extract however refers to well-intentioned unbelief where man, with every good intention, seeks much more evidence so that
he is able to believe whatever he is struggling to believe due to his limited knowledge.
We can further say that our Church by spotlighting the example of the doubting Thomas tries to console us, to give us courage and to support us when we also go through the phase of unbelief similar to that of Saint Thomas. Therefore, if one of Christ’s disciples, who experienced so many of Christ’s miracles at such close range, could arrive at the point of doubting the Resurrection and divinity of Christ, is it not possible that some of us, after two thousand years, who did not personally live Christ’s miracles, will also pass at a specific time through this phase of unbelief, which in reality is an expression of faithlessness?
It is necessary however at the difficult testing moments of our unbelief, with patience and prayer and the spiritual guidance of our spiritual advisor to strengthen our belief. The example of Saint Thomas comes to console us and simultaneously to remind us of his confession of the person of Jesus Christ as the real God.
Therefore, the important point of today’s Gospel extract is not the unbelief of the doubting Thomas, but the confession of Saint Thomas’ belief that Jesus Christ is the Son and Word of God, our Lord and our God.
The genuine realization on our part concerning the Divinity of Christ is shown with our resolution to follow His Divine Commandments to live according to these all our life. This is exactly what all of Christ’s Apostles did, like the Apostle Thomas and all the Saints of our Church.
The framework within which we can follow the example of our Saints is from inside our pure and indiscriminate love towards every person who needs our help, black, white, relative, friend, stranger, young or old – just as Christ and his disciples and our Saints would do.
ST. THOMAS SUNDAY (ANTIPASCHA) - BELIEF AND UNBELIEF
St. Luke, Archbishop of Crimea
Orthodox Metropolis of Zambia and Malawi
It was very, very, extremely hard for the apostles to believe that the Lord Jesus Christ had risen.
They considered the words of the Myrrh-bearers who brought them this news to be lies.
When they went to Galilee, to the mountain as Jesus had commanded them, and saw Him, some fell down and worshipped Him while others stood petrified and did not believe their own eyes.
When Jesus appeared to all of them in the upper room in Jerusalem, they thought that they were seeing a spirit.
Strongest of all was the unbelief of the apostle Thomas, who had to place his fingers on the wounds from the nails on the Savior’s hands and feet and his hand on His side before he would believe.
Why did the apostles believe even their own eyes with such difficulty? After all, they were witnesses to the Lord Jesus resurrecting the son of the widow of Nain, the daughter of Jairus, and even Lazarus, the four days dead.
But after all, these were the acts of a very great Miracle Worker, and the dead did not resurrect of their own strength; but to believe in the possibility of a dead body coming back to life by itself, of its own power, was immeasurably more difficult.
Thus, it was extremely difficult for Christ’s apostles to believe even what they saw with their own eyes.
But for us who have seen neither the living nor the resurrected Jesus—is it harder or easier to believe what we read in the Gospels and in the writings of the holy apostles? Oh, of course it’s easier, much easier—for the great multitude of historical facts and events convince us beyond a doubt of the truth of Christ’s resurrection.
What is there to say about the fact that the preaching of unlearned Galilean fishermen and their successors over the course of just a few centuries won over the entire inhabited world of the time—not only cultured Greeks and Romans, but even half-wild Germans, Galls, and Celts, and dealt a fatal blow to paganism?
Could this have been possible if Christ had not risen? Wouldn’t have any preaching about the Crucified One as the Son of God been met everywhere only with mockery?
The martyrdom of st apostle Thomas, in India (from here)
Would it have been thinkable that tens of thousands of holy martyrs would have gone to horrifying tortures and terrible deaths if they did not believe in the Resurrection of Christ and were not on fire with love for the Conqueror of death?
Would the hard ascetic labors of fasting and prayer of numberless anchorites and monks for the sake of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ and for the acquisition of the mind of Christ have been possible?
Millions upon millions of people of all ages and sexes were true Christians, especially during the first fourteen centuries since the Birth of Christ.
However, no matter how enormous was the power of preaching and the works of Christ, no matter how the Son of God’s death on the Cross and His Resurrection from the dead shook the world, not all believed in Him.
Already among the Lord Jesus’s and His apostles’ contemporaries even the majority of God’s chosen Jewish race did not believe in Him.
Unbelief, which has crashed like a huge wave over our modern nations of Europe and America, all formerly Christian, is ever growing and spreading. It began of course not during the Renaissance era of science and arts, not from Voltaire and the other Encyclopedists, but incomparably earlier, already during the first century after the Birth of Christ.
What does this mean? It means that our Lord and God Jesus Christ does not forcibly draw people’s hearts to Himself, something He of course could do with His divine power, but looks for voluntary love and faith.
Not every heart joyfully accepts His great commandments. Proud and domineering people laugh at the commandments of poverty of spirit, meekness, and mercy; they do not even think about God’s higher and eternal truth, they only want to hear about the rightness of social relationships, and they consider only proper relationships between nations to be the highest ideal.
Do many want to be persecuted for righteousness sake, to be reviled and slandered for Christ’s sake?
Do many enter through the straight gates by the narrow path, so that at the end of their difficult road they might hear the blessed call: Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matt. 24:34)?
What will the scientist say to you if you try to preach Christ to him? Of course he will reply with annoyance, “Don’t bother me, I am busy with my science, because for me all truth is in it.”
The apostle Paul speaks in his epistle to the Corinthians about the wise and prudent who have rejected faith in God for the sake of science: For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are (1 Cor. 18–28).
Even during His earthly life, our Lord Jesus Christ called those who believe in Him His “little flock”.
Do not be disturbed by this, but rejoice. And know that belonging to this flock throughout the ages and until the present day are very many quite important scientists, scholars, and philosophers, who were able to combine their belief in science with their higher faith in God and His Christ. And of those who reject religion based upon scientific data, the vast majority in fact have nothing to do with science and talk about it only on hearsay.
And for you, simple, unlearned people, let the words of Christ be a strong support: Except ye be converted,[1] and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18:3).
See also
In the Steps of the Apostle Thomas - The Orthodox Church in West Bengal, India
The Lord’s Pascha
in Search of Orthodoxy
The Way - An introduction to the Orthodox Faith
Father Moses Berry: From Hippie Bad-Boy Cool-Cat to Humble…
The Sundays after Easter in the Orthodox Christian Heritage!
Κυριακή 11 Μαρτίου 2018
An orthodox voice from Zimbabwe & Angola: The cross of Christ, the Orthodox Church and the victory against death!
Orthodox Archbishopric of Zimbabwe & Angola
(photo from here - Kenya)
“On this the third Sunday of Great Lent, we commemorate the Veneration of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross” (Triodion).
The connection of the cross with the salvation of humans by Jesus Christ has become a symbol of sacrifice and a prefiguration of the Resurrection. Therefore, the cross in Christianity constitutes an emblem of salvation. One of the best known hymnologists of our Church, Saint Andrea of Crete (he lived during the end of the 7th and the beginning of the 8th century) expressing the theological meaning and importance of the Cross which had already been instituted in the Christian tradition, stresses that the cross constitutes the hope of the Christians, it is the salvation of the desperate, the giver of health, the life of the departed…. (a hymn from the service of the Elevation of the Precious Cross).
Through the cross, the abundance of the volume of God’s love and mercy is shown to the world. This is why the sign of the Cross in the worship and hymnology of our Church precisely serves the recognition of this faith on behalf of the faithful. The beginning and ending of every act of service or ceremony (even the realization of every important work in our personal lives) is always symbolized by the sign of the Cross.
As we have already mentioned, the Cross is connected directly with the history of the salvation of the human race. From the time of Adam and right up to the birth of Jesus Christ, people performed many great injustices, (sins) becoming worthy of the most disgraceful kind of death. The most disgraceful kind of death at the beginning of the first century was death by crucifixion.
However, because God saw that if common people simply died on the Cross they would forever remain dead, and because of His love for us, He saw to it that in our place His sinless and innocent Son would be crucified, so that as His Immortal Son and Word of God, with Christ’s death, death would be conquered (“Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death…”). This achievement of the human nature of Jesus Christ is fulfilled because already the existence of the Word of God received beforehand without converting, without separating, without dividing, and without confusing human nature.
Photo from here (Turkana, Kenya)
The realization of the theosis (deification by grace) of human nature in the entity of the Son and Word of God, due to the union of human nature, develops the possibility in all people who follow Jesus Christ’s commandments to become His brothers, to reach that is with God’s Grace, their personal theosis. Hence, if with the fall of Adam and Eve, again due to the unity of the human nature (a human nature in which all humans as individuals partake) all people come to the world with the original sin, which is expressed as tendency toward sin as a result of obscurity in the face of God in which man was created. Through the Sacrament in Holy Baptism a Christian renounces the old person who has fallen due to sin, and he is attired as a new person, as Jesus Christ, (all who are baptized in Christ have put on in Christ) The Cross, through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, from a symbol of degradation and dishonour, now becomes a symbol of sacrifice, glory and honor; it becomes the means of victory against death, it becomes the symbol of the Resurrection.
The life of a good Christian is a course towards the life of Jesus Christ. And in order for this course to reach the Resurrection, it is necessary for it to pass the crucifixion on Golgotha (“Before Thy Cross we bow down in worship, O Master, and Thy Holy Resurrection we glorify”)
This is why in the Gospel extract of today’s feast because of love and interest Jesus Christ clearly exhorts us to do what we have to do in order to be saved from death and to become His brothers, by grace, God’s children, that is, Gods like the divine human nature of Jesus Christ. Hence, He tells us “if any one intends to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow Me continually. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it and whoever gives up his life for my sake and the Gospel will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? (Mark 8:34-36) Therefore, “Your old self must die before you die physically, so that when you do die (physically) you do not die” (in eternal life).
According to the degree to which man lives and is conscious of the reality of the sacrifice of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, he also finds the strength with God’s grace to follow the Gospel commandments and consequences in his life. Where this occurs, we are able to join our voices with unshakeable faith in God with the prayer of the Saint Augustinus:
“Lord Jesus Christ, the sweetest child of the heavenly Father, what evil perhaps have you performed so that you maintain the fear of the sentence of the cross? What is your crime, so that you suffer the frightful passions of death? What is your wrongdoing? Of what are you guilty? What is the reason for your death? What is the reason for your sentence? I, a sinful person, I am your wound, which causes your pains upon the Cross. I am the one responsible for your slaughtering. I am the one who gives grounds for your death; I am the criminal for whose sake you, the sinless one, was sentenced. I am the reason on account of which you were wounded and suffered and tasted the grievous pains of death by crucifixion… because truly, I a sinful person trod upon the laws of God and His commandments but you were sentenced instead of me.
I performed evil but you suffered the judgment. I sinned, but you were punished with the whip. I was proud and you tasted degradations. I was fired up by conceit and arrogance and you were treated with contempt. I became disobedient to God’s commandments and you with your obedience even unto death according to the will of the Heavenly Father, paid, the criminal offence of my disobedience. I gave myself up as an intemperate to gluttony and having a good time and you were hungry and did without in your earthly life. I was lead astray and into error through the temptation of sin, like formerly the serpent attracted Adam to the forbidden fruit and he made him a transgressor of God’s commandments, but your perfect love towards humanity was mounted upon the wood of the cross…
So Lord, my king and God, what can I give you in return for all your benefactions and your gifts which you gave to me?…. But there exists O son of God, towards this paradoxical economy of our salvation, there exists a way so that even our weakness and poverty can definitely become capable to give back to you" (A prayer from our Church fathers, from: The Book of Prayers).
Click
Icon from St. Simon of Cyrene Orthodox Mission (African Americans) Giving Thanks for All Things – The Cruciform Life
An Atonement of Shame – Orthodoxy and the Cross
Two miracles of the Holy Cross in Africa (Congo)
Holy Cross Resource Page
Orthodox Spiritual Legacy: A Guide to the Triodion and Lent, on the Road to Easter
Great Lent: Seeking the narrow path
The Great Lent in the Orthodox Church, “mother of chastity, accuser of sins, advocate of repentance, life of the angels and salvation of men” - Like Moses, Elijah, Daniel & the Lord...
The Way - An introduction to the Orthodox Faith
Theosis (deification): The True Purpose of Human Life
Theosis, St. Silouan and Elder Sophrony
Orthodoxy's Worship: The Sanctification of the Entire World
A Deer Lost in Paradise
LIVE, BEYOND THE LIMITS!
Icon from here
Σάββατο 17 Φεβρουαρίου 2018
A voice from Africa about pain, sadness, fear, love, hate, Christ, fasting, Adam and Eve (the treasures of the Orthodox Church from Cheesefare Sunday)
By Archbishop Seraphim of Zimbabwe & Angola
“On this day, we remember the banishment of Adam from the joys of paradise. O Christ our God, through your ineffable compassion, deem us worthy of the joys of paradise and have mercy on us, as the only loving One. Amen.” (Extract from the Triodion).
With this characteristic hymn, our Church emphasizes the meaning of today’s feast of Cheesefare Sunday which is dedicated to the loss of paradise due to the disobedience of the fist created people, Adam and Eve, that is our common forebears of the whites and of the blacks and of the yellow races, namely of all people. So, if our common distant ancestors had remained faithful to Gods’ commandments, namely to his instructions, then the world which we live in today would been Paradise.
However, the reality in which we live, is quite different. We live within the hellish confines of wars and social problems, we live with aids, hunger and poverty, lack of security and generally with social injustice, we live with the problem of racial discrimination and with the destruction of the environment, we live with the problem of hatred and malice of fanaticism and indifference to the problems of our neighbour. We live in an age in which materialism restricts our capabilities for a creative spiritual course. Sin reigns everywhere. Our only hope is to follow the example of our Saints, to live their lives, to be reborn spiritually through our repentance, so that we might become the light of the world.
With the fall of man, which is known as original sin, pain and sorrow became part of our lives. We taste hell on a daily basis. Through their disobedience, the first people are as much responsible for this situation as is the complicity of the devil, as too are all of us who continue unrepentant on the path of disobedience and sin.
At one time the benevolent God became a man in the form of Jesus Christ, in order to lead us again to lost paradise. So, if disobedience to God led man to withdrawal from paradise, then our obedience to God’s commandments will lead us again to Paradise. The distinctive sign of the divine commandments of Jesus Christ is pure love and a kind disposition to forgive each other. This is why today’s Gospel extract, it is clearly stressed by our Lord Jesus Christ “if you forgive people their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses. (Matthew 6:14-15).
Through our pure love towards our fellow human beings, we became worthy of the majesty of God’s love, which is expressed through the realisation of our hope for salvation, that is our sharing in the beauty of Paradise.
However, in order to reach living the status of love, we need preparation through our prayers, fasting, charity, repentance, confession, the Services of the Salutations and the Presanctified Liturgies, the Gospel and Epistle extracts and all the other hymns of our Church. Through this perspective, then, our Church aims to direct us using today’s feast, which continues through the entire Great Lenten period and is concluded with the Holy Services of Holy Week and the Resurrection of our Lord.
Adam & Eve (the Protoplasts) as saints of Orthodox Church (from here), after they were saved by the Lord's descent to Hades and His resurrection. They are celebrated on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers, which you see here, while they are celebrated also on Sunday before Christmas.
This is why in one of the hymns of today’s feast we chant:
“The arena of virtues is open. Let all who are willing to compete enter, girding themselves for the noble contest of the fast. For those who genuinely compete will be deservedly crowned. Let us do battle with the enemy. Let us take on the armour of the cross, having faith as an invincible rampart, prayer us our breastplate, and charity as our helmet. Instead of a sword, let us have fasting; it cuts out all evil from our hearts. Whosoever does this shall on the Day of Judgement be given by Christ, the King of All, the true crown”.
(Verse from the Praises - Triodion).
Today’s Gospel extract moves within this same spirit from Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans where he stresses with clarity what we should avoid in our daily lives in order to become true soldiers of Christ: “Let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the full armour of light. Let us walk properly as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil its lusts” (Romans 13:12-14).
By referring in summary to some aspects of love and fear, pain and suffering, we can better understand the importance of our spiritual preparation which our Church wants us to follow. The source of our love must be God’s love. This means that love is a gift (grace), which does not expect a response or a reward. Therefore, it is pure and selfless. When you give love and your love is not pure and selfless and you expect to receive something, that is, when you expect to be rewarded and to benefit personally from the love which you give, to profit just like the merchants who advertise and sell their products, then your love is in some way “commercial” and then you are hurt and disillusioned. This is why love, as is emphasised in Holy Scripture “[Love] keeps us away from any sort of fear.”
You must face fear exactly where you feel fear. In a situation of worry, you must find some other significance to absorb you, otherwise sorrow will crush you. Namely, what is required from the sorrowful one is some other occupation, which will give meaning to his life. The thought of indifference in life and finally the inclination towards suicide of the disillusioned and bitter one, is overcome when his life begins to take on a meaning. Also, if you want to be redeemed from sorrow you must bear in mind that worse things can happen in your life. Only by being grateful for what you already have, can you be grateful for life and give thanks to God. Finally, in order for us to be able to overcome our sorrow, we must remember the favours of life and the mercy of God’s benevolence.
-We must acknowledge that pain has a dialectic and double dimension. That is, according to how close we feel ourselves to be to God, the condition of pain will also function accordingly in our lives: negatively when we find ourselves far away from God and positively the closer we find ourselves to God. Pain can crush you but it can also strengthen you.
Also, sorrow can soften your soul. It teaches you to forgive and understand yourself and others better. At some time a pain, a tribulation can prove itself to be a kindness as much as for our personal lives as well as for the social whole to which we belong. With the experiences of pain we become witnesses of the truth. Within our pain and worry we must find positive aspects. In order for worry to be overcome, patience is needed. Jesus Christ’s testimony is clear: “Those who endure, in the end will be saved”.
Our “ego”, when it is far away from God has the tendency to work as man’s enemy and is expressed as “selfishness” turning man towards whatever is negative, which finally leads to desperation, disappointment and destruction The other strength that man has within him is God’s grace which leads you to the protection of life, and a creative progress. As a means of life it is not beneficial to return to and persist in a sorrow of the past, that is, to a grievous, piteous situation. In order to overcome your worry, you must have internal spiritual footholds, like faith, patience and love. In order to have these footholds, you must be close to God. And you are close to God when you live according to His divine commandments.
Those who depend on others are usually children; adults who want to be supported by others are like immature children, which the science of psychology characterizes as insane.
Through our participation in the holy life of our Church we have hope for the lost Paradise. This participation is expressed with our Christ-centered orientation which our church invites us to follow because as is emphasized in today’s Gospel extract “for where your treasure is there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21).
So in today’s Sunday, our church reminds us of the exile of the First created people from Paradise, it reminds us of the tears of the First created ones and it invites us to vigilance and struggle because we are also in danger of being exiled from Paradise. One of the means which is emphasised to us by today’s Gospel Extract in order to avoid expulsion from Paradise is Fasting which begins tomorrow with our entry into the phase of Great Lent. Fasting is never an intention but a means to an end. However it always has noteworthy intentions: the transformation and theosis of man.
Fasting is our effort to keep ourselves far away from the source of evil. In this way we establish true fasting when we avoid -condemnation and not well-meaning criticism which is based on events, when we abstain from anger and lies and not on our insistence on the truth. The true meaning of fasting does not simply refer to abstinence from certain foods. There are times when we fast for a few day and consider ourselves prepared to receive Holy Communion. However, fasting on its own, without confession, has no value. We might not eat meat, but our behaviour may be the cause of disputes in other people. There are times when we fast from some provisions and inside us we allow hatred and vengeance to nest.
This is why in the Old Testament it is persistently emphasized that we cannot fast and simultaneously eat away at our fellow human being’s flesh with our hatred against them. These forms of fasting constitute the hypocritical fasting which today’s Gospel extract refers to: it is a fasting which is of no benefit. It is a fasting which is isolated from two great virtues which with fasting, are also emphasized in today’s Gospel Extract. The one virtue that is linked to true fasting is forgiveness; to forgive those who have wronged us. The other virtue is charity; to help our fellow human beings whenever we can and not to become enriched with material wealth, but with spiritual treasures, as is charity. Besides, every illegal and unjust wealth is a fire which scorches and a beast which devours.
Consequently, the true essence of fasting presupposes the forgiveness of others as well as charity and generally our support towards all our fellow humans beings, Greek and non-Greeks, Whites and Blacks, young and old.
This is why fasting from foods and hatred in the heart are things that are incompatible and create hypocrisy. Hypocrisy can lead to exploitation and to easy gain but it also certainly leads to expulsion from Paradise.
Forgiveness is the key which opens the door which leads us to the Kingdom of God. Jesus Christ’s word is clear: If you forgive the sins of people, He tells us, then the Heavenly Father will also forgive you your sins. If however you do not forgive the sins of people then your Heavenly Father will also not forgive your sins. In this way the path is opened for the harmonious co-operation of people within society. Good relations with others means a restraint of our ego. This is also the only way that we can become worthy of Paradise.
Please, see also
The Sunday of the Prodigal Son, 2nd Sunday of Triodion in the Orthodox Church
African orthodox voices about the Second Coming of Christ and our final judgment - Meatfare Sunday (3rd Sunday of Triodion)
The Truth of the Soul ― "The “dots” that we see at a distance were created to become gods" Love the sinner, hate the sin
"We are called to holiness!" ― Two orthodox voices from Africa about the Sunday of All Saints
"That is the purpose of the Church, to make people holy"
The Kingdom of Heaven, where racial discrimination has no place
And yet, the Orthodox Church have saints in South Africa & in the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa...
The Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete - a dialog between a human and his soul
LIVE, BEYOND THE LIMITS!
An Atonement of Shame – Orthodoxy and the Cross
Heaven & Hell in the Afterlife Acc. To The Bible
Salvation and atonement (& The significance of the “Antilytron”)
The Uncreated Light
"THE WAY" - An Introduction to the Orthodox Faith
Orthodoxy in South Africa before and after Apartheid
Justice and mercy
Δευτέρα 12 Φεβρουαρίου 2018
African orthodox voices about the Second Coming of Christ and our final judgment - Meatfare Sunday (3rd Sunday of Triodion)
Adam,
God's first-formed man, transgressed: could He[God] not at once have
brought death upon him? But see what the Lord does, in His great love
towards man. He casts him out from Paradise, for because of sin he was
unworthy to live there; but He puts him to dwell over against Paradise:
that seeing whence he had fallen, and from what and into what a state he
was brought down, he might afterwards be saved by repentance.- St. Cyril
of Jerusalem
St. Simon of Cyrene Orthodox Mission (about)
St. Simon of Cyrene Orthodox Mission (about)
The Gospel of Day (Matthew 25:31-46 21st)
Orthodox Metropolis of Zambia & Malawi
31 “When the Son of Man shall come in His glory and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory.
32 And before Him shall be gathered all nations, and He shall separate them one from another as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.
33 And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, ‘Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 For I hungered, and ye gave Me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me in;
36 naked, and ye clothed Me; I was sick, and ye visited Me; I was in prison, and ye came unto Me.’
37 Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when saw we Thee hungering and fed Thee, or thirsty and gave Thee drink?
38 When saw we Thee a stranger and took Thee in, or naked and clothed Thee?
39 Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee?’
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, ‘Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.’
41 “Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
42 For I hungered, and ye gave Me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink;
43 I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in; naked, and ye clothed Me not; sick and in prison, and ye visited Me not.’
44 Then shall they also answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when saw we Thee hungering or athirst or a stranger, or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee?’
45 Then shall He answer them, saying, ‘Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me.’
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.”
For Russian, Portuguese, Swahili, Chinese and Arabic please scroll down.
Love is a state of freedom, responsibility and a testimony of the truth
The Second Coming of Christ and our final judgment (icon from here)
Orthodox Archbishopric of Zimbabwe and Angola
Meatfare Sunday was consecrated by our Church in order to prepare us for our entry into the Great forty day Lent period, so that the message of the Salvation of Passion week and Easter will have a positively influence and benefit our life, as much as in the world we live in daily, as well in the other, eternal life.
The entire hymnology and Meatfare Sunday’s Epistle and Gospel extracts constitute an attempt on the part of our church to emphasise God’s love towards all of us, not only simply to improve our life, but also so that we might be saved, so that we might repent from our sins before they bring about eternal death, that is, our non communion with God.
Through the reference that our church makes today to the Second Coming of Christ and our final judgment, it expresses a lively interest in our salvation stressing simultaneously the mercy and compassion of God towards all of us.
The name Meatfare Sunday is derived from the fact that from the following days begins our abstinence from eating meat (from - meat). By using this method, our Church wants to help us have a strong will to discern good from bad. With similar clarity, Meatfare Sunday took on the name of Carnival Sunday from the Christian Nations of Western Europe. Carnival is coming from the latins words carnem levare and means abstaining from eating meat.
The identity of this festival Masket - carnaval with its masked balls and fairs and merry making does not have any connection and relevance to meaning of the festival, which our Church wants to stress to us. The custom of the Carnival can be linked to ancient Pagan customs, which create a false, and temporary joy, helping us to momentarily forget the problems with which we are preoccupied.
In order to deeply understand the meaning of our life, in today’s Gospel extract mention is made of the Day of Judgment during the Second Coming of Christ, where according to Christian teaching, all people will be judged whether they will live eternally in God’s blessed Kingdom in Heaven, or in the pain and grief of hell. In reality, God’s justice for our judgment can be linked to the content of the choices we make during our life. by choosing to perform good deeds we choose Heaven. By choosing injustice at the expense of our fellow human beings, we choose Hell. In order to have the hope of Paradise, our thoughts and deeds must look to the good of society. Hence, if in our life we choose love we have the hope of Paradise. If we become bearers of indifference and hatred we become worthy of Hell.
Love is a state of freedom, responsibility and a testimony of the truth. In contrast, every kind of indifferent performance against goodness, constitutes a form of participation in the performance of evil and in the final analysis is expressed as hatred. Hatred with its increase can lead even to murder. Where pure and non-judgmental love is absent towards all people, hatred begins to develop. Hatred encircles and organizes our life and perverts our personality. Hatred corrupts us, it makes us criminals. Finally hatred kills the hater and the hated with the awakening and vengeance and revenge. Revenge never leads to positive results. It always leads to destruction and tragedies. With hatred you never become tranquil. You are always restless and unfortunate.
Hatred expresses divided and sick human existence. The life of those who hate can be linked to destruction and misfortune. Whereas hatred makes you ugly; love not only saves you but makes your life beautiful because the source of our love is God’s love. The Apostle Paul says that “God is love and he who lives in God’s love has God living in him”. Hence, today’s Gospel extract has as its central theme the Future Judgment. Thus according to the assurance given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ, the criterion of that great moment will be the practice of love, man’s love towards other people. We see therefore God’s criterion, to be basically dependent on us, from the attitude we have adopted towards our fellow human beings.
That is, to what extent we gave water to one that was thirsty, if we gave hospitality to the stranger, if we helped the poor, if we supported the needs of our neighbour, of every person that we meet and that we are able to help.
Our compassionate and charitable attitude will stand, according to the testimony of today’s Gospel extract, as the only measure and criterion for our judgment. Of course, other people’s problems many times are of huge dimensions. But God does not ask us to immediately solve all the problems of the world. The whole world’s thirst cannot be quenched from a single tap of water. But those near by and those passing through can benefit. God asks us to do whatever we are capable of doing. He always asks that the motive for our thoughts and deeds to be our love for our neighbours. When the motive of love exists then means of activity and action are easily found.
"What is the meaning of the Parable of the Sheep and Goats?"
SATUARDAY OF SOULS 2018 WAS OBSERVED AT DORMITION OF THEOTOKOS IN BUJUMBURA, BURUNDI (from here)
Orthodox Metropolis of Zambia & Malawi
The Parable of the Sheep and Goats is part of the Olivet Discourse. It is found in Matthew 25:31-46. A parable is a short, simple story of comparison. Jesus used parables to teach spiritual truths by means of earthly situations.
Jesus begins the parable by saying it concerns His return in glory to set up His kingdom (Matthew 25:31). Therefore, the setting of this event is at the beginning of the millennium, after the tribulation. All those on earth at that time will be brought before the Lord, and He will separate them “as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left” (verses 32–33). The sheep are those who were saved during the tribulation; the goats are the unsaved who survived the tribulation.
The sheep on Jesus’ right hand are blessed by God the Father and given an inheritance. The reason is stated: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” (verses 35-36). The righteous will not understand: when did they see Jesus in such a pitiful condition and help Him? “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me’” (verses 39-40).
The goats on Jesus’ left hand are cursed with eternal hell-fire, “prepared for the devil and his angels” (verse 41). The reason is given: they had opportunity to minister to the Lord, but they did nothing (verses 42-43). The damned ask, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?” (verse 44). Jesus replies, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (verse 45).
Jesus then ends the discourse with a contrast: “They will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (verse 46).
From Tanzania, holy communion
However, Scripture does not contradict itself, and the Bible clearly and repeatedly teaches that salvation is by faith through the grace of God and not by our good works (see John 1:12; Acts 15:11; Romans 3:22-24; Romans 4:4-8; Romans 7:24-25; Romans 8:12; Galatians 3:6-9; and Ephesians 2:8-10). In fact, Jesus Himself makes it clear in the parable that the salvation of the “sheep” is not based on their works—their inheritance was theirs “since the creation of the world” (Matthew 25:34), long before they could ever do any good works!
The good works mentioned in the parable are not the cause of salvation but the effect of salvation. As Christians we become like Christ (see Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; and Colossians 2:6-7). Galatians 5:22 tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Good works in a Christian’s life are the direct overflow of these traits, and are only acceptable to God because of the relationship that exists between servant and Master, the saved and their Savior, the sheep and their Shepherd (see Ephesians 2:10).
The core message of the Parable of the Sheep and Goats is that God’s people will love others. Good works will result from our relationship to the Shepherd. Followers of Christ will treat others with kindness, serving them as if they were serving Christ Himself. The unregenerate live in the opposite manner. While “goats” can indeed perform acts of kindness and charity, their hearts are not right with God, and their actions are not for the right purpose – to honor and worship God.
See also
Love the sinner, hate the sin
"We are called to holiness!" ― Two orthodox voices from Africa about the Sunday of All Saints
"That is the purpose of the Church, to make people holy"
The Kingdom of Heaven, where racial discrimination has no place
And yet, the Orthodox Church have saints in South Africa & in the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa...
The Great Canon of St Andrew of Crete - a dialog between a human and his soul
LIVE, BEYOND THE LIMITS!
An Atonement of Shame – Orthodoxy and the Cross
Heaven & Hell in the Afterlife Acc. To The Bible
Salvation and atonement (& The significance of the “Antilytron”)
The Uncreated Light
"THE WAY" - An Introduction to the Orthodox Faith
Orthodoxy in South Africa before and after Apartheid
Justice and mercy
The Gospel of Day in Russian, Portuguese, Swahili, Chinese and Arabic
The Book of Gospel for holy liturgy (from here)
Orthodox Metropolis of Zambia & Malawi
От Матфея 25:31-46
Козлы и овцы
31 Когда Сын Человеческий придет в Своей славе и с Ним все ангелы, тогда Он сядет на престоле Своей славы. 32 Перед Ним будут собраны все народы, и Он отделит одних людей от других, как пастух отделяет овец от козлов. 33 Овец Он соберет по правую сторону от Себя, а козлов – по левую.
34 Тогда Царь скажет тем, кто по правую сторону: «Придите ко Мне, благословенные Моим Отцом, получите ваше наследство – Царство, приготовленное вам еще от создания мира. 35 Потому что Я был голоден, и вы накормили Меня; Я хотел пить, и вы напоили Меня; Я был странником, и вы приютили Меня. 36 Я был наг, и вы одели Меня; Я был болен, и вы ухаживали за Мной; Я был в темнице, и вы пришли навестить Меня». 37 Тогда праведные скажут: «Господи, когда это мы видели Тебя голодным и накормили Тебя? Когда Ты хотел пить, и мы дали Тебе напиться? 38 Когда мы видели Тебя странником и приютили Тебя, или видели нагим и одели? 39 Когда мы видели Тебя больным или в темнице и навестили Тебя?» 40 Царь им ответит: «Говорю вам истину: то, что вы сделали одному из наименьших Моих братьев, вы сделали Мне».
41 Тогда Он скажет и тем, кто будет по левую сторону: «Идите от Меня, проклятые, в вечный огонь, приготовленный для дьявола и его ангелов. 42 Потому что Я был голоден, и вы не накормили Меня; Я хотел пить, и вы не напоили Меня; 43 Я был странником, и вы не приютили Меня; Я был наг, и вы не одели Меня; Я был болен и в темнице, и вы не навестили Меня». 44 Они тоже спросят: «Господи, когда это мы видели Тебя голодным, или когда Ты хотел пить, или был странником, или нуждался в одежде, или был болен, или в темнице, и мы не помогли Тебе?» 45 Он им ответит: «Говорю вам истину: все, чего вы не сделали для одного из наименьших, вы не сделали Мне».
46 И они пойдут в вечное наказание, а праведники – в вечную жизнь.
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O fim do sermão profético. A vida eterna e o castigo eterno
31 E, quando o Filho do Homem vier em sua glória, e todos os santos anjos, com ele, então, se assentará no trono da sua glória; 32 e todas as nações serão reunidas diante dele, e apartará uns dos outros, como o pastor aparta dos bodes as ovelhas. 33 E porá as ovelhas à sua direita, mas os bodes à esquerda. 34 Então, dirá o Rei aos que estiverem à sua direita: Vinde, benditos de meu Pai, possuí por herança o Reino que vos está preparado desde a fundação do mundo; 35 porque tive fome, e destes-me de comer; tive sede, e destes-me de beber; era estrangeiro, e hospedastes-me; 36 estava nu, e vestistes-me; adoeci, e visitastes-me; estive na prisão, e fostes ver-me. 37 Então, os justos lhe responderão, dizendo: Senhor, quando te vimos com fome e te demos de comer? Ou com sede e te demos de beber? 38 E, quando te vimos estrangeiro e te hospedamos? Ou nu e te vestimos? 39 E, quando te vimos enfermo ou na prisão e fomos ver-te? 40 E, respondendo o Rei, lhes dirá: Em verdade vos digo que, quando o fizestes a um destes meus pequeninos irmãos, a mim o fizestes. 41 Então, dirá também aos que estiverem à sua esquerda: Apartai-vos de mim, malditos, para o fogo eterno, preparado para o diabo e seus anjos; 42 porque tive fome, e não me destes de comer; tive sede, e não me destes de beber; 43 sendo estrangeiro, não me recolhestes; estando nu, não me vestistes; e estando enfermo e na prisão, não me visitastes. 44 Então, eles também lhe responderão, dizendo: Senhor, quando te vimos com fome, ou com sede, ou estrangeiro, ou nu, ou enfermo, ou na prisão e não te servimos? 45 Então, lhes responderá, dizendo: Em verdade vos digo que, quando a um destes pequeninos o não fizestes, não o fizestes a mim. 46 E irão estes para o tormento eterno, mas os justos, para a vida eterna.
Igreja Ortodoxa
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Matayo 25:31-46 Neno: Bibilia Takatifu
Kondoo Na Mbuzi (Picha kutoka hapa - My Rafiki)
37 “Kisha wale wenye haki watamjibu, ‘Bwana, ni lini tuli kuona na njaa tukakulisha au ukiwa na kiu tukakupa kitu cha kunywa ? 38 Na ni lini tulikuona ukiwa mgeni tukakukaribisha au ukihitaji nguo tukakuvisha? 39 Na ni lini tulikuona ukiwa mgonjwa au ukiwa kifungoni tukakutembelea?’
40 “Mfalme atajibu, ‘Ninawaambia kweli, kwa jinsi ambavyo mlivyomfanyia mmojawapo wa hawa ndugu zangu walio wadogo, mlini fanyia mimi.’
41 “Kisha atawaambia wale walio kushoto kwake, ‘Ondokeni kwangu ninyi mliolaaniwa, nendeni katika moto wa milele alioan daliwa shetani na malaika zake. 42 Kwa maana nilikuwa na njaa hamkunipa chakula; nilikuwa na kiu na hamkunipa kitu cha kunywa; 43 nilikuwa mgeni wala hamkunikaribisha; nilikuwa uchi hamkuni vika; na nilikuwa mgonjwa na gerezani nanyi hamkuja kunitazama.’
44 “Ndipo wao pia watajibu, ‘Bwana ni lini tulikuona ukiwa na njaa au kiu, au ukiwa mgeni au ukihitaji nguo, au ukiwa mgonjwa na kifungoni na hatukukuhudumia?’
45 “Naye atawajibu, ‘Nawaambieni kweli, kwa jinsi ambavyo hamkumfanyia mmojawapo wa hawa ndugu zangu walio wadogo, hamkuni fanyia mimi.’
46 “Basi hawa wataingia katika adhabu ya milele, lakini wale wenye haki wataingia katika uzima wa milele.”
Kanisa la Orthodox
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ﻣﺘﻰ 25:31-46
ابْنُ الإنسانِ هُوَ الدَّيان
31 «وَعِندَما يَأتِي ابْنُ الإنسانِ فِي مَجدِهِ مَعَ كُلِّ مَلائِكَتِهِ، سَيَجلِسُ عَلَى عَرشِهِ المَجِيدِ. 32 ثُمَّ تُجمَعُ كُلُّ الأُمَمِ أمامَهُ. وَهُوَ سَيَفرِزُ بَعضَهُمْ عَنْ بَعضٍ، كَما يَفرِزُ الرّاعِي الخِرافَ عَنِ الجِداءِ فِي قَطِيعِهِ. 33 فَسَيَضَعُ الخِرافَ عَنْ يَمِينِهِ، وَالجِداءَ عَنْ يَسارِهِ.
34 «ثُمٍّ سَيَقُولُ المَلِكُ لِلَّذِينَ عَنْ يَمِينِهِ: ‹تَعالَوا يا مَنْ بارَكَهُمْ أبِي. خُذُوا المَلَكُوتَ الَّذِي أُعِدَّ لَكُمْ مُنْذُ خَلْقِ العالَمِ. 35 لِأنِّي كُنتُ جائِعاً فَأطعَمْتُمُونِي. كُنْتُ عَطشاناً فَسَقَيتُمُونِي. كُنتُ غَرِيباً فَآوَيتُمُونِي. 36 كُنتُ عُرياناً فَألبَسْتُمُونِي. كُنْتُ مَرِيضاً فَاعتَنَيتُمْ بِي. كُنتُ مَسجُوناً فَزُرتُموني.›
37 «فَيُجيبُهُ الأبرارُ: ‹يا رَبُّ مَتَى رَأيناكَ جائِعاً فَأطعَمْناكَ، أوْ عَطشاناً فَسَقَيناكَ؟ 38 وَمَتَى رَأيناكَ غَرِيباً فَآوَيناكَ، أوْ عُرياناً فَألبَسْناكَ؟ 39 وَمَتَى رَأيناكَ مَرِيضاً أوْ مَسجُوناً فَزُرْناكَ.› 40 فَيَقولُ المَلِكُ: ‹أقولُ الحَقَّ لَكُمْ، كُلُّ شَيءٍ عَمِلْتُمُوهُ لِأحَدِ إخْوَتِي الضُّعَفاءِ فَإنَّما قَدْ عَمِلْتُمُوهُ لِي.›»
41 «ثُمَّ يَقُولُ المَلِكُ لِلَّذِينَ يَقِفُونَ عَنْ يَسارِهِ: ‹ابتَعِدُوا عَنِّي أيُّها المَلعُونُونَ، وَاذْهَبوا إلَى النّارِ الأبَدِيَّةِ المُعَدَّةِ لإبلِيسَ وَمَلائِكَتِهِ. 42 لِأنِّي كُنتُ جائِعاً فَلَمْ تُطْعِموني. كُنْتُ عَطشاناً فَلَمْ تَسْقوني. 43 كُنتُ غَرِيباً فَلَمْ تَأوُونِي. وَكُنْتُ عُرياناً فَلَمْ تُلبِسُونِي. وَكُنتُ مَرِيضاً وَمَسجُوناً فَلَمْ تَزورونِي.›
44 «فَيُجيبُهُ الأشْرارُ: ‹يا رَبُّ، مَتَى رَأيناكَ جائِعاً أوْ عَطشاناً أوْ غَرِيباً أوْ عُرياناً أوْ مَرِيضاً أوْ مَسجُوناً، وَلَمْ نُقَدِّمْ لَكَ ما تَحتاجُ؟›
45 «فَيَقولُ المَلِكُ: ‹أقولُ الحَقَّ لَكُمْ، عِندَما أهمَلْتُمْ عَمَلَ ذَلِكَ لِأحَدِ إخْوَتِي الضُّعَفاءِ، فَإنَّكُمْ إنَّما أهمَلْتُمْ عَمَلَهُ لِي أنا.›
46 «وَهَكَذا يَذْهَبُ الأشْرارُ إلَى عِقابٍ أبَدِيٍّ، أمّا الأبرارُ فَيَذْهَبُونَ إلَى حَياةٍ أبَدِيَّةٍ.»
الكنيسة الأرثوذكسية
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末日的审判
31 “当人子在祂的荣耀中与众天使降临的时候，祂要坐在荣耀的宝座上， 32 万民要聚集在祂面前。祂要把他们分开，就像牧人把绵羊和山羊分开一样。 33 祂要把绵羊放在右边，山羊放在左边。 34 那时，王会对右边的人说，‘我父所赐福的人啊，来承受创世以来为你们预备的国度吧。 35 因为我饥饿时，你们给我吃的；我口渴时，你们给我喝的；我身在异乡时，你们接待我； 36 我赤身露体时，你们给我穿的；我生病时，你们照顾我；我坐牢时，你们来看我。’
37 “那些义人会回答说，‘主啊！我们什么时候见你饿了就给你吃的？见你渴了就给你喝的？ 38 见你身在异乡就接待你？见你赤身露体就给你穿的呢？ 39 我们又什么时候见你生病或坐牢，就去看你呢？’
40 “王会回答说，‘我实在告诉你们，你们帮助我最卑微的一个弟兄，就是帮助我了。’
41 “王又对左边的人说，‘你们这些被咒诅的人，走开！到专为魔鬼及其使者预备的永远不灭的火里去吧！ 42 因为我饥饿时，你们不给我吃的；我口渴时，你们不给我喝的； 43 我身在异乡时，你们不接待我；我赤身露体时，你们不给我衣服；我生病时，你们不照顾我；我坐牢时，你们不来看我。’
44 “他们会问，‘主啊，我们什么时候见你饿了，或渴了，或身在异乡，或赤身露体，或病了，或坐牢，却没有帮助你呢？’
45 “王会回答说，‘我实在告诉你们，你们没有帮助我最卑微的一个弟兄，就是没有帮助我。’ 46 这些人要受永远的刑罚，但义人要得到永远的生命。”
Orthodox Church and Southeast Asia
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