Author Archives: little city hermit

Day 7 Hidden in Christ

Some reflections on “hiding” and “hiddeness” in God, on holy obedience, on the force of the preposition ‘in’, and lovely, amplifying words by George Herbert, my favourite metaphysical poet (1593 – 1633), in his poem ‘Colossians 3:3’

Eothinon VII

Mode grave

“Ἰδοὺ σκοτία καὶ πρωΐ… Lo, darkness and early dawn. And why, Mary, are you standing by the grave, your mind full of darkness? Why do you seek where Jesus has been laid? But see the disciples running together, see how they have realised the Resurrection from the grave clothes and the napkin, and have remembered the Scripture concerning this. With whom and through whom we too have believed and sing your praise O Christ, the Giver of Life.”

*

“For you have died, and your life has been hidden with Christ in God.” (Col 3:3)

*

It is probably my first ever Sunday Holy Liturgy at about 02:00!! Other than Easter Sunday of course. Only “one worth comes to mind with the chanting,…ethereal! I meant word but indeed it is worth in the true sense of a noun … the level at which someone or something deserves to be valued or rated.”

I feel surrounded by angels, not monastics. These sisters never sleep! They pray all the time and they are hidden from the world.

I kneel to receive the blessing of Gerondissa Mariam before Holy Communion and she tells me that she has read my note and gives me her blessing to come as often as I want, unconditionally… What a gift! Such undeserved mercy and graciousness!

Inside the church, other than the sisters and the priest, it is only the five of us, fellow pilgrims. How strange for a Sunday Holy Liturgy even in a monastery, let alone a parish in the world, to be so “empty” at the Sunday Holy Liturgy!

After the dismissal of the Liturgy, silently we retire to our cells for some rest and hesychia, and then proceed to the morning common meal where we eat while listening to a sister reading Saint Gregorios Palamas’ homily on Nestor. Then Gerondissa Mariam takes the floor and offers a homily on the mystery of holy obedience to our spiritual father: (Just in case, we had missed that key point in all the sisters’ words yesterday: that Holy Obedience is the “one thing needful … that good part which shall not be taken away” ,Luke 10:41–42).

“St Nestor first received the blessing from his spiritual father, St Demetrios in the prison “bath-house” where he was chained, and then contested and defeated Lyaeus. This is so revealing of the power of holy obedience. St Demetrios blessed Nestor and in fact told him that he would be victorious but would then be martyred. Receiving the Saint’s blessing and sealing himself with the sign of the precious Cross, Nestor presented himself in the arena, and prayed, “O God of Demetrios, help me!” –“Ο Θεός του Δημητρίου βοήθει μοι”, uniting his will with that of his spiritual father, and ultimately with God’s Will.

Straightway he engaged Lyaeus in combat, and much to everyone’s surprise, the stripling novice smote Lyaeus with a mortal blow to the heart, leaving the former boaster lifeless upon the earth, and defeating the previously undefeated imperial champion. Nestor thus stroke a blow against idolatry. Many of the spectators believed that “the God of Dimitrios” had, indeed, helped him. This infuriated Galerius, who must have suffered considerable loss of face, and he ordered the decapitation of the young man. See the fruit of holy obedience? This we must all imitate!”

Our morning common meal comes to an end, prayers are said, and all nuns swiftly disappear back to their cells to pray, other than the very few ones whose obedience are the guests. No visitors yet, as the monastery gates are still closed and will open up only much later in the afternoon.

If yesterday it was the silence of the monastery which struck me, that true hesychasm, today it was the mystery of its hiddeness which permeated me. Certain experiences are so difficult to express in words.

The rest of the morning is spent in silent strolls, the Jesus prayer and quiet conversations with a few nuns around us, “pondering the mystery of “hiddeness” in our heart” (Luke 2:19). A different ‘spiritual surgical procedure’ in the “Antechambers of paradise”.

St. Paul says that “our true life is hid with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). Such a rich verse that apophatically speaks of theosis, true mysticism! The sisters humbly admit that these lines are beyond their understanding.

It is this preposition “in” that makes all the difference. I don’t believe that there is a God, intellectually; I believe in God empirically. I believe you….or should I say …I believe in you. What force this has! “I believe in one God ….”

+ Gerondas Gregorios’ cell outside the monastery

Let us now see how George Herbert, a favourite metaphysical poet of mine, expands these Bible words ‘Our life is hid with Christ in God’, taken from St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians and how these words are themselves hidden within this poem. Pay attention also to how he personalises the words– ‘our’ is changed to ‘my’.

Colossians 3:3′

My words and thoughts do both express this notion,
That Life  hath with the sun a double motion.
The first Is straight, and our diurnal friend,
The  other  Hid,  and doth obliquely bend.
One life is wrapped In flesh, & and tends to earth:
The other winds towards Him, whose happy birth
Taught me to live here so, That  still one eye
Should aim and shoot at that which Is on high:
Quitting with daily labour all My pleasure,
To gain at harvest an eternal Treasure.

Isn’t this beautiful? As in many of his poems, Herbert uses pattern and shape to explore his theme. The expanded line runs diagonally through the poem, creating a tension which is only resolved in the final line. Double meanings help to create the tension. On the one hand, we live our everyday, earthly lives. On the other hand, we live our eternal, heavenly lives. Our life ‘wrapt in flesh’ pulls us down to earthly things: the upward movement ‘winds towards Him’. Christ himself experienced a double motion. Not only did he come down to earth from heaven in his human birth, but he was raised to heaven in his resurrection.

As in other poems by Herbert, ‘sun’ and ‘Son’ are punned. The movement of the sun is used to shine light on the movement of the Son of God. For the sun has a double motion – we are most familiar with its daily east to west motion, ‘our diurnal friend’. However the sun moves annually from west to east, and this pattern was illustrated by an oblique or diagonal band around the globe. ‘It doth obliquely bend’.

There is a hidden quality to the ways in which people live out their faith in God, for there is a hidden quality in the way God is active in the lives of people. We do not always recognise God’s purposes and ways of working in the world. We do not see the whole until the end, but for Herbert, the treasure to be found during earthly and eternal life is Christ.

The day is coming to a close. At long last, the monastery is full of pilgrims, even if briefly. Vespers follow, coffee, and social time for everybody. Then obediences for us in the kitchen, washing and tidying. The kitchen seems to be always the busiest area in any “home” 🙂

Day 6 Silence as Sacrament

Reflections on silence and holy obedience

“Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord,” exclaims the prophet Zechariah (Zech 2:13).

Upon entrance, silence envelops me. Abruptly, I am separated from the tumult, noise, busyness and endless distractions of the outside world.

“Peace, be still!” Jesus orders the wind of noise, confusion and tumult to cease in the midst of our own storms and turmoil.

I feel separated from other people, all people, too! Is anybody here?! What a contrast to last night’s feast! There, at the vigil in St. Demetrios church, in Thessaloniki, an amazing Resurrectional experience unfolded in a packed church! So many holy chalices all around the Royal Doors! So many people receiving Holy Communion and then, at the dismissal of the holy liturgy, flooding the streets outside the church. Here, I am all alone — the silence of the heart! And what a deafening, thundering silence that is!

“When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” (Rev. 8:1)

Yet, how can it be that a monastery of more than 50 sisters plus novices and postulants look and feel so uninhabited, so “desolate”! Am I really all alone here? ...

“Let us love silence till the world is made to die in our hearts.” St. Isaac of Syrian

Sister Elizabeth approaches and welcomes me. She gently inquires about my news. This sister was coordinating my endless faxes to Gerondas when I was at the UK and sending his replies. She knows everything about me! Her question: “Have you got a spiritual father now?”

This question will become a refrain during my brief stay here, asked by all sisters who spend some time with me. In fact, a refrain addressed not only to me, but to all pilgrims and visitors here. It is not that the sisters are not concerned with/about our problems and sorrows, but our obedience to a spiritual father seems of paramount importance and the key to everything. Even if with his guidance and help, our problems are eventually not “solved”. The mystery of holy obedience. “Obedience shows love for Christ. And Christ especially loves the obedient” (St. Porphyrios, Wounded by Love, p. 25).

Saint Simeon the New Theologian wrote the following to one of his spiritual children:  “We conceived you through teaching, we underwent labour pains through repentance, we delivered you with much patience and birth pangs and severe pain and daily tears”  (Epistle 3, 1-3).

Barsanuph’s soul-stirring prayer makes the immense love of a spiritual father for his spiritual children more palpable: «Behold, here am I and the children that You gave to me; protect them in Your Name, shelter them with Your right hand. Lead us to the harbor of Your Will and inscribe their names in Your book…  Lord, either include my children along with me in Your Kingdom, or erase me also from Your Book… » (Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain, “Book of Barsanuph and John”, Response 99).

Reciprocally, in this mystery of Christ, the spiritual child should place everything at his Father’s feet, with humility and filial trust. Saint Basil the Great urges us to “not keep any movement of the soul secret, but to bare whatever is hidden in the heart”  (“Oroi Kata Platos” – Conditions breadthwise, 26, ΒΕΠΕΣ 53, 184). Nothing should be concealed from our spiritual father. That is the only way our sins are forgiven by God.  We are freed of the burden of guilt. We uproot our passions. And the spiritual father thereafter guides us safely through our spiritual life. There is simply no other way! Our goal is not simply to manage/ solve all our problems here on earth, but “receive the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls”. (1 Peter 1:9)

Other sisters soon join us for a minute to welcome me and hear the news about St Demetrios’ vigil in his church –it is after all his feast today– but they quickly disappear. Not a minute of idle or small talk. I am shown to my St Paisios, St Arsenios and St Porfyrios (!) cell, and there is still some free time until our common meal at 15:00 to take a quiet walk inside the monastery or … sit in my cell.

Inside my cell

“A brother came to Scetis to visit Abba Moses and asked him for a word. The old man said to him, ‘Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.’“

God calls each one of us in silence and invites us to go into our inner “room,” shut the door and pray to our Father in secret, assured that He will answer our prayer (Mt 6:6). It is only in this silence and stillness that we can listen to Him, hear His “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:11-13). The quiet water of Siloe flows without noise or sound, “goes softly’ (Is. 8:6).

Gradually, the guests house starts to get filled: two young ladies, university students, in their early twenties, settle in, then another one arrives, this one still in high school, with fond memories of +Elder Gregorios treating her with candies and hugs, and finally a young engineer who attended at the nearby Ormylia monastery a service of monastic tonsure.

Gerondissa Euphemia’s grave (+15 April 2020, 88 years old). She was the first Abbess of the monastery and fell asleep in the Lord shortly after Gerondas Gregorios’ departure to Heaven (19 Νοεμβρίου 2019).

Bells ring and the common meal with the sisters begins, with a reading of Saint Gregory Palamas’ homily on St Demetrios. Our meal is a very ascetic one, as we are all preparing for Sunday Holy Communion.

We retire very early in our cells. The Sunday service will be a vigil from 23:00 to 03:00!

At the insistence of Sister Elisavet, I prepare a brief note for Abbess Mariam. Briefly, I share my news and ask her blessing. No questions or requests. Only her blessing to allow me to stay here longer and more often. –Which was one of the things +Gerondas Gregorios had always urged me to do, Sister Elisavet points out to me …

I give the note to the sister in charge of the guests’ house, pray and wait. After all, our vigil will begin very soon.

*

“Do not be afraid that there will be no fruit when all dies down; there will be! Not everything will die down. Energy will appear; and what energy!” St. Symeon the New Theologian

“Silence is the sacrament of the world to come” — St Isaac the Syrian

The Easter of Saint Demetrios

This year, I had the privilege to attend Saint Demetrios “Holy Week” in his church in Thessaloniki. The services here are very different from the ones all over the world; they are unique. Listen to a few recordings from this year’s Easter Vigil of Saint Demetrios in his church and further down, have a look at a few hymns from the Holy Week of St. Demetrios.

St Demetrios and Panagia Faneromeni 🙏 The Panagia Faneromeni icon, from the the island of Evia has arrived as part of the extended celebrations of Thessaloniki’s patron, St. Demetrios the Great Martyr and Myrrh-streamer, whose feast falls on October 26, 2024. Every year, a different miraculous icon of the Theotokos arrives.

The love and devotion towards St. Demetrios the Great Martyr and Myrrh-streamer from the Orthodox faithful of Thessaloniki is truly immense. Though to some it may seem a bit extreme, St. Demetrios has worked countless wonders both for the city of Thessaloniki, and for all the Orthodox faithful throughout the world. In praise of Christ Who strengthened him in his martyrdom, and in honour and thanksgiving to this great Wonderworker, various hymnographers have composed hymns beyond those of the standard Menaia in praise of St. Demetrios.

Many of these hymns comprise the so-called “Holy Week of St. Demetrios”. This is a collection of pre-festal hymns from various sources in honour of the Saint, and are generally modelled after and grouped correspondingly to the days of Holy Week (i.e. the Passion and Resurrection of Christ). Thus, they begin on October 19th (“Palm Sunday”) and proceed to the feast of St. Demetrios on October 26th (“Pascha”). Many of the hymns have been written by St. Symeon of Thessaloniki (+1429), so we can see how this is an old and established tradition of this local Orthodox Church.

What a paradox! What a marvel! The thrice-blessed Demetrios is pierced by a lance for the sake of Christ….

The martyrdom of the Saint is compared to the passion of Christ. We even find this in the hymnography of the Menaion. In the Doxastikon, for example, of the Stichera of Vespers, we chant: “Rejoice, you who were pierced in your members, your blessed passion is spiritually reenacted for us like Christ;” and in the Doxastikon of the Liti, we chant: “Your undefiled side, was pierced all-revered one, imitating the One who was pierced on the wood.” Saint Symeon of Thessaloniki in the 14th century wrote of the feast of Saint Demetrios: “This bright day is an image of the resurrection of the Saviour.” Saint Philotheos Kokkinos calls the martyrdom of Saint Demetrios: “An imitation of Christ (“Christomimito”).

Professor John Foundoulis is primarily responsible for the modern revival of the special liturgical honour of Saint Demetrios, with the publication of the services in The Holy Week of Saint Demetrios. On the basis of two 15th century codices, originating from Thessaloniki, but also from other manuscripts, he reconstructed the order and content of the pre-festal services of the seven days that precede the feast of Saint Demetrios. Of course, the days of the “Holy Week of Saint Demetrios” are not the same as the days of the same name in the calendar. For example, Holy Monday of the Holy Week of Saint Demetrios is always October 20th, regardless of which day the current year’s calendar shows, and October 26th is Easter Sunday, even if the calendar shows Thursday, as this year’s feast.

This predominance of Easter and the other days of Holy Week in the services of Saint Demetrios, I have found profoundly moving. But what made the most lasting impression on me was the vigil for his feast: St. Demetrius “Easter Sunday”.

Like Easter Sunday, the priests begin with a procession, carrying the Saint’s icon all around the church, proceeded with a Gospel reading in front of the Royal Doors, and a variation of the well-known melody of “Christ is Risen” is chanted lots of times, with words adapted to St. Demetrios’ martyrdom, while bells are ringing. Easter Matins follow, where the canon of the Saint is chanted, based, in melody and verses, on St. John Damascene’s Paschal Canon.

What follows are some recordings from the vigil, and if any of my readers want more recordings, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Apolytikion of St Demetrios

Great have you been found/ / in time of peril/ a great champion/ For all the world/ As you emerged the victor in routing the barbarians/ For as you brought to naught the boasts of Lyaios/ imparting courage to Nestor in the stadium/ in like manner, holy, great Martyr Demetrios/ invoke Christ God for us/ that He may grant us His great mercy.he side of the Savior, which was fearsomely pierced, made passage for the noble and godly-wise thief.he side of the Savior, which was fearsomely pierced, made passage for the noble and godly-wise thief.

St. Dimitrios Resurrection Bells and procession of his icon

St. Demetrios ‘Christ is Risen’ variation–“Χριστού την δόξαν μαρτυρεί/ πηγάζων εκ πλευράς τα μύρα/ ο μάρτυς Δημήτριος ˙/ αυτόν μεγαλύνομεν». “St Demetrios bears testimony to Christ’s Glory/ gushing myrrh at his side/ him do we glorify”

“Easter” Matins canon for St Demetrios —

The full services for the Holy Week of St. Demetrios (in Greek) are available online here: http://analogion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14355. Below are a few hymns from the Holy Week of St. Demetrios. They are beautiful, compunctionate and theological works by two Fathers of our Church, in praise of such a great role model and servant of Christ, St. Demetrios. May he intercede for us all, and heal us of the passions of body and soul!

The Holy Week Services of St. Demetrios the Myrrh-streamer

Doxastikon of the Praises in the Plagal of the Second Tone
(of Palm Sunday of St. Demetrios)

By St. Symeon of Thessaloniki

Before the days of his passion, the champion being in prison, the holy Nestor approached him and said to him: “O glorious one, how will I be able to conquer the terrible Lyaios?” He encouraged him, saying: “Go to that stadium, and you will find me fighting with you, interceding for you to the Lord, and make the sign of the cross, and in the midst of the battle cry: O God of Demetrios help me! And you will defeat him.

Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
(of Holy Monday of St. Demetrios)

As a second Jacob, you wrestled with your enemy, and as the chaste Joseph who ruled over the passions, we honour you, O martyr, for you were not a slave to sin or to error, and you, O blessed one Demetrios, received grace for your struggle and an incorruptible crown.

Kontakion in the Second Tone
(of Holy Tuesday of St. Demetrios)

Your nous trampled upon the enemies, and you dissolved all of their deceits; you were granted victory from above, O most-praised Martyrs, and cry out together: ‘How good and pleasant it is to be numbered with Christ’.

Oikos

In the heavens, O Christ, dwell Demetrios and Nestor, and they are arrayed by you in divine light. Hasten speedily to me, who walk in the darkness of ignorance, to heal the passions, O only Immortal One, and grant me the garment of incorruption, that being arrayed in white, I might praise their light-bearing feast, and cry to You, O Lord: How good and pleasant it is to be numbered with Christ.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
(for the Holy Wednesday of St. Demetrios)

By St. Romanos the Melodist

Victory-bearing champion of the Immortal Master, mighty soldier of the King of Glory, O Demetrios, we the faithful praise you, saying: You have done well, to grant life everlasting.

Oikos

Which should I hymn, O martyr Demetrios? Your pre-struggles? Your struggles? Your post-struggles? All three I am compelled to praise. First, your pure way of life, second, your struggles, third, your many miracles which you have worked and continue to work from your tomb. Therefore, each of the faithful approaches your living relic in faith, reaping as from Paradise, life everlasting.

Doxastikon of the Stichera in the Eight Tones
(of Holy Friday of St. Demetrios)

First Tone

Our thrice-perfect protector, O greatly-glorified Demetrios, the abyss of martyrdoms, the unfading flower, the fragrant apple, the vine which brings the fruit of the various graces of the Spirit,

Second Tone

Your name is wondrous through all the earth, for the grandeur of your miracles has reached the heavens above.

Third Tone

I sing to you at this time with the instrument of David, for you imitated the God-man Word of the all-exalted Father, as His close servant.

Fourth Tone

For though you did not ascend the cross, your most clean body was pierced, and was shown forth as consumed.

Plagal of the First Tone

And now we praise your precious passion, for though formerly Eden was guarded by the fiery sword,

Plagal of the Second Tone

The side of the Saviour, which was fearsomely pierced, made passage for the noble and godly-wise thief.

Grave Tone

Because of thus, your name is wondrous through all the earth, and the greatness of your glory is magnified from the ends of the world.

Plagal of the Fourth Tone

Therefore, protecting your mother land, you look upon the Thessalonians, and they are sheltered by you from all types of continuous trials.

Kontakion in the Second Tone
(for the Holy Saturday of St. Demetrios)

By St. Symeon of Thessaloniki

Desiring Christ, the incorrupt and living, you were run through with spears and killed, and thrown in a well, and were not buried, not being granted your holy tomb. You poured forth myrrh, and grant grace to those who cry out: This is the body of the all-pure Demetrios, in whom Christ was glorified, Who lives, having risen on the third day.

Oikos

When He Who holds all things in His palm was crucified, creation praised Him. When this zealous Demetrios was crucified by spears, and in eros stretched out his hands, and accepted piercing in his side, he was rendered as dead, and consigned to the well, and as the sea poured forth a never-emptying river of myrrh, and granted streams of wonders, healing the souls and bodies of many, and put to end all error, and Lyaios is shamed, and with Christ who granted myrrh to the faithful, we cry out: This is the body of the all-pure Demetrios, in whom Christ was glorified, Who lives, having risen on the third day.

Ode I of the Canon in the First Tone.
(of Holy Pascha of St. Demetrios)
It is the day of Resurrection…

It is the day of resurrection, the slaughter of Demetrios, for the error falls, and the Church of Christ is radiantly resurrected, and greets in joy, and cries out to God a joyous ode.

Let us all purify ourselves, and gather, arrayed in white, at the relics of Demetrios, which shine. And beholding them as we have heard, to the martyr let us say: Rejoice.

Truly the heavens declare the glory of God, and the faithful glorify the work of His hands, the firmament hymns the martyr, the work of the hands of God, and because of this rejoices.

(http://analogion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14355)

Monastery Diaries: Back into the Mother’s Womb

Such silence and peace at the Monastery of St John the Forerunner, Chalkidiki! Another colour and spiritual hue in the rich tapestry of monastic visits

For years, here, Gerondas Gregorios of blessed memory offered his prayers with tears and his never-to-be-forgotten spiritual guidance. My rebirth in Christ ((John 3:4), my new life literally started here about 40 years ago.

Off to my next pilgrimage, then, on this year’s three-day public holiday for Thessaloniki: 26 Sat, +St. Demetrius, 27 Sun and 28 Mon: Ohi, national holiday. I can’t wait!

Back in 2019, I undertook the same pilgrimage of mine, and precisely on the same dates and days!

More recently, my own spiritual father visited this monastery just last year.

May it be a refreshing and strengthening experience in His Mercy!

I am but earth and ash — two documentaries

The “Astonishment of Sisoes” (*)

At the recommendation of my spiritual father, I have been watching two exceptional documentaries on monastic life: Athos – Mount Athos Monks’ Republic Documentary and The Good Struggle: Life In A Secluded Orthodox Monastery. Interestingly enough, I found all their insights pertinent not only to monastics, but to laymen too. What truly struck a chord in my heart was their emphasis on the transience and ‘futility’ of our ‘ordinary’ lives, and a remarkable miracle entitled “Christ is Risen”, the first documentary records.

Athos, the first documentary is exceptional partly because for the first time, a filmmaker was given access to all forms of monastic life on the holy mountain (ie. cenobitic monasteries, sketes and monastic cells).

The Good Struggle, the second documentary, is about a monastic community thriving within the confines of a Greek Orthodox Christian monastery, high up in the mountains of Lebanon. The documentary offers rare insight to their almost silent way of life.

What I found most moving in both documentaries is the “school of philosophy” in the Gerondes’ own words: the insights into the monks’ burial place, their bones eventually stored in a separate charnel house, within the consecrated grounds of the cemetery (20:06–21:28 and 1:25:38—1:28:10 — first documentary), or under the church (23:35–24:36 –second documentary).

“So we can always pray for them and join them. This is due to the church’s belief that those who depart are not removed from us, but we are always connected through prayer. We don’t see them but they are connected to us through prayer. They pray for us and we pray for them. We always visit them to encourage ourselves that death is not a calamity but a meeting with the Lord Jesus Christ. We honour and greet them because they have done the good struggle and God has accepted them in His Kingdom.”

So moving and at the same time so sobering for “our [vain] affection for earthly things”! “And once again I looked with attention on the tombs, and I saw the bones therein which of flesh were naked; and I said, … Where is the pleasure in life which is unmixed with sorrow? … All things are weaker than shadow, all more illusive than dreams; comes one fell stroke, and Death in turn, prevails over all these vanities. … All is dust, all is ashes, all is shadow. … Like a blossom that wastes away, and like a dream that passes and is gone, so is every mortal into dust resolved… ” (St. John of Damascus, Orthodox Funeral Service Troparia)

*

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

*

(*) “Sisoes, the great ascetic, before the tomb of Alexander, king of the Greeks, who was once covered in glory. Astonished, he mourns for the vicissitudes of Time and the transience of glory, and tearfully declaims thus: ‘The mere sight of your tomb, dismays me and causes my heart to shed tears, as I contemplate the debt we, all men, owe. How can I possibly stand it? Oh Death! Who can evade you?’


Day 5 If we Burn Ourselves Up as a Candle

… We Become Lights in the World.

Nothing had prepared me for what happened today at the monastery. Mother Porfyria had texted me back at night that, God willing, we would meet briefly today, sometime before we leave. In turn, I had texted my spiritual father for his prayers to help me discern what to discuss with her in these precious, few minutes. His reply: “Let Christ decide. He will be there with you”.

And yet, nothing had prepared me for what happened today at the monastery. I remember that this is what I had told you at my first monastery pilgrimage, at Panorama Dormition Monastery, but this time the spiritual experience was far more powerful, overwhelming I would say.

Such beautiful chanting in Church! Listen to a recording of sisters chanting Matins, Semantron and Bells:

After the Holy Liturgy, I went straight to St George Karslidis cell and chapel, open to the faithful only on Feast Days and Sundays, thinking that Mother Porfyria would rest a bit after these long church services, before venturing out in the public. She is so loved by the sisters and all the faithful that there is always a long queue following her wherever she is going. Here one feels what joyful obedience out of love is.

Saint George Karslides cell

And then, it happened! When I emerged out of St George Karslidis cell, I saw her! but what did I see?! I saw Gerondissa climbing up the stairs of the guests’ house in a hurry and ‘frantically’ searching for me everywhere, checking the guests’ living room, and ignoring everybody else! I rushed towards her and asked her to forgive my disappearance, but I thought she might rest a bit. Are you kidding me? Mother Porphyria rest a bit? How little do I still know her! No sleep, no rest, no ease, no break-fast, no coffee, nothing for her sake, only burning herself as a candle, always full of love and humility, always ready to sacrifice everything for her ‘neighbour! 

If we burn ourselves up as a candle, we become lights in the world.

It was so embarrassing for me! I must have scandalised all the pilgrims and the sisters in the monastery! First this frantic search, and then this grabbing me and ‘pushing’ me further and further behind the inner gates, since pilgrims and sisters never stopped approaching her, literally disappearing and returning after half an hour! Half an hour?! So, the Abbess disappeared for half an hour at the monastery’s busiest visitors’ time, after the Sunday Holy Liturgy, with the monastery literally packed, overflowing with people?!

What’s more, not for 5 min but for half an hour, all alone, listening to her precious spiritual counsel! What a blessing! And what a profound spiritual encounter ours was! Mother Porphyria reflected on our “common” Way of the Cross, dating back to 1988, at our visit to Sipsa monastery, both of us lay persons then, both of us spiritual daughters of + Gerondas Gregorios. Such a beautiful synaxis after so many years! She insisted how our first meeting sealed our future in God’s unfathomable Providence. Back at this time, she was exploring various monasteries with the desire to become a nun, while I was visiting various monasteries for my spiritual growth, before my graduate studies and work at the States. This first meeting dates back to the Pentecost Feast of 1988. Our 36 years anniversary in her words!

Providence brought us to the same monastery, with the blessing of +Gerondas Gregorios, and the following amusing misunderstanding happened then: because I arrived earlier than Mother Porphyria, the sisters at Sipsa monastery thought that I was the one interested to become a novice. So they offered me a single room to have more “space” and privacy to pray. When Mother Porphyria arrived, the sisters understood their mistake but because they did not want to upset me and have me change room, they left me all alone, at peace, and accommodated Mother Porphyria in a double room. Of course, I was clueless about all this, and when I met her, later in the day, at the services and the meals, she did not give anything away. To this day, she finds all this very funny!

Glory to God for all His gifts, especially our fellow travellers in the Way! Mother Porphyria stressed how important is to be always grateful, how God loves those who are grateful. Our faith and life is literally eucharistic. Glory to God for all things were Saint John Chrysostom. last words as he died in exile in the year 407. The word “Eucharist” is derived from the Greek word eucharistia, meaning ‘thanksgiving. This term originated in the 1st or 2nd century A.D. as early Christians commemorated Christ’s Last Supper with thanksgiving. Such thanksgiving inspires and empowers us to act in humble, loving, compassionate ways, with empathy and in service to others.

She also told me that gratitude and total surrender to God will make us fools for Christ and full in His Joy. Galatians 2:20 speaks to the profound change that occurs when we surrender to God: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” And then, the greater the trials and tribulations, the greater our Joy will be. Mother Porphyria told me that this was a key teaching of Gerondas Gregorios of blessed memory to his spiritual children.

She then added that when we are ‘crucified’ wherever God’s Providence has placed us, then our martyrdom, and especially our prayers during our martyrdom, transfuses our crucifiers with His love. And this is such a blessing to offer to the world because sadly there are lots of people who rebel against God’s boundless Love and refuse to accept it and then share it. But the key to become such a channel for God’s Love is the will to be crucified and our gratitude for all our crosses. There is simply no other way!

God is indeed doing something wonderful. If we burn ourselves up as a candle, we become lights in the world. These are my spiritual Father’s words.

“Just as the oil and wick burn in the vigil lamp, submissive to our will, so let our souls also burn with the flame of love in all our sufferings, always being submissive to God’s will”, St. Nikolai Velimirovich.

This burning, of course, hurts, but Christ, our Bridegroom, bore the heaviest Cross of all: All our crosses plus only He knows what more …

Then Mother Porfyria moved on to some very private matters for herself and myself, which obviously I cannot share. All I can say is that her words were overpowering. A bit too powerful and profound for my spiritual level … standing in awe before the Burning Bush… We have been meeting all these years, but never before had she administered such a “deadly blow” on me! She has always been supportive and kind, wiping my tears, but this time was “only” “tough love”. Days later, and I find myself still reeling… Very tough love…

When I shared these words with my spiritual father, he told me: “Indeed tough love but which bolsters faith in an uncomfortable way”. And it was not so much her words, but the Holy Spirit through her words. Such a powerful presence! Even now, days later. Palpably so…My eyes have opened a little bit to the price our spiritual fathers and mothers “pay” when we ask for their prayers.

Please forgive me for not being able to share further our private discussion. And also forgive me if I cannot put her holy wisdom into words. Days later, I listened to a homily from Essex Monastery, which emphasises the same point: “The Taste of Death is a Prelude to Resurrection Life” How Elders burn themselves up to offer light and “how their spiritual children can make them prophets [ie. prophetic lights] with their holy obedience”, in Saint Sophrony’s own words. But I repeat, it is one thing to just listen to these holy words, and another thing the holiness of the speaker to be transfused to your heart and nous. “… and a great multitude of people … came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases … for power went out of Him and healed them all” (Luke 6: 17-19).

One thing I can certainly share is Mother Porfyria’s insistence on the power of the Psalter in spiritual warfare, which she also stressed at a group discussion with the faithful, at the monastery courtyard, shortly after our private discussion: “The Psalms of the prophet David – the sacred Psalter – are an age old weapon, an effective cure against fear, terror, and demonic forces.”

Mother Porfyria’s insistence on the power of the Psalter, reminded me of another homily, by Metropolitan Neophytos of Morfu this time, about a holy ascetic of our times, Elder Theodoros the cave-dweller from Agiofarango, Crete (†2016), about the power of the Psalter:

“If you were to ask me to tell you what I learned after so many years in the desert, I would simply answer this: the power of the Psalter. If I were to start my life over, I would struggle to do one thing: memorize the Psalter. This is the womb of noetic prayer. This is the fertile soil where the seed of prayer thrives. It scourges the demons. When I was reading the Psalter during my vigils, a demon came, roaring like a wild boar in my ear, especially when I said the verse, “Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered, and let those who hate him flee before him…” (Ps 68:1 (67 LXX)) and the verse that says, “…for You are my Lord and my God”. He was in a rage, grabbing me by the throat and choking me. He tried to mess up my words so that I wouldn’t say it.”

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos reveals a similar experience of his about the power of the Psalter:

“How much consolation I find with the Psalter! That hour and a half when I read the Psalter, I see it as the most positive help to the world… The Psalter is divinely inspired, it was written with divine illumination, this is why it is so potent, so deep in meaning… With the Psalter I feel like rejoicing… I was pounding the devil with a cannon. During the day I pounded him with the Psalter, at night with prayer.” https://www.orthodoxwitness.org/the-power-of-the-psalter

Mother Porphyria also urged the faithful that flocked around her to cense, ie. offer incense to, not only our icons, immediate environment and people near us, but also God’s creation!, those afar, our families at school, our colleagues at work, our families and friends away, all over the world … She told us that is what Fathers have told her and insisted on this. So, we must sense and cense … since before we offer incense we must sense them.

If we burn ourselves up as a candle, we become lights in the world.

What I find most moving, though, are not her words to me or to all the faithful huddling up near her, but the prayer and the Holy Spirit she transfused us through her words.

Like the other sister with a charisma from God at Panorama Dormition monastery, who offered me 5 minutes of her time before I left the monastery. When she told me, for example, to focus on the Holy Liturgy “which is Everything” in Saint Sophrony’s of Essex words, or the Jesus prayer, she transfused the energy of the Jesus prayer to me, and for some hours and days after this, the Jesus prayer would not stop echoing in my heart. Likewise, when Mother Porphyria spoke to us about the power of the Psalter, she transfused this energy, and from there on, for some days, all I could do was to recite the Psalter…

St. Justin Popovich

“To be Orthodox means to have the God-man Christ constantly in your soul, to live in Him, think in Him, feel in Him, act in Him. In other words, to be Orthodox means to be a Christ-bearer and a Spirit-bearer.”

Day 4 “Take off your shoes”

The Burning Bush

His holy presence is immediately felt upon entering the monastery gates! This Saint is St. Georgios’  Karslidis, the New Confessor of Drama, the founder and first spiritual father of the Ascension Monastery. A bit exhausted after the long drive, off we rush to kneel before his relics and venerate them. … Rush! Waste no more time! “The doors are not yet shut; the bridegroom hears you”. St. Basil the Great

“Take off your shoes”

Hundreds and thousands of the faithful, all these years, especially since his canonisation in 2008, have knelt before him, to seek comfort in life’s trials and tribulations. So many miracles are happening and are being recorded every day!

“Take off your shoes”

Next, we kneel at Gerondissa Akylina‘s grave. Saint Paisios characterized her as “Gerondissa of Gerondisses; ie. Abbess of Abbesses” and Saint Porphyrios of Kausokalyvite called her “Cherub with golden wings”. Her canonisation is expected to take place soon and her relics are now displayed inside the Ascension Church, next to those of St.George Karslides, for veneration too.

So many contemporary Saints and spiritual Fathers and Mothers have blessed her diaconate: Saint Paisios, +Gerondas Iosif Vatopedi, +Gerondas Gavriil Dionysiatis, +Gerondas Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis, +Gerondas Theofilos (Lydia), Elder Efraim of Arizona, establishing her prayer rule, +Elder Georgios Kapsanis Gregoriou, +Elder Aimilianos, Saint Porfyrios, Mother Nikodemi-Ormylia monastery, +Mother Fevronia-Dormition Panorama monastery, to name just a few.

(Mother Porfyria’s obedience for a decade was the exclusive care of the elderly and frail Gerondissa Akylina).

“Take off your shoes.” 

The nuns welcome us, show us to our rooms, offer us a meal, in the separate guests’ house, and leave us to rest before Vespers. Yet, what seems most urgent is the need to repent. Now, on the interpretation of the Greek Fathers of the Burning Bush, St. Gregory of Nyssa for example, shoes, made from the skins of dead animals, signify the deadness of repetition, boredom, inattentiveness. 

“And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. … And he [God] said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:2-5 KJV )

“Take off your shoes.” 

Start afresh, free yourself from what is lifeless, from enslavement to the trivial, the mechanical, the repetitive. Shake off the deadness of boredom. Wake up. Come to yourself. Open your spiritual eyes. Cleanse the doors of your perception. Look and see! Listen!

“Take off your shoes.”

The monastic triptych of “prayer, study and work” (Abba Isaiah of Scetis ascetic discourses) is observed here too, but with a greater austerity than in other monasteries, probably because of the +Gerondas’ and +Gerondissa’s relics’ omnipresence and the specific typikon they follow, at the inspiration of +St. Efraim of Arizona. A variation of this salvific triptych is “prayer, attention and work”. This triptych offers balance, healing, consolation. There are 38 sisters in this monastery, and lots of young novices and postulants, pre-novices. Nuns come and go busy bees, novices and postulants race all round, pilgrims flock, beautiful gardens and fields surround us, yet everything fades before my eyes. My heart has been struck, smitten (Psalm 102:4)

“Take off your shoes.” 

In the evening, I text to Gerondissa Porfyria to plead for a meeting, even for 5 minutes, anytime, before we leave the next day. The day is coming to a close. We retire to our cells. I pray and wait …

Gerondissa Porfyria’s balcony is the one with the lanterns

St. Gregory of Nyssa

“Sandaled feet cannot ascend that height where the light of truth is seen, but the dead and earthly covering of skins, which was placed around our nature at the beginning … must be removed from the feet of the soul.”

St. George Karslides

“God cares for everyone. Despair is in effect a lack of faith.”

Monastery Diaries The Return of the Prodigal Son

The Holy Monastery of Ascension of the Savior located in the village of Taxiarches (Sipsa)
St. George Karslides, the Founder of Sipsa monastery

Amazing! After 8 years (originally posted 9 Nov. 2016)! What memories and tears now that I am planning a return of the prodigal…

“… Gerondissa Porphyria has always been so full of love and humility, always ready to sacrifice her ease,  her rest and sleep, everything for her ‘neighbour! How many times has she consoled me in the trials and tribulations of my life! Always by my side, always! How many times has she offered a shoulder to cry on and precious, practical counsel! Her prayerful presence is intensely, intimately felt even thousands of miles away, here at the UK, and her smile warms my heart. Oh, just look at her smile in the photographs below with a pilgrim at the monastery and imagine the rays of the sun warming your shoulders after a rainy, cold day! How blessed am I to have such a spiritual mother by my side! Over the years I got better acquainted with the friendly and hospitable nuns there and the pilgrims and the faithful who regularly visit this monastery. St. Georgios’ holy presence is immediately felt upon entering the monastery gate, and there is always a queue at his tomb where his spiritual children kneel before their spiritual father, now in Heaven, to ask for his spiritual guidance and to seek comfort in life’s trials and tribulations. …” (9 Nov, 2016)

All this and so much more! Nothing has changed! Only deeper and deeper in the Burning Bush.

Today’s Abbesses of Abbesses

Day 3: “But you have kept the good wine until now.” John 2:10

Nothing had prepared me for what happened today at the monastery! Literally the last minute before I departed! I am still in tears of gratitude and trying to digest the Burning Bush Our Lord and Panagia have granted me to experience.

The day started as usual with very early Midnight Office, Matins and Holy Liturgy. The chanting of the sisters was most beautiful and the faithful in the church were praying with tears and prostrations to the Theotokos. Soon the church was full with lots of people with health conditions or impairments, all pouring out their hearts in prayer for a miracle. “For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.” (John 5:4)

Why was my heart so lukewarm? What common did I have with all these fervent disciples? My pilgrimage was soon coming to an end, after the formal Sunday meal at the monastery trapeza (ie. refectory), at the end of the Holy Liturgy, and coffee offered to the monastery guests, in other words in about 3 hours. My days here have indeed been a time of healing, but how did this compare to the thousands of miles and long hours, nearly a day, some of my brethren and sisters had travelled to make it here?

I tried to make the best of my few remaining hours and spend quite a lot of time with the Pennsylvania brother sharing amazing experiences of his with Geronda Efraim of Arizona of blessed memory. We decided to stay in touch since by God’s Providence we both arrived and were leaving the monastery the same days and hours. I prayed and watched other pilgrims who had sat down in corners with the sisters and were talking privately. I had not made such a “connection” with any of the sisters for all their warm hospitality. This felt a bit sad and disappointing but may it be blessed.

The meal at the Trapeza was very formal and characterized by prayer, reverence and serenity, as the process of the meal is a ritual. The readings were on the Gospel reading for today, esp. the line “The Lord said, “As you wish that men would do to you, do so to them. … Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful”, and they were from St Gregory Palamas and St Paisios the Athonite. At the end, Gerondissa Melani spoke for a few minutes, highlighting a few points, and then we were ceremoniously escorted outside by the sisters, to the monastery gardens.

I was about to thank the “arhondarissa”, the sister in charge of the guests, for their hospitality during my stay, and proceed to the parking lot, outside of the monastery gates, when I heard a sister calling out my name! I turned around and lo, a sister approached me, wishing to introduce herself! It was Sister I.

Yesterday evening, I had indeed made a request to the arhondarissa to meet Sister I, if that was possible, at the persistent recommendation of a friend, who knows this sister for decades, but nothing had happened, so I assumed that the sister was just too busy to meet me.

Sister I. was indeed a revelation. In just a few minutes, she conducted a thorough spiritual surgical procedure on me and started gently to guide me!I have no words for what happened during these few minutes together. Our 10’ discussion started in light rain and ended in bright sunshine! But it was her eyes that were most radiant and her smile most bright than the sun! Her eyes and smile reminded me of an elder who has charisma from God: Gerondas Efthymios, St Paisios successor, a Geronda that I briefly met at Gerondas Gregorios funeral. Radiant eyes, bright smile, the burning bush!

Back to Sister I., we first got introduced to each other and soon started discussing missionary work at the UK, as Sister I. has been visiting the country, engaging in like activity, and Essex monastery in particular. She is the spiritual daughter of St. Sophronios the Athonite, the founder of Essex monastery, if I got that right. She certainly cited lots of his sayings and spiritual pedagogy. Sister I. has been involved in helping British people discover and reclaim their lost Orthodox heritage, their Saints, and return to the Orthodox Church.

I spoke to her about my recent visit to a parish at the UK, small but compact, with lots of catechumens and inquirers, and told her that the love and holiness I experienced at their church services and gatherings made me feel like I was in the Acts of the Apostles, in those early church communities. She agreed, having experienced similar cases, and we were both reminded of Saint Arsenios of Paros †1877 prophecy that “the Church in The British Isles will only begin to grow when she begins to again venerate her own Saints”

Soon though, our discussion moved to another level and felt more like prayer than a mere exchange of opinions. How piercing were her spiritual X- Rays! “He told me everything I ever did.” (John 4:39) I have never experienced something of the like with a “mere stranger”! Sister I. felt like a Gerondissa who has charisma from God! (*) She revealed to me how I should walk together with the Lord. A real Mother! Among other things very personal she insisted on the Jesus Prayer and Divine Liturgy, which is Everything! I need to pray and reflect on all she revealed to me, and certainly discuss it with my spiritual father to see if he blesses her words.

Sister I. promised to spend more time with me next time we meet in God’s Providence. She told me we could do an obedience together, pray and be open to what God wants us to do together then. I certainly want to meet this Sister again. I have no words to express my gratitude and thanksgiving to our Lord. What an experience! What a great event of my life, the meeting with this Sister! “It was given to me,the least of men, to live approximately the same experience”. Indeed, He has kept the good wine until now.”

“The greatest event of the life of our holy elder, as he himself related and wrote, was his meeting with his holy Father, Silouan. The historical fact of this spiritual bond had definitive importance for the later spiritual development and theology of Saint Sophrony, who write: ‘By the prayers of Saint Silouan, I, too, was placed in the same spiritual perspective … It was given to me,the least of men, to live approximately the same experience.’” Archimandrite Zachariah, The Seven Basic Points of the Theology of Saint Sophrony

(*) My spiritual father told me that he prefers the term “she [Sister I.] / he [Gerondas Efthymios] has charisma from God. In order not to confuse her/him with those Protestant evangelicals who claim to be charismatic and who roll around on the floor” (his words).

Day 2: To the Theotokos, let us run now most fervently

“My spirit seeks You early in the morning, O God, for Your commandments are a light upon the earth”.

At 5 am, Matins begins, and everybody literally rushes to the church under the stars. “To the Theotokos let us run now most fervently”.

This monastery has 3 dedications to the Theotokos: the first is on The Mother of God of the Life-giving Spring or Life-giving Font (Greek: Ζωοδόχος Πηγή), on bright Friday; the second dedication is on the Dormition of the Theotokos, on August 15th; and its third dedication is on Panagia Eleftherotria, ie. Theotokos the Liberator, on the Feast of the Holy Protection, October 28th. This third dedication is the most important for the monastery and apparently for all the Greek nation. It is true that the piety of the faithful all over the world have adorned the Virgin Mary with thousands of names, but this particular one I have personally not encountered in any other nation.

Most Holy Theotokos was declared a Great General, Τη Υπερμάχω Στρατηγώ, by the Greeks of Byzantium in 626 AD, to protect Constantinople from the combined siege by the Sassanid Persians, Avars and allied Slavs. After numerous sieges and attacks in the centuries to follow, culminating in the fall of Constantinople from the Ottomans, Panagia then became the “Eleftherotria”, the hope of thousands of Greek faithful and especially of Greek neomartyrs, suffering martyrdom under the Muslim yoke for more than 400 years.

Tradition holds that it was this Great General who freed the Greek Nation from the Turkish yoke in 1821 and protected the Greeks from the attack of the Italians in 1940 AD. This is why the Feast of “Αγία Σκέπη”, the Holy Protection of the Theotokos, was moved from Oct 1st to Oct 28, the Ohi Day, also referred to as the “Day of No”, the day when the Greek prime minister rejected an ultimatum given by the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini during World War II.

Panagia is, of course, the Protector of all Orthodox Church and nations, and a Mother to us all, liberating us not so much from our visible enemies, but from the invisible ones, ie. our passions, our sins, ultimately from the evil one. Pilgrims from all over the world tearfully share miracles and pray to Her here, in Her monastery, for liberty from their concerns, worries, thoughts, illnesses, for Liberty of their souls first, ultimately from sin.

Beneath thy compassion,
We take refuge, O Mother of God:
do not despise our petitions in time of trouble,
but rescue us from dangers,
only pure one, only blessed one. (1)

Holy Liturgy finishes at 8:30 and a light meal is awaiting us, before we all head to our obediences. Today, to our surprise, ironing, and not ivy pruning, is our obedience: ironing piles upon piles of the sisters’ and pilgrims‘ bedsheets. May it be blessed. Again, long hours of manual prayer await us, accompanied by the Jesus prayer. Glory to God for all things.

At long last, break time and a walk in the monastery gardens and lush forests! Once outside of the cells and the various workshops of iconography and embroidery, one marvels at the beauty of trees especially and flowers everywhere. Nature is enveloped in the Holy Spirit.

Most Holy Theotokos’ presence and protection is felt most powerfully in Her monastery gardens and forests, and there are votive offerings, “tamata” for Her everywhere.

Enwrapped in such beauty and holiness, immersed in the Theotokos, one forgets tiredness, drowsiness, even hunger, but the semantron summons us again, this time for our midday meal of Greek Briam, a traditional Mediterranean recipe that uses all homegrown summer vegetables —potatoes, zucchini, aubergines, red onions, and tomatoes—and bakes them together in olive oil.

Siesta, quiet time follows, then Great Vespers, Compline, and another, very light, fasting meal, since most of the pilgrims are preparing for Holy Communion. Cars and pilgrims keep arriving in large numbers, especially now that weekend has started. At the sunset, pilgrims and monastics, all together, in small groups, share precious fellowship time in the monastery gardens. Even at the close of the day, Sisters continue to be amazing busy-bees with their obediences, errands, charity and gracious hospitality.

In anticipation of tomorrow’s guests 😀 At weekends, the numbers of the faithful at the monastery services increases exponentially!

The blessing of Gerondissa Melani seals our day and we retreat to hesychia in our cells. How richly, orderly, deeply and blessedly time flows in a monastery! So different to the hasty, stressful, exhausting, chaotic perception of time in our lives.

To the Theotokos, let us run now most fervently

Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyva on the Panagia:

“Our Church highly honours our Panagia. I very much love our Panagia. When I was young on the Holy Mountain I very much adored her. I had a small icon of the Panagia under my pillow. Morning and night I embraced her. I lived with her night and day. Whatever happened to me, I resorted to her. What can I tell you? She is better than a mother. There was nothing else I wanted more. She had everything”.

(1) The oldest prayer we know of dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The earliest text of this hymn was found in a Coptic Christmas liturgy of the third century. It is written in Greek and dates to approximately 250 A.D. It is used in the Coptic liturgy to this day, as well as in the Orthodox, Ambrosian, and Latin liturgies. Orthodox Christianity Then and Now.