Orthodixie

Fr John Whiteford on the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, who were slain by the Communists.

At half past six in the evening, the doorbell rang loudly three times. Five men, dressed in soldiers’ uniforms and led by a sailor, entered the house and asked for “Vladimir, the Metropolitan”. They were directed downstairs to the cell of the archpastor. The metropolitan came out to meet them, and was taken into the bedroom where they remained for twenty minutes behind locked doors. There Metropolitan Vladimir was tortured and choked with the chain of his cross, insulted and ordered to give them money. Later, the attendants found on the floor of the room pieces of a broken chain, a silk cord, a tiny case with holy relics and a small icon which the metropolitan always wore around his neck.

When the metropolitan came out twenty minutes later, surrounded by his torturers, he was wearing his cassock, a panagia and a white klobuk on his head. On the front steps he was approached by his old cell-attendant, Philip, who asked for a blessing. The sailor pushed him aside, shouting …

Read it all H E R E.

Comment by HR.

I read The Dawn Patrol

Every.

Day.

TODAY, I hope you do too.

Prayers coveted.

Lord have mercy!

Entrance of Metropolitan PHILIP,

Enthronement of Bishop BASIL,

December 15, 2004

Wichita

Enter your icon corner with reverence before God.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Glory to thee, O our God, glory to thee.

O heavenly King, O Comforter, the Spirit of truth, who art in all places and fillest all things; Treasury of good things and Giver of life Come and dwell in us and cleanse us from every stain, and save our souls, O gracious Lord.

+ Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal have mercy on us. (Thrice)

+ Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins. Master, pardon our iniquities. Holy God visit and heal our infirmities for thy Name’s sake.

Lord have mercy. (Thrice)

+ Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

+ Our Father …

Troparia to the Holy Trinity

Having arisen from sleep, we fall down before thee, O Blessed One, and sing to thee, O Mighty One: Holy, holy, holy art thou, O God. Through the Theotokos have mercy on us.

+ Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

From my bed and sleep hast Thou raised me up, O Lord: enlighten my mind and my heart, and open my lips that I may praise thee, O Holy Trinity: Holy, holy, holy art Thou, O God. Through the Theotokos, have mercy on us.

+ Both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Suddenly the Judge shall come, and the deeds of each shall be revealed; but with fear we cry out in the middle of the night: Holy, holy, holy art Thou, O God. Through the Theotokos, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy. (12 times)

Psalm 50

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy; and according to the multitude of Thy compassions blot out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know mine iniquity, and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee only have I sinned and done this evil before Thee, that Thou mightest be justified in Thy words, and prevail when Thou art judged. For behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother bear me. For behold, Thou hast loved truth; the hidden and secret things of Thy wisdom hast Thou made manifest unto me. Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be made clean; Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. Thou shalt make me to hear joy and gladness; the bones that be humbled, they shall rejoice. Turn Thy face away from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and with Thy governing Spirit establish me. I shall teach transgressors Thy ways, and the ungodly shall turn back unto Thee. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, Thou God of my salvation; my tongue shall rejoice in Thy righteousness. O Lord, Thou shalt open my lips, and my mouth shall declare Thy praise. For if Thou hadst desired sacrifice, I had given it; with whole-burnt offerings Thou shalt not be pleased. A sacrifice unto God is a broken spirit; a heart that is broken and humbled God will not despise. Do good, O Lord, in Thy good pleasure unto Sion, and let the walls of Jerusalem be builded. Then shalt Thou be pleased with a sacrifice of righteousness with oblation and whole-burnt offerings. Then shall they offer bullocks upon Thine altar.

The Symbol of Faith (Creed)

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;

And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, Begotten of the Father before all ages, Light of Light, True God of True God, Begotten, not made, of one essence with the Father, by Whom all things were made:

Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man;

And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried;

And the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures;

And ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father;

And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, Whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, Who spoke by the Prophets;

And I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins.

I look for the Resurrection of the dead,

And the Life of the age to come. Amen.

TROPARION to the THEOTOKOS

+ It is truly meet to bless thee, O Theotokos, who art ever blessed and all blameless, and the Mother of our God. More honourable than the Cherubim, and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim, thou who without stain barest God the Word, and art truly Theotokos, we magnify thee.

+ Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Lord have mercy. (Thrice)

+ O Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, through the intercessions of thine immaculate Mother, of Saint N. (your patron saint), and of all thy Saints, have mercy on us, and save us, for thou art a merciful God, and lovest mankind. Amen.

Reverence the icon of Christ, the Theotokos, your patron, and others.

+ Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen.

Make three metanias and quietly exit the icon corner.

________________________________

The above prayer rule is a shortened form of those found in the Antiochian prayer book. Psalm 50 is taken from the Jordanville Prayer Book. This rule is intended for non-Orthodox inquirers, some Catechumens, and those who struggle with making time for morning prayers. It is easily memorized, allowing, when necessary, its recitation in other places than one’s home icon corner. As with all such matters, guidance should be sought from one’s priest and/or spiritual father. For a “short rule” with intercessory prayers go HERE.

La Quinta Inn will no longer grant suite deals to an abortionist in Kansas. You can thank La Quinta H E R E.

THX: World

X-X-Xanthan Gum: You know, read your labels, it’s everywhere!

Xanthan gum is used as a thickener in sauces, as an agent in ice cream that prevents ice crystals from forming, and as a fat substitute that adds the “mouth feel” of fat without the calories. It is used in canned pet food to add “cling”. In pastry fillings, it prevents “weeping” (syneresis) of the water in the filling, protecting the crispness of the crust.

Now, another word that starts with X — Porn — is becoming just as ubiquitous. In other words, you might wanna read your media labels for the X-word. You got Satellite? You got porn. Local Cable Access Channel? Yup, you got it.

The Dobson Drumming continues in the MSM. Actually, pretty much all Christians are bozos.

Cartoon characters adored by kids seized the spotlight in the latest flare-up of America’s culture wars, but the debate itself poses serious questions for adults involving the depiction of gays and lesbians in materials for teaching children about diversity and tolerance.

The liberal camp argues that even young children should learn that intolerance based on sexual identity is wrong, and that gays are as legitimate a part of the national mosaic as anyone else.

“It’s about creating awareness and understanding of people who are different,” said Joan Garry of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. “Why shouldn’t that be a good thing for America’s young people?”

The conservative camp has responded vehemently: By all means, teach children to respect other individuals, but do not cross the line and teach them that homosexuality is acceptable.

“Tolerance itself can be a very dangerous word,” said the Rev. Terry Fox, a Southern Baptist pastor in Wichita, Kan. “Tolerance gives the public schools an avenue to literally brainwash our kids that every lifestyle is OK.”

Read the whole story H E R E.

John Mark Reynolds chimes in with a splash of sanity.

Finally, when saying our Evening Prayers last night, my son reminded me of the Feast: February 2nd is the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple. Mind you, we’d just read about the Righteous Simeon and his disbelief that a VIRGIN would conceive and bear a Son. He’d even gone so far as to change the wording of the Scripture to say “a young woman” when he was corrected by an angel. And … so forth. After prayers, Basil (almost 7) said, “Dad, I noticed something about that story … he did it after Ground Hog Day.”

There it is.

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.