OrthoBoer

☦️Husband and father

[Fr. Daniel☦️ @Fragbaza]

On June 15, 1999, a little before 11 o'clock, Father Hariton received his last obedience in front of the Episcopal Palace in Prizren. He needed to go to town for food. Saying, "May it be blessed," he got into his car without fear. In the city itself, he was stopped and interrogated by three terrorists. Immediately after checking his identity, the black-uniformed, black-souled terrorists forced him into his car and drove him away in an unknown direction. This apparently happened right in front of German soldiers serving as NATO "peacekeepers." The entire event was witnessed and photographed by a German journalist, who informed the bishop that same day. The Golgotha road of the new martyr of Christ had begun.

Upon his shoulders was placed the final and heaviest cross—martyrdom for Christ. He bore it like a meek lamb, completely calm and unconcerned by the variety and magnitude of the torment, just as he had predicted earlier. The ultimate enemy of humankind, who wages a constant, invisible spiritual war against us, attacked this lamb of God through his earthly servants. One of their knives flashed in the June sun somewhere in Prizren, and after inflicting many wounds, it severed the martyr's head. At that exact moment, the pure and immaculate soul of Christ's new martyr flew to the heavenly kingdom, back to the Lord whom he loved so deeply and suffered for so greatly. The war was won, the race finished, the faith maintained, and the crown of righteousness awaited the victor in heaven (2 Tim. 4:7-8), alongside the joyful voice of the Lord Christ: "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord" (Mt. 25:21).

The villains secretly buried his body in Tusus, near Prizren. Along with the body, KFOR and the killer buried all information regarding his whereabouts. The only things left behind in those moments were rumors of his murder. Father Ilija, his former parish priest while in the world, received the news of his disappearance and remarked with calm, heavenly conviction: "Father Hariton is a martyr for Christ." Time passed, and with it, the glimmer of hope that Monk Hariton might still be alive.

During this period of uncertainty, the martyr appeared to some of his brothers in dreams, telling them that he had suffered. The Lord, who glorifies those who glorify Him, did not want his sacrifice and martyr's crown to remain shrouded in secrecy. He allowed people to discover his fate by revealing the burial site of his holy body. The body was found in August 2000 by the Commission for the Exhumation of Missing and Kidnapped Serbs. Not far from Father Hariton, the bodies of several other Serbs killed at the same time were also discovered.

The remains of the martyr were found decapitated by a sharp object. His hand bones and spine were broken, and several vertebrae were missing. His cassock and sweater were stabbed with a knife in several places near the heart, and the front of his sweater was torn open. These wounds were the clearest evidence of the indescribable torment this venerable martyr endured for Christ, echoing the early Christian martyrs under the beastly Roman emperors. Though he was perfected in a short time, he fulfilled long years, for his soul was pleasing to the Lord (Wisdom of Solomon 4:13-14). His killers saw this but did not understand, nor did they take to heart that grace and mercy are with His elect, and that He watches over His holy ones (Wisdom of Solomon 4:15).

Like a red Kosovo peony plucked from its roots, the martyr's body was taken from Prizren to the Gračanica Monastery, where a memorial service was held on November 11, 2000. There, the faithful venerated him with love. The next day, he was transferred to his first monastery, Crna Reka (Black River). The procession took a detour due to Albanian demonstrations on the road. By making this grand, holy entrance from Prizren through Gračanica to Crna Reka.

[OrthoBoer @Justin_Windell]

@Abunajohn In exile from Orthodoxy giving Orthodoxy lessons. Incredible

[OrthoBoer @Justin_Windell]

Tell me you’ve never listened to fr Stephen de Young without telling me you’ve never listened to fr Stephen de Young

[Fr. John (Azar) Claypool☦️ @Abunajohn]

@maksimologija Fr. Stephen speaks only about the law. Controlling the faithful is paramount to him. Fr. Stephen never speaks about the mystery or love of Christ.

[OrthoBoer @Justin_Windell]

@DudespostingWs Lovely sentiment, although they are not giving him a few hundred dollars. It’s a few hundred rands. Maybe about $100 there

[OrthoBoer @Justin_Windell]

I have this beautiful one

[Luke Sardis @howlinghowler_]

Old Believers occasionally create bangers.

[Orthodox Ethos @OrthodoxEthos]

Sad… but not surprising…

This is the spirit of the age, the pestilence we are all breathing in daily: an underlying if often undetected disdain for Truth as a Person/as the Body of Christ, an incarnate Reality in time and space, and thus a resignation from it, which was brought about in part due to a reluctance to crucify our fallen rationalism, which of course cannot be the conduit for epignosis (experiential knowledge).

This is the milieu in which outright nihilism thrives.

[OrthoBoer @Justin_Windell]

Number 5 of course, you literally get to sit next to St. John and St. Paul but also the Theotokos. Lol the back row is objectively the worst place to be

[Shiloh @ShilohMeni]

Which seat are you picking and why?

[Shiloh @ShilohMeni]

Which seat are you picking and why?

[Nick Hinton @NickHintonn]

Apparently, Paradise is encircled by a ring of purifying fire only God Himself can withstand. And this is why unrepentant sinners and hypocritical Christians are burnt by it in the afterlife as their souls try to return home.

Many ancient mystics knew this. They encountered an impenetrable barrier, a blinding and annihilating Light, while trying to reunite with the Absolute. Nevertheless, only those who have cleansed their hearts and made a place for God to dwell within them will remain unscathed.

But even they will still have some evil lingering in their flesh. So, as they approach the refining fire and begin to feel the heat, they will be tested by the toll houses. These are stations in the aerial realm where demons are allowed to harass people for their forgotten and secret sins.

In a way, it’s like the life review some near-death-experiencers describe. This makes sense considering the aerial realm is also the astral realm. Many near-death-experiencers and astral travelers are deceived here. The demons reveal “forbidden knowledge” and send them back.

However, Orthodox Christians have help here. At baptism, they are given a guardian angel who remembers all their good works. So, they advocate for us while the demons threaten to drag us down into hellfire. The saints we became friends with also come to our aid.

Then, if we are able to make it all the way to the Heavenly Gates, we are judged by God Himself. This might sound legalistic. But none of this literal. It’s important to remember the afterlife is undescribable. It can only be explained symbolically and poetically.

Some of this might sound pagan or gnostic too. But it’s also important to remember that ideas like Hell, Paradise, and God’s Judgment actually predate Christianity. Like Saint Justin the Philosopher said, all the religions that came before Christ contained some seeds of truth.

If they didn’t, the Good News wouldn’t have made sense to anybody. Back then, everyone was looking for the fullness of the truth. But it was impossible to find until God revealed it in the flesh, in the form of His Son.

Then, what was true from every religion was combined into one universal religion, hence the Universal Church. So, I am not promoting another universal religion. We already have it! It’s called Orthodoxy! And its whole purpose is to help people heal and correctly prepare them for their soul’s journey after death.

Like Saint Isaac said, our experience of God in the next life will be determined by the purity of our hearts. His Light will either burn like hell or warm us like a heavenly garment. And if we did not love Him on earth, what should we expect? What should we expect if we did not even know Him? Luckily, His Body is easy to find!

[OrthoBoer @Justin_Windell]

@AngloVarangian Yea I thought that was a fascinating way to think about it as well

[OrthoBoer @Justin_Windell]

Yea but when I say it I’m a racist 🤷‍♂️

[Nick Hinton @NickHintonn]

Elder Justin Parvu taught on the end times:

“The time will come, and it has already come, when the Christian will no longer be persecuted for prayer, but for his refusal to deny himself. Do not be deceived: the apocalypse does not arrive with frightful thunder, but with a cunning silence. Men will be enslaved unchained, controlled unknowingly and instructed to love convenience more than Truth. Peace will be demanded at any cost, but the price will be the soul. Blind obedience will be required, but not to God, but to spirits foreign to Christ. So, anyone who remains firm in their faith in Christ will be considered crazy, extremist, dangerous. Know this: it is not technology that makes the world lose, but the denial of God. It is not the mark on the hand that is more frightening, but the mark in the heart, when man stops fearing sin. When you stop confessing, when you stop crying about your mistakes, when you get accustomed to evil as something natural, that's where the end begins. Churches can stand, but if conscience collapses, nothing remains. There won’t be time for halves or quarters. It will be: either with Christ or without Him. Either cross or rejection. Whoever wants to preserve this life at any cost will lose it, and whoever will suffer for the Truth at risk of losing earthly life, this will be written in Heaven. Don't be afraid of what people are going to do with your body; be afraid of the moment when you will be tempted to keep quiet when you have to confess the Truth. That's where the great battle will take place.”

[OrthoBoer @Justin_Windell]

@C2Antiquity @GodLogic_GL @JPuncut Bishop of Antioch Saint Ignatius’ letter to the Magnesians written around 110 AD. But @GodLogic_GL will still send people towards messianic judaism

[OrthoBoer @Justin_Windell]

Bishop of Antioch Saint Ignatius’ letter to the Magnesians written around 110 AD. But @GodLogic_GL will still send people towards messianic judaism

[OrthoBoer @Justin_Windell]

😂

[Anthony Westgate @a_westgate]

The prots have assembled a churchless council to declare Orthodoxy anathema

[Anthony Westgate @a_westgate]

The prots have assembled a churchless council to declare Orthodoxy anathema

[Anthony Westgate @a_westgate]

@AL_J82 "Message to the Orthodox Church"
Sir, this is an online echo chamber, the Orthodox Church can't hear you.

[new name ☦️ @human4christ]

“Do not return evil for evil, nor hatred for hatred, because darkness cannot drive out darkness. If your brother sins, pray for him with tears rather than condemn him with pride. For many who loudly judge others are themselves slaves to hidden passions. The devil rejoices more in the pride of the righteous than in the fall of the sinner. Therefore guard your heart with humility. Fast, pray, labor honestly, forgive quickly, and remember death always, so that your soul may remain awake before God.”

Saint Sava of Serbia 🇷🇸 ☦️

[Fr. Daniel☦️ @Fragbaza]

With what great effort the tongue turns to say such simple words: "Forgive me," as if someone binds it. The devil himself binds it, and that is why it is so hard to utter these simple words. But every person who has once overcome this obstacle, who has said the word "forgive" for the first time, feels how his heart changes, immediately sensing in it a quiet joy. He has forgiven — and the Lord has given him joy and inner peace... And the second time it is much easier to say this word "forgive," and the third time — quite easily. And a person learns to ask for forgiveness easily and quickly, and his heart becomes light, and the stone of enmity does not lie upon it, and instead of hatred, holy love is established in his heart... The word "forgive" is the most important, the most obligatory.

Saint Luke of Crimea (Voino-Yasenetsky)

[St Elisabeth Convent. Orthodox Life And Chants @StElisabethConv]

On May 14 (May 1), the Church commemorates the Tsaryovokokshayskaya Icon of the Mother of God. This icon is also known as "of the Myrrhbearers" Icon, a name derived from the carved stone image of the Holy Myrrhbearing Women set into the board upon which it is painted.