My patron saint, St. Andrei Bogolyubski - The God loving and right believing prince.
Pray for us St. Andrei ☦️⚔️!
Read about him here 👇🏼
https://t.co/BHW2d5cAST
We have secular icons too actually. We adorn the tombs of our soldiers, set aside holy days for them (Memorial Day) and even plaster our street lights with picture (icons) of them.
Why can’t we do that for the fallen soldiers of Christ whom we are to honor with our mouths and deeds ?
The problem with iconoclasts is that they say it’s anti-Christ to do so. That’s it’s wrong. And we say otherwise. And it can be shown to be scriptural and historical through the life of the Church(saints, liturgy, Church buildings, scripture).
Totally understood Michael. As if making an icon is any less “veneration” than kissing them though.
We can firmly establish that icon veneration is not at all like idolatry. And if it is not idolatry to do so than passing on that reverence to the person depicted or even event that it depicts is totally ok. Just like kissing your bible. Which we should do. Just like venerating the saints at their graves as well.
Why is it the iconoclasts will admit to every sort of reverence EXCEPT kissing or bowing ? Makes zero sense.
@HwsEleutheroi@greatmaambino@Michael__Garten Completely disregards the Dura-Europas Church and synagogue, catacombs, Christian mosaics, life of the Church and authority of the Church.
A Short Guide to Confession. Part 3
https://t.co/aU28H0wpfY
Preparation for Confession
Rev. Dr. Oliver Subotic
Here the analogy with medicine is almost complete, with the priest being only a servant of the True Physician of soul and body—the Lord Jesus Christ. It is therefore very important to find a priest who is spiritually experienced, so that he may adequately treat the wounds of our soul.
Lord have mercy on us ☦️
““Your words have been harsh against Me,” Says the Lord, “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God; What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, And that we have walked as mourners Before the Lord of hosts?”
Malachi 3:13-14 NKJV
““Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts. “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire And like launderers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the Lord An offering in righteousness. “Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem Will be pleasant to the Lord, As in the days of old, As in former years. And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness Against sorcerers, Against adulterers, Against perjurers, Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, And against those who turn away an alien— Because they do not fear Me,” Says the Lord of hosts. “For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” Says the Lord of hosts. “But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?’”
Malachi 3:1-7 NKJV
In Orthodox patristic commentary, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is understood as a consequence of a total spiritual collapse rather than a single transgression. Early Church Fathers, particularly St. John Chrysostom, cite four primary reasons for the conflagration:
•Acts Against Nature: The Fathers, including Chrysostom, highlight the rampant homosexual violence and rape as a definitive violation of the natural order and an insult to the sanctity of marriage.
•Inhospitality and Cruelty: Echoing the Prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 16:49), the Fathers emphasize that the people were arrogant, self-indulgent, and completely unconcerned with aiding the poor or welcoming strangers. Refusing hospitality in the ancient world was tantamount to abandoning the defenseless to death.
•Extreme Pride and Haughtiness: The inhabitants lived in careless ease and gluttony, growing wealthy but failing to recognize that their abundance was a gift meant to be shared.
•The Failure of Even Ten Righteous: God’s patience was immense, but the moral decay was total. As revealed in the Genesis narrative (Genesis 18), God would have spared the entire region if He could have found just ten righteous people
Imagine if basketball games were played inside locked buildings without windows. The field goals and free throws were registered and counted by machines. The running score of the game was projected on the outside of the building. But it wasn't simultaneous with the game. The running score changed for days and even weeks after the contest was over. When at last there was a final score the fans cheered or slumped in despair.
How long would public interest and faith in such a sport last?