The Morning Offering

Escalation of Christianophobia

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Christianity is Under Attack Worldwide

Throughout the Middle East Christianity is under attack. Coptic bishops and priests have been forced to stay away from public areas for fear of being assaulted in the streets. Coptic churches have been attacked and burned and anti-Christian sentiment is growing at an alarming rate.

The recent 9/11 commemoration ceremonies at Ground Zero in New York City was devoid of religious officials, with Christian clergy having been prevented from participating in the event by the mayor of New York. Increasingly we are seeing examples of Christianophobia spreading throughout America, and Western Europe. Any reference to Christian heritage is being systematically erased from the collective memory of Western Europe.

Artists and writers are able to blaspheme Christ with impunity, while any slander against Judaism and Islam is not tolerated.

Christians must raise their collective voices in defense of Christ. Where there is persecution of fellow Christians, it is our collective duty to raise our voices in protest. Now is not the time to remain quiet. 

Love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

An Autumn Fog

 

Thursday September 29, 2011 / September 16, 2011

16^th Week after Pentecost. Tone six.

Afterfeast of the Exaltation of the Cross.
Great-martyr Euphemia the All-praised, of Chalcedon (304).
New Hieromartyr Gregory Raevsky priest (1937).
New Hieromartyr Sergius priest (1942).
Translation of the relics of St. Alexis of Moscow (2001).
Repose of St. Cyprian, metropolitan of Kiev (1406).
St. Kushka of Odessa confessor (1964).
St. Sebastiana, disciple of St. Paul the Apostle, martyred at Heraclea (86).

Ephesians 1:1-9

Greeting

 ¹ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:

² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Redemption in Christ

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, ⁴ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, ⁵ having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
⁷ In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace ⁸ which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, ⁹ having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,

Mark 7:24-30

A Gentile Shows Her Faith


²⁴ From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. ²⁵ For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. ²⁶ The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”

²⁸ And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”
²⁹ Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”
³⁰ And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.

The Morning Offering - Ancient Faith Radio