Sunday, November 11, 2012

The Planting of a Monastery (chapter 15)
The Assault

Although the monastery had accounts in two separate banks, along with very good credit, neither was willing to give us a construction loan. One loan officer admitted to John Noe that banks are not interested in loaning to churches, as "we don't want to have to foreclose on God".
 
Meanwhile, a woman made an offer on the property, and stopped by the old farm house with a request that we remove the gate, sign, and the cross that marked the entrance to the monastery. We responded that the gate was necessary for security, since we were not as yet living on the property, and we had a church that would be vulnerable to burglars. She proceeded to tell us of her intention to cut down most of the forest on the property so she could raise llamas and rottweilers.

Furthermore, she was not a Christian, and did "not want to offend her friends and family by having them forced to drive past a large cross, when coming to visit her". The thought of having such a neighbor sickened me, for the sound of the barking dogs, the loss of the privacy once the forest was cut down, and a neighbor hostile towards the image of the holy cross, seemed to doom the future of the monastery.

Believing we were within our rights to keep the gate for security, we offered she and her contractor the combination for the lock, and explained that, without the cross and sign, one could not find our monastery. Within a short few weeks, she was informed by the State of Washington that she could not clear the forest of trees. When she withdrew her offer, the owner blamed us, and the hostility towards us began in full.

One afternoon, looking out from the kitchen window of the old farm house, I spotted an SUV parked in front of our gate. Grabbing the binoculars, I was shocked to see a gate post being pulled down. Arriving in our monastery's van, I found the property owner placing a chain around the remaining post. 


He had already taken the monastery's sign, and thrown it into the public street. I lifted the chain from the post, only to have him ram the post with his SUV, leaving me only a second to jump out of the way. Enraged, he headed for the six foot cross that had stood for years at the entrance. I placed myself in front of the holy cross, and begged him to let me get a shovel and remove it. Instead, he knocked me to the ground and slammed himself into the cross, breaking it off at the base. This all took place on the Feast of Saint Seraphim of Sarov.

With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

Next Saturday: The Planting of a Monastery (chapter 16) The Miracle 


 
Sunday November 11, 2012 / October 29, 2012
23rd Sunday after Pentecost. Tone six.
 

Virgin-martyr Anastasia the Roman (256).
Venerable Abramius the Recluse (360) and his niece St. Mary, of Mesopotamia (397).
Venerable Abramius, archimandrite of Rostov (Valaam) (1073).
New Hieromartyrs Nicholas priest and with him Cosma, Victor, Naum, Philip, John, Paul, Andrew, Paul, Basil, Alexis, John and Virgin-martyr Agaphia (1918).
New Hieromartyr John priest (1930).
New Hieromartyr Eugine priest (1937).
Virgin-martyr Anastasia (after 1937).
New Hieromartyr Leonid priest (1941).
Martyrs Claudius, Asterius, Neon, and Theonilla, of Aegae in Cilicia (285).
Venerable Anna (known as Euphemianus) of Constantinople (826).
Venerable Abramius, recluse of the Kiev Caves (12th-13th c.).
Venerablemartyr Anastasius.
Venerable Ermelindis, hermitess (6th c.) (Neth.).
New Martyr Athanasius of Sparta, at Muatanach (1653) (Greek).
Martyr Timothy of Esphigmenou Monastery, Mt. Athos (1820) (Greek).
Martyr Melitene of Marcionopolis (Greek).
Martyrs Cyril, Menas, and Menaeus (Greek).
St. Rostislav, prince of Moravia, Czechoslovakia (870).
St. Serapion of Zarzma, Georgia (900) (Georgia).



You can read the life of the saint in green, by click on the name.

For those who would like to be kept informed about the persecution that is taking place against Christians throughout the Middle East, I recommend you subscribe to: http://www.jihadwatch.org/


THANK YOU, to all of you who have been able to contribute towards the support of the monastery. These difficult times of economic hardship have impacted the monastery, and those of you who have been able to donate, have been our lifeline. May God bless you for your generosity, and kindness.
With love in Christ,  
Abbot Tryphon


Donations can be made directly to the monastery through PayPal, or you may send donations to:

All-Merciful Saviour Monastery
PO Box 2420
Vashon Island, WA 98070-2420 USA

Ephesians 2:4-10


But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.



Luke 8:26-39


A Demon-Possessed Man Healed

26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.
30 Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?”
And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.
32 Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. 33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.
34 When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. 37 Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.
38 Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
 

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