ANCESTRAL SIN
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| Youth from St. D's in Seattle |
Christ's Resurrection Paves the Way
Photo: Youth from St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Seattle visited the monastery, and attended services on Saturday. On Sunday Abbot Tryphon delivered the homily during the Liturgy at Saint Demetrios Church, and spoke to the children's Sunday School session. The Sunday School children are raising money during Great Lent that will be given toward the support of our monastery.
Monday April 22, 2013 / April 9, 2013
Sixth Week of the Great Lent. Tone five. Great Lent. By Monastic Charter: Strict Fast (Bread, Vegetables, Fruits)
Martyr Eupsychius of Caesarea in Cappadocia (362).
New Martyr Gabriel (1942).
Martyrs Desan bishop, Mariabus presbyter, Abdiesus, and 270 other martyrs in Persia (362).
Hieromartyr Bademus (Vadim), archimandrite of Persia (379).
Venerable Woutruide, foundress of a monastery (688) (Neth.).
Newly revealed Martyrs Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene of Lesbos (1463) (Greek).
Martyrs Fortunatus, Donatus, twelve virgins and six laymen at Sirmium (304).
St. Acacius, bishop of Amida in Mesopotamia (5th c.).
You can read the life of the saint in green, by click on the name.
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.
All-Merciful Saviour Monastery
PO Box 2420
Vashon Island, WA 98070-2420 USA
The Scripture Readings
And he answered him, “Here I am.”
2 Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. 4 And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”
5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. 6 So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, 7 ‘Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. 9 Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. 10 Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.”
11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.”
13 But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” 14 And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
18 So he went to his father and said, “My father.”
And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”
19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.”
20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?”
And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.”
21 Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him.
24 Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?”
He said, “I am.”
25 He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” 27 And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said:
32 And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?”
So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”
33 Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed.”
34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!”
35 But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.”
36 And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”
37 Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?”
38 And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.
39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:
The fact that we Orthodox do not accept the doctrine of original sin as
espoused in the West, does in no way suggest that we do not need to be
born again (born anew). We believe, as did the Early Church Fathers,
that we inherit only the results of Adams sin, not his guilt. This is
known as ancestral sin because the sin
of our first parents, Adam and Eve, resulted in our inheritance of
death, sickness and an inclination toward evil. Christ's death on the
cross has its power, not in an atonement sacrifice, but in the
conquering of the power of death. Death is trampled down by death.
It is by Christ's resurrection that a way was made for us to be transformed by contact with the Living God, thus becoming his children by adoption.
Although we do not refer to ourselves as "saved", as do Evangelical Christians, we nevertheless believe that we are in need of salvation. (We believe salvation is a process.) Our understanding of sin in an ancestral way, which is distinct from the concept of original sin and the hereditary guilt that required, consequently, a substitutionary atonement-type of sacrifice, separates us doctrinally from Western Christianity.
Had there not been a fall, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Logos (Word) would still have incarnated into the flesh and taken on our nature. For it is by this condescension by our Creator God to take on the nature of that which He created that we are given the opportunity of being deified (Saint Paul said we shall become as gods).
Our journey into the heart culminates in theosis, whereby we are joined in everlasting communion with the very God Who created us. Saint Athanasius of Alexandria said, "The Son of God became man, that we might become god." In II Peter 1:4, we read that we have become "...partakers of divine nature." Saint Athanasius further says that theosis is "becoming by grace what God is by nature."
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
It is by Christ's resurrection that a way was made for us to be transformed by contact with the Living God, thus becoming his children by adoption.
Although we do not refer to ourselves as "saved", as do Evangelical Christians, we nevertheless believe that we are in need of salvation. (We believe salvation is a process.) Our understanding of sin in an ancestral way, which is distinct from the concept of original sin and the hereditary guilt that required, consequently, a substitutionary atonement-type of sacrifice, separates us doctrinally from Western Christianity.
Had there not been a fall, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Logos (Word) would still have incarnated into the flesh and taken on our nature. For it is by this condescension by our Creator God to take on the nature of that which He created that we are given the opportunity of being deified (Saint Paul said we shall become as gods).
Our journey into the heart culminates in theosis, whereby we are joined in everlasting communion with the very God Who created us. Saint Athanasius of Alexandria said, "The Son of God became man, that we might become god." In II Peter 1:4, we read that we have become "...partakers of divine nature." Saint Athanasius further says that theosis is "becoming by grace what God is by nature."
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
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| St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Sunday School (click to enlarge) |
Photo: Youth from St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Seattle visited the monastery, and attended services on Saturday. On Sunday Abbot Tryphon delivered the homily during the Liturgy at Saint Demetrios Church, and spoke to the children's Sunday School session. The Sunday School children are raising money during Great Lent that will be given toward the support of our monastery.
Monday April 22, 2013 / April 9, 2013
Sixth Week of the Great Lent. Tone five. Great Lent. By Monastic Charter: Strict Fast (Bread, Vegetables, Fruits)
Martyr Eupsychius of Caesarea in Cappadocia (362).
New Martyr Gabriel (1942).
Martyrs Desan bishop, Mariabus presbyter, Abdiesus, and 270 other martyrs in Persia (362).
Hieromartyr Bademus (Vadim), archimandrite of Persia (379).
Venerable Woutruide, foundress of a monastery (688) (Neth.).
Newly revealed Martyrs Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene of Lesbos (1463) (Greek).
Martyrs Fortunatus, Donatus, twelve virgins and six laymen at Sirmium (304).
St. Acacius, bishop of Amida in Mesopotamia (5th c.).
You can read the life of the saint in green, by click on the name.
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
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
The Scripture Readings
Genesis 27:1-41
Isaac Blesses Jacob
27 Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”And he answered him, “Here I am.”
2 Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. 4 And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”
5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. 6 So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, 7 ‘Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. 9 Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. 10 Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.”
11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.”
13 But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” 14 And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
18 So he went to his father and said, “My father.”
And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”
19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.”
20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?”
And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.”
21 Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him.
24 Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?”
He said, “I am.”
25 He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” 27 And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said:
“Surely, the smell of my son
Is like the smell of a field
Which the Lord has blessed.
28 Therefore may God give you
Of the dew of heaven,
Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine.
29 Let peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren,
And let your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!”
Is like the smell of a field
Which the Lord has blessed.
28 Therefore may God give you
Of the dew of heaven,
Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine.
29 Let peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren,
And let your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!”
Esau’s Lost Hope
30 Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.”32 And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?”
So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”
33 Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed.”
34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!”
35 But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.”
36 And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”
37 Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?”
38 And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.
39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:
“Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth,
And of the dew of heaven from above.
40 By your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother;
And it shall come to pass, when you become restless,
That you shall break his yoke from your neck.”
And of the dew of heaven from above.
40 By your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother;
And it shall come to pass, when you become restless,
That you shall break his yoke from your neck.”
Jacob Escapes from Esau
41 So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”Proverbs 19:16-25
16 He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul,
But he who is careless of his ways will die.
But he who is careless of his ways will die.
17 He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord,
And He will pay back what he has given.
And He will pay back what he has given.
18 Chasten your son while there is hope,
And do not set your heart on his destruction.
And do not set your heart on his destruction.
19 A man of great wrath will suffer punishment;
For if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.
For if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.
20 Listen to counsel and receive instruction,
That you may be wise in your latter days.
That you may be wise in your latter days.
21 There are many plans in a man’s heart,
Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.
Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.
22 What is desired in a man is kindness,
And a poor man is better than a liar.
And a poor man is better than a liar.
23 The fear of the Lord leads to life,
And he who has it will abide in satisfaction;
He will not be visited with evil.
And he who has it will abide in satisfaction;
He will not be visited with evil.
24 A lazy man buries his hand in the bowl,
And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
And will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
25 Strike a scoffer, and the simple will become wary;
Rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge.
Rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge.
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