Ancient Christian Witness

They were talking about this in the comment box at the
Ochlophobist blog. I never knew about Kyriopascha and it's to my shame and ignorance, but this is something rare and important to alot of Orthodox. There is a certain nostalgia, reverence and mystery about it.

The next one on the old calender....because it will never happen on the new...is the year 2075. The last time it happened was 1991, but this is what Orthodoxwiki had to say about it:

Quote:
"Kyriopascha ("The Lord's Pascha") is the rare
concurrence of the Great Feast of the Annunciation (March 25) with Pascha. It is
an especially festive event, including complex rubrics for its liturgical
celebration.

On Kyriopascha, the polyeleos normally appointed for the
Annunciation is omitted, the canon of Annunciation is sung together with the
Paschal canon during Orthros, and the Gospel of the Annunciation is read after
the sixth ode of the canon. On the remaining days of Bright Week the usual
Paschal services for these days are performed in combination with the service
for the Annunciation: the litia and artoklasia at Vespers, and the polyeleos,
megalynarion, and Gospel reading at Orthros.

Because of the difference
between the astronomical vernal equinox and the theoretical vernal equinox
calculated by the Julian Calendar—the latter of which is used by both the Julian
Calendar and the Revised Julian Calendar to calculate Pascha—Kyriopascha never
occurs on the Revised Julian Calendar, while it can occur on the Julian. It can
also occur on the Gregorian Calendar, however, which uses the astronomical
vernal equinox to calculate the date of Pascha.

As such, Kyriopascha can
be celebrated by the Old Calendar churches and those New Calendar churches which
use the Gregorian Calendar (i.e., Finland and Estonia), though it will not occur
in the same year.

The elimination of Kyriopascha from the cycle of the
Revised Julian Calendar is one of the criticisms leveled against those who use
that reckoning.

One of the more notable celebrations of Kyriopascha in
history was in 1821, the day which also marked the uprising of the Greeks
against the Ottoman Turks, leading to Greek independence.

The last
Kyriopascha on the Julian calendar was in 1991, which was the year of the
collapse of the Soviet Union, which resulted in the liberation of the Orthodox
people of Eastern Europe. The next will be in 2075, 2086 and 2159. The last
Kyriopascha on the Gregorian Calendar was in 1951, and the next will be in 2035,
2046 and 2103."

It looks like, I'm gonna have to visit Finland in the year 2035. I may not be able to witness this Great feast on the old Calender, but Lord willing, it may be possible to see it in my lifetime on the Gregorian Calendar......in which the Orthodox in Findland observe. And so, the Orthodox worldwide pretty much observe 3 different calenders.






ICXC NIKA

One of the differences between East & West is how both understand the concept of "grace".


The West believes in what is called "created grace"

The East believes in what is termed "uncreated grace"



This might seem small and "insignificant", but this small difference goes a long way in why the East and West differ on some topics.


In the Eastern Christian World, Uncreated grace is universal. But before I talk about that aspect of it, I would like to talk about the meaning of "grace" in general.

What does "grace" mean? When I was a Protestant, the words "highly favored" was used alot. But what does that mean? For me, the term "highly favored" started to make sense, when I understood grace as "God action".

Infact, to be "gracious" implies action, it implies movement. And this is where Eastern Orthodoxy comes in. for to us, grace means "energia. "The energy" of God.

The word "energy" implies movement. It implies action. And since we believe all of Creation exist within His Energy, our understanding of grace is universal.


We are able to Know God through His grace, for this is How He made His presence known to us in creation. In the western World this would be called "The immanence of God".

Unlike the West, The Eastern Church makes a distinction between God's Energia and His Essence.

This might sound confusing at first, but if one understands it in relation to the terms "Immanence and Transcendence" then one will be able to grasp why the distinction was made.


We can never know God's Essence because God is Transcendent, but we can know His Energies because God is also Immanent.

The understanding of Universal grace has an affect on one's worldview. It's hard to look at creation as if it's devoid of the Presence and Power of God. This is why the terms "Nature and natural" are used often in the west.

There is nothing normal in God being absent from His creation. It is abnormal.



To know the Universal Grace of God is to Know His Universal Presence.







JNORM888

In Greek, the name of Jesus is "ΙΗΕΟΥΕ"

Ι(ιοτα, iota) = 10

H(eta) = 8

E(sigma) = 200

O(omicron) = 70

Y(upsilon) = 400

E(sigma) = 200


When one adds the Number of "IHEOYE" it equals to: 888 (Eight Hundred EightyEight)




And now you know why I have triple 8's after my name.





JNORM888

I just learned a new word today. It means "mind-set, mentality, attitude"

I'm trying to learn more about what this theological word means. When I find out I'll post more about it.




JNORM888

A few months ago I dealt with the term "Catholic" and what it meant in the Orthodox Church compared to how the western churches understand that word.

This time I'm going to define:


Orthodoxy = Right belief


Orthopraxy = right practice

and

Orthopathy = right feeling/emotion/love



In dealing with right belief:

When Rome split with the East in 1054(not the exact date) the East took on the name Orthodox which stands for "right belief". Orthodoxy never embraced some of the speculations made by Augustine. And because of this our Theology is different from the Western churches.

1.) We don't have a just war doctrine.

2.)We don't believe that Adam's and Eve's guilt is passed on to us after the fall.

3.) We don't believe that we will be judged for the sins of Adam and Eve.

4.) We don't believe in the immaculate conception of Mary.

5.) We don't believe Water Baptism wipes away Original guilt.

6.) We don't believe the Pope to be the universal Bishop.




In regards to right practice:

Right practice is partly about the customs that were passed on from the Apostles. And the ammendments made at the ecumenical councils. The Orthodox care alot about right practice because "right belief" is linked to right practice.

But in general right practice is about believing, trusting, repenting, and obeying God.





In regards to right emotion/feeling/intuition:

In worship there is a great stress on being soberly minded. And since the monastic life has a huge influence on Orthodox culture there is a love of creation, solitude, silence, and beauty in the arts.

It also deals with having a passion/desire and determination to know and love God, and nieghbor.

Another side of Orthopathy deals with right suffering. Not only were we granted to believe in Christ but we were also granted to suffer for His name sake as well.

This is what makes the Orthodox path of Theosis therapeutic.








JNORM888

The word "catholic" to the Orthodox primarily means "Fullness" or "Wholeness".


Thus to us each local canonical Diocese is Catholic, because it has the fullness of the Faith. It is complete. It is whole.


Archpriest John Morris wrote an Article in the Word Magazine that I thought would be helpful.

He said:

"St. Ignatius was the first theologian to use the term
"Catholic," which means full or whole in greek, to describe the church. The
third Bishop of antioch wrote, "Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the
multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is
the Catholic Church." Thus, to be truly Catholic, a local Church must operate
under the communion with the other bishops of the Church."

Dr. Father John Morris, The Word magazine volume 51 no.8 page 24 edited by John Abdullah


The word that we Orthodox use for "UNIVERSAL" is "ecumenical". Such as the 7 ecumenical councils which are "UNIVERSAL" as compared to the many local councils which are not. However, the word "ecumenical" has been demonized in modern times because it means something different in today's world that it didn't mean in ancient times.


In the christian west the word "Catholic" primarily means "universal".


JNORM