The truth is increasingly being blocked by dark forces
I labor in this vineyard for the Lord, Whom I believe has called me to this online mission. I post my blog articles, together with the daily scripture readings, because I care from the depth of my heart for the next generation. I upload podcasts five days a week to Ancient Faith Radio because, like the wonderful Christians who produce this online radio station that reaches 151 countries with Holy Orthodoxy, I care deeply about our world. I labor for the love of Christ, Whom I serve.
The Internet is a vast network that does a lot of harm, yet it is also a tremendous vehicle for spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Internet is a great way to teach others about the Orthodox Church, as we share the ancient Christian path that is unknown to most people in the Western World. It is also a wonderful vehicle for connecting Orthodox Christians from many lands, creating friendships and support for living a life that is in opposition to that of this world. It is easier to live the otherworldly life of an Orthodox Christian when you receive support and love from those who are doing so under the extreme conditions of the persecuted.
It is with all this in mind that I confess my sadness that Facebook has chosen to ban me from their social medium, and separate me from my 39,553 “friends” and followers of my “Abbot Tryphon” Facebook page. All those who know me are aware of my passion for missionary work. My blog, The Morning Offering began as a pastoral and missionary tool, allowing me to reach out with the truth of the Orthodox Faith in this age of the internet.
Since my banishment from Facebook, without first being informed they’d found me in violation of their “standards”, I am deeply saddened that I could not even inform my readers that they needed to subscribe to my Ancient Faith Ministries blog page, The Morning Offering. Thus, there are perhaps thousands of people who believe I simply chose to walk away from this ministry of sharing encouraging words, and attempting to pass on to my Facebook readers the tools needed to survive this age of nihilism.
I ask that you please pass on to your friends and family the link to my Ancient Faith Ministries blog, The Morning Offering, and let them know that Abbot Tryphon did not walk away from this ministry of support, but that I was blocked by Facebook.
I’m convinced the Internet has become the major vehicle for the workings of the Evil One, and our children are not the only vulnerable ones. Indeed, our nation is at the crossroads, for we are witnessing the “reset” of our Western way of life.
We can help others know of Jesus Christ by sharing the Good News through the online medium that has become such a normal part of our everyday lives. We can share the truth of our ancient Orthodox Faith by linking our friends and family to videos, podcasts, and blog articles that promote the Faith to people who would otherwise be left in darkness.
Please, dear ones, pray for me, and for other purveyors of our Christian faith, and who are finding ourselves blocked by powerful dark forces that would shield the truth from being passed on to the next generation. And, pray with me that fellow citizens of this world see the importance of returning our gaze upon the God Who created us, and repent.
Love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Monday April 12, 2021 / March 30, 2021
Fifth Week of the Great Lent. Tone three.
Great Lent. By Monastic Charter: Strict Fast (Bread, Vegetables, Fruits)
The Meeting of the Mother of God and Saint Elizabeth (movable Feast on March 30. If March 30 should fall between Lazarus Saturday and Pascha, however, the Feast is transferred to Bright Friday).
Venerable John (Climacus) of Sinai, author of The Ladder (649).
St. Sophronius, bishop of Irkutsk (1771).
Prophet Joad (I Kings 13:11 -10th c. BC ) who dwelt in Bethel.
Holy Apostles Sosthenes, Apollos, Cephas, Caesar, and Epaphroditus, of the Seventy (1st c.).
St. Eubula, mother of St. Panteleimon (304).
Venerable John the Silent of St. Sabbas monastery (558).
Venerable Zosimas, bishop of Syracuse (662).
St. John II, patriarch of Jerusalem (5th c.).
Hieromartyr Zacharias, bishop of Corinth (1684).
St. Osburga of Coventry, virgin (1015) (Celtic & British).
Translation of the relics of the Martyr-King Edmund of East Anglia (Celtic & British).
Venerable John the Hermit of Cilicia (4th c.).
The Scripture Readings
Isaiah 37:33-38:6
33 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria:
‘He shall not come into this city,
Nor shoot an arrow there,
Nor come before it with shield,
Nor build a siege mound against it.
34 By the way that he came,
By the same shall he return;
And he shall not come into this city,’
Says the Lord.
35 ‘For I will defend this city, to save it
For My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’ ”
Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death
36 Then the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. 37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. 38 Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.
Hezekiah’s Life Extended
38 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’ ”
2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, 3 and said, “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying, 5 “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. 6 I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city.” ’
Genesis 13:12-18
12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. 13 But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord.
14 And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. 16 And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. 17 Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”
18 Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord.
Proverbs 14:27-15:4
27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
To turn one away from the snares of death.
28 In a multitude of people is a king’s honor,
But in the lack of people is the downfall of a prince.
29 He who is slow to wrath has great understanding,
But he who is impulsive exalts folly.
30 A sound heart is life to the body,
But envy is rottenness to the bones.
31 He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker,
But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.
32 The wicked is banished in his wickedness,
But the righteous has a refuge in his death.
33 Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding,
But what is in the heart of fools is made known.
34 Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a reproach to any people.
35 The king’s favor is toward a wise servant,
But his wrath is against him who causes shame.
A Soft Answer Turns Away Wrath
15 A soft answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger.
2 The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly,
But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.
3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
Keeping watch on the evil and the good.
4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life,
But perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for in the same manner they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Christ is Risen, indeed He is risen! KHRISTOS VOSKRESE
VIOSTINU VOSKRESE!
FERRDOM OF RELIGION, FREEDON OF SPEACH ARE TWO THAT WILL NEVER BE GIVEN UP ON DEMAND.
i WAS BANNED FOR BEING A SINNER.
GLORY TO GOD, GLORY FOREVER.
PRAY FOR ME S I PRAY FOR YOU.
YOUR SERVANT,
ANTHONY
P.O. BOX 5133
NIKOLAEVSK, ALASKA 99556
I am so sorry. It is a frightening world when people, especially young people, do not understand freedom of speech or differing opinions. I pray that G_d turns this and uses it for good. Thank you for your morning messages. I am a former Southern Baptist moving to the Orthodox faith through reading this and other Ancient Faith blogs. Contacting my local Orthodox church this week based on this,, no longer putting it off. As my grandmother would say, I am a star in your crown. 😇 Blessings -TRUE blessings -to you.
I have posted on your Facebook page the link to this blog. If it brings just one follower back to you, I will rejoice! Do you know how long you will be banned? Usually they will let you know the length of their “banning”. I do not understand their censorship policies and find this unbelievable. Peace be with you.
Blessed Abbot Tryphon,
You and the monks of All-Merciful Savior Monastery are in my prayers. Your ministry cannot be silenced, so let not your heart be troubled, for God is with us.
With love,
V
The devil is very active and we must cling to God with all our might!
God bless & keep safe…..
Bless!
I’m assuming that you have appealed the “banishment”? About a month ago the Dormition of the Mother of God Monastery in Rives Junction, MI had their YOUTUBE channel removed. They appealed and it was reinstated. I forget the specifics but believe it was either a mistake or was due not to what they were producing but due to “chatting” that was going on by viewers on their channel (which since then they have turned off).
Everyone who has already written has expressed what is in my heart as well.
I am dumbfounded that Facebook would “ban” you. Incomprehensible!
Please know that we are many out here who love and depend on you.
Bless, Father. So sorry about all this. It can feel so discouraging to live in the midst of this time, but I suppose Christians in other times and places have endured much worse. And so, we press on. We appreciate you so much, Father and have such love for you in our hearts. Thank you for all of the encouragement you give us. I am praying for you, as always. May God bless all of you at the monastery.
(I see that your Facebook is still listed below as one scrolls down. Perhaps you could leave a large notice there.)
Is there anything we the readers can help with concerning Facebook? Like write someone at Facebook an email etc?
Dear Fr. Tryphon , Clerics and monks of The Holy Cross Monastery,
I noted the omission of your daily writing in the morning since April 1st! But it has returned-Thank you . Yes, I whole heartily agree that Evil forces are very active and especially around Holy places such as yours! But as Christ said “They shall not prevail”.
In one way, this should give you joy that your mission since 2011 in writing your wonderful and spirit-lifting lifting is has been noticed by the dark forces! You are achieving, step-by-step your salfivic missionary’s work directed towards the eagerly waiting recipients such as I and perhaps with God’s grace will affect in a positive way the marginal dark elements currently blocking your God’s work.
I am praying for all of you and that you continue your Holy work. Father Tryphon, The Grace of our Lord is upon you and your Monastery! Look where are now and compare it to where you were when you moved to Vashon Island. Is there a Big difference?
In Christ.
Serge Lopoukhine
I’m saddened that anyone would think Abbot Tryphon should be blocked from reaching people, we live in such strange times.
Facebook has an “Oversight Board” https://www.oversightboard.com/
I wonder if it is possible for someone to assist Abbot Tryphon in appealing to this board?
Pease put me on your blog posts. So sad that you have been blocked from Facebook when so much evil stuff is on there. Truly the work of the devil.
You hae to enter your email in the box on the sidebar (top right) and click “Subscribe.”
Dear Abbot Tryphon,
We can tell how very much this has grieved and affected you. Prayer is powerful and availeth much. So many are and will continue to pray for you, not only as Abbot but also your other ministries that you are passionate about . In the meantime, if you’re not already aware there are are MULTITUDES of online e-warriors world-wide who were long ago banished from Facebook, Twitter, or their books could not be published, etc. These social media platforms, publishers etc are very controlled and corrupt. One will be banished for stating any INCONVENIENT truth(s) or even passing on someone else’s opinion. This has been going on for some time for THEY want to control societal narrative. This is the meaning of the “cancel culture”. This has been predicted by truth tellers in all news mediums for quite some time whether it be religious freedom, the election steal, discussion of any kind of racial tensions, transgender movement, etc.
This is communism…when there’s concentrated government and world-wide power by the 1% dictating how the 99% will live and think to enslave. Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on us in this time that we live in!!
Fr bless, sorry but I must add that the MSM (Main Stream Media) are the most efficient and effective at containing and controlling the narrative…for decades now. Many have woken up to just how controlled it has been for the U.S. and abroad!
Ok, so maybe this is a blessing?
There was a recent post by a priest calling Facebook a “cesspool”. When a company starts to “censor” maybe its time we all move on. In a way, similar to the mainstream media spinning things, just turn it off.
Abbot, your readers and subscribers will find you. I found you and I don’t do Facebook.
Nothing happens without God’s permission and involvement.
The Light of Christ will break ultimately through! Having labored in the high-tech arena for decades, my wife and I watched the founder of Facebook early on. We elected to not get a “free” account and still maintain that posture today due to the value we place on our privacy. Later this year there very likely will be alternatives to FB that may be a suitable venue for your most-necessary work. Of course, any alternative to FB will, at its inception, be tiny and take some time to gain traction, but alternatives will develop. FB has absolutely no cause to banish you.
Dear Abbot Tryphon, you could move your site to Brighteon.com; they will not cast you off. I quit FB several years ago and have never looked back. FB is headed up by Mark Zuckerberg who is an enemy of all that is Christian; he greatly needs our prayers (easy to say, but hard to do). The problem with him and his internet empire is that he controls more than FB, he also controls Twitter and YouTube among other social media outlets. We live in dangerous times, but serve a Lord who is able to turn their schemes to naught.
Father Bless me and my family,
Please consider joining gab.com, it is a Christian platform. You will encounter many who can benefit from your teachings.
In Christ
I second this!
I third this! The owner is Christian and supports Orthodoxy, and even shares Orthodox posts occasionally. We could really use your voice and wisdom on that platform!
Dear Abbot Tryphon,
I just checked Facebook and I am able to access your page. Is there a chance that it has been reinstated after a misunderstanding?
With faith and love,
Denise / Photini
No, I am not able to access my Facebook page. Nothing has changed.
First Starbucks, now Facebook!
Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for in the same manner they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
I live in Tacoma, and am just a ferry ride away from Vashon. May I come visit, pray, and support you?
Sometimes, I feel the devil is winning. We need to bond, and join together to fight these dark forces — spreading light where we can. Thank you for all you do — your vigilance, resilience, patience, and faith are inspiring.
Enter your email in the box on the sidebar and click “subsribe.”
So now they are coming after venerable and aged monks? For shame!
Did they tell you what it was that violated their standards?
No they didn’t. Furthermore, although they’ve blocked me, readers still see my Abbot Tryphon Facebook page. Only I can not see it.
Your reward will be great in heaven! May our good God console you and bless you.
Love you father, I pray that this sort of thing doesn’t become something worse. Please pray for us all.
I wish to subscribe, Father Tryphon! I can not believe that you have been blocked! It is truly the force of Evil responsible! I have listened to you speak on Ancient Faith Radio! The filth that permeates our social media seems to have gone unnoticed! May God bless you always, Father Tryphon! A beautiful voice for the true faith of the Apostles!!! 🌸☦️🌸. I am a lifelong Greek Orthodox Christian who loves God and her Orthodox faith!!!
I send my love and encouragement in the name of Christ Jesus our lord. I have followed you for many yrs and will continue to do so. I pray God opens another door for your message to reach us all. Perhaps You Tube channel? Many heartfelt prayers and much love for you and your brothers!
Triumphant in Christ.
I send my love and encouragement in the name of Christ Jesus our lord. I have followed you for many yrs and will continue to do so. I pray God opens another door for your message to reach us all. Perhaps You Tube channel? Many heartfelt prayers and much love for you and your brothers!
Triumphant in Christ.
Why do we think we are entitled to use a commercial service for free? Surely, we should build and fully support our own services? Isn’t that enough for us? I agree that facebook et alia are entirely worldly and that he spirit of the world is a demonic spirit. Why should we enter into contract with the evil of this world? It is no surprise if there is no place for us in that vicious ‘facebook’ world.
It is right that that world should reject us. When it does so, I wouldn’t quite call that ‘being persecuted’. The corporate-technocracies aren’t impeding us from building our own services.
That is , not yet.
Stay strong! God is with you, and we too stand beside you.
Dear Abbot Tryphon,
I sincerely don’t understand what happened with your Facebook page. Generally, they ban someone when just another person reports you for any type of reason, being choked by something is enough. I have a FB page about orthodoxy but I’m not as popular as you are, therefore I’m not exposed. But I also have a blog on Tumblr, where I post your morning offering from time to time depending on the topic. I never had even the shadow of a problem. I’ll relay selected posts from this blog on FB as well.
In /christ
Kyria
Dear Abbot Tryphon,
On FB, if one person only reports you they’ll suspend your account. The more followers you have, the more exposed you are.
Otherwise, FB had nothing against orthodoxy itself. Monasteries, churches announce their services and stream through FB.
We always need to ask ourselves, what we did.
In christ
Kyria
I second this. You were either hacked OR one of your followers was spreading misinformation, which in my opinion, the spreading of misinformation, is a very unchristian thing to do.