Memory

The memory that resides within the

Holy Tradition of the Church

The fact that protestants, by and large, have traveled far from the faith and traditions of the Apostolic Church, is testament to what happens when one departs from the “memory” of the Church. This “memory” is kept alive through Holy Tradition, from which came the very Canon of the New Testament. Deciding what the Early Church believed, and how they worshiped, without Holy Tradition as the guide, has resulted in more than 44,000 different denominations, all of which have departed, in various degrees, from the Church founded by Christ Himself.

“Rituals”, are not important to Orthodox, for rituals are simply external forms of religion. What is important is that we follow the grace filled services and practices preserved from the time of the Ancient Church. We do not need to reinvent worship every few years, in a sad attempt to remain relevant to the culture around us. Rather, we attempt to resist the fallen culture around us, while infusing modern culture, devoid of Christian values and beliefs, with a culture infused with Orthodoxy.

We don’t try to understand a particular scripture passage outside the Mind of the Church, for we know that the Church always decided teachings, worship practices, and the Canon of Scripture, itself, according to what was always taught, everywhere, and at all times. We believe Christ’s promise that the Gates of Hell will not prevail against the Church, and that the Church is protected, as long as she sticks with her conciliar nature, which has guided her for over two thousand years.

The Orthodox Church one hundred years from now, provided the Lord has not returned before then, will be the same as she is today, in worship, doctrine, and faith. It doesn’t, in the end, mean a thing about what I think, or how I might interpret a passage in the Bible. What matters is that I cultivate the Mind of the Church within myself.

With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

Friday March 12, 2021 / February 27, 2021
Week of the Last Judgment. Tone six.
Maslenitsa. Meat is excluded
Venerable Procopius the Confessor of Decapolis (ca. 750).
New Hieromartyr Sergius priest (1932).
New Hieromartyr Peter priest, Martyr Michael (1938).
Venerable Titus, presbyter of the Kiev Caves (1190).
Venerable Titus the Soldier, monk of the Kiev Caves (14th c.).
Venerable Thalelaeus, hermit of Syria (460).
Martyr Gelasius the Actor of Heliopolis (297).
Venerable Stephen, monk of Constantinople (614) (Greek).
Venerables Asclepius and James of Syria, monks (5th c.) (Greek).
Venerable Timothy of Caesarea, monk (Greek).
Martyr Nesius (Greek).
Martyrs Julian and his disciple Chroniun at Alexandria (250-252).
St. Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem (333).
St. Pitirim, bishop of Tambov (1698).
New Martyr Elias of Trebizond (1749).
St. Herefrith, bishop of Lincolnshire.

The Scripture Readings

Zechariah 8:7-17

7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Behold, I will save My people from the land of the east
And from the land of the west;
8 I will bring them back,
And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
They shall be My people
And I will be their God,
In truth and righteousness.’

9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Let your hands be strong,
You who have been hearing in these days
These words by the mouth of the prophets,
Who spoke in the day the foundation was laid
For the house of the Lord of hosts,
That the temple might be built.
10 For before these days
There were no wages for man nor any hire for beast;
There was no peace from the enemy for whoever went out or came in;
For I set all men, everyone, against his neighbor.

11 But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ says the Lordof hosts.

12 ‘For the seed shall be prosperous,
The vine shall give its fruit,
The ground shall give her increase,
And the heavens shall give their dew—
I will cause the remnant of this people
To possess all these.
13 And it shall come to pass
That just as you were a curse among the nations,
O house of Judah and house of Israel,
So I will save you, and you shall be a blessing.
Do not fear,
Let your hands be strong.’

14 “For thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Just as I determined to punish you
When your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
‘And I would not relent,
15 So again in these days
I am determined to do good
To Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
Do not fear.
16 These are the things you shall do:
Speak each man the truth to his neighbor;
Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace;
17 Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor;
And do not love a false oath.
For all these are things that I hate,’
Says the Lord.”

Zechariah 8:19-23

19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘The fast of the fourth month,
The fast of the fifth,
The fast of the seventh,
And the fast of the tenth,
Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts
For the house of Judah.
Therefore love truth and peace.’

20 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Peoples shall yet come,
Inhabitants of many cities;
21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying,
“Let us continue to go and pray before the Lord,
And seek the Lord of hosts.
I myself will go also.”
22 Yes, many peoples and strong nations
Shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem,
And to pray before the Lord.’

23 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the [a]sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”