The Saints

Partakers of Divine Nature

Vigil lights are placed before the icons of the saints, according to Saint Symeon the New Theologian, as a way of showing that without the Light, Who is Christ, the saints are nothing. It is only as the light of Christ shines on them that they become alive and resplendent.

The saints show us what a glorious destiny we have in God, and through the example of their lives, point the way to our becoming “partakers of divine nature.” The saints, as the cloud of witnesses in heaven, are present in the divine services, worshiping the Holy Trinity with us. They, as our friends, intercede before the Throne of God on our behalf, having won the good fight, and we are encouraged by the memory and example of their lives, as we struggle on our own path to God.

It has been said that there are two kinds of people in the world: sinners who think they are saints, and saints who know they are sinners. A saint is a Christian who lets God’s light shine through, and who’s life has been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We venerate the Saints as we seek their intercession with God, but we adore and worship only God in Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We venerate the Images (Icons) as well as the relics of the saints and martyrs. Yet according to the decisions and Canons of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, this veneration relates not to the icons as such, but to their prototypes, or to the persons whom they represent.

The interior walls of our temples are adorned with the icons and frescoes of the saints as a reminder that we are surrounded by the cloud of witnesses, the saints, and that the Church Militant (here on earth) is not separated from the Church Triumphant (in heaven). In Christ, death does not divide us, for the saints are not dead, but alive in Christ Jesus.

The interior of our temples are reminiscent of how Scripture describes the interior of Solomon’s temple. The Holy Place, the main interior where the Lampstand, the Altar of Incense, and the Bread of the Presence (Shewbread) were kept, was adorned with carvings of angels, palm trees, gourds, and flowers, all overlaid with gold. (1 Kings 6:14-18; 2 Chronicles 3:4-7) The rich imagery was representative of the Garden of Eden, of Paradise, where Heaven and Earth were undivided before the Fall (see Genesis 3:8). Doubtless the Temple adornment was a foretaste of what would again be, through and in Christ, our Great High Priest, by whom we shall ultimately realize “the life of the world to come,” as we proclaim in our Creed. It is the very Good News the Saints bore witness to in their lives and by their deaths.

Glory to Jesus Christ, Who is glorified in His saints.

With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

GREAT NEWS! The deadline for OCF College Conference West at St. Nicholas Ranch Dec 27-30 has been EXTENDED until Christmas! Please please sign up if you haven’t already. If you’ve come to college conference, you know what a fantastic few days of spirituality and fellowship it is. If you haven’t, you should come find out!

Register here:
http://www.ocf.net/events/college-conference-west-2016/

Thursday December 22, 2016 / December 9, 2016
27th Week after Pentecost. Tone one.
Nativity (St. Philip’s Fast). Fish Allowed

The Conception by St. Anna of the Most Holy Theotokos.
New Hieromartyr Vladimir priest (1919).
New Hieromartyr Vladimir priest and Virgin-martyr Ephrosia (1920).
New Hieromartyrs Basil and Alexander priests (1937).
New Martyr Priest Sergius Mechev of Moscow (1941).
Prophetess Anna (Hannah) (1100 B.C.), mother of the Prophet Samuel.
Saint Sophronios, Archbishop of Cyprus (6th C).
Venerable Stephen the “New Light” of Constantinople (912).
Icon of the Mother of God, named “Unexpected Joy”.
Martyr Narses of Persia (Greek).
St. Valeria of Aquitaine (2nd c.).
Martyr Sositheus of Persia (553).
Martyr Isaak (Greek).

Scripture Readings

1 Timothy 6:17-21

Instructions to the Rich

17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

Guard the Faith

20 O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge— 21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith.

Luke 21:28-33

28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

The Parable of the Fig Tree

29 Then He spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30 When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. 31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.