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Orthodox Catechism
English Flowers of Orthodoxy 19
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The Importance of Catechism & first Instructions for Orthodox Christian Life
Let's start our Catechism on the importance of Catechism and some first instructions for Orthodox Christian life!
Orthodox Catechism means Lessons on the Orthodox Christian Faith and is given by an Orthodox priest or by a monastery.
When someone is not yet a baptized Orthodox Christian, but begins the Catechism, then he belongs to the Order of Catechumens.
e.g. A Protestant who decides to be baptized an Orthodox Christian, when he begins the Orthodox Catechism, ceases to be a Protestant. He now belongs to the Catechumens of the Orthodox Christian Church.
In order for a Protestant to begin the Orthodox Catechism with the aim of being baptized an Orthodox Christian, he must make some decisions and establish some good rules in his life in order to be properly taught the Orthodox Christian Faith and to expel from his soul the erroneous Protestant teachings.
You should not read heretical-Protestant texts (books, pamphlets, internet, etc.), because when we read heretical texts, our soul is contaminated with false teachings. It is a sin to read heretical-Protestant texts because in this way we put poison in our soul, that is, we feed our soul with heretical, false teachings.
Protestant texts contain some correct teachings, e.g. about the life of Christ, but at the same time they also contain false teachings, misinterpreting the Holy Bible and isolating its verses, resulting in a different meaning.
Also, my dear friends, you should never go back to Protestant meetings or meetings of other religions because you now belong to the Orthodox Church, to the Order of Catechumens, and it is a sin to participate in heretical meetings and in general in worship meetings of other religions. You should only go to Orthodox Divine Liturgies.
Try to go every Sunday to the Orthodox Divine Liturgy, but you will not receive Holy Communion yet because you have not yet been baptized. You will only attend the Divine Liturgy and pray during it. When you are in Finland, go to an Orthodox Finnish Church. It is the same. It is united with the Greek Orthodox Church. We must go to the Orthodox Divine Liturgy every Sunday so that our soul can be spiritually nourished and receive strength and blessing for the rest of the week.
Also, my dear friends, it is very good to make the sign of the Cross over yourself at the beginning of the day or before you leave the house, saying "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me" and whatever else you wish as a prayer. Also, pray during the day in your room and ask Christ, the Virgin Mary and the Saints to give you strength and enlightenment to understand the Orthodox Christian Catechism well.
It is also good to have an icon of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary always with you, e.g. in your bag.
An Icon of Christ is a photograph of Christ, we do not worship the wood and the color of the icon as a god. Just as someone has a photograph of their husband in their wallet, so we have an Icon of Christ or a Saint, as a photograph of a beloved Person. The devil fears the Icons (photographs) of Christ and His Saints because they depict Christ and persons who pleased Christ, i.e. His Saints.
Also, my dear friends, it is good to say every day in your prayer what the Apostles said to Christ: "Increase our faith" (Luke 17:5).
That is, to ask Christ daily to add faith to you! This is what all Orthodox Christians must do throughout our lives.
Let us now look, my dear friends, at the lives of Saints Theophanes and Pansemnes from Antioch of Syria, who died in 363 AD, to see how Catechism adds faith to the Catechist.
Saint Theophanes was a pagan, married to a woman at the age of 15, and after 3 years his wife died. Then he met Christianity and was baptized a Christian. He built a cell (small house) outside Antioch in Syria and lived there ascetically with prayer. Then he saw that a beautiful, well-known prostitute in Antioch, named Pansemne, was luring many people into sin and he was very sad.
After much prayer, he decided to wear luxurious clothes and approach her to save her from the sinful work she was doing. They ate together and talked and he proposed to her that they marry on the condition that she become a Christian. She accepted the marriage but did not want to become a Christian. Finally, after a while, she changed her mind and accepted to become a Christian, but without having believed in Christ.
Thus Theophanes led her to a Spiritual Father (priest) to catechize her, to teach her the Christian Faith.
On the 7th day of her catechism, where the Spiritual Father told her about the coming Judgment, about Heaven and about Hell, Pansemne was enlightened by God, moved and believed with her heart in the Christian Faith. Thus she continued her catechism with her faith all the more and growing.
Finally she was baptized and went and stayed as an ascetic in another cell that Theophanes had built for her. She repented of her sins and did hard asceticism and much prayer and was deemed worthy to perform miracles of healing on the sick with her prayer until finally she soon fell asleep in the Holy Spirit. After a few days, Saint Theophanes also fell asleep.
From the life of Saint Pansemne we see that Catechism adds faith to the Catechumen.
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Saints & Holy Virgin Mary - Luke 9:30, Jude 9, Deuteronomy 3, etc.
My dear friends, in this short Catechism we will look at some verses from the Holy Bible that show that the dead Saints live and understand and help us.
We pray every day to Holy Trinity, to Jesus Christ our Lord, to Holy Virgin Mary Mother of God, to Holy Angels, and to All Saints.
Holy Virgin Mary and All Saints are alive in the Heaven and they pray to God for us!
The dead Saints are alive in the Heaven and they can pray for us to God. Also they can appear on Earth like Prophet Moses in Luke 9:30.
Luke 9:30: "Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus".
Moses died in Old Testament times.
Death of Moses in Holy Bible:
Jude 9 (New Testament)
Deuteronomy 34:5-8, 31:16, 31:27, 31:29, 32:48-51, 33:1
Numbers 27:12-13
Joshua 1:2
Appearance of Moses on Earth after his death:
Luke 9:30
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Abraham who also died in about 1800 B.C., from heaven “saw it and was glad”(John 8:56).
He saw the Incarnation of Christ.
* * *
About Saints and Holy Martyrs:
“Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you”.
—Matthew 5:12
* * *
The Eastern Orthodox Church call the Mother of Jesus Christ “Most Holy Virgin Mary” like the Holy Bible in Old Testament, in 4 Maccabees 7:4 call the Eleazar “most holy man”:
4 Maccabees 7:4 >
“No city besieged with many ingenious war machines has ever held out as did that most holy man. Although his sacred life was consumed by tortures and racks, he conquered the besiegers with the shield of his devout reason”.
Other one wrong of Protestantism is that the Protestants don't accept the 4 Maccabees (Book) of Old Testament and other 10 Books of Old Testament.
* * *
Jesus Christ through the Holy Bible allows us to use the word “Saints” for virtuous people. 1 Corinthians 1:2 calls the faithful Christians to become Saints:
1 Corinthians 1:2:
“To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord theirs and ours”.
* * *
Also, we know about their faithful Christian life of Saints before their death.
"Let your light shine before others"
About faithful Christians and Saints:
Matthew 5, 15-16:
"15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven".
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The Value of the Septuagint for the Orthodox Christians
The Septuagint ("Translation of the Seventy") was and is the official and authentic Bible of the Orthodox Church, and its undeniable theological importance is confirmed many times, through liturgical and ecclesiastical practice, from the 1st century to the present day:
The Septuagint was used by the founder of the Christian faith, Jesus Christ, and his disciples, sanctifying it in this way.
The Septuagint was handed down to the Churches they founded by the Apostles.
With the help of the Septuagint, the nations returned from idolatry.
The translations used in the Eastern Churches came from the Septuagint.
The Septuagint ("Translation of the Seventy") has been used in divine worship, in all centuries since the founding of the Church.
The Septuagint has influenced the theological thought, liturgical life, hymnography and hagiography of the Church, which used it in its homilies, catechisms and pedagogical work.
The Septuagint was used in their writings and interpreted by the Fathers of the Church.
The Septuagint was used and ratified by local and Ecumenical Councils.
Furthermore, it is important to note that the "prevailing scholarly opinion" accepts that the "majority of the quotations from the Old Testament in the New come from the Septuagint ("Translation of the Seventy"), in a way that "one can argue that...it constitutes the Scripture of the authors of the New Testament". In fact, its influence is so great "that the Christian Church cannot be understood without its knowledge".
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In the New Testament we see that Jesus Christ and the Apostles used the Septuagint as their Old Testament.
Jesus in Matthew 4:10 uses Deuteronomy 6:13 from the Septuagint.
The Hebrews 11:35-36 is from 2 Maccabees 6:19-22.
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Godfather / Godmother - Neck Cross - Personal Confessor (Spiritual Father), etc.
The godfather / godmother should be a layman (not a priest) faithful Orthodox Christian who will now be considered your spiritual relative and will undertake to help you in Baptism and in your Orthodox Christian life.
The godfather / godmother will also buy you a neck cross which he will wear around your neck after baptism. You should wear this cross constantly to protect you. The devil and demons are afraid of the Cross of Christ. Also with this cross you confess that you are Christians.
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The German nun Glykeria of the Holy Monastery of Saint John the Theologian in Patmos (Greece) tells us about her conversion to Orthodoxy:
“I am German. I came here about ten years ago as a tourist. I was raised in Protestantism, but I no longer believed. I lived with no boundaries… I arrived in Patmos in my shorts, sun-kissed, backpack on my shoulders, dreaming only of relaxing on the secluded beaches of this beautiful island. But, to ease my conscience, I thought I should at least pay a ‘cultural’ visit to the Monastery. So, I visited the Holy Cave and then the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian. And somehow — without even knowing how — I ended up here one afternoon, just at the beginning of Vespers. I stepped into the church and stood quietly to attend the service.
Then something extraordinary happened — almost impossible to describe. I suddenly felt captivated, embraced by a mysterious force that overturned everything I thought I knew. My heart was filled with a peace and sweetness I had never experienced before. I was overwhelmed by the happiness that only heaven can give. I found myself unable to leave the chapel. And in truth, I never left the Monastery again. Here I am now — Sister Glykeria — telling you my story!"
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"I exist, seek to find Me!" - The conversion of the Dutch monk and hermit Jozef van den Berg (+2023), former actor, from atheism to Orthodoxy
Jozef (Joseph) Van den Berg was a Dutch former mime and a great famous stage actor. He was born on August 22, 1949 in Beers, Netherlands and had no relationship with God at all, he was an atheist. He was married with four children. Everything changed one day in a performance in which he played the role of an atheist and said: "There is no God, there is no God." He then heard a voice inside him saying: "I exist, seek to find me!" From that moment something changed in him. He truly sought and found Him!
In fact, he had a very good friend who informed him that she knew St. Porphyrios and that she would be going to Greece and if he wished to write him a letter, she would give it to him.
When his friend arrived in Greece, she went to St. Porphyrios and as soon as she told him about Joseph, he beamed with joy and told her that he had to see him. Indeed it happened, Joseph went and found him in Greece. St. Porphyrios spoke to Joseph about Orthodoxy. In Greece, he also met St. Paisios in Mount Athos. He also met with St. Sophrony Sakharov in Essex, England. Miraculously something changed inside him and he decided to give up everything, money, fame, family, friends, publicity to become an Orthodox Christian and live as a hermit in a hut in the Neerjinen forest in the Netherlands.
The only things he took with him when he set out to find God were a bicycle and a trunk with a few clothes. He was baptized and became an Orthodox Christian. His hut was visited daily by many people, also by priests and bishops from all over. He had recently come to Greece for health reasons where he was hospitalized and fell asleep in the Lord at the age of 74, in October 2023 in a monastery in Soho, near Thessaloniki, Greece. He had cancer. Ηe was unable to walk and was confined to a wheelchair.
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The conversion of Fr. Nikolaοs Loudovikos from atheism to Orthodoxy with the help of Saint Porphyrios (+1991)
Fr. Nikolaos Loudovikos, Greece:
When I was 20 years old, I was an anarchist...
I had long hair, I had earrings and I was tyrannical to
spiritual people, my teachers...
They sent me to a Christian boarding school and I caused havoc...
One day, at the urging of an uncle, I decided to visit Father Porphyrios...
I thought I would meet a naive old man, but I was quickly proved wrong...!!!!!
As soon as the Elder saw me he said:
"Ηey you, you want to believe, but your strong mind won't let you...!
But one way or another, know that He loves you, Christ is waiting for you and will win you over one day...!!!
Hey, come tomorrow and we'll talk !"
The next day I went to talk to him...!
As soon as the Elder saw me he said:
"Hey you, do you like poems? Because I'm a poet, too.
Shall we go to the forest to recite to you?"
He took me by the hand and started reciting poems...!
As I listened, I burst into tears and cried. Why...?
Because the poems that the Elder was reciting were my poems...!!!
The ones I had written and hidden in a notebook, believing that one day I would publish them...
I was shocked!
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A few words about the salvation of humanity, the founding of the Church by Christ and about the future of His Church
The true God is the Holy Trinity: The Father, Son & Holy Spirit. They are three Persons, but one God.
The Triune God is the Creator of the Universe and man.
The first two people are Adam and Eve who disobeyed God's command, which was a command to fast: That they could eat from all the trees of Paradise except one tree.
This command to fast was given to Adam and Eve by God to give them the opportunity to love God with their free will.
Adam and Eve disobeyed God's command and thus original sin entered the entire human race and nature.
Then Adam and Eve first had 2 children, Abel and Cain, where Cain killed Abel. Then Adam and Eve had other children and the human race increased.
People, on their freedom, chose sin and we reach the time of Noah where only Noah's family loved God. All other people had fallen into idolatry and sin.
So God told Noah to build the Ark and for about 100 years, while it took the Ark to be built, he preached repentance to the people but everyone mocked him. So when the World Flood of Noah happened, only Noah and his family were saved.
After the human race increased on Earth, people fell back into sin and idolatry.
Then the Triune God sent the Prophets of the Old Testament to teach the world repentance and return to God and the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Son.
But sinful people killed all the Prophets.
God tried to speak to people but people did not understand.
It was like a modern man teaching ants about God and they did not understand. For ants to understand people, man would have to become an ant to speak to them in their language.
And so did God...!
Because people did not understand Him, He decided to become a man, to Incarnate and to establish His Church!
When the appropriate prophesied time came, then the Second Person of the Holy Trinity Incarnated, became a Man.
All the Prophets spoke about this and even the Prophet Daniel said exactly when the Messiah would be born: the Savior.
Thus Christ became incarnate, was born on Earth, grew up, taught and was Crucified, people killed him as they had killed all the Prophets.
Then Christ as God descended into Hades as the New Testament tells us and taught those who had fallen asleep until then and those who believed in Him were saved and entered Paradise, along with the thief on the cross who entered Paradise first.
After 3 days Christ was resurrected and 50 days after His Resurrection and after many appearances to His believers on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came to the Apostles and then the Church of Christ was officially founded, in 33 AD.
Christ Himself said about His Church that it will exist FOREVER and will never be destroyed even if evil people fight against it with all their might and all demons:
Matthew 16:18: "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it".
Also, Christ himself in the New Testament tells His disciples that from among you there will arise scandals, so that you do not be scandalized, and woe to those who will cause scandals:
Luke 17:1: "Jesus said to his disciples: 'Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come".
This means that within the Church there are good and bad clergy. We must follow and listen to the good ones. Let us not forget that of the 12 Apostles, one was bad.
* * *
Also in the New Testament, Christ and the Apostles said that heresies and false prophets would appear:
Matthew 7:15: "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves".
and
2 Peter 2:1: "But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves".
Until 1054, various local heresies appeared, which the Church, with small or large councils, exposed and determined what the correct teaching was.
In the 9th century, the Pope (=Bishop) of Rome began to teach some heretical teachings, and the other Bishops of the Church advised him not to say these things. They did not excommunicate him so that there would not be a schism. The Church hoped that he or the next Popes of Rome would stop teaching these heretical teachings (a heretical teaching about the Holy Spirit). But the years passed and all the Popes of Rome taught the same heretical teaching. In 1054 the then Pope of Rome decided to secede from the One Church and dragged with him many local churches of Western Europe, i.e. he dragged many Bishops of Western Europe into the heresy. Thus in 1054 the "Roman Catholic Church" was founded which in the 13th century did many persecutions to the rest of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
After 5 centuries in 1517 because the Roman Catholics were teaching even more heresies some 3 Roman Catholic monks and priests, Luther, Zwingli and Calvin protested the errors of the Roman Catholics and instead of returning back to the Eastern Orthodox Church, they went even further away and founded Protestantism (Protest = I protest). The 3 first Protestant / Protest "Churches" were Lutheran, Calvin and Zwingli. These Protestants abolished many doctrines of the Church, such as the priesthood, Confession, etc. etc.
Over the years and centuries, individuals from these first Protestant confessions left and formed new "Churches".
Since then, approximately 33,000 new Protestant pseudo-Churches have been founded, each of which does not accept the other.
However, the First Church of Christ continues and exists to this day and is the Eastern Orthodox Church.
The Eastern Orthodox Church also called: Orthodox Catholic Church, Orthodox Church and Orthodoxy.
Note: Eastern Orthodox Church is not the same with Coptic Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Church of Armenia, Syrian Orthodox Church, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, Indian Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy, that they are also called Monophysites and non-Chalcedonians and they are heretics. They left from the Church on 451 A.D.
Protestants accuse Orthodoxy of being founded by Saint Constantine the Great in 325 AD when the First Ecumenical Council was held. But this is a lie because Saint Constantine the Great did nothing but stop the persecution of the pagans against the Church.
Until 325, the Church suffered terrible persecution with millions of Holy Martyrs, Christians who preferred to bear witness to Christ rather than deny Him and become pagans in order to save their lives.
All these millions of Holy Martyrs are the Saints that we Orthodox accept. Protestants do not accept them as belonging to their "Protestant Church".
Many of them are Holy Fathers whose writings on the Holy Bible we still read today.
Although the great persecutions stopped in 325, they never stopped completely. Locally in various regions throughout the centuries there were persecutions, even today, and new Holy Martyrs of Christ who pray for us and help us!
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How old is the Orthodox Faith?
If you are a Lutheran, your religion was founded by Martin Luther, an ex-monk of the Catholic Church, in the year 1517.
If you belong to the Church of England, your religion was founded by King Henry VIII in the year 1534 because the Pope would not grant him a divorce with the right to remarry.
If you are a Presbyterian, your religion was founded by John Knox in Scotland in 1560.
If you are a Congregationalist, your religion was originated by Robert Brown in Holland in 1582.
If you are a Protestant Episcopalian, your religion was an offshoot of the Church of England, founded by Samuel Senbury in the American Colonies in the 17th century.
If you are a Baptist, you owe the tenets of your religion to John Smyth, who launched it in Amsterdam in 1606.
If you are of the Dutch Reformed Church, you recognize Michelis Jones as founder because he originated your religion in New York in 1628.
If you are a Methodist, your religion was founded by John and Charles Wesley in England in 1774.
If you are a Mormoun (Latrter Day Saints), Joseph Smith started your religion in Palmyra, New York in 1829.
If you worship with the Salvation Army, your sect began with William Booth in London in 1865.
If you are a Christian Scientist, you look to 1879 as the year in which your religion was born and to Mary Baker Eddy as its founder.
If you belong to one of the religious organizations known as "Church of the Nazarene, Pentecostal Gospel," "Holiness Church," or "Jehovah's Witnesses," your religion is one of hundreds of new sects founded by men within the past hundred years.
If you are Roman Catholic, your Church sharede the same rich apostolic and doctrinal heritage as the Orthodox Church for the first thousand years of its history, since during the first millennium they were one and the same Church. Lamentably, in 1054, the Pope of Rome broke away from the other four Apostolic Patriarchates (which include Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem), by tampering with the Original Creed of the Church, and considering himself to be infallible. Thus your Church is 1,000 years old.
If you are an Orthodox Christian, your Church was founded in the year 33 by Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
It has not changed since that time. Our Church is now almost 2,000 years old and it is for this reason that Orthodoxy, the Church of the Apostles and the Fathers is considered the true "one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church."
[Note: Catholic means Universal]
(One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church means: “the one, sacred-for-God, Universal and passed-down-by-the-Apostles Church.” This equates to thousands of years of uninterrupted history, teachings, and traditions being passed down, unchanged through generations of Christians.)
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About the salvation of non-Orthodox Christians
The New Testament in Romans 2:14 tells us that pagans who have never heard of Christ will be judged based on the law of conscience that God has placed in all people. That is, they will be judged on whether they were righteous, whether they committed murders, whether they had love, etc.
Romans 2:14:
"Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law."
Thus, according to Romans 2:14, heterodox Christians (heretical Christians) will also be judged if they have never heard of Orthodox Christianity, the Eastern Orthodox Church. If they have not heard anything about Orthodoxy, they will be judged based on the Gospel, based on the basic commandments of Christ, i.e. if they killed, if they were righteous, if they committed fornication, if they loved Christ, etc.
If a heterodox Christian heard about Orthodoxy but did not become Orthodox, then Christ, who knows his heart, will judge him justly.
But if someone who was baptized as an Orthodox Christian rejects Orthodoxy and becomes a heretical Christian (Protestant, Roman Catholic, etc.) or becomes a pagan (Buddhist, Hindu, etc.) or is initiated into another religion and does not return with the Sacrament of Holy Unction to Orthodoxy, then unfortunately he will not be saved because God deserved him to be born or baptized into 100% of the Truth and he rejected it.
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Some more Orthodox Teachings...
After Easter where we celebrated the Resurrection of Christ, for 40 days, until the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, Orthodox Christians say "Christ is Risen!" and respond "Truly Risen!", instead of Good Morning and Good Night!
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Protestants wrongly say that Holy Communion SYMBOLIZES the Body and Blood of Christ.
We Orthodox Christians, based on the words of Christ in the New Testament, say that Holy Communion IS the real Body and Blood of Christ (not symbolizes). While the Bread and Wine have the appearance and taste of bread and wine, in reality they are the real Body and Blood of Christ.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, what the priest gives with the spoon is Holy Communion, i.e. Bread and Wine that have become the Body and Blood of Christ.
During the Divine Liturgy the priest prays and the Holy Spirit descends invisibly and the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ.
“Take and eat; this is my body” (Matthew 26:26).
“Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:27-28).
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In order to receive Holy Communion, one must have confessed their sins to their Spiritual Father (personal priest) and have been given permission by their Spiritual Father to receive communion. If someone falls into major sins (e.g. carnal sins) then their Spiritual Father will tell them in confession to receive communion e.g. after 15 days or after a specific period of time. This is not a punishment, but medicine for the soul.
Every Orthodox Christian must confess 1-2 times a month and their Spiritual Father will tell them if they are allowed to receive communion. If we have not confessed or if we do not have the permission of our Spiritual Father, we cannot receive communion.
On this subject the New Testament says:
1 Corinthians 11:28-30:
"28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep".
Holy Communion is not a prize, but a medicine for the soul. That is why it is not advisable to commune without Divine Confession. Our Spiritual Father will tell us each time when we should commune.
In order to receive Holy Communion, our sins must have been erased. Christ in the New Testament tells us that our sins are forgiven when we tell them to the Apostles, i.e. to our Spiritual Father (priest) who has priesthood, i.e. the authority from Christ to forgive sins:
John 20:22-24:
"22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Also, in order to commune, someone fasts the day before, does not eat meat. His Spiritual Director will tell him what fast he will do one day before. We fast one day before for better spiritual preparation.
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The bread that the priest distributes at the end of the Divine Liturgy is not Holy Communion. It is plain bread that the priest has blessed and is given as a blessing for the faithful who have not received communion. In Greek it is called "antidoron" (or "antidoro") which means "instead of the gift". ("Gift" is the name of Holy Communion). That is, it is given instead of Holy Communion for Christians who have not received communion. But as a blessing the priest distributes it to all the faithful: both those who have not received communion and those who have.
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Also, in order to eat antidoron, someone must have fasted for 5 hours.
Only baptized Orthodox Christians receive Antidoron, unless the priest calls you to give it to you.
An Orthodox Christian can keep some pieces of Antidoron for his home and eat them every morning for a blessing. He can eat them in the morning because he did not eat anything the night before because he slept for more than 5 hours.
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Before the Divine Liturgy we do not eat anything, nor do we drink water. But if someone takes pills (medicines) in the morning then he is allowed to drink water to take his pills before the Divine Liturgy.
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About the traitor Judas we must note that Judas betrayed Christ of his own free will and not because the prophecies said so. The prophecies were written because Judas would betray Christ of his own free will.
Also, if Judas had apologized to Christ after the betrayal, Christ would have forgiven him. But instead of apologizing, he went and committed suicide.
And the Apostle Peter had denied Christ three times but then he cried and asked for forgiveness and Christ forgave him.
Also in the Disciples' Supper with Christ in Matthew 26:20-25 we see that Christ showed that He knew as God that Judas would betray Him of his own free will. He told him this by giving him the opportunity to repent of the thought of betrayal. But unfortunately Judas did it and did not ask for forgiveness for his act.
Matthew 26:20-25:
"20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”
22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”
23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”
Jesus answered, “You have said so.”
Also, let us note that if the devil and the demons ask for forgiveness from God, God will immediately forgive them. But they do not want to ask for forgiveness.
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Every baptized Orthodox Christian should strive to avoid sin and be close to Holy Confession (1-2 times a month) so that his sins may be forgiven and his Spiritual Father may guide him in the Christian life.
If an Orthodox Christian does not live a Christian life and does not confess before he dies so that his sins may be forgiven, then unfortunately he will not be saved.
We pray daily for all Orthodox Christians to be close to Divine Confession and close to Christian life.
The Orthodox Church, based on the Holy Bible, prays for all the dead that God may rest them before the Second Coming. (I will tell you about this in another catechism).
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Someone who is not a monk can be saved.
If he strives to keep the commandments of Christ, if he strives to avoid sin and if he confesses 1-2 times a month, then he will be 100% saved.
Also, if someone is a catechist, like you, and dies before being baptized, then he will be 100% saved!
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About Church, atheist governments and Orthodox Saints
Finland have had a war from Russia and Russia has conquered a part of Finland since 1945 until today.
I wanted to tell you, my dear friends, that these wars in Finland have been waged by the Government of Russia and not by the Orthodox Church of Russia. Also, the atheist Communist Government of Russia waged war and persecutions on the Orthodox Church of Russia within Russia (Soviet Union) from 1917-1987, 70 years..! All these years the Russian Communist atheistic Government of the Soviet Union demolished all Orthodox churches and monasteries in Russia and killed millions of Russian priests, Bishops and Orthodox Christians with horrible martyrdoms (torture) because they did not want to deny Christ and who are Holy Martyrs of the Orthodox Church and we honor them in the entire Orthodox Church, in all countries of the world, in every local Orthodox Church as Saints.
It is permissible, my dear friends, for you not to accept the Russian Government, but we love the Orthodox Russian Church because it is part of the Church of Christ.
The same happened in Greece. Many governments of our neighboring countries have waged wars and have taken Greek lands and islands from us, such as Turkey, Albania and Bulgaria. Also, the Turks have killed thousands of Christian Greeks in the 400 years that they enslaved us (approximately 1453-1830). But we love the Orthodox Church of these countries and we honor their Saints. There are also Turks who became Orthodox Christians and some of them Martyred for Christ and are Saints of the Church and we honor and love them despite the fact that they are Turks. Also in Turkey there are approximately 10,000,000 Turkish Crypto-Christians, secret Orthodox Christians who perform secret Divine Liturgies in basements etc. underground..! All these Turks belong to the One, Orthodox Church and we love them and pray for them. It is the Government of Turkey that wants to make war on us, not the Turkish Orthodox Christians.
Also the atheistic Government of Albania and Romania in 1945 carried out great persecution of the local Orthodox Churches of their countries.
So did the Government of China in 1900. It carried out great persecution of the Orthodox Christians of China with much torture (martyrdom) and we have the 222 Orthodox Christian Holy Martyrs.
All these millions of Orthodox Christians who were martyred and died for Christ by the godless Governments of Russia, Greece (Turks), Albania, Romania, China, etc. are Saints of the Church.
From the early years of the Foundation of the Church, pagan Governments such as the Roman Empire carried out many persecutions on the local Churches of their countries.
e.g. the Roman Empire killed millions of Christians for Christ in Rome, Italy, North Africa, Europe, and Asia.
Also before 1054 the Vikings of Norway killed many Christians in England, etc.
All these are Saints of the Church and pray to Christ for us.
Also, all these Saints of the Church have the special spiritual gift from God to be able to appear on Earth and help us, as in Luke 9:30 the Prophet Moses appeared on Mount Tabor and spoke with Christ and the Prophet Elijah, even though Moses, as the New and Old Testaments tell us, died and was buried:
Luke 9:30 > "Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus".
Death of Moses in Holy Bible:
Jude 9 (New Testament)
Deuteronomy 34:5-8, 31:16, 31:27, 31:29, 32:48-51, 33:1
Numbers 27:12-13
Joshua 1:2
Luke 9:30 is one of the verses of the Holy Bible that show us that the deceased Christians who preferred to testify about Christ instead of denying Him and the Christians who lived holy lives like the Prophet Moses are Saints of the Church and they listen to us, help us and pray to God for us.
The Saints of the Church are people who have become holy, they are not gods.
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