Articles
November 2009
Archangel Michael And All The Bodiless Powers Of Heaven
(November 8)
The angels of God were celebrated by men from earliest times but this celebration was often turned into the divinization of angels (II Kings 23:5). The heretics wove all sorts of fables concerning the angels. Some of them looked upon angels as gods; others, although they did not consider them gods, called them the creators of the whole visible world. The local Council of Laodicea (four or five years before the First Ecumenical Council) rejected the worship of angels as gods and established the proper veneration of angels in its Thirty-fifth Canon. In the fourth century, during the time of Sylvester, Pope of Rome, and Alexander, Patriarch of Alexandria, the present Feast of Archangel Michael and all the other heavenly powers was instituted for celebration in the month of November. Why precisely in November? Because November is the ninth month after March, and March is considered to be the month in which the world was created. Also, as the ninth month after March, November was chosen for the nine orders of angels who were created first. St. Dionysius the Areopagite, a disciple of the Apostle Paul (who was taken up into the third heaven), described these nine orders of angels in his book, On the Celestial Hierarchies, as follows: six-winged Seraphim, many-eyed Cherubim, God-bearing Thrones, Dominions, Powers, Virtues, Principalities, Archangels, and Angels. The leader of all the angelic hosts is the Archangel Michael. When Satan, Lucifer, fell away from God and drew a part of the angels with him to destruction, then Michael stood up and cried out before the faithful angels: ``Let us attend! Let us stand aright! Let us stand with fear!’‘ and all of the faithful angelic heavenly hosts cried out: ``Holy! Holy! Holy! Lord God of Sabaoth! Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory!’‘ Concerning the Archangel Michael, see Joshua 5:13-15 and Jude 1:9. Among the angels there reign perfect oneness of mind, oneness of soul, and love. The lower orders also show complete obedience to the higher orders, and all of them together to the holy will of God. Every nation has its guardian angel, as does every Christian. We must always remember that whatever we do, in open or in secret, we do in the presence of our guardian angel. On the day of the Dread Judgment, the multitude of the hosts of the holy angels of heaven will gather around the throne of Christ, and the deeds, words, and thoughts of every man will be revealed before all. May God have mercy on us and save us by the prayers of the Archangel Michael and all the bodiless heavenly powers. Amen.
Hymn Of Praise
The Holy Archangel Michael And All The Bodiless Powers Of Heaven
Heavenly Commanders,
Who watch over us with great care,
Cover us with your wings,
And shield us with your power.
Armed with the power of God,
Crowned by His glory,
You wield flaming swords,
To cut the demons down.
Swift, swift as rays of light
You soar on the clouds-
The clouds of the air-
Where you do battle for God.
Without fatigue and without sleep
You hover ceaselessly
Over men and created things,
And over countless worlds.
Behold, yours are mighty armies,
Legions virtuous,
And gentle battalions of angels:
And, according to the Creator, our brothers.
Commanders of the might of heaven,
Lead us where we need to go-
To the throne of the Most High
Who created us from nothing.
Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich The Prologue from Ohrid
Troparion - Tone 4
Commanders of the heavenly hosts,
we who are unworthy beseech you,
by your prayers encompass us beneath the wings of your immaterial glory,
and faithfully preserve us who fall down and cry to you:
“Deliver us from all harm, for you are the commanders of the powers on high!”
Kontakion - Tone 2
Commanders of God’s armies and ministers of the divine glory,
princes of the bodiless angels and guides of mankind,
ask for what is good for us, and for great mercy,
supreme commanders of the Bodiless Hosts.
The Nativity Fast
(November 15 through December 24)¹
The Nativity Fast is one of the four Canonical Fasting Seasons in the Church year. This is a joyous fast in anticipation of the Nativity of Christ. That is the reason it is less strict than other fasting periods. The fast is divided into two periods.
The 1st period is November 15 through December 19th when the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, fish, wine, and oil) is observed. There is dispensation given for wine and oil on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Similarly, fish, wine, and oil are permitted on Saturdays and Sundays and on some other feast days.
The 2nd period is December 20 through 24 when the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, fish, wine, and oil) is observed. There is dispensation given for wine and oil only on Saturday and Sunday during this period. Here are the guidelines:
Abstain from: Meat - beef, chicken, pork, turkey, elk, veal, lamb, deer, rabbit, buffalo, and so forth and dairy products - milk, eggs, cheese, butter, yogurt, cream, and so forth
Fish with a backbone (not including shrimp, octopus, shellfish, squid, or other seafood which is allowed on any day) is only permitted on Saturday and Sunday before December 20 though some parishes permit Tuesdays and Thursdays as well.
Wine: permitted on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays before December 20.
Oil: permitted on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays & Sundays before December 20.
Dec. 25 through Jan. 4 , Nativity and Theophany eve, is fast free.
Abstinence includes refraining from the food and drink mentioned above. The Eucharistic Fast means abstaining from at least the previous midnight for communing at a morning Liturgy. (OCA)
Entry of the Theotokos to the Temple (November 21)
The second great feast of the Theotokos is the celebration of her entrance as a child into the Jerusalem Temple which is commemorated on the twenty-first of November. Like the feast of her nativity, this feast of Mary is without direct biblical and historical reference. But like the nativity, it is a feast filled with important spiritual significance for the Christian believer.
The texts of the service tells how Mary was brought as a small child to the temple by her parents in order to be raised there among the virgins consecrated to the service of the Lord until the time of their betrothal in marriage. According to Church tradition, Mary was solemnly received by the temple community which was headed by the priest Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist. She was led to the holy place to be “nourished” there by the angels in order to become herself the “holy of holies” of God, the living sanctuary and temple of the Divine child who was to be born in her.
There is no doubt that the verses of the Old Testament Psalm 45, used extensively in the services of the feast, provided a great inspiration for the celebration of Mary’s consecration to the service of God in the Jerusalem Temple.
Hear, 0 Daughter, ‘and consider and incline your ear; forget your people and your father’s house, and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your Lord, bow to him…
The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes, in many-coloured robes she is led to her king, with her virgin companions, her escort, in her train.
With joy and gladness they are led along, as they enter the palace of the king.
Instead of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them princes in all the earthwill cause your name to be celebrated in all generations, therefore, the peoples will praise you forever and ever. (Psalm 45:10-17)
The Orthodox Church understands these words of the psalm to be a prophecy directly related to Mary the Theotokos. According to the Gospel of Saint Luke which is read at the Vigil ofeachof her feasts, Mary herself speaks the following words:
My soul magnifies the Lord and my Spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me and holy is his name. And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. (Luke 1:47-50)
The main theme of the feast of Mary’s entrance to the Temple, repeated many times in the liturgical services, is the fact that she enters the Temple to become herself the living temple of God, thus inaugurating the New Testament in which are fulfilled the prophecies of old that “the dwelling of God is with man” and that the human person is the sole proper dwelling place of the Divine Presence. (Ezekiel 37:27; John 14:15-23; Acts 7:47; II Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 2:18-22; 1 Peter 2:4; Revelation 22:1-4)
Today is the preview of the good will of God, of the preaching of the salvation of mankind. The Virgin appears in the temple of God, in anticipation proclaiming Christ to all. Let us rejoice and sing to her: Rejoice, 0 Divine Fulfillment of the Creator’s dispensation. (Troparion)
The most pure Temple of the Saviour, the precious Chamber and Virgin, the Sacred Treasure of the Glory of God, is presented today to the house of the Lord. She brings with her the grace of the Spirit, which the angels of God do praise. Truly this woman is the Abode of Heaven! (Kontakion)
The fortieth chapter of Exodus about the building of the tabernacle is read at Vespers, together with passages from the First Book of Kings and the Prophecy of Ezekiel. Each one of these readings all end with exactly the same line, “for the glory of the Lord filled the house (tabernacle) of the Lord God Almighty.” (Exodus 40:35; I Kings 8:11; Ezekiel 44:4) .
Once again on this feast, the Old Testament readings are interpreted as symbols of the Mother of God. This “glory of the Lord” is referred to the Mother of Christ and it “fills” her and all people after her who “hear the word of God and keep it” as the Gospel of the festal liturgy proclaims. (Luke 11:37-28) The epistle reading at the Divine Liturgy also proclaims this very same theme. (Hebrews 9:1-7) .
Thus, the feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple is the feast which celebrates the end of the physical temple in Jerusalem as the dwelling place of God. When the child Mary enters the temple, the time of the temple comes to an end and the “preview of the good will of God” is shown forth. On this feast we celebrate - in the person of Christ’s mother - that we too are the house and tabernacle of the Lord.
... We are the temple of the living God, as God said, “I will live in them and move among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (II Corinthians 6: 11; Isaiah 52:1 1)
The Church Year by Fr. Thomas Hopko
St Alexander Nevsky ¹(1263)
(November 23)
“Nevsky” means “of the Neva (River).” This holy prince guided Russia through one of the most fragile and difficult periods of its history. Most of the nation was crushed beneath the 200-year domination of the Tatars, who burned Kiev and established their central territory (known as the Golden Horde) there. At the same time, Teutonic and Swedish Christian invaders sought to conquer from the West, and Pope Innocent IV of Rome was seeking, by conversion or conquest, to pervert the Orthodox faith of the Russian people. At the same time, constant warfare among petty Russian lords made unified work on behalf of the people almost impossible. In this harsh climate, Prince Alexander of Novgorod shone as that rare thing: a truly Christian ruler. In time of famine he opened his treasury to all who were in need. Several times he traveled to the Golden Horde, and even to Mongolia, to plead on behalf of his people for relief from Tatar taxation and oppression.
Soon after he became prince of Novgorod in 1236, his kingdom was attacked by the forces of Sweden and Lithuania along with the Teutonic Knights, a semi-monastic military order pledged to force the Slavic and Baltic peoples to accept Roman Catholicism. In 1240, the night before his small army was to face the much more powerful invaders, Saint Alexander was granted a vision: Saints Boris and Gleb appeared in a boat on the Neva River, urging angelic oarsmen to hurry to the aid of “Alexander their kinsman.” Encouraged, Alexander and his small force crushed their adversaries in battle.
When he was summoned for the first time to pay homage to the Khan, he went as if to his own death, for the Khan required his subjects to submit to pagan rites or die, and the prince knew that he would never betray the Faith of Christ. Before the Khan, he said “My liege, I do homage in that God has granted you sovereignty, but I am unable to worship idols because I am a Christian and adore the one and only God in three Persons God in three Persons, the Maker of heaven and earth.” The Khan, knowing of his valour and impressed by his integrity, received him as an honoured guest.
In another visit to the Golden Horde, the prince averted a Tatar invasion in retribution for an uprising by another prince, dug deeply into his treasury to ransom prisoners, and was given rule over all of Russia.
Threats from the West continued. Prince Alexander firmly opposed the missionaries sent into his realms by Pope Innocent IV of Rome; in response the Pope launched what the Synaxarion calls a “veritable Crusade” against the Prince. In 1256 an alliance of Swedes, Danes, Finns and Teutonic Knights attempted to take Novgorod, but were again repulsed by Alexander, who for a time occupied Finland.
In 1260, the holy Prince made a final journey to appeal to the Tatars, who had increased the tribute levied on the Russian people, and were carrying those unable to pay into slavery. Having obtained a reduction of tribute and relief for his people, he headed home but, on the journey home, exhausted and ill from his labours, he gave up his soul to God in 1263, having served his people without rest until the end. On his deathbed he received the monastic Great Schema and the new name Alexis.
“Many miracles and apparitions have taken place at his tomb, especially on the eves of the great Russian victories over the Tatars in 1380, 1552 and 1572. The sanctity of the holy Prince was formally recognized by the Church in 1380, when his incorrupt relics were uncovered. In the eighteenth century, Peter the Great proclaimed Saint Alexander Nevsky Protector of the Russian people” (Synaxarion)
¹ When Igumen Alexander (Pihach) took monastic vows, he was named for Alexander Nevsky.
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