Podcasts about symeon

​TO SUPPORT the work of the Orthodox Christian Teaching podcast ministry:BUY ME A COFFEE: http://buymeacoffee.com/octeaching

The Holy Symeon was bishop of the royal cities of Seleucia and Ctesiphon in Persia, during a great persecution under King Sapor II. The king had been incited by (Zoroastrian) Magi jealous of the growth of the Faith in their territory, and by some Jews living in Persia. The king was already displeased with the holy bishop: his eunuch, Ustazan, a secret Christian, had denied Christ, but when reprimanded by Symeon, had confessed the Faith before the King, for which he was executed. On Holy Friday of 343 Symeon, along with at least a hundred other servants of the Church, was sent out to be slain. Symeon exhorted each to be of good courage, and was himself slain last. One year later, again on Holy Friday, the King's eunuch Azat was executed for Christ, along with a great number of the faithful. It is said that more than 1,000 Christians died as martyrs during this persecution.   The Zoroastrians still live in parts of Iran as a small, somewhat persecuted minority under the Islamic government.

Join us as we dig deeper into the teaching on "What's the answer: What did Jesus tell them?", found in Luke 24:13-27 - the story of 2 men "On the Road to Emmaus." Two men are on their way, walking to the town of Emmaus are joined by Jesus.  Let's focus in on who these men were. For one of them we are given his name. Luke 24:18 " One of them, named Cleopas, asked Jesus, …" Cleopas is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, but there is another name very similar - Clopas - and this name is mentioned other places in the Bible. Over the centuries, many believers, scholars and teachers have considered that Cleopas and Clopas could be one and the same person. John 19:25 "Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene."  Clopas sounds very much like Cleopas, a simple shortening of the name. So one of the men walking to Emmaus may have been the husband of one of the women who stood at the foot of the cross at Jesus crucifixion. If Cleopas and Clopas as the same person - here's what we know from early Christian historians - Eusebius (c.260-339 AD) says, "They all discussed together who ought to succeed James, and all unanimously decided that Symeon, son of the Clopas mentioned in the Gospel, was worthy of the bishop's throne. It is said that he was the first cousin of the Savior, for Hegesippus relates that Clopas was the brother of Joseph."  (Joseph was Jesus' step-father, making Clopas Jesus' uncle.) Who was the other disciple on the road to Emmaus? Some have thought maybe it was Cleopas' wife. Others have thought it may have been one of Cleopas' sons. Or maybe it was Luke. - the author of the Gospel of Luke. And writer of this story found in Luke 24.  Pastor ends with a recommendation for further study: Easter Enigma by John Wenham.      Now What? Learn about God at https://www.awakeusnow.com EVERYTHING we offer is FREE. View live or on demand: https://www.awakeusnow.com/tuesday-bible-class For more check out the series, "What's the Answer"  https://www.awakeusnow.com/whats-the-answer Join us Sundays  https://www.awakeusnow.com/sunday-service Watch via our app. Text HELLO to 888-364-4483 to download our app.

​​1. TO SUPPORT this Orthodox Christian ministry and the digitisation of our many cassette-tapes for new podcasts, please visit us at the BUY ME A COFFEE support platform:​​http://buymeacoffee.com/octeaching​2. TO FIND THE TITLES AND LINKS for all our podcasts, please visit our podcast directory. Just search for ‘Orthodox Christian Teaching Podcast Directory' in the Apple Podcasts app or in the podcasts section of the Spotify app OR search for ‘Orthodox Christian Teaching' in the Apple Podcasts app or the Spotify app,​3. DIRECT LINKS to the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN TEACHING PODCAST DIRECTORY:​On the APPLE PODCASTS app:​https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/orthodox-christian-teaching-podcast-directory/id1680765527​On the SPOTIFY app:​https://open.spotify.com/show/1ALQ9YkJ0hhZ20GGZv7MH9?si=hVv_aqKtSrypyTLr1YZQIQ​​​

Derek Krueger Monastic Desires: Homoeroticism, Homophobia, and Love of God in Medieval Constantinople (Cambridge UP, 2026) The Byzantine Abbot Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022) transgressed the homophobic norms of medieval Orthodox society. His longing for God was distinctly homoerotic, and he depicted union with the divine as a queer sort of marriage. His Orthodox theology of theosis, the deification of the entire person, meant that Symeon taught the salvation of all the parts of the body. But monks also desired the eradication of lust and the punishment of those who fell prey to it. Sermons and biblical commentary defined men who had sex with men as sodomites; and saints' lives warned of the consequences of same-sex desires. Those who renounced sex redirected their desire rather than eliminating it. Symeon's queer erotics shed light on other devotions distinctive to medieval Orthodoxy, including the veneration of saints and worship with icons. Monastic Desires makes a groundbreaking contribution to the history of sexuality and the history of Christianity. New Books in Late Antiquity is presented by Ancient Jew Review Derek Krueger is emeritus professor of religious studies at UNC Greensboro, the author of multiple books including Liturgical Subjects: Biblical Narratives and the Formation of the Self in Byzantium, the editor of far more, and former editor of the book series Divinations: Rereading Late Antiquity. Michael Motia teaches Classics and Religious Studies at UMass Boston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Derek Krueger Monastic Desires: Homoeroticism, Homophobia, and Love of God in Medieval Constantinople (Cambridge UP, 2026) The Byzantine Abbot Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022) transgressed the homophobic norms of medieval Orthodox society. His longing for God was distinctly homoerotic, and he depicted union with the divine as a queer sort of marriage. His Orthodox theology of theosis, the deification of the entire person, meant that Symeon taught the salvation of all the parts of the body. But monks also desired the eradication of lust and the punishment of those who fell prey to it. Sermons and biblical commentary defined men who had sex with men as sodomites; and saints' lives warned of the consequences of same-sex desires. Those who renounced sex redirected their desire rather than eliminating it. Symeon's queer erotics shed light on other devotions distinctive to medieval Orthodoxy, including the veneration of saints and worship with icons. Monastic Desires makes a groundbreaking contribution to the history of sexuality and the history of Christianity. New Books in Late Antiquity is presented by Ancient Jew Review Derek Krueger is emeritus professor of religious studies at UNC Greensboro, the author of multiple books including Liturgical Subjects: Biblical Narratives and the Formation of the Self in Byzantium, the editor of far more, and former editor of the book series Divinations: Rereading Late Antiquity. Michael Motia teaches Classics and Religious Studies at UMass Boston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies

Derek Krueger Monastic Desires: Homoeroticism, Homophobia, and Love of God in Medieval Constantinople (Cambridge UP, 2026) The Byzantine Abbot Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022) transgressed the homophobic norms of medieval Orthodox society. His longing for God was distinctly homoerotic, and he depicted union with the divine as a queer sort of marriage. His Orthodox theology of theosis, the deification of the entire person, meant that Symeon taught the salvation of all the parts of the body. But monks also desired the eradication of lust and the punishment of those who fell prey to it. Sermons and biblical commentary defined men who had sex with men as sodomites; and saints' lives warned of the consequences of same-sex desires. Those who renounced sex redirected their desire rather than eliminating it. Symeon's queer erotics shed light on other devotions distinctive to medieval Orthodoxy, including the veneration of saints and worship with icons. Monastic Desires makes a groundbreaking contribution to the history of sexuality and the history of Christianity. New Books in Late Antiquity is presented by Ancient Jew Review Derek Krueger is emeritus professor of religious studies at UNC Greensboro, the author of multiple books including Liturgical Subjects: Biblical Narratives and the Formation of the Self in Byzantium, the editor of far more, and former editor of the book series Divinations: Rereading Late Antiquity. Michael Motia teaches Classics and Religious Studies at UMass Boston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology

Derek Krueger Monastic Desires: Homoeroticism, Homophobia, and Love of God in Medieval Constantinople (Cambridge UP, 2026) The Byzantine Abbot Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022) transgressed the homophobic norms of medieval Orthodox society. His longing for God was distinctly homoerotic, and he depicted union with the divine as a queer sort of marriage. His Orthodox theology of theosis, the deification of the entire person, meant that Symeon taught the salvation of all the parts of the body. But monks also desired the eradication of lust and the punishment of those who fell prey to it. Sermons and biblical commentary defined men who had sex with men as sodomites; and saints' lives warned of the consequences of same-sex desires. Those who renounced sex redirected their desire rather than eliminating it. Symeon's queer erotics shed light on other devotions distinctive to medieval Orthodoxy, including the veneration of saints and worship with icons. Monastic Desires makes a groundbreaking contribution to the history of sexuality and the history of Christianity. New Books in Late Antiquity is presented by Ancient Jew Review Derek Krueger is emeritus professor of religious studies at UNC Greensboro, the author of multiple books including Liturgical Subjects: Biblical Narratives and the Formation of the Self in Byzantium, the editor of far more, and former editor of the book series Divinations: Rereading Late Antiquity. Michael Motia teaches Classics and Religious Studies at UMass Boston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/lgbtq-studies

Derek Krueger Monastic Desires: Homoeroticism, Homophobia, and Love of God in Medieval Constantinople (Cambridge UP, 2026) The Byzantine Abbot Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022) transgressed the homophobic norms of medieval Orthodox society. His longing for God was distinctly homoerotic, and he depicted union with the divine as a queer sort of marriage. His Orthodox theology of theosis, the deification of the entire person, meant that Symeon taught the salvation of all the parts of the body. But monks also desired the eradication of lust and the punishment of those who fell prey to it. Sermons and biblical commentary defined men who had sex with men as sodomites; and saints' lives warned of the consequences of same-sex desires. Those who renounced sex redirected their desire rather than eliminating it. Symeon's queer erotics shed light on other devotions distinctive to medieval Orthodoxy, including the veneration of saints and worship with icons. Monastic Desires makes a groundbreaking contribution to the history of sexuality and the history of Christianity. New Books in Late Antiquity is presented by Ancient Jew Review Derek Krueger is emeritus professor of religious studies at UNC Greensboro, the author of multiple books including Liturgical Subjects: Biblical Narratives and the Formation of the Self in Byzantium, the editor of far more, and former editor of the book series Divinations: Rereading Late Antiquity. Michael Motia teaches Classics and Religious Studies at UMass Boston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

Derek Krueger Monastic Desires: Homoeroticism, Homophobia, and Love of God in Medieval Constantinople (Cambridge UP, 2026) The Byzantine Abbot Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022) transgressed the homophobic norms of medieval Orthodox society. His longing for God was distinctly homoerotic, and he depicted union with the divine as a queer sort of marriage. His Orthodox theology of theosis, the deification of the entire person, meant that Symeon taught the salvation of all the parts of the body. But monks also desired the eradication of lust and the punishment of those who fell prey to it. Sermons and biblical commentary defined men who had sex with men as sodomites; and saints' lives warned of the consequences of same-sex desires. Those who renounced sex redirected their desire rather than eliminating it. Symeon's queer erotics shed light on other devotions distinctive to medieval Orthodoxy, including the veneration of saints and worship with icons. Monastic Desires makes a groundbreaking contribution to the history of sexuality and the history of Christianity. New Books in Late Antiquity is presented by Ancient Jew Review Derek Krueger is emeritus professor of religious studies at UNC Greensboro, the author of multiple books including Liturgical Subjects: Biblical Narratives and the Formation of the Self in Byzantium, the editor of far more, and former editor of the book series Divinations: Rereading Late Antiquity. Michael Motia teaches Classics and Religious Studies at UMass Boston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Derek Krueger Monastic Desires: Homoeroticism, Homophobia, and Love of God in Medieval Constantinople (Cambridge UP, 2026) The Byzantine Abbot Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022) transgressed the homophobic norms of medieval Orthodox society. His longing for God was distinctly homoerotic, and he depicted union with the divine as a queer sort of marriage. His Orthodox theology of theosis, the deification of the entire person, meant that Symeon taught the salvation of all the parts of the body. But monks also desired the eradication of lust and the punishment of those who fell prey to it. Sermons and biblical commentary defined men who had sex with men as sodomites; and saints' lives warned of the consequences of same-sex desires. Those who renounced sex redirected their desire rather than eliminating it. Symeon's queer erotics shed light on other devotions distinctive to medieval Orthodoxy, including the veneration of saints and worship with icons. Monastic Desires makes a groundbreaking contribution to the history of sexuality and the history of Christianity. New Books in Late Antiquity is presented by Ancient Jew Review Derek Krueger is emeritus professor of religious studies at UNC Greensboro, the author of multiple books including Liturgical Subjects: Biblical Narratives and the Formation of the Self in Byzantium, the editor of far more, and former editor of the book series Divinations: Rereading Late Antiquity. Michael Motia teaches Classics and Religious Studies at UMass Boston

Derek Krueger Monastic Desires: Homoeroticism, Homophobia, and Love of God in Medieval Constantinople (Cambridge UP, 2026) The Byzantine Abbot Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022) transgressed the homophobic norms of medieval Orthodox society. His longing for God was distinctly homoerotic, and he depicted union with the divine as a queer sort of marriage. His Orthodox theology of theosis, the deification of the entire person, meant that Symeon taught the salvation of all the parts of the body. But monks also desired the eradication of lust and the punishment of those who fell prey to it. Sermons and biblical commentary defined men who had sex with men as sodomites; and saints' lives warned of the consequences of same-sex desires. Those who renounced sex redirected their desire rather than eliminating it. Symeon's queer erotics shed light on other devotions distinctive to medieval Orthodoxy, including the veneration of saints and worship with icons. Monastic Desires makes a groundbreaking contribution to the history of sexuality and the history of Christianity. New Books in Late Antiquity is presented by Ancient Jew Review Derek Krueger is emeritus professor of religious studies at UNC Greensboro, the author of multiple books including Liturgical Subjects: Biblical Narratives and the Formation of the Self in Byzantium, the editor of far more, and former editor of the book series Divinations: Rereading Late Antiquity. Michael Motia teaches Classics and Religious Studies at UMass Boston Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day

​​1. TO SUPPORT this Orthodox Christian ministry and the digitisation of our many cassette-tapes for new podcasts, please visit us at the BUY ME A COFFEE support platform:​​http://buymeacoffee.com/octeaching​2. TO FIND THE TITLES AND LINKS for all our podcasts, please visit our podcast directory. Just search for ‘Orthodox Christian Teaching Podcast Directory' in the Apple Podcasts app or in the podcasts section of the Spotify app OR search for ‘Orthodox Christian Teaching' in the Apple Podcasts app or the Spotify app,​3. DIRECT LINKS to the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN TEACHING PODCAST DIRECTORY:​On the APPLE PODCASTS app:​https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/orthodox-christian-teaching-podcast-directory/id1680765527​On the SPOTIFY app:​https://open.spotify.com/show/1ALQ9YkJ0hhZ20GGZv7MH9?si=hVv_aqKtSrypyTLr1YZQIQ​​​

​​1. TO SUPPORT this Orthodox Christian ministry and the digitisation of our many cassette-tapes for new podcasts, please visit us at the BUY ME A COFFEE support platform:​​http://buymeacoffee.com/octeaching​2. TO FIND THE TITLES AND LINKS for all our podcasts, please visit our podcast directory. Just search for ‘Orthodox Christian Teaching Podcast Directory' in the Apple Podcasts app or in the podcasts section of the Spotify app OR search for ‘Orthodox Christian Teaching' in the Apple Podcasts app or the Spotify app,​3. DIRECT LINKS to the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN TEACHING PODCAST DIRECTORY:​On the APPLE PODCASTS app:​https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/orthodox-christian-teaching-podcast-directory/id1680765527​On the SPOTIFY app:​https://open.spotify.com/show/1ALQ9YkJ0hhZ20GGZv7MH9?si=hVv_aqKtSrypyTLr1YZQIQ​​​

Lenten Retreat 2026 Fourth Reflection The Man Who Has Nothing Left But God On the Life That Appears When the Self That Lived Has Died “I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me.” Galatians 2:20 There comes a moment that the man cannot perceive directly, because the one who would perceive it is no longer there. He has passed through the loss of support. He has passed through the disappearance of certainty. He has passed through the collapse of identity. He has passed through the experience of abandonment in which he could no longer locate himself in relation to God or even in relation to himself. He has stood where nothing remained to sustain the sense that he existed. He did not cross this threshold through effort. He did not achieve it through discipline. He did not arrive there through understanding. He arrived there because everything he used to sustain himself had been taken. And he did not die. This is the first revelation. He did not die. The self he knew has disappeared. The structure that allowed him to experience continuity has dissolved. The identity he inhabited cannot be recovered. And yet he remains. But he does not remain as he was. Before this, he experienced himself as existing from himself. Even in humility. Even in repentance. Even in dependence on God, he remained the one who depended. He remained the center from which his life was lived. Now this center cannot be found. 1 He cannot locate himself as the source of his own existence. He cannot experience himself as self originating. He exists. But not from himself. The Psalmist speaks from within this mystery when he says, “My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.” Psalm 62:8 Before this, the man believed he clung to God. He believed his faith held him in relation to God. He believed his perseverance sustained his life. Now he sees that even his clinging was sustained. He sees that he has never lived by his own strength. He sees that he has never possessed life in himself. St. Symeon the New Theologian writes that when grace reveals itself fully, the soul sees that it has always existed by borrowed life. Not poetic life. Actual life. The man now experiences himself as upheld. Not helped. Upheld. This produces a peace that cannot be explained to the man who still lives from himself. Because the man who lives from himself must constantly preserve himself. He must maintain continuity. He must protect identity. 2 He must secure stability. He must ensure that he continues. Fear is inseparable from this condition. Fear of loss. Fear of failure. Fear of death. Fear of disappearance. But the man who no longer lives from himself cannot preserve himself. Because he no longer possesses himself. Christ says, “Whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” Matthew 16:25 This finding is not recovery. It is discovery. The discovery that life was never his. The discovery that existence belongs to God. St. Isaac the Syrian writes that the man who has come to know his nothingness has come to know the truth of his existence. Nothingness does not mean nonexistence. It means the absence of autonomous existence. The man exists entirely in God. St. Paul says, “In Him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28 Before this, these words were believed. Now they are known. 3 Not as thought. As being. The man no longer moves toward God. He moves in Him. He no longer depends on God as one thing depends on another. He exists as one upheld from within. Christ says, “Abide in Me, and I in you.” John 15:4 This abiding is not effort. It is the end of resistance. The man no longer attempts to ground himself. He no longer attempts to preserve himself. He no longer attempts to exist from himself. These movements have ended. Because the one who performed them has died. St. Silouan the Athonite writes that the soul that has come to know God through the Holy Spirit no longer fears anything. This fearlessness does not arise from strength. It arises from dispossession. Nothing remains to be protected. Nothing remains to be preserved. Nothing remains to be secured. The man exists. 4 But he does not belong to himself. St. Sophrony writes that the human person becomes fully real only when he ceases to exist as an autonomous center. Autonomy is the consequence of separation from God. Communion is the restoration of life. The man who lives in communion no longer experiences himself as isolated existence. He experiences himself as relation. Relation becomes the ground of his being. This does not remove suffering. It removes separation. The man still suffers. He still experiences uncertainty. He still experiences weakness. But these no longer threaten his existence. Because his existence is no longer located where suffering occurs. Christ says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” The Kingdom belongs to those who possess nothing. Because possession creates separation. The man who possesses nothing exists without separation. St. John the Baptist expresses this final truth with terrifying clarity. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30 This decrease is not moral humility. 5 It is ontological disappearance. The self that lived apart from God has ended. What remains is life. Not his life. God's life. St. Paul writes, “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3 Hidden. Not visible. Not possessed. Hidden. The man no longer experiences himself as possessing life. He experiences life as possessing him. This is resurrection. Not after death. Now. The man who has nothing left but God discovers that he has lost nothing. Because nothing he lost was life. And what remains cannot be lost. Because it is God Himself. And there is no one left to live apart from Him. ⸻ 6 This life does not appear as triumph. It appears as quiet. It appears as simplicity. It appears as the absence of self concern. Because the one who was concerned for himself has died. Christ says, “Do not be anxious about your life.” Matthew 6:25 This command is impossible for the man who lives from himself. Because he must preserve himself. He must anticipate loss. He must guard against death. But the man who no longer lives from himself has nothing to guard. Nothing to preserve. Nothing to secure. His life is no longer his responsibility. It is God's. St. Peter speaks this truth plainly, “Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 Not as comfort. As ontology. The man no longer carries himself. He is carried. 7 St. Silouan writes that when the soul comes to know this life, it desires nothing else. Even suffering cannot remove its peace, because its life is no longer located in what suffers. The body may weaken. The mind may grow silent. The world may collapse. But the life remains. Because it is not created life. It is participation in uncreated life. Christ says, “Because I live, you will live also.” John 14:19 Not because you are strong. Not because you are faithful. Because I live. Archimandrite Sophrony writes that at this stage, man begins to live hypostatically. He exists no longer as an isolated psychological individual, but as a person whose being is rooted in the divine Person of Christ. This life is hidden even from the man himself. He cannot grasp it. He cannot analyze it. He cannot possess it. He can only live it. This is why the saints appear ordinary. They do not experience themselves as extraordinary. They experience themselves as nothing. 8 And precisely in this nothingness, God becomes everything. Abba Macarius said, “The man who has truly come to know himself sees himself as beneath all creation.” Not as metaphor. As reality. Because he no longer lives from himself. God alone lives in him. Archimandrite Zacharias writes that when this life appears, prayer becomes self acting. The heart continues in God without effort. The man no longer generates prayer. Prayer becomes the life of God within him. St. Paul speaks of this mystery, “The Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Romans 8:26 Not we pray. The Spirit prays. The man has become the place where God lives. This is why fear disappears. Not because suffering ends. But because death has already occurred. The man has already lost himself. There is nothing left to lose. Christ says, “He who believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live.” John 11:25 This is not only future. It is present. 9 The man has died. And now lives. This life cannot be destroyed. Because it is not his. It is Christ. St. Ignatius of Antioch, walking toward martyrdom, said, “It is no longer I who live, but there is within me a living water that speaks and says, Come to the Father.” This is the voice of the life that remains. The life that appears when the self that lived has died. This is the final dismantling. The end of autonomy. The end of separation. The end of the illusion of self existence. And the beginning of life. The man who has nothing left but God discovers that God is everything. And that this is enough. And that it has always been enough. And that there is no one left to live apart from Him. 10 --- Text of chat during the group: 00:02:25 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: From the dismantling of the religious ego there emerges first a profound poverty of heart. The man who once relied upon his virtues, his understanding, or his religious identity discovers that none of these can sustain him before God. What comes into being in this poverty is humility—not as an idea about oneself, but as a quiet truthfulness. The soul no longer needs to defend itself, justify itself, or measure its progress. Having seen its own weakness and the mercy of God, the heart becomes simple and soft. Compassion begins to arise almost without effort, because the man now recognizes in others the same frailty he has discovered within himself. Prayer also changes in character. It is no longer the activity of someone seeking spiritual achievement, but the cry of a heart that knows its need for God and rests in His mercy. 00:02:40 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: From this humility something deeper is gradually born: a new way of existing before God and others. The person who once lived within the tight circle of self-concern begins to expand inwardly. Peace appears—not the fragile peace that depends on circumstances or success, but a deeper stillness that comes from having nothing left to protect or prove. The heart becomes capable of bearing others, interceding for them, and loving without calculation. In the language of the fathers and the modern elders, this is the beginning of true personhood: the birth of a man whose life is no longer organized around the maintenance of the self, but around communion with God. What emerges from the dismantling of the religious ego, therefore, is not spiritual ruin but a hidden new life—humble, spacious, and quietly alive with the presence of God. 00:31:43 Bob Čihák, AZ: These paradoxes remind me of Chesterton's. 00:39:44 Adam Paige: Reacted to "These paradoxes remi…" with

Fr. John reflects on two "Meetings of the Lord": one joyful like that of St. Symeon, and the other on the last day when Christ returns.

​​1. TO SUPPORT this Orthodox Christian ministry and the digitisation of our many cassette-tapes for new podcasts, please visit us at the BUY ME A COFFEE support platform:​​http://buymeacoffee.com/octeaching​2. TO FIND THE TITLES AND LINKS for all our podcasts, please visit our podcast directory. Just search for ‘Orthodox Christian Teaching Podcast Directory' in the Apple Podcasts app or in the podcasts section of the Spotify app OR search for ‘Orthodox Christian Teaching' in the Apple Podcasts app or the Spotify app,​3. DIRECT LINKS to the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN TEACHING PODCAST DIRECTORY:​On the APPLE PODCASTS app:​https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/orthodox-christian-teaching-podcast-directory/id1680765527​On the SPOTIFY app:​https://open.spotify.com/show/1ALQ9YkJ0hhZ20GGZv7MH9?si=hVv_aqKtSrypyTLr1YZQIQ​​​

​1. TO SUPPORT this Orthodox Christian ministry and the digitisation of our many cassette-tapes for new podcasts, please visit us at the BUY ME A COFFEE support platform:​​http://buymeacoffee.com/octeaching​2. TO FIND THE TITLES AND LINKS for all our podcasts, please visit our podcast directory. Just search for ‘Orthodox Christian Teaching Podcast Directory' in the Apple Podcasts app or in the podcasts section of the Spotify app OR search for ‘Orthodox Christian Teaching' in the Apple Podcasts app or the Spotify app,​3. DIRECT LINKS to the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN TEACHING PODCAST DIRECTORY:​On the APPLE PODCASTS app:​https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/orthodox-christian-teaching-podcast-directory/id1680765527​On the SPOTIFY app:​https://open.spotify.com/show/1ALQ9YkJ0hhZ20GGZv7MH9?si=hVv_aqKtSrypyTLr1YZQIQ​​​

​​1. TO SUPPORT this Orthodox Christian ministry and the digitisation of our many cassette-tapes for new podcasts, please visit us at the BUY ME A COFFEE support platform: ​​ http://buymeacoffee.com/octeaching2. TO FIND THE TITLES AND LINKS for all our podcasts, please visit our podcast directory. Just search for ‘Orthodox Christian Teaching Podcast Directory' in the Apple Podcasts app or in the podcasts section of the Spotify app OR search for ‘Orthodox Christian Teaching' in the Apple Podcasts app or the Spotify app,3. DIRECT LINKS to the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN TEACHING PODCAST DIRECTORY:​On the APPLE PODCASTS app:https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/orthodox-christian-teaching-podcast-directory/id1680765527On the SPOTIFY app:https://open.spotify.com/show/1ALQ9YkJ0hhZ20GGZv7MH9?si=hVv_aqKtSrypyTLr1YZQIQ

"There is an ancient tradition that the holy, righteous elder Symeon, who came from Egypt, was one of the Seventy learned Jews chosen in the days of the Pharoah Ptolemy Philadelphus (285-246 BC) for the task of rendering the Hebrew Bible into Greek, and that to Symeon was assigned the translation of the book of the Prophet Isaiah. When he reached the famous passage where the Prophet foretells the virgin birth of Christ, saying: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (Is. 7:14), he was so perplexed that he took a penknife to erase the word 'virgin' in order to replace it by 'young woman'. At that moment, an angel of God appeared and prevented him from altering the sacred text, explaining that what seemed impossible to him was, in fact, a prophecy of the coming into this world of the Son of God. To confirm the truth of this, he promised that Symeon would not see death until he had seen and touched the Messiah born of the Virgin. When, after many long years, Christ was brought into the Temple at Jerusalem by the All-Holy Mother of God, the Holy Spirit revealed to the Elder Symeon that the time of fulfilment of the promise had come. He hurried to the Temple and, taking the Child in his arms, he was able to say wholeheartedly to God: Lord, now lettest thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy word, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation (Luke 2:29). For indeed, the Elder Symeon was the living image of the ancient Israel of the Old Testament, which having awaited the coming of the Messiah was ready to fade away and give place to the light and truth of the Gospel. The relics of the holy and righteous Symeon were venerated at Constantinople in the church of St James, built at the time of the Emperor Justin.   "The prophetess Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, was eighty-four years old. Since the early death of her husband, she had spent her whole life in the Temple in hope of the coming of the Saviour. She is the pattern for holy widows, virgins and monks, who have freed themselves of worldly cares in order to dwell always in the Temple, offering their fasts, hymns and prayers in eager expectation of the Lord's coming. And when, like Anna and Symeon, they have seen the indwelling Christ with the eyes of their heart and touched Him through their spiritual senses, they proclaim with joy and assurance to all mankind that the Saviour is still coming into the world: A light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of His people Israel (Luke 2:32)." (Synaxarion)   The Synaxarion notes that the tradition that St Symeon was one of the Seventy is by no means universal among the Fathers. According to some, Symeon was the son of Hillel and father of Gamaliel, St Paul's teacher. According to others, he was a righteous and devout Jew aged 112, neither a priest nor a Pharisee.

When the ever-virgin Mary's forty days of purification were passed, according to the Law of Moses she took her son Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem, to dedicate him to God as her first-born son. At the temple the Lord's parents offered the sacrifice of a pair of doves (Luke 2:22-23), from which we learn that they were poor, since those who were able were required to offer a lamb. At the Temple, the Lord was met by Zacharias, father of St John the Baptist, and by the aged, righteous Symeon, who had awaited the salvation of God for many years. (Sts Symeon and Anna are commemorated tomorrow.) We are told that some Pharisees, seeing the child Jesus recognized as the Messiah of Israel, were enraged, and went to tell King Herod. Realizing that this must be the child of whom he had been warned, Herod immediately sent soldiers to kill Him. But the righteous Joseph, warned in dream, fled with the child and his wife, the most holy Theotokos, into Egypt, and they were preserved.   The Feast of the Meeting of the Lord was observed in Jerusalem at least from the fourth century. Its observance was brought to Constantinople by the Emperor Justinian in 542. In the West it is called the Feast of the Purification of the Mother of God, or Candlemas Day.

A reading of reflections and poems of Saint Symeon taken from various sources and translations including:~ The Book of Mystical Chapters: Meditations on the Soul's Ascent from the Desert Fathers and Other Early Christian Contemplatives, Translated by John Anthony McGuckin~ The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry, by Stephen Mitchell~ The Fire rises in Me - English version by Ivan M. GrangerSaint Symeon the New Theologian (949 -1022 AD) was an Eastern Orthodox monk and poet who was one of the three saints canonized by the Eastern Orthodox Church and given the title of "Theologian." "Theologian" was not applied to Symeon in the modern academic sense of theological study; the title was intended only to recognise someone who spoke from personal experience of the vision of God. One of his principal teachings was that humans could and should experience theoria (literally "contemplation," or direct experience of God).Symeon was born into the Byzantine nobility and given a traditional education. At age fourteen, he met Symeon the Studite, a renowned monk of the Monastery of Stoudios in Constantinople, who convinced him to give his own life to prayer and asceticism under the elder Symeon's guidance. By the time he was thirty, Symeon the New Theologian became the abbot of the Monastery of Saint Mamas, a position he held for twenty-five years. He attracted many monks and clergy with his reputation for sanctity, though his teachings brought him into conflict with church authorities, who would eventually send him into exile. Symeon is recognized as the first Eastern Christian mystic to share his own mystical experiences freely. Some of his writings are included in the Philokalia, a collection of texts by early Christian mystics on contemplative prayer and hesychast teachings. Symeon wrote and spoke frequently about the importance of experiencing directly the grace of God, often talking about his own experiences of God as divine light. Another common subject in his writings was the need of putting oneself under the guidance of a spiritual father. The authority for many of his teachings derived from the traditions of the Desert Fathers, early Christian monks and ascetics. Symeon's writings include Hymns of Divine Love, Ethical Discourses, and The Catechetical Discourses.Photography: George Digalakis ~ The Sound of Silence  / georgedigalakisphotography  https://www.digalakisphotography.com/Music: "Let My Love Be Heard" by Jake Runestad. Performed by the Bob Cole Conservatory Chamber Choir.   • Let My Love Be Heard - Jake Runestad  Cousin Silas - Slow Rotations https://cousinsilas1.bandcamp.com/With thanks to Pat for his kind permission to use his music for this channel.

Symeon, Łk 2,22-35

He was from Samosata in Mesopotamia, and became a monk at the age of twelve. As a young monk he visited St Symeon the Stylite (September 1) to receive his blessing. Years later he moved to the neighborhood of Constantinople at the request of the holy Patriarch Anatolius (July 3), whom he had healed of a deadly ailment through his prayers. For a time Daniel lived in the church of the Archangel Michael at Anaplus, but nine years later St Symeon the Stylite appeared to him in a vision and told him to imitate Symeon's ascesis of living on a pillar. For the remaining thirty-three years of his life the Saint did just that. He stood immovably in prayer regardless of the weather: once after a storm his disciples found him standing covered with ice. He was much loved by several Emperors (including Leo the Great), who sought him out for counsel. He reposed at the age of eighty-four, having lived through the reigns of three Emperors.

The Evergetinos gathers these stories around a single, unsettling truth: those who endure injustice with gratitude and refuse to avenge themselves become truly rich, and God Himself becomes their defender. Abba Mark says it simply and without comfort: “He who is wronged by someone, and does not seek redress, truly believes in Christ, and receives a hundredfold in this life and eternal life in the age to come.” The measure is not whether we suffer wrong, but what we do with it. Injustice is assumed. The question is whether we turn it into a weapon or an altar. Gelasios endures theft and humiliation at the hands of Vacatos. He stands his ground about the monastic cell for God's sake, but he does not pursue his abuser, does not drag him to court, does not stir up others to defend him. He lets God see. And God does see. Symeon unveils Vacatos' hidden intent, and the man's own journey to prosecute the “man of God” becomes the road of his judgment. The Elder does nothing, yet everything is revealed. His stillness becomes the place where the truth about both men is made manifest. Pior works three years without wages. Each time he labors, each time he is sent away empty-handed, and each time he returns quietly to his monastery. His silence is not cowardice; it is poverty of spirit. The employer's house, not Pior's heart, collapses under injustice. Only when calamity has broken him does he go searching for the monk, wages in hand, begging forgiveness and confessing, “The Lord paid me back.” Pior will not even reclaim what is his. He allows it to be given to the Church, because his life is no longer measured by what he is owed. He has stepped out of the economy of recompense into the freedom of God. The Elder whose cell is robbed twice endures in an even more piercing way. First he leaves a note: “Leave me half for my needs.” Then, when all is taken, he still does not accuse. Only when the thief lies dying, tortured in soul and unable to depart, does he confess and call for the Elder. As soon as the Elder prays, his soul is released. The one who was wronged becomes the priest at the threshold of death. The one who stole cannot die in peace until he passes under the mercy of the man he robbed. Here judgment is revealed as truth entering the heart, and God's “avenging” consists in turning the wound of the innocent into medicine for the guilty. In Menas, this same mystery ripens into martyrdom. Menas stands literally on bones, his flesh cut away, and chants, “My foot hath stood in uprightness.” His body is mutilated, but his praise is whole. The attempt to silence him only reveals where his life truly rests. In the end even his persecutor becomes a believer and shares his martyrdom. In Menas, injustice is not merely endured; it becomes the final gift by which God crowns His friends. Peter's discourse with Clement names the inner logic of all this. Those who wrong others, he says, actually wrong themselves most deeply, while those who are wronged, if they endure with love, gain purification and forgiveness. Possessions become occasions of sin; their unjust loss, when borne rightly, becomes the removal of sins. Enemies, for a brief time, maltreat those they hate—but in God's providence they become the cause of their victims' deliverance from eternal punishment. Seen this way, those who harm us are, in a hidden manner, our benefactors. Only the one who loves God greatly can bear to see this and respond with love instead of resentment. --- Text of chat during the group: 00:03:52 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 310 Volume II - Section B 00:08:56 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 310 Volume II - Section B 00:10:20 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Philokaliaministries.org/blog 00:18:09 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: Page 310 Volume II - Section B 00:18:15 Fr. Charbel Abernethy: http://Philokaliaministries.org/blog 00:21:46 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 310 section B 00:32:59 Bob Čihák, AZ: P. 312 # 2 00:34:19 Anthony: Witholding wages is one of the few sins that cry out to heaven for vengeance. 00:36:12 Forrest: Perhaps in 3 years, God may have given the monk 100 fold already for those lost wages. So when wages were offered, the wages would have been due back to God, not the monk. 00:49:52 Anthony: I believe St Minas was a soldier, no? I think if yes that adds a layer of poetry to the story, he was an athlete greater than his former profession. 00:53:45 Anthony: Synaxarion? 00:55:37 Myles Davidson: Father, can you recommend a good bio of St Philip Neri? 01:06:40 Sheila Applegate: There is a fine line between Christian counsel and judgement of others. 01:09:44 Maureen Cunningham: Your enemy is hammer and chisel t form you to Christ 01:14:31 Erick Chastain: How can one benefit via Christ's medicine of edification those that persecute you if they do not know they are doing so, instead believing that they are doing the good? 01:16:30 Jerimy Spencer: Aloha Father, a Protestant author John Eldredge, described one of the spirits of this age as the age of the offended self, and I think there is something to this, whether solely cultural or also of diabolical, the temptations I find often is to take anything personal or be reminded of some offense and thereby be seduced by the passion of anger, instead of praying for them. 01:33:03 Jerimy Spencer: C.S. Lewis I think, uses the language of “the hammering process” 01:34:18 Maureen Cunningham: Thank you  Blessing to  all 01:34:19 Rebecca Thérèse: Thank you

​FOR LINKS to all our podcasts, visit the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN TEACHING PODCAST DIRECTORY at the links below. You can also search ‘Orthodox Christian Teaching' in the Apple Podcasts or Spotify apps to find all our podcasts: ON APPLE PODCASTS APP: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/orthodox-christian-teaching-podcast-directory/id1680765527ON SPOTIFY APP: https://open.spotify.com/show/1ALQ9YkJ0hhZ20GGZv7MH9?si=hVv_aqKtSrypyTLr1YZQIQ

Born in Syria, he was a shepherd, but at the age of eighteen he left home and became a monk, practicing the strictest asceticism. At times he fasted for forty days. After a few years at a monastery he took up an ascetical discipline unique at that time: mounting a pillar, he stood on it night and day in prayer. Though he sought only seclusion and prayer, his holiness became famous, and thousands would make pilgrimage to receive a word from him or to touch his garments. Countless nomadic Arabs came to faith in Christ through the power of his example and prayers. To retreat further from the world, he used progressively taller pillars: his first pillar was about ten feet high, his final one about fifty. He was known also for the soundness of his counsel: he confirned the Orthodox doctrine at the Council of Chalcedon and persuaded the Empress Eudocia, who had been seduced by Monophysite beliefs, to return to the true Christian faith. After about forty years lived in asceticism, he reposed in peace at the age of sixty-nine.   He was at first suspected of taking up his way of life out of pride, but his monastic brethren confirmed his humility thus: They went to him as a group, and told him that the brotherhood had decided that he should come down from his pillar and rejoin them. Immediately he began to climb down from the pillar. Seeing his obedience and humility, they told him to remain with their blessing.

Born in Syria, he was a shepherd, but at the age of eighteen he left home and became a monk, practicing the strictest asceticism. At times he fasted for forty days. After a few years at a monastery he took up an ascetical discipline unique at that time: mounting a pillar, he stood on it night and day in prayer. Though he sought only seclusion and prayer, his holiness became famous, and thousands would make pilgrimage to receive a word from him or to touch his garments. Countless nomadic Arabs came to faith in Christ through the power of his example and prayers. To retreat further from the world, he used progressively taller pillars: his first pillar was about ten feet high, his final one about fifty. He was known also for the soundness of his counsel: he confirned the Orthodox doctrine at the Council of Chalcedon and persuaded the Empress Eudocia, who had been seduced by Monophysite beliefs, to return to the true Christian faith. After about forty years lived in asceticism, he reposed in peace at the age of sixty-nine.   He was at first suspected of taking up his way of life out of pride, but his monastic brethren confirmed his humility thus: They went to him as a group, and told him that the brotherhood had decided that he should come down from his pillar and rejoin them. Immediately he began to climb down from the pillar. Seeing his obedience and humility, they told him to remain with their blessing.

This week we're joined by special guest Fr. Nathan Symeon. Fr. Nathan and Fr. Michael talk about listening to the Holy Spirit and others. They also talk about their experience as participants in a review of the final document from the synod on synodality.References:Integrated Evangelization by Monsignor RichterSobornost by Catherine DohertySave the Date for the Bridegroom's Banquet!Follow and Contact Us!Follow us on Instagram and FacebookWe're on YouTube!Join our Goodreads GroupFr. Michael's TwitterChrist the Bridegroom MonasteryOur WebsiteOur NonprofitSend us a textSupport the show