4th Week Pascha

Fourth Week of Pascha: ROCA parishes in the City Named After St. Nicholas Nerehta Tsar Martyr

Original Russian article- found on:<http://internetsobor.org>  http://internetsobor.org/rptcz/istoriia/rptcz/nedelia-chetvertaia-paskhi-prikhod-rptcz-v-gorode-nerekhta-vo-imia-sv-nikolaia-tcaria-muchenika  Fourth Week of Pascha. ROCOR parishes in the city  named after St. Nicholas Nerehta Tsar Martyr Written by Fr. Valery Leonichev incl.  May 11, 2015. Published in the ROCA The day after the Liturgy, because of an innocent child's question, given by the young sharer, there  started up a conversation: to comprehend an old philosophical debate about: what is a man. Indeed, out of the mouths of babes ... What is a man without the church? The service this day in memory of the miracle of Jesus healing the paralytic is celebrated  by the Church in the fourth week after Pascha, and it reminds us of who we are, before God, Who first visited every one of us ... We were all gathered in the cozy house on the outskirts of the Kostroma Nerekhta, and  again we stand as bowls, in anticipation of being filled with Holy Communion, just like all of you, our brothers and sisters in Christ. And we are with you - we are the Church! But do not let us, O Lord, rebel once again,  in our  proud blindness, and  exchange  the priceless gift of  Thy mercy, for that of  the rulers of this world. With love, Afanasyev http://rpczmoskva.org.ru/prixodskaya-zhizn/nedelya-chetvertaya-po-pasxe-prixod-rpcz-v-gorode-nerexta-vo-imya-sv-nikolaya-carya-muchenika.html

GOC-Metropolitan of Attika, Greece visit to America

A General Sharing: Photos-Visit of GOC-Metropolitan of Attika, Greece, to America, to the two GOC Monastic Communities in New York, State, USA-

Article found on Internet Sobor PHOTOS  http://internetsobor.org/iptc-gretcii/tcerkovnye-novosti/starostilnye-tcerkvi/iptc-gretcii/iptc-gretcii-vizit-mitropolita-khrizostoma-attikiiskogo-v-ameriku  Greece: Visit of Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Attikiyskogo to America Author: Vera nun incl. May 10, 2015. May 6 (n. C.) 2015  Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Attikiysky and Beotikiysky (GOC Greece) made ​​a brief visit to New York  State (USA). He visited the men's Holy Ascension Monastery in Woodstock, which is headed by Metropolitan Demetrios. Their Eminences, Metropolitan Chrysostomos and Demetrius discussed a number of issues of church concern, and talked with the monastic brethren.  His Eminence Chrysostomos also had the opportunity to meet with the former Metropolitan of America - retired Bishop Pavlos, [of Astoria],  who is now sick, and to visit the women's sisterhood of St. Sinklitikii in Long Island.

ROCA Samara Community

In ROCA, The Samara Community, they have as their own special feast, the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman

PHOTOS
 http://internetsobor.org/rptcz/tcerkovnye-novosti/rptcz/u-samarian-v-nedeliu-o-samarianyne

Christ is Risen, brothers and sisters!

  05.10.2015, in the 5th week of Pascha, of the Samaritan Woman, in the Samara community RPTSZ- there was a large festal celebration, with Divine Liturgy.

  On Friday, we were visited by our  Rector and confessor, Fr. Valery Leonichev. This meeting, we had looked forward to  from the first week of Lent.

  Without a father-resident priest, in our house-church, we normally perform lay-reader services,  so the Divine Liturgy for us is especially dear.

  Again, God has given us the opportunity to confess and take Holy Communion, thank you Lord! It was a pity that not all were able to attend.

  We have had only three days with  Father, and he has worked hard.  From morning until late at night he has had no peace: a requiem prayer, and all the accumulated problems, for which their solutions had all been delayed, all needed his  attention. On Saturday, Father read a very instructive lecture on "The causes of divisions in the ROCOR."  

On Sunday, after the Liturgy, there was a meeting of the fathers of the families,  about  the [planned] construction of the temple in our community, and about our official legal registration..... ["The total meal and a plane"? ... 19 00 [Общая трапеза и в 19 00 самолет...]? cannot translate this Russian original or this rough machine-English-sentence-Rd. Daniel

  We had three long and  bright days, which  seemed like a lifetime.

Truly He is Risen!

John (Samara)

http://rpczmoskva.org.ru/pravoslavnyj-kalendar/u-samaryan-v-nedelyu-o-samaryanyne.html

Mobile Home carried 130 miles by Tornado

Believe it or not, category-the importance of faith and trust in God and prayer- ‏

CHRIST IS RISEN!   XRISTOS ANESTI!     XRISTOS VOSKRESE!

"And He shall give His angels charge over thee, to guard thee in all thy ways!"  and....
"I cried unto the Lord in my distress, and He answered me!"

 "The family believes that their prayers were answered and that their survival is due to a divine intervention."

 http://worldnewsdailyreport.com/tornado-carries-mobile-home-130-miles-family-inside-unharmed

Tornado Carries Mobile Home 130 Miles, Family inside Unharmed

April 28th, 2015 | by Barbara Johnson

Disaster

Wichita| A family from Tulsa, Oklahoma, underwent the scariest experience of their life yesterday, when their mobile home was carried over 130 miles by a tornado, landing in a rural Kansas area. Five members of the same family were inside the building during its “flight”, and all of them have miraculously survived without injuries.

41-year old Dorothy Williams, was at home with her husband, her son, and her two brothers, when their mobile home was lifted off the ground by an F4 tornado.
The powerful winds reaching more than 220 miles per hour, carried and shook the mobile home for 4 hours and 18 minutes, sometimes at altitude of more than 1000 feet. After carrying the house across Northern Colorado and Southern Kansas, the tornado finally dropped it on a car, just outside of Wichita, 129.5 miles (208.5 kilometers) away from its point of origin.
A few locals have witnessed the landing, like Michael Johnson, a 63-year old neighboring farmer,  who describes an incredibly spectacular scene.

“I saw something in the sky that looked like a plane without wings” says Mr. Johnson. “I seemed to be flying clumsily towards the ground, as if it was trying to land. It was probably 300 feet from me when I finally understood the i was a mobile home, and I freaked out. It landed directly on my neighbor’s, which partially collapsed from the shock, but still rolled for almost 100 feet after the impact. It made an incredibly loud, crashing sound, and debris was flying everywhere. I thought I was going to die.”

The 60-feet long mobile home landed on an unoccupied car, in Butler county. The building has suffered surprisingly little structural damage considering the distance over which it was transported.

Despite the violence of the crash, with the house landing at a speed of more than 90 miles per hour, the incident did not cause any death or serious injury. All five occupants of the house have miraculously survived their incredible misadventure, suffering only a few scratches and bruises.
The family believes that their prayers were answered and that their survival is due to a divine intervention.

“This was the scariest experience of my life,” says Dorothy Williams. “Our house was flying in the air, swinging and turning in each and every direction. The furniture was flying around and things were smashing against the walls. It felt like it was never going to end! All we could do was pray… so we kept praying. Then, suddenly, there was a very loud crashing sound, and it was all over. We had landed safely, and we were all alive. It was a real miracle! Jesus answered our prayers!”

An isolated set of concrete stairs remains on the family’s property in the Rolling Hills Mobile Home Park, in Tulsa, marking the site of the house’s former location.

This is not the first time that a house is lifted off the ground by a tornado and carried over some distance with its occupant inside, without them being killed. It is, however, the longest distance ever recorded for such a case, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
On the evening of Thursday 12 June 2014, a house in Burnet County, Texas, about 16 km to the northeast of the city of Bertram, was lifted off its foundations by a tornado, The house was carried safely to a nearby pasture, with four members of the Ashworth family, plus their two dogs, unharmed.

Cremation in Greece

An Orthodox view of Cremation, etc.: Sad situation in Greece

And my own added comments:  In originally Protestant-cultured America, prayers for the dead are unknown, rejected in the Protestant Reformation. But until recently, still, in general we preserved some ancient Christian customs, as whole body burial in a proper cemetery . .with some vague notion of it being 'consecrated ground'. But with the ever changing post-Christian values of this society, now, what seems to matter, is expediency and cheapness in the end of life costs, and the fact that many really do not believe in an afterlife, or the Resurrection of all. And too, expensive [and also un-Orthodox], embalming.... is not always needed now, when a cremation is planned. And no expensive burial plot in a cemetery is required. Plus cremation is generally perceived as 'clean'...and thus does not allow the ugly natural decay decomposition process in the dirty ground, to take place. Thus too, no possibility of ...worms. Since the living are, ourselves,  no longer sacred (example: the millions of aborted/murdered  human babies), not to mention the devaluation of the lives and worth of the useless and burdensome elderly,) why should anyone care about the earthly bodily remains of humans?...or to worry about commemorating them, with a decent traditional grave in a cemetery with a headstone, [ crosses are not fashionable anymore, anyway], with their names on it, etc....where no one will come and pray for their souls, anyway. No, all that matters to most now, is...convenience and to  dispose of human remains as cheaply and as fast as possible...as if  they [ we] are rubbish. Adopting  the Hindu practice, [ which in their religion has the meaning of burning the body to release the imprisoned soul], of burning the human bodies, that is seen as 'clean' and,  cheap, modern, and preferable....and more and more, without any pretense of a funeral....especially so, as too often the deceased did not belong to any church nor believe in God. Sometimes what is conducted, around the container of the ashes, is a pathetic 'Celebration of Life' sentimental and short gathering. Then, the ashes [ the 'cremains'],  are strewn over...hither and yon, on top of mountains, or in the ocean or into lakes or rivers or swamps, [ sometimes, simply along the sides of highways!], etc. without any grave marker, so that future generations of their descendants might at least be able visit it and remember them,  ..to at least testify that that human being, their ancestor,  ever lived even. Yes, some ashes end up in canisters in modern styled memorial columbariums, [ which often resemble miniature modern styled apartment buildings...for the dead though], with the name of the departed, but that is a very small percent. That costs too much! In this western region of America, a local funeral director told me, that about 80% or more,  of burials are via cremation, and then strewing the ashes....without any markers.  On the east coast, there are still more bodily burials, than cremations, or so he thinks. Even the once staunch Roman Catholic church, which previously firmly forbade cremations, has given way to the popular demands. In America, virtually all churches,  to my knowledge,  even the Worldly-Orthodox, allow cremations,[ or anyway, cannot stop them]  combined with or without funerals, or any prayers being said over the departed's remains...or their place of burial, or the place where their ashes are strewn or...dumped. Thus, our modern progressive lives and culture are further cheapened and de-sanctified, GODLESS! There is no fear of God, nor hope in a general Resurrection, nor of a life of an age to come. All that matters now, is our brief earthly physical 'happiness' and ...feeling good, raw and unashamed godless materialism in full force. Yet, no one, even the hardened atheists can deny, that.. when this life visibly and undeniably comes to an end for us all, and then there is no more material or bodily pleasure. What happens then? The unbelievers have no answer, none at all. To them, that means total oblivion, that's all. 'Here today, gone tomorrow!' They do not believe in the efficacy of the living praying for the eternal benefit of souls of the departed, [intercessory prayers of the living members of the Church for the departed members of the Church] nor in the living doing good works, 'in their memory', [ VICARIOUSLY ...ON THEIR BEHALF, as is our Orthodox belief], ..i.e. good works which we believe may... help the souls of the departed. Thus seems to be fulfilled the biblical curse: "Even the name of the wicked shall be blotted out of the earth, forever!" Rd. Daniel CHRIST IS RISEN!      XRISTOS ANESTI!      XRISTOS VOSKRESE! Sent: Saturday, May 09, 2015 2:01 PM To: Undisclosed-recipients: Subject: Sad situation in Greece XB!  Read the second part first! Begin forwarded message: From: Bishop Chrysostomos Subject: Sad situation in Greece Date: 9 May 2015 16:41:08 GMT+01:00 Dear Andrei: Christ is Risen! May God bless you. You are absolutely correct: a sad situation. But also a false crisis. Ossuaries house immense numbers of bones, many of which eventually deteriorate naturally. This false crisis is just part of the modernist, anti-Christian idea that it is more convenient and cheaper to cremate bodies. It is also the case that cemeteries occupy prime real estate, which invites greedy interests from that perspective, too. The ultimate loss is one of respect for Holy Tradition, the sacredness of the body, and the literal image that we attempt to preserve, as Orthodox, in the notion of the Resurrection of the body. Falling to the looseness of western Christianity and deviations from Holy Tradition, Orthodox find it increasingly meaningless to keep intact the nexus between belief and practice and symbol and spiritual reality, as well as the relationship between the body and soul, wherein we affirm that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. The holiness of the flesh when we are restored in Christ and become one with Him in theosis is a basic precept of our Faith. Cremation of the body is just one more step towards a materialistic view of man. We as Orthodox are saved body and soul, not just as some abstract energy separate from our bodies and persons. The latter are made new in Christ. Since western Christianity has also lost any respect for Relics and the evidence that they offer of the effect of spiritual power and Grace on the human body, as well as the soul, this important dimension of our opposition to cremation—a pagan practice—is also being lost. Sad, indeed. We have almost lost the tradition of avoiding the embalming of bodies. Cremation is just a final step towards full paganism.  In the Resurrected Christ, † Bp. Chrysostomos ------ On May 9, 2015, at 7:45 AM, C wrote: SHORTAGE OF GRAVE PLOTS REVIVES CREMATION CONTROVERSY IN GREECE May 8, 2015      The shortage of space in graveyards along with burial costs bring back the controversial issue of cremation in Greece. At the moment, graveyards in Greece’s capital and second largest city, Thessaloniki, are overcrowded to the point where a burial is essentially leasing a grave plot for three years. After three years, relatives can pay to have the bones of the buried in communal storage called an ossuary. Cremation would have been a solution to solve this increasing problem. However, the Greek Orthodox Church prohibits cremation as a violation of the human body. Priests are not allowed to conduct funeral ceremonies for deceased whose relatives ask for cremation. Controversy has arisen in recent years with more and more Greeks espousing the idea of scattering the ashes of their loved ones in the place of their birth or in a place the deceased has asked. Also, with burial costs starting at 2,000-3,000 euros, cremation would have been a less costly solution. Yet, the Church of Greece is adamant that no cremation can take place on Greek soil. Thereby, there are no cremation facilities in Greece. The prohibition of cremation and the absence of facilities, has forced a number of Greeks to travel abroad and have cremation services performed in neighboring countries, such as Bulgaria. Last year, and despite the church’s resistance, Mayor of Thessaloniki Yiannis Boutaris petitioned the environment ministry to change legislation regarding locations for building crematoria. The bill was amended making it possible for crematoria to be built outside graveyards. Boutaris has pledged that Thessaloniki will have a cremation facility by 2016. GreekReporter.com

Russia's Opposition defies Brutal Intimidation

Some More Truth-Sharing: 
Beaten but defiant- Russia's Opposition defies Brutal Intimidation

Comment:

Anyone, who while living here in America, hates and denigrates  this country,  MY COUNTRY! needs to get out! and go to somewhere else where they think they might be happy.

This most especially includes Muslim pro-Islamic extremists, and also anyone who supports dictator Vladimir Putin, an arch-enemy of this country and of all free men everywhere, indeed an enemy of Russia and all Russian people.

And God bless all self-respecting, moral,  intelligent Russian people,  who oppose evil blood-thirsty Vladimir Putin, who is trying to return Russia to Stalinism, step by brutal and murderous oppressive step....and pushing the world to major war....which has to be a nuclear war.

What Putin is doing, has not been caused by America, in any way, shape, or form-it is own evil Satan inspired world domination power scheme.

America is not the enemy of Russia, [ as we were never so] nor any western nation, it is Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and his hang-over neo-soviet KGB run regime.

His unjustified immoral and bloody military invasion and occupation of Ukraine, is only the beginning.

Those intelligent and noble 'dissident' Russians, [of whom I know there are many], living here in America, or in the Russian Federation or elsewhere, I feel a strong rapport with, and much admiration for.

But those who so foolishly, or in ignorance,[ who seem to actually believe!... the many lies of the Putin very extensive propagenda machine],   defend and support bloodthirsty Putin, somehow their 'national hero'!...need to GET OUT OF MY COUNTRY!...and the sooner the better.

And some of my Russian-American  friends here, in my ROCA, have told me, that a lot ... of the more recent soviet-era Russian emigrants here, [ and in Canada]  DO totally support and adore Putin!  HOW SHAMEFUL and DESPICABLE!... How very ignoble and anti-Christian.
If it were up to me, I would advocate that they all of them be,  forcibly deported, and soon, and given a one-way Aeroflot plane ticket, to Moscow, and never allowed back into this country, which they clearly hate.

GOD BLESS THOSE RUSSIANS WHO WANT A TRULY FREE AND PROSPEROUS RUSSIA!!...no longer an endless threat to my country or to the rest of the world.
Rd. Daniel Everiss in Oregon, a sincere life-long Orthodox Christian, anti-Communist, AND a loyal American....and a lover of TRUTH!

V. Putin does not tell the truth about anything.

DOWN WITH TYRANNY!  DOWN WITH KGB VLADIMIR PUTIN!

CHRIST IS RISEN!   XRISTOS ANESTI!   XRISTOS VOSKRESE!

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 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-32621330

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It's time to put the ratbags in the wheelie bin.

Just a linguistic Sharing: Australian popular speech, having a wide influence on global English slang terms-

http://www.test.bbc.com/culture/story/20150427-pervs-greenies-and-ratbags