Posts by ixthis

6

Doxologia ...

by ixthis in

the great doxology .

the great doxology is an ancient hymn of praise to the trinity which is chanted or read daily in the eastern orthodox and greek-catholic churches.. .

the hymn is based on luke 2:14 in which the angelic host appears to the shepherds and announces to them the nativity of christ.

The Great Doxology

The Great Doxology is an ancient hymn of praise to the Trinity which is chanted or read daily in the Eastern Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Churches.

Great Doxology

The hymn is based on Luke 2:14 in which the angelic host appears to the shepherds and announces to them the Nativity of Christ. The hymn also incorporates verses from Psalm 145:2 and Psalm 119:12. The hymn is one of the most famous liturgical exclamations of praise (doxology) in the history of the Christian Church.

The Great Doxology comes from an ancient Greek hymn dating from at least the 3rd century, and perhaps even the 1st century. A very similar form is found in the Codex Alexandrinus (5th century) and in Pseudo-Athanasius (sometime prior to the 4th century). The hymn has been extended further than these earlier examples (and what could be interpreted as allusions to subordinationism have been corrected).

The Great Doxology has some similarities to Polycarp's final prayer before his martyrdom, as it is recorded by Eusebius. "I praise Thee for all, I bless Thee, I glorify Thee..." Polycarp is said to have been martyred 156-167 C.E.

As currently used, the hymn is found in several different forms:

The Great Doxology-Chanted by the choir, at Matins on Sundays and Feast days. The Great Doxology ends with the Trisagion.
The Lesser Doxology-Read by the Reader on simple weekdays at Matins and at Compline. The verses are slightly rearranged from the Great Doxology, the verse from Psalm 119 is repeated in a different manner, and the Trisagion at the end is replaced by a different doxology.
Vouchsafe, O Lord-a much more abbreviated form (essentially, the last half of the Lesser Doxology), which is read (except during Bright Week, when it is sung) every day at Vespers.

64

Devotional to the Bridegroom - Christ

by ixthis in

scripture.

awake!

ixthis

Acts of the Apostles

June 11

Memorial Saturday of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council

Today we remember all pious and Orthodox Christians who have fallen asleep in the Lord, and also recall the dread Day of Judgment.

May Christ our God be merciful to them, and to us.

Two Epistles (Acts 28:1-31, I Thess. 4:13-17) and two Gospels (JN 21:14-25, JN 5:24-30) are appointed to be read at Divine Liturgy. The readings from Acts and the Gospel of St John, which began on Pascha, now come to an end.

The book of Acts does not end, as might be expected, with the death of Sts Peter and Paul, but remains open-ended.*

* In his article "With all the Saints," Fr Justin Popovich says that the Lives of the Saints are nothing less than a "continuation of the Acts of the Apostles." Just as the book of Acts describes the works of Christ which the Apostles accomplished through Christ, Who was dwelling in them and working through them, the saints also preach the same Gospel, live the same life, manifest the same righteousness, love, and power from on High.

42

Do You Think It Is Wrong To Stereotype?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i know we are supposed to be politically correct but i don't always feel that this is warranted.. i do think that certain things might be generally true and could be viewed as stereotyping.

for example, if i see a young person driving a car very slowly, i might think that they are texting and driving (or else are asian).

now that might not have sounded proper, but i do think it's generally true, from my experience driving in the city.. if i see a "butchy" looking woman, i generally assume the woman is gay.

ixthis

Yes :) the only exception is Alabama ... the people there have cute accents! :)

Cockatiel Tilly praying ...

by ixthis in

"bird prayer".

http://blip.tv/natsense/bird-prayer-4583601.

cockatiel tilly "praying" before the photo of st. seraphim of sarov and the kursk root icon of the theotokos.. learn from the bird how to be persistent in prayer!

ixthis

"Bird Prayer"

http://blip.tv/natsense/bird-prayer-4583601

Cockatiel Tilly "praying" before the photo of St. Seraphim of Sarov and the Kursk Root Icon of the Theotokos.

Learn from the bird how to be persistent in prayer! :-)

64

Devotional to the Bridegroom - Christ

by ixthis in

scripture.

awake!

ixthis

O, Gentle Light*

Christ

O Jesus Christ,
Thou gentle Light of the heavenly glory of the immortal, heavenly, holy, blessed Father.
Now that we have come to the setting of the sun and behold the evening light,
We sing in praise to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Thou art worthy at all times to be praised by holy voice
O Son of God, Giver of life,
Therefore the world gives Thee glory.

----------------------------------------

O, Gentle Light

The All-Night Vigil, Opus 37, is an a cappella choral composition by Sergei Rachmaninoff, written and premiered in 1915. It consists of settings of texts taken from the Orthodox All-night vigil ceremony. It has been praised as Rachmaninoff's finest achievement and "the greatest musical achievement of the Orthodox Church". It was one of Rachmaninoff's two favorite compositions along with The Bells, and the composer requested that one of its movements be sung at his funeral. The title of the work is often translated as simply Vespers, which is both literally and conceptually incorrect as applied to the entire work: only the first six of its fifteen movements set texts from the Orthodox Church (Russian diocese) canonical hour of Vespers.

64

Devotional to the Bridegroom - Christ

by ixthis in

scripture.

awake!

ixthis

Acts of the Apostles, 313

June 10

Holy Martyrs Alexander and Antonina, the Virgin.

Alex and Antonia

St Antonina was from the city of Krodamos (Asia Minor). She was arrested for being a Christian, and was brought before the governor Festus. He urged her to worship the pagan gods, promising to make her a priestess of the goddess Artemis. But the saint bravely confessed Christ, and she urged the governor to renounce the worship of demons in the form of idols. Festus gave orders to strike the saint on the face and lock her up in prison.

The martyr spent all her time at prayer, she ate and drank nothing, but then she heard the voice of God, "Antonina, fortify yourself with food and be brave, for I am with you." When they led her before the governor again, the martyr continued to stand up for the Christian Faith and to denounce the pagans.

The governor decided to give the holy virgin over for defilement by soldiers, but the Lord inspired one of them, St Alexander, to save the holy virgin. He sought permission to go in to her on the pretext that he might be able to convince her to obey the governor's will. St Alexander then suggested that she put on his military attire and flee. St Antonina was afraid, but the Lord ordered her to agree.

No one recognized her dressed as a soldier, and she walked out of prison. The soldiers sent by Festus found St Alexander alone in the cell. He would not respond to the questions of the governor, and so he was tortured and mercilessly beaten. Through the inspiration of the Lord Jesus Christ, St Antonina also came to stand before Festus.

Soldiers cut off their hands, then they smeared them with pitch and threw them into a pit where a fire was burning. When the fire went out, they threw snakes into the pit, so that Christians would not be able to gather up the bones of the martyrs. Returning home, Festus became numb, and was able neither to eat nor to drink. He died after seven days of terrible torment.

Ss Alexander and Antonina were martyred on May 3, 313.

The relics of the saints were transferred to Constantinople and placed in the Maximov monastery.

48

What would you say to a friend who claims to have experienced demons?

by InterestedOne in

jw
friends

my jw friend says she experienced demons act on their own behalf even before she became a jw.

she supposedly used to be an atheist, but her experience with demons led her to believe in the "spiritual realm" before she ever encountered jw's.

she says her ex-boyfriend & his friend used to do the ouija board & as a result have a demon following them around.

ixthis

She is not wrong ... the demons DO rule THIS world (dare I say it), ... it is even in Scripture that he* IS the prince of this world ...

Looking forward to reading up on your phone conversation outcomes.

* "he" = Lucifer, also known as "Satan" or "the devil".

37

Concerning your behaviour towards others

by ixthis in

jw
friends

wikipedia has an article on rudeness.. rudeness (also called impudence or effrontery) is a display of disrespectfulness by not complying with the social "laws" or etiquette of a group or culture.

these laws have been established as the essential boundaries of normally accepted behavior.

i have noticed a high level of rudeness in this forum ... i was wondering the why.. what do others consider "rude" behaviour wrt this forum?do others have any thoughts about the obvious rude behaviour?do others have any thoughts if the aggressively rude posters have this personality as a by-product of watchtower indoctrination?if no, what could be causing this aggresion?

ixthis

EntirelyPossible, in my defense (as AGuest explained further) stating what I believe is not preaching. So, if someone asks a specific question and my reply is framed at that question using what I believe then I am within the guidelines of the forum. You might not agree with that point of view because it is pro-Christ etc.

Nugget - I agree, it does not feel nice when people do not take the time to read a post properly and in context and simply reply with the status quo knee jerk reactive response. I hope I will not be that way towards you!

Quandry - totally agree. Oh for the good old days.

I wanted to express my sincere appreciation towards fader1 what you said really touched my heart and moved me. Thank you for viewing me as a kind person but more than that I appreciate that you can see past the other posts and understood the point of this thread ... you rightlfully pointed out it is a reaction to the way another poster was treated, who was completely sincere with his post. I genuinely was shocked at the behaviour towards this person ...

Peace to all.

48

What would you say to a friend who claims to have experienced demons?

by InterestedOne in

jw
friends

my jw friend says she experienced demons act on their own behalf even before she became a jw.

she supposedly used to be an atheist, but her experience with demons led her to believe in the "spiritual realm" before she ever encountered jw's.

she says her ex-boyfriend & his friend used to do the ouija board & as a result have a demon following them around.

ixthis

If a person is having a very real experience of an evil spirit following them (or possessing them) no manner of YouTube videos will provide them comfort or convince them ...

Her friend is better of providing comfort and support and solutions rather than put ideas into her head that she is crazy ...

There are options and I would be asking my friend if she has looked into "curing" this problem ...

48

What would you say to a friend who claims to have experienced demons?

by InterestedOne in

jw
friends

my jw friend says she experienced demons act on their own behalf even before she became a jw.

she supposedly used to be an atheist, but her experience with demons led her to believe in the "spiritual realm" before she ever encountered jw's.

she says her ex-boyfriend & his friend used to do the ouija board & as a result have a demon following them around.

ixthis

InterestedOne, Nothing (not even demonic possesion) can happen to us unless God permits it or God wills it. So, if we place ourselves in a position where we open ourselves to unclean spirits, perhaps sometimes God seeks to correct us by handing us over to their power.

The seances and ouiji boards attempt to contact spirits, but we know that there are good spirits and evil spirits. The good spirits do God's will, they do not do our bidding or follow our fallen will. Thus when we "command" or "instruct" spirits how to communicate with us, the only spirits who will appear to comply will be the evil ones. And these spirits are not the souls of the deceased, since we know that the souls of the deceased are in the hands of God. This only leaves the possibility that they are demonic. And the demons do the bidding of the one who Christ called "The father of lies." They will use the opportunity of a seance to lie and pretend to be benevolent or benign. The people participating can become obsessed with the oiji board or seance (as happens with so called "Spiritualist Churches") and ruin their relationships, careers, reputations etc. And yes, they can (and have) become possesed and many even get to the point of suicide.

You should be very careful advising this lady alternatively ... do you really know what you are doing? You are tampering with evil spirtis that do exist and to put her on a path that tells her she is seeing illusions could put her into a serious personal situation.

But again, we must remember that nothing can happen to us unless God wills it or permits it. So demonic possession, while a possibility as a result of these practices, is not inevitable. And if it happens, it is meant to correct us.

If you enter a dynamite factory with a box of matches, and light them one by one, not every match will definitely lead to an explosion, but one of them might- so why would you do so in the first place?

I know of a few people who have been possessed by the devil ... and I know of others who have had evil spirits in their homes. There is an answer that works; I have seen people that have tried places claiming to cure possession of the devil and not one of them worked. These individuals ended up at the one place that does put fear into the demons ... and they leave.