Posts by ixthis

64

Devotional to the Bridegroom - Christ

by ixthis in

scripture.

awake!

ixthis

Actsof the Apostles, 319 AD

June 08

Translation of the relics of

the Greatmartyr Theodore Stratelates

O trophy-bearer Theodore, by thy strategy thou wast a general of the heavenly King;

armed with the weapons of faith thou didst annihilate hordes of demons

and win the Athletes' contest. With faith we call thee blessed.

The Holy Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates suffered for Christ in Heraklea on February 8, 319. At the time of his sufferings the holy Great Martyr Theodore ordered his servant Varus to bury his body on the estate of his parents in Euchaita. The transfer of the relics of the Great Martyr Theodore took place on June 8, 319.

On this day we also recall a miracle of the icon of the Great Martyr Theodore in a church dedicated to him at a place called Karsat, near Damascus. A group of Saracens had turned this church into their residence. There was a fresco on the wall depicting Theodore. One of the Saracens shot an arrow into the icon of the Great Martyr. From the saint's face, where the arrow had stuck into the wall, blood flowed before the eyes of everyone. A short while later, the Saracens who had settled in the church killed each other. Accounts of this miracle are given by the Anastasius of Mt. Sinai (April 20) and John of Damascus (December 4)

144

1st Cen. Christianity - One Organization

by StandFirm in

here is the promised debate.

the subject is whether or not god has an organization.

i'll start things simply:.

ixthis

The early church did more than merely help sick people, widows and orphans. Starting with the Apostles and right through to this very day exist those who were persecuted and tortured to maintain the faith pure ... they are the living Acts of the Apostles in the Bible and continued in the marks of their bodies; in their martyrdoms. These Saints are the very proof people look for when looking for how the Euaggelio was spread across the world. Just read an excerpt of the condition of all the Bishops of the Church at the 325 Council ... only 11 had not been tortured to maintain the faith passed down to them.

Marutha of Maiperqat, on the Council of Nicaea (concerning 1st Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325)

The General Council having thus received authority from the king (Constantine I), the fathers directed that there should be gradations in the assembly and that each Bishop should sit in his place according to his rank. Chairs were there made for all and the king entered and sat with them. He kissed the spots which were the marks of Christ in their bodies.

Of the 318 fathers, only 11 were free from such marks, whose name were Absalom, Bishop of Edessa, and son of Mar Ephrem's sister, Jonah of Raikson, Mara of Dora, George of Shegar, Jacob of Nisibis, Marouta of Mepairkat, John of Goostia, Shimon of Diarbekir, Adai of Agal, Eusebius of Caesarea and Joseph of Nicomedia.

But all the others were more or less maimed in their persecutions from heretics.

Some had their eyes taken out; some had their ears cut off. Some had their teeth dug out by the roots. Some had the nails of their fingers and toes torn out; some were otherwise mutilated; in a word there was no one without marks of violence; save the above-named persons. But Thomas, Bishop of Marash was an object almost frightful to look upon; he had been mutilated by the removal of his eyes, nose and lips; his teeth had been dug out and both his legs and arms had been cut off. He had been kept in prison 22 years by the Armanites [Armenians] who used to cut off a member of his body or mutilate him in some way every year, to induce him to consent to their blasphemy, but he conquered in this fearful contest to the glory of believers and to the manifestation of the unmercifulness of the heretics.

The fathers took him with them to the Council and when the king saw him, he fell down upon the ground and venerated him saying,

"I venerate thee, O thou martyr of Christ, who art adorned with many crowns."

15

BEST POST OF THE MONTH CONTEST (JUNE 2011) VOTE AND START HERE

by maksym in

i thought to start a place where we can reflect on some really great posts throughout the month.

paste the topic, opening post if necessary, and the posted reply below it.

read the posts here first.

ixthis

@Farkel - who is?

64

Devotional to the Bridegroom - Christ

by ixthis in

scripture.

awake!

ixthis

The dialogue which takes place between the Angels, who express their admiration for Jesus Christ who enters heaven:

"Lift up your gates, ye princes, and be ye lifted up,

ye everlasting doors; and the king of glory shall come in.

Who is this king of glory?

the Lord strong and mighty; the Lord mighty in battle.

Lift up your gates, ye princes; and be ye lift up,

ye everlasting doors; and the king of glory shall come in.

Who is this king of glory?

The Lord of hosts, He is this king of glory."

Psalm 23: 7-10

64

Devotional to the Bridegroom - Christ

by ixthis in

scripture.

awake!

ixthis

The Lord said to his disciples,

"Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way where I am going."

Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?"

Jesus said to him,

"I AM the way, and the truth, and the life;

I am the way

no one comes to the Father, but by me.

If you had known me,

you would have known my Father also;

henceforth you know him and have seen him."

John 14:1-

64

Devotional to the Bridegroom - Christ

by ixthis in

scripture.

awake!

ixthis

C.S.Lewis:

"There are only two kinds of people in the end:those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done."

All that are in Hell* choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened."

------

* Hell is the term used by CS Lewis; this word could be interchanged with apostasy.

36

I want to hear a love story

by 1975 in

.

who here on this forum has an interestimg love story?.

ixthis

My love story is different but I only want to share the most wonderful part. We met through the internet (not on a dating site but through a religious chat forum) and it developed into friendship .. then we met and we fell in love. Right now, he has moved to my home city to get to know me better and my family and the relationship is wonderful - we are happy and at peace!

[I do drive him nuts sometimes with my habits]

85

How many gods are there?

by jgnat in

christianity was birthed in a polytheistic world, inheriting from jewish roots the concept of one g-d. now, instead of one god for israel, we are offered one god for the whole world.

caesar (mortal men) was declared a god.

gods had powers beyond ordinary men, could grant requests, and demanded sacrifice and worship.

ixthis

Chariklo, I hope you are well.

"However, although that event caused the Great Schism a thousand years ago, the two branches of the church are sufficiently close to be in communion with each other, i.e. Catholics and Anglicans (Episcopalians) can and do take Holy Communion in Orthodox churches, and vice versa." - Quotes by Chariklo, 5/31/2011.

I'm afraid one thousand years have passed since the Great Schism and where we are now, in 2011, their are massive differences between the Roman Catholics and the Eastern Catholic and Apostolic Orthodox church.

The things the Pope declares about himself at the First Vatican Council are not "semantics", they are huge whopping claims of spiritual authority and power. Please read them but if you really do accept what the Pope says about himself and his successors in this council then so be it; but such claims will never, ever, be accepted by the Orthodox Faith. The Papal church is a self-styled "Ecumenical Council", where does that leave the Catholic church if they find themselves having to repudiate such a council?

It is impossible for Jesus' Church to function with only one lung. Ergo, it doesn't.

The RC and the Orthodox are not in communion, and the only true sign that they will be in communion is when they share the same altar, worshiping together in truth and love. Until that time you owe it to yourself to be in communion with the Body you know are most faithfully holding on to Christ's teachings.

And yet you do not enter communion with the Church despite knowing they most faithfully preserved the Christian Faith* but partake of the Sacred Mystery which is the Body and Blood of Christ without fear and trembling. If you died without ever seeing true union then what could you say before the Judgment Seat? You knew where the Truth was, to enter it was available to you, yet due to trusting on fallible old men you hung back from partaking of the Mystery in the canonical manner.

What can you say in response?

In peace of Christ, V.

---

*Of course, if you do not believe this then it is not a relevant argument.

46

God: the central question

by ixthis in

of all the issues affecting every person's picture of reality, nothing is more fundamental than questions about god.. is there one god, creator and sovereign of all?could there be more than one god?

or no god at all?if there is a god (or gods), then what is that god (or gods) like?nothing determines your worldview-and the course of your life-more than how you answer those questions.

yet some atheists like to make light of the god question.

ixthis

Who is arrogant?

"I wont give up on you" was your own statement, to be precise you said "We wont give up on you" - so, I used the same statement in my reply - tongue in cheek - to demonstrate to you how ungracious that statement is towards me.

Funny how it boomerangs to suit your desire to degrade christianity.

Nonetheless ...

The Canon of the NT Scriptures was not formalised until 325. There was no "Bible" prior to this date ... just fragments of books scattered all over the place.

@PikaChu - Hey, I actually feel partly responsible for the misunderstanding since I should take more of an effort to clearly articulate myself and make sure things are explained... I can not assume that people understand what I mean. I apologise also for giving you that confusion.

85

How many gods are there?

by jgnat in

christianity was birthed in a polytheistic world, inheriting from jewish roots the concept of one g-d. now, instead of one god for israel, we are offered one god for the whole world.

caesar (mortal men) was declared a god.

gods had powers beyond ordinary men, could grant requests, and demanded sacrifice and worship.

ixthis

The Bible is inconsistent with good science and reason.

That could equally read:

... bad science and reason is inconsistent with the Bible

?