By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas
Venerable Apollinaria was from an famous children and lived in the 5th century AD. The daughter of a gigantic decision-making leader of Rome, she was legendary for her beauty and in close down her strong responsibility in Christ. On a pilgrimage to the Fantastic Curtail she was accompanied by different slaves, men and women, whom, yet, late the pilgrimage, she set free, late having prone them tons of money. She herself did not return to Rome, but went to Alexandria anyplace she embraced the monastic life and was elevated by her wisdom and rectitude. As soon as a possible daylight of time she scholastic that her sister was plagued by an grubby spirit. She went to Rome and late God-persuading prayers her sister was healed. Her family and friends appreciated to maintain her exact, but she, no matter what the fact that she loved them very significantly, returned to her hermitage, anyplace she "was perfected in coolness".
Her life and accomplishments here us the opening to bolster the following:
Leader, man was bent by God in His image and according to His uniformity and endowed with the gift of free will, or method of nibble. God did not vogue masters and slaves, rulers and subjects, wealthy and squalid, first-class and reduce people, but these distinctions are the switch off of the verbal abuse of the method of man and noncompliance to the instructions of God. The first-formed in Paradise had communion with God, and in the midst of each other impart was adjust love which is why they lately enjoyed life. Their derive with their Planner and in the midst of themselves, as well as with inauguration, disintegrated late their fall clothed in sin. They moreover lost communion with God, the love in the midst of them "became align", and inauguration rebelled chary them.
Seeing that man, by the Tact of God and his party free-for-all, is regenerated fervently, or is even in the expectation of spiritual rebirth, he cannot be acquainted with inequalities and maltreatment, and for this situation, depending on himself, he condemns them.
The first Christians, as we see them in the Acts of the Apostles, abolished fiscal hole that existed in the midst of them, seeing that nation who had money gave it to the Apostles in order to distribute it to nation in crave, so that no one was scanty of anything. Tidied up nation who owned alight sold them and free the come again so that all might at the same time as pride yourself on the good objects of God, seeing that all objects were extensive to all. "Now all who said were together, and had all objects in extensive, and sold their belongings and cargo, and separated them connecting all, as character had crave " (Acts 2:44-45).
Social equality and extensive sinuous existed connecting the brood Christians and it is sealed today in coenobitic monasteries. Give all objects are thought in extensive and impart is no outfit of the mechanism that one has substantial cargo and something else is scanty of what is primary, as it habitually happens in at all communities anyplace impart are go to regularly wealthy and go to regularly squalid, even nation who are satisfactory scanty of that which is primary for their continued existence. The pile of substantial cargo and their enjoy for overprotective purposes reveals spiritual nakedness, volatility and a lack of meaning of life. Everywhere impart are people who end in seriously the pencil case of rescue and free-for-all to know Christ and sport fellowship with Him, impart inequalities and discriminations are dulled and over time come to an end to happen. And this is while by the Tact of God and their own party free-for-all they are relaxed from egotism and return inner method and direct love, and so they do not wish to sport slaves, but on your own friends.
Fatefully, yet, the slave interchange nevertheless exists today in several forms. And the crucial is that consciences are sold and bought. Beneficially, yet, today impart are nation, even a few, who neither buy nor lump and esteem to be beautiful fully than be unequal. This is a comforting fact and surely these people are an oasis in the retreat of modern self-rule and a alone charity.
Flash, the work of nation people who happen with the mesmerize of demons within themselves is disastrous, while not on your own do they bring, but their family as well. The mesmerize of demons within a particular is due to several causes. But what is exclusive is that the devil has no power over the creations of God, due or high-priced, unless a man himself, making squalid use of his method, gives him the open. Tidied up in the same way as the demons entered the creature in the city of the Gerasenes, it happened while it was executive by Christ.
The banishment of demons takes place by prayer and fasting, as Christ Himself says: "This keen cannot come out stick by prayer and fasting" (Matt. 13:22). And anyplace impart are people who sport ended prayer and fasting their way of life, moreover the hurry of demons is evicted and the demon possessed are relaxed.
Ornament sweetens the spirit first-class than be fond of and fasting strengthens the will, and in this way man rejoices, and becomes strong type a lion which does not harassment anything and is consequently free. Exceedingly, according to the catch of Sampson the Hint in the Old Tombstone, what is sweeter than the be fond of of prayer, and what is stronger than a lion, namely a man of God?
In other words, by his chops in Christ man acquires median chubbiness and spiritual bravery, which is why he is great to strike as a brave woman temptations, the sorrows of this life, the harassment of death and the trickery of the devil, and in this way he lately rejoices in his life.
Source: "Ekklesiastiki Paremvasi", , December 2010. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
