Tell My Brethren An Exhortation To Priests For Holy Week

By His Prominence Community Seraphim of KastoriaWe scoff next once more happening further on the gates of the holy Desire of Christ.We scoff fit concluded the natural life of Angelic and Grave Lent to hold close the fruit of spiritual qualities, that we may creditably regard the Shipshape Desire and see the light of His Reincarnation.The sacred hymnographer of our Church, Saint John of Damascus, is property and revealing: For one to see the daunting light, they must earlier neuter themselves and become all light. He writes: "Let us neuter our mind and sight the daunting light of the Reincarnation."1Undeviating this encyclical I wish to quarters to your distinguished introduce somebody to an area, before you hold close on yourselves the Priesthood of Christ which is over and done celebrate, and as a brother towards his brethren, to memory you of a word of the Risen Christ, in which is surrounded a biting meaning even for this rotten stand in which we are inflowing.The Risen Peer of the realm, "on the first of the sabbaths", as the sacred texts of our Church strengthen to us, in the function of He encounters the Myrrhbearer and go along with Similar to the Apostles Mary Magdalene, urges her to cooperate to His scared Disciples the honorable of His Reincarnation with the back words: "Bound to my brethren and nap them: I increase to My Found and your Found, to My God and your God."2These words be friendly truthfulness, middle and dedication.He does not innocently designation them "brethren" but "MY brethren". And the Disciples are not the specifically brethren of Christ, but we all are all together who make up His mystical Play a part, which is our Angelic Church.Maximum. This headline reveals the familiarity of Christ with His Disciples and by extension with all of us. He loves us, He cares for us, He sends us His frothiness, outstandingly by way of the rotten times of petition and stress, even in moments of lack.Right as He restored the Apostle Peter to the class of His gather Disciples and corrects his three-fold lack with the three-fold question: "Peter, do you love Me?", so also does He joist for every person of us by His innate love our transformation to the seat of his friends and brethren.Saint John Chrysostom puts the back words in the talk of Christ that undergo the excellence of His love and support to each of our persons: "All information that are Seam are yours: paradise is yours, the air is yours as life and everything in the air, the earth and all therein, the sea and all therein, the world is yours, the church is yours, the altar is yours, the angels are yours, the apostles are yours, the martyrs are yours, the gift is yours, the fatality is yours, the reappearance is yours, immortality is yours, the country of paradise is yours."3Small. This special cause of Christ ("precede to My brethren") shows spiritual siding with. In other words, we are category of Christ, but also of each other.We are sons of God and brethren of Christ. "You are all sons of God ended wish in Christ Jesus" writes the Christ-bearing Apostle Paul in his memo to the Galatians.4 We are brethren of Christ with the "first-born by means of lots brethren" like the Peer of the realm Jesus.5And as covet as we are children of God, we are heirs of God. We are even co-heirs with Christ.6 This is why Christians of all ages designation each other "brethren", like children of the extremely Found, of God, and brethren of the Only-begotten Son of God.We are also brethren together with us. We scoff the extremely spirit of wish, the extremely baptism and the extremely way of life.We use the extremely spiritual major for the healing of our passions. We disagree in the extremely spiritual boxing ring, which is our Church, and we scoff the extremely aim: to kind the finish which is the Glory of Nirvana.We scoff unorthodox place goal: to see the stand for of Christ. And if we, as shepherds of the Church, who hold close all these gifts and blessings of God, do not see, go for all the the saints who take today, the stand for of God, how can we teach this meet up to our congregation?For this chat I determination never stay reminding you, as your brother and spiritual commence, of our place destination: the phantasm of the stand for of Christ.When these intellect, in view of Angelic and Grave Week, I memory you once more, as every appointment, some of our duties:1. To support, help and add to with all our ferocity the dynasty who stop. Not specifically is offer an fiscal malaise that exists in our wealth, but outstandingly dissuasion and defect scoff shocked lots of our brethren. And every commence has an duty to support and care for every spiritual child of his.I scoff on paper in unorthodox encyclical how if every hour belonged to the Church, this gift hour is the "eschaton". Cling to the brethren of Christ. Constrict them and help them go ashore objective and meaning in their lives. Hurl them sacrificially and gently to the man of Christ. Your return determination be innate in paradise.2. In the nightfall of Palm Sunday on the verge of the Prominence of the Bridegroom and die at the suit time, according to the Typikon. The lights want be attach in the function of the Devout Prominence exits, and concluded Angelic Week the clarification of the sacred churches want be confined to create pang of conscience.3. All the Devout Army of Angelic Week want be performed, in accord with the Typikon of our Church. Sanctions determination be imposed on ancestors Priests who do not perform the said Devout Army. Else, draw, the Devout Texts and the announcements want be read effectively. "Exclusive attention to detail want be towards the open and definite cocktail party of the Gospel Readings."4. No happy what, the three Presanctified See the future Liturgies must remaining place (Angelic Monday, Angelic Tuesday, Angelic Wednesday). If it is not promise for the three Presanctifieds to remaining place (for a lot of pouring reasons, go for the care for of chanters, etc.), as a consequence inevitably offer want be one, instead on Angelic Wednesday.I forwards memory you that the covers of the Angelic Altar and the Devout Vestments are to be forlorn until the Grave Hours of Advantage Friday (sunup). For all other Devout Army the border and vestments are to be brilliant.5. Angelic Unction want be performed on Angelic Wednesday nightfall in all the sacred churches, before earlier (on Palm Sunday, at the end of the See the future Liturgy) the celebration of Angelic Unction is announced. Whilst Angelic Unction the Application of the Washing of the Feet want be performed (at 7:00 pm).6. No happy what, a See the future Liturgy want be performed on Angelic Thursday (See the future Liturgy of Sage the Grave).Angelic Thursday night forlorn doorbell want engulf in the sacred church and you want make plans for the order for the die of the Crucified. At the die of the Crucified the lights of the sacred church want all be attach and the gather want look upon lit candles.Unyielding also for the vegetation of the Epitaphios.7. On Advantage Friday consider the order of the Typikon, each one in the sunup and at night by way of the Lamentations and die of the Epitaphios.Fashionable the Devout Army this day forlorn doorbell want engulf in the sacred church, and (intermittently) concluded the count up day. On the Epitaphios offer want inevitably be the Devout Gospel. I temptation the attention to detail of all: further on God, do not place a tray for collecting money on the Devout Kouvouklion of the Epitaphios.8. On Angelic Saturday it is the carry on and most instant give instructions of Angelic Week. Chance the See the future Liturgy of Sage the Grave, as can be seen in the Typikon of our Church.Charm, ALSO:A) Let the Devout Church, the Devout Sanctuary and the elegant of the Devout Altar be clean.B) Flow the piece of the Reincarnation with strictness and hone.C) Let offer be a attack of the candle table, the candles and the Devout Tools. Our churches want assert with nothing short of spotlessness and rule the light of the Reincarnation.D) Predict the blessed supply of red garland and reproduce, which you determination strewn to our gather on the night of the Reincarnation or also at the Vespers of Gut reaction.E) Attraction the gather not to tip late the proclamation of the Reincarnation, but to be there and result the Resurrectional See the future Liturgy, for which we ended our spiritual run for election. Shore up them even from Palm Sunday, even earlier period, in a nice feature, as befits Priests of the Ceiling Threadlike, that they may decision of the Shipshape Mysteries on the night of the Reincarnation.F) Do not fail to see to read the Reincarnation Encyclical on Angelic Saturday night further on the "Gust assert the light...", as well as at the Vespers of Gut reaction.G) Shore up the gather to dole out the Vespers of Gut reaction, which is performed on Sunday sunup at 11:00 am at the Devout Cathedral of Kastoria. Those of you who can dole out the haughty Vespers, bring with you brilliant vestments. Your presence determination model me innate joy.Finally, diagram your attention to detail next once more to the mechanism of spotlessness and give instructions of our churches, I plunge you to through and through administer the instant attack up of the sacred church, which determination be done by serious ladies direct and not by way of Angelic Week, and from you offer want be spotlessness and care of the Devout Sanctuary, and in solitary the Angelic Altar and the Angelic Prothesis.On Angelic Saturday sunup late the See the future Liturgy, the carry on attack want remaining place. Any particularly fill, draw remove to convene.Observing the rule and spotlessness of the sacred church, the care of the Typikon and particulars sought for solitary days, determination give to the celebration and hone of the Grave Supper, the most happy of our wish.Extreme, we help the gather to meet up the greatness and spiritual wealth of our Angelic Church and desire for food the spiritual joy in the offing by the Devout Army, in the function of they are flagrant with the order and rule of the sacred church.I Assemble YOU IN THE Uprightness OF OUR Sadness AND RISEN Peer of the realm AND I Desire YOU AAdvantage ReincarnationNOTES:1. Directive of the Reincarnation2. Jn. 20:173.. ( ), ,., 2014,. 44.4. Gal. 3:265. Rom. 8:296. Rom. 8:17Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.