An Interesting Testimony. From todays Synexarion reading.



1. The Martyrdom of St. Prophorius (Porphyrius).
On this day, St. Prophorius, was martyred. He was a comedian and jester and was non-Christian. When Constance, the son of Constantine departed, Julian the Infidel, who was killed by St. Marcurius, reigned after him. This infidel and heretic was the nephew of Emperor Constantine, and he incited idol worshipping. Many of the believers were martyred on his hands. On his birthday, he gathered jesters, comedians, and people of the circus; Prophorius was one of them.
The infidel emperor ordered him to imitate the Christians. When he came to the ritual of the holy baptism and made the sign of the Cross over the water in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Lord enlightened his mind and he perceived a divine grace coming down on the water and light shone from it. He immersed into the water three times, then went up and put on his clothes. He confessed that he became Christian.
The emperor rebuked and threatened him. Then the emperor promised to give him many gifts. In spite of that, the Saint went on saying, "I am Christian. I am Christian." Finally, the emperor ordered his neck to be cut off and he received the crown of martyrdom.
His intercession be for us. Amen.

Seattle Bon Vivant



Just one of the web sites I run acrossed everyday in specailty food marketing. I posted this one for Gina's cultural enrichment.
http://seattlebonvivant.typepad.com/seattle_bon_vivant/2005/07/

What I should be after service this Sunday......

EPSALTOS

‘Epsaltos’ is derived from the Coptic word ‘Epsalmos’ meaning Psalm or hymn. Hence, ‘Epsaltos’ means ‘hymnist’.

According to his title, his responsibilities include learning and singing the hymns and praises of the church. This rank is mentioned in some of the early Church Canons, “Hymnists also must be blessed by the bishop.”

Generally, it is the children who are ordained ‘epsaltos’ (from primary to high school). For as the Psalm says, “Out of the mouth of babes and infants You have ordained strength” (Psalm 8:2). The wisdom behind ordaining young boys is to instill within them at a young age, the faith and rituals of the church, so that they may taste of its sweetness, become steadfast on the Orthodox faith, and an active member of the church. Hence, he will grow in the church with spirituality and holiness: “But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God ... I will praise You for ever” (Psalm 52:8).

The Epsaltos is permitted to wear the tunic without the stole.


Rite of the Epsaltos

After the Reconciliation Prayer of the divine liturgy, the archdeacon or hegomen takes the children who will be ordained Epsaltos, to stand before the altar in reverence and awe. The bishop then advises them regarding regular church attendance, the importance of learning hymns, attending Sunday School classes, and the importance of respectful and decent behaviour, whether in the church, home or in society. He advises them regarding obedience, and to take care not to insult, lie or swear. He also tells them regarding the importance of regular confession and receiving the Holy Communion.

He must be sure that those who are being ordained, are fasting, so that they may receive the Holy Communion after the holy Mass.

The bishop must receive a verbal undertaking from the children’s parents, that they will help their children fulfill these commandments, and not forbid them from coming to church for any reason. The bishop then instructs the priest to care for them spiritually, and keep close watch on their spiritual life and regularity in confession. The bishop also instructs the older deacons to take the time to teach and explain, simply, to the young deacons, the rites and church hymns.

The bishop then begins the ordination for the rank of EPSALTOS.


The Rite of Ordination of Epsaltos

V The prayer begins by saying the Lord’s Prayer, followed by the Prayer of Thanksgiving. The bishop then prays :

“Our good God, who raised Heman and Asaaf to sing in Your holy places, and who gave David the prophet the flute, harp and ten chords to praise, and who said, “Out of the mouth of babes and infants You have ordained strength.” You who placed praise in Your holy church, and Your congregation worships You by Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. We ask You Lord to grant Your servants Your grace to become Epsaltos in Your holy church and praise You with hymns, songs and spiritual praises, singing with their hearts to the Lord ... through the grace and compassion of Your only begotten Son ...”

O Master, Lord, God the Pantocrator, the Father of our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ, we ask and entreat Your goodness, O lover of mankind, for Your servants standing before You, who came to Your universal, Apostolic church, to be worthy to start faithfully and adore You in purity. Enlighten them by the sweetness of Your holy words. Grant them to sing spiritual hymns with understanding. Sanctify them. Bless them. Fill them with Your fear. Protect them by Your angelical power. Enrich them by all good gifts and perfect talent, to live by Your holy, blessed will. May they grow into the perfection of Your Holy Spirit. By Your only begotten Son our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory honor, dominion and worship are due to You together with Him and the life-giving and consubstantial Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.”

V The bishop then does the sign of the cross three signs saying without the laying on of hands, “...(name), Epsaltos for the holy church of God ...(name of parish) ...”

V On the first sign of the cross : “Blessed is God the Father, Amen”
V On the second sign of the cross : “Blessed in His only begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen”
V On the third sign of the cross : “Blessed is the Holy Spirit the Paraclete, Amen.”

After the bishop completes the sign so the cross, the children are given their service tunics and stoles, which the bishop then makes the sign of the cross over them three times before they wear them.

They then stand before the adult Epsaltos deacons, to share with them in the responses and hymns of the divine Mass, followed by them receiving the Holy Communion, after the older deacons. Their parents rejoice for them, and by coming to church regularly, they will grow in virtues and worship, and become righteous people..

Pope Saint Kyrillos VI (Cyril VI)116th Pope of Alexandria(1959-1971)

http://st-takla.org/Pope-Kyrellos-1.html

St. Peter, the Seal of Martyrs
Martyred on the Twenty-ninth Day of Hatour



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The wave of persecution and the Coptic New Year

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In the year 284 A.D., Diocletian became emperor and ordered the longest and fiercest persecution that Christians had ever experienced. During Diocletian’s reign, which lasted until the year 305 A.D., over 800,000 Copts were martyred. In the wake of his atrocities, Diocletian became blind and mentally deranged. Ironically, when his own people deserted him, an old Christian woman nursed him. By so doing, she obeyed our Lord Jesus Christ, who commanded us to love our enemies and bless those who persecute us.

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To keep the memory alive of the martyrs who laid down their lives for their faith, the Coptic calendar commences with the year 284 A.D. as its starting point. The Copts follow the same calendar system of the ancient Egyptians. The Coptic year begins on September 11th and has twelve months consisting of thirty days each and a short month of five days (or six days on leap years).
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St. Peter, the Seal of Martyrs

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St. Peter’s father, Theodosius, was the archpriest of Alexandria. St. Peter’s mother was named Sophia. Before St. Peter was born, Sophia went to the church during the celebration of the martyrdom of the apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, on the fifth day of the Coptic month Abib. Sophia saw the other women carrying their children, and she was sorrowful. She deeply longed in her heart for a child and asked the Lord, before His holy altar, to give her a child. That night, in a vision, she saw two old men dressed in white telling her that her prayers were answered. They told her that she would be given a son who would be called Peter after the apostle, for he would be the father of a whole nation. They also commanded her to go to the Patriarch to bless her prior to St. Peter’s birth. When she woke up, she told her husband about what she had been told, and they rejoiced exceedingly. Sophia went to the Patriarch, who in turn blessed her and prayed for her coming baby.

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In due time, St. Peter was born, as was foretold. When he was seven years old, his parents offered him to the Patriarch Abba Theonas, just like the prophet Samuel had been offered to the temple by his mother. Pope Theonas placed St. Peter in a theological school, where the saint was educated and excelled in preaching and counseling. St. Peter became like the Patriarch’s own son and was consecrated by him first as a reader, then as a deacon; then as a priest. St. Peter relieved Pope Theonas of many church administrative duties. He grew up to be learned, chaste and upright, and in due time his knowledge, wisdom and understanding earned for him the surname of “excellent doctor of the Christian religion.”

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Shortly before Pope Theonas departed to the Lord, he advised the church leaders to choose St. Peter as his successor. Thus, St. Peter, the son of promise, became the father of a nation and the seventeenth successor of St. Mark in the year 285 A.D. When Abba Peter was enthroned on the See of St. Mark, the church was greatly enlightened by his teachings. The years in which Abba Peter guided the church were years of great tribulation for Christians. Storms raged from outside, in the form of the most terrible persecutions against Christians. Storms also raged from the inside, in the form of the Arian heresy, which was equally dangerous to the Christian faith. Like the able captain of a ship, St. Peter did his best, by the grace of God, to cope with both storms.

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The emperor Diocletian ordered persecutions against the Christians for over ten years, which lasted day in and day out, in all forms of tortures and killings. These persecutions did not end until Abba Peter himself was martyred. Since St. Peter was the last person to lose his life for the faith under Diocletian’s reign, he is called in our church history “the Seal of the Martyrs.”

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During the fourth year of the persecutions, Abba Peter felt it was necessary to pass special regulations concerning the acceptance of repentant apostates back into the communion of the church. He drew up fourteen canons, which came to be looked upon as a monument of church disciplines. One of the principals set in the canons was that a Christian could be baptized only once. The truth of this principle was confirmed by an incident which took place at the time.

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A Christian woman who lived in Antioch had two sons whom she had been unable to baptize because their father had obeyed the emperor and gave up his faith in Christ in order to avoid the persecutions. Quietly, this woman boarded a ship to Alexandria and took her two sons with her. The ship had barely left the shore when a great storm arose, and the Christian woman was afraid that her sons might die without having been baptized. So, she dipped her sons in the sea three times, saying, “In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” and then she cut her breast, and used her own blood to make the sign of the Holy Cross upon the foreheads of her two sons.

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Eventually, the troubled sea calmed down and the ship arrived at Alexandria. On the same day, the woman took her two sons to church to have them baptized. When their turn came, and Abba Peter attempted to immerse them in the Holy Water, the water froze and became like stone. He tried three times, and the same thing happened. The Patriarch, in surprise, questioned the mother, and she told him what she had done on the way to Alexandria during the great storm. St. Peter marveled and glorified God, saying, “That is what the church proclaims, that there is only one baptism.” Therefore, the baptism that the woman performed had been accepted by the Lord.

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Also in the days of this great Patriarch, a man named Arius was spreading heresies concerning teachings of the church. St. Peter advised Arius several times to turn from his wicked thoughts, but Arius would not listen to him. Consequently, Abba Peter excommunicated him. Arius contacted the emperor and reported to him that St. Peter, the Patriarch of Alexandria, encouraged the people not to worship the pagan gods. The emperor was outraged and sent messengers with orders to cut off St. Peter’s head. When the messengers arrived in Alexandria, they attacked the people and destroyed most of the cities of Egypt. They robbed all their valuables, and harmed the women and children. Thousands of people were killed, some with the sword, some with starvation, and some by imprisonment.

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When Diocletian realized that after so many years of persecutions, the Christians of Egypt were not exterminated, but rather were increasing in number because of the heroism of the martyrs, he became very angry. He ordered that the religious leaders be arrested and tortured, thinking that, by torturing the leaders, he would break the spirit of the people. Six bishops were arrested, but no amount of torture would induce them to renounce their faith, and they were martyred. When Abba Peter heard of their martyrdom, he fell on his knees and offered thanks to God for having kept them steadfast until the end.


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Finally, it was decided that it was Abba Peter’s turn. The emperor’s soldiers arrested him and brought him to prison. When the people heard about their shepherd’s arrest, they gathered in front of the prison door and wanted to save him by force and by shouting. The officer in charge of his slaying was worried that the general peace would be disrupted, so he postponed the execution till the next day. When the saint saw what had happened, he wanted to deliver himself to death for his people, because he feared what might happen to his flock. He wished to depart and be with Christ, without causing any disturbances or troubles.

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He sent for his people and he comforted them and advised them to adhere to the true faith. When Arius, the infidel, learned that St. Peter was departing to be with the Lord, while Arius would be left in an excommunicated status, he begged St. Peter, through the high priests, to absolve him. St. Peter refused and told them that the Lord Christ had appeared to him that night in a vision, wearing a torn robe. St. Peter asked Him, “My Lord, who tore Your robe?” The Lord replied, “Arius has torn My robe, because he separated Me from My Father. Beware of accepting him.”

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After this, the great saint signaled to the guards that he was ready to depart. St. Peter summoned the emperor's messenger in secret and advised him to dig a hole in the prison’s wall on the side where there were no Christians. The officer was amazed at the bravery of this great saint and he did as he commanded him. He took him out of prison secretly and brought him outside the city, to the tomb of St. Mark the Evangelist. There, St. Peter knelt down and asked the Lord, “Let the shedding of my blood mark the end of the worship of idols and be the end of the shedding of the blood of Christians.” A voice came from heaven and was heard by a saintly virgin who was near that place. The voice said, “Amen. May it be to you according to your wishes.”

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The soldiers then led him to be executed. For a while, no one dared raise a hand against him, for they saw that his face was like that of an angel. Then one of the officers took out twenty-five pieces of gold and said, “I will give this gold to the one who dares behead this wise man.” The sight of gold made one of the soldiers bold enough to behead the great saint.

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Having beheaded him, the soldiers went away, leaving him where he fell. Soon after that, the faithful children of Abba Peter heard the news and came rushing in tears. They carried away the remains of their beloved Patriarch and brought it to the church of St. Mark. They took the pure body and dressed it in the pontifical clothes and seated him on the throne of St. Mark, which St. Peter had refused to sit on during his life. He used to say that he saw the power of God sitting on that throne, and therefore, he did not dare to sit on it. The people placed St. Peter’s body with the bodies of the saints. Thus, on the twenty-ninth day of the month of Hatour, St. Peter departed to the Lord. The martyrdom of Abba Peter, that great saint who gave his life to end the wave of persecution against the Christians, inaugurated a period of peace, and that is why he is called “The Seal of Martyrs.”

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May the prayers of this great saint, St. Peter, the Seal of Martyrs, be with us, and glory be to God forever. Amen.

Reviving an Ancient Faith



http://www.ctlibrary.com/7968

Coptic Christian Paintings (Including Icons)by Jimmy Dunn





Well I finally found the cool article that I got my ooze avatar from.
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/copticpainting.htm

The Art of Iconography
byIlaria RamzySt. Mark ChurchNew Orleans, LA
Art is a beautiful representation of not only images, but also messages aimed at the viewer. The art of iconography is a unique characteristic of our Coptic heritage that began with the intention of educating converts of the church. The works seen to be out of proportion to the viewer since the eyes and ears are quite large. However, these iconographers were not unaware of such elements. They knew quite well the rules to project icons that are considered a religious beauty and aimed to embody the visions of faith and hope. "For in hope we were saved. Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. For who of what one sees?" (Romans 8:24). The main function of iconography is liturgical. Icons are an integral part of the Coptic worship, inspiring and teaching the faithful the mysteries of the Christian Church through the intertwining of the mediums of color. Iconography is visual theology. Icons stand between the material and spiritual realms.
First, one must understand the word "icon" finds its origin in the Greek word "eikon". Within the Greek Bible, icon appears in the verse, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image..." so God created man in His own image, in the image of God he created" (Genesis 1:26-27) and also in, "He is the image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15). In other words, the word "icon" is "image" in Greek. Icons allow us to learn the mystery of the presence of God in the world in a way which is exclusive to the visual arts. They do not just represent worldly reality nor are they "religious" pictures. As Nicholas Zemov of the Russian Orthodox Church strongly states, "Icons are dynamic manifestations of man's spiritual power to redeem creation through beauty and art. The colors and lines of icons are not meant to imitate nature; the artist's aim at demonstrating that men, animals and plants, and the whole cosmos can be rescued from their present state of degradation and restored to their proper 'Image'. These icons are pledges of the coming victory of a redeemed creation over the fallen one." An icon of Jesus Christ affirms the reality of the reconciliation of the human and the divine and enables us to contemplate He who is the model for our these. The image in the icon must be equivalent to the Scripture as a revelation of the truth. A valid image is one that is faithful to its prototype. Fidelity to a sacred prototype means fidelity to a transfigured reality, and this rules our "photographic" realism, which would merely reproduce the likeness of the world in a state of corruption. An image changed to suit an individual's taste is as dangerous as a doctored Scriptural text as threatened in Revelation, "I warn everyone who hears the prophetic words in this book: if anyone adds to the, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words in this prophetic book, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city described in the book." (Rev. 18-19)
Coptic Iconography reached its peak during the Coptic period between the 4th and 7th centuries. This time coincides with Constatine's official recognition of Christianity. The Christian converts beginning to appear were illiterate. They had extreme difficulty comprehending the spiritual meanings, the history of the Church, and the events that took place in the Bible. Therefore, the Church leaders allowed icons to help the people assimilate Christianity and its doctrine aided by visual means. Icons were there to instruct and elevate. Patriarch Cyril I, the 24th Coptic Pope, permitted icons to be hung in the Patriarchate and all the churches of Egypt.
Soon, Christians began to venerate the icon itself and to forget the event or person it portrays. An icon is meant to be a window into the spiritual world helping us to contemplate spiritual matters, lead us to a prayerful frame of mind, and remind us of events in the Bible, the life of Christ, and the saints. The icon is NOT to be an object of worship. Again, the stress is on contemplating the implicated scene within the artwork and not to bow before a picture. We kneel to Jesus Christ, not to pictures. We kiss these pictures as if kissing the Lord, His Mother, the Disciples who touched Him, and the Saints who precede us to eternal life. These are our true family: "Our Father who art in Heaven;" St. Mary the Virgin, Queen, Theotokos, and the Mother of the world; and our never-ending accumulation of brothers and sisters.
Due to the incorrect form of worship, in the 8th century a movement called the Iconoclast Controversy began. These Iconoclasts used the verse, "You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them," (Ex 20:4-5). An important figure, Lawon el-Esafiy, led the destruction of many icons during this period. This interlude coincided with the Muslim invasion of Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and Persia. Two Church's custom of icons were St. John o Damascus and St. Theodore of Studios within the 7th Ecumenical Council of the Eastern Orthodox Church in 787 A.D.
These Saints went back to the time that Jesus Christ was on earth and noted the first three icons presented in the Church. St. Luke is not only a doctor, a Gospel writer, but also an artist. He painted the icon presenting the Theotokos holding the Baby Jesus in her arms. This icon is now all over the world in a variation of churches. The historian Van Celub also claims that St. Luke even painted an icon of Archangel Michael in a Cathedral in Alexandria. The second icon is directly from our Lord Jesus Christ. King Abagar of Edessa sent a message to the Lord asking for a visit to heal him from his disease and inviting our Lord to come and live in his kingdom. The messenger returned with a cloth with Jesus' image imprinted upon it. The Lord's image healed the king. "All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit," (2 Cor 3:18). The third icon involves the woman cured from her twelve year bleeding in Luke 8:43. It seems this woman living in the village of Banias, near the source of the Jordan, drew on her house a representation of Christ and another of herself lying prostrate at His feet. These icons are recorded by the historian Eusebius of Caesaria in "The History of the Church." Eusebius specifically saw the image on the woman's house in the 3rd century. We may also consider the image on Veronica's sheet an icon where she wiped our Lord's face during His flight to Golgotha and received an imprint of Him.
The techniques remain the same over centuries. There are two that are employed. "Encaustic" an gesso is the name of the first style. It disappeared around the Iconoclastic period. It consisted of molten bee's wax made into an emulsion soluble in water. It was developed to a very high standard during the Graceo-Roman period (2nd century BC - 4th century AD) as can be seen in the beautiful funerary portraits from Fayoum Oasis, Southwest of Cairo, which can be considered the immediate predecessors of the Christian icon.
The second, "Egg tempera" an gesso, survived the Iconoclastic era. It remains the only technique used to this day, although unfortunately threatened by the use of modern media like oil or acrylic which cannot compare with the brilliance and subtlety of hue of tempera. Gesso is the name of the white ground upon which the icon is written. Its soundness is of paramount importance to the overall success of the work. Gesso is made up of white lime and glue and is spread on the panel in thin layers to achieve a hard, smooth surface. After a design has been applied to it, gilding takes place. Tempera is a Latin word meaning mixing in due measure. Egg tempera requires a process of illumination from dark to light, symbolizing the passage of the soul from darkness of the world to the light of Christ.
The characteristics of the large and wide eyes symbolize the spiritual eye that looks beyond the material world since the Bible says, "The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light," (Mt 6:22). The large ears show ears listening to the Word of God, "Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear" (Mk 4:23). Gentle lips are reminders to glorify and praise the Lord, "My mouth shall praise You with Joyful lips" (Ps 63:5). The eyes and ears are disproportionably large because a spiritual person spends more time listening to God's word and seeking to do God's will. Large heads indicate that the individual are devoted to contemplation and prayer. The mouth is small because it can be the source of empty and harmful words. The nose is also small since it is viewed as sensual. Notice that when an evil character is portrayed within an icon, it is always in profile since it is not desirable for one to dwell upon, meditate, or make eye contact with such a being. Also note that artists do no usually sign their names since this should not be a method of self-glorification. Those who choose to sing usually do so in the form of a prayer such as "Remember me O lord when You come into Your Kingdom." (Lk 23:42)
The icon usage and symbolism is the same meaning to Eastern Orthodox churches (Greek, Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian...) and to Oriental Orthodox churches such as ourselves (Armenian, Syrian, Ethiopian...). Miracles are often related to icons from the dripping of oil to the apparitions. This phenomenon has lead to many healed and encourages a renewal of faith for Christians.
Use these icons as windows into the spiritual world to achieve a prayerful mindset. They represent images of the Body of Christ for through Him we are all united. When you view the Crucifixion, recall that He is carrying your sins. The nails driven into Him are because of the evil decisions we choose. Contemplate such thoughts as to where we are extremely unworthy of such a Sacrificial Lamb. Let these thoughts lead you to try to be steadfast upon the road to eternal life. Observe the icon of a Saint and notice that he or she has defeated the world. Through such images, constant reminders of our goal here on earth, we are assisted in our struggle for our names to be written within the pages of the Lamb's Book of Life.

Answers to Monk Mail
http://www.website1.com/odyssey/week4/UpClose02.html