Resources
/ Resources
Resources
Websites

http://orthochristian.com/53856.html
(St Brendan the Navigator)

https://orthodoxwiki.org/Brendan_the_Navigator
(St Brendan the Navigator)

www.oca.org
(Orthodox Church in America home site)

www.dowoca.org 
(Orthodox Church in America, Diocese of the West)

www.orthodoxinfo.com 
(Orthodox Information Center – articles and links)

http://westserbdio.org/en/prologue 
(Daily saints from Prologue of Ochrid; click calendar date at left of page to see reading for that date)

www.eighthdaybooks.com
(Bookseller)

www.vashonmonks.com
(All-Merciful Savior Monastery, Vashon Island, WA)

www.stjohnmonastery.org
(St John Monastery, Goldendale, WA)

http://frederica.com  
(Frederica Mathewes-Green website)

Articles
THE COSMIC REVERBERATIONS OF THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST

 

Nicholas Cabasilas, a Byzantine theologian of the fourteenth century, said, ‘The Lord allowed men, separated from God by the triple barrier of nature, sin and death, to be fully possessed of Him and to be directly united to Him by the fact He has set aside each barrier in turn: that of nature by His Incarnation, of sin by His death, and of death by His Resurrection.' This is the reason why St. Paul writes: ‘The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death’ (I Cor 15:26) For St Maximus, the Incarnation (sarkosis) and deification (theosis) correspond to one another; they mutually imply each other. God descends to the world and becomes man, and man is raised towards divine fullness and becomes god, because this union of two natures, the divine and the human, has been determined in the eternal counsel of God, and because it is the final end for which the world has been created out of nothing…as we have seen, when examining the teaching of St Maximus the Confessor on creation, Adam was destined to unite in his own being the different spheres of the cosmos, in order that deification might be conferred upon them, through union with God. If these unions or successive corrections that heal the natural divisions are now brought about by Christ, it is because Adam failed in his vocation. Christ achieves them successively by following the order which was assigned to the first Adam. 

By His birth of the Virgin, He suppressed the enmity in human nature between male and female. On the cross He unites Paradise, the dwelling place of the first men before the Fall, with the material world where the fallen descendants of the first Adam now dwell; indeed, He says to the good thief, ‘today thou shalt be with Me in Paradise,' yet He nevertheless continues to relate to and guide His disciples during His sojourn on earth after the Resurrection. At His Ascension, first of all, He unites the earth to the heavenly spheres, that is to the material heaven; then He penetrates into the empyrean, the very highest celestial sphere, passes through the angelic hierarchies and unites the spiritual heaven, the world of mind, with the material, perceivable world. Finally, like a new cosmic Adam, He presents to the Father the totality of the universe restored to unity in Him, by uniting the created to the uncreated. In this conception of Christ, as the new Adam, who unifies and sanctifies created being, redemption appears as one of the stages in His work, a stage conditioned by sin and the historic reality of the fallen world, in which the Incarnation has taken place…St Maximus the Confessor writes that God had foreseen the fall of Adam and the Son of God was ‘the Lamb slain before the ages’ in the pre-existent will of the Trinity. That is why we cannot expect to understand anything whatsoever apart from the cross of Christ. ‘The mystery of the Incarnation of the Word—said St Maximus—contains in itself the meaning of all the symbols and all the enigmas of Scripture, as well as the hidden meaning of all material and immaterial creation. But he who knows the mystery of the Cross and the Tomb, knows also the essential principles of all things. Finally, he who penetrates yet further and finds himself initiated into the mystery of the Resurrection, apprehends the end for which God created all things from the beginning…'

Unceasingly God ‘descends into the world’ by the acts of His providence, by His economy, which literally means the ‘construction’ or ‘administration of a house’. In the ‘fullness of time’ the Wisdom of God, already acting in the world as power, energy, providence, entered the historical process in person. The underlying, foundational Wisdom of the Father ‘built Himself a house’—the most pure flesh of the Virgin assumed by the Word…

 

          —Vladimir Lossky, The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church,  Saint Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1976,  pp 136-7,139.  Edited for clarity.

Akathist of Thanksgiving, Glory to God for All Things
End of Life

There is much for a person or family to do to prepare for death and burial. In addition to receiving counsel from one’s priest, it is imperative that adults prepare for their repose so that they may receive health care and a funeral in accordance with their wishes and Orthodox Christian belief. Also, specific instructions for making health care decisions, known as Advance Directives, should be completed. It is very important to designate a legal Power of Attorney for all business and financial matters. When one’s family is not Orthodox, the desire for an Orthodox funeral should be specified in writing with copies of these instructions given to the parish priest, family members and attorney. Once completed, a file with all of the documents that have been prepared including but not limited to Advance Directives, funeral plans, Will, and any other estate related forms, should be kept in a place that may be easily accessed by your family or designated trustee at the time of death. This file should include telephone numbers of your parish priest, health care provider, attorney, family members, and the funeral home and cemetery you have chosen to provide burial services. 

 
 
 

The Mission of The Orthodox Church in America, the local autocephalous Orthodox Christian Church, is to be faithful in fulfilling the commandment of Christ to “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”

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St. Brendan Orthodox Church is part of the Diocese of The West, which is presided over by The Most Reverend Benjamin, Archbishop of San Francisco and the West. Our mission is bringing the joy of Christ's resurrection to those who have never heard the Good News, and to strengthen and encourage the faithful who reside within Astoria and the local area. 

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The Holy Scripture is a collection of books written over multiple centuries by those inspired by God to do so. It is the primary witness to the Orthodox Christian faith, within Holy Tradition and often described as its highest point. It was written by the prophets and apostles in human language, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and collected, edited, and canonized by the Church.

Daily Readings >

Holiness or sainthood is a gift (charisma) given by God to man, through the Holy Spirit. Man's effort to become a participant in the life of divine holiness is indispensable, but sanctification itself is the work of the Holy Trinity, especially through the sanctifying power of Jesus Christ, who was incarnate, suffered crucifixion, and rose from the dead, in order to lead us to the life of holiness, through the communion with the Holy Spirit.

Today's Saints >

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Saint Brendan the Navigator Orthodox Church
820 Alameda Avenue (Mailing: PO Box 393)
Astoria, OR 97103
orthodoxastoria.org
Email: info@orthodoxastoria.org

Phone: ‭(503) 467-8360‬