Patriarch Kirill on Orthodox Palm Sunday: “The Church is Outside Politics”

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After serving Palm Sunday liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev of Moscow and all the Russias reiterated that the Church continues to reject categorically any involvement in politics. He emphasised the Church’s pastoral role.

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Orthodox Christians around the world celebrated one of the 12 Great Feasts of the Church Year, the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, commonly called Palm Sunday. Russian liturgical books call it Flowery Sunday, but the people call it Palm Sunday. The holiday ends the forty days of the Easter Lent and starts Holy Week, which culminates in Easter Sunday. This year, Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter on 5 May. On this day, believers come to church with pussy-willow branches in memory of how the people of Jerusalem met Jesus Christ. Then, Holy Week follows the theme of the Passion of the Saviour, retelling the story of suffering and death on the cross of Jesus Christ.

Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev, the First Hierarch of the Church of Moscow and all the Russias, served liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. In the centre of the temple, exposed for the veneration of the believers, were a particle of the Lord’s Robe and a Nail from the Holy Cross. During the coming week, they’ll be in the centre of the cathedral, afterwards, they’ll return to their usual place in the right choir.

Until recently, these holy objects were in the Moscow Kremlin. They came to Russia in the 17th century, exposed for veneration at the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin once a year. Empress St Elena discovered the Life-giving Cross of the Lord in the 4th century, the mother of Emperor St Constantine the Great, Equal-to-the-Apostles (Greek: ἰσαπoστολος: isapostolos Latin: aequalis apostolis Russian: равноапостольный: ravnoapostolny). In addition, four nails from the Saviour’s crucifixion were found with the Cross. According to the Gospel narrative, the soldiers cast lots for the Robe of the Lord, rather than dividing it. Before the 17th century, this piece of the robe was in the cathedral of Mtskheta, the ancient capital of Georgia. After Shahanshah ‘Abbās the Great of the Safavid Empire captured Georgia in 1617, he took this relic. In 1624, he offered it to Tsar Mikhail Romanov, who brought it to Moscow and placed it in the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Assumption in the Moscow Kremlin.

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The Orthodox Church celebrates the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem on the last Sunday before Easter. This is one of the 12 Great Feasts. People call it Palm Sunday because churches bless pussy-willow branches and palms on this day after liturgy. Yet, even though this day is called Вайи (Vay, branches of the date palm, which the people of Jerusalem used to welcome Jesus), Holy Week is also known as Flowery (Цветоносия, Цветной) Week. In 2013, Orthodox celebrated the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem on 28 April.

It’s a single-day holidays and, unlike other feasts, it doesn’t have a week of feasting; it’s surrounded by strict fast days. On the one side, we have the Easter Lent proper; on the other, we have Holy Week (a week devoted to the Passion and death on the cross of Jesus Christ). Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday serve as a transition from Lent to Holy Week itself. The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem was one of the main events of the last days of the earthly life of Jesus Christ, described by all four Evangelists, which they considered as a symbol of the future reign of God. On that, Jesus rode on a young donkey as He entered Jerusalem, and the whole city came out to meet him. As the Gospel tells us, the people took off their cloaks and threw them on the road on which Jesus rode. They littered His path with palm branches, and greeted Him with shouts of “Hosanna!” That was usually only reserved for acclamations to the king. The reason for such jubilation was His miracle on the day before, where Jesus raised Lazarus, thus, proving his status as the Son of God.

Christians celebrated this festival from the 3rd century onwards; in Russia, it came with the Baptism of Rus in the 10th century. In the 16th and 17th centuries, in Moscow, the celebration of this feat was especially solemn. Before the Liturgy at the Assumption Cathedral, a procession wended its way through the streets, passing through the Spassky Gate of the Moscow Kremlin. Firstly, everyone went to the Church of the Intercession on the Moat (better known today as St Basil Cathedral) for prayers on Calvary. In the procession, along with the banners and icons, believers carried pussy-willow branches and flowers. In the midst of it all, the Patriarch of Moscow and all the Russias rode on a donkey, which the tsar himself led by the bridle. Upon returning to the Assumption Cathedral, the blessed pussy-willow branches were passed out as gifts to the believers. At the end of the 17th century, this custom disappeared.

Palm Sunday services begin on Saturday evening. The all-Night Vigil on the evening before the feast is particularly solemn, after which the blessing of pussy-willow branches takes place (the pussy-willow symbolises the victory of life over death… the Resurrection of the Lord). After the reading of the Gospel, the clergy incense the pussy-willows, recite prayers, and sprinkle holy water on the branches. Usually, the clergy repeat the sprinkling of the branches on the very day of the holiday, after the liturgy. Sanctified branches are given to the believers during the anointing with oil during the service. The believers stand with branches and candles during the reading of the festal canon, thereby symbolising the people of ancient Judea that came out to meet Jesus Christ at His Entrance into Jerusalem. After this, the believers keep the candles as a symbol of the greatness and grace of the triumph of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, as their flickering light represents the resurrection to eternal life.

When they return home, believers take the pussy-willows blessed on this day and place them behind the corner of one of their icons, where they stay until next year’s Palm Sunday, when they replace it with a fresh branch. The Liturgy of St John Chrysostom is used on this day, and the liturgical texts meditate on the meaning of the events of the resurrection of Lazarus (Lazarus Saturday), and the solemn entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on the eve of His suffering on the Cross. The clergy wear green vestments on the Entrance of the Lord into Jerusalem, as green is a symbol of the rebirth of life, and it brings to mind the green palm fronds that the people of Jerusalem welcomed Christ with.

On this day, even according to the strictest reading of the rules, believers can eat fish and drink wine. Palm Sunday begins Holy Week, or Great Week, the week preceding Easter, dedicated to retelling the Passion of Jesus Christ. On Sunday night, the service commemorates the Last Supper, His Trial, His Passion, the Crucifixion, and the Burial of Jesus Christ.

 28 April 2013

Voice of Russia World Service

http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_04_28/Russian-Church-outside-politics-Patriarch/

http://rus.ruvr.ru/2013_04_28/Pravoslavnie-prazdnujut-verbnoe-voskresene/

http://rus.ruvr.ru/2013_04_28/Vhod-Gospoden-v-Ierusalim-Verbnoe-voskresene-Spravka/

Editor’s Note:

His Holiness makes it clear… the Church is above partisan politics. Therefore, the American Orthodox who’re trying to ally the Church with the Republican Party and the Pro-Life Movement (these are mixed together so incestuously that it’s impossible to separate them) are going against the Received Truth taught by the Church of Christ. Christ has nothing in common with greed, favouritism to the rich, regressive taxation on ordinary folks, warmongering in foreign parts, drone attacks on civilians, hurting the most-vulnerable amongst us, the promiscuous use of the death penalty (as one sees in Hard Right strongholds such as Texas), and “gun rights“… indeed, quite the opposite. However, don’t argue with such people… they’re invincibly-incorrigible. Oppose them… for that’s what the Lord Christ commands. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God, not Blessed are the warmongers, for they fatten the boodle bags of the oligarchs…

Remember, the Church says, the love of money is the root of all evil… the Republican Party says, Greed is Good… I think that one of these things is not like the other…

BMD

1 October 2012. This is the Real Deal on the Faith… NOT the “Prosperity Gospel”… NOT “Think and Grow Rich”

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This doesn’t give much hope to the “experts”, “professors”, and “pundits”, does it? Remember, Our Lord Christ CHOSE to be incarnate in a workman’s family… NOT that of a rich man… NOT that of a scribe… NOT that of a Pharisee… NOT that of a priest. It gives us a hint as to His sympathies, no? Remember what he said of the well-off… “They have their reward”… that’s condemnation of the sternest sort, isn’t it? That tells you something about those who purport to “sell” spiritual “knowledge” at twenty-five bucks a pop… and who their TRUE master is. The Little Child or the Almighty Dollar… that’s the choice… choose well.

BMD

Geologists Determined the Exact Date of Christ’s Crucifixion

Mother of God “Stand for Christ with the Martyr’s Cross”

Unknown Artist

Russian 

2000s

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By analysing seismic activity in the Dead Sea, American and German geologists said that they identified the exact date of Jesus’ death. Jefferson Williams of Supersonic Geophysical, together with Markus Schwab and Achim Brauer from the German Geological Research Centre, made the discovery. They said that the crucifixion and death of Christ on the cross took place on Friday, 3 April 33 AD. Researchers compared the seismic data with the text of the New Testament, and astronomical observations. The chronology of earthquakes in the Dead Sea shows that the area is located approximately 20 kilometres (@12.5 miles) from Jerusalem, was particularly active seismically in 31 BC, and between 26 and 36 AD. The second earthquake occurred in the days when Pontios Pilatos was Prefect of Judea. The death of Jesus at this time confirms the four Gospels and the text of the Roman historian Tacitus. Williams explained that the darkness described in the Gospels that followed the death of Christ was a sandstorm, which aren’t uncommon in this area

25 May 2012

Voice of Russia World Service

http://rus.ruvr.ru/2012_05_25/76000625/

Great Week… The Path of the Passion

“Crucify Him!”

Ivan Glazunov

2000s

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There’s more than one way of crucifying Our Lord… some are open and easy to detect. Many others are subtle, and are more dangerous… don’t forget, the Black Hundreds chanted moliebens and marched with icons. The result of that was the Persecution of the Militant Godless, to burn out the rot. Not all that glitters is gold…

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This year, Great Passion Week or Holy Week begins for Orthodox believers on 9 April, which is the last week before the Easter celebrations. The Church advises Christians to follow an especially strict fast to prepare physically and mentally for one of the most important events of the Church’s history… the miracle of the resurrection of the Lord. Hieromonk Dmitri Pershin, of the MP Department for Youth Affairs, told VOR in an interview, “During Holy Week, we recall what God’s done for mankind. This is a time when we temporarily forget about our failings and remember God’s sacrifice. That’s why Christians call Holy Week ‘Great Week’. Holy Week marks the Gospel events that took place in the week before the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord and brings them to life for us. On Great Wednesday, Judas betrayed Christ; the Lord held the Last Supper and gave communion to all the apostles, including Judas, then, He knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed, covered in bloody sweat. After that, the guard came and took Christ into custody, taking him to the High Priest’s court, and, then, to Pontius Pilate. Pilate gave him over to His passion on Golgotha. Finally, the Lord died on the cross. They buried him in a cave. These are the events we commemorate during Holy Week, as we pass with Christ along the way of His passion”.

The last days of Holy Week are particularly solemn and sombre for believers. On Great Thursday, the services focus on four major gospel events… the Last Supper (when the Lord established the sacrament of Holy Communion), the Lord’s washing of the feet of the Apostles as a sign of profound humility and love for them, the prayer of the Saviour in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal of Judas. On Good Friday, we recall His condemnation to death, and the Saviour’s suffering and death of the cross. On Great Saturday, it’s a day when we remember the burial of Jesus Christ, the stay of His body in the tomb, the descent of His soul into Hades to announce His victory over death, and the redemption of the souls who awaited his coming in faith.

This year, the Lent that preceded Christ’s Passion Week was a sore trial for Orthodox believers in Russia. Last month, anticlerical persecutions and scandals buffeted both the MP and Patriarch Kirill, disconcerting believers. Fr Vadim Leonov, who teaches at Orthodox St Tikhon Humanities University (PSTGU), said, “I’m sure that the present Holy Week will give believers a deeper understanding of who Christ was and what He means in the life of every Christian. In the Gospel, we see where the disciples of Jesus Christ, and those who accompanied him, had to make a choice… just who are they? Do they stand with their teacher, or, do they join those who shouted ‘Crucify him, crucify him!’ It seems to me that such a personal choice faces each of us today. The recent attacks perpetrated against the Church were so violent and so massive that everyone had to choose, we found out to what extent we were true to Christ and His Church”.

In Jerusalem on Holy Saturday, on the eve of Orthodox Easter, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, believers observe the coming of the Holy Fire. Each year, thousands of Christians of all confessions from around the world strive to go to Jerusalem to witness the miracle. Beginning in 2007, thanks to the support of the Foundation of St Andrew the First-Called, a delegation takes the Holy Fire from Jerusalem in a special container to Moscow for the Paschal Liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The lighting of candles from the miraculous flame marks the beginning of the Easter celebrations in Moscow.

8 April 2012

Milena Faustova

Voice of Russia World Service

http://rus.ruvr.ru/2012_04_08/71034344/

Editor’s Note:

The above article references the attacks on His Holiness’ integrity in the Western media. Without a doubt, any fair enquirer would find out that these scurrilous lies came from the circle around Boris Berezovsky, and Langley spreads them… that is, by those with an open anti-Church agenda. There are also those with anti-Church agendas, but they’re more subtle… we must be on our guard against them. For instance, on 3 April, the ROCOR Diocese of the Midwest Pastoral Conference was hoodwinked into supporting the Far Rightwing rubbish of the so-called “Pro-Life” lobby (it’s nothing but a Trojan Horse of the nastiest segment of the Republican Party). This lobby supports all kinds of anti-Christian initiatives that honest and decent Christians should stay away from… perpetual warfare in foreign parts, the shredding of the social safety net, the granting of privileges to the richest individuals and corporations, the scrapping of all environmental and labour regulation, an attempt to impose sectarian values and behaviour on the general population… and that does NOT exhaust the list.

It’s one thing to take a stance in favour of what the Church teaches… but we should shy away from anything that links the Church to partisan faction… of either Left or Right. By endorsing the language that they did, the Midwest clergy allied themselves with the foulest pigs in the Republican Party… people such as Darrell Issa, who supported secret CIA torture facilities abroad. That’s to say, when the Midwest clergy approved that specific resolution, they said “amen” to torture… they said “amen” to aggressive war… they said “amen” to smashing their heel into the faces of the most vulnerable Americans. May God forgive us for such supreme blasphemy. Oh, yes… His Holiness SUPPORTS single-payer healthcare, government subsidies for families, the building up of the social safety net, the end of the blockade of Cuba, and the end of American aggression in the Middle East and Afghanistan… I just thought that you’d like to know that…

Not all foulness is manifest… some comes in “pious” vesture and kisses icons. We forget that at our peril…

BMD