CATECHESIS & DAILY INSPIRATION |
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The Holy Prophet Daniel and the Three Holy Youths: Ananias, Azarias, and Misael |
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The NATIVITY FAST
A time for preparation!
May our spiritual efforts bring us renewal in Christ!
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Reflections and Daily Inspiration |
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“I behold a strange and most glorious mystery,” the Church sings with awe, “Heaven, a Cave; the Virgin the Throne of the Cherubim; the Manger a room, in which Christ, the God Whom nothing can contain is laid.”
(Irmos of the 9th Ode of the Nativity Canon).
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Are You Saved?
40,700 views
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Earthquake damaged Serbian churches in Sisak and Petrinja
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MONTENEGRIN PARLIAMENT ADOPTS AMENDMENTS TO SCANDALOUS LAW ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Podgorica, December 30, 2020
Representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, including His Grace Bishop Joanikije of Budimlja and Nikšić, the administrator of the Metropolis of Montenegro since the recent repose of His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije, earlier announced that they were pleased with the proposed amendments.
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VIDEO: KOSOVO AND METOHIJA OUR HOME: PANEL DISCUSSION IN ENGLISH
December 25, 2020
On December 13, 2020, BAS (Bay Area Serbs) sponsored an online Zoom conference on the topic of Kosovo and Methojia, its spiritual life and history, and the lives of Serbs who live there now. Speakers included Fr. Ilarion Lupulović, abbot of Draganac Monastery, Fr. Nenad Ilić, parish priest in Amsterdam, Dr. Miloš Ković, professor of history at the University of Belgrade, and Ivana Dimić, an award-winning author and longtime pilgrim to Kosovo. The conference was moderated by Monk Sofronije, an American monk from Dečani Monastery.
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SAINT OF THE DAY
DECEMBER 30 / DECEMBER 17
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The Holy Prophet Daniel and the Three Holy Youths: Ananias, Azarias, and Misael
All four were of the royal tribe of Judah. When Nebuchadnezzar de- stroyed and plundered Jerusalem, Daniel, as a boy, was carried away into slavery together with the Jewish King Jehoiachim and countless other Is- Israelites. An account of his life, sufferings, and prophecies can be found in detail in his book. Completely devoted to God, St. Daniel from his early youth received from God the gift of great discernment. His fame among the Jews in Babylon began when he denounced two lecherous and unrighteous elders, Jewish judges, and saved the chaste Susanna from an unjust death. But his fame among the Babylonians began from the day he deciphered and interpreted the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar. For this, the king made him a prince at his court. When the king made a golden idol on the Plain of Dura, the Three Children refused to worship it, and for this they were cast into a fiery furnace. But an angel of God appeared in the furnace and cooled the fire so that the children walked around the furnace unharmed by the fire, singing: Blessed art Thou, Lord God of our fathers (Daniel 3:26). The king saw this miracle and was amazed. He then brought the children out of the furnace and bestowed upon them great honors.
In the time of King Belshazzar, when the king was eating and drinking with his guests at a banquet from consecrated vessels taken from the Temple in Jerusalem, an invisible hand wrote three words on the wall: Mene, Tekel, Upharsin (Dan 5:25–28). No one was able to interpret these words except Daniel. That night, King Belshazzar was killed. Daniel was twice thrown into the lions’ den because of his faith in the One, Living God, and both times the Lord saved him and he remained alive. Daniel beheld God on a throne with the heavenly hosts; saw angels; discerned the future of certain people, of kingdoms, and of the whole human race; and prophesied the time of the coming of the Savior on earth. According to St. Cyril of Alexandria, Daniel and the three children lived to old age in Babylon and were beheaded for the true Faith. When they beheaded Ananias, Azarias stretched out his cloak and caught his head; following this, Misael caught Azarias’s head and Daniel caught Misael’s head. An angel of God translated their bodies to Judea, to Mount Gebal, and placed them under a rock. According to tradition, these four God-pleasers arose at the time of the death of the Lord Christ, appeared to many, and again fell asleep. Daniel is numbered among the four great prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel). He lived and prophesied five hundred years before Christ.
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