CATECHESIS & DAILY INSPIRATION |
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The Venerable Pelagia the Penitent, of the Mount of Olives |
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Reflections and Daily Inspiration |
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If a person wants to get an idea about the pyramids of Egypt, he must either trust those who have been in immediate proximity to the pyramids, or he must get next to them himself. There is no third option. In the same way a person can get an impression of God: He must either trust those who have stood and stand in immediate proximity to God, or he must take pains to come into such proximity himself.
St. Nicholas of Serbia
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Ecumenical prayer for peace in Rome
in presence of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
The International Meeting on “No one is saved alone – Brotherhood and Peace”, organized by Sant ‘Egidio Community.
An ecumenical prayer service was held in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome, on October 19, 2020, in the presence of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who delivered a speech.
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Health situation of Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral has slightly improved
Metropolitan Amfilohije’s recovery may seem to be proceeding slowly, but to the satisfaction of the medical team it is happening on a regular basis, especially taking into account the specificity of the disease and the patient’s age.
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The new document, entitled For the Life of the World: Toward an Orthodox Social Ethos, was recently endorsed by the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The culmination of work over two years by a special commission of theologians (clergy and laity, men and women), appointed by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in 2017, For the Life of the World takes on modern-day challenges from the rich Orthodox spiritual tradition and offers ways to navigate and respond to racism, poverty, injustice, human rights, reproductive technology, bioethics, climate change, and others.
For the Life of the World does not pronounce clear-cut response to social challenges, but instead proposes general guidelines to difficult questions.
Join myOCN Community where we will reflect and have conversation on the following topics. Please register to receive sign-in instructions.
For the Life of the World. Series Calendar
10/22: A New Document in the Church
His Grace Bishop Maxim & Fr. John Chryssavgis
11/5: Religion and Science
Dr. Gayle Woloschak & Dr. Tim Patitsas
11/19: Marriage and Family
Carrie Frederick Frost & Dr. Philip Mamalakis
12/3: Religion and the Public Square
Dr. Aristotle Papanikolaou & Hank Hanegraaff
12/17: Poverty and Wealth
Dr. George Demacopoulos & Fr. Martin Johnson
1/14: Orthodoxy and Human Rights
Fr. Nicolas Kazarian & Dr. Elizabetha Kitanovic
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SAINT OF THE DAY
OCTOBER 21 / OCTOBER 8
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The Venerable Pelagia the Penitent, of the Mount of Olives (457)
Pelagia was a repentant sinner. She was born to pagan parents in An- tioch, and was endowed by God with great physical beauty. Pelagia used her beauty to the destruction of her own soul and those of others. She became very wealthy as a result of her prostitution. Once, while walking past the Church of the Holy Martyr Julian, in which Bishop Nonnus was preaching, she stopped in and heard a sermon on the Dread Judgment and the punishment of sinners. Those words so shook her and changed her that she immediately felt revulsion for herself, acquired true fear of God, repented of all her sins and fell down before St. Nonnus with the plea that he baptize her: “Have mercy on me, a sinner, holy Father. Baptize me and teach me repentance—I am a sea of iniquity, an abyss of destruction, a net and weapon of the devil.” Thus this penitent begged the hierarch of Christ with tears, and he baptized her. At her baptism, Blessed Romana, the deaconess of the church, was her godmother. Romana, as her spiritual mother, grounded her well in the Christian Faith. But Pelagia was not satisfied with baptism alone. She was keenly aware of the multitude of her sins and, pricked by her conscience, decided on a great ascetic labor. She left her enormous, sinfully gained wealth to the poor, and secretly went to Jerusa- lem as the monk Pelagius. There, she shut herself up in a cell on the Mount of Olives, and began the difficult ascesis of fasting, prayer and all-night vigils. After three years, St. Nonnus’s deacon, James, visited her and found her still alive, but when he visited her again several days later, he found that she had reposed, and he honorably buried her body. St. Pelagia entered into rest in about the year 461. Thus, this formerly terrible sinner plea- sed God by her repentance and labor, was forgiven of her sins, and became sanctified. And her purified and en- lightened soul was deemed worthy of the Kingdom of God.
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