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ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE
ARCHDIOCESE OF
THYATEIRA & GREAT BRITAIN

BULLETIN OF SPIRITUAL EDIFICATION

3 2013
. . 1269

15th SUNDAY OF MATTHEW

3 February 2013
2nd Mode. No. 1269

EPISTLE READING

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rethren, it is the God who said,

Let light shine out of darkness,
who has shone in our hearts to give the
light of the knowledge of the glory of
God in the face of Christ. But we have
this treasure in earthen vessels, to
show that the transcendent power
belongs to God and not to us. We are
afflicted in every way, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck
down, but not destroyed; always
carrying in the body the death of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may also be
manifested in our bodies. For while we
live we are always being given up to
death for Jesus sake, so that the life of
Jesus may be manifested in our mortal
flesh. So death is at work in us, but life
in you. Since we have the same spirit of
faith as the one had who wrote, I
believed, and so I spoke, we too
believe, and so we speak, knowing that
the One who raised the Lord Jesus will
raise us also with Jesus and bring us
with you into his presence. For it is all
for your sake, so that as grace extends
to more and more people it may
increase thanksgiving, to the glory of
God.

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2 Cor. 4:6-15

KONTAKION
1stMode
ou sanctified a virgin womb by your birth, and fittingly blessed Symeons hands; you
have come now too and saved us, O Christ God. But give peace to your governance in
times of war, and strengthen its rulers, whose friend you are, for you alone love mankind.

GOSPEL READING

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t that time, a lawyer approached

Jesus to test him and asked him a
question. "Teacher, which is the great
commandment in the law?" And he said
to him, "You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart, and with all your
soul, and with all your mind. This is the
great and first commandment. And the
second is like it, You shall love your
neighbour as yourself. On these two
commandments depend all the law and
the prophets." Now while the Pharisees
were gathered together, Jesus asked
them a question, saying "What do you
think of Christ? Whose son is he?" They
said to him, "The son of David." He said to
them, "How is it then that David, inspired
by the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, 'The
Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right
hand, till I put your enemies under your
feet'? If David thus calls him Lord, how is
he his son?" And no one was able to
answer him a word, nor from that day did
anyone dare to ask him any more
questions.

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Matthew 22:35-46

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RESURRECTION APOLYTIKION
2nd Mode
When you went down to death, O
immortal Life, then you slew Hell with
the lightning flash of your Godhead; but
when from the depths below the earth
you raised the dead, all the Powers in
the heavens cried out, Giver of life,
Christ our God, glory to you!
Control desire and you will master anger
(St Thalassios the Libyan)


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SERMON ON THE GOSPEL READING

Teacher, which commandment in the Law is the greatest?

Lord Jesus Christ commands us to love God with our whole being. The
O urprayer
he gave us outlines how we should relate to God. He takes a fatherly
care of all his creatures, and prepares for the human race an eternal life in a
heaven, which we cannot presently see with our eyes of flesh. In the New
Testaments Jewish culture, the expression to sanctify the Name means to be
faithful to the Lord to the point of accepting even martyrdom. Gods kingdom is
his creation liberated from sin and death. Doing Gods will requires that we
control our passions, become peace makers, forgive people who have hurt us.
We must be content with the basics: food and clothing. Prayer is our best
weapon to avoid being in turmoil (temptation) or controlled by the evil one, the
devil. In other words, the Our Father leads us to a radical transformation of our
outlook on life!
Our Lords second commandment, to love all people, has been well
described in a recent document issued by the Ecumenical Patriarch:
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I continues to call all
humanity to adopt a radical conversion of attitudes, habits and practices and to attain
that level of commitment where we are open to sharing all things with all people. He
points us to St. John Chrysostom who wrote: the sacrament of our neighbour cannot be
isolated from the sacrament of the altar. In pursuit of these truths and in humble
recognition of the Divine in all people, His All- Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew I and the Ecumenical Patriarchate denounce treating one another with
disrespect, disdain, and destructive hatred. In the end, no one benefits from hateful
speech, unfounded accusations, misunderstanding of cultural differences, and blaming
others to avoid responsibility. Regardless of the path ones conscience has chosen to
follow, we are all intricately woven together into a Divine tapestry and must recognize
the beauty and inherent worth of every other thread and put an end to the destruction of
any part of our collective beauty.
Deep respect for Jews, Muslims and other people who have a faith other
than ours, is based on our own Orthodox Christian Faith and nothing else. In
John 1: 9, we read, That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into
the world. As Orthodox Christians, we believe Christ to be the Absolute Truth. We
also believe that his light shines on all human beings: in all faiths and cultures,
there is something of the light of Christ. When we acknowledge that, we do not
dilute the Truth of Christ. When we despise the faith of a Jew, a Muslim, a
Buddhist, usually out of a mixture of ignorance and shallow information, we do
not glorify the Lord; instead we are prisoners of sinful passions, what the Gospel
calls the world and the flesh. Syncretism and relativism are wrong, and so is
fanatical blindness. Let us love God, and, in the words of our Patriarch, the Divine
in all people.
'By praying for those who wrong us we overthrow the devil; opposing them we are wounded by him.'
(St. Mark the Ascetic)
ArchdioceseofThyateira&GreatBritain,5CravenHill,LondonW23EN
Tel.:02077234787.Fax:02072249301.Email:mail@thyateira.org.uk.Website:www.thyateira.org.uk

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