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[joasia]

"For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "He has a demon. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!. But, wisdom is justified by her children." Matt. 11: 18-19

It's not the substance, it's the excess. That is for alcohol. Drugs are definitely out of the question all together.

Too much alcohol will destroy the kidneys, but too much self-piety will destroy the soul.

For those who do want to quit substance abuse, but feel they need spiritual guidance, please read about the life of St. Ephraim of Mt. Amomon. He is considered an intercessor for drug and alcohol abuse. I'm sure, those who are Greek, may have heard of this.

There is a prayer that can be repeated and God willing, He will answer it one day.

Lord, Jesus Christ, through the prayers of Thy Holy Martyr Ephraim, have mercy on me and deliver me from this cruel bondage.

In Christ, Joasia

[George Australia]

For those who do want to quit substance abuse, but feel they need spiritual guidance, please read about the life of St. Ephraim of Mt. Amomon. He is considered an intercessor for drug and alcohol abuse. I'm sure, those who are Greek, may have heard of this.

Dear in Christ, Joasia,
I have an interesting question. How do we explain the fact that St. Ephraim of Mt. Amomon was revealed over 500 years after his martydom to a New Calendarist Abbess? Similarly with Sts. Raphael, Nicholas and Irene of Lesvos- who were revealed in 1959-1961 to the New Calendarists of Therme as well; how do we explain this?
George

[romiosini]

For those who do want to quit substance abuse, but feel they need spiritual guidance, please read about the life of St. Ephraim of Mt. Amomon. He is considered an intercessor for drug and alcohol abuse. I'm sure, those who are Greek, may have heard of this.

Dear in Christ, Joasia,
I have an interesting question. How do we explain the fact that St. Ephraim of Mt. Amomon was revealed over 500 years after his martydom to a New Calendarist Abbess? Similarly with Sts. Raphael, Nicholas and Irene of Lesvos- who were revealed in 1959-1961 to the New Calendarists of Therme as well; how do we explain this?
George

Hey, how about ask God your question. Ask him also why is there still Great Elders and Holy People that still appear to New Calendarists also? Orthodoxy was sure broken into a couple of silly divisions, but that doesn't mean, that Saints of GOD will take any positions with earthly issues and matters such as these that we have with the Calendar.

And yes, Saint Great-martyr Ephraim, is a newly revealed Saint discovered by New Calendarists of course, but is in the general Synaxarion of Both Traditionalist (Extreme, or Moderate) and World Orthodoxy. Saint Ephraim is the sworn protector of Amomon, and he is sure to help those with alcoholic problem. Saint Ephraim's feast is on May the 5th (Since he died before any Calendar issues, he is celebrated hence on the 5th of May on both calendars, thus 13 days, sadly, ahead for the new.)
Also the Newly Revealed Saints of Lesbus Hieromartyr Raphael, Venerablemartyr Nicholas and Virginmartyr Irene are great wonderworkers. Their feast is originally April the 9th (since they died Tuesday of Bright Week after Pascha) but if their feast falls before Pascha, it is moved to the Tuesday after Pascha just like Saint George's feast. (Also, they died before any calendar issue that was going on in the Church, so if it is on the 9th of April, their feast too is celebrated 13 days earlier.)

[gphadraig]

Returning to the subject of drinking alcohol to excess. In English speaking countries it is not uncommon for the consumption of alcohol to be seperated from eating. Indeed I commonly hear among Greek speakers the injunction that alcohol is only to be consumed among friends and with food, i.e. not to set alone at home with a bottle.

Also there is in English speaking north west Europe an increasing phenomena of binge drinking among the the young. This has disastrous consequences and has seen an enormous increase in alcohol fuelled aggresion and violence.

Similarly a Russian Orthodox priest working in Moscow told me never to give beggars cash because much it will be spent on alcohol and not food or essentials.

As someone else has suggested there does seem to be a difference between how alcohol is consumed now by many as opposed to how it may have been consumed in the past. A particular shift appears to occurred among young women. Another example of the emancipation of women or simply them apeing the men they previously so despised?

But we should have no illusions, there have always been those who consume to excess. It is just, astonishingly, socially acceptable among some social groups!

[George Australia]

Hey, how about ask God your question. Ask him also why is there still Great Elders and Holy People that still appear to New Calendarists also? Orthodoxy was sure broken into a couple of silly divisions, but that doesn't mean, that Saints of GOD will take any positions with earthly issues and matters such as these that we have with the Calendar.

Q.E.D.: We should be in full Communion with the New Calendarists, since Heaven recognises no distinctions between the Old & New Calendars, and since schism over earthly matters is a great scandal indeed.

[joasia]

George,

St. Ephraim lived in the times of the Julian calendar. But, God has mercy on all, even the new calendarist, despite their ignorance of the difference. Point being, that God is there for the new calendarists too, and He is always trying to set everyone on the straight path. Whether because of calendar issues or sinful issues. He even called me, so, the boundaries of faith are not restricted, but the conduct within the faith is. I conformed to God, I didn't conform Him to me.

We are all struggling with our passions of one kind or another. None of us can claim to be doing all the right things. The only thing we can each do is recognize what we are lacking and pray to God and the Most Holy Theotokos and the saints to help us overcome our passions.

Q.E.D.: We should be in full Communion with the New Calendarists, since Heaven recognises no distinctions between the Old & New Calendars, and since schism over earthly matters is a great scandal indeed.

Your comment is purely personal and not based on eccleastical facts.

Heaven DOES recognize the distinctions between the old and new calendar. The Apostles were the blueprint of the worshipping of Christ. They followed a distinctive calendar, the Julian one. Then a certain Patriarch, Athenagoras, decided to go with the times and change the Church calendar to coincide with the civil calendar, the Gregorian( instituted by a pope of Rome). The saints and angels had been celebrating the feast days and names days for 1,922 years before the Greeks changed the calendar.

Do you think that God in Heaven and Christ with the Theotokos are going to hold their hands up and say...WAIT, the Patriarch has changed the calendar. We must also celebrate the change. Who controls what? Man controls Heaven and they shift gear or God controls creation? Do we tell God what to do or do we hear what God tells us to do?

I have read that Heaven celebrates with the worshippers. That's why there are angels that serve in the altar.

The Theotokos fell asleep on Aug. 15th, of the Julian calendar. Is she going to be honored by the angels and saints 13 days earlier? No, becasue that day is Aug 2nd: the translation of the Protodeacon Stephen. They were following the Julian calendar.

If I came to your home, every year, to wish you happy birthday, but it was always 2 weeks after the fact, would you tell me...look, my birthday was two weeks ago. Why do you always come two weeks later? Go ahead and celebrate your birthday or names day, two weeks earlier and see how you feel. It wouldn't feel right, would it?

By the way, why is it that the new calendarists follow the new calendar up until the Great Lent, then they shift into the old calendar gear? Then after Pentecost, they switch back and sometimes completely miss the fast for St. Peter and Paul (not to mention anybody's names day), because the new calendar has already surpassed it? Shifting gears like that is an indication of instability. The Greeks should have left the calendar well alone: it wasn't hurting anybody. But, the Patriarch DID die an extremely painful death. Why don't you read about THAT? The Patriarch DID CREATE A CHURCH SCHISM.

Today is the Dormition of the Theotokos. The true date of August 15th.

HRONIA POLA

I came to Orthodoxy, during this fast of the Dormition and I saw the differences of the calendars...I could never understand why the new calendarist couldn't see the simple fact of it. Try to celebrate your marriage or your child's birthday two weeks earlier. Doesn't seem right, does it? Then why do you think that Heaven would not feel right about it, since God established the calendar in the first place?

God called His servants on certain days and celebrated their entrance in His Kingdom. Why should He celebrate their days on a different calendar, just because a corrupt Patriarch decided to change it?

It's a matter of consistency and tradition of the faith, but misguided upbringings have left many people to believe in something that is simply not right. I was mis-guided farther away than you were, George, but God made these facts clear to me. The faithful on earth must celebrate with the Heavens above...and if we are in confusion on earth, then it is not the will of God but the destructive intentions of man.

God wants us to be in unison with Him. He leads the way. Afterall, isn't that what were are proclaiming to believe in? God and Orthodoxy?

In Christ,

Ioavva

[George Australia]

Then a certain Patriarch, Athenagoras, decided to go with the times and change the Church calendar to coincide with the civil calendar, the Gregorian( instituted by a pope of Rome).

Dear In Christ Joasia,
How is anyone supposed to take your arguments seriously when you can't even be bothered to check basic, objective, obvious facts? Patriarch Athenagoras was Oecumenical Patriarch from 1948-1972. There were seven different Oecumenical Patriarchs between the introduction of the New Calendar and Patriarch Athenagoras.

The Theotokos fell asleep on Aug. 15th, of the Julian calendar. Is she going to be honored by the angels and saints 13 days earlier? No, becasue that day is Aug 2nd: the translation of the Protodeacon Stephen. They were following the Julian calendar.If I came to your home, every year, to wish you happy birthday, but it was always 2 weeks after the fact, would you tell me...look, my birthday was two weeks ago.

So how many times a year did the Saints and Angels in Heaven celebrate the Nativity of Christ for the first 600 years of the Church's history before a common date was agreed upon? Did the Angels and Saints celebrate the Nativity on the 20th of May and 19th of April with the Church in Alexandria? Or did the Angels and Saints celebrate the Nativity on the 6th of January with the Church in Cyprus, Jerusalem and Contantinople. Or did the Angels and Saints celebrate the Nativity on the 25th of December with the Church in Antioch?
When should we celebrate the feast day of St. Ephraim of Mt. Amomon? He revealed that his feast day is January 3rd to New Calendarists. Should we celebrate his feast on the civil date of January 3rd since he was revealed to the New Calendarists, or should we who follow the Old Calendar revise this date to the civil date of January 26th?
We here in Australia are 12 to 16 hours ahead in time than the United States, so that when it is Pascha in Australia, it is still Holy Saturday in the United States. Don't the Angels and Saints celebrate Pascha with us before they celebrate with you?
Do not turn the traditions of men into God's laws Joanna.

By the way, why is it that the new calendarists follow the new calendar up until the Great Lent, then they shift into the old calendar gear?

Simple- because the date of Pascha must fall after the Jewish Pascha, which does not always happen in the Gregorian Calendar.

misguided upbringings have left many people to believe in something that is simply not right.

I couldn't agree more.

I was mis-guided farther away than you were, George, but God made these facts clear to me.

Did God speak to you through the same "angel" that made the "fact clear to you" that Patriarch Athenagoras instituted the New Calendar? I think that might be a naughty angel.
George