{"id":7277,"date":"2018-11-13T11:10:52","date_gmt":"2018-11-13T16:10:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/?p=7277"},"modified":"2018-11-13T11:10:52","modified_gmt":"2018-11-13T16:10:52","slug":"st-peter-newsletter-november-13-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/st-peter-newsletter-november-13-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Peter Newsletter November 13, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Holy Martyr Plato, brother of the Holy Martyr Antiochus the Physician (July 16), was born in the city of Ancyra in Galatia. While still a youth he left home and went through the cities, preaching the word of God to pagans, amazing his audience with the persuasiveness and beauty of his speech, and his profound knowledge of Greek learning.<\/p>\n
Because of his preaching he was arrested and brought for trial to the temple of Zeus before the governor Agrippinus. At first, the judge attempted to persuade the Saint to turn away from Christ by flattery. He assured the youth that he might be on a par of intellect with the greatest of the philosophers Plato, if only he worshiped also the pagan gods. To this Saint Plato answered, that the wisdom of the philosopher, although great, was but ephemeral and limited, whereas the true, eternal and unbounded wisdom comprised the Gospel teachings.<\/p>\n
[…]<\/p>\n
When the governor counseled him to avoid death and save his life by worshiping the idols, Plato said: “There are two deaths, the one temporal and the other eternal; so also are there two lives, one of short duration and the other without end.” Then the judge promised to give him his beautiful niece for his wife if he would deny Christ. He also threatened him with torture and death if he refused. Plato replied that he chose a temporal death for the sake of eternal life. The patience of the governor was exhausted, and he gave orders to ten soldiers to mercilessly beat the Martyr, and then send him off to prison.<\/p>\n
[…]<\/p>\n
After his tortures they threw him in prison for eighteen more days without bread or water. When the guards were amazed that Plato was able to live in hunger for so long, he told them: “You are satisfied by meat, but I, by holy prayers. Wine gladdens you, but Christ the True Vine gladdens me.” Seeing that this did not shake the Martyr, they offered him his life and freedom if he would only say, “Great is the god Apollo.” The Martyr refused to deny Christ or to sacrifice to the idols. Therefore, Agrippinus ordered the Holy Martyr Plato to be beheaded in the year 266.<\/p>\n
Read the complete biography on the Mystagogy<\/a> website.<\/em><\/p>\n The Nativity Fast is one of the four Canonical Fasting Seasons in the Church year. This is a joyous fast in anticipation of the Nativity of Christ. That is the reason it is less strict than other fasting periods. The fast is divided into two periods. The 1st period is November 15th through December 19th when the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, fish, wine, and oil) is observed. There is dispensation given for wine and oil on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Similarly, fish, wine, and oil are permitted on Saturdays and Sundays.<\/p>\n The 2nd period is December 20th through 24th when the traditional fasting discipline (no meat, dairy, fish, wine, and oil) is observed. There is dispensation given for wine and oil only on Saturday and Sunday during this period.<\/p>\n Fasting always works in conjuction with prayer and giving alms (helping the poor, giving to worthy charities, etc.). Fasting helps us reorder the interior life, but the reordering does not occur with greater prayer and greater concern for the poor.<\/p>\n The reordering is a clarification — we end up seeing things more clearly, we get stronger in the fight against sin and temptation. The fast always ends on a great Feast Day of our Lord.<\/p>\n For a complete list, visit the Antiochian website<\/a> or click on the image below:<\/p>\n The Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple, also called The Presentation, is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on November 21.<\/p>\n According to Tradition, the Theotokos was taken – presented – by her parents Joachim and Anna into the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem as a young girl, where she lived and served as a Temple virgin until her betrothal to St. Joseph. One of the earliest sources of this tradition is the non-canonical Protoevangelion of James, also called the Infancy Gospel of James.<\/p>\n Mary was solemnly received by the temple community which was headed by the priest Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist. She was led to the holy place to become herself the “holy of holies” of God, the living sanctuary and temple of the Divine child who was to be born in her. The Church also sees this feast as a feast which marks the end of the physical temple in Jerusalem as the dwelling place of God.<\/p>\nChristmas Fast Begins November 15, 2017<\/h2>\n
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Entrance of the Theotokos Divine Liturgy on Tuesday, November 20, 2017 at 6:30pm<\/h2>\n