Even in our day, there are some “self-righteous” Pharisees who wrongly use the words of the Redeemer for the justification of their base purpose. The words referred to are these: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man (Matt., xv. 11). But he who will look into the Holy Book, and examine for himself by reading this chapter from the first verse, will see that our Lord spake not of fast, here, but of that which defiles a man. In the case of John the Baptist, (which is one of many similar instances), surely the words which came from out his mouth, did not defile him, yet he was very scrupulous as to what entered his mouth. He was the most abstemious man. And God accepted the fast of St. John the Baptist!

All the Apostles fasted, following the example of their Divine Master. Likewise, all the earlier Councils of the Church, whether the one presided over by the Apostles themselves, or those under their Successors, decreed that Christians should keep fast.

The most important Fast is the Quadragesima. It lasts for forty days, in accordance with the example of the fasting of the Lord Jesus for forty days. To this Fast is added, besides, the passion week, in commemoration of the sufferings of our Lord and Savior. Both these Fasts are known under the name of the Great Lent, which precedes Easter Sunday.

The second long Fast is observed before the nativity of Christ (from the 15th November) and is called for that reason the Christmas Lent. On the last day, the eve of the Festival itself, the Fast is observed with a particular rigor; on that day boiled wheaten corn and honey only may be partaken of, and that after sunset. This fasting is somewhat relaxed when the eve of the Festival happens to fall either on a Sunday or Saturday.

The third Lent lasts for a fortnight and occurs just before the Feast of the Assumption of the Mother of God.

The fourth Lent is appointed by the Church to be held before the Festival of the holy and chief Apostles Peter and Paul. The number of days of this Lent is not uniform and depends on the date of Easter (or the Resurrection). It commences just one week after the Feast of Pentecost and lasts until the 29th of June.

Besides the longer Lents, there are Fasts of one day’s duration only. To these belong: Wednesday—fasting in memory of the betrayal of the Lord by Judas to the passion and death, and Friday—fasting in memory of the passion and death of the Lord, the Feast of the Elevation of the Lord’s Cross, and the day of the Beheading of John the Baptist, on account of the sorrowful memories connected with these two festivals, and also on the eve of the Feast of the Lord’s Baptism.

These few lines on the subject of Fast we may appropriately close with a few stanzas of Church hymns—sung during Lent. Translated, they read thus:

“Brethren, let us keep a spiritual fast, let us not speak falsely with our lips, nor put a stumbling block in the way of our brother, but with repentance let us brighten the lamp of our souls, crying unto Christ, forgive us our iniquities, O Lover of mankind!

“Let us desire a fasting of the soul to extinguish, by the Spirit’s aid, our dangerous passions, to strengthen us to practice godly deeds, to lift our minds to heaven, and gain us pardon for our sins from God most merciful.

“The saintly Moses through fasting acquired purity of desire. Then imitate him, my poor soul, and hasten while it is day to cleanse thyself from evil through continence, that thou mayest find the Lord, who is good and man loving, and granteth the forgiveness, and graciousness, and redemption.” (Lenten Triodion).

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The world of the Old Testament was zealous about the bearing of children, and therefore about marriage, aspiring to the birth of the Redeemer of the world. It so little understood and honored virginity, that virginity, forever bereft of marriage, was to it an object of lamentation. The daughter of Jephthah, who was about to die, having “known no man”, and not she alone, but her companions also bewailed her virginity upon the mountains, and even after her death, it was a custom in Israel, that the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year. The life of John the Baptist, and still earlier, the life of the Prophets Elijah and Elisha, are the earliest indications of the dignity of virginity; but even these indications were not in their time understood, for the Jews had oftener seen their prophets not avoiding married life, as for instance, Moses, Samuel, and others.

The New Covenant of God with man is of the highest moral character. And to such, who give up their service and their very life for the preservation and spreading of the Grace of the New Testament among the sons of men, these words of the Great Apostle may be alluded: I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I: but if they can not contain let them marry ... He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife ... He that giveth his virgin in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better (1 Cor., vii. 8, 9, 32, 33, 38). Above all, the Most Blessed Mary, is the Virgin of God. She has shown to us to what height, a more than heavenly one, that the dignity of virginity has been elevated. Her Divine Son taught: that in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven, and as another Evangelist expresses the same thing, they are equal unto the angels. The great Philaret of Moscow explained: “If the Most Holy Mother of God became through virginity more pure than the Cherubim, and more glorious than the seraphim, her followers (in truth and in purity) may be rendered equal to angels—by the Grace of God, at the same time being thus honored also by Divine Justice.”

The true state of the virgin is truly holy. St. John in his book of revelation writes thus: I looked, and lo, “a Lamb stood on the Mount Sion, and with Him a hundred forty and four thousand having His Father’s Name written in their foreheads.” And he heard them sing as it were a new song before the throne; and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand. But who are they, will you ask? These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins, and follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb. (Rev., xiv. 1-4).

Everyone knows virginity, by one’s own experience, as the natural state preceding marriage. But this is merely the imperfect beginning of that of which we are now speaking. It is but the stem and not the flower; it is but the blossom and not the fragrant fruit itself. The virginity of childhood, from the very reason that it is merely a natural state, is neither a free act, nor the fruit of victory, and consequently it is not a virtue. It is fittingly called innocence,—but that is all; but therein is not yet the superior excellence which belongs to perfect virginity.

Virginity as an act of piety, as a virtue, as the flower of purity, as the fruit of chastity, as the way to perfection, manifests itself in man at an age, when, according to the common course of nature, more or less disposed to marriage, he neither yields to nature’s inclination, nor suffers himself to be swayed by custom, by the examples, by the pleasures, and by the needs of social life, but resolves to renounce marriage, and to keep his virginity forever.

We make mention of virginity in a place where all may read or hear of it, because among all there are those that are able to receive it; and the Word is seeking out from amongst all those whom God calls to hear and to fulfill it, and who are often unknown unto men.

We speak of true virginity unto all men, that, knowing it, they may guard themselves from the mistaken ways of the foolish virgins, who with the unlit lamps of their minds, wanting the oil of love, are roaming far from the heavenly abode, and, instead of love for the Bridegroom they are but breeding hate against the holy state of marriage. For already, since the time of the Apostles, the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry (1 Tim., iv. 1-3).

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The Church teaches that whatever happiness, or glory, or influence the saints possess, all comes from God. As the moon borrows her light from the sun, so do the blessed borrow their light from Jesus, the Sun of Justice, the One Mediator (of redemption) of God and men—1 Tim., ii. 5.

If not only the prayers of the just (which are pleasing in the sight of God) but also the penitent prayers of the wicked are accepted by God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, then, surely, the aspirations of a heart tenderly attached to the saints, whose glory is virtue elevated, will not be in vain. You deem it useful and pious to ask your friend, brother, or pastor to pray for you. Is it not, at least, equally useful for me to invoke the prayers of St. Paul or St. John?

Amongst the various departments of reading, none can be more interesting than that which records the actions of persons who have rendered themselves illustrious by their wisdom, their heroism, or their eminent virtues. In reading the lives of the saints we find a heroism that exceeds the natural powers of man;—a wisdom in comparison with which that of a Socrates or a Solon is but childishness (for wisdom becomes more or less estimable in proportion to the value of the objects that attract its attention); hence the virtues of the illustrious characters, whose memoirs have always adorned the pages of church history, as far surpass those of the most exalted characters of Pagan antiquity, as man in a state of nature is surpassed by the angelic spirits. Many traits will be found in their lives that cannot accord with the enervated delicacy of modern ideas and habits, preoccupied as they unfortunately are, by the false maxims and vitiated manners of an age that labors to substitute a vain philosophy, the pander of every passion, in lieu of divine revelation, which not only commands and affords the means of their subjugations, but also invites us to erect on their ruins the fabric of evangelical perfection.

The Almighty has at all times inspired His servants with a conduct suitable to the exigencies of the age in which they lived, making them all to all, in order to gain all to Himself. We see this in the lives of the prophets apostles, martyrs, evangelizers; in such men as Antony Macarius, Constantine the Great, John Chrysostom, Photius of Constantinople, Cyril and Methodius, Vladimir of Russia, Sabbas of Serbia, Sergius of Radonezh, Peter of Montenegro, and Herman of Alaska.

Christians should name their children after the saints because in them we have a clear type of holiness and virtue. By faithfully following their example we may, with more certainty, be able, than with our own feeble (and unsupported) exertion to imitate the only model of perfection—Jesus Christ. The Church of Christ is mighty, great, and rich. There are many in the ranks, not only of the saved, but also of the ones openly glorified. Christians of every age, condition, and sex, individuals, and whole families may find among the holy ones, which were glorified by God, a pattern for their special calling in this life.

Of course, skeptics will say that there are many things in the lives of the saints that appear supernatural. But we must remember that all which is told of the saints rests on the same credit and authority as the most ordinary and familiar circumstance related of them; nor is any miraculous interposition of Providence enabling them to pursue a mode of life, impossible to mere human effort, that has not a parallel in the Bible itself. These words were not written for the condemned who trample upon Divine Revelation, but for you, dear one, who are desirous of being a sincere Christian. For example, if some of the saints fasted many weeks without any corporal sustenance (without referring to the forty days’ fast of our Savior in the desert), did not St. Elias and St. John the Baptist also fast in the same rigorous manner? If St. Paul the first hermit was miraculously fed by a raven, was not the prophet Elias also fed in like manner? If a lioness saved the life of St. Malchus and his companion in a cave and destroyed the vengeful pursuers, did not bears also rush from the woods to devour the wicked children who had derided and insulted the baldness of Elisha the prophet? Thus we might cite a long list of wonderful parallels, but it is more proper to close with at least one instance, relating the profound humility of the saints, for it is upon their simplicity and humbleness that their greatness is founded. St. Ephrem Syrus, whom, St. Basil described as meek and simple in appearance, and badly clothed, was an extraordinary man in his age. He was a monk, but not a solitary one; he had renounced some human ties, but only to link himself closer with mankind. In his last testament or autobiography, he relates of himself:

“When I was but a little child

Yet reposing on my mother’s breast,

I saw, as it were in a vision,

What turned out to be truth.

A vine sprung forth from my tongue,

Which grew and touched the heaven;

It produced fruit without measure

And branches also innumerable,

The people gathered from it without stint,

Yet its clusters became more abundant.

The bunches of fruit were Hymns,

And these branches were Homilies;

God was the bestower of them.

Glory be to Him for His goodness!

He gave to me according to His pleasure

From the house of His treasures”

If it be not love and voluntary veneration, surely it should be out of fear, in such an extreme and undesired spiritual condition of some Christians—who accept the Holy Bible (considering the words in Revelation, viii. 3-4), that they ought to keep the memory of the saints.

Finally, we invoke in our needs, and in our repentance, the Holiest Ever-Virgin Mary,1 who is without comparison more honorable than the Cherubim, and more glorious than the Seraphim, as the parent of our Savior, who, while being a man, yet never ceases to be God, so that He is God-man, called on earth Jesus Christ, in whose Person two natures, the divine and the human, are united, unmixed, unchanged, undivided and inseparable. (See the acts and dogma of the Fourth General Council of the Church).

This is a digital edition of Beacon from the Bay: The Collected Works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich of Jackson and San Francisco, a several-month-long project to catalogue the out-of-prints works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich, the first American-born Orthodox priest.

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The conditions necessary to make this Sacrament valid are the following: I. Prayer by the Priests (or one Priest in extreme necessity); prayer on part of those present; II. faith, prayer, and repentance on part of the sick one; III. the anointment of the sick one with blessed oil in the name of the Lord. When the Lord Jesus Christ selected the Twelve Apostles, he committed to them his mission, and sending them out into the world, he said: Heal the sick (Matt., x. 8 and Mark, vi. 13). Yet more precise is the command of the first leader of the early church in Jerusalem;—this Disciple and Apostle of Jesus Christ said: Is any sick among you? Let him call for the Elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of Faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. (James, v. 15, 16.)

It is indeed very sad to note how in our day people, who call themselves Christians, give no thought to the consolation of our holy religion, but they turn, in trouble and in sickness, with all their hope, and sometimes with all their money also, to what comfort they can obtain from man and science. It is not our intention to say aught against science; on the contrary, we assert, with the confirmation of the voice of the church, that all true science, based on sound reason, is a gift of God, and should be utilized for the temporal welfare of man.

In the majority of unfortunate cases worldly people think of the church, the Commandments of God, and their duty, when all hope for a continuance of the enjoyment of life on this earth has left them. Then they send for a priest and wish to receive the holy communion. Sometimes a few dim faculties of existence still linger in their wasting bodies, and a semblance of confession is made. Oh, but what a mockery of Repentance that must be! And it often happens, too, that such people go off without the least preparation. Man certainly may attain much, and he has attained much with his God-given talents; yet what is impossible to him, is possible with God, and the seemingly impossible, and that which is beyond the natural, is held out to us unworthy ones, through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, and given to us in His Church, and in the Grace of the Sacraments which He instituted. May we not offend the Almighty! Glory to our Saviour—the Lord Jesus Christ, together with the graciously sanctifying Holy Ghost, and the Father of lights, from whom cometh down every good and perfect gift. Amen.

This is a digital edition of Beacon from the Bay: The Collected Works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich of Jackson and San Francisco, a several-month-long project to catalogue the out-of-prints works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich, the first American-born Orthodox priest.

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At what other time of one’s life, but when new relations are formed, higher duties entered upon, and heavier responsibilities are exacted, do we need so much that help of a guiding providence? Verily, it is when two such like young people become wedded to each other, and are about to start out into the life unknown to them, that the Grace of the Sacrament is for them a seal of the Divine insurance of happiness. In order that the vows given and taken in matrimony may be impressed upon the memory, the Church had ordered the service of this Sacrament to be as imposing as it is elaborate. In this somewhat lengthy service, two distinctly separate offices are united, namely: the Betrothal and the Coronation, in common language—the engagement and the marriage. As the Church order of betrothing had sometimes been abused by parties, who either did not faithfully keep their promise, or either made a hasty selection, which sometimes proved to be a hindrance, the Church has practically left off betrothing parties in a period long preceding their marriage, as was the practice once, and now she acknowledges the word, binding two persons to each other, at the time when she is about to bless them and crown them for their patience, and pure desire to lead a moral life.

The visible signs of this Sacrament are the rings, the crowns, the communion cup, and the cross the priest makes in giving the blessing. I presume that you know the history of rings. You have been told before what in our church a circle is symbolical of. Henceforth wearing these rings you will ever be reminded of your pledge of faithfulness to the end.

The crowns put on your heads, denote that you are invested with a special power in your new home. You are now given the privilege of becoming parents and the honored crowned head of your descendants. You are given the right to rule your home, chastise and reward your children. You are empowered to legislate and execute the laws of your family, without the interference of anyone from the outside, and without being responsible to anyone but God, just so far as your administration does not conflict with the laws of Christianity. But remember you are obliged to continually study the teaching of the church, and carry out her precepts in the right spirit. According to the word of God, she declares that the husband is the head of the family. The wife is his helpmate, companion, and sacred mother of his offspring. In your married life always remember that you are Christians. And let me emphasize it: your children, if you be gifted with them, and for which we pray, they must be—now do not think my expression strange-they must be born according to the will of God as manifested in nature, and as is becoming healthy Christians, and then carefully and strictly educated as Christians, yea—and in the Orthodox Confession of Faith.

Those who partake of the sacrament of matrimony are given the common cup to drain from out the hands of the priest. The meaning of this is plain. After this the happiness of one is to be the happiness of the other; the sorrow of one is to be the sorrow of the other; the interest of one is to be the interest of the other. Moreover, a married couple is obliged to study the character of one another, and this—for the purpose of learning how and in what one may be of service to the other. When not the immediate result of your will and energy, or that of another person, good fortune and misfortune must be taken as coming from the hands of Almighty God. A man or woman shall leave his or her father and mother, and shall be joined unto one another, and they two shall be one flesh. This Sacrament is great: but I speak concerning Christ and the Church.

Beloved children! remain faithful to Him, who suffered and died for us, and his cross will ever continue to bless you with happiness. Amen.

This is a digital edition of Beacon from the Bay: The Collected Works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich of Jackson and San Francisco, a several-month-long project to catalogue the out-of-prints works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich, the first American-born Orthodox priest.

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In the Sacrament of the Priesthood, there are three essential and necessary degrees, which are those of Bishop, Presbyter, and Deacon. The following: subdeacon, archdeacon, archpriest, archimandrite, archbishop, and patriarch are simply titulary names attached to one or the other of the three ministers first mentioned, in accordance to their lesser or greater commission and the influence of their position in the Church. The office of a deacon is to assist a bishop and a priest in church work, at the services, and at the Sacraments. The office of a priest is to conduct all church work and services and to hallow six of the seven Sacraments, but in dependence on the Bishop. The office of a Bishop is to oversee and preside in a whole district or diocese of the Church, and he has the power also to impart to others, by the laying on of his hands, the gift and grace to hallow Sacraments. A Bishop in his official administration depends on no man, being responsible before a general council of the Church only. The supreme authority of the whole Church is expressed in her General Councils. The Holy Ghost abides in the Body of Christ, which is the Orthodox Apostolic Church, and governs her; therefore no man can be the Head of the Church—but Jesus Christ.

The ministers of the Church are forbidden to occupy themselves with worldly business. What is more, they may not use their Holy office as a means by which to obtain wealth. There are many ways of making sordid gain, which are unbecoming the spiritual order; but here we will mention only some:

1. Usury; when a minister of the Church takes usury, or increase: this is forbidden by the canons under pain of deprivation: Can. Apost. xliv., I Ecum. Coun. xvi., VI Ecum. Coun. x.

2. Illicit buying and selling: this offense is forbidden by canon ix of the Sixth Council.

3. Worldly traffic: to trade, or traffic, and follow other pursuits for gain is forbidden to the stewards of the Divine Mysteries both by the Word of God (2 Tim., ii. 4) and by the canons of the Holy Fathers. Can. Apost. vi, xx, lxxxi.

4. The exaction of money for spiritual ministrations; this the Lord Himself forbids, saying: Freely ye have received, freely give. And canon xxiii of the Sixth Council subjects a Priest to degradation for taking any pay whatever. These are the words: If the Priest, who communicates the people in the all-pure mysteries, that is, the all-pure Body and all-pure Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, asks so much as a farthing, or anything else from the communicant, let him be degraded.

Such are the laws by which the Church regulates the behavior of those whom she sets forth as examples for the people. Woe unto the unworthy ones! The upright and zealous ministers are named in the books of the New Testament: Angels of the Churches; the light of the world; the salt of the earth; shepherds of the flock of Christ; laborers together with God, and master builders of God’s building; the friends of Christ, the Bridegroom.

On the other hand, the Church with a Divine Right, is mindful of the comfort and physical needs of those who serve her in the priesthood. St. John Chrysostom writes thus: The law commands not to muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. Seest thou what labor it requires from the Teacher? For there is no labor, no, none, like to his labor. And again: Let us not think only of the hire, but of that qualification which is joined with the command; for it goes on, The laborer is worthy of his hire. There is a law by which the Church protects the ministers of the altar against the hard-heartedness of some members. It is this:

If any Priest with his clerks be he so poor as to want what is necessary for their maintenance, he may at some other time than when he is ministering Sacraments (see Spiritual Regulation for the Clergy) ask his parishioners for assistance, according to the teaching of the Apostle, St. Paul, who says: what soldier ever serveth at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard and eateth not the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? Yea, for our sake it was written; because he that ploweth ought to plow in hope. And he that thresheth, to thresh in hope of partaking. If we sowed unto you spiritual things, is it a great matter if we shall reap your carnal things? If others partake of this right over you, do not we yet more? Even so did the Lord ordain that they which proclaim the gospel should live of the gospel. But I have used none of these things.

From these words of the holy Scriptures, we must conclude that it is the duty of Christians to support the priesthood; the people are obliged to minister to the physical necessities and comfort of their pastors and spiritual teachers.

In the Sacrament of Holy Orders, when the candidate is presented before the holy Table, by deacons—if he is to be a Deacon, by priests—if he is to be a Presbyter, and by bishops—if he is to be a Bishop, a deacon exclaims: Give the command; this is equivalent to: Give the blessing. Another deacon exclaims likewise, but he puts the word in the plural. Then the first deacon exclaims: Command, Most Reverend Master! The first command is addressed to God, supplicating His good will, without which there is no blessing. The second command is addressed to the faithful orthodox and pious Christians, who also make up the Church, asking their consent, which proves that the candidate is worthy. The command, Most Reverend Master, of course, is addressed to the Prelate, petitioning his apostolic blessing in transmitting the priestly gifts of the Holy Ghost, once and forever deposited in the true Church, and preserved by the uninterrupted Apostolic Succession. In the Orthodox Church, married men are ordained to the priesthood as well as celibates.

At the consecration of a Bishop, Presbyter, and Deacon, the same are vested in sacred garments appropriate to their respective grades. Some of these vestments belong to all three grades of the priesthood, and others make the distinctive feature of one or another order.

Among the vestments of the first kind may be mentioned: the sticharion (or alb), the stole, the epimanikia (or wristlets). The alb is the vestment of a deacon (and also worn by a reader), and when made in a lighter form it also serves as a vestment both for a bishop and priest. the stole or orarion is worn by a deacon across the left shoulder. With the bishop and priest, it is put around the neck and then falls down over the front of the alb. In this shape, it is called the epitrachelion. The wristbands are the same for all the three orders. The vestment common both to the Bishop and the Priest is the zone, or girdle, with which the alb is drawn together for the convenience in performing the Divine service, and that which distinguishes the latter from the first is the chasuble or phelonion—a long circular and sleeveless vestment, somewhat shortened in the front part. The vestments distinctive of the Bishop’s order are: the sakkos (an upper garment with sleeves), the omophorion (a long wide vestment worn around the shoulders), and the mitre.

Besides these vestments, an epigonation (a four-cornered piece hung on the side from the waist to the knee) is worn by a bishop and by some of the older priests as a reward for their service. All these vestments have a deep, sacred signification. The alb points to the purity of life which is particularly required by the sacred office. The stole reminds the deacon of the grace which is vouchsafed him in his sacred order, and the epitrachelion (double stole) tells the bishops and priests of the double outpouring upon them of the Gifts of grace which correspondingly requires of them particular labors in their sacred office.

The omophorion, placed on the shoulders of a bishop, recalls to us the Lord’s parable of the lost sheep which the good shepherd found and joyfully put on his shoulders. Thus it bids the Bishop to take care of the children of the Church entrusted to his guardianship.

The epimanikia or wrist bands remind the consecrated persons of those fetters with which the hands of our Lord and Savior were tied and tell them not to put their trust in their own powers and gifts, but rather to ask for the help from above for the performance of their duties.

The phelonion and sakkos point to the humiliation and passion of Christ and instill in the shepherds of Christ’s flock a humble spirit.

The epigonation represents the spiritual sword, that is, the word of God, with which the pastor should always be armed.

The mitre, which should remind us of the crown of thorns on Jesus’ head, is at the same time a mark of the glory and power vouchsafed by the Lord to His ministers.

That the priesthood is a great dignity is sufficiently clear from this, that it was instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, God and man, as a means whereby mankind should attain the greatest blessedness, even everlasting salvation. St. Gregory the Divine says thus: The Priest, when he ministers, stands with the Angels, glorifies God with the Archangels, lifts up sacrifice to the heavenly altar on high, is joined as a Priest with Christ, renews our corrupt dust, restores the image of God: i.e. brings fallen man by baptism to regeneration. The Councils of the Church decree in the same spirit. The first Fathers of the Church are corroborated also by St. John Chrysostom, who says: Knowest thou not what a Priest is? He is the Angel of the Lord: for when he speaks according to his office, if thou despisest him, thou despisest not him, but the Bishop who ordained him, and God.

This is a digital edition of Beacon from the Bay: The Collected Works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich of Jackson and San Francisco, a several-month-long project to catalogue the out-of-prints works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich, the first American-born Orthodox priest.

If you would like to purchase print copies of Beacon from the Bay for a personal or church library or bookstore, you may do so from Amazon. All support is greatly appreciated for this labor of love.

The teachings of the many different Protestant societies in regard to this Sacrament are so diverse, far-fetched, and obscure, and not foreseeing any immediate danger to the truth from their several opinions, separately scattered, we shall now look into the teaching and practice of the Latin church, which being the nearest to ours, yet is so changed with unreasonable innovations, that the wholeness of the doctrine and of the forms of the primitive undivided church are lost in her, and her zeal in proselytizing and boasting of numbers may prove dangerous for some of our people, who allow themselves, unawares, to wander.

In the first place, the Latin church does not use leavened bread in the Eucharist, but unleavened bread, or wafers. Whence and at what time did this custom of receiving the Communion by wafers have its introduction? It was in Spain during the seventh century that this innovation was introduced by some, and when it spread and became a custom in quite a number of dioceses in the West, the Patriarch Michael Cerularius of Constantinople canonically presented the matter for correction to the Patriarch of the West, i.e., the so-called Pope of Rome, but when Leo IX in 1054 had seen that the anti-apostolic practice had taken root in so many influential churches, and it would not be of any avail for him to condemn it, he actually gave his sanction for this way of communicating and recommended it for all those who would be of one mind with him, but against the four Orthodox Patriarchs and the Apostolic Church in general.

Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted the mystery of communion before the feast of the passover (John, xiii. 1-2); consequently, at the time when the Jews ate leavened bread, for only during the Paschal week they were required to use unleavened bread. The Redeemer was delivered up to the Scribes and High Priests after His last supper; moreover, He was crucified, He died, and was buried before the Jews partook of their supper of roast lamb with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. In describing the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the Holy Scriptures contain the Greek word Artos; in the Greek language, only leavened bread is called Artos. We should bear in mind that the originals of the New Testament were written firstly in the Greek.

Now, concerning the administering of the Communion to the people in one kind. Our Orthodox Church teaches that the people are members of Christ’s Church in the same degree as the clergy. And those who are led, as well as those who lead in the way of salvation, partake alike of both the body and the blood of Christ in the Mystery of the Eucharist. Not so in the Latin Church! In giving the cup of the covenant, did not He—the Head of our Church—command, Drink ye all of it? (Matt., xxvi. 28.) It has been repeated more than once, for instance: except ye drink His blood, ye have not life in yourselves (John, vi. 53). Why is it the Latin church has no regard for history? Several of her own doctors tell us that the Communion in the West was administered to the people in both kinds during the twelfth century. It was as late as the fifteenth century that the Roman Church prohibited her priests to administer the Sacrament to the people in its complete form. Of course, the Latin church puts forth arguments in defense of her adulterated practices. But nothing will justify her in changing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At no other time or place, but at His last supper, did the Lord and Master so completely humble Himself, when He washed the feet of His disciples, and made Himself as one of the others, eating with them, yea—and giving His very blood and very body, that they, and we, and all may be one in Him, at the same time saying: this do in remembrance of me (Luke, xxii. 19). Sad it is, indeed very sad, the practices of the Pope and his ministers should be of such a nature, that their followers are denied the whole of that which pertains to eternal salvation. While partaking of the cup themselves, are not the Latin clergy something more, or nobler and higher, and not like unto their brethren, or the rest of common mankind?

Finally, we make remark of another abuse of the early Orthodox Christian practice. It is the natural result of other previous mistakes, or rather unfaithfulness, namely: the communion of infants. In this case, the Latins cannot say, that the flesh is in the blood, and the blood is in the body, because infants cannot partake of a wafer, but otherwise they are able to receive a drop of liquid, though they be very young. Now the question arises: if infants are baptized and anointed with holy chrism, why should they be denied the life-giving Grace in the Sacrament of Holy Communion? If there is no direct command in Holy Writ to administer the same to infants, there is none likewise in regard to baptizing them. Yet this is demanded by Holy Tradition. Infants were communicants in the West for a long time. It was Odone, the Bishop of Paris in 1175, who was the first to prohibit the little children from being brought to the table of the Lord. After this, it spread to other countries, but first in cities among so-called genteel people, and then it was that Rome said this sin was infallible. How is it that the Latin church attempts such undertakings without the authority of the whole body of the Catholic Church! May the Holy Ghost, who abides in the Church of Christ, protect us from such error and all snares of the proud one.

This is a digital edition of Beacon from the Bay: The Collected Works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich of Jackson and San Francisco, a several-month-long project to catalogue the out-of-prints works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich, the first American-born Orthodox priest.

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Let us now first hear of the origin of confession and repentance, and then, having traced it down through the ages to our day, we shall see the results, or more accurately speaking, we shall see the fruits of repentance. In doing so we will pay particular attention to the first confession ever heard on earth, and see what a terrible curse can follow an improper confession, as well as a blessing follows a true confession.

At the same time, we must bear in mind that the Old Testament’s record of repentance we employ as history, while the teaching of the New Testament are the words essentially necessary for making valid this Christian Sacrament.

Our forefathers, Adam and Eve, having eaten of the forbidden fruit, sinned; and behold the Lord appeared to them, to move them unto repentance. Adam, said He, where art thou? Who told thee that thou wast naked? But Adam, unfortunately, did not take heed to this merciful call to repentance. He did not open-heartedly confess his sins before the All-knowing God; he did not prostrate himself before God and with tears of contrition pray to Him:—O, Lord, I sinned before Thee, I transgressed Thy commandment. He makes an attempt to lay the fault on Eve—his wife. The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me,—says he—she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the woman, in her turn, follows the example of her husband. Instead of repenting, she casts the blame on the serpent. The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat—Eve says. So unfortunately did the first confession end. And they who confess so ignorantly receive a heavy punishment. Cursed is the ground for thy sake, pronounced the All-just Judge. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return (Gen. iii).

Adam’s first-born—Cain—out of envy commits a terrible crime: he slays his brother Abel. And again the Lord God endeavors to move the criminal unto repentance. Where is Abel, thy brother? He asks of the fratricide. And again the Merciful God’s call is unheeded. But what audacity do we see in the miserable man; what terrible intellect—blinded sacrilege! The youngest brother’s elder boldly answers the All-knowing One: Am I my brother’s keeper? And again the All-just pronounces a bitter sentence: thou art cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand (Gen., iv. 9-11).

In course of time people multiplied. Sin, unrighteousness, blasphemy, iniquity multiplied. To put an end to their iniquities the Lord set on annihilating the human race, and with it every living thing on the earth. Mankind was given time and special opportunities to repent, so that the people were entirely unjustifiable in their evil ways. For one hundred and twenty years the call to repentance was continually heard; but corruption continued; the earth was filled with unrighteousness. And the unrepentant people, with everything living were lost in the waters of the deluge. After the deluge, when mankind again increased, the Lord God selected as the object of His special care the Hebrew people. That faith and piety might be insured in them, God gave them commandments and ordinances. And among those ordinances we see they had confession. The book of Levitcus states that those who sinned had to bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the Congregation a sacrifice, and laying their hand on the animal’s head, which they offered, confess their sins (Levit. iv) . Besides this, the High Priest once a year heard the confession of all Israel (Levit. xvi). In special cases the Lord would send. Prophets to receive confessions. Nathan, for instance, having rebuked King David, received his repentance, and in the name of God declared him absolved . King Ahab repented and confessed before the Prophet Elias (I Kings, xxi. 27).

Before the advent of Jesus Christ there was sent to preach repentance and receive confessions a Forerunner—John the Baptist. Then went to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, and were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins (Matt., iii. 5-6). Calling unto repentance, he said: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance. For now the axe is laid unto the root of the tree; every tree, therefore, which bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down, and cast into the fire (Luke, iii). At last the Lamb of God, Who taketh away the sins of the World, appears on earth. Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, He says, and I will give you rest. And He actually does take off the yoke of sins of every sinner, in whom He finds repentance. He forgives the adulteress; He forgives the publican; He forgives the thief.

That confession, after His ascension, may be perpetuated in His Church, Jesus Christ gives the Apostles the Spirit, saying: Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained (John, xx. 23). Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven (Matt., xvi. 19). The Apostles, through ordination or laying on of hands, transmitted the Spirit given to them to Bishops and Priests. And since then to our day, in the true Church of Christ, the Sacrament of Repentance is maintained imperishable. Do you now see whose work it is? It is the work of the merciful God, Who would that no one be lost, but that all may come to repentance. Consequently how very unfortunate are they, who do not repent and confess their sins, but give themselves to their own frail competence, give themselves up to the world and then to the devil! They deny their own salvation, they cast away from themselves the mercy of God. And what can they say reasonable in their defense? That they have no great sins, but only the common ones? But is it thus? Hear ye, then, what is said in a prayer composed by a sainted father, approved by the Holy Church, and read for all in the name of the Church on earth, and therefore obligatory for every one of us: What evil have I not done? What sin have I not committed? What wickedness have I not imagined in my soul? Have I not sinned indeed by pride, boasting, slander, idle speech, improper laughter, intemperance, hatred, envy, avarice, self-love, ambition, falsehood? Have I not defiled all my senses, all my members, and have I not been a ready agent of Satan? What sins have I not committed? What evil hath not possessed me? Every sin have I committed. Every uncleanness have I taken into my soul. What now? Is it possible that one would dare say, that the Holy Church, through the mouth of which speaks the Spirit of Almighty God, the Spirit of Truth, is mistaken, applying this prayer to him or to her? Be it not so! Wherefore repentance, confession? say some; it is merely an empty formality; as if I would become better, just because I talk for a few moments with the priest! How ignorant, how blind, how self-conceited, how unfortunate are such who thus try to stifle the last weak cry of their struggling conscience. A philosopher still of old, and a pagan, had said, that for the moral prosperity of man, one thing is needed, i.e. to know one’s self. And all the learned scholars of human nature say, that in those words is a great truth. Repentance also is knowing one’s self, with only the difference, that in the Christian self-examination, or repentance, a man cannot fail, as the priest, by the light of God’s Word, the rich and the wise practice of the Church, and as the minister of the Holy Ghost in the Holy Mysteries, discloses unto the sinner his true condition, and witnessing his repentance, the priest brings down on the head of the sinner a blessing, absolution, which by virtue of the infinite merits of Him Who suffered for us—the God-Man, our Savior—makes the penitent clean, worthy, holy.

We now have an idea in regard to repentance, and we plainly understand what is meant by the word—confession. There is yet another word that is used when writing of the Sacrament of Repentance. It is a word that many persons abhor; they simply detest it, and say that it belongs to the middle, dark ages, and should not be practiced, or even mentioned in these enlightened times of the new civilization! The word penance does not worry the genuinely educated element of society. Nor does the practice of penance (in the true, Orthodox sense) frighten the truly enlightened. Penance in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, or in the Greek and Russian Churches as her chief members, is ascribed only in certain instances—as means to an end—by the priest, who, as a gentle pastor, endeavors to humble the arrogant soul and make her voluntarily seek the mercy of a Charitable God, against Whose commandments she has sinned; likewise as a disciplinary measure for those who are morally weak. She recommends for instance: prayer, alms-giving, abstinence in some things, fast, pilgrimage to certain celebrated places which can inspire the soul for good, genuflections, home-readings, etc.

It is not so in the Roman Church, where the priest is separated from his flock by a wall (as if he was not one of the family), and where he appears as a judge meting out to some salvation, and to some condemnation, while others are sentenced for a temporal punishment for their sins, if it be in this world—by penance, if the soul be beyond the grave—in purgatory, for the satisfaction of the infinite justice of God; and from which punishment for a certain sum of money the Pope can liberate, applying to the demoralized soul (whether it be in a state of learning in this world, or whether it be past the final limit) the overdue virtues and merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, and other saints from a treasury (thesaurus satisfactionum) which the Pope keeps at hand.

Such anti-Christian doctrine Martin Luther sincerely refuted. But unfortunately, he did not see his way clearly (in those dark days), and he made the path for a host of Protestant divisions. The Protestant sects do not recognize Repentance as a Sacrament. Yet certain bodies cannot help but reveal signs of repentance; this proves that the Christian Church would be incomplete and untrue without it, for instance, the Methodists in their revivals. These revivals of course do not present methodical and complete confessions, real repentance often being a question of doubt, and likewise, they want the presence of a canonically ordained priesthood, of whom they could be assured of absolution.

This is a digital edition of Beacon from the Bay: The Collected Works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich of Jackson and San Francisco, a several-month-long project to catalogue the out-of-prints works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich, the first American-born Orthodox priest.

If you would like to purchase print copies of Beacon from the Bay for a personal or church library or bookstore, you may do so from Amazon. All support is greatly appreciated for this labor of love.

When Jesus Christ sent His Disciples and Apostles to build up His Church He said to them: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. (Matthew, xxviii. 19-20). He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. (Mark, xvi. 16). The very word itself is Greek, and Baptizo distinctly means to dip, to immerse, to submerge. Philologists and theologians know that this word was used when first the Old Testament was translated from the Hebrew into the Greek—in several instances, where it was necessary to explain the Hebrew word, which meant to plunge. It is evident that the Orthodox Eastern Church is an incessant, sacred, and jealous guardian of pure Apostolic doctrine and ritual observance. The preservation of this concord is Her mark of principle. It is characteristic of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Baptism is a sacrament unto salvation. It is the initiation for membership in the company of the followers of Jesus.

There are many in this country today who call themselves Christians, but are not yet baptized; some do not even know what baptism is; consequently, they give themselves no thought about it. It has been so since but a few years. Some say the world is growing wiser; we are busy educating ourselves. He who speaks thus is devoid of common sense; he is ignorant of the knowledge of history. The Christian religion was the making of the world! We are Christians, thank God, because we hope in salvation. It is our duty to belong to Christ’s Church because Christ Himself organized the Church. Our Lord endowed His Church with all the riches of spiritual, eternal, enlightening, sanctifying and saving grace, and gave it to the world, which He so loved, that each and everyone may see the way cut out, and with a certainty follow the way by which they may obtain access and close communion with Him, A change and retreat in some one thing generally weakens and undermines the whole. It was so when the Bishop of Rome declared that the four Patriarchs of Jerusalem, Constantinople, Antioch, and Alexandria were no longer his equals, and thereby excluded himself from the catholicity of Christ’s Church. The Christian Church of the West, now following her own course gradually introduced innovations. Of the many changes, we will now make mention of the one in baptism. Unfortunately, this special change is the chief cause of dissension of the protesting denominations known as Baptists. One testimony of eastern authorities will be sufficient to quote here in showing the form of baptism still prevalent and strictly required in the eastern church; for example, St. Basil the Great; he writes: The great sacrament of baptism is administered by three immersions and the same number of invocations, that the form of death be impressed upon us and the souls of the baptized, that they may be enlightened by the knowledge of God given them.

The following is a list of Saints and Doctors that are highly venerated and often quoted in books published by the Western Church: Tertullian, a Presbyter of Carthage; Saint Hippolytus, bishop of Rome; St. Jerome, St. Leo, St. Augustine, the Pope Pelagius; St. Gregory the Great, (of Rome, was this Pope fallible?) all of these prove that baptism by trine immersion was the general rule in the west as well as in the east. In the ninth century, even to the end of the thirteenth, we meet with testimonies of immersional baptism in the Western Church, not only in the writings of private persons and rituals of that time, such as of Galicia, Holbertine and many others; but also in the statutes of the same Western Councils, which are of Celechite (316 A.D.), Worcester (1240), Exeter (1287), in England, of Nimes (1284) in France, of Utrecht (1293) in the Netherlands, and of Cologne (1280) in Germany; they all decree in the same spirit, as for instance: “Let the priests know that, administering holy baptism, they must not pour water on the heads of infants, but always immerse them in the font, as the Son of God gave each believer an example in Himself.” As a testimony upon the same subject, it would not be superfluous to add the authentic words of the theologian so much honored in the Western Church, and it appears one counted with the saints, Thomas Aquinas, of the thirteenth century. He says: “Although baptism may be administered not only by immersion, but by pouring and sprinkling, still it is safer to baptize by immersion, because the latter is in universal practice.”

Although the Holy Orthodox Church adheres strictly to baptism by trine immersion, yet she tolerates in exceptional cases baptism by pouring, and in extreme cases even by sprinkling. She is prompted to allow exceptions to a strict rule concerning an important Christian mystery by the perfect love for her children, and likewise out of a wise condescension to her neighbors, whom she would not see, by the least obstacle possible, debarred from a closer union with the Savior, Who in His last great prayer to the Father, supplicated—that all may be one, as Thou art in Me and I in Thee, that they may be one in Us. The Church will recognize and accept without rebaptizing any earnest seeker after salvation, if the person was only baptized by a Christian with water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. The Church will simply confirm such, then if they have not been properly confirmed before.

This is a digital edition of Beacon from the Bay: The Collected Works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich of Jackson and San Francisco, a several-month-long project to catalogue the out-of-prints works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich, the first American-born Orthodox priest.

If you would like to purchase print copies of Beacon from the Bay for a personal or church library or bookstore, you may do so from Amazon. All support is greatly appreciated for this labor of love.

1. The principal book for the use of the Laity is the Molitvoslov, or Euchologion, i.e. the prayer book, which is published both in large and small editions, and contains extracts, more or less complete, from the various other Service Books suitable to the needs of the people in their own homes, or when assisting at the public worship of the Church.

2. The books for the use of the Readers and the Choirs are: the Chasoslov or Horologion, the Psalter, the Irmologian the Octoechos, the Menaion, the Lenten Triodion, and the Ferial Triodion or Pentecostarion.

The Chasoslov contains the Daily Offices of Vespers, Compline, Nocturns, Matins, and Hours, with some of the more frequently used Commemorations, such, for example, as the Troparia for Sundays and Week Days, and other matter.

The Psalter, in its smaller edition, contains the Psalms of David divided into the twenty Kathisma, the Magnificats with selected verses for Festivals, the nine Scriptural Odes, and the Diptychs. In its larger edition, it contains moreover all that is found in the Chasoslov, together with many other devotions, such as the Prayers before and after the Holy Communion, a Service for Sunday and one for every day in the week, etc.

The Irmologion contains those parts of the Service that are usually sung by the Choir, notably the Irmi, or the first verses of each of the nine odes, in the Canons, whence its name.

The Octoechos, the Menaion, and the Triodia are books containing exclusively ecclesiastical compositions, namely, the Canons, Stichera, Troparia, etc., that make up the Commemorations for the whole year. They are used concurrently. The Octoechos, or Book of eight tones, contains Commemorations for eight weeks: On Mondays, of the Angels; on Tuesdays, of the Forerunner; on Wednesdays, of the Mother of God; on Thursdays, of the Apostles and of St. Nicholas; on Fridays, of the Cross; on Saturdays, of all the Saints and of the souls departed; and on Sundays, of the Resurrection. The rule is to begin this Book on the Monday following the Sunday of All Saints, which is the first Sunday after the Pentecost, and in this week the Canons, etc., in Tone One are sung, in the next week those in Tone Two, and so on, and when eight weeks have elapsed Tone One is sung again, this order, with a few exceptions, being repeated throughout the year. Most of the music of today in the Eastern Church is constructed on chants, which were sung 1500 years ago in Palestine and other countries of the East.

The Menaion contains the Canons, etc., for the whole year according to the days of the month. It is published in two forms, one as a work of twelve volumes—a book for each month, and the other is a work of two volumes, one containing the Canons, etc., for the Greater Festivals, and the second containing those common for the Saints.

The Lenten Triodion contains the penitential Commemorations from the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee until Easter Eve; and the Festal Triodion, the joyful ones from Easter Day until the Sunday of All Saints.

3. The books for the use of the Ministers of the Altar are the Sluzebnik and the Trebnik. The Sluzebnik or Book of Service, contains the prayers, audible and secret, of the Priest and Deacon at Vespers, Matins, and the Liturgies. The Trebnik or Book of Needs, in its small form, contains the following offices: 1. Prayers on the first day after a child is born to a woman. 2. Prayer at the signing of a child when it receiveth a name on the eighth day after its birth. 3. Prayers for a parturient woman after forty days. 4. Prayer for a woman when she hath aborted a child. 5. Prayer at the making of a catechumen. 6. The order of holy baptism. And a prayer for holy baptism, that is, how briefly to baptize a child because of fear of death.

Concerning how it behooveth a spiritual person to behave himself: 7. The order concerning confession. 8. Prayer on the releasing from prohibition. 9. The order that is used at betrothals. 10. The order of the coronation. 11. Prayer at the taking off of the crowns on the eighth day. 12. The order for a second marriage. 13. The order of the blessing of the oil. 14. The office when in extreme urgency occasion ariseth to give communion to a sick person. 15. Prayerful canon to our Lord Jesus Christ and to the most holy God-bearing Mother of the Lord at the parting of the soul from the body of every right believer. And the prayer at the departure of a soul. 16. The mortuary order over lay bodies. 17. The ordinance that is observed concerning the carrying forth of them that fall asleep in holy Pascha, and in all the bright week. 18. The mortuary order over a departed priest. 19. The office of the burial of a babe. 20. The order of the lesser blessing of water. 21. The order of the blessing of water on the feast of the Theophany (Epiphany, 6th of January). 22. Prayer at the blessing of food. 23. Prayer for them that gather first fruits. 24. Prayer at the laying of the foundation of a house. 25. Prayer for one that purposeth to go on a journey, etc.

There is also a large Trebnik, which contains, besides the aforementioned, the laying-on of hands in the Sacrament of Ordination, the tonsure of Monks, the Consecration of the Holy Table, the Antimins, Churches, etc.

Now for a word of the Book of books—the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is ever kept, decorated in a precious binding, on the holy Table only. This book of the Gospels is used by a Bishop, Priest, and by a Deacon—when taken from the hands of a priest. The Book of the Epistles (written by the Messengers—Apostles—of our Savior) is read in public worship by a Reader, who is a man set aside for such assistance in the services by the blessing of a Bishop. Sometimes the Book of the Apostles is read by an honorable member from among the Congregation. At the full-episcopal Liturgy, the second deacon is the minister who reads the Epistle.

This is a digital edition of Beacon from the Bay: The Collected Works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich of Jackson and San Francisco, a several-month-long project to catalogue the out-of-prints works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich, the first American-born Orthodox priest.

If you would like to purchase print copies of Beacon from the Bay for a personal or church library or bookstore, you may do so from Amazon. All support is greatly appreciated for this labor of love.

At this time the greater lights in the church are extinguished. All is deep attention while the appointed reader chants: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men. This he chants three times in honor of the most glorious Trinity, and then proceeds to read in an even tone the six morning psalms. They are: iii, xxxvii, lxiii, lxxxviii, ciii, cxlii. This reading is then followed by the priest’s or deacon’s peaceful supplications for each and all, in every place, and in all sorts of conditions, during which we often repeat: Lord have mercy, but with quiet heart, peacefully, being already assured of God’s good will. At the end of these supplications of peace, solemnly from the whole church comes the Amen. This word means verily, or so be it.

By this time the pitch of music is raised, (how well it corresponds with the gladness of souls, which were once depressed) and straightway is sung according to the tone of the Troparion of the day or of the Saint, whose memory is kept, this verse (from Ps. cxviii): God is the Lord, and is manifested unto us, blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. While the choirs sing this in turn the reader, vested in a sticharion, or according to his office, repeats other verses of the same psalm, and then is sung the Troparion. The Troparion is a hymn in which collectively and yet briefly are included the characteristics and history of a religious event, or the traits of the life of some saint whose memory is celebrated. Therefore the Troparion is an essential of the first service in the day, and may be often repeated, as it is in other services and private prayers, or praise in different places—such as the homes of families.

Now the Kathisma are read with the singing of Alleluia at certain intervals. The Kathisma are composed of the Psalms of the holy Prophet—king David. During this reading we sit, but the Christians who are bent on listening must be aware that they have a right to their seat, only when no elder person, or a sick one, or a stranger and a visitor may be accommodated. If the day be a feast or one of the greater saints’ days, the polyeleos is triumphantly sung. This psalm is designated polyeleos, which means much mercy, because of the word mercy, which is often repeated. Then follows the Magnificat—a verse in beatification of the saint of the day; but if it be a feast of great importance—the glory of God is proclaimed accordingly by His humble creatures.

At the Matins the Gospel is always read by a priest, but not by a deacon, and the reason for this is the fact, that the priest first must feed the people with the divine word, as after—in the Liturgy he will feed them with the mystical bread, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself setting the example. It was He Who also commanded His disciples: first to teach , and then to baptize. After the Gospel is read, it is carried into the center of the temple by the priest himself, and this reminds us of the Angel on the stone who declared the Resurrection of Christ—of which the priests had preached. The congregation kiss the holy book; we sing: Having seen Christ’s Resurrection, at the same time being reminded of the Apostles, who worshipped together with the women, who brought to the tomb sweet smelling myrrh.

Now the canon is in order. The Canon sung at Matins is a collection of hymns made up in accordance with a certain rule. The canon is divided into nine parts (odes); the first stave of each ode is sung and is called hyrmos (meaning band—by means of the hyrmoi the entire canon is as it were made into one whole), the remaining are mostly read and are called troparia. In the composition of these Odes more especially labored St. John Damascene, Cosmas of Maium, Andrew of Crete, (the great penitential canon belongs to him), and others. In composing the same they guided themselves by the hymns and the prayers of certain holy ones, namely: of the prophet Moses (for the first and second hyrmi), of the prophetess Anna, Samuel’s mother (for the third hyrmos), of the prophet Habbakuk (for the fourth), of the prophet Isaiah (for the fifth), of the prophet Jonah (for the sixth), of the three youths (for the seventh and eighth), and of the priest Zacharias, John the Baptist’s father (for the ninth). Before the ninth Ode is sung the hymn of the Mother of God: My soul doth magnify the Lord, etc.

Before the conclusion of Matins, the Great Doxology is sung—if it be an uncommon day, and read if no celebration be held. In the Great Doxology is glorified the All-holy Trinity, and more particularly the accomplisher of our salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Day-dawn service, as well as Vespers, is closed by the ectenia of earnest prayer when we chant: Lord have mercy, thrice, and the supplicatory ectenia, when we chant: Grant O Lord.

When the Vespers, a Litany, the Matins, and the First Hour are united in one service, it is called the Nocturnal, or All-night Vigil. It is in monasteries only that this Vigil on certain occasions is fully carried out. But in cathedrals and in some other churches it is somewhat abbreviated, and held at the eve of Sundays and the twelve great Feasts, which are: 1, The Nativity of the Mother of God, 8th of September; 2, Her Entrance into the Temple, 21st of November; 3, The Annunciation to the Mother of God, 25th of March; 4, the Nativity of Christ, 25th of December; 5, Epiphany, 6th of January; 6, The Lord’s presentation in the temple as a child, 2nd of February; 7, The Transfiguration of the Lord, 6th of August; 8, Palm Sunday—before the Resurrection; 9, The Ascension—forty days after Easter; 10, Pentecost—fifty days after Easter; 11, The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, 15th of August; 12, The Exaltation of the Holy Cross, 14th of September. The holy Pascha, or Easterday, is the most joyful Festival of the Church; and on this occasion, all the services are distinguished by an especial solemnity.

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We know what followed the first joy of the first innocent people. The holy doors of the iconostasis are closed. Now we see the deacon standing before the doors, urging the people to pray one for another in all humility, while again and again they repeat: Lord, have mercy! After the psalm, O Lord, I have cried unto Thee, hearken to me, hearken to me, O Lord, a certain number of verses are read, sometimes from different books—according to the day in the calendar—but generally the several verses read or sung, and especially the last one, contain a revelation of the grand economy in the salvation of the human race. The holy doors are opened. The Royal seat of mercy is again visible to the people. From out the northern door, a light moves forward. It is carried down into the body of the temple. The deacon follows, and when he comes opposite the opened sanctuary, he incenses the picture of Jesus Christ—our Savior, then that of the Virgin-mother, who bore Him, and finally the priest, at the same time asking him to pray. The priest makes the sign of the cross, and they enter; the cross of Jesus opens the way for us to Paradise. Blessed is the entrance of Thy saints, O Lord, truly, now and forever! In joy, once more the Church uplifts her voice, praising thus: Jesus Christ, Thou gentle Light of the holy glory of the Immortal, Heavenly, Holy, Blessed Father! Having come unto the going down of the sun, having beheld the evening light, we hymn Thee, O God—The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Meet it is that at all times Thou shouldst be hymned with reverent voices, O Son of God, Giver of life; wherefore the world glorifieth Thee. After this, from the Upper Place at the east side of the holy Table, the deacon, standing at the right hand of the priest, proclaims the good-will of God in the words of the Prokeimenon. A few more prayers are offered, hymns are sung, and the Vespers are closed by dismissing the congregation with the benediction of the Bishop, or a priest.

This is a digital edition of Beacon from the Bay: The Collected Works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich of Jackson and San Francisco, a several-month-long project to catalogue the out-of-prints works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich, the first American-born Orthodox priest.

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St. Simeon of Salonica says: “In the First Hour three psalms are read in honor of the Trinity; it was David’s wont to repeat these psalms in the morning, and they contain thanksgivings to God, and prayer asking for the coming of Divine light upon us, the help for carrying out our works, the deliverance from evil, and for granting us that which is good.” The psalms, stanzas, and the several prayers of the Third Hour contain a commemoration of the wicked council held by the Jews, during which they decided to kill Jesus; and likewise of the third hour, in which the Holy Ghost came upon the Apostles, through which we—the faithful—have also been enlightened. The Sixth Hour is midday, according to the calculation of time in the East. And in all times, by many people and Saints, the middle of day has appropriately been set aside for prayer. It was during this time that Peter was at prayer in the upper part of the house in Joppa. Our Lord Jesus Christ was tortured and then put to the cross—death in the Sixth Hour. The reading of the Ninth Hour, when our Lord gave up His soul, is instructive, and at the same time comforting, reminding us that it was for our salvation that He of His own will gave up Himself for us,—for our everlasting happiness,—redeeming us from the curse, the devil, and our own sinful and imperfect will.

This is a digital edition of Beacon from the Bay: The Collected Works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich of Jackson and San Francisco, a several-month-long project to catalogue the out-of-prints works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich, the first American-born Orthodox priest.

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On the Thursday, just before His passion, at the Mystical Supper, the Lord took bread, and, having given thanks to God the Father, He blessed it, brake it, and gave it to His Disciples, saying: Take eat; this is my Body . . . Then, having taken the cup, He blessed it, and said: Drink ye all of it; this is my Blood. Having administered the communion to the Apostles, our Lord commanded that this Sacrament should always be celebrated in His remembrance.

The Liturgy consists of three parts: the Offertory, the liturgy of the Catechumens, and the liturgy of the Faithful.

The Proskomedia, or Offertory, is the first part of the Service when the bread and wine are prepared for the Mystic Supper. These elements are brought by the congregation. Sometimes they are brought by certain persons, who desire prayers on an appointed day, for some special reason. Now, in our day, the church loaves are prepared for some churches by a regularly employed baker.

The Liturgy of the Catechumens is that part of the service in which those who are preparing for holy baptism are allowed to be present. It consists in prayer and the expounding of the Word of God.

At the Liturgy of the Faithful only such, who are baptized are allowed to remain, and those who have access to the holy Table—i.e. those who are not excommunicated for grievous sins for a certain number of days, or months, until they show repentance.

During the Liturgy of the Faithful, the Sacrament is hallowed. When the Gifts are brought out of the sanctuary to the Ambo, this Great Entrance reminds the people of the Lord proceeding on the way to His passion.

After the Creed (Symbol of Faith) has been chanted, the deacon exclaims: “Let us stand well, let us stand with fear; let us attend to offer in peace the holy oblation,” i. e. let us stand as is becoming a man when he stands before God, with fear, and at the same time with manly bearing of spirit, glorifying God. In response to this call, the whole church, offering as a sacrifice the praise of both tongue and heart, repeats in common with (or following after) the choir: “a mercy of peace, a sacrifice of praise!” The presbyter (or celebrant) sends forth (from out the sanctuary) an Apostolic salutation to the people: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of the God and Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. To which all answer him: and with Thy spirit! The priest exclaims: on high let us have our hearts! And each one standing in the temple, thinking how, at that minute, the Lamb of God comes to be sacrificed (killed) for him, the Divine blood of the Lord Himself is ready to pour into the cup (chalice), for his purification, and fixing his heart (as if raising from earth), looking towards heaven, exclaims together with the rest: we have them with the Lord! Remembering that our Savior, before breaking the bread at the Mystic Supper, gave thanks to God, the priest says: Let us give thanks to the Lord! after which we sing this response: meet and right it is to worship Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, a Trinity consubstantial and undivided! And the priest prays to God secretly, praising the infinite mercies of God, manifested in the creation of the world and the redemption of man, and thanking His Goodness moreover that He condescends to receive at our hands the bloodless sacrifice, although there be a heavenly host of Angels that serve Him (then aloud): Singing, vociferating, crying and saying the triumphal Hymn; which hymn the faithful, or in their stead the choir, triumphantly sings: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Sabaoth; the heaven and the earth are full of Thy glory. To this hymn of the Seraphim, sung in the heavens, the church adds another hymn (as if coming to the first in greeting), with which the Jewish children greeted on earth the Heavenly King, when He made His entry into Jerusalem on offering Himself as a sacrifice: Hosanna in the highest, blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord! Now the whole church greets Him, as coming invisibly from heaven into the temple, the mysterious Jerusalem, to offer Himself in sacrifice, in this celebration of the Sacrament.

In the meantime, while the harmony of the Seraphim’s hymn is triumphantly resounding in the temple, the priest continues praying secretly, commemorating the incidents of the Mystic Supper, when the Lord Jesus Christ taking bread into His holy and undefiled and blameless hands, giving thanks, blessing, hallowing and breaking, gave to His holy Disciples and Apostles, saying: Then the celebrant pronounces these words: take, eat ye: this is my Body, which for you is broken, unto remission of sins. To which the choir adds: amen. And the priest goes on saying in a low voice: in like manner also the Chalice after he had supped, saying: then he repeats aloud the words of our Savior: drink ye all of it: this is my Blood of the New Testament, which for you and for many is poured out, unto remission of sins. Again the people or choir exclaim in devout harmony: amen. The time for offering the sacrifice is nigh. The priest again prays secretly, and then uplifting his voice exclaims: we offer to Thee Thine own of Thine own, in behalf of all and for all! During this moment, while the choir unite in offering, in tones subdued, this heart-touching melody: Thee we hymn, Thee we bless, to Thee we give thanks, O, Lord, and beseech Thee, our God—the most terrible and most mystic sacred rite of all the Liturgy takes place in the sanctuary, when the bread and wine, till now the type of the Body and Blood, become the real Body and Blood of Christ. A threefold invocation of the Holy Ghost is made before the Altar: O Lord, Who didst, at the third hour, send Thy most Holy Spirit upon Thine Apostles, the same, O Gracious One, take not away from us, but make us new who pray to Thee! Immediately after the third invocation the deacon, bowing his head and pointing with his stole to the holy bread, says: bless, Master, the holy bread! The priest blesses the holy bread, saying: and make this bread the precious Body of Thy Christ. The deacon pronounces: amen. Piously showing, with his stole toward the holy cup, the deacon says: bless, Master, the holy Chalice! Making the sign of the cross over it the priest says: and that which is in this Chalice, the precious Blood of Thy Christ. The deacon pointing to both holy gifts: bless Master, both! And the priest, blessing both the holy gifts, says: transmuting them by Thy Holy Spirit. With devout fear the deacon repeats thrice: amen, amen, amen! The transubstantiation is accomplished!

The same Body, in which the eternal word was incarnate, which was on earth, the Body of the Master Himself, now lies upon the altar—a sacrifice; it was not the priest, but the Most High Himself, the Eternal High Priest, that accomplished this sacrament (or mystery). Not the form or image now lie upon the altar, but the same body of the Lord that suffered on earth, that was buffeted, spitted upon, crucified, buried, that was resurrected, ascended into the heavens and sitteth at the right hand of the Father!—In the belfries the bells are tolled, so that the awful moment may be heralded everywhere, that man, wherever he may hear of it, be he then a traveler on the way, be he found tilling the soil of his fields, be he in his home, or be he occupied elsewhere, be he a sufferer within the walls of a prison, or on the couch of sore-disease, that he may at that moment from every place uplift his prayer to the Lord, imploring for his salvation, and also that this awful mystery be not unto the judgment or condemnation of some one of his brethren. All in the church at this moment fall down before the Lord and the sacred ministers, bowing to the earth (before the Altar), and zealously worship the Almighty. Everyone in the church, during this sacred moment, secretly calls to the Lord, that he may be remembered in His kingdom.

The priest, having prayed in a low voice that the Body and Blood of Christ set forth may be unto the remission of the sins of all, unto a fearless approach to the Lord, but not unto judgment and condemnation, before the very Body and very Blood of Christ he commemorates all, from the Patriarchs and Prophets of the ancient covenant to each one of the Christians now living. Before all others, and especially, he names the All-holy Theotokos (Mother of God), then, in accord with which the people sing a doxology in praise of Her: meet it is indeed to call Thee blessed, O Theotokos. After which he commemorates John the Precursor, the Apostles, the holy one—whose memory is celebrated on that day, and all Saints; he prays for them that have fallen asleep in the hope of a resurrection to life eternal. The priest makes mention of all the living; he prays for the right pious rulers, kings, princes, all Defenders of the Orthodox Christian Faith, for the head and powers that be of the country in which he resides, that God bless them, and all may be able to lead a tranquil and quiet life in all piety and gravity. The priest continues praying, naming the officials of important trusts, likewise the army, that grace be granted them to fulfill their holy duties honorably, boldly; he prays for the archpastors of the Church, and considering how holy their trust and terrible their responsibility, the priest but with a heart overflowing with compassion, offers to God this supplication: whom grant to Thy holy churches in peace, safe, honored, healthful, attaining to length of days, and rightly dividing the word of Thy truth. The choir sings: and of all (men) and all (women)! And the priest prays for all, and all, first mentioning the city and temple in which are gathered for prayer the faithful, and embracing with his prayer every city, country, and all the faithful that dwell in them, also voyagers, travelers, the sick, the weary, and captives, at the same time praying for their salvation; for those that bring fruit, that do good works in the holy churches, and for those that are mindful of the poor; in a word he prays for all people, in whatever condition or place they may be; in his prayer, he makes mention by name of all those who asked for his prayers, especially who desire his prayer at that certain day; finally he prays for those whom his prayer might have forgotten. And the whole congregation unite their quiet prayer with the prayer of their pastor, imploring for all and all, adding, each of his (or her) own accord, during this sacred moment, the names of acquaintances; not only of such that love him, but also of those that do not love him,—in a word for all.

When the Royal Gates are opened, and the holy Gifts are shown, we recall to memory the Resurrection of the Lord and His appearance to His Disciples. The last appearance of the holy Gifts brings to our recollection His ascension into Heaven. Our Lord Jesus Christ promised to abide with the faithful all the days—even unto the end of the world. And this promise is renewed to us each time the Liturgy is offered, and in these words: always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

This is a digital edition of Beacon from the Bay: The Collected Works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich of Jackson and San Francisco, a several-month-long project to catalogue the out-of-prints works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich, the first American-born Orthodox priest.

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In this city, where our Most Reverend Bishop has his residence, you have the opportunity of enjoying a greater blessing, by beholding the fullness of church services, and seeing, in detail, what others do not see, and sometimes, unfortunately, what they do not know of.

Whenever you see those round carpets, or mats, with the imprint of a bird upon them, placed before the Altar and in other parts of the temple, then you know that the Bishop will be present, either to pray with us or to conduct the services himself. The walls and turrets of the city which you see on the carpets signify the jurisdiction of a Bishop over which he stands, and the eagle with outspread wings above, flying in the air, reminds us of the example we have in the purity and height of the doctrine which the Bishop offers us. From the earliest days, the Church has shown the eagle as an emblem for the deep, or, rather, the high theology of St. John the Divine, and the Disciple of Love.

At Divine Service, the ministers wash their hands, but the Bishop does this before the whole congregation, that all may know how we must be prepared to partake of or administer the most pure mysteries, with a purified conscience and holiness of purpose. When the Bishop prays over the water, brought to him by two subdeacons (or, in their place, two readers), he says: Thou, O Lord, our God, Who blest the streams of Jordan, send down also upon this water the Grace of Thy Holy Spirit and bless it for the sanctification of Thy people.

As most of our children have not yet been instructed in the wider symbolism of Christianity, and as some of the grown-up people of our congregation are sincerely seeking for information, I will tell you now what a sacramental fan is, and why it is used. It is made to represent a flying angel; it is fixed on the end of a long handle, as you see them carried in church processions, and held over the Gifts, or the Gospel, at the more sacred moments of the service.

In the writings of the early Fathers of the Church, this fan, or Ripidion, is mentioned; it was sometimes made of the feathers of a peacock, or of fine skin, in those hot countries of the East. With us, they are made of metal, and they serve to remind the deacon (who overshadows with these fans the holy Table, on which lie the body and blood of Christ, the King of Heaven), of the six-winged Seraphim, who are ever ready to serve their Master. And so we are not alone in serving God, for the whole company of heavenly bodies take delight in assisting us to make more pleasing to God our unstable efforts. Those of you who read the Bible, know that the spiritual messengers and servants of God are a great and countless number. St. Dionysius, one of the first successors of the Apostles, opens for us some of the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven when he discloses how the spiritual hosts of light are divided into three orders, each order again containing three degrees of angelical bodies. Their names are these: first, come those who stand highest and in a closer degree of communion with the Almighty, the Thrones, the Cherubim, and Seraphim; in the second order follow the Authorities, Dominions, and Powers, and to the third order belong the companies of Angels, Archangels, and Principalities.

This is a digital edition of Beacon from the Bay: The Collected Works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich of Jackson and San Francisco, a several-month-long project to catalogue the out-of-prints works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich, the first American-born Orthodox priest.

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In the Book of Exodus, we read: Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor serve them. It is true, indeed, that the making of holy images was not so general among the Jews as it is among us, because the Hebrews themselves were prone to idolatry, and because they were surrounded by idolatrous people who might misconstrue the purpose for which the images were intended. For the same prudential reasons, the primitive Christians were very cautious in making images, and very circumspect in exposing them to the gaze of the heathen among whom they lived, lest Christian images should be confounded with Pagan idols. The catacombs, to which the early Christians retired for Divine Service, and to which the faithful alone were admitted, abounded however in sacred emblems and pious representations, which are preserved even up to this day, and attest the practice of the Christian Church during the first ages. You could see there painted on the walls, also on vases of glass, the Dove, the emblem of the Holy Ghost; Christ carrying His Cross, or bearing on His shoulders the lost sheep; the Virgin Mother; you could also meet with the Lamb, and an anchor, and a ship, appropriate types of our Lord, of hope, and of the Church.

The text I quoted above does not mean an absolute prohibition of making images; for, in that case, God would contradict Himself, by commanding in one part of Scripture what He condemns in another. In Exodus, for instance, He commands two cherubim of beaten gold to be made and placed on each side of the ark of the covenant; and, in the Book of Numbers, He commands Moses to make a brazen serpent, and to set it up for a sign, that whosoever being bitten by the fiery serpents shall look upon it, shall live. Are not cherubim and serpents the likeness of creatures in heaven above, in the earth beneath, and in the waters under the earth? For cherubim dwell in heaven, and serpents are found on land and in the sea. Yet for another and more striking instance: have we not in our homes portraits and photographs of living and departed relatives? The good ones, whose end was without shame, peaceful, and, according to the rules of the Church, are they not in heaven? Still, we do not offer divine homage to their pictures, but simply adorn them in frames, and keep them so that they may be easily seen, for the love we cherish for those individuals represented. We all must pray. Is it not more convenient to turn to a scene in our Lord’s life, or His life-giving cross, or to an icon of the Saint whose name was given us when we were dedicated to God in baptism, than it would be to turn to a bare wall, or to the bedpost in our room when we pray?

What is more becoming than to adorn the Church, which is the shadow of the heavenly Jerusalem, so beautifully described by St. John? If it was meet and proper to adorn Solomon’s temple, which contained only the Ark of the Lord, how much more fitting is it to decorate our churches, which contain the Lord of the Ark?

What beauty, what variety, what charming pictures are presented to our view in this temple of nature which we inhabit! Look at the canopy of heaven. Look at the exquisite pictures painted by the hand of the divine Artist on this earth. Consider the lilies of the field. I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. If the temple of nature is so richly adorned, should not our temples made with hands bear some resemblance to it?

How many thousands, who could not read, would have died ignorant of the Christian faith, if they had not been enlightened by paintings? It is natural for children to adorn their homes and their House of Prayer with the likenesses of their Fathers in the faith. Almost every moment of the day the eye is receiving impressions from outward objects and is instantly communicating these impressions to the soul; and thus the soul receives every day thousands of impressions, which are good or bad, according to the character of the objects presented to its gaze, and for this reason I implore you, parents, to watch for the welfare of your children, and not allow them to keep and to amuse themselves with immoral pictures. Having been informed concerning the holy pictures or icon, we hope that you will keep them in respectful places, and not be ashamed to boldly confess the true religion. Besides the cross on the iconostasis, you are aware that the crucifix is also continually kept on the Altar or holy Table. Representing the Throne and the seat of the Lord’s glory, the holy Table is at the same time a smaller Mount Calvary, on which Jesus Christ was offered up to God, bleeding on His cross. Thrice blessed is the sacred cross for us! It is our wood of life! This relic of our wonderful regeneration should continually be with us. When we pray, we make upon us the sign of the cross. It means that we do not put trust in ourselves, but place our entire hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, Who for us all suffered on the cross. By joining together the three fingers (the thumb and the two first fingers), we express our belief in the All-holy Trinity. In making the sign of the cross by touching the forehead, the chest, and the shoulders, we show that we give up to God both our mind and heart, and all our actions, our entire life.

The Bishop, or in his place a priest, bless the faithful in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and for this reason, he joins the fingers of his right hand denominatively, i.e. so that they represent the first letters of the abbreviated words IC. XC. (i.e. Jesus Christ). Christians should be eager, and ask for to receive the blessing of the Bishop and a priest, also that of their parents, believing that through this benediction are conveyed to us the grace and the mercy from the Lord Himself.

This is a digital edition of Beacon from the Bay: The Collected Works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich of Jackson and San Francisco, a several-month-long project to catalogue the out-of-prints works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich, the first American-born Orthodox priest.

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In the early days of the Church, Christianity was not tolerated by the Pagan world; the Christians were consequently obliged to assemble, for public worship, in the catacombs and in other secret places. As these hidden apartments did not admit the light of the sun, the faithful were obliged to have lights even in the open day. In remembrance of this, the Church still uses these lights. They represent our Savior, Who is the light of the world, who enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world, without Whom we would be wandering in darkness and in the shadow of death. Lights are used, too, as a sign of spiritual joy. St. Jerome, who lived fully 1500 years ago, remarks thus: “Throughout all the churches of the East, before the reading of the Gospel, candles are lighted at mid-day, not to dispel darkness, but as a sign of joy.”

The candle which you see carried before the Bishop reminds us that he is the chief teacher in his church, and also that he is gifted with the fullness of power to appoint other teachers. The light which the boys carry out of the Altar before the Priest and the Deacon with the holy Gospel, or the censer, is significant of St. John the Forerunner and Baptist, preparing the way for the entrance into the world of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our boys should never for a minute forget that they are standing before God Almighty, in His House of Grace; and also—if they enjoy the special privilege of being permitted to enter the inner sanctuary—it is with the gracious blessing of our Bishop, out of necessity, in this missionary country. According to the rules of the Church, one who is not an ordained minister of the Church cannot enter the altar enclosure. And so, let our light so shine before men, that they may see our good works, and glorify our Father Who is in Heaven. Amen.

This is a digital edition of Beacon from the Bay: The Collected Works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich of Jackson and San Francisco, a several-month-long project to catalogue the out-of-prints works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich, the first American-born Orthodox priest.

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There is one spot on earth which can never be too richly adorned, and that is the sanctuary in which our Lord vouchsafes to dwell among us. Nothing is too good, nothing too beautiful, nothing too precious for God. He gives us all we possess, and the least we can do in return is to ornament that spot which He has chosen for His abode upon earth. The Almighty, it is true, has no need of our gifts. He is rich without them. The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof. Nevertheless, He is pleased to accept our offerings when they are bestowed upon Him as a mark of our affection, just as a father joyfully receives from his child a present bought with his own means. Our Savior gratefully accepted the treasures of the Magi, though He could have done without such gifts. Some persons, when they see our sanctuary sumptuously decorated, will exclaim: Had it not been better to give to the poor the money spent in purchasing these things? So complained Judas (though caring not for the poor) when Mary poured from an alabaster vase the precious ointment on the feet of an approving Savior. Why should not we imitate Mary, by placing at His feet, around His sanctuary, fresh flowers, rich cloth finely decorated, beautiful paintings, and the such like?

This is a digital edition of Beacon from the Bay: The Collected Works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich of Jackson and San Francisco, a several-month-long project to catalogue the out-of-prints works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich, the first American-born Orthodox priest.

If you would like to purchase print copies of Beacon from the Bay for a personal or church library or bookstore, you may do so from Amazon. All support is greatly appreciated for this labor of love.

The Sanctuary must be at the east side of the building. It is separated from the body of the auditorium by a screen or wall, called the Iconostasis. This is a Greek word and signifies a place for pictures or images. There are three doorways in the Iconostasis, which are furnished with doors opening inwards, the central ones being double, and called the Royal Gates. The latter are not solid throughout, and behind them hangs a curtain, which is drawn and withdrawn as the ritual requires.

In the middle of the Sanctuary stands the holy table (Altar), vested, first, with a linen covering, and over this with one of rich brocade. Behind the Altar, there stands a candlestick with seven lights. Upon the holy table is kept an ark or casket, often in the shape of a temple, and usually made of metal, which contains the Holy Sacrament, reserved for the Communion of the sick (and sometimes for the absent), or for the Liturgy of the Presanctified, which is sung in the days of Great Lent. At the Celebration of the Liturgy, a cloth containing Relics, called the Antimins, is spread upon the Altar, and upon this are placed the sacred vessels with their coverings or veils. The Antimins are blessed only by the Bishop, and by him they are distributed among the churches. The holy Liturgy is offered over them in respect to the saints, and in memory of the times when the Church was persecuted, when the faithful were obliged to conceal themselves in order to celebrate the mysteries, which they celebrated over the graves of the Martyrs.

In the north of the Sanctuary is the Chapel of the Prothesis, i.e., if this part of the Sanctuary is partitioned off so as to form a separate enclosure; but usually in the north part of the Sanctuary there stands simply the Table of Oblations, which is also vested in accord with the best means of the church or parish. Upon this Table, the sacred Gifts are prepared with significant rites before the beginning of the Liturgy. In the south of the Sanctuary is the Vestry. Here are kept Myrrh for holy Chrism, the holy vessels, and other things used by the ministers of the Altar. This and the Chapel of the Prothesis communicate with the Nave of the church by the doors already mentioned as being in the Iconostasis, on either side of the Royal Gates.

The Iconostasis, as you see, is covered with panels, which are adorned with likenesses of the Redeemer and of the Saints. On the right-hand or south side of the Royal Gates, there is always a painting representing our Lord, and in a panel on the opposite side, one of the Mother of God. In large churches, the Iconostasis is generally divided into three tiers. In the first and lowest of these are the pictures of the Savior and of the Most Blessed Virgin, disposed as before mentioned, and in other panels those of the Saint to whom the church is dedicated, then St. Basil, St. Nicholas, or others. In the second tier are depicted the company of the Apostles, with the Lord, the Ever-Virgin, and John the Baptist in their midst. In the third tier the Prophets being collected, we may also see the Martyrs, the holy women, and other saints. Above the center of the Iconostasis, a cross is fixed. On the Royal Gates, the joyous Annunciation is pictured, and around it, the four Evangelists. Over this holy entrance, you see Jesus in the midst of the Mystic Supper with His twelve. On the north and south doors, the holy Archangels and the holy Archdeacons are represented.

The raised floor of the Sanctuary, as you see, projects westward beyond the Iconostasis into the Nave, and forms the part called the Soleia. In the middle of this Soleia is the Ambon. Here the Deacon says the Ectenias, or supplications, and reads the Gospel. From the Ambon the Priest, or another assistant whom the Bishop selects, preaches the Word of God. Next to the Sanctuary, and generally on both ends of the Soleia itself, the choir stands. In some cities, where it is possible, two choirs sing the services. They sing antiphonally. When one choir intones certain hymns or psalms, the other responds to the first, and sometimes repeats, for greater solemnity, what the first choir had already sung. This way of singing in the church also reminds us of the heavenly choirs, which, praising God, call one to another, proclaiming His awfully majestic, everlasting glory.

This is a digital edition of Beacon from the Bay: The Collected Works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich of Jackson and San Francisco, a several-month-long project to catalogue the out-of-prints works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich, the first American-born Orthodox priest.

If you would like to purchase print copies of Beacon from the Bay for a personal or church library or bookstore, you may do so from Amazon. All support is greatly appreciated for this labor of love.

But we are not to infer from this that exterior worship is to be condemned because interior worship is prescribed as essential. On the contrary, the rites and ceremonies which are enjoined in the worship of God and in the administration of the Sacraments, are dictated by right reason, and are sanctioned by Almighty God in the Old Law, and by our Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles in the New.

The angels, being pure spirits without a body, render to God a purely spiritual worship. The sun, and moon, and stars of the firmament pay to Him a kind of external homage. In the Prophet Daniel, we read: Sun and moon bless the Lord, stars of heaven bless the Lord, praise and exalt Him above all forever. But man, by possessing a soul or spiritual substance, partakes of the nature of angels, and by possessing a body, partakes of the nature of material bodies. It is therefore his privilege, as well as his duty, to offer to God the twofold homage of body and soul; in other words, to honor Him by internal and external worship.

Genuine piety cannot long be concealed in the heart without manifesting itself by exterior practices of religion; and hence, though interior and exterior worship are distinct, they cannot be separated in the present life. The fire cannot burn without sending forth a flame and heat. Neither can the fire of devotion burn in the soul without reflecting itself on our countenance, and even in our speech. It is natural for man to express his sentiments by signs and ceremonies, for, from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaketh. And as the fuel is necessary to keep alive the fire, even so, the flame of piety is nourished by the outward forms of religion.

But let us now continue to explain the different forms of our religion. You have been told that everything in the Church is symbolical, typical, and historical, and likewise, this holy temple is for us the House of God. And as such, the temple is a perfect expression of the fullness of the Church of Christ, in which our Savior Himself is included with His divinity and with His humanity—from His birth to His death. The glory of His Resurrection will ever shine in His Church. In her, the Apostles are ever preaching to us. The ancient Prophets do now stir us with the inspiration, which never dies out. The bones of the Martyrs continue to rejoice in upholding the Altars for us—their brethren. Here in the Church are they all,—you are here, and we are here with all our life, with all our histories in one, with our purpose, and with the means by which to obtain our end in the one destination of all. Although we may pray, and yet even offer Divine services in plain houses, in the fields, and on the river banks, still, this would not be sufficient to express the fullness of the Church. It is not only common reason, which tells us, together with our sense of the beautiful, but also our deep veneration for the awful holiness of Almighty God, and our love for Him our Savior, whose works are manifest in so rich, so wide, and such a grand Providence, that we are compelled to build our temples—the monuments of our salvation—according to our best. Therefore we must gather in the Church for prayer. And so this temple with its congregation is a type of, and in reality partakes of, the attributes of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. For this reason, our temples in their outward appearance show their meaning. They are often built in the shape of a cross, sometimes like a ship, then we see them like a star, and now a circle. If the church is lengthwise, with a high bell- tower or pinnacle at one end, we are reminded of a hand showing where the Christian must look to. A circle is something which is often made and seen in our religious life. A circle is made when the sponsors and the priest go around the font with the newly baptized. A circle is made in the Sacrament of Matrimony, and also in the Sacrament of Orders. Mitres and crowns are of a circular shape, and we decorate our house of prayer, i.e. the church, on feast days, with wreaths and garlands of flowers. A circle is significant of something without an end, i.e. eternity. It also denotes joy.

This is a digital edition of Beacon from the Bay: The Collected Works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich of Jackson and San Francisco, a several-month-long project to catalogue the out-of-prints works of Saint Sebastian Dabovich, the first American-born Orthodox priest.

If you would like to purchase print copies of Beacon from the Bay for a personal or church library or bookstore, you may do so from Amazon. All support is greatly appreciated for this labor of love.