-==========Charismatic movement and

orthodoxy=========================================================================
==================================================================================
=====================================

Our lord is the one who determines whom He will heal and whom He won’t. Our lord
determines when He will do a miracle, not us. It is not for humans to challenge this by saying,
“a miracle will happen”. God in his wisdom, only HE knows when He performs a miracle. And
we submit. What does this mean?

The Gospels says “do not put your God to the test” (Mathew 4; 7) and these days there
is a lot of talk concerning the coronavirus. And we the faithful people, because of our piety and
faith, want to challenge sickness by saying “Jesus won’t harm us!” “Jesus will protect us!” “We
put the virus in our mouth and we won’t die.” This is unwise behaviour.

Let me give you some examples. Saint Thekla, whom we love, was through to the
lions, they kneeled at her feet and did not eat her. While saint Ignatius of Antioch, he was
thrown to the lions and they ate him. Why God allowed the lions to eat him? While in the other
case He performed a miracle and lions did not eat St.thekla? God knows, not I.

The three youths were thrown into a great fire, but the fire did not burn them. But fire
did burn saint Polycarp and many other saints and martyrs. The saints did not say, “I am
Christian so the fire won’t burn me!” It’s God who determines when the fire harms us
and when it doesn’t. And only God determines when the nature submits to us and when it
doesn’t. it is only God….it is not for me to challenge this.

For Saint George –the patron of this church- poison did not have any effect on him.
While many other saints died poisoned. What I mean is ……the faithful person is not the one
who challenges saying, “O GOD, now make a miracle, now the fire won’t burn me!, now the
serpent won’t harm me! ” and the bomb won’t kill me!” this is foolishness!. It is not wise
behaviour. That is not faith.

On the contrary…. Our lord taught us that the faithful one has awareness and
should not challenge this. It is not me who forces God when I die or not…….this is up
to HIM. God shows his miracles and His might however He wants. So beloved
ones……let’s not get too excited and mistake the meaning of faith. Let’s not confuse
magic with faith. God is not a magician. We do not challenge as foolish people and say,
“I am Christian, I cross myself and I won’t die!” what foolish words ……that is not what
our lord teaches us.” I remain faithful and I continue to cross myself, but whether I die
or not, whether I get sick or not, it is God who determines these things.” If I put God to
the test, it means I am prideful.

We approach faith with humility. The faithful one is a humble person who does
not challenge God. The faithful is the one who says, “lord, let your will be done.” Your
will not mine. And that is when the door of miracle opens to us. And we see miracles in
life. That’s when we see the light of the lord in our lives.

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What is the main difference between Protestantism and Orthodoxy?
October 13, 2021

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit; One God, Amen.

What is the main difference between Protestant and Orthodox theologies? In comparing
both traditions, one can easily find numerous differences. However, these could be summed up
into a handful of concepts. Today’s video focuses on potentially the most important distinction
between both traditions.

From a Protestant perspective, salvation is directly related to forgiveness of sins. This

forgiveness transpired on the cross when Christ ransomed humanity. God the Father’s literal anger
was poured on the Son rather than on us. This view of salvation is usually seen from a purely
judicial perspective and therefore Protestant Christians are taught to believe in this act of
forgiveness—the cross—and, as a result, they will find salvation. Some Protestant traditions will
claim that this is all that is to be done to be saved; others, will say that, although Christians are
saved by Grace, some works would naturally flow from that Grace as evidence of salvation.
However, from the first centuries of Christendom Christians around the entire world viewed
salvation a bit differently. The first century Church would agree that Christ died on our behalf, as a
ransom, for the forgiveness of our sins. However, not because God the Father was literally angry.
We view God’s anger and wrath in a very different way as explained in previous videos. Also,
Orthodox Christians from the first centuries would agree that we are saved by Grace but without
denying that we have a role to play in our own salvation. We act in synergy with God. But the
crucial difference between the two traditions is that Orthodox Christians understood that this
judicial aspect is only one facet of salvation.

An additional crucial facet of salvation for Orthodox Christians, or all Apostolic Christians
for that matter, is humanity’s recreation or the healing of the human condition. St. Athanasius of
Alexandria, who fought the Arian heresy in the 4th century at the council of Nicea, says the
following: “…for the first fact that you must grasp is this: the renewal of creation has been wrought
by the Self-same Word (the Logos or Son of God) Who made it in the beginning. There is thus
no inconsistency between creation and salvation…” This is taken from St. Athanasius’ famous
book ‘On the incarnation’ which CS Lewis read several times and praised its wisdom. It is in this
light of human recreation that Orthodox Christians have practiced the mysteries from the beginning
of Christendom. The purpose of the mysteries, or sacraments, is to continually give us access to
this recreation which leads to sainthood when practiced piously. For instance, the early-century
Christians saw leprosy in the Old Testament as a type of sin that is healed through water. For
example, Naaman—the Syrian army commander – was healed from his leprosy when Elisha told
him to dip in the Jordan seven times. His skin, representing his humanity, was then renewed. In
Leviticus 14, we can also see the use of running water and blood as a part of the ritual of the

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cleansing of the healed leper— those were types of the water of baptism and the blood of Christ
respectively. That is why in Romans 6, St. Paul mentions that our old man is crucified in baptism
that the body of sin might be done away with. When the body of sin is done away with through
baptism, which is a participation in the cross of Christ, our human condition is renewed. Similarly,
Galatians 3:27 says: “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” The
image of Christ within us is recreated in baptism.
That is also the reason Titus 3:5 says we are saved through the water of regeneration. We
are recreated or regenerated through the water of baptism. John 3:5 also says that we must be
born again through water and Spirit—through baptism. It is the same idea with the Eucharist. A
couple of Old Testament types of the Eucharist are the Passover and the Manna. The Passover
involved the killing of the one-year-old male lamb and the pouring of its blood on the door lintels.
But the type didn’t stop there. The eating of the lamb was a compulsory portion of the ritual
symbolizing the Eucharist. Similarly, the Manna was the magical bread which came down from
heaven. The latter is the introduction used by Christ in his Eucharistic message found in John 6
where He ultimately says that His Body is food indeed and His blood is drink indeed—not a symbol.
He says as well that “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise
him up at the last day.” This Eucharistic meal is designed for my personal recreation and yours
that Christ may be formed in us. This concept of recreation of the human condition allows us to
participate in the Kingdom of God here and now. Christianity is not only about enjoying heaven in
the afterlife. It is about the here and now which naturally carries on to the afterlife. Understanding
this additional facet of salvation will open our minds to a new deeper reading of Scripture and to
find real healing in Christ.

The Ethos of Orthodox Christian Healing

by Fr. George Morelli
An early draft of this paper was presented at the Society of St. John Chrysostom --
Western Region Meeting on "Healing in the Eastern and Western Church" at Prince
of Peace Benedictine Abbey, Oceanside, California, November 18, 2006.
The Fall of Man
To understand healing we must first understand sin, illness, death and love, a task that
brings us back to Genesis. Genesis reveals that God created the world as good. He set
mankind as the crown of His creation. Genesis describes the creation of man in this
way:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1) ... God
created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male
and female He created them" (Genesis 1:27) ... the Lord God formed man of
the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and
man became a living being (Genesis 2:7).
Mankind is meant for paradise, and paradise is understood as life in and with God that
lasts for all eternity. Who then, caused the rupture that introduced sin, illness and
death into the world? The answer is the evil one, Satan, and his cohorts. Satan is the
destroyer of goodness and order, the liar who fatally rebelled against God and looks
forward only to eternal judgment and condemnation. The scriptures tell us that the
devil has "sinned from the beginning" (1 John 3:8). Jesus told the Pharisees:
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You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to
do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth,
because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his
own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it" (John 8:44).
How did the rupture occur? It happened when Satan tempted Adam and Eve when
they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree was planted in the
primordial garden with fruit that God commanded was never to be eaten. "Of every
tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:16-
17). Satan argued that if they ate of the fruit they would " ... be as gods, knowing good
and evil" (Genesis 3:7). We know our ancestors failed to obey and the entire material
creation fell into disorder.
The Fathers of the Church wrote that the lie that Satan proffered hid a crucial
dimension of God's original commandment not to eat of the fruit. Yes, Satan was
correct in telling Adam and Eve that they would become like gods and therefore have
knowledge of good and evil, but he withheld that they would also become captive to
the evil. As for Adam and Eve, the nature of their sin was that they looked to the
creation rather than the Creator for the life (which includes knowledge and wisdom)
that can only come from God. In fact, the Fathers posit that if Adam and Eve had
obeyed God, they would have matured in understanding and discernment and
eventually would have come to know good and evil without becoming captive to the
evil.
The result of their disobedience was catastrophic. Adam and Eve lost the Spirit of God
and became subject instead to the dust out of which they were created. Man became
bound to the earth rather than its master. He was expelled from the Garden because
knowing now only separation from God, he could no longer be part of its primordial
harmony. Genesis tells of the tragedy:
God told them, "'For dust you are, and to dust you shall return" ... Therefore
the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from
which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at
the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way,
to guard the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:11, 19, 23, 24).
St. Gregory of Nyssa lamented, "Thus man, who was so great and precious, as the
Scriptures call him, fell from the value he had by nature ... by his sin, (and) clothed
himself in an image that is of clay and mortal" (Musurillo, 1979).
Restoration and Healing
But God did not leave Adam and Eve desolate. He began the restoration of Adam and
Eve (and all humanity) only moments after their expulsion. It started with the clothing
of Adam and Eve in animal skins and continued through the covenant with Noah. It
follows with a covenant that God made with Abraham that through him God would
send a savior to heal the catastrophic rupture. It is completed in the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. St. Basil expressed it beautifully: "Thou didst send forth
the Prophets; Thou didst perform mighty works by the saints ... who foretold unto us
the salvation which was to come" (Anaphora Prayers of St. Basil Liturgy).

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We share in Adam and Eve's original sin, although the Eastern churches'
understanding differs from the Western churches' in some crucial ways. The Eastern
Church does not teach that we inherit the guilt of Adam. Rather, we share in the sin of
Adam in that we are born into a world where the consequences of sin prevail. These
consequences are not only the outward brokenness like disease and death, but interior
disorder as well. Our nature is corrupted. We are subject to temptation, prone to sin,
and share in death.
The different emphasis on original sin in the Orthodox Church affects how the death
of Christ impacts the redemption of mankind as well. Everyone is familiar with the
verse taken from the Gospel of St. John that affirms God's great love for mankind by
the coming of His Son: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John
3:16). Christ's voluntary sacrifice on the cross was not to satisfy God's vengeance, a
desire to see sin punished (what Western theologians call "substitutionary
atonement"). Rather Christ's death on the cross enabled Christ to enter death and
destroy it, as evidenced by rising from the dead once and for all.
The rupturing of the relationship Adam had with God that affected all subsequent
generations is the source of sickness and death. Christ, as the One who overcame
death, restores the relationship by destroying death. He becomes
the mediator between mankind and the Father, the bridge over the unbridgeable
chasm, the conqueror of death, the Savior of soul and body. His obedience unto
righteousness (Christ was the only man not to break the Law of Moses) annuls the
penalty of death that fell on disobedient Adam, thereby making His death completely
voluntary - a sacrifice -- and thus making His resurrection from death possible.
St. Paul's message to the Romans summarizes the Orthodox view of illness and death
and hints at how healing enters the world:
Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin
might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he
who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe
that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised
from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For
the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives,
He lives to God (Romans 6:6-10).
We enter into the life of Christ through baptism; entering the waters enables a person
to enter into the death of Christ and be raised in the likeness of His resurrection
(Romans 6:1-10). Baptism is the first step in the restoration of body and soul, a return
in some measure to the communion with God that Adam and Eve experienced before
their disobedience. The promise from God is that this journey may end in His
Kingdom, although this end is by no means automatic or guaranteed apart from testing
and trial. Our faith in God has to be proven, that is, refined in the fire of tribulation as
St. Peter taught, and not be found lacking. St. John summed it up in the final book of
scripture: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To
him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the
Paradise of God" (Revelation 2:7). The man who hears and obeys is the man who will
receive the promise of eternal life at the last day.
Healing in the Orthodox Church
In the Orthodox Church, healing of the soul ranks higher than the healing of the body.
In fact, the healing of the body is offered as a sign of His mercy and blessing to the

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person experiencing God's healing and to inspire others to do His will. Healing is to be
sought both through prayer and the application of physical sciences, but no complete
healing is possible apart from the final resurrection of an individual because the
sentence of death still reigns in the mortal body. Further, not all people are healed,
despite fervent pleas to God and the applications of the best medicines. Sometime
illness needs to be endured.
The Church Fathers give us insight into how we can use illness and the acceptance of
mortality (death) to grow in Christ. St Ilias the Presbyter wrote: "Suffering deliberately
embraced cannot free the soul totally from sin unless the soul is also tried in the fire
of suffering that comes unchosen. For the soul is like a sword: if it does not go 'through
fire and water' (Psalm 66:12, LXX) -- that is, by suffering deliberately embraced and
suffering that comes unchosen -- it cannot but be shattered by the blows of fortune"
(Ilias the Presbyter, Philokalia III). We have to acquire an attitude of embracing both
illness and the inevitable death of earthly life as part of God's divine will for us. This is
true not only for the sick, but also their loved ones who share in the suffering. In those
cases where a healing does occur, it happens so that we may love God even more.
Sometimes physical sickness is necessary to heal the soul. St. Maximus the Confessor
wrote, "Suffering cleanses the soul infected with the filth of sensual pleasure and
detaches it completely from material things by showing it the penalty incurred as a
result of its affection for them. This is why God in His justice allows the devil to afflict
men with torments." The acceptance of our illness and death as God's will is one means
by which we embrace the saving grace of Christ. This is a hard saying to accept, but
those who have suffered in Christ testify to its truth. Could we not allow that
sometimes God understands what we do not understand?
The subordination of physical to spiritual healing is derived from the Epistle of James.
St. James said:
Is there any one among you suffering? Let him pray ... Is any among you sick?
Let him call for the presbyters of the Church, and let them pray over him,
anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will
save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed
sins, he will be forgiven (James 4.13 - 15).
The Service of Holy Unction
The distinction between spiritual and physical healing is revealed liturgically as well.
Orthodox Christians perform the Mystery of Holy Unction for the healing of soul and
body and for forgiveness of sins. It is usually celebrated during Wednesday of Holy
Week, but can be performed any time. During the service epistle and gospel readings
are read, prayers are said, oil is blessed, and each worshipper is anointed with the holy
oil as the priest says: "The blessing of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ: for the
healing of soul and body ... "
The prayer of the blessing of the oil illustrates the goal of physical healing: that those
anointed can glorify God and thus be spiritually healed. The prayer in part reads:
O Lord, who through thy mercies and bounties heals the disorders of our
souls and bodies: Do thou Thyself, O Master, also sanctify this oil, that it may
be effectual for those who are anointed therewith, unto healing and unto
relief from every passion, of every defilement of flesh and spirit, and every

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ill; that thereby may be glorified Thine all holy Name, of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: now and ever, and unto ages of ages . Amen.
Ideally, seven priests perform this Holy Mystery, but fewer, or even a single priest, can
celebrate it. It is offered to the healthy as well as the sick for all are diseased in some
way.
The Holy Unction Service goes back to the earliest days of Christianity. Orthodox
Liturgical scholar Fr. Alkiviadis Calivas stated: "In ancient Christian literature one
may find indirect testimonies of the Mystery of Unction in Saint Irenaeus of Lyons and
in Origen. Later there are clear testimonies of it in Saints Basil the Great and John
Chrysostom, who have left prayers for the healing of the infirm which entered later
into the rite of Unction; and likewise in Saint Cyril of Alexandria"
(http://www.goarch.org/en/special/lent/holy_wednesday/learn/).
Sometimes the emphasis on spiritual healing is taken to mean that attempts at physical
healing should be minimized. This is a grave misconception. In the Orthodox moral
tradition both spiritual and physical healing should be brought to God. The foundation
of this misconception rests in ideas that faith somehow stands in opposition to science.
It doesn't. God is the source of both faith and science and in the end no final conflict
exists between the two. Orthodox theologian and ethicist Fr. Stanley S. Harakas wrote:
Medical treatment is also seen as a human cooperation with God's healing
purposes and goals. In fact, all of Orthodox teaching recognizes a place for
human effort, striving and cooperating with God's will. Technically known as
"synergy," this belief requires the exercise of human talents and abilities for
salvation, for spiritual growth, for moral behavior, for achievement of human
potential ... So, in principle, the use of healing, medicines ... even surgical
operations have generally been understood throughout history in the Church
to be appropriate, fitting and desirable ways of cooperating with God in the
healing of human illnesses
(http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article8076.asp)
Mankind: Made in God's image and called to be like Him
The foundation of this "synergy" (the cooperation of man with God) is recorded in the
book of Genesis: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have
dominion over all the earth ..." (Genesis 1:26). McGuckin (2004) noted that several
Greek Fathers defined the term "image" by relating it to Adam's naming of the animals,
thereby linking an attribute of the image of God in man to "mankind's dominion over
the created order." In other words, the patristic exegesis highlights the different
characteristics that man possesses over the animals such as understanding,
rationality, and intelligence to conclude that these characteristics define in some
measure the term "image of God."
Evagrios the Solitary also, albeit indirectly, affirmed that the intellect reflects the
image of God in man. When examining the causes of sin he asked, "Is it the intellect?"
only to answer the query with another question, "But then how can the intellect be the
image of God?" (Philokalia I). (Later he answered his question that sin is a "freely
chosen noxious pleasure.")
St. Maximus the Confessor, too, elevated intellect as an attribute of the image of God
in man. "Naturally endowed with the holiness of the Divine Image, the intelligence

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urges the soul to conform itself by its own free choice to the divine likeness" (Philokalia
II).
Of all the Church Fathers however, St. John of Damascus is the most clear:
As a golden seal to this plain homily, we will add a brief account of the way
in which that which is most precious of all that God has created -- the noetic
and intelligent creature, man -- has been made, alone among created beings,
in God's image and likeness (cf. Genesis 1:26). First, everyman is said to be
made in the image of God as regards the dignity of his intellect and soul ...
and endowed with free will ...
Further, St. John of Damascus taught that the gift of the intellect carries with it a
responsibility toward holiness:
Every man possesses that which is according to the image of God, "for the
gifts of God are irrevocable" (cf. Romans 11:29). But only a few -- those who
are virtuous and holy and have imitated the goodness of God to the limit of
human powers -- possess that which is according to the likenesses of God"
(Philokalia III).
St. Nikitas Stithatos discussed how the responsibility to develop and use the gift of the
intellect is met only by living in conformity with God's will:
God is ... intellect, beyond every intellect ... He is light and the source of
blessed light. He is wisdom, intelligence and spiritual knowledge. If on
account of your purity these qualities have been bestowed on you and are
richly present in you, then that within you which accords with the image of
God has been safely preserved and you are now a son of God guided by the
Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14) (Philokalia IV).
Clearly, the Church Fathers teach that the intellect is a highly valued characteristic
found in man. It is important to note that intellect does not mean high intelligence
necessarily, but the faculty of the intellect, namely, the ability to reason, distinguish,
create, and all the qualities associated with it. Further, there is a moral imperative
implied in their assessment. Since the intellect is a gift from God, we must exercise the
intellect to the best of our ability. Failure to responsibly apply our intellect in our lives
means we are not conforming to the will of God.
One area where the intellect must be applied is in the contemplation of life around us.
Where does the ultimate meaning of the creation and our place in it come from: science
and its offshoots including medicine and psychology -- or God? Science is empirical, it
measures material objects and defines material processes. It describes the workings of
creation but it can say nothing about its meaning and purpose. Materiality and
meaning are two different things but nevertheless are woven together as the Psalmist
told us: The heavens declare the Glory of God and the firmament proclaims His
handiwork ... (Psalm 18:1).
Since the rules that govern the world are written into the very fabric of creation and
discerned by the intellect, they can be used for the healing purposes of God. Science
and its applications are not static, but dynamic and ever changing, that is refined, as
scientists get better at doing the "work of science." Its roots are ancient and continue
to grow. The sciences applied to healing in the Early Church were crude in contrast to

8
what we know today, but they were present nonetheless. If by God's will mankind
continues for the next five centuries or so, the science (including healing arts) we
practice today will look as crude then as the ancient practices look now. The Church
Fathers understood this well. St. Gregory of Nyssa said: "Medicine is an example of
what God allows men to do when they work in harmony with Him and with one
another." Basil of Caesarea said: "God's grace is as evident in the healing power of
medicine and its practitioners as it is in miraculous cures" (Demakis 2004).
A Short History of Healing in the Church
It is not overstating the case to say that the emphasis on the healing of persons is one
of the great gifts that Christianity has given the world. It started with Christ. The
Gospels record numerous instances where Christ healed all manner of diseases, both
spiritual and physical. St. Luke, himself a physician, recorded the most in his Gospel,
and then later showed in his book "The Acts of the Apostles" how this power of healing
was granted to the Apostles. It should be no surprise that at the end of the persecutions
of the first early centuries, healing arts were developed and flourished even to this day.
Orthodox Christianity has a rich history of healers revered as saints. Twin brothers Sts.
Cosmas and Damian were physicians practicing during the reign of Diocletian and
Maximianos in the era before the persecutions ended. Born in Arabia, they became
known as "Anargyroi" (penniless) because they refused to accept any money for their
service. They are venerated in both the Eastern and Western churches, but in the East
they also carry the title "Wonderworker" because in addition to healing the body, they
also cast out demons and removed other darkness from the souls of men just as Christ
had done. They attributed their healing gifts to Christ, whom they called the "Great
Physician," and regarded themselves simply as Christ's instruments of healing,
comfort, witness, and sanctification.
Orthodoxy had other great healer saints as well. Hronos (1999) detailed the life of St.
Luke as well as twenty physicians of which eighteen were missionaries and two were
priests. One of the priests was St. Sampson, the "Innkeeper and Physician of
Constantinople" whose feast day is celebrated on June 17. St. Sampson was originally
from Rome at the time when Saint Justinian the Great reigned, but settled in
Constantinople. He became so respected for his healing power, prayer, virtue, and love
of the sick and poor that Patriarch Menas of Constantinople ordained him a priest. In
humility he often hid his prayerful healing by dispensing medication. He healed the
Emperor Justinian who in gratitude donated a grand healing center to St. Samson that
came to be known as "The Hospice of Samson."
Healing in Byzantium
In the fourth century various healing centers were opened and administrated by the
Orthodox Church, including homes for the poor, orphans, aged and hospitals
(Demakis, 2004). Many of these centers were associated with monasteries. The health
care workers, the physicians, nurses, and psychologists of the day were often the
monks themselves. St. Basil of Caesarea (370-379) was trained in medicine and was
reported to have worked with the monks in ministering to the ill and infirm.
St. John Chrysostom as Patriarch of Constantinople (390) used the wealth of the
Church to open hospitals and other philanthropic institutions, which earned him great
love from the people. Within two centuries, the rapid growth of these centers
necessitated state funding although the Church retained the active administration and
care-giving in the arrangement. Emperor Justinian moved the most important

9
 physicians into the hospitals, which enhanced the reputation of these centers
(Demakis 2004).
The Pantocrator Monastery was a large healing center. Its Typikon (the book that
explains how the monastery should be ordered) reveals that their benevolent work was
complex and extensive. A few sections include:
External Relations
The remarkable hospital (xenon) associated with this foundation capped a long
tradition of institutional philanthropy observed in these documents since Mount
Tmolos in the late tenth century. Chapters throughout provide regulations for the
hospital, the old age home, and lepers sanatorium.
1. The Hospital
The hospital was presided over by an overseer (nosokomos) and had sixty beds divided
into five wards, one of which was to be reserved for women. Two non-resident doctors
(serving in alternate months) and a complement of assistants and orderlies staffed
each ward. The doctors were not to undertake any outside work even for unpaid service
by imperial command. The women's ward had an extra female doctor. Four extra
doctors including two surgeons staffed an outpatient department. Two of the
outpatient doctors took turns providing services to the monks of the monastery in
alternate months.
There were also various service personnel, including a chief pharmacist and three
druggists as well as two priests stationed in the hospital chapel. A teacher of medicine
was to "teach the principles of medical knowledge" to student doctors, who were
apparently chosen from among the hospital's auxiliaries. Salaries for the various
hospital personnel were detailed as well as the supplies needed by the infirmarian and
the superintendent, who served as a cellarer. The Emperor provided regulations for
liturgical services, burials, and commemorations of the deceased.
2. The Old Age Home
The director (gerokomos) of the old age home was chosen from among the monks of
the monastery. With the assistance of six orderlies, he would care for twenty-four aged
and infirm men in the home; the healthy were specifically excluded, regardless of
social class. As in the hospital, a chapel staffed by a priest and reader was available to
residents. The emperor provided cash and in-kind allowances for both the staff and
the residents.
3. The Sanatorium
A lepers sanatorium was established at a site away from the monastery. The emperor
sought a "special remembrance" from its residents, but unlike patients in the hospital,
he does not ask them to come to a church to pray for his soul.
4. Routine Charitable Donations
Less institutionalized forms of philanthropy were practiced at the foundation as well.
A bakery (mankipeion) provided bread to nourish the residents of both the hospital
and the old age home. For non-residents, there were to be charitable distributions at
the gate in honor of the foundation's benefactors. Leftovers were to be collected for
this purpose after both the midday and evening meals." (The entire typikon can be
found at: http://www.stmaryofegypt.org/typika/typ038.html.)
Demakis (2004) notes five characteristic traits shared by the physician-saints:
1. They were committed to Christ and were holy men before they became healers.
2. They lived as deeply committed Christians in personal prayer, meditation, fasting, and
actively prayed for their patients.

10
3. They were outstanding physicians often "first in their medical school class". Medical
science was regarded as a serious academic discipline.
4. They had a "deep and abiding love" for mankind and strove to see "the image of Christ"
in every patient. This was shown in their actions including long working hours, refusal
of any payment, turning their homes into hospitals, and the personal care they showed
toward their patients ("fed and cared for their patients personally").
5. They attributed their healing skills and medical successes to God.
The Church as Hospital
The spiritual dimension of healing
St. John Chrysostom presented us with the idea that the entire Church of Christ is a
hospital, thereby expressing in clearer theological terms the relationship between the
healing of body and soul practiced by the early healers. The Parable of the Good
Samaritan is the model St. John used (Luke 1:33ff) where the Good Samaritan
exemplifies Christ who, as the Great Physician, comes to broken mankind (the man
beat by robbers lying on the road) in order to bring healing. The inn in which the Good
Samaritan delivered the suffering man is the Church (Vlachos, 1994, 1998).
The interrelationship between body and soul is noted in almost every liturgical prayer.
Most corporate prayer begins with the Trisagion (Thrice-Holy) prayer that makes the
relationship clear: "All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us, Lord, cleanse us from our sins.
Master, pardon our iniquities. Holy God, visit and heal our infirmities for thy names
sake" (emphasis added).
Baptism
In fact, the spiritual dimension underlying any healing is most clearly revealed in the
foundational sacrament of the Christian life. Baptism, as St. Paul taught in Romans 6,
is the new birth, the starting point of life in Christ through an entry into Christ's death
and a raising into the "likeness" of His resurrection. The baptismal service begins with
several prayers of exorcism that are meant to heal the person of illness and infirmity
brought about by the rebellion of the Devil as indicated above. Originally deacons read
the exorcism prayers but in modern times the priest who performs the baptism reads
the prayers. The prayers prepare the baptismal candidate to enter life in Christ and
thereby receive the power (through the Holy Spirit received in baptism) to detach from
the power of evil that might rule in his soul. These prayers and the baptism that follows
are actually a profound healing of the soul's attachment to untoward things, thereby
enabling it to attain freedom.
Exorcism
Sometimes the healing of the soul calls for drastic measures. A guide for clergy of the
Orthodox Church is the "Book of Needs" which includes prayers for expulsion of
demons from the soul and for protection from such evil. Clergy entering this
dimension of spiritual reality must exercise great discernment since many illnesses
have natural causes and a misdiagnosis is easily made. Further, the mental status of
anyone requesting such prayers also has to be considered. Pastorally, the best practice
is to say a simple prayer for those requesting it, such as those found in the exorcism
ritual in Holy Baptism. St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, and several other noted saints
wrote these prayers.
A prayer by St. John Chrysostom that is included in "The Book of Needs" concisely
states the goal of our earthly life:
O Lord Jesus Christ ... We beseech You, look mercifully upon him (or her),
and in your great love grant him (or her) relief from his (or her) pain ... that

11
restored to the vigor of health, he (or she) may ... serve you faithfully and
gratefully all his (or her) life, and become heir of Your Kingdom, For You are
the Physician of our souls and bodies, O Christ ... "
Another exorcism prayer written by St. John Chrysostom reads: "Everlasting God ...
command these evil and impure spirits to withdraw from soul and body ... so he (she)
may live a holy, righteous and devout life deserving of the sacred Mysteries of Your
only-begotten Son our God (Book of Needs, A Monk of St. Tikhon's Monastery 1987).
Holy Eucharist
The Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion) continues the healing that began in Holy
Baptism. The Eucharist conjoins us to the Great Physician, a point expressed in the
liturgical prayer that is read immediately before the elevation of the bread and wine:
"We give thanks unto thee, O King invisible, who by thy measureless power hast made
all things ... look down from heaven upon those who have bowed their heads unto thee
... distribute these Gifts here spread forth, unto all of us for good ... heal the sick, thou
who art the physician of souls and bodies."
Healing with Christ: Victory
Some psychologists, such as Viktor Frankl (1959, 1969, 1978), saw illness and the
passage into death apart from any transcendent reference and therefore without any
enduring meaning or purpose. In this view, human healing has only a relative value
since death prevails in the end. Healing, when it occurs, has only a temporary meaning
since life itself is merely a temporary sojourn (Morelli, 2006a,b).
The Christian view however, sees an eternal dimension to all illness and healing. The
suffering of Christ on the cross for example, has eternal ramifications in that the power
of sin and death was destroyed when Christ destroyed death by being resurrected from
the dead. St. Basil's anaphora prayer (the prayer read before the consecration of the
bread and wine in the Orthodox Divine Liturgy) reads: "Having descended into hell
through the Cross, that He (Christ) might fill all things with Himself, He loosed the
pains of death, and rose again from the dead on the third day, making a way for all
flesh through the resurrection from the dead."
Human healing, then, when referenced to the victory of Christ over death, takes on an
eternal meaning and purpose: chiefly, to partake of the deeper life found in God, to
rise above the brokenness, sin, and death that holds the world in bondage since the sin
of Adam and Eve long ago.
An Ideomelon (hymn) written by St. John of Damascus and read during the Orthodox
funeral service sums it up clearly. First the futility of life when viewed apart from the
hope Christ offers is recounted: "I called to mind the Prophet, as he cried: I am earth
and ashes; and I looked again into the graves and beheld the bones laid bare, and I
said: Who then is the king or the warrior, the rich man or the needy, the upright or the
sinner?" In modern parlance we could say: "Is that all there is?" But the prayer does
not end there. It concludes: "Yet, O Lord, give rest unto Thy servant with the
righteous." Later in the funeral service we pray, "May Christ give thee rest in the land
of the living, and open unto thee the gates of Paradise and make thee a citizen of His
kingdom." The ultimate healing is victory over illness and death and leads us into
eternal life. "Behold, I make all things new," (Revelation 21:3-5).

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John Anthony McGuckin
The Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity

Miracles
VERA SHEVZOV
Orthodox thinkers from Late Antiquity to modern times have understood
miracles as actions or events that manifest or point to the presence of God.
Orthodox Christians have associated miracles not only with individual
experiences, but also with experiences of entire communities and even nations.
Miracles are associated with healings, historical events, visions, dreams, and
foresight, and with such phenomena as inexplicable displays of myrrh or tears on
icons. Throughout history, Orthodox pastors and spiritual guides have drawn on
accounts of miracles for pedagogical purposes. Such accounts provided lessons
concerning vices and virtues along with lessons concerning “right faith.” In
addition to the realm of lived Orthodoxy, where accounts of miracles have often
resulted in the special veneration of certain icons and the veneration of saints and
their relics, miracles have also figured in the Orthodox theological and
philosophical considerations of history, science and nature, and anthropology.
Reports of miracles have also periodically begged the question of authority in the
church (who in the church is it that finds and declares them miraculous?).
Although miracles may be integral to its worldview, Orthodox Christianity never-
theless is deeply nuanced in its approach to them.
In part, the Orthodox understanding of miracles is rooted in the complex
view of miracles reflected in the New Testament. On the one hand, patristic
authors such as Origen of Alexandria (d. 254) and St. John Chrysostom (d. 407)
maintained that Jesus’ miracles played a significant role in the establishment of
the Christian faith. Signs, acts of power, and works testified to the power of God
manifested in and through Christ. Accordingly, Orthodox writers maintained,
miracles accompanied his words in order to confirm his identity for those who
were unable to recognize his power and authority through his words alone.
In this sense, miracles were a form of divine condescension. Following the
death of Jesus, in this view, the apostles performed numerous miracles in Jesus’
name as a way further to cultivate the Christian faith. As Origen wrote in his mid-
3rd century treatise Against Celsus 1.46, had it not been for miracles, people
would not have been persuaded to accept the new teachings. On the other hand,
patristic authors also pointed to the more negative aspects of miracles in the
gospel texts. Particularly objectionable was the pursuit of, and demand for,
miracles as a condition for faith (Mt. 16.4; Jn. 6.30–31) or as a curious spectacle
(Lk. 23.8). Even the Devil tempted Jesus to perform a miracle (Mt. 4.1–

13
11; Lk. 4.1–13). Finally, according to Jesus’ testimony, not every “wondrous
sign” was from God (Mt. 24.24–25; Acts 8.9–13); they could even be
detrimental to believers by distracting or turning them from the path to salvation.
Because of their recognition of the possibility of miracles (especially in
light of the core teachings on the incarnation and resurrection), both patristic and
modern Orthodox writers have affirmed the reality of miracles. They have
considered miraclesas attestations to divine providence and as affirmations of
God’s active presence in the world. The faithful often consider them as wondrous
signs (thaumata) meant to be discerned and read. “Wonders” of faith in this sense
are not necessarily the great contradictions of natural laws that are so often the
focus of western theological reflection on miracles, but are often small, personal,
signs: understood as a message from God, and which, accordingly, cause
wonderment (thauma) in the heart; a term which in the New Testament
accompanies moments of divine epiphany and grace. Modern Orthodox writers,
especially beginning in the 19th century, sought to defend the credibility and
reasonableness of miracles in light of modernity’s challenges. While maintaining
a critical approach that recognized the possible interplay of superstition, they
nonetheless distinguished between superstitious attitudes and the phenomenon of
miracles. In so doing, as a rule they argued against the modern understanding of
the “causal closure principle.” Instead, they argued for a reality that existed
beyond nature and for an understanding of the world that was more permeable to
that reality. The priest theologian Sergius Bulgakov, for instance, encouraged
viewing the world as a dynamic organism rather than a static mechanism.
Miracles in such a view do not per se violate the natural order; but neither are
they to be considered as “random” actions or events.
Despite its modern apology for miracles, Orthodox Christianity
nevertheless does not emphasize miracles as in any way essential to the Christian
life. Salvation does not depend on them; they are not foregone signs of sanctity.
According to patristic and modern Orthodox authors, the virtuous life consists not
in the working of miracles, but in “the beauty of one’s life” (St. John Cassian,
Conferences 2.7, 9). As
St. John Chrysostom pointed out, Christ did not direct his disciples to
“perform miracles,” but to feed his sheep (Homilies on St. Matthew 46).
Similarly, St. John Cassian maintained that discipleship involves primarily love
and not signs and miracles. Patristic and modern Orthodox writers also maintain
that Christ’s teachings are paramount to the Christian life, while a preoccupation
with miracles is a sign of a lower state of spiritual life. The Orthodox monastic
tradition in particular discourages and even warns against engaging the mirac-
ulous, seeing it as a potential source of pride, delusion, and downfall.
Because of the potential spiritual pitfalls associated with miracles,
Orthodox pastors and spiritual guides have traditionally called for spiritual
14
sobriety in the approach to miracles. Miracles, they maintain, demand
discernment and the cultivation of what St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, the well-
known 19th-century bishop and spiritual guide, termed “spiritual reason” in order
to “test the spirits” and distinguish between “true” and “false” miracles. Such
discernment, according to the Orthodox tradition, is profoundly more beneficial
on the path toward salvation than miracles.
Historically, there has been no systematic institutional effort across the
Orthodox churches to regulate and officially ratify miracles, comparable to the
way this is done in modern Roman Catholic practice. Many of Orthodoxy’s best-
known miracleworking icons, for instance, were never officially ratified as such
but became specially revered on the basis of a “tradition of faith.” Nevertheless,
periodically, certain efforts were made to regulate and add institutional weight to
the discernment of “true” and “false” miracles on the local ecclesiastical level. In
18th- and 19th-century Russia, for instance, guided by the Spiritual Regulations
of Peter the Great, the Russian Holy Synod was charged with investigating
reported miracles and ascertaining their veracity – a process which often caused
tensions among the faithful. More recently, in 1999, faced with a wave of reported
miracles, the Orthodox Church in Russia established a commission, composed
predominantly of scientists, whose task is to document, investigate, and analyze
such reports. The commission’s current co-chairman is Pavel Florensky, a
geologist, academician, and grandson of the Orthodox priest, theologian, and
martyr, Fr. Pavel Florensky.

St. Mina: Blessed With the Gift of Healing

The Lord Jesus Christ promises us, "He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will also do, and greater
works than these he will do, because I go to My Father" (John 14:12).

The ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ was one of numerous occurrences of healings of "all kinds of sickness and
all kinds of diseases" (Matthew 4:23). The Lord Jesus Christ healed not only sickness and disease but also darkened hearts
and minds as He released people from demonic oppression.

Like their Master before them, the early Apostles participated in God's work of healing, giving all thanks to their
miracles to the risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ. In the Holy Book of Acts 9:34, St. Peter told a newly restored man
who had been bedridden for eight years, "Jesus the Christ heals you."

St. Paul in the Holy Book of I Corinthians 12:9 explained, "healing" as a gift of the Holy Spirit. In the Holy Book of St.
James 5:14-15 we learn that "healing" is an established ministry of the New Testament Church and was an important part
of its sacramental life.

While many other religious denominations today believe that the healing miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ have
somehow passed away, our beloved Orthodox Church has held fast to the belief in "healings" throughout its more than
2000 years of Coptic Christianity. Furthermore, the writings of the early church fathers document and speak often of the
healing miracles within the church.

Quite widely known are the supernatural healings, which the Lord Jesus Christ performed through St. Mina (285-309
AD). Mar-Mina is a well-known saint due to his great faith at a young age and the many miracles that are performed
through his prayers. St. Mina is commonly referred to as "the Miracle Performer."

15
 St. Mina was born in Egypt, in the city of Niceous, to good Christian parents. The mother who could not have
children would pray in front of St. Mary's icon, tearfully asking to be blessed with a child. Once while she was praying this
prayer, she heard an "Amen". Thus when she finally had a son, she named him "Mina".

St. Mina's father, Audexios, held an important position in the Roman Empire. When he died Mina was but fourteen years
old. St. Mina then joined the army, and was given a very high position due to his father's prominence. St. Mina was sent
by the army to Algeria to serve his country.

Strongly desiring to serve God rather than his country, he resigned from the army after three short years and
devoted his entire life to the Lord Jesus Christ. St. Mina became a hermit leaving everything to follow the Lord Jesus
Christ. While a hermit, he saw visions of heavenly angels crowning martyrs with beautiful and glorious crowns. One day
as St. Mina was contemplating his visions; he heard a voice say, "Blessed are you, Abba Mina, because you have been
called for the pious life from your childhood. You shall be granted three crowns; one for your celibacy, the second for your
asceticism, and the third because you will be martyred."

Following this St. Mina was overwhelmed by a great desire to live in Heaven. In true faith and with devotion in his heart,
he went to the Roman ruler declaring that he was a Christian. St. Mina was severely tortured with endless sufferings. His
suffering attracted many pagans not only to Christianity but to martyrdom as well.

The saint's hardhearted assassins tried to burn his young body but the fire had no effect upon it. Obtaining his discarded
body, some Christian believers placed it upon the back of a camel and set out for the Western Desert. While on this journey,
the camel suddenly stopped at a certain spot in the desert and could not forcibly be made to move. St. Mina was buried in
this particular area. His present monastery marks this spot today at the end of the Lake of Marriute, close to the City of
Alexandria.

Several years after his burial, shepherds were tending their sheep at this location and a very sick little lamb fell to the
ground. The shepherds were astonished that the sickly little lamb after falling on this particular spot raised itself
completely cured. The story quickly spread throughout the countryside and many sick people came to the spot where the
small lamb was cured. Just simply lying on this spot cured many.

The daughter of King Zinnon, a Christian king of good repute, became very ill. His counsel suggested that she
should visit this spot famed for its healings. When the daughter visited the spot, Mar-Mina appeared to her in a dream
and told her that his body was laid to rest there. In the morning she bathed in the lake and was healed. She conveyed her
dream to her father upon her return.

Immediately, the King ordered that the body of St. Mina be dug up and a church to be erected at this place
bearing his name. Sick people worldwide came to visit the city founded around the church and were healed through the
intercessions of St. Mina the Miracle Performer.

Clay bottles were filled in this city for the many pilgrims who came seeking the blessings of St. Mina. The bottles
were filled with water or oil and taken back by the pilgrims to relatives and friends for blessings. These bottles have been
discovered in numerous countries around the world bearing the name and picture of St. Mina (Heidelberg in Germany,
Milan in Italy, Dalmatia in Yugoslavia, Marseille in France, Dengla in Sudan, and even in Jerusalem).

Following the Arab conquest, destruction of this city famous for its healings, thoughtlessly occurred. The inhabitants were
oppressed and a large section of the city burned to the ground. Numerous marble pillars were taken to build mosques and
palaces.

In the fourteenth century, in Marriute, a wooden box was discovered. It was taken to the governor of the city
and opened. Bones wrapped in a piece of cloth was the contents of the box. The governor ordered his cook to throw the
box in the fire. When the cook returned to prepare the next meal, he saw a column of light extending from the fire where
the body of the saint unknowingly lay. It was at that time the cook also noted that neither the bones nor the cloth that
contained them had been damaged by the fire. Pope Benjamin in realization of the identity of the bones, ordered the bones
and cloth which fire could not consume to be transferred to the church of St. Mina in Fom-El-Khalig.

During St. Mina's short life he was blessed with converting many to Christianity through his great and
unwavering faith, which helped him endure cruel persecutions. Following his death, people are restored to wholeness
through his undying faith and prayers. The Lord Jesus Christ was truly glorified in St. Mina's faith.

"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone among you cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among
you sick? 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" (James 5:13-14).

Did you know that until today our beloved church follows this practice of prayer for the sick? The Orthodox Church has a
special prayer of healing which can be prayed at any given time. The priest prays for the sick person anointing him with
oil and says:

16
 "O Lord Almighty, Healer of our souls and bodies, who puts down and raises up, who chastises and heals also,
visit now in Your mercy our brother (or sister) who is ill. Stretch forth Your arm that is full of healing and health, and
raise him up from this bed and cure this illness. Put away the spirit of disease and every malady and pain and fever.
And if he has committed sins and transgressions, grant remission and forgiveness, because of Your love for mankind."

With the Miracle Performers' great faith, we should pray neither commanding God to heal nor doubting his ability to heal,
but seeking His promised mercy upon all those who are suffering with sickness and disease.

May His promised mercy be upon all those who are in need of His comfort and healing.

Bishop Youssef
Bishop, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States

For the Health of Body and Soul: An

Eastern Orthodox Introduction to
Bioethics

Rev. Dr. Stanley S. Harakas

Introduction

Everyone living today is sensitive to the fact that medical science is making
enormous advances. Not only are illnesses being treated with remarkable
computerized diagnostic machines, exotic technologies, and new drug
therapies, but average people are now faced with an amazing array of
alternatives each time a medically related problem arises.

In ages past, medicine was always considered in the Church as an honorable

profession. Some of the most beloved figures in the Orthodox Christian tradition
combined faith in God and the exercise of a healing ministry. The Evangelist
Luke was a physician. His Gospel and Book of the Acts of the Apostles seem
to have an unusually large number of medical terms and references to medical
situations. Saints such as Cosmas and Damian, the two brother physicians, and
St. Panteleimon are examples of widely venerated saint-physicians of the
Orthodox Church. During the Byzantine period of the history of the Orthodox
Church, there were a number of priest-physicians as well who combined the
17
sacred duties of the Altar with the healing ministrations of the physician
(Constantelos, 1975). And this was not in any way an inappropriate
combination. For the life of our Savior, Jesus Christ, was also dedicated to a
healing ministry. The four Gospels repeatedly record Christ's concern with the
physical well-being of the people. Frequently, stories are related of persons who
sought out Jesus to be healed of illnesses.

Cooperation of Man with God

As a consequence, the Church has always recognized two dimensions to the

healing process. On the one hand is the recognition that our whole life is in the
hands of God. We are - body and soul - his creatures, and it is to Him that we
turn in moments of illness, both physical and emotional. He is, in the first and
most fundamental sense, "the healer of soul and body," as it says in the
Orthodox priest's 'Prayer Book.' In the Orthodox Church, we not only pray for
the healing of sickness through priestly "Prayers for the Sick," but the Church
has always offered the healing of God to the faithful through the sacrament of
Anointing, or Unction. Unlike other Churches, our Orthodox understanding of
this 'sacrament of prayer - oil' has always taken the scriptural words at face
value and with seriousness.

"Is there any one among you suffering? Let him pray ... Is any among you sick?
Let him call for the presbyters of the Church, and let them pray over him,
anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save
the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he
will be forgiven”

James 4.13 - 15

But to emphasize the healing power of God does not mean that human efforts
at healing are down-graded. On the contrary, medical treatment is also seen as
a human cooperation with God's healing purposes and goals. In fact, all of
Orthodox teaching recognizes a place for human effort, striving and cooperating
with God's will. Technically known as 'synergy,' this belief requires the exercise
of human talents and abilities for salvation, for spiritual growth, for moral
behavior, for achievement of human potential as well as for the fulfillment of
God's will in all things related to our community and social life. So, in principle,
the use of healing, medicines, therapeutic diet practices, even surgical

18
operations have generally been understood throughout history in the Church as
appropriate, fitting and desirable ways of cooperating with God in the healing of
human illnesses.

New Methods - New Choices - New Problems

But something has been happening in medicine recently which has created
problems for this longstanding spirit of cooperation. The common assumptions
are no longer as firm as they once were. In part, this is due to the fact that the
advances in biological knowledge have present and potential applications which
not only heal existing illnesses, but also manipulate and change the natural
processes of the human body and mind. The birth control pill and mind-
influencing drugs are examples. These new techniques create some questions
for the Church. It is one thing to use medical procedures to restore the patient
to normal functioning. It is another to alter, on an ongoing basis, the physiology
and the psychology of the patient through continued medical intervention. Yet,
even here, there has been very little objection expressed by the Church. We
have seen the benefits to individual persons and have thanked God for them,
by and large.

But these developments have continued and now seem to have crossed a line
which no longer permits us to accept any and every thing which comes out of
the laboratory with the assumption that all new discoveries are good. This new
attitude is not limited to questions of medical ethics. It is to be found in
contemporary attitudes regarding all scientific and technological developments.
We previously accepted these developments in the name of 'progress' as
remarkable examples of the good which man can achieve. But since the atomic
bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we are discovering more and more that our
'progress' always carries a price tag. Every step of scientific and technical
progress effects our lives in both good and bad ways. We are learning, for
instance, to count the cost of progress in environmental terms, in health terms,
in its effect on the moral and spiritual quality of human living.

Further, our old belief in the goodness of the application of all our scientific
knowledge has been changed. In the past, all technological development was
'good.' Now, more and more people have doubts. Because we
are able, technically, to do something, doesn't mean automatically and
necessarily that we should do it. In medicine, for instance, the prospect of

19
genetic manipulation, of genetic experimentation, arising from the discovery of
the genetic code in DNA, has caused reputable scientists to project potential
harms to mankind and to urge that this experimentation with the human
chromosomal heritage be banned.

Whatever the case, we are all aware of the fact that in the area of medicine,
numerous choices about medical procedures face all of us as we live out our
lives. Congenital illnesses can now be determined to exist while the baby is still
in the mother's womb. The law permits abortions. Thus, the alternatives
confront the parents - abort or not? Here is a new kind of question which medical
technology has only recently made possible. Or, take another example. A
relative asks you to donate a kidney since kidney transplants are now possible.
Look at the host of questions! Is it right in the first place to transplant an organ
from one person to another? Do we have the right to give up an organ needed
by our own bodies? Is there a duty to give an organ to a spouse or child? To a
stranger? Can we rightly refuse to give an organ for transplantation? Should we
take organs from the dead? Is it right to have organ banks? Who should get the
organs - only those who can afford to pay? None of these questions and a host
of similar questions related to every new medical advance have self-evident
answers. And none of them can be answered on exclusively scientific and
technological grounds. They involve profound questions of right and wrong,
good and evil, virtue and sin, moral and spiritual values.

A New Field of Study: Bioethics

As a result, a new field of study has come into existence. Known as 'bioethics,'
it deals with the questions of right and wrong as they effect life issues. Like
everything new, it has roots in the past. For example, Orthodox Christian ethical
teaching has always dealt with life issues. The Bible, the writings of the Holy
Fathers of the Church, Church canon law, even worship and sacramental life
have ethical implications for life issues.

Only recently, however, have secular and religious ethicists sought to address
these issues in a coherent and organized way, with special reference to the
emerging problems of advancing medical technological capabilities. This
discipline of bioethics recognizes that answers cannot be given without
reference to principles and values which do not come out of science. Thus,
some bioethicists seek 'common-denominator' values; others choose a certain

20
philosophical stance to base their thinking and teaching; others base their
thinking and guidance on religious traditions.

An 'Encyclopedia of Bioethics'

In order to gather together what is known about this area of human concern, it
was decided in the early seventies to publish an inter- disciplinary, intercultural
and internationally-based encyclopedia. The aim of this encyclopedia was to
present a comprehensive "state-of-the-discipline" reference work. The Editor-
in-Chief, Dr. Warren T. Reich of Georgetown University, undertook the task with
the assistance of a distinguished Editorial Advisory Board which included
among its members, Professor Panagiotes Ch. Demetropoulos, Professor of
Ethics and Christian Sociology, Emeritus, at the School of Theology of the
University of Thessalonike, Greece. Numerous scholars of varied disciplines-
medical, legal, historical, scientific, religious, and theological, as well as morals
and ethics were invited to contribute. The articles, arranged alphabetically,
cover a range of subject matter which makes the encyclopedia a self-contained
resource for bioethics. The scope of topics is dealt with on six levels:

1. concrete and legal problems,

2. basic concepts and principles which underlie bioethical questions,
3. ethical theories,
4. religious traditions,
5. historical perspectives, and
6. related disciplines which bear upon bioethics.

'Eastern Orthodoxy' in the Encyclopedia of Bioethics

Two major problems faced the author of the article on the 'Eastern Orthodox
Church' in the Encyclopedia of Bioethics. The first was that there was no
comprehensive literature from an Orthodoxperspective on the subject. What
had been written was spotty and of uneven quality. The traditional ethics
handbooks did provide some guidance, but the very newness of some of the
problems precluded any absolutely clear tradition for many of the questions.
This was related to the second problem. Orthodox Christianity, as its name
implies, not only sees itself and understands itself to be the true Church of
Christ, but it has sought - in its own particular way and style - to serve as the

21
spiritual and moral guide for her people and by extension to speak to all of
mankind regarding the proper and appropriate behavior of persons growing in
the image of God. The very existence of Orthodoxy implies that there must be
a direction and guidance on these topics for the people of God. Consequently,
that direction cannot be arbitrary and unstudied. It must reflect the commonly
accepted faith of the Church and be rooted in the fundamental affirmations of
Orthodox doctrine, reflecting God's revelation to His Church. Only in this sense
can Orthodox Christian ethical reflection come to some conclusions about these
new issues and problems related to bioethics.

In the pages which follow, you will read the first efforts at providing a
comprehensive Orthodox ethical teaching on bioethical questions: the article on
Eastern Orthodoxy in the Encyclopedia of Bioethics. It is offered to the Church,
on the one hand, as the distillation of years of reflection and teaching at Holy
Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts, on
these subjects with the conviction that the positions taken do, in fact, represent
genuinely Orthodox teaching on the issues dealt with. On the other hand, no
one theologian may speak for the whole Church. The Church as a whole, under
the guidance of the Holy Spirit, defines its teaching, both positively and
negatively. So this encyclopedia article should be seen as a studied effort to
present to the Church, for its pastoral guidance, ethical direction in the area of
bioethics. Where it speaks in harmony with the tradition of faith, let it be adopted,
taught and followed. In those places where it may deviate from the rule of faith,
let the consciousness of the Church correct and revise it. In any case, may it
serve to initiate informed intra-Orthodox reflection, discussion and decision. A
first step would be for all Orthodox Church libraries to purchase
the Encyclopedia of Bioethics so as to make this treasure-house of information
readily available to both clergy and laity alike. The bibliographical references
are: Warren T. Reich, Editor in Chief, Encyclopedia of Bioethics. New York: The
Free Press, A Division of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1978.

It is the prayer of the author that the pages which follow will prove to be of some
value in the development of the ethical sensitivity and reflection of the people
of God in reference to bioethical issues, as well as more growth to a conformity
of God's people to the image of God in them.

22
Eastern Orthodox Ethics

Eastern Orthodox Christian ethics bases its ethical judgments on Holy Scripture
and Holy Tradition. Holy Tradition consists of the "mind of the Church" and is
discerned in the decisions of ecumenical and local councils, the writings of the
Fathers of the Church, canon law, and the penitentials (guides for the
administration of the sacrament of Penance).

Issues not directly treated in the ancient sources are dealt with by modem
Orthodox ethicists by seeking to express ethical judgments that are in harmony
with the "mind of the Church." Thus, their writings have a certain provisional
character and are always subject to episcopal, synodical, or general ecclesial
critique. There are occasionally differences of substance in the writings of
modem Orthodox Christian ethicists. By and large, however, responsible
Orthodox ethicists maintain a common ethical stance. Modem issues in
bioethics often require of ethicists that they find parallels in the tradition and,
with the help of reason, deduce new ethical applications from established
doctrinal, historical, and pastoral positions.

Basic doctrine and ethical affirmations

The Eastern Christian doctrinal position tends to be cautious in defining

positively the central affirmations of its faith. It prefers the via negativa, or
"apophatic" method (i.e., saying what is not the case). In ethics, a practice may
be proscribed as not in harmony with the ethos of the faith, but often no positive
solution is offered other than the need for patience and acceptance of the
situation.

Nevertheless, Eastern Orthodox Christianity does avail itself of positive or

"kataphatic" doctrinal and ethical statements. These are taken seriously when
they are normative in character, but not in a rigid, legalistic, or absolute
fashion. All positive statements regarding divine revelation - the Tradition - are
seen as limited and subject to mystery as a necessary dimension of all human
understandings of the divine. In canon law and in ethics this has led to the
practice of "economia," which authorizes exceptions to the rule without
considering the exception a precedent or abrogating the rule. In most cases the
justification for the application of "economia" is the avoidance of greater harm
in the case of the strict application of the rule (Kotsonis). Several key doctrinal

23
teachings have immediate ethical application with specific reference to
bioethical issues.

Theological anthropology.

The humanum of our existence is both a given and a potential. Some of the
patristic authorities distinguish between the creation of human beings in the
"image" of God, and in his "likeness." "Image" is the donatum of intellect,
emotion, ethical judgment, and self-determination. In fallen humanity these
remain part of human nature, albeit darkened, wounded, and weakened. The
"likeness" is the human potential to become like God, to achieve an ever
expanding, never completed perfection. This fulfillment of our humanity is
traditionally referred to as theosis or "divinization." Human beings are in fact
"less than fully human." To achieve theosis means to realize our full human
potential. Ethically, this teaching leads to the acceptance, on the one hand, of
the existence of a "human nature," but, on the other, it clearly does not restrict
our "humanum" to conformity to that nature. The "image" provides a firm
foundation for ethical reasoning. The "likeness" prohibits the absolutizing of any
rule, law, or formulation (Maloney).

Divine energies and human self-determination.

Though God's essence is totally incomprehensible to the human mind, God's

energies are present in every human experience. To speak of divine energies
is to speak of God's actions in relation to the created world. The relationship of
God's energies to human freedom and self-determination has obvious ethical
implications. Orthodox Christianity teaches that, though God is Lord of history,
he does not coerce or force obedience and conformity to his will. Coerced
conformity is dehumanization, whereas fulfilled humanity - which is the
divinization of human life - must be free, since God is free. This raises the
question of Divine Providence and Human Responsibility. Orthodox Christianity
holds these two in paradoxical tension: man is responsible and must act, but
God accomplishes his will, either with or in spite of man's actions. Ideally,
human actions are harmoniously integrated with divine purposes in a perfect
synergy of divine and human wills. This belief is but an extension and
application of the Orthodox doctrine of the divine and human natures in the one
person of Jesus Christ. Ethically, this means that we are not permitted simply
to wait upon God. Rather, we are committed to the exercise of self-

24
determination and responsibility in conformity with both human reality and divine
purpose (Florovsky, pp. 113-120).

Body-spirit.

God is seen as the creator of both the material and the spiritual dimensions of
reality. Eastern Orthodox Christianity sees these aspects of existence as closely
bound together. The icon is an example of this belief. At first sight, the icon
appears to be a stylized artistic representation of a holy figure. Yet the
iconographer's purpose is to capture in form, line, color, and symbol both the
spiritual and the physical reality of the figure. The sacramental use of material
means (such as water, oil, bread, wine, etc.) for spiritual purposes also
illustrates Eastern Orthodoxy's comprehension of the intimate relationship of
matter and spirit, For bioethics, this key concept is important because it leads
to a serious affirmation of the psychosomatic unity of human life. "Body" and
"soul" are the constituents of human existence; the Orthodox emphasis on the
Resurrection confirms its view that human life and human fulfillment are
inextricably bound to both the physical and the spiritual dimensions of human
existence. In more contemporary terms, body and personhood are essential for
the fulfillment of human potential (Antoniades, 1:204-208).

Law, motive, intent.

Based on the above, ethical reasoning in Orthodoxy is a balanced combination

of law, motive, and intent. Moral law is based in large part on the donatum of
human nature. For Eastern Orthodoxy, natural law refers primarily to the
elementary relationships that are necessary for the constitution and
maintenance of human society. For the Fathers of the Church, the Decalogue
is an excellent expression of the natural law common to all men (Harakas,
1964). In a similar yet more flexible pattern, there are modes of behavior that
are either prescribed or proscribed for the lives of Christians growing in the
image and likeness of God toward theosis or full humanity. These positive and
negative injunctions are found in the Holy Scriptures, in the writings of the
Fathers and in the canons of the Church. For the Orthodox these statements
are normative in the sense that they embody the mind of the Church and reflect
standards of behavior that are appropriate and fitting for the members of the
Church and, potentially, for all human beings growing in the image and likeness
of God -for the full realization of personhood.

25
This first level of ethical direction is saved from legalism and rigid prescriptivism
by the fundamental emphasis on love as a motive of action. Grounded
thoroughly on a Trinitarian theology that understands the Holy Trinity first as a
community of persons united in love, the Church teaches that being God-like
means being loving. In general, the commandments - of the moral law are
embodiments of loving concern for the welfare of others. Consequently, in most
situations the loving action is in conformity with the guidelines provided by the
commandments (Harakas, 1970).

The possibility remains open, however, for the exception, i.e., for the exercise
of "economia" when conformity to the prescribed action is perceived as
detracting from the basic intent of all reasoning - the advancement of each
person in community toward the fulfillment of the image and likeness of God.
Thus, both order and compassion are harmonized in an approach to Christian
ethics that seeks to avoid the extremesof legalism and relativism.

Bioethics.

It is convenient to treat the Eastern Orthodox approach to bioethics under two

major rubrics: the protection of life and the transmission of life. Implicit in the
treatment of each of the bioethical issues are the affirmations implied in the
doctrines of the image and likeness, theosis, human self-determination and
responsibility, the intimate bond of body and personhood, and the
interpenetrating relationship of commandment, love, and the realization of true
human potential.

The protection of life.

Orthodox Christian ethical thought universally holds that life is a gift of God and
as such is the necessary prerequisite of all other physical, spiritual, and moral
values. As a gift of God it is a moral good held by the individual and by societies
in trust, and over which they do not have absolute control. Both the individual
and societies, however, are charged with the moral responsibility of protecting,
transmitting, and enhancing life. The concerns of bioethics relate primarily to
the first two of these concerns. Generally speaking, human responsibility for the
preservation of life means that we are not given the right to terminate human
life. Even the exceptions to this rule are understood as arising when conflicting
claims to life become mutually exclusive, and a choice must be made. The
preservation and protection of life are thus seen as crucial in ethical decision

26
making. Since life is the prerequisite of all other this-worldly goods such as
education, intelligence, social worth, and service to humanity, it has an intrinsic
value that may not be violated under normal circumstances.

Health care.

It follows quite logically that thecare of one's own health and societal concern
for public health are moral imperatives (Androutsos, pp. 191-195,
250). Throughout its history, Eastern Orthodox Christianity has concerned itself
sacramentally with the physical health of the faithful. The Sacrament of Holy
Unction has not been conducted as a service of the "last rites." Rather, it is a
healing service conducted both publicly and privately for the faithful. One of the
constituents of the condition of original sin in which man actually finds himself
is sickness. Total harmony of the creation with God would in fact eliminate
sickness and ill health. The spiritual and physical dimensions of health are
closely bound together in Orthodox thought. Thus, it was natural for the priest
and the physician often to be one and the same person (Constantelos, 1967).

The issue of the allocation of scarce medical resources demands a general

principle of distribution. Neither the ability to pay nor an aristocratic criterion of
greater human value or worth is acceptable. Eastern Christianity has always
distinguished between the essential value of human life and social worth. In
spite of the enormous difficulties involved, the ethical imperative from the
Orthodox perspective calls for the widest possible distribution of health care and
life-protecting facilities and resources, rather than a concentration of such
resources for the select few. The famous health care center established by
Saint Basil in the fourth century in Cappadocia of Asia Minor was designed to
reach as many people as possible. It and similar institutions embodied the
Eastern Christian view on health distribution (Constantelos, 1968, chap.11).

Rights of patients.

The understanding that each person is created in the image and likeness of
God with the personal destiny of achieving theosis implies that each patient has
an essential and inviolate dignity as a person. The fact that individuals can
achieve personhood only in community (Unus Christianus, nullus
Christianus), requires the concern of the healthy for the ill. Those who deliver
health care, therefore, do not morally discharge their responsibility by the mere
mechanical application of healing methods and practices. Underlying every

27
medical procedure ought to be a basic respect for the patient as God's image
and likeness. The patient is never a thing. Consequently, medical practitioners
are obligated, within reason and in the light of the patient's well-being, to
maintain confidentiality and to obtain informed consent for procedures that
entail excessive risk. Exceptions and restrictions on this obligation should be
made in the light of the patient's welfare and whenever possible in consultation
with those having immediate responsibility for the patient, e.g., his or her family.

Human experimentation.

For the same reasons articulated in the previous section, the Eastern Orthodox
Christians take a very hesitant stance vis-à-vis human experimentation. Medical
trial and error conducted for the well-being of the patient himself is often
required and necessary. However, the submission of a patient to experimental
procedures without significant regard for his or her direct personal benefit is
wrong. There is no moral obligation of any person to be used by another for the
benefit of a third party. Human self-determination requires that the patient
decide. Such a decision must be based on adequate information regarding the
procedures, ends to be achieved, and risks involved. The patient does not have
the right to inflict harm upon himself unnecessarily. The researcher should use
human experimentation procedures only after all other means of testing have
been exhausted and there is every reasonable expectation of the avoidance of
harm to the subject. In every case, experimenter and subject are morally
obligated to exercise great caution. The hope of benefiting mankind in general
does not outweigh the moral obligation of the protection of the individual life.

Abortion.

Eastern Christianity has a long history of opposition to abortion. Its ethical

teachings as embodied in canon law and in the penitential books, as well as in
more formal ethical instruction, condemn abortion as a form of murder. Because
our humanity is a psychosomatic unity and because Orthodox Christians see
all of life as a continuous and never ending development of the image and
likeness toward theosis and full humanity, the achievement of particular stages
of development of the conceptus is not ethically relevant to the question of
abortion.

In his second canon, St. Basil specifically rules out the artificial distinction
between the "formed" and "unformed" conceptus (The Rudder, pp. 789-790).

28
Thus, any abortion is seen as an evil. Since the physical and the personal
aspects of human existence are understood as essential constitutive elements
of our humanity, the conceptus - unfulfilled and incomplete as it may be - may
not be destroyed under normal circumstances. Eastern Orthodox ethicists reject
as unworthy those counterarguments which appeal to economic and social
reasons and so hold fife to be less valuable than money, pride, or convenience.
Armed with modem genetic information, they also reject the argument that an
abortion may be justified because a woman is entitled to control her own body.
That basic affirmation of self-determination is not rejected; what is rejected is
the claim that the conceptus is a part of the mother's tissue. It is not her body;
it is the body and life of another human being entrusted to her for care and
nurture.

Only in the case in which the life of the mother is endangered by the conceptus
is it morally appropriate to consider the possibility of abortion. Yet, even here,
the main operative value is the preservation of life. Numerous prudential
considerations will be taken into account, though it is likely that the preservation
of the mother's life will most often be chosen. In any case, it falls into the class
of "involuntary sin" in which the evil of the event is recognized, while the
personal guilt is mitigated (Papacostas, pp. 9-13, 83-105).

Organ transplants.

In the case of organ transplants, the crucial ethical considerations are two: the
potential harm inflicted upon the donor and the need of the recipient.
Historically, the Orthodox Church has not objected to similar, though not
identical, procedures, such as blood transfusions and skin grafts. In both cases,
no radical threat to the life of the donor is perceived, and the lifesaving
consequences for the recipient are substantial. Similar considerations affect the
Orthodox Christian judgment of organ transplants. In no case should a person
ignore or make light of the ethical implications of organ donation. Donating an
organ whose loss will impair or threaten the life of the potential donor is never
required and is never a moral obligation of any person. If the condition of health
and the physical well-being of the donor permits, some transplants are not
objectionable. Renal transplants are a case in point. A healthy person may
consent to donate a kidney knowing that his or her health is not thereby
impaired.

29
The recipient of an organ transplant ought to be in otherwise good health, and
there should be a substantial expectation of restoration to normal living in order
to warrant the risk to the donor.

Heart transplants present a special case. Objectively they are different from
other sorts of organ transplants because they presupposed the death of the
donor. Though some Orthodox hierarchs have objected to heart transplants
because the "heart" is often designated in the devotional literature of the Church
as the seat of the soul, most have not responded negatively to heart transplants
in principle. However, caution has been expressed regarding the temptation to
hasten the death of the donor for the sake of the recipient. Also, so long as this
procedure does not yet have a high success rate, it is morally questionable to
continue its practice until the phenomenon of tissue rejection is better
understood.

Drug addiction.

The use of stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens for any purpose other
than the restoration of health or the alleviation of abnormal pain, when properly
and legitimately prescribed by a physician, is condemned; but Orthodox ethics,
because of its teaching on "involuntary sin," is able to recognize the evil of the
condition of drug addiction and yet also recognize that the essence of the evil
is that personal self-determination has been lost, and with it a large measure of
personal responsibility. Orthodox texts often refer to sinful conditions as
"sickness" and "illness." In the case of drug addiction the cure is the restoration
of self-determination In the Orthodox view, the judgment that drug addiction and
alcoholism are evil and sinful, on the one hand, and the judgment that they are
illnesses, on the other hand, are not mutually exclusive. This is not to say, of
course, that every sickness is the result of individual voluntary sins, a position
specifically denied by the Orthodox doctrine of original sin.

Mental health: values, therapies, institutions.

At the heart of the Eastern Orthodox Christian approach to mental health is the
understanding of human wholesomeness in the doctrine of theosis. True and
full human well-being is the consequence of our proper relationship with God
(Demetropoulos, pp. 155-157). Mental health is one dimension of this total
relationship. Since no individual human being perfectly achieves this
relationship, it may be noted that, just as we are all in some measure "less than

30
fully human," in the same manner we are all in some measure lacking in full
mental health. The Orthodox concept of repentance or metanoia implies a
change of mind, a transfiguration and transformation of the human mind. What
is significant is that the teaching of the spiritual Fathers of the Eastern Church
emphasizes the need for constant repentance on the part of every human being
in the direction of his human goal and destiny.

Some recent studies have related traditional spiritual methodologies to standard

psychotherapeutic theories, methods, and approaches (Faros). There are
differences, of course, but there is also a remarkable number of parallels to be
found between the ancient spiritual disciplines and modern schools of
psychology.

Orthodox ethics sees the mentally ill as fellow human beings who need
compassionate assistance. Therapies that degrade their essential humanity
and attitudes that dehumanize the mentally ill in the eyes of society and deny
assistance, relationship, and therapeutic support are in themselves immoral
and dehumanizing.

Aging.

In the ethical consciousness of the Church, respect and deference for the
elderly, and especially for elderly parents, is an important moral responsibility.
There is a strong feeling that children ought personally to care for their aged
parents. It is only when circumstances are such that it is truly impossible for
children to care for their aged parents that they may be placed in appropriate
institutions for care. Such institutions have long been a part of the Eastern
Orthodox Church's social mission (Constantelos, 1968, chap.13).

Death, dying, and euthanasia.

The traditional definition of physical death is "the separation of soul and body."
Such a definition is not subject to objective observation. Thus it is not within the
province of theology to determine the medical indications of death and the onset
of the dying process. However, in reference to the terminally ill person, certain
distinctions can be made. Physical life is generally understood to imply the
ability of the person to sustain his or her vital activities. Physical death begins
when interrelated systems of the body begin to break down. Death occurs when
the systemic breakdown becomes irreversible. It may well be that physical life

31
and death are events in a continuum in which it is impossible to discern when
the dying process actually begins. Nevertheless, the bias of the Church and the
traditional bias of the medical practitioner (cf. Oath of Hippocrates) is to do
everything possible to maintain life and hinder the onset of dying and death.
The medical use of drugs, surgical operations, and even artificial organs
(mechanical kidneys, lungs, hearts, etc.) are considered legitimately used when
there is a reasonable expectation that they will aid the return in due time to
normal or close to normal functioning of the whole organic system.

The special case arises in that it is now medically possible to keep the body
"alive" with a complex array of artificial organs, medications, transfusions, and
the like. Under these conditions it may not be feasible to expect, with any degree
of probability, the restoration of the organic functioning of the body. When,
especially, there is no evidence of brain activity in conjunction with the systemic
breakdown, we can safely say that the patient is no longer alive in any religiously
significant way, and that, in fact, only certain organs are functioning. In such a
case there is no moral responsibility to continue the use of artificial, means. It
is of interest that the Prayer book of the Eastern Orthodox Church includes a
whole service devoted to those in the process of dying. In the case of the
individual whose death is prolonged and attended by much "struggling to die,"
the key sentence in the prayer calls upon God to separate the soul from the
body, thus giving rest to the dying person. It asks God "to release your servant
(name) from this unbearable suffering and this continuing bitter illness and grant
rest to him" (Mikron Euchologion, p. 192).

However, it must be emphasized that this is a prayer directed to God, who, for
the Orthodox, has ultimate dominion over life and death. Consequently, the
preceding discussion in no way supports the practice of euthanasia. Euthanasia
is held by some to be morally justified and/or morally required to terminate the
life of an incurably sick person. To permit a dying person to die, when there is
no real expectation that life can sustain itself, and even to pray to the Authorof
Life to take the life of one "struggling to die" is one thing; euthanasia is another,
i.e., the active intervention to terminate the life of another. Orthodox Christian
ethics rejects the alternative of the willful termination of dying patients, regarding
it as a special case of murder if done without the knowledge and consent of the
patient, and suicide if it is permitted by the patient (Antoniades, II, pp. 125-127).
One of the most serious criticisms of euthanasia is the grave difficulty in drawing
the line between "bearable suffering" and "unbearable suffering," especially

32
from an Eastern Orthodox perspective, which has taken seriously the spiritual
growth that may take place through suffering (Rom. 8:17-39).

Ethical decision making is never precise and absolute. The principles that
govern it are in a measure fluid and subject to interpretation. But to elevate
euthanasia to a right or an obligation would bring it into direct conflict with the
fundamental ethical affirmation that as human beings we are custodians of life,
which comes from a source other than ourselves. Furthermore, the immense
possibilities, not only for error but also for decision making based on self-serving
ends, which may disregard the fundamental principle of the sanctity of human
life, argue against euthanasia.

Generally speaking, the Orthodox Church teaches that it is the duty of both
physician and family to make the patient as comfortable e as possible, to
provide the opportunity for the exercise of patience, courage, repentance, and
prayer. The Church has always rejected inflicted, and unnecessary voluntary
suffering and pain as immoral; but at the same time, the Church also has
perceived in suffering a positive value that often goes unrecognized in the "logic
of the world."

The only "eu-thanasia" (Greek for "a good death") recognized in Orthodox
ethics is that death in which the human person accepts the end of his or her life
in the spirit of moral and spiritual purity, in hope and trust in God, and as a
member of his kingdom. True humanity may be achieved even on a deathbed.

The transmission of life.

Orthodox Christian ethical thought considers that the transmission of human life
is no less a fundamental responsibility of mankind than its protection. The
Church sees this aspect of its concern as the divinely chosen means by which
human beings contribute cooperatively in God's creative work. The
transmission of human life is thus a holy and sacred moral responsibility. This
responsibility is a generally human one and is taken up, sanctified, and made a
part of the corporate life of the body of Christ in the Sacrament of Holy
Matrimony. Though not the only purpose of marriage, the transmission of
human life is an important duty and moral responsibility. This is readily seen in
the fact that if each and every person now alive failed to contribute to the
transmission of human life, it would be only a matter of time until human life
would be extinguished from the face of the earth. The divine injunction "to be

33
fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:28) is a fundamental moral imperative in the
teaching of the Orthodox Christian Church. It is within this larger framework that
we approach the specific issues of human sexuality, fertility control, population,
artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, andgenetic screening and counseling.

Human sexuality.

The Church teaches that human sexuality is a divinely given dimension of

humanlife that finds its fulfillment in the marital relationship. This is also
supported by empirical observation, for at their very biological basis, sexual
differences clearly exist for reproductive purposes. Because of the fact that
human reproduction requires a long period of time for the newly born child to
achieve a level of development permitting physical self-care, and increasingly
long periods for social, educational, emotional, and economic maturity, the
human race long ago recognized the need for some kind of permanent
relationship of the sexes for the purpose of serving the reproductive purpose.
That permanent relationship is marriage.

However, the purpose of marriage is not limited or restricted to this aspect

alone. The purposes of marriage and their ranking in importance are a point of
difference among Orthodox authorities (both patristic and contemporary), but
scriptural and patristic evidence argue for at least four purposes for marriage,
without ranking them in order of primacy:

1. the birth and care, of children,

2. the mutual aid of the couple,
3. the satisfaction of the sexual drive,
4. growth in mutuality and oneness, i.e., love.

In the mixture of these purposes, the whole purpose of human sexuality is

fulfilled and completed, ethically and humanly (Constantelos, 1975).

Ethical corollaries of this position are:

1. all the dimensions of human sexuality are properly fulfilled in marriage, and
the married have the moral obligation to seek the enrichment and fulfillment
of their marriage in all of its aspects, as indicated above;
2. premarital sexual relations between unmarried persons are sinful and as
such are labeled fornication;

34
3. sexual relations between two persons, at least one of whom is married to a
third person, are morally evil and as such are labeled adultery;
4. sexual relations between persons for payment is sinful and is labeled
prostitution;
5. sexual relations between brothers and sisters, parents and children, and
other close relatives are morally wrong and as such are labeled incestuous;
6. sexual relations between persons of the same sex are immoral and as such
are labeled as acts of homosexuality in the case of males, and lesbianism in
the case of females;
7. sexual relations between a human being and animals are condemned as
immoral, being labeled acts of bestiality;
8. autoerotic activity is adjudged as an improper expression of human
sexuality, and as such is labeled masturbation.
Fertility control.

Fertility control, or contraception, is the practice by which mechanical, chemical,

or other means are used, either before or after a sexual act, in order to prevent
fertilization of the ovum by the sperm, thus circumventing the possible
consequences of the sexual act - the conception and ultimate birth of a child.

General agreement exists among Orthodox writers on the following two points:

1. since at least one of the purposes of marriage is the birth of children, a

couple acts immorally when it consistently uses contraceptive methods to
avoid the birth of any children, if there are not extenuating circumstances;
2. contraception is also immoral when used to encourage the practice of
fornication and adultery.

Less agreement exists among Eastern Orthodox authors on the issue of

contraception within marriage for the spacing of children or for the limitation of
the number of children. Some authors take a negative view and count any use
of contraceptive methods within or outside of marriage as immoral (Papacostas,
pp. 13-18; Gabriel Dionysiatou). These authors tend to emphasize as the
primary and almost exclusive purpose of marriage the birth of children and their
upbringing. They tend to consider any other exercise of the sexual function as
the submission of this holy act to unworthy purposes, i.e., pleasure-seeking,
passion, and bodily gratification, which are held to be inappropriate for the
Christian growing in spiritual perfection. These teachers hold that the only
alternative is sexual abstinence in marriage, which, though difficult, is both

35
desirable and possible through the aid of the grace of God. It must be noted
also that, for these writers, abortion and contraception are closely tied together,
and often little or no distinction is made between the two. Further, it is hard to
discern in their writings any difference in judgment between those who use
contraceptive methods so as to have no children and those who use them to
space and limit the number of children.

Other Orthodox writers have challenged this view by seriously questioning the
Orthodoxy of the exclusive and all-controlling role of the procreative purpose of
marriage (Zaphiris; Constantelos, 1975). Some note the inconsistency of the
advocacy of sexual continence in marriage with the scriptural teaching that one
of the purposes of marriage is to permit the ethical fulfillment of sexual drives,
so as to avoid fornication and adultery (1 Cor. 7:1-7). Most authors, however,
emphasize the sacramental nature of marriage and its place within the
framework of Christian anthropology, seeing the sexual relationship of husband
and wife as one aspect of the mutual growth of the couple in love and unity.
This approach readily adapts itself to an ethical position that would not only
permit but also enjoin sexual relationships of husband and wife for their own
sake as expressions of mutual love. Such a view clearly would support the use
of contraceptive practices for the purpose of spacing and limiting children so as
to permit greater freedom of the couple in the expression of their mutual love.

Population.

There would appear to be a direct contradiction between the ethical imperative

to "be fruitful and multiply" and the need to respond ethically to the "population
explosion."

Those few Orthodox writers who have addressed themselves to this question
ask if the issue is not so much a question of population as it is one of the fair
and just distribution of the world's resources. (Papacostas; Gabriel Dionysiatou;
Evdokimov, pp. 163-174). However, in the light of strong evidence that food and
mineral resources are limited, population control is, without question, of ethical
significance. This is not necessarily in conflict with the Orthodox teaching on
marriage. Of interest in this instance is a fourth-century quotation from St. John
Chrysostom, made in reference to the purpose of marriage, which the saint
considered to be primarily the satisfaction of the sexual drive:

36
It was for two reasons that marriage was introduced so that we may live in
chastity [sophrosyne] and so that we might become parents. Of these the most
important reason is chastity . . . especially today when the whole inhabited world
[he oikoumene] is full of our race [John Chrysostom].

If overpopulation in the saint's eyes was a fact of the fourth century providing
an argument to support his views on marriage, it implies that today the fact of
overpopulation continues to have ethical significance. If it is true that humanity
has in fact been obedient to the divine command and has been "fruitful" and
has "multiplied" and has "filled the earth" (Gen. 1:28), then it would appear that
this has ethical significance.

Thus, it seems valid to raise the question, within the context of Orthodox ethics,
of the appropriate means of population control. Orthodox ethics disapproves of
any means of population control that would violate and coerce the individual
couple's choice regarding their obligation to procreate. It opposes the use of
those means on a large scale that it opposes in individual cases, i.e., abortion.
Those Orthodox teachers who oppose contraceptive practices of any nature,
when faced with the facts of population pressures, are placed in the position of
proposing widespread abstinence from sexual relations by huge numbers of
people. Those who hold to the legitimacy of a reasonable use of contraceptives
within marriages that have produced some offspring are prepared to accept the
need and propriety of population control through educational methods,
encouraging smaller families through contraceptive methods. All Orthodox
ethicists, however, would hold that respect for the freedom of each couple to
decide must be considered an important and significant factor of population
control policy.

Artificial insemination.

For obvious reasons, artificial insemination of unmarried women, or of married

women without the consent and cooperation of the husband, is rejected by the
Orthodox, in the first instance as a form of fornication, and in the second as
duplicity and a form of adultery (Galanopoulos, pp. 455-456). What of the cases
in which the husband gives his permission or urges the procedure upon his
wife? In this situation, when a donor's semen is used, Orthodox ethicists readily
view it as the intrusion of a third person into the sacred marital relationship and
reject it as a form of adultery not ethically appropriate. In the instances in which
the couple is not able to bear their own children, the other purposes of marriage

37
remain in effect, and the marriage of the couple continues to be both valid and
fulfilling. Such a couple may decide to adopt children.

In the case of insemination with the husband's sperm (AIH), there are differing
opinions. Some ethicists hold that AIH is also improper because the child is not
conceived as a result of natural sexual intercourse (Constantinides). This
position, however, does not prohibit medical treatment of the husband for the
correction of some medical defect that may be the cause of the failure to achieve
conception. This view is countered by the consideration that the integrity of the
marital relationship is not attacked by AIH. Rather, one of its main purposes is
permitted to be fulfilled. It is questionable if the ethical argumentation
connecting AIH with the requirement for the physical act of sexual intercourse
is drawn from Eastern Orthodox sources.

Orthodox writers have not dealt with artificial inovulation and in vitro fertilization
procedures. It would seem consistent, though, to hold that, so long as the sperm
and ovum are those of the husband and wife, and the wife carried the child to
term, such procedures would not in themselves be objectionable. However, egg
grafts from anonymous donors and the transplantation of a fertilized ovum to a
foster mother who would then carry the conceptus to term would attack the
integrity of the marriage and the mother-child relationship.

Another topic that has received little treatment from Orthodox writers is
sterilization: vasectomy in the case of the male and tubal ligation in the case of
the female. It would appear that the irreversible character of these procedures
would cause most Orthodox to see them as a violation of one of the purposes
of marriage, though it is conceivable that some cases involving serious threat
to the life of the wife might justify the procedures. Obviously, the use of the
operation to permit promiscuous sexual living would be rejected out of hand by
Orthodox ethicists (Zozos).

Genetic counseling and genetic screening.

At first glance it may appear that the Eastern Orthodox Church has little or
nothing to say on genetic counseling and screening. Yet genetic counseling,
which seeks to provide information to prospective parents before a child is
conceived, simply makes more precise that which the Church has sought to do
through its canon law, which prohibits marriages between closely related
persons (The Rudder, pp. 977-999).This ancient compendium of prohibitions to

38
inbreeding clearly has its historical antecedents in the observation that genetic
defect-, tend to multiply when inbreeding takes place. Consequently, it would
appear that genetic counseling most appropriately should take place before
marriage. It seems equally clear that for the Orthodox the option of abortion is
not ethically appropriate when amniocentesis indicates some genetic
deformation.

Genetic screening of whole groups or populations to determine carriers of

genetic disease would also be encouraged by Orthodox ethics, so as to provide
as much information as possible to persons before marriage. Ethical prudence
would cause two persons who are carriers of the same genetic disease not to
marry, thus avoiding the high probability that deformed children would be born
to them.

In this way, what is more or less crudely effected through the Church's rules
regarding prohibited marriages because of consanguinity would be
accomplished more accurately through scientific genetic screening. In the same
spirit it would be possible to support legislation prohibiting marriage between
two carriers of the same genetic disease, especially in the case of a disease
that is widespread and a threat to the total human genetic pool.

Conclusion

The common denominator of all the issues discussed is the high regard and
concern of the Church for human life as a gift of God. Orthodoxy tends to take
a conservative approach to these issues, seeing in them a dimension of the
holy and relating them to transcendent values and concerns. An intense respect
for human life is needed to hold the reins upon those who would attack it. The
human person, from the very moment of conception, is dependent upon others
for life and sustenance. It is in the community of the living, especially as it relates
to the source of life, God in Trinity, that life is conceived, nurtured, developed,
and fulfilled. The trust we have in others for the continued well-being of our own
lives forms a basis for generalization. Eastern Orthodox ethics, consequently,
functions with a pro-life bias that honors and respects the life of each person as
a divine gift, which requires development and enhancement.

39
Bibliography

ANDROUSTOS, CHRISTOS. Systema ethikes [Ethical system. 2d ed.

Thessalonike, Greece: Basil Regopoulos Publishing House, 1964.

ANTONIADES, VASILEIOS. Encheiridion kata Christon ethikes [Handbook of

Christian ethics]. Constantinople: Fazilet Press, 1927.

BASIL, SAINT; RALLE, G. A.; and POTLE, M. Syntagina ieron

hanonon [Compendium of sacred canons]. Athens: Hartophylakos Press, 1854,
vol. 4, pp. 88-294.

CONSTANTELOS, DEMETRIOS J. Byzantine Philanthropy and Social

Welfare. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1968.

______. Marriage, Sexuality and Celibacy: A Greek Orthodox

Perspective. Minneapolis, Minn: Light and Life Publishing Co., 1975.

______. "Physician-Priests in the Medieval Greek Church." Greek Orthodox

Theological Review, Winter 1966-1967, pp. 141-153.

CONSTANTINIDES, CHRYSOSTOM. "Technike gonimopoiesis kai theologia."

[Artificial insemination and theology]. Orthodoxia 33 (1958): 66-79; and 34
(1959): 36-52.

DEMETROPOULOS, PANAGIOTES. Orthodoxos Christianike

ethike [Orthodox Christian ethics]. Athens: 1970.

EVDOKIMOV [EVDOKMOFF], PAUL. Sacrement de I'amour: Le Mystere

conjugal a la lumiere de la tradition orthodoxe. Paris: Editions de l'Epi, 1962.
Greek ed. Mysterion tes agapes [Mystery of love). Translated by Serapheim
Orphanos. Athens: 1967.

FAROS, PHILOTHEOS. "Mental Patients and Verbal Communication of the

Religious Message." Theologia 42 (1971): 602-606.

FLOROVSKY, GEORGES. Bible, Church, Tradition: An Eastern Orthodox

View. Belmont, Mass.: Nordland Publishing Co., 1972.

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GABRIEL DIONYSIATOU. Malthousianismos: To englema tes
genoktonias [Malthusianism: The crime of genocide]. Volos: Holy Mountain
Library, 1957.

GALANOPOULOS, MELETIOS. Systema ieras exomologetikes [A study of

penitential practice]. Athens: Orthodox Source Books, 1954.

HARAKAS, STANLEY S. "The Natural Law Teaching of the Eastern Orthodox

Church." Greek Orthodox TheologicalReview, Winter 1963-1964, pp. 215-224.

______. "An Orthodox Christian Approach to the 'New Morality'." Greek

Orthodox Theological Review, Spring 1970, pp. 107-139.

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM. "Eis to apostolikon reton: Dia de tas porneias ekastos

ten heautou gynaika echeto" [On the words of the apostle: Concerning the
fornication each has with his own wife]. Patrologiae cursus completus:
Seriesgraeca [Patrologia Graeca]. 161 vols. Paris: Apud Gamier Fratres,
editores & J.P. Migne Successors, 1857-1894, vol. 51, cols. 207-218, at Col.
213.

KOTSONIS, JEROME. "Fundamental Principles of Orthodox Morality." The

Orthodox Ethos: Studies in Orthodoxy. Edited by A. J. Philippou. Oxford:
Holywell Press, 1964.

MALONEY, GEORGE A. Man, The Divine Icon: The Patristic Doctrine of Man
Made According to the Image of God. Pecos, N.M.: Dove Publications, 1973.

MANTZARIDES, GEORGE. Christianike Ethike: University Lectures.

Thessalonike, Greece, 1975.

Mikron euchologion, e aghiasmatarion [Shorter prayer book]. Athens:

Apostolike diakonia tes ekklesias tes Ellados, 1956.

PAPAKOSTAS, SERAPHEIM. To zetema tes teknogonias: To demographihon

problema apo Christianikes apopseos [Question of the procreation of children:
The demographic problem from a Christian viewpoint]. Athens: Brotherhood of
Theologians "Zoe," 1933, 1947.

The Rudder. Translated by D. Cummings. Chicago: Orthodox Christian

Educational Society, 1957.
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WARE, TIMOTHY. The Orthodox Church. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1972.

ZAPHIRIS, CHRYSOSTOM. "The Morality of Contraception: An Eastern

Orthodox Opinion." Journal of EcumenicalStudies 11 (1974): 677-690.

ZOZOS, CONSTANTINE. "The Medical, Legal, and Moral Aspects of

Sterilization." Ekfrasis, Spring 1974, pp. 33-54.

SACRAMENT OF UNCTION OF THE

SICK

"Is anyone among you sick ? 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 ."

James 5:13

The Sacrament of the Unction of the Sick is one of the holy Seven Sacraments of the
church, through which the sick who are faithful, are healed from psychological and

42
physical diseases. The priest anoints the person with the holy oil from which they
obtain the grace of remedy from God.

It is called the 'sacrament of Lamps", for the early Christians used to place oil in a
lamp, from which hung seven other lamps. Each lamp was lit at the beginning of
every prayer. This rite still exists, however, the seven lamps were replaced by seven
wicks, made from cotton wool, which sit in a plate of oil. The number seven signifies
the seven spirits of God, which are mentioned in the Book of Revelation (Revelation
3:1). The Spirit of God dwells and sanctifies the oil in order to heal those anointed by
it. It is advisable that the wicks be placed in the sign of the cross, in the plate of oil.

Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted this Sacrament when He said to His disciples: "Heal
the sick, cleanse the leper" (Matthew 10:8), and, "Whatever city you enter, and they
receive you, heal the sick who are there, and say to them, "The Kingdom of God has
come near to you"" (Luke 10: 8-9). For the Lord Jesus came that we may have life,
and that we have it more abundantly (John 10:10), so He healed the sick, raised the
invalid, opened the eyes of the blind, purified the lepers and the lame, after having
saved them and forgiven them their main cause of sickness, which is sin. "Jesus went
about doing good and healing all those who were oppressed by the devil" (Acts
1:38), as Malachi prophesied about Him saying, "But to you who fear My Name, the
Son of Righteousness shall rise with healing in His wings" (Malachi 4:2). Our fathers
the Apostles practiced it according to the orders of their Master, as the Bible says, 'so
they went out and preached that people should repent. And they cast out many
demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them" (Mark
6:12,13).

Our teacher St. James advised the believers to practice this Sacrament when they are
sick, and to ask healing from God, who says, "I am the Lord who heals you" (Exodus
15: 26). Also, David the Psalmist thanks God saying, "Bless the Lord, O my
soul....Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from
destruction" (Psalm 103: 1-4), and, "O Lord my God, I cried out to You and You
have healed me" (Psalm 29:20), and also the prayer of Jeremiah the prophet: "Heal
me O Lord, and I shall be healed" (Jeremiah 17:4). For this reason, St. James
advises us, "Is anyone among you is sick, 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 will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him
up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven" (James 5:13,14).

The priest is the one who prays, and it is God who heals, for the sacrament is not a
person's work but the work of God.

43
The Necessity of Confessing before partaking of the Sacrament of the Unction of the
Sick

The Sacrament of Unction of the Sick, with all its beautiful associated prayers,
provides for the healing of the soul, which in turn provides cure for bodily ailments.
This is because of the strong link between the soul and the body, and if the soul is
sick, the body will likewise suffer. For this reason, the Church always asks her
children to firstly repent from their sins, so that the spirit and the soul will
consequently be healed.

When the Lord Jesus Christ, glory be to Him, healed the lame man at Bethsaida, who
had been sick for 38 years, He said to him: 'sin no more, lest a worse thing come
upon you" (John 5:14). This implies that his illness was due to sin. Likewise, when
the people lowered the paralytic man down from the roof top on a stretcher, the first
words the Lord said to him was: "Your sins are forgiven", then, "Arise, take up
your bed and walk" (Matthew 9:2-6). The Lord Jesus manifested that the cause of
sickness was sin, and declared that the soul should be healed by repentance in order
for the body to also be cured of any physical ailments. There is no objection of
course, for calling a doctor when one is sick, but it is of great importance that the
priest is called as that he may carry out the Sacrament of the Unction of the Sick, and
through faith, the sick will be healed, for God never abandons those who hope in
Him.

A patient who relies only on medicine, denies himself the ability of God to heal him,
just like King Asa, of Judah: "Asa became diseased and his malady was very
severe, yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians" (2
Chronicles 16:12-13), who was contrary to the good King Hezekiah who was close to
death, and prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly until the Lord sent Isaiah the prophet
to him saying: "Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father, I have heard
your prayer, I have seen your tears, surely I will heal you. On the third day you

44
shall go up to the house of the Lord. And I will add to your days fifteen
years" (2 Kings 20:1-6).

The Church is not against medical healing, but approves ...

The Church completely rejects her patients seeking the psychics for healing, for this
would mean that they rather the healing of the devil and deny the power and healing
of God. For a person to seek the assistance of psychics means that they are totally
and completely abandoning and denying Christianity. Our teacher St. Paul says
about those people: 'some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving
spirits and doctrines of demons" (Timothy 4:1). We read in the Old Testament
about King Ahaziah who fell sick and sent messengers to inquire of Bel-Zebub, the
god of Ekron. Along the way, they were met by Elijah the prophet who said to
them: "Thus says the Lord, is it because there is no God in Israel, that you are
going to inquire of Bel-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus says the
Lord, "You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but
you shall surely die"" (2 King 1:2-4), and so Ahaziah died.

The Church is not against traditional medicine, but in fact supports it and approves it
for the purpose of healing. It is also important to remember that all medicine is
comprised of certain herbs, which God created for the benefit of human kind: "God
created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the
truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is
received with thanksgiving" (1 Timothy 4:3,4). The Lord said, through Jeremiah the
prophet: "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is
there no recovery for the health of the daughter of my people?" (Jeremiah
8:22). Hence, it is important for doctors to be consulted when one is sick, and to take
medicine for physical healing.

In the book of Joshua, there is much said about doctors and medicine :

Give the physician his dignity, for the Lord created him.

Medicine comes from on high.

God created medicine from the earth and the wise man does not hate it.

My son do not neglect yourself if you get sick, but pray to the Lord who heals
you. Refrain from all iniquities and make straight your deeds. Purify your heart from
sin ... then make a place for the physician, as the Lord created him and will not leave
you when you need him. (Joshua Bin Sirakh 38:1-15).

Most of the medicines used by doctors are herbs and plants of the earth, produced
by God for human benefit, as the Psalmist says: "Who makes grass to grow on the

45
mountains. He gives the beast its food and to the young ravens that cry" (Psalm
147:7).

When Hezekiah, King of Judah was recovering, the Lord ordered him to use natural
remedies saying, "Let them take a lump of figs and apply it as a poultice on the
boil, and he shall recover" (Isaiah 38:21), and the boil was the ulcer that King
Hezekiah was recovering from.

The physician may advise the patient to rest, in order for them to have a quick
recovery, just as Joshua advised: 'severe sickness is gone by sleep" (Joshua 31:2),
but most of all, it is necessary to plead to God in order for them to receive healing
and the regaining of health (Joshua 38:14)

When the priest visits the house of the sick to perform the Sacrament of the Unction
of the Sick, it reveals the church's love and care for her children in that the Church is
emotionally sharing in the trials with the family. The church forms a bond with the
family so that they become one body. Hence, if the family is suffering, the church
suffers with them. This is a generous gesture by the church, and one that the faithful
would not forget. For this reason, the family will become more and more attached to
the church.

For the sick to benefit from the Sacrament of Unction of the Sick, it is necessary that
they firstly confess, and then receive the Holy Communion as soon as possible
afterwards. Hence, they will actually be partaking of three Sacraments, for their
spiritual and physical healing.

The most appropriate time for carrying out the Sacrament of Unction of the Sick is
early in the morning, when everyone is still fasting (that is, the priest, the sick person,
and other members attending). The priest must fast for nine hours beforehand, and
the sick person for six. In extreme cases, however, when medicine is to be taken at
regular intervals, the priest may give the sick person absolution to abstain for a lesser
period of time.

The priest must pray all of the seven prayers of the sacrament, for it is not proper for
him to shorten any of the prayers, as this is against the Apostolic orders which were
inspired by the Holy Spirit, and recorded in the Church's books.

The order of the prayers of the Unction of the Sick are very old and traditional.
Church history mentions that St. Epifanius, Bishop of Cyprus, wrote and organized
these prayers. In addition, St basil confirms that the "Kandeel Prayers" were well
known in the Church from the early days (Canon 91).

46
 The Priest's duties during accomplishment of the Sacrament of
Unction of the Sick

He accomplishes this sacrament in faith and hope that God will heal the sick. The
priest is not only performing a church rite, but he is also praying with the spirit.

He must long for the salvation of the sick person, and for his bodily healing, so he
prays out of care and love, and not out of force or pressure.

He cares to accept the confession of the patient in private, before performing the
sacrament, to enable the sick person to be granted the forgiveness of sins as well as
psychological healing, and hence enable the sick to be cured physically also.

As long as the priest's time and health permits, he should not neglect or postpone
any appointment to perform this Sacrament, regardless of whether the sick is rich or
poor.

The priest should continue caring for the needs of the sick person, until he is cured.

The priest must be fasting before performing the Sacrament, and he must indicate to
the relatives of the sick person how important it is that they also be fasting before
performing the Sacrament of the Unction of the Sick.

As the Kandeel oil is holy oil, upon which the Holy Spirit came, it is important not to
leave it sitting in the dish in case it is accidentally spilled. The priest should ensure
that the oil, after prayers, is placed in a small bottle, and that the dish is wiped with
cotton wool and burnt together with the cotton wicks which were used during the
Kandeel prayers, before he leaves the house.

47
 The patient's duties during accomplishment of the Sacrament of
Unction of the Sick

The sick person and his relatives must have strong faith in the work of God in this
sacrament, just like the two blind men who had strong faith that Christ would heal
them (Matthew 9:28), and the faith of Jairus (Luke 8:50), and the faith of the father
who had an epileptic son (Mark 9:23), and the faith of the friends of the paralytic man
(Matthew 9:2), and the faith of the bleeding woman (Luke 8:48).

The sick must have faith and confidence in the priest, just as he has trust in his
doctor.

The sick person must practice the Sacrament of Confession before partaking in the
Sacrament of Unction of the Sick, and he must receive the Holy Communion as soon
as possible afterwards. All Sacraments must begin with Confession and conclude with
Holy Communion ...

An adult who is baptized should confess before Baptism, and receive Holy
Communion after it.

An adult who is sick should confess before the Kandeel Prayers, and receive Holy
Communion after it.

A couple getting married should confess before Matrimony, and receive Holy
Communion after it.

In the occasion of any priestly ordination, confession is obligatory before ordination,

and Holy Communion received at the end of the ordination mass.

The sick must fast beforehand for as long as he can, as well as those attending

The sick must be clean in body and clothing, ready for the Sacrament.

The sick must promise God to live his whole life in His fear, His love and service, just
like Simon Peter's mother-in-law (Matthew 8:15), and like Mary Magdalene (Mark
15:40). As St. Paul said: "That those who live should no longer live for themselves
but for Him who died for them and rose again" (2 Corinthians 5:15).

The sick must thank God after recovery, for His grace and providence.

Why is it that sometimes the sick does not recover after the Sacrament of
Unction of the Sick?

48
At times the sick person may not recover quickly after the Sacrament or may take a
long time to heal, and at times the sick person may even die. There are many reasons
for this, of which some are ...

Lack of faith of the sick person, just like the people of Nazareth: "The Lord Jesus did
not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief" (Matthew 13:58).

He may not be worthy of being healed due to his evil doings and reluctance to
repent and return to God, who says, "Return, you backsliding children, and I will
heal your backsliding" (Jeremiah 3:22).

Sickness may result in death, and death is the great recovery and salvation from all
bodily pains.

Sickness may be for chastisement and God may abolish it when its purpose is
accomplished, just like Job who was sick for seven years. Likewise, Moses" sister
Miriam, was struck by leprosy when she spoke badly against Moses. Then Moses
prayed for her saying: ""Please, heal her, O God, I pray!" and the Lord said to
him, "Let her be shut out of the camp seven days, and after that she may be
received again"" (Numbers 12), that is, healed from leprosy.

At times a person may not recover from, his illness, and this is divine wisdom, which
we cannot understand or interpret: "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom
and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past
finding out" (Romans 11:33). St Paul had a thorn in his side and prayed for God to
heal him, but the Lord refused, saying, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength
is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). God worked amazing miracles by
the hands of St. Paul, 'so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his
body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them."

RITE OF THE SACRAMENT OF UNCTION OF THE SICK

When the priest comes to perform the Sacrament of Unction of the Sick, he must
wear an Epitrachelion (priestly vestment), as he will be accomplishing two

49
Sacraments together; the Sacrament of Confession and the Sacrament of Unction of
the Sick.

During confession, which must take place before the Sacrament of the Unction of the
Sick, the sick person confesses honestly and with true repentance, promising to walk
with God after his recovery, and striving never to return to sin. Then the priest reads
the absolution for him, after giving him advice, guidance and spiritual exercises
which may be needed for his spiritual growth. The priest then advises him to receive
the Holy Communion as soon as possible after the Sacrament of the Unction of the
Sick.. If he is too sick to go to Church, the priest can bring him the Holy Communion
at home.

After Confession, all the family gathers to attend the Sacrament of Unction of the
Sick and partake in its spiritually interesting prayers, once the censer has been filled
with hot coals.

On the table is placed a dish which contains some pure oil (preferably olive oil) with
seven pieces of cotton wool shaped like wicks. Each wick is lit at the start of each
prayer. Also needed for accomplishing the Sacrament, is incense, a prayer book, and
a box of matches.

The priest stands facing the East, and the sick is seated before him in reverence,
facing the west; his body and clothing must be clean. The rest of the family members
stand around the priest.

The priest then starts the seven prayers of the Kandeel.

THE FIRST PRAYER

The priest lights the first wick of the Kandeel.

The Kandeel commences with the Lord's Prayer.

The priest prays the "Thanksgiving Prayer", and the deacon and family members
respond accordingly. The priest then places five spoonfuls of incense in the censer,
with three signings of the cross, and then raises incense in the four directions, as
usual.

All in attendance pray Psalm 50, "Have mercy on me O God."

50
The priest says the "Prayer for the Sick" : "Remember O Lord the sick of Your people
... heal them, take away from them and from us all sickness ... As for us also, O Lord,
the maladies of our souls heal them, and those of our bodies too, do cure us, O You,
the true Physician of our souls and our bodies ... visit us with Your Salvation, by the
grace ...".

These are deeply spiritual prayers where the priest asks God to heal the soul, body
and spirit, as He is the hope of those who are hopeless, the help of those who are
helpless.

The priest begins praying, "O You, who gave Your grace to Your pure Apostles, O
You the Lover of Mankind, ... rescue us from the sicknesses of the soul and body,
when Your priests anoint them, as You said by Your disciple ..." (James 5:14,15).

Each prayer of the Kandeel is divided into four parts. Each part concludes with the
following : "Through the intercessions of the Theotokos, Saint Mary", and the
attendants respond, "Lord have mercy."

NOTES:

Every quarter ends requesting the intercession of St. Mary, and this indicates the
great appreciation and hope the Church has in St Mary's intercession, through our
God and Savior Jesus Christ.

At the end of every quarter, the attendants respond, "Lord have mercy" , asking God
for mercy and forgiveness of their sins. Asking mercy from God is very acceptable
before Him, and very important: "Because Your loving kindness is better than
life" (Psalm 63:3). The priest says a glorification prayer beginning with: "God is light
and lives in light, praised by angels of light..."

Then the priest prays the following litany while making the sign of the cross on the
oil, at every quarter, and those in attendance respond with, "Lord have mercy" ...

"We ask God for the heavenly peace" ... "Lord have mercy."

"We ask God for the sanctification of this oil" ... "Lord have mercy."

"We ask God for the sanctification of this house and those who dwell in it" ... "Lord
have mercy."

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"We ask God for the sanctification of our Christians fathers and brothers" ... "Lord
have mercy."

"We ask God for the blessings of this oil and its sanctification" ... "Lord have mercy."

"We ask God for Your servant (...name*)" ... "Lord have mercy." *The priest mentions
the name of the sick person, and lifts his heart to God to heal him.

Then the priest completes the prayer until the end. On the oil, the priest says a silent
prayer: "O merciful Lord, healer of our souls and bodies sanctify this oil to become a
healing from the profanity of soul and sufferings of body for whoever is anointed by
it. To glorify Your holy name, glory and salvation be to You, we send You glory,
honor and dominion, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit."

Through the sick person's recovery by prayers, the name of the Lord will be glorified
and people's faith will be encouraged.

One of the attendants reads the Catholic Epistle of St. James (5:10-20), which
includes beneficial instructions for the sick ...

The priest's invitation to pray for those who are sick: "Is anyone among you sick? 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 will save the sick, and the Lord
will raise him up" (James 5:14-15).

The necessity of Confession before the Kandeel. "And if he has committed sins, he
will be forgiven" (James 5:15), for repentance and confession heal the spirit, and
provides the way for physical healing.

The necessity of enduring tribulation, just like our fathers the prophets, such as Job
and many others.

The necessity of praying when in trouble and when suffering: "Is anyone among you
suffering? Let him pray" (James 5:13).

The power of earnest, fervent prayers, such as those of Elijah the great prophet (5:16-
17).

The attendants sing the hymn of "Agios" (Holy God), which is the angelic heavenly
praise of the Cherubim.

The priest prays the Litany of the Gospel, after placing a spoonful of incense into the
censer. An attendant then reads the Psalm and Gospel.

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"O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger ... O Lord heal me for my bones are
troubled" (Psalm 6:1,2)

The Gospel reading is taken from John (5:1-17), and speaks about the paralytic man
who was sick for 38 years. He lay on his bed being abandoned by all, however, the
Lord did not leave Him, but went to him and healed him: "Rise, take up your bed
and walk" (John 5:8).

The church wants to enliven the spirit of hope and faith in the heart of the sick
person, even if he has been sick for a long period of time. The Lord will not leave
Him, even if He delays. We must have patience and endurance, and be thankful at all
times to God.

The priest says the Three Major Litanies:

Prayer for Peace of the Church, for the Lord to preserve the church, as it is the
body of Christ, and we are members in this body. The Church's peace is peace for us
all.

Prayer for Fathers of the Church, we ask God to grant them power and wisdom for
the leadership of the church, and correct interpretation of the word of truth.

Prayer for the Congregations, so that all our gatherings, whether they be spiritual
or educational, may be granted without obstacle or hindrance. The priest also prays
for blessings upon the house of God where he is praying : "Houses of prayer; Houses
of purity; Houses of blessings, grant them unto us O Lord."

All recite the Orthodox Creed declaring their faith in the Holy Trinity, for faith is the
foundation of healing.

The priest says a certain prayer which includes various supplications ...

Healing for the sick : "Lord, grant Your servant (...name ) healing."

Forgiveness of his sins : "Lord, forgive him his sins, whatever he may have committed
during his life."

We ask healing from the Almighty God, who purified the lepers, and healed the
daughter of the Canaanite woman, and raised from the dead the daughter of Jairus,
and the son of the widow, and Lazarus.

The Church asks for the healing of the sick person, but surrenders the whole matter
to God : *"If You wish to raise him from sickness some time later, grant him help to
endure without complaint ... and if You want to receive his spirit, may this be by the

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hands of luminous angels who rescue him from the devils of darkness." (* It is
preferable to say this statement inaudibly, so that the sick person is not affected).

The Church teaches us to completely surrender ourselves to the will God, just as our
beloved Lord Jesus Christ did with His Father : "Father, take this cup away from
Me, nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will" (Mark 14:36).

THE SECOND PRAYER

The priest lights the second wick.

The Second Prayer commences with the Lord's Prayer.

The priest then prays the Litany for the Travelers, so that the Lord may graciously
accompany them in their journeys, by His angel. May God be a partner with us in all
that we do, so that all our deeds may be good deeds. If a person does not have any
goodness and his deeds are not righteous, they cannot expect God to accompany
them or help them, for as St. Paul says: "And have no fellowship with the
unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them" (Ephesians 5:11). The
Litany of the Travelers is said while the priest is offering incense.

The Pauline Epistle to the Romans is then read: "We then who are strong ought to
bear with the scruples of the weak..." (15:1-7). The reading is :

An invitation for the strong members of the family to bear the sick in love, and
without complaint.

An invitation for the sick to bear their illness with patience, and hence not lose the
blessing of endurance.

An invitation for the believers to be like-minded towards one another in love, so that
God may be glorified.

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Then the Trisagon of glorification is sung.

The priest says the Litany of the Gospel, while raising incense, and one of the
attendants reads the Psalm and the Gospel. The Psalm is read on behalf of the sick,
as if they are crying out to the Lord to hear his prayer, and the Gospel from St John
tells the story of the repentance of Zacchaeus, in order to encourage the sick to
repent from all sins, and learn to give in order to be granted salvation: "Hear my
prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come to You. Do not hide Your face from me in
the day of my trouble, incline Your Ear to me" ... "Today salvation has come to
this house...for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was
lost" (Psalm 101:1-2 and Luke 19:9)

The priest then says the following supplications :

 "O Lord ... who accepts the repentants..."

"Who said, "The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out"" (John 6:37)

 "Who forgave the adulteress" sins..."

 "Accept Your servant and forgive his sins, for sins many times result in illness,
and their forgiveness gives health to the spirit and the body...."

 "Keep him for the rest of his life following in Your Commandments."

It is very important for the sick person to be convinced and promise to live with God
in righteousness and holiness after his recovery, for he must know that his recovery is
a gift from God, just like when God added fifteen years to the life of Ezekiah the
King. So that together with St. Paul, the sick person may declare: "And the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and
gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20) and healed me from my sickness and pain.

THE THIRD PRAYER

The priest lights the third wick.

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The Third Prayer commences with the Lord's Prayer.

The priest prays the Litany of Waters, or Plants, or Fruits, according to the season.

- From 12 Baounah to 9 Babah, the Litany of Waters is prayed

- From 10 Babah to 10 Tubah, the Litany of Plants is prayed

- From 11 Tubah to 11 Baounah, the Litany of Fruits and Airs is prayed

The Pauline Epistle is read from 1 Corinthians (12:28-13:1-18), which speaks about
the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and then goes on to explain the most excellent way that
all Christians should follow, which is love. St Paul says, "Love suffers long, does not
envy, does not parade itself, is not puffed up, does not rejoice in iniquity", such
as in seeing people sick, but hopes the best for all people, whether it be recovery,
success, and blessings.

Then the Trisagon of glorification is sung.

The priest then says the Litany of the Gospel, while raising incense. The Litany of the
Gospel is said seven times during the Rite of Unction of the Sick, as well as the
following repeated seven times : "Those who are sick heal them, for You are the life of
us all, the salvation of us all, the hope of us all, the healing of us all and the
resurrection of us all." An attendant then reads the Psalm and the Gospel : "O Lord,
do not rebuke me in Your wrath, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure, for
Your arrows pierce me deeply, and Your hand presses me down" (Psalm 37:1-
2). It carries the Psalmist's grievance of the heavy chastening of God which might
come as sickness or tribulation, and asks for relief. He does not refuse the
chastisement of God but asks for His mercy without anger. The Gospel is read is from
the Gospel of St Matthew, which speaks about the mission of the twelve disciples
sent to preach and institute of the Sacrament of Unction of the Sick. The Lord Christ
said to His pure Apostles, "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast
out demons, freely you have received, freely give."

NOTES:

The service of Unction of the Sick is given free, so that even the poor can call the
priest to perform the Sacrament when they are sick.

However, those who are willing to give a gift to the church may do so at another
time, as a thanksgiving offering, but not as wages for the priest.

The priest prays the following supplications, where he :

Asks forgiveness of sins of the sick person, and all those attending, including himself.

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Asks the Lord to guide us and help along the path which leads to eternal life, and not
eternal condemnation.

Asks the Lord to heal and fortify the sick person's body and intentions, so that he
does not return to sin and fall sick again.

Asks the Lord to hear his plea, and heal and have mercy on His servant, in the same
way as the Lord heard Ezekiah in his misery, and did not reject his supplication.

THE FOURTH PRAYER

The priest lights the fourth wick.

The fourth Prayer commences with the Lord's Prayer.

The priest prays the Litany of the Leaders.

NOTES:

The order of Prayers is the same as those in the Baptismal Rite and Laqqan :

1. The sick
2. Travelers

3. Waters

4. Leaders

5. The Departed

6. Oblations
7. Catechumens
The Pauline Epistle to the Romans is read, which speaks about enduring pain without
complaint, in order to be granted the crown of long sufferance: "For I consider that
the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:14-21), and, "For our light affection,
which is put for a moment is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17).

NOTES:

The sufferings we face are often a means by which God cleanses us from our sins and
iniquities, and when we are cleansed, we proceed forth into eternity, just like gold
that has been purified by fire.

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Then the Trisagon of glorification is sung.

The priest then says the Litany of the Gospel, while raising incense, which is then
followed by the Gospel reading by an attendant. "Have mercy upon me, O God,
according to Your loving kindness, according to the multitude of Your tender
mercies, cleanse me from my sin..." (Psalm 50:1-2). This is a cry of a suffering
person who is aware of their sin, and begging the Lord for mercy and forgiveness of
his sins, for the healing of his body and spirit. The Gospel is from St Luke, which tells
of the mission of the seventy disciples in preaching and healing the sick: "Heal the
sick who are there, and say to them: The Kingdom of God has come near
you." The reading also confirms the Institution of the Sacrament of Unction of the
Sick, as commanded and established by the Lord Jesus Christ to His apostles.

The priest prays the following supplications, where he :

1. Asks God, who is the physician of the sick, to heal our sicknesses and forgive
our iniquities.

2. Asks God to accept the repentance of the sinners and heal their illnesses.

3. Asks God to heal and forgive the sick person, and grant health to his body. He
also asks God to comfort him and relieve him from all his sufferings and sorrows.

4. Believes in the power of the almighty Lord, who is able to do all things.

5. Asks God to provide refuge for the repentants, hope for the hopeless, and
comfort for those in tribulation.

THE FIFTH PRAYER

The priest lights the fifth wick.

The fifth Prayer commences with the Lord's Prayer.

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The priest prays the Litany of the Departed, so that the Lord may repose their souls
and have mercy upon them.

The Pauline Epistle to the Galatians (2:16-20) is read, which speaks about the
necessity of strong faith in Jesus Christ, which is well pleasing to Him. A person must
be crucified with Christ, in terms of putting to death all lusts and passions which
cause him to perish, and thereby rise with Christ and be granted the joys of eternal
life.

Then the Trisagon of glorification is sung.

The priest then says the Litany of the Gospel, while raising incense, which is then
followed by the Gospel reading by an attendant: "Bring my soul out of prison that I
may praise Your name. The righteous shall surround me, for You shall deal
bountifully with me" (Psalm 141:7). The suffering patient cries to the Lord to bring
him out of the prison of sickness, so he may thank Him and praise Him, and glorify
Him for His providence. The Gospel from St John (14:1-9), tells about how the Lord
comforts the sick by saying, "Let not your heart be troubled...". In complete
surrender, the Church teachers her children that, even after repentance if a person
dies, they will be granted the inheritance of eternal life, for the Lord Jesus said: "In
my Father's house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I
go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself that
where I am, there you may be also." This is the goal and the climax of a person's
struggle in this life, eternity with Christ.

Christ asks us to keep His Commandments, so that they may keep us from falling
into sin, and so guarantee us eternal life. In the story of when the rich young man
asked the Lord Christ, "What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" The Lord
answered him, "You know the Commandments..." (Mark 10:17-18).

God gives us His Holy Spirit the Comforter who comforts and encourages us in all
our tribulations, sicknesses, and sorrows so that we are able to endure trials
gratefully, and without complaint.

The priest prays the following supplications, asking the Lord to :

 "Heal Your servant (...name) from his sickness"

 'save him from all evil"

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 "Raise him to be healthy and well by Your mercy, so that he may thank You and
glorify You, together with all Your people in Your Church, from whom he has been
deprived of because of his illness, and so being well, he will abide in Your church
all the days of his life."

THE SIXTH PRAYER

The priest lights the sixth wick.

The sixth Prayer commences with the Lord's Prayer.

The priest prays the Litany of the Oblations.

The Pauline Epistle to the Colossians (3:12-17) is read, which tells of the Apostle Paul
urging us to be adorned by the virtues of tender mercies, humbleness, meekness,
long-suffering, forgiveness, love, peace, thanksgiving, and praise, so that we may be
as saints without blemish.

Then the Trisagon of glorification is sung.

The priest then says the Litany of the Gospel, while raising incense, which is then
followed by the Gospel reading by an attendant: "Hear me when I call, O God of
my righteousness! You have relieved me when I was in distress. Have mercy on
me and hear my prayer" (Psalm 4:1). The Gospel is then read from St Luke, which
tells the story of the sinful woman who repented and washed the feet of the Lord
Jesus with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head. Christ forgave her
and gave her peace and joy instead of grief and worry, which was caused by sin. This
Gospel presents a living example of true repentance so the sick person may learn
and present a pure living repentance, so that they may be granted forgiveness of
sins, and peace in their spirit. The saints often refer to repentance as being "the
mother of life".

The priest says the following supplications, whereby he asks the Lord to :

 "Remember Your servant (...name) by Your mercy"

 "Visit him with Your salvation"

 "Take away from him all sickness"

 "Grant him back to Your Church (from which he has been deprived of because
of sickness), and make him healthy, and grant healing in soul, body and spirit"

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 "Raise him up from sickness so that he may glorify You, and witness to Your love
and providence."

NOTES:

The sick person must thank God for healing him, and tell of how much the Lord has
done for him. He must serve God and the church, just as St Peter's mother-in-law
served Christ after he healed her: "...So He stood over her and rebuked the fever,
and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them" (Luke 4:39).

THE SEVENTH PRAYER

The priest lights the seventh and final wick.

The seventh Prayer commences with the Lord's Prayer.

The priest prays the Litany of the Catechumens.

The Pauline Epistle to the Ephesians (6:10-18)) is read, which tells of how the sick
must be strong in their hope, and should not allow illness to weaken their faith. Hope
in healing is half the recovery, so, "My brethren be strong in the Lord and in the
power of His might ... Take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand ..." and St Peter warns
us, "For the devil your adversary walks about like a lion, seeking whom he may
devour" (1 Peter 5:8), and the devil will devour those who are fainthearted and in
despair. Therefore, pray always, and hope that your prayers will be granted that the
Lord gives you spiritual and physical healing.

Then the Trisagon of glorification is sung.

The priest then says the Litany of the Gospel, while raising incense, which is then
followed by the Gospel reading by an attendant: "Look on my affliction and my
pain and forgive all my sins...Oh, keep my soul and deliver me. Let me not be
ashamed for I put my trust in You" (Psalm 24:17-18). This psalm reflects the feeling
of those who are ill. He is asking the Lord not to reject him because he has his trust
in the Lord, for He promised us saying, "Because he has set his love upon Me,
therefore I will deliver him. I will set him on high because he has known My

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name. He shall call upon Me and I will answer him. I will be with him in
trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and
show him My salvation" (Psalm 91:14-16). The Gospel which is read from St
Matthew (6:14-18), advises those who are sick to forgive others the trespasses done
against him, so that the Lord may also forgive them and consequently healed them
of their illnesses, which may have been caused by sin. As the Lord said to the
paralytic man, "Your sins are forgiven; Arise take up your bed and go to your
house" (Matthew 9:2-6).

The priest supplicates unto the Lord to, 'see Your servant (...name), and raise him
from the bed of his sickness."

Then the priest says the prayer of the laying on of hands. Here the priest places the
cross on the sick person and prays the following supplication: "...Not by the laying on
of our hands on his head, we who are Your sinful priests, but rather we entreat the
forgiveness of his sins by the holy hand of this Gospel ... accept the repentance of your
servant (...name)."

Then the following supplication is prayed: "Heal Your servant (...name) from his
physical illness and grant him a correct life which glorifies and gives thanks to Your
greatness, O lover of mankind..."

NOTES:

It is so important for a person to live a correct life, without blemish or blame. How
excellent for him to have the complimenting aspects of strong Orthodox faith, and a
virtuous life.

The priest prays the Orthodox Creed over the oil. After each part, the attendants
respond, "Glory be to the Father ... Now and forevermore, Amen." This is followed by
the "Gloria" and the Lord's prayer. Then the Orthodox Creed is said, followed by
"Lord have mercy" chanted 41 times.

NOTES:

It is very important that the sick person declares his Orthodox faith, for this is
pleasing to God, for, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him" (Hebrews
11:6). Faith is important for our healing as the Lord Jesus said to Jairus who's
daughter Christ healed, "Do not be afraid, only believe, and she will be made
well" (Luke 8:50). Also, the Lord said to the two blind men who asked Him to open
their eyes: "Do you believe that I am able to do this?...then He touched their
eyes" (Matthew 9:28), and to the father who asked Christ to heal his sick son, the
Lord said, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes" (Mark
9:23).

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It is also important that the sick persevere in asking for God's mercy, by repeating
"Lord have mercy" 41 times, so that God will have compassion on him, forgive his
sins, and heal his psychological and physical illnesses.

The praise of the Cherubim is said: "Holy, holy, holy..." followed by the Lord's prayer.

Then the priest prays the three Absolutions :

1. "Lord, who has given authority ..."

2. "You, O Lord, who bowed the heavens ..."

3. "Master, Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son and Logos of God the
Father ..."

He requests absolution and forgiveness for the sick person, from the compassionate
and merciful God.

The priest says the Blessing and concludes with the Lord's Prayer. First he anoints
the sick person with oil with a cross on his forehead, chest and hands ...

1. The forehead is anointed because being the head, it is the center of the
senses and thoughts.

2. The chest is anointed because it contains the heart, for King Solomon
said, "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of
life" (Proverbs 4:23).

3. The hands are anointed because they are the instruments of work and deeds.

The priest anoints the person with signs of the cross, in the name of the Holy Trinity,
who sanctifies and blesses all things.

The attendants are anointed by oil in the same manner, under one condition - that
they are fasting. The woman who is menstruating should not be anointed by oil.

The sick person must receive Holy Communion as soon as possible, after partaking in
the Sacrament of Unction of the Sick, for Holy Communion is the essence of life.

The sick person must endeavor to anoint himself with the oil for seven consecutive
days, believing in the power of God, and the power of prayer. This perseverance
shows his faith in the effectiveness of the Sacrament, and his obedience to the
church rite. Faith and obedience are essential ingredients for recovery. Just as the
sick preserve in taking medicine for their recovery, so too must they be diligent in
anointing themselves with oil.

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NOTES:

A question always arises: How should the holy oil remaining after the Sacramental
Rite and anointment, be treated?

Answer: The priest may take the remaining oil and leave a little oil in the dish for the
patient to anoint himself for seven consecutive days, as specified in the Rite of
Sacrament of Unction of the Sick. Seven, being a perfect number, and so the sick
person's diligence to anoint himself with the oil, proves his faith in the effectiveness
of the Sacrament of Unction of the Sick, and his care and obedience for Church
orders. This ritual is effective, and helps the sick to recover through the power of the
Holy Spirit.

Sometimes every house of the believers keep a special bottle in which to place the oil
of the Sacrament of Unction of the Sick, as a continuous blessing in the home. It is
kept in a safe place so that the oil does not spill, and is used only when necessary.

After completion of the Sacrament of Unction of the Sick, the priest must filter the oil
from the seven wicks by pressing them strongly, then the cotton wicks must be
burned so that they are not trodden on. He then empties the remaining oil from the
dish into a bottle, which has been kept for only that purpose, and wipes the
remaining oil on the dish with cotton wool. The cotton is then burned together with
the wicks.

No unbeliever should be anointed by the oil of Unction of the Sick, as it is holy

sacramental oil given only to the baptized. If a non-believer asks to be anointed, a
common oil is brought and the priest makes the sign of the cross on it three times,
prays the Litany of the Sick, and then anoints the sick person.

No one should be anointed directly after Holy Communion, as Holy Communion is

the perfection and seal of all Sacraments.

We notice in the Rite of the Sacrament of Unction of the Sick, that there are a great
quantity of readings from the Holy Bible (7 Pauline, 7 Psalms, and 7 Gospels, apart
from all the prayers and supplications). If the sick person is attentive to the prayers,
these readings and prayers are a great source of consolation, patience, endurance,
peace, and comfort, as well as providing the gift of healing that is accomplished in
God's time. The sick person then feels he can surrender himself to God, and so his
feelings of worry and anxiety are replaced with peace and calm, for "Whatever
things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the
patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope" (Romans 15:4).

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 General Kandeel on the last Friday of Lent

It is a known fact that all sacraments are accomplished in the Church, with the
exception of the Sacrament of Unction of the Sick as the sick may be too weak to
come to church so the priest officiates it in the home. However, once a year the
Church performs this Sacrament in the Church, and it takes place on the last Friday of
the holy Lent (that is, the Friday before Passion Week). It is called the "General
Kandeel".

The General Kandeel serves the purpose of :

Reminding people of the importance and significance of the Sacrament of Unction of

the Sick, for the healing of every believer.

Serving all those believers who have not called the priest privately at home.

Anointing all the believers prior to Passion Week, for it is not permissible to perform
the Sacrament of Unction of the Sick during the Holy Week, because the Church
cares for the prayers of this great week and concentrates its prayers and
contemplations on the passion of Christ and the blessings of the mystery of
redemption and act of salvation. Hence, the General Kandeel must take place before
the holy Passion week, just as in the same way the General Funeral takes place
following the Palm Sunday Mass and prior to the Pascha prayers. As no funeral rites
are allowed to take place during Passion Week, for the above mentioned reasons, the
church performs the General Funeral so that if anyone passes away during Passion
Week, they would have already been prayed on.

The General Kandeel is performed in the Second Chorus between the raising of
morning incense, and the holy Mass of the last Friday of Lent.

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The Church chooses this particular time of performing the rite at the end of Lent,
because all the believers are reaching their spiritual climax, through abstinences,
attendance at the holy Masses, and partaking in many prayers. The prayers of the
rite are powerful, therefore at this particular time of the year, because even the Lord
Jesus confirmed that, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and
fasting" (Mark 9:29).

Prayers of the General Kandeel are performed in the plural forms, hence, instead of
the priest saying: "Lord heal Your servant (...name), he says: "Lord heal Your attending
servants."

At the end of the General Kandeel all the congregation are anointed with the oil of
Sacrament of Unction of the Sick. Firstly, the priests anoint each other, then they
anoint the deacons, and then the congregation. Then prayers begin for celebrating
the last holy Mass in Lent.

NOTES:

As the anointing must always take place before the holy Mass and not after, if
anyone came to Church after the anointing, the priest may anoint them before the
Mass. Anointing may take place after the Mass, but as long as those who are being
anointed have not had Holy Communion.

Officiating the Sacrament of Unction of the Sick in homes during Holy Lent

Some believers are accustomed to asking the priest, during the Holy Lent, to perform
the Sacrament in their homes, as a means of blessing, even though they may not
have a family member sick and in need of the Sacrament of Unction of the
Sick. Because so many people request this, the priests are obliged to visit the homes,
but because of time constraints, are unable to perform all seven payers. Therefore
they only end up praying one or two of the prayers in each home. They are also
obliged to perform the Sacrament any time of the day or night, even if people are
not abstaining from food. All these practices are incorrect, and must be stopped
because :

The Sacrament of Unction of the Sick must be performed for a person who is
genuinely sick and in need of this sacrament.

The priest must pray all of the seven specified prayers of the Sacrament of Unction of
the Sick, as seven is a perfection number and the seven readings and seven prayers
have effective power. Even David the Prophet said, 'seven times a day I praise
You" (Psalm 119:164). The prayers, being God's word, pierce the heart like arrows,

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making them effective and powerful in a person's life. The Apostle Paul said: "For the
word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword,
piercing even the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a
discernment of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).

In order for the prayers and readings of the word of God to be fruitful, they must be
done reverently and without hurry or abbreviating.

The priest and the person who accepts the Sacrament must be abstaining from food
for certain hours before accomplishing the Sacrament. Hence, performing the
Sacrament in the early morning whilst people are still fasting, is the most appropriate
time.

Many people consider that the priest coming to the house is a blessing, especially
during the period of Lent, which is a time of spiritual revival. They consider that the
priest visiting the house is a way to encourage the household to continue in praying
and fasting, and always practice the Sacrament of Repentance and Confession. There
is no objection to the priest visiting and blessing homes, but there is no need for him
when doing this to pray part of the prayers of the Unction of the Sick. Instead, he
should pray the ritual prayers of "Blessing the House"; prayers which ask the Lord to
dwell within the house and keep the members of the household from all evil. The
Prayer of Blessing of the House, resembles one of the prayers of the Sacrament of
Unction of the Sick.

PRAYER OF BLESSING HOMES

It can be done at any time, in the homes of the believers. It is not a necessary
requirement, however, that the members of the household, and the priest fast, for
this rite is not a Church sacrament.

This Prayer can be done at any time, and as often as people like. This prayer is not
just restricted to those with new homes, but all people, as a source of blessing in the
home.

The prayer itself is not very long, and this is helpful for the priest who may need to
pray this blessing in several homes. The priest can say this prayer at any time because
abstinence is not necessary.

If the priest is called to bless the home during Holy Lent, he may pray the Prayer of
Blessing the House. A jug of water is necessary during the prayers, so that the priest
can pray upon it and at the end of the prayer, bless the household and the house
with the water as a blessing. The priest may also anoint the members of the
household with the oil of Sacrament of Unction of the Sick (a bottle which he keeps),
if they are abstaining from food, but if the prayer takes place at night and the

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household are not fasting, then the priest may anoint them with any simple oil, (from
a bottle which he keeps), or from a small plate of oil placed near the water and was
present during the Prayer of Blessing Homes. Hence, the oil and water becomes
sanctified through prayer and the word of God.

The Prayer of Blessing the House is powerful and a great source of blessing, for it
asks the Lord Jesus Christ to dwell in the home and bless it according to His promise
: "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the
midst of them" (Matthew 18:20).

The Prayer of Blessing the House strongly resembles the Prayer of Unction of the
Sick, and there are certain prayers from the Prayer of Unction of the Sick that are
used in the Prayer of Blessing the House.

Following the prayers, the priest sprinkles the holy water which had been prayed
upon, on the household members, and throughout the house.

THE RITE OF THE PRAYER OF BLESSING HOMES

The family places a jug of water on the table beside which the prayers will take place,
and coals are heated for placing in the censer.

Then facing east, the priest begins prayers with the Lord's Prayer, followed by the
Prayer of Thanksgiving. The deacons and household members respond accordingly.

Whilst the Verse of Cymbals is sung, the priest places five spoonfuls of incense into
the censer, and proceeds around the house and its rooms, raising incense.

Psalm 50 "Have mercy upon me O God" is prayed, followed by the priest placing
more incense into the censor and prays the Litany for the Sick, asking the Lord to
heal any illness members of the household may have, and to grant them at all times
psychological, physical and spiritual health, "O You the true physician of our souls and
bodies, who looks after all people, visit us with Your salvation..."

The priest then prays the Prayer for the Catechumens : "Again let us ask God the
Pantocrator, the Father of our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ, we ask and entreat
Your goodness, O Lover of Mankind, remember O Lord the Catechumens of Your
people, have mercy upon them. Confirm their Orthodox faith in You..."

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The members respond, "Lord have mercy". Then the priest completes the rest of the
Prayer: "Uproot all traces of idolatry from their heats. Your law, Your fear, Your
commandments, Your truths, and Your holy precepts, establish in their hearts. Grant
that they know the steadfastness of the preaching they have received. And in the set
time may they be worthy of the washing of the new birth for the remission of their
sins; as You prepare them to be a temple of Your Holy Spirit, by the grace,
compassion and love of Your Only Begotten Son..."

The following supplications are prayed :

"O Lord, Holy God, fearful and glorified in all His deeds with unperceivable power,
whose judgments are unsearchable, who created heaven by His word and fixed earth
on water, who settled the mountains by measure, and the hills by scales ... We ask
You Lord to hear us and have mercy upon us" Members respond, "Lord have mercy."

"You who assigned to the sea its limits and fixed islands and great waters, who
touches mountains and they smoke. We ask You our Lord to bless this place which
Your servant (...name) chose for his dwelling ... We ask You Lord to hear us and have
mercy upon us" Members respond, "Lord have mercy."

"O You who are clothed with light, who stretched out the heavens like a tent and
made the waters above the firmament ... We ask You our Lord to hear us and have
mercy upon us" Members respond, "Lord have mercy."

"O You who founded the earth and created the waters and separated them from the
dry land by Your great power. We ask You our Lord bless this home which Your
servant (...name) chose for his dwelling and have mercy upon us" members respond,
"Lord have mercy."

"O Lord God of hosts, healer of all sickness and all maladies, look down from Your
heavens and respond to our supplication and bless Your servant (...name), and this
place he chose for his dwelling. Take away from him all intrigues of devils and cast
away from him all unclean evil spirits and rebuke them. We ask You our Lord to hear
us and have mercy upon us" Members respond, "Lord have mercy."

"O You who sits upon the Cherubim and looks to the depths. Before whom trembles
the angels, archangels, principalities, powers, authorities and thrones. You who is
feared by the heavens and the earth and the seas. Lord bless Your servant (...name)
and all his works, accomplish it by success, grace and blessing. Make his path
straight in Your pleasure and end his days in goodness and righteousness, through
the intercessions of the Virgin Theotokos and all the martyrs and righteous

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saints. We ask You Lord to hear us and have mercy upon us" Members respond,
"Lord have mercy."

Then the following praise is sung in the "Adam Chant" : "God is light, and lives in
light, and is praised by the angels of light, Light shone from Mary, and Elizabeth
delivered the forerunner. And the Holy Spirit awakened David saying, "Rise and
praise for the light shone." So David arose and took his spiritual harp, went to the
Church, the house of angels and praised the Holy Trinity saying, Through Your light
we see light, let Your mercy come to those who know You ... O True light, that
enlightens every man that comes into the world. You came to the world because of
Your love to mankind, and all the creation rejoiced at Your coming. You saved Adam
from temptation and our mother Eve from the pangs of death, You granted us the
Spirit to be Your children. We praise and bless You with the angels. Truly You are
blessed O You Christ our God, with Your good Father and the Holy Spirit, for You
have come and saved us."

After each supplication, the priest makes the sign of the cross, and the household
members respond saying, "Lord have mercy."

 "We ask You O Lord for the heavenly peace..." "Lord have mercy."

 "We ask You O Lord for this home and its sanctification..." "Lord have mercy."

 "We ask You O Lord for our Pontiff Pope ... , and his partners in the Apostolic ministry,
our metropolitans and bishops and all the clergymen..." "Lord have mercy."

 "We ask You O Lord for this city of ours..." "Lord have mercy."

 "We ask You O Lord for the healing of the sick and all those who are affected by
unclean spirits..." "Lord have mercy."

 "We ask You O Lord for those who are traveling, whether by sea, rivers, lakes, roads
or by any other means..." "Lord have mercy."

 "We ask You O Lord for the air of heavens, the blessings of the Nile waters, and the
fruits of the earth..." "Lord have mercy."

 "We ask You O Lord to visit the whole world with Your mercy..." "Lord have mercy."

 "We ask You O Lord for the repose of all the souls of our fathers, and brethren who
are reposed in the Orthodox faith..." "Lord have mercy."

 "We ask You O Lord for our Oblations and those who have offered them, and those
by whom they have been offered, and those offered for them, and for those who desire
to offer to You but cannot..." "Lord have mercy."

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 "We ask You O Lord for the grace of purification, by the act of the Holy Trinity..." "Lord
have mercy."

 "We ask You O Lord for this water to become healing for souls and bodies and spirits,
and for casting out all power of the adversary..." "Lord have mercy."

 "We ask You O Lord for those in need of help and power from God..." "Lord have
mercy."

 "We ask You O Lord for our steadfastness in the Orthodox faith..." "Lord have mercy."

 "We ask You O Lord for keeping us in Your holy hand, through the intercession of our
Lady and pride of humankind, the Theotokos and pure St. Mary, and all the martyrs
and saints..." "Lord have mercy."

The hymn of the "Golden Censer" is sung, followed by, "We kneel before You...".

The Pauline Epistle to the Romans (8:14-21) is read. "For as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, these are Sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage
again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out "Abba,
Father". The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
and if children then heirs - heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer
with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of
this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the
revealing of the Son of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly,
but because of Him who subjected it in hope, because the creation itself also will be
delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of
God." "The grace of God the Father be with you all. Amen."

The Trisagon of glorification is sung, followed by the Litany and reading of the
Gospel, "Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come to You. Do not hide Your face
from me in the day of my trouble. Incline Your ear to me, In the day that I call,
answer me speedily" (Psalm 101:1-2). Gospel according to St Luke... "Then Jesus
entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named
Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who
Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran
ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that
way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him:
"Zacchaeus, make haste and come down for today I must stay at your house." But
when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man
who is a sinner". Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half
of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false
accusation, I restore fourfold". And Jesus said to him: "Today salvation has come to

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this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to
seek and to save that which was lost." Glory be to God forevermore, Amen."

Then the following supplication is prayed: "O Lord our Savior, who accepted entering
the house of Zacchaeus and granted salvation to him and to all those in his
house. Keep now Your servants who live in this house, from every harm, preserve
them without falling, by the prayers and supplications lifted to You by us and them,
through us the unworthy servants. Bless their dwelling in this house and guard their
lives without temptation, for to You is every glory, honor, dominion and worship, O
Father, Son and Holy Spirit now and unto the end of ages. Amen."

The priest prays the three Major Litanies of Peace, the Fathers, and the
Congregations, followed by the Orthodox Creed.

The priest then says the following supplication: "O our Lord and God, great in His
thoughts and splendid in His deeds, the creator of all the visible and invisible
creation, who keeps His covenant and mercy to those who love Him with all their
hearts, those who keep His covenant and commandments. Who accepts the tears
and has compassion on those in tribulation. For this reason You were incarnated as a
servant, to grant healing to our bodies. Who said to the paralytic man, 'see you
have been made well. Sin no more." You who spat on the ground and made clay
with the saliva, and anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and told him to
wash. You granted him the light of vision by Your word. You who shook the rocks of
the torment of the adversary, You silenced the waves of the sea of this world, and
calmed the heavy waves of lusts, You O lover of mankind and King, who granted us
to be clothed in a white garment made from water and spirit, now send Your grace
that purifies us from suffering, by receiving this water and sprinkling it on us and our
houses, our possessions and our properties. Yes O good Lord, visit us in our sickness
and heal the maladies of our souls and bodies through the intercession of the
Theotokos, the pure St Mary, and by the power of the honorable Cross, and
supplications of the heavenly hosts and Your martyrs and saints and Cross-bearers.
Amen."

NOTES:

The priest prays for the healing of the whole family from every sickness and
weakness.

The priest prays for the home and the city according to the words of Jeremiah the
prophet: "And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away
captive, and pray to the Lord for it, for in its peace you will have peace" (Jeremiah
29:7).

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In the Pauline Epistle to the Romans, the Church asks the members of the family to
walk in the Spirit, not in bodily lusts, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God,
these are sons of God" (Romans 4:8).

The Gospel reading tells of Christ blessing the house of Zacchaeus by staying
there: "Today salvation has come to this house". The priest prays for the blessing
and salvation of the family in the house where the prayers are being performed.

The Orthodox Creed is said, for the soul must be founded on the Orthodox faith of
our Lord Jesus Christ. The soul should be filled with spiritual virtues.

The priest says a number of supplications and prayers to ask that the water prayed
on, becomes a source of healing for souls and bodies, and a means of casting out all
the power of the adversary from the home and those dwelling within, and for the
Lord to watch over them from all the temptations of the adversary.

The whole house is sprinkled with the water, so that the house may be blest, and all
works of evil abolished and forbidden entry, through the power of God working in
these prayers.

THE PRAYER OF ABO TERBO (ST. TERBO)

This prayer may be done for Christians as well as non Christians

It is more prevalent amongst those dwelling in villages, rather than the cities, and this
is mainly due to the simplicity of faith of the villagers.

The prayer is done for those who have been bitten by dogs who may have rabies.

The prayer is done instead of the 21 injections which are given to the person, who
was bitten, in the abdominal area. The prayers, through faith are very effective and
powerful. And so the person bitten can benefit from both the effective prayers, and
appropriate medication.

The first person by whom the prayers were made effective, was a saint by the name
of "Abo Terbo" (St. Terbo). "Terbo" in Greek means "the healer". This saint lived
during the days of Emperor Diocletian, who tortured him severely, before finally
throwing him in prison, where the saint remained until the Emperor died. Diocletian
was succeeded by the righteous Christian king Constantine, who released all the
Christians from prison and pain, and restored peace and Christendom in the empire.
Accordingly, all the Christians returned to their homes praising the Lord and
preaching His name in all places.

It happened one day that as Abo Terbo was walking, a ferocious dog with rabies
drew near the saint as if to attack him. The saint prayed fervently to be saved from

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the dog, and so hearing his prayers, the Lord sent His angel to rescue him. The angel
ordered him to stretch out his rod upon the dog, and so doing, the dog died
immediately. The Lord then granted Abo Terbo the gift of healing people who have
been attacked or bitten by dogs infected with rabies. Whosoever calls upon the Lord
in the name of Abo Terbo will be saved.

Many miracles have been performed in his name, one of which is the story of a poor
woman who had an only son, bitten by a ferocious dog. After they prayed to the Lord
to heal the boy, through the prayers of Abo Terbo, the boy was healed.

The effective and powerful prayer of Abo Terbo is very popular in country villages.

THE RITE OF THE PRAYER OF ABO-TERBO

The person who was bitten by the dog, goes to the priest, bringing seven pieces of
unleavened bread, seven pieces of cheese, seven dates, a bottle of water, and a
bottle of oil.

The priest then gathers seven children. (Note, however, that only the priest performs
the rite, without the assistance of the youths).

The priest begins with the Prayer of Thanksgiving, then raises the Pauline incense,
while the deacons sing the Verses of the Cymbals.

The second Pauline Epistle to the Corinthians (2:12-17) is then read: "Now thanks to
God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance
of His knowledge in every place, for we are to God the fragrance of Christ among the
believers and the non-believers..."

The Trisagon of glorification is sung, followed by the priest saying the Litany of the
Gospel before one of the deacons reads the Psalm and the Gospel: "Restore us O
God of our salvation...Show us Your mercy, O Lord and grant us Your salvation,
will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You.
Alleluia" (Psalm 85:7). The Psalmist is asking God to show His mercy and grant
salvation, by healing the sick person, so that all the people may rejoice and praise the
Lord.

The Gospel reading from St Matthew tells of the Phoenician woman who asked the
Lord to heal her daughter, and although a Gentile and an unbeliever, she showed
strong faith and humility. Therefore, the Lord Jesus said to her, ""O woman great is
your faith ... let it be to you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from
that very hour" (Matthew 15:21-28).

NOTES:

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Many people who come requesting the Prayer of Abo Terbo from the priest for
themselves or even for their cattle, are non-Christians, but they always display strong
faith in the power and effectiveness of the prayers, just like the unbelieving
Phoenician woman to whom the Lord granted her according to her heart's desire
because of her faith. Likewise, the Lord grants healing and the heart's desire to those
people who believe in the strength and power of the Abo Terbo prayers, prayed by
the priest.

The priest prays the Three Major Litanies, followed by the Orthodox Creed.

The priest then reads the life story of Abo Terbo, as well as mentioning the miracle of
healing of the poor woman's son. Many prayers are also said, such as, "O God of Abo
Terbo, support Your servants who eat from this pastry and drink from this water. Heal
them Lord and cast away the poison of this beast from this person. Do not make him
anxious or frightened or confused, and may no evil affect him, nor the poison of this
dog harm him ..."

The following four Psalms are read:

"The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want" (23)

"May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble" (19)

"Blessed are the undefiled in the way" (118)

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills" (121)

The priest then says the following supplication: "Have mercy on Your servant
(...name) and heal him from the dog so that he does not suffer or become sick from
the poison of the dog's mouth."

The seven children hold each others" hands and proceed around the sick person
seven times saying: "Believe You are healed and saved of your sickness by the power
and joy of the giving and graceful God, O You the healer, glory be to you. Amen."

NOTES:

If the priest does not find children, he may do without them in prayer.

When the seven rounds are finished, every child cuts a piece of the bread, the
cheese, and a date and places it near the person who was bitten.

Now the priest divides the pastry, the cheese and the dates.

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The priest makes the sign of the cross on the water and the oil, before anointing the
person who was bitten, by the oil, and sprinkling him with the water.

For the next seven days, the person who was bitten, must eat of the bread, the
cheese and dates each morning, must drink of the water, and continue anointing the
infected area.

Through the grace of God, and the prayers of Abo Terbo, the person who is bitten
will recover. Amen.

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