The Akathist Hymn: "Glory to God for All Things"

This Akathist, also called the "Akathist of Thanksgiving,"
was composed by Protopresbyter Gregory Petrov
shortly before his death in a prison camp in 1940. The
title is from the words of Saint John Chrysostom as he
was dying in exile. It is a song of praise from amidst the
most terrible sufferings.

(Chanting Key: / = re me fa ; \ fa me re ; _ = do
do re ' ~ = re me do re : ^ la re re re re etc.

Kontakion 1: /Everlasting King, Thy will for our
salvation is \ full of power. /Thy right arm controls the
whole course _ of human life. / We give Thee thanks for
all Thy mercies, seen and \ unseen. ~ For eternal life,
/for the heavenly joys of the Kingdom which \ is to
be. /Grant mercy to us who sing Thy \ praise, ~both
now and in the time to come.
~Glory to Thee, O God, ~from age to age.

Ikos 1: /I was born a weak, defenceless \child, /but
Thine angel spread his wings over my cradle _ to defend
me. /From birth until now Thy love has illumined my
\path, ~and has wondrously guided me ~towards the
light of eternity; /from birth until now the generous
gifts of Thy providence have been marvelously
showered \upon me. ~I give Thee thanks, ~with all who
have come to know Thee, ~who call upon Thy name.
/Glory to Thee for calling me \into being
/Glory to Thee, for showing me the beauty \of the
universe
/Glory to Thee, spreading out before me heaven
and \earth
~Like the pages in a book ~of eternal wisdom
/Glory to Thee for Thine eternity in this fleeting
\world
/Glory to Thee for Thy mercies, _seen and unseen
/Glory to Thee through every sigh \of my sorrow
/Glory to Thee for every step _of my life's journey
~For every moment of glory
~Glory to Thee, O God, ~from age to age

Kontakion 2: ^O Lord, how lovely it is to ~be Thy guest.
^Breeze full of scents; mountains reaching ~to the
skies; ^waters like boundless mirrors, reflecting the
sun's golden rays and ~the scudding clouds. /All nature
murmurs mysteriously, breathing the \depth of
tenderness. /Birds and beasts of the forest bear the
_imprint of Thy love. /Blessed art thou, mother earth,
in thy \fleeting loveliness, ~which wakens our yearning
~for happiness that will last for ever, ~in the land
where, amid beauty that grows not old, ~the cry rings
out: ~Alleluia!

Ikos 2: ^Thou hast brought me into life as into an
enchanted paradise. ^We have seen the sky like a
chalice of deepest blue, /where in the azure heights the
_birds are singing. ^We have listened to the soothing
murmur of the forest and ~the melodious music of the
streams. ^We have tasted fruit of fine flavour and the
~sweet-scented honey. ^We can live very well on Thine
earth. ^It is a pleasure to ~be Thy guest.
/Glory to Thee for the Feast \Day of life
/Glory to Thee for the perfume _of lilies and roses
/Glory to Thee for each different taste of \berry and
fruit
/Glory to Thee for the sparkling silver ~of early
morning dew
/Glory to Thee for the joy of \dawn's awakening
/Glory to Thee for the new life _each day brings
~Glory to Thee, O God, ~from age to age

Kontakion 3 ^It is the Holy Spirit who makes us find
~joy in each flower, ^the exquisite scent, ~the delicate
colour, /the beauty of the Most High in the _tiniest of
things. /Glory and honour to the Spirit, the \Giver of
Life, /who covers the fields with their \carpet of
flowers, /crowns the harvest with gold, and gives to us
the joy of gazing at it _with our eyes. /O be joyful and
sing to Him: \Alleluia!

Ikos 3 /How glorious art Thou in the \springtime, /when
every creature awakes to new life and joyfully sings Thy
praises _with a thousand tongues. /Thou art the Source
of Life, the \Destroyer of Death. ~By the light of the
moon, _nightingales sing, /and the valleys and hills lie
like \wedding garments, _white as snow. /All the earth
is Thy promised bride awaiting her \spotless
husband. /If the grass of the field is like this, how
gloriously shall we be transfigured in the \Second
Coming /after the Resurrection! How splendid our
bodies, _how spotless our souls!
/Glory to Thee, bringing from the depth of the earth
an endless \variety of colours,
~tastes and scents
/Glory to Thee for the warmth and tenderness of
the \world of nature
/Glory to Thee for the numberless _creatures around
us
/Glory to Thee for the depths of \Thy wisdom, ~the
whole world ~a living sign of it
/Glory to Thee; on my knees, I kiss the traces of
Thine \unseen hand
/Glory to Thee, enlightening us with the clearness _of
eternal life
/Glory to Thee for the hope of the unutterable,
imperishable beauty of \immortality
~Glory to Thee, O God, ~from age to age

Kontakion 4 ^How filled with sweetness are those
whose thoughts dwell on Thee; ^how life-giving Thy
holy Word. ^To speak with Thee is more soothing than
anointing with oil; ^sweeter than the honeycomb. /To
pray to Thee lifts the \spirit, ~refreshes the soul.
/Where Thou art not, there is on_ly emptiness; /hearts
are smitten with sadness; nature, and life itself, become
\sorrowful; /where Thou art, the soul is _filled with
abundance, ~and its song resounds ~like a torrent of
life: ~Alleluia!

Ikos 4 /When the sun is setting, when quietness falls
like the peace of \eternal sleep, /and the silence of the
_spent day reigns, /then in the splendour of its
\declining rays, /filtering through the clouds, _I see Thy
dwelling-place: ~fiery and purple, gold and blue, /they
speak prophet-like of the ineffable beauty \of Thy
presence, ~and call to us in their majesty. ~We turn to
the Father.
/Glory to Thee at the hushed hour \of nightfall
/Glory to Thee, covering the earth _with peace
/Glory to Thee for the last ray of the sun \as it sets
/Glory to Thee for sleep's repose _that restores us
/Glory to Thee for Thy goodness even in the \time of
darkness
~When all the world ~is hidden from our eyes
/Glory to Thee for the prayers offered by a \trembling
soul
/Glory to Thee for the pledge _of our reawakening
~On that glorious last day, ~that day which has no
evening
~Glory to Thee, O God, ~from age to age

Kontakion 5 ^The dark storm clouds of life bring no
terror to those in whose hearts Thy fire is burning
brightly. ^Outside is the darkness of the whirlwind, the
terror and howling of the storm, ^but in the heart, in
the presence of Christ, ~there is light and peace,
silence: ~Alleluia!

Ikos 5 /I see Thine heavens re\splendent with stars.
/How glorious art Thou _radiant with light! /Eternity
watches me by the rays of the \distant stars. ~I am
small, insignificant, _but the Lord is at my side. /Thy
right arm guides me _wherever I go.
/Glory to Thee, ceaselessly \watching over me
/Glory to Thee for the encounters _Thou dost arrange
for me
/Glory to Thee for the love of parents, for the
\faithfulness of friends
/Glory to Thee for the humbleness ~of the animals
which serve me
/Glory to Thee for the unforgettable \moments of life
/Glory to Thee _for the heart's innocent joy
/Glory to Thee for the \joy of living
/Moving and being able _to return Thy love
~Glory to Thee, O God, ~from age to age

Kontakion 6 ^How great and how close art Thou in the
powerful track of the storm! ^How mighty Thy right
arm in the blinding flash of the lightning! ^How
awesome Thy majesty! /The voice of the Lord fills the
fields, it speaks in the \rustling of the trees. /The voice
of the Lord is in the thunder _and the downpour. /The
voice of the Lord is heard a\bove the waters. ~Praise be
to Thee ~in the roar of mountains ablaze. /Thou dost
shake the earth _like a garment; /Thou dost pile up to
the sky the _waves of the sea. /Praise be to Thee,
bringing low _the pride of man. ~Thou dost bring from
his heart ~a cry of Penitence: ~Alleluia!

Ikos 6 /When the lightning flash has lit up the \camp
dining hall, ~how feeble seems the light from the
lamp. /Thus do You, like the lightning, unexpectedly
\light up my heart ~with flashes of intense joy. /After
Thy blinding light, how drab, how colourless, how
illusory _all else seems. ~My souls clings to Thee.
/Glory to Thee, the highest peak of \men's dreaming
/Glory to Thee for our unquenchable thirst _for
communion with God
/Glory to Thee, making us dissatisfied with \earthly
things
/Glory to Thee, turning on us _Thine healing rays
/Glory to Thee, subduing the power of the \spirits of
darkness
_And dooming to death _every evil
/Glory to Thee for the signs \of Thy presence
~For the joy of hearing Thy voice ~and living in Thy
love
~Glory to Thee, O God, ~from age to age

Kontakion 7 ^In the wondrous blending of sounds it is
Thy call we hear; ^in the harmony of many voices, ^in
the sublime beauty of music, ^in the glory of the works
of great composers: /Thou leadest us to the threshold
of \paradise to come, ~and to the choirs of angels. /All
true beauty has the power to draw the soul \towards
Thee, ~and to make it sing ~in ecstasy: ~Alleluia!

Ikos 7 /The breath of Thine Holy Spirit inspires artists,
poets and \scientists. /The power of Thy supreme
knowledge makes them prophets and interpreters _of
Thy laws, /who reveal the depths of Thy cre\ative
wisdom. ~Their works speak unwittingly of Thee. ~How
great art Thou in Thy creation! ~How great art Thou in
man!
/Glory to Thee, showing Thine unsurpassable power in
the \laws of the universe
/Glory to Thee, for all nature is _filled with Thy laws
/Glory to Thee for what Thou hast revealed to us \in
Thy mercy
/Glory to Thee for what Thou hast hidden from us \in
Thy wisdom
/Glory to Thee for the inventiveness _of the human
mind
/Glory to Thee for the dignity \of man's labour
/Glory to Thee for the tongues of fire that \bring
inspiration
/Glory to Thee, O God, _from age to age

Kontakion 8 ^How near Thou art in the day of sickness.
^You Yourself visit the sick; ^You Yourself bend over the
sufferer's bed. ^His heart speaks to You. /In the throes
of sorrow and suffering Thou bringest peace and
unexpected \consolation. ~Thou art the comforter.
/Thou art the love which watches over \and heals us.
~To Thee we sing the song: ~Alleluia!

Ikos 8 /When in childhood I called upon Thee
consciously \for the first time, /Thou didst hear my
prayer, and Thou didst fill my heart with the \blessing of
peace. /At that moment I knew Thy goodness and knew
how blessed are those who \turn to Thee. /I started to
call upon Thee _night and day; /and now even now _I
call upon Thy name.
/Glory to Thee, satisfying my desires \with good
things
/Glory to Thee, watching over me _day and night
/Glory to Thee, curing affliction and emptiness with
the healing \flow of time
/Glory to Thee, no loss is irreparable \in Thee, ~giver
of eternal life to all
/Glory to Thee, making immortal all that is \lofty and
good
/Glory to Thee, _promising us the longed for meeting
~with our loved ones who have died
~Glory to Thee, O God, ~from age to age

Kontakion 9 ^Why is it that on a Feast Day the whole of
nature mysteriously smiles? ^Why is it that then a
heavenly gladness fills our hearts; ^a gladness far
beyond that of earth and the very air in church ~and in
the altar becomes luminous? /It is the breath _of Thy
gracious love. /It is the reflection of the glory \of Mount
Tabor. ~Then do heaven and earth sing Thy praise:
~Alleluia!

Ikos 9 /When Thou did call me to serve my brothers
and filled my soul \with humility, /one of Thy deep,
piercing rays _shone into my heart; /it became
luminous, full of light like iron glowing \in the furnace.
~I have seen Thy face, ~face of mystery and of
unapproachable glory. /Glory to Thee, transfiguring
our lives with \deeds of love
/Glory to Thee, making wonderfully Sweet the
\keeping of Thy commandments
/Glory to Thee, making Thyself known where man
shows mercy \on his neighbour
/Glory to Thee, sending us failure and misfortune that
we may understand the \sorrows of others /Glory to
Thee, rewarding us so well _for the good we do
/Glory to Thee, welcoming the impulse \of our heart's
love
/Glory to Thee, raising to the heights of heaven every
act of love in \earth and sky
~Glory to Thee, O God, ~from age to age

Kontakion 10 ^No one can put together what has
crumbled into dust, ^but Thou canst restore a
conscience turned to ashes. ^Thou canst restore to its
former beauty a soul lost and without hope. /With
Thee, there is nothing that \cannot be redeemed.
_Thou art love; ~Thou art Creator and Redeemer. ~We
praise Thee, singing: ~Alleluia!

Ikos 10 /Remember, my God, the fall of Lucifer \full of
pride, /keep me safe with the power \of Thy Grace;
/save me from falling _away from Thee. /Save me from
doubt. Incline my heart to hear Thy mysterious voice
every moment \of my life. /Incline my heart to call
upon Thee, present in \everything.
/Glory to Thee for \every happening
~Every condition Thy providence has put me in
/Glory to Thee for what Thou speakest to me \in my
heart
/Glory to Thee for what Thou revealest to me, _asleep
or awake
/Glory to Thee for scattering our vain i\maginations
/Glory to Thee for raising us \from the slough _of our
passions through suffering
/Glory to Thee for curing our pride of heart by
hu\miliation
~Glory to Thee, O God, ~from age to age

Kontakion 11 ^Across the cold chains of the centuries,
^I feel the warmth of Thy breath, ^I feel Thy blood
pulsing in my veins. /Part of time has already gone, but
now \Thou art the present. ~I stand by Thy Cross; ~I
was the cause of it. /I cast myself down in the \dust
before it. ~Here is the triumph of love,
~the victory of salvation. /Here the centuries
themselves cannot re\main silent, _singing Thy
praises: ~Alleluia!

Ikos 11 ^Blessed are they that will share in the King's
Banquet: ^but already on earth Thou givest me a
foretaste of this blessedness. ^How many times with
Thine own hand hast Thou held out to me Thy Body
and Thy Blood, ^and I, though a miserable sinner, have
received this Mystery, ^and have tasted Thy love, ~so
ineffable, ~so heavenly.
/Glory to Thee for the unquenchable fire \of Thy
Grace
/Glory to Thee, _building Thy Church, ~a haven of
peace ~in a tortured world
/Glory to Thee for the life-giving \water of Baptism ~in
which we find new birth
/Glory to Thee, restoring to the penitent purity \white
as the lily
_Glory to Thee ~for the cup of salvation ~and the
bread of eternal joy
/Glory to Thee for exalting us to the \highest heaven
~Glory to Thee, O God, ~from age to age

Kontakion 12 ^How often have I seen the reflection of
Thy glory in the faces of the dead. ^How resplendent
they were, with beauty and heavenly joy. ^How
ethereal, how translucent their faces. ^How triumphant
over suffering and death, their felicity and peace. /Even
in the silence _they were calling upon Thee. /In the
hour of my death, enlighten my soul, too, that it may
\cry out to Thee: ~Alleluia!

Ikos 12 ^What sort of praise can I give Thee? ^I have
never heard the song of the Cherubim, a joy reserved
for the spirits above. /But I know the praises that
\nature sings to Thee. /In winter, I have beheld how
silently in the moonlight the whole earth \offers Thee
prayer, ~clad in its white mantle of snow, ~sparkling like
diamonds. /I have seen how the rising sun re\joices in
Thee, /how the song of the birds is a chorus of \praise
to Thee. /I have heard the mysterious mutterings of
the forests \about Thee, /and the winds singing Thy
praise as they \stir the waters. /I have understood how
the choirs of stars pro\claim Thy glory /as they move
forever in the depths _of infinite space. ~What is my
poor worship! ~All nature obeys Thee, _I do not. /Yet
while I live, I \see Thy love, ~I long to thank Thee, ~and
call upon Thy name.
/Glory to Thee, \giving us light
/Glory to Thee, loving us with love so deep, di\vine
and infinite
/Glory to Thee, blessing us with light, and with the
host of \angels and saints
/Glory to Thee, Father all-holy, promising us a share_
in Thy Kingdom
/Glory to Thee, Holy Spirit, life-giving \Sun of the
world to come
/Glory to Thee for all things, _Holy and most merciful
Trinity
~Glory to Thee, O God, ~from age to age

Kontakion 13 ^Life-giving and merciful Trinity, ^receive
my thanksgiving for all Thy goodness. ~Make us worthy
of Thy blessings, /so that, when we have brought to
fruit the talents Thou hast en\trusted to us, ~we may
enter into the joy of our Lord, ~forever exulting in the
shout of victory: ~Alleluia!

(repeat Kontakion 13 and Alleluia three times * Then
repeat Ikos 1 and then Kontakion 1)

The Complete and Original Nicene Creed

Πιστεύομεν εἰς ἕνα Θεὸν Πατέρα παντοκράτορα ποιητὴν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς ὁρατῶν τε πάντων καὶ ἀοράτων· καὶ εἰς ἕνα Κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν Μονογενῆ, τὸν ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς γεννηθέντα πρὸ πάντων τῶν αἰώνων, Φῶς ἐκ Φωτός, Θεὸν ἀληθινὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ ἀληθινοῦ, γεννηθέντα οὐ ποιηθέντα, ὁμοούσιον τῷ Πατρί, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο· τὸν δι' ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν κατελθόντα ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν, καὶ σαρκωθέντα ἐκ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου καὶ Μαρίας τῆς παρθένου, καὶ ἐνανθρωπήσαντα, σταυρωθέντα τε ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου, καὶ παθόντα, καὶ ταφέντα, καὶ ἀναστάντα τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ κατὰ τὰς γραφὰς, καὶ ἀνελθόντα εἰς τοὺς οὐρανοὺς, καὶ καθεζόμενον ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ πάλιν ἐρχόμενον μετὰ δόξης κρῖναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς, οὗ τῆς βασιλείας οὐκ ἔσται τέλος· καὶ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον, τὸ Κύριον καὶ Ζωοποιόν, τὸ ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐκπορευόμενον, τὸ σὺν Πατρὶ καὶ Υἱῷ συμπροσκυνούμενον καὶ συνδοξαζόμενον, τὸ λαλῆσαν διὰ τῶν προφητῶν· εἰς μίαν ἁγίαν καθολικὴν καὶ ἀποστολικὴν ἐκκλησίαν· ὁμολογοῦμεν ἓν βάπτισμα εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν· προσδοκῶμεν ἀνάστασιν νεκρῶν, καὶ ζωὴν τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος. ἀμήν.

We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible; And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father, through Whom all things came into existence, Who because of us men and because of our salvation came down from the heavens, and was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man, and was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures and ascended to heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father, and will come again with glory to judge living and dead, of Whose kingdom there will be no end; And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and life-giver, Who proceeds from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son is together worshipped and together glorified, Who spoke through the prophets; in one holy Catholic and apostolic Church. We confess one baptism to the remission of sins; we look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen

Credimus in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem coeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et invisibilium, et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum, Filium Dei unicum, de Patre natum ante omnia saecula; Deum verum de Deo vero; natum, non factum; ejusdemque substantiae qua Pater est; per quem omnia facta sunt; qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit, incarnatus est de Spiritu sancto, in Maria virgine homo factus, crucifixus pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, sepultus, resurrexit tertia die, ascendit ad coelos, sedet ad dexteram Patris; inde venturus est cum gloria judicare vivos ac mortuos, cujus regni non erit finis. Et in Spiritum sanctum, Dominum ac vivificatorem a Patre procedentem, qui cum Patre et Filio adoratur et glorificatur, qui locutus est per Prophetas; in unam catholicam atque apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confitemur unum baptismum in remissionem peccatorum; speramus resurrectionem mortuorum, vitam futuri saeculi. Amen.

The Church As The Body of Christ

The Church as the Body of Christ
by St. John (Maximovitch)

And He (Christ) is then the head of the body, the church (Col.1:18), “which is His body, the Fulness of Him, he that Filleth all in all (Eph. 1:23)

In the Holy Scriptures the Church is repeatedly called the Body of Christ. Who (Paul) now rejoice in my sufferings for you, ... for His Body’s sake, which is the Church (Col. 1:24), the Apostle Paul writes about himself.

Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, says he, are given by Christ “. . .for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12).

At the same time, bread and wine are made into the Body and Blood of Christ during the Divine Liturgy, and the faithful partake thereof. Christ Himself ordained it so, communicating His apostles at the Mystical Supper with the words, “Take, eat; this is My Body; ... Drink ye all of it; For this is My Blood of the New Testament” (Mat. 26:26-28).

How is the Body of Christ at the same time both the Church and the Holy Mystery? Are the faithful both members of the Body of Christ, the Church, and also communicants of the Body of Christ in the Holy Mysteries?

In neither instance is this name “Body of Christ” used metaphorically, but rather in the most basic sense of the word. We believe that the Holy Mysteries which keep the form of bread and wine are the very Body and the very Blood of Christ. We likewise believe and confess that Christ is the Son of the Living God, come into the world to save sinners, and become true man, that His flesh, taken from the Virgin Mary, was true human flesh; that body and soul. Christ was a true man, in all respects like man, except sin, and at the same time remaining true God. The Divine nature was neither diminished nor changed in the Son of God in this incarnation, likewise the human nature was not changed at this incarnation, but retained in full all human qualities.

Unchanged and unconfused forever, indivisibly and inseparably Godhead and manhood were united in the One Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Son of God became incarnate to make people partakers of the divine nature (II Peter- 1:4), to free them from sin and death, and to make them immortals.

Uniting ourselves with Christ, we receive divine grace which gives human nature strength for victory over sin and death, and the Lord Jesus Christ has shown people the way to victory over sin by His teaching, and he grants them eternal life, making them partakers of His eternal kingdom by His Resurrection. In order to receive that divine grace from Him the closest possible contact with Him is necessary. Drawing all to Himself by His divine love, and uniting them unto Himself, the Lord has united to each other those who love Him and come unto Him, uniting them into one Church.

The Church is unity in Christ, the closest union with Christ of all who rightly believe on Him and love Him, and all their union is through Christ.

Now the Church consists of both her earthly and heavenly parts, for the Son of God came to earth and became man that He might lead man into heaven and make him once again a citizen of paradise, returning to him his original condition of sinlessness and wholeness and uniting him unto Himself.

This is accomplished by the action of divine grace granted through the Church, but effort is also required from man himself. God saves His fallen creature by His own love for him, but man’s love for his Creator is also necessary and without it salvation is impossible for him. Striving toward God and cleaving unto the Lord by its humble
love, the human soul obtains power to cleanse itself from sin and to strengthen itself for the struggle to full victory over sin.

And the body partakes in that struggle, being now the vehicle and instrument of sin, but fore-ordained to be the instrument of righteousness and the vessel of holiness. God created man, breathing divine breath into the animate body created earlier from the earth.
The body was to have been an instrument of the spirit, subject to God, for through it the human spirit manifests itself in the material world. The spirit reveals its properties and qualities through the body and its separate members which God gave it, as to His own image, because the body as a manifestation of the image of God both is called
and very truly is “our beauty created in the image of God” (sticheron from the Funeral Service).

When the first-created people fell away in spirit from their Creator, the body, hitherto subject to the spirit and obtaining its directions through the soul, ceased to be subordinate to it and began to strive to dominate it. In place of the law of God the law of the flesh began to rule man. Sin, having cut man off from God, the source of life, has rent man himself asunder, violated union of spirit, soul and body, and death has entered into him. The soul, not surrounded now by the streams of life, could no longer transmit them to the body, which became corruptible, and languor became the lot of the soul.

Christ came to earth to restore anew the fallen image and return it to union with Him Whose image it is. Uniting man unto Himself, God thus restores him to his original goodness in all its fullness Granting grace and sanctification to the spirit, Christ also purifies, strengthens, heals and sanctifies the spirit and the body.

’But he that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit (with him) ‘ (I Cor. 6:17). The body, then, of the man who has been united unto the Lord must be an instrument of the Lord, must serve for the fulfillment of His will, and become a part of the Body of Christ.

For the full sanctification of man, the body of the servant of the Lord must be united with the Body of Christ, and this is accomplished in the mystery of Holy Communion. The true Body and the true Blood of Christ which we receive, becomes a part of the great Body of Christ.

Of course, for union with Christ, the mere conjoining of our body with the Body of Christ does not suffice. The consumption of the Body of Christ becomes beneficial when in spirit we strive toward Him and unite ourselves with Him. Reception of the Body of Christ, with aversion to Him in spirit, is like the approach to Christ of those who
struck Him and mocked and crucified Him. Their approaching Him served not for their salvation and healing, but for their condemnation.

But those who partake with piety, love and readiness to bring themselves to serve Him, closely unite themselves with Him and become instruments of His divine will.

”He that eateth My Flesh and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him,” said the Lord (John 6:56).

Uniting with the Risen Lord and through Him with the entire eternal Trinity, man draws from It power for eternal life and does himself become immortal .

”As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth Me even he shall live by Me “ John 6:57).

All who believe in Christ and are united unto Him by giving themselves to Him and by the reception of divine grace conjointly constitute the Church of Christ, the Head of which is Christ Himself, and they who enter into her are her members.

Christ, invisible to the bodily eye, manifests Himself on earth clearly through His Church just as the unseen human spirit manifests itself through its body. The Church is the Body of Christ both because its parts are united to Christ through His divine mysteries and
because through her Christ works in the world.

We partake of the Body and Blood of Christ, in the holy Mysteries, so that we ourselves may be members of Christ’s Body: the Church.

This is not accomplished instantly. Fully abiding in the Church is already victory over sin and complete purification therefrom. To some degree everything sinful estranges us from the Church and keeps us out of the Church; this is why in the prayer read at confession over every penitent we have the phrase: “reconcile, and unite unto Thy Holy Church. “ Through repentance a Christian is cleansed and united closely to Christ in partaking of the Holy Mysteries, but later the grime of sin again settles upon him and estranges him from Christ and the Church, and therefore repentance and communion are again
necessary. As long as the earthly life of a man endures, up to the very departure of the soul from the body, the struggle between sin and righteousness goes on within him. However high a spiritual and moral state one might achieve, a gradual, or even headlong and deep fall into the abyss of sin is always possible. Therefore, communion of the
holy Body and Blood of Christ, which strengthens our contact with Him and refreshes us with the living streams of the grace of the Holy Spirit flowing through the Body of the Church, is necessary for everyone. How very important communion of the Holy Mysteries is we see from the life of St. Onuphrius the Great to whom, as well as to other
hermits dwelling in the same desert, angels brought Holy Communion; and in the life of St. Mary of Egypt we read that her final wish after many years of desert life was the reception of the Holy Mysteries. The lives of St. Sabbatius of Solovki and a multitude of others tell us similar things. Not in vain did the Lord speak and say: “Amen, amen, I
say unto you, except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His Blood, ye have no life in you” 6:23).

To partake of the Body and Blood of Christ is to receive in oneself the Risen Christ, the victor over death, granting to those with Him victory over sin and death.

Preserving in ourselves the grace-filled gift of Communion, we have a guarantee and foretaste of the blessed, eternal life of the soul and body.

Up to the very “Day of Christ, “ His Second Coming and the Judgment of the whole world, the struggle of sin with righteousness will continue, individually in each person and collectively in all mankind.

The earthly Church unites all who are reborn through baptism and who have taken up the cross of the struggle with sin, and who follow after Christ the contest-master of this struggle. The Divine Eucharist, the offering of the bloodless sacrifice and partaking thereof, sanctifies and strengthens its partakers and makes those who receive of the Body
and Blood of Christ true members of His Body, the Church. But only with death is it determined whether a man remained a true member of the Body of Christ to his last breath, or whether sin has triumphed in him and driven out the grace binding him to Christ and received by him in the Holy Mysteries.

He who as a member of the earthly Church has reposed in grace goes over from the earthly Church into the heavenly Church; but he who has fallen away from the earthly Church will not enter into the heavenly, for the Church in this world is the way into the heavenly.

The more one is found to be under the influence of the grace of communion and the more tightly one has united himself to Christ, the more one will find pleasure in communion with Christ and in His coming Kingdom.

Therefore, it is important to partake of the Mysteries of Christ just before death, when the lot of a man is determined forever. It is necessary to try to receive just before death, if there be even the smallest possibility of this to beseech the Lord to find us worthy of
this and to take thought for others, so that they may not be deprived of Communion before the end.

Inasmuch as sin continues to operate in the soul until death, so the body is liable to the consequences and bears in itself the seeds of disease and death from which it is freed only when it decays after death, and then rises at last free of them in the general resurrection. He who unites himself in spirit and in body with Christ in this life will be with him in spirit and in body in the life to come. The grace-filled streams of the life-creating Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ are the well-spring of our eternal joy in
converse with the risen Christ and in the contemplation of His glory.

The same consequences of sin, not yet driven out finally from the human race, operate not only in individual people, but through them they are manifested in the earthly activity of entire sections of the Church. Heresies, Heresies, and disputes arise constantly, tearing
away part of the faithful. Misunderstandings between local churches or parts of them have troubled the Church since antiquity, and prayers for their cessation are constantly heard in the divine services.

”We pray for the unity of the churches,” “unity to the churches” (Resurrection canon, Triadic, Tone 8), “dissentions of the Church set aright” (Service to the Archangels, 8 November, 26 March, 13 July) and similar prayers in the course of centuries have been offered by the Orthodox Church. Even on Holy and Great Saturday before the Epitaphion
of Christ, the Church pronounces: “O most blameless, pure Virgin who didst bring forth the Life, stop the scandals of the Church, and grant peace as thou art good” (last verse of the stasis of the Lamentations) .

Only when Christ appears on the clouds will the tempter be trampled down, and all scandals and temptations disappear.

At that time the struggle between good and evil, between life and death will cease, and the earthly Church will merge with the Church Triumphant in which God will be all in all (I Cor. 15:28).

In the Kingdom of Christ to come, there will no longer be need for receiving the Body and Blood of Christ, for all who have been vouchsafed it will be in closest converse with Him and will enjoy the pre-eternal light of the Life originating Trinity, experiencing that
blessedness which no tongue can express, and which is incomprehensible to our feeble mind. For this reason after partaking of the Holy Mysteries at Liturgy, in the altar is always pronounced the prayer which we sing on Paschal days: “O Christ, Thou great and most sacred Pascha! O Wisdom, Word and Power of God! Grant us to partake of Thee
more fully in the unwaning day of Thy kingdom” (Pachal Canon, 9^th Ode).

Translated from the Russian by Father George Lardas.

Sacred Images and Imagery

Many people have been taught that the second of the Ten Commandments prohibits icons.  However, if correct, all artistic representations of anything would be forbidden.  The Lord Himself in the same book of Exodus commanded Moses to make two gold cherubim (angels) "of hammered  work," and to place them at each end of the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant (Ex 25:17-21).  The Lord also stipulated that the ten curtains of the tabernacle be woven with images of cherubim on them (Ex 26:1), and like wise the veil (Ex 26:31).

When King Solomon built the temple, the huge basin, or "sea," was set upon twelve statues of oxen (3Kg 7:13, 30).  And upon the ten bases of the sea were cast or engraved "lions, oxen, and cherubim" (3Kg 7:16), as well as palm trees (3KG 7:22).  The Lord bestowed His blessing upon all these artistic representations first by filling the new temple with His Glory (3 KG 8:10, 11), and then by declaring to Solomon, "I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually" (3Kg 9:3).

Perhaps the most striking example of an image made at God's command in the Old Testament is the bronze serpent that God ordered Moses to make and put on a pole in order to protect the Hebrews bitten by the deadly serpents (Nm 21:4-9; see Jn 3:14,15). hundreds of years later when the Israelites were offering incense to this same bronze serpent in a kind of idol-worship, King Hezekiah, who "did what was right in the sight of the Lord," had the serpent smashed into pieces (4Kg 18:3,4).

So it is not the image itself which is faulty or prohibited, but rather its improper use.  The prohibition in Exodus 20:4 is not against all artistic representations.  Rather, it is against images, whether in human form or not, which would be worshiped as gods and goddesses - "gods of silver, and gods of gold" (Ex 20:23).  For the Lord knew that such images would tempt the Hebrews to depart from worshiping Him, the One true God (Ex 20:3-5).

Certainly, before the invisible and limitless Lord God of Israel became incarnate, it was impossible to make an image of Him.  However, after God the Son assumed a visible and tangible human body, it was natural and beneficial for the Church to create artistic representations of Him - and of His holy Mother, and of the saints and angels - from the earliest times.  According to tradition St. Luke the Evengelist made at least three icons of Christ and His Mother.

Every image or ICON, of Christ has significant theological content.  For it proclaims anew the Incarnation of God, who "becamse flesh" for our salvation (Jn 1:14).  Recognized icons of our Savior, prayerfully made, provide us with inspired, trustworthy representations of Him.

The Seventh Ecumenical Council, held in Nicea in AD 787, condemned the heresy of iconoclasm (the rejection, and even the destruction, of icons).  These Holy Fathers articulated the critical distinction between the worship reserved for God alone, and the veneration/honor/reverence  givien to the icons.  In addition, this Council declared that "the honor given to the image passes on to that which the image represents."

Through icons, Orthodox Christians are drawn closer to Christ.  A hymn sung the first Sunday of Great Lent, which commemorates the restoration of icons in AD 843 declares: "the icons that depict Thy flesh lead us to the desire and love of Thee." +++

Reference The Orthodox Study Bible - published by Thomas Nelson.
http://www.amazon.com/Orthodox-Study-Bible-Ancient-Christianity/dp/0718003594/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367445740&sr=1-1&keywords=orthodox+study+bible

The Law vs Grace: Harmony or Dychotomy

Just had a long conversation with a group of Judaizers, heretics who are even suggesting the resumption of mandatory circumcision and animal sacrifice. The degree of darkness is abysmal. Their cult leader, was unable to speak in his own voice, and constantly quoted scripture ripped from the context of the Heart of God's Love for Mankind. These Judaizers are all over the T.V. circuit, supplanting the Gospel of Jesus Christ - The Faith once and for all delivered unto The Saints, with legalism, upon legalism. They have close ties to the law bound Seventh Day Adventists because of Saturday service. If I had any doubts as to their evil spirit, it disappeared when I told them a wonderful story of God's restoration of an evil Georgia inmate, a con man and gambler. Suddenly the demonic hatred erupted in the face of the testimony of the work of The Lord of ALL LIFE. Don't fall prey to these modern Judaizers. They are neither faithful Jew, nor Christian. They are a CULT.

What is the relationship between The Old Testament Law and the Grace Given Us In Jesus Christ?
 The Grace of Christ and the Law of Moses 
The Apostle John wrote, "The Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (Jn 1:17). The grace of Christ and the Law of Moses are complementary and not contradictory. The following helps explain both. 

Friendship Between Christ and MosesChrist and Moses were friends and conversed as friends. The pre-incarnate Christ gave Moses the Law; in turn, Moses gave it to Israel (Ex- 20:1-26). As the Lawgiver, Christ, not Moses, was the Author of the Law. Moses was His servant. 

In the New Testament , Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration, and they conversed with Him as friend with friend (Mat 17:1-8). The presence of Moses shows Christ as the fulfillment of the Law. The presence of Elijah shows Christ as the fulfillment of the Prophets.

Contrast Between Christ and Moses
Christ is incomparably greater than Moses, for Christ, the Son of God, who brought all creation into existence from nonexistence, is building His Body, The Church. When Christ gave Moses and Israel the Law, He spoke as the Lord their God. Moses, however, spoke to Israel "in the name of the Lord their God," not in his own name (Ex 20:22). When the son of God became incarnate, He continued to speak to Israel, but now directly and not through a prophet. Although during His three-year ministry in Israel, He did works and spoke words in His almighty power, Israel refused to believe Him, their own Lord God. But to those Jews who did believe, He gave authority to become His children (Jn 1:11,12)

Christ also gave authority to believing Gentiles to become His children. In the Old Testament, He made it clear that through Moses and His prophets the Gentiles would be included in the promises to Israel (for example, Gn 12:1-3; Is 49:5,6). Both would be in His Body, The Church. Race is not the issue, but rather faith in Christ. His Body, The Church is ONE composed of every nation, tongue and tribe (Rev 5:9).

Harmony Between Law and Grace:
Christ is the Lawgiver in both Old and New Testaments. Therefore, there is no opposition or contradiction between the old and new laws. In His Incarnation, the Lawgiver Himself fulfilled the old Law, making it obsolete (Heb 8:13 - In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.) 

Christ gave His written Law through Moses to make sin known (Rom 3:20; 7:7). Man's God-given natural law, written in the conscience, was dulled through disobedience in the years between Adam and Moses. The Mosaic Law helped renew this knowledge of sin to lead man to repentance. After His ascension, Christ sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to convict the world of sin (Jn 16:8), to renew the natural law in man's conscience (Heb 8:10) to lead us into all truth (Jn 16:13), and to make it possible for us to become partakers of the divine nature (2Pt 1:4).

GRACE FROM THE LAWGIVER:
Christ is the Incarnate Lawgiver who offers us remission of sins through His Holy Cross, HIS PRECIOUS BLOOD. The old Law could never remit sins (Heb 10:1-4). Christ not only forgives sins, but also heals the damage done through sinning. This is the unspeakable grace of the lawgiver.
(The Myth of D.N.A. Slavery - the Struggle for our Healing)

 
"You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
"Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: neither you, nor your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, your cattle, nor your stranger who sojourns with you. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath Day and hallowed it. 
"honor your father and mother that is may be well with you, and your days may be long upon the good land the Lord your God is giving you.
"You shall not murder.
"You shall not commit adultery.
"You shall not steal.
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 
"You shall not cover your neighbor's wife, or his house, and neither shall you covet his field, nor his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, any of his cattle, or whatever belongs to your neighbor."

THE SABBATH DAY, SUNDAY, AND THE EIGHTH DAY
The Sabbath Day:
When the Lord commanded the Hebrews, in the fourth of the Ten Commandments, to "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," He also gave them the reason: "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hollowed it" (Ex 20:8, 11; cf. Gn 2:1-3). When Moses restated the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5, he added another reason: "Remember, you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore, the Lord your God ordered you to guard the Sabbath day and to sanctify it: (5:15). 

The Hebrews were called to "remember" (Ex 20:8), to "keep" (Lv 19:3, 30), and to "hallow" or "sanctify" (Jer 17:19-27; Ezk 20:19,20; Neh 13:15-22) the Sabbath by resting from almost every kind of work. God provided them this sacred time each week to help them contemplate His awesome work in creation and there miraculour deliverance from Egypt. Stipulating the faithful observance of the Sabbath was one of the main ways God ordained to reinforce the people's covenant with Him Ex 31: 12-17: cf. Lv 24:8). Originally, communal worship was not linked with Sabbath observances; but with the development of the synagogue, probably during the Hebrews' exile in Babylon (sixth century BC), the Sabbath naturally became the day for synagogue worship, as it is for the Jews today.


SUNDAY, THE DAY OF WORSHIP
At first, early Jewish Christians continued to observe Sabbath regulations and to worship on the Sabbath (Acts 13:13-15, 42-44; 18:1-4). But they also met for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist on Sunday (Acts 20:7; 1Co 16:1-2), called "the Lord's Day" (Rev 1:10), since Jesus rose on the Sunday. Saint Ignatius of Antioch, in about AD 107, confirms that Sunday was the main day of worship for the early Church: "They have given up keeping the Sabbath, and now order their lives by the Lord's Day instead - the Day when life first dawned for us, thanks to Him and His death."
The Roman Emperor Constantine before he was baptized and became a member of the Body of Christ, in a mercy to Christians honored the Church's practice of celebrating the Lord's Resurrection every Sunday by decreeing, in AD 321, that every Sunday would be a holy day. For Orthodox Christians, Saturday is still the Sabbath, the day on which the church especially remembers the departed, since Christ rested in the tomb on Great and Holy Saturday.

SUNDAY, THE EIGHT DAY
As the day after the seventh day (when God rested from His six days of creation) and as the day of Christ's Resurrection, Sunday early on came to be understood in a mystical way among Christians as the "Eighth Day." It was the day "beyond nature and time", "the beginning of another world". "Whether you call it day, or whether you call it eternity, you express the same idea" said Saint Basil.

Fittingly, during the week after Pascha (Easter), called Bright Week, the church celebrates Pascha for eight days, almost as though it were one continuous day. By tradition, babies are named on the eighth day after birth. And from ancient times, Christian baptisteries and fonts have been built with eight sides, indicating the newly baptized are entering the realm of the Eight Day, the day of eternal rest (Heb 4:1-11) in Christ's Heavenly Kingdom.

The only true worship is from the heart.
No matter how sacred the appearance of the worship, no matter the texts of scripture supporting any legalistic belief, the only true worship is in "Spirit and Truth" by the power of the Holy Spirit magnifying the one TRUTH, the person Jesus Christ who walked among us. "Bring no more futile sacrifices; incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies - I cannot endure iniquity in the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates." Isa 1:13,14. One must remember that when a spirit other than a sincere heart chose to worship God, God has condemned it from the start. He didn't accept the sacrifice of Cain, and when those not appointed tried to worship God in rebellion, having a form of worship, he destroyed them. ( Lev 10:1,2 - And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD."

FAKE WORSHIPERS:
In New Testament times it didn't take long before the "fake worshipers" arrived, trying to turn the Celtic Community (gentile) back to Levitical Law - we see the same heretics present today. To these Judaizers Saint Paul said, "How is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months, and seasons and years." Gal 4:9-11. 

And as to keeping the Levitical Law, and the other Traditions that had come to be through the Hebrew Priesthood Saint Paul said, ". . . having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances." Eph 2:15 - he was not speaking of the "natural law" confirmed in the Ten Commandments, but the layer upon layer of other "ordinances" given force of law. And again he Saint Paul says, " . . . having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us . . . Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths. Col. 2:14,16. 

And as we have already stated this is the confirmed teaching of the Apostles and held by their immediate successors, " . . . no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord's Day." - Saint Ignatius 105, AD.)

"Their scrupulosity concerning meats, and their superstition as respects the Sabbaths, and their boasting about circumcision, and their fancies about fasting and the new moons . . are utterly ridiculous and unworthy of notice . . And to speak falsely of God, as if He forbade us to do what is good on the Sabbath-days - how is this not ungodly? Letter to Diognetus ( early second century.)

And the Saint Justin Martyr - "Is there any other matter, my (Jewish) friends, in which we Christians are blamed, than this: that we do not live after the Law . . and do not observe Sabbaths, as you do? 

Again: 
You (a Jew) now have need of a second circumcision, although you glory greatly in the flesh. The new law requires you to keep a perpetual Sabbath. However, you, because you are idle for one day, supposed you are godly . . The Lord our God does not take pleasure in such observances. If there is any perjured person or a thief among you, let him cease to be so . . then he has kept the sweet and true Sabbaths of God.

Again: All those righteous men already mentioned, though they kept no Sabbaths, were pleasing to God. (Ante Nicene Fathers volume 1 page 204 for context.)

Again: There was no need of circumcision before Abraham, nor was there need of the observance of Sabbaths, or of feasts and sacrifices, before Moses. Accordingly, there is no more need of them now. +++

What Justin Martyr was explaining saying, "The new law requires you to keep a perpetual Sabbath" - this is what some later describe as "the Liturgy of Living" - in harmony with Saint Paul's admonitions to "pray without ceasing" "to do ALL - the everyday mundane things - as unto the Lord." Where the life itself becomes a living worship of God in word and deed. 

Saint Irenaeus takes up this theme saying:
"You will observe My Sabbaths; for it will be a sign between Me and you for your generations." These things, then, were given for sign . . . the Sabbaths taught that we should continue day by day in God's service . . abstaining from all avarice and not acquiring or possessing treasures upon earth . . However, man was not justified by these things. Rather, they were given as a sign to the people. This fact is evident, for Abraham himself - without circumcision and without observance of Sabbaths - "believed in God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness." (Ante Nicene Fathers vol 1 page 481.)

"Let the one who contends that the Sabbath is still to be observed as a balm of salvation . . prove to us that in times past righteous men kept the Sabbath, or practiced circumcision and were thereby made "friends of God." God created Adam uncircumcised and non-observant of the Sabbath . . Also, God freed from the deluge Noah, who was uncircumcised and did not observe the Sabbath. Enoch, too, He transported from this world, even though that most righteous man was uncircumcised and did not observe the Sabbath . . . Melchizedek also, 'the priest of the most high God,' although uncircumcised and not observing the Sabbath, was chosen to be the priesthood of God. " Tertullian (ante-Nicene Fathers vol 3 page 153.

THE EIGHTH DAY - IN THE ANCIENT CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Saint Barnabas - Saint Paul's missionary companion. "I will make a beginning of the eighth day, that is, a beginning of another world. For that reason, also, we keep the eight day with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead. (A.N. Fathers - vol 1 page 147)

Justin Martyr - "Our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the first day after the Sabbath. Although the first day after the Sabbath remains the first of ALL the days, it is nevertheless called the eighth. 

Saint Cyprian: "Concerning the observance of the eighth day in the Jewish circumcision of the flesh, a sacrament was given before hand in shadow and in usage. But when Christ came, it was fulfilled in truth. For the eighth day (that is the first day after the Sabbath) was to be the day on which the Lord would rise again, enliven us, and give us the circumcision of the spirit. The eight day(that is, the first day after the Sabbath), The lord's day, was foreshadowed."

The mythology that The Church somehow isn't "correct enough" because it worships on Sunday and calls Sunday "The Lord's Day" and that it was somehow introduced to the Church through a pagan source is seen clearly by the Historical Record to be a lie told by heretics and repeated by ignorant men.  As this record above clearly shows, The Eighth Day worship (that is Sunday - the celebration of the resurrection) was from earliest times the norm, the practice of the earliest Christians, as I have demonstrated in their own words above. And as already stated, the Emperor Constantine "recognized" the practice "already in place among Christians" and declared it a national holy day. Sunday - The Eighth Day celebration was the normal practice for Christians for at least 250 years prior to it becoming "official" by the secular government.

--------
References The Orthodox Study Bible - available from Thomas Nelson Publishing Company
The Ante-Nicene Fathers - available from several printed sources and on line from several sources.