IC XC NIKA

"Once we become aware that we indeed were carrying unresolved grief we must decide either to grieve or to attempt to further avoid the grief. Grieving with the purpose of working out what we went through, so that we are not paralyzed by it, is healthy. To attempt to contain or to put a lid on grief is indeed a lost cause. We are taught not to get too attached to this world, and we should not. However this detaching from the world and everything in it is a process. It is not a sin to grieve. Jesus Himself wept at the tomb of lazarus, and we know Jesus to be perfect man and perfect God. Jesus sanctified grief, which is the result of love, outside the tomb of Lazarus. We grieve disenfranchised losses with the intention of moving past them, not out of a desire to hold on to this world. We are allowed to grieve the fallen nature of this world. It hurts, it is sad, and it is tragic. Grieving is a process that allows us to truly let go of this fallen world and to reach the Kingdom of heaven without too much unnecessary baggage."

St. Spyridon of Tremithus and Elder Gabriel. I recall another case of his help when I was working on the icon, “The Glory of the Most Holy Trinity”. That icon depicts St. Spyridon of Tremithus and Elder Gabriel. As is generally known, one of the most significant events of the First Oecumenical Council of 325 was the speech of St. Spyridon, who exposed the heresy of Arius, which argued that Christ was created by God the Father and was not equal to Him. Many philosophers were on the side of Arius and by false logical inferences tried to reject the arguments in favor of the Triune God. It seemed the argument was nearing deadlock… But St. Spyridon of Tremithus demonstrated the unity of the Holy Trinity for everybody to see. He took a brick into his hands, squeezed it—and in an instant fire shot out of it, water dripped on the ground, and clay remained in the saint’s hands. “There are three elements of which one brick is composed. Likewise, in the Holy Trinity there are Three Persons but only One God,” the wonderworker proclaimed.

There was a similar episode in the life of Elder Gabriel. It was testified to by Archimandrite Kirion (Oniani). Once some Hindus who were visiting the elder asked him, “Fr. Gabriel, what will you answer if we say that you Christians are mistaken? Though you Orthodox adopted the idea of the Trinity from us, you misunderstood the teaching of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva; the Hindu triad, despite the harmonic connection, has no unity, whereas you consider the Trinity as triune, which is a basic mistake.”

A wonderful healing has been given to us through your holy icon, O Sovereign Lady Theotokos. By its appearance we have been delivered from spiritual and physical ills, and from sorrowful circumstances. We therefore offer our thankful praise to you, O merciful Protectress.

From the akathist to the Icon of the Mother of God, “The Inexhaustible Cup”