[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so much for your beautiful essays, dear Kolokotronis!

It seems to me that Christ speaks to us through His letters to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3. All seven churches are accepted by Him with commendations and rebukes - though two of the churches are spared rebukes and both of them remind me of Orthodox Christians I am privileged to know.

The first is the much suffering church of Smyrna in which I see the perservance of many Orthodox under extreme duress:

And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and [I know] the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but [are] the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast [some] of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. - Rev 2:8-11

The second is the church of Philadelphia whose very name suggests an obsession with the love of God and neighbor:

And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, [which is] new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and [I will write upon him] my new name.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. - Rev 3:7-13

That is not to say I don't see these in other Christians - particularly here on the forum - but as a branch of Christianity, I see these two as further branches of those I know who say they are Orthodox.

"It is the Day of Resurrection! Let us shine forth in splendor for the Festival and embrace one another. Let us say, 'O brethren, even to those who do not love us; let us forgive all things in the Resurrection and thus let us exclaim: Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling Death by death and bestowing life to those in the tombs!'"

Amen! Praise God!

[Kolokotronis]

” It seems to me that Christ speaks to us through His letters to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3. All seven churches are accepted by Him with commendations and rebukes - though two of the churches are spared rebukes and both of them remind me of Orthodox Christians I am privileged to know.”

What an interesting, and kind, observation, AG, but I trust you also recognize that we Orthodoxers can be the greatest of sinners, the worst among heretics. Some of us, myself included, believe that God chose a time for the Incarnation when Greek was the lingua franca of the Mediterranean world so that the NT would be written in Greek and thus readily available to Greeks. We, more than others I’m afraid, need every advantage we can get! :)