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Romanian

În Slujbele Bisericii totul se întâmplă pentru tine.

Desigur că slujbele nu se ţin pentru Dumnezeu. Dumnezeu fiind perfect, nu are nevoie de nimeni şi nimic. Slujbele nu se fac nici pentru sfinţii zilei. Sfinţii fiind dumnezei (după har) şi în Rai nu au nevoie de tentativele noastre jalnice în comparaţie cu slava şi perfecţiunea Raiului.

Rămâne că slujbele se fac pentru mântuirea noastră. Pentru noi înşine, pentru oamenii simpli. Slujba nu este făcută special pentru preot ori special pentru psalt sau pentru altă poziţie eclesială. Slujba este ţinută pentru ca să ne putem ruga la maximum, pentru a putea ieşi din planul material şi a intra în planul dumnezeiesc. Deci la slujbă, mai întâi de toate, trebuie să ne rugăm pentru că omul este eminamente o fiinţă rugătoare, chip şi asemănare a lui Dumnezeu, iar nu o fiinţă spectatoare. Primează rugăciunea interioară iar nu ascultarea cântărilor. Trebuie să reuşim unirea cu Dumnezeul cel veşnic iar nu răspândirea minţii pe un plan efemer. Cine nu (mai) poate să se roage în inima sa, va cădea de la înălţimea rugăciunii pe plasa psalmodiilor care cu toate că este un plan duhovnicesc, este unul inferior. Deci pentru a ne menţine într-o stare duhovnicească, fie ea mai înaltă sau mai inferioară, este nevoie de un cadru adecvat şi de perseverenţă.

Mai multe fotografii puteti vedea aici: http://vatopaidi.wordpress.com/2011/12/07/spod59/

Greek

Ό, τι συμβαίνει στις ακολουθίες της Εκκλησίας είναι για σας.

Φυσικά, οι ακολουθίες δεν γίνονται για τον Θεό. Ο Θεός είναι τέλειος και δεν έχει ανάγκη από κανέναν και τίποτα. Οι ακολουθίες δεν είναι για τους αγίους που γιορτάζουμε κάθε μέρα. Οι άγιοι είναι δίπλα στο Θεό (με τη χάρη του Θεού) και στον παράδεισο δεν χρειάζονται τις προσπάθειες μας, οι οποίες είναι αξιολύπητες σε σύγκριση με τη δόξα και την τελειότητα του Ουρανού…

Φυσικά οι ακολουθίες είναι για τη σωτηρία μας. Για τους εαυτούς μας, για εμάς τους απλούς ανθρώπους. Η ακολουθία βέβαια δεν είναι φτιαγμένη ειδικά για τον ιερέα ή για τον ψάλτη ή για οποιαδήποτε εκκλησιαστική θέση. Η ακολουθία πραγματοποιείται για να μας επιτρέψει να προσευχόμαστε όσο καλύτερα μπορούμε, για να μας επιτρέψει να βγούμε από το υλικό επίπεδο και να εισέλθουμε στην πνευματική σφαίρα. Έτσι, στην ακολουθία, πρώτα απ ‘όλα, πρέπει να προσευχόμαστε, διότι ο άνθρωπος είναι στην ουσία μια ύπαρξη της προσευχής, κατ’ εικόνα και ομοίωση του Θεού, και όχι ως θεατής. Η εσωτερική προσευχή θα πρέπει να επικρατεί και όχι το άκουσμα των «τραγουδιών». Πρέπει να επιτύχουμε την ένωση με τον αιώνιο Θεό και να αποφευχθεί η περιπλάνηση του νου σε μια εφήμερη σφαίρα. Όποιος δεν μπορεί να προσεύχεται μέσα στην καρδιά του (πλέον), θα πέσει από τα ύψη της προσευχής στα δίχτυα του άσματος το οποίο ακόμη και εάν βρίσκεται στο πνευματικό επίπεδο, είναι κατώτερο. Έτσι, για να κρατηθούμε σε μια πνευματική διάθεση, είτε ανώτερη είτε χαμηλότερη, χρειάζεται ένα κατάλληλο περιβάλλον και… επιμονή.

English

Everything that happens in the services of the Church is for you.

Of course the services are not for God. God is perfect and does not need anyone or anything. The services are not for the saints commemorated each day. The saints are next to God (through God’s grace) and in Paradise they don’t need our attempts which are pathetic compared to the glory and perfection of the Heaven.

Of course the services are for our salvation. For ourselves, for the ordinary people. The service isn’t especially made for the priest or for the chanter or for any ecclesial possition. The service is held to allow us to pray as good as we can, to allow us to leave the material plane and to enter in the divine sphere. So, at the service, first of all we must pray because the human being is essentially an existence of prayer, image and likeness of God, and not a spectator. The inner prayer should prevail and not the listening of songs. We must achieve the union with the eternal God and avoid the wandering of the mind in an ephemeral sphere. Whoever cannot pray in his heart (anymore), will fall from the heights of the prayer on the nets of the chants which even if it lies in the spiritual plane, it is an inferior one. So, in order to keep ourselves in a spiritual mood, either superior or a lower one, it needs an appropriate environment and perseverance.

More photos you can see here:  http://vatopaidi.wordpress.com/2011/12/07/spod59/