Chancellor’s Diary

by Fr. John Jillions

May 20, 2014

Psalm 103

Bless the Lord, O my soul;
 and all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits,
Who forgives all your iniquity, Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from the Pit,
Who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
Who satisfies you with good as long as you live
so that…

May 16, 2014

Psalm 102: Affliction, Resurrection and Eternal Remembrance

Thou shalt rise up and have pity upon Zion, for it is time to have compassion on her, yea, the time has come.

The Lord from heaven has looked down upon the earth, to hear the groaning of them that are in chains, to loose the sons of the slain.
Psalm 102: 13, 19, 20 (LXX; Alleluia for…

May 15, 2014

Psalm 101

O Lord, I will sing to Your of mercy and judgment.
Psalm 101(100):1 (LXX)

St Dorotheus of Gaza
Saint Dorotheos of Gaza

One of the biggest tensions in Christian life is between mercy and judgment. In the ascetic tradition it’s understood that mercy should always be the default position, and if there is to be any judging we should start with ourselves. Take…

May 14, 2014

Mid-Pentecost

Psalm 100

Serve the Lord with gladness!
 Come into his presence with singing!
(Psalm 100:2)

Serve Lord with Gladness
Serve the Lord with Gladness
Monk of the Eastern Church
Biography of Fr Lev Gillet, by Elisabeth Behr-Sigel
Fr Gillet
Fr Lev Gillet (1893-1980), “A Monk of the Eastern Church”

Serve the Lord with Gladness is the title of the short book that brings together two of Father Lev…

May 13, 2014

Psalm 99

Extol the Lord our God; worship at His footstool, for it is holy! The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble!
(Psalm 99:5, 1: Prokeimenon, Elevation of the Cross and Sunday of the Cross)

Moses and Aaron were among His priests; Samuel also was among those who called on His name. They cried to the Lord, and He answered them.
(Psalm 99:6:…

May 9, 2014

Psalm 98

O sing to the Lord a new song,
 for he has done marvelous things!

(Psalm 98:1)

We as Orthodox are committed to upholding, defending and passing on the Tradition. Indeed, the words “new” and “innovation” are often used as warning labels. So it’s striking to me how often the scriptures speak of God doing something new.

St…

May 8, 2014

Psalm 97: “When the Land was Restored”

Light dawns for the righteous,
 and joy for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,

and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness!
(Psalm 96:11-12)

Christ is risen!

Most English versions of Psalm 97 don’t have a title, because there is no title in the Hebrew manuscripts…

May 7, 2014

Saint Alexis Toth: Confessor and Defender of Orthodoxy in North America

St Alexis Toth
St Alexis Toth

I was at the canonization of Saint Alexis during Memorial Day weekend in 1994 at Saint Tikhon’s Monastery. Along with scores of priests taking turns, I had the privilege of helping to carry his heavy casket in procession, and I remember thinking that this was…

May 6, 2014

Psalm 96

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice
(Psalm 96:11)

Chancery
”...and let the earth rejoice”: Spring at the Chancery

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice
Let the whole world, visible and invisible keep the feast.
For Christ is risen, our eternal joy!
(Paschal canon, Ode 1)

Christ is risen!

In this paschal season Psalm 96…

April 11, 2014

Psalm 95

This is my last “Chancellor’s Diary” entry until after Bright Week. But what a fitting psalm for today and these special days!

1. O, come let us worship and fall down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker (Psalm 95:6).
This is the normal entrance hymn for the Divine Liturgy, where we add the words “…fall down before…

April 10, 2014

Psalm 94: God of Vengeance

Crocuses
Spring at the Chancery

There are times when we are just so angry and dispirited by the state of the world. Church life too can leave us bitterly disappointed and furious that leaders and people don’t live up to basic human standards of kindness, care and civility, let alone Christ’s example. The psalms allow us to react…

April 8, 2014

Saint Nino, All-American Council, Syrian Patriarch and a devastating fire

It has been a busy few days at the Chancery.

St Nino meeting
Discussing film about St Nino of Georgia

On Monday His Beatitude, Father Leonid Kishkovsky and I met with Gia Kereselidze, an award-winning filmmaker, and producer Lazarus Aliyev who presented their work in progress on a major…

April 4, 2014

Psalm 93

The Lord is King [reigns]; He is robed in majesty;

the Lord is robed, He is girded with strength.

Yea, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
2 Thy throne is established from of old;

Thou art from everlasting.

3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord,

the floods have lifted up their voice,

the floods lift up their…

April 3, 2014

Psalm 92: “A Song for the Sabbath”

It is good to give thanks [to confess] to the Lord,
 to sing praises to Thy name, O Most High;
to declare Thy steadfast love in the morning,
 and Thy faithfulness by night…

The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord,
 they…

April 2, 2014

Psalm 91

For He will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the adder,
 the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
—Psalm 91:11-13

Then the devil took [Jesus] to the holy city, and set Him on the…

April 1, 2014

Psalm 90

Lord, Thou hast been our refuge [dwelling place] in all generations.
Before the mountains existed, and [before] the earth and the world were formed, even from age to age,
Thou art…

Satisfy us in the morning with Thy steadfast love,

that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Make us glad as many days as Thou hast afflicted us,
and…

March 27, 2014

Psalm 89

I will sing of thy steadfast love, O Lord, for ever;

with my mouth I will proclaim Thy faithfulness to all generations.
Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,

who walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance,
Tabor and Hermon joyously praise Thy name.
—Psalm 89:1, 15, 12 (Transfiguration)

This is a long psalm (52 verses)…

March 26, 2014

Psalm 88 and at the funeral for a priest

O Lord, why dost Thou cast me off?
 Why dost Thou hide Thy face from me?
Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
 I suffer Thy terrors; I am helpless.
Thy wrath has swept over me;
 Thy dread assaults destroy me.
They surround me like a flood all day long;
 they close in upon me together.
Thou…

March 25, 2014

The Annunciation
Psalm 87: City of God and Mother of God

Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God.

Among those who know me I mention Rahab [Egypt] and Babylon;
 behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia—“This one was born there,” they say.
(Psalm 87:3,4)

City of God
St Augustine’s City of God

Saint Augustine took this verse as the inspiration…

March 20, 2014

Psalm 86

All the nations you have made shall come
 and bow down before you, O Lord,

and shall glorify your name.
For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.
Psalm 86:9-10
(Revelation 15:3-4)

Many psalms, like this one, are prayers that assume God is (or ought to be!) listening, answering and guiding His people.

Incline…