Funeral Service
Name the parts of the Funeral Service.
1). The first two services are done on the days leading up to the funeral and may even be skipped.
2). The third service is the farewell of the departed from the family.
3). The fourth one is the preparation of the departed for their final journey to the chamber of light by the Church.
How many days did Jesus spend with his Apostles after his Resurrection?
40 days
What is the name of the ancient language of our early Church?
Syriac
Why do we call the Friday before Easter "Great Friday"?
It it great because it came just before the Resurrection of Christ, the day Our Lord and Savior defeated death and reconciled all of God's children to Himself again. This was the most important Friday in the history of the Holy Church because God himself willingly died for us on this day.
Why is praying for our faithful departed so important to Orthodox Christians?
1). The Church prays to God to always remember the departed.
2). The Church prays to God to accept our prayers so that the departed inherit the Kingdom of God, and until then the Kingdom of God comes, may they be resting in the bosom of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
3). The Church asks the Almighty God to listen to their prayers for all of us.
What does it mean to us as Orthodox Christians that Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven?
Christ ascended into heaven so that his believers would see him in raised glory and to witness promise fulfilled.
Why do we celebrate Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell among us, 50 days after Resurrection of Jesus Christ?
After Resurrection Jesus was with his disciples for 40 days until His Ascension. It was 10 days after Jesus ascended into Heaven, that the apostles gathered to pray in the house of St. Mark, feeling sad because they missed Jesus. As they gathered and prayed, they were filled with the Holy Spirit, the comforter and the advocate from God, just as Jesus promised. This marks 50 days after Resurrection.
Why should we only receive sacraments like the Holy Qurbana within our church community?
Our faith in Christ is special and ancient and so we do things that others do not. This is why we only take Qurbana and other sacraments within our church community. It's why we say, "the One, Holy Catholic, and Apostolic faith".
How is prayer for the departed an act of love?
One of the ways we show our love for one another is to pray for one another. Praying for our departed is also an act of love for those who have passed over to God.
Orthodox Christians have prayed for their beloved departed since the days of the early church. We are still members of that same Orthodox Christian Church. The departed and the living have both received the Body and Blood of Christ. thus, we are one with God and with each other, the living and the departed.
St. Paul wrote that we belong to the Lord whether we live or die (Romas 14:8) and that we are members of His Body (Ephesians 5:30)
What does the Ascension teach us to hope for?
Second Coming
In what way is Pentecost important when we remember the Tower of Babel?
The Tower of Babel from the Old Testament states that the wicked people came together to build the Tower of Babel, God scattered them throughout many places and mixed up their languages. Then they spoke different languages and couldn't understand each other. The opposite happened on the day of Pentecost.
When the apostles gathered together to worship God, they spoke different languages but could understand each other. Therefore, Pentecost healed what happened in Babel through the Holy Spirit.
Why do we call the Resurrection the "Feasts of Feasts"?
It is our celebration and remembrance of Jesus Christ coming to earth to live as one of us for a time, of His crucifixion and death, and of His resurrection.
Who did Jesus Christ tell his Apostles to wait for in Jerusalem?
Holy Spirit
The helper is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came 10 days after Christ's ascension, and that day is called Pentecost. Jesus wanted the Holy Spirit to come so that they would be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Name one part of the icon of Pentecost.
1). We see all of the apostles gathered in harmony and unity.
2). The Tower of Babel, shown on one side of the icon, was destroyed in disunity.
3). On the other side is shown the new spiritual building of the Church, through which anyone can reach the Kingdom of God no mater where they come from or what language they speak.
4). There is an empty space at the center of the circle of the apostles, and that place is for Jesus Christ who told the apostles before He Ascended that He is with them always.
5). There are 12 rays coming from the circle at the top of the icon, and these represent the Holy Spirit sending tongues of fire to each apostle, granting the gift of tongues.
6). Finally, there is a figure at the bottom of the icon with a crown and holding a cloth with 12 scrolls. This figure is Cosmos, who represents all people of the world who are in darkness, and the 12 scrolls represent the apostles who would bring light to all nations by spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Which parts of the Nativity Icon point to the Resurrection of Christ?
1). The wise men bringing myrrh and frankincense to Jesus at his birth was a prefiguration of His death. Frankincense we use today in our liturgies as an offering to God.
2). Angels in the background and the light shining down on Jesus. He was always the Son of God, and one of the Holy Trinity and He lived and then died as humans do.
3). He chose to become human in order to rescue humans from sins.