Crucifixion

The Crucifixion of Jesus

 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.  They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”).  There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.  When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.  And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews.
³⁸ Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.  Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads  and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”  In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.  He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

The Death of Jesus

From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land.  About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split  and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.  They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs.  Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 27:46 Some manuscripts Eloi, Eloi
2. Matthew 27:46 Psalm 22:1
3. Matthew 27:53 Or tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they
4. Matthew 27:56 Greek Joses, a variant of Joseph

New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Sfinţii Împăraţi Constantin şi Elena

Sfinţii Împăraţi Constantin şi Elena

desen de Daliana Pacuraru

Sfintii Constantin si Elena, "cei intocmai cu Apostolii", sunt pomeniti in Biserica Ortodoxa pe 21 mai.

Sarbatoarea Sfintilor Constantin si Elena este strans legata de taina si puterea Sfintei Cruci – semnul central al religiei crestine. Sfantului Constantin i s-a aratat pe cerul amiezii semnul Crucii spre biruinta (In hoc signo vinces – “Intru acest semn vei invinge”), in pragul infruntarii cu paganul Maxentiu, iar Sfinta Elena, mama sa, a descoperit la Ierusalim Crucea pe care Mantuitorul a fost rastignit. Sfanta Imparateasa Elena a trecut la Domnul la anul 327, putin dupa intoarcerea de la Ierusalim, iar Sfantul Imparat Constantin in 337, dupa 31 de ani de domnie.

http://www.crestinortodox.ro/sfintii-constantin-si-elena/ 

The 21^st of May is a very big holly day as we celebrate the saints Constantin and Elena. Constantin the Great was a leader of the Roman Empire who lived around 300 A.D. He was the son of Queen Elena and the first Christian Roman Emperor.

He established the new capital of Rome at the old Greek town of Byzantium, which he renamed after himself (Constantinople) and which would be the capital of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire. He raised Christianity to the status of a “permitted religion.” He took a direct interest in matters of doctrine and called the first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church at Nicaea.In traditional calendar, this event is known as Constantine Starling (Constantin Graur) or Cubs’ Constantine (Constantin al Puilor). Elders say that on this day birds teach their offspring to fly. May 21 is also an occasion for Romanians to celebrate their name day.

Known as those who made Christians free, the two emperors Constantine and Helen became true protectors of the Christians. During his reign, Emperor Constantine adopted a series of measures in favor of the Church and priests. They say his mother, Queen Helena,used to help oppressed Christians.

The story of Constantine and Helena 

https://graphis-artwork.blogspot.ro/2014/10/sfantul-dimitrie-saint-dimitrie.html
https://graphis-artwork.blogspot.ro/2014/08/adormirea-maicii-domnului-sau-sfanta.html

Apocryphal Gospel - Jorge Luis Borges

3.	Wretched are the poor in spirit, for under the earth they shall be what they now are upon the earth.
4.	Wretched are they that mourn, for they already have the miserable habit of mourning.
5.	Fortunate are they that know that suffering is not a crown of glory.
6.	It sufficeth not to be the last in order to someday be the first.
7.	Happy are they that do not insist they are right, for no man is or all men are.
8.	Happy are they that forgive others and they that forgive themselves.
9.	Blessed are the meek, for they do not condescend to disagreement.
10.	Blessed are they that do not hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they know that our fortune, adverse or merciful, is a matter of chance, which is inscrutable.
11.	Blessed are the merciful, for their happiness lies in the exercise of mercy and not in the hope of a reward.
12.	Blessed are the pure in heart, for they see God.
13.	Blessed are they that suffer persecution for the sake of righteousness, for righteousness matters more to them than their human destiny.
14.	Nobody is the salt of the earth; no one, at some moment in life, is not the salt of the earth.
15.	Let thy light so shine, even if men cannot see it. God shall see it.
16.	There is no commandment which cannot be broken, neither those that I say nor those that the prophets have said.
17.	He that kills for a just cause, or for a cause which he believes just, is guiltless.
18.	The acts of men deserve neither hell fire nor heaven.
19.	Hate not thine enemy, for upon doing so, thou art in some way his slave. Thy hate shall never be better than thy peace.
20.	If thy right hand offend thee, forgive it; thou art thy body and thou art thy soul and it is difficult, if not impossible, to determine the boundary that divides them...
24.	Exaggerate not the cult of truth; there is no man that at the end of the day has not lied with good reason many times.
25.	Swear not, for all swearing is an emphasis.
26.	Resist evil, but without awe or anger. To whomsoever smite thee on thy right cheek, thou mayest turn the other also, as long as thou art not moved by fear.
27.	I speak not of vengeance nor of forgiveness; to forget is the only vengeance and the only forgiveness.
28.	Doing good to thine enemies can be an act of righteousness and it is not difficult; loving them, a task for angels and not for men.
29.	Doing good to thine enemies is the best way to placate thy vanity.
30.	Lay not up gold upon earth, because gold is the father of idleness, and the latter, of sadness and of boredom.
31.	Judge that others are or shall be righteous, and if they are not, it is not thy error.
32.	God is more generous than men and shall mete to them with a different measure.
33.	Give that which is holy to dogs, cast thy pearls before swine; what is most important is to give.
34.	Seek for the pleasure of seeking, not for that of finding...
39.	The gate is the one that chooses, not the man.
40.	Judge not a tree by its fruits, neither a man by his works; they could be better or worse.
41.	Nothing is built upon the rock, everything upon the sand, but our duty is to build as though the sand were rock...
47.	Happy are the poor without bitterness or the rich without pride.
48.	Happy are the valiant, they that accept with equal spirit failure or applause.
49.	Happy are they that retain in their memory the words of Virgil or Christ, for these shall give light to their days.
50.	Happy are they that are loved and they that love and they that can do without love.
51.	Happy are the happy.

Fragments of an Apocryphal Gospel Jorge Luis Borges Translated by Mark D Larsen April 23, 2008  http://vis-si-realitate-2.blogspot.ro/