Be the Bee # 135 | The Importance of Service(s) (with Archbishop Elpidophoros)

[@ΓΕΡΑΣΙΜΟΣΜΙΧΟΣ]

Although I am Greek, I absolutely love seeing Orthodox videos in English. Probably since it reminds me that Orthodoxy is truly global which makes me quite happy. Thank you for contributing so much to help other people see the truth.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Glory to God! Pray for us!

[@svecve]

@@stevenchristoforou1667 Steven what should one do when a thought constantly attacks you? Can a spiritual father free you from that thought? I am orthodox but I don't have a spiritual father, I can get one since we have a church 10 minutes away from me. This thought really bothers me, but it leaves me when I pray, however it sometimes comes back

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

@@svecve Connect with a priest near you for advice tailored to your particular needs. In a more general sense: Be the Bee #110 | Don't Think About Your Thoughts kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3WZnZutlKh7gaM God bless you!

[@jameswiliams]

There was only ONE CHURH present in the world the first 1054 years of Christianity! Paul was very lucid as to a certain characteristic of the Church none negotiable that was delivered by the Holy Spirit. If Salvation Truth had to be based on one verse of the Holy bible alone, it would be the verse spoken by Paul to the Ephesians 4:5 “5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism”. This is because the Church is not an human made organization. [In Colossians 1: 24] Paul verifies the fact that the Church is the Body of Christ! “Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:: The Church is a living ~god man~ organism that is Divine creatred by the Holy Spirit the day of Pentecost with 85 Holy Apostolic canons that considered the WILL of GOD for the Salvation of man kind! Cannons of the Apostles (the Greek Orthodox still go by these canons today) www.voskrese.info/spl/aposcanon.html All of your ancestors that were Christians before the years 1054 AC were all Orthodox. The cave where John wrote Apocalypses is a Greek Orthodox Monastery. The cave of the Apocalypse kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4TUfXWvasuqY6M On Mount Sinah where Moses received the 10 comandments is also an orthodox monastery of Saint Cathwrine. video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&p=Mount+Sinah+saint+Caterina+U+tube#id=3&vid=c09e26d2c4eb43b9c14c30da54e04bbf&action=click GOD IS LIGHT AND THE SAINTS IN THE HOLY SPIRIT BECOME LIGHT [Acts: 6-15] " 15 And all that sat in the He face council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. The Image and Likeness of God kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6uspXmEpcmhjLs The purpose of the godlike beings is one: to become gradually perfect as God the Father to become "a god by Grace" , to attain Theosis, Deification, Christificication , Trinification. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mXXWlJqcm657gJY Greek Orthodox by country en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodoxy_by_country God bless Helen, remember me in your prayer please

[@treytrapani9813]

You are my brother, no matter what side of the ocean you live on, you are my brother!

[@kristinakade7007]

I am Russian Orthodox and these videos are great!-Artemiy

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Glory to God, thanks for watching and commenting!

[@Greg-kw1rp]

OPEN THE CHURCH NOW

[@jamesworkman9697]

Wonderful!....Archbishop Elpidophoros is in my prayers everyday. TY for this encouraging video.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Wonderful, thank you! We should pray for everyone, including our hierarchs.

[@spiro4955]

He should because he is not a man of GOD

[@jenn_starseed]

This is so amazing. I found the link on fr. John page. Such an honor to have been at the first divine liturgy with the archbishop now he's on KZbin

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Right? So wonderful!

[@ronkumar2847]

Can't wait for be the bee!

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Just a few hours until the new episode premieres!

[@jaguarkyorugi7507]

I'm christian from indonesia this video so great god bless

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Glory to God!

[@isaakios]

This one didn't age well. When will the Greek parishes be allowed to open?

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

I don't understand the question. They are open.

[@MakedonasAlexandertheGreat]

Great job Steve!!!!!

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Thank you, pray for us!

[@MakedonasAlexandertheGreat]

Φίλε καταπληκτική δουλειά κάνεις με το κανάλι σου.Πρόσφατα έκανα και εγώ ένα αφιέρωμα στον Μητροπολίτη Αμερικής. Έχω το κανάλι makedonas Alexander the Great. Ίσως κάποια στιγμή να συνεργαστούμε:-) ο Θεός να σε ευλογεί. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqCVXquGop6ZaMk&app=desktop

[@bruderklaus9976]

The future "First without equals" is talking about service. Well, if that's not a contradiction, then what is it?

[@apo.7898]

Do you know how the patriarchates of Moscow, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia came to be? Both sides are in fault. But considering the fact that there are 5 essentially national patriarchates apart from the autocephalous churches, the existence of an autocephalous Ukrainian church is logical at least. How it came to be is problematic.

[@minasoliman]

Thank you for using the word “exploited”. I think that gives us the best meaning of the verse.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Ah, in Philippians? Yeah, I agree.

[@minasoliman]

Steven Christoforou yup Philippians :)

[@neelyneely4985]

Where can I purchase this "Be the Bee" mug?

[@Blueray93Romania]

I love your channel and Bishop Elpidophoros seems amazing. I pray that he never strays left nor right, and that he never becomes an ecumenist. Thank you Steve for your videos. God bless

[@Православл]

He is an ecumenist. All hierarchs of the Ecumenical Patriarchate are.

[@jimpitt100]

Corneliu Z. Codreanu I think you’ll be disappointed.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

@Language and Programming Channel I'm curious what equips you to make this statement.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

@@jimpitt100 You would do better to pray for people than assume things about them.

[@jimpitt100]

Steven Christoforou I pray from the patriarch to last cleric who is are in communion with heretics. I hope they open their eyes.

[@LunaCryptic]

Please pray for me. I am a life long (almost 60 years) Baptist and have grown weary of all the inconsistencies I see. There are no doubt good people in all protestant denominations, but many of the churches are rife with pride, gluttony, lust, materialism, etc and I was a part of that for many, many years. It was in the seventies as a late teen, I started noticing things that weren't quite right with squaring the practicing of my faith with Holy Scripture. It has been a long journey and over the years as I have continued to see signs here and there that indicated to me I was living a lie. I even stopped going to church for a number of years, but I never lost my faith. I began to notice several years ago, that the Orthodox church is spreading like wildfire in Eastern Europe and even making inroads into Western Europe as well. I suppose the Americas are the last vestige for Orthodoxy to really make a wedge into. Even so, we have three small Orthodox churches in the moderately sized city I live in. And while I still have questions about Orthodoxy I cannot square in my own mind, I made the decision to just go ahead and cross the Rubicon, so I contacted the one closest to my house and am set up, sometime next week, to speak with a minister there. As I said, I don't have all the answers, but with prayer and counseling from those I trust, I hope that soon I will embrace the warmth of communion with the one church that can trace its lineage back to Pentecost. The die is cast, there is no turning back for me at this point.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

God bless your courage and faith! And may He multiply it!

[@cmoberg2036]

I will pray that you can go forward with courage and find God's love and mercy. I came from a Protestant background in the midwest. when my family moved here to the coastline I found the church was a much lesser entity than the one I grew up with. Over the years I was with one Protestant church or another trying to find what I had had in my youth, but it never happened. Most of the churches nowadays I called vanilla because they're just plain.. they have no detail to them, and they are not deep and Rich. When our son died from suicide I just lost the ability to go to church. The rock bands and the constant cheerfulness just broke my heart even more. And the attitude that our son was in hell because of what he did ...or that I was no longer connected to him..death was final here left me feeling bereft of my church, and my God. For a while I quit going to church but I longed for the closest relationship I had had with God and I needed to know where my son was. I searched and researched and found the orthodox Church and and now six years later I am a member of the Greek Orthodox Church and most recently my husband has decided to also join. I have found a level of peace, God's mercy, a deep and meaningful liturgy and liturgical year that brings meaning to my life and the events in my life, and I have found my son again knowing he is in God's mercy and in God's hands. And knowing I can pray for him still and have the intersection of so many Saints and the Theotokos makes me feel not so alone.

[@Renvere]

Steve, you would make an awesome Priest.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

If it's God's will! For now, I'll keep doing what He's appointed me to do.

[@joshheller3561]

Well done, Steve. :)

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Thank you! Pray for us!

[@pelikanproductions6206]

Love it! My kids had a great time with you at the homeschool conference this spring. They all say "Hi, Uncle Steve!!".

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Give them my best! Hope to see you at the next conference!

[@gatula4359]

Amazing!

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Glory to God!

[@SJSUPhil]

You do a great job on these Be The Bee videos. Thank you for sharing them and God bless you. :)

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Glory to God!

[@Packman1125]

Great job, Steve! Really enjoy your videos. Very informative. God bless. Glory to Jesus Christ! Nick

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Glory forever!

[@Packman1125]

Steven Christoforou Amen!!!

[@o.g.6221]

how can we get involved with the church on a missionary or humanitarian type basis? not simply on a local level, but also on a broader level?

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

There are a few organizations you can look into: International Orthodox Christian Charities iocc.org/ FOCUS North America focusnorthamerica.org/ Orthodox Christian Mission Center www.ocmc.org/ Philoptochos www.philoptochos.org/

[@steventsichlis4360]

@@stevenchristoforou1667 Let's add Project Mexico : www.projectmexico.org

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

@@steventsichlis4360 Oh goodness! I've been there and it's great, how could I forget? Thank you for this important addition!

[@tristanbailey495]

Hi Steve. Something I've been meaning to ask: Does the Greek Orthodox Church still engage in active missionary work, or is that aspect considered to be concluded now? Could you elaborate a bit and possibly share a few helpful links? Thank you.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Most certainly! Here in the United States, we have the Orthodox Christian Mission Center. They have short- and long-term mission teams in places like Guatemala, Albania, Kenya, etc. www.ocmc.org/ Of course, the United States is far from an Orthodox country. So, while we're doing some important work overseas, we can't forget that much needs to be done in our towns and cities here!

[@tristanbailey495]

@@stevenchristoforou1667 Thanks very much for that. I've heard some harsh criticisms levelled at, I'd say specifically, the Greek Orthodox Church that they are not SEEN to be missionary any more. It's fine for casual onlookers to make these observations, but at least someone like you would know for sure. You do exceptional work, Steve! God bless.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

@@tristanbailey495 Criticism (as long as it's honest and charitable) is good. We can certainly do more. We also need to understand why we haven't done as much as we should (so we can improve going forward). Thanks Tristan! God bless you as well!

[@unnikrishnanmk1473]

Good you to see you steve good beginning stay continued. Bring back the trench also🌷🌹💒😇👼

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

We'll see what we can do!

[@panayiotisxenakis277]

God bless you Steve for your excellent Godly work in educating the orthodox youth, from all I have seen Archbishop Elpidophoros is a godly and great man and will be an excellent pastor to the faithful here, my only reservation is it seems that a united Autocephalous American church will not come to fruition for the time being, especially considering the schism with Moscow

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Only God knows what the future will hold. Leave it to the Lord.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

@Language and Programming Channel Who's a false prophet? And what qualifies you to know this?

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

@Language and Programming Channel You misunderstood my question. What qualifies you to be the one who labels people heretics? Are you a bishop, for example? Has the Church given you some kind of teaching authority?

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

@Language and Programming Channel No, what I'm trying to get at is some semblance of humility. Rather than appreciate the Archbishop's really powerful call to action (love your neighbor and attend more services), you've created an ugly thread full of prideful accusation that has nothing to do with the video.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

@Language and Programming Channel Your words speak for themselves, too. God bless you, and forgive us both!

[@jeffreyhoward6319]

Not to mention that the gods of old were also bloodthirsty

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Indeed!

[@jameswiliams]

Returning to the presence of God and Salvation is the same thing! The Church is not an human made organization, but a living god man organism that is Divine. A life of Savving lives a life of service! The human race caries at birth 2 type of deaths that came about as consequences from Adam’s and Eve’s sins! The first CONSEQUENCE INHERITED for each man and woman born is known as “SPIRITUAL DEATH” which in essence is the “eternal separation of man from God” and the second consequence is “the death of the body” The second consequence was also the introducing in our lives of hunger, pain, illness and finally the death of the body! The death of the body is considered by the Holy Fathers of the Greek Orthodox Church a gift from God for with out it man would not have a way to return to God's domain. Not ever being able to return the presence of God was the consequences of “spiritual death” and the reasons why were described [Exodus 33:20] we read “And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live”. The bodies Adam and Eve were created from light just like the bodies of angels were. In order to be able to live apart from God they were given leather tunics (our material bodies) that do not represent the angelic type body created with that enabled them to the presence of Creator God! [Genesis 3:21]: 'Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.'. This is why the coming of Lord Jesus and the creation of His Church at Pentecost with 85 Holy Apostolic canons www.voskrese.info/spl/aposcanon.html was centered around Lord Jesus becoming High Priest and Mediator to His Father in order to remake/recreate the body of men and women and purify the ill begotten heart/soul both. [Mathew 15: 19] For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: The Holy Sacrament of Baptism The Sacrament of the Holy Baptism is the Holy Sacrament (Mystery) through which man becomes a living member of the Body of Christ. Through Baptism Jesus Christ God/Logos Himself reshapes and makes man partaker of a divine nature (part man part god). It signifies the beginning of a potential dynamic process in one’s path toward the Kingdom of God. Baptism introduces people to the place of their Salvation that is the Ecclesia (Church) and grands them the right to participate to all the other Holy Sacraments. The Holy Baptism is also known as the Holy Sacrament of Rebirth. It is becoming “a god by the Grace of God”! The purpose of Holy Baptism is to remove the consequences of the original sin and ALL other sins is to allow a person to become a vessel of the Holy Spirit (Saint) to become a member of His Holy Body. This is why during Baptism the priest calls upon the sponsor to renounce the devil and all of his works. During Baptism a person receives the gifts of the Holy Spirit however it is up to each and every individual to energize them or set them in motion at will based on their greatest gift from God which is their freedom. During Baptism a person receives the gifts of the Holy Spirit however it is up to each and every individual to energize them or set them in motion at will based on their greatest gift from God which is their freedom. The presence of Divine Light (Holy Spirit) in mans heart (person) begotten at Baptism makes man a new creation [Colossians 3 10] it makes man “a god man but by the Grace of God”. This is how Paul describes His personal experience, as being a new creation. (Gal 2:20) “So that it is no longer I who live but it is Christ who lives in me” Paul admits that God (Christ) lives in him, making him this way ~ part man part god ~a god-man by His Grace, a way of being never seen on heaven or earth before. [Galatians 6:15] “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature”. So the heavenly Kingdom is NOT a “place” it is “a way of being” a UNION of man with God Creator Himself begotten and experienced from this here life. (Luke 17:21) No one will say, “Look here it is”! Or, “There it is!” because the Kingdom of God is within you”. This is how the Apostles and the Saints did/do their miracles…it is not man that does them it is the God (Holy Spirit) within! The Holy Sacrament of Confession After Baptism CONFESSION is all about keeping the sin free condition begotten at Baptism Confession [John 20:23] "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained". After the Holy Sacrament of Holy Baptism the Holy Sacrament of Confession that is also known as the Second Baptism keeps this "free from sin state" of the heart enabling the Holy Spirit in proceeding for man's completion/theosis needed in order to return to the presence of God! [Mathew5:8] “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” GOD IS LIGHT AND THE SAINTS IN THE HOLY SPIRIT BECOME LIGHT [Acts: 6-15] " 15 And all that sat in the He face council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. The Image and Likeness of God kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6uspXmEpcmhjLs If the word Salvation does not include the return to the presence of God...what good is it? The vision of Divine Light This is what Lord Jesus told St. Symeon when He became worthy to His presence in His Divine Light. “It is me, God, Who became man for you; and behold that I have made you, as you see, and shall make you god”. www.monachos.net/content/patristics/studies-fathers/67 Understanding the Orthodox Christian Faith kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKnHk3htZZhmftE

[@NataliaRCH]

Could only get to 1 min and 18 seconds. The music has prevented me to continue watching.

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Sorry to hear that. What about the music?

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

@Truth Speaker giphy.com/gifs/ftXmTBgSnsJ8c

[@Vartholomeos.]

Εις πολλά έτη Δέσποτα!!

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Amen!

[@WORLD-DEMOCRACY-7791]

America Greek Orthodox Archbishop; Elpidophoros.👎😤😡⚠️🔥👹

[@LilyLinko]

cringe and cope

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

Huh?

[@creepingthings3302]

@@stevenchristoforou1667 y2am needs to learn the language of the zoomers to effectively communicate with them

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

@@creepingthings3302 Zoomers?

[@stevenchristoforou1667]

@Hans S All we're doing is trying to preach the Gospel. I am very confused by the direction this thread has taken.