Icon by the hand of Fr. Stamatis Skliris
"For those who believe in Him, Christ will become all this and even more, beyond enumeration, not only in the age to come but first in this life, and then in the world to come. Thou in an obscure way here below and in a perfect manner in the Kingdom, those who believe see clearly nonetheless and receive as of now the first-fruits of everything they will have in the future life. Indeed, if they do not receive on earth everything that was promised to them, they do not have any part of foretaste of the blessings to come, their higher hope being set on the hereafter. However, it is through death and the resurrection that God in His foresight has given us the Kingdom, incorruptibility, the totality of life eternal. Given these conditions, we unquestionably become partakers of the good things to come, that is, incorruptible, immortal, sons of God, sons of the light and of the day, inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven, since we carry the Kingdom within."
O Master, Lord of heaven and earth,
I know that I have sinned before You,
more than any human being,
more than even the irrational animals and reptiles,
and I am not worthy to ever receive any mercy from You.
Therefore, I would not have dared
to draw near or to fall down before You,
O King, lover of man,
had I not heard your holy voice saying:
I do not at all desire the death of the sinner,
but that he may return and live.
And again: There is joy in heaven
over one sinner who repents.
I remember, also, the parable of the Prodigal Son,
which You have said, O Master,
that when he returned,
before he had drawn near to You,
You, O compassionate one, came to him
and fell upon his neck
and kissed him affectionately.
Hence, taking courage from the ocean
of your goodness,
I have come near to You
with pain, sadness, and grief in my heart,
even though I am still hardened
and wounded sorely and lie in misery
In the depths of the Hades
of my transgressions.
But, from now on,
I give you my word, O Lord,
that as long as You order me
to remain alive and in this body,
I will not forsake You,
nor will I turn back,
neither will I ever touch vain and evil things.
But You, O my God, know my weakness,
my wretchedness, my faintheartedness,
and my old predispositions,
which are going to torture and oppress me.
Therefore, as I fall before You,
help me and forsake me not;
neither allow me to be ridiculed
and mocked for long by the enemy,
for from now on I am your servant, O Good One.
I know that I have sinned before You,
more than any human being,
more than even the irrational animals and reptiles,
and I am not worthy to ever receive any mercy from You.
Therefore, I would not have dared
to draw near or to fall down before You,
O King, lover of man,
had I not heard your holy voice saying:
I do not at all desire the death of the sinner,
but that he may return and live.
And again: There is joy in heaven
over one sinner who repents.
I remember, also, the parable of the Prodigal Son,
which You have said, O Master,
that when he returned,
before he had drawn near to You,
You, O compassionate one, came to him
and fell upon his neck
and kissed him affectionately.
Hence, taking courage from the ocean
of your goodness,
I have come near to You
with pain, sadness, and grief in my heart,
even though I am still hardened
and wounded sorely and lie in misery
In the depths of the Hades
of my transgressions.
But, from now on,
I give you my word, O Lord,
that as long as You order me
to remain alive and in this body,
I will not forsake You,
nor will I turn back,
neither will I ever touch vain and evil things.
But You, O my God, know my weakness,
my wretchedness, my faintheartedness,
and my old predispositions,
which are going to torture and oppress me.
Therefore, as I fall before You,
help me and forsake me not;
neither allow me to be ridiculed
and mocked for long by the enemy,
for from now on I am your servant, O Good One.
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