www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall To all whose name Elijah,Eli, Elias, Eliana ...

May Elijah the living guard you and be your guardian angel.

Today is St. Eliajah's Day

Yes, we our having Liturgy this morning, but I didn't get the time? So I'm guessing 10:30. Father is blessing vehicles, drive by blessings!! I hope I can make it!
Massauga who is up late and should be in bed.

Shlomo Eli,

I have Elias Icon up on my computer at work.

Poosh BaShlomo,
Yuhannon

Bless, Father Elias,

A happy Namesday to you!

We celebrate another feast to him on August 2nd!

(Was St Elias on the Julian calendar, do you think?)

The Church of ST Elias in Ukraine was the very first Church built in Rus' after its baptism in 988.

It stood on a former pagan shrine to the god, Perun, the god of thunder and lightning.

And it was because ST Elias went up to heaven on a chariot of fire that his cult supplanted that of Perun.

Whenever lightning storms occurred, Ukrainians and Ruthenians would light specially blessed "St Elias candles" that were kept in icon corners for protection.

Also, whenever someone was dying in the home, the same candles were lit for St Elias to come and safely bring them to heaven . . .

For me, the Carmelite scapular reminds me of the two-fold cloak of St Elias that was torn when St Eliseus pulled it from Elias as he made his ascent to heaven.

A very popular saint in Eastern Europe.

Alex

Basilica is getting Eucharistic chapel

Web Posted: 07/20/2005 12:00 AM CDT

J. Michael Parker
Express-News Religion Writer

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower will have a Eucharistic chapel next year, thanks to a $900,000 gift from the Abdo family trust.

The family bequeathed the gift to the shrine specifically for a chapel to St. Elias � the Old Testament prophet Elijah � who provided part of the inspiration for the spirituality of the Order of the Discalced Carmelites, which operates the 78-year-old basilica at 1715 N. Zarzamora St.

Church officials plan to borrow another $300,000 to complete the chapel, where Eucharistic hosts will be kept for adoration between Masses.


http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA072005.03B.Little_Flower_chapel.1906319.html

My seven year old grandson is named Elijah and we call him Eli.

May God bless him today and keep him safe this week from all harm as he travels with his family from Florida via jet to Seattle.

Thanks for posting about St. Elias's feast day.

In Christ,

Nana Jo. (Mary Jo)

Dear Pani,

As you know, Elias is a Carmelite Saint.

He wore his scapular always . . .

Alex

Dear Friends,

One further point.

The mission of the Prophet Elias was to witness to the One God in the midst of a polytheistic society.

That is what his name means, "Eli-YAH" or "the Lord (is my) God."

I was once giving a talk about the Prophet Elias before a group that included priests and nuns.

I related how Elias opposed and defeated the pagan priests who were later killed . . .

I said, "Obviously, the Holy Prophet Elias could NEVER be a patron saint of ecumenism . . ."

They really liked that!

Alex

Dear Alex,

Thanks for the interesting info on how Elias supplanted the pagan god of thunder.

Along the same lines, I know that he also supplanted some Greek pagan God, (the sun god Helios?) and because he was taken to Heaven on a chariot of fire, every single church of 'Prophet Elias' in Greece is on a mountain top! (of which there are many there, as you know!)

In Christ,
Alice

P.S. Many belated blessings to our beloved Hieromonk Elias for his feast day/nameday!

Dear Eli,

Happy belated namesday. You have a good name!

Elijah is one of my favorite biblical persons. If his fiery chariot makes him the patron of motor vehicles I would definitely include hot rods and Harley-Davidsons in that category!!

I am reading a novel titled "Father Elijah" A intriguing work about a Carmelite priest called out of his Mt. Carmel monastery by the Pope to penetrate into the inner circles of a man whom they believe may be the Antichrist. Good reading!

Have a great day Eli!

Paul

Dear Friends,

Yes, "Eli."

This is why the people who were standing on Golgotha during our Lord's crucifixion thought He was "calling on Elias" when our Lord said, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani" or "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?"

And, in fact, our Lord was simply calling out loud the beginning words of Psalm 22, the Messianic Psalm that He was, at that very moment, fulfilling on the Cross.

It was customary in then Jewish worship to recite the beginning words of a psalm out loud before praying it in a silent voice.

Alex

Dear Alice,

Yes, acculturation at its best!

When the Greek service books were translated into Slavonic, the Kyivan Church decided to add two more books of blessings and services to commemorate the various agricultural aspects of the life of the people in Rus'.

Thus, there developed FOUR blessings for beekeepers (as my father was one): for new bees (not "newbies"), bee instruments, for a good honey harvest and for the hives.

St John the Baptist was the patron of the bees since he ate wild honey, along with Sts. Savvaty and Zosima of the Solovetsky Monastery.

Beekeepers set up little shrines in their apiaries on March 30th, the feast of St Alexios, the Man of God that marked the beginning of the bee-season.

I was born on March 29th and my father, the avid beekeeper, named me for St Alexios.

In Ukraine, March 30th is called "the feast of Warm Alex" as the weather improves from that day forward in general.

That was always my nick-name in my family - "Warm Alex."

Alex

How incredibly coincidental as you are indeed a warm person!

Warmly,
( )
Alice

Thank you all,

"namesday" is another lexical item I now know

I promiss after I finish my exams, I will visit all the Churches named after St. Elijah in Haifa and the Carmel and I will have their pictures posted here.

God bless you all,
Eli