Dreams?

[Orthodox Andrew]

Has anybody ever had anybody appear in their dreams to them? I mean like a Saint etc.?

I always find it odd how I have never had anything religious show up in my dreams. Except recently I had a dream where I was talking to the Bl. Seraphim Rose. However, I think that was pretty much my subconscious.

 

[JeffreyLloyd]

Never for me ... yet

 

[Umut]

This is great!

My interest in Orthodoxy started when I had a dream about the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus. They were inside this yellow moon, (looked like the picture of St. Nektarios in Andreas' post above) and I could see the Cross on top of a Church in the corner of my vision in the dream. The funny thing is I had never ever seen an Orthodox Icon, therefore I do not know how my mind could make up a picture of the Virgin Mary holding Baby Jesus and the yellow thing around their heads. There was a picture of the Virgin Mary holding Baby Jesus and holding the Bible. I dreamed it was the apocalypse and when I woke up I was scared more than ever!! I also had many dreams where I was surrounded by many dark figures in roughly human shape. I also woke up in fear.

That's mine!

 

[Rosa Mystica]

I once had a dream where I died and went to Heaven. Does that count? Also, a family member had a dream where I was in purgatory, and she was still on Earth, and I could communicate w/ her! Wadda ya'll think of that one?! Oh, also I've had a few dreams about Confession in my lifetime (God was probably giving me a hint!!! ). And also...okay, I'll stop now.

That's the only religious stuff I've had in dreams. I've never dreamt about the saints or anything like that.

 

[Matrona]

Has anybody ever had anybody appear in their dreams to them? I mean like a Saint etc.?

I always find it odd how I have never had anything religious show up in my dreams. Except recently I had a dream where I was talking to the Bl. Seraphim Rose. However, I think that was pretty much my subconscious.

"Bl." is not a distinction used in our church. We do not 'beatify'. You're either a saint or you're not, and Fr. Seraphim (Rose) has not been glorified as a saint by any jurisdiction.

Anyway, back to the OP. Normally I don't ever tell anyone about this, but the Theotokos once spoke to me in a dream. I did not see her, or anything else for that matter, but I heard and understood her as clearly as I can hear my own voice when I speak.

 

[Orthodox Andrew]

"Bl." is not a distinction used in our church. We do not 'beatify'. You're either a saint or you're not, and Seraphim Rose has not been glorified as a saint by any jurisdiction.

The word Blessed is used in the Orthodox Church. It's just another way of saying Saint.

 

[Matrona]

The word Blessed is used in the Orthodox Church. It's just another way of saying Saint.

Some saints are called "blessed" but it is not appropriate to use it as if it were a title, because it's not a title in our church. Also, Fr. Seraphim (Rose) is not a saint.

 

[xenia]

I met my guardian angel in a dream many years ago.

In the dream, I was about to commit a sinful act. I knew it was sinful, and I didn't want to do it, but a devil appeared in the upper left corner of my field of vision and said, "Do it!" I said nope, I would pray for Jesus to help me resist. The devil said "You are dreaming and Jesus can't help you in a dream." Then an angel appeared in the upper right corner of my field of vision. "Let's sing!" he/she said. The angel began singing a wonderful song about the names of Jesus that I used to know. "Sing louder!" he/she commanded. So the angel and I sang and as we sang, the devil got smaller and smaller and the angel and I grew to fill the "screen," and finally ended by us standing together holding hands front and center, belting out the song for all we were worth. It was glorious. I immediately woke up and realized that something really amazing had happened.

-Xenia

 

[Orthodox Andrew]

Some saints are called "blessed" but it is not appropriate to use it as if it were a title, because it's not a title in our church. Also, Seraphim Rose is not a saint.

But most people call Saint Augustine, Blessed Augustine. I know Moses is called the Blessed Moses. I'm really under the impression that it's fine to call Saints, Blessed. Titles like Venerable, Blessed, Saint, Righteous, I believe the Church uses them all.

 

[Matrona]

But most people call Saint Augustine, Blessed Augustine. I know Moses is called the Blessed Moses. I'm really under the impression that it's fine to call Saints, Blessed. Titles like Venerable, Blessed, Saint, Righteous, I believe the Church uses them all.

But Fr. Seraphim (Rose) isn't a saint. He has not been glorified in any jurisdiction. "Blessed" is not in formal use.... Augustine is a saint and nothing less just because he is called "Blessed Augustine". http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Q-and-A_OLD/St-Augustine-and-Original-Sin-2.html

 

[Orthodox Andrew]

But Seraphim Rose isn't a saint. He has not been glorified in any jurisdiction. "Blessed" is not in formal use.... Augustine is a saint and nothing less just because he is called "Blessed Augustine". http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Q-and-A_OLD/St-Augustine-and-Original-Sin-2.html

So we are in agreement, kind of? What I'm saying is that in the Orthodox Church the word Blessed means Saint. I do however know that we do not have beatification in Orthodoxy. So I guess we agree?

 

[Matrona]

So we are in agreement, kind of? What I'm saying is that in the Orthodox Church the word Blessed means Saint. I do however know that we do not have beatification in Orthodoxy. So I guess we agree?

On that, yes, but Fr. Seraphim (Rose) is not a saint. That's why it's inappropriate to treat him as a saint, depict him with a halo in icons, etc.

 

[Orthodox Andrew]

On that, yes, but Seraphim Rose is not a saint. That's why it's inappropriate to treat him as a saint, depict him with a halo in icons, etc.

Well, my guess would be he is a Saint. But I agree, there should be no Icons made of him until he's canonized. Honestly though, most people do refer to him as the Blessed Seraphim Rose. But I see what you're saying, for sure.

 

[MariaRegina]

Has anybody ever had anybody appear in their dreams to them? I mean like a Saint etc.?

I always find it odd how I have never had anything religious show up in my dreams. Except recently I had a dream where I was talking to the Bl. Seraphim Rose. However, I think that was pretty much my subconscious.

My spiritual father told me that it is imperative that we tell our confessor about these dreams or visions lest we be lead astray.

Once I had a vision within a dream of my unborn child who had been miscarried. In this dream she was about 13 years old with beautiful flowing red hair, freckles on her beautiful face. I could see that she was very happy in a garden setting. I told my Orthodox Priest about this vision and he felt that it was authentic. This vision helped my son through a difficult period of adolescence. I reminded him that Xenia-Maria is in heaven waiting for him. This inspired him to be good as she is his only sister. Had she not died, he would have never been born.

 

[Matrona]

That was a really amazing story about seeing your daughter.

My spiritual father told me that it is imperative that we tell our confessor about these dreams or visions lest we be lead astray.

I didn't want to say anything to anyone at the time, about hearing the Panagia, because I was afraid of sounding self-aggrandizing, like "look at me, the Virgin Mary gives me revelations!", so I decided to keep it under my hat until I felt comfortable talking about it. I was a catechumen at the time, about a month before I was baptised. But I know it was her.

Come to think of it, in a couple weeks, it will have been one year ago that it happened.

Anyway, all Panagia wanted to tell me was who my patron saint is. I think she was just trying to help me out.

 

[Suzannah]

Hi Andreas,

Good topic. I don't think that dreams in and of themselves are really all that important. Even dreams with holy people in them.
Over my lifetime, I have had many dreams of holy people and other spiritual things. Examples:
I once dreamed that I saw the Shroud of Turin in person (This has never happened. I've only seen pictures of it). It was Easter (on civil calendar), about twenty years ago...I woke up completely confused.

Another time,I dreamed that I was being chased by demons ....I was not exactly afraid of them, but in my dream I thought to myself, "This is a terrible dream. I'm going to wake up now." And I did.

Here's a couple more examples:
I sometimes have broken record dreams about Scripture. This is where I dream about certain passages that just repeat themselves over and over until I wake up. These are the ones that are hardest to understand.

I also once dreamed that I had a sort of meeting/introduction to St. John the Apostle. In that dream, I just felt very welcomed by him, and as though he liked me a lot but I couldn't figure out why, and so I asked him...I never heard the answer because I woke up.

Recently (very recently) I had a dream about St. Columba, who you know is my family saint. In the dream, I went "home" to Donegal and he was in the chapel yard of our family house, and he was petting the birds that have nested there. (Its a real mess in there!) Anyway, I asked him why he was there and he just stared at me....I woke up...no idea what it means if anything.


I think it is very telling that I have never,in all my life, dreamed about Jesus himself. If I did, I think I would fall out of bed, on my face and tremble. Truly.

 

[Photini]

But Seraphim Rose isn't a saint. He has not been glorified in any jurisdiction. "Blessed" is not in formal use.... Augustine is a saint and nothing less just because he is called "Blessed Augustine". http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Q-and-A_OLD/St-Augustine-and-Original-Sin-2.html

Either way, Father Seraphim was a priest, so is due the proper respect of being called FATHER Seraphim. It is not appropriate to use a monk's last name unless it is put in parenthesis. Father Seraphim (Rose).


But on the subject of dreams....I have very vivid dreams. I try to pay them no mind. I've had several dreams about church and different church related things.
The only one I haven't been able to forget, was one I had a few weeks after attending my first Liturgy. I dreamt I was in church. I was in black robes (like a nun) and chanting in candle-light. Funny thing was, that I was chanting in Greek....and at that point, I had never even heard the Greek language. During my dream, I understood perfectly what I was chanting even though I didn't know even one word in Greek. Not even Kyrie eleison. I could smell the incense, and I did not want to wake up.

 

[Photini]

Another time,I dreamed that I was being chased by demons ....I was not exactly afraid of them, but in my dream I thought to myself, "This is a terrible dream. I'm going to wake up now." And I did.

I used to have a recurring dream about a T-Rex that would chase me. (Yes this started up after seeing Jurassic Park.) Sometimes the location would change...like one time he was chasing me in a shopping mall, another time in a town, or in the woods. There were always other people around, but he only chased me, and nobody would help me out. This dream bothered me for nearly 5 years I think. It finally went away last year after I was baptized. I found it in me to turn around and tell that stupid T-Rex to go away because he wasn't going to eat me.
My sister has had extremely similar dreams as these too.

 

[Matrona]

Either way, Father Seraphim was a priest, so is due the proper respect of being called FATHER Seraphim. It is not appropriate to use a monk's last name unless it is put in parenthesis. Father Seraphim (Rose).

Duly noted and edited, though I would like to note that the abbreviation "Bl." is exclusive to the Roman Catholic usage of the word as a title for a person who has been beatified but not canonized.

I would hazard a guess that it would be least confusing for everyone if the word "blessed" was not capitalized or abbreviated for those who are not (yet) glorified by any jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church, so that it doesn't get confused with the Catholic practice of beatification.

 

[Matrona]

It finally went away last year after I was baptized.

I used to have violent visions and dreams which, thank the Lord, never played out in reality because they usually involved horrific acts of self-mutilation. They started disappearing after I was baptized. It was like they had lost their power or something. Like you, I found it helpful to sort of "take charge" of what I was seeing. I would turn it into something that didn't involve me (or anyone else) getting hurt, and eventually they just went away on their own.

I dream of better things now. I now have a recurring one about a beautiful church. I can tell that it's Orthodox, but it's modeled on those Western European cathedrals (like Chartres). It's like the answer to the question "what-if-Matrona-designed-an-Orthodox-church-with-an-infinite-budget".

I found it in me to turn around and tell that stupid T-Rex to go away because he wasn't going to eat me.

(Sorry, that was just funny to picture someone doing that in real life. )