Virtual Parish

September 1

OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS
JOSEPH METROPOLITAN OF PETROGRAD
Martyred by the Atheists in 1937.

Here is how we should think of our sorrows and sufferings: at this time we cannot understand their significance in our lives, their opportuneness, the benefit they bring in our spiritual life.

Only when we will be able to look back and see our life in its entirety and completeness will we understand and see that what seemed to be so grievous was actually so important for us.

By means of these sorrows the Lord was nurturing our patience, our faith, our love, and hope in Him; He was nurturing in us the spirit of prayer, of a compunctionate turning to Him.

Our Father Among the Saints Hieromartyr Joseph, Metropolitan of Petrograd, Save Us.

Indiction

September 4

HIEROMARTYR JOSEPH, METROPOLITAN OF PETROGRAD
In the Father's Embrace: From the Diary of a Monk.
Martyred by the Atheists in 1937.

"Behold, this Child is set" -- the very same One, at one and the same time -- "for the fall and rising again" (Lk. 2:34) -- the fall of some, and the rising again of others. One person says, "Come down from the Cross, and I will believe" (cf. Matt. 27:42).

But I say, "O Lord, that is why I believe, that is why I love Thee, that is why I thirst to imitate Thee, precisely because Thou didst not come down from the Cross. Herein is manifest Thy uniquely divine majesty, that having nailed Thyself to the Cross for me, Thou didst stand fast thereon against all temptations and human sophistries, and didst bring to completion Thine awesome deed of wresting me from the captivity of Hades."

Prophets Moses and Aaron

September 5

OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS
JOSEPH METROPOLITAN OF PETROGRAD
In the Father's Embrace: From the Diary of A Monk
Martyred by the Atheists in 1937.

Many people incorrectly think that saving one's own soul is secondary, that one should be more concerned about saving others.

No.

When your own soul is perishing and you acknowledge it, you must take it in hand first of all, for it too is God's treasure, and by saving it you are more likely to save others as well. The light of a soul which is being saved has the quality of drawing others to salvation as well, more than we can by concerning ourselves first with the salvation of others, and then only with our own.

Prophet Zacharias

September 6

OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS
JOSEPH METROPOLITAN OF PETROGRAD
In the Father's Embrace: From the Diary of A Monk
Martyred by the Atheists in 1937.

He who does not acquire God here will not see Him in the future life either.* But how do we know whether we are acquiring Him here or not? It is simple. To acquire the Lord does not mean to have only constant contentment, joy and peace in one's soul.
Rather, it means to grieve over each of our faults and shortcomings. This is precisely the sign that we possess the Lord, when we do not feel calmly indifferent about our shortcomings, but grieve over them.
If we did not love the Lord, if He were not dear to our hearts, then we would sin calmly, no fault of ours would torment us, we would see nothing bad in ourselves, and nothing of this sort would grieve us.
True, it is very sad to have and to acknowledge our faults and our shortcomings, our wretchedness. But this sorrow is unto salvation. It is this very sorrow which obtains the Lord for us, Who has mercy on all who sorrow and Who calls, “Come,” all ye who are such, “And I will give you rest” (Mt. 11:28).

* A saying of St. Symeon the New Theologian.

Miracle of Archangel Michael at Chonae

September 8

OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS
JOSEPH METROPOLITAN OF PETROGRAD
In the Father's Embrace: From the Diary of A Monk
Martyred by the Atheists in 1937.

"Behold, this Child is set" —the very same One, at one and the same time—"for the fall and rising again" (Lk. 2:34)—the fall of some, and the rising again of others.
One person says, "Come down from the Cross, and I will believe" (cf. Matt. 27:42).
But I say, "O Lord, that is why I believe, that is why I love Thee, that is why I thirst to imitate Thee, precisely because Thou didst not come down from the Cross. Herein is manifest Thy uniquely divine majesty, that having nailed Thyself to the Cross for me, Thou didst stand fast thereon against all temptations and human sophistries, and didst bring to completion Thine awesome deed of wresting me from the captivity of Hades."

Birth of the Theotokos

September 14

OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS
JOSEPH METROPOLITAN OF PETROGRAD
In the Father's Embrace: From the Diary of A Monk
Martyred by the Atheists in 1937.

They say that the Lord is too great to pay attention to such insignificant things as man with his needs, sorrows, and desires.

But is it not just the opposite?

It is precisely because the Lord is so great, wise, and good that it is easy to think of Him as caring not only for man, but even for the tiniest microbe.

Of course we cannot fathom this with our meager, insignificant little mind, and we dare to judge concerning the Lord according to our own nothingness and feeblemindedness.

Exaltation of the Precious Cross

September 17

OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS
JOSEPH METROPOLITAN OF PETROGRAD
In the Father's Embrace: From the Diary of A Monk
Martyred by the Atheists in 1937.

It will be well with us even if we spend all our life here in just seeking and longing. At the conclusion of such a life the Lord will come to us and will at once give us everything which others have received with labor by installments. And the more we endure, grieve, suffer and are deprived here, the more we will be granted by Him later.

Holy Martyr Sophia and her Three Daughters

The Holy Martyr Shushanik, Queen of Georgia

When the seventh year had begun, the holy and thrice blessed Shushanik was afflicted with an ulcer of the flesh. As a result of her tireless acts of piety, her feet became swollen, and pustules broke out on various parts of her body. The ulcers were very large and infested with worms. One of these she held out in her hand and showed it to me, and gave thanks to God, saying, “Father, do not let the sight of this upset you. There (i.e. in Gehenna) the worm is greater, and never dies.” When I saw this worm, I was afflicted with inexpressible distress, and wept greatly. But she retorted sharply, “Father, why are you sorrowful? Rather than being eaten by those immortal worms, it is better to be consumed here in this life by mortal ones!”

This is the Faith of the Apostles:

This is the Faith of the Orthodox:

This Faith hath established the world.

Saint Shushanik pray for us.

Saint Shushanik Queen of Georgia

September 20

OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS
JOSEPH METROPOLITAN OF PETROGRAD
In the Father's Embrace: From the Diary of A Monk
Martyred by the Atheists in 1937.

We might live out our entire life without attaining the consciousness that we have drawn near to the Lord. But if only we have had the desire to draw near, and diligent effort according to our ability, it will be well with us. Our goal has been attained. If, according to the word of the Apostle, the Lord is not far from every one of the heathen (see Acts 17:27), then all the more is He near those who seek Him, and He will not reject him that cometh to Him (John 6:37).

Sts. Eustathius, Theopiste and their Two Sons

September 21

OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS
JOSEPH METROPOLITAN OF PETROGRAD
In the Father's Embrace: From the Diary of A Monk
Martyred by the Atheists in 1937.

Prophet Jonas

September 22

OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS
JOSEPH METROPOLITAN OF PETROGRAD
In the Father's Embrace: From the Diary of A Monk
Martyred by the Atheists in 1937.

Seek, and you shall find (Matt. 7:7). Seek, even if you seek all your life- strive, try, fall, arise, lose heart, grieve- all with the determination that you have before you a goal: Christ the Saviour, His kindness, consolation and love; and He will not fail to reward you a hundredfold for your labour and patience.

Twenty-six Righteous Martyrs of the Zographou Monastery

September 23

OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS
JOSEPH METROPOLITAN OF PETROGRAD
In the Father's Embrace: From the Diary of A Monk
Martyred by the Atheists in 1937.

The highest good on earth, the wellspring of unfailing consolation and encouragement is to know that we are on the right path, that we are saved by the Lord [Ed. the Russian also carries the connotation ‘being saved’] by the Lord not only are we not excluded from the objects of His fatherly care and concern, but we more than anything else are included. He nourishes and guides us towards Himself through His Mysteries. Here on earth, in our earthly life, we as Christians are like His children. We are surrounded and refreshed by His kindness, His benefactions. Is this just so that having only briefly enjoyed this kindness here, we should lose it in the future life?

Oh, of course not.

Even greater kindnesses and benefactions of His must await us. Now we only gaze with delight at His beauty and goodness (Rom. 1:20), only just slightly lifting the edge of the veil which separates Him from us. But the time will come when this veil will be drawn aside completely, and we will be flooded as with light by His kindness and His grace. Before this hope, what are all our earthly burdens and sorrows? Shadows, illusions, vanity. Our lack of faith, our estrangement from God—that is the main cause and the perpetuator of our faintheartedness and despondency in life.

Conception of the Venerable and Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John

September 25

OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS
JOSEPH METROPOLITAN OF PETROGRAD
In the Father's Embrace: From the Diary of A Monk
Martyred by the Atheists on November 7, 1937.

“Make ready, O Zabulon, and exult, O Nepthalim…” * These symbolize all that is outcast from God, far from Him and foreign to Him. If the Lord calls even such as these and prepares them for His coming, then will He not all the more come to our hearts, loving Him, thirsting for Him, even though they are torn away and distanced from Him by the constant assaults of the enemy?

* Dismissal Hymn of the Forefeast of Theophany

Righteous Father Sergius of Radonezh

September 26

SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE
REPOSED A.D. 407

Homilies On the Gospel of Saint John

HOMILY I: PREFACE

1. THEY that are spectators of the heathen games, when they have learned that a distinguished athlete and winner of crowns is come from any quarter, run all together to view his wrestling, and all his skill and strength; and you may see the whole theater of many ten thousands, all there straining their eyes both of body and mind, that nothing of what is done may escape them. So again these same persons, if any admirable musician come amongst them, leave all that they had in hand, which often is necessary and pressing business, and mount the steps, and sit listening very attentively to the words and the accompaniments, and criticizing the agreement of the two. This is what the many do. Again; those who are skilled in rhetoric do just the same with respect to the sophists, for they too have their theaters, and their audience, and clappings of hands, and noise, and closest criticism of what is said.
And if in the case of rhetoricians, musicians, and athletes, people sit in the one case to look on, in the other to see at once and to listen with such earnest attention; what zeal, what earnestness ought ye in reason to display, when it is no musician or debater who now comes forward to a trial of skill, but when a man is speaking from heaven, and utters a voice plainer than thunder? for he has pervaded the whole earth with the sound; and occupied and filled it, not by the loudness of the cry, but by moving his tongue with the grace of God.
And what is wonderful, this sound, great as it is, is neither a harsh nor an unpleasant one, but sweeter and more delightful than all harmony of music, and with more skill to soothe; and besides all this, most holy, and most awful, and full of mysteries so great, and bringing with it goods so great, that if men were exactly and with ready mind to receive and keep them, they could no longer be mere men nor remain upon the earth, but would take their stand above all the things of this life, and having adapted themselves to the condition of angels, would dwell on earth just as if it were heaven.

2. For the son of thunder, the beloved of Christ, the pillar of the Churches throughout the world, who holds the keys of heaven, who drank the cup of Christ, and was baptized with His baptism, who lay upon his Master's bosom with much confidence, this man comes forward to us now; not as an actor of a play, not hiding his head with a mask, (for he hath another sort of words to speak,) nor mounting a 6platform, nor striking the stage with his foot, nor dressed out with apparel of gold, but he enters wearing a robe of inconceivable beauty. For he will appear before us having "put on Christ" (Rom. 8: 14; Gal. 3: 27), having his beautiful "feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace" (Eph. 6: 15); wearing a girdle not about his waist, but about his loins, not made of scarlet leather nor daubed outside with gold, but woven and composed of truth itself. Now will he appear before us, not acting a part, (for with him there is nothing counterfeit, nor fiction, nor fable,) but with unmasked head he proclaims to us the truth unmasked[1]; not making the audience believe him other than he is by carriage, by look, by voice, needing for the delivery of his message no instruments of music, as harp, lyre, or any other the like, for he effects all with his tongue, uttering a voice which is sweeter and more profitable than that of any harpist or any music. All heaven is his stage; his theater, the habitable world; his audience, all angels; and of men as many as are angels already, or desire to become so, for none but these can hear that harmony aright, and show it forth by their works; all the rest, like little children who hear, but what they hear understand not, from their anxiety about sweetmeats and childish playthings; so they too, being in mirth and luxury, and living only for wealth and power and sensuality, hear sometimes what is said, it is true, but show forth nothing great or noble in their actions through fastening themselves for good to the clay of the brickmaking. By this Apostle stand the powers from above, marveling at the beauty of his soul, and his understanding, and the bloom of that virtue by which he drew unto him Christ Himself, and obtained the grace of the Spirit. For he hath made ready his soul, as some well-fashioned and jeweled lyre with strings of gold, and yielded it for the utterance of something great and sublime to the Spirit.

3. Seeing then it is no longer the fisherman, the son of Zebedee, but He who knoweth "the deep things of God" (1 Cor.2:10), the Holy Spirit I mean, that striketh this lyre, let us hearken accordingly. For he will say nothing to us as a man, but what he saith, he will say from the depths of the Spirit, from those secret things which before they came to pass the very Angels knew not; since they too have learned by the voice of John with us, and by us, the things which we know. And this hath another Apostle declared, saying, "To the intent that unto the principalities and powers might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God" (Eph. 3:10). If then principalities, and powers, and Cherubim, and Seraphim, learned these things by the Church, it is very clear that they were exceedingly earnest in listening to this teaching; and even in this we have been not a little honored, that the Angels learned things which before they knew not with us; I do not at present speak of their learning by us also (1 Pet. 1:12). Let us then show much silence and orderly behavior; not today only, nor during the day on which we are hearers, but during all our life, since it is at all times good to hear Him. For if we long to know what is going on in the palace, what, for instance, the king has said, what he has done, what counsel he is taking concerning his subjects, though in truth these things are for the most part nothing to us; much more is it desirable to hear what God hath said, especially when all concerns us. And all this will this man tell us exactly, as being a friend of the King Himself, or rather, as having Him speaking within himself, and from Him hearing all things which He heareth from the Father. "I have called you friends," He saith, "for all things that I have heard of My Father, I have made known unto you." (John 15:15.)

4. As then we should all run together if we saw one from above bend down "on a sudden " from the height of heaven, promising to describe exactly all things there, even so let us be disposed now. It is from thence that this Man speaketh to us; He is not of this world, as Christ Himself declareth, "Ye are not of the world" (John 15:19), and He hath speaking within him the Comforter, the Omnipresent, who knoweth the things of God as exactly as the soul of man knoweth what belongs to herself, the Spirit of holiness, the righteous Spirit, the guiding Spirit, which leads men by the hand to heaven, which gives them other eyes, fitting them to see things to come as though present, and giving them even in the flesh to look into things heavenly. To Him then let us yield ourselves during all our life in much tranquility. Let none dull, none sleepy, none sordid, enter here and tarry; but let us remove ourselves to heaven, for there He speaketh these things to those who are citizens there. And if we tarry on earth, we shall gain nothing great from thence. For the words of John are nothing to those who do not desire to be freed from this swinish life, just as the things of this world to him are nothing. The thunder amazes our souls, having sound without significance; but this man's voice troubles none of the faithful, yea, rather releases them from trouble and confusion; it amazes the devils only, and those who are their slaves. Therefore that we may know how it amazes them, let us preserve deep silence, both external and mental, but especially the latter; for what advantage is it that the mouth be hushed, if the soul is disturbed and full of tossing? I look for that calm which is of the mind, of the soul, since it is the hearing of the soul which I require. Let then no desire of riches trouble us, no lust of glory, no tyranny of anger, nor the crowd of other passions besides these; for it is not possible for the ear, except it be cleansed, to perceive as it ought the sublimity of the things spoken; nor rightly to understand the awful and unutterable nature of these mysteries, and all other virtue which is in these divine oracles. If a man cannot learn well a melody on pipe or harp, unless he in every way strains his attention; how shall one, who sits as a listener to sounds mystical, be able to hear with a careless soul?

5. Wherefore Christ Himself exhorted, saying, "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine." (Mt. 6:6.) He called these words "pearls," though in truth they be much more precious than they, because we have no substance more precious than that. For this reason too He is wont often to compare their sweetness to honey, not that so much only is the measure of their sweetness, but because amongst us there is nothing sweeter. Now, to show that they very exceedingly surpass the nature of precious stones, and the sweetness of any honey, hear the prophet speaking concerning them, and declaring this superiority; "More to be desired," He saith "than gold and much precious stone and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb" (Ps. 18:10 LXX). But to those (only) who are in health; wherefore he has added, "Yea, for thy servant keepeth them." And again in another place calling them sweet he has added, "to my palate." For he saith, "How sweet to my palate are Thy sayings!" (Ps.118:103 LXX). And again he insisteth on the superiority, saying, “More sweet than honey to my mouth.” For he was in very sound health. And let not us either come nigh to these while we are sick, but when we have healed our soul, so receive the food that is offered us.
     It is for this reason that, after so long a preface, I have not yet attempted to fathom these expressions (of St. John), in order that every one having laid aside all manner of infirmity, as though he were entering into heaven itself, so may enter here pure, and freed from wrath and carefulness and anxiety of this life, of all other passions. For it is not otherwise possible for a man to gain from hence anything great, except he have first so cleansed anew his soul. And let no one say that the time to the coming communion is short, for it is possible, not only in five days, but in one moment, to change the whole course of life. Tell me what is worse than a robber and a murderer, is not this the extremest kind of wickedness? Yet such an one arrived straight at the summit of excellence, and passed into Paradise itself, not needing days, nor half a day, but one little moment. So that a man may change suddenly, and become gold instead of clay. For since what belongs to virtue and to vice is not by nature, the change is easy, as being independent of any necessity. "And if ye be willing and hearken to me," He saith, "ye shall eat the good of the land." (Esaias 1:19 LXX.) Seest thou that there needs the will only? the will?-not the common wishing of the multitude -but an earnest will.
     For I know that all are wishing to fly up to heaven even now; but it is necessary to show forth the wish by works. The merchant too wishes to get rich; but he doth not allow his wish to stop with the thought of it; no, he fits out a ship, and gets together sailors, and engages a pilot, and furnishes the vessel with all other stores, and borrows money, and crosses the sea, and goes away into a strange land, and endures many dangers, and all the rest which they know who sail the sea.
     So too must we show our will; for we also sail a voyage, not from land to land, but from earth to heaven. Let us then so order our reason, that it be serviceable to steer our upward course, and our sailors that they be obedient to it, and let our vessel be stout, that it be not swamped amidst the reverses and despondencies of this life, nor be lifted up by the blasts of vainglory, but be a fast and easy vessel. If so we order our ship, and so our pilot and our crew, we shall sail with a fair wind, and we shall draw down to ourselves the Son of God, the true Pilot, who will not leave our bark to be engulfed, but, though ten thousand winds may blow, will rebuke the winds and the sea, and instead of raging waves, make a great calm.

6. Having therefore ordered yourselves, so come to our next assembly, if at least it be at all an object of desire to you to hear somewhat to your advantage, and lay up what is said in your souls. But let not one of you be the "wayside," none the "stony ground," none the "full of thorns" (Mt.13: 4, 5, 7). Let us make ourselves fallow lands. For so shall we (the preachers) put in the seed with gladness, when we see the land clean, but if stony or rough, pardon us if we like not to labor in vain. For if we shall leave off sowing and begin to cut up thorns, surely to cast seed into ground unwrought were extreme folly.
It is not meet that he who has the advantage of such hearing be partaker of the table of devils. "For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?" (2 Cor. 6:14.) Thou standest listening to John, and learning the things of the Spirit by him; and dost thou after this depart to listen to harlots speaking vile things, and acting viler, and to effeminates cuffing one another? How wilt thou be able to be fairly cleansed, if thou wallowest in such mire? Why need I reckon in detail all the indecency that is there? All there is laughter, all is shame, all disgrace, revilings and mockings, all abandonment, all destruction.
See, I forewarn and charge you all. Let none of those who enjoy the blessings of this table destroy his own soul by those pernicious spectacles. All that is said and done there is a pageant of Satan. But ye who have been initiated know what manner of covenants ye made with us, or rather ye made with Christ when He guided you into His mysteries, what ye spoke to Him, what speech ye had with Him concerning Satan's pageant; how with Satan and his angels ye renounced this also, and promised that you would not so much as cast a glance that way. There is then no slight ground for fear, lest, by becoming careless of such promises, one should render himself unworthy of these mysteries.

7. Seest thou not how in king's palaces it is not those who have offended, but those who have been honorably distinguished, that are called to share special favor, and are numbered among the king's friends.
A messenger has come to us from heaven, sent by God Himself, to speak with us on certain necessary matters, and you leave hearing His will, and the message He sends to you, and sit listening to stage-players. What thunderings, what bolts from heaven, does not this conduct deserve! For as it is not meet to partake of the table of devils, so neither is it of the listening to devils; nor to be present with filthy raiment at that glorious Table, loaded with so many good things, which God Himself hath provided. Such is its power, that it can raise us at once to heaven, if only we approach it with a sober mind.

For it is not possible that he, who is continually under the influence of the words of God, can remain in this present low condition, but he is ready to take wing right away, and fly away to the land which is above, and light on the infinite treasures of good things; which may it be that we all attain to, through the grace and loving kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom and with Whom be glory to the Father and the all-holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

[1] There is a play on words here in the Greek. Alethia in Greek literally means ‘unmasked’ or ‘unvarnished.’Ê We might say, ‘completely unmasked’ to carry the sense. It is hard to do full justice to Saint John's art as a rhetorician.

Saint John the Evangelist save us.

Translation of Saint John the Evangelist

October 1

OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS
JOSEPH METROPOLITAN OF PETROGRAD
In the Father's Embrace: From the Diary of A Monk
Martyred by the Atheists on November 7, 1937.

How and by what means was Zacchaeus saved? The Lord came in simplicity to him, to a great sinner, and Zacchaeus melted:

“He stood, and said: Behold Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore it four fold” (cf. Lk. 19:18).

The very fact that the Lord visited him softened the heart of the sinner. The Lord did not have any need to speak of the purpose of His coming to save a sinner. There was no need for Him to argue, “Do this and do that if you wish to be saved.”

The Lord simply came, and His very coming caused Zacchaeus to come to himself and to be reborn as one saved instead dying as a perishing soul.

O compassionate Lord! I would wish to blame Thee for my misfortune of being hardened in sin, negligent, and careless. If only Thou wouldest visit my fallen soul, it would be thoroughly aroused by Thy visitation and would be impetuously changed with regard to its disposition and fate.

2005 Translated by Holy Nativity Convent, Brookline, Massachusetts U.S.A.

Most Holy Theotokos save us.

Holy Protection of the Theotokos

October 2

HIEROMARTYR JOSEPH, METROPOLITAN OF PETROGRAD
In the Father's Embrace: From the Diary of a Monk.
Martyred by the Atheists on November 7, 1937.

Whence came Zacchaeus' sudden love for the Lord, faith in Him, readiness to do good, so contrary to his entire former attitude? All this the Lord brought with Him to Zacchaeus. The Treasury of love and consolation came to Zacchaeus, and he, accustomed as he was to correctly valuing precious things and dealing with them, showed us that he was not mistaken and that the Lord was precisely the One Whom Zacchaeus confessed Him to be.

2005 Translated by Holy Nativity Convent, Brookline, Massachusetts U.S.A.

Saints Cyprian and Justina save us.

Saints Cyprian and Justina

October 3

OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS
JOSEPH METROPOLITAN OF PETROGRAD
In the Father's Embrace: From the Diary of A Monk
Martyred by the Atheists on November 7, 1937.

“Thou art my foundation, O Saviour, my refuge and my strength: do Thou make steadfast my shaken heart…” *
A wonderful hymn.

Whose shaken heart will it not make steadfast by its compunctionate quality, its grace-given beauty, warmth and power?

2005 Translated by Holy Nativity Convent, Brookline, Massachusetts U.S.A.

* Heirmos, Eighth Tone, Ode Four

Saint Dionysius the Areopagite save us.

Saint Dionysius the Areopagite

October 6

"center">OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS
JOSEPH METROPOLITAN OF PETROGRAD
In the Father's Embrace: From the Diary of A Monk
Martyred by the Atheists on November 7, 1937.

All manner of gossip, quarrels, discord with our neighbors—all this is often the enemy attempting to disrupt our tranquility, our pe aceful and saving wo rk of serving God, to distract us from prayer and labor or struggle.

Understand that the enemy is behind all your annoyances, and do not yield to temptation. Stay calm.

Say to the Lord, “Lord Thou seest the truth: do Thou defend me. Help me to stay calm. Let everything turn out to the enemy's shame, and not result in my embitterment.”

2005 Translated by Holy Nativity Convent, Brookline, Massachusetts U.S.A.

Apostle Thomas

October 8

OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS
JOSEPH METROPOLITAN OF PETROGRAD
In the Father's Embrace: From the Diary of A Monk
Martyred by the Atheists on November 7, 1937.

We cause the enemy to rejoice greatly if we respond to his attacks by becoming annoyed, sorrowful, despondent, enfeebled. This is just what he wants to achieve by the mean tricks he plays on us through our neighbors.

Please see the poem The Change on Saint Pelagia's conversion by Prince Dimitry Mishetsky in The Wheat of Christ and Katina's recording of The Change in her selections entitled "In the Beginning."

Saint Pelagia the Former Courtesan

October 10

SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE
A. D. 407

"For He knoweth," saith He, "what things ye have need of." And if He know, one may say, what we have need of, wherefore must we pray?
Not to instruct Him, but to prevail with Him; to be made intimate with Him by continuance in supplication; to be humbled; to be reminded of thy sins.

The Gospel of Saint Matthew NPNF Vol. 10. Homily 19, p.133B

Righteous and God-bearing Fathers of Optina save us.

Synaxis of the Rigteous and god-bearing Fathers of Optina

October 11-17

Sunday of the Fathers of the Seventh Ecumencal Council

THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
SAINT JOHN CLIMACUS

Step 15

On incorruptible purity and chastity, to which the corruptible attain by toil and sweat

The good Lord shows His great care for us in that the shamelessness of the feminine sex is checked by shyness as with a sort of bit. For if the woman were to run after the man, no flesh would be saved.

Holy 350 Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council save us.

Fathers of the Seventh Ecumencal Council

October 12

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and B lameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

Saint Symeon the New Theologian
Whom the Holy Church Commemorates
March 12, and October 12

If the face of a loved one clearly and completely changes us, and makes us cheerful, gay and carefree, what will the Face of the Lord not do when He makes His presence felt invisibly in a pure soul?

Step 30:16

The Ladder of Divine Ascent Saint John Climacus
Revised Edition ©1959 by Archimandrite Lazarus Moore

Pray for us here.

Saint Symeon the New Theologian pray for us.

Saint Symeon the New Theologian

October 18/31

Pagan Festival of Samhaign, commonly called “Halloween”

Samhaign (say "SAAH-win" according to the Milwaukee Journal), the demon, is up to his old tricks. Let us not open the door, even a crack in the door, to him. "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist steadfast in the faith..." (1 Peter 5:9).

What faith might this be to which the Scripture and the holy Fathers constantly make reference?

We, "the Israel of God" (Gal. 6:16) the Church, are summoned to a new life, a life of faith, for "without faith it is impossible to please Him" (Heb. 11:6), and "we walk by faith, not by sight"(2 Cor. 6:7) knowing that "the whole world lieth in wickedness" (I John 5:19).

Again, what is this faith? Where can we, with certainty, find a true faith? Since we know that "faith without works is dead" (Jam. 2:20; 2:26), and St. Gregory Nyssa tells us that "works without faith is dead" (The Life of Moses), how do we live a life of faith that is pleasing to God? The holy Fathers, with one voice, tell us to turn to “the faith which was once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3), that is, to the holy Orthodox Church, sealed with the blood of countless martyrs, and with their incorrupt relics. This is the true Church, “the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (I Tim. 3:15) (cf. especially this website).

So we, together with Abraham, look "for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Heb. 11:10). We confess, with all the Saints, “that ...[we] are strangers and pilgrims on the earth" (Heb. 11:13), "esteeming the reproach of Christ greater than the treasures of Egypt" (Heb. 11: 26).

The Real History of Halloween Why Halloween

October 19

A Note From
The Life of Saint Athanasius
Archbishop of Alexandria

Once, when the holy Athanasius was at a Church service at night, soldiers broke in and surrounded the people and the altar. Archbishop Athanasius remained seated and ordered the deacon to read a psalm. At first the soldiers did not dare to attack the faithful in church, but finally they did so, killing them, and then desecrating, and plundering the church itself. The clergy managed to get Saint Athanasius away and into the desert before the soldiers could seize him.

Saint Athanasius boarded a boat in the Nile River and set off for Upper Egypt. When, however, he saw that he was being pursued by government officers, and just after the boat had rounded a curve in the river, he directed the boat's captain to make a quick U-turn and to head back down the river. The captain was flabbergasted but he obeyed. Soon they approached the boat of his pursuers, who, suspecting nothing, called out, “Have you seen Athanasius the Bishop?” So, as the river boats passed one another, now going in opposite directions, the Saint himself called back, “He is not far…” And thus, he escaped his persecutors!

The holy Athanasius spent twenty years of his life in exile, away from his Archbishop's throne, but he never stopped writing and fighting to defend the Orthodox Christian faith against its enemies.

Saint John of Kronstadt Save us.

Saint John of Kronstadt

October 21

SAINT MARK THE ASCETIC
On Those who Think that they are made righteous by Works:
Two Hundred and Twenty-Six Texts.

66. Once you recognize that the Lord's judgments ‘are in all the earth’ then everything that happens to you will teach you the knowledge of God. — cf. I Paraleipomenon 15:14 (LXX)

Saint Hilarion the Great Save us.

Saint Hilarion the Great

October 22

SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE
A.D. 407

"For learn", saith He, "of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls." Because long-suffering is the mother of all good things. — Homilies on St. Matthew's Gospel Vol. 10 Homily 38, p. 254.

Seven Youths of Ephesus save us.

Seven Holy Youths of Ephesus

SAINT JOHN OF KRONSTADT
From My Life in Christ — p. 313

O Lord! ever give me a meek heart, a bright, straightforward, kind look. Grant it Lord! Glory to Thee for having taken away from me the burning thorns of my passions, my straitness, my shame, and mine infirmities, and for having bestowed upon me peace, tranquility, freedom, power, and boldness. Strengthen, then, in me that which Thou hast accomplished in me.

Glory to the power of faith, to the power of prayer; for everything that I ask of Thee believing in prayer I receive in accordance with Thy word. I thank Thee for raising me from the dead so many times, and for destroying the kingdom of sin and death in me.

Most Holy Theotokos save us.

Kazan Icon of the Mother of God

October 23

Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov
On the Prayer of Jesus

The power given by the Lord to His seventy Disciples is given to all Christians (Mk. 16:17). Use it, Christians!

With the name of Jesus cut off their heads, that is, the first appearances of sin in your thoughts, fancies and feelings. Destroy within you the devil's rule over you; destroy all his influence over you; acquire spiritual freedom. The foundation of your struggle is the grace of Holy Baptism; your weapon is in the name of Jesus.

Constantly say: “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me.” [Virtual parish Editor]

Saint James Brother of the Lord save us.

Apostle James the Brother of God

October 26

SAINT JOHN OF DAMASCUS
Whom the Holy Church Commemorates December 4.
An excerpt from his Life.

When Saint John's father reposed, the Caliph appointed the son to an even higher position than his father had attained. Everyone admired his wisdom and his sense of justice and mercy.

Meanwhile in Constantinople, which was the capital of the Christian world in those times, a terrible fight was raging. Some people, including the Emperor of Constantinople, wanted to destroy all the holy icons. The Emperor's soldiers would break into churches and people's homes, would seize the icons, burn them or break them into pieces. Everyone was afraid to oppose the Emperor.

Saint John dared to challenge the Emperor for destroying the icons, and he wrote many articles defending them. He also prayed devoutly before the icon of the Virgin and begged her to show him how he should live. He was troubled by the terrible violence against the icons, for he loved religion, truth, and beauty and he believed that a man should dedicate his best gifts to God and to the worship of God.

The Emperor was so irritated by Saint John's defense of the icons that he had a letter sent to the Caliph of Damascus in which John's handwriting was forged. This letter said that Saint John was willing to betray the Caliph to his enemies. The Caliph believed that Saint John had written the letter and he was so angry that he ordered John's hand to be cut off. John prayed before the icon of the holy Virgin and his hand was miraculously healed with only a thin red scar indicating the place where it had been cut off.

When the Caliph heard of this miracle, he was convinced that John was not guilty, and called John back to the palace, wanting to give him a higher position than he had held before.

“No,” said Saint John. “God has called me. I will go away from the big city; I will give up my riches and my power. I will spend the rest of my life praying to God and praising Him.”

It took Saint John a long time to persuade the Caliph to let him go, but at last he was free. He left his riches to his relatives, freed his slaves, and, wearing his simplest clothes, left home for good, taking with him only a few dried wheat cakes.

Taken from: They Walked With God; The Lives of Saints for Children by Lydia Kesich
© 1960 Metropolitan Publications Committee
1520 East Main Street, Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Saint Demetrius save us

Great Martyr Demetrius the Myrrh-streamer

October 28

SAINT HERMAN OF ALASKA
(An excerpt from Father Herman Alaska’s Saint
by F.A. Golder
St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood 2004)

On Board a Russian Man of War.

One day the Captain and officers of a Russian Man of War invited Father Herman on board to dine with them. In the course of the conversation he put this question to them: “What do you, gentlemen, regard as most worthy of love and what do you wish most for your happiness?” One man said he desired riches, a second glory, the third a beautiful wife, a fourth the command of a fine ship. The others expressed themselves in a similar manner. “Is it not true,” said Father Herman, “that all your wishes can be summarized in this short sentence: each of you desires that which he thinks is most worthy of love?” To this statement they all agreed.

“If this is true,” he continued, “what can there be better, higher, nobler, and more worthy of love than the Lord Jesus Christ, the creator of heaven and earth, the Author of all living beings, Who provides for all, Who loves all, and Who is the incarnation of love? Should we not above all love God, seek Him and desire Him?” The officers were quite confused and replied that what he said was true, was self-evident. He then asked them if they loved God. “To be sure,” they said, “we love God. How could anyone not love Him?”

Hearing these words, the old man bowed his head and said:

“I, a poor sinner, for forty years have tried to love God and I cannot say that I love Him as I should. To love God is to serve Him day and night, and to do His will. Do you, gentlemen, love God in this manner, do you often pray to Him, do you always do His will?” With shame they acknowledged their shortcomings. “Then let me beseech you, my friends, that from this day forth, from this hour, from this minute, you will love God above all.”

The officers marveled at his words and long remembered them.

Note: In 1842 the ship on which Bishop Innocent was sailing from Kamchatka to Alaska ran into a severe storm which threatened to wreck it. The good bishop prayed for help to the saints, and remembering the pious Fr. Herman he said to himself, “If you have pleased God, Fr. Herman, make the wind change.” Immediately a fair wind sprung up and in good time the boat was safe in the harbor of St. Paul. In gratitude for the deliverance, the bishop held a service over the grave of Fr. Herman.

Saint Philaret save us.

November 7

SAINT ANTHONY THE GREAT
From The Paradise of the Fathers Vol. II, pp. 149-50, #2

They say concerning Abba Anthony that on one occasion, when he was praying in his cell he heard a voice which said unto him, “Anthony, thou hast not yet arrived at [the state of excellence] of a certain man who is a tailor and who dwelleth in Alexandria.” Then Anthony rose up in the morning, and took a palm stick and departed to him, and when the man saw him, he was disturbed; and when the old man said unto him, “Tell me what thou doest and how thou livest,” and the tailor said to him, “I do not myself know that I do any good, and I know only that when I rise up in the morning, before I sit down to the labour of my hands, I give thanks unto God, and praise Him, and that I set my evil deeds before mine eyes, saying, ‘All the men who are in this city will go into the kingdom of God, because of their alms and good deeds, except myself, and I shall inherit punishment for my sins’: and again in the evening, before I sleep, I do the same things.” Now when Abba Anthony heard these things, he said, “Verily, as the man who worketh in gold, and who doeth beautiful work, cleanly, and in peace, even so art thou; through thy beautiful thoughts thou wilt inherit the kingdom of God, whilst I, who have passed the whole of my life in the desert, separated [from men], have never overtaken thee.”

Saint Metropolitan Joseph of Petrograd save us

Metropolitan Joseph of Petrograd

November 8

SAINT MACARIUS THE GREAT
THE FIFTY SPIRITUAL HOMILIES

Homily 5

6. Truly, I tell you this. Every person, even prostitutes, publicans, and the wicked, desires and wants all this namely, to possess the kingdom easily without labors and struggles. But because of this there lie along the path temptations and many trials and afflictions and struggles and sweat in order to sift out those who have truly loved the Lord alone with might and main right up to death itself and have desired nothing else along with their love for Him. (see p.71)

“Exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God” (Acts 14: 22).

Saint Michael the Archangel save us.

Michael the Chief Commander and the other Bodiless Hosts

November 9

ELDER JOSEPH THE HESYCHAST
Selections from
Monastic Wisdom pp. 220-223
©1998 St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery

The condition of most people today is limited to an external formality. Beyond this, there is no concern or care for the inner soul, which is really everything. This is where the material unites with the Immaterial; man with God, as much as our earthly nature can hold. This union is the most beautiful thing and very good. But we all avoid it; we all turn our backs, because it takes a struggle. The human mind greatly shudders even to hear about the struggle needed.

In this struggle God must help, for without Him nothing can be achieved. The human will must struggle and the body must shed blood, because the skin of the inner man has to be shed. The “old man”[1] has to melt like wax. And just as rust falls off iron when it enters the fire, a similar thing happens to man, too.

Just as man dies when he stops breathing, so, too, does the soul die without continuous and endless prayer. It dies because that living flesh which is beginning to be conceived by the perpetuity of the prayer falls asleep, and the passions are rejuvenated. For the enemy does not sleep, but fights continuously. And just as an infant which is conceived in its mother's womb suffocates and dies if it ceases to breathe, the same thing happens with spiritual conception if the noetic work ceases.[2—Editor's footnote]

Why is it called grace? Because it cannot be seen, contained, visualized, or colored. A gift of God. An inexpressible, incomprehensible, and most rich miracle.

This is why, when the Lord walked down the road, He looked like the rest of the people, even though He is the True God. “He eats and drinks,” they said. He was called a deceiver and possessed. And today, if someone speaks about grace, about purification of the inner man, he is considered deluded. “He's deluded!” you will immediately hear. The idea of taking care of the inside of the cup, as the Lord tells us, [3] has been completely removed from people's minds.

You, too, must go through fire and water[4] and thus your merit will show— at what value you have been appraised by the Lord, not by men. ÊMen do not know how to value things.

[1] cf. Rom. 6:6
[2]This “noetic work” is our struggle always to say “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me.”
[3] cf. Mt. 10:26
[4] cf. Ps. 65:12

Saint Nectarius save us.

Saint Nectarius the Wonderworker Revised on May 14, 2009

November 11

THE ELDER JOSEPH
An excerpt from Monastic Wisdom:
The Letters of Elder Joseph the Hesychast p. 219
© 1988 St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery Florence, Arizona 85232

And I remembered days of old and meditated at night with my heart and said:

“Vanity of vanities, and all is vain!”[1]

Everything was a dream and disappeared. They were bubbles that burst, a spider's web that was torn.

“All human things are vanity, everything that does not exist after death.”

Alas! We are in exile and do not want to realize it. We do not want to see from what heights we have fallen. But with our own evil will, we cover our ears and shut our eyes, blinding ourselves willingly so that we might not see the truth. Woe to us, for we consider this darkness here to be light, and for a paltry pleasure that this world offers, we avoid the light there as if it were darkness. We avoid it because of the small sorrow that the body encounters, and lose the repose there. Woe to our wretchedness! For God calls out for us to become His children, but we become sons of darkness. We exchange eternity for a little bit of honey. For the small pleasure of luxury or glory, we deny and fall away from the kingdom of God. So blessed is he who sees this deception and abstains from the fleeting pleasures of this world, and aspires to the enjoyment that awaits us.

And you, my good and beloved sister, who have chosen God from your youth, struggle to brighten the garment of the bridal-chamber. Entreat the Lord day and night to forgive you all things of the past, to give you strength from above to keep His divine commandments. And when He receives you in repentance, may He count your soul together with the righteous. Then, we shall enjoy each other there insatiably unto all the ages.

[1] Eccl. 1:2

Saint Menas save us.

Martyrs Menas, Victor and Vincent

SAINT MACARIUS THE GREAT
From The Paradise of the Fathers pp.150-151
© 1994 New Sarov Press Blanco, Texas

When Abba Macarius was praying in his cell on one occasion he heard a voice which said, “Macarius, thou art not yet arrived [at the state of excellence] of two women who are in such and such a city”; and the old man rose up in the morning, and took in his hand a palm stick, and he began to set out on the road to that city. Now therefore, when he had arrived at the city, and learned the place [of the abode of the women], he knocked at the door, and there went forth one of the women and brought him into the house. And when he had been sitting down for a little, the other woman came in, and he called them to him, and they came nigh and sat down before him.

Then the old man said unto them, “On your account I have made this long journey, and have performed all this labor, and with great difficulty have come from the desert; tell me then, what works ye do.” And they said unto him, “Believe us, O father; neither of us hath ever been absent from, or kept herself back from, her husband's couch up to this day; what work, then, wouldst thou see in us?” Then the old man made apologies to them, and entreated them to reveal to him and show him their labour, and thereupon they said unto him, “According to worldly considerations we are strangers one to the other, for we are not kinsfolk, but it fell out that the two of us married two men who were brethren in the flesh. And behold up to this present we have lived in this house for twelve years, and we have never wanted to quarrel with each other, and neither of us hath spoken one abominable word of abuse to her companion. Now we made up our minds together to leave our husbands and to join the army of virgins, but, although we entreated our husbands earnestly to do so, they would not undertake to send us away. And as we were unable to do that which we wished, we made a promise between ourselves and God that, until death, no worldly word should go forth from our mouths.”

Now when Macarius heard [this] he said, “Verily, virginity by itself is nothing, nor marriage, nor life as a monk, nor life in the world; for God seeketh the desire [of a man], and giveth the Spirit unto every man.”

Saint Theodore Studites save us.

Our Righteous Father Theodore the Studite

November 13

Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever, Amen. Jude 24, 25

Saint John Chrysostom

Saint Irene Myrtidiotissa

November 14

Orthodox prelate charges Catholics, Protestants have ‘gutted the faith.’

(Metropolitan Ephraim’s response appeared in the June, 2004 edition of THE SWORD. Editor)

(The following article was submitted to The Sword by Metropolitan Ephraim of the Holy Orthodox Metropolis of Boston, Mass., after we asked him to convey his views on the rapture.)

You asked me for my opinion on the teaching of the rapture.

Of late, one Southern Baptist minister (Josh McDowell) quoted the statistics from a recent survey of Protestant young people. (The survey results were printed in The Kansas Christian, July 18, 2003).

He said that in 1991, 52% of their young people believed that there was no such thing as absolute truth. In 1994, that figure was 62%.

In 1999, the figure had risen to 78%. And by 2002, the figure had climbed to 91%.

The minister found these figures “shocking.” He went on to say, “the very basis on which we build our faith is truth—and when we allow truth to erode, we gut the faith.”

Yes, but that’s not the root of their problem. The root is, first of all, the idea of the “Papal magisterium” which gives the Pope of Rome the prerogative to interpret or re-interpret the Church’s teaching on his own authority and the Protestant concept of “private interpretation of the Scriptures.”

But the Protestants (and the Roman Catholics in their own way) have been gutting the faith ever since Luther and Calvin and all the rest began with their Reformation.

The Protestant principle of “private interpretation of the Scriptures” lends itself very readily to this “gutting of the faith.”

Here is an excerpt from an article on the Creed written by Rev. Michael Gelsinger (an Orthodox monk):

“The essence of Protestantism is the claim that every person without exception has the right to explain the Scriptures in his own way as best he can. Saint Peter’s Second Epistle warns against such ideas. He says: ‘We have also a more steadfast word of prophecy, to which ye do well to take heed…knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.’ (II Peter 1:19-20).

“In fact, the doctrine of universal competence to interpret Scripture means that theoretically there could be as many different Churches as there are people.

“At the very heart of Protestantism, therefore is planted in germ the popular idea that anyone can believe as he pleases, and on his own sole authority.”

No room for absolute truth here.

Why then, is our Southern Baptist minister “shocked?” What holds true for the Protestants and the Papal denomination also holds true for all Ecumenists.

So, as I mentioned to you on the telephone, the modern Protestant teaching on the rapture is no surprise. It is only just another Protestant fad, like the fad of the “holy laughter” that we had a while ago, or like the other fad: people being “slain in the spirit.”

Now Protestant (and Roman Catholic) teachings and interpretations are appearing all the time. Why, therefore should they be surprised and shocked that their young people no longer believe in absolute truth? What is truly shocking is that they are shocked by this. What did they expect?

Another new teaching and interpretation among Protestants is the one that permits them to perform gay marriages or ordain gays and lesbians as “priests” and “bishops.” Absolute truth? Who are they kidding?

I hope these thoughts are of help to you.

Holy Apostle Philip save us.

Apostle Philip

November 15

Saint Macarius of Corinth
1731-1805

The Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is the visible holy of holies ta Agia ton Agion (Lev. 2:3), bequeathed to and bestowed upon us by Jesus Christ Himself for our sanctification. Who would not wish to be a partaker of such holiness and be sanctified? And so, do not be too lazy to approach the cup of life, immortality, love and holiness. But approach with fear of God and faith and love.

Saint Paisii Velichkovsky save us.

Saint Paisii Velichkovsky

SAINT ANTHONY THE GREAT

From The Paradise of the Fathers
© 1994 New Sarov Press Blanco, Texas

New Martyr Catherine of Attica

November 19

An Excerpt from
THE ELDER IERONYMOS OF AEGINA
By Peter Botsis
Translated from the Greek by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Boston, Massachusetts 2007

“It is because of this that I call you blessed.”

The Elder knew Mrs. Pateras well and began straightway to speak with her. From his pronunciation I understood that he was a Cappadocian...

The lady informed the Elder that she was just passing through and was only stopping to get his blessing and to leave a few things. She also informed him that I was a hierodeacon from America. The Elder told her that her daughter Irene had come twice from Saint Menas to see him and they had spoken of spiritual things.

At one moment he said to the lady, “God loves you. We owe it to Him to love Him too.”

“I have no doubt of that, but the problems and sorrows are many, both in the family, and from illnesses.”

“I call you blessed; God shows you abundant love. I wish I had known you before your husband and daughter became ill.”

“Why, Elder?”

“Tell me, before the illnesses and the sorrows, did you do this?” And with his hand he made as if painting his lips.

“Why, yes, I used makeup.”

“And did you wear this?” And he showed his ear and his neck.

“Yes! I wore both earrings and necklaces.”

“And you made up your hair, and you played cards?”

“Yes, Elder. I went to the hairdresser, and sometimes I played cards with my lady friends when we got together, and on occasion I even went to the casino.”

“And now, how is it that you do not paint yourself, but wear a covering on your head, and do not go to the casino, but rather run all the time to churches and monasteries?”

“After so many illnesses and sorrows, am I crazy enough to make myself up and go to evening socials—with a sick husband, a sick daughter, and another daughter with family problems?”

“God loves—yes, He loves! It is because of this that I call you blessed. As for myself, I have never even once said to God, ‘My Christ, why?’” At the same time he lifted up the stump of his left arm which had been amputated at the elbow. “God took my hand. I didn’t need it. Better with one hand in Paradise, than with two in hell. As our good God wishes! He loves me. He knows what is to my profit. Yes, not once have I complained. I have never said, ‘Why did God take away my hand?’ I thank Him. I thank Him always and for all things. You also should be thankful and give glory to God for all things.”

“I thank Him, Elder, and I glorify Him. But I’m human. Please pray for me.”

“Everyone tells me to pray for them. I, the pauper, the sinner, that I should pray. Right now I will pray for Katina.” This is what he called Mrs. Pateras.

While standing, he lifted up his right hand and his eyes to Heaven and prayed with tears. “My Jesus, my most sweet Christ. I, the worm, the sinner, entreat Thee on behalf of Thy handmaiden Katina. Send forth Thine All-holy Spirit into her heart, into her mind, into her soul. Enlighten her, give her understanding, comfort her, heal her, strengthen her. Yea, hearken unto me, O Lord of Mercy, and disdain not my entreaty.”

As the Elder was saying these things, you understood that in truth he was praying noetically—face to face. Afterwards he turns to Mrs. Katingo and says, “God hears my humble, my impoverished prayer...” Pp.267-8

Saint Barlaam the Martyr

November 21

Esaias 63 vs. 8, 9 (LXX)

And He became to them deliverance
out of all their affliction:
not an ambassador, nor an angel,
but the Lord Himself saved them,
because He loved them and spared them:
He Himself redeemed them and took them up,
and lifted them up for all the days of eternity.

Note: The King James Version translation of the Old Testament, which is a translation not only of a corrupted Hebrew text, but also of a text that the Jews took care to purge, as much as possible, of all prophesies of Christ, alters this, and many other prophecies. You might want to look at your KJV's rendering of Isaiah 63:8-9.

In its translation into Greek of the Hebrew Scriptures in Alexandria under Ptolemy Philadelphius c. 250 B.C. the Septuagint preserves the integrity of the Hebrew text as manifested first, by the widespread acclaim that it received from the leading Jewish authorities such as Philo of Alexandria (20 B.C. — 50 A.D) who regarded it as inspired, and, second, by the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in Wadi Qumran near the Dead Sea between 1947 and 1956. Moreover, if any scriptural text is official in the Orthodox Church, it is the Septuagint. [Editor]

Most Holy Theotokos save us.

Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple

November 25

THE CHOSEN VESSEL PAUL
APOSTLE TO THE GENTILES

For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body,
according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself. Phil. 4:20, 21.

Saint Catherine the Great Martyr save us.

Great Martyr Catherine

November 30

THE HOLY MARTYRS OF CORDOVA
c. 850 A.D.

The following account is by a non-Orthodox writer (Andrew Wheatcroft, “Infidels”, London: Penguin, 2004, pp. 81-84), and so some of his comments should be taken with a pinch of salt. Nevertheless, the story of the Cordoban martyrs of ninth-century Spain is interesting and inspiring, and suggests certain modern parallels. It would be good to publish the original lives in a modern edition.

"Over a period of nine years, forty-eight Christians came to the capital of Al-Andalus, Cordoba, and deliberately brought a public death upon themselves by denouncing the Prophet Mohammed as a false prophet... The first to die was rather different from the others... He was a Christian priest called, appropriately, Perfectus. Fluent in Arabic, he often talked with Muslims in the market, and it seems clear that matters of belief and faith were frequently discussed. One day he was asked what he thought of their Prophet. At first he demurred, for he recognized the danger, saying that they intended to entrap him, and have him put to death. They denied this, and guaranteed that they would not denounce him. He then told them that Christians considered the Muslims' Prophet as 'the servant of Satan'.

"Perfectus overstepped the boundary between what was permissible and what was not. There is no indication in Alvarus' account of why he took this fatal step. Initially those with whom he had debated let it pass, but by doing so they were implicated in his blasphemy, and later they shouted out in the market that he had blasphemed against the Prophet. Perfectus was then taken before the judge (Qadi). When his guilt was proved according to the law, he received the only sentence possible: death. After many months, on 18 April 850, he was finally brought out for execution before a ribald crowd celebrating the end of Ramadan. Facing the sword of the headsman, he shouted out loudly time and again: 'Yes, I did curse your Prophet, and I curse him now. I curse him as an imposter, an adulterer, a child of Hell. Your religion is of Satan. The pains of Gehenna await you all.' Only the falling blade silenced his firm and strident declaration.

"The Christians of the city reclaimed his body from the execution ground and reopened the ancient tomb of Saint Acisclus, a saint who had suffered martyrdom under the Emperor Diocletian (and who would be reburied, centuries later, in what had become Perfectus' own church). There, led by the Bishop of Cordoba, an elaborate ceremony was held as the corpse was interred as a new martyr amid the hallowed bones of the established saint. This was a deeply symbolic act, physically conjoining the earlier saint, a martyr, with his successor, Perfectus. Soon after, another Christian called John was shipped after being accused of taking the Prophet's name in vain. That he was not condemned to death, although many Muslims demanded it, indicated that the legal authorities were not seeking to conduct a purge of Christians or inflame Christian opinion. Rather, it seems, the reverse. The judge interpreted this new instance as leniently as he could, and was criticized for it.

"... The next was a monk, Isaac, from a wealthy family, and a scholar in Arabic, who had been appointed as a government secretary. He came to the Qadi in open court and said that they wished to make the Muslim profession of faith. But as the judge was instructing him, Isaac suddenly shouted out, 'Your Prophet has lied, he has deceived you: may he be accursed, wretch that he is, who has dragged so many wretches down with him to hell. Why do you not, as a man of sense, abjure these pestilent doctrines.' Infuriated, the Qadi struck him across the face, but he was restrained by his advisors, who told him that even a condemned criminal should not be insulted.

"Recovering his self-control, the Qadi suggested to Isaac that he might be either drunk or mad, since he could not be ignorant that death was the only punishment for blasphemy. 'Qadi,' the monk replied quietly, 'I am in my right mind, and I have never tasted wine. Burning with the love of truth, I have dared to speak out to you and the others present. Condemn me to death: far from dreading the sentence, I yearn for it; hath not the Lord said, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for the truth's sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven".'

"The Qadi tried to avoid imposing the inevitable sentence, but under the law he had no option. Isaac duly met his desired end, on 3 June 851. Thereafter the headsman was kept busy. Two days after Isaac, a man named Sancho blasphemed and lost his head. Two days after that, six monks, among them Isaac's uncle, came before the Qadi and declared, 'We also echo the words of our holy brothers Isaac and Sancho.' More followed, until eleven had died as martyrs in less than two months. Many Christians opposed these sacrifices fearing that they would provoke Muslim anger against the whole Christian community.

"The interests of the Muslim authorities and the wider Christian community in preventing these suicidal confrontations were identical. A church council was summoned to prevent further martyrdoms, but it seemed only to rouse the staunchest Christians to ever more ecstatic zeal. Two monks entered the Great Mosque of Cordoba at Friday prayers, and shouted, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand for the faithful, but for you infidels, hell yawns, and it will shortly open and swallow you up.' They narrowly escaped lynching by the faithful at prayer, and were swiftly judged and decapitated at the market place.

"The final victims of their own zeal were Bishop Eulogius and a young woman, Leocritia. Eulogius had written a powerful account of the martyrdom movement and sent it north for safe keeping beyond the frontier of Muslim Spain. He was arrested and accused of seeking to convert Leocritia, who had been born of Muslim parents. The Qadi was reluctant to condemn so senior a Christian, and ordered him to be whipped for a more minor offence. Then Eulogius denounced the Prophet Mohammed in the most vitriolic terms. But still the magistrate refused formally to condemn him and simply committed him to the court of the vizier, the senior official of Cordoba. One of the court members came to Eulogius and said, 'I am not surprised, Eulogius, when madmen and imbeciles offer their heads without cause to the executioner; but how is it that a learned man like yourself, and one who enjoys general esteem, follows their example? What frenzy impels you? Why have you thus plotted against your own life? I pray you heed my words. Bow to the necessity; utter but a single word retracting what you have said before the Qadi, and in that case I will answer for my colleagues and myself that you will have nothing to fear.'

"But Eulogius refused to recant, and set out to secure a truly memorable martyr's death. He was formally condemned and sent for execution. A court eunuch abused him and struck him across the face on the way to the killing ground. In accordance with Christian precepts, Eulogius presented the other, unbruised, side of his face, and said, 'Smite that also'. The eunuch obliged, and a few minutes later, at a little after nine in the morning on 11 March 859, the bishop lost his head. His body was exposed to be gnawed by scavenging dogs, cats and rats, until the Christians gained permission to recover it. Leocritia was executed four days later and her body thrown into the river, 'to be eaten by fishes'. The demise of so senior a figure as Eulogius made a much greater impact than the deaths of all the more humble martyrs, and when the King of Leon made a treaty with the Sultan Mohammed in 883, one of the terms was that the bones of the holy martyrs Eulogius and Leocritia were to be ceded to him."

THROUGH THE PRAYERS
OF THE
HOLY MARTYRS of CORDOVA
LORD JESUS CHRIST OUR GOD
SAVE US.

Saint Andrew the First-called save us

Apostle Andrew

December 4

WHO SHALL FIND A VIRTUOUS WOMAN?

Who shall find a virtuous woman? for such a one is more valuable than precious stones. The heart of her husband trusts in her: such a one shall stand in no need of fine spoils. For she employs all her living for her husband's good. Gathering wool and flax, she makes it serviceable with her hands. She is like a ship trading from a distance; so she procures her livelihood. And she rises by night, and gives food to her household, and appointed tasks to her maidens. She views a farm and buys it: and with the fruit of her hands she plants a possession. She strongly girds her loins, and strengthens her arms for work. And she finds by experience that working is good; and her candle goes not out all night. She reaches forth her arms to needful works, and applies her hands to the spindle. And she opens her hands to the needy, and reaches out fruit to the poor.

Her husband is not anxious about those at home when he tarries anywhere abroad: for all her household are clothed. She makes for her husband clothes of double texture, and garments for herself of fine linen and scarlet. And her husband becomes a distinguished person in the gates, when he sits in council with the old inhabitants of the land. She makes fine linens, and sells girdles to the Chananites: she opens her mouth heedfully and with propriety, and controls her tongue. She puts on strength and honour; and rejoices in the last days. The ways of her household are careful, and she eats not the bread of idleness. But she opens her mouth wisely, and according to law. And her kindness to them sets up her children for them, and they grow rich, and her husband praises her. Many daughters have obtained wealth, many have wrought valiantly; but thou hast exceeded, thou hast surpassed all. Charms are false, and woman's beauty is vain: for it is a wise woman that is blessed, and let her praise the fear of the Lord. Give her of the fruit of her lips; and let her husband be praised in the gates.

Prov. 31: 10-31 LXX

Saint Barbara save us.

Great Martyr Barbara

SAINT PETER OF DAMASKOS
Circa 1156-7

All that has been said from the beginning of this discourse is of no benefit to anyone without the true faith; nor can it be put into practice without faith, just as there is no faith without works (James 2:20). Many of the holy fathers have written concerning faith and works. As a concluding reminder I shall say briefly that, to whatever order we belong, we ought all of us to undertake the works I have written about, as well as holding fast to the Orthodox faith we have received from the saints I have cited, so that with them we may attain eternal blessings through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom rightly belong honour and worship, together with His unoriginate Father and His all-holy, blessed and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

The Philokalia Vol. III, A Treasury of Divine Knowledge, p.210.

Saint John of Damascus save us.

Saint John of Damascus

December 5

SAINT PETER OF DAMASKOS
Circa 1156-7

We must admire not only the inner power of all things that are celebrated in the Church of the Orthodox Christians, but also the mystagological# actions through which this power is conveyed: how through divine baptism we become sons of God by grace, though we have done nothing before this, and do nothing after except keep the commandments; and how these awesome mysteries—I refer to holy baptism and holy communion—cannot take place without the priesthood, as St. John Chrysostom says.* Here, too, we see the significance of the power given to Saint Peter, chief of the apostles; for if the gates of the kingdom of heaven are not opened by priestly action, no one can enter (cf. Matt. 16:19). As the Lord says: 'Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit…' (John 3:5f.); and again: 'Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you have no life in you' (John 6:53).

The Philokalia Vol. III A Treasury of Divine Knowledge, pp. 208-209.

#Mystagogological, cf. St. Photius the Great in On the Mystagogy of the Holy Spirit. A pagan term employed by the Church Fathers for the Christian mysteries, especially baptism, but often with a sense broader than that of introduction or initiation into them. The continual participation and celebration of them implies spiritual progress and a continuing revelation.

*On Priesthood III, 5 (P.G. xlvii, 643).

Saint Sabbas save us.

Saint Sabbas

December 6

"WE ALL WORSHIP THE SAME GOD"
by His Eminence Metropolitan Ephraim of Boston

In discussing this issue with friends and acquaintances, the following "parable" might be useful in clarifying our thoughts.

There is, indeed, only one true God, as the Holy Scriptures and our Holy Orthodox Faith affirm, but not all men worship Him; nor is it simply a matter of different peoples calling Him by various names, as some suppose. In various passages of the Old and New Testaments, He has described Himself to us, as far as it is possible for us to comprehend; these descriptions exclude many of the attributes which, for example, Hindus and others ascribe to Him. He has also become man for us in time and space, and given us teachings about His Person and His relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit [hence, we know that He is one God in Trinity). So, as we said, we know that there is only one true God and that He has certain identifiable attributes.

Likewise, there is only one Father Neketas Palassis in the whole universe. He is unique, since, presumably, only he has his unique DNA and other unique characteristics. Now— paraphrasing Father Michael Azkoul's example* — suppose you wanted to meet Father Neketas and you asked me to describe him to you. If I were to tell you that he is seven feet tall, weighs 300 pounds, has a red beard, green eyes, and speaks only Swahili with a French accent, and lives in Lompoc, California, would you ever be able to locate him and make his acquaintance — if you accepted my description of him as true?

In like manner, if you accepted a wrong description of God as being true, would you be able to find and acknowledge Him? For example, if someone were to tell you that God highly esteems men who are suicide bombers that kill innocent men, women and children; or that He approves of the "honor killing" of women; or that He reincarnates people as cats, dogs, or fish; or that He is a Tibetan monk and He teaches that nothing has any meaning; or that He is the Great Pumpkin Who rises into the sky from the Sacred Pumpkin Patch on Halloween night — would you ever be able to find the real God? — if you believed any of these false descriptions of Him?

In Church terminology, these false descriptions are called "heresies."

Further, it is important to know that, in the teachings of its Saints, the Orthodox Church — unlike Roman Catholicism and Protestantism in Western Europe — did not seek to exterminate or condemn to death individuals who differed from the Church's teachings. St. John Chrysostom, one of the Church foremost preachers, taught us the following:

I do not persecute the heretic bodily, but I wage war against him with words — and not even against the heretic, but only against his heresy: I do not disdain the man; it is the error I hate, and I seek to pull him out of it…. I am accustomed to being persecuted, not to persecute others…. Thus did Christ triumph; He did not crucify, but rather it was He that was crucified.

* See the published text of Father Michael Azkoul's talk, "The Western God," given at the Seattle Conference of 1980.

Saint Nicholas, Protector of Travellers and Seafarers save us.

Saint Nicholas Sermon by Metropolitan Makarios Sermon by Metropolitan Philaret Saint Nicholas on the Bus

December 10

SAINT JOASAPH OF BELGOROD
1705 A.D. REPOSED 1754

Having prepared himself for death with Holy Unction, confession, and communion of the Holy Mysteries, Saint Joasaph reposed on December 10, 1754 at 4:20 in the afternoon.

At the hour of his death, the abbot of the Khotmizhsky monastery close to Graivoron saw the holy bishop in his sleep, indicating to him the rising sun and saying,

"As bright as this sun, so radiantly have I in this hour become before the throne of God."

Saint Joasaph of Belgorod, pray for us.

Saint Joasaph

December 11-17

THE ELECTION OF CHRISTIANS
For The Virtual Parish

When we say that we are, in truth, Confessors and Defenders of the Holy and Blameless Faith of the pious and Orthodox Christians we speak of our inheritance as bequeathed to us by God in Orthodox Baptism, for the Orthodox Faith and “the faith once delivered to the Saints” (Jude 3) is one and the same faith with nothing taken away and nothing added.

In our Orthodox worship of God, our true worship formed by the Holy Spirit so that we may rightly glorify the Lord God, and serve Him “in spirit and in truth” (Jn. 4:23), we in the act of worship and in our own prayers cry out that our deeds and our manner of life are not worthy of our high calling to serve God.

We, the unworthy, have been elected to serve God on the basis of His having called us to do so. This is the mystery of the Church:

“For not by laboring and sweating, not by fatigue and suffering,
but merely as being beloved by God, we received what we have received.”

Saint John Chrysostom
Homily I on St. Matthew NPNF Vol. 10 p. 2B

And again,

“Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you,
that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain:
that whatsoever ye should ask of the Father in My Name, He will give it to you” (Jn. 16:16)

We will confess our worthlessness until our dying breath because our faith and hope is in God and not in ourselves. We are no better than the folks living down the street from us, yet, in the mystery of God, selling all that we have, we seek to "go forth unto Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach" (Heb. 13:13), in order to purchase the Pearl of Great Price, the Holy Orthodox Faith. This faith is our only hope.

May God grant us to endure until the end.

Ed. Virtual Parish

Holy Forefathers save us

Holy Forefathers

December 12

Professor Ivan Andreyev
on those who recognized the Red Church.

And not only were we ready to die, but many did die, confident that somewhere there, outside the reach of the Soviet authorities, where there is freedom—there the Truth was shining in all its purity. There people were living by it and submitting to it. There people did not bow down to Antichrist. And what terror overwhelmed me when, fairly recently, I managed to come abroad and found out that some people here ‘spiritually’ recognize the Soviet Church. Spiritually! Many of us there fell, ‘for fear of the Jews,’ or giving in to the temptation of outward cooperation with the authorities. I knew priests of the official Church who, at home, tore their hair out, who smashed their heads making prostrations, begging forgiveness for their apostasy, calling themselves Cain—but nonetheless they did not have the strength to decide upon martyrdom. But even they spiritually did not recognize the Red Church. But these others abroad—it is precisely spiritually that they submit to it. What good fortune that our priest-martyrs, in dying, did not find out about this betrayal!

Ivan Andreyev. Russia's Catacomb Saints. page 49.
1982 edition. St. Herman of Alaska press.

Saint Spyridon save us

Saint Spyridon

METROPOLITAN EPHRAIM OF
THE HOLY ORTHODOX METROPOLIS OF BOSTON

An excerpt from
SAINT ATHANASIUS AND THE ARIAN CONTROVERSY

Here, perhaps, I should add as a parenthetical comment, that the Orthodox laypeople throughout the Roman Empire played a significant and heroic role in the defense of the Orthodox Faith and defeat of Arianism, even when many of the bishops faltered.

Not only in Alexandria and Egypt, but in Constantinople, Syria, Cappadocia, Edessa, Samosata, Pontus, Armenia, Nicomedia, Paphlagonia, Scythia, Illyria, Rome, Milan, and elsewhere, the simple faithful of the Church showed amazing devotion, courage and tenacity in resisting the Arians.

In Edessa, for example, the Arian Emperor Valens sent a large body of soldiers to massacre all the Orthodox Christians who, in defiance of his orders, had gathered in their church. When the prefect of the army was going towards it with a large military force, a young mother, leading her own little child by the hand, hurried hastily by on her way to the church, breaking through the ranks of the soldiers. The prefect, irritated at this, ordered her to be brought to him, and thus addressed her: “Wretched woman, where are you running in so disorderly a manner?” She replied, “To the same place that others are hastening.” “Have you not heard,” said he, “that the prefect is about to put to death all that shall be found there?” “Yes,” said the woman, “and therefore I hasten, that I may be found there.” “And why are you dragging that little child?” said the prefect. The woman answered, “That he also may be vouchsafed the honor of martyrdom.” The prefect was stunned. Promptly, he turned back his troops, returned to the Emperor and told him that it would be preposterous to destroy such a multitude of people who were so ready to die for their Faith.

Saints Father Herman and Peter the Aleut save us.

Saints Herman of Alaska and Peter the Aleut

December 17

OUR RIGHTEOUS FATHER
HERMAN OF ALASKA

From this day, from this hour, from this moment, *
let us mightily strive * to love our God above all *
Who took our flesh and suffered our whole banishment *
that He might restore us * to the light and kingdom *
where Herman doth await us.

The Menaion December 12; Ode Eight, Troparion
The Holy Transfiguration Monastery (c) 2005 Boston, Massachusetts 02445

Saint Daniel and the Three Holy Children, save us.

Prophet Daniel and the Three Children

STARETS AMBROSY
OF OPTIMA

FOR TRUE REPENTANCE not years and days are needed,
but one instant.

Staretz Amvrosy by John Dunlop, p.55

Saint Dionysius save us.

Saint Dionysius of Zakynthos

December 20

Adamantios Korais
Teacher of the Hellenes
1748-1833

Our religion, [the Holy Orthodox Faith] which is above reason (divinely revealed), does not resemble the rational sciences and arts. These, being the work of the human mind, are perfected with the progress of time, insofar as its rational power is perfected by philosophy. Our religion, the work of God, is, on the contrary, corrupted, insofar as it is separated in time from its first proclamation, if its leaders do not take care to guard it intact, as a treasure entrusted to them by its Author.

Korais, Advice of Three Bishops, London 1820, pp. xv-xvi
Quoted in Ecumenism Examined by Constantine Cavernos. 1996

Saint Ignatius save us.

Saint Ignatius

December 24

SAINT MARK THE ASCETIC
5TH - 6TH CENTURY

On Those who Think They Are Made Righteous by Works
Two Hundred Twenty Six Texts

2. Wishing to show that to fulfill every commandment is a duty, whereas Sonship is a gift given to men through His own Blood, the Lord said: “When you have done all that is commanded you, say: ‘We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do’” (Lk 17.10). Thus the kingdom of heaven is not a reward for works, but a gift of grace prepared by the Master for his faithful servants.

Saint Eugenia save us.

Holy Righteous Martyr Eugenia

December 25

SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
Archbishop of Constantinople
+ 407 A.D.

For if ye can learn what the star was, and of what kind, and whether it were one of the common stars, or new and unlike the rest, and whether it was a star by nature or a star in appearance only, we shall easily know the other things also. Whence then will these points be manifest? From the very things that are written. Thus, that this star was not of the common sort, or rather not a star at all, as it seems at least to me, but some invisible power transformed into this appearance, is in the first place evident from its very course. For there is not, there is not any star that moves by this way, but whether it be the sun you mention, or the moon, or all the other stars, we see them going from east to west; but this was wafted from north to south; for so is Palestine situated with respect to Persia.

In the second place, one may see this from the time also. For it appears not in the night, but in mid-day, while the sun is shining; and this is not within the power of a star, nay not of the moon; for the moon that so much surpasses all, when the beams of the sun appear, straightway hides herself, and vanishes away. But this by the excess of its own splendor overcame even the beams of the sun, appearing brighter than they, and in so much light shining out more illustriously.

In the third place, from its appearing, and hiding itself again. For on their way as far as Palestine it appeared leading them, but after they set foot within Jerusalem, it hid itself: then again, when they had left Herod, having told him on what account they came, and were on the point of departing, it shows itself; all which is not like the motion of a star, but of some power highly endued with reason. For it had not even any course at all of its own, but when they were to move, it moved; when to stand, it stood, dispensing all as need required: in the same kind of way as the pillar of the cloud, now halting and now rousing up the camp of the Jews, when it was needful.

In the fourth place, one may perceive this clearly, from its mode of pointing Him out. For it did not, remaining on high, point out the place; it not being possible for them so to ascertain it, but it came down and performed this office. For ye know that a spot of so small dimensions, being only as much as a shed would occupy, or rather as much as the body of a little infant would take up, could not possibly be marked out by a star. For by reason of its immense height, it could not sufficiently distinguish so confined a spot, and discover it to them that were desiring to see it. And this anyone may see by the moon, which being so far superior to the stars, seems to all that dwell in the world, and are scattered over so great an extent of earth,—seems, I say, near to them every one. How then, tell me, did the star point out a spot so confined, just the space of a manger and shed, unless it left that height and came down, and stood over the very head of the young child? And at this the evangelist was hinting when he said, “Lo, the star went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.”

Seest thou, by what store of proofs this star is shown not to be one of the many, nor to have shown itself according to the order of the outward creation? And for what intent did it appear? To reprove the Jews for their insensibility, and to cut off from them all occasion of excuse for their willful ignorance. For, since He who came was to put an end to the ancient polity, and to call the world to the worship of Himself, and to be worshipped in all land and sea, straightway, from the beginning, He opens the door to the Gentiles, willing through strangers to admonish His own people. Thus, because the prophets were continually heard speaking of His advent, and they gave no great heed, He made even barbarians come from a far country, to seek after the king that was among them. And they learn from a Persian tongue first of all, what they would not submit to learn from the prophets; that, if on the one hand they were disposed to be candid, they might have the strongest motive for obedience; if, on the other hand, they were contentious, they might henceforth be deprived of all excuse. For what could they have to say, who did not receive Christ after so many prophets, when they saw that wise men, at the sight of a single star, had received this same, and had worshipped Him who was made manifest.

The Gospel of St. Matthew, Homily VI. 3, 4, pp. 37-38.

O Saviour save us!

Nativity of our Lord

December 27

SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
347-404 A.D.

For this cause God blessed these above all the rest of men, saying,
“Blessed are they that mourn” (Mt. 5:4).

And how saith Paul, “Rejoice in the Lord alway?” (Phil. 4:4). The joy he is speaking of is what springs from those tears. For as men’s joy for the world’s sake hath a sorrow in the same lot with it, even so godly tears are a germ of perpetual and unfading joy. In this way the very harlot became more honorable than virgins when seized by this fire. That is, being thoroughly warmed by repentance, she was thenceforth carried out of herself by her longing desire toward Christ; loosing her hair, and drenching with her tears His holy feet, and wiping them with her own tresses, and exhausting the ointment. And all these were outward results, but those wrought in her mind were far more fervent than these; which things God Himself alone beheld. And therefore, every one, when he hears, rejoices with her and takes delight in her good works, and acquits her of every blame. But if we that are evil pass this judgment, consider what sentence she obtained from that God who is a lover of mankind; and how much, even before God’s gifts, her repentance caused her to reap in the way of blessing.

For much as after a violent burst of rain, there is a clear open sky; so likewise when tears are pouring down, a calm arises, and serenity, and the darkness that ensues on our sins quite disappears. And like as by water and the Spirit, so by tears and confession are we cleansed the second time; unless we be acting thus for display and vanity; for as to a woman whose tears were of that sort, I should call her justly condemnable, more than if she decked herself out with lines and coloring. For I seek those tears which are shed not for display, but in compunction; those which trickle down secretly and in closets, and in sight of no man, softly and noiselessly; those which arise from a certain depth of mind, those shed in anguish and in sorrow, those which are for God alone; such as were Hannah’s, for “her lips moved,” it is said, “but her voice was not heard;” (I Sam.1:13 LXX) however, her tears alone uttered a cry more clear than any trumpet. And because of this, God also opened her womb, and made the hard rock a fruitful field.

The Gospel of St. Matthew Homily VI. 8, pp. 40-41.

Martyr and Archdeacon Stephen save us

Martyr and Archdeacon Stephen

January 1

Saint Basil the Great

You will finally discover that the world was not conceived by chance and without reason, but for an useful end, and for the great advantage of all beings, since it is really the school where reasonable souls exercise themselves, the training ground where they learn to know God; since by the sight of visible and sensible things the mind is led, as by a hand, to the contemplation of invisible things. "For," as the Apostle says, "the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made" (Rom. 1:20).

The Hexaemeron (The Six Days of Creation) Homily 1.6

Saint Basil save us.

Saint Basil the Great

January 2

SAINT SERAPHIM OF SAROV
On Prayer

You may judge how great the power of prayer is even in a sinful person, when it is offered whole heartedly, by the following example from Holy Tradition:

When at the request of a desperate mother who had been deprived by death of her only son, a prostitute whom she chanced to meet, still unclean from her last sin, who was touched by the mother's deep sorrow and cried to the Lord:

‘O Lord, not for the sake of a wretched sinner like me, but for the sake of the tears of a mother sorrowing for her son and firmly trusting in Thy loving kindness and Thine almighty power, Christ God, raise up her son!’

And the Lord raised him up.

From the life of St. Theodore of Edessa, whose memory is celebrated on July 19
(or July 9, according to the Russian Typicon).

Saint Seraphim save us.

Saint Seraphim of Sarov

Saint Paisii Velichkovskii
On The Jesus Prayer

Quoting St. Symeon Archbishop of Thessalonica:

“This divine prayer of our Saviour consists of the appeal: O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. This prayer is supplication, confession of faith, the giver of the Holy Spirit and the bestower of divine gifts, the purification of the heart, the expulsion of demons, the indwelling of Jesus Christ, the source of spiritual ideas and divine thoughts, deliverance from sins, the ministering to souls and bodies, the giver of divine illumination and the source of God’s mercy, the giver of revelations and divine mysteries to the meek, and it is salvation itself, for it carries within itself the saving Name of our God—this being the name of Jesus Christ the Son of God which was betrothed to us.”

Saint Paisii continues, “Likewise, the other God-bearing Fathers, writing about this holy prayer, bear witness to its action, to the ineffable benefit derived from it, and to the progress through it in the exercise of the divine gifts of the Holy Spirit.”

From The Teaching of Starets Paisii on the Jesus Prayer in Six Chapters.

Saint Juliana save us.

Saint Juliana Lazarevo

January 6

The Holy Theophany of Our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ

The Entreaty
Fourth Tone. By Cosmas the Monk

HE that covereth Himself with light as it were a garment hath deigned to become like us for our sakes. Today He wrappeth Himself with the streams of the Jordan, not that He needeth to be cleansed by them, but in Himself He worketh the dispensation of our regeneration. O wonder! Without fire He casteth anew; and without shattering He refashioneth; and them that are enlightened in Him He saveth, even Christ God, the Saviour of our souls.

O Saviour Save us.

The Theophany (Epiphany) of our Lord, and God, and Saviour Jesus Christ

January 8

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians
Bless.

The Holy Hieromartyr Isidore
and the Seventy-two with Him
Whom the Holy Church Commemorates on January 8

The holy Feast of the Theophany of our Lord fell on January 6, 1472. The priest Isidore with all the Orthodox duly went forth to the river Omovzha with the precious cross to sanctify the water. There on the waters of the Holy Theophany Germans who had been sent by their bishop Andrew and the above mentioned Elder laid hold of Isidore the Christian teacher and those men and women and, like fierce wolves, dragged them before their bishop and the civil judges. Great was the torment the mighty warriors of Christ endured in the judgment hall for their faith, which the Germans sought to force them to renounce. Saint Isidore, however, and all the Orthodox confessors with him, as it were with one mouth, replied turning first to the Latin bishop Andrew, then to all their judges: "God forbid, O ye enemies of the Truth, that we Orthodox renounce the True Christ and the Orthodox faith! We will not spare our bodies for Christ God, however much you torment us. We beseech you, wretched ones: Spare your own souls for the Lord's sake, for ye are God's creation."

Then with great boldness did Saint Isidore unmask the false wisdom of the Latins and their apostasy from true Christianity. The enraged Latin bishop ordered the Orthodox cast into prison and summoned all the local rulers from the surrounding castles, as though to put the Orthodox on trial. As soon as the Orthodox Christians had come together, Saint Isidore instructed his flock in prison:

"Brethren and children," he said, "the Lord has assembled us together for this spiritual feat, desiring to crown you by His own almighty hand with unfading crowns. Do ye, brethren, suffer well at the hands of the iniquitous, harboring no doubt or uncertainty. Fear ye not these bitter torments, neither waken, for you adversary, the devil, stalks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8), that is, whom he may lure away from the Orthodox faith. Let us stand in it immovably, like good warriors, against his wiles, for the Lord Himself has said: 'If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for My name's sake, because they know not him that sent Me. But when the Comforter is come, Whom I will send unto you from the Father, He will testify of Me; and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning' (John 15:20-21, 26-27). Thus, brethren, spake Christ unto His disciples, and thus doth He say even unto us, if anyone suffereth for His name's sake unto the shedding of his blood, which is unto death. And you, my beloved brethren, forsake me not, but suffer together with me, and do not be deceived by the desires of this world, but be great martyrs of Christ in this generation."

Afterwards the holy Isidore with his companions stood in the prison facing east and began to sing and to pray with tears and heartfelt sighs. He partook of the reserved Gifts of the Holy and Life-creating Mysteries and communed all the men, women and children who were with him. All were filled with spiritual joy, and the devout priest instructed them again concerning the reward of eternal blessings for good deeds and of eternal torments for deeds of darkness.

“Let not one of us,” he said to his companions, “from the least to the greatest, fear either the threats or the tortures themselves. For if we suffer well for the Son of God, Our Lord Jesus Christ, we will receive the reward of our suffering on the day of judgment.”

And with one spirit, with a loud voice, they chanted a hymn in honor of the martyrs. “O holy Martyrs, who have endured suffering and have been crowned, beseech ye the Lord, that He will have mercy on our souls.”

Turning to Saint Isidore, as the leader and guide of the flock, but afterwards to all those under his care, the bishop said: “You need but to obey me and the governors of this city in the presence of these many Germans who have come together from the surrounding castles of my realm. Accept our precious faith (which is truly one with yours) and the use of unleavened bread, and do not destroy yourselves. Be true brethren unto us and partakers of our riches. If you so desire, hold to your own faith again; only confess your guilt now before me and the judges and Germans.”

But the confessors replied to the bishop: “Why do you try to persuade us with false and lying words? You cannot dissuade us from the true Christian faith. Do with us as you wish, for behold, we stand before thee and repeat to thee that which we have said previously.”

Then, like serpents, consumed with rage against the Orthodox, the stern bishop and the other judges ordered all of them driven into the river Omovzha in whatever clothing they had on. Saint Isidore, still vested as a priest, was cast into the very hole in the ice through which, through Orthodox prayers, the water had been sanctified earlier on the Feast of Theophany. Thus did they deal with them as with criminals, executing them in a cruel manner for their Orthodox faith in Christ. Seventy three suffered who considered Saint Isidore their instructor. They surrendered their pure souls into the hands of the living God and were crowned with crowns that fade not away.

There was at the time of their martyrdom a most wondrous sight. Among the Orthodox was to be seen a young mother who had in her arms a three year-old child, most beautiful and comely of countenance. The wicked Germans wrested the infant from his mother’s arms and cast her into the river. Beholding his mother drowned with the blessed martyrs, the child began to weep in the arms of the tormentors, and however much they tried to calm him, he struggled all the more, scratching their faces. Then the cruel tormentors cast him down beside the hole in the ice. The lad, creeping up to the hole itself, crossed himself thrice, and facing the people, exclaimed: “I also am a Christian. I believe in the Lord and wish to die, as did our teacher Isidore and my mother.” And thus saying, he cast himself beneath the ice. Thus did a child suffer for the truth, as of old the infant-martyr Cyricus, who confessed the Lord on the knees of the tormentor as he beheld the suffering of his mother Julitta, and received a martyr’s crown with her (commemorated July 15).

Holy Hieromartyr Isidore and the 72 with him, pray for us.

Hieromartyr Isidore

January 9

The Seventieth Epistle of Saint Cyprian of Carthage

Epistle LXX A.D. 255

Cyprian, Liberalis, Caldonius, etc. to their brethren Januarius,
Greeting.

WHEN we were together in council, dearest brethren, we read the letter which you addressed to us respecting those who are thought to be baptized by heretics and schismatics, whether, when they come to the one true Catholic Church, they ought to be baptized. Wherein, although ye yourselves also hold the Catholic rule in its truth and fixedness, yet since, out of your mutual affection, ye have thought good to consult us, we deliver not our sentence as though new but, by a kindred harmony, we unite with you in that long since settled by our predecessors, and observed by us; thinking, namely, and holding for certain, that no one can be baptized without the Church, in that there is one Baptism appointed in the holy Church, as it is written, the Lord himself speaking, They have forsaken me the Fountain of living water, and hewed them out broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jer. 2:13 LXX). Again, holy scripture admonishes us, and says, Keep thee from the strange water, and drink not from a fountain of strange water (cf. Proverbs 5:15-18 LXX).

The water then must first be cleansed and sanctified by the priest, that it may be able, by Baptism therein, to wash away the sins of the baptized, for the Lord says by the prophet Ezekiel, Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be purged from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols, and I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and will put a new spirit in you (Jezekiel 36:25 LXX). But how can he cleanse and sanctify the water, who is himself unclean, and with whom the Spirit is not? Whereas the Lord says in Numbers, And whatsoever the unclean man shall touch shall be unclean (Num. 19:22 LXX). Or how can he that baptizeth give remission of sins to another, who cannot free himself from his own sins, out of the Church?

Moreover, the very interrogatory which is put in Baptism, is a witness of the truth. For when we say, Dost thou believe in eternal life, and remission of sins through the holy Church? we mean that, remission of sins is not given, except in the Church; but that, with heretics, where the Church is not, sins cannot be remitted. They, therefore, who claim that heretics can baptize, let them either change the interrogatory or maintain the truth; unless indeed they ascribe a Church also to those who contend they have a Baptism.

Anointed also must he of necessity be, who is baptized, that having received the chrism-that is, unction, he may be the anointed of God, and have within him the grace of Christ. Moreover, it is the Eucharist through which the baptized are anointed, the oil sanctified on the altar. But he cannot sanctify the creature of oil, who has neither altar nor Church. Whence neither can the spiritual unction be with heretics, since it is acknowledged that the oil cannot be sanctified nor the Eucharist be celebrated among them. But we ought to know and remember that it is written, “Let not the oil of a sinner anoint my head” [I am unable to locate this text in the Septuagint at the present time, July 27, 2006. Editor]; which the Holy Spirit forewarned in the Psalms, lest any, quitting the track, and wandering out of the path of truth, be anointed by heretics and adversaries of Christ. Moreover, when baptized, what kind of prayer can a profane priest and a sinner offer? in that it is written, God heareth not a sinner, but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him He heareth ( cf. John 9:31).

But who can give what himself hath not? or how can he perform spiritual acts, who hath himself lost the Holy Spirit? Wherefore he is to be baptized and received, who comes uninitiated to the Church, that within he may be hallowed through the holy; for it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy, saith the Lord (cf. Lev. 11:44 LXX). So that he who has been seduced with error and washed without should, in the true Baptism of the Church, put off this very thing also; that he, a man coming to God, while seeking a priest, fell, through the deceit of error, upon one profane. But to acknowledge any case where they have been baptized is to approve the baptism of heretics and schismatics.

For neither can part of what they do be void and part avail. If he could baptize, he could also give the Holy Spirit. But if he cannot give the Holy Spirit because, being set without, he is not with the Holy Spirit, neither can he baptize any that cometh: for that there is both one Baptism, and one Holy Spirit, and one Church, founded by Christ the Lord upon Peter, through an original and principle of unity; so it results, that since all among them is void and false, nothing that they have done ought to be approved by us.

For what can be ratified and confirmed by God, which they do whom the Lord calls his enemies and adversaries, propounding in His Gospel, He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth (Lk. 11:23). And the blessed Apostle John also, keeping the commandments and precepts of the Lord has written in his Epistle, Ye have heard that the Antichrist shall come; even now there are many Antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us (cf. I Jn. 2:18, 19). Whence we, too, ought to infer and consider, whether they who are the adversaries of the Lord, and are called Antichrists, can give the grace of Christ.

Wherefore we who are with the Lord, and who hold the unity of the Lord, and according to this vouchsafement administer His priesthood in the Church, ought to repudiate and reject and account as profane, whatever His adversaries and Antichrists do; and to those who, coming from error and wickedness, acknowledge the true faith of the one Church, we should impart the reality of unity and faith by all the sacraments [i.e. mysteries (ed.)] of divine grace. We bid you, dearest brethren, ever heartily farewell.

NPNF Vol. 10 The Seven Ecumenical Councils pp. 518, 519.

The historical record shows that this is the Canon of St. Cyprian, which was issued by a Synod of 31 Bishops under St. Cyprian in Carthage in 255, referred to in the Second Canon of the Synod in Trullo, the Quinisext Council, A.D. 692, an Ecumenical Council (See pp. 358-62). St. Cyprian, commemorated on August 31, was vigorously supported in his stand by Saint Firmilian Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, who is commemorated on October 28.

This is the earliest written report of a decision of a Synod of Bishops in the Church.

Further, for the student of the holy Fathers, it is evident that Our Father Among the Saints Philaret Metropolitan of New York, the New Confessor, in the Synod's Anathema Against Ecumenism 14/27 October, 1983, based this Anathema, in large part, upon the Seventieth Epistle of Saint Cyprian of Carthage.

And to our God be glory.

Saint Philip save us.

Saint Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow

January 12

THEOLOGY OF THE ICON
BY LEONID OUSPENSKY

"The strange and unusual character of the icon is the same as that of the Gospel. For the Gospel is a true challenge to every order, to all the wisdom of the world. "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever will I thwart," says the Lord by the mouth of His prophets whom St. Paul quotes. (I Cor. 1:21). The Gospel calls us to life in Christ; the icon represents this life. This is why it sometimes uses irregular and shocking forms, just as holiness sometimes tolerates extreme forms which seem like madness in the eyes of the world, such as the holiness of the fools in Christ. 'They say that I am mad,' said one of them, 'but without madness one does not enter into the kingdom of God...To live according to the Gospel one must be mad. As long as men are reasonable and of sober mind, the Kingdom of God will not come to earth.' *Madness for the sake of Christ and the sometimes provocative forms of icons express the same evangelical reality. Such an evangelical perspective inverts that of the world. The universe shown to us by the icon is one which is ruled not by human standards but by divine grace. Hence the hieratic nature of the icon, its simplicity and majesty, its quietness; hence also the rhythm of its lines and the joy of its colors. It reflects the ascetic effort and the joy of victory. It is sorrow transformed into the 'joy of the living God.' It is the new order in the new creation."

Theology Vol. I, pp.191, 192 tr. Anthony Gythiel
(c) 1978 St. Vladimir's Seminary Press Crestwood, NY 10707-1699

*Archimandrite Spiridon, Mes Missions en Siberie (Paris: Editions du Cerf, 1950), 39-40.

Saint Tatiana Save Us.

Saint Tatiana

January 14

THEOLOGY OF THE ICON
BY LEONID OUSPENSKY
1902-1987

We have a sign which marks the beginning of the restoration of unity in the entire fallen creation. This is the sojourn of Christ in the desert: "He was with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered unto him" (Mk. 1:13). The heavenly and earthly creatures destined to become the new creation in the Theanthropos Jesus Christ are assembled around Him. The thought of the unification in peace of the entire universe clearly informs all Orthodox iconography. This union of all creatures, beginning with the angels down to the inferior creatures, is the renewed universe to come; in the icon it is contrasted to the general discord, to the prince of this world. Peace and harmony restored, the Church embracing the entire world -- this is the central idea of Orthodox sacred art, which dominates architecture as painting. This is why, in the icon, we find that everything which surrounds a saint changes its mein. The world that surrounds man -- the bearer and announcer of the divine revelation -- here becomes an image of the world to come, transformed and renewed. Everything loses its usual disorderly aspect, everything becomes a harmonious structure: the landscape, the animals, architecture. Everything that surrounds the saint bows with him to a rhythmic order. Everything reflects the Divine presence, is drawn -- and also draws us -- towards God. The earth, the world of vegetation and the animal world are represented in the icon, not to bring us close to what we always see around us -- a fallen world in its corruptible state -- but to show that this world participates in the deification of man. The effect of holiness on the entire created world, especially on the wild animals, is often seen in the saint's lives. * Epiphanius, a disciple and biographer of St. Sergius of Radonezh, comments as follows on the attitude of wild beasts toward the saint: "Let no one be astonished, for you know that when God dwells in a man and when the Holy Spirit rests in him, everything submits to him as to Adam before his fall, when Adam lived alone in the desert." The life of Saint Isaac the Syrian states that the animals smelled in him the odor which Adam exhaled before the fall. That is why, when animals are represented in an icon, they have an unusual appearance. While preserving the characteristic traits of their species, they loose their usual appearance. This would seem to be odd or awkward if we did not understand the profound language of the iconographers, who allude here to the mystery of paradise which is, at the moment, inaccessible to us.

* For example, those of Ss. Isaac the Syrian, Mary of Egypt, Sergius of Radonezh, Seraphim of Sarov, Paul of Obnorsk, and many others. Vol. I pp. 188, 189.

Saint Sabbas save us.

Saint Sabbas, Archbishop of Serbia

January 17

THEOLOGY OF THE ICON
BY LEONID OUSPENSKY
1902-1987

The content of the icon forms a true spiritual guide for the Christian life and, in particular, for prayer. Prayer is conversation with God. This is why it requires the absence of passions, deafness to and the non-acceptance of external, worldly excitement. "And thus, brothers," St. Gregory the Theologian says, let us not preform what is holy in an impure manner, what is sublime in a lowly fashion, what is worthy of honor in a disgraceful way, and, in short, what is holy in a terrestrial manner. With us all things are somehow holy: activity, movement, desire, speaking, as well as our manner of walking and our garments, even our gestures, because reason (logos) extends to everything and guides man according to God; this is how our celebration is spiritual and solemn (Oratio XI, PG 35:840A). This is precisely what is shown by the icon. A reasonable guide for our senses is indispensable, for through them evil enters the human soul: "The purity of man's heart is disturbed by the disordered movement of images which enter and leave by the senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell, as well as the spoken word," says St. Anthony the Great (Russian Philokalia, vol. 1, 22). This is why the Fathers speak of the five senses as the "doors" of the soul: "Close all the doors of your soul, that is, your senses," Saint Isaiah teaches, "and guard them carefully, so that your soul does not accidentally go wandering through them, or so that neither the cares nor the words of the world drown out the soul". Praying before an icon or simply looking at it, we are constantly reminded of what St. Isaiah says: "He who believes that his body will be resurrected on the judgment day must keep it without sin and free from all stain and vice" (Abba Isaiah, Homily 15, Russian Philokalia, vol. 1, 33). We must do this so that, in our prayer at least, we close the doors of our soul and strive to teach our body (as the saint in the icon taught his body) to keep itself aright in and by the grace of the Holy Spirit, so that our eyes may "see with purity," so that our ears may "hear in peace," and so that "our heart does not nurture evil thoughts." In other words, by the Icon, the Church endeavors to help us redeem our nature which has been tainted by sin.

Theology Vol. I, pp.180, 181 tr. Anthony Gythiel
(c) 1978 St. Vladimir's Seminary Press Crestwood, NY 10707-1699

*Archimandrite Spiridon, Mes Missions en Siberie (Paris: Editions du Cerf, 1950), 39-40.

Saint Anthony save us.

Saint Anthony the Great

January 18

Saint Irenaeus of Lyons
Martyred A. D. 202

On True Knowledge

True knowledge is [that which consists in] the doctrine of the Apostles, and the ancient constitution of the Church throughout all the world, and the distinctive manifestation of the body of Christ according to the succession of the bishops, by which they have handed down that Church which exists in every place, and has come even unto us, being guarded and preserved without any forging of Scriptures, by a very complete system of doctrine, and neither receiving addition nor [suffering] curtailment [in the truths which she believes]; and [it consists in] reading [the word of God] without falsification, and a lawful and diligent exposition in harmony with the Scriptures, both without danger and without blasphemy; and [above all, it consists in] the pre-eminent gift of love, which is more precious than all knowledge, more glorious than prophecy, and which excels all the other gifts [of God].

Against Heresies 4: 23.8

Saints Athanasius and Cyril save us.

Saints Athanasius and Cyril

January 19

SAINT PAISII VELICHKOVSKY
1722-1794

The following is an excerpt from a letter the Saint wrote to the nun Maria Petrovna Protas'eva, head of St. Aleksei Community in Arzamas, Russia:

“Diligently, with much attention and reflection, read in the Fathers about the prayer performed by the mind in the heart, which is the truest and most pleasing to God of the monastic feats. Should you, with God’s help, acquire a correct understanding of this prayer through studying the Fathers, compel yourself to fulfill it, appealing to God for help, and your soul will be aided greatly by it. Compel yourself to judge no one, for the sole righteous judge is Christ the Lord, who will give to everyone according to his deeds. Condemn only yourself, and you will not be condemned at His second and awesome coming. From your whole heart remit the sins of whomever sins before you, and your Father who is in heaven will remit your sins.”

Saint Mark of Ephesus save us.

Saint Mark of Ephesus

January 22

SAINT PAISII VELICHKOVSKY
1722-1794

Touching upon a question of considerable interest over 200 years later in the twenty first century, Saint Paisii is asked by a correspondent about a certain conciliar anathema imposed by the Eastern Patriarchs. He replies:

“My answer is that a curse or anathema upon those opposing the Catholic Church…and not submitting to the Church…which has been imposed by a council of Eastern Patriarchs, remains through the grace of Christ firm, unshakable, and irreversible until the end of the age. You also ask if any Eastern council has lifted… [an] anathema which has been imposed. And I answer, Could there be such a council, except for one in opposition to God and the Holy Church, which would assemble to repudiate the truth and confirm falsehood? There would never be such an evil council.

“And you ask if any bishops can lift such a curse without the Council’s knowledge and the consent and will of the Eastern Patriarchs. And I say this is totally impossible.

“Keep in mind that all the bishops receive the same grace of the Holy Spirit when they are consecrated and are obliged to guard, as the apple of the eye, the purity and immaculacy of the Orthodox faith, along with all the apostolic traditions and rules of the holy apostles, ecumenical and local councils, and the God-bearing Fathers contained in the Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. From the same Holy Spirit they received the authority to bind and loose according to the order established by the Holy Spirit through the holy Apostles in the Holy Church.

“The bishops did not receive the authority to destroy the Apostolic Traditions and rules of the Church which come from the Holy Spirit.

“Therefore, neither the bishops nor the Eastern patriarchs can lift the above anathema placed on the opponents of the catholic Church, as having been imposed correctly and in accordance … [with] the holy Councils. If anyone would attempt to do this, it would be against God and the Holy Church. You also ask that if none of the bishops can lift this anathema without the Eastern patriarchs, has it not been lifted by the latter?

“I answer that not only any bishop without the Eastern Patriarchs, but the Eastern Patriarchs themselves cannot lift this curse, as has sufficiently been said already, for such an anathema is eternally irrevocable.”

Saint Timothy save us.

Apostle Timothy

January 24

SAINT PAISII VELICHKOVSKY
1722-1794

Returning to our sources, we find that the Saint writes,

“I answer your last question, in which you ask me how you can be saved while living in the world with wives and children, in the following manner.

“Who can include in a brief word everything relating to the matter of salvation? I can only give you my advice to read the Divine Scriptures and our Holy Fathers with the greatest zeal, for to them is given the understanding of the mysteries of the heavenly kingdom, i.e. the true sense of the Holy Scriptures. In their soul-enlightened teachings, we can find in their entirety, all instructions necessary for spiritual salvation, which inspire anyone wishing to be saved to perform various good deeds and flee any deeds contrary to God. Reading their teaching zealously and diligently with faith and love, and with the fear of God and complete attention, you will have constant encouragement for various good deeds necessary for your salvation. And I, with all my unworthiness, recognizing that you are seeking instruction from me, can answer as follows:

“The most merciful God saves the souls of Orthodox Christians through the Orthodox Faith, good deeds, and His grace. The Orthodox faith is the one which is contained in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, and without this faith it is impossible to be saved. Good deeds are Gospel Commandments without which, as without the Orthodox faith, it is likewise impossible for anyone to be saved. The Orthodox faith without good deeds is a dead faith, and good deeds without the Orthodox faith are dead deeds. Whoever wishes to be saved must unite the two, and in this way, through the grace of Christ God, who said, ‘Without Me you can do nothing’ (Jn 15:5), he can try to attain salvation. One should know that Christ the Saviour made good deeds equally obligatory for all Orthodox Christians, be they monks or laymen living in the world with wives and children, and seeks and demands from everyone the most zealous performance of His commandments, so that those who violate them and do not repent will have no excuse and will not be able to stand at His awesome Second Coming. All Orthodox Christians…can…fulfill Christ’s commandments, with the help of God’s grace, without any difficulty through only their good will and spiritual humility, and in this way they can be saved.”

Saint Paisii’s relics were discovered to be incorrupt during the last investigation of them in 1872, as well as in the previous years of 1846, 1853, and 1861.

Saint Xenia save us.

Saint Xenia of Petersburg

January 25

THIS HAS BEEN FROM ME

Have you ever thought that all that concerns you also concerns Me equally? For what concerns you concerns the apple of my eye. You are dear in My eyes; you are precious, and I love you, and for this reason it is a particular joy for Me to raise you.

When temptations rise up against you, if the enemy comes against you like a river, I want you to know that this is from Me. I am God who arranges your circumstances. It is not by accident that you find yourself in your position; it is the very position that I have foreordained for you. Have you not asked that I teach you humility? Then take a look: I have placed you in just the right school where this lesson can be learned. Your surroundings and those who live with you only carry out My will.

Do you find yourself in financial difficulties; is it difficult for you to make ends meet? This has been because of Me, for I control your purse. I want you to flee to Me and be dependent upon Me. My riches are inexhaustible. I want you to be convinced of My faithfulness and My promises.

Are you going through a night of sorrow? This also is from Me, for I am a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. I have permitted this so that you may come to Me and find everlasting consolation.

Have you been disappointed in your friend or in someone to whom you have opened your heart? This has been from Me. I have permitted this disenchantment to touch you, so that you might know that I am the best friend you have. I want you to bring everything to me and to believe in Me.

Has anyone slandered you? Place this situation before Me and cleave all the closer to Me, your refuge. I will bring forth your righteousness like the light and your uprightness like the noonday.

Have your plans fallen apart? Have your spirits fallen, and have you become tired? This is from Me. You have laid out your plans and brought them to Me that I might bless them; but I want you to leave to Me the disposition of everything that happens?then responsibility for everything will rest upon Me, for all this is too onerous for you; you alone are not able to cope with everything; you are only an instrument, not an active person.

Have you dreamed of doing some special deed for Me, but instead have taken to a bed of pain and Illness? This is from Me. When you were immersed in your affairs, I was unable to draw your thoughts to Myself; and I wish to teach you My most profound thoughts, because you are in My service and I wish to help you to be aware that you are nothing. Some of My best fellow-warriors are those who have been cut off from outward activity so that they might learn to master the weapon of continuous prayer.

Have you been called unexpectedly to occupy a difficult and responsible position? Go forth, relying on Me; I am entrusting these difficulties to you, for your Lord Jesus Christ blesses you for this, in all your works, in everything that will be done by your hands. On that day I will give into your hands this vessel of sanctified oil, My blessing: use it freely, My child. Let every difficulty which arises, every word that grieves you, every obstacle in your labor which may elicit a feeling of vexation, every revelation of your weakness and inability, be anointed with this oil.

Remember that every hindrance is an instruction from God. Every goad becomes dulled when you learn to see Me in all things, in whatever touches you; and therefore cherish these words which I reveal to you today, in your heart: this is from Me. For this is not an empty saying for you, but your lifeÉ

(Manuscript taken from the Catacomb underground Church of Russia in 1942.)
Montreal, 1984.

Saint Gregory save us.

Saint Gregory the Theologian

January 28

OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE
A. D. 347-404

And think how great a privilege it is that He who will appear to all generally should promise to come to us in particular: for He says, "We will come and make our abode with him" (Jn. 14:23). If any man "love His appearing" (2 Tim. 4:8) he will do everything to invite Him to himself, and to hold Him, that the light may shine upon him. Let there be nothing unworthy of His coming and He will soon take up His abode with us.

Homily IX on Timothy: 2 Timothy 3:16, 17; p. 512A

Saints Isaac and Ephraim save us.

Saints Isaac and Ephraim

January 30

Saint Dionysius the Areopagite
On the Divine Names 4.8

But Divine Love (eros) is ecstatic, not permitting (any) to be lovers of themselves, but of those beloved…Wherefore also, Paul the Great, when possessed by the Divine Love, and participating in its ecstatic power, says with inspired lips, “I live no longer, but Christ lives in me” (cf. Gal 2:20). As a true lover, and beside himself, as he says, to Almighty God, and not living the life of himself, but the life of the Beloved, as a life excessively esteemed.

One might even make bold to say even this, on behalf of truth, that the very Author of all things, by the beautiful and good love of everything, through an overflow of His loving goodness, becomes out of Himself, by His Providences for all existing things, and is, as it were, cozened by goodness and affection and love, and is led down from the Eminence above all, and surpassing all, to being in all, as befits an ecstatic superessential power centered in Himself.

Trans. William Parker 1897-1899 London

Holy Three Hierarchs save us.

Three Holy Hierarchs

February 2

OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS GREGORY PALAMAS
To the Most Reverend Nun Xenia.

The death of the soul through transgression and sin is, then, followed by the death of the body and by its dissolution in the earth and its conversion into dust; and this bodily death is followed in its turn by the soul’s banishment to Hades. In the same way the resurrection of the soul—its return to God through obedience to the divine commandments—is followed by the body’s resurrection and its reunion with the soul. And for those who experience it the consequence of this resurrection will be true incorruption and eternal life with God: they will become spiritual instead of non-spiritual, and will dwell in heaven as angels of God (cf. Mt. 22:30). As St. Paul says, “We shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall be with the Lord forever ” (I Th. 4:17).

The Philokalia Vol. 4 p. 297

Most Holy Theotokos save us.

Meeting of the Lord in the Temple

February 6

Baruch

This is our God, and there shall none other be accounted of in comparison of Him. He hath found out all the way of knowledge, and hath given it unto Jacob His servant, and to Israel His beloved. Afterward did He shew Himself upon earth. and conversed with men.

3:35-37 LXX

Saint Photius the Great save us.

Saint Photius the Great

HIEROMARTYR IRENAEUS BISHOP OF LYONS
A.D. 202

The business of the Christian is nothing else than to be ever preparing for death.

Lost writings of Irenaeus XI

Saint Dorothea save us.

Saint Dorothea of Caesarea

February 8

SAINT PETER OF DAMASKOS
Circa 1156-7 (Probable date of this manuscript)

III

THE TWO KINDS OF FEAR

Like faith fear is of two kinds: the first is introductory, while the second, which grows out of the first, is perfect. He who is afraid of God’s punishment has a slave-like fear of God, and it is this that makes him restrain from evil: “Out of fear of the Lord men shun evil” (Prov. 16:6 LXX); “I will teach you the fear of the Lord” (Ps. 33:11). According to St. Dorotheus, these and similar things are said with regard to the introductory fear, so that through fear of what threatens us we sinners may be led to repent and may seek to find deliverance from our sins. Moreover, when it is active in us, this introductory fear teaches us the way that leads to life for it is said: “Turn away from evil, and do good” (Ps. 33: 14 LXX).

The more a man struggles to do good, the more fear grows in him, until it shows his slightest faults, those which he had thought of as nothing w hile he was still in the darkness of ignora nce. When fear in this way has become perfect, he himself becomes perfect through inward grief: he no longer desires to sin but, fearing the return of the passions, he remains in this pur e fear invulnerable. As the Psalm puts it, “The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring for ever and ever” (Ps.18:9 LXX). The first kind of fear is not pure, for it arises in us because of our sins. But, independent of sin, the person who is purified continues to feel fear, not be cause he sins, but because, being human, he is changeable and prone to evil. In his humility, the further he advances through the acquisition of the virtues, the more he fears. This is natural; for everyone who possesses wealth greatly fears loss, punishment, dishonor, and the consequent fall from his high estate. The poor man, on the contrary, is on the whole without fear: he is only afraid of being beaten.

What has just been said applies to those who are entirely perfect and pure in soul and body. But if someone is still stumbling, even though his sins are of the slightest and most insignificant kind, let him not mislead himself by thinking that his fear is pure. For if he does think this, he is deceived, as St John Climacus states: his fear is not pure, nor is it humility (The Ladder of Divine Ascent cf. 12.7; 30.17). It is but servile prudence and fear of punishment s threatened. Thus such a person’s thoughts need to be corrected, so that he may know what kind of fear he is subject to, and through the deepest grief and by patiently enduring affliction may purify himself of sins, and in this way through Christ’s grace may attain perfect fear. The sign of the first kind of fear is hatred of sin and anger towards it, like someone wounded by a wild beast. The sign of perfect fear is the love of virtue and the fear of relapsing, since no one is unalterable.

Thus in every situation throughout this present life we ought always to be afraid of falling; for we see the great king and prophet David mourning for his two sins (cf. Ps. 50, II Kings 11:1-17 LXX), and Solomon himself giving way to grievous evil (cf. III Kings 11:1-10). As St Paul said: “Let anyone who thinks he stands firm take care lest he fall” (I Cor. 10:12). If someone says that, according to St. John, “love casteth out fear” (I Jn. 4:18), he is right; but this refers to the first, the introductory fear. Concerning perfect fear David has said: “Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord: in His commandments shall he greatly delight” (Ps. 111:1 LXX), that is, who greatly cherishes virtue. Such a person has the status of a son, for he cherishes virtue not out of fear of punishment, but because of the love that “casteth out fear” (I Jn. 4:18). This is why he “greatly delights,” unlike the slave who carries out orders under constraint because of his fear of punishment. From this punishment may we all be saved, through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom belong all glory, honour and worship throughout the ages. Amen.

The Philokalia Vol. III A Treasury of Divine Knowledge, pp. 216-218.

Saint Theodore the Commander save us.

Saint Theodore the Commander

February 10

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

SAINT JOHN OF THE LADDER
The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Saint John of the Ladder (c. 525-reposed March 30, 606)
Whom the Holy Church Commemorates March 30.

Step 4

On blessed and ever-memorable obedience

37. And now, when I have noted yet another profitable virtue of these blessed fathers, which comes as it were from Paradis e, I shall then come back to my own unlovely and worthless bunch of thistles. The pastor noticed that some repeatedly carried on conversation when we were standin g in prayer. Such people he stood for a whole week by the church, and ordered then to make a prostration to everyone going in and out; and what was more surprising, he did this with the clergy, in fact, with the priests.

>Pray for us here.

O Saviour save us.

HOMB’s Virtual Parish.

Hieromartyr Haralampus

February 17

SAINT PETER OF DAMASKOS
The date of this document is circa 1156-7

HOW IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE SAVED
WITHOUT HUMILITY

Because of the great obscurity produced by the passions, a person may become so demented as to imagine in his lack of humility that he is the equal of the angels, or even greater than they. It was precisely this lack of humility on Lucifer's part that was enough without any other sin to turn him into darkness. What, then, will be the fate of a man who is without humility, since he is but dust and mortal, not to say a sinner? Perhaps in his blindness he does not believe that he has sinned. St. John Chrysostom says that the perfect man will certainly become the equal of the angels, as the Lord affirms; but he will do so in the resurrection of the dead, and not in this present world. Even then the perfect will not be angels, but "equal to the angels" (Lk. 20:36). This means that men cannot forsake their own nature, though like the angels they can become changeless through grace and released from all necessity, free in everything they do, possessing ceaseless joy, love of God, and all that "the eye has not seen, and the ear has not heard" (I Cor. 2:9).

In this present life, however, it is impossible for anyone to become perfect, though he may receive as it were a pledge of the blessings promised him. For just as those who have not received God’s gifts should humble themselves because of their indigence, so those who have received them should likewise humble themselves, since they have received them from God; otherwise they will be condemned for their lack of gratitude. And just as the wealthy ought to confess God’s grace because of the gifts He has given them, so those who are rich in virtues ought to do so all the more. Just as the poor should give thanks to God and return rich love to those who assist them, so all the more should the wealthy give thanks, for through God’s providence they are able to perform acts of charity and so are saved both in this age and in the age to be. For without the poor they cannot save their souls or flee the temptations of wealth.

Just as disciples should love their masters, so masters should love their disciples, and on behalf of each other they should mutually acknowledge the grace of God who has given to all men spiritual knowledge and every other good thing. For these good things we ought all of us always to give thanks to Him, especially those who have received from Him the power to renew their holy baptism through repentance, because without repentance no one can be saved. For the Lord has said, “Why do you call me, Lord, Lord, yet fail to do the things I tell you?” (Lk. 6:46). But let no one be so stupid as to think, on hearing these or similar words, that if he does not call upon the Lord he will not be culpable. On the contrary, he will be all the more condemned; for, as the Lord has said, “If they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” (Lk. 23: 31); and as Solomon says, “If the righteous man is only just saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?” (Prov. 11: 31 LXX).

Yet when a person sees himself beset on all sides by the divine commandments he should not despair and so suffer greater condemnation than one who commits suicide. Rather, he should marvel at how the divine Scriptures and the commandments urge a man from this side and that towards perfection, so that he cannot find a way to escape from the good by seeking relief in what is inferior. As soon as he wishes to do something bad, he finds himself face to face with threatening dangers, and so he turns towards the good. God in His love arranges all this in a marvellous manner, so that every man may somehow become perfect, even in spite of himself, if only he will take himself in hand. Those who feel gratitude, filled with a sense of shame because of the blessings they have received, embark on the spiritual contest like people crossing over a river while asleep, as St. Ephraim puts it. God has multiplied our trials, says St. Isaac, so that out of fear of them we may take refuge in Him.[1] He who does not understand this, but through self-indulgence rejects this gift, has slain and destroyed himself: having received arms for use against his enemies, he has used them to kill himself. For just as God, says St. Basil the Great, wants to do good to all because He Himself is good, so the devil, because he himself is evil, desires to involve everyone in his own depravity, even though he cannot do this. And just as loving parents, impelled by their love, turn upon their children with threats when they do foolish things, so God permits trials and temptations because they are a rod that turns those who are worthy away from the devil’s maleficence. “He that spares the rod hates his son; but he who loves him chastens him diligently” (Prov. 13:24).

Self-indulgent and self-centered as we are, peril besets us on both sides. Those who love God are saved through the trials and temptations He allows them to undergo; but despite such trials we are threatened with destruction because of our pride and because we fail to remain faithful to God, as children who are “chastened and not killed” (2 Cor. 6:9). Let us therefore choose the less perilous course. For it is better to take refuge in God by patiently enduring whatever befalls us than to turn away from Him in fear of facing the trials and temptations He may send; for if we do the latter, we fall into the hands of the devil—which means eternal destruction—or, rather, we bring punishment upon ourselves along with him. For we are faced with this alternative: we must endure either temporary trials and temptations, or else agelong punishment. The righteous, on the other hand, are free from both the perils which beset us, for they welcome joyfully what seems to us painful, and they embrace trials and temptations as an opportunity for profit, while remaining invulnerable to them. For if a man is hit by an arrow but not wounded he will not die; it is the man who receives a mortal wound who perishes from it. In what way did the plague harm Job? Did it not rather add to his glory? Or did calamity perturb the apostles and martyrs? Rather they rejoiced in it, because “they were found worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of His name” (Acts 5:41).

The more the victor has to struggle, the more he is honoured, and from this he derives great joy. When such a person hears the sound of the trumpet, he does not feel fear because it summons him to face death, but rather he rejoices because it foretells the glory that awaits him. For there is nothing that so readily prepares one for victory as bravery combined with a firm faith; and nothing so readily prepares one for defeat as self-centeredness and the cowardice that comes from lack of faith. And there is no better instructor in courage than diligence and experience; nor in clarity of thought than spiritual reading in stillness. Nor is there any cause of forgetfulness so great as indolence, or any swifter path to the forgiveness of sins than the patient endurance of evil. There is no surer way to attain forgiveness of sins than repentance and the eradication of evil, and no more rapid progress of soul than that achieved by cutting off one’s own desires and thoughts. Nor is there anything greater than casting oneself down before God day and night and asking that His will be done in all things; or anything worse than loving the license and distraction of soul or body. For such license is in no way beneficial to those of us who cleave to the good because we are still frightened of trials and punishment. On the contrary, we are helped by watchfulness and by turning away from worldly affairs, so that, at least by renouncing those things that harm us because of our weakness, we may be able to struggle with our thoughts.

The dispassionate rule over the ruling spirits because they have already triumphed over their shameful passions, while those still under obedience to a spiritual father must struggle with the spirits that are subordinate. Both St. Macarius and Abba Kronios say that there are ruling demons and demons that are subordinate. The ruling demons are self-esteem, presumption and so on; the subordinate demons are gluttony, unchastity and similar things. Those who have attained perfect love have the power to do what is good without having to force themselves; they rejoice in doing it and never wish to cease. Should they encounter some unsought obstacle, they act under complete control: drawn by their love for God they resort at once to stillness and spiritual work as though to a familiar and delightful pursuit. It is to such men that the Fathers say: “Pray a little, read a little, meditate a little, work a little, watch over your intellect a little, and in this way pass your time.” They can say this because the dispassionate have control over themselves and are not sinfully led captive by their own desires. When they want, they control the intellect and command the body as though it were their servant.

We, however, ought to be subject to a rule of life, so that we are under an obligation to do what is good, even against our will. For we still pander to our passions and our pleasures, to the comfort of our bodies and to our own desires; and so the enemy leads our intellect where he wills. In the same way our body, dominated by disordered impulses, does whatever it likes uncontrollably. This is only to be expected; for where the intellect is not in command, everything is out of control and contrary to nature. It is altogether different with the true Israelites. When the Lord says of Nathaniel, “Behold, a true Israelite, in whom there is no guile!” (Jn. 1:47), he thereby proclaims the virtue of the man; for Nathaniel means 'zeal for God'. The name given him by his family was 'Simon'; he was called 'the Canaanite' because he came from Cana of Galilee, and 'Nathaniel' because of his virtue. Thus the Israelite—that is to say, the intellect that sees God—is without guile. For, according to St. Basil the Great, it is usual in the divine Scripture to call a man by a name expressing his particular virtue, rather than by the name given him at birth. So it is in the case of the two chief apostles, Peter and Paul: Peter was first called Simon and then given the name Peter because of his steadfastness (cf. Mk. 3:16), while Saul, which means 'stormy', was changed to Paul, which means 'rest', 'repose' (Cf. Acts 13:9). And this was fitting: for at first Paul troubled and disturbed the faithful, but later he gave rest to their souls by word and act, as St. John Chrysostom says of him.[2]

Consider the reverence shown by St. Paul. When he wished to speak about God, he did not begin until he had offered to Him the prayer and thanksgiving that befits Him, thus showing that it was from God that he had his knowledge and strength. And this is the right order, for counsel comes after prayer. Likewise St. Luke did not leave the Acts of the Apostles incomplete because of negligence or some worldly constraint, but because he departed this life to be with God. We, however, leave our tasks unfinished because of our negligence or debility, for we do not carry out the work of God diligently and do not regard it as our main task; on the contrary, we disdain it as a kind of incidental chore. Because of this we fail to prosper, or indeed often regress, like those others who “turned back” and no longer followed Jesus (cf. Jn. 6:66). And yet, says St. John Chrysostom, what Jesus said was nothing harsh, as they thought, for he was speaking to them about doctrine. Nonetheless, where a resolute disposition and desire are lacking, even easy things appear difficult—though the reverse is true as well.[3]

The Philokalia Vol. III St. Peter of Damascus: A Treasury of Divine Knowledge pp. 177ff.

[1] Mystic Treatises, E.T., p. 336; Greek, p. 204.
[2] On the Change of Names II, 2; IV, 3 (P.G. li, 127, 149).
[3] Homilies on John 47,2 (P.G. lix, 264).

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

HOMILY SEVENTY-FOUR

On the Means Whereby a Man can Acquire a Change of His

Secret Intuitions Together With a Change of His

External Discipline

It is a spiritual gift from God for a man to perceive his sins.

The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian

As a man who offers a great gift to the king wins a cheerful countenance toward himself, so it is with the man whose prayer is accompanied by tears, for God the great King of the ages allows every degree of his sins and all of his transgressions to pass into oblivion and shows him a gracious countenance.

The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian

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Saint Hermogenes Patriarch of Moscow pray for us.

HOMB’s Virtual Parish.

Saint Hermogenes Patriarch of Moscow

February 19

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

The Gospel of Saint Luke

So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath cannot be My disciple.

Luke 14:33

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Holy Righteous Martyr Philothei of Athens save us.

HOMB’s Virtual Parish

We must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God. Acts 14:22

Saint Philothei pray for us.

Saint Philothei of Athens

February 23

FROM THE SERMON “I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH AND
THE GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT.”
By Archbishop Averky of Syracuse and Holy Trinity Monastery

But is it possible for the True Church of Christ to reconcile Herself somehow with evil, which comes from the enemy of mankind’s salvation—the devil? Is it possible for Her to co-exist with it, without carrying on a most decisive struggle with it?

Of course not, for, according to the words of Christ the Saviour, no one can serve two masters (Mt. 6:24). And it is namely for this reason that they who broke away from the True Church, the so-called movement of the living Church, the movement for reform which wanted to compromise Christianity with this world, that lies in sin, and “Sergianism” which preaches “co-existence” with the godless power of Communism, and participation in the so-called “ecumenical movement” that recognizes the equality in rights and dignity of all groups and “denominations,” all this is in essence already a departure from the true Church.

Can that organization be called a Church which calls for “loyalty” to the servants of Satan?

This of course already is not The Church, but a false church, or according to the word of God “the congregation of evil-doers,” and to remain in such a church is not only not helpful toward salvation, but, on the contrary—it is ruinous.

It may be asked why do we speak and write about this so often?

For the reason that it is our sacred pastoral duty—to warn our believers about those countless numbers of subtle temptations which now have been abundantly sown about everywhere we are obligated to teach them to discern the True Church—to be able to distinguish it from the false church and “the congregation of evil-doers.” Christ our Saviour gave us the great promise that the gates of hell shall not prevail over His Church, that is to say all the forces of hell in all their maximum endeavour. But believers separately, and pastors individually, and even separate hierarchs and whole local churches headed by them, can fall away from the One True Church, preparing for themselves and their followers eternal perdition in the depths of hell.

It was not in vain that the Lord named the members of His Church as “the little flock,” and foretold that when He would come back to earth again the second time, He hardly shall find faith on earth (Luke 12:32, 18:8). The circle of true believers in Christ, shunning all compromises with the evils of the devil, at the time of the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ will be contracted to an even greater extent, and corresponding to this the diapason [full range, Ed.] of the True Church of Christ will lessen more and more. But the True Church of Christ, which did not involve itself in “co-existence” with the evil one and did not bow before the Antichrist, will not end its own existence, in spite of all the difficult hardships, shocks and persecution, to which it will be subjected to up to the very end of the world. It will exist to the very Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, even if only one bishop exists who retained and kept loyalty to Christ the Saviour with a most insignificant group of clergy and laymen.

(Orthodox Life, May-June 1961, pp.6-7)

Saint Polycarp save us.

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

“Polycarp everywhere taught what he had also learned from the Apostles, which also the Church has handed down; and this alone is true.”

History of the Church, 4: Eusebius

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Hieromartyr Polycarp pray for us.

Hieromartyr Polycarp

February 26

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

SYNAXARION

On the twenty-sixth of this month we commemorate the holy Martyr Photine the Samaritan Woman, with whom Christ spake at the well. We also commemorate those with her: her sisters Photo, Photis, Paraskeve, Kyriake, and Anatole; and her sons Joses and Photinus; Sebastian the Duke; and Theocletus the former sorcerer; all of whom were beheaded, except for Saint Photis, who was bound to two trees and rent asunder.

Verses

They cast Thy Samaritaness into a well, O Saviour,

Even her that once spake with Thee at the well of Jacob.

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Holy Martyr Photine the Samaritan Woman and those with her pray for us.

Saint Photine

February 29

FROM ARCHBISHOP AVERKY’S
Contemporary Life in the Light of the Word of God
Sermons and Speeches (1969-1973)
Vol. III pp. 216-217

Now, even if some entertained some sort of doubts about how we should regard the contemporary Moscow Patriarchate, and whether we can consider it Orthodox after its intimate union with the enemies of God, the persecutors of the Faith and Christ’s Church, these doubts must now be completely dismissed: by the very fact that it has entered into liturgical communion with the Papists, it has fallen away from Orthodoxy [emphasis in the original] and can no longer be considered Orthodox.

…therefore nowadays it is no longer sufficient to call ourselves “Orthodox,” because even the apostates from Orthodoxy continue hypocritically to call themselves thus. Our suffering brothers who are persecuted for the Faith in our unfortunate fatherland, who have separated themselves from the Soviet Patriarchate of Moscow which has apostatized from Orthodoxy, began long ago to call themselves not simply “Orthodox” but “true Orthodox Christians.” We are entirely at one in thought and soul with them, and therefore it would be entirely natural for us to adopt for ourselves the very same appellation, calling ourselves “true Orthodox Christians.”

As St. John Cassian (ca. 360―reposed 435 A.D.)

stated so forcefully in his treatise

Against the Nestorians,

“the dogmas of the Christian Faith are all interrelated:

For the scheme of the mysteries of the Church and the Catholic faith is such that one who denies one portion of the Sacred Mystery cannot confess the other. For all parts of it are so bound up and united together that one cannot stand without the other and if a man denies one point out of the whole number, it is of no use for him to believe all the others.”

(Book VI, Ch. XVII. Op. cit., p. 600)

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Saint John Cassian pray for us.

Blessed Water

Saint John Cassian

March 1

THE HOLY AND BLAMELESS FAITH OF
THE PIOUS AND ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our Holy Faith is Blameless because the Faith comes from Christ, not from man. It is “the faith which was once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). The Holy and Blameless Orthodox Faith is “the faith of the Saints” (Rev. 13:10).

The Lord Jesus Christ acts in the mysteries of the Church, which are without number. It is not the Priest who blesses, he simply says, “May the Lord bless you.” The Priest’s hand is the instrument; the blessing is the Lord’s. We receive the mystery of the Lord’s Body and Blood not by the hand of another but by the Lord’s own hand. Truly, He gives Himself with His own hand. For the Church is the body of the Risen Lord protected from the River of Fire by dew, by the freshness of the True Confession of the Apostolic Faith, as were the Three Holy Children in Babylon.

If ever we lose the True Confession of Faith, we will, unprotected by the dew, be caught up in that river of fire. Without the Orthodox Faith, we have nothing; we are worthless.

The Apostles appointed successors and called them Bishops. St. James, the Brother of God, is mentioned as a Bishop in St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians (Gal. 1:19). St. Ambrose of Milan writes, “Because the shepherds (Bishops) are persons of humble estate, do not esteem lightly the testimony of their faith. For the more humble the testimony appears to human wisdom, the more precious it is to the eyes of faith. For the Lord did not seek out the schools of learning, filled with the wise, but the simple people, who would not know how to twist, to color, what they had learned, for He sought not ambition, it was simplicity He looked for.”

Hear now Saint Paul, writing to the Church in Galatia; the Mouth of Christ is speaking, “I marvel that you are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ for another gospel. For there is not another; but there are some who trouble you and would pervert the Gospel of Christ. But should we, or an angel from Heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema. As I said before, so I say now again: If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that which ye have received, let him be anathema. For do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I sought to please men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify to you brethren, that the Gospel which was preached by me is not according to man; for I neither received it from men, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Gal. 1:6-12).

Saint John Chrysostom teaches the same thing in his First Homily on Titus:

Ver. 3. “But hath in due times manifested His word through preaching, which is committed unto me.”

“That is, the preaching is committed unto me. For this included everything, the Gospel, and things present, and things future, life, and godliness, and faith, and all things at once. ‘Through preaching,’ that is, openly and with all boldness, for this is the meaning of ‘preaching.’ For as a herald [Greek: kerux] proclaims in the theater in the presence of all, so also we preach, adding nothing, but declaring the things which we have heard. For the excellence of a herald consists in proclaiming to all what has really happened, not in adding or taking away anything. If therefore it is necessary to preach, it is necessary to do it with boldness of speech. Otherwise, it is not preaching. On this account Christ did not say, Tell it ‘upon the housetops,’ but ‘preach upon the housetops’ (Matt. 10:27); showing both by the place and by the manner what was to be done.” NPNF Vol. 13, p. 521 Homily I on Titus 1: 1-4

The Holy Fathers of the Seven Ecumenical Councils continue in Blameless fashion by making their proclamations in accord with the divinely-inspired theologies of the Saints and the pious mind of the Church (Chapters Against Barlaam and Acindynus, p.64 The Synodicon of Orthodoxy; The True Vine, Vols. 27 & 28). The Fathers of the Ecumenical Councils set forward, not their human opinion, but Apostolic Truth, saying, with the council of Apostles in Jerusalem, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us” (Acts 15:28).

All in the Church are measured by the one Gospel, the holy Catholic and Apostolic Faith. The Orthodox Faith is Apostolic because it proceeds from Christ through the Apostles. The Orthodox Faith is Catholic, in the basic meaning of the word, ‘Catholic,’ for it is in accordance with the whole Faith: adding nothing and leaving nothing out.

Saint Paul tells the Elders at Miletus, “Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:26, 27).

We are, all of us in the Church, Bishops, Priests, Deacons, all of us, are measured by the same God-delivered Gospel. The Gospel is Good News and it is always News; there is no end of it nor of its goodness, the Lords care and His limitless love, His warm embrace, His sudden strength; the way a Saint powerfully, instantly, can clear up our thinking when we remember to ask, all the hugs and kisses they never stop giving us. We know they are with us: How could we ever make it through the day without their gentle help?

The faithful of the Church are called to believe and to act on that belief, for "faith without works is dead" (James 2:20, 26). Let us act in childlike simplicity:

This is what Saint Matthew says in his Gospel: “At that time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven? and Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them. And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

The little child was Saint Ignatius, disciple of Saint John the Evangelist and Theologian, the Beloved virgin disciple of the Lord; the Hieromartyr Ignatius, the Bishop of Antioch whose martyrdom in Rome is so easy, together with his epistles, to remember.

The Lives of the Saints are indispensable at all points in our walk in the Faith. The Saints freely convey to us their power in response to our prayers to them. They, when we ask, (and sometimes before we ask) give us guidance, moment by moment, and inch by inch.

Listen for a moment; this happened in the 1940s in time of war in Albania when young soldiers from the sunny islands in the Aegean Sea were transported to the cold mountains and told to fight the invading forces. These recruits woke up one morning and offered a Paraclesis to the All-Holy Theotokos for her help in their need. She then appeared to them, clad in her blue maphorion, and lovingly directed them away from machine gun nests they could not see, and around buried land mines to safety.

Let us, gently, and with love, encourage each other, as Saint Philaret counsels, “that which ye have hold fast” (Rev. 2:25).

Most Holy Theotokos save us, and preserve us by the holy and blameless Faith of the Pious and Orthodox Christians living and burning in our hearts forever.

Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. AMEN.

Saint Eudocia save us

Saint Eudocia the Samaritan

March 4

Saint Isaac the Syrian

HOMILY FORTY-NINE

On the angelic Movement That Is Awakened in Us by
God’s Providence for the Soul’s Advancement
In Things Spiritual

THE FIRST THOUGHT that by God's loving-kindness descends into a man, that enters into his heart and guides his soul to life, is the thought of his departure from this nature. This thought is naturally followed by disdain for the world, and every good movement that leads a man to life enters him from this. And it is this that the divine power which accompanies man lays as a foundation when it wishes to manifest life in him. If he does not extinguish this thought by involvement in the affairs of life and by vain talk, and if he rears it in his soul by continual concentration within himself and by contemplating it, this thought will lead him to profound divine vision which no man can express. Satan greatly abhors this thought and makes war upon it with all his might to expunge if from man's heart. And if it were possible, he would give a man dominion over the whole world, could he but by this distraction erase this thought from his mind. And if he were able, as it was said, he would gladly do this, for the cunning one knows that if this thought abides in a man, his mind will no longer remain on this earth of delusion, and his machinations against him will not touch him. Now we do not say this concerning that first thought which stirs in us the remembrance of death by reminding us, but concerning the fullness of this activity, which unshakably establishes in a man the remembrance of death, and which, by his meditation upon it, brings him to a state of continual wonder. The former thought is corporeal, but the latter is a spiritual theoria and wondrous grace. This divine vision is arrayed in luminous intuitions. He who possesses it will not gaze searchingly at the world again nor will he cleave to his body.

In very truth, O beloved brethren, if God would send forth this true theoria to mankind but for a short while, the world would remain without succeeding generations. This divine vision is a bond before which nature cannot stand, and it proves to be for the man who has received this meditation in his soul a God given grace stronger than all the particular activities bestowed upon those found in the middle order, who desire repentance with an upright heart. It is given especially to those concerning whom God knows that they must truly withdraw from the world to a better life because of the good volition that He has found in them. But it increases and abides with them when they dwell in a secluded and solitary place. Let us make entreaty for this divine vision in our prayers. Let us keep long vigils for the sake of it. And let us beseech the Lord with tears that He grant us this as a gift which has no equal. Let us no longer be faint-hearted in the toil of this world. This is the commencement of the thoughts of life, and it perfects in a man the fullness of righteousness.

Saint Gerasimus save us.

Saint Gerasimus of the Jordan

March 5

Saint Theodore Studites

Only let us walk worthy of the Gospel, having our citizenship in heaven. For we are strangers and sojourners upon earth. We have no part nor lot therein. For who, coming from eternity, has remained in the world, that he might inherit anything? Have not all who have come in gone out as from a strange land? For this is but a place of sojourning. Our true home and heritage and abiding place is in the world to come. May we come thither and be accounted worthy to inherit with all the saints the Kingdom of Heaven in Christ Jesus our Lord, to Whom be glory and power with the Father and the Holy Spirit now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

27th Discourse from the Magna Catechesis

Saint Mark the Ascetic

March 9

A Sermon by His Eminence Metropolitan Ephraim

Recently, I officiated at the wedding of two of our faithful in Indianapolis, Indiana. The groom, Michael, came from a Lutheran background; the bride, Christa, was from Pentecostal religious roots. In both families matters of faith are deeply held.

The parents of the couple came to the wedding, although the bride's father and mother, having said that they would not be present at their daughter's wedding, did come to see her be married. Afterwards, we all met and took some time to talk things over.

What led this former Protestant couple to Orthodoxy?

I said to them that in the First Century while the Apostles were living there was no such thing as the book we now call the New Testament. Isolated letters from certain Apostles were kept by the local Churches to which they had been addressed; there was a Gospel here and there. No collection of these writings existed as yet. In those days copying books was expensive and laborious. The Church was under persecution, and Christians were periodically rounded up for martyrdom. Moreover, there were a number of false 'Gospels' in circulation. It took centuries before the Holy Fathers separated the wheat from the chaff. Not until 418 A.D. did the Holy Fathers of the Council of Carthage publish the Canon of Scripture that we have today.

What kept the Church together all this time? St. Paul has the answer; Stand fast and keep the traditions that I delivered unto you whether by my word or by my epistle (II Thess. 2:15).

The Holy Spirit was working strongly to produce the New Testament Canon that we have today.

That's good enough for me! That's good enough for me to prove that Christ is not a liar when He says to the eleven disciples: All power is given unto Me in heaven and earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always even unto the end of time (Matt. 28:18b-20).

That's good enough for me to know that Christ, true to His divine promise, guides the Church, His bride and body, into all truth by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13), continually protecting His spouse, the pillar and foundation of the truth (I Tim. 3:15), from any and all encroachment by or erosion from pagan philosophy and idolatry. The Lord sanctifies and cleanses the Church with the washing of water and the Word, since He, by His promise, which cannot be broken, is with her always, even unto the end of time, so that He might present her to Himself eternally through the mystery of the Divine Liturgy "a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:26-27).

In accepting the Canon of Scripture, Protestants base themselves on Orthodox Holy Tradition. Sola Scriptura as a rule of faith is a figment of Protestant imagination.

ÒBible Thumpers" have nothing to thump. The oral Apostolic Tradition in the Orthodox Church is the pillar and foundation of the truth.

Orthodox Christians live today in the midst of people who are completely deluded. When someone says, "It's not in the Bible," an Orthodox Christian might want to ask, "Who gave you the Bible?" The answer to that question is: “The Tradition of the holy Apostles.”

The Canon of the New Testament comes into being, as noted above, in 418 A.D. This is well after the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea in 325. In this assembly of 300 Holy Fathers, Holy Tradition, which is the voice of the Holy Spirit in the Church, spoke authoritatively to denounce the heresiarch, Arius, and his heresy; to authorize a married clergy of priests and deacons, and also to fix the date of Pascha, which date is still observed in the Orthodox Church of Christ.

The Church is well guided and governed in all things by Holy Tradition.

Speak to people about these important issues with great care, working with all people in love and patience.

Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebastia save us

Forty Martyrs of Sebastia

Mach 17

Put a Pebble in your Pocket

From the sermon of His Eminence Metropolitan Ephraim on the
Feast of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist.

If you wish to try this exercise, secure for yourself a small pebble and carry it with you at all times. If doing so proves an inconvenience, so much the better. A Cross, or the device used on prosophora seals, may be printed on the pebble if you choose to do so. Hopefully, God will use its presence to impress a variety of truths upon your mind and heart; and help you to comply with the will of God in a variety of situations and ways. For example:

1. It can remind you not to harden your heart and make it like a stone. You will be surprised how relevant this is when you are about to neglect a spiritual duty or good work, when you see others in need, when tempted, when preparing for Confession, and when turning the cheek seems the least logical of all options.

2. It can build your confidence in God's goodness and the power of prayer. If we pray for bread will God give us a stone? (St Matthew 7:7-11)

3. It can help you to recall God's power, while teaching humility and the necessity of good action. "God is able out of stones to raise up children unto Abraham" (St Matthew 3:7-10).

4. It can assist you when you are tempted to judge "Let him who is without sin...cast the first stone." (St. John 8:3-11)

5. It can make the possibility of a monastic vocation (you would receive a new name) a positive and secret force in daily life. "To him who conquers I will give of the hidden manna, and a white stone, with a new name..." (Rev. 2:17).

Saint Patrick save us.

Saint Patrick

March 20

SAINT JOHN OF KRONSTADT
Selections from My Life in Christ

When praying to the Lord, to the Mother of God, or to the saints, always remember that the Lord will give you according to your heart. He will "grant thee according to thy heart" (Ps. 19: 4 LXX).[1] Whatever the heart is, such will be the gift. If you pray with faith, sincerely, with all your heart, not hypocritically, then a gift will be given you by the Lord in accordance with your faith, in accordance with the degree of the fervour of your heart. And, on the contrary, the colder your heart is, the more incredulous and hypocritical it is, the more useless will be your prayer; not only this, the more it will anger the Lord, Who is a Spirit, and seeks to be worshipped in spirit and in truth (John 4: 23, 24). Therefore, whether you call upon the Lord Himself, or His Mother, or the angels, or saints, call upon them with all your heart; whether you pray for anyone living or departed, pray for them with your whole heart, pronouncing their names with heartfelt fervour; whether you pray that any spiritual blessing may be granted you or anyone else, that you or anyone near to you may be delivered from any misfortune, or from sins, passions, or bad habits, pray for this with your whole heart, desiring for yourself or others with your whole heart the blessings you pray for, being firmly resolved to forsake, or desiring others to free themselves from sins, passions and sinful habits, and the Lord will grant you the gift according to your heart. "Ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 15: 7). You see, therefore, that it is absolutely necessary to wish and long for that which you ask; for then only you will obtain it. "Pray one for another that ye may be healed" (James 5: 16).

My daily greatest misfortune is my sins, wounding and gnawing at my heart. But against this calamity there is also a daily greatest Deliverer and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He daily benefits me, me invisibly, bountifully. Poor sinners! Learn to know this Saviour as I know Him, by His uncreated grace, by His gifts.

How vividly God’s Saints represented God to themselves!—the Saints who through the Holy Spirit wrote prayers for their own and our guidance. In what fear and trembling they stood before God in prayer, but also with what love and hope! Every word of their prayers says: “God is with us; and God within us hears each of our words, sees every thought, every wish, every tear.”

Kissing with the lips corresponds to kissing with the soul; and when we kiss holy things, we ought to kiss them with the soul and heart as well as with the lips.

Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarme Revised April 8, 2009

March 24

Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky

What happened with the Supreme Apostle is a rule of the life which operates in all of God’s servants. It is not in daring plans, nor in bold imagination that their power is disclosed, but in the very denial of their natural strength does the power of God find a place. (referring to the Apostle Peter)

Saint Tikhon save us.

Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow

March 25

The Prophecy of Esaias

Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Emmanuel. Butter and honey shall He eat, before He knows either to prefer evil or to choose the good. For before the Child shall know good or evil, He refuses evil to choose the good (Esaias 7:14-16 LXX).

All-holy Theotokos save us

Annunciation

SAINT JOHN OF THE LADDER
(excerpt from The Menaion, March 30)
ODE THREE
Troparion

Burning up all thought of the remembrance of wrongs with the fire of Christ’s love, O blessed Father, thou faithfully shonest with the rays of love for thy brother, and didst point out to all an easy way to salvation, by making clear what it is not to remember wrongs.

Saint John save us.

Righteous Father John of Sinai

April 1

OUR RIGHTEOUS MOTHER MARY OF EGYPT
ODE SEVEN
Troparion

He Who once strangely fed the people in the wilderness became refreshment and consolation unto thee, O godly-minded Mary; and in His unspeakable power He gave thee food and drink as thou didst cry: Blessed art Thou, the God of our Fathers.

Saint Mary of Egypt save us

Saint Mary of Egypt

The Life of the Prophet Ezekiel (July 21)
From a note at the end of this life in the
Mineya Chetiya
Of St. Dimitry of Rostov

The revelation given by God to the holy prophet Jezekiel is also worth remembering [Jezekiel 3:30; 18:20-22 LXX]. If a righteous man who has put his hope in his righteous way of life dares to commit some sin and death comes upon him in his sin, and he dies without repentance, then all of his former righteous and God-pleasing deeds will not be remembered before God; he will be judged in the sin with which he died. Likewise, the iniquitous man who spent his entire life living in iniquity, if he repents at his death, and death finds him in repentance, all of his former iniquities will never again be remembered before God, and he will be placed among the righteous.

Quoted in Elder Basil of Poiana Marului (1692-1767): His Life and Writings
tr. A Monk of the Brotherhood of Prophet Elias Skete Mount Athos
© 1996 St. John of Kronstadt Press, p.157.

Saint George the Great Martyr save us.

Great Martyr George

April 25

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

First Tone O all-lauded martyrs

SINCE thou heldest converse with the light * of the Spirit, thou becamest wholly spiritual; and now, O all-blest and sacred Mark, * made God by adoption * through most blessed gifts of light * and unremitting prayers to the Master, thou hast found the fountainhead * of the myst’ry of all things that be * and the blessed * end that thou didst so desire.

Pray for us here.

Saint Mark pray for us.

Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark

May 3

Nikitas Stithatos
ca. 1020- reposed ca.1092

On the Inner Nature of Things and on the Purification of the Intellect:

One Hundred Texts

77. The mystery of prayer is not consummated at a certain specific time or place. For if you restrict prayer to particular times or places, you will waste the rest of the time in vain pursuits. Prayer may be defined as the intellect’s unceasing intercourse with God. Its task is to engage the soul totally in things divine, its fulfillment—to adapt the words of Saint Paul (cf. 1 Cor. 6:17)—lies in so wedding the mind to God that it becomes one spirit with Him.

THE PHILOKALIA Compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and
St. Makarios of Corinth tr. & ed. G.E.H. Palmer, P. Sherrard, Kallistos Ware Vol. IV
© 1995 The Eling Trust. p. 129.

Pray for us here.
Saint Theodosius pray for us.

Our Righteous Father Theodosius

May 5

Saint Isaac the Syrian
Reposed c. 700 A.D.

By the love which the saints show for God on account of the things they suffer for His name's sake (when they endure straitness and do not forsake that which God loves), their hearts acquire the boldness to gaze toward Him without a veil and to beseech Him with confidence. Great is the power of bold prayer. For this reason God allows His saints to be tried by every sorrow, then to experience anew and to prove His aid, and to understand how great a providence He has for them, for in their perils He is found t o be their Redeemer.

The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian (Homily Sixty-One)
Tr. by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery Boston, Massachusetts
Copyright © 1984 All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized Reproduction Prohibited, p.295.

Holy and Great Martyr Irene pray for us.

>Holy and Great Martyr Irene

May 8

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

Nikitas Stithatos
ca. 1020- reposed ca.1092

On the Inner Nature of Things and on the Purification of the Intellect:

One Hundred Texts

4. The carnal mode of life is one wholly devoted to the pleasures and enjoyments of this present life, and has nothing to do with the psychic and spiritual modes of life, and does not even have any wish to acquire them. The psychic mode, which is situated on the borderline b etween evil and virtue, is preoccu pied with the care and strengthening of the body and with men’s praise ; it not only repudiates the labors required for virtue, but also rejects carnal indulgence. It avoids both virtue and vice but for opposite reasons: virtue because this requires toil and discipline; vice because that would entail forfeiting men’s praise. The spiritual mode of life, on the other hand, has nothing in common with these two other modes, and on this account is not implicated in the evil that pertains to either: it is entirely free in every way from both the one and the other. Invested with the wings of love and dispassion, it soars above them both, doing nothing that is forbidden and not being hamstrung by evil.

THE PHILOKALIA Compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and
St. Makarios of Corinth tr. & ed. G.E.H. Palmer, P. Sherrard, Kallistos Ware Vol. IV
© 1995 The Eling Trust. pp. 107, 108.

Saint Arsenius the Great pray for us.

Christ Is Risen!

Saint Arsenius the Great

May 9

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

Nikitas Stithatos
ca. 1020- reposed ca.1092

On the Inner Nature of Things and on the Purification of the Intellect:

One Hundred Texts

5. Those who pursue the carnal mode of life and in whom the will of the flesh is imperious—who are, quite simply, carnal—are not able to conform to God’s will (cf. Rom. 8:8). Their judgment is eclipsed and they are totally impervious to the rays of divine light: the engulfing clouds of the passions are like high walls that shut out the resplendence of the Spirit and leave them without illumination. Their soul’s senses maimed, they cannot aspire to God’s spiritual beauty and see the light of the true life and so transcend the lowliness of visible things. It is as if they had become beasts conscious only of this world, with the dignity of their intelligence fettered to things sensory and human. They strive only for what is visible and corruptible, on this account fighting among themselves and even sacrificing their lives for such things, avid for wealth, glory and the pleasures of the flesh, and regarding the lack of any of these things as a disaster. To such people applies the prophetic statement that comes from God’s own mouth: ‘My Spirit shall not remain in these men, for they are flesh’ (Gen. 6:3 LXX).

THE PHILOKALIA Compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and
St. Makarios of Corinth tr. & ed. G.E.H. Palmer, P. Sherrard, Kallistos Ware Vol. IV
© 1995 The Eling Trust. p. 108.

Editor’s gentle reminder: The Orthodox Christian life is grounded in self-reproach and weeping for your own sins. Look only to yourself and cry out constantly, Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me.

Holy Prophet Esaias, pray for us.

Christ Is Risen!

Holy Prophet Esaias

May 11

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

Nikitas Stithatos
ca. 1020- reposed ca.1092

On the Inner Nature of Things and on the Purification of the Intellect:

One Hundred Texts

6. Those who pursue the psychic mode of life and are therefore called ‘psychic’ are like the mentally defective whose limbs do not function properly. They never exert themselves on behalf of virtue or in the practice of God’s commandments, and they refrain from acting reprehensibly simply in order to gain the esteem of other people. They are completely under the sway of self-love, nurse of the destructive passions, and they seek out whatever fosters physical health and pleasure. They repudiate all tribulation, effort and hardship embraced for the sake of virtue, and they cosset our enemy the body more than they should. Through such life and behaviour their passion-imbued intellect becomes cloddish and becomes impervious to the divine and spiritual realities whereby the soul is plucked from the world of matter and soars into the noetic heaven. This happens to them because they are still possessed by the spirit of matter, love themselves, and choose to do what they themselves want. Void of the Holy Spirit, they have no share in His gifts. As a result they exhibit no godly fruit—love for God and for their fellow men—no joy in the midst of poverty and tribulation, no peace of soul.

THE PHILOKALIA Compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and
St. Makarios of Corinth tr. & ed. G.E.H. Palmer, P. Sherrard, Kallistos Ware Vol. IV
© 1995 The Eling Trust. pp. 108, 109.

Editor’s gentle reminder: The Orthodox Christian life is grounded in self-reproach and weeping for your own sins. Look only to yourself and cry out constantly, Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me. pan>

Saints Cyril and Methodius, Apostles to the Slavic Lands, pray for us.

Saints Cyril and Methodius

May 12

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

Nikitas Stithatos
ca. 1020- reposed ca.1092

On the Inner Nature of Things and on the Purification of the Intellect:

One Hundred Texts

7. Those who ‘cleave to the Spirit’ (Gal. 5:25) and are totally committed to the spiritual life live in accordance with God’s will, dedicated to Him as were the Nazirites (cf. Num. 6:2-8; Judg. 13:5). At all times they labour to purify their soul and to keep the Lord’s commandments, expending their blood in their love for Him. They purify the flesh through fasts and vigils; they refine the heart’s dross with tears; they mortify their materialistic tendencies through ascetic hardship; they fill the intellect with light through prayer and meditation, making it translucid; and by renouncing their own wills they sunder themselves from passionate attachment to the body and adhere solely to the Spirit. As a result everyone recognizes them as spiritual, and rightly refers to them as such. As they approach the state of dispassion and love, they ascend to the contemplation of the inner essences of created things; and from this they acquire the knowledge of created being that is bestowed by the hidden wisdom of God (cf. 1 Cor. 2:7) and given only to those who have risen above the body’s low estate. Thus it is clear that when they have pass ed beyon d all sensory experience of this world and have entered with an illumined mind into the realms that are above sense-perception, their intelligence is enlightened and they utter righteous words from a pure heart in the midst of the Church of God and the great congregation of the faithful (cf. Ps. 40:9-10). For other people they are light and salt as the Lord says of them: ‘You are the light of the world and the salt of the earth’ (CF. Matt. 5:13-14).

THE PHILOKALIA Compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and
St. Makarios of Corinth tr. & ed. G.E.H. Palmer, P. Sherrard, Kallistos Ware Vol. IV
© 1995 The Eling Trust. p. 109.

Editor’s note: Nikitas Stithatos was a disciple of Saint Symeon the New Theologian (949-repo sed 1022 A.D.). Those who strive to follow the Lord’s commandment, “Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbour as thyself” (Lk. 10:27) would do well to have a spiritual Father who teaches and lives in the spirit of the holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church under the guidance of a Synod of Bishops who are faithful without compromise to the oaths that they made at their consecration to the episcopal office and dignity.

Ss. Epiphanius Bishop of Cyprus and Germanus, Archbishop of Constantinople, pray for us.

Saints Epiphanius Bishop of Cyprus and Germanus Archbishop of Constantinople

May 20

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

Nikitas Stithatos
ca. 1020- reposed ca.1092

On the Inner Nature of Things and on the Purification of the Intellect:

One Hundred Texts

9. Since we are so greatly imbued with the poison of evil we are in a correspondingly great need of the cleansing fire of repentant tears and voluntary ascetic labour. For we are purged of the stains of sins either through embracing such labour willingly or through afflictions that come unsought. If we first engage in voluntary ascetic labor, we will be spared the unsought afflictions, but if we fail to cleanse ‘the inside of the cup and the dish’ (Mt. 23:26) through ascetic labor, the afflictions will restore us to our original state with a greater harshness. So the Creator has ordained.

THE PHILOKALIA Compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and
St. Makarios of Corinth tr. & ed. G.E.H. Palmer, P. Sherrard, Kallistos Ware Vol. IV
© 1995 The Eling Trust. p. 110.

Our Father Among the Saints Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow, pray for us.

Saint Alexis Metropolitan of Moscow

May 21

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

Nikitas Stithatos
ca. 1020- reposed ca.1092

On the Inner Nature of Things and on the Purification of the Intellect:

One Hundred Texts

10. If you do not enter the way of renunciation in the right spirit―if, that is to say, from the start you refuse to accept a teacher and a guide, but, regarding yourself as an adept, rely on your own judgment―you will make a mockery of the religious life and in turn will be mocked by what happens to you.

11. Just as you cannot know exactly the causes and cures of bodily affliction without great medical experience and skill, so you cannot know those of psychic afflictions without great spiritual training and practice. The diagnosis of bodily illnesses is a tricky business and only a few are truly versed in it; but the diagnosis of psychic illnesses is far more tricky. The soul is superior to the body, and correspondingly its afflictions are greater and harder to understand than those of the body, which is visible to all.

12. The principal and primary virtues (faith, hope, love, patience–Ed.) were co-created with man as part of his nature. From them the rivers of all the other virtues are filled as from four well-heads, and they water the city of God, which is the heart cleansed and refreshed by tears. If you keep these four principal virtues impregnable to the spirits of malice, or if they fail but you raise them up again through the travails of repentance, you will build yourself a royal palace in which the King of All may make His abode (cf. John 14:23), lavishly bestowing His lofty gifts on those who have thus prepared the ground.

13. Life is short, the age to come is long, and little the length of our present existence. Man, this great but petty being, to whom the present time has been allotted, is weak. Time is scant, man weak, but the contest set before him, with its prize, is great, even if it is full of thorns and puts our trivial life at risk.

14. God does not wish the labors of those well advanced on the spiritual path to go untested, but wants them to be well tried. Consequently He casts upon them the fire of temptation and withdraws for a short time the grace given them, allowing the tranquility of their thoughts to be perturbed for a while by the spirits of malice. In this manner He sees which way the soul will turn and whether it will favour its own Creator and Benefactor or the senses of this world and the lure of pleasure Depending on their proclivity He will either augment His grace in them as they advance in their love of Him, or lash them with temptation and tribulation if they indulge in worldly thoughts and actions, continuing this until they come to hate the unstable whirl of visible things and with tears wash away the bitterness of its pleasures.

THE PHILOKALIA Compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and
St. Makarios of Corinth tr. & ed. G.E.H. Palmer, P. Sherrard, Kallistos Ware Vol. IV
© 1995 The Eling Trust. pp. 110, 111.

The Holy Great Sovereigns and Equal to the Apostles,

Constantine and Helen pray for us.

Saints Constantine and Helen

May 24

THE EXPLANATION OF THE HOLY GOSPEL
ACCORDING TO JOHN

by Blessed Theophylact,
Archbishop of Ochrid and Bulgaria
Translated from the original Greek
by Fr. Christopher Stade

6: 65-67 And He said, Therefore I said unto you, that no man can come unto Me, except it were given him of My Father. From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? We have explained on many occasions that when you hear that the Father bestows upon men faith in His Son, do not think that God chooses arbitrarily to benefit some and not others. This would be unjust. God b estows the gift of faith and helps all who, by their own free choice, work together with Him. In fact he who by his free choice does not work together with God would receive no benefit even if God should accept him. To put it another way, God gives to all, and some use the gift well and guard it, thus manifesting the grace of God. Others, having received the gift, discard it, so that it appears that they had received nothing. Thus when the Evangelist says, “No man can come unto the Son, unless it were given unto him of the Father,” what he means is, “Only he can come to the Son who guards the gift given him by the Father.” From that time many of His disciples went back. They separated themselves from their Teacher and no longer advanced in faith, but returned to unbelief. Indeed, he who cuts himself off from Christ goes backwards; but he who cleaves to Christ, as Paul says, ever reaches forth unto those things which are before [Phil. 3:13]. The Lord asks the twelve, Will ye also go away? Why does He not praise them for remaining with Him when the others left? For two reasons: first, to preserve the dignity that befits a teacher; and second, to teach us not to employ flattery when we attempt to draw others to the faith. If He had praised the twelve, they might have succumbed to human weakness and become arrogant, thinking they were doing Him a favor by continuing to follow Him. By demonstrating that He does not need any man, or his service, the Lord kept the disciples at His side by a much stronger bond—their hope of receiving His favor and blessings, rather than imagining that they bestowed their favor and benefit on Him. Consider how wisely the Lord spoke. He does not simply say, “Go away!” which they would have taken as rejection, but asks, Will ye also go away? With this He makes them responsible for the decision to follow Him or not. He wants them to follow Him, not out of shame, but in anticipation of the grace they will receive by so doing.

Saint Vincent pray for us.

St. Vincent of Lerins

May 27

SAINT JOHN THE RUSSIAN

ODE EIGHT

Three guiltless youths

Thy master who sent thee to his stable, * made rich through the blessing of thy prayerful way of life, * bid thee to take a better place, * which thou didst refuse, O John; * for what began in servitude, * thou didst embrace by choice, * to mortify the flesh with its passions, * whereby thou wast rendered far richer than thy master.

Saint John the Russian pray for us.

St. John the Russian

May 29

FIRST SUNDAY OF THE FAST
Sunday of Orthodoxy
Dismissal Hymn. Second Tone

We worship Thine immaculate icon, O Good One, asking the forgiveness of our failings, O Christ our God; for of Thine own will Thou wast well-pleased to ascend the Cross in the flesh, that Thou mightest deliver from slavery to the enemy those whom Thou hadst fashioned. Wherefore we cry to Thee thankfully: Thou didst fill all things with joy, O our Saviour, when Thou camest to save the world.

Saint Theodosia of Constantinople pray for us.

Martyr Theodosia

June 1

The salvation of Adam
Against Heresies 3. 23. 2 (Harvey, p. 363f.)

“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread until thou return to the earth out of which thou wast taken, for earth art thou and to earth thou shalt return” (Gen. 3:20).

“But this is Adam, if the truth should be told, the first formed man, of whom Scripture says that the Lord spake, 'Let Us make man after Our own image and likeness' (Gen. 1:26) and we are all from him: and as we are from him, therefore have we all inherited his title. But inasmuch as m an is saved, it is fitting that he who was created the original man should be saved. For it is too absurd to maintain, that he who was so deeply injured by the enemy, and was the first to suffer captivity, was not rescued by Him Who conquered the enemy, but that his children were, those whom he had begotten in the same captivity. Neither would the enemy appear to be as yet conquered, if the old spoils remained with him…. For God is neither devoid of power nor of righteousness, Who has offered help to man, and restored him to his own liberty.”

The Lord did indeed restore Adam “to his own liberty.” By His Resurrection, He reversed that word spoken to Adam, “earth art thou and to earth thou shalt return” (Gen 3:20), and as St. Irenaeus says, “offered help to man, and restored him to his own liberty,” that is, to the liberty which he knew before he sinned, just after he had been created out of nothing.

Saint Esaias’ prophecy foretells the advent of this power of the righteousness of God:

And He became to them deliverance out of all their affliction: not an ambassador, nor an angel,
but the Lord Himself saved t hem, because He loved them and spared them:
He Himself redeemed them and took them up, and lifted them up for all the days of eternity.
Esaias 63: 8, 9 (LXX)

Saint Justin the Philosopher

June 10

Miracles of the Elder Ieronymos of Aegina
Born 1883—Reposed 1966

In the year 1953 I had a problem with my health. Around my armpit some forty pimples had appeared, which today would be called small tumors or warts. The doctor told me that I had to be operated on to clean out the area.

But we went to the Elder.

After we told him of the problem and showed him the infected area, he used a certain salve and a little pin with which he pierced the primary tumor, having whispered certain words. When he took lot the pin, he said to me, “Daughter, do not eat fish or meat for three days. On these days go also and bathe in the sea.”

When I fulfilled all that the Elder had told me, even from the first day I saw that the wounds began to diminish and by the third day they had vanished.

The Elder Ieronymos of Aegina
(c) 2007 The Holy Transfiguration Monastery Brookline, Massachusetts 02445

Chinese Martyrs

June 11

A SELECTION FROM
SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN
HOMILY SEVENTY-FOUR

As a man who offers a great gift to the king wins a cheerful countenance toward himself, so it is with the man whose prayer is accompanied by tears, for God the great King of the ages allows every degree of his sins and all of his transgressions to pass into oblivion and shows him a gracious countenance.

The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian
© 1984 The Holy transfiguration Monastery Brookline, Massachusetts 02145, pp. 363. All Rights Reserved.

Most Holy Theotokos Save us.

Icon of the Theotokos “It is Truly Meet”

June 14

Miracles of the Elder Ieronymos of Aegina
Born 1883—Reposed 1966

From my acquaintance with the family of the Elder’s nephew, George Apos tolides, I had heard of him, but I had never met him.

One morning, when I went to Athens, I saw an elder and an eldress weighed down with bags. The Elder had a knapsack, and one of his arms was missing. They were waiting to take the bus to Eleusina where his brother lived.

I then approached him and said, “Elder, are you from Aegina?” “Yes. And who are you?” Having explained to him who I was, I found a taxi and paid the driver to take them to Eleusina.

Then he said, “Eldress, do you see? God doesn’t abandon anyone. This daughter appeared and now we are going by taxi.”

The Elder Ieronymos of Aegina By Peter Botsis Tr. From the Greek
by Holy Transfiguration Monastery Boston, Massachusetts 2007 p.334

Saint Elisseus save us.

Prophet Elisseus

June 17

THE ELDER JOSEPH OF OPTINA

I asked, 'In what should one force oneself most and what should one abstain from most, Batiushka?'
The Elder said, 'In sleep, in food, in drink, in conversation; and most of all one should not speak in church.'

Saint Botolph save us.

Saint Botolph

June 19

Staretz Ambrose of Optina

Sometimes afflictions are sent to a person even though he is innocent,
so that he would suffer for others, as did Christ.
The Saviour Himself first suffered for people.
His Apostles suffered for the Church and for people.
Perfect love means suffering for your neighbor.

Saint John the Wonderworker save us.

Saint John Maximovitch

June 23

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
(AN EXCERPT)

Enter ye in at the strait* gate: for wide is the gate,
and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction,
and many there be which go in thereat.
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way
which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Matthew 7:13, 14.

*strait —archaic 1. narrow or constricted 2. strict

Saint Maxim Bishop of Serpukhov save us.

Saint Maximus, Bishop of Serpukhov

June 24

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

For all the gods of the nations are demons, but the Lord made in heaven.

Ps. 95.5 LXX

Saint John the Holy Forerunner and Baptist pray for us.

Nativity of the Forerunner

June 28

SAINT CYPRIAN OF CARTHAGE

...Whoever is gentle, patient and meek is an imitator of God the Father. — "The Good of Patience"

Our Most Holy Theotokos Save Us.

Synaxis of the Icon of the Theotokos “Of Three Hands”

June 29

Saint John of Kronstadt
An excerpt from “My Life in Christ”

Those who attend the Divine service of the Orthodox Church, and study the science of the Divine service, must bear in mind that the service here on earth is a preparation for all-rejoicing service to God in heaven; that in serving God with the body, it is still more necessary to serve God with the soul and with a pure heart; that in hearing the Divine service, they must learn to serve God as those Saints served Him, whose lives and works of faith, hope, and love we hear of during the Divine service; that God should be above all served by deed and truth, and not only by words and the tongue. We are called to serve God by our very being: we are given an upright stature in order that we may continually look upon God, thank and glorify Him; our understanding, heart, will, and all feelings are given to us for the same purpose.

Saints Peter and Paul save us.

Saints Peter and Paul

July 4

A SELECTION FROM
SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN
Seventh Century A.D.
HOMILY ONE
On Renunciation and the Monastic Life

43. Of every good wrought within you noetically and in secret, be certain that baptism and faith have been the mediators whereby you received it; through these you were called by our Lord Jesus Christ to His good labours, to Whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, honour, thanksgiving and worship unto the ages. Amen.

Saints Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra, Tsarevitch Alexis, and the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia and those with them save us.

Royal Martyrs of Russia

July 5

A SELECTION FROM
SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN
Seventh Century A.D.

HOMILY SIXTY-FOUR
On Prayer, Prostrations, Tears, Reading, Silence, and Hymnody

Love silence above all things because it brings you near to fruit that the tongue cannot explain.

Saint Athanasius the Athonite Save us.

Saint Athanasius the Athonite

The man who is conscious of his sins is greater than he who profits the whole world by the sight of his countenance. The man who sighs over his soul for but one hour is greater than he who raises the dead by his prayer while dwelling among many men. The man who is deemed worthy to see himself is greater than he who is deemed worthy to see the angels, for the latter has communion with his bodily eyes, but the former through the eyes of his soul. The man who follows Christ through solitary mourning is greater than he who praises Christ amid the congregations of men.

Holy Martyrs Elizabeth, Barbara and Those With Them Pray for us.

Grand Duchess Elizabeth, Novice Barbara and those with them

July 6

A SELECTION FROM
SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN
Seventh Century A.D.

HOMILY TWO

The thanksgiving of the receiver incites the giver to give gifts greater than the first. He that returns no thanks in small matters is a dissembler and dishonest in greater ones also. If a man is ill and he recognizes his ailment, his healing will be easy. If he confesses his pain, he draws nigh its cure. The re are many pangs for the unyielding heart, and the patient who resists his physician amplifies his torment. There is no unpardonable sin, save the unrepented one. Nor does any gift remain without addition, save that which is received without thanksgiving. The fool’s portion is small in his eyes.

Saint Sisoes Save us.

Saint Sisoes

July 8

A SELECTION FROM
SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN
Seventh Century A.D.

HOMILY TWO

Remember the fall of the mighty and be humble in your virtues. Recollect the grievous transgressions of those who of old trespassed and repented, and the sublimity and honour of which afterwards they were deemed worthy, and take courage in your repen tance. Be a persecutor of yourself, and your enemy will be driven from your proximity. Be peaceful within yourself, and heaven and earth will be at peace with you. Be diligent to enter into the treasure that is within you (cf. Mt. 6:6), and you will see the treasure of Heaven: for these are one and the same, and with one entry you will behold them both. The ladder of the Kingdom is within you, hidden in your soul. Plunge deeply within yourself, away from sin, and there you will find steps by which you will be able to ascend.

Most Holy Theotokos Save us.

Theotokos of Kazan

July 10

A SELECTION FROM
SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN
Seventh Century A.D.

HOMILY TWO

Cover a man who stumbles, so long as you receive no harm from him, and give him encouragement; then your Master’s loving-kindness will bear you up. Support with a word the infirm and those who are grieved at heart in so far as this lies within your hands, then the Right Hand that sustains all will sustain you. Through the toil of prayer and the anguish of your heart commune with those who are grieved at heart, and the Source of mercy will be opened up to your petitions. Belabour yourself in constant supplication before God with a heart possessing a pure, compunctionate meditation, and God will protect your mind from filthy thoughts, that His way may not be defamed through you. Continuously apply yourself to the study of reading the divine Scriptures with precise understanding, lest by reason of the idleness of your intellect, your sight may be polluted with foreign pollutions.

The things of God, they say, come of themselves, without one being aware of it. Yes, but only if the place is clean and not defiled. If the pup il of your soul’s eye is not pure, do not venture to gaze at the orb of the sun, lest you be deprived of your sight—which is simple faith, humility, confession from the heart and your small labours according to your capacity—and lets you be cast aside in a lone region of the noetic world (which is the ‘outer darkness’, outside God, a figure of Hell) like that man who shamelessly entered into the wedding feast with unclean garments (cf. Matt. 22:11 ff.).

The few indications which we have supplied in this chapter will suffice a man for his enlightenment instead of many books if he lives quietly and has discernment. Fear for the body is often so strong in a man as to make him incapable of any deeds worthy of honour or praise. But when fear for the soul overshadows bodily fear, then bodily fear wilts before it like wax from the heat of a flame. But to our God be glory unto the ages. Amen.

The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian
© 1984 The Holy Transfiguration Monastery Brookline, Massachusetts 02145, pp.12, 13, 14 and 15.
All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Saint Anthony Save us.

Righteous Father Anthony of the Kiev Caves

July 11

A SELECTION FROM
SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN
Seventh Century A.D.

HOMILY SEVENTY-FOUR
On the Means Whereby a Man Can Acquire a Change of His
Secret Intuitions Together with a Change of His External Discipline

As a man who drinks wine and becomes inebriated on a day of mourning forgets all the pangs of his sorrow, so the man who in this world (which is a house of lamentation) is drunk with the love of God, forgets all his sorrows and afflictions and becomes insensible to all sinful passions through his inebriation. His heart is made steadfast by hope in God, his soul is as light as a winged bird, at every moment his mind rises out of the earth and soars far above the heavens through the meditation of his thoughts, and he takes delight in the immortal things of the Most High; his prayer is unceasing, and he is like a man who has the wind for his steed, so that the enemy cannot overtake him. Every time he seeks him, he flies away from him.

He who takes compassion on the afflicted man is like a man who has an advocate in a court of justice. As a man who is at peril at sea amid a tempest casts his baggage overb oard, so too does he who despises the obstacles on the path of God amid this world, which is a sea ready to drown him. For obstacles will never be wanting.

Why do you trouble yourself in a house that is not your own? Let the sight of a dead man be a teacher for you concerning your departure from hence. Why do you increase your bonds? Take hold of your life before your light grows dark and you seek help and do not find it. This life has been given to you for repentance; do not waste it in vain pursuits.

Saint Euphemia the All-famed Save us.

Saint Euphemia

HOMILY THREE
That Without Toil the Soul Enters Into Understanding of the Wisdom of God
and of His Creatures, If She Becomes Still to the World and Life’s Concerns;
for Then She Can Come To Know Her Nature and
What Treasures She Has Hidden Within Herself.

When life’s concerns do not incur into the soul from without, and she abides in her nature, then she does not require prolonged toil to penetrate into and understand the wisdom of God. For her separation from the world and her stillness naturally move her toward the understanding of God’s creatures. And by this she is lifted up toward God; being astonished, she is struck with wonder, and she remains with God. When water does not seep into the fountain of the soul from without, the natural water that springs up in her incessantly bubbles forth intuitions of God’s wonders. But when the soul is found bereft of these, it is either because she has received a cause for this from some alien recollection or because the senses have stirred up turmoil against her by means of encounters with objects. When the senses, however, are confined by stillness and not permitted to sally forth, and by its aid the soul’s memories grow old, then you will see what are the soul’s natural thoughts, what is the nature of the soul, and what treasures she has hidden within herself. These treasures are incorporeal intuitions that are inspired in the soul by themselves, without the exercise of forethought and toil in their behalf. A man, however, does not even know that such thoughts could arise in human nature. For who taught him these things? Or how did he comprehend that which, even when understood, is impossible to make plain to others? Or who was his guide to that which he had never learned from another?

The nature of the soul is, then, something like what we have described. The passions are, consequently, an addition [to nature] from causes in the soul. Yet by nature the soul is passionless. Whenever you hear in the Scriptures of the passions of the soul and body, know that this is said in reference to the causes of the passions. For the soul is naturally dispassionate. Those who prefer outward philosophy do not accept this, and neither do their adherents. But we believe that God created His image passionless (I do not mean His image in reference to the body, but to the soul, which is invisible). So you must believe that the passions, as we said earlier, do not belong to the soul [by nature].

Saint Olga Save us.

Saint Olga

July 13-19
Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Seven Ecumencal Councils

This is the Faith of the Apostles:

This is the Faith of the Orthodox:

This Faith hath established the world.

Ἴδωμεν δὲ ὅμως καὶ πρὸς τούτοις καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς παράδοσιν καὶ διδασκαλίαν καὶ πίστιν τῆς καθολικῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ἣν ὁ μὲν Κύριος ἔδωκεν, οἱ δὲ ἀπόστολοι ἐκήρυξαν, καὶ οἱ πατέρες ἐφύλαξαν. Ἐν ταύτῃ γὰρ ἡ Ἐκκλησία τεθεμελίωται, καὶ ὁ ταύτης ἐκπίπτων οὔτ’ ἂν εἴη, οὔτ’ ἂν ἔτι λέγοιτο Χριστιανός.

We know one and the same original tradition, teaching and faith of the Catholic Church, which the Lord bestowed, the apostles proclaimed and the Fathers safeguarded. For upon this [the Faith] the Church is established, and whoever may fall astray from this he neither is, nor can he be called, a Christian.

Saint Athanasius the Great: Letter to Bishop Serapion 1, 28.

The Theology of the Icon Vol. II

Leonid Ouspensky

1902—reposed 1987 A.D.

St. Theodore the Studite wrote: “Just as everyone, no matter how perfect, is in need of the Gospel tablet, so [does one need (sic)] the painting expressed according to it” (PG 99: 1537D).

“If one does not venerate the icon of Christ the Saviour, let him not see His face at the Second Coming.” [This sentence]...essentially translates the fundamental truth of the veneration of icons expressed in different words by the decision of the [Seventh] Ecumenical Council: “The one who venerates the icon venerates the hypostasis it represents.” But here the truth is expressed in a more concrete, a more imperative form; the general anti-iconoclast tenor of the sentence thus acquires a clearly eschatological dimension. In this, it also corresponds to the decision of the Seventh Council which emphasized the eschatological aspect of the icon, though less emphatically, through the prophecy of Zephaniah (3:14-15 LXX). The vision of Christ at His Second Coming presupposes a confession of His first coming and the veneration of the image of His person [hypostasis Ed.] that points to it. The reverse is also true: the veneration of the image is a pledge, a condition for the vision of Christ in the glory of His Second Coming...a beginning of the vision face-to-face. Here we recall the second Troparion of the fourth ode of the canon of the Icon of the Holy Face: “In former times, Moses having asked to see God, was able to contemplate God only obscurely, seeing His back; but the new Israel now sees Thee, our Deliverer, clearly face to face.” The icon not only teaches us things about God; it makes God Himself known to us. In the icon of Christ, we contemplate His divine Person in the glory with which He will return, that is, in His glorified transfigured face.

On icons...we also represent the Mother of God, the angels and all the saints. This is because, in the eyes of the ...[Holy Fathers] the image of a saint and above all, the Mother of God, represents, like the image of Christ, a visible prefiguration of the future: of the eschatological Kingdom of God, a manifestation of His glory in man. “I have given to them the glory that Thou hast given Me” (Jn. 17:22). “But we know that at this revelation we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 Jn. 3:21).

Our quotation from Leonid Ouspensky swings wide the door to every Orthodox Christian of the vision of God; His radiant countenance, ‘facing,’ if you will, each man. His transfigured presence, as on Mount Tabor, is set forward by Saint Gregory Palamas in the dogmatic Councils of the Fourteenth century. Similarly for the nature of grace as uncreated, unseen, pre-eternal (God Himself)—the unabated force of the Last Days and the End of All Things is unequivocally present in uncreated grace—which is the interpretation, “without adding anything or taking anything away” (Ecclesiastes 3:14), of scripture by the Holy Fathers of the Ecumenical Councils in the completeness of their canons and also of every lawful local Anathema. Ed.

Pray for us here.

O Saviour save us.

Holy Fathers of the Seven Ecumenical Councils save us.

Holy Fathers of the Seven Ecumenical Councils

July 17

SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN
HOMILY FIVE
On Keeping Oneself Remote From the World and
From All Things That Disquiet the Intellect

GOD HAS CONFERRED much honour upon men with the twofold instruction * which He has given them. And from every quarter He has opened a door to enable them to enter into saving knowledge. Ask from nature a true witness concerning yourself, and you will not go astray. Yet even if you turn aside from thence, learn from that second witness # and it will place you on the path from which you wandered.

A muddled intellect cannot avoid forgetfulness and wisdom does not open her door before it. He who is enabled to understand with exact knowledge what degree of equality the end of all men brings, needs no other teacher for renouncing life’s affairs. The first book given by God to rational beings was the nature of created things. § But the instruction set down in writing was added after the transgression.

Whoever does not voluntarily withdraw himself from the causes of the passions is involuntarily drawn away by sin. These are the causes of sin: wine, women, riches, and robust health of body. Not that by their nature these things are sins, but that nature readily inclines toward the sinful passions on their account, and for this reason man must guard himself against them with great care. If you bear your weakness constantly in mind, you will not overstep the bounds of caution. With men, poverty is something loathsome; but with God, much more so is a soul whose heart is proud and whose mind is scornful. With men, wealth is honoured; but with God, the soul that has come to humility.

* I.e. nature and Scripture.
# I.e. Scripture
§The Greek reads here The natural law, given by God to men in the beginning, is the divine vision of His creatures. This is certainly St. Isaac’s meaning, but it is not a literal translation.

Saint Marina save us.

Saint Marina

July 19

A SELECTION FROM
SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN
Seventh Century A.D.

HOMILY FIVE
On Keeping Oneself Remote From the World and
From All Things That Disquiet the Intellect

As grace accompanies humility, so do painful incidents accompany pride. The eyes[1] of the Lord are upon the humble to make them glad; but the face of the Lord is against the proud to make them humble. Humility always receives mercy from God; but hardness of heart and littleness of faith contend with fearful encounters until suddenly and unexpectedly disaster rises up against them and surrenders them to speedy destruction. In all respects belittle yourself before all men, and you will be raised above the princes of this age. Anticipate every person with your greeting and your bow, and you will be more highly prized than those who bring the gold of Souphir as a gift.[2]

Be contemptible in your own eyes, and you will see the glory of God in yourself. For where humility burgeons, there God’s glory wells forth. If you strive to be slighted openly by all men, God will cause you to be glorified. If you have humility in your heart, then in your heart God will show you His glory. Be disdained in your greatness, and not great in your insignificance. Endeavour to be despised, and you will be filled with the honour of God. Seek not to be honoured while within you are filled with wounds. Deprecate honour, that you may be honoured; and do not love it, that you be not dishonoured. Honour flees away from before the man that runs after it; but he who flees from it, the same will it hunt down, and to all men become a herald of his humility. If you treat yourself with contempt so as to be honoured, God will expose you publicly; yet if you disparage yourself for the sake of the truth, God will move all His creatures to hymn your praise. They will open up before you the door of your Creator’s glory, and they will praise you like the Creator because you are truly in His image and after His likeness.

Who has seen a man shining throughout with the virtues, but vile-seeming to men: radiant in his life, wise in knowledge, and humble in his spirit? Blessed is he who humbles himself in all things, for he will be exalted in all. For a man who for God’s sake humbles himself, and thinks meanly of himself, is glorified by God. The man who hungers and thirsts for God’s sake, God will make drunk with His good things.[3] And he who goes naked for God’s sake is clad by Him in a robe of incorruption and glory. And he who becomes poor for His sake is consoled with His true riches. Set yourself at nought for God’s sake, and without your knowing it, your glory will be multiplied all through your life. Hold yourself a sinner, that you may be righteous throughout your life. Be scorned when you are wise and do not be a fool in your wisdom. Be unlearned in your wisdom, and do not seem wise, being unlearned. And if humility exalts the simple and ignorant, consider how much honour it will procure for the great and highly esteemed!

Flee vainglory, and you will be glorified; fear pride, and you will be magnified. For pomposity has not been assigned to the sons of men, nor haughtiness to the offspring of women. If you have voluntarily renounced all things in this life, by no means quarrel with any man over anything at all. If you have come to detest praise, avoid those who chase after glory. Avoid the acquisitive even as you would acquisition. Keep yourself away from the wanton even as you would from wantonness. Avoid the intemperate even as you would intemperance. For if even the memory of the people mentioned troubles our thought, how much more will the sight of them and the life conducted by them? Draw nigh to the righteous, and through them you will come near to God. Associate with those who have humility, and you will learn their ways. For if the mere sight of those here mentioned is beneficial, how much more the example of their lives and instruction of their mouths?

Love the poor, that through them you may also find mercy. Do not keep company with the disputatious, lest you be forced to take leave of your calm. Bear the noisome smells of the sick without disgust, and especially of the poor, since you too are wrapped about with a body. Do not rebuke those who are afflicted in heart, lest you be scourged with the selfsame rod as theirs: then you will seek consolation and will find none. Do not disdain those who are deformed from birth, because all of us will go to the grave equally privileged. Love sinners, but hate their works; and do not despise them for their faults, lest you be tempted by the same. Remember that you share the earthly nature of Adam and that you are clothed with his infirmity. Do not reprove those who are in need of your prayer, and do not withhold tender words of comfort from them, lest they perish and their souls be required of you; but do as the physicians, who cure the diseases which are more feverish with cooling remedies, and the more chilling with their opposites.

When you meet your fellow man, constrain yourself to pay him more honour than is his due. Kiss his hands and feet, often take his hands with deep respect, put them over your eyes, and praise him for what he does not even possess. And when he parts from you, say every good thing about him, and whatever it may be that commands respect. For by these and similar acts, you draw him to good and make him feel ashamed because of the gracious names by which you have called him, and you sow the seeds of virtue in him. From behaviour such as this, to which you accustom yourself, a good pattern is also imprinted in you; and you gain much humility for yourself, and achieve great things without toil. And not only this, but if he has any faults or voluntary imperfections, he will readily accept correction from you when he is honoured by you, being ashamed because of the respect which you have shown him and the proof of love he continually sees in you. Let this always be the aim of your conduct: to be courteous and respectful to all. And do not provoke any man or vie zealously with him, either for the sake of the Faith, or on account of his evil deeds; but watch over yourself not to blame or accuse any man in any matter. For we have a Judge in the heavens Who is impartial. But if you would have that man return to the truth, be grieved over him and, with tears and love, say a word or two unto him; but do not be inflamed with anger against him, lest he see within you signs of hostility. For love does not know how to be angry, or provoked, or passionately to reproach anyone. The proof of love and knowledge is profound humility, which is born of a good conscience in Jesus Christ our Lord, to Whom be glory and dominion, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, even unto the ages of ages. Amen.

[1] Syriac heart
[2] Vide 3 Kings 10:11
[3] Syriac with that wine whose inebriation never passes from those who drink it.

Uncovering of the Holy Relics of Rigtheous Seraphim of Sarov

July 20

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

Nikitas Stithatos
ca. 1020- reposed ca.1092

On the Inner Nature of Things and on the Purification of the Intellect:

One Hundred Texts

12. “The City of God, which is the heart cleansed and refreshed by tears.”

THE PHILOKALIA Compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain
and St. Makarios of Corinth tr. & ed. G.E.H. Palmer, P. Sherrard, Kallistos Ware Vol. IV
© 1995 The Eling Trust. pp. 111.

Saint Lydia the New Martyr of Russia, pray for us.

Saint Lydia the New Martyr of Russia

When Abba Macarios was praying in his cell on one occasion he heard a voice which said, “Macarios, thou art not yet arrived [at the state of excellence] of two women who are in such and such a city”; and the old man rose up in the morning, and took in his hand a palm stick, and he began to set out on the road to that city. Now therefore, when he had arrived at the city, and learned the place [of the abode of the women], he knocked at the door, and there went forth one of the women and brought him into the house. And when he had been sitting down for a little, the other woman came in, and he called them to him, and they came nigh and sat down before him.

Then the old man said unto them, “On your account I have made this long journey, and have performed all this labor, and with great difficulty have come from the desert; tell me then, what works ye do.” And they said unto him, “Believe us, O father; neither of us hath ever been absent from, or kept herself back from, her husband’s couch up to this day; what work, then, wouldst thou see in us?” Then the old man made apologies to them, and entreated them to reveal to him and show him their labour, and thereupon they said unto him, “According to worldly considerations we are strangers one to the other, for we are not kinsfolk, but it fell out that the two of us married two men who were brethren in the flesh. And behold up to this present we have lived in this house for twelve years, and we have never wanted to quarrel with each other, and neither of us hath spoken one abominable word of abuse to her companion. Now we made up our minds together to leave our husbands and to join the army of virgins, but, although we entreated our husbands earnestly to do so, they would not undertake to send us away. And as we were unable to do that which we wished, we made a promise between ourselves and God that, until death, no worldly word should go forth from our mouths.”

Now when Macarios heard [this] he said, “Verily, virginity by itself is nothing, nor marriage, nor life as a monk, nor life in the world; for God seeketh the desire [of a man], and giveth the Spirit unto every man.”

Holy Prophet Elias, pray for us.

The Holy Prophet Elias

July 22

A SELECTION FROM
SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN
Seventh Century A.D.

HOMILY SIX
That to Our Profit God Has Permitted the Soul to Be Susceptible
to Accidents, and on Ascetical Activities

A man who is truly humble is not troubled when he is wronged and he says nothing to justify himself against the injustice, but he accepts slander as truth; he does not attempt to persuade men that he is calumniated, but he begs forgiveness. Some have voluntarily drawn upon themselves the repute of being licentious, while they are not such; others have endured the charge of adultery, being far from it,[1] and proclaimed by their tears that they bear the fruit of the sin they had not committed, and have wept, asking their offenders’ forgiveness for the iniquity they had not done, their souls all the while being crowned with all purity and chastity; others, lest they be glorified because of the virtuous state which they have hidden within them, have pretended to be lunatics, while in truth they were permeated with divine salt and securely fixed in serenity, so that, because of their uttermost perfection, they had holy angels as heralds of their deeds of valour.[2]

You think that you possess humility. Other men accuse themselves; but while you cannot even bear to be accused by others, you reckon yourself humble. If you are humble, by these things try yourself: whether or not you are troubled when you suffer injustice.

[1] St. Makarios the Great. The Alphabetical Patericon, s.v. ‘Makarios’, §1.
[2] St. Symeon of Emesa, the fool for Christ (+end of the 6th century.) He is celebrated on July 21.

Holy Myrrh-bearer Mary Magdalene

July 23

Saint Euthymius the Great
A. D. 377-473

“Be careful and heed the teaching of the Fathers as though it were the word of God Himself.”

Joy of All Who Sorrow

July 24

The Prophecy of Esaias

“Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Emmanuel. Butter and honey shall He eat before He knows either to prefer evil or to choose the good. For before the Child shall know good or evil, He refuses evil to choose the good” (Esaias 7:14-16 LXX).*

* Compare with the KJV Old Testament which is based on the Jewish Masoretic Text.

Saints Boris and Gleb

July 27

A SELECTION FROM
SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN
Seventh Century A.D.

HOMILY SIX
That to Our Profit God Has Permitted the Soul to Be Susceptible
to Accidents, and on Ascetical Activities

Besides the state that is completely on high and the state that is absolutely below, in the future separation there will be no middle realm between them. A man will either belong entirely to those who dwell on high, or entirely to those below; but within both one state and the other there are diverse degrees of recompenses.

If this is true, which it most certainly is, what is more senseless and foolish than those who say that ‘It is sufficient for me to escape Gehenna, but I do not seek to enter into the Kingdom’! For to escape Gehenna means precisely to enter the Kingdom, even as to fall away from the Kingdom is to enter Gehenna. Scripture has not taught us the existence of three realms, but, ‘When the Son of man shall come in His glory, He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.’ [1] He did not speak of three orders, but two: one on the right and one on the left. And He definitely separated the distinctions of their dwelling places, saying, ‘The righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father,[2] but sinners shall depart into everlasting fire.’[3] And again, ‘Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the Kingdom of Heaven. But the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth,’[4] a thing more dreadful than any fire. Have you not understood by these things that falling short of the order on high is, namely, the Gehenna of torment?

[1] Matt. 25:31, 33.
[2] Matt. 13:43.
[3] cf. Matt. 25:41.
[4] Matt. 8:11, 12.

Saint Panteleimon

July 28

A SELECTION FROM
SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN
Seventh Century A.D.

HOMILY SIX
That to Our Profit God Has Permitted the Soul to Be Susceptible
to Accidents, and on Ascetical Activities

Bodily toil and study of the divine scriptures guard purity; hope and fear make toil steadfast; and withdrawal from men and unceasing prayer establish hope and fear in a man’s mind. Until a man has received the Comforter, he requires the divine Scriptures[1] to imprint the memory of good in his heart, to keep his striving for good constantly renewed by continual reading, and to preserve his soul from the subtleties of the ways of sin; for he has not yet acquired the power of the Spirit that drives away that delusion which takes soul-profiting recollections captive and makes a man cold through the distraction of his intellect. When the power of the Spirit has penetrated the noetic powers of the active soul, then in place of the law of the Scriptures,[2] the commandments of the Spirit take root in his heart and a man is secretly taught by the Spirit and needs no help from sensory matter. For, so long as it is from matter that the heart has its teaching, error and forgetfulness straightway follow the lesson; but when teaching comes from the Spirit, its memory is kept inviolate.[3]

[1] Syriac inscriptions in ink, i.e. the written word in general.
[2] Syriac laws [written] in ink.
[3] Syriac But when teaching is from things infallible, then its recollection does not fail, as standing firmly upon their perspicuity.

Righteous Irene of Chrysovalantou

August 1

A SELECTION FROM
SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN
Seventh Century A.D.

HOMILY SIX
That to Our Profit God Has Permitted the Soul to Be Susceptible
to Accidents, and on Ascetical Activities

If you have no works, do not speak on virtues. Afflictions suffered for the Lord’s sake[1] are more precious to Him than every vow and sacrifice; and the odour of their sweat surpasses every fragrance and choice incense. Regard every virtue performed without bodily toil as premature, stillborn fruit of the womb. The offering of the righteous is the tears of their eyes; and their acceptable sacrifice is their sighings during vigil. The righteous, burdened by the weight of their body, cry out dolefully to the Lord and send forth their supplications to God with pain; and at the cry of their voice the angelic orders stand close at hand to aid them, to encourage them with hope, and to comfort them. For the holy angels are partakers of the sufferings and the tribulations of the saints through their nearness to them.

Rightly directed labours and humility make a man a god upon earth. Faith and mercy speed him on the way to limpid purity. Fervency and contrition of heart cannot dwell simultaneously in one soul, even as drunken men cannot have control of their thinking. For when the soul is given this fervour, the contrition of mourning is taken away. Wine has been given for gladness, and fervour for the rejoicing of the soul. The former warms the body, and the word of God the understanding. Those who are inflamed by fervour are ravished by hope’s meditations and their mind is caught away to the future age. Just as men drunken with wine imagine diverse hallucinations, even so men drunken and made fervent by hope are conscious neither of affliction nor of anything worldly. This, and other like things that are prepared for those who journey the path of successive disciplines after they have practised the prolonged labours of purification, occur in the very beginning of the way to the simpler of heart an d more fervent in hope, and this is by reason of the soul’s faith alone. All that the Lord wishes, He does.

Blessed are those who for the sake of their love of God have girded their loins with simplicity and an unquestioning disposition to meet the sea of afflictions, and who do not turn their backs! Such men speedily find refuge in the promised haven,[2] and find rest in the tents of those who have toiled well; their souls are led out of their tribulations and they exult in the joy of their hope. Those who hasten onward with hope do not turn their gaze toward the perils of the way, nor do they stop to examine it, but only when they have crossed the sea they look back upon the treacherous path and give thanks unto God for how He delivered them from gorges, precipices, and the craggy way, while they knew it not. Those, however, who ponder over many deliberations, who strongly desire to be prudent and who give themselves over to intricate and quailing thoughts, who are ever making ready and striving to foresee every peril, are (for the most part) always to be found sitting on the doorstep of their houses.

[1] Syriac for righteousness.
[2] Lit. the haven of promises.

Seven Maccabee Children

August 2

A SELECTION FROM
SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN
Seventh Century A.D.

HOMILY SIX
That to Our Profit God Has Permitted the Soul to Be Susceptible
to Accidents, and on Ascetical Activities

‘When the sluggard is sent in the way, he says, There is a lion in the way and murderers in the streets.’[1] And those who say, like the sons of Israel, ‘There we saw the sons of giants, and we were before them as grasshoppers’,[2] are those who will be found still journeying on the way at the time of their death, who always desire to be very prudent, but who never wish at all to make a beginning. The simple and unlearned man who sets out swimming passes through the waters retaining his first ardour, having no care at all for his body, nor deliberating in himself as to whether or not his endeavour will in any wise succeed. Let not much wisdom become a stumbling-block to your soul and a snare before you; but trusting in God, manfully make a beginning upon the way that is filled with blood, lest always you always be found wanting and naked of the knowledge of God. For he who is fearful or watches the winds, sows not.[3] Death in battle for God’s sake is better than a shameful and sluggish life. When you wish to begin one of the works of God, first make a testament, like one who is no longer to live in this life, like a man who is prepared for death and has despaired of his present life, and as though you have reached your fore-appointed time.[4] Hold this unwaveringly in your mind, that hope for this present life may not hinder you from struggling and being victorious, For the hope of this present life enfeebles the thinking. Therefore do not be overly wise, but rather give place in your mind to faith, and remember the days after your death, and slackness will never enter in upon you, according to the word of the wise man who said, ‘A thousand years of the present age are not like one day in the age of the righteous.’[5] Begin every good work with fortitude, and do not undertake such labours with a divided soul; and let not your heart waver in its hope in the grace of God, lest your toil be profitless and the work of your husbandry be burdensome. Believe with your heart that the Lord is merciful and gives grace to those who seek Him, not in proportion to our works, but according to the ardent love of our souls and our faith in Him. For He says, ‘As thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.’[6]

...And another made progress, stood firmly, and did not turn back until he received the pearl of great price. Always make a beginning, therefore, in God’s work with joy and earnestness. And if you are pure from the passions and a doubting heart, God Himself will raise you up to the summit, help you, and make you wise according to His will, and in a wondrous way you will receive perfection. To Him be glory and dominion and adoration and majesty both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

[1] Prov. 22:13
[2] Num. 13:33
[3] Cf. Eccles. 11:4.
[4] Syriac as though it is the end of your days without your seeing any more.
[5] Cf. Ps. 89:4
[6] Matt. 8:13

Relics of St. Stephen

August 5

A SELECTION FROM
SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN
Seventh Century A.D.

HOMILY SEVEN
On the Kinds of hope in God; and on Who Should put His hope in God,
and Who It Is That Foolishly and Impudently
Entertains such Hope

THERE IS A HOPE [1] in God that comes through the faith of the heart, which is good, and which one possesses with discernment and knowledge. There is another, a false hope, which is distorted and which derives its existence from folly.[2] The man who pays no heed at all to that which perishes, but devotes himself entirely to the Lord both night and day, who gives thought to nothing worldly because of his great assiduity in the virtues, and occupies his every leisure moment with divine things, and who for this reason neglects to procure food and clothing for himself, and the preparation of shelter for his body, and all the rest: this man rightly and knowingly hopes in the Lord, for He will prepare his necessities for him. This truly is the hope which is both true and most wise. It is right for a man to put his hope in God, inasmuch as he is His servant, and is diligent in His work, being free of any negligence due to whatever cause. To a man such as this, it is meet that God manifest His special attention, because he has kept His commandment which says, ‘Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you’[3] and, ‘Make no provision for the flesh.’[4] Whenever we manage ourselves in this way, the world, like some servant, will prepare things for us, and will unhesitatingly submit to our words as to her masters, and will never set herself against our will. For it is not so as to desist from his constant standing before God that such as man does not allow himself to give thought to the necessities of his body. And because he takes no thought for anything else, and he is equally void of all care for things small or great which produce comfort or diversion or departure from the fear of God, he will be marvelously furnished even with these things,[5] having neither given them thought or laboured for them.

[1] The Syriac word has the further sense of trust, confidence.
[2] The Greek text has iniquity, which is a copyist’s error for folly.
[3] Matt. 6:33
[4] Rom. 13:14
[5] I.e. the needs of the body.

Life of Saint John the Romanian

August 6

A SELECTION FROM
SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN
Seventh Century A.D.

HOMILY SEVEN
On the Kinds of hope in God; and on Who Should put His hope in God,
and Who It Is That Foolishly and Impudently
Entertains such Hope

Very different, however, is the case with the man whose heart in completely buried in earthly concerns, who constantly eats dust with the serpent, [1] who gives no thought at all to what is pleasing to God, who expends all his labours on corporeal things, who is lax, who is continually engaged in concerns and the diversion of wantonness, and who grasps at every pretext for this. Because such a man has fallen away from virtue through his sloth and indolence, it is a different case with him whenever he suffers affliction, or is deprived of some needful thing, or the fruits of his evil deeds cause him distress, and he says, ‘I shall put my hope in God, and He will relieve me of my worry, and bring me comfort.’ O fool, until the present hour you would not remember God, but have insulted Him with your dissolute practices, and His name is blasphemed among the heathen through you, even as it is written,[2] and now you dare to say with mouth open wide, ‘In Him shall I hope, and He will help me, and take care for my concern’? Well has God said by His prophet to the shame of such persons, ‘They seek Me daily, and would learn My ways, as they that do righteousness and do not forsake the ordinances of their God; they ask of Me judgment and righteousness.’ [3] He is a fool, therefore, who even mentally does not draw nigh to God, and yet, when he is surrounded by tribulations, lifts up his hands to Him with confidence. This man must be seared with hot iron many times over so that somehow he might be instructed. He possesses no work deserving of confidence in God. Rather, with his grievous practices, and his negligence of his duties, he has rendered himself deserving of chastisement; yet, for His mercy’s sake, God, Who is longsuffering, endures him. Therefore let not such a one deceive himself, and forget the level of his conduct, and say that he hopes in God; for he will be chastised. When he does not possess the works of faith, let him not stretch out his feet in idleness and say, ‘I trust God will provide me with my necessities,’ as though he were living in the labours of God. If, on account of his own foolishness, such a one falls into a well while he is walking, he says immediately (although formerly God had never entered his mind at all), ‘As for what happens now, I shall hope in God, and He will deliver me.’ Err not, O fool! Toil for God’s sake and sweat in His husbandry precede hope in Him. If you believe in God, you do well, but faith has need of its labours also,[4] and confidence in God is the good witness of the conscience born of undergoing hardship for the virtues. Do you believe that God provides for His creatures, and is able to do all things? Let suitable labour, therefore follow on your faith, and then He will hear you. Think not to grasp the winds in your fist,[5] that is, faith without works.

[1] See Gen. 3:14
[2] Rom. 2:24
[3] Isa. 58:2
[4] See James 2:19ff.
[5] Cf. Prov. 30:4

Transfiguration of Christ

August 15

A SELECTION FROM
SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN
Seventh Century A.D.

HOMILY SEVEN
On the Kinds of hope in God; and on Who Should put His hope in God,
and Who It Is That Foolishly and Impudently
Entertains such Hope

Often it happens that a man unwittingly travels a road where there lies a wild beast, or murderers, or something of the kind. But the universal providence of God delivers him from injury, either by delaying him on his way for some reason until the dangerous beast has gone off, or by an encounter with someone, to make him turn aside from the road. And again, sometimes a venomous serpent is found lying on the road yet out of sight, but God, not willing to surrender the man to this trial, suddenly makes the serpent hiss and withdraw from the place, or slither out in front of him, and the wayfarer when he sees it is put on his guard, and is saved from it, even though he is undeserving on account of his secret sins, which only he knows; yet God still rescues him, for His mercy’s sake. And again, it often happens that a house, or a wall, or a stone is about to fall and it slips from its place with a splintering sound, but people are found sitting there, and in his love for men God commands an angel to hold it back, and to keep it from falling until they rise up from thence; or else, under a certain pretext, He leads them out, so that no one is found underneath. But as soon as they go out, He straightway lets it fall. And even if it happens that someone is caught, He works the matter so that they are in no way hurt. By this God wishes to show the infinite magnitude of His power.

All these things and their like, therefore, belong to God’s universal and catholic providence, and this grace the righteous man has inseparably with him. For God has bidden other men to manage their affairs with discretion, and to combine their own knowledge with God’s providence. But the righteous man has no need to manage his affairs through that knowledge, because instead of that knowledge he possesses faith, by means of which he ‘casteth down every high thing that exulteth itself against the knowledge of God.’[1] And he will fear none of the things here enumerated, as it is written, ‘The righteous man is confident as a lion’,[2] daring all things through faith, not as one who tempts the Lord, but as one who has confidence in Him, and as one who is armed and arrayed in the power of the Holy Spirit. And because God is his constant concern, God will also say concerning him, ‘I am with him in affliction, and I will rescue him, and glorify him, with length of days will I satisfy him, and I will show him My salvation.’[3] The man who is lax, on the other hand, and who is indolent in his labour cannot have that hope. This, then, belongs only to him who uninterruptedly abides in God in all things, who draws near Him through the beauty of his works, and strains the gaze of his heart unceasingly toward His grace, as the divine David has said, ‘from my hoping in my God, mine eyes have failed me.’[4] For unto Him is due glory, honour, and worship unto the ages.

[1] 2 Cor. 10:5
[2] Prov. 28:1 LXX (Ed. note The LXX reading is preferred over that of the Masoretic text.)
[3] Ps. 90:15-16 LXX.
[4] Ps. 68:4 LXX.

Dormition of the Theotokos

August 16

A SELECTION FROM
SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN
Seventh Century A.D.

HOMILY EIGHT
On What Helps a Man to Approach God in His Heart,
and What is the Real Cause that Secretly Brings Help Near Him;
and Again, What Is the Cause That Leads a Man to Humility.

BLESSED IS THE MAN who knows his own weakness, because this knowledge becomes the foundation, the root, and the beginning of all goodness. For whenever a man learns and truly perceives his own weakness, at that moment he contracts his soul on every side from the laxity that dims knowledge, and he treasures up watchfulness in himself. But no one can perceive his own infirmity if he is not allowed to be tempted a little, either by things that oppress his body, or his soul. For then, comparing his own weakness with God’s help, he will straightway understand the greatness of the latter. And again, whenever he looks over the multitude of his devising, his wakefulness, his abstinence, the sheltering, and the hedging about of his soul by which he hopes to find assurance for her, and yet sees that he has not obtained it, or again, if his heart has no calm because of his fear and trembling: then at that moment let him understand, and let him know that this fear of the heart shows and reflects that he is altogether in need of some other help. For the heart testifies inwardly, and reflects the lack of something by the fear which strikes and wrestles within it. And because of this, it is confounded, since it is not able to abide in a state of surety; for God’s help, he says, is the help that saves.[1] When a man is in need of Divine help he makes many prayers. And by as much as he multiplies them, his heart is humbled, for there is no man who will not be humbled when he is making supplication and entreaty. ‘A heart that is broken and humbled, God will not despise.’[2] Therefore, as long as the heart is not humbled, it cannot cease from wandering; for humility collects the heart.

But when a man becomes humble, at once mercy encircles him, and then his heart is aware of Divine help, because if finds a certain power and assurance moving in itself. And once a man perceives the coming in of Divine help, and that it is this which aids him, then at once his heart is filled with faith, and he understands from this that prayer is the refuge of help, a source of salvation, a treasury of assurance, a haven that rescues from the tempest, a light to those who are in darkness, a staff of the infirm, a shelter in time of temptations, a medicine at the height of sickness, a shield of deliverance in war, an arrow sharpened against the face of his enemies, and to speak simply: the entire multitude of these things is found to have its entrance through prayer. From this time forward he revels in the prayer of faith, his heart glistens with clear assurance, and does not continue in its former blindness and the mere speech of the tongue. When he thus perceives these things, he will acquire prayer in his soul, like some treasure. And from his great gladness the form of prayer is turned into shouts of thanksgiving. This is the very thing pronounced by one who has defined the form proper to each of our actions: ‘Prayer is joy that sends up thanksgiving.’[3] Here he speaks of the prayer that is achieved through the knowledge of God, that is, prayer that has been sent from God.[4] For at that moment a man does not pray with labour and weariness (as in the rest of his prayers, which is prayed before the experiencing of this grace), and because his heart is full of joy and wonder, it continually wells up motions of confession and gratitude while he silently bows the knee. Nay, from his vehement inner ardour, since he is very greatly moved by astonishment at this comprehension of God’s graces, he suddenly raises his voice in praise and glorification of Him, and sends up thanksgiving; and he moves his tongue while being held in great awe.

If any man has reached this in truth and not in fancy, and has made many observations of this reality in himself, and has come to know its many differences by reason of his great experience, he knows what I say, for there is nothing here contrary to the truth. And from this time forward let him cease from pondering vanities, and let him remain with God by means of unbroken prayer, while being in anxiety and trepidation lest he be deprived of the magnitude of God’s succor.[5]

[1] Cf. Ps. 59:13; 107:13
[2] Ps. 50:17
[3] St. Nilus of Sinai. On Prayer, § 15. The Greek original has Prayer is the fruit of joy and thanksgiving.
[4] Syriac the prayer that offers up [thanksgiving].
[5] Syriac the stream of its [prayer’s] succours.

Icon Not Made by Hands

August 20

A SELECTION FROM
SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN
Seventh Century A.D.

HOMILY EIGHT
On What Helps a Man to Approach God in His Heart,
and What is the Real Cause that Secretly Brings Help Near Him;
and Again, What Is the Cause That Leads a Man to Humility.

All these things are born to a man from the recognition of his own weakness, for out of his craving for God’s help, he presses on toward God by the petitions of his prayer. And to the extent that he draws near to God in his intention, God also draws near to him through His gifts, and will not take His grace away from him, on account of his great humility; for just like the widow before the judge, he cries out to be avenged of his adversary.[1] But for this very reason the compassionate God defers in granting a man’s requests, even so that this may become a cause for him to draw near Him, and for his need’s sake to stay close to Him Who is the brimming fount of succour. Some of his petitions God grants him promptly, (I mean those without which no one can be saved), but some He withholds from him. And on certain occasions He restrains and dispels from him the scorching assault of the enemy, while on others, He permits him to be tempted, that this trial may be a cause for drawing near to God (as I said before), and also that he may be instructed, and have the experience of temptations. And such is the word of Scripture: ‘The Lord left many nations, without driving them out; neither delivered He them into the hands of Jesus, the son of Navi, to chastise the sons of Israel by them, and that the tribes of the sons of Joseph might be taught, and learn war.’[2] For the righteous man who has no consciousness of his own weakness walks on a razor’s edge, and is never far from falling, nor from the ravening lion—I mean the demon of pride. Again a man who does not know his own weakness falls short of humility; and he who falls short of perfection is forever held by dread, because his city is not founded on pillars of iron, neither upon lintels of brass, that is, humility. No one can acquire humility save by humility’s own means whereby the heart is made contrite and the deliberations of conceit are brought to nought. This is why the enemy often finds himself a slight cause whereby he can deflect a man from the path. Without humility the work of man cannot be perfected, and the charter of his liberty does not yet bear the seal of the Spirit, but rather, until now he is a slave, and his work does not rise above fear. For a man cannot correct his work without humility, and he is not instructed except through temptations, and without wisdom he does not acquire humility.

Therefore the Lord looses upon the saints the causes of humility, of a contrite heart, and of ardent, undistracted prayer, so that those who love Him might draw nigh Him through humility. This is why the enemy often finds himself a slight cause whereby he can deflect a man from the path. Often He jolts them with the passions of their nature, and the intrusions of shameful and polluted thoughts; and often too by rebukes, insults, and the buffetings of men; but sometimes with diseases and bodily ailments; and at other times with poverty, and the utter lack of necessities. And sometimes with the torment of excessive fear which He permits to fall upon them in the open warfare of the demons so as to trouble them strongly; but at times with dire variations, one more oppressive, grievous, and difficult than the next.[3] All these things occur so that they may have causes to be humbled, and that they do not become immersed in the sleep of negligence, either as regards those from which the ascetic is wont to fall ill, or as regards the fear of things to come. Therefore temptations are necessarily profitable to men. But I do not say this with the intent that a man should allow himself to be lax in shameful thoughts, that this may become to him a pretext of humility in his remembrance of them, nor do I mean that he should be assiduous to enter into further temptations, but rather that in cultivating good, he must be sober at all times, and watch over his soul, and reflect that he is a created being and very liable to sudden change. For every created being is in need of God’s power[4] for assistance, and by his need of another’s assistance, every man reveals his natural weakness. But the man who knows his own weakness must of necessity humble himself, so that his need may be supplied by Him Who has the power to give it. And had he known it from the beginning, and had looked upon his weakness, he would not have grown negligent; and if he had not grown negligent, he would not have slumbered, and been given over to the hands of those who afflict him in order to wake him up.

Therefore, whoever is walking upon the path of God must give thanks to Him for all the things that come upon him, and revile and blame his own soul, and know that he would not have been delivered over by his Provider except for the sake of negligence, in order that his mind might be awakened, nor quit the arena and the fight, nor leave himself free of self-reproach, lets his evil grow twofold. For with God, who abundantly pours forth righteousness, there is no injustice. Far be it! Unto Him be glory, honour, and worship unto the ages. Amen.

[1] Vide Luke 18:3.
[2] Judges 2:23 ff.
[3] Syriac clad with aberration.
[4] Syriac of another’s

Prophet Samuel

August 23

A SELECTION FROM
SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN
Seventh Century A.D.

HOMILY NINE
On Voluntary and Involuntary Sins, and on
Those which are Committed Because of Some Accidental Circumstance

THERE ARE SINS which a man commits from weakness, being drawn into them against his will, and there are sins which a man commits voluntarily, and ones from ignorance. Also, it happens that a man will sin due to an accidental circumstance, or again, because of his long continence in evil, or from habit. Although all these modes and kinds of sins are blameworthy, yet with respect to the punishment to be exacted for each, one is found to be comparatively greater than the other. The blame of one sin is very great and its repentance is only accepted with difficulty, but another is more easily forgiven. Just as Adam, Eve, and the serpent all received from God the recompense of their sin, yet the cure for each differed greatly, so it was also with the sons of Adam and Eve. The severity of the punishment for a sin accords with a man’s intention and his desire of sin. If a man does not wish to follow the way of sin, but notwithstanding, he is drawn toward it on account of his negligence regarding virtue (since he does not practice it), even though it is grievous to him to be joined with sin, then his punishment will be severe. But if someone who is diligent in virtue should be tempted in some sin, then mercy is undoubtedly near him to cleanse him.

It is one thing when a man is carefully diligent in virtue, constant in its works, and passes the night meditating on it, lest he fall short in any of its duties. But although he should carry his burden around with him day by day and all his care is for virtue, still while he is engaged in such concerns, the scale of the balance sinks a little to the left and he is drawn down by the flesh’s weakness into one form of sin, either by reason of a certain ignorance, or because of things that oppose him on his path (that is, the path of virtue) and the billows that rise up in his members at every hour, or because of the aberration that is allowed to remain in him so that his free will might be tried. This causes him grief and anguish and, because of the misery that contrary things inflict upon him, he sighs painfully over his soul.

But it is very different thing when a man is found to be lax and heedless in the work of virtue, when he has utterly abandoned the path and hastens slavishly to be subservient to every pleasure of sin, showing his zeal to invent means whereby he might enjoy it perfectly, and being ready like a slave assiduously to do the will of his enemy, and to make his members weapons for the devil in complete obedience to him; he wishes not at all to give heed to repentance, neither to draw nigh to virtue, nor to put an end to and return from the path of destruction.

Diverse are the slips and falls which can occur on the path of virtue and the way of righteousness, as the Fathers write, saying that on the path of virtue and the way of righteousness there are falls, oppositions, compulsions and the like.

But something quite different is the death of the soul, complete destruction and utter abandonment. But this it is evident that when a man falls, he should not forget the love of his Father. And if it happens that he fall into many diverse transgressions, he should not be negligent concerning the good, nor should he stop his onward course, but even though he was vanquished, he should rise up again to struggle against his adversaries and each day to lay a foundation for his ruined dwelling, having the words of the Prophet in his mouth until his departure from this world. ‘Rejoice not against me, mine enemy, that I have fallen; for I will rise again; for though I should sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.’[1] May he never cease making war until his death, and as long as there is breath in him may he not surrender his soul to defeat, even at the very moment of his defeat! But if each day his ship be broken up and his cargo perish in the deep, let him not cease from acquiring new possessions, trading and also from borrowing; let him set out in other ships, sailing in hope, until beholding his struggle and taking compassion on his ruin, the Lord sends down upon him His mercy and gives him powerful motivations to undergo and resist the flaming darts of the enemy. This is the wisdom which is granted by God, and this is the wise individual who has not cut off his hope.[2] It is more expedient for us to be condemned on account of particular deeds than on account of our abandoning all. For this reason Abba Martinian admonished us not to become weary in the face of many struggles and the diverse kinds of warfare that are met continually on the path of righteousness, and not to turn back so as to give the enemy victory over us in some shameful manner. As a loving father he enjoins these in an orderly fashion, point by point.

The Admonition of Saint Martinian. My children, if you are truly strugglers, men who pay heed to virtue and care for your souls, and you earnestly desire your mind to be limpidly pure before Christ and to do that which is well pleasing to Him, then it surely behooves you to accept for His sake every warfare kindled by our nature’s passions, the attractions of this world, the duration and persistence of the demon’s wickedness with which they are accustomed to confront you, and all their snares. Do not grow faint-hearted of the continuing and obdurate fierceness of the battle; do not become hesitant because of the long duration of your struggle; do not grow lax, neither be afraid of the hosts of your enemies; and if for a season you should perhaps stumble and sin, do not fall into the pit of despair. But if something should befall you in this great war and you should even be wounded upon your face, let this in no wise hinder you from attaining your goal. Rather persevere in the pursuit you have chosen, and you will achieve that thing most desirable and praiseworthy, to prove steadfast and unmoving in war, reddened by the blood of your wounds. Never cease, therefore, from wrestling with your adversaries.

Such are the admonitions of the great elder. Hence, you should not grow weak or lax because of what we have said. But woe to that monk who has proven false to his vow, who, trampling upon his conscience, stretches forth his hand to the devil to enable the latter to exult over him because of one of the small or great modes of sin, and who can no longer withstand his enemies since one part of his soul has been devastated! With what countenance will he meet the Judge when his companions who have attained purity will greet one another? For he has parted ways with them and walked the path of perdition; he has lost the boldness before God that the righteous possess, and the prayer that ascends from a pure heart, which is borne up above the angelic hosts and is not arrested until it has obtained its request and returned with joy to the mouth that sent it forth. But what is more terrible, just as he has separated his path from theirs, so Christ will separate him from them in that day when the shining cloud will bear upon its back their bodies made resplendent by purity and carry them through the gates of Heaven. For this reason ‘the ungodly shall not stand up in judgment’, since their works have been judged here already, ‘nor sinners in the council of the righteous’,[3] in the resurrection of judgement.

[1] Micah 7:8 LXX
[2] Syriac this is the wise individual. Despair [lit. cutting off hope] gives no profit.
[3] Ps. 1:5 LXX

St Irenaeus of Lyons

August 24

HOMILY FORTY-NINE

Saint Isaac the Syrian

On the angelic Movement That Is Awakened in Us by
God’s Providence for the Soul’s Advancement
In Things Spiritual

On the Second Activity Upon Man

When a man progresses in good discipline and succeeds in mounting the step of repentance, when he draws nigh the experience of the divine vision that results from his righteous works, and when a gift from on high descends upon him that he may taste the sweetness of spiritual knowledge, a second activity after the first will arise. Firstly he becomes certain of God’s providence for every man, he is illuminated by His love for creation, and he is filled with wonder at His governance of rational beings and at His great care for them. This is the beginning of the sweetness of God and the fire of His love, which is kindled in the heart and consumed the passions of the soul and body. A man will be conscious of this power when he ponders thoughtfully upon, scrutinizes, and discerns in a spiritual manner all the diverse natures of creation and everything he encounters. Wherefore, through such zealous and divine diligence and through His good conscience a man begins to be stirred to divine love and straightway he is made drunk by it as by wine; his limbs become limp, his mind stands in awestruck wonder, and his heart follows God as a captive. He becomes, as I said, like a man drunk with wine. The more the inner senses grow strong, the more this divine vision gains in strength. And the more a man struggles to live a righteous life, to be watchful, and to labour in reading and prayer, the more its power is established and made fast within him. In very truth, O brethren, a man comes to this at times when he does not remember himself, that he is clad with a body, and he does not know that he is found in this world. The second activity is the beginning of the spiritual theoria in man, and this is the beginning of every revelation in the intellect; by this activity the intellect grows and becomes powerful in hidden things, and by this the intellect advances to other revelations which surpass the nature of man. In a word, guided by the hand of the second activity, all divine theoria and all revelations of the Spirit which the saints receive in this world, and whatever gifts and revelations human nature can come to know in this life, pass over to a man. This is the root of our perception of our Creator. Blessed is the man who has kept this good seed once it has fallen into his soul, and has given it increase, and has not lost it by scattering it in vain concerns and in the distractions of transient and fleeting things! But to our God be glory unto the ages. Amen.

Please go to March 4 for the ‘First Activity’ discussed in Homily Forty Nine.

Saint Cosmas of Aetolia

August 27

St. Phanurius

August 28

ON MOURNING AND TEARS
From the Holy Fathers

The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Step 7
On joy-making mourning

64. However great the life we lead may be, we may count it stale and spurious, if we have not acquired a contrite heart. For this is essential, truly essential if I may say so, that those who have again been defiled after baptism should cleanse the pitch from their hands with unceasing fire of the heart and with the oil of God.

70. When our soul leaves this world we shall not be blamed for not having worked miracles, or for not having been theologians, or not having been rapt in divine visions. But we shall certainly have to give an account to God of why we have not unceasingly mourned.

HOMILY SEVENTY-FOUR
Saint Isaac the Syrian

On the Means Whereby a Man can Acquire a Change of His
Secret Intuitions Together With a Change of His
External Discipline

As a man who offers a great gift to the king wins a cheerful countenance toward himself, so it is with the man whose prayer is accompanied by tears, for the God the great King of the ages allows every degree of his sins and all of his transgressions to pass into oblivion and shows him a gracious countenance.

HOMILY FIFTY-FOUR
Saint Isaac the Syrian

On the Subject of Prayer and other things Which Are
Necessarily Required for Constant Recollection and Are
Profitable in Many Ways, If a Man Read Them
With Discretion and Observe Them

Tears during prayer are a sign that the soul has been deemed worthy of God’s mercy in her repentance, and that her repentance has been accepted, and through her tears the soul has begun to enter into the plain of limpid purity.

Righteous Father Job of Pochaev

August 29

The Ladder of Divine Ascent
SELECTED TEXTS ON TEARS AND MOURNING

3:3 Exile loves and produces continual weeping. p.15.

28:60 He who keeps constant hold of the staff of prayer will not stumble. And even if he does, his fall will not be fatal. For prayer is a devout coercion of God. p. 220

7.5 If you possess the gift of mourning, hold on to it with all your might. For it is easily lost when it is not firmly established. And just as wax melts in the presence of fire, so it is easily dissolved by noise and bodily cares, and by luxury, and especially by talkativeness and levity. pp. 70, 71.

7.6 Greater than baptism is the fountain of tears after baptism, even though it is somewhat audacious to say so. For baptism is the washing away of evils that were in us before, but sins committed after baptism are washed away with tears. As baptism is received in infancy, we have all defiled it, but we cleanse it anew with tears. And if God in His love for mankind had not given us tears, those being saved would be few indeed and hard to find. p. 71.

7.7 Groans and sorrows cry to the Lord. Tears shed from fear intercede for us; but tears of all-holy love show us that our prayer has been accepted.

7.9. Keep a firm hold of the blessed gladdening sorrow of holy compunction, and do not stop working at it until it raises you high above the things of this world, and presents you pure to Christ.

7.11. During prayer and supplication, stand with trembling like a convict before a judge, so that, both by your outward appearance as well as by your inner disposition, you may extinguish the wrath of the just Judge; for He will not despise a widow soul standing before Him burdened with sorrow and wearying the Unwearying One (cf. Luke 18:5). To the Shepherd 16. Men are ashamed to refuse their most sincere and true friends; they always do their bidding, and they may even be constrained by them. It is good to gain noetic beings as our friends, for no one else so helps us towards virtue. p. 233. [1]

7.13. Do not be like those who, in burying their dead, first lament over them and then get drunk for their sake. But be like the prisoners in the mines who are flogged every hour by the gaolers. p. 72

7.15. Be concentrated without self-display, withdrawn into your heart. For the demons fear concentration as thieves fear dogs.

7.16. It is not to a wedding banquet that we have been called here—certainly not—but He has called us here to mourn for ourselves.

7.19. When we suffer from the superior dishonorable dishonour, scolding or punishment, let us remember the fearful sentence of the Judge, and we shall kill with meekness and patience, as with a two-edged sword, the irrational sorrow and bitterness which will certainly be sown in us.

7.20. The sea wastes with time, as Job says.[2] And with time and patience, the things of which we have spoken are gradually acquired and perfected in us.

7.23. In the case of tears, as in everything else, our good and just Judge will certainly take into consideration the strength of our nature. For I have seen small tear-drops shed with difficulty like drops of blood, and I have also seen fountains of tears poured out without difficulty. And I judged those toilers more by their toil than by their tears, and I think that God does also. p. 73

7.25. Both in creation and compunction, there is that which moves itself and that which is moved by something else. When the soul becomes tearful, moist and tender without effort or trouble, then let us run, for the Lord has come uninvited, and is giving us the sponge of God-loving sorrow and the cool water of devout tears to wipe out the record of our sins. Guard these tears as the apple of your eye until they withdraw. Great is the power of this compunction, greater than that which comes as a result of our own effort and reflection.

7.28. Those who have obtained mourning in the depth of their being hate their own life as something painful and wearisome, and a cause of tears and sufferings; and they turn and flee from their body as from an enemy. p.74

7.30. The fruit of spurious compunction is self-esteem, and the fruit of praiseworthy compunction is consolation.

7.31. Just as fire is destructive of straw, so are pure tears destructive of all material and spiritual impurity.

7.35. Do not trust your fountain of tears before your soul has been perfectly purified. For wine cannot be trusted when it is drawn straight from the vats.

7.36. No one will dispute that all our tears according to God are profitable. But we shall only know at the time of our death what the profit is. p.75

7.37. He who wends his way in constant mourning according to God does not cease to feast daily; but eternal weeping awaits him who does not cease to feast bodily.

7.40. He who is clothed in blessed and grace-filled mourning as in a wedding garment knows the spiritual laughter of the soul.

7.44. He whose heart is proud of his tears, and secretly condemns those who do not weep is like a man who asks the king for a weapon against his enemy, and then commits suicide with it.

7.45. My friends, God does not ask or desire that man should mourn from sorrow of the heart, but rather than, out of love for Him, he should rejoice with spiritual laughter. Remove the sin, and the tear of sorrow is superfluous for your eyes. What is the use of a bandage when there is no wound? Before his transgression, Adam had no tears, just as there will be none after the resurrection, when shall be abolished; for pain, sorrow, ans sighing will then have fled away. p.76

7.49. When I consider the actual nature of compunction, I am amazed at how that which is called mourning and grief should contain joy and gladness interwoven within it, like honey in the comb. What then are we to learn from that? That such compunction is, in a special sense, a gift from the Lord. There is, then, in the soul no pleasureless pleasure, for God consoles those who are contrite in heart in a secret way.

7.52. Such ones never sing, nor do they loudly cry out to themselves in hymns, because such things dissipate mourning. And if you hope to summon it by such means, then you are a long way from achieving your aim. For mourning is the conditioned pain of a soul on fire. p.78.

7.53. In many people, mourning has been the precursor of blessed dispassion, and it prepared, ploughed and discarded sinful matter.

7.54. One skilled practiser of this virtue told me: ‘Frequently, as soon as I tried to surrender myself to vanity, or anger, or overeating, the thought of mourning protested within me and said; “Do not be vain, or I shall leave you.” And so, too, at the urging of other passions. And I would say to the thought: “I will never leave you until you present me to Christ.”’

7.55. The abyss of mourning has seen comfort, and purity of heart has received illumination. Illumination is an ineffable activity which is unknowingly perceived and invisibly seen. Comfort is the solace of a sorrowing soul which, like a child, at once whimpers to itself and shouts happily. Divine succor is the renewal of a soul depressed by grief which, in a wonderful way, transforms painful tears into painless ones.

7.56. Tears over our departure produce fear. But when fear gives birth to fearlessness, joy dawns. But when constant joy is obtained, holy love bursts into flower.

7.57. Drive away with the hand of humility every transitory joy, as being unworthy of it, lest by readily admitting it, you receive a wolf instead of a shepherd.

7.59. As soon as a baby begins to recognize its father, it is all filled with joy. But if the father goes away for a time on a business trip and then comes home again, the child becomes full of joy and sorrow—joy at seeing the beloved, and sorrow at being deprived for so long of that fair beauty. And a mother sometimes hides herself from her child, and when she sees with what sorrow it seeks her, she is delighted; for thus she teaches it to be attracted to her for ever, and fans the flame of love for her. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear, saith the Lord.[3]

7.60. A condemned man, who has heard the death sentence, will not worry about how theatres are managed. So, he who is truly lamenting will never return to luxury, or glory, or anger, or irritability. Mourning is the conditioned sorrow of a repentant soul who adds sorrow to sorrow, as a woman suffers when she bears a child.

7.63. Practice gives birth to perseverance, and perseverance culminates in understanding; but that which is accomplished with understanding is not easily eradicated.

7.64. However great the life we lead may be, we may count it stale and spurious, if we have not acquired a contrite heart. For this is essential, truly essential if I may say so, that those who have again been defiled after baptism should cleanse the pitch from their hands with unceasing fire of the heart and with the oil of God. p. 80

7.70. When our soul leaves this world we shall not be blamed for not having worked miracles, or for not having been theologians, or not having been rapt in divine visions. But we shall certainly have to give an account to God of why we have not unceasingly mourned.

The End of Selected Texts On Tears and Mourning

[1] Please recall that the Aleut Elder Smirennikov, about 60 years old, who lived on Akun, one of the Aleutian Islands, in early 1828 was met by Saint Innokenty of Alaska. This Elder received Saints Michael and Gabriel as his guardian Angels who, after his Baptism, catechized him and guided him until his repose. (Innokenty of Alaska: The Life of Saint Innocent of Alaska by Archbishop Lev Puhalo SYNAXIS PRESS Dewdney, B.C. Canada, pp 10, 11.) Further, there was the angel (or Saint) who appeared dressed as a monk who taught the flock in Anatolia “compunctionate prayer” (i.e. noetic prayer). One of those who was instructed by him in his early youth was the Elder Ieronymos. (The Elder Ieronymos of Aegina Peter Botsis Tr. Holy Transfiguration Monastery Boston, Massachusetts © 2007 pp. 38, 39.)
[2] Job 14:11 LXX
[3] Luke 14:35

Beheading of the Forerunner

August 30

Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth,
and their words unto the ends of the world.
Ps. 18:4 LXX

Saints Dionysius the Areopagite and Irenaeus of Lyons both agree, to use Saint Dionysius’ succinct phrase, that

“The one (the Old Testament)
affirmed the divine works of Jesus as to come,
but the other as accomplished;
that described the truth in figures,
this shewed it present.
For the accomplishment within this,
of the predictions of that,
established the truth:

the work of God is a consummation of the Word of God.”

Eighteen times in the New Testament the phrase “that it might be fulfilled” appears. This wording is found in the Gospels of Saints Matthew and John and in Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. Further, the theme of the fulfillment of prophecy by Christ is repeatedly echoed in the hymns of the Church.

Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, who converted all of Gaul in the second century, underscores that these prophecies told of the Saviour’s coming on the earth as a man among men (Baruch 3:37 LXX), and indicated “where on earth and in what manner…(the Lord) should make known His appearance.” The Saint draws our attention to Our Lord’s taking “all these prophesies upon Himself” as the Creed says, “for us men and for our salvation.”

Saint Irenaeus concludes:

“Our faith in Him was well-founded, and the tradition of the (Apostolic) preaching is true: that is to say, the testimony of the Apostles, who being sent forth by the Lord preached in all the world the Son of God, who came to suffer, and endured the destruction of death and the quickening of the flesh: that by the putting away of the enmity towards God, which is unrighteousness, we should obtain peace with Him, doing that which is well pleasing to Him.” The Gospel has been preached throughout the earth by the Prophets as well as by St. Paul’s companion, Saint Thecla, since we hear in the Aposticha of her feast: “Her sound hath gone forth into all the earth, and her words unto the ends of the world” (September 24). Saint John Chrysostom helps us to see how the Apostolic preaching can go “unto the ends of the world” when he speaks of “a great sort of hearing.” [1]

“For he (i.e. St. Paul) says, I was not speaking of mere hearing, nor of the need of hearing men’s words and believing them, but I mean a great sort of hearing. For the hearing is ‘by the Word of God’ (Rom. 10:17). They were not speaking their own, but they were telling what they learnt from God. And this is a higher thing than miracles. For we are equally bound to believe and to obey God, whether speaking or working miracles. Since both works and miracles come of His words. For both the heaven and everything else was established in this way. (Ps. 32:6 LXX Ed.).

Meeting another objection, Chrysostom continues,

“Ver. 18. ‘But I say, Have they not heard?’

“What, he means, if the preachers were sent, and did preach what they were bid, and these did not hear? Then comes a most perfect reply to the objection. ‘Yes, verily, their sound went out into all the earth and their words unto the ends of the world’ (Ps. 18:4 LXX)

“What do you say? he means. They have not heard? Why the whole world, and the ends of the earth have heard. And have you, amongst whom the heralds abode such a long time, and of whose land they were, not heard? Now can this ever be? Sure if the ends of the world heard, much more must you.”

Brethren, when we hymn Saint Thecla as an Equal to the Apostles and in the Aposticha we chant, “Her sound hath gone forth into all the earth and her words unto the ends of the world” what greater need have we than of humility when we serve the Lord in any way? The Prophetic and Apostolic word has embraced the earth.

Let us hear Saint John Maximovitch of Shanghai and San Francisco:

“The Gospel has not been preached until it has been preached by the Orthodox Church.”

The Prophet David cries:

Thy knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is mighty, I cannot attain unto it.
Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? And from Thy presence whither shall I flee?

Psalm 138:5 LXX

Through the prayers of our holy Fathers Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.

Virtual Parish Ed.

[1] Chrysostom: Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistle to the Romans NPNF Vol. 11, p. 479.

New Martyrs of Serbia

August 31

THE MISSING TEXT

From the Service of the Exaltation of the Cross, September 14
Glory; both now. Plagal of Fourth Tone.

O GOD, fulfilled is the saying of Thy Prophet Moses, which saith: Ye shall see your Life hanging before your eyes (Deut. 28:66 LXX). § Today the Cross is exalted and the world is set free from error. Today the Resurrection of Christ is inaugurated, and the ends of the earth rejoice, as with Davidic symbols they offer Thee a hymn and say: Thou hast wrought salvation in the midst of the earth, O God, even the Cross and the Resurrection, whereby Thou hast saved us, O Thou Who art good and the Friend of man. O Almighty Lord, glory be to Thee.

§ Note on this reading which is found in the Septuagint, but not in the KJV.

The Septuagint was translated in Alexandra circa A.D. 250 during the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphius as a publication of the Library of Alexandria. This Library was the Media Center of the Roman world. Ptolemy wanted a copy of every book in the known world to be available through the Library. Accordingly, he found a way to include a translation of the hitherto untranslated Scriptures of the Jews which could be made available through the Library. Scholars who were fluent in both Hebrew and Greek traveled from Jerusalem to Alexandria to translate the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek.

Their translation, known as the Septuagint from the seventy-two who completed this work, was praised as grasping the true meaning of the Hebrew and setting it forth in Greek by the most erudite of the Jews who were contemporaries of Our Lord Jesus Christ, including Philo and Josephus. The Septuagint found such favor with the Jewish community in Alexandria that they established a celebration on an island in the Nile to mark each anniversary of its completion. The Septuagint immediately found a widespread reception in the pre-Christian literary world, notably in Rome itself. Both the authors of the New Testament and also the Fathers of the Church used the Septuagint as an authoritative source in teaching Christian doctrine. The Septuagint, abbreviated as ‘LXX’, is the scriptural standard for the Orthodox Church as Old Testament scripture whether in Greek or in Church Slavonic.

The Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled every one of the prophecies concerning the Messiah found anywhere in the text of the Septuagint. This is the consistent witness of the Fathers from Saint Dionysius the Areopagite to Saint Irenaeus of Lyons. Indeed, the recent discovery of St. Irenaeus’ The Proof of the Apostolic Preaching in an Armenian Monastery was first published in a translation from Armenian into French in Paris, August 23, 1913 (Cf. § 30, p. 683). St. Irenaeus’ Proof comes down to this: “What the Scriptures prophesied, Christ fulfilled” and this is the keystone of the Apostolic preaching. Thus, His Resurrection on the third day, is, in the Nicene Creed, confessed to be “according to the Scriptures,” that is, in fulfillment of the prophecies of Christ recorded in the Canonical Scriptures.

The destruction and leveling of Jerusalem, which was prophesied by Christ, (Mt. 24:2; Mr.13:2; Lk. 21:6) was accomplished under the Roman General Titus in 70 A.D. Around A. D. 90 the Jews initiated a program of eliminating, wherever possible, or altering all of the prophesies of Christ in the Hebrew texts available to them, and of a further program of reconstructing their version of the text of the Old Testament by using inferior texts. As it happens, the Psalter in the Septuagint stands as that book which, more than any other in holy Scripture, is replete with prophecies of Christ. Given the widespread popularity of the Septuagint Psalter, even in the first century A. D., the Jews were limited in how far they could take their deliberate eradication or alteration of the prophesies of Christ. They chose not to alter or delete the prophesies in the Psalter quite possibly out of fear of tipping their hand as regards their extensive tampering with other texts in the Canonical Scripture of the Old Testament.

The text produced by the Jews is called the Masoretic text. The final edition of the Masoretic text appeared around 1000 A.D. This text, stripped as far as possible of the prophesies of Christ by the Masoretes, i.e. Jewish scholarship, is the text preferred and used by the protestant world. This corrupted text stands behind the Old Testament translation into German by Martin Luther and into the English of the 1611 King James Version.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls written in Hebrew found in the Judean wilderness circa the 1950’s calls the Jewish endeavor outlined above into serious question. These scrolls dating from the first century A.D. confirm basis for the Septuagint in the Hebrew of the Qumran texts. The texts found in Qumran are in consonance with those used in the translation of the Septuagint. Further, they are dated approximately 900 years before the eleventh century rescission of the Masoretes. Each of the prophesies of Christ are in place, intact, and supported by the texts found in the Judean desert. Even apart from such modern supporting documentation for the text of the Septuagint, we can, as Orthodox Christians, continue to rely, as did the Evangelists, Apostles, and Fathers of the Church, upon the Septuagint as Canonical Scripture.

Those standing around the Cross of Christ on that day when the earth was darkened by an unexpected three hour eclipse of the sun (Luke 23:45) did indeed witness the fulfillment of this prophecy: Ye shall see your Life hanging before your eyes (Deut. 28:66 LXX).

And to our God be glory.

Hieromartyr Cyprian of Carthage

Pray for us here at Saint Philaret's House in Roslindale, Massachusetts U.S.A.

Unworthy,

Priestmonk Theodore & mga

SAINT GREGORY THE THEOLOGIAN
The Theological Orations
At the Chapel of Anastasia in
Constantinople 379-381

“For we ought to think of God even more often than we draw our breath; and if this expression is permissible, we ought to do nothing else. Yea, I am one of those who entirely approve that word which bids us mediate day and night, and tell at eventide and morning and noon day, and praise the Lord at every time, or to use Moses’ words whether a man lie down or rise up or walk by the way, or whatever else he be doing—and by this continual remembrance of God we are to be moulded to purity.”

The First Theological Oration § 5

The Calling of Zaccheus

SAINT GREGORY NAZIANZEN
The Theological Orations
At the Chapel of Anastasia in
Constantinople 379-381

“For He still pleads even now as Man for my salvation; for He continues to wear the Body which He assumed until He makes me God by His Incarnation.”

The Fourth Theological Oration §12
NPNF Second Series Vol. VII, p. 315

The Canaanite Woman

THEOLOGY OF THE ICON
BY LEONID OUSPENSKY

“The Orthodox Church maintains and teaches that the sacred image has existed from the beginning of Christianity. Far from be ing opposed to the latter, the image is, on the contrary, its indisputable attribute. The Church declares that the icon is an outcome of the Incarnation; that it is based upon this Incarnation and therefore belongs to the very essence of Christianity, and cannot be separated from it."

Vol. I, p.36

"We make representations to glorify God and His saints, to encourage goodness, to avoid sin, and to save our souls."

Vol. I, p.49

Let us pray the prayer of the Publican: Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on us.

Sunday of the Pharise and Publican

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

Hieromartyr Irenaeus of Lyons
c. 115- reposed c. 202

For the glory of God is a living man;
and the life of man consists in beholding God.

Against Heresies Book 4:20.7 p. 444.

The man who loves God shall arrive at such excellency as even to see God,
and hear His word and from the hearing of His discourse be glorified
to such an extent that others cannot behold
the glory of his countenance, as was said by Daniel:
“And the wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament,
and many of the righteous as the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3 LXX).

                                                                                           Against Heresies Book 4:26.1 p. 461, 2

Ever, indeed, speaking well of the deserving,
but never ill of the undeserving,
we also shall attain to the glory and kingdom of God.

Lost Writings of Irenaeus Fragment IX

Pray for us here.

Saint Photini and those with her pray for us.

O Saviour save us

Sunday of the Prodigal Son

Cheesefare Sunday

Forgiveness Sunday

Excerpt from the Great Lent 2007 Encyclical

It is the Resurrection of God the Son that we are preparing to welcome by fasting and prayer, just as the People of God prepared to receive the Mosaic Law of old in the wilderness of Sinai; just as our Saviour Himself gave us the example of fasting for forty days before the commencement of His ministry in the Land of Judea.

But, to achieve the desired results, it is important for us to train in the right way. In a letter to a nun, Saint Anatoly of Optina writes the following admonition, to which we would do well to give heed:

You are no longer a worldly young girl, but are numbered among the monastics—among the brides of Christ. And so, you should know not the letter only, but also the mysteries of the Kingdom. For not to eat bread and not to drink water or anything else is not yet fasting, for the demons neither eat or drink anything at all. And yet they are evil and hateful to God. But fasting for us is, as the Church chants, "the estrangement from evil, restraint of tongue, refraining from anger, separation from lust, slanders, lies and false oaths. Abstinence from these things is a true and acceptable fast"
[From the Vespers Aposticha, Monday of the First Week of Lent].

A Collection of Letters to Nuns
St. Anatoly of Optina, Letter 320.

Drawing near to God through prayer—both private and that of the Church—strengthened by our reception of the Holy Mysteries, and guided by the instructions of our spiritual trainers, we shall, by the grace and mercy of our Lord and Saviour, be counted worthy of that eternal glory that awaits us if we strive as good athletes of Jesus Christ. To Whom is due all honor, glory a nd worship, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Ephraim, Metropolitan of Boston

Righteous and God-bearing Fathers and Mothers, pray for us.

Cheesefare Sunday

Saturday of the First Week of Great Lent

Commemoration of the Miracle of Kollyva
Wrought by the Great Martyr Theodore the Tyro

Confessors and Defenders of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious an d Orthodox Christians

Bless

Saint Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica, 1296 reposed in 1369

HOMILY SEVEN
Another on Fasting

THE CALM SEA, RADIANT AND BRIGHT with sparkling light, reflecting the dawn on its smooth surface, is a pleasant sight to the eyes. But it is far more delightful not just to see but to address the church gathered together according to God's will, freed from disturbances, illuminated mysteriously by the divine light, stirred up towards that light's dawn, with hands and eyes, all the senses and the noetic powers uplifted. The grace of the Spirit has today granted me this agreeable sight. You are all spending your nights and days here together in God's temple, and by your unceasing attendance upon Him you could be regarded as heavenly trees planted by the streams of the water of the Spirit. So may I now assist these streams as far as I am able. As you have offered your daytime prayers in addition to your early morning prayers, may we, as far as time allows, offer an evening sermon in addition to the one this morning, that we might show you openly all the different kinds of tricks to which the enemy of our salvation turns his hand to render not only our fasting but also our prayer worthless.

4. *In* this time of fasting and prayer, brethren, let us with all our hearts forgive anything real or imaginary we have against anyone. May we all devote ourselves to love, and may we consider one another as an incentive to love and good works, speaking in defense of one another, having good thoughts and dispositions within us before God and men. In this way our fasting will be laudable and blameless, and our requests to Go d while we fast will be readily received. We shall rightly call upon Him as our Father by grace and we can boldly say to Him, "Father, forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Mt. 6:12).

5. *Again, he who schemes against our souls uses another means to render our prayer and fasting useless, this scheme is self-conceit. Because that Pharisee was conceited when he fasted and prayed, he was sent away empty-handed (Lk. 18:10-14). We know, however, that people with proud hearts are unclean and unacceptable to God, and we are well aware that we owe God many large debts and pay back very little. So let us forget those things which are behind as worthless, and reach out towards those things which lie ahead (cf. Phil. 3:13). Let us fast and pray with contrite hearts, self-reproach and humility, that our fasting and our regular attendance and presence in God's Church may be pure and pleasant to Him.

6. *Another of the evil one's methods to make our toil in fasting and prayer useless is to accomplish them hypocritically for the sake of vainglory. This is why the Lord commands us in the Gospel, saying, "Enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father, which is in secret and thy Father which seeth in secret will reward thee openly" (Mt. 6:6).

Saint Gregory Palamas /The Homilies./
Ed. & Trans. from the original Greek;
intro. & notes by Christopher Veniamin
© 2009 The Stavropegic Monastery of
St. John the Baptist, Essex, UK pp. 49, 50, 51.

Pray for us here.

Saint Theodore the Tyro pray for us.

The Automatic Immobilization of Vinnitsa

In our city of Vinnitsa on the 14th of August, 1925, the people gathered up whatever icons they had in their homes and came out to make a spontaneous krestny hod. Holding the icons in their hands, the thousands of believers proceeded silently. And then there occurred the inexplicable. From an unknown cause, all the noises of the city ceased. The trams remained motionless. The birds of the air remained sil ent. Even the very animals of the zoological garden remained voiceless and immobile. The children stopped crying and shouting. In the factories and workshops the machines came to a stop. This lasted until nine in the evening.

All came to the conclusion that this thing occurred because Christ and His Saints passed at that hour in the midst of the people of Vinnitsa and the surrounding villages. The next day was the Feast of the Repose of the Mother of God.

From Contemporary Miracles in Russia by Archimandrite Haralampos Basilopoulos in 1966
Translated by Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Jamaica Plain. Mass.
Published by Orthodox Life May-June, 1967

Saint Theodore the Tyro pray for us.

Saturday Commemorating the Miracle of the Kollyva

Saint Peter of Damascus

A TREASURY OF DIVINE KNOWLEDGE
Circa 1156-7 (Probable date of this manuscript)

THAT WE SHOULD NOT DESPAIR
EVEN IF WE SIN MANY TIMES

Even if you are not what you should be, you should not despair. It is bad enough that you have sinned; why in addition do you wrong God by regarding Him in your ignorance as powerless? Is He, Who for your sake created out of nothing the great universe that you behold, incapable of saving your soul? And if you say that this fact, as well as His Incarnation, only makes your condemnation worse, then repent; and He will receive your repentance, as He accepted that of the Prodigal Son (cf. Lk. 15:20) and the prostitute (cf. Lk. 7:37-50). But if repentance is too much for you, and you sin out of habit even when you do not want to, show humility like the publican (Cf. Lk. 18:13): this is enough to ensure your salvation. For he who sins without repenting, yet does not despair, must of necessity regard himself as the lowest of creatures, and will not dare to judge or censure anyone. Rather, he will marvel at God’s compassion, and will be full of gratitude towards his benefactor, and so may receive many other blessings as well. Even if he is subject to the devil in that he sins, yet from fear of God he disobeys the enemy when the latter tries to make him despair. Because of this he has his portion with God; for he is grateful, gives thanks, is patient, fears God, does not judge so that he may not be judged. All these are crucial qualities. It is as St. John Chrysostom says about Gehenna: it is almost of greater benefit to us than the Kingdom of Heaven, since because of it many enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, while few enter for the sake of the Kingdom itself; and if they do enter it, it is by virtue of God’s compassion. Gehenna pursues us with fear, the Kingdom embraces us with love, and through them both we are saved by God’s grace.

If those attacked by many passions of soul and body endure patiently, do not out of negligence surrender their free will, and do not despair, they are saved. Similarly, he who has attained the state of dispassion, freedom from fear and lightness of heart, quickly falls if he does not confess God’s grace continually by not judging anyone. Indeed, should he dare to judge someone, he makes it evident that in acquiring his wealth he has relied on his own strength, as St. Maximus states. St. John of Damascus says that if someone still subject to the passions, and still bereft of the light of spiritual knowledge, is put in charge of anyone, he is in great danger;[1] and so is the person who has received dispassion from God but does not help anyone.

Nothing so benefits the weak as withdrawal into stillness, or the man subject to the passions and without spiritual knowledge as obedience combined with stillness. Nor is there anything better than to know one’s own weakness and ignorance, nor anything worse than not to recognize them. No passion is so hateful as pride, or as ridiculous as avarice, ‘the root of all evils’ (I Tim. 6:10): for those who with great labor mine silver, and then hide it in the earth again, remain without any profit. This is why the Lord says, ‘Do not store up treasures on earth’ (Mt. 6:19); and again: ‘Where your treasures is there will your heart be also’ (Mt. 6:21). For the intellect of man is drawn by longing towards those things with which it habitually occupies itself, whether these be earthly things, or the passions, or heavenly and eternal blessings. As St. Basil the Great says, a persistent habit acquires all the strength of nature.[2]

A weak person ought especially to pay attention to the promptings of his conscience, so that he may free his soul from all condemnation. Otherwise at the end of his life he may repent in vain and mourn eternally. The person who cannot endure for Christ’s sake a physical death as Christ did should at least be willing to endure death spiritually. Then he will be a martyr with respect to his conscience, in that he does not submit to the demons that assail him, or to their purposes, but conquers them, as did the holy Martyrs and the holy Fathers. The first were bodily martyrs, the latter spiritual martyrs. By forcing himself only slightly, one defeats the enemy; through slight negligence, one is filled with darkness and destroyed.

The Philokalia vol. III, pp. 160-161

[1] Cf. Neilus, Ascetic Discourse (The Philokalia, vol. 1, pp. 215,221)

[2] Longer Rules 6 (PG 31, 952B).

O Saviour save us.

First Sunday of Great Lent

The Triumph of Orthodoxy
The Restoration of the Holy Icons

Confessors and Defenders

of the Holy and Blameless Faith

of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

The Theology of the Icon Vol. II
Leonid Ouspensky

“St. Theodore the Studite wrote: “Just as everyone, no matter how perfect, is in need of the Gospel tablet, so [does one need (sic)] the painting expressed according to it” (PG 99: 1537D).

“If one does not venerate the icon of Christ the Saviour, let him not see His face at the Second Coming.” [This sentence]...essentially translates the fundamental truth of the veneration of icons expressed in different words by the decision of the [Seventh] Ecumenical Council: “The one who venerates the icon venerates the hypostasis it represents.” But here the truth is expressed in a more concrete, a more imperative form; the general anti-iconoclast tenor of the sentence thus acquires a clearly eschatological dimension. In this, it also corresponds to the decision of the Seventh Council which emphasized the eschatological aspect of the icon, though less emphatically.

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

The Psalter

My soul is in Thy hands continually,
and Thy law have I not forgotten.

                                     Ps. 118:110

Pray for us here.

The Sunday of the Triumph of Saint Gregory Palamas

HOMB’s Virtual Parish

Sunday of Orthodoxy

Monday of the Second Week of Great Lent

Confessors and Defenders

of the Holy and Blameless Faith

of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

The Triumph of the Icon of Christ in 843 is the Triumph of Orthodoxy.

It is fitting that the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy be followed by a brief review of what Our Father Among the Saints Photius First Among Patriarchs and Equal to the Apostles (Feb. 6) established during his service in the ninth century to the Church as the Patriarch of Constantinople and which, like Saint Irenaeus’ (Aug. 23) establishment of the Gospels of Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the second century, remains fixed and unshaken after eighteen centuries as a beacon of Orthodoxy to all.

Reshaping, after his consecration in A.D. 858, his Patriarchate with one purpose in mind, that is, the support of the Triumph of Orthodoxy in 843 under Saints Patriarch Methodius (June 14) and the Empress Theodora (Feb. 11) —her incorrupt relics rest on the Island of Corfu—Saint Photius purged the ranks of his clergy—Bishops, Priests and Deacons—of any and all who had supported or even given consent, albeit unwillingly, to the doctrines of the Iconoclasts, that is, to those who hate the Icon of Christ. Please remember that the first record of a martyr for the holy Icons is of Saint Theodosia of Constantinople in A.D. 717 (May 29), Protomartyr of the Holy Icons. She knocked the ladder on which a soldier stood out from underneath him as he tried to tear out the icon of Christ above the Brazen Gate into Constantinople.

Unyielding, St. Photius exposed the “Christ-fighters” for what they were. Like the Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical council, he took the pure standpoint of any pious Orthodox Christian and viewed Iconoclasm as a direct denial of the Incarnation of the Son of God for our sakes. If we have no icon of our Christ, we have no salvation; if we cannot paint Him, He never existed; if we cannot, in our veneration of the Icon of Christ with our kisses, with our hymns, with the censing of the clergy, in plain language, if we cannot “reach out and touch Him” we are lost forever. If there are those whose goal it is to do away with the holy Icons, then they might as well do away with us, too, for if we suffer for Christ, He will raise us up together with Himself in glory.

In St. Photius’ letters to his godson, Michael, King of Bulgaria, he called the iconoclasts “Christ-fighters, worse than the Jews” (PG 103, p. 695D). Elsewhere, he stated, “In your mind, you [iconoclasts], are conducting an ignoble war against Christ, not openly and directly, but by means of the icon” (PG 101 p. 949D). Saint Photius as a young man, together with his parents, had been anathematized by the iconoclasts. Well did he know what the Christ-fighters were about. Although 140 years separate them, Saints Theodosia Protomartyr for the holy Icons and Saint Patriarch Photios stand shoulder-to-shoulder in their Confession and Defense of the holy Icons, and in particular in their defense of the icon of Christ, that is, in defense of Orthodoxy. The Triumph of the Icon of Christ in the Seventh Ecumenical Council of 787 is, in 843, under Saints Methodius, Patriarch, and Theodore, Empress, proclaimed as the Triumph of Orthodoxy.

Let us all stand with them as our mighty, unwearying protectors. They who are bathed in joy and light, in God Himself, stand ready to receive us who long to live with them.



The Synodicon of the Holy and Ecumenical

Seventh Council for Orthodoxy

Deacon: Let us attend.

Priest: Peace be to all.

People: And to thy spirit.

Deacon: Wisdom.

Priest or Reader: The Synodicon of the Holy and Ecumenical

Seventh Council for Orthodoxy.

[After Saint Methodius was elected Patriarch, the �?νδημοῦσα (constituted of bishops “in residence” at Constantinople) Synod promulgated this Synodicon, which was formerly read on March 11, A.D. 843,

the First Sunday of Orthodoxy.]

(After more than 8 pages of Eternal Memory to

the Confessors and Defenders of Orthodoxy

we hear:

To those who in words accept the incarnate economy of the Word of God,
but who cannot tolerate its representation in icons, thus in word they pretend to accept,

but in fact deny, our salvation,

Anathema. (3)

Then, after 17 pages of Anathemas,

we hear on March 11, 843, the final two anathemas:

If anyone does not worship our Lord Jesus Christ depicted in icons according to His humanity, let him be,

Anathema. (3)

To all heretics,

Anathema. (3)

The True Vine Published by The Holy Orthodox Church in North America; Issue Numbers 27 & 28 Spring 2000 The Synodicon of the Holy and Seventh Council for Orthodoxy pp. 35-82 (The True Vine P.O. Box 129 Roslindale MA 02131).

Pray for us here.

O Saviour save us.

Editor’s Note: Frequently throughout the pages recording the Sessions of the Holy Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council in Constantinople in 787 A.D. we find the words, “without having added anything or taken away anything” which stand as abbreviation for the following text of holy Scripture:

I know that whatsoever things God has done, they shall be forever: it is impossible to add to it,
and it is impossible to take away from it: and God has done it, that men may fear before Him.

Ecclesiastes LXX 3:14

And to our God be glory.

Pray for us here.

Friday of the Second Week of Great Lent

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

SOPHIA SIRACH

A silent and loving wife is a gift of the Lord;

and there is nothing so much worth

as a mind well instructed.

Sophia Sirach 27:13

Pray for us here.

Oh Saviour save us.

Three Hints Orthodox Mother

Second Sunday of Great Lent

Our Father Among the Saints
Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica

REMINISCENCES OF A RUSSIAN CLERGYMAN
ABOUT SAINT PHILARET
METROPOLITAN OF NEW YORK, THE NEW CONFESSOR
(Primarily About His Years in China)

Part One

From 1904 to 1945 the Japanese occupied Manchuria. The Japanese tried at all costs to keep this Chinese province in their hands, since it supplied huge supplies for Japan and gave them a foothold on the continent, and to them this made strong international military-political sense. But the Japanese were hampered by the Russian immigrants, who had a different mentality. To use the Russian young people in the military the Japanese first attempted to destroy the social-religious mentality of our immigration. To this end they placed an idol of the goddess Amateresu opposite St. Nicholas Cathedral so that the Russian people, going to the divine services, had first to bow to the idol, and then they could go to pray to Christ God.

Metropolitan Melety reacted immediately: he issued a proclamation in which he explained the inadmissibility of bowing to an idol. Then the Japanese began to accuse Metropolitan Melety and the clergy with contradicting their authority. Archimandrite Philaret especially decisively objected to the Japanese. The Japanese seized him and began to torture him. They lacerated his cheek and almost tore out an eye, but he survived the torture.

The head torturer then said to Fr. Philaret: “We have an electronically heated tool, under whose influence all have agreed to fulfill our requests; you will agree also!” (Fr. Philaret personally told me this himself.) The torturer brought out the glowing electrical tool. Then Fr. Philaret prayed to St. Nicholas the Miracle-worker with the words: “Holy Hierarch Nicholas, help me, otherwise I might fall into betrayal.”

It was time for the torture. The torturer bared him to the belt and began to burn his back with the hot iron. And, O, the miracle! Fr. Philaret smelled the smell of the burned flesh, but he did not feel pain. Happiness was in his soul. The tormentor did not understand, why does he keep silent, why does he not scream, why does he not writhe in unbearable pain? Then the tormentor turned and looked at the face of Fr. Philaret. And when he saw his face, he threw up his hands amazed, and muttered something in Japanese, and ran off, conquered by the superhuman force of patience. No one could endure such tortures without Christ’s divine aid. But the tortures were so cruel that he was close to death. The almost dying Fr. Philaret was given back to his relatives. This will give you some idea of it: later he said to me: “I was in hell itself.”

But God did not let him die. The wounds healed, only his eye was somewhat deformed. And the Japanese no longer demanded the bows from Orthodox people. All this I heard from Fr. Philaret, but I said nothing since I thought everyone knew all this.

To be continued, God willing.

Saint Gregory Palamas pray for us.

Uncreated Light:

“A day without sunset and one eternal sunrise”

We all rejoice in a new day and are inwardly refreshed by the light of the dawning sun. In the spring of the year as the days lengthen and the warmth of the sun or even just the fresh burst of light awakens the slumbering shoots of daffodils, we await the sure sign of approaching summer as the awakening Forsythia seem to embrace the brightness with their burst of yellow flowers.

The created world is aroused and awakens but there is, beyond such mere existence, another birth. This is an eternal birth without Father that betokens a birth in time without mother. Now our tears start to flow for in this we know, in the silence of unknowing, the annunciation of hope beyond hope.

Who tells us of this wonder? Do these marvels come from within, from the human spirit? This cannot be: “let the dead bury their dead”. These things are ineffable and even when spoken, remain hidden. The Thrice Holy, yet One God, has spoken of these things in the heart of our Mother: the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. She, existing before the beginning of time, has, in her turn, proclaimed these tidings throughout creation and beyond being, the uncreated light, showers of mercy, ever-beginning and never-ending love and compassion surge forward from unfathomable depths of endless forgiveness and rebirth.

The pages of holy Scripture have now been rebound into the majestic growth of the Palms of eternal life, the life of God Himself Who ardently desires to live His life in sons of Adam reborn in the Font of Baptism and recreated in soul and body.

The one Christ, Himself Light of Light, prayed atop Mount Tabor in Galilee fulfilling the Psalmist’s words, “Fire shall blaze before Him, and round about Him shall there be a mighty tempest” (Ps.49:4 LXX). Uncreated brilliance made the sunlight insignificant in all respects. Could the sun brighten a dead Prophet Moses? Could a dying star illuminate the body of Elias, one yet to die? Surrounded by uncreated light these two stood and spoke with Christ, Forty days before His Passion, of His Crucifixion.

Does Light without beginning, without end, ever stream from a mountain? Never. How can that be? Our Christ is the saving and only source of Light from Light. Wrapped in His Light we emerge recreated in uncreated Light from the Baptismal font with a new name, a new recreating Spirit, our own life joined to Eternal Life, Who rose from the dead to raise us, now His own, with Him and in His humanity to seat us at the right hand of the Father unto the ages of ages.

Let those who say that this Light is created come forward with their groundless blasphemies. Does not every light have a source? Can a created fire give birth to an uncreated brilliance? If such “enemies of the Light” call the Light created, what do they say of the source of Light, our Christ? If they utter untruth then why are they not still-born issue from their father, Arius? Among such are they rightly grouped in the Service to Saint Gregory Palamas by the holy Patriarch Philotheus.

Recipients of the gift of life-bearing uncreated Light may ask, how do we keep our gift alive, how do we fan its flames into an eternal residence for ourselves? We can let Saint Gregory Palamas instruct us:

“We believe what we have been taught by those enlightened by Christ, which they alone know with certainty—“My secrets are for Me and for those who are mine” (το μυστηριον μου εμοι το μυστηριον μου εμοι και τοις εμοις)—as God said through the Prophet (Esaias 24:16 LXX; St. Gregory uses a variant reading from St. Lucian of Antioch); cf. the Prophet Daniel 2:27 ff). So, rightly believing what we were taught, and understanding the mystery of the Lord’s Transfiguration, let us make our way towards the radiance of that light. As we long for the beauty of unchanging glory, let us cleanse the eyes of our understanding from all earthly defilements, despising every delight and beauty that is not lasting, for sweet as it may be, it procures eternal suffering, and though it may enhance the body, it clothes the soul in that ugly robe of sin, on account of which the man without the garment of incorruptible union was bound and taken away into outer darkness (cf. Matt. 22:11-13).

May we all be freed from such a fate by the illumination and knowledge of the pre-eternal, immaterial Light of the Lord’s Transfiguration, to His glory, and the glory of His Father without beginning and the life-giving Spirit Whose radiance, divinity, kingdom and power are One and the same, now and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.”

(Migne. Patrologiae Cursus Completus. Series Graeca. Tomus 151: Homilia XXXIV: colonna 424-436. In venerabilem Domini et Dei ac Salvatoris nostri Jesu Christi Transformationem; ubi probatur quod in ea est Lumen, increatum esse). This homily is also known as Homily 45 in the Collected Homilies of Saint Gregory Palamas.

Life of Saint Gregory Palamas Part One

Second Sunday of the Fast

Monday After the Sunday of Saint Gregory Palamas

SAINT GREGORY PALAMAS

The Hagioritic Tome

1340 A.D.

The Declaration of the Holy Mountain

in Defense of Those who Devoutly

Practise a Life of Stillness

This is a Special Edition of the Virtual Parish dedicated to Saint Gregory Palamas, one of the Patron Saints of the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Boston, which contains “The Declaration of the Holy Mountain in Defense of Those who Devoutly Practise a Life of Stillness”, which is commonly called The Hagioritic Tome.

The Hagioritic Tome is written in clear, straightforward language. It forms a useful introduction to the Victory won by Saint Gregory Palamas against certain individuals who were plants serving the interests of the heretical Roman Catholic organization to effect the collapse of the True Church through an attack on her Apostolic Faith, “the one faith...once delivered to the saints” ( Eph. 4:5; Jude 3). The individuals referred to above are: Barlaam the Calabrian (1290-1350), Gregory Akindynos (1310-1350), and, appearing later on the scene, Nicephorus Gregoras (1295-1360) to all of whom St. Gregory refers as “the non-Orthodox believers who have appeared in our day.” This Victory is celebrated annually on the Second Sunday of the Great Fast.

Truly, Saint Gregory Palamas’ struggle was to defend the Apostolic Faith of the True Church. As Father Michael Azkoul writes, “Let us be clear: there is no ‘Palamism.’ He was not involved in some parochial struggle between Byzantine humanists and monastics, but fought against the scholastic invasion of the East. He did not develop a new theology; his work merely crystallized patristic thought” (The Filioque The True Vine; Double Issue # 35 & 36 Fall 2005 p. 51).

The controversy, sparked by Barlaam the Calabrian, was quickly resolved:

On May 27, 1341 the Council of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople upheld the teaching of the Church that ‘God, unapproachable in His Divine Essence, reveals Himself through His Divine Energies, which are directed towards the world and may be perceived, like the light of Mount Tabor, but which are neither material nor created.’ This teaching was upheld in two more councils and in the final Council in the Palace of Blachernae in 1351. The teachings of “the wicked prophets of falsehood and ministers of error” had been publicly condemned and stands condemned to this day.

Saint Peter, who was present at the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor, teaches, “That...ye might be partakers of the Divine nature (in the Divine Energies), having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4). Brethren, please be aware that this is Mere Christianity.

As Saint Dionysius teaches that our life in God begins with our Baptism in the Church, so in §6 of the Hagioritic Tome we read, “For if in the age to come the body is to share with the soul in ineffable blessings, then it is evident that in this world as well it will also share according to its capacity in the grace mystically and ineffably bestowed by God upon the purified intellect, and it will experience the divine in conformity with its nature...since body and soul share a conjoint existence.” This is our hope in our Christ.

As Orthodox Christians it is our mystically experience that in the mysteries of the Church, as we touch our Christ, our Christ touches us. As we physically ingest Him in the Divine Mysteries, so He comes to live in our hearts, in our bodies, in our souls in His pre-eternal unseen, uncreated divine energies. Do we not chant in the Supplicatory Canon of Saint George the Trophybearer, “He died our death that we might live His life”? So we have resolved under our Holy Synod to keep the Apostolic Faith pure and undefiled with no admixture of heresy: this is the sole Orthodox Christian path of steadfastness and faithfulness to our Christ.

Bishop Iakovos of Hierissos and the Holy Mountain signs The Hagioritic Tome with the twenty other holy Fathers of the Holy Mountain who signed before him and writes: “I add, furthermore, together with all the rest, that we shall have no communion with anyone who is not in agreement with the saints, as we are, and as were the Fathers who immediately preceded us.”

Amen. Even so come Lord Jesus.

Rev. 22:20

Pray for us here.

Saint Gregory Palamas pray for us.

Life of Saint Gregory Palamas

Tuesday After the Sunday of Saint Gregory Palamas

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN

Seventh Century A.D.

Homily Thirty-Seven

A Discourse

On Diverse Subjects in Questions and Answers

On the difference in Tears

There are tears that burn and there are tears that anoint as if with oil. All tears that flow out of anguish and contrition of heart on account of sins dry up and burn the body, and often even the governing faculty (τὸ ἡγεμονικ�?ν) feels the injury caused by their outflow. At first a man must necessarily come to this order of tears and through them a door is opened unto him to enter into the second order, which is superior to the first; this is the realm wherein a man receives mercy. These are the tears that are shed because of insight; they make the body comely and anoint it as if with oil, and they pour forth by themselves without compulsion. Not only do they anoint the body with oil, but they also alter a man’s countenance. ‘When the heart rejoiceth’, he says, ‘the countenance gloweth, but when it is in sorrows the countenance is downcast’ (Prov. 15:13). While the thinking is silent these tears are poured forth over the entire countenance. The body receives from them a sort of nourishment, and gladness is imprinted upon the face. He who has had experience of these two alterations will understand.

The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian tr. Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Boston, Massachusetts Copyright © 1984 pp. 174-175
All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized Reproduction Prohibited

Pray for us here.

O Saviour Save us.

The Menaion-A Selection of Hymns

Wednesday After the Sunday of Saint Gregory Palamas

SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
347-404 A.D.

For this cause God blessed these above all the rest of men, saying,

“Blessed are they that mourn” (Mt. 5:4).

And how saith Paul, “Rejoice in the Lord always? (Phil. 4:4). The joy that he is speaking of springs from those tears. For as men’s joy for the world’s sake hath a sorrow in the same lot with it, even so godly tears are a germ of perpetual and unfading joy. In this way the harlot became more honorable than virgins when seized by this fire. That is, being thoroughly warmed by repentance, she was thenceforth carried out of herself by her longing desire towards Christ; loosing her hair, and drenching with her tears His holy feet, and wiping them with her own tresses, and exhausting the ointment. And all these were outward results, but those wrought in her mind were far more fervent than these; which things God Himself alone beheld. And therefore, every one, when he hears, rejoices with her and takes delight in her good works, and acquits her of every blame. But if we that are evil pass this judgment, consider what sentence she obtained from that God who is a lover of mankind; and how much, even before God’s gifts, her repentance caused her to reap in the way of blessing.

For much as after a violent burst of rain, there is a clear open sky; so likewise when tears are pouring down, a calm arises, and serenity, and the darkness that ensues on our sins quite disappears. And like as by water and the Spirit (John 3:5), so by tears and confession we are cleansed for a second time; unless we be acting thus for display and vanity; for as to a woman whose tears were of that sort, I should call her justly condemnable more than if she decked herself out with lines and coloring.

For I seek those tears which are shed not for display, but in compunction; those which trickle down secretly and in closets, and in sight of no man, softly and noiselessly; those which arise from a certain depth of mind, those shed in anguish and in sorrow, those which are for God alone; such as were Hannah’s, for “her lips moved,” it is said, “and her voice was not heard;” (I Sam.1:3 LXX) however, her tears alone uttered a cry more clear than any trumpet. And because of this, God also opened her womb, and made the hard rock a fruitful field.

   Saint Matthew’s Gospel Homily 6.8, pp. 40-41.

Living in the Uncreated Light of Mount Tabor

Thursday After the Sunday of Saint Gregory Palamas

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

SAINT ISAAC THE SYRIAN

Seventh Century A.D.

Homily Thirty-Seven

No one, therefore, accurately knows the help that comes of weeping, save those who have surrendered themselves to this work. All the saints strive to reach this entrance-way, because by means of tears the door is opened before them to enter the land of consolation, wherein the good and saving footsteps of God are imprinted through revelations.

The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian tr. Holy Transfiguration Monastery
Boston, Massachusetts Copyright © 1984 p. 179.
All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized Reproduction Prohibited

Pray for us here.

Saint Gregory Palamas Homily XXXIV

Friday After the Sunday of Saint Gregory Palamas

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete

Canticle Two

I have no tears, no repentance, no compunction;

but as God do Thou Thyself, O Saviour, bestow them on me.

Pray for us here.

O Saviour save us.

Saint Gregory Palamas-Homily XXXV

Third Sunday of Great Lent

Veneration of the Precious
and Life-saving Cross

REMINISCENCES OF A RUSSIAN CLERGYMAN
ABOUT SAINT PHILARET
METROPOLITAN OF NEW YORK, THE NEW CONFESSOR
(Primarily About His Years in China)

TWO

In 1945 Soviet troops occupied China and established total Soviet control. The Soviet regime immediately named all the Russian emigrants “enemies of the people,” and in six months arrested 50,000—young and old. All 50,000 from Harbin China were deported to the USSR. At the station of Atpor they shot 14,000 of them, and the remaining 36,000 they sent into the concentration camps, where they were starved to death.

Every third young person in Harbin was seized by the Soviet regime, and was taken to the USSR and annihilated in the concentration camps. The Soviet totalitarian tyranny annihilated them for their Orthodoxy, for non-recognition of the Sergianist heresy, which teaches one to obey the God-fighters conscientiously. Generally, the Soviet regime killed nearly 70 million Orthodox people, destroyed more than 30,000 church buildings, took away the land and property, arranged the genocide of the Orthodox people, introduced social hostility, blasphemed God, and tore out belief in God by fear and terror. Who could obey this authority in good conscience and collaborate with it?

The Russian people remaining in Harbin were coerced into accepting Soviet citizenship. However this Archimandrite Philaret openly refused to do so. And when he served the Divine Liturgy he never commemorated the Soviet regime. Instead, he delivered thundering sermons about truth and lies, after the hearing of which it seemed to us that it would be the last day of his life. He served a public memorial service for the slain Tsar Nicholas II and the entire Imperial Family, and the main thing he said in the sermon was that the Great Martyr Tsar Nicholas shared the mind of Christ, therefore he was not brainwashed, he did not have the ruinous spirit of anti-Christ, which took hold of the entirety of Russia. Also he arranged a youth circle, at whose meetings he explained Christ’s teachings.

We young people living in China under the Soviet regime and experiencing its violence and fear of death, rapidly grasped its anti-Christian nature. We understood that if God does not stop it, then everyone would spiritually break, would become zombies, and would have to serve this world-wide evil. It became clear that in the Declaration of 1927 that Metropolitan Sergius, on the advice of flesh and blood, from fear of losing his life, had fallen into delusion [prelest], and issued a call for us to obey the Soviet regime in good conscience and to collaborate with it.

If the Lord said: “Of what benefit is it to a man, if he gains the whole world, and harms his own soul?” (Mk. 8:36), then Sergius by his Declaration tried to save the bodies of people, without being attentive to the eternal damage to their souls. In this we find precisely a pagan concept of good and evil.

The answer to the question “What, then is Sergianism?” became clear to me. It is a modification of Orthodox consciousness by the pagan understanding of good and evil, through violence and the fear of death of the population by the Soviet regime with the aid of the highest Church leadership. An uncomforting answer, but it is taken from personal practical life, and the obvious case of the life and service to the Russian Orthodox Church of Archimandrite Philaret. Father Philaret and Metropolitan Melety with the entire clergy did not bow to the idol of Amateresu, but Metropolitan Sergius bowed to the godless government, leading the entire clergy and people into error and sin.

Fr. Philaret took another path. He rejected Sergianism; he did not collaborate with the government…and gained immense authority as a spiritual leader in the Russian emigration in Harbin. Then the Soviet regime, in October, 1960, full of spite, decided to destroy him with fire.

To be continued

O Saviour save us

Sunday of the Cross

Monday After the Sunday of the Cross

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

The Gospel According to Saint Luke

There were present at that time some that told Him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Ans Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you: nay, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Luke 13:1-5

Pray for us here.

First and Second Findings of Saint John the Baptist’s Head.

Commentary of Saint Luke 13:1-5

Tuesday After the Sunday of the Cross

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

The Gospel According to Saint Luke.

He spake also this parable: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the worker in his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why doth it uselessly occupy the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and put on dung to see whether it bear fruit. And if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

Luke 13:6-9

Commentary of Saint Luke 13:6-9

Wednesday After the Sunday of the Cross

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

The Gospel According to Saint Luke

And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years, and was bowed down and could in no way lift herself up. And when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said unto her,

“Woman , thou art loosed from thine infirmity.”

And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, and said unto the people, “There are six days in which men ought to work; in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”   The Lord then answered him and said,

“Thou hypocrite! Doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”

And when He had said these things, all His adversaries were ashamed; and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.

Luke 13:10-17

The woman suffered from this affliction as a result of demonic assault, as the Lord Himself says, This woman...whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years. Perhaps God had departed from her on account of certain sins, and as a result Satan was punishing her. For Satan is in part the cause of all the hardships which afflict our bodies, when God on high permits him. From the very beginning it was Satan who brought about our fall by which we lost the incorruptibility in which we had been created; it was Satan who caused us to be bound to diseased bodies prone to suffering, symbolized by the garments of dead skins in which Adam and Eve were wrapped (Gen. 3:22 LXX). But now the Lord, with the majestic voice of the Godhead, full of power, drives out the infirmity of this woman. He places His hands on her, so that we might learn that His holy flesh imparted both the power and the energy of the Logos. For His flesh was His own, not that of some other human person alongside Him, separate from His hypostasis, as the impious Nestorius thinks. So great is the goodness of the Lord, Who in this manner took mercy on His own creation.

Pray for us here.

O Saviour save us.

Thursday After the Sunday of the Cross

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians

Bless.

The Gospel According to Saint Luke

And when He was come near, He beheld the city, and wept over it saying, Would that thou knewest, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which are for thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall raise up a rampart about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall make thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Luke 19:41-44

Pray for us here.

First and Second Findings of the Baptist’s Head.

Commentary of Saint Luke 19:41-44

Fourth Sunday of Great Lent

Our Father Among the Saints
John Climacus (of the Ladder)

REMINISCENCES OF A RUSSIAN CLERGYMAN
ABOUT SAINT PHILARET
METROPOLITAN OF NEW YORK,
THE NEW CONFESSOR.
(Primarily About His Years in China)

THREE

Two months went by. He again began to serve, and after half a year could already live independently in the separate balcony above the church. But suddenly, he again went to Zinaida Lvovna's. She told me privately that on one occasion Archimandrite Philaret got to his cell after a service, unlocked his door and went in. But suddenly he saw the toes of two large boots protruding from under the curtains. After understanding that a murderer was standing there, sent by the Soviets, he went to a chest of drawers and took something for appearances' sake, and rapidly left the cell, after locking it up. After this episode men from the Chinese police came to Zinaida Lvovna to ask, "Why did Archimandrite Philaret not pass the nights in his cell?" She immediately understood what was up and answered: due to his physical weakness and indisposition.

Soon after this Fr. Philaret with spiritual clairvoyance revealed that under the altar in the church of the House of Mercy was a portrait of Satan.Ê The portrait was immediately removed. The Soviet godless authorities did not know how to deal with and how to mock a man that has apostolic boldness and faith, which made him a bearer of the unconquerable Grace of God.

A third time there was an attempt on his life in the 70's, at Pascha, when he already had become Metropolitan and First Hierarch of the ROCOR and lived in the USA. But the attempt did not succeed. The fourth attempt occurred aboard a ship, when Metropolitan Philaret was returning from France, after visiting the Lesna Convent.

Sailing back to New York City, an extraordinary phenomenon in the boiler of the steamship occurred: suddenly, in broad daylight in the firebox of the boiler there burnt a fire with such force that a pipe heated white hot. The captain of the steamship, not seeing any way to extinguish the fire that threatened to melt the pipe which would then spread the fire over the entire steamship, consuming all on board, went at the critical moment to Vladyka Philaret and asked him to pray, because, in his opinion, only God could save the ship and passengers. Vladyka Philaret listened to the captain and immediately began to pray to God. Ten to twenty minutes passed and the pipe began to redden. But in an hour it had already returned to black. Rescue was given by God! The captain again went to Metropolitan Philaret, kissed his hand, and emotionally thanked him for his prayers...

Now let us ask ourselves, how could the heat of the boiler acquire such catastrophic force? Did this occur by itself? Or, as before, did the evil hand of the KGB interfere in order to destroy Vladyka?

After passing through all temptations, after passing through fire and water in the spiritual and literal sense, Saint Philaret obtained from the Lord this gift: whoever might turn to him with a request about any matter, by his prayer the Lord fulfilled that request.

And this gift only increased after his repose.

By his holy prayers may the Lord preserve us in the Faith
And grant us His heavenly Kingdom. Amen.

This is the final installment of the Reminiscences of Saint Philaret the New Confessor. This highly valuable text was made available by the Convent of the Meeting of the Lord, Stanwood, Washington. The text has been slightly edited to correct translation idioms. Ed.

Saint John of the Ladder pray for us

Fourth Sunday of the Fast

Saturday of the Fifth Week of Great Lent

The Akathist Hymn of
our Most Holy Lady Theotokos

ABBOT ADRIAN'S ADDRESS AT THE BANQUET FOLLOWING
THE GLORIFICATION OF ST. PHILARET OF NEW YORK.
MAY 7/20, 2001

“First Orthodoxy! First God's Holy Church!”

One

Most Beloved Hierarchs, brother clergy, monastic stragglers, and brothers and sisters who are numbered among the Faithful:

In this season of Paschal joy, we have together, at yesterday's vigil and today's Divine Liturgy, proclaimed that the sacred Hierarch, our Spiritual Father, the truly blessed Metropolitan Philaret, be num bered among the Saints. It is an affirmation — a recognition if you will — on our part, of something out side our worldly sphere that already in fact exists. "Why seek ye the living among the dead? Why mourn ye the incorruptible amid corruption?" We know that these words have been written concerning our Holy Saviour Jesus Christ. As Orthodox Christians we also know that truly Orthodox Hierarchs are the living icons of Christ and so there is an apt application of these phrases of St John Damascene to those who have not only put on Christ but as the possessors of the fullness of grace have defined Christ's sacred image and likeness in themselves. Such was our beloved Hierarch and Father, St. Philaret, in his words, his deeds, his actions, and in his thoughts.

For 21 years, I lived with Metropolitan Philaret. It was he who initially sought that I be received properly into Orthodoxy from Roman Catholicism, through Holy Baptism and even wrote in defense of that stand to others who although knowing better chose to ignore, if not to disdain the Metropolitan's stand. It was he who requested I come to live at the Synodal headquarters, where I was baptized, and it was he who later tonsured me, giving me as a gift the very hand cross with which he himself had been tonsured. And yet later still, he it was who ordained me successively to both the diaconate and then the priesthood and later toward the end of his earthly sojourn raised me to the dignity of Abbot. There are certainly among us today many, especially among the clergy, that had contact with Metropolitan St. Philaret, and all, I am sure, who did, have come away from that encounter edified by his wisdom and depth. For he was a man whose whole being was focused on living Orthodoxy — the unique, salvific and grace-filled organism that is the Body of Christ. Many of you have undoubtedly read Metropolitan Philaret's biography — which we have been listening to during this celebratory meal. From that biography even those that have never had the occasion to meet or see St. Philaret can understand that he was a man of great courage, who despite trends, simply did not succumb to what I have always referred to as the unfortunate affliction (so endemic among the mainstream) of an inferiority complex of being genuinely Orthodox — of the fear of willingly giving living witness to the righteousness and holiness that Christ's Church alone possesses. Metropolitan St. Philaret was not one who sought worldly acclaim but was one of whom the Psalmist writes, "Chose rather to be an outcast in the house of God than to dwell in the tents of sinners."

As a young hierodeacon, living at the Synodal Cathedral, I worked with the administration, as the secretary of Bishop Gregory (Grabbe). I must tell you, the unique relationship shared between St. Philaret and Bishop Gregory guided the ark of Orthodoxy safely between many threatening and great temptations and obstacles, not the least of which were instigated by some fellow hierarchs, who were obviously not of like mind with them. This was evident to me from the very outset. Remember please that both St. Philaret and Bishop Gregory shared the same Spiritual Father and Confessor, who was the holy elder Archbishop Andrew of Novo Diveyevo Convent — a scion of Optina Hermitage's great wealth of Orthodox Spirituality and who was the unofficial "Godfather," so to speak, of Holy Transfiguration Monastery. These three hierarchs, St. Philaret, Archbishop Andrew and Bishop Gregory shared amongst themselves a genuine reflection of the mind of the church. But I am not standing here before you today to tell you what I think of St. Philaret or of his role in our time but to share with you some reminiscences. I sought this privilege to speak to you because I was sure that you would like to hear what it was like to live with St Philaret.

As I have said earlier, I lived with Metropolitan Philaret at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Sign in New York City for 21 years — all of the years that he was Metropolitan except for the first. The very first thing I noticed about Metropolitan Philaret was the holy quiet that seemed to emanate from him. At church services, whether he served or not his eyes were almost always dosed and his head bent forward — not to be distracted in any way from his inner prayer. This was also due to an almost innate humility which pervaded every gesture of his. He was generous with his time for others, listening to complaints or appeals with utmost patience and compassion. His charity knew no bounds. Whatever he received he unhesitatingly gave away — whether it were money or even rare artifacts.

He always attended the daily services at the Cathedral and stood in the middle of the church on his monastic style stasidia — not some elaborate episcopal throne. He never spoke unnecessarily in the church during church services. If something or someone could not wait, he would step outside the confines of the church to address the matter. He constantly focused his whole being on the ensuing services — just as if, and he surely did, stand in the very presence of God Himself. When it came time at Matins to read the initial six Psalms, he would relish the reading of them himself. He would read them with such compunction as to stir the soul, and although he held the book with the printed text in front of him, he never glanced at it really, having his eyes closed and his head inclined forward. Then there were other times that he would stand in the center of the church to perform some service that would be expected of a reader. He particularly loved to read the canons especially at Great Compline and Matins during Holy Week — when he himself would sing the exapostilarion. The Metropolitan did not have a sweet voice but he possessed a sonorous baritone that generated compunction.

He, of course, was a trained musician — he had studied the piano in his youth. He told me, though, that since being ordained and tonsured he no longer played any secular music. He played the piano only to compose his liturgical compositions, of which many remain extant. Those compositions were usually sung by the cathedral choir on his Nameday.

I remember that every Saturday before the Triumph of Orthodoxy — shortly before or after the vigil — he would gather all the Cathedral clergy in the synodal hall where there was a grand piano — where he would sit himself upon the piano bench, with us all around the piano to practice the melody of the Anathema that the clergy were to sing on the next day at the service of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. This he did, not to insure our pitches would be right, as some probably thought — but he wished to show by his own example, with what conviction and courage one ought to defend and maintain Orthodoxy. When he presided over this service the following day, he was a living paradigm of what an Orthodox Hierarch should be — compassionate but definite. His use of our time at these "rehearsals" was an affirmation of Orthodox theology — it was never a negative experience. It was because of his selfless involvement as an Orthodox Hierarch that he gained the criticism of many, recalling the words of our Saviour "If they hated Me, they will also hate you." His courage never waned. "First Orthodoxy! First God's Holy Church!"

To be continued

P.S. We are indebted to the Reverend Mother Thecla of the Convent of the Meeting of the Lord, Stanwood, Washington for this address by Abbot Adrian.

Most Holy Theotokos pray for us.

Saturday of the Akathist Hymn

Fifth Sunday of Great Lent

Our Holy Mother Mary of Egypt

ABBOT ADRIAN'S ADDRESS AT THE BANQUET FOLLOWING
THE GLORIFICATION OF ST. PHILARET OF NEW YORK.
MAY 7/20, 2001

TWO

One day during Holy Week—I can't remember exactly the year—Bishop Gregory received a very disturbing telephone call from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. There was, they said, to be an attempt on the life of the Metropolitan. The agents of the FBI pleaded that the Metropolitan not take part in the scheduled procession on Holy and Great Friday Matins. The procession route would take us out the front door of the Synod building and up the long staircase in the Cathedral courtyard. Metropolitan thanked everyone for their concern but would not change his plans to participate in the procession no matter what threat. As we progressed down the stairs and then outside all of us clergy were prepared to deflect injury from the Metropolitan with our own lives if need be. We were surrounded by four FBI agents who insisted on accompanying the procession (two on either side of the Metropolitan — outside the clergy and the epitaphios). As conspicuous as they were they tried to blend into the crowd. As I gazed overhead, on the roofs of surrounding buildings stood police in anticipation of a potential incident and to ensure that there was no one there. Needless to say, nothing occurred, by the grace of God, but the perceived threat was palpable and Metropolitan St. Philaret demonstrated to all his unflinching courage—which history has recorded he had done consistently before and after that particular incident.

Certainly St. Philaret's staunch anti-Ecumenical stance as well as his immovable position regarding the Moscow Patriarchate put many to shame and on the defensive, provoking enemies, putting me in mind of St. John Chrysostom's commentary on Matthew 7:24. In speaking about the apostles, he says: "[F]or when the waves of the whole world were beating against them, when both nations and princes; their own people and strangers; the evil spirits and the devil — and every engine was set in motion, they stood firmer than a rock and dispersed it all."

On another occasion, after Metropolitan St. Philaret's departure and extended stay on the West Coast, at Bishop Gregory's request I commenced an all-out and much overdo cleaning of St. Philaret's reception room where of course he received visitors, dignitaries, etc. The reception room was a responsibility we had since Bishop Gregory and I had raised the necessary funds to renovate this room and I myself had done a great deal of the renovation. While cleaning this room I lifted the dusty cover off of the anoloi in the icon comer to clean the shelves underneath. On the bottom shelf way in the back there was a strange looking apparatus — a round object — about the size of a ping-pong ball made of metal with a portion covered by metal screening. I had my suspicions, so I immediately informed the administration, who in turn brought someone with expertise enough, someone who worked for a governmental agency to determine what the object was. It was certainly no mystery to this gentleman who immediately took us out of the room and identified it as a sophisticated listening device — able to pick up discussions in the room and to broadcast them within a twelve mile radius. Mind you both the Moscow Patriarchate and the Soviet consul were just blocks away for starters. This gentleman quietly took this device and properly disposed of it. Mind you, as I said, this is the very room where Metropolitan met with petitioners, counseled those seeking his wisdom; where he officially received dignitaries and where he even sometimes heard confessions. You see then, yourself, to what extent certain powers would go to undermine or sabotage the Blessed Metropolitan's important work.

Metropolitan Philaret was renowned for, among other things, his sermons. Not only were they notable for their wise and spiritual content but also for their eloquent construction, as can well be attested to by the recent release of an entire collection of his tape-recorded sermons. And how we were blessed that St. Philaret often preached for not only did he preach at the Divine Liturgy but he almost always preached at every vigil and at nearly every Akathist before the Holy Icon of the "Virgin of Kursk" which was held every Wednesday evening. The Metropolitan himself, you will remember, was born in Kursk. There rolled from his blessed lips a well-spring of righteous wisdom which emanated from his own devout, pious and godly life. He had a phenomenal memory encompassing all that he had read including the Old and New Testaments—and the divinely blessed Holy Fathers from ancient times down to our own contemporaneous times. He often in his sermons quoted his beloved Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitski, who was himself a great ascetic. Whatever services Vladyka may have missed, outside of the Divine Liturgy, he read in his rooms. Vladyka St. Philaret was a very modest man in his demeanor and toward others. I remember an occasion where some enthusiastic clergyman had made a luxurious white ryassa for Vladyka (in Russia the married clergy and sometimes hierarchs, would wear a colored ryassa). Metropolitan wore it once only—and that because he felt pressured to do so. As soon as he reached his rooms, being visibly embarrassed, he tossed it off and never again wore it out of monastic modesty.

He was very dogmatic though about the services and personally corrected any mistakes that were made — even to (on rare occasions) coming to the kleros and taking the service book to change an incorrect word in his own hand.

He was also very frugal about the quantity of food he ate — not to mention the rare quarter of a small glass — never finished — of wine — on great and festal occasions.

Despite this severe image, Vladyka almost always displayed an easy wit and humor when he thought the occasion merited it. I remember censing the church one early morning before Divine Liturgy at the hours. As I passed by his monastic stasidia where he stood — he stepped down and with an extremely serious face and tone he confided, "Fr. Adrian, I have some bad news for you, I'm afraid you've grown a tail," as he pointed to the ground behind me. To my shock, in my fatigue I had not noticed that my monastic belt had come undone and fallen from underneath my priestly vestments onto the floor and indeed it was dragging like a tail behind me.

I am sure that some of you would be interested in knowing that Vladyka Philaret was quite an excellent chess player. As a matter of fact, when he'd go in the summer to the Convent at Lesna, he and the abbess, Mother Magdalene (who was Bishop Gregory's sister by blood) would on occasion play chess, both of them being excellent players.

It was at prayer though and at the Divine Services while standing with Vladyka, especially around the Altar table, that you saw just how intense his prayer was. Never have I seen such unadulterated, concentrated and simple faith as when Vladyka St. Philaret prayed during the Epiclesis and gracefully lifted his sacred right hand in blessing over the Holy Gifts set before us. It was simple but awe-inspiring.

Although Bishop Gregory was, under normal circumstances, my confessor and spiritual father, on occasions when he had to be away for extended periods I would go to confession with the Metropolitan. Standing near him before the analoi with the Cross and Holy Gospel in his kellia, he would say all the pre-confession prayers from memory and in a most compunctionate manner. He was a compassionate confessor who listened attentively without interruption and then in a most humble way, this great spiritual physician, would seek to bring the soul consolation and peace without himself ever becoming judgmental. Of course, he readily quoted from the fathers and the lives of the Saints. So humble was he that on one occasion he suggested I go to speak to his spiritual father, Archbishop Andrew. Not that he himself was incapable of rendering help but because he thought that Vladyka Andrew's special grace-filled gifts could add dimension to this particular situation.

During a holiday service, I believe it was the Annunciation, one of Vladyka St. Philaret's most beloved holidays, a very frightening and unpleasant event took place. As Vladyka stood during the Divine Liturgy praying intently before the Altar table with the Royal Doors opened — all of a sudden before we could tell what was going on, a madman, inspired undoubtedly by the evil one, ran from the center of the church through the Royal Doors and picked up the fragile Metropolitan and hurled him across the Altar. Had it been any one else other than the Metropolitan they would have been beside themselves with fear and anger — which I assure you the rest of us were who were present. While subduing the man — which took the strength of most of us clergy present in the Altar — others helped Vladyka to his feet. Amazingly no harm had come to Vladyka. After reassuring us that he had suffered no bodily harm, with his usual strength of character he resumed the service as if nothing of any consequence had happened. But remember that he was already aged and infirm. Such was the strength of St. Philaret's inner peace and prayer.

To be continued

Saint Mary of Egypt pray for us

Fifth Sunday of the Fast

Life of Saint Mary of Egypt

Saturday of the Sixth Week of Great Lent

Lazarus Saturday

Blessed Metropolitan Anthony Khrapovitsky

HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED, dear reader, that in all of Christ’s Parables there occurs but one proper name? If you have noticed, have you ever tried to ascertain why our Lord calls only this Lazarus by name, while even his rival during his earthly sojourn remains under the title of the Rich Man?... Perhaps we would sooner find what we seek, were we to attempt to make a little clearer the individual ideas expressed in the Lord’s parable. Is everything in it clear?

Is our heart reconciled to Abraham’s hope-shattering reply to the Rich Man who was bemoaning his brethren: “If they hear not Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead?” (Luke 16:31). These stern words, by the very force of their implications, probably troubled many of the Lord’s followers, and to this day continue to trouble many who read the Gospel, for they might seem to be an exaggeration until they are confirmed by actual events. And in fact, they were confirmed.

Not Lazarus the pauper of the parable, but another Lazarus, the friend of Christ, known to all the Jews, plainly rose from the dead, before the eyes of a large crowd of people, having spent four days as an unbreathing, malodorous corpse. “Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on Him.”

Many, but not all. “But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done” (John 11:45, 46). They assembled, and not only were not mollified in their stubborn unbelief, or more accurately, their disobedience to the truth, but also, in accordance with the voiced intent of Caiaphas, determined to kill the Slayer of Death; yet even this did not seem enough for them. “But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus” (John 12: 10-11). Note that in their decision there is neither a denial of the miracle, nor an indication of any guilt on the part of those they had condemned: an unjust execution, decided beforehand, was their sole means of keeping the people in unbelief, and they determined to employ such means.

The words which the Lord put on the lips of Abraham concerning the extent of man’s hard-heartedness were thus proved true in all their terrible accuracy: whoever does not want to listen to Moses and the Prophets will not believe one who has risen from the dead. The Apostle John does not cite the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, but somewhat earlier recalls Christ’s words which link the Jews’ unbelief in His miracles to disobedience to Moses and secret unbelief in his law, which proceed from their moral callousness and the seeking of their own, not God’s, glory. “There is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me: for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe My words?” (John 5:45-47).

The Lazarus of the Parable and Lazarus who was Four Days in the Tomb
Orthodox Life 1980, no.2, pp.18-19

O Saviour save us

Lazarus Saturday

Sixth Sunday of Great Lent

Palm Sunday

ABBOT ADRIAN'S ADDRESS AT THE BANQUET
FOLLOWING THE GLORIFICATION OF ST. PHILARET OF NEW YORK.
MAY 7/20, 2001

PART THREE

This blessed woman with tears streaming down her face lifted up her voice and cried:
"Ah, Philaret, the Metropolitan, he who is the champion of Orthodoxy."

Shortly after the publication of St. Philaret's Sorrowful Epistle, which had been translated into several languages, along with his letters to Athenagoras of Thyatira and Archbishop Iakovos, I traveled abroad to both Greece and the Holy Land. It was not unusual to find Metropolitan Philaret's photograph hanging in monasteries at that time on the Holy Mountain of Athos. While in Greece I had the distinct honor of meeting for the first time, His Eminence, Archbishop Auxentios, who kindly and generously extended the offer to personally show me some of the Holy sights and monastic communities not too distant from the Athens area. It was only then really and in the Holy Land as well, that I eventually realized just to what extent Vladyka Philaret was esteemed.

There was an especially moving occurrence that took place visiting the Convent of the Holy Dormition at Parthena, outside of Athens, where the recently reposed and blessed Abbess Euthymia shepherded the many nuns that lived there at that time. With the presence of Archbishop Auxentios she had the monastic flock summoned to the Catholicon. The Archbishop explained that I was his guest and that I was a hierodeacon of Metropolitan Philaret. This blessed woman with tears streaming down her face lifted up her voice and cried: "Ah, Philaret, the Metropolitan, he who is the champion of Orthodoxy." She then had each of the 100 or so nuns come and make a prostration before a rather embarrassed and humbled hierodeacon and asked me to take this lovely bouquet of prayerful love and respect back to Metropolitan Philaret. This account was read by Bishop Gregory at a Synod meeting and was included in its minutes.

Not everyone however esteemed Metropolitan St. Philaret with such deference. Some fellow-hierarchs of the Synod were initially quiet when taken aback by Metropolitan Philaret's daring stand. That however did not last long. Feeling out the possible reaction of the faithful, some of the hierarchs themselves reacted less cautiously and as we see over time especially since the repose of St. Philaret have altogether lost their sense of Orthodox propriety. His Grace, Bishop Gregory stated in his now well known letter to Metropolitan Vitaly, “They may have disliked us but at least they respected us," alluding to Metropolitan's lonely stand against the tide of ecumenism and syncretism. Remark, if you will, that since the repose of these two exceptional Hierarchs, the rapid decline from every point of view continues to gather even more momentum. It was Metropolitan Vitaly himself he who was at one time in complete harmony with the Orthodox ecclesiology of St Philaret and the holy fathers who shouted at Bishop Gregory's exhaustive efforts to maintain ecclesiological integrity at the last Sobor of Bishops that he (Bishop Gregory) was physically able to attend, "now is not the time for the canons."

All of us should beware, for the enlightened can fall just as easily as anyone else, perhaps ever more so. Even this perspective demonstrates for us the grace-filled influence that Metropolitan Philaret had on some of his fellow Hierarchs. Certainly the greatest cross for Metropolitan Philaret to bear had to have been the lukewarm reception, if not the outright antipathy and hostility expressed on the part of his brother hierarchs. None of us should however be so surprised by this as to forget that at the Council of Florence St. Mark of Ephesus stood basically alone.

Metropolitan Philaret in his difficult position as President of the Synod of bishops tenaciously clinging to the Orthodox stand of his two Predecessors Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitski) and Metropolitan Anastasy (Gribanovsky), sought, through whatever means were available to him, through God’s grace to raise to the rank of the episcopacy those who were of like Orthodox mind to balance out the scales if you will, even just a little, just as some of his saintly fellow hierarchs throughout the ages have seen the necessity also to do. So it was, that when Matushka Varvara Maximovna, the late wife of Protopresbyter George Grabbe, reposed, the Metropolitan sought his elevation to the episcopacy. The same thing happened with Archbishop Andrew of Novo-Diveyevo Convent, who was also elevated to the episcopacy after the repose of his late wife. The former, becoming Bishop Gregory, was opposed by many members of the Synod, not excluding the present Metropolitan, and the latter, Archbishop Andrew, was old and quite infirm. (After all, he rarely if ever was able to attend any of the regular meetings of the Synod.) But Metropolitan St. Philaret knew that they were allies. Then there was Archbishop Nathaniel of Vienna, who had lapsed in a personal matter but was restored to the episcopacy due to Metropolitan Philaret's enormous efforts. In that instance, the same group who opposed St. Philaret's choices before, fought him vigorously in this choice as well. We live in a time, however, when such economia at the hands of such a gracefilled hierarch is justifiably necessary. St. Philaret's sole concern was the Orthodox integrity of the Synod of which he was the presiding member. Every genuinely Orthodox voice, moreover, a hierarchical voice, made the greater difference.

Then there is the matter of which most people are completely ignorant—even to this day. The Metropolitan also clearly saw Holy Transfiguration Monastery as an ally in the encroaching battle for Orthodox truth. He loved the monastery and the convent dearly. He had enormous respect for Fr. Panteleimon, the elder of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, and associates. I remember that it took some time for Metropolitan to convince Fr. Panteleimon to become an Archimandrite. The real struggle came when Metropolitan St. Philaret pleaded, on at least two occasions, with Fr. Panteleimon to become a bishop. Fr. Panteleimon vehemently declined for he knew his detractors would have a field day — "Aha" they would say, "that's why you went to the Russian Synod"; not to mention the resistance that he would have met with on the part of those who had already given St. Philaret grief about his other episcopal candidates. Of course, St. Philaret was grieved by Fr. Panteleimon's decision but it far from diminished his love for Holy Transfiguration Monastery and the fathers there as well as the mothers and sisters at Holy Nativity Convent. He often remarked how he felt more welcomed and at ease at Holy Transfiguration Monastery than, say, in the main Russian Monastery where, when he did go, he was either besieged with unbridled criticism or verbally abused. And to say the truth, as a monastic, he appreciated the more consistent idea of every monk attending all of the church services. He counted on the prayers of the beloved monastic flock of Holy Transfiguration Monastery and Holy Nativity Convent for him personally, as well as for the general well-being of the Holy Orthodox Church.

These, dear friends, are just some reminiscences which can hardly paint a complete picture of such as was our beloved Hierarch and True Shepherd, St. Philaret. Sharing them with you on this day of his glorification may bring you an added perspective to the uniqueness of the man.

Just one more thing though. Recently someone who ought to know better, but guided by other than the best of intentions, has published on the Internet that Metropolitan Philaret was simply putty in the hands of Bishop Gregory and that he in turn had his own agenda. Obviously, to someone who knew them both quite well, nothing could be further from the truth. That by the grace of God they complemented one another is more accurate. All of us are given talents and in their case what one lacked the other seemed to have. Metropolitan St. Philaret was not an administrator and most certainly Bishop Gregory was for example. The grace-filled manner in which Metropolitan St. Philaret served, preached, taught, extolled, shepherded, confessed, showed compassion, struggled and championed Orthodoxy is the man himself. A person who has been consciously blind to the impact that Vladyka St. Philaret has had is indeed a person to be pitied.

St. John Chrysostom, whom St. Philaret quoted often in his sermons, writes in commentary on the text about the Good Shepherd found in St. John the Evangelist and Theologian: "It is a grave thing indeed to have the care of a church. It is a task that needs a measure of love and courage as great as that of which Christ spoke so that a man may lay down his life for his flock, may never abandon them and may boldly face the wolf. It is in this the shepherd differs from the hireling. For the latter, indifferent to the sheep, is ever watchful of his own safety while the former regardless of his own safety seeks that of his sheep."

When was it that Metropolitan, our beloved Vladyka and St. Philaret, was ever not concerned about his God-given flock? Yet even now, dear esteemed shepherds and beloved rational flock, he remains concerned and hears our petitions and lovingly intercedes on our behalf. Christ is Risen!

THE END

For this text, here presented in three parts, we are indeed grateful to the Convent of the Meeting of the Lord in Stanwood, Washington where the Reverend Mother Thecla is Abbess.

O Saviour save us.

Palm Sunday

Holy Week

Based on a Sermon by
His Eminence Metropolitan Ephraim

Verily, verily I say unto you,
Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man
and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. John 6:53

The Orthodox Faith arrived upon these shores in 1794 with the establishment of the Russian mission to Alaska. In the intervening 212 years, much has happened. Currently a crucial question stands before us: “What is the difference between the various denominations and creeds professed by the people with whom we come in contact with every day and the Orthodox Faith into which we have been baptized?”

Allow me to call upon the skill and art of Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist to see how he answers this question by painting an icon with words.

We can call Saint John the Evangelist an Iconographer. He draws a picture with words, and, having the ability to focus on sharp contrasts; his paints are alive with light. There are many compelling scenes depicted by this Saint, the virgin beloved disciple of the Lord. Nicodemus comes to the Lord by night and learns of a rebirth in water and in spirit, and is shown to be a “teacher of Israel” (Jn. 3:10) who “knowest not these things.”

Saint John also knows how to use pastels to portray the undoubting faith of Saint Photini at Jacob’s Well in Samaria. Christ evokes from her the same faith in Him that moved Abraham to leave his family and home to move to a land that he would be shown and to trust that Sarah, his barren, aged wife, would bear him a son.

How does this fisherman, one of the Sons of Thunder, come by the skill to draw for us a man with eyeless sockets, and then ask us to watch as the Saviour chooses him from among the crowd, places clay made from earth with His spittle in those empty cavities so that we can hear the Lord say to him, “Go wash in the pool of Siloam” (Jn. 9:7).

How can we see things and hear sounds from a piece of paper and some lines drawn on it? And yet we can.

The man born blind comes seeing, and Jesus, finding him in the Temple, asks him, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” Then our Fisherman with a few more lines from his pen draws, for eyes that will see, the Blind Man’s words of faith, “Lord I believe” (Jn. 9:35-38).

This artistry beyond any human art then brings us with the Saviour to a tomb where a man named Lazarus has lain dead for four days and is now stinking. Then we hear the One who does “not cry, nor lift up His voice” (Esaias 42:2) cry “with a loud voice, Lazarus come forth” (Jn. 11:43). For this utterance we need the help that we receive from Saint Cyril of Alexandria who adds, from his wondrous palate, “a great sound of a trumpet” (Mt. 24:7) to announce the rebirth of all things of which Lazarus’ resurrection is but a foretaste. In the Lord’s cry to Lazarus Saint Cyril embroideries the summons of that trumpet, so that, heard by all, “every eye shall see” (Rev. 1: 7) the One Whose voice not only awakens Lazarus from his sleep, but also Whose voice “the dead shall hear … and they that hear shall live” (Jn. 5:25).

Next, with the accustomed art of his brush strokes, Saint John brings before our eyes the consternation of some of those who hear the Saviour say, “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.”

Christ is always asking for our unquestioning, undoubting faith in Him. He could have brought His disciples forward to the time when He would, taking leavened bread in His hand, say, “Take, eat, this is My Body,” and, with a cup of wine in His hand, tell them, “This is My blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many, for the forgiveness of sins” (Mk. 14:22, 24), but here, the “Sun of the Gospel,“ as Saint Dionysius the Areopagite calls St. John, employs only the sharpest contrasts, the most arresting tones that his paints can etch. “Many therefore of His disciples,” recounts St. John, “said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?” The Lord responds, “Doth this offend you? There are some of you that believe not” (Jn. 6:60-64). Then the Lord continues, “Therefore I said unto you, that no man can come unto Me, except it were given unto him of the Father” (Jn. 6:65).

What art, what mastery of tint and shade, has brought us to this point, this point in which our eyes glimpse the sorrowful tones that sketch out the hues of grey on grey cast by doubt.

The Lord calls for and bestows faith; the enemy sows the tares of doubt at night (Mt. 13:25).

Brethren, beware of doubt.

“Today, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts" (Heb. 4:7).

Let us now beg the Evangelist’s prayer, his divine art and skill so that we, with the palate of faith, may sketch out “the worlds [which] were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Heb. 11:3). For Saint Paul, “a chosen vessel” (Acts 9:15), the Orthodox Church holds “forth the word of life” (Phil. 2:16), for the Church has been Orthodox “before the foundation of the world” (Jn. 17:24, Eph. 1:4) that is, rightly believing, and rightly praising the Lord God.

The mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ is only to be found in the Orthodox Church. The Pope of Rome went his own way and left the Church in 1054. That parting of the ways also marks Rome’s departure from Orthodoxy’s unyielding adherence to the teaching of the holy Fathers and Councils, not the teaching of one man’s opinion, on the Body and Blood of Christ. The Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council in 787 held in Nicea teach, when speaking of the holy Fathers and Councils that the holy Mysteries are not symbols. She speaks of “the Initiation of Initiations” and of Christ’s “Holy Mysteries.” Her liturgical rubrics all bear witness to her strictness in this regard. This has been Orthodoxy’s standard since the writings of St. Dionysius the Areopagite, who was taught by St. Paul.

On the other hand, it is now difficult to know what it is that the Roman Catholic denomination holds. They use the language of sacrament in the terms of sign and symbol, but it lacks focus. The Protestant denominations are clear that there is no mystery present, and are accustomed to speak only of the presence of a mere outward and visible sign or symbol, or perhaps of a memorial. Protestants appear to have no claim either to sacraments or mysteries at this point in time.

Long before 1794 when Saints Herman and Juvenaly landed in the Aleutian Islands, the Orthodox Church of Christ had maintained the teaching entrusted to her by the Holy Spirit from the Fathers. Her faith is the faith of the Apostles, and the faith of the martyrs. In short, as Saint Athanasius the Great writes, “What was transmitted by Christ to the Apostles, was delivered to the Fathers, and has been kept by the Fathers.”

The Orthodox Church is alive today due to her unerring, uncompromising fidelity to holy Tradition.

When Christ says, “Verily, verily I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, ye have no [eternal] life in you,” the Orthodox Church witnesses that she alone has stood as the steward of the Mysteries of Christ since the days of the Apostles. Yes, “narrow is the way which leadeth unto life” (Mt. 7:14). If you do not have the Body and Blood of Christ, you are dead. An Orthodox Parish is the place where people can partake of eternal life.

Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on us. Amen.

O Saviour save us.

Holy Thursday

IT IS FITTING…

It is fitting that we be somber during this time, when Our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus Christ suffers and is put to death for our sake.

Let us include in our private prayers those we see around us. They are going about their business, unaware of the holiness of these days, unaware that the One Who created all of us out of nothing hangs on a Tree. What a tragedy for humanity! This historical and spiritual ignorance in our society is the work of the evil one. For many centuries, the whole known world wept with us this week; but, alas, in these last days, as by God’s promise, things have narrowed, but the “:Little flock” remains, endures, and is strengthened by fasting and prayer.

The remnant does, indeed, remain, and stands in awe of God. Together with that “ great cloud of witnesses” each one of the Saints now living before the Lord and interceding for each one of us before the Mercy Seat, we ourselves can lose our hearts and souls in an answering love for Him. We may find ourselves in Saint Marina’s place.

She was a 15 year-old shepherdess who lived in the middle of the third century. May God grant that her words, in her response to the Eparch, Olymbrios, may be found to speak in us, “ I do not grieve for this transient life,” she asserts, “ but I eagerly give my body to death for my immortal God and Master, just as He, the Sinless One, was crucified for the sake of my love” (Life of Saint Marina July 17).

May Christ’ s love for us on the Cross strike an answering chord in our hearts for Him, our love readily echoing His love. Do we hear His voice in our hearts? “ My love for the sake of His love.” Yes, it is fitting that we be somber during this time.

Adapted from The St. Cosmas of Aitolia Lady Bug Vol. II, Issue 2 Virtual Parish Ed.

O Saviour save us.

Holy Saturday

Pray for us here at Saint Philaret's House in Roslindale, Massachusetts U.S.A.

Unworthy,

Priestmonk Theodore & mga

And He became to them deliverance out of all their affliction: not an ambassador, nor an angel,
but the Lord Himself saved them, because He loved them and spared them:
He Himself redeemed them and took them up, and lifted them up for all the days of eternity.
Esaias 63 vs. 8, 9 (LXX)

O Saviour Save us.

Holy Pascha

Bright Tuesday

Hieromartyr Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons
Against Knowledge Falsely So-called.
Martyred A.D. 202

For the glory of God is a living man; and the life of man consists in beholding God.
Book 4:20.7 (Harvey p. 444)

The man who loves God shall arrive at such excellency as even to see God,
and hear His word and from the hearing of His discourse be glorified
to such an extent that others cannot behold the glory of his countenance, as was said by Daniel:
“Those who do understand, shall shine as the brightness of the firmament,
and many of the righteous as the stars for ever and ever.”
Book 4:26.1 (Harvey p. 461, 2)

Saints Raphael, Nicholas and Irene pray for us.

Tuesday of Renewal Week

Bright Wednesday

Confessors and Defenders
of the Holy and Blameless Faith
of the Pious and Orthodox Christians pan>

Bless.

Saint Katherine’s Prayer from Her Life
(in part)

Grant that my body, cleaved for Thee,

will be invisible to those who seek it,

keeping it safe and secure wheresoever

Thou dost wish.

Saint Katherine of Alexandria the Great Martyr pray for us

Wednesday of Renewal Week

Email orders for The Life of Saint Katherine of Alexandria to: orders@stnectariospress.com Tel: (800) 64 3-4233 Fax: (206) 523-0550.

Bright Thursday

Saint Felicity of Carthage

A.D. 202

“It is I who suffer what I now suffer;

but then there will be Another in me

that will suffer for me,

because I shall suffer for Him.”

Bright Friday

St. Basil the Great

Born 330 reposed 379 A.D.

"That Prayer is to be placed Before all Things"

God sees the hearts of those who pray. What need then, someone will say, that we should ask God for what we need? Does He not know already what we need? Why then should we pray? God does indeed know what things we need, and with generosity provides all we need for the refreshment of our bodies, and since He is good He sends down his rains upon the just and the unjust alike, and causes His sun to shine upon the good and the bad (Matt. 5:45), even before we ask Him. But faith, and the power of virtue, and the kingdom of heaven, these you will not receive unless you ask for them in laboring and steadfastness.

Pray for us here.

Christ Is Risen!

Friday of Renewal Week

Thomas Sunday
Second Sunday of Pascha

Matinal Doxasticon

First Tone

As the disciples were going to the mountain, the Lord came to them that He might ascend on high from lowly things, and they worshipped Him, and learned from Him of the power given to Him in every place. And they were sent to every land under heaven to preach the Resurrection from the dead, and the translation to Heaven; He promised them, not lying, that He would be with them forever; for He is Christ God, the Saviour of our souls.

Saint Thomas pray for us.

Thomas Sunday

Sunday of the Myrrh-bearers

Third Sunday of Pascha

Anatolian Stichera

VERILY, O ye lawless, when ye sealed the stone ye deemed us worth y of a greater miracle. The guards have knowledge of this, and they said: Today He came forth from the tomb. And ye said unto them: Say that while ye were sleeping, the disciples came and stole Him. And who would steal a dead man, especially one naked? He is risen by His own power as God, and hat h abandoned His funeral shrouds in the grave. Come behold, O ye Jews, how He that trampled on death brake not the seals; and He doth grant unto the race of men life unending and great mercy.

Holy Myrrh-bearers pray for us.

Myrrh-bearing Women

Sunday of the Paralytic

Fourth Sunday of Pascha

Great Vespers

Glory; both now. Plagal of First Tone.

At the Sheep’s Pool, a man lay in illness; and on seeing Thee, O Lord, he cried:
I have no man that, when the water is troubled, he might put me therein.
But when I go, another proceedeth me a nd receiveth the healing, and I lie in illness.
And straightway, taking compassion on him, the Saviour saith unto him:
For thee I became man, for thee I am clothed in flesh, and sayest thou: I have no man?
Take up thy bed and walk. All things are possible for Thee,
all things are obedient to Thee, all things are subject to Thee.
Remember us all and have mercy on us, O Holy One, since Thou art the Friend of man.

O Saviour save us.

Paralytic

The Monks Callistus and Ignatius,
Of Xanthopoulos
Circa A.D. 1360
Directions to hesychasts, in
a hundred chapters

4. The fundamental principle of the directions

With God’s help, the fundamental principle of our directions is briefly reduced to the following proposition: it is necessary to try in all ways and with all effort to live in accordance with the laws laid down in Christ’s Divine Commandments—so that through keeping them we should once more ascend to that perfect refashioned and re-created image freely bestowed on us by the grace of the Spirit in the holy font of baptism. Or if it pleases you so to define this gift —so that, casting away the old Adam with his works and lusts, we should be clothed in a new spiritual man, which is our Lord Jesus Christ, as the divine Paul says: ‘My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you’ (Gal. 4:19); and ‘For as many of you have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ’ (Gal. 3:27).

5. The glory of the grace of holy baptism, what dims and what restores it

What this grace is and how we acquire it, what dims and what purifies it, will be explained to you better than all gold by St. John Chrysostom, shining in word and soul, who says: ‘ “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image” (2 Cor. 3:18). This was more clear for believers in the times of the Apostles when miraculous gifts occurred. Still, it is not hard, even now, for a man who has the eyes of faith to understand it. When we are being baptized, our soul, purified by the Spirit, becomes brighter than the sun; not only are we then able to look at the glory of God, but we ourselves take on something of its radiance. As polished silver, illumined by the rays of the sun, radiates light not only from its own nature but also from the radiance of the sun, so a soul, purified by the Divine Spirit, becomes more brilliant than silver; it both receives the ray of Divine glory, and from itself reflects the ray of this same glory. Therefore the Apostle says: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18), that is, from the glory of the Spirit to our own glory, which fills us and which should be “even as by the Spirit of the Lord”.’

A little later he continues: ‘If you wish, I will show you this more clearly and palpably in the Apostles. Think of Paul, whose very garments had a miraculous effect. Remember Peter, whose very shadow manifested miraculous power. Had they not borne within them the image of the King of heaven and their radiance been beyond our attainment, their garments and their shadows would not have had such power: for the garment of the King is terrible even for robbers. Do you wish to see how their inner light penetrates even through their bodies? “And looking steadfastly on Stephen, they saw his face as it had been the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15). But this is as nothing compared with the glory which shone within him. For what Moses showed in his face, they carried in their souls. And much more than that, for what Moses had was more physical, whereas this was spiritual. Just as bodies which can receive and reflect light, when illumined by self-radiant bodies, themselves pour their reflected light on other bodies close to them, so it is with believers. This is why those with this experience become detached from the earthly a nd think only of heavenly things. —But alas! we ought to groan bitterly; for, though granted such noble rank, we do not even understand what is said about it, because we quickly lose it an d incline to the sensory. This ineffable and terrible glory remains in us one or two days, after which we extinguish it, bringing in the storm of worldly affairs and their thick clouds which repulse its rays.’ ([St. John Chrysostom] Seventh discourse, on the 2nd Epistle to the Corinthians.)

In another place he says: ‘The bodies of men who have pleased God will be vested in such glory as our present eyes cannot even see. Certain signs and vague traces of this were graciously given by God both in the Old and the New Testaments. There the face of Moses shone with such glory as the eyes of the Israelites could not bear; while in the New Testament the face of Christ shone with a still greater light’ [Re: The Transfiguration of Christ Mt. 17:1-8; Mk. 9:2-10; Lk. 9:28-36, and The Menaion August 6, The Feast of the Transfiguration. Editor].

Have you heard now the words of the Spirit? Have you realized the power of this sacrament [i.e. the Baptismal mystery. Ed.]? Have you understood the travail of our complete spiritual regeneration after we leave the holy font, its fruits, its fullness and the honours of victory? Do you see how much it lies in our power to increase or to diminish this supernatural grace, that is, to show it forth or to obscure it? What obscures it is the storm of worldly cares, and the ensuing darkness of passions which attack us like a whirlwind, or a wild torrent and, flooding our soul, give it neither rest nor possibility to look at the truly good and blessed things for which it [i.e. the soul Ed.] was created. Instead, it is mauled and tortured by the waves and smoke of sensory lusts, it is plunged into darkness and dissoluteness. Conversely, grace is manifested by that which is reflected from the Divine commandments, in the souls of those who walk not in the flesh, but in the Spirit; for it is said: ‘Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh’ (Gal. 5:16). Grace leads such souls towards salvation and raises them, as by a ladder, to the very summit of perfection, to its very highest degree— love, which is God.

6. In holy baptism we freely receive Divine grace. When we cover it over with passions, we cleanse it again by obedience to commandments.

In the Divine womb, that is, in the holy font, we freely receive perfect Divine grace. If after this we cover it over with the fog of passions, either through abuse of temporal things, or through excess of cares for worldly activities, i t is possible, even after this, to regain possession of it, to restore its supernatural brightness and to see quite vividly its manifestation, by repentance and the fulfilment of commandments whose action is Divine [which bear the uncreated divine energy Cf. St. Mark the Ascetic, ‘On Those Who Think that they are Made Righteous by Works’ 92].

Grace manifests [Itself, or to put it another way, God manifests Himself,] in proportion to each man’s zeal in remaining faithful to faith, but above all through the help and benevolence of our Lord Jesus Christ. St. Mark [the Ascetic] says: ‘Christ, as perfect God, gave to those baptised the perfect grace of the Holy Spirit, which receives no increase from us, but merely reveals itself and manifests in us in accordance with our keeping the commandments, and gives us increase in faith, “till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).’ [Ed. At the present time, I am unable to locate this text in St. Mark the Ascetic 04/24/07.]

Therefore, whatever we may bring forth after our regeneration in Him [i.e. Holy Baptism Ed.], must previously have been concealed in us by Him and of Him.

O Saviour save us.

Mid Pentecost

Sunday of the Samaritan Woman

Fifth Sunday of Pascha

The Monks Callistus and Ignatius,
Of Xanthopoulos
Circa A.D. 1360
Directions to hesychasts, in
a hundred chapters

7. A man living in God should follow all the commandments, but devote the greater part of his activity to the foremost of them as the parents of the others.

As we have said, the principal and root of all activity natural to us is to live in accordance with the saving commandments, while the fruit and the end (expected from this) is to recapture the perfect grace of the Holy Spirit, granted us from the first through baptism, which still remains in us (for ‘the gifts and calling of God are without repentance’, as the Apostle says [Rom. 11:29]), although, being buried under passions, it reveals itself only through our fulfilling the commandments given by God. Therefore it behooves us to try with all zeal to fulfil all these commandments, and by this purification to reveal the grace of the Spirit existing in us, making it manifest and clearly seen. ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet’, says the blessed David to God, ‘and a light unto my path’ (Ps. 119:105 LXX), and: ‘The commandment of the Lord is far-shining, enlightening the eyes’ (Ps. 19:8 LXX), and: ‘Therefore I directed myself according to all Thy commandments’ (Ps. 118:128 LXX). He who lay on the Lord’s breast says: ‘He that keepeth His commandments