October: Day 31: Teaching 2: Venerables Spyridon and Nikodemos

October: Day 31: Teaching 2:
Venerables Spyridon and Nikodemos
 
(On Reading Sacred and Spiritually Beneficial Books)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Today, the Holy Church celebrates the memory of Venerable Spyridon of the Caves. Who was he? He was a simple man, born not in the city but in the village, and completely illiterate. Having a strong attraction to monastic life, he went to the Kiev Caves Monastery, and here, although no longer young, he began to learn to read and write. He so loved reading the sacred book of Psalms that he memorized it and read it through every day, regardless of his work. When he was appointed as the prosphora baker, he did not abandon his favorite occupation: whether chopping wood or kneading dough, he constantly had on his lips the wondrous, majestic, touching, penitential and laudatory Psalms of the Holy King and Prophet David, reading or singing them. One day, the Saint was going about his usual business and lit an oven for baking prosphora. Suddenly, however, the roof of the house caught fire from the flames coming from the stove. Then the Saint took off his mantle and covered the mouth of the stove with it. He tied the sleeves of his hair shirt (the monastic undergarment) and went to the well, filled it with water, calling the brethren for help. The brethren, arriving, saw a wondrous thing: the mantle that covered the stove had not burned, and no water had spilled from the hair shirt. Having extinguished the fire, everyone glorified God. In such humble obedience, Venerable Spyridon peacefully reposed. 

II. This is how the early Christians loved to read the Sacred Scriptures! Even in their old age, they learned to read and write just to be able to study the word of God day and night. Do we love to read the Sacred Scriptures in the same way? It is shameful to say, but it often happens that some Orthodox Christians can recite a fairy tale by heart, yet cannot tell anything about their Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ... Even if you were completely illiterate, it would still be shameful for you to know nothing about your Savior, and you should make every effort to learn about Him: how He lived, what miracles He performed, what He taught the people, how He suffered for us, how He rose, ascended to heaven, and how He will come again to judge the living and the dead; all of this even an illiterate Christian must know. And yet, God has given you the ability to read and understand, and you refuse to read about the life of your Savior! Is this befitting of a true Christian?

a) The Holy Gospel should be our first reference book. In it you will find everything that our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished for our salvation; it was written so that we, by believing in the Son of God and observing His teachings set forth therein, would have eternal life.

b) Furthermore, you, as a Christian, must know what you believe in, how and for what reason you should pray, how to act according to the will of God, so as not to anger the Lord your God. For this, you need to acquire an Orthodox catechism: there, through the lips of the Holy Church, our faith, and the Lord's Prayer, and the Lord's teaching on the Beatitudes, and the Ten Commandments given by God on Mount Sinai are explained.

c) Whether joy visits you, or sorrow or misfortune befalls you, read the sacred book of Psalms. "The Book of Psalms," says Saint Basil the Great, "heals even the oldest wounds of the soul... A psalm is the silence of the soul, the distributor of peace; it calms rebellious and restless thoughts, softens the irritability of the soul, and tempers intemperance. A psalm is a refuge from demons, a doorway to the protection of angels, a weapon against nighttime fears, a solace from daily labors, a safeguard for infants, adornment in youth, comfort for the elderly, and the most fitting ornament for women." How can a Christian not read such a magnificent book! If there is any word you do not understand in Church Slavonic, take a Russian Psalter: thanks be to God, now all Holy Scripture, the entire Bible, is available in the Russian tongue.

d) We need an explanation of God's word, faithful and clear instruction! For this, it is useful to read the books of the Holy Fathers and Teachers of the Church. In these writings, or as they are commonly called, "the works of the Holy Fathers and Teachers of the Church," such as those of Saint Basil the Great, Saint Gregory the Theologian, Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Ephraim the Syrian, Saint Theodoret, and many others, you will find, brethren, the most accurate explanation of Holy Scripture and the teachings of the Holy Orthodox Church.

e) In the work of salvation, we need to see examples of how others, with God's help, arranged the work of their salvation. For this, it is useful to read the Lives of the Saints: there you will see people of all ranks, sexes, and ages, what temptations and obstacles they encountered on the path to salvation and how they overcame them; there you will find multitudes of ascetics, men of prayer, virgins, and merciful people; by reading their lives, you can follow in the footsteps of such people and save your souls. But, to our sorrow, among us Christians there are those who have lived to gray hairs and do not know the life of their angel, their heavenly patron, do not even know the troparion to him, although they consider themselves literate... The day of their angel will come, they will come to church, light a candle, perhaps serve a prayer service - and they are calm, as if they have done everything that is necessary, and they begin to serve another God - their stomach... But to read the life of their angel on this day, to spend an hour or two in prayerful conversation with their heavenly patron - this is not in sight... Can one expect mercy from God and from His holy saints after this?

You often hear complaints that we understand little of what we read. What can you do if the Lord has not granted you full understanding? Nevertheless, do not despair; practice, with God's help, reading soul-saving books, even if you understand them little. It is pleasing to the Lord that you are engaged in reading sacred books, for God, according to the teaching of Saint John Chrysostom, embraces the intention. It is also precious to you that from your reading you grasp one holy thought: sometimes a few words of Holy Scripture lead to a change in your entire life, to the salvation of your soul. Seeing your diligence, the Lord will enlighten you and encourage you to turn to a shepherd of the church, who will explain what you do not understand or point out where you can find the interpretation of a difficult passage. Fear only one thing: fear understanding and interpreting the word of God according to your own understanding: through this you can fall into heresy and, instead of salvation, you will destroy your soul forever.

III. Therefore, beloved Christians, strive to read as many divine books as possible, and books that save the soul in general. The path to salvation is multifaceted; it requires edification, admonition, and correction, and where can this be found if not in a soul-profiting book? It is beneficial to converse with a pious and intelligent person, and a book is the same as conversation. A book is your faithful friend and teacher, who can be with you in the house, in the field, in the garden, and in the shop.

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.