Homily Two on the Eighth Sunday of Luke (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily Two on the Eighth Sunday of Luke  
(25th Sunday After Pentecost)

On the Good Samaritan
Luke 10:25–37

By St. John of Kronstadt

Beloved brethren, in today's Gospel (Luke 10:25–37), we heard about the means and the path by which we must attain eternal life. What are these means? What is this path? Let us hear about them from the Gospel, from the lips of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who calls Himself the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. The Evangelist Luke relates the following: “And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, ‘Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? How do you read it?’ He answered and said, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your understanding; and your neighbor as yourself.’” And here is the Lord's answer: “Jesus said to him, ‘You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live,’” that is, eternally. Thus, in order to inherit eternal life, one must love God with all one's heart and all one's soul, and then one's neighbor as oneself. These are the means; this is the path by which eternal life is attained.

Holy Martyrs Gurias, Samonas, and Abibus in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. Of these saints, Samonas and Gurias suffered martyrdom during the reign of Diocletian and Antonius the duke. Gurias was from the village of Sargokitia, while Samonas was from Ganada. They were accused of persuading people not to sacrifice to idols. Therefore, each of them was immediately hung by one hand, while a large stone was placed beneath his feet as a weight. They remained suspended in this manner from the ninth hour of the morning until the twelfth hour, at noon. Then they were taken down and thrown into a dark place in the prison. After their feet had been tightly fastened to a wooden block, they remained there for four months, suffering from hunger, thirst, and bonds. After this, their persecutors brought them out again. They hung Saint Samonas by one foot until his knee was dislocated, and then by his head, from the seventh hour of the morning until the eleventh. Saint Gurias, however, they left alone, because he was half-dead and appeared to be dead. At dawn the following day, after bringing them outside, they put them to death by the punishment of the sword. Abibus, who was a deacon, was accused during the reign of Emperor Licinius of teaching the word of the Lord in the regions and villages. He was hung and beaten, after which they released him and questioned him again about his faith. Because he did not yield to the will of the tyrant, they placed him in a fire, putting a strap in his mouth as if he were a murderer. And thus he completed his martyrdom.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: November 15

The Month of November

Day 15

79. How Mothers Should Act When Arranging Marriages for Their Daughters

(From the account of the sufferings of the Holy Martyrs Gurias, Samonas, and Abibus)

Christian mothers who have grown-up daughters undoubtedly, in most cases, are concerned first and foremost with how to arrange marriages for their daughters. And when this concern is crowned with success and a bridegroom appears, another concern arises: how to prepare a suitable dowry for the daughter. From then until the wedding day, almost all their time is taken up with this concern. Many things must be bought, many things sewn, and many other arrangements made. In our opinion, many mothers, becoming absorbed in all this, fall into a serious error. Devoting themselves entirely to worldly concerns, they forget, because of them, the spiritual concern that ought to rest upon them, namely, fervent and ardent prayer for their daughters. This, indeed, should be the mothers' chief concern. For who can guarantee that their daughters' future married lives will be happy? And who, apart from God, can grant them this happiness? And who, finally, in the event of some misfortune, can deliver their daughters from it, except God? Therefore, when arranging marriages for their daughters, mothers must first of all pray earnestly that the Lord grant their daughters happiness in marriage and deliver them from all misfortunes and evils in their family lives. From this it follows that the mothers' preparations for their daughters should be preparations, and prayer should be prayer. Let mothers also understand that the latter is necessary for them because, as a mother's prayer, it is a great thing for her children. As the saying goes, it reaches down to the bottom of the sea and delivers from death. And what the people say is, in this case, absolutely true.

Saint Gregory Palamas and our Age (George Mantzarides)

By George I. Mantzarides,
Emeritus Professor, Faculty of Theology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

 

Saint Gregory Palamas (1296–1359) is one of the greatest Fathers of our Church. At times, he is placed as the fourth Hierarch alongside Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom. At a critical time, when Christ-named humanism was challenging the very essence of the Church as a “communion of deification,” Saint Gregory Palamas put forward the teaching on the deification of man through his participation in the uncreated energy of God. He did not present new theological truths that had not previously existed in Holy Scripture and the Tradition of the Church. However, by using the language, terms, and concepts of his time, he overturned the challenges to and attacks upon the Christian faith and life through the timeless truth of the Church.

The Spiritual Legacy of Saint Gregory Palamas and the Timelessness of his Teachings

By Archimandrite Methodios Alexiou

In the fourteenth century, Byzantium was threatened by three dangers: first, Western scholasticism, represented by Barlaam, who taught that man cannot truly be united with God; second, Ottoman views of Byzantium; and third, Slavic raids into Macedonia, accompanied by a spirit of egocentrism and superstitions that prevailed in those regions. These were the circumstances in which Saint Gregory Palamas struggled.

Our Church honors Saint Gregory on the Sunday following the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, as an example of Orthodox life and teaching. Indeed, had the views of Barlaam prevailed in his time, the Christian life would not have been a path toward deification, but a mere human movement, deprived of the freshness of the breath of the Holy Spirit. The person of Saint Gregory Palamas, the God-seer, and his Orthodox theology, which is founded upon the deification of man through the uncreated energies in the Church of Christ, make the Saint an exceptional figure both in his own time and today. Saint Gregory Palamas answers the fundamental question of every Christian: “Can I see God?” And his answer is: “Yes, you can see Him within yourself, see Him spiritually, if, with all your repentance and humility, and with anguish of soul, you direct your prayer to Him: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.’”

Holy New Martyr Constantine of Hydra in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

The holy and glorious martyr of Christ, Constantine, belongs to the company of the New Martyrs—that is, those martyrs who suffered in more recent times, particularly during the period of Ottoman rule, at the hands of the Hagarenes who held power, without thereby being considered any less holy than the ancient and great martyrs of the early period of the Church. This is one of the first things emphasized by the Hymnographer of the Saint’s Service, himself a great father of the Church of more recent times, the Venerable Nikodemos the Hagiorite.

November: Day 14: Teaching 3: Birthday of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna

 

November: Day 14: Teaching 3:*
Birthday of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna**
 
(Lessons from her Life: 
a. Mercy toward the Poor and 
b. Family Harmony)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Our most pious and beloved Dowager Empress, whose birthday the Holy Church now celebrates with solemn joy, offers us, from the heights of the imperial throne, two great examples of Christian life, which it is especially necessary to imitate at the present time: examples of lofty Christian charity and of the sacred observance of the ordinances of the Mystery of Marriage.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: November 14

The Month of November

Day 14

78. Unrepentant Sinners, After Death, Are Delivered into the Power of Demons and Go to Hell

(From the Life of the Holy Apostle Philip)

Once, while the Holy Apostle Philip was preaching the word of God to the pagans, he raised a dead man before them in order to convince them by an actual deed that Jesus is truly Christ, the Son of God. The circumstances were as follows. While the Apostle was speaking about the Lord to the pagans, a dead man was being carried past the place where they were gathered. Seeing him, those listening to Philip said to him: “If you raise this dead man, then we will believe in your God.” Hearing this, the Apostle raised his eyes to heaven and, after praying for some time, said in a quiet voice to the dead man lying on the bier: “Theophilos!” At these words of Philip, the dead man came to life, raised himself, sat up on the bier, and opened his eyes. Philip said to him again: “Christ commands you: rise from the bier and speak with us.” Immediately, the man who had been raised did as he was commanded, fell at the Apostle’s feet, and exclaimed: “I thank you, holy servant of God, for delivering me from many evils at this hour. For after my soul was separated from my body, two black and foul-smelling demons mercilessly dragged me to Hell; and if you had not come to my aid and delivered me from them, I would certainly have been cast into grievous Tartarus.” From these words of the resurrected Theophilos, as you see, brethren, it becomes clear that sinners, after death, are delivered into the power of demons and go to Hell. Is this true?

Saint John Chrysostom as Teacher, Celebrant of the Divine Mysteries, and Shepherd

 

By Metropolitan Chrysostomos III of Mani

Among the foremost holy personalities of our Church is Saint John Chrysostom. In particular, the hymnography of the Church employs magnificent words and phrases to praise and extol this God-bearing Father of the fourth century. Here are some examples: “Rejoice, O John of Golden Speech, all-golden one,” “The treasury of the virtues,” “The mouth of the Church,” “The golden-voiced trumpet,” “The precision of theology,” “The correction of those who sin,” “The Father of orphans,” “The swiftest help of those who suffer injustice,” “An earthly angel and a heavenly man.”