Holy Hieromartyr Gregory of Greater Armenia in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. Saint Gregory lived during the reign of Diocletian. He was a Parthian by descent, the son of Anak, a relative of Kusaros, king of Armenia. He was arrested by King Tiridates as a Christian and endured many punishments for this reason. When Tiridates learned, moreover, that he was the son of Anak the Parthian, who had murdered his father, he had his hands and feet bound and sent him to the city of Artaxata, where they cast him into a deep pit filled with wild beasts and reptiles. He lived in this pit for fifteen years, secretly fed by a widowed woman. Meanwhile, King Tiridates went mad; he ate his own flesh and lived among the pigs in the mountains. His sister, Kusarodukta, then had a dream and heard a voice saying: ‘Unless Gregory comes out of the pit, Tiridates will not recover.’ Indeed, Kusarodukta freed Gregory, and at the same time the king was healed. Gregory became Bishop of Armenia, baptized its inhabitants, built many churches, and finally departed peacefully to the Lord.

September: Day 30: Teaching 2: Saint Michael, First Metropolitan of Kiev

September: Day 30: Teaching 2:
Saint Michael, First Metropolitan of Kiev
 
(Our Idolatry)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. More than 900 years have passed since our forefathers accepted the Christian faith under Saint Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, and his great fellow laborer in the work of spreading the faith, the first Metropolitan of Kiev, Saint Michael, whose memory is celebrated today.

II. Glory and thanksgiving to God: the times of paganism have ended, but has idolatry ended? Are we who have accepted the law of Christ free from the service of idols? No. Worship of statues and material idols has ended, but worship of spiritual idols, the service of the devil, has not ended. Spiritual idols are sinful passions: whoever serves them and seeks to please them serves the devil. There are three such principal idols to which, unfortunately, we Christians also often bow down and render service: these are our “love of honor, worldliness, and gratification of the flesh.” “Everything that is in the world,” says the Holy Apostle John, is “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16).

Prologue in Sermons: September 29

For Those Who Conceal Their Sins in Confession

September 30

(A Homily of Saint John Chrysostom on the Confession of Sins.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

Regarding the Mystery of Repentance, the Church, among other things, makes the following determination: whoever conceals his sins in confession not only does not receive forgiveness for them, but also doubles them. “But if you conceal anything from me,” the spiritual father says to the penitent before confession, “you have a twofold sin.” It would seem that such a stern determination of the Church ought to compel all Christians to be open in confession and to approach it not with a feeling of Pharisaic self-righteousness, but with the disposition of the publican and the prudent thief. Nevertheless, even to this day we often see that some, because of false shame, others because of weak faith, others because of pride, and still others at the instigation of the devil, in a word, many do not cease concealing their sins and thereby leave confession without true peace in their conscience, without the divine word of forgiveness within their souls. How, then, can such people be moved to openness? How can their false shame, weak faith, and pride be taken away? How can they be made truly repentant? Let us endeavor to do this through the following words of Saint Chrysostom. God grant that those who conceal their sins in confession may be convinced of their error and come to their senses.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: September 30

The Month of September

Day 30

31. Do Not Destroy the Defenseless

(From the Life of the Holy Hieromartyr Gregory, Bishop of Greater Armenia, and with him the thirty-seven maidens)

Although, fortunately, such people are rare, there are nevertheless those who, whether for the sake of gain, out of malice, or for some other vile purpose, consider it nothing not only to deceive or rob the defenseless, but even to destroy them completely. One man has a child in his care for instruction; he beats him and beats him, and by his beatings finally brings him to the grave. Another seduces a maiden and then spares no means by which he might be rid of her, and the maiden perishes forever, both in soul and in body. Another, in order to make use of the money and property of an orphan, sends her to the other world before her time. What do you think, brethren? Will such people's cruelty and inhumanity go unpunished, or not? Know that they will never go unpunished, and the Lord will strictly call such evildoers to account. “You shall not afflict the orphan,” He says; “if you afflict them at all... My wrath will be kindled” (Exodus 22:22–24), and the Lord confirms His words by deeds themselves.

Venerable Kyriakos the Anchorite Resource Page

St. Kyriakos the Anchorite (Feast Day - September 9)

Verses

The bitterness of the onions you warded off Kyriakos,

Giving them a sweet taste, or you would be condemned to die.

Onion-eating Kyriakos made his end on the twenty-ninth.  

Venerable Kyriakos the Anchorite

September: Day 29: Teaching 1: Venerable Kyriakos the Anchorite

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: September 29 

Venerable Kyriakos the Anchorite in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church 

Why Saint Kyriakos is Not Called a "Hermit" But Instead Called an "Anchorite"

  

The Relationship Between St. Gerasimos of Jordan and St. Kyriakos the Anchorite

Venerable Kyriakos the Anchorite in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. Venerable Kyriakos lived during the reign of Theodosius the Great and was from the city of Corinth, in whose Church his father, John, was a presbyter. His mother was named Eudokia, and he was the nephew of Bishop Peter, while he himself served in the rank of Reader. When he was eighteen years old, he went to Jerusalem and became a monk under Venerable Euthymios the Great. As a monk, he demonstrated great and intense asceticism, rebuked those who held the erroneous doctrines of Origen, performed many miracles through the power of Christ, and reached an extremely advanced old age. He was gentle and sociable as a man, while by divine revelation he foretold many things that were to come to pass. He was large in stature, yet neither wild nor repulsive, but gracious in his manner, without suffering any bodily disability or illness as the years passed. For some years he also guided the Lavra of Saint Chariton.

2. Today, as we seek the intercessions of Venerable Kyriakos, we receive the grace of the intercessions of Venerable Chariton, whose feast we celebrated only yesterday. This is not merely because his feast is so close to today's, but chiefly because Venerable Kyriakos was the successor of Venerable Chariton, the one who, as the Synaxarion relates, guided the flock of the monastery founded by Elder Chariton after his repose. Thus, for those who honor it according to the manner of our Church, the grace of today's feast comes to us with double intensity. The Hymnographer emphasizes this as well:

“Standing in glory before God the Almighty, O God-proclaimer Kyriakos, together with divine Chariton, unceasingly remember those who celebrate your light-bearing memory, O Saint.”

Prologue in Sermons: September 29

 

The Saints of God Help Us in the Struggle Against the Demons

September 29

(A Word on Saint Andrew the Fool for Christ.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

For a successful struggle against the demons and for victory over them, the Lord has given us two means: prayer to God and fasting, as He also said: “This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21). But is there also some other means that likewise makes the struggle against evil spirits easier, or not? Know, brethren, that there is, and it consists in fervent prayer to the saints of God for their help.

When Saint Andrew undertook the ascetic feat of folly for Christ, Satan attacked him with such force, together with the demons under his power, that Andrew thought his final hour had come. And so, finding himself in a desperate situation, he cried out: “Holy Apostle John the Theologian, help me!” After these words, thunder struck, and the voice of many people was heard. And an Elder appeared with fearsome eyes, whose face was almost as bright as the sun, and with him appeared a multitude of people dressed in white robes. And the Elder said angrily to those who were with him: “Shut the gates, so that none of the demons may escape from here.” And the Elder’s command was carried out.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: September 29

 

The Month of September

Day 29

30. How the Saints of God Spent the Holy Forty-Day Fast

(From the Life of Venerable Kyriakos the Hermit*)

When Great Lent arrives, those who love worldly comforts and those who indulge the flesh immediately begin to say: “Ah, this fast! I do not know how I will get through it! Lenten food is harmful to me, and I have to stand through long services and make so many prostrations.” Are the complaints of those who love worldly comforts justified? Certainly not. And even less so because, in reality, most of them observe hardly any fast at all, do not stand through the Church services, and do not make prostrations. What, then, should we say to such people for their instruction? How can we turn them away from their empty complaints? How can we encourage them to undertake the labors of the fast without complaining and with zeal? We will try to do what we can for those who love worldly comforts in the following way: first, we will show them how the holy servants of God generally spent Great Lent, and then how some of them spent it in particular.

Reading the Ascetic Discourses of Saint Isaac the Syrian as a Layperson

By Monk Damaskenos the Hagiorite

The more someone studies Abba Isaac and ascends his spiritual steps, the more one becomes aware of their spiritual poverty, that is, of their distance from the measure of the Saints, and of how far they are from the perfection of humility and love. Moreover, Abba Isaac gives them the possibility, if they desire it, of attaining this perfection, with the cooperation of Grace.

But here I must point out the following as well:

Abba Isaac reveals to the reader the full truth about how God acts in order to save man. He emphasizes that God acts like a father who loves and disciplines his son, not only to protect him from the dangers of life, but also to educate him spiritually and lead him to spiritual perfection. And he points out that although God is generally merciful, philanthropic, and compassionate toward all people, toward His own children, His chosen ones, while He provides in all things for their biological and spiritual survival, He simultaneously desires that they always follow the narrow and afflicted path, so as to secure their spiritual progress and deem them worthy of participation in His Kingdom. That is, He desires them to live continually in affliction, with only brief periods of relief and respite. This, moreover, is the spirit of the Gospel, which is completely opposed to the spirit of this world, which wants and seeks for people to live continually in comfort and to avoid difficulties and afflictions.