Adam, the Twilight, the Footsteps and the Voice of God

By Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Mani

Adam is man. It is the name of the first man, according to Holy Scripture. He is the first-formed, our forefather, the representative of the human race. He is the most perfect divine creation. Adam — man — is the crown of the entire creation of the all-wise God.

Undoubtedly, in the Book of Genesis, the first three chapters are foundational. They describe the creation of the world, of irrational creation, but also the creation and formation of man. They also speak of his original state, as well as of his fall. They recount the exile of Adam and Eve from Paradise and make reference to the divine promise concerning restoration. Certainly, in the sacred text, the expressions are anthropomorphic, so as to be accessible to our understanding; yet within the words and explanations are hidden profound and most subtle symbols and realities. The ultimate purpose is the realization of the content of “according to the image” and the journey toward “according to the likeness.”

Thus, in the narrative of Genesis, both the greatness and the wretchedness of man are presented and revealed. First, we shall write about the greatness of man. This consists in the fact that man is a divine creation of the infinite love of the One and Triune God, who is truly Love. Consequently, man is not the result of random coincidences of blind, mindless forces. The creation of man was decided by the three Persons of the one Godhead. “Let us make man,” says Genesis (1:26) in the plural number. And God formed man as a psychosomatic being — body and soul. This is the dual composition of man, the spiritual and the material element in one harmonious unity.

Prologue in Sermons: February 23

One of the Effective Means for the Conversion of Schismatics to Orthodoxy

February 23

(A Homily from the Paterikon on Melchizedek)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

Why is it, brethren, that among us there are few who convert from schism to Orthodoxy? There are many reasons for this. But one of the chief reasons, in our opinion, is our hot-tempered zeal. When Orthodox Christians and the so-called Old Believers meet to discuss matters of faith, the matter rarely ends in peace. They argue, quarrel, and part ways. Of course, in such a case no benefit for the cause can be expected. From evil comes only evil. But if the discussion were conducted under different conditions — if it were carried on meekly and thoughtfully — then the outcome would be different.

There once lived a monk in the land of Egypt who was distinguished by coarseness and ignorance, because of which he told everyone that Melchizedek was the Son of God. This was reported to Archbishop Cyril, and the latter summoned the monk to him. Being a wise man and knowing that by meekness one can best turn a person from evil to good, Cyril did not enter into dispute with the monk, but gently said to him:

Homily for Cheesefare Sunday -- The Expulsion of Adam from Paradise (St. Cleopa of Sihastria)

Homily for Cheesefare Sunday 

The Expulsion of Adam from Paradise 

By St. Cleopa of Sihastria

"But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to men to be fasting” (Matthew 6:17).

Beloved faithful,

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came down from Heaven to obey His Father and to serve in the salvation of the human race, delivering it from the bondage of the devil and of death. Throughout the entire Gospel He ceaselessly taught people how to do the will of God and how to perform good works for His glory and for the salvation of their souls. In today’s divine Gospel, among other teachings, He shows us how to fast and where to gather treasure for our souls. Behold what He says concerning fasting, so that it may be for the glory of God and for the salvation of our souls: “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:17–18).

But the Savior commanded us not only to fast in secret, in order to escape the glory of men, but also to give alms, to pray, and to perform all good works in secret. For behold what He says: “Take heed that you do not do your righteous deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in Heaven” (Matthew 6:1). “Therefore, when you do a righteous deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be glorified by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your almsgiving may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, enter into your room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:2–6).

Homily on the Commemoration of Adam's Expulsion (Fr. Daniel Sysoev)

Homily on the Commemoration of Adam's Expulsion 

By Fr. Daniel Sysoev

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!

Today, on Forgiveness Sunday, our Church remembers the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. From the Paradise of sweetness in which we dwelt, from that beautiful Garden where we were with God. Where we could draw infinite knowledge from the infinite mind of God, and from His infinite strength we drew infinite power, from His life we drew our eternal life. From His joy we drew our eternal joy. But we were expelled from there in Adam and Eve, for we are all blood descendants of the first man. Our entire nature is the nature of Adam and Eve, which was expelled from Paradise. We remember how we were deprived of blessedness as a result of the sin of the first people. But if you pay attention to the order in which sin unfolded, you will see that nothing has changed since then.

When we prepare people for Holy Baptism, we rehearse the meaning of each episode of the exile from Paradise. I think it would be good for us to repeat this. The first woman walks through Paradise and approaches the Tree of Knowledge. According to ancient tradition, this tree was not an apple tree, as many believe, but a fig tree. It was not for nothing that our Lord cursed the fig tree in order to wither the tree of sin. So, she approaches the tree forbidden by God, because God did not want us to know good and evil at that moment. God does not want us to try to be our own judges of good and evil, to try to determine for ourselves what is good and what is bad. God wanted us to act based on His point of view, not on our own, which is limited in knowledge and understanding.

Homily Two for Cheesefare Sunday (Archimandrite George Kapsanis)

Homily Two for Cheesefare Sunday

Forgiveness of Our Brethren as a Prerequisite for Our Union with Christ

(Delivered at the Supper of Forgiveness in Gregoriou Monastery - February 24, 1992)

By Archimandrite George Kapsanis

We thank the Lord, who has vouchsafed us also this evening, all united as brothers, to celebrate Cheesefare Sunday; and in a little while He will vouchsafe us to be forgiven, and forgiven and reconciled in love, to enter into the blessed and holy period of Great Lent.

It is a Tradition of our Church and of our Orthodox Nation that on this evening Orthodox Christians, both in the cities and in the villages — where formerly there was piety and where some piety still remains — go to the Vespers of Forgiveness, listen to the beautiful hymns which move the human soul toward spiritual struggle, and afterward receive forgiveness from the priest and from one another. Then they go to their homes, set a common table with relatives and friends, and rejoice together as families. And thus, all Christians, forgiven, begin the Holy and Great Lent, and in some places even keep the Three-Day Fast.

Homily Two for Cheesefare Sunday (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily Two for Cheesefare Sunday 

By St. John of Kronstadt

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matt. 6:14).

This present Sunday is called among the Orthodox Russian people “Forgiveness Sunday,” from the good and pious custom of asking one another’s forgiveness before the Great Fast and preparation for Holy Communion. This custom has taken firm root from the command of the Savior, who in today’s Gospel enjoins us to forgive one another’s sins, if we desire that our Heavenly Father also forgive our sins — He whom we grieve and anger without number every day and every hour.

Since beginning tomorrow the Great Fast commences, and we all, according to Christian custom, intend to cast off from ourselves the heavy burden of sins; and since this casting off of the sinful burden requires some self-denial on our part and some spiritual skill, the Lord teaches us what exactly is required from us so that our sins may be forgiven completely, without remainder — what we must relinquish on our part, given that the Lord God, on His part, is always ready to have mercy and to save repentant sinners. Namely, He says that what is required of us is simplicity and freedom from malice, absence of anger, forgetting of offenses, friendliness, love toward enemies.

The Finding of the Relics of the Holy Martyrs in Eugenios in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

In the years of Emperor Arcadius, when the most holy Thomas was patriarch upon the throne of Constantinople, the holy relics of the martyrs were found beneath the earth, and immediately the high priest took them with great reverence. Great help was then also granted by the saints, for even incurable diseases were healed. After the passage of many years, through a divine revelation, it was disclosed to a certain cleric and calligrapher named Nicholas that some of the many relics were those of Andronikos and Junia, of whom the divine Apostle Paul makes mention in the Epistle to the Romans.

Our Church never ceases to proclaim unceasingly her faith concerning the power of the relics of her saints, given that they bear the grace of God which the saint possessed while living. For, as we have often said, humans stands as a unified being — both soul and body — before God. This means that the glory of God dwelling in the sanctified soul of the saint is also transmitted to his holy body. For this reason we faithful consider the holy relics to be among the greatest treasures of our faith, making the saint living and present among us, even if he has departed from this life.

Prologue in Sermons: February 22

The Benefit of Hearing the Word of God

February 22

(From the Discourse About a Jester Who Was Saved With Two Wives)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

It is known that the Lord Jesus Christ, during His earthly life, by His divine word turned many sinners to salvation. Such were Matthew the tax collector, Mary Magdalene, Zacchaeus, the Samaritan woman, and many others. But what now? Does the word of God continue to act so savingly upon sinners to this day? Does there remain in the word of God that same power which it had when it came forth from the lips of the Savior Himself? Undoubtedly.

This is evident from the fact that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and also from examples that show the extraordinarily beneficial action of the word of God upon the human heart even after the Ascension of the Savior.

In the city of Tarsus in Cilicia there lived a jester named Babylas. He had unlawful cohabitation with two women, and by his deeds he was a vessel of the devil. Once it happened that he was in church, and while there he heard the reading of the Gospel. The words, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17), had an extraordinary effect on him. Immediately he felt deep repentance, wept, began to reproach himself for his former life, and made a promise to amend his ways.

The Bedridden Monk Sophronios from Crete Who Suffers from an Incurable Disease

The Moving Words of the Bedridden Monk Sophronios from Crete Who Suffers from an Incurable Disease

 

July 16, 2018
Bema Orthodoxia

The bedridden monk Sophronios, who suffers from terminal Motor Neuron Disease, recently gave a moving interview to Crete TV with the help of an eye-tracking typing system.

Q: They say that pain completes human existence. Do you experience this — and how?

A: Pain is a great school and teaches self-knowledge, which leads to knowledge of one’s brother and ultimately to knowledge of God. Pain humbles you, and through humility our heart softens and opens to God and to our fellow human being. I communicate with people all over the world who suffer from physical or psychological illnesses. With God’s help, through my experience on the bed of pain, I understand them — even if only a little — so that I may tell them a comforting word, a word of our Christ. Today there is so much loneliness in the world, and turmoil and fear. We Christians, who have the gift from God of knowing Christ, must share with our fellow human being the joy, the peace, and the love which is Christ. Is this not the goal of our existence — that we all be saved?

Q: What would you say to someone who wants to undergo euthanasia?

A: Life is a gift from God to all of us. I understand this better than ever now that I am in bed. None of us came into life by our own will. So how can you bring an end to your life, when in essence it does not belong to you? In my opinion this is the problem of our era: it cultivates in modern man a self-centered way of life, cut off from the social whole — from the family, the neighborhood, the homeland, etc. — with the result that we think we are independent, self-directed in this world. I think it is a mistaken view of life that leads the person of our time from “self-deification” to suicide. I understand that the patient does not want to become a burden to others or does not want loved ones to see him suffer. It is very humiliating — I know this very well. But the humble one has the Kingdom of God, not the egotist.