Saint James the Bishop and Confessor in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

Saint James followed the ascetic life from a young age and purified his heart through fasting and other forms of hardship. For this reason, the Church elected him as a bishop. As a bishop, he endured many persecutions, because he fought against the error of the iconoclasts. Enduring persecutions and struggling with hunger and thirst in exile, he committed his spirit to God.

The Holy Hymnographer Ignatius stands in awe before the ascetic of the Lord, Saint James. For although he was a bishop of the Church with a strong militant spirit against the heresy of iconoclasm — which denied the incarnation of God in the person of Jesus Christ — and indeed gave up his spirit as a result of the sufferings of the persecutions he endured from the iconoclasts, nevertheless the center of gravity of his life lay in his ascetic conduct. His asceticism, as a fulfillment of the commandments of the Lord — that is, living himself as one crucified with regard to his passions — was his constant priority, whether at the beginning of his life, in its development, or even in his episcopal ministry. “An Ascetic Bishop” would be the title that characterizes his life.

“Taking up the Cross upon your shoulders, venerable father, you followed precisely the Crucified Lord, and living in monastic solitude with all wisdom, you diminished your passions through self-control” (Ode 1).

March: Day 21: Teaching 3: Venerable Serapion the Sindonite

March: Day 21: Teaching 3:*
Venerable Serapion the Sindonite
 
(On the Means That Awaken Love for One’s Neighbor)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Venerable Serapion, an ascetic of the late 4th and early 5th century, whose memory is celebrated today, lived in Egypt. His entire life was devoted to care for his neighbors. In his youth, Serapion distributed all his possessions to the poor and, keeping only the necessary clothing and the Gospel, embraced monasticism. He did not have a fixed residence in any monastery, but went from place to place, striving everywhere to help those in need and to comfort them with the word of God. Venerable Serapion usually stayed wherever night overtook him, and in the morning he went on further.

Once, seeing in Alexandria a beggar trembling from cold, Serapion said to himself: “What kind of monk am I, if I have sufficient clothing, while this layman has none?” — and he gave him his garment. Then, seeing another beggar asking for alms, Serapion gave him his Gospel. When the Venerable one was asked where his Gospel and clothing were, he replied: “The Gospel told me: give your possessions to the poor — and I gave it; and the garment I gave to Him Who will give me in its place something far better.”

March: Day 21: Teaching 2: Saint James, Bishop and Confessor

March: Day 21: Teaching 2:*
Saint James, Bishop and Confessor
 
(How to Raise Children in the Spirit of Piety?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint James, whose memory is celebrated today, was distinguished by the strictness of his life. From his youth he loved piety, which he preserved until the end of his days. For his holy life he was appointed a bishop, and he labored greatly for the veneration of icons, which in his time were under persecution. But his zeal resulted in exile and imprisonment, in which he also reposed.

II. We have said that Saint James loved piety from his youth. Even in our own time, many children from an early age show an inclination toward a pious life. See how some children are obedient, gentle, yielding; how well-behaved, diligent, and zealous in prayer they are. See with what attentiveness a child listens to lessons in the Law of God, how long and fervently he prays, how he loves the house of God. Tell him something divine, wondrous, extraordinary — he will never forget it; read to him stories from the lives of the saints — he will listen with remarkable attention, for hours at a time. And how compassionate some children are toward the poor! For them, their greatest joy is to give alms. In some, the inclination to piety is innate, but in many their pious disposition also depends on external causes.

Prologue in Sermons: March 21

A Monk Not by Calling

March 21

(A Homily of Kosmas the Presbyter)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

He who goes to a monastery without prior preparation for the monastic life, without discernment, not by calling, is a bad monk; indeed, he can scarcely even be called a monk at all. This is evident from the following.

Kosmas the Presbyter says: “Many withdraw from the world into a monastery; but, not wishing to endure the wearisome services and labors of monastic life, they flee from the monastery back into the world and return like dogs to their vomit, fall into despair, and sin worse than before. Others of them wander through the cities, roaming about like madmen here and there, eating others’ bread for nothing, spending their time in inexcusable idleness, and watching for where there are feasts, becoming slaves not of God, but of the belly. And for them the latter becomes worse than the former.

An Icon of Saint Ephraim of Nea Makri at the General Hospital of Kalymnos is Exuding Myrrh

A report from Wednesday, March 18, 2026, that is causing awe and deep emotion on the island of Kalymnos has emerged, as the icon of Saint Ephraim of Nea Makri, which is located inside the General Hospital of the island, is said to have exuded myrrh.

The incident was initially noticed by a nurse at the hospital, who immediately informed the administrator, Pantelis Kongas, stating that she observed liquid flowing from the left eye of the icon. The administrator went to the location and verified the event, proceeding to promptly inform the ecclesiastical authorities, namely Protopresbyter Amphilochios Sakalleros and Metropolitan Paisios of Kalymnos, Leros and Astypalaia.

Indeed, the Metropolitan collected the liquid with cotton, which — according to testimonies — emitted a characteristic fragrance, while a Paraklesis service was held and the Apolytikion of Saint Ephraim was chanted. In a brief statement, the Metropolitan approached the event theologically, noting: “The icon is exuding myrrh. A miracle is not subject to investigation, and for us this is a blessing of God.” He further stated that “the mystery is not to be examined, but experienced,” without, however, any official announcement being issued by the Metropolis.

Homily Three for the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross (St. Sergius Mechev)

Homily Three for the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross 

By Holy Hieromartyr Sergius Mechev

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

Today the Holy Church, by the bringing forth of the Honorable Cross, gives us an image of the sufferings of Christ, recalling them especially now, as we complete the course of the Holy Fast, and thereby showing us that we too must bear our cross.

Today also is celebrated the memory of Saint Alexios, the Man of God, whom we especially venerate in our church.

But this day is especially dear to us also because it is and will be the name day of Batiushka, Father Alexei. Today the Lord has granted us to meet this day for the first time without him, and in the radiance of the Holy Cross. If today we have prayed to the Lord that His Holy Cross may not be fruitless in us, that, having venerated His sufferings, we may go from strength to strength and ourselves become laborers in the vineyard of Christ, let us remember that among us there was a man who not only bore his own cross, but also bore upon himself the countless crosses of his spiritual children. He was like the one of whom John Climacus speaks — that there are tears and sorrow according to God, and there is joy according to God, and that both — this and that — are sometimes united in one laborer of Christ.

The Eyewitness Account of Saint Stephen the Melodist of the Massacre of the Holy Fathers of the Lavra of Saint Savvas

 

At that time, Fathers died in the Lavra of Saint Savvas by a martyric death, which was described as an eyewitness account by Saint Stephen the Melodist, who was a Hagiopolite and a Sabbaite (+ 807), at the urging of the abbot of the Lavra, Basil, who was absent at the time of the barbarian raid. It is true that the work does not mention a name, but in the biography of Saint Stephen the Wonderworker, its author Leontios, speaking of a certain pious man, a fellow student of Abba Theoktistos, says that he was numbered among the Fathers who were slain by the barbarians in the Great Lavra, “whose account was written by the all-virtuous Abba Stephen, the pride of our Lavra.”

This work bears the following title: “Narration, that is, the Martyrdom of the Holy Fathers who were slain by the barbarians, namely the Saracens, in the Great Lavra of our Holy Father Savvas.” Stephen composed many canons for those who were slain in the Lavra on March 20.

Stephen became an eyewitness of the events in the Lavra, “being one of the monks in this holy Lavra, though unworthy, and one of those who were present at the time of the destructive incursion and attack of the barbarians.” This plundering incursion and attack of the Saracens against the Lavra must be attributed to their inclination toward looting, since they believed that in the cells of the Fathers they would find countless buried treasures. In the year 788, when Elias was Patriarch and Basil was abbot, a great civil war broke out among the Saracens in Palestine. Dividing themselves into two factions, they caused many disturbances by unlawful means: how many robberies, bloodshed, and unjust murders they committed, how many villages they left in ruins by delivering them to the flames, after first plundering their inhabitants and driving them away or killing them — “I do not have the ability, nor is it appropriate to the present time and subject to recount them in order,” says Stephen. Everywhere these monstrous beings brought dreadful desolation. Numerous and populous cities were laid waste. Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin) they captured and rendered uninhabited; likewise Ascalon and Gaza and Sariphaia and other cities they took, destroyed, and turned into pastures. They set ambushes, stripped passersby, and wounded them — and these considered themselves fortunate because they had escaped death. Each one sought how to seize what did not belong to him and to amass wealth from others’ possessions and money. And if any of them happened to be angry with someone, or especially against Christians, he seized the opportunity and attempted by violence to kill him and seize his property.

Prologue in Sermons: March 20

Endure to the End

March 20

(The Holy Martyr Photini, the Samaritan Woman with whom Christ spoke at the well, and those who were martyred with her.)*

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

Once the Lord appeared to the Holy Martyr Sebastian and the other martyrs who suffered with him and said: “Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). And then, turning to Sebastian, He said further: “Blessed is he who completes his struggle to the end!” And with these words He ascended into heaven.

Let us dwell, brethren, on these last words of the Lord and speak about what they teach us.

The words of the Savior, “Blessed is he who completes his struggle to the end,” undoubtedly teach us endurance to the end. And, of course, it must be so. “Everything is good that ends well,” says human wisdom. Otherwise, it is the opposite — and consider, for example, salvation and good works: what benefit will there be for you from good deeds, if today you perform them, and tomorrow you cast them into the dirt? What benefit will there be if today you begin to fast, to pray, to read the word of God, and tomorrow you abandon all this and go to houses of vice, to corrupt companions, to houses of drunkenness and debauchery?

Homily Two for the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross (St. Sergius Mechev)

Homily Two for the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross 

By Holy Hieromartyr Sergius Mechev

The Holy Church, leading us into the most important part of the Holy Fast —into the days of the Veneration of the Holy Cross — and saying: “Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires,” reveals to us our most important task on earth: to deny ourselves, to renounce what is sinful within us, to take up our cross and follow the Savior.

Saying this and glorifying the Holy Cross, the Church comes to our aid so that we may not fall into despair, thinking that this commandment is beyond our strength, and during the 5th and 6th weeks of Great Lent it gives us two images, two examples — John of the Ladder and Mary of Egypt.

The Church says to us: “Behold, you have been walking in this great school — you have walked, beginning with the awareness of sin within yourselves and mourning it together with the first Adam; you have passed through the Correct Glorification (2nd week), which brings us out of that state and leads us to the doors of paradise through life in the mysteries; you have passed through the illumination of the Taboric light (3rd week), and have come to what is most essential in your present life — to the bearing of the cross, to co-crucifixion with the Lord upon it.” And now the Holy Church gives us a visible example of people who, being just as sinful and bearing the flesh and sin of Adam as we do, have ascended to the height of the first blessedness.