Prologue in Sermons: February 6

On What is Necessary in Order to Meet Death Not With Terror, But With Joy

February 6*

(Commemoration of the Holy Martyr Martha and her niece Mary, and of the Koly Martyr Karion the Black Robe Wearer)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

When we draw near to death, for the most part we meet it with terror rather than with joy. Why is this so? Because then we feel hemmed in on all sides. If we look back, we are met by unpaid sin and unforgiven evil; if we direct our gaze forward, we meet God, the impartial Judge, eternal blessedness — which we have lost for the fleeting sweetness of sin — and the torments of hell, ready to swallow us up forever. In short, we fear death because we are sinners. Were we righteous, it would be otherwise. We would meet death not with terror, but with joy.

The Reasons for the Anger of Westerners Against Photios (An Article by St. Nektarios of Aegina)

Introduction

By John Sanidopoulos

The following article titled The Reasons for the Anger of Westerners Against Photios was written in 1897 and published in the Thracian Yearbook by Metropolitan Nektarios Kephalas of Pentapolis (later Saint Nektarios of Aegina), at a time when he was Director of the Rizarios Ecclesiastical School in Athens and actively engaged in the formation of Orthodox clergy. The work belongs to the genre of Orthodox theological–historical apologetics and was composed as a systematic exposition of Orthodox ecclesiology through the lens of the Photian controversy.

Nektarios wrote in a period marked by intensified Roman Catholic missionary and apologetic activity in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans, as well as renewed debates over papal primacy, synodal authority, and the legitimacy of the filioque. In response, Greek Orthodox theology of the late nineteenth century sought to articulate its identity with clarity and historical grounding. Saint Photios the Great emerged in this context as a paradigmatic figure: defender of synodal governance, guardian of the unchanged Creed, and representative of the Eastern understanding of primacy as one of honor rather than universal jurisdiction.

The Reception of the Lord (Archimandrite Joel Yiannakopoulos)

The Reception of the Lord 

(Luke 2:22-38)

By Archimandrite Joel Yiannakopoulos

After the birth of Christ, the Theotokos, as a Jewess, was obliged for two reasons to go to the Temple: first, for her own sake, and second, for the sake of her firstborn Son.

Her obligation toward herself was her lawful purification, her “forty-day purification,” as we would say today. According to the Law, that is, every Jewish woman who had given birth, on the fortieth day after the birth of her male child, had to appear in the Temple in order to be purified. During this purification she was required — if she was poor — “to offer a sacrifice according to what was prescribed: a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” This purification was not a bodily cleansing for reasons of hygiene, but a legal one. By it there was recalled, in general, the sinfulness of humanity, and more specifically the transmission of ancestral sin through birth. This is evident from the fact that if a Jewish woman gave birth to a daughter, she was considered unclean not for forty days but for eighty, in remembrance that Eve was the first cause of the fall of the first-created humans. The sacrifice of the offered turtledoves and pigeons, which did not cleanse but merely reminded one of impurity, indicated the need for the coming of a Redeemer, Christ.

Holy Martyr Agatha in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

Saint Agatha was from the city of Panormos (modern-day Palermo) in Sicily, shining from her youth with purity of body and beauty of soul, and she was also wealthy. In the time of Emperor Decius, she was brought before the governor Quintianus. At first she was handed over to an unbelieving, immoral woman, so that she might turn her away from faith in Christ. But because she held firmly to this faith and preferred death by martyrdom, they beat her harshly and cut off her breast, which the all-glorious Apostle Peter restored to health. Then they dragged her over shards and burned her with fire. Finally they threw her into prison, where she surrendered her spirit to God. It is said that at her tomb an angel brought a tablet on which were written the following words: "A venerable mind, self-willed, honor from God, and the redemption of the fatherland."

Saint Theophanes, the hymnographer of Saint Agatha, finds the opportunity in the Canon he composed for her to emphasize once again that our Church is clothed in red by the blood of her holy martyrs. The martyric blood of each Saint is, moreover, an ornament for her, a sign that martyrdom constitutes the glory of the Church. "Let the Church today be adorned with a glorious purple garment, dyed by the pure blood of the Martyr Agatha." And he takes the occasion to remind us of what is self-evident: the Saint gave her life for the sake of her faith in Christ, precisely because she loved Him completely and therefore sought to order her existence according to His holy commandments. "Of all the pleasant and delightful things of life, you chose Christ, Agatha, having been captivated by divine longing."

Prologue in Sermons: February 5

To Novice Monks

February 5

(An admonitory discourse of Saint Ephraim on the ascetic struggle of monks.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

Today we intend to offer spiritual assistance to monks, because, as those who wage an unceasing battle with the flesh, the world, and the devil, they especially stand in need of it. But since the more experienced among the monks are less in need of such help, and novices more so, we direct our assistance to the latter and express it in the following discourse to them by our venerable father Ephraim the Syrian.

“While you still have time, brother,” says the Venerable one to the novice monk, “strive as a good soldier of Christ, knowing that you strive not for a perishable crown, but for the cleansing of sins and for eternal life. Therefore, in all your deeds acquire humility of mind, which is the mother of obedience. Cast off double-mindedness from yourself and in all things clothe yourself with faith, so that the Lord, seeing the zeal of your soul, may strengthen you in your work. Nurture within yourself a strong hatred for laziness, for rivalry, for every evil disposition and envy, since for the Lord you have left behind your fleshly parents, friends, and possessions. For if at the beginning your thoughts make you slack, you will endure both weariness and loss. Therefore, if it should happen that for the Lord we grow weary somewhat, or even beyond our strength, let us not complain. For whoever complains clearly shows about himself that he does not labor of his own free will. You, as a wise man, do not compete with the more negligent brethren, and do not envy those who live without fear of God, knowing firmly that he who falls is dashed to pieces, while he who overcomes is crowned.

Saint Isidore of Pelusium in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

Saint Isidore, who was Egyptian by birth, was known as the son of noble and God-loving parents, and he was a relative of Theophilos and Cyril, the Bishops of the Church of Alexandria. This venerable man, greatly educated both in divine wisdom and in secular learning, left behind very many writings, worthy of study and remembrance by lovers of learning. Having abandoned every form of wealth, the splendor of his lineage, and the comfort of worldly life, he went to Mount Pelusium and embraced the monastic life. There, living in complete dedication to God, he illumined the whole inhabited world with the teaching of his divine words, with the result that he led sinners to repentance, strengthened those who were struggling in the faith, and stirred to virtue those who were disobedient, through the severity of his divine reproofs. Moreover, he reminded and admonished even kings, for the benefit of the world, and in general interpreted the words of Holy Scripture in a most wise manner for all who questioned him. It is said, indeed, that his letters number as many as ten thousand. Having therefore lived an excellent life and conducted himself according to the will of God, he departed this life in deep old age.

Prologue in Sermons: February 4

 

A Monk Must Not Leave the Monastery in Which He Lives

February 4

(A Discourse on Silence and Humility, and On Not Falling Into Despair)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

Some of the monks, unfortunately, have become accustomed to leaving the monasteries in which they live and moving from place to place. There, they say, the abbot is strict; here, the brethren are quarrelsome; there, the labors are beyond one’s strength; and here, they do not struggle as we would like. And such men run off—partly out of laziness, partly out of pride, partly out of their innate inability to get along—from their own monastery to another, and from that one to a third, and so on. Is this good? 

 

No, it is bad. Bad, first of all, because wandering is forbidden by the Savior Himself, who says: “Do not go from house to house” (Luke 10:7), and “Into whatever town you enter, remain there” (Matt. 10:11). And bad, secondly, because examples sometimes point to the most disastrous consequences for monks who leave the monasteries in which the Lord has ordained them to dwell. For the instruction of such wanderers, we present one such example.

Homily for the Commemoration of Saint Nicholas of Japan (Fr. Daniel Sysoev)

Homily for the Commemoration of Saint Nicholas of Japan 

By Fr. Daniel Sysoev

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

I congratulate you all on the feast day of Saint Nicholas of Japan, Equal-to-the-Apostles! This day is special for us, as we want to build a chapel in our large church in honor of Saint Nicholas of Japan, Equal-to-the-Apostles. His life should be an example for us of how a person can fulfill God's will in completely unimaginable circumstances. Saint Nicholas was from the Tver region. He graduated from seminary, then from the St. Petersburg Academy. The Synod sent a letter to the Academy inviting those interested in becoming priests in Japan, and Nicholas agreed to go. Then, after three centuries of banning Europeans from visiting the country, Japan opened its doors to foreigners. Three hundred years earlier, a very successful Catholic mission had been established in Japan, and the government, fearing the mass Christianization of a pagan people, killed all the missionaries and closed the country completely. Ultimately, this policy led Japan to complete economic collapse.

Homily for the Reception of the Lord (Fr. Daniel Sysoev)

Homily for the Reception of the Lord 

 

By Fr. Daniel Sysoev

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

I congratulate you all on the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord! This is the day when we celebrate the meeting of two Covenants: the Old Covenant, made with the people of Israel, and the New Covenant, made with the Universal Church, now including all nations. We must ponder the words of prophecy proclaimed by the ancient elder Symeon, taking the Creator of the Universe in his arms: "Now let Your servant depart in peace, O Master, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel." (By word — according to promise. By revelation — for enlightenment. By Gentiles — the nations.)

This meeting was necessary so that we could understand that the ancient law given to the people of Israel contains something great and important for our day and for the New Testament Church. The entire liturgy of the New Testament Church is woven from the Psalms spoken by the Old Testament patriarch and prophet David. Christianity has a direct relationship to ancient Judaism; indeed, one could put it another way: modern Judaism has absolutely no connection to ancient Judaism, and the direct and sole heir of Old Testament Judaism is the Universal Orthodox Church! Because with it, by the grace of God, the Creator of the Universe, the same covenant was made with ancient Israel. Modern Israel in the flesh has lost this covenant, broken it, rejecting its Messiah, Jesus Christ. The Universal Orthodox Church is the New Israel, having received the blessings that the Lord bestowed upon Old Testament Israel.