Homily Five on the Ascension of the Lord (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily Five on the Ascension of the Lord 

By St. John of Kronstadt

"And the Lord, after He had spoken to them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God" (Mark 16:19).

The Lord has granted us, my beloved brethren, to celebrate and observe the all-saving festival of Pascha; He has deemed us worthy to await and to rejoice in His divine Ascension and to worship Him, who ascends from the earth to heaven. But let us not, my brethren, spend the Lord's festivals in idleness and in sin, but in godly thought and in the virtue characteristic of Christians; let us reflect on why the Holy Church solemnly commemorates and glorifies the wondrous and saving works of Christ, what it seeks to teach us by recounting His life, teachings, miracles, deeds, sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension.

Now, on the feast of the Ascension of the Lord from earth to heaven, the Holy Church wishes to inspire us to more often soar in thoughts, faith, hope and love, desires, sighs from earth to heaven - there, where the Lord Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19). If you are risen with Christ, then seek those things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" (Col. 3:1, 2), says the Holy Apostle Paul. But what does it mean to think about things which are above, and not on things which are earthly? - Let us now reflect on this for the glory of Him Who ascended from earth to heaven and for the benefit of our souls.

June: Day 2: Holy Great Martyr John the New of Suceava

June: Day 2:
Holy Great Martyr John the New of Suceava
 
(Nature and Human Life Teach Gratitude to God)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Great Martyr John the New, whose memory is celebrated today, is called "of Suceava" because his relics are in the city of Suceava, the Moldavian Whalachian capital, in Austria. Saint John lived in Trebizond and was engaged in trade. Trade affairs did not prevent him from being a good Christian. He loved to study the word of God, and this directed his life and work to everything holy and pleasing to God. Once, when he was traveling on a ship with goods, the captain of the ship, who was, in all likelihood, of the Catholic faith, entering into disputes with him about the faith, could not dispute and decided to destroy him out of hatred. Upon arriving with the ship at the city of Akkerman, he presented himself to the city governor, a Muslim, and informed him about John, stating that he wished to renounce Christianity and embrace Mohammedanism. The mayor summoned John and offered him to accept Mohammedanism, but John said: "God forbid that I should ever renounce Christ!" The mayor began to threaten him with executioners, but John answered: "Chop, burn, hang, beat, torture me as best you can; I am ready to endure everything out of love for my Christ." Then the executioners began to beat him with briar sticks, so that his body flew in pieces through the air, and the blood flowed in streams, but John "thanked God for having granted him the ability to wash away his sins with his own blood." Finally, they tied him by the legs to the tail of a horse and dragged him through the streets of the city. There they laughed at him and cut off his head. The Holy Martyr died on June 2, 1492.* At night, lighted lamps and three angels were seen over John's body, singing and censing, and it was buried. After 70 years, the holy relics of the Great Martyr John were transferred to Suceava, to the Moldavian-Valakh city.

Homily Two for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily Two for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers 

By St. John of Kronstadt

"This is eternal life, that they might know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3)

My priestly office compels me and this Sunday to converse with you about very important matters that we all must know in order to please God and save our souls. Today the Holy Church remembers the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod of Nicaea, who affirmed the true teaching about the Divinity of the Son of God, or the consubstantiality of the Son of God with God the Father, against the heretic Arius and his associates, who falsely taught that the Son of God is not of one essence with God the Father and is allegedly not the true God, but was created by God the Father. They, the blasphemers, wanted to shake the Christian faith at its very roots and foundations: for if we were to admit that Jesus Christ is not the consubstantial Son of God and not the true God, then our redemption and salvation would be a dream, we would be more wretched than all men, for we would all be in sin, without purification and sanctification, we would have no hope of resurrection from the dead and eternal life. The Holy Fathers demonstrated the complete absurdity of this heretical teaching, for, in fact, it was impossible for anyone other than the only-begotten and consubstantial Son of God to renew the corrupted nature of man and cleanse its immeasurable sins, and no one else, except the only-begotten Son of God, could offer himself as a sacrifice for the whole world and take upon Himself its sins. The heretics wanted, through their impious teaching, to take away from men their hope, refuge, consolation, purification, sanctification, their strength and their glory, which the Lord Jesus Christ was and is for all believers. This heretical teaching, destructive to souls, was publicly and wisely refuted and condemned by the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod, which took place under the Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine and in his presence, in the year 325 after the Nativity of Christ in the city of Nicaea, and the Orthodox teaching about the Son of God, our Savior, was solemnly renewed; it is found in the Creed and reads thus: “I believe... in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, Who was begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, by Whom all things were made.” 

Homily on the Seventh Sunday After Pascha: Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily on the Seventh Sunday After Pascha: 

Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

(Delivered in 1964)

"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3).

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

Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ! Today the Holy Church remembers and glorifies the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod, which took place in the city of Nicaea in the year 325 after the Nativity of Christ. This Synod of the Holy Fathers, gathered from all corners of the Christian world, condemned and publicly anathematized the impious teaching of Arius and his like-minded people, who taught unjustly about the Person of Jesus Christ, humiliated His Divine dignity and reduced Him to the level of a lower creature: as if Jesus Christ is not the true God, but a creature created by God. This impious teaching, inspired by the devil in Arius and his followers, overthrew the Christian faith and its entire essence at its very foundation. For if we admit that Jesus Christ was not consubstantial and co-enthroned with the Father, if He is not the true God, then our redemption remains a dream, we are still in sin and have no hope of salvation and resurrection from the dead. For the whole strength of the Christian faith lies in the recognition of Jesus Christ as the true God, Who by His suffering and death redeemed the human race, granted people the remission of sins and eternal life. Therefore, the Holy Fathers, 318 in number, having gathered in the city of Nicaea, proved the entire lie and absurdity of the Arian teaching, since in fact it was impossible for anyone other than the Only Begotten Son of God to accomplish the redemption and salvation of the human race and take upon Himself the sins of the whole world.

Homily on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

Homily on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers*

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

(Delivered on May 18, 1914)

On this Sunday, my friends, the Holy Orthodox Church, remembering the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod, who affirmed the true teaching on the divinity of the Son of God, on the consubstantiality of the Son with God the Father against the heretic Arius, has established the reading of the Gospel today, which contains the High Priestly prayer of Jesus Christ to God His Father before His suffering. With this prayer, Jesus Christ assured of His Divine mission, saying that His words and commands are the words and commands of His Heavenly Father, from Whom He came, Who sent Him and to Whom He must return after earthly life. At the same time, with this prayer, Jesus Christ glorified, thanked and implored His Heavenly Father, in order to teach us, firstly, that we, full of reverence, must glorify the Most High in prayer, seeing the great and wondrous deeds which He accomplished with His omnipotence; secondly, that we, too, full of love and gratitude, should thank the All-Good One in prayer for such blessings which He pours out on each of us; and thirdly, that we, too, full of faith and hope, should implore the All-Wise and All-Merciful One in our prayer that He would strengthen, enlighten and preserve us by His Divine grace. “I have glorified You on earth, I have finished the work which You gave Me to do” (John 17:4), said Jesus Christ in His prayer. His entire earthly life, from Bethlehem to Golgotha, was dedicated to the glorification of the Heavenly Father. Everything that He did, taught and suffered, He did with the thought of God and for the glory of God.

June: Day 1: Teaching 2: Holy Martyr Justin the Philosopher

June: Day 1: Teaching 2:
Holy Martyr Justin the Philosopher

(True Enlightenment is Possible Only in Christianity)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Justin, whose memory we now celebrate, one of the most learned philosophers of the second century A.D., was born in the Samaritan city of Shechem; his parents were rich and noble people, and took care of his education. Justin from his earliest years was passionately fond of learning; he attended the best schools, studied with the most famous philosophers, and finally came to the conviction that only in the word of God is truth contained, that only by faith can the soul of man find peace, true enlightenment, and salvation.

Even at the time when the Apostles preached the gospel, the most intelligent and educated pagans had little faith in the gods. Convinced of the falsity of pagan worship, they sought the truth in the teachings of ancient philosophers or sages: Plato, Pythagoras, Zeno, Epicurus and others. Justin searched for the truth for a long time and conscientiously, and stuck to one teaching, then to another, but none satisfied him, because his soul dimly felt the need to recognize a higher and eternal being. More than other teachings, he was attracted by the teaching of Plato, which was distinguished by the loftiness of its aspirations and some concepts about the Deity and the immortality of the soul. Justin passionately devoted himself to the study of Plato's books: he often sought solitude in order to freely think about the subject that so strongly occupied his soul. At one of these moments he happened to hear about the teachings of Christ from an elder who pointed him to the books of Holy Scripture, in which alone the truth could be found.

June: Day 1: Teaching 1: Venerable Agapitus the Unmercenary of the Kiev Caves

 

June: Day 1: Teaching 1:
Venerable Agapitus the Unmercenary of the Kiev Caves

(Lessons From His Life: 
a. Healing Diseases is a Gift From God, and 
b. In Illness One Must Resort to God in Prayer)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Venerable Agapitus, celebrated today, labored in the Kiev Caves, under the guidance of Venerable Anthony. To his difficult monastic labors the Venerable One added the labor of gratuitous service to those suffering from illness. If any of the brethren fell ill, the Venerable One immediately hastened to provide assistance and remained at the sick person’s bedside until the patient recovered. The Venerable One served the sick brother with all zeal, personally lifting him from his bed, laying him down, carrying him from one place to another, and all this was accompanied by prayer for the healing of the sick person.

The means used by the Venerable One for healing were the simplest, and even ordinary plants used for food were given to the sick and, by the power of faith and prayer of the Venerable One, provided real help in the most serious illnesses. The fame of the healing power of Venerable Agapitus spread far, and many sick people came to him and received benefit. But he always refused those who begged him to come to the city or the surrounding areas to heal the sick, strictly keeping to his monastic vow not to leave the monastery and fearing that by gaining human glory he would harm his salvation; for he deeply believed that the power of healing lies not so much in medical skill as in the gracious help brought down by humble prayer. Thus, when the Chernigov prince Vladimir Vsevolodovich, being seriously ill and hearing about the successes of the healing of Venerable Agapitus, sent to ask him to come to him, the Venerable One resolutely refused, but with a boyar sent by the prince he sent a plant from his farm, and the sick man quickly and completely recovered. The prince himself came to the Kiev Caves Monastery to thank his deliverer, but the Venerable One hid and, not accepting the gifts from the prince, said to those who brought him them: “I have never taken anything from anyone; for it is not my art, but the power of Christ that heals the sick.” This unmercenrary doctor and man of prayer died in extreme old age around 1095 A.D. and was buried in the Antoniev Cave.