June: Day 15: Teaching 1: Saint Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow

June: Day 15: Teaching 1:
Saint Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow

(Lessons From His Life: 
a. One Must Serve God, 
b. Help the Unfortunate, and 
c. Love One’s Country)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow, whose memory the Holy Church celebrates on this day, from his youth loved solitude and the labors of monastic life. At the age of 12 he entered one of the monasteries in his native land, the Kostroma region, and then continued his monastic exploits in the Moscow Simonov Monastery. Once Metropolitan Photius, visiting the Simonov Monastery and going around the churches and monastery services, found Jonah sleeping in the bakery with a meek, majestic appearance and, noticing that the fingers of his right hand were folded, as if for blessing, he said to those around him that this young monk would one day be the first saint of the Russian land. Indeed, God's determination about the high service of Jonah gradually came to fruition in its time. By the election of the council of hierarchs, confirmed by the Grand Prince, Saint Jonah was elevated to the rank of Bishop of Ryazan and Murom, then in 1448 he was appointed to the see of the Metropolitanate of All Russia.

During the episcopate of Jonah, our Church and homeland faced great dangers: on one side, during this period, the claims of the Roman Pope to subordinate the Russian Church to his authority intensified, aiming to completely sever many ancient Russian regions, which had been under the authority of the Polish king, from the unity of the Orthodox Church; on the other side, the Tatars caused our homeland constant sorrow, penetrating into the country with fire and sword, taking advantage of the weakness and internal strife of the Russian princes. Saint Jonah, as a vigilant guardian of Orthodoxy, closely monitored the machinations of the Roman Pope and, through his directives and letters, endeavored to preserve the indivisible unity of the Orthodox Church. He even traveled to Lithuanian territories himself to improve the affairs of the Church.

With the same feelings of love for Orthodoxy, Saint Jonah was guided in maintaining relations with the Orthodox Eastern Church. In his time, with the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453, the final fall of the Greek kingdom occurred. The Orthodox Eastern Church, suppressed and destroyed by the wild descendants of Asia - worshipers of Mohammed, could find support only in Orthodox Russia. The Russian primate deeply felt the sorrow of the Orthodox of the East: he made appeals to all princes, bishops, and the entire Orthodox Christianity of Russia to provide material assistance to alleviate the plight of the suffering Christians of the East and to redeem those captured by the Turks. Thus, Saint Jonah, at the most opportune time, upheld the tenuous thread of the union between our homeland and the Orthodox Eastern Church, which, over the course of subsequent centuries safeguarded by Divine providence, served as a guarantee of salvation for those oppressed by the slavery of the Eastern Christians, providing assistance and arms from Russia.

Zealously supporting Orthodoxy, Saint Jonah harbored a profound sense of love for his homeland in his heart. Not only did he strive to contribute to the prosperity of Russia by promoting peace and ending the turmoil caused by destructive princely conflicts, but in difficult times of weakness for our fatherland against external enemies, he appeared as a true shepherd, ready to lay down his life for his flock. Thus, in 1451, when the Tatars penetrated to Moscow and besieged it, while the Grand Prince left to gather the necessary forces to repel the enemies, Saint Jonah remained in the Kremlin with those besieged. The Tatars set fire to the suburbs of Moscow, and the saintly figure, amid the fierce flames, in the clouds of smoke and under enemy arrows, conducted processions along the walls of the besieged Kremlin for the prayerful encouragement of the defenders and sought to appease God for the bestowal of His assistance. Through the prayers of the Saint, the city was delivered from grave danger. After a sortie, during which the encouraged defenders fought until evening, the Tatars unexpectedly fled in the morning, leaving behind their heavy supplies as spoils for the besieged. And after this, despite numerous instances of Tatar attacks, the Lord, through the prayers of His servant, did not forsake our homeland with His mighty aid.

Having accomplished the feat of arduous service to the Church and the homeland in the archshepherd office, Saint Jonah passed away in deep old age in 1461 and was crowned by the heavenly Chief Shepherd with a glorious crown of incorruption and miracles from his relics, which, even to this day resting in the Dormition Cathedral of Moscow, serve as a silent witness to God's goodwill towards our Orthodox homeland.

II. In glorifying Saint Jonah, let us, brethren, imitate his holy life.

a) His pious life, which he began to lead from the age of 12 in the feats of fasting, prayerful vigil and labor and monastic obedience, may it remind us of the need to quickly turn to God and serve Him, walking in the footsteps of His commandments; let us not postpone our moral correction until old age, for not only old age, but also the next day is not in our power: “Watch therefore, for you do not know the day or the hour in which the Son of Man comes” (Matt. 25:13).

b) Let us, following the example of Saint Jonah, be responsive to help all our unfortunate neighbors, whom we will help not only with words and good advice, but also with material donations. Let us have love among ourselves, which is a sure sign that we are true disciples of Jesus Christ and Christians not only in name, but also in fact. On the day of God's terrible judgment, our acts of mercy to our neighbors will not be forgotten and will attract God's mercy to us according to the word of the Lord: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."

c) Let us finally, following the example of Saint Jonah, ardently love our homeland and spare no sacrifices for it. If duty and oath require us to sacrifice our lives in defending and safeguarding the holy faith, the Tsar, and the homeland, let us not shrink from such a sacrifice, no matter how great it may seem: for a temporary life, we inherit eternal life, and for the loss of earthly and fleeting goods, we become heirs of heavenly and everlasting treasures. In fulfilling all our civic duties, imposed upon us by the laws of our homeland, not out of fear only but also from conscience, let us always remember that 'a bad citizen of the earthly kingdom is unfit for the heavenly kingdom,' as wisely expressed by one teacher of our national church. Amen.

 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.