June: Day 9: Teaching 1: Saint Cyril of Alexandria

June: Day 9: Teaching 1:
Saint Cyril of Alexandria

(The Immeasurable Mercy of God Should Encourage Us Not To Carelessness, But To Repentance)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Cyril, who is commemorated today, was born in Alexandria in the second half of the 4th century to rich and noble parents. Under the guidance of his uncle, Archbishop Theophilos, he studied the Holy Scriptures, and studied secular sciences at the famous Alexandrian school of antiquity. Living in a rich and populous city, Cyril could not get used to the city noise, did not like entertainment and sought solitude. He chose the skete of Saint Makarios as the place of his desert life, where he spent five years in monastic exploits. Archbishop Theophilos called him from the desert to Alexandria and first enrolled him in the clergy, then ordained him a deacon. After the death of Theophilos, the question arose of whom to elect to the episcopal see. Both the people and the clergy pointed to Cyril, whose firm faith, knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and pious life sharply distinguished him from the number of others who wanted to occupy the Alexandrian throne, and Cyril was chosen.

The Saint's first task was to combat the Novatian heresy. The Novatians were followers of the Roman priest Novatius. They claimed that those who had fallen into grave sin after baptism, especially those who had renounced their faith during persecution, should be forever excommunicated from the Church, even if they later repented. The Novatians thought to form a Church of only the perfect and, blinded by pride, considered themselves to be such. As a sign of their imaginary holiness, they wore white clothes. "True Christians did not think thus, following the teaching and example of Christ, they claimed that there was no sin that would exceed the mercy of God, and that those who had fallen into grave sins could be accepted into the Church if they sincerely repented." Saint Cyril first acted against the Novatians by persuasion, then was forced to expel them from Alexandria. 

Even more than the Novatians, the peace of the Church was disturbed by the Egyptian Jews and pagans. There were many of them in Alexandria and they constantly insulted the Christians. Cyril expelled them too, closing the synagogues and pagan temples. 

While removing the enemies of Orthodoxy from his flock, the Saint at the same time took care to confirm the Alexandrian Christians in the truths of the faith, acting through word and writing.

Saint Cyril took an active part in the Third Ecumenical Synod, which condemned the heresy of the Constantinople Patriarch Nestorius. 

After 32 years of governing the Alexandrian flock, the saint died (in 444), leaving behind the memory of himself as a staunch defender of the Orthodox faith and a tireless preacher.

II. Let us take advantage of the lesson of Saint Cyril's struggle with the Novatian heresy and reflect on what God's immeasurable mercy encourages us to do.

The Heavenly Father is so boundlessly merciful to us that He has entrusted all His judgment upon us to His Son, whom He sent into the world for our salvation. So infinitely gracious is the Only Begotten Son of God, our Lord and Judge, that He freely grants us the forgiveness of sins, which He has purchased at the price of His own blood, through His grievous sufferings and the death on the cross! Now, with but a single word: "I have sinned against the Lord" - the Lord removes your iniquities; now each one only needs to "speak of your trespasses," and "you will be justified." Yet, the unspeakable condescension of God, as much as it brings us comfort, also instills within us a salvific fear; this opportunity to receive forgiveness for sins, as much as it ignites hope, also teaches us to live our lives with reverence and fear.

a) Firstly, the easier and more convenient it is for us to receive forgiveness for our sins today, the more reckless we will be when we appear before God's judgment without justification. The Lord Jesus Christ requires from us only one thing – genuine repentance and confession of our sins: "Confess your iniquities, that you may be justified." What shall we say in our defense after this, if we appear before God's judgment without justification? Shall we excuse ourselves due to lack of time? But God's long-suffering grants us time abundantly. Is there not enough time for repentance for someone who has spent decades of their life, when for true repentance, only an hour is needed? The thief, even in a brief period of suffering, managed to confess and inherit paradise. Shall we refer to any obstacles or to the burden of worldly affairs? But can there be such obstacles that would prevent one from coming to the house of God and confessing one's sins? Are there any matters more important than the matter of salvation? Thus, we shall find ourselves doubly guilty before the judgment of God if we appear there burdened with sins, fully deserving of punishment both for the sins committed and for failing to make use of the God-given means to obtain forgiveness of sins. 

b) The easier and more convenient it is for us to receive forgiveness of sins now, the more criminal is our negligence about repentance. To remain in sins, when forgiveness and pardon are ready for us at any moment, is it not extreme folly and cruel ingratitude to the Redeemer? Is it really because God is infinitely merciful to you that you despise His blessings? “Or do you not value the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance” (Rom. 2:4)? Do you really not feel that the love of God with all the abundance of its goodness embraces you, draws you? And have you not repeatedly vowed to yourself to abandon the path of wickedness, to turn to the Lord and change your way of life? Why do you remain with one fruitless desire? Why do you not take advantage of the time of God's long-suffering? Do you think that it will have no end and that you can always use it, according to your own free will? No, beloved, the time of God's long-suffering is not longer than our present life; and its end is as inevitable and as unknown to us as the hour of our death. And beyond the grave there is no longer repentance: there is the hour of judgment, and not of mercy; there is the triumph of justice, and not of long-suffering and mercy.

“Do not delay therefore to return to the Lord, and do not put off one day from another; for suddenly His wrath will go forth, and in the time of vengeance you will perish” (Sirach. 5:8, 9).

c) The easier and more conveniently we receive forgiveness of sins, the more we should be grateful to our Redeemer; the more we are forgiven, the more we should love the Lord; the more mercy is shown to us, the more carefully we must conduct ourselves, so that, having received forgiveness, we do not offend our Master and Lord again with new sins. What, then, does one do after this, who comes to the mystery of repentance without the intention of correcting their life, and departs without a firm resolution to forever abandon the confessed sin, and again returns to previous iniquities? Is it not implicitly mocking the mercy of God? Is it not evident that it insults the long-suffering of the Lord? Is it not another who crucifies the Son of God and tramples upon His most holy blood, by which he is saved from eternal death, for which he has been granted the forgiveness of sins? What should such a contemptuous person of the glory of God expect for himself? "He who loves the oath shall come to it; he who does not desire a blessing shall be removed from it." God is not mocked: "For it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31).

d) The easier and more convenient it is for us to receive forgiveness of sins, the more readily and willingly we should forgive our neighbors who sin against us; the more mercy and indulgence they show us, the more indulgent we should be to others. “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:14, 15). Between us and our neighbors there is no intercessor or mediator: we must make peace among ourselves while we are on the path of life; otherwise our adversary will deliver us to the judge, and the judge will deliver us to the servant, and they will cast us into outer darkness.

III. Thus, the thought of God’s abundant mercy towards us should not only not serve as a pretext for our carelessness, but on the contrary, it should more and more excite us to true repentance: “For He has mercy and wrath, and His fury rests on sinners” (Sirach. 5:7). Amen. 

 

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