July: Day 12: Saints Theodore the Varangian and his son John, First Martyrs of Russia

July: Day 12:
Saints Theodore the Varangian and his son John, First Martyrs of Russia
 
(Do We Have Faith?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Following the celebration in honor of the first Christian Russian princess Olga, the Russian Church also remembers the suffering of the Christian "first martyrs of Russian" Theodore and his son John. Prince Vladimir, who later enlightened the Russians with Holy Baptism, won a victory over the Yotvingians. The people of Kiev, in gratitude to their gods for this victory, decided to sacrifice a man to them and for this they chose the youth John, the son of Theodore, who professed the Christian faith with his father. Since Theodore did not give his son to the godless slaughter and locked himself in his house, which stood on pillars, the enraged pagans cut down the pillars: the building fell and crushed the innocent servants of Christ. Their holy blood, like seed sown in a field, grew an abundant fruit. In a short time, Prince Vladimir himself and all Russians accepted Christianity.

II. Christian brethren! The holy first martyrs of the Russian land, Theodore and John, had a strong faith and were Christians not only in name but also in life. Let us ask ourselves: do we have a faith similar to theirs? – even less: do we have faith at all?

a) We believe that the only begotten Son of God – God Himself came to earth for our salvation. We believe correctly; but do we really believe? If we really believe this, then our hearts should joyfully exult in the Son of God. How hungry, completely shabby and abandoned children rejoice when their rich father appears to them! Should we not rejoice a thousand times more at the coming to us on earth of the only begotten Son of God, when, according to the word of God, we have all the bread that feeds us only from Him (John 6:35), when without Him we are naked, shameful (Rev. 16:15), and wander like lost sheep without a shepherd (Matt. 9:36). Our hearts must certainly be filled with the greatest joy! So if any of us remains cold, joyless and insensitive in his heart, then his faith is not faith, but more or less unbelief.

b) We believe that the Son of God – God Himself, having taken on our human nature, became the Son of man, and therefore our brother. Our faith is correct; but do we really believe this? If we really believe this, then every time we hear or remember this event somewhere, we should naturally feel the most lively love and gratitude to the Son of God. The Holy Apostle clearly says that the purpose for which God was pleased to make His Son the Son of man is that He might adopt us – the sons of men – to Himself: “God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, that we might receive adoption,” says the Holy Apostle (Gal. 4:4-5). So if any of us, with faith, does not feel the most lively love and gratitude to the great Adopter, then his faith is not real faith, but more or less unbelief; he only thinks that he believes, but there is no real faith in him!

c) The teaching of the Son of God contains both the direct, true, and only path for us to eternal blessedness, and how we can be delivered from eternal perdition. Our faith is correct. But do we really believe it? If we really believe this, then we consider the teaching of Jesus Christ to be incomparably more important, precious, dear and pleasant than everything that in this life bears the name of important, precious, dear and pleasant, and therefore the teaching of Christ is for us the most important object of our knowledge and the constant, indispensable rule of our life: for only according to this teaching can we be saved. But if the teaching of the Son of God is not very important and dear to any of us, if someone listens to it least of all, knows its content insufficiently and confusedly, tries to familiarize himself with it half-heartedly, and if it does not constitute an essential rule for his life; then the faith of one of us is not real faith, but more or less unbelief: he only thinks that he believes, but there is no real faith in him!

d) We believe that the Son of God suffered for us on earth, that is, was betrayed, mocked, tortured, crucified on the cross and died in order to cleanse us from sin, to deliver us from eternal torment for sins and to grant us eternal blessedness. Our faith is correct. But do we really believe this? If we really believe this, then, on the one hand, our whole heart should be attached to the Lord who suffered for us with the most living love, which nothing can extinguish in us: neither heavenly, nor earthly, nor below the earth. This is how the true believer Apostle Paul felt it: “I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God” (Rom. 8:38-39). On the other hand, we must hate our sins extremely, destroy our sinful inclinations and habits, and in every way flee from everything that has until now drawn us to sin and made sin pleasant for us. This is what all who truly believed in the Son of God did. The Holy Apostle affirmed: “They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts” (Galatians 5:24). So, if any of us does not try to mortify all sins in himself and destroy sinful inclinations, then his faith is not true faith, but more or less unbelief.

e) We believe that the Son of God, who suffered for us, was resurrected and ascended into heaven, in order to intercede for us there with God the Father, and so that we, remembering where Christ is, will “seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God, setting oour mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:1-2). Our faith is correct. But do we really believe this? If we really believe this, then we cannot attach our hearts to earthly things, we cannot passionately seek either earthly treasures, or earthly joys and pleasures, or any earthly advantage over others. Because “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,” says the Lord (Matt. 6:21). Therefore, if any of us still passionately seeks something earthly: honor, glory, distinctions, some joys, wealth, etc.; then his faith is not real faith, but more or less unbelief: he only thinks that he believes, but there is no real faith in him.

III. Thus, let everyone test his own faith. Whoever finds that he does not have true faith, let him know that, even if he were very honored in the world, powerful, rich and lacking in nothing, he is in fact despised, weak, poor and unhappy, because Christ said quite clearly and definitively: “whoever does not have faith will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Therefore, let everyone who does not have true faith immediately use all possible means to acquire real faith! 

 

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