Prologue in Sermons: September 10

It Is Not True That the Saints Who Lived in the Deserts Did Not Partake of the Holy Mysteries

INSTRUCTION TO THE PARISHIONERS LIVING AMONG SCHISMATICS

September 10

(The Three Holy Women, Discovered on the Mountain, of whom Paul, the Bishop of Monemvasia, Spoke)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev 

A certain traveler came to one of the monasteries in the East. Once, while talking with the abbot and the brethren under the shade of fruitful trees, in the monastery courtyard, he noticed that several birds were breaking off branches with fruit from the trees and flying away. When he asked the abbot why the birds did not eat the fruit on the spot, but flew away with it, he received the answer that this phenomenon had been noticed for more than ten years. Moved as if by a presentiment, the traveler said: "Are there any Saints of God in your mountains to whom these birds carry fruit by God's command?" At that moment, a raven flew in and broke off one of the branches with fruit. The traveler continued: "Let's go, we will watch him." They went and saw that the raven was flying to one of the hills, first sat on it, and then went down into a crevice and, leaving the branch there, flew out from there without it. Those who were watching him approached the crevice and threw a stone into it. Suddenly a voice was heard from there: "If you are Christians, do not kill us." "Who are you?" asked those who had come. "We are women, there are three of us," they answered. "If you wish to see us, throw us three garments, since we are naked, and, going down the mountain, go along the narrow path that leads to us." The monks did as they were told and found three women, one of whom was the mistress and the other two were her slaves. "Who are you and how did you come here?" asked the abbot of the first of them. "I am from Constantinople, the wife of a royal dignitary," she answered. "Having been left a childless widow by my husband, I was forced to sin by a nobleman and, wishing to preserve myself in purity, I decided to leave the world and, entrusting the distribution of my property to the poor, I boarded a ship at night with these two of my slaves, from which we landed at this place where you found us, and now it is the eleventh summer since we have seen a human face." “Where did you get your food here, my lady?” asked the abbot. “The Lord,” she answered, “who fed His people in the desert for forty years, sent us food too. Birds brought us all kinds of fruits, and the Lord always covered and warmed us, so that we were not afraid of the cold in winter, nor the heat of the sun in summer. We lived here as in paradise, constantly glorifying the Holy Trinity." "Would you like to share a meal with us?" "If you wish to do so," answered the holy hermit, "command that a priest come first and perform the Divine Liturgy, so that we may partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ; for since we left Constantinople we have not been granted Holy Communion." The abbot fulfilled her wish, and the priest who came, after performing the Divine Liturgy, gave communion to the holy hermits. And that same day the first of them (the former mistress), after fervent prayer, departed to the Lord. The next day one of her friends followed her, and on the third day the last of them also peacefully passed away in the sleep of death.

Having related this incident, I ask you, brethren, to pay attention to why the Lord, before His death, revealed the sojourn of the holy anchorites. Is it not clear that He was pleased to do this so that through Communion of the Holy Mysteries the holy women could be most closely united with Him and through Him become partakers of eternal life? It was not pleasing to the Lord that they should depart into eternal life without being accompanied by the Holy Mysteries. Undoubtedly, Communion of the Holy Mysteries was necessary for the salvation of the Saints, and the Lord, as you see, in His ineffable mercy, did not leave without it even those of them who wandered for His sake in the deserts, mountains, caves and abysses of the earth. Hear, brethren, how sometimes even more wondrous in this regard were God's mercies to the holy anchorites.

“Father, where and from where do you partake of the most pure Mysteries of Christ?” Saint Paphnutios once asked Onouphrios the Great, who lived in the desert. Onouphrios answered: “The Angel of the Lord comes to me with the most pure Mysteries of Christ and gives me communion on Saturdays and Sundays. And the Angel of the Lord does not come to me alone, but also to the other ascetics of this desert, who do not see the face of man, and gives them communion, and fills their hearts with inexpressible joy. And truly, the Angel of the Lord did not appear with the Holy Gifts to Onouphrios alone. Having departed from Saint Onouphrios into the farthest interior of the desert, Paphnutios met four youths coming from the desert, very comely, girded about the loins with sheepskins. "Their faces shone with such grace that I thought," says Paphnutios, "that they were not people, but Angels descended from heaven." He stayed with them for seven days and once asked: “Where do you partake of the Divine Mysteries of the most pure Body and Blood of Christ our Savior?” They answered: “For this reason we gather together on Saturdays and Sundays, and the holy, most radiant Angel, sent by God, comes to us and gives us Holy Communion.” "Saturday arrived. The youths said to me," continues Paphnutius: "'Prepare yourself, beloved brother, for now the Angel of God will come and bring us Divine Communion.' While they were still speaking," he relates, "I felt an indescribable fragrance, such as I had never felt before, and asked: where is he? 'The Angel of the Lord is approaching with the most pure Mysteries,' answered the servants of Christ. We all stood up to pray. A wondrous light shone upon us, and an Angel of the Lord appeared, descending from on high, shining like lightning. I fell prostrate from fear; but the youths raised me up and commanded me not to be afraid. The Angel of God appeared to us in the form of a beautiful youth, whose kindness cannot be described; he held in his hand the holy chalice with Divine Communion. First the youths approached and partook of the Holy Communion, then I, a sinner and unworthy, approached with much trembling and horror, but at the same time with inexpressible joy, and was deemed worthy to partake of the most pure Mysteries of Christ from the hands of the Angels. Having given us communion, the glorious Angel blessed us, and before our eyes ascended into heaven; we fell down and worshipped God, giving thanks for His great grace. Great joy filled our hearts, and from great joy I was in raptures and thought that I was not on earth, but in heaven."

Can we, brethren, believe the schismatic priestless ones after this, who, perishing themselves without the Holy Mysteries, and wishing to distract you from them, tell you that the Holy Fathers, who lived in the deserts, lived without Holy Communion and were saved, so we too can be saved without it? You see for yourselves that they are lying when they say this, and therefore do not believe them and do not listen to them. The Holy Fathers did not act as they do, and did not teach about the Holy Mysteries as they teach. Constantly receiving Communion themselves, they also told others that Communion of the Holy Mysteries is necessary for eternal life. “Can anyone,” taught Saint Chrysostom, “despise this awesome Mystery, except a person completely deprived of reason and feelings?” ("On the Priesthood", 3). “Those who remove to themselves the Church of God and the Holy Mysteries,” says Saint Cyril of Alexandria , “are enemies of God and friends of demons.” "Therefore, brethren, we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting" (Eph. 4:14). Amen.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.