Prologue in Sermons: September 13

The Renewal of Man-Made Temples Should Remind Us of the Renewal of the Temple of our Soul

September 13

(Commemoration of the Renewal of the Church of the Resurrection of our Holy Christ and God)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev 

Today the Holy Church commemorates the consecration of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, founded by the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine and his mother Helen in Jerusalem, on the spot where our Savior suffered and died. This is what Church tradition tells us about this event.

It is known that after the Ascension of the Lord into heaven, the place where our salvation took place was often desecrated by people who hated Christ. One of these, namely the Roman Emperor Hadrian, ordered the Holy Sepulcher to be filled with earth and stones; on Golgotha he built an idol temple; over the Tomb of Jesus Christ he placed an idol; where the Temple of Solomon was, he also erected a temple, and thus tried in every way to destroy the memory of the Savior especially in the place where the atoning Sacrifice was brought, and through this to destroy the Christian faith. But the Providence of God did not allow this. For the spread of the faith of Christ and for the purification and renewal of the holy places, He raised up the pious emperors Constantine and Helena and put it into their hearts to cleanse all the holy places from demonic filth, to renew the holy city of Jerusalem and to build a majestic temple on the site of the Savior's suffering. The mother of Constantine, Saint Helen, having arrived in Jerusalem, destroyed all the pagan temples, uncovered the Cross and the Holy Sepulcher, and, on the site of their discovery, founded a temple in honor of the Resurrection of Christ. Since the temple was enormous and its construction took a long time, Saint Helen did not live to see its completion. Her son, the Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine, lived to see its completion. When the temple was completed, Constantine commanded bishops from all the countries of his vast empire, as well as from the countries adjacent to Jerusalem, to gather in Jerusalem and consecrate the newly built temple. And the temple was consecrated, with a great gathering of people, on the 13th day of the month of September. The holy fathers who were present at its consecration unanimously decided to annually commemorate the event of the consecration in churches everywhere, in the same way that Solomon in the Old Testament legalized the celebration of the day of the consecration of the first Temple of Jerusalem, which he built during his lifetime.

Having now related the history of the events of this day, we would like to give you some edification in conclusion. But what edification shall we give? Ah, brethren, we think it would be best for you if, from the commemoration of the temple made with hands, you were to transfer your thoughts today to another temple, the temple which is actually you yourselves. "Do you not know," says the Apostle, "that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Cor. 3:16). And are you not, brethren, the temples of the living God, built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, who is the chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ Himself? (Eph. 2:19-20). And if so, then we would like you to turn your thoughts now to yourselves and ask yourselves questions: Is the temple of your soul pure? Is it worthy for the Spirit of God to dwell in it? Is it truly built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, who are the cornerstone of Jesus Christ Himself? Has this foundation not been taken from under it, and has another been arbitrarily laid? Does it not, finally, require renewal and sanctification? Yes, brethren, we would from the bottom of our hearts desire that you reflect on this. And if you truly found something in your temple that required correction, renewal and sanctification, then you should, immediately, take care of such correction, renewal and sanctification. Amen.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.