By Fr. George Dorbarakis
The Venerable Xenophon lived in Constantinople, possessing great material wealth, but also great piety according to God. He therefore sent his two sons to the city of Beirut, one of the cities of Phoenicia, to study and learn law. But because the ship that was carrying them was wrecked, he himself went out together with his wife in search of them. Indeed, he found his children in Jerusalem, but he found them clothed in the monastic habit; and so he himself, together with his wife, was moved to follow the monastic life as well. And Xenophon, his wife, and their children progressed so greatly in virtue that they were deemed worthy even to work miracles. They pleased God until the end of their lives and departed to Him.
Just yesterday, on the occasion of the commemoration of the Great Father of the Church, Saint Gregory the Theologian, we referred to his phrase, which constitutes a principle of Christian life: “praxis is the ascent to theoria” — that is, praxis, the ascetical practice of the commandments of Christ, leads to theoria as the vision of God and participation in Him. This is precisely what we see being applied, we might say in an absolute way, in today’s Saints: the Venerable Xenophon, his wife Maria, and their children Arcadius and John. They struggled to keep the commandments of the Lord, and thus they gained the Kingdom of God — a truth that our Church emphasizes many times today through the pen of the Holy Hymnographer Theophanes.
“Walking zealously in the path of Your commandments, O Master, Your servant attained the dwellings prepared, seizing hold of eternal life through longing.”
“You kept vigilant over the commandments of the Master, blessed Xenophon.”
And it was precisely this struggle that made him (and of course his family as well) worthy to be honored with the most radiant virtues that lead from praxis to theoria:
“Honored with the brightest distinctions, you shone forth in a light-bearing way of life; for you showed praxis to be the ascent to theoria.”
We must, of course, emphasize that the believer’s journey — his course along the commandments of Christ — constitutes, as we noted, a fundamental principle of Christian life, precisely because these are the commandments of Christ, that is, of God Himself. It is therefore not a matter of choice for a Christian whether or not to keep His commandments, if he wishes to be a Christian at all. This is the one-way path of his life, which truly makes him to be with Christ. The Lord Himself was absolutely clear: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” “He who does not love Me does not keep My words.” And His commandments, as we all know, are summed up in what the Evangelist John preserves: “This is His commandment: that we believe in the name of His Son and love one another.” Faith and love — the path of the Christian, the path of holiness.
And this is what the Holy Hymnographer reminds us concerning the Venerable Xenophon and his household: they walked in faith and love, which were manifested chiefly through their almsgiving.
“Shining with the dignities of the soul, you adorned yourself with almsgiving and faith.”
The phrase “dignities of the soul” should not pass without comment. Here the Hymnographer reveals to us that by keeping faith and almsgiving — that is, love — one acquires true distinctions, becomes a person of rank. Faith and almsgiving are the true distinctions of a human being — not those admired by the many, the earthly and worldly honors, but the inner and spiritual ones. These are therefore attainable by anyone, provided he is willing and makes the effort.
Saint Theophanes, however, also formulates something in what he writes about the Venerable Xenophon’s keeping of Christ’s commandments that is especially interesting and timely for every age, but particularly for our own:
“You kept vigilant over the commandments of the Master, and in like manner ordered your children according to the same ways, O blessed Xenophon.”
That is, the Saint felt his responsibility also as a parent. He did not say that he struggled only for himself, nor — still worse — did he believe that his responsibility was exhausted by providing for his children’s bodily, material, and educational needs. Without diminishing this offering either — we saw in the synaxarion that he sent his children to Beirut to study law — his concern and primary care was to form his children according to the commandments of the Lord: to believe rightly in God and to love their fellow human beings. But how? Not so much by words as by his personal example — “You kept vigilant over the commandments.” For it is well known that words without example are empty, bodiless, and futile words; they are hypocrisy, whose only fruit is reaction and disobedience.
Furthermore, the Orthodox mindset of the Venerable Xenophon is evident from the very beginning of his life in his disposition to serve everyone and to meet their needs, insofar as he had the means to do so, and especially the monks, who were often poor. The Hymnographer notes this:
“Having been shown to be a steward of all, you undertook the care of all, distributing your wealth to those in need, receiving and showing kindness to the ranks of monks, O venerable father.”
We say that his Orthodox mindset was revealed particularly in his attitude toward monks, because in our Church one of the criteria of orthodoxy is precisely how one stands toward monasticism. If someone does not see monasticism — that is, total dedication to God through the virtues of obedience, chastity, and poverty — as a path especially blessed by God, since it offers many opportunities for sanctification, he cannot be considered a sound Orthodox Christian. Our Church has always set forth two paths for the believer — there are, of course, exceptions: honorable marriage and blessed dedication to God through the monastic life. And naturally, we are speaking of true monasticism, just as when we speak of marriage we mean honorable marriage, which too, when lived rightly, leads to the Kingdom of God.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
