Homily One on the Sunday of All Saints
By Saint Innocent, Archbishop of Kherson and Tauride
By Saint Innocent, Archbishop of Kherson and Tauride
Today is the feast in honor of All Saints, and we have gathered to celebrate it in the midst of the dwelling place of all — the dead! Is this a fitting place for a feast? I think it is most fitting indeed; for the dead are closer to the saints than we are, if only because, having been released from the bonds of the flesh, they dwell with them in the same invisible world. The dead are also closer to the saints than we are because, like the saints, they no longer sin — or at least they do not sin as we sinners do. Looking at the matter from this perspective, I do not even know, brethren, which place ought more properly to be called a cemetery: the place where the departed rest, or the place where we, the living, are gathered. For here, among so many who have died according to the flesh, there are without doubt not a few who are alive in spirit; while among us, who live according to the flesh, God alone knows whether there are any who are not dead in spirit.
Thus, the place of our celebration is most appropriate to the feast; and those acted most wisely who dedicated this church, intended especially for prayers on behalf of the departed, to the memory of All Saints. For by doing so, the souls of those who rest here have been entrusted to the powerful protection of All Saints, so that every soul may have among them a special intercessor suited to itself. You also acted wisely, brethren, in gathering here in such numbers, in this place of all the departed, to celebrate the feast of All Saints; for both the saints and the dead teach us who are living one and the same important truth: “Mortals, live for God and for virtue; without this, whatever you do, whatever you acquire, whatever distinction you attain, all is vanity and nothingness.”
This is what All Saints tell us. How do they tell us? By the very manner of their lives and by their calling. Indeed, brethren, there have been many famous and powerful people in the world who shook kingdoms and nations; many rich people who could not count their treasures; many wise and learned people who knew everything — from the cedar to the hyssop, from the sun to the grain of sand. And yet we celebrate the feast of none of these. In whose honor do we celebrate? In honor of those whom the world for the most part either did not know, or, knowing them, considered foolish, or even persecuted and put to death. Of them, as the Apostle says, some “were stoned,” others “were sawn in two,” others “died by the sword”; nearly all were “destitute, afflicted, tormented... wandering in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth” (Heb. 11:37–38).
It is such people — not the renowned, not the great in the eyes of the world — whose memory we celebrate. What does this mean? It means that power, wealth, glory, and earthly wisdom do not constitute a person's eternal worth; all these have significance only up to the grave, and beyond it something entirely different is required. What is that? Precisely what makes the saints blessed. As you heard in today's Epistle, it is humility, patience, purity of soul and body, love for God and neighbor, virtue, and likeness to God. Whoever succeeds in enriching and adorning himself with these precious qualities, even if he is nothing in the eyes of the world, even if he possesses nothing, even if he spends his entire life in contempt, slavery, and poverty, will be great before God and will receive that with which no earthly glory and no temporal happiness can compare.
This is what all the saints teach us.
The same thing is impressed upon us by all the dead. How? By their present condition itself.
Indeed, consider this. Among those buried here are not a few who were honored, who occupied important positions, who had influence over many. Go now and ask any one of them whether his importance helped him at death, whether it protected him from the diseases of the body or from the terrors and agonies of the soul. If not for a cross or a stone above his grave, his resting place could not be distinguished from that of the poorest beggar.
Thus death humbles our pride and greatness, for honors and distinctions without faith and virtue are vanity.
Among those who rest here are also many who possessed great wealth and were the envy of many. Go and ask any one of them what he took with him from all his treasures. Alas! Naked we all came from our mother's womb, and almost naked we depart into the womb of the earth. Death takes away everything, for possessions and riches without the fear of God and works of mercy are vanity.
And what if, by some miracle, all who rest here were permitted to rise from their graves and return to their former occupations? How many would return to them? Do you think the ambitious man would once more pursue honors? That the lover of money would again bury his heart together with his gold in chests? That the sensualist would once more wallow in the mire of bodily pleasures? No. Taught by experience, I think they would not even look at what once occupied them so greatly. Each one would hasten to a solitary place in order to weep for his sins and prepare himself for eternity.
What the dead can no longer do, brethren, is still entirely possible and easy for us. Since we still possess all the means of grace, we can easily cleanse ourselves from every stain of sin and thus prepare ourselves for passage into the next world, entering it not as prisoners who are forcibly transferred from one place to another, but as children who joyfully return from a distant land to their father's house.
Let us therefore, brethren, make use of this precious opportunity to secure the work of our eternal salvation. Let us take advantage of it and return to our homes with a sincere and firm resolve to live the remainder of our lives not for the lusts of the flesh, not for the pleasures of the world, but for God and for virtue.
This will be a truly great feast, not only for us, but also for All Saints and for all the dead. For neither the saints nor the departed desire anything so much for us who are living as our eternal salvation. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
