Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: September 10

The Month of September

Day 10

11. To Orphan Girls Who Are Wronged

(From the Life of Saint Pulcheria the Empress. September Menaion, Sept. 10)

It is difficult, and for the most part very difficult, for all those who are underage and have been left orphaned by the premature death of their father and mother—both young men and maidens—to live. But it goes without saying that it is harder for orphans who are not young men but girls to live. A young man, after all, will now and then speak up for himself and stand up for what is his; but what is an orphaned girl to do? By her innate maidenly modesty, she for the most part remains silent, and she does not even dare to say anything against anyone who may sometimes act unlawfully toward her. And dishonest people often take advantage of this and wrong an orphan girl as they please, however and whenever they see fit. Yes, at times it is bitter for such orphaned girls; at times it is so bitter that it is difficult even to speak of it! How, then, shall we comfort and encourage such girls?

Let us comfort and encourage them in the following way.

In the Life of Saint Pulcheria the Empress, the following is written: when the Greek Emperor Theodosius had reached the age of twenty, his elder sister, Saint Pulcheria, began to concern herself with finding him a worthy wife. At that time, a young woman named Athenais came from Athens to Constantinople (Tsargrad). She was a pagan by faith, extraordinarily beautiful, chaste, exceedingly wise, and well versed in all the sciences. She was the daughter of Leontius, a philosopher who was renowned at that time. She came to Constantinople for the following reason. When her father was dying, he bequeathed all his property to his two sons, Valerius and Aetius, but left his daughter nothing except a few gold coins. When his relatives and neighbors asked him what he was leaving to his daughter, the dying man replied: “She has enough in her beauty and wisdom.” And with these words he died. The father, of course, thought that after his death his sons would not abandon their sister, but it turned out otherwise. They gave their sister nothing, and the poor orphan girl was forced to go to Constantinople (Tsargrad) to complain against them. But something extraordinary then happened to her. The emperor’s sister, Pulcheria, upon seeing her, was struck by her beauty. Then, having become convinced of her wisdom and good character, she decided to make her the wife of her brother, the emperor. Athenais was baptized with the name Eudocia, and soon afterward married Theodosius, and thus, from a poor orphan, she became the Greek empress.

From this account, you who are wronged orphan girls may become convinced of this truth: God is with orphans; He does not allow orphans to be wronged, and for the wrongs and insults they have suffered, He sometimes rewards them even with extraordinary honor. Athenais was wronged by her brothers, who gave her nothing. What must it have been like for her, alone, abandoned by everyone and without means, to go to an unknown city to lodge a complaint against those who shared her blood? She must indeed have been in great distress when she resolved to make such a complaint. But there is no doubt that the Lord saw her tears; her sorrow was not hidden from Him, nor did her patience and her helpless condition pass unnoticed before Him. And so the orphan becomes an empress and, what is most important, is also deemed worthy of the grace of Holy Baptism. In view of this example, then, you who are wronged orphans should take comfort in the fact that there is an all-seeing and righteous God, that your tears are not hidden from Him, that He is, above all, the God of orphans, and that He will never allow you to be wronged. “Do not oppress the orphans,” He says; “if you do oppress them, when they cry out to Me, I will surely hear their cry, and My anger will be kindled.” (Exodus 22:22–24). Do you see, then, how He stands up for you? What is there to fear? Why be disheartened? If God is with you, who can stand against you? Yes, the Lord will never permit those who wrong you to destroy you, nor will He allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear, and in time He will reward you for your patience.

Believe, then, that in due time He will wipe away your tears, and that your tears will in time pass away just as the heat of the sun passes with the coming of rain. Amen.

Questions for Discussion 11:

1. Besides beauty and the scientific knowledge she had acquired, what did Athenais possess?

2. What is chastity?

3. What did Valerius and Aetius not give their sister after their father died?

4. What did Saint Pulcheria become convinced of regarding Athenais when she decided to make her the wife of her brother, the emperor?

5. What is more important than becoming an empress from being an orphan?

 

Source: The Cheti-Minei: Homilies for Every Day of the Year (Book 1: September, October, November) by Archpriest Viktor Guryev. Publication of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos, 1896. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.