The Christian Who Fights the Devil Awaits Crowns
October 2
(A Discourse on Saint Andrew, How He Became a Fool for Christ’s Sake.)
By Archpriest Victor Guryev
October 2
(A Discourse on Saint Andrew, How He Became a Fool for Christ’s Sake.)
By Archpriest Victor Guryev
Concerning the disposition in which we should find ourselves toward the enemies of our salvation—the evil spirits—the word of God teaches us as follows: “Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil; for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:11–12). And in another place: “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). From these passages it is evident that the word of God commands us to maintain a hostile disposition toward the enemies of our salvation; it commands us to vigilantly guard ourselves against the wiles of the devil, to fight against the evil spirits, and to strive to conquer them. To fight, to strive to conquer them... But will there be any benefit for us from this? Can we expect any reward for this difficult struggle? Can the victor in this struggle expect crowns? Yes, brethren, do not doubt: there will truly be benefit for us from fighting the evil spirits, there is a reward for fighting them, and there is no doubt that crowns await the victor in this struggle. All this is evident from the following.
Saint Andrew the Fool for Christ, while still a young man, once rose at night to pray. The devil was displeased by this, and, in order to distract the young man from prayer, began to beat furiously on the door of the room in which Andrew was praying. Andrew was terrified by the knocking, stopped praying, and, covering himself with a goatskin, lay down on his bed. Seeing this, Satan said to another demon: “Look how far things have come! Until now, this man alone was committing filth, but now he too is arming himself against us.” Having said this, he disappeared. Meanwhile, Andrew fell asleep while lying on his bed, and during his sleep he had the following vision: he saw himself in a certain place where demons stood on one side and Angels on the other, and it seemed that both sides were preparing for battle against one another. The demons brought forth from among themselves a great and terrible giant and, pointing to him, challenged one of the Angels to fight him. The Angels remained silent, while the demons boasted of themselves. At that moment, a beautiful young man descended from heaven, holding three crowns in his hands. One crown was adorned with gold and precious stones, another with pearls, and the third was woven from unfading flowers. All three crowns were so beautiful that their beauty cannot be described. Looking at the crowns, Andrew began to think about how he might obtain at least one of them, and, approaching the young man, said: “Will you sell me these crowns? Although I myself cannot buy them, I can tell my master about them, and he will give you as much gold as you want for them.” The young man smiled at Andrew’s words and replied: “Believe me, beloved, that even if you offered me all the gold in the world for these crowns, I would not give you even one of their flowers, because they are not from this vain world, but from the treasures of heaven, and they are the crowns of Christ Himself. Only those who conquer these black ones, that is, the demons, are crowned with them. And if you wish to obtain them, go and fight that giant—the devil—and when you overcome him, then I will give you not one, but all three.” After this, Andrew saw himself fighting the devil and overcoming him. And Andrew saw that, for his victory, he was received into the fellowship of the Angels, while from the young man he received those crowns and the counsel to undertake the ascetic struggle of foolishness, by which he could more easily conquer the demons. After this vision, Andrew truly declared irreconcilable warfare against the devil, conquered all his wiles through the ascetic struggle of foolishness, and, in very deed, was found worthy of those crowns.
From this account it is evident that for victory over the devil a person receives crowns. And if he receives crowns, then it becomes clear of itself that there is also benefit in fighting against the enemy of our salvation, and that a reward awaits us for the struggle. Therefore, let us heed the word of God, be sober, and daily put on the whole armor of God, so that we may stand firm against all the wiles of the devil. Let us constantly be vigilant against our enemy, lest he suddenly attack us and strike us with the arrows of sinful temptations. And when we bravely overcome these temptations and thereby drive away and strike down the enemy himself, then surely we too will be found worthy of receiving radiant crowns from Christ the Commander, as the word of God also says: “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been tested, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him” (James 1:12). Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
