THE SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PASCHA - SUNDAY OF THE BLIND MAN

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

The Healing of the Man Born Blind

Once, when Jesus was in Jerusalem, performing miracles and preaching His teaching, His enemies became so enraged that they wanted to stone Him. But He departed from them and, as He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.

His disciples asked Him: “Teacher, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Jesus answered: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be revealed in him.”

The Lord had compassion on the unfortunate blind man. Spitting on the ground, He made clay, anointed the blind man’s eyes with it, and said to him: “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” This was a spring at the foot of Mount Zion. The blind man went, washed, and received his sight. This miracle filled everyone with amazement. Some said, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?”

Others said, “It is he.” Others said, “He only resembles him.” But he himself said, “I am the one.”

They began asking the man born blind how he had received his sight. He answered: “The Man called Jesus made clay, anointed my eyes, and told me to wash in the pool of Siloam. I washed, and now I see.” They brought him to the Pharisees, and it should be noted that this miracle had been performed on the Sabbath day. In response to the Pharisees’ questions, the healed young man again recounted the story of his miraculous healing. Then a dispute arose among the Pharisees concerning Jesus. Some said: “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” Others objected: “How can a sinful man perform such miracles?” They asked the healed man: “What do you say about Him?” “I think He is a prophet,” he answered.

THE FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PASCHA - SUNDAY OF THE SAMARITAN WOMAN

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

Jesus Christ and the Samaritan Woman

Jesus Christ, learning that the growing number of His disciples had aroused strong displeasure among the Pharisees against Him, left Judea and returned to Galilee. The shortest road there passed through Samaria. Jesus went by this route, and on His way passed through the fertile valley between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, in which is located the city of Shechem, or Sychar. Both mountains rise 800 feet (or 244 meters) above the valley, which itself lies at an elevation of 1,750 feet (or 534 meters) above sea level. The many terraces and ravines of Gerizim, as well as the entire valley, are adorned with gardens and groves rich with beautiful southern vegetation: orange, pomegranate, mulberry, apricot, fig, almond, and other trees provide abundant fruit; the hot lower slopes of Ebal are planted with olive trees.

About a half-hour’s distance east of the city, the valley of Shechem slopes down into another valley stretching from north to south; through it passes the usual road from Galilee to Jerusalem, without turning toward Shechem. In this place is the tomb of Joseph. Directly beside the grave, on the slope of Mount Gerizim, is Jacob’s well, which is 75 feet deep. This region is also very remarkable historically. Here Abraham, after leaving his homeland by God’s command, first pitched his tents and built an altar to the Lord. Here Jacob bought a field from the sons of Hamor; here, in this place, the bones of Joseph were buried; here Joshua, in the assembly of the people before his death, pronounced blessing upon the keepers of the Law and curse upon its violators, and renewed the covenant of the people of Israel with their God; here, under Rehoboam, occurred the great division of the land into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

Homily for the Second Sunday Evening of Great Lent (St. Sergius Mechev)

Homily for the Second Sunday Evening of Great Lent 

By St. Sergius Mechev

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!

Repentance is above all reconciliation with oneself, and through this reconciliation with God and with people. About this I have already spoken to you, and now I want to give an example of external repentance — such repentance when outwardly there is real repentance, but inwardly it is a repentance that does not bear the knowledge of one’s sin and the striving, through the endurance of sorrows, to cleanse oneself from this sin.

In the times of the ancient Church there lived a certain steward (oikonomos), by the name of Theophilos. He lived in holiness, managed the church property righteously, and was loved by everyone for his kindness. To everyone he was a consolation in sorrow. When the bishop died, the people began to ask Theophilos to occupy the episcopal throne, but Theophilos refused. “I know my sins and therefore am unworthy of this rank; I cannot be a bishop,” he said, shedding tears and falling at the feet of the Metropolitan who wished to consecrate him as bishop. For a long time he lay at the feet of the hierarch, weeping and asking that the burden not be laid upon him. The Metropolitan gave him three days to think everything over well. After three days the same thing happened again: Theophilos stubbornly refused the episcopal rank. Then the Metropolitan appointed another bishop for the citizens, and Theophilos again remained steward. Here, it would seem, is an example of true repentance. A man recognizes his sins and refuses the episcopal rank in reconciliation with God and with men.

Holy New Martyr Angelis in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

Reverent, a lover of silence, a lover of worship services and pious, Angelis practiced the profession of doctor in Argos. In a religious discussion with a Frenchman, he defended the Christian faith and agreed to duel without a weapon with the Frenchman, who was armed. The Frenchman cowered in front of Angelis' faith and Angelis was officially declared the winner. After this victory, Angelis decided to be martyred for Christ. He therefore abandoned medicine and locked himself in the attic of his house. Suddenly, however, for unknown reasons, on Lazarus Saturday in the year 1813, he denied Christ and became a Muslim. Because he created an incident in a cafe in Nafplio, while he was in a state of intoxication, the authorities exiled him to Chios. There, repentant, he showered the churches with tears of repentance every day and prayed. He also gave the Turks excuses, seeking martyrdom. Once he entered a customs house and confessed that he was a Christian. The Turks beat him mercilessly and locked him in irons in the prison of the Castle of Chios. Because he remained steadfast in his Christian confession, he was beheaded on December 3, 1813.

Saint James the Persian in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

Saint James was a Christian of Christian parents, living in the city of Beth Lapat, in the land of the Persians, of an honorable and illustrious lineage, and greatly honored by King Yazdegerd. For this reason, namely, because the king of the Persians loved him very much, he distanced himself from the Christian faith and followed the king, thus leading to perdition by denying Christ. But when his mother and wife broke off their communion with him, because he preferred the love of the king to the love of Christ, and for temporary glory he chose eternal shame and condemnation – something they accused him of in letters they sent him – he was wounded in soul and distanced himself from the vain religion of the king, whereupon he began to weep for all the sins he had committed, as he had apostatized from Christ. For this reason, he was brought to trial, while the king was very unhappy with the event. The result was that he suffered a bitter death, with the division of the harmony of the body: the hands and feet and arms, little by little, so that only the head and the torso remained. Then they also removed his head with a knife.

Holy New Martyr George the Chiopolitis in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

The retrieval of the beheaded body of St. George of Chios from the ravine it was thrown into, which his friends transferred to an uninhabited island for burial off the coast of Kydonies.

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

Saint George was born in Chios. His father was named Paraskevas, and his mother Aggerou. At the age of 18 months, orphaned by his mother, he was handed over by his father to be raised by his stepmother. In childhood, his parents handed George over to a woodcarver, named Vissetzis, to teach him his art. When he once came to Psara with his boss, to carve the iconostasis of the Church of Saint Nicholas, George fled with some young men to Kavala. There he was arrested stealing from a garden and handed himself over to the judge. To avoid punishment, he accepted Islam, was circumcised and was named Ahmed. At the age of 10, he returned to Chios crying and confessing Christ. His father, in order to protect him, took him to one of his estates in Kydonies ((also known as Aivali). Later, at the age of 22, he became engaged and the brother of his fiancée, because he had financial differences with him, betrayed him to the Turkish commander, saying that while he had become a Muslim, he had returned to Christianity. He was tortured cruelly and after he had received the Holy Mysteries in prison, on the morning of November 26, 1807, they cut off his head - in a martyric manner - little by little. Thus he received the crown of martyrdom, from Christ the crowner of athletes. 

Prologue in Sermons: November 24

 

A Lesson for the Literate

November 24

(Commemoration of the Holy Great Martyr Katherine)*

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

There have been instances where some literate and skilled readers of the divine books abused their knowledge and brought ruin upon themselves and others. Such individuals, usually infected with pride, began to consider conversation with their Orthodox neighbors too low and retreated to other proud souls like themselves — the teachers of the schismatics. There, naturally, due to inexperience, they quickly became infected with the latter's false teachings and then, returning from them, suddenly began to blaspheme the Orthodox Church. Thus, instead of finding in them, as knowledgeable people, true friends, children, and protectors, our Mother Church found only evil enemies and persecutors. Brethren, learn to read the Scriptures! Is this how you should act? Look around. Look at the lives of the saints, and you will see that the more knowledge they acquired, the more firmly they held their faith and the more concerned they were with spreading it, rather than selling it out. Here is one such example.

November: Day 27: Teaching 4: Holy Martyr James the Persian

November: Day 27: Teaching 4:
Holy Martyr James the Persian
 
(What is the Reason for the Apostasy of Modern Christians?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. During the reign of the Persian King Yazdegerd, in the fourth century, there lived a good Christian named James, whose memory is celebrated today. He was rich and noble, and held an important position at the court of the king, who loved him very much. But suddenly Yazdegerd began to cruelly persecute Christians, demanding that they renounce Christ; and James could not resist the threats and the fear of losing all his privileges, and agreed to perform the pagan rite required by the king.

When James's mother and wife learned of this, they were deeply grieved, for they were both zealous Christians. They were not with James at the time, but wrote him a letter in which they severely reproached him for his apostasy.

This letter greatly perplexed and disturbed James. "If my mother and wife turn away from me," he thought, "what will become of me when the Lord comes to judge the living and the dead and rewards each according to his deeds?" Repentance and deep contrition awoke in the soul of the apostate. He shed hot tears, and thought continually of how to atone for his crime. Constant prayer and hope in the Lord encouraged James, and when, after some time, the king asked him about his faith, he firmly answered that he believed in Jesus Christ. The king began to threaten him with death. "This does not frighten me," answered the Christian; "death is only a temporary sleep from which all will rise."