Prologue in Sermons: January 16

One Must Be Attentive to the Promptings of One's Conscience

January 16

(From the tale of a certain monk who wished to take the daughter of an pagan priest and who had renounced Christ and His holy baptism; yet God saved him once more.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

The word of God says that “the inclination of a man’s heart is toward evil from his youth” (Gen. 8:21), that is, that we are more inclined to evil than to good. Yet the Providence of God, even amid our moral corruption, nevertheless keeps watch over us and often restrains or corrects the evil that arises in us through our departure from good, and always desires to turn it to good ends. Unfortunately, toward these beneficent actions of God we most often show not only negligence, but also ingratitude.

For example, a person devises some evil deed and begins to seek the means to carry it out; but suddenly an external obstacle appears, or conscience raises its voice, and the sin is not committed. What else should one do then, if not thank God for being preserved from sin and begin the correction of one’s life? But no! Instead, he merely grumbles that his evil intention was not carried out, and again begins to think how he might more quickly find a way to sin and commit it. Because of this, we often see that the longer a person lives, the worse he becomes, and sometimes he sinks completely into evil. Yet this would not happen — he would not become worse, but better — if he were attentive to God’s admonitions and to the promptings of his conscience.

August: Day 28: Teaching 1: Venerable Moses the Ethiopian

August: Day 28: Teaching 1:
Venerable Moses the Ethiopian
 
(The Judgment of God Punishing Murderers)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The life of Venerable Moses, celebrated today, is very instructive. It demonstrates that there are no sins that can overcome the mercy of God. The great robber, who shed human blood and committed various wicked deeds, after his conversion to God, when divine grace touched his soul through his conscience, became a completely different person. Leaving behind the companions of his sinful life and all the treasures he had plundered, he secluded himself in a monastery, where, through the practices of fasting, prayer, humility, courageous and relentless struggle against his passions and desires, and constant tearful repentance, he attained a high degree of holiness. Regarding his former sinful life, let us today, brethren, discuss the sin of murder.

August: Day 20: Teaching 1: Holy Prophet Samuel

August: Day 20: Teaching 1:
Holy Prophet Samuel
 
(The Lord Calls Us All to Salvation Through Various Means: Natural and Supernatural)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Prophet Samuel, whose memory is celebrated today, grew up at the Tabernacle, that is, the portable temple of the people of God, and was the only consolation of the High Priest Eli. It soon became evident that he was pleasing to God, and that God had sent him His grace, and through him would proclaim His will. One day as a twelve-year-old boy, who slept every night in the Temple of God, was awakened by a voice calling him. Thinking that Eli was calling him, he quickly got up and went to the vestibule where the High Priest slept at the door of the Temple. “Did you call me, my father?” he said to Eli. “No, my child,” he answered, “I did not call you, go and sleep.” But as soon as the boy fell asleep, the same voice called out again: “Samuel, Samuel!” The boy got up, again went to the High Priest; and so on three times. Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the boy, and said to him: "If you hear the voice calling you again, then answer: Speak, Lord; your servant is listening to you." Indeed, Samuel heard the same voice for the fourth time and answered: "Speak, Lord; your servant is listening to you;" and the Lord began to speak to Samuel, and announced to him that He would punish Eli for not restraining his sons, knowing their iniquities.

July: Day 18: Teaching 1: Holy Martyr Aimilianos

July: Day 18: Teaching 1:
Holy Martyr Aimilianos
 
(The Voice of Conscience)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Aimilianos, whose memory is celebrated today, a Slav by birth, was the slave of a nobleman of the Thracian city of Dorostolum. During a feast of the governor of all Thrace (a merciless despot who was entrusted with the persecution of Christians), Capitolinus with the officials of that city, on the joyful occasion that there were no Christians in the city, since, fearing his name alone, they all hid, Aimilianos entered the temple and smashed all the idols with a hammer, overturned the altars, and then, when the accusation of destroying a national shrine fell on a villager who happened to be passing by the temple, Aimilianos, turning to the people who seized him, said: “Let this man go, because it was not he, but I who smashed your soulless gods.”

To the question of Capitolinus directed towards Aimilianos, as to who taught him, and what made him decide on such a misdeed, Aimilianos answered that the Lord God and his soul commanded him to destroy the idols.

The governor ordered the Christian to be stripped and beaten, then condemned him to be burned. The Martyr fearlessly climbed onto the fire, which was laid on the bank of the Danube, and, standing in the fire, crossed himself, prayed, and calmly gave up his soul to God. This was on July 18, 362, during the reign of Julian.

May: Day 20: The Finding of the Honorable Relics of our Holy Father Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia, the Wonderworker

May: Day 20:
The Finding of the Honorable Relics of our Holy Father Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia, the Wonderworker
 
(Lessons From His Life:
a. One Must Be Attentive To The Voice of Conscience, and
b. One Must Walk Worthy of One’s Calling)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The life of Saint Alexis, celebrated today, was rich in various exploits. But history depicts it to us only in general features, with some details dwelling only on particularly remarkable cases, of which one relates to the youth of Saint Alexis, others to mature age, and one, finally, to the hours before his death.

The twelve-year-old youth Eleutherius, the future Saint Alexis, the son of rich and noble parents, who had learned to read and write and was always pious, by the special providence of God, once set a net to catch birds. There was no catch, and the youth Eleutherius, from the deep silence, long waiting and boredom, fell asleep. Suddenly in a dream he heard a voice: “Alexis! Why do you labor in vain? Behold! from now on you will catch men.” In surprise and horror, the youth Eleutherius wakes up and sees no one around him. His first thought was what this new name, Alexis, meant, what this whole vision meant. Good seed fell on good soil: hearing the heavenly voice calling to feats of piety, Eleutherius followed his calling with all his soul. From that hour he began to be “in much sorrow and contemplation.” The parents' lamentable remarks were in vain: "Why do you indulge in such sadness, you are always silent, always have books in your hands, but for us you have not a word? Who taught you to live a monastic life? Why did you dry yourself out so much with fasting and thirst? Enough, do not crush yourself, otherwise you will fall into illness and plunge us into sorrow and grief." Eleutherius, as much as he could, consoled them, asked them not to worry, but, despite this, continued to adhere to his abstinence: he did not go to spectacles, did not play with the youths, ran away from all blasphemies and mockery, but in silence he was diligent in reading the Divine Scriptures and always walked in his sorrow. And having reached the age of nineteen and having loved God with all his soul, he left his father and mother and brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends, and having hated every worldly attachment, he went to a monastery, saying to himself, from a heart full of divine love: “I chose rather to dwell in the house of God than to live in the villages of sinners.”

April: Day 9: Teaching 1: Venerable Martyr Vadim

April: Day 9: Teaching 1:
Venerable Martyr Vadim
 
(You Must Listen To the Voice of Your Conscience)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Venerable Martyr Vadim, whose memory is celebrated today, lived in the 4th century in a Persian city during the reign of King Shapur. Having built a monastery outside the city at his own expense, he lived there. At that time, the sun and fire were worshiped in Persia. Shapur began to persecute Christians. Many of them were imprisoned, including Vadim. Unfortunately, not all of them were firm in their faith; some renounced their faith. Among those who renounced was a certain Prince Nersan. Shapur demanded that Nersan kill Vadim as proof of his sincere renunciation. Nersan agreed, but as soon as he raised his hand with the sword, his conscience began to speak in him, he trembled, and his hand dropped. But Nersan did not listen to the voice of conscience, again raised his trembling hand with the sword and, although not once, beheaded the monk, who fearlessly accepted a martyr's death.