December: Day 4: Teaching 2: Saint John of Damascus

December: Day 4: Teaching 2:
Saint John of Damascus
 
(Lessons From His Life:
a. We Must Acquire Spiritual Knowledge, and 
b. Use It For the Glory of God)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Venerable John of Damascus, who is celebrated today, received an excellent education under the guidance of the learned monk Kosmas and, having become governor of the city of Damascus after the death of his father, he used all his knowledge for the glory of God — in defense of the truth of icon veneration, contested by iconoclast heretics, in expounding the dogmas of the Christian faith, and in composing those wondrously beautiful church hymns that are sung today in all Orthodox churches of the world and which were composed in great numbers by Saint John of Damascus. Having died as a priest in the Lavra of Saint Savvas near Jerusalem in 776, Saint John of Damascus, in addition to remarkable knowledge in all areas of human knowledge, and especially in the spiritual sciences, and amazing gifts in composing church hymns, showed in his life wonderful examples of renunciation of worldly glory and wealth, obedience to the will of his mentor, a simple elder, amazing humility and ardent love for God and neighbors.

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.

October: Day 21: Teaching 2: The Day of the Accession to the Throne of His Majesty Emperor Nicholas Alexandrovich

October: Day 21: Teaching 2:
The Day of the Accession to the Throne of His Majesty Emperor Nicholas Alexandrovich
 
(The Sorrowful Fruits of Intellectual Education Without Religious and Moral Upbringing)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

“I do not cease giving thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened” (Eph. 1:16-18).

I. On this solemn day, let us turn our attention to these words of the Holy Apostle Paul, written in his epistle to the Christians of Ephesus. The good will expressed by the Holy Apostle to the Ephesians is important for Christians of all times and peoples, as it indicates the spiritual powers Christians must cultivate in striving for ever greater perfection. For our time, this apostolic good will is especially significant, as the direction of our lives and our education has deviated from the path indicated by the Holy Apostle.

Homily on the Holy Great Martyr Paraskevi - Sacred and Godless Letters (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

Homily on the Holy Great Martyr Paraskevi  
 

Sacred and Godless Education 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The Holy Great Martyr Paraskevi is a great saint of our Church, who is honored in the month of July and I can add that she is a saint who is especially honored in our Metropolis. Many parish churches and chapels bear her name and blessed Christians honor her memory. The holy churches are filled on this day, people embrace her holy icon, perform the mysteries and prepare themselves appropriately to commune with the Body and Blood of Christ. This is important, because with the Divine Liturgy and with the Divine Communion we are sanctified and we imitate in practice the life of the saints.

The martyrdom of Saint Paraskevi was terrible and inconceivable to the human mind. No one could make her deny Christ, because she had personal knowledge of His Grace and His presence. She preferred to die rather than deny Christ. The question is, to what is this great faith of hers due, who did not consider either threats or martyrdom and remained faithful to Christ. The synaxarion gives us a detail that is important for the interpretation of this personal faith of hers. He writes: “After the Saint learned the sacred letters, she always studied the Scriptures and, staying in the church of God, was engaged in holy prayer.”

July: Day 19: Venerable Macrina, Sister of Basil the Great

 

July: Day 19:
Venerable Macrina, Sister of Basil the Great
 
(The Fundamental Principles of Christian Upbringing for the Salvation of Oneself and our Children)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. An example of how beneficial a good religious and moral education is for a child, for a family, and for the whole of society in general, can be found in the life of our Venerable Mother Macrina, who is remembered today and who lived in the second half of the 4th century. The granddaughter of martyrs, the eldest daughter of Basil and Emmelia of Cappadocia, Macrina was raised by her parents, as it is said in her life, “not in Hellenic fables and poetic verses, as parents usually raised their children then (and as they partly raise children in our schools now), but from the Wisdom of Solomon and the Psalms of David and from other books of Divine Scripture, choosing such excellent verses that are both prayers and glorifications of God, and good moral teaching. And the singing of prayers, appropriate to each time and divided into parts, rising from bed and taking up some work, sitting down to dinner, and after dinner giving thanks: at midday and evening she did not pass without psalmody, and before going to bed she had the established prayer performed by her. Moreover, she was taught by her mother in the art of handiwork suitable for young ladies, and she was not allowed to spend her time in idleness and childish games, but was always engaged either in reading books or in manual tasks." This constituted the upbringing of the young Macrina.

July: Day 4: Teaching 2: Saint Martha, Mother of Venerable Symeon of the Wonderful Mountain

July: Day 4: Teaching 2:
Saint Martha, Mother of Venerable Symeon of the Wonderful Mountain

(Advice on the Religious and Moral Education of Children)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Martha, whose memory the Holy Church celebrates today, had an only son, Symeon; she brought him up, as is said in her life, with great care, and God granted her, while she was still alive, to rejoice in the holy and God-pleasing life of her son. But the time came for Martha to depart to the heavenly world, and then, on the day before her death, she was honored with the following vision. It seemed to her that she was caught up to the heights of heaven and there she saw a most wondrous and bright house, the beauty of which it is impossible to describe. And when she walked into that house and marveled at its wondrous arrangement, she suddenly saw the Most Holy Theotokos with two most radiant angels, Who said to her: "Why are you surprised?" Martha, reverently bowing to the Mother of God, answered: "I am surprised because, Lady, I have never seen such a wonderful house in all the days of my life on earth." Then the Queen of Heaven said: "What do you think, for whom is this house prepared?" - "I do not know, Lady," answered Martha. The Most Pure One continued: "Know that this rest has been prepared for you and this house was created for you by your son, and you will abide in it forever." After this, at the command of the Lady, the angels set up a wondrous throne, and the Mother of God continued: "This glory is given to you because you lived in the fear of God and in a God-pleasing manner. But do you want to see here even more glorious places?" And, having said this, she ordered Martha to follow her. And the Queen of Heaven took her to the highest heavenly places and showed her an even more wondrous and luminous house, incomparably compared to the first, the beauty of which neither the human mind can comprehend, nor can anyone's tongue utter. Here the Mother of God also said: “And your son built this house, and also laid the foundation of the third.” The day after this, blessed Martha died.

June: Day 1: Teaching 2: Holy Martyr Justin the Philosopher

June: Day 1: Teaching 2:
Holy Martyr Justin the Philosopher

(True Enlightenment is Possible Only in Christianity)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Justin, whose memory we now celebrate, one of the most learned philosophers of the second century A.D., was born in the Samaritan city of Shechem; his parents were rich and noble people, and took care of his education. Justin from his earliest years was passionately fond of learning; he attended the best schools, studied with the most famous philosophers, and finally came to the conviction that only in the word of God is truth contained, that only by faith can the soul of man find peace, true enlightenment, and salvation.

Even at the time when the Apostles preached the gospel, the most intelligent and educated pagans had little faith in the gods. Convinced of the falsity of pagan worship, they sought the truth in the teachings of ancient philosophers or sages: Plato, Pythagoras, Zeno, Epicurus and others. Justin searched for the truth for a long time and conscientiously, and stuck to one teaching, then to another, but none satisfied him, because his soul dimly felt the need to recognize a higher and eternal being. More than other teachings, he was attracted by the teaching of Plato, which was distinguished by the loftiness of its aspirations and some concepts about the Deity and the immortality of the soul. Justin passionately devoted himself to the study of Plato's books: he often sought solitude in order to freely think about the subject that so strongly occupied his soul. At one of these moments he happened to hear about the teachings of Christ from an elder who pointed him to the books of Holy Scripture, in which alone the truth could be found.