Prologue in Sermons: May 23

Do the Unrepentant Sinners Speak Truly When They Say That There Will Be Neither Eternal Blessedness for the Righteous Nor Eternal Torments For Sinners?

May 23

(A discourse of Gregory the Dialogist.)
 
By Archpriest Victor Guryev

Unrepentant sinners say that there will be neither eternal blessedness for the righteous nor eternal torments for sinners. Do they speak the truth?

“A certain soldier,” says Gregory the Dialogist, “perished in a storm at sea, and his body lay lifeless upon the shore. But soon, by the almighty command of God, his soul returned to the body, and he came back to life. What had happened to him while his soul was separated from his body, he related as follows:

The Icon "Life of Jesus – Akathist Hymn – Second Coming" at the Benaki Museum

The icon with the subject "Life of Jesus – Akathist Hymn – Second Coming" is a post-Byzantine icon and is exhibited in the Benaki Museum.

The icon with the theme "Life of Jesus – Akathist Hymn – Second Coming" is complex and includes various iconographic subjects. Specifically, within four concentric circles in the upper part of the icon are depicted: the Creation of the world, the creation of Adam and Eve, the sin of the first-formed and their expulsion from Paradise, scenes from the Old Testament, scenes from the life of the Theotokos and of Jesus, the Passion of Christ, the 24 oikoi (stanzas) of the Akathist Hymn, the last of which is depicted at the center, with the image of the Theotokos seated on a throne holding the Infant. In the lower part of the panel is depicted the Second Coming in a multi-figured composition. In the upper part of the icon, on a band which is held by two Angels, there is the following inscription:

Meatfare Sunday: Love Yes, But What Kind of Love? (Fr. George Metallinos)

Meatfare Sunday: Love Yes, But What Kind of Love?

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Metallinos

“Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to Me” (Matt. 25:40)

1. Today’s Gospel reading comes to remind us of a great truth. Last Sunday the Holy Gospel spoke about the goodness of God the Father, who awaits His creature to return. But this must not make us forget His justice as well. God is not only a tender Father; He is also a just Judge. “Neither is His mercy without judgment, nor His judgment without mercy,” says Saint Basil the Great. He will judge the world, the Gospel tells us — and indeed not arbitrarily, but according to our deeds.

Thus today’s passage brings us face to face with the fact of judgment. And we say “fact,” because the universal judgment constitutes for our faith an eschatological certainty and reality, confessed in our Creed as an ecclesiastical belief:

“And He shall come again to judge the living and the dead…”

We are therefore called today to realize three things:

First, that our Judge will be Jesus Christ as God. Christ is Savior but also Judge. If the first time He came humbly to earth “to save the world,” now He will come “in His glory” to judge the world. He who became for us a “curse” upon the Cross has every right to judge us if we have allowed His sacrifice to remain inactive within us and within our society.

Homily for Meatfare Sunday -- On the Dread Last Judgment (St. Cleopa of Sihastria)

Homily for Meatfare Sunday
(Sunday of the Dread Judgment)
About the Fearful Last Judgment

By St. Cleopa of Sihastria

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive according to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)

Beloved faithful,

Today all of us present have heard the words of our Savior Jesus Christ about His coming at the most dreadful Last Judgment. Know that from the foundation of the world until the end of the ages nothing is more fearful than the coming of the Lord at the Last Judgment. Not even the angels can describe to us in detail that most terrible coming of the Lord, when He will judge all the nations of the earth from Adam until the end of the world. We, being very weak and uncomprehending, cannot speak fully about that unspeakable terror and fearful coming of the Lord.

But from what we have heard today in the Holy Gospel and from what Divine Scripture shows, as well as from the teachings of the Holy Fathers about the Judgment of the great day, we shall set down here a few teachings, according to our weak understanding, about the Lord’s coming at the Last Judgment. And first we will show, with testimonies from Holy Scripture, in what manner the Lord will come and what will be the first signs of His coming.

On the Second Coming of the Lord (St. Chrysostomos of Smyrna)

On the Second Coming of the Lord

By the Holy Hieromartyr Chrysostomos, Metropolitan of Smyrna

The discourse concerns the Second Coming of the Lord.

But does the Second Coming of the Lord truly exist?

Is there immortality and a life everlasting to come?

Is there a future judgment?

Is there recompense after death?

Or do all things cease at the grave in this present life, and is the grave the final end — where together with the body life itself is buried and forever extinguished — and beyond the grave there exists nothing but the void?

This question is among the most serious of all and bears the highest importance for every earthly human being.

In View of Meatfare Sunday, a Sermon on the Second Coming of the Lord (Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Mani)

In View of Meatfare Sunday, a Sermon on the Second Coming of the Lord 

By Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Mani

We confess and say in the seventh article of the Symbol of Faith:

“And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end.”

This concerns the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ — a subject exceedingly important, primary, and of interest to every human being.

Let us recall, for consolation and spiritual edification, a few things about the Second Coming of the Lord.

First of all, the Second Coming of the Lord is called in Holy Scripture a “day” (1 Cor. 3:13), and indeed “that day” (Matt. 7:22; Luke 6:23; John 14:20), “the last day” (John 6:39), “the day of the Lord” (1 Cor. 5:5), “the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6), “the coming” (Matt. 24:3), “the appearing of glory” (Tit. 2:13), and “the revelation of His glory” (1 Pet. 4:13). The hymnography calls it “a dreadful day,” “a fearful day,” “the day of judgment.”

Homily for the Sunday of the Last Judgment (Fr. Daniel Sysoev)

Homily for the Sunday of the Last Judgment

By Fr. Daniel Sysoev

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

I congratulate you on Meatfare Sunday, during which we remember the terrible events that await us all — the Last Judgment. God will clearly appear on earth to reward each according to their deeds, to restore the whole world.

Then the whole universe will change, the heavens will pass with a roar and melt in flames, and the earth and all the works that are on it will burn up, and then all people will appear before the terrible Throne of God Almighty and Christ will gather us all to judge and reward each according to his deeds.

Each of us will stand in the flesh before God, naked, clad only in the garments we wove on earth from our deeds. If we lived ordinary lives as ordinary people, without doing good deeds, or even worse, if we committed iniquity, then we will remain naked. And on the day of great trial, on the Day of Judgment, all our deeds will be tested. All Christians have one foundation — Jesus Christ — but everyone builds their lives on Him differently. Some build houses of straw, others of wood, and such houses will burst into flames on the Day of Judgment.

Prologue in Sermons: November 22

 

The Parable of Saint Barlaam about the Life and Death of Man

November 22

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

We all, brethren, are well aware that after our death, only our deeds remain for those who will outlive us, bringing either curse or blessing, and only these deeds will we bear on the shoulders of our soul to the judgment of God. Furthermore, we all know that in this life it is necessary to enrich ourselves with that which will accompany us into eternity, namely, good deeds, and that you are the dreadful enemy of yourself if you live as if you were never to die. We all know this well, yet we live as though there were neither God, nor future life, nor anything that exists, ever existed, or will exist. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly remind ourselves of what we know well and continually speak to ourselves about the need to enrich ourselves with good deeds, by which alone we can be blessed in the life to come. In view of all that has been said, we also remind you of what you know well but do not fulfill.

October: Day 8: Teaching 2: Venerable Pelagia of Antioch

 

October: Day 8: Teaching 2:
Venerable Pelagia of Antioch
 
(The Last Judgment)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. On the feast day of Saint Pelagia, celebrated today in Church hymns and readings, who was once a great sinner then sincerely repented and died a righteous woman, thanks to the fact that she once listened to the teaching of the Holy Bishop Nonnus about the future judgment, it is most fitting to offer to your attention, my beloved listeners, a sermon by Saint Ephraim the Syrian on the Last Judgment. Perhaps, with the help of God's grace, it will awaken holy feelings in some listeners and at least somewhat shake off our carelessness about the salvation of our souls.

II. "My Christ-loving brethren!" thus begins our Venerable and God-bearing Father Ephraim the Syrian, this great teacher of repentance and tears for our sins before God and men, his wondrous depiction of the Dread Judgment. “Listen to the second and dreadful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. I remembered,” he says of himself, “this hour and trembled with great fear, pondering what will then be revealed. Who can describe it? What language can express it? Then the King of kings, rising from His throne of glory, will descend to visit all the inhabitants of the universe and settle accounts with them. When I reflect on this, my limbs are seized with fear, my whole being is overwhelmed, my eyes shed tears, my voice weakens, my lips close, my tongue becomes mute, and my thoughts are taught to be silent. Such great and terrible wonders have not been seen since the beginning of creation, nor shall they be in all generations!

Prologue in Sermons: September 24

What is Needed to Ensure That Family and Friends Remain Inseparable From Us Even After Death?

September 24

(How a Certain Abbot Prayed to God for his Monks, So That They Would Enter Paradise With Him.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

Having family and friends here on earth, we would, of course, wish not to be separated from them even after death. Unfortunately, this may not always be the case. When the Lord comes to judgment, He will separate some from others and say to some, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;” but to others, “ Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” And some will go to the Kingdom of Heaven, and others into everlasting torment (Matthew 25:32–41, 46). It may well be that we too will be separated from our family and friends. It may well be that they will go to the Kingdom of Heaven, and we into everlasting torment, or vice versa. A terrible fate! But is there no way to avoid it?

The Lord's Entry into Jerusalem: Teaching 3 (On the Resurrection of the Dead)

The Lord's Entry into Jerusalem:
Teaching 3

(On the Resurrection of the Dead)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

"By raising Lazarus from the dead before Your Passion, You confirmed the general resurrection, Christ God." Like the children with palms of victory, we cry out to You, the Conqueror of Death: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord.”

I. Yesterday we sang this hymn, and today we have repeated it. Let us now take it up again, and pay closer attention to its meaning. "By raising Lazarus from the dead before Your Passion, You confirmed the general resurrection, Christ God. Like the children with palms of victory, we cry out to You, the Conqueror of Death: Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord.” The meaning of this hymn can be expressed more clearly and fully thus: before the onset of His sufferings, before His crucifixion and burial, wishing to assure His disciples that all the dead would rise again, Jesus Christ raised the dead Lazarus. The dead Lazarus rose again, which means that all the dead can rise again. Lazarus, at the voice of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, rose from the grave in which he had already begun to decay; which means that all who are in the graves, having heard His voice, will rise again, will come to life, no matter how much they have decayed there. Why did Jesus Christ, before His sufferings and His death, especially wish to assure His disciples and all others of the general resurrection? So that they would not become despondent when they saw Him suffering and then dying. After all, the thought of death never disturbs us so much as when we see the sick and suffering; and we never need confidence in the resurrection so much as when we see the dying or the dead.

Homily Five for the Sunday of the Last Judgement (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily Five for the Last Judgement

By St. John of Kronstadt

(Delivered in 1907)

The Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ is usually called the Dread Judgment, and rightly so, because at it the living and the dead will be judged. Dreadful is the judgment: for it will terrify every creature of heaven and earth, invisible and visible. Dreadful will it be to the heavenly creatures: for the powers of heaven will be moved. Dreadful also to the earth: for the earth will shake in its very foundations. At the second glorious coming of Christ to earth, the loud voice of the Archangel and God's trumpet will be heard by all; this sound, or rather thunder, will resound throughout the entire universe: the dead will rise, having heard it, and will go to judgment.

Here, first of all, there will be great fear for sinners when the sound of the trumpet commands every soul to enter its body - that body which, having once turned to dust, will now, by God's command, again receive its composition and its members.

Homily on the Last Judgement (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily on the Last Judgement

By St. John of Kronstadt

(Delivered in 1907)

"I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, who will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead" (7th article of the Symbol of Faith).

Who is speaking? Every Christian speaks thus. But if every Christian, then, without a doubt, myself and each of you. Therefore, brothers and sisters, do you sincerely believe that Jesus Christ, the righteous Judge of all earthly beings, will come to judge all people. the living and the dead, who will all come to life either for eternal blessedness or for eternal condemnation? Are you ready to meet the universal Judge and answer at the terrible Judgment of Christ for every deed and word? Do you have good deeds? Why ask? From the life and actions of Christians it is clearly evident that they have forgotten about the righteous Judge, about the terrible judgment, about eternal life, and with each passing day they are rushing headlong toward eternal destruction, which they do not even imagine. They hasten to receive their consolation on earth, in order to lose it forever in heaven. That is the concern, how to kill precious time, how to spend it pleasantly, but no one cares about spending it with benefit for the soul, to prepare for the outcome of their affairs (Proverbs 24:27).

Homily Four for the Sunday of the Last Judgement (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily Four for the Sunday of the Last Judgement

By St. John of Kronstadt

(Delivered on the Monday after the Sunday of the Last Judgment - 

February 25, 1907)

“The Lord comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with His truth” (Psalm 96:13).

I have been to the sessions of the earthly courts, called district courts. The furnishings of the main courtroom are impressive. A large portrait of the Emperor on the wall; tables, seats; a diverse audience, the docks of the accused and the accused themselves, the tense anticipation of the judges.

Here the doors open; the herald proclaims loudly: "The court is in session!" The members of the court come out with the chairman; they sit down; the minutes of the court are read; the defendants are announced; the jurors are seated; the witnesses are called; the oath is read - to tell only the truth. The trial begins. All this is decorous, in order - and makes an impression on the public. Such is the atmosphere of an earthly court, a human one. For the defendants it is somewhat frightening. After the degree of guilt of the defendants has been determined and the judges have deliberated, a decision is made and announced - punishment or freedom from trial. Such is the earthly court in a brief outline.

Homily Three for the Sunday of the Last Judgement (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily Three for the Sunday of the Last Judgement

By St. John of Kronstadt

(Delivered in 1907)

“But the Lord shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment. He shall judge the world in righteousness, and He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness” (Psalm 9:8–9).

On this Sunday, the Church is appointed to solemnly remember and serve the terrible future judgment of Christ upon the whole human race, which is to take place at the end of the world. And this judgment will take place soon, as the righteous Judge of all Himself testifies. "Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to his works" (Rev. 22:12). And there is nothing more certain and inevitable, as well as more immutable, than the truth that there will be a general judgment upon the human race, at which the fate of all people for all eternity will be finally decided. 

 

God is the Creator and Lawgiver, and the King of every creation, who has given immutable laws to all creatures. By fulfilling these laws they exist and remain in prosperity, but through violation they suffer, become corrupt and are destroyed. Laws have been given to heaven and earth, to the sun, moon and stars. "I have given all the stars commandments" (Is. 45:12), and through their firm fulfillment they exist in orderly order for so many thousands of years, proclaiming the glory of God. "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the work of His hands" (Ps. 18:2).

December: Day 18: Holy Martyr Sebastian and his Companions

December: Day 18:
Holy Martyr Sebastian and his Companions
 
(On the Existence of the Afterlife)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Sebastian, whose memory is celebrated today, was the commander of the palace guard under the emperors Diocletian and Maximian. The emperors loved him for his bravery in war and wisdom in counsel, and always kept him with them, showing him complete confidence. But they did not know that Sebastian was a Christian. It was not out of fear of persecution that Sebastian concealed his faith: the time had not yet come for him to openly confess our Lord Jesus Christ; until then, he did not miss the opportunity to help his co-religionists, and with firmness awaited the time when the Lord himself would call him to the sacred feat.

The time had come. Two brothers, Marcellinus and Mark, for confessing the Christian faith, were brought to Rome before the eparch (governor of the city), who demanded that they renounce Christ. The most terrible tortures did not shake the firmness of the two brothers; they were thus condemned to death. They had already bowed their heads under the executioner's axe, ready to joyfully die for the name of Christ, when suddenly the eparch, softened by the requests of their relatives, agreed to postpone the execution for a month. The Martyrs were given over to the care of a pagan named Nicostratus, who was to present them again to the eparch in a month if they did not renounce their faith during this time.

October: Day 8: Teaching 1: Venerable Pelagia of Antioch

October: Day 8: Teaching 1:
Venerable Pelagia of Antioch
 
(The Benefit of Reflecting on the Future Judgment)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Venerable Pelagia, whose memory is celebrated today, was at first a famous dancer in Antioch and led a life full of lawlessness. She was brought to repentance and the Christian faith by the Holy Bishop Nonnus, who converted 30,000 Arabs to Christ. One day, when the Holy bishop was teaching the people in the temple, speaking about the terrible judgment and retribution, it happened that Pelagia entered the temple. The teaching had such an effect on her that she was struck with the fear of God and could not hold back her tears. She came to Saint Nonnus, fell at his feet and tearfully asked to be baptized, calling herself a sea of sins and an abyss of impiety. Bishop Nonnus, seeing the complete repentance of the sinner, baptized her. Two days after the baptism, the devil appeared to Saint Pelagia at night and woke her up, saying: “Was it not I who enriched you so? How have you been offended by me? I beg you, do not make me the laughing stock of Christians.” But the Saint made a prayer with the sign of the cross, and the devil disappeared and did not appear again. Then Saint Pelagia gave all her property to Saint Nonnus for complete control. He ordered that the property be distributed to the poor, saying at the same time: “Let what was collected by evil be squandered wisely.” Saint Pelagia dressed in the hair shirt and cassock of Saint Nonnus, withdrew to Jerusalem and with the male name Pelagius lived in seclusion. Here she died in 457.

Homily One for the Sunday of the Last Judgement (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 

On the Last Judgment

By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on February 24, 1946)

For the third month now, a terrible trial has been going on in Nuremberg over villains whom the world has never seen before, a terrible trial for them, for they are awaiting the death penalty.

This death penalty is demanded by the conscience of all peoples, of all humanity, for the world is shocked, as it has never been shocked before, by atrocities that cannot be described in words.

Tens of millions of civilians were exterminated, not to mention the killed soldiers. In the Auschwitz camp alone, 5,121,000 people were exterminated.

The Pastoral Problem of Joy

 

By Protopresbyter Fr. Thomas Vamvinis

The Pastoral Problem of Joy

Much joy has become a pastoral problem. Cathartic fear has been discarded, not because it "involves torment", according to the first epistle of John the Theologian, but because it is not tolerated by the arrogance of people who have been enslaved by their passions, and have made their will a sacred asylum, which must be respected by all and healed (with the ancient Greek religious meaning of the word).

Indeed, God created us to rejoice in paradise and not to fear anything. However, we sinned and death entered our nature. Now we live with decay and death as constant companions. In this situation our nature was dominated by cowardice and fear and we slipped into selfishness.

Homilies on the Symbol of Faith (The Nicene Creed) - The Future Age (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

On the Symbol of Faith (The Nicene Creed)

 

The Future Age

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

 

In the twelfth article of the Symbol of Faith, which is also the last article, we confess our faith in the future age. We confess: "And the life of the age to come, Amen," that is, we expect the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come. In other words, we confess that we await the day when our bodies will be resurrected, we will see Christ, the judgment of people will take place and the future life will begin.

It is magnificent to recite in the Symbol of Faith our faith in the future life while we are still alive. When we believe this consciously, then in reality we transcend the present life, we transcend death, we have absolute certainty in Christ, we desire to meet Him and we want to participate in eternal life in the glory of God.