Prologue in Sermons: March 11

In What State After Death Are the Souls of Sinners, and in What State the Souls of the Righteous

March 11

(Instruction of the Holy Fathers concerning the need of death.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

In what state after death are the souls of sinners, and in what state those of the righteous?

What shall be said about this?

Let us anticipate, brethren, says the word of the Church, our death by repentance and let us hasten to it before the end, for our life is short in time, but the torment is long. The end is near and the fear is great, and there is no one there who forgives. Consider in what a terrible condition the sinners are in hades. While living on earth, they forgot the fear of God and did not fulfill the commandments. And now, in hades, what then? They ask God for even the smallest relief, but they do not receive it and in the lower parts of the earth they weep. They remember their sins: sloth, gluttony, fleshly sins, and various evil deeds, and they repent of them, but they do not receive forgiveness, for after death there is no repentance.

Prologue in Sermons: November 19

True Happiness Is Not On Earth, But In Heaven

November 19

(On our Venerable Father Joasaph the Hermit, Son of Abenner, King of India)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

That there is an afterlife can be proven by the fact that nothing earthly can satisfy us, and that no one here can say of themselves that they are completely happy. Indeed, even if you take all the wealth, all the honor and glory in the world, you will still not be satisfied and will always think of some greater, unknown happiness. But does this happiness exist? Obviously, it does; for otherwise, such a deep and constant desire for it would not be implanted within us. But where is it? As you see, it is not on earth — so that means it is in heaven, with God. Yes, brethren, if we would more often delve into the insignificance of all earthly things and, at the same time, into the desires of our immortal spirit, we would soon be convinced that there is an afterlife and that in it alone we can find true happiness and peace.

September: Day 20: Teaching 2: Holy Right-Believing Prince Michael and Boyar Theodore, Wonderworkers of Chernigov

September: Day 20: Teaching 2:
Holy Right-Believing Prince Michael and Boyar Theodore, Wonderworkers of Chernigov
 
(Why Do We Live In This World?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. On the day of the Wonderworkers of Chernigov, who courageously confessed their Christian faith before the Tatars and sacrificed their lives so as not to be deprived of the Heavenly Kingdom and eternal blessedness with Christ, it will be appropriate now to talk with you, my brethren, about the fact that the salvation of the soul or the attainment of the Kingdom of Heaven is the highest object of all human aspirations.

II. Indeed, why was man created? Why do we live in this world? This is an important question we must ask ourselves as often as possible! Do we really exist merely to be born, live a little, and then die, like other animals? Are we really created to spend our entire lives worrying, fussing, searching, tormenting ourselves, suffering, and then disappearing? No! We were created for blessedness. The search for blessedness is an indelible and unquenchable feeling in man; and that is why we see that every person, both intelligent and foolish, savage and enlightened, old and young — each and every one of them wants good for himself, wants to live better, all seek well-being. And although not all seek in the same way, and not all consider the same thing to be their highest good, there is not a single person in the world who would not want to be prosperous, at least as he understands and perceives it. Thus, the savage wants to be well-fed and contented, and to have what he likes. Thus, the poor want to be rich, the rich want to be honored and celebrated; the official and distinguished want to be famous — and so on. In short, everyone wants to be happy and blessed, according to their own standards.

August: Day 10: Holy Martyr and Archdeacon Lawrence

August: Day 10:
Holy Martyr and Archdeacon Lawrence
 
(On the Benefits of Remembering the Heavenly Reward)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Archdeacon Lawrence who is celebrated today suffered in the persecution of Valerian. He was accused of visiting Christians hiding in caves, bringing them food and clothing, and hiding the treasures of the Roman Church.

The Roman eparch subjected him to torture, and then, showing him the instruments of even more terrible suffering, said to him: “I will torment you with all these instruments if you do not fulfill my commands. Why do you not want to name the Christians who are hiding? Name them now, and bow down to the gods yourself. Your treasures will not save you.” 

Lawrence answered: “Fulfill your threats. What you call torture is a glory and joy for Christians. I will not name the Christians who are hiding, because you are unworthy of seeing those whose names are written in heaven. I do not hope for earthly treasures, but for those blessings that the Lord has prepared for those who love Him.” 

Homily Three on the Day of the Foremost Apostles Peter and Paul (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily Three on the Day of the Foremost Apostles Peter and Paul 

By St. John of Kronstadt

"I will give you (Peter and in his person all the apostles) the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matt. 16:19).

The Heavenly Kingdom, for which we are destined from the beginning of the world, was closed from the time of Adam's transgression due to his sins and the sins of his descendants. It was reopened anew through the cross and death of the Son of God, Who, by virtue of His divine-human merits, received from God the Father the authority to open and close it: to open for the penitent, and to close for the unrepentant. The Lord bestowed His authority upon the Apostles, and after them upon the Archbishops and Priests. For the first time, He promised to grant it to all the Apostles in the person of the Apostle Peter, when he confessed Him as the Son of God on behalf of them all. He said to him: "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven," etc. (Matthew 16:18). He did not say: I give, but – "I will give;" because at that time the sacrificial offering for the sins of the world had not yet been made, and the time to grant this authority had not yet arrived: it was given after the resurrection of the Lord from the dead, when He appeared to the Apostles, breathed on them, and said: "Receive the Holy Spirit: whosoever sins you forgive, they are forgiven them, and whosoever sins you retain, they are retained" (John 20:23). Hence, brethren, you see how holy, important, venerable, and necessary the office of the Apostles, and their successors, the Archbishops and Priests, is within the Church of Christ: they are the servants of Christ and the builders of God's Mysteries; they continue the work of Christ; they open and close heaven for people; without them there is no authority to bind and loose human sins – there is no salvation. God the Father has given all authority to Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ has given it to the Apostles and Priests. From this perspective, dear brethren, it is evident that the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven are perpetually available to those who earnestly seek to gain entry: these keys are entrusted to every priest, and one need only to sincerely repent of their sins before him, subsequently engaging in actions that demonstrate true repentance. How can those who choose not to seize this opportunity escape accountability – to enter the Kingdom of Heaven while disregarding the necessity of repentance and amendment, or feeling ashamed to confess to a priest, or dismissing confession as a mere human construct – and ultimately suffer the consequences solely due to their own negligence and inaction.

June: Day 21: Holy Martyr Julian of Tarsus

June: Day 21:
Holy Martyr Julian of Tarsus
 
(On Heavenly Blessedness)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Martyr Julian, whose memory is celebrated today, after the death of his father, a pagan, lived with his Christian mother in the Cilician city of Tarsus and was raised by her in the Christian faith. During the persecution of Christians under Diocletian, the young Julian, the son of a former senator, was persecuted and tortured for his faith. For a year he was tortured in various ways in different places in the Cilician region. His mother followed him everywhere and was finally seized in the city of Aegeus, when she asked permission to visit her son in prison, under the pretext of persuading him to renounce Christ, while she herself begged him to remain firm in the faith even to death. Then she, too, was given over to torture along with her son; the heels of her feet were cut off; and Julian, after terrible torments, was condemned to a cruel death: he was thrown into the sea in a sack filled with reptiles. He suffered at the age of 18, in the year 290.