June: Day 19: Teaching 1: Holy Apostle Jude

June: Day 19: Teaching 1:
Holy Apostle Jude

(On Eternal Torment)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. About the Holy Apostle Jude, whose memory is celebrated today, the Church historian Nikephoros writes: “The divine Judas, not Iscariot, but another, who was also called Thaddeus and Lebbaeus, the son of Joseph, the brother of James, who was thrown from the roof of the Temple, cast the net of the holy gospel first in Judea, Galilee, Samaria, Idumea, then the cities of Arabia, Syria and Mesopotamia; finally he came to the city of Edessa, which belonged to King Abgar, and where another Thaddeus, one of the 70 Apostles, preached Christ even before him.”

According to tradition, it is also known that the Apostle Jude preached the gospel in Persia, from where he wrote a Catholic Epistle to believers, short but edifying, in which he protects against false teachers and threatens that as it was with Sodom and Gomorrah, “so it will be with these dreamers, speaking evil of what they know not, grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts (ungodly and lawlessly); whose mouth utters pompous words.” “These are stains in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.” The Holy Apostle Jude further writes in his epistle that the Lord, who did not spare even the angels, will punish every sinner who does not try to correct his life.

The Holy Apostle Jude died a martyr in Mesopotamia (around 80 A.D.); he was crucified on a cross. His burial place remains unknown.

Homily on the Epistle of the Apostle Jude (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 

On the Epistle of the Apostle Jude

By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on March 9, 1948)

Today the Epistle of the Holy Apostle Jude was read. It is catholic and, therefore, addressed to all Christians. It was written because in ancient, apostolic times, various heretics had already appeared, and the Holy Apostle warns all believers against following heretics.

He begins his message like this: “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ: mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you” (Jude 1:1-2). That is, "sanctified by God the Father" in Holy Baptism. How does the Lord Jesus Christ preserve us? Oh, in many, many ways. First of all, He preserves us with the great Mystery of Communion of His Body and Blood, in which we become partakers of His Divine nature, receive Him into ourselves, and live with Him. He also preserves with His Divine teaching, for it contains the whole truth, it shows the path to our salvation.