Homily Two on the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord (St. Innocent of Kherson)

Homily on the Day of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord 

(Delivered in Kiev when Bishop Innocent was a Student at the Kiev Theological Academy)

By St. Innocent of Kherson

“And the people answered, saying, ‘His blood be on us and on our children.’” (Matthew 27:25)

The desire of your heart, O godless people, has been fulfilled! Your princes and leaders have been destroyed; “the walls of your city have been overthrown, your altars have been dug up, your prophets saw vanity, your priests sigh; the infants asked for bread; those who were joined to it have rejected it” (Lamentations 2:14–16; 4:4; 1:2; 3:44). The Most High Himself “covered Himself with a cloud, so that your prayer might not reach Him” (Lamentations 3:44).

Christians! We, being “wild branches,” have by the grace of God been deemed worthy to take the place of the “natural branches,” the Jews, and to be grafted onto the good olive tree, Jesus Christ, from which they were broken off (Romans 11:17–21). What feeling does this change wrought by the right hand of the Most High produce in us? Shall we say in shameful self-exaltation, “The branches were broken off so that we might be grafted in” (Romans 11:19)? But have we considered through what they were broken off from the tree of life, and through what we were grafted onto this tree? “They were broken off through unbelief” (Romans 11:20); we, however, stand through faith. Yet faith is not “from ourselves, but the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). The same merciful God who bestowed upon us the pledge of faith can also restore it to them; the same righteous God who sent them a spirit of insensibility, “that seeing they may not see and hearing they may not hear” (Luke 8:10; Romans 11:8), can send us “an activity of delusion, so that we should believe the lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:11). Therefore, we must not become high-minded when we look upon the rejected Jews, but must be filled with fear, lest God, who “did not spare the natural branches,” “should not spare” us either (Romans 11:21). The example of this people should awaken us from sinful carelessness. Let us unfold this thought.

Prologue in Sermons: March 15

The Chosen Servants of God Sometimes Also Bear Upon Themselves Special Signs of God’s Mercy Toward Them

March 15

(A Word about Sergius the clairvoyant hermit.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

The beloved servants of God, who are appointed by the Lord for higher service in His Church, sometimes bear within themselves not only special spiritual signs of His mercies toward them, but also — visible to some — particular tokens indicating their future great service. This we shall demonstrate by the following example.

In the Prologue, on the fifteenth day of March, in the church reading, it is written:

“Monk George the Armenian related: ‘Abba Gregory, the abbot of the Lavra of Pharan, many times asked me to bring him to Sergius the hermit, who lived not far from the Dead Sea. I fulfilled his wish and once brought him to the elder, who received him very kindly, brought water and washed his feet, conversed with him the whole day about the salvation of the soul, and only on the next day dismissed him.

May: Day 17: Holy Apostle Andronikos and Junia His Helper

May: Day 17:
Holy Apostle Andronikos and Junia His Helper
 
(On Familial Love)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Andronikos, whose memory is celebrated today, was one of the Seventy Apostles and a relative of the Apostle Paul, who lovingly mentioned him in his letter to the Romans (chapter 16:7). “Greet Andronikos and Junia, my kinsmen and fellow prisoners, who are renowned among the apostles and were in Christ before me.” Andronikos preached the gospel in various countries and was Bishop in Pannonia. He suffered a martyr’s death, and his relics, like those of Saint Junia, were later found in Eugenia (a locality near Constantinople).

II. The "familial love" that existed between the now celebrated Holy Apostle Andronikos and the Apostle Paul is instructive for everyone. On the contrary, what could be more outrageous than when relatives live among themselves worse than enemies, avoid meeting, quarrel at every meeting, and especially when they engage in some kind of litigation over property interests. This is no longer Christian, but worse than pagan.

April: Day 8: Teaching 1: Venerable Niphon, Bishop of Novgorod

April: Day 8: Teaching 1:
Venerable Niphon, Bishop of Novgorod
 
(On Christian Peace With One’s Neighbors and the Means To Achieve It)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Venerable Niphon, whose memory is celebrated today, in the world Niketas, was brought up in a pious family, from childhood showed a pious disposition and, after the death of his parents, while still young, decided to devote himself to the service of God. Having sold his property for the benefit of the poor, he took monastic vows in the Kiev Caves Monastery, under Abbot Timothy. Here he soon acquired from those who saw his ascetic life that respect which he later enjoyed from both princes and people.

In order to thoroughly study the canons and customs of the Church, he traveled to the East. Upon his return from there, already known for his experience, wisdom and firmness of piety, he was chosen by the prince, brethren and people and consecrated in Kiev in 1131 as Bishop of Novgorod. He declared himself in the episcopal field, among other things, as a "reconciler of princes". Thus, in 1135, Bishop Niphon, with his admonitions, imbued with humility and love, stopped the discord that had arisen between the people of Kiev, Chernigov and Novgorod, who were already preparing to act against each other. Venerable Niphon died in Kiev, where he had arrived to meet the new Metropolitan, and was buried in the Kiev Caves Monastery, after a prophetic dream about this.

Homily Two for the Epistle Reading on the Sixth Sunday After Pentecost (St. Luke of Simferopol)

Homily for the Epistle Reading on the Sixth Sunday After Pentecost

On Spiritual Gifts

Romans 12:6-14

By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on August 5, 1956)

It is important and necessary for everyone to understand what gift of grace they received from God, what form of life activity the Lord predestined them for. After all, how often, out of our own willfulness, do we strive for high and honorable positions, disdaining lower ones, though they be pleasing to God. For He destined us for such activities that are within our power and correspond to the conditions of our life, as the Apostle Paul wrote about in his Epistle: "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness" (Rom. 12:6–8).

Homily Three for the Epistle Reading on the Fifth Sunday After Pentecost (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 Homily for the 5th Sunday of Pentecost

"For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, 

but not according to knowledge" (Romans 10:2)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

 

This passage expresses a mentality that was not only valid in the time of the Apostle Paul, but is valid in every era. There are always people who are zealous for God, but without knowledge, the correct knowledge of God.

The word zeal indicates great zeal for the achievement of a goal and ends up expressing the person who shows excessive zeal for the realization of a desire, someone who competes with someone else. Many times it also indicates jealousy, it shows the person who is distinguished by jealousy. In this passage, zeal is stated in a negative sense and mainly expresses the fanaticism that manifests itself without knowing the whole truth, without having true knowledge of a thing and an event.

Homily Two for the Epistle Reading on the Fifth Sunday After Pentecost (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

 Homily for the 5th Sunday of Pentecost

 
"The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (Rom. 10:8)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

 

The Apostle Paul, as seen in today's apostolic reading, constantly prays for the salvation of the Israelites, who had a zeal for God, but without knowledge, that is, without the right knowledge. And this happens because they sought to be justified by their works, while only God justifies man, through Jesus Christ.

When the Apostle Paul speaks of justification, which is identified with salvation, he refers to the way it is achieved. For this purpose he uses three words: word, mouth and heart. He writes: "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (Rom. 10:8).

All humans speak through the mouth. Words are formulated and articulated with the mouth. At the same time, we also speak internally with the inarticulate language, that is, with the heart and thoughts. This is also called covert speech.

The same happens with the Christian. The Apostle says, using a passage from the Old Testament, that the word is close to the mouth and the heart, and thus the Christian believes with his heart and confesses with his mouth: "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Rom. 10:10).

These two, the mouth and the heart, mean confession and faith. It is preceded by the heart's belief that Christ is the Savior of the world and of men, that only through Him salvation is achieved in the Church, which is the Body of Christ, and then follows or must follow the confession of faith through the mouth.

This is what all the Saints of our Church did. Living in the Church, they acquired the certainty of the true life that Christ brought into the world, they were spiritually sweetened by the Grace of God and then, when the times required it, the holy Fathers defined the faith and the confessors and the martyrs gave the confession for it, and as a culmination and consequence they also gave their lives for Christ.

During the period of persecution the pagans called on the Christians to deny Christ, but they confessed with vigor and then martyrdom followed. Who cannot confess that Christ is true God, when he was convinced in his heart that He exists, that He is alive and that He is the only Savior of people?

But there are Fathers of the Church who interpret this passage of the Apostle Paul through the experience of prayer. That is, the word of God is close to the mouth and the heart. The Christian must pray both with his lips and with his heart, that is, with his whole being. Here is meant prayer through the mouth and prayer through the heart, noetic prayer or prayer of the heart.

The salvation of man is realized by the "word" of God, the name and the work of Christ and is expressed as an experience of the heart and as a confession of faith. Man confesses the divinity of Christ and sacrifices himself for Him. This is how the holy Apostles, the holy Martyrs, the holy Fathers and all true Christians lived and died, throughout the centuries. They, after Christ and our Panagia, are our glorious role models.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

 

 

Homily One for the Epistle Reading on the Fifth Sunday After Pentecost (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 Homily for the 5th Sunday of Pentecost

"For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, 

but not according to knowledge" (Romans 10:2)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

 

The Apostle Paul was an Israelite by birth, but after his conversion to Christ he acquired another dimension, since Christianity has a pananthropic and ecumenical character. Of course, the Apostle Paul does not forget his origin, but this national origin does not come at the expense of ecclesiastical life, since above the Fatherland of each one of us is the Church and our real homeland which is the Kingdom of God.

In the excerpt from the Apostle Paul's letter to the Romans that was read today in the church, we see that the Apostle has great love for his fellow Israelites, but this does not prevent him from presenting their great spiritual sickness. He writes: "For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge" (Rom. 10:2). The Israelites of their day were very zealous for God, as is shown in their worship and daily conversion, yet this zeal is not zeal with knowledge. This is shown by the fact that while they are ignorant of God's righteousness they struggle to establish their own righteousness and do not submit to God's righteousness. It is terrible to fight for justice to prevail on earth and in the end it is not God's justice, but human justice, which is often associated with injustices.

Homily for the Epistle Reading of the Fourth Sunday After Pentecost - Slaves of Sin and Slaves of Righteousness (St. Luke of Simferopol)

Homily for the Epistle Reading of the Fourth Sunday After Pentecost

Romans 6:17-19

Slaves of Sin and Slaves of Righteousness

By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on July 22, 1945)

 

Jesus Christ said: “The one who saves his life will lose it; but he who loses his life for My sake will save it” (Matt. 10:39). To understand these words, you need to know what the human soul is. The soul is nothing but a collection of thoughts, concepts, aspirations. There are good souls, and there are those inclined to evil, full of sinful desires. For most people, the soul is subordinate to the flesh and strives to serve its passions, is inclined to a well-fed, contented life. Such a soul must be destroyed, all its base carnal demands, which defile both the body and the soul itself, must be destroyed.

The Holy Apostle Paul addresses the Romans who believed in Christ, who left their former pagan way of life, full of sin and lewdness, with the following words: “But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Rom. 6:17-18).

Homily for the Epistle Reading on the Fourth Sunday After Pentecost (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

Homily for the 4th Sunday of Pentecost

"The Wages of Sin is Death" (Romans 6:23)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The passage that we heard today in the apostolic reading - "the wages of sin is death" - is very important, in order to understand what sin is and how the person who sins feels. We have heard it many times, and it is a phrase known to those who often read Holy Scripture.

The word "wages" (οψώνια) denotes the payment, the ration, the salary that the emperor gave to the soldiers. That is why Saint John the Forerunner exhorted the soldiers: "Be content with your wages" (Luk. 3:14), that is, do not take various goods from your fellow men, but be content with what the emperor or the king gives you.

Homily Three on the Feast of the Deposition of the Honorable Robe of the Theotokos (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

With today's sermon we begin the Sunday sermons that will be read in the Holy Temples of our Metropolis in July and August, because in this period our parishes and our villages are visited by many of our brethren who now live abroad, as well as in other cities and places in our country.

Today, our Church celebrates the commemoration of the Deposition of the Honorable Robe of our Most Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary in the Church of Blachernae, which was built in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos.

In fact, Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite writes that the Honorable Robe of our Panagia was woven from wool, which in six months is corrupted by worms and rot. In spite of this, "the honorable robe was completely incorrupt and of the same color, testifying through the incorruption to the incorruption and dispassion of the virginal body."

Homily for the Epistle Reading of the Second Sunday After Pentecost - On the Conscience (St. Luke of Simferopol)

Homily for the Epistle Reading of the Second Sunday After Pentecost

Romans 2:9-11

On the Conscience

By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered in 1954)

I want you to delve deeper into the apostolic reading from the 2nd chapter of Paul's epistle to the Romans: “Tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God” (Romans 2:9-11).

Oh, how it is necessary for us to remember these words of blessed Paul: after all, he reminds us that punishment awaits us for every evil deed, and for a life full of evil deeds, eternal anguish and sorrow awaits in the kingdom of darkness; and for all the good that we do - eternal glory and honor in the kingdom of eternal light, for God will reward everyone according to his deeds.

Why Does Saint Paul Call Christ the "Firstborn From the Dead"? (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

"He Became the Firstborn of the Dead."

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The Resurrection of Christ, the supreme event in the mystery of the divine economy, gives us every year the opportunity to delve deeper into this event and little by little to share in the mystery of the Resurrection with our own resurrection. This, after all, is the purpose of establishing the annual Paschal celebration cycle.

In the joy of the Resurrection of Christ, we should remember that Christ in Holy Scripture and in the liturgical texts is described as "firstborn". After all, in one of the resurrection troparia we sing: "He became the firstborn of the dead."

The word "firstborn" denotes the first of the children in a family. This name is attributed to Christ in many ways. The Apostle Paul writes that the Son and Word of God is "the firstborn of all creation" (Col. 1:15), "the firstborn among many brethren" (Rom. 8:29) and "the firstborn from the dead" (Col. 1:18).

Homily on Saint Alexios the Man of God (Archpriest Rodion Putyatin)

 

 By Archpriest Rodion Putyatin

"Who will separate us from the love of God" (Rom. 8:35).

You, listeners, no doubt know how the Venerable Alexios the Man of God lived and was saved. The son of wealthy and noble parents, having renounced all worldly joys and pleasures, who was most innocent and sinless in his flourishing youth, he voluntarily became a beggar - he drank, ate, dressed like a beggar, lived and was treated like the beggars, and so lived for more than thirty years, enduring from everyone all sorts of insults and bitterness, scolding and ridicule.

Rare people are given from God the grace of a life like him; and people like him, one might say, have been in our teaching for centuries. What can we learn from Alexios the Man of God?