Prologue in Sermons: May 4

 

The More Humble a Person Is, the More He Receives Grace-filled Gifts From God

May 4

(A word about Saint Sisoes, how by a word he raised the dead. 
A word from the Paterikon about Bessarion, how by a word he cast out demons.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

The virtue of humility brings one so close to God, so unites him with Him, that it makes the whole being of the humble person a vessel of divine grace; and this grace pours forth through the humble one also upon others and works great deeds, sometimes even apart from the will of the humble lover of humility himself. To be convinced of this, listen to the account of two incidents from the life of our Venerable Fathers Sisoes the Great and Bessarion of Egypt.

A certain common man set out with his sick son to the Venerable Sisoes, in the land of Egypt. On the way, the sick boy died. The father was not troubled by this; he took the dead body and brought it to the Venerable one. Knowing the latter’s humility, the common man did not openly ask him for help, but, entering with the dead child in his arms, he made a bow before the Saint and, while bowing, placed the dead son at the feet of the elder. Not knowing that a dead man lay before him, and thinking that the one who had bowed did not wish to rise, Sisoes said to the dead man: “Rise and go out.” And the dead man came to life, stood up, and went out to meet his astonished father. Then the father went in to Sisoes and told him what had happened to his son on the way and how he had brought him dead to the Venerable one. And the holy elder was grieved when he heard this, and he forbade the common man and his disciples to speak of what had happened until after his death.

Prologue in Sermons: May 2

Obedience is Greater Than Fasting and Prayer

May 2

(A word from the Paterikon, that obedience is greater than a life of fasting and desert asceticism.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

They say that obedience is greater than fasting and prayer. Can this be believed?

Two blood brothers came to live in a monastery. One of them was a great faster, while the other was distinguished by great obedience, and whatever the elders commanded him, he immediately fulfilled without question; and through obedience he gained renown in the monastery. His brother, the faster, began to envy him and said: “I will test him, and then we shall see how much he has progressed in obedience.” And with these words he went to the abbot and said: “Father, allow my brother to go with me; we need to go to a certain place.” The abbot permitted them.

The brothers set out. When they came to a river, the faster said to the brother who excelled in obedience: “Enter the river and cross it.” The obedient brother entered, and crocodiles surrounded him and began in every way to fawn upon him. Seeing this, the faster said: “Come out of the river.” The brother came out.

Sunday of Holy Pascha (8-9 of 15)

...continued.

8. What Have Hades, Earth, and Heaven Become After the Resurrection of Christ?

The descent into hades and the Resurrection of Christ have great significance in the work of the salvation of mankind.

Saint Philaret of Moscow wrote:

“Is it necessary to establish faith, to create hope, to inflame love, to enlighten wisdom, to raise up prayer, to bring down grace, to destroy calamity, death, evil, to give life to life, to make blessedness not a dream but reality, glory not a phantom but the eternal lightning of eternal light, illuminating everything and striking no one? — For all this, sufficient power will be found in one miraculous word: ‘Christ is Risen.’

What is hades after, since by the descent into hades, Christ is risen? A fortress into which, under the appearance of a prisoner, the conqueror entered; a prison whose gates are shattered and whose guards are scattered; this is truly, according to the image of Christ, a monster that swallowed the prophet cast from a ship; but instead of devouring and destroying him, it became for him another, though not so calm, ship, in order to bring him to the shore of life and safety. Now it becomes clear how someone hoped to pass safely even through hades itself: ‘Even though I walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me’ (Ps. 22:4) — You, Who for us descended from heaven, walked on the earth like us, and like us descended into the shadow of death, so that from there also You might open a path for Your followers into the light of life.

Prologue in Sermons: April 13

The Lord Saves the Innocent From Slander and Punishes the Guilty

April 13

(A Word from the Paterikon about Daniel the Monk, how he raised a murdered man.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

People who have plunged into the depths of evil, when committing some wicked deed with every precaution, often think that, while carrying out their crime, no one has seen them, and therefore they are free from all responsibility for their sin. But they are grievously mistaken. From the all-seeing and just Lord they will not escape; and He, in one way or another, will find them and punish them, while those who have suffered innocently because of them He will justify and will make their innocence known.

Once the Venerable Daniel, passing by a certain place, saw that several men had seized and were holding one of the monks. The elder approached the detained man and asked: “For what reason have you been seized, and what is the cause of your detention?” The monk answered that he was being accused of murdering a man, of which he was completely innocent and knew nothing. Then the Venerable one asked: “Where, then, is the slain man?” They showed him.

Prologue in Sermons: March 28

Where the Souls of Sinners Are After Their Separation from the Body

March 28

(A Discourse about a certain soldier, named Taxiotis, who rose from the dead.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

Where, brethren, are the souls of sinners after their separation from their bodies? Let us speak about this for our edification.

There was in the city of Carthage a certain man, named Taxiotis, who lived a sinful life. Once, a pestilence struck Carthage, from which many people were dying. Taxiotis turned to God and repented of his sins. Leaving the city, he withdrew with his wife to a certain village, where he remained, spending his time in meditation on God.

After some time, he fell into sin with the wife of a farmer; but a few days later, he was bitten by a snake and died.

Not far from that place stood a monastery; the wife of Taxiotis went to this monastery and begged the monks to come, take the body of the deceased, and bury it in the church; and they buried him at the third hour of the day. When the ninth hour came, a loud cry was heard from the grave: “Have mercy, have mercy on me!” The monks, approaching the grave and hearing the cry of the one buried, immediately dug it up and found Taxiotis alive. In terror, they were amazed and asked him what had happened to him. But Taxiotis, because of intense weeping, could not tell them anything and only asked to be taken to Bishop Tarasios; and he was taken to him. The bishop urged him for three days to tell him what he had seen there, but only on the fourth day did Taxiotis begin to speak and recounted the following:

The Death and Resurrection of a Cart Driver (From the Life of Saint Parthenios of Lampsakos)

The Death and Resurrection of a Cart Driver

(From the Life of Saint Parthenios of Lampsakos)

The demons did not refrain from interfering in the beautiful and good works of Saint Parthenios. For this reason, one day the following event took place:

When Parthenios had completed the construction work of the house of worship built in the name of the Most High Lord, he found a flat stone which he deemed suitable for the altar. He ordered a cart driver named Eutychianos to transport this flat stone to the church that was being built. However, the crafty evil spirit, envying this good work of Parthenios, sought to create an obstacle to his plans. Thus, during the transport of the flat stone, it enraged the oxen, and in their frenzy they threw the poor cart driver between the wheels. As a result, his belly was torn open, his intestines spilled out, and shortly thereafter he died.

The Theology of the Cross and the Theology of Glory - (Theologia crucis-Theologia gloriae): Part 4 of 4

...continued from part three.

3. Metropolitan of Pergamon John Zizioulas on the Cross of Golgotha and the Divine Eucharist

The purpose of Creation is the Church. That is, the Father, by creating the world, wanted to transform it into the Church. However, in order for this incorporation of Creation in the Son and the Church to be realized, the free consent of man would have to be ensured. For man is the one who, by nature, as the only free being in Creation, the material Creation, would be used so that Creation could be referred to God. But man, summing up creation, instead of ultimately referring to God, chose to refer to himself; in other words, he deified himself. For this reason, God's entire plan for transforming the world into a Church came up against man's denial and, as Saint Maximus says, God now had to think of another way to save the world and unite it with Himself. This way is the incarnation of the Son within the fallen creation, which means that the Son, and man in general, and all of creation, had to go through the experience of death in order to attain union, that is, the Cross had to intervene. This is why the Church could no longer be realized without going through the Cross of Golgotha.

The Theology of the Cross and the Theology of Glory - (Theologia crucis-Theologia gloriae): Part 3 of 4

...continued from part two.

2. Father John Romanides on the Mystery of the Cross and the Resurrection of Christ

The necessary means of perfection for the deified, but also for the hired hands and slaves, is the crucifixion of desires and the uprooting of selfish love through unwavering faith and unconditional obedience to the will of God. Perfection through obedience is valid for the angels before the fall of the devil and demons, since after the fall there is no repentance for them. For humans, obedience is the means of perfection before and after the fall. Obedience, however, is not an end in itself, so that through a servile and exchangeable disposition one may acquire a static, blissful state leading to the perpetuation of a servile or selfish relationship with God. In the stages of the slave and the hired hand, man participates in the perfection of God through the partaking in Christ of the purifying and illuminating grace of the mystery of the Cross, which purifies the passions and the nous and illuminates, sanctifies, justifies and animates the whole man and makes possible, through man's cooperation, obedience unto death to the will of God, through which obedience the grace of God transforms this submissive selfishness into selfless love, and thus man is deified and becomes a friend and co-worker of God, a brother and co-king by the grace of Christ, and an adopted son of the Virgin.

The Theology of the Cross and the Theology of Glory - (Theologia crucis-Theologia gloriae): Part 2 of 4

...continued from part one.

1. Father George Florovsky on the Theologia crucis and Theologia gloriae

It is commonly assumed that, in counterdistinction from the West, Eastern theology is mainly concerned with Incarnation and Resurrection and that the “theology of the Cross”, theologia crucis, has been under-developed in the East. Indeed, Orthodox theology is emphatically a “theology of glory”, theologia gloriae, but only because it is primarily a “theology of the Cross”. The Cross itself is the sign of glory. The Cross itself is regarded not so much as a climax of Christ's humiliation, but rather as a disclosure of Divine might and glory. “Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.” Or, in the words of a Sunday hymn, “it is by the Cross that great joy has come into the world”. On the one hand, the whole oikonomia of Redemption is summed up in one comprehensive vision: the victory of Life. On the other, this oikonomia is related to the basic predicament of fallen man, to his existential situation, culminating in his actualized “mortality”, and the “last enemy” is identified, accordingly, as “death”. It was this “last enemy” that had been defeated and abrogated on the tree of the Cross, in ara crucis. The Lord of Life did enter the dark abyss of death, and “death” was destroyed by the flashes of His glory. This is the main motive of the divine office on Easter Day in the Orthodox Church: “trampling down death by death”. The phrase itself is significant: Christ's death is itself a victory, Christ's death dismisses man's mortality. 

The Theology of the Cross and the Theology of Glory - (Theologia crucis-Theologia gloriae): Part 1 of 4

The Theology of the Cross and the Theology of Glory 
(Theologia crucis-Theologia gloriae)

Introduction

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

On the occasion of the feast of the Exaltation of the Honorable Cross, we must see the great value of the Honorable Cross in relation to the Resurrection of Christ.

And this is because in Orthodox theology, the Cross and the Resurrection of Christ are closely connected, or as it is called, the theologia crucis with the theologia gloriae, and they cannot be separated. That is, it cannot be maintained that the Cross of Christ is a simple historical event and the Resurrection of Christ is an eschatological event, because this is a great theological error.

Previously, it was argued that Western theology is based more on the Cross with the theory of the atonement of divine justice through the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, which is why the Orthodox Church is the Church of the Resurrection.

September: Day 13: Teaching 2: Feast of the Consecration of the Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ

September: Day 13: Teaching 2: 
Feast of the Consecration of the Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
 
(The Meaning of the Feast)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. This feast is seemingly insignificant, judging by the fact that in a series of other ecclesiastical feasts it is not distinguished by any solemnity. But meanwhile, in its inner significance it can stand on a par with the most important feasts.

II. a) Indeed, what do we celebrate on this day? The renewal of a temple, no more; but what temple? The temple in the name of the Resurrection of Christ. And the Resurrection of Christ is the foundation of Christianity. "If Christ has not risen, our faith is vain." But the resurrection of Christ is the pledge of our resurrection, the pledge of eternal life and eternal blessedness. Christ rose from the dead, became the firstfruits of those who died. Without the Resurrection of Christ we have no hope of eternal life, and without the hope of eternal life, what is man? An absurd and most unfortunate creature. Indeed, the last worm has its own definite purpose in the chain of creation and its share of happiness, because, no matter how insignificant and weak it is, it finds full satisfaction of its small needs and fully enjoys its life until the beak of a bird or the foot of a man puts an end to it. But what is man with his higher spiritual needs, which find no satisfaction here on earth, with his ideals, which find no fulfillment, with his passions, which he abhors, which torment him, and which he either satisfies with curses, or fights against, not knowing why, only according to an incomprehensible and irresistible demand of his spirit, fights until exhaustion of strength without any hope of winning a decisive victory, fights until he falls in this fruitless struggle, broken and tormented? What is man, eternally striving for heaven and continually falling into the mud, wandering in the darkness of doubts and riddles, eternally dissatisfied, an unhappy martyr, if not of his own passions, then of the vanity of other people? What is he without hope of eternity? An absurd and unhappy product of the senseless play of the blind forces of nature. If Christ did not rise, then not only can we say with the Apostle, as Christians, that we are the most wretched of all men, but we can also add, as human beings in general, that we are the most wretched of all creatures. Therefore, the Resurrection is not only the foundation of Christianity, but also the foundation of humanity. Such is the dogmatic meaning of this feast.

August: Day 4: The Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus: Maximilian, Exakoustodianos, Iamblichus, Martinian, Dionysios, Antoninus and John

August: Day 4:
The Holy Seven Youths of Ephesus: Maximilian, Exakoustodianos (also known as Constantine), Iamblichus, Martinian, Dionysios, Antoninus and John
 
(On the Resurrection of the Dead)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Seven Martyred Youths, who are celebrated today, were the children of renowned citizens of the city of Ephesus, young warriors who lived during the persecution of Christians under Emperor Decius. This was a dreadful persecution. Many Christians were hiding outside the city, in caves. Among them were the seven youths whom the Church remembers today, who, hiding from the persecution, left the city and settled in a cave on Mount Ochlon to prepare themselves through fasting and prayer for their trials for the faith. Upon learning of this, Decius ordered the entrance to the cave to be blocked with stones. Among the stones, two courtiers, secretly professing the Christian faith, named Theodore and Rufinus, placed tin tablets, inscribing on them the names of the seven youths buried alive in the cave. Meanwhile, through His inscrutable decrees, God sent upon them a deathlike sleep and preserved them incorruptible and unchanged for their miraculous awakening in His glory and as a testament to the truth of His word, two centuries later.

July: Day 23: Teaching 1: Holy Prophet Ezekiel

 

July: Day 23:* Teaching 1:
Holy Prophet Ezekiel
 
(About the Resurrection of the Dead)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Today we celebrate the memory of the Holy Prophet Ezekiel. He lived during the reign of the Judean King Josiah and was taken captive to Babylon in the twenty-sixth year of his life. In the fifth year of the captivity, Ezekiel received a divine command in a wondrous vision from God to preach to the Jews and persuade them to repentance. Ezekiel beheld the opened heavens and amidst them a great bright cloud. In the latter vision, the Prophet saw four living creatures; each had four faces - that of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle; the creatures had wings and wheels adorned with eyes, with each having four wings, two hands, and one wheel. Above the heads of the creatures was a crystalline vault, upon which a shining throne was elevated. On the throne sat One who had the appearance of a man. Filled with fear and awe, the Prophet fell to his face and heard the voice of the Lord speaking to him: "Arise, son of man, I will speak with you."

May: Day 22: Holy Martyr Basiliskos at Comana

May: Day 22:
Holy Martyr Basiliskos at Comana
 
(Proof of the Truth That Bodily Death Serves For Us Only as a Transition to Immortality)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Martyr Basiliskos, whose memory is now celebrated, was the nephew of Saint Theodore the Tiro; he suffered together with Eutropios and Kleonikos (commemorated on March 3), but was put to death by the sword after them in the reign of Maximilian, in 308. The tortures to which he was subjected were accompanied by the most astounding miracles, as attested by their eyewitness, the Holy Martyr Eusignios (commemorated on August 5). This Martyr Basiliskos, as many historians attest, appeared to Saint John Chrysostom after his death. This was in the city of Comana, where Saint Basiliskos suffered, where a church was built in his name and his relics lay, and where Saint John Chrysostom died on the way to the place of his exile. Here, before his death, the Holy Martyr Basiliskos appeared to the great Saint and said: “Do not be discouraged, brother John, tomorrow we will be together.”

The Third Day of Pascha: Teaching 7 (On the Meaning of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ)

The Third Day of Pascha:
Teaching 7

(On the Meaning of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

Christ is Risen!

I. “The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ,” says Saint Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow, “serves as:

a) proof of the Divinity of Jesus Christ,

b) the beginning of our resurrection.

II. The confirmation of faith in the Resurrection of Christ is a matter of great importance for Christianity and for the Christian.

a) The main strength of Christianity is to recognize the Lord Jesus as the Savior of the world that has sinned against God and is condemned to death by God. And in order to recognize this powerful quality in Him with full hope, we need complete assurance that He is the only begotten Son of God and the true God, because it has been well said, although not by good people: "Who can forgive sins but God alone" (Luke 5:21)? Only the mercy of God the Son can provide worthy satisfaction to the offended majesty and justice of God the Father; only God can return life to those condemned to death by God.

The Second Day of Pascha: Teaching 6 (And We Will Rise Again!)

 

The Second Day of Pascha:
Teaching 6

(And We Will Rise Again!)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Jesus Christ is risen! We too will rise, my friends! Have you ever thought about these most joyful words, about this greatest action of God's omnipotence over us? We will rise... There will be a time when our bodies, these very mortal bodies, hidden in the graves, decayed into dust, turned into earth, by the action of the almighty Word of God, will again be transformed from the graves and again united with our souls, separated for a time, for eternal life... We were created for life! We want to live; and we will live in these same bodies of ours, only transformed; we will live forever, forever... What joy, what consolation in these words for us mortals! Why should we, after this, fear death? Why become despondent and despairing at the death of those dear to our hearts?

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.

January: Day 21: Teaching 1: Holy Martyr Agnes

January: Day 21: Teaching 1:
Holy Martyr Agnes
 
(On the Immortality of the Soul and the Resurrection of the Dead)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. When the Holy Martyr Agnes, whose memory is celebrated today, died, her parents were constantly at her grave, where they wept bitterly for their beloved daughter. But one night they saw maidens walking past them, brightly adorned with gold-embroidered garments and shining with heavenly glory. Among them was also Saint Agnes, in the same glory as her companions, and at her right hand was a Lamb, whiter than snow. And behold, Agnes, having asked the maidens to wait for her, said to her parents: “Do not weep for me as for one dead; but rejoice for me and rejoice with me, for I have entered the heavenly habitations with these maidens, and with Him Whom I loved on earth with all my heart, with Him I now live in heaven.” After these words the holy virgin became invisible.

II. The Holy Martyr Agnes, by her appearance from the afterlife, by her assurance that she did not die, but lives in the heavenly habitations with our Lord Jesus Christ, with this heavenly Lamb, slain for the sins of the world, proves to us the truth of the immortality of the human soul and the future resurrection of our bodies on the day of the General Judgment of God before the coming of the eternal kingdom of glory.

Homily on the Third Sunday of Luke (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily on the Third Sunday of Luke

On the Miraculous Resurrection of the Son of the Widow of Nain

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

(Delivered in 1963)

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

Beloved brothers and sisters! In today's Gospel reading we heard the wondrous story of the miraculous resurrection of the dead son of the widow of Nain by our Lord Jesus Christ. Among the many miracles performed by the Lord Jesus Christ during His earthly life and recorded by the Evangelists, we are especially amazed by those in which the dead were resurrected by one word of the Savior. So it was in the present case.

The Lord Jesus Christ, accompanied by a large crowd of people, was approaching a city called Nain. At that time, a dead young man, the only son of a widowed mother, was being carried out of the city gates. The mother was grieving greatly. Many people were following the coffin with her. And behold, the Lord, seeing the grief of the mother, took pity on her and said: "Do not weep" (Luke 7:13). And then He came to the bier, touched it and commanded the dead man: "Young man, I say to you, arise" (Luke 7:14)! And the young man immediately arose, sat up and began to speak, and the Lord Jesus Christ gave him back to his mother.

Homily One on the Third Sunday of Luke (St. John of Kronstadt)

 Homily One on the Third Sunday of Luke

(20th Sunday After Pentecost) 

By St. John of Kronstadt

Today the Gospel of Luke was read about the resurrection by the Lord of the only son of a widow from the city of Nain, who wept bitterly for his loss out of great sorrow. The Lover of mankind took pity on her and said to her, "Weep not." And He came and touched the bier; – at this the bearers of the bier stopped, and the Lord said to the dead man, "Young man, I say to you, Rise up." And - Oh, the miracle! - the dead man arose and sat up and began to speak; and Jesus gave him to his mother. Then fear came upon them all, and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us, and God has visited his people" (Luke 7:11–16). Here ends today's Gospel. A short reading, but how much there is in it that is instructive and edifying! What a wonderful, striking and inspiring story! The youth was resurrected from the dead by the word of the Life-giver and was handed over alive to his bitterly weeping mother, who unexpectedly received her priceless treasure, the support of her old age, the light and joy of her eyes. What a divine power, conquering death, which had held humanity so firmly in its terrible bonds for many thousands of years! What divine mercy, which returned to the mother's love the tenderly beloved child! This miracle of the resurrection of the youth, my brethren, was accomplished in the image of the future resurrection of all the dead and for the confirmation of our faith and our hope for the general resurrection.