Homily on Great Friday (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

Homily on Great Friday*

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

What a sorrowful sight is before our eyes! Our Savior is in the tomb. In the tomb is our Joy, the Treasure of our heart. But how could You, our Consolation, be enclosed in this small tomb? Is this the place for You? You, while living on earth, gave life to all, and now You Yourself lie lifeless. You dried the tears of all, and now You cast Your beloved ones into tears for You. Is this Your place? Here is the place for us, mortals, not for You, the Immortal; for us with corruptible and sinful bodies, for us sinners justly condemned to death, and not for You, the Most Holy and Sinless.

Brethren! Let us weep and lament: it is we, by our sins, who have bound the Sinless One in the bonds of death; it is we, condemned to death, who compelled Him to descend to the gates of death; for us, whom Hades was ready to devour, He descended in soul into Hades, while in body He lies before us.

O Divine, inexhaustible and ineffable Love! Sweetest Jesus! How greatly You have loved man — this most insignificant and ungrateful creature. For him You Yourself became man, in order to bring him into communion with God; You Yourself suffered, to deliver him from eternal sufferings; You Yourself died, that he might live forever; You Yourself descended into Hades, that he might never be there. Man lost everything through sin — and You restore everything to him — and how do You restore it?

Homily on Palm Sunday (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

Homily on Palm Sunday*  

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

“Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany… There they made Him a supper” (John 12:1–2).

Two circumstances from the life of the Lord are brought to our remembrance today by the Gospel reading. One of them is the humble, peaceful supper of the Lord among His most devoted friends; the other is the triumphant entry of the Lord into Jerusalem.

However different these descriptions may be in their setting, they depict one and the same thing: the expression of honor, love, and devotion to the Lord. A lesson is given to the Christian, that he may serve the Lord in a twofold manner: one is the hidden good of our heart, the pure impulse of the soul toward works of mercy, love, and heartfelt devotion; the other is social virtue, that is, visible deeds of common benefit, so that they may shine before people and bring about the triumph of good in the world. A Christian must not live only in the vanity of the world, in this whirl of everyday life, in these petty pursuits and aims of selfishness and sensuality, in this malice of the present day. There is another, higher realm, to which he should at least at times ascend and find rest for his soul: this is the realm of a heart warmed by the holy feeling of love for God, by the labor of good deeds, by the spirit of the purest prayer.

Let us explain both events described in the Holy Gospel in order to draw instruction for ourselves.

Homily on the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

 

 

Homily on the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent*

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

“He said: ‘Teacher, I brought my son to You, who has a mute spirit… and I told Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not’” (Mark 9:17–18).

Many times our Lord healed the sick, even those gravely ill and possessed by unclean spirits: with a single word, by a touch, even from a distance. More than once the disciples of the Lord, by the grace given to them by Him, healed the sick, cleansed lepers, and cast out demons. But today’s Gospel tells us an example of a difficult and prolonged healing of a man possessed by a spirit of muteness. At the time when Jesus Christ was on the mountain, withdrawn in prayer, among the multitude of people gathered to see and hear the Lord, a father came with his sick son. Not finding the Lord, he turned to His disciples: they made attempts, laid hands on him, but could not cast out the evil spirit. The unfortunate father then approaches the Lord upon His return from the mountain, and see how even here, in the hands of the Almighty, the work of healing is accomplished slowly. The Lord commands that the sick boy be brought to Him; at that moment the boy had a severe seizure, “he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth” (Mark 9:20). It would seem that the merciful heart of the Lord would incline Him immediately to compassion and healing. But the Lord asks questions: how long this has been happening to him, how often it occurs; and in response to the father’s urgent pleas, the Lord requires faith from him — and only when the father cried out to the Lord with tears (that is, weeping, stricken with grief, he threw himself before the Lord) — only then did the Lord command the evil spirit to come out of him. The word of the Almighty could not fail to act, but even here resistance was shown. The evil spirit cried out violently, shook the boy greatly, as if struggling to remain in him, and, weakened, departed from him. Is this not the history of the correction of our sins? Is this not a vivid image of the slowness and stubbornness with which we part from our passions and infirmities? The father is each one of us — he brings into the infirmary his own sick soul; does not the same happen to it as to the afflicted boy? We resort to the saving remedies of the Church — and they do not help: prayer does not act, fasting is not accepted by our time, confession is cold, and the Holy Mystery of Communion does not change the sinner.

Homily on the Third Sunday of Great Lent (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

Homily on the Third Sunday of Great Lent*

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

Today the sufferings of the Savior on the Cross are remembered, and the Gospel read today points to the Cross as the instrument of our salvation. Look, dear ones, what a sorrowful and difficult path Christ our Savior had to pass while He, leaving the judgment hall of Pilate, went to the hill of Golgotha. Long is this path: first He goes through the valley, and then He ascends over rocky ground up the mountain, and along this sorrowful road Christ must carry upon Himself His enormous Cross. What pain this Cross caused to the body of Jesus, covered with blood and wounds as a result of His scourging in the courtyard of Pilate!

But look with what joy He carries His Cross, with what patience. They strike Him, they laugh, they mock Him, but He is silent and opens His mouth only for the consolation of others: He consoles His grieving Mother, He consoles the women of Jerusalem who accompany Him with weeping to Golgotha.

Homily on the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

Homily on the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee 

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

(Delivered on January 11, 1915)*

The publican and the Pharisee came to the temple to pray. During his prayer the Pharisee boasted of his deeds and condemned others, while the publican, in deep awareness of his own unworthiness, prayed thus: “God make atonement for me the sinner.” The former the Lord condemned, and the latter He justified, saying: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:13–14).

Dear ones, if we look at outward actions rather than at the inner disposition of the heart, the Pharisee cannot at all be called a bad man. In any case, he was blameless in a civic sense and outwardly pious. And yet his prayer was rejected. On the contrary, the publican was not without sins and vices. He himself acknowledged his sinfulness, and yet his prayer was heard. Why is this so? Here is why: the Pharisee prayed arrogantly, with a disposition of spirit in which he fully revealed himself. For in prayer people show themselves as they truly are and as they live. The Apostle's words can be applied to the life of the Pharisee in the Gospels and his prayer: “Men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive… having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Tim. 3:2–5).

Materials for a Sermon on the Feast Day of Venerable Theodosius of Totma (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

 

Materials for a Sermon on the Feast Day of Venerable Theodosius of Totma*

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

“Rejoice, for as a faithful servant you walked piously before the Lord all the days of your life.” (From the Akathist to Venerable Theodosius of Totma)**

At the glorification of a saint, they are invisibly present with us and instruct us. The Venerable one (Theodosius) seems, as it were, to say to all of us:

“You, dear ones, have gathered to honor my memory, and I have come to you. See, I was the same kind of man as you, yet throughout my earthly life I strove to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things were added to me. I also command all of you: seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Homily on the Day of Theophany (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

Homily on the Day of Theophany

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

(Delivered on January 6, 1915)*

Let us, dear ones, transport ourselves in thought to that sacred place where the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ took place. And behold, before our gaze there appears a profoundly instructive, wondrous scene, full of divine majesty — the event at the Jordan. When Jesus Christ had reached the age of thirty, He came to the Jordan, where John was baptizing the people, and said that He too had come to be baptized. God revealed to John who it was that had come to him, and he cried out: “I need to be baptized by You” (Matt. 3:14). But Jesus answered: “Do not hinder Me, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill the will of God.” At these words He went down into the water, and when He was immersed, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove, and there was heard: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17).

Homily on the Sunday Before Theophany (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

 

Homily on the Sunday Before Theophany*

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

(Delivered on January 4, 1914)

“John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4).

All of you, dear ones, undoubtedly reverently revere John, the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord. But have you truly delved into his preaching, which once moved the entire land of Judea to the banks of the Jordan and prepared the people to receive the Savior? He is a great teacher of repentance not only for his time, but for all times. His words have great power to humble hearts and dispose them to accept saving grace. "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2) – this is the beginning of the Forerunner's preaching.

The Kingdom of God is near us all, but it depends on our own will for it to come to us, for it to truly come into our lives. The first condition for accepting the grace of salvation is repentance. Laying aside pride, forgetting all worldly honors and privileges, each of us must acknowledge that we have gravely sinned before God, that unless the Lord extends a helping hand, as He once did to Peter when he was drowning, we will perish in the abyss of sin. With this awareness, we must direct all our hearts to Him, the only Intercessor for our salvation, with the hope of mercy and deliverance.

Holy Hieromartyr Sergius Mechev (+ 1942)

St. Sergius Mechev (Feast Day - December 24)

He was born in Moscow on September 17, 1892, into the family of the Righteous Alexei Mechev, rector of the Church of Saint Nicholas in Kleniki on Maroseyka Street. Father Alexei dearly loved his son Sergius and wished to have him as his successor, but he did not want to pressure him and therefore allowed his son to receive a secular education. In 1910 Sergius graduated from the gymnasium with a silver medal and entered the medical faculty of Moscow University. Soon he transferred to the Department of Philology of the Faculty of History and Philology, which he completed in 1917.

During the war in 1914, Sergius Alexeyevich worked on the Western Front as a medical orderly on one of the hospital trains. There he also met his future wife, who likewise served as a nurse of mercy.

At the same time as his university studies, Sergius Alexeyevich took part in the work of the student theological circle named after Saint John Chrysostom, organized by the abbot of the Chudov Monastery, Bishop Arsenius (Zhadanovsky). At the meetings of the circle, reports on various theological topics were read and discussed.

Homily on the Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

Homily on the Eleventh Sunday of Pentecost*

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

(Delivered on August 10, 1914)

One slave owed the king 10 thousand talents (about 26 million rubles). The king forgave the slave this debt. But the slave turned out to be extremely angry and ungrateful: one of his companions owed him a hundred denarii (21 rubles 50 kopecks), and he did not want to forgive him or wait for the debt to be paid, and for this he was forever imprisoned.

Friends! The Heavenly Father acts with us, sinners, in the same way as this generous and merciful King. But we often, like this evil slave, do not want to forgive anything to our neighbor, and for that we will be severely punished.

Forgiving others for their guilt is necessary for our salvation. After all, we are all sinners without exception. Each of us has offended God many thousands of times. We are consoled by the paternal indulgence and mercy of God and hope for forgiveness. And it is truly given to us. God Himself offers it to us. But He set conditions, and if we do not fulfill these conditions, then, despite God's mercy, we die in sin.

Homily on the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

Homily on the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God*

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

(Delivered on August 16, 1914)

Today's celebration, dear friends, is established in memory of the appearance of the icon of the Mother of God in the year 1239 to Prince Vasily Georgievich of Kostroma in a forest, on a tree, during a hunt. During the invasion of Batu, the inhabitants of the city of Gorodets in the Nizhny Novgorod province fled from the city, leaving behind their holy shrine, which was located in the Gorodets Convent, named after the nearby city of Gorodets.

On August 16, the inhabitants of Kostroma witnessed a man dressed in rich military attire, strikingly similar to Saint Theodore Stratelates** as he is depicted in icons, being carried through the city. The icon that appeared was placed in the Temple of Saint Theodore in Kostroma, hence it received the name of the Theodorov (Feodorovskaya) Icon. The prince took the holy icon with him while going against the Tatars who were advancing on Kostroma, and the enemies, struck by the extraordinary radiance that consumed their ranks like fire, fled in disarray.

Homily Two on the Dormition of the Theotokos (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

Homily Two on the Dormition of the Theotokos*

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

(Delivered on August 15, 1914)

“From now on all generations will call me blessed” (Luke 1:48).

With these words, the Most Holy Theotokos expressed her joyful awareness of her calling and her beneficial influence on the whole world, a grateful hope in her immortality not only in heaven but also on earth. And now, at the end of her days, she witnesses the fulfillment of her hopes: the faith in her Son and God growing and spreading, the Holy Apostles conquering the world, and her Name being revered everywhere where the Name of Christ is heard. It seemed to her that her life had not been in vain, that her existence on earth had not passed without a trace. "God has looked upon My humility, has magnified the dignity of the Mother of God. In Me and in My Son He has given the world high examples of perfection - and all nations will look upon Us, learn from Us and become better under Our invisible influence, they will honor My memory: 'From now on all generations will call me blessed' (Luke 1:48)."

Homily One on the Dormition of the Theotokos (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

Homily One on the Dormition of the Theotokos*

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

(Delivered on August 15, 1914)

The Mother of God lived on earth for 60 years. She eagerly awaited the passage from earth to heaven, to Her Son and God, and She earnestly prayed to Him about this. The Lord heard the prayers of His Mother, and three days before Her departure He informed Her of this. On the day of Her departure, the Most Blessed One wished to see the Apostles: and all of them, except Thomas, were brought from different countries of the world on clouds to Her house. Here all who knew Her gathered. They grieved and wept over separation from Her. She consoled everyone and assured them that She would not forget them, that She would pray to God for them more successfully and ask for mercy and salvation from Him. At the very hour of the end of her earthly life, the Most Holy Virgin cleaned her upper room, lit many lamps, burned incense, lay down on her bed and passed away: the Savior appeared with the Angels, received her Holy soul and brought it to the place of His glory, to the heavenly abodes. The Apostles took the body of the Mother of God, and with singing and prayers laid it in a cave in the Garden of Gethsemane. Three days later, the Apostle Thomas came to Jerusalem; upon learning of what had happened, he wept and grieved. In order to calm him, the Apostles decided to show him the body of the Mother of God, but when they opened the tomb, it turned out to be empty - they found only the vestments of the Most Holy One in it. This surprised everyone. They began to pray to find out what had happened. in the evening of that day the Mother of God appeared in the air with the Angels and said to the perplexed: "Rejoice! I am here and will not stop praying for the Christian world."

Homily One on the Ninth Sunday After Penteost (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

Homily One on the Ninth Sunday After Penteost*

God Will Never Leave You Without His Help

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

Today the Gospel reading tells us about the miraculous walking of the Savior on the waters, about how the Lord calmed the storm and saved the Apostle Peter from drowning, when he, having asked the Lord for permission, walked on the sea, but, doubting God’s protection, began to drown, crying out: “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:28–30).

Our life is the same sea of life, stirred up by the storm of misfortunes. Just as the sea is agitated by frequent storms and there are bad weather conditions on it, so it is in a person’s life. We cannot know what will happen to us in the shortest time. Not only death creeps up like a thief. Almost all misfortunes creep up like this. Our life is subject to many kinds of attacks from evil spirits and the people they lead. It is impossible to foresee and warn what evil will come up with, what will serve as a pretext and means for misfortune, where temptation will arise. But let us not be ashamed when temptations overtake us, let us not grumble at God, whose providential eye does not sleep over us. As the Holy Apostle Peter in a difficult and life-threatening moment cried out to the Lord: "Lord, save me, I am perishing," so we, friends, in all sorrowful, difficult and dangerous circumstances of our life must trust in God alone, turn to Him and ask Him for help. “Call upon Me in the day of trouble,” says the Lord through the Holy Prophet David, “and I will deliver you and you will glorify Me” (Psalm 49:15). No matter how hard the temptation, no matter how difficult and dangerous the circumstances, a person must not forget that he is not alone: the Lord is always with him, quick to help.

Homily One on the Feast of Transfiguration (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

 

Homily One on the Feast of Transfiguration 

 

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

(Delivered on August 6, 1914)*

“Then Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up to a high mountain together, and was transfigured before them” (Matthew 17:1–2).

Many wondrous deeds have occurred in the life of the Lord, significant events, extraordinary manifestations of His divinity, but none were as astonishing as the glorious Transfiguration of the Lord. Here, in the darkness of night, alone at the summit of the mountain, the Lord prays, while three of His disciples, weary, are plunged into a deep sleep. At that moment, the Lord takes upon Himself, or rather, unveils from Himself, the light of the sun; His garments shone with purest whiteness, and before Him appeared reverently two of the highest prophets of the Old Testament, Elijah and Moses. The very night was illuminated, and the entire mountain was aglow with otherworldly, marvelous light. Awakened, His disciples were filled with wonder, marveling and tremulously beholding this unprecedented spectacle.

Homily Two on All Saints Day (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

Homily Two on All Saints Day*

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

(Delivered on May 17, 1915)

The Sunday after Pentecost, my beloved, is dedicated to the memory of all the Saints. The Holy Fathers established this feast on the first Sunday after the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, with the intention of showing the faithful the fruits that the Holy Spirit produced on earth; to teach us how He raised people like us to the angelic rank and made us heirs of blessedness.

The holy people are our first, best friends and intercessors for us before God. They, like us, had neither a special body nor a special soul, they were of the same nature as us. But with the assistance of the grace of the Holy Spirit they attained blessed eternal life, which we too can attain if we desire it and strive for it ourselves. Living in heaven, enjoying indescribable blessedness, they do not forget us. Whereas it is not so among us, sinners, here on earth. It happens with us thus: the most sincere friends leave and forget their friends when they are in happiness, glory and honor, and they - in their former miserable and unenviable lot. Separated from us by that light and blessedness which our mind cannot understand and language cannot express, they can never forget us and help us in everything. Heaven and earth have more than once witnessed their good deeds to the human race. More than once, through the prayers of the saints, the sky, heated by the rays of the sun, was covered with dark clouds and poured heavy rain on the earth, petrified by the prolonged heat.

Homily One on All Saints Day (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

Homily One on All Saints Day*

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

(Delivered on June 1, 1914)

The Sunday after Trinity Day is called by the Church the Sunday of All Saints, and it is called so because on this Sunday the Holy Church has decreed to celebrate the memory of all Saints.

Every day is dedicated by the Holy Church in memory and honor of a certain Saint of God, but it was necessary to designate one day for all Saints as if to gather them all for veneration on one day, to demonstrate that they all acted with one power; the power of Jesus Christ, our Savior, directed everything, albeit through different paths, but towards one goal – the Same One Lord. It could not be otherwise, for they all looked to, that is, took as an example the One who is the Author of their labors – that same Jesus Christ, and thus they were crowned by Him with a single crown of Glory, each according to their worthiness, constituting the One Holy Church of Heaven in the celestial realm; this Church, in turn, unites with the earthly Church, along with all believers on earth.

Homily on the Day of Pentecost (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

Homily on the Day of Pentecost*

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

(Delivered on May 26, 1914)

On the day of Holy Pentecost, we will discuss the invaluable and salvific actions of the Holy Spirit for us, Christians. The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles is a moment of utmost significance. It marks the beginning of the powerful surge through which the entire ancient, decrepit pagan world fell, collapsed, making way for the religion of light, the truth of truths.

Indeed, all that once held undisputed dominion over the world: this all-encompassing philosophy, this exalted and celebrated polytheism – all of this proud pagan creation has collapsed under the touch of the humble preachers of the Christian faith, which, in the eyes of pagan sages, was a pathetic delusion and madness (1 Cor. 1:18). Such is, dear friends, the power of the Holy Spirit; its fruits are beautifully expressed in the well-known prayer to the Holy Spirit: 'Heavenly King.' In it, the Holy Spirit is referred to as "the Comforter, the Giver of Life, the Treasury of Good Things."

Homily on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

Homily on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers*

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

(Delivered on May 18, 1914)

On this Sunday, my friends, the Holy Orthodox Church, remembering the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod, who affirmed the true teaching on the divinity of the Son of God, on the consubstantiality of the Son with God the Father against the heretic Arius, has established the reading of the Gospel today, which contains the High Priestly prayer of Jesus Christ to God His Father before His suffering. With this prayer, Jesus Christ assured of His Divine mission, saying that His words and commands are the words and commands of His Heavenly Father, from Whom He came, Who sent Him and to Whom He must return after earthly life. At the same time, with this prayer, Jesus Christ glorified, thanked and implored His Heavenly Father, in order to teach us, firstly, that we, full of reverence, must glorify the Most High in prayer, seeing the great and wondrous deeds which He accomplished with His omnipotence; secondly, that we, too, full of love and gratitude, should thank the All-Good One in prayer for such blessings which He pours out on each of us; and thirdly, that we, too, full of faith and hope, should implore the All-Wise and All-Merciful One in our prayer that He would strengthen, enlighten and preserve us by His Divine grace. “I have glorified You on earth, I have finished the work which You gave Me to do” (John 17:4), said Jesus Christ in His prayer. His entire earthly life, from Bethlehem to Golgotha, was dedicated to the glorification of the Heavenly Father. Everything that He did, taught and suffered, He did with the thought of God and for the glory of God.

Homily on the Sunday of the Blind Man (Righteous Alexei Mechev)

Homily on the Sunday of the Blind Man*

By Righteous Alexei Mechev

“And Jesus, as He passed by, saw a man blind from birth” (John 9:1).

Thus begins the Gospel, telling of the miracle of the Lord's healing of the man blind from birth. Of course, this unfortunate man was not the only one on the Lord's path. At that time, with the lack of care and shelter, the suffering and sick of various kinds usually gathered in the squares, along the roads, at the doors of the Temple, where more people gathered and where they could find more sympathy and help. But of all these unfortunates, the man blind from birth attracted the attention and mercy of the Lord, and moreover on the Sabbath day, a day of rest, when the violation of the lawful rest was allowed for him. Then the very way of performing the miracle is remarkable: the Lord, having mixed spittle with mud and anointed his eyes, tells the blind man to go to the revered well, called Siloam. His eyes have not yet opened, but the encouraged blind man feels the awakened strength, movement, labor. Finally, the Gospel describes in detail the trial that took place over the blind man regarding the healing and contrasts the clear, true, and convinced speech of the blind man with the intricacies, pretensions, bias, and false interpretation of the scribes and Pharisees. You listen and marvel, as if you see how this blind man is gradually reborn, he is given physical sight, and then he shows such strength of spirit, such sound and wise reasoning, that he became higher than those who were called teachers of the people. It seems to us that the Lord, through the whole story of this miracle, had the goal of changing people's views on the blind and, in general, on the unfortunate of all kinds. After all, there are many unfortunates, but only a few are given the ability to perform miracles, and not everyone can be healed. But to encourage the unfortunate, to awaken spiritual strength in him, to help him, despite his illness, to live, work and be useful - this is what the unfortunate, possessed by blindness, deafness, and dumbness, can expect from us.