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| St. Philaret the Merciful (Feast Day - December 1) |
Verses
You who were adorned with every virtue have died,
Truly full of compassion you loved father.
Showing posts with label St. Philaret the Merciful. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St. Philaret the Merciful. Show all posts
December 1, 2025
Saint Philaret the Merciful in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church
By Fr. George Dorbarakis
The verse of the synaxarion of Saint Philaret gives the mark of his life according to Christ, taking as its basis his name and his epithet: philaret and merciful. “You who were adorned with every virtue have died, truly full of compassion you loved father." Indeed, the hymns of our Church, as is evident from his Apolytikion, consider that what constitutes the absolute jewel of Philaret, is his compassion towards his fellow men, and especially those in need. “You have adorned your life with compassion.” And this means that Philaret became par excellence a lover of God, since there is no greater virtue in which God rests than that which constitutes His own existence. “For God is love.” And it is worth remembering that any virtue, or even the whole of virtues, if it does not end in love and does not presuppose it, has no particular significance. Sometimes, in fact, it can even work negatively for its possessor, by creating in him boasting and pride, which leads him into direct opposition to his Creator. “The Lord opposes the proud.”
December: Day 1: Teaching 2: Holy Righteous Philaret the Merciful
December: Day 1: Teaching 2:
Holy Righteous Philaret the Merciful
(Lessons of Philanthropy from the Life of Saint Philaret the Merciful)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
Holy Righteous Philaret the Merciful
(Lessons of Philanthropy from the Life of Saint Philaret the Merciful)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
I. Saint Philaret the Merciful, whose memory is celebrated today, belonged to a wealthy and noble family. His parents instilled in him a love of God from an early age, and he lived in a contentment and happiness rarely enjoyed by people. But Philaret remembered his duties. "God did not give me wealth," he told his wife Theosevo, "for me to enjoy it alone, but for me to share it with the poor." And indeed, Philaret shared his last with the poor not only when he was rich, but even when he became poor. By helping the poor, Philaret himself reached such poverty that he needed daily food for himself and his family. Sometimes, neighbors, out of pity, sent him bread or flour, but even then Philaret shared his share with the poor. "Accept it, and thank God," he said, often giving his last to the beggar and refusing any gratitude to himself. God was pleased to once again bestow wealth upon the kind and meek Philaret. His granddaughter became the wife of the emperor himself; Philaret was honored and given rich estates. But Philaret remained as merciful, meek, and humble as ever, rejoicing in the opportunity to further help the poor.
Prologue in Sermons: December 1
From the Life of Philaret the Merciful
December 1
(Seven Lessons From His Life)
By Archpriest Victor Guryev
December 1
(Seven Lessons From His Life)
By Archpriest Victor Guryev
Not to mention that the full biographies of the Saints are rich treasures from which we can draw everything necessary for life and piety, it should be noted that brief accounts of their lives are also very useful for us and offer us many salutary lessons. To convince you of this latter point, here, brethren, is a brief account of the life of Saint Philaret the Merciful, presented below as it appears in the Prologue, in Slavonic.
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