Theology, Philosophy and Dogma (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

Theology is not connected to philosophy, because the path of both is different. Theology is based on theoria – the vision of God, while philosophy is based on human reason, reflection. Thus, the Holy Fathers of the Church were theologians/theoptics and not philosophers. And when they dogmatized, they did not do so in a philosophical way and in order to understand or develop philosophy.

The Fathers of the Church did not reflect on God, but they had the knowledge of the dogmas. Reflections are a gymnastics of the intellect and are not connected to the experience of Orthodox theology. If Orthodox theology were based on reasoning and logic, then the best theologians from the side of Orthodox theology would be the professors of dogmatics and the history of dogmas. This is not the case.

July: Day 16: Holy Hieromartyr Athenogenes of Pedachthoe

July: Day 16:
Holy Hieromartyr Athenogenes of Pedachthoe
 
(What Does It Mean to Love the Lord?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Hieromartyr Athenogenes with his ten disciples, whose memory is celebrated today, suffered during the persecution by Emperor Maximinus II in 311. He was a Bishop in one of the Armenian cities, Pedachthoe, and lived in a monastery. When soldiers were sent to take him, he was not in the monastery at that time, so they took his disciples. Returning, Athenogenes went to Sebaste to look for his disciples. There he was seized and thrown into prison. His disciples were also in prison. The Saint urged them not to fear torture. In the morning, he, together with his disciples, was brought to the governor, who demanded that they all offer sacrifice to the idols. The Martyrs remained adamant, and then they began to beat them and scrape them with iron combs, and finally all the disciples were killed with the sword. During the torture, Saint Athenogenes heard a voice from heaven: “Be of good cheer, my chosen one!” At his request he was put to death in his monastery. Before his death, on the way to the place of execution, he sang the sacred song: "O Gladsome Light"* and psalms, encouraging his soul, which lived with Christ and for Christ, to fearlessly meet torment and death.

Homilies on the Books of Holy Scripture - The Pentateuch (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

Homilies on the Books of Holy Scripture 

The Pentateuch 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

(Sunday, July 13, 2025)

The first five books of the Old Testament and the Holy Scriptures in general are called the "Pentateuch" and are understood as the "Pentateuch Bible" since the 2nd century AD by the Greeks and Christians.

In the Hebrew period these books are called the "Law of Moses" or the "Book of the Law of Moses", because they were given by God to Moses, so that with this law he could guide His people. Christ Himself considered the author to be Moses, which is why in a conversation He had with the Jews of His time He said: “If you believe Moses, believe Me; for he wrote about Me” (John 5:46).

These five books are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

The 950th Anniversary of the Baptism of Rus’ (A Homily of St. John Maximovitch from 1938)

"With Voices of praise the land of Rome extols Peter and Paul, through whom its people came to believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Asia, Ephesus and Patmos likewise laud John the Theologian; India — Thomas; Egypt — Mark; all lands and cities and peoples venerate and glorify their own teachers, who instructed them in the Orthodox faith. Let us also, then, with our feeble voices, but to the best of our ability, praise one who wrought great and wondrous deeds, our teacher and instructor, the great kagan (prince) of our land, Vladimir, the grandson of old Igor."

Thus spoke Saint Hilarion, Metropolitan of Kiev, in the middle of the eleventh century, when little more than half a century had passed since the baptism of Rus'. At that time this holy man, with his penetrating vision, already saw the greatness of Saint Vladimir's accomplishments, and called upon Rus' to glorify him in a fitting manner. In what words, then, and with what colors shall we depict what Saint Vladimir accomplished by the baptism of Rus', now that we have lived to see the millennium of this glorious occurrence? Let us recall what Rus' was before Vladimir and what it became after its baptism by Saint Vladimir.

July: Day 15: Teaching 2: Holy Martyrs Kyrikos and Julitta

July: Day 15: Teaching 2:
Holy Martyrs Kyrikos and Julitta
 
(One Should Not Seek Out Opportunities To Suffer Persecution)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. During the terrible persecution of Christians under Diocletian, there lived in the city of Iconium a young Christian widow named Julitta. Julitta was of royal lineage, very rich and had one son, whose name was Kyrikos. Diocletian's orders reached Iconium, and the governor of the region, an evil and cruel man, began to zealously seek out Christians and subject them to torture. Then Julita decided to leave the city, for, not trusting herself, she was afraid that the tortures would lead her to renounce Christ, and she wanted to get away from such a temptation. She left everything: relatives, friends, her enormous wealth, a pleasant and peaceful life, and with her three-year-old son and two servants she went to Seleucia, where she began to live in poverty.

In Seleucia, however, the persecution raged with the same force as in Iconium, and Julitta decided to go further. She arrived in the city of Tarsus and lived there among the poor; but soon the governor Alexander arrived there and someone reported to him that Julitta was a Christian. He immediately demanded her to be judged and Julitta came, holding her little son in her arms. To the governor's question about her name, family and fatherland, she answered that she was a Christian, "and in this," she added, "consists both my name and nobility; and my fatherland is the heavenly kingdom of my Christ."

July: Day 15: Teaching 1: Holy Prince Vladimir, Equal to the Apostles

  

July: Day 15: Teaching 1:
Holy Prince Vladimir, Equal to the Apostles
 
(What Did the Orthodox Faith Give To Our Fatherland?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Today we celebrate the memory of that unforgettable Great Prince for our fatherland, whom our ancestors called nothing less than the Sun of the Russian land, and the Holy Church called Equal to the Apostles. He enlightened the entire Russian land with the light of the faith of Christ, led it out of the darkness of idolatry into the wondrous light of the grace of God and revived it with Holy Baptism; he established in our fatherland the Orthodox Church - the pillar and ground of truth, and thus established in the Russian kingdom the kingdom of Christ - the source of life, strength and power of Russia.

You already know that the Blessed Princess Olga accepted the Christian faith and took care to enlighten the Russians with it; it is also known that some Christians even suffered for the faith of Christ. But Olga's son Svyatoslav remained a pagan until his death. Her grandson Vladimir Svyatoslavich was also an idolater. Almost in his old age, the good thought came to him to leave the pagan faith. Wanting to test which faith is the best, Vladimir sent ambassadors to various countries, and having learned that the best faith is the Greek Orthodox, he decided to accept it; but according to his pagan convictions, he did not ask for Holy Baptism, but intended to take it by force. He went to war in Perekop, laid siege to the city of Korsun, which belonged to the Greeks, and took it. There he was enlightened by Holy Baptism, and having married Anna, the sister of the Greek emperor, he returned to Kiev with bishops, priests, church utensils and books. Upon his arrival in Kiev, he ordered the baptism of his twelve sons, and then all the people of Kiev. The people of Kiev who obeyed the Prince's command were baptized in the Pochaina River, where it then flowed into the Dnieper, and after them the Russians were baptized in other places of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir. Having been washed clean of all sins by Holy Baptism, Vladimir lived piously and pleasing to God, built churches, founded schools, sent preachers of the Christian faith to various places in the Russian land, helped the poor and unfortunate, and by this earned God's mercy and the Kingdom of Heaven, and the unforgettable memory of the Russian people as the enlightener of the Christian faith of the entire Russian land.

July: Day 14: Teaching 2: Holy Apostle Aquila

  

July: Day 14: Teaching 2:
Holy Apostle Aquila
 
(Believers Must Be of One Mind)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Apostle Aquila, whose memory is celebrated today, was a Jew from Pontus, who believed in the Lord Jesus, and lived in Rome with his wife Priscilla. On account of unrest among the Jews, Caesar Claudius expelled them all from Rome, and then Aquila moved to Corinth, where he lived by his trade making tents. When the Apostle Paul arrived in Corinth from Athens, he settled in the house of Aquila, and they both worked together, engaging in the same trade. Paul found in Aquila and his wife zealous co-workers; they helped him spread the word of God, joyfully enduring persecution and danger for the holy cause. They followed Paul to Ephesus and there labored with the same zeal. In the Acts it is mentioned that when Apollos of Alexandria began to teach about the Lord, Aquila and Priscilla received him and also explained to him the ways of the Lord, for Apollos knew only the baptism of John. When Apollos went to Achaia, Aquila and Priscilla gave him letters to the disciples there, so that he would be received with love. “So the believers then acted with one mind” with “zeal and a fervent spirit,” serving God with all their strength, with all their means. Ardent love united them; they all considered themselves brothers in Christ and loved one another as brothers. In many of his epistles the Apostle Paul mentions his faithful co-workers. In the Epistle to the Romans he says: “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus, who laid down their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles, and the church in their house” (Rom. 16:3-4).

July: Day 14: Teaching 1: Venerable Elli of Egypt

 

July: Day 14: Teaching 1:
Venerable Elli of Egypt
 
(On the Means of Combating Temptations)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. From his early youth, the Venerable Elli, whose memory is celebrated today, loved the strict ascetic life. In his adolescence, he had already attained such holiness that he was honored with miraculous grace: he would take, for example, burning coals in his clothes and, without harming the latter in the least, bring them to his elder mentor. Now this same Elli once withdrew into a remote desert for the highest monastic feats. He was walking, and suddenly he smelled honey. “With what pleasure would I eat honey now,” the passion for delicacies and gluttony prompted him. And then suddenly honey was found in the rock. What does the Venerable One do? He stops, thinks, and finally begins to reproach himself: “Get away from me, deceitful desire; for it is written in the word of God: 'Walk in the Spirit and do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.'” And the Venerable One left that place without even touching the honey he had found, and went into the deepest desert, in order to humble his flesh still more by hunger. Three weeks later, while walking in the desert, he found beautiful apples lying on the ground. The feeling of lust again awakened in the Venerable One. And now the Venerable One stopped this sinful feeling with reflection. “I will not taste or touch this fruit,” he said to himself; “for it is written: 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'” For such strict vigilance over himself during his four-week wandering in the desert, Venerable Elli was finally granted such consolation, that during his light slumber, an angel of God appeared to him and said: “Go over there, and there you will find food for yourself; you can use it without any doubt for the glory of God and you will be strengthened." Elli woke up and in the indicated place he really found a source of spring water and some fragrant herbs growing around it, very tasty. The Venerable One strengthened himself with the food and drink indicated to him with such spiritual joy, as he himself said, which he could not convey to the brethren when they asked him about it.

Homily on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod: The Struggle on Behalf of the Orthodox Phronema (Fr. Athanasios Mitilinaios)

 

Homily on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Synod: 
The Struggle on Behalf of the Orthodox Phronema 

By Archimandrite Fr. Athanasios Mitilinaios

(Delivered at the Monastery of Komnenion in Larisa on July 19, 1981)

"Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:19).

There exists, my beloved, a tendency among humans, precisely because of their fallen state, to always distort the truth. Many have the inclination to insert their own subjective views into the objective reality; as a result, a distortion and corruption ensues. Naturally, this is a consequence of human selfishness, which is the core of the sin that exists in every descendant of Adam, who is fallen. I need not mention that this is also present in the devil. The devil, particularly proud, would never wish to accept God's truth as it is offered, but would rather insert his own subjective views and distort God's truth.

Thus, as you perceive, the integrity of the word of God is a matter of utmost importance, which every believer must heed if they truly wish to be saved. The Lord, being fully aware that He is being heard by people, not merely fallen individuals but also those quite corrupted, like the rulers of the people, the priests, the clergy, the Pharisees, the Scribes, and the lawyers — those who were leaders of the people — these individuals possessed great arrogance and thus always sought to distort the word of God. My beloved, if one considers their rabbinic output known as the Talmud, which contains six thousand commandments, this alone is sufficient for you to understand… the majority of which are a distortion, a perversion of the truth, you can grasp from this how these individuals operated.