Homily Four on the Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily Four on the Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian

On the Virtue of Patience

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

(Delivered in 1961)

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

Dear brothers and sisters, during Great Lent we hear daily during the divine services the prayer of Venerable Ephraim the Syrian: "Lord and Master of my life..." The seventh petition of this prayer contains an appeal to the Lord with a request to grant us the spirit of patience.

Dear brothers and sisters, there is nothing we encounter in life so often as misfortunes and sorrows! Sorrows accompany a person from birth to death, and there is no one who has not experienced them in his life. There is no person who could say that he is blessed and content with everything. Sometimes illnesses oppress us, sometimes the death of loved ones saddens us, sometimes someone's envy and hatred haunt us, sometimes natural disasters befall us - in a word, human life does not pass without sorrows and troubles.

April: Day 3: Venerable Joseph, the Composer of Canons

 

April: Day 3:*
Venerable Joseph, the Composer of Canons
 
(What is the Best Way to Distract People Who Are Suffering Innocently From Cowardice, Despondency and Despair?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. In the life of the Venerable Joseph, the Composer of Canons, whose memory is celebrated today, the following is written: When Joseph, on the island of Crete, was thrown into prison, in which together with him there were also many Orthodox, imprisoned by the iconoclasts, then the Orthodox, as a result of severe torment and sorrowful imprisonment, were in great despondency and some of them were even ready, through cowardice, to lean toward the side of the heretics. The Venerable Joseph, all aflame with love for God and neighbor, in order to raise their falling spirits, said to the unfortunate ones: “Brethren, what can be more desirable and joyful than those bonds with which we are now bound for the love of Christ? And should we not, like Saint Paul, who considered chains as golden ornaments for himself, thank God for our suffering? Look at the Lord: He, who suffered for us, left us an image so that we would follow in His footsteps. But how did He suffer? 'When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten' (1 Peter 2:23). True, it is hard to suffer in the body, but it is impossible for anyone to be a bearer of the yoke of Christ who does not follow in the footsteps of the Lord and does not endure at least in part the sufferings that He endured for us. And by His own example He showed us that only through labors and sufferings is that heavenly door opened for us, which had been closed to people for so long. And He who was first to perform feats showed us no other path to salvation than the path of sorrows and hardships. And why should we be confused in our sorrows, when we undoubtedly know that in them we will certainly receive grace and timely help from God?" With such and similar words the Saint consoled his allies in prison in their sufferings, encouraged them, and strengthened them in faith.

Homily Three on the Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

 

Homily Three on the Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian

On the Virtue of Humility

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

(Delivered in 1961)

"Lord and Master of my life, bestow on Your servant the spirit of humility, for You are blessed unto the ages of ages. Amen."

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

Dear brothers and sisters, at the beginning of Great Lent, when we were just entering the first days of the Holy Fast, the Church offered us the instruction that while we fasted physically, we should also fast spiritually. The Church showed us that a true and pleasing fast to God "is to put away all evil, to control the tongue, to forbear from anger, to abstain from lust, slander, falsehood and perjury" (Stichera for Monday of the First Week of Great Lent). Thus, if we, abstaining from food and drink, do not at the same time abstain from malice, envy, hatred, ill-will, condemnation, then, without eating bread, we devour our neighbor, and with one hand we build up, while with the other we destroy. Therefore, the Holy Church from the very beginning offered us the deeply meaningful prayer of Venerable Ephraim the Syrian, which with its repentant humble spirit awakened in us the desire to acquire virtues and turn away from vices.

April: Day 3: Venerable Niketas the Confessor

April: Day 3:
Venerable Niketas the Confessor
 
(On Consolations Amidst Persecutions for the Truth)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Venerable Niketas, celebrated today, came from the city of Caesarea in Bithynia. After serving for a short time in one church as a clergyman, he went to the Medikion Monastery, where with ardent zeal he began to labor for the Lord and for his soul in fasting and prayer. In the entire monastery there was no one more zealous than Niketas. For his lofty ascetic life, he was soon chosen as the abbot of the monastery. God rewarded him with the gift of miracles. Word of him spread far and wide. Many began to come to be saved under his guidance. 100 monks gathered.

The life of Venerable Niketas was peaceful and quiet. But during his time the iconoclastic heresy spread. Emperor Leo the Armenian (813-820) raised a cruel persecution against all venerators of holy icons. For venerating holy icons, people were deprived of property, positions, imprisoned, sent into exile and subjected to all kinds of torture. The turn came to Venerable Niketas. Since he did not renounce the veneration of holy icons, he was first imprisoned, and then sent to exile on the island of the Holy Martyr Glykeria, where he languished for six whole years and endured many bitter insults. But here the Lord glorified him and Niketas, by the power of God, performed many miracles.

Homily Two on the Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily Two on the Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian

"Bestow on Your Servant Instead a Spirit of Chastity, Humility, Patience and Love"

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

(Delivered in 1962)

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

In our previous conversation, dear brothers and sisters, we paused to reflect on the prayer of the Venerable Ephraim the Syrian and noted that this profoundly meaningful prayer is filled with a spirit of repentance and humility, and that each of its words resonates within our souls and helps us to recognize our passions, vices, and to desire virtue, without which no one can draw near to God. Last time, we discussed the first four petitions in which the Venerable Ephraim the Syrian asks the Lord not to grant him the spirit of idleness, despondency, lust for power and idle talking. And now we will continue our conversation.

April: Day 2: Venerable Titus the Wonderworker

April: Day 2:
Venerable Titus the Wonderworker
 
(Do Miracles Still Happen Today?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Our blessed and holy father Titus, whose memory is celebrated today, loved Christ from an early age, and for His sake, leaving the world, he entered the Monastery of Stoudios in Constantinople as a monk. He spent his entire life in labor and prayer, distinguished by his strong faith, meekness, love for his neighbors and mercy. The Lord, in reward for his special faith and piety, granted His faithful servant the "gift of miracles." During the iconoclastic heresy, he showed himself to be a firm and unwavering defender of the truth, and departed to the Lord in peace (in the 9th century).

Homily One on the Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily One on the Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian

"Give Me Not a Spirit of Idleness, Despondency, Lust for Power and Idle Talking"

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

(Delivered in 1962)

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

Dear brothers and sisters, during Great Lent we hear how at each Divine Lenten service the priest reads a short but touching prayer:

Lord and Master of my life,
give me not a spirit of idleness,
despondency, lust for power, and idle talking.
 
Bestow on Your servant instead
a spirit of chastity,
humility, patience, and love.
 
Yes, Lord King, grant me to see my own offenses,
and not to condemn my brethren,
for You are blessed unto the ages of ages. Amen.

April: Day 1: Teaching 1: Venerable Mary of Egypt

 

April: Day 1: Teaching 1:
Venerable Mary of Egypt
 
(Lessons From Her Life)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. In her youth, Venerable Mary of Egypt, whose memory is celebrated today, was exceptionally beautiful; however, alas! this heavenly beauty led her to the brink of destruction in our sinful world. Tempted by a young man, at the age of fifteen she lost the precious treasure of a woman – her chastity – and fell into the sin of unchastity. The further she went, the deeper she sank into carnal impurity. She did not miss a single opportunity to sin, and she could think of nothing else but her beloved passion. She transformed completely into fire, slowly melting and being destroyed in that fire. Thus, she lived for 17 years!

One day, while by the sea, she saw a ship sailing to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. Seeing many young people on the ship, she immediately desired to lure them into her nets. She implored to be accepted on the ship. And, oh horror! Despite the fact that the ship was sailing to such a holy place as Jerusalem with Golgotha and the Lord's tomb, and to such an honorable feast as the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Mary committed such shameful acts on the ship with the young men that it is surprising how the sea did not part and swallow the ship... But what sin can surpass the patience and love of God! From what sin is God unable to rescue a man, if, despite all his abominations, there still glimmers in the depths of his heart a spark of tenderness, kindness, love! And God rescued Mary from her sinful filth.

Synaxis of Saint George Karslides on the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent

Saint George Karslides lived most of his life in the village of Sipsa (now identified as Taxiarches) in Drama of Northern Greece. He established a small monastery there dedicated to the Ascension of the Savior and reposed in the Lord on November 4th 1959. Though his feast day is universally celebrated by Orthodox Christians on November 4th, in his native city of Drama it has been established that his Synaxis be celebrated on the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent. This is done to sanctify and strengthen the faithful in their spiritual struggle during Great Lent.

What is notable for this celebration is the transfer of his relics which takes place through a procession from the Monastery of the Ascension of the Savior in Sipsa, where his relics are kept, to the Church of Saint Nicholas in Drama, and this procession takes place on the Friday before the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent. When the relics arrive at the Church of Saint Nicholas in Drama, the Fourth Salutations to the Theotokos is chanted. Then on Saturday evening, a Great Festal Vespers is celebrated. On Sunday, before the dismissal of the Divine Liturgy, the Lamentations to the Saint are chanted, and a procession takes place to the center of the city of Drama. The relics then return to the Church of Saint Nicholas and the Supplicatory Canon to the Saint is chanted, before the return of the relics of the Saint to their resting place in Sipsa.