Prologue in Sermons: November 20

 

The Sign of the Cross is a Fear for Evil Spirits

November 20*

(From the Life of Saint John Chrysostom)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, discussing the sign of the cross in his thirteenth catechetical sermon, says, among other things, that it is a fear for evil spirits. Is this true?

When Saint John Chrysostom became Patriarch of Constantinople and was once preaching, a demon shook a man possessed by demons in the church, cast him to the ground, and the demon began screaming in such a terrifying voice that everyone in the church was terrified. John ordered the man brought to him, made the sign of the honorable cross on him, and the demon immediately left him. 

Another incident: One of the demonic princes once appeared to the Holy Martyr Justina and tempted her with many words to enter into an unholy marriage. Justina, realizing who was speaking to her, reverently made the sign of the cross on her face without engaging in conversation with the devil, and the devil immediately vanished from her with great shame.

The Spiritual Journey of the Christmas Fast

By Bishop Maximos of Melitene

The Christmas fast opens before us as a mystagogical gate, inviting the soul to a deeper communion with the divine mystery of the Incarnation. During this period, man is called to awaken from the lethargy of everyday life and turn towards his inner purification. “Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2).

The preparation for the reception of the divine infant requires inner silence. The heart becomes a manger that welcomes the divine mystery, while the soul, like a snowy branch bending towards the earth, bows before the magnitude of the miracle. In the ecclesiastical tradition, fasting is not simply a dietary restriction, but a spiritual exercise that purifies the nous and elevates the soul.

During this period, the ecclesiastical hymn reminds us: “Christ is born, glorify Him; Christ from heaven, go to meet Him” (Christmas Katavasies). The anticipation of the divine birth transforms our inner world. The days roll by like grains of sand in an ancient hourglass, measuring the course towards the great feast.

November: Day 19: Teaching 2: Venerable Barlaam and Joasaph

November: Day 19: Teaching 2:
Venerable Barlaam and Joasaph
 
(The Christian Faith is an Invaluable Treasure)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Today we commemorate the Venerable Barlaam and Joasaph, Prince of India. Christianity in India was founded by the Apostle Thomas, who suffered martyrdom there. However, due to a shortage of teachers, Christianity in India began to weaken after Thomas, and then, through the efforts of kings, it was completely eradicated. King Abenner was especially zealous in persecuting Christian teachers, priests, and monks. Some Christians voluntarily submitted to martyrdom, others fled to the deserts, and some even fell away from the faith. 

The king had a son, Joasaph. He gathered his wise men and asked them what fate awaited his son. The wise men replied that Joasaph would be the most powerful of all kings. One of the wise men added, "I think he will accept the Christian faith, which you persecute." Abenner was saddened by this prediction and, to prevent its fulfillment, wanted to raise his son in complete seclusion, so that no thought of Christianity could penetrate him. 

Saint Barlaam of Antioch in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

The martyr Barlaam was from Antioch in Syria. Being old in age, because of his confession of faith in Christ, he was led before the ruler. And because he would not be persuaded to sacrifice to idols, they beat him with rods and pulled out his nails. Then they led him to the altar and forcibly stretched out his hand, putting fire and incense on it. For the ruler thought that if he threw the coals together with the incense on the altar, it would be seen that he was offering a sacrifice to the gods. But he stood unyielding and motionless - thus showing that his right hand has greater strength than bronze and iron - until the fire ate through his flesh and fell to the ground, piercing his hand. Thus he preferred to have his hand burned, rather than, even slightly moved, to appear to have thrown incense on the altar. After this, his soul was delivered into the hands of God with a brave and firm mind. This martyr was honored with praise by both the divine Chrysostom and the great Basil.

If we modern Christians do not particularly know the Holy Martyr Barlaam, the holy choir of the Fathers of our Church knows him very well. It is no coincidence that not simple ecclesiastical writers and synaxarists, but ecumenical Fathers and Teachers of the caliber of Basil the Great and Saint John Chrysostom dedicated discourses and encomiums to him. What does this mean? That those with the illumination of the Holy Spirit who also possessed the depth of their thoughts, discerned that such personalities as Saint Barlaam should not go unnoticed. They must be highlighted, so that they constitute examples and guiding luminous signs in the firmament of the Church. And rightly so: Saint Barlaam proved to be, according to the Holy Hymnographer, “more firm than a man, and more powerful than bronze, and more mighty than iron.” And this because the mindset of his soul and intellect was “firm and vigorous and unwaverable.” What we emphasized about Saint Plato: the body may be dissolved, but if the soul remains strong, then man remains victorious. "Every bond of the flesh and the harmony of your limbs was dissolved; yet the tone of your soul remained unbroken."

Prologue in Sermons: November 19

True Happiness Is Not On Earth, But In Heaven

November 19

(On our Venerable Father Joasaph the Hermit, Son of Abenner, King of India)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

That there is an afterlife can be proven by the fact that nothing earthly can satisfy us, and that no one here can say of themselves that they are completely happy. Indeed, even if you take all the wealth, all the honor and glory in the world, you will still not be satisfied and will always think of some greater, unknown happiness. But does this happiness exist? Obviously, it does; for otherwise, such a deep and constant desire for it would not be implanted within us. But where is it? As you see, it is not on earth — so that means it is in heaven, with God. Yes, brethren, if we would more often delve into the insignificance of all earthly things and, at the same time, into the desires of our immortal spirit, we would soon be convinced that there is an afterlife and that in it alone we can find true happiness and peace.

The Christmas Fast

George Arabatzoglou, 
Reader of the Archdiocese of Athens – Church of Saint Luke in Patision

Another blessed period of fasting begins, of spiritual struggle and effort to turn our minds to God, each with his own strength and spiritual “philotimo” and always in consultation with their spiritual father.

This fast begins on November 15 and lasts until December 24, while on December 25, when we celebrate the birth of our Christ, we break the fast from everything regardless of the day. During this period of forty days of Christmas, we abstain from meat and dairy products, while we can eat fish all days of the week except Wednesday and Friday.

The fish is consumed until December 17th and in some exceptional cases, mainly in the countryside, the consumption of fish is completed on December 12th, however this is an exception and is not included in the official "fasting calendar" of our Church, which is provided for by the sacred Rudder.

Holy Martyr Plato in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

Saint Plato was from the country of the Galatians, from the city of Ancyra, brother of the Holy Martyr Antiochus. Because he confessed his faith in Christ, while still a young man, he was led before the ruler Agrippino. He was beaten by twelve soldiers and stretched out on a fiery bronze bed, while they were whipping him from above. He was then burned in the armpits and on the sides with fiery balls, while a strip of skin was removed from his back. Afterwards they scraped his flesh and sides so much that his appearance was altered. And then he met his end with the sword.

The Holy Hymnographer cannot fail to point out for Saint Plato what constitutes the treasure of every martyr: his living faith in Christ ("through your intimate active faith"), his upliftment with His love ("you are completely uplifted by the love of the Creator"), the constant contemplation and vision of His beauty and graces with the eyes of the soul ("contemplating with the eye of the soul, always gazing upon the comeliness of the Creator, and reflecting upon the ineffable beauty"), things that made him, on the one hand, clothed with the garment of prudence and the saving grace of God, transcending even the pains of martyrdom itself, and on the other hand, to be joyfully in the vastness of Paradise (“O glorious one, you measure the purest expanse of the eternal kingdom”). The poet even presents the Saint as a priest who offered himself as a sacrifice to Christ (“you have been shown as a divine priest, O Martyr, offering yourself as an unblemished sacrificial burnt offering”), and in a way as a spectator who observes himself, as if someone else were suffering (“as in another's body, most illustrious one, you endured suffering as if competing in the contest of another, becoming a spectator of the struggle in which you contended").

Prologue in Sermons: November 18

Through Humility, We Shame the Devil and Drive Him Away From Ourselves and From Others

November 18

(On Humility, Which Is What Demons Fear)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

Since the devil, through pride, abandoned obedience to God's will and was cast out of heaven for it, it is clear that this sin is most contrary to God, as the chief sin of the devil, the enemy of God and the destroyer of human souls. From this, it follows that if pride is especially dear to the devil, then, of course, humility is especially unbearable. Yes, brethren, the devil cannot tolerate humility, and those who possess this virtue put him to shame and drive him far away, both from themselves and from others.

Saint Gregory of Neocaesarea in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

Saint Gregory of Neocaesarea was a rare man. The mere fact that when he went to Neocaesarea he found few believers (17 Christians are mentioned), while when he left, he left few unbelievers (also 17 in number), reveals the zeal of his faith, the power of his word, the power of the miracles that God granted him. The Holy Hymnographer cannot help but apply to him the prophetic saying: “the zeal of God has consumed you, Gregory.” Seeking to find figures similar to Gregory, the ecclesiastical poet, Saint Theophanes, resorts to the Patriarchs and Prophets of the Old Testament. The Saint resembles Moses, he says, who, like him, received the tablets of faith on the mountain of mystical theophany, legislating piety to the people: “You have become a new Moses through your deeds, receiving the tablets of faith on the mountain of the mystical theophany, legislating piety to the peoples.” He resembles the Prophet Samuel, who ascended the mountain of theoria: “ascend on high, like Samuel, to theoria.” He resembles the Prophet Daniel, who, just as the gift of interpreting dreams was given to him, the mystery of faith was revealed to him in a dream: “for as the dream was to him (Daniel), so the mystery of faith was revealed to you.”