Venerable Xenophon and His Family in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

The Venerable Xenophon lived in Constantinople, possessing great material wealth, but also great piety according to God. He therefore sent his two sons to the city of Beirut, one of the cities of Phoenicia, to study and learn law. But because the ship that was carrying them was wrecked, he himself went out together with his wife in search of them. Indeed, he found his children in Jerusalem, but he found them clothed in the monastic habit; and so he himself, together with his wife, was moved to follow the monastic life as well. And Xenophon, his wife, and their children progressed so greatly in virtue that they were deemed worthy even to work miracles. They pleased God until the end of their lives and departed to Him.

Just yesterday, on the occasion of the commemoration of the Great Father of the Church, Saint Gregory the Theologian, we referred to his phrase, which constitutes a principle of Christian life: “praxis is the ascent to theoria” — that is, praxis, the ascetical practice of the commandments of Christ, leads to theoria as the vision of God and participation in Him. This is precisely what we see being applied, we might say in an absolute way, in today’s Saints: the Venerable Xenophon, his wife Maria, and their children Arcadius and John. They struggled to keep the commandments of the Lord, and thus they gained the Kingdom of God — a truth that our Church emphasizes many times today through the pen of the Holy Hymnographer Theophanes.

Venerable Abba Ammonas, Instructor of Moderation

 

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

"Having completed the full thread of your life Ammonas,
You found life that could never come to an end." 

(Verses from the Synaxarion)

We do not have many historical details even about this great venerable father of the Gerontikon (Sayings of the Desert Fathers). The only thing that is certain, on the basis of the sayings and incidents concerning him that have been preserved — eleven in number — in the Apophthegmata of the Fathers (other spiritual writings and letters of his are also mentioned, though outside the book of the Apophthegmata), is that he lived in the time of Saint Anthony the Great (251–356), was his disciple and perhaps his successor in the monastic skete, and later became a bishop, manifesting a life free from every passion and malice.

We shall next see what Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite records about him in his Synaxaristes, and at the end we shall choose a small chapter from the Gerontikon to comment on briefly. We should say from the outset that Saint Nikodemos, when considering whether this refers to Bishop Ammonas — the one connected, as we have said, with Saint Anthony — or to the priest mentioned in the Lausiac History who “saw” an angel of the Lord recording those present at the Divine Liturgy and striking out the absent, clearly chooses the first view: this Ammonas is the bishop. What, then, does he note about him?

Prologue in Sermons: January 26

 

Where Did the Custom of Holding Religious Processions in Times of Public Calamity Come From?

January 26

(The Commemoration of the Great Earthquake)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

When public calamities befall us — for example, drought, or unseasonable weather, or when hail by God’s permission devastates the fields, or fires occur, or floods, or some other misfortune — then we usually take up the holy icons from the church, carry out the honorable crosses and banners, and with them perform processions around our villages, fields, and gardens, and we beseech the Lord for mercy. Do you know, brethren, where this custom of performing such processions in times of calamity came from, and who handed it down to us? If you do not know, I will tell you.

The custom of performing processions came to us from Greece, from where we received the Orthodox Christian faith. This can be proven by the fact that there, processions during public calamities were performed already in very ancient times. Thus, in Constantinople, at the death of Emperor Theodosius the Younger, on one of the Sundays there occurred an earthquake that continued, with interruptions, for three months. During this time the walls of the city collapsed, many houses were destroyed, and many national monuments also perished. In those days of calamity the emperor, together with the people, performed processions and continually cried out with tears: “Deliver us, O Lord, from Your righteous wrath for our sins, through repentance. For You have moved the earth and troubled it with shaking because of our lawlessness, that we may glorify You, the only good and loving God” (Prologue, Jan. 26).

Discourse on Zacchaeus (St. Amphilochios of Iconium)

Discourse on Zacchaeus 

 

By St. Amphilochios of Iconium

Nothing moves the soul so much toward joy as the fear of God and abstinence from evil, the path of repentance and the manner of confession. Therefore today David calls blessed those whose sins have been forgiven, revealing the philanthropy of Christ and at the same time preparing sinners to hasten to repentance. “Blessed,” he says, “are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered.” Whoever, then, can feel like the harlot and the tax collector, let him run to the inexhaustible springs of Christ’s salvation. Without repentance it is impossible for anyone to receive release from evils or to attain blessedness, even if he be a Prophet or an Apostle or even an Evangelist. For in truth all have drawn from the same source. Among the Prophets is David himself, who even after adultery remained a Prophet, by the grace of Him who forgave him.

Among the Apostles are Peter and Paul: the one received “the keys of the kingdom” after his denial, and the other became the Apostle of the nations after his persecution, transforming Jewish zeal into an evangelical way. And within the Gospels I have known a tax collector who was saved — not only Matthew, but together with him two others. One of these, praying and striking his breast where the treasure of evils lay, and not daring to stand in the temple with uplifted hands and eyes, was not only justified but also crowned, in contrast to the Pharisee. And today’s Zacchaeus, after climbing the tree — where many times he had stood to spy lest some merchant escape him and remain untaxed — now took care lest the Merchant of heaven and earth pass by unnoticed, He who bore within Himself the inviolable treasure of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Zacchaeus (Archimandrite Joel Yiannakopoulos)

Zacchaeus

Luke 19:1-10

By Archimandrite Joel Yiannakopoulos

The Lord, as He was walking toward Jerusalem, as we saw previously, arrived at Jericho. “Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector.” Tax collectors were those who collected tolls and taxes. Jericho was a center for the export of balsam, which was sold throughout the whole world, and a hub of communication between Judea, Perea, and Egypt. This Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector because he was the supervisor of those collectors. “And he was rich and sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd.” Because of the great press of people, walking along with the crowd for some time, Zacchaeus was unable to see Christ, “because he was small in stature.” He was short. “And running ahead,” that is, running forward, “he climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was about to pass that way.” The sycamore was a tree with low branches extending parallel to the ground, having leaves like a mulberry and fruit like a fig. Therefore, it was easy to climb. He runs and climbs it, because Christ was going to pass near it.

January: Day 25: Teaching 2: Saint Gregory the Theologian

January: Day 25: Teaching 2:
Saint Gregory the Theologian
 
(Children Are the Support of Their Parents)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. In the life of Saint Gregory the Theologian, so called for his writings about God the Word, the Savior of the world, and about the Holy Spirit, whose memory we celebrate today, there is one trait of his noble character that is especially instructive for us: his filial love and devotion to his parents. It is this that we recall on this day.

The Lord endowed the great hierarch Saint Gregory with great natural gifts: the gift of eloquence in him was extraordinary. Because of this gift, when Gregory was only twenty-one years old, he was left as an instructor of rhetoric in the very city of Athens where he had received his final education. A great and glorious future lay before Gregory, both in the secular sphere and in the spiritual one; he was invited everywhere to occupy one chair or another. But his love for his aged parents was so great that he once and for all refused all flattering offers, once and for all he resolved to live in Nazianzus until the death of his parents and to help his father there in his episcopal and household labors.

Prologue in Sermons: January 25

To the Terminally Ill

January 25

(A Discourse of Saint Gregory the Theologian on the Death of the Righteous)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

There are many in the world who are incurably ill, for whom the help of physicians is almost useless; they themselves realize this and expect death from day to day. How are such unfortunate people to be comforted? What instruction should be given them? What should be said to them? Let us say to them first of all this.

Saint Gregory, in his discourse on the death of the righteous, says:

Professor John Fountoulis (+ January 24, 2007)

Prof. Fountoulis at a clerical conference

Dr. Georgios D. Panagopoulos,
Professor of Orthodox Dogmatics at the University Ecclesiastical Academy of Athens 

A few days ago, an elect soul, a man of God, Professor Ioannis (John) Fountoulis, departed from this vain world.

Ioannis Fountoulis was born in 1927 in Mesagros of Lesvos to parents from Asia Minor. He studied Theology at the University of Athens, from which he graduated with highest honors. He then pursued excellent postgraduate studies in Belgium, Germany, and France. He was awarded a doctorate by the Faculty of Theology of the University of Thessaloniki. He worked extensively and produced studies and books on liturgical manuscripts in libraries and museums both in Greece and abroad. He contributed articles to a multitude of journals within and outside Greece. He continued to work tirelessly even after his retirement. He participated in many conferences, at which he left an indelible personal mark. He labored creatively for the Church of Greece and the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The local Church of his birthplace owes him much, since he contributed greatly to the discovery and promotion of the Saints of Lesvos. He was spiritually and by family ties connected with the late Metropolitan of Mytilene, His Eminence Iakovos II. He was married and the father of three children.

Venerable Xenia of Rome in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

This blessed and ever-memorable Xenia was from the glorious city of Rome, of an honorable lineage and zealous for the faith. When her parents wished to marry her and all preparations for the wedding had been made, the Saint arose and departed from the bridal chamber together with two other women, two handmaids. After boarding a ship and coming to know other lands, she finally arrived at the city of Mylasa. She was likely guided to that city by the divinely inspired monk Paul (who appeared to her from God in Alexandria and became her guide toward higher things). There she built a small oratory in the name of the Holy Protomartyr Stephen, and together with her two handmaids, as well as with some others who joined her, she lived patiently in great asceticism, abstaining from all sensual pleasures and following the path that leads to the heavenly city.

Thus she passed her life in the will of God, and after her holy and blessed repose she received testimony from God Himself. For at midday, when the sun was illuminating the earth, a cross appeared formed of stars. This cross was encircled and held at its center by another choir of stars, so that it appeared as a crown for the blessed Xenia, given to her by God for her fasting, her vigil, and her purity. And this became evident, for when her relic was laid beneath the earth, the choir and the circle of stars ceased to appear. The details concerning the Saint became known when one of her handmaids, at the time she was about to depart this life, recounted the homeland of the blessed one, her noble lineage, and the name she had received from her parents — for she was called Eusebia — which she changed to Xenia, because she strove to live in concealment.