January: Day 17: Venerable Anthony the Great

January: Day 17:
Venerable Anthony the Great
 
(The Power of the Word of God, Work and Prayer in the Work of Saving Man)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Venerable Anthony, whose memory is celebrated today, was born in Egypt in the middle of the 3rd century to rich and noble Christians and was raised by them in the fear of God and Christian piety. Frequently visiting the temple of God and listening attentively to the word of God, he once heard the words from the Gospel: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, then come and follow Me” (Matthew 19:21). These words sank deep into his heart, and he decided to part with the world and its treasures forever, he sold the rich inheritance received from his parents and gave the money to the poor. He had a sister in his care - he made arrangements for her, and he himself decided to serve God in complete solitude, and settled beyond the Nile River in a cave. Here he spent his time in work and prayer and in the strictest abstinence. He ate only bread and water, ate food after sunset and not every day. Sometimes he did not sleep for several days in a row, prayed at night, and wove baskets during the day, with which he bought himself bread. His desert life was hard! Cold, hunger, and heat - he experienced everything. And most importantly: he had to endure much from the enemy of the human race - the devil. The devil wanted to drive him out of the desert. And so around his solitude the ascetic often heard noises, and the likenesses of lions, wolves, snakes, scorpions appeared, all these likenesses threatened to attack him and rushed into his cave. The ascetic was horrified and trembled. The feeling of fear changed to regret about the money he had given away, about the pleasures of life he had left behind. He often became despondent, yearned, wept - his situation was most unbearable. In the midst of such a struggle and spiritual confusion, he once exclaimed: "Lord! What should I do? I want to be saved, but my thoughts are hindering me!" After these words he immediately saw before him a man who was working, and after working he began to pray, and after praying he began to work again. It was an angel sent from God to enlighten Venerable Anthony. Venerable Anthony understood what he needed to do. He increased his work and prayer, and after 20 years of staying in the coastal cave he finally achieved a bright and calm state of mind.

January: Day 16: Teaching 1: Veneration of the Honorable Chains of the Holy and All-Praiseworthy Apostle Peter

January: Day 16: Teaching 1:
Veneration of the Honorable Chains of the Holy and All-Praiseworthy Apostle Peter
 
(It Is Worthy and Righteous to Venerate the Chains of the Holy Apostle Peter)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. On the 16th day of January, the Holy Church celebrates a spiritual celebration in memory of one event from the life of the great Apostle Peter.

The event commemorated by the Holy Church took place in the first century of the Christian Church, when the Holy Apostles and all Christians were imprisoned and executed. It was not easy for the confessors of the Christian faith to live then. This is how the Apostle Luke narrates this in the Book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles:

"Peter [who was imprisoned by order of King Herod, to be executed after the feast of the Passover] was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the Church. And when Herod was about to bring him out [to execute him], that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, 'Arise quickly!' And his chains fell off his hands. Then the angel said to him, 'Gird yourself and tie on your sandals;' and so he did. And he said to him, 'Put on your garment and follow me.' So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. And when Peter had come to himself, he said, 'Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people'” (Acts 12:5-11).

January: Day 15: Teaching 2: Venerable Paul of Thebes

 

January: Day 15: Teaching 2:
Venerable Paul of Thebes
 
(God's Providence For Man)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Venerable Anthony, who had labored for 70 years in the Egyptian desert, once thought that there was no other hermit in that desert and that he was the first hermit in the Thebaid; but the Lord revealed to him during a dream that there was another hermit in the inner desert who had begun to lead a hermit life before him and had pleased God with his labors. Having awakened, the Venerable Anthony took his staff and went to look for the one about whom the Lord had told him. The holy elder walked for three days in unbearable heat. In the sultry, rocky desert he saw nothing but the tracks of wild animals; finally he saw a hyena running quickly. Anthony followed it and came to a cave; but the entrance to the cave was closed. He began to beg the hermit who was in it to open it for him.

January: Day 15: Teaching 1: Venerable John the Hut-Dweller

January: Day 15: Teaching 1:
Venerable John the Hut-Dweller
 
(What Does Love for God Consist Of?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Venerable John, who is today being glorified, was called "the Hut-Dweller" because he lived in a hut, or kalyva, near his parents' house. He lived in the 5th century, and was descended from rich and noble parents who lived in Constantinople. His parents gave him an excellent education. From his early years, John's soul harbored an extraordinary love for God. He loved to read spiritual books, which convinced him that everything in the world is futile, that no one and nothing can or should be the exclusive object of love for the human heart, except God, our Creator, Provider, and Savior. One day he met a monk, whom he begged to take him with him to the monastery. Having begged his parents for the Holy Gospel as a gift, John and the monk secretly sailed away on a ship to a distant monastery, where he stayed for six years, astonishing all the brothers with his exploits of piety. Then, by God's arrangement, he went to his parents' house in the clothing of a beggar, without revealing himself to them or being recognized by them. In time, at John's request, the steward of his parents' house made a hut or kalyva for him near their house, in which John spent three years. The Lord Himself appeared to the Saint and revealed that his soul would soon pass to Him and dwell with the righteous. Then Venerable John wished to reveal himself to his parents. Appearing before them, he gave them the Gospel which they had given him and said: "I am your son! It is not I myself who am the cause of your sorrows, but this Gospel. It has taught me to love God more than anything." What joy there was when the parents saw their beloved son, and how they regretted that they did not recognize him in the face of a beggar! John died soon after this, on the third day, being no more than 25 years old. At his own request, he was buried by his parents on the site of the hut, where they later built a church and a hospice. The holy relics of John were first kept in Constantinople and then transferred to Rome.

January: Day 6: Teaching 2: The Feast of Theophany

January: Day 6: Teaching 2:
The Feast of Theophany
 
(Why Was the Lord Baptized and Why Are We Baptized?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Our Lord Jesus Christ, as the most holy God, Himself had no need of baptism, but was baptized for us sinners.

a) He was baptized, first of all, in order to show us an example of Holy Baptism, so that, as He Himself was baptized, so all of us, His followers, would be baptized. According to this example of Christ, we are all baptized, and without baptism it is impossible to be saved, as the Lord said in the Gospel: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God” (John 3:5).

b) Secondly, Jesus Christ was baptized in order to sanctify the waters, to cleanse them from evil demons, and thus to prepare the waters for the saving font for our baptism, as the Holy Church says: “You sanctified the streams of Jordan and crushed the heads of the serpents nesting there” (The Rite of the Sanctification of the Waters of Theophany).