Prologue in Sermons: January 20

Without Love for God and for One's Neighbors One Cannot Be Saved

January 20

(From the Paterikon: the question of three monks to their spiritual father concerning those who labor without mercy and without love.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

The Lord said: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37–39). These words clearly show that love for God and love for one’s neighbor are inseparable from one another, and that the former is very deficient without the latter. Yet many think that even without love for their neighbors they will be saved, and that it is enough for them to prove their love for God by fasting, prayers, and other ascetic labors that concern only themselves. Such people are mistaken: whoever does not have love for his neighbor does not have love for God either, and thus he can never be saved.

Today, More Than Ever, Saint Mark of Ephesus Is Relevant

 

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

The great teacher and invincible defender of the Orthodox Eastern Church, Mark, was born and raised in the Queen of Cities. He was nurtured by devout parents and educated both in secular and ecclesiastical learning, to such an extent that he was renowned for his accomplishments in both. After progressing through the ranks of the clergy, he was ultimately elevated to the dignity of archpriest and appointed to the high position of Metropolitan of Ephesus. At the persistent urging of Emperor John Palaiologos, he was sent to the Latin Synod in Florence, supposedly for the union of the Churches separated for many years. There, he astonished the representatives of the Western Church with the divinely-wise depth of his words, for he alone refused to sign the blasphemous decree of that Pseudo-synod. For this reason, the Holy Church of Christ has always honored this great man as benefactor, teacher, and unique champion and invincible defender of the apostolic confession.

The Synodal decision of 1743, under Patriarch Seraphim, declares:

“The Holy Eastern Church of Christ among us recognizes, honors, and accepts this sacred Mark of Ephesus the Eugenikos as a holy, God-bearing, and pious man, zealous in devotion, as the most valiant defender and protector of our holy dogmas and of the correct reasoning of piety, and as a follower and peer of the earlier sacred theologians and adorners of the Church.” 

Synaxarion of the Venerable Hierodeacon Makarios Kalogeras of Patmos

 

Synaxarion

By Metropolitan Kyrillos (Kogerakis) of Rhodes

On the 19th of the same month [January], the Commemoration of Saint Makarios Kalogeras.

Verses

You partook of a life worthy of your name, O Father,
having brought your life to completion in piety.
On the seventeenth day Makarios ascended to the heavens.

This Saint was born toward the close of the seventeenth century, around the year 1668, on the island of Patmos. Having acquired the first foundations of general learning in his native land, and ardently desiring to become the possessor of much greater education, he went to Constantinople, where he studied theology and philosophy. Being thus filled with abundant learning and knowledge — or rather with faith and evangelical wisdom — he was ordained a Deacon.

In the year 1713 he returned to Patmos and enrolled himself in the Brotherhood of the Monastery of Saint John the Evangelist there. He founded there, beside the Sacred Cave of the Apocalypse, the Patmiada School, in which he also slept the sleep of the righteous, on the 17th of January in the year 1737, having composed many writings and left them to the Church.

Commemoration of the Return of the Cross of the Holy Apostle Andrew to Patras

On January 19, 1980, the entire Holy Clergy and the people of Patras, under the leadership of the late Metropolitan Nikodemos of Patras, welcomed the grace-bearing X-shaped Cross of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called. The Cross, which had been in Marseille, France, since 1205, had been stolen from Patras and sent there by the Latin Bishop of Patras, Adelmos, who had at that time seized the episcopal throne, expelling the Orthodox hierarch.

 

According to the archives of the Duchy of Burgundy, the Cross was initially placed in the Abbey of Weaume in Marseille, and later transferred to the Abbey of Saint Victor in the same city. During the French Revolution there was an attempt to steal the Cross, which ultimately failed. Its pieces were preserved and placed in a reliquary in the shape of a regular Cross. 

 

In 1979, the then Archepiscopal Vicar of the Holy Metropolis of France, the late Father Panagiotis Simigiatos, located the Cross at the Monastery of Saint Victor in Marseille. 

 

On October 9, 1979, the then Metropolitan of Patras, Nikodemos, met in Marseille with the then president of the French hierarchy and of the entire Roman Catholic hierarchy of Western Europe, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, to discuss the matter of the return of the Cross to Patras.

 

After consultations between Roman Catholics and Orthodox, the Cardinal said to the Metropolitan of Patras: “Since the Cross was brought here from Patras, it belongs to Patras.”

 

Soon contacts and discussions between the two sides began regarding the return of the Cross to Patras. The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece were informed of the matter.

 

On January 18, 1980, an aircraft of the Hellenic Air Force, carrying the delegation of the Holy Metropolis of Patras, departed for France for the reception and transfer of the Cross to Patras.

 

After their arrival in Marseille, the Cross was handed over to the Greek delegation through an “informal” ceremony.

 

The following day, January 19, the aircraft carrying the Cross and the two delegations—Orthodox and Roman Catholic—arrived at Araxos Airport, and the official reception then took place.

 

The Cross, transported in a wooden case, was initially placed in an iron case and embedded in the wall of the Church of the Apostle Andrew, behind the proskynitarion where the Honorable Head of the First-Called Apostle is kept and venerated.

Later, under the current Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Patras, the Cross was placed in a wooden case and covered with silver-gold plating, adorned with scenes from the life of the Apostle Andrew, and was placed in the northern aisle of the church, which was dedicated to the Cross of the Apostle Andrew and was decorated, like the rest of the church, with scenes from his life, miracles, and martyrdom. 

Since the return of the Cross to Patras on January 19, 1980, every year on this same date the anniversary of the return is celebrated by the Metropolitan of Patras in the Metropolitan Church of the Holy Apostle Andrew. 

 

The Wood of an Olive Tree

As for the type of wood of the Cross, there are differing accounts. Hippolytus of Rome mentions olive wood; Epiphanios speaks of a cross without specifying the wood; Arsenios of Kerkyra refers to a plant without identifying it; while the historian Stephanos Thomopoulos also speaks of an olive tree.

In studies that have been conducted, however, it has been proven that it is indeed olive wood and that it dates to the first century.

There are also differing views regarding the shape of the Cross. Frescoes and portable icons in churches depict the Apostle Andrew on the Cross with its two beams vertical, while others depict him on the Cross with his head downward.

Nevertheless, the prevailing view is that the Cross was in the shape of an “X.” This view is so widespread that crosses in the shape of an “X” are now commonly referred to as the “Cross of the Apostle Andrew.”

During its transfer to Patras in 1980, it was placed in a reliquary in the shape of a regular Cross, but this was later replaced by a larger and more imposing reliquary, this time in the shape of an X. Characteristic of the symbolic power of the Cross of Saint Andrew is the fact that the X, by its shape, is the symbol of the Russian Navy, which has the Apostle Andrew as its patron.

It should also be mentioned that in the summer of 2013 the Cross of Saint Andrew traveled to Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, where the scenes that unfolded were striking, owing to the long lines of faithful that had formed. 

 

In 2025, in honor of the 45th anniversary of this celebration, Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Patras issued the followed encyclical:

To
the Christ-named Plenitude
of the Sacred and Apostolic Metropolis of Patras

My blessed children,

Our local Apostolic Church has the special blessing from God, as is known to all, to possess as a source of blessing and sanctification—apart from the Holy Head of the Holy Apostle Andrew—the Cross of his martyrdom as well, which in January 1980 was returned to Patras from the city of Marseille in France, where for hundreds of years it had been kept, by judgments known only to God.

From the day when the people of Patras as a whole, with the Church, political, and other authorities at their head, welcomed the Cross of the First-Called of the Apostles, forty-five years have passed. Throughout all these years we have felt abundantly the blessing and the gift of our Lord through the intercessions of the Holy Apostle Andrew.

We invite you, also this year, with paternal love, to the splendid celebration which will take place in the New Holy Church of the Holy Apostle Andrew, where the Cross of our Saint is kept.

The program of the celebration is as follows:

Saturday, 18 January 2025
6:00 p.m.
Great Hierarchical Vespers

Sunday, 19 January 2025
7:00–10:30 a.m.
Matins – Hierarchical Divine Liturgy

My brethren,

We cannot imagine Patras without the presence of the Holy Apostle Andrew. He is our teacher and our enlightener. He is our father. He is our guardian and protector. He is the unceasing intercessor on our behalf before the Lord.

Saint Andrew is our joy, our pride, our hope, and our consolation. To him we flee at all times, in season and out of season, and we bend the knee of soul and body before his holy Head and his Cross. His holy icon is found in all our homes, and his most venerable figure holds a central place in our hearts.

Despite our sins—which often grieve God and distress our Saint—he does not abandon us, but holds us in his holy hands as his beloved children. His most beloved and most sacred name we give at baptism to many of our children. His Church is the emblem of our city. The place where he was martyred is our pilgrimage site, and there we lead all who visit our city—or who arrive there on their own—for the destination of most is the Churches of our Saint, the Old and the New, where his tomb is found and where his holy Head and his most venerable Cross are preserved.

Do not neglect, therefore, my brethren, on this occasion as well, to come to his Church in order to honor our Saint.

Do not forget or be negligent in directing your steps to his sacred Apostoleion during the two-day celebration, so that you may venerate the Cross on which he was martyred for the most sweet Name of the Lord who called him, and for our own salvation.

We await you at the Church of the Holy Apostle Andrew on Saturday and Sunday, 18 and 19 January, so that we may celebrate together, glorifying the Name of our Lord and honoring our protector, the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called.

I embrace you with paternal love,
praying for every blessing from the Lord upon you all,
through the intercessions of the Holy Apostle Andrew.

The Metropolitan
† of Patras Chrysostomos

 

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

 

 

Prologue in Sermons: January 19

On How Avarice and Ingratitude Anger God

January 19

(A Discourse on a Man Who Was Saved from Illness for the Sake of Almsgiving and, Having Repented Again, Died)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

In illnesses — and especially severe ones — even the miserly often become generous. Desiring to recover, yet having lost all hope of help from physicians, they, like everyone else, are ready to give up everything, if only they might rise from their sickbed and escape death, so they give alms with a liberal hand. But once the illness has passed, the generosity is as if it had never existed! The greedy lover of money forgets the mercy of God shown to him, grumbles over what seems to him his own prodigality, complains of his weakness of spirit, and is ready for anything — anything at all — only to recover what he gave away during his illness. Such ingratitude toward God is inexcusable! Such hard-heartedness is extreme!

Listen, brethren, to how the wrath of God sometimes overtakes such people, and learn to flee avarice and ingratitude toward God. A certain man living in Constantinople fell gravely ill and, seized by the terror of death, resolved to draw God’s mercy to himself through almsgiving. He distributed thirty litras of gold to the poor, and the alms indeed saved him. He recovered. What, after this, would one think remained for him to do but to thank God day and night for his deliverance? But no! He grieved bitterly over his gold, and the thought of the alms he had given during his illness did not allow him a moment’s peace. Tormented by this, he once went to one of his friends and revealed all his sorrow.

The Ten Lepers (Archimandrite Joel Yiannakopoulos)

The Ten Lepers

Luke 17:12-19

By Archimandrite Joel Yiannakopoulos

We have seen that Christ withdrew from Jerusalem after the raising of Lazarus, in order to avoid the envy of the Pharisees. He went to Ephraim, near Bethel. From there He proceeded farther north and came to the borders of Samaria and Galilee. From there He intended to return to Jerusalem by way of Perea. As Luke says: “It came to pass, as He went to Jerusalem, that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.”

Thus the Lord, intending to go up to Jerusalem to be crucified, found Himself on the borders of Samaria and Galilee.

There, “as Jesus entered a certain village, ten leprous men met Him, who stood afar off.” They remained at a distance, for such was required by the tradition. Since they were far away, “they lifted up their voices and cried out, saying, 'Jesus, Master, have mercy on us'.”

As lepers, legally unclean, they lived outside the cities. Yet instead of crying out, as they were required, “Unclean, unclean,” they cried out asking to be cleansed from their leprosy and healed by Jesus.

Saint Athanasios of Alexandria in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

Saint Gregory the Theologian, in his funeral oration for Saint Athanasios the Great, wrote these memorable words: “In praising Athanasios, I praise virtue itself.” To honor Athanasios, he means, is nothing less than to honor virtue in its fullness. This same truth is echoed today in the hymnography of our Church through Saint Theophanes the Hymnographer, who slightly rephrases Saint Gregory’s saying: “As I offer praise to Athanasios, as though extolling virtue, I bring my hymn of praise rather to God Himself.” For indeed, such praise ultimately ascends to God, the Giver of all holiness. But why does the Church speak with such exalted language?

First, because Saint Athanasios truly was "the greatest figure of the ancient Church. He bore upon his shoulders the burden of a deep and multifaceted crisis and gave the definitive theological foundation to Orthodox Trinitarian doctrine. For more than four decades (328–373), he stood as a symbol and a leader toward whom all eyes were turned — both Orthodox and heterodox alike. The few faithful, whenever they saw this sacred eagle standing firm upon his episcopal throne or remaining unyielding in exile, knew with certainty that Orthodoxy lived, and their courage was renewed. The many who opposed the truth, as long as they saw this indomitable man still standing, realized that despite persecutions Orthodoxy endured — and this realization filled them with fury" (Stylianos Papadopoulos).

Homily Two on the Twelfth Sunday of Luke (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily Two on the Twelfth Sunday of Luke
(29th Sunday After Pentecost)

(About Jesus Christ's healing of ten lepers, of whom only one gave thanks to God for his healing. About spiritual leprosy, which is sin, and especially about the modern leprosy of socialism and nihilism.)

By St. John of Kronstadt

Today, beloved brethren, the Holy Gospel according to Luke was read to us, concerning the healing by our Lord Jesus Christ of ten leprous men.

Not daring to approach Him closely, they stood at a distance and cried out with a loud voice: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” The Lord said to them: “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And they went. And as they were going, they were indeed all cleansed. Then one of them, seeing that he had been healed, immediately returned to the Savior, fell down before Him on the ground, and with all his soul gave thanks to Him, loudly glorifying God. He was a Samaritan, that is, a resident of the city of Samaria, who professed a mixed religion of Judaism and paganism. Jesus Christ, not seeing the other nine who had been healed, said—reproaching their ingratitude: “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? How is it that they did not return to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” And turning to the grateful Samaritan, He said: “Rise, go your way; your faith has saved you” (Luke 17:12–19).

Prologue in Sermons: January 18

A Lesson for Monks

January 18

(Teaching of Blessed Hilarion)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

We will speak to you, monks, today, and this is what we will say. The Prologue for today contains a sermon by Blessed Hilarion, which, in its content, pertains primarily to your monastic life. Since this sermon, in our opinion, contains many important, beneficial, and salutary lessons for you, we ask you to pay particular attention to its contents.