Holy Martyr Charitina in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. Saint Charitina lived during the reign of Diocletian, when Dometius was Count, while she herself was the slave of a certain Claudius. The Count, having heard that she was a Christian, wrote to her master, ordering him to send her to him for examination. Her master, who was also a Christian, was deeply grieved, to such an extent that he put on sackcloth and mourned for her. But the Saint consoled him and said to him: ‘My lord, do not grieve, but rejoice, because I shall be regarded as an acceptable sacrifice to God, both for my own shortcomings and for yours.’ Then Claudius, having said to her, ‘Remember me before the heavenly King,’ sent her to the Count. When she was brought there and confessed her faith in Christ, they shaved her head and poured burning coals upon it. Then they bound her to a heavy stone and threw her into the sea. But she, by the grace of God, came forth and appeared before the Count. And after she had been subjected to many other punishments as well, they pulled out the nails of her hands and feet, and thus she gave up her spirit to God.

October: Day 5: Teaching 2: Saints Peter, Alexy and Jonah, Metropolitans of Moscow and Wonderworkers of All Russia

October: Day 5: Teaching 2:
Saints Peter, Alexy and Jonah, Metropolitans of Moscow and Wonderworkers of All Russia
 
(Lessons From Their Lives: 
a. Every young person should receive his upbringing under the guidance of the Church; and 
b. Youth is the most precious period for the religious and moral upbringing of a Christian.)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Today is the commemoration of three great hierarchs of the Russian Church: Peter, Alexy, and Jonah, Metropolitans of Moscow, whose names inevitably bring to mind also the name of the great hierarch Philip. Let us consider their lives so that we may learn from them how to raise our children today.

a) Saint Peter was a native of Volhynia. Upon reaching the age of seven, he was sent to receive a literary education; but however hard the young pupil tried at first, his studies did not proceed successfully. This caused him and his parents great sorrow. Once, as though in a dream, Peter saw a man dressed in hierarchal vestments who, standing near him, said: “Child, open your mouth!” The puzzled boy obeyed. At that moment, the one who had appeared touched his tongue and, blessing him, seemed to pour a certain sweetness into his mouth. From that time onward, he began to progress in his studies more than all his peers.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: October 5

The Month of October

Day 5

36. To Young Monks on the Fact that It Is None Other Than the Devil Who Compels Them to Leave Their Cells Unnecessarily and Go Outside the Monastery Enclosure

(From the Life of Venerable Matthew the Clairvoyant)

Our word today is addressed to you, young monks, and this is what we will say to you. You know that your monastic calling, among its various obligations, also imposes upon you the obligation of maintaining solitude. When you have attended the service and fulfilled one obedience or another, go to your cell and do not leave it without necessity. There, either continue to labor as much as the Lord gives you strength, or pray again, or meditate upon God—upon His greatness, holiness, wisdom, goodness, and righteousness; remember death, the fearful Judgment, Paradise, and Hell. What do you think, monks? Is this obligation important for you or not? I do not know what you will say, but for our part we think that this too is an important obligation; and why we think so, you will now hear from us.

Prologue in Sermons: October 5 (a)

On the Afterlife

October 5

(The Account of the Vision of Abbot Kosmas, Terrifying and Very Beneficial)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

We ought to be especially grateful to those Saints who, having been deemed worthy during their lifetime to behold the world after death, have left us accounts of it. For such accounts resolve many questions that are exceedingly difficult for us, dispel many of our unfounded judgments, and strengthen our faith in the truth of the gospel. As proof of this, here is something from the account of a pious man who was deemed worthy to behold the dwelling places of the Saints.

Prologue in Sermons: October 5 (b)

 

Late Repentance

October 5

(From the Discourse on Andrew, concerning a grave thief.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

People whose habit of a particular sin has become a passion think only of one thing: how they can indulge that sin as soon as possible. Warnings from those close to them mean nothing to them. But since everything has an end, their lawless deeds also have an end. And this end often comes while they are still alive, and a most lamentable end it is. They repent then, but too late.

Homily for the Second Sunday of Luke (St. Cleopa of Sihastria)

Homily for the Second Sunday of Luke, 
or Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost

On Love for Enemies

“And I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

By St. Cleopa of Sihastria

Beloved faithful,

Our Savior Jesus Christ has shown that the greatest commandment in the Law is love for God, while the second, like it, is love of one’s neighbor (Matthew 22:37–39). He said that these two commandments contain the whole Law and all the Prophets (Matthew 22:40). If this is the truth, then no one can say that he loves God unless he first loves his neighbor. Saint John the Evangelist also says this, declaring: “If anyone says that he loves God, but hates his brother, he is a liar! For whoever does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” (1 John 4:20).

Therefore, the Holy Gospel that was read today commands us to love our enemies, for this commandment is founded upon love for God and for our neighbor. Our neighbor is every person in the world (Luke 10:36–37), and we have no right to hate anyone, for all are created by God and possess the same nature as we do. But perhaps someone will say that Holy Scripture nevertheless shows that we may hate certain people, as the Psalmist says: “Those who hate You, O Lord, I have hated, and I have been grieved over Your enemies. With perfect hatred I have hated them, and they have become my enemies” (Psalm 138:21–22).

Homily One on the Second Sunday of Luke (St. Justin Popovich)

Homily One on the Second Sunday of Luke

 

19th Sunday after Pentecost 

By St. Justin Popovich

(Delivered in 1964 at the Ćelije Monastery)

[The homily, which was transcribed from a recording, has no beginning. — Copyist’s note.]

This is achieved by living according to the gospel of the Lord Christ, by living according to His commandments, by fulfilling His commandments in this world, every day and every night of our lives. Therefore, He commands us in the Gospel: “Live as is fitting for God; live worthily of God.”1 Which God? The Lord Christ. He lived in this world as a man in order to help us human beings understand how we ought to live in this world. Behold, imitate Him. In the Gospel it is commanded: “Live as is fitting for the gospel of Christ.” And the entire gospel of the Lord Christ consists of commandments continually concerning how a person ought to live in this world.

Today’s Holy Gospel shows us in its own way how we ought to live. How? If we change our lives; if we live according to Christ, if we live in Christ; if our life is according to God and not according to sin; if we are truly Christians and not pagans in our way of life, while being Christians only in name. Through His commandments the Lord commands: “As you want people to do to you, you also do to them; if you love those who love you, what thanks have you, since sinners do the same, since pagans do the same?”2 Your love must be a new love, evangelical love, love from the other world, divine love, wholly divine. If you do good to everyone who does only good to you, what thanks do you have, since sinners do this too, pagans do this too; but your good must be divine good, it must be gospel good, it must be Christ’s good. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive something back, what reward do you expect, since other people, sinners and pagans, do this too. But you—you are new people in Christ; you are to have a new life.

Homily One on the Second Sunday of Luke (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily One on the Second Sunday of Luke 

19th Sunday after Pentecost

On Love for Enemies

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

(Delivered on October 3, 1960)

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

Dear brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus Christ, concerned for our salvation, that feelings of love for one another may be constantly preserved among us and that proper and right relations may be maintained, gives us today in the Holy Gospel that has been read His wondrous divine teaching, which should serve as a guiding rule in our daily Christian life. The Lord says: “And as you would that men should do to you, do you also to them likewise” (Luke 6:31).

It is natural for a person to have a feeling of self-preservation, a constant striving to support and preserve his life and to place it in the best possible condition. This feeling prompts us, as human beings, to avoid dangers and everything harmful to our life, health, honor, and well-being, and, on the contrary, to desire and seek everything beneficial both for our life and for our moral well-being. Under the influence of this feeling, we not only strive ourselves to do what is beneficial for our lives, but we also desire that others do good to us, assist in carrying out our aims and plans, and contribute to the increase of our happiness and well-being. This desire of ours, the desire that people do good to us, extends to everyone, without excluding even our most hardened enemies. We desire that they also do good to us. Indeed, if we penetrate into the depths of our soul, into our innermost thoughts and desires, we must admit that even from our enemies we desire good, and only good, and that our mind always strives to find grounds for justifying this desire, for lessening our guilt before our enemies and for justifying ourselves before them. And so, guided by this feeling of self-preservation in a reasonable manner and remembering that our personal good is closely connected with the good of our neighbor, amid our concern for our own well-being we strive to support the well-being of our neighbor, who in turn helps us in what is necessary and useful for us. Through such interaction, through such mutual and friendly assistance among people, the happiness of people is naturally established and elevated, and the feeling of self-preservation becomes a beneficial force, an architect of human happiness.

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

Homily Two on the Second Sunday of Luke 

19th Sunday after Pentecost

By St. John of Kronstadt

“And as you would that men should do to you, do you also to them likewise” (Luke 6:31).

The God-speaking Evangelist Luke, in the Gospel read today, conveys to us the teaching and commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ concerning how we should conduct ourselves toward people in our common life, so that we may please both God and people, acquire for ourselves a good name and a blameless conscience, and be deemed worthy of the promised, incorruptible heavenly homeland because of our prudent conduct in our earthly homeland (Luke 6:31–36).

What wise, exalted, saving, truly divine teachings and commandments these are! Yet how contrary to them our daily, ordinary life proves to be! The Lord teaches us to deal with people as we would wish people to deal with us, that is, simply, benevolently, sympathetically, and patiently. He has made ourselves the measure of our relations with others, and this measure, this standard, is love: “for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it” (Ephesians 5:29). Yet in our common life it is often the opposite. The relations of people toward one another are very often improper and distorted, lacking the spirit of simplicity and sincerity, love and goodwill, peaceableness, gentleness and forbearance, purity and holiness, sympathy and mercy, and Christian patience. They are often characterized by a spirit of insincerity and duplicity, coldness and arrogance, cunning and ill will, or impurity and sensuality, base selfishness and self-interest. The root, or cause, the source of one kind of conduct or another among people is found in the human heart, for “a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth what is evil” (Matthew 12:35). This arises either from his natural qualities, or from a fortunate or distorted upbringing, from various passions, inclinations, and habits—for example, habits connected with certain pleasures—from good or bad examples, from the circumstances of life, from a greater or lesser degree of material depersonalization, or from the environment in which a person lives, from his position in society, from various lessons or temptations of life, and finally from the degree to which a person has, or has not, become imbued with the spirit of Christ, of the gospel, and of the Church.