Prologue in Sermons: March 12

An Example of Meekness

March 12

(A word of John Climacus on the patience of Cyrus the monk.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

Among the steps of the ladder that leads to heaven, the virtue of meekness also occupies a necessary place. That it is necessary for us is shown by the Lord Himself, who calls us to it, saying: “Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matt. 11:29). And that it leads us to crowns is evident from the fact that the Lord promises a reward to the meek: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

What is meekness, and what does it truly mean to be meek? This you will see from the following example:

John Climacus related concerning the Venerable Cyrus that he was so meek that, although he was insulted every day both by those above him and by those below him, and although he was always humiliated by everyone and driven away from the refectory every day, he endured everything — not only without complaint, but even with gratitude. In such a condition he lived in the monastery for fifteen years; receiving insults from all and suffering persecutions even from servants, he never answered a word to anyone. On the contrary, when John asked him how he was able to endure every day both hunger and humiliation, Cyrus replied:

The Tomb of Saint John Moschos

In the biographies of John Moschos it is reported that after the plundering of Jerusalem in 614, because of the growing Persian threat to Alexandria, he and Saint Sophronios, together with Saint John the Merciful, crossed from Egypt to Cyprus. From there John Moschos, stopping at various Mediterranean islands, set out for Rome. There he worked on arranging the recollections of his travels (The Leimonarion, or The Spiritual Meadow), and there he also died (+ 619/634).

John Moschos bequeathed that he be buried at Sinai or, if barbarian raids did not permit this, at the Coenobium of Venerable Theodosios the Great in the Judean desert. In order to fulfill the final wish of his departed friend, Saint Sophronios set out with his body from Rome to Jerusalem and arrived there “at the beginning of the eighth indiction.” John Moschos was buried in the cemetery of the Monastery of Venerable Theodosios the Great.

Saint Sophronios of Jerusalem in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

The Holy Hymnographer Theophanes, wishing to present the mark of the great Saint Sophronios of today — that is, that he struggled to keep exactly the will of God in his life, what we say “down to the smallest stroke” — and therefore is now naturally glorified in the heavens, notes in the verse of his Synaxarion:

“Sophronios hastened to keep even a small stroke of the law, whose glory is in the heavens.”*

Indeed, repeatedly his Hymnographer emphasizes that his turning toward God was not occasional nor partial, as unfortunately often happens with us the lukewarm in faith Christians of today, the double-souled and therefore unstable according to Saint James the Brother of the Lord, who want to be on good terms with God but without abandoning our passionate attachment to the things of this world; his turning toward God was total, because God was his only love, and therefore within His light he lived the theoria (divine vision) of Him.

“You wholly desired the only Good One, having been kindled by the noetic light, and you loved the fountain of incorruption, O all-wise one, being lifted up in divine visions toward it” (Ode 5). 

Prologue in Sermons: March 11

In What State After Death Are the Souls of Sinners, and in What State the Souls of the Righteous

March 11

(Instruction of the Holy Fathers concerning the need of death.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

In what state after death are the souls of sinners, and in what state those of the righteous?

What shall be said about this?

Let us anticipate, brethren, says the word of the Church, our death by repentance and let us hasten to it before the end, for our life is short in time, but the torment is long. The end is near and the fear is great, and there is no one there who forgives. Consider in what a terrible condition the sinners are in hades. While living on earth, they forgot the fear of God and did not fulfill the commandments. And now, in hades, what then? They ask God for even the smallest relief, but they do not receive it and in the lower parts of the earth they weep. They remember their sins: sloth, gluttony, fleshly sins, and various evil deeds, and they repent of them, but they do not receive forgiveness, for after death there is no repentance.

Saint Anastasia the Patrician as a Model for our Lives

 

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

Saint Anastasia the Patrician was born in Constantinople to noble and wealthy parents, and she lived in the years of the Emperor Justinian. She was in the palace as the first lady of honors and was distinguished for her true faith in God, her modesty, and her humility. She was endowed with many gifts, such as courage, gentleness, nobility, and natural goodness, and this made the Emperor rejoice and praise her. However, the Empress envied her; for this reason Anastasia, as soon as she understood it, said to herself: “Now, precisely, the suitable opportunity has presented itself to you. Hasten and save your soul. With your prayer you will also free the Empress from her envy, and you will prepare yourself for the Heavenly Kingdom.”

Thus she left the palace and went to Alexandria, where she built a monastery and lived in asceticism and prayer, and she had as her obedience the task of weaving. After the repose of Theodora, Justinian sought her, but she did not desire to return. By the counsel of her spiritual father, the Elder Daniel, she put on male clothing and went to a cave, in which she remained enclosed for 28 years, until her holy repose. During all this time Elder Daniel sent her food and water by means of one of his disciples, who left them outside the door of the cave.

Holy Martyr Kodratos of Corinth in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

 

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

These Saints were from Corinth, in the times of the emperors Decius and Valerian, when Jason was governing in Greece. Saint Kodratos was basically an infant when his mother died, and he was nourished in a wondrous manner by a cloud that came over him and supplied him with food. When he reached youthful age, he became associated with Saints Anektos, Paul, Dionysios, Cyprian, and Crescens, each of whom came from different places, together with whom he was arrested for their confession in the faith of Christ, and after he was beaten very harshly, then they cut off his head, as happened also with the others.

Six lamps that are supplied by the mystical oil of the grace of God are these six martyrs whom we celebrate today, according to Saint Joseph the Hymnographer. And with their light they lessened the night of idolatry in their time, while they enlightened the faithful of the Church. 

“The six-lighted lamp of Your Martyrs, O Lord, being watered with mystical oil, diminished the night of polytheism and illuminated those who cry out: Glory, O Christ, to Your power” (Ode 4).

Prologue in Sermons: March 10

 

To Parishioners Living Among Schismatics

March 10

(A Discourse from the Paterikon about Mark the Monk and his gift of clairvoyance.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

Schismatics living among you, desiring at any cost to separate you from the Orthodox Church, employ among their various tricks the following as well. “What kind of priests do you have now?” they say. “Look what they do! With whom do they not associate? What do they not drink and eat? How do they perform the services? What grace, therefore, can you have?” — and much else besides.

They usually say such things about shepherds who are strict in life and virtuous. But, God save us, if they notice any fault in a priest — even the smallest — woe to him! Then evil rumor from their side grows like a sea wave, and the malicious joy of the enemies of the Church has no end.

But let them be; let them say what they wish. As for us, let us consider this: do the sins of priests truly prevent the grace of God from descending both upon the Mysteries which they celebrate and upon the faithful who receive them? And does the unworthiness of presbyters truly drive grace out of the Church?

Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

It is rare to find a Christian who does not know the phrase “the winter is harsh, but Paradise is sweet,” even if he does not know that it is connected with the Holy Forty Martyrs. Indeed, this well-known phrase may be said to be the seal of the martyrdom of these Saints, since they themselves, by saying it, acted as anointers of their own souls — that is, as trainers and guides of themselves — encouraging and strengthening one another so that they might remain steadfast in the martyrdom they were undergoing. And what they said was the most timely and decisive thing they could think of, since they urged themselves to endure their terrible suffering by transferring their thoughts beyond it, toward what is higher and better, toward Paradise itself. This means that the Saints functioned as true and genuine healers of themselves, striving to maintain those thoughts that moved within the grace-filled dimension of the revelation of Christ. Did not the Lord reveal that martyrdom and afflictions constitute the path that leads into the Kingdom of God — “through many tribulations you must enter into the Kingdom of God” — and that what the believer suffers in the world as persecution constitutes participation in His own Passion? “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” The Apostle also notes: “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Thus the orientation of the Saints and the firm establishment of their thoughts not on the outward appearance — the martyrdom and the torments — but on the result as the depth and meaning of the martyrdom — the Kingdom of God — was on the one hand the confirmation of the genuineness of their faith: they saw things in Christ; and on the other hand it was their liberation, for in this way the grace of the Lord became active in their existence. From this perspective they show all Christians how we may face any difficulty and sorrow of life, whether it is called an economic crisis or a “misfortune” or the loss of what we once possessed: not to remain fixed on the problem itself, but on the solution of the problem, its transcendence. In this way our whole being is set in motion, acquiring a dynamism that leads, by the grace of God, to the place where the sun of joy and gladness shines.

Prologue in Sermons: March 9

Against Those Who Turn to Sorcerers for Help in Illness

March 9

(From a Discourse of Saint John Chrysostom on those who treat illnesses with sorcery and charms.)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

It is very sorrowful, brethren, that even now one can still find among you many people who, in times of illness, abandon their hope in God and in the help of ordinary physicians and instead seek relief from the so-called sorcerers. It is grievous to see how sometimes a person, going to some deceiver — or one who truly works with dark powers — gives him his last coin, humbles himself before him, reveres him, and almost worships him as a god. Where then, brethren, is our Lord, our Defender and Helper in the afflictions that befall us? Where is the vow made at Baptism to renounce Satan and all his works? What kind of Christians are we after this?

“O how much better it is to die,” says Saint John Chrysostom, “than to go to the enemies of God! What help is it to heal the body while destroying the soul? What profit is there in receiving a little relief here, only to be sent there with the demons into eternal fire?”