By St. John of Kronstadt
“And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed” (John 17:5).
“And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed” (John 17:5).
On this seventh Sunday after Pascha, the Church commemorates and glorifies the 318 Holy and God-bearing Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod, convened in the Greek city of Nicaea by the emperor Constantine the Great on May 20, 325 after the Nativity of Christ, for the affirmation of the true teaching about the Son of God, shaken by the false teaching of the heretic Arius, who rejected the Divinity of the Son of God, and other like-minded people.
Among the other Holy Fathers present at the Synod of Nicaea were: Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, Saint Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria, and accompanying him was the young deacon Athanasius, a native of the city of Alexandria, whom Alexander greatly respected for his extraordinary gifts, for his intellect, deep theological education, straightforwardness, courage, power of speech, and for his lofty Christian life; later he himself was elected archbishop of the city of Alexandria, after the death of Bishop Alexander. Also present at the Synod were Saint Paphnutios, Bishop of the Thebaid in Egypt, Paul, Bishop of Neocaesarea, Spyridon, Bishop of Trimythous, the great wonderworker, and the bishop of the island of Cyprus, Saint James of Nisibis, also a wonderworker, and others. All 318 fathers were from different countries.
But in spite of the extraordinary difference in the countries from which they came, the languages from which they spoke, and the customs to which these Holy Fathers adhered, those who came to the Synod testified by their unanimous confession of faith that the teaching of Arius and his accomplices, who dared to deny the eternity of the Son of God and that He was of one essence with God the Father, was new, contrary to the apostolic teaching, alien to the faith of the Church. The Holy Fathers equally testified that the Symbol of Faith composed by them at the Synod, beginning with the words: "I believe in one God the Father, the Almighty..." and known to all of you, is the universal faithful proclamation of the Apostolic Orthodox teaching, which is the faith of the entire Church and the tradition of the Fathers. This symbol, later supplemented at the Second Ecumenical Synod, sets forth the apostolic teaching about the Holy Trinity: about God the Father, Creator of the world and Almighty; about the Lord Jesus Christ, the second person of the Holy Trinity, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of God the Father before all ages, as Light from Light, true God from true God, uncreated, consubstantial with God the Father and Creator of all; incarnate, crucified, buried, resurrected, ascended into heaven and again coming to judge the whole world; and about the Holy Spirit, about the Church, about one baptism, about the resurrection of the dead and the future life.
The Ecumenical Synod of Nicaea is a divinely wise preacher of the divine glory of the Most Holy Trinity, one in essence and indivisible, and, in particular, of the glory of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the God-man. This apostolic faith, says Saint Chrysostom, stopped the mouths of the heretics and, like an unshakable wall, repelled all their intrigues.
The Synod of Nicaea also determined that all Christians should celebrate the radiant feast of Pascha not on any other day of the week, but on Sunday, the first Sunday after the spring full moon, since it is known that our Savior rose on the first day that followed the Jewish Passover. The Synod also introduced possible uniformity in the rites of Christian celebration, decreed, among other things, by its 20th canon that we should not kneel in churches on Sundays and during the entire Pentecost, in order to depict the resurrection of Christ by the very position of the body.
In the Gospel at the Liturgy, the Church recites the Intercessory or High Priestly Prayer of the Son of God for His glorification with eternal glory through the spread of the true knowledge of God in the world, for the preservation of the faithful from enmity, their sanctification, unity with each other and with God, and their eternal blessedness. In this prayer Jesus Christ fully revealed His divine glory, calling Himself the Son of God, eternal, consubstantial and one in honor with God the Father, Lord of all flesh, begotten of God the Father, the source of eternal blessed life for all. The reading of the Gospel on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers teaches the faithful to turn with prayer to God in all matters, and the more important they are, the more they oblige us to prayer. When He prayed, the Savior raised His eyes to heaven. If the Son of God combined external prayer with internal prayer, bowing his knees at times, raising his hands, lifting up his eyes to grief, then how necessary and important it is for us to accompany internal prayer with external signs or rituals, testifying to the abundance and liveliness of heartfelt feelings: "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34), says the Lord.
Brothers and sisters! Thanks to God and our holy Orthodox Church we were all born in the true faith, we firmly believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, as well as in the Holy Trinity - God the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; - and most of us, with our own experience, mind, soul and heart and with our whole being, have experienced and known and are constantly experiencing and learning that Jesus Christ is the Giver of Life and God and our Savior: for He continually reveals to us and in us the signs of His goodness, truth and holiness and almighty power. He revives us every hour and minute, we, deadened by sins, and has mercy on those who repent, cleanses, sanctifies, pacifies, consoles, enlightens, strengthens, heals mental and physical infirmities, miraculously helps in our affairs and crowns them with the desired success; directs our spiritual feet to the fulfillment of His commandments and even here gives us the opportunity to anticipate the beginnings of eternal life in heaven. May we all steadfastly hold to our saving faith, fulfilling its holy commandments and statutes, and may the Lord Jesus Christ be for us the beginning and end of all our desires, thoughts and all our deeds, for to Him is the glory and power forever and ever. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
