Homily One on the Procession of the Honorable Wood of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

On the Procession of the Honorable Wood of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord (1)

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

(Delivered on August 1, 1962)

The Cross is the preserver of the whole universe,
the Cross is the beauty of the Church,
the Cross is the confirmation of the faithful,
the Cross is the glory of angels and the scourge of demons

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

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church glorifies the power of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, and at the same time remembers the honorable sufferings that our Lord Jesus Christ endured on the Cross. The nearest reason for the event now being celebrated was the miraculous signs that appeared from the Wood of the Life-Giving Cross to the inhabitants of Constantinople.

In ancient times, a severe pestilence broke out in the capital of the Greek state, Constantinople, which claimed many human lives. After, at the request of the residents of the city, the Wood of the Holy Cross was carried through the streets of the capital for fifteen days with prayers and sprinkling of buildings and houses with holy water, the destructive disease stopped, and all Christians brought their deepest gratitude to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Priests Ilarion Felea, Ilie Lacatusu and Dumitru Staniloae: Witnesses of Christian Love in an Era Marked by Hatred and Division

Răzvan Mihai Clipici, the head of the Culture subdepartment of the Culture, Painting and Restoration Sector of the Patriarchal Administration, published an article with historical data about the priests Ilarion Felea, Ilie Lăcătusu, and Dumitru Stăniloae in response to various accusations that appeared in the public space after their canonization announcement.

These three deceased theologians and clergymen suffered under communism, however Holocaust researchers are protesting that in the 1930s and 40s these clergymen openly campaigned for the Romanian fascists who carried out pogroms against Jews. They argue that there is no written evidence that any of them ever regretted their support.

Recently, the public sphere in Romania has seen numerous opinions both for and against the canonization of 16 saints decided by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church at its working session on July 11-12, 2024.

The news of these canonizations has brought great joy to most clergy and believers, as these saints already have a well-established devotion in the Romanian people’s consciousness.

Some expressed doubts about certain aspects of the lives of the canonized fathers, which at first glance seem controversial or sometimes even misunderstood.

Surely, many of those who have such doubts have a sincere desire to know the truth and to be assured of the holiness of these great spiritual fathers, who have demonstrated their humility and boundless love under conditions of torture and humiliation. Some of them even paid with their lives for their testimony of faith.

The Relics of Fathers Sofian Boghiu and Dumitru Staniloae Are Exhumed and Transferred Ahead of their Upcoming Canonization

On Monday the 29th of July 2024, two exhumations took place of Romanian Confessors who will be canonized as Saints by the Romanian Orthodox Church in 2025: Archimandrite Sofian Boghiu and Father Dumitru Stăniloae. This was done in preparation for their upcoming canonization, in order to transfer their relics from the monastery cemeteries they are buried in and move them into a church, where eventually they will be placed in reliqueries to be venerated by the faithful. Both services were performed by Bishop Timotei Aioanei of Prahova, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Bucharest.

The first exhumation was that of Archimandrite Sofian Boghiu (+ September 14, 2002), who was abbot of Antim Monastery in Bucharest. He was buried in the cemetery of Căldărușani Monastery, and upon exhumation his relics were transferred to the church of the same Monastery in order for a specific service to take place after an exhumation, and from there they were brought to the church of the Antim Monastery.

Pilgrimage Tourism (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 Pilgrimage Tourism

Presentation at the conference held in Agrinio on Pilgrimage and Alternative Tourism, it took place in the "set" of the Pithari Estate on Lake Trichonida on July 5th 2024 and was organized by the Association of Hoteliers of Aetoloakarnania.

 

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

Because the wise Antisthenes writes "the beginning of education is the examination of terms" I will start by defining what "tourism" means. The English word "tourism" means to move from place to place mainly for recreational reasons. From this movement, the term "tourism" was created.

This term was also given to the movement of people and groups for religious reasons and thus the travelers were called "tourists". The term "religious tourism" was used "for the first time in 1937 by the League of Nations, the predecessor of the United Nations (UN) in order to describe those who emigrated to foreign places for a period of more than 24 hours."

The first travelers/tourists were the Christians, who traveled to various ecclesiastical sites, but mainly to the Holy Land, to venerate the places where Christ lived, was crucified, buried, resurrected and ascended and where the first Christian Church also lived, as well as the monastic centers where Saints lived, to ask them about various issues that occupied them. Various texts that have survived, such as the Gerontikon, the Evergetinos, etc. are characteristic of this mentality.

The Olympic Games in Athens and in Paris (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

The Olympic Games in Athens and in Paris

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The Prime Minister, Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, after watching the opening of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, among other things, made a polite criticism of what he watched, saying that "the opening ceremony of the Athens Olympic Games in 2004 remains the owner of the gold, not only because of its aesthetics, but primarily because it functioned as a guardian of the idea of the Olympics and the games."

It is important to see how this result was achieved in Athens.

1. The Church and the Olympic Games in Athens

Let me remind those who do not have a strong memory or have a selective memory that since September 1997 when our country had taken over the organization of the 2004 Olympic Games, pagan proposals had been formulated on this occasion to revive the cultural atmosphere of the Games that were taking place in ancient Greece with the main proposition that "Olympism is a way of life for the Greeks."

Homily One for the Fifth Sunday of Matthew (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Matthew
(5th Sunday of Pentecost)

By St. John of Kronstadt 

Today during the Liturgy, my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, the Gospel of Matthew was read about the Lord casting out very ferocious demons from two demons possessed men. What does it teach us?

First, the truth that the Lord Jesus Christ is the omnipotent Creator and Ruler of all creatures, visible and invisible, angels and men, every living creature and the demons themselves, who in the beginning were created good, but then themselves fell into malice and wickedness, fell away from God and were cast out of heaven into the underworld.

The Weary Ascetic Who Complained to Saint Panteleimon

 By St. Paisios the Athonite

 

Near Karyes [the capital of the Holy Mountain], two Romanians lived in asceticism in a cell.

One of them had once become seriously ill and the other, unfortunately, was tired of ministering to him. That is why he constantly begged Saint Panteleimon either to heal the sick ascetic quickly or to take him from this life, in order to get rid of the little effort he made ministering to the sick ascetic.

So one day, while he was begging Saint Panteleimon again, the Saint appeared to him and said to him:

Saint Paraskevi, "A Sacrifice Out of Love" (Homily by Metr. Augustounos Kantiotes)

By Metropolitan Augustounos (Kantiotes) of Florina

(Delivered at the Monastery of Saint Paraskevi, Milochoriou, Eordaia, on Wednesday 26 July 1967)

Who, my beloved, was Saint Paraskevi whom we are celebrating? What was her life, her words and her miracles? It is not easy to relate these in detail. But let us reverently approach this sacred figure.

Saint Paraskevi was born in the capital of the ancient world, in Rome, during the reign of Emperor Antoninus (138-161 AD). Her wealthy parents, Agathon and Politeia, were Christians, but were childless. They promised, therefore, that if they would be granted a child, it would be dedicated to the Lord. God indeed granted them a girl, and because she was born on Friday ("Paraskevi" in Greek), they gave her the name Paraskevi. They raised her as a Christian. This girl, however, had the misfortune of losing both of her parents while she was still young. She had, on the other hand, the great blessing to have had faith in Christ take root within her at the proper time. As she grew, her love for the Lord lit a fire within her soul. This holy fire, which is not from the earth, but which is lit from Heaven, was so great, that all the waters could not quench it (Song of Songs 8:7). Happy are all those who experience this.

Athenagoras of Athens - Life, Writings, Theology (Fr. George Florovsky)

By Fr. Georges Florovsky    

Athenagoras of Athens, the most lucid and eloquent writer among the Apologists, was most probably a pagan who converted to Christianity. Bossuet considered him the author "of one of the finest and earliest Apologies of the Christian religion." Almost nothing is known of his life except that he was an Athenian and considered himself "a Christian philosopher." St. Photius held that he was the same Athenagoras to whom Boethos, the Platonist, dedicated his work On Difficult Expressions in Plato (Bibl. Cod. 154 f.). He is mentioned by Methodius in De resurrectione (I, 36) and by Philip Sidetes in his lengthy Χριστιανική Ιστορία. About 177 Athenagoras wrote his Plea Regarding Christians — πρεσβεία περι των χριστιανών. Α second work, On the Resurrection of the Dead — περί αναστάσεως νεκρών — has been attributed to him and he was most probably the author.

Saint Thyrsos of Karpasia - Life, Miracles and the Story of His First Icon

By Dr. George Kakkouras

Information about Saint Thyrsos, unfortunately, is scarce.1 These mainly come from the well-known manuscript of Monk Akakios of Karpasia and the Service of the Saint, which is the work of the same Akakios.

Akakios says the following about this lack of information: "Like Saint Philon, the Bishop of Karpasia, where he performed so many miracles, and they are not seen recorded, and like Saint Synesios, who was also a hierarch of Karpasia, whose life cannot be found in any book, or printed, or handwritten manuscript to be seen, and we only have it by word of mouth."2 Likewise little information is provided by the living local tradition concerning Saint Thyrsos.

Saint Thyrsos in the local dialect is also called Therissos. When he lived is unknown, though he is remembered as the third Bishop of Karpasia after the other two well-known and famous bishops of Karpasia, Philon and Synesios.

Homily on the Centurion (Theophanes Kerameus)

Homily 44

On the Centurion

Fourth Sunday of Matthew

By Archbishop Theophanes Kerameus of Taormina (+ 1152)

The evil one opposes good works, always seeking to harm the excellent. Therefore, even today, stirring up the condemned quarrel, he hastened to bring confusion to our assembly and to abolish the word of teaching, entering entirely into that disordered and half-barbarous man. But you appeared to have knowledge of his artifices, and with more prudence opposed his contrivance. Running to the church, and leaving him alone to be demon possessed with inappropriate shouting and babbling, you showed your attention to the teaching word.

At that time "as soon as Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached Him" (Matthew 8:5). Because the Lord, having filled Judea with miracles, kindled more the envy against Him in the souls of the illiterate, "who put light for darkness, and sweet for bitter", according to the words of Isaiah (5:20), now He transmits the grace of miracles also to the Gentiles, thereby showing on the one hand that He came for the salvation of the whole world, and on the other hand clearly checking the unbelief of the Jews with the faith shown by the Gentiles. For the Gentiles are somewhat more ready and much agreeable to believe in Christ. Behold also the diametrically unequal disbelief of the Jews and the willingness of the Gentiles. For, while the Jews drove Him out with curses, the Syrophoenician Gentile called herself unworthy of grace, and begged to be numbered with the lot of dogs and to share in the crumbs that fall from the table of the Jews, which they completely renounced (Matt. 15:26). But this centurion also considers himself completely unworthy to receive the Lord under his roof. Therefore the Jews also reaped the reward of their unbelief, and the Gentiles received grace, and were saved by faith. But let's start the story right away.

Homily One for the Fourth Sunday of Matthew (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Matthew
(4th Sunday of Pentecost)

By St. John of Kronstadt 

In the Gospel of Matthew, which is read today, we read about the Roman centurion who asked Jesus Christ to heal the centurion's servant, about the centurion's great faith in the Lord's omnipotence and His almighty power - to do what He wants, to heal all kinds of diseases with one word and command, to raise the dead, etc., etc. - about how the Lord was amazed at the centurion's simple, unphilosophizing faith, and at the same time pronounced very important words that were instructive for all of us, and, finally, about how the Lord rewarded the centurion's faith with the healing of his servant through a single word.

The Prophet Elijah (Metropolitan Jeremiah of Gortynos)

The Prophet Elijah

By Metropolitan Jeremiah of Gortynos and Megalopolis

(Homily Delivered on Sunday 20 July 2014)

1. Today, my Christian brethren, our holy Church celebrates the memory of a great prophet, the Prophet Elijah the Tishbite. He is called so because he came from Tishbe in Gilead, the country beyond the Jordan. This prophet remained vividly engraved in the hearts of the people, that is why in the Old Testament we have five narratives about the prophet Elijah, which come from the mouths of the people. These five narratives do not contain theoretical teaching, but incidents and miracles related to the prophet. But the greatest praise to the Prophet Elijah the Tishbite was given by the people again after many years. When, my beloved, the people of Palestine heard our Lord Jesus Christ preach and perform miracles, they were amazed at what they heard and saw, so they said: "Who is this? Is it Elijah?" (Luke 9:19).

Pascha in the Midst of Summer: Venerable Seraphim of Sarov (St. John Maximovitch)

 

Venerable Seraphim of Sarov

By St. John Maximovitch

(Delivered in Serbia in 1928)

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

"In the middle of the Summer they will sing Pascha," they once said in Sarov. Seventy years passed from the death of the man about whom these words were pronounced, and on July 19, 1903, all of Rus' resounded with songs of praise, glorifying God and His Saint. Indeed, all of Rus' rejoiced then as on the day of Holy Pascha, even more.

Terrible days were to come for Russia, but the memory of Saint Seraphim neither died nor weakened. Russian people continue to appeal to him and glorify him, both in the suffering Homeland and throughout the ends of the world where they are scattered. Even other nations are becoming familiar with Saint Seraphim; his biography is being translated into various languages, evoking not only admiration, but also, in many, the striving to apply in their own lives the lessons given to us by his life. Thus, despite the changes that have taken place in the world, the memory of Saint Seraphim not only does not fade, but it remains a lamp that shines ever brighter to humanity.

The Image of our Society and the Church (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

  

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

Various antisocial behaviors that provoke us all as well as the social sentiment of justice are published daily. Violent behavior from person to person cannot be justified, but neither can the image of our society, which we have shaped in our own way, be forgotten.

I think the issue that the Church must address as quickly as possible is the secularization not only of society, but also of the very nature of ecclesiastical life. I say this because a society that receives various influences, due to globalization, is constantly changing and is being de-ecclesiastical or de-religious by the various traditional models it has. This cannot be stopped in secular ways, and this also affects the members of the Church.

The Miracles of Saint Marina in Voni

 

South of the village of Voni, in the Prefecture of Heraklion of Crete, is the Monastery of Saint Marina, which is considered miraculous. In fact, in the past, as it is believed, it was gushing with holy water near its chapel.

Thousands of pilgrims from all parts of Crete and throughout Greece, approximately 100,000 people, gather on the day of the Saint's feast day, on July 17. This is done to venerate the miraculous icon, to ask for the Saint's help, to thank her for another miracle of hers. There are not a few who go on foot, carrying bread, candles or whatever they want as an offering. Some crawl on their knees to repay a vow.

According to historical sources, the area where the Monastery of Saint Marina is located was owned by Hosref Pasha from Voni and he sold it to John Kaparounakis from Thrapsanos. The aga did not include in the contract a ruined chapel, which was inside the estate. Kaparounakis rebuilt it with the assistance of the residents of Voni and Thrapsanos in 1901. A marble inscription at the entrance of the chapel reads: "This sacred temple was built with the contribution and care of the pious John A. Kaparounakis from Thrapsanos in the year 1901."

Homily Before the Memorial Service for the Tsar-Martyr (St. John Maximovitch)

Homily Before the Memorial Service for the Tsar-Martyr

By St. John Maximovitch

Forty Years Ago, a single day saw the collapse of the greatness and glory of the Russian State, a bulwark of peace throughout the whole world. The signature of the Sovereign, the Emperor Nicholas II-do, on the act of abdication from the Throne, is a historical boundary separating Russia's great and glorious past from her present dark and cruel circumstances.

The entire weight of the present regime's evil and its reordering of life is aimed at honest, well-intentioned and devout people, and the whole nation lies in oppression and constant fear. People are afraid of their own thoughts, thoughts they have not expressed aloud; they are afraid that what they are thinking might be reflected in their facial expressions.

What happened that day, forty years ago?

Homily on the Anniversary of the Accession to the Throne of Tsar Nicholas II (St. John of Kronstadt)

A Homily on the Beneficence of the Tsarist Autocracy, Delivered on the Anniversary of the Accession to the Throne of the Most Pious Sovereign Emperor NICHOLAS ALEXANDROVICH, October 21, 1896, in Saint Andrew’s Cathedral, in Kronstadt

By St. John of Kronstadt

“For the kingdom is the Lord's; and He shall have dominion over the nations” (Ps. 21:29).

In the entire universe - in all worlds, visible and invisible to us, no matter how great and countless they are - in all this wondrous, wise, beautiful, living world mechanism, one wise, omnipotent, personal, beginningless, all-good, and all-unifying Power is clearly noticeable, which gave to all this infinite and varied mechanism unity, order, wonderful harmony and beauty, generally the same everywhere, constant and unchanging. On the earth we inhabit, in all animate and inanimate creations, the diversity and unity of genera and species in animals and plants, the unity and harmony of actions, customs, morals, instincts and general manifestations of life are also noticeable. For example, with the onset of autumn, migratory birds in long lines, under the control of their foremost leader, like a column leader, stretch into the air heights to warm countries. With the onset of spring, they again fly in the same lines, also under the control of the advanced ones, to us for their livelihood and their trade and for the breeding of others like themselves. Bees and ants work together, under the control and guidance of the queen or king, preparing food and shelter for the winter; annual plants wither and disappear, but their species in the seed and embryonic state remain unchanged and, at a favorable, warm temperature, send out their shoots again and develop into the same beautiful and living forms as last year. In everything - small and great - in the flow of the stars and the actions of the elements, in all plants and animals, one all-creating, all-life-giving, all-decorating, all-ruling Hand of the Invisible Creator and Provider is noticeable. This same all-ruling Hand rules over all nations, the entire human race; appointing kings and deposing, and in the place of some raises others. This also elevated the New Tsar to the throne of the Russian Kingdom, the branch of the recently deceased Tsar-Parent. “By me," says God, "kings reign and rulers decree justice” (Prov. 8:15). The king is the image of God on earth, the Ruler of the universe. “Listen, kings, and understand; learn, judges of the ends of the earth; take heed, you who have multitudes and are proud before the nations: Dominion has been given to you from the Lord, and strength from the Most High, who will examine your deeds and test your intentions” (Prov. 7:1–3), cries the wise one, a king to those like him.

Homilies on the Weekly Festal Cycle - The Third Day (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

The Weekly Festal Cycle

The Third Day (Triti-Tuesday)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou  

The Third Day of the week has been dedicated by our Church to the Honorable Forerunner, Saint John the Baptist, who is an important person in our Church, because he is connected with Christ, he was Christ's cousin. Saint John is described as a Forerunner, because he preceded Christ and prepared the way for His coming with the preaching of repentance, as he is also described as a Baptist, because he was found worthy to baptize Christ.

The Apolytikion of the day is well-known, but also very special. We chant: "The memory of the just is celebrated with hymns of praise, but the Lord's testimony is enough for you, O Forerunner, for you were shown to be more revered than the Prophets since you were granted to baptize in the running waters Him Whom you proclaimed. Then having endured great suffering for the Truth, you rejoiced to bring, even to those in hades, the good tidings that God Who had appeared in the flesh takes away the sin of the world and grants us the great mercy."

Saint Vladimir the Great Resource Page

St. Vladimir the Great (Feast Day - July 15)

Saint Vladimir, the Equal of the Apostles and Enlightener of Russia

 

What Was the Moral Strength of the Holy Grand Prince Vladimir?

 

Homily One for the Feast of the Holy Prince Vladimir (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 

Homily Two for the Feast of the Holy Prince Vladimir (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 

Saint Vladimir Cathedral in Chersonesos Taurica

 

Skull Fragment of Vladimir the Great Stolen Then Recovered in Edmonton

 

Relics of Saint Vladimir to be Venerated in 45 Cities in Russia

 

What Was the Moral Strength of the Holy Grand Prince Vladimir?

By St. John Maximovitch

“Whoever does and teaches, he will be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19)

Why is Grand Prince Vladimir holy and equal to the apostles?

He turned from pagan darkness to the light of Christ, was himself baptized, baptized the people of Kiev and sent them to other cities and regions of his principality to baptize.

He was the first of the all-Russian rulers to become a Christian and laid the foundation for the Christian structure of the Russian state. With him, the Russian State begins to be Orthodox, and Christianity penetrates into all areas of national and state life.

Did he act only as a ruler, were his actions aimed only towards an acts of state?

No, he himself showed himself to be a true Christian and preached Christ not so much by word as by his personal example.

Homilies on the Weekly Festal Cycle - The Second Day (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

The Weekly Festal Cycle

The Second Day (Deutera-Monday)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou 

The Second Day (Deutera-Monday) is dedicated by our Church to the angels, who were created by God before the formation of creation and man. In other words, we know from Holy Scripture and the tradition of our Church that God first created the invisible world, the angels, then He created the sensible world and finally man, who is made up of the invisible and the sensible, and is the summary of the whole creation.

In the book of Job it is written: "When the stars were born, all my angels sang praises with a loud voice" (Job 37:7), which means that when God created the stars, the sun and the moon, then the angels sang hymns to Him. That is, the angels were the first creation of God, and they do not have bodies, that is why they are called incorporeal, they consist only of mind and are called noetic beings.

Neomartyrs: The Newly Illuminated Stars of the Church

By  Sophia Bekri

 

"The newly appeared stars" "who gloriously competed in these last years" are annually honored by our Church on the Third Sunday of Matthew (two weeks after All Saints). According to the Synaxarion of the feast, the Service of which was composed by Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite, on this day "we celebrate all the Holy Newly Appeared Martyrs of Christ who were martyred after the Fall of Constantinople."

The providence of the good and compassionate God acted so that during the long captivity our race did not remain without consolation, but "through this and from this blessed captivity worthy fruit sprung forth in the newly appeared martyrs."

Therefore, the contribution of the New Martyrs is twofold: spiritual and national.

The Hymnographic Approach of a "Conciliatory" Ecumenical Synod

By Panteleimon Levakos,
Assistant Director of the Department of Theology,
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

A. Introductory Remarks

"On this day, we commemorate the Holy Six Hundred and Thirty God-Bearing Fathers of the Holy and Ecumenical Fourth Synod in Chalcedon."[1] The sentence in question, which expresses the content of the feast of the Holy Fathers which is chronologically placed between July 13 and 19, captures the celebration of an Ecumenical Synod which was called to reconcile the need for the clarification of dogmatic teaching with the equally absolute need for solving administrative problems of the Church. The dogmatic divergence concerned Jesus Christ, while the administrative issues concerned the determination of the jurisdiction of the Church of Constantinople in specific areas of the empire, as well as the resolution of the dispute between the Churches of Antioch and Jerusalem over the areas in which they would exercise pastoral jurisdiction.

Homilies on the Weekly Festal Cycle - The Lord's Day (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

The Weekly Festal Cycle

The Lord's Day (Kyriaki-Sunday)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

The Lord's Day (Kyriaki-Sunday) is the first day of the week. Unfortunately, we consider in our daily conversation that the week begins on the Second Day (Deutera-Monday), perhaps because it is the first working day, and then we wish others a "good week". However, as the word indicates, it is the second day of the week, since the first day is the Lord's Day.

The Jews called it the "first of the Sabbath" (Matt. 28:1), since the Sabbath was the last, the seventh day of the week and the Lord's Day was the first. The first Christians who adopted the division of the week from the Jews called "first of the Sabbath", i.e. the first day of the week, as Kyriaki, which means the Lord's Day, the day of the Risen Christ and is dedicated to Him, and therefore for Christians it is a day of rest and prayer.

Homily One for the Third Sunday of Matthew (St. John of Kronstadt)

 

 

Homily for the Third Sunday of Matthew
(3rd Sunday of Pentecost)

By St. John of Kronstadt

“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is simple, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness” (Matthew 6:22–23).

The words of the Lord are a true lamp for us on the path of life: so are the words of the Gospel now read; you just need to think about them more carefully. Let's think about it. "The lamp of the body is the eye," says the Lord, i.e. the eye is a lamp for the body. Why is it not said: eyes, but an "eye"? Because here the Lord does not mean the bodily eyes, but the spiritual eye, or our heart, which controls both the bodily eyes and with two eyes sees objects not double, but individually. So, by eye we mean the heart in which conscience is implanted, or the internal law indicating what is good and what is evil. That is why it is said: eye, not eyes. By "body" we mean our entire inner life, thoughts, desires, intentions, all our deeds that we do during our earthly life. This means that the meaning of the Savior’s words will be this: the heart or conscience is a lamp for a person on the path of his life, in all his thoughts, desires, intentions, words, in all his deeds. Further, the Lord says: "If therefore your eye is simple, your whole body will be full of light": if, that is, your heart, your conscience, is simple and pure, then so will all your thoughts, your desires, your deeds, your intentions, your undertakings will be bright, right, clean; if your eye, your conscience, is evil, then your whole body will be dark, i.e. all your thoughts, desires, intentions, undertakings, your whole life, all your deeds will be dark, wrong, and crafty.

Homilies on the Weekly Festal Cycle - Introduction (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

The Weekly Festal Cycle

Introduction

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

In this year's written sermons for the two months of Summer (July-August) we will talk about the weekly festal cycle, that is, what we celebrate each day of the week. Thus, we will be given the opportunity to see that we not only have major feast days, such as Christmas, Theophany, Easter and the feasts of the Panagia and the Saints, but we also celebrate every day of the week with both basic feasts and commemorations of the Theotokos and the Saints.

First of all, it must be emphasized that the division of time into seven days in the week is found in the Babylonians and the Egyptians, and comes from the moon's orbit around the earth and its various phases; they also gave names to the days, some from various stars, others from the names of their greatest gods.

Saint Paisios the Athonite as a Model for our Lives

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

Saint Paisios the Athonite was born in Farasa of Cappadocia on July 25, 1924. At his baptism, he received the name Arsenios, which was given to him by Saint Arsenios the Cappadocian, because he wanted, as he said, to leave "a monk at his feet." From a young age he had a great love for Christ and for His love he "endured difficult paths." In the army he served as a radio operator, but throughout his earthly life he was "God's radio operator", as he was aptly called. He often cited examples from his life as a radio operator in the army, in order to teach prayer, which is the spiritual wireless communication with Christ, the Panagia and the Saints.

In 1954 he became a monk with the name Averkios and later he was named Paisios. He became a monk at first in the Sacred Monastery of Esphigmenou and then in the Sacred Monastery of Philotheou. Later he went to the Sacred Monastery of Stomiou, in Konitsa, which he restored, and then he lived in asceticism in the Sinai desert, in the Cell of Saints Galaktion and Episteme. In 1964 he returned to the Holy Mountain, specifically to Katounakia, then later to the Cell of the Honorable Cross, near the Sacred Monastery of Stavronikita, and from 1979 until the end of his life (July 12, 1994) he lived in asceticism in the Cell of Panagouda, which is located nearby the capital of the Holy Mountain, Karyes. Despite the illnesses he faced from time to time, and which he endured with amazing calmness and patience, he gave himself to excessive asceticism. He used to say that patience in diseases and temptations is "savings in the Bank of heaven." However, where his patience was tested the most, was in the disease of cancer, from which he experienced horrible pains.

16 New Saints Canonized by the Romanian Orthodox Church

On 11-12 July 2024, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church held its working sessions at Patriarch Teoctist Aula Magna of the Patriarchal Palace under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel. Among other things discussed, the Holy Synod approved the canonization of 16 Romanian saints, with some liturgical texts to be completed and all to be revised at a future session of the Holy Synod. In this context, the Patriarchate revised the Synaxarion of the Romanian Orthodox Church for the months of February, March, April, May, June, July and August - months in which the new saints are celebrated.

The 16 new saints were people who gave witness to Christ in an environment that was not conducive to the development of Christianity. As His Beatitude the Patriarch of Romania had emphasized in his opening speech, "It is very important to honor in a special way these confessors and priests from the time of the communist persecution in the difficult moments of the twentieth century."

Saint Paisios the Athonite and Father Paisios the Mathematician

Saint Paisios the Athonite became acquainted with Father Paisios the Mathematician when the latter was a young monk and teacher of mathematics at the Athoniada School, which is under Vatopaidi Monastery. The Saint asked the young monk to be ordained a priest and become a hieromonk in order for him to have a priest serve in the chapel of his hut on Sundays and Feast Days. As is well known, Saint Paisios considered himself unworthy of the priesthood, and this left him without a priest to help him in his liturgical obligations. Thus Father Paisios, who took on the name of the Saint, was ordained a hieromonk and became among the closest disciples of Saint Paisios, living by his side for 24 years and making sure the Saint was an active participant in the Mysteries of the Church. After the Saint reposed in 1994, Father Paisios served as a spiritual father to the nuns of the Hesychasterion of Saint John the Theologian in Souroti, and then went on to serve as the spiritual father to the nuns of the Monastery of Saint Hilarion in Aridaia of Pella at the request of Metropolitan Joel of Edessa, Pella and Almopia.
 

Monk Paisios: A Contemporary Saint Who Captivated With His Virtue

Our Church honors the memory of Saint Paisios of Athonite on July 12. Paisios is perhaps the only monk in the modern history of Orthodoxy about whom the most books have been written.

Childhood

Elder Paisios was born in Farasa, Cappadocia, in Asia Minor, on July 25, 1924. His father's name was Prodromos and he was the president of Farasa, while his mother's name was Evlambia. The Elder even had 8 siblings. On August 7, 1924, a week before the Farasiotes left for Greece, the Elder was baptized by Saint Arsenios of Cappadocia, who insisted on giving him his own name "to leave behind a monk at his feet", as he said.

Five weeks after the baptism of the then little Arsenios, on September 14, 1924, the Eznepidis family, together with the caravans of refugees, arrived at Agios Georgios in Piraeus and then went to Kerkyra, where they temporarily settled in the Castle. His family stayed in Kerkyra for a year and a half. Then they was transferred to Igoumenitsa and ended up in Konitsa. There Arsenios finished elementary school and got his high school diploma "with a grade of eight and excellent conduct." From a young age, he always had a piece of paper with him, on which he recorded the miracles of Saint Arsenios. He showed a particular inclination towards monasticism and ardently desired to become a monk. His parents jokingly told him "grow a beard first and then we'll let you go."

Teenage years and the army

In the intervening time until he served in the army, Arsenios worked as a carpenter. When he was ordered to build a coffin, sharing the family's grief, but also due to the poverty of the time, he did not ask for money.

In 1945, Arsenios enlisted in the army and served as a radio operator during the Greek civil war. As long as he was not a radio operator, he asked to fight on the front line, so that some family members would not be harmed. However, he served most of his term as a radio operator. He was discharged from the army in 1949.

Monastic Life

The early years

Father Paisios first entered Mount Athos to become a monk in 1949, immediately after his discharge from the army. But he returned to the world for one more year, in order to make sure his sisters were settled, so in 1950 he went to Mount Athos. The first monastery he went to and stayed for one night was the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian in Karyes. Then he settled in the Skete of Saint Panteleimon, in the Cell of the Entrance of the Theotokos. There he met Father Kyrillos who was abbot in the monastery and followed him faithfully.

A little later he left the monastery and headed to Esphigmenou Monastery. There the ceremony of "Rasoeuchi" was performed and he got his first name which was Averkios. And there he immediately stood out for his hard work, the great love and understanding he showed for his "brothers", his faithful obedience to his elder, his humility, since he considered himself inferior to all the monks in works. He prayed intensely and read constantly, especially Abba Isaac.

In 1954, he left the Esphigmenou Monastery and went to the Philotheou Monastery, which was an idiorrhythmic monastery where one of his uncles also lived. However, his meeting with Elder Symeon will be a catalyst for the course and formation of Paisios' monastic character. After two years, in 1956, through the laying on of hands he was made a "Stavrophoros" and took the "Small Schema". It was then that he was finally named "Paisios", thanks to Metropolitan Paisios II of Caesarea, who was also his compatriot. Elder Augoustinos during this period had a close relationship with Paisios.

In 1958, following an "internal message", he went to Stomio of Konitsa. There he carried out a project which concerned the heterodox but also included helping the tortured and impoverished Greeks, either with philanthropies, or by comforting and supporting them psychologically, with the word of the Gospel at the forefront. For four years he stayed at the Sacred Monastery of the Nativity of the Theotokos in Stomio, where he was much loved by the people of the area for his contribution and modest character.

From there he went to Mount Sinai to the Cell of Saints Galaktion and Episteme. The Elder worked as a carpenter and gave whatever he earned in philanthropy to the Bedouins, especially food and medicine.

Return to Mount Athos

In 1964 he returned to Mount Athos, from where he never left again. The skete that gave him hospitality him was Iveron. During his stay there, specifically in 1966, he became seriously ill and was admitted to the Papanikolaou Hospital. He underwent surgery, resulting in partial removal of the lungs. In the time until he recovered and returned to Mount Athos, he was given hospitality in the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian, in Souroti.

He returned to Mount Athos after his recovery and in 1967 he moved to Katounakia, specifically to the Cell of Ypatos which is under the Great Lavra.

Since then he started receiving many visitors. Already his name had become well known far from the Holy Mountain, and all sorts of tormented people were led to it, learning of a charismatic monk named Paisios. The following year he was transferred to the Stavronikita Monastery. He helped significantly in manual work, contributing to the renovation of the monastery. In fact, he often helped as a chanter in the Skete of the Honorable Forerunner to the Elder Tychon. The two elders developed a strong friendship that ended with the Elder Tychon's repose in 1968. Paisios stayed in the cell of the Elder Tychon for eleven years after his repose, which was his friend's wish shortly before he died.

In Panagouda

In 1979 he left the Skete of the Honorable Forerunner and headed for Koutloumousiou Monastery. There he entered the monastic brotherhood as an independent monk. Panagouda was an abandoned skete and Paisios worked hard to create a "long-term" cell, where he stayed until the end of his life. From the time he settled in Panagouda, many people visited him. In fact, it was so crowded that there were special markings that pointed out the way to his cell, so that visitors would not disturb the other monks. He also received a lot of letters. As the Elder said, he would get very upset, because from the letters he only learned about divorces and mental or physical illnesses. Despite his busy schedule, he continued the intense ascetic life, to the point of resting very little, 2 to 3 hours a day. But he continued to receive and try to help visitors. He also used to make "embossed" icons which he gave to visitors as a blessing.

Diseases of the Elder

The history

In 1966 the Elder was hospitalized at the Papanikolaou Hospital due to bronchiectasis. After the operation to remove them and due to the use of strong antibiotics the Elder developed pseudomembranous colitis, which left him with permanent dyspeptic problems. At one point, while working on the press he had in his cell, he contracted an inguinal hernia. He refused to be treated and patiently endured the disease, which gave him terrible pain for four or five years. One day during a visit to Souroti, some doctors he knew literally kidnapped him and took him to Theagenio Cancer Hospital, where he was operated on. Despite the opposition of the doctors, the Elder continued the hard ascetic life and manual work, which further worsened his health condition.

The end of his life

After 1993, he began to experience bleeding for which he refused to be treated, characteristically saying that "everything will settle down with the soil". In November of the same year, Paisios left the Holy Mountain for the last time and went to Souroti, to the Hesychasterion of Saint John the Theologian for the feast of Saint Arsenios (November 10). He stayed there for a few days and while he was preparing to leave he fell ill and was transferred to Theagenio, where he was diagnosed with a tumor in the large intestine. On February 4, 1994, the Elder underwent surgery.

Although the disease did not stop (it metastasized to the lungs and liver), the Elder announced his desire to return to Mount Athos on June 13. But the high fever and shortness of breath forced him to stay.

At the end of June his doctors announced that his chances of living were two to three weeks at most. On Monday July 11 (the feast of Saint Euphemia) the Elder received Communion for the last time kneeling in front of his bed. In the last days of his life he decided not to take drugs or painkillers, despite the horrible pains of his illness.

Finally, on Tuesday, July 12, 1994 (with the New Calendar) at 11:30 in the evening, the silence was disturbed by a loud thunder! Then the whole Mount Athos was lit up with continuous lightning.

In the afternoon it became known that the Elder had already passed into eternity.

He was buried in the Sacred Hesychasterion of Saint John the Theologian in Souroti, Thessaloniki.

On January 13, 2015, the Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople convened and decided on the ranking of Saint Paisios the Athonite in the Hagiologion of the Orthodox Church.

Spiritual Legacy of Elder Paisios

Spiritual children of the Elder

There are many people who met Elder Paisios. Each of them can tell a story about the Elder or remember his simplicity. The closest people to Elder Paisios living today are:

Father Paisios the Mathematician who lived in a small cell near the Monastery of Koutloumousiou on Mount Athos. He received the name of the Elder and was the spiritual father of the nuns of the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian in Souroti.

Hieromonk Arsenios and Monk Isaiah who live in the cell of Panagouda as the Elder Paisios wished. The two monks keep the cell as the Elder had it and they welcome with great joy those who visit the little house where Elder Paisios lived.

The nuns of Souroti in the female Monastery of Saint John the Theologian possess two precious treasures: The relics of Saint Arsenios and the tomb of Elder Paisios. Many pilgrims from all over the world flock to the Monastery of Souroti every day to visit the tomb of the Elder Paisios.

Testimonials

There are, of course, many other people who met Elder Paisios, listened to his teaching, verified his holiness, accepted the gifts of his prayer. All of them confess that Elder Paisios the Athonite is one of the most important holy ascetics of the 20th century.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

 

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The Legacy of Saint Sophrony the Hagiorite (An Interview With Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

Tomorrow (July 11, 2020) the memory of Saint Sophrony the Hagiorite is celebrated for the first time. I had taken all the steps to find myself on this great day for my life and the lives of many others in the Sacred Monastery of Essex in England to celebrate his first feast as a Saint of our Church.

Many times from 1976 to 1993 I liturgized with him and felt the inner life of a hermit Hieromonk, I heard from his mouth words of eternal life, I lived blessed days with him all these years of our communication. He loved me and I loved him.

Unfortunately, however, the conditions of the pandemic did not allow me to attend this great day in the place where he lived the last years of his life and reposed.

My sadness is somewhat mitigated by the thought that the whole Church will celebrate the memory of the Saint in every place, but also by the publication of an interview I was asked to participate in for the Romanian magazine Familia Ortodoxă.

I quote below this interview, in which a small part of the legacy of Saint Sophrony is presented, as a small part of me, as a small candle in his memory, on this great day.

* * *

1. Question: Your Eminence, the long-awaited time has come for the first celebration of Elder Sophrony of Essex as a saint of our Church. We know that you made the proposal for his canonization, as you also proposed the canonization of other great contemporary saints of our Church, Saint Paisios the Athonite and Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyva. Please tell us how you met Elder Sophrony and how did you understand that he is a saint?

Answer: It is true that I wrote to the Ecumenical Patriarchate about the canonization of Elder Sophrony in 2004. Of course, many Clergy, Monks and Christians requested it from the Ecumenical Patriarch. Among others, I can mention the Monks of the Sacred Monastery of Saint Paul on the Holy Mountain, where Saint Sophrony was a spiritual father.

However, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew himself wanted the canonization of Elder Sophrony, because he understood the influence that his life, conduct and teaching had on the Christians of Europe, but also on the whole world.

It is a special blessing that I wrote to the Ecumenical Patriarch for Saint Sophrony, and for Saint Porphyrios and for Saint Paisios.

I met Saint Sophrony, first from the book he wrote about Saint Silouan the Athonite, and later from my own personal searches.

At the beginning I understood, or I can say I felt internally, that in his heart flowed the hesychastic and theoptic stream of the Church, from the Prophets, to the Apostles, to the Fathers. Therefore, it expressed the genuine Orthodox life.

2. Question: Why is Saint Sophrony of Essex considered one of the great Church Fathers of the 20th century? What is the legacy that Saint Sophrony left to modern man?

Answer: Precisely, as I said before, that he himself was in the stream of the Prophets, the Apostles and the Fathers of the Church, he was one of their exponents, he was truly deified. This was shown by the atmosphere he created with his presence, his speech, his silence, his prayer, the Divine Liturgy he celebrated.

Much can be said about the legacy he left to everyone, especially to those who knew him more closely. I think a key aspect of this legacy is that Christ is the true God. He revealed the Father to us and sent us the Holy Spirit, and through Christ we know the Father, through Him we are led to eternity.

Saint Sophrony said that Christ is "the criterion of everything" and "we must bring to consciousness that we must also adopt and assimilate the mind and life of Christ Himself. To behave towards Him truly as children to a father and students to a teacher, that is, able to live the life of God Himself. And when we enter fully into His life, then this state will surely be 'theosis'."

3. Question: Saint Sophrony was an Elder of freedom. We ask you to talk to us about the teaching of Saint Sophrony about freedom. What is freedom and how does one acquire it?

Answer: Saint Sophrony, as he himself writes in his book We Shall See Him As He Is, attained the vision of Divine Light, which is a great and rare experience. He saw the Light of God after Divine Communion and this Light remained with him for three days. He saw the Light during the time of noetic hesychasm and pure prayer. He strongly reminds us of Saint Symeon the New Theologian.

Thus he acquired a spiritual freedom and through this freedom he faced all the issues of his life and in this freedom of spirit he also led the people with whom he had a spiritual relationship.

Therefore, according to Saint Sophrony, freedom is not man's autonomy or life according to his passions, but it is life according to Christ, absolute trust in God's Providence and, above all, communion with Him in the Light.

He himself said that when "we cling strongly, like children, to Him we receive even what He has, a divine character," then in this state of fear of God "we will come to experience divine freedom from time to time."

Thus, for Saint Sophrony, freedom is a "gift of God", "it is in essence inseparable from the knowledge of the Eternal", it is our entrance through the action of the Grace of God "into the sphere of the freedom of God's children." And we can experience this in the Church, which is the Body of Christ, with the help of a deified spiritual father.

4. Question: How is spiritual freedom manifested in the communication between spiritual father and disciple?

Answer: The spiritual father, according to Saint Sophrony, is the one who passed from the Egypt of the passions to the desert of dispassion and from there reached the land of promise, of theoptia (vision of God). He is the one who experienced the first great arrival of divine Grace, the lifting of Grace and its subsequent arrival and has experience of the spiritual life. He is the one who met God and subsequently loves all people and with this love he wants to "bring people out of the hades they created with their own contradictory passions."

The work of the spiritual father is to create gods according to Grace "for eternity in the uncreated Light." It is a great work, he is not a simple guide for everyday problems.

This means that the spiritual father works with those entrusted to him by God, as God Himself does, that is, he works with love, with tenderness, without violence and excessive emotion. More as an empirical guide than as a legislator. He sees their situation and knows where and how he will guide them. Therefore, between the spiritual father and the spiritual child there must be "a breeze of spiritual freedom" and a search for God in eternity, so that the spiritual child will keep God's covenant eternally.

The Saint did his work more as a spiritual brother. He himself used to say to his monks: "You know how I never dare to say that I am a father or an elder. This does not suit me. I am among you as a brother. Nothing more."

And because towards the end of his life he was walking supported by two monks, he told them jokingly: "I feel as if I am with two brothers: they are the ones who have power over me!"

This is very important, because it shows a sense of spiritual fatherhood and brotherhood, but also recognition of what someone who was connected to him wanted, that he wanted to lead him to Christ, but also shows a great sensitivity. This is how I met him, as a big, experienced brother, full of self-sacrificing love.

5. Question: In marriage, how does one grant freedom to the other? What does freedom mean to a couple?

Answer: Saint Sophrony knew very well how to guide monks towards theosis, in the search for God. He knew what it would mean to give up everything and dedicate one's whole life to God in order to live in eternity with Him. In fact, he defined theosis as that state in which we act according to the will of God, according to the mind of Christ, according to the words of the Apostle Paul: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5).

However, when he was in Europe, first in Paris and then in England, he also needed to guide married people, with many family problems, regarding the relationships of the spouses with each other and regarding their relationships with their children.

First of all, influenced by the spirit and the teaching of the Holy Fathers, he knew that the monastic life is the pre-fallen state of man, that is, before the fall of Adam, and that marriage, as we know it today, is a post-fallen phenomenon, which was blessed from God. Also, he knew what it meant that man is in the image and likeness of God and therefore he guided all people, monastics and married people, in this direction.

He writes somewhere that humanity, due to the fall that they existed in before the incarnation of Christ, "did not know monogamy", because "polygamy is natural for the corrupt man", because they live with their passions. Christ blessed monogamy, therefore, as he said, "Christian monogamy is supernatural, it is a call to our responsibility for the deepest possible awareness of our personal origin."

That is, he said that the love between spouses should not be simply of the "soul or body", it should not remain within the limits of nature, and even as it was created after the fall, "so as not to be connected to the anatomy or at best, with the soul", but it must be the effort of the spouses to become "a temple for the worship of the Father who is without beginning. Then marriage becomes a way to salvation."

You understand at what spiritual height he saw the mystery of marriage. Within this perspective he guided the spouses and emphasized humility as a condition of real life. To a young man who came into conflict with his wife, with whom he had two children, he said: "Humble yourself, and then we will avoid the tragic dissolution of the family. And the little children will be saved from the tragic form of life that exists for children whose parents are separated."

It seems, therefore, clearly that the Elder guided the people with spiritual wisdom, discernment, each time exercising exactitude and sometimes economia, but always from the perspective of man's life in eternity with Christ.

6. Question: Also, as parents, how can we find the golden measure between freedom and restriction in our relationship with their children?

Answer: I think that when husbands and wives find the golden rule in their relationships, which connects true love with true freedom, then they will also find the golden rule between freedom and restriction in their relationships with their children.

After all, the education of children is not done according to what the parents say with words, but what the parents themselves are in their inner life, in their hearts. Children will assimilate what they felt from the inner world of their parents and not what they see externally at home.

Saint Sophrony said that it is very important for the education of children what the atmosphere of the family is in which the children grow up. Just as the fetus lives and grows in the amniotic fluid in its mother's womb, so, in a way, the spiritual amniotic fluid of the home must be such that the child feels the love of God and the freedom of the spirit.

In other words, the atmosphere of the house in which the child grows up must be an atmosphere of prayer, of trust in God. This inspires the children and they feel the spiritual life not as commandments, nor as rules, but as a feeling of love and freedom in the life of Christ. In such an atmosphere children understand what God is and how He works with people, otherwise they will get a distorted image not only of their parents, but also of God Himself.

7. Question: We are going through a difficult period due to the coronavirus pandemic. What advice do you think Saint Sophrony would give to today's people for the current crisis?

Answer: The period we are going through is indeed difficult, but it is not only this period that is difficult, we always and everywhere encounter difficulties. Our whole life is not as God originally planned it, but as it was shaped after the advice of the devil and our own consent with the entry into our lives of corruption and mortality, the so-called garments of skin.

Thus, from the beginning of our conception we suffer from corruption and mortality. Death is constantly lurking in our lives, we have it within us, with the genes of aging. Before the body parts are formed in the embryo, but even before the embryonic stem cells are differentiated, within us there are the aging genes, that is, the death genes, which manifest themselves in various diseases immediately after the birth of a person.

Saint Sophrony went through many tests in his life, in terms of health. Thus, he used the discoveries of medical science, but in the end he had absolute trust in the providence and love of God, and he considered the time of death, as paradoxical as it may seem, as "a celebratory event".

He wrote to his sister Maria that the day of the soul's departure from the body is man's liberation "from the teeth of death", since death is a beast that devours everything. And he wrote to her that then "we will laugh at the end", and that "our last laugh will be the best". This moment of the exit of the soul from the body is "triumphant", because the spirit of man moves through all the ages.

I don't know what advice he would give to people for what we are going through, but what I told you he taught in general. We must take care of the prolongation of biological life in order to obtain real repentance, but we must also overcome the fear of death with the faith in our encounter with God.

8. Question: What is the most important and characteristic teaching of Saint Sophrony?

Answer: Everything he said was important, because he had experienced it first in his own life as tragic and redemptive events.

I noticed, however, that he considered his meeting with each person individually as a "prophetic event", as was the meeting between Elizabeth, the mother of the Honorable Forerunner, and the Panagia, the Mother of Christ.

In every meeting he left himself free to God's illumination, he asked God for a reason to speak to that particular person. This is what the Prophets did. They prayed to God: "Speak, Lord, because your servant is listening" (1 Kings 3:9-10), and then they said: "Thus says the Lord" (cf. Is. 1:24).

Apart from the prayer he made, I understood very well that what he said to the people was the fruit of his own experience and not the fruit of intellectual thoughts or the result of ideas he read in some books. He himself said: "I also work like many 'teachers' in the world: They record their knowledge and through this means they also teach others."

However, I could say that what I saw in Saint Sophrony, which was an expression of his whole life, was the inspiration he had and which he conveyed to those who approached him. He acted as a spiritual artist who had inspiration and wanted to paint Christ in the heart of his interlocutor and make him also a spiritually inspired artist.

When I speak of inspiration, I mean that he was trying to inspire others to reject evil thoughts, to pray, to love God, to keep the covenant they made with God and to live continuously with the eternal and for the eternal.

For example, he advised his listeners: "We cannot live a Christian life without inspiration. If an artist, a true artist, lives day and night with the images of his art, then we Christians must be even more careful. We must go beyond the efforts of the artist, to live according to the spirit of the gospel."

He also said: "The most important thing now is for God to inspire your struggle for salvation. When inspiration is given, then life is filled with light and joy. We don't notice the details anymore."

And he further said: "In order not to lose the blessing that God gave you, strive to assimilate every thought that inspires you and to banish every thought that kills you."

One understood this inspiration when approaching Saint Sophrony, as it happened to me.

9. Question: You were a disciple of Saint Sophrony and you got to know him intimately, although you only went to Essex for one month each year. Can there be spiritual communication at a distance? How is such communication maintained?

Answer: This is a personal question and I don't know how to answer it. I think it depends on how one means distance. Is it geographical and temporal distance, is it heart distance, is it spiritual distance? I, however, despite the geographical distance I had with Saint Sophrony, tried to reduce the distance of our hearts. I cannot explain this to you more, but you can understand it if you read the second part of my book I Knew A Man In Christ.

However, there is a general rule, that what is true, even when it is divided it is united, while what is false, when it is united, it is actually divided. This rule applied to me in relation to Saint Sophrony. I was trying for my relationship with him to be true.

However, I would like to tell you that I was his disciple in the most general sense of the term, that is, I was studying the mysteries of the Kingdom of God where he lived. Before I met him, I had studied almost all the primary Fathers of the Church, I had a spiritual father par excellence, the Metropolitan of Edessa, Pelli and Almopia Kallinikos, who was already canonized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and with his blessing I went to Saint Sophrony. I was in the middle between a holy Bishop and a holy Hieromonk ascetic.

Thus, with the meeting with Saint Sophrony I found what I said at the beginning, the combination between Prophets, Apostles and Fathers. I found a great hesychast and theologian, I found what I was reading in the Holy Scriptures and in the Patristic texts, I landed in the stream of the hesychast tradition and swam freely in it.

Therefore, in this way I removed the local and temporal distance and experienced the meeting with him, as far as I could understand it. And this means that when one is hungry and thirsty and asks to be united with Christ and to live eternally with Him, then all distances are abolished.

10. Question: How is it possible for us to become disciples "at a distance" of Saint Sophrony?

Answer: I think I answered with my previous answer. We must become disciples of the Kingdom of God, love Christ and obey His commandments, and this must be done within the space of the Church. Then Christ will reveal to us His own people. And our whole life will be a constant surprise.

Saint Sophrony himself recommended that we constantly think of Christ: "Let our thoughts be where Christ is. Then our prayer will be with Him and there will not be much room left for the passions. We will get used to living in this way, and with this peaceful life we will build our whole being."

It is also important that our consciousness expands and embraces the whole world. He said: "Before everyone, we must be ready to fulfill their will rather than ours. This is how our consciousness expands. Little by little, in a completely unexpected way, the lament for 'the race of Adam' is born in us."

I would like to end this interview with some words of his that has always made a great impression on me and always made me think deeply. He used to say: "Life is so short and the goal so high, but also so far away."

Indeed, short is our biological life, high is our purpose from our creation and we see that we are far from our goal. And after all this, I think: How can we deal with so many details in our lives, without having inspiration, without being spiritual artists? And how can we play with eternity?

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

 

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