September: Day 9: Teaching 3: Saint Theodosius, Archbishop of Chernigov

September: Day 9: Teaching 3: 

Saint Theodosius, Archbishop of Chernigov
 
(Lessons from the Incorruptibility of the Relics of St. Theodosius:
a. The Faith of Christ is True and Life-giving;
b. Christians Must Translate Into Their Lives What They Believe In)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. February 5, 1896 marked 200 years since the blessed death of Saint Theodosius of Uglich, Archbishop of Chernigov, whose honorable relics rest incorruptibly in a cave at the Borisoglebsky Church of the Chernigov Cathedral, pouring forth numerous miracles and healings to those who resort to the intercession of the Saint with faith and prayer. As a result, the memory of Theodosius of Uglich was reverently honored by the Orthodox Russian people, who flocked in large numbers from various places to the Borisoglebsky Cathedral in Chernigov to the grave of the hierarch to offer prayers for the repose of his soul, with hope in his prayerful intercession before God. Confidence in the Saint's holiness, based on memories of his high ascetic life and through the miraculous healings that took place at his tomb, grew and became more and more established among the Orthodox people over time. In view of this, the Holy Synod instructed His Grace of Chernigov to collect and deliver to the Holy Synod information about the life and deeds of Saint Theodosius of Uglich, and then found it opportune to begin the necessary arrangements to verify the incorruptibility of the body of Saint Theodosius and the miraculous actions that took place at his tomb over the faithful - the closest investigation of which was entrusted to His Graces Ioanniky, Metropolitan of Kyiv, and Anthony, Bishop of Chernigov and Nizhyn. The latter, having joined the vicar of the Chernigov diocese, Bishop Pitirim, and the highest representatives of the Chernigov clergy, arrived on July 5, 1895, at the cave at the Borisoglebsky Church of the Chernigov Cathedral and, after holding a memorial service for Saint Theodosius, carried out a detailed examination of the coffin, clothing and the body of Saint Theodosius itself, and it turned out that the body of Saint Theodosius, by the grace of God, had been preserved incorrupt, despite being in the cave of the Borisoglebsky Church for 200 years, which was not particularly dry. Apart from this, the Right Reverends Ioanniky and Anthony, together with other clergy, having invited persons who had experienced miraculous healings on themselves or on their relatives through the intercession of Saint Theodosius, after prayerfully invoking his gracious help, collected from them under oath, with the use of hands, testimony about the reality of the miracles performed on them, of which events they had investigated. The Holy Synod, having examined with all possible diligence all the circumstances of the case, came to the full conviction of the truth of the incorruptibility of the body of Saint Theodosius and the authenticity of the miracles performed through him, and, having given praise to the Lord God, wondrous in His saints, who deigned to show by the glorification of the hierarch of the Russian Church a new and great sign of His benefactions to it, in a most humble report to the Sovereign Emperor, it considered that Theodosius, Archbishop of Chernigov of blessed memory, to be canonized, glorified by the grace of God, and to recognize his incorruptible body as holy relics. Having received the permission of the Sovereign Emperor for this, the Holy Synod, by its decree of June 26, announced to the public the ceremonial opening on September 9, 1896 in the city of Chernigov of the relics of Saint Theodosius of Uglich, Archbishop of Chernigov, henceforth canonized as a saint of the Russian Church.

II. Not much has come down to us from the life of the saint of God, but his most incorruptible relics give each and every one an unceasing lesson - a lesson that is deeply edifying and joyfully consoling. To delve into this lesson with mind and heart, to understand it as much as possible and to use it for one's salvation and blessing - is the duty of every true Christian.

a) The silent tomb, containing the incorruptible relics of the Saint of God, inspires us first of all with the fundamental and essential truth of the Christian faith, "that this is eternal life, that they may know the one true God, and Him whom He sent, Jesus Christ" (John 17:3). Has there ever been such a miraculous manifestation of incorruption among people who do not profess the Christian faith! There has never been such a miraculous manifestation of incorruption anywhere after the truth of God spoke to the transgressor man: "Dust you are, and to dust you will return" (Gen. 3:19), - "after sin through one man entered the world, and death through sin, and so death came upon all men" (Rom. 5:12). What does this mean? Why is such a phenomenon found only in Christianity? Because it alone introduces divine life into humanity alienated from it. "The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law" (1 Cor. 15:56). The pernicious poison of sin, infecting initially the soul, sooner or later, but always deadly, poisons the body, so that as long as sin is in the essence of man, man is inevitably subject to corruption and death. In order for man to return again to incorruption, it is necessary that he not only stop poisoning himself with sin, but also receive from outside a life-giving power that would correct in him the damage caused by previous receptions of the poison of sin. The requirements are necessary, but completely impossible for man himself: "For who shall be pure from uncleanness? Not even one; if even his life should be but one day upon the earth" (Job 14:4). On the other hand, how can we obtain the life-giving power that counteracts the corrupting action of sin – the power that is in God, the Source of life, when sin, having poisoned our being, has become a partition wall between us and God and has blocked the currents of God’s grace? That is why we do not see outside Christianity a single example of a miraculous exemption from the law of corruption that has now become universal for our mortal body. In order to return us again to incorruption, a power higher than human, a might greater than natural, the omnipotence of God is required. God, who created man for incorruption, did not deviate from His determination to make him a partaker of incorruption and eternal life even after his fall. To deliver man from the bondage of corruption, He sent His only begotten Son to earth, Who, having taken upon Himself the guilt of death, the sin of the whole world, and having tasted death itself for it, by His resurrection from death revealed in Himself the source of life for everyone who approaches Him with faith and love. The life-giving action of grace, beginning in the soul, extends to the whole being of man. That is why in Christianity alone we see examples of the miraculous removal of bodies from the universal law of corruption.

The incorruptible relics of the Saint of Christ serve therefore as a constant, silent, but in the silence itself the most eloquent preacher of the truth and life-giving nature of the holy faith of Christ. His silent tomb says to each and everyone: "Come and see whether the faith I have confessed is true, when it has been so miraculously justified by God Himself in me; come and see whether the faith I have confessed is life-giving, when by its divine power my body, which in itself is perishable, as if in death itself lives by incorruption."

b) It is not he who hears the word who forgets, "but he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does" (James 1:25): this is what the incorruptible relics of the Saint of Christ also inspire us with. Only under the condition of complete and total assimilation of everything that the holy faith teaches and commands is it possible to attain such glorification. The life-giving action of grace begins in the soul, and then spreads to the whole being of man. It is therefore necessary that the grace-filled power of Christ be first received and completely assimilated by the soul, so that it can then produce a life-giving effect on the body. Thus the word of God presents the real life of God's chosen people. They live and act not by their natural life, but by the life of Jesus Christ, who mysteriously dwells and resides in them. "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20), says the holy apostle about himself. With Him they live, in Him they die for the present corrupt world, with Him they are resurrected in spirit, they begin to live according to God, in righteousness and holiness of truth, with heavenly, angelic life, while still here on earth. This grace-filled power of Christ, embracing the whole soul, through the close and inseparable connection of the soul with the body, extends also to it, embraces and penetrates it with its life-giving power, and sometimes communicates to it while still on earth, during the general decay of earthly beings, the power of incorruption. In this way, and in no other, did blessed Saint Theodosius please the Lord; in this way he attained glorification even after his death; the same path to eternal life points out to all of us, offering incentives to follow this path. “Look,” he seems to say, “look at what a wondrous reward for piety from the Lord, when through it not only our spirit is deemed worthy of eternal blessedness in God and with God, but the body itself, having labored somewhat in the feats of piety, becomes so much a partaker of the grace-filled power of Christ that in death itself it lives incorruptibly. And this is while here – on earth; so what will happen there – in heaven?”

Not for all, of course, is this wondrous glorification here on earth, before the general glorification of the righteous in the blessed kingdom of Christ. We see that many of God's saints are not worthy of incorruption... But for all it is possible, all are destined, all are obliged to strive for the honor of the exalted calling in Christ Jesus, to be worthy to receive the incorruptible crown in the kingdom of the heavenly Father. And the path to this is none other than the path of faith, aided by love, demonstrated by a pious life and witnessed by good deeds.

III. These are the main instructions given to us by the incorruptible relics of the newly discovered Daint of God, the Holy Wonderworker Theodosius. “Guard,” he inspires us, “like the apple of your eye, the holy faith of Christ, holding steadfastly to the holy Orthodox Church, as the saving ark of God. Be zealous, following my example, to translate into your own life and activity that which you believe in. Fulfilling this to the extent of the strength given to each by God, you will not be far from the kingdom of Christ.”

May God grant that none of us be idle and forgetful listeners to these instructions, but, to the best of our ability, understand them and translate them into flesh and blood, or better yet, into spirit and life. Amen.

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

 

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