March: Day 2: Teaching 1: Saint Arsenius, Bishop of Tver

 

March: Day 2: Teaching 1:
Saint Arsenius, Bishop of Tver
 
(A Lesson in Philanthropy)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Arsenius, commemorated today by the Church, lived in the fourteenth century and was a native of Tver and the son of pious, rich and noble parents, who had received an excellent education. After the death of his parents, he remained the owner of great wealth, but took nothing of it for himself, but used it all to help the poor. Arsenius' relatives reproached him for his insane, in their opinion, extravagance, which had ruined all of his father's property, and also persuaded Arsenius to marry; but Arsenius decided to completely renounce the world and retired to the Kiev Caves Lavra, where he took monastic vows. The brethren loved him for his constant labors and righteous life. Soon Metropolitan Cyprian, who was then living in Kiev, learned of him and ordained him a Hierodeacon, and in 1390, when he went to Moscow, he took him with him and soon ordained him Bishop of Tver. Here Arsenius spent twenty years, constantly teaching his flock with word and example of life. Meek and indulgent by nature, the Saint never left anyone with hostility or anger, and never let anyone go without consolation and help. He took no small part in reconciling quarreling princes and thus rendered great benefit to the flock and the Church. Through the labors of Saint Arsenius, many churches arose in the Tver region. In order to constantly maintain in himself the thought of death, he prepared a coffin for himself from a large stone and hewed it himself. The death of the Saint followed on March 2, 1409, and in 1483 the relics of Saint Arsenius was discovered to be incorruptible.

Homily on the Sunday of Forgiveness (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily on the Sunday of Forgiveness

On Forgiving Offenses

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

(Delivered in 1963)

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

Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, from tomorrow we enter upon the great feat of holy fasting. What is the best way to begin this great feat? The Holy Church guides us on the holy path of fasting and repentance with the Gospel commandment about reconciliation with all our brethren in Christ Jesus, about the remission and forgiveness of all their sins against us. "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you," says the Lord Himself in the Gospel read today, "but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matt. 6:14:15). This is the first and necessary condition for our reconciliation with God, cleansing and justification from sins.

Without this wholehearted reconciliation with everyone, without this extinguishing of mutual grievances and enmity, one cannot approach the Lord, nor even begin the very path of fasting and repentance. Why? Because, first of all, the Lord our God Himself is the God of peace, and not of discord (cf. 1 Cor. 14:33). How can one appear before His face who harbors enmity and malice in his heart, who does not have peace and love with everyone and holiness? "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14).

Homily One for Cheesefare Sunday (St. John of Kronstadt)

Homily One for Cheesefare Sunday

By St. John of Kronstadt

“When you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance.
For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting" (Matthew 6:16).

At present there are very few people who, through hypocrisy, would want to seem to others during Great Lent to be great fasters – in order to earn glory from people. Most likely, there will now be people who do not want to be or seem to be fasters, because they consider fasting to be a useless and superfluous matter for themselves, and those who seem to others to be fasters – a stupid and ridiculous matter. But, despite these extremes, there are undoubtedly among Christians those who keep to the golden mean, and, without deviating either to the right or to the left, go the path of fasting straight and evenly, like true fasters, fasting a fast that is pleasing and acceptable to the Lord.

Tomorrow begins the Great Forty Days or Great Lent – a truly precious time for people who know how to fast as they should in the Christian spirit. So that this time may serve us for spiritual benefit and salvation, let us now talk about the necessity and benefit of fasting.

Cheesefare Saturday and the Ascetics Who Shined With the Light of Christ

We are in the last week before Great Lent, the week of Cheesefare. Our preparation is coming to an end and wherever we are, we are entering Great Lent. I hope that we are all eagerly awaiting this with joy.

This is what the troparia urge us to do. The Church, as we are about to reach the gate of Great Lent, is still trying to prepare us for it. This week, the troparia already from Monday onwards, speak of the approach of Great Lent; that the fast is approaching, the spiritual struggle is coming.

The Church has dedicated the Saturday of Cheesefare to ascetics. Why do we “commemorate all those who have shone in asceticism”?

“We commemorate all the men and women who shone in asceticism,” in other words, all those who were sanctified by completely dedicating themselves to love Christ above all things, to serve as models for us as we enter our own ascetic path.

March: Day 1: Holy Venerable Martyr Eudokia the Samaritan

 

 

March: Day 1:
Holy Venerable Martyr Eudokia the Samaritan
 
(On the Benefit of Remembering Death)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Venerable Martyr Eudokia, whose memory is celebrated today, lived at the end of the first and the beginning of the second century. She was born in the Phoenician city of Heliopolis (now Baalbek), was a Samaritan by origin and faith and was distinguished by her rare beauty. Drawn into the vice of debauchery, she captivated many with her beauty and through this acquired enormous wealth. But God foresaw the possibility of saving Eudokia and led her to salvation. A Christian lived in the same house with Eudokia, only a thin partition separated their dwellings. A certain monk Germanos, returning from a pilgrimage, stopped to spend the night with this Christian. The monk, according to his pious custom, woke up at midnight and prayed, sat down and began to read the Holy Scriptures loudly. He read about the Last Judgment, the blessedness of the righteous and the torment of sinners. From behind the partition, Eudokia heard the reading, the grace of God touched the heart of the sinner, she recognized her sinful state and shuddered at the thought that she, as a sinner, after death, which could end her life at any moment, would face the terrible judgment of God and eternal torment. Early in the morning, Eudokia invited Germanos to her and asked him to help her avoid hellish torment. Germanos advised her to accept baptism, give away all the property that had been acquired through sin, and retire to a monastery. This is what Eudokia did. In the monastery, she devoted all her strength to the labors and feats of monastic life. She was soon made abbess of the monastery. She labored as a saint. Eudokia lived in the monastery for 56 years and converted many pagans to Christ, for which she was beheaded by order of the city governor Vikentios, joyfully giving up her spirit, purified by repentance and a pious life, to Christ God.