March: Day 13: Saint Nikephoros the Confessor

March: Day 13:
Saint Nikephoros the Confessor
 
(On Pastoral Sorrows)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Church celebrates today the memory of Saint Nikephoros, Patriarch of Constantinople. When the iconoclast Leo the Armenian ascended the throne during his reign, Saint Nikephoros demanded that he sign with his own hand a promise to observe the dogmas of the Holy Faith. But Leo sympathized more with the iconoclasts, and therefore, although he gave a promise to sign the dogmas of the Orthodox Faith, he did not fulfill it. In fact and instead he declared a persecution of the Orthodox. And so began the imprisonment, oppression and corporal punishment of all venerators of holy icons. Many were afraid of persecution and went over to the iconoclasts. The Patriarch's position was the most difficult! He fervently prayed to the Lord for the preservation of the Church from heretics, influenced his flock with words of persuasion and begged everyone not to fear persecution and to adhere to Orthodoxy. Many heeded his word. But this was unpleasant for the emperor and he decided to persuade the Patriarch himself to apostatize from the Orthodox Faith. He tried to influence him with both kindness and threats, but nothing helped. “Your efforts are in vain, sovereign! We cannot change the ancient tradition – we honor the images of the saints, like the cross and the Gospel.” Thus answered Saint Nikephoros, not at all afraid of the emperor’s wrath. The Holy Patriarch prayed to the Lord for the destruction of heresy, and openly taught and convinced everyone in the middle of the church to honor the holy icons. Then, by order of the emperor, convinced of the Patriarch’s inflexibility, soldiers appeared, took Saint Nikephoros and sent him into exile on an island. The Holy Confessor spent thirteen years there in a stuffy dungeon under constant insults and oppression, which little by little ruined his health. He died in 828 and was buried at the Church of the Holy Martyr Theodore in the monastery founded by the Saint himself.

Nineteen years after the death of Saint Nikephoros, during the reign of the pious Empress Theodora, the Holy Patriarch Methodios proposed to her to transfer the holy relics of Nikephoros to Constantinople, to which she readily agreed. The holy relics of Nikephoros were found incorrupt and fragrant and were triumphantly transferred to Constantinople on March 13, 846, and placed in the Cathedral Church of Hagia Sophia. Empress Theodora herself and her son Michael were present at this celebration.

II. The path of Saint Nikephoros' pastoral life was full of sorrows! All pastors in ancient times endured many sorrows while fulfilling their duty, their calling! But no less than these sorrows fall to the lot of pastors at all times. Let us point out and depict these sorrows.

a) What is required of a pastor? Guidance of souls to salvation; he must give the correct Christian direction to his flock. Just as a father in a family strictly watches over the direction of each of his household members, so the pastor of the Church must vigorously stand guard over the salvation of the souls entrusted to him, strictly watching lest false, harmful teaching creep into any house or family. But how many today try to place themselves under this guidance? Do many not run away from the pastors of the Church, do they not distance themselves from them? Do they not try to avoid even meeting them, even simple conversations with them? And what a great sorrow it is for a pastor to see those separating, and not coming closer to him! Only the spirit of malice, the hater of the servants of Christ, the enemy of the salvation of Christians, can rejoice at this sorrow of the pastors.

b) Further, the pastor must preach the word of God in the church. But here too he encounters sorrows. Some do not go at all to those churches where the word of God is preached, because they do not like to listen to pastoral teachings; others, having come, either leave immediately, or start a conversation, thereby proving the same inattention, the same dislike for spiritual enlightenment, for edification from the pastor. “What can he say that is special, good?” - such say, showing that they need not teaching from the word of God, but an eloquent word. Here is a new sorrow for the pastor of the Church! He teaches, and they listen to him indifferently, absentmindedly and without love; he desires salvation, the enlightenment of his flock, he works for this, but they do not sympathize with him, do not appreciate his labors, they turn away from his word, they often leave the church from his sermon, thereby violating not only simple decency, but also church decorum and church laws. Isn't this similar to a father teaching his son, and instead of listening to him, he immediately left him?

c) And what will the soul of the pastor feel, experience during the examination of the conscience of his flock during confession? It can be said positively that he grieves over each sin no less than the penitent himself. The grief of the sinner is also the grief of the pastor who listens to the sin. And if the penitent cannot, does not promise to abandon his sin, if, moreover, this sin is open, by which others are tempted, put yourself in the position of the pastor, how will he absolve such a sinner, how will he allow him to partake of the Holy Mysteries? And if he does this nevertheless, then with what pain of heart, with what fear of being held accountable for it before the judgment of God? In general, obstinacy in this or that sin, the non-Orthodox way of life of this or that family or person, the unwillingness to change it, hurts no one as much as a pastor. This is all the more painful for him, because he sometimes does not know from which side and how to influence them: by rebuke, or gentle admonition, severity or kindness; if by severity, then how not to harden, if by indulgence, love - how not to show indulgence. And so the pastor of the Church is left with only one thing: to offer prayer before the throne of God, so that the Lord Himself, in whatever way He knows, will influence the hardened soul of the sinner.

d) But the pastor of the Church prays for his flock. He rises early to pray, often celebrates the Divine Liturgy. He prays for mercy, peace, health, long life, and well-being for his flock, and by offering a bloodless sacrifice he asks for forgiveness of their sins. But even here there is sorrow for the pastor. How is he repaid for all this? Often with ingratitude, unforgivable inattention to his material needs, disrespect for him, extending to the unwillingness to receive a blessing from him, fear of meeting him, and such a meeting is considered a bad sign. Add to this the reproaches and abuse both in society and in the press, so boldly and so harshly lavished on the ministers of the Church. It is not the person, not only human dignity that is insulted and suffers here, but the rank, the title - what is painful is that children rise up against their fathers, led by their leaders, that, humiliating the servants of the faith, they want to humiliate the faith itself. How similar this is to the act of Ham, the son of Noah, who, seeing his father in an indecent form, laughed at him, then went and told his brothers. These imaginary champions, but in reality blasphemers of the servants of the altar of the Lord, take a grave sin upon their souls.

III. Brethren! Try to make the difficult service of the pastor easier by your own zeal for pleasing God, by following the good instructions of the pastor, by imitating the good features of his life. Then a close, inseparable connection will be established between you and the pastor.

Lord! Through the prayers of Saint Nikephoros, grant to Your Church pastors who rightly administer the word of Your truth, and make the flock worthy of such pastors. 

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