March: Day 27: Holy Martyr Matrona of Thessaloniki

 

March: Day 27:
Holy Martyr Matrona of Thessaloniki
 
(On Diligent Visits To the Temples of God)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The life of Saint Matrona, who is being glorified today, serves as an example of the fact that no circumstances, no bondage can deprive a person of the freedom to act as his Christian duty requires of him.

Matrona was the slave of a Jewish woman named Pautilla, the wife of the governor of Thessaloniki, who was hostile to Christians. Therefore, she was very angry when she learned that her slave was a Christian, and that despite the fact that she zealously served her, at the same time observed the decrees of her faith, and did not miss the opportunity to be present at church services. The mistress strictly forbade her slave to go to church, began to persuade her to renounce the faith of Christ, but seeing the disobedience of her servant to her will in this case, she began to persecute her cruelly. Matrona patiently and humbly endured the tormenting treatment of her mistress, and when she could no longer go to church, then, despite being tied up, she performed all the prescribed prayers in her room.

Finding Matrona praying, the Jewess became enraged, and seeing that no threats or torture could turn the Christian away from fulfilling her holy duty, she ordered her to be beaten almost to death and then locked her in her room, where the tortured slave died. Her body was thrown out of the house, but Christians took it and gave it an honorable burial. Later, Bishop Alexander of Thessaloniki erected a church in the name of this Martyr for the faith of Christ, where her incorrupt relics were transferred. Saint Matrona suffered in the 2nd century.

II. The life of the Holy Martyr Matrona, who was distinguished by her zealous attendance at the temple of God and her love for church services, encourages us, brethren, to zealous attendance at the temples of God.

a) What is the temple of God? The very name, the external appearance and all its accessories show that this is not an ordinary human dwelling, but a certain shrine, a place of the special presence of God. God, as an infinite Spirit, is everywhere and fills everything; and therefore there is no place in the universe where He is not. But we will not be wrong if we say that there are places in which He has especially deigned to manifest His presence. Such are, according to the words of the Prophet, "Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool" (Isaiah 66:1); and on earth every holy temple is His house (Psalm 5:8), in which He is mysteriously present with His grace and invisibly bestows it on believers. This is an undoubted truth, for God Himself says: "Where two or three believers are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20). He Himself commanded Moses to make Him a tabernacle and showed him the design of it (Ex. 25:9); He Himself also deigned to have a temple built for Him in Jerusalem (2 Kings 7:13), which later became a model for Christian temples, and not only overshadowed it with a cloud, as a sign of His glory and grace resting on it (3 Kings 8:11), but also prophesied about it to Solomon: "I have sanctified this temple which you have built, that My name may remain there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there always" (3 Kings 9:3). These words of God must also be applied to Orthodox Christian churches, because each of them is built and consecrated in the name of the Lord, with the invocation of the Holy Spirit, that He may come and dwell in it; and therefore one cannot doubt that the Lord, who promised to fulfill everything that we ask of Him in prayer with faith (Matt. 21:22), invisibly dwells in such a church, as in His own house.

b) If the Orthodox church is the house of God, then, obviously, we must visit it with zeal. We are prompted to do this not only by the sacred duty of reverence, gratitude and love for our Lord, the benefactor and loving Father, but also by our own good.

Living in a world filled with vanities and temptations, your soul probably often languishes from worldly cares, and your heart is agitated by passions: so, go to the temple of God, appear in it to Him Who calls to Himself all who labor and are heavy laden, and He will lighten your soul, calm your heart (Matt. 11:28).

Living among people, you probably often suffer from their malice and treachery, are subjected to their persecution, deception and slander: so, go to the temple of God, run under the protection of the righteous Judge, who delivers us from the evil and from the unrighteous (Psalm 139:1), and He will intercede and save you from all your ailments (Psalm 7:2).

Perhaps you are burdened with various needs, suffer from illnesses, endure poverty, are despondent from misfortunes: so, go to the temple of God and fall down in contrition before Him Who commanded us to call on Him in the day of trouble (Psalm 49:15), and He, the Father of mercies and all comforts (2 Cor. 1:3), will invisibly pour out consolation into your heart, deliver you from all your needs and sorrows (Psalm 33:18, 106:6).

Perhaps you are exhausted in the struggle with temptations, you waver from temptations and are close to falling: oh, hurry to the temple of God and earnestly pray to the Lord to strengthen your weakness, and He will immediately send you His all-powerful grace as timely help against sin (Heb. 4:16). In a word, no matter what your circumstances, always and joyfully flow to the temple of God with fervent prayers, and the Lord will fulfill all your requests (Psalm 19:6).

The temple of God is a kind of inn in which we can calm our spirit in the difficult wanderings of life; there is a hospital in which we can graciously heal our spiritual and physical ailments; there is a treasury in which we can receive the grace-filled gifts of God, necessary for us for temporary grace-filled and eternal blessedness, and at the same time there is a reliable refuge in which we can take refuge under the right hand of God from all evils and misfortunes.

III. Having considered all this, tell me, brethren, is it possible to be indifferent to the temple of God and voluntarily refuse the happiness of being in it? Should we not, on the contrary, strive to go there with the same zeal with which, in the words of David, the deer desires the springs of water (Psalm 41:2)? Come to it willingly, and every time you hear the church bells calling you to it, say to yourself and to others: "Let us go to the house of the Lord!" Amen. 

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