April: Day 22: Teaching 1: Venerable Theodore the Sykeote

April: Day 22: Teaching 1:
Venerable Theodore the Sykeote
 
(On the Need and Benefit for Children of a Good Example from Parents and Elders in the Home of Relatives)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Today glorified in ecclesiastical hymns and readings, Venerable Theodore the Sykeote was born in the sixth century to pious parents. When he was six years old, his mother wanted to enroll him in the military and began to prepare military things for him: a gold belt and precious clothes. But in a dream, the Holy Great Martyr George appeared to her and said to her: "Do not labor in vain, because the Heavenly King requires your son for Himself." Waking up, the mother began to cry, thinking that her son would soon die. Meanwhile, the youth grew and became stronger. At the age of eight, he was sent to school, where he did well. Remarkably, he never quarreled with others, but always tried to reconcile those who quarreled.

In the family of Theodore there lived a pious elder, Stephen, who kept a strict fast, prayed incessantly, and the boy Theodore loved him, and began to come to him often, talk with him and tried to imitate his deeds. Seeing his excessive fasting during Lent, Theodore began to imitate him and fast until evening. When the boy returned from school at lunchtime, his mother forced him to eat, but he refused food. The boy finally did not come to dinner, but remained in school all day, and in the evening he went with Stephen to the Church of the Holy Great Martyr George, which stood near the village on a high mountain, and came home late and ate bread and water. The mother thought that he spent all this time doing his lessons, began to fear that this would harm his health, and asked the teacher to let him go home early; but Venerable Theodore hurried from school straight to church, and then at the appointed hour he would return to school with the other children. Soon his mother noticed that Theodore sometimes got up at night and went to church. She punished him severely, because she was afraid for his health, and began to tie him to the bed; but in a dream the Great Martyr George again appeared to her with a sword and angrily said that he would punish her if she turned her son away from God. When Theodore was asked how he was not afraid to walk at night through deserted places where wolves and other animals could attack him, the boy answered that he did not go alone, but that a bright youth woke him up for prayer and led him by the hand to the church. All the household understood that the boy was being protected by the Great Martyr George, and from that time on they no longer stopped him, saying: "May the will of God be done!"

From the age of 12, Theodore became even more diligent in prayer and reading the Holy Scriptures, and when he grew up, he dug himself a cave near the Church of Saint George, and settled there. He went to church regularly and ate one prosphoron a day. They brought him bread and vegetables from home, but he gave them to the poor. After this, he labored much for God and his soul, and finally, for his holiness, he was honored with the rank of Bishop.

It happened that when he performed the Holy Mysteries, the grace of the Holy Spirit visibly descended upon the Holy Gifts in the likeness of a bright shroud. All those serving with him saw at that time a divine radiance on his face, and once, when he proclaimed the words: "The Holy to the holy," the Lamb itself rose into the air.

II. We saw that the holy youth Theodore from his earliest years loved God more than his life, and began to serve Him day and night with fasting and prayer.

But how and where did the holy child learn to love God so much and to sacrifice himself to God? He certainly “needed an example.” And Theodore saw this example in the pious elder Stephen, who was a member of his own family.

a) Where will our children get an example of a pious life? Without a doubt, from their parents. One can point to thousands of examples of the beneficial effect of the spirit of parental piety on children. But do not expect much good from your children if you yourself do not possess the spirit of piety. Here comes Lent: you calmly partake of forbidden food in front of the whole family; a feast has come – you do not go to church services, you sit at home in the evening, sleep long in the morning, work, trade, or just think about entertainment on this day. Tell me, how will your children respect fasts, God's feasts and everything sacred? You do not have ardent love for God – where do they inherit this love from? In order to impart the flame of love, one must have it oneself. Nowadays we do not see any special love for spiritual exploits in children; in general, if there is anything they are very cold to, it is to Church matters.

There are many reasons for this coldness - the spirit of the times, and an incorrect, completely secular education, friendships, excessive secular entertainment, all this has an unfavorable effect on youth. But very often all this depends on the lack of a good example and good parental influence.

b) But in addition to the influence of parents, the good behavior and pious life of their older relatives - brothers, sisters and other close people - have a very beneficial effect on children. In the matter of raising some children through the "good influence of others," the "elder brother or sister" can be of particular importance, and therefore prudent parents, if they want to make the work of raising children easier for themselves, should pay particular attention to the education of the "firstborn" of them. If the firstborn - a son or eldest daughter - are placed on a straight path, brought up well and mainly in the spirit of Christian piety, then it will not be so difficult for the parents to give the same education to the following children - they will follow the example of the eldest. Otherwise, the parents will have too much work to do to give a good direction to the younger children; the efforts of the parents to avoid the same mistakes in raising them that were made in raising the eldest son or daughter will be harmed at every step by the action of the bad example of the older children.

We have read about two heads of families, one of whom was quite dissatisfied with the behavior of his children and could not succeed in correcting them, while the other, on the contrary, praised God as he looked at his children, one better than the other. One day, the first man visited the latter and could not take his eyes off his children. Their humility, obedience, love, and tenderness towards their parents, as well as the peace and friendship among themselves, involuntarily reminded the guest of the words of the Psalmist: "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." He sighed deeply when he remembered his own family. Seizing a favorable moment, he asked the fortunate father how he managed to establish such a wonderful order among his children, which was a joy to behold. The latter replied, "I did not overly concern myself. Have you ever seen a flock of cranes departing south with the onset of autumn?" – "I have seen them more than once." – "You have surely noticed that one crane leads the way, confidently knowing where to go, while the others merely follow him. In raising my children, I confess that I had the example of the cranes in mind: I invested a great deal of effort into nurturing my eldest and prayed diligently for his success. The Lord blessed my endeavor with His grace. My eldest son has become a leader for the younger ones; he shows them the path to heaven; they respect and love him and willingly follow his guidance and example." – A necessary realization for both parents and children! ("Spiritual Readings").

III. Parents! Do you want your children to be a consolation to the Church, her true sons? Try to stock up on the spirit of faith and love for God yourselves, and then make every effort to ensure that your eldest son or daughter is brought up in the fear of God and the piety of Christian life. With a living example, the words of your instructions will have a stronger effect on your children. In any case, instill in them first of all: the fear of God and love for God, prayer, the temple; instill in them not only to go to the temple of God, but also to stand here with fear, to pray more fervently. And most of all, pray more fervently for your children - the prayer of parents means much. 

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