Homily for the Sixth Sunday of Luke (St. Innocent of Kherson)

Homily for the Sixth Sunday of Luke

23rd Sunday after Pentecost

By St. Innocent of Kherson

If there is any Gospel reading that may give rise to many objections among superficial minds, it is the one appointed for today. “How,” asks a person unaccustomed to thinking deeply, “is it possible for someone to become the dwelling place of evil spirits while still alive? Is this possible? Where, then, would the personhood of a human being be? His dignity? The very nature of a rational being? And is it not a reproach to creative Providence that it should permit such a terrible invasion of our world by evil spirits? That it should deliver such a creature as man over to their ferocity? To what purpose could this serve in the governance of the world? What would be its purpose with regard to man? With regard to the evil spirit itself? The moral existence of a human being would cease in such a case; he would lose the time necessary for his perfection and suffer torments. Is it possible that all this could exist in a world governed by the All-Wise and All-Good?”

Holy Martyrs Markianos and Martyrios in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

 

1. Saints Markianos and Martyrios lived when Saint Paul the Confessor was Patriarch of Constantinople, after the repose of Saint Alexander, during the reign of Constantius, who was Arian-minded. The holy Patriarch was exiled to Armenia and met his blessed end at the hands of the Arians, who drowned him. At that time, Saints Markianos and Martyrios were also killed by the sword on account of their Orthodox faith and were buried at the Melandisia Gate, in the district of Deuteros, within Constantinople. Later, our Holy Father John Chrysostom rebuilt the church of these Saints from its foundations.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: October 25

 

The Month of October

Day 25

56. To Parishioners Living Among Schismatics

(From the Life of the Martyrs Markianos and Martyrios)

It is known that schismatics entice Orthodox Christians into schism not only through blasphemies against the Church and threats of eternal torments. No, very often their wealthy members also entice poor Orthodox Christians into schism through their wealth. A wealthy schismatic sees a poor man and says, “Come over to our faith, and you will become rich.” Or he entices him in another way. He singles out a poor Orthodox Christian and begins, by every means at his disposal, to oppress him, persecute him, take away what little he has left, and drive him to the utmost extremity. But what do you think, Orthodox Christians? In either case, should you enter into schism or not? God forbid! Know that it is better to die than to change your faith, and a hundred times better to endure every kind of deprivation than to abandon it. The saints will convince you that we speak the truth. Consider how they acted when they were enticed into schism either by promises of wealth or through deprivation.

The Relics of the Holy New Martyr Chryse: Their Discovery in 2009, Scientific Examination, and Translation in October 2026

Introduction

In October 2026, the relics identified by the Holy Metropolis of Edessa, Pella, and Almopia as those of Saint Chryse, the New Martyr of Almopia, were received at the church dedicated to her in the village of Chryse, in the regional unit of Pella, northern Greece. The event followed a process that had begun seventeen years earlier, when human remains were discovered near the ruins of an old church within the Byzantine castle area of the village.

According to the Metropolis, the remains underwent medical and forensic examinations, including examinations by the Forensic Medicine Service of Thessaloniki and two specialized laboratories in Germany. The findings were reported as consistent with the remains belonging to a young woman approximately seventeen years old who died in 1795, the traditional date of Saint Chryse’s martyrdom. The ecclesiastical account also draws attention to signs of severe injury, particularly around the ribs and skull, which it associates with the tortures described in the Saint’s Life.

The discovery and translation of the relics have drawn considerable interest among the faithful in Greece and abroad. They also renewed attention to the life of the young Orthodox Christian woman whose steadfastness in the faith has been preserved in the Orthodox Church’s hagiographical tradition.

Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus Recounts an Life Changing Incident With Saint Porphyrios of Kavsokalyva

On Monday, October 19, 2026, His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus celebrated the Blessing of the Waters for the opening of the Chapel of Saint Porphyrios at the “Saint Porphyrios” Meeting Hall–Youth Center of the Metropolitan Sacred Church of Saints Constantine and Helen of Piraeus. The center is located in the heart of Piraeus, at the intersection of Tsamadou and Zosimadon Streets, at No. 52 (6th floor), and houses numerous activities.

In the brief greeting he addressed to those present, His Eminence spoke, among other things, from his personal experiences about the person of Venerable Porphyrios of Kavsokalyva, as well as the significance of the Church’s spiritual offering in the modern age.

“We came into the world in order to acquire this ethos and become partakers of the divine nature, and, through the gifts of being created ‘in the image,’ to attain ‘the likeness’ by freely cooperating with God,” His Eminence emphasized at the outset, underscoring that the purpose of the Christian life is for the human being, as a created being, to acquire the ethos of God.

Homily Two on the Day of the Feast of the Icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily Two on the Day of the Feast of the Icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" 

On the Heavenly Help of the Mother of God

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov

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

Dear brothers and sisters, today the Church commemorates the icon of the Mother of God called “Joy of All Who Sorrow.” Orthodox Russian people have a firm and deep faith in the heavenly intercession of the Mother of God, and they often turn to Her in their needs, sorrows, and afflictions with warm and fervent prayer. And the Mother of God does not leave this faith unrewarded, but grants speedy help to everyone who asks according to the fervor of his prayer. Therefore, our people love to call the Mother of God by special names: She Who Is Quick to Hear, Searcher for the Lost, Consolation in Sorrows and Afflictions, Deliverance from Misfortunes for Those Who Suffer, Joy of All Who Sorrow…

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: October 24

The Month of October

Day 24

55. How We Should Conduct Ourselves When We Suddenly Lose Our Possessions

(From the Life of Venerable Arethas of the Kiev Caves)

It happens, brethren, that some of us, by God’s permission, are deprived, sometimes suddenly, of all our possessions. Some, for example, are robbed by thieves; others lose everything in a fire; others frequently suffer unforeseen losses in trade; for others, the sea swallows up their possessions; etc. Indeed, one could never enumerate all those who, because of one misfortune or another, lose everything and go from being rich to being poor. What, then, remains for such people to do, brethren? How can they console themselves? How can they take courage? What should they say? How can they strengthen themselves in patience? To whom should they turn for help? Since the solution to these questions will not be without benefit for the people mentioned above, who have suddenly become impoverished, and perhaps equally for all of us, since we too are not protected from misfortune, we therefore present the following example for everyone’s consideration as a solution to these questions.

Saint James the Brother of God in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church (2 of 2)

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. Saint James, the Brother of God, became the first bishop of Jerusalem. He was also the first to write the Divine Liturgy, as he had learned it from the Lord Himself. Saint Basil the Great subsequently shortened this liturgy, and after him the divine Chrysostom did likewise, because of human weakness. Since James shepherded the Church of Jerusalem and, through his teaching, brought many of the Jews and Gentiles to believe in the Lord, he provoked the anger of the Jews. They therefore seized him and threw him from the pinnacle of the Temple, thereby killing him. 

The following account comes from Tradition concerning why he is called the Brother of God. When Joseph, who was betrothed to the Virgin, was distributing among the children of his first wife the land he possessed, he wished to give a portion also to the Son and God born of the Holy Virgin. The others who were regarded as His brothers refused to accept Him, but James took Him as a co-heir to his own portion. For this reason, he was called not only the Brother of God, but also the Just.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: October 23

The Month of October

Day 23

54. We Must Pray for Our Enemies, Too

(From the Life of the Apostle James, the Brother of the Lord according to the Flesh)

What duties do we have toward our enemies? First, we must love them, as the Lord said: “Love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44). Second, we must do good to them, as the Apostle says: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink” (Romans 12:20). Third, we must not take revenge on our enemies, as the word of God teaches: “Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to the wrath of God” (Romans 12:19). And fourth and finally, we must pray for our enemies. But how do we know that this last duty is required of us? How is it revealed that we must pray even for our enemies?