Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: October 21

The Month of October

Day 21

52. Those Who Are Generous See Their Earthly Goods Increase, While the Miserly See Theirs Diminish

(From the Life of Venerable Hilarion the Great)

In his Second Epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 9, verse 6, the Apostle Paul writes: “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” How are we to understand these words? There is more than one way to interpret them. We may understand them to mean that whoever gives little to the poor will receive a small reward from God, while whoever gives much will receive a greater reward. But we may also understand them to mean that whoever sows sparingly, that is, gives little or nothing at all to the poor, will himself suffer want and lose even what he already possesses. Whoever gives bountifully, that is, with love and generosity, will also reap bountifully, so that he himself will have an abundance of everything. Whether we are right in saying this, let the events themselves show.

Miracles of Saint Artemios the Great Martyr (15 - 19)

In the seventh century an Anonymous author compiled a number of miracles of Saint Artemios, whose healing activities were predominantly centered in the Church of Saint John the Forerunner in Constantinople and who "specialized" in healing hernias and diseases affecting the genitals of mostly male patients. Below are five examples of the forty-five listed:

Miracle 15: Narses’ blasphemy

There was a certain man in voluntary service who was attending one of the men of prominence and who was devoted to the all-night vigil of the Forerunner every Saturday. Another young man named Narses, who was also in the same official’s service, with allusion to the saint frequently chided the one devoted to the all-night vigil, mocking both the singing of hymns and those involved in it. Not only that, but he even uttered blasphemous words, saying ironically: “Yes, and perhaps does St. Artemios heal hernia patients?”

Saint Gerasimos of Kefallonia in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

The ecclesiastical Hymnographer, in his effort to extol the holiness of Saint Gerasimos, makes a bold and potentially contentious judgment: Saint Gerasimos is the greatest of all the Church’s more recent saints! In the Hymnographer’s own words: “No other newly manifested saint, Gerasimos, has ever proved your equal” (Ode 1). Why? For what reason? Is it because of the multitude of his miracles, which are indeed exceedingly numerous, and to which a large part of the hymns in his liturgical service refers? Is it because of his wise and profound theology? Is it because of some extraordinary gift not found in other saints, even those of more recent times? Certainly not. The Hymnographer knows what he is saying when he speaks hyperbolically, because he understands the spiritual life and the spiritual path of the Church: a saint is great and stands first on the ladder of holiness when he is foremost in humbling himself, that is, when he strives to maintain an awareness and a sense of his own lowliness and sinfulness. The truly great person is the one who stands first in humility.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: October 20

The Month of October

Day 20

51. On Patience

(From the Life of Holy Great Martyr Artemios)

The Lord teaches us to endure with patience the sorrows and sufferings we encounter in life. “By your endurance you will save your souls,” He says (Luke 21:19). “But he who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22). In a word, the Lord teaches us patience. But the question is: how are we to learn it? From where are we to draw it? Where can we find it amid our sorrows? Brothers and sisters, the answer to these questions is simple: when you compare your sorrows and sufferings with those of the Savior, and when you also turn to that same Savior, imploring Him to grant you patience, then patience will undoubtedly be given to you, and you will endure your sorrows and sufferings with a cheerful heart.

A Shared Feast: The Lasting Bond Between Saints John of Rila and John of Kronstadt

Today, on October 19, Orthodox Christians celebrate a profound spiritual intersection across centuries and borders. This date marks the shared feast day of two of Eastern Christendom's greatest luminaries: Saint John of Rila, the 10th-century desert dweller and patron saint of Bulgaria, and Saint John of Kronstadt, the 19th-century archpriest who sparked a massive eucharistic and charitable revival in imperial Russia. 

The connection between the two men began in a moment of fragile urgency. On this very day in 1829, a sickly infant was born to a poor village clerk in Russia’s remote Arkhangelsk region. Fearing the newborn would not survive the night, his parents rushed him to an immediate baptism. Following the tradition of the Church, they named him after the saint commemorated on that exact date: Saint John of Rila. The frail child not only survived but grew up to become a towering beacon of holiness, carrying his heavenly patron’s name and intercession with him for the next eighty years.

Homily for the Day of the Glorious Commemoration of Our Venerable Father John of Rila (St. John of Kronstadt)

 

The following homily was delivered on October 19th 1905, immediately after Tsar Nicholas II was forced to sign the October Manifesto amidst massive national strikes and riots. It is a fiery, prophetic warning. He compares the complete obedience and humility of Saint John of Rila, who was Saint John of Kronstadt's patron saint, to the total rebellion of his contemporaries. He sharply notes that children had ceased obeying parents, students rejected teachers, and society had abandoned faith, predicting a demonic collapse if the nation did not repent.

Homily for the Day of the Glorious Commemoration of Our Venerable Father John of Rila 

The Fruits of Faith and Unbelief

By St. John of Kronstadt

“The foundation of repentance, the model of compunction, the pattern of consolation, and the means of spiritual perfection was your life, equal to that of the Angels, O Venerable Father. Abiding in prayers and fastings, and in tears, O Father John, pray to Christ God for our souls.” (Troparion of the Venerable Father)

Today the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates the glorious commemoration of our Venerable Father John of Rila, an earthly angel and a heavenly man. From his early youth, he began to labor with his mind and heart and with all the strength of his will to accomplish the Christian’s principal task in life: to put off the old man with his destructive deeds and “to put on the new man, created according to the image of God, in holiness and righteousness” (Ephesians 4:24). Through his firm and unwavering resolve, and by the grace of God, which is always ready to come to the aid of those who earnestly strive, he accomplished this task triumphantly and gloriously, attaining the glorious crown of incorruptible life.

Holy Prophet Joel in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

 

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. The name of the Prophet Joel is interpreted to mean "the love of the Lord," "beginning," or "firstfruits of God." The Prophet belonged to the tribe of Reuben and prophesied about a famine that would occur, the cessation of sacrificial offerings, and the Passion of the righteous Prophet, Jesus Christ. Through this Passion, the whole earth is renewed and saved. After completing his prophetic ministry, the prophet died and was buried in his homeland.

2. The Prophet Joel is known for his “visions” concerning the Spirit of God, who would be poured out upon humanity after the coming of the Messiah. Above all, he foretold the Day of Pentecost, as the Lord’s own Apostles emphasize, especially the Apostle Peter: “What you see, O men of Judea [that is, the descent of the Holy Spirit] is what God spoke through the Prophet Joel: This will take place in the last days, says God: I will pour out My Spirit abundantly upon all men; thus, your sons and daughters will proclaim the truth, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream divine dreams” (Acts 2:16–17).

Holy Martyr Varus in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. Saint Varus lived during the reign of Maximian and was a soldier in Egypt. He came from a distinguished, illustrious, and pious family. When seven saints were imprisoned for a long time because of their faith in Christ, Saint Varus cared for them daily. It happened that one of the seven fell asleep in the Lord, and Saint Varus took his place, provoking the ruler’s opposition. The ruler brought them all before him and ordered that Varus be the first to be beaten with clubs and that his sides be scraped for a prolonged period. After the tortures had continued for five hours, he surrendered his soul to the Lord.

2. Saint Varus brings to mind other martyrs who were led to martyrdom by the example of those who had gone before them. In other words, they admired the struggles of earlier martyrs and were thus moved to enter the contest of martyrdom of their own free will. The hymns of our Church, of course, never cease to emphasize the Saint’s great love for God, a love reaching the point of the sweetest longing. This love led him to deny himself and endure the tortures with great courage and strength:

“Seized by divine love, O all-blessed one, and by the sweetest longing, you denied yourself and steadfastly endured every torment of the flesh, contending with resolute courage.”

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: October 19

 

The Month of October

Day 19

50. Instruction to Mothers Who Have Lost Their Children: Third Discourse

(From the account of Holy Martyr Varus, Blessed Cleopatra, and her son John)

To you, mothers whom the Lord has ordained to lose one or another of your children, we address these words. What does it mean that whenever we have seen you at the graves of your children, we have always encountered a heart-rending sight, seeing on your faces inconsolable grief or boundless despair? What makes you give yourselves over to such sorrow? Intense love? But love must be guided by sound judgment. A lack of faith in God? But this is very dangerous.

Yes, mothers, if you are Christians, you should not behave like those who have no hope. If you believe that God exists, that the soul is immortal, and that there is a future life, why then behave as though there were no future life, as though nothing had existed, nothing existed now, and nothing would ever exist, and as though your children had vanished forever? This is unworthy of Christians. God exists; therefore, as the common Father of all, He has taken your children to Himself and will surely preserve and raise them better than you could. There is a future life; therefore, you will see your children again. There is recompense after death; therefore, there is no need to worry about your children’s fate in the life after death if you raised them in the Orthodox faith and in piety, or you can always obtain mercy for them at God’s judgment through fervent prayer. Therefore, grieve, but not without reason. Believe, hope, pray, and the Lord will comfort you.