November
14th
(New Style) • November 1st (Old Style)
Saints
Cosmas and Damian
Cosmas
and Damian were unmercenaries and miracle-workers. They were brothers
both in the flesh and in the spirit, born somewhere in Asia Minor of a
pagan father and a Christian mother. After their father's death, their
mother Theodotia devoted all her time and effort to educating her sons
and raising them as true Christians. God helped her, and her sons
matured as sweet fruit and luminaries of the world. They were learned
in the art of medicine and ministered to the sick without payment, not
so much with medicine as by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They
were called ``unmercenary physicians,'' that is, unpaid physicians,
for they healed freely and thus fulfilled the commandment of Christ: Freely
ye have received, freely give (Matthew 10:8). So careful were they
in healing men free of charge that Cosmas became very angry with his
brother Damian because he accepted three eggs from a woman, Palladia,
and ordered that he not be buried alongside his brother Damian after
his death. In fact, St. Damian did not accept these three eggs as a
reward for healing the ailing Palladia, but rather because she adjured
him in the name of the Most-holy Trinity to accept these three eggs.
Nevertheless, after their death in the town of Fereman, they were
buried together according to a revelation from God. The holy brothers
were great miracle-workers both during their life and after their
death. A snake crawled through the mouth and into the stomach of a
certain farm laborer during his sleep, and the unfortunate man would
have died in the greatest pain had he not, in the last moment, invoked
the help of Saints Cosmas and Damian. Thus, the Lord glorified forever
the miracle-working of those who glorified Him on earth by their
faith, purity and mercy.
The
Holy Martyr Hermenegild the Heir
Hermenegild
was the son of the Gothic King Leovigild who adhered to the Arian
heresy. However, Hermenegild did not turn away from Orthodoxy in spite
of all the flatteries and threats of his cruel heretical father. His
father cast him into prison and, early on Pascha, sent a heretical
bishop to administer Communion to him. But the God-pleaser refused to
receive Communion at the hands of a heretic, and the heretical bishop
informed the king about this. The king became angry and ordered the
executioner to behead Hermenegild in the year 586. Leovigild later
repented that he had killed his son; he renounced his heresy and
returned to Orthodoxy.
The
Venerable Martyr James with his disciples James and Dionysius
James
was born in the Diocese of Castoria of parents named Martin and
Parasceva. Working as a shepherd James became wealthy, and by this
incurred the envy of his brother, who maligned him to the Turks as
having found some treasure in the ground. James fled to Constantinople
where he again became very wealthy. Once, James was the guest of a
Turkish Bey. The Turks ate meat and James fasted. Then the Bey said:
``Great is your Christian Faith!'' And he related how his wife had
been mentally ill and how he, after all the physicians and cures had
failed, took her to the patriarch for prayers to be read over her. As
soon as the patriarch opened the book to read, a heavenly light shone
forth in the church. After the completion of the prayer, his wife was
made whole. Hearing how the Turk extolled the Christian Faith, James
distributed all his goods and went to the Holy Mountain, where he was
tonsured a monk in the Monastery of Iveron. He lived a life of
asceticism on the Holy Mountain and suffered for the Faith at the
hands of the Turks in Jedrene on November 1, 1520. His miracle-working
relics and those of his disciples, James and Dionysius, repose in the
Monastery of St. Anastasia in Galakistou near Thessalonica.
Reflection
St.
Hilarion of Meglin fought a great battle against the Bogomils. At one
time, the leaders of the Bogomils met with Hilarion and began to
debate with him about faith. The Bogomils taught that God created the
spiritual world and that the devil created the material world. To
this, Hilarion replied to them that in Holy Scripture it is written: For
God is the King of all the earth (Psalm 47:7) and also: The
earth is the Lord's and all its fullness (Psalm 24:1). The
Bogomils claimed that the Old Testament is of the devil. To them, the
saint replied: ``If the Old Testament indeed proceeded from the devil
would Christ have said, Search the Scriptures … and they are they
which testify of Me (John 5:39), and would He have acknowledged as
the greatest commandments those about love toward God and one's
neighbor which, at one time, were given through Moses?'' The Bogomils
also claimed that the body of Christ was brought from heaven. To this,
St. Hilarion replied to them that had it been so, then the body of
Christ would have felt neither hunger nor thirst, nor weariness nor
suffering, nor would it have been susceptible to death. The Bogomils
then expressed their disapproval of the sign of the Cross which
Orthodox Christians use. The saint replied to them: ``And what will
you do when the sign of the Son of Man, His Cross, appears in the
heavens, and when all nations of the earth who do not believe in the
Cross will weep?'' And he also said to them: ``How is it that you say
that all evil is from evil material, and meanwhile you do not
reverence that Wood by which the whole material world was
sanctified?''
Contemplation
Contemplate
the wondrous power of the apostles' words (Acts 16):
1. How Paul and Silas spoke to the assembled women alongside the water
at Philippi;
2. How the Lord opened the heart of the woman Lydia, and she and her
household were baptized.
Homily
On the call to all
Christians to become saints.
To
the saints which are at Ephesus (Ephesians 1:1).
The Apostle calls the Christians in Ephesus saints. He does not
call one or two of them saints, nor one group of them, but all of
them. Is this not a wondrous miracle of God for people, not in the
wilderness but in a city-and an idolatrous and corrupt city-to become
saints? That married men who sire children, who trade and work, become
saints! Indeed, such were the first Christians. Their dedication,
fidelity and zeal in the Faith as well as their holiness and purity of
life, completely justified their being called saints. If in latter
times saints have become the exception, in those earlier times the
unholy were the exception. Saints were the rule. Therefore, we must
not wonder that the Apostle calls all baptized souls in Ephesus
``saints'' and that he has an even loftier name for all Christians,
i.e., ``sons,'' the sons of God (Galatians 4:6). Christ the Lord
Himself gave us the right to call ourselves such when He taught us to
address God as Our Father (Matthew 6:9).
O my brethren, do we not say to God every day: ``Holy God?'' Do we not
call the angels holy? Do we not call the Mother of God holy? And the
prophets, apostles, martyrs and the righteous? Do we not call heaven
holy and the Kingdom of Heaven holy? Who then is able to enter into
the holy Kingdom but the saints? Therefore, if we have hope for
salvation, we also have hope for holiness.
O Holy God, Who dwellest in the holy place and resteth among the
saints and callest the holy to Thyself and showest mercy to them, help
us also that we may become holy-in words, in thoughts and in deeds-to
Thy glory and our salvation.
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November
15th
(New Style) • November 2nd (Old Style)
The
Holy Martyrs Acyndinus, Pegasius, Anempodistus, Aphthonius,
Elpidephorus and others with them
They
were all Christians from Persia and suffered during the reign of King
Sapor in the year 355. The first three were servants at the court of
this same king but secretly served Christ their Lord. When they were
accused and brought to trial before the king, he asked them where they
came from. To this they replied: ``Our fatherland and our life is the
Most-holy Trinity, one in Essence and undivided, the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit, One God.'' The king subjected them to cruel
tortures but they endured all heroically, with psalmody and prayer on
their lips. During the time of their torture and imprisonment angels
of God appeared to them many times, and one time the Lord Christ
Himself appeared to them as a man ``with a face radiant as the sun.''
When one of the torturers, Aphthonius, beheld a miracle, when boiling
lead did no harm to the martyrs, he believed in Christ and cried out:
``Great is the Christian God!'' For this, he was immediately beheaded,
and many others saw and believed. Then the king ordered that Acyndinus,
Pegasius and Anempodistus be sewn into animal skins and cast into the
sea. But St. Aphthonius appeared from the other world with three
shining angels, and led the holy martyrs to dry land and set them
free. Elpidephorus was one of the king's nobles. When he revealed that
he was a Christian and denounced the king for his slaughter of
innocent Christians, the king condemned him to death and Elpidephorus
was beheaded along with seven thousand other Christians. Then those
first three martyrs (Acyndinus, Pegasius and Anempodistus) were
finally thrown into a burning furnace along with twenty-eight soldiers
and the king's mother, since they also believed in Christ-and thus, in
the flames, they gave up their righteous souls into the hands of the
Lord.
The
Venerable Marcian of Cyrus
Marcian
was from the town of Cyrus in Syria. He was distinguished by his noble
ancestry as well as by his physical beauty. He left all for the sake
of Christ and withdrew into the wilderness of Halkis to live as a
hermit. He was a contemporary of Patriarch Flavian of Antioch and the
Emperors Constantius and Valens. A heavenly light shone in his cell at
night by which he read the Holy Scriptures, and he never had need of
any other light. He was a great miracle-worker both during his life
and after death. Before his death, he ordered his disciple Eusebius to
conceal his body and bury it secretly because of his many admirers. He
entered into rest in the Lord in 387.
The
Hieromartyr Victorinus, Bishop of Patav
Many
maintain that he was a Slovene by ancestry. Blessed Jerome points him
out as a learned and devout man. He knew Greek better than Latin. He
wrote the interpretations of several books of the New and Old
Testaments. He suffered for the Christian Faith in about the year 303.
Reflection
How will
one who transgresses love toward his parents raise himself toward love
for his enemies? Love for one's parents-this is the main and
fundamental school of love. Without this school, one can go no
further. The Serbian King Dragutin rose up against his father with an
army in order to sit on his father's throne. But it so happened that
he later broke his leg, and this awakened in him pangs of conscience
which did not leave him in peace until his death. Dragutin withdrew
from the throne and relinquished his authority to his younger brother
Milutin, and began to widely distribute alms, build churches, and
perform other good works. In addition to this, he lived a strict life
of asceticism in secret. He girded himself with a belt of reeds around
his naked body, dressed in coarse sackcloth, and prayed to God at
night in a secretly dug grave. This penitent king did all this only
that God would forgive him the sin of lack of love toward his parents,
and God forgave him. Many holy martyrs joyfully received their
executioners who were seeking them, and treated them hospitably in
their homes while they themselves prepared for death. To entertain
one's mortal enemies-is this not an expression of great love toward
one's enemies? When King Sapor harshly tortured Acyndinus, Pegasius
and others with them, he suddenly went mad, became dumb and unable to
speak, and began to claw his face with great fury. Seeing his
tormentor in such despair, St. Acyndinus wept and prayed to God for
the king and said, ``In the name of Jesus Christ the Lord, speak!''
and the king's tongue was loosed and he began to speak. Here is an
example of true love for one's enemies!
Contemplation
Contemplate
the wondrous power of the apostles' words (Acts 16):
1. How a certain slave girl with an unclean spirit of divination cried
out after Paul and Silas;
2. How Paul turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the
name of Jesus Christ to come out of her;
3. How the unclean spirit at that same hour came out of the slave
girl.
Homily
On the will of God that
all Christians should be holy.
According
as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that
we should be holy and without blame before Him in love (Ephesians
1:4).
Only the Church teaches and demonstrates that first there was a
plan for the world and then the world was created. That plan was in
the wisdom and will and power of God. And we Christians, as the Church
of God, are in this plan. According to this plan, God chose us before
the foundation of the world for holiness and righteousness and
love. God chose us beforehand and adopted us through Him-through Whom?
Through the Lord Jesus Christ. For all that we are to God, we are to
Him through Jesus Christ. Apart from Jesus Christ man has no other
bond, no other relationship, no other kinship with God, and therefore
our choosing and adoption was through our Lord Jesus Christ. He chose
us, His Holy Church, according to the good pleasure of His will (Ephesians
1:5), as He had once chosen Israel from among all the nations on
earth. Let no one say that this choosing of God destroys man's free
will, so that neither does a Christian have merit because he is a
Christian, nor is a pagan condemned because he is a pagan. No, this is
a totally erroneous interpretation. For at one time God also chose
Israel and some in Israel perished while some were saved. He also
chose His Holy Church, calling all nations and peoples to it. But the
salvation of those among the chosen does not depend on God's choice
alone, but also on man's will and effort.
O eternal God, our Creator, Who chose us for salvation before Thou
hadst even created us, have mercy on us and save us.
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November
16th
(New Style) • November 3rd (Old Style)
The
Hieromartyr Acepsimas, Bishop of Naeson, and others with him
The
eighty-year-old Acepsimas, filled with every Christian virtue, was
sitting one day in his home with guests. Just then a child, filled
with the Spirit of God, ran up to the aged bishop, kissed him on the
head and said: ``Blessed is this head, for it will receive suffering
for Christ.'' This prophecy was soon fulfilled. King Sapor raised a
bitter persecution of Christians throughout Persia, and St. Acepsimas
was apprehended. He was brought before a prince who was also a pagan
priest. As the bishop was arrested and bound, a member of his
household asked him what should be done with his home if he were
martyred. The saint replied: ``It is no longer my home. I am going to
a home on high and will not return.'' After prolonged interrogation he
was thrown into prison. The following day Joseph, a seventy-year-old
presbyter, and Aithalas, a deacon, were also imprisoned. After three
years of imprisonment and many tortures, Acepsimas was beheaded.
Joseph and Aithalas were buried up to their waists in the ground, and
the soulless pagans forced Christians to stone them. That night, by
God's providence, Joseph's body disappeared, and a myrtle tree grew
over Aithalas's body that healed every kind of disease and pain of
men. This tree stood for five years before the wicked and envious
pagans cut it down. These soldiers of Christ suffered in Persia in the
fourth century, during the time of the pagan King Sapor.
The
Holy Great-martyr George
On this
day we commemorate the translation of the relics of St. George, from
Nicomedia, where he suffered at the time of Emperor Diocletian, to the
city of Lydda in Palestine. The suffering of this wonderful saint is
described on April 23. Anticipating his martyrdom, St. George begged
his servant to take his relics to Palestine, where his mother had been
born, and where he had distributed his large estate to the poor. The
servant did so. During the reign of Emperor Constantine, pious
Christians built a beautiful church to St. George in Lydda and, upon
the consecration of that church, the relics of the saint were interred
there. Innumerable miracles have occurred from these miracle-working
relics of St. George, the great-martyr of Christ.
The
Venerable Elias the Egyptian
Elias
labored in asceticism near Antinoe, the principle city of the Thebaid.
For seventy years, he lived among the arid and inaccessible rocks of
the desert. He ate only bread and dates and, in his youth, fasted for
weeks at a time. He healed all manner of pains and ailments of the
people. He eventually became very shaky in his old age, and entered
into the joy of his Lord at the age of 110. Elias said: ``Guard your
mind from evil thoughts concerning your neighbors, knowing that the
demons put them there, aiming to blind you to your own sins and
prevent you from directing yourself toward God.''
Reflection
Among
the countless miracles of St. George, this one is recorded: On the
island of Mytilene there was a church dedicated to St. George the
Great-martyr and Trophy-bearer. All the inhabitants of the island
would come to this church on the annual feast of their patron saint.
Knowing of this, the Saracens of Crete once attacked this island on
its feast day, pillaged the island, and enslaved its inhabitants,
taking many of them back to Crete. Among the enslaved was a handsome
young man, whom the pirates gave to their prince. The prince made him
his servant. The young man's parents were overwhelmed with great
sorrow for their son. After a year had passed and St. George's day
came again, the grieving parents, following the ancient custom,
prepared a table and entertained many guests. Remembering her son, the
poor mother went to the icon of the saint, fell to the ground and
began to pray that he somehow deliver her son from slavery. The mother
then returned to her guests at the table. The host raised a glass and
drank a toast to the honor of St. George. Just then their son appeared
among them, holding a decanter of wine in his hand. In amazement and
fear, they asked him how he had managed to come to them. He replied
that as he was about to serve his master wine in Crete, a knight on
horseback appeared before him, pulled him up onto the horse and
carried him instantly to his parents' home. All were amazed, and
glorified God and His wonderful saint, George the Commander and
Victory-bearer.
Contemplation
Contemplate
the wondrous deliverance of Paul and Silas from prison (Acts 16):
1. How these holy apostles were cast into the inner prison and their
feet were placed in stocks;
2. How they were at prayer, praising God at midnight;
3. How the earth quaked, the chains fell off those who were bound, and
the doors of the prison were opened.
Homily
On Christ as the Head
of all the saints.
That
… He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which
are in heaven, and which are on earth (Ephesians 1:10).
Sin causes panic and confusion. A man drowning in sin and vice is
like a chicken with its head cut off which, dying, thrashes about
convulsively and rushes to and fro. Before Christ's Incarnation, the
whole pagan world was a confused, headless body, dying in convulsions.
Christ joined the severed head with the benighted trunk and brought
the body of the human race back to life. He is the Head of the
heavenly host, and He has always been. And, as the Creating Word of
God, He was from the beginning the Head of everything created in the
visible world, especially the human race. But sin, like a sword,
separated the sinful trunk of Adam from his Head. However, the Lord
reconciled heaven and earth in His Incarnation, bringing heaven to
earth, and raising earth to heaven, and establishing all of it under
His mind, under His headship. Through Christ we are reconciled with
the Holy Trinity and the angels of God, with one another, and with the
created nature around us. The lost Head has been found and all has
been harmoniously arranged beneath it. The Apostle says: We have
the mind of Christ (I Corinthians 2:16). As the head is to the
physical man, so the mind is to the spiritual inner man. Therefore, if
we are Christ's, we must think and judge in all things according to
our Head, Jesus Christ, and Him alone. Thinking and judging by Him, we
will perceive ourselves as organs of one body that includes other men
and the angels: one body, whose Head is Christ. Hence, our love for
God is enkindled, and our faith strengthened, and our hope
enlightened. Only a sleeping body feels no link with its head. Let us
awaken, my brethren, let us awaken while we have time.
O Lord Jesus Christ, our All-wise Head, unite us with Thyself.
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November
17th
(New Style) • November 4th (Old Style)
The
Venerable Ioannicius the Great
The
great spiritual light Ioannicius was born in the village of Marycata
in the province of Bithynia, of his father Myritricius and his mother
Anastasia. As a youth, he was a shepherd. While tending his sheep, he
would often retreat into solitude and remain in prayer the whole day,
encircling his flock with the sign of the Cross so that the flock
would not stray and scatter. Later, he was taken into the army and
displayed marvelous courage, particularly in the wars with the
Bulgarians. Following his military service, Ioannicius withdrew to
Mount Olympus in Asia Minor, where he was tonsured a monk and
dedicated himself completely to asceticism until his repose in great
old age. He lived in asceticism for over fifty years in various
places, and received from God a truly abundant gift of wonderworking.
He healed all sicknesses and pains, drove out demons, and tamed wild
beasts. He especially had power over snakes, could cross over water as
on dry land, could be invisible to men when he so desired, and could
foretell future events. He was distinguished by overwhelming humility
and meekness. His outward appearance was that of a giant-massive and
powerful. He took an active part in the destiny of God's Church.
During the iconoclast controversy, he was deceived at first, but later
tore himself away from the iconoclast viewpoint and became an ardent
champion of the veneration of icons. He had a great friendship with
Patriarch Methodius of Constantinople. Ioannicius lived for
ninety-four years and entered peacefully into rest in the Lord in the
year 846. He was a great miracle-worker both during his life and after
his death.
The
Hieromartyrs Nicander, Bishop of Myra, and Hermas the Presbyter
Nicander
and Hermas were both ordained by Apostle Titus. They were both
distinguished by their great zeal for the Faith and their great labors
in winning pagans for Christ the Lord. Because of this, they were
accused before a certain judge, Libanus, who subjected them to bitter
tortures. They were stoned and dragged over stones; they were
imprisoned, suffered hunger and endured many other tortures that no
mortal man could endure without God's special help. The Lord appeared
to them in various ways, and when they were thrown into a fiery
furnace, the Lord sent His angel to cool the flames for them. Finally,
they were buried alive by their cruel torturers. But in vain do men
kill those whom the Lord gives life, and in vain do men dishonor those
whom the Lord glorifies.
Reflection
Mercy is
the fruit of faith. Where there is true faith, there also is true
mercy. St. Ioannicius was walking past a monastery one day. Among the
many nuns, there were a mother and daughter. Evil spirits continually
assaulted the young daughter with bodily temptations, and inflamed the
passion of lust in her to such a degree that she wanted to leave the
convent to marry. In vain did her mother counsel her to stay. Her
daughter would not even hear of it. When the mother saw St. Ioannicius,
she begged him to counsel her daughter to remain in the monastery and
not expose her soul to perdition in the world. Ioannicius summoned the
maiden and said: ``Daughter, place your hand on my shoulder!'' She did
so. Then the compassionate saint prayed to God with a fervent heart
that He deliver her from temptation, and that her bodily lust be
transferred to him. Thus, it happened. The maiden was completely
calmed and remained in the monastery, and the saint of God went on his
way. But as he went, the passion of lust was inflamed in him, and his
blood began to boil as though on fire. He desired to die rather than
to give the passion its way and, seeing a large poisonous snake, ran
to it so as to be bitten and to die. But the snake would not bite him.
He provoked it to make it bite him, but as soon as he touched it the
snake died. At that moment the flame of lust disappeared from
Ioannicius.
Contemplation
Contemplate
the Lord's coming to Paul in a vision at night (Acts 18):
1. How the Lord came to Paul at Corinth, in a nighttime vision;
2. How He told him to fear not and to preach, for He said: I have
much people in this city;
3. How Paul obeyed and remained there for a year and a half.
Homily
On the heirs of the
Kingdom through Christ the Lord.
In
whom also we have obtained an inheritance (Ephesians 1:11).
All is from the Lord Jesus Christ, all is through the Lord Jesus
Christ, and all is of the Lord Jesus Christ. Without Him, we have no
proper ties or normal relationships with God, with men or with other
created beings. He is our head and our mind, and through Him we
have obtained an inheritance. What do we inherit? The Kingdom of
God. Why are Christians often called heirs in the New Testament?
Inheritance is always associated with someone's passing from this
earth. One must die for his heir to inherit. Christians even become
heirs while still in this life, for the old man in them dies and the
new man comes in his place as heir. The one who outlives the other is
the one who inherits. When the body dies, the soul outlives it; the
soul therefore inherits all that a man has gathered while in the body,
be it good works for salvation or evil works for condemnation. Through
the Lord Jesus Christ the inheritance that the Lord Himself rejoiced
in is opened to us: the Immortal Kingdom of God. We inherit that
Kingdom when we leave the earthly kingdom-when we die to this earth,
we will inherit heaven; when we break off the alliance with Satan, we
will become fellow heirs in Christ. O my brethren, just think what a
rich inheritance awaits us! But let us not sell it cheaply, as Esau
sold his birthright!
O Lord Jesus Christ, our God and our Savior, have mercy on us to the
end, and save us.
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November
18th
(New Style) • November 5th (Old Style)
The
Venerable Martyrs Galaction and Episteme
Both
Galaction and Episteme were born in the city of Edessa, in Phoenicia.
Galaction's mother was barren until she was baptized. After her
baptism, she converted her husband (Cleitophon) to the true Faith,
baptized her son Galaction, and raised him in the Christian Faith.
When Galaction was old enough to marry, his good mother, Leucippa,
entered into rest, and his father betrothed him to a pagan-born maiden
named Episteme. By no means did Galaction want to enter into marriage,
and convinced Episteme to be baptized, then to be tonsured a nun at
the same time that he became a monk. Both of them withdrew to Mount
Publion-Galaction to a monastery and Episteme to a convent. They
proved to be shining lights in their monasteries. They were first in
labor, first in prayer, first in humility and obedience, and first in
love. They neither left their monasteries nor did they see one another
until just before their death. A fierce persecution began and both of
them were brought before the tribunal. When the pagans mercilessly
whipped Galaction, Episteme wept. Then they whipped her. After that,
they cut off their hands, their feet and then their heads. Their
friend Eutolius took their bodies and honorably buried them. Eutolius
had been a slave of Episteme's parents, and then a monk with Galaction.
He also wrote the life of these wonderful martyrs of Christ who
suffered and received their wreaths in heaven in the year 253.
The
Holy Apostles Patrobas, Hermes, Linus, Gaius and Philologus
They
were of the Seventy. Patrobas was Bishop of Neapolis, Hermes of
Philipopolis (Romans 16:14), Linus of Rome (II Timothy 4:21), Gaius of
Ephesus (Roman 16:23), and Philologus of Synope (Romans 16:15). All of
them fulfilled the Law of Christ with love and took up their abode in
the Kingdom of Christ.
Saint
Jonah, Archbishop of Novgorod
Jonah
was born in Novgorod and was orphaned early. A certain God-fearing
widow took him and educated him. Seeing him as a child, Michael, the
fool-for-Christ of Klops said to him prophetically: ``Ivanushka, study
diligently, for you will become archbishop in Novgorod the Great.''
And indeed, following the death of Archbishop Euthymius, Jonah was
chosen and consecrated in his place. Jonah was devout and merciful to
a rare degree for a mortal man. He built churches and monasteries and
cared for his flock as a true good shepherd. He was offered the throne
of Moscow as Metropolitan but declined, excusing himself because of
his age. He entered into rest peacefully on November 5, 1570, and
settled in the joyful heavenly habitations. One hundred years
following his death there was a great fire in Novgorod. The relics of
this saint did not burn in the furious flames, but on the contrary,
from then on manifested healing power and emitted a wonderful
fragrance.
Reflection
Physical
love, in comparison to spiritual love, is less than a shadow is to
solid substance. Brotherhood and sisterhood of the blood and body is
nothing compared to the brotherhood and sisterhood of the spirit.
Galaction's father betrothed him to the maiden Episteme. Galaction
baptized Episteme and, after that, both received the monastic tonsure.
Their physical love was replaced by spiritual love, a love as strong
as death. So great was Galaction's spiritual love for Episteme that he
never desired to see her with his physical eyes. Neither physical
contact nor closeness are necessary for spiritual love. So great was
Episteme's spiritual love for Galaction that when she heard that he
had been taken for torture she ran after him, begging him not to
reject her, but to receive her as a fellow sufferer, as he was her
spiritual father and brother. When the merciless torturers flogged
holy Galaction's naked body, holy Episteme wept. However, when the
torturers cut off their hands and feet for Christ, both rejoiced and
glorified God. So great was the power of their love for our Lord Jesus
Christ, and so great was the spiritual love with which they loved each
other. Truly, physical love is like a colorful butterfly that quickly
passes, but spiritual love is enduring.
Contemplation
Contemplate
the wondrous action of the Holy Spirit upon the baptized (Acts 19):
1. How Paul, coming to Ephesus, saw men baptized with the baptism of
John to repentance;
2. How he placed his hands on them and the Holy Spirit descended upon
them;
3. How they were filled with power, and spoke in tongues and
prophesied.
Homily
On the elevation of man
through the Risen Christ.
… Far
above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every
name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is
to come and hath put all things under His feet (Ephesians
1:21-22).
Behold, the heights to which God exalts the being of man! Here,
Christ's Divine Nature is not the subject, but rather His human
nature. This is not about the eternal Word of God, but rather about
the man Jesus, whom God raised from the dead and exalted-not only
above this whole visible and mortal world, but also above the
invisible and immortal, far above all the orders of angels and the
heavenly powers; far above all the known and unknown wondrous
hierarchies of heaven; far above every created being, known and
unknown; and far above every name in the material and the spiritual
worlds. My brethren, do you see how our All-glorious Creator fulfilled
the promise He gave to Adam when he banished him from Paradise, and
repeated more clearly to Abraham, and repeated still more clearly
through the prophets and David? Do you see how the Lord of Sabaoth
began to glorify the human race by glorifying the man Jesus, the Son
of God, in Whom was incarnate the divinity of God? As the first in
glory, God first glorified Him, and then, in order, all those who are
numbered with Him, and who by the grace of the Holy Spirit are named
and written in the Book of Life for eternal glory. It is not without
cause that the Church sings to the Mother of God: ``More honorable
than the Cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the
Seraphim.'' Where the Risen Lord is exalted, His Most-holy Mother is
also exalted, as are also His holy apostles, in accordance with His
words to His heavenly Father: Father, I will that they also, whom
thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am (John 17:24).
Such is the boundless consequence of God's descent to earth. Such are
the ineffable fruits of His sufferings.
O Lord Jesus Christ our Savior, equal only to Thy Father and the Holy
Spirit; help us to extricate ourselves from the depth of putrid sin
and sensual foolishness before the end.
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November
19th
(New Style) • November 6th (Old Style)
Saint
Paul the Confessor, Patriarch of Constantinople
When
Blessed Patriarch Alexander lay on his deathbed, the sorrowing
faithful asked him who he would have follow him as the chief shepherd
of the spiritual flock of Christ. He said: ``If you desire a shepherd
who will teach you and who will shine with virtues, choose Paul; but
if you only want a suitable man, externally adorned, choose Macedonius.''
The people chose Paul. Unfortunately, this was not accepted by the
Arian heretics, nor was it accepted by Emperor Constantius, who was
then in Antioch. Paul was soon deposed, and fled to Rome with St.
Athanasius the Great. In Rome, Pope Julian and Emperor Constans
received them warmly and upheld them in their Orthodox Faith. Emperor
Constans and Pope Julian saw to it that Paul was returned to his
throne, but when Emperor Constans died the Arians raised their heads
again, and Patriarch Paul was banished to Cucusus in Armenia. Once, as
Paul was celebrating the Divine Liturgy in exile, he was attacked by
the Arians and strangled with his omophorion, in the year 351. In 381,
during the reign of Emperor Theodosius, Paul's relics were transferred
to Constantinople, and in the year 1236 they were translated to
Venice, where they still repose. His beloved priests and notaries,
Marcian and Martyrius (October 25), suffered soon after their
patriarch.
The
Venerable Barlaam of Khutyn, the Miracle-worker
Barlaam
was born and raised as a Christian in Novgorod the Great. After the
death of his parents, he was tonsured a monk and devoted himself to a
life of strict asceticism. He founded a monastery on the bank of the
Volkhov River, at a place where a heavenly light appeared to him.
Barlaam was a great miracle-worker both during his life and after his
death: he saw into the secrets of men's hearts, expelled unclean
spirits and healed all sicknesses. After his repose, a servant of
Prince Vasili Vasilievich became gravely ill and begged to be taken to
the saint's grave. He further instructed them that, if he should die
on the way, they should carry his dead body to the saint. And thus it
happened-he died on the way and they carried him dead to the
monastery, where he returned to life, stood up and prostrated before
the grave of the saint. In the year 1471, Tsar Ivan the Terrible
ordered that the saint's grave be dug up. As soon as they began to
dig, a flame sprang from the grave and flared up along the walls of
the church. The Tsar was so frightened that he ran out of the church
and, in his haste, forgot his staff, which is still preserved beside
the grave of the saint. The commemoration of this miracle is
celebrated on the Friday after the Sunday of All Saints.
Commemoration
of the falling of ash from the sky
This
took place in Constantinople in the year 472 during the
reign of Emperor Leo the Great and Patriarch Gennadius. (See
``Reflection'' below.)
Reflection
If God
can bring forth water from a rock as a comfort to men, He is also able
to send down fire from the heavens as a punishment. The fate of Sodom
and Gomorrah is a classic example of God's punishment upon
incorrigible sinners. That God can repeat this punishment was
demonstrated over Constantinople in the year 472, during the time of
Emperor Leo the Great and Patriarch Gennadius. At noon on November 6
of that year, the sky became overcast with thick, dark clouds, causing
darkness on the land. These clouds turned red as fire, then became
dark, and alternated their appearance continuously. This phenomenon
over Constantinople lasted for a full forty days. The frightened
people turned to repentance and prayer. With the emperor and
patriarch, they walked in procession through the streets from church
to church and prayed to God with tears and lamentation. On the final
day hot black ash fell like rain from evening until midnight, then
stopped. The following day dawned clear and bright, but the sooty ash
lay on the ground to a depth of nine inches. With great effort, the
people cleaned their houses and streets of this sooty ash, but the
crops in the field were utterly destroyed. All who had understanding,
understood that this was God's punishment, and that it was God's
gentle punishment because the people hastened to repent before Him.
Had it not been for this profound repentance for their great and
accumulated sins, who knows what would have happened to Constantinople
in those days? But the timely repentance of sinners, and the prayers
of the Most-holy Theotokos, as well as the prayers of the countless
saints and martyrs of Constantinople, greatly lessened the punishment.
Contemplation
Contemplate
the wondrous power of healing that proceeded from the Apostle Paul
(Acts 19):
1. How the people took his aprons and handkerchiefs and placed them on
the sick;
2. How all the sick were healed, and evil spirits fled from them;
3. How the words of the Savior came true, that he who believes in Him
will perform greater miracles than He.
Homily
On the Head of the
Church and the Body of Christ.
And
gave Him to be the head over all things to the Church, which is His
body (Ephesians 1:22-23).
Headless humanity is given a head in the Lord Jesus, risen from
the dead. The body separated from the head is grafted to its head,
part by part, member by member. Not all men are the body-only those
who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. All are called, but only those
who respond are received under the Head. The ones who respond comprise
the Body that is called the Church, whose Head is the Lord. But, as
the risen and glorified man, Jesus is exalted within the Holy Trinity,
above all and everything on earth and in heaven, so also will His
Church, His Body, be exalted to its Head, above all and everything.
The whole Church, together with its Head, will stand at the right hand
of the Holy Trinity-for where the head is, there also is the body. The
redeemed and repentant sinners, the erstwhile adversaries of
God-wandering astray like the Prodigal Son and headless as a dead
body, but now adopted through Christ and for Christ, and clothed in
the beauty of divine life and splendor-will be exalted to such
heights, greatness and glory. For it is a great thing, brethren: the
Incarnation of the Son of God on earth, His suffering on the Cross and
His death for our sake. His visit to earth brought about a great
change in the destiny of men, and in the meaning of all things. He
changed all things and made all things new. Therefore, brethren, let
us not live and conduct ourselves as the old man, but rather as the
new man; let us not live according to sin, but according to
righteousness; let us not act according to the flesh, but according to
the spirit. May we be made worthy of those heights, of the greatness
and glory to which we are called by our Head.
O Lord Jesus, the Holy Head of the Holy Church, make us worthy to be
members forever of Thy Most-pure Body.
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November
20th
(New Style) • November 7th (Old Style)
The
Holy Martyr Hieron and his companions
Hieron
was born in Tyana in Cappadocia of a good and devout mother,
Stratonika, who was blind. Hieron was a very zealous Christian and
served his blind mother with great filial love. For two reasons he did
not wish to join the army, and he resisted and drove off those who had
been sent to take him. Hieron was loath to leave his helpless mother,
and it was grievous for him even to consider that, as a soldier, he
would be compelled to offer sacrifices to idols. Finally, Hieron was
arrested along with other Christians, and they were all taken before
the eparch of the town of Melitene. While they were still on the road,
a man clad in a brilliant white garment appeared to Hieron one night
and said: ``Behold, Hieron, I proclaim salvation to you: you shall not
wage war for an earthly king, but for the Heavenly King you will
complete your struggle, and you shall soon come to Him to receive
honor and glory.'' At this, Hieron's heart was filled with
inexpressible joy. In Melitene they were all thrown into prison and
Hieron, with great zeal, strengthened all the prisoners in the Faith,
urging that not even one of them fall away, but that all willingly
offer their bodies to torture and death for Christ. All but one
confessed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The exception was
Hieron's kinsman Victor, who fell away from the Faith. The tormentors
cut one of Hieron's hands off, then flogged and tortured him in
various ways until they beheaded him and the others. Going to the
place of execution, these thirty-three martyrs chanted the Psalm: Blessed
are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord (Psalms
118:1). Here we will name the honorable martyrs whose names are
written with his in the Book of Life: Hesychius, Nicander, Athanasius,
Mamas, Barachius, Callinicus, Theogenes, Nikon, Longinus, Theodore,
Valerius, Xanthius, Theodulus, Callimachus, Eugenius, Theodochus,
Ostrichius, Epiphanius, Maximian, Ducitius, Claudian, Theophilus,
Gigantius, Dorotheus, Theodotus, Castrichius, Anicletus, Themilius,
Eutychius, Hilarion, Diodotus and Amonitus. A man named Chrysanthus
purchased Hieron's severed head and honorably buried it, later
building a church over it in the saint's name. The martyr's severed
hand was brought to his blind mother. St. Hieron, with his companions,
suffered in the year 298 and entered the glory of Christ.
The
Holy Martyr Thessalonica with Auctus and Taurion
This
maiden was the daughter of a pagan priest, Cleon, a rich and arrogant
man. Because of her faith in Christ, her father drove her from the
house and city. Two honorable citizens, Auctus and Taurion, reproached
Cleon for his inhuman treatment of his daughter, and he in turn
denounced them as Christians. They were bitterly tortured and beheaded
for Christ. Thessalonica was then tortured and slain as well. They
suffered in the Macedonian city of Amphipolis near present day Kavala.
Thus, these martyrs were made worthy of the Immortal Kingdom by their
honorable suffering.
The
Venerable Lazarus of Galesius
A pillar
of light appeared above the house where he was born. Lazarus left his
village of Magnesia and went to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage to the holy
places. There, he was tonsured a monk in the Monastery of St. Sava the
Sanctified. After ten years, he settled on Mount Galesius and lived a
life of asceticism on a pillar as a stylite. Lazarus was a
miracle-worker both during his life and after death. Emperor
Constantine Monomachus had great respect for him. Attaining old age,
St. Lazarus entered into eternity toward the end of the eleventh
century.
Reflection
There
are decisive moments in life upon which a man's eternal life or
eternal death depend. We do not know when this decisive moment will
come for us-perhaps today-and because of this we must be unceasingly
vigilant. Victor, a kinsman of St. Hieron, was arrested with him. On
the day before their torture, Victor, in terror of the impending
tortures, went to the prison warden and begged him to take his name
off the list of the condemned and release him, promising to give him
his land. The warden removed his name and released him. However, upon
returning home, Victor died of natural causes in the same moment that
St. Hieron and his companions died in torments for Christ. Thus Victor
vainly missed the decisive moment: he lost his land, his friends and
both his earthly and heavenly life. In that same decisive moment,
Hieron gained all. No one vied for Victor's body, while many vied for
Hieron's body. When Christians sought the head of Hieron from the
eparch, he asked as much gold for it as it weighed. Chrysanthus, a
wealthy and devout man, paid that much gold for the martyr's honorable
head. Anthony and Matronian hid one of St. Hieron's severed hands and
brought it to Hieron's mother, the blind Stratonika. She took her
son's hand and wept bitterly: ``O my beloved son, I gave birth to you
whole, and now I have only one part of you!''
Contemplation
Contemplate
the malignant power of an evil spirit over those who serve him (Acts
19):
1. How seven Jews tried to imitate Paul in driving out spirits from
possessed people, attempting this for their own gain;
2. How the evil spirit answered them, Jesus I know, and Paul I
know; but who are ye?
3. How the man with the evil spirit leaped on them and overwhelmed
them.
Homily
On the dark paths of
mankind before and apart from Christ.
… in
time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according
to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2).
This is all one and the same path-the path to destruction. According
to the course of this world means inclination toward sinfulness; according
to the prince of the power of the air means according to the will
of those chiefs of the demons who inhabit the air; in the spirit
that now worketh in the children of disobedience means that in the
same way that the opponents and adversaries of God now live, all men
lived before the advent of Christ, including those to whom the Apostle
writes the epistle. What is this power of the air, brethren?
This is the order of evil spirits who exist in constant movement in
the air. They make the air lethal and they impede the souls of the
departed as they make their way to heaven. They deceive the spirit of
man to work every evil; they tempt it with every sin. Yet, they do not
command the spirit to sin, for they lack the power to do that; they
can only tempt and corrupt. They acted more strongly and directly on
the pagans than on the Israelites. They fell upon the pagans as a
swarm of flies on a carcass, but the Israelites they watched from a
distance, corrupting and tempting them more subtlely. They stood at a
distance from Israel because of the name of God, which was preserved
and spoken among the Israelites. The Lord Jesus Christ scattered them
all and plucked out their poisonous stings, so that they remained only
as empty phantoms, as miserable, inconstant shadows that vanish
instantly at the mention of the name of Christ or at the tracing of
the sign of Christ's Cross.
O Lord Jesus, our Commander and Deliverer, help us to live in Thy
freedom.
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November
21st
(New Style) • November 8th (Old Style)
The
Holy Archangel Michael and all the Bodiless Powers of heaven
The
angels of God were celebrated by men from earliest times but this
celebration was often turned into the divinization of angels (II Kings
23:5). The heretics wove all sorts of fables concerning the angels.
Some of them looked upon angels as gods; others, although they did not
consider them gods, called them the creators of the whole visible
world. The local Council of Laodicea (four or five years before the
First Ecumenical Council) rejected the worship of angels as gods and
established the proper veneration of angels in its Thirty-fifth Canon.
In the fourth century, during the time of Sylvester, Pope of Rome, and
Alexander, Patriarch of Alexandria, the present Feast of Archangel
Michael and all the other heavenly powers was instituted for
celebration in the month of November. Why precisely in November?
Because November is the ninth month after March, and March is
considered to be the month in which the world was created. Also, as
the ninth month after March, November was chosen for the nine orders
of angels who were created first. St. Dionysius the Areopagite, a
disciple of the Apostle Paul (who was taken up into the third heaven),
described these nine orders of angels in his book, On the Celestial
Hierarchies, as follows: six-winged Seraphim, many-eyed Cherubim,
God-bearing Thrones, Dominions, Powers, Virtues, Principalities,
Archangels, and Angels. The leader of all the angelic hosts is the
Archangel Michael. When Satan, Lucifer, fell away from God and drew a
part of the angels with him to destruction, then Michael stood up and
cried out before the faithful angels: ``Let us attend! Let us stand
aright! Let us stand with fear!'' and all of the faithful angelic
heavenly hosts cried out: ``Holy! Holy! Holy! Lord God of Sabaoth!
Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory!'' Concerning the Archangel
Michael, see Joshua 5:13-15 and Jude 1:9. Among the angels there reign
perfect oneness of mind, oneness of soul, and love. The lower orders
also show complete obedience to the higher orders, and all of them
together to the holy will of God. Every nation has its guardian angel,
as does every Christian. We must always remember that whatever we do,
in open or in secret, we do in the presence of our guardian angel. On
the day of the Dread Judgment, the multitude of the hosts of the holy
angels of heaven will gather around the throne of Christ, and the
deeds, words, and thoughts of every man will be revealed before all.
May God have mercy on us and save us by the prayers of the Archangel
Michael and all the bodiless heavenly powers. Amen.
Reflection
Holy
Scripture clearly and irrefutably witnesses that angels ceaselessly
communicate with this world. The Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition of
the Orthodox Church teaches us the names of the seven leaders of the
angelic powers: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Salathiel, Jegudiel,
and Barachiel (an eighth, Jeremiel, is sometimes included).
``Michael'' in the Hebrew language means ``Who is like unto God?'' or
``Who is equal to God?'' St. Michael has been depicted from earliest
Christian times as a commander, who holds in his right hand a spear
with which he attacks Lucifer, Satan, and in his left hand a green
palm branch. At the top of the spear there is a linen ribbon with a
red cross. The Archangel Michael is especially considered to be the
Guardian of the Orthodox Faith and a fighter against heresies.
``Gabriel'' means ``Man of God'' or ``Might of God.'' He is the herald
of the mysteries of God, especially the Incarnation of God and all
other mysteries related to it. He is depicted as follows: In his right
hand, he holds a lantern with a lighted taper inside, and in his left
hand, a mirror of green jasper. The mirror signifies the wisdom of God
as a hidden mystery.
``Raphael'' means ``God's healing'' or ``God the Healer.'' (Tobit
3:17, 12:15). Raphael is depicted leading Tobit (who is carrying a
fish caught in the Tigris) with his right hand, and holding a
physician's alabaster jar in his left hand.
``Uriel'' means ``Fire of God,'' or ``Light of God'' (III Esdras 3:1,
5:20). He is depicted holding a sword against the Persians in his
right hand, and a fiery flame in his left.
``Salathiel'' means ``Intercessor of God'' (III Esdras 5:16). He is
depicted with his face and eyes lowered, holding his hands on his
bosom in prayer.
``Jegudiel'' means ``Glorifier of God.'' He is depicted bearing a
golden wreath in his right hand and a triple-thonged whip in his left
hand.
``Barachiel'' means ``Blessing of God.'' He is depicted holding a
white rose in his hand against his breast.
``Jeremiel'' means ``God's exaltation.'' He is venerated as an
inspirer and awakener of exalted thoughts that raise a man toward God
(III Ezra 4:36).
Contemplation
Contemplate
the Apostle Paul's miraculous resurrecting of Eutychus (Acts 20):
1. How Paul preached in a house at Troas by night;
2. How the young man Eutychus drifted into a deep sleep, and fell from
a third-story window to his death;
3. How Paul came down, embraced him and restored him to life.
Homily
On how Christ brings to
life men who are dead in sin.
Even
when we were dead in sins, (God) hath quickened us together with
Christ (Ephesians 2:5).
God first brought Christ to life: He first raised Him as a man
from the grave. And Christ is our Head. Thus, in order to resurrect
the whole generation of the faithful, it was necessary to resurrect
the Head first. When the Head resurrected, then the resurrection of
the whole body, with all its members, was assured. Therefore, the
Apostle Paul speaks of our resurrection and glorification as a
completed thing. So it is that God resurrected us also with Christ: And
hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6). God resurrected
us-together with Christ as man-who once were dead in sins, slain by
our sins. He not only makes us worthy of resurrection with the Lord
Jesus Christ, but He also puts us on the same level with the
resurrected Christ in the heights of heaven, above the whole realm of
incorporeal spirits. Brethren, God did not come to earth for the sake
of some petty, inconsequential thing, but for something completely
unique, something greater than great. When an earthly king visits a
place in his country, the benefit of his visit is felt long after. The
Lord, the King, visited mankind on the earth and the benefit of that
visit will be felt to the end of time. That visit means life instead
of death for us, glory instead of shame, closeness to God instead of
estrangement, and blessing instead of a curse. In other words, that
visit means our resurrection from the dead, and our eternal reign in
the heavens with Christ.
O Lord, thanks be to Thee; O Lord, glory be to Thee.
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