Commemorated on January 30th

“During the reign of the Emperor Alexius Comnenus (1081-1118), a controversy arose in Constantinople among men learned in the Faith and zealous for virtue about the three holy Hierarchs and Fathers of the Church, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. Some argued for Saint Basil above the other two because he was able, as none other, to explain the mysteries of the Faith, and rose to angelic rank by his virtues. Organizer of monastic life, leader of the entire Church in the struggle with heresy, austere and demanding shepherd as to Christian morals, in him there was nothing base or of the earth. Hence, said they, he was superior to Saint Chrysostom who was by nature more easily inclined to absolve sinners.

The partisans of Saint Chrysostom retorted that the illustrious Archbishop of Constantinople had been no less zealous than Saint Basil in combatting vices, in bringing sinners to repentance and in raising up the whole people to the perfection of the Gospel. The golden-mouthed shepherd of matchless eloquence has watered the Church with a stream of homilies in which he interprets the divine word and shows its application in daily life with more accomplished mastery than the two other holy [Teachers].

According to a third group, Saint Gregory the Theologian was to be preferred to the others by reason of the majesty, purity and profundity of his language. Possessing a sovereign mastery of all the wisdom and eloquence of ancient Greece, he had attained, they said, to such a pitch in the contemplation of God that no one had been able to express the dogma of the Holy Trinity as perfectly as he.

With each faction setting up one of the Fathers against the other two in this way, the whole Christian people were soon caught up in the dispute, which, far from promoting devotion to the Saints in the City, resulted in nothing but ill-feeling and endless argument. Then one night the three holy Hierarchs appeared in a dream to Saint John Mauropus, the Metropolitan of Euchaita (5 Oct.), separately at first, then together and, speaking with a single voice, they said: ‘As you see, the three of us are with God and no discord or rivalry divides us. Each of us, according to the circumstances and according to the inspiration that he received from the Holy Spirit, wrote and taught what befits the salvation of mankind. There is not among us a first, a second or a third, and if you invoke one of us the other two are immediately present with him. Therefore, tell those who are quarrelling not to create divisions in the Church because of us, for when we were on earth we spared no effort to re-establish unity and concord in the world. You can conjoin our three commemorations in one feast and compose a service for it, inserting the hymns dedicated to each of us according to the skill and knowledge that God has given you. Then transmit it to the Christians with the command to celebrate it each year. If they honour us thus as being with and in God, we give them our word that we will intercede for their salvation in our common prayer.’ At these words, the Saints were taken up into heaven in a boundless light while conversing with one another by name.

Saint John immediately assembled the people and informed them of this revelation. As he was respected by all for his virtue and admired for his powerful eloquence, the three parties made peace and every one urged him to lose no time in composing the service of the joint feast. With fine discernment, he selected the 30th of January as appropriate to the celebration, for it would set the seal to the month in which each of the three Hierarchs already had a separate commemoration.

The three Hierarchs—an earthly trinity as they are called in some of the wonderful troparia of their service—have taught us, in their writings and equally by their lives, to worship and to glorify the Holy Trinity, the One God in three Persons. These three luminaries of the Church have shed the light of the true Faith all over the world, scorning dangers and persecutions, and they have left us, their descendants, this sacred inheritance by which we too can attain to utmost blessedness and everlasting life in the presence of God and of all the Saints.

With the feast of the three Hierarchs at the end of January—the month in which we keep the memory of so many glorious bishops, confessors and ascetics—the Church in a way recapitulates the memory of all the Saints who have witnessed to the Orthodox faith by their writings and by their lives. In this feast we honour the whole ministry of teaching of the holy Church, namely, the illumination of the hearts and minds of the faithful through the word of truth. So the feast of the three Hierarchs is, in fact, the commemoration of all the Fathers of the Church, those models of evangelic perfection which the Holy Spirit has raised up from age to age and from place to place to be new Prophets and new Apostles, guides of souls heavenward, comforters of the people and fiery pillars of prayer, supporting the Church and confirming her in the truth.”

(Source: The Synaxarion, The lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church, Volume three, Holy convent of the Annunciation of Our Lady, Ormylia, 2001)

On 30 January, the Church celebrates the memory of the three great hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. This is not a commemoration in the strict sense of the word, i.e. the anniversary of the death of these Fathers, but a common feast, a “synaxis”, to use liturgical terminology. Basil the Great died on 1 January in the year 379 and his memory is celebrated, as is well-known, on January 1; Gregory the Theologian departed this life on 25 January, 389, so his feast is just past; and John Chrysostom fell asleep in the Lord on 14 September 407, on the day of the Elevation of the Precious Cross. The latter’s commemoration has been moved, however, because it coincided with one of the Lord’s feasts, and it is now held on 13 November.

The feast on 30 January is of later provenance, which is why it is not to be found in the most ancient calendars of feasts. It was established in the 11^th century, during the reign of Alexios Komninos (1081-1118). The reason for the common feast for all three is related at length in the synaxario (calendar of saints) for the day. There was a clash between the “learned and virtuous men” in Constantinople. Some considered Chrysostom the most important of the three hierarchs, other Basil and others again Gregory, each group belittling the other two. So three conflicting parties were formed: the Johannites, the Basilites and the Gregorites. The discord was ended by Ioannis Mavropous, the Metropolitan of Efkhaïta (Euchaïta, today’s Avkat), a devout cleric and scholar. According to the author of the synaxario, he saw the three saints in a vision: first each one separately and then the three together. With one voice they told him: “We three are one, as you see, close to God and nothing can separate us or make us contend… There is no first or second among us… Arise, therefore, and tell those who are quarrelling not to divined into parties over us. Because in life and death we had no desire other than to bring peace and unity to everyone”. As a symbol and expression of their unity, they urged him to establish a common feast for all three. So the Metropolitan of Efkhaïta undertook the task of reconciling the conflicting groups and established the feast on 30 January. He judged January to be the most suitable month for their common commemoration, because all three celebrate in that month: January 1, Basil; 25, Gregory; and 27, the translation of the relics of Chrysostom.

The establishment of the feast served its purpose. It became the visible symbol of the equality and unity of the great teachers and of the reconciliation of the three estranged parties. Metropolitan Ioannis composed a common service for all three, worthy of their status as great Fathers. Since then, the three are often depicted in the same icon, clad in their episcopal vestments, with a Gospel in one hand and blessing with the other, as if they were together not only in spirit but in the body. And they are, indeed, the eternal and immortal teachers of the Church of Christ. They taught with their holy lives, their exceptional activity and their wise writings. In them, the Christian ideal of the “image and likeness of God” was embodied in the form of people shaped and reborn in Christ. And, above all, education, edification and proficiency in Greek philosophy were combined with the truth of Christianity. They were wise in the things of the world and those of God. A more harmonious marriage between Hellenism and Christianity in all their perfectitude has never been presented to the world. This is why their feast has become one of Christian, Greek education, of which the three hierarchs were teachers and models.

The three hierarchs were also creative in the field of Christian worship. Not only did they perform it, as priests and bishops, but they also made a contribution to the manner in which it developed. It is not without significance that Church tradition has linked the names of all three with the composition of three liturgies: the two well-known Byzantine liturgies of Basil the Great and John Chrysostom and one of the Church of Alexandria which, it is claimed, is  by Gregory. Besides, a whole series of prayers which adorns our liturgical books is attributed to all three, especially to Basil the Great. The contribution of Basil the Great to the “embellishment of the sanctuary” and the order of prayers is well known, as is the effort on the part of Chrysostom to breathe fresh life into the liturgical life of his flock in Constantinople. Gregory was also a poet and his hymns, though they have not been introduced into our worship, can be counted as among the best and most beautiful products of ecclesiastical poetry.

 We also encounter the three hierarchs in another iconographical representation: in the large depiction of the Second Coming of the Lord which was painted by Byzantine artists in the narthex of a church, above and around the central entrance. In the group of the saved who are entering God’s Paradise, it is easy to pick out three venerable figures presented exactly as the iconographical tradition of the Church has preserved them and as they are described in the synaxario of their feast.

The Church presents them as three of its great offspring. Wise teachers and Fathers,  who taught and continue to teach us with the divine wisdom of their words and examples; Godly priests of the sacraments of the Church, concelebrating with us and glorifying God with us, citizens of the heavens and dwellers in the Paradise of the delights. And with this aim, they serve all the features of our worship: the calendar of feasts, which brings these holy persons to our minds every year; the hymnography, which praises their struggles and glory; the synaxaria, which describe their lives and virtues; the iconography which depicts their holy figures and gives us the opportunity to see their spiritual stature as if they were alive.

This is the meaning and the aim of the honour paid to the saints in our Church. To show the unceasing and unbreakable communion of the members of the Church. A communion of those living believers in Christ, either here on earth or in the state of bliss in heaven. A society for which there are no dead, only the alive, since all who are its members have, through the sacraments, been united to Christ, the eternal and immortal giver of life. All together hymn and glorify God; the living pray for the departed, the departed for the living. All are citizens of the Kingdom, with the seal of immortality, with their names written in the book of life.

The service for the three hierarchs is attributed to the author of the synaxario of the feast, Metropolitan Ioannis Mavropous of Efkhaïta who “gave the Church this feast to celebrate to God” and wrote canons, hymns and encomia for it. The hymns at the lity at Vespers and the verses of the apostichs are attributed to Neilos Xanthopoulos and the hymn at the “Both now” at the apostichs is a poem by Patriarch Yermanos of Constantinople. The three canons are expressly attributed to Ioannis. Some of the most characteristic hymns of the feast are: “The organs of grace” (first sticheron of Vespers, tone four, in the manner of “Bold in martyrs”; “Hail, trinity of Hierarchs”  (the first of the apostichs of plagal tone one, in the manner of “Hail ascetics’”; “With what crowns of praise shall we crown the teachers…” (the first sticheron of Lauds in tone two, in the manner of “With what crowns of praise”; and the doxastikon of the stichera in plagal tone one, “Let us sound the trumpet…”.

Source: Ioannis Foundoulis, Λογική Λατρεία, [Logical Worship] Publication of Apostoliki Diakonia, pp. 380-88.

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

Each of these saints have their own feast day. St. Basil the Great, January 1; St. Gregory the Theologian, January 25; and St. John Chrysostom, January 27. This combined feast day, January 30, was instituted in the eleventh century during the reign of Emperor Alexius Comnenus.

At one time a debate arose among the people concerning who of the three is the greatest? Some extolled Basil because of his purity and courage; others extolled Gregory for his unequalled depth and lofty mind in theology; still others extolled Chrysostom because of his eloquence and clarity in expounding the Faith. Thus some were called Basilians, others Gregorians, and the third were called Johannites. This debate was settled by Divine Providence to the benefit of the Church and to an even greater glory of the three saints.

Bishop John of Euchaita (June 14) had a vision in a dream: At first, all three of these saints appeared to him separately in great glory and indescribable beauty, and after that all three appeared together. They said to him, “As you see, we are one in God and there is nothing contradictory in us; neither is there a first or a second among us.” The saints also advised Bishop John that he write a common service for them and to order a common feast day of celebration.

Following this wonderful vision, the debate was settled in this manner: January 30 would be designated as the common feast of these three hierarchs. The Greeks consider this feast not only an ecclesiastical feast but their greatest national school holiday.

HYMN OF PRAISE: THE THREE HIERARCHS: SAINT BASIL, SAINT GREGORY, AND SAINT CHRYSOSTOM

Fasting and Faith – Basil,
Theology – Gregory,
Acts of Charity – Chrysostom,
Golden mouths, mouths of honey!
All laborers of one work;
Three separately – three angels,
The three together as God is one,
No one is the main one, no one is secondary.
In eternity, they all agree,
You invoke one, all three help,
You hymn one, all three hear,
You glorify one, all three rejoice.
Three men, one whole;
Three hierarchs, one deed;
Three names, one glory;
To all three of them, Christ is the Head.

Apolytikion in the First Tone
The three greatest beacons of the Three-sunned Godhead, who lighted the whole inhabited world with the beams of their divine doctrines, the rivers of wisdom flowing with honey, who watered all creation with streams of the knowledge of God, Basil the Great and Gregory the Theologian with famous John whose tongue spoke golden words, let all we lovers of their words now assembled honour them in hymns. For they ever intercede with the Trinity on our behalf.

Kontakion in the Second Tone
You have taken, Lord, the sacred, the God-inspired heralds, the high peak of your Teachers, for the enjoyment of your good things and for repose; for you accepted above every offering their toils and their death, you who alone glorify your Saints.

In the 11th century, at the time of Emperor Alexios Komninos, the common feast of the three great Fathers of the Church, Saint John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, Saint Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople and Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia was established to honour their supreme contribution to education, their unshakeable and zealous faith in God and their incomparable pastoral and  charitable activities.

Since then, it has been customary for the feast of the Three Hierarchs to be associated with education and Greek letters, even through the time of the Turkish occupation, when it assumed a national character. It appeared to the Turks to be a religious feast and a day when the progress of students was checked, but in fact the priests/teachers used it to cultivate the desire for freedom in Greek children.

After the liberation, it was recognized officially as the greatest feast for Greek schools and for education more generally, first by the University of Athens, with a motion by the Senate in the academic year 1843-4, and then later, by law, by the Greek state.

Within the strict limits of an article, it is not possible to present the fullness of the multi-faceted work and enormous contribution of the Three Hierarchs, which is why we shall present only a few, mainly practical, points regarding their relationship to education and the training of young people.

From childhood, all three Fathers loved education whole-heartedly, sought knowledge and devoted themselves earnestly to learning. After the general education he was given by his father, Basil the Great studied in the famous schools of Caesarea, later pursuing higher studies in Constantinople. In 351, he moved to Athens, where he studied rhetoric, philosophy, dialectics, astronomy, geometry and medicine. In his works, particularly the Hexameron, he later displayed his expert grasp of Greek discourse, his astonishing familiarity with ancient Greek philosophers and his knowledge of the scientific data of his time.

Saint Gregory was probably given his general education in Nazianzos and continued his studies in Caesarea, Alexandria and Athens. In Athens he was a fellow-student of Basil the Great and studied philosophy, rhetoric, music, astronomy and geometry with unusual enthusiasm. He impressed his teachers so greatly that, on the completion of his studies, they forced him to remain in Athens and teach philosophy and rhetoric. He proved to be incomparable in his use of the Attic dialect, a great poet and author and a fascinating speaker.

Saint John studied in Antioch under the famous philosophers Andragathios and Libanios. Immediately after his studies, he practiced as a lawyer and proved to be “most proficient at speaking and convincing”. He is considered the greatest orator of all times. He was awarded the soubriquet “Golden-Mouthed” because of his eloquence and the power of his speeches.

Despite the fact that all three devoted their talents and abilities to the service of Christ’s Gospel, they did not turn their backs on secular wisdom. They recommended the serious study of all academic subjects and, moreover, emphasized the value of Greek wisdom. Not only did they not oppose the ancient Greek spirit- any more than all the other Fathers of the Church- they also adopted the positive elements of Hellenism. They used many views and theories of Greek philosophy in the best possible way, without, of course, altering the revelation of the Orthodox Christian truth. The Fathers wrote against the deception of idolatry, not against Greek education.

Saint Gregory the Theologian rang the praises of Greek education, advising young men of his time to read everything, but to reject anything to do with idolatry. He even went so far as to set out the way they should be trained, in other words, the manner in which a Christian should have ancient literature as a teacher, using Caesarius, the brother of Basil the Great, as an example. Caesarius sought every virtue and all learning. He studied rhetoric, medicine, geometry and astronomy, though never allowing himself to be affected by the dangerous deception of astrology, which leads to idolatry.

In his wonderful work To Young People, on the Beneficial Study of Greek Texts, Basil the Great recommends the judicious use of Greek philosophy, which he calls “the antechamber of the Christian way of life”. He considered anyone who had not studied the legacy of Greek thought and intellection to be uneducated. You can find all the great thinkers of antiquity- Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, Plutarch, Plotinus and others- whispering in his works.

The three hierarchs proved to be incomparable educators. Their advice and precepts to both parents and children are still applicable to this day. Saint John emphasized that education is superior to any other profession, because it has to do with forming souls. He urged educators to demonstrate their love for their students while they were teaching and to respect and recognize the specific traits of each one. He focused on the character of the teacher and recommended that anyone wishing to undertake the task of  educator should be compassionate, self-effacing, willing to sacrifice themselves and be free of pride and arrogance. Moreover, they should always confirm what they taught with their own, personal example.

Basil the Great was even more practical as regards his educational precepts. He suggested that schools should be built in quiet places and that teachers should try to attract the confidence of their students. During the lesson, the teacher should make himself clear and be brief, though not so much so that that the students would be unable to retain what he said. He pointed out to educators that they should not deal with more than one subject at any one time; should repeat what they have said; not attempt to prove what is obvious and self-evident; should use lots of examples; and generally teach in the capacity of a guide.

The holy Father was also a pioneer of professional orientation. He urged parents and educators to take into account whatever leanings a child had towards a particular skill. They should conscientiously test the abilities of any child and then choose the most suitable teacher or artisan for an apprenticeship. Even though Basil the Great condemned excessive and indulgent concern with the body, he did not forbid exercise. Indeed, in his 74^th Epistle, he expressed his profound sadness that gymnasia had been closed in his homeland and that young men now preferred a soft life and diversions. It is also worth mentioning that the subjects that young men should be taught should definitely include history, physics, geometry, arithmetic and astronomy, which he dissociates from astrology. Indeed, in his Epistle 135 (to the Presbyter Diodoros) he stresses that a text book should be pleasant and, at the same time “simple and straightforward”.

As was the case with the other two hierarchs, Basil the Great emphasized to parents their obligation to bring up their children properly. He calls upon parents to nurture their children in accordance with the words of Saint Paul “with all humility and gentleness”, ‘never giving them any excuse for anger or sadness’. And, of course, they were to teach by example and not forget that they were to be the first to give their children religious instruction and to plant love and reverence for God in their responsive souls.

If we were to summarize the precepts of the three great hierarchs, we might say that they advise young people of any era: “Go on, ever forwards and ever upwards. Really want to be educated. Throw yourselves into your studies. Hunger to do something great and heroic. Learn to ignore yourselves and submit to the service of others. Do you dream of a better society? Work for it. Arm yourselves with vitality and persistence and live the love of Christ powerfully and ardently, until the end”.

Source: http://pemptousia.com/2014/01/the-three-hierarchs-and-education/

By St. Methodius of Patara (+ 312 AD)

*1. “Although I have before, as briefly as possible, in my dialogue on chastity, sufficiently laid the foundations as it were, for a discourse on virginity, yet today the season has brought forward the entire subject of the glory of virginity, and its incorruptible crown, for the delightful consideration of the Church’s foster-children. For today the council chamber of the divine oracles is opened wide, and the signs prefiguring this glorious day, with its effect and issues, are by the sacred preachers read over to the assembled Church. Today the accomplishment of that ancient and true counsel is, in fact and deed, gloriously manifested to the world. Today, without any covering, and with unveiled face, we see, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, and the majesty of the divine ark itself. Today, the most holy assembly, bearing upon its shoulders the heavenly joy that was for generations expected, imparts it to the race of man.

“Old things are passed away” [2 Cor. 5:17] — things new burst forth into flowers, and such as fade not away. No longer does the stern decree of the law bear away, but the grace of the Lord reigneth, drawing all men to itself by saving long-suffering. No second time is an Uzziah [2 Sam. 6:7] invisibly punished, for daring to touch what may not be touched; for God Himself invites, and who will stand hesitating with fear? He says: “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden.” [Matt. 11:28] Who, then, will not run to Him? Let no Jew contradict the truth, looking at the type which went before the house of Obededom [2 Sam. 6:10]. The Lord has “manifestly come to His own.” [John 1:11, Ps. 1:3] And sitting on a living and not inanimate ark, as upon the mercy-seat, He comes forth in solemn procession upon the earth. The publican, when he touches this ark, comes away just; the harlot, when she approaches this, is remoulded, as it were, and becomes chaste; the leper, when he touches this, is restored whole without pain. It repulses none; it shrinks from none; it imparts the gifts of healing, without itself contracting any disease; for the Lord, who loves and cares for man, in it makes His resting-place.

These are the gifts of this new grace. This is that new and strange thing that has happened under the sun [Eccles. 1:10] — a thing that never had place before, nor will have place again. That which God of His compassion toward us foreordained has come to pass, He hath given it fulfilment because of that love for man which is so becoming to Him. With good right, therefore, has the sacred trumpet sounded, “Old things are passed away, behold all things are become new.” [2 Cor 5:17] And what shall I conceive, what shall I speak worthy of this day? I am struggling to reach the inaccessible, for the remembrance of this holy virgin far transcends all words of mine. Wherefore, since the greatness of the panegyric required completely puts to shame our limited powers, let us betake ourselves to that hymn which is not beyond our faculties, and boasting in our own unalterable defeat, let us join the rejoicing chorus of Christ’s flock, who are keeping holy-day. And do you, my divine and saintly auditors, keep strict silence, in order that through the narrow channel of ears, as into the harbour of the understanding, the vessel freighted with truth may peacefully sail. We keep festival, not according to the vain customs of the Greek mythology; we keep a feast which brings with it no ridiculous or frenzied banqueting of the gods, but which teaches us the wondrous condescension to us men of the awful glory of Him who is God over all [Rom 9:5].

*2. Come, therefore, Isaiah, solemnest of preachers and greatest of prophets, wisely unfold to the Church the mysteries of the congregation in glory, and incite our excellent guests abundantly to satiate themselves with enduring dainties, in order that, placing the reality which we possess over against that mirror of thine, truthful prophet as thou art, thou may joyfully clap thine hands at the issue of thy predictions. It came to pass, he says, “in the year in which king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the house was full of His glory. And the seraphim stood round about him: each one had six wings. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory. And the posts of the door were moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said, Woe is me! I am pricked to the heart, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. And one of the seraphim was sent unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. And he touched my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin is purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go unto this people. Then said I, Here am I; send me. And He said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.” [Isaiah 6:1-9] These are the proclamations made beforehand by the prophet through the Spirit.

Do thou, dearly beloved, consider the force of these words. So shalt thou understand the issue of these sacramental symbols, and know both what and how great this assembling together of ourselves is. And since the prophet has before spoken of this miracle, come thou, and with the greatest ardour and exultation, and alacrity of heart, together with the keenest sagacity of thine intelligence, and therewith approach Bethlehem the renowned, comparing the prophecy with the actual issue of events. Thou wilt not stand in need of many words to come to a knowledge of the matter; only fix thine eyes on the things which are taking place there. “All things truly are plain to them that understand, and right to them that find knowledge.” [Prov 8:9] For, behold, as a throne high and lifted up by the glory of Him that fashioned it, the virgin-mother is there made ready, and that most evidently of the King, the Lord of hosts. Upon this consider the Lord now coming unto thee in sinful flesh. Upon this virginal throne, I say, worship Him who now comes to thee by this new and ever-adorable way. Look around thee with the eye of faith, and thou wilt find around Him, as by the ordinance of their courses, the royal and priestly company of the seraphim. These, as His body-guard, are ever wont to attend the presence of their king. Whence also in this place they are not only said to hymn with their praises the divine substance of the divine unity, but also the glory to be adored by all of that one of the sacred Trinity, which now, by the appearance of God in the flesh, hath even lighted upon earth. They say: “The whole earth is full of His glory.” For we believe that, together with the Son, who was made man for our sakes, according to the good pleasure of His will, was also present the Father, who is inseparable from Him as to His divine nature, and also the Spirit, who is of one and the same essence with Him. For, as says Paul, the interpreter of the divine oracle, “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.” [2 Cor 5:19] He thus shows that the Father was in the Son, because that one and the same will worked in them.

*3. Do thou, therefore, O lover of this festival, when thou hast considered well the glorious mysteries of Bethlehem, which were brought to pass for thy sake, gladly join thyself to the heavenly host, which is celebrating magnificently thy salvation [2 Sam 6:14]. As once David did before the ark, so do thou, before this virginal throne, joyfully lead the dance. Hymn with gladsome song the Lord, who is always and everywhere present, and Him who from Teman, as says the prophet [Habak. 3:3], hath thought fit to appear, and that in the flesh, to the race of men. Say, with Moses, “He is my God, and I will glorify Him; my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.” [Exod. 15:2]

Then, after thine hymn of thanksgiving, we shall usefully inquire what cause aroused the King of Glory to appear in Bethlehem. His compassion for us compelled Him, who cannot be compelled, to be born in a human body at Bethlehem. But what necessity was there that He, when a suckling infant, that He who, though born in time, was not limited by time, that He, who though wrapped in swaddling clothes, was not by them held fast, what necessity was there that He should be an exile and a stranger from His country? Should you, forsooth, wish to know this, ye congregation most holy, and upon whom the Spirit of God hath breathed, listen to Moses proclaiming plainly to the people, stimulating them, as it were, to the knowledge of this extraordinary nativity, and saying, “Every male that opens the womb, shall be called holy to the Lord.” [Exod 31:19] O wondrous circumstance! “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” [Rom 11:33] It became indeed the Lord of the law and the prophets to do all things in accordance with His own law, and not to make void the law, but to fulfil it, and rather to connect with the fulfilment of the law the beginning of His grace. Therefore it is that the mother, who was superior to the law, submits to the law. And she, the holy and undefiled one, observe that time of forty days that was appointed for the unclean. And He who makes us free from the law, became subject to the law; and there is offered for Him who hath sanctified us a pair of clean birds [Luke 2:24], in testimony of those who approach clean and blameless.

Now that that parturition was unpolluted, and stood not in need of expiatory victims, Isaiah is our witness, who proclaims distinctly to the whole earth under the sun: “Before she travailed,” he says, “she brought forth; before her pains came, she escaped, and brought forth a man-child.” [Isaiah 66:7] Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things? The most holy virgin mother, therefore, escaped entirely the manner of women even before she brought forth: doubtless, in order that the Holy Spirit, betrothing her unto Himself, and sanctifying her, she might conceive without intercourse with man. She hath brought forth her first-born Son, even the only-begotten Son of God, Him, I say, who in the heavens above shone forth as the only-begotten, without mother, from out His Father’s substance, and preserved the virginity of His natural unity undivided and inseparable; and who on earth, in the virgin’s nuptial chamber, joined to Himself the nature of Adam, like a bridegroom, by an inalienable union, and preserved his mother’s purity uncorrupt and uninjured — Him, in short, who in heaven was begotten without corruption, and on earth brought forth in a manner quite unspeakable. But to return to our subject.

*4. Therefore the prophet brought the virgin from Nazareth, in order that she might give birth at Bethlehem to her salvation-bestowing child, and brought her back again to Nazareth, in order to make manifest to the world the hope of life. Hence it was that the ark of God removed from the inn at Bethlehem (for there He paid to the law that debt of the forty days, due not to justice but to grace), and rested upon the mountains of Sion, and receiving into His pure bosom as upon a lofty throne, and one transcending the nature of man, the Monarch of all, she presented Him there to God the Father, as the joint-partner of His throne, and inseparable from His nature, together with that pure and undefiled flesh which he had of her substance assumed. The holy mother goes up to the temple to exhibit to the law a new and strange wonder, even that child long expected, who opened the virgin’s womb, and yet did not burst the barriers of virginity; that child, superior to the law, who yet fulfilled the law; that child that was at once before the law, and yet after it; that child, in short, who was of her incarnate beyond the law of nature. For in other cases every womb being opened by connection with a man, and, being impregnated by his seed, receives the beginning of conception, and by the pangs which make perfect parturition, doth at length bring forth to light its offspring endowed with reason, and with its nature consistent, in accordance with the wise provision of God its creator. For God said, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” But the womb of this virgin, without being opened before, or being impregnated with seed, gave birth to an offspring that transcended nature, while at the same time it was cognate to it, and that without detriment to the indivisible unity, so that the miracle was the more stupendous, the prerogative of virginity likewise remaining intact.

She goes up, therefore, to the temple, she who was more exalted than the temple, clothed with a double glory — the glory, I say, of undefiled virginity, and that of ineffable fecundity, the benediction of the law, and the sanctification of grace. Wherefore he says who saw it: “And the whole house was full of His glory, and the seraphim stood round about him; and one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.” [Isaiah 6:3] As also the blessed prophet Habkkuk has charmingly sung, saying, “In the midst of two living creatures thou shalt be known: as the years draw nigh thou shalt be recognised — when the time is come thou shalt be shown forth.” See, I pray you, the exceeding accuracy of the Spirit. He speaks of knowledge, recognition, showing forth. As to the first of these: “In the midst of two living creatures thou shalt be known,” [Hab. 3:2 LXX], he refers to that overshadowing of the divine glory which, in the time of the law, rested in the Holy of holies upon the covering of the ark, between the typical cherubim, as He says to Moses, “There will I be known to thee.” [Exod. 25:22] But He refers likewise to that concourse of angels, which hath now come to meet us, by the divine and ever adorable manifestation of the Saviour Himself in the flesh, although He in His very nature cannot be beheld by us, as Isaiah has even before declared. But when He says, “As the years draw nigh, thou shalt be recognised,” He means, as has been said, before, that glorious recognition of our Saviour, God in the flesh, who is otherwise invisible to mortal eye; as somewhere Paul, that great interpreter of sacred mysteries, says: “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” [Gal. 4:4-5] And then, as to that which is subjoined, “When the time is come, thou shalt be shown forth,” what exposition doth this require, if a man diligently direct the eye of his mind to the festival which we are now celebrating? “For then shalt thou be shown forth,” He says, “as upon a kingly charger, by the pure and chaste mother, in the temple, and that in the grace and beauty of the flesh assumed by thee.” All these things the prophet, summing up for the sake of greater clearness, exclaims in brief: “the Lord is in His holy temple” [Hab. 2:20]; “Fear before Him all the earth.” [Ps. 95(96):9]

*5. Tremendous, verily, is the mystery connected with thee, O virgin mother, thou spiritual throne, glorified and made worthy of God. Thou hast brought forth, before the eyes of those in heaven and earth, a pre-eminent wonder. And it is a proof of this, and an irrefragable argument, that at the novelty of thy supernatural child-bearing, the angels sang on earth, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towards men,” by their threefold song bringing in a threefold holiness. Blessed art thou among the generations of women, O thou of God most blessed, for by thee the earth has been filled with that divine glory of God; as in the Psalms it is sung: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, and the whole earth shall be filled with His glory. Amen. Amen.” [Ps. 71(72):18,19]

And the posts of the door, says the prophet, moved at the voice of him that cried, by which is signified the veil of the temple drawn before the ark of the covenant, which typified thee, that the truth might be laid open to me, and also that I might be taught, by the types and figures which went down before, to approach with reverence and trembling to do honour to the sacred mystery which is connected with thee; and that by means of this prior shadow-painting of the law I might be restrained from boldly and irreverently contemplating with fixed gaze Him who, in His incomprehensibility, is seated far above all.

For if to the ark, which was the image and type of thy sanctity, such honour was paid of God that to no one but to the priestly order only was the access to it open, or ingress allowed to behold it, the veil separating it off, and keeping the vestibule as that of a queen, what, and what sort of veneration is due to thee from us who are of creation the least, to thee who art indeed a queen; to thee, the living ark of God, the Lawgiver; to thee, the heaven that contains Him who can be contained of none? For since thou, O holy virgin, hast dawned as a bright day upon the world, and hast brought forth the Sun of Righteousness, that hateful horror of darkness has been chased away; the power of the tyrant has been broken, death hath been destroyed, hell swallowed up, and all enmity dissolved before the face of peace; noxious diseases depart now that salvation looks forth; and the whole universe has been filled with the pure and clear light of truth. To which things Solomon alludes in the Book of Canticles, and begins thus: “My beloved is mine, and I am his; he feedeth among the lilies until the day break, and the shadows flee away.” [Cant 2:16,17] Since then, the God of gods hath appeared in Sion, and the splendour of His beauty hath appeared in Jerusalem; and “a light has sprung up for the righteous, and joy for those who are true of heart.” [Ps. 71(72):11] According to the blessed David, the Perfecter and Lord of the perfected hath, by the Holy Spirit, called the teacher and minister of the law to minister and testify of those things which were done.

*6. Hence the aged Simeon, putting off the weakness of the flesh, and putting on the strength of hope, in the face of the law hastened to receive the Minister of the law, the Teacher with authority, the God of Abraham, the Protector of Isaac, the Holy One of Israel, the Instructor of Moses; Him, I say, who promised to show him His divine incarnation, as it were His hinder parts [Exod. 3:23]; Him who, in the midst of poverty, was rich; Him who in infancy was before the ages; Him who, though seen, was invisible; Him who in comprehension was incomprehensible; Him who, though in littleness, yet surpassed all magnitude — at one and the same time in the temple and in the highest heavens — on a royal throne, and on the chariot of the cherubim; Him who is both above and below continuously; Him who is in the form of a servant, and in the form of God the Father; a subject and yet King of all.

He [Simeon] was entirely given up to desire, to hope, to joy; he was no longer his own, but His who had been looked for. The Holy Spirit had announced to him the joyful tidings, and before he reached the temple, carried aloft by the eyes of his understanding, as if even now he possessed what he had longed for, he exulted with joy. Being thus led on, and in his haste treading the air with his steps, he reaches the shrine hitherto held sacred; but, not heeding the temple, he stretches out his holy arms to the Ruler of the temple, chanting forth in song such strains as became the joyous occasion:

“I long for Thee, O Lord God of my fathers, and Lord of mercy, who hast deigned, of Thine own glory and goodness, which provides for all, of Thy gracious condescension, with which Thou inclines towards us, as a Mediator bringing peace, to establish harmony between earth and heaven. I seek Thee, the Great Author of all. With longing I expect Thee, who, with Thy word, embraces all things. I wait for Thee, the Lord of life and death. For Thee I look, the Giver of the law, and the Successor of the law. I hunger for Thee, who raises the dead; I thirst for Thee, who refreshes the weary; I desire Thee, the Creator and Redeemer of the world.

“Thou art our God, and Thee we adore; Thou art our holy Temple, and in Thee we pray; Thou art our Lawgiver, and Thee we obey; Thou art God of all things the First. Before Thee was no other god begotten of God the Father; neither after Thee shall there be any other son consubstantial and of one glory with the Father. And to know Thee is perfect righteousness, and to know Thy power is the root of immortality [Wisd. 15:3]. Thou art He who, for our salvation, was made the head stone of the corner, precious and honourable, declared before to Sion. For all things are placed under Thee as their Cause and Author, as He who brought all things into being out of nothing, and gave to what was unstable a firm coherence; as the connecting Band and Preserver of that which has been brought into being; as the Framer of things by nature different; as He who, with wise and steady hand, holds the helm of the universe; as the very Principle of all good order; as the irrefragable Bond of concord and peace. For in Thee we live and move and have our being [Acts 18:28].

“Wherefore, O Lord my God, I will glorify Thee, I will praise Thy name; for Thou hast done wonderful things; Thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth; Thou art clothed with majesty and honour. For what is more splendid for a king than a purple robe embroidered around with flowers, and a shining diadem? Or what for God, who delights in man, is more magnificent than this merciful assumption of the manhood, illuminating with its resplendent rays those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death?

“Fitly did that temporal king and Thy servant once sing of Thee as the King Eternal, saying, Thou art fairer than the children of men, who amongst men art very God and man [Ps. 44:3 (45:2)]. For Thou hast girt, by Thy incarnation, Thy loins with righteousness, and anointed Thy veins with faithfulness, who Thyself art very righteousness and truth, the joy and exultation of all. Therefore rejoice with me this day, ye heavens, for the Lord hath showed mercy to His people. Yea, let the clouds drop the dew of righteousness upon the world [Isaiah 45:8]; let the foundations of the earth sound a trumpet-blast to those in Hades, for the resurrection of them that sleep is come. Let the earth also cause compassion to spring up to its inhabitants; for I am filled with comfort; I am exceeding joyful since I have seen Thee, the Saviour of men.”

*7. While the old man was thus exultant, and rejoicing with exceeding great and holy joy, that which had before been spoken of in a figure by the prophet Isaiah, the holy mother of God now manifestly fulfilled. For taking, as from a pure and undefiled altar, that coal living and ineffable, with man’s flesh invested, in the embrace of her sacred hands, as it were with the tongs, she held him out to that just one, addressing and exhorting him, as it seems to me, in words to this effect:

“Receive, O reverend senior, thou of priests the most excellent, receive the Lord, and reap the full fruition of that hope of thine which is not left widowed and desolate. Receive, thou of men the most illustrious, the unfailing treasure, and those riches which can never be taken away. Take to thine embrace, O thou of men most wise, that unspeakable might, that unsearchable power, which can alone support thee. Embrace, thou minister of the temple, the Greatness infinite, and the Strength incomparable. Fold thyself around Him who is the very life itself, and live, O thou of men most venerable. Cling closely to incorruption and be renewed, O thou of men most righteous.

“Not too bold is the attempt; shrink not from it then, O thou of men most holy. Satiate thyself with Him thou hast longed for, and take thy delight in Him who has been given, or rather who gives Himself to thee, O thou of men most divine. Joyfully draw thy light, O thou of men most pious, from the Sun of Righteousness, that gleams around thee through the unsullied mirror of the flesh. Fear not His gentleness, nor let His clemency terrify thee, O thou of men most blessed. Be not afraid of His lenity, nor shrink from His kindness, O thou of men most modest. Join thyself to Him with alacrity, and delay not to obey Him. That which is spoken to thee, and held out to thee, savours not of over-boldness. Be not then reluctant, O thou of men the most decorous. The flame of the grace of my Lord does not consume, but illuminates thee, O thou of men most just.

“Let the bush which set forth me in type, with respect to the verity of that fire which yet had no subsistence, teach thee this, O thou who art in the law the instructed. Let that furnace which was as it were a breeze distilling dew persuade thee, O master, of the dispensation of this mystery. Then, beside all this, let my womb be a proof to thee, in which He was contained, who in nothing and no-one else was ever contained, of the substance of which the incarnate Word yet deigned to become incarnate.

“The blast of the trumpet does not now terrify those who approach, nor a second time does the mountain all on smoke cause terror to those who draw nigh, nor indeed does the law punish relentlessly those who would boldly touch. What is here present speaks of love to man; what is here apparent, of the Divine condescension.

“Thankfully, then, receive the God who comes to thee, for He shall take away thine iniquities, and thoroughly purge thy sins. In thee, let the cleansing of the world first, as in type, have place. In thee, and by thee, let that justification which is of grace become known beforehand to the Gentiles. Thou art worthy of the quickening first-fruits. Thou hast made good use of the law. Use grace henceforth. With the letter thou hast grown weary; in the spirit be renewed. Put off that which is old, and clothe thyself with that which is new. For of these matters I think not that thou art ignorant.”

*8. Upon all this that righteous man, waxing bold and yielding to the exhortation of the mother of God, who is the handmaid of God in regard to the things which pertain to men, received into his aged arms Him who in infancy was yet the ancient of days, and blessed God, and said:

“Lord, now let Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word: for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.” [Luke 2:29-32] I have received from Thee a joy unmixed with pain. Do thou, O Lord, receive me rejoicing, and singing of Thy mercy and compassion. Thou hast given unto me this joy of heart. I render unto Thee with gladness my tribute of thanksgiving. I have known the power of the love of God. Since, for my sake, God of Thee begotten, in a manner ineffable, and without corruption, has become man. I have known the inexplicable greatness of Thy love and care for us, for Thou hast sent forth Thine own bowels to come to our deliverance. Now, at length, I understand what I had from Solomon learned: Strong as death is love: for by it shall the sting of death be done away, by it shall the dead see life, by it shall even death learn what death is, being made to cease from that dominion which over us he exercised. By it, also, shall the serpent, the author of our evils, be taken captive and overwhelmed. [Cant. 8:6]

“Thou hast made known to us, O Lord, Thy salvation causing to spring up for us the plant of peace, and we shall no longer wander in error. Thou hast made known to us, O Lord, that Thou hast not unto the end overlooked Thy servants; neither hast Thou, O beneficent One, forgotten entirely the works of Thine hands. For out of Thy compassion for our low estate Thou hast shed forth upon us abundantly that goodness of Thine which is inexhaustible, and with Thy very nature cognate, having redeemed us by Thine only begotten Son, who is unchangeably like to Thee, and of one substance with Thee; judging it unworthy of Thy majesty and goodness to entrust to a servant the work of saving and benefiting Thy servants, or to cause that those who had offended should be reconciled by a minister. But by means of that light, which is of one substance with Thee, Thou hast given light to those that sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, in order that “in Thy light they might see the light” of knowledge [Ps. 35:10(36:9)]; and it has seemed good to Thee, by means of our Lord and Creator, to fashion us again unto immortality; and Thou hast graciously given unto us a return to Paradise by means of Him who separated us from the joys of Paradise; and by means of Him who hath power to forgive sins Thou hast blotted out the handwriting which was against us [Col. 2:4].

“Lastly, by means of Him who is a partaker of Thy throne, and who cannot be separated from Thy divine nature, Thou hast given unto us the gift of reconciliation, and access unto Thee with confidence, in order that, by the Lord who recognises the sovereign authority of none, by the true and omnipotent God, the subscribed sanction, as it were, of so many and such great blessings might constitute the justifying gifts of grace to be certain and indubitable rights to those who have obtained mercy. And this very thing the prophet before had announced in the words: No ambassador, nor angel, but the Lord Himself saved them; because He loved them, and spared them, and He took them up, and exalted them [Isaiah 43:9 LXX].

“And all this was, not of works of righteousness which we have done, nor because we loved Thee (for our first earthly forefather, who was honourably entertained in the delightful abode of Paradise, despised Thy divine and saving commandment, and was judged unworthy of that life-giving place, and mingling his seed with the bastard off-shoots of sin, he rendered it very weak); but Thou, O Lord, of Thine own self, and of Thine ineffable love toward the creature of Thine hands, hast confirmed Thy mercy toward us, and, pitying our estrangement from Thee, hast moved Thyself at the sight of our degradation to take us into compassion. Hence, for the future, a joyous festival is established for us of the race of Adam, because the first Creator of Adam of His own free will has become the Second Adam. And the brightness of the Lord our God hath come down to sojourn with us, so that we see God face to face, and are saved.

“Therefore, O Lord, I seek of Thee to be allowed to depart. I have seen Thy salvation; let me be delivered from the bent yoke of the letter. I have seen the King Eternal, to whom no other succeeds; let me be set free from this servile and burdensome chain. I have seen Him who is by nature my Lord and Deliverer; may I obtain, then, His decree for my deliverance. Set me free from the yoke of condemnation, and place me under the yoke of justification. Deliver me from the yoke of the curse, and of the letter that kills; and induct me into the blessed company of those who, by the grace of this Thy true Son, who is of equal glory and power with Thee, have been received into the adoption of sons.”

*9. “Let then,” says he, “what I have thus far said in brief, suffice for the present as offering of thanks to God. But what shall I say to thee, O mother-virgin and virgin-mother? For the praise even of her who is not man’s work exceeds the power of man. Wherefore the dimness of my poverty I will make bright with the splendour of the gifts of the spirits that around thee shine, and offering to thee of thine own, from the immortal meadows I will pluck a garland for thy sacred and divinely crowned head. With thine ancestral hymns will I greet thee, O daughter of David, and mother of the Lord and God of David. For it were both base and inauspicious to adorn thee, who in thine own glory excels with that which belongs unto another.

“Receive, therefore, O lady most benignant, gifts precious, and such as are fitted to thee alone, O thou who art exalted above all generations, and who, amongst all created things, both visible and invisible, shone forth as the most honourable. Blessed is the root of Jesse, and thrice blessed is the house of David, in which thou hast sprung up. God is in the midst of thee, and thou shalt not be moved, for the Most High hath made holy the place of His tabernacle. For in thee the covenants and oaths made of God unto the fathers have received a most glorious fulfilment, since by thee the Lord hath appeared, the God of hosts with us. That bush which could not be touched, which beforehand shadowed forth thy figure endowed with divine majesty, bare God without being consumed, who manifested Himself to the prophet just so far as He willed to be seen. Then, again, that hard and rugged rock, which imaged forth the grace and refreshment which has sprung out from thee for all the world, brought forth abundantly in the desert out of its thirsty sides a healing draught for the fainting people. Yea, moreover, the rod of the priest which, without culture, blossomed forth in fruit, the pledge and earnest of a perpetual priesthood, furnished no contemptible symbol of thy supernatural child-bearing.

“What, moreover? Hath not the mighty Moses expressly declared, that on account of these types of thee, hard to be understood, he delayed [Ex. 32:1] longer on the mountain, in order that he might learn, O holy one, the mysteries that with thee are connected? For being commanded to build the ark as a sign and a similitude of this thing, he was not negligent in obeying the command, although a tragic occurrence happened on his descent from the mount; but having made it in size five cubits and a half, he appointed it to be the receptacle of the law, and covered it with the wings of the cherubim, most evidently pre-signifying thee, the mother of God, who has conceived Him without corruption, and in an ineffable manner brought forth Him who is Himself, as it were, the very consistence of incorruption, and that within the limits of the five and a half circles of the world. On thy account, and the undefiled Incarnation of God, the Word, which by thee had place for the sake of that flesh which immutably and indivisibly remains with Him forever. The golden pot also, as a most certain type, preserved the manna contained in it, (which in other cases was changed day by day), unchanged, and keeping fresh for ages.

“The prophet Elijah likewise, as prescient of thy chastity, and being emulous of it through the Spirit, bound around him the crown of that fiery life, being by the divine decree adjudged superior to death [4 Kings 2:11, Sirach 48:1]. Thee also prefiguring, his successor Elisha, having been instructed by a wise master, and anticipating thy presence who was not yet born, by certain sure indications of the things that would have place hereafter, ministered help and healing to those who were in need of it, which was of a virtue beyond nature; now with a new cruse, which contained healing salt, curing the deadly waters, to show that the world was to be recreated by the mystery manifested in thee; now with unleavened meal, in type responding to thy child-bearing, without being defiled by the seed of man, banishing from the food the bitterness of death; and then again, by efforts which transcended nature, rising superior to the natural elements in the Jordan, and thus exhibiting, in signs beforehand, the descent of our Lord into Hades, and His wonderful deliverance of those who were held fast in corruption. For all things yielded and succumbed to that divine image which prefigured thee.

“Hail! hail! mother and handmaid of God. Hail! hail! thou to whom the great Creditor of all is a debtor. We are all debtors to God, but to thee He is Himself indebted. For He who said, Honour thy father and thy mother, will have most assuredly, as Himself willing to be tested by such proofs, kept inviolate that grace, and His own decree towards her who ministered to Him that nativity to which He voluntarily stooped, and will have glorified with a divine honour her whom He, as being without a father, even as she was without a husband, Himself has written down as mother.

“Even so must these things be. For the hymns which we offer to thee, O thou most holy and admirable habitation of God, are no merely useless and ornamental words. Nor, again, is thy spiritual laudation mere secular trifling, or the shoutings of a false flattery, O thou who of God art praised; thou who to God gave sustenance; who by nativity gave unto morals their beginning of being: but they are of clear and evident truth.

“But the time would fail us, ages and succeeding generations too, to render unto thee thy fitting salutation as the mother of the King Eternal, even as somewhere the illustrious prophet says, teaching us how incomprehensible thou art [Baruch 3:24,25]. How great is the house of God, and how large is the place of His possession! Great, and hath none end, high and unmeasurable. For verily, verily, this prophetic oracle, and most true saying, is concerning thy majesty; for thou alone hast been thought worthy to share with God the things of God; who hast alone borne in the flesh Him, who of God the Father was the Eternally and Only-Begotten. So do they truly believe who hold fast to the pure faith.”

*10. “But why do I digress, and lengthen out my discourse, giving it the rein with these varied illustrations, and that when the truth of thy matter stands like a column before the eye, in which it were better and more profitable to luxuriate and delight? Wherefore, bidding adieu to the spiritual narrations and wondrous deeds of the saints throughout all ages, I pass on to thee who art always to be had in remembrance, and who holds the helm, as it were, of this festival.

“Blessed art thou, all-blessed, and to be desired of all. Blessed of the Lord is thy name, full of divine grace, and grateful exceedingly to God, mother of God, thou that gives light to the faithful. Thou art the circumscription, so to speak, of Him who cannot be circumscribed; the root of the most beautiful flower; the mother of the Creator; the nurse of the Nourisher; the circumference of Him who embraces all things; the upholder of Him who upholds all things by His word; the gate through which God appears in the flesh; the tongs of that cleansing coal [Isaiah 6:6]; the bosom in small of that bosom which is all-containing; the fleece of wool, the mystery of which cannot be solved [Judges 6:37]; the well of Bethlehem, that reservoir of life which David longed for, out of which the draught of immortality gushed forth; the mercy-seat from which God in human form was made known unto men; the spotless robe of Him who clothes Himself with light as with a garment.

“Thou has lent to God, who stands in need of nothing, that flesh which He had not, in order that the Omnipotent might become that which it was His good pleasure to be. What is more splendid than this? What than this is more sublime? He who fills earth and heaven, whose are all things, has become in need of thee, for thou hast lent to God that flesh which He had not. Thou hast clad the Mighty One with that beauteous panoply of the body by which it has become possible for Him to be seen by mine eyes. And I, in order that I might freely approach to behold Him, have received that by which all the fiery darts of the wicked shall be quenched.”

*11. But for the time that remains, my most attentive hearers, let us take up the old man, the receiver of God, and our pious teacher, who hath put in here, as it were, in safety from that virginal sea, and let us refresh him, both satisfied as to his divine longing, and conveying to us this most blessed theology; and let us ourselves follow out the rest of our discourse, directing our course unerringly with reference to our prescribed end, and that under the guidance of God the Almighty, so shall we not be found altogether unfruitful and unprofitable as to what is required of us.

When, then, to these sacred rites, prophecy and the priesthood had been jointly called, and that pair of just ones elected of God (Simeon, I mean, and Anna, bearing in themselves most evidently the images of both peoples) had taken their station by the side of that glorious and virginal throne (for by the old man was represented the people of Israel, and the law now waxing old; whilst the widow represents the Church of the Gentiles, which had been up to this point a widow), the old man, indeed, as personifying the law, seeks dismissal; but the widow, as personifying the Church, brought her joyous confession of faith, and spoke of Him to all that looked for redemption in Jerusalem, even as the things that were spoken of both have been appositely and excellently recorded, and quite in harmony with the sacred festival.

For it was fitting and necessary that the old man who knew so accurately that decree of the law, in which it is said: Hear Him, and every soul that will not hearken unto Him shall be cut off from His people [Deut. 18:15-19], should seek a peaceful discharge from the tutorship of the law; for in truth it were insolence and presumption, when the king is present and addressing the people, for one of his attendants to make a speech over against him, and that to this man his subjects should incline their ears. It was necessary, too, that the widow who had been increased with gifts beyond measure, should in festal strains return her thanks to God; and so the things which there took place were agreeable to the law.

But, for what remains, it is necessary to inquire how, since the prophetic types and figures bear, as has been shown, a certain analogy and relation to this prominent feast, it is said that the house was filled with smoke. Nor does the prophet say this incidentally, but with significance, speaking of that cry of the Thrice-Holy, uttered by the heavenly seraphs. You will discover the meaning of this, my attentive hearer, if you do but take up and examine what follows upon this narration: For hearing, he says, ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing, ye shall see, and not perceive.

When, therefore, the foolish Jewish children had seen the glorious wonders which, as David sang, the Lord had performed in the earth [Ps. 45:9 (46:8)], and had seen the sign from the depth and from the height meeting together, without division or confusion; as also Isaiah had before declared [Isa. 7:11], namely, a mother beyond nature, and an offspring beyond reason; an earthly mother and a heavenly son; a new taking of man’s nature, I say, by God, and a child-bearing without marriage; what in creation’s circuit could be more glorious and more to be spoken of than this! yet when they had seen this it was all one as if they had not seen it; they closed their eyes, and in respect of praise were supine. Therefore the house in which they boasted was filled with smoke.

*12. And in addition to this, when besides the spectacle, and even beyond the spectacle, they heard an old man, very righteous, very worthy of credit, worthy also of emulation, inspired by the Holy Spirit, a teacher of the law, honoured with the priesthood, illustrious in the gift of prophecy, by the hope which he had conceived of Christ, extending the limits of life, and putting off the debt of death — when they law him, I say, leaping for joy, speaking words of good omen, quite transformed with gladness of heart, entirely rapt in a divine and holy ecstasy; who from a man had been changed into an angel by a godly change, and, for the immensity of his joy, chanted his hymn of thanksgiving, and openly proclaimed the “Light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.” [Luke 2:32] — Not even then were they willing to hear what was placed within their hearing, and held in veneration by the heavenly beings themselves; wherefore the house in which they boasted was filled with smoke.

Now smoke is a sign and sure evidence of wrath; as it is written, “There went up a smoke in His anger, and fire from His countenance devoured;” [Ps. 17(18):8] and in another place, “Amongst the disobedient people shall the fire burn.” [Sirach 22:7] which plainly, in the revered gospels, our Lord signified, when He said to the Jews, “Behold your house is left unto you desolate.” [Matt. 23:38] Also, in another place, “The king sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burnt up their city.” [Matt. 17:7] Of such a nature was the adverse reward of the Jews for their unbelief, which caused them to refuse to pay to the Trinity the tribute of praise.

For after that the ends of the earth were sanctified, and the mighty house of the Church was filled, by the proclamation of the Thrice Holy, with the glory of the Lord, as the great waters cover the seas, [Isa. 6:3,4] there happened to them the things which before hand been declared, the preacher of truth signifying, as has been said, by the Holy Spirit, as it were in an example, the dreadful destruction which was to come upon them, in the words: “In the year in which king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord” — Uzziah, doubtless, as an apostate, being taken as the representative of the whole apostate body — the head of which he certainly was — who also, paying the penalty due to his presumption, carried on his forehead, as upon a brazen statue, the divine vengeance engraved, by the loathsomeness of leprosy, exhibiting to all the retribution of their loathsome impiety. Wherefore with divine wisdom did he, who had foreknowledge of these events, oppose the bringing in of the thankful Anna to the casting out of the ungrateful synagogue. Her very name also pre-signifies the Church, that by the grace of Christ and God is justified in baptism. For Anna is, by interpretation, grace.

*13. But here, as in port, putting in the vessel that bears the ensign of the cross, let us reef the sails of our oration, in order that it may be with itself commensurate. Only first, in as few words as possible, let us salute the city of the Great King, together with the whole body of the Church, as being present with them in spirit, and keeping holy-day with the Father, and the brethren most held in honour there.

Hail, thou city of the Great King, in which the mysteries of our salvation are consummated. Hail, thou heaven upon earth, Sion, the city that is forever faithful unto the Lord. Hail, and shine thou Jerusalem, for thy light is come, the Light Eternal, the Light for ever enduring, the Light Supreme, the Light Immaterial, the Light of one substance with God and the Father, the Light which is in the Spirit, and in which is the Father; the Light which illumines the ages; the Light which gives light to mundane and super non-mundane things, Christ our very God.

Hail, city sacred and elect of the Lord. Joyfully keep thy festal days, for they will not multiply so as to wax old and pass away. Hail, thou city most happy, for glorious things are spoken of thee; thy priest shall be clothed with righteousness, and thy saints shall shout for joy, and thy poor shall be satisfied with bread. Hail! rejoice, O Jerusalem, for the Lord reigns in the midst of thee. That Lord, I say, who in His simple and immaterial Deity, entered our nature, and of the virgin’s womb became ineffably incarnate; that Lord, who was partaker of nothing else save the lump of Adam, who was by the serpent tripped up.

For the Lord laid not hold of the seed of angels — those, I say, who fell not away from that beauteous order and rank that was assigned to them from the beginning. To us He condescended, that Word who was always with the Father co-existent God. Nor, again, did He come into the world to restore, nor will He restore, as has been imagined by some impious advocates of the devil, those wicked demons who once fell from light; but when the Creator and Framer of all things had, as the most divine Paul says, laid hold of the seed of Abraham, and through him of the whole human race, He was made man forever, and without change, in order that by His fellowship with us, and our joining on to Him, the ingress of sin into us might be stopped, its strength being broken by degrees, and itself as wax being melted, by that fire which the Lord, when He came, sent upon the earth.

Hail to thee, thou Catholic [meaning Universal] Church, which hast been planted in all the earth, and do thou rejoice with us. “Fear not, little flock” [Luke 12:32], the storms of the enemy, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom, and that you should tread upon the necks of your enemies. Hail, and rejoice, thou that was once barren, and without seed unto godliness, but who hast now many children of faith. Hail, thou people of the Lord, thou chosen generation, thou royal priesthood, thou holy nation, thou peculiar people — show forth His praises who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light; and for His mercies glorify Him.

*14. Hail to thee forever, thou virgin mother of God, our unceasing joy, for unto thee do I again return. Thou art the beginning of our feast; thou art its middle and end; the pearl of great price that belongs unto the kingdom; the fat of every victim, the living altar of the bread of life. Hail, thou treasure of the love of God. Hail, thou fount of the Son’s love for man. Hail, thou overshadowing mount of the Holy [Spirit]. Thou gleamedst, sweet gift-bestowing mother, of the light of the sun; thou gleamedst with the insupportable fires of a most fervent charity, bringing forth in the end that which was conceived of thee before the beginning, making manifest the mystery hidden and unspeakable, the invisible Son of the Father — the Prince of Peace, who in a marvellous manner showed Himself as less than all littleness. Wherefore, we pray thee, the most excellent among women, who boasts in the confidence of thy maternal honours, that thou would unceasingly keep us in remembrance. O holy mother of God, remember us, I say, who make our boast in thee, and who in hymns august celebrate the memory, which will ever live, and never fade away. And do thou also, O honoured and venerable Simeon, thou earliest host of our holy religion, and teacher of the resurrection of the faithful, be our patron and advocate with that Saviour God, whom thou was deemed worthy to receive into thine arms. We, together with thee, sing our praises to Christ, who has the power of life and death, saying, Thou art the true Light, proceeding from the true Light; the true God, begotten of the true God; the one Lord, before Thine assumption of the humanity; that One nevertheless, after Thine assumption of it, which is ever to be adored; God of Thine own self and not by grace, but for our sakes also perfect man; in Thine own nature the King absolute and sovereign, but for us and for our salvation existing also in the form of a servant, yet immaculately and without defilement. For Thou who art incorruption hast come to set corruption free, that Thou might render all things uncorrupt. For Thine is the glory, and the power, and the greatness, and the majesty, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, forever. Amen.”

Commentary on St. Luke 2:25-35 (Sermon 4)

“The prophet Isaiah says, “Beautiful are the feet of them that bring good tidings of good:” and what could there be so sweet to learn as that God has saved the world by the mediation of the Son, in that He was made like unto us? For it is written, “that there is one God, and one Mediator of God and men, the Man Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself a ransom for us.” For of His own accord He descended to our poverty, that He might make us rich by our gaining what is His. Behold Him therefore as one in our estate presented unto the Father, and obedient to the shadows of the law, offering sacrifice moreover according to what was customary, true though it be that these things were done by the instrumentality of His mother according to the flesh. Was He then unrecognised by all at Jerusalem, and known to none dwelling there? How could this be the case? For God the Father had before proclaimed by the holy prophets, that in due season the Son would be manifested to save them that were lost, and to give light to them that were in darkness. By one too of the holy prophets He said, “My righteousness approaches quickly, and My mercy to be revealed, and My salvation shall burn as a torch. But the mercy and righteousness is Christ: for through Him have we obtained mercy and righteousness, having washed away our filthy vileness by faith that is in Him. And that which a torch going before them is to those in night and darkness, this has Christ become for those who are in mental gloom and darkness, implanting in them the divine light. For this reason also the blessed prophets prayed to be made partakers of His great grace, saying, “Show us Thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us Thy salvation.”

Christ therefore was carried into the temple, being yet a little child at the breast: and the blessed Symeon being endowed with the grace of prophecy, takes Him in his arms, and filled with the highest joy, blessed God, and said; “Lord, now let Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy Word, for mine eyes have seen Thy Salvation, Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all the nations, the Gentiles’ light for revelation, and a glory of Thy people Israel.” For the mystery of Christ had been prepared even before the very foundation of the world, but was manifested in the last ages of time, and became a light for those who in darkness and error had fallen under the devil’s hand. These were they “who serve the creation instead of the Creator,” worshipping moreover the dragon, the author of evil, and the impure throng of devils, to whom they attach the honour due unto God: yet were they called by God the Father to the acknowledgment of the Son Who is the true light. Of them in sooth He said by the voice of Isaiah, “I will make signs unto them, and receive them, because I will ransom them, and they shall be multiplied, as they were many: and I will sow them among the nations, and they who are afar off shall remember Me.” For very many were they that were astray, but were called through Christ: and again they are many as they were before; for they have been received and ransomed, having obtained as the token of peace from God the Father, the adoption into His family and the grace that is by faith in Jesus Christ. And the divine disciples were sown widely among the nations: and what is the consequence? Those who in disposition were far from God, have been made near. To whom also the divine Paul sends an epistle, saying, “Now ye who some time were afar off have been made near in the blood of Christ.” And having been brought near, they make Christ their glorying: for again, God the Father has said of them, “And I will strengthen them in the Lord their God, and in His Name shall they glory, said the Lord.” This also the blessed Psalmist teaches, speaking as it were unto Christ the Saviour of all, and saying, “Lord, they shall walk in the light of Thy countenance, and in Thy Name shall they exult all the day, and in Thy righteousness shall they be exalted: for Thou art the glorying of their strength.” And we shall find also the prophet Jeremiah calling out unto God, “Lord, my strength and my help, and my refuge in the day of my evils, to Thee shall the heathen come from the end of the earth, and say, Our fathers took unto themselves false idols, in which there is no help.”

Christ therefore became the Gentiles’ light for revelation: but also for the glory of Israel. For even granting that some of them proved insolent, and disobedient, and with minds void of understanding, yet is there a remnant saved, and admitted unto glory through Christ. And the first-fruits of these were the divine disciples, the brightness of whose renown lightens the whole world.

And in another sense Christ is the glory of Israel, for He came of them according to the flesh, though He be “God over all, and blessed for evermore, Amen.”

And Symeon blessed also the holy Virgin as the handmaid of the divine counsel, and the instrument of the birth that submitted not itself to the laws of human nature. For being a virgin she brought forth, and that not by man, but by the power of the Holy [Spirit] having come upon her.

And what does the prophet Symeon say of Christ? “Behold This child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign that shall be spoken against.” For the Emmanuel is set by God the Father for the foundations of Sion, “being a stone elect, chief of the corner, and honourable.” Those then that trusted in Him were not ashamed: but those who were unbelieving and ignorant, and unable to perceive the mystery regarding Him, fell, and were broken in pieces. For God the Father again has somewhere said, “Behold I lay in Sion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence, and He that believeth on It shall not be ashamed; but on whomsoever It shall fall, It will winnow him.” But the prophet bade the Israelites be secure, saying, “Sanctify the Lord Himself, and He shall be thy fear: and if thou trust upon Him, He shall be thy sanctification, nor shall ye strike against Him as on a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence.” Because however Israel did not sanctify the Emmanuel Who is Lord and God, nor was willing to trust in Him, having stumbled as upon a stone because of unbelief, it was broken in pieces and fell. But many rose again, those, namely, who embraced faith in Him. For they changed from a legal to a spiritual service: from having in them a slavish spirit, they were enriched with That Spirit Which makes free, even the Holy [Spirit]: they were made partakers of the divine nature: they were counted worthy of the adoption of sons: and live in hope of gaining the city that is above, even the citizenship, to wit, the kingdom of heaven.

And by the sign that is spoken against, he means the precious Cross, for as the most wise Paul writes, “to the Jews it is a stumbling-block, and foolishness to the heathen.” And again, “To them that are perishing it is foolishness: but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God unto salvation.” The sign therefore is spoken against, if to those that perish it seem to be folly; while to those who acknowledge its power it is salvation and life.

And Symeon further said to the holy Virgin, “Yea, a sword shall go through thy own soul also,” meaning by the sword the pain which she suffered for Christ, in seeing Him Whom she brought forth crucified; and not knowing at all that He would be more mighty than death, and rise again from the grave. Nor may thou wonder that the Virgin knew this not, when we shall find even the holy Apostles themselves with little faith thereupon: for verily the blessed Thomas, had he not thrust his hands into His side after the resurrection, and felt also the prints of the nails, would have disbelieved the other disciples telling him, that Christ was risen, and had showed Himself unto them.

The very wise Evangelist therefore for our benefit teaches us all things whatsoever the Son, when He was made flesh, and consented to bear our poverty, endured for our sakes and in our behalf, that so we may glorify Him as our Redeemer, as our Lord, as our Saviour, and our God: by Whom and with Whom to God the Father and the Holy [Spirit] be the glory and the power for ever and ever, Amen.”

By Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

This Saturday (Saturday of the fifth week of the Great Lent) we chant the Akathist Hymn during Matins. In our days however this does not happen except in the holy monasteries, since in the parishes it is chanted the evening before, on Friday during the Small Compline.

The Akathist Hymn is a “Kontakion”. In olden times a Kontakion was a series of hymns, analogous with a “Canon”. The name probably comes from the short stick with which the parchment that contained the hymn was unwrapped [kontakion means "short stick" in Greek]. The first troparion is called a “prooimion” or “koukoulion” and those after are called “oikoi”, hence why the entire hymn is considered an entire structure [oikos in Greek means "house"] dedicated to the memory of a certain saint. Today the first troparion of such a hymn is usually called a Kontakion.

The Akathist Hymn contains a prooimion and 24 “oikoi”. The prooimion in the olden days was not where “O Champion General” is today, but after (“When he perceived what had secretly been ordered”). The “acrostic” of the hymn is alphabetical, that is it follows the order of the alphabet [in Greek] A, B, C, D, etc. An acrostic is a phrase that is formed when the first letter of an eirmos and troparion continues in a certain continuous order for a hymn. This phrase sometimes refers to the name of the author of the hymn, or at other times to the subject of the feast, and so on. Of course not all hymns have acrostics. There are also two “Ephymnia” [Refrains] in the Akathist Hymn: “Rejoice, Bride unwedded” and “Alleluia”. The first is the response for the odd numbered “oikoi” (1, 3, 5, 7, etc.) and the second is for the even numbered “oikoi” (2, 4, 6, 8, etc.). An “ephymnion” is the last word or phrase of a hymn which the people repeat, since the chanters of course chanted the entire hymn.

The Akathist Hymn begins with the Annunciation of the Virgin, and then refers to the events thereafter. It speaks of the visitation of the Virgin to Elizabeth, of the suspicions of Joseph the protector of the Virgin, of the veneration of the Lord by the shepherds and magi, of the fleeing of Christ to Egypt and the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. These are in the first half. In the second half of the Hymn are words about the incarnation of Christ, the theosis of mankind and the worthiness of the Panagia to be the Mother of God.

Who was the author of the Akathist Hymn? To this question there has not been given an answer till this day which would not be disputed. Despite all the research and discussions the problem remains a problem. Some – and these are the majority – theorize the Hymn was written by Romanos the Melodist. Others theorize it was Patriarch Sergios of Constantinople. Others bring forward George Pisida, while others bring forward others. What seems most likely is that the Hymn was composed during the reign of Emperor Justinian, if not even a bit older.

The reason the Hymn is called “Akathist” is the following, in accordance with tradition:

About the year 626 Constantinople was beseiged by the Persians and Avars for some months. Emperor Heraclius at the time was in Asia Minor battling the Persians. When he found out his city was beseiged he sent 12,000 men of his soldiers to the patrician Bonos in Constantinople in order to defend, with the patrician, the capital of the empire. Bonos along with Patriarch Sergios gathered as many citizens as possible with weapons. They all swore to fight till the end. The Patriarch was running around the city encouraging the people and the fighters. The entire city placed their hopes in their Protectress, the “Champion Leader”, the Most Holy Theotokos. The seige was near and strong. Despite this the city withstood the attacks of the seige, yet the seige persisted. Suddenly a fearsome hurricane broke up all their ships, and they rushed throughout the night from the 7th till the 8th of August to abandon their seige and leave empty-handed. The kingdom was saved! The people of the city, celebrating their salvation, which they ascribed to the Mother of God, assembled at the Blachernae Church of the Theotokos, where they gathered for an all-night vigil of thanksgiving, presided over by Patriarch Sergios. During this the entire crowd chanted the Hymn while standing, and from this time on it became known as the Akathist Hymn [akathist means "not sitting" in Greek]. Indeed the Hymn existed before this time and was chanted to the Most Holy Theotokos, but on that night it was established in a festive way for our Church. The troparion “O Champion General” (which replaced the pre-existing “When he perceived what had secretly been ordered”) was unquestionably composed at that time. For this reason the entire deliverance of the city from clamity “ascribed the victory” to their Protectress the Theotokos.

The Akathist Hymn begins with a particular Canon, which begins “I will open my mouth”. This is an even numbered Canon, which means that it has eight Odes. The acrostic says: “Giver of joy, to you alone belongs rejoicing. Joseph.” The name Joseph refers to the author of the Canon. This is probably Joseph the Hymnographer, who was from Sicily and lived during the ninth century. The eirmoi do not belong to him, but were from the Canon of the Dormition of the Theotokos. They probably belong to John the Damascene. Every Ode in the Canon has an eirmon and four troparia. Thus the Canon has 8 eirmoi and 32 troparia.

This Canon is most beautiful and festive, and characterized as a poetic masterpiece. It sings of the Ever-Virgin Daughter as “the living book of Christ”, as “the palace of the only King”, as a “fiery throne of the Almighty”, as a “treasury of purity”, as a “sweet smelling lily”, as a “dwelling place of light”, as a “mercy seat for the world”, as “higher than the heavens”, as “incomprehensible depth”, as “height unspeakable”, as “the bridal chamber full of light”, as “the fiery chariot of God the Logos”, as the “living Paradise”, as “the cause of all the deified”, as the “unconsumed bush”, as the “mystical rod”, as the “pillar of fire”, etc.

The Akathist Hymn is also chanted in sections in our churches in the first four Fridays of Great Lent. The entire Canon which accompanies the Akathist is also chanted on these Fridays.

Well-known and much-loved is the troparion which is chanted during the Service of the Akathist Hymn:

O Champion General, we your City ascribe to you the victory in gratitude for being rescued from calamity, O Theotokos. But since you have invincible power, free us from all kinds of perils so that we may cry out to you: Rejoice, O Bride unwedded!

Most beautiful also is the apolytikion:

When he perceived what had secretly been ordered, to the abode of Joseph urgently reported the bodiless one and said unto the Unwedded: The Lord who has bowed the heavens in His descent, in you is contained completely and without change; and be­holding Him in your womb taking the form of a slave, astounded I cry out to you: Rejoice, O Bride unwedded!

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

CATECHESIS 68

That we must be renewed for what is ahead through endurance of the trials that fall upon us, both visible and invisible. [On the 5th Sunday.]

Brethren and fathers, because winter has passed and spring has arrived, we see creation flourishing again; the plants are flowering, the earth is growing green, the birds are singing and everything else is being renewed; and we take pleasure in all this and we glorify God the master craftsman who transforms and changes creation year by year, and it is reasonable to do so. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made [Rom. 1:20]. It is our duty not just to stay where we are, but to advance further and to examine carefully for ourselves the logic of creation.

How? Because this renewal has winter as its cause. It would not have reached its prime had it not first undergone snows and rains and winds. And so it is with the soul; unless it is first snowed on by afflictions, troubles and difficulties, it will not flower, it will not fruit; but by enduring, it bears fruit and partakes in a blessing from God, as it is written: Ground that drinks up the rain falling on it repeatedly, and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated, partakes in a blessing from God [Heb. 6:7]. Therefore, brethren, let us also endure every affliction, every trouble, every trial which assails us both visibly and invisibly, the fast we are drawing out as we hunger and thirst and are otherwise made wretched, so that we may bear fruit and partake of God’s blessing; and not only that, but that we may nourish and welcome Jesus as our guest. For just as we enjoy the sight of creation, so he too enjoys the ripe beauty [The Greek has literally ‘the hour of our souls’, but the word can also connote ‘beauty‘, ‘ripeness’, ‘the bloom of youth’, ‘spring-time’.

Hence, for example, the derivatives ‘beautiful’ and ‘ripe’.] of our souls. What are the fruits? Love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-mastery [Gal. 5:22]. By these he is nourished, by these he is entertained. And blest the one who nourishes him, because he will be nourished by him with eternal good things; and blest the one who receives him as his guest, because he will be received by him as his guest in the kingdom of heaven! Indeed! So if someone is to receive a king as his house guest [The word that I have translated ‘house guest’ does not appear in the lexica, either ancient or modern, though the meaning is clear.], he rejoices and is extremely glad; hoe much more then someone who receives the King of kings and Lord of lords as his house guest. That he is received is clear from what he himself has said: I and my Father will come and make our abode with him [John 14:23].

And again: One who has my commandments and keeps them, is the one who loves me; the one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I shall love him and manifest myself to him [John 14:21]. Therefore, since such are the promises, let us not only bear, but let us endure with joy all things, both those that are present, those that are whispered about and those that are expected, as we listen to the Apostle when he says: Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is the Church [Col. 1:24]. And again Saint James who says: My brethren, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing [James 1:2-4]. Do you see then that in trials there is joy, and in tribulations gladness? For these are the things that are exchanged where God is concerned; and this is how the saints led their lives; this too how we, by doing violence to ourselves and yet greater violence, and by living our life in their footsteps, shall inherit the kingdom of heaven, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and might, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always and to the ages of ages. Amen.

CATECHESIS 69

That those who have passed through life in afflictions and miseries enjoy a pleasure which is without sorrow and ineffable. In PG the title adds ‘In memory of the godly Platon’.

[It was given on Wednesday of the 5th week of Lent.]

Brethren and Fathers, everyone who is starting something, whether it be word or action, at the beginning has affliction and difficulty, but at the conclusion of the struggle joy and happiness. So a farmer sows with tears, as we sing, but reaps with gladness [Cf. Ps. 125:5]. The soldier as he sets out to war is depressed, but as he returns from war he is filled with joy. So we too now that we have come near the end of our abstinence, no longer remember the mortification of our former struggles, but we rejoice at our present ones and glorify the Master. Would that you may excel in noble struggles for the time ahead. For I testify to you that you have come through the time of the fast in the right spirit, without conflict, without disturbance, obediently, in good order, each one fulfilling his service properly.

And thanks be to the powerful God who has empowered you to achieve this completion. Let us then take this example, brethren, and at the completion of life here, whenever each of us rests from his works, When Christ our life appears [Col. 3:4.], When he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, as it is written, when he has abolished every rule and every authority and power [1 Cor. 15:24]; because then the saints will have no sensation of their sufferings and struggles for the sake of virtue, but will enjoy a pleasure without sorrow and ineffable. And who are they? The glorious fathers and prophets before the Law and under the Law, those like Abraham, those like Moses; in the time of grace, the blessed Apostles, the victorious Martyrs, the whole choir of the Saints. Among them and before them the great Forerunner, whose imitator our venerable father Platon, whose memory we are celebrating today, was counted worthy to become by denouncing the adulterous Emperor [St Platon was St Theodore’s spiritual father. He denounced the illicit marriages of Constantine VI. This resulted in the banishment of the two saints in 809.

St Platon’s feast is on the 4th April]. And since the disciples of a good teacher should themselves be, as the tree is known by its fruit, I beg and implore you, by the same rule, that we too may follow in the same tracks that he and the rest of our fathers and brethren followed, not abandoning our ascetic discipline nor the confession which lies before us. For you have certainly all heard what the wretched Alexander has done; he has denied his obedience and his confession. And what caused him to suffer this but that fact that he had been on his own ? how do I blame those who are on their own [The Greek word used here, is common in the sense of ‘solitary’, but here it means a monk who is isolated, without other brothers. The community was scattered at this time in semi-exile and St Theodore clearly had problems with monks who wanted to live on their own with all the attendant dangers.] ? and had become a lover of money like Judas. Both of them betrayed the Lord of glory, the one to the Jews, the other to those who think like the Jews, the Iconoclasts. Rightly the Apostle cries out: The love of money is a root of all evils, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains [1 Tim. 6:10].

I want next to rebuke some of you not unreasonably. Why so? Because, since he was a lover of power and a lover of rank, the poor fool, you connived with him, as a joke in fact, by voting for him as priest; and he, maimed by the devil, turned the game into reality. Oh how the poor wretch has suffered! He has suffered shipwreck in the faith [Cf. 1 Tim. 1:19. One of those mentioned by St Paul was also called Alexander.], he has lost the merchandise of virtue, he has grieved us too lowly as we are, he has caused as much scandal as he can to the Church of God. But may our good God, who brings from the deep of destruction the soul that has been submerged, call him back finally from his fall when he has at last repented; may he pardon you for your rashness and idle speech, and may he save us all for his heavenly kingdom, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and might, with the Father and the holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

CATECHESIS 70

That we should endure every torment in imitation of Christ and the saints.

Given on the Friday of the 5th week of Lent.

Brethren and Fathers, the previous instruction [Unless the renegade Alexander was more dangerous than St Theodore says this does not seem to have been Catechesis 69. Moreover according to some MSS there was one for Thursday of this week, number 33 of the Large Catechesis. The latter speaks of no such threats.] no doubt pained you which indicated the trials that are being meditated against us. But because of what I have said to you, says the Lord, grief has filled your hearts; but I speak the truth to you [John 16:6-7]. And again the Apostle: It is not troublesome for me to speak, while for you it is a safeguard [Phil. 3:1]. May we be safeguarded, then, with every spiritual safeguard, and if what is being said passes into act, we will meet it, with God’s help, nobly; but if not, it will not be without advantage for us as our good God accepts such preparation and without toils and blows crowns those who thus choose. Already Lent draws to its end and the time introduces the fair crown, that is the remembrance of the life-giving sufferings of the Saviour, in which we find the greatest consolation. For if our Lord and God was arrested for our sins, is it a great matter if we unprofitable servants should also be arrested for his sake?

And if he was bound and led away and put in prison, is it so strange should we suffer the same treatment as the Master? Rather it would be exceedingly grievous not to encounter such things. But if we must be scourged, let us bear the scourges; and if we must be beaten, let us bear the beatings; and we have to be spat on, let us bear the spittings; and finally if we must be put to death, let us bear that revered death. And good it is if anyone were to be found worthy to become a partaker in Christ’s sufferings. This is blessedness, this is immortality. Do we not hear what the Apostle says? From now on, let no one make trouble for me; for I carry the marks of the Lord Jesus branded on my body [Gal. 6:17]. As though he were saying: Let no one despise me, for I bear the adornments of Christ the universal King in my flesh. Such also was Saint Ignatios who called himself God-bearer by his bearing in himself the Lord’s sufferings. Such was St Efstratios who cried out in the midst of torments and said, ‘Now I know that Christ lives in me’. O blessed voices and thrice-blessed souls!

Whose memorials then do we celebrate? Whose nativities do we feast? To whom do we erect sacred churches, whose relics do we venerate? Is it not those of the Martyrs? Those of the Confessors? Those of the Ascetics? And if here they have been found worthy of so great glory, how much and how great the splendour they would enjoy in the age to come? Ineffable and unimaginable the reckoning! This is the fair business, this the blessed exchange: by small struggles and toils to purchase goods that are eternal and without end. Let us too then imitate them, brethren; let us mingle our blood with the holy blood, for this is possible; for its nature is not dissimilar nor has he changed who says: See, see that I am and I have not changed [Cf. Dt. 32:39 and Mal. 3:6]. He loves all equally, he died on behalf of all, he sets before all inexhaustible delight, he is passionate for the salvation of all, and this to him is riches, for he says he is richly generous to all who call upon him [Rom. 10:12]. Therefore let us call upon him in what befalls us and he will give power and might [Ps. 67:36] to our souls. Let us embrace him and he will bring our enemies to naught [Ps. 107:14] both seen and invisible. Let us await him and he will crown us for the day of resurrection of the dead, for the day of his appearing; for which may we too be found worthy to attain without condemnation and to stand uncondemned at his judgement seat, giving a good defence, in Christ our Lord, to whom be glory and might, with the Father and the holy Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

“It is good to hide the secret of a king, but it is glorious to reveal and preach the works of God.” (Tobit 12:7) So said the Archangel Raphael to Tobit when he performed the wonderful healing of his blindness. Actually, not to keep the secret of a king is perilous and a terrible risk, but to be silent about the works of God is a great loss for the soul. And I (says Saint Sophronios), in writing the life of Saint Mary of Egypt, am afraid to hide the works of God by silence. Remembering the misfortune threatened to the servant who hid his God-given talent in the earth (Matthew 25:18-25), I am bound to pass on the holy account that has reached me. And let no one think (continues Saint Sophronios) that I have had the audacity to write untruth or doubt this great marvel – may I never lie about holy things! If there do happen to be people who, after reading this record, do not believe it, may the Lord have mercy on them because, reflecting on the weakness of human nature, they consider impossible these wonderful things accomplished by holy people. But now we must begin to tell this most amazing story, which has taken place in our generation.

There was a certain elder in one of the monasteries of Palestine, a priest of the holy life and speech, who from childhood had been brought up in monastic ways and customs. This elder’s name was Zosimas. He had been through the whole course of the ascetic life and in everything he adhered to the rule once given to him by his tutors as regard spiritual labors. He had also added a good deal himself while laboring to subject his flesh to the will of the spirit. And he had not failed in his aim. He was so renowned for his spiritual life that many came to him from neighboring monasteries and some even from afar. While doing all this, he never ceased to study the Divine Scriptures. Whether resting, standing, working or eating food (if the scraps he nibbled could be called food), he incessantly and constantly had a single aim: always to sing of God, and to practice the teaching of the Divine Scriptures. Zosimas used to relate how, as soon as he was taken from his mother’s breast, he was handed over to the monastery where he went through his training as an ascetic till he reached the age of 53. After that, he began to be tormented with the thought that he was perfect in everything and needed no instruction from anyone, saying to himself mentally, Is there a monk on earth who can be of use to me and show me a kind of asceticism that I have not accomplished? Is there a man to be found in the desert who has surpassed me?”

Thus thought the elder, when suddenly an angel appeared to him and said: “Zosimas, valiantly have you struggled, as far as this is within the power of man, valiantly have you gone through the ascetic course. But there is no man who has attained perfection. Before you lie unknown struggles greater than those you have already accomplished. That you may know how many other ways lead to salvation, leave your native land like the renowned patriarch Abraham and go to the monastery by the River Jordan.”

Zosimas did as he was told. he left the monastery in which he had lived from childhood, and went to the River Jordan. At last he reached the community to which God had sent him. Having knocked at the door of the monastery, he told the monk who was the porter who he was; and the porter told the abbot. On being admitted to the abbot’s presence, Zosimas made the usual monastic prostration and prayer. Seeing that he was a monk the abbot asked: “Where do you come from, brother, and why have you come to us poor old men?”

Zosimas replied: “There is no need to speak about where I have come from, but I have come, father, seeking spiritual profit, for I have heard great things about your skill in leading souls to God.”

“Brother,” the abbot said to him, “Only God can heal the infirmity of the soul. May He teach you and us His divine ways and guide us. But as it is the love of Christ that has moved you to visit us poor old men, then stay with us, if that is why you have come. May the Good Shepherd Who laid down His life for our salvation fill us all with the grace of the Holy Spirit.”

After this, Zosimas bowed to the abbot, asked for his prayers and blessing, and stayed in the monastery. There he saw elders proficient both in action and the contemplation of God, aflame in spirit, working for the Lord. They sang incessantly, they stood in prayer all night, work was ever in their hands and psalms on their lips. Never an idle word was heard among them, they know nothing about acquiring temporal goods or the cares of life. But they had one desire – to become in body like corpses. Their constant food was the Word of God, and they sustained their bodies on bread and water, as much as their love for God allowed them. Seeing this, Zosimas was greatly edified and prepared for the struggle that lay before him.

Many days passed and the time drew near when all Christians fast and prepare themselves to worship the Divine Passion and Resurrection of Christ. The monastery gates were kept always locked and only opened when one of the community was sent out on some errand. It was a desert place, not only unvisited by people of the world but even unknown to them.

There was a rule in that monastery which was the reason why God brought Zosimas there. At the beginning of the Great Fast [on Forgiveness Sunday] the priest celebrated the holy Liturgy and all partook of the holy body and blood of Christ. After the Liturgy they went to the refectory and would eat a little Lenten food.

Then all gathered in church, and after praying earnestly with prostrations, the elders kissed one another and asked forgiveness. And each made a prostration to the abbot and asked his blessing and prayers for the struggle that lay before them. After this, the gates of the monastery were thrown open, and singing, “The Lord is my light and my Savior; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defender of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 26:1) and the rest of that psalm, all went out into the desert and crossed the River Jordan. Only one or two brothers were left in the monastery, not to guard the property (for there was nothing to rob), but so as not to leave the church without Divine Service. Each took with him as much as he could or wanted in the way of food, according to the needs of his body: one would take a little bread, another some figs, another dates or wheat soaked in water. And some took nothing but their own body covered with rags and fed when nature forced them to it on the plants that grew in the desert.

After crossing the Jordan, they all scattered far and wide in different directions. And this was the rule of life they had, and which they all observed – neither to talk to one another, nor to know how each one lived and fasted. If they did happen to catch sight of one another, they went to another part of the country, living alone and always singing to God, and at a definite time eating a very small quantity of food. In this way they spent the whole of the fast and used to return to the monastery a week before the Resurrection of Christ, on Palm Sunday. Each one returned having his own conscience as the witness of his labor, and no one asked another how he had spent his time in the desert. Such were rules of the monastery. Everyone of them whilst in the desert struggled with himself before the Judge of the struggle – God – not seeking to please men and fast before the eyes of all. For what is done for the sake of men, to win praise and honor, is not only useless to the one who does it but sometimes the cause of great punishment.

Zosimas did the same as all. And he went far, far into the desert with a secret hope of finding some father who might be living there and who might be able to satisfy his thirst and longing. And he wandered on tireless, as if hurrying on to some definite place. He had already walked for 20 days and when the 6th hour came he stopped and, turning to the East, he began to sing the sixth Hour and recite the customary prayers. He used to break his journey thus at fixed hours of the day to rest a little, to chant psalms standing and to pray on bent knees.

And as he sang thus without turning his eyes from the heavens, he suddenly saw to the right of the hillock on which he stood the semblance of a human body. At first he was confused thinking he beheld a vision of the devil, and even started with fear. But, having guarded himself with he sign of the Cross and banished all fear, he turned his gaze in that direction and in truth saw some form gliding southwards. It was naked, the skin dark as if burned up by the heat of the sun; the hair on its head was white as a fleece, and not long, falling just below its neck. Zosimas was so overjoyed at beholding a human form that he ran after it in pursuit, but re form fled from him. He followed. At length, when he was near enough to be heard, he shouted: “Why do you run from an old man and a sinner? Slave of the True God, wait for me, whoever you are, in God’s name I tell you, for the love of God for Whose sake you are living in the desert.”

“Forgive me for God’s sake, but I cannot turn towards you and show you my face, Abba Zosimas. For I am a woman and naked as you see with the uncovered shame of my body. But if you would like to fulfill one wish of a sinful woman, throw me your cloak so that I can cover my body and can turn to you and ask for your blessing.”

Here terror seized Zosimas, for he heard that she called him by name. But he realized that she could not have done so without knowing anything of him if she had not had the power of spiritual insight.

He at once did as he was asked. He took off his old, tattered cloak and threw it to her, turning away as he did so. she picked it up and was able to cover at least a part of her body. Then she turned to Zosimas and said: “Why did you wish, Abba Zosimas, to see a sinful woman? What do you wish to hear or learn from me, you who have not shrunk from such great struggles?”

Zosimas threw himself on the ground and asked for her blessing. She likewise bowed down before him. And thus they lay on the ground prostrate asking for each other’s blessing. And one word alone could be heard from both: “Bless!” After a long while the woman said to Zosimas: “Abba Zosimas, it is you who must give blessing and pray. You are dignified by the order of priesthood and for may years you have been standing before the holy altar and offering the sacrifice of the Divine Mysteries.”

This flung Zosimas into even greater terror. At length with tears he said to her: “O mother, filled with he spirit, by your mode of life it is evident that you live with God and have died to the world. The Grace granted to you is apparent – for you have called me by name and recognized that I am a priest, though you have never seen me before. Grace is recognized not by one’s orders, but by gifts of the Spirit, so give me your blessing for God’s sake, for I need your prayers.”

Then giving way before the wish of the elder the woman said: “Blessed is God Who cares for the salvation of men and their souls.” Zosimas answered: “Amen.”

And both rose to their feet. Then the woman asked the elder: “Why have you come, man of God, to me who am so sinful? Why do you wish to see a woman naked an devoid of every virtue? Though I know one thing – the Grace of the Holy Spirit has brought you to render me a service in time. Tell me, father, how are the Christian peoples living? And the kings? How is the Church guided?”

Zosimas said: “By your prayers, mother, Christ has granted lasting peace to all. But fulfill the unworthy petition of an old man and pray for the whole world and for me who am a sinner, so that my wanderings in the desert may not be fruitless.”

She answered: “You who are a priest, Abba Zosimas, it is you who must pray for me and for all – for this is your calling. But as we must all be obedient, I will gladly do what you ask.”

And with these words she turned to the East, and raising her eyes to heaven and stretching out her hands, she began to pray in a whisper. One could not hear separate words, so that Zosimas could not understand anything that she said in her prayers. Meanwhile he stood, according to his own word, all in a flutter, looking at the ground without saying a word. And he swore, calling God to witness, that when at length he thought that her prayer was very long, he took his eyes off the ground and saw that she was raised bout a forearm’s distance from the ground and stood praying in the air. When he saw this, even greater terror seized him and he fell on the ground weeping and repeating may times, “Lord have mercy.”

And while lying prostrate on the ground he was tempted by a thought: Is it not a spirit, and perhaps her prayer is hypocrisy. But at the very same moment the woman turned round, raised the elder from the ground and said: “Why do thought confuse you, Abba, and tempt you about me, as if I were a spirit and a dissembler in prayer? Know, holy father, that I am only a sinful woman, though I am guarded by Holy baptism. And I am no spirit but earth and ashes, and flesh alone.”

And with these words she guarded herself with the sign of the Cross on her forehead, eyes, mouth and breast, saying: “May God defend us from the evil one and from his designs, for fierce is his struggle against us.”

Hearing and seeing this, the elder fell to the ground and, embracing her feet, he said with tears: “I beg you, by the Name of Christ our God, Who was born of a Virgin, for Whose sake you have stripped yourself, for Whose sake you have exhausted your flesh, do not hide from your slave, who you are and whence and how you came into this desert. Tell me everything so that the marvellous works of God may become known. A hidden wisdom and a secret treasure – what profit is there in them? Tell me all, I implore you. for not out of vanity or for self-display will you speak but to reveal the truth to me, an unworthy sinner. I believe in God, for whom you live and whom you serve. I believe that He led me into this desert so as to show me His ways in regard to you. It is not in our power to resist the plans of God. If it were not the will of God that you and your life would be known, He would not have allowed be to see you and would not have strengthened me to undertake this journey, one like me who never before dared to leave his cell.”

Much more said Abba Zosimas. But the woman raised him and said: “I am ashamed, Abba, to speak to you of my disgraceful life, forgive me for God’s sake! But as you have already seen my naked body I shall likewise lay bare before you my work, so that you may know with what shame and obscenity my soul is filled. I was not running away out of vanity, as you thought, for what have I to be proud of – I who was the chosen vessel of the devil? But when I start my story you will run from me, as from a snake, for your ears will not be able to bear the vileness of my actions. But I shall tell you all without hiding anything, only imploring you first of all to pray incessantly for me, so that I may find mercy on the day of Judgment.”

The elder wept and the woman began her story.

“My native land, holy father, was Egypt. Already during the lifetime of my parents, when I was twelve years old, I renounced their love and went to Alexandria. I am ashamed to recall how there I at first ruined my maidenhood and then unrestrainedly and insatiably gave myself up to sensuality. It is more becoming to speak of this briefly, so that you may just know my passion and my lustfulness. For about seventeen years, forgive me, I lived like that. I was like a fire of public debauchery. And it was not for the sake of gain – here I speak the pure truth. Often when they wished to pay me, I refused the money. I acted in this way so as to make as many men as possible to try to obtain me, doing free of charge what gave me pleasure. Do not think that I was rich and that was the reason why I did not take money. I lived by begging, often by spinning flax, but I had an insatiable desire and an irrepressible passion for lying in filth. This was life to me. Every kind of abuse of nature I regarded as life.

“That is how I lived. Then one summer I saw a large crowd of Libyans and Egyptians running towards the sea. I asked one of them, ‘Where are these men hurrying to?’ He replied, ‘They are all going to Jerusalem for the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-giving Cross, which takes place in a few days.’ I said to him, ‘Will they take me with them if I wish to go?’ ‘No one will hinder you if you have money to pay for the journey and for food.’ And I said to him, ‘To tell you truth, I have no money, neither have I food. But I shall go with them and shall go aboard. And they shall feed me, whether they want to or not. I have a body – they shall take it instead of pay for the journey.’ I was suddenly filled with a desire to go, Abba, to have more lovers who could satisfy my passion. I told you, Abba Zosimas, not to force me to tell you of my disgrace. God is my witness, I am afraid of defiling you and the very air with my words.”

Zosimas, weeping, replied to her: “Speak on for God’s sake, mother, speak and do not break the thread of such an edifying tale.”

And, resuming her story, she went on: “That youth, on hearing my shameless words, laughed and went off. While I, throwing away my spinning wheel, ran off towards the sea in the direction which everyone seemed to be taking. And, seeing some young men standing on the shore, about ten or more of them, full of vigor and alert in their movements, I decided that they would do for my purpose (it seemed that some of them were waiting for more travelers while others had gone ashore). Shamelessly, as usual, I mixed with the crowd, saying, ‘Take me with you to the place you are going to; you will not find me superfluous.’ I also added a few more words calling forth general laughter. Seeing my readiness to be shameless, they readily took me aboard the boat. Those who were expected came also, and we set sail at once.

“How shall I relate to you what happened after this? Whose tongue can tell, whose ears can take in all that took place on the boat during that voyage! And to all this I frequently forced those miserable youths even against their own will. There is no mentionable or unmentionable depravity of which I was not their teacher. I am amazed, Abba, how the sea stood our licentiousness, how the earth did not open its jaws, and how it was that hell did not swallow me alive, when I had entangled in my net so many souls. But I think God was seeking my repentance. For He does not desire the death of a sinner but magnanimously awaits his return to Him. At last we arrived in Jerusalem. I spent the days before the festival in the town, living the save kind of life, perhaps even worse. I was not content with the youths I had seduced at sea and who had helped be to get to Jerusalem; many others – citizens of the town and foreigners – I also seduced.

“The holy day of the Exaltation of the Cross dawned while I was still flying about – hunting for youths. At daybreak I saw that everyone was hurrying to the church, so I ran with the rest. When the hour for the holy elevation approached, I was trying to make my way in with the crowd which was struggling to get through the church doors. I at last squeezed through with great difficulty almost to the entrance of the temple, from which the life-giving Tree of the Cross was being shown to the people. But when I trod on the doorstep which everyone passed, I was stopped by some force which prevented by entering. Meanwhile I was brushed aside by the crowd and found myself standing alone in the porch. Thinking that this had happened because of my woman’s weakness, I again began to work my way into the crowd, trying to elbow myself forward. But in vain I struggled. Again my feet trod on the doorstep over which others were entering the church without encountering any obstacle. I alone seemed to remain unaccepted by the church. It was as if there was a detachment of soldiers standing there to oppose my entrance. Once again I was excluded by the same mighty force and again I stood in the porch.

“Having repeated my attempt three or four times, at last I felt exhausted and had no more strength to push and to be pushed, so I went aside and stood in a corner of the porch. And only then with great difficulty it began to dawn on me, and I began to understand the reason why I was prevented from being admitted to see the life-giving Cross. The word of salvation gently touched the eyes of my heart and revealed to me that it was my unclean life which barred the entrance to me. I began to weep and lament and beat my breast, and to sigh from the depths of my heart. And so I stood weeping when I saw above me the icon of the most holy Mother of God. And turning to her my bodily and spiritual eyes I said: ‘O Lady, Mother of God, who gave birth in the flesh to God the Word, I know, O how well I know, that it is no honor or praise to you when one so impure and depraved as I look up to your icon, O ever-Virgin, who kept your body and soul in purity. Rightly do I inspire hatred and disgust before your virginal purity. But I have heard that God Who was born of you became man on purpose to call sinners to repentance. Then help me, for I have no other help. Order the entrance of the church to be opened to me. Allow me to see the venerable Tree on which He Who was born of you suffered in the flesh and on which He shed His holy Blood for the redemption of sinners an for me, unworthy as I am. Be my faithful witness before your Son that I will never again defile my body by the impurity of fornication, but as soon as I have seen the Tree of the Cross I will renounce the world and its temptations and will go wherever you will lead me.’

“Thus I spoke and as if acquiring some hope in firm faith and feeling some confidence in the mercy of the Mother of God, I left the place where I stood praying. And I went again and mingled with the crowd that was pushing its way into the temple. And no one seemed to thwart me, no one hindered my entering the church. I was possessed with trembling, and was almost in delirium. Having got as far as the doors which I could not reach before – as if the same force which had hindered me cleared the way for me – I now entered without difficulty and found myself within the holy place. And so it was I saw the life-giving Cross. I saw too the Mysteries of God and how the Lord accepts repentance. Throwing myself on the ground, I worshipped that holy earth and kissed it with trembling. Then I came out of the church and went to her who had promised to be my security, to the place where I had sealed my vow. And bending my knees before the Virgin Mother of God, I addressed to her such words as these: ‘O loving Lady, you have shown me your great love for all men. Glory to God Who receives the repentance of sinners through you. What more can I recollect or say, I who am so sinful? It is time for me, O Lady to fulfill my vow, according to your witness. Now lead me by the hand along the path of repentance!’ And at these words I heard a voice from on high: ‘If you cross the Jordan you will find glorious rest.’

“Hearing this voice and having faith that it was for me, I cried to the Mother of God: ‘O Lady, Lady, do not forsake me!’

“With these words I left the porch of the church and set off on my journey. As I was leaving the church a stranger glanced at me and gave me three coins, saying: ‘Sister, take these.’

“And, taking the money, I bought three loaves and took them with me on my journey, as a blessed gift. I asked the person who sold the bread: ‘Which is the way to the Jordan?’ I was directed to the city gate which led that way. Running on I passed the gates and still weeping went on my journey. Those I met I asked the way, and after walking for the rest of that day (I think it was nine o’clock when I saw the Cross) I at length reached at sunset the Church of Saint John the Baptist which stood on the banks of the Jordan. After praying in the temple, I went down to the Jordan and rinsed my face and hands in its holy waters. I partook of the holy and life-giving Mysteries in the Church of the Forerunner and ate half of one of my loaves. Then, after drinking some water from Jordan, I lay down and passed the night on the ground. In the morning I found a small boat and crossed to the opposite bank. I again prayed to Our Lady to lead me whither she wished. Then I found myself in this desert and since then up to this very day I am estranged from all, keeping away from people and running away from everyone. And I live here clinging to my God Who saves all who turn to Him from faintheartedness and storms.”

Zosimas asked her: “How many years have gone by since you began to live in this desert?”

She replied: “Forty-seven years have already gone by, I think, since I left the holy city.”

Zosimas asked: “But what food do you find?”

The woman said: “I had two and a half loaves when I crossed the Jordan. Soon they dried up and became hard as rock. Eating a little I gradually finished them after a few years.”

Zosimas asked. “Can it be that without getting ill you have lived so many years thus, without suffering in any way from such a complete change?”

The woman answered: “You remind me, Zosimas, of what I dare not speak of. For when I recall all the dangers which I overcame, and all the violent thoughts which confused me, I am again afraid that they will take possession of me.”

Zosimas said: “Do not hide from me anything; speak to me without concealing anything.”

And she said to him: “Believe me, Abba, seventeen years I passed in this desert fighting wild beasts – mad desires and passions. When I was about to partake of food, I used to begin to regret the meat and fish which of which I had so much in Egypt. I regretted also not having wine which I loved so much. For I drank a lot of wine when I lived in the world, while here I had not even water. I used to burn and succumb with thirst. The mad desire for profligate songs also entered me and confused me greatly, edging me on to sing devilish songs which I had learned once. But when such desires entered me I struck myself on the breast and reminded myself of the vow which I had made, when going into the desert. In my thoughts I returned to the icon of the Mother of God which had received me and to her I cried in prayer. I implored her to chase away the thoughts to which my miserable soul was succumbing. And after weeping for long and beating my breast I used to see light at last which seemed to shine on me from everywhere. And after the violent storm, lasting calm descended.

“And how can I tell you about the thoughts which urged me on to fornication, how can I express them to you, Abba? A fire was kindled in my miserable heart which seemed to burn me up completely and to awake in me a thirst for embraces. As soon as this craving came to me, I flung myself on the earth and watered it with my tears, as if I saw before me my witness, who had appeared to me in my disobedience, and who seemed to threaten punishment for the crime. And I did not rise from the ground (sometimes I lay thus prostrate for a day and a night) until a calm and sweet light descended and enlightened me and chased away the thoughts that possessed me. But always I turned to the eyes of my mind to my Protectress, asking her to extend help to one who was sinking fast in the waves of the desert. And I always had her as my Helper and the Acceptor of my repentance. And thus I lived for seventeen years amid constant dangers. And since then even till now the Mother of God helps me in everything and leads me as it were by the hand.”

Zosimas asked: “Can it be that you did not need food and clothing?”

She answered: “After finishing the loaves I had, of which I spoke, for seventeen years I have fed on herbs and all that can be found in the desert. The clothes I had when I crossed the Jordan became torn and worn out. I suffered greatly from the cold and greatly from the extreme heat. At times the sun burned me up and at other times I shivered from the frost, and frequently falling to the ground I lay without breath and without motion. I struggled with many afflictions and with terrible temptations. But from that time till now the power of God in numerous ways had guarded my sinful soul and my humble body. When I only reflect on the evils from which Our Lord has delivered me I have imperishable food for hope of salvation. I am fed and clothed by the all-powerful Word of God, the Lord of all. For it is not by bread alone that man lives. And those who have stripped off the rags of sin have no refuge, hiding themselves in the clefts of the rocks (Job 24; Hebrews 11:38).”

Hearing that she cited words Scripture, from Moses and Job, Zosimas asked her: “And so you have read the psalms and other books?”

She smiled at this and said to the elder: “Believe be, I have not seen a human face ever since I crossed the Jordan, except yours today. I have not seen a beast or a living being ever since I came into the desert. I never learned from books. I have never even heard anyone who sang and read from them. But the word of God which is alive and active, by itself teaches a man knowledge. And so this is the end of my tale. But, as I asked you in the beginning, so even now I implore you for the sake of the Incarnate word of God, to pray to the Lord for me who am such a sinner.”

Thus concluding here tale she bowed down before him. And with tears the elder exclaimed: “Blessed is God Who creates the great and wondrous, the glorious and marvelous without end. Blessed is God Who has shown me how He rewards those who fear Him. Truly, O Lord, You do not forsake those who seek You!”

And the woman, not allowing the elder to bow down before her, said: “I beg you, holy father, for the sake of Jesus Christ our God and Savior, tell no one what you have heard, until God delivers me of this earth. And how depart in peace and again next year you shall see me, and I you, if God will preserve us in His great mercy. But for God’s sake, do as I ask you. Next year during Lent do not cross the Jordan, as is your custom in the monastery.”

Zosimas was amazed to hear that she know the rules of the monastery and could only say: “Glory to God Who bestows great gifts on those who love Him.”

She continued: “Remain, Abba, in the monastery. And even if you wish to depart, you will not be to do so. And at sunset of the holy day of the Last super, put some of the life-giving Body and Blood of Christ into a holy vessel worthy to hold such Mysteries for me, and bring it. And wait for me on the banks of the Jordan adjoining the inhabited parts of the land, so that I can come and partake of the life-giving Gifts. For, since the time I communicated in the temple of the Forerunner before crossing the Jordan even to this day I have not approached the Holy Mysteries. And I thirst for them with irrepressible love and longing, and therefore I ask and implore you to grant me my wish, bring me the life-giving Mysteries at the very hour when Our Lord made His disciples partake of His Divine Supper. Tell John the Abbot of the monastery where you live. Look to yourself and to your brothers, for there is much that needs correction. Only do not say this now, but when God guides you. Pray for me!”

With these words she vanished in the depths of the desert. And Zosimas, falling down on his knees and bowing down to the ground on which she had stood, sent up glory and thanks to God. And, after wandering thorough the desert, he returned to the monastery on the day all the brothers returned.

For the whole year he kept silent, not daring to tell anyone of what he had seen. But in his should he pray to God to give him another chance of seeing the ascetic’s dear face. And when at length the first Sunday of the Great Fast came, all went out into the desert with the customary prayers and the singing of psalms. Only Zosimas was held back by illness – he lay in a fever. And then he remembered what the saint had said to him: “and even if you wish to depart, you will not be able to do so.”

Many days passed and at last recovering from his illness he remained in the monastery. And when attain the monks returned and the day of the Last Supper dawned, he did as he had been ordered. and placing some of the most pure Body and Blood into a small chalice and putting some figs and dates and lentils soaked in water into a small basket, he departed for the desert and reached the banks of the Jordan and sat down to wait for the saint. He waited for a long while and then began to doubt. then raising his eyes to heaven, he began to pray: “Grant me O Lord, to behold that which You have allowed be to behold once. Do not let me depart in vain, being the burden of my sins.”

And then another thought struck him: “And what if she does come? There is no boat; how will she cross the Jordan to come to me who am so unworthy?”

And as he was pondering thus he saw the holy woman appear and stand on the other side of the river. Zosimas got up rejoicing and glorifying and thanking God. And again the thought came to him that she could not cross the Jordan. Then he saw that she made the sign of the Cross over the waters of the Jordan (and the night was a moonlight one, as he related afterwards) and then she at once stepped on to the waters and began walking across the surface towards him. And when he wanted to prostrate himself, she cried to him while still walking on the water: “What are you doing, Abba, you are a priest and carrying the divine Gifts!”

He obeyed her and on reaching the shore she said to the elder: “Bless, father, bless me!”

He answered her trembling, for a state of confusion had overcome him at the sight of the miracle: “Truly God did not lie when He promised that when we purify ourselves we shall be like Him. Glory to The, Christ our God, Who has shown me through this your slave how far away I stand from perfection.”

Here the woman asked him to say the Creed and our Father. He began, she finished the prayer and according to the custom of that time gave him the kiss of peace on the lips. Having partaken of the Holy Mysteries, she raised her hands to heaven and sighed with tears in her eyes, exclaiming: “Now let Your servant depart in peace, O Lord, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation.”

Then she said to the elder: “Forgive me, Abba, for asking you, but fulfill another wish of mine. Go now to the monastery and let God’s grace guard you. And next year come again to the same place where I first met you. Come for God’s sake, for you shall again see me, for such is the will of God.”

He said to her: “From this day on I would like to follow you and always see your holy face. But now fulfill the one and only wish of an old man and take a little of the food I have brought for you.”

And he showed her the basket, while she just touched the lentils with the tips of her fingers, and taking three grains said that the Holy Spirit guards the substance of the soul unpolluted. Then she said: “Pray, for God’s sake pray for me and remember a miserable wretch.”

Touching the saint’s feet and asking for her prayers for the Church, the kingdom and himself, he let her depart with tears, while he went off sighing and sorrowful, for he could not hope to vanquish the invincible. Meanwhile she again made the sign of the Cross over the Jordan, and stepped on to the waters and crossed over as before. And the elder returned filled with joy and terror, accusing himself of not having asked the saint her name. But he decided to do so next year.

And when another year had passed, he again went into the desert. He reached the same spot but could see no sign of anyone. So raising his eyes to heaven as before, he prayed: “Show me, O Lord, Your pure treasure, which You have concealed in the desert. Show me, I pray You, the angel in the flesh, of which the world is not worthy.”

Then on the opposite bank of the river, her face turned towards the rising sun, he saw the saint lying dead. Her hands were crossed according to custom and her face was turned to the East. Running up he shed tears over the saint’s feet and kissed them, not daring to touch anything else.

For a long time he wept. Then reciting the appointed psalms, he said the burial prayers and thought to himself: “Must I bury the body of a saint? Or will this be contrary to her wishes?” And then he saw words traced on the ground by her head: “Abba Zosimas, bury on this spot the body of humble Mary. Return to dust that which is dust and pray to the Lord for me, who departed in the month of Phermoutin of Egypt, called April by the Romans, on the first day, on the very night of our Lord’s Passion, after having partaken of the Divine Mysteries.” [Saint Mary died in 522 A. D.]

Reading this the elder was glad to know the saint’s name. He understood too that as soon as she had partaken of the Divine Mysteries on the shore of the Jordan she was at once transported to the place where she died. The distance which Zosimas had taken twenty days to cover, Mary had evidently traversed in an hour and had at once surrendered her soul to God.

Then Zosimas thought: “It is time to do as she wished. But how am I to dig a grave with nothing in my hands?”

And then he saw nearby a small piece of wood left by some traveler in the desert. Picking it up he began to dig the ground. But the earth was hard and dry and did not yield to the efforts of the elder. He grew tired and covered with sweat. He sighed from the depths of his soul and lifting up his eyes he saw a big lion standing close to the saint’s body and licking her feet. At the sight of the lion he trembled with fear, especially when he called to mind Mary’s words that she had never seen wild beasts in the desert. But guarding himself with the sign of the cross, the thought came to him that the power of the one lying there would protect him and keep him unharmed. Meanwhile the lion drew nearer to him, expressing affection by every movement.

Zosimas said to the lion: “The Great One ordered that her body was to be buried. But I am old and have not the strength to dig the grave (for I have no spade and it would take too long to go and get one), so can you carry out the work with your claws? Then we can commit to the earth the mortal temple of the saint.”

While he was still speaking the lion with his front paws began to dig a hole deep enough to bury the body.

Again the elder washed the feet of the saint with his tears and calling on her to pray for all, covered the body with earth in the presence of the lion. It was as it had been, naked and uncovered by anything but the tattered cloak which had been given to her by Zosimas and with which Mary, turning away, had managed to cover part of her body. Then both departed. The lion went off into the depth of the desert like a lamb, while Zosimas returned to the monastery glorifying and blessing Christ our Lord. And on reaching the monastery he told all the brothers about everything, and all marveled on hearing of God’s miracles. And with fear and love they kept the memory of the saint.

Abbot John, as Saint Mary had previously told Abba Zosimas, found a number of things wrong in the monastery and got rid of them with God’s help. And Saint Zosimas died in the same monastery, almost attaining the age of a hundred, and passed to eternal life. The monks kept this story without writing it down and passed it on by word of mouth to one another.

But I (adds Sophronios) as soon as I heard it, wrote it down. Perhaps someone else, better informed, has already written the life of the Saint, but as far as I could, I have recorded everything, putting truth above all else. May God Who works amazing miracles and generously bestows gifts on those who turn to Him with faith, reward those who seek light for themselves in this story, who hear, read and are zealous to write it, and may He grant them the lot of blessed Mary together with all who at different times have pleased God by their pious thoughts and labors.

And let us also give glory to God, the eternal King, that He may grant us too His mercy in the day of judgment for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord, to Whom belongs all glory, honor, dominion and adoration with the Eternal Father and the Most Holy and Life-giving Spirit, now and always, and thought all ages. Amen.

(The life of our holy Mother Mary of Egypt as we read it during the Holy and Great Fast)

“In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

This week, we began the journey of Prayer of the most beautiful period of the Liturgical year: Great Lent. Thus, with prayer and fasting, the bride – the Church – began the uphill way to follow the beloved bridegroom – Christ – on the steep slope of Golgotha. This could be, in few words, the meaning and the purpose of the liturgical setting of Great Lent: through the divine services and ascetic practices, the Church taking by the hand each and every faithful guides them to an existential participation in the sacred passion of the Lord, carrying with Him the cross and sharing its weight and burden.

If the Cross of Christ was an act of absolute self-denial, an act of thorough eradication of every seed of selfishness and absolute dedication to the mystery of otherness, then, the Church guides the faithful to the same experience through the various liturgical and ascetic practices of the Lenten period. Certainly, the theme of this homily is the liturgical aspects of Lent; however, we cannot separate the liturgical from the ascetic aspects, because in the Orthodox Tradition they are so interwoven that any separation would mutilate both! Liturgy and Ascesis go together, hand in hand, in the Orthodox Tradition!

In this context, let us see the basic elements of the Liturgical practices of Great Lent. What are those peculiarities that make this period unique and distinct from the rest of the Liturgical year?

The peculiarities of this period could be listed as follows:

*1. The celebration of the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great every Sunday instead of the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom.

*2. The singing of the Akathist every Friday evening.

*3. The celebration of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts every Wednesday and Friday evening with Vespers.

*4. The celebration of Great Compline instead of the usual, “Small” Compline celebrated during the rest of the year.

*5. Additional Psalter Readings in the liturgy of the Hours.

*6. Enriched Hymnology with a particularly penitential character.

*7. Particular Scriptural readings on the Saturday and Sunday Eucharistic celebrations.

*8. Furthermore, on top of the original connections of every Sunday to a Scriptural theme, later events in the history of the Church gave her the opportunity to connect every Sunday of Lent with some additional theological or historical themes.

*9. A further liturgical characteristic of Lent is the exchange of mutual forgiveness in the place of the dismissal blessing of every vespers.

*10. And last but not least, we could say the most impressive characteristic of this period is the strict fast observed every weekday of Lent, leaving out Saturdays and Sundays, when a non-absolute fast is observed.

The Liturgy of Saint Basil and the Akathist.

From the above list of the peculiarities of the liturgical life of Great Lent, we need to say that the first two, namely the Liturgy of Saint Basil and the Akathist are not purely Lenten idioms. In the Byzantine Church the liturgy of St. Basil was celebrated every Sunday and feast day of the whole year. It was the official Eucharistic Liturgy to be celebrated on a regular basis throughout the year. It is not clearly known why towards the end of the first quarter of the second millennium the Liturgy of Saint Basil was replaced by a liturgy attributed to Saint John Chrysostom. For the survival of celebrating Saint Basil’s liturgy during Lent, Baumstark says that it happened because of the conservative liturgical character of Lent. I would insist that two more reasons lead the Church to keep the Liturgy of Saint Basil during Lent: the intention of the Church to dedicate more time to prayer during Lent, as well as, the expressively doctrinal and educational character of the Liturgy of Saint Basil. The Church found the Lenten atmosphere of more dedicated devotion as a good opportunity to teach the faithful the dogma by making them listen to the profound and all-embracing theological elucidations of the Basilian Liturgy, especially the Anaphora.

As far as the Akathist is concerned, this is rather a interval in the compunctional and penitential character of Lent. The singing of the Akathist is not a part of the particular devotional atmosphere of Lent. It is rather related to the feast of the Annunciation, which always falls in the midst of Lent. Let us explain it having made an observation first: in the present day we celebrate Akathistos every Friday evening together with the service of Compline. Originally though, the Church sung the Akathistos in the Orthros of every Saturday of Lent. Thus the real question is why the Church established this practice to celebrate Akathistos every Saturday morning? The answer is the following: The period of Lent has a basic penitential and mournful character. Annunciation, though, is a great feast with a profoundly joyful character, and according to the Orthodox Liturgical Tradition, it should have its own pre-festal and post-festal joyful period. However, the establishment of a joyful pre-festal and post-festal period for the feast of the Annunciation in the midst of Lent, would cause a certain disorder in the constant flow of the penitential attitude through the weeks of Lent. Nonetheless, it would neither be fair, nor pastorally good to leave the feast of the Annunciation without a pre-festal period of preparation and a post-festal period of celebration. How then could a pre and post festal period be established without damaging the penitential character of Lent? The solution was found in relationship to the fact that Saturdays and Sundays were already excluded from the penitential Lenten routine. Thus the Church used the celebration of the Saturday Orthros of Lent, in order to remind the faithful of the upcoming or just passed joyful feast of the Annunciation.

The Scriptural Readings of Great Lent.

Then, after the explanation of the liturgical character of the first two elements, let us turn our attention to those liturgical elements which have a purely Lenten character.

The backbone of the organization of the 6 weeks of Great Lent is the system of readings and celebrations of the Saturdays and Sundays of Great Lent. The Gospel readings of the Saturdays and Sundays of Great Lent are taken from the Gospel of Saint Mark with one exception: the 1st Sunday of Lent, when the Gospel is taken from the Gospel according to Saint John. The Epistle readings are from Hebrews.

I think the reasons of this selection are obvious. As far the Gospels are concerned, Mark is the evangelist who presents Christ as the prototype of a Martyr, actually the unique, true and authentic Martyr. In view of the liturgical celebration of the passion of Christ during Holy Week, what else would be more suitable and appropriate than to read the Gospel that emphasizes the martyr character of Christ. As far as the Epistle readings are concerned, the Epistle to the Hebrews, is the Epistle that emphasizes the intercessional, mediatory and placatory role of Christ’s self-sacrifice: “For Christ has entered not into a sanctuary made with hands… but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. … He suffered once for all anticipating the end of all the worlds, in order to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. … So, Christ having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to appear for their salvation to those who are eagerly waiting for Him.” (Hebrews 9: 24-28—the Epistle reading of Saturday of the 5th week of Lent.)

Now, based on the readings, the Sundays of Lent are dedicated to a variety of themes, with which the spiritual stream of Lent flows naturally into the climate of Holy Week. Thus, according to the Gospel of the 1st Sunday, Philip calls Nathaniel to get to know Jesus personally. He calls him with the words “come and see”. The words of Philip are obviously an allusion to the visual character of Holy Icons. The 2nd Sunday is dedicated to the double healing of the paralytic, through the forgiveness of his sins followed by the restoration of his physical health. The relationship between this Gospel passage and the penitential character of Lent is obvious! The 3rd Sunday is dedicated to the self-denial, self-sacrifice and Cross, not of Christ, but of every faithful person who wants to follow Christ. The 4th Sunday’s gospel is the miracle of a healing of a demon-possessed young man. When the disciples asked Christ why they were not able to heal the boy, Christ in reply emphasizes the instrumental importance of Prayer and Fasting to the effect of getting rid of the evil powers. There is nothing more relevant to the struggle of Fasting and the insistence on Prayer that constitute the main aspects of Lenten spirituality. Finally the 4th and the 5th Sundays’ readings contain preannouncements of Christ’s voluntary death on the cross, whereas the 5th also contains the lesson of humility and self-offering as a response to the selfish and naive worldly query of the disciples about “who is greater” among them. Let us add here that all these Sunday Gospel themes are the coninuation of the fundamental ideas proclaimed through the Gospel readings of the first 4 Sundays of the Triodion, the most significant among them being that of limitless love towards neighbors, which is expressed as an unconditional gift of forgiveness.

Sunday celebrations during Great Lent.

However, as far as the Sundays of Lent are concerned, let us note here that in addition to the original connections of every Sunday to a Scriptural theme, later events in the history of the Church or further pastoral needs, gave to the Church the opportunity to connect every Sunday of Lent with some additional themes: the celebration of Orthodoxy on the 1st Sunday, the commemoration of Saint Gregory Palamas on the 2nd, the Veneration of the Cross on the 3rd, the veneration of Saint John the author of the Ladder on the 4th, and Saint Mary of Egypt on the 5th.

With these celebrations, the festal themes of every Sunday of Lent in their totality form an exposition of the aspects of theory and practice in the life of the Church as they celebrate and expose basic doctrinal and ascetical principles. However, let us note here that in the Sundays of Lent the doctrinal truths and the ascetical methods of the Church are not presented as theoretical and abstract intellectual concepts. Dogma is presented as history, as a dynamic achievement of human beings struggling to explore the Truth. It is not an abstract formulation of dogma that is presented, but a historical event, the triumph of the veneration of the holy icons, or a person, a theologian, like Saint Gregory Palamas, a Saint who became a theologian by his personal dedication to prayer and self-purification. The ascetic life and the practice of holiness are also presented as living experiences of real human persons. It is not the abstract notion of holiness that is presented to the faithful, but the persons of Saint John the Sinaite and Saint Mary of Egypt. And, finally, in the midst of Lent, both dogma and ethics are recapitulated in the veneration of the Cross of Christ!

Sacred Hymnology.

As far as the hymnology and the services of the weekdays of Lent are concerned, things are more elaborated and the enrichment more intense. We could at least mention the penitential orientation of the hymns of this period. I think that it is here that the particular character of Lent is most obvious. The best example of this case could be the canon of Saint Andrew of Crete, inserted into the regular service of Great Compline of the first 4 days of the 1st week of Lent, as well as into the Orthros (Matins) of the Thursday of the 5th week.

The literal, spiritual, and theological content of the texts of hymns and prayers of Lent constitute an excellent school of self-knowledge. The highest conclusions of the psychology of depth and the best methods of psychotherapy look like lessons of elementary education in front of the healing power of the hymns, prayers and services of Great Lent, if they are used appropriately. In the hymns, prayers and patristic readings of this period all the hidden folds of the human soul are exposed to light.

The hymns of the Triodion teach us first about the consequences of sin. They describe the human soul as full of passions, sinful tendencies, spiritual weaknesses, psychological inclinations that go against the will of God almost naturally. In the Ascetic Literature, passions are sinful habits that serve, slavishly and almost naturally, the effective power of death and separation from God.

However, these hymns do not describe only the negative aspect of the human fall. They inspire also optimism and cheerfulness in the hope of the open possibility of return to God, the possibility of salvation through repentance. They tell us that if we want, we can fight against the passions and defeat them.

What is more important though is that this hymnology offers the healing experience of being a part of a communion of persons with bonds of authentic love: the Church. Through the Church as a communion of life, it is obviously manifested that spiritual weaknesses and sinfulness fall, and spiritual achievements and holiness are shown to have a character of commonality and are equally shared experientially by all. Nobody is alone or rejected in his/her failure in the Church, and the Saints do not form an elite group of people separated from the rest of the members of the Church’s body: the personal spiritual achievements of the Saints can be a benefit for and a gift to all the members of the Church. Saints and sinners are together members of the one holy body of Christ.

You learn then that you fail and fall, but not alone, because you fail and fall as a member of the Church, which means, that in spite of your personal sinfulness you are a part of the same body with the Saints, the angels, the Theotokos and finally Christ Himself. And Christ and the Saints take on their shoulders your weakness, making your falls their loving care, and allowing you to take part in their purity and holiness. Thus, even as a sinner, you are sanctified by grace, as long as you repent and fight and keep yourself in the Church.

The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.

In harmony with the just mentioned joyful and hopeful penitential character of the Lenten services and hymns is the most imposing Lenten liturgy: the liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts—a unique expression of the pastoral wisdom of the Byzantine liturgical tradition, the pearl of Lenten devotion.

In the Byzantine times, the liturgy of the Presanctified was celebrated daily. In the spiritual struggle of Great Lent, the faithful needed more than ever the strengthening partaking of Holy Communion. Thus, by the celebration of the Presanctified the opportunity of receiving Holy Communion every day was given to the faithful.

It is very interesting though to observe the reasons why this communion takes place from presanctified gifts and there is no consecration in this service:

In order to have the consecration of the Gifts, you need to have this important part of the Eucharistic Liturgy that is called “Holy Anaphora”. The Holy Anaphora is the prayer with which the bread and the wine become the body and the blood of Christ in the Liturgy. If we compare the structures of a complete Eucharist with the service of the Presanctified we will notice that it is exactly the Anaphora which is missing. Why? The Anaphora is not only the consecration of the Gifts through the epiclesis, but before this it is the act of offering the Holy Gifts to God joyfully, praising Him triumphantly for the gift of our salvation. The Anaphora, the act of offering the gifts to God, always had the cheerful and triumphant character of boldness and confidence before God. However, boldness and triumph do not fit with the penitential character of Lent. Thus, the wisdom of the holy fathers formulated the service of the Presanctified Gifts as a participation in the Eucharist but without the Anaphora, a Eucharist without thanksgiving and jubilation, a Eucharist that is rather a cry for help than a joyful acclamation: “O God set free our senses from deadly passions, let our eyes abstain from evil sights, our hearing from idle talk … purify our lips as they sing your praises, let our hands produce only works that are pleasing to You…” (1st Prayer of the faithful of the Liturgy of the Presanctified). And this cry finds response and comfort in the self-giving love and grace of God. Holy Communion is finally given after the penitential and purifying course of prayers and hymns of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.

Fasting and Devotion.

The time does not allow us to move on to further analysis of other services and other aspects of Lenten devotion. I will finish with an observation on the historical evolution of Great Lent. We have already mentioned that it seems that the Church, through the centuries, in formulating the services of Lent, tried to add things to the already existing liturgical elements, as if she was trying to make this period of the liturgical year as heavy and more tiresome as possible! The Church maintained the Liturgy of Saint Basil for the Sundays of Lent, added Psalms and canons to the various services of the Liturgy of the Hours, used the Egyptian longer version of Compline, the Great Compline, instead of the regular Palestinian Compline, etc. The same can be observed with the practice of fasting. In the early centuries it was just two days of fast before Easter Sunday. The two days became a whole week later on. The whole week became three weeks in Rome in the 4th century. The three weeks became 5 weeks in Egypt in the 4th century. The 5 weeks became 6 in Antioch and Constantinople in the 4th century, in Jerusalem in the 5th century, in Alexandria in the 7th century. The monks of Palestine would fast for 8 weeks since the 4th century. In Constantinople, an 8th week of moderate fast was added during the 7th century. It is really hard to understand this increase of numbers of weeks of fasting, as well as the increase of length and number of prayers, hymns, prostrations and other liturgical practices. The selfish and comfort-seeking spirit of the Western society would lead us to the opposite kind of acts: to try to cut short all the services and the days of the fast. However, this urge and willingness to suffer more and to be more patient, has always been a common and constant tendency of the Church. I think the explanation can be found in the words of Saint Ignatius, when he was trying to convince his friends in Rome not to do anything to spare him from going through the martyrdom, even if they had the power and the possibility to do so. Saint Ignatius, having used all sorts of arguments to convince them to allow him to be martyred, he concludes:

‘Christ, my passionate love, has been crucified!”

I think this small sentence of Saint Ignatius says everything!

By Rev. Pavlos Koumarianos, Ph.D.

In the Law, God laid down that the sons of Israel should each year give tithes of all they possessed, and if they did so they were blessed in all their works. The holy Apostles, knowing this to be for the help and advancement of our souls, resolved to fulfil it in a better and higher way, namely, for us to deliver up a tithe of the very days of our lives as if to consecrate them to God, so that we may be blessed in all our works, and each year to be unburdened of the whole year’s sins. They elected to consecrate out of the three hundred and sixty-five days of the year, seven weeks of fasting, and so they ordained; but our Fathers, in their time, thought it advisable to add another week, both to train and better prepare themselves to enter on the labour of fasting and to honour with their fasting the holy number of forty days which our Lord fasted. The eight weeks, subtracting Saturdays and Sundays, makes forty days, but we honour Holy Saturday with a fast because it is a very holy day and the only Saturday fast of the year.

The seven weeks, without Saturdays, gives thirty-five days, and if we finally add the half of the brilliant and light-giving night, this makes thirty-six and a half, which is exactly a tenth of three hundred and sixty-five. For thirty is the tenth of three hundred, six is the tenth of sixty, and the tenth of five is one half. Here then, are the thirty-six and a half days, the very tithing of the whole year as one might say, which the holy Apostles consecrated to penance for the cleansing of our sins of the whole year. Whoever, therefore, keeps careful guard over himself, as is fitting during these holy days, will be rewarded with blessings, brothers, even if it happens that, being a man, he has sinned either through weakness or carelessness. You see, God gave us these holy days so that by diligence in abstinence, in the spirit of humility and repentance, a man may be cleansed of the sins of the whole year and the soul relieved of its burden. Purified, he goes forward to the holy day of the Resurrection, and being made a new man through the change of heart induced by the fast, he can take his part in the Holy Mysteries and remain in spiritual joy and happiness, feasting with God the whole fifty days. Paschal time, as has been said, is the resurrection of the soul and the sign of this is that we do not kneel in church during the whole season up to Pentecost.

Everyone who wants to purify himself of the sins of the whole year during these days must first of all restrain himself from the pleasure of eating. For the pleasure of eating, as the Fathers say, caused all men’s evil. Likewise he must take care not to break the fast without great necessity or to look for pleasurable things to eat, or weigh himself down by eating and drinking until he is full.

There are two kinds of gluttony. There is the kind which concerns taste: a man does not want to eat a lot but he wants it to be appetizing. It follows that such a person eats the food that pleases him and is defeated by the pleasure of it. He keeps the food in his mouth, rolling it round and round, and has not the heart to swallow it because he enjoys the taste. This is called fastidiousness. Another man is concerned about satisfying himself. He doesn’t ask for fancy food nor does he care especially about whether the taste is nice or not, he only wants to eat and fill his stomach. This is gluttony. I will tell you how it gets its name: margainein means to rage furiously, to be mad; according to the profane, margos is the name given to the man who rages furiously or is mad. When this disease or mania for packing his belly full of food comes upon a man, therefore, it is called gastromargia, the madness of the stomach, whereas laimargia is the madness of the palate. These must be guarded against and abandoned seriously by the man who desires to be cleansed of his sins. They accord not with the needs of the body, but with its vicious inclinations, and if they are tolerated, they lead a man into sin. As is the case with legitimate marital union and fornication, the practice is the same but the object is different. In the one case, there is copulation in order to raise a family, in the other, to satisfy a desire for pleasure. The same is true with feeding: in one case it is a question of the body’s needs and in the other of eating for pleasure. The intention is what makes it a sin. A man eats to satisfy a need when he lays down how much he will take each day and, if what he has determined on overloads him, takes a little less, or if he is not overloaded and his body is weakened, adds a little. And so he estimates exactly his need and he bases his conclusion not on pleasure but on preserving the strength of his body. And what he takes he receives with prayer, deeming himself unworthy of that comfort and he is not on the look out to see if others, as is likely, because of special need or necessity are given special attention, lest he himself hankers for that comfort or think it a trivial thing for the soul to be at rest.

One day when I was in the monastery, I went to see one of the elders–and there were many great men among the elders there. I discovered that his disciple sat down to eat with him, and in private I said to the young man: You know, brother, these elders whom you see eating and taking a little recreation are like men who had deep purses and kept at work, always putting something into them until they filled them up. And after sealing them up they went on working some more and amassed another thousand crowns, so as to have something to draw on in time of need, and so they preserved what was sealed up in the purse. And so it is with these elders. They persevered in their labors, always storing up treasures for themselves, and after sealing up the treasure they worked a little more, and they hold these treasures in reserve for times of sickness and old age so they have something to draw on, and still preserve the treasures they have stored up. But we haven’t even a purse to draw on!

As I was saying, therefore, we ought, even if we take food out of necessity, to consider ourselves unworthy of any kind of special relief or even of monastic life itself–and not take food purely for pleasure, and in this way food will not bring our condemnation.

Enough about sobriety in eating. We must not only keep a sharp watch over our diet, but keep away from all other kinds of sin so that as our stomach keeps fast, so also may our tongue as we abstain from calumny, from deceit, from idle talk, from railing and anger and all other vices which arise from the tongue.

So also let our eyes keep fast. No looking for trivialities, no letting the eyes wander freely, no impudent lying in wait for people to talk to. The same with the hands and feet, to prevent them from doing anything evil. Fasting in this way, as Saint Basil says, is an acceptable fast and, leaving behind all the evil to which our senses are inclined, we may come to the holy day of the Resurrection, renewed and clean and worthy to share in the Holy Mysteries, as we have already said.

First we go out to meet our Lord and receive him with palms and olive branches and seat him on the colt and come with him into the Holy City. What does this mean, sitting on a colt? He is seated on a colt that he may convert the soul (which, as the Prophet says, has become irrational and is compared to senseless beasts) into an image of God, and subject it to his own divinity. What does it mean, going to meet him with palms and olive branches? When someone marches out to war against an adversary and returns victorious, all his own people go before him with palm branches to mark his victory. The palm-branch is the symbol of victory. Again, when one man is injured by another, he desires to approach an authority who can vindicate him. He carries an olive branch and calls out, asking to be heard and helped. The olive branch is the symbol of mercy. Therefore, we go out to meet our Master Christ with palms because he is victorious–for he conquered our enemy–and with olive branches–for we are asking his mercy. May we, by asking, conquer through him and be found carrying the emblems of his victory, not only the victory by which he won for us, but also the victory which we won also through him by the prayers of all the Saints. Amen.

CATECHETICAL HOMILY

For Holy and Great Lent

+ B A R T H O L O M E W

By God’s Mercy Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome

and Ecumenical Patriarch

To the Plenitude of the Church:

Grace and Peace from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

And Prayers, Blessings and Forgiveness from us

“Behold, now is the favorable time,

now is the time of salvation.” (2 Cor. 6.2)

Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord,

         Our Orthodox Church recommends that, during this period of Great Lent, we focus our attention toward sincere repentance, “the melting pot of sin,” according to St. John Chrysostom. Repentance is the first topic of our Lord Jesus Christ’s preaching and the very essence of the Christian teaching. It is the Church’s daily invitation to us all.

         Despite this, many of us have not truly experienced repentance. We sometimes feel that it does not concern us personally because we do have not “come to ourselves” in order to comprehend and contemplate how we may have committed any sin. However, as we are taught by the wise teacher of the spiritual life, Abba Isaac the Syrian, and as most of the Church Fathers proclaim through experience, “repentance is necessary even for the perfect.” This is because repentance does not merely signify remorse for our sins and the consequent decision no longer to repeat them, but it also implies a change of our attitudes toward what is better so that we acquire constant improvement before God and the world, as well as continuous increase in love and humility, purification and peace.

         In this sense, repentance is an unending journey toward divine perfection, to which we must at all times aim and move. Indeed, since God’s perfection is boundless, our way toward its likeness must also be boundless and endless. There is always a level of perfection beyond what we have achieved, and so we must constantly seek spiritual progress and transformation, as urged by St. Paul, who ascended to the third heaven and beheld the ineffable mysteries: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3.18)

         The more our internal world is cleansed, the more our spiritual eye is purified, the more clearly we see ourselves and everything around us. Moreover, this change – namely, the improvement in our vision of the reality of this world and the spiritual condition of ourselves – is precisely what repentance is all about. Repentance is a renewed and improved state of spirit, of the condition where we presently find ourselves. Accordingly, then, repentance is the fundamental presupposition of spiritual progress and of acquiring likeness toward God.

         In order, of course, for repentance to be genuine, it must also be accompanied by the appropriate fruits, especially forgiveness of and charity toward others. The basic criterion of sincere repentance is that our heart is moved toward acceptance of our fellow human beings and response to their needs as much as can. After all, the way of repentance is recognition and confession of our sins, no longer holding grudges against others, praying with warmth and integrity, as well as mercifulness, humility, love toward all people, victory of good over evil, avoiding vainglory and arrogance, which immediately withers away everything.

         This struggle within our soul is revealed in “the difference between the publican and the Pharisee . . .,” which is an invitation to “despise the proud voice of the latter, while envying the contrite prayer of the former,” even as we fervently pray with tears “that God may take pity on us sinners and have mercy on us.”

         The period of Great Lent that is upon us is an opportunity, in the midst of a widespread and global financial crisis, to demonstrate our material and spiritual assistance toward other people. When we act charitably and manifest our repentance in practice – moving from an individualistic and pharisaic way of life to a collective and altruistic way of life, like the publican – then we shall realize the great benefit of repentance and conversion, while also experiencing repentance as a vital transition from the sin of self-centeredness and vainglory to the virtue of love, “aspiring to the humility and attitude of the publican, who deserved God’s mercy.”

         From the Patriarchal Throne of St. John Chrysostom, who both preached and practiced such repentance, as we enter this salvific period of purification of heart and soul in order to welcome the Passion, Cross, Burial and Resurrection of our Lord, not just in rituals and words but also in practice and experience, we too as his unworthy successor urge, entreat and beseech you: “Acquire repentance by becoming new people, by renouncing the old nature of sinfulness and acquiring newness of life . . . For that is where the fullness of divine grace lies.”

         Behold, then, beloved brothers and sisters, a favorable time “of mourning” opens up before us, an arena of vigilance and discipline, so that “before the theater of this life passes, we may care for our salvation” with sincere and tangible repentance for all “our sins, wrongdoings, and injustices . . . without adhering to or doing what we have been commanded” by the Lord, so that Christ our God, “who is present everywhere and fills all things, may care for us” in His great and inscrutable mercy.

         May His saving grace be with you all.

Holy and Great Lent 2014

+ Bartholomew of Constantinople

When a man leaves on a journey, he must know where he is going. Thus with Lent. Above all, Lent is a spiritual journey and its destination is Easter, “the Feast of Feasts.” It is the preparation for the “fulfillment of Pascha, the true Revelation.” We must begin, therefore, by trying to understand this connection between Lent and Easter, for it reveals something very essential, very crucial about our Christian faith and life. Is it necessary to explain that Easter is much more than one of the feasts, more than a yearly commemoration of a past event? Anyone who has, be it only once, taken part in that night which is “brighter than the day,” who has tasted of that unique joy, knows it. [...] On Easter we celebrate Christ’s Resurrection as something that happened and still happens to us. For each one of us received the gift of that new life and the power to accept it and live by it. It is a gift which radically alters our attitude toward everything in this world, including death. It makes it possible for us to joyfully affirm: “Death is no more!” Oh, death is still there, to be sure, and we still face it and someday it will come and take us. But it is our whole faith that by His own death Christ changed the very nature of death, made it a passage — a “passover,” a “Pascha” — into the Kingdom of God, transforming the tragedy of tragedies into the ultimate victory. [...]

Such is that faith of the Church, affirmed and made evident by her countless Saints. Is it not our daily experience, however, that this faith is very seldom ours, that all the time we lose and betray the “new life” which we received as a gift, and that in fact we live as if Christ did not rise from the dead, as if that unique event had no meaning whatsoever for us? [...] We simply forget all this — so busy are we, so immersed in our daily preoccupations — and because we forget, we fail. And through this forgetfulness, failure, and sin, our life becomes “old” again — petty, dark, and ultimately meaningless — a meaningless journey toward a meaningless end. [...] We may from time to time acknowledge and confess our various “sins,” yet we cease to refer our life to that new life which Christ revealed and gave to us. Indeed, we live as if He never came. This is the only real sin, the sin of all sins, the bottomless sadness and tragedy of our nominal Christianity.

If we realize this, then we may understand what Easter is and why it needs and presupposes Lent. For we may then understand that the liturgical traditions of the Church, all its cycles and services, exist, first of all, in order to help us recover the vision and the taste of that new life which we so easily lose and betray, so that we may repent and return to it. [...] And yet the “old” life, that of sin and pettiness, is not easily overcome and changed. The Gospel expects and requires from man an effort of which, in his present state, he is virtually incapable. [...] This is where Great Lent comes in. This is the help extended to us by the Church, the school of repentance which alone will make it possible to receive Easter not as mere permission to eat, to drink, and to relax, but indeed as the end of the “old” in us, as our entrance into the “new.” [...] For each year Lent and Easter are, once again, the rediscovery and the recovery by us of what we were made through our own baptismal death and resurrection.

A journey, a pilgrimage! Yet, as we begin it, as we make the first step into the “bright sadness” of Lent, we see — far, far away — the destination. It is the joy of Easter, it is the entrance into the glory of the Kingdom. And it is this vision, the foretaste of Easter, that makes Lent’s sadness bright and our lenten effort a “spiritual spring.” The night may be dark and long, but all along the way a mysterious and radiant dawn seems to shine on the horizon. “Do not deprive us of our expectation, O Lover of man!”

Fr. Alexander Schmemann

Being disclosed in a Canon of the 5th week, the Gospel parable about the rich man and Lazarus serves as the subject of hymns also in the 6th week. The Holy Church calls us “to run from the cruelty and hatred of mankind of the rich man and to emulate the fortitude and long-suffering of Lazarus” and to beg the Lord that, “Having grown poor through the pleasures of this life, He make us rich in virtues”, and deliver us “from the torment of Gehenna” and “that we may enjoy rest in the bosom of the Patriarch Abraham”. Continuing also in this week, as well as in the previous one to call us to spiritual efforts of piety, the Holy Church appeals to us:

“Come, brethren, and before the end with pure hearts let us all draw near to the compassionate God. Casting aside the cares of this life, let us take thought for our souls. Through abstinence let us reject with loathing the pleasures of food, and let us busy ourselves with acts of virtue.”

“Through abstinence let us destroy the passions and through godlike actions let us bring to life the spirit.”

“Let us fast, pouring out streams of tears from our soul, that we may be granted mercy”.

Together with this the Holy Church, “having begun the sixth week”, invites all of us: “Let us sing to Christ a hymn in preparation for the Feast of Palms who comes” “to raise Lazarus from the tomb” and “who comes seated on the foal of an ass”.

According to this, the 6th week is called “the threshold of the life-giving of Lazarus”, but mainly is the Week of Palms”, “the Flowery” or “Flower bearing”. In its Forefeast hymns the Holy Church sings:

“Rejoice, O Bethany, home of Lazarus: for Christ comes to you and shall perform a mighty work, bringing Lazarus to life.”

“O faithful let us follow Martha and Mary, let us send to the Lord divine acts as prayers, that He may come to raise up from the dead our mind, which lies dead in the tomb of insensible laziness, lacking all feeling of the fear of God, and now having no vital energy, crying out: O Lord, by Your dread authority You has raised up Your friend Lazarus of old, O Compassionate One, so now enliven all of us, granting us Your great mercy”.

“The Lord comes seated, as is written, upon a foal. O people, prepare to receive in fear the King of all, and to welcome Him with palms as Victor over death, who raised Lazarus from Hades.”

“Having enlightened and cleansed our souls by fasting, let us go to meet Christ, who comes into Jerusalem in the flesh.”

“With the Children let us also meet Christ our God, bringing works of mercy instead of palms, and fervent prayer instead of branches singing Hosanna: bless, and exalt Him forever.”

“Come let us prepare for meeting the Lord, carrying branches of virtue to Him. So shall we receive Him in our souls as in the city of Jerusalem, worshipping and singing to Him”.

By Sergei V. Bulgakov

(NOTE FROM MODE OF LIFE: There are differing opinions as to when the sixth week of Great Lent concludes. There are those who contend that it concludes with the feast of Lazarus Saturday; while others holding onto the more traditional and conservative view that Lazarus Saturday is a day that stands on its own and is between the beginning of Holy Week which is marked by Palm Sunday, and from the remainder of Lent which concludes on the Friday of the Sixth Week of Lent.)

A SPIRITUAL CHECKLIST

Orthodox Christians recite a prayer during Great Lent that is described by Fr. Alexander Schmemann as a “check list” for our spiritual lives. This prayer, given by St. Ephraim the Syrian in the fourth century, is commonly called the “Lenten Prayer:”

O Lord and Master of my life! Take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust of power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant. Yea, O Lord and King! Grant me to see my own errors and not to judge my brother; For Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen.

Fr. Alexander explains that the prayer – along with the spiritual disciplines of Great Lent (as well as the rest of the year) – is “aimed first at our liberation from some fundamental spiritual diseases which shape our life and make it virtually impossible for us even to start turning ourselves to God.”

Let’s go through the prayer of St. Ephraim to see how it can help order your spiritual life.

The prayer starts by referring to Jesus Christ as “Lord and Master of my life.” Elder Porphyrios, a twentieth century Greek monk, teaches that Christians should “love Christ and put nothing before His love,” because “Christ is Everything. He is joy, He is life, He is light. He is the true light who makes man joyful, makes him soar with happiness; makes him see everything, everybody; makes him feel for everyone, to want everyone with Him, everyone with Christ.”

Do you love Christ like this, or are there things that are more important to you than Him? If Jesus Christ is Lord and Master of your life, you will want to pray to Him, receive Him in Holy Communion, and live your life in a way that pleases Him and enables you to grow in union with Him.

After proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord and Master, St. Ephraim then asks Him to “take from me the spirit of sloth.” Sloth is laziness and inactivity, and Fr. Alexander Schmemann explains that “it is the root of all sin because it poisons the spiritual energy at its very source.” Sloth makes Christians ask “what for?” when presented with an opportunity to engage in spiritual growth. Lorenzo Scupoli, a sixteenth century Christian, warns against spiritual sloth:

“Having once tasted the pleasure of inaction, you begin to like and prefer it to action. In satisfying this desire, you will little by little form a habit of inaction and laziness, in which the passions for doing nothing will possess you to such extent that you will cease even to see how incongruous and criminal it is; except perhaps when you weary of this laziness, and are again eager to take up your work. Then you will see with shame how negligent you have been and how many necessary works you have neglected, for the sake of the empty and useless ‘doing what you like’.”

Are you spiritually slothful? Do you avoid praying with a half-hearted promise to yourself and God that you’ll “do it later?” Do you avoid fasting because it seems too hard and unpleasant? Do you avoid reading the Bible because it seems like a lot of work? If you let sloth control your actions, you are refusing to make Jesus the “Lord and Master” of your life.

St. Ephraim next prays to be freed from “faint-heartedness.” Faint-heartedness means despondency: overwhelming depression and a feeling of hopelessness. The Church Fathers warn that despondency is the greatest danger to the soul, because a despondent person is unable or unwilling to see anything positive or good – even in God – and is therefore unwilling to do anything to change his or her life. St. John Climacus, a sixth century monk on Mt. Sinai, describes despondency:

“Despondency is a paralysis of soul, an enervation of the mind, neglect of asceticism, hatred of the vow made. It calls those who are in the world blessed. It accuses God of being merciless and without love for men. It is being languid in singing psalms, weak in prayer, like iron in service, resolute in manual labor, reliable in obedience.”

Have you ever thought that there is no point in participating in the spiritual life of the Church because “I’ll never be a saint?” Do you believe that you’ll never be able to overcome some of the sins with which you struggle? If so, then you are engaging in despondency, and implicitly denying God’s ability to reach and transform you.

The “lust of power,” next in St. Ephraim’s prayer, doesn’t necessarily mean the desire to become an all-powerful dictator that rules a company or nation. Instead, it ultimately refers to selfishness and self-centeredness. Fr. Alexander Schmemann teaches:

“If my life is not oriented toward God, not aimed at eternal values, it will inevitably become selfish and self-centered and this means that all other beings will become means of my own self-satisfaction. If God is not the Lord and Master of my life, then I become my own lord and master – the absolute center of my own world, and I begin to evaluate everything in terms of my needs, my ideas, my desires, and my judgments.”

Abba Isidore, one of the Desert Fathers of the fourth century, simply says, “Of all evil suggestions, the most terrible is that of following one’s own heart, that is to say, one’s own thought, and not the law of God.”

Every sin – every evil act, every refusal to follow God’s will – is a demonstration of the lust of power.

St. Ephraim also prays to be freed from a desire for “idle talk.” St. Anthony the Great, the founder of monasticism in the third and fourth centuries, tells us, “Know that nothing quenches the Spirit more than idle talk.” A simple definition of idle talk is “foolish or irrelevant talk.”

Our words can be used for good or evil. Unfortunately, we too often engage in idle talk that is more than simply irrelevant: it is hurtful and destructive. Do you gossip about others? Are you frequently critical of others? Do you tell dirty jokes that not only make a mockery of the morality demanded by God, but even demeans the humanity of people of both genders? If so, you are engaging in destructive idle talk.

The Lenten prayer moves from asking God to free us from specific sinful attitudes and behaviours to asking for the empowerment and inclination to good attitudes and behaviours. As you can see, the first part of the prayer deals with areas in which we harm our relationships with others; the second part deals with building and restoring relationships.

St. Ephraim prays for the “spirit of chastity.” Our culture unfortunately understands “chastity” as meaning sexual purity; as important as sexual impurity is, the full meaning, as St. John Climacus says, “is the name which is common to all virtues.” Fr. Alexander explains that chastity should be:

“Understood as the positive counterpart of sloth. The exact and full translation of the Greek sofrosini and the Russian tselomudryie ought to be whole-mindedness. Sloth is, first of all, dissipation, the brokenness of our vision and energy, the inability to see the whole. Its opposite then is precisely wholeness.”

One of the fruits of chastity is humility. Anthimos, a twentieth century monk on the island of Chios in Greece, proclaims, “Humble-mindedness will bring all the virtues.” The fourteenth century saint, Gregory of Sinai, teaches us to cultivate humility:

“True humility does not say humble words, nor does it assume humble looks, it does not force oneself either to think humbly of oneself, or to abuse oneself in self-belittlement. Although all such things are the beginning, the manifestations and the various aspects of humility, humility itself is grace, given from above. There are two kinds of humility, as the holy fathers teach: to deem oneself the lowest of all beings and to ascribe to God all one’s good actions. The first is the beginning, the second the end.”

St. John Chrysostom explains that we are to emulate the longsuffering of God in our interactions with others:

“God, whilst He is treated with as great, and still greater contempt than this, every day; and that not by one, or two, or three persons, but by almost all of us; is still forbearing and longsuffering, not in regard to this alone, but to other things which are far more grievous. For these things are what must be admitted, and what are obvious to all, and by almost all men they are daringly practiced. But there are yet others, which the conscience of those who commit them is privy to. Surely, if we were to think of all this; if we were to reason with ourselves, supposing even that we were the cruellest and harshest of men, yet upon taking a survey of the multitude of our sins, we should for very fear and agony be unable to remember the injury done by others towards ourselves. Bear in mind the river of fire; the envenomed worm; the fearful Judgment, where all things shall be naked and open! Reflect, that what are now hidden things, are then to be brought to light! But shouldest thou pardon thy neighbour all these sins which till then await their disclosure are done away with here; and when thou shalt depart this life, thou wilt not drag after thee any of that chain of transgressions; so that thou receivest greater things than thou givest.”

Patience is the opposite of despondency: as Evagrius, one of the Desert Fathers, teaches, “Man’s patience gives birth to hope; good hope will glorify him.”

St. Ephraim also prays for a spirit of love. St. Paul describes true love:

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

St. John Chrysostom summarizes the necessity of defeating sin with love:

“Love for one another makes us immaculate. There is not a single sin, which the power of love, like fire, would not destroy. It is easier for feeble brushwood to withstand a powerful fire than for the nature of sin to withstand the power of love. Let us increase this love in our souls, in order to stand with all the saints, for they, too, all pleased God well by love for their neighbors.”

It is for this reason that St. Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna in the second century, says, “He that has love is far from every sin.”

The greatest commandment of God is, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37; Deuteronomy 6:5). St. Tikhon, an eighteenth century bishop of Zadonsk in Russia, teaches how you can determine if you love God more than yourself:

*1. God Himself indicates this, saying, “He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me” (John 14:21). For the true lover of God will preserve himself from everything that is repugnant to God, and hastens to fulfill everything that is pleasing to God. Wherefore he keeps His holy commandments.

*2. A manifest sign of love for God is a heartfelt gladness in God, for we rejoice in what we love.

*3. The true lover of God disdains the world and all that is in the world, and strives toward God, his most beloved. He counts honor, glory, riches, and all the comforts of this world which the sons of this age seek, as nothing. For him only God, the uncreated and most beloved good, suffices. In Him alone he finds perfect honor, glory, riches and comfort.

*4. The true lover of God keeps God ever in mind, and His love toward us and His benefactions.

*5. One who loves, desires never to be separated from the one he loves… Likewise the true lover of Christ is he who abides with Christ in this world, and cleaves to Him in his heart, and uncomplainingly endures the cross with Him, and desires to be with Him inseparably in the age to come.

*6. A sign of the love of God is love for neighbor. He who truly loves God also loves his neighbor.

The second great commandment is, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:38; Leviticus 19:18). St. Maximos the Confessor explains the impact that our love for others has on our relationship with God:

“Let us love one another, and we shall be loved by God. Let us be longsuffering toward one another, and He will be longsuffering toward our sins. Let us not render evil for evil, and He will not render to us according to our sins. We shall find remission of our transgressions in forgiving our brethren; for God’s mercy toward us is concealed in our mercifulness toward our neighbor. This is also why the Lord said: Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. And if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. After this, our salvation is already in our power.”

St. Ephraim’s final request is the ability to see his own errors, and to refrain from judging others. In the article, “Am I Judgmental?” you can see this quotation from Lorenzo Scupoli:

“Never allow yourself boldly to judge your neighbor; judge and condemn no one…rather have compassion and pity for him, but let his example be a lesson in humility to you; realizing that you too are extremely weak and as easily moved to sin as dust on the road, say to yourself: ‘He fell today, but tomorrow I shall fall.’“

The purpose for all this is stated at the very end of the prayer: to participate in a full relationship with Him Who is “blessed unto ages of ages.”

The Church Fathers have much to say about how we should approach Great Lent and Holy Week in all its aspects – fasting, prayer, our actions. They recognise that simply going through the motions of abstaining from certain kinds of foods while not paying attention to how we live our lives amounts to following the letter of the law, not its spirit. We use this period to re-examine our total selves.

The following samples from the writings of the Church Fathers illustrate the Orthodox Christian approach to the Lenten and Holy Week period:

St John Chrysostom on true fasting: “It is folly to abstain all day long from food, but fail to abstain from sin and selfishness. The fast of Lent has no advantage to us unless it brings about our spiritual renewal. It is necessary while fasting to change our whole life and practice virtue.

Turning away from all wickedness means keeping our mouth in check, restraining our anger, avoiding all gossip, lying and swearing. To abstain from these things – herein is the true value of the fast. Accept the fast as an experienced  educator by whom the Church teaches us privately.

It is possible for one who fasts not to be rewarded for his fasting. How? When indeed we abstain from foods, but do not abstain from iniquities; when we do not eat meat, but gnaw to pieces the homes of the poor; when we do not become drunkards with wine, but we become drunkards with evil pleasures; when we abstain all the day, but all the night we spend in unchastened shows. Then what is the benefit of abstaining from foods, when on the one hand you deprive your body of selected food, but on the other offer yourself unlawful food?”

St Augustine on sin: “I acknowledge me transgressions”, says David, If I admit my fault then you will pardon it. Let us never assume that if we live good lives we will be without sin; our lives should be praised only when we continue to beg for pardon. But humans are hopeless creatures, and the less they concentrate on their own sins, the more interested they become in the sins of others. They seek to criticise, not correct. Unable to excuse themselves, they are ready to accuse others”.

St Basil of Caesaria on charity and mercy: “The earth bears crops for your benefit, not for its own; but when you give to the poor you are bearing fruit which you will gather in for yourself, since the reward for good deeds goes to those who perform them. Give to a hungry man, and what you give becomes yours, and indeed it returns to you with interest. As a sower profits from the seed that falls to the ground, so will you profit greatly in the world to come from the bread that you place before a hungry man. You are going to leave your money behind you here whether you wish to or not. On the other hand, you will take with you to the Lord the honour that you have won through good works”.

St Gregory Nazianzus on prayer during the fast: “Recognise to whom you owe the fact that you exist, that you breathe, that you understand, that you are wise and, above all, that you know God and hope for the Kingdom of Heaven. What benefactor has enabled you to look out on the beauty of the sky, the sun in its course, the circle of the moon, the countless number of stars, with the harmony and order which are theirs like the music of a harp? Who has blessed you with rain, with the art of husbandry, with different kinds of food, with the arts, with houses, with laws, with states, with a line of humanity and culture, with friendship and with the easy familiarity of kinship?…Is it not God who asks you now in turn to show yourself generous above all other creatures and for the sake of other creatures? Because we have received from him so many wonderful gifts, will we not be ashamed to refuse Him this one thing only, our generosity?”

St Leo (d. 461AD) once wrote: “Any time is right for works of charity, but these days of Lent provide a special encouragement. Those who want to be present at the Lord’s Passover in holiness of mind and body should seek above all to win this grace, for charity contains all other virtues and covers a multitude of sins.

As we prepare to celebrate the greatest of all mysteries, but which the blood of Jesus did away with all our sins, let us first of all make ready the sacrificial offering of works of mercy. In this way we shall give to those who have sinned against us what God in His goodness has already given to us.

Let us now extend to the poor and those afflicted in different ways a more open-handed generosity, so that God may be thanked through many voices and the relief of the needy supported by our fasting. No act of devotion on the part of the faithful gives God more pleasure than that which is lavished on His poor”.

PRACTICAL COUNSELS FOR THE FAST

*1. Turn off the television, radio, stereo or CD player for the entire period, unless only for serious or spiritually uplifting content…this is not time for mere recreation or mindless entertainment.

*2. Do not visit or move about just for the sake of it. Keep useless/idle talk to a minimum. Do only necessary business, good works and Christian actions.

*3. Examine your life in all aspects: Family, work, society, politics, economics, values, desires…in terms of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

*4. Question yourself with respect to love, truth, honesty, purity, humility, peace, forgiveness, justice, mercy, hungering and thirsting for God, wisdom and knowledge.

*5. In the name of Christ, forgive all who have offended you, and ask forgiveness of others. If it will not be embarrassing to others, or misinterpreted as a “holier-than-thou” act, make this forgiveness and asking of forgiveness as concrete as possible. Visit, make a phone call, write a letter.

*6. Give a good donation of money to others; to the Church, to the poor, to some social or educational work. Tell no one what you have done. Ask no gratitude. Do not advertise it.

*7. Fast strictly all the time. Eat no meat, as the basic absolute minimum. Keep the fast as prescribed by the Church (no meat, fish, eggs or dairy products – oil or wine except on Saturday and Sunday and a few feast days) unless you have a blessing from your spiritual father or confessor to mitigate the fast on account of the difficulty of your work or medical problems. Even then, avoid any luxury…there are “fasting” meals which should make anyone blush for his self-indulgence! Again, tell no one; do not advertise; do not judge others who may not be fasting as you are.

*8. Pray at home at least one fixed time each day. Choose a brief rule of prayer, but keep it faithfully.

*9. Read the Gospel in a similar, brief but regular way. Follow the Church’s calendar of teachings; or perhaps read one complete Gospel through, plus the following readings: the First Letter of St John, St Paul’s Letter to the Romans (chapters 12-14); the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5-7); and the Gospel of St John (chapters 14-17).

*10. Be faithful to the Gospel of Christ in every word, act and through – even the smallest.

Source: “What the Fathers Say About…” – Light and Life Publishing, Mineapolis, 1996.

(Some editing by Mode of Life Weblog)

16 Apr 2014

DEAN KALIMNIOU

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures; and that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve; after that, He was seen of above five thousand brethren at once.” 1 Cor. 15:3-6

If one is to follow the morning and evening church services of Holy Week, it soon becomes evident why that week is referred to in Greek as ‘Long, or Large Week’ (Μεγάλη Εβδομάδα). These services, commencing with the resurrection of Lazarus and Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, take us through the suffering of Christ, linking prophecy with its fulfilment, through the use of some of the most beautiful, compelling imagery and poetry ever to have been written in the Greek language, only to have us arrive at the remarkable Resurrection. The entire Christian confession is contained in the words ‘Christ is Risen’. The Apostle Paul, referring to this fact, clearly and emphatically says: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” in his epistle to the Corinthians.

The Holy Monday service (sung Sunday night) commemorates the fig tree which was cursed and withered by Jesus. The withering of the fig tree was a miracle of special symbolism, since the tree had leaves, but no fruit, a post-modern reference to those who claim ethical and religious identity, but who in reality have empty lives that yield no fruit. On that evening, the passionate Hymn of the Bridegroom, is sung: “Behold the Bridegroom comes in the midst of the night … beware, therefore, O my soul, lest thou be borne down in sleep … and lest thou be shut out from the Kingdom…” The canticle hymn also has a symbolic exhortation: “I see thy bridal hall adorned, O my Saviour, and I have no wedding garment … O giver of Light, make radiant the vesture of my soul and save me.” At this time the solemn procession of the Icon of Christ-Bridegroom takes place around the church. The people, anticipating the sufferings of Christ, sing: “Thy sublime sufferings, on this day, shine upon the world as a light of salvation.”

Holy Tuesday commemorates the parable of the Ten Virgins in the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus stressed the importance of ethical preparation and wakefulness. The parable of the Ten Virgins is developed around the theme of the Bridegroom: “Why are Thou heedless, O my soul? … Work most diligently with the talent which has been confided to thee; both watch and pray.” The hymnologist reminds us, “I do not possess a torch aflame with virtue, and the foolish virgin I imitate when it is the time for action”; and “Into the splendour of thy saints, how can I, who am unholy, enter?” The exhortation is then given: “Come Ye faithful, let us work earnestly for the Master … increase our talent of grace … Wisdom through good works.”

On Wednesday (Tuesday night) commemoration is made of the anointing of Christ with myrrh by the woman in the house of Simon the leper, in Bethany. On this evening, the powerful Hymn of Cassiane, probably a work of Patriarch Photius is sung. It begins: “The woman who had fallen into many sins recognised thy Godhead, O Lord; Woe to me, saith she; receive the sources of my tears, O Thou who doth gather into clouds the water of the sea. Who can trace out the multitude of my sins and the abysses of my misdeeds? O Thou whose mercy is unbounded.”

The sacred ceremony of the Sacrament of Holy Unction takes place on Wednesday evening, following an old custom. This is the evening of repentance, confession and the remission of sins by Christ, preparing the faithful to receive Holy Communion, usually the next day, Holy Thursday morning. Holy Unction is the Sacrament for cleansing sins and renewing the body and the spirit of the faithful. Holy Unction is one of the seven Sacraments of the Church, and it has its origin in the practice of the early Church as recorded in the Epistle of James. At the end of the service, the priest anoints the people with Holy Oil, the visible bearer of the Grace of God. The orthros of Thursday morning is also usually said in anticipation on Wednesday evening. It contains the powerful exhortation: “Let no fear separate you from Me…”

The service of Great Holy Thursday Morning is sung in the morning by anticipation. Jesus drew His last breath of freedom on this Thursday night. Christ knew all the incidents which were about to take place, and called to Him His Apostles to a Supper in order to institute the Holy Eucharist for them and for the Church forever. The institution of the Holy Eucharist and its re-enactment through the centuries, both as a sacrifice and sacrament, along with the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ, constitutes the basis of salvation for the Christian. The Divine Liturgy of St Basil is officiated on this day and Christians come for Holy Communion singing: “Receive me Today, O Son of God, as a partaker of Thy Mystic Feast; for I will not speak of the Mystery to Thine enemies, I will not kiss Thee as did Judas, but as the thief I will confess Thee. Lord, remember me when I comest to Thy Kingdom.”

On Holy Thursday Evening, the Passion of Christ is remembered and re-enacted. This service is long, but its content is dramatic and deeply moving for the devout Christian. Participation in the prayers and the historical sequence of the events, as related in Twelve Gospel readings and hymns, provides a vivid foundation for the great events yet to come. After the reading of the fifth Gospel, the Crucifix is processed around the church, while the priest chants the 15th antiphon: “Today is hung upon the Tree, He Who did hang the land in the midst of the waters. A Crown of thorns crowns Him Who is King of Angels. He is wrapped about with the purple of mockery Who wrapped the Heavens with clouds. He received buffetings Who freed Adam in Jordan. He was transfixed with nails Who is the Bridegroom of the Church. He was pierced with a spear Who is the Son of the Virgin. We worship Thy Passion, O Christ. Show also unto us thy glorious Resurrection.”

According to Hebrew custom, the ‘Royal Hours’, four in number, are read Holy Friday morning. These services consist of hymns, psalms, and readings from the Old and New Testaments, all related prophetically to the Person of Christ. The Vespers of Friday afternoon are a continuation of the Hours. During this service, the removal of the Body of Christ from the Cross is commemorated with a sense of mourning for the terrible events which took place. Excerpts from the Old Testament are read together with hymns, and again the entire story is related. The Apostle Paul, interpreting the dreadful event, exhorts the Church: “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God … we preach Christ crucified … the power of God and the wisdom of God.” As the priest reads the Gospel “and taking the body, Joseph wrapped it in a white cloth”, he removes the Body of Christ from the Cross, wraps it in a white cloth and takes it to the altar. The priest then chants a mourning hymn: “When Joseph of Arimathea took Thee, the life of all, down from the Tree dead, he buried Thee with myrrh and fine linen … rejoicing. Glory to Thy humiliation, O Master, who clothest Thyself with light as it were with a garment.” The priest then carries the cloth to the Epitaphios. Perhaps the most famous and best attended Holy Week service is the Good Friday Evening Lamentation. It consists of psalms, hymns and readings, dealing with the death of Christ and in expectation of His Resurrection. One of the hymns relates: “He who holds all things is raised up on the Cross and all creation laments to see Him hang naked on the Tree.” The profoundly moving Odes compare the compassion and might of God with the cruelty and weakness of man, portraying all Creation as trembling when witnessing its Creator hung by His own creatures: “Creation was moved … with intense astonishment when it beheld Thee hung in Golgotha.” During this service the Body of Christ in the Epitaphios is carried in procession around the church and the entire congregation joins in singing the ‘Encomia’. After these hymns are sung, the priest sprinkles the Epitaphios and the whole congregation with fragrant water.

On Holy Saturday Morning, psalms are read and Resurrection hymns are sung which tell of Christ’s descent into Hades. “Today Hades cried out groaning” is the hymn’s description of the resurrection of Adam and the conquering of death. Thus this day’s celebration is called ‘First Resurrection’. Most of the readings of this day are from the Old Testament on the prophesies of the conquering of death. On this day the Divine Liturgy of St Basil is officiated. Apostle Paul exhorts the faithful: “We were buried, therefore, with him by baptism unto death, so we, too, might walk in newness of life.” After the reading of the Epistle, the priest follows the custom of tossing of laurel, saying: “Arise, O God, and judge Thou the earth: for Thou shall take all heathen to Thine inheritance.” The Cherubic hymn of this day is “Let all mortal flesh keep silence and stand with fear and trembling…”, a thoughtful hymn of adoration and exaltation. The Divine Liturgy ends with the Communion Hymn: “So the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and He is risen to save us.”

On Easter Sunday (Saturday midnight) the life-giving Resurrection of Christ is celebrated. Before midnight, the Odes of Lamentation of the previous day are repeated. The Orthros of the Resurrection begins in complete darkness. The priest takes light from the vigil light and gives it to the faithful, who are holding candles. The priest sings, “Come ye and receive light from the unwaning life, and glorify Christ, who arose from the dead”, and all the people join him in singing this hymn again and again. From this moment, every Christian holds the Easter candle as a symbol of their vivid, deep faith in the Resurrection of Jesus. The priest leads the people outside the church, where he reads the Gospel which refers to the Angel’s statement: “He is Risen; He is not here.” Then comes the breathless moment as the people wait for the priest to start the hymn of Resurrection, which they join him in singing, repeatedly: “Christ has Risen from the dead, by death trampling upon Death, and has bestowed life upon those in the tombs.” From this moment the entire service takes on a joyous Easter atmosphere. The hymns of the Odes and Praises of Resurrection which follow are unparalleled in intensity. The people confess, “It is the Day of Resurrection, let us be glorious, let us embrace one another and speak to those that hate us; let us forgive all things and so let us cry, Christ has arisen from the dead”. The Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom is then officiated. At the end of the Liturgy, a part of the marvellous festival sermon of St Chrysostom is read, which calls upon the people to “Take part in this fair and radiant festival. Let no one be fearful of death, for the death of the Saviour has set us free … O Death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is Thy victory? Christ is Risen and Thou art overthrown. To Him be glory and power from all ages to all ages”.

From the Diatribe, hopes that you have had a holy, Holy Week and ΚΑΛΗ ΑΝΑΣΤΑΣΗ.

In the Orthodox Church, the feast day of St Thomas, the faithful disciple of the risen Lord, also known as ‘the Twin’ (Didymus)[1] is celebrated precisely one week after Easter – that is, on the Sunday following Pascha, which is known both as the ‘Sunday of Thomas’ and the ‘After-feast of Pascha’ (Antipascha). Even though popular piety has wrongly attributed to him names such as the ‘doubting’ or ‘faithless’ Thomas because of his alleged suspicions concerning the resurrection of Jesus, his place in the Liturgical cycle of feasts affirms a radically different theological vision of St Thomas the apostle full of faith.[2] Indeed, a correct exegetical examination of the Gospel passage which is heard on the ‘Sunday of Thomas’ (Jn 20:19-31) will confirm Thomas’ profound depth of faith, expressed, as we shall see, in his confession in the divinity of the risen Jesus.

It has to be admitted that St Thomas’ ecstatic declaration of faith in Jesus Christ in terms of ‘My Lord and my God’ (Jn 20:28) is one of the most profound pronouncement of the deity of Jesus in the entire corpus of the New Testament since it not only attributes to Christ the highest Christological title in terms of His divinity [Jesus Christ is referred to as ‘God’] but also demonstrates the unconditional acceptance of Thomas in the risen Lord [this is seen in the use of ‘my’ God – the predicate of dedication]. In this way, far from being a story ostensibly about the lack of faith on the part of this apostle, the fourth Gospel writer presented St Thomas as a man who desired nothing less than a personal and palpable encounter with the risen Lord. And the reason why St Thomas wanted nothing less than an immediate encounter with the risen Lord was so that he could see for himself the continuity with the Jesus that he had known during His earthly life before His crucifixion – as opposed to One who had mysteriously risen and left the disciples orphaned.

Therefore, throughout the episode involving the apostle Thomas what is revealed is nothing other than the apostle’s insatiable hunger and desire to encounter Jesus Christ. However, before looking specifically at several aspects of the passage in John 20:19-31, which depicts Thomas’ encounter with the risen Lord, a few brief remarks from other passages in the New Testament, where St Thomas is mentioned, will show Thomas’ fidelity and trust in Jesus Christ even before His resurrection.

The fidelity and courageous character of St Thomas is seen in other episodes in the Gospel of St John. Two such examples are the following: firstly, upon hearing that Lazarus had ‘fallen asleep’, Jesus told the disciples that He would return to Judea to bring Lazarus back to life. Whilst the Gospel of St John records the disciples alerting Jesus of the dangers of the journey, since the Jews were trying to stone Jesus, the Evangelist notes the apostle Thomas as unhesitatingly stating: “let us also go, that we may die with him” (Jn 11:16).

Surely such a spontaneously spirited and bold response by Thomas, expressing his willingness even to die together with Jesus is totally incompatible with a person characterized by doubt, hesitation and scepticism. A second episode in which the spiritual insight and unwavering faith of Thomas in Jesus is verified is when the resurrected Lord appeared to seven of his disciples after His resurrection – Thomas being one of them. When Jesus showed Himself to these seven apostles by the Sea of Tiberias and told them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat (cf Jn 21:6), since they had caught nothing all night, the Gospel records that they obeyed Jesus immediately.

Again such a response by St Thomas (together with the other disciples) would have nothing to do with a person who had doubted or lacked faith in Jesus. These two episodes, together with Thomas’ encounter with the risen Lord eight days after the Resurrection, will demonstrate without doubt Thomas’ profound depth of faith in Jesus Christ. And it is to this that we now turn.

This Gospel passage in Jn 20:19-31 beautifully relates the faith experience of the apostle Thomas. Upon setting the scene (it was evening and all the disciples were gathered together in one room for fear of the Jews), the Gospel writer proceeds to describe Thomas with some precision: we read that he was called the ‘Twin’, that he was one of the twelve and that he was absent when the risen Jesus had formerly appeared to the disciples bringing His peace. The pericope continues to depict the appearance of the Lord eight day later, this time to all the disciples including Thomas.

And after stating that Jesus had appeared amongst them, the Evangelist records how Jesus invited Thomas to touch His nail prints and put his fingers into them. With such a strong attestation, the Gospel writer does not tell the reader whether Thomas accepted Jesus’ invitation but simply recounts Thomas’ spontaneous and heartfelt outburst expressing his faith in the divinity of the risen Lord. What follows is Jesus’ universal blessing of believing without seeing, together with the conclusion of the Gospel which conveys the purpose of the entire book – that is, to lead all subsequent readers into their own personal and deepened experience of faith in the risen Lord.

For reasons of clarity and in order to appreciate better Thomas’ experience and confession of faith in Jesus [as opposed to his alleged dubiety], it would be helpful to see briefly how this specific Biblical passage fits in with the entire structure of St John’s Gospel as this will confirm our proposition that St Thomas was a man possessed by a profound depth of faith in the risen Lord. The episode of the apostle Thomas and his encounter with the risen Lord occurs within that part of St John’s Gospel which is called the ‘Book of Glory’ (Jn 13:1-20:31). [3]

According to most biblical scholars, in their commentaries on this Gospel, this part of the Gospel is usually further divided into three sections: A) The Last Discourse: Jn 13:1-17:26; B) The Passion: Jn: 18:1-19:42; and C) The Resurrection: Jn 20:1-29. Except for verses 30

and 31 of chapter 20 which form the conclusion of the Gospel before the Epilogue, the entire chapter deals with events which had taken place on Easter Sunday both in the morning and evening in Jerusalem, together with the appearance of the risen Jesus to Thomas eight days later. Its place within the ‘Book of Glory’ tells the reader immediately that the Thomas story is not concerned with highlighting Thomas’ doubt but rather showing the splendour and revelation of Jesus as God.

The Thomas story (verses 24-29) occurs immediately after the appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene (verses 11-18). It is precisely within this context that the reader would know that the Evangelist would have wanted to show that, just as Jesus had led Mary Magdalene on her journey to faith, so too would He now lead Thomas to an unconditional faith. That is to say that, just as Mary Magdalene and the Myrrh-bearing women in general were the first witnesses to the empty tomb and announced its meaning to the disciples, so too would Thomas bring the Christian faith in the resurrection to its climax becoming in this way a bridge for future believers.

Even from this brief yet succinct literary analysis, one can see that the Thomas narrative, which is intertwined with dialogue is part of the Evangelist’s central purpose: namely to record the appearance of the risen Lord to an increasing number of people and to lead them to a faith which is not dependent upon seeing. That is to say, the Evangelist wanted to emphasize that just as St Thomas was an apostle who embraced the risen Christ, so too were subsequent communities to do the same, since faith in the Lord was not purely dependent upon ‘seeing’.

Indeed, unlike the other Gospel writers, St John the Evangelist wanted to emphasize, in quite some detail, the reaction of the apostles – particularly St Thomas – at the news that Christ had risen. In the case of Thomas the apostle, we discover that he wanted nothing less than to meet the risen Lord for himself. Indeed, this desire by Thomas to meet the Lord personally and not simply depend on somebody else’s account is heightened by the Gospel writer in his description of the continued insistence of the disciples to convince Thomas of the Resurrection. In verse 25 we read: “So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe” (Jn 20:25).

One can only imagine why the disciples continuously insisted in relating their encounter of the risen Jesus to Thomas. Most probably the reason lies in that Thomas would have unremittingly discarded their account, wanting instead to have his own personal meeting with the risen Lord. To be sure, eight days had to pass before Thomas would meet Jesus for himself. And in that time we learn that Thomas had been continuously subjected to the insistence of his fellow disciples’ testimony to having seen the Lord. It is the imperfect tense of the verb ‘told’ in Greek which indicates a continuous action on the part of the disciples to convince Thomas. This repeated ‘telling’ however resulted in nothing since Thomas had to experience the personal presence of Jesus for himself.

And it happened, eight days later, when the disciples were assembled in the house again, Jesus is depicted appearing to them all, including Thomas this time. Following his ultimate self-surrender, which came about as a response to God’s act of gratuitous self-disclosure, Thomas was led to proclaim ecstatically his unreserved acceptance in the risen Lord with the following confession: “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28). This constitutes the most climactic moment in the entire narrative since it discerns the true identity of Jesus as Theanthropos (the God-man) and therefore the completion of Thomas’ journey of faith. In proclaiming the risen Lord in terms of ‘Lord’ and ‘God’, St Thomas discerned Christ as the glorified Son of God in the Father’s eternal kingdom to which all Christians look forward with eager expectation. In this way, far from simply being an utterance which acknowledged the presence of the risen Lord, Thomas’ confession expressed the very identity of Jesus as ‘one with His Father’ (Jn 10:30).

In this proclamation we see the verification of what the opening words of the Gospel had announced, namely that “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn 1:1). The apostle Thomas was able to discern that the one who had become a human person and dwelt on earth was the one “full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14).

Upon recognizing Jesus to be ‘God’, Thomas was able to dedicate himself entirely to Him. His total commitment to the risen Lord is betrayed in the predicate ‘my’ which leaves no doubt as to the extent of Thomas’ own personal faith.[4] Indeed the ‘my’ is of vital importance as it betrays not only Thomas’ unwavering faith but also his untiring commitment to the Lord. On this issue, a modern commentator of the Gospel of St John, wrote: “my Lord and my God… confesses to the risen Jesus that he [Thomas] belongs to him as his willing subject; he adores him and henceforth will serve him as he deserves”.[5] In this way, Thomas had fulfilled the words of Jesus who had invited all his followers to honour Him as they honour God: “so that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father” (Jn 5:23). That Thomas had taken a most profound leap of faith is shown clearly in the fact that up to that point nobody had made such a proclamation of faith in Jesus Christ. The one who was crucified but now alive would be worshipped in precisely the same manner as God the Father.

Conclusion

At the end of this brief study the authentic personality of St Thomas has become clear. Far from being a disbeliever, St Thomas was the apostle responsible for offering all future Christians a most exalted portrait of Jesus Christ as ‘Lord’ and ‘God’. Indeed it was St Thomas who was able to uncover the deepest identity of Jesus Christ, thereby affirming Jesus to be the very revelation of the life-giving mystery of God. In this way, he was able express most succinctly, in his confession of faith, the intention of the entire Gospel: namely that all have been called to believe that Jesus is not only the Messiah and the Son of God but also ‘God’, divine with exactly the same divinity as God the Father. And in being divine, Jesus Christ continues to be the one who gives life to all those who believe in Him, and together with the Holy Spirit, who leads all to the Father.

[1] Thomas is also known as ‘the twin’ because his name comes from Aramaic meaning twin, for which the Gospel of John gave the Greek equivalent Didymus. However the Gospels do not tell us who Thomas’ twin was. It is said that after the Resurrection, Thomas went to India to preach the Christian message. Today the Oriental Orthodox Church of St Thomas in India claims St Thomas to have been its founding apostle.

[2] In a deeply insightful article on the person and faith of St Thomas, Archbishop Stylianos of Australia rightly argued that since Pascha is the climax of the entire ecclesiastical year, then one would have expected the Sunday immediately following Easter to be considered a most significant feast, indeed more important than the remaining Sundays of the Liturgical year. (‘St Thomas and the Truth’, Voice of Orthodoxy 11.5(1990): 41). Indeed, I am gratefully indebted to many of the thoughts expressed in this article regarding the faithfulness of the apostle Thomas.

[3] The Gospel according to St John is conventionally divided into five sections by Biblical schools: 1) The Prologue (Jn 1:1-18); 2) The Book of Signs (Jn 1:19-12:50) -there are seven signs: a) Jesus changing water into wine; b) the healing of the nobleman’s son; c) the healing of the lame man; d) the feeding of the multitude; e) the walking on water; f) the healing of the man born blind; g) the raising of Lazarus; 3) The Book of Glory (Jn 13:1-20:31); 4) The Conclusion of the Gospel (Jn 20:30-31); 5) The Epilogue (Jn 21:1-25).

[4] Archbishop Stylianos of Australia, St Thomas and the Truth, 43. Incidentally Thomas’ personal confession of faith is similar to that of Mary Magdalene: “They have taken away my Lord” (Jn 20:13). Both use the predicate ‘my’ which show the person to whom they are totally dedicated.

[5] George R. Beasley-Murray, John, 386.

By Dr Philip Kariatlis

PART I

Two weeks after Easter – known in the liturgical calendar as the third Sunday of Pascha – the Orthodox Church celebrates two events, which are recounted in the Gospel reading designated for the Divine Liturgy of that day (Mark 15:43 – 16:8). Firstly, the day honours the action taken by Joseph of Arimathea, a highly respected Jewish Councillor, who had approached Pontius Pilate directly and asked for the body of the executed ‘King of the Jews’, so that he could bury it in his own tomb (Mk 15:43-47). The Gospel passage also reveals the reason for this action – namely his conviction that, with Jesus, the kingdom of God had indeed been inaugurated. Secondly, the day pays tribute to the courageous initiative taken by the myrrh-bearing women (Mary Magdalene and Mary (mother) of James and Salome) to go to the tomb of Jesus early in the morning, so that they could anoint His all-pure body.

However, as the story unfolds, to their utter astonishment, they would discover the tomb open and the corpse of Jesus no-where to be found (Mk 16:1-8). In this way, these women were to become the first witnesses of Christ’s resurrection. Before carefully examining these two separate events in detail, however, we briefly need to consider their connection, since they ostensibly deal with two sets of different characters.

Even though, these two distinct events, might, at first glance, appear seemingly unrelated – since the first refers to Joseph of Arimathea and the burial of Jesus whilst the latter with the myrrh-bearing women and their discovery that the tomb of Christ was empty - a closer reading shows their deep connection.[1] Together, these two episodes came to form the principal core of what subsequently came to be known as the apostolic canon of faith (the “κανόνα πίστεως,”or regula fidei).[2]

The essential content of this apostolic proclamation of faith included the conviction that the historical person of Jesus of Nazareth, was really God’s only begotten Son in human form and that, as a matter of fact He had been crucified as part of God’s eternal plan of salvation for the world, dying, in this way, a horrific and humiliating death. It must be remembered that the first followers of Jesus would have never expected such a shameful death of their long-awaited Jewish Messianic King. Secondly, beyond the death of Jesus the Messiah, the apostolic message further consisted in the belief that God, who was Jesus’ genuine Father, had raised Jesus from the dead on the third day, explaining, in this way, the reason why the tomb of Jesus was empty. Accordingly, in their juxtaposition, these two events summed up in a very succinct manner the entire message of Christianity – namely that Jesus had truly died and that His resurrection was therefore truly genuine.

Upon further reflection of the profound correlation between the two events described in the Gospel passage, one comes to appreciate the reason why the Evangelist brought them together the way he did. Since the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ constituted the most fundamental proclamation of the early Church,[3] the Evangelist had to leave no shadow of doubt in the minds of his readers that the myrrh-bearing women had indeed gone to the correct tomb and that the resurrection was therefore real. It was precisely for this reason that St Mark’s Gospel noted, right at the end of the Joseph of Arimathea story that, whilst Joseph was busy performing the customary funerary rites on the body of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jose were observing from afar, for a long time,[4] where the body of Jesus had been laid (cf. Mk 15:47).

This minor detail, which can easily be overlooked, is extremely important since it underscores the fact that the women had to be seen to know precisely the whereabouts of the tomb, if they were to visit it in the early hours of Sunday morning; especially in view of the fact that the disciples, out of fear, had gone into hiding. Therefore, the modern claim that the women went to the wrong tomb does not stand. Accordingly, the details of Christ’s burial related in the Gospel account served a transitional function, which reinforced the death of Jesus and prepared for the interpretation that the empty tomb episode was indeed testimony to the resurrection of Jesus. Having looked at the two events synthetically, we are now in a position to deal with them distinctly, and it is to this that we now turn.

JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA – A NOBLE AND RESPECTED FOLLOWER OF JESUS

The first section of the Gospel reading (Mk 15:43-47) outlines the events that took place immediately after Christ’s suffering and crucifixion. The reader is specifically given an insight into the person responsible for organising the burial of the dead body of Jesus. The importance of this event can invariably be surmised from the fact that all four Gospels attest to it (cf. Mt 27:57; Mk 15:43; Lk 23:51 and Jn 19.38). We are told that a man, by the name of Joseph of Arimathea, sought the body of Jesus from Pilate, against all personal impending danger, so that he could give it a proper burial.

In asking for the dead body of Jesus, Joseph could easily have been suspected, by Pilate, of being a member of the Jesus movement and this could have impacted negatively in any future advancement in the social, political and religious arena of his life. However, had not Joseph taken such an initiative, it is more than likely that the body of Jesus would have been thrown into a common grave and therefore not given the dignified burial befitting any human person, let alone the Son of God, the Theanthropos. Consequently, this reveals the boldness and courage of Joseph. Beyond this, however, the burial by Joseph affirmed, in an unambiguous way, that Jesus had truly died,[5] so that no one could subsequently claim that He had not really been raised from the dead.

In reading the first section of the profoundly important pericope, one is initially struck at the short phrasal clauses portraying the actions of Joseph of Arimathea, which recreate, in a very effective way, the sense of haste that he must have experienced: Joseph of Arimathea… having come, being told… requested the body of Jesus (Mk 15:43)… and buying a linen cloth, taking Him down, He wrapped Him in the linen shroud and laid Him in the tomb. (Mk 15:46).

The seven verbs, in close succession, serve to heighten not only the angst that Joseph must have felt in having to request the body of a recently convicted ‘criminal’ according to Roman law (which, as noted above, may have even had negative consequences for his future career) but also in the fact that time was against him, since he had to make sure that the body was buried before sunset, in line with the Jewish customs of the time. According to Jewish sensibilities, a body would not be left hanging unattended throughout the night. In Deuteronomy, we read: When someone is convicted of a crime punishable by death and is executed,and you hang him on a tree, his corpse must not remain all night upon the tree; you shall bury him that same day, for anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse (Deut 21:22-23). Therefore, the Gospel description of the haste, with which Christ’s body had to be taken down from the Cross and buried before the commencement of the Sabbath, aligns itself totally with the Jewish customs of those times. Furthermore, it reveals the degree of danger that Joseph was putting himself in on the part of the Roman authorities for asking for the body, and on the part of his fellow Council members, who had condemned Jesus to death and handed Him over to Pilate.

One last point, with respect to the first section of the Gospel text, is that, contrary to popular belief, which suggests that the early social composition of the apostolic Church included only those from the poor and lower classes of society, the person of Joseph of Arimathea clearly indicates otherwise. The Gospel passage points out that Joseph was a respected and noble member of the Jewish Council, and that he was looking for the kingdom of God (Mk 15:43). Even though the Markan phrase ‘looking for the kingdom’ does not explicitly reveal that Joseph was a disciple of Jesus Christ, it does illustrate that he was, at the very least, a sympathiser of Jesus and His movement. Elaborating upon the Markan depiction, the Gospel according to St Matthew not only reveals Joseph’s financial well-being but also clearly specifies that he was a disciple of Jesus: When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. (Mt 27:57).[6]

Given this, it cannot be concluded, as is often done so, with respect to the sociological shape of the first followers of Jesus, that all were illiterate and poor. On the contrary, evidence, not only from Mark, but from the entire New Testament[7] undeniably demonstrates that the early ecclesial communities basically reflected the broad cross-section of the demographic mix of each particular locality in which Christianity arose. And so, it included all classes of society: both rich and poor, learned and illiterate, Jews and Gentiles and so on. Having looked at the protagonist of Christ’s burial, we now turn our attention to those exceptional myrrh-bearing women, who were first to experience the joy of Christ’s resurrection (cf. Jn 20:1318).

In the second part, we will consider the actions specifically of the myrrh-bearing women and examine what lessons can be drawn for those of us living in the twenty-first century.

PART II

In commenting on the Gospel reading for the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women in the last issue of the Voice of Orthodoxy, we focused upon the person of Joseph of Arimathea; in this issue, our attention is turned to the myrrh-bearing women themselves.

The second section of the Gospel reading (namely, Mk 16:1-8) opens with a vivid description of the myrrh-bearing women going to the tomb, where Jesus had been buried, to carry out their last act of loyalty and devotion – a simple yet profound fidelity to the very end. According to all four Gospels, they did this, very early in the morning, even before the sun had risen (cf. Mt 28:1; Mk 16:2; Lk 24:1 and Jn 20:1), which suggests the magnitude of their eagerness to reach the tomb of Jesus. There, they would have expected to complete the burial process with their spices, aromatic oils and perfumes, which they had purchased out of sheer love for their Lord. Perhaps, it would have also given them the opportunity to shed some tears quietly at the tomb where the pure body of Jesus had been laid, away from the crowds (cf. Jn 20:11). Their fervour to go to the tomb – a compelling sign, ultimately, of their steadfast human love for the Lord – was betrayed in their unwavering willingness and persistence to proceed to the tomb despite the difficulties they knew they would encounter.

And, as we shall, it was precisely this love and faithfulness, beyond any servile rationalisations, that enabled these three women to experience Christ’s victory over death in a direct and personal manner. On the way to the burial site of their Lord ‘on the third day’, they kept on asking one another: “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” (Mk 16:3). Their query was a real one, especially in view of the size of the stone: “they saw that the stone… was very large” (Mk 16:4). In fact, based on archaeological findings, modern Biblical scholarship has argued that these stones could have ranged anywhere from between one and a half to two metres in diameter with varying widths, making them virtually immoveable.

This, however, did not deter them from setting out that morning. Consequently, it becomes evident that, like Joseph of Arimathea, these women were possessed with the same boldness, not allowing any obstacles to come in their way. Furthermore, they were characterised by such a strong sense of perseverance and persistence that, in spite of the real barriers ahead, they were determined to achieve their task. It was by this human faith, coupled with God’s divine action, that the logically ‘impossible’ had been overcome allowing the women to penetrate the ‘darkness‘ of the tomb, and in that, to behold the ‘light‘ of the resurrection. Upon arriving at the tomb, the women discovered, to their great astonishment, that the stone had been rolled back and a young man, dressed in white robes, assuring them that Jesus was not there, but that He had been raised. Indeed, in order to drive out any doubt – since the women knew precisely where the body had been laid – they were invited to ‘look’ and to determine for themselves that the body of Jesus was not there. The Gospel records this radically transformative event in the following way:

As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him (Mk 16:5-6).

Instead of seeing the body of Jesus, the women beheld a young man clothed in white robes, which the other Gospels interpret as being an angel – that is, a messenger sent by God to announce the good news of the resurrection.[8] St Matthew’s Gospel specifically understood the young man to be an angelic figure whose appearance was like “lightning, and his clothing white as snow.” (Mt 28:3).[9] Yet, all four Gospels agree that it was this heavenly figure, who announced the resurrection to the three women. The Gospels highlight the powerful emotion that the women would have felt at beholding the angel telling them that Jesus had been raised. The Markan Gospel specifically does this by his use of the verb ekthambeisthai [to be alarmed]. This is precisely the same verb used to describe the intense emotion that Jesus had experienced before His crucifixion at the garden of Gethsemane: “He… began to be distressed and agitated [ήρξαντο εκθαμβείσται καί αδημονείν].” (Mk 14:33). Utterly distressed at not seeing the body of Jesus in the tomb, yet at the same time, incomprehensibly amazed at the news from the young man that Jesus had been raised, the women came to experience the ineffable joy of Christ’s victory over death and the dazzling light of His resurrection.

The truly amazing aspect of the resurrection story is that the account of the empty tomb was first verified by women, who, in those times, were not only regarded as unreliable witnesses in the Jewish legal system, but whose whole place in society was considered secondary.[10] Being the most central aspect of the Christian faith, it would seem odd, at first sight, to have such a vital and essential proclamation come from women, whose testimony in the Jewish law courts was not deemed credible.

One would have expected, for example, the authors of the New Testament to designate the apostles as the primary eye-witnesses of the resurrection in order to demonstrate, to some extent the reliability – according to the societal norms of the time – of such an unprecedented event. And so, not only was the Christian claim that Jesus of Nazareth had died and risen from the dead, extraordinary and unparalleled in itself, but so also was the Gospel account that it was myrrh-bearing women, who were the first to witness the resurrection. And yet, it was precisely this first visitation by the three women – and not by Jesus’ male disciples – upon which the entire message of the resurrected Lord rested. Indeed, the subsequent appearances of the risen Lord would serve to highlight that the women were not only not mistaken, but that their experience of the empty tomb could indeed be interpreted in terms of resurrection. From all this, it follows, that the very fact that the Gospels writers did not omit to record, what in those times would have been considered an ‘embarrassing’ detail, verifies, in a most striking way, the authenticity of the Gospel narratives of the resurrection.

Upon realising that Christ had been victorious over death, the myrrh-bearing women were now commanded, by the ‘young man’, to go and proclaim Christ’s resurrection to the apostles. Indeed, the women were so awestruck in the face of such a definitive action on the part of God in raising Jesus, that “terror and amazement” (Mk 16:8) has seized them. The Gospel narrative also affirmed that, not only would Christ’s presence, within the community, continue, since the disciples, we are told, would now ‘see‘ Jesus in Galilee, but the implication is that Christ would remain within the community leading and advancing it towards His Father’s kingdom:

 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you [προάγει υμάς] to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you. (Mk 16:7).

The above verse illustrates that the risen Christ would not only remain with His disciples but would also continue to lead the way – this is the meaning of the verb προάγειν- in order to bring about the fullness of the eschatological kingdom of God, His Father.[11] It was precisely the fulfilment of Christ’s promise that He would continue to ‘lead the community forward‘ through His apostles – and subsequent to them, through the apostles’ successors, the bishops – which subsequently led the early Church to affirm that its ministry was one which sacramentally made Christ present. That is to say, all forms of authority in the Church were ultimately seen as the very presence of Christ within His ekklesia, since it was His authority that they were meant to reveal and witness. In this way, the Church could be enabled to continue the redemptive work of Christ assured of His leadership. Indeed, Christ’s promise to continue to lead the way, was that which would guarantee the identity and integrity of the Church with the Lord’s teaching throughout the centuries.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Having reflected upon the Gospel reading dedicated to the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women, one can now appreciate not only the splendour and beauty of this day, butalso its theological significance. Specifically, the beauty of the women’s spontaneity and tender affection was seen not so much in their words but more in their silent and loving presence – a love so powerful that, in this end, was able to transform death into life. Furthermore, anexamination of the Gospel passage, brought to light the fact that within a space of only thirteenverses, the very heart of the salvific message of Christianity was truly captured. This essentiallycontained the Church’s conviction that in Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, the gift of the abundance of life was unconditionally bestowed upon the entire created order, since Life hadnow become victorious over death. That is to say, it was precisely in His crucifixion and burial that Christ overcame the bonds of death, which He then manifested, after three days, in His resurrection, by appearing to the myrrh-bearing women and later to the gathering of His disciples. And having experienced this brilliant and unfading light of Christ’s resurrection, thedisciples would be overcome with such a sense of inexpressible joy that they would be led toproclaim this life-giving message to all.

Indeed, this proclamation of the ‘good news‘ has been faithfully conveyed to human societies throughout the centuries, and continues to be in the twenty-first century. Indeed, its message is just as significant today as it was for the early Church. To be sure, even though addressed to a specific audience, the Gospel message is applicable today as it was nearly 2000 years ago since it can transform our miserable existence if we allow it. Specifically, with respect to the message contained in the Sunday Gospel recounting the events surrounding the burial and resurrection of Christ, it can be said that just like faith, perseverance, determination and ultimately love did not deter Joseph of Arimathea and the myrrh-bearing women from their task at hand – beyond the real obstacles they knew they would inevitably have to face – so too, we should not be dissuaded from challenges that inevitably arise from time to time, in our struggle to encounter the risen Lord. Perhaps, it may even appear that our life has become so entangled and complicated that we think it will be totally impossible to remove all those barriers, which seem to have become so embedded and ‘immoveable’ in our lives.

Perhaps, there is also the fear of removing ‘the various stones within our heart’ because of the pain that will inevitably surface. Yet the message is that, like the myrrh-bearing women, we too will be able to discover, in our continued struggle and persistence the beauty of life amidst death, the radiance of light amidst darkness, and the cheerfulness of fullness in emptiness. We end with a hymn that is sung during Sunday Matins, which captures, in a poetically beautiful way, the transformation of sorrow into joy that we too can experience if we persevere in Christ:

To the tomb, Mary Magdalene came, seeking you on the first day of the week; and not finding You there, she lamented and moaned: “Woe to me, oh my Saviour, how have they stolen the King of all?” However, two life-bearing angels in the tomb began saying to her: “oh woman, why do you weep?” “I weep”, she said, “because they have taken my Lord from the tomb and I know not where they have laid Him.” Turning around, she saw You standing and immediately cried out: “my Lord and my God, glory to You!” (Lauds, Matins, 3rd Tone).[12]

[1] For example, Bultmann believed that Mk 16:1-8 was a later redaction, which awkwardly fit in with the preceding pericope. History of the Synoptic Tradition, trans. John Marsh (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1968), 284-87.

[2] Cf. an early confession of faith as recorded by St Paul in 1Cor 15:3-4: “For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”

[3] Cf. the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed: “And was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate and suffered and was buried, and rose on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

[4] The use of the imperfect past tense in Greek by Mark to describe the women’s observing, highlights that they were doing this for a long time, carefully noting the exact location of Christ’s resting place.

[5]The reality of Christ’s death is also affirmed in Mk 15:45, which describes the body of Jesus in Greek as ‘πτώμα [corpse]‘, leaving no doubt that it was now a dead corpse.

[6] Joseph’s financial security is also betrayed in the fact that he had the monetary means to buy the linen cloths required for embalming Christ’s body. Furthermore, modern scholarship has also argued that only the affluent could afford the type of tomb described in the Gospel narratives.

[7] The Pauline correspondence to the Corinthians clearly shows evidence of an affluent social class. More specifically, the whole conflict, which arose with respect to the celebration of the Eucharist – in the second half of the eleventh chapter of St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (esp. 1Cor 11:20-22) – clearly affirms this. Instead of being a unifying force and providing the opportunity for the rich to serve the poor, the Eucharist and the Agape meal had ended up becoming divisive, since the wealthy hosts of the eucharistic celebrations were preparing meals only for their social equals, which they would enjoy before the arrival of the poor. Accordingly, social tensions and conflicts inevitably arose precisely because of the presence of such socio-cultural diversity.

[8] The fact that the other Gospels can accept the young man to be an angelic figure is seen elsewhere in the Scriptures: 2Macc 3:26, 33; Tob 5:9; Mk 9:3; Acts 1:10; 10:30; Rev 6:11; 7:9, 13.

[9] Cf. also Luke’s account, together with that of St John’s, which have two angels dressed in shining garments (Lk 24:4 & 23; Jn 20:12)

[10] For example, Josephus, the Jewish historian, wrote: “The woman, says the Law, is in all things inferior to man.” Cited in Theodore Stylianopoulos, A Year of the Lord: Liturgical Bible Studies, 4 (Brookline: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Department of Religious Education, 1985), 25.

[11] Before His crucifixion Christ had promised the disciples that after He was raised up, He would go before them into Galilee: “after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee” (Mk 14:28). Now this prophecy had been fulfilled. Note how this is betrayed by St Mark in his use of the future tense in Mk 14:28, yet in Mk 16:7, the present tense has been used in the young man’s commandment to the myrrh-bearing women.

[12] Cf. Jn 20:13-18.

A little before midnight on the Blessed Sabbath the Nocturne service is chanted. The celebrant goes to the tomb and removes the winding-sheet. He carries it through the royal doors and places it on the altar table where it remains for forty days until the day of Ascension.

At midnight the Paschal procession begins. The people leave the church building singing: The angels in heaven, O Christ our Saviour, sing of Thy resurrection. Make us on earth also worthy to hymn Thee with a pure heart.

The procession circles the church building and returns to the closed doors of the front of the church. This procession of the Christians on Pascha night recalls the original baptismal procession from the darkness and death of this world to the night and the life of the Kingdom of God. It is the procession of the Holy Passover, from death unto life, from earth unto heaven, from this age to the age to come which will never end. Before the closed doors of the church building, the resurrection of Christ is announced. Sometimes the Gospel is read which tells of the empty tomb. The celebrant intones the blessing to the “holy, consubstantial, life-creating and undivided Trinity.” The Paschal troparion is sung for the first time, together with the verses of Psalm 68 which will begin all of the Church services during the Paschal season.

Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered; let those who hate him flee from before his face!

Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life. (Troparion)

This is the day which the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

The people re-enter the church building and continue the service of Paschal Matins which is entirely sung.

The canon hymns of Christ’s resurrection. ascribed to St John of Damascus, are chanted with the troparion of the feast as the constantly recurring refrain. The building is decorated with flowers and lights. The vestments are the bright robes of the resurrection. The Paschal icon stands in the center of the church showing Christ destroying the gates of hell and freeing Adam and Eve from the captivity of death. It is the image of the Victor “trampling down death by his own death.” There is the continual singing and censing of the icons and the people, with the constant proclamation of the celebrant: Christ is risen! The faithful continually respond: Indeed he is risen!

It is the day of resurrection ! Let us be illumined for the feast! Pascha! The Pascha of the Lord! From death unto life, and from earth unto heaven has Christ our God led us! Singing the song of victory: Christ is risen from the dead! (First Ode of the Paschal Canon)

Following the canon, the paschal verses are sung, and at the conclusion of the Pascha Matins, the Paschal Hours are also sung. In general, nothing is simply read in the Church services of Pascha: everything is fully sung with the joyful melodies of the feast.

At the end of the Hours, before the Divine Liturgy, the celebrant solemnly proclaims the famous Paschal Sermon of St. John Chrysostom. This sermon is an invitation to all of the faithful to forget their sins and to join fully in the feast of the resurrection of Christ. Taken literally, the sermon is the formal invitation offered to all members of the Church to come and to receive Holy Communion, partaking of Christ, the Passover Lamb, whose table is now being set in the midst of the Church. In some parishes the sermon is literally obeyed, and all of the faithful receive the eucharistic gifts of the Passover Supper of Pascha night.

The Paschal Divine Liturgy begins immediately with the singing once more of the festal troparion with the verses of Psalm 68. Special psalm verses also comprise the antiphons of the liturgy, through which the faithful praise and glorify the salvation of God:

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Sing of his name, give glory to his praise.

Let all the earth worship Thee and praise Thee! Let it praise Thy name, O most High!

That we may know Thy way upon the earth and Thy salvation among all nations.

Let the people thank Thee, O God! Let all the people give thanks to Thee.

The troparion is repeated over and over again. The baptismal line from Galatians replaces the Thrice-Holy Hymn. The epistle reading is the first nine verses of the Book of Acts. The gospel reading is the first seventeen verses of the Gospel of St. John. The proclamation of the Word of God takes the faithful back again to the beginning, and announces God’s creation and re-creation of the world through the living Word of God, his Son Jesus Christ.

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God… all things were made through him… In him was life and the life was the light of men. …

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth. .. we have beheld his glory, glory of the only-begotten Son of the Father, and from his fullness have we all received grace upon grace. …(Jn 1:1-17).

The Liturgy of St John Chrysostom continues, crowned in holy communion with the Passover Lamb at his banquet table in God’s Kingdom. Again and again the troparion of the Resurrection is sung while the faithful partake of him “who was dead and is alive again” (Rev 2:8).

In the Orthodox Church the feast of “Easter” is officially called Pascha, the word which means the Passover. It is the new Passover of the new and everlasting covenant foretold by the prophets of old. It is the eternal Passover from death to life and from earth to heaven. It is the Day of the Lord proclaimed by God’s holy prophets, “the day which the Lord has made” for his judgment over all creation, the day of His final and everlasting victory. It is the Day of the Kingdom of God, tile day “which has no night” for “its light is the Lamb” (Rev 21:22-25).

The celebration of Pascha in the Orthodox Church, therefore, is once again not merely an historical re-enactment of the event of Christ’s Resurrection as narrated in the gospels. It is not a dramatic representation of the first Pascha morning.” There is no “sunrise service” since the Paschal Matins and the Divine Liturgy are celebrated together in the first dark hours of the first day of the week in order to give men the experience of the “new creation” of the world, and to allow them to enter mystically into the New Jerusalem which shines eternally with the glorious light of Christ, overcoming the perpetual night of evil and destroying the darkness of this mortal and sinful world:

Shine! Shine! O New Jerusalem! The glory of the Lord has shone upon you! Exult and be glad O Zion! Be radiant O Pure Theotokos, in the Resurrection of your son!

This is one of the main Paschal hymns in the Orthodox Church. It is inspired by Isaiah’s prophecy and the final chapters of the Book of Revelation, for it is exactly tile New Creation, the New Jerusalem, the Heavenly City, the Kingdom of God, the Day of the Lord, the Marriage Feast of the Lamb with his Bride which is celebrated and realized and experienced in the Holy Spirit on the Holy Night of Pascha in the Orthodox Church.