November
22nd
(New Style) November 9th (Old Style)
The
Holy Martyrs Onesiphorus and Porphyrius
These
two wonderful men were martyred for the name of Christ during the
reign of Emperor Diocletian. They were severely beaten, then burned on
an iron grid, then tied to horses' tails and dragged over rocks and
thorns. They were thus torn to pieces and gave up their holy souls to
God. Their relics are buried in Pentapolis.
The
Venerable John the Dwarf (Kolobos)
John is
numbered among the greatest of the Egyptian ascetics. ``Kolobos''
means ``dwarf,'' for he was of little stature. He came to Scetis with
his brother Daniel and, with the greatest zeal, devoted himself to
such asceticism that Daniel had to urge him to moderation. John was a
disciple of St. Pambo, and was later the teacher of St. Arsenius the
Great. His fellow disciple under St. Pambo was St. Paisius the Great.
Once, when he and Paisius were discussing what kind of asceticism to
undertake, an angel of God appeared to them and commanded John to stay
where he was and instruct others, and Paisius to enter the wilderness
and live as a hermit. In order to test John's obedience, St. Pambo
ordered him to water a dry stick planted in the ground until it turned
green. Without hesitation or doubt, John watered this stick daily for
three whole years until by the power of God, it grew green sprouts and
brought forth fruit. Pambo then gathered the fruit from this tree,
brought it to church and distributed it among the brethren saying:
``Draw near and taste of the fruit of obedience!'' John the Dwarf had
many disciples. Some of his wise sayings have been preserved. He
entered into rest peacefully and took up his habitation in the joy of
his Lord.
The
Venerable Matrona of Constantinople
Matrona
was from Perga in Pamphylia. Matrona's marriage to Dometian, a
nobleman of Constantinople, soon became unbearable to her. Disguised
in men's clothing, she fled and adopted the name Babylas, then entered
the Monastery of St. Bassian in Constantinople. Because her husband
searched for her constantly, she was forced to move repeatedly.
Altogether, she moved to Emesa, Sinai, Jerusalem and Beirut, and
finally returned to Constantinople. Matrona was tonsured a nun at age
twenty-five, and lived the ascetic life for seventy-five years. In all
she lived a hundred years, and died peacefully in the year 492 as
abbess of a monastery in Constantinople, taking up her abode in the
joy of her Lord.
The
Venerable Euthymius of Dochiariou and his disciple Neophytus
Euthymius
and Neophytus were Serbs by birth and kinsmen of high-ranking
aristocrats in Byzantium. Euthymius was a companion of St. Athanasius
and the steward of his Lavra, after which he founded the Monastery of
Dochiariou. He entered peacefully into rest in the year 990. His
nephew Neophytus succeeded him as abbot of Dochiariou, increased the
brotherhood and built a large church. He entered into rest at the
beginning of the eleventh century.
Saint
Simeon Metaphrastes (the Translator)
Simeon
was a gifted Constantinopolitan. He had both a secular and spiritual
education. He attained the rank of imperial logothete (chancellor) and
was first among the nobles at the imperial court, yet he lived a pure
and blameless life as a true ascetic. He distinguished himself by
great military bravery and statesmanly wisdom. For these qualities,
Emperor Leo the Wise greatly respected him and sent him to Crete to
negotiate a peace with the Arabs who then occupied the island.
Successfully completing his mission, he returned to Constantinople and
soon thereafter withdrew from the world and worldly affairs. He wrote
many lives of saints, compiling 122 new biographies and correcting 539
biographies. He entered into rest in about the year 960, and a
fragrant and healing myrrh flowed from his relics.
The
Venerable Theoctista of Paros
Theoctista
was born on the island of Lesbos and was tonsured a nun at the age of
seventeen. The savage Saracens attacked the island and enslaved all
who fell into their hands, including Theoctista and her sister. When
the Saracens brought the slaves to the marketplace on the island of
Paros, Theoctista escaped from the crowd and hid in an abandoned
church in the middle of the island, where she lived a life of
asceticism for thirty-five years. She entered into rest in the year
881.
Reflection
After a
long separation from his companion Paisius, John the Dwarf visited
him. Each asked the other what virtue he had attained in the time they
were apart. Paisius said: ``The sun has never seen me eat.'' John the
Dwarf said: ``And it has never seen me angry.'' Instructing the
brethren in Scetis, John used this story of a repentant human soul:
``In one town there lived a beautiful woman, a harlot who had many
lovers. A certain prince told her that he would take her as his wife
if she promised that she would live honorably and faithfully in
marriage. She promised this and the prince took her to his court and
married her. However, her former lovers decided to turn her back to
her former ways, and reclaim her for themselves. They dared not face
the prince, so they went around the back of the palace and began to
whistle. The woman heard the whistling, recognized it, and quickly
stopped her ears. She hid in an inner chamber of the palace and locked
the door behind her. Thus, she was delivered from new temptations.''
St. John explained this story in the following manner: ``The harlot is
the soul; her lovers are the passions; the prince is Christ; the inner
chamber is the heavenly habitation; and the lovers who whistle and
entice are the demons. If the soul would constantly turn from its
passions and flee to God, then the passions and the demons would be
frightened and flee from it.''
Contemplation
Contemplate
the appearance to Paul of an angel in a tempest at night (Acts 27):
1. How an angel of God appeared to Paul by night and told him to fear
not, for he would be saved, and all those with him;
2. How Paul related this to the men on the boat, greatly encouraging
them.
Homily
On saving grace
By
grace ye are saved (Ephesians
2:5,8).
Who can comprehend and acknowledge that we are saved by grace-that
we are saved by God's grace, and not by our merits and works? Who can
comprehend and acknowledge that? Only he who has comprehended and seen
the bottomless pit of death and corruption in which man is engulfed by
sin, and has also comprehended and seen the height of honor and glory
to which man is raised in the Heavenly Kingdom, in the realm of
immortality, in the house of the Living God-only such a one can
comprehend and acknowledge that we are saved by grace. A child was
traveling by night. He stumbled and fell into hole after hole and pit
after pit, until he finally fell into a very deep pit from which he
could in no way escape by his own power. When the child gave himself
over to the hands of fate and thought his end was near, there was
suddenly someone standing over the pit, lowering a rope to him and
telling him to grab the rope and hold firmly to it. This was the
king's son, who then took the child home, bathed him, clothed him and
brought him to his court and set him beside himself. Was this child
saved by his own deed? By no means. All he did was to grab the end of
the rope, and hold on. By what, then, was the child saved? By the
mercy of the king's son. In God's relationship with men, this mercy is
called grace. By grace ye are saved. The Apostle Paul repeats
these words twice in a short span, that the faithful might recognize
and remember them.
Brethren, let us comprehend and remember that we are saved through
grace by the Lord Jesus Christ. We were in the jaws of death, but have
been given life in the courts of our God.
O Lord Jesus Christ our Savior, by Thee are we saved.
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November
23rd
(New Style) November 10th (Old Style)
The
Holy Apostles Olympas, Erastus, Quartus, Herodion, Sosipater and
Tertius
They
were all among the Seventy. The latter three are also commemorated
elsewhere: Herodion on April 8, Sosipater on April 28, and Tertius on
October 30. Saints Olympas and Herodion were followers of the Apostle
Peter and when Peter suffered, they also suffered. By the command of
Nero, they were beheaded. Erastus had been the steward of the church
in Jerusalem, and later became Bishop of Paneas in Palestine. Quartus
was Bishop of Beirut. He suffered greatly, but converted many to the
Christian Faith. Sosipater was a bishop in Iconium and Tertius was the
second bishop in that city. They waged spiritual warfare and, as
victors, received heavenly wreaths of glory.
The
Holy Martyr Orestes
Orestes
was from the town of Tyana in Cappadocia. He was a Christian from
birth and a physician by profession. He was harshly tortured by a
certain wicked eparch Maximus during the reign of Diocletian. When the
eparch at first advised him to deny Christ and worship idols, Orestes
replied: ``If you knew the power of the Crucified One, you would
reject idolatrous falsehoods and worship the true God.'' For this, he
was savagely beaten, scraped, pulled apart on the rack, burned with a
red-hot iron, and cast into prison to die of starvation. The young
Orestes spent seven days without bread or water. On the eighth day, he
was again brought before the eparch who threatened him with
frightening tortures. Orestes answered: ``I am prepared to endure
every pain, having the sign of my Lord Jesus Christ inscribed on my
heart.'' The governor condemned him, and the torturers hammered twenty
iron nails into his feet and tied him to a horse, dragging him over
thorns and rocks until the martyr of God breathed his last. On the
place where they discarded Orestes's body, a man bright as the sun
appeared, gathered Orestes's relics, and carried them to a hill near
the town of Tyana, honorably burying them there. This wonderful saint
appeared to St. Dimitri of Rostov after his repose, and showed him all
the wounds on his body.
Saint
Nonnus, Bishop of Heliopolis
Nonnus
was renowned as a great ascetic in the Tabennisiot monastery in Egypt.
Because of this, he was chosen Bishop of the diocese of Edessa in 448.
Later, he was translated to the diocese of Heliopolis, and there
converted 30,000 Arabs to the Christian Faith. After the death of
Bishop Ibo, St. Nonnus returned to Edessa, where he remained until his
repose in 471. Through his prayers, the infamous sinner Pelagia (who
was later glorified for her holiness of life), was converted to the
Christian Faith (see October 8).
Reflection
The
all-wondrous ways of God's providence were shown in an exceptional and
wondrous event in the Monastery of Dochiariou, in the time of the
Blessed Neophytus, nephew of St. Euthymius. When, after Euthymius's
repose, Neophytus began to build a new, larger church to St. Nicholas
the Wonderworker, his resources ran out and he prayed to God for help,
and God helped him in a miraculous manner. A peninsula called Longos
or Sika lay near the Monastery of Dochiariou. On this peninsula,
Neophytus had a small metochion, close to which was a stone
statue of a man, bearing the following inscription: ``He who strikes
me on the head will find much gold.'' Many had struck the statue on
the head, but had found nothing. It happened that Neophytus sent
Basil, a novice of the monastery, on an errand. One day this Basil
stood by the statue and wondered at the mysterious inscription. Just
then the sun came out and cast the statue's shadow toward the west.
Basil struck the head of the shadow with a stone, dug there, and found
a kettle full of gold coins. He immediately ran to tell Abbot
Neophytus. The abbot ordered three honorable monks to go with Basil in
the monastery's boat and bring back the gold. These monks set off,
loaded the gold into the boat and began the return trip. While they
were on the sea, the devil tempted them to take the gold for
themselves. Then those three honorable monks, deluded by the devil,
bound Basil with a rope, tied a rock around his neck and threw him
into the sea. As Basil fell to the bottom of the sea, the Archangels
Michael and Gabriel suddenly appeared to him as two resplendent
youths, took him and brought him to the church at Dochiariou, placing
him before the Royal Doors in the locked church. The next day, when
the monks entered the church, they found Basil lying bound before the
sanctuary. The abbot questioned him and was told of the miraculous
event. Then the three other monks arrived and, seeing Basil alive,
were thunderstruck. The abbot punished them severely, took the gold
and completed the church. However, he dedicated it to the Holy
Archangels Michael and Gabriel, and not to St. Nicholas, as he had
earlier planned. That is why Euthymius's old church at Dochiariou is
called the Church of St. Nicholas, and the new one is called the
Church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel.
Contemplation
Contemplate
Paul's wondrous salvation from the snake (Acts 28):
1. How Paul gathered sticks and put them on the fire;
2. How a venomous viper leaped from the fire and fastened on his hand;
3. How he shook the viper off, and no harm came to him.
Homily
On the only Peace and
the Peacemaker
For
He is our peace, Who hath made both one (Ephesians 2:14).
Between the Israelites and the pagans there lay a wide abyss that
no mortal could bridge, or fill in and level off. The Lord Jesus
Christ alone was the one who could do that, and He did it. That which
had been estranged, He brought closer and joined. By what? By His
Blood. By His sacrifice, He replaced all other sacrifices. By this, He
redeemed all of nature and by Himself replaced that which men brought
and offered to God (or, to the gods) as sacrifice. One sacrifice is
sufficient both for the Israelites and for the pagans: the sacrifice
of Christ. Furthermore, the blood of animals separated the Israelites
and the pagans-by the places where they were offered, by the divinity
to whom they were offered, by the kind of animal that was offered and
the manner in which it was offered. Now, Christ's Most-pure Blood has
come in place of all that blood, and His Blood unites and makes
brothers of the Israelites and the pagans. They became blood brothers,
even as all of us faithful are blood-brothers-because of the Blood of
Christ, by which we are redeemed from the curse, and by which we are
now fed. He destroyed the middle wall of partition (Ephesians
2:14) that divided and separated, and He joined the hands and the
hearts of the Israelites and the pagans. By what? By His Body. That
is, by the living truth, by the truth incarnate in Himself. The shadow
of the Law had replaced truth for the Israelites, and fables had
replaced truth for the pagans. He removed both of them and revealed
the living truth in His Body, and the world saw and rejoiced.
O Lord Jesus Christ, our most blessed Redeemer, unite the hearts of
us, Thy faithful.
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November
24th
(New Style) November 11th (Old Style)
The
Holy Great-martyr Menas
Menas
was an Egyptian by birth and a soldier by profession. As a true
Christian, he was not able to witness the abominable sacrificial
offerings to the idols and left the army, the town, the people and
everything else, and went to a deserted mountain, for it was easier
for him to live among the wild beasts than with pagans. One day Menas
clairvoyantly discerned a pagan celebration in the town of Cotyaeus.
He descended into the town and openly declared his faith in Christ the
Living God. He denounced idolatry and paganism as falsehood and
darkness. Pyrrhus, eparch of that town, asked Menas who he was and
where he was from. The saint replied: ``My fatherland is Egypt, my
name is Menas. I was an officer, but witnessing the worship of idols,
I renounced your honors. I now come before you all to proclaim my
Christ as the true God, that He may proclaim me as His servant in the
Heavenly Kingdom.'' Hearing this, Pyrrhus subjected St. Menas to
severe tortures. They flogged him, scraped him with iron claws, burned
him with torches, and tortured him by various other means, and finally
beheaded him with the sword. They threw his body into a fire so that
Christians would not be able to retrieve it, but Christians recovered
several parts of his body from the fire nevertheless. They reverently
buried those remains, which were later transferred to Alexandria and
buried there, where a church was built over them. St. Menas suffered
in about the year 304 and went to the Kingdom of Christ. He was and
remains a great miracle-worker, both on earth and in heaven. Whoever
glorifies St. Menas and invokes his help with faith, receives his
help. The saint has often appeared as a warrior on horseback, arriving
to help the faithful or punish the unfaithful.
The
Holy Martyrs Victor and Stephanida
Victor
was a soldier of Roman birth. He was tortured for Christ during the
reign of Emperor Antoninus. At the time of his torture a young woman,
Stephanida, declared that she too was a Christian. Victor was beheaded
and Stephanida was pulled apart by having her legs bound to the tops
of two palm trees.
The
Holy Martyr Vincent the Deacon
Vincent
was from the diocese of Saragossa in Spain. He was cruelly tortured
for the Lord Jesus Christ, then burned on an iron grid. He gave up his
soul to God in the year 304. His body reposes in Rome in the church
bearing his name.
The
Venerable Theodore the Studite
Theodore
was the famous abbot of the Studite monastery (the Studium). He
suffered greatly for the holy icons, and was a wise organizer of the
monastic life, a divinely inspired teacher of Orthodoxy and a
wonderful ascetic. He entered into rest in Constantinople, in the year
826 at the age of sixty-eight.
Saint
Uro
ica, Prince of Serbia
Uro
ica was the son of King Dragutin. He preserved his purity and chastity
in marriage. Myrrh flowed from his grave.
Reflection
If ever
there was a holy king who sat on the throne of an earthly kingdom,
that was the holy King Stefan of Deθa< face="AGaramond">ni.
The Greeks, who otherwise considered the Slavs barbarians, were amazed
at the beauty of St. Stefan's soul as one of the rarest wonders of the
time. When the Emperor Cantacuzene sent the abbot of the Monastery of
the Pantocrator to Milutin on some official business, King Milutin
inquired about his son Stefan. ``O King, are you asking me about the
second Job?'' the abbot replied. ``Be assured that his poverty stands
above your royal greatness.'' For his part, the Byzantine emperor
acted very cruelly toward the blind Stefan: he confined him to one
area of the court and forbade everyone access to him. After that, he
sent him to the Monastery of the Pantocrator, hoping that the
monastery would force him into strict monastic asceticism, and that he
would become weak and perish there. But God preserved the Blessed
Stefan and he endured the ascetic labor of fasting and prayer like the
best of monks. They began to speak of his wisdom throughout all of
Constantinople, and the emperor began to respect him and often sought
advice from him. For example, St. Stefan contributed to the defeat of
the infamous heresy of Barlaam, against which St. Gregory of Palamas
fought. Barlaam then resided in Constantinople, and by
skillful intrigue, had won over many high-ranking clerics and civil
officials to his way of thinking. In perplexity, the emperor summoned
Stefan and asked him what he should do. The wise Stefan replied with
the words of the Psalmist: Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate
Thee? (Psalm 139:21), and also said: ``Dangerous men must be
banished from society.'' Heeding this, Emperor Cantacuzene drove
Barlaam from the capital with dishonor.
Contemplation
Contemplate
the wonderful healing power of the Apostle Paul (Acts 28):
1. How Paul prayed and laid his hand on Publius's father and healed
him of dysentery;
2. How he also healed many others in that place in the same manner.
Homily
On the Creator of the
new man
for
to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace (Ephesians
2:15).
When He came to earth, the Lord, the Lover of Mankind, came to all
men, not just to some. The Jews awaited a messiah; He came as the
Messiah. The pagans awaited a redeemer; He came as the Redeemer. He
came with equal love for both the Jews and the pagans. There was no
other group on earth-only the Jews and the pagans. The Jews were the
only ones in the world who believed in one God, whereas the pagans
worshiped idols. But the Jews had obscured their faith by their
transgressions and, therefore, knew nothing. Thus, both the Jews and
the pagans had become equal in their ignorance and equal in the curse
of sin with which Adam had burdened the benighted earth. As of old
Adam did not belong to the Jews exclusively, but also to the pagans,
for they both descended from him, so Christ, the new Adam, did not
belong to one or the other, but to both, for He saved both. The Lord
Jesus could not side with the Jewish kingdom of empty legal formalism,
or the Hellenic kingdom (including paganism in general) of
naturalistic fables and demonic divinations and sorcery. Rather, He
healed them both. He took both of these sick ones and he created the
new man. And this is the Church of God. Thus, the Lord annulled and
cast out both Judaism and Hellenism, and created His Holy Church.
O Lord Jesus, All-good and All-wise, everything Thou hast done is good
and wise beyond words.
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November
25th
(New Style) November 12th (Old Style)
St.
John the Merciful, Patriarch of Alexandria
John was
born on the island of Cyprus. His father was Prince Epiphanius. John
was raised as a true Christian from childhood. At the insistence of
his parents, he married and had children. However, by God's
providence, his wife and children passed from this world into the
next. Renowned for his compassion and piety, John was chosen as
Patriarch of Alexandria in the time of Emperor Heraclius. He governed
the Church of Alexandria for ten years as a true shepherd,
safeguarding it from pagans and heretics. He was a model of meekness,
charity and love for his fellow men. He said: ``If you desire
nobility, seek it not in blood but in virtues, for this is true
nobility.'' All the saints have been distinguished by mercifulness,
but St. John was completely dedicated to this wonderful virtue. Once,
while celebrating the Liturgy, the patriarch remembered the words of
Christ, Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there
rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy
gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy
brother, and then come and offer thy gift (Matthew 5:23-24), and
he remembered that one of the clergy in that church had a grievance
against him. He quickly left the Holy Gifts, approached that priest,
fell before his feet and begged for forgiveness. And only when he had
made peace with this man did he return to the table of oblation.
Another time, as he was on his way to the Church of Saints Cyrus and
John, it happened that he met a needy and unfortunate widow who spoke
to him at length about her misfortune. The patriarch's escorts became
bored by the woman's lengthy complaint, and urged the bishop to hurry
to the church for the service, intimating that he could hear the
woman's story afterward. John said to them: ``And how will God listen
to me, if I do not listen to her?'' He would not leave until he heard
the widow's complaint to the end.
When the Persians attacked Egypt, Patriarch John boarded a boat to
escape from danger. Along the way he fell ill and, when he arrived in
Cyprus, he reposed at his birthplace, in the year 620. After he
entered the Immortal Kingdom of his Lord, his miracle-working relics
were translated to Constantinople, then to Budapest, and finally to
Presburg.
The
Holy Prophet Ahijah of Shiloh
Ahijah
prophesied a thousand years before Christ. He prophesied to Jeroboam,
Solomon's servant, that he would reign over ten of the tribes of
Israel (I Kings 11:29-31).
The
Venerable Nilus of Sinai
Nilus
was at first a prefect in the capital city, Constantinople. As a
married man, he had a son and a daughter. Seeing the sinful life of
the capital, he agreed with his wife to withdraw from the world. This
they did. His wife and daughter went to a convent in Egypt. Nilus and
his son Theodulus went to Mount Sinai. Nilus lived a life of
asceticism on Mount Sinai for a full sixty years. He wrote wonderful
books on the spiritual life. He entered peacefully into rest in about
the year 450, in the eightieth year of his earthly existence, and took
up his habitation in the blessed heavenly life. These holy words are
his: ``Physical passions have their origin in physical desires, and
against them abstinence is necessary; but spiritual passions are born
of spiritual desires, and against them, prayer is necessary.''
The
Venerable Nilus the Myrrh-gusher
Nilus
was born in the Morea. As a hieromonk he went with his uncle to the
Holy Mountain and there lived a life of asceticism as a recluse in a
deserted place called ``the Holy Rocks.'' When he entered into rest,
myrrh flowed from his body in such abundance that it ran down from the
top of the mountain into the sea. This miracle-working myrrh attracted
ailing men from all over. A disciple of St. Nilus was so distracted by
the many visitors that he complained in prayer to St. Nilus, and the
flow of myrrh ceased at once. St. Nilus lived a life of asceticism in
the fullest sense, like the saints of old. He entered into rest in the
seventeenth century.
Reflection
Their
time of death and the necessity of preparation for it was revealed
beforehand to many holy men and women. This is a great gift from
heaven, but as we do not expect this gift, we unworthy ones need daily
repentance to prepare for our departure. One can flee from men, but
never from God. When St. John the Merciful fled Egypt from the
Persians, a gloriously radiant man with a golden sceptre in his hand
appeared to him on the boat and said: ``The King of kings is calling
you to Himself.'' John understood these words and began to prepare for
his repose, which came soon. The holy King Stefan of Deθ<
face="AGaramond">ani's beloved St. Nicholas often
appeared to him, and did so before Stefan's repose, saying: ``Stefan,
prepare for your departure, for soon you will appear before the
Lord.'' Both saints were very similar in their compassion. Despite the
immeasurable wealth that St. John had at his disposal as Patriarch of
Alexandria, he personally had only one-third of a dinar at his repose,
and he willed even that to the poor. When St. Stefan of Deθ<
face="AGaramond">ani was in the Monastery of the
Pantocrator in Constantinople, a generous Serbian nobleman secretly
sent him a substantial sum of money. ``I give thanks to the good
gentleman for his love,'' replied Stefan to the bearer, ``but he would
give me greater joy if he would distribute this money, intended for
me, to the poor.''
Contemplation
Contemplate
the courage of the Apostle Paul (Acts 28):
1. How he sat in chains for two years in Rome;
2. How he freely preached the Gospel to the pagans and Jews, not
fearing anyone;
3. How neither chains nor prison nor death could turn him away from
preaching the Gospel.
Homily
On how strangers become
members of the household
Now
therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens
with the saints, and of the household of God (Ephesians 2:19).
Before the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, it seemed that only
the Jews were close to God and that the pagans were farther away from
God. But as a matter of fact, the Jews and the pagans were equally
estranged from God, and from true reverence for Him. Then He came,
Christ the Savior, and preached peace to you which were afar off,
and to them that were nigh (Ephesians 2:17) and by that, brought
both Jews and pagans by one Spirit unto the Father (Ephesians
2:18). In the new creation, or the new man, or the Church of God, the
Spirit is one; and everyone who enters the Church of God receives this
Spirit, so that no matter how much the Church increases in members,
there always remains the one Spirit of God; and no matter how many
nations or tribes or races enter the Church of God, the Spirit does
not change, but remains forever and ever, one and the same Spirit.
That is why pagans are not strangers and foreigners in the
Church, but are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the
household of God, as are all other members of the Church. For the
Church is founded on holiness, and her cornerstone is the Saint above
saints, and according to the plan, all of her members should be holy.
All those who lived before Christ but expected Christ and hoped in
Him, as well as those who lived after Christ, and who recognized
Christ as Lord, Son of God, Savior, Redeemer, Resurrector and Judge,
are also called saints. Sin separates and alienates from God, but
through the Lord Jesus Christ, division and alienation have vanished,
and all the faithful-whether former Jews or pagans-became members of
the household of God, by and through the Lord Jesus Christ.
O my brethren, the Lord Jesus Christ gave us something greater and
more precious than this life: He gave us peace and friendship with
God, and this is greater and more precious than life in alienation
from God.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Creator of Peace and Giver of Peace, sustain us
to the end in peace with God.
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November
26th
(New Style) November 13th (Old Style)
Saint
John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople
John was
born in Antioch in the year 354. His father, Secundus, was an imperial
commander and his mother's name was Anthusa. Studying Greek
philosophy, John became disgusted with Hellenic paganism and adopted
the Christian Faith as the one and all-embracing truth. Meletius,
Patriarch of Antioch, baptized John, and his parents also subsequently
received baptism. Following his parents' repose, John was tonsured a
monk and lived a strict life of asceticism. He then wrote a book,
On the Priesthood, after which the Holy Apostles John and Peter
appeared to him, and prophesied that he would have a life of great
service, great grace and great suffering. When he was to be ordained a
priest, an angel of God appeared simultaneously to John and to
Patriarch Flavian (Meletius's successor). While the patriarch was
ordaining John, a shining white dove was seen hovering over John's
head. Glorified for his wisdom, asceticism and power of words, John
was chosen as Patriarch of Constantinople at the behest of Emperor
Arcadius. As patriarch, he governed the Church for six years with
unequalled zeal and wisdom. He sent missionaries to the pagan Celts
and Scythians and eradicated simony in the Church, deposing many
bishops guilty of this vice. He extended the charitable works of the
Church and wrote a special order of the Divine Liturgy. He shamed the
heretics, denounced Empress Eudoxia, interpreted Holy Scripture with
his golden mind and tongue, and bequeathed the Church many precious
books of his homilies. The people glorified him, the envious loathed
him, and the Empress, on two occasions, sent him into exile. John
spent three years in exile, and reposed as an exile on the Feast of
the Elevation of the Precious and Life-giving Cross, September 14,
407, in the town of Comana in Georgia. Before his repose, the Holy
Apostles John and Peter appeared to him again, as did the Holy Martyr
Basiliscus (May 22) in whose church he received Communion for the last
time. His last words were, ``Glory be to God for all things,'' and
with that, the soul of the golden-mouthed patriarch was taken into
Paradise. Chrysostom's head reposes in the Church of the Dormition in
Moscow, and his body reposes in the Vatican in Rome.
The
Holy Martyrs Antoninus, Nicephorus, Germanus and Manetha
The
first three were watching the pagans worshiping idols with shouts and
dancing at one of their feasts. Fearlessly, they went before the crowd
and preached the One God in Trinity. Firmilian-the eparch of
Palestinian Caesarea, where this occurred-was so enraged at the action
of these three Christians that he commanded their immediate beheading.
Manetha was a Christian maiden who followed the martyrs as they were
being led to the place of execution. She too was arrested, and after
cruel tortures, was burned to death. They all suffered in the year 308
and entered into the eternal joy of the Eternal God.
The
Venerable Martyr Damascene
Damascene
was born in Galata in Constantinople and at first was called Diamantis.
In his youth he lived immorally, and even became a Moslem. Then bitter
repentance ensued, and he went to the Holy Mountain, where he lived a
life of strict asceticism for twelve years, as a monk in the Lavra of
St. Athanasius. But, desiring martyrdom to expiate his sins, Damascene
went to Constantinople and visited the mosques, making the sign of the
Cross and shouting that the Turks' faith was false and that Jesus
Christ is God and Lord. He was beheaded before the gate of the Phanar
on November 13, 1681. His relics repose on Halki, in the Monastery of
the Holy Trinity.
Reflection
Punishment
and reward! Both of these are in the hands of God. But, as this
earthly life is only a shadow of the true life in the heavens, so
punishment and reward here on earth are only a shadow of true
punishment and reward in eternity. The principle persecutors of the
saint of God Chrysostom were Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria and
Empress Eudoxia. After Chrysostom's martyric death, bitter punishment
befell them both. Theophilus went mad, and Eudoxia was banished from
the imperial court by Emperor Arcadius. Eudoxia soon became ill with
an incurable disease-wounds opened up all over her body, and worms
came out of her wounds. Such was the stench that she gave off, that it
was not easy for a person on the street to pass by her house.
Physicians used all the most powerful perfumes and incense if only to
overcome the stench from the wicked empress, but had little success.
The empress finally died in corruption and agony. Even after death,
the hand of God lay heavy on her. The coffin containing her body shook
day and night for a full thirty-four years until Emperor Theodosius
translated the relics of St. John Chrysostom to Constantinople. But
what happened to Chrysostom after his repose? Reward-such reward as
only God can give. Adeltius, the Arabian bishop who received the
exiled Chrysostom into his home in Cucusus, prayed to God after
Chrysostom's repose that He reveal to him where John's soul was to be
found. Adeltius then had a vision while at prayer. It was as though he
were out of himself, and was led through the heavens by a radiant
youth who showed him the hierarchs, pastors and teachers of the Church
in order, calling each of them by name-but he did not see John. Then
that angel of God led him to the passage out of Paradise, and Adeltius
was downcast. When the angel asked him why he was sad, Adeltius
replied that he was sorry that he had not seen his beloved teacher,
John Chrysostom. The angel replied: ``No man who is still in the flesh
can see him, for he is at God's throne with the Cherubim and
Seraphim.''
Contemplation
Contemplate
the wondrous creation of the world (Genesis 1):
1. How, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth;
2. How the earth was without form and void;
3. How the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Homily
On the foundation and
the cornerstone
And
are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus
Christ Himself being the chief corner stone (Ephesians 2:20).
Brethren, the foundation of the apostles and prophets is their
life and work: the Old and the New Testaments. Who unites the apostles
and the prophets? Christ the Lord. Without Him, the prophets would not
understand the apostles, nor would the apostles understand the
prophets. Therefore, He is the fulfillment of the prophets and witness
of the apostles. Thus, He is the Cornerstone that ties the prophets
and the apostles together, as a cornerstone holds the walls together.
The Old and New Testaments are united in Him, have their meaning in
Him, revolve around Him, were inspired by Him and are upheld by Him,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Where would the pagans and Jews meet, and where
would they understand one another, if not in Jesus Christ the Lord?
Nowhere, except in Him. In Him and through Him they are united in one
new man, in one immortal body, in One, Holy and Catholic Church. Only
through the Lord Jesus Christ are the body and the soul united in a
loftier and holier friendship. The bonds between the soul and body
were at enmity until His coming in the flesh, and that enmity led to
the destruction of the soul. He reconciled and sanctified them both.
Thus, He became the Cornerstone of every immortal and God-pleasing
edifice-be that edifice an individual man or family or nation or the
entire race of man-either in the present, in the past, or in the
future; of the Old Covenant or the New Covenant. He is the Chief
Cornerstone in every building, as He is the Head of the Body, God's
Church.
O Lord Jesus Christ, our Cornerstone of salvation, have mercy on us
and save us.
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November
27th
(New Style) November 14th (Old Style)
The
Holy Apostle Philip
Philip
was born in Bethsaida beside the Sea of Galilee, as were Peter and
Andrew. Instructed in Holy Scripture from his youth, Philip
immediately responded to the call of the Lord Jesus and followed Him
(John 1:43). After the descent of the Holy Spirit, Philip zealously
preached the Gospel throughout many regions in Asia and Greece. In
Greece, the Jews wanted to kill him, but the Lord saved him by His
mighty miracles. Thus, a Jewish high priest that rushed at Philip to
beat him was suddenly blinded and turned completely black. Then there
was a great earthquake, and the earth opened up and swallowed Philip's
wicked persecutor. Many other miracles were manifested, especially the
healing of the sick, by which many pagans believed in Christ. In the
Phrygian town of Hierapolis, St. Philip found himself in common
evangelical work with his sister Mariamna, St. John the Theologian,
and the Apostle Bartholomew. In this town there was a dangerous snake
that the pagans diligently fed and worshiped as a god. God's apostle
killed the snake through prayer as though with a spear, but he also
incurred the wrath of the unenlightened people. The wicked pagans
seized Philip and crucified him upside-down on a tree, and then
crucified Bartholomew as well. At that, the earth opened up and
swallowed the judge and many other pagans with him. In great fear, the
people rushed to rescue the crucified apostles, but only Bartholomew
was still alive; Philip had already breathed his last. Bartholomew
ordained Stachys as bishop for those whom he and Philip had baptized.
Stachys had been blind for forty years, and Bartholomew and Philip had
healed and baptized him. The relics of St. Philip were later
translated to Rome. This wonderful apostle suffered in the year 86 in
the time of Emperor Dometian.
Saint
Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica
Gregory's
father was an eminent official at the court of Emperor Andronicus II
Palaeologus. The gifted Gregory, completing his secular studies, did
not want to enter the service of the imperial court, but withdrew to
the Holy Mountain and was tonsured a monk. He lived a life of
asceticism in the Monastery of Vatopedi and the Great Lavra. He led
the struggle against the heretic Barlaam and finally defeated him. He
was consecrated as Metropolitan of Thessalonica in the year 1347. He
is glorified as an ascetic, a theologian, a hierarch and a
miracle-worker. The Most-holy Theotokos, St. John the Theologian, St.
Demetrius, St. Anthony the Great, St. John Chrysostom and angels of
God appeared to him at different times. He governed the Church in
Thessalonica for thirteen years, of which he spent one year in slavery
under the Saracens in Asia. He entered peacefully into rest in the
year 1360, and took up his habitation in the Kingdom of Christ. His
relics repose in Thessalonica, where a beautiful church is dedicated
to him.
Saint
Justinian, Emperor of Byzantium
Justinian
was a Slav by birth, probably a Serb from the region of Skoplje. His
Slavic name was Upravda, meaning ``truth, justice.'' He succeeded to
the throne of his uncle Justin in 527. The greatness of this emperor
is inseparably bound to his profound faith in Orthodoxy; he believed,
and lived according to his faith. During Great Lent, he neither ate
bread nor drank wine but ate only vegetables and drank water, and
that, just every other day. He waged war against the barbarians of the
Danube because they castrated their captives. This reveals his
elevated feeling of love for his fellow man. Justinian was fortunate
and successful both in wars and in his works. He built many great and
beautiful churches, the most beautiful of which was Hagia Sophia (the
Church of the Divine Wisdom) in Constantinople. He collected (and
revised) and published the Laws of Rome and also personally
issued many strict laws against immorality and licentiousness. He
composed the Church hymn ``Only-begotten Son and Word of God,'' which
has been sung during the Divine Liturgy since the year 536. He
convened the Fifth Ecumenical Council (553). He died peacefully at the
age of eighty, and took up his abode in the Kingdom of the Heavenly
King.
Reflection
St.
Gregory Palamas learned much through heavenly revelations. After he
had spent three years in stillness in a cell of the Great Lavra, it
was necessary for him to go out among men and benefit them with his
accumulated knowledge and experience. God revealed this necessity to
him through an extraordinary vision: One day, as though in a light
sleep, Gregory saw himself holding a vessel in his hand full to
overflowing with milk. Gradually, the milk turned into wine which
likewise spilled over the rim, and drenched his hands and garments.
Then a radiant youth appeared and said: ``Why would you not give
others of this wonderful drink that you are wasting so carelessly, or
are you not aware that this is the gift of God's grace?'' To this
Gregory replied: ``But if there is no one in our time who feels the
need for such a drink, to whom shall I give it?'' Then the youth said:
``Whether there are some or whether there are none thirsty for such a
drink, you are obligated to fulfill your debt and not neglect the gift
of God.'' Gregory interpreted the milk as the common knowledge (of the
masses) of moral life and conduct, and the wine as dogmatic teaching.
The second time Gregory secluded himself in a monastery he was writing
his Principles of Orthodoxy. On the eve of the Feast of St.
Anthony the Great, the monks summoned him to the all-night vigil
service, but he remained at his work in the cell while all the
brethren went to church. St. Anthony suddenly appeared to him and
said: ``Perfect stillness is good, but sometimes it is necessary to be
with the brethren.'' Convinced by this revelation, Gregory immediately
went into church to the joy of all the monks.
Contemplation
Contemplate
the wondrous creation of light (Genesis 1):
1. How there was darkness everywhere over the formless earth;
2. How God said, Let there be light: and there was light;
3. How God separated the light from the darkness, and there was day
and there was night.
Homily
On Paul, the prisoner
I,
Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles (Ephesians
3:1).
Brethren, this apostle of Christ calls himself the ``prisoner of
Christ.'' How is it that an apostle can be a prisoner? Is not a
prisoner bound? Yes, and the Apostle is bound-bound by love to the
Lord Jesus so strongly that he feels that no comparable bond exists on
earth. The Apostle is bound in his mind to the Lord Jesus so strongly
that he cannot think of anything except Jesus Christ the Lord. The
Apostle is so firmly bound by his will to the Lord Jesus that, in
essence, he does not have a will of his own but has submitted his will
completely to the Lord Jesus. And so, he loves that which Christ
loves, thinks that which Christ thinks, and does that which Christ
wills. Is this not imprisonment? O blessed imprisonment, which is not
unto shame but glory, and is not unto destruction but salvation! Thus,
Christ is the complete Lord of the Apostle's life, both outwardly and
inwardly. For outwardly and inwardly, Christ permits him to be
tempted; outwardly and inwardly, He reveals to him the wonders of His
providence; outwardly and inwardly, He guides him to perfect good for
the sake of his salvation, and for the sake of the salvation of many
others.
Brethren, let us also commit ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ as did
His Apostle, and then we will be in the most secure hands and on the
most secure path.
O Lord Jesus Christ, great and wonderful Lord, bind us to Thee,
imprison us in Thee forever and ever in both worlds.
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November
28th
(New Style) November 15th (Old Style)
The
Holy Martyrs Gurias, Samonas and Abibus
Gurias
and Samonas were prominent citizens of Edessa. During one of the
persecutions of Christians, they hid outside the city and lived in
fasting and prayer, encouraging true believers who came to them for
counsel. However, they were captured and brought before the judge, who
threatened them with death if they did not submit to the imperial
decree demanding idol worship. These holy martyrs of Christ answered
him: ``If we submit to the imperial decree, we will perish, even if
you don't kill us.'' After cruel torture, they were thrown into
prison, where they remained from August 1 to November 10, enduring
hunger, darkness and pain. They were then led out and again tortured,
but since they remained unwavering in the Christian Faith, they were
condemned to death and beheaded in the year 322, during the reign of
the wicked Emperor Licinius. Later Abibus, a deacon in Edessa,
suffered tortures for Christ his Lord and gave his spirit to God while
in the flames. His mother took his body, miraculously intact, from the
fire and buried it in a grave with the relics of St. Gurias and St.
Samonas. When the persecution ceased, Christians built a church in
honor of the three martyrs, Gurias, Samonas and Abibus, and placed
their miracle-working relics in a common reliquary. Of the numerous
miracles of these wonderful saints of God, the following is especially
outstanding: A widow in Edessa had a young daughter who was to marry a
Gothic soldier serving in the Greek army. As the mother feared for her
daughter's safety if she were to live far away, the Goth swore on the
grave of the holy three martyrs that he would do no evil to the
maiden, but would take her as his lawful wife, as he had already sworn
that he was not already married. In reality, he did have a wife, and
when he took the young maiden to his country he kept her, not as his
wife but as a slave, until his lawful wife died. He then agreed with
his kinsmen to bury his living slave with his dead wife. The girl
tearfully prayed to the three holy martyrs to save her, and they
appeared to her in the grave, and took her in an instant from the land
of the Goths to Edessa, to their church. The following day when the
church was opened, they found the young maiden by the tomb of the
saints of God, and learned of her miraculous deliverance.
The
Holy Martyrs Elpidius, Marcellus and Eustochius
They
suffered for Christ at the time of Julian the Apostate. Elpidius was a
senator. Witnessing the torture and miracles of Elpidius, six thousand
pagans came to believe in Christ the Lord.
The
Feast of the Icon of the Holy Theotokos of Kupyatich
This
icon first appeared to a maiden named Anna in the village of Kupyatich,
in the province of Minsk, in the year 1182. Tending her flock, Anna
saw a light in the forest. When she approached this light she beheld a
medium-size cross on a tree, bearing the image of the Most-holy
Theotokos. Anna brought this cross home, then returned to her flock.
However, to her great amazement, she saw the same cross on the tree in
the same place. She took it, placed it in her bosom and brought it
home. When she tried to show her father the cross, she reached into
her bosom, but the cross was not there. She related everything to her
father and went out with him, saw the cross in the forest, and took it
home. The next day, the cross was not in the house. They alerted the
whole village, and all the villagers went and beheld the cross and
venerated it. The people soon built a church there, and numerous
miracles were manifested by this cross bearing the image of the
Theotokos. This icon is now to be found in the Church of Holy Wisdom
in Kiev.
Contemplation
Contemplate
the wondrous creation of the world (Genesis 1):
1. How God said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the
waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters;
2. How He divided the waters under the firmament from the waters above
the firmament;
3. How He called the firmament heaven.
Homily
On the revelation of
the wisdom of God to the heavenly powers
To
the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly
places might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God (Ephesians
3:10).
Brethren, are the angels all-knowing? They are not; for if they
were all-knowing, they would be gods. God is one, brethren, and the
angels are God's beautiful servants. The mystery of the Incarnation
was not known to the angels before it took place. And all the other
mysteries connected with the mystery of the Incarnation were also
unknown to the angels until they saw them revealed in the Church.
Therefore the Church is a new revelation, even for the holy angels.
The Church is a new revelation of the wisdom and power of God and of
His love for man. On the other hand, it is also a new revelation of
man's love for God, and man's struggle. Even the angels themselves did
not foresee how much God would humble Himself or how much man would be
uplifted. This was shown in the Church, and through the Church it was
proclaimed to the angels. The Apostle speaks of this to the Ephesians
in the words quoted above: the principalities and powers-in
other words, not even to the chiefs of the angels was everything known
beforehand. The manifold wisdom of God is that wisdom that was
not revealed earlier, and was unknown to the angels and now, in the
Church, is shown in countless forms, situations and circumstances.
O my brethren, the two greatest works of God that have been revealed
up to now are the creation of the world and the creation of the
Church. In both works, brethren, man is the main object of God's love.
Let us be thankful with our every breath to the Most-gracious God.
O Gracious God, O Compassionate God, to Thee be glory and praise
forever. Amen.
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