1. To do justice to the holy celebrations proclaimed for today, my friends, our words call for the sound of the trumpet, for the voice of the horn sounding out more loudly and echoing to the ends of the earth; yet I fear they must be borne by the weak instrument of our own voices. Still, the queen and mistress of the world cares little for honor, and may well accept our short, poor discourse, offered here in her service, as graciously as the long and splendid works of great orators. For she is moved by the prayers of those who have asked me to speak, since she values true goodness, after all, and looks only at our intentions.
But come, gather around me, everyone under heaven – all you hierarchs and priests, monks and people of the world, kings and rulers, men and women, young men and maidens, of all nations and tongues, of every race and every people – change your clothes for the robes of virtue, wrap yourselves in them as in “bright garments fringed with gold” (Ps 44:13 [LXX]), and come with hearts rejoicing to celebrate the festival of the burial and the passing [into glory] of Mary, the Mother of the Lord. For she has gone away from here and draws near the eternal mountains, she who is the true Mt. Sion, where God was pleased to dwell, as the Psalmist’s lyre sings (Ps 131:14 [LXX]). Today she who was heaven on earth is wrapped in a cloak of incorruptibility; she has moved to a better, more blessed dwelling-place. Today the spiritual moon, shining with the light of God, has come into heavenly conjunction with the “sun of righteousness,” eclipsing her temporary home in this present life; rising anew in his home, she is radiant with the dignity of immortality. Today that ark of holiness, wrought with gold and divinely furnished, has been lifted up from her tabernacle on earth and is borne towards the Jerusalem above, to unending rest; and David, the ancestor of God, poet as he is, strikes up a song for us and cries, “Virgins” – meaning souls – “will be led to the King” – to you, О God – “behind her” (Ps 44:14 [LXX]).
28.08.2026Read more
One old staretz, living in a secluded wilderness, fell into despair from tempting doubts – is he striving correctly, and is there hope that his labors will be crowned in the end with success. The staretz sat with head hung down; his heart ached, but his eyes did not offer tears. At that moment an angel of the Lord appeared before him and said: “Why are you troubled, and why do such thoughts enter your heart? You are not the first, and you are not the last to walk this path. Many have passed it, many are walking it, and many will yet pass beyond it to the bright dwelling – places of heaven. Let us go – I will show you various paths, by which the sons of men walk, and where they lead.
The staretz got up and followed the angel; but he had hardly gone several steps when unto his spiritual eyes a wondrous vision was revealed. He saw to his left a thick darkness, like an impenetrable wall, in the midst of which was heard a clamor, anxiety and commotion. Looking carefully into the darkness he saw a wide river, along which waves moved back and forth, to the right and left – and every time that a wave flashed before the staretz, someone distinctly said to him: “this is the wave of unbelief, of carelessness, coldness; this is lack of mercy, lust, bribery; these are comforts, amusements, envyings, discord; and this is drunkenness, uncleanness, laziness, infidelity of spouses” and so forth – and every wave turned over a countless number of people lifting them out of the river and again plunging them into its depths. In horror the staretz cried out: “Lord! Can it be that all these people will die, and there is no hope of salvation for them?” The angel said to him: “Look further, and you will see the mercy and truth of God.”
31.03.2025Read more
The Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos in the Temple is believed to be not among the most ancient festivals of the Church. However, indications that the Feast was observed in the first centuries of Christianity are found in the traditions of Palestinian Christians, which say that the holy Empress Helen built a church in honour of the entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, in the fourth century, also mentions this Feast, along with Saints Jerome and Epiphanius. Saint Andrew of Crete had known about it and his hymns are found throughout the Service books for this Feast. Saint Germanos I, Patriarch of Constantinople from 715 to 730, wrote two homilies for the Feast. Saint Tarasios, the Patriarch, introduced it at Constantinople a century later as an official Feast, though it had already been celebrated. Saint George of Nicomedia wrote three sermons on the subject which address every detail of the Feast, including a beautiful homily which addresses rhetorically the temple itself.
1. Every divine festival, whenever it is celebrated, spiritually fills those who are present from a treasury and divinely flowing spring. But even more and beyond other feasts does this recently hymned festival, brilliantly celebrated, attract the soul with holy joy and gives more joy in proportion to the preeminence of the excellent child of God. For the annual observation of this feast is coming, in which one must be pure to participate.
And let us be anointed with the perfume of her roses, as Solomon says in the beautiful verse of his Song: "Who is that who comes up from the wilderness, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the fragrant powders of the merchants?" (Song of Songs 3.6) - "Come hither from Lebanon, my bride; come hither from Lebanon" (Song of Songs 4.8).
So let us eagerly approach together this mutually beneficial, salvific feast of the Mother of God. And bowing before the unapproachable place [the Holy of Holies] let us watch the child going toward the second veil, Mary the all-holy Mother of God who put an end to unfruitful sterility, and exchanged the mere shadow of the letter of the law (cf Hebrews 1O.1) through the grace of her birth-giving.
04.12.2024Read more
Let us speak of the wonderful conception of the Honorable Forerunner - since it could stand as the beginning of the whole narrative - and put in order what we are triumphantly about to mention, insofar it pleases him whom we are praising today to give us the power of speech. But it might be better to begin our talk with events that preceded the conception. In this way we can demonstrate that, even before his conception, it was clear that he would become a great and important person and that he would meet the expectations of people in matters of salvation, since he would not be exempt from the consequences which the fall of the Adam and Eve had for the whole of humankind. As a result of this fall, we had reached the point where we were living on earth in misery and degeneracy, as the general legatees of God’s decision: “You are dust and shall return to dust” (Gen. 3, 19).
This was our natural destination, as the verdict on our disobedience. But this misery of people’s lives wasn’t the only thing. It was followed by apostasy from God. Because we forgot the Lord God, the creator of the universe and often worshiped other people who were as sunk in sin and wretchedness as the rest of us. Or, at other times, we had objects for gods, idols we’d made with our own hands. We then became involved in the passions of dishonor, since we offered the honor and worship which were proper only to God to inanimate idols and to the demons. We had fallen to such unprecedented depths of perversion that the cure would have to be of the same order of power and magnitude.
And the sole cure for this condition was for God the Creator to resemble His creatures. In other words, for God to become a being like us, taking on a human body and a human soul. And so, as a real person, He took on all the capacities of human nature, as it is when it is free from sin. In other words he adopted all the blameless passions. In His person, divine and human nature were perfectly and actually united and through this unification it became possible to save humankind, which was and is held prisoner by the sinful passions. And so the opportunity was given to every person to be reborn in Christ and acquire the eternal bliss which God intended for us from the moment He created us.
06.10.2024Read more
Sermon 38. A Sequel on the Cross and on the Lord’s Resurrection{1}.
1. Yesterday we said that the cross of the Lord has brought salvation to the human race, and it is true; for His suffering is our redemption and His death is our life. He bore all these evils so that we might know every good thing; He wished cruelty to be wreaked upon Himself so that mercy might be ours; He so desired our good that He was severe with Himself. He removed the wounds of the human race by His cross and destroyed them all in His suffering so that nothing more would ever hurt us.
2. Great, therefore, is the sacrament of the cross{2}. And if we understand aright, by this sign the world itself is also saved. For, when sailors cleave the sea, the first thing they do is erect the mast and unfurl the sail, and the waters are broken by the cross of the Lord that has been made; and, safe because of this sign of the Lord, they seek the port of salvation and escape the danger of death. For the sail hanging on the mast is a kind of figure of the sacrament – as if it were Christ lifted up on the cross{3}. Confident in the coming mystery, then, people disregard the stormy winds and fix their minds on voyaging. But the Church is unable to stand without the cross, just as a ship is imperiled without a mast. For at once the devil disturbs the one and winds bring the other into danger. But where the sign of the cross is erected the wickedness of the devil is immediately repelled and the stormy wind is calmed{4}.
27.09.2024Read more
