One of the first icons I ever painted – not great, but I do love St. Euphemia! (The border is taken from a poem about St. Euphemia by St. Nikolai Velimirovitch.)

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In the year 451 in the city of Chalcedon, in the very church where the glorified relics of the holy Great Martyr Euphemia rested, the sessions of the Fourth Ecumenical Council (July 16) took place. The Council was convened for determining the precise dogmatic formulate of the Orthodox Church concerning the nature of the God-Man Jesus Christ. This was necessary because of the widespread heresy of the Monophysites [“mono-physis” meaning “one nature”], who opposed the Orthodox teaching of the two natures in Jesus Christ, the Divine and the Human natures (in one Divine Person). The Monophysites falsely affirmed that in Christ was only one nature, the Divine [i.e. that Jesus is God but not man, by nature], causing discord and unrest within the Church. At the Council were present 630 representatives from all the local Christian Churches. On the Orthodox side Anatolius, Patriarch of Constantinople (July 3), Juvenal, Patriarch of Jerusalem (July 2), and representatives of St Leo, Pope of Rome (February 18) participated in the conciliar deliberations. The Monophysites were present in large numbers, headed by Dioscorus, the Patriarch of Alexandria, and the Constantinople archimandrite Eutychius.

After prolonged discussions the two sides could not come to a decisive agreement.

The holy Patriarch Anatolius of Constantinople proposed that the Council submit the decision of the Church dispute to the Holy Spirit, through His undoubted bearer St Euphemia the All-Praised, whose wonderworking relics had been discovered during the Council’s discussions. The Orthodox hierarchs and their opponents wrote down their confessions of faith on separate scrolls and sealed them with their seals. They opened the tomb of the holy Great Martyr Euphemia and placed both scrolls upon her bosom. Then, in the presence of the emperor Marcian (450-457), the participants of the Council sealed the tomb, putting on it the imperial seal and setting a guard to watch over it for three days. During these days both sides imposed upon themselves strict fast and made intense prayer. After three days the patriarch and the emperor in the presence of the Council opened the tomb with its relics: the scroll with the Orthodox confession was held by St Euphemia in her right hand, and the scroll of the heretics lay at her feet. St Euphemia, as though alive, raised her hand and gave the scroll to the patriarch. After this miracle many of the hesitant accepted the Orthodox confession, while those remaining obstinate in the heresy were consigned to the Council’s condemnation and excommunication.In my opinion this miracle of St. Euphemia is a great reminder for our times that there are reasons the Orthodox Church is not in communion with those who follow the teachings of Dioschorus and/or Eutychius. The division between the Orthodox tradition and that of the monophysites, or Anti-Chalcedonians, was not the result of a misunderstanding, but of divine revelation. God revealed which of the two theologies was divinely inspired through His handmaiden Euphemia the All-Praised.

For more on this topic see this excerpt from the book The Life of Elder Paisios of Mount Athos by Hieromonk Isaac.

Pray for us Holy Euphemia!

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From Exomologetarion (A Manual of Confession), by St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite (Thessaloniki, Greece: 2006, Uncut Mountain Press).

Just as so-called diagnostic physicians not only know how to treat external and visible wounds of the body, but also, by measuring the pulse, they learn the internal and invisible maladies of the heart, of the bowels, and the other unseen workings of the human body, and are therefore able to treat them. Likewise, Spiritual Father, it is not enough for you only to know how to treat the external passions of the soul, those acts and deeds and effects of sin, but it is also necessary to know through the confession of the penitent the internal wounds of his soul, which are the hidden passions in his heart and the passionate and evil thoughts, and so treat them with great scrutiny and care. For this reason we thought it good to inform you a little about some general and vital matters concerning thoughts.

How many types of thoughts there are

Know then, Spiritual Father, that in general, all thoughts are of three types: some thoughts are good, some thoughts are vain and idle, and some thoughts are bad. Concerning good thoughts, it is not necessary to discuss here in detail how and from what aspects of the soul they arise, for we are satisfied that these are good and therefore beneficial and salvific to the soul. We say this only, Spiritual Father, that if someone says to you during confession that he has good thoughts, you should counsel him to take care to be humble and to never trust in himself and become prideful: 1) because a person on his own is not able to do a good work or say a good word or even think a good thought without the power and help of God: “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God” (2 Cor. 3:5); 2) because the devil is so cunning and evil, that many times he brings evil from good and through good thoughts throws those who are not careful into self-esteem, and conceit, and haughtiness, from which is caused the destruction and death of the soul. So says Paul: “Sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good” (Rom. 7:13); 3) because man never remains in one state, but is so changing and so quickly alters that, with his thoughts, in one instant he is found in Paradise and in another instant he is in hell, as one Saint said. And St. Isaac says: “By the mind we improve, and by the mind we become unprofitable,”[1] hence the one who today has good thoughts may very well have evil ones tomorrow; and 4) tell him that the devil has greater envy and wages a fiercer battle against those who have good thoughts, so that he should have more fear and greater care over himself.

What vain thoughts are and how they are corrected

Those thoughts which are not profitable unto the purpose and aim of salvation, as much as to our own soul as to that of our neighbor, and do not look to the necessary requirements and constitution of our body, but to the superfluous and more-than-necessary things, even if they are good, I call vain and idle. According to the Shorter Rules of Basil the Great, vain and idle thoughts arise from the idleness of the intellect that is neither engaged in necessary things, nor believes that God is present and searches our hearts and thoughts: “Mental aberration comes from idleness of a mind not occupied in necessary things. For the mind is idle and careless from lack of belief in the presence of God Who tries the heart and reins… He who does this and what is like to it will never dare or have leisure to think of any of those things that do not conduce to the edification of faith, even if they seem to be good.”[2] Concerning these vain and idle thoughts, I say, advise the penitent not to allow his intellect to meditate upon or ponder over them: 1) because just as we have to give an account for idle words on the day of judgment, as the Lord said: “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Mt. 12:36), so likewise we have to give an account on the day of judgment for idle and vain thoughts, and indeed, if we willfully left our intellect to go after them.[3] And it is thence apparent, because the Lord reproaches and condemns those servants who remain idle: “Why stand ye here all the day idle?” (Mt. 20:6); 2) because those vain thoughts deprive us from profitable and salvific thoughts, which we are able to have instead of them; and 3) because these idle thoughts are in themselves evil, as they are the cessation of good and become the beginning of evil, and as giving way and permission to the devil to sow in our idle intellect the tares of evil thoughts. Thus does Gregory the Theologian confirm this: “May evil and its original cause, the devil, be destroyed. For while we were idle, the evil one planted tares in us (cf. Mt. 13:25), in order that the neglect of good might become the beginning of evil, just as the beginning of darkness is the retreat of light.”[4]

The causes of bad thoughts

Know that, in general, bad thoughts derive from two causes,[5] one external and the other internal. The external cause of bad thoughts is the sensible objects of the five senses, that is, those things seen, heard, smelled, tasted, and touched, like bad and indecent and theatrical sights, obscene words and lewd songs, scents and colognes and perfumes, luscious foods and pleasurable drinks, fine and soft clothes and comfortable mattresses. All these things cause passionate and hedonistic thoughts in the soul, and then sinful and death-bearing thoughts. Thus, the Prophet Jeremiah on one hand says: “Death has come up into our windows” (Jer. 21:9), the windows meaning the five senses. On the other hand, Gregory the Theologian rather interpreted this saying in broader terms: “And it is kept until the fifth day (that is, the sacrificed Paschal Lamb), perhaps because the Victim, of Whom I am speaking, purifies the five senses, from which comes falling into sin, and around which the war rages, inasmuch as they are open to the incitements to sin.”[6]

The internal causes of bad thoughts

The internal causes of bad thoughts are four:

1. The imagination, which is like a second sense and receives and records all of the images and perceptions which enter through the five senses, that is, of those things touched, tasted, smelled, and especially of those things heard and seen, is called an internal sense, because it portrays the things sensed so grossly and clearly, just as the external senses. It is a common sense, according to Aristotle, because it receives commonly the experiences of all the senses; and this naturally, because just as lines are disconnected at the perimeter of a circle but converge at its center, so also the five senses, which are disconnected on the outside, converge in the imagination of the soul, but they converge without confusion. So then, from the imagination are born bad thoughts in the soul, making it sense them as really present and to noetically conceptualize through memory those things that it should not have outwardly seen or heard or smelled or tasted or touched, even though it is sensibly far from these things and is settled peaceably in a deserted place. For this reason, in his tetrastich Iambic Poetry, the Theologian said:

“A vision caught me, but was checked.
I set up no idol of sin.
Was an idol set up? The experience was avoided.

These are the degrees of deceit of the adversary.”[7]

Do you hear? He says an idol of sin was set up and was not recorded in the imagination. The soul escaped the experience at once, that is, it escaped from consenting to the thoughts and from the committal of sin.

2. The passions are a cause of bad thoughts, which are generally two: love and hate, or pleasure and pain, for we are moved passionately either because we love something as pleasurable, or because we hate it as painful.[8] Specifically, the passions are divided into the three aspects of the soul: the intelligent, the appetitive, and the incensive. The passions of the intelligent aspect, according to Gregory of Sinai, are unbelief, blasphemy, evilness, curiosity, double mindedness, gossip, love of applause, pretension, pride, and others. The passions of the appetitive aspect are fornication, adultery, debauchery, greed, unchastity, incontinence, love of pleasure, self-love, and others. The passions of the incensive aspect are anger, bitterness, shouting, audacity, revenge, and others. From these passions of the soul, then, bad thoughts are generally and immediately born, these also being divided into three categories like the passions. From the passions of the intelligent aspect of the soul come bad thoughts, which are generally given the name blasphemous thoughts. From the passions of the appetitive aspect come the so-called obscene thoughts. From the passions of the incensive aspect come the so-called evil thoughts. For this reason the above-mentioned Gregory of Sinai said that: “The passions are the causes of thoughts,”[9] and Abba Isaac also calls the passions assaults, because they attack within the soul and stir up passionate thoughts.[10]

3. An internal and initial cause of bad thoughts is the demons, for those accursed ones, being light spirits and found superficially around the heart, speak there through internal suggestion and whisper softly from inside all the blasphemous thoughts, all the obscene thoughts, all the evil thoughts, and simply all the bad thoughts. They train the imagination with obscene and impure idols from the senses, as much as when a person is sleeping as when awake. From these the aforementioned passions in the three aspects of the soul are stirred up and make the wretched soul to be a cave of thieves and a slum of the passions. For this reason the above-mentioned Gregory of Sinai said: “Occasions give rise to thoughts, thoughts to imaginations, imaginations to the passions, and the passions give entry to the demons… but no one thing in the sequence is self-operative: each is prompted and activated by the demons. The imagination is not wrought into an image, passion is not energized, without unperceived hidden demonic impulsion,”[11] and in another place he says: “Thoughts are the promptings of the demons and precursors of the passions.”[12] In agreement with this, St. Isaac says, “I hold as a truth, nevertheless, that our intellect, without the mediation of the holy angels, is able of itself to be moved toward the good uninstructed; however, our senses (the interior ones, that is) cannot come to know evil or be incited by it without the mediation of the demons.”[13]

4. An internal cause of thoughts, however remote, is the passionate and corrupted condition of human nature which was brought about by the ancestral sin.[14] This condition remains in our nature also after baptism, not as ancestral sin as such (for this is removed through baptism, according to Canon 120 of Carthage), but as a consequence of the ancestral sin, for the exertion and test of our free will, and in exchange for greater crowns and rewards, according to the theologians. For after the fall the intellect lost its innocent memory and thought which it had fixed formerly only on the good; but now when it wishes to remember and think upon the good, it is immediately dispersed and also thinks upon the bad. For this reason the divine Gregory of Sinai said: “The source and ground of our thoughts is the fragmented state of our memory. The memory was originally simple and one-pointed, but as a result of the fall its natural powers have been perverted: it has lost its recollectedness in God and has become compound instead of simple, diversified instead of one-pointed.”[15]

Endnotes

Note: Numbering does not match the book.

[1] The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian, Boston, 1984, Homily 69, p. 338. (Translator’s note: Hereafter, referred to as Ascetical Homilies. It should be noted that, when quoting from this work of St. Isaac, St. Nikodemos references the Greek printed text of 1770 by Nikephoros Theotokis which numbers the Homilies differently than the English language translation of Holy Transfiguration Monastery. See the Table of Homily Equivalences in the Holy Transfiguration Monastery edition, pp. cxiii-cxv.)

[2] Regulæ Brevius 21, PG 31, 1097B-1097C; tr. The Ascetic Works of Saint Basil.

[3] Translator’s note: Concerning thoughts, St. Mark the Ascetic says: “Never belittle the significance of your thoughts, for not one escapes God’s notice” (On the Spiritual Law 89); and again: “When you sin, blame your thought, not your action. For had your intellect not run ahead, your body would not have followed” (ibid. 119); (GrPhilokalia, pp. 95; 96; tr. The Philokalia, v. 1, pp. 116; 118).

[4] Oratio 19, 14, PG 35, 1060C.

[5] Concerning bad thoughts, see the footnote of Canon 2 of the Faster.

[6] Oratio 45, 14, PG 36, 641C; tr. NPNF (V2-07) p. 428. (Translator’s note: For a thorough discussion on the guarding of the senses, the imagination, the intellect, and the heart, see the work by St. Nikodemos, Symbouleutikon Encheiridion, and the English language translation, Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain: A Handbook of Spiritual Counsel, CWS, New York, 1989.)

[7] Carmina Moralia 33, PG 37, 932A-933A.

[8] Translator’s note: St. Maximos the Confessor says: “Let us reject the pleasure and pain of this present life with what strength we have, and so free ourselves entirely from all thoughts of the passions and all machinations of the demons. For we love the passions because of pleasure and avoid virtue because of pain” (Third Century on Various Texts of Theology 52, GrPhilokalia, p. 369; tr. First Century of Various Texts, The Philokalia, v. 2, p. 175). On the interconnectedness of pleasure and pain, see especially Sixth Century on Various Texts of Theology 33-50, GrPhilokalia, pp. 412-416; Fourth Century of Various Texts, The Philokalia, v.2, pp. 243-248.

[9] On Commandments and Doctrines 62, GrPhilokalia, p. 886.

[10] Ascetical Homilies, Homily 62.

[11] On Commandments and Doctrines 70, GrPhilokalia, p. 887; tr. The Philokalia, v. 4, p. 224.

[12] Ibid. 67, GrPhilokalia, p. 886; tr. The Philokalia, v. 4, p. 223.

[13] Ascetical Homilies, Homily 28, p. 138.

[14] Translator’s note: St. Mark the Ascetic says: “When evil thoughts become active within us, we should blame ourselves and not ancestral sin” (No Righteousness by Works 120, GrPhilokalia, p. 106; tr. The Philokalia, v. 1, p. 135). And St. Diadochos of Photiki writes: “For although baptism removes from us the stain resulting from sin, it does not thereby heal the duality of our will immediately, neither does it prevent the demons from attacking us or speaking deceitful words to us. In this way we are led to take up the weapons of righteousness, and to preserve through the power of God what we could not keep safe through the efforts of our soul alone” (On Spiritual Knowledge 78, GrPhilokalia, p. 225; tr. The Philokalia, v. 1, p. 280).

[15] On Commandments and Doctrines 60, GrPhilokalia, p. 886; tr. The Philokalia, v. 4, p. 222.

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Translated by Sebastian P. Brock

O discerning listeners, come and listen to the dispute between Marina and Satan, and sing praise to the Lord of all.

St Marina and Satan: A Syriac dialogue poem

SATAN

The Evil One said to Marina, the dearly beloved virgin,

‘Desert and Sown , in their envy, have spoken falsehood against you’.

MARINA

‘Every word Desert and Sown have spoken against me is in falsehood:

in the name of the Lord do I put my hope to escape victorious from them’.

SATAN

‘In the name of the Lord you shall escape if you pay attention and listen to me, my daughter:

reveal your identity, that you are a woman, and you will escape from all guile’.

MARINA

‘Those men and women who have emerged victorious first entered into trials and were rescued

by the hope they held in the name of the Lord – and like them I too have hope’.

SATAN

‘ I have revealed and shown you the right path by which you shall be victorious, but you won’t listen;

I am greatly upset in my concern for you, and my pain won’t go away since you won’t listen to me’.

MARINA

‘My skin cleaves to my bones [Lam.4:8]: I have greatly toiled in my labours so as to be numbered among males in order to steal

righteousness from them’.

 SATAN

‘If you wish to be numbered among males, listen to what I have to say to you:

go and reveal your identity, how you are a woman, and then go and live in the world along with men’. 

MARINA

‘What you have to say is miles away from what I have in mind:

my desire is to die in the wild and I shall not do what you have said’. 

SATAN

‘This wild place shall be your tomb and you will not get away from trials,

for if you don’t listen to my words, you will die and perish, with your hope cut off’.

MARINA

‘Great woe is reserved for you and for whoever listens to any of your words.

There is hope in God, and those who hope in him are not ashamed’. [Ps 25:3]

SATAN

‘It is a double woe that you will have if you fail to listen to any of my words:

you will die in the wilderness and wild beasts and birds of prey will devour you’.

MARINA

‘I will sing praise while I live, [Ps 146:2] while I have a place where to sing;

and whether I live or whether I die, it is to the Lord I belong all the time’.

SATAN

‘Sing on then, and don’t stop for in a little while your song will come to an end;

you will go down to Sheol without hope and your lot will be a double woe’. [cp Ps 31:18, 55:16]

MARINA

‘The Lord is living and holy is his name, and whoever hopes in him will not be ashamed: [Ps 25:3]

from this monastery I will not depart. and will not go away from its gate’.

 SATAN

‘Savage animals are roaring, eager to rip you apart, and vultures too;

if you don’t carry out my advice they will tear you apart and drink up your blood’.

MARINA

‘A great blessing will be mine if they tear my body apart and drink up my blood,

for my Lord is the Lord of all: he will not do what you have said’.

SATAN

‘So torture you consider a blessing? What then do you think of eternal woe?

Flee from the error in your mind; follow my advice and live’.

MARINA

‘Let the sea and land testify concerning me, the heavens too, and all that is in them, [cp Deut 4:26, 31:28]

that I renounce you and your words: cursed is your counsel, and accursed your name’.

SATAN

‘I know that women don’t have much intelligence or brain, for they don’t know what they are saying,

and they do what is harmful to themselves’.

MARINA

‘All the advice that you give is bad; your words are bad too because you are bad:

as our Lord said in his Gospel, “a tree that is bad bears bad fruit”’. [Matt7:17]

SATAN

‘Check your words, stupid woman, and shut up: you don’t realize it is your duty to save yourself,

as far as you are able, and live a normal life, and not perish’.

MARINA

‘Accursed are your words, Satan, and accursed is the instruction which you teach.

for your mouth is full of cursing and wickedness, and on your tongue are fraud and deceit’.

SATAN

‘You haven’t read or learnt the Scripture; you are ignorant and you don’t listen.

My words and utterance are full of truth, and deceit is far from my heart’.

MARINA

‘If I listen to you I will indeed perish, for you have set a trap that leads to perdition,

and I won’t be able to save myself if I listen to you and your counsel’.

SATAN

‘My advice is crystal clear, its light is illumined by the sun, but because the light of your mind is darkened

you don’t see the light even when it shines out’.

MARINA

‘Take a rest from laying your traps, for I shall break them all up:

I place my hope in Jesus’ name and no harm will come to me’.

SATAN

‘You should give a rest to your words: that I should rest is not my wish.

It is a great sin that you commit if you remain in this wild place.

SATAN

‘You will do yourself harm at the hands of marauding robbers:

if they realize you are a woman I don’t know what they will do to you!’.

MARINA

‘The hope that I’ve placed in God will rescue me and I will not be harmed;

he is the hope of the poor and the orphans, and to all who hope on him’.

SATAN

‘Escape from all sorts of harm while you still have a chance to escape:

don’t put the Lord, your Lord, to the test, hoping he will perform a miracle with you’.

MARINA

‘It is from you that I will make my escape and I won’t touch your words of advice;

if I escape from you and your words, then will I be accounted blessed!’.

SATAN

Satan replied and said ‘If you reveal that you are a woman all the abuse you are getting

will go away and then you can sing praise and rejoice’.

MARINA

‘I will not give you any answer for all your talk is importunate:

all that you say is false. You give a lot of advice, but you are the one who needs it’.

SATAN

‘Cruel crosses are set up in readiness for you on every side:

summer is preparing burning heat for you, and winter, snow and ice’.

MARINA

‘Our Saviour endured the Cross because of our human race, and if he holds me

worthy to endure it, then this will be a great blessing for me’.

SATAN

‘Get up and prepare yourself to receive crosses, sufferings and torments which evil people,

and the monks, will bring upon you – just as you are wanting!’.

MARINA

‘I have already received these from you, and I will do so in future for I am ready for suffering:

whether from you, O Evil One, or from human beings, from wild animals, or from reptiles’.

 SATAN

‘It is pride that women love, and boasting is in their heart, but in a little while they grow weak and are defeated:

then tears start coming, flowing from their eyes!’.

MARINA

‘Yes, women love pride – as you have said in your pride; but they are humble before their Lord, while it is you and your pride they will trample down’.

Give peace to your Church and her children with that peace that pacifies all; rebuke the Evil One and his band: let them be scattered like smoke! [cp Ps 37:20]

Let peace reign in the midst of your Church; let fights and schisms be brought to an end:may they be brought under your yoke and do service before you.

May your handmaid enter her monastery and in the Holy of Holies offer up to you a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving – and may both Desert and Sown be joined in peace. 

May my supplication enter and be accepted in the presence of your divine tribunal;  may the Evil One and his band feel shame, and may the Church be radiant in giving praise!

During his time as a political prisoner, William Paris, Chaucer’s contemporary, wrote what has been called “The Legend of Christina” (1397 or so). Originally written in Middle English, below are excerpts from a Modern English translation from Chaste Passion: Medieval English Virgin Martyr Legends, edited and translated by Karen A. Winstead pp. 63-69. I would have preferred to post the original in Middle English, but alas I could only find a very small excerpt on the internet.

Holy Saint Christina, pray to God for us! (And happy name’s day to my mum!)

(Source)

That maiden had gods of shiny gold and silver in the tower with her, which she was supposed to worship and honor day and night. But suddenly almighty God sent help: he made her yearn to bring her soul to heaven’s light. The holy ghost within Christine taught her to forsake every one of her false gods, which are only pallid sticks and stones. She resolved to fear nothing but think only of heaven. See how God can turn non-Christians into his holy martyrs! Some – like good Saint John the Baptist – had grace before they were born; some – like fair Christine – acquired it in their youth; and some – as we can see in Paul’s life – got it after youth was gone…

She had incense, but she hid it in a window, and she did so in good conscience, for she intended never to sacrifice to the false gods of heathendom, no matter who told her to. She asked Christ that she might be martyred before that happened!

One day Urban wanted to see his daughter. Christine’s attendants all said, “Lord Urban, we tell you that your daughter and our noble lady scorns our goes and everything has to do with them. In fact, she says she’ll be a Christian if she can!”

***

“Fetch her,” said Urban. “I want her brought before the bar and I’ll try to make her change her wicked ideas. She said she wasn’t my daughter… She broke my richly crafted gods. No wonder I’m furious!

***

Then the lovely maiden Christine said to her father, who sat so high, “What an honor you’re doing me by no calling me the devil’s daughter! The child of a devil is a devil himself, and you father, are the direct descendant off that cursed fiend satan!”

Urban then commanded that her clear white flesh be scraped from her bones with sharp hooked nails… By Saint John, it was a shame to see what was done to that maiden!

***

When day had gone and night had come, they tied an exceedingly heavy stone around her neck, then they threw her into the sea. But once that evil deed had been done, lovely angels came from heaven and, through God’s grace and great power, held her up. Then Christ himself through God’s grace and great power, held her up. Then came down and baptized Christine in the sea. It w is written that he said these very words: “In my father and in myself Jesus Christ, God’s heavenly son, and in the holy ghost, us three, I baptize you with the water.”

***

Saint Christine said, with heart and soul, “Thank you, God in majesty for all you’ve done to show your might through me. In all my ordeals you’ve protected me, letting neither fire nor water harm me. Now I think it’s time for me to be brought to the fair bliss of heaven.”

***

[Julian] beside himself with fury, he shot her with three arrows. Two landed in her heart, the third in her side. When Christine was struck, her soul want to radiant heaven, where she would feel no more pain.

Her body lies in a strong castle – the book calls it Bolsena – where many sick people have recovered their health, and many blind people have recovered their sight. I truly believe that if anyone prays earnestly to that damsel, she will help him with all her might – if what they want is good and right.

***

Jesus Christ, God’s mighty son, who came down to amend our ills and settled in a pure virgin, Mary, now your mother, grant that all who have heard this will see you in heaven. Let them see you sitting there in bliss with Christine, your radiant maiden! Amen.

(Source)

In the second half of the 18th century the borders of Holy Russia expanded to the north. In those years Russian merchants discovered the Aleutian Islands which formed in the Pacific Ocean a chain from the eastern shares of Kamchatka to the western shares of North America. With the opening of these islands there was revealed the sacred necessity to illumine with the light of the Gospel the native inhabitants. With the blessing of the Holy Synod, Metropolitan Gabriel gave to the Elder Nazarius the task of selecting capable persons from the brethern of Valaam for this holy endeavor. Ten men were selected, and among them was Father Herman. The chosen men left Valaam for the place of their great appointment in 1793. (The members of this historical mission were: Archimandrite Joseph (Bolotoff), the Hieromonks, Juvenal, Macarius, Athanasius, Stephan and Nectarius, Hierodeacons, Nectarius and Stephen, and the monks Joasaph, and Herman.)

As a result of the holy zeal of the preachers the light of the evangelic sermon quickly poured out among the sons of Russia, and several thousand pagans accepted Christianity. A school for the education of newly-baptized children was organized, and a church was built at the place where the missionaries lived. But by the inscrutable providence of God the general progress of the mission was unsatisfactory. After five years of very productive labor, Archimandrite Joasaph, who had just been elevated to the rank of bishop, was drowned with his party. (This occurred on the Pacific Ocean been Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands. The ship, Phoenix, one of the first sea-going ships built in Alaska, sailed from Okhotsk carrying the first Bishop for the American Mission and his party. The Phoenix was caught in one of the many storms which periodically sweep the northern Pacific, and the ship and all hands perished together with Bishop Joasaph and his party.) Before this the zealous Hieromonk Juvenal was granted the martyr’s crown. The others died one after another until in the end only Father Herman remained. The Lord permitted him to labor longer than any of his brethren in the apostolic task of enlightening the Aleutians.

O Holy Saint Herman pray to God for us!

To listen to the short (but sweet) Saint of the Day from Ancient Faith Radio (on Elder Joseph), go here.

Although technically Elder Joseph the Hesychast reposed today since it’s the Feast of the Dormition (O.S.), he is commemorated in conjunction with the Dormition of the Theotokos, so, August 15 on the New Calendar, and August 28 on the Old. At St. Anthony’s Monastery for example, the fathers served a memorial for him on August 15.  

(Source)

The Holy Martyr Iraida (Rhais) lived at Alexandria. Once, she went to a well to draw water and saw a ship at the shore. On board were a large number of men, women, clergy and monks, all fettered in chains for their confession of the Christian Faith.

Casting aside her water pitcher, the saint voluntarily joined the prisoners for Christ, and fetters were placed on her, too. When the ship arrived in the Egyptian city of Antipolis, St Iraida was the first to undergo fierce torments and was beheaded with the sword. After her, the other martyrs sealed their confession of faith in Christ with their blood.

Since we’re still in New Brunswick impatiently waiting to go to Newfoundland, we were able to serve one more Divine Liturgy in Fredericton. This Saturday, however, the UNB chapel was unavailable and we had the blessing of holding Matins and Divine Liturgy in a very old and beautiful Anglican chapel that is no longer used regularly. Ironically the very first time I ever prayed with my husband was in this very chapel when my brother, sister-in-law, Fr. John and I did Anglican morning prayer there one Saturday in September ELEVEN YEARS AGO!

This chapel is named for St. Anne, the Grandmother of Christ. So, here it was the Forefeast of the Nativity of the Theotokos, we had brought our icons and we we’re chanting about St. Anna rejoicing at the birth of her daughter, the Most Holy Lady Theotokos, in a church we used to use as Anglicans! O how wonderous God is in His works in bringing us to Orthodoxy!

This is an icon my aunt commissioned of St. Anna (Anne to most of the West) that I recently finished but hadn’t yet given to her, and so we had the blessing of praying with St. Anna’s icon in a chapel named in her honour!

May we have her blessing!

As an aside: the photos with the beautiful scripts are from the walls of St. Anne’s. It struck me how much Anglicans invest in words, while we in images. Even still, they use to make beautiful churches, too bad that seems to be a thing of the past.

The sufferings of St. Sophia and her daughters Faith, Hope and Love were very great – matched only, perhaps, by their fervor and zeal for Christ our God. Having been raised to put their trust in Christ from infancy, it was not difficult for each girl to valiantly witness to their faith.

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The Emperor again tried to force them to worship his false gods. He commanded Faith to offer sacrifice to the goddess Artemis. When she refused she was beaten and tortured. Faith endured all of this evil bravely by calling upon her Lord, and when she was put in a cauldron of boiling tar and oil she remained unharmed. She sat in it as if it were cool water and sang praises to God. Seeing that no amount of torture could force the girl to give up her faith in Christ, the cruel Emperor ordered her to be beheaded before the very eyes of her mother and younger sisters.

When the second sister Hope also refused to worship the false gods, she was thrown into a fire, but she too remained unharmed and glorified the true God. The torturer was furious that he could not hurt her and ordered her to be thrown into the boiling cauldron, but it at once melted like wax, and the tar and oil poured out and burnt the bystanders. Ashamed that he was unable to shake the faith of such a young girl, the torturer ordered Hope to be beheaded. Knowing that the same cruel torture awaited her younger sister, Hope encouraged her and said, “Do not be left here, sister. Let us stand together be- fore the Holy Trinity.” Then she bent her head and was beheaded with a sword.

When the torturer called the youngest sister, Love, to worship the false gods, she also, even after seeing her sisters’ tortures, did not hesitate to confess her faith in Jesus Christ.  She was ordered to be thrown into a stove, but just like the three youths in the Old Testament, Love remained in the stove unharmed; walking about as if in a cool place, singing and praising God. The Emperor ordered still more cruel tortures, but the young girl proved true to her name for love “endureth all things” (I Cor 13:7).  Finally, she too was beheaded and went to join her sisters who stood before the throne of their beloved Lord Jesus Christ.

Although the life and martyrdom of each of these women is incredibly inspirational, it was the youngest, Love, who at the tender age of 9 always impressed me the most when I read the account of her death. Bravely following in her sisters’ footsteps, she conquers the evil one by courageously praising God in the midst of the furnace and willingly accepting death for the sake of her Bridegroom Christ. Through the prayers and work of their mother these three girls burned as bright lamps in those days and continue to burn like shining examples even for us in our dark days, days which are filled with corruption and deception, when our children are in such need of good role models. We need to pray fervently for the intercessions of St. Sophia and her daughters that we become examples as did St. Sophia and that our children learn from us what it means to be a Christian to put our faith above all else, and thus become like these little girls who through a little suffering became inheritors of eternal life, joy and glory.

Ode 6-9 of the Supplicatory Canon to St. Xenia of St. Petersburg are sung in these two videos. I listen to them all the time, and thought you might enjoy praying to St. Xenia as well.

(Source) The life of this famous fool-for-Christ:

Saint Xenia lived during the eighteenth century, but little is known of her life or of her family. She passed most of her life in Petersburg during the reigns of the empresses Elizabeth and Catherine II.

Xenia Grigorievna Petrova was the wife of an army officer, Major Andrew Petrov. After the wedding, the couple lived in St Petersburg. St Xenia became a widow at the age of twenty-six when her husband suddenly died at a party. She grieved for the loss of her husband, and especially because he died without Confession or Holy Communion.

Once her earthly happiness ended, she did not look for it again. From that time forward, Xenia lost interest in the things of this world, and followed the difficult path of foolishness for the sake of Christ. The basis for this strange way of life is to be found in the first Epistle to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 1:18-24, 1 Cor. 2:14, 1 Cor. 3:18-19). The Lord strengthened her and helped her to bear sorrow and misfortune patiently for the next forty-five years.

She started wearing her husband’s clothing, and insisted that she be addressed as “Andrew Feodorovich.” She told people that it was she, and not her husband, who had died. In a certain sense, this was perfectly true. She abandoned her former way of life and experienced a spiritual rebirth. When she gave away her house and possessions to the poor, her relatives complained to the authorities. After speaking to Xenia, the officials were conviced that she was in her right mind and was entitled to dispose of her property as she saw fit. Soon she had nothing left for herself, so she wandered through the poor section of Petersburg with no place to lay her head. She refused all assistance from her relatives, happy to be free of worldly attachments.

When her late husband’s red and green uniform wore out, she clothed herself in rags of those colors. After a while, Xenia left Petersburg for eight years. It is believed that she visited holy Elders and ascetics throughout Russia seeking instruction in the spiritual life. She may have visited St Theodore of Sanaxar (February 19), who had been a military man himself. His life changed dramatically when a young officer died at a drinking party. Perhaps this officer was St Xenia’s husband. In any case, she knew St Theodore and profited from his instructions.

St Xenia eventually returned to the poor section of Petersburg, where she was mocked and insulted because of her strange behavior. When she did accept money from people it was only small amounts, which she used to help the poor. She spent her nights praying without sleep in a field outside the city. Prayer strengthened her, and in her heart’s conversation with the Lord she found the support she needed on her difficult path.

When a new church was being built in the Smolensk cemetery, St Xenia brought bricks to the site. She did this in secret, during the night, so that no one would know.

Soon her great virtue and spiritual gifts began to be noticed. She prophesied future events affecting the citizens of Petersburg, and even the royal family. Against her will, she became known as someone pleasing to God, and nearly everyone loved her.They said, “Xenia does not belong to this world, she belongs to God.” People regarded her visits to their homes or shops as a great blessing. St Xenia loved children, and mothers rejoiced when the childless widow would stand and pray over a baby’s crib, or kiss a child. They believed that the blessed one’s kiss would bring that child good fortune.

St Xenia lived about forty-five years after the death of her husband, and departed to the Lord at the age of seventy-one. The exact date and circumstances of her death are not known, but it probably took place at the end of the eighteenth century. She was buried in the Smolensk cemetery.

By the 1820s, people flocked to her grave to pray for her soul, and to ask her to intercede with God for them. So many visitors took earth from her grave that it had to be replaced every year. Later, a chapel was built over her grave.

Those who turn to St Xenia in prayer receive healing from illness, and deliverance from their afflictions. She is also known for helping people who seek jobs.

It is also the feast of the Icon of “The Myrtle Tree” today (depicted on the left).

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According to ancient Syrian and Greek manuscripts, Saint Thekla was born into a prosperous pagan family in the Lycaonian city of Iconium (present-day Konya in south-central Turkey) in A.D. 16. When she was 18 years old and betrothed to a young man named Thamyris, Saint Paul the Apostle and Saint Barnabas arrived in Iconium from Antioch (Acts 14). Thekla’s mother Theokleia prohibited her from joining the crowds which gathered to hear Paul preach. But Thekla found that if she sat near her bedroom window she could hear his every word. Thekla sat there for three days and three nights listening to Paul preach the word of God. She was parti­cularly touched by his call to chastity. As it became apparent that Thekla was becoming interested in the new Faith, Theokleia and Thamyris went to the governor of the city and complained about Paul and his preaching. To pacify them and the other outraged citizens of Iconium, the governor had Paul imprisoned to await trial.

When Thekla learned of Paul’s arrest she secretly went to the prison, and using her golden bracelets to bribe the guard, gained admittance to his cell. When she saw the Apostle she knelt before him and kissed the chains which bound his hands and feet. She remained there a long time listening to his message of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Being concerned at Thekla’s prolonged absence, Theokleia and Thamy­ris asked her servant if she knew where she was. The servant said that Thekla had gone to visit an imprisoned stranger. Theokleia and Thamyris knew at once that she was with Paul. They decided to go again to the governor, this time demanding immediate judgement for the Apostle. After the governor chastened Paul for the disturbances he had caused in the city, he had him stoned and expelled from Iconium. The governor then admon­ished Thekla for her foolishness and commanded her to return home with her mother and fiancé. When Thekla announced that she had vowed to remain a virgin for the sake of Christ, her mother became enraged and asked the governor to threaten Thekla with severe punishment. The gov­ernor complied with this wish and ruled that Thekla was to be burned at the stake unless she renounced her faith in Christ.

The Holy Monastery of St. Thekla, Mar Taqla, Syria

When Thekla refused to renounce her Heavenly Bridegroom, she was taken to the arena for punishment. As she was tied to the stake she saw a vision of Jesus Christ which gave her strength to face the flames. The fire was lit, but as the flames came near Thekla a thunderstorm suddenly arose and a great torrent of rain and hail came down from heaven and extinguished the flames. Embarrassed because his plan had failed, the angry governor released Thekla but commanded that she must leave Iconium at once.

Upon her release, Thekla went to the outskirts of the city where she rejoined Paul. She told him of her trial and miraculous escape from punish­ment and asked for baptism. Paul refused to baptize Thekla, saying that this would be accomplished in God’s own way and time. Paul and Thekla then departed from the region of Iconium and traveled to Antioch in Syria. As they were entering the city a young nobleman named Alexander saw Thekla. Being entranced by her beauty he rushed forward and tried to seduce her, but Thekla fought him off, thus disgracing him in front of his crowd of friends. Alexander went to the governor of Antioch and complained that this wandering girl had disgraced him, a nobleman, in public. He demanded that she be punished with death. The governor complied and ruled that Thekla would face the wild beasts in the arena. Thekla’s only reply was that she be allowed to preserve her virginity unto death. Her wish was granted and she was given into the care of the noblewoman Tryphaena, a relative of Caesar, until the time of punishment.

When Thekla was taken to the arena, a lioness was set free to attack her. But to the astonishment of the crowd, the lioness approached the Saint and sat tamely at her feet. A bear was then released, but as it came close to Thekla the lioness rose up to defend her and killed the bear. A large lion was then released. The lioness again came to Thekla’s defense killing the lion, but losing her own life also. Then all the cages were opened and a large number of wild animals charged at the defenseless Thekla. After crossing herself and praying for courage, the Saint noticed a large tank of water which was nearby, containing the aquatic animals. She climbed into the water, asking that she might be baptized by Christ as she did so. Seeing that the beasts were unable to harm Thekla, Alexander asked that the Saint be given over to him for punishment. He tied her to two large bulls in the hopes that they would pull her asunder. But when the bulls charged off in opposite directions, the ropes which held Thekla to them were miracu­lously loosened and she was spared. Seeing that no harm could be done to Thekla, the authorities released her. She went to the home of Tryphaena where she remained for eight days preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ and converting Tryphaena and her entire household. When she departed from Antioch, Tryphaena gave her a treasure in gold and precious jewels.

After she left Antioch, Thekla journeyed to Myra where she rejoined Paul. She informed him of all that had occurred, including her baptism and asked that she might be permitted to spend the remainder of her life as an ascetic. Paul gave her his blessing and she departed, leaving with Paul all the gold and jewels that Tryphaena had given her so that he might distribute them among the poor and needy.

Thekla then traveled again to Syria where she went up into the moun­tains for a life of prayer and solitude. Many years later a young pagan found her praying in an isolated canyon and resolved to harass her and spoil her virginity. As he approached her and blocked her only exit to safety, she prayed that her Bridegroom would protect her as He had so many times in the past. At that moment the canyon wall was miraculously split allowing her to escape through a narrow crack in the rock.

Saint Thekla continued her life of asceticism and then peacefully fell asleep in Christ at the age of 90. Shortly after her death a community of virgins went to live in her mountain cell, building a small chapel to en­shrine her body. This Convent of Saint Thekla still exists today near the village of Ma‘loula, Syria.

Because of her many sufferings for the Faith the Church counts her as a “Protomartyr”. And because she converted so many people to Christ­ianity she is also know as an “Equal-to-the-Apostles”.

Monastery of St. Thekla, Mar Taqla, Syria

(Excerpts from this source)

His attractive moral make-up won the general affection, of not only the Russian population, but also of the Lithuanians and Poles. On September 14, 1898, Bishop Tikhon was made Bishop of the Aleutians and Alaska. As head of the Orthodox Church in America, Bishop Tikhon was a zealous laborer in the Lord’s vineyard.

He did much to promote the spread of Orthodoxy, and to improve his vast diocese. He reorganized the diocesan structure, and changed its name from “Diocese of the Aleutians and Alaska” to “Diocese of the Aleutians and North America” in 1900. Both clergy and laity loved their archpastor, and held him in such esteem that the Americans made Archbishop Tikhon an honorary citizen of the United States.

On May 22, 1901, he blessed the cornerstone for St Nicholas Cathedral in New York, and was also involved in establishing other churches. On November 9, 1902, he consecrated the church of St Nicholas in Brooklyn for the Syrian Orthodox immigrants. Two weeks later, he consecrated St Nicholas Cathedral in NY.

In 1907, he returned to Russia, and was appointed to Yaroslavl, where he quickly won the affection of his flock. They came to love him as a friendly, communicative, and wise archpastor. He spoke simply to his subordinates, never resorting to a peremptory or overbearing tone. When he had to reprimand someone, he did so in a good-natured, sometimes joking manner, which encouraged the person to correct his mistakes.

When St Tikhon was transferred to Lithuania on December 22, 1913, the people of Yaroslavl voted him an honorary citizen of their town. After his transfer to Vilnius, he did much in terms of material support for various charitable institutions. There too, his generous soul and love of people clearly manifested themselves. World War I broke out when His Eminence was in Vilnius. He spared no effort to help the poor residents of the Vilnius region who were left without a roof over their heads or means of subsistence as a result of the war with the Germans, and who flocked to their archpastor in droves.

On August 15, 1917, a local council was opened in Moscow, and Archbishop Tikhon was raised to the dignity of Metropolitan, and then elected as chairman of the council. The council had as its aim to restore the life of Russian Orthodox Church on strictly canonical principles, and its primary concern was the restoration of the Patriarchate. All council members would select three candidates, and then a lot would reveal the will of God. The council members chose three candidates: Archbishop Anthony of Kharkov, the wisest, Archbishop Arseny of Novgorod, the strictest, and Metropolitan Tikhon of Moscow, the kindest of the Russian hierarchs.

On November 5, following the Divine Liturgy and a Molieben in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, a monk removed one of the three ballots from the ballot box, which stood before the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev announced Metropolitan Tikhon as the newly elected Patriarch. St Tikhon did not change after becoming the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. In accepting the will of the council, Patriarch Tikhon referred to the scroll that the Prophet Ezekiel had to eat, on which was written, “Lamentations, mourning, and woe.” He foresaw that his ministry would be filled with affliction and tears, but through all his suffering, he remained the same accessible, unassuming, and kindly person.

All who met St Tikhon were surprised by his accessibility, simplicity and modesty. His gentle disposition did not prevent him from showing firmness in Church matters, however, particularly when he had to defend the Church from her enemies. He bore a very heavy cross. He had to administer and direct the Church amidst wholesale church disorganization, without auxiliary administrative bodies, in conditions of internal schisms and upheavals by various adherents of the Living Church, renovationists, and autocephalists.

His Holiness, Patriarch Tikhon did much on behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church during the crucial time of the so-called Renovationist schism. He showed himself to be a faithful servant and custodian of the undistorted precepts of the true Orthodox Church. He was the living embodiment of Orthodoxy, which was unconsciously recognized even by enemies of the church, who called its members “Tikhonites.”

When Renovationist priests and hierarchs repented and returned to the church, they were met with tenderness and love by St Tikhon. This, however, did not represent any deviation from his strictly Orthodox policy. “I ask you to believe me that I will not come to agreement or make concessions which could lead to the loss of the purity and strength of Orthodoxy,” the Patriarch said in 1924.

Being a good pastor, who devoted himself entirely to the church’s cause, he called upon the clergy to do the same: “Devote all your energy to preaching the word of God and the truth of Christ, especially today, when unbelief and atheism are audaciously attacking the Church of Christ. May the God of peace and love be with all of you!”

It would be difficult to imagine the Russian Orthodox Church without Patriarch Tikhon during those years. He did so much for the Church and for the strengthening of the Faith itself during those difficult years of trial. Perhaps the saint’s own words can best sum up his life: “May God teach every one of us to strive for His truth, and for the good of the Holy Church, rather than something for our own sake.”

O holy saint of God, pray for us!

By Fr John Palmer (Delivered on August 10)

Last week we celebrated the memory of our Holy and God-bearing Father, Anthony the Roman and in so doing we were reminded that Orthodoxy had at one time been embraced by the West before it was led away into the pride and arrogance of heresy.  According to Saint Justin Popovic, there have been three great Falls in the world’s history: first that of the angels, second that of Judas and third that of the Pope.  And O, brothers and sisters, how great a Fall it was!  For before the Schism the West bore great fruit in all areas of the spiritual life.  It produced great ascetics like Saint John Cassian, and Saint Benedict of Nursia; it produced great hierarchs like Saint Gregory the Great, whose work The Pastoral Rule is unsurpassed in Patristic literature, and Saint Paulinus of Nola, who sold himself into slavery in order to free one of his flock who had been taken captive; it produced great theologians like Saint Hilary of Poitiers and Saint Leo the Great, Popes of Rome, who defended the Orthodox faith during a period when many in the East were wavering; it produced devout rulers like Saint Edward, King of England; and it produced many, many martyrs for the Orthodox faith.  Crowning these is the Saint whose memory we keep today, the Holy, Glorious and Right-victorious Martyr, Laurence the Archdeacon of Rome.

Today, then, in honor of the occasion, we will look briefly at the life of Saint Laurence as it is presented in the Synaxarion, adding here and there some interpretive comments from an encomium written in praise of the martyr by Saint Leo the Great – for anytime we seek to do something as Orthodox we should look for the advice of the Holy Fathers.   

Laurence, through whom – in the words of St Leo: “Rome has become as famous…as Jerusalem was ennobled by Stephen,” lived in Rome during the time of the Emperor Valerian who reigned from 253 to 259.  He lived a devout Christian life and having being found as the Scriptures say, “…a serious man, not double-tongued, nor given to the love of money, and holding the faith with a pure conscience.”  Having been found “blameless”, in other words (1Timothy 3:8-10), he was ordained to the holy diaconate, serving at the Church’s services and managing the Church’s property.  Laurence’s virtue and devotion were noted and he was soon raised to the office of Archdeacon of Rome, meaning that he continued to fulfill the usual responsibilities of a deacon but he did so now on a broader level; instead of serving with a priest in a small community, he now served, as the Synaxarion tells us, with the Pope at Divine Liturgy and administered the entire wealth of the whole Roman Church. 

To serve publicly in the Roman church during this period was to choose death for the faith, for Emperor Valerian was one of the cruelest persecutors of Christianity in Roman history.  It was thus no great surprise when Saint Sixtus – the pope whom Saint Laurence served, and who is also commemorated today – was imprisoned by the Emperor.  Laurence came to visit the Pope in prison and upon seeing him in chains cried out with tears, “Where have you gone, father? Why have you forsaken your archdeacon, with whom you continually offered the Bloodless Sacrifice? Take thy son with thee, that I may be thy companion in having shed blood for Christ!”  Saint Sixtus explained that he has not abandoned Saint Laurence and that they would not be apart for long, prophesying that Laurence would by martyred three days after his own martyrdom.  Before they parted, however, the Pope gave Saint Laurence one last obedience:  he instructed him to go and give the whole of the Roman Church’s money to the poor living in the Roman streets which he immediately did upon leaving.

When Saint Laurence returned he told his bishop that he had done what was asked of him. A guard, however, overheard that money was being discussed and immediately arrested Laurence, knowing that the Emperor was bound by a love of money and would want whatever riches the Church of Rome possessed.  While in prison Laurence cared for many of his fellow prisoners, converting and baptizing many of them.  Even one of the guards, witnessing his pure and Christ-like love, would embrace the Christian religion and seek baptism. 

Saint Laurence before Emperor Valerian

After a short period of time word reached the Emperor that there was a man sitting in prison who held the key to the Roman Church’s wealth and thus he had him brought forth from the prison to question him.  Valerian’s evil was not singular but compound – he did not want the money alone; he was armed with a “double weapon”.  St Leo writes that as Laurence was incomparable in terms of the devotion with which he served the liturgy, but also in terms of the care with which he managed the Church’s property, so Valerian desired not only to for him, “to surrender the sacred treasures,” namely, the Church’s money and likely sacred vessels, but also to “drive him out of the pale of true religion,” in other words cause him to renounce his faith. Valerian’s double vice was met by Saint Laurence’s double virtue. 

First, Valerian asked that the wealth be brought to him. To this Saint Laurence replied that he would need three days to gather it.  Excited, Valerian sent him off.  When the Saint returned, he brought with him all of the city’s poor, as St Leo says, “the many troops of poor saints, in the feeding and clothing of whom he had a store of riches he could not lose, and which were the more entirely safe that the money had been spent on so holy a cause.”   

We are constantly trying to find the safest bank, the best investment, the surest place to put our money.  Where is the surest place in truth?  It is to give it away in almsgiving because the reward we get for this investment is eternal; it is the Kingdom of Heaven.  This cannot be taken away from us by anyone.  Only we can forfeit this reward.  It is in almsgiving that we get the best exchange. 

Hating a “religion which had put riches to such a use,” the Emperor sought, “to pillage a still greater treasure.”  What treasure is this one might ask?  The treasure of a pure confession of faith.  This is greater than any material treasure, for wealth we can live without – though it may aid in our salvation if it is used properly – but the corruption of our faith means our sure perdition.  If we renounce the Gospel, as this has been expressed by the Holy Fathers within the Church, if we renounce the Orthodox tradition, then we are cutting ourselves off from Christ.  We must live in a manner befitting of the Gospel of Christ, but we must also confess the true faith in obedience to the Church which speaks out of an unquestionable experience of Christ, indeed with the very voice of Christ himself.  Valerian thus sought to rob Saint Laurence of his faith through torture.   

Saint Laurence was first tied to a pillar and sliced with spears and knives and then, as if this was not cruel enough, a giant grill was heated up and the Saint was placed upon it and seared.  His torturers then flipped him from front to back in order, “to make the torment fiercer, the death more lingering.”  The tortures accomplished nothing, however, and Laurence maintained his faith until the end when his soul was released from his body.  To this St Leo adds a final word, saying that in Saint Laurence, “The flame of Christ’s love could not be overcome by the flames, and the fire which burnt outside was less keen than that which blazed within.  Thou didst but serve the martyr in thy rage, O persecutor:  thou didst but swell the reward in adding to the pain.”

The life of the martyrs seems so distant from us; we don’t face heavy persecution – though the anti-Christian tide in society is growing – we don’t stare torture in the face on a daily basis, nor do we face death for our belief in Christ as did St Laurence.  And yet the Church is ever projecting their example to us.  Almost daily there is a martyred saint celebrated in the liturgical calendar – I dare say even the most common amongst the ranks of saints are the holy martyrs – and in the Oktoechos or the Paraklitiki – the liturgical book used especially at Vespers and Matins – at least one hymn is dedicated to the martyrs each and every day.  For example we sing the following at Vespers on Tuesday night in the weeks where Tone One is used:  “How good is your trade, O Saints:  you shed blood and gained heaven.  Smitten for a time you rejoice in eternity.  Your trade is good indeed.  By forsaking corruption, you inherited incorruption.” 

Part of the reason for the Church’s emphasis on martyred saints is that the martyrs exemplify the chief of the virtues:  that of love.  Just as a sparrow requires two wings to fly in the sky, so our soul needs two wings to fly towards Paradise: the love of God and the love of neighbor, and according to Saint Leo, “surely in none is this love found more conspicuous and brighter than in the blessed martyrs”. 

The martyrs love God so deeply that they prove willing to abandon all the things of this life in order to preserve their relationship with Christ and it is this same love that we are called to manifest in our own lives.  Saint John Chrysostom writes:  “…it is not just death which creates a martyr, but also the disposition…It is not I, but Paul who gives this definition of martyrdom when he speaks in this way:  ‘I die every day’.  How do you die every day?” (Homily on Saint Eustathius [1]) We die daily by using our love of God to overcome our attraction to the things of this life, to overcome our old man, and to push us towards the life of the commandments and to the undertaking of godly endeavours.  When we get up from the television to say prayers even though we really don’t want to:  this is a bloodless martyrdom.  When we keep the fast even though we are tempted to break it:  this is a bloodless martyrdom.  In these small ways we use the little love we bear for God – just a fraction of the total love embodied in the martyrs – and put our old selves to death.  This is one way in which the example of the martyrs can inspire us. 

There is one other way in which the example of the martyrs ought to speak to us.  Though we don’t face the threat of being put to death for our beliefs, we are in frequent positions to confess our faith – to keep the faith in the face of an atheistic and syncretistic cultural environment.Do we make our cross in public, or are we ashamed?  Do we allow others to blaspheme our Lord and Saviour, the Most Holy Theotokos, the memory of the Saints and say noting?  Saint John Chrysostom says blasphemers ought to fear their own shadows, in case it is a Christian coming up behind them to give them a slap on account of their blasphemy!  How often do we let others – or worse we ourselves – say to non-Orthodox, “We are all the same, anyway!”.  And this when Saint Cyprian of Carthage teaches us that heresy is the one sin that even martyrdom cannot wash away!  This is not to say that we ought always to confront such statements head on, but we must ask ourselves whether our avoiding confrontation comes from discretion or rather from a hesitancy to confess the truth of the Orthodox faith.  Boldness is a part of living the Christian life, something exemplified in Saint Laurence, but forgotten in our life within modern, pluralistic societies. 

Let us, then, encouraged by Saint Laurence’s example, and strengthened by his prayers, live a bloodless martyrdom, putting to death all those things of the old man which still dwell in us, while at the same time putting aside the fear of boldly confessing Christ with our mouths!

Below is a translation I have done – through Gerontissa Macrina’s prayers – concerning the great rewards God has prepared for those who practice patience when confronted with great trials and temptations, and the spiritual exhalation the soul experiences (in this life or in the next) when we abstain from passing judgement, even on those who openly hate and do harm to us.

The passage is from Λόγια Καρδίας (pp. 246-250), a collection of homilies by Abbess Macrina of the Holy Monastery of Panagia Odigitria in Volos, Greece. At this time the book is only available in the Greek language; I hope it will be available in multiple languages in the near future. I read it and my soul soars, such is the power of this holy abbess’ divinely-inspired words. She is a saint like the saints of old: wise in spiritual matters, reverent in every regard and virtuous beyond compare! Words cannot express the effect she has on me, a stranger. And yet reading her words makes me feel as though I am sitting at her feet, learning from her firsthand the art of Christian spiritual struggle. Although I am an unworthy, self-proclaimed “disciple” of this holy abbess I laboured to share with you one of the most spiritually potent passages I have yet come across in her book.

May we have her prayers and her blessing!

Let’s be watchful concerning the matter of passing judgment. Let’s be very watchful concerning passing judgement! It is indescribable how fearful this matter is! “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” Do we safeguard this saying? Even if we don’t have virtues, Christ will save us, He will take us into Paradise if we abstain from judging.

I will tell you something else, again from experience. Once a sister* in the world wanted to say something about me that didn’t happen to me; it was slander. For the glory of Christ I tell you this. Was it a temptation that put her up to it? Was it from hatred? Was it from jealousy that she did it? In any case, I said many, many prayers for her, I mean many prayers. I cried neither for my father, nor for my mother as much as I cried for this sister. With much pain I cried and I said: “My God, save me, help me, give me strength.” The prophet David said: “Deliver me from the slander of men and I will keep thy commandments” (Ps. 119: 134). I felt a great deal of pain inside.

I saw her coming to me in a vision. Her face had two indentations on account of her tears. It was so real! In the indentations she had clots of perspiration. Her whole face was covered in perspiration and black from suffering and fatigue. She had a sack on her back, too heavy to be lifted. And as soon as I saw her, I wanted to go and help her, to lift the weight from below, but it was like a stone wall and the weight lay there immovable. I said to her: “You are tired!”

“Yes, I am tired of lifting this weight!” she said. It was a stone like the porters used to carry on their backs a long time ago.

She said to me, “This evening is the Queen’s reception and she wants you to go.”

“The Queen wants me?” I asked.

Gerontissa Theophano and Gerontissa Macina

And suddenly a vehicle arrived, not like any carriage or car, it was very different, and Gerontissa Theophano was sitting inside. She looked like a young child, like a young lady of fifteen years. She said: “Come, the Queen will have us at the reception this evening.”

I made the sign of the cross and I got into the vehicle. We proceeded to a beautiful turnpike. I saw a church in front of us – it was like looking at the church of Panagia in Tinos – such a nice church; it was bright, resplendent! I made the sign of the cross as I passed by. Across the way, toward the east, was what seemed to be a palace. The door to the palace was huge, just as doors are in large buildings. There in the middle of the doorway was the Queen, who, from her neck up I couldn’t see on account of the light of her face, because she was shining so brightly. I saw her resplendent sandals; she wore a feloni** and vest, each had two inches of piping embroidered around them.

Two lines were configured in front of her: one line with children who were wearing lace and ribbon in their hair, dressed just as the angels are, while the other line seemed to be composed of widows***, as though they were nuns, wearing monastic clothing, just like we wear.

I started toward the nuns and they told me it wasn’t my turn yet, I would go when it was my turn. Suddenly I heard chanting, “This is the day of the Resurrection, let us be radiant…” And the Queen began to say, “Come martyrs to the platform, come great-martyrs!” They were taking her blessing and going to the platform. From within the palace was heard, “This is the day of the Resurrection…”

When I approached, I took the hand of the Queen: her slender hand, those nails, that gentle hand has been imprinted on my soul. Padding me on the back she said, “Patience, patience, patience.” Then she addressed one of her maids of honour: “Escort Maria**** to the royal garden.”

I paused for a moment to see where they were chanting “This is the day of the resurrection”. And I saw that inside the palace a banquet was laid out with very beautiful white tablecloths. What could you desire that the banquet didn’t have!

I lingered to listen and the maid took me by the hand and said, “That is for the martyrs, those who endured great temptations” and she gave me to understand that patience is needed. Afterward she took me to the royal garden, and I saw a vast place which had something like lilies, the brown lily had a cross. Just as the wind blew, so the lilies swayed. A vast place: green, beautiful, enchanted! Within this beautiful exhalation which I found myself, the sorrow in my soul fled, and pleasantness and joy came!

In the morning I went and found this sister who had slandered me, and hugged and kissed her. I didn’t know what to do for her; I didn’t know how to thank her for the false words she had said, I really didn’t know.

This experience stayed in my soul and from that time I have kept the commandment of God: judge not, so as not to be judged – even if I see the act committed in front of me, whatever I happen to see in front of me.

That which I saw in the vision stirred me and left me such comfort. I forgot everything. A purity entered into my nous, a passionlessness, a peacefulness, a heavenly thing entered my soul and I didn’t know how to thank that sister who was the cause of such good.

And I say what a good thing it is for someone to be patient! For this reason the Queen said, “Come martyrs of Christ, come great-martyrs of Christ, enter into the platform…” How can I have the boldness to touch such a banquet? It was the banquet for the martyrs who had struggled, who had endured martyrdom and for whom God had prepared greatness!

*Although Gerontissa calls this woman “sister” it seems that she was a laywoman.

**A feloni (φελόνι) is a chasuble, which in its origin was a traveling garment in the late Roman Empire. It is like a poncho, a circular garment with a hole in the middle for the head.    

***It is a tradition in Greece for widows to wear black headscarfs and dress.

****Gerontissa Macrina’s name before monastic tonsure was Maria.

This icon of St. Martin of Tours is housed in the catholicon at the Holy Hermitage of the Annunciation in New Germany, Nova Scotia.

(Source)

Saint Martin the Merciful, Bishop of Tours, was born at Sabaria in Pannonia (modern Hungary) in 316. Since his father was a Roman officer, he also was obliged to serve in the army. Martin did so unwillingly, for he considered himself a soldier of Christ, though he was still a catechumen.

At the gates of Amiens, he saw a beggar shivering in the severe winter cold, so he cut his cloak in two and gave half to the beggar. That night, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to the saint wearing Martin’s cloak. He heard the Savior say to the angels surrounding Him, “Martin is only a catechumen, but he has clothed Me with this garment.” The saint was baptized soon after this, and reluctantly remained in the army.

Let us praise the all-lauded and noble bride of Christ,

the godly Catherine, the guardian of Sinai and its defense,

who is also our support and succour and our help;

for with the Holy Spirit’s sword

she hath silenced brilliantly the clever among the godless;

and being crowned as a martyr, she now doth ask great mercy for us all.

(Source)

Many years and Kalo Paradiso (Good Paradise) to all the “Catherines” out there (especially my sister and sister-in-law: may you have St. Catherine’s blessing now and always!)

Catherine’s mother, a secret Christian, sent her to her own spiritual Father, a saintly Elder living in a cave outside the city, for advice. After listening to Catherine, the Elder said that he knew of a Youth who surpassed her in everything. “His countenance is more radiant than the shining of the sun, and all of creation is governed by His wisdom. His riches are given to all the nations of the world, yet they never diminish. His compassion is unequaled.”

This description of the Heavenly Bridegroom produced in the soul of the holy maiden an ardent desire to see Him. “If you do as I tell you,” said the monk, “you will gaze upon the countenance of this illustrious man.” In parting, the Elder handed Catherine an icon of the Theotokos with the divine Child Jesus on Her arm and told her to pray with faith to the Queen of Heaven, the Mother of the Heavenly Bridegroom, and She would hear Catherine and grant her heart’s desire.

Catherine prayed all night and was permitted to see the Most Holy Virgin, Who said Her Divine Son, “Behold Thy handmaiden Catherine, how fair and virtuous she is.” But the Child turned His face away from her saying, “No, she is ugly and unbelieving. She is a foolish pauper, and I cannot bear to look at her until she forsakes her impiety.”

Catherine returned again to the Elder deeply saddened, and told him what she had seen in the dream. He lovingly received her, instructed her in the faith of Christ, admonished her to preserve her purity and integrity and to pray unceasingly. She then received the Mystery of holy Baptism from him. Again St Catherine had a vision of the Most Holy Theotokos with Her Child. Now the Lord looked tenderly at her and gave her a beautiful ring, a wondrous token of her betrothal to the Heavenly Bridegroom (This ring is still on her hand).

The Orthodox Church has recognized Archimandrite Porphyrios as the SAINT he is!

See the Greek announcement from the Ecumenical Patriarchate here. An English announcement can be seen here.

I’m so happy at this announcement that I’m crying! I love St. Porphyrios SO much. His book Wounded by Love changed my Christian worldview!

I have run to the fragrance of your myrrh, O Christ God,

For I have been wounded by your love;

do not part from me, O heavenly Bridegroom.

His feast day will be December 2, which is Monday, so we can all celebrate his feast day together! I can’t wait to read services to him (once they’re written/ translated)!

Holy St. Porphyrios pray to God for us!

A drawing of Parthena (Nun Efpraxia), 2007.

(Excerpt from Elder Arsenios the Cave-Dweller, p. 38-39)

[Elder Arsenios'] like-minded sister, Parthena, was also tonsured a rassofore nun at the young age of 16, at the Holy Monastery of the Protection of God at Pontos, and renamed Efpraxia. Aflame with divine zeal, she also reached the sacred holy sites of Palestine and met up with her brother, Anastasios [Elder Arsenios' pre-tonsure name], who arranged for her stay at the female cenobitic monasteries.

Parthena, the little sister of Anastasios, was not lacking in zeal or virtue. From many amazing incidents, I will mention only one from her first steps in monasticism. As her parents were from Pontos, they mainly spoke Turkish and knew a little Pontian. When they migrated to Russia, long before she followed the example of her brother. So she went to the Holy Monastery of the Protection of God at Pontos.

There, however, she couldn’t speak Greek nor even understand anything from the church services. This made her very upset. One night, she saw someone in her dream who asked: “Why, my child, are you so upset?”

“You see, Elder, I don’t know how to speak, nor to read, nor to write, nor to chant.”

“Don’t worry, my child. I will give you medicine for it.”

He opened her mouth and put inside something like a lolly. She ate it and woke up. Well, from that moment, her mind was and to understand, indeed very clearly, the meanings in the liturgical books.

(Source)

Why do you refuse to imitate the holy men and women of old? Tell me! Especially you mothers; think of Hannah’s example; look at what she did. She brought Samuel, her only son, to the temple, when he was only an infant! Who among you would not rather have a son like Samuel than one who became king of the whole world ten thousand times over? But it is impossible, you say, for my son ever to become as great as he. Why is it impossible? Because you do not really want it; you will not entrust him to the One who is able to make him great. And who is that? God. Hannah commended Samuel into the hands of God. The high priest Eli had no real ability to form him, since he even failed to form his own children. It was the mothers faith and zeal that made everything possible. He was her first and only child. She did not know if she would ever have another, yet she never said, I will wait until he grows up; he should have a taste of worldly pleasures, during his childhood at least. No; she rejected all these thoughts, for she had only one object: how from the very beginning she could dedicate her hearts delight to God.

Be ashamed, you men, at the wisdom of this woman. She gave Samuel to God, and with God she left him, and thus her marriage was blessed more than ever, because her first concern was for spiritual things. She dedicated the first-fruits of her womb to God and obtained many more children in return. She saw Samuel honored even in this life. If men return honor for honor, will not God do much more? He gives so much even to those who do not honor Him at all! How long are we to be mere lumps of flesh? How long will we cling to the ground? Let everything take second place to our care for our children, our bringing them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

If from the beginning we teach them to love true worship, they will have greater wealth and glory than riches can provide. If a child learns a trade, or is highly educated for a lucrative profession all this is nothing compared to the art of detachment from riches; if you want to make your child rich, teach him this. He is truly rich who does not desire great possessions or surround himself with wealth, but who requires nothing.

I don’t understand the Romanian, but the images in this video are amazing.

May we have his blessing!