Homilies on the Great Litany of the Divine Liturgy - The Sacred Temple (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 Homilies on the Great Litany of the Divine Liturgy

The Sacred Church

Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

During the Great Litany, as the prayer to God is called at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy, after the petition for peace, we also pray for the Sacred Temple in which the Divine Eucharist is celebrated. "For this holy house and those who enter it with faith, reverence and the fear of God, let us pray to the Lord", that is, let us pray for this Holy Temple and for those who entered it with faith, reverence and fear of God.

The Sacred Temple is the place where the members of the Church gather to pray to God and to perform the Sacred Mysteries, especially the great Mystery of the Divine Eucharist. It is called a Temple because God dwells there, in the sense that in this space the energy of God is manifested.

Saint Paisios the Athonite Answers Various Objections of Those Who Prefer to Pray at Home Rather Than Go to Church

A certain nun had the following conversation with Elder Paisios the Athonite:

"Elder, sometimes I feel the need to stay in the cell and do spiritual work rather than go to a Service."
 
"What will be done in the Service, can it be done at another time? It cannot be done. While what you will do in the cell, it can be done another time."
 
"In church, Elder, I do not always feel the alteration I feel in the cell."
 

The Funeral of a Dead Church

 

 

 

By Abbot Parthenios,
Monastery of Saint Paul, Mount Athos

A zealous pastor took over a new parish. But every Sunday and feast, his church remained almost empty. Despite all the recommendations and motivations he gave his parishioners, he failed to get them to attend church.

Saddened by this situation, the following trick was devised: He announced to the whole parish that the funeral of the church would take place next Sunday.

What Saint Andrew the Fool Once Saw When He Went To Church

Andrew's Vision of the Demons at Work During the Divine Service

When the righteous man had given this advice, they stood up and entered the church. The reading began and Epiphanios sat down on one of the benches, while the blessed Andrew sat down on the floor like one of the poor, his body covered by a cheap rag. When those present noticed him sitting on the floor they wondered, "What happened to this demoniac, since he has come in here?" And some said, "Perhaps for a moment he was relieved from the evil spirit that disturbs his mind." Others said, "He happened to pass by and went in to see as if it were an ordinary house, for how could he know that this is a church? May the Lord punish similarly the one who did this to him!"

When Saint Iakovos Tsalikes Chose Not to Attend Holy Week and Easter Services

By Archimandrite Gabriel,

Abbot of the Monastery of the Venerable David in Evia

When Iakovos [1920-1991] was a soldier in the army he was just as devout as he was before. He maintained his faith, his prayers, his love for others, and his obedience to his superiors. This is why he was liked by his superiors, by his commander, and by the Lieutenant Colonel Polykarpos Zoes. Of course, as was often the case, his fellow soldiers teased him and scorned him, but he treated them with love, joy and patience.

Homily on the Tenth Eothinon Gospel - John 21:1-14

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

Today's Eothinon Gospel that was read in the Matins Service refers to the third appearance of Christ to His disciples, as presented by the Evangelist John. The first appearance was in the evening of the first day, the second appearance was the following Sunday when Thomas was also present, and the third appearance is what we read today along the shore of the Sea of Tiberius.

A group of disciples, specifically seven disciples, went fishing. The disciples however were unable to catch any fish, even though they were there all night. Then at dawn, Christ appeared on land and asked them if they had anything to eat. When they responded in the negative, He urged them to drop their nets on the right side of the ship. Obeying this they caught many fish, which they later counted to be one hundred and fifty-three. With this they understood that the man was Christ. This is an incident that shows Christ manifesting Himself. We can say it was a small transfiguration. The first to understand was John, who told it to Peter who in turn wrapped his outer garment around himself and began to swim in the water to meet Christ.

Miracles of Saint Basil of Ostrog (5 of 5)

...continued from part four.

THE VISION OF THE ITALIAN GUARDS

Maksim Jovovic wrote down the story in 1959:

“In the village of Zupci, near Bar, people still talk of the incident that happened to some Italian guards in the World War II.

It took place one dark night in 1942 when the occupying Italian army was guarding its positions at Ribnjak, in a church dedicated to St. Basil of Ostrog which was had been by King Nikola.

As the Italian soldiers were building a fire in the church and preparing their supper, suddenly the entire church was bathed in a strange light. A white-bearded Elder clad in the robes of an Orthodox Bishop appeared before them.

He ordered them sternly to clean up the church and leave at once. The church went dark and the elder disappeared in the darkness. The soldiers were filled with fright and ran out of the church and all the way down to the foot of the hill. They prepared their supper there and would not on any account ever eat and prepare food in the church again.

One day one of the Italian guards saw an icon of St. Basil of Ostrog in the home of a local family. He said: 'This is exactly what the Bishop who turned us out of the church looked like!'"

A Christian Without Church Attendance...

"A Christian without church attendance, without prayer, without confession, without Holy Communion is an unfenced vineyard, where at any moment the door is open for thieves to come in, namely the demons, to thrash it."

- Elder Haralambos Dionysiatis

An Exhortation on Attending Church

By St. John Chrysostom

Churches Are Spiritual Ports

Churches resemble ports in the ocean, which God has placed in cities — spiritual ports, wherein whoever of us takes refuge finds indescribable calmness of soul, made dizzy from worldly business. And precisely as a calm and waveless port offers safety to the boats docked there, so also the Church saves from the storm of earthly cares whoever hastens to it, and grants the believers to stand securely and listen to the word of God with great calmness.

The Church is the foundation of virtue and the school of spiritual life. Just cross its threshold at any time, and immediately you forget daily cares. Pass inside, and a spiritual ray will surround your soul. This stillness causes awe and teaches the Christian life. It raises up your train of thought and doesn’t allow you to remember present things. It transports you from earth to Heaven. And if the gain is so great when a worship service is not even taking place, just think, when the Liturgy is performed — and the prophets teach, the Apostles preach the Gospel, Christ is among the believers, God the Father accepts the performed sacrifice, and the Holy Spirit grants His own rejoicing — what great benefit floods those who have attended church as they leave the church.

The joy of anyone who rejoices is preserved in the Church. The gladness of the embittered, the rejoicing of the saddened, the refreshment of the tortured, the comfort of the tired, all are found in the Church. Because Christ says, “Come to me, all who are tired and heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). What is more longed for than [to hear] this Voice? What sweeter than this invitation? The Lord is calling you to a Banquet when He invites you to church. He urges you to be comforted from toils and He transports you to a place of comfort from pain, because He lightens you from the burden of sins. He heals distress with spiritual enjoyment, and sadness with joy.

Homily One for the Entrance of the Theotokos (St. John of Kronstadt)

 

By St. John of Kronstadt

Let us faithfully praise the Virgin Mary,

for she is brought into the Holy of Holies,

to be raised in the Lord.

Oikos from Matins

On this day, my brethren, the holy Church celebrates the solemn Entry into the temple in Jerusalem of the three-year-old child, Mary—the blessed daughter of righteous parents, Joachim and Anna—to be in instructed in the Lord. Zacharias—the elder and high priest—meets her with priestly splendor; and as he was instructed to do by the Spirit of God, he brings her, accompanied by young maidens, into the most interior part of the temple, the Holy of Holies, where the high priest himself enters but once a year, and where the Holy of Holies, the Lord Himself dwelt—for she was to become the Mother of His flesh.

The Importance of Attending Church

By Elder Teofil Paraian

I insist on everyone to go to, if not every service, at least to the Divine Liturgy. And if someone happens to not go to the Divine Liturgy, I do not even sit down and talk with them. Because I have nothing to say to them. 

For example: 

When I asked someone what he does at the time he should be in church, he replied: "I watch television."

Saint Romanos the Melodist as a Model for our Lives

St. Romanos the Melodist (Feast Day - October 1)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

Saint Romanos the Melodist lived in the sixth, or according to others the eighth, century. He was ordained a Deacon in Beirut and then went to Constantinople, where he served in the Sacred Church of the Theotokos in Kyros, but participated in all-night vigils which were often done in the Sacred Church of the Panagia of Blachernae. He constantly supplicated the Panagia for the gift to compose hymns, because he really wanted to do this work but was unable. During the overnight service on the eve of Christmas, at the moment when the Canons of the feast are read, he fell asleep for a bit and saw the Panagia in his dream who, after greeting him, gave him a scroll of paper and told him to eat it. When he woke up he felt great sweetness in his mouth and unspeakable joy, because he realized he was given the gift to compose hymns. Therefore, full of divine inspiration, he began to recite the Kontakion which he composed at that moment for the feast of Christmas, the well-known "Today the Virgin". He served with zeal the work of hymnography and mainly composed Kontakia. The Kontakion of every feast is read before the Synaxarion.

Saint Romanos the Melodist was "perfected in peace". His life and times give us the opportunity to emphasize the following:

First, Saint Romanos, as indeed all the Saints, was a lover of services. That is, he loved to participate in the services of the Church, both during the day and at night, and primarily the Divine Liturgy, which is the center of all the Mysteries, since all the Mysteries take place in order for us to participate in the Divine Eucharist. At Mount Athos, as well as many other Orthodox Monasteries, the Divine Liturgy is performed daily and all-night services take place often, especially during celebrations and great feasts.

The readings, hymns and general atmosphere created with the performance of Sacred Services, and especially during the Divine Liturgy, creates devoutness and a prayerful mood. Analogous to each ones receptivity, the Grace of God acts in their existence, resulting in the pacification of the heart, which repels sadness and despair within and showers us with divine consolation. "The consolation from hymns produces a state of soul that is cheerful and free of sorrow" (Basil the Great).

A contemporary Elder said, regarding our participation in the worship of the Church, among other things the following:

"An Orthodox Christian must necessarily attend church, to participate in the Divine Liturgy by following the priest and chanters, and to pray especially at the time when the officiator says: 'Thine own of Thine own'. At that moment the heavens open and the Holy Spirit comes and changes the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. It is the most important moment of the Divine Liturgy. Also, when the priest emerges holding the Holy Things, during the so-called Great Entrance, and he commemorates the living and dead, we should also pray at that moment.... By going to church we receive the strength to continue our struggle during the new week. Just as the body has need for rest, so also the soul needs to renew her strength. This renewal can only be found near God. How can we nurture our soul if we don't go to church?"

Second, Saint Romanos, as we saw above, received by means of a dream the gift of hymnography. "A dream," according to Saint John of Sinai, the author of The Ladder, "is a movement of the mind while the body is at rest." Dreams sent from God were seen by other Saints, but in accordance with the teachings of the Orthodox Church we must not believe in dreams, because the devil, by means of dreams, led many people into delusion and danger, since many times he transforms himself into "an angel of light", in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Saint John Climacus stresses that "he who believes in dreams is like a person running after his own shadow and trying to catch it."

Saints have the ability to discern, according to their spiritual experience, when a dream comes from God and when it comes from the devil, but they still do not give importance to dreams, but they leave it to the judgement of illumined spiritual fathers and ask their opinion for their confirmation. When one is humble they are not willing to accept their dreams come from God, because they believe they are unworthy of this, and no matter what they seek the advice of their spiritual father.

But there are also dreams which, according to Basil the Great, are associated with the cares of the day, and he therefore advises: "Let not night herself be all, as it were, the special and peculiar property of sleep. Let not half your life be useless through the senselessness of slumber. Divide the time of night between sleep and prayer. Yes, let your slumbers be themselves experiences in piety; for it is only natural that our sleeping dreams should be for the most part echoes of the anxieties of the day. As have been our conduct and pursuits, so will inevitably be our dreams."

Participation in the worship of the Church draws the soul to uncreated Divine Grace, which empowers the believer in their daily struggle; and obedience to a spiritual father, moreover, shields us from error.

Source: Ekklesiastiki Paremvasi, "Ρωμανός ο Μελωδός Ο ποιητής των Κοντακίων", October 2009. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

On Leaving Church Early

By St. John the Prophet

Question 736: If one enters the church during the time of liturgy and leaves before the end, is this a sin?

Response: What is perfect and pleasing to God is for the person entering the church to hear the Scriptures and remain in the liturgy until the very end. For unless there is good reason, one should not leave before the end; for this is scornful. If some need presents itself, then that person has permission to leave early. However, even then, such a person should not justify oneself, but ask forgiveness from God, saying: "Master, forgive me; for, I was not able to stay."

From The Letters of Saints Barsanuphios and John; translated by John Chryssavgis.