What Does the Christmas Message "Peace on Earth" of the Angelic Hymn of Bethlehem Really Mean?

By Archimandrite Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

Few passages of Holy Scripture have been so bitterly misinterpreted as Luke 2:14.

It is about the Hymn that was sung by the Angels during the most divine night of the birth in the flesh of the Eternal Word of God, the Lord Jesus.

This misinterpretation by many Orthodox is certainly not willful and intentional (only heretics misinterpret willfully), but is due to the all around ignorance of the meaning of Holy Scripture. As a result of this ignorance, every year on Christmas day we hear sermons or read publications of many teachers of the Gospel of our Church, clergy and laity, being rejected because the wars have not yet ended and the weapons have not been abolished and the peace of the Angelic Hymn has not yet prevailed on earth.

The Reconciliation of Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Epiphanios of Salamis

 

Archbishop Theophilos of Alexandria was the enemy of Archbishop John Chrysostom of Constantinople. Bishop Epiphanios of Salamis, an enemy of Origenism, was told by Archbishop Theophilos that Archbishop John was harboring Origenist fugitives. Epiphanios traveled to Constantinople and conspired to discredit John and cast doubts on his leadership, while John did his best to accommodate his elderly colleague from Cyprus, not knowing he had been duped by Theophilos. Their differences, however, were irreconcilable. In the end, each bishop wished a dubious fate for the other, both of which came true: Epiphanios died on his journey home, and John was deposed twice and died in exile.

Saint Kallinikos of Edessa and His Acquaintance With Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos and Saint Paisios the Athonite

Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos writes the following regarding the acquaintance of Saint Kallinikos of Edessa with Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos:

My acquaintance with the late Fr. Epiphanios was made through my Elder the Metropolitan of Edessa, Pella and Almopia, Kallinikos.

They had been acquainted even while they were laymen, and were associated with an undisturbed personal friendship that was expressed in a variety of ways.

They talked on the phone every day and exchanged many thoughts on current ecclesiastical and social issues.

Fifth Sunday of Great Lent - Sunday of Saint Mary of Egypt (Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos)

 

By Archimandrite Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

On this day we honor the memory of our Venerable Mother Mary of Egypt, who is celebrated on the 1st of April. As the Horologion says: "It was also established for today, as we approach the end of Holy Lent, to arouse the idle and sinful towards repentance, having as an example the celebrated Saint." From this same book we record the following about this holy woman.

Fourth Sunday of Great Lent - Sunday of Saint John Climacus (Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos)

By Archimandrite Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

On this day we celebrate the memory of Saint John, the author of the Ladder.

Regarding him the Horologion says:

"He was born in Palestine around 523. From an early age he was given over to asceticism. He was made abbot of the Monastery at Mount Sinai. Thirty discourses were authored by him regarding the virtues; upon acquiring each virtue one progresses from praxis to theoria, with man ascending each step to heavenly heights, which is why this book is called Ladder of the virtues. He died in 603 at the age of eighty."

Third Sunday of Great Lent - Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross (Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos)

 

By Archimandrite Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

On the Third Sunday of Great Lent our Church sets before us the veneration of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross. For what reason? See what the Horologion says:

"Every work of labor has great difficulty, but the size of its difficulty appears in the middle of it; for the labor that wears you down brings weakness, and weakness makes the rest of the work harder. Because we also, by divine grace, have arrived at about the middle of the fast, and weakness has surrounded us and the difficulty has increased, for this reason our holy Mother, the Church of Christ, sets before us as a most-mighty aid the all-holy Cross, the joy of the world, the strength of the faithful, the support of the righteous and the hope of sinners; so that we being broken may reverently receive grace and strength to complete the divine struggle of the fast."

Second Sunday of Great Lent - Sunday of Saint Gregory Palamas (Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos)

By Archimandrite Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

On this day is celebrated the memory of our Holy Father Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessaloniki. The Horologion says this about him:

"This divine father was from Asia Minor, and as a child he was raised in the royal court of Constantinople, where he was educated in both our own and in secular wisdom. After this, while still a youth, he abandoned the imperial court and went to live on the Holy Mountain of Athos and in a skete of Beroea. He spent some time in Thessaloniki to treat an illness brought on by his rigorous lifestyle. In Constantinople he attended a synod that had convened in 1341 against Barlaam the Calabrian and in 1347 against Akindynos who was like-minded to him, where he bravely contested on behalf of the correctness of the doctrines of Christ's Eastern Church. In 1349 he was appointed Metropolitan of Thessaloniki, and he shepherded this flock in an apostolic manner for 13 years. Having lived a total of 63 years in which he wrote many things, he departed to the Lord. His sacred relic is preserved in the metropolis of Thessaloniki, and his Service of Praise was composed by Philotheos the Patriarch in the year 1368, at which time his feast was established for this day."

First Sunday of the Great Fast - Sunday of Orthodoxy (Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos)

 By Archimandrite Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

The first Sunday of Great Lent is called the "First Sunday of the Fast" or the "Sunday of Orthodoxy". It is called the First Sunday of the Fast because it is the first Sunday of the Great Fast, namely Great Lent. It is called the Sunday of Orthodoxy because on this day we celebrate the restoration of Holy Icons and the Triumph of the Orthodox Faith against the terrible heresy of the Iconoclasts, who were heretics that did not accept ascribing honor to Holy Icons, instead calling this honor "idolatry".

Clean Week - The First Week of Great Lent (Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos)

 By Archimandrite Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

Holy and Great Lent begins on the day after Cheesefare Sunday. This period is a period of strict fasting, prolonged sacred Services and of general spiritual meditation. During this period not even marriages take place nor any other joyful events. The fasting of Great Lent is most ancient. The divine Chrysostom says that the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod "in assembling together established forty days of fasting, prayer, listening to sacred sermons, worship gatherings, so that during these days we would all with diligence be cleansed, and through prayer and almsgiving and fasting and vigils and tears and confession and by all other means, so that with a clean conscience, as much as it is possible for us," we can celebrate the holy days of the Passion and the Resurrection of the Lord, approaching the Holy Mysteries, which the Lord delivered to us precisely for these days. We fast therefore, says the same Holy Father, "not for Easter nor for the Cross, but for our own sins."

Cheesefare Sunday (Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos)

By Archimandrite Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

 

Cheesefare Sunday received it's name because on it, like the previous week, we do not eat meat, but only dairy products, such as milk, cheese, etc., as well as eggs and fish.

Many find this rule of the Church to be "unreasonable", saying: "How is milk of a lamb allowed but not the meat of the lamb, since milk is produced by the lamb? How are eggs allowed and not chicken, since the first are produced by the second?"

Of course these people would have a point, if we maintained that the meat of the lamb or fowl was tainted and for this reason we do not eat it. Then we should not eat what is produced by them, since these also would be tainted. But through our Church no food is tainted. This is what is taught by the Apostle Paul in his First Epistle to Timothy (4:3-5). Rather the Church simply divides food into greater or lesser consumption towards self-restraint and, at certain times, allows the one and forbids the other.

Meatfare Sunday (Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos)

 

By Archimandrite Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

The third week of the Triodion begins with "Meatfare Sunday". It is called this, because after this Sunday we do not partake of meat. Meatfare Sunday is the last day we can eat meat. From this day forward until Easter the consuming of meat is forbidden, unless of course someone is ill.

On this day the Church brings before our memory the fearsome Second Coming of the Lord.

Saturday of Souls (Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos)

 

By Archimandrite Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

The Saturday after the Sunday of the Prodigal Son is called the "Saturday of Souls" or "Souls Saturday", because on it the the holy Church performs memorials on behalf of the reposed. From the Horologion of the Church, we copy the following:

"From the Apostolic Constitutions (Bk. 8, Ch. 42) the Church of Christ received the custom to perform the so-called third and ninth and fortieth and so forth memorials for the reposed. This is because many over time have died prematurely, or abroad, or at sea, or on mountains, or on cliffs, or by poverty and thus did not have the honor of such a prescribed memorial. For this reason the divine Fathers, moved by their philanthropy, set forth today as a common memorial of all those who throughout the ages died as pious Christians, so that those few who happened to not have memorials may be included in this common one.

Sunday of the Prodigal Son (Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos)

 

By Archimandrite Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

The second week of the Triodion begins with the "Sunday of the Prodigal Son". It is called this, because on it the Church brings before us the parable of our Lord regarding the "Prodigal Son". We all know it: It speaks of a rich young man who left his paternal home and went to a distant country. Their he squandered his property in prodigality, to the point where he had to graze pigs. At that point he repented, and he returned to his father, who accepted him with infinite love and affection.

Again, we record what the Horologion of our Church says:

"The Savior presented to us three things through this parable of the Gospel - the state of the sinner, the canon of repentance and the grandeur of divine compassion. It was placed here by the divine Fathers, after the Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee, to also instruct us, to see in the person of the prodigal our own wretched state, in as much as we roll around in our sins, in as much as we find ourselves to be far from God and His Mysteries, and finally coming to our senses, we hasten our return to Him through repentance, even during these holy days of the fast.

And something else. Because we have spent our time in these many and great acts of iniquity, frequently we come to despair, thinking that there is no forgiveness for them, and in our hopelessness we fall back into them every day and sometimes even worse than before. For this reason the divine Fathers, with the purpose of uprooting the passion of despair from our hearts, and in order to encourage us, and excite us towards acts of virtue, they prescribed this parable as we are at the brink of fasting, showing us the philanthropy and most good compassion of God through the story of the prodigal, and that there is no sin, no matter how greatly we are under it, that is able to ever defeat his philanthropic judgment."

On this day our Church invites us to chant to our Heavenly Father:

"O Father, foolishly I ran away from Your glory, and in sin, squandered the riches You gave me. Wherefore, I cry out to You with the voice of the Prodigal, I have sinned before You Compassionate Father. Receive me in repentance and take me as one of Your hired servants."

The Parable of the Prodigal Son is inexhaustible in meanings. It would not be too much to say that the whole work of the Divine Economy is in it.

My brethren! On the day of the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, we all celebrate. We all have our feast. All without exception! All of us are prodigal sons, who have removed ourselves from the House of our Heavenly Father, and destroyed in our sins His gifts. Let us return therefore in repentance to the divine Embrace of our Father, and let us cry:

"Good Father, I have gone far from You, but do not forsake me, nor declare me unfit for Your Kingdom. The all-evil enemy has stripped me naked and taken all my wealth. I have squandered like the prodigal the graces given to my soul. But now I have arisen and returned, and I cry aloud to You: Make me as one of Your hired servants, You who for my sake stretched out Your spotless hands on the Cross, to snatch me from the fearsome beast and to clothe me once again in the first robe, for You alone are full of mercy."

Source: From the book Περίοδος Τριωδίου. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

 

 

Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee (Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos)

By Archimandrite Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

As we said, the period of the Triodion includes first of all, as an arena of pre-preparation, the three weeks preceding Great Lent. The first week of the Triodion is the week that begins with the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee. On this day our Church brings before us the relevant parable of our Lord, which speaks of the prayers made by the "righteous" Pharisee and the sinful Publican. The prayer of the first was not accepted by God, due to the pride of the Pharisee, while the prayer of the second was heard, due to the humility which was shown by the sinful Publican.

What is the Triodion? (Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos)

By Archimandrite Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

Our ecclesiastical calendar not only includes immovable feasts, such as, for example, that of Basil the Great (January 1st) or the Dormition of the Theotokos (August 15th) or Christmas (December 25th), and so forth, but it also includes movable feasts which are not celebrated on certain and stable dates, but on different dates each year. This is because the whole cycle of these feasts depend on Holy Easter. But Easter is a movable feast. Our Church has decreed, through the First Ecumenical Synod, that it is to be celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon of the spring equinox. An "equinox" is the time point at which daytime is equal to nighttime. We have two equinoxes: in the Spring we have the spring equinox and in the Autumn we have the autumn equinox. The first is on the 21st of March and the second is on the 23rd of September. Because the full moon of the spring equinox is not fixed, which means that it does not always fall on the same date, for this reason Easter is celebrated on different dates each year. Since Easter is a movable feast, it is natural that all the feasts that depend on it are also movable. These feasts consist of two cycles: the cycle of the Triodion and the cycle of the Pentecostarion. Regarding the Pentecostarion, we will speak, God willing, another time; today we will speak about the Triodion.

Sunday of Holy Pascha (Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos)

By Archimandrite Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

The "feast of feasts and celebration of celebrations" has dawned, the great and glorious day of Pascha. The word "Pascha" is a Hebrew word which means "to pass over". When the Angel killed the firstborn of the Egyptians, he passed over the homes of the Hebrews, without entering within and killing the children of the Hebrews, being prevented from doing so by the blood of the sacrificial lamb which they painted on their lintels and door posts. The Hebrews celebrate Passover in memory of this event, as well as the event of the wondrous passing over of the Red Sea and their salvation from bondage under Pharaoh. But these events were at the same time a type with another higher meaning. Egypt signifies sin, while the tyrant Pharaoh signifies the devil. Our Lord, the Lamb of God, came down from heaven to earth and was crucified and buried and rose again, saving us from the land of our bitter bondage and bringing us to the "pasture of abundant flowers" of the spiritual life, and crushed our enemy the devil. This is the passing over we celebrate today. The passing over from the guilt of sin to justification, from the works of darkness to virtue, from the curse to the blessing, from corruption to incorruption, from death to life, from earth to heaven; therefore, "let us praise the Lord, for by glorifying Him we are glorified".

Holy and Great Saturday (Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos)

By Archimandrite Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

On Great Saturday we celebrate the entombment of the Lord by Joseph and Nicodemus, as well as His descent into the dark kingdom of Hades. When the Lord died, as a man, and His Soul was separated from His Body, then His Body, from which the Divinity of the Lord did not separate, was placed in a tomb; while His Soul, also united to His Divinity, descended into Hades, and conquered it, liberating those souls which were kept there. On the third day His Soul was united again with His Body and His Body rose from the dead. Therefore both Hades and Death were conquered. Hades was conquered by the Soul of the Lord, and Death by His Body, for the two were not alone, but united with His Divinity. This Soul and this Body were not the soul and body of a common dead person, but the Soul and Body of God incarnate. For this reason neither Hades was able to hold in bonds this Soul, nor was Death able to hold and deliver to corruption this Body.

Holy and Great Friday (Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos)

By Archimandrite Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

On Great Friday we celebrate the Passion of the Lord, that is, we perform the commemoration of the spittings, slaps, insults, etc., and especially the crucifixion and awful death of the Lord. On this day the Church reminds us also of the confession of the thief on the cross that the Lord is a heavenly King, and his request to be remembered in His Kingdom.

Holy and Great Thursday (Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos)

By Archimandrite Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

On Great Thursday we perform the commemoration of four events: a) the washing of the feet of the apostles by the Lord, b) the Secret Supper, namely the Lord's deliverance to us of the Mystery of the Divine Eucharist, c) the wondrous prayer of the Lord to His Father, and d) the betrayal of the Lord by Judas.

Holy and Great Wednesday (Elder Epiphanios Theodoropoulos)

By Archimandrite Epiphanios Theodoropoulos

On Great Wednesday we perform the commemoration of the event of the anointing of the Lord with myrrh by the harlot woman. The Church also reminds us of the gathering of the Sanhedrin of the Jews, their highest court, which decided to condemn the Lord, as well as Judas' betrayal of his Teacher.