First Holy Saturday Homily of Saint Photios the Great

Homily 11

HOMILY OF THE MOST BLESSED PHOTIOS, 

ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE, 

DELIVERED ON THE BURIAL OF THE HOLY BODY 

OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, ON HOLY SATURDAY

From each work and deed of Christ, our Saviour, the magnitude of His love for us is apparent, and the graces of salvation are splendidly unfolded unto us; and as the abundant sweetness of joy is distilled into men’s souls, it wipes away the bitter pollution of ancestral sin. The memory and topic of the passion and the burial is, however, an awful and inexpressible matter, but inasmuch as it is the end of the Incarnation, and anchors us, so to speak, in the very harbour of re-creation, and sounds forth in clear trumpet tones the Creator’s providence concerning us, so the feeling it arouses is neither simple nor unmixed, but it both overwhelms us and revives us with courage; it grieves and gladdens, the former by the passion and the death, the latter by the destruction of the passions and the slaying of death—which things are marvellously wrought for our resurrection in a manner surpassing words.

Fourth Homily for Holy and Great Friday (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 

Homily Spoken Before the Holy Epitaphios of Great Friday

 

By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on April 23, 1954)

With sinful hands we, the servants of God, carried the holy shroud before you. It is not only holy, it is terrible, for it depicts the naked dead body of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, executed by His accursed enemies. How could this crime, the most terrible of all the crimes of the human race, have been committed?! Why did not the Son of God implore His Father to send legions of angels to slay His accursed enemies, who thirsted for His blood?

With our strength, our mind and heart, we would never have found the answer to this terrible question. Let us look for someone who could explain this inexplicable thing to us. Who will we find?

Homily for Holy Saturday (Archpriest Rodion Putyatin)

By Archpriest Rodion Putyatin

Everyone is preparing for the upcoming feast, everyone is busy with one thing - how to better celebrate the Bright Resurrection of Christ. To help your preparation somewhat, I will say in brief words the main thing: how we, Christians, should celebrate the Bright Resurrection of Christ.

How should we celebrate? Celebrate, listeners, as merrily as possible; rejoice, listeners, as much as possible. This is the main thing: rejoice as much as possible, celebrate as merrily as possible. The Resurrection of Christ brought us such joy that we will never exhaust everything, no matter how much we rejoice; in Jesus Christ there is so much consolation for us that we can never rejoice in Him to the fullest. Look at our mother - the Holy Orthodox Church - tomorrow see how she rejoices and is glad. She, one might say, is all joy, all fun, she seems to be all with us in Heaven, and not on earth, all triumphs, and does not fight.

A Lesson for the Soul on Holy Saturday: Be Courageous (Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios)

 

 

 

Be Courageous

 

 On Holy Saturday

we commemorate 

the Entombment of the Divine Body and 

Descent Into Hades of our

Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.

"Joseph of Arimathea ... coming and taking courage, 

went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus." 

(Mark 15:42-47)

By Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios

 

The Great Teacher was dead.

The fear of the Jews could be found sealed in a tomb. However, the consciences were so shaken by their quagmire with the words of the One, who even dead they still feared. His name causes loathing and hatred. The atmosphere is so electrifying that no one can talk about Him in public without risk.

A First Look at the Holy Light (Holy Fire) of Jerusalem 2022

Today in Jerusalem the Holy Light, known in the West as Holy Fire, once again descended into the Tomb of Christ as Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem knelt in prayer within the Holy Sepulchre. This ceremony has taken place just about every year for hundreds of years on Holy Saturday, shortly after 2:30pm. With 33 candles in each hand he distributed the Holy Light to the many present. This year, as opposed to last year, coronovirus measures were lifted, allowing for greater participation of the people. Following the Holy Light ceremony, the flame is taken by plane to other Orthodox communities in countries such as Greece, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Bulgaria, Georgia and Romania. In Greece the Holy Light is usually received with the welcome of a Head of State.

 

For further reading, see: Holy Light of Jerusalem Resource Page

 

 

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Third Great Friday Homily of Saint Photios the Great

 

Homily 6

 

THIRD HOMILY OF PHOTIOS, 

THE MOST-BLESSED ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE, 

DELIVERED FROM THE AMBO OF ST. IRENE 

ON GREAT FRIDAY, 

AFTER THE PERUSAL OF THE USUAL CATECHISM

When the devil’s might is being despoiled, when the sting of death is being blunted, when the trophy over Hades is set up, then the tablet of agreements is read out to us, then the document of the covenant is brought forward, then the written record of our promises is carried in triumph. Why so? In order that, as we see the common enemy vanquished and lying low, and the common Lord being praised in song for having through His own suffering and experience of death won victory and granted victory unto us, we should know clearly of what we stand in debt, and that we have made our life a contradiction of the hymns we sing, and that those of us who have departed from the covenant have deprived ourselves of every excuse. For when Christ fights for me as He is hanging on the cross, or rather awards me a brilliant victory, while the enemy of our kind is lying low helpless, and I not only do not exert myself against the prostrate one, but offer and dedicate myself entirely to passion- provoking indolence, breaking by my transgression the pact with God, and of my own free will handing to the enemy the power over me, what other refuge of excuse is left to me? What device will be found that I may not suffer an irrevocable and cruel punishment? For if those who set at nought imperial commands pay the unavoidable penalty when they render accounts for what they have been ordered to do, will not those who, not only disregard and pass by the commands of the King of kings and Lord of lords and Creator of all, but trample and spit upon the pacts they have made with Him, pay the ultimate penalty, and one which cannot be exceeded? Tell me, O man: Christ, fastened to the wood, is crucified for thee, and suffers the death of criminals; out of that, grace and victory over the foe accrue to us; the enemy fails, for the swords of the enemy have failed utterly; our free will has been liberated from the disabilities caused by the transgression; the pacts with God lie before us. Why do we not fulfill our promise? Why do we not repay at least a small part of our debt, but instead increase, and that every day, our obligation by heavy interest, having wretchedly forfeited’ our body and our very soul? Is it not out of negligence? Is it not from an indolent mind and an inclination prone to passions? If through indolence and negligence we are brought to barter away a wealth of so great and so many goods—the Lord’s victory, the foe’s defeat, the grace proferred to us, our free will, the covenant itself, then those who have betrayed all these things through the enjoyment of the passions, and considered their safeguarding and maintenance of no account, what room for forgiveness have they left themselves? Have they not shown themselves guilty of a multitude of evils? Are they not the enemies of their own salvation? Are they not the foes of the Cross? He saves, we destroy. Are we not fighting for the enemy? For by doing those things in which his strength against us lies, we are thereby proven to be fighting on his side and, worst of all, against our very selves. Are we not the denouncers of our liberty? For we have made it useless by remaining subservient to the pleasures. Are we not inconsiderate of the grace? Are we not ungrateful for the beneficence? For those who live contrariwise to the grace and the beneficence render a great insult and blasphemy both to that grace and to that beneficence.

A Lesson for the Soul on Great Friday: Be Dead (Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios)

Rembrandt painted himself into the Raising of the Cross.

Be Dead

 

 On Great Friday

we commemorate 

the Holy, Saving and Terrible Passion of our

Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.

"And they crucified Him" (Mark 15:1-41; Col. 1:3-5)

By Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios

 

Great Friday! The Crucifixion!

The greatest crime in history. Man crucifies his God, having previously ridiculed Him.

"Behold the Man".

Fallen man, the way sin made him.

By pointing to Jesus, Pilate was actually showing fallen mankind as undertaken by God's Word. Poor man! The story of Jesus shows your abysmal poverty in the face of His own abysmal wealth. And God insists. He wants to lift you up. He wants to show you the magnitude of your crime to show the richness of His own goodness in forgiveness.

It was from these burning lips on the cross that forgiveness was given. And from His speared side, the "new creation" of man took place. We crucified Him, and from the sufferings we caused Him He gave birth to our salvation.

A famous painter in his painting on the Raising of Jesus on the Cross, among the people who raised the dead body of the Lord, he placed himself. When asked, he answered that he too, through his way of life, had many nails driven into the Body of Christ.

Poor soul! You also were there when they crucified Christ.

Your eyes are now filled with tears. You humbly asked forgiveness. So come and die with Jesus. "For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God… Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry." Let me die, Lord, to sin, this is what Your divine Heart longed for!

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
You redeemed us from the curse of the law
by Your precious Blood.
Having been nailed to the Cross and pierced with a spear,
You poured forth immortality upon mankind.
O our Savior, glory to You. 

Third Homily for Holy and Great Friday (St. Luke of Simferopol)

Homily Spoken Before the Holy Shroud of Great Friday

 

By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on April 4, 1953)

Thus ended the most terrible and greatest drama in the history of the world. The most pure Body of our Savior hung lifelessly by the torn wounds from the nails. The head of the dead man sank low on the chest. And so it hung for a long time.

Already dispersed, beating their chests, were those accursed ones who crucified Him, while the body hung and hung - hung for a long time ... It hung, until the blessed secret disciples of Christ, the "Pharisees" Joseph and Nikodemos, came, and removed the bloody body of the Savior from the cross, and they laid it on a clean linen spread on the ground, washed the blood and dirt off, and laid it on another shroud, clean and dry.

Homily for Great Friday Before the Holy Shroud (Archpriest Rodion Putyatin)

 By Archpriest Rodion Putyatin (1807-1869)

"My mouth is silent, my tongue does not speak, but my heart speaks."

The lips of our Savior are silent, the tongue does not speak, but the heart speaks. What does it tell us? Listen, sinner! Listen to what your Savior is telling you from the tomb.

“Do you see how much I love you? I'm lying dead, for you; for your salvation I died. You are too afraid, you think that it is already impossible for you to be saved, you sometimes completely despair of your salvation. I knew this beforehand, I knew it even before you were born; I knew that you would be much afraid for your salvation, that you would sometimes despair of your salvation. All sinners are like that. When they sin, they are not afraid of anything, they don’t think about anything, and when they sin, they immediately begin to be afraid of everything - they think that they have already died, that there is no salvation for them, there will be no forgiveness for them.

I knew this in advance about you, sinner, and therefore I died beforehand, when you not only did not sin, but were not yet born. I died in order to assure by My death, to reassure you, so that you would not be afraid for your salvation, so that you would not despair of your salvation. Yes, for those who think that it is impossible for them to be saved, I died. I would not die for you if I knew that you would not despair of your salvation. Your desperation for salvation made Me die for you. Do you see how much I love you! It was hard for me to suffer. You heard how I grieved, mourned, almost reached despondency in the garden of Gethsemane. What made me go?

The thought of you, sinner, the desire to save you. When, amidst my spiritual sorrows, I remembered you, I remembered that My sufferings are necessary for your eternal salvation, that without My death it is impossible for you to rest from your sins, that if I do not go to suffer, then you will forever have to suffer, endure suffering for your sins - as soon as I remembered this, I immediately went, willingly went to suffer for you, to fulfill the will of My Father. You see how much I love you.

It was hard for Me after, when they began to judge Me. They blamed Me for everything, although I was not to blame for anything; they beat Me for everything: I was silent - they beat me, I spoke - they beat me; and they beat, and spat, and slapped, and scoffed, and laughed; finally, they put me on a par with the villains, they crucified Me with the robbers. It was hard for me to hang on the cross; My head was in a prickly crown of thorns, My hands and feet were nailed, I suffered terribly - and did not meet compassion in anyone; those who were Mine stood afar off and did not dare to approach Me. It was so hard for Me then that I could not help but sigh, so as not to cry loudly to My Father: My God, My God! why have You forsaken Me? (Matthew 27:46).

What made me endure such suffering? What made Me endure these torments, these spittings, and beatings, and the cross, and death? All the same thought, the same desire - the thought of you, sinner, the desire to save you from sins. I will suffer, endure, forebear - I thought this in the midst of suffering - but sinners, My people, will not suffer, endure, forebear. Yes, My desire to save you, sinner, so inspired Me when I suffered that I longed for more suffering, if only to save you from suffering.

Do you see how much I love you, sinner? No one loves you more than I do, I laid down My life for you. I loved you so much, I suffered so much for your salvation, when you were not yet born, when you had not yet sinned, when you had not yet asked for your salvation and mercy. Will I not save you now that I see that you are perishing? Can I not save when I hear that you are praying for your salvation, can I not have mercy when you ask for mercy for yourself? Shall I not save and have mercy on you, when I Myself, without your calling, volunteered to save and have mercy on you? For the sake of Me, for the sake of My love for you, for the sake of My suffering for your peace and salvation, do not despair of your salvation. Do not be afraid to ask for forgiveness, never be afraid, no matter how great your sins are. I will save you and have mercy."

Here it is, Christian listeners, for what purpose now the Holy Church solemnly, with all the details, remembers the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ: to calm, assure us sinners that Jesus Christ will save and have mercy on us, in spite of any of our sins. Amen.

 

 

An Interpretation of the Hymnography of Matins on Holy Thursday

By Dr. Michael Koutsos

Introduction

We are at the end of the Bridegroom Services (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday), which are so named from the troparion "Behold the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night", which is sung these days. From Holy Thursday the Services of the Passion begin, that is, the Secret Supper, the Crucifixion and the Burial. Holy Thursday with the Secret Supper is the summary of the next two days, because in it the Crucifixion and the Burial of Christ take place in advance and mysteriously, which are repeated every time a Divine Liturgy takes place, where the mystery of the Secret Supper is revived.

Saint Iakovos of Evia's Holy Thursday Fast During His Illness

"His ascetic struggles were great. Even in the period when he was ill. He had a pacemaker in his heart, he had done various surgeries, he was taking many drugs, which put a lot of strain on his stomach. When on Great Thursday, Fr. Kyrillos, because Elder Iakovos was in a terrible condition, put a little oil in his food, he became upset and said: "I am not a Turk to eat oil on Great Thursday."

A Lesson for the Soul on Holy Thursday: Be Christ-Bearers (Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios)

Be Christ-Bearing

 

 On Holy Thursday

we commemorate 

the Secret Supper of the Lord.

"He who eats my body and drinks my blood 

abides in Me and I in him" (John 7:22-59; Matt. 27:17-29)

By Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios

 

The manna fed the Jews in the desert for forty whole years, but the manna was not the true one. It was just a prototype. Those who ate it died.

The true manna had to come, that those who will eat it will never die. This was also demanded by those who were fed with bread among the crowd of five thousand. But they did not recognize that the "the True Bread" was before them. "Man shall not live on bread alone", but "if he eats this bread he will live unto the ages."

An Interpretation of the Hymnography of Matins on Holy Wednesday

By Dr. Michael Koutsos

Introduction

In the third service, our Church features a controversial person, a prostitute, but with an important characteristic - repentance. We are not surprised that there is talk of prostitutes and thieves, because they, according to the Word of God, lead us to Paradise. Both the prostitute who regretted her restless life and the thief who said on the Cross, "Lord, remember me when you enter into your kingdom," conquered Paradise. The prostitute and the thief are examples of repentance, which leads to a change of attitude towards life and ultimately leads to redemption and salvation.

Judas is a classic example of regret, which leads to the recognition of error, but only so far. He does not change his life and repent in practice, but instead is led to destruction and many times death. If Judas truly repented, asked God for forgiveness, and changed his life, then he would not have hanged himself but would use the rest of his life to do good, that is, to repent in practice. But he did not do it, because he had become an instrument of Satan, he had penetrated the tollbooth of avarice, to complain about the value of the myrrh, which the woman poured on His feet, and at best he would not betray his teacher and Lord.

Third Homily for Holy and Great Wednesday (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 

 By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on April 21, 1954)

On Great Wednesday, the Holy Church remembers the deeds of two people: the harlot, who washed the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ with precious ointment and wiped them with her hair, and the Apostle of Christ, Judas, who betrayed his Teacher. The great love of the sinner is opposed to the vile behavior of the apostle, as light is to darkness.

About the betrayal of Judas, I recently spoke to you in detail, and now I want you to remember forever the unfortunate harlot, despised by everyone.

A Lesson for the Soul on Holy Wednesday: Be Loving (Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios)

 

Be Loving

 

 On Holy Wednesday

we commemorate 

the Anointing of the Lord with myrrh by the sinful woman.

"For she loved much...." (Matt. 26:6-16; Lk. 7:36-48)

By Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios

 

Love - Betrayal. The two poles of the heart. You will either love Jesus or betray Him. There is no third situation. No one in history has been indifferent to Jesus. You will definitely have an opinion about Him. You will either wash His feet with the myrrh of your love or you will betray Him with the satisfaction of your ego.

An Interpretation of the Hymnography of Matins on Holy Tuesday

By Dr. Michael Koutsos

Plagal of the Fourth Tone
Behold, the Bridegroom is coming in the middle of the night, 

and blessed is the servant whom He finds watching. 

And again unworthy is he whom he shall find careless. 

See to it, my soul, that sleep does not overcome you, lest 

you be given over to death and are locked out of the kingdom. 

But arise and cry out: Holy, Holy, Holy are You our God, 

through the Theotokos have mercy on us.

A Lesson for the Soul on Holy Tuesday: Be Watchful (Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios)

Be Watchful

 

 On Holy Tuesday

we commemorate 

the Parable of the Ten Virgins.

"Watch therefore...." (Matt. 25:1-13)

By Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios

 

The dust of the soul. This is what indolence was called, that carelessness of the soul for the spiritual life and salvation. And slowly slowly it drowns into obscurity, just as with all the ancient creations of this world. The work of carelessness comes to complete the ignorance of the Law of God due to the absence of study, and subsequently, of forgetfulness of every good thing the soul acquired in the past.

An Interpretation of the Hymnography of Matins on Holy Monday

By Dr. Michael Koutsos

Introduction

The combination of the parable of the "withered fig tree" and "the all-comely Joseph" may seem out of place at first, but it is not. The combination is harmonious, one complements the other, the fruitlessness of the fig tree is complemented by the fruitfulness of Joseph. I will explain

The primary destiny of the fig tree, like all other trees, is its fruitfulness. Everything else is secondary, such as giving us leaves for shade or wood for burning. The fig tree with its fruitlessness does not perform the basic purpose for which it was created. This also applies to man. Fruitfulness, ie creativity and productivity, is for man the first and basic reason for his existence. The hymn writer, of course, likens the barren fig tree to the barren synagogue of the Jews and urges us to avoid the barren fig tree, because as they throw dry and unproductive branches of trees into the fire, so they will throw us into the fire of hell, if we are fruitless. In other words, "Christ imagines the Synagogue of the Jews as a fig tree devoid of spiritual fruit, so He curses it and in turn it withers." Therefore, let us avoid this suffering and let us bring forth the fruitfulness of the Holy Spirit, which is both a desired goal and a criterion for our examination.

Holy Week is About the Search for Adam Among the Dead

By Dr. Panteleimon Levakos

"You came down to earth to save Adam, 

and not finding him on earth, Lord, 

You descended into Hades to seek him."

This verse, from the Lamentations on Great Saturday, states, in a very concise yet apt manner, the plan of Divine Providence for the salvation of mankind, in the persons of Adam and Eve.

The second person of the Holy Trinity, the Son and Word of God, became a perfect human being in order to save us. He came down from heaven into the womb of the Virgin Mary, so that He could become the same as us and in order to call us to our heavenly home. In this verse, the hymnographer refers to the aim of God’s descent to the earth: the purpose of the incarnation of the Son is the fulfillment of the promise to our first ancestors that the Son and Word of God would crush the head of the serpent and bring Adam and Eve back into the bliss of Paradise, into direct communication with God.

A Lesson for the Soul on Holy Monday: Be Fruitful (Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios)

Be Fruitful

 

 On Holy Monday 

we commemorate 

the withering of the fruitless fig tree.

"And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves." (Matt. 21:18-22)

By Archimandrite Athanasios Mitilinaios

One morning, Christ was hungry. On the road He came to a fig tree, and looked on it for a fig. However, only leaves were to be found. For this the fruitless tree was condemned to be withered.

You as well, sister soul, are like a tree in the garden of the creation of God.

The Heavenly Gardner has come to you many times.