Homilies on Holiness and the Saints - The Venerables and Ascetics (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

The Venerables and Ascetics

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

During the persecutions, which was the greatest and most glorious period of the Church, the Martyrs emerged, about whom we spoke on one of the previous Sundays. When the persecutions ended, the martyrdom of the Christians stopped, their bloodshed stopped, but the secret and invisible martyrdoms did not stop. The spirit of martyrdom in the Church continued with the life of the Venerables and Ascetics.

The word "venerable" is translated from the Greek "hosios" and has many meanings, but here it is used in the sense of the pious, devoted to God, the pure, the immaculate. The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Hebrews uses this term for Christ, the Great High Priest, saying: "For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is venerable, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens" (Heb. 7:26). Because the High Priest is venerable, that is why the Bishops who are a type of and in the place of Christ must be venerable, according to the words of the Apostle Paul: "...a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, venerable, temperate” (Tit. 1:8). But this venerableness must be possessed by all Christians and even by those who pray, which is why the Apostle Paul says again: "I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up venerable hands, without wrath and doubting" (1 Tim. 2:8).

Fourth Sunday of Great Lent - Orthodoxy and Monasticism (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

"This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting." (Mk. 9:29)

When asked by the disciples why they could not get the demon out of the young man who was being tormented "from childhood", the Lord answered that this kind, which according to Saint Gregory Palamas "was the terrible demon of licentiousness", cannot with any other means come out of man, except through prayer and fasting. And because for the one possessed by a demon it is difficult to pray and fast, those who want to heal the demon possessed must do so.

The Oldest Christian Monastery in the World (With Frescoes and Greek Inscriptions) Found in Egypt

 

In the Bahariya Oasis, members of a Norwegian-French archaeological expedition discovered a Christian monastic site with frescoes and Greek inscriptions, which is deemed the oldest monastery, perhaps not only in Egypt but also all over the world.

It is a monument that was built around 350 AD in the area of Tal Ganoub Qasr al-Agouz, which is located 370 kilometers southwest of Cairo.

Excavations are being carried out there by the French institution “Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale” (IFAO) and the Norwegian institution “MF Vitenskapelig Høyskole.”

"The Life of Desert-Dwellers is a Blessed One, For By Divine Eros They Are Raised Up"

 

 

 

In the Anavathmoi for Matins in Plagal of the First Tone we chant: 

 

"The life of desert-dwellers is a blessed one, 

for by divine eros they are raised up." 

 

"Τοις ερημικοίς ζωή μακαρία εστι, 

θεϊκώ έρωτι πτερουμένοις."

 

Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite explains this verse as follows:

"Blessed is the life of desert-dwellers, for they are raised up to God with a fiery, excessive, and intense eros. Yet the Melodist did not say that the desert-dwellers are in love with God, but they are raised up by divine eros."

Saint Nikodemos highlights this last point to show that the hymnographer was expressing his own eros for God and love for life in the desert, not wishing to make a generalized statement that desert-dwellers are in love with God. Desert-dwellers acquire divine eros by distancing themselves from all earthly temptations that would prevent any other love from coming between himself and God. It is this divine eros that gives him wings to fly up to God.

When King David was forced to become a desert-dweller to save his life, he wrote in Psalm 54:7-8 what the hymnographer above saw as an expression of one who indeed was raised up by divine eros after living far away from earthly temptations: "O that I had wings as a dove, then would I fly away, and be at rest. Behold! I have fled afar off, and lodged in the desert."

 

 

Married Couple Dedicate Their Lives to God as Monastics

 

 

A married couple has mutually decided to dedicate their lives completely to God and received tonsuring together before separating to their respective monasteries. The newly-tonsured monk is named Galaktion and the newly-tonsured nun is named Episteme. This took place on November 5th, which was the feast of the Holy Martyrs Galaktion and Episteme of Emesa, who are known from their biographies to have been married but mutually separated from one another to live in monasteries in the area of Mount Sinai.

"A Tradition For My Disciples" and "The Monastic Rule" (St. Nilus of Sora)

A Tradition For My Disciples

By St. Nilus of Sora

The grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and by with the assistance of our Lady, I have written a teaching for the profit both of my soul and the souls of my lords, who are truly related to me in the brotherhood of one spirit. I therefore call you brothers instead of disciples. We have but one teacher, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave us the Scriptures and sent the holy apostles and the venerable fathers to teach the way of salvation to the human race. These saints began by doing good, only afterwards did they teach. As for me, I have done no good whatsoever, but I expound the teaching of the Holy Scriptures for those who desire salvation.

A great number of the devout brothers who have come to me with the desire to live here I have sent away, because I am myself a sinful and ignorant man, full of infirmities of soul and body. Nevertheless those whom I reject will give me no rest, but constantly return to harass me, and this is the occasion of great distress.

Chrysostom and the Hostility of the Monks of Constantinople

By J. H. W. G. Liebeschuetz

Hostility to John Chrysostom was by no means restricted to members of his clergy. There is evidence that the monks of Constantinople were to a large extent against him. We have no satisfactory account of the origin of this antagonism, because the fact of it was as embarrassing to Palladius as an apologist for Chrysostom, as it was to the biographers of the monks Isaac and Hypatius, who wrote after John had been rehabilitated. Nevertheless, there can be no question about the hostile attitude of the Constantinopolitan monks. Palladius described Isaac as the leader of false monks, who spent all his time abusing bishops, and as one of the principal conspirators against John. In fact Isaac was very unlikely to represent only himself when he took so prominent a part in the attack on Chrysostom. At the trial Isaac produced his own list of seventeen charges, and he was one of the men who brought the final summons for John to appear before the Synod. One of the charges was that Chrysostom had caused a lot of unpleasantness to Isaac personally. Sozomen explains the cause of this hostility: John had several disputes with many of the monks, particularly with Isaac. He highly commended those who remained in quietude in the monasteries and practiced philosophy there, but the monks who went out of doors and made their appearance in the city he reproached and regarded as insulting philosophy. For these causes he incurred the hatred of the clergy and of many of the monks, who called him a hard, passionate, morose, and arrogant man. They therefore attempted to bring his life into disrepute, by stating confidently that he would 'eat with no one, and that he refused every invitation to a meal'.

Saint Elisha of Suma (+ 15th cent.)

St. Elisha of Suma (Feast Day - June 14)

Venerable Elisha of Suma was a monk at the Solovetsky Monastery, and was occupied with the weaving of fishing nets. Though we do not know about his life, one event in his life does reveal his great piety.

One day he with three other monks (Daniel, Philaret and Sava) went to the Vyga River, which was 60 versts (about 40 miles) from the monastery, in order to fish. As they were all weaving fishing nets, Daniel suddenly said to Elisha: "In vain, brother, are you working to fix these nets; you will not catch fish with them: death has come and your fishing is over." Taking these words to be a divine revelation, it struck Elisha with fear and he began to mourn, not because he feared death but because he had not yet been tonsured into the Great Schema, and there was no priest there that could do it. In his despondency, he was comforted by his brethren.

Saint Alexander, Founder of the Monastery of the Unsleeping Ones (+ 430)

Venerable Alexander, founder of the Monastery of the Unsleeping Ones, was born in Asia and received his education at Constantinople. He spent some time in military service but, sensing a call to other service after reading the passage in Holy Scripture that says: "If you seek perfection, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor. You will then have treasure in heaven. Afterward come back and follow me" (Matt. 19:21), he distributed all his belongings to those in need and left the world, accepting monastic tonsure in one of the Syrian wilderness monasteries near Antioch, under the guidance of the elder Elias. He spent four years in strict obedience and monastic effort, after which he received from the abbot the blessing to dwell in the desert. Going into the wilderness, the monk took with him nothing from the monastery, except the Gospel. The monk then struggled in the desert for seven years. Afterwards, the Lord summoned him to preach to pagans.

Saturday of Cheesefare Resource Page

Commemoration of All Who Struggled in Asceticism
(Feast Day - Saturday of Cheesefare)

Verses

To the souls of the Venerables, whose memory abideth forever, 

Do I offer these my words as abiding oblations.

 

Synaxarion for the Saturday of Cheesefare

  

Saturday of Cheesefare: Commemoration Of All Ascetic Fathers and Mothers

  

Cheesefare Saturday: The Ascetic Fathers and Mothers

 

Cheesefare Saturday and the Ascetics Who Shined With the Light of Christ

 

All the Venerables Who Shone in Asceticism: The Hymnography of Cheesfare Saturday
 

Homilies on Holiness and the Saints - The Venerables and Ascetics (Metr. Hierotheos of Nafpaktos)

 

The Olympics of Virtue (On Our Lenten Asceticism)

 

Service In Honor of the Ascetics of Thebaid Celebrated For First Time in Alexandria

 

A Liturgical Custom of Skiathos for the Saturday of Cheesefare

 

The Orthodox Truth About Asceticism

  

The Role of Asceticism for People Today

 

Asceticism, the Mother of Sanctification

 

The Eschatological Nature of Asceticism

 

The Ascetic Corrective (Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople)

 

Saturday of Souls Resource Page

 

 

Synaxarion of our Venerable Father Phosterios the Hermit

St. Phosterios the Hermit (Feast Day - January 5)

Verses

Phosterios was seen as a luminary,
By the light of his life and miracles.

Our Holy Father Phosterios, shining from the East as the sun, went to the evening places of the West. Going up a high and quiet mountain, he prayed to the immaterial God in an immaterial manner, oppressing and subjecting himself with fastings, vigils, sleeping on the ground, and every other hardship. By this he became a true luminary in accordance with his name, shining forth to the ecumene. Because he kept his body pure, and his soul clean, and the image of God within him incorrupt as much as possible, for this reason he became a dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit. Therefore the renowned one was enriched with the grace of miracles, and he healed every long-term and short-term illness, of those who came to him with faith. Not only this, but the blessed one also received bread from the heavens, like the Prophet Elijah. While Elijah received bread by means of a raven, the great Phosterios received bread by means of a divine Angel. Although by some divine economy he did not see him, every day an Angel brought him bread, putting it in a separate place so as not to appear to the Saint, and when two or three or more brothers who were strangers came, that is how many breads were found in that place, one for each of them. Who has ever seen such an extraordinary miracle? Or heard something so paradoxical? It is rare, and such things followed many rare Saints. The blessed Phosterios was made worthy of such wonders till the end of his life, as it appeared reasonable to divine Providence. When he was alone, living by himself in quiet and devotion to God, the Angel would bring him bread. When he established a monastery with the grace of God, where many monks gathered, he did not receive the bread from God, but he received it through his handiwork, not only for the needs of his own life, but he also gave it to many others for their needs. This took place, not because God was unable to. Away with such blasphemy! How would He not be able to give towards one for his needs, when He fed thousands of ungrateful Jews in the desert? Neither did this take place because God turned away from the prayers of His servant. God forbid! For the Saint never prayed for God to give him food for relief. Listen to what the Lord says: "Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be provided for you" (Matt. 6:33).

Narration Concerning the Contest of a Certain Submissive Monk, Who by Falling Into Disobedience Was Not Made Worthy by God of Perfect Glory

OCTOBER 15

Narration Concerning the Contest of a Certain Submissive Monk, Who by Falling Into Disobedience Was Not Made Worthy by God of Perfect Glory

Verses

Disobedient and at the same an athlete,
He is banished, and once again received.

A monk in a certain hermitage was subservient to an elder for a period of some years. By the envy of a demon, one time he strayed from being obedient to the elder, without there being any sensible reason or hurtful pretext. Having been censured by the elder and and given a penance for his disobedience, he disregarded both the censure and the penance. Going therefore to Alexandria, he was arrested by the pagan governor there. Having been stripped of his monastic schema, he was urged to sacrifice to the idols. Because the governor was unable to persuade him, first he was ordered to be flogged with the sinews of an ox without mercy, then the order was given that he be beheaded. When this was done, they cast his body outside the city, to be eaten by the dogs. However, some God-loving Christians went by night and retrieved the body. Wrapping it in a sheet with myrrh, they placed it in a casket. This casket was placed in the Holy Altar of the church, and they honored it as a victorious relic.

"I Will Mock the World" - The Mission of St. Symeon the Fool for Christ

By Leontios of Neapolis

After [Symeon and John] had spent twenty-nine years in the desert practicing every asceticism and mortification, in cold and in heat, enduring many and unutterable temptations from the Devil and conquering them, and had arrived at a high level of virtue—especially Symeon, who, because of his being innocent and very pure on account of the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within him, perceived himself fearing neither suffering, nor cold, nor hunger, nor burning heat, but rather nearly exceeded the limit of human nature—he said to John, “What more benefit do we derive, brother, from passing time in this desert? But if you hear me, get up, let us depart; let us save others. For as we are, we do not benefit anyone except ourselves, and have not brought anyone else to salvation.” And he began to quote to him from the Holy Scripture such things as “Let no one seek his own good, but rather the good of his neighbor” [1 Cor 10:24], and again, “I have become all things to all men, that I might save all” [1 Cor 9:22], and from the Gospel, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” [Mt 5:16], and other such things. And lord John answered him, “I think, brother, that Satan is jealous of our silence and suggested this thought to you. On the contrary, sit down and let us complete our course in this desert, where we began and where we were called by God.” Symeon said to him, “Believe me, I won’t stay, but I will go in the power of Christ; I will mock the world.” Again his brother said to him, “No, good brother, please, for the Lord’s sake, do not leave wretched me. For I have not yet reached this level, so that I can mock the world. Rather for the sake of Him who joined us, do not wish to be parted from your brother. You know that, after God, I have no one except you, my brother, but I renounced all and was bound to you, and now you wish to leave me in the desert, as in an open sea. Remember that day when we drew lots and went down to lord Nikon, that we agreed not to be separated from each other. Remember the fearful hour when we were clothed in the holy habit, and we two were as one soul, so that all were astonished at our love. Don’t forget the words of the great monk, with which he advised us on the night we left. Please don’t, lest I die and God demands an account of my soul from you.” Again Symeon said to him, “Think of me as dead. Wouldn’t you have to think about being alone by yourself? Believe me, if you come, it would be well and good, since I myself am not staying.” When brother John saw that he was persistent, he knew that he had been convinced by God to do this, since nothing would separate them except death, and perhaps not even that. For they had often prayed to God, that he would take the two of them together, and they knew that the Lord heard them in this as in all things.

Saint Theodore the Sanctified, Disciple of Pachomios the Great

St. Theodore the Sanctified (Feast Day - May 16)

Verses

You are shown forth as a divine gift, Theodore,A

Among the Saints, O sanctified Saint.
On the sixteenth Theodore flew away from the earth.

Saint Theodore was called “Sanctified” because he had purified his heart of its passions and made his body a worthy temple of the Holy Spirit, so that he was the first in his monastery to be ordained to the priesthood.*

Saint Pachomios the Great Resource Page

St. Pachomios the Great (Feast Day - May 15)

Verses

Pachomios made thin the stoutness of his flesh,
Gathering strength in his soul before his departure.
On the fifteenth Pachomios was carried off to the other side.

 

Synaxarion of Holy Abba Pachomios the Great

 

Saint Pachomios the Great as a Model for our Lives

 

May: Day 15: Teaching 2: Venerable Pachomios the Great

 

Prologue in Sermons: May 15 

 

Venerable Pachomios the Great in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church 

 

Pachomios the Great, Father and Founder of Cenobitic Monasticism 

 

Saint Pachomios the Great, Founder of Cenobitic Monasticism

 

Holy Abba Palamon, Spiritual Father of Saint Pachomios the Great

 

The Angelic Revelation of the Cenobitic Rule to St. Pachomios the Great

 

When Funerals Are Not Beneficial and It Is More Compassionate to the Dead to Not Conduct Them (From the Life of Saint Pachomios the Great)

 

Encounter Between St. Pachomius the Great and St. Makarios of Alexandria

 

Abba Pachomios and the Phantom

 

When Abba Pachomios Received the Gift of Tongues

 

Saint Petronios, Disciple of Saint Pachomios

 

Saint Theodore the Sanctified, Disciple of Pachomios the Great

 

The Manner By Which Saint Theodore the Sanctified Embraced Monasticism

 

Holy Abba Psoi, Disciple of Saint Pachomios the Great

 

Saint Silvanos of Tabennisi, the Former Actor Who Had the Gift of Tears

 

Saint Athenodoros the Leper, Disciple of Pachomios the Great

 

The Angelic Revelation of the Cenobitic Rule to St. Pachomios the Great

By Palladius, Bishop of Helenopolis

(Lausiac History, Ch. 33)

In the land of Thebes, and in the district thereof which is called Tabenna,* there was a certain blessed man whose name was Pachomios, and this man led a beautiful life of ascetic excellence, and he was crowned with the love of God and of man. Now therefore as this man was sitting in his cell, there appeared unto him an angel who said unto him, “Since you have completed your discipleship it is unnecessary for you to dwell here; but come, and go and gather together unto yourself those who are wandering, and dwell with them, and lay down for them such laws as I shall tell unto you;" and the angel gave him a book (or tablet) wherein was written the following:

Saint John Climacus and his Heavenly Ladder (Fr. George Florovsky)

By Fr. George Florovsky

The Paucity of Facts of his Life.

The biography of St. John — ό της κλίμακος — must rather be called an encomium. This is a description of him as one who prays and contemplates: "For John approached the mystical mountain where the uninitiated do not enter, and, elevated along the spiritual steps, he received the statute inscribed by God and a vision." He was some newly-appeared Moses.

Few facts are given in the biography. He was also called “Scholasticus” — σχολαστικός — but he is not to be confused with John Scholasticus, the patriarch of Constantinople (d. 577). It even remains unclear when St. John lived and where he was from. From circumstantial data it is possible to hazard a guess that he died in the mid seventh-century. His life is usually given from about 570 until 649. He came to Sinai in his early youth and spent his whole life there. However, it seems that he spent some time in Egypt, in Scete, and in Tabennesis. For many years he contended in obedience to a certain elder. After the letter's death, St. John withdrew into seclusion and lived as a hermit in a cave, which was not far off but was secluded.

Saint Euthymios the Great Resource Page

St. Euthymios the Great (Feast Day - January 20)

Verses

What common thing about your life was there Euthymios?
You carried off to the Angels those with an unusual life.
Your life ceased on the twentieth well-bearded Euthymios.

 

Saint Euthymios the Great

  

Saint Euthymios the Great (+ 473)

 

Translation of the Sacred Relic of Saint Euthymios the Great in 473 A.D.

 

Saint Euthymios the Great as a Model for our Lives

 

January: Day 20: Teaching 1: Venerable Euthymios the Great 

 

Venerable Euthymios the Great in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church 

 

A Saint Worthy of Emulation: Saint Euthymios the Great

 

The Miraculous and Prophetic Birth of Saint Euthymios the Great 

 

The Teachings of St. Euthymios the Great 

 

That We Should Attend the Divine Liturgy with Awe and Reverence 

 

Testimony of How a Demon Possessed Monk Was Healed at the Tomb of St. Euthymios the Great 

 

Saint Theoktistos, Fellow Ascetic of Saint Euthymios the Great 

 

The Relationship Between St. Gerasimos of Jordan and St. Euthymios the Great 

 

Saint Gabriel, Abbot of the Monastery of Saint Stephen in Jerusalem (+ c. 490) 

 

The Monastery of Saint Euthymios the Great in Israel (video) 

 

5th Century Byzantine Monastic Church On Masada 

 

The Miracle of Saint Euthymios the Great in Pronia of Nafplio 

 

Chapel of Saint Euthymios the Great in Thessaloniki 

 

Why We Celebrate the Feast of Saint Anthony the Great on January 17th

Holy Abba Nathaniel of Nitria

St. Nathaniel of Nitria (Feast Day - November 27)

Verses

"Leaving the world, run to God O soul,"

Nathaniel cried out and he expired.

By Palladius, Bishop of Helenopolis

(Lausiac History, Ch. 16)

And there was also another man among the aged ones whose name was Nathaniel, and him I never met in his life, for he died fifteen years before I entered into this mountain [Nitria]; but I have met those who dwelt with him for a long time. And having made inquiries of these I learned concerning the triumphs of the man, and they also showed me his cell wherein at that time no man was living, because it was nigh unto the world; but Abba Nathaniel built it long ago when the monks were few in number.

Saint Akakios of the "Ladder"

St Akakios of the "Ladder" (Feast Day - Gr. November 26 & Slav. July 7)

Verses

Akakios fled every wickedness of life,
Now delighting in every good being absent of life.

Saint John Climacus informs us concerning the great virtue of obedience for monastics in Step 4 of his Ladder:

 

Obedience is absolute renunciation of our own life, clearly expressed in our bodily actions. Or, conversely, obedience is the mortification of the limbs while the mind remains alive. Obedience is unquestioning movement, voluntary death, a life free of curiosity, carefree danger, unprepared defence before God, fearlessness of death, a safe voyage, a sleeper’s progress. Obedience is the tomb of the will and the resurrection of humility. A corpse does not argue or reason as to what is good or what seems to be bad. For he who has devoutly put the soul of the novice to death will answer for everything. Obedience is an abandonment of discernment in a wealth of discernment.