On Self-Examination (St. Tikhon of Zadonsk)

By St. Tikhon of Zadonsk (+ 1783)

"Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith, prove your own selves" (2 Cor. 13:5).

Glory to God! We are all called Christians; we all confess the one God in Three Persons, the living and immortal God; we were all baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity of One Essence: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; we all believe in Him Who was crucified and rose from the dead, Jesus Christ the Son of God, and, as a sign of this, sign ourselves with the Cross; we all enter the holy Church, and we pray and we entreat, we sing and we praise the holy name of God; we all listen to the holy word of God; we all commune Life and the Heavenly Kingdom, and we say in the holy Symbol of Faith: "I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come."

The Theological School of the Apostolic Church

On June 29, 2011 His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou delivered the homily below during the Festal Vespers of the Holy Apostles in ancient Corinth at Gallio's Bema, where the Apostle Paul stood for trial (Acts 18:12-27). He was invited by His Eminence Metropolitan Dionysios of Corinth to commemorate the mission and ministry of the Apostle Paul in Corinth, amidst a crowd of faithful and numerous clergy.

By His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos

of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

I thank his Eminence Metropolitan Dionysios of Corinth and a beloved brother in Christ who invited me to come to Corinth on this important day and participate in the worship festivities in honor of the Apostle Paul, the Apostle to the Nations and the patron of this apostolic Sacred Metropolis, and to speak from Gallio's Bema, where the Apostle Paul was led by the Jews for trial (Acts 18:12-27). I heartily thank him and rejoice in the presence of this crowd of people who have come to this place, and by doing this, as spiritual children and descendants of the Corinthians, I offer the great Apostle and their wondrous spiritual father due respect.

Having the honor of referring in this assembly to the great Apostle Paul, I will take the occasion from the two epistles which he himself sent the Corinthians, which are included in the New Testament canon, and by these this city and Sacred Metropolis are honored by all the world throughout the ages.

I will stress two points.

The Erotic Story of Salvation and the Manic Love of Christ

Christianity is the opposite of religion. In the various religions people offer sacrifices to a god. In Christianity the exact opposite happens: God offers a sacrifice to the people, even His Son. God the Father offers His Son as a sacrifice to people to show them that He truly loves them, in order to reconcile them with Himself. The Apostle Paul says this in a wonderful way: "We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God" (2 Cor. 5:20). What religion can present something like this? This is completely contrary to every religion. God is appealing to us to be reconciled with Him. All this is like an erotic story. Christ comes to earth, He tells everyone "I love you", humanity is indifferent, and Christ in order to "prove" His great love for man...commits suicide! Saint Nicholas Cabasilas likens Christ to a manic lover Who in the end, to prove His erotic love sacrifices His life. This is Christianity. It is something completely different from religions, it is not legalism. True Christianity is a true and lasting revolution, not a religion. The objectives of the revolution of Christianity are so wide, so great, with the result that this revolution will end only with the Second Coming. Whoever views Christianity as something static, as something that lacks movement, does not understand anything.