On the Conception of Saint John the Baptist (St. Justin Popovich)

 The Conception of Saint John the Baptist

September 23

By St. Justin Popovich

This day celebrates the mercy, miraculousness and wisdom of God; the mercy towards the pious and righteous parents of Saint John, the old man Zechariah and the old woman Elizabeth, who wanted and begged God for a child all their lives; the miracle of John's conception in the over-aged womb of Elizabeth; and the wisdom in the design of human salvation. This is because God had particularly great intentions with John, namely, that he would be a Prophet and Forerunner of Christ the Lord, the Savior of the world. Through His angels, God announced the birth of Isaac from the childless Sarah, and Sampson from the childless Manoah and his wife, and John the Forerunner from the childless Zechariah and Elizabeth. Through His angels, God announced the birth of those with whom He had special intentions. How could children be born from old parents? If anyone is curious to find out, let him not ask people about it, because people do not know of it, nor do natural laws, because it is above the laws of nature, but let him turn his gaze to the power of the almighty God, who created the whole world from nothing, and who did not need any parents, old or young, to create the first man, Adam. Instead of curiosity, let's give praise to God, who often reveals His power, mercy and wisdom to us beyond the laws of nature, in which, without God's special miracles, we would fall into despair and God-forgetfulness.

From The Lives of the Saints: September. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

 

 

The Cave of Saint Kosmas of Zographou in Mount Athos

 

 

The cave of Saint Kosmas of Zographou is located in the location of Gerakofilia, about half an hour away from the Holy Monastery of Zographou in Mount Athos.

The Saint is considered the greatest ascetic to emerge from Zographou. His cavernous cell became the place of struggle with demons. There he was buried and from there he departed for the joy of his Lord. The admirable thing is that forty days after his burial the monks looked for his relic, but did not find it.

Gerasimos Smyrnakis (1903) mentions that the cave was also used as an observation post for forest rangers.

Wisdom, Faith, Hope and Love ...

 

 By Fr. Elias Makos

Wisdom, faith, hope and love are the great provisions of a good and true Christian.

The name of these virtues is shared by four martyrs (the mother and her three young daughters) of our Church, whose memory is honored on September 17.

And in fact the widowed mother, Sophia, did not prevent, but pushed her three young daughters, twelve-year-old Faith, ten-year-old Hope and nine-year-old Agapi, to martyrdom.

Her speech to her daughters was shocking and touching, after the judge's call for her and her children to deny Christ, otherwise terrible torture and death awaited them.

Homily Three on the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 

By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on September 14/27, 1954)

 

The Cross of Christ is the great banner of our salvation, and the everlasting memory of it is most important for us. But the worries of life overwhelm us, and we easily forget about this most important thing. The Lord Jesus Christ perfectly knew the human heart, knew that it needed frequent reminders of the most important things, and He wisely took care that the instrument of our salvation, the Cross on which He gave His life for the sins of the world, was not forgotten amidst worldly fuss. His enemies, the Jewish high priests and scribes, who wanted to blot out the memory of Him, took down three crosses on Golgotha and buried them deep in the ground, covering them with a lot of earth. They did not know that it was inspired by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

Homily One for the Exaltation of the Honorable Cross (Archim. George Kapsanis)

 

By Archimandrite Fr. George Kapsanis,

Former Abbot of Gregoriou Monastery, Mount Athos

(Homily Delivered in 1981)

 

We celebrate the Universal Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-giving Cross of our Lord. And while today is a day of remembrance for the Church of the crucifixion Passion of the Redeemer, we nevertheless have a certain joy. And this joy is due to the fact that the Crucifixion of the Lord and the Cross, the instrument on which the horrible but simultaneous life-giving death of our Redeemer took place, is at the same time the glory of the Lord.

You will remember, when the Lord was walking towards the crucifixion Passion, He said the words: "Now the Son of man is glorified" (Jn. 13:31). From a human point of view, death on the cross was a disgrace, it was the ultimate humiliation and contempt of man.

Homily Two on the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 

By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on September 14/27, 1953)

The feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord is so great that the Holy Church established, as before Christmas and Theophany, special Gospel and Apostolic readings on Sundays before and after the Exaltation.

You came last night in great numbers to this holy temple. What attracted you? Why were your hearts filled with such deep reverence when you saw how I carried out and lifted up before you the cross of Christ? Why do we love the cross of Christ so much? Why do we bow down to it so much?

Of course, we do not only venerate the tree, although the tree of the cross of Christ became the greatest relic after it was drenched in the Blood of Christ. We venerate the crucifixion of Christ, we worship Christ God crucified on the cross, for the greatest mystery took place on the cross. What is this mystery? Why did our Lord Jesus Christ make such an amazing sacrifice for the salvation of the world?

Homily One on the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered on September 14/27, 1952)

Yesterday at Vespers you contemplated with deep reverence the ceremony of the exaltation of the cross of the Lord.

God bless you for this reverence, but is it enough? Is it enough to see the carrying out of the cross only three times a year, arousing your awe? Oh no, not at all! Much more is needed. It is necessary that the cross of Christ be imprinted on your hearts, and not just hung on your chest.

In the Middle Ages, there was a Teutonic Order of knights. A large cross was sewn on their cloaks, but with this sign of Christ they shed the blood of dark Lithuanian and Estonian pagans in streams, forcing them to be baptized with fire and sword.

Reflection on the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (St. Theophan the Recluse)

 

By St. Theophan the Recluse

The honourable cross is brought out for veneration in the middle of Great Lent in order to inspire those who toil in fasting to patiently bear the yoke they have taken to the end. Why is this done in September? Is it accidental? But there are no accidents for the Providential Wisdom that arranges all things.

This is why: in September the harvest is taken from the field, at least with us. And so that some of the Christians might not feel too satisfied and say: “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry!” and so that others might not fall in spirit because of scarcity, the elevated cross is brought before all. It reminds the former that the support of well being is not possessions, but their bearing of the cross in a Christian, inner way, should God’s goodness bring external plenitude; it inspires the latter to acquire patience in their souls, through the certainty that they will go from the cross directly to paradise. Therefore, may some endure, knowing, that they are travelling a smooth path to the heavenly kingdom; and may the others enjoy external comforts with fear, not sealing the entrance to paradise against themselves.

 

 

Venerable Mary of Tarsus, Who Was Once a Harlot

Venerable Mary of Tarsus (Feast Day - September 14)

 

By St. John Moschos

Two elders were traveling from Aegaion to Tarsus in Cilicia when, by the Providence of God, they stopped for rest at a small inn, for the heat was intense. There they found three young men who had with them a harlot. The elders settled themselves down apart and one of them got out his holy Gospel and began to read aloud. When the harlot who was with the young men saw the elder begin to read, she came and sat down near him, forsaking the young men. The elder, however, drove her off, saying to her:

Homily Two for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord (Archpriest Rodion Putyatin)

By Archpriest Rodion Putyatin

"God so loved the world..." (John 3:16).

Why, listeners, is the Cross of the Lord elevated, that is, it rises, ascends, and, as it were, is shown?

On September 14 it is solemnly erected, especially in our cathedral during Vespers, in memory of the well-known ancient event, when the Cross of the Lord was found in the ground, taken out and elevated, to be shown to the crowds.

This happens once a year, or even every day after prayers and church services, an exaltation happens. So what is it for? The priest raises, elevates, lifts up the Cross of the Lord, so that you see it, venerate it, then he overshadows you with the Cross, so that you adore it and accept the blessing of the Crucified One on the Cross.

Homily One for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord (Archpriest Rodion Putyatin)

 

By Archpriest Rodion Putyatin

"We venerate Your Cross, Lord!"

Today is the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord; I will tell you, listeners, what this feast means and on what occasion it is established.

Once, the Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine the Great, going to battle against Maxentius, saw in the daytime in the air a cross made up of stars, and at the bottom of the cross were the words: “In this sign thou shalt conquer.” Encouraged by such a wonderful appearance, Constantine the Great boldly entered the battle and happily defeated his enemy. The mother of Constantine, the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Empress Helen, attributing this victory to Jesus Christ, from this incident took the intention to find the Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. And so she goes to Jerusalem, searches, visits, asks the inhabitants of Jerusalem about the Cross of the Lord, but no one knew anything about it. Finally, from some elderly Jew named Judas, she learns where the Cross of the Lord is: it was buried in the ground, under a pagan temple. Saint Helen immediately ordered the building to be demolished; and the building was demolished, they began to dig and found three crosses in the ground.

On the Consecration of the Temple of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem (St. Justin Popovich)

 Consecration of the Temple of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem

September 13

By St. Justin Popovich

On this day we celebrate the consecration of the most glorious and majestic temple in Jerusalem, not the one that King Solomon built on Mount Moriah, but the one that the blessed Emperor Constantine with his glorious mother Helen wonderfully built, cleaning and restoring the holy place defiled by heathen godlessness. After the voluntary suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, and His resurrection and ascension to heaven, that holy place, where our salvation was accomplished, was envied and defiled by the enemies of Christ. But the impious Roman emperor Hadrian[1] especially defiled all the holy places by means of demonic idols and sacrifices. For when he on the site of the city of Jerusalem, destroyed by Titus,[2] razed the city, then he ordered that the grave of the Lord be buried with earth and many stones. On the hill where the Lord was crucified, he built a temple to the heathen goddess Aphrodite and placed there her statue, and placed a statue of the god Zeus over the Lord's grave. So there, where the Lamb of God offered himself as a sacrifice to God the Father for our sins, the heathen offered sacrifices to the gods and committed various abominations. Likewise, in Bethlehem, where the Pure One was born from the womb of the Pure One, he set up an idol of Adonis,[3] and that holy place was defiled with shameful acts. And in the place where Solomon's temple was, he erected an idolatrous idol. He named the city itself Aelia Capitolina, because his name was Aelius Hadrianus, and ordered that no one should call it Jerusalem.

Saints Demetrios, Evanthia and Demetrian as Models for our Lives

Sts Demetrios, Evanthia and Demetrian (Feast Day - September 11)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

Saints Demetrios and Evanthia were husband and wife and Demetrian was their son. Their life is recorded in a concise way in the Synaxarion of Saint Cornelius the Centurion, because it is connected with two miracles that were performed in this family through Saint Cornelius. The first miracle is the resurrection of Evanthia and Demetrian, and the second and greatest miracle is the complete change of Demetrios.

Demetrios was a philosopher and ruler in the city of Skipsi in Asia Minor, but also a fanatical idolater, who furiously persecuted all those who believed in Christ. His wife and son became Christians without him knowing it.

Homily Two on the Nativity of the Theotokos (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 

 By St. Luke, Archbishop of Simferopol and All Crimea

(Delivered in 1957)

"Your birth, O Theotokos, brought joy to the whole world,..."

Will not these opening words of the troparion of this great feast seem like an exaggeration to some of you? Would you say that not only Jews, Muslims and Buddhists, but even Lutherans who have departed from the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, Protestants, and all sectarians do not feel any joy on the birthday of the Most Holy Theotokos, whom they consider only a simple pious woman, of which are very many?

If you think so, then I will in no way agree with you, because the troparion of the feast speaks precisely of the joy of the entire universe, and not just our little land. And the universe is immensely large, and in the night sky we see countless star worlds.

Synaxarion of the Translation of the Relics of Saint Nektarios the Wonderworker

 Synaxarion

By Monk Gerasimos Mikragiannanitis

On the 3rd of this month [September], we celebrate the translation of the honorable relics of our Holy Father Nektarios the Bishop of Pentapolis and Wonderworker, which took place in the year of our salvation 1953.

Verses

Your relics appeared from the earth Father,
Showing its hidden grace to all.
On the third the bones of Nektarios appeared out of the earth.

Reflection on the Ecclesiastical New Year (St. Theophan the Recluse)

 By St. Theophan the Recluse

The Lord did not only come to preach the acceptable year, but He brought it as well. Where is it? In the souls of believers. The earth will never become paradise under the current state of affairs; but it is and will be an arena of preparation for the heavenly life. The rudiments of heavenly life are placed in the soul, the possibility for it lies in God’s grace, while grace was brought by our Lord Jesus Christ — who brought, consequently, the acceptable year for souls. He who listens to the Lord and fulfils all that is commanded by Him, receives grace, and with its power enjoys the acceptable year within himself. This truly occurs in all who sincerely believe and act according to faith. You will not fill your soul with this acceptableness by thinking; you must act, and it will enter in on its own. There might not be any outer peace, just inner, and yet it cannot be separated from Christ. But it always happens that as soon as inner peace is established, outer disturbances are neither bitter nor heavy. Thus, this aspect is also acceptable — it only seem like a cold winter on the outside.

 

 

Holy Five Virgin Martyrs Thekla, Mariamna, Martha, Maria and Ennatha as Models for our Lives

Holy Five Canonical Virgins (Feast Day - September 26 & June 9)

 By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

The Holy Virgin Martyrs Thekla, Mariamna, Martha, Maria and Ennatha came from Persia and lived in the 4th century AD, during the years of King Shapur. They lived near a village called Ἀza and were dedicated to God. There they lived in asceticism and prayer and were guided by a priest named Paul, who, unfortunately, was greedy and kept for himself the money given by the faithful for the needs of the hungry. And this passion of his, because he did not strive to defeat it, led him, unfortunately, to eternal loss.

In the area where the nuns and their spiritual father Paul lived, there lived also a magician, who understood that Paul had money and he wanted in every way to get it. That is why he presented himself before the king and told him that these women and Paul were Christians. The king called for them and ordered them to deny Christ. Then the nuns openly confessed their faith in Christ, but Paul did not do the same. Instead, he asked the king not to take his money away from him, and when he told him that you could keep your money if you deny Christ, then he said that he would deny Him. Later, however, the king set a condition for him to keep his money, which was for he himself to behead the nuns, who in the meantime had been severely tortured. At first he hesitated to carry out this heinous act, but then, defeated by the passion of greed, he took the sword from the hands of the executioner and beheaded them. Before beheading them, they tried with warm words of faith and love for Christ to awaken his conscience and lead him to repentance, but, unfortunately, he remained unrepentant. The money, however, which he loved so much, he did not enjoy, since at the end the magician took it, and then in his despair he committed suicide, like Judas, that is, he put a noose around his neck and hung himself.

The Return of the Skull of the Apostle Andrew to Patras as a Fruit of the Dialogue With the Roman Catholic Church

In the book by the theologian Aristides Panotis Peacemakers: Paul VI - Athenagoras I (Athens 1971) we read the following very interesting things about the return of the Honorable Head of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called from Rome to Patras on September 26, 1964:

"The story of the return of the head of Saint Andrew began in February 1963 at a meeting of Orthodox and Catholics in Athens. The relevant suggestions are made in Rome, with positive results. The Metropolitan of Patras, Konstantinos, is indicated by the writer the path he must follow. The text is written and sent. The answer is most desirable. In the middle of May, John Willebrans comes to Patras, for secret consultations with Metropolitan Konstantinos, who writes a personal letter to Pope Paul VI. Pope Paul VI responds in the affirmative to the request. But he wants the head to be returned "with a new reliquary worthy of its contents", which he would pay for himself, because the original reliquary, with which Thomas Palaiologos handed it over to Pope Pius II in 1462, had been replaced with a newer one, and the traces of the old one were lost in a Sacristy. Reliquary designs are requested from Athens, of the Orthodox type, but at the same time research is being done to discover the original reliquary. It is discovered. It was in the museum of the homeland of Pope Pius II. It is golden and its scientific examination by eminent archaeologists and Byzantine scholars proves that it is a rare work of art of the pre-iconoclast period (7th century) and thus has great artistic value. After this responsible opinion, the Pope decides to make a double gift to the Metropolis of Patras, the head and the ancient reliquary. They repair it and add only a base of precious stones, "blue" (lapis lazuli) with the inscription "in the spirit of concord and as a sign of great love". In this unique reliquary, with a relevant ceremony, in the presence of the Orthodox Observers, the Pope encloses the sacred relic and seals it and in this manner it is handed over to the Metropolitan of Patras Konstantinos, on 26 September 1964."

 

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

 

Saint Dositheos the Recluse (+ 1776)

St. Dositheos the Recluse (Feast Day - September 25)

This is the story of how a young girl named Daria, became a serf named Dositheos, who lived for decades as a recluse, and gave the blessing to Saint Seraphim to go to Sarov.

Daria was born in 1721 to the noble Tiapkin family in the province of Riazan. Before she was born, her grandmother entered the Monastery of the Ascension at the Moscow Kremlin and took the name Porphyria. When Daria was two years old she visited her grandmother with her parents, and when her grandmother saw her she insisted Daria remain in the monastery with her to be dedicated to God and the patroness of the monastery, Saint Euphrosyne. The parents reluctantly allowed their child to remain with her grandmother in the monastery. With her grandmother, Daria was educated and learned to love the monastic way of life of asceticism and prayer.

Synaxis of Panagia Smyrniotissa in Nemea

This icon was brought by a soldier from Smyrna in 1920 to Nemea in the Peloponnese. A woman, Katsiabouraina, kept it in a hut that looked like a chapel in the yard of her house. Many would go there and pray, and because it had the grace to work miracles, the faithful would bring offerings. The icon would either be brought to those who were sick or when someone sick was about to pass away, and when this took place the icon would become heavier than normal. Eventually it was dedicated to the Church of the Evangelistria in Nemea where it is majestically celebrated together with the Panagia Myrtidiotissa on September 24th every year.