Homily on the Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God (St. Dimitri of Rostov)

By St. Dimitri of Rostov

 

During the last, difficult times, when with the increase of our sins our perils have also increased, in fulfillment of the words of the holy apostle Paul: In perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren (2 Cor. 11:26), when in fulfillment of the words of the Lord Himself, nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places (Matt. 24:7), when we are pressed with invasions by foreign nations, civil wars, and fatal diseases, the Most Holy and Most blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Lord, gives us her protection as our shield, in order to free us from all disasters; in order to protect us from famines, floods, and earthquakes, to save us from wars and diseases, and preserve us unharmed under her protection. A sign of this protection appeared in the royal city of Constantinople during the reign of the pious King Leo the Wise in the glorious church of the Most Holy Theotokos in Blachernae. There during the All-Night Vigil for Sunday, on the first day of the month of October, in the fourth hour of the night, in the presence of many people, St. Andrew the fool for Christ lifted up his eyes and saw the Heavenly Queen, the Protectress of the whole world, the Most Holy Virgin Theotokos, standing in the air and praying, shining with the light of the sun and covering the people with her honorable omophorion. Seeing this, St. Andrew said to his disciple Blessed Ephiphanios:

 

Life of Saint John the Hesychast, Bishop of Kolonia (St. Dimitri of Rostov)

St. John the Hesychast (Feast Day - December 3)

Verses

I am not resting. For by death I am crowned,
Were the words of the the hesychast John.

By St. Dimitri of Rostov

Our venerable father John the Silent, a man deserving of unceasing praise, was from Nicopolis of Armenia. His father was named Encratius, and his mother Euphemia. He was born on the eighth day of January, during the fourth year of the reign of the pious Marcian, and was enlightened in Holy Baptism. His parents were Orthodox Christians known throughout Armenia for their wealth. Encratius was a general held in high regard by the Emperor, who entrusted him with great authority. This is mentioned not so that John may be praised because of his noble birth (for the saints are blessed and extolled for their virtues, not because they are highborn), but that, knowing how eminent was the family from which God’s favorite sprang, we might understand how profound was the humility he attained.

The Life and Passion of the Holy Apostle Thomas

St. Thomas the Apostle (Feast Day - October 6)

By St. Dimitri of Rostov

The holy Apostle Thomas, who was called "The Twin," was from the city of Paneada in Galilee. When our Lord Jesus Christ, during His sojourn on earth with men, passed through cities and villages, teaching the people and healing all manner of disease, Thomas hearkened unto His preaching and saw His miracles. Cleaving unto the Lord fervently, he followed Him, filling himself with the Lord’s words and with the sight of His most holy countenance. Thomas was vouchsafed by Him to be numbered in the choir of the twelve apostles, with whom he followed Christ even until the time of the saving Passion.

After the Lord’s Resurrection, the faith of the Church in Christ was increased through Saint Thomas’ unbelief. When the other apostles told him that they had seen the Lord, Thomas would not believe them until he himself had beheld and touched Christ’s wounds. Eight days after the Resurrection, the disciples gathered together and Thomas was with them; and the Lord appeared and said, Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless, but believing.

Life of our Venerable Father Sergius of Radonezh

St. Sergius of Radonezh (Feast Day - September 25)

By St. Dimitri of Rostov

Our holy and God-bearing monastic father Sergius was born in the city of Rostov, the son of Orthodox parents named Cyril and Maria. God chose him to be His servant while he was still in his mother’s womb. One day, when his mother was yet carrying him in her womb, she went to church to attend the holy Liturgy as she was accustomed to do. When the reading of the Holy Gospel was begun, the child cried out so that all those who stood near his mother heard him. During the Cherubic Hymn he called out again, and when the priest proclaimed, "Holy things are for the holy," the child was heard a third time from his mother’s womb. From this, all perceived that he was to become a great light unto the world and a servant of the Holy Trinity. Even as Saint John the Forerunner leaped for joy in the womb before the Mother of the Lord, so did this child leap before the Lord in His holy church. His mother was seized with fear and astonishment on account of this miracle, and all who heard of it marvelled greatly. Soon thereafter, the time came for his mother to give birth, and she bore a son, who was given the name Bartholomew. From the day of his birth, he would not drink milk on Wednesdays, Fridays, or on other days of fasting. Such was the beginning of his great abstinence and fasting as a grown man.

Saint Juliana the Merciful of Lazarevo (+ 1604)

St. Juliana of Lazarevo (Feast Day - January 2)

By St. Dimitri of Rostov

During a moment of ardent supplication to God, the great Christian ascetic Macarius of Egypt heard a voice from heaven, saying: "Macarius! thus far thou hast not attained the spiritual level of two women who live in the town nearby!" The elder straightway took his staff in hand and went to seek out the righteous women of whom the voice from on high had spoken. After a lengthy search, he knocked on the door of a certain house in the town, and two women admitted him with kindness. Macarius said to them: "I have left the desert specifically to meet you, that I might acquaint myself with your works. Tell me of yourselves." "O man of God," the women answered, abashed, "can one expect anything God-pleasing from those who are continually occupied with domestic tasks and must need fulfill the responsibilities of marriage?" But the ascetic persisted, asking the women to disclose to him their manner of life. And they answered him, saying: "We are two sisters-in-law, the wives of brethren. For fifteen years we have lived together, and all throughout that time we have not spoken to each other a single word in vexation. We do not have children, but if the Lord will grant them, we will entreat Him to help us raise them in the faith and in piety. We treat our servants with kindness. Many times we have taken counsel one with another as to whether we ought to enter a community of nuns, but our husbands have declined to give us their permission. And seeing their love for us, we have resolved not to part with them, but to serve them with diligence. Yet to make our life a little like that of the holy desert-dwellers, we have set it in our hearts to avoid loud conversations, to remain at home as much as possible, to take care of the running of our household." To this the venerable Macarius said: "Truly God doth not look to see who is a virgin or who is married, who is a monastic or who is in the lay state, but only looketh for the inclination of the heart toward good deeds. This He accepteth, and in accordance therewith He sendeth the Holy Spirit down upon anyone who desireth to be saved. And the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, directeth the thoughts and will of such a one to the everlasting life of heaven."

Discovery of the Relics of Saint Dimitri the Metropolitan of Rostov

In 1702, Saint Dimitri, Metropolitan of Rostov, arrived at the Rostov Cathedral and also visited the Monastery of Saint James, Bishop of Rostov.

He served Liturgy at the Cathedral Church of the Conception of the Most Holy Theotokos, after which he indicated to those present the site of his future burial on the right side of the temple. “Behold my resting place,” he said, “here I will settle for eternity.” Saint Dimitri reposed on October 28, 1709.

Contrary to the Saint’s wishes, which he expressed in his will, the clergy and people of Rostov asked the locum tenens of the patriarchal throne, Metropolitan Stephen Yavorsky of Ryazan, who had come for the funeral, to conduct the burial at the cathedral church of the city.

Burial place of St. Dimitri in the Cathedral Church of the Conception of the Theotokos

Metropolitan Stephen insisted on burying the body of his deceased friend beside Saint Joasaph, who was Saint Dimitris’s predecessor. However, a grave was not prepared until the arrival of Metropolitan Stephen, even though about a month had elapsed since the Saint’s death.

Due to the urgent departure of Metropolitan Stephen from Rostov, a hastily constructed wooden frame was placed into the grave, in which the body of the Saint was buried on November 25. This circumstance, foreseen by the Providence of God, led to a quick uncovering of the relics.

In 1752 repairs were being done at the cathedral church of the monastery, and on September 21, the incorrupt body of Saint Dimitri was discovered. The place of burial had been affected by dampness, the oaken coffin and the writing on it were decayed, but the body of the Saint, and even the omophorion, sacchos, mitre and silken prayer rope were preserved undamaged.

Reliquary of St. Dimitri

After the uncovering of the holy relics many healings were worked, which were reported to the Synod, by whose order Metropolitan Sylvester of Suzdal and Archimandrite Gabriel of Simonov arrived at Rostov to examine the relics of Saint Dimitri, and to investigate the incidents of miraculous healings.

A decree was issued by the Synod on April 29, 1757 numbering Saint Dimitri, Metropolitan of Rostov among the saints, and establishing his feast days for October 28 (the day of his repose) and September 21 (the uncovering of his relics).

A healing at the tomb of St. Dimitri

Saint Dimitri of Rostov, the Chrysostom of Russia

St. Dimitri, Metropolitan of Rostov (Feast Day - October 28 and September 21)

Bishop Demetrius (Dimitry or Dimitri) (Daniel Tuptalo in the world) was born into a Cossack family in 1651, in the village of Makarovo in the Kiev region. He enrolled in the Kiev academy, but had to give up his studies because of war and finished his education studying by himself. After taking monastic vows at one of the Chernigov monasteries, he caught the attention of Archbishop Lazarus Baranovich, who directed him to preach in his cathedral. During the next two years Saint Dimitri preached frequently, and soon became so famous for his eloquence that churches in Lithuania and Malorossia (Ukraine) competed with one another in having him come and preach.

Saint Dimitri was thirty-three years old when he started his immortal 12-volume work—Cheti-Minei, or Menologion (Monthly Readings) — which described the lives of saints for every day of the year. For 20 years (from 1684 to 1704) he diligently collected, studied, and compiled these lives of saints. The work was nearly complete by the time he became Metropolitan of Rostov in 1702, and quickly ranked among the favorite reading of Russian Orthodox believers.

After being elevated to the rank of Metropolitan, he undertook a struggle against schism in the church and wrote a detailed study about major schismatic sects under the title of Investigation of the Bryansk (Old Believer) Faith. Seven years of his archpastoral service in Rostov were filled with his labors aimed at strengthening the faithful. He visited every corner of his diocese, teaching and preaching to the people. Painfully aware of the ignorance of both his parishioners and priests, he sponsored and organized a school in Rostov, and cared for the students there with fatherly love and attention. They would often gather around him and sing spiritual hymns composed by him. Many of these sublime hymns of Bishop Dimitri were sung by people in pre-Revolutionary Russia.

Saint Dimitri led an ascetic life of prayer, very strict fasting, and kindness. His food was simple and always very meager. He was accessible to everyone, always benevolent and lenient. On the 28th of October 1709, this great devotee of learning and piety gave his soul to the Lord peacefully during his prayer in private — he was discovered on his knees before an icon of the Savior. In 1752, his relics were were found to be incorrupt and he was ranked among the saints.

In addition to the Menologion and Investigation of the Bryansk (Old Believer) Faith, Bishop Dimitri wrote a number of sermons and instructions, such as A Short Catechism, A History of the Tsars and Patriarchs, A Record of Russian Metropolitans, and other writings. A Short Confession Before One's Spiritual Father is used to this day in many parishes, as a help in the Sacrament of Confession. All the works of Bishop Dimitri are permeated with deep faith and warmth, and are easy to read, since the Russian language is polished to a wonderful legibility and refinement. He was a truly a great national writer, and our father among the saints.

Source

A Reflection By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

St. Dimitri of Rostov was a saint in the ancient and true model of the early Fathers. Not only did he write beautiful and instructive books, but also shone forth as an example to his flock. He was a great ascetic and man of prayer.

So humble was he that he even begged the seminarians in his seminary to pray to God for him. Whenever the clock struck the hour, he stood for prayer and recited: "O Theotokos and Virgin, rejoice!" When he was ill - which, for him, was often - he begged each of the seminarians to recite "Our Father" five times on his behalf while meditating on the five wounds of the Lord Jesus Christ. On one occasion, St. Barbara appeared to him with a smile and said, "Why do you pray in the Latin manner?" - meaning, why do you pray to God with such brief prayers? At this reproach, even though it was gentle, he became despondent, but she encouraged him, saying: "Do not be afraid!"

On another occasion, St. Orestes the Martyr (November 10) appeared to him, just as St. Dimitri had finished writing the saint's life, and said: "I endured greater tortures for Christ than those you have written." He then showed him his left side and said: "This was pierced with a red-hot iron." He then showed him his left hand and said: "There I was slashed." Finally, he showed him his leg above the knee and said: "And this was cut off by a scythe." When St. Dimitri wondered if this Orestes visiting him was one of the Five Companions (December 13), the saint discerned his thought and said: "I am not the one of the Five Companions but rather the one whose life you have just written." 

 

Troparion in Tone 8
O lover of Orthodoxy and uprooter of schism, healer of Russia and new advocate before God, by thy writings thou didst heal the minds of the foolish. O blessed Demetrius, thou harp of the Spirit, entreat Christ God, that our souls may be saved.

Kontakion Tone 8
Let us bless Demetrius, the golden-worded teacher, the star of Russia, who shone forth from Kiev, and through Novgorod Seversky reached Rostov, and hath illumined the whole land with his teachings and miracles; for he wrote down all those things which are for our edification that, like Paul, he might win all for Christ and save our souls through the right Faith.

From Glory at Lord, I have cried
With praises let us bless the holy hierarch Demetrius, the great bishop, the Chrysostom of Russia, who, having been made a chosen vessel of the most Holy Spirit, hath been shown to be a member of the choir of the friends of God! And he prayeth that peace and length of days be granted to all Orthodox Christians, victory and triumph over their enemies, and great mercy to the world.