Homily Two on the Feast of the Lord’s Theophany (St. John Maximovitch)

 

By St. John Maximovitch

"Today You appeared to the world, and Your light, O Lord, has left its mark upon us."

The feast of the Baptism of the Lord was called in ancient times "the Day of Lights".

The Baptism of Christ is the beginning of our enlightenment - the appearance of Christ to the world, the revelation of the Holy Trinity to people.

“Why,” the Golden-mouthed Teacher asks, “not the day on which He was born, but the day on which He was baptized, is it called the Theophany? Because now He has manifested to the world.”

Homily on the Day of the Theophany Before the Blessing of the Waters (St. John Maximovitch)

By St. John Maximovitch

(Delivered in Shanghai in 1947)

“The heavens were opened and the Holy Spirit descended physically like a dove” on the Son of God standing in the Jordan. The voice from heaven of God the Father is heard: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased” (Luke 3:21-22; Mark 1:11; Matt. 3:17).

The sky is open now, again the Holy Spirit descends on the waters, and God testifies of His Son.

Oh, that our spiritual eyes would be opened! Oh, that our ears could perceive celestial expressions! We would see the heavens open above us. We would have seen the Son of God standing among us and the Holy Spirit hovering over us, and we would have heard the voice of God proclaiming the divinity of the Savior of the world.

Christ Is Born, Glorify Him! (St. John Maximovitch)

 

By St. John Maximovitch

 

Christ is born, glorify Him!

“You were secretly born in a cave, but the heavens proclaimed You to all, O Savior, using the star as its mouth.”

Quietly, silently, the Son of God descended to earth and incarnated. Like a drop of dew falls on the ground, so the Power of the Most High overshadowed the Most Pure Virgin, and the Savior of the world was born from Her.

But the world did not notice the great work done by God. People were each busy with their own concerns, their attention was directed to the affairs of life and to high-profile worldly events.

1963 Nativity Message of St. John Maximovitch

1963 Christmas Message

By St. John Maximovitch

“Glory to God in the highest, and on the earth peace among those whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:14).

The angels sang in heaven when the Son of God was born in Bethlehem. “Glory to God in the highest” is heard in heaven to this day, in all ages it has not calmed down and never stopped for a moment. The angels are constantly praising Him. “Holy, Holy, Holy,” cry the six-winged seraphim and the many-eyed cherubim, countless hosts of angels worship Him. Soulless creation listens to Him: the sun shines, warming the earth with its rays, the moon dispels the darkness of the night, the stars shine, the material sky, imitating the spiritual Heaven, glorifies the Creator of the universe in its strength in the highest.

1960 Nativity Message of St. John Maximovitch

 

1960 Christmas Message

By St. John Maximovitch

"Your Kingdom, O Christ our God, is a Kingdom of all the ages, and Your rule is from generation to generation." (Christmas Great Vespers)

“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him” (Matt. 2:2), said the wise men who came to Jerusalem from the East. Herod the King was confused when he heard this. “Who is the king?” he thought. Will a child who is born, grow up and overthrow me from the throne and reign in my place? He thus ordered all babies in and around Bethlehem to be massacred. But in vain was the shedding of innocent blood. That Child hid Himself and escaped his hands.

1956 Nativity Message of St. John Maximovitch

 

1956 Christmas Message to the Western European and Eastern Flock

By St. John Maximovitch

“Let heaven be glad and earth rejoice. Our God is born from the Virgin Maiden."

The Son of God came down to earth. The Creator came to His creation and settled in a miserable cave.

He does not seek wealth and fame, but lay down in a manger in the midst of two animals. He brought to earth not material wealth, but grants heavenly eternal treasures.

1955 Nativity Message of St. John Maximovitch

 

1955 Christmas Message

By St. John Maximovitch

“When Jesus the Lord was born of the holy Virgin, the whole world was enlightened. The shepherds watched in the fields, the Magi adored and the angels sang hymns of praise; but Herod was troubled: for God appeared in the flesh, the Savior of our souls.” (Christmas Great Vespers)

The invisible God put on a body and visibly appeared on earth.

The angels rejoice in heaven, seeing their Creator God, whose glory they cannot even look at. The people on earth rejoice too. “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people” (Luke 2:10), the angel proclaims to the shepherds. The shepherds glorify and praise God, seeing the Infant lying in the manger.

1954 Nativity Message of St. John Maximovitch

 

1954 Christmas Message to the West European and East Asian Flock

By St. John Maximovitch

“O the depth of the riches and wisdom and mind of God! Thou hast settled in the cave, Christ God: the manger received Thee, the shepherds and the magi worshiped Thee."

On the earth, full of tribulations and sorrows, the Son of God descended from heaven, where angels praise Him with unceasing hymns.

The King of Heaven appeared on earth to live with people.

The Creator and Maker of the world Himself became a man. The incorporeal God, omnipresent and omnipotent, took on human flesh, took on a human body, which is weak and subject to suffering.

1953 Nativity Message of St. John Maximovitch

 1953 Christmas Message

By St. John Maximovitch

"All the angels in heaven make merry and dance today, all creation leaps for joy." (Christmas Compline)

Heaven and earth are united today: today the Virgin of the Creator of all gives birth. Eden brings a cave and a star shows Christ the Sun existing in a canopy of darkness.

A great and glorious miracle has taken place today: the Word is incarnate and is not separated from the Father.

Angels with shepherds glorify the invisible God, who created heaven and earth, and is clothed with light like a robe, who became a man and is seen in the flesh.

1952 Nativity Message of St. John Maximovitch

 

 1952 Christmas Message

By St. John Maximovitch

"Your Nativity, Christ our God, has shone to the world the light of knowledge."

“Where is the King of the Jews to be born? For we have seen His star in the east, and we have come to worship Him” (Matt. 2:2) – the magi who came to Jerusalem once asked. And the shepherds, grazing their flocks near Bethlehem, learned about the birth of Christ, for the glory of the Lord shone around them and the angels announced to them about this. A great mystery is now proclaimed to people: what is with them - the Son of God.

1951 Nativity Message of St. John Maximovitch

1951 Christmas Message to the Western European and Sino-Filipino Flock

By St. John Maximovitch

Christ is born, glorify Him! Christ from heaven, respond to Him!

Raise your hands and with your tongues, shout to God with a voice of joy.

Rejoice righteous ones, rejoice heavens, mountains leap with joy, Christ is now born of the Virgin.

Born on earth is He who was born before all ages from the Father and created heaven and earth.

The beginningless accepts a beginning.

The Creator comes to His creation and Himself becomes a creation.

1947 Nativity Message of St. John Maximovitch

 

 By St. John Maximovitch

(Delivered in Shanghai in 1947)

“Thou hast dwelt in a cave, O Christ our God. A manger welcomed Thee. Shepherds and Wise Men worshipped Thee” (Apostichon of Great Vespers for the Nativity).

Seeing the human race perishing from sins, the Son of God descends to earth. “When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4-5). For us, for the sake of man and for our salvation He came down from heaven to earth. The Son of God takes on human nature in order to reunite man with God. He comes to earth when humanity has fallen into a complete moral decline, when people have languished, not seeing a way out.

1935 Nativity Message of St. John Maximovitch

 By St. John Maximovitch

(Delivered in Shanghai in 1935)

Christ is born, praise Him! Christ from heaven, respond to Him! Christ on earth, exalt Him!

He who sits on a cherub comes to earth!

Born in a sinful world is the eternally begotten of God the Father!

The King of the Universe is coming from heavenly heights to man who has fallen deep into the pit of sin and unbelief!

St. John Maximovitch and the Woman Dying from Rabies

The following incident, told by Olga Skopichenko, a spiritual daughter of St. John, and confirmed by many from Shanghai, well illustrates the daring, unshakable faith in Christ of St. John Maximovitch.

"Mrs. Menshikova was bitten by a mad dog. The injections against rabies she either refused to take or took carelessly. And then she came down with this terrible disease. Bishop John found out about it and came to the dying woman. He gave her Holy Communion, but just then she began having one of the fits of this disease; she began to foam at the mouth, and at the same time she spit out the Holy Gifts which she had just received. The Holy Sacrament cannot be thrown out. So, Vladyka picked up and put in his mouth the Holy Gifts vomited by the sick woman. Those who were with him exclaimed: `Vladyka, what are you doing! Rabies is terribly contagious!' But Vladyka peacefully answered: `Nothing will happen; these are the Holy Gifts.' And indeed nothing did happen."

Saint John Maximovitch, Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco (+ 1966)

Our Father among the Saints John (Maximovitch), Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco (1896-1966), was a diocesan bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) who served widely from China to France to the United States.

Saint John departed this life on June 19 (O.S.) / July 2 (N.S.), 1966, and was officially glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad on July 2, 1994. His glorification was later recognized for universal veneration by the Patriarchate of Moscow on July 2, 2008.

Homily on the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist (St. John Maximovitch)

By St. John Maximovitch

Among the Church's feasts, there are three in honor of God's saint which in their significance stand out from the others devoted to the saints and are numbered among the great feasts of the Church of Christ. These feasts glorify the economy of God for our salvation.

These three feasts are the Nativity of St. John the Forerunner, his Beheading, and the feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.

The apparition of the holy Archangel Gabriel to the priest Zacharias in the Temple, with the announcement of the birth to him and the righteous Elizabeth, of a son who would prepare the way for the Lord, the Savior of the world, and the subsequent fulfillment of this premise, are the first of the events related by the Evangelists.

Homily One on the Feast of the Lord’s Theophany (St. John Maximovitch)

By St. John Maximovitch

When celebrating the Theophany, we call to remembrance both that God was made known to people as Trinity and that Jesus was revealed to people as Christ. Where was Christ revealed? Where was His work begun? Did He go to a great city to be revealed there in His Glory? Did He ascend a high mountain, with a crowd of many thousands standing below and looking up at Him like a wonder? No! Christ went into the desert, to the River Jordan, where John was baptizing the people. John preached repentance, calling upon sinners to be baptized in the Jordan as a sign of repentance. Christ, Who has no sin, now comes and asks for baptism as a sinner. John was fearful: “You should baptize me!” Jesus replies: “Let it be so now: for this is how we should fulfill all righteousness” [cf. Matthew 3:13-15].

Will These Human Bones Come to Life? (A Sermon of St. John Maximovitch)

Will These Human Bones Come to Life?

A sermon delivered in Shanghai on 22 October 1948, when once again there seemed to be absolutely no hope for the deliverance of Russia from the Communist Yoke.

By St. John (Maximovich) of Shanghai and San Francisco

There was no limit to the grief and despondency of the ancient Jews when Jerusalem was destroyed and they themselves were led away into the Babylonian captivity. "Where are Thine ancient mercies, O Lord, which Thou swarest to David?" (Ps. 88:50), they cried out. "But now Thou, hast cast off and put us to shame... They that hated us spoiled for themselves and Thou scatterest us among the nations" (Ps. 43:10-12).

But when it seemed that there was no hope for deliverance, the Prophet Ezekiel, who was likewise in captivity, was made worthy of a wondrous vision. "And the hand of the Lord came upon me," he says of this. The invisible right hand of the Lord placed him in the midst of a field full of human bones. And the Lord asked him: "Son of man, will these bones live?" And the Prophet replied: "O Lord God, Thou knowest this." Then the voice of the Lord commanded the Prophet to say to the bones that the Lord will give to them the spirit of life, clothing them with sinews, flesh, and skin. The Prophet uttered the word of the Lord, a voice resounded, the earth shook, and the bones began to come together, bone to bone, each to its own joint; sinews appeared on them, the flesh grew and became covered with skin, so that the whole field became filled with the bodies of men; only there were no souls in them. And again the Prophet heard the Lord, and at His command he prophesied the word of the Lord, and from the four directions souls flew to them, the spirit of life entered into the bodies, they stood up, and the field was filled with an assembly of a multitude of people.

On the Occasion of the Glorification of Saint John of Kronstadt (St. John Maximovitch)

Righteous John, Wonderworker of Kronstadt
19 October/1 November

On the Occasion of his Glorification

By Saint John, Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice!

A new God-pleaser is being glorified by the Church.

A new intercessor and mediator for sinful men has openly appeared in heaven. Not from the present day has he become a saint. From the day of his removal to the Kingdom of Heaven he entered into the choir of the saints, and with them he mediates for them that turn to him for help. With them he glorifies the Creator and delights in inexpressible joy. Already for a long time, even during his life, many have been venerating him as a God-pleaser. The miracles performed by him testified to this. But that was only the opinion of feeling of individual persons, and panichidas were performed for him, as for ordinary people. Now, though, the Church states:

Uncovering of the Relics of Saint John Maximovitch in 1993

Uncovering of the Relics of St. John Maximovitch (Feast Day - September 29)

In the fall of the 1993 the Synod of Bishops charged the Archbishop of Western America and San Francisco, together with a commission comprised of two other archpastors, to examine Saint John's remains. In the evening of September 28, 1993 (o.s.), after a pannykhida served in the sepulcher by members of the commission, Archbishop Anthony gave a brief homily, calling all participants of this holy work to be reconciled and himself asking forgiveness of everyone, blessed those present to open the tomb. Having removed the lid of the sarcophagus, the participants withdrew the metal coffin of the Saint and noticed that in many places it had completely rusted through. With the fear of God and with prayer, they opened the coffin. The face of the Saint was covered and everyone immediately turned their attention to his white, incorrupt hands. Having prayed, Archbishop Anthony removed the "aer" from the brow of Vladyka and exposed the incorrupt face of the God-glorified Saint. At this moment a kind of supernatural spiritual peace, an extraordinary reverent silence was felt. No one was amazed, no one spoke. All problems seemed to vanish, such was the Grace-filled experience of standing beside the Saint's relics.