Sunday of the Holy Fathers Before the Nativity of Christ

By St. Justin Popovich

 

In the days before the feast of the Nativity of Christ our God and Savior, on the Sunday that falls between December 18 and 24, the Old Testament Holy Ancestors of Christ according to the flesh are commemorated, that is, those Fathers from whose tribe and lineage our Lord Jesus Christ came physically, through the Holy Mother of God. These are the Forefathers and Ancestors of Christ, from Abraham through David to Joseph the Betrothed and the Holy Mother of God, whose names are mentioned in the Genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew the Evangelist. That is why the Gospel of Matthew about the Genealogy of Christ is read this week (Matthew 1:1-17).

But, this week as well as the previous one, that is, on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers, all those Old Testament Righteous are mentioned who previously lived by faith in the coming Messiah, the Lord Christ our Savior, and who are therefore mentioned in the Epistle that is read this Sunday at the Liturgy (Hebrews 11:9-40).

How Saint Amphilochios of Iconium Cleansed the Church of Arian Heretics

 

 By St. Justin Popovich

Saint Amphilochios shepherded the flock of Christ for many years, because his life extended until the reign of Theodosius the Great and his sons. As a teacher of the Orthodox faith, he fought against the heresy of Arius, he suffered many persecutions and tortures from heretics, he was a co-struggler of the Holy Fathers in the fight against the blasphemy of Eunomius, and at the Second Ecumenical Synod he fought a lot against the pneumatomachian Macedonius and supporter of the heresy of Arius. Because of such zeal for the faith and because of his highly virtuous life, Saint Amphilochios was celebrated everywhere and was loved by the Holy Fathers, especially by Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory the Theologian, who considered him a close friend and corresponded with him.

Miracles of Saints Sergius and Nikon of Radonezh

 By St. Justin Popovich

During their life on earth, the venerable fathers Sergius and Nikon were very close to each other. That mutual closeness does not leave them even in eternal life, because the love of the saints, like the love of the Divine, is not subject to the law of time. Both of them appeared together many times and performed miracles together.

A resident of Moscow, named Symeon, who was born according to the Saint's prediction, became so terribly ill that he could neither move, nor sleep, nor receive food. Simply, he was lying on his bed like a dead man. Tormented like that, he once at night began calling for help from Saint Sergius: "Help me, Venerable Sergius! Deliver me from this disease! Even during your life on earth you were so kind to my parents and you predicted my birth to them; don't forget me, who is struggling with such a serious illness!" And behold, two old men stood in front of him one after the other: one of them was Nikon. The sick man recognized him immediately, because he knew this Saint personally during his life on earth. Then it would be clear to the sick person that the second of the Saints who appeared was Venerable Sergius himself. The wonderful old man made the sign of the cross over the sick man, after which he ordered Nikon to take the icon that was near the bed. That icon was once given to Symeon by Venerable Nikon himself. Then, the sick man was made to remove all his skin from his body. After that, the Saints became invisible. And at that moment, Symeon felt that he was completely healed: he got up on his bed, and no one was holding him anymore. Then he understood that his skin had not fallen off, but that the disease had left him. His joy was great: standing up, he began to fervently thank Saint Sergius and Venerable Nikon for his unexpected and wonderful healing.

The Main Cause for the Schism Between Western and Eastern Christianity According to Saint Nektarios (St. Justin Popovich)

 

 By St. Justin Popovich

From the rich spiritual treasury of Saint Nektarios of Aegina, we have many precious pearls to present to pious readers. His Orthodox theology, his spiritual experience, soul-beneficial teachings and ascetic instructions, all this is abundantly present in his wonderful works, which he wrote following the Holy Fathers of the Orthodox Church in everything. But there is something new in his works, which today's Orthodox reader will find useful and necessary to know, so we will only mention it here. This is the opinion and assessment of Saint Nektarios, as a contemporary Father of the Church and as a Church historian (because he was also a learned theologian), about what were the causes of the split in the Church, that is, in fact, the causes of the separation of the Western Latin Church from the Eastern Orthodox Church.

The Legacy of Saint Nektarios of Aegina (St. Justin Popovich)

By St. Justin Popovich

 

Indeed, it is a great miracle that in our century of unbelief and lack of faith, this Metropolitan Nektarios, despised by many and humiliated to the point of death, becomes the cause of so many spiritual events and movements.

No matter where the faithful call upon him and invoke him in prayers with faith, he arrived and always arrives. He heals the demon possessed, strengthens the weak spiritually and physically, straightens and heals the lame, and saves those at sea in a storm.

In a very short time, his holy name became known everywhere: on the land, on the sea, and on the islands; in Europe and America and Africa; wherever there are Orthodox souls, his gracious presence is felt.

The Holy Ninety-Nine Fathers of Crete including Venerable John the Hermit

 

MEMORY OF THE VENERABLE NINETY-NINE FATHERS,
who practiced asceticism on the island of Crete
including JOHN THE HERMIT

Commemorated on October 7th

By St. Justin Popovich

 

THESE ninety-nine venerable fathers, among whom the most famous was John the Hermit, practiced asceticism and perfected themselves on the island of Crete, but their origin was from various regions. Venerable John was from Egypt and with him thirty-five other fathers; thirty-nine fathers were from the island of Cyprus, and the other twenty-four from Attaleia. Traveling by ship to the island of Crete, they were miraculously saved from a storm and landed on the neighboring island of Gavdos, and from there they came to Crete. But John the Hermit lagged behind them, who then came across the sea standing on his tunic, which, after praying to God, he spread on the water and thus by the power of God he also sailed to Crete.

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.

 

 

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.

Saint Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (St. Justin Popovich)

 

By St. Justin Popovich

 

Saint Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, is one of the most famous fathers and teachers of the Church. He lived and practiced asceticism in the second century, devoting his whole life to the struggle with Gnosticism [1]. His importance for the Christian Church of the second century can be compared with the importance of Saint Athanasius the Great [2] for the Christian Church of the fourth century. Both of them appear in their life and work primarily as protectors of pure, unaltered Church teachings against the false heretical teachings of their time: Saint Irenaeus - against Gnosticism, Saint Athanasius - against Arianism. [3]

Saint Irenaeus was born in the city of Smyrna, in Asia Minor; from an early age he dedicated himself to the thorough study of Hellenic wisdom, and became an excellent connoisseur of Greek poetry, philosophy and other Hellenic sciences. However, worldly knowledge did not impress young Irenaeus. Hearing about spiritual wisdom, Christian wisdom, and starting to get acquainted with it, he was delighted with it and wanted to adopt it wholeheartedly, because he felt its salutary and immeasurable importance.

The Prophetic Schools in Ancient Israel

 By St. Justin Popovich

The "sons of the prophets" (2 King 2:15) is what the disciples of the prophets were called among the Israelites. They formed communities that were educated under the direct influence of the prophet. The prophetic disciples engaged in prayer, instructive conversations, devotional singing and music, and sometimes received divine inspiration. "Prophesy" according to Holy Scripture does not always mean "foretelling the future" according to the revelation of God; it sometimes means: under the influence of the Spirit of God, to give inspired sermons, to speak instructive sermons, to interpret the word of God (cf. 1 Cor. 14:3-6), to compose prayers and songs to God, to recite them and sing them to the sounds of music. - All this was the goal and task of prophetic communities, prophetic schools. There were such schools in Ramah, Bethel, Jericho, Galgal and other places.

From Lives of the Saints for July (July 20th).

 

 

On the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel in July (St. Justin Popovich)

Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel (Feast Day - July 13)

 By St. Justin Popovich

We praise with songs the harbinger of our salvation, the great servant of God, and the joyful messenger to the Most Pure Virgin Mary, the Archangel Gabriel, organizing a festive synaxis for him for the second time. His first synaxis is celebrated the day after the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the twenty-sixth of March; and now that synaxis of his is being celebrated again in the holy Church, and his miraculous appearances are again being mentioned and celebrated by God's order.

He taught Moses, who escaped from Pharaoh, in the desert to write books, telling him the origin of the world, the creation of the first man Adam, his life and that of the patriarchs after him, the latter times, the flood and the division of the people; he explained to him the position of the heavenly planets and the elements; taught him arithmetic, geometry, and all wisdom.

Saint Justin Popovich, a Great Monastic Figure

 

By Bishop Atanasije Jevtic of Zahumlye-Herzegovina

The Holy and God-bearing Father Justin the New, from the Monastery of Ćelije (the Holy Archangels), was born on 25 March 1894, on the morning of the Annunciation, in the town of Vranje in Southern Serbia. His father was a priest called Spyridon and his mother was Anastasia. At baptism he was given the name Blagoje [for the feast of the Annunciation]. His father came from a long line of clerics which had given the Orthodox Church at least seven priests, as can be seen from his surname ‘Popovich’, meaning ‘son of a priest’. Even as a child he often went with his parents to visit the nearby Monastery of Saint Prohor at Pčinja, where, in 1929, he witnessed the cure of his mother, who had been suffering from a serious illness. It was she who taught him gospel piety, prayer and fasting.

Holy Apostle Carpos of the Seventy (St. Justin Popovich)

 

By St. Justin Popovich

The Holy Apostle Carpos, one of the Seventy Apostles, was a companion and servant of the Holy Apostle Paul; he distributed his epistles to those for whom they were intended. Striving much with the Apostle Paul in preaching the gospel of Christ, Saint Carpos suffered many temptations. He was then appointed Bishop of the city of Beroea in Thrace by the Apostle Paul. Saint Carpos also made an effort to preach the gospel of Christ on the island of Crete. There he received Saint Dionysius the Areopagite into his home. There he also saw the Lord who appeared to him in a vision, when Carpos begged Him to punish two sinners, and he heard the voice of the Lord saying to him: "Strike me, because I am ready to be crucified again for the salvation of men."

The Four Gospels Summarized in Four Words

 

Christos Anesti!
Alithos Anesti!

With only four words the four Gospels of Christ are summarized.

- St. Justin Popovich

 

 

Life of the Holy and Righteous and Much-Suffering Job (St. Justin Popovich)

By St. Justin Popovich

Righteous Job was from the tribe of Abraham, and lived in the land of Uz, in Arabia. Job was a man of truth, blameless, just, and godly, and he shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters. He also had seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and very many servants; and his works were great in the earth; with nobility and honor he was the greatest of all men in the East. His sons gathered themselves together, and gave feasts at home every day, and called their three sisters to eat and drink with them. The sons of Job lived in such love and harmony with each other that, although they lived in separate houses, they never liked to eat or drink without each other. So, one day they had lunch together with the eldest brother, and the next day with the other brother, and thus having celebrated in seven days, they started again from the eldest. And their feasts were moderate and honorable, neat and quiet, without drunkenness, disorder and noise. This is because their good and righteous father would not allow gatherings, in which the sin of overeating, drunkenness and indecency would have a share, but he would surely forbid them. But he, seeing their good nature and meekness and so much mutual love that is rarely found among siblings, did not forbid them feasts but enjoyed it. And when they had prepared a feast for seven days, Job sent to them, admonishing them and advising them to examine their conscience carefully, whether they had sinned against the Lord in word or thought, because righteous Job feared God very much, fearing not with the fear of a slave but with the fear of a son of love, and he took care of himself and all his house, so that nothing would be done that would anger the Lord God.

Saint Gorgonia, Sister of Saint Gregory the Theologian (St. Justin Popovich)

St. Gorgonia of Nazianzus (Feast Day - February 23)

By St. Justin Popovich

 

Among the chosen Christian families, in which all or almost all of their members have dedicated themselves to the Lord, is the holy family of our Holy Father Gregory the Theologian. In this holy family, holy parents were also celebrated with holiness: the father Gregory and the mother Nonna, and their holy children: Gregory the Theologian, his brother Caesarius and his blessed sister Gorgonia.

Blessed Gorgonia would have been born in the small town of Nazianzus, near Caesarea of Cappadocia, but according to her brother Gregory, her true homeland was the Jerusalem Above, a city in heaven to which all true Christians aspire and in which Christ is king and all the saints of the heavenly Church are citizens. firstborn. As for her nobility, adds Saint Gregory, it consisted in preserving the image of God in the soul and in reaching the likeness of God through virtue (η της εικονος τηρησις και η προς το αρχετυπον εξ). Her parents were a new Abraham and Sarah, that is, Saint Gregory, Bishop of Nazianzus, and his holy wife Nonna. Saint Nonna was born and raised in the house of Christian parents, while Gregory was initially a pagan and an idolater. Saint Nonna converted him to the faith of Christ with her faith, virtue and wisdom, because he was a man of good and gentle nature. Converted to Christianity by Saint Nonna, he was so famous after his holy baptism in faith and virtuous living that he was elected bishop of the Church in Nazianzus, where he served as a bishop wisely and reverently until his blessed death in 374. Blessed Nonna was a model of Christian virtues and piety, an excellent wife and godly mother, an ornament and praise to the female race. She nurtured so much piety towards the temple of God that, according to her son Saint Gregory, she never turned her back on the east where the Sanctuary and the Holy Altar are, nor did she ever talk in the temple during the holy services. With such virtues and her unceasing prayers to God, she raised such holy and virtuous children and dedicated them to God.

The Life and Passion of the Holy Apostle Onesimus, One of the Seventy (St. Justin Popovich)

St. Onesimus the Apostle (Feast Day - February 15)

 By St. Justin Popovich

In the Phrygian city of Colossae was a distinguished nobleman named Philemon. He believed in Christ, and later was honored with the episcopal rank. He would also be included among the Holy Seventy Apostles. Before his apostleship, Philemon had a slave named Onesimus. He sinned against his master and, fearing punishment, fled from him and traveled to Rome. In Rome he found the Holy Apostle Paul in chains, and heard a holy sermon from him. And having learned the holy faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, he was baptized by the apostle, and served him in Rome with Saint Tychicus. His service to the apostle was also of great benefit.

The Theophany of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ (St. Justin Popovich)

By St. Justin Popovich

Upon his return from Egypt, our Lord Jesus Christ was in Galilee, in his city of Nazareth, where he would be brought up, hiding his power and omniscience from his people until the age of thirty. This was because with the Jews, no one was allowed to have the dignity of a teacher or a priest before the age of thirty. That is why Christ did not start preaching until he was thirty, nor did he announce that he was the Son of God and the Great High Priest who passed through heaven. Until that time, he lived in Nazareth with his Immaculate Mother and with his supposed father Joseph the Carpenter, while he was alive. During this time he occupied himself with the craft of carpentry. And when Joseph died, he labored at that craft himself, earning bread for himself and the pure Mother of God with the labor of his hands, in order to teach us not to be lazy or eat bread for nothing.

Saint John of Kronstadt as a Wonderworker of our Days (St. Justin Popovich)

 

By Archimandrite Justin Popovich

 

Here is another Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker: by the power of faith, by the power of prayer, by the power of love, by the power of mercy, by the power of all the holy evangelical virtues, and therefore by the power of miracles. Yes, the same almighty Lord Christ is in Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker and in Saint John the Wonderworker of Kronstadt. The gospel is eternally true in both: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8). He is the same, the All-Miraculous Savior, and His Saints are the same: Righteous, because He - the All-Loving - lives and works in all of them and through all of them at all times, even in our time. And Saint John of Kronstadt is, so to speak, our contemporary, he passed away on December 20, 1908. The Holy Father is righteous and entirely a Christ-bearer, He lives as an apostolic saint and works and performs miracles. His faith - apostolic, holy, strong and omnipotent - worked apostolic miracles. He passed through the vast land of Russia, performing countless and inexpressible miracles. People from all over Russia turned to him for help, for healing, for advice. He often did not have time to read countless telegrams, letters, requests, which were addressed to him for help. He blessed them at the holy proskomide, praying to the Lord to fulfill the prayers of the supplicants; and through his prayers there are healings throughout the vast land of Russia. This is what the Holy Word of God is about. There is no doubt, his help from heaven is needed by all of us people who live in this lost paradise called the earth.

 

Source: Lives of the Saints. Translated by John Sanidopoulos. 

The Passion of the Holy Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer (St. Justin Popovich)

 

By Archimandrite Justin Popovich

 

At the time when Trajan ascended the Roman throne,[1] Bishop Ignatius, who was the God-bearer in name and in reality, was in the Church of Antioch, having received the episcopal throne after Saint Evodius, the successor of Saint Peter the Apostle.[2]

It is said about this divine Ignatius the God-bearer that while he was still a child, and the Lord Jesus Christ lived on earth among the people and taught the people about the Kingdom of God, once Ignatius' parents with the child Ignatius stood among the people and listened to the divine words from the Savior's mouth. Looking at them, the Lord called the child Ignatius to Himself, placed him in the midst of the people, embraced him, and took him in His arms and said: "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 18:3, 5).