The Value of Time

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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THE VALUE OF TIME
By Metropolitan Augustinos of Florina, Greece, of blessed memory

At midnight on December 31st, when the clocks reach exactly 12:00, one full year--with all of its joys and sorrows--is fully erased, and a new year rises. The previous year becomes part of history; all of its 365 days are left behind, a simple memory.

My dear brethren, did you ever think, I mean truly contemplate the time period of these 365 days that on each December 31st becomes part of our own history? What have we truly accomplished during its duration? Let me assure you that all of us are immensely indebted for all of these days  In an effort to provide a notion of our responsibility as well as accountability for each year of our earthly lives. I will draw you a picture and provide you a comparative example; I will present a small parable.

There was a king with many subjects who carried great fondness and devotion for all of his kingdom's citizenry. He loved them all very much, every single one of them, without any exception. One day, he decided to give them all a gift. He prepared and distributed purses filled with gold coins, one to each citizen. The grateful subjects opened the purses up and begun counting the coins within. They each counted them, over and over, again and again...All of them had the exact same quantity of gold within their respective purses: 8,760 coins! This was a significant amount of gold. The good and loving king gave it to them out of his goodwill and love, so that they could each use it for their own benefit and the benefit of their fellow men. And do you know what each of them did with their respective small fortune? You could have never guessed it! Instead of using this blessed inheritance for their home, neighbor or society, they each went by the riverbank, opened up their purses and began throwing the gold coins away into the deep river water, one by one, until all of their small fortunes was completely gone and their purses stood empty. If anyone of us had been there observing them, what we might we have said? Surely all of us would have assumed that they had all gone mad.

My brethren, this where my simple parable ends. Now, who is this loving king? He is our God. Who are these senseless citizens? We are the King's citizenry. And what is this 8,760 number? Grab a pencil and paper and figure it out. Every day that passes by has 24 hours and all of the year has 365 days. If we multiply the 365 days with the 24 hours of each day, we then determine that an entire year contains 8,760 hours; these are then the hours that each year of our life has to offer. From January 1st of each year to the next December 31st that follows 8,760 hours will have passed. I thus repeat my question: What have we truly accomplished during the duration of the year we are about to leave behind? Have we made it a worthwhile year? Did we add any value? Or, perhaps we are all like those foolish citizens that threw away all of their 8,760 gold coins. Let us then make an examination, each one of us on our own, and let us evaluate and estimate the usefulness of last year's 8,760 hours that are about to draw to a close.

Among all of these hours, was there any time set aside for listening to the Divine word of God and for the study of Holy Scripture? Were there any days that we ran to a church to listen to sermons or attend church services? How about opening and studying the Holy Bible? Did we do that? If the answer is yes, then we may consider ourselves blessed. This is how the Psalter begins. We read that "blessed" is the person, happy and with good fortune. Who does the Psalmist refer to? Is it the person that has lots of money, apartment buildings, businesses, limousines, and enjoys the finest of worldly entertainment? Not quite; the Psalmist says: "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night" (Psalm 1:1-2). Blessed is he who takes time to place the Holy Bible in his hands and reads it. I thus ask all of us: During the year that is coming to an end, did our Angel see us hold the Holy Gospel in our hands and read it on a regular basis? Christ, Himself tells us: "Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it" (St. Luke 11:28).

We are coming to the close of this year's 8,760 hours. I ask another question: During this entire year, were there hours regularly devoted to prayer? During the earlier years of Christianity, the faithful would dedicate hours upon hours for the purpose of prayer. Does our Angel ever "catch us" on our knees, in prayer to our Heavenly Father? Oh if we only knew the great power of prayer and how much we truly lose by not making prayer a companion to our daily life. There would have been so many unsolved problems (personal, family, professional, etc) that would simply find rapid solutions if, and only if, we used this invaluable key to unlock such solutions; the key of prayer is just another valuable gift granted to us by our God and creator. What great comfort and consolation can be found when we whisper "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior, through the intercession of the Holy Theotokos and all of your Saints, have mercy upon me!" (Source: Orthodox Heritage)

(To be continued)

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

The Cutting of the Vasilopita

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

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THE TRADITION OF THE VASILOPITA

The tradition of baking and cutting a special "pita" (which means a loaf of bread, a cake, or even a pie) each year on January 1st is observed in honor of our Holy Father Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia--hence its name "Vasilopita" meaning "St. Basil's Bread."  This tradition is observed in both parish churches and in the homes of the faithful. What is the meaning of this tradition and how did it begin?

For centuries upon centuries, parents, grandparents, and godparents have related the following to Orthodox Christian children about Saint Basil and the Vasilopita. One year, during a time of terrible famine, the Emperor levied a sinfully excessive tax upon the people of Caesarea.  The tax was such a heavy burden upon the already impoverished people that to avoid debtor's prison each family had to relinquish its few remaining coins and pieces of jewelry, including precious family heirlooms. Learning of this injustice upon his flock, Saint Basil the Great, the Archbishop of Caesarea, took up his bishop's staff and the book of the Holy Gospels and came to his people's defense by fearlessly calling the emperor to repentance. By God's grace, the emperor did repent! He canceled the tax and instructed his tax collectors to turn over to Saint Basil all of the chests containing the coins and jewelry which had been paid as taxes by the people of Caesarea. But now Saint Basil was faced with the daunting and impossible task of returning these thousands of coins and pieces of jewelry to their rightful owners. After praying for a long time before the holy icons of our Master Christ and His All-Holy Mother, Saint Basil had all the treasures baked into one huge pita. He then called all the townspeople to prayer at the Cathedral, and, after the Divine Liturgy, he blessed and cut the pita, giving a piece to each person. Miraculously, each owner received in his piece of Vasilopita his own valuables. They all joyfully returned home, giving thanks to God Who had delivered them from abject poverty and to their good and holy bishop. Saint Basil the Great in remembrance of that miracle wrought by God as a result of Saint Basil's love and defense of his people, Orthodox Christians have observed the tradition of the Vasilopita each year on January 1st -- the date on which Saint Basil reposed in the Lord in the year 379 A.D.

In some places, the Vasilopita is prepared as a loaf of rich sweet bread (like that used for Artoklasia), while in other places it takes the form of a spicy sheet cake (without frosting). But no matter what form a Vasilopita may take, they all have one thing in common--each contain a single coin. After placing the bread dough or cake batter n the proper baking pan, the baker makes with the fail-wrapped coin the sign of the Cross over it, closes his/her eyes, and then secretly places it into the unbaked Vasilopita. After the Vasilopita is baked and cooled, it is blessed and cut following the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of Saint Basil on January 1st. (Source From the DOWAMA St. Raphael Clergy Brotherhood)

Please note: There are also other versions of the Vasilopita tradition and its origin.

The cutting of Vasilopita for our parish will take place on Sunday, January 12th immediately following the Divine Liturgy. The heads of the parish ministries are requested to be present at the divine services and receive a slice of Vasilopita and in turn to offer a donation on behalf of the church ministry. 

All parishioners attending the Divine Liturgy on that Sunday will have the opportunity also to receive a slice of Vasilopita and to offer their donation. Our Philoptochos chapter will have an offering tray at the Narthex. 

Funds collected will be passed on to Saint Basil's Academy as we do every year.

Our sincere gratitude to Mrs. Maria Angelos and family who always bake the Vasilopita for the faithful of the parish and another one for the children of our Church School.

A BLESSED NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL!

With agape,

+Father George

January 1 - Saint Basil the Great

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS BORN! GLORIFY HIM!

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ON JANUARY 1st OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE FEAST OF OUR HOLY FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS BASIL THE GREAT, ARCHBISHOP OF CAESAREA IN CAPPADOCIA

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Saint Basil preeminent among the hierarchs (bishops), wisest of saintly teachers, and wondrous favorite of God was born in Cappadocia toward the end of the Great Constantine's reign. His father was also named Basil, and his mother, Emmelia. He learned to read at the age of seven, and progressed so rapidly in his studies that five years later he was already engaged in philosophical inquiry. Eventually, he forsook his homeland and moved to Athens, Greece, the fount of Hellenic wisdom, where he took lessons with the renowned teacher Evvoulus, at the same time visiting the schools of Hemerius and Proeresius. Basil soon equaled, then surpassed his teachers, who were amazed at his diligence and intelligence, and still more at his modesty and purity.

The wondrous Basil devoted much effort to attaining an understanding of Divine mysteries, to the point of neglecting to eat while he resolved whatever question was troubling him. Having dedicated himself for fifteen years to mastering Greek learning, the Saint concluded his studies with investigations into astronomy, but no secular knowledge sufficed to quench his thirst for the waters of true wisdom. One night, while he was meditating on the only wise Creator and True God, a divine ray penetrated his heart, kindling in him a fiery longing to comprehend the Scripture on the most profound level. Leaving Athens and his friend Gregory Basil went to Egypt. During this time he significantly deepened his understanding of the True faith.

In Caesarea Basil became a monk and imitated the manner of life he had observed while visiting the ascetics of Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and Mesopotamia. He was also ordained presbyter (priest) by Hermogenes, who became archbishop after Leontius died, and he was appointed instructor of all the monks living in the diocese. When Hermogenes departed this world, the people wished to have the holy Basil as their prelate (bishop), remembering how he had been forechosen and considering him worthy of the episcopacy, but the Saint, who disliked being held in high esteem, hid from them. The venerable Basil retired into the wilderness of Pontus. He was eventually joined by his friend Saint Gregory the Theologian. They lived an angelic life together, and soon numerous monks had assembled at their retreat. Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Saints compiled a rule for coenobites. The blessed Emmelia, St. Basil's mother, who resided in a village across the river Iris, provided their food. She was already a widow and was devoting her remaining years to pleasing God.

The time came when both Saint Basil and Saint Gregory had to leave the wilderness and serve the Church, which was then troubled by heretics.  Saint Gregory's father, who was Bishop of Nazianzus (bishops married then) (and also named Gregory), was elderly and unable to fend off the wolves (heretics) vigorously, so he called his son home to assist him. Meanwhile, Efsevius (Eusebius), Archbishop of Caesarea, sent a letter to St. Basil, asking the Saint's help in protecting the Church from the Arians (heretics) and expressing hope for a reconciliation. Seeing the Holy Church in such straits and regarding her well-being as more important than the benefits of living in the wilderness, Saint Basil abandoned his seclusion and returned to Caesarea. He labored greatly there, defending Orthodoxy by his preaching and writings. Before long, Archbishop Eusebius surrendered his spirit into God's hands while resting in Basil's arms. The Great Basil was elevated to the archiepiscopal throne and consecrated by numerous bishops, (bishops are consecrated) among whom was Gregory of Nazianzus, father of Saint Gregory the Theologian. Saint Basil governed the Church of Christ well and ordained his brother Peter to the priesthood. Peter assisted the Saint considerably, and eventually, Basil appointed him Bishop of Sevastea. At that time their mother, the blessed Emmelia, departed to the Lord. She was more than ninety years old.  Her children were known for their outstanding virtue, especially Basil and Peter, another son, Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, and her eldest daughter Macrina.

Several years passed, and the blessed Basil asked God to send down the grace of the Holy Spirit to enlighten his understanding and give him wisdom so that he might offer the unbloody sacrifice using his own words. Until that time the Greek-speaking Christians had celebrate the Divine Liturgy only in Hebrew. Saint Basil prayed for seven days; then the Holy Spirit descended and he went into ecstasy. Coming to himself, he celebrated the liturgy daily for some time and prepared for the awesome task of writing the new version of the sacred service. Finally, with prayer on his lips and his heart full of faith, the great hierarch began work. That night he returned to church, and while he was setting out bread and wine on the Table of Preparation (Prothesis), the Lord appeared to him with the holy Apostles. Basil fell prostrate, but Christ raised him up and said, "In accordance with our supplication, your mouth shall be filled with praise, and you will perform the service using your own words." The Lord shone with glory so bright that Basil, who was shaking with fear, could not endure to look upon Him. When the vision ended, the Saint took a scroll and wrote in Greek the following words: "Let my mouth be filled with praise, that I may hymn Thy glory." Then he began the service, the Liturgy that came to be known by his name, with such prayers as, "O Lord our God, Who has fashioned us and brought us into this life," and the prayer at the elevation: "Attend, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, from Thy holy habitation and from the throne of the glory of Thy Kingdom, and come Thou to sanctify us, Thou Who art seated on high with the Father, yet invisibly remainest with us here. By Thy mighty hand vouchsafe to bestow the Holy Things which are for the holy upon us, and through us upon the people." Afterward, Saint Basil recorded these prayers and the others on the scroll. Evvulos and the clergy of higher rank saw a heavenly Light illuminating the Sanctuary and the Bishop as he offered the Eucharist, and radiant men clothed in white garments surrounded the great hierarch. Awestruck, they fell to the floor, weeping and glorifying God.

About that time Saint Basil summoned a smith and had him fashion a golden dove to represent the one that appeared when Christ was baptized in the Jordan.  The Saint hung it over the holy table as a receptacle for reserving the Divine Mysteries.

Such was the gift of grace possessed by Saint Basil, that when he elevated the Holy Gifts during the Liturgy, the dove holding the reserved Mysteries shook three times, indicating that the Spirit of God was descending.

It was on the 1st of January, during the fifteenth and last year of emperor Valen's reign, and during Gratian's fourth year as ruler, that the Great Archbishop and eloquent proclaimer of the Gospel joined the holy hierarchs and eminent preachers of truth dwelling in heaven. The holy Basil was 45 years old when he departed this life. He shepherded the Church of God for eight years, six months, and sixteen days in all.

Saint Gregory of Nazianzus received word of his friend's death and hastened to Caesarea to take part in the funeral, at which he shed copious tears.  Other bishops assembled, joining the Theologian in chanting the funeral service in the Church of the Holy Martyr Efpsychius (Eupshychius). At its conclusion, they buried the precious and holy remains of Heaven's great favorite Basil, praising God, Who is One in Trinity. To Him be glory unto the ages. Amen. (Source: The Great Collection of the Lives of the Saints)

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DIVINE SERVICES ON JANUARY 1st:

Orthros (Matins) at 9:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great at 10:00 a.m.

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" -- Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

January 1 - The Holy Feast of the Circumcision of Christ andthe Feast of St. Basil the Great

My beloved in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS BORN! GLORIFY HIM!

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ON 1ST JANUARY OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE FEAST OF THE CIRCUMCISION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THE FEAST OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT

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On the 8th day after His birth, Christ received circumcision, as the Old Testament Jewish Law provided. Because He was born and lived in a particular environment, He kept all its regulations and customs. Nevertheless, His circumcision must be interpreted within the theology of the self-emptying (Kenosis) which He accepted for the salvation of the human race.

As the Holy Fathers decided to celebrate the Nativity of Christ on the 25th of December, it is natural that the circumcision, which was performed after eight days, is celebrated on the 1st of January, just eight days after His birth. Therefore on that day, the troparia (hymns) brings out the theological importance of circumcision. This troparion (hymn) is well known: "The Savior, condescending to the race of men, in swaddling clothes, accepted circumcision, He did not abhor the cutting of His flesh..." Just as, out of love and charity, He accepted to be wrapped in swaddling clothes, Christ also accepted the circumcision of His flesh. This extreme condescension and kenosis of Christ is regarded by the Church as a great feast of the Lord.

The circumcision is the cutting off "from around the end part of the male organ". This is done to every male child because it is provided by God's Command which was given at the beginning to Abraham. The relative passage from the Old Testament is the following: "every male child among you shall be circumcised, and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised" (Genesis 17:10-12). The same Commandment is given to Moses: "and on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised" (Leviticus 12:3). In conversation with the Jews, Christ reminds them that circumcision was given by Moses, but that it existed before that. "Moses, therefore, gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath" (John 7:22).

Circumcision was linked with godliness, piety, and abiding by the Law, and it indicated the pure Israelite, while the unclean, impious man was indicated by the word for uncircumcised. So circumcision and uncircumcision are opposite concepts and practices, which point to the Jew and Gentile, the pagan.

The rite of circumcision was a painful act, and especially as it was performed at that time. The instruments with which the circumcision was performed were the knife, the razor, and the sharp stone. A characteristic circumcision is that in which Zipporah used a sharp stone to circumcise her son...

"...Circumcision was a mark of recognition that one belonged to the people of God. "So as to be a sign that these people are dedicated by it." According to the interpreters, circumcision in itself was not a testament, but a sign of the testament and agreement...

"...Furthermore, circumcision was also a foreshadowing of baptism which would be given at the appropriate time, through the Incarnation of the Son and Logos/Word of God, because in reality baptism is circumcision of the heart...

"...The ceremony of circumcision, which took place on the 8th day and is also connected with the giving of the name, in the Christian period was joined with the ceremony of "sealing the child, taking a name on the 8th day after his birth". The center of the ceremony is a wonderful prayer which the priest reads to the infant n front of the gates of the Church. The infant is brought by the midwife or by some relative, but not by his own mother, who will come to the church on the 40th day...

"...Furthermore, Christ accepted circumcision in order to show that He had assumed true human nature. And this is very important, for in the early Church a heresy had appeared that was called docetism, which maintained that Christ did not assume true human nature, a real human body, but that it was a seeming and imagined body. This led to the conclusion that Christ was not crucified on the Cross since he did not have a real body, but He deceived the Jews. But such a view does not save man. How can man be saved if Christ did not assume real human nature? Therefore, as Saint Epiphanios says, Christ was circumcised in order to show that "He had in truth taken flesh upon himself."

"...Furthermore, Christ was circumcised in order to teach men that circumcision, which He Himself had given to the Jews, had served humanity and prepared the ground for His own presence (St. Epiphanios). It was not a useless rite. Through circumcision, the Jews had remained faithful to God's Law and had waited for the Messiah.

And lastly, it not only showed that the circumcision was preparing the human race for His presence, but also that it is a type, a prefiguring of the circumcision not done by human hands, which is holy baptism. According to Saint John of Damascus, circumcision was a figure of Baptism. Just as circumcision cuts off from the body a part that is not useful, so by holy Baptism we shed sin, which is not a natural state, but excrement. When we speak of sin which is shed, we mean desire, and of course, not the useful and necessary desire, for it is absolutely impossible for man to live without it, but useless desire and pleasure. Baptism is the circumcision not done by human hands, which does not remove one from one's nation but separates the one who is faithful form the unfaithful one who lives in the same nation...

"...The Holy Fathers of the Church, interpreting the Scriptural passage about the real and spiritual circumcision, which is Christian Baptism, present wonderful theological truths.

"...According to the teaching of Saint Cyril of Alexandria, the Old Testament circumcision did not abolish death, which the New Testament circumcision does. In fact, the person who enters the Church through Baptism becomes a member of the risen Body of Christ. In this way, spiritual death is abolished and there is an assurance of the resurrection of the dead. For if the bodily death remains after Baptism, it is for the sake of cutting out sin.

Saint John of Damascus teaches that to be circumcised is to renounce bodily pleasure and unnecessary and useless desires. Here we see that Baptism is connected with the ascetic life, through which a man is freed from domination by the passions. It is not a matter of disciplining and diminishing the body, but of diminishing and transforming the desires of the soul.

In the teaching of Saint Maximos, we see that circumcision is the anme for cutting off the passionate relation of the soul to the body. The soul and body have a relationship and unity. It is not a question of that, however, but of the passionate relationship, the relationship between soul and body through the passions.

The sayings of the Holy Fathers show that the Old Testament circumcision is internal, spiritual, it is a communion of man with God and an effort to maintain this communion.

In the Old Testament God gave His Law, so as to prepare the people for receiving Christ. Saint John the Evangelist and Theologian says in the prologue to his Gospel: "The Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (St. John 1:17). The Unincarnate Logos/Word gave the Law to Moses in order to cure the people in readiness for receiving the Truth and Grace which came into the world through the Logos/Word of God made flesh, that is to say, Christ. The Mosaic Law, as well as circumcision, also had grace, but this was the so-called purifying energy and grace of God, not His illuminating and deifying energy.

Through Christ, we gain spiritual birth and true sonship. Saint John the Evangelist emphasizes: "As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of man, but of God" (St. John 1:12-13).

Through circumcision, men become good Israelites, God's chosen people. Through Baptism and the family life in Christ, men become children of God, they attain sonship by grace and they conquer death.

Therefore Christ's circumcision suggests to us the circumcision of the heart. Through the sacramental and ascetic life, we become members of the Body of Christ. Christ's condescension becomes our ascent. (Source: The Feasts of the Lord by Metropolitan of Nafpaktos HIEROTHEOS)

Next: Saint Basil the Great

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos

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With agape in His Holy Nativity,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

December 29 - Holy 14,000 Infants Slain at Herod's Order

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS BORN! GLORIFY HIM!

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ON THE 29th OF DECEMBER OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE HOLY FOURTEEN THOUSAND INFANTS AT HEROD'S ORDER IN BETHLEHEM

When King Herod "saw that he was mocked of the wise men" (Matthew, Ch. 2), he became "exceeding wroth," both with them and the newborn King of the Jews. He was angry with the Magi because they had failed to return and tell him where the Child was, and with Christ because he was afraid to lose his kingdom. He thought Christ wished to establish an earthly empire and failed to understand that the Lord's Kingdom is not of this world. What, then, did wretched Herod do? He could harm neither the Magi, who had departed nor Christ, Whose whereabouts were unknown to him, so he poured out his wrath upon innocent children. Like a savage, wounded beast that does not care what injured it, but lunges at whatever happens to be nearby, Herod in his rage attacked the blameless infants because those who had aroused his fury were out of reach. He sent soldiers armed as if for battle to Bethlehem, with orders to slay every child that was "two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men."  

Forty days after the Nativity, the glorious cleansing of the Most Pure Theotokos and the Meeting of the Lord took place in the Temple. The elder Symeon and Anna the prophetess testified before all the people that the Child was the Messiah. Word of this spread throughout Jerusalem and reached Herod, who then understood that the Wise Men had defied him. He became convinced that the Infant received by the elder was the same One he sought; that the words of the Magi concerning the newborn King were true; and that the kings had indeed found Him in Bethlehem, but had returned home another way. He was infuriated by the Wise Men's disdain for his authority and employed every means at his disposal to find out where the Child was, but without success, because Joseph had left for Egypt soon after the rites of purification were performed. For a whole year Herod vainly searched for Christ. Then necessity required him to visit Caesar in Rome, and he became very worried that the people would acclaim the Child king and he would lose his throne. Therefore, he decided to destroy all the infants in Bethlehem and with them, Christ the Lord. The slaughter of the innocents took place twenty-one months after the Star appeared, in the year following the Nativity, on the 29th of December; therefore, the Holy Church commemorates these blameless sufferers on this day. Because he wished to be certain he had achieved his aim, fearful Herod slew "all the children from two years old and under." "Do not marvel that every infant two years old or less was put to death," says the holy John Chrysostom. The raging tyrant was a coward, so his order was intended to allow the soldiers no possibility for error" (Saint Chrysostom's 7th Homily on Matthew). Efthymius Zigavenus' explanation agrees with Chrysostom's": "Herod knew that the Star appeared some time before the Child was born, and to prevent Christ's escape, commanded that no babe less than two years old survive."

Some of the innocent children were run through with the sword, others smashed against walls or with rocks, others hurled to the ground and trampled underfoot, others strangled, others had their limbs torn off, others were speared, others cleaved asunder. Their mothers wailed pitifully, piercing heaven with their cries. They ripped out their hair and tore their flesh and clothing. On that day the saying of the Prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: "In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not" (Matthew, Ch. 2). Rama was a city on a hill within the allotment of the tribe of Benjamin. Rachel is another name for Bethlehem, since Rachel, mother of Benjamin and wife of the Patriarch Jacob, was buried there. When the infants were slaughtered in Bethlehem, that is, in Rachel, "the lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning" of the mothers could be heard in Rama, which is not far away.

Both Saint John Chrysostom and Saint John of Damascus describe how the mothers mourned their slain babes. Saint John Chrysostom writes: "The mothers pleaded with the murderers, 'Why do you butcher our children? What offense have they committed against you or your king?' But the soldiers were too busy with their grisly work to reply. Nothing could calm the women, who were in a frenzy and cried out with ever-increasing desperation, 'Mercy! Mercy! Have you no mothers? Do you not have wives? Are you not put to shame by our naked breasts? What if these were your children? Have compassion on us; slay us rather than our little babies. We cannot bear to see them destroyed! Take our lives first! Wet your swards with our blood! If these children have committed some wrong, put us to death with them.'

Soon after the massacre of the holy children, Divine retribution overtook Herod. According to Saint Theophylact, he "came to a miserable end, with fever, spasms of the bowels, itching swelling of the feet, rotting of the private parts, breeding of worms, difficulty in breathing, and spasms in every member until he spat out his wicked soul" (Saint Theophylact, Explanation of St. Matthew). It is said that he was not satisfied with slaughtering the children of Bethlehem and that shortly before expiring he executed many of the most noble and eminent citizens of Jerusalem.

The Scribes became furious with Zacharias (father of St. John the Baptist). They reported to Herod that Prophet Zacharias was a brazen law-breaker who had permitted a mother to stand where she ought not and that he had proclaimed the seedless conception of her Son. Within a few days, Joseph fled with Mary to Egypt and the unsuccessful search for the Child began. During that time the Scribes' anger at Saint Zacharias and the elder did not cool. Symeon soon breathed his last and was deprived of an honorable burial, while Zacharias was put to death by Herod, at the instigation of the Scribes. Zacharias refused to reveal where his son St. John the Baptist was during the massacre of the Bethlehemite children, so the King's executioners slew him between the Temple and the Altar. In this way, the Scribes and Pharisees rewarded him for permitting the Most Pure One to stand in the place appointed for virgins.

Taking the lives of many even as the sands of time ran out for him, the malefactor was hurled into Hell, where he joined his confederates. As for the holy infants slaughtered for Christ, they reside on high with the Angels, "for of such" children is "the Kingdom of God" (Luke, Ch. 18) in Christ Jesus our Lord. Unto Him be glory forever.  Amen. (Source: The Great Collection of the Lives of the Saints)

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George

December 27 - Feast of the Protomartyr and Archdeacon Stefanos (Stephen)

My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS BORN! GLORIFY HIM!

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ON THE 27th OF DECEMBER OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE PASSION OF THE HOLY PROTOMARTYR AND ARCHDEACON STEFANOS (STEPHEN)

After accomplishing the mystery of our salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and sent down the Holy Spirit from the Father, in the form of fiery tongues (Acts, Ch. 2). The faithful began to multiply in number, and "there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews" (Acts Ch. 6). The Greeks here referred to were not the pagan idolaters generally called the heathen in the Holy Scripture, for the time had not come for the door of faith to be opened to these, nor had the word of salvation been preached to them. It was only later, following Stefano's murder, that the heathen began to be numbered among the believers (Acts, Ch. 14 ). The first of them to be baptized was Cornelius, who was initiated into Christ by Saint Peter (Acts, Ch, 10). When "they that were of the circumcision" (Acts, Ch. 11) heard that Peter had associated with "men uncircumcised" and eaten with them, they were extremely displeased and complained to the Apostle. He explained that he had seen a vision of a great sheet let down from heaven, full of unclean animals, and was told to kill and eat, and also that men came to him from Cornelius, announcing that an Angel had appeared to that just man with instructions for him to send for Peter the Apostle and accept his teaching (Acts, Ch. 10). After this "they held their peace and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life" (Acts, Ch. 11).

The Greek Christians who grumbled against the Jews soon after the day of Pentecost were not, then, converts from heathenism, but Jews obedient to the Law of Moses, dispersed among other nations. Saint John Chrysostom writes, "The Greeks mentioned in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles were, I believe Greek-speaking Jews." Thus it was among Greeks of the Dispersion that "there arose a murmuring against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration" (Acts, Ch. 6): they were assigned the lowliest tasks, or given poor and insufficient food and clothing.

Because of this, the Twelve Apostles "assembled the multitude of the disciples" and said, "It is not reasonable that we should leave the word of God preaching, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen (Stefanos), a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicholas, a proselyte (convert) of Antioch." The very names of these men, which are Greek, show that they were not Jews from Jerusalem, but came from other lands. Stephen (Stefanos), for example, was a relative of Saul, known as Paul after he was called to the faith and the Apostolic dignity; and it is known that Saint Paul was from Tarsus in Cilicia (Acts, Ch. 21 and 22). Because the Apostles wished to placate and silence the Hellenes (Greeks), who were offended by the injustices done to their widows all seven men appointed were Greeks. The candidates were set "before the Apostles, who, when they had prayed, laid their hands on them" (they were ordained), making them Deacons.

Stefanos (Stephen), being full of faith and the power of the Holy Spirit, was the foremost of the Seven Deacons and received the title archdeacon. He "did great wonders and miracles among the people" (Acts, Ch. 6), although these are not described in the Scripture. Actually, not even Christ's miracles are fully recorded, for it says in the Gospel, "There are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written" (John, Ch. 21).

Once St. Stephen came upon Jews, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Greek Jews quarreling about the Lord Jesus Christ: some of them saying that He was a Prophet, others that He was a deceiver still others that He was the Son of God. Standing on a high place, the Saint proclaimed Christ the Lord, saying, "Brethren, why are you at odds with one another, disturbing all Jerusalem? Blessed are they that believe in Jesus Christ, Who bowed the heavens and came down to cleanse our sins, and was born of the holy and immaculate Maiden chosen before the world's creation. He took upon Himself our infirmities, granting sight to the blind, cleansing lepers, and expelling demons."

Confuted by the truth, which shone brighter than the sun, the Jews burned with anger and paid men to accuse Stephen before the High Priest of having blasphemed Moses and God. In addition, they "stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon Saint Stephen, "and caught him, and brought him" to the High Priest and the council of Jewish teachers. They "they set up the false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the Law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered to us."

As the holy Stefanos (Stephen) stood in the midst of the murderers, his face shone with Divine Grace, like Moses' in days of old. His flesh was gloriously transfigured, "and all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as if it had been the face of an angel." The High Priest asked whether the things said by the accusers were true, and Stephen replied by recounting the history of the Hebrew people from the time of Abraham (who was first among them to receive the promise of the Messiah) till Moses. He denied the Jews' charge that he had uttered sacrilegious words against the Holy Place, saying, "Solomon built" the Lord "a house". By this, he meant, "I revere the holy Temple built most wisely by King Solomon with God's permission and sanctified by the glory of the Lord, which appeared in the form of a cloud. I respect the house erected by men to exalt God; nonetheless, I confess that the Lord dwells chiefly in immaterial temples not constructed by human craft, that is, He abides in the hearts of the pure.

With that, divine zeal filled Stephen's heart as it had Elijah's in ancient times, and the Saint began to censure the entire assembly. "Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears," he said, "ye do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them which showed before of the" Messiah's coming (Acts, Ch. 7).

When they heard the Saint say this, the High Priest, Scribes, and the entire crowd of Jews were filled with hatred. "They were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth," but he was not afraid in the least, for he was full of the grace of the Holy Spirit, which emboldened him and enabled him to speak the word of God without hesitation. Looking up "into heaven, he saw the glory of God", which he had long hoped to behold. As his end drew near, he transcended the flesh and received the first-fruits of his reward: he gazed upon Christ Jesus the Lord beckoning him and reminding him that where the Master is, there shall the servant be" (John, Ch. 12). With a loud voice, Stephen proclaimed: "I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God" (Acts, Ch. 7). Declaring boldly what he saw, the holy Protomartyr summoned others to win the crown of suffering.

The malicious Jews, however, who slew the Prophets and rose up against the Lord Himself, the Fulfiller of the Law and the sayings of the Prophets, could not endure hearing Saint Stefanos speak the truth. "They cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord", laying murderous hands on him. Then Saint Stefanos was led out of the city, like his Lord, Who deigned to suffer outside of Jerusalem. The bloodthirsty hypocrites, preparing to stone Christ's good and faithful servant, removed their outer garments so that they could move more freely, and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul (Paul), it is written, "was consenting unto" Stephen's death (Acts, Ch. 8), being more infuriated with him than any of the others, on account of his fanatical devotion to the ancient Law. "He was sorry," Saint Chrysostom tells us, "that he did not have innumerable hands with which to stone Stephen, but consoled himself with the thought that many false witnesses were found to kill the martyr, and that he was able to guard their clothing.

While the Saint was being murdered in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, the Most Pure Virgin Mary, with Saint John the Theologian and Evangelist, was standing on a hill some distance away, praying fervently to her Son and Lord that He strengthens Stephen and enable him to endure, and that He receives the Archdeacon's soul into His hands. Bloody, weak, and dying, but still standing, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" (Acts, Ch. 7). He prayed more fervently for his slayers than for himself: his heart ached with compassion for the murderers, and he cried "with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep." Thus the valiant struggler and Protomartyr finished his course, lying amid blood-stained rocks. His soul flew up through the heavens to reign forever with the King and Lord of glory, Whom he had been deemed worthy to behold before his death.

The holy Archdeacon was ordained by the Apostles soon after Pentecost. He suffered on the 27th day of December during the year following Christ's Ascension. He was just over 30 years old and was a handsome man, but the beauty of his soul far surpassed that of his countenance.

Saint Stephen's corpse was thrown out to become food for beasts and birds and lay a day and a night without burial. On the second night Gamaliel, the renowned teacher of the Jews of Jerusalem (who later, with his son Abib, believed in Christ), sent honorable and trustworthy men to remove the holy relics secretly. Shedding bitter tears, they reverently buried the holy remains on Gamaliel's property in the village called Kaphargamala, which was two miles from Jerusalem. And who would not have wept, asks Saint John Chrysostom, seeing the gentle lamb's dead body, battered by stones?

Many years later the pious Empress Evdokia, wife of Theodosius the Lesser, went to Jerusalem. At the place where the holy Protomartyr Stephen was killed and his blood stained the ground, the Empress, wishing to honor Christ, built a magnificent church dedicated to the Saint. Unto our God be glory forever. Amen. (Source: The Great Collection of the Lives of the Saints)

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DIVINE SERVICES ON FRIDAY DECEMBER 27TH FOR SAINT STEFANOS:

Orthros at 9:00 a.m.
Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Divine Nativity,
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George