Fear not for I am with you.

Homily on the Third Sunday after Pascha

Acts 6: 1-7; Mark 15:43-16:8.

Today we have recounted for us in the book of Acts the calling and ordination of the first Deacons. The order of deacons is at the heart of Church life. Whilst he cannot perform any mysteries like a priest or bishop his ministry is essential in the life of the church. Just as a priest is an icon of Christ the deacon is also an icon of Christ the servant.

Service to the other is at the heart of the Christian faith just as prayer and the frequent reception of the Holy Mysteries are. To serve is to be as Christ to others as perfectly exemplified when Christ washed the feet of His Disciples at the Last Supper (John 13: 1-17). This act of service, so close in time to the institution of the Holy Mystery of the Eucharist highlights the connection between service and the Holy Eucharist. It is in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist that Christ serves His faithful via the offering of Himself on the Cross that we might have life within us.

Consequently, as Christians we must look to be of service to the other – faith without deeds is dead (James 2: 14-26). One is not merely saved upon accepting the name of Jesus as many protestants love to proclaim. One has to secure one’s salvation through a life connected to Christ’s Church receiving the Holy Mysteries backed up with good deeds done in the service of others.

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem says this in his Catechetical lecture 15 paragraph 26:

How then, someone will say, are we to escape the fire? And how to enter into the kingdom? I was hungry, He says, and you gave Me meat. Hence learn the way; there is here no need for allegory, but to fulfil what is said. I was hungered, and you gave Me meat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came unto Me. If you do these things, you shall reign together with Him; but if do not do them you shalt be condemned. Begin at once to do these works, and abide in the faith; lest, like the foolish virgins, waiting to buy oil, you be shut out. Do be not confident because you merely possessed the lamp, but constantly keep it burning.

To paraphrase Saint Cyril here we are not merely meant to have faith and participate in the Holy Mysteries of Christ’s Church, but we are to put this faith into action. It is very easy to slip into a mentality of I am a saint because I regularly pray and go to Church. What good is faith like this? Is it not hollow and empty – lip service if you will?

Additionally, service can also be rendered in providing money to Church approved charitable works or Charities that support the poor and needy. Saint Cyril makes this point in his Catechetical lecture 8 paragraph 6 where he says:

A man may even be justified by money: I was hungry, and you gave Me meat: that certainly was from money. I was naked, and you clothed Me: that certainly was by money. And would you learn that money may become a door of the kingdom of heaven? Sell, says He, what you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven.

This is why I always tell people give what you can to help others whether it be time, labour, or money. We are called to be as Christ to the world so that they know who is our Master via our love (John 13:35).

Love is scarce in the modern world many are hungry for it. We live in a society which is getting evermore divided along political lines, a society, where people are encouraged to hate their political and religious opponents. The antidote to this poison is showing all the love of Christ, for this is a saving Love that can encourage people to come to the Holy Chalice wherein is Christ who is the source of all our joy and strength.

People can be difficult to love at times as they all are unique, some think they know it all, some run around as if they are ecclesiastical authorities – when they are not, some just hate for no reason, and some thrive on gossip and causing trouble. These qualities can cause us much offence but it is our job to be as Christ to them. What did our Lord and Saviour do on the Cross? Did he curse the people that were crucifying Him – which would be a perfectly human thing to do? What were His words?

He is the perfect model for us in our Christian lives for he asked the Father to forgive them – He being part of the Godhead was essentially forgiving them (Luke 23:34). This is why Christ tells us that we are not to judge others for it is in the act of judging others that we send down judgement from above on us (Matthew 7:1-6).

We are all sinful and make mistakes; we all have issues that we deal with in our lives. This is why we must learn to turn the other cheek when we are being unfairly attacked by those blinded by the world and its ways (Matthew 5: 38-40). Christ made it clear to Saint Peter in the garden of Gethsemane that what he (Peter) had done to the servant was wrong (Matthew 26: 52).

It has been proven, again and again, that those who live by the sword do indeed die by the sword. This truth is even deeper than its apparent literal meaning; allegorically these swords can be the sins of gossip, slander and exploitation in whatever form they may take, a person who engages in these sins is wielding a spiritual sword aimed at the wellbeing of others whether it be physical or spiritual.

What they do not realise is that there is always someone just like them, waiting to strike them when they least expect it! One only has to look into the well documented history of the Roman Emperors to see this principle in action!

Unfortunately, there are many in life who think that they are better off for engaging in these practices; they think these practices benefit them ecclesiastically, politically and so on. Yet what they do not see is that by engaging in such practices they cut themselves off for the very source of their spiritual life - Christ’s Body the Church.

Never lose heart when others do such things to you in life whether it be spiritually or at work for one thing is clear that because of these attacks we are made one with the Crucified Christ for he says in the Holy Beatitudes in Matthew 5: 10-12:

“

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in Heaven, for they persecuted the prophets who were before you”.

What this means, like the first Christians who lived under the constant fear of persecution, we must trust that our Lord and Saviour will bless us in the trials caused by others in this life.

One great Saint who exemplified this attitude of trust is the great and Holy Saint Nectarios of Aegina.

Saint Nectarios of Aegina was born on the 1st of October 1846 to a poor family in Selymbria in Turkey. At the age of 20 he moved to Constantinople to work and better his education. He quickly realised that he was called to become a monk moving to the Monastery of Nea where he was tonsured a monk.

Eventually he was ordained to the Holy Diaconate of Christ serving in that capacity for a number of years. In 1885 he graduated from the University of Athens eventually moving to Egypt where he was ordained a priest serving the Church of Saint Nicholas in Cairo.

In the year 1889, he was consecrated the Bishop of the see of Pentapolis by the patriarch of Alexandria Sophronios. He served as the Bishop of Cairo for a year.

Saint Nectarios was a holy man who quickly became beloved by the people for his love and charity. This quickly made the clerics who were only there for worldly and financial prestige jealous so they lied to the patriarch trying to convince him that Saint Nectarios was trying to take over his position. Consequently, the Patriarch had Saint Nectarios expelled from his See and sent back to Greece. He then worked as a preacher in a remote area from 1891-1894.

In the year 1904, a group of young women approached him wishing to become nuns so he established Holy Trinity Monastery for them to live out their vocation. In the year 1908 he moved to the Monastery to live out his vocation and tend to the needs of the nuns in his care.

He was never given an official response as to why he had been expelled from his See and those who were jealous of him never gave up persecuting him – even in his Monastery, which they tried to shut down numerous times, accusing him falsely of sexual impropriety with the nuns.

Saint Nectarios never gave up or lost faith despite the evil persecutions thrown his way by the pharisaical money grabbers, his trust was in the All-Holy Trinity; he took the words of the Holy Beatitudes to heart, knowing that if he stood firm, a great reward would await him in heaven.

He died in the year 1920 as an example of one who was one with his Lord and Saviour. When he died, the nurses gave his monastic outer garment to a man who had given up on life and tried to commit suicide – instantly the man was healed of every injury.

Another great Saint who was equally persecuted was the Great Saint Chrysostom the New Confessor and Hierarch (1870-1955). Saint Chrysostom was born in Thrace to a Pious Orthodox Family. He was a gifted young man who eventually earned from the Theological School of Halki a magnum cum laude for his hard work. During his studies, he had already been ordained to the Holy Diaconate by the Patriarch of Constantinople Johachim III who also raised him to the honorary rank of Archdeacon.

His talents were not unnoticed - soon, he was preaching throughout Constantinople eventually becoming the Great Chancellor of this See. In the year 1908 he was both ordained a priest and then a Bishop for the See of Imbros which he served until the year 1912.

He was then appointed to the See of Pelagonia which he served till the year of 1918, after which he went to live on the Holy Mountain of Athos till the year 1921.

When he returned to Athens he bravely opposed the election of the heretical Patriarch Metaxakis to the See of Constantinople which cause many to be against him. He was then offered the new See of Philiata and Geromerion which he served as Locum Tenes for two years till 1926.

Eventually, he was offered the See of Florina which he served until the year 1932 as a well loved and holy Bishop. However, things were getting difficult for the Saint as he refused to bow to the innovation of the use of the Gregorian calendar in the Greek Orthodox Church.

Traditionally, we can only use the Julian Calendar - this was decided by the Holy Fathers at First Ecumenical Council of Nicea. This Calendar can only be changed to another or adjusted by calling an Ecumenical Council - no bishop can change this calendar on his own, which is exactly what Patriarch of Constantinople Metaxakis forced the Greek State Church to do in the year 1923.

Eventually, Chrysostom found that many priests and laity did not support the unlawful change to the Calendar of the Church so he decided to help them keep their Apostolic Succession by ordaining bishops for them with the help of another bishop.

When this news reached the State Church, they began to persecute those who held firm to the true calendar of the Church. The Sate Church also began to persecute Saint Chrysostom and spread untruths about him but he held on and never forgot the words of the Holy Beatitudes.

Many years later, when the Monks of the Monastery of the Dormition of the Holy Theotokos in Parnethos opened his tomb, the whole monastery was filled with the most beautiful perfume coming from his Saintly relics.

Another great Saint who took the words of the Holy Beatitudes to heart was the great Martyr Saint Catherine Routsis (1900 -1927).

Catherine was a very holy child who loved nothing more than to be of service to others in her local community. She married at the age of 22 bearing two children. When the calendar change came in the year 1923 her family refused to bow down to this new innovation.

On the eve of the feast of the Heavenly Powers, Saint Catherine had cleaned the Church ready for the celebration of the great feast. Everything was going well till they started the service of Matins, at which point the police tried to break into the Church looking to arrest everyone present.

Her husband had tried to convince her to leave after Vespers because he sensed that something might happen. The police had been disruppting the worship services of all who resisted the innovation of the calendar Change.

Unfortunately, the State Church had decided that the people who chose to keep to tradition had no right to worship and as the Church and State were in bed together at that time, the police could legally persecute these saintly Christians.

State Church Priests would even attend such raids – there are reports of State Church Priests grabbing the Holy Chalices full of the Holy Mysteries, and pouring the Eucharist on the floor, so that they could desecrate the precious Body and Blood of Christ– the worst form of sacrilege!

Meanwhile, the police kept trying to get into the Church, they used the butts of their rifles to try and break down the doors and windows. The faithful refused to move and trusted in the Lord and prayed. Luckily they were all able to receive the Holy Mysteries and armed with this spiritual armour they fearlessly left the Church.

However, the holy people had a problem, as they needed to protect their priest, as priests that stuck to the tradition, were few and far between. So a group of young women, including Saint Catherine, surrounded the priest attempting to get him to safety.

The police were not going to give up, they kept advancing towards the priest through the crowd. Saint Catherine was not afraid as she yelled, “you will arrest our priest over our dead bodies.”

Then, the police getting desperate, began to shoot into the crowd, at which point Saint Catherine shielded the priest with her body. She was hit and fell to the ground, she taken to the hospital but unfortunately seven days later, she succumbed to her injuries – she was only 27!

I tell you the stories of these three great Saints that you may be encouraged in your Christian life and know that no matter how hard things get, if you trust in Christ there is hope - even better a Heavenly reward where you will be in such a deep union with the All-Holy Trinity that words cannot adequately describe this reality.

Also, I tell you the story of Saint Catherine to highlight that all are called to be holy not just deacons, priests and bishops – all have a place in God’s Kingdom!

Finally, never forget to thank the All-Holy Trinity for all the gifts you have in your life. He truly wishes to bless you and shower you with every blessing and grace. Therefore, pray, hope, and do not let stress get the better of you for stress can drive you to become sick both spiritually and physically.

Also, do not forget to pray for all deacons as they fulfill their ministry in Christ’s Holy Body the Church.

Saints Nectarios, Chrysostom, and Catherine pray for us.