St. John of the Ladder

Saint John of the Ladder also is honored by Holy Church as a great ascetic and author of the renowned spiritual book called The Ladder of Divine Ascent, from which he is also called "of the Ladder" (Climacus). John went to Sinai when he was sixteen, submitting to Abba Martyrius as his instructor and guide. After four years, St John was tonsured as a monk. Abba Strategios, who was present at St John's tonsure, predicted that he would become a great luminary in the Church of Christ.

For nineteen years St John progressed in monasticism in obedience to his spiritual Father. After the death of Abba Martyrius, St John embarked on a solitary life, settling in a wild place called Thola, where he spent forty years laboring in silence, fasting, prayer, and tears of penitence.

It is not by chance that in The Ladder St John speaks about tears of repentance: "Just as fire burns and destroys the wood, so pure tears wash away every impurity, both external and internal." His holy prayer was strong and efficacious, as may be seen from an example from the life of the God-pleasing saint.

St John had a disciple named Moses. Once, the saint ordered his disciple to bring dung to fertilize the vegetable garden. When he had fulfilled the obedience, Moses lay down to rest under the shade of a large rock, because of the scorching heat of summer. St John was in his cell in a light sleep. Suddenly, a man of remarkable appearance appeared to him and awakened the holy ascetic, reproaching him, "John, why do you sleep so heedlessly, when Moses is in danger?" St John immediately woke up and began to pray for his disciple. When Moses returned in the evening, St John asked whether any sort of misfortune had befallen him. The monk replied, "A large rock would have fallen on me as I slept beneath it at noon, but I left that place because I thought I heard you calling me." St John did not tell his disciple of his vision, but gave thanks to God.

The following example of St John's humility is noteworthy. Gifted with discernment, and attaining wisdom through spiritual experience, he lovingly received all who came to him and guided them to salvation. One day some envious monks reproached him for being too talkative, and so St John kept silence for a whole year. The monks realized their error, and they went to the ascetic and begged him not to deprive them of the spiritual profit of his conversation.

Concealing his ascetic deeds from others, St John sometimes withdrew into a cave, but reports of his holiness spread far beyond the vicinity. Visitors from all walks of life came to him, desiring to hear his words of edification and salvation. After forty years of solitary asceticism, he was chosen as igumen of Sinai when he was seventy-five. St John governed the holy monastery for four years. Toward the end of his life, the Lord granted him the gifts of clairvoyance and wonderworking.

The saint called his work The Ladder of Divine Ascent, for the book is "a fixed ladder leading from earthly things to the Holy of Holies...." The thirty steps of spiritual perfection correspond to the thirty years of the Lord's age. When we have completed these thirty steps, we will find ourselves with the righteous and will not stumble. The Ladder begins with renunciation of the world, and ends with God, Who is love (1 John 4:8). Although the book was written for monks, any Christian living in the world will find it an unerring guide for ascending to God, and a support in the spiritual life.

In The Ladder St John describes the ascent toward spiritual perfection, which is essential for anyone who wishes to save his soul. It is a written account of his thoughts, based on the collected wisdom of many wise ascetics, and on his own spiritual experience. The book is a great help on the path to truth and virtue.

The steps of The Ladder proceed gradually from strength to strength on the path of perfection. The summit is not reached suddenly, but gradually, as the Savior says: "The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force" (Matt.11:12).

St John is also commemorated on the fourth Sunday of Great Lent.

St. Gregory Palamas

The teaching of St Gregory is so fundamental to Orthodoxy that he is especially commemorated each year on the second Sunday of Great Lent as well as on November 14. Bishop Kallistos observes in the English edition of the Philokalia, “his successful defence of the divine and uncreated character of the light of Tabor...[is] seen as a direct continuation of the preceding celebration, as nothing less than a renewed Triumph of Orthodoxy.”

The son of a prominent family, St Gregory was born (1296) and raised in Constantinople. At about age twenty, he abandoned a promising secular career to become a monk on Mount Athos. (His family joined him en masse: two of his brothers went with him to the Holy Mountain; at the same time his widowed mother, two of his sisters, and many of the household servants also entered monastic life.) He spent the next twenty years living as a hermit, spending five days a week in complete solitude, then joining the brethren on weekends for the Divine Liturgy and its accompanying services.

Around 1335 he was called to live a much more public life in defense of the faith and spirituality of the Church. A Greek living in Italy, Barlaam the Calabrian, had launched an attack on the hesychastic spirituality of the Church. Fundamentally, Barlaam denied that man can attain to a true vision of God Himself, or true union with Him, in this life. Gregory, recognizing in this an attack on the Christian faith itself, responded. He even left the Holy Mountain and re-settled in Constantinople so as better to wage the struggle, which had become so public that a Church Council was called to settle the issue. St Gregory's views were affirmed, and Barlaam's condemned, at the Council of Constantinople of 1341.

Though Barlaam himself returned to Italy, a series of his followers continued the attack, eventually resulting in two more Councils in 1347 and 1351, both of which affirmed the hesychasts' position. Metropolitan Hierotheos (The Mind of the Orthodox Church) writes that these councils have “all the marks of an Ecumenical Council;” This, along with the fact that St Gregory's views are affirmed in the Synodikon of Orthodoxy (appointed to be read in churches every Sunday of Orthodoxy), and his commemoration every second Sunday of Great Lent, makes clear that his teaching is a basic and indispensable part of the Orthodox Faith.

In 1347 St Gregory was consecrated Metropolitan of Thessaloniki, where he served until his repose. (He spent a year of this period as the prisoner of Turkish pirates). Despite (or due to?) his austere monastic background, he was revered by his flock: immediately after his repose in 1359, popular veneration of him sprang up in Thessaloniki, Constantinople and Mt Athos and, in 1368, only nine years after his death, the Church officially glorified him as a saint.

St Gregory was always clear that unceasing mental prayer is not a special calling of monastics, but is possible and desirable for every Christian in every walk of life.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem

Saint Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem, was born in Jerusalem around the year 313-315 and was raised in strict Christian piety. Upon reaching the age of maturity, he became a monk, and in the year 346 he became a presbyter. In the year 350, upon the death of Archbishop Maximus, he succeeded him on the episcopal throne of Jerusalem.

As Patriarch of Jerusalem, St.Cyril zealously fought against the heresies of Arius and Macedonius. In so doing, he aroused the animosity of the Arian bishops, who sought to have him deposed and banished from Jerusalem.

There was a miraculous portent in 351 at Jerusalem: at the third hour of the day on the Feast of Pentecost, the Holy Cross appeared in the heavens, shining with a radiant light. It stretched from Golgotha above the Mount of Olives. St Cyril reported this portent to the Arian emperor Constantius (351-363), hoping to convert him to Orthodoxy.

The heretic Acacius, deposed by the Council of Sardica, was formerly the Metropolitan of Caesarea, and he collaborated with the emperor to have St Cyril removed. An intense famine struck Jerusalem, and St Cyril expended all his wealth in charity. But since the famine did not abate, the saint pawned church utensils, and used the money to buy wheat for the starving. The saint's enemies spread a scandalous rumor that they had seen a woman in the city dancing around in clerical garb. Taking advantage of this rumor, the heretics forcibly expelled the saint.

When the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363) ascended the throne he repealed all the anti Orthodox decrees of Constantius, seemingly out of piety. St Cyril returned to his own flock. But after a certain while, when Julian had become secure upon the throne, he openly apostasized and renounced Christ. He permitted the Jews to start rebuilding the Temple of Jerusalem that had been destroyed by the Romans, and he even provided them part of the funds for the building from the state treasury.

St Cyril predicted that the words of the Saviour about the destruction of the Temple down to its very stones (Luke 21:6) would undoubtedly transpire, and the blasphemous intent of Julian would come to naught. Soon there was such a powerful earthquake, that even the solidly set foundation of the ancient Temple of Solomon shifted in its place, and what had been rebuilt fell down and shattered into dust. When the Jews resumed construction, a fire came down from the heavens and destroyed the tools of the workmen. Great terror seized everyone. On the following night, the Sign of the Cross appeared on the clothing of the Jews, which they could not remove by any means.

In 381 St Cyril participated in the Second Ecumenical Council, which condemned the heresy of Macedonius and affirmed the Nicea-Constantinople Symbol of Faith (Creed). In 348, St. Cyril explained the holy doctrine of the Church in several homilies, of which twenty-five have come down to us. St Cyril's works include twenty-three Instructions (Eighteen are Catechetical, intended for those preparing for Baptism, and five are for the newly-baptized) and two discourses on Gospel themes: "On the Paralytic," and "Concerning the Transformation of Water into Wine at Cana." At the heart of the Catechetical Instructions is a detailed explanation of the Symbol of Faith. The saint suggests that a Christian should inscribe the Symbol of Faith upon "the tablets of the heart." "The articles of the Faith," St Cyril teaches, "were not written through human cleverness, but they contain everything that is most important in all the Scriptures, in a single teaching of faith. Just as the mustard seed contains all its plethora of branches within its small kernel, so also does the Faith in its several declarations combine all the pious teachings of the Old and the New Testaments." They are considered the most ancient and best exposition of Orthodox teachings.

St Cyril, a great ascetic and a champion of Orthodoxy, died around the year 386-387. St. Cyril of Jerusalem is not to be confused with another prominent St. Cyril of Alexandria (376-444).

St. Patrick of Ireland

Saint Patrick, the Enlightener of Ireland was born around 385, the son of Calpurnius, a Roman decurion (an official responsible for collecting taxes). He lived in the village of Bannavem Taberniae, which may have been located at the mouth of the Severn River in Wales. The district was raided by pirates when Patrick was sixteen, and he was one of those taken captive. He was brought to Ireland and sold as a slave, and was put to work as a herder of swine on a mountain. During his period of slavery, Patrick acquired a proficiency in the Irish language which was very useful to him in his later mission.

He prayed during his solitude on the mountain, and lived this way for six years. He had two visions. The first told him he would return to his home. The second told him his ship was ready. Setting off on foot, Patrick walked two hundred miles to the coast. There he succeeded in boarding a ship, and returned to his parents in Britain.

Some time later, he went to Gaul and studied for the priesthood at Auxerre under St. Germanus. Eventually, he was consecrated as a bishop, and was entrusted with the mission to Ireland, succeeding St. Palladius. Patrick had a dream in which an angel came to him bearing many letters. Selecting one inscribed “The Voice of the Irish,” he heard the Irish entreating him to come back to them.

Although St. Patrick achieved remarkable results in spreading the Gospel, he was not the first or only missionary in Ireland. There were also other missionaries who were active on the southeast coast, but it was St. Patrick who had the greatest influence and success in preaching the Gospel of Christ. Therefore, he is known as “The Enlightener of Ireland.”

St. Patrick founded many churches and monasteries across Ireland, but the conversion of the Irish people was no easy task. There was much hostility, and he was assaulted several times. He faced danger, and insults, and he was reproached for being a foreigner and a former slave. There was also a very real possibility that the pagans would try to kill him. Despite many obstacles, he remained faithful to his calling, and he baptized many people into Christ.

By the time he established his Episcopal See in Armargh in 444, St. Patrick had other bishops to assist him, many native priests and deacons, and he encouraged the growth of monasticism.

St. Patrick is often depicted holding a shamrock, or with snakes fleeing from him. He used the shamrock to illustrate the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Its three leaves growing out of a single stem helped him to explain the concept of one God in three Persons.

Orthodoxy Sunday: A Day to Contemplate Our Faith

Across the land this day, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, an unusual event takes place in many churches. Faithful from the various jurisdictions gather to observe the victory of the Church over heresy and over those who opposed the presence of icons at worship.

The pious custom at many of these services is to have the faithful solemnly recite the Nicene Creed, compiled over sixteen hundred years ago, which contains the basic truths of the Christian religion. Then the faithful go on to proclaim: “This is the Faith of the Apostles, this the Faith of the Fathers …” And so in our bulletin this day we have a unique rendering of the apostolic group, indicating that the Church of Christ is founded on the Faith of the Apostles, and that the Church has preserved this apostolic treasure untrampled through the centuries.

The Apostles were a select group. Christ Himself picked them and trained them, prepared them to carry on the work of His Church. When one of the group members proved unfaithful and departed, the eleven met to select a successor and keep the group intact. To this day, we look upon the Episcopate, the body of our Bishops, as successors of the Apostles and witness of the true Faith.

As we appreciate our religious heritage of the past, let us rededicate ourselves on this day to live the Christian Faith in the future. This is the best way to observe Orthodoxy Sunday.
The Orhtodox Weekly Bulletin …… Vestal, Cliffwood, New Jersey …… Litho in USA

"TAKE AND EAT ..."

Every Sunday, our Holy Orthodox Church offers us a remarkable spiritual experience: the Divine Liturgy. Week after week, we find ourselves surrounded by God's saints depicted in our parish's iconography as we listen to the Word of God and join in with the singing of our sacred hymns. As awesome as all of this is, it is greatly overshadowed by the most important aspect of the Divine Liturgy: the reception of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. At every Divine Liturgy, we are invited to “come forward with faith and with love” and partake of this Sacrament for the healing of our soul and body, for the remission of our sins and for life everlasting.

Christ Himself instituted the Divine, Life-creating Mystery of Holy Communion at the Last Supper. That fateful evening, He broke bread and offered it to His Apostles, saying: “Take and eat, this is My Body which is broken for you ...” and gave them the cup saying: “All of you drink of this, this is My Blood of the New Testament ...” At last, the Apostles understood what their Master meant when He taught that “unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:53) Far from being a mere symbolic gesture, our Holy Orthodox Church instructs us that at every Divine Liturgy, we find ourselves RELIVING the Mystical Supper as bread and wine is miraculously transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ by the Holy Spirit.

The importance of the frequent reception of the Holy Eucharist should not be lost on us. Our Lord tells us plainly that eternal life is found through Holy Communion. May all Orthodox Christians respond positively to our Lord's offer to be united with Him in this most special way.

Orthodox Weekly Bulletin . . . . . . . Vestal, Cliffwood, New Jersey . . . . . . . Litho in U.S.A.