Homily on the 35th Sunday after Pentecost
1 Timothy 1: 15-17; Luke 18: 35-43.
Gratitude is a word that is very popular today. It is taught to students at school and one can hardly go a day without some mindfulness expert mentioning this concept. How often do we take the time and take stock of all the wonderful things God does for us.
We all have problems and issues which can make us become stressed but we are told by our Lord and Saviour that we are not to worry because God will ultimately provide what we need (Matthew 6: 25-34).
This abandonment to God can be difficult at first because we are naturally inclined to worry about the things we need in our lives. Yet as Christians this is the trust we are to have in our God.
Many Saints went through hell and back yet they trusted that God would provide for them.
This Sunday we celebrate the feast of the New Martyrs of Russia. These men and women commemorated today did not give up their faith in the face of persecution at the hands of the Communist elites. They had one goal which was to grow in love for their God and fellow man thus fulfillig the great Commandment of Christ to love God and their neighbour (Matthew 22: 24-40).
Yet no matter how hard the bloodthirsty rulers of Russia tried to exterminate Christ’s Church the true Church did not disappear but went underground. There were Clergy who were lukewarm in their faith who under Patriarch Sergius co-operated with the authorities but these men only sought to save their lives in the face of persecution.
When one reads the stories of these brave men and women one truly learns what Christ means when He says :
“Follow me and I will make you fishers of men (Matthew 4: 18-20).”
Many of the Clergy in the underground Church would travel long distances so that they could minister to the faithful. Of course, they could not openly dress as priests and deacons but they carried with them the bare essentials needed to celebrate the Holy Mysteries of the Orthodox Church.
These men and women had to be careful as there were traitors to the faith everywhere. If they were exposed then they would be imprisoned and probably killed for being a missionary of the underground Church. Yet the dangers they faced did not deter them for they realised that their mission was to, ‘Go and make disciples of all the nations, to baptise them in the name of the Father, the Son and the All-Holy Spirit (Matthew 28: 19).
This mission was so pressing that they would not let any degree of persecution stop them from living out Christ’s commands. As with them, this is our mission as His Church to bring people to Him for it is through the Holy Mysteries of His Holy Church men and women are saved.
These great saints should be our hero's for it is by following the witness given by their sacrifices we learn how to better conform our lives to Christ. Yet it is true that not all saints became Martyrs in the flesh, but to some extent they all became spiritual martyrs through the trials and sufferings which they faced in their lives – Saint Nektarios of Aegina being a perfect example of this.
Through the lies and disdain of others in the clergy saint Nektarios was perfectly conformed to Christ suffering a type of spiritual martyrdom for he, ‘took up his cross and followed Christ to the end of his life (Matthew 16: 24-26).”
Moreover, it was not just the clergy in those dark days of atheistic persecution in Russia who kept the faith alive. Many times, it was the grandfathers and grandmothers who would risk their lives to get food to a cleric or even travel miles with their grandchildren to a house where a priest was so that their children could be properly received in the Holy Orthodox Church through the Holy Mysteries of the Church.
One thing that these saintly men and women realised was that there is more to this life than than we can see in our daily realities. They saw, that there is a spiritual dimension to this life for like Saint Meltio of Sardis they realised that Christ is our Passover who through His death, ressurection and ascention protects us from the ill effects of sin for he says:
“Come here all you families of men, weighed down by your sins, and receive pardon for your misdeeds.For I am your pardon.I am the Passover which brings salvation.I am the Lamb slain for you.I am your purefication bath.I am your life.I am your resurrection.I am your light, I am your salvation, I am your King.It is I who brings you up to the heights of heaven.It is I who will give you the resurrection there.I will show you the Eternal Father.I will raise you up with my own right hand.”Homily on the Pascha.
This trust in Christ meant that no matter what their persecutors tried to do to their bodies they knew that Christ would resurrect them and bring them home to His Heavenly mansion (John 14: 2-3).
One Saint, who like the Russian saints, never gave up in the face of persecution was Saint Mark of Ephesus.
Saint Mark was born to holy parents in 1392AD who named him Emanuel. His father George was not only a Chief justice but also a deacon of the Holy Church Hagia Sophia. So from an early age Emanuel was brought up in the traditions of the Church. Unfortunately, for the saint when he was young his father passed away leaving them orphans.
Realising that she needed to continue Emauel’s education, Maria his mother, sent him to be educated by John Chortasmenos who would later become the Bishop of Selymbria.
When Emanuel had completed his studies he was appointed an administrator and teacher at a theological school. Soon after being recognised as a great scholar and teacher he gained many students. Yet he felt called to the spiritual desert and embraced monasticism on the island of Pringiponison where he was trained by the famos ascetic Symeon.
After two years, he had to leave his beloved island as the Turks had taken control of the island making life difficult for the holy monks. He then moved to the Monestary of Magganon where he spent his life in prayerful contemplation and writing theological works against the errors of the Western Church. Eventually he was ordained a priest- monk taking the name of Mark, having done so under obedience as he did not feel worthy of such a high office. Later, he would be consecrated a Bishop being responsible for the See of Ephesus.
In the year 1436 AD, the Patriarch of Alexandria named him as his representative in a synod convened at the Italian city of Florence. The Roman Emperor at the time John Paleologos was trying to force the Orthodox to accept a union with the Western Christians so that he could get aid in fighting the Turks who were trying to take over the great city of Constantinople.
Many Orthodox Bishops attended the council of Florence and were put up at the expense of the Roman Pope. The Pope did not put them up out of Christian love but rather he sought to buy their hearts and signatures, for at this time the Popes were trying to claim that they were the head of Christ’s Church – effectively placing a man in the place of God!
Saint Mark was such a great scholar that he did not escape the attention of the Emperor who made him the leader of the Synod. Saint Mark realised something was up and when it came time for him to agree to union with the Pope of Rome he refused to sign the document.
All the other Bishops had been bought by the Pope’s money and happily signed thinking that they would be richly rewarded by the Emperor, little did they realise by signing this document they had sowed the seeds of destruction of their beloved Constantinople.
After this anti-council of Florence, Saint Mark returned to the imperial city, where many people praised his brave stand against those who tried to force Holy Orthodoxy to join the Western
Church through treacherous means. This meant that Saint Mark had made many enemies how sought to kill him because he would not stop trying to show people how wrong this union was.
Eventually, he was forced to flee back to his See on the 4th of May 1440 as his enemies were seeking to kill him. But there was to be no peace for Saint Mark at Ephesus, as the Turks had occupied the city and those who favored the union with the West sought to have him killed.
He boarded a boat and stopped at the city of Limnos and was unfortunately recognised and then arrested under Imperial order and imprisoned for two whole years.
Due to many years of persecution at the hands of those who sought to bring a union with the Western Church his health began to deteriorate and he reposed in the Lord on the 23rd of June, 1444, at the age of 52.
His influence had been great and through his many letters he brought many unionists back to Holy Orthodoxy. Due to his unwaivering faith in God he had gained many spiritual children who recognised how holy he really was.
Let us pray that we may like St Mark of Ephesus stand up for what is right, honourable, and just.
Let us also pray that like St Mark we may be icons of Christ in this world so that we may bring people to Him and His Holy Church.
St Mark of Ephesus, Saint Nektarios, and Holy Russian Martyrs Pray for us.
