Parable of the Prodigal Son and his older brother

 

Today the Orthodox Church remembers the parable of the prodigal son and his older envious self-righteous brother.

The first homily will be dedicated to the prodigal son and the second to his envious brother:

How an Orthodox Christian was converted/reverted to the Orthodox faith (Sergei Nilus)

The following text is a story of an orthodox christian Sergei Nilus (1862-1929) who was born orthodox but later in his youth apostasized but by the intercession of St Sergius of Radonezh an incident on the horse and also the miraculous healing by St John of Kronstadt he returned to the faith. Sergei Nilus was the publisher of the Dialogue between Motovilov and St Seraphim of Sarov on the Acquistion of the Holy Spirit.

The first text is his autobiography and the second text is his full biography written by Vladimir Moss.

Life of Blessed Elena Afanasyevna Dertyeva who became a fool for Christ to avoid marriage (+1820)

 

Blessed Elena Afanasyevna Dertyeva came from the noble Dertyev family. Her father was an official serving in Arzams. Her parents raised Elena in the fear of God and provided her with a home education befitting her rank. From childhood, she expressed a desire to dedicate herself to the monastic life, but despite her gentle and meek nature, beloved by all, her parents would have none of it.

When she was 14 or 15 years old, Father Nazarius, an ascetic of the Sarov Hermitage and the abbot and restorer of the renowned Valaam Monastery, visited her father's house while passing through Arzamas. Elena revealed her desire to him, and he tried to persuade her parents not to oppose their daughter's intention, but they refused. Then, choosing a time when she was alone with Father Nazarius, Elena asked him what she should do. The elder told her, "Be a fool for Christ's sake, cover your mind with madness; this way you will be saved and please God." Elena accepted this advice and prayed to God to help her fulfill it.

Life of Saint Vladimir, Metropolitan And Hieromartyr Of Kiev (+1918)

Metropolitan Vladimir, in the world Basil Nikiforovich Bogoyavlensky, was born on January 1, 1848 in the village of Malaya Morshka in the Morshansky uyezd of Tambov province. His father, Nicephorus, was a priest who later himself suffered a martyr's death. He received his primary education in the theological schools of Tambov diocese.

Unpretentiousness which bordered on timidity, complemented by eagerness and diligence in schoolwork, were the most distinctive characteristics of the child and future metropolitan. In a book dedicated to the memory of the late Metropolitan Anthony Vadkovsky, who was formerly from the same district as Metropolitan Vladimir, there appears the following story about an incident in the latter's childhood. Once Basil Bogoyavlensky's father went with him to the home of Alexander Vasilyevich Vadkovsky, the future Metropolitan Anthony. When he saw A.V. Vadkovsky's older brothers, who were theologians, Basil Bogoyavlensky was so frightened by these important persons that he ran into the barn and hid under a carriage, where they had great difficulty finding him.

Life of Saint Gregory the Theologian (+390)

The birthplace of Saint Gregory the Theologian was the Second, or Southern, Cappadocia, the city of Nazianzus , after which it is called Nazianzus. His parents were noble and honorable people: his father, also named Gregory, and his mother, Nonna. But his father was previously an unbeliever, descended from unbelieving parents: a pagan father and a Jewish mother. In his faith, he followed both, adhering to both pagan error and Jewish unbelief. This is the essence of the so-called Hypsistarian false teaching . Saint Gregory's mother, Blessed Nonna, was descended from Christian parents and was herself a devout Christian. From early childhood, she was raised in piety and perfectly instructed in the fear of God, which is the beginning of all wisdom. By God's design, she was united in marriage to her unbelieving husband, so that he too might be brought to the holy faith: "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified ," according to the Apostle, "by the believing wife" ( 1 Cor. 7:14 ). And so it happened. Nonna, constantly persuading her husband with divinely wise words and earnestly praying to God for him, brought him, with God's help, to the Christian faith. Her husband received a vision from God in a dream: it seemed to him that he was singing words from a psalm of David, words he had never uttered himself, but had only heard from his wife, who prayed often. He himself never prayed: he neither knew how to pray, nor did he want to. The words he sang in the dream were as follows: "I rejoiced when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord'" ( Psalm 122:1 ). While singing this, he felt a special sweetness in his heart, and upon awakening, he rejoiced, and then told his wife about it. She realized that God Himself was calling her husband to His Holy Church, and she began to instruct him even more fervently in the Christian faith and guided him on the path to salvation. At this time, Saint Leontius, Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, who was traveling to the First Ecumenical Council, convened in Nicaea in 959 , happened to stop in the city of Nazianzus. Blessed Nonna brought her husband to him, and Gregory was baptized by the saint's hands. After receiving holy baptism, he began a righteous and God-pleasing life, befitting a true and perfect Christian. Moreover, he succeeded so much in evangelism and good works that he was later elected to the episcopal throne in the same city of Nazianzus (which will be discussed below).

Deaconnesses

This Pandora's box has recently been opened as the feminist agenda tries to force itself into Orthodoxy. The call for the reinstitution of the ordination of women as deaconesses is making itself heard. Sadly, some clergy, even a few prominent bishops, are joining in favor of this "craze", perhaps because they are afraid of being labeled as misogynist by the vocal minority of women demanding "their place in the altar."

Throughout the history of the Church, monastics have always stood forward in warning of oncoming disaster and/or in defense of the purity of the faith; one only need to look at the iconoclastic controversy to see this clearly, for it was the monastics who were in the forefront in defense of icons. Although the circulation of The Veil is not as wide as publications by a number of modernist/"progressive"/radical/liberal Orthodox groups in this country, we still hope that this article will urge those who hold firm to the traditions of the Faith to come forward and join their voices to ours.

Life of Saint Xenia of Saint Petersburg (+1803)

 

Blessed Xenia of Petersburg (c. 1720–1803), a young widow, chose the feat of foolishness for Christ's sake to pray for the soul of her husband, who had suddenly died. Having given away her property, she wore his clothes, claiming that "Xenia had died." She lived in poverty, praying at night in the fields, refusing alms (except for kopecks—"a tsar on horseback"). She became renowned for her clairvoyance, miracles (predictions, healings), and secret assistance in the construction of the Smolensk Church (she carried bricks at night). She carried out this feat for 45 years. She is buried in the Smolensk Cemetery, where her chapel is a place of veneration and healing. She was canonized in 1988.

Life of Saint Glicherie of Romania (+1985)

 

Link of the pdf of the full text:

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_7ksI4aE-muajhfSLUiu5oMn1RkUsj-B/view?usp=sharing

Life of Saint Yakov Arkatov (+1991)

Once at the end of a hot summer’s day a wanderer with a pack on his back and a staff in his hand appeared in the small village of Alexandrovka, Kurgan uyezd, in the Altai mountains of Siberia. He went up to the gates of the house of Theodore Arkatov and stopped, fixing his eyes on a three-year-old child who was playing in the sand. For a long time he looked at him, and then when the mistress of the house came out he asked for a bed for the night. It was the year 1906.

On the Antichrist (Archpriest Boris Molchanov)

"You know the signs of the Antichrist;

remember them not only yourself, but also generously share them with everyone."

St. Cyril of Jerusalem

 Lord Jesus Christ said, “I will build My Church , and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” ( Matthew 16:18 ). What does “the gates of hell” mean?

“The Jews had a custom of gathering under the chairmanship of the elders at the city gates to discuss political, judicial, and social matters. These assemblies were the highest authority in all matters; all of God’s commands were also proclaimed here. They enjoyed a certain authority among the people. References to this Jewish custom of holding meetings at the city gates can be found in the book of Ruth ( Ruth 4:1, 11 ). In the description of an active wife in the book of Proverbs ( Proverbs 31:23 ), it is said that “her husband is always well dressed” and that “he is well known in the gates,” i.e., he is invested with public trust and he takes an active part in important meetings (Prof. V.V. Bolotov ).

Therefore, the "gates of hell" signify not simply the forces of hell, but the "general headquarters" of the forces of hell—their most important meeting, dedicated to developing a plan for a decisive battle with the Church. The Church and hell are presented as two warring forces. And in this war with hell, the Church, according to Christ, will remain unconquered.

The hellish plan to fight the Church in Holy Scripture is called “the mystery of lawlessness” ( 2 Thessalonians 2:7 ), which has been in effect for centuries and will end with the appearance of the Antichrist ( 2 Thessalonians 2:8 ).

The Antichrist can only come as a result of a worldwide apostasy, i.e., the people's apostasy from God and from His ways, when God's grace departs from people. "When the apostates have fulfilled the measure of their iniquities, then shall a king arise, bold and skillful in deceit" ( Daniel 8:23 ). "His coming is after the work of Satan" ( 2 Thessalonians 2:9 ).