The Cross in the Christian Life by Abbott Ephraim of Vatopaidi

Abbot Ephraim of Vatopaidi Monastery in Mount Athos, Greece preaches a homily on the Cross in the Christian Life. This video is in Greek with English subtitles.

The Foolishness of the Cross, Love Your Enemies

Icon of Christ carrying His cross, Church of Panagia Dexia,
Thessaloniki, Greece

"For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." 1 Corinthians 1:18
NASB BibleGateway.com

I have always read the following passage from the Gospel according to St Luke,  with a sense of astonishment;
"“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."Luke 6:27-36 NASB Source-BibleGateway.com 

The commandment has a sense of absoluteness. It demands total and unconditional surrender of oneself. And I have to confess that I did not understand it. What Christ is asking seems inhumane!

Does He mean this literally?, I continually asked myself. What kind of a person behaves in this way and is able to survive? And I thought, "there is no way I can fulfill this commandment!"

I read St Silouan, "Blessed is the soul that loves her brother, for our brother is our life. Blessed is the soul that loves her brother: the Spirit of the Lord lives manifest within her, affording peace and gladness, and she weeps for the whole world." From 'St Silouan the Athonite' by Archimandrite Sophrony p.371, St Vladimir Seminary Press 1991

Such words sound so simple but it takes a heart full of the Holy Spirit to understand. I thought, "Alright, maybe finding out what St Silouan means by 'love' will help, and immediately recalled 1 Corinthians 13, where it reads,

“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek it's own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” NASB 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 And I despaired of ever been able to live and experience this love.

Then I read this passage from St Silouan;
"The soul cannot know peace unless she prays for her enemies...The Lord taught me to love my enemies. Without the grace of God we cannot love our enemies. Only the Holy Spirit teaches love,..."

And I realized that my feelings of impotence are warranted, that is, if I  think I am called to have this love in the power of my human strength. The beloved Elder knows this and he has words of encouragement for us, "To begin with, constrain your heart to love enemies, and the Lord, seeing your good will, will help you in all things, and experience itself will show you the way. But the man who thinks with malice of his enemies has not God's love within him, and does not know God."

"If you cannot love, then at least do not revile or curse your enemies, and things will already be better; but if a man curses and abuses his enemies, it is plain that an evil spirit lives in him, and if he does not repent, when he dies he will go to the place where evil spirits dwell.

May the Lord preserve every soul from such adversity!"  
From, 'St Silouan the Athonite', p377 to p.378


The words are comforting but also bring fear, hopefully the fear of God. It is this fear that moves me to constrain myself and struggle towards God and not away from Him. God loves us so much, that His Providence makes a plan for us. How, you may ask? 

The beloved Bishop of Zicha knows very well how, as revealed by his prayer,

"LORD, BLESS MY ENEMIES, A Prayer by St. Nikolai of Ochrid

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Enemies have driven me into your embrace more than friends have. Friends have bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from Earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world. Enemies have made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of the world. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having ensconced myself beneath Your tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world.
They have punished me, whenever I have hesitated to punish myself. They have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torments. They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself. They have spat upon me, whenever I have filled myself with arrogance.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Whenever I have made myself wise, they have called me foolish. Whenever I have made myself mighty, they have mocked me as though I were a dwarf. Whenever I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background. Whenever I have rushed to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand. 

Whenever I thought that I would sleep peacefully, they have wakened me from sleep. Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life, they have demolished it and driven me out. Truly, enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of your garment.

Bless my enemies, Ο Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Bless them and multiply them; multiply them and make them even more bitter against me: so that my fleeing to You may have no return; so that all hope in men may be scattered like cobwebs; so that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my soul; so that my heart may become the grave of my two evil twins: arrogance and anger; so that I might amass all my treasure in heaven; ah, so that I may for once be freed from self-deception, which has entangled me in the dreadful web of illusory life. Enemies have taught me to know what hardly anyone knows, that a person has no enemies in the world except himself. One hates his enemies only when he fails to realize that they are not enemies, but cruel friends. It is truly difficult for me to say who has done me more good and who has done me more evil in the world: friends or enemies. Therefore bless, Ο Lord, both my friends and my enemies. A slave curses enemies, for he does not understand. But a son blesses them, for he understands. For a son knows that his enemies cannot touch his life. Therefore he freely steps among them and prays to God for them. Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them."

From 'Prayer LXXV, Prayers by the Lake p.142-144, Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich, Trans. by Rt. Rev. Archimandrite Todor Mitka, 1999 ORTHODOX HERITAGE. APRIL 2005. BROTHERHOOD OF ST. POIMEN Source

Immediately two things seem very clear, I must pray to God with perseverance to be able to learn to love my enemies, and I must trust in, and submit to God's Providence as revealed in the circumstances of my life.

Father Zacharias Zacharou explains, "God's commandments are beyond man's conception and power to fulfill. We are humbled from the moment we come in contact with them. The commandments of God have the specific effect of crushing the arrogance of our darkened minds and hearts as to clear the way for grace to dwell within us. They shed light on our imperfection, on our spiritual poverty and weakness, so that we cry out to God from the heart, asking Him to come and fulfill His own commandments in us. This

is the only way, as He Himself said, "Without Me ye can do nothing." John 15:5

From 'Remember Thy First Love' p.318, by Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou, Stravopegic Monastery of St John the Baptist, Essex, England, 2010

"The very greatness of loving our enemies is obvious from this simple example: if we have a misunderstanding with someone and we ourselves are to blame, how difficult we find it to humble ourselves and say, 'Forgive me, I made a mistake' But how much greater the crucifixion of ourselves if we are to love someone who has provoked us, even as our conscience tells us that we are blameless. This, however is the way of Christ, Who loved us unto the end even while

we were His enemies. ..

Love for one's enemies, then, is the 'madness' of our faith, 'the foolishness of the cross'. And woe unto him who does not accept this foolishness! His is foolishness of a different kind: 'The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God' Psalm 14:1. There is indeed no God for him, for he is unmoved at seeing Christ-God with arms outstretched upon the cross in love for His enemies. Such a fool is so  hardened that the word of life, the word of the cross, no longer penetrates his heart. And this word is the one that speaks most eloquently to us of what love for our enemies truly is." Ibid p.320-321

I am speechless! With pain of heart I acknowledge that I do not yet possess this love. But I can pray, I can ask, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me! Transform my heart of stone. I believe, help my unbelief!"

And while I pray, there is also something else I can do, I can start to act as if I had this love... 

The Fruit of Tribulation by Archimandrite Tikhon

Archbishop Hilarion Tritsky Source

"Today, at the Liturgy for the commemoration of the uncovering
of the relics of Holy Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky) and Equal-
to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, Archimandrite Tikhon, the abbot
of Sretensky Monastery, gave a sermon on the Gospel reading.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Today we commemorate the uncovering of the relics of our
heavenly protector, Holy Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky). The
Gospel reading for today (Mt. 12:38–45) is about how the people
came to their teacher and demanded a sign from the heavens—a
sign as pay for their faith in God. “We would see a sign from thee”
and we will believe, they said. However, Christ did not accept that
plan. He said, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a
sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the
prophet Jonas.

So, what is that sign? It is the sign of overcoming tribulations and
understanding the meaning of trials, suffering, and the cross. The
prophet Jonah received great mercy from God—Divine wisdom—
but not before he had been cast into tribulation, and through this
tribulation he received the gift that he had requested: wisdom,
eternal life—a foretaste of eternal life." continues...

To read this article in its entirety please go to the

Pravoslavie.ru site.

Three Homilies on the Bearing of the Cross By St. Theophan the Recluse

Available from St Herman Press

"When the personal cross of each of us is
united with Christ’s Cross, 
the power and effect of the latter is transferred to us and becomes,
as it were, a conduit through which every good gift and every perfect
gift ( James 1:17) is poured forth upon us from the Cross of Christ.

From this it is evident that the personal cross of each of us is as
essential to the work of salvation as the Cross of Christ. And you will
not find one saved person who was not a cross-bearer. It is for this
reason that everyone is surrounded by crosses on all sides—so that
we will not be hampered by having to look for crosses to bear, and so
that we will not be far from the salvific power of Christ’s Cross.

One can say it this way: Look around yourself and you will see your
cross. Bear it as you should, uniting it with Christ’s Cross, and you 
will be saved. Although everyone bears his cross reluctantly—and
for the most part crosses are not simple but complex—not everyone
looks at his cross through Christ’s Cross. Not everyone turns it into
a mechanism for his salvation. Therefore, not everyone’s cross is a 
salvific cross.

Let us take a look at all the possible crosses and see how one ought
to bear each of them, that they might be a force unto salvation.

There are many crosses, but there are three kinds: The first kind
are outward crosses, consisting of sorrows and misfortunes and, in
general, of the bitter lot of our earthly sojourn. The second kind are
inward crosses, which arise from the struggle against the passions
and lusts, for the sake of acquiring the virtues. The third kind are
spiritual, grace-filled crosses, which are laid upon us through 
absolute devotion to God’s will."
The Orthodox Word no. 285 p.188 to189, St Herman Press, 2012

"Seeing this, brethren, let us stand at Golgotha by the crosses, and
let us begin to compare ourselves to those who bore them and them
to us, to see which one applies to us. Simon of Cyrene, who bore
Christ’s Cross (cf. Matt. 27:32), is an image of those cross-bearers
who are subjected to outward sorrows and deprivations. As to those
who represent the crucified wise thief and those who represent the
Lord on the Cross, I have just told you above: the former depicts
those who are fighting against the passions and the latter depict
perfect men, crucified in devotion to God.

And whom does the cross of the bad thief depict? It depicts those
who serve the passions. The passions torture them, torment them,
crucify them to death, without giving them any comfort or good hope.

Using these images, compare your crosses to these crosses and
accordingly determine who you are—Simon of Cyrene; the wise thief;
an imitator of Christ the Lord; or the bad thief, consumed by the
passions.

Whoever you find yourself to be, expect a corresponding end. I will
only add this: throw out of your head the idea that you can, through
a comfortable life, become what you must be in Christ."
The Orthodox Word no. 285 p.200, St Herman Press, 2012

These newly published homilies by St Theophan the Recluse may 
be read in full here. This file is also available as a free download.
If you are blessed by this spiritual reading, please consider ordering
a subscription to this excellent Orthodox magazine here

Note
"What is a passion? Passion is an unnatural movement of the soul,
says Maximus the Confessor, just as a physical disease is something
unnatural to our body… 'Passion is an excessive feeling, or appetite,
going beyond what is reasonable. Passions are a disturbance of our
soul contrary to our nature, in disobedience to reason. Passion is not
natural and it ruins our nature instead of fulfilling it. 

Clement of Alexandria”
From 'Path to Sanity' p.30, Dee Pennock, Light & Life Publishing
Company, Minneapolis, MN 2010

Before Thy Cross I Bow down and Worship, Oh Master!

Reliquary Cross given to me in Mount Athos. It contains relics from
St Demetrius of Thessaloniki, St Sava the New, St John the Russian,
St Spyridon of Corfu, St Dionysios of Zakynthos, St John Maximovitch,
and Elder Philotheos Zervakos.

Our religious freedom is threatened not only here in the U.S but in other
countries as well. Please read the news below about what is going on
in the United Kingdom.

From now on I am wearing my cross outside my shirt at all times.
Please join me in this effort.

Russian church parishioner in London resigns after being banned from wearing crossFrom Interfax

2012-03-19 14:24:00

London, March 19, Interfax - A parishioner of the Russian Assumption Cathedral in London had to resign after being prohibited from wearing a cross.

"This morning I talked to a woman who was forced to take off her cross at work a week ago. She preferred to resign. And the cross was not even visible! The woman asked to be allowed to wear it, promising to attach it to the body with duct tape to keep it from accidentally slipping from under her clothes, but they said it's not allowed," Archpriest Mikhail Dudko, the cathedral's sacristan, said on Facebook.

He said the position of the British government, which opposes freedom to openly wear crosses, is understood by local authorities as "a total ban" and people with poor knowledge of the language and life in the UK "have virtually no chance of defending their rights."

According to earlier reports, the British authorities intend to defend the legality of the ban on public wearing of crosses in the UK in the European Court of Human Rights.

The Strasbourg court will try lawsuits involving the religious discrimination against four Christians from the UK, who have lost their cases in British courts.

The Russian Church earlier expressed surprise about the loyalty of the British authorities, who have banned wearing crosses at work, to other symbols, for example, gay symbols.

"This decision made by the British parliament is certainly alarming, especially given the existence in modern European society of other tendencies aimed at liberating human instincts," Vladimir Legoyda, the head of the Synodal Information Department, told reporters. He said he was surprised by the fact that public demonstration of affiliation with gay culture is considered normal in the UK while the wearing of crosses is not. Among the examples of double standards Legoyda named the British authorities' stance on Sikhs, saying that even London police officers are officially allowed to wear turbans, which are Sikh symbols.

Among the four cases to be tried in Strasbourg is a claim filed by a woman who was suspended from her job with British Airways several years ago for refusing to take off her cross, which she wore on top of her uniform.

The other claimants are Shirley Chaplin, who had worked as a nurse for 30 years before being fired for wearing a cross at work, Lillian Leidel, an official with a London civil registry office, who was subjected to disciplinary punishment for refusing to register a gay marriage for religious reasons, and Garry McFarlane, a resident of Bristol, a former employee of a firm providing confidential consultations to gay couples, who was fired because he had difficulty working because of his religious beliefs.

On Cleaving to the Cross of Christ by St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

Source

Letter to a monk who is enduring sorrows in a coenobium and

who desires solitude (no date)

No matter where I have been - in solitude or in human society -

light and consolation pour forth into my soul from the cross of 

Christ. Sin, which has possession of my entire being, does not

cease to say to me, "Come down from the cross."

Alas! I come down from it, thinking to find righteousness outside

of the cross - and I fall into misery of soul: waves of agitation

swallow me. Having come down from the cross, I am found to be

without Christ.

How can I help my calamitous state? I pray to Christ to raise me

up unto the cross again. As I pray, I myself try to be crucified, as 

one taught by experience - he who is not crucified is not Christ's.

Faith raises me up onto the cross; reason, falsely so called, full 

of faithlessness, brings me down from it. As I myself act, so do I

advice my brothers to act!

What else shall I add? I will add, Blessed is the man that endureth

temptation  (James 1:12). In that He Himself (Jesus Christ) hath 

suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted

(Heb.2:18). I desire that these words of Holy Scripture be realized

in you. And you  - be consoled! Do not be fainthearted because you

have been conquered in warfare - this is unto spiritual skill or 

experience, and for humility. Peace be unto you! 

I will say in addition ; the general path of ascetics is, through 

practicing patience among men, to heal the infirmity of the senses,

to see God's Providence, and to enter into mental prayer. Someone

else, by God's Providence, enters therein by another way - but we

should go by the common path. Read about this in Homily 55 of 

St. Isaac (the Syrian) to St. Symeon the Wonderworker. Some find

that solitude is the shortest means to spiritual success, while others

say that love for one's neighbor leads to spiritual success.

My heart likes the latter more, because love for one's neighbor is the

indispensable duty of each one, while not many are capable of

stillness.

From 'The Collected Letters of St Ignatius Brianchaninov" (Russian)

Moscow,1995 This translation was published in Issue Nos.270-71

of The Orthodox Word p.91-92, St Herman Press, Jan-April 2010