My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
+
ON DECEMBER 12th OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES OUR HOLY AND GOD-BEARING FATHER SPYRIDON THE WONDER-WORKER BISHOP OF TRIMYTHOUS IN CYPRUS
Spyridon, our Holy Father among the Saints, the boast of the inhabited world, and the adornment of the faithful, flourished during the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great (Saint Constantine) [306-337 A.D.]. He hailed from the famous island of Cyprus. The Saint's virtue and divine conduct were such that his accomplishments shone forth brightly throughout the inhabited world, leaving no adult Christian who is not acquainted with his life. This is the same God-bearing Father who had taken part in the First Ecumenical Synod (325 A.D.). Who has not heard of his renowned demonstration at Nicaea? But his participation at that First Synod shall be triumphantly recounted later.
Our great Father Spyridon from his youth was simple, open, unpretending, and humble. He always kept as models, worthy of emulation, the blessed Prophet David for meekness, Jacob for being natural and unaffected, and Abraham for his hospitality. He was in the habit of distributing his goods and expending his means on the poor. On account of his virtue and generosity, he inherited an imperishable land, one that was blessed and perpetual, in accordance with the unfailing promise of the Lord Who said, "blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:7), and "blessed are the merciful, for they shall find mercy" (Matthew 5:7). By means of transitory wealth, which he held in contempt during his lifetime, he now receives for unending ages the incorruptible treasure, that is, the Christ, the Pearl of great price. He was also enriched by a river of miracles, which was energized in him at all times and places, and from which he was never drained.
Spyridon was sanctified from his mother's womb and was born in Askia, Cyprus. From his youth, he was adorned with all the virtues and loved true simplicity and serenity. Though the holy man started out as a shepherd of sheep, yet he was neither a rustic in character and disposition nor one uncommunicative. Indeed, he diligently conducted his life in an orderly manner. He attended to the needs of the indigent and strangers with such mercy and compassion that he received all with love into his home.
According to the sacred canons, he was lawfully wedded to an honorable and prudent woman with whom he begat children. After her premature death, he continued to comport himself in a venerable and temperate manner.
The First Ecumenical Synod
When the Great Constantine reigned, he convened the Fist Ecumenical Synod in 325 A.D. The major sees of the Eastern Empire were well represented. The Synod was assembled against Arius, who kept spreading his blasphemy, saying that the Son and Logos/Word of God was not coessential (homoousios) with the Father, Thus, Arius the heretic was declaring that Jesus was not the True God but a creature (ktisma), a Greek word meaning anything that is built.
In the midst of this company of 318 holy Fathers and luminaries was the humble-minded Spyridon, whose indwelling of the Holy Spirit and virtue empowered him to surpass the worldly philosophers who were given imperial permission to attend. The philosopher's seemingly superior credentials, however, brought him no understanding of the exact Faith...Spyridon who with Saint Paul said, "I decided not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ, even this One Who was Crucified [1 Corinthians 2:2). The Saint did not pretend to anything. He deemed himself a simple and unlettered man; nevertheless, he could not stand by idly, as the philosopher's heated and abusive words and arguments reviled the Christ.
Then Spyridon, great in virtue and simple, or should we say singular, in learning, borne about and filled full of the All-Holy Spirit, took up a tile in his hands and went on speaking: "One is God Who made the heaven and the earth, the Creator of all things. The same One created the heavenly powers and fashioned man, so that 'all things came into being through Him, and without Him, not even one thing came into being that hath come to be' (John 1:3)...This Logos/Word, Whom we know to be the Son of the True God and of one essence with the Father, we believe to be born of the Virgin. He was crucified and buried as Man, and as God, He raised us up with Himself. It is He Who grants us incorruptible and everlasting life. Furthermore, we believe that, as Judge of the cosmos (world), He shall come in order to judge all, at which point we shall give Him AN accounting of all our works, words and desires.
"Again, we know Him to be coessential with the Father, coequal in dignity, honor, and glory. The Holy Trinity, though one in essence, is tri-hypostatic, three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is an ineffable and incomprehensible mystery, and the mind of man is not able to compass or comprehend the greatness of Infinite Divinity...
"...After the Saint, inflamed with love for the Trinity, made the sign of the Honorable Cross with his right hand, while holding the tile in his left hand, he pronounced: "In the name of the Father," and instantly--lo, thy wonders, O Christ our King!--the fire which had baked the tile flared upward. Then he said, "and of the Son," and at once, the water wherewith it had been mixed ran down. Immediately following, he said, "and of the Holy Spirit," and he opened his hand in which only the clay from which it was made remained. This miracle was witnessed with astonishment by all. Thus the Saint put to shame the disputes reputed to be wise.
The Repose of the Saint's Daughter
When the Saint arrived in Cyprus, he found that his daughter Irene had reposed. She was a virgin who had never known a man, and she had kept her virginity inviolate that she might present it to her heavenly Bridegroom Christ. The bereaved holy man endured this affliction courageously, as one sensible and prudent. A few days after Irene was interred, a tearful woman approached the Saint and excitedly said, "I entrusted to thy late daughter's care certain articles, that is, expensive gold jewelry. But here repose came so quickly thereafter that I had not the opportunity to inquire where she deposited them."
Now Irene, for greater security, had buried the articles. The Saint carefully and diligently searched his entire house, but he was unable to find the jewelry. The Saint then went to the tomb of his daughter, followed by some other persons. Then, as though Irene were still alive, he began asking her, "Irene, my child, where did you put the woman's gold jewelry?" The dead answered with a lively voice and disclosed a certain place. "That is where I have hidden the articles, my father." The Saint, as though he were master of life and death, spoke again to his girl, saying, "Be sleeping, child, until the Lord should raise thee at the universal resurrection." The Saint then went to the spot disclosed by his daughter and found the gold jewelry.
The Saint's Repose
Then, on the 12th of December, in the year 348 A.D., Saint Spyridon gave his soul into the hands of God. He was 78 years old. He bequeathed his sacred relics to the island of his birth, as a consolation for the faithful and as a fountain of healings. Upon his repose and up to the present day, his boldness before the lord is even greater than when he was alive, as he has been shown to be a wellspring of miracles. The wonderworking (miracles) have not ceased. Each is extraordinary and worth telling. (Source: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church)
Personal Note: I am confident that most of you know the true story of how Saint Spyridon, the Patron Saint of the small city of Zaharo, and the place of my birth in Greece saved our entire family from death.
Our house was bombed during the civil war in Greece following World War II and we were all in it. Through the prayers of my pious parents who sought the Saint's intercessions to our Lord and Savior, we were saved from death. However, because of this disastrous event, God brought us to America. It is He Who called me to the Holy Priesthood and allowed me to serve Him for 51 years. How great a blessing! It is indeed a holy and special day!
__________________________
Divine Liturgy at 10:00 a.m.
Officiating Priests: Father George and Father Alexis Torrence.
__________________________
"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos
+++
With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry)
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George