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 NOVEMBER 4th OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE HOLY GREAT-MARTYR BARBARA

During the reign of the impious pagan Roman emperor Maximian, there lived in the East, near Heliopolis, a wealthy, renowned nobleman named Dioscoros, by ancestry and faith a Hellene (Greek). He had a daughter named Barbara, his only child, over whom he kept watch as the apple of his eye. The maiden was exceedingly beautiful, and no girl or woman in the country could compare with her. Thinking baseborn, common folk unworthy to behold his daughter's fair countenance, Dioscoros built a lofty tower in which were lovely rooms. There Barbara remained, with well-bred governess and maidservants. By that time her mother was already dead. While living in the tower, the maiden found consolation in looking out over the hills and valleys created by God, at the splendor of the heavens, and the majesty of the earth. One day, while gazing into the sky, she began to reflect on the brilliance of the sun, the moon in its course, and the luster of the stars. Suddenly she asked the governesses and servants living with her, "Who made these things?" Then, regarding the beauty of the earth, its green fields, gardens, and vineyards, the hills and streams, she asked again, "Whose hand created all this?"

"All things were made by the gods," the women replied.

"Which gods?" asked the maiden.

The servants answered, "The gold, silver, and wooden gods that your father keeps in his palace and worships. These are the gods that made everything you see."

Doubting the truth of this, Barbara said to herself, "The gods my father reveres were made by the hands of men: those of gold and silver by smiths, those of stone by sculptors, and the ones of wood by carvers. How can gods which have themselves been fashioned, that can neither walk nor move their hands, have created the luminous expanse of the sky and this beautiful earth?"

As she pondered on this, she gazed up into the sky by day and night, hoping to come to know the Creator through His creation. Then one night, after staring into the heavens for a long time, her soul filled with longing to know who created its wondrous beauty, expanse, and splendor, the Divine Light of grace suddenly shone within her, opening the eyes of her mind to know the one invisible, unfathomable God, Who made heaven and earth in His wisdom. She said to herself, "He alone is God Who was not formed by the hands of man, but is self-existent, and made all things by His hand. He alone is God Who stretched out the expanse of the heavens and sends down from on high the rays of the sun, the light of the moon, and the glow of the stars to illumine the whole world; while below He adorns the earth with various trees and flowers, and waters it with streams and springs. He alone is God Who upholds orders, and gives life to all things, caring for everything that exists!"

In this way Barbara came to know the Creator by His creation, and in the words of Prophet and king David were fulfilled: "I meditated on all Thy works, I pondered on the creations of Thy hands" (Psalm 142). Such meditations kindled the fire of divine love in her heart, and the flame of desire for God burned fiercely in her soul by day and night. Her one thought, her one desire was to come to know as fully as possible the Creator of all things. She had no human teacher to reveal to her the mysteries of the holy faith and guide her to the path of salvation, for her father Dioscoros kept close watch to ensure that only the servants had access to her; but she had as a wise teacher and guide the Holy Spirit Himself, Who invisibly instructed her by the secret inspiration of His grace, communicating to her mind the knowledge of the Truth. Like a sparrow sitting alone upon a house-top, (Psalm 10), the maiden remained in her tower, her thoughts ever turned toward heaven. Her heart was attached to nothing earthly; neither gold, nor costly pearls or jewels, nor fine apparel, nor any other sort of feminine adornment. She never considered marriage, since her mind was fixed upon the one God and she was held fast by love for Him...

...Dioscoros, her father, however, continued to press her, in spite of the many reasons she gave for her refusal to marry, and finally she was forced to declare, "Father, if you compel me to marry or even speak of this matter again, I shall kill myself, and you will lose your only child."

Horrified, Dioscoros desisted for the while, hoping that time would bring her to reconsider and that he would not need to compel her to obey him. Then the notion came to him of taking a long journey to attend to some business. He believed that Barbara would miss him and that when he returned it would be easier to persuade her to do as he wished. Before going away, Dioscorus gave orders for a splendid bathhouse to be built by the pool in his garden. Two windows were to be set in the south wall of the building. Dioscorus also left instructions with his daughter's attendants to permit her to come down from the tower and go wherever she wished, for he imagined that if Barbara began to converse with many people and see that other maidens willingly agreed to marriage, she would herself desire to be joined to a husband.

Free to come and go, and speak with whomever she wished, Barbara made the acquaintance of several Christian maidens. From them she first heard of Jesus Christ. The name of Christ caused her to rejoice in spirit and she asked them to tell her more concerning the Savior. They told her all they could of the Lord's ineffable Divinity, His Incarnation from the Most Pure Virgin Mary, His voluntary Passion and Resurrection, the Judgment to come, Eternal torments prepared for idolaters, and the endless joy that awaits faithful Christians in the heavenly Kingdom. Barbara's heart was filled with delight as they spoke, and afire with love for Christ, she longed to be baptized. (Source: The Great Collection of the Lives of the Saints)

(To be continued)

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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry)
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+Father George