The Orthodox Christian Faith - Lesson 4

Catechism

DISCLAIMER

The catechism lessons series is prepared by me (Qai) of Orthodox Shahada. I am not ordained clergy. However, I have the explicit blessing of my spiritual father (who has been a priest in the ROCOR jurisdiction for 40+ years) to conduct catechism classes. The lessons are delivered in person at the parish level and are now being made available online in the hope that they will benefit others.

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In the previous lesson, we looked at the different ways in which an Orthodox Christian participates in the Mystery that is Christ, focusing specifically on Marriage. When considered as a single thematic unit, the previous three lessons emphasize the importance of living a Mystical life within the Orthodox Church.

We now switch gears and discuss the importance of inculcating the lives of the Saints as a means of cultivating the Orthodox phronema.

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This lesson builds on a separate discussion on God’s will and discernment. Please be sure to first read the corresponding article before continuing with this lesson:

When we engage the lives of the Saints, we do not do so in order to read stories about the Saints. Rather, we engage the lives of the Saints in order to consult with the Saints. With the aid of our spiritual father, we aim to discern the lives of the Saints so that we may apply their lives to our own in a spiritually healthy and beneficial way.

Consider the following as an example of discernment from the life of St Seraphim of Sarov: After having recovered from injuries sustained by having been assaulted by robbers, St Seraphim spent 1000 days/nights in continuous prayer on his knees on a rock, having retreated back to the wilderness. Now, that is not to say that we are to emulate St Seraphim and attempt such a feat. Rather, the kernel of truth that we can extract is, for example, should a tragedy befall us, after having physically recovered in the hospital, we retreat to a monastery for a period of time — which could be a week, maybe a month. The point is that we heal and nurture our soul in addition to our body, to give thanks to God in complete devotion, and to pray earnestly for those who may be the cause of the tragedy that befell us.

To take another example from the life of St Seraphim of Sarov:

“On 12 September 1804 his solitary life in the forest came to a brutal end when he was beaten by robbers. Although left for dead he managed to revive and reach Sarov, where it was determined that his wounds were so serious that he would not recover. At this time Seraphim received another miraculous vision of the Theotokos that restored him to life. However, his injuries left him physically bent and enfeebled. Even so he returned to his hut after five months of recuperation at the monastery. When the robbers were finally caught, Seraphim forgave them and had them pardoned.”

Encyclopedia of Monasticism, p. 1146.

St Seraphim of Sarov exhibited great Christian mercy with his forgiveness: Just as how he did not want the robbers to be punished by the worldly authorities on account of him, likewise he did not want God to punish the robbers and so deny them the Heavenly Kingdom on account of him. From the life of St Seraphim of Sarov we can learn what it means to be forgiving and merciful to those who wrong us.

From the life of St Sergius of Radonezh:

“A saint does not shine outwardly. All of his riches are within, in his soul. A peasant came from afar to the monastery to see St. Sergius. When he asked the monks for the abbot, they told him he was working in the garden. The peasant went to the garden, and there saw a man in poor, ragged clothes, digging like any other peasant on a farm. The peasant returned to the monastery dissatisfied, thinking that the monks had made fun of him. So, to make things clear, he asked again for the glorious holy father, Sergius. Just then, Sergius returned to the monastery, and welcomed the peasant, serving him at the table. The saint saw into the heart of his guest, and knew the low opinion he had of his appearance. He consoled him by promising that he would see Sergius in a little while. A prince and his boyars then arrived at the monastery, and they all bowed low to St. Sergius, and asked his blessing. The monks then removed the peasant from the room in order to make room for the new guests. In amazement the peasant looked on from a distance, to see that the one he had sought had been nearby all the time. The peasant rebuked himself for his ignorance, and was greatly ashamed. When the prince departed, the peasant quickly approached the saint, fell at his feet and began to beg his forgiveness. The great saint embraced him and said to him: ‘Do not grieve, my son, for you are the only one who knew the truth about me, considering me to be nothing-while others were deluded, taking me for something great.’”

Prolog of Ohrid, September 25.

The life of St Sergius teaches us how to cultivate humility though we may grow in stature. God gives everyone a gift, and we should not shun these gifts, but rather cultivate them, and to do so specifically to serve God and to recognize that it is not of our accord that we grow in stature but that all comes from God. St Sergius said the peasant knew the truth because we are nothing in-and-of ourselves. Any success we have comes from God, and we must acknowledge that and have our spiritual life govern how we live the worldly life.

From the life of an Athonite monk as recorded by St Paisios in Athonite Fathers & Athonite Matters:

“There was once a layman who went to the Skete of Kavsokalyvia to become a monk. The Fathers of the Skete, however, would not accept him, because apart from being idle and negligent, he was quite the troublemaker and always caused problems. Since the Skete gave him a sense of comfort, he begged the Fathers to allow him to remain there as a layman and do a little work. So, he spent his life in idleness and negligence until the hour of his death, when he finally took to his bed and waited to die. The Fathers, nonetheless, stood by him and were continuously at his side. One day, the man who was about to die was seized by ecstasy and started making gestures. The Fathers wondered what was happening! When he came to himself again, he described an awesome event to them: ‘I saw the Archangel Michael holding a piece of paper with all my sins on it, and he told me: “You see this? You did all of these things, so get ready to go to Hell.” Then, I said to him: “Just have a look. Among all those sins, does it mention the sin of judging others?” The Archangel looked and said to me: “No, it doesn’t.” In that case, I told him: “I should not go to Hell, according to what the Lord said: Do not judge and you will not be judged.” Then the Archangel Michael tore up the paper with my sins on it. And so, Father, I will go to Paradise. When you had told me that I would not do for a monk in the Skete, and I was working as a layman and going to church on feast days, I heard the words of the Gospel, Do not judge, that you be not judged and I said to myself: “Wretched man, at least you can put that into practice;” and that saved me, without any other effort.’ As soon as he said these words, he delivered his soul to the Archangel Michael.”

What we learn from the life of this Athonite monk is the seriousness of judging others. Though others may be justified in their judgement of us, our salvation hinges on not reciprocating in kind. The issue is not whether we judge righteously or unrighteously, but rather, to not judge at all. For it is precisely when we judge that we convict ourselves. So the lesson we learn is when we judge others we become hypocrites and condemn ourselves. This exactly illustrates the point how it is we who put ourselves in Hell.

From the life of St Avakum:

“Paisius was abbot of the Travna Monastery near Chachak in Serbia, and Habakkuk was his companion and deacon. As Christians, both were impaled on stakes by the Turks on Kalemegdan in Belgrade on December 17, 1814. Carrying his stake through the streets of Belgrade, the courageous Habakkuk sang. When his mother begged him with tears to embrace Islam in order to save his life, this wonderful soldier of Christ replied to her: My mother, thank you for your milk, But for your counsel I thank you not: A Serb is Christ’s; he rejoices in death.”

Prolog of Ohrid, December 17.

The life of St Avakum teaches us how we belong to Christ, first and foremost. That everything we do in life must be Christ-centric. When we seek a spouse, a new job, a new home, whatever it is in life that we embark on it must be with the purpose of serving Christ and living in Him. Even though the focus of the life of St Avakum is his martyrdom, the kernel we extract is that we martyr ourselves in the sense of denying our own desires should they conflict with living the Christian life.

From the life of the Venerable Theodora:

“Theodora was from Alexandria and the wife of a young man. Persuaded by a fortune-teller, she committed adultery with another man and immediately felt the bitter pangs of conscience. She cut her hair, dressed in men's clothing and entered the Monastery of Octodecatos, under the male name of Theodore. Her labor, fasting, vigilance, humbleness and tearful repentance amazed the entire brotherhood. When a promiscuous young woman slandered her, saying that Theodore had made her pregnant, Theodora did not want to justify herself, but considered this slander as a punishment from God for her earlier sin. Banished from the monastery, she spent seven years living in the forest and wilderness and, in addition, caring for the child of that promiscuous girl. She overcame all diabolical temptations: she refused to worship Satan, refused to accept food from the hands of a soldier, and refused to heed the pleas of her husband to return to him-for all of this was only a diabolical illusion, and as soon as Theodora made the sign of the Cross everything vanished as smoke. After seven years, the abbot received her back into the monastery, where she lived for two more years, and reposed in the Lord. Only then did the monks learn that she was a woman; an angel appeared to the abbot and explained everything to him. Her husband came to the burial, and then remained in the cell of his former wife until his repose. St. Theodora possessed much grace from God: she tamed wild beasts, healed infirmities, and brought forth water from a dry well. Thus, God glorified a true penitent, who with heroic patience repented nine years for just one sin. She reposed in the year 490.”

Prolog of Ohrid, September 11.

The life of Venerable Theodora is a striking reminder that being a Christian is a life-long struggle. The kernel we extract from her life is that we must never lose hope no matter the gravity of our situation, nor can we relax the spiritual struggle. We must always persevere through trials and hardship without anger, and endure to the end. We must never give up because Christ never gives up on us.

From the life of St Barbara:

“This glorious follower of Christ was betrothed to Christ from early childhood. Her father Dioscorus was a pagan and was renowned for his position and wealth in the city of Heliopolis in Egypt. Dioscorus locked up his only daughter Barbara, brilliant in mind and of beautiful countenance, in a high tower. He surrounded her with every comfort, gave her female servants, erected idols for worship, and built her a bathing room with two windows. Looking through the window at the earth below and the starry heavens above, Barbara's mind was opened by the grace of God. She recognized the One True God, the Creator, despite the fact that she did not have a human teacher to bring her to this knowledge. Once, while her father was away from the city, she came down from the tower and, according to God's providence, met some Christian women who revealed the true Faith of Christ to her. Barbara's heart became inflamed with love for Christ the Lord. She ordered that a third window be cut open in the bath so that the three windows would represent the Holy Trinity. On one wall she traced a Cross with her finger, and the Cross etched itself deep in the stone as if cut by a chisel. A pool of water sprang forth from her footprints on the floor of the bath, which later gave healing of diseases to many. Learning of his daughter's faith, Dioscorus beat her severely and drove her from the tower. He pursued her in order to kill her, but a cliff opened up and hid Barbara from her brutal father. When she appeared again, her father brought her to Martianus, the magistrate, who handed her over for torture. They stripped the innocent Barbara and flogged her until her entire body was covered with blood and wounds, but the Lord Himself appeared to her in prison with His angels and healed her. A certain woman, Juliana, upon seeing this, desired martyrdom for herself. Both women were severely tortured and with mockery were led through the city. Their breasts were cut off and much blood flowed from them. They were finally led to the place of execution, where Dioscorus himself slaughtered his daughter, and Juliana was slain by the soldiers. That same day, lightning struck the house of Dioscorus, killing him and Martianus. St. Barbara suffered in the year 306. Her miracle-working relics rest in Kiev. Glorified in the Kingdom of Christ, she has appeared many times even in our own day, sometimes alone and sometimes in the company of the Most-holy Theotokos.”

Prolog of Ohrid, December 4.

St Barbara is a saint that puts us all to shame. She saw Christ in everything and everyone. She saw Christ in the mundane, and in those who would persecute her and kill her. While it is true that from her life we can learn to endure hostilities perpetrated against us, we more readily learn from her life how to see Christ everywhere, to have only Christ on one’s mind. St Barbara cut a third whole in the bath so as to be mindful of the Holy Trinity. Her life teaches us a simple way how to always be mindful of God: Be mindful of Holy things even when looking upon the mundane.

When you recline at the table, be mindful of the Holy Altar; when you walk through a door, be mindful of the Holy Doors; when you enter a building, be mindful of the Holy Church; when you drink from a cup, be mindful of the Holy Chalice; when you read a book, be mindful of the Holy Gospel; when you put on clothes, be mindful of the priestly vestments; and so on and so forth.

But above all, the life of St Barabara teaches us to always see the Image of God in people, even if they are our own parents intent on killing us. We must look past their ungodly acts and see the Image of God in them, because if we cannot see the Image of God in them, then we cannot see it in ourselves.

In this way we keep mindful of Holy things in everything that we do. A person who cultivates this manner of mindfulness will naturally incline towards good and keep away from evil. It is not so much a rejection of evil, but rather the embracing of good that one seeks. When the mind is focused on only good, then there is no place for evil to take root.

We read and prayerfully study the lives of the Saints daily to extract the kernels of truths that are relevant for our current predicament.

In addition to studying the lives of the Saints, it is customary for an Orthodox Christian be given a patron saint upon baptism. It is under the patronage of a saint that the Christian partakes of the Mystery and lives Christ. There are typically three main approaches taken for a person to have a patron saint: one is appointed to them; the person chooses a saint who exhibited virtues one lacks but aspires to have; and/or the person chooses a saint who struggled with particular vices with which one also struggles.

While a patron saint certainly holds a special place for each Orthodox Christian, all of the saints are in Communion with us and their intercession and guidance is sought as needed.