SUNDAY JUNE 6 / 19 NS 2022 † 1st St. Matthew, All Saints • St. Hilarion the New, Abbot of the Dalmáton Monastery ~ Saint Isaac the Syrian on FASTING; Saint Philaret of New York on THE APOSTLES' FAST

 

† All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.

† 1st St. Matthew, All Saints

† Women received their dead raised to life again
• Saint Hilarion the New, Abbot of the Dalmáton Monastery

Hilarion was the abbot of the Dalmáton monastery in Constantinople. He was a disciple of Gregory of Decapolis and an imitator of the life of Hilarion the Great whose name he took. Hilarion was powerful in prayer, persevering and courageous in suffering. He suffered much for the sake of icons at the time of the evil iconoclastic emperors, Leo the Armenian and others. Later, the Emperor Leo was slain by his own soldiers in the same church and on the same spot where he first ridiculed holy icons and from which he removed the first icon. St. Hilarion was then released from prison but only for a short time. Again, he was tortured and detained in prison until the reign of the right-believing Empress Theodora. Hilarion was clairvoyant and a discerner. He saw the angels of God as they were taking the soul of St. Theodore the Studite to heaven.  Pleasing God, he fell asleep and enteredthe Kingdom of God in the year 845 A.D. in his seventieth year.

Matins:  Saint Matthew 28:16-20 King James Version

16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Hebrews 11:33-12:2 King James Version

33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions.

34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;

38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

12 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Saint Matthew 10:32-33, 37-38, 19:27-30 King James Version

32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

27 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?

28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
30 But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

You may follow the fast as prescribed but if you make no preparation spiritually by expressing your love directly to Christ beforehand and throughout, you can easily listen to the Evil One, who, while you fast, will relentlessly whisper in your ear, tempting you with desire for the foods it excludes.

Origins of the Fast of the Apostles
The Apostles fast has emerged since the very early days of Christianity. It is honored and preserved in the Church as a part of our Holy Tradition. Like all Fasts in the Orthodox Church, the Holy Apostles' Fast aims to help us put on the "armor of light" to against the attacks of the enemy that may befall during our spiritual journey to become united with God through His grace.  

The first evidence of this fast is found in the writings of St. Athanasius the Great (†373). In his letter to Emperor Constance, he writes: "During the week following Pentecost, the people who observed the fast went out to the cemetery to pray." Some 20 years later, St. Ambrose (†397) writes: "On the days following his ascension into heaven, however, we again fast" (Sermon 61).

The famous pilgrim Egeria mentioned the Apostles' Fast also in her fourth-century-writing which records that "on the day following the feast of Pentecost, a period of fasting began". In the same period, the fourth century, the Apostolic Constitutions prescribes: "After the feast of Pentecost, celebrate one week, then observe a fast, for justice demands rejoicing after the reception of the gifts of God and fasting after the body has been refreshed."

Until the second half of the 3rd century, the Fast of the Holy Apostles was linked to Pentecost and lasted only for one week (Apostolic Constitutions). Later on, after the martyrdom of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and following the development of the commemoration of their death around the year 258, the Apostles' Fast became linked to the feast of Saints Peter and Paul on June 29. Consequently, it became a fasting period of preparation for the celebration of the feast of the great apostles. St. Symeon of Thessalonica (†1429) explains: "The Fast of the Apostles is justly established in their honor, for through them we have received numerous benefits and for us they are exemplars and teachers of the fast ... For one week after the Descent of the Holy Spirit, in accordance with the Apostolic Constitution composed by Clement, we celebrate, and then during the following week, we fast in honor of the Apostles."

Subsequently, the duration of the Fast of the Holy Apostles changed from one week to a variable period depending on the date of the Feast of Pascha (Easter).  

No better words may express the importance of fasting in our life like the words of † Saint Isaac the Syrian,

 who says, "... since fasting is a weapon established by God ... the human race knew no victory before fasting, and the devil was never defeated by our nature as it is: but this weapon has indeed deprived the devil of strength from the outset... As soon as the devil sees someone possessed of this weapon (fasting), fear straightway falls on this adversary and tormentor of ours, who remembers and thinks of his defeat by the Savior in the wilderness; his strength is at once destroyed and the sight of the weapon given us by our Supreme Leader burns him up. A man armed with the weapon of fasting is always afire with zeal. He who remains therein, keeps his mind steadfast and ready to meet and repel all violent passions."

The following sermon by †Saint Philaret of New York [of blessed memory] to his Russian Faithful and ALL faithful Orthodox, should be read today in preparation of the Holy Apostles' Fast which begins tomorrow Monday June 7/20 ns 2022.   

We live in special times, beloved brethren! They are special because when you compare today to how it was in Mother Russia before, we see the almost complete opposite. For example, we now embark on SS Peter and Paul Lent. But many of today’s Orthodox Christians don’t even know it. Before, in old Russia, Russian Orthodox Christians well knew Church laws and regulations and established their lives on how the Church teaches us to live on this earth, this temporal life. But today, I repeat, some don’t know Church laws. This is not only ignorance, but an inadmissible laxity of the Christian, and even a neglectful attitude of the Christian towards the old, good traditions of the Church.

Our Lord Jesus Christ once said: “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, not one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (St. Matthew 5:18), that is, everything that we are taught by our Orthodox law, everything in the Holy Gospel, all is fulfilled, and those who do not fulfill it will be disobedient to the Law of God.

Look how it was in ancient times. The Church, for instance, glorified the Maccabean Martyrs: all the brothers and their elder, Eleázar, and their mother. Their tormentor, the pagan king, subjected them to terrible torture for their refusal to eat pork, which was forbidden by Mosaic law. In other words, they refused to violate the fast by eating what the Church did not allow them. And for this they met their death.

People today are remarkably negligent about this, but true men of faith, who believe in God, observe all laws as inviolable sacred things which must be obeyed. Once an ascetic in our Mother Russia was asked: Why does the Lord so clearly cease to offer His blessings, His mercy? The elder responded: “Because people refuse to hear God, people have ceased to observe the Lenten periods.” That was then, now it is completely different. At that time, one could still find Orthodox people who observed Lent, but we can’t today. And not only in our difficult lives today. 

A.S. Khomiakoff

The writer Khomiakoff, the renowned Russian author, philosopher, theologian, a man of lofty spiritual values and a talented poet, who always strictly followed all Lenten periods and laws, came to St Petersburg, the capital of Russia. He felt as though he were in a wilderness: no one observed Lent—not one person! He worked, he fasted, and surprised everyone with his staunchness and stubbornness. Today it is hard to find anyone who observes the fasting periods.

Let us remember, my dear ones, all the Church laws—there is nothing pointless in the Church, nothing that is useless that is offered to us, no! We are given free will in this life: to choose to live one way or another. But there are Church laws which all Orthodox Christians must observe.   One of these laws is about the Lenten periods, when the Church calls upon us to abstain during certain periods during the year. Only those who observe them are Orthodox Christians.

Once we recalled the words of St Seraphim of Sarov, a great ascetic. He stated simply: “He who does not observe Lent is not a Christian!” He may call himself whatever he likes, but he is not a Christian. This is perfectly natural, this strict judgment by a great ascetic, because what school would keep a student who ignored school rules?   What workplace would keep an employee who did not observe its regulations? And so the Church has its own laws, its own regulations. I repeat, the Church offers a great deal to select from: ways of life, occupations, She blesses them all if a person lives as a Christian. Where the Church offers its laws, there the Christian must submit without hesitation.

The Church offers this all for our own benefit, because obedience to the Church is one of the greatest virtues. Amen.