The Sunday of the Holy Forefathers--With the Feast of St. Spyridon

St. Spyridon of Tremithus—Incorrupt Wonderworker

     Today we commemorate Our Holy Father Spyridon of Tremithus, lived in the fourth century, and was a contemporary of St. Nicholas, whose feast we celebrated last Monday. St. Spyridon was a goatherd on the island of Cyprus, who, because of his extraordinary holiness, and the fervour of his faith was chosen to be the bishop of his town, Tremithus.  He, like all the bishops of the world, was summoned to the First Council of Nicaea in order to refute the heresy of Arius, that Christ was not God, but only a creature.  It is said that by his simple arguments, based in Scripture and the Tradition of the Church, St. Spyridon confounded the arguments of the Arians, who considered themselves as very wise and educated.  Furthermore, St. Spyridon worked some many miraculous signs by his prayers that he, like St. Nicholas and St. Gregory, is called “the Wonderworker.”

     The wonders and miracles, which this saint worked in behalf of his people, did not end with his death, but his grave became a source of miraculous healing and consolation in all kinds of troubles.  About 650, the body of the holy one was taken to the Imperial capital at Constantinople, where it was revered by the Roman Emperors themselves, until the early morning of 29 May 1453, when the saint’s body, along with the relics of the Holy Empress Theodora, was miraculously removed from the city in the arms of the parish priest George Kalokhairetes, only minutes before the church was pillaged and destroyed by the advancing Turkish army.  This priest took the holy relics to the island of Corfu, where they remain to this day. 

     Despite the fact that St. Spyridon died around 350, now, 1,660 years later, his body with all of its flesh, remain in the same condition as the day that he departed this life.  This special incorruption of Spyridon’s body is an eloquent testament to the reality and inevitability of the general resurrection.  The body of St. Spyridon daily reminds the people of Corfu, and the pilgrims that travel there to venerate him, that death is coming for all of us, along with the judgment that will determine everlastingly whether we inherit everlasting happiness with God, or everlasting punishment and sorrow apart from Him. 

A final chance for us to seriously prepare for Christmas

     The feast of St. Spyridon, coming on the 12^th day of December every year, is considered by the Byzantine Church to be the last chance to prepare for the great feast of Christmas. Those who have not fasted up to this point, have one last chance to join the rest of the Church in the discipline of fasting and repentance, which renders us, by God’s grace, worthy to approach the manger of the Incarnate God.

The Holy Forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—Holiness is easier for us

     The human mind was designed by God to be like an enclosed garden, filled with beautiful things.  The soul’s project is to complete, perfect and ameliorate this garden, by exercising care and concern about what new things will be added to it harmonious contents. 

     This Sunday, as the Sunday before the Sunday before Christmas, is the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers, the ancestors of Christ who lived before the time of the Law.  We remember especially on this day the Holy Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who, although very imperfect human beings like us, were, nevertheless, deemed righteous by God, even though they did not have the Scriptures to guide them.  We have the Scriptures, the Tradition of the Church, the Mysteries of Christ, and the Holy Icons.  What possible excuse can we have for not having the same degree of holiness as our fathers?

What shall we plant in our gardens? Specific resolutions

     The Sunday of the Holy Forefathers, together with the commemoration of St. Spyridon, is a rich opportunity for us to discuss the various things we can plant in the garden of our minds, so that our souls will be ready to receive the Incarnate God born for us from the Ever-Virgin Mary.  We should not worry that the things we plant in these gardens, at first, are small, for this is the way of all things that grow. 

     First of all, we can plant prayer in the gardens of our minds by a concrete resolution.  If heretofore we have not been in the habit of regular prayer, then we should resolve at a specific time to say this or that specific prayer (perhaps too for a specific intention).  It is the very specificity of our resolution that makes it possible for us to fulfill it.  If we simply resolve to “pray more often,” then we may find ourselves, once again, at the end of the day, at the end of the week, or at the end of the fast, without having fulfilled our resolution, and reproaching ourselves on account of our laziness.  But, on the other hand, if we resolve to pray the fiftieth psalm with attention and devotion everyday after lunch, then we will find this specific resolution proportionally easier to fulfill. 

     The same applies to the other beautiful things which we can plant in the garden of the mind.  We can resolve to specifically read one chapter of the Gospel each day, in this way avoiding the snare of a more general resolution to “read spiritual books.” Planting one chapter of the Gospel each day in the garden of the mind can have tremendous benefits for us over time.  In the same way, we can resolve to do a specific work of kindness and charity.  The crucial thing to remember is that, in any case, we are planting a specific thing in the garden of the mind, which we will to grow and increase.  Everything that we plant in the garden of the mind is as incorrupt as the body of St. Spyridon, as long as we keep our minds pure.  All the beautiful things that we add there to that garden are undying and imperishable.