Healing and Holiness is due to be published in the new year, 2015. It has been fully revised and edited by His Grace Bishop Maksim.
A free pdf copy is available on request.

The Edict of Milan

Constantine the Great received not from men the imperial purple, but from Divine Grace.. (Exapostilarion)

            It is the year 312. Constantine, the young son of the former Emperor Constantius Chlorus, is marching on Rome. Proclaimed successor to his deceased father, by the Roman army in Britain, Constantine has been petitioned to deliver the Eternal City from the tyranny of  the cruel usurper, Maxentius. But the young commander has misgivings. Surely to take up arms against the spiritual center, the mother-city of the Roman Empire is an act of sacrilege?  And furthermore, Maxentius has a strong  army and has already repelled two attacks on the city. What guarantee is that Constantine's army will be victorious? He has to chose between his pagan heritage and  a future that still remains unknown. And yet the young Constantine has been prepared for this moment in history since his early childhood.

“Holding the form of idols in time of travail as nothing.” - Canon to St Constantine.

            Born on the 27^th February, 273, in the ancient city of Naissus, (modern day Nis) in Serbia, Constantine was brought up by pious pagan parents. His father, the future emperor,was a Roman officer, while his mother, Helena was of lowly birth from Bythnia. Unlike other  Romans of his time, Constantine’s parents did not worship idols but sought the One true God.

“As for the images of the heathen they are but silver and gold; the work of men's hands .” (Ps 134)

And although Constantius Chlorus was a pagan emperor, he protected Christians under his jurisdiction and according to Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, chose to surround himself with Christian advisers at his court. The young Constantine was consequently brought up in an atmosphere that was religious and ethical.

Later his father sent him to complete his formal education at the court of the senior emperor, Diocletian where he was exposed to pagan and even Christian scholars, despite the widespread persecution of Christians during that time. He was also exposed to the decadence and immorality of the Imperial Court. However the impressionable youth also met many Christians. He was deeply impressed by the Christian communities in which the elderly, youth, simple and wise and even children bore witness to the truth of their faith. Constantine marvelled at their virtuous lives, their purity and willingness to suffer death. It was with great difficulty that Constantine struggled to preserve his purity and innocence in the midst of intrigue and depravity. St Dimitri of Rostov says that it was the goodness planted in his heart as a child that enabled him to distance himself from the evil companionship in which he was compelled to abide.

“Woe is me that I am constrained to dwell with Mesech....” (Ps 83)

At the court of Diocletian, Constantine became an imperial guard and in his early thirties  rose to the rank of general. He was by this time renowned as a brilliant leader and for his military talent.

Constantine with his small army has crossed the Alps, winning two battles in Italy and is now approaching Rome along the Via Flaminia towards the Milvian Bridge that spans the Tiber.  It is the 28^th October. As Constantine rests with his troops he suddenly sees a cross shape emblazoned on the noonday sun. with the words “In this sign conquer.” His whole army is witness to this miracle.

“A most powerful weapon, hast Thou given to the Emperor, Thy precious Cross, through which he righteously reigned on earth, shining with godliness.” (Stichera from Vespers).

Meanwhile in Rome, Maxentius is planning to make battle outside the walls of the city instead of with standing a siege. He feels confident. Surely the gods are with him. It is  the anniversary of his accession to the throne.

That night on the eve of battle, Constantine has a dream in which Christ appears to him and tells him to make a standard with the Chi-Rho symbol and to paint this sign  on the shields of the soldiers.

            On the day of the battle, Maxentius chooses to meet Constantine and make his stand outside the city instead of within the walls of Rome. To prevent the advance of the opposing army, Maxentius orders the Milvian Bridge, a stone bridge that crosses the Tiber, to be partially destroyed. He has a pontoon bridge constructed to get his army across the river. The next day the battle begins. In the heat of the fray, the troops of Maxentius are forced to retreat and in the rout, the tyrant is thrown from his horse into the the Tiber and drowns. Constantine wins a decisive victory and enters Rome on the 29^th October. His victory secured complete control of the western part of the empire.

Following in the footsteps of his father, Constantius, the new emperor not only protected the local Christian communities but included Christian counsellors in his court. The next year, 313, Constantine together with Licinius, the emperor of the east, issued the Edict of Milan. By this edict, freedom of religion was proclaimed. It was Christianity however—and not paganism—that enjoyed the Emperor's explicit support. The Christian clergy was given legal privileges and tax immunity. Confiscated property was returned to the Church and to those Christians who had suffered losses under the pagan emperors. Bishops became a trusted part of the imperial entourage. The Edict hastened the process of evangelizing the Roman Empire.

            By the grace of God and the blood of the martyrs, a symphony between Church and State was born.

            The Church in her spiritual wisdom proclaims the Holy Emperor Constantine a saint, calling him another Paul and describing him as having the gentleness of David, the wisdom of Solomon, and the Orthodox Faith of the Apostles.   The victory over Maxentius was not simply a military victory but a victory over “the ruler of this world.” (John 12: 13). It was the victory of the Cross. And by accepting the Cross, St Constantine not only liberated the people of Rome and Christians throughout the empire, but he liberated himself.

Christ is Risen—let there be everlasting joy!

What it this everlasting joy that St John of Damascus wrote about in the Paschal Canon and which the Church calls the whole world, visible and invisible to celebrate joyfully?

This everlasting joy is our future, the heavenly bliss of Christ's heavenly kingdom. This joy is for Christ's followers—it is for all true Christian believers. It is the final and highest goal of our labors in this life.

This heavenly and everlasting joy began on earth from the time of Christ's Resurrection, affecting those who were closest to Him.

The first person to experience this unprecedented, unutterable and incomparable divine joy was the Theotokos at the very moment of the Resurrection.

The Lord mentions more than once to His disciple and to the His followers that after His death, He will rise again on the third day.

Is it possible therefore He did not tell His beloved Most Pure Mother? Could He leave her disconsolate at the time of her greatest sorrow when she more than anyone suffered at the foot of the Cross, looking upon Him, the Crucified One, shedding His blood?

According to the testimony of Church tradition, the Mother of God, knowing Her Divine Son would rise on the third day, did not leave His grave and therefore was witness to the actual Resurrection of Christ. It was fitting, explains St. John Chrysostom that she, who more than anybody loved the Lord and who suffered the most, should be the first to rejoice at seeing the Risen Christ.

After the Mother of God, the everlasting joy we have spoken of, was experienced by the myrrhbearers, apostles and all the remaining disciples of Christ. The Lord appeared to them during the course of forty days after His Resurrection, filling them with divine joy. It is difficult, if not impossible for us to imagine what bliss accompanied these appearances of the Saviour. From the Gospel narrative describing the appearance of the Risen Lord to two travelers on the road to Emmaus, Luke and Cleopas, we learn how their hearts burned within them and became like wax when Christ appeared to them.

Our Lord did not abandon His followers but continued to give them this everlasting joy when He sent His disciples the Comforter from His Divine Father. The grace of the Comforter began to be poured upon us in the Orthodox Church, in its Mysteries.

The grace of the Holy Spirit in its various forms and miraculous manifestations became a source of great heavenly joy, a fountain of everlasting joy in the lives of holy people.

This grace regenerated and made holy people dwellers in the heavens and made them earthly angels. They acquired its power through perfect love for Christ, day and night filled with joy that is found in the Heavenly Kingdom. That is why St. Isaac the Syrian says perfect love for Christ is paradise on earth with all its blessedness. Not in vain did the Holy Apostle Paul say the grace of the Holy Spirit is the reward of our future inheritance—it is everlasting joy, which in all its fullness will be revealed to us in the future life, especially after the Last Judgment. Moreover, the saints were not left on earth without experiencing everlasting joy—that same joy which the Mother of God, the myrrhbearing women and the apostles experienced at the appearances of the Risen Christ.

The tongue is the smallest member

The tongue is the smallest member but does much for its size. Words are a divine gift and as such have great significance in the life of humanity. Because of their divine origin and the effect they have on our lives, they should be used with great caution. The word is an imprint of the Divine Word. The Word of God is a definitive image of His essence, the Only-begotten Son of God. Our words are not merely empty sounds but are a seal, the mark of the image of our soul. If we could combine all our words into a single entity, then in this entity, we would see our own personal image. To put it crudely—our words are us!

Our Pilgrimage to Pascha

Great Lent has now finished. This week we take another spiritual journey, that of Holy Week. During this week we journey with Our Lord to Jerusalem where we witness in the spirit, His betrayal, crucifixion and burial. To share in Christ’s suffering we keep the fast and attend all the services. If someone dear to you were dying, you would keep vigil or at least visit them everyday. Let us not abandon Christ in His time of suffering. Do not let the affairs of the world distract you but rather put the world to one side this week and join Our Lord in His Passion. Fasting this week is a pilgrimage, a journey. Pascha is the destination. Pascha is the fulfillment of our journey, of all our efforts – it is the source and beginning of our spiritual struggle. The Kingdom of God is here and yet is to be consummated at the end of time. We partake of the Kingdom, which is still to come. We foresee and taste but still struggle on earth. On Wednesday we will commune at the Vespers of the Presanctified. We need this Holy Communion to stay alive on our journey through the spiritual struggle against evil. Our physical hunger from fasting is a reflection of our spiritual hunger. Both will be fulfilled if we share this week in Our Lord’s Passion. For the faithful that observe this Holy Week of Passion, Pascha will be the fulfillment of our physical and spiritual hunger. Then fasting will have no meaning for we will be feasting with the Bridegroom.

"Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." (Chronicles, 16: 29)

God's creation is truly beautiful and the Church as a living organism, reflects this beauty in her services and ceremonies. In the Church, especially in the physical temple, the harmony between creation and the spiritual world is expressed in its architecture and in its atmosphere of holiness.

An Orthodox temple has its origin in the divine worship of the Temple in Jerusalem. To enter an Orthodox church is to enter a holy place. Emphasis is on the experience of God first, followed by scriptural readings and teaching.
In St John's Gospel, we read: God is a spirit and they who would worship Him, must worship Him in spirit and in truth. (John 4: 24)

True devotion must be internal and come from the heart. But we are not to infer from this that exterior worship is to be condemned because interior worship is prescribed as essential. On the contrary, the rites and ceremonies which are enjoined in the worship of God and in the administration of the mysteries are dictated by reason and are sanctioned by God in the Old Law (Zechariah 14:17) and by our Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles in the New. Our worship is not human based but based on the heavenly.

The Church is a divine-human- community in which the eternal worship of Heaven is always present and ceaseless. The heavenly servants, the angels being pure spirits without body, render to God a purely spiritual worship. The sun and moon, and stars of the firmament pay to Him a kind of external homage.
In the Prophet Daniel, we read: Sun and moon bless the Lord...stars of heaven bless the Lord, praise and exalt Him above all forever.

But man, by possessing a soul or spiritual substance, partakes of the nature of angels and possessing a body, partakes of the nature of material bodies. It is therefore his privilege, as well as his duty, to offer to God the twofold homage of body and soul; in other words, to honour Him by internal and external worship.

Genuine piety cannot be concealed in the heart without manifesting itself by exterior practices of religion; and hence, though interior and exterior worship are distinct, they cannot be separated in the present life.

The fire cannot burn without sending forth a flame and heat. Neither can the fire of devotion burn in the soul without reflecting itself on our countenance, and even in our speech.
It is natural for man to express his sentiments by signs and ceremonies for, from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaketh. And as fuel is necessary to keep the fire alive, even so the flame of piety is nourished by the outward forms of religion.

Gender or Agenda?

It has become very popular to use the label 'gender' instead of  'sex'.  Not only is this incorrect but I find it an affront to my intelligence. When I was learning French and Latin at school, it was amusing to learn that the pen of my aunt was also feminine.  Later I discovered that while the sun was masculine in French, the mere moon was feminine...the Sun outshining the dull moon!...in German the sun was feminine and the mere moon was masculine.  While I was learning these peculiarities of foreign grammar, the feminist movement was busy changing the label 'sex' into 'gender'. Was this to serve their own perfidious agenda?

Gender refers to language and in most languages there are three - masculine, feminine and neuter. Sex, on the other hand, refers to male and female. There is no other, not according to Genesis that is.  Another 'agenda' word is anti-Semitism.   This word again applies to language, not people.  To be anti-Semitic is to hate Arabic and/or Hebrew and perhaps Aramaic, the language of the Lord Jesus Christ.

May be it's old age, but I am tired of this misuse of language to support politico-social agendas. I was brought up to call a spade a spade, however not to label people with offensive titles.