An Exhortation
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As many of you know, our Metropolitan Demetrius recently took a tour of Great Britain and Europe to visit and venerate the relics of many Orthodox Saints of the Western Church. He realized during this pilgrimage that many of these great Saints were unknown to the very people who lived and went to church on a relatively regular basis among them. While the Metropolitan and his tiny, yet pious flock were venerating the relics, they became a sight of wonder to the bystanders. What wonder! People who stood at prayer among the relics of Saints had never themselves even venerated their memory, nor knew anything about the Saint whose body had lain in state in that church since time immemorial.
How could this come about? How could lands once teeming with deeply pious Christianity end up with relics locked behind cages in empty churches that were full only decades ago? How could churches be turned into meeting halls, dance clubs and sports facilities, reminiscent of Soviet Russia, while society became so secularized that it lost nearly all knowledge of its historic and beautifully pious heritage?
Simply put: They forgot the little things.
When St. Paul journeyed amongst the early Ephesian Christians, he exhorted them to speak to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.1 How do we speak to one another? How do we speak in general? Are our words an example of the loving Lord we follow and emulate? Do we quote the scriptures to each other? Do we sing the hymns of the Church throughout the day? St. Paul also exhorted the Thessalonian Christians to hold fast to the traditions he gave them, whether by words or letter.2 Do we struggle to keep the traditions of the Church? Do we make the Church and its teachings the rudder and guide of the ship of our lives?
St. Paul was equally firm in his teaching that we should rejoice always, pray unceasingly and give thanks in all circumstances.3 How often do we pray? How often do we rejoice when trials are brought upon us? Do we give thanks not only for the good and easy things of life, but when things are hard or painful?
To the Romans he asked that they offer themselves as a sacrifice to God, an offering of their daily lives as their own personal liturgy, as it were. Do we offer ourselves to the Lord, or even more simply: are we worthy to be offered? Have we made our lives a pleasing sacrifice to the Lord through our love and virtue? Do we give ourselves to our neighbor, preferring their personal and spiritual prosperity to our own? Are we martyrs for one another?
Finally, St. Paul warned every Christian in every place he visited and ministered to flee from paganism and its sacrifices, reminding them that the cup of the Lord is wholly incompatible with the cup of demons.4 He warned them in the strongest terms that those take part in such evil will be excluded from the Kingdom of Heaven. Do we partake in pagan rites, rituals or holidays? Have we minimized such “holidays” as Halloween, which no Saint has ever blessed, and allowed ourselves and our children to participate in them?5 Have we made the daily “breaking of the bread and the prayers” of the holy Divine Liturgy the spiritual, apex and heart of our lives, or have we instead turned towards heretical and kakdox holidays and practices departing from what we have received from our Lord and His Apostles?
These are simply a few examples of how the West gradually lost its faith. Consequently, when actual Christians practicing the piety of the Christian life come into their midst, they are met with wonder and confusion. This is how ancient Churches, which once had Saints serving at their altars become empty or turned into profane houses of pleasure. This is how entire nations become thoroughly secularized, embracing atheism and false gods as their standard. This is how, in such a poetically symbolic way, holy relics and altars can be locked behind cages. This is how modern societies find themselves being taken over easily by hordes of impious infidels, with little recourse to the help of Heaven to defend them.
Brothers and sisters, let us not neglect the little things, for every great thing is made of them. If there are no cells there is no body; If there is no body there is no life. Let us faithfully embrace all of the traditions and customs of our Lord’s Body, the Church and reject anything contrary to them, so that we will begin to live again, and avoid the downfall we’ve seen in society after society.
“But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.”6
“Do not set foot on the path of wicked men or walk in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not go on it; turn from it and go on your way."7
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."8
1: Eph 5:19
2: 2Thes. 2:15
3: 1 Thes 5:17
4: 1Cor 10:20-21, 2 Cor 6:14-17, Eph 5:6-11, Gal 5:19-21, Col. 2:8
5: In fact, they have spoken and behaved very aggressively against Halloween; it is blasphemy. 6: 1 Timothy 6:11
7: Proverbs 4:14–15
8: James 4:7
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