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St. Andrew's Day, Preached in Ocala 11/28/04 This coming Tuesday, November 30th, the Orthodox World universally will commemorate St. Andrew, the first called to the college of the Apostles. This day has a religious, as well as an historical significance. St. Andrew is not only the founder of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople, which is Orthodoxy's supreme Throne, but he also preached the new Gospel in all of Greece, with Patras as his headquarters, at which city he finally martyred, by suffering death upon a cross in the form. of an X; X, being the first letter of Christ in Greek. When one visits the huge, and indeed magnificent Cathedral built in St. Andrew's honor, he or she is overwhelmed to have the opportunity to venerate the relics of this Great Apostle. Even momentarily, bringing to mind the Apostolic times, and the personal sacrifices of the Holy Apostles for the new Faith, this thought seems to bridge the span of 2000 years since then, and gives one the feeling that we are in the apostolic times. In the summer of 1970 when I organized the Ionian Village, about 1 hour south of Patras, among the many places visited by the 300 American born youngsters and their 30 Counselors, during each session, the pilgrimage to St. Andrew's had top priority. Witnessing, and deeply moved by the solemnity these youngsters showed, I could sense their feelings of amazement, and that they were living their religious history by paying their respects to the first Apostle St. Andrew, bringing them back 2000 years! As we know, in pre-Christian days, the Hebrews were the only people with the knowledge of God, the Creator. But, unfortunately so many Hebrews had buried this knowledge either in superstitions, or the external practices of religion, --- an experience, I might say, that exists even today in many Christian hearts and minds. In days of old, the echoing voice of the God-inspired Prophets, from time to time awakened the Israelites from their spiritual lethargy, and would admonish them to repent and to prepare to receive the corning of the Messiah, Who was to appear in time. About 400 years after the last great Prophet of the Old Testament, there arose a new Prophet, who broke the 400 year silence. In the desert of Judea, near the river Jordan, his voice echoed in the wilderness, and was something like breaking the sound barrier, when he would constantly shout: "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand." Matthew s:2. This unique Prophet was St. John the Baptist. He was sent by God to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah, by cultivating the souls of his followers. Thus he became recognized as the Forerunner of Christ! Amongst his devoted followers, we see people, who later became Disciples of the Lord, namely the brothers Andrew, Peter, as well as the brothers John and James. These followers became thoroughly convinced, that the time was near for the Messiah's appearance; that is the Saviour, Who would alleviate them from their sins, and would define a lasting, moral code. One day, as St. John the Forerunner was preaching to his followers, he saw from afar the Lord Jesus and exclaimed: "Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world!" John 1:29. So powerful was this prophetic statement, that St. Andrew went and notified St. Peter, so that both would go forth to meet Jesus. It was St. Andrew, who told his brother Peter that, "we have found the Messiah, which translated is Christ!" John 1:42 From the Biblical facts, we have no doubt that Andrew felt the great hour had arrived. The Divine Magnet drew him even closer to the Lord. That is why, a short time later, when Jesus saw the brothers Andrew and Peter preparing to cast their nets, He says to them: "come, follow me, and I shall make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:18 They had no second thoughts. They immediately dropped their nets and followed the Lord. It is amazing, that these people, who poor as they may have been, were still able to make a living; but, they sacrificially accepted to follow the Lord, without any guarantee of any subsistence, especially when they heard from the Lord's mouth: "The foxes have dens, and the birds have nests, but that He did not have a place to rest His head." Matthew 8:20. When we take time to read, as we should, the lives of the Apostles and the Saints, who followed, we cannot but marvel at their complete self-sacrifice, and the fact, that they sought nothing of this world. Finally, they suffered martyrdom, rather than to deny Christ! Contrary to what the leaders of today and yesteryear promise their followers, one marvels even further, that the Lord, made no sugar-coated promises. Rather, He told His Disciples that: "He was sending them as lambs amongst wolves, and that the people would turn them over to the Synagogues, where they would suffer physically." And then the Lord added, that: "he who would sustain himself through faith and patience, would indeed be saved." Matthew 10:16, 17,22 Faithful then to the end, the Holy Apostles were undaunted. They suffered untold trials, and finally shed their blood for the new Faith. It is so fortunate that down through the ages, the Holy Apostles found many imitators indeed. St. Andrew, the first-called Apostle, was the first Bishop of Constantinople, then known as Byzantium, on whose throne sits as his successor His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew. It was the year 330 A.D. when in that City, the first Byzantine Emperor, St. Constantine, declared Christianity the official religion of the new Byzantine Empire. Thus, the 3 horrible centuries of persecutions terminated, and Christianity emerged, from the catacombs and other hidden places. The Patriarchate of Constantinople was always a missionary Church, and is chiefly responsible for christianizing the Slavic people, firstly in the Balkans, then in Russia in the year 988 A.D. However, in later centuries, when the unfortunate first great cleavage came to the Church, that is the great Schism of 1054 between the Papal and the four Eastern Patriarchates, we saw the flourishing Papal Church by Christianizing the pagan Nations of western Europe, while the Byzantine east had fought for a few centuries the surging Mohammedans, to finally succumb in 1453 A.D. The Turkish yoke was to last for over 4 centuries, until little Greece in 1821 commenced the revolution, which finally gave her the first taste of freedom in 400 years. It took almost one century to reconstitute, and fortify once again our Holy Church. As of recent decades, Constantinople still restricted and bound in a sense by the Turkish government, has sought to revive the missionary spirit, hoping to transmit this spirit to the hearts of all believers. Our endeavor, here in our Mission Church, is coupled I might say with this missionary zeal not only to establish our Orthodox presence in this area, but to present a Community worthy of the great Glory of Orthodoxy. This spirit should move each and every heart in our area, as it has for all you who faithfully attend. Unfortunately we do witness a certain complacency from those who could attend and do not. We must exert every effort to awaken the spirit of the Orthodox that do not attend. While we as Orthodox Christians love all people, yet we will not compromise our One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Faith. Indeed, we shall always remain worthy of the thousands of Martyrs, who sacrificed their lives, because they would not compromise their faith, as so many Christians so easily do! It behooves us to be more worthy of our great and eternal heritage. Today, no one commands us to put our heads on the block, and no one asks for comparable sacrifices. But, we should sense it our obligation to do everything we can for our Holy Church, which was richly bathed in the blood of our Holy Martyrs. My beloved Friends, we have the greatest blessing of all to be citizens of the greatest Country in the world. At all times, but now in the Thanksgiving period we should be focused more intensely on our blessings. We do thank God for our blessings, but we should never permit ourselves to become so absorbed, that we do not sense or feel the need, which exists in the world; whether it be people in our own great Country, or in other Countries, who suddenly find themselves homeless, and without the bare necessities of life, as a result of earthquakes, floods, or other disasters. Thus, when we are called upon to respond to special collections, we should come forth and not begrudgingly, because the Bible states emphatically, that "God loves a cheerful giver." In a sense we are our brother's keeper, and we should always keep in mind the Golden Rule. We must always be concerned Christians. We cannot afford, nor is it Christian, to be apathetic. If the many ills of our society and the world are to be cured, it will be if each and every one does his or her part in the best possible way. As we are all part of this world, we should do all we can to help the world. I firmly believe, that if all Christians became better acquainted with the lives of the Saints, commencing with the Apostles, their life would be richer, and as a result, they would indeed be more resourceful to the causes of this world. St. Andrew is truly a prototype for all of us, in every respect. Amen. + Fr. George Papadeas
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