My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVE SHALL BE.
On the 21st of January, Our Holy Orthodox Church Commemorates
our Venerable Father MAXIMOS THE CONFESSOR.
Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn of the Righteous One. Plagal of FourthTone
GUIDE of Orthodoxy, teacher of piety and holiness, luminary of the
world, God-inspired adornment of monastics, O wise Maximus, by
thy teachings thou hast enlightened all, O harp of the Spirit. Intercede
with Christ God that our souls be saved.
Kontakion Hymn of the Righteous One. Plagal of Fourth Tone
LET us the faithful praise with fitting hymns that lover of the Holy
Trinity, great Maximus, who clearly taught the divinely-given Faith:
that we should give glory unto Christ our God, Who, though but one
hypostasis, hath in very truth two natures, wills, and energies. Let
us cry to him: Rejoice, divine herald of the Faith.
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The divine MAXIMUS, who was from Constantinople, sprang from an illustrious family. He was a lover of wisdom and an eminent theologian. At first he was the chief private secretary of the Emperor Heraclius and his grandson Constans. But when the Monothelite heresy became predominant in the royal court, out of hatred for this heresy the Saint departed for the Monastery at Chrysopolis (Scutari), of which he later became the Egoumenos (Abbot). When Constans tried to constrain him either to accept the Monothelite teaching, or to stop speaking and writing against it–neither of which the Saint accepted to do–his tongue was uprooted and his right hand was cut off, and he was sent into exile, where he reposed in 662 A.D. At the time only he and his few disciples were Orthodox in the East.
MORE ON THE LIFE OF SAINT MAXIMUS
He was provided with an education in philosophy, rhetoric, and grammar. Possessed of a sharp mind and diligent character, he learned his lessons quickly. In short, he was prepared for a career, at the Imperial Court. The young Maximos successfully completed his curriculum, excelling in expounding upon the philosophical and theological foundations of Orthodox spirituality. He pursued what was good and useful, leaving behind what was injurious and useless to the soul. His soul was smitten with divine love. He only wished to please God. He was humble minded and moderate. He was not puffed up due to his family’s nobility. He was not proud on account of his own wisdom and virtue.
Saint Maximus had come to be known as "Maximus the Wise" not only among fellow monastics, but also with the diplomats and government officials with whom he had served. He would now prepare to defend the Apostolic Faith through God-inspired words. In both the East and West, he is acknowledged as the most significant theologian of his time. He expounded and acted upon the traditions handed down to him, that is, Mysteries, divine offices, Scriptures, synods, Saints, and writings of the holy Fathers.
In the year 624 A.D., Father Maximus began preaching about the hypostasis of Jesus Christ, the Logos/Word of God. He had a constant disciple, Father Anastasios, who would accompany him even to martyrdom. Now on account of the Monothelite heresy, Father Maximus left Scuteri and dwelt in the small Monastery of Saint George at Kyzikos. In that sacred precinct, he produced many spiritual works. The most influential of his early writings were The Ascetic Life, a catechetical piece on the two great commandments, and The Four Centuries of Love, consisting of practical discourses on the Christian life and prayer, and the practise of the virtues. Father Maximus taught that the virtues are natural. By nature we have an appetite simply for what is good. Nature impels us to desire and move toward obtaining these virtues. They exist in all men because of the identical nature of men, but we do not all practice what is natural to us to an equal degree. With regard to asceticism, he comments that it was devised in order to ward off deception, which establishes itself through sensory perception. When deception is completely expelled, the soul immediately exhibits the splendor of its natural virtue. Father Maximus perceived the Scriptures as foretelling man’s purpose, since it was God Who said, "LET US MAKE MAN ACCORDING TO OUR IMAGE AND LIKENESS… AND GOD MADE MAN, ACCORDING TO THE IMAGE OF GOD HE MADE HIM, MALE AND FEMALE HE MADE THEM. AND GOD BLESSED THEM…AND GOD SAW AL THE THINGS THAT HE HAD MADE, AND, BEHOLD, THEY WERE VERY GOOD" [Genesis !:26, 27, 28, 31]. Saint Maximus said that we are taught to speak to ourselves of the grace of adoption. In his commentary on the Lord’s Prayer, Our Father, he writes that "we are also taught to speak to ourselves of the grace of adoption, since we are by grace worthy to call Father the One Who is our Creator by nature. Thus by respecting the designation of our Begetter in grace, we are eager to set on our life THE FEATURES OF THE One Who gave us life. We sanctify His Name on earth in taking after Him as Father, in showing ourselves by our actions to be His children."
In his work, entitled Four Centuries of Love, our holy Father and Saint Maximus makes clear in the first letter, "First Century," THAT A CHRISTIAN TRAINS IN LOVE (AGAPE): "LOVE IS A GOOD DISPOSITION OF THE SOUL BY WHICH ONE PREFERS NO CREATURE TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO ATTAIN TO A LASTING POSSESSION OF SUCH LOVE IF ONE HAS ANY ATTACHMENT TO EARTHLY THINGS. Saint Maximus encourages us, writing: "LOVE IS BEGOTTEN OF DETACHMENT, DETACHMENT FROM HOPE IN GOD, HOPE FROM PATIENT ENDURANCE AND LONG-SUFFERING; and these from general self-mastery; self-mastery from fear of God; and fear of God from faith in the Lord. In the "Second Century," he instructs us that "PURE PRAYER IS FROM ONE WHO TRULY LOVES GOD AND SO PRAYS ENTIRELY WITHOUT DISTRACTION." In the "Third Century," Saint Maximus reminds one OF THE CHRIST-LIKE RESPONSE TO PASSIONS, FOR EXAMPLE, RESENTMENT, BY SAYING: "If thou dost harbor resentment against anyone, pray for him and thou will prevent the passion from being aroused; FOR BY MEANS OF PRAYER THOU WILL SEPARATE THY GRIEF FROM THE THOUGHT OF THE WRONG HE HAS DONE THEE. WHEN THOU HAST BECOME LOVING AND COMPASSIONATE TOWARD HIM, THOU WILT WIPE THE PASSION COMPLETELY FROM THY SOUL. IF SOMEONE REGARDS THEE WITH RESENTMENT, BE PLEASANT TO HIM, BE HUMBLE AND AGREEABLE IN HIS COMPANY; AND THOU WILT DELIVER HIM FROM HIS PASSION."
In the "Four Century," he wrote: "THE ONE WHO LOVES CHRIST THOROUGHLY IMITATES HIM AS MUCH AS HE CAN. THUS CHRIST DID NOT CEASE TO DO GOOD TO MEN. TREATED UNGRATEFULLY AND BLASPHEMED, HE WAS PATIENT; BEATEN AND PUT TO DEATH BY THEM, HE ENDURED, NOT THINKING ILL OF ANYONE AT ALL. THESE THREE ARE THE WORKS OF LOVE OF NEIGHBOR, IN THE ABSENCE OF WHICH A PERSON WHO SAYS HE LOVES CHRIST OR POSSESSES HIS KINGDOM DECEIVES HIMSELF."
As an important sign that we are beginning to free ourselves from self-love, we practice loving our enemies. "Why did the Lord give you the command to love your enemies, to bless those who curse you, to do well to those who hate you, and to continue praying for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44)? To free you from hatred, grief, anger, and resentment, and to make you worthy of the supreme gift of perfect love. But you cannot attain such love IF YOU DO NOT IMITATE GOD AND LOVE ALL MEN EQUALLY. For God loves all men equally and wills that all men be saved and to come to a full knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:4).
Saint Maximus, from his Commentary on the Our Father: "The evil one (devil) one mischievously uses other types of temptations, voluntary and involuntary, the first by sowing and greatly provoking the soul with bodily pleasures and scheming first to take away the desire of divine love. Then he cunningly works on the other type, hoping to corrupt our nature by pain so as to constrain the soul, struck down by the weakness of sufferings, to set in motion the attitudes of hatred of the Creator. We pray to avoid voluntary temptation, so that we will not turn aside our desire from divine love. As far as involuntary temptation is concerned, let us endure it nobly as coming with God’s consent, so that we may show that we prefer the Creator of nature. to nature itself."
THE MARTYRS SUFFER MUTILATIONS
The Prefect decided that the penalty for blasphemy was removal of the tongue. The Venerable Maximus’ tongue was torn out from the very root. In this way , the heretics thought to render the elder silent. Father Anastasios also suffered the same. Both holy men were then cast into prison. The Physician of bodies, Christ, Who of old "perfected praise, out of the mouths of babes and sucklings" (Psalm 8:2; Matthew 21:16}, and bestowed speech upon the dumb, also then granted speech to His faithful slaves, Fathers Maximus and Anastasios. Father Maximus and Anastasios, though tongueless, miraculously received the ability to speak more clearly than when they had tongues. The heretics were roundly ashamed by this wonderworking. In their anger and malice, the heretics took a knife and plunged it through the elder’s right wrist, which stroke severed the hand. The heretics then ast to floor that hand which wrote divinely inspired wisdom.
The Repose and Grave of Saint Maximus
Before the Venerable Elder completed the course of his earthly sojourn, the Lord comforted His much-suffering His much-suffering servant with a Divine visitation. The Master summoned Maximos to the Heavenly Jerusalem, by revealing to him the day and hour of his repose. This ushered in great joy for the martyr and confessor, who then gladly surrendered his soul into the hands of Christ God, Whom he had loved from his youth and for Whom he had suffered so greatly. The Heavenly man and eathly Angel, Saint Maximus, reposed in Lazika on the 21st of January, in the year 662 A.D. at the age of 82.
Saint Maximus and His Tomb
After the interment of the holy relics of Saint Maximus in Schemarion, there appeared every night three lamps over his tomb. They miraculously burned and illuminated the entire place. This wondrous phenomenon confirmed for many how much boldness the Venerable Maximus found before the Master Christ, to Whom is due all glory, honor, and veneration, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen. [Source: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church]
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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 