Sermon, Proper 23A, Parable of the Wedding Banquet

Fr. Troy Beecham 

Sermon, Proper 23 A 2023

Matthew 22:1-14

“Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again, he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so, the wedding hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

This is the third parable of Jesus in a row as recorded in the Gospel according to St. Matthew about the kingdom of heaven. Given the teaching of the prophets, those Jewish listeners who heard Jesus’ parable would have readily associated a festive meal with the celebration of God’s covenant people after the Day of Judgement. This parable falls under the category of the “hard sayings” of Jesus because in it he unflinchingly speaks about judgement and punishment, and we 21st century Western folks find it difficult to think in such ways. We have been taught to perceive Jesus, and God the Father, as being our buddy, a laid-back self-help guru who only wants us to be nice to each other. Being nice to each other is certainly a laudable thing, but when we cast Jesus in such a non-Scriptural role it can obscure, or completely eliminate, the clarity of Jesus when he speaks about judgement and punishment. We must also remember that he preached this parable only days before his crucifixion. Knowing how little time he had left, Jesus pulls no punches, but rather pleads with us to be changed and made ready for what is to come. 

One particular criticism of Jesus in this parable is that it sounds harsh to our ears, and the punishments seem disproportionate to the crime. For his contemporaries, this language sounded like the realities of their lives, even appropriate, and some took pleasure in hearing about the just punishment of the wrong-doers. They heard their own prejudices affirmed: all the “bad” people, the “wrong type of people” were getting their just punishments. As much as we like to think that we have matured out of seeing God as Judge, we today are just as happy when we hear how our enemies are going to “get what’s coming to them”. I see it in print daily as we judge each other over our responses to the political and social issues of the moment, the absolute glee as each side fantasizes about how their enemies are going to suffer when their side wins or loses. To be clear, there are some political ideologies that are profoundly evil and must be confronted as being wholly incompatible with Biblical, orthodox/catholic Christianity. In particular, the Leftist ideologies of the last century, socialism/communism being the most evil, which, in the course of overturning and destroying from within multiples cultures, are directly responsible for the deaths of 22% of the human population of the 20th century. It has been in full view over the last few years, and this week, with violent protests, anti-Jewish hatred, the looting and burning in cities, all displayed before us and lauded by mainstream media. The continuing scourge of Leftist ideology continues to plague our nation and the world. We must pray that God would deliver us from the evils of the anti-life, anti-freedom ideology. Even so, we can make no spiritual progress without the willingness to look at our secret desire for the judgement of others and the desire for a wrathful God when it comes to our enemies. 

But is that all there is to be seen in this parable? Can God only be a wrathful enforcer of arbitrary rules on the one hand or the indulgent, doting father who cannot see that his children are anything other than wonderful on the other? God, Jesus teaches us, is much more than either of these extremes. Let’s look further into the parable to see why.

The parallel to this parable as recounted in the Gospel according to St. Luke follows a dinner at the home of a Pharisee, whom Jesus challenges to invite those who cannot repay his hospitality: the “the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind”. It is more than mere hospitality and money that is being examined here. To share a meal with the cripples, the lame, and the blind would render the Pharisee unclean according to his understanding of the Torah. This is no simple thing, but literally an issue of the Pharisee being in right relationship with God. Jesus challenges him to see that his understanding of the Torah is clouded, and so is his soul, with the prejudices of his time. His slow, or complete lack of, response is entirely understandable. How easily could any of us be told that the core of our beliefs is wrong, have been wrong, for centuries, and that our right standing with God is in jeopardy because of our inability, or unwillingness, to have our beliefs challenged and redirected in a new way? This is no less true for a culture as for an individual. Change is difficult, especially around our core beliefs about God, ourselves, and each other. 

But change is at the heart of Jesus’ proclamation of the coming of the kingdom of God. We all of us are called to be changed, or using biblical language to repent, and to be open to God in ways that usually challenge and frighten us. Allowing the Holy Spirit to come and transform us from within is frightening when you think about the consequences of a truly transformed life. Jesus uses the language of being born again, being born anew, born from above. We must be born again, a throughgoing and wholesale transformation of our values, our core beliefs, and our conditioned loves and hatreds. Anything less is to show up, as the parable says, to the banquet wearing the wrong robes. 

There’s a contemporary parable in the Talmud:

A king who summoned his servants to a banquet, but did not appoint a day or a time. Now kings can be unpredictable: one day merciful, another wrathful. The wise invitees dropped all that they were doing, got dressed in their best, and sat at the door of the palace to await the pleasure of the king. They said to themselves “It may not look like a banquet is being prepared, but this is the palace of the great king! He can order a banquet at any moment and his will shall be done!” The foolish invitees went about their daily lives, saying to themselves “We will wait until we hear that preparations are being made, and the we will bathe, clothe ourselves in finery, and present ourselves to the palace of the great king.” Without warning, the king ordered his servants to prepare a banquet immediately, to open the doors and escort his invitees into the feast. The wise ones entered into the presence of the king, prepared and adorned in their finery, but the foolish ones hurried to the palace and entered the presence of the king unbathed, clothes in dirty work clothes, totally unprepared even though they had been told to prepare for the banquet by the servants of the king. The king warmly received the wise, who entered rejoicing, but with the fools he was angry. Then the king proclaimed “Those who heeded my invitation, prepared themselves and waiting for me cleansed and dressed in finery, let them be seated with me and rejoice with me. But those foolish ones, cast them out, confiscate their lands, and let them be placed in chains!”

Kings are unpredictable. They keep their own counsel and answer to only themselves. It is entirely their decision as to when they will open the doors of the kingdom and set out a feast. But the king’s son, Jesus, and his servants, the prophets and the apostles, have proclaimed the invitation of the king. To refuse to come, to refuse a king’s command, is treason; to kill his son or his servants amounts to insurrection, so the king will send his troops, his angels, to put down the rebellion. We have been invited. We are awaiting the command of the king. How have we responded? Have we allowed the Holy Spirit to enter into our lives to transform us? Have we welcomed the Son, our Savior Jesus, into our souls so that we might be born again and clothed in the robes of his righteousness? Have we dropped everything to await the Day of the Lord at the doors of the kingdom, ready to enter when God calls for the end of time and the Day of Judgement? Or are we still clothed in the rags of our own busyness, our own righteousness, and filled with the prejudices, hatreds, and loves of this world? There will come a day when we must all stand before the judgment of God. Are you prepared?

My prayer is that we may all receive the invitation of God with the wisdom that is the gift of grace, and so yield ourselves and our of our lives to his Holy Spirit that we might be born again and clothed in the righteousness of Jesus, having our deepest selves remade in his image so that we may love what he loves and desire only what he desires. We must be prepared, my friends, for no one knows the day or the hour except the Father.

Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. 

Amen.

St. Silvanus and Companions, Martyrs

Today the Church honors St. Silvanus and Companions, Martyrs.

Orate pro nobis.

Most of what we know about St. Silvanus comes to us from St. Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 260/265 – 30 May 339), the great Church historian and bishop of Caesarea Maritima in Israel. He wrote about his contemporary bishop Silvanus, and the 40 other Christians who were martyred with him, many of the Egyptian Christians, in his book, On the Martyrs.

“This blessed Silvanus came from Gaza, and he was one of the veteran soldiers; and when his freedom from service proved to be contrary to his habits, he enlisted himself as a good soldier of Christ. For he was a perfectly meek man, and of a bright mind, and used his faith with simplicity and purity. He was a presbyter of the church in the city of Gaza, and conducted himself there with great propriety. And because the conflict for life was proclaimed against the soldiers of Christ, he, an old man, of a noble person, went down to the Stadium, and there, in his first confession before the people of Caesarea, he acquitted himself valiantly, being tried with scourgings. And when he had endured these bravely, he fought in a second conflict, in which the old man endured the combs on his sides like a young man. And at the third conflict he was sent to the copper mines; and during a life of much length he exhibited great probation.

He was also deemed worthy of the office of the episcopate, and also rendered himself illustrious in this office of his ministry. But, on the fourth day of Iyar, the great gate of heaven was fully opened to him, and this blessed man went up with a company of martyrs, not being left alone, for a great assembly of brave men followed him. And suddenly a mandate of wickedness was issued, and command was given that all those in the mines who were become enfeebled through old age or sickness, and those who were not able to work, should be put to death by the sword; and God's martyrs, being all together forty in number, were beheaded all in one day. And many of them were Egyptians, but their leader and guide was this same martyr and bishop of martyrs, Silvanus, a man truly blessed and beloved of God.”

Silvanus and his Companions in martyrdom died in AD 310, among the last martyrs of the Roman Empire, during the reign of emperor Galerius Maximianus. Although he was a staunch opponent of Christianity, Galerius ended the Great Persecution of Diocletian when he issued an Edict of Toleration in Serdica in AD 311. The Edict implicitly granted Christianity the status of ‘religio licita’, a religion recognized and accepted by the Roman Empire. It was the first edict granting a form of legal recognition to Christianity, and preceded the Edict of Milan by two years, which gave Christianity full legal status and protection from official persecution and popular mob violence. 

Almighty God, who gave to your servant Silvanus and his Companions boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. 

Amen.

Sts. Eulampius, Eulampia, and Companions, Martyrs

Today the Church honors Saints Eulampius and Eulampia and Companions, Martyrs. 

Orate pro nobis.

Saints Eulampius and Eulampia are venerated as early 4th c. AD Christian martyrs. According to tradition, they were brother and sister, and natives of Nicomedia who were executed during the reign of Roman emperor Maximian.

According to tradition, after reading the decree of the emperor Maximian (AD 284-305, 306-308, 310) sentencing all Christians to execution, Eulampius was horrified that the emperor was taking up arms against his own subjects rather than fighting the enemies of his country. Rather than going into hiding with many other Christians, Eulampius was arrested by the Roman authorities after buying supplies for Christians who were hiding in caves on the outskirts of Nicomedia. 

The youth was brought to trial and commanded to renounce the Christian Faith. When he refused, they first raked him with iron hooks, and then placed him upon a red-hot bed of coals. All of a sudden the sufferer expressed a wish to visit the pagan temple. The judges were delighted, supposing that they had turned him from Christianity. In the pagan temple of Mars the saint approached the idol and cried out, “In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I command you to fall to the floor and crumble into dust!” The idol immediately crashed down to the floor and was destroyed. 

After Eulampius was then whipped, his sister Eulampia was arrested after she identified herself by emerging from a crowd to embrace and comfort him.

The people exclaimed, “The Supreme God is the Christian God, Who is great and mighty!” Saint Eulampius was again taken away for torture. This time his sister, Eulampia, appeared before the judges and declared that she also was a Christian. Eulampius told her, “Sister, do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul” (Mt.10:28).

The martyrs were tortured and thrown into a red-hot furnace, but the Lord protected them from the fire. Finally, they beheaded Eulampius, but Eulampia died from her torments before she could be beheaded.

Two hundred observers of their trials and torments were converted to Christ after seeing the miracles of Saint Eulampius and Saint Eulampia as they were being tortured. They were also put to death and received the crown of martyrdom.

Almighty God, who gave to your servants Eulampius, Eulampia, and Companions boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. 

Amen.

St. Dionysius of Alexandria, Pope and Martyr

 Today the church honors Dionysius of Alexandria, Bishop and Martyr.

Ora pro nobis.

Saint Dionysius was the 14th Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria from AD 28 December 248 until his death on AD 22 March 264. He was the son of wealthy pagan parents. He converted to Christianity at a mature age, and became a pupil of Origen. Later, he was appointed as the head of Alexandria’s Catechetical School, and then became Bishop of Alexandria in the year AD 247.

Saint Dionysius devoted much effort to defend the Church from heresy, and he encouraged his flock in the firm confession of Orthodoxy during the persecution under the emperors Decius (AD249-251) and Valerian (AD 253-259).

During AD 249, a major persecution was carried out in Alexandria by a polytheist mob, and hundreds were assaulted, stoned, burned or cut down on account of their refusal to deny their faith. Dionysius managed to survive this persecution and the civil war that followed. In January AD 250, the new emperor Decius issued a decree of legal persecution. Out of fear many Christians denied their faith by offering a token polytheist sacrifice, while others attempted to obtain false documents affirming their sacrifice. Others who refused to sacrifice faced public ridicule and shame among their family and friends, and, if found by the authorities, brutal torture and execution. Many fled from the city into the desert, where most succumbed to exposure, hunger, thirst, or attacks by bandits or wild animals.

Dionysius himself was pursued by the prefect Aurelius Appius Sabinus, who had sent out an assassin to murder him on sight. Dionysius spent three days in hiding before departing on the fourth night of the Decian decree with his servants and other loyal brethren. After a brush with a group of soldiers, he managed to escape with two of his followers, and set up a residence in the Libyan desert until the end of the persecution the following year.[4]

He supported the Roman Pope Cornelius in the controversy of AD 251, arising when Novatian, a learned presbyter of the Church at Rome, set up a schismatic church with a rigorist position on the readmittance of Christians who had apostasized during the persecution. In opposition to Novatian's teaching, Dionysius ordered that the Eucharist should be refused to no one who asked it at the hour of death, even those who had previously lapsed.

In AD 252 an outbreak of plague ravaged Alexandria, and Dionysius, along with other priests and deacons, took it upon themselves to assist the sick and dying. The saint called upon his flock to tend sick Christians and pagans alike, and to bury the dead. Concerning the death of his spiritual children he wrote, “In such a manner the best of our brethren have departed this life. This generation of the dead, a deed of great piety and firm faith, is no less of a martyrdom.”

The persecutions subsided somewhat under Trebonianus Gallus, but were renewed under Valerian who replaced Gallus. Dionysius was imprisoned and then exiled. When Gallienus, took over the empire he released all the believers who were in prison and brought back those in exile. Gallienus wrote to Dionysius and the bishops a letter to assure their safety in opening the churches.

During the debate with the Roman Pope Stephen and Cyprian, Dionysius supported the position of the Roman Bishop, but he still supported the autonomy of the African churches.

Saint Dionysius illumined his flock through his preaching, and with deeds of love and charity. An illness prevented him from attending the Council of Antioch (AD 264- 265), and he fell asleep in the Lord while it was in session.

The influence of Saint Dionysius extended beyond the limits of his diocese, and his writings dealt with practical as well as theological subjects (“On Nature,” “On Temptations,” “On the Promises,” etc.). He was also familiar with Greek philosophy. Only fragments of his writings survive today, most of them preserved in Eusebius, who mentions him in his CHURCH HISTORY ( Book 7) and calls him “Dionysius the Great.”

Two complete letters of Saint Dionysius are extant, one addressed to Novatian, and the other to Basilides.

Almighty God, by whose grace and power your holy martyr Dionysius triumphed over suffering and was faithful even to death: Grant us, who now remember him in thanksgiving, to be so faithful in our witness to you in this world, that we may receive with him the crown of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. 

Amen.

St. Dionysius the Areopagite, Bishop and Theologian, St. Rusticus, Priest, St. Eleutherius, Deacon, all Martyrs

Today the Church honors St. Dionysius the Areopagite, Bishop and Theologian, St. Rusticus, Priest, St. Eleutherius, Deacon, all Martyrs.

Orate pro nobis.

Saint Dionysius lived originally in the city of Athens. He was raised there and received a classical Greek education. He then went to Egypt, where he studied astronomy at the city of Heliopolis. It was in Heliopolis, along with his friend Apollophonos where he witnessed the solar eclipse that occurred at the moment of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ by Crucifixion. “Either the Creator of all the world now suffers, or this visible world is coming to an end,” Dionysius said. Upon his return to Athens from Egypt, he was chosen to be a member of the Areopagus Council (Athenian high court).

When the holy Apostle Paul preached at the place on the Hill of Ares (Acts 17:16-34), Dionysius accepted his salvific proclamation and became a Christian. For three years Saint Dionysius remained a companion of the holy Apostle Paul in preaching the Word of God. Later on, the Apostle Paul selected him as bishop of the city of Athens. And in the year AD 57, Saint Dionysius was present at the repose of the Mary, the mother of Jesus..

During the lifetime of the Mary, Saint Dionysius had journeyed from Athens to Jerusalem to meet her. In one of the few extant eyewitness accounts of Mary, he wrote to his teacher the Apostle Paul: “I witness by God, that besides the very God Himself, there is nothing else filled with such divine power and grace. No one can fully comprehend what I saw. I confess before God: when I was with John, who shone among the Apostles like the sun in the sky, when I was brought before the countenance of the Most Holy Virgin, I experienced an inexpressible sensation. Before me gleamed a sort of divine radiance which transfixed my spirit. I perceived the fragrance of indescribable aromas and was filled with such delight that my very body became faint, and my spirit could hardly endure these signs and marks of eternal majesty and heavenly power. The grace from her overwhelmed my heart and shook my very spirit. If I did not have in mind your instruction, I should have mistaken her for the very God. It is impossible to stand before greater blessedness than this which I beheld.”

After the death of the Apostle Paul, Saint Dionysius wanted to continue with his work, and therefore went off preaching in the West, accompanied by the Presbyter Rusticus and Deacon Eleutherius. They converted many to Christ at Rome, and then in Germany, and then in Spain.

The writings of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite hold great significance for the Orthodox Church. Four books of his have survived to the present day:

On the Celestial Hierarchy

On the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy

On the Names of God

On Mystical Theology

In additional, there are ten letters to various people.

The theology of the Orthodox Church is totally based upon experience of divine knowledge. In order to know God it is necessary to be in proximity to Him, to have come near to Him in some measure, so as to attain communion with God and growth in sanctification, or deification (theosis) in Orthodox language. This condition is accomplished through prayer. This is not because prayer in itself brings us close to the incomprehensible God, but rather that the purity of heart in true prayer, which is humble silence and stillness of the heart and mind, allows us to become aware of the already close presence of God.

The written works of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite are of extraordinary significance in the theology of the Orthodox Church, and also for late Medieval Western Catholic theology. For almost four centuries, until the beginning of the sixth century AD, the works of this holy Father of the Church were preserved in an obscure manuscript tradition, primarily by theologians of the Alexandrian Church. The concepts in these works were known and utilized by Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Dionysius the Great, pre-eminent figures of the catechetical school in Alexandria, and also by Saint Gregory the Theologian. Saint Dionysius of Alexandria wrote to Saint Gregory the Theologian a Commentary on the “Areopagitum.” The works of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite received general Church recognition during the sixth-seventh centuries.

Particularly relevant are the Commentaries written by Saint Maximus the Confessor. (trans. note: although many scholars suggest that the “Areopagitum” was actually written by an anonymous sixth century figure who employed the common ancient device of piously borrowing an illustrious name, this in no way diminishes the profound theological significance of the works.)

In the Russian Orthodox Church the teachings of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite about the spiritual principles and deification were at first known through the writings of Saint John of Damascus. The first Slavonic translation of the “Areopagitum” was done on Mt. Athos in about the year AD 1371 by a monk named Isaiah. Copies of it were widely distributed in Russia. Many of them have been preserved to the present day in historic manuscript collections, among which is a parchment manuscript “Works of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite” belonging to Saint Cyprian, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus in his own handwriting.

Later returning to Athens, during a persecution against Christians by the pagan authorities, all three confessors were arrested and thrown into prison. By night Saint Dionysius celebrated the Divine Liturgy with angels of the Lord. In the morning the martyrs were beheaded in AD 96. A pious woman named Catulla buried the relics of the saint, and tradition holds that many miracles were worked at his grave.

Almighty God, you gave to your servant St. Dionysius special gifts of grace to understand and teach the truth as it is in Christ Jesus: Grant that by this teaching we may know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. 

Almighty God, who gave to your servants Dionysius, Rusticus, and Eleutherius boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

Sts. David and Constantine of Georgia, Martyrs

Today the Church honors Sts. David and Constantine of Georgia, Martyrs.

Orate pro nobis.

The 8th century was extremely difficult for the Christian Georgian people. Marwan bin Muhammad (called “the Deaf” by the Georgians and “the Blind” by the Armenians), the Muslim Persian ruler and military leader for the Muslim Arab caliph, invaded eastern parts of the Byzantine Empire, then Armenia and Georgia.

With fire and the sword he fought his way across Georgia from the east to the city of Tskhumi (now Sokhumi) in the region of Abkhazeti. The princes David and Constantine Mkheidze of Argveti were faithful Christians and skilled military leaders. When they heard about the enemy’s invasion, the brothers prayed to God for protection, assembled their armies, and urged their people to pray fervently for God’s help.

The Muslim Persian warriors approached Argveti from Samtskhe and attacked the Christian Georgians on Persati Mountain. The Georgian army won the battle, with David and Constantine leading the resistance against the fearsome conquerors.

But before long the enraged Marwan the Deaf gathered an enormous army and marched toward Argveti to take revenge. This time the enemy routed the Georgian army. Many were killed and those who survived were forced to flee to the forests. The commanders David and Constantine were taken captive.

The Muslim Persian soldiers bound David and Constantine and brought them before Marwan the Deaf, who began to mock them. But they reacted with complete composure, saying, “Your laughter and boasting are in vain, since earthly glory is fleeting and soon fades away. It is not your valor that has captured us, but our own sins. For the atonement of these sins have we fallen into the hands of the godless enemy!”

The furious Marwan ordered that the brothers be beaten without mercy, but they steadfastly endured the suffering. Stunned by the brothers’ resolve, Marwan decided to win them over with flattery instead. Promising him great honors and command of the armies, he turned to the older brother, David, saying, “I have heard of your valor, and I advise you to abandon your erroneous faith and submit yourself to the faith of Muhammad!”

St. David crossed himself and answered, “Let not this disgrace come upon us, that we would depart from the light and draw nearer to the darkness!” Then he condemned the error of the Islamic faith: 

“Muhammad converted you from the worship of fire, but he could not instill in you the knowledge of the True God. Therefore it appears as though you suffered a shipwreck and saved yourselves from the depths of the sea, but drowned in the shallow waters of the coast.”

Enraged at this reply, Marwan turned to the younger brother, Constantine, hoping to win him over to his side. But Constantine was also unbending, and he fearlessly glorified the Most Holy Trinity: “My brother David and I believe and follow the one Faith and one doctrine in which we have been instructed. Our faith is in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and we will die for the sake of the One True God!”

Marwan ordered that the brothers be starved to death. After they had suffered for ten days, Marwan sent sorcerers and charmers to arouse in them a desire to convert to Islam, but their efforts were in vain. Finally the holy brothers David and Constantine were led to the riverbank near the Church of Saints Cosmas and Damian. There they were brutally beaten and bound. Heavy rocks were hung from their necks, and they were drowned in the river.

That night three beams of light descended from the heavens and lit up the place where the brothers had been drowned. According to God’s holy will, the ropes binding the holy martyrs were loosed, and their bodies floated to the surface. A group of faithful Christians carried them out of the river and buried them on the bank of the Tsqaltsitela River, in a church that Marwan the Deaf had devastated.

The place of their burial remained concealed until the beginning of the 12th century, during the reign of King Bagrat the Great (1072-1117). Then, in fulfillment of King Bagrat’s decree, the Monastery of the Martyrs (Motsameta) was built over that place, and the incorrupt relics of the Great Martyrs are still preserved there.

Almighty God, by whose grace and power your holy martyrs the brothers David and Constantine triumphed over suffering and were faithful even to death: Grant us, who now remember him in thanksgiving, to be so faithful in our witness to you in this world, that we may receive with him the crown of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. 

Amen.

St. Remigius

Today, the Church remembers Saint Remigius (Remy or Remi),  Bishop of Reims and called the Apostle of the Franks, (c. 437 – January 13, AD 533). On 25 December 496 he baptised Clovis I, King of the Franks. This baptism, leading to the conversion of the entire Frankish people to Christianity, was a momentous success for the Church and a seminal event in European history.

Ora pro nobis.

Remigius was born, traditionally, at Cerny-en-Laonnois, near Laon, Picardy, into the highest levels of Gallo-Roman society. He is said to have been son of Emilius, count of Laon (who is not otherwise attested) and of Celina, daughter of the Bishop of Soissons, which Clovis had conquered in 486. He studied at Reims and soon became was noted for his learning and sanctity, as well as his and his high status. He left France to go to the Holy Lands for a period of years to seek out the Desert Fathers, and to learn from them. While in monastic seclusion, news was sent to him that he was elected Archbishop of Reims in his 22nd year, though still a layman. At first he refused, but he had to consent, as heaven itself had confirmed the choice by a ray of light with which his head was surrounded in the presence of a multitude of people. It is well known that by God’s grace, through his prayers God gave sight to a blind man; cast the devil out of one possessed, extinguished a raging conflagration with the sign of the holy cross, and, after a short prayer, recalled a dead maiden to life.

He was able to develop friendly relations with Clovis, King of the Franks, on account of his high status and because of Clothilde, the Queen, who was a Christian. Even before he embraced Christianity, Clovis had showered benefits upon Remigius and the Christians of Reims. 

On the eve of a fateful battle, Clothilde and Clovis struck an agreement, that if Clovis would pray to the Christian God and the battle was won, Clovis would be baptized and become a Christian. As a battle was to be fought, on the issue of which the welfare of the whole kingdom depended, she exhorted him to call on the God of the Christians for aid. Clovis won the decisive battle, but not without a miracle. Victory seemed for a long time to be on the side of the enemy, and Clovis thought that all was lost, when he suddenly remembered the admonition of his queen and exclaimed: “God of Clothildis! if thou art the true God, save me, and I will become a Christian and serve Thee faithfully.” No sooner had he pronounced these words, than the tide of battle turned in his favor, and the enemy was completely routed, most likely the Alamanni in the battle of Tolbiac (496 AD). 

The king, not to delay the fulfilment of his promise, called St. Remigius immediately to be instructed in the Christian faith and be prepared for baptism. Clovis requested Remigius to baptize him at Reims Cathedral on Christmas 496 AD in the presence of a large company of Franks and Alamanni; according to Saint Gregory of Tours, 3,000 Frankish nobles and their families were baptized with Clovis. Before St. Remigius baptized the king, he addressed to him these memorable words: “Bow down thy head, O king, and submit to the mild yoke of Christ. Worship what thou hast hitherto burned; and burn what thou hast hitherto worshipped!”

King Clovis granted Remigius stretches of territory, in which Remigius established and endowed many churches. He established bishoprics at Tournai; Cambrai; Thérouanne, where he personally ordained the first bishop in 499; Arras, where he installed St. Vedast; and Laon, which he gave to his niece's husband Gunband. In 530 he consecrated Medardus, Bishop of Noyon. Remigius' brother Principius was Bishop of Soissons and also corresponded with Sidonius Apollinaris, whose letters give a sense of the highly cultivated courtly literary Gallo-Roman style all three men shared.

The chroniclers of "Gallia Christiana" record that numerous donations were made to Remigius by the Frankish nobles, which were presented to the cathedral at Reims. 

Though Remigius never attended any of the church councils, in 517 he held a synod at Reims, at which after a heated discussion he converted a bishop of Arian views. Although St Remigius's influence over people and prelates was extraordinary, upon one occasion his condoning of the offences of one Claudius, a priest whom Remigius had consecrated, brought upon him the rebukes of his episcopal brethren, who deemed Claudius deserving of losing his status as a priest. The reply of Remigius, still extant, is able and convincing.Few authentic works of Remigius remain: his "Declamations" were elaborately admired by Sidonius Apollinaris, in a finely turned letter to Remigius, but are now lost. Four letters survive: one containing his defence in the matter of Claudius, two written to Clovis, and a fourth to Bishop Falco of Tongeren. 

Remigius died in the 96th year of his age in 533 AD, of which 75 years had been spent in his episcopal functions.

St Remigius' relics were kept in the Cathedral of Reims, from whence Hincmar had them translated to Épernay during the Viking invasions and thence, in 1099 to the Abbey of Saint-Rémy. His feast is celebrated on October 1.

O God, by the teaching of your faithful servant and bishop Remigius you turned the nation of the Franks from vain idolatry to the worship of you, the true and living God, in the fullness of the catholic faith: Grant that we who glory in the name of Christian may show forth our faith in worthy deeds; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. 

Amen.