4th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST — Tone 3. Ven. Sisoës the Great (429). Ven. Sisoës, Schema-monk, of the Kiev Caves (Far Caves—13th c.).
Tone 3 Troparion (Resurrection)
Let the heavens rejoice! Let the earth be glad! For the Lord has shown strength with His arm. He has trampled down death by death. He has become the first born of the dead. He has delivered us from the depths of hell, and has granted to the world// great mercy.
Tone 4 Troparion (St. Nicholas)
The truth of your deeds has revealed you to your flock as a rule of faith, an image of meekness and a teacher of self-control; your humility exalted you; your poverty enriched you.// O Father Bishop Nicholas, pray to Christ God that our souls may be saved.
Tone 1 Troparion (Ven. Sisoes)
O dweller of the wilderness and angel in the body, you were a wonderworker, O our God-bearing Father Sisoes. You received heavenly gifts through fasting, vigil and prayer, healing the sick and the souls of those drawn to you by faith. Glory to Him Who gave you strength! Glory to Him Who granted you a crown!// Glory to Him Who grants healing to all!
Tone 3 Kontakion (Resurrection)
On this day You rose from the tomb, O Merciful One, leading us from the gates of death. On this day Adam exults as Eve rejoices; with the Prophets and Patriarchs// they unceasingly praise the divine majesty of Your power.
Tone 2 Kontakion (St. Nicholas)
You proved yourself to be be a holy priest, O Nicholas. You served God in Myra and lived the gospel of Christ. You offered your life for your people, And rescued the innocent from death. Therefore God has glorified you as a trustworthy guide of things divine.
Tone 4 Kontakion (Ven. Sisoes)
In asceticism you were revealed to be an earthly Angel, continually enlightening the thoughts of the faithful with divine signs.// Therefore we honor you with faith, venerable Sisoes.
Tone 6 Kontakion (Steadfast Protectress)
Steadfast Protectress of Christians, Constant Advocate before the Creator; despise not the cry of us sinners, but in your goodness come speedily to help us who call on you in faith. Hasten to hear our petition and to intercede for us, O Theotokos, for you always protect those who honor you!
Tone 3 Prokeimenon (Resurrection)
Sing praises to our God, sing praises! / Sing praises to our King, sing praises! (Ps. 46:6)
V. Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy! (Ps. 46:1)
Romans 6:18-23 (Epistle)
And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Tone 3
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
V. In You, O Lord, have I hoped; let me never be put to shame! (Ps. 30:1a)
V. Be a God of protection for me, a house of refuge in order to save me! (Ps. 30:2b)
Matthew 8:5-13 (Gospel)
Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.
Matthew 16:13-19 (Gospel)
Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.
Venerable Sisoes the Great
Saint Sisoes the Great (+ 429) was a solitary monk, pursuing asceticism in the Egyptian desert in a cave sanctified by the prayerful labors of his predecessor, Saint Anthony the Great (January 17). For his sixty years of labor in the desert, Saint Sisoes attained to sublime spiritual purity and he was granted the gift of wonderworking, so that by his prayers he once restored a dead child back to life.
Extremely strict with himself, Abba Sisoes was very merciful and compassionate to others, and he received everyone with love. To those who visited him, the saint first of all always taught humility. When one of the monks asked how he might attain to a constant remembrance of God, Saint Sisoes remarked, “That is no great thing, my son, but it is a great thing to regard yourself as inferior to everyone else. This leads to the acquisition of humility.” Asked by the monks whether one year is sufficient for repentance if a brother sins, Abba Sisoes said, “I trust in the mercy of God that if such a man repents with all his heart, then God will accept his repentance in three days.”
When Saint Sisoes lay upon his deathbed, the disciples surrounding the Elder saw that his face shone like the sun. They asked the dying man what he saw. Abba Sisoes replied that he saw Saint Anthony, the prophets, and the apostles. His face increased in brightness, and he spoke with someone. The monks asked, “With whom are you speaking, Father?” He said that angels had come for his soul, and he was entreating them to give him a little more time for repentance. The monks said, “You have no need for repentance, Father.” Saint Sisoes said with great humility, “I do not think that I have even begun to repent.”
After these words the face of the holy abba shone so brightly that the brethren were not able to look upon him. Saint Sisoes told them that he saw the Lord Himself. Then there was a flash like lightning, and a fragrant odor, and Abba Sisoes departed to the Heavenly Kingdom.
Internet “Experts”
Generations past were more modest in their self-assessment concerning their ability to theologize. While the typical Orthodox believer does not attempt to discuss the procession of the Holy Spirit or how the Theotokos remained a virgin while giving birth, some Orthodox Christians today treat such matters as ordinary subjects for discussion and debate, particularly on internet sites.
The Proliferation of Amateur Theologians
The intellectualization of Western culture has also contributed to the development of many amateur theologians who approach the Orthodox Faith as an object for study. Their enthusiasm is wonderful and they are well intentioned, but in general they lack an Orthodox phronema. They do not realize that even if their statements are mostly correct, they create spiritual problems for themselves and others, because knowledge of the faith is more than simply book learning. Four primary factors have contributed to the loss of phronema among clergy and theologians, the rise of amateur theologians, and the distorted presentation of Orthodoxy. First, we live in the information age. A tremendous amount of information is readily available within seconds, often free and on demand. Books, once rare and precious, are now inexpensive. Almost any book can be located, ordered, and delivered to one’s home in days. The library at Qumran, a first-century Jewish religious community on the shores of the Dead Sea, consisted of approximately a thousand scrolls (known as the “Dead Sea Scrolls”) and was considered a very large library at that time. By contrast, I easily have more than a thousand books in my home alone, not to mention those I can borrow from my university’s library, with even more available through interlibrary loan, public libraries, and borrowing from colleagues and friends. In addition to physical books, the amount of information available through the internet boggles the mind.
Today we have instant access to information with no more effort than the tap of a finger on a cell-phone screen. But we also often fail to recognize that information gleaned from the internet is not necessarily reliable or accurate. Paradoxically, the vast amount of easily accessible information has led to intellectual laziness and a “mirage of knowledge.” Deep thought is rarely encouraged or expected. Instead, shallowness of thought prevails, along with impatience when we must wait an extra ten seconds for information to load onto the computer. Likewise, theology is too often perceived as something that someone can dabble in, just as one might casually participate in a hobby such as painting. Having done some reading, we think it is enough to have learned the basics, and then we feel free to share with great self-confidence what we think we know. We consider ourselves qualified to answer theological questions and direct others in their spiritual lives and theological investigations….
The internet is a “mirage of knowledge” with an inexhaustible supply of “facts” to confirm any bias. It “encourages not only the illusion that we are all equally competent” but also the illusion “that we are all peers.” Since our society is based on the principle that we are all equal, we are encouraged to believe that everyone’s opinion is equally valid, regardless of whether it is based on actual knowledge.
— Constantinou, Eugenia Scarvelis. Thinking Orthodox: Understanding and Acquiring the Orthodox Christian Mind
Reflection
From where do we know that there is life after death? We know from Christ the Lord—on the basis of His words, His Resurrection, and His many appearances after death. Philosophers who recognize life after death recognize it on the basis of their thinking, but we recognize it on the basis of experience, especially the experience of holy men who neither knew how to proclaim falsehoods nor were even capable of it. When Sisoes lay on his deathbed, his face was radiant. The monks, his disciples, stood around him. St. Sisoes gazed around and said: “Behold, here comes Abba Anthony!” He remained silent for a while and then said: “Behold, here come the prophets!” In that moment his face glowed even more and he said: “Behold, here come the apostles!” Then he said: “Behold, here come the angels to take away my soul!” Finally, his face shone as the sun and all were overcome by great fear, and the elder said: “Behold, here comes the Lord. Look at Him, all of you! Behold, He is saying, ‘Bring to me the chosen vessel from the desert.’” After that the saint gave up his soul. And how many similar visions have been seen—and all by the most reliable witnesses!
— Velimirovic, Saint Nikolai. The Prologue of Ohrid
The Church as the New Creation: A Second Paradise
The Church teaches us not only to be concerned with the salvation of our souls, but also of our bodies, ad by extension the entire material world of which our bodies are part. Consequently, “by His incarnation Christ enthroned the whole of material creation on the throne of God: creation became the flesh of the Word, and all the world became the Church.” (Christos Yannaras: The Freedom of Morality) The Incarnation and Resurrection of Christ raised up the “clay” of humanity to the very throne of God, deifying it like a fire unites with iron, remaining distinct without separation…Man is not saved without the body; through the body he has his being and life. Our quest is not a mental salvation that we seek in the Church through our thoughts about God; such thinking is rationalistic Scholastic theology and can result in a schism of soul and body, perverting our perception of reality. Rather, we need to transfigure our whole mind, body, and soul through a focus on repentance and the sacramental-ascetical life within the Church.
— Archimandrite Sergius Bowyer. Acquiring the Mind of Christ.
Sunday Bulletin June 29, 2025