Sermon by His Grace, Bishop Parthenius of Antania, delivered on the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord, during the Divine Liturgy at the Monastery of the Most Pure in Kichevo, on February 2/15, in the Year of Our Lord 2025
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
Most Reverend and Reverend Fathers and Brethren,
Reverend Sisters in Christ,
Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ,
Today, in the radiant light of this great feast of the Meeting of the Lord, we have heard from the lips of the hierodeacon the living word of the Gospel, as recorded by the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke. This Gospel narrative mystically transports us to the Temple of Jerusalem more than two thousand years ago, where, according to the Law of Moses, the forty-day-old Christ Child was brought by His Most Pure Mother and the righteous Joseph to be presented before the Lord as the firstborn male, in accordance with the commandment given by God to the Old Testament Israel.
This custom of presenting every firstborn male child in the temple originates from the time when the Hebrew people, while enslaved in Egypt, were delivered through the power and mercy of God. As we read in the Book of Exodus, the Lord sent ten plagues upon Egypt to soften the heart of Pharaoh, who kept God’s chosen people in bondage. Yet Pharaoh remained obstinate, until the final and most dreadful plague was sent: every firstborn male, from man to livestock, was struck down by the Angel of the Lord. Only the firstborn of the Hebrews were spared, for their homes were marked with the blood of the Paschal lamb—a prefiguration of Christ, the true Lamb of God, slain and offered for the salvation of the world. “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)
From that moment on, as an expression of gratitude, the Hebrews dedicated their firstborn male children to God, offering a sacrifice in the temple according to their means—either a lamb or two turtledoves and pigeons. The Most Holy Theotokos, who, by virtue of the grace within her, was not subject to the Law, for she had given birth to the One Who is above the Law, nevertheless, in her profound humility, brought the Christ Child to the temple, fulfilling the ancient commandment.
And there, in that blessed moment, something extraordinary and majestic occurred—something that revealed the mystery of the Meeting of the Lord. Present in the temple was the elder Simeon, a man of divine wisdom, one of the ancient translators of the Holy Scriptures. According to sacred tradition, he was one of the Seventy translators who, at the request of the Egyptian ruler Ptolemy II Philadelphus (283–246 B.C.), translated the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek, creating the well-known version called the Septuagint.
When he came to the prophecy of Isaiah, where it was written, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive in the womb and bear a son” (Isaiah 7:14), Simeon hesitated. His rational mind could not accept this as possible. In his human logic, this was something incomprehensible, something beyond nature, for how could a woman give birth and yet remain a virgin? And so, he reached for his pen to change the word “virgin” to “young woman,” thinking that it must have been a scribal error. But at that moment, an angel of the Lord stopped him, revealing that he would not see death until he beheld with his own eyes the fulfillment of the great mystery of God from before all ages—the Virgin Theotokos with the Divine Infant in her arms.
And behold, that moment was now fulfilled! The righteous and holy Simeon lived to an astonishing age of over 280 years, and after nearly three centuries of waiting, inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit, he went to the Temple of Jerusalem precisely at the moment when the Virgin Mary and her betrothed, Saint Joseph, were presenting the Divine Infant before God. The aged and venerable Simeon beheld in the arms of a humble Virgin the One Whom all humanity had awaited for centuries—not as a mighty earthly king, not as a laurel-crowned conqueror, but as a small Child, quiet, gentle, and meek.
And then, his heart was filled with unspeakable joy, and his lips uttered the words that for two thousand years have been sung and repeated by Christians at every Vespers service:
“Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word,
For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation,
Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples—
A light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.” (Luke 2:29–32)
Within these words lies the entire mystery of Christ’s coming. He is the Light for the enlightenment of the nations; He came to reveal God the Father to all the peoples of the earth and to call all mankind into sonship with God. Yet here, at this very moment, Simeon, turning to the Most Pure Virgin, prophesies something that reflects the entire course of history:
“Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be spoken against—yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also—that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” (Luke 2:34–35)
What strange words! He came to bring salvation, yet at the same time, division. He came to raise up those who would receive Him into their hearts with faith, but at the same time, He declares that many will fall—those who reject Him. This is not merely a historical moment but a profound truth that is fulfilled in every era, in every generation, and in every human soul. Such was the case in Christ’s time, and such is the case in our own.
Recall how people treated Christ. When He entered Jerusalem, they welcomed Him as a King, waving palm branches and crying out: “Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 21:9) Yet only a few days later, the same crowd, standing before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, shouted: “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” (Luke 23:21) The same Christ, the same people—but a completely opposite reaction. Of course, many among the Jews believed in Christ, and He raised them up unto resurrection. But this was not only a reality of that time—it is the same even today. Every person is confronted with Him. Christ remains a sign of contradiction (Luke 2:34). For some, He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6); for others, an incomprehensible reality that they do not wish to accept, one that they painfully ignore.
This mystery unfolds within our own lives as well. Many claim to believe in Him, but do they accept Him as He truly is, as He is recognized in Sacred Tradition and lived within the Church? Or do they instead create their own “christ,” shaped by their desires, passions, and personal interests? Christ is not a god fashioned according to human imagination and perception. He did not come to fulfill the will of man but to transform man, to elevate him unto the Kingdom of Heaven.
Today, in this era of spiritual confusion, we witness countless depictions of Christ—at times so drastically different that one might think some are speaking of an entirely different god, not of the One Who became incarnate, Who was sacrificed upon the Cross, and Who rose again for the salvation of all. How many sects and heresies exist today, all claiming to preach Christ! Yet if we look closely, we will see that their “christ” often bears no resemblance to the true One—the Christ of the Church, the Christ of the Cross, the Christ of love.
However, this is not only a problem among sects. Sadly, even among us, the Orthodox, something similar occurs. Many who call themselves Orthodox and have been baptized as Orthodox do not truly live in Christ. They mention His name, yet their hearts are filled with envy, malice, and judgment. They invoke His name, yet they do not live according to His love. Even when they speak of faith, they do so to condemn, to humiliate, to exalt their own “orthodoxy.” We see Christians who, in the name of their “christ,” slander endlessly, judge, denounce, and even cite Holy Scripture, the canons, and ecclesiastical rules—only to condemn their neighbors.
But who is the true Christ? Christ, Who is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6)? Christ, Who is as meek as a lamb, Who stretched out His immaculate hands upon the Cross for all mankind, Who even forgave those who nailed Him to that very Cross? If we follow Him, we cannot be people of malice, judgment, hatred, or envy. If we truly belong to Him, then we too must become like Him—full of love, joy, peace, and blessing.
Indeed, this is the surest sign by which we can recognize true Christians—both in others and in ourselves. How can we know if someone truly follows Christ? How can we discern if one is truly a Christian of Christ? And this does not apply only to the laity but also to priests, monks, and bishops. The answer is clear: not by whether one knows all the canons, not by whether one quotes Scripture merely to condemn others, but by whether one has love in their heart, whether their life is a testimony to the Gospel of the Crucified One.
Even Christ Himself did not recognize people by their words but by their hearts. To those who called themselves the “faithful”—the scribes and Pharisees—He said:
“This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.” (Matthew 15:8)
And immediately after, He warned:
“If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:14)
Beloved, Christ did not call us merely to speak about Him, but to live Him! To live Him with our whole being, in every moment, in every relationship with others. He did not come merely to show us the way but to give us the strength to follow it. The choice remains ours—will we live the Christ of the Church, the Christ of the Gospel, the Christ of the Cross, or will we create for ourselves a new “christ” tailored to our own liking—a “christ” who serves us, rather than us serving Him?
Today’s feast is called the Meeting (Sretenie), a name derived from the Old Slavonic word srešta, meaning “encounter”. Thus, our God-bearing fathers, the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius, when creating our literary language, translated the name of the feast from the Greek term Ὑπαπαντή (Hypapante), which means “receiving,” “welcoming,” “coming forth to meet”. For today, Simeon welcomes and receives the Christ Child into his arms on behalf of all mankind, and he utters those exalted words in the name of the whole human race.
The Feast of the Meeting is not merely an event of the past. It is not just a commemoration of an encounter that took place two millennia ago in the Temple of Jerusalem. This encounter is repeated every time a person stands before God with faith, with love, and with an open heart. Every Divine Liturgy is a Meeting of the Lord. Every time we enter the temple, every time we stand before the Holy Table, we come to meet Christ.
Today, seeing so many of you gathered here, despite this being a workday, I feel joy and gratitude toward God. All of us, gathered in this sacred place, have come with one and the same purpose—to encounter Christ. The Holy Simeon received Him in his arms. But we have been given an even greater gift! We are granted the opportunity to receive Christ into our hearts, into our bodies, into our very being. How? Through the greatest of all Mysteries—the Holy Eucharist. Christ does not desire to be a distant God, but rather a God Who dwells within us. He desires to transform us, to fill us with His light, to illuminate us with the radiance of the Resurrection.
For this reason, it is no coincidence that the troparion of today’s feast concludes with the words:
“He Who grants us the Resurrection.”
This means that every encounter with Christ does not end here, on earth. It always leads us toward something higher—toward eternal life, toward victory over death, toward the Resurrection.
All of us thirst for this encounter with Christ. It is more necessary for us than anything else in this life—more than the air we breathe, more than the water we drink. For only the encounter with God enlightens man, transforms him, and grants him eternal life.
Therefore, pray! Pray fervently, with open hearts, for the Lord truly comes in grace, visits us, and embraces us, even though we are weak and burdened with countless sins. Who among us can say that he is worthy to receive Him into his heart? No one. But He, Who came for our sake, does not demand perfection—He seeks repentance, love, humility, and a longing to meet Him.
The absence of an encounter with God inevitably brings sorrow and misfortune. Look at what is happening in nature. For several years in a row, severe droughts have affected different parts of the world. This entire winter has passed, and only once has snow fallen. The springs are drying up, the land is parched, nature suffers.
We see this even in our own land, especially in Western Macedonia, in the region surrounding Bigorski Monastery—places that have always been blessed with abundant springs are now facing shortages.
But is this merely a natural phenomenon, or is it a sign of something deeper?
Is there not, first and foremost, a drought within our own hearts?
Has not the heart of modern man become drier than an abandoned and desolate land?
Where is faith?
Where is repentance?
Where is the heart that longs for God?
Moreover, today’s feast is also connected to the question of nature. Although the celebration of the Meeting of the Lord began to be observed liturgically in Jerusalem as early as the first centuries of Christianity, it was officially established as a universal feast throughout the Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor Justinian I the Great.
During the rule of this pious emperor, the Empire was afflicted by a plague epidemic and various natural disasters, particularly devastating earthquakes. In an effort to respond to these catastrophes, Emperor Justinian commanded that the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord be celebrated with even greater solemnity, after which the calamities ceased.
Thus, from those ancient times until today, on this very day, the Church prays for God’s mercy, that He may avert punishments through natural disasters—droughts, earthquakes, and plagues. Therefore, when we constantly hear reports of earthquakes, droughts, and calamities, we must first ask what is happening with our spiritual health.
If we repent, if we seek God, if we receive Him into our hearts, He will grant us mercy and will renew not only our souls but all of creation itself.
Beloved, the Lord awaits us to welcome Him, to meet Him where He desires most—to receive Him into our hearts. If we do this, everything will be different. There will be no fear, no despair, no drought in our souls, but life and joy.
Therefore, let every Divine Liturgy be a new Meeting with Christ. Let our hearts become His temple. And thus, led by Him, let us journey toward the unwaning Light of the Resurrection.
May you be blessed for many years!
Thank you for your presence.
