The sermon of His Eminence Bishop of Antania, Sir Parthenius, hegumen of the Bigorski Holy Monastery, spoken at the Vespers service in honor of Saint Parthenius of Lampsakos the Miracle-Worker, on December 6/19, in the year of our Savior 2026.
My beloved fathers, brothers and spiritual children,
I would like, first of all, from all my heart to thank you that this night you brought forth a sacrifice of love and came from many places, some from close, some from afar, so as to celebrate together the great saint Parthenius of Lampsakos, whose name I wear unworthily for more than 30 years. Our gathering here isn’t a normal meeting, rather a eucharistic gathering around the memory of one man who wholly belonged to Christ our God.
Even if I am small and last, I know one to be sure: that we truly tried to fulfill the will of this saint, becoming one in Christ. Because his main characteristic in his life was to bring together people in Christ, after he himself first and foremost gave himself wholly to Him. All his being was an answer to the call of Christ: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”. He did not live for himself, rather for Him Who called him. And that is why he was given spiritual power to pull other souls towards that same call, not by force, not by convincing, but by the quiet and undefeatable power of grace.
The city which was entrusted to him, Lampsakos in Asia Minor, in the time of the saint and equal to the apostles Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337), was still a city of pagans. The Christians were a minority and unnoticeable. But when this great servant of Christ shined, the people started by themselves to crush the pagan temples and they started worshipping Christ. Looking at their own bishop, this man metamorphosed, deified, a man in whom Christ lived, they recognized their true God. According to the life of saint Parthenius, written by saint Sophronius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the saint with prayer crushed the idols in Lampsakos and converted the whole city to the Christian faith. When he reposed, not one pagan remained in the city. That testimony is not a historic fantasy, rather a spiritual reality: when one man wholly gives himself to Christ, he becomes a light for the whole city.
That is the secret of sainthood. When Christ inhabits man, his presence becomes a sermon. Not the word, but the being: not the argument, but life. Saint Parthenius did not conquer with power, but with love. And that love, which is true, always unites.
This evening, a sticheron from his service resonated in my heart: “The glorious Parthenius shone upon us and once again gathered us together, so that we might spiritually glorify with him, singing praises to Christ the Lord.” And indeed, here we are, gathered through his prayers. He prayed that we all might be one in Christ, just as the Lord Himself prayed before His Passion: “That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me”.
This unity is not the fruit of an agreement, nor the result of an organization. It is a gift from above. It is birthed when Christ is in the midst of our gathering. When He is truly “with us”, then we also become one. That is why the saints, like living icons of Christ, and after their repose they continue to bring us around Him.
And undoubtedly, Saint Parthenius continues to work miracles even today. Not only have we been gathered from various corners of our homeland, but we also have our dear brothers from the neighboring Orthodox churches of Greece and Serbia. Namely, this evening we are joined by the beloved fathers: Archimandrite sir Ambrosius and Protopresbyter sir Stavros from the holy Metropolis of Dimitriadis of our beloved brother, His Grace Metropolitan sir Ignatios, as well as the respected Archimandrite sir Dositheus, elder and spiritual father of the renowned Frushka Gora monastery of Grgeteg, together with priests from the Eparchy of Srem.
Do you see? The saint testifies that we are all together one people of God, one in the Church of Christ, the New Israel. In Christ there are no divisions of flesh and blood. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”. The Holy Fathers do not recognize divisions in the Church based on nations. Such divisions only emerged in the 19th century and were thenceforth condemned as heresy. The Fathers always speak of one people—the people of Christ. Saint John Chrysostom, explaining the verse “there is neither Jew nor Greek,” teaches that in the Church all natural differences are transformed and overcome in the unity of the Body of Christ. And Saint Maximus the Confessor testifies that Christ, in Himself, united the divided, making many into one.
That is why, unendingly I thank saint Parthenius who every year teaches us and reminds us of this truth. In his glory, in the monastery, come brothers from many of many neighboring Churches and jurisdictions, so as to show ourselves in the way that the saint would like to see us; even more so in the way the Bishop of the saint and the Bishop of all, our Lord Jesus Christ: to become all in His name one.
From my heart I thank also my beloved spiritual children, the students that came, some from Athens, others from Thessaloniki, father Anatolius of Rome – who made a sacrifice to be here with us. Your presence here is a living confirmation that the love towards the saint does not know any distances.
I thank you once more all of you who wanted to come here to celebrate this great saint and wonder worker, saint Parthenius of Lampsakos. From my heart I thank you, and know that I have you all in my prayers and I love you all very much in Christ. Christ is in our midst!
