A Sermon by His Grace, Bishop Parthenius of Antania, Delivered on the feast of the Venerable Paraskeva of Epivatos, during the Divine Liturgy in the Church dedicated to the Saint, in the city of Debar, on October 14/27, 2024
Most Reverend and Pious Fathers,
Beloved brothers and sisters in monastic life,
Dear faithful,
Once again, by the grace of our good Lord, we have been blessed to gather for this holy liturgical celebration in honor of our venerable mother, St. Paraskeva of Epivatos, who, through her glorious ascetic struggle, became a resident of heaven. In the Church of God, every ascetic effort transcends personal boundaries and becomes ecclesial—that is, for the benefit of the entire Church. No one struggles individually or solely for their own sake; rather, every ascetic struggle is offered for the life of the whole Body of Christ—for all of us.
The saints, such as today’s celebrated St. Paraskeva, who dwell in the heavenly Church, are not only examples of virtuous and moral life but also intercessors and prayerful advocates before the throne of God, helping us attain enlightenment and theosis. They pray unceasingly for our salvation, guiding us along the path of personal transformation toward receiving the grace of God’s uncreated energies. However, their help depends on whether we seek it. If we direct our hearts and minds with purity toward the heavenly Kingdom, the saints will accompany us and assist us in entering into the joy of our Lord. Every believer’s ascetic struggle within the Church is a communal offering. St. Paraskeva testifies that spiritual effort is a call for us, here and now, to participate in the mystery of God’s all-encompassing love.
This year, her feast coincided with a Sunday, and we know that every Sunday brings with it a Gospel reading—a message of life. Today, we heard the Parable of the Sower and the Seed—a parable rich with wisdom and profound meaning. In truth, the parables spoken by the Lord are much more than simple stories, although they appear to be just that—examples drawn from everyday life. They are deep windows into the mystery of His love and wisdom, guiding us to understand the world and our lives. In a sense, the entire world is one great story authored by God, and our lives are a part of it, filled with many stories—small and large, joyful and sorrowful. However, the essence lies not in how many stories we live but in their meaning. It is essential to discover the deeper meaning within them, for without it, our life events remain scattered and aimless. Knowing the human heart and its love for stories, God speaks to us through parables—not just as moral lessons, but as ontological truths that reach the core of our being.
In today’s Parable of the Sower, the Word of God is compared to seed sown in the soil of our hearts. But the parable also asks us a question: What kind of soil are we? How do we receive the Word of God? Are our hearts open to God’s love, or are they like rocky or barren ground that yields no fruit? This parable is a call for each of us to reflect on our life so that we may live with the awareness that we are part of God’s great story. Just as the Lord continues to sow and call, we are called to bear fruit worthy of eternal life.
This marvelous parable, my beloved, speaks first and foremost of our Lord Jesus Christ and His eternal Word, which He offers to the world. “A Sower went out to sow His seed,” say the wise lips of our Savior. From where did He go out? From the embrace of the Father, from the Kingdom of the Holy Trinity. God the Father sent His only-begotten Son to dwell among us, to become one of us, and to sow the seed of salvation—the seed that bears the fruit of eternal blessedness. Christ came to earth as the Divine Sower. The prophets had tilled the land before Him, preparing the way. But when the fullness of time came, God Himself descended from Heaven to sow His seed in the hearts of people.
As we heard in the parable, the Lord explained to His apostles that there are four types of soil, representing four categories of human hearts. Some seeds fell on the path, only to be trampled underfoot; others on rocky soil, where they could not take root; some among thorns, where they were choked; and some on good soil, where they bore fruit a hundredfold. Through this parable, the Lord teaches us about the Kingdom of Heaven and how we may enter it—by opening our hearts to His Word. Yet He also warns that it is not enough just to hear the Word; we must receive it deeply within and allow it to take root and grow. This is why the Lord exclaimed: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
All of us—thanks be to God—have ears, and most of us enjoy good hearing. But often, we lack spiritual ears—ears of the heart. Many times, our hearts become hardened, refusing to accept the Word of God. The gravest danger is when we become indifferent to His words. Even when we are interested, like the seed sown among thorns, the cares of this world can suffocate us, filling us with fear and doubt. In such moments, we ask, “How can we go on?” Yet the Lord is always with us. He strengthens us to continue on our personal Golgotha, for it is the only true path leading to light and eternity.
A person only becomes truly human when living with ascetic struggle and love for the Kingdom of Heaven. If we lose sight of this goal—if we forget the pursuit of union with God—spiritual death will overtake us. We become like the seed that fell on barren soil and was lost. In the same way, if we do not strive to internalize the Word of God, we will become lost, wretched beings. It is necessary to open our hearts to God’s Word, to allow it to take root, become established, and grow within us—so that it may become a Kingdom within us, the Kingdom of Christ’s holiness and beauty.
The Kingdom of God is hidden in every heart. He desires to dwell within us and make our hearts His home. The saints, through their lives, have shown us that God can truly take up residence in and dwell within a person. Through ascetic struggle and love for Christ, they became one with Him and were divinized, becoming living witnesses of transformed humanity. Today’s saint, Venerable Paraskeva, confirms this truth for us. For centuries, she has shone with the light of Christ, demonstrating that man can be transformed and divinized even in this life. While still on earth, through her struggle against passions and the fallen self, and through the cleansing power of penitential tears, she became a prayer for the whole world—a living spiritual lamp before the Lord’s Throne. She gave herself completely to Christ and became a pillar of His light, a living icon of God’s glory.
So perfect was her sanctification through strict asceticism that even her body remains incorrupt to this day. In the city of Iași, Romania, her holy relics bear witness that even the human body is called to sanctification and divinization. For centuries, her entire, incorrupt body has rested in the church without any controlled environmental conditions, a visible testimony to the transformed nature of humanity in God. Yes, my beloved, not only our souls but also our bodies are called to salvation and sanctification.
The saints—whether martyrs who laid down their lives for Christ, or ascetics who bore the cross of inner struggle and became martyrs of conscience—testify that the path to the Kingdom is open to all. The bodily blood of the martyrs and the spiritual blood of the monastics and devoted believers are equally precious in God’s sight. Regardless of the path, every struggle, every battle, is a way of sanctification and salvation. All the saints call us to sanctify our lives and strive to live in a way that resembles Christ. Both our body and soul are called to become temples of God, transformed by Christ’s light. This is the path for every one of us—to open our hearts, receive Christ, and live according to Him and in Him.
This world, beloved, is indeed short and fleeting. We must not allow desires and passions to take control of our hearts or place anything from this world above Christ. For only when Christ is at the center of our lives will everything else fall into place and find its proper meaning. History repeatedly confirms this: whenever humanity abandons Christ, everything falls apart. You see what is happening today in modern Europe, which, despite being built on Christian foundations, is forgetting its roots and sinking into spiritual darkness, disintegrating and decaying.
Many European nations became cultured and civilized precisely because their beginnings were rooted in Christ. Their civilization was born out of the Holy Gospel and the teachings that emerged from monasteries—teachings passed on by monks, who were always the first bearers of true culture and spiritual civilization. Venerable Paraskeva, whom we honor today, was a nun, and her ascetic struggle serves as an icon of the monastic life that has, throughout the centuries, been a cornerstone of civilization. Monastics have always borne witness to the unity of the Church and were the ones who spread the Gospel message among nations, igniting the world with the flame of divine love. Monasticism is a testimony that true civilization rests on God’s wisdom, on prayer and ascetic struggle.
There is no enduring civilization without Christ. If we lose Christ, everything turns into illusion and decay. But if we have Christ in our hearts, then both our society and our lives will be transformed and become part of God’s eternal joy. Let us follow the example of the saints and the monastics, who show us that true human development begins in the heart—when it is directed toward God. Only then will we be able to live the Gospel and transform the world around us.
We have before us great examples of monastic struggle and spiritual enlightenment, of sanctity and theosis, such as Saints Cyril and Methodius. These illustrious monks illuminated half of Europe with the Holy Gospel, but only after first engaging in holy asceticism, shedding the spiritual blood of conscience. It is not easy to be a monk, for the temptations are many and great. Yet, they demonstrated that when the mind is fixed on Christ, nothing can frighten us, and no power in this world can overcome us.
I specifically mention the Holy Brothers today because we are honored to have with us a group of around fifteen brothers and sisters from the Czech Republic, led by Father Vasily, a pious priest from Prague. This group of pilgrims has come from the very land where Saints Cyril and Methodius spread the Word of Christ. Yesterday, they were guests at our monastery, and today they are united with us in prayer here before St. Paraskeva.
Beloved, let us ask this glorious saint to intercede for the monastics, who, like her, have dedicated themselves to ascetic struggle and service to God. May she grant them the courage to persevere firmly on their path, without turning left, right, or backward. Every deviation to the left or right in this world is dangerous, and looking backward is even more perilous. Let us remember her ascetic struggles as a source of inspiration, especially for women’s monasteries. Although a woman, St. Paraskeva remains a model of courage and spiritual strength.
Thousands of faithful remember her today, even though, during her life, only God knew the full extent of her struggles. How many tears did she offer to God in her cell? How much spiritual blood did she shed in her battle against the passions? She gave up everything, even her homeland, and lived in the wilderness, for she had directed all her love and spiritual energy exclusively toward Christ.
However, we must not forget: ascetic struggle, prayer, and self-restraint are not only for monastics. All of us, as Christians, are called to asceticism. Asceticism is the mother of sanctification, and sanctification is the battle for the Kingdom of Heaven. Most of humanity, from Adam until today, has already passed from this life. We are but a few generations still walking the earth, but our true homeland is in Heaven. Let us not forget that death is the doorway leading us there—to the Kingdom of the living.
There is a simple yet profound maxim in the monastic tradition: “Always remember death.” This is the path that St. Paraskeva followed, and it is the path all the saints have walked. Today, many fear death; they avoid looking it in the face and refuse to think about it because they are unprepared to meet Christ. But we must not be afraid. We must understand that death is the door to the eternal Kingdom, which Christ opens for us every day with His light. Our path is illuminated by the desire for ascetic struggle, self-restraint, and prayer.
Through the prayers of our Venerable Mother Paraskeva and the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, whom we also commemorate today, may the Lord guide us to the Land of the Living.
Amen.
