Holy Metropolis of Kythira – Sunday Message (August 16, 2026)

SUNDAY MESSAGE (audio message)
BY HIS EMINENCE THE METROPOLITAN
KYTHIRA & ANTIKYTHIRA SERAPHIM
SUNDAY OF THE 11TH WEEK OF MATTHEW
THE SUNDAY FOLLOWING THE GREAT FEAST OF THE MOTHER OF GOD
ON THE DORMITION OF THE ALL-HOLY VIRGIN
OF THE MOTHER OF GOD AND THE EVER-VIRGIN MARY
(16-08-2026)

WRITTEN DIVINE PROCLAMATION
Avoiding Scandal

Since this life is a journey that one travels from birth until death, every obstacle that prevents people from living a righteous and virtuous life on this path constitutes a stumbling block. And if we Christians are obligated, by virtue of our calling, to correct our brothers who have gone astray, how much more are we obligated not to cause others to stumble. That is why the Apostle Paul, in today’s Epistle reading, is shown to refrain even from what was permitted, so as not to cause offense, even though no law compelled him to do so. Thus, we see him refusing the food and drink offered to him by his disciples, the service of a sister, as the other Apostles do, and his livelihood from the work of the Gospel. And it is remarkable that he refrains from what was permitted and what he was entitled to receive as an Apostle, not simply so as not to cause them to stumble, but because the catechumens were to be edified, which is far more important.

The sacrifice, then, of one’s rights is a duty when, through it, we prevent scandal and promote virtue. That is why the divine Apostle says again elsewhere: «That is why, if eating causes my brother to stumble in his faith and Christian life, I will never eat any kind of meat so as not to cause my brother to stumble.’ (1 Cor. 8:13). And indeed, If it is clear that the Apostle refrained even from what was permitted, it would not be fair to suspect him of being a fraud or of doing something for money, as St. Chrysostom states.

Christ Himself teaches us just how much we must be on guard against scandal when He says that «Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.’ (Matt. 18:6) and «Woe to the world because of scandals; for because of the corruption of people, scandals and temptations are bound to come. But woe to that person through whom the scandal comes.’ (Matt. 18:7). Every public sin constitutes a stumbling block, because, as St. Chrysostom teaches, it is «the obstacles on the right path of life», then either it drags the other people who hear and see it into the same sin through imitation, or at the very least, it makes them lukewarm in their piety.

Of course, avoiding causing others to stumble requires love. «He who sincerely loves his brother, truly abides and lives in the light of Christ, and he does not cause others to stumble, nor is he himself scandalized or embittered on the part of others.» (1 John 2:10). Our indifference to the offense we cause others when we violate God’s will constitutes satanic cruelty and inhumanity, things that deprive a person of the Kingdom of God.

Let us reflect on how the Apostle Paul deprived himself of his rights solely so as not to cause his brothers to stumble and fall, but to edify them. And we, too, if through the bad example of our lives we not only cause others to stumble, but also drag our brothers into sin and torment them, do we dare to say that we do not care if others are scandalized? And is this characteristic of a Christian? Of a brotherly person? Is this characteristic of a disciple of Christ? Let us listen to these things, my beloved, and let us not despise those who are scandalized, nor place any obstacle in the way of the Gospel of Christ, lest we betray our salvation.

Deacon Hierotheos Kritikos, Preacher