SUNDAY MESSAGE (audio message)
BY HIS EMINENCE THE METROPOLITAN
KYTHIRA & ANTIKYTHIRA SERAPHIM
ALL SAINTS' SUNDAY
(07-06-2026)
WRITTEN DIVINE PROCLAMATION
«…let us run with perseverance the race set before us,
»with regard to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith" (Heb. 12:1)
Many times, my dear friends, in our misfortunes and sorrows, we seek comfort in various things that will relieve us of them. The Apostle Paul also wishes to point out this comfort in the sorrows of the believers’ spiritual discipline when he writes to the Hebrews: «Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses—», that is, to be patient on the arduous path of faith, because we, too, are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.”.
The memory of those saints, like a cloud illuminated by a warm ray of sunlight, uplifts and revitalizes the soul that is weary from suffering. And did not the Apostle say that this cloud hovers high above us, but that it surrounds us, which means something much more: namely, that it offers us greater security and protection.
But what exactly is this “cloud of witnesses”? It rightly refers not only to the Martyrs of the New Testament, but also to those of the Old Testament; for they, too, bore witness to the majesty of God. But even when speaking of Martyrs, he does not mean only those who suffered and shed their blood for Christ, but also those who bear witness to the Faith—we might say all the Saints: the Prophets, the Apostles, the Fathers, the Martyrs, the Holy Ascetics, clergy and laity, men and women, young and old—all the friends of Christ throughout the ages.
These friends of Christ are the Saints—that is, those who are united with Christ. They are those who have been spiritually healed—that is, their hearts have been purified, they have attained enlightenment of the mind and deification; the Holy Spirit has taken up residence within them, and they have become the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit; they have partaken of God’s sanctifying energy. These are the Saints—not merely the good people who may exist even outside the Church, but those who, through asceticism and the Sacraments of the Church, have been purified, have been enlightened and have seen Christ in glory.
And this holiness is attained only within the Church, where the Holy Spirit is at work. For it is only within the Church that the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ continues, as the Holy Spirit imparts to every Christian the fruits of Christ’s work. That is why we say that there is no salvation outside the Church! The Church is the exclusive and only path to salvation, contrary to the ecumenists who claim that the various religions are all paths leading to the same God and to salvation. The Church is the only workshop of holiness; it is the spiritual infirmary, for the Holy Spirit is at work there! That is why our Church celebrates the Feast of All Saints after the Feast of Pentecost.
But if the Church is a spiritual hospital, then doctors are also needed. And doctors, under the great Physician of our souls and bodies, Jesus Christ, are the Saints. They came to know God through experience; they saw God, they experienced God, and they experienced the mystery of Pentecost. Thus they also came to know the teaching about the Holy Trinity and spoke from personal experience. Those Saints knew—and still know—from experience the path of purification and enlightenment, and this they are capable of begetting spiritual children. And in order for one to guide one’s spiritual children toward deification without error, one must oneself know this path of healing.
My dear friends, if we wish to be Christians and cast off every kind of burden that holds us back, as the Apostle urges us «Always setting aside a portion», and to defeat the «the gravest sin» which surrounds us and easily draws us toward its own will, so that the Holy Spirit may dwell within us, enlighten and sanctify us, we have nothing left to do but become children of God and spiritual children of the Saints. Together with one’s spiritual father, each person should choose as a guide a Saint of the Church, whose teachings they will continually meditate upon, in addition to the constant study of Holy Scripture. Glory to God, the works of the Holy Fathers and Teachers of our Church are widely available today. May the Lord Jesus Christ, through the intercession of all the Saints, bless and sanctify us. Amen.
Deacon Hierotheos Kritikos, Preacher
