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The Evergetinos - Vol. I, Hypothesis I, Part II

Philokalia Ministries

What an extraordinary reading! We’ve been considering Hypothesis I about repentance and not falling into despair. Tonight we began with the writing from the life of St. Synkletike. She’s one of the Desert Mothers and considered by many as equal to Saint Anthony the Great. The counsel she offers is psychologically subtle and spiritually beautiful. She encourages us always to support others, especially neophytes, and encourage them in the struggle for the good. No matter how small their virtues deeds might seem we must lift them up and praise them in order to encourage them in the spiritual battle. Likewise, no matter how great a fault may be we must, in front of them, treat it as though it is the least an on worthy of note. The evil one wishes to destroy their efforts and so we must in every way lift them up and encourage them to continue. God‘s compassion and mercy is unlimited and she gives us multiple examples from the Scriptures to remind us: Saint Paul Rahab the prostitute from the Old Testament, and St. Matthew the tax collector. In all of these we see the worth of repentance and the compassion of God towards the repentant man. Those who struggle with pride God himself will prune so they do not begin to attribute their growth and virtue to themselves. He will humble them in order that they might continue to cling to Him and to His grace. Next, the holy Palladios recounts for us the story of Saint Moses the Ethiopian. We see in him how the passion of anger unchecked and murderous in its nature and conduct can be transformed by the gift of repentance. After a violent existence, Moses was moved to contrition and the incensive faculty within him redirected the anger towards sin and drove him in the ascetical life to war against the demons. He became so virtuous that he rivaled even those elders of Skete. By the time he died, there were 70 disciples who joined him, many of whom were his fellow former criminals. All of this is meant to lead us to set aside the judgments of our own reason when it comes to love, compassion, and mercy. We are called to imitate God who, while we were still enemies, had mercy upon us and gave us His only begotten Son. ---- 00:21:02 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2017/01/05/100099-venerable-syncletica-of-alexandria 00:22:25 Eric Williams: sin-kle-ti-kee (not sure which syllable gets emphasis; Fr Ivan?) 00:23:00 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: St Nikolai Velimirovich's Prologue of Ohrid: Syncletica was of Macedonian descent. She was educated in Alexandria. As a wealthy and distinguished maiden she had many suitors, but she rejected them all and fled from her parents' home to a convent. In great self-restraint, vigil and prayer, Syncletica lived to her eightieth year. Her counsels to the nuns have always been considered true spiritual pearls, for this righteous one did not attain the heights of wisdom through books but through sufferings, pains, daily and nightly contemplation, and spiritual communication with the higher world of the Divine. Her soul took up its habitation in that higher world in the year 350 A.D. Among other things, St. Syncletica was known to say: "If it is the season for fasting, do not dismiss fasting, claiming illness, for behold, even those who do not fast succumb to the same illness." She further said: "As a treasure, when uncovered, is quickly seized, …. 00:23:03 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: so it is with virtue: when it is made public it becomes eclipsed and is lost." 00:23:55 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: her feast is Jan 5 in the Byzantine calendar 00:26:16 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: The Life and Conduct of the HOLY AND BLESSED TEACHER SYNKLETIKE by St. Athanasios the Great was published in English in 2015. 00:29:29 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: Σύγκλητος means “senate” or “assembly”; hence, the name Συγκλητική denotes what is “senatorial” or “noble”; in this instance, a noble in the “heavenly assembly” of Saints. The accent is on the last sylla