By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas
Saint Paul the Confessor was natural in Thessaloniki in the beginning of the fourth century. He was a member of the Banal Depend on, which he struggled to obey sheer from the heresy of Arianism and thus was incompatible agitatedly by the Arians. He was fated a Deacon of the House of worship of Constantinople and became an inferior to Patriarch Alexander, whom he succeeded at the back of his death. To the same extent he was enthroned Patriarch the arianophile Ruler Constantius was publicized in Antioch. Having returned he was clued-up of the display, and expelled Saint Paul and in his place put the arianophile Bishop Eusebius of Nikomedia. In Rome, everyplace Saint Paul was exiled, he encountered Athanasius the Whole, who was also in exile. These two great ecclesiastical men empowered each other in the spiritual yank and regrouped their life in order to maintain the power to obey the Banal Depend on from heresy.
Progressive, amid the negotiation of Pope Julius of Rome, who was subsequently Banal, the exiles regained their thrones. This did not bottleneck fancy for Patriarch Paul of Constantinople, since he was once again exiled by the Arians. By the intervention of Ruler Constans to his brother Constantius he regained his usual in Constantinople and continued his work. Previously the death of Constans immobile, at the back of three being, Constantius exiled Saint Paul once again to the Caucusus in Armenia, everyplace he overall his worldly life in a martyric way. The Arians, full of disturb, strangled him with his omophorion.
The worldly life of Saint Paul the Confessor revolved on the subject of test, nuisance and exile, but he remained forceful in his responsibility as an "abiding defense" and aloof his request for forgiveness idle the end. The sacred hymnographer calls him fresh Apostle Paul and a obsessive reverend, who with his blood that was discard unjustly, cries out to God, tenderness the blood of Privilege Abel and the Fortune-teller Zachariah.
Thy request for forgiveness of the one divine Depend on showed thee to the House of worship to be a new Paul and a member between priests, O holy one. The upper-class blood apiece of Abel and Zachariah with thee doth cry out together unto the Peer of the realm. Good Gain, arbitrate with Christ God in our behalf that His great embellish may be settled unto us. (Apolytikion in the Third Reverberation)
The life and become old of Saint Paul the Confessor carry out us the opening to stress the following:
Rather, as Christ meant, if the plants are good or stinking, they are customary by their fruits. It is the dreadfully with children, as well as religions and changed confessions, which are judged by their have a fight and to order by the personalities they build up. That is, if they help man become a true man, namely to beat the passions and alight full love, so that in this way they can become a blessing to the whole world, for all those children weakening a pious, racial or other narrowness, or if they finish up and swear the grisly affair of passion and loathing, that lead to moralism, but not a few become old also to the normal total destruction of other children of other faiths and origin.
To the same extent one veers off towards heresy, due to a lack of empirical knowledge of the Banal Depend on, even if it is done out of good intentions, kindheartedness that support may well be found represent, they may well bang the point, in the role of they settle down performance according to the passions, that they even butchery in the name of that god. But how can this god be true if innocent children are killed in his name, and how can it be a true responsibility if it leads to zeal and fanaticism? The Triune God of the Banal Depend on "is love" and inspires love even for one's enemies. Of course, even in the House of worship represent is observed occasionally such a morbidly particular affair, but it is natural for this to occur as fancy as the House of worship is a spiritual hospice and accepts every person, even the well-built and religiously and psychically easily offended. At rest, they are current in order to be treated with the row of ointment disappearing, and not to swear and arise their illness. And of course we all pass the deftness, making sincere use of our distance, to become saints, who are the true members of the House of worship.
Bonus, the Saints entrust their responsibility in the Triune God, careworn to obey it from the forgeries of heretics, and are unconscious at any time to sign their request for forgiveness with the blood of their martyrdom, in the role of they know by their incident that responsibility is inextricably combined with support, and taking into account the responsibility is poles apart subsequently the score way of life and support is poles apart. But they do not try to shove it, in any case fundamental convincing of its correctness, but they incite and fee for them that others may go on.
The request for forgiveness of the Banal Depend on on the part of the saints is not the creation of boasting and passion, but the fruit of communion with God. The saints pass tasted the sweetness of the empirical knowledge of God, the fullness of life, and they entrust their responsibility in order to help all those who ornamental to find the true way of support.
Article handle for the truth of a true request for forgiveness is love, reticence and chastise to the House of worship. Those who touch on themselves confessors and zealots of the responsibility, weakening having the boss traits, are in a place of misunderstanding.
The saints are the uttermost benefactors of the social order, in the role of they are guardians and confessors of the Banal Depend on, and also in the role of of their selfless love they hold in your arms and sanction children in difficulties, and they sweeten their anguish and no difficulty their hearts.
Source: "Ekklesiastiki Paremvasi", , November 2006. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
