The Tenth Eothinon, Two Sermons

The Tenth Eothinon

Two Sermons

LOVING   By St. John Chrysostom (c. 349 – 407): Homily 87 on the Gospel of John http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/240187.htm Do you see that He remains not with them continually, nor as before? He appeared, for instance, in the evening, and flew away; then after eight days again once, and again flew away; then after these things by the sea, and again with great terror. But what is the, "revealed Himself"? From this it is clear that He was not seen unless He condescended, because His body was henceforth incorruptible, and of unmixed purity. But wherefore has the writer mentioned the place? To show that Hee had now taken away the greater part of their fear, so that they now ventured forth from their dwelling, and went about everywhere. For they were no longer shut up at home, but had gone into Galilee, avoiding the danger from the Jews. Simon, therefore, comes to fish. For since neither was He with them continually, nor was the Spirit yet given, nor they at that time yet entrusted with anything, having nothing to do, they went after their trade. They went to their fishing, and this same they did by night, because they were greatly afraid. This Luke also mentions (Lk 24:41-43); but this is not the same occasion, but a different one. And the other disciples followed, because they were henceforth bound to one another, and at the same time desired to see the fishing, and to bestow their leisure well. As they then were laboring and wearied, Jesus presents Himself before them, and does not at once reveal Himself, so that they enter into converse with Him. He therefore says to them, "Have ye any meat?" For a time He speaks rather after a human manner, as if about to buy somewhat of them. But when they made signs that they had none, He bade them cast their nets to the right; and on casting they obtained a haul. But when they recognized Him, the disciples Peter and John again exhibited the peculiarities of their several tempers. The one was more fervent, the other more lofty; the one more keen, the other more clear-sighted. On this account John first recognized Jesus, Peter first came to Him. For no ordinary signs were they which had taken place. What were they? First, that so many fish were caught; then, that the net did not break; then, that before they landed, the coals had been found, and fish laid thereon, and bread. For He no longer made things out of matter already subsisting, as, through a certain dispensation, He did before the Crucifixion. When therefore Peter knew Him, he threw down all, both fish and nets, and girded himself. Do you see his respect and love? Yet they were only two hundred cubits [300 ft] off; but not even so could Peter wait to go to Him in the boat, but reached the shore by swimming. What then does Jesus? "Come," He says, "dine." "And none of them dared ask Him." For they no longer had the same boldness, nor were they so confident, nor did they now approach Him with speech, but with silence and great fear and reverence, sat down giving heed to Him. "For they knew that it was the Lord." And therefore they did not ask Him, "Who are You?" But seeing that His form was altered, and full of much awesomeness, they were greatly amazed, and desired to ask somewhat concerning it; but fear, and their knowledge that He was not some other, but the Same, checked the enquiry, and they only ate what He created for them with a greater exertion of power than before. For here He no more looks to heaven, nor performs those human acts, showing that those also which He did were done by way of condescension. And to show that He remained not with them continually, nor in like manner as before, It says that, "This was the third time that Jesus appeared to them, after that He arose from the dead." And He bids them "to bring of the fish," to show that what they saw was no appearance. But here indeed it says not that He ate with them, but Luke, in another place, says that He did; for "He was eating together with them" (Acts 1:4). But the, "how," it is not ours to say; for these things came to pass in too strange a manner, not as though His nature now needed food, but from an act of condescension, in proof of the Resurrection. Perhaps when you heard these things, you glowed, and called those happy who were then with Him, and those who shall be with Him at the day of the general Resurrection. Let us then use every exertion that we may see that admirable Face. For if when now we hear we so burn, and desire to have been in those days which He spent upon earth, and to have heard His Voice, and seen His face, and to have approached, and touched, and ministered unto Him; consider how great a thing it is to see Him no longer in a mortal body, nor doing human actions, but with a body guard of Angels, being ourselves also in a form of unmixed purity, and beholding Him, and enjoying the rest of that bliss which passes all language. Wherefore, I entreat, let us use every means, so as not to miss such glory. For nothing is difficult if we be willing, nothing burdensome if we give heed. Let us then transfer our eyes to heaven, and continually imagine "those" things, and behold them. For if we always spend our time with them, we shall not be moved to desire the pleasures of this world, nor find it hard to bear its sorrows; but we shall laugh at these and the like, and nothing will be able to enslave or lift us up, if only we direct our longing there, and look to that love. And why

READY By Fr. Richard Demetrius Andrews (2010) http://stgeorgegoc.org/pastors-corner/fr-ricks-sermons/10th-eothinon-be-ready-for-risen-christ The first thing I would like to call our attention to in today’s passage is that ‘Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples’ (v.1). In this series on the Eothina, which are all accounts of Jesus’ appearances after His Resurrection, we should have learned that Christ Himself, not the disciples nor us His modern day followers, choose how, when and to whom He will reveal Himself. We should not delude ourselves into thinking that we have some control over this dynamic. For instance, we may think that as soon as we start praying, we should actually see the risen Christ or that we should see Him as soon as we go to liturgy or do a good deed. As I’m sure most of us know by know, this is not how it works. Yet, it is this faulty thinking that causes us to despair because in our society, we are quite used to getting what we want, when we want it. We can only try, as best we can, to follow the Lord’s commandments and teachings, and then, wait patiently for Him to appear, knowing that He may not appear, but trusting that He knows what’s best for us. The second lesson for us in this passage is this: After Jesus appeared to the disciples, standing on the shore, ‘they did not know that it was Jesus’ (v.4). In other words, when Jesus chooses to appear, we’d better be ready to recognize Him as Lord and God. Otherwise, we can miss, as they say, the opportunity of a lifetime. This works in two ways. First, like many of the Jewish authorities of Jesus time, even though they heard Him teach, saw Him perform miracles and heal the sick, they did not see Jesus as the true Messiah of God. Thus, a faith in God, that is based on a sincere search for truth, not colored by our own false beliefs and immature expectations, is necessary to see Christ when He is in our midst. Secondly, like the disciples on the Road to Emmaus, although we sense something special is happening at the time, it is not until after serious reflection that we realize indeed, the risen Christ was present with us.  The third and final lesson I would like to highlight in today’s passage is this: When the disciples brought their boat ashore, Jesus ‘took the bread and gave it to them and likewise the fish’ (v.13). This should sound familiar to us because it is just like the Feeding of the 5,000 in the wilderness, where Jesus multiplies the loaves and fishes, as recounted earlier in John 6:1-14 and also in Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44 and Luke 9:10-17. The Fathers and Saints of the Church interpret that event as a prefiguring of the Eucharist, the heavenly and eternal event of the Lord’s Supper, in which Jesus gives His body and blood as food for everlasting life. So, yet again, just like Jesus’ appearance to the disciples on the Road to Emmaus (Fifth Eothinon, Lk 24:12-35), the Evangelist and the Orthodox Church are teaching us that the experience of the risen Christ begins in the celebration of the Divine Liturgy and the reception of the Eucharist. Christ invited Thomas to place his hand in the open wound where blood and water spilled from (Ninth Eothinon, Jn 20:19-31). Likewise, Jesus invites us every Sunday to touch His wounded but risen body and blood by receiving Holy Communion for forgiveness of sins and eternal life. In conclusion, learning that our knowledge and experience of Jesus Christ is based on revelation of His choosing, and that we must be willing and ready for those unique and special moments, let us approach the Holy Chalice with the fear of God, with faith and with love in order to receive the risen Christ Himself in the Eucharist. And with thanksgiving, let us be like the Apostles, bringing all nations, represented by the 153 fish caught in the net (v.11), dragging them ashore to the feet of Jesus, who is ready to feed them, as we have been fed. In other words, we cannot keep this sacred encounter with the risen Christ to ourselves. We must share it with everyone in our life through the evidence of a changed life, growing from glory to glory, so that others may have a glimpse of the risen Christ even in us. Amen! Christ is Risen! say I that we shall not grieve at present troubles? We shall henceforth not even appear to see them. Such a thing is strong desire. Those, for instance, who are not at present with us, but being absent are loved, we image every day. For mighty is the sovereignty of love, it alienates the soul from all things else, and chains to the desired object. If thus we love Christ, all things here will seem to be a shadow, an image, a dream. Paul indeed prefers "neither death, nor life, nor things present, nor things to come, nor any other creature," to the love which is towards Him; but we, if we see a little portion of gold, are fired, and trample on His laws. He that loves gold will not love his neighbor; yet we, for the Kingdom's sake, are bidden to love even our enemies. He that loves money, not only will not love his enemies, but will even treat his friends as enemies. Considering therefore all these things, and comparing pleasure with pleasure, let us choose the better, that we may obtain the good things to come, through the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

This insert is a gift from our Byzantine School.  We invite you to join us on the last Thursday of each month at 6 pm, as we explore the selection of liturgy “specials” for each week, and other issues related to the liturgical services of our Church. Next mtg – 9/29/16. Please consult the Sunday Bulletin for our regular announcements, or contact Tasos, ioanniam@yahoo.com or (937)232-9665.

Dear Eugenia and Polychronius,

To add further to the discussion on St. Kassiana, I am contributing the
following translation and personal thoughts.

Here is an excerpt translated from *A Historical Survey of the Hymnographers
& Hymnography of the Greek Church*, by the renowned hagiologist and church
historian Archbishop Philaret (Gumilevsky) of Chernigov (St. Petersburg:
Tuzov Press, 1902), pp. 272-275:

Kassia, Kassiana, Eikasia. In manner of life a pious nun; by education, a
learned woman; by birth, a noble virgin. She lived at the beginning of the
9th century, during the reign of Emperor Theophilus and his successor.
Kodinus, describing the antiquities of Constantinople, mentions the
monastery of Eikasia, which was founded by this virgin nun. ³The Monastery
of Eikasia,² he writes, ³was built by the virgin Eikasia, a pious nun,
beautiful of face and of mind.² Zonaras describes the circumstances which
led to Cassia¹s forsaking the world and building the monastery.
³Theophilus,² he writes, ³intending to choose a consort for himself,
summoned eleven beautiful virgins, among whom was the virgin Kassia, who
surpassed the others in beauty, and was as learned as she was nobly born.
Theophilus examined them, holding in his hand a golden apple which he would
give to the one who pleased him most. When he came to Eikasia he said,
marveling at her beauty: ŒAll that is evil hath come from a woman.¹
Eikasia, meekly, her cheeks blushing red with chastity, replied: ŒBut from a
woman all that is more sublime hath come.¹ Defeated by the words of the
virgin, Theophilus walked away and gave the golden apple to Theodora, a
native of Paphlagonia. Not having gained a royal marriage, Eikasia
established the monastery which bears her name, in which she lived for
herself and for the Lord. Excelling in her education, she wrote letters in
which there is no trace of pedantry or pleasantry. Thus did she reach the
end of her life, having betrothed herself to the heavenly King instead of an
earthly king, and having inherited the heavenly kingdom instead of an
earthly kingdom.² Leo Grammaticus records the same incident in his history
of Theophilus.
Kodinus says that during the reigns of Theophilus and his son, Michael,
Kassia composed many canons, stichera and other works, which are quite
marvelous. The same is said by the early 11th century anonymous author who
describes events of the past.
In the services of the Church we no longer see canons ascribed to Kassia,
except for one canon only, that of Great Saturday, which, however, was
reworked by Mark, Bishop of Otranto. This is what Theodore Prodromos writes
of the latter circumstance in his explanation of the canon of Great
Saturday: ³Through Ode V, this canon is the work of Mark, Bishop of Otranto;
but Odes VI through IX are by the great hymnographer Cosmas [of Maiuma];
furthermore, as we know from unwritten tradition, long before [Mark of
Otranto] a certain wise and chaste virgin, Kassia, was the composer of these
hymns, i.e. Odes I through V, i.e. she completed the canon. Later men who
edited the canons, considering it improper to attach to the hymns of a woman
odes of that ascetic Cosmas, commissioned Mark to compose troparia, while
retaining the former irmoi. This tradition is quite plausible. For Mark
did not incorporate the initial letters of the irmoi in his acrostic,
although to do so would have been to his advantage. For the initial letter
Œkappa¹ of the irmos Œkymati thalasses¹ [ŒVolnoyu morskoyu¹] and the letter
Œsigma¹ of the next irmos, ŒSe ton epi ydatOn¹ [ŒTebe na vodakh¹] are taken
from the acrostic; but he, setting the irmoi aside as the work of another
and not of himself, wrote the troparia from Œkappa¹ ŒKyrie Thee mou¹
[ŒGospodi Bozhe moi¹], and from Œsigma¹ ŒSymbola tes taphes sou¹ [ŒThe
tokens of Thy burial¹].² It is hence evident that the canon (i.e, through
Ode V) and the irmoi are not the work of Mark. Moreover, one can see this
from the fact that the words ³but we like the maidens² are included in the
irmos of Ode I. That the subject of this verse is a maiden clearly
indicates that the ode belongs not to a man, but to a woman. Since there
were two choirs during the exodus of the Israelites who originally sang this
ode--one consisting of men, the other of women--she, leaving aside the choir
of men, since she is a woman, said, ³we sing like the maidens². Yea, and
the very acrostic of the canon is dual, and, so to say, like twin-peaked
Parnassus. For the canon of Great Saturday was once a tetradion [a four-ode
hymnic composition]: its acrostic was comprised of only part of an iamb,
i.e., ³prosabbaton the, sabbaton melpO mega²--²The pre-Saturday. I hymn the
Great Saturday.² Half of its iamb applies to Great Friday, i.e. the
pre-Saturday, and the rest applies to Saturday, i.e. I hymn the Great
Saturday. But when the canon was continued and a full canon was made out of
the tetradion, the acrostic was also extended, and instead of the incomplete
iamb a complete one was made, i.e. ³kai simeron de sabbaton melpO mega². In
the Slavonic Triodion, one reads in the superscription of the canon: ³The
canon of Great Saturday, from Ode I to Ode VI, is the work of Mark, Bishop
of Hydrous. The irmoi are the work of a certain woman named Cassia. The
Odes from VI to the end are the work of kyr Cosmas.² Thus, in our present
canon of the work of Cassia only the irmoi remain.
As regards other canons, following Prodromos we must admit that it is
probable that certain portions of them, as is the case with the canon of
Great Saturday, are retained in our present canons, undetected by later
readers.
Among the stichera of Cassia, we find the following in the divine services:
1) for the Nativity of Christ, ³When Augustus reigned alone upon the
earth...²; 2) on Great and Holy Wednesday, ³O Lord, the woman who had fallen
into many sins...²; 3) feast of the martyrs Gurius, Salmonas & Habib,
November 15th (not attributed in the Slavonic Menaion, but attributed in the
Greek) ³Edessa rejoiceth...²; feast of the Nativity of the Forerunner, June
24th (³Today is fulfilled the saying of Isaiah...²; and for the feast of the
martyrs Eustratius & companions, December 13th (Let us hymn and piously
praise the God-bearing martyrs...²).
Having said that Kassia composed many stichera, Kodinus adds: ³such are
those of the harlot and the ointment, for all of these belong to her.² The
words of Kodinus indicate that he knew of many stichera written by Kassia
for the penitent woman, and not merely the one which has come down to us.
As regards the worth of the stichera reliably attributed to Kassia, one
must admit that the first two [above] truly deserve our admiration: as much
as the former is solemn and triumphal, so much is the latter full of a
profound sense of contrition. In the latter, Kassia has quite faithfully
expressed the feelings which filled the soul of the penitent sinful woman
who washed the Savior¹s feet with tears; to express such feelings of one who
greatly loved the Lord, Who was rejected by others, Kassia had to sense in
her own soul the fullness of bitter contrition over the corruption of our
soul, she herself had to be filled with that trusting love for the Savior of
sinners, for which men condemned both the sinful woman and the Savior of
sinners. ³Accept my fountains of tears. O Thou Who pourest forth the
waters from the clouds of the sea, bend Thine ear to the sighs of my heart;
O Thou who bowed down the heavens in Thine ineffable abasement, permit me to
kiss and wipe with the hairs of my head Thine all-pure feet, the noise
whereof Eve heard at noonday, and hid herself in fear. My sins are
many...but who can fathom the depths of Thy judgments? O Savior of souls,
my Savior, Who hast infinite mercy, reject me not, thy handmaid.² One must
say that there are not many who are capable of such profound contrition.

The entry on Kassia in *The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium* also includes
the information that Kassiane is identical to Kassia and Eikasia: ³KASSIA,
also Kassiane, Eikasia, and other forms of the name, poet....² The entry
cites an article by E. Catafygiotu Topping, which appeared in the "Greek
Orthodox Theological Review", Vol. 26 (1981), pp. 201-209, which someone may
have easy access to, and may contain more information of interest to our
group.

The only Greek-language Church calendar of the saints I have in my library,
the *Agioreitikos Epitrapezios Imerodeiktis, Etous 1977*, by the Monk
Dorotheos of the Skete of Xenophontos (published for Mount Athos in
Thessalonica), confirms the date of commemoration for St. Kassiane as 7
September (O.S.): ³Kassianes tes poietrias,...osia.² (The commemoration of
Kassiana the poetess,...monastic saint.)

Some years ago, I was able to consult St. Justin (Popovich¹s) Lives of the
Saints (in Serbian) concerning this saint. When I am able, I will do so
again. If memory serves, he also confirms the sanctity of St. Kassiana and
the date of her commemoration.

As to the variable forms of the name, it is my opinion the Kassia (a name
quite possibly derived from a plant mentioned in the Old Testament--Ex. 30:
24; Ps. 44: 8; Eze. 27: 19) was the saint¹s lay name, under which she earned
her reputation for erudition and as a poetess. Since it is a common
practice in convents to give nuns male names with female endings (e.g., the
abbess of our Mount of Olives Convent is named Moisea), it may well have
been that at her tonsure Cassia was given a female form of Cassian (i.e.,
Cassiana), after St. John Cassian.

I hope to contribute more on this topic as time and access to sources
permit.

Sincerely,

Isaac Lambertsen. Dear Eugenia and Polychronius,

To add further to the discussion on St. Kassiana, I am contributing the
following translation and personal thoughts.

Here is an excerpt translated from *A Historical Survey of the Hymnographers
& Hymnography of the Greek Church*, by the renowned hagiologist and church
historian Archbishop Philaret (Gumilevsky) of Chernigov (St. Petersburg:
Tuzov Press, 1902), pp. 272-275:

Kassia, Kassiana, Eikasia. In manner of life a pious nun; by education, a
learned woman; by birth, a noble virgin. She lived at the beginning of the
9th century, during the reign of Emperor Theophilus and his successor.
Kodinus, describing the antiquities of Constantinople, mentions the
monastery of Eikasia, which was founded by this virgin nun. ³The Monastery
of Eikasia,² he writes, ³was built by the virgin Eikasia, a pious nun,
beautiful of face and of mind.² Zonaras describes the circumstances which
led to Cassia¹s forsaking the world and building the monastery.
³Theophilus,² he writes, ³intending to choose a consort for himself,
summoned eleven beautiful virgins, among whom was the virgin Kassia, who
surpassed the others in beauty, and was as learned as she was nobly born.
Theophilus examined them, holding in his hand a golden apple which he would
give to the one who pleased him most. When he came to Eikasia he said,
marveling at her beauty: ŒAll that is evil hath come from a woman.¹
Eikasia, meekly, her cheeks blushing red with chastity, replied: ŒBut from a
woman all that is more sublime hath come.¹ Defeated by the words of the
virgin, Theophilus walked away and gave the golden apple to Theodora, a
native of Paphlagonia. Not having gained a royal marriage, Eikasia
established the monastery which bears her name, in which she lived for
herself and for the Lord. Excelling in her education, she wrote letters in
which there is no trace of pedantry or pleasantry. Thus did she reach the
end of her life, having betrothed herself to the heavenly King instead of an
earthly king, and having inherited the heavenly kingdom instead of an
earthly kingdom.² Leo Grammaticus records the same incident in his history
of Theophilus.
Kodinus says that during the reigns of Theophilus and his son, Michael,
Kassia composed many canons, stichera and other works, which are quite
marvelous. The same is said by the early 11th century anonymous author who
describes events of the past.
In the services of the Church we no longer see canons ascribed to Kassia,
except for one canon only, that of Great Saturday, which, however, was
reworked by Mark, Bishop of Otranto. This is what Theodore Prodromos writes
of the latter circumstance in his explanation of the canon of Great
Saturday: ³Through Ode V, this canon is the work of Mark, Bishop of Otranto;
but Odes VI through IX are by the great hymnographer Cosmas [of Maiuma];
furthermore, as we know from unwritten tradition, long before [Mark of
Otranto] a certain wise and chaste virgin, Kassia, was the composer of these
hymns, i.e. Odes I through V, i.e. she completed the canon. Later men who
edited the canons, considering it improper to attach to the hymns of a woman
odes of that ascetic Cosmas, commissioned Mark to compose troparia, while
retaining the former irmoi. This tradition is quite plausible. For Mark
did not incorporate the initial letters of the irmoi in his acrostic,
although to do so would have been to his advantage. For the initial letter
Œkappa¹ of the irmos Œkymati thalasses¹ [ŒVolnoyu morskoyu¹] and the letter
Œsigma¹ of the next irmos, ŒSe ton epi ydatOn¹ [ŒTebe na vodakh¹] are taken
from the acrostic; but he, setting the irmoi aside as the work of another
and not of himself, wrote the troparia from Œkappa¹ ŒKyrie Thee mou¹
[ŒGospodi Bozhe moi¹], and from Œsigma¹ ŒSymbola tes taphes sou¹ [ŒThe
tokens of Thy burial¹].² It is hence evident that the canon (i.e, through
Ode V) and the irmoi are not the work of Mark. Moreover, one can see this
from the fact that the words ³but we like the maidens² are included in the
irmos of Ode I. That the subject of this verse is a maiden clearly
indicates that the ode belongs not to a man, but to a woman. Since there
were two choirs during the exodus of the Israelites who originally sang this
ode--one consisting of men, the other of women--she, leaving aside the choir
of men, since she is a woman, said, ³we sing like the maidens². Yea, and
the very acrostic of the canon is dual, and, so to say, like twin-peaked
Parnassus. For the canon of Great Saturday was once a tetradion [a four-ode
hymnic composition]: its acrostic was comprised of only part of an iamb,
i.e., ³prosabbaton the, sabbaton melpO mega²--²The pre-Saturday. I hymn the
Great Saturday.² Half of its iamb applies to Great Friday, i.e. the
pre-Saturday, and the rest applies to Saturday, i.e. I hymn the Great
Saturday. But when the canon was continued and a full canon was made out of
the tetradion, the acrostic was also extended, and instead of the incomplete
iamb a complete one was made, i.e. ³kai simeron de sabbaton melpO mega². In
the Slavonic Triodion, one reads in the superscription of the canon: ³The
canon of Great Saturday, from Ode I to Ode VI, is the work of Mark, Bishop
of Hydrous. The irmoi are the work of a certain woman named Cassia. The
Odes from VI to the end are the work of kyr Cosmas.² Thus, in our present
canon of the work of Cassia only the irmoi remain.
As regards other canons, following Prodromos we must admit that it is
probable that certain portions of them, as is the case with the canon of
Great Saturday, are retained in our present canons, undetected by later
readers.
Among the stichera of Cassia, we find the following in the divine services:
1) for the Nativity of Christ, ³When Augustus reigned alone upon the
earth...²; 2) on Great and Holy Wednesday, ³O Lord, the woman who had fallen
into many sins...²; 3) feast of the martyrs Gurius, Salmonas & Habib,
November 15th (not attributed in the Slavonic Menaion, but attributed in the
Greek) ³Edessa rejoiceth...²; feast of the Nativity of the Forerunner, June
24th (³Today is fulfilled the saying of Isaiah...²; and for the feast of the
martyrs Eustratius & companions, December 13th (Let us hymn and piously
praise the God-bearing martyrs...²).
Having said that Kassia composed many stichera, Kodinus adds: ³such are
those of the harlot and the ointment, for all of these belong to her.² The
words of Kodinus indicate that he knew of many stichera written by Kassia
for the penitent woman, and not merely the one which has come down to us.
As regards the worth of the stichera reliably attributed to Kassia, one
must admit that the first two [above] truly deserve our admiration: as much
as the former is solemn and triumphal, so much is the latter full of a
profound sense of contrition. In the latter, Kassia has quite faithfully
expressed the feelings which filled the soul of the penitent sinful woman
who washed the Savior¹s feet with tears; to express such feelings of one who
greatly loved the Lord, Who was rejected by others, Kassia had to sense in
her own soul the fullness of bitter contrition over the corruption of our
soul, she herself had to be filled with that trusting love for the Savior of
sinners, for which men condemned both the sinful woman and the Savior of
sinners. ³Accept my fountains of tears. O Thou Who pourest forth the
waters from the clouds of the sea, bend Thine ear to the sighs of my heart;
O Thou who bowed down the heavens in Thine ineffable abasement, permit me to
kiss and wipe with the hairs of my head Thine all-pure feet, the noise
whereof Eve heard at noonday, and hid herself in fear. My sins are
many...but who can fathom the depths of Thy judgments? O Savior of souls,
my Savior, Who hast infinite mercy, reject me not, thy handmaid.² One must
say that there are not many who are capable of such profound contrition.

The entry on Kassia in *The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium* also includes
the information that Kassiane is identical to Kassia and Eikasia: ³KASSIA,
also Kassiane, Eikasia, and other forms of the name, poet....² The entry
cites an article by E. Catafygiotu Topping, which appeared in the "Greek
Orthodox Theological Review", Vol. 26 (1981), pp. 201-209, which someone may
have easy access to, and may contain more information of interest to our
group.

The only Greek-language Church calendar of the saints I have in my library,
the *Agioreitikos Epitrapezios Imerodeiktis, Etous 1977*, by the Monk
Dorotheos of the Skete of Xenophontos (published for Mount Athos in
Thessalonica), confirms the date of commemoration for St. Kassiane as 7
September (O.S.): ³Kassianes tes poietrias,...osia.² (The commemoration of
Kassiana the poetess,...monastic saint.)

Some years ago, I was able to consult St. Justin (Popovich¹s) Lives of the
Saints (in Serbian) concerning this saint. When I am able, I will do so
again. If memory serves, he also confirms the sanctity of St. Kassiana and
the date of her commemoration.

As to the variable forms of the name, it is my opinion the Kassia (a name
quite possibly derived from a plant mentioned in the Old Testament--Ex. 30:
24; Ps. 44: 8; Eze. 27: 19) was the saint¹s lay name, under which she earned
her reputation for erudition and as a poetess. Since it is a common
practice in convents to give nuns male names with female endings (e.g., the
abbess of our Mount of Olives Convent is named Moisea), it may well have
been that at her tonsure Cassia was given a female form of Cassian (i.e.,
Cassiana), after St. John Cassian.

I hope to contribute more on this topic as time and access to sources
permit.

Sincerely,

Isaac Lambertsen.