The Eleventh Eothinon
Two Sermons
|
PREDICTION
By
St. Cyril of Alexandria
(c. 378-444):
Book
12 on the Gospel of John
Christ
puts to Peter the question whether he loved Him more than they, and repeats
it three times; and Peter answers in the affirmative, and confesses his love
for Him, saying that Christ Himself was a witness to his state of mind. And,
after each confession, he heard Christ telling him in different words to take
thought of His sheep, as He calls mankind in metaphore. May not someone
reasonably ask, Why is it that Christ only asks Simon, though the other
disciples were present? And what is the meaning of the words, Feed My lambs,
and the like? We reply, that the inspired Peter had indeed already been
elected, together with the other disciples, to be an Apostle of God (for our
Lord Jesus Christ Himself named them Apostles), but, when the events
connected with the plot of the Jews against Him came to pass, Peter’s fall
came betwixt; for the inspired Peter was seized with uncontrollable fear, and
thrice denied the Lord. Christ succours His erring disciple, and elicits by
diverse questions his thrice-repeated confession, counterbalancing, as it
were, his error thereby, and making his recovery as obvious as his fall. For
a transgression which was verbal, and only in mere words supplied ground of
accusation against him, could surely be wiped out in the same fashion as it
was committed. Therefore, by his thrice-repeated confession the
thrice-repeated denial of the blessed Peter was done away, and by the saying
of our Lord, "Feed my lambs," we must understand a renewal as it
were of the apostleship, already given unto him, washing away the disgrace of
his fall that came betwixt, and obliterating his faint-heartedness that arose
from human infirmity. With great kindness and tenderness our Lord Jesus
Christ testifies to the fervour of the love which His disciple bore unto Him,
and the high honour of his piety and endurance, tried to the uttermost. For
He tells him clearly what would be the outcome of his apostleship, and what
would be the end of his life. For He foretold unto him, that one would take
him to a place whither he would not go; that is, in which his persecutors, or
those who condemned him to the penalty of death, had fixed the cross. But he
would never have attained to so glorious a death, nor have been crucified for
Christ, had he not followed His injunction to take charge of the sheep of His
fold, and, having the power of the love of Christ firmly rooted in his heart,
called to obedience those who have been ensnared into error by the wiles of
the devil. We may see then hereby, that our Lord Jesus Christ well, and of
necessity, foretold Peter's end, that by the doom that he was to suffer he
might in a manner put the seal of truth upon the words he spake unto Him:
Yea, Lord; Thou knowest that I love Thee. Christ, then, adds to what He had
said, the words "Follow Me," which bear the signification they so
commonly have of following Him as a disciple, and also hinting darkly, as I
think, at something else; or meaning, Tread in the track of the perils
through which I have passed, and walk in the same path, by deed and word
succouring the souls of those who are called, and hesitate not to encounter
death itself upon the cross, which, Christ says, will be your lot when you
reach old age; not suffering Peter to be alarmed before the time, but
deferring for a long season the approach of the king of terrors. Peter, then,
observing the beloved disciple, longed for information, and sought to know in
what perils John would be involved in the time to come, and in what way John’s
life would end. But the question seemed unseemly, and it appeared to savour
rather of a meddlesome and inquisitive spirit, that, after having learnt what
was to happen unto himself, he should seek to know the future fate of others.
The man who is wise and prudent, if he is doomed to die, will not trouble
himself as to whether another will be saved alive or not. Peter's speech here
seems to imply that the blessed Peter anxiously desired to know what was
destined to be John's fate, as he would have considered it a consolation in
his own sufferings if John were surely fated to die by torture, either of the same
or of some other kind. And do not be amazed at this, but rather take the
following thought into consideration. It is common to us, however profitless
it be, to like at times not to be seen to be the only ones who are suffering,
or who are destined to undergo some dreadful fate, but to prefer to hear that
others have either suffered it already or are expected to suffer it in the
future. And let no one who is of a teachable spirit and loveth instruction,
S. John implies, blame him that wrote this book because out of many thousands
of the marvelous deeds that God hath wrought have these that are recorded
been taken, and he has not recorded the rest. The preachers of the Gospels
have recorded the more remarkable of them, in all probability, and such that
their hearers could best be confirmed by them in incorruptible faith, and
receive instruction in morality and doctrine; so that, conspicuous for the
orthodoxy of their faith, and glorified by manifold works that make for
righteousness, they might meet at the very gates of the city above, and being
joined unto the Church of the firstborn in the faith, might at length attain
unto the Kingdom of Heaven in Christ; through Whom and
|
RESTORATION
By
Fr. Richard Demetrius Andrews (2010)
http://stgeorgegoc.org/pastors-corner/fr-ricks-sermons/11th-eothinon-do-you-love-christ
The
first thing we should notice about the Eleventh Eothinon is that it consists of two main sections. The first
(vv.15-19) is the restoration of Peter; and the second (vv.20-25) focuses on
the beloved disciple, John. Let’s direct our attention on the first section.
It is called the restoration of Peter because he denied Christ three times
during the latter’s trial. Here, Christ asks Peter three times, ‘Do you love
me?’ Each time Peter responds, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love You.’ This
exchange between Jesus and Peter is a prime example of how the English
translation fails to capture the depth of the original Greek. The first two
times Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him, Jesus says, ‘Agapas me,’ a conjugation of the Greek verb for ‘agapeo.’ The notation in the Orthodox
Study Bible says ‘agape’ is ‘the
highest form of sacrificial and self-emptying love, the kind of love God has
for man and that man can develop only through maturing in God’s grace.’
However, Peter answers Jesus each time with ‘philo se.’ The study bible notes that this is ‘a lesser from of
love, akin to brotherly affection.’ When Chirst asks Peter the third time, ‘Do
you love me’’, He says ‘phileis me’,
‘condescending to Peter’s weakness and accepting whatever love Peter is able
to offer’ (OSB, p. 1467). What’s the message to us in this part of the
passage? Well, that Christ (and the Church) always sets the bar high for us
to learn the goal or ideal of our existence. Yet, at the same time,
pastorally, Christ knows that we are imperfect, weak and sinful. Thus, He and
his priests seek to meet us at whatever level we are and to lift us up, just
like Christ is lifting Adam and Eve out of their graves in the icon of the
Resurrection. This is emphasized by Christ’s use of ‘arnia’ or ‘lambs’ in verse 15 and then using ‘provata’ or ‘sheep’ in verses 16 and
17. In other words, Jesus is restoring Peter for the purpose of taking care
of His flock of believers helping them grow from little, fragile lambs to
strong, mature sheep, sometimes ‘tending’ them (vv.15,17) and sometimes ‘feeding’
them (v.16). In addition, ‘Christ knows that Peter will develop agape-love for Him, as Peter will
eventually accept martyrdom for His sake (OSB). Just like Jesus told Peter to
follow Him after prophesying his martyrdom, Jesus also tells us to follow Him
as He takes us on a journey to know and grow in His love, learning how to
live a life of greater and greater self-sacrifice. Moving on to the second
section of our passage, as Peter is following Jesus, he turns around and sees
the beloved disciple also following Jesus. We know that the unnamed disciple
is the author of this gospel, John the Beloved, also known in the Orthodox
Tradition as John the Apostle, Evangelist and Theologian. When Peter sees
John, he asks Christ, what about this man? (v.21). In other words, Peter is
asking is John going to die too and if he does, how will it happen? Jesus
replies, ‘If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?’ You
follow Me’ (v.22). Basically, Jesus is saying to Peter it’s none of your
business what happens to John; just follow Me. Christ says the same thing to
us. Stop looking around at everyone else, worrying about their lives,
critiquing what they are doing, trying to predict or judge their salvation.
Jesus is telling us we must concentrate on our own lives, focusing on what we
need to do in order to follow Him to the kingdom of heaven. It’s kind of like
driving a car. When we start texting or talking on our cell phone, we stop
paying attention to what’s going on around us. Thus, we put ourselves in
danger of running off the road or causing an accident. We must pay attention
to what’s right in front of us, and how we can safely get to our destination.
Now, the last part of the second section is an affirmation that indeed John
the Beloved disciple is the author of this gospel and that it is a true
gospel. Perhaps his disciples or scribes are distinguishing John’s testimony
compared to some other false gospels that were circulating at the time. In
addition, we learn that John’s gospel, and most likely the other gospels of
Matthew, Mark and Luke, only contain a portion of Jesus’ teachings and
miracles. In other words, even though there is much more, the gospel still
contains what is essential for us to learn and apply in our own life to
believe and to be saved. It also speaks to the spoken tradition within the
Church at that time and still to this day. We Orthodox Christians know well
that there is much more to our Faith and Tradition than what is written in
the Scriptures. In conclusion, let us remember and know that Christ is asking
each one of us every day, ‘Do you love me?’ Do we love Christ so much that we
are willing to sacrifice everything in order to keep following Him? Each day
Jesus is telling us to tend and feed His lambs and sheep. Are we taking care of
the people entrusted to us, being good shepherds to our children,
grandchildren, godchildren, our fellow Christians and those who are in need?
Or are we distracted with other people’s lives like someone reading a gossip
magazine or newspaper looking for juicy tidbits that fail to fill the
emptiness of our own lives. Christ is saying, ‘What is that to you? Follow
Me!’ Amen.
with
Whom be glory to God the Father, with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever.
Amen.
|
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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 – 10/27/16. 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.
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