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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Hill Country Homilies. Weekly homilies from Holy Annunciation

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<v Speaker 1>Orthodox Church in Liberty Hill, Texas. Holy Annunciation is an

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<v Speaker 1>old calendar Orthodox church sharing the faith of the Apostles

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<v Speaker 1>and the love of Christ with all who seek His truth. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>let's listen to this week's homily.

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<v Speaker 2>And of the Father and Son, the Holy Spirit Layers,

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<v Speaker 2>Jesus Christ, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Tonight

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<v Speaker 2>we commemorate Saint Stephen the New, a confessor and martyr

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<v Speaker 2>who lived during one of the darkest periods in church history,

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<v Speaker 2>the Iconoclastic Persecution of the eighth century. Saint Stephen was

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<v Speaker 2>born in Constantinople in the year seven point fifteen to

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<v Speaker 2>pious Orthodox parents who had dedicated him to God the

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<v Speaker 2>Blackerne Church. He grew up during the reign of Leo

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<v Speaker 2>the Assarium, when a terrible heresy seized upon the Empire,

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<v Speaker 2>and this heresy denied the veneration of the Holy icons

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<v Speaker 2>and its adherents, who took much of their lead from

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<v Speaker 2>the Muslim invaders that were pressuring the edges of the

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<v Speaker 2>Empire at that time. But with imperial support, the adherence

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<v Speaker 2>to the heresy of iconoclasm controlled the highest positions in

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<v Speaker 2>both the Church and the state. And this is so

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<v Speaker 2>important for us to understand because I think many people

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<v Speaker 2>who call themselves Orthodox have forgotten that heresy can take

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<v Speaker 2>root in the highest places of the Church. We can

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<v Speaker 2>want to go any further back from the First Ecumenical

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<v Speaker 2>Council and Arianism, where the heresy of Aryan was confessed

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<v Speaker 2>by eighty percent of the Orthodox bishops, so called Orthodox bishops.

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<v Speaker 2>But yet when assembled in council under the guys of

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<v Speaker 2>the Holy Spirit, the true faith, the Trinitarian faith, was confessed.

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<v Speaker 2>Never about numbers, It's about truth. And when heresy takes

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<v Speaker 2>root inside of the Church, standing for the truth becomes

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<v Speaker 2>more than just our obligation. It becomes a balance upon

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<v Speaker 2>wishing us weigh the truth of God against the suffering

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<v Speaker 2>that may be set us if we stand for that truth.

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<v Speaker 2>When he was just sixteen, Saint Stephen's family fled to

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<v Speaker 2>Vithenia and he was placed under the spiritual guidance of

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<v Speaker 2>the Monk John on Mount Exensios, where he labored for

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<v Speaker 2>over fifteen years as the attendant for the Elder John.

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<v Speaker 2>And after the Elder John reposed, Saint Stephen himself became

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<v Speaker 2>an abbot founding a monastery that became a beacon of

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<v Speaker 2>the Orthodox faith. But the persecution of the Iconic duels

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<v Speaker 2>those who supported the veneration of Icons intensified under Constantine Kapranamus,

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<v Speaker 2>who was an even fiercer enemy of Orthodoxy than the

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<v Speaker 2>emperors had come before. And Kapronamus convened a false council

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<v Speaker 2>of three hundred and fifty eight bishops that pronounced an

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<v Speaker 2>anathema on the veneration of the Holy Icons, and the Emperor,

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<v Speaker 2>hearing of Saint Stephen's fame and his open encouragement of

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<v Speaker 2>icon veneration, determined that they would either convert him to

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<v Speaker 2>iconoclasm or he would have to be destroyed. And so

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<v Speaker 2>they tried with bribes, and they tried with threats, and

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<v Speaker 2>they tried slander or even falsely accusing him of sin

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<v Speaker 2>with a nun who heard her self died under torture.

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<v Speaker 2>Rather than beare Falt's witness against Saint Stephen, they imprisoned him,

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<v Speaker 2>they destroyed his monastery, they exiled him to the islands

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<v Speaker 2>of the Sea of Moman. But he would not compromise,

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<v Speaker 2>and at his trial he boldly demonstrated the logic of

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<v Speaker 2>icon veneration. And he said, just as trampling the Emperor's

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<v Speaker 2>image on a coin dishonors the Emperor himself, so dishonoring

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<v Speaker 2>the icons of Christ dishonors Christ. And to prove his point,

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<v Speaker 2>he spat on the Emperor's coin and trampled it under

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<v Speaker 2>his feet. And he was seized and imprisoned for doing

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<v Speaker 2>that exact act, proving his very point. And even though

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<v Speaker 2>he was based in prison with three hundred and forty

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<v Speaker 2>other confessors of the faith, Saint Stephen organized prayer and

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<v Speaker 2>worship in the prison, according to the typical on basically

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<v Speaker 2>changing the dungeon into its own monastery and finding the

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<v Speaker 2>Emperor sent soldiers who dragged him out, dragged him with

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<v Speaker 2>them through the streets, and eventually murdered him and threw

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<v Speaker 2>his body into a common pit of criminals. But the

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<v Speaker 2>heavens testified to his holiness. It said that a fiery

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<v Speaker 2>cloud appeared over Mount Auxentios, and deadly hail descended upon

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<v Speaker 2>the capitol where the Emperor had taken these gross steps.

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<v Speaker 2>But brothers and sisters, here's what we must learn from

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<v Speaker 2>Saint Stephen. When the world pressures us to compromise our

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<v Speaker 2>orthodox faith, and they will because they don't accept the

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<v Speaker 2>things that we say should be. And whether that pressure

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<v Speaker 2>is in the form of flattery or threats, or inconveniences,

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<v Speaker 2>we must respond with the same clarity and courage that

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<v Speaker 2>Saint Stephen showed to his accusers. In our own time,

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<v Speaker 2>we face pressures to water down our faith, to accept

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<v Speaker 2>false of humanism, to embrace innovations that contradict the holy tradition,

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<v Speaker 2>andike the iconoclass who held a false council with hundreds

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<v Speaker 2>of bitious. Today's errors often come dressed in ecclesiastical clothing.

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<v Speaker 2>So this week I challenge you to identify one area

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<v Speaker 2>where you have been tempted to compromise on the faith.

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<v Speaker 2>Maybe it's keeping silent when modernist errors are spoken, or

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<v Speaker 2>being asked or forced to participate in something that conflicts

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<v Speaker 2>with our orthodox conscience, like Saint Stephen at his trial,

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<v Speaker 2>And challenge you to speak the truth clearly, even if

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<v Speaker 2>at first it can only be done in your own

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<v Speaker 2>home or among those that you trust, or if you

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<v Speaker 2>cannot yet speak, at least refuse to participate in the compromise. Remember,

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<v Speaker 2>Saint Stephen didn't just argue theology, he physically demonstrated his

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<v Speaker 2>conviction when he trampled on the coin of the Emperor.

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<v Speaker 2>Our faith must be equally concrete and equally embodied by

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<v Speaker 2>our actions. The prayers of Saint Stephen the new strength

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<v Speaker 2>in us. Remain faithful Christ's Church, whatever the cost to

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<v Speaker 2>ourselves may be. In the name of Father and Sun,

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<v Speaker 2>Holy Spirit. Amen.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to Hill Country homilies. For more information,

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<v Speaker 1>visit Holy Nunciation Orthodox Church at www dot Denunciation, tx

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<v Speaker 1>dot com, and please join us again next week.