Speaker 1: Welcome to Hill Country Homilies. Weekly homilies from Holy Annunciation
Speaker 1: Orthodox Church in Liberty Hill, Texas. Holy Annunciation is an
Speaker 1: old calendar Orthodox church sharing the faith of the Apostles
Speaker 1: and the love of Christ with all who seek His truth. Now,
Speaker 1: let's listen to this week's homily.
Speaker 2: And of the Father and Son, the Holy Spirit Layers,
Speaker 2: Jesus Christ, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Tonight
Speaker 2: we commemorate Saint Stephen the New, a confessor and martyr
Speaker 2: who lived during one of the darkest periods in church history,
Speaker 2: the Iconoclastic Persecution of the eighth century. Saint Stephen was
Speaker 2: born in Constantinople in the year seven point fifteen to
Speaker 2: pious Orthodox parents who had dedicated him to God the
Speaker 2: Blackerne Church. He grew up during the reign of Leo
Speaker 2: the Assarium, when a terrible heresy seized upon the Empire,
Speaker 2: and this heresy denied the veneration of the Holy icons
Speaker 2: and its adherents, who took much of their lead from
Speaker 2: the Muslim invaders that were pressuring the edges of the
Speaker 2: Empire at that time. But with imperial support, the adherence
Speaker 2: to the heresy of iconoclasm controlled the highest positions in
Speaker 2: both the Church and the state. And this is so
Speaker 2: important for us to understand because I think many people
Speaker 2: who call themselves Orthodox have forgotten that heresy can take
Speaker 2: root in the highest places of the Church. We can
Speaker 2: want to go any further back from the First Ecumenical
Speaker 2: Council and Arianism, where the heresy of Aryan was confessed
Speaker 2: by eighty percent of the Orthodox bishops, so called Orthodox bishops.
Speaker 2: But yet when assembled in council under the guys of
Speaker 2: the Holy Spirit, the true faith, the Trinitarian faith, was confessed.
Speaker 2: Never about numbers, It's about truth. And when heresy takes
Speaker 2: root inside of the Church, standing for the truth becomes
Speaker 2: more than just our obligation. It becomes a balance upon
Speaker 2: wishing us weigh the truth of God against the suffering
Speaker 2: that may be set us if we stand for that truth.
Speaker 2: When he was just sixteen, Saint Stephen's family fled to
Speaker 2: Vithenia and he was placed under the spiritual guidance of
Speaker 2: the Monk John on Mount Exensios, where he labored for
Speaker 2: over fifteen years as the attendant for the Elder John.
Speaker 2: And after the Elder John reposed, Saint Stephen himself became
Speaker 2: an abbot founding a monastery that became a beacon of
Speaker 2: the Orthodox faith. But the persecution of the Iconic duels
Speaker 2: those who supported the veneration of Icons intensified under Constantine Kapranamus,
Speaker 2: who was an even fiercer enemy of Orthodoxy than the
Speaker 2: emperors had come before. And Kapronamus convened a false council
Speaker 2: of three hundred and fifty eight bishops that pronounced an
Speaker 2: anathema on the veneration of the Holy Icons, and the Emperor,
Speaker 2: hearing of Saint Stephen's fame and his open encouragement of
Speaker 2: icon veneration, determined that they would either convert him to
Speaker 2: iconoclasm or he would have to be destroyed. And so
Speaker 2: they tried with bribes, and they tried with threats, and
Speaker 2: they tried slander or even falsely accusing him of sin
Speaker 2: with a nun who heard her self died under torture.
Speaker 2: Rather than beare Falt's witness against Saint Stephen, they imprisoned him,
Speaker 2: they destroyed his monastery, they exiled him to the islands
Speaker 2: of the Sea of Moman. But he would not compromise,
Speaker 2: and at his trial he boldly demonstrated the logic of
Speaker 2: icon veneration. And he said, just as trampling the Emperor's
Speaker 2: image on a coin dishonors the Emperor himself, so dishonoring
Speaker 2: the icons of Christ dishonors Christ. And to prove his point,
Speaker 2: he spat on the Emperor's coin and trampled it under
Speaker 2: his feet. And he was seized and imprisoned for doing
Speaker 2: that exact act, proving his very point. And even though
Speaker 2: he was based in prison with three hundred and forty
Speaker 2: other confessors of the faith, Saint Stephen organized prayer and
Speaker 2: worship in the prison, according to the typical on basically
Speaker 2: changing the dungeon into its own monastery and finding the
Speaker 2: Emperor sent soldiers who dragged him out, dragged him with
Speaker 2: them through the streets, and eventually murdered him and threw
Speaker 2: his body into a common pit of criminals. But the
Speaker 2: heavens testified to his holiness. It said that a fiery
Speaker 2: cloud appeared over Mount Auxentios, and deadly hail descended upon
Speaker 2: the capitol where the Emperor had taken these gross steps.
Speaker 2: But brothers and sisters, here's what we must learn from
Speaker 2: Saint Stephen. When the world pressures us to compromise our
Speaker 2: orthodox faith, and they will because they don't accept the
Speaker 2: things that we say should be. And whether that pressure
Speaker 2: is in the form of flattery or threats, or inconveniences,
Speaker 2: we must respond with the same clarity and courage that
Speaker 2: Saint Stephen showed to his accusers. In our own time,
Speaker 2: we face pressures to water down our faith, to accept
Speaker 2: false of humanism, to embrace innovations that contradict the holy tradition,
Speaker 2: andike the iconoclass who held a false council with hundreds
Speaker 2: of bitious. Today's errors often come dressed in ecclesiastical clothing.
Speaker 2: So this week I challenge you to identify one area
Speaker 2: where you have been tempted to compromise on the faith.
Speaker 2: Maybe it's keeping silent when modernist errors are spoken, or
Speaker 2: being asked or forced to participate in something that conflicts
Speaker 2: with our orthodox conscience, like Saint Stephen at his trial,
Speaker 2: And challenge you to speak the truth clearly, even if
Speaker 2: at first it can only be done in your own
Speaker 2: home or among those that you trust, or if you
Speaker 2: cannot yet speak, at least refuse to participate in the compromise. Remember,
Speaker 2: Saint Stephen didn't just argue theology, he physically demonstrated his
Speaker 2: conviction when he trampled on the coin of the Emperor.
Speaker 2: Our faith must be equally concrete and equally embodied by
Speaker 2: our actions. The prayers of Saint Stephen the new strength
Speaker 2: in us. Remain faithful Christ's Church, whatever the cost to
Speaker 2: ourselves may be. In the name of Father and Sun,
Speaker 2: Holy Spirit. Amen.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to Hill Country homilies. For more information,
Speaker 1: visit Holy Nunciation Orthodox Church at www dot Denunciation, tx
Speaker 1: dot com, and please join us again next week.