Archbishop Elpidophoros of America presided over the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of Saint Demetrios the Great-Martyr and Myrrh-Streamer at Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Astoria, New York, on October 26, 2023.
In his speech, Archbishop Elpidophoros noted “The Holy Great-Martyr Demetrios is a manifestation of God’s answer to the violence that the world cannot seem to escape. We see it in Ukraine. We see it in Israel. And we see it in Gaza, where the tiny Orthodox Community of Saint Porphyios is suffering and dying along with everyone else. Violence is met with even more violence, and the cycle goes on taking more lives and creating more inhuman suffering” and continued “We live in difficult times. We need the healing grace of Saint Demetrios now more than ever. His passion upon earth, in imitation of our Savior Jesus Christ, is a source of strength, as well as a cure for both body and soul. Let us cleave to him in these times and in every time, and find for ourselves and for our loved ones, the valor and fortitude to live our lives with faith, hope, and love”.
Read below the speech of Archbishop Elpidophoros of America
Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ of Saint Demetrios Cathedral,
Ὢ τοῦ παραδόξου θαύματος! O most glorious wonder!
With this poetic exclamation, we began our hymns of praise last night to your Patron Saint, the Great-Martyr and Myrrh-Streamer Demetrios. His Feast and name are praised around the world for all pious and Orthodox Christians. He is the light that shone forth in Thessaloniki at the end of the Great Roman Persecution, shining brilliantly so that the generations to come after him – who would live in peace under the reign of Constantine the Great – would never forget how the love of Christ can utterly transform us. His martyrdom is a paradigm of virtue and courage. And his memory is deeply treasured in the annual liturgical cycle of the Church.
As the Prophecy proclaims:
Ἐξέστη ὁ οὐρανὸς ἐπὶ τούτῳ καὶ ἔφριξεν ἐπὶ πλεῖον σφόδρα.
Heaven was amazed because of him, and exceedingly astonished! *
And how could the Heavens not be struck with perplexity and wonder, at the sight of this Champion of God enduring so many torments for the sake of his Creator? Just as we chant on Holy and Great Friday:
Πᾶσα ἡ Κτίσις, ἠλλοιοῦτο φόβῳ, θεωροῦσά σε, ἐν σταυρῷ κρεμάμενον Χριστέ….
All creation was changed by fear and dread, when it saw You, O Christ, crucified upon the Cross….†
The Passion – the Sufferings – of the Lord were too much for Creation to behold, and so also is the ‘Holy Week’ of Saint Demetrios terrible to bear; for he suffered with His Christ. His side was pierced by many spears before he died, and so we chanted:
Ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ λογχευθείς, ὁ τρισμάκαρ Δημήτριος….
For Christ, you were pierced, O Thrice-blesséd Demetrios…. ‡
Indeed, my beloved Christians, Saint Demetrios was stabbed while yet alive, unlike the Lord whose side was pierced as proof of His death. As the Evangelist John tells us of this moment at the foot of the Cross:
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Rather, one of the soldiers stabbed His side with a lance, and there was an instant outpouring of blood and water.§
The blood and the water symbolize the Holy Mysteries of Eucharist and Baptism, by which we are re-born into the Kingdom of Heaven, and nourished throughout our lives at the breast of our Holy Mother Church.
But Saint Demetrios endured this piercing of his flesh while he was yet alive. Why? Because from his living faith in Christ, and his loving faith in the Lord, he was shown forth to be a wellspring of healings for the world. That is why we gather today in this magnificent Cathedral dedicated to his name.
The Holy Great Martyr Demetrios is a manifestation of God’s answer to the violence that the world cannot seem to escape. We see it in Ukraine. We see it in Israel. And we see it in Gaza, where the tiny Orthodox Community of Saint Porphyios is suffering and dying along with everyone else. Violence is met with even more violence, and the cycle goes on taking more lives and creating more inhuman suffering.
Saint Demetrios accepted the violent end to his life – without surrender or resistance, and without antagonism. He willingly gave up his life for His Lord, because he knew that more violence would solve nothing, and his own life would continue. What he could not have foreseen (except by God’s grace), was how his sacrifice and willing death on behalf of his Lord would live on throughout the ages. Even down to our own time, in this place, and in this Divine Liturgy today. Thus, the blessing of this day comes in the face of our violent world, as a harbinger of peace, of hope, of mercy, of healing, and above all else, of love.
My beloved Christians,
We live in difficult times. We need the healing grace of Saint Demetrios now more than ever. His passion upon earth, in imitation of our Savior Jesus Christ, is a source of strength, as well as a cure for both body and soul. Let us cleave to him in these times and in every time, and find for ourselves and for our loved ones, the valor and fortitude to live our lives with faith, hope and love.
Ταῖς αὐτοῦ ἁγίαις πρεσβείαις, ὁ Θεὸς, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς. Ἀμήν.
*Jeremiah 2:12 (LXX).
†Apostichon of the Matins of the Great and Holy Friday, the Service of the Holy and Pure Passion.
‡Sticheron of the Vespers of Saint Demetrios.
§John 19:34,35.
Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
