THE CANON OF SAINT ANDREW OF CRETE – A CALL TO REPENTANCE
As you can see and hear for yourselves, beloved brothers and sisters, the great Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete is exclusively filled with the spirit of profound repentance. It was compiled by the great saint of the Orthodox Church Saint Andrew of Crete, and in this canon he judges himself in everything, humbles himself, and as the worst of sinners asks God for the remission of his sins.
It sometimes happens that a person suddenly wakes up, aroused by his conscience, especially when he has until then led a dissipated life, not having thought about God, or his soul, or about eternity. And then all of a sudden the Light of truth shines upon his soul, and in this Light he sees himself in all his wretchedness. At this point the Church comes to meet this sinner who has realized his extreme irresponsibility and guilt with examples of other people who repented and were able to raise themselves up from the abyss of sin right up to heaven. Therefore, a person who repents should never fall into despair. He needs to humble himself when his conscience is pricked by his sins and his soul is afflicted. He needs to humble himself before God, realize that he is unfit in all respects and good for nothing, but never despair!
We heard in this canon about St. Mary of Egypt. It seemed that she could not have fallen any lower than she did, having completely desecrated her feminine honor and dignity, but repentance made her a bride of Christ, as the Church says. The Venerable Zosimas, himself a great saint, saw how she crossed the Jordan River as if it were dry land, and in prayer she rose up off the ground toward heaven. This is what repentance can accomplish in anyone who truly repents.
The repentance of St. Mary of Egypt was prolonged – she may have sinned a long time, but she spent even more time repenting until she became an ‘earthly angel and a heavenly man’. A different example is the wise thief who repented only a few hours before he died on the cross in the midst of cruel suffering, and yet what did he hear? He merely asked the Lord not to forget him, but to remember him when He comes into His Kingdom. And, as we have said many times before, the Lord loves to give us more than what we ask, and the thief heard this reply: “Today [not when I come, but TODAY] you will be with Me in Paradise” (Lk. 23:43). Having this example of how a person who had sinned all his life but came to his senses at the very end, an Orthodox person has no right to despair or fear that his repentance will be rejected when he knows that the repentance of the wise thief was accepted.
Here we will also remember St. John Chrysostom, whom the Church calls the ‘preacher of repentance’, in that he liked to emphasize that where there is repentance, there is undoubtedly the mercy of God. He said that the Lord binds His mercy with a person’s repentance. Not without reason, already in the Old Testament, the Lord said that if a person comes to him with sincere repentance, “although your sins are like crimson, I shall make them white like snow, and although they are as scarlet, I shall make them white like wool” (Is. 1:18). Therefore, in realizing your sinfulness and wretchedness, at the same time remember that genuine repentance is a feeling not just of sorrow and worthlessness, but also of joy, because we know that if we sincerely repent, the Lord will not reject us, but instead welcome us as He received the prodigal son. Amen.
St. Metropolitan Philaret of New York, Sermons, Vol. II, pp. 239-240
With the blessing of Vladyka Iosif.
Спасо-Вознесенский Православный Храм
Holy Ascension Orthodox Church
Holy Ascension Orthodox Church
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Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
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