Today in the Church, we celebrate one of the feast days of St. John of Rila, the patron Saint of Bulgaria, and one of the great monastic saints in the history of the Church. Today’s celebration is especially potent for those who, last week, had the blessing of visiting the monastery where St. John’s body is resting on the steps of the solea. They open the 600 year old coffin every service, and the faithful line up one by one to kiss the right hand of this ascetic, whose relics are completely incorrupt, even after 1,000 years. Our parish family has been blessed to have a relic of this great Saint, as well as a large piece of the burial shroud that is wrapped around his relics, which was a special gift from the abbot of that monastery to our parish, so that we can have even a closer tie to this incredible man of God.
St. John lived in the 10th century near what is present day Sofia. At a young age, he was inspired by the Holy Spirit, gave all of his worldly possession to the poor, and sought after the angelic life of monasticism. Eventually, he ended up in the mountains of Rila, where he lived in a cave about 4 kilometers away from where the monastery is today. He lived a life of solitude, deep in prayer, until one day a group of shepherds discovered him. They went down from the mountain and told the villagers of this great ascetic that lived in the midst of the wilderness. Men seeking the monastic life, and St. John as a teacher, sought after him, and eventually he founded a small monastic community which eventually became the Great Rila Monastery that still exists today!
St. John wrote a testament to his spiritual children, which has been preserved to this day by the Rila Monastery library, and has been translated into dozens of languages. It isn’t a long testament, but one that I wanted to touch, especially as we ourselves are endeavoring to draw closer to Christ within our parish community.
St. John begins by saying:
“Above all, I instruct you to keep the Holy Faith unblemished and untouched by any slander, as we received it from the Holy Fathers, without mixing it with foreign and different teachings. Stand firm, hold on to the traditions you have heard and seen in me. Branch out neither to the right nor to the left, but go along the royal way…”
We had a wonderful meeting last Sunday with His Holiness Patriarch Daniil of Bulgaria in his Cathedral in Sofia. Afterwards, he invited us over to his residence for coffee, and we had an hour or so discussion on the effects of politics within the Church…specifically what Bulgaria and other eastern European Orthodox Countries went through under communism in the last century.
One of the final words of advice His Holiness gave us regarding our Church in America, was to always boldly speak the truth to people. Do not be swayed by the whims of the government…or what might be popular…but rather stay grounded in the truth that is only found in Christ and His Church.
“Always tell the truth, and never fear it...be bold about it.” His Holiness offered to us as we departed.
St. John says:
“Do not seek to be known and loved by earthly kings and princes, nor place your hope in them by abandoning your heavenly King, for Whom you have signed up to be soldiers and to fight not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of the darkness of this age.”
St. John lived this by his own example. After he was discovered by those shepherds, his fame spread throughout the entire kingdom. It attracted many people to him, not the least of which was the King, Tsar Peter the 1st, who travelled the nearly 500 km to meet and honor this great ascetic.
After the long and grueling journey, St. John refused to meet with the King, but rather saw him from a distance and they bowed their head to one another over the great distance. He didn’t want to be flattered. He wasn’t looking to be honored. He refused the riches and gifts King Peter had brought. St. John did these things because there is only one king that He served. It is the same king that we all find ourselves with face to face this morning.
How do we serve the king? Do we offer up our riches to the glory of His Kingdom? Do we serve in the capacities that he has called us to serve…or are we more concerned with offering up riches and serving others only when we ourselves benefit?
“No one can serve two masters” our Lord says in Matthew. “Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Mammon.”
I’ll end by offering one more word from St. John’s Testament, where he offers this advice on how a Christian Ascetic should live:
“Instruct yourselves in the law of the Lord day and night, read the books of the fathers often and strive to imitate our Holy Fathers Anthony, Theodosius, and the others, who by their good deeds shone as lights in the world. Hold fast to the rules of the Church and do not lay aside or neglect anything that is prescribed by the Holy Fathers.
Do not neglect handiwork, but always have work in your hands. Let the prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner” be constantly on your lips, and together with it, the memory of death in your mind.”
These are the things that allow the soil of our hearts to remain rich. Prayer, Divine Services, a closeness to scripture and the lives of the Saints…all of these are tools that cultivate the soil of the heart so that the seed that our Lord has planted will grow within us and bear fruit…and they are tools that St. John used in his life to reach the spiritual heights and relationship with God that all of us are seeking here this morning.
Through the prayers of St. John of Rila, may we continue to bear fruit here in the vineyard which our Lord has planted. Amen!