Season of Repentance: Lenten Homilies of Saint John of Kronstadt

by Ivan Ilyich Sergiev

Each year we begin anew the journey to the radiant feast of Pascha, entering the season of repentance known as Great Lent. The homilies presented in this modest volume, from one of the spiritual giants of the Orthodox Church of Russia, can both encourage and inform us in this struggle of the Fast. For the first time a selection of St John's Lenten sermons is presented in English translation. They follow the thematic structure of the Lenten season in the Orthodox Church, from the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee through to Great and Holy Friday. A sermon for St Thomas Sunday, that follows Holy Pascha, is offered as an Epilogue.

Genres: Nonfiction

188 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2015

Reviews

[eden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shocked and disappointed by how much Protestant influence is displayed in this collection of St John of Kronstadt’s homilies — namely, his embrace of Penal Substitutionary Atonement, which is not and has never been Orthodox doctrine and in fact is opposed to it. A good lesson that individual sainthood does not mean infallibility in teaching.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before the season of Great Lent begins in the Orthodox Church, it is preceded by five Sundays. They are Zacchaeus Sunday, the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, Meatfare Sunday (or Judgment Sunday), and Cheesefare Sunday (or Forgiveness Sunday). After Forgiveness Sunday (which is this coming February 22nd), Great Lent has officially begun. If you are Orthodox and still looking for what to read this Lent, then I recommend you the book Season of Repentance: Lenten Homilies of Saint John of Kronstadt. For those unfamiliar with who Saint John of Kronstadt is, he was a presbyter of the Russian Orthodox Church, and one of the most influential Russian saints leading up to the Bolshevik Revolution.

The book, Season of Repentance, begins with homilies for the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee. This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible, and unfortunately the Roman Catholic Church only reads it in Church once every three years. In the first homily for this Sunday, he discusses how publicans and Pharisees still figuratively exist in today's day and age. He explains how pride and self-praise coupled with humiliation of others is a disease of the soul. In the second homily for this Sunday, he talks about not judging others sins, because we have our own sins. He also mentions that every time we do a good deed that we should forget it, because as the Bible says, "We have done what was our duty to do." These excerpts/summaries are just the tip of the iceberg with this book.

Most of the Sundays during and before Great Lent have several homilies associated with them, except for the Third Sunday which has one homily and the Sixth Sunday which does not have a homily at all. You can choose to read all of them for that particular Sunday or just read one a year and visit the other homilies the following years. There are also homilies associated with Great Monday, Great Wednesday, and Great and Holy Friday. There is also an epilogue or bonus homily for Thomas Sunday. My only wish for this book is that there were homilies for Palm Sunday and Pascha to accompany these great Lenten homilies. That small wish aside, these are great homilies filled with Scripture and practical advice that still applies one hundred years later. If you are looking for something to read this Great Lent, then pick up a copy of Season of Repentance.

[Angie Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a small book, but don't let the size fool you. It's really dense, like a rich chocolate brownie. The homilies are short, anywhere from three to seven pages, but there's a lot of truth and wisdom in each one. I feel like I had to rush through this because I borrowed it through interlibrary loan and was reading on a deadline. Ideally, you could read them in "real" time for each week of Great Lent. St John writes in a very accessible way so the theological concepts can be processed, understood and mulled over later.

[Saint Katherine BookstoreVA]

ANY GUESSES how often the New York Times has found a living Orthodox churchman worthy of being profiled twice in its pages? Even rarer: a churchman who was not a monastic or a bishop, but a married parish priest who was later canonized? I’d bet there was only one: Fr. Ivan Ilyich
Sergiev, best known as St. John of Kronstadt.

From the Times of November 5, 1894:

"Ivan, though not a monk, lives according to monastic rules, is austere in his life, pitiful, Charitable, and has boundless faith in God’s power, and in man’s strength if he lead a holy life and
arm himself with that power. Ivan has made vows of poverty and humility. He rigorously observes the fasts … and often exceeds them when he wants to obtain a clearer perception of God’s presence. The hospitals and asylums he has founded are endless. His house at certain hours … is as crowded with sick and heart-broken persons as the grotto of Lourdes. … [I]t is admitted that in praying for those who come to him and in laying hands on them he has operated cures that seem miraculous, but which, no doubt, admit of a scientific explanation. The Father’s wife is far from sharing his zeal. She is a notable housekeeper, and is haunted by the fear of both ending their days as paupers. Ivan discourages wealthy visitors, because he thinks his mission is to the poor, and that his curative virtue was given him to bring them to lend a willing ear to the Gospel that he preaches. It lies in a very small compass: “Lift up you heart to God, and He will bless you and strengthen you,” and “Observe the rites and ordinances of the Church as a means for keeping in touch with God and with all that comes from God.”

Fr. John preached God’s loving mercy with fervor. His judgment Kronstadt addressed with only a little less emphasis, calling out pride and spiritual complacency as the soul-destroyers that they are.

Pick up either book for Lenten reading. I’ve turned to Spiritual Counsels again and again over the years. It contains short gems perfect for daily devotions. Season of Repentance contains Fr. John’s motivating words regarding self-examination, repentance and falling on God’s mercy.

"But did all of us really benefit from the week that went by? Did our hearts become closer to God, to the Most Pure Mother of Life, to the Church, to our Holy Guardian Angel, and to the saints of God? Have we sincerely loved truth and virtue and have we hated all falsehood and iniquity? Do we sincerely love God and neighbor, do we feel a greater spiritual affinity with each other … as members of Christ?" (p. 88)

[Robin Levy · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I cannot feel my sins."

If that is the only thing a person comes away with after reading this, they will be in possession of a great gift.

We are so ignorant of the things of God.

A True father is necessary to show us how truly desolate we are of virtues.

[w gall · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the most part, the book is very inspirational. But he also came down hard on his parishioners for their neglect of the Faith. I'm sure he had good reasons, but his rebukes seem harsh to me.

[Clayton Pearlstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful Lenten read.

[Debbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of sermon's given by St. John during several Lenten seasons. Each week has several different sermons to choose from pertaining to that Sunday, as well as a few of the mid-week celebrations. There's also a collection of sermons for Holy Week. I did not read each sermon as I don't think that was the intent of the book. This is a book worth having on your Lenten reading shelf.

[Dcn Peter Markevich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sermons that every Christian will find informative and enlightening along the lenten journey.