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On the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Over the centuries Orthodox Christians have utilized the time of Great Lent to contemplate the salvific Passion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ—the voluntary sufferings which He undertook out of love for mankind, in order to make possible our return from our fallen state to full communion with God. On the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by St. Philaret of Chernigov is a grace-filled aid in this contemplation. Originally preached in Russian churches during Great Lent, these sixty inspired sermons are permeated with a spirit of sincere love for Christ and awe before His sacrifice for mankind. Chronologically tracing the period of the last four days of the Savior’s earthly life, they take the reader through every aspect of His Passion, providing Christians with fertile material for soul-benefiting meditation on Christ’s final teachings, sufferings, and death on the Cross.
In this English edition, a moving homily by St. Philaret on Christ’s Resurrection follows the discourses on the Passion.
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St. Philaret (Gumilevsky), Archbishop of Chernigov (1805–1866), was a fervent and effective pastor of Christ’s flock, as well as a prolific Church writer. Born in a small village in Russia, he was the son of the village priest, himself a notable pastor and preacher. As a young man, he was blessed by St. Seraphim of Sarov, who said that he would “be glorified throughout Russia as a learned man.” He was a close disciple of St. Philaret (Drozdov), metropolitan of Moscow, the great Russian theologian. Consecrated to the episcopacy in 1841, he was first assigned to the cathedra of Riga, Latvia, where, thanks to his pastoral zeal, over 100,000 souls were joined to the Orthodox Church. He was later transferred to the Russian diocese of Kharkov, and then to Chernigov, where he reposed. His literary works include historical, theological, and homiletic books, as well as numerous articles. The present book was first published in Russia in 1858.
456 pages, paperback, illustrated.
In this English edition, a moving homily by St. Philaret on Christ’s Resurrection follows the discourses on the Passion.
* * *
St. Philaret (Gumilevsky), Archbishop of Chernigov (1805–1866), was a fervent and effective pastor of Christ’s flock, as well as a prolific Church writer. Born in a small village in Russia, he was the son of the village priest, himself a notable pastor and preacher. As a young man, he was blessed by St. Seraphim of Sarov, who said that he would “be glorified throughout Russia as a learned man.” He was a close disciple of St. Philaret (Drozdov), metropolitan of Moscow, the great Russian theologian. Consecrated to the episcopacy in 1841, he was first assigned to the cathedra of Riga, Latvia, where, thanks to his pastoral zeal, over 100,000 souls were joined to the Orthodox Church. He was later transferred to the Russian diocese of Kharkov, and then to Chernigov, where he reposed. His literary works include historical, theological, and homiletic books, as well as numerous articles. The present book was first published in Russia in 1858.
456 pages, paperback, illustrated.
- GenresReligion
456 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
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February 10, 2016
St. Philaret of Chernigov was born in 1805 and the son of an Orthodox priest. He too became a priest and later a bishop. He was said to be extremely spiritual and humble, "an ascetic in the best traditions of Orthodox Patristic spirituality." He became a saint in the Orthodox Church in 2009. Today, I am going to tell you about his book On the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, available from St. Herman Press.
On the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ is a book which contains 60 homilies given by St. Philaret of Chernigov during Lent with one bonus homily given on Pascha. The book begins like most Orthodox books with a brief biography of St. Philaret of Chernigov. I always find this feature useful, and I wish more Catholic and even secular books would adopt this practice. We then arrive at the homilies. The first one begins by telling us about the importance of Christ's Passion and the role it plays in Great Lent. He also encourages and implores his congregation to listen to the Scripture and the homilies over these forty days. The homily then transitions its main subject of Jesus foretelling His death and Judas leaving to betray Him. The next homily then takes us to the preparation of the Passover feast that Jesus will celebrate with his disciples, and the third homily is on Jesus washing the feet of His apostles. As you can see, these homilies are going in chronological order.
I noticed that a great portion of the homilies dealt with the words Jesus said, which proved to be most edifying. The homilies that most piqued my interest dealt with Pilate. I always like to read the words of greater minds when it comes to this tragic figure, as I have mixed thoughts on Pilate and his action/inaction. St. Philaret of Chernigov gives several reasons for Jesus' silence in response to Pilate's questions. For starters, Jesus didn't need to answer the questions, because Pilate already knew the answers in his heart. Secondly, by not directly answering the questions, Jesus lessened some of Pilate's guilt. It did not completely remove his guilt though, as he turned Jesus over to be crucified, if only to save political face and not upset Caesar. Part of me still pities Pilate and wonders if he ever repented and converted, but we will have to wait to find that out.
Books of homilies are some of my favorite types of books, and this one did not disappoint. The shortest homilies in this book are six pages with others being twice as long, so this won't be a book you can pick up and read for five minutes a day. You'll have to carve out a bit of time to fully appreciate the wisdom of this saint and the previous saints he draws on for inspiration. What I found most helpful in this book was that each homily had the Scripture passages with them, so you could read the Scripture and then the homily. The only drawback to this book is that there are more than 40 homilies, so you'd have to double up on reading a lot to make it through Lent. You could also, more sensibly, read it one per day and finish when you finish, as this book is good anytime, not just Lent. At $20, this book is an absolute bargain, and I highly recommend it.
On the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ is a book which contains 60 homilies given by St. Philaret of Chernigov during Lent with one bonus homily given on Pascha. The book begins like most Orthodox books with a brief biography of St. Philaret of Chernigov. I always find this feature useful, and I wish more Catholic and even secular books would adopt this practice. We then arrive at the homilies. The first one begins by telling us about the importance of Christ's Passion and the role it plays in Great Lent. He also encourages and implores his congregation to listen to the Scripture and the homilies over these forty days. The homily then transitions its main subject of Jesus foretelling His death and Judas leaving to betray Him. The next homily then takes us to the preparation of the Passover feast that Jesus will celebrate with his disciples, and the third homily is on Jesus washing the feet of His apostles. As you can see, these homilies are going in chronological order.
I noticed that a great portion of the homilies dealt with the words Jesus said, which proved to be most edifying. The homilies that most piqued my interest dealt with Pilate. I always like to read the words of greater minds when it comes to this tragic figure, as I have mixed thoughts on Pilate and his action/inaction. St. Philaret of Chernigov gives several reasons for Jesus' silence in response to Pilate's questions. For starters, Jesus didn't need to answer the questions, because Pilate already knew the answers in his heart. Secondly, by not directly answering the questions, Jesus lessened some of Pilate's guilt. It did not completely remove his guilt though, as he turned Jesus over to be crucified, if only to save political face and not upset Caesar. Part of me still pities Pilate and wonders if he ever repented and converted, but we will have to wait to find that out.
Books of homilies are some of my favorite types of books, and this one did not disappoint. The shortest homilies in this book are six pages with others being twice as long, so this won't be a book you can pick up and read for five minutes a day. You'll have to carve out a bit of time to fully appreciate the wisdom of this saint and the previous saints he draws on for inspiration. What I found most helpful in this book was that each homily had the Scripture passages with them, so you could read the Scripture and then the homily. The only drawback to this book is that there are more than 40 homilies, so you'd have to double up on reading a lot to make it through Lent. You could also, more sensibly, read it one per day and finish when you finish, as this book is good anytime, not just Lent. At $20, this book is an absolute bargain, and I highly recommend it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review