Beacon of Hope

— About the Book —

O my God and Creator… do Thou Thyself teach me to speak what I ought, both for myself and for the people here present, unto salvation of soul.

The Russian village priest, Fr. Ilarion, used this prayer of the twelfth century Greek saint, Symeon the New Theologian as he preached over a forty-year period from 1966 until his death in 2008. Here we are offered a selection of these sermons given on Sundays and other days throughout the Christian year. They are startling in their clarity and universal in their appeal. The theme of hope is persistent whilst always rooted in the necessity of repentance. Fr. Ilarion tells us that:

Repentance is the first step on the path to turning to Christ, on the path to Christian life. Without repentance, Christianity is impossible and unthinkable. Whoever wishes to follow Christ must begin with repentance. Repentance is God’s call to men to come out of the kingdom of sin and slavery and into the kingdom of virtue and freedom… The spiritual Sun, Jesus Christ, appears, and the sinner, illumined by His presence and pervaded by His desired voice, receives His summons: “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest (Mt. 11:28).”

This book is the ideal companion to the previously published Champion of Good: The Life of Father Ilarion (Holy Trinity Publications, Jordanville, 2011). All who have already encountered Father Ilarion through his life will be equally engaged by his words. Those who meet him first through his preaching will want to go on to read his life. Together, they convey a potent message of the possibilities that open to the human soul that turns to God with singleness of mind and humility.

The sermons are grouped by subjects. One index lists the sermons in church calendar order and the other index lists the sermons in chronological order for those who wish to see what was preached in an historical context.

— Contents —

CONTENTS

Preface

A Short Biography of Father Ilarion

Father Ilarion on Preaching

Prayer of Saint Symeon the New Theologian before Giving a Sermon

1. On Repentance

Sermon on the Day of Commemoration of Saint Ilarion (October 21)

Sermon on the Twenty-Ninth Sunday after Pentecost (December 14)

Sermon on the Thirty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost,on the Apodosis of the Feast of Theophany (January 14)

Sermon on the Sunday after Theophany (January 7)

Sermon on the Day of the Meeting of Our Lord Jesus Christ (February 2)

Sermon on Repentance (February 11)

Sermon on the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy (March 3)

2. On the Cross

Sermon on the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord (September 14)

Sermon on the Third Sunday of Great Lent, of the Veneration of the Cross (March 17)

3. On Forgiveness and Humility

Sermon at the Rite of Forgiveness (February 9)

Sermon on the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee (February 11)

Sermon on Cheesefare Sunday, in Commemoration of the Casting Out of Adam (March 4)

4. On Love, Patience, and Providence

Sermon on the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, on the Parable of the Catch of Fishes (September 28)

Sermon on the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, on How to Treat One Another (October 5)

Sermon on the Fourth Sunday after Pascha, of the Paralytic (April 23)

5. On the Incarnation, the Eucharist, and the Holy Spirit

Sermon on the Sunday of the Nativity of Christ (December 25)

Sermon on Great Thursday, on the Day of the Commemoration of the Mystical Supper (April 11)

Sermon on the Day of the Holy Spirit (June 11)

6. On Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving

Sermon on the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (September 2)

Sermon on the Temptation in the Wilderness (September 26)

Sermon on Meatfare Sunday, on Spiritual Fasting and the Labor of Repentance (February 5)

Sermon on the First Sunday of Great Lent, on the Necessity of Fasting (March 11)

Sermon on the Third Sunday after Pentecost, on Faith, Prayer, and Fasting (June 11)

Sermon on the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, on the Eve of the Dormition Fast (July 30)

7. On Preparation for the Kingdom to Come

Sermon on the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, on the Parable of the Sower (October 13)

Sermon on the Day of Commemoration of Saint Barlaam of Khutyn (November 6)

Sermon on the Feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (March 22)

8. On the Mother of God

Sermon on the Nativity of Our Most-Holy Lady Mother of God (September 8)

Sermon on the Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God (October 1)

Sermon on the Feast of the Icon of the Mother of God “Of the Sign” (November 27)

Sermon on the Feast of the Annunciation of the Most-Holy Mother of God (March 25)

Sermon on the Feast of the Annunciation of the Most-Holy Mother of God (March 25)

9. On the Saints 151

Sermon on the Day of Commemoration of Saint Ilarion (October 21)

Sermon on the Day of Commemoration of Saint Barlaam of Khutyn (November 6)

Sermon on the Thirty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost,

Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia (January 28)

Sermon on the Thirty-Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, on the Day of Commemoration of Saint Nikita of Novgorod (January 31)

Sermon on the Third Sunday after Pascha, of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women (April 9)

Sermon on the Third Sunday after Pascha, of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women (May 1)

Sermon on the Day of the Finding of the Relics of Holy Hierarch Nikita of Novgorod (May 14)

Sermon on the Day of Commemoration of Saint Barlaam of Khutyn (June 2)

Sermon on the Second Sunday after Pentecost, of All the Saints Who Have Shone Forth in the Russian Land (June 24)

Appendix 1: Sermons in Church Calendar Order

Appendix 2: Sermons in Chronological Order

Notes