ARCHPASTORAL HOMILY

ON THE SUNDAY OF THE HOLY 318 FATHERS OF THE

HOLY FIRST ECUMENICAL COUNCIL (325ad—2009ad)

By Metropolitan Parthenius of Citium

EXARCH OF THE GENUINE ORTHODOX CHURCH OF
CYPRUS
 Metropolitan Parthenius of Citium at his Enthronement (2008)

C
 the first Christian King, realized that the
Church of Christ was plagued with various (incorrect) dogmatic opinions of
Arius, the protopresbyter of Alexandria. Constantine therefore organized the
first Great Ecumenical Council at Nicea in Asia Minor in 325 AD. 318 God
bearing Fathers from all the ends of the Orthodox Christian world, hurried to
meet so as to deliver (protect) the Church from heresy. King Constantine was
present throughout the council. Many of the Fathers that were present had suffered
greatly for their confession in the name of Christ during the reign of the previous King.
Some had one eye removed, others had their noses or their ears cut off, others had their
hands cut off or other injuries. The first day of this event was amazing, for at the day’s
conclusion after the prayer, the earth trembled. This bore witness that the decisions
made at the holy gathering, were not of the will of man, but by the very breath of the
Holy Spirit.

The main topic of discussion was the Divinity of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity,
in other words Jesus Christ. The Holy Fathers were saying that Christ was the Son of
God, begotten of the Father before all ages. But Arius was saying that while Christ was
the Son of God, He was not begotten of the Father, but created by the Father at some
point in time, that is, there was a time that He did not exist. Arius blasphemed against
Christ, saying that Christ received flesh from the Virgin Mary only in appearance and
not in actuality. Because Arius and his supporters used great and eloquent words, and
the Holy Fathers were humble and not able to speak so eloquently, the Holy Fathers
found themselves at the gates of the heretics.

Then, the Archbishop of Myra in Lycea, Nicholas, consumed with sadness, slapped
Arius across the cheek. Arius reported this to the King and succeeded in having the
Saint thrown in jail. There in the middle of the night, St. Nicholas of Myra was visited
by the Christ the Saviour and the Ever-virgin Theotokos. From them he received a
golden Gospel Book and a golden weaved Omophorion (Pallium). The King, having
heard about the miracle and seeing the miraculous gifts, released St. Nicholas.

Yet another Hierarch who participated in the Synod was St. Spyridon of Trimythus.
Because the Saint was Cypriot, I believe that everyone here knows of the miracle he
performed with the potsherd. [Translator’s note: St. Spyridon used a piece of potsherd to
illustrate how one single entity (a piece of pottery) could be composed of three unique entities
(fire, water and clay); a metaphor for the Orthodox doctrine of the Trinity. As soon as St.
Spyridon finished speaking, the shard is said to have miraculously burst into flame, water
dripped on the ground, and only dust remained in his hand.]

As glorious as the miracle is of the heavenly gifts that St. Nicholas received, equal is the
miracle that St. Spyridon performed. Both gave courage to the pious to prevail over the

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heretics. Little by little, like this, the Holy Fathers—with the help of the Holy Spirit—
triumphed. Although they were full of divine love towards others, with mercy and
with tears in their eyes, they anathematized and removed Arius from the Synod as an
enemy of the Son of God and an antichrist.

Later, the Fathers composed the Symbol of Faith, and 20 canons, for the smoothing of the
liturgical unity of the Church. They also decided that the Orthodox Church must follow
the Julian calendar to the end of the ages, and they wrote a Paschalion, in other words,
when Pascha was to be celebrated for every year till the end of time. Two of the Fathers
reposed which caused the Synod great tears. The King placed the decisions of the
Synod signed by the remaining 316 Fathers in the two reposed Fathers’ coffins. The
morning of the second day, to the astonishment of all, they found the signatures of the 2
reposed Father on the documents, in other words 318 signatures.

Like we said in last Thursday’s homily, on the Ascension of Christ, it is a feast that
concludes the cycle of the events of the Incarnate God, for the deliverance of mankind
from death. Today the first Sunday after the Ascension, we commemorate those Fathers
who preached and defended the truth, proclaiming that Christ the Son of God was
begotten of the Father before all ages, that He descended from the heavens and was
incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, that He was crucified, suffered, and
was buried, and arose on the third day and ascended into the Heavens and sits at the
right hand of the Father as “consubstantial [coessential or of same essence] with the Father.”

For Orthodoxy, the First Ecumenical Council is a lighthouse which bestows light and
sustains all of the Hierarchs, Clergy, Monastics, and the faithful, or whoever wishes to
keep the truth of the Gospel. Today more than ever before, the true faith is threatened
by beasts more fearful than then. The Ecumenists, the New Calendarists, and the
papophiles (pope-lovers), find themselves in a much worse state than the Arians. Is there
in our days, a St. Nicholas or St. Spyridon? Is there a saint to humiliate them by words
alone, or with miracles, or with fear tactics? We are fooled by the convenient freedom
which has been bestowed on us by those who tore the seamless tunic of Christ into a
thousand pieces. Every one of us has an obligation to always remember the valour and
faith of those who suffered danger to their lives to protect the Church from the poison
of false brethren. Obviously we are joyous today, because we have inherited the true
faith and we have the possibility of salvation. But lately, who struggles towards this?
Do we? Definitely not! The Holy Fathers of the Seven Ecumenical Councils struggled
for this, the Holy Confessors of ages past, for example: St. Photius the Great, Patriarch
of Constantinople; St. Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica; St. Mark
Eugenicus, Bishop of Ephesus; St. Cosmas the Aetolian; St. Nicodemus the Athonite;
and many more. They never rested, day or night, from delivering the teachings and
dogmas of the faith. They were bright lamps from whom their successors received the
light of Orthodoxy.

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Can it be that our descendants will have these examples from which to learn how they
must keep the faith? The Saints were teachers of the world and we cannot even direct
our own families. Do not think that for your children to be obedient to you, many
words are needed. What are needed are many examples. But let us look what the father
does. By the time he reaches church he smokes a cigarette. He enters the church for
half an hour and then goes outside for another cigarette. At the end of Liturgy he
rushes to receive antidoron. Then in the courtyard of the church while in the company
of others of like mind, he lights another cigarette. Do you think there is a greater
insensibility than this? What shall we call these people? Shall we call them Christians?
Shall we call them zealots? What kind of Orthodoxy are they going to teach their
children?

But enough about the father. Now let us look at what the mother does. When she
comes to church, she has only one care: what to wear and how to decorate herself. She
concerns herself with two things: how not to draw the attention of the clergy because
she is not dressed properly, and for others not to form the opinion that she is not
beautiful. Thus, one hangs earrings on her ears; another paints her nails; one wears
several bracelets on her wrists; another, rings on her fingers. And, with child in hand,
she comes to church. Once she enters the church, she remembers to wear her head
cover. But she wears it in a manner in which she must take it off, put it back on, over
and over again, until the end of the Liturgy.

Now if anyone thinks I am overdoing it, I will say a few words of St. John Chrysostom,
from his homily “Regarding Herodias and Salome the Murderers of the Baptist.” And if
anyone opposes, they can complain to the Saint and not to me. Just like you do not like
people saying things against you, I do not like it either. So, this is what St. John
Chrysostom says: “Woman! You come to church with bright garments; you file (sharpen) your
nails like a dragon; you hang metal on your hands, ears, and around your throat, like a slave, but
you don’t think that your soul is black. Do you forget that you came here to cry, and not to
display yourself?” In another homily of his, about the woman who washed the feet of
Christ with myrrh, he says this: “The harlot that washed the feet of Christ with her hair
should have washed his feet with her head-covering (scarf). But because she did not have one,
she washed with her hair.” Why though did she not have a head-covering? Because
without a head-covering is how harlots roamed the streets! “Honourable women,” says
St. John Chrysostom, “from the moment the clergyman blesses their wedding, should not allow
for the sun to ever see their hair.” Firm words! But we must say them. If I, who am your
Shepherd, do not say them to you, then who will?

The Sixth Ecumenical Synods says: “The women who beautify themselves and cut their hair,
or the man who cuts his beard and his moustache, cannot commune for one year. And if they die
like this, God will not recognize them as His creation, because they have a demonic face, and are
an icon of Satan, and are not ‘according to the image and likeness’ of their Creator.” I do not
say these things. I only repeat the words of the Holy Fathers, because if I don’t say
these things to you, on the day of judgement, you will accuse me that I never told you.

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It is good for me to say these things, but it is better for you to listen and to apply these
things, so that neither you nor I may be judged. I know that we live in the world and
many say we must keep up with the times. But listen to what Christ said in today’s
Gospel: “Holy Father, I ask on their behalf,” and then, “I pray for them: I pray not for the
world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.” So, we have heard that He
does not defend the world but defends those that live in the world and want to do His
will and not the will of the world. Maybe some people say, “God does not care about
our looks (i.e., about clothes and beards), God cares about a clean heart.” Yes, this is so.
But a tree cannot bear fruit, if it first doesn’t sprout leaves. All of the trees sprout leaves
easily, but few trees bear fruit. Like this, first do the things that are easy (i.e., practice
the sprouting of leaves), so that you can later do the more difficult things (i.e., bear
fruit). If you believe that you have a clean heart, you are deceived by the demons.
Earlier Christians were not like that. The people today think that they are clever. The
earlier Christians were smarter, and more educated than us. Now the human culture
grows in everything except wisdom. Brethren, because today we remember the Holy
Fathers, this is why I remembered various teachings of these Fathers, even if [these
latter teachings] are not dogmatic. For, just as knots are used to knit, so also do all
Christian teachings complete Orthodoxy. If we undo a knot, little by little, we undo the
whole knit. It is the same with the Christian. If he tramples on one small
commandment, he will become negligent, from negligence he passes to apathy (i.e., lack
of caring), and then, little by little, he loses Orthodoxy. Orthodoxy is a pearl of great
value. It is found with great difficulty but is easily lost. But whoever possesses it, is the
most blessed among people. This pearl is what must be given as an inheritance to our
descendants (i.e., to our children).

Now we send our children to remote schools to be educated, where the name of the
God of the Christians is never mentioned. There they are vaccinated with the atheist
poison. I wonder: if they ever return, will they still find that sweet milk of strong faith
which conquers the poison? And whose fault will this be? Theirs, because they went?
Or ours, because we sent them? Which of these two is better: a) to live in the city with
people and eat bread every two days; or, b) to live in the forest with the beasts and eat
meat every day? I believe that in the city is better. There you are sure that you will eat
a little bread every two days and will not die. In the forest, even though you are eating
meat every day, every moment you are in danger of being devoured by the beasts.
Thus, if we leave from the road of the demons and walk on the road of the Saints, we
will have our daily bread, and we will be protected from the seven-headed beasts of
Ecumenism and Papism: by the mercy and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and through
the prayers of our Holy Fathers. Amen.





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M
 and all
Cyprus was born in the town of Beresti in the province of Galati in Romania on June 29,
1977 (old calendar), the Feastday of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. For this reason at
his baptism he received the name Peter. He was baptized by the ever-memorable Bishop
Clement of Galati, of the Genuine Orthodox Church of Romania. Peter
completed primary school in his own town, but attended high school at the town called
Tecuchi. His parents and grandparents were known for their struggles for the sake of
patristic piety. His spiritual parents breathed into him the love for the spiritual and the
monastic order. At only 18 years old he entered the Holy Monastery of the
Archangels in the province of Vrancea. He was tonsured to the small schema and received
the name Parthenius. The region of Vrancea, in which the Monastery of the
Archangels is located, is well known for its several Greek Monasteries and Sketes -
metochia (satellite monasteries) of the Holy Mountain of Athos. For this reason, at the
monastery, he was able to have contact with the Greek and Athonite monasticism. This was possibly also the reason why he came
to love the Greek language and tried as much as he could to learn it. His great grandfather and his grandfather, as well as his
parents, since the introduction of the new calendar in Romania, had remained steadfast Confessors of the Genuine Orthodox
Faith, and for this reason were subjected to several persecutions and imprisonments. His great grandfather was betrayed to the
police, with the result of his house being raided, his books and icons were confiscated, and he was imprisoned. But also the
priests that Fr. Parthenius, and his parents and grandparents also, were guided by, were very strict in their asceticism. We refer
not only to the ever-memorable Hieromonk Gamael, but also to the ever-memorable Hieromonk Menas, known for his asceticism
and miracles, who left an imprint on the personality of the future Metropolitan Parthenius. Hieromonk Menas had suggested to
Bishop Clement to ordain Parthenius to the deaconate. Bishop Clement agreed but reposed before this could take place (+1998).
He was therefore ordained to the deaconate, and later to the priesthood by Bishop Cassian of Iasi on November 16, 1998. Ten
years later, on April 19, 2008, Bishop Gerontius of Vrancea raised him to the rank of Archimandrite and Chancellor.
Archimandrite Parthenius played a crucial role in the union between the Genuine Orthodox Church of Romania with the Genuine
Orthodox Churches of Greece, Cyprus, Russia and Africa. Bishops Cassian and Gerontius had sent Archimandrite Parthenius to
Greece twice for the purpose of meeting with Metropolitan Cerycus and discussing issues regarding the Confession of Faith and
Apostolic Succession. Unofficial dialogue had already existed between the Churches since a decade earlier but only through
letters, telephone and internet. But it was Archimandrite Parthenius who initiated the first real life contact by way of actually
arriving in Greece, to discuss the issue of unity in the sacred struggle face to face. On July 6, 2008 (old calendar), the clergy and
faithful of the Genuine Orthodox Church of Cyprus, after three years of being without a local shepherd since the repose of
Metropolitan Epiphanius (+2005), unanimously elected the young Archimandrite Parthenius to be their new hierarch. The
petition of the clergy and faithful of the Genuine Orthodox Church of Cyprus was received by the Pan-Orthodox Council
consisting of Metropolitans Cerycus, Cassian, Gerontius, Matthew and Seraphim. They approved the petition and granted its
fulfillment, thereby electing Archimandrite Parthenius as Metropolitan of Citium and all Cyprus. On July 13, 2008 (old calendar),
Archimandrite Parthenius was tonsured to the great schema. On the next day, July 14, he was consecrated to the episcopacy by
Metropolitan Cerycus, assisted by Bishops Matthew and Gerontius, with the written consent of Bishops Cassian and Seraphim.
The consecration took place in the Cathedral of St. Xenia in Limasol, Cyprus, in the presence of thousands of laymen from
throughout Cyprus as well as representatives from the federal and local governments and the press. As the latest ecclesiastical
events show us, Metropolitan Parthenius was foreordained by God to shepherd the pious flock of Cyprus. His canonical and
lawful election, according to the rules of the charter of the local Autocephalous Church of Cyprus, and his subsequent
consecration, served as an end to a turbulent period in the history of the Genuine Orthodox Church of Cyprus, provoked by the
immoral, self-elected and self-appointed false bishop Sebastian with his very few followers, who together with their evil
collaborators, used the immoral and fallen group of bishops of the Nicholaitans of Greece, to achieve their personal goals. But
their plans have been proven unsuccessful, because they did not take into account the will of God, who is always attentive to the
heart of his people. The faithful members of the Genuine Orthodox Church of Cyprus thank the Sister Church of Romania for
setting aside her own needs and offering one of her most honourable sons, a truly worthy clergyman, to shepherd the Church of
Cyprus which was in such a need of a shepherd. On 15/28 September, 2008 (old calendar), the newly-consecrated Parthenius was
enthroned in the Cathedral of the Holy Three Hierarchs, Troulli, Larnaca, as Metropolitan of Citium and all Cyprus. Present at
the event were Metropolitan Cerycus of Mesogaea (representing the Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece) and Bishop Gerontius
of Vrancea (representing the Genuine Orthodox Church of Romania). Several clergy and thousands of faithful also attended,
along with government officials and representatives from the national press agencies. With his enthronement, Metropolitan
Parthenius of Citium officially assumed his responsibilities as the lawful and canonical Metropolitan of Citium and Exarch of all
Cyprus, since he was elected according to the charter of the Autocephalous Genuine Orthodox Church of Cyprus, by the vote of
the clergy and the people.

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 To PARTHENIUS, the Most All-Sacred & Divinely-Appointed Metropolitan,
of the Holy & Sacred Metropolis of Citium, President of Amathus, Neapolis, Limasol &
Curium, & Most Honoured Exarch of all Cyprus, MANY YEARS!