A Sermon of His Eminence, Metropolitan Moses

On this day we commemorate the Beheading of the Forerunner and Baptist John. The Church holds Saint John in exceedingly high regard, calling him a celestial man, an earthly angel, the culmination of the Prophets and Apostle to the Apostles. What is more amazing is that our Savior Himself called him the greatest born of woman, yet, despite all of this, God allowed that he die such a seemingly tragic death.

When we look into the matter we see that, although Saint John is considered a martyr and witness for the truth, he was not correcting Herod for a false teaching on a point of doctrine or desecrating the worship of the Most High God. Saint John was simply pointing out to Herod that he had violated the moral law of God.

It is important to note that theoretically Saint John could have compromised, he could have said that ‘Herod is not teaching the Israelites to worship idols’ or ‘this is a moral issue and not a point of doctrine and therefore I could ignore the whole matter and not risk the wrath of the king,’ but he did not. Out of love he desired to offer a spiritual remedy for the sin in the king’s life and for this he was beheaded. From this we learn that violation of the moral law of God is no trivial thing.

Much has been written about Herodias and her daughter, but I think that it is timely to focus on the man who gave the order for the beheading of Saint John the Baptist. Herod the tetrarch, a man who knew somewhat of the law given by God to His people. It is written in the Gospel of Saint Mark that Herod 'heard John gladly and did many things.' This indicates much. Herod conversed with Saint John and it is no stretch to assume that there was a time, before Herod took his brother’s widow to wife, when there was a good relationship between Herod and Saint John. More than likely, he listened gladly concerning doctrine. Furthermore, if, as the Gospel relates, he heard and did what Saint John told him, Herod could have very well been an almsgiver and shown mercy and outward virtue in various ways. Yet, it was plain for all to see that when Saint John admonished Herod for the sake of his own salvation to do the right thing on this one point, the man who formerly had a good relationship with Saint John turned against him, imprisoned him and then beheaded him.

Upon hearing such deeds, we become indignant at the lawless outrage committed against the minister and saint of God, but of course we know that God takes all things into account. Saint John suffered indignities and outrage for a short season and he abides in the glory of God for eternity.

And when we consider Herod, it is evident that he is the ultimate victim of Satan because, despite his other virtues, he chose to follow his own will and not the moral law of God and this lead to the greater sin of killing not just an innocent man, but the greatest man born of woman. In his gospel commentary on this passage, Saint John Chrysostom points out that if Herod had hearkened to the call to repentance from Saint John the Baptist, and done the right thing, few indeed were the people who would have heard of Herod’s sin. But the pride of arrogance and abuse of authority lead to further tragedies and now, even after…

so great a time has passed, and yet the memory of that which was done hath not faded away, but alike Persians and Indians, Scythians and Thracians, and Sarmatians, and the race of the Moors, and they that dwell in the British Islands, spread abroad that which was done secretly in a house by a woman that had been a harlot.

-Saint John Chrysostom, Commentary on Gospel of Matthew, 80th Homily

Alas, the man who heard Saint John gladly and did many acts of virtue is known throughout history for his infamous deeds and not his former virtue, all because he refused to do the right thing.

We see this story repeated throughout Church history, how men in positions of power who begin with a greater or lesser degree of virtue, reject God’s will, fall into sin and violate the moral law of God. And what is worse, when a minister of God admonishes them, because of their pride of power, they attack the messenger of God who is attempting to get them to do the right thing for the sake of their own salvation.

One example from Church history that comes to mind is from the life of Saint Niphon, Patriarch of Constantinople. Saint Niphon was born in Greece and was tonsured a monk at an early age. He spent his early years of monasticism on Mount Athos, mostly at the monastery of Dionysiou. It is interesting to note that the main church of that monastery is dedicated to the holy Forerunner and Saint Niphon had a special veneration for him. Because of his renowned reputation for meekness and spiritual wisdom the holy Niphon was chosen to become Bishop of Thessalonica. After two years of serving the Church in Thessalonica, he was elected to the vacant see of Patriarch of Constantinople. The saint held his post in Constantinople for a few years and subsequently, because of intrigue, the Sultan banished him from Constantinople to live in exile in Jedrene. The Wallachian (Romanian) Prince Radul heard of the wisdom of Saint Niphon and ransomed him from the Turks, convincing the saint to oversee the Church in Wallachia (present day Romania).

At first Radul was very solicitous towards the saint and helped him in his spiritual endeavors. Some time passed and Radul abandoned his wife and began living with another woman of noble rank. Eventually Radul found some unscrupulous bishops and clergyman to justify his deed and, although there were no grounds for divorce according to the canons, they granted him a divorce and married him to the paramour. Saint Niphon reproached Radul for this and Radul threw off his mask of piety and threatened the former Patriarch. Saint Niphon could have said that, it is just a case of morality, not heresy or part of Church order and it is better to compromise, but he did not. He stood his ground lest there be many other imitators of Radul. The tyrant’s working assumption was that because of his high position, the law of God did not apply to him. There is an old saying, “one does not tell the King, ‘you transgressed the law.’” There are many examples in history of men who embraced this ideal and were corrupted by their misuse of power to their own perdition. Better for men in positions of authority to meditate in their hearts the words of our Savior, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom they have committed much, of him they will ask the more. (Luke 12:48)

At length, Radul exiled the saint from his former residence and told his lackeys that they should offer Saint Niphon no assistance and that anyone who helped the saint would lose his life. With God’s help, Saint Niphon found safe conduct out of Wallachia, but also predicted a bitter end for Radul and many tribulations for the people of Wallachia. As prophesized, Radul, who had brought a curse upon himself, died a miserable death and the local state and Church of Wallachia underwent many woes because the leaders were complicit in his sin. Saint Niphon returned to the monastery of Dionysiou on Mount Athos and reposed in peace. After many afflictions, order was restored in Wallachia and the saint’s disciple Neagoe Basarab became ruler of that land.

Let us bow before God’s inscrutable providence, which at times allows insult and outrages against His ministers. Let us not be confused if the tyrants of this age attack the men of God with assassination or exile. God is the ultimate judge of all things. It is for us to follow in the footsteps of the saints.

We do not know what lies ahead for us in an increasingly anti-Christian culture. Contemporary society trivializes and mocks the idea of Christian morality, and seeks to influence our children. There are elements in society that speak from positions of authority and seek to groom our youth for their eventual acceptance and participation in unchristian behavior. We must be vigilant and walk wisely and according to knowledge. We cannot live like unto those who know not God.

It is wise and fitting to seek the blessing of God for every aspect of our lives and we gain a blessing by following His moral law. We are the work of His hands and He knows what is best for us as individuals and as families and as a Church. If we are admonished for our own correction, let us not imitate the ways of the proud, but the ways of the meek. As we see from many examples and common sense, anger and repentance cannot both dwell in a man.[1] Let us remember the words of the Lord, recorded by the Prophet Esaias, “"But to this man will I look: even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at My word.”(Esaias 66:2) A true sign of repentance is contrition. In the later years of his life, whenever the Apostle Peter heard a cock crow, he remembered his sin of denial and wept. Let Saint Peter be for us an example to imitate in our own repentance.

On this day wherein we commemorate the beheading of the Forerunner, let us pay heed to the importance that the men of God have attached to the moral law of God and let us not become confused if we see someone suffering some indignity for this truth. The saints fought for this principle to preserve order in the Church for their own and future generations.

May God preserve us all in unity amongst ourselves and with such saints as Saint John the Forerunner and Saint Niphon, by whose intercessions may we increase in spiritual knowledge unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ Jesus. (Eph 4:13)

Amen.