Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord and the after-feast of the Theophany, as well as the feastday of a wonderful Russian hierarch – St. Philip, the Metropolitan of Moscow.

Metropolitan Philip lived in the 16th century. In his childhood, he was acquainted with and was even a friend of the future tsar, Ivan the Fourth (the Terrible). He was tonsured a monk in the Solovetsk Monastery, where later he became the abbot. Still later, in 1566, at the request of the tsar, he was made the Metropolitan of Moscow. The following year a public conflict began between Ivan and Philip, who from the church ambo chastised the tsar and his secret police for the cruel murders they were perpetrating. At the end of 1568, the Holy Hierarch Philip was arrested and at the end of the following year he was murdered by Maliuta Skuratov, Ivan’s closest associate.

On days when we commemorate the holy hierarchs (saintly bishops), we often hear the parable of the good shepherd. This parable is usually separated into two parts. The first is read at matins, while the second part is read during the Liturgy. Today we heard the second part of the parable. In it Christ calls Himself a door, for only by faith in Him can a man enter into the Heavenly Kingdom. Our Lord also compares the thief and the hireling, who know only how to destroy, kill, and flee from any approaching danger, with a true good shepherd. Our Saviour says that He is the Good Shepherd who sacrifices His own life for the sake of His sheep. The sheep recognize such a shepherd and follow him.

With such wonderful, bright words Christ portrays Himself and His mission here on earth. Of course, these words are also a good description of those holy hierarchs and priests who strove to emulate Christ in their pastoral work.

To be such a genuine good shepherd is very challenging. It’s difficult to live for the sake of others and not for oneself, and even more so to give up one’s life for others or for Christ’s truth. Metropolitan Philip was one of these true good shepherds. Today, let’s pray from the depths of our hearts to this wonderful saint, that the Lord Jesus Christ, our head Shepherd, strengthen our hierarchs, priests, and other church leaders so that they shepherd their flocks in a worthy, correct, and God-pleasing way.

priest Alexis