Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Congratulations with the feasts of the Resurrection of the Lord and of the Holy Forefathers, as well as with the day of the memory of the Holy Prophet Haggai!

The Holy Prophet Haggai lived in the second half of the 6th century B. C. At that time, the Chaldeans, who had earlier led the Jews into captivity, were replaced by the Persians. The Persian King Cyrus had allowed the Jews to return to Palestine in 538. Although the Jews did not have their own independent government, the Persians under Kings Cyrus and Darius gave them autonomy. Judea was ruled by Zerubbabel, a descendant of King David, and Joshua, the son of Josedech, who was the high priest at that time. Life for the Jews who had returned to the Promised Land was not easy. There were both political and economic problems. Harvests were poor and new problems would arise constantly. Although the reconstruction of the Temple had begun as soon as the Jews returned, the mulititude of daily problems led to them to abandon this project and leave it for a more favourable time.

The question of the construction of the Тemple lead the Prophet Haggai to begin to preach. His short book is composed of four addresses. In the first address, He convinces the Jews, first among them Zerubbabel and Joshua, to resume construction of the temple. In the second address, he encourages them to continue the construction, despite the fact that it had become clear that the new temple would be smaller and poorer than the former temple built by Solomon. The Holy Prophet Haggai said that in truth, the new temple would be much more glorious than the old destroyed one. In the third address, the saint explains that without the temple and its liturgy, the Jewish people and all their endeavours will remain unclean, defiled, and sinful. The Temple was without a doubt needed for the Jews to be cleansed from defilement and to receive God’s blessing to continue building up the Jewish nation. In the final, fourth address, the Holy Prophet Haggai turns to Zerubbabel and says that the Lord will protect him as if he were His signet (a ring or seal), because the Lord had chosen him to be His faithful servant.

Because of the words of the Holy Prophet Haggai, the Jews were able to complete the construction of the Temple. Although magnificent, it could not compare in splendor to the First Temple, built by Solomon and destroyed by the Chaldeans. Despite the prophetic words spoken to Zerubbabel, the Persians soon removed him from his position and left Joshua the High Priest alone to rule the Jews. It would seem that the prophetic words of Haggai were not fulfilled, but of course, that is not the case. Without a doubt, the Second Temple was indeed better than the first, for in the second our Lord Jesus Christ preached and with His presence sanctified it greatly. Although the Persians removed Zerubbabel from his governorship, the Lord did not abandon him, seeing as he became an ancestor of the Saviour Jesus Christ and his name is included in the genealogy of our Lord. Perhaps there is no greater honour for a man than to be a forefather of Jesus Christ.

For each of us, the book of the Prophet Haggai contains many lessons. Let’s try to embody them in our lives. Let each of us take an interest in the adornment of our parish church. Let each of us set up in our own hearts a worthy temple for our God. Through the prayers of the Holy Prophet Haggai and all the Old Testament saints, may the Lord help us in these tasks.

priest Alexis