Over the centuries Orthodox Christians have utilized
the time of Great Lent to contemplate the salvific Passion of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ—the voluntary sufferings which He undertook out of love for
mankind, in order to make possible our return from our fallen state to full
communion with God. On the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ by St. Philaret of
Chernigov is a grace-filled aid in this contemplation. Originally preached in
Russian churches during Great Lent, these sixty inspired sermons are permeated
with a spirit of sincere love for Christ and awe before His sacrifice for
mankind. Chronologically tracing the period of the last four days of the
Savior’s earthly life, they take the reader through every aspect of His
Passion, providing Christians with fertile material for soul-benefiting
meditation on Christ’s final teachings, sufferings, and death on the Cross.
In this English edition, a moving homily by St.
Philaret on Christ’s Resurrection follows the discourses on the Passion.
* * *
St. Philaret (Gumilevsky), Archbishop of Chernigov
(1805–1866), was a fervent and effective pastor of Christ’s flock, as well as a
prolific Church writer. Born in a small village in Russia, he was the son of
the village priest, himself a notable pastor and preacher. As a young man, he
was blessed by St. Seraphim of Sarov, who said that he would “be glorified
throughout Russia as a learned man.” He was a close disciple of St. Philaret
(Drozdov), metropolitan of Moscow, the great Russian theologian. Consecrated to
the episcopacy in 1841, he was first assigned to the cathedra of Riga, Latvia,
where, thanks to his pastoral zeal, over 100,000 souls were joined to the
Orthodox Church. He was later transferred to the Russian diocese of Kharkov,
and then to Chernigov, where he reposed. His literary works include historical,
theological, and homiletic books, as well as numerous articles. The present book was first
published in Russia in 1858.
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