0:00 Beginning

0:12 St. John's Ukase [Decree]

1:00 Archbishop Averky's homily titled "Be Not Deceived, Brethren, God Is Not Mocked!"

Readings from: “Man of God: Saint John of Shanghai & San Francisco”, p. 234; "The Just Shine Like The Stars: A Photographic Biography on the Life of Archbishop Averky of Jordanville Including Some of His Selected Sermons", pp. 37-39

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St. John’s “Ukase [Decree] concerning the inadmissibility of engaging in entertainments on the eves of feast days”:

The holy canons dictate that Christians should spend the eves of feast days in prayer and with reverence in preparation for participation or attendance at the Divine Liturgy. If all Orthodox Christians are called to this, then this pertains all the more to those who take an active part in the church service itself. Their participation in diversions on the eve of a feast day is especially sinful. In view of the above, those who attend a dance or similar form of entertainment and diversion may not participate in the choir the next day, may not serve in the altar, enter the altar or stand on the cliros.

Archbishop Averky teaches:

Alas, though we build churches, we do not fully appreciate what takes place within them. We do not value the freedom of being able to pray in these churches and of living with all the fulness of grace of church life, without which there is no salvation.

Our celebration begins in the evening with the serving of the all-night vigil; the night preceding a feast is a holy night. The only activity proper to such a night is prayer. It is obvious from the very name of the evening service — the "all-night vigil," that the first Christians passed the entire night in prayer on the eve of a feastday, just as we now do on the eve of Pascha. Would it occur to those living abroad to organize an "evening of dancing" or a "charity" theatrical performance on the eve of Pascha, for Sunday is our weekly celebration of Pascha.

People rarely sin or commit crimes without trying to justify themselves in every way possible. Yet the voice of our conscience is heard within us nonetheless. And thus, with every sin and crime, there is always some sort of excuse one can come up with to justify oneself before others and one's own conscience. the organizers of entertainments on the eves of feastdays have also devised cunning, "high-principled" justification for their sin. The diversions are organized for a "lofty, noble, purpose." with the aim of "aiding our neighbor," with the goal of "charity." But what kind of "charity" can this be? True Christian charity is practiced for the sake of Christ, in the name of God, and not in violation of God's commandments and the Church's precepts! There is scant value in the sort of charity that is purchased by defiling the sanctity of our feastdays and luring believers from church. Are Christians really unable to be charitable unless they can dance and amuse themselves at the same time?

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