In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. God is One. Amen.

For the Apostle reading today from Acts chapter 11, the Jews and converts to Judaism in Jerusalem who believe in Christ are puzzled. About the year 40 AD, about 10 years after the death and resurrection of Christ, only Jews and converts to Judaism are followers of Christ. Now there are reports from Antioch, more than 250 miles north of Jerusalem, that men from Cyprus and Cyrene are “preaching the Lord Jesus” to non-Jewish Greek people in Antioch; and “a great number” of those in Antioch have “believed [and] turned to the Lord.” The community in Jerusalem who believe in Christ decide to investigate. Since many of the evangelists in Antioch are from Cyprus, the community in Jerusalem send Barnabas to investigate. It is not surprising that Barnabas should be chosen, because he is a Jewish Christian born in Cyprus and soon to become the founder of the Christian Church in Cyprus.

So what happened in Antioch—then a thriving city of some half a million people, which is near the city of Antakya in modern Turkey? Barnabas found that the reports were true—non-Jews were turning to Christ. So, as Acts chapter 11, verse 23 says, Barnabas “began to encourage them all . . . to remain true to the Lord.” Then Barnabas makes a remarkable decision. He decides that so much is happening in Antioch that he needs help, so he leaves Antioch and travels more than 200 miles east of Antioch to Tarsus to find Saul. When Barnabas found Paul, Barnabas, and I quote, “brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church, and taught a large company of people; and in Antioch the disciples were for the first time called Christians.”

At the end of that year in Antioch, Barnabas and Saul had achieved something quite remarkable. The followers of Christ were no longer a small group of Jews who knew Jesus was the Messiah. Now, anyone—Jewish or not Jewish—could come to Christ and be part of His Church. What had happened? What was the Antiochian experience in the first century and today? What does it mean to be an Orthodox Antiochian Christian?

First, note that the Antiochian Orthodox Church was and is built on friendship and learning—the friendship of Barnabas and Saul who knew each other well and had probably studied together earlier under the famous Jewish rabbi Gamaliel. Then they each found Christ and learned about Him. Now as Barnabas and Saul, who was to become the famous apostle St Paul, built up the Church in Antioch they were not seeking power or prestige or honours for themselves. They wanted to learn about Christ and then to serve Him and His Church. That is true for each of us today. Our Church is built on friendship and learning and evangelism—on knowing and serving Christ and drawing others to Him. As an Orthodox Church, we Antiochians have no time for nationalism or political power or wealth or personal honours. We are all here together to learn about Christ and to find out how we can each use our talents—our God-given abilities—to serve Christ.

Children, what can you do well? What do you like to do? Do you think these things you can do and enjoy doing could be used by God to spread His love? . . . Good! Continue to do that well; and see what other things you might do well for Him. But let me offer you a word of advice on how to live a long life. Remember always that your body is a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.  Honour God by respecting your body and, indeed your mind and heart and spirit.  Glorify Him in all things!

But let’s get back to the Antiochian experience. We begin with friendship and learning and evangelism. As many of you will know, we have just held a three-day national conference for Antiochian Orthodox Christians in the United Kingdom and Ireland. We studied five great leaders of the Antiochian Church—the martyr St Ignatius, the preacher St John Chrysostom, the poet St Ephraim the Syrian, the theologian St John of Damascus and the pastor St Raphael of Brooklyn, New York. Let me tell you a bit about one of those saints— John Chrysostom, whom Father Alexander Tefft told us served well as a pastor, a preacher and a reformer.

St John Chrysostom became Archbishop of Constantinople in 398; and throughout his life he loved the poor and underprivileged more than himself. It is his Liturgy that we celebrate today. He had a personal integrity that spoke truth to power, whatever the consequences for himself. He called people to repent in their own lives and not to worry about what other people were doing or saying. That remains an important characteristic of Orthodox Christians and our Church—to repent for our own sins and faults, but to tell the truth to others who need to hear that truth firmly, but gently—at first privately, and then, if necessary, publicly. As Father Alexander phrased it, “The way that St John Chrysostom did things simply became the standard.”

That is precisely the challenge that confronts us today: The way that we as Antiochian Orthodox Christians live and study and reach out to bring Christ to others can become the standard for Orthodox Christianity. There is no need for power politics or wealth or prestige within any part of the Orthodox Church. Enough said!

There is one final part of St John Chrysostom’s life that is important for us today. He was born within a deeply pagan family who would have nothing to do with Christ. His father was a military officer who died when John Chrysostom was quite young. However, his wealthy and influential mother made sure that he studied under a famous pagan teacher, Libanius, who taught him how to speak well and to understand the Greek language and Greek literature. But then, John Chrysostom grew up—he abandoned his pagan beliefs and became a deeply committed Christian. He studied under an outstanding teacher and theologian, Diodore of Tarsus, who had built up the School of Antioch. According to the Christian historian, Sozomen, when John Chrysostom’s pagan teacher LIbanius was dying, Libanius said on his deathbed, “John Chrysostom would have been my successor if the Christians had not taken him from us.” 

That is THE BIG challenge here in the United Kingdom and in Ireland and in many other cultures today—to draw people of all ages away from paganism, that is, draw them away from a life based on idols and false gods, into a life with Christ. For John Chrysostom, that movement from paganism to Christ was also a movement away from the personal ambitions of his mother that the life of her son should simply be another jewel in her crown of worldly success. Instead, John Chrysostom chose for himself the life that Christ had prepared for him. Parents, please, today, do not raise your children primarily to fulfil your own hopes and ambitions. Raise them to serve Christ and His Church; and your true hopes will then be fulfilled.