Fourth Sunday of Matthew

The Holy Unmercenaries Cyrus and John are the chief commemoration of this day, when the Church keeps the translation of their relics from Konopa, near Alexandria, where they were martyred, to the nearby village of Manuphin in the year 412. Saint Cyrus was a celebrated physician of Alexandria, born and raised in that city, who treated the sick without payment—healing not only their bodily afflictions but their souls, bringing many to faith in Christ. When the persecution under Diocletian broke out, he withdrew into Arabia, embraced the monastic life, and there his fame as a wonderworker only grew, for now he healed not by medicine but by prayer.

In the city of Edessa there lived a devout soldier named John. Hearing of Cyrus, he sought him out, traveling first to Alexandria and then into Arabia, and the two became companions in asceticism. When they learned that a Christian woman named Athanasia and her three daughters had been seized and were being interrogated, the two holy men, fearing the young maidens might falter under torture, went into the city to strengthen them. They themselves were then arrested, cruelly tortured, and beheaded together with the women on the thirty-first of January, the day on which their martyrdom is principally kept.

Their relics worked such wonders that the place of their burial became a refuge for the sick and the demon-troubled. Saint Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria—the great defender of the Theotokos at Ephesus—was directed by an angel to translate their relics to Manuphin, a place long oppressed by demonic activity, and there he built a church in their honor. From that time the shrine of Cyrus and John became one of the most renowned healing-shrines of the Christian East, drawing pilgrims from across the Mediterranean world.

The connection to today’s Gospel is immediate. The centurion came pleading for a servant lying “paralyzed, dreadfully tormented,” and the Lord healed by a word. Cyrus and John are the Church’s “unmercenary physicians” (Anargyroi) precisely because they imitated that same Physician who heals freely, asking no payment, marveling not at fees but at faith.

Saints Sergius and Herman founded, on a rocky island in Lake Ladoga in the Russian North, the renowned Monastery of Valaam, which would become one of the great centers of Orthodox monasticism and a cradle of missionary labor among the Karelian and Finnish peoples. Tradition remembers Sergius as a monk of Greek origin who carried the Orthodox faith into these northern lands, and Herman as his fellow-laborer, of Karelian or Greek descent, who preached Christ to the pagan tribes of the region.

Settling the remote, forested island still inhabited by pagan peoples, the two ascetics embraced a life of severe self-denial—prolonged fasting, vigils through the night, unceasing prayer, and the hard manual labor of clearing the land for their hermitage. From their hidden struggle grew a monastery whose spiritual influence would radiate across the North for centuries, sending out monks, missionaries, and saints, including in time the evangelizers of Alaska. Their primary feast is kept on this day, June 28.

This day also keeps the Synaxis of the wonderworking Icon of the Theotokos known as “Of the Three Hands,” whose story is bound to Saint John of Damascus. While John served the Caliph of Damascus, the iconoclast Emperor Leo the Isaurian, enraged at John’s defense of the holy icons, contrived a forgery to slander him as a traitor. The Caliph, deceived, ordered John’s right hand—the hand that had written in defense of the icons—to be struck off.

Taking up his severed hand, John shut himself away before an icon of the Mother of God and prayed through the night for healing, that the hand might again write in her Son’s defense. Falling asleep in prayer, he awoke to find the hand restored, with only a red scar at the wrist as a witness to the miracle. In thanksgiving John fashioned a hand of silver and affixed it to the icon, from which it took its name, “Of the Three Hands.” The icon now rests at the Serbian Monastery of Hilandar on Mount Athos. In Greek usage it is commemorated today, June 28; in Slavic usage on July 12.

Saint Paul of Corinth took monastic tonsure in his youth and labored in the ascetic life. By the malice of the devil he was slandered: a woman came to the monastery with a newborn child and accused the holy monk of being its father. Saint Paul bore the false charge with humility and even joy, neither denying it nor defending himself, but taking the infant as though it were his own son. When the brethren reproached him for breaking his vows, Paul said simply, “Brethren, let us ask the infant who his father is.” The newborn child, by a miracle, stretched out its hand toward a certain blacksmith and said, “Here is my father, and not the monk Paul.” From that time God glorified His servant with the gift of healing, and he became known as a physician of bodies and souls.

Blessed Sergius the Magister is remembered as the founder of the Monastery of the Theotokos called Nikitiatus in the region of Nicomedia. He is held in particular honor on the island of Crete, where he reposed in peace in the year 866 and was buried in the monastery that bore his title, the Monastery of the Magistrate.

The Holy Martyr Pappias is commemorated on this day among the saints of June 28. Little of his life survives in the synaxaria beyond his witness in martyrdom; he is honored together with the great company of those who sealed their confession of Christ with their blood.

• “The reason he had not brought him in was itself a sign of his great faith.”—St. John Chrysostom
• “By viewing himself as unworthy, he showed himself worthy for Christ to come not merely into his house but also into his heart.” (on the centurion’s humility)
• “I do not wait to receive active power but have it already in myself.”—St. John Chrysostom, on Christ as the fountain of all good things
• “The more diffident we are of ourselves, the stronger will be our confidence in Christ.”
• “Illnesses of the body are God’s soldiers and officers of punishment.”—Bl. Theophylact
• “Jesus is found marveling at the centurion. He turns his attention to him and honors him with the gift of the kingdom.”—St. John Chrysostom
• “He said it in a roundabout manner, so as not to scandalize the Jews.”—Bl. Theophylact, on “many shall come from east and west”
• “There is no coercion with God. He has a good will toward us continually.”—St. Irenaeus of Lyons
• “It would have been no great joy for the Lord Jesus to enter into his house and not to enter his heart.”

”Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him,”

St. John Chrysostom (+407)

Some argue that the centurion, by his description, implied the reason why he had not brought his servant to Jesus, as though the man was at his last gasp. In my opinion, however, the reason he had not brought him in was itself a sign of his great faith, even much greater than those who let the patient down through the roof. Because the centurion knew for certain that even a mere command was enough for raising the servant up, he thought it unnecessary to bring him.

St. John Chrysostom (+407)

The leper came unto Him when He had come down from the mountain, but this centurion when He was entered into Capernaum. Wherefore then did neither the one nor the other go up into the mountain? Not out of remissness, for indeed the faith of them both was fervent, but in order not to interrupt His teaching.

Bl. Theophylact of Ochrid (+1107)

This man did not approach Jesus while He was on the mountain, so as not to interrupt the teaching. This is the same man mentioned by Luke. Although Luke says that the centurion sent to Jesus others who were elders, this does not contradict Matthew who says that the centurion himself came to Jesus. It is altogether likely that first he sent others, and then, when death was imminent, he himself came.

”saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.’”

St. John Chrysostom (+407)

Some say that by way of excuse he mentioned the cause why he had not brought him—for it was not possible, paralyzed and tormented and at his last gasp, to convey him. But I say this is a sign of his having great faith, even much greater than theirs who let one down through the roof. For because he knew for certain that even a mere command was enough for the raising up of the patient, he thought it superfluous to bring him. What then does Jesus? What He had in no case done before, here He does: He offers not only to heal him, but also to come to the house—that we might learn the virtue of the centurion.

”And Jesus said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’”

St. John Chrysostom (+407)

While on previous occasions He had responded to the wish of His supplicants, in this case He rather springs actively toward it. He offers not only to heal him but also to come to his house. By this we learn of the centurion’s excellent faith. For if He had not made this offer but rather had said, “Go your way, let your servant be healed,” we would not have known these things.

St. Symeon the New Theologian (+1022)

Let everyone who wants approach Him. Let one say, “Son of David, have mercy on me”; let another say, “Lord, my daughter—that is, my soul—is severely possessed by a demon,” and he will hear: “I will come to heal her.” If someone is a paralytic, lying for years in sloth and love of pleasure, and should see the Master Himself come to him and ask, “Do you want to be healed?” let him not refuse.

Bl. Theophylact of Ochrid (+1107)

The centurion did not bring his servant lying on his bed to Jesus, as he believed that Jesus could heal him even from a distance.

”The centurion answered and said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.’”

St. John Chrysostom (+407)

What then says the centurion? “I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.” Let us hearken, as many as are to receive Christ—for it is possible to receive Him even now. Let us emulate, and receive Him with as great zeal; for when you receive a poor man who is hungry and naked, you have received and cherished Him. “But say in a word only, and my servant shall be healed.” See how, like the leper, he has the right opinion concerning Him. For he did not say “entreat,” nor “pray and beseech,” but “command only.”

Bl. Theophylact of Ochrid (+1107)

The centurion says, “If I, who am the servant of the emperor, command the soldiers who are under me, how much more art Thou able to command death and the illnesses, so that they depart from one and beset another?” For illnesses of the body are God’s soldiers and officers of punishment. Christ marvels, therefore, saying, “I have not found such great faith among the Israelites as I have in this Gentile.”

”For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

St. John Chrysostom (+407)

The Lord, having taught His disciples on the mount and healed the leper at the foot of the mount, came to Capernaum. This is a mystery, signifying that after the purification of the Jews He went to the Gentiles. This centurion was the first-fruits of the Gentiles, and in comparison of his faith all the faith of the Jews was unbelief; he neither heard Christ teaching, nor saw the leper cleansed, but from hearing only that he had been healed, he believed more than he heard. So he mystically typified the Gentiles that should come, who had neither read the Law nor the Prophets concerning Christ, nor had seen Christ Himself, and yet believed.

”When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!’”

St. John Chrysostom (+407)

To have high imaginations concerning Him—this especially is of faith, and tends to procure the kingdom and His other blessings. For His praise did not reach to words only, but He both restored the sick man whole, in recompense of his faith, and weaves for him a glorious crown, and promises great gifts.

Bl. Theophylact of Ochrid (+1107)

Christ marvels, saying, “I have not found such great faith among the Israelites as I have in this Gentile.” For the centurion reasoned that as he, a subordinate officer, could command his soldiers, so much more could Christ command death and the illnesses.

”And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”

St. John Chrysostom (+407)

Since He had shown many miracles, He proceeds to talk with them more unreservedly. And that no one might suppose His words to come of flattery, the Evangelist signifies that such truly was the mind of the centurion.

Bl. Theophylact of Ochrid (+1107)

Jesus did not say outright, “Many Gentiles shall sit at table with Abraham.” He said it in a roundabout manner, so as not to scandalize the Jews: “Many shall come from the east and west.” He mentioned Abraham to show that He does not stand in opposition to the Old Testament. He calls the Jews “the sons of the kingdom,” for the promises of the Old Testament were made to them.

”But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Bl. Theophylact of Ochrid (+1107)

By saying “outer darkness,” He shows that there is also an inner darkness which is less severe; for in hell there are varying degrees of punishment. He calls the Jews “the sons of the kingdom,” for the promises of the Old Testament were made to them: “Israel is My firstborn son” (Ex. 4:22).

”Then Jesus said to the centurion, ‘Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.’ And his servant was healed that same hour.”

St. Irenaeus of Lyons (+202)

There is no coercion with God. He has a good will toward us continually. He gives reliable counsel to humans and angels, to whom He has given the power of choice. Those who yield obedience therefore possess what is good freely and justly. It is given by God but preserved by themselves. God preserved the human will free and under his own self-control, as is shown in Jesus’ word to the centurion: “Go. Be it done for you as you have believed.”

St. John Chrysostom (+407)

As what the leper had affirmed concerning Christ’s power was confirmed by the Lord’s own mouth, so here He did not blame the centurion for bearing testimony to Christ’s authority, but commended him. And it is something greater than commendation that the Evangelist signifies in the words, “But Jesus, hearing, marveled.” And straightway the work followed, bearing witness to his character.

Bl. Theophylact of Ochrid (+1107)

By healing the servant by His word alone, Jesus showed that He also spoke the truth when He said that the Jews would be cast out from the kingdom.

Source: Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, Homily 26

Chrysostom returns repeatedly to a single point: the centurion’s faith is “much greater” than that of those who let the paralytic down through the roof, because it required no physical proximity at all—only the conviction that a word from Christ carried the whole authority of God over nature, sickness, and death. Chrysostom draws out the pastoral application: Christ “springs toward” the request and offers to come in person, not because He needed to, but so that the centurion’s humility (“I am not worthy”) would have occasion to shine and instruct the Church.

Source: Discourses (Catechetical Orations)

Symeon reads the healing typologically and personally: every soul is the “servant” lying paralyzed at home, and Christ still says today, “I will come to heal her.” The paralytic “lying for years in sloth, carelessness, and love of pleasure” is the soul that must not refuse the Physician who comes uninvited. Symeon turns the miracle into an invitation to repentance—the Lord’s readiness to come is unchanged; what is required is our willingness to be healed.

The Gospel records only twice that the Lord “marveled”—here at the faith of a Gentile, and at Nazareth at the unbelief of His own. The centurion’s faith is striking precisely because it had no scaffolding: no Law, no Prophets, no covenant inheritance, only a soldier’s grasp of authority transfigured into a confession of Christ’s divine power. Chrysostom insists this is the heart of faith—“to have high imaginations concerning Him.” The centurion does not negotiate or beseech at length; he confesses that a single word of Christ commands creation as surely as his own word commands his soldiers. The Church holds this confession up at the most sacred moment of the Liturgy: the words of the centurion, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof, but only speak a word,” echo in the prayers before Communion. The faith that astonished Christ in Capernaum is the faith the Church asks of every communicant.

The Fathers bind the centurion’s faith inseparably to his humility. He who held authority over a hundred men declared himself unworthy to receive the Lord under his roof—and in that very self-abasement, the Fathers say, he made himself worthy to receive Christ into his heart. “Humble souls are made more humble by Christ’s gracious dealings with them,” and “the more diffident we are of ourselves, the stronger will be our confidence in Christ.” This is the paradox at the center of the day: confidence in prayer grows not from self-assurance but from a true knowledge of one’s own poverty before God. The centurion’s healing comes through the door of humility, and the Church sets him before us as the pattern of how to approach the Physician of souls and bodies.

In the centurion the Fathers see the first-fruits of the nations. Chrysostom reads the Lord’s movement from the mountain to Capernaum as a mystery—“after the purification of the Jews He went to the Gentiles.” The Lord’s word, “Many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” is the opening of the kingdom to all peoples, and the warning that “the sons of the kingdom” may be cast out is a summons against presumption. Inheritance is not enough; faith is required. This theme joins the Gospel to the day’s saints—Cyrus and John, who healed the nations freely; Sergius and Herman, who carried the Gospel to the pagan tribes of the North; the Icon “Of the Three Hands,” bound to a defender of the faith in a Muslim land. The kingdom is gathered “from east and west.”

The Lord heals the centurion’s servant “by a word,” asking nothing, marveling only at faith. On this day the Church commemorates the Holy Unmercenaries Cyrus and John, who imitated that freedom—healing without payment, that the gift of God might be given as a gift. The juxtaposition is the Church’s own: the Gospel of the Physician who heals freely, read on the feast of the physicians who healed freely. Saint Paul the Physician of Corinth, vindicated by a miracle and glorified with the gift of healing, stands in the same line. The theme presses a question on every Christian who has received mercy without cost: “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8).

”Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad, for the Lord has shown strength with His arm. He has trampled down death by death; He has become the first-born of the dead; He has delivered us from the depths of hell, and has granted the world great mercy.”

The appointed Resurrectional hymn for the week proclaims the foundation of every healing in the Gospel: the Lord who “trampled down death by death” is the same who heals the servant “that same hour,” for authority over sickness and authority over death are one authority.

”O Christ God, You have given us the miracles of Your martyrs Cyrus and John as an invincible rampart; through their prayers frustrate the plans of the heathens, and strengthen the faith of the Orthodox Christians, for You alone are good and love mankind.”

The hymn of the day’s chief saints names them an “invincible rampart” of miracles—the unmercenary physicians whose freely-given healing answers the freely-given healing of the Gospel.

”O protection of Christians that cannot be put to shame, mediation unto the Creator most constant: despise not the suppliant voices of those who have sinned, but be quick, O good one, to come unto our aid who in faith cry unto you. Hasten to intercession and speed to make supplication, O Theotokos, for you ever protect those who honor you.”

The appointed Sunday kontakion for the season turns the faithful, like the centurion, toward humble supplication—confident not in their own worthiness but in the constant mediation of the Mother of God.