St. Nikolai Velimirovich
O how great was the fearlessness of the holy men and holy women! When we read
about their lives, both shame and pride is awakened in us unwillingly - shame
that we have lagged so far behind them and pride that they are of our Christian
race. Neither sickness, nor prison, nor exile, nor suffering, nor humiliation,
nor the sword, nor the abyss, nor fire, nor the gallows were able to shake the
exalted peace of their souls, firmly attached to Christ, the Helmsman of the
universe and human history.
When Emperor Julian apostasized from the Faith and began to make waste of
Christianity throughout the entire empire, St. Athanasius the Great quietly
spoke of him to the faithful: "The cloud will pass!". And indeed,
that dark cloud quickly passed and Christianity lowered its roots even deeper
and spread its branches all the more throughout the world. The weakened
wickedness of Julian against Christ was ended after several passing years with
Julian's cry: "O Nazarene, You have conquered!" O sons of God, why then
should we be afraid of anything from which God our Father is not afraid?
