- The Hesychast
- Posts
- Fifth Sunday of Pascha – The Samaritan Woman
Fifth Sunday of Pascha – The Samaritan Woman
Nick Konstantinos
May 19, 2025
on this Sunday after Pascha, the Church invites us to John’s Gospel, where Christ meets the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well (John 4:5–42). In this encounter, Jesus offers her “living water” that will “spring up to eternal life” (John 4:14), revealing the coming age when worship will be “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23–24).
Icon of St. Photini (the Samaritan Woman) at Jacob’s Well
In the icon above, Saint Photini (meaning “the enlightened one”) stands with her water jar before the well, symbolizing her transformation from seeking physical water to proclaiming Christ as the source of living . This beautiful image reflects how Christ gently draws her into deeper faith, an invitation echoed in our hearts today.
The Samaritan Woman at the Well – Gospel Reflection
In the Gospel reading (John 4:5–42), Christ journeys through Samaria and sits by Jacob’s well. A Samaritan woman comes to draw water, and Jesus asks her, “Give Me a drink.” This simple question breaks two Jewish taboos at once (a Jew speaking with a Samaritan, and with a woman), showing Christ’s radical love. He soon speaks to her of “living water”: “Whoever drinks of the water that I give him will never thirst” (Jn. 4:14).
Christ and the Samaritan Woman at Jacob’s Well — Icon
Intrigued, she asks Christ to explain, and He reveals that He knows her life story — even that she has had five husbands — leading her to recognize Him as a Prophet (Jn. 4:19) and eventually the Messiah Himself (Jn. 4:25–26). Filled with awe, she abandons her jar and runs back to town to tell others: “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did” (Jn. 4:29). Many Samaritans in her town believed in Jesus for her word (Jn. 4:39).
The Samaritan Woman Runs to Proclaim Christ
Orthodox tradition holds that this encounter foreshadowed Pentecost and the new covenant. As one reflection notes, the dialogue “foreshadowed the establishment of Christ’s holy Church on earth… known to us today as Pentecost”. In this moment Jesus shifts worship from fixed places (Mt. Gerizim or Jerusalem) to a spiritual reality: “True worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” (Jn. 4:23–24). In calling herself a seeker of water, the woman becomes a symbol of all humanity thirsting for God. By the end of the story she not only thirsts no more, but becomes an evangelist whose faith leads many to Christ.
Reflections of the Church Fathers
St. John Chrysostom marvels at Christ’s pastoral wisdom: he writes, “Observe… the wisdom of Christ, how gently He leads on the woman”. Chrysostom points out that Jesus does not overwhelm her at once with divine power; rather He draws her in conversation, using kindness and truth. When Jesus offers her “living water,” Chrysostom explains that He is speaking of the Holy. (Earlier, John the Forerunner had said Jesus would baptize “with the Holy Spirit and fire,” and here Christ calls that same Spirit “water” to emphasize its cleansing, life-giving.) In Chrysostom’s view, the Samaritan woman thus prefigures the converts of the new covenant, receiving the Spirit that quenches every spiritual thirst. |  Icon of Saint John Chrysostom — the golden-mouthed hierarch and theologian of the 4th century |
 Icon of Saint Basil the Great — Archbishop of Caesarea and one of the Three Holy Hierarchs | St. Basil the Great uses the dialogue allegorically: when Jesus notes that the woman had “five husbands” (John 4:17), Basil writes that these represent her five senses, each of which seeks satisfaction. He comments that Christ is teaching us to examine our passions: “the Lord said to the woman of Samaria, who had five husbands, ‘He whom thou now hast is not thy husband’”. Basil explains this as a call for the soul to give its loyalty entirely to Christ, not to be “married” to the pleasures of the body. |
In Orthodox hymnography and writings, the Samaritan woman is honored as Equal-to-the-Apostles. After her encounter, she “was quick to spread the news of her meeting with Jesus,” and “through this many came to believe in Him”.
Her life witness, culminating in martyrdom under Nero, shows the transformative power of the Gospel. This underlines the lesson that a personal encounter with Christ impels us to testify to others.
Spiritual Takeaways for Today
Just as the woman went to the well for physical water, each of us comes to life’s well with spiritual thirst. Jesus’ gift of living water reminds us that only He can truly satisfy the deep longings of our soul. We are invited to pray, “Lord, give me this water, that I may not thirst” (cf. Jn. 4:15), seeking the Holy Spirit given in our baptism and Chrismation.
Icon of Saint Photini
Christ speaks to the Samaritan woman despite cultural enmity. He shows that His salvation is for all — Jew and Gentile, woman and man. In our era, we learn that no person is outside God’s love. Our Lord calls us to overcome prejudice: “Truly, I say to you, a prophet has no honor in his own country” (Jn. 4:44), and indeed Christ honors a stranger.
The woman does not hide her past from Jesus. In their exchange we see Christ gently confront sin (“He whom you have now is not your husband”) without shame or condemnation, opening the way to healing. We learn that we can confess our burdens to Christ honestly; He knows us already and meets us with mercy.
Finally, the woman’s immediate response – leaving her jar and running to bring others – teaches us to share the joy of Christ’s love. Her bold proclamation, “He told me all that I ever did,” brought many to believe in him.
Reply