Synaxarion For Saturday of Cheesefare

By Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos

SATURDAY of CHEESEFARE

On the same day, we commemorate all the Saints, both men and women, who shone forth in asceticism.

Verses

To the souls of the Righteous, whose memory abideth
forever, do I offer these my words as abiding oblations.


Synaxarion

Having led us gently through the preceding Feasts, the God-bearing Fathers have prepared us for the arena of the Fast and led us away from luxury and satiety. They have instructed us with fear of the future Judgment, and have skillfully cleansed us by anticipation during Cheesefare week, having placed two fast days in the middle of the preceding week, in order gradually to rouse us to fasting. Behold, they now set in our midst those who lived lives of sanctity, through their many labors and toils, both men and women, so that, by reminding us of their struggles, they might make us more vigorous for the contest, and so that, having their lives as an example and guide, and eliciting their alliance and aid, we might disrobe for spiritual exertions, taking it into account that they shared in the same nature as ourselves. For, just as generals, when their armies are arrayed and are already standing in line, stir up their own troops by recounting examples and memories of men of old who fought with distinction and valor, and the troops, stimulated thereby with the hope of victory, set out wholeheartedly for combat, so also do the God-bearing Fathers wisely act in our case. Encouraging both men and women to spiritual contests through the example of those who have lived in holiness, in this way they bring them to the arena of the Fast, in order that, looking to their lives as an excellent prototype, we might attain to the many different kinds of virtue, as each of us is able: first, love, and then conscious abstinence from unseemly works and deeds, and fasting itself, that is, not just from food, but also from the sins of the tongue, anger, sins of the eyes, and, to put it simply, refraining from all that is evil. For this reason, the Holy Fathers appointed the present commemoration of all the Ascetic Saints, adducing those who were well-pleasing to God for fasting and other good works, urging us to proceed, in their image, to the arena of the virtues, and exhorting us to arm ourselves valiantly against the passions and the demons, reckoning that if we show zeal equal to theirs, there is no impediment to our achieving all that they achieved and being vouchsafed the same rewards; for, they shared in the same nature as ourselves.

Concerning Cheesefare week, when it was previously permitted to eat meat, some say that Emperor Heraklios decreed its present form. After campaigning against Chosroës and the Persians for six years, he vowed to God that, if he prevailed against them, he would alter this week and make it intermediate between fasting and feasting, which he did. In my opinion, although this may have been the case, the Holy Fathers devised this week as kind of preparatory cleansing, lest we should become disgruntled at being led straight from consuming meat and overeating to extreme abstinence from food and damage our physical health, and so that, by abstaining gently and gradually from rich and delectable foods, we might, like recalcitrant horses, through a reduced intake of food, accept the bridle of fasting. That which they devised for the soul through parables, they also did for the body, little by little removing impediments to fasting.

By the intercessions of all Thine Ascetic Saints, O Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.

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Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
As preachers of true piety who silenced all impiety, Lord, Thou hast made the whole host of God-bearing Saints shine forth with splendour on the world. By their prayers and entreaties, keep all them that extol and sincerely magnify Thee in perfect peace, to chant and to sing to Thee: Alleluia.

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Constantine Cavarnos, Schemamonk and Professor, Has Reposed (1918-2011)

The following encomium was written by Archpriest Joseph Frawley in honor of the late professor and schemamonk Constantine Cavarnos.

The noted author and lecturer Schemamonk Constantine (Cavarnos) fell asleep in the Lord on the morning of March 3, 2011 at St Anthony's Monastery in Arizona, and was buried there the same day.

Dr Cavarnos was born in Boston in 1918, and graduated from Harvard University, where he also received a Doctorate in Philosophy. He taught at several colleges in America, and contributed articles and reviews to various publications through the years. In 1956, he founded the Institute of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies in order to promote interest in Orthodox spirituality, philosophy, and modern Greek culture.

He lectured in schools, seminaries, and parishes in this country and abroad, where his clear, lucid presentations were always well received.

Dr Cavarnos wrote nearly one hundred books including volumes on philosophy, theology, and the very popular series of Modern Orthodox Saints. His first book A DIALOGUE BETWEEN BERGSON, ARISTOTLE, AND PHILOLOGOS was published in 1949. His latest, THE PHILOKALIA, VOL. 2, was released just this year.

Although he began his career with philosophical studies, he progressed to the true philosophy, which is how the Church Fathers describe monasticism. Dr Cavarnos admired the monastic life, and wrote several books on the subject. Even while living and working as a layman, he seemed to be detached from the world. The late Greek Orthodox Archbishop Michael used to call him "a monk living in the world." Meeting him, one sensed that here was a man of true piety and prayer.

In the course of his career, Dr Cavarnos knew many prominent people. He has written of his long friendship with the Greek iconographer and writer, Photios Kontoglou, who brought about a revival of Byzantine iconography. He also knew some of the Orthodox Church's great Spiritual Fathers, such as Archimandrite Philotheos Zervakos.

When Dr Cavarnos lost his sight, he embraced the monastic life and was tonsured at St Anthony's Monastery in Florence, AZ. I believe he always intended to end his life in a monastery, and that this was the fulfillment of his fondest wish.

It was my privilege to know Dr Cavarnos for almost forty years. Whenever my wife and I would travel to the Boston area to visit family, we always tried to make time to visit him at his home in Belmont, MA. He was a major influence in my life through his books, lectures, and paternal counsel. Our conversations at his home were just like his books: uplifting, edifying, and soul-profiting. His books remain as his legacy, and will continue to inspire and instruct future generations of those who seek the heavenly Kingdom.

There was an understandable sadness when I heard that he had completed the course of his earthly life. However, there is also a sense of joy because he is, I believe, with God and with all the saints who ever lived.

May the Lord be merciful to the ever-memorable servant of God, Schemamonk Constantine, and give him rest in Abraham's bosom, and number him among the just.

Dr. Constantine Cavarnos lecturing at Holy Cross School of Theology in 1996.

My Memories of Dr. Constantine Cavarnos

By John Sanidopoulos

Dr. Constantine Cavarnos was a major Orthodox influence in my life. I first came to know of him working in my parents restaurant while in High School where they would receive the weekly Greek newspaper The Hellenic Chronicle. During down time I would read through this paper and took particular interest in the contributions of Dr. Cavarnos. When his travelogue book Anchored In God was released, there was a review in this paper that inspired me to read it. At the first opportunity I acquired this book and was so fascinated by his pilgrimage to Mount Athos that I stayed up all night reading it cover to cover with great attention. This was the first Orthodox book I ever read. Soon after a weekly series began in The Hellenic Chronicle on the topic of the immortality of the soul written by Dr. Cavarnos. When I read an announcement that he was to give a lecture on this topic at Sts. Constantine and Helen Church in Cambridge, MA I made sure to make plans to attend the lecture which was my first meeting with an Orthodox personality whom I admired.

While I was in Seminary Dr. Cavarnos was invited to give a lecture on the topic of Christian love (see photo above) in 1996. Soon after I visited his home with a friend named Peter and the then Fr. Savas Zembillas (now bishop), though only entered the first floor which had no furniture but a table with all his books. The only thing I remember in our conversation was his lamentation on the current translation of The Philokalia, which probably inspired him to begin his new translation, the second volume of which was his last published book.

I began a short correspondence with Dr. Cavarnos soon after on various topics of Holy Tradition and Iconography as I was studying at Seminary. By this time I had read many of his books. He eventually gave me his phone number and invited me to his home, which was actually in the town I grew up in nearby in Belmont, MA. Th first time I went alone and we had an interesting and pleasant conversation in his simple home, which looked like it had not changed in decoration since the 1950's, along with his sister whom he lived with. I was amazed that he was asking for my advice on who to include in his next volume on Modern Orthodox Saints, as he felt that he had run out of topics since he believed he had written on everyone he met. I encouraged him to explore new territory with either the people he had met or even who he had not met as in many of the previous volumes.

After this meeting I visited him a few other times by myself. The last time I visited his home was with my girlfriend at the time, since I wanted her to meet him as she was a relatively new convert from Catholicism. It was during this visit that I asked him what was the one thing lacking most among Orthodox in America who study Orthodoxy. He responded that it was the first principles of human thought - basic human logic. As a professor of philosophy he always tried to implement the study of logic in his students, since it is the foundation upon which human thought properly builds itself. As he spoke about it he offered my girlfirend and I to come weekly to his home and be taught logic from his old notes while he was a professor. We were excited for the opportunity, but unfortunately summer vacation was coming and it was to be put on hold since my girlfriend lived in Ohio. When she came back to Boston in the Fall we both became so busy with school and work and plans for our marriage, since we had become engaged, that we put off the class. Within a year we were married and had moved to North Carolina for three years, so the opportunity was regrettably missed.

In North Carolina we maintained an infrequent correspondence and he would send me his books signed by him, such as his book on Elder Gabriel Dionysiatis. Taking his advice however I did take a semester in North Carolina in Logic while studying for a Philosophy degree and saw how right he was in the need to understand the first principles of human thought in order to be a true thinker of deeper topics.

The last time I saw Dr. Cavarnos was when I returned to Boston to complete my Seminary studies around the year 2003. I was in the library when I began to hear someone in the next aisle praying the Jesus Prayer continuously with deep sighs here and there. I suppose he thought he was alone. I was in awe at his dedication to noetic prayer, a topic he often wrote about and even taught me much about. In all the years of studying theology, this was probably the most influential on me, as such a thing was rare to hear in a theological school. I didn't want to disturb him, but did talk to him later as he was leaving. Unfortunately life got in the way of my seeing him again.

Just a few days ago I was discussing something about Dr. Cavarnos in an email correspondence, of whom I had not discussed in a long time, and I first heard to my great joy that he was a monk at St. Anthony's Monastery in Arizona, no doubt for his admiration of Elder Ephraim. He was a great admirer of Elder Ephraim's spiritual father Elder Joseph the Hesychast, whom he met. I was also told he was frail and in a wheelchair now. A few days later I received the news that the previous day Dr. Cavarnos had reposed and was buried. His love for the ascetic tradition of the Church was fulfilled by being not only a monastic in the world, but as a tonsured monastic in a monastery in America. Though saddened by the news, I also felt a great joy that he ended his days in a monastery.

May his memory be eternal.

In the center is Greek literary figure Stratis Myrivilis. Next to him, on the right, is Dr. Constantine Cavarnos. Athens, 1958 (from the book "Meetings With Kontoglou").

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Saturday of Cheesefare: Commemoration Of All Ascetic Fathers and Mothers

By Sergei Bulgakov

On Saturday of Cheese Fare Week we commemorate "all the venerable Fathers and dedicated Mothers of the Lord, with the Hieromartyrs and Holy Women, known by name and unknown, who brightly shone forth living ascetically. Just as leaders before fully armed warriors and already standing in the front lines speak about the exploits of old heroes and that encourages the warriors, so precisely the holy Fathers entering into the fast direct the holy men, who have shone in fasting, and teach that fasting is not only abstaining from food, but also in controlling one's tongue, heart and eyes" (Synaxarion).[1]

In the hymns for this day the Holy Church appeals to her children: "Come, all ye faithful, let us praise the choir of the venerable fathers"; "Looking with awe at their valor, let us strive to equal them in virtue"; "Their radiance appearing in our souls, and through the brightness of their signs they have shed their light spiritually upon all the ends of the earth"; "They pray to the Lord for all the world to deliver us from the ancient curse, freeing us from torments".

Praising those who are well-pleasing to God, the Holy Church, turning from the face of their children exclaims in a melodious voice to them:

O Fathers of all the world, who among those born on earth can recount the wonder of your way of life? What tongue can express your holy efforts in the Spirit and your sweat? Was it your feats of virtue, the exhaustion of your flesh, your struggles against passions, in vigils, in prayers and tears? Truly you are shown to be like angels in the world, completely destroying the demonic powers, performing strange and wondrous signs. Therefore pray, most blessed Ones, that we may receive the never ending joy.

Together with these hymns the Holy Church, in view that this Saturday follows the commemoration of the Sunday of the Last Judgment, turning to us exclaims:

Let us cleanse ourselves, brethren, from all defilement of flesh and spirit, let us light the lamps of our souls by our love for the poor, not devouring one another by curses. For the time is nigh when the Bridegroom shall come to reward all according to their works. In the coming of the wise virgins, may we enter with Christ, crying to Him with the voice of the thief: Remember us, O Lord, when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom.

Kontakion in Plagal of the Fourth Tone
As preachers of piety repressing impiety, You explained the assembly of the God-bearing Fathers making them shine on all under the sun. By their prayers, keep all who glorify and magnify Thee in perfect peace, singing to Thee, O Lord, Alleluia.

Notes:

1. The commemoration of some of these ascetics is celebrated at another time, and others are commemorated only on the present day.

In the service for this day we commemorate the following holy men and women:

Abbakyres (Egyptian, 6th century), Abramius (Oct. 29), Auxentius (Feb. 14), Agatho (Mar. 2), Acacius (July 7), Alonius (June 4), Anthony (Jan. 17) and his disciples: Nisthenor, the Sarmatian (killed in 357 by robbers in Thebaid, Aug. 30), Ammon (Oct. 4), Amonathas (Egyptian desert dweller, Dec. 12), Anubius (June 5), Aninas (Mar. 18), Antiochus (Dec. 24), Aris (Dec. 19), Arsenius (May 8) and his disciple Ammonius, Aphrodisius (Dec. 24), Athenodorus (Dec. 29), Apollos (or Apolonius, March 31), Achilles (Jan. 17), Athanasius (Jan. 18 and July 5), Athry (June 8), Ambrose (Dec. 7), Alexander (Aug. 30 and Dec. 12), Antipater (June 13), Amphilochius (Nov. 2_), Atticus (Jan. 8), Anatolius (July 3), Babylus (Dec. 28), Bassian (Oct. 10), Benedict (Mar. 14). Benjamin (Dec. 29), Bessarion (June 6), Basil (Jan. 1), Vitalis (Apr. 22), Vitymius (or Vitimion, venerable one of Egypt, 5th Century, Dec. 24), Gaius (Dec. 31), Gelasius (Dec. 31), Germanus (May 12), Gerasimus (Mar. 4), Gregory (Jan. 10 and 25 and Nov. 17), Gennadius (Aug. 31), David (June 26), Dalmatus (Aug. 3), Daniel (Dec. 11 and see Oct. 9), Dius (July 19), Dometius (Mar. 8), Dalmatou (or Matou, Cilicia, 5th century), Dionysius (Oct. 5), Diodochus (Bishop of Photicus in Epirus, teacher of the church in the 5th century), Eulabius (Bishop of Caesarea, 4th century, Aug. 30), Eulogius (the Egyptian, 4th century), Eusebius (June 22), Eustathius (Feb. 21), Euthymius (Jan. 20), Helladius (the hermit of the cells in Egypt, Nov. 9), Jerid (divine), Ephraim (Jan. 28), Epiphanius (May 12), Ennat (all-hymned), Zechariah (Dec. 5), Zoilus (of the Skete, 5th century), Zosimus (Apr. 4), Isaiah (an Egyptian hermit, 5th century), Elijah (the ascetic of the Jordan, 4th century), Hilarion (Oct. 21), Ischyrion (bishop, who died in peace, Nov. 23), Ivestion (Aug. 28), Hyperechius (Aug. 7), Hesychius (Jerusalem presbyter, 5th century), Ignatius (Dec. 20), Hierotheus (Oct. 4), Hierax (Nitrian hermit who died in 408), John (Mar. 30, Nov. 9 and 13), Ireneus (June 1), Joseph (June 17), Juvenal (or Juvenaly, June 2), Jerome (June 15), Karion (Dec. 5), Coprius (July 9), Castor (Aug. 12), Cassian (Feb. 29), his companion in Egypt. German (Bethlehem) and his contemporary Cassiana. Theonas (of the Skete), Callistus (June 20), Xenophon (Jan. 29), Cyprian (Aug. 31), Clem (or Clement, Nov. 25), Cyril (Mar. 18 and June 9), Laurence (May 10), Longinus (Nov. 17), Lot (Oct. 22), Leontius (Oct. 19). Maximus (Jan. 21), Marcian (Jan. 10), Mark (Mar. 5), Macarius (Jan. 19), Martinian (Feb. 13), Malchus (Mar. 26), Marcellus (Dec. 29), Milles (who raised the dead), Meletius (Feb. 12). Metrophanes (June 4), Michael (May 23), Moses (Aug. 28), Nilus (Nov. 12), Naucratius (June 8), Nikon (of Mount Sinai, 5th century), Nathaniel (Nov. 27), Nonus (Nov. 10), Nicephorus (June 2), Nectarius (Oct. 11), Nicholas (Dec. 6), Onuphrius (June 12), Horus (Aug. 7), Pambo (July 18) and his disciple Ammonium (Jan. 10), Paul (Jan., Oct. 4 and Nov. 6), Pachomius (May 15) and his disciple Silvanus, Palamon (Aug. 12), Proclus (Nov. 20), Palladius (Bishop of Helionopolis, author of Lausiac History, 5th century), Paphnutius (an Egyptian Bishop and confessor), Patermuthius (July 9), Passarion (Aug. 11), Petronius (Sept. 4), Peter (Nov. 25), Pinnuphrius (Nov. 27), Pitiron (Nov. 29), Poemen (Aug. 27), Pior (June 17), Porsyrius (the Great), Publius (Apr. 5), Psoes (Aug. 9), Rabulas (Feb. 19), Rufus (Oct. 22), Sisoes (July 6), Silvanus (Palestinian, 4th century) and his disciples: Mark and Zeno (June 19), Sabbas (Dec. 5) and his disciples: Agapetus, Anthimus and Dometian, Simeon (May, 24, Sept. 1, Stylite of Cilicia, 6th century, and July 21). Serapion (Nitrian, 4th century), Sophronius (Mar. 11), Spiridon (Dec. 12), Timothy (Feb. 21), Tithoes (Aug. 26), Tarasius (Feb. 25), Pharmuthius (Apr. 11), Flavian (Feb. 18), Phocas (hermit of the Skete, then of Palestine, 5th century), Phaidimus (the divine, Bishop of Amisus, 3rd century), Chariton (Sept. 28), Cherimon (Aug. 16), Theodore (Apr. 22, Dec. 27 and of the Thurman, 4th century), Theophanes (Oct. 11). Theodulus (Jan. 14), Theodosius (Jan. 11) and his contemporary (from obedience to him settled in a tomb) the priest Basil, Theoctistus (Sept. 3), Thalelaeus (May 20), Anastasia (Mar. 10 and Oct. 29), Vryaine (of Nisibis, Aug. 30, see June 25) and her disciple Thomaida (of Nisibis), Eupraxia (Jan. 12 and July 25), Euphrosyne (Sept. 25), Isidora (May 10), Julitta (Tabenna, June 14), Hiereia (June 3), Justina (the wise), Maria (Feb. 12 and Apr. 1), Marina (heavenly wise), Matrona (Nov. 9), Melania (Dec. 31), Platonida (Apr. 6), Pelagia (Oct. 8), Syncletica (Jan. 5), Sara (the Libyan, 4th century, July 13), Thais (Oct. 8), Febronia (June 25), Theodota (Nov. 1), Theodora (Sept. 11 and Dec. 30), Theodula (of Tabenna, a flame of fire in her way of life, died in 410).

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Saint Ephraim of Nea Makri Officially Included Among the Saints of the Orthodox Church

Aimilios Polygenis
March 4, 2011
Romfea.gr

According to information from the Church News Agency Romfea.gr, the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate during its session has decided to induct Saint Ephraim of Nea Makri to its List of Saints of the Church of Greece.

The decision was taken following a letter sent by the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which called for the inclusion of Saint Ephraim into the List of Saints sixty years after the discovery of his relics.

A Synodical Bishop of the Ecumenical Throne, commenting on the decision to Romfea.gr, stressed that "the Righteous martyr Ephraim is honored by all Greeks as a saint, and he has also performed very many miracles, for which the Ecumenical Patriarchate has carefully considered the report and decided as necessary."

Also it should be noted that Metropolitan Kyrilos of Kifissia, Maroussi and Oropos arrived today at the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

The information indicates that Metropolitan Kyrilos met at noon at the Phanar with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew where he was briefed on the decision of the Holy Synod.

Furthermore, attempts to induct St. Ephraim were attempted during the course of the Archbishopric of the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos (1997) prompted then by Metropolitan of Attica Panteleimon Bezeniti.

Finally, according to information from Romfea.gr, at the Monastery of St. Ephraim of Nea Makri, at this time there were the ringing of the bells in celebration for the good news.

Translated by John Sanidopoulos

Read also:

Official Glorification Sought For St. Ephraim of Nea Makri

The Newly-Revealed Martyr Ephraim of Nea Makri

St. Ephraim of Nea Makri and the Atheist

An Icon of Saint Ephraim Preserved in the Fires of Nea Makri

The Woman From Kalymnos With the "Sacred" Slipper Reveals Her Intentions

Apolytikion in the First Tone
On Amomon Mountain, you shown forth like the sun, and O God-bearer, you left for God by martyrdom; you endured barbarians’ attacks, Ephraim, O great-martyr of Christ, because of this you ever pour forth grace, to those who piously cry out to you, Glory to Him who gave you strength, Glory to Him you made you wondrous, Glory to Him who grants through you, healings for all!

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Former Protestant Igor Zyryanov Now Russian Orthodox Priest

Last year former Protestant pastor and missionary Igor Zyryanov converted to Orthodoxy with his family and congregation in the Irkutsk region of Russia. Now he is an ordained Orthodox priest serving in the same region in a village at the Church of the Archangel Michael.

For eighteen years Fr. Igor served as a Protestant missionary in Russia and founded many congregations during this time as he would preach daily from one village to another. Then he began to study the Church Fathers and dialogued with Orthodox clergy, and this influenced him to embrace Orthodoxy with his family and now the holy priesthood.

Fr. Igor has stated that the primary books which influenced his decision to convert to Orthodoxy were the writings of Metropolitan Anthony of Souroz, St. John of Kronstadt, Fr. Alexander Schmemann and St. Nicholas of Japan.

"Whoever seeks the truth, should be assured that they will find it. The most important thing is for us to be honest with ourselves," said Fr. Igor in closing.

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For more, read also: Siberian Pastor Converts Community to Orthodoxy

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House of Romanov Memorial Chapel Advocated Over Lenin Monument

March 5, 2011
Interfax

The head of Russia's Romanov Imperial House, Maria Vladimirovna, favors the idea to rebuild the memorial chapel to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov in Kostroma.

"I think the reconstruction of the memorial chapel will put the historical record straight and put an end to violations of Christian religious feelings," the Great Duchess says in an answer to the letter from architect Yevgeny Yefremov.

In his letter with a copy sent to Patriarch Kirill, Yevgeny Yefremov recalled that the church had been founded in 1913, but the construction had been left unfinished. Lenin's monument was later put up in its place.

According to Yefremov, the upcoming 400th anniversary of Romanov's Imperial House may be celebrated by "restoring of chapel's initial religious purpose".

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98 Year Old Woman Carries Bricks To Church At Sretensky Monastery

March 5, 2011
Interfax

The oldest parishioner of the Sretensky Monastery in Moscow is 98 years old.

The woman is always carrying two bags with one brick in each. She ties the bags to a shawl and carries them on her neck, one on her left, and another on her right side, said the abbot of the monastery, Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov, in an interview to the Krestovsky Most Orthodox newspaper.

"Why do you need the bricks?" I keep asking her. She said, "I need them for balance, otherwise I can't keep myself straight." She comes to the service from Belyayevo which is the most far-away end of Moscow, Father Tikhon adds.

The monastery has many young parishioners and almost half of them is under 45.

"I recall when elderly women first appeared in the monastery and how important their visits were for us. We did everything to make them feel comfortable and at ease, they made us all happy," Father Tikhon said.

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Saint Nikolai Velimirovich, Bishop of Ochrid and Zhicha

St. Nikolai Velimirovich (Feast Day - March 5)

Our holy and God-bearing Father, Bishop Nikolai of blessed memory, was born at dawn on December 23, 1880, on the feast of St. Naum of Ochrid, to pious Serbian Orthodox parents, Dragomir and Katarina Velimirovich, in the small village of Lelich, only five miles southwest of Valjevo, a city located in the valley of the Povlen Mountains of western Serbia. Because he was born physically weak, this divine child of God was baptized soon after his birth. He was given the name Nikolai, after his family's Krsna Slav (family Patron Saint), Sveti Nikola (St. Nicholas of Myra, Lycia; honored December 6th). Nikola was the first-born of Dragomir and Katarina, who had eight other children, all of whom unfortunately perished later during World War II. The baptism of young Nikola took place in Chelije Monastery; and was performed by beloved Pop Andrija (Fr. Andrew), the parish priest of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Lelich.

Nikolas parents were pious farmers who always interrupted their work schedule for daily prayer, which included keeping the yearly fasting routine as well as the liturgical cycle of the Orthodox Church. His mother Katarina, quite pious and truly a holy woman, provided Nikola with his first lessons about God, Jesus Christ, the lives of the saints, and the holy days of the Church year. Often Nikola was seen being led by the hand of his mother to Chelije Monastery—a walk of three miles—for prayer and Holy Communion. Later Nikola (as Bishop Nikolai) recalled these lessons on God and walks with my mother as being some of the most influential experiences in his life. He wrote of them in an autobiographical poem, written in Serbian, entitled Prayers of a Captive in Prison (1952).

Nikolas formal education began in Chelije Monastery; dedicated to the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, where his father Dragomir had hoped he would learn to read the call to service from the government, in order to be a leading man and protector of his village Lelich. Pop Andrija taught mali Nikola (Little Nicky), as he was known in Lelich, his first lessons in reading, writing and mathematics. Besides these lessons, Fr. Andrew, being Nikolas spiritual father, taught him about the Scriptures and the teachings of the early Fathers of the Church, as well as the religio-national traditions of his Serbian heritage. This latter education was inspiring to Little Nicky from the very beginning. He demonstrated, even as a youngster, a tremendously penetrating mind and a zeal for learning. Quite often during summer breaks Nikola would climb the bell tower of the katholicon (main church) of Chelije Monastery and hide there all day long, occupying himself with prayer and the reading of books. Thus, due to the influence of his mother Katarina and the lessons of beloved Pop Andrija, Nikola seemed headed for far more than just being a leading citizen of his small village of Lelich.

After finishing sixth grade in grammar school in Valjevo, Nikola petitioned for entrance into the Military Academy. However, he could not pass the physical exam, as he was, in the words of the physical fitness commission, too small, not having large enough shoulders and a frame strong enough for such activities. This was certainly the divine will of our Heavenly Father, Who desired that Nikola travel on another path—to be a soldier of the Heavenly Kingdom and not of the earthly one. Immediately thereafter, Nikola applied for entrance into the Seminary of St. Sava in Belgrade, where he was accepted to begin studies as a seminarian. Besides studying the usual subjects, Nikola began reading the significant texts of the most famous writers of western and eastern European culture: Shakespeare, Voltaire, Nietzsche, Marx, Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky; and others. His favorite author was without a doubt the Montenegrin Peter Njegosh, whose writings he had been reading since his early school days in Valjevo. His final examination for seminary studies was a discourse on the poetry and thought of Njegosh. This discussion, held in 1902 in Rakovica Monastery, located just ten miles south of Belgrade, amazed not only his fellow students, but even his professors and instructors as well.

Life was difficult for Nikola during his years as a seminarian in Belgrade. Due to his poor eating habits and the terrible living conditions of the Seminary's housing facilities, Nikola contracted scrofulosis, a disease affecting the bodys glands. After his seminary days, Nikola taught for a short while in the villages of Drachich and Leskovac, as well as in Valjevo. In Valjevo, he befriended Fr. Sava Popovich, whom he helped in parish activities and from whom he learned the ropes of being involved with the faithful on an everyday basis. During summer breaks, at the advice of his doctor, Nikola spent time on the sea coast. It was during these resting times that he wrote the life of Bokel the Montenegrin and Dalmatian. Also at this time, Nikola founded a newspaper, Chrischanskj Vesnik (Christian News), in which appeared his first writings and articles.

In 1905, due to his astute knowledge and evangelical activities, Nikola was chosen, along with several other students, to continue studies in Russia or Western Europe. Nikola chose to study in Europe, in the Old Roman Catholic Theological Faculty at the University of Berne, Switzerland. Besides studies in Berne, Nikola studied in Germany, England, and later in Russia. He was exposed to the finest education Western Europe had to offer. He even became knowledgeable in the spiritual and philosophical books of ancient India. This learning made Nikola into a Renaissance man, whose erudition and profundity of thought were considered by everyone as both a wellspring of knowledge and a unique treasury of wisdom and spirituality. In 1908, Nikola received his Doctorate in Theology in Berne, with the dissertation entitled Faith in the Resurrection of Christ as the Foundation of the Dogmas of the Apostolic Church. This original work was written in German, published in Switzerland, and later translated into Serbian. In the following year, 1909, this veritable genius, at age twenty-nine, prepared his Doctorate in Philosophy at Oxford, England; and during the summer of that same year, in Geneva, Switzerland, Nikola wrote his second doctoral dissertation, entitled The Philosophy of Berkeley, in French.

In the fall of 1909, Nikola returned home from Europe and became grievously ill with dysentery. This illness changed his life. Like the great theologian of the early Church, St. Gregory of Nazianzus (+390; honored January 25th and 30th), whose life was also dramatically changed due to a personal difficulty [1], Nikola decided to apply all his gifts and talents in service to God and His holy Orthodox Church. Lying in the hospital for over two months, Nikola prayed in his heart, saying, If service to the Lord is needed, He will save me. He then vowed that if he were returned to health he would become a monk and serve God's people in His Church. Thus as a Doctor in Theology and Philosophy, Nikola became the lowly monk Nikolai. After his tonsure into the monastic ranks, Monk Nikoli was ordained to the priesthood on the same day, December 20, 1909, in Rakovica Monastery. Hieromonk Nikolai now placed his entire being—his knowledge and all his talents—in the service of God and His Serbian Orthodox people; and within a short period of time, pious Fr. Nikolai was elevated to the rank of Archimandrite.

After his tonsure and ordination, Archimandrite Nikolai was chosen to be a teacher in the Seminary of St. Sava in Belgrade. However, it was discovered that he had not completed the final two years of gymnasium (grammar school), the seventh and eighth grades; he had to take a test in order to fulfill these requirements which would in turn validate his status as a teacher. The commission before whom Fr. Nikolai spoke was amazed with his wealth of insight. According to the words of one of its members, Listening to his discourse on Christ, we were astonished, as no one could ask him one question or even say one word in reply. Yet it was decided that before Fr. Nikolai could become a teacher in the Seminary; he would be sent, with the blessing of Metropolitan Dimitriji of Serbia, to Russia. Spending over a year in Russia, Archimandrite Nikolai learned of the passionate Russian spirit and of the rich Orthodox soul of the peasantry. It was during this time that Blessed Nikolai wrote his first great work—The Religion of Njegosh. One of the contemporary critics said of this work that from a religious-philosophical point of view, or a religiously critical point of view, the young seminary professor [Fr. Nikolai] is no less interesting than the Bishop of Cetinje [Njegosh].

Returning to Belgrade as a seminary professor, Nikolai published, in 1912, an anthology of homilies entitled Besede Pod Gorom (Sermons at the Foot of the Mount). Explaining the title, the humble Nikolai wrote, Christ spoke on the Mount; I dare to speak only at the foot of the Mount. In 1914 Fr. Nikolai wrote the book Iznad Greha i Smrti (Beyond Sin and Death), a writing of immense profundity yet with the ability to reach the soul of the common person. Nikolai was most inspiring to his students. Under his spiritual influence and guidance, many went on to become monks, clergy and theologians. One of them, Justin Popovich, a spiritual disciple of Fr. Nikolai, became one of the greatest theologians in the history of the Serbian Orthodox Church (commemorated March 25th). Thus, besides teaching philosophy, logic, history, and foreign languages in Belgrade, Rev. Dr. Nikolai Velimirovich was fast becoming a great Serbian literary figure as well as a beloved spiritual pastor; soon he would become a well-respected international figure as well.

With the outbreak of World War I in the summer of 1914, the entire Balkan peninsula was thrown into turmoil. The imperiled Serbian nation badly needed a leader to help them survive this international crisis. To this end, Archimandrite Nikolai was called to embark upon an official diplomatic mission to England in order to obtain support from the British government for the suffering Serbian people. Having received a doctorate from Oxford, Nikolai was received with honor and dignity by the British authorities. His political astuteness was revealed in several lectures and homilies delivered in England, which not only invoked a profound concern for the suppressed Serbs, but also addressed the issue of world peace and the methods to attain such a political ideal. Besides receiving British support for the Serbs, Nikolai was also personally awarded a Doctorate of Divinity—honoris causa—from Cambridge University. His short tracts, The Lord's Commandments and Meditations on the Lord's Prayer, electrified the Church of England, and also shattered many false conceptions of what the Orthodox Faith entailed.

In the late summer of 1915, Archimandrite Nikolai continued his war mission by traveling across the Atlantic Ocean to New York City; America. His mission was to rally the emigrant Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes against the Austrian government, for the majority of them had fled to America. His mission was quite successful, as America sent over 20,000 freedom-loving Slavic volunteers—called the Third Army of Bishop Nikolai, most of whom fought on the Salonican Front—and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of aid to their suffering brothers and sisters in the homeland. This trip was also quite revelatory for Nikolai: in a dream he received a message from an Angel of the Lord, who revealed to him that he would someday return to America and help organize the fledgling Serbian Orthodox communities into an American Serbian Diocese totally united with the Dioceses in the motherland.

In early 1916 Nikolai returned to his beloved England, where he decided to sojourn until the end of the war. He continued his literary activities by writing several articles and books: The Religious Spirit of the Slays (1916, sent to the soldiers in the homeland); Serbia in Light and Darkness (1916); The Serbian Soul, The Agony of the Church, The Serbian Orthodox Church, and The Spiritual Rebirth of Europe (all in 1917). Oriented towards a British audience, these essays and books appealed to their sense of justice for suffering Serbia. In particular, The Spiritual Rebirth of Europe was of great interest to the Anglicans, for it promoted the possibility of a return of the Anglican Church to her rightful mother, the Orthodox Church. As a result of his academic excellence, Nikolai received another Honorary Doctorate of Divinity; in 1919, from the University of Glasgow in Scotland.

Feeling tremendously homesick, the patriotic Nikolai returned to Belgrade toward the end of the war. He then became involved in the formation of the new Yugoslav state as the interpreter for the then President of the government Nikola Pashich. Yet Nikolai felt that there was something missing in his life. He wanted to be involved with his suffering people on a more daily basis. The fulfillment of this yearning came quickly on March 12, 1919, the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church selected Fr. Nikolai, at age 39, as the new Bishop of Zhicha, the historical seat of the First Archbishopric of Serbia. During his episcopal consecration, Blessed Nikolai cried as a newborn babe in the Lord. Thus after four years of seeking support from England and America in behalf of Serbia, Bishop Nikolai was now ready to personally help in healing the war-torn hearts and souls of his beloved Serbian people.

For two years (1919-1921), Bishop Nikolai spiritually soothed pious Serbs not only in the Diocese of Zhicha, but also throughout newly formed Yugoslavia. Like the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Archpastor Nikolai healed the sick, set free the spiritually captive and preached salvation to these humble souls. In 1921, Bishop Nikolai was transferred to the Diocese of Ochrid and Bitola. This was done to facilitate the union of the Serbian and Macedonian Churches which occurred as a result of the formation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Blessed Father Nikolai, always a man of unity, peacefully engaged in the union of the Serbs and Macedonians of these regions. Besides sowing seeds of unity in his diocese, Nikolai also visited Athens, Constantinople, and the Holy Mountain, where he was received as a unifier of all Orthodox in the bond of love for Christ and His Church. During this time Nikolai wrote two books: Rechi O Svechoveku (Orations on the Universal Man, 1920) and Molitve Na Jezeru (Prayers at the Lake, 1921). This latter work, written during his resting periods at Lake Ochrid, was in poetic-prose style, so deep and profound, similar in spirituality to the great Psalms of David. Yet Bishop Nikolai was not destined to stay in his homeland. Like a beacon set upon a hill, his divine radiance was seen from afar, as he was invited to deliver lectures at various universities and Anglican Churches in America. At first, the Royal Government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as well as the Holy Synod of Bishops refused these requests for Bishop Nikolai; but the invitations kept coming, so that in the end they both resolved to send beloved Nikolai to America for a second time.

On June 24, 1921, Blessed Bishop Nikolai arrived, by the grace of God, in New York City; He had three immediate goals while in America: 1) to deliver lectures and homilies in universities and churches with the purpose of presenting World War I from the Eastern European viewpoint; 2) to collect funds for the setting up of orphanages in Serbia for those poor children who lost parents and relatives during World War I; and 3) to visit many Serbian Orthodox communities in order to thank them for their patriotic war efforts, along with making a report on the possibility of creating an American Serbian Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

The brilliant Bishop Nikolai was successful in all three phases of his mission. He delivered approximately 150 lectures and homilies in the following three months. He spoke at a variety of places including Columbia University in New York City, various Serbian communities, and even the African-American Congregation of St. Philip in Harlem, New York, to over 1,500 parishioners. Wherever he spoke concerning the past World War, his message was clear. Do not blame the (Eastern) European peasant for the war, he proposed, but rather, look to the artificially created intellectual class of the European university system. He wrote, The European peasant is a noble spirit, but it is the intellectuals in charge of the peasants who are on the wrong track. Nikolai said that if these conditions in Western Europe continued, a second world war was likely to happen. And how right he was. One of his most enlightening sermons was delivered on the Sunday after Ascension, 1921, in the Episcopalian Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, entitled The Stone which the Builders Rejected (Matt. 21:42), in which he called for a return on the part of Western Europe to the true source and rock of their entire culture and civilization, to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Nikolai also proposed that America, such a rich multi-national country, could possibly hold high the torch of hope for all of humankind. The world has become small, but it waits to be proclaimed a united being. Europe has discovered the world. Can America organize it? proclaimed Nikolai time and time again, with the hope that America would lead the way to a peaceful and just world for all. As a result of these speeches, Nikolai was called a second Isaiah and a New Chrysostom of our times; furthermore, his activities helped in obtaining acceptance of Yugoslavia into the League of Nations.

Concerning the development of orphanages for suffering Serbians both in the United States and Yugoslavia, Nikolai was motivated by the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ: Let the children come unto Me, and do not hinder them; for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.... Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven (Mart. 18:10). Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest... For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Mart. 11:28, 30). For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me. I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.... Verily.., inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me (Matt. 25:35-36, 40). Nikolai felt the pain of the loss of beloved ones so acutely that he often broke into tears upon visiting orphans and the poorest of the poor in his homeland. Prior to coming to America he set up an orphanage in Bitola, placing at its head the exiled Abbess Anna—previously known as the social worker Nada Adjichin Vrachevshina Monastery. To the poor children in Yugoslavia, Bishop Nikolai became known as Deda Vladika (Grandfather Bishop), as one who really cared and practiced what he preached to alleviate their plight and difficulties. As head of the Council of Serbian Child Welfare in Belgrade, Nikolai, while in America, secured thousands of dollars for the cause of taking care of these little ones. With this money he personally organized and supervised orphanages in Kraljevo, Chachak, Gornji Milanovac and Kragujevac, where over 600 poor children were granted the love of Christ in personal social action.

Finally, concerning the creation of an American Serbian Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Bishop Nikolai wrote a Paschal Epistle in 1921 to all the Serbian Orthodox parishes in America. Blessed Nikolai extended greetings from the re-established Patriarchate of Serbia, from His Holiness Dimitrije, Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church. He also outlined plans for the establishment of a Serbian Diocese in America. Nikolai, being the first Serbian hierarch ever to travel in America, was greeted with utmost respect upon visiting the Serbian communities. The problems of the Serbs in America were many: they were often pastored by Russian priests who did not understand their language; there were no monasteries to lead the people in the spiritual life; there was no seminary for education of clergy and the faithful; mixed marriages created confusion among the faithful; schisms in other Orthodox jurisdictions created a general mistrust of leadership among all Orthodox in America; Protestant and Roman Catholic church practices, as well as American secularism, were creeping into the life of the churches; and, above all, a lack of organization among the Serbian parishes made the Serbs feel like an island in a great ocean. In the words of a letter of a Pittsburgh clergymen sent to the Patriarch in early 1921, the Serbs in America were like bees in a hive without a queen bee.

Bishop Nikolai returned to Belgrade on June 16, 1921, after six months of missionary activities in America. When he left, the American Serbians mourned the loss; but they all hoped that he would return as their new Bishop of the American Diocese. Yet this was not the will of the Lord. Ten days later, on June 26th, he gave his report on the American situation in a session of the Synod of Bishops held in Sremski Karlovac; and on September 21st, Metropolitan Varnava nominated Bishop Nikolai to assume the duties of Bishop of America, with Archimandrite Mardariji Uskokovich of Rakovica Monastery (south of Belgrade) as his administrative assistant. This decision upset many pious Orthodox Serbs in the homeland, as none of them—bishops, clergy, monastics, and faithful—were ready to relinquish their beloved Serbian Chrysostom and Evangelical Leader to the American Serbs. Somewhat frustrated over this situation, in January 1922, Bishop Nikolai went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, then traveled to the Holy Mountain, to Hilandar Monastery, to spend Pascha with the monks there. This sojourn was a spiritual necessity for Bishop Nikolai, as he retreated from the pressing problems and sought counsel from his Heavenly Father.

Upon his return fur the gathering of the Synod of Bishops, Nikolai was convinced that the American situation needed a full-time bishop to carry out the ecclesiastical plans which the Angel of the Lord had previously revealed to him in his dream. Thus, he himself nominated Archimandrite Mardarije Uskokovich to be the future first permanent Bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church in America. This nomination was confirmed by the entire Synod of Bishops, and on October 18, 1923, Archimandrite Mardarije was appointed the sole administrator of the Serbian Church in America. This decision was not only a spiritual blessing for Bishop Nikolai himself—relieving him of some of the many duties forced upon him—but it was also a divine blessing for the pious Serbs in the homeland. Nikolai was now able to devote himself fully to writing inspiring works as well as pastoring his faithful to be more fully immersed in the love of Jesus Christ and His Church. In 1923, Nikolai wrote Nove Besede Pod Gorm (New Sermons at the Foot of the Mount), Misli o Dobru i Zlu (Thoughts on Good and Evil), and a lengthy work entitled, Omilije na Nedeljna i Praznichna Evandjelja (Homilies on the Sunday and Festal Gospels).

Besides writing, Nikolai began a popular religious movement, later affectionately called Bogomoljacki Pokret (Movement of God-Prayers). The venerable Bishops disciples loved to gather at his episcopal residence to sing the very moving and edifying songs he had written. Praising the Lord in their mother tongue was a joy and delight to these zealous Orthodox Serbs. The once-maligned Serbian Christians experienced in Nikolai an evangelical freshness which renewed their spirits after the war and which allowed them to once again be fully immersed in the love of Jesus. By praying to the Lord in the vernacular Serbian, these Serbs desirous of a fuller Christian life were able to be built up into a people of God with the God-praising Nikolai leading the way. There were many priests who were jealous of Nikolais Bogomoljacki Pokret, but as they began to experience the spiritual growth among their parishioners, they slowly supported this prayer movement. These Orthodox Serbian zealots—by their constant reading of the Scriptures, singing of spiritual songs, quickness of prayer, travels from monastery to monastery, regular confession of their sins, keeping of the fasts, and frequent communing of the precious Body and Blood of Jesus Christ—began to slowly transform the clergy of the various Serbian Dioceses. Bishop Nikolai, a master at pastoring his people, allowed his passionate God-seekers to lead the way in renewing the Serbian Church. Through this prayer movement, monasticism was revitalized as well as the study of theology, as was clearly evidenced, for example, in the life of the great theologian and ascetic, Archimandrite Justin Popovich of Blessed Memory.

In 1927, at the invitation of the American Yugoslav Society, the Institute of Politics in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Bishop Nikolai once again traveled to America for his third visit. He spent only three months in America, speaking at various universities and churches as well as inquiring into the progress of the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery in Libertyville, Illinois, under the direction of newly consecrated Bishop Mardarije. On his way home to Serbia, Nikolai stopped in London where he stayed for two weeks, prophesying that an impending catastrophe was threatening Europe. The Prophet Nikolai, a man rooted in the present with a clear vision of the future, was a voice crying in the wilderness to a people in search of hope for a peaceful future. His message was clear: Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!.

Returning to Ochrid, the venerable bishop began writing once again. It seemed as though his sojourns in foreign lands filled his mind and heart—his total being—with restless divine thoughts of the promised Eternal Paradise; and the only way to relieve himself of these majestic longings was to write of them. In 1928 he wrote Vera Obrazovanih Ljudi (The Faith of Educated People), Rat i Biblija (War and the Bible) and Ochridski Prolog (The Prologue of Ochrid). This latter book, over 1,000 pages, was patterned after ancient hagiographical literature which included both brief Lives and edifying incidents from the lives of holy men and women, as well as ordinary sinners. Also entitled Zhitije Svetih (The Lives of the Saints), this text was based upon the daily calendar of Orthodox Saints. Translated into English in 1985, The Prologue of Ochrid has become a spiritual classic to all Christians living in the West. The Bishop of Montenegro, Amphilocije Radovich, a disciple of Nikolai, once said that the only two books one needs to digest and put into practice to obtain salvation are the Bible and The Prologue of Ochrid.

In the town of Bitola in Bishop Nikolais diocese was the Serbian Seminary of St. John the Theologian. From 1929 to 1934, one of the theology instructors there was the young Hieromonk John Maximovitch, the future Archbishop John. Bishop Nikolai valued and loved Fr. John, and exerted a beneficial influence upon him. More than once he was heard to say, If you wish to see a living saint, go to Bitola to Fr. John. The lives of Bishop Nikolai and Fr. John would one day parallel each other: both of them would spend the last years of their lives in America and die there, and both would be canonized as saints.[2]

In early 1930, Bishop Nikolai participated in the Pan-Orthodox Conference held at Vatopedi Monastery on the Holy Mountain. It can be said that Bishop Nikolai was the Voice of Orthodoxy during this time, as he was not only able to lead pious Orthodox Greeks, Serbs, Russians, and Bulgarians to transcend any nationalistic tendencies which might threaten the bond of love and unity of spirit among them; but also, perhaps more importantly, the venerable Bishop, by his ability to abstract the true Holy Orthodox Tradition from all local Orthodox Church traditions, was able to present to Western Christians in a precise and comprehensive manner the true and eternal faith of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Prior to World War II, Nikolai wrote Simvoli i Signali (Symbols and Signs, 1932) and Nomologija (Nomology, i.e., The Science of Law, 1940); and in 1937 until the outbreak of war in 1941, Nikolai began a compilation of his letters entitled Misionarska Pisma (Missionary Letters). This anthology of hundreds of letters witnessed to the amazing evangelical activity of Bishop Nikolai, as he was uniquely attuned to the spiritual crises of these perilous times.

In 1941, with the German occupation of Yugoslavia, Bishop Nikolai, together with Patriarch Gabriel Dozhich, was arrested and sentenced to imprisonment in the infamous Dachau Prison Camp in Germany. He spent two years in Dachau, witnessing and suffering some of the cruelest torture of human beings the world has ever known. Nikolai attributed his survival of this terrible ordeal to the Virgin Mary. While in prison, he wrote Molbeni Kanon i Molitva Presvetoj Bogorodici (Petitionary Canon and Prayers to the Most Holy Mother of God), along with Tri Molitve u Senci Nemachkih Bajoneta (Three Prayers in the Shadow of the German Bayonets) which reads as a spiritual diary of his captive years. On May 8, 1945, as a result of the freedom secured by the 36th American Division of the Allied Forces, holy confessors Nikolai and Gabriel were released from prison. They both then sought sanctuary in England. Afterwards, the confessor Gabriel returned to Belgrade as Patriarch, while the confessor Nikolai moved on to America for the fourth and final time. After recuperating from an aching back and leg problems, the exiled Bishop began lecturing, as usual, in various educational institutions. In June 1946, he was awarded for his academic excellence his final Doctorate of Sacred Theology from Columbia University. In all, Bishop Nikolai obtained five doctorates.

From 1946 to 1949, Venerable Nikolai, always loyal to his Serbian people, taught at the St. Sava Seminary in Libertyville, Illinois. Realizing the need for Amencan-born Serbians to have an Orthodox catechism in English, he published The Faith of the Saints (1949). In 1950, he wrote an essay on Orthodox mysticism in English, The Universe as Signs and Symbols and a book in Serbian entitled, Zemlja Nedodjia (The Unattainable Land). In 1951, his last book written while teaching at St. Sava's was, fittingly, The Life of St. Sava. According to the words of the distinguished professor Dr. Veselin Kesich, this book reveals something about [Bishop Nikolai] himself in his meditation on the end of St. Sava's Life: Sava withdrew to his House of Silence in Studenica and offered a prayer to God to let him die in a foreign country. Why did he pray for this? Bishop Nikolai considers several reasons: Sava's protest against political disorder at home, his appeal to the conscience of his people, and his conviction that he would work for their salvation from the outside. These three reasons probably influenced the Bishops decision to come to America and not to return to Yugoslavia after the war.

In 1951, beloved Bishop Nikolai moved to St. Tikhons Russian Orthodox Monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania. Here he spent the last five years of his earthly life as a professor, dean, and eventually rector of the Seminary. Being all things to all people, Nikolai published articles in Russian for the God-seekers at St. Tikhons. His ease and facility with languages was amazing to all. Nikolai could read, write, and speak fluently seven different languages. Besides his activities at St. Tikhons, Bishop Nikolai lectured at St. Vladimirs Seminary in Crestwood, New York, as well as at the Russian Orthodox Seminary and Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Jordanville, New York. Yet he did not forget his Serbian flock, as he published, in 1952, Zhetve Gospodnje (The Harvests of the Lord) and Kasijana (Cassiana), a story of a penitent. In 1953, he wrote Divan (Conversations), a book on the Bogomoljci and their miracles. His final book, Jedini Chovekoljubac (The Only Love of Mankind) was published posthumously in 1958. Bishop Nikolais final undertaking was the Serbian Bible Institute, which published a series of seven short tracts on various theological topics: Christ Died for Us, Meditations on Seven Days, Angels Our Elder Brethren, Seven Petitions, Bible and Power, Missionary Letters, and The Mystery of Touch.

Our holy and God-bearing Father Bishop Nikolai of blessed memory fell asleep in the Lord while in prayer during the night between the 17th and 18th of March, 1956, in his humble cell at St. Tikhons Russian Orthodox Seminary; He was 76 years old. He was given an honorable Orthodox Christian burial service in St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in New York City; as pious Christians from all parts of the world came to hear eulogies in honor of one of the greatest hierarchs of the entire Orthodox Church in the twentieth century. From New York City his life-giving body was transferred to Libertyville, Illinois, just north of Chicago, to St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery, where more Pomeni (memorial services) were held. He was laid to rest on the south side of the monastery church, on March 27, 1956.

Like St. Sava, the Enlightener of Serbia, holy Bishop Nikolai died in a foreign land. Behind the main church of Chelije Monastery in his home village of Lelich, next to the grave of Archimandrite Justin Popovich of blessed memory (+1979), was marked a place for his return to the homeland and the people he so very much loved. Thus, on April 27, 1991, after twenty-five years of repose in the Lord in America, holy Bishop Nikolais body was returned to his homeland in Western Serbia. Pious American Orthodox, particularly many Russian Orthodox, did not forget the blessed Nikolai, as at St. Tikhons Monastery his room was made into a shrine for prayer and meditation. His beloved disciple, Justin Popovich, wrote these words in 1961, at the fifth anniversary of Blessed Nikolais repose in the Lord: Thank you, Lord—in him we have a new Apostle! Thank you, Lord—in him we have a new Evangelist! Thank you, Lord—in him we have a new Confessor! Thank you, Lord—in him we have a new Martyr! Thank you, Lord—in him we have a new Saint!

Holy Father Nikolai, the magnificence of your glory shines forth for all to see, as your divine brilliance illumines us all with the superabundant love of Christ the Prince of Peace and Humble Shepherd. Pray to Christ the only Lover of Mankind, O most loving Archshepherd, for us weak and decrepit sinners, that His mind, His brilliance, His care, His energy, His divinity, His strength, His sacrifice, His humility and His resurrected glory may shine within our hearts so that we may in some small way spread His love to the ends of the earth, to Whom belongs glory honor and worship, together with His Unoriginate Father and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

FROM ST. TIKHONS SEMINARY, SOUTH CANAAN, PENNSYLVANIA

IN 1951, Bishop Nikolai came to St. Tikhons Seminary first as a professor and finally, with the death of the former Rector, Bishop Jonah, as Rector of the Seminary Here he lived out the last years of his life as an example of humility, as well as an elder to the monastics at St. Tikhons Monastery. To the students of the Seminary, the old Bishop was a loving father figure whom they would never forget. To the laity and faithful of the monastery parish, as well as all who came in contact with the Bishop, he was a hierarch in whom they saw manifest the grace of God. And to all, he was an example of humility. During his years as an educator at St. Tikhons Seminary Bishop Nikolai was seen to be a very unusual person in that his courses were profoundly simple, informal and very warm. His requirements were very basic: he taught, you learned, and he corrected.

Perhaps one of the most striking characteristics of his classes was that he taught solely in the English language, at a time when very few courses were taught in that language (and these usually by outside lecturers). This often caused friction with other faculty members, but Bishop Nikolai held fast to his position, for he knew the importance, for the seminarians, of hearing lectures in their native language. Indeed, without this use of English, much of the subtlety of his teachings would have been lost from memory. The use of English extended even to the monastery church, and on most occasions he would preach in that language. Often the parishioners would complain about this, but his answer would be: "You have learned and heard enough. Its time for [the seminarians] to learn something."

Bishop Nikolais classes, sermons and conversations were always geared to his audience, whether they be students, professors, theologians or simple parishioners, and his vocabulary never extended itself beyond the comprehension of his hearers. For him, class could be any time. Anything said to him could be turned around and assigned a deeper meaning. He would always take examples from conversations in class, at the dinner table, or that which occurred as he walked about the grounds, and would always introduce examples from Holy Scripture, relating them to life at hand. For example, one day in class a student mentioned the fact that it was such a terribly dismal day because of the rain. Bishop Nikolai walked over to the window, looked out, and expounded on the further dimensions of rain, from Noah until the present time: What is rain? It is like Christ Who was also sent by the Father from Heaven to water a thirsty earth.

On Sunday, March 18, 1956, Bishop Nikolai fell asleep in the Lord. As related by the late Abbot Afanasy; The Bishop served the Holy Liturgy on Saturday, March 17. Everything was unusually beautiful. Following the service, he went to the monks dining room. After a short talk, with a low bow, three times he humbly muttered, Forgive me, brothers, as he was leaving. This was something special, for he never did that before.... He frequently spoke about wanting to be buried here at St. Tikhons Monastery; since he taught, prayed, and served God here. He had lived among the monks, and had said, 'It is more natural that I should be buried here. That Sunday morning, the late Fr. Vasily went down to Bishop Nikolais room at the Seminary and upon knocking at the door, received no answer. Opening it, he found the Bishop dead, stretched out on the floor in a kneeling position. In all probability, he had died between seven and eight that morning. The next day, a Memorial Service was served in the Monastery Church for the departed Hierarch by the Serbian Bishop Dionysius.

With deep humility and thankfulness for God's mercy; we fall down before our beloved Saint and Friend of God, crying out: Holy Hierarch Father Nikolai, pray unto God for us! (From The Tikhonaire for 1986 and 1988.)

TROPARION TO ST. NIKOLAI Velimirovich

Tone 4

Thy righteous acts have revealed thee to thy flock as a model of faith, a reflection of humility and a teacher of abstinence, O Father Bishop Nikolai; therefore, through humility thou hast obtained exaltation and through poverty, riches; pray to Christ God to save our souls.

ANOTHER TROPARION TO ST. NIKOLAI [3]

Tone 8

Loving thy homeland thou didst sojourn as a patriot to secure aid for God's suffering children, and as a new Chrysostom thou didst preach to those in darkness the rediscovery of the foundational Rock, Christ the Lord, in the Eternal Homeland of God's Kingdom. Thy pastoral love for all, O Confessor Nikolai, was purified in captivity by the godless, demonstrating thy commitment to the truth and thy people; therefore, O venerable Bishop, thou hast attained the crown of eternal life.

Endnotes:

1. St. Gregory of Nazianzus life was dramatically changed after the boat in which he was traveling from Athens to Cappadocia (Asia Minor) was wrecked in the Aegean Sea. He then vowed, God desired him to be saved, to place all his talents in service of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church.

2. This paragraph has been added by the editors from the Prima Vita of Archbishop John Maximovitch, by Fr. Seraphim Rose.

3. Composed by Fr. Daniel Rogich.

Source: The Orthodox Word, No. 171 (1993), pp. 161-183.

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St. Theodore the Studite: Friday of Cheesefare

By St. Theodore the Studite

CATECHESIS 52: On Self-Mastery and Prayer

Delivered on the Friday of Cheese Week

Brethren and fathers, I often call your way of life blessed, not by way of flattery but truth; nor do I wish to call those in the world unhappy, but I aim to make you more fervent. Since too you know the sort of things that take place in the world, drinking bouts and drunkenness, revels and intoxication, shouts and caperings, and all the other things, "whose condemnation is deserved", as it is written, which are the results of the activity of the evil one. But our manner of life is not like this. But what is it? Night and day we praise the Lord according to the legislation which has been handed down to us by our holy fathers. Psalmody succeeds psalmody, reading reading, prayer prayer. Government of thoughts in accord with the mind, in the heart meditation of divine words, timely stillness, fitting speech. We serve one another, we keep close to one another, everything is ordered with stability and measure, and if there is need for some bodily consolation at the feast, that is not discordant; for hear what the Lord says to Judas, "What you are doing, do quickly. Not one of those at table knew why he said this to him. For some thought that, because Judas held the purse, Jesus was telling him, ‘Buy what we need for the feast’, or that he should give something to the poor." Do you see that among them the consideration both of the feast and of the poor was a matter for concern? Which we also, lowly as we are, as you see, try to achieve. But blessed is God, who has granted us to be admitted to such a way of life, "not because of any works of justice that we have done," for we have done nothing good upon earth, but according to his mercy the call is freely given. So then each one of us is a debtor, to say always with "a contrite heart, Who am I, O Lord, my Lord, and what the house of my father, that you have loved me?" And such is ours; while rarely are such things found in the world. Because day succeeds night with the care of this age, the deception of wealth, with the other concerns, so that a person is unable to draw breath. People bring trouble on each other, they wrangle with one another, "Adultery and theft and cursing and lying have been poured out upon the earth," to speak like the Prophet, and all those other things which it is not easy to detail. With all this in mind the blessed Chrysostom has already said, "The majority of the world is hardly to be saved." It is a fearful word, but nevertheless it is true. For this reason one must grieve and be sad for one who is truly conscious that he is under this sentence. For are we not all one another’s brothers? Are we not of one blood? Are we not of the same dust? Is not someone who sees a beast of burden being carried over a precipice seized with pity? How much more then for brothers and fellow believers. Hence the blessed Apostle wept for the "enemies of the Cross of Christ", praying with "unremitting grief of heart". Hence the Prophet Jeremy lamented over Israel and left behind various lamentations in writing. Hence the great Moses cried to God, "If you will forgive them their sin, forgive; if not, wipe me out of your book of life." And indeed each of the saints had the same sympathy and made entreaty for the others. Should not we then, if want to walk in their footsteps, not simply have in view what concerns ourselves, but also pray on behalf of the world, having mercy and pity for those who are living in the distraction of life, those who are in the grip of heresies, those who have been led away into error, those in the darkness of paganism, in brief all mankind, according to what we have been commanded by the Apostle "to make supplications and prayers". For thus we shall profit ourselves before the rest, being filled with compunction and cleansed of passionate habits; and delivered from which may we be granted to reach eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and might, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always and to the ages of ages. Amen.

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A Contemporary Miracle: Fr. George Florovsky and the Wild Child

The following story was told by Fr. Stephanos Anagnostopoulos in a recent talk that can be heard here in Greek.

Let us behold a contemporary miracle. A priest, Fr. Nicholas, whose last name is not told, said the following about Fr. George Florovsky, the great Russian Orthodox theologian and teacher at Harvard University in the United States.

He was indeed a great Orthodox theologian. He was noteworthy and a miracle-worker, as well as a man of great sacrifice. He also was educated in spiritual psychology as well the psychological study of the effects of alcohol and drugs. He studied these and other subjects with much love and patience.

"In order to understand the greatness of this man", said Fr. Nicholas to a doctor, "I will tell you a story about him of which I was a witness of a miraculous healing. A woman brought her eighteen year old child, who was suffering from insanity, to Fr. George. His situation was extremely difficult and untreatable. Fr. George asked to receive the young man in his custody. The young man was taken by Fr. George to a place of retreat of many acres of land. They both entered the house there - the wild child and Fr. George - and Fr. George shut the heavy door, locked it, while putting the key in his pocket. After three days the child was returned to his parents healed and healthy-minded. This child became educated and is still healthy. In fact now, as of two years ago in 2008, he is an Orthodox bishop in the United States.

When I asked 'Fr. George, how did this happen?' he answered me saying: 'I took the child and told him 'My child, I will sit on this log. The entire property is yours. Do whatever you want, and when you want, come so we can talk. Three days and nights he did what he wanted. He destroyed the refrigerator, the library, the flowers, the chairs, the tables, everything. When he calmed down, we talked. As long as he wanted. I was sitting on this log and waited, without being afraid of what was going on around me. I did not get up from there for three days, nor did I eat or drink water. After three days the child serenely kissed my hand, and raised me up to walk since I was as if dead. We opened the door and I presented him to his parents healed and healthy-minded. This is as we read in the Gospel reading from this past Sunday about the the demon possessed man who roamed among the tombs, who after his exorcism the demons left and entered the swine who drowned in the lake, and was later seen to be healed and healthy-minded.'

'But Fr. George, in those three days how did you take care of your natural needs? You are a man!' Fr. George responded: 'I did it all on myself. I didn't move at all. I wanted to offer a sacrifice for this child to God - my patience and this basic human need of life. I am nobody. God granted healing to the man. And from this he gave me a taste of the heavenly kingdom.'"

He did it on himself. He was without bread, without water, without sleep. Only with prayer. And the demon left.

What do we do for our children? Nothing like this.

Such a man was this true theologian. A man primarily of the Orthodox Divine Liturgy, and, moreover, of every sacrifice.

Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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The Life of Saint Gerasimos of the Jordan

St. Gerasimos of the Jordan (Feast Day - March 4)

Saint Gerasimos was born in the province of Lycia in the southern part of Asia Minor. His parents were wealthy, prosperous people, and he became a merchant, frequently visiting the Egyptian hermits in his travels (particularly the region known as the Thebaid).

From a very early age St. Gerasimos developed a great love of God and, as he grew older, he found he had little in common with other young people of his own age, who were only interested in having fun. He realized that the world and an attachment to it only brought many needless cares and sufferings, so he yearned to serve God and to be pleasing to Him.

In Egypt he grew in spiritual strength and wisdom, and then he again returned to his native province of Lycia. Later, towards the end of the reign of the holy Emperor Theodosius the Younger (who ruled from 408-450), he went to Palestine, where he settled in the wilderness near the Jordan river. So many men followed him there because of his reputation for virtue that he built a monastery where novices lived in a common house and the proven monks lived in a cluster of little cells. They numbered about seventy.

The monastery was approximately 25 miles from Jerusalem and about 100 yards from the Jordan River. Five days a week each monk was to keep silent in a solitary cell, doing simple handiwork such as weaving mats or baskets out of palm leaves. During these five days no cooked food was eaten; the only food was a small amount of dried bread, roots and water brought from the monastery. On Saturdays and Sundays all the monks went to the monastery to attend the Divine Liturgy and receive Holy Communion. Afterwards they were served cooked food and a little wine at the refectory. The work that had been completed during the week was given to the abbot. On Sunday afternoon each monk departed once again for his solitary cell in the wilderness, taking only a little bread, roots, a vessel of water and palm branches to weave baskets.

Each monk had only a single old robe, a mat on which to sleep and a small vessel for water. Whenever the monks left their cells, the doors were left open so that anyone could enter and take whatever he wished of the monks' few possessions. In this way they prevented any attachment to material possessions. During Great Lent St. Gerasimos ate nothing at all until the radiant day of Pascha. His bodily and spiritual strength was sustained solely by receiving the Holy Mysteries.

The monks of his monastery were fond of recalling how a lion came to greatly love the saint and served him obediently and with great humility. One day, as St. Gerasimos was walking through the Jordan desert, he met a lion. The lion stretched out his paw and St. Gerasimos saw that it was infected and very swollen. The lion gazed pleadingly and meekly at the elder who sat down immediately to inspect the paw. He discovered that a thorn had lodged in the lion's paw and this was the cause of his suffering. The saint carefully removed the thorn, cleansed the wound of all the pus and then wrapped it with a cloth.

From then on the lion faithfully followed the saint like a disciple. St. Gerasimos marveled at the lion's intelligence, meekness and willingness to eat bread and whatever else could be found for him. The lion was given an obedience in the monastery. The monks had a donkey which carried water from the Jordan River for the brethren. The lion was entrusted with the task of accompanying the donkey to the river and guarding it while it grazed on the riverbank.

One day the lion fell asleep in the sun, leaving the donkey to graze peacefully. An Arabian merchant happened to pass by with his caravan of camels and saw the donkey. Thinking the animal was a stray, he tied it to his line of camels and took it with him. The lion awoke and began to search for the donkey, but it was nowhere to be found. The beast returned to the monastery and went immediately to St. Gercsimos who, seeing his dejected expression, thought he had eaten the donkey and asked, "Where is the donkey?" The lion stood in silence, hanging his head in shame. The elder praised the lion for not running away after his evil deed and instructed him to do the work of the donkey from then on. The monks loaded a large barrel on the lion's back, as they had done before with the donkey, and sent him to the river to fetch water. One day a soldier came to the monastery to pray, and seeing the lion carrying the water, took pity on him and gave the monks three gold pieces to buy another donkey. The lion once again resumed his former obedience of guarding the donkey.

Some time later, the Arabian merchant once again passed by the Jordan on his way to sell wheat in Jerusalem. The donkey was still with him. That day, the lion happened to be near the river and as the caravan approached he recognized the donkey. Roaring loudly, he rushed towards him, frightening the merchant and his companions who fled in great terror. The lion grasped the donkey's reins in his teeth, as he had done previously, and led it together with the string of camels to the saint. When he saw the saint he roared joyously at having found the lost donkey. St. Gerasimos smiled gently and told his monks that the lion had been blamed most unfairly. The lion was given the name 'Jordan' and he continued to be a most faithful 'disciple'. He was never absent from the monastery for more than five days at a time.

St. Gerasimus fell asleep in the Lord in the year 475 and was buried by his sorrowing brethren there in his monastery. The lion was not in the monastery at that time. When later he arrived, he began to search for the saint. Father Sabbatios tried to explain why it was that the elder could not be found. “Jordan, our elder has left us orphans; he has departed to the Lord." The lion was not to be comforted; he refused the food that was offered and continued searching for his St. Gerasimos, roaring in great confusion. Fr. Sabbatios and the other monks stroked Jordan gently on the back and pleaded, "The elder has gone to the Lord; he has left us!" No words or explanations could stop the sorrowful roaring of the lion. He kept searching, now in great distress.

Finally Fr. Sabbatios said, "If you do not believe us, then come with us: we will show you the place where the elder rests." Jordan was led to the tomb near the church where St. Gerasimos was buried. Fr. Sabbatios explained to the lion, "We have buried our elder here." Fr. Sabbatios then fell to his knees and with a heavy heart began to weep. The lion now realized what had happened. He gave one last mighty roar, struck his head on the ground and died on the elder's grave.

The lion's love and devotion for St. Gerasimos is an example of the love and obedience the animals had for Adam before his fall into sin and his expulsion from Paradise.

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Related links:

Recent Miracles of St. Gerasimos of Jordan

Video: The Monastery of St. Gerasimos of the Jordan

St. Gerasimos of Jordan Monastery (Documentary)

Apolytikion in the First Tone
Thou didst prove to be a citizen of the desert, an angel in the flesh, and a wonderworker, O Gerasimos, our God-bearing Father. By fasting, vigil, and prayer thou didst obtain heavenly gifts, and thou healest the sick and the souls of them that have recourse to thee with faith. Glory to Him that hath given thee strength. Glory to Him that hath crowned thee. Glory to Him that worketh healings for all through thee.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
As a star resplendent with the light of virtues, thou didst make the wilderness of Jordan radiantly shine with beams of sacred celestial light, O righteous Father, God-bearing Gerasimos.

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Shining Light Into the Darkness of Horror Tales

Sacramental Horror Stories: Shining Light Into the Darkness of the Human Heart

Rev. Jonathan Weyer (Author, 'The Faithful')
March 3, 2011
The Huffington Post

As a kid growing up in Southern Indiana, I wasn't allowed to watch horror movies, like Friday the 13th or Halloween. Having kids myself, I now completely understand why I wasn't allowed. The last thing I want to deal with in the middle of the night is a screaming 7-year-old scared by something he saw on TV.

Still, I loved to be scared so I snuck in real ghost stories while staying at my grandma's house during the summer. I shivered into the night as I read story after story about ghosts. I loved it. The love of being scared has followed me into my adulthood. Many Christians find it it odd that I have an interest in scary things. They are completely weirded out when they find out I have written and just published a horror novel.

I usually start with a Stephen King quote. He wrote in his masterful survey of horror, Danse Macabre, that, "Traditional Horror has a morality that would make a Puritan preacher smile." King demonstrates that Traditional horror recognizes that there is a moral order to the universe. Brahm Stoker wants us to think about the horror of killing children as the brides of Dracula eat a peasant baby. Oscar Wilde's masterful uncanny horror story, The Picture of Dorian Gray, invites us to consider the difference between our private and public life through the rotting painting of Dorian Gray's soul.

The Nicene Creed, one of the foundational statements of Christianity, states that God is the creator of the seen and the unseen. Many of us have no problem with the seen part. Human beings long to know everything. Science is based on that very idea. My worldview tells me that God wants and loves the scientific impulse. The problem comes when that scientific desire becomes spoiled by a narrow-minded skepticism that betrays good critical thought. A naturalism that refuses to accept the possibility that there might be something beyond what our five senses can understand.

The Southern writer Flannery O'Connor once wrote that to reach the deaf sometimes you have to shout. Uncanny horror, through its scares, prickles and bumps in the night, shakes us out of our materialistic slumber. Unsettling horror can shake us out of the naturalistic stupor.

I'm always reminded of Medieval paintings when I think about horror. These paintings are full of horrific symbolism about death. Paintings done during the Black Death are full of skulls, skeletons and demons. The horrifying images invite us to consider that we are mortals doomed to die. The medieval mind considered loving God and loving their neighbor as the highest good, the good that should be our ultimate aim. Through grossing us out, the medieval painters pointed us to thinking about serious things.

Gross-out horror can serve this function in modern horror books and movies. A zombie eating brains, Dracula's fangs sinking into a tender throat and the horrible death of a beloved character can force people to realize the fragility of our own lives. We live such sterilized lives when it comes to death. Funerals are held in antiseptic funeral homes with unnaturally arranged flowers and bad food. When we go to a funeral, we want to get in, hug the family and get out. Rarely are we given time to reflect on the person's death or to think about our own death.

Gross-out horror doesn't just invite us to contemplate death but also to make fun of it. The Irish Christians still celebrated Halloween after their conversion as a way to mock death and the grave. Many of our Halloween traditions can be traced back to the medieval Irish practice of mocking death. They believed in the resurrection of Christ and knew death would one day be defeated.

However, gross-out horror can lead to the last category, torture porn. In the past 20 years, movie theaters have been flooded with movies that delight in killing, maiming and torturing. Hostel, Saw and even the movie Hannibal delight in casting out the traditional morality of old school horror. Even the "heroes" in these movies are sadistic, vengeful people who take delight in not just killing someone, but utterly dehumanizing them.

Torture porn wants you to root for the killers and to cheer each splatter of blood. Torture porn isn't humanizing. In fact, it dehumanizes to justify its glorification of torture. The stories don't invite discussion about deeper questions. Torture porn wants us to delight in pain.

Sacramental horror does the opposite. By combining uncanny and gross-out horror, we can become participants in the signs and seals of a bigger picture. Sacramental horror invites you to think about realities you can't see, touch or taste, but still exist. By horrifying us, horror humanizes by making us consider the evil that is loose in the world of our own hearts. Stories of sacramental horror shine light into the darkness of the human heart and exposes what's there. These stories help us partake in the idea that there might just be more to our world than what we can see.

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