The Miraculous Icon of Jesus Christ At Agia Moni

March 6, 2011
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A festive celebration took place today in the Byzantine Monastery of Agia Moni for the discovery of the miraculously revealed icon of Christ. The festive vesperal service was officiated by the preacher of the Holy Metropolis of Argolida, Archimandrite Chrysostomos Papoulesis.

The Miraculous Icon of Jesus Christ At Agia Moni

The holy icon of our Lord Jesus Christ, lying in front of the left columns of the Church of the Life-Giving Spring (katholikon) at Agia Moni in Nafplio, was found on 6 March 1920 on a Friday at four in the afternoon, behind the sanctuary of the church, at a depth of 1.60 m in the soil, in a wondrous manner. After repeated visions and proofs by the Most-Holy Theotokos to the Greek-American lawyer Theodore Rogkopoulos, he came to Greece and arrived in Nafplio and Agia Moni accompanied continuously throughout the journey from the rail station in Athens to Nafplio and Agia Moni by a young man wearing a dress that was unknown to Rogkopoulos. The young man disappeared on their arrival at the monastery and it was generally believed to be the Archangel Gabriel, as was promised by the Panagia in his sleep.

Agia Moni

It is 3 km from Nafplio. Founded in 1144 by Bishop Leo of Argos and Nafplio, today the monastery has 10 nuns. The katholikon of the monastery is from the year 1149, and is a prototype of Byzantine architecture, as the French Byzantinist Charles Deal says, it is "the most beautiful of the second millennium". The architectural type of the church is a cross-in-square of the four columned type with dome. On the western entrance of the church is a marble slab, bearing the following inscription of dedication to the Virgin Mary by Bishop Leo:

Έπηξε βάθρα τω ναό Σου Παρθένε,
Λέων Αργείων αλιτρός θυηπόλος,
Ώπερ παράσχοις λύτρον αμπλακημάτων
Είς αντάμειψιν, ευλογημένη Κόρη.




For more photos and a virtual tour of Agia Moni, see here.

Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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Synaxarion For Sunday of Cheesefare

By Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos

SUNDAY of CHEESEFARE

On the same day, we commemorate the banishment of Adam, the First-formed man, from the Paradise of delight.

Verses

Let the world lament bitterly with our first ancestors,
for it fell together with those who fell by a sweet repast.


Synaxarion

Our Holy Fathers appointed this commemoration before the Holy Fast, as if to show in actual fact how beneficial the medicine of fasting is to human nature, and also how great is the shame of gluttony and disobedience. Passing over all the individual sins committed in the world on account of him, as being without number, the Fathers set forth how much evil Adam, the first-formed man, suffered from not fasting even for a brief time, and how much evil he thereby brought upon our race, clearly pointing out also that the virtue of fasting was the first commandment that God gave to mankind. Not keeping this commandment, but yielding to his belly, or rather, through Eve, to the deceitful serpent, Adam not only did not become God, but also incurred death and transmitted corruption to the whole human race.

Because of the self-indulgence of the first Adam, the Lord fasted for forty days and was obedient. For this reason, the present Holy Fast was designed by the Holy Apostles, in order that we might enjoy incorruption, through fasting, by keeping the commandment which he did not keep, thereby suffering the loss of incorruption. Furthermore, as we said previously, the aim of the Saints is to encompass in brief the works wrought by God from the beginning to the end. Since Adam’s transgression and his expulsion from the Paradise of delight were the cause of all our woes, for this reason they now set this transgression before us, so that, remembering it, we might avoid it and not in any way emulate his incontinence.

Adam was fashioned by the hand of God on the sixth day, being honored with His image through the Divine breath and at once receiving the commandment, concerning which fruits he should eat and which he should not, and he spent up to six days in Paradise; then, when he transgressed this commandment, he was driven out thence. Philo the Hebrew says that Adam spent a hundred years in Paradise; others say that he was there for seven days or seven years, because the number seven is accorded special honor. But that Adam stretched out his hands and touched the fruit at the sixth hour is shown by Christ, the New Adam, Who stretched out His hands on the Cross at the sixth hour and on the sixth day, remedying Adam’s destructive action.

Adam was created in between corruption and incorruption in order that, in whichever direction he should incline by his choice, he might gain the object of his desire. Now, it was possible for God to make him sinless; but in order that he might achieve this by his own choice, God gave him a law that he could touch all of the plants except one. By this we may perhaps understand the knowledge of Divine power that derives from all created things, but in no way knowledge of God’s nature, as does Saint Gregory the Theologian, who reasons that the former are the Divine conceptions, while the latter is the vision of God. That is, God allowed Adam to meditate on all the other elements and the other qualities, to recall them to mind, and to glorify God thereby—for this is what constitutes delight—and perhaps also to meditate on his own nature, but in no way to inquire into God, Who He is by nature, where He is, and how He brought the universe into existence from non-being. But Adam, leaving all the rest aside, inquired rather into God and scrutinized precisely the Divine nature, though he was still imperfect and very simple, and an infant in such matters; he fell after Satan suggested to him, through Eve, fantasies of deification. The great and Divine Chrysostomos says that that tree had a twofold power and that Paradise was on earth; he reasons that it was both noetic and sensible, just as Adam was, midway between corruption and incorruption, at the same time preserving the meaning of Scripture and not adhering to the letter.

Some say that that tree of disobedience was a fig-tree, and that, immediately becoming aware of their nakedness, Adam and Eve used its leaves to cover themselves. For this reason, Christ cursed the fig-tree as being the cause of their transgression. For the fig bears some resemblance to sin: first, it is sweet; secondly, its leaves feel rough; and thirdly, it is viscous on account of its juice. There are others who have understood—though incorrectly—that that tree represents Adam’s intercourse with Eve. After transgressing, then, Adam clothed himself in mortal flesh and received the curse, and was cast out of Paradise, and the Cherubim were assigned to guard its gate with a fiery sword. Adam sat before Paradise and bewailed how many good things he had been deprived of because he had not fasted for a time, and the entire race that sprang from him was subject to the same misery, until He Who created us, taking pity on our nature which Satan had corrupted and being born of the Holy Virgin, by His excellent way of life showed us the true way, through virtues that are contrary to Satan, namely, fasting and humility, and, having artfully overcome the one who had deceived us, led us back to our ancient dignity.

Wishing to present all these things to us, therefore, the God-bearing Fathers, through the entire Triodion, set forth the events of the Old Testament. First of these is the creation, and Adam’s fall from Paradise, which we are now commemorating, and then they set forth the rest, through the books of Moses and the Prophets and the words of David, and then, in order, the events of the New Testament, that of Grace. First of these is the Annunciation, which took place by God’s ineffable OEconomy, and which almost always falls within the Holy Fast. They continue with Lazarus Saturday, Palm Sunday, and Holy and Great Week, when the Holy Gospels are read, and the Holy and saving Passion of Christ, which is the subject of exquisite hymns; and then, with the Resurrection and the other Feasts, until the descent of the Holy Spirit, concerning which the Book of Acts relates how the Gospel was proclaimed and how the Spirit gathered all the Saints together; for the Acts of the Apostles confirms the Resurrection through the miracles worked by the Apostles. Since we have suffered such misery on account of Adam’s failure to fast just once, his commemoration is assigned to the beginning of the Holy Fast, in order that, remembering how much evil was brought about by not fasting, we might be eager to welcome the Fast with exceeding joy and to keep it, so that we might thereby gain what Adam missed, that is, deification, by lamenting, fasting, and humbling ourselves until God visits us; for without these things, it is not easy for us to gain what we lost.

It should be known that this Holy and Great Fast constitutes a tenth of the entire year; for since, out of slothfulness, we do not choose always to fast and to refrain from evildoing, the Apostles and the Divine Fathers handed down this Fast as a time of spiritual harvest, in order that, humbling ourselves now through contrition and fasting, we may blot out whatever wicked deeds we have committed during the course of the year, and we ought to keep this Fast more strictly than the others. But we should also keep the three other Fasts, those of the Apostles, the Theotokos, and the Nativity, which the Divine Fathers have bequeathed to us. We accord greater honor to this Fast on account of the Holy Passion, and because Christ fasted for forty days and, overcoming the Tempter, was glorified, and Moses, after fasting for forty days, received the Law, as did Elias and Daniel and all of the others who found favor with God. That fasting is a good practice is shown by the contrary example of Adam. For this reason, therefore, Adam’s banishment from Paradise was placed here by the Holy Fathers.

In Thine ineffable compassion, O Christ our God, vouchsafe us the delight of Paradise, and have mercy on us, O Thou Who alone lovest mankind. Amen.

Seasonal Kontakion in the Plagal of the Second Tone
O Master, Prudence, Guide of Wisdom, Instruction to the foolish and Defender of the poor, strengthen my heart and grant it discernment. Give me words, Word of the Father, for behold, I shall not keep my lips from crying out to You, "O Merciful One, have mercy on me who has fallen."

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On Cheesefare Sunday

By Sergei Bulgakov

On this Sunday the Holy Church focuses on the memory of the exile of our ancestral parents from paradise for disobedience and intemperance in order that through misfortune it more evidently emphasizes the importance of the presented ascetical effort for all, and in the loss of the blessedness of paradise it specifies a subject, worthy of repentance and tears. The example of the ancestral parents shows us the whole weight of sin and its fatal consequences and teaches us to avoid intemperance as the beginning and the source of sin, and to turn to repentance, as to the unique means of deliverance from the anger and judgment of God. "Adam was cast out", sings the Holy Church on this day, "from the sweetness of paradise, when with bitter desire he broke the commandment of the Master, and he was condemned to work the earth from which he himself had been taken, and then to eat his bread with much toil; therefore let us love abstinence, that we may not weep outside of paradise as he did, but enter into it"; "Let us keep the fast offering tears, contrition and alms", "Let us still the passions of our soul, let us subdue the rebelliousness of the flesh"; "Girding ourselves for the good spiritual struggle of the fast" and "Taking up the armor of the cross, let us fight the enemy, having faith as an invincible wall, and prayer as a breastplate, and alms as a helmet, and fasting as a sword, which cuts away all evil from our heart"; "Let us brightly begin the season of fasting preparing ourselves for the spiritual struggle"; "Now is the favorable time, now is the season of repentance, let us cut off the works of darkness, and clothe ourselves in the armor of light: that having sailed across the great expanse of the Fast, we may reach the three-day Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Savior of our souls". With this tender, touching voice the Holy Church calls us as her children from the present day to forget everything that up to now occupied our thoughts and feelings and distracted them from "the one thing needful"; to reject everything from itself that serviced temptation and occasion for sin, that raised in us impure thoughts and feelings, that originated in us sinful desires and currents; to postpone for a while even our ordinary affairs and occupations, in so far as they soon distract our thoughts from a reverent deepening in our very selves, they irritate our heart with feelings of anger and envy, dreams of ambition and covetousness; to make itself thirsty for long prayerful vigils, fervent prayers and prostrations; to ignite in oneself an unshakable desire, voluntarily and vigilantly, thanking and glorifying the Lord to now enter the opening door of the saving fast, repentance and spiritual renewal; to kindle in itself a firm determination to pass the holy days of the fast fervently, reverently and joyfully. In the gospel and epistle readings, the Holy Church presents its final teachings about the spiritual efforts of the actual fast. The Fast should begin with the forgiveness by the people of their trespasses and their rejection of the deeds of darkness consisting of an unfeigned fulfillment of the rules of keeping the fast and not to judge their neighbor. Reconcilement with all, the pardon and remission of all our transgressions, is the first, main and necessary condition of our reconcilement with God, cleansing and correcting our sins. Without this reconcilement with all, without this putting an end to mutual conflicts and enmity among us, it is impossible to draw near to the Lord. It is impossible even to begin the holy journey to Lent and repentance. From here came a custom of Orthodox Christians to ask each other forgiveness, and is the same as when they to go to the graves of the dead for this purpose and is why the day is called in popular speech forgiveness and farewell. It is self understood, that not only with our mouth, but also mainly with our heart we should utter a full, complete forgiveness not only for something which insults us, but also for all that is hateful and offends us, all that condemns and curses us, all that makes every evil for us. We should try to bow with true - Christian humility for reconciliation and for which the devil, according to his evil and slander, had the misfortune to offend us in word and deed. Saint John Chrysostom teaches: "We should not forgive one another only by words, but with a pure heart so that our memory of the evil will not turn the sword against us. Our having been offended will not cause us evil as much as we cause ourselves, feeding the anger in ourselves and exposing ourselves to condemnation by God for that. If we love those who offend us, then evil will be turned on its very head, and it will continue to suffer severely; but if we will be indignant, then we shall continue to suffer all the same even in spite of ourselves."

Kontakion in Plagal of the Second Tone
O Master, Guide to wisdom, Giver of counsel, Instructor of the foolish and Defender of the poor: strengthen and enlighten my heart. O Word of the Father, grant me the words, for I will not restrain my mouth from crying to Thee: Have mercy on me, the fallen, O merciful One.

On this day, on the eve of the Holy Forty day Fast, ancient Christians, the inhabitants of monasteries, having done the evening service, and having venerated all the monastic holy things and having been comforted by the general evening meal, solemnly performed the rite of mutual forgiveness, and then left the for the desert (pustin) to keep silence and fast in deep solitude, to pray and repent and cry for those who sinned for all the past time. From that time on even until now there were also old customs honorably observed in some especially devout old cities and places of Holy Russia, for example, in Moscow and others. There pious Orthodox, on this day of Forgiveness, go to monasteries, to ancient cathedrals; they venerate the holy relics and especially those of the most revered saints; they come to receive the blessing from the bishops, the people present in the churches, the pious monks; they visit the homes of relatives and acquaintances, everywhere asking all for forgiveness and blessings; as a sign of mutual peace, forgiveness and concord, they give each other special breads which are prepared for this day, like the special kulich on Holy Pascha. And in the monasteries, cathedrals, as well as in all churches, the solemn Rite of Mutual Forgiveness is performed everywhere. In monasteries it is not always done and not everywhere in the churches, but after the Vesper Service is completed the farewell meal is served in the refectory, and after the Little Compline is read in the same refectory. During the Forgiveness Rite in some monasteries, cathedrals and churches the irmoi of the Canon of Repentance: "A helper and protector he is for me unto salvation", is sung, reminding all and everyone, that all of us are "sinners, transgressors, unrighteous" before our God, "lower than the keepers of the fast, lower than the creator, as He commanded" us. And in some places, according to local custom, during the Rite of Mutual Forgiveness they sing the stichera of Pascha with their refrains: "Today a sacred Pascha is revealed to us"; is sung not without purpose, reminding us, and on this day as on the Day of Resurrection, "Let us embrace each other, let us call 'brothers' even those that hate us and forgive all" and everything for the sake of our fasting for the sake of the suffering and the resurrection of Christ. It is truly and deeply a shame, that these good ancient customs disappear; that they so disappear in some places, in some circles there isn't a trace of them. They avoid the temple of God on this day and evening, they do not even glance at it, but will gather amusements in their apartments; there they betray themselves to satisfaction of any sort, an excess of stimulating pleasures, and so forth and so forth. It means that the people eat meat for the last time before Lent. For what, in what consideration do they eat meat for the last time before Lent? For this do they eat meat, in order to fast and pray tomorrow and the day after, to repent and cry for their sins? Nothing like this happened. They eat meat for the last time before Lent for its own sake of eating meat for the last time only on this holy Christian day and especially the night before the Holy Forty Day Fast to carry on in a pagan way as it may be noisier and more cheerful. Of the ancient customs of our Christ loving fathers there is in some circles only one that is pagan. Suppressed by pagan customs, the word "eating meat for the last time" has lost its primitive Christian meaning. "Eating flesh for the last time" is "the beginning of fasting"; and in our pagan times it has degenerated to meaning the strengthened satiation of any kind. And after the night spent in a pagan way eating flesh for the last time, growing dull from sleeplessness, and the eyes see exhaustion from satiation, at last, "it is the flickering morning of Holy Great Lent. Fatigue after a whole night of crashing music, simple speech, often off-color speech, noise and pounding ears resound at daybreak by the mournful toll of the Lenten bell inviting one to Morning Prayer of repentance. What more is there to do? Aging feet drag along a fragile heavy body, and dulled senses drags a soul which is exhausted from oppressing impressions not from the morning prayer of repentance for which it did not even consider, but in the heavy embraces, not refreshing, not encouraging, but sleeps an even more depressing sinful soul..." (See the details in The Instructions of Nicanor, Archbishop of Chersonese, Vol. 1, page 281). So we have changes all this century! So almost all the canons and Christian customs have weakened in our time! The duty of the pastors of the Church is to inspire the flock that they "were not conformed to this age" (Rom. 12:2), "but stand in their faith" (1 Cor. 16:1), "hold to the tradition" (2 Thess. 2:15), in the glory of God, for the benefit of one's neighbor and for the salvation of one's soul, observe the pious customs and Christian rules to which our good and devout ancestors followed.

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Service In Honor of the Ascetics of Thebaid Celebrated For First Time in Alexandria

Archimandrite Panteleimon Arathimos
March 6, 2011
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On March 5 the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa Theodoros II officiated at the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Patriarchal Church of Saint Savva the Sanctified in Alexandria, where they sang for the first time the "Service of Praise for the Synaxis of the Righteous and God-bearing Fathers of the Thebaid in Egypt Who Shined in Asceticism".

The above mentioned Holy Service was written by Archimandrite Agathonikos Nikolaides, approved by the Holy Synod of the Alexandrian Church, and distributed by the Metropolis of Eirinoupolis and Seychelles Islands.

The Holy Abba's of the Thebaid desert are the honor and glory of the Patriarchate and of the Orthodox Church generally, since the Nile region and Africa was their homeland, as well as the fact that the Thebaid was the place where thousands of ascetics showed that perfection of spiritual life in Christ is not a utopia, but reality, which involves struggle, toil and sacrifice.

Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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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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