Giver of Life: The Holy Spirit In Our Daily Experience

By Bishop Kallistos Ware

My grandmother long ago once wondered, “Why is the Holy Spirit never mentioned in sermons? Hearing of Him is like hearing news of an old friend one hasn’t heard of in a long time.” We will hear of news of this old friend today. St Symeon the New Theologian wrote this invocation to the Holy Spirit:

Come, true light.

Come, life eternal.

Come, hidden mystery.

Come, treasure without name.

Come, reality beyond all words.

Come, person beyond all understanding.

Come, rejoicing without end.

Come, light that knows no evening.

Come, unfailing expectation of the saved.

Come, raising of the fallen.

Come, resurrection of the dead.

Come, all-powerful, for unceasingly you create, refashion and change all things by your will alone.

Come, invisible whom none may touch and handle.

Come, for you continue always unmoved, yet at every instant you are wholly in movement; you draw near to us who lie in hell, yet you remain higher than the heavens.

Come, for your name fills our hearts with longing and is ever on our lips; yet who you are and what your nature is, we cannot say or know.

Come, Alone to the alone.

Come, for you are yourself the desire that is within me.

Come, my breath and my life.

Come, the consolation of my humble soul.

Come, my joy, my glory, my endless delight.

Notice three things (keeping to my archbishop’s advice that every sermon have three points!) that St Symeon says regarding the Holy Spirit:

1.) Symeon speaks of the Spirit as light, joy, glory, endless delight, rejoicing without end, and so on. Saint Seraphim of Sarov said that the Holy Spirit fills with joy whatever he touches.

2.) The Spirit is also full of hope, for he looks forward to the age to come.

3.) There is also the nearness yet otherness of the Spirit. He is “everywhere present” [from the prayer, O Heavenly King] yet mysterious and elusive.

Symeon calls him “my breath and my life,” “hidden mystery,” “beyond all words,” “beyond all understanding.” We know him, but we do not see his face, for he always shows us the face of Christ. Like the air around us, which enables us to see and be seen, he is transparent and enables us to see and hear Christ. He is not to be classified, baffling our computers and filing cabinets. As the Lord said, “The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes” [Jn 3:8]. As C. S. Lewis wrote in the first of his Narnia Chronicles books, Aslan “is not a tame lion.” The Holy Spirit is not a tame spirit, either. The Spirit makes Christ close to us, establishing that relationship. The Sistine Chapel image of creation depicts Adam just after his creation, with the finger of God and that of Adam just touching — an accurate depiction of the Holy Spirit who puts us in touch with God and with one another. The writer J. V. Taylor called the Holy Spirit “the go-between God.” The current Patriarch of Antioch, Ignatius IV, wrote, “Without the Holy Spirit God is far away. Christ stays in the past. The Gospel is simply an organisation. Authority is a matter of propaganda. The Liturgy is no more than an evocation. Christian loving is a slave mentality. But in the Holy Spirit, the cosmos is resurrected and grows with the birth pangs of the kingdom. The Risen Christ is there. The Gospel is the power of life. The Church shows forth the life of the Trinity. Authority is a liberating service. Mission is a Pentecost. The Liturgy is both renewal and anticipation. Human action is deified.”

The Spirit makes what is far to be near, the past present. Christ without the Holy Spirit is merely an historical figure in the distant past; with the Spirit, he is present. Without the Spirit, the Gospel is only words; with the Spirit, they have life-giving power. Without the Spirit, the Church is only an organization; with the Spirit, it is Communion. Without the Spirit, authority is slavish rule-following; with the Spirit, it is sharing in divine life, divinization. Without the Spirit, mission is propaganda; with the Spirit, it is Pentecostal tongues of fire. Without the Spirit, liturgy is merely recollection; with the Spirit, it is present reality. Through the Spirit, clock and calendar time is turned to sacred time: once upon a time becomes today. Note in our services in Holy Week approaching Pascha, how often “today” is used. “Today, I rise in your resurrection.” The devil says “yesterday,” and wants us to feel regret or nostalgia; and “future,” so that we might feel anxiety. But the Spirit says “today.” The Patriarch’s speech can be summed up in one word: Zoōpoion — the Life-giver who makes things alive for us.

There are two fundamental things about the Holy Spirit:

1.) He is understood in Scripture and Tradition as a Person, not just an impersonal force. Christ is obviously a person. It is not as obvious with the Holy Spirit, but he is a person in the experience of the Church. Note Ephesians 4.30: "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God." Impersonal forces do not feel grief, do not feel love. You may love your computer, but your computer does not love you. Our sins, selfishness, and lack of love cause the Holy Spirit grief. He weeps over it.

2.) The Holy Spirit is equal to the other two Persons of the Trinity. From the Creed: “Worshipped and glorified together with the Father and the Son.” Together, not below. Also, “Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” all on the same level.

Gregory of Nyssa said, “Never think of Christ without the Holy Spirit.” We could reverse that too: never think of the Holy Spirit without Christ. Irenaeus described the Son and the Spirit as the two hands of the Father, who always uses both hands together. To better understand the Holy Spirit’s work, look at the cooperation of the Holy Spirit and the Son. In the Creed: “Incarnate by the Holy Spirit and Virgin Mary.” In the Incarnation, the Holy Spirit descends upon the Virgin Mary. The Holy Spirit sends Christ into the world. The Troparion for Theophany: “When you, O Lord, were baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest. For the voice of the Father bore witness unto you, calling you the beloved Son, and the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed His word as sure and true.” The Spirit descends from the Father and rests on the Son, the same relationship as in the Incarnation. The Holy Spirit sends the Son into public ministry. In the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, the Holy Spirit descends upon Christ as a cloud of light, as understood by the Fathers. In the Resurrection, Christ is raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul in Romans [1:4] calls Christ “the Son of God in power according to the Spirit.” In the Incarnation and Baptism, the Holy Spirit sends Christ into the world. In Pentecost, Christ sends the Holy Spirit to his disciples, and thence into the world. In the First Gospel reading on Holy Thursday evening [Jn 13:31-38; 14:1-31; 15:1-27; 16:1-33; 17:1-26; 18:1] we hear “The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. He will bear witness to me. He will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you" [Jn 14:26; 15:26; 16:13-14]. The Holy Spirit testifies not to himself but to Christ, in a natural diakonia. Christology and Pneumatology are inseparable. The Holy Spirit, the "go-between" God, establishes the relationship between us and Christ. He shows us not his own face, but the face of Christ.

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St. Theodore the Studite: On Holy Pentecost

By St. Theodore the Studite

By the grace of the Most Holy Spirit, we have been vouchsafed to celebrate Holy Pentecost — the descent of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ said of this descent: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter (that is, the Holy Spirit), will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth" (Jn. 16:7-13). This, His promise and benefit, is so great that we cannot even comprehend it: for the Lord promised to send not an Angel, not a man, but the Holy Spirit Himself.

Thus, having fulfilled the will of His Father, the Only-Begotten Son ascends to heaven, and the Holy Spirit descends: not another God (never!), but another Comforter, as it is written. O, the unutterable love for mankind! God Himself has become our Comforter. Thus, He Himself comforts those who are weighed down by misfortune, prevents them from becoming exhausted in spirit, as the Holy Apostle testifies, saying: "Our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears. Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us" (2 Cor. 7:5–6). He comforts the heart frightened by demonic fear, raising it up to invincible courage through bold hope, as the Prophet David testifies: "For Thou, O Lord, hast helped me and comforted me" (Ps. 85:17). He comforts, encouraging the troubled mind, as it has been given a feast with God and rest, as the Apostle testifies, saying: "As though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God" (2 Cor. 5:20); that is, have peace, with God.

Do you see the unsearchable condescension? Do you see the incomparable gift? On high, in the Heavens, the Only-Begotten Son intercedes for us before the Father, as it is written: "Who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us" (Rom. 8:34). Below, on the earth, the Holy Spirit comforts us in many ways.

"What shall I render unto the Lord, for all that He has rendered unto me?" (Ps. 115:4). Is it not true, what the Psalm says: "All my bones shall say, Lord, O Lord, who is like unto Thee? Delivering the beggar from the hand of them that are stronger than he, yea, poor man and pauper from them that despoil him" (Ps. 34:11). And again, "My help cometh from the Lord, Who hath made heaven and the earth" (Ps. 120:2). "Unless the Lord had brought me up, my soul had well nigh sojourned in hades" (Ps. 93:17). "The Lord is my helper, and I shall not fear what man shall do unto me" (Ps. 117:6).

Having such a Comforter, the Holy Spirit, Invincible Power, Great Defender, God and Co-fighter, we shall not be afraid of the enemy and shall not be frightened by opposing powers, but shall courageously and steadfastly hasten to the struggle and feat, experiencing them day after day, not being deluded by the deceptions of the snake, and not growing weary from his ceaseless attacks. Sinful desire is not pleasure and joy, a dangerous and fearsome sickness is not sweetness, but rather are delirium and wicked darkening of the mind. They know this, who have tamed the fury of the flesh, cleansed its defilement, and cleaved with all their hearts to the One God. This manner of life is the most pleasant and happy; for in it, although a man be in the flesh in the world, in spirit he abides in the unseen, resting in spirit through the grace-filled breath of the Holy Spirit.

Why do we allow love of pleasure to conquer us, to so debase us, and by such deviations to cause us who, brought low to the earth, to flesh and blood, to be completely alienated from our Most Good God? Let us flee, brothers, from all the passions. Let us flee love of money, which is the root of all evil; let us flee every other passion that enslaves our soul — anger, envy, hatred, vanity, self-will; so that death may not find us unprepared and distance us from God. Alienation from God is alienation also from the Kingdom of Heaven. Condemnation and punishment will come to those who do not do works pleasing to God. There is no flesh that can endure this condemnation, for the mere thought of it, even before consignment to torments, is already a torment.

In order that we might escape the wrath of God, which comes upon the children of disobedience (Eph. 5:6), let us do good works, that the Lord may rejoice in His works (Ps. 103:33).

Let us begin unfailingly to please God, to purify ourselves, and renew our souls. Take courage: "The Lord is nigh unto all that call upon Him, to all that call on Him in truth" (Ps. 144:19). Let us repent daily, and God will forgive us our sins, comfort us, and grant us eternal life — which may we receive in Christ the Lord Himself; to Him is due glory and sovereignty, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

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Synaxarion For the Sunday of Pentecost

By Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos

SUNDAY of Pentecost

On this day, the eighth Sunday of Pascha, we celebrate Holy Pentecost.

Verses

In a mighty wind doth Christ distribute the Divine Spirit
In the form of fiery tongues unto the Apostles.
In one great day, the Spirit was poured forth upon the Fishermen.


Synaxarion

We celebrate this Feast of Holy Pentecost today in commemoration of the coming of the All-Holy Spirit into the world, which took place fifty days after the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead.

We have received this Feast from the Hebrew Bible; for, just as the Hebrews celebrate their own Pentecost, honoring the number seven, and because they received the Law fifty days after the Passover, so also do we, celebrating fifty days after Pascha, receive, instead of the Law, the All-Holy Spirit, Who gives us laws, guides us into all truth, and decrees what is pleasing to God.

It should be known that among the Hebrews there were three great Feasts: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. They observed Passover in commemoration of their deliverance from Egypt and their passage across the Red Sea; for “Pascha,” in the Hebrew language, means “passage.” This Feast signifies our own passage and return from the darkness of sin to Paradise.


They celebrated Pentecost in commemoration of the hardships they endured in the desert, where they received the Law, and of the way in which they were brought through many afflictions into the Promised Land, for then it was that they enjoyed fruit, wheat, and wine. It also signifies the hardship that we suffer from unbelief and our entry into the Church; for then it is that we partake of the Body and Blood of the Master.

The third Feast is that of Tabernacles, celebrated after the harvesting of fruits, that is, five months after the Feast of Passover. This Feast was celebrated in memory of the day on which Moses first pitched the Tabernacle that he saw on Mount Sinai in the cloud and which was constructed by the architect Beseleel. Fashioning tabernacles themselves, the Hebrews would celebrate the same Feast: living in the fields and giving thanks to God, they would reap the fruits of their labors. This Feast is a type of our resurrection from the dead, when, after our bodily tabernacles have been dissolved and reconstituted, we will enjoy the fruits of our labors, keeping festival in the eternal tabernacles.

It should be known that on this same day of Pentecost that we are celebrating, the Holy Spirit descended upon the Disciples. Since the Holy Fathers decided to divide up the Feast on account of the majesty of the All-Holy and Life-Creating Spirit, because He is One of the Holy and Life-Originating Trinity, we will speak tomorrow about the Descent of the Holy Spirit.

By the intercessions of Thy Holy Apostles, O Christ our God, have mercy on us. Amen.

Apolytikion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
Blessed are You, O Christ our God, who made fishermen all-wise, sending upon them the Holy Spirit and, through them, netting the world. O Loving One, glory to You.

Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
When the Most High came down and confused the tongues, He divided the nations; but when He distributed the tongues of fire He called all to unity. Therefore, with one voice, we glorify the All-Holy Spirit!

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Saint Barnabas the Wonderworker of Vasa

St. Barnabas the Wonderworker (Feast Day - June 11)

The oldest surviving reference made about Saint Barnabas the Ascetic, who lived as a hermit at the village of Vasa, is found in the writings of the chronicler Leontios Machairas, who states: "At Vasa there is Saint Barnabas the monk. The Saint is one of the 'Three Hundred' refugees - clergy, monks and laymen - who fled to Cyprus during the persecution of the Arabs." However, according to his Doxastikon written shortly after his death, reference is given that Barnabas was in actuality a native of Vasa, Cyprus. Furthermore, his name indicates that he was a native of Cyprus, since we have four other saints bearing that name from Cyprus, including the Apostle himself who founded the Church of Cyprus. Essentially, we do not know for sure the origins of the ascetic Barnabas whom we commemorate today nor the exact time of when he lived.

According to local tradition and the hymns written in his honor, St. Barnabas lived as an ascetic in a cave west of the village of Vasa at the base of a stone cliff of white watery rocks. The cave is 28 feet in length, 18 feet in width and 8 feet in height.

We are told that in his youth he was full of piety and goodness, and he was admired for his modesty. At some point he decided to dedicate himself to the Lord with complete self-denial through continuous prayer, fasting, study and repentance by becoming an ascetic in the aforementioned cave.

Over time he was purified of all his passions and became illumined with the Holy Spirit, becoming a bearer of many divine gifts. Locals came to him for advice and to seek his prayers. He even had the grace to work miracles, both before and after his death. According to the hymns written in his honor, at his death his face was illuminated by divine grace as bright as the sun, so that all who saw him from Vasa were astounded.

Today only few portions of his relics are preserved at Vasa, together with his cave, as many portions have been given to other churches for a blessing. In Vasa there existed until 1897 a domed church dedicated to Saint Barnabas, however the residents of the village demolished it in order to replace it with a "magnificent" church which is dedicated to Panagia Evangelistria. It is in this church that bones from the pelvis, the bottom edge of the spine, a thigh bone, the skull and a few others of the Saint are preserved. There are also two icons of the Saint, one old and one newer, which bear the inscription: "The memory of Jesus illumines the nous and dispels the demons." In imitation of St. Barnabas, we also should always invoke the name of Jesus that we may not be the prey of demonic activity and influence.

The memory of Saint Barnabas is celebrated on June 11, the day on which is also celebrated the memory of Saint Barnabas the Apostle, the founder of the Church of Cyprus.

Apolytikion in the Third Tone
The village of Vasa rejoices, in having the divine larnax of your relics, as a well-spring of healings, and a salvation for all those in sorrow, to all those who flee to you, Father, with faith. Rightous Barnabas, entreat Christ God, to grant us great mercy.

Απολυτίκιο Ήχος γ'
Χαίρει έχουσα Βάσεων πόλις, θείαν λάρνακα των σων λειψάνων, αναβρύουσαν πηγάς των ιάσεων, και διασώζουσαν παν τας εκ θλίψεων, τους σοι προστρέχοντας, πάτερ, εκ πίστεως Βαρνάβα όσιε, Χριστόν τον Θεόν ικέτευε, δωρήσασθαι ημίν το μέγα έλεος.

Εκ της Ακολουθείας του Οσίου
Πάσα η Βασέων πληθύς, συναχθείσα, ως έβλεψεν άπνουν εν κλίνη σε, ρήμασι γοεροίς εβόα: δος τελευταίον λόγον τοις δούλοις σου, Άγιε' δίδαξον που καταλείπεις τα τέκνα σου, πάτερ' όμως καν ώδε τω τάφω καλύπτη, άνω σε πάντες πλουτούμεν προστάτην και πρεσβευτήν των ψυχών ημών.

Πάτερ Βαρνάβα Θεόπνευστε, ως κεκρυμμένος ημίν, θησαυρός πεφανέρωσαι εν σπηλαίω κείμενος και σημείοις και τέρασιν ευωδιάζων ψυχής των πίστει σοι προσερχομένων, Θεομακάριστε, όθεν βοώμέν σοι και ημάς εξάρπασον των δυσχερών σου ταις παρακλήσεσιν ανευφημούντας σε.

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The Icon of Axion Estin: History and Miracles

The Revelation of the Hymn "Axion Estin" by the Archangel Gabriel

Miracles of the Icon of "Axion Estin"

The Cell "Axion Estin" on Mount Athos

Paschal Litany on Mount Athos for Bright Week

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Video: Orthodoxy In China

With limited English captions on places & themes.

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The Holy New Martyrs of China (+ 1900)

Martyrs of the Chinese Boxer Rebellion (Feast Day - June 11)

It is the will of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for “all the nations” (Matthew 28:19) to believe, to share in His gifts, and to be saved in His Kingdom. Countless people, indeed since Apostolic times, have come to the light of the knowledge of God and have offered choice fruits of sanctification to “Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith” (Hebrews 12:2). These fruits of the Faith are particularly wondrous and fragrant when dyed purple with the blood of sacrifice and martyrdom out of love for the First Martyr, Christ.

This year marks a hundred years since a vast and populous faraway country was drenched with the blood of its own Martyrs: China.

The seed of the Faith fell there a very long time ago. An Orthodox presence entered the country via Russia in the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, but in a systematic and organized form only in the nineteenth century. The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church showed interest in this enterprise and sent capable laborers to China for the Vineyard of the Lord. Thus, after 1860, Holy Scripture and liturgical and spiritual books were translated into Chinese and the number of native Chinese Orthodox Christians began to increase.

In 1897, Archimandrite Innocent (Figurovsky) was sent to China, where he expanded the Mission with brilliant results.

During precisely that same period, however, the native Chinese reacted strongly not against only the economic, but also the “spiritual” infiltration of “foreigners” in their country. A rising tide of public discontent, initially with the toleration and later with the support of the state, assumed immense proportions and developed into a rebel movement. Westerners called these rebels “Boxers,” perhaps owing to their widespread preoccupation with their traditional martial arts and rituals, whereby—so they believed—they became invulnerable to their enemies.

They were, in fact, Chinese warriors who had passed from “defense” to “offense,” actuated by mysticism, extreme nationalism, xenophobia, and overt anti-Christianity, on account of the excesses and extremes of the Western merchants and “missionaries,” which were clearly offensive to the natives.

This revolt, known as the “Boxer Rebellion,” with its anti-Christian fury, began in 1899 and reached its climax in 1900. Assaults against all “foreigners”
reached an incredible degree of cruelty and brutality. The small, yet vigorous Orthodox Mission in Peking, which was directed by the Russians, was naturally not able to escape the notice of the rebels, even though it was unrelated to the “dangerous” Western versions of Christianity. In the mind of the “Boxers,” all of their Chinese countrymen who had become Christians had renounced their ancestral religion and had, consequently, become traitors, which is why it was necessary for them either to return to their former religion or be savagely murdered.

On 1 June 1900, the building belonging to the Orthodox Mission in Peking was burnt down along with all of its printing and other equipment, and also the Orthodox Church of the Theotokos. The same fate befell all but one of the Orthodox Churches in other parts of the country as well. The few Russian missionaries managed to escape in time.

On 11 June, the Orthodox Chinese in Peking were perfected in martyrdom. The frenzied rebels set fire to the houses of the Orthodox, assembled the inhabitants, and murdered them in a deplorable manner. A few lost heart, out of fear of torture and death, and sacrificed to idols. The majority, however, preferred glorious martyrdom.
Men, women, and children were ruthlessly tortured: they were dismembered; they were disemboweled; they were strangled; they were burnt; they were beheaded. Many were led out of the city to the temples of the idolaters, where they were ritually burnt to death.

Dramatic indeed was the attack on the family of the first and only Chinese Priest, Father Mitrophan Tsi-Chung. Many Orthodox Christians had fled to him to find solace and support. The idolaters seized Father Mitrophan, slew his twenty-three-year-old son, Isaiah, like a sheep and, before his very eyes, tortured his Presbytera, Tatiana, and his younger son, John, who was barely eight years old. Afterwards, they slaughtered the Priest as well, since they were unable to make him revert to idolatry.

“Do you deny Christ?” they asked the Priest’s son and child Martyr, John. When he boldly replied that he would never deny Him, they cut off his nose, ears, and toes. The eight-year-old child Martyr endured with astounding self-denial and calmness: “It is not difficult to suffer for Christ!” he confessed in exaltation, to the astonishment of the onlookers.

The next day, he was slain along with his mother, Presbytera Tatiana, and Maria, the nineteen-year-old fiancée of his brother, the Martyr Isaiah. Maria had been allowed to leave in order to save herself, but she preferred to remain in the house of her martyred father-in-law, Father Mitrophan, and of her martyred fiancé, Isaiah, in order to be glorified together with them: “I was born here, near the Church of the All-Holy Theotokos, and here I will die!” she replied, with courage and determination.

The small Orthodox Mission in Peking, which had numbered approximately one thousand members, offered to the Lord of Glory 222 brave and victorious Martyrs: “This is the glory of the Church, this the wealth of the Kingdom!” Only a few of them are known by name; apart from those already mentioned, there are also: the catechist, Paul Wan, the Mission’s teacher, Ia Wen, Clement Kui-Kin, Matthew Hai-Tsuan, his brother Vitus, Anna Chui.... All, however, are written “in the book of life” (Philippians 4:3) and rejoice in the Church of the Firstborn, who are “written in Heaven” (Hebrews 12:23)!

A few months later, the rebellion was put down by troops from the Western powers. Bishop Innocent (Figurovsky) of Peking, who had been Consecrated in the meantime, built the Church of All the Holy Martyrs in 1902 on the site of the sacrifice of the Chinese New Martyrs, after gathering up and reverently placing their remaining holy Relics in the crypt of this Church.

The Saints immediately began to be honored locally, and in 1903 a special service to them was chanted and their holy Icon was painted.

The Mission in China continued its activities for nearly fifty more years, at which point it ceased to exist because of the Communist domination in the country. In 1956, the last Russian clergyman departed.

May the prayers of the Holy New Martyrs of China restore the light of Orthodoxy in their country and strengthen us on the path to salvation. Amen!

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Read also: The Feast of the Chinese Martyrs

Apolytikion in the Third Tone
Let us the flock of Christ with love and piety now glorify with hymns and truly joyous odes the faithful Martyrs of the truth who suffered for Christ in China. For having confessed the Faith, they all bravely went unto death as lambs which were sacrificed for our Shepherd and Master Christ. And therefore to the Martyrs we cry out: Remember us all, who sing your praises.

Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
The divine Metrophanes, the martyred shepherd, with his great and faithful flock, have hallowed China with their blood; wherefore we praise them with sacred hymns, for they were faithful to Christ even unto death.

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The Grateful and the Ungrateful In the Sight of God

By St. John, Metropolitan of Tobolsk

Thankfulness during grief distinguishes the good from the evil and clearly shows who is who. Bells, prior to being lifted to their height, are tested by blows from a hammer and when they give out an unpleasant sound they are discarded. Such is the will of God: He does not lift His chosen ones to the heights prior to testing them with frequent crosses and grief in order to see the fulfillment of their endurance and what kind of and how pleasant a sound they emit. At one time God tested His great “bell” Job. The hand of God touched him. Would you like to know the tool He used? The hammer of the world, that is, the devil. But what sound did this “bell” emit? "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!" (Job 1:21). What a pleasant sound! But Job was still further subjected to beating. He came under the power of the devil, and his whole body was struck down; from head to toe pus and worms covered him, and he sat in his discharge. Do you hear what blows he received? But now hear what his voice gave forth: "Shall we not receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" (Job 2:10). Oh, what a strong voice! Oh, what a sweet sound! Who, being asleep, is not awakened by it? (Blessed Augustine, Discussion on Psalm 97). Blessed be this “bell” emitting such a blessed sound! This is the indication of a good man, a man grateful to God. And here is the sign of an ungrateful man: if some misfortune comes upon him, he complains, laments, opposes, grieves excessively, praises his own deeds and proves his innocence (St. Antioch, Discussion 117). What more is there to say? The good and the evil are like two full dishes, one filled with precious aromas, the other with evil-smelling matter (Blessed Augustine, Letter 111: To Theodorus). Thus the good and the evil are being frequented by misfortune without distinction, but by this affliction itself, one is being separated from the other by the all-wise providence of God. The good, when any misfortune befalls them, offer their thanks to God Who deigns to punish them; but the arrogant, sensual and money-loving blaspheme and grumble at God saying, “O God, what evil did we do that we are suffering so?”

Source: The Royal Way of the Cross of Our Lord Leading to Eternal Life, trans. Vera Kencis (Wildwood, AB: Monastery Press, 2002), pp. 149-150.

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Saint John (Maximovitch), Metropolitan of Tobolsk, Siberia (+ 1715)

St. John of Tobolsk (Feast Day - June 10)

An important personality in the Church, outstanding Hierarch, great ascetic, God-inspired poet, educator, missionary, friend of the poor, the last Saint to be glorified in Imperial Russia, St. John of Tobolsk was the distant ancestor, heavenly patron, model, and guide of the newly-revealed Saint John (Maximovitch), Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco, the Wonder-worker.

The great Caves Monastery of Kiev was, from the earliest years of Orthodox Christianity in Russia, a fount of sanctity for the whole of the Russian land. The Monastery was destroyed in the Tartar invasion of the 13th century; but it was later restored, and again in the 17th century it entered upon a period of spiritual blossoming that produced a whole series of holy hierarchs. Among them, to name only the closest contemporaries and associates of St. John, were St. Dimitry of Rostov (1651-1709), St. Theodosius of Chernigov (1630-1696), and Blessed Philotheus of Tobolsk (d. 1727); slightly later there were such holy men as St. Innocent of Irkutsk (1680-1731), St. Ioasaph of Belgorod (1705-1754), and St. Paul of Tobolsk (1705-1770). In this company of hierarch-saints, St. John of Tobolsk occupies his own significant place.

A member of the noble family of Maximovitch, which enjoyed high favor with the Russian Tsars, St. John was born, one of six brothers, in the year 1651 in the city of Nezhin in central Russia. Already in his childhood he was particularly fond of reading the word of God and the writings of the Holy Fathers, and he loved to attend the services of the Church. This strong religious inclination in his early youth determined the whole of his later life.

* * *

The future hierarch was educated in the Kievan College of Metropolitan Peter Mogila, which was later transformed into a Theological Academy. There he learned to love theological studies, to which he gave himself with all the ardor of youth, and he finished the course brilliantly. He remained to teach there for eight years, showing himself an industrious scholar and a deeply religious man. At the same time, from his visits to the Caves Monastery in Kiev, there was planted in him a burning desire for the monastic life, and it was there that he became a monk. In the Lavra the young ascetic revealed himself as highly gifted in letters and in the art of oratory. When in 1677 the Turks were threatening to attack the Ukraine, the then Hieromonk John was chosen by the monks, despite his youth, as their envoy to Tsar Feodor Alexeyevich to ask for help in the face of the threatened destruction of the Lavra. The Tsar sent a strong detachment and designated Svensky Monastery near Bryansk to be the place of refuge for the monks of the Lavra in case of attack, and Hieromonk John was appointed its abbot. This brought out the humble ascetic from the holy caves of Kiev and placed him high on the Church candlestick to shine before men.

For the next twenty years Fr. John was placed at the head of various monasteries in southern Russia, inspiring the monks by his personal example and great ascetic endeavor. The holy life and great talents of Abbot John soon came to the attention of St. Theodosius, Archbishop of Chernigov. St. Theodosius (Ouglitsky) was a model hierarch and Orthodox enlightener full of flaming love and devotion to his flock. After his death he manifested his greatness before God with an abundance of miraculous intercessions coming from his incorruptible relics. He called St. John with the idea of making him his successor in Chernigov. In 1695 he made him Archimandrite of Eletsky Monastery, of which he had himself once been the head.

In the next year, 1696, St. Theodosius died, but his closeness to his chosen successor did not end with his death; for St. John himself received the first miraculous healing by the prayers of St. Theodosius. To St. John, who was seriously ill with influenza and apparently on his deathbed, St. Theodosius appeared and said:

Do not sorrow, brother; the Lord has heard your prayers, and you will be well. Rise from your bed and prepare to serve the Divine Liturgy; this will be a sign to you.

Awakening after the vision, the Saint had his vicar informed that he would serve on the following day. Because of his condition, these words were ascribed to delirium.

But in fact, on the following day the Saint, already well, served the Liturgy. After this healing St. John ordered the cave opened where St. Theodosius was buried, and he hung there a large portrait of his healer, himself composing some verses for an inscription.

* * *

St. John being the logical successor to St. Theodosius, he was unanimously elected Archbishop of Chernigov by the local clergy and officials, and sent to Moscow with a request of the Tsar and Patriarch to consecrate him for Chernigov. The consecration took place on January 10, 1697.

Chernigov was a flourishing city not far from Kiev. St. Theodosius had seen well to the Orthodox enlightenment and education of his diocese, and St. John, his worthy successor, took up this task where that great Saint had left off. St. John understood well that for fruitful results in Church life more was needed than his own personal efforts, and so he worked to educate the clergy. For this purpose he established a diocesan college, similar to the Kievan Academy, which was to become, according to the Saint’s idea, a “Chernigovan Athens” of enlightened piety. The high level of its theological education and its instruction in the rules of Christian living made this school widely known. It became a pattern, in imitation of which seminaries began to be opened in other dioceses.

St. John strove always to live the life of his flock. He taught the truths of Christian faith and life in a form accessible to the simplest of his listeners, and he pointed to the grace-bestowing powers of the Holy Church, which aid one to stand firmly on the path of salvation.

The high virtues with which the life of St. John was radiant were reflected also in his many writings, a list of which follows:

1. The Mirror of Moral Instruction, 1703 and 1707;
2. Alphabet of Saints (in verse), 1705;
3. O Mother of God, Virgin (also in verse), 1707;
4. Commentary on the 50th Psalm, 1708;
5. A Meditation on the Prayer “Our Father” (in verse), 1709;
6. The Eight Beatitudes of the Gospel (in verse), 1709;
7. The Royal Way of the Cross, 1709;
8. Religious Reflections, 1710-11;
9. Iliotropion, 1714
(all published in Chernigov).

His most important work, Iliotropion, was begun by St John while he was still a teacher in the Academy of Peter Mogila. He published it in Latin, and only later, in Tobolsk, when he had completed it in its final form, did he publish it in Slavonic. The title is the Greek word for helianthus (sunflower). The image of the sunflower, dear to the Saint even from his youth, was for him an analogy which helps to explain the agreement of the human will with the will of God. The sunflower has the particular characteristic of daily turning its face from one side to the other following the movement of the sun. Sunflowers are a common sight in the rural landscape of southern Russia, and St. John could not but be attracted by the natural symbolism they afford. The book Iliotropion, in fact, treats of the Divine and human wills:

The only true means for attaining our happiness in this life and in the next is the constant turning of our attention within ourselves, to our own conscience, to our thoughts, words, and deeds, so as to raise them to passionlessness: this will reveal to us our mistakes in life and indicate the only path to salvation. This path is the entire devotion of our whole being, of our whole self with all the circumstances of our life, to the will of God. As a symbol of this our turning to God we may take the growth of the sunflower; let it be ever before our eyes.

Christian! Observe once and for all how the sunflower even on gloomy days pursues its circular course, following the sun with the unchanging love and attraction natural to it. Our sun, illuminating our path through this world, is the will of God; it does not always illuminate our path in life without clouds; often clear days are followed by gloomy ones: rain, wind, storms arise... But let our love for our Sun, the will of God, be so strong that we may continue, inseparably from it, even in days of misfortune and sorrow, like the sunflower on gloomy days, to navigate faultlessly on the sea of life, following theindications of the ‘barometer’ and ‘compass’ of the will of God, which leads us into the safe harbor of eternity.

In the words of this ascetic of faith there is placed before us the spiritually transfigured man, filled with the determination to accept in all things the will, good and perfect, of the Heavenly Father.

It will seem to us that we are deprived of everything; even if we have a great abundance in everything, we will always be in fear, despondent, agitated, faint-hearted, every hour full of cares and various anxieties, sorrow and vain sighing, until we sincerely return to God and devote ourselves and each other completely to the will of God, as the sunflower strives toward the sun. Let us begin diligently to examine the visible signs of God’s will in events and conform our will to them. Let the will of God be for us the guiding star in life, and let each of us engrave and hold forever in his heart this one thing: 'Blessed be the Name of the Lord!' (Job, ch. 1.)

* * *

In 1700 Tsar Peter I ordered the Metropolitan of Kiev to select a suitable candidate for the mission of preaching the Gospel to the pagan peoples of the vast Siberian lands. Two of St. John’s close schoolmates were chosen for this task, being assigned to the rapidly-growing Siberian diocese of Tobolsk. The first choice was St. Dimitry Tuptulo, who, however, due to his frail health was never sent to Tobolsk but to Rostov; in his place Blessed Philotheus Leschinsky was made Metropolitan and sent to Tobolsk, and his zeal, his ascetic life, and his love for the natives earned for him recognition as one of Russia’s greatest missionaries. In 1709 Metropolitan Philotheus became sick and, thinking his end near, took the skhima and retired to private ascetic labors. His friend St. John was called to succeed him in the Tobolsk cathedra.

In Chernigov St. John had by this time earned the unquestioning respect and love of his flock, being known as a great man of prayer and an outstanding prince of the Church. He was adorned also with supernatural gifts, such as the ability to see the future; he predicted Tsar Peter’s victory over the Swedes, and in the Tobolsk Chronicles it is recorded that he foresaw the Napoleonic invasion a century in advance.

In the middle of the year 1711 St. John left Chernigov with its culture to bring the light of Christianity to the cold and primitive Siberian frontier. For his protection he took with him a copy of a miraculous Chernigov Icon of the Mother of God, that of Ilyin, which only several decades before had manifested the rare miracle of tears, and had granted since then numerous miraculous healings. He arrived in the middle of August in the same year with a great suite: church singers, educated clergymen, episcopal vestments, service books, together with many trunks. He at once gained the respect and admiration of all and was able without difficulties to apply himself to missionary endeavors.

Always a friend of education, St. John took loving care of the Slavano-Latin [sic] School established by his predecessor. He established courses in icon painting. He took charge of local missionary work, freeing the Skhima-Metropolitan Philotheus to preach Christ to the wild tribes farther away. He sent a well-equipped mission to Peking.1

St. John loved to do good in secret; he sent money and various objects through trustworthy persons to poorhouses and the homes of poor people, especially widows. He would go to a window, knock, and say: “Accept this in the Name of Jesus Christ”—and quickly leave. He grieved especially over impoverished clergymen. He was drawn with his whole soul to wherever there were sorrow and need. He loved to go to prisons; he comforted, taught, and likewise diverted the prisoners with gifts. He never went out just to visit, and he never stepped into the houses of the rich.

Even while occupied with his many pastoral cares, St. John managed to lead also a life of the strictest asceticism. In his personal life he was quiet, humble, compassionate, and very strict with himself. Possessing a great capacity for work, he was never idle; he was always reading or writing, teaching or thinking. Above all he prayed; shutting himself up in his cell, he would pray for hours on his knees.

* * *

For his God-pleasing deeds, St. John was granted a righteous death that revealed the sanctity of his earthly life. Foreseeing his approaching death, he prepared for it: the evening before, he went to confession, and the next day, June 10, 1715, he solemnly celebrated the Divine Liturgy. Afterwards, as was his custom on major feast days, he held a dinner in his quarters for the city clergymen and the poor. He himself waited on the latter, thus literally obeying the Gospel injunction: “When thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just” (St. Luke 14:13-14).

After the dinner the Saint touchingly bade farewell to his clergy, and then detained for a short time two of his best-loved priests. What he said to them was never divulged. Having dismissed them, he closed himself into his inner quarters. Before vespers, when it was customary to ask the Metropolitan’s blessing for the ringing of the bells, his house servants came many times to his quarters, knocked and called him; but the door was not opened, and they heard no voice. The residents of Tobolsk, who deeply revered and loved the Metropolitan, did not hear the vesper bells at the usual time; and having been thrown into perplexity by the tales that quickly spread through the city about the entirely extraordinary farewell of St. John with his clergy, they gathered in large numbers in the enclosure before the bishop’s house.

Finally the Siberian governor, Prince Gagarin, arrived and, after renewed vain attempts to call the Metropolitan, he took the responsibility upon himself and ordered the door broken in. And they beheld: Metropolitan John, in an attitude of prayer, was on his knees before the holy Icon of the Chernigov Mother of God—already long dead.

His death was supernaturally revealed to his beloved brother in Christ. On the same day Blessed Philotheus, being miles away in the wild regions of the Konda River, said to those who surrounded him: “Our brother John has passed away. Let us go from here”; and he at once returned to Tobolsk.

The Saint was buried in his cathedral to the great lamentation of his flock. But immediately a series of visions and miraculous intercessions followed, so that there was no doubt of his sanctity; and Tobolsk patiently waited for the day of his canonization. This took, however, 200 years, and even then it was almost postponed because of the First World War. It took the ardent intercession of the local Bishop Varnava, the future Patriarch Tikhon, and the Martyr-Tsar Nicholas II to bring about the long expected canonization, which took place on June 10, 1916, in the presence of all the Siberian hierarchs and tens of thousands of Orthodox believers from all over Holy Russia. It was the last canonization before the Satanic Revolutionary storm broke.

The incorruptible relics of St. John are said to be still preserved in Tobolsk today.
By the holy intercessions of the Holy Hierarch John, O Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us!

1. Interestingly enough, the largest and most active center of Orthodoxy in China two centuries later was headed by the Saint’s relative, [St.] John Maximovitch, Bishop of Shanghai, whose life and activity strikingly resemble St. John’s.

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
Guide of piety, provider for orphans, helper of the afflicted, and unmercenary physician of the sick, swift succor of suffering souls and fervent intercessor with the Lord for all: O Father and Hierarch John, intercede with Christ God that He save our souls.

Source: The Orthodox Word, Vol. II, No. 5 (11) (November-December 1966), pp. 158-165.

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Serbian Orthodox Under Scrutiny Over Mladic

June 10, 2011
Church Times

Senior figures in the Serbian Orthodox Church are to be ques­tioned over allegations that the former general Ratko Mladic, who is sus­pected of war crimes, was shel­tered by the Church during his nearly 16 years on the run.

General Mladic is currently in prison at The Hague, facing charges of orchestrating the massacre of 8000 Muslims in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica in 1995 — the worst civilian massacre in Europe since the Second World War.

The President of Serbia, Boris Tadic, has said that Church officials will be questioned as part of the investigation, after reports in the Serbian press suggested that General Mladic was nursed by nuns through a stroke while he was supposed to be on the run.


The St Melania Convent, which is 40 miles north of Belgrade, is said to have been one of a number of secret refuges provided by the Orthodox Church.

The Church has not made any comment on the allegations, or on the arrest of General Mladic.

Drasko Djenovic, who runs Cen­taur 9, an organisation set up to monitor religious freedom in Serbia, said that there was, as yet, no proof that General Mladic had been har­boured by the Church, as Radovan Karadzic had been. He said that priests had joined in demon­strations against Mladic’s arrest, how­ever, and a demonstration in Lazar­evo, the village where the General was arrested, was led by the local priest.

Mr Djenovic said: “For most believers, priests, and bishops, he is still a national hero, and his extra­dition to Hague court will just mean that more people will vote against pro-European parties in favour of nationalist parties.”

The Very Revd Aleksandar Zebic, of the Serbian Orthodox Church of St Lazar in Bourneville, Birming­ham, told Premier Christian Radio this week that General Mladic was now “answerable to God”.

The Bishop of Hereford, the Rt Revd Anthony Priddis, has wel­comed the arrest and trial. On his blog, he contrasted General Mladic’s treatment with the discovery and shooting of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.

“Putting someone on trial matters because the truth matters. Trial is not about revenge but about justice. There may have been very good reasons why Osama Bin Laden, too, could not have been arrested and put on trial for his crimes, but we are not told them in any clear or persuasive way.”

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Synaxis of All Saints of Siberia

The feast of the Synaxis of All Saints of Siberia was established under Patriarch Pimen of Moscow and All Russia in 1984. It is celebrated annually on June 10th. Below are a list of some of these Saints:

Andrew, Igumen of Raphael (Tobolsk). He is commemorated on May 14 (+ 1820)

Anthony, Metropolitan of Tobolsk. He is commemorated on March 27. (+ 1740)

Arethas of Valaam & Verkhoturye. He is commemorated on May 15 (+ 1910)

Barlaam, Archbishop of Tobolsk. He is commemorated on December 27 (+ 1802)

Barlaam, desert-dweller of Chikoysk. He is commemorated on October 5 (+ 1846)

Basil of Mangazea. He is commemorated on March 22 (+1602), May 10 (Translation of his relics in 1670), May 23 (All Saints of Rostov and of Yaroslavl).

Cosmas of Verkhoturye. He is commemorated on November 1 (+ 1706)

Daniel of Achinsk. He is commemorated on April 15 (+ 1843)

Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov. He is commemorated on October 28 (+1709) and on September 21 (The uncovering of his relics in 1752)

Domna of Tomsk, Eldress, fool-for-Christ. She is commemorated on December 16 (+ 1872)

Gerasimus, Bishop of Astrakhan and Enotaeva. He is commemorated on June 24 (+1880)

Herman of Alaska. He is commemorated on December 13 (+ 1837) and on July 27/Aug. 9 (His Glorification in 1970)

Innocent, first Bishop of Irkutsk. He is commemorated on November 26 (+ 1731) and on February 9 (The uncovering of his relics in 1805)

Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow, Enlightener of Alaska & Siberia. He is commemorated on March 31 (+ 1879), on Sept. 23 /Oct. 6 (His glorification in 1977), and on the Sunday before August 26 (All Saints of Moscow)

John, Metropolitan of Tobolsk, wonderworker. He is commemorated on June 10 (+ 1715)

John of Verkhoturye, fool-for-Christ. He is commemorated on April 16 (+ 1701)

Macarius of Altai. He is commemorated on May 16 (+ 1847)

Meletius, Bishop of Kharkov. He is commemorated on February 12 (+ 1840)

Meletius, Bishop of Ryazan. He is commemorated on January 14 (+ 1900)

Misael of Abalatsk, Hieromonk. He is commemorated on December 17 (+ 1797)

Nectarius, Archbishop of Tobolsk. (+ 1666)

Peter, Metropolitan of Tobolsk. He is commemorated on March 4 (+ 1820)

Philaret, Metropolitan of Kiev. He is commemorated on December 2 (+ 1857)

Philotheus, Metropoltian of Tobolsk. He is commemorated on May 31 (+ 1727)

Simeon, Metropolitan of Smolensk. He is commemorated on January 4 (+ 1699)

Simeon of Verkhoturye. He is commemorated on September 12 (The transfer of his relics in 1704), and on December 18 (His glorification in 1694)

Sinesius of Irkutsk. He is commemorated on May 10 (+ 1787)

Sophronius, Bishop & wonderworker of Smolensk. He is commemorated on March 30 (+ 1771) and on June 30 (His glorification in 1918)

Stephen of Omsk. He is commemorated on June 30 (+ 1876)

Theodore Kuzmich, Elder of Tomsk. He is commemorated on January 20 (+ 1864)

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Documentary: Where Heaven Falls Prey To Thieves

A short documentary about the extensive art theft that has taken place in North Cyprus since the 1974 Turkish invasion. The theft has taken place with tacit or active approval from the Turkish army.

The plunder not only served as a source of income for criminals in North Cyprus and shady antiquity dealers, it was also an act to eradicate the memory of Cyprus as a Christian country for almost two millenia.

What has happened in the Turkish occupied zone constitutes pillaging of world cultural heritage and is a war crime according to several international conventions.

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Serbian Church Will Not Invite Pope To Nis

Tanjug, N. Vlačo
July 6, 2011
Blic

The Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) most likely shall not invite Pope Benedict XVI to attend the celebration of the 1,700 year anniversary of the Edict of Milan in the Town of Nis in 2013, since the Synod had not agreed about that, Tanjug was told at the Patriarchate in Belgrade.

As said by the Patriarchate, the Pope perhaps would have been invited had he during his visit to Croatia this weekend visited Jasenovac and paid respect to the victims of the concentration camp in which 700,000 Serbs and about 100,000 Jews and Roma were killed during the WWII.

That has not happened, but the Pope did visit the grave of Croatian Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac who was on trial after WWII for cooperation with the Nazis.

The Pope’s disputable praising of Stepinac proved how huge differences over Stepinac between the Catholic and Orthodox Church are.

Jovan Mirkovic, Director of the Museums of Victims of Genocide, does not agree with the Pope who said that Stepinac was saving the Jews, Serbs and Roma. ‘There are simply no proofs for such claims, but there are proofs about the Cardinal’s responsibility for the Ustashi crimes’, he says.

The Pope said in Croatia that Stepinac was a humanist who suffered under two totalitarian regimes – of the Ustashis and of the Communists. Like his predecessor John Paul II, Benedict XVI too paid respect to Stepinac at his grave in the Zagreb Cathedral.

In a statement to ‘Blic’ Federico Lombardi, Director of Vatican’s Office for media claims, said that there are testimonies that Stepinac was not supporting Ante Pavelic’s regime, that he was saving all he could and that serious historians have proved that. ‘There is data about the saving of Jews’, Lombardi said.

Jovan Mirkovic, former Director of Jasenovac Monument Park, says that ‘the Vatican’s thesis that Stepinac was saving Jews is without ground’.

‘Had he saved the life of a single Jew, Israel would have proclaimed Stepinac a righteous among nations. I think there were certain attempts to that direction but they all failed’, Mirkovic says.

As regards Stepinac’s relation towards the Serbs, everything is clear according to Mirkovic.

‘It is sure that he is responsibile for enforced conversion of Serbs to Catholicism. Secondly, large numbers of his priests were Ustashis committing crimes together with others. Thirdly, he was a supreme military priest and all military priests delegated to Ustashi units were under his authority. Stepinac knew about Jasenovac and all the horrible things that were going on there’, Mirkovic says.

Read also: The Record of Archbishop Stepinac

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Moscow Bans Church From Feeding the Hungry

City council orders the church of Saints Cosmas and Damian to close its soup kitchen for the homeless because it gives an unseemly image of the city. The parish is located outside the mayor’s offices. Each year in the capital at least 200 homeless people die of cold.

Nina Achmatova
June 9, 2011
Asia News

For 15 years, twice a week, the Russian Orthodox parish of Saints Cosmas and Damian in Shubin, Moscow, has offered food and assistance to the homeless. For 15 years on Wednesday and Friday from 300 to 600 homeless people were sure of a full meal, medicine, clothes and some heat, which in the long Russian winter becomes as important as bread. For 15 years. Until May, when the administration of the municipality of Moscow ordered Parish priest Alexandr Borisov to terminate the service for hygiene reasons. The parish is situated on the famous Tverskaya Street, a temple to luxury boutiques, banks and representative offices of international companies, but most importantly it is in front of the City Council wand it appears mayor Sergei Sobianin did not like the sight of homeless people in a queue waiting their turn to be fed and so ordered the shelter closed.

According to Father Borisov, there was also pressure from some residents in apartment buildings across from the church, who have long complained about the presence of the homeless. "There are some people - denounced the pastor - who call themselves religious, attend services celebrated by the Patriarch, but then they act only to destroy and never to build."

The church of Saints Cosmas and Damian have received the solidarity of the Moscow Patriarchate who wrote to Sobyanin asking that the administration provide an alternative structure to that of the parish, where they can continue the canteen and social initiatives. "That aid to the homeless - continues the priest - is precisely the sphere where church and state can work better together: the city council could provide the structure to welcome the homeless and we will provide the staff and volunteers to do the job." It is estimated that each year there are 200 homeless people who die from the cold in the capital alone

As with other mega-cities, homelessness in Moscow is a perennial problem, exacerbated by the indifference and prejudice of the population and authorities: online and on the street is common to hear people worried that the state protect their "right not to be touched and infected by bums on public transport. " The police has organized a sort of rounds in which each day, according to official figures, about 200 homeless people are gathered and taken to reception centers where they are washed and treated, only to later sent back onto the street.

In the past there have been attempts, both local and federal, to reintroduce into the penal code the crime of 'vagrancy', but they have all failed. According to Ministry of Interior estimates, the population of homeless people in Moscow is upwards of 100 thousand people, half of whom have a high school diploma. Precisely for this reason experts believe that a program of reintegration of these people in society is possible. While the intention of the political class seems to be heading in the opposite direction.

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Video: Recordings of Elder Porphyrios

Γέρων Πορφύριος from enoriaAZ on Vimeo.

This 17-minute video depicts places associated with Elder Porphyrios with recordings in his own voice. It is in Greek.

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Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode A Convert to Orthodoxy

I remember years ago reading somewhere that Dave Gahan, lead vocalist and co-songwriter of the famous Alternative Rock and New Wave band Depeche Mode, converted to Orthodoxy. This surprised me, as I've been a big fan of the band for many years, but also because the band is well-known for being controversial, especially when it comes to issues of religion. For example, 'Blasphemous Rumours' (see here) is a dark yet wry look at the misery in the world and what part religion plays in this. Also, probably their biggest hit, listed at #368 by Rolling Stone magazine in their 2006 list of "500 Greatest Songs Ever", is the catchy song 'Personal Jesus' (see here) about how in love relationships we can become Jesus figures to our partners. I also remember really liking his song "Dirty Sticky Floors" (see here), in which he refers to his suicide attempt with a razor blade on 17 August 1995.

When I initially looked into his conversion, I couldn't find anything, so I thought it may be a false rumor. But then I noticed he married a third time to actress Jennifer Sklias on 14 February 1999, and noticed her Greek last name (her website is here). This was her second marriage and they have a daughter together named Stella (they both have a child also from a previous marriage). When I came across some wedding photos it became obvious then how he came to convert to Orthodox Christianity, though I don't know much about his personal views on the matter (a possible redemption song here).

The wedding took place in New York, where Dave and Jennifer still live.

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Hypatia's Murder and the Innocence of Saint Cyril

Neoplatonist philosopher Damascius (ca. 480-550) wrote his works a century after the murder of the illustrious Neoplatonist philosopher Hypatia (415). Nevertheless he attempts to pass on without documentation that her death was the result of hidden jealousy on the part of St. Cyril (Suidas Y 166). The subsequent chronicler John Malalas based his information on Damascius.

Cyril could not really have an interest in the murder of Hypatia. She was not a champion of the ancient cults and did not oppose him. Indeed, she had many Christian students, including Synesius the bishop of Cyrene. It is said that she once wrote to him, saying: "I desire to die a Christian" (Fr. G. Metallinos, Pagan Hellenism or Hellenic Orthodoxy?, 2003). It is also said that she was a political adviser to prefect Orestes, which could have lead to hatred on the part of Cyril. But he would not succeed in anything by her death, except only in infuriating Orestes. Though it is true Cyril had some power, nonetheless he was not above the law. Even those who reject the sanctity of Cyril would have to admit that it would have been stupid for him to put himself in danger and in vain to tarnish his reputation or even be punished.

Hypatia was murdered by some fanatical Alexandrians who thought her to be responsible for the rivalry between Cyril and Orestes (Socrates, Ecclesiastical History 7.15 and John of Nikiu, Chronicle 84.87-103). So the perpetrators were NOT the special corps under the command of the Patriarch of Alexandria known as "Parabalani". Moreover, residents of Alexandria were notorious troublemakers (Socrates, Ecclesiastical History 7.7 and Cyril's Paschal Homily, 419). A contemporary source, Socrates Scholasticus (ca. 380-450), says that the murder of Hypatia was initiated by Peter the Reader, not St. Cyril. This is in agreement with the extremely fanatical John of Nikiu (late 7th century). It is worth noting that in the Alexandrian Church, readers were not necessarily priests nor baptized Christians (Socrates, Ecclesiastical History 5.22).

Some people say that Socrates contradicts himself, since he writes that the death of Hypatia "brought not the least disgrace upon Cyril and the Alexandrian church." But the statement does not mean that Cyril was responsible. Rather Cyril was disgraced because of the crime by a part of his flock.

Of course, Socrates is not at all biased in favor of Cyril when he speaks of his innocence, since elsewhere he does not hesitate to point out his errors. Indeed, he had reached the point of blaming Cyril for his folly because he honored as a martyr the fanatical monk Ammonius who was killed after attacking Orestes (Socrates, Ecclesiastical History, 7.14). He felt also that Cyril belonged to the heresy of the Novatians, because he showed compassion to them in his works. However, Cyril considered them as enemies (Socrates, Ecclesiastical History, 7.7).

Furthermore, since everyone knew of the guilt of Peter, maybe we could assume that he did not escape punishment. The murder was a criminal offense under the applicable laws. St. Cyril was not opposed to the punishment of Peter (which could be done, given his rash nature and the arbitration he was used to doing). And it would be foolish to think that Cyril had more power than his "enemy" the prefect Orestes. Let us not forget that Cyril could not save the monk Ammonius from punishment, though he clearly showed that he was opposed to it.

The available data does not support the unfounded assumption that St. Cyril was an instigator of the murder of Hypatia. What is certain however is that the horrible murder of Hypatia is certainly against the spirit of Christianity and is condemned by the Church. We always have in mind that a saint is not born but made. So Cyril, even if he were to have had a share of responsibility for the death of Hypatia, would have became a saint in the later course of his life. Many saints were criminals even before they renounced their sinful life and became fully dedicated to God.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos

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Saint Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria

St. Cyril of Alexandria (Feast Day - January 18 and June 9)

Saint Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria, a distinguished champion of Orthodoxy and a great teacher of the Church, came from an illustrious and pious Christian family. He studied the secular sciences, including philosophy, but most of all he strove to acquire knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and the truths of the Christian Faith. In his youth Cyril entered the monastery of Macarius in the Nitreia hills, where he stayed for six years. Theophilus (385-412), the Patriarch of Alexandria, ordained him as a deacon, numbered him among the clergy and entrusted him to preach.

Upon the death of Patriarch Theophilus, Cyril was unanimously chosen to the patriarchal throne of the Alexandrian Church. He led the struggle against the spread of the Novatian heresy in Alexandria, which taught that any Christian who had fallen away from the Church during a time of persecution, could not be received back into it.

Cyril, seeing the futility of admonishing the heretics, sought their expulsion from Alexandria. The Jews appeared a greater danger for the Church, repeatedly causing riots, accompanied by the brutal killing of Christians. The saint long contended with them. In order to wipe out the remnants of paganism, the saint cast out devils from an ancient pagan temple and built a church on the spot, and the relics of the Holy Unmercenaries Cyrus and John were transferred into it. A more difficult struggle awaited the saint with the emergence of the Nestorian heresy.

Nestorius, a presbyter of the Antiochian Church, was chosen in 428 to the see of Constantinople and there he was able to spread his heretical teaching against the dogma about the uncommingled union of two natures in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nestorius called the Mother of God not the Theotokos, but rather Christotokos or "Birth-giver of Christ," implying that she gave birth not to God, but only to the man Christ. The holy Patriarch Cyril repeatedly wrote to Nestorius and pointed out his error, but Nestorius continued to persevere in it. Then the saint sent out epistles against Nestorianism to the clergy of Constantinople and to the holy emperor Theodosius the Younger (408-450), denuncing the heresy. Cyril wrote also to other Churches, to Pope Celestine and to the other Patriarchs, and even to monks of several monasteries, warning ofthe emergence of a dangerous heresy.

Nestorius started an open persecution against the Orthodox. In his presence one of his partisans, Bishop Dorotheus, pronounced an anathema against anyone who would call the Most Holy Virgin Mary the Theotokos.

Nestorius hated Cyril and brought out against him every kind of slander and fabrication, calling him a heretic. The saint continued to defend Orthodoxy with all his powers. The situation became so aggravated, that it became necessary to call an Ecumenical Council, which convened in the city of Ephesus in the year 431. At the Council 200 bishops arrived from all the Christian Churches. Nestorius, awaiting the arrival of Bishop John of Antioch and other Syrian bishops, did not agree to the opening of the Council. But the Fathers of the Council began the sessions with Cyril presiding. Having examined the teaching of Nestorius, the Council condemned him as a heretic. Nestorius did not submit to the Council, and Bishop John opened a "robber council", which decreed Cyril a heretic. The unrest increased. By order of the emperor, Patriarch Cyril of Alexandria and Archbishop Memnon of Ephesus were locked in prison, and Nestorius was deposed.

Soon Sts Cyril and Memnon were freed, and the sessions of the Council continued. Nestorius, not submitting himself to the determinations of the Council, was deprived of priestly rank. By order of the emperor he was sent to the faraway place Sasim in the Libyan wilderness, where he died in grievous torments. His tongue, having blasphemed the Mother of God, was overtaken by punishment -- in it there developed worms. Even Bishop John of Antioch and the remaining Syrian bishops signed the decrees of the Council of Ephesus.

Cyril guided the Alexandrian Church for 32 years, and towards the end of his life the flock was cleansed of heretics. Gently and cautiously Cyril approached anyone, who by their own simpleness and lack of knowledge, fell into false wisdom. There was a certain Elder, an ascetic of profound life, who incorrectly considered the Old Testament Priest Melchizedek to be the Son of God. Cyril prayed for the Lord to reveal to the Elder the correct way to view the righteous one. After three days the Elder came to Cyril and said that the Lord had revealed to him that Melchizedek was a mere man.

Cyril learned to overcome his prejudice against the memory of the great John Chrysostom (November 13). Theophilus, the Patriarch of Alexandria, and uncle of Cyril, was an antagonist of John, and presided in a council in judgment of him. Cyril thus found himself in a circle antagonistic to John Chrysostom, and involuntarily acquired a prejudice against him. Isidore of Pelusium (February 4) repeatedly wrote to Cyril and urged him to include the name of the great Father of the Church into the diptychs of the saints, but Cyril would not agree.

Once in a dream he saw a wondrous temple, in which the Mother of God was surrounded by a host of angels and saints, in whose number was John Chrysostom. When Cyril wanted to approach the All-Holy Lady and venerate her, John Chrysostom would not let him. The Theotokos asked John to forgive Cyril for having sinned against him through ignorance. Seeing that John hesitated, the Mother of God said, "Forgive him for my sake, since he has labored much for my honor, and has glorified me among the people calling me Theotokos." John answered, "By your intercession, Lady, I do forgive him," and then he embraced Cyril with love.

Cyril repented that he had maintained anger against the great saint of God. Having convened all the Egyptian bishops, he celebrated a solemn feast in honor of John Chrysostom.

Cyril died in the year 444, leaving behind many works. In particular, the following ought to be mentioned: commentaries On the Gospel of Luke, On the Gospel of John, On the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians and to the Hebrews; also an Apologia in Defense of Christianity against the Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363). Of vast significance are his Five Books against Nestorius; a work on the Most Holy Trinity under the title Thesaurus, written against Arius and Eunomios. Also two dogmatic compositions on the Most Holy Trinity, distinguished by a precise exposition of the Orthodox teaching on the Procession of the Holy Spirit. Cyril wrote Against Anthropomorphism for several Egyptians, who through ignorance depicted God in human form. Among Cyril's works are also the Discussions, among which is the moving and edifying Discourse on the Exodus of the Soul, inserted in the Slavonic "Following Psalter".

Today we commemorate the repose of this great Father of the Church. He is also remembered on January 18, the date of his flight from Alexandria.

Source

Apolytikion in the First Tone
Guide of Orthodoxy, teacher of piety and holiness, luminary of the world, God-inspired adornment of monastics, O wise Cyril, by thy teachings thou hast enlightened all, O harp of the Spirit. Intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved.

Kontakion in the Plagal of the Second Tone
Thou with the power of Christ Saviour's divine words didst rend asunder all the webs of the heresies and didst enrich the Church by cutting down the tares of profane Nestorius, O our blest Father Cyril; wherefore, in Christ's presence now with the choirs of the Angels thou intercedest fervently with Him to grant forgiveness of failings to all of us.

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A Dissertation On Cyril of Alexandria's Views On the Law of Moses

I'm currently reading the doctoral dissertation B. Lee Blackburn Jr. titled THE MYSTERY OF THE SYNAGOGUE: CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA ON THE LAW OF MOSES. St. Cyril wrote some illuminating interpretations on this subject, little of which has been translated, which cannot be separated from the historical context in which he lived as Patriarch of Alexandria among a hostile population of Jews in the city. Below is the abstract with a link to the dissertation.

ABSTRACT

In my dissertation I argue that in the De Adoratione et Cultu and the Glaphyra Cyril of Alexandria makes a case, unprecedented in the prior exegetical tradition, that the Mosaic law has inscribed in itself a coherent and comprehensive exposé of its own soteriological inadequacies and the moral pollution of the Jewish people. Indeed, for Cyril the law of Moses, once spiritually contemplated, discloses the entire “mystery of the synagogue,” from the giving of the law at Sinai to the eschatological incorporation of a remnant of Israel into the church. In so doing the law furnishes a devastating and multi-faceted critique of post Christum Judaism as a religion whose adherence to the letter of the law ironically ensures its chronic impurity and estrangement from God. Indeed, the Jews emerge as the paradigmatically polluted people, alienated from the presence of God by virtue of their cleaving to a law that can never purify them and, above all, their murderous reception of Christ. Although many of Cyril’s criticisms of the limitations of the law clearly stem from his Pauline theological commitments, certain motifs that figure prominently in his exegesis, such as that of Jewish pollution, are not without extra-theological implications. As the dominant figure in the Alexandrian church, Cyril assumed an adversarial stance toward the Jewish community, which he took seriously as a religious and cultural nemesis, and his exegesis is not untouched by the anxieties that such friction engendered. This is perhaps most evident in the way in which Cyril's exegetical account of the impurity of Jewish moral character supplies the theoretical underwriting for the strict separation of church from synagogue, a separation demanded by his incipient notion of Jewish space as marginal, polluted, and estranged from the divine presence localized in the church, the true tabernacle. I submit, then, that the outburst of exegetical creativity in the texts at hand cannot be adequately accounted for without reference to the state of Jewish-Christian relations in early fifth-century Alexandria, the dynamics of which characterized much of the eastern empire as a whole.

Read the dissertation here.

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Video: The Prayer of a Bird

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The Restoration of a 14th Century Psalter

In 1997 the fathers of the Monastery of Vatopaidi found on the roof of the Chapel of Saint Dimitrios, which is located on the northeast side of the Katholikon, a manuscript of the 14th century Psalter in very poor condition. The restoration of the manuscript was completed in 2004 by the 10th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities.

You can see in the photographs that follow the restoration phases of this precious manuscript.







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The Division Between Theologians and Non-Theologians

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos

We divide people into theologians and non-theologians. We consider that theologians are those who possess some intellectual knowledge, and we think that theology is a speciality of some people who are studying scientifically the history of the Church. Without excluding the possibility that this too may be one distinction between students and teachers, we must say that theology is chiefly life, experience, and that theologians, according to the teaching of the Church, are essentially those who see God.

St. Gregory the Theologian says that theologians are "those who have been examined and are passed masters in the vision of God", which is to say those who have been tested and purified and, as a result, reached deification. Likewise, according to St. Neilos, a theologian is one who prays. Therefore theologians are those who experience the purifying, especially the illuminating and deifying energy of God.

Thus one person can have completed theological school, taught theology, and yet not know experientially what theology is. And another person can be mentally illiterate, but have developed his noetic energy to the extreme, and be a real theologian. On the Holy Mountain one can meet such people, who are able to interpret and analyze the teaching of the holy Fathers of the Church.

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