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By Metropolitan Nektarios of Argolidos
Recently I received the book "The Life of the Archpriest Avvakum", published by Kedros. I had read it years ago, when it was first published, and I wanted to read it again. I had the feeling that there are some elements in common with the situation we are experiencing within the Church and especially with the upheaval brought by COVID 19.
Archpriest Avvakum was born in 1620 and died in 1682. He was sentenced to death by fire. He was a descendant of a levite/priestly family. His father was a priest, but addicted to the passion of alcoholism.
The first thing we can easily note is the trauma he suffered from his drunken priest-father, which later led him to an extreme ascetic practice. He was ordained a 19-year-old deacon and a 21-year-old presbyter, despite the canons which are very strict in terms of age. It is no coincidence that he will soon become the strict observer of the canons. And we have seen the same thing many times. The violators of the sacred canons become "canonists" and use the sacred canons as "cannons", as Saint Paisios used to say.
Archpriest Avvakum was born in 1620 and died in 1682. He was sentenced to death by fire. He was a descendant of a levite/priestly family. His father was a priest, but addicted to the passion of alcoholism.
The first thing we can easily note is the trauma he suffered from his drunken priest-father, which later led him to an extreme ascetic practice. He was ordained a 19-year-old deacon and a 21-year-old presbyter, despite the canons which are very strict in terms of age. It is no coincidence that he will soon become the strict observer of the canons. And we have seen the same thing many times. The violators of the sacred canons become "canonists" and use the sacred canons as "cannons", as Saint Paisios used to say.
