Tag: Christianity

This is the last time we’ll meet in these pages until November — the month of the saints, which begins with the feast of All Saints’ Day. So that’s the theme I want to take up.

A true Catholic could address any church as an assembly of saints. “Saint” is the term St. Paul used in greeting the Corinthians. And every parish is, like the Church in Corinth, an assembly of “those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints” (1 Corinthians 1:2).

In baptism every Christian has been “sanctified” and afterward must persevere in holiness. Yet God calls no one to go it alone. We draw strength from one another; and we are, all at the same time, drawing strength from God. St. Paul emphasizes that we are “called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We live in a vast community with “all those” in “every place” who share our calling. This was as true of Christians in Colossae as it is of Christians in Corinth. St. Paul addresses the Colossians as “saints and faithful brethren in Christ” (Colossians 1:2) — and he notes that he has heard of the love they have “for all the saints” (1:4), meaning those who live not only in Colossae, but everywhere else on earth. And then the apostle goes a step further. He goes on to give “thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (Colossians 1:12).

“The saints in light” — what could he mean by that phrase? He could only mean the “holy ones” who had already died and who already knew God’s glory in its fullness, the faithful Christians who already live “in light” divine and who “see [God] as he is” (see 1 John 3:2).

The communion of saints, then, is not simply an earthly phenomenon. It is at once earthly and heavenly. As the Letter to the Colossians shows us, it is an “inheritance” we already “share” with those who are already enjoying it for all its worth.

The New Testament consistently testifies to this bond between believers alive on earth and those who are more alive in heaven. We are mistaken, in a sense, when we refer to them as “the dead.” Their bodies may have died, but their souls live in Christ; and they are, in fact, more alive than we are, because nothing obstructs them from God. They are now “in light.” “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood” (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Every Sunday, when we go to Mass, we profess that “We believe in the communion of saints … and life everlasting.”

And that is what we’ll celebrate, all together, as the new month begins.

Podgorica, Montenegro, October 17, 2023

Photo: spc.rs     

His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of the Serbian Orthodox Church received a very warm welcome upon his arrival to the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Podgorica, Montenegro, on Saturday evening.

Tens of thousands filled the cathedral and the square in front of it and the bells of the cathedral joyously rang out to greet the Serbian primate who had arrived to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the cathedral’s consecration.

The faithful were also blessed with the presence of the right hand of the great St. Spyridon, which was brought by His Eminence Metropolitan Nektarios of Corfu specifically for the weekend’s events, reports the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Following opening words from His Eminence Metropolitan Joanikije, the head of the Metropolis of Montenegro, and the Patriarch himself, a solemn doxology was served by Archimandrite Metodije, the abbot of Hilandar Monastery on Mt. Athos, with the prayerful participation of several hierarchs of the Serbian Church.

​

In his opening speech, Pat. Porfirije recalled the founder of the cathedral, His Eminence Metropolitan Amfilohije of blessed memory, who, as His Holiness recalled, rose up in defense of the Church and its people.

He also emphasized that Podgorica is the place where St. Symeon the Myrrh-Streamer (Stefan Nemanja) and his son St. Sava, the first Serbian Archbishop, were born—“the holy father and the holy son, who determined our history once and for all.”

Photo: spc.rs     

The next day, Sunday, October 15, His Holiness presided over the Liturgy in honor of the 10th anniversary of the consecration of Holy Resurrection Cathedral. He was joined by Met. Nektarios of Corfu and 11 hierarchs and a host of clerics of the Serbian Church.

Addressing the people, the Pat. Porfirije said:

We declare that we are a people of the Orthodox faith, Orthodox Christians, and we also confirm that the Orthodox faith is our context of life and existence, creativity, mutual relations, the building of spiritual culture, which is the space that has shaped our people throughout the centuries and led us throughout history. Our faith is faith in a living, personal God, One in the Trinity of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our faith is faith in the incarnate Son of God, Jesus Christ, the God-man, Who in his fullness reveals the measure of God to us men, and at the same time reveals with Himself the measure of human perfection, the measure of a perfect man. The characteristic and criterion of true faith, today’s Gospel reveals to us, is love. And the Gospel of Christ itself could be reduced to one word, and that word is love.

Photo: spc.rs   

Following the service, Met. Joanikije thanked the Patriarch and all those who served and attended the Liturgy. He noted that it’s been 30 years since the laying of the foundation stone of the cathedral, and 10 years since its consecration, which was a strong sign “that Podgorica had returned to itself and that Montenegro was returning to itself,” leaving the communist past behind.

Met Joanikije then presented Pat. Porfirije with a Patriarchal scepter with the coat of arms of the Crnojević family, which founded Cetinje Monastery, which serves as the set of the Metropolitan of Montenegro.

He also heartily thanked Met. Nektarios of Corfu for his presence and for bringing the precious relic of St. Spyridon. The Greek hierarch, in turn, greeted the people with a joyous, “Christ is Risen!”

Watch the Liturgy:

Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!

St. Ignatius was born in Syria in the first century, and is said to have received personal instruction in his faith from the apostle St. John. He became the bishop of Antioch around the year 70, taking over the church that had been led by St. Peter before he went to Rome. 

Antioch was a major city in the Roman Empire, and it was also the place where the first of Jesus’s followers were called “Christians.” While Ignatius was bishop, the city’s Christians faced extreme persecution. Roman Emperor Domitian proclaimed himself divine, calling himself “Lord and God.” Anyone who refused to recognize him as divine could be put to death, but Ignatius inspired many Christians with his courage. Other emperors followed with similar persecutions. 

During the reign of Emperor Trajan, Ignatius was sentenced to death in Rome for his refusal to stop practicing his faith. While he was traveling to Rome, he wrote seven letters to local churches and bishop Polycarp, stressing the importance of maintaining their faith and avoiding falling into heresy. These letters are the first documents to refer to the Church as “Catholic,” from the Greek word for universal.

Ignatius wrote that he was happy to die as a martyr, to be one with God in eternal life. He was mauled to death by lions in Rome’s Flavian Amphitheater. His bones were venerated soon after, in recognition of his sainthood. 

Feodor Ioannovich, the Tsar of All Rus and the Great Prince of Moscow, reigned for fourteen years from 1584 until his death on January 7, 1598. That’s not a short term, but his reign somehow disappeared from the historical consciousness of our contemporaries. Meanwhile his experience of ruling the country is not without interest.

“Historical error”

Feodor Ioannovich, the Tsar of All Rus and the Great Prince of Moscow In Soviet schools, the emphasis regarding the personality of Tsar Feodor Ioannovich was definitively placed on his “feeble-mindedness,” “a typical example of the fundamental absurdity of tsarism”; in other words, how could a mentally retarded person be installed as the head of the state?!

I don’t think the modern school has changed opinion about him either.

If that’s the case, why should we even start talking about him? “The historical error…” To determine the dates of his life, to mention his mental inferiority and summarize: “Most historians believe that he was incapable of being a statesman.” And so on; the history course has no time to spare on him.

Let us put aside attempts to draw a line between the concepts of mental completeness and mental disability; let’s ask a different question:

“Can a mentally retarded person be a saint?”

“Why not?”

“Can a saint have a good influence on the life of the whole nation?”

“What are you talking about?”

The scribe Ivan Timofeev, a well-known statesman of the time, wrote:

“With his prayers, my tsar protected the land from enemy intrigues. He was meek, truly merciful and innocent to all, and like Job, he guarded himself from every evil thing, loved above all piety, the splendor of the Church; and besides the holy hierarchs, he loved the monastic rank and even our lesser brothers in Christ who were honored in the Gospel by the Lord Himself. To put it simply, he gave all of himself and all of his holy and venerable reign to Christ.”

“Kept the land unharmed” is not a figure of speech. His contemporaries remembered at least one such case down to the last detail. It concerns the invasion of Moscow by Khan Kazy-Girey in 1591.

Did a hundred-thousand-man army of Tatars… get scared?

When you delve into the written accounts of the invasion, it becomes obvious: There are some odd inconsistencies in the descriptions of the Tatars’ defeat, which the authors persistently ignored.

A hundred-thousand horde of Crimean and Nogai Tatars under the leadership of Khan Kazy-Girey invaded the Russian tsardom and were quickly marching toward Moscow. The ability of such an army to march quickly isn’t disputed at all, but in this case, the Khan didn’t even allow his warriors to get distracted and capture “live goods,” or prisoners.

But thanks to the well-organized reconnaissance, as well as the sacrifice of the barrier detachment, the Russian troops had time to move up to Moscow and set up field fortifications beneath its walls (typically called “guliay-gorod”, built from supply carts, special shields and/or improvised means).

The advanced detachments of Tatars attacked the Russian fortifications, but they were unsuccessful, and by evening, they retreated to the main camp. At night, Russians sent a three-thousand-strong detachment to the camp… and the whole huge horde broke loose and fled, abandoning their supply column.

The whole huge horde broke loose and fled, abandoning their supply column! Why?

It is very tempting to say the sacramental, “I don’t believe…” Why would they run away from such a tiny detachment, compared to their great army?

Ahh, they were frightened by an attack and cannon fire! the authors claim.

Let’s be real. Are we really talking about the Tatar army right now?

For the people of that time, the phrase, “The Tatars got frightened… and fled…” was extremely meaningful. Nineteenth century schoolgirls could be frightened by a little shooting. But the Crimean and Nogai hordes breathed war and plunder—they were professional warriors. In this context, they also significantly outnumbered the adversary, so why would they have been frightened? We’re not talking about “Grad” rocket systems. Why, have they never seen the cannons of that time?

Came under fire? Well, all they had to do was assess the situation and apply appropriate tactical methods.

But getting scared and running away under such circumstances wasn’t a natural response for the Horde army. But still, it did get frightened and fled.

The Tsar prayed all day long…

Moscow was in a terrible state of confusion, almost on the verge of total turmoil during those days. At first, it was unclear whether the troops would have enough time to assemble there. Then it became clear that they weren’t numerous enough. Even though the townspeople were most likely spared hearing the attackers’ war cries, they already knew what the Tatar pogrom was like: Only twenty years ago, the country had experienced the raid of Khan Devlet Girey’s horde.

Everyone remembered what it was like then. They were also unable to gather a large army, but they learned about the invasion in advance. So, the fortifications were made and a cunning plan was developed in advance… But nothing worked—the horde bypassed the fortifications, the guards of the city (the so-called Oprichniki) were helpless, while a sudden fierce wind fanned a small fire into an absolute hell: Moscow, then a city of about one hundred thousand, was burnt to the ground in three hours (!), with an untold number of victims…

This time around, they were able to repel the first attacks of the Tatars, even inflicting considerable damage on them. But these were only the advance detachments of Kazy-Giray. The real assault was expected the following day and everyone in the capital was dreading it.

Everyone except for Feodor Ioannovich. He prayed all day, and at night he told his retinue not to worry about it—the enemies would be gone tomorrow. He said this and went to bed. There were no enemies the next day.

Well, you know, everyone did get scared…

St. Theodore and St. Demetrius

Only one event marred the reign of Feodor Ioannovich: the murder of The Murder of a Child and the Troubles of a NationReading of such distant personages as Tsarevich Dimitry and the anti-Dimitries, or “false Dimitries”, we Orthodox Christians are drawn to look at our own selves, at how our own human ambitions can lead us to destroy what is innocent and authentic, and what terrible consequences this can bring for us and everyone around us.

“>Tsarevich Dimitry.

It is a debating point, who really gave the order to kill Tsarevich Dimitry. It doesn’t seem possible to solve it in this world. It is true though that the Tsarevich was removed from the court with the knowledge and consent of Feodor Ioannovich.

However, there was nothing malicious about it. Tsarevich, the son of his father’s seventh wife, was de facto illegitimate. Feodor Ioannovich acted exactly as a statesman; no one relieved him of his responsibility for his people, while history is replete with examples when bastard tsareviches or king’s sons gathered armies and seized states.

No one wished the tsarevich ill, but Feodor Ioannovich simply created an environment in which the tsarevich could not be considered a claimant to the throne—his name was crossed out of all litanies and commemorations. His family received a decent allowance and sent far away from Moscow.

The boy, of course, can’t be blamed for anything that had happened. The whole story of his life and death is an example of meek suffering for the sins of his parents. This boy is a saint.¹

But Tsar Feodor Ioannovich is also a saint. For there is holiness that comes from innocently bearing the sufferings and then there is holiness that comes from a conscious feat of life.

“Quiet, merciful, kind, pious and truly meek”

However, special reverence is given to the consideration that in the figure of Feodor Ioannovich, not only his piety as the enthroned ruler captivates the mind, but also his apparent martyrdom in life.

Feodor was orphaned at the age of three. He was sickly all his life and died at the age of forty, growing feeble in health. It is even hard to imagine what this pure and merciful soul had to experience in the atmosphere of the reign of Ivan the Terrible.

He suffered from mental weakness since childhood. He suffered from mockery and reproaches because of it. He suffered in general from his tyrannical father, especially when he tried to separate him from the only person he had ever known—his wife, a holy woman, by the way.

He suffered when the clergy whom he has so revered and loved had demanded the same!

He suffered because they had no children. When his long-awaited daughter was born, he suffered when he buried her a year and a half later.

Suffering, suffering…

What do we read in reviews by his contemporaries?

• “He is quiet and merciful,”

• “Very kind, pious and truly meek,”

• “reigned… peacefully and righteously, and mercifully, blissfully,”

• “meek, merciful to all.”

How much pain did this God-loving soul have to endure—shifting no responsibility, NONE, to other shoulders. All we hear is: merciful, merciful, kind, meek, welcoming…

My Lord, can it ever be like that?!

Yes, it can… But how condemning it sounds inside the heart! After you’ve read about a life like his, you can’t bring yourself to judge anyone…

    

And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise (Luke 6:31).

Not even How to Make Your Prayer FruitfulWhat should we do then if we don’t want to pray? Then we cross ourselves and say: “Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” We prostrate to the ground and rise again: “Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me!”—a prostration, and again we rise up. And the body pulls the soul along with it. The soul will also begin to make prostrations.

“>prayer can save the person who lives carelessly. Pray that God would help you be saved, but you yourself must labor, do good works as much as you can. This is why the Lord, after He said, ask, seek, and knock, now gives us a general rule as to how a Christian needs to live—a rule that exegetists of God’s word justly call the golden rule: As ye would that men should do to you—and of course, you want people to love you, that they would all do good to you—do ye also to them likewise; you also should do only good to each and all. Do you want others to be charitable to you, to bless you, to pray for you, and forgive you all of your missteps—everyone, even your enemies? Then you do the same. In general, whatever you desire from others, do yourself. This is what it means to love your enemies like yourself. And If people would fulfill this rule of Christ’s, then there would be no offenses, no court cases, no theft, no murder, no discord, no wars, no poverty. This is the truth of Christ, which is understandable and beneficial to everyone!..

“In these brief words,” says St. John Chrysostom

“>St. Chrysostom, “the Savior has shown that virtue is brief, convenient, and known to all. He did not say, ‘Whatever you want from God, do the same to your neighbor,’ so that you would not protest and say, ‘How is that possible? He is God, but I am a man.’ But He pronounced, ‘What you want from your equal, do that yourself to your neighbor.’ What could be simpler than this? What could be more just?” For in this is both the law and the prophets—this is not an essentially new rule. This was taught in the Old Testament Law, in the Prophets, and the very law of human nature. Virtue is inherent in man; we know from our conscience what to do, so we can’t justify ourselves by pleading ignorance. Even the pagan sages, who did not know the true God, said, “Do not do to others what you yourself would not desire.” This law is inscribed by God’s finger on the hearts of all people. “The human soul is Christian by nature,” says Tertullian. The holy fathers who understood the whole grace-filled power of this rule through experience, said, “Life and death depends on your neighbor.” But even though virtue is so natural and close to the human heart, it nevertheless cannot be obtained without sorrows and temptations, which seem unbearable to our sinful nature. This is why the Lord says, enter in through the narrow gate.

Classes were cancelled for the day at several schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Monday morning following a spam email threatening school safety.

The decision to alert parents and suspend classes at schools that received the email was taken “out of an abundance of caution,” according to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

“The Archdiocese is working with law enforcement and there is no evidence of a credible threat at our schools,” read a Oct. 16 statement from the archdiocese. “All Catholic schools in the Archdiocese have been asked to follow our usual safety protocols.”

Damien High School in La Verne and Our Lady of Victory in Compton were among the schools that received the email, which was also sent to some local non-Catholic schools. A number of other schools in the archdiocese that did not receive the email also suspended classes for the day, Angelus has learned.

The threatening messages were similar to bomb threats sent to schools in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia last week as part of what officials called a “coordinated mass attack.” According a Lithuanian police official quoted by the Associated Press Oct. 13, the majority of those messages were in Russian and some “had a political content.”

“These false reports are intended to cause panic,” said Lithuanian Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite was quoted as saying in the AP report.

Jerusalem, October 16, 2023

Photo: jerusalem-patriarchate.b-cdn.net     

His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem and the heads of other churches represented in the Holy Land are calling upon the faithful to observe a day of fasting and prayer for peace.

The ecclesiastical leaders Patriarch of Jerusalem and heads of other churches call for peace“We unequivocally condemn any acts that target civilians, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, or faith,” the church leaders write.

“>issued a statement last week calling for an end to the violence that has recently flared up in the Holy Land and condemning any acts that target civilians.

Pat. Theophilos and the other leaders met again on Friday, October 13, after which they issued another statement, calling upon the state of Israel to allow humanitarian supplies to enter Gaza and calling upon the faithful to observe a day of fasting and prayer tomorrow, Tuesday, October 17.

Read the full statement:

    

Follow OrthoChristian on Twitter, Vkontakte, Telegram, WhatsApp, MeWe, and Gab!

St. Thérèse of Lisieux, long one of Pope Francis’ favorite saints, teaches Christians “the little way” of love, self-giving, concern for others and complete trust in the mercy of God, the pope said in a new document.

“At a time when human beings are obsessed with grandeur and new forms of power, she points out to us the little way,” he wrote. “In an age that casts aside so many of our brothers and sisters, she teaches us the beauty of concern and responsibility for one another.”

Published Oct. 15, the pope’s letter is titled, “C’est la Confiance,” the opening words of her phrase, “It is confidence and nothing but confidence that must lead us to Love.”

The papal letter is subtitled, “On confidence in the merciful love of God.”

“At a time of great complexity, she can help us rediscover the importance of simplicity, the absolute primacy of love, trust and abandonment, and thus move beyond a legalistic or moralistic mindset that would fill the Christian life with rules and regulations and cause the joy of the Gospel to grow cold,” the pope wrote.

In the letter, the pope explained that he chose not to release the document on her feast day, Oct. 1, or the 150th anniversary of her birth last Jan. 2 or the 100th anniversary of her beatification, which was celebrated in April, because he wanted to “transcend” those celebrations and emphasize how her life and writings are part of the “spiritual treasury” of the church.

Pope Francis has spoken often about his devotion to St. Thérèse of Lisieux, who also is known by her religious name, St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, or as St. Thérèse, the Little Flower, because she described herself as a little flower in God’s garden.

But there is another flower connection as well. While still archbishop of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis told journalist Sergio Rubin in 2010, “When I have a problem I ask the saint, not to solve it, but to take it in her hands and help me accept it, and, as a sign, I almost always receive a white rose.”

And the pope closed his new exhortation with a prayer: “Dear St. Thérèse, the church needs to radiate the brightness, the fragrance and the joy of the Gospel. Send us your roses! Help us to be, like yourself, ever confident in God’s immense love for us, so that we may imitate each day your ‘little way’ of holiness.”

Although she died at the age of 24 in a cloistered convent, her passion for sharing the Gospel through her prayers and example led Pope Pius XI to declare her patroness of the missions in 1927, and her writings led St. John Paul II to proclaim her a doctor of the church in 1997.

“In the heart of Thérèse,” Pope Francis wrote, “the grace of baptism became this impetuous torrent flowing into the ocean of Christ’s love and dragging in its wake a multitude of brothers and sisters. This is what happened, especially after her death. It was her promised ‘shower of roses.’”

The “little way” of St. Thérèse is a path to holiness anyone can follow, the pope said. It is about recognizing one’s own smallness and trusting completely in God’s mercy.

“This is the ‘sweet way of love’ that Jesus sets before the little and the poor, before everyone. It is the way of true happiness,” the pope said.

In place of a notion of holiness that is individualistic and elitist, one “more ascetic than mystical, that primarily emphasizes human effort,” he said, “Thérèse always stresses the primacy of God’s work, his gift of grace,” trusting that he would bring her to heaven one day.

Even in speaking about the Eucharist, her desire to receive Communion took second place to “the desire of Jesus to unite himself to us and to dwell in our hearts,” the pope said. “Her gaze remained fixed not on herself and her own needs, but on Christ, who loves, seeks, desires and dwells within.”

In his exhortation, Pope Francis focused on St. Thérèse’s reflection of St. Paul’s description of the church as the body of Christ with each part or member having a role to play in the functioning of the entire body.

But she did not see herself as the foot or the ear or the eye or the hand, as described in First Corinthians, the pope said. “In the heart of the church, my mother, I shall be love,” she wrote.

“This heart was not that of a triumphalistic church, but of a loving, humble and merciful church,” the pope wrote. “Thérèse never set herself above others but took the lowest place together with the Son of God, who for our sake became a slave and humbled himself, becoming obedient, even to death on a cross.”

Rediscovering love as the heart of the church can be “a great source of light” for Catholics today, Pope Francis said. “It preserves us from being scandalized by the limitations and weaknesses of the ecclesiastical institution with its shadows and sins, and enables us to enter into the church’s ‘heart burning with love,’ which burst into flame at Pentecost thanks to the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

“It is that heart whose fire is rekindled with each of our acts of charity,” he wrote. “‘I shall be love.’ This was the radical option of Thérèse, her definitive synthesis and her deepest spiritual identity.”

St. Tamar (Mardzhanishvili) was a Georgian nun who also labored in Moscow. She was canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church on Georgian Church canonizes two kings, two abbesses, and a Catholicos who ruled 1932-1955The Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church, at a December 21 meeting, has numbered among the ranks of the saints two kings—Bargrat III and Solomon I, two abbesses—Nina (Amilakhvari) and Tamar (Mardzhanishvili), and Catholics-Patriarch Kallistrat (Tsintsadze) who lead the Church in the difficult years of 30s-50s of the previous century.

“>December 21, 2016. On Russian Holy Synod approves two new names for Synaxis of New Martyrs and ConfessorsAmong the decisions taken by the Synod was to approve the inclusion of two more names into the Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Orthodox Church.”>December 28, 2017, she was formally added to the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church, and on October 11, 2023, her name was added to the Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church. In her honor, we present the following article:

***

In 1892, Abbess Juvenalia (Lovenetskaya) from the Bodbe Monastery in Georgia and two of her young novices came to see St. John of KronstadtSt. John of Kronstadt

“>Fr. John of Kronstadt at the Holy Resurrection Monastery in St. Petersburg. The purpose of the visit was simple: The famous pastor had sent considerable funds to the recovering monastery, and Matushka wanted to thank him in person.

Abbess Juvenalia (Lovenetskaya) When they met, she brought her spiritual daughters, one of whom was named Tamar, to get the Elder’s blessing. Fr. John blessed her, kissed her on the forehead, and said: “Tamara, Tamara, you have chosen the good part.” Later, he asked Abbess Juvenalia for her crosses (she had three), put one around Tamara’s neck and joyfully said, “This what kind of abbess you are to me—take a look at her!”

As Tamara, the future nun-confessor, recalls, everyone present at this meeting saw this as a special sign and agreed that the holy elder thus predicted her abbacy, and that she would bear three crosses in life.

And so it happened. These three crosses were a foreshadowing of the three monasteries where St. Tamar was destined to become the abbess and bear three difficult podvigs.

God’s call

Schema-Abbess Tamar (Mardzhanishvili) was born on April 13, 1868 (new style), to a wealthy family in the Georgian city of Kvareli. Her mother came from the noble line of the Chavchavadze princes and was the second cousin of the famous public figure, publicist, and future glorified saint, Saint Ilia the Righteous (†1907)Saint Ilia, called the “Uncrowned King of Georgia,” the “Father of the Nation” and “the Righteous,” belonged to the noble family Chavchavadze. He was born on October 27, 1837, in the village of Qvareli in Kakheti. He received his primary education at home: his mother instructed him in reading and writing, prayer and the law of God. When he was eight years old, Ilia was sent to study with Archdeacon Nikoloz Sepashvili of Qvareli. The years he spent there left an indelible impression on this holy man’s life.

“>Righteous Ilia Chavchavadze.

Schema-Abbess Tamar     

Tamara had many military men in her family, including her father, as well as figures from the worlds of art and science. Her brother Kote was the founder of the Georgian theater and her nephew Georgi Eliava was a noted microbiologist. The young Tamara herself was planning to enter the St. Petersburg Conservatory, as she had a wonderful voice and musical talent.

But everything changed when she visited Bodbe Monastery—the resting place of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Saint Nino, Equal-to-the-Apostles and Enlightener of Georgia (†335 AD)Nino began to pray fervently to the Theotokos, asking for her blessing to travel to Georgia and be made worthy to venerate the Sacred Robe that she had woven for her beloved Son. The Most Holy Virgin heard her prayers and appeared to Nino in a dream, saying, “Go to the country that was assigned to me by lot and preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will send down His grace upon you and I will be your protector.”

“>St. Nina. After her mother died, Tamara and her sisters went to visit their relatives who lived in the city near the Monastery of St. Nina. They went to services in a little house church, where the whole atmosphere—the quiet singing of the nuns, the abbess’ reading of the canon, and most importantly, the work of Divine grace—made such an impression on Tamara that she started thinking she would go to a monastery someday. This is how her spiritual father, Vladyka Bishop Arseny (Zhadanovsky)Arseny (Zhadanovsky), Bishop”>Arseny (Zhadanovsky), wrote about it in her biography: “She went to the monastery a secular person and returned home with the sense of being a nun.”

Tamara wasn’t able to join a monastery right away. Her family had prepared a secular career for her and didn’t understand the young girl’s (she was twenty-one then) attraction to prayer and worship.

​Vladyka Arseny (Zhadanovsky)     

Even after she had gone to a monastery, they decided to return her to the world and sent her a letter asking her to personally come to Tiflis (Tbilisi) to settle matters about her inheritance. The unsuspecting Tamara realized only upon her arrival that it was a trap: From that point forward, she lost the opportunity not only to return to the monastery, but even to visit it and write to Abbess Juvenalia, since all her letters were intercepted.

In the end, with the help of the mother of one of the nuns of Bodbe Monastery, they organized an escape, and then none of the family’s threats or further attempts to bring her back found any success.

Bodbe Monastery

Abbess Juvenalia became a second mother for Tamara, and even settled her into her own cell. She personally took care of the the novice’s spiritual life , became her guardian, and sometimes steered her away from zeal not according to knowledge: “Having gathered her accomplices, ardent sisters like herself, Tamara Alexandrovna started digging caves with them in the mountains next to the monastery, intending to move there for her salvation. Measures were taken to cut off this passion. They sent requests to let them finish what they had started, abundant tears were shed, but the wise abbess insisted and forbade her young spiritual children to continue their dangerous exploits,” reads the life of the Venerable Confessor Tamar.

Over time, Mother Juvenalia began to entrust her spiritual daughter with more and more obediences around the monastery, including document management and accompanying the abbess on trips, directing her energy and abilities in the right direction.

Metropolitan Flavian, the Exarch of Georgia,¹ personally tonsured Tamara as a nun and gave her the same name as her spiritual mother—Juvenalia.

Bodbe Monastery     

In 1902, Abbess Juvenalia was transferred to Moscow as the abbess of the Nativity of the Theotokos Monastery, and after that a decree was issued appointing Sister Juvenalia as the new abbess of Bodbe Monastery. Over the course of twelve years of life in the Monastery of St. Nina, the Mothers Juvenalia (older and younger) had become inseparable—therefore the news of the appointments was a real test. Mother Juvenalia the Younger sent several refusal telegrams to St. Petersburg and twice went to see the Exarch of Georgia, asking him to change the decision. She wrote to influential Church officials asking for support, but nothing helped in the end.

It was difficult for the new abbess at first, but later, thanks to the support of Fr. John of Kronstadt, Mother Juvenalia became a worthy successor to her spiritual mother.

St. Seraphim   

The first book that the newly arrived novice Tamar read in Bodbe Monastery was the The Life of Saint SeraphimHaving led a heavenly life on earth, like the great desert saints of antiquity, even in these latter times of spiritual desolation, St. Seraphim is an instructor and an inspirer of the true Christian life. His Spiritual Instructions—like his celebrated Conversation with Motovilov on the Acquisition of the Holy Spirit—contain no new teaching, but simply repeat in modern times the age-old Christian teaching of the great Fathers whom he constantly cites: Sts. Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, Macarius the Great, Dionysius the Areopagite, Ambrose of Milan, Isaac the Syrian, Symeon the New Theologian, the Fathers of the Philokalia.

“>life of St. Seraphim of Sarov, and she carried a love for the saint with her throughout her entire life.

St. Seraphim of Sarov     

After she had already become an abbess, Mother Juvenalia sent one of her sisters to Sarov for the uncovering of the relics of St. Seraphim, which took place on August 1, 1903 (new style), and asked her to bring back an icon blessed on his relics. This little icon became a valued sacred treasure for Mother, and many miracles were revealed through it, including the greatest miracle of her life.

On December 10, 1907 (new style), on the feast of the Novgorod ”Of the Sign” IconAs they were carrying the icon, the enemy loosed upon the procession a cloud of arrows, one of which struck the face of the Theotokos written upon the icon. From her eyes tears began to flow, and her icon turned to face the city. Immediately after the appearance of such a divine sign, the attackers were struck with an inexplicable terror, and began to strike down one another.

“>Znamenny Icon of the Mother of God, Abbess Juvenalia and those who were returning to the monastery from Tiflis² with her were attacked. Some radical highlanders, who had previously sent Mother anonymous threatening letters, fired at her carriage going down Baratashvili Rise.³ Bullets killed the coachman, a guard, and all four harnessed horses, and two monastery workers were wounded. Mother was in the carriage, fervently praying to St. Seraphim of Sarov, holding his icon in her hands. Suddenly, a patrol appeared, which forced the bandits to stop. The whole road and the inside of the carriage were strewn with bullets, the windows were broken, but Mother and her sister-in-law with two children, who were inside, miraculously remained unharmed.

The news of the attack greatly disturbed the hierarchs, and ten days later, for security purposes, Abbess Juvenalia was transferred to Moscow and appointed abbess of the Holy Protection community.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Moscow Holy Protection community was the “elder sister” of the now-famous Sts. Martha and Mary Monastery, but at the same time, fulfilling the same duties, the Holy Protection Sisters of Mercy were nuns, unlike the Sts. Martha and Mary sisters. At this time, Abbess Juvenalia became close with Thirty-three Portraits of Grand Duchess ElizabethNovember 1, 2014 marks the 150-year anniversary since the birth of Royal Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna, one of the Russian people’s favorite saints, and honored all over the world.

“>Grand Princess Elizabeth Feodorovna and even gave her her beloved icon of St. Seraphim, which she requested for the sickly Tsarevich Alexei.

Life in Moscow and the abbatial duties of the Holy Protection community were a burden for Mother Juvenalia, as they so differed from the monastic way of life of the Monastery of St. Nina in Georgia. After a short time, she decided to settle near Sarov, to be closer to the places of the spiritual labors of her Heavenly protector.

Her miraculous salvation by the prayers of St. Seraphim took place on the feast of the Znamenny Icon of the Mother of God, which is most likely why Mother Juvenalia chose the St. Seraphim-Ponetaevka Monastery to spend the rest of her life at, where St. Seraphim and the wonderworking Ponetaevka Znamenny Icon were celebrated at the same time.

St. Seraphim-Ponetaevka Monastery     

But her plans were not destined to come to pass. When Mother Juvenalia prayed at the icon of the Mother of God to remain in the Ponetaevka Monastery, she heard a voice say: “No, you won’t stay here, but build a skete not only for yourself, but for others as well.” These words repeated every time she prayed at the icon of the Heavenly Queen, but Mother considered it nothing but a temptation and went to see Elder Alexei of the Zosima HermitageThe elder’s spiritual children extended him as much material help as they could. Whenever something was brought to him, Elder Alexei would always bow and express his thanks, while saying,”I am now after all one of the poor, living on alms.” The elder possessed both great humility and a great sense of thanksgiving. He would constantly thank his cell attendant for the most insignificant service, and every day would ask his forgiveness.

“>Elder Alexei in the Zosima Hermitage to confirm her intention.

However, contrary to her expectations, he blessed her to build a skete: “The Queen of Heaven herself will choose the place and provide the means and spiritually arrange everything. You will be but her servant, an instrument…”

St. Seraphim-Znamenny Skete

After numerous trips to various elders, doubts, temptations, prayers, and exhortations, Mother Juvenalia started building the St. Seraphim-Znamenny Skete on one of the sites belonging to the Holy Protection community. In 1910, on the feast of the Apostle Prochorus (the secular name of St. Seraphim), the foundation stone was laid, and in 1912, the skete was consecrated by Metropolitan Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky), of Moscow and Kolomna at that time.

St. Seraphim-Znamenny Skete     

The monastery’s main church was consecrated, of course, to the Znamenny Icon of the Theotokos and St. Seraphim. The lower church was consecrated in honor of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina, in memory of Bodbe Monastery. The skete itself had an interesting arrangement: “There are twelve small houses within the walls, according to the number of the Twelve Apostles, with each one under the patronage of one of the Apostles—St. John the Theologian, St. Andrew, and so on. And each has an icon of its patron outside on the enclosing wall. The feast day of each Apostle is like a church feast for the house, whose inhabitants are charged with honoring their Apostle, always praying to him and imitating his exploits. One of the houses served as a common trapeza and kitchen.” Each house could hold up to three sisters, therefore, the total number of sisters was thirty-three, according to the years of the Savior’s life.

Very soon, the specified number of sisters had inhabited the skete, despite the strict typikon prescribing almost complete isolation from the outside world (no outsider was allowed to be in the skete, and the sisters couldn’t leave without a blessing) and the daily liturgical cycle.

On the advice of the elders, Abbess Juvenalia herself wrote a petition to Metropolitan Makary (Nevsky) to be tonsured into the schema, which took place on the feast of St. Dmitry of Rostov in 1916. She was given the name Tamar.

Future hieromartyrs often stayed in the skete: Vladyka Arseny (Zhadanovsky) and Holy Hieromartyr Seraphim (Zvezdinsky)13/26 August is the commemoration day of Holy Hieromartyr Seraphim (Zvezdinsky), Bishop of Dimitriovsk and one of the most famous saints of the Russia Orthodox Church of the twentieth century.

“>Archimandrite Seraphim (Zvezdinsky), who soon became Bishop of Dmitrov.

St. Seraphim-Znamenny Skete lasted only twelve years after its consecration, being closed by the Soviet authorities in 1924. Schema-Abbess Tamar lived at Sts. Martha and Mary Monastery for a time, then, after it was closed, she moved to a village near Serpukhov. Mother found a small house in the village of Perkhushkovo and settled there with ten sisters, continuing her monastic labors in such cramped conditions. Many people turned to Mother Tamar for prayer and assistance, so her life in the village didn’t go unnoticed by the godless authorities.

The end of her earthly path

In 1931, Schema-Abbess Tamar was arrested and exiled to Siberia. Despite the efforts of her brother, the famous director and theater and film actor Kote Marzhanishvili, she couldn’t be rescued. Mother had to walk part of the path to her final destination on foot, on her bad legs. Her already poor health was undermined and she developed tuberculosis, but she continued to pray and endure the hardship of these trials, remaining a lamp of Christ’s faith for those around her.

The owner of the house where she lived, her son, and even the strict commissar to whom Mother Tamar was assigned while serving her term, warmed to her.

Three years later, the confessor returned from exile and moved into a house at Pioneers Station, where she continued to receive people. Two years later, on June 23, 1936, Schema-Abbess Tamar peacefully reposed in the Lord. Her funeral was served by her close spiritual friend Bishop Arseny (Zhadanovsky) in the same house where she lived, and she was buried at the Entrance of the Theotokos Cemetery in Moscow.

Mother’s grave Seventy-five years after St. Seraphim-Znamenny Skete was closed, on January 15, 1999, on the winter feast of St. Seraphim of Sarov, the first Divine service was celebrated in the newly reopened monastery.

A year later, on January 27, 2000, on the feast of the Equal-to-the-Apostles St. Nina, the Enlightener of Georgia, new sisters moved into the skete.

On December 22, 2016, the Georgian Orthodox Church Georgian Church canonizes two kings, two abbesses, and a Catholicos who ruled 1932-1955The Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church, at a December 21 meeting, has numbered among the ranks of the saints two kings—Bargrat III and Solomon I, two abbesses—Nina (Amilakhvari) and Tamar (Mardzhanishvili), and Catholics-Patriarch Kallistrat (Tsintsadze) who lead the Church in the difficult years of 30s-50s of the previous century.

“>glorified Schema-Abbess Tamar as a saint. A year later, on December 29, the Russian Church also added the Venerable Confessor Tamar to its calendar.

On June 13, 2018, her relics were uncovered at the Entrance Cemetery and solemnly transferred to the reborn St. Seraphim-Znamenny Skete.

Holy Venerable Tamar, pray to God for us!

The Latin Catholic patriarch of Jerusalem has offered to be exchanged for the children being held hostage in the Gaza Strip by Hamas.

Speaking to journalists via video conference on Oct.16, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa was asked if he would be willing to offer himself in exchange to free the children hostages who were taken in Hamas’ attack on Israel last week. The cardinal responded that he is willing to do anything to “bring those children home.”

“Am I ready for an exchange? Anything, if that can lead to freedom and bring those children home, no problem. There is an absolute availability on my part,” the cardinal said.

Israel Defense Forces announced Monday that 199 Israeli hostages, including children, are being held by Hamas and that the military is trying to understand where they are being held in Gaza. Hamas terrorists had threatened last week to kill one hostage every time that Israel’s military bombs civilian targets in Gaza.

The cardinal underlined that it is necessary “to find a way to get the hostages back.”

“We are willing to help, even me personally,” he added.

Pizzaballa, who serves as the head of Latin Catholics living in Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, and Cyprus, noted that he had not had any direct communication with Hamas since the surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

The Vatican is willing to help mediate a peace agreement, according to Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who said in an interview Friday that the Vatican’s chief concern amid the conflict is “the release of Israeli hostages and the protection of innocent lives in Gaza.”

“I do not know how much room for dialogue there can be between Israel and the Hamas militia,” Parolin said. “But if there is — and we hope there is — it should be pursued immediately and without delay.”

“The Holy See is ready for any necessary mediation, as always,” he said.

Pizzaballa has called for a day of prayer and fasting for peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land on Tuesday, Oct. 17, urging Catholics to organize times of prayer with Eucharistic adoration and recitation of the rosary “to deliver to God the Father our thirst for peace, justice, and reconciliation.”

“In this time of sorrow and dismay, we do not want to remain helpless. We cannot let death and its sting (1 Cor 15:55) be the only word we hear,” he said.

“That is why we feel the need to pray, to turn our hearts to God the Father. Only in this way we can draw the strength and serenity needed to endure these hard times, by turning to him, in prayer and intercession, to implore and cry out to God amidst this anguish.”