Tag: Christianity

    

The Holy Apostle and Evangelist John is preeminently called a theologian before the other Apostles by reason of his most obvious confession of God the Word as God, and the heights of his contemplation and depths of his knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. Therefore, the day dedicated to his memory is most appropriate for studying theology, and studying it precisely with him.

Blessed are those who heard his word by mouth in Jerusalem, Cyprus, Ephesus, Patmos, and in the churches of Asia Minor. But we also have the opportunity to join the ranks of his disciples. We have before us his Apostolic epistles. Let us open them and internalize the truths contained in them. We will thus receive an entire course of Christian theology in its essential features. If all the truths contained in the epistles of St. John the Theologian are brought together, then they could be summarized in the following order (come and listen as though you were standing before his own pulpit).

According to his nature and the character imprinted in him, man is intended to be in communion with God. This is his Eternal Life, his life full of joy (1 Jn. 1:3-4). But God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1 Jn. 1:5). Therefore, in order to be in communion with Him, we must walk in the light, as He is in the light (1 Jn. 1:7). He who walks in darkness ceases to have communion with God, and if he says that he has this communion, he does not the truth (1 Jn. 1:6).

As long as our forefathers walked in the light of God’s will, they were in communion with God; but when they came to love the darkness of their own desires, they fell into sin and ceased to be in God. And in them we also fell into the same darkness and away from communion with God. This is such an immutable truth that he who does not confess it, who says that we have not sinned, makes God Himself a liar, and His word is not in him (1 Jn. 1:10). No. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 Jn. 1:8).

But in sin there is death and destruction. What does the love of God do? The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world (1 Jn. 4:14). God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him (1 Jn. 4:9). Behold, God’s love for us! We couldn’t endure in love, but He never stopped loving us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 Jn. 4:10). Now, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world (1 Jn. 2:1-2). He appeared to take away our sins and destroy the works of the devil (1 Jn. 3:5, 8). In Him is life, and He was with the Father, and was manifested unto us (1 Jn. 1:2).

Thus, God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son (1 Jn. 5:11). From now on, such is the law of God’s righteousness and love, that He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life (1 Jn. 5:12). For he who has the Son has both the Father and the Spirit (1 Jn. 2:23, 3:24, 4:13)—God is Triune, in Whom is the fount of Life.

Such are the laws of communion with God, and these are its advantage and fruits: Those who dwell in God are called and are sons of God, who, as born of God doth not commit sin (1 Jn. 3:1, 9, 5:18). For His light abides in them (1 Jn. 2:24), and they always bear the fruit of righteousness according to their nature. If anyone sins, the Blood of the Son of God cleanses him from all sin (1 Jn. 1:7). He who confesses his sins is absolved of them, and he is cleansed from all unrighteousness (1 Jn. 1:9). Therefore, those who abide in Him, when He appears, will not be ashamed before Him at His coming, but will have boldness before Him in the Day of Judgment (1 Jn. 2:28, 4:17), for this is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life (1 Jn. 2:25).

Such is the blessed end of communion with God! Having been vouchsafed this gift, let us make an effort to remain in Him. He who wants to be in unceasing communion with God must keep His word (1 Jn. 2:5). Only he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him (1 Jn. 3:24). And His commandments are not grievous (1 Jn. 5:3). And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment (1 Jn. 3:23).

The first commandment: Let us believe in the Son of God. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God (1 Jn. 4:15). Whoever wants to please God without the Lord Jesus Christ, let him hear the judgment against him—only he who has the Son has the Father. And Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father. So he who rejects that Jesus is the Christ, rejects the Father and the Son. And He is antichrist (1 Jn. 2:22-23). Whoever does not believe in the Son, makes a “liar” out of God Himself, because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son (1 Jn. 5:10). So, all that you have heard from the beginning—may it abide in you! If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father (1 Jn. 2:24). For Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son (2 Jn. 1:9).

The second commandment: Let us love one another. He who abideth in Christ ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked (1 Jn. 2:6). And He laid down His life for us (1 Jn. 3:16). Thus, Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another (1 Jn. 4:11). God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him (1 Jn. 4:16). He deceives himself who says: “I love God, and that’s enough.” No. The commandment is such that he who loves God must also love his brother. For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God Whom he hath not seen? (1 Jn. 4:20).

He also deceives himself who says: “I will love the brethren, and that’s enough.” No. The law is such that only he who loves God truly loves the sons of God (1 Jn. 5:2). He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Therefore, We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and … hath no eternal life abiding in him (1 Jn. 3:14–15). Thus, brethren, it is only when we love one another [that] God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us (1 Jn. 4:12). Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good, knowing that he that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God (3 Jn. 1:11). But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word … but in deed and in truth (1 Jn. 3:17-18).

Such is the bright, blessed brotherhood of the sons of God. Those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who do not receive His teachings, or receive them but are alien to His spirit in life and disposition of heart, constitute the pernicious world, which lieth in darkness (1 Jn. 5:19), which thinks evil, works evil, and teaches others to do evil. Brethren! Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever (1 Jn. 2:15–17).

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world (1 Jn. 4:1-3). Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists… They went out from us, but they were not of us (1 Jn. 2:18-19). Whoever comes to you from such and does not bear the true teaching of Christ, receive him not into your house and do not rejoice in him, so as not to become partner to his evil deeds.

They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error (1 Jn. 4:5–6). That which we have heard with our ears, what we have seen with our eyes … and our hands have handled, we announce to you of the Word of life. For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life… That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ (1 Jn. 1:1–3).

And God Himself testified of Him. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. Everyone that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself (1 Jn. 5:9-10). He who stands in the truth knows the truth. But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things (1 Jn. 2:20). But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him (1 Jn. 2:27).

This, brethren, is the entire course of Christian theology, in brief! Having received it as from the mouth of the Apostle himself, let us hold fast to it. Now we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life (1 Jn. 5:20). And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming (1 Jn. 2:28). Amen.

Faced with this situation, the Church has provided help through its migrant centers, staffed mainly by men and women religious and diocesan priests, providing services such as food, medical care, psychological first aid, and legal advice.

In Mexico City, the Church serves migrants at the archdiocesan Caritas facilities; at the House of Shelter, Training, and Empowerment for Migrant and Refugee Women and Families (CAFEMIN) of the Congregation of the Josefina Sisters; Holy Cross and Our Lady of Solitude Parish; as well as at Mambré House of the Scalabrinian Sisters and at the Archangel Raphael House of the Scalabrinian Missionaries.

The news media Fuerza Informativa Azteca posted on X a short video showing many people lying down on thin mattresses or walking around in the nave of a church along with the text “The Parish of the Holy Cross and Our Lady of Solitude in Mexico CIty has become a refuge for hundreds of migrants. There are between 500 and 1000 migrants, mainly from Venezuela, Haiti, Croatia, Afghanistan, and Africa, who arrive every day to eat and sleep.”

The Archdiocese of Mexico also invited “all people of goodwill” to join the volunteer work carried out in these centers or to “provide financial or in-kind help, according to the needs of these centers.”

In its statement, the archdiocese also urged the civil authorities “to expedite legal processes for the stability of migrants” as well as “grant humanitarian visas so that they can transit freely to their destination.”

JERUSALEM (OSV News) — Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem united in a call for peace and justice amid unfolding violence, following a surprise attack by Hamas in southern Israel, which has left around 600 Israelis dead, among them civilians and dozens of soldiers and police who were killed battling the Hamas fighters. Over 2,000 people were injured.

Fears of a ground invasion of Gaza are growing after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to turn the besieged Palestinian enclave into a “deserted island,” while the latest reported death toll of Palestinians is 313. Thousands of people in Palestinian territories are injured in Israeli airstrikes, which began hours following the Hamas attack.

“The Holy Land, a place sacred to countless millions around the world, is currently mired in violence and suffering due to the prolonged political conflict and the lamentable absence of justice and respect for human rights,” the Patriarchs and Head of the Churches in Jerusalem said in an Oct. 7 joint statement.

As custodians of the Christian faith, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches said they “stand in solidarity with the people of this region, who are enduring the devastating consequences of continued strife.”

“We unequivocally condemn any acts that target civilians, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity or faith,” said the Patriarchs, among them Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Cardinal Pizzaballa expressed “condemnation” and great concern in an Oct. 7 interview with the Italian Catholic daily newspaper Avvenire.

“We need to stop the violence and then apply diplomatic pressure to prevent the game of retaliation from becoming a vicious cycle from which it is difficult to escape. So (we must) try to bring back a minimum of reasonableness between the parties. Even if it seems difficult right now,” said Pizzaballa, who became the first resident cardinal in Jerusalem’s history during a Sept. 30 consistory in Rome.

The Latin Patriarchate announced the postponement of all ceremonies to honor the newly created cardinal due to the current situation. The patriarchate also called for all Oct. 8 Masses to be offered for the intention of a ceasefire and an end to the “ongoing war in the Holy Land to prevent further bloodshed, shattering of lives and burial of hopes.”

“May all religious leaders work to calm the situation and calm down the spirits. In short, let no one throw fuel on the fire. And I hope for prayers for peace. And already today we will carry out an initiative in this sense in all our churches,” Cardinal Pizzaballa told Avvenire.

Shocked by the unhindered breakthrough of hundreds of Hamas gunmen through the fence barrier, Israelis hunkered down in safe rooms and called to relatives and radio programs whispering terrified messages as they heard the militants breaking into their homes. The attack included the takeover of the police station in the city of Sderot, which was later reclaimed.

The attack took place under the barrage of thousands of rocket attacks, which were largely intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome defense system.

Hamas breached Israel’s security gate in the early morning Oct. 7 and infiltrated dozens of Israel border communities, killing people in their cars and homes and taking others hostage, including several elderly people, a mother with her two preschool-aged daughters, young people and foreign workers. Soldiers were also taken hostage. Social media videos showed captives and bodies of dead Israelis paraded through the streets of Gaza.

One video showed a terrified young woman being pulled by the hair and transferred from one jeep into another by armed Hamas gunmen. In another video, the body of a young man in shorts taken from a kibbutz, a Jewish communal settlement, was paraded through the streets on the back of a motorcycle.

Thousands of young Israelis and foreigners had been celebrating at a nature dance party next to one of the kibbutz, and dozens were murdered by the gunmen as they fled in panic through the desert. Many of the captives had been at the party.

Democrat TV, an independent Israeli news source, reported on their Facebook page that 70 young people who had been reported missing from the dance party arrived in the southern city of Netivot 30 hours after the slaughter began, though the report could not yet be corroborated.

The attack took place on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, which marks the completion of the annual cycle of reading the Torah scroll. The attack also fell a day after the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the 1973 War, which began with a surprise attack on Israel by a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria on Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day of the year.

The attack follows a year of increasing violence from both settlers and the Israel Defense Forces after the election of Israel’s far-right nationalist government.

For many Israelis, there were moments of terror and desperation as they identified their loved ones on the horrifying videos. One video showed a shrieking young woman speeding away in a motorcycle sandwiched between two gunmen as her boyfriend was led off by others. One shirtless man was led through the streets by the neck as gunmen pushed his head down. Another video showed gunmen sitting on and near the half-naked body of another woman with dreadlocks, later identified as a German national, in the open back of a truck.

Kibbutz residents said it took some eight hours for the Israeli army forces to reach their communities. One mother told Israel radio she and her children were rescued by special forces through the window of their safe room and taken by armed guard to a secured location because militants were still roaming their kibbutz. Another resident speaking by phone on TV news began crying as she told the anchorwoman that men had broken into her home and were trying to get into the safe room where she was.

After the Israeli army and police gathered forces and responded to the attack, Israeli Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters “hundreds of terrorists” have been killed and dozens captured.

In the Italian newspaper interview, the reporter noted Cardinal Pizzaballa’s pain at the violence and concern that it would escalate because of the captive Israelis.

“The extension of the attack. And the fact that there are many Israelis kidnapped, civilians too. These are decidedly new elements, also taking into account the context of great mistrust that exists. Of course, I hope I’m wrong, but I fear that the situation will get even worse. There will be retaliation for retaliation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces also exchanged fire with Hezbollah over the weekend as Lebanon’s militant group fired dozens of rockets and shells at Israeli positions in a disputed area along the country’s northern border.

In a TV broadcast, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowed Oct. 7 that retaliation against Hamas would be swift and harsh.

An Oct. 7 U.S. Department of Defense press release said U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III had spoken with Gallant by phone and had conveyed his condolences “for the victims of this appalling, abhorrent terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel,” and emphasized his “ironclad support for the Israeli Defense Forces and the Israeli people.”

“He also reaffirmed that the Department’s commitment to Israel’s security and its absolute right to defend itself from acts of terrorism is unwavering,” the release said.
Israeli politician and former Knesset member Dov Khenin, who served with the left-wing Joint List party, called for moderation on both sides and urged for a change of direction in an Oct. 7 Facebook post.

“Today’s events are heartbreaking. A terrible attack on civilians in their homes is an inconceivable crime,” he said. “The next days will be trying days. We must not let people who want us to hate each other forever (succeed). … Without a changing of direction we are doomed to continue living the horrors of today. Two nations live in our country, and if we can’t allow them a life of freedom and independence we will never be able to go to sleep in peace. It won’t be easy and won’t happen soon, but only true peace can bring us the security, which is so lacking.”

The Patriarchs and Head of the Churches said that it is their “fervent hope and prayer” that all parties involved “will heed this call for an immediate cessation of violence.” They also called for dialogue “seeking lasting solutions that promote justice, peace, and reconciliation for the people of this land, who have endured the burdens of conflict for far too long.”

ROME — Even by the feverish standards of the Pope Francis era, the period between Sept. 30, when the pontiff created 21 new cardinals, and Oct. 7, when the dust settled on the opening act of his keenly anticipated Synod of Bishops, likely will be remembered as among the most raucous and riveting weeks of his papacy.

Consider what we’ve witnessed over those seven days.

• A consistory in which 21 new “Princes of the Church” received their red hats, including 18 under 80 and therefore eligible to elect the next pope, which not only reshaped the electoral math of the next conclave, but also gave us several new plausible contenders for the top job.
• A spiritual retreat ahead of the Oct. 4-29 Synod of Bishops on Synodality in which participants were urged to seek a Church no longer perceived as “exclusive” and “marginalizing,” including in its outreach to women, gay people, and the divorced and remarried.
• Release of a set of “dubia,” or critical questions, about the synod submitted to Pope Francis by five conservative cardinals, including American Cardinal Raymond Burke, pressing the pontiff on matters such as doctrinal change, the blessing of same-sex unions, the teaching authority of a synod, women’s ordination, and the necessity of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
• Publication of Francis’ responses — in itself a novelty, since he never responded the last time cardinals submitted “dubia” — in which he gave a cautious approval of blessing same-sex unions on a case-by-case basis, and a basic (though nuanced) no to women’s ordination.
• Ongoing controversy over secrecy requirements for the synod, with spokespersons struggling to explain the pope’s logic for barring participants from discussing their own contributions or those of others, while at the same time conceding there won’t be any punishment for people who go public anyway.
• Release on Oct. 4 of Francis’ new apostolic exhortation “Laudate Deum” (“Praise God”), calling for urgent action to combat climate change, in which Francis strongly rejects skepticism on global warming and also blames developed nations such as the United States for creating a disproportionate share of the problem.
• Ongoing aftershocks from the case of ex-Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik, accused of various forms of abuse of adult women, mostly nuns, stretching over 30 years, combined with demands from advocacy groups for abuse survivors gathered in Rome to demand the resignation of new Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández for alleged mishandling of an abuse case in Argentina in 2019.

Whew … just listing that upheaval is an exhausting exercise, to say nothing of having lived through it.

By the way, this isn’t even a complete list of last week’s drama on the Vatican beat. The “trial of the century,” for example, featuring charges of financial crime against 10 defendants, including Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, is continuing, with defense attorneys hammering away at due process objections that have raised concerns about the effectiveness and fairness of Vatican reform under Francis.

Where does this whirlwind of a week leave us?

First, in light of the Sept. 30 consistory, the election of a successor cut from the same cloth as Francis is now simultaneously more likely and also more complicated.

It’s more likely because after this consistory, Francis has now named 73% of the 136 cardinal electors, above the two-thirds threshold necessary to elect a pope. Yet it’s also more complicated because the field of possible successors who would carry forward Francis’ legacy has been expanded, not merely with the addition of Fernández, but also Italian Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, head of the Dicastery for Eastern Churches, and French Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the papal ambassador in the United States.

Up to this point, it had been assumed that the leading candidate to carry the Francis torch was Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, president of the Italian bishops’ conference and the pope’s personal envoy for the war in Ukraine. Now, however, there are several other figures who could credibly claim the Francis mantle, making the field more crowded and thus more unpredictable.

Second, it makes the agenda for the Synod of Bishops less clear and therefore more wide open.

Prior to the pope’s response to the “dubia,” it was assumed that the blessing of same-sex unions and the question of women clergy would loom large in synod discussions. Now, however, it’s probable that anyone who wants to raise those matters will face the nearly automatic response, “Come on, the pope’s already spoken, let’s move on.”

Ironically, therefore, the “dubia” cardinals who wanted to forestall wild-card outcomes from the synod actually may have made them more likely, by clearing away the issues everyone assumed would dominate much of the discussion.

Third and finally, this week also has served up reminders that, try as Francis and his advisers might to make this Synod of Bishops about the Catholic future, the unfinished business of the past won’t simply cede center stage.

The Rupnik affair has reminded the world, and especially the internal Catholic classes, of the perplexities that dog Francis regarding the abuse scandals. The pope repeatedly has pledged his support for a zero tolerance standard, yet his handling of the Rupnik case has led alleged victims to assert that such rhetoric is a mere PR exercise.

Meanwhile, critics of the trial of Becciu and other defendants assert that what the pope has done is issue a series of ad hoc rulings that have stacked the deck in favor of the prosecution, suggesting that “reform” in this case really means finding scapegoats to cover up for the failures of papal allies and friends.

Whatever the merits of those complaints, together they suggest that when synod participants talk over coffee breaks, lunches, dinners, and other informal venues, it won’t just be about the formal agenda. It will also be about the overall state of this papacy, and whether its promise, at least in certain key areas, is being matched by its performance.

The Miraculous Draught of Fishes, 1515. Artist: Raphael Santi. Photo: wikipedia.org     

In today’s gospels we see Veneration of the Precious Chains of the Holy and All-Glorious Apostle PeterFor three centuries the chains were kept in Jerusalem, and those who were afflicted with illness and approached them with faith received healing.

“>Peter, a grown man, a tough guy, brought to his knees and brought to the depths of humility by the Lord Jesus Christ. But what did the Lord do that brought Peter to his knees? Did He punish him? Did He correct him harshly or rebuke him? What happened that reduced Peter to the human equivalent of a puddle?

What happened was that the Lord Jesus Christ gave Peter and the other fishermen with him a generous and overwhelming gift. Perhaps you have had such an experience in your life. I hope that you have have. Receiving an unexpected gift, especially a big or special gift is always one of life’s great joys. I pray that all of you will have that experience. But I want to go further, I want to assure you that in fact you have already had that experience even if you do not understand it yet.

When we receive an unexpected gift this is something that can overwhelm us with emotions but in the case of Peter, he was even more overwhelmed because he did not deserve the gift in any way. In fact, not only did he not deserve the gift, but he completely dismissed the gift giver from the start. Yet our Lord remained faithful even when he was not.

Peter was not a normal man. He was an expert fisherman. Someone who made his living by catching fish to feed himself, his family and the whole village. He spent hours and hours out on the water the night his encounter with Jesus. He was likely exhausted, hungry, thirsty and probably a bit depressed. It turns out that he man have been normal after all. He may have been a man with passions and emotions and frailty similar to our own.

As the sun rose, Peter and the other fishermen went back to shore and started the process of cleaning up and washing their nets. At this point the Lord tested Peter. The Lord rarely tests us when we are in good spirits and everything is going well. No. It is when we are vulnerable, weak and tired that the true tests happen. Why? Because when things are going very well, we rarely ask God for anything and we rarely think about our need for Him.

Peter was frustrated and tired and he probably wanted to go home, but he heard the word of the Lord Jesus and he obeyed anyways. He obeyed half-heartedly. He didn’t really expect anything to happen. The preacher did not understand fishing. But Peter wanted to be respectful and honor the Lord and so with a small amount of faith and a large amount of skepticism, he obeyed. What happened next brought the man who would become the head of the apostles, to his knees in utter disbelief. The water trembled and then splashed and then quaked as fish rushed into the nets. It seemed that the whole of the lake was going to empty itself into those nets. Peter and those with him were actually afraid that their nets were going to break in the process! And just like that, the Lord had completely shifted Peter’s thinking. He started thinking that he would gain nothing at all through this effort and by the end he had gained so much that he was afraid that if God provided even one more fish, the whole net would be destroyed.

Peter was left shocked, amazed and humbled beyond words. He never believed Jesus. He obeyed out of politeness, but he had no faith. Now, after this great gift from the Lord, he believed and he began to understood the depth of his own ignorance and pride, and to an even greater degree, the depth of the mercy and love of God for mankind.

Each of you have had or will have moments in life that remind us of Peter at at the beginning of this passage. We work hard, study hard, toil and sweat and struggle and sometimes nothing seems to work. We work hard at our jobs, at our studies, at home, in our relationships and even in our free time. But we often feel that nothing seems to help. I want to encourage you to take time to listen for the voice of Christ and take hope. You will hear his voice in your prayers and in your gospel readings. But you will not hear his voice unless you try to hear it. Yesterday we celebrated the memory of St. Silouan the Athonite: Holy Russian Hero“I read St. Symeon the New Theologian and my soul grieves over how far I am from a real Christian life. When I read Elder Silouan, then my soul is comforted in the Lord and rejoices in Him Who loves me, a sinner.”

“>St. Silouan of Mt. Athos, a great saint of the 20th century. He had this to say “The Merciful Lord loves His own servants and gives them sorrows on earth, so that the soul would through sorrows learn humility and dedication to God’s will and find peace in the pain, as the Lord said: Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly of heart, and you will find rest unto your souls.” Bring your problems to the Lord and sit quietly and listen as well. You won’t get an instant answer but have faith. The moment before the nets started to fill was a moment filled with silence.

I want to assure you that God plans to fill the nets of your life and He will provide for you because He loves you more than you can imagine and not one day of your life has gone by without many many gifts from Him. If have gratitude and open our eyes we will see that in many ways the Lord has already provided so much more than we could ever want or need. He has most certainly provided more than we deserve, especially the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of divine life. And for all of these gifts and many more, we should follow Peter and fall on our knees daily and say to Christ, “My Lord, depart from me for I am a sinful one.” If we are honest, this is the only appropriate response. To Christ alone be glory together with His Father and the Holy Spirit, AMEN.

    

Once in January, in the late 1990s, I was conducting a group of pilgrims who had come to celebrate the The Nativity of Christ: Icons and FrescosFor almost two thousand years, iconographers have been painting icons and frescos of the Nativity, on which we can see the swaddled Infant in the manger, the Mother of God, Joseph, the animals at the manger, as well as the adoration of the Magi, the washing of the infant, the shepherds, and the angels.

“>Nativity of Christ in the Holy Land. The trip program was remarkable, the Russian pilgrims were given quarters in the guesthouse of the Gornensky Convent in Jerusalem, and on the day of the feast all set out for the night service in Bethlehem. Visits to holy places of Galilee were planned for the guests at the end of the pilgrimage.

There, in Cana of Galilee, where during His earthly service Jesus Christ worked the first of His miracles by turning the water into wine, we visited a Greek Orthodox church. Because this new church was built on the site of the old one in the 1880s, using funds from the [Russian] Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society, icons were installed in the deacons’ doors of the iconostasis of St. Sergius of RadonezhUndoubtedly, the most outstanding establisher of the truly selfless “life equal to the angels” in fourteenth century Russia is St. Sergius of Radonezh, the founder of the famous Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Monastery, which embodies in its historical legacy his blessed precepts, and gradually became a kind of spiritual heart for all of Orthodox Russia.

“>St. Sergius of Radonezh and Righteous Elizabeth—the heavenly patrons of On This Day: Grand Duke Sergey Alexandrovich was BornHe was the fifth son and seventh child of Emperor Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna. He was an influential statesman and public figure during the reigns of his brother Emperor Alexander III and his nephew Emperor Nicholas II, who was also his brother in law through Sergey’s marriage to Elizabeth the sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.”>Grand Prince Sergei Alexandrovich and his wife, 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.”>Holy Martyr Grand Princess Elizabeth Feodorovna. After the restoration work done in the 1990s, abbot of the monastery Theophilos (Yannopoulos), who is now the Patriarch of Jerusalem, moved these icons to the gallery of the monastery’s inner court.

Seeing an icon of St. Sergius of Radonezh in the iconostasis of the church, I venerated it, as is the accepted practice in the Greek tradition. At that time I was dealing with certain problems in life, and I needed to make a fatal decision. As it goes, I as usual had no time for special prayers. And now, as I approached the icon, I surprisingly to myself pronounced question: “Tell me, Fr. Sergius, should I turn to you in prayer with this matter, will you help me in the Holy Land—or would it be better for me to pray to St. Savva the Sanctified and His Return to the Holy Land in 1965When he was seventeen years old he received monastic tonsure, and attained such perfection in fasting and prayer that he was given the gift of wonderworking.

“>St. Savva the Sanctified who was such a great saint here, like you were in Russia?” Naturally I didn’t expect an answer. The thoughts that had been hidden deep in my subconscious just broke out.

But I soon received an answer! And in a simply amazing way.

After visiting Cana, the pilgrims I was conducting went straight to the Jordan. After all, it has from ancient times been considered one of the most important events in a Christian pilgrimage in the Holy Land to immerse yourself in the sacred waters of that river.

Bethabara, the place where the Savior was baptized, was still inaccessible at the time. Only a rare pilgrim was able to visit it, and only once a year, on the Eve of Theophany.

And so, the whole group (and there were forty of us) rode a bus to Yardenit—a site organized for immersion, not far from the place with the Jordan flows from the lake of Galilee. We encountered a crowd of pilgrims from all over the world, and so we decided to go a little off to the side, to another, wild and unequipped but deserted place, so that we could reverently and peacefully perform the rite of immersion in the waters of the sacred river.

When the priest had finished the rite of sanctifying the waters and the pilgrims had changed into their white robes, they began to enter the waters while I stepped off to the side. After a little while I noticed that one of my group members was standing there completely dressed. This surprised me, because usually all the guests of the Holy Land gladly immerse themselves in the Jordan. At my inquiry as to why she doesn’t go into the water, the woman replied that it’s now winter and rather cold, and she herself lives in Israel—she joined the group because her close friend had come from Moscow. She decided that she would come another time, in the summer, to immerse herself in the Jordan. We started talking. As it turns out, her name is Zoya; she was a repatriate from Russia and for several years now she had been living in Israel in a state of emotional disturbance, in a serious depression, often suffering attacks from the dark powers both in dreams and while awake. From her cautious tale it seemed to me that occult practices preceded this bitter state.

Practicing false mysticism and direct communication with the world of spirits does not go by without leaving a trace. The day came when a false “angel of light” revealed its true colors (cf. 2 Cor. 11:14), and its demonic essence began to intrude itself into the everyday life of this unfortunate woman with frightening force. During these difficult days of emotional suffering and inconsolable grief, she turned in prayer and deep feelings of repentance to Jesus Christ as the true God. The great sorrows that had been allowed to come upon her by God’s Providence led her to the knowledge of the truth, to solid and unwavering faith that other than the name of Jesus Christ there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). You can call this a return to the faith, since Zoya had been baptized in Russia when she was already an adult, albeit not entirely consciously, without the proper preparation. In a word, she had not been catechized.

After this prayer, a ray of light poured into her sad soul compassed by melancholy and darkness, and the joy of life returned. She came to believe in the love and mercy of God, but her trials were not yet over. The peace that had come to reign in her soul turned out to be temporary. She would soon to have a cruel struggle with the spirits of evil. She needed wise counsel about how to go on living. At that time, Zoya didn’t yet know that in Haifa, where she lived, there is a Russian Orthodox Church.

We stood by the banks of the Jordan under the arching eucalyptus branches, the sun peering at us through the clouds, and the wind flicking the tips of the majestic date palms. The woman continued her touching, and as it turned out, providential story.

When she learned that in Jerusalem there is the Gornensky Monastery, where Russian nuns live, she wrote a letter there briefly relating her state and asking for advice. A little while later a letter came from the mother superior, Abbess Georgia (Shchukina)Georgia (Shchukina), Abbess

“>Abbess Georgia, who explained to her that in a demonic struggle strong prayer is needed. The abbess also sent in the letter to her several paper icons and three akathists—to Archangel Michael, St. Sergius and Radonezh, and St. Seraphim of Sarov.

Great is the power of prayer! In the words of Theophan the Recluse

“>St. Theophan the Recluse, it is a mighty spiritual weapon: Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Eph. 6:11). Hope and the joy of life returned to the woman who had up till then been living on the verge of total despair. In Zoya’s words, the akathists became the “rope that pulled my soul out of hell.” The Akathist gave the woman so worn down by struggles with the demons a source for the complete renewal of her emotional powers. During her reading of the prayers, which she did both day and night, God’s help was so tangible that her soul was literally born again. Peace, hope, and joy took up their abode in her, but the greatest strengthening of her faith was an event that occurred right on the feast of the Nativity of Christ.

Our schedule, as I mentioned earlier, was very tight. After the night service in Bethlehem they broke the fast in the monastery trapeza, had a brief rest, and then visited holy places till late in the evening. When they returned in the evening to Gornensky Convent, tired but happy, Zoya and her friend talked for a long time. In need simply of some human sympathy, Zoya told her friend about how she had found faith, and about the unbelievable sorrows and demonic attacks. And then through these recollections her former feelings of despair and helplessness returned to her soul with terrible force, leading her literally to the abyss, beyond which is emptiness and the depths of hell.

It was after midnight when the two friends laid down to sleep. Zoya could not fall asleep for a long time; she just lay there on the bed, wiping her tears. In those difficult moments, when the soul is filled to the brim with memories of former sorrows, in the completely dark room she suddenly saw a bright light and the extraordinarily joyful, loving, and encouraging iconic face of a saint. However, she was unable to recognize him. In those days there was no internet where you could easily find icons of any saints. Zoya only knew that it was without a doubt either St. Sergius of Radonezh or St. Seraphim of Sarov. After all, the abbess of Gornensky Convent had sent her small paper icons in a letter, she had read akathists to these great Russian saints every day, and they had protected her like an invisible shield from the terrible onslaught of the powers of darkness.

This miraculous appearance of St. Sergius on the great feast of the Nativity of Christ, when we glorify the incarnation on earth of the Son of God, served to greatly strengthen her faith. Peace and calm reigned once again in her soul, and hope shone that the Lord with His strong arm would not abandon her on the true path.

The next day, on January 8, the second day of the feast, all the pilgrims were present at Divine Liturgy in the Kazan Church at Gornensky Convent. Zoya came together with all the others. Her heart rejoiced and trembled from the absolutely real feeling of God’s presence in her life. A feeling of sacred joy filled her soul, but the thought never left her: Who was it that appeared to her during the night? St. Seraphim of Sarov, or St. Sergius of Radonezh? And at one moment she looked off to the side and saw that joyful, bright face on the icon. It was St. Sergius! It’s impossible to describe with words the feelings of that moment. Zoya wept, but not from sadness. These were tears of compunction and the joy of a heart that had come to know the true God…

After she had told her story, we stood a long time in silence on the banks of the Jordan, where the sky was reflected in the dark green waters. Suddenly I remembered how I had approached the icon of St. Sergius with my question in Cana of Galilee… This was the second miracle of St. Sergius of Radonezh. My conversation with the pilgrimess was no accident. St. Sergius is powerful to help people, even in the Holy Land!

St. Pelagia lived in Antioch and worked as a prostitute. One day, she passed a church while dressed in her elegant and provocative clothes. Bishop Nossus of Edessa was celebrating Mass, and although many of the parishioners turned away from Pelagia, the bishop noticed her outer beauty and her spiritual greatness. He prayed for her later that day, and felt that he and his fellow priests should work to adorn their wretched souls as the prostitute worked to make her body beautiful. 

Pelagia went to hear Bishop Nonnus preach the next day. She was so moved by his words that she repented, and asked Bishop Nonnus to baptize her. He agreed, seeing that she was sincere. The night of her baptism, the devil appeared to Pelagia, trying to tempt her to return to her former life of sin. She prayed, and made the Sign of the Cross, and the devil vanished. 

After her conversion, Pelagia gave her wealth to Bishop Nonnus so he could give the proceeds to the poor. She then went to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and lived as a hermit, disguised as the monk Pelagius. She performed penances and attained many spiritual gifts. When she died, her gender was discovered, and she was buried in her cell. 

Metropolitan Tikhon of Pskov and Porkhov celebrated the Liturgy and give this homily in the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross, Pskov diocese

* * *

The most beautiful thing that a person can see on this earth is the Cross of Christ and the Lord God ascended upon it—the Son of God, Who ascended it Himself, according to His own desire, not coerced by anyone or anything, in order to taste of death by the cross—the only medicine that can deliver us people from death.

The Church glorifies the Cross of Christ several times a year. It glorifies and gazes upon it admiringly, through the understanding of the whole tragedy, through the understand of all our sins, the sins of mankind—which nevertheless could not exceed the Lord’s love for us. We gaze upon the Father’s love, the infinite mercy of Christ our Savior.

In the life of a nation there are people who give their lives for their friends, and the Lord Jesus Christ spoke of this. He understood these people very well, and they were close to Him. There is no love greater than when one lays down his life for those close to him, for his friends. Such people are unique in human history, but they performed that ascetic feat, about which the incarnate God Himself spoke, in a special way, with particular warmth and understanding. He performed such a feat, only infinitely greater, for He had to experience not only His own suffering as the God-Man, but also the sufferings of every person who lived before His incarnation, of His contemporaries, and of those who would live after His life, in order to redeem them all—each person who agrees to walk the path of faith, and even those who reject this path. The Lord gave everyone the opportunity to enter into the inheritance of His great Kingdom. And today [the feast of the Exultation of the Cross] is one of those great days when we strive to comprehend and give thanks to God, the incarnate Lord Jesus Christ, for this truly priceless, awesome, and beautiful gift, which grants us both the strength and ability to live in this world that lies in the evil of the prince of this age. To live with hope and steadfast faith that the Lord will conquer all evil, and even death itself…

Every time the enemy, or our own weakness and faintheartedness troubles us, remember the Cross of the Lord, its strength, its significance and meaning, which are contained only in the Lord Jesus Christ—Who chose precisely it as His Divine Throne, His sacrificial altar, upon which He Himself ascended for the sake of the salvation of each one of us…

May the Lord save you all!

    

“The Healer” Icon of the Mother of God is one of the most ancient (sixth Century). In the 18th Century, another icon with the same name was glorified with miracles. St. Dimity of Rostov’s book, “The Bedewed Fleece” contains the following account of the miraculous sign of the Theotokos: Vincent Bulvenenskiy, a cleric of the Navarninsk church, had a pious custom of prostrating himself before the image of the Mother of God as he would enter or exit the church and say the following short prayer: Rejoice, O full of Grace! The Lord is with Thee! Blessed is the womb that carried Christ, and the paps which fed our Lord God and Savior!” Once this pious cleric fell ill with a dangerous sickness: His tongue began to rot, and the pain was so great that he would lose his mind. Coming to, the ailing one would say his usual prayer to the Theotokos; then he immediately saw a beautiful youth at his bedside. This was his Guardian Angel. Looking with compassion upon the ailing one, the angel called to the Most Holy Theotokos, raising up a prayer of healing. Suddenly the Theotokos Herself appeared and sent a sign of Her ineffable mercy: the sick one felt himself to be completely healthy, entered the church, and went to the kliros with the other chanters.

The Prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos before Her icon called “The Healer”

“Accept, O All-Blessed and All-Powerful Mistress Virgin Theotokos, these prayers which we, your unworthy servants offer with tears before Your healing image, lifting up our song with compunction as if You Yourself were here, listening to our prayer. For You answer every petition, alleviate sorrows, grant health to the ailing, heal the weak and ill, drive away the demons from the possessed, deliver the offended from misfortune, cleanse the impure and have mercy upon little children. Moreover, O Mistress Lady Theotokos, you free from chains the imprisoned and heal all manner of passions. For everything is possible by Your intercession before your Son, Christ our God. O Most Lauded Mother, Most Holy Theotokos! Do not cease to intercede for us your unworthy servants who glorify and venerate You, bowing down before Your Most Pure image with compunction, and having unfeigned hope and undoubting faith in You, the Ever Virgin Most Glorious and Pure, now and ever and unto the ages of ages Amen.”

Parish Life, October 2023
St. John the Baptist Cathedral, Washington, DC

In 2023, the Holy Theophany-Kuteino Monastery celebrates its 400th anniversary. The Belarusian city of Orsha held solemn Divine services, cross processions, and cultural events throughout the month of September in celebration of the monastic habitation founded there in 1623 in honor of the Orsha Icon of the Theotokos. What is the history, what is the modern life of this ancient monastery—the sole Belarusian lavra?

There is the great lavra of the holy Theophany
of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ,
called Kuteino, near the glorious city of Orsha:
which was the fount and beginning of the monastic life
in all White Russia and in Lithuania…

Patriarch Nikon (Minin)

    

Near the glorious city of Orsha

Time is like a river that almost imperceptibly but steadily carries its waters into an unknown tomorrow. And the Dnieper, on the banks of which arose the ancient city of Orsha, slowly flows to the faraway Black Sea, just as it did nearly nine and a half centuries ago. And the city, first mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years around 1067, has endured many historical storms and hardships. The wars of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and then of the Russian Empire considerably changed the city’s appearance. The city has been rebuilt several times. What can be done? History seems to have been merciless to the city.

Looking at old photographs, you can see that Orsha was always, at least until the events of 1917, adorned with a great number of churches. That means there were pious, God-loving people living there. The chronicles report that from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, Orsha was a significant religious center. Later documents, from 1909, show that at that time there were seven Orthodox churches, two Catholic churches, and thirteen prayer houses for 17,000 residents.

The most significant role in the history of Orthodoxy in the Orsha lands was played by the Holy Theophany-Kuteino Monastery. This sole Belarusian lavra was erected in Orsha on the left bank of the Dnieper, where the Kuteinka River flows into it. It’s because of this river that the monastery began to be called Kuteino.

An old image of Kuteino Monastery     

This monastery united several monasteries that were also called Kuteino: Barkolabovo, Mstislavle, Miorakh, Lukomle…

The flourishing of the monastery lasted for all of about thirty years—from 1623 to 1654. Its decline began during the war between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia. Many of the inhabitants of Kuteino were forced to leave it then.

The War of 1812 brought even greater devastation to the walls of the holy monastery—Napoleon’s invading troops barbarously plundered and destroyed it. Many of the holy items of the Orsha lavra disappeared without a trace in the fiery vortex of wars and hardships. But the final, most severe wounds were inflicted on the ancient monastery by the hands of the atheists at the beginning of the twentieth century.

These wounds have yet to be healed. And what remains of the former glory and splendor of the Kuteino lavra? After all, here once stood numerous buildings built by the hands of monks and pious craftsmen.

The Lavra

Princess Elena Solomoretskaya The history of the Kuteino lavra is somewhat paradoxical, because its heyday came in the early-seventeenth century—a time when, after the conclusion of the Lublin and Brest Unias, the Orthodox faith was almost entirely eradicated on the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (of which Orsha was a part at that time).

Contrary to the strict policy of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Mogilev Theophany brotherhood tried to found a new Orthodox men’s monastery. Hieromonk Joel (Trutsevich), as a member of this brotherhood, appealed to the famous zealot of Orthodoxy, the magnate and nobleman Bogdan Stetkevich with a request to allow a monastery to be built on his land.

Bogdan Stetkevich and his wife, Princess Elena Solomoretskaya, not only allowed the building of a monastery, but also paid for it. The foundation was laid on September 19, 1623, and construction began that same year. One of the first things to be built was the Cathedral of the Theophany of the Lord. However, its construction took an entire twelve years. It was consecrated in 1635 by Metropolitan Holy Hierarch, Educator, Warrior for OrthodoxyA former soldier, and now a warrior for Orthodoxy, he didn’t fear confrontation with the Cossacks and didn’t allow their leaders to use the Kiev Metropolia as a “bargaining chip” in the confrontation between the new Ukrainian elite and the central authority and magnates of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

“>St. Peter (Mogila) of Kiev.

Archimandrite Joel (Trutsevich) The wooden five-domed church rose 130 feet above the Dnieper. Inside, thanks to the efforts of wood carvers, for whom Orsha was so famous, it was adorned with a six-tiered carved iconostasis. The walls of the church were covered with so many paintings that the list of icons in the description of the cathedral takes up four whole pages.

Unfortunately, on June 14, 1891, lightning struck the wooden Holy Theophany Cathedral and it very quickly burned to the ground. Only a stone church in honor of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity has survived to our day.

At the same time as the churches, living quarters and outbuildings were erected on the territory of the monastery. There was a mill with a stone dam on the Kuteinka River, because the monastery owned forested and arable land. The monks maintained a hospital, a school for the children of parishioners, and a guest house for pilgrims. In the first half of the seventeenth century, there were no less than 200 monks living in the monastery, according to the testimony of Metropolitan Peter (Mogila).

Secrets and legends of Kuteino

Holy Theophany Cathedral According to experts in the history of the monastery, in 1910, under the smoldering ruins of the Holy Theophany Cathedral, the brethren found an underground church.

This church, consecrated in honor of the The Resurrection of Lazarus: IconsThe Gospel story of the Resurrection of Righteous Lazarus is one of the earliest depictions in Christian pictorial art. Most likely the iconographic tradition of the Resurrection of Lazarus formed earlier than the celebration of this Gospel event.

“>Resurrection of the Righteous Lazarus, was a small cave room with an area of approximately 115 square feet, with vaulted arched ceilings. There were two rooms next to the church, presumably where they kept the monastery treasury and archive.

There is also information that there’s an underground passage leading north from the church, which has not been fully explored.

The Orsha Icon of the Mother of God

There is a holy icon at Kuteino Monastery that is inextricably bound up with the history of the monastery. There is also very little information about it that has come down to us through the veil of the centuries.

In 1631, the Orsha Icon of the Theotokos miraculous appeared in the city of Orsha, near the Holy Theophany Monastery

The Orsha Icon of the Theotokos miraculous appeared in the city of Orsha in 1631, on the banks of the Kuteinka River, near the Holy Theophany Monastery, and has been considered its patroness ever since.

How it happened is unknown. However, there are two more historical testimonies about her grace-filled help for those who honored her.

According to tradition, the Mother of God appeared in a dream to the Holy Hieromartyr Athanasius of Brest-Litovsk, Confessor and Defender of Orthodoxy in Poland and LithuaniaAthanasius was charged with profaning the Latin Church and the Unia. When he again denounced the Unia before his interrogators, he was thrown into prison, where the Jesuits alternately threatened him with torture and cajoled him with freedom, if he would join the Uniates. The holy monk refused to renounce his faith, crying aloud, ”Anathema to the Union!”

“>Venerable Martyr Athanasius of Brest, who was a resident of Kuteino Monastery in 1627. The Queen of Heaven told the ascetic that he should go to the Kupyatichi Monastery, and foretold his martyric repose. Thus, the celebration of the icon takes place on the feasts of St. Athanasius—August 2 and September 18.

Orsha Icon of the Theotokos Another resident of Kuteino—the famous publisher Spyridon Sobol—was vouchsafed to receive miraculous support and consolation from the Orsha Icon.

Alas, the wonderworking icon itself has disappeared without a trace in the turbulent flow of history. There’s a belief that the icon was carried out to Valdai, to the Iveron Monastery, together with the monastery property during the Time of Troubles.

But one of its copies, painted in the seventeenth century, was kept at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Minsk. On July 13, 2001, it was gifted to the Vitebsk Diocese and moved to Orsha—first to the old St. Elijah Church (where a convent was founded in 1997), and later, in 2014, to the Holy Trinity Church at the Kuteino Monastery.

Holy Trinity Church

In the 1620s, a wooden church in honor of the Descent of the Holy Spirit was built not far from the Holy Theophany Cathedral. Over time, the wooden church was dismantled, and a stone church was built on its foundation. For a while it was two-storied, but after reconstruction in 1868, it became a one-story church again. Then the church was consecrated in honor of the Life-giving Trinity.

When the monastery was closed in the 1920s, the church was handed over to the Association for Joint Cultivation of Land and was turned into a fertilizer warehouse. All of the frescoes and murals were of course destroyed. The plaster was so saturated with the smell of fertilizers that it had to be completely removed during restoration.

By the early 1980s, the church was severely dilapidated, with a collapsed roof, and the authorities started thinking about demolishing all the dilapidated buildings of the former lavra.

But the church survived. The local citizens, members of the Rusichi Orthodox military-patriotic club, and everyone who was concerned about its fate appealed to the authorities in Orsha, the Orsha District, and Vitebsk Province with a request to transfer the remains of the monastery to them for restoration. Importantly, the restoration began at the hands of those who protected the ancient holy site from destruction.

In 1990, the building of the Holy Trinity Church was returned to the faithful and a parish community was registered. Two years later, by decision of the Synod of the Belarusian Orthodox Church, the Kuteino Monastery was opened. In 1993, after repairs and construction work, the liturgical life resumed in the church.

The restoration of the church was completed in 1994, at the expense of the federal budget. However, the state specialists changed the historical appearance of the church—the building now has pronounced elements of Baroque architecture.

​Holy Trinity Church, 2023     

Kuteino is known for its people

Great was the glory of the Kuteino lavra in the early seventeenth century! Thanks to its monks, the light of Orthodoxy and spiritual enlightenment spread from there to all the lands of White Rus’.

And the Orsha craftsmen-artisans glorified the monastery with their skillful hands. A considerable contribution to the cause of spiritual enlightenment was made by the native of Mogilev, the publisher Spyridon Sobol. In 1630, he arrived in Orsha and established a printing house at the Kuteino monastery.

The first books came out the same year: Spiritual Food and a prayer book. And in 1631, the famous Primer was printed. The books were printed in significant print-runs for that time: 200-300 copies each. Over the course of twenty-five years, twenty-three Church and educational texts were published. All of them are recognized as outstanding examples of the printing art of their time.

Together with publishing, Kuteino also developed its own school of engraving. Experts have shown that the engravings published in Kuteino editions were used as models for iconography among Belarusian artists of that time.

​Excavations and restoration of the Holy Trinity Church     

It was not only the labors of Spyridon Sobol that glorified the Kuteino lavra. Various workshops were established there for skilled wood carvers and potters. This is confirmed by the findings of archaeologists during excavations carried out on the territory of the monastery in the late-1980s–early-1990s.

As a result, a wide variety of materials wound up in the Orsha museum complex, including samples of nineteenth-century ceramics. Scholars believe that all these dishes—a variety of earthenware pots, makitras, and bowls—are of local origin, used in antiquity by the inhabitants of the Kuteino Monastery.

Ceramic tile, Kuteino A number of tile fragments were found—both terracotta and glazed—mostly a green glaze, so-called enameled tiles. There is also a diverse array of ornamentation, including vegetables, with cornflowers and with animals.

The most unique find is a carved medallion depicting the Crucifixion and an image of the Mother of God of the Sign.

The fame of the Kuteino wood carvers reached all the way to the primatial See, and the Orsha monastery was personally visited by Patriarch Nikon and Tsar Alexei Fedorovich. After seeing the magnificent carved six-tiered iconostasis of the Holy Theophany Cathedral, the Patriarch asked Abbot Joel (Trutsevich) to send masters to Moscow to create similar works there.

Many centuries have passed since then. The Orsha people of the twentieth century, having found faith, began returning to the churches, but they didn’t find the splendor for which the Orsha churches were renowned in antiquity… So volunteers and lovers of antiquity, such as the artist Viktor Zhuravlev, decided to revive the ancient crafts, and new workshops were opened at the monastery. As the masters recalled:

“The first step in reviving the workshops themselves and the art of wood carving was to gather material. We had to go around to museums and churches and monasteries. Then, with this theoretical material, we began to slowly study books, to deepen our skills and knowledge in carving, and in iconography. Everything started from scratch, from a clean slate.”

Speaking of the distinctive features of the work of the Orsha carvers, Viktor Zhuravlev explained to journalists:

“When the Kuteino masters were working in the seventeenth–eighteenth centuries, they were mainly famous for the so-called Frazhsky, Western style. This carving, completed in large volumes, was more like floral ornamentation, and it was very ‘fancy shmancy,’ as they say now.”

Pilgrim’s view

The modest but homely church of Kuteino Monastery was for many years my place of pilgrimage when I would visit my parents in Orsha. My mother and I have gone to services there many times, and my daughter was baptized there, and we had a good relationship with Igumen Sergei (Konstantinov), who was the abbot of the monastery from 2005 to 2018; especially after I shot a program about the history of the ancient monastery with a crew from Belarusian TV in 2008.

Already 400 years have passed since the founding of Kuteino… Sergei’s mother and father are no longer alive, but the Church of the Holy Trinity is still standing, and prayer still flickers in this place, like a lampada before icons. I remember, fifteen years ago, Fr. Sergei noted in a TV interview:

All our troubles are because the people were separated from the faith for a long time. The time came when children started leading their parents to faith, which never happened before—faith was absorbed from your mother’s milk.

Now many people understand that it’s impossible to live without God. Therefore, we need a revival of the faith, and that’s possible only when there’s some kind of foundation—a guiding, driving force. I think monasticism can be such a force.

Igumen Nil (Podobed) And in this jubilee year for Kuteino Monastery, Abbot Nil (Podobed), who has been heading the monastic community for the past five years, expressed a similar idea about monasticism. When we met during one of my pilgrimages to Orsha, of course, I couldn’t help but ask him about what had changed in the monastery recently. But a lot has been said and written about it in the Belarusian media, which didn’t miss the landmark date for the monastery.

In my conversation with the abbot, the thing that impressed me most was when, leaving the conversation about his labors and plans for improving the monastery, Fr. Nil suddenly said, with monastic modesty, that he wasn’t particularly bothered by the fact that the monastery is on a much smaller scale now, quite unlike the former lavra, with just six inhabitants in all. Then he explained: “If we preserve monasticism, it will be the salt of this world, even with few monks.” Indeed, only a little salt is ever really needed—perhaps just a pinch—and it does its job. But if the salt has lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? (Mk. 9:50).

Of course, the times have changed over 400 years, and we ourselves and the conditions of our lives have changed. The comfort given by technological progress practically deprives us of the opportunity to imagine what the life of the monks was like in antiquity, what its asceticism was like—both internal and external.

Over the course of thirty years, periodically visiting Kuteino Monastery, I see what external changes are taking place on the territory. This modest monastic home is developing slowly. However, a lot has been done during the abbacy of Fr. Sergei and Fr. Nil. A stone bell tower was erected on the site of the one that was destroyed in the twentieth century. The carved iconostasis for the Holy Trinity Church was completed, and in July 2022, Bishop Euseby of Druts, vicar of the Vitebsk Diocese, celebrated the rite of the Great Consecration for it. In a partially preserved building of the seventeenth century, rooms were built for the celebration of the Sacrament of Baptism, a museum exposition, and a conference hall. The monastery runs a Sunday School and a library.

Abbot Nil with the brethren, spiritual father, and clergy of the monastery, 2023     

But the most important thing is still that which is invisible to the eye but felt by the heart—here the services are served daily; here incessant prayer burns; here live people who have chosen the path of the ascetic, monastic life. And I really want to believe that despite all the storms and temptations of our world, the salt of spiritual work will not lose its power and will not run low in this ancient, prayer-filled place—not now, not tomorrow, not a hundred years from now.

Holy Theophany-Kuteino Monastery, Orsha