Tag: Christianity

London, January 28, 2025

Photo: orthodox-europe.org     

Hierarchs, clergy, and faithful of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia came together for the patronal feast day of the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in London on Sunday.

Joining the His Grace Bishop Nektarije, newly enthroned hierarch of the Serbian Diocese of the United Kingdom, were His Grace Bishop Ilarion of Novo Brdo, vicar of the Serbian Patriarch, and His Grace Bishop Irenei of London and Western Europe of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, the ROCOR diocese reports.

The church was filled with Orthodox faithful, the majority of whom communed of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

At the end of the Liturgy, a slava—the Serbian Orthodox service in honor of patron saints—was celebrated by the hierarchs and clergy and sung by the people. Bp. Nektarije then presented Bp. Irenei with an icon of St. Sava in commemoration of his visit.

Photo: wp.com     

In turn, thanking his host for the fraternal celebration, Bp. Irenei congratulated Bp. Nektarije and expressed the Russian Orthodox diaspora’s joy at having an archpastor dedicated to the Serbian diaspora’s spiritual life in the British Isles and Ireland.

Bp. Irenei also spoke about the deep spiritual bond between the Russian and Serbian Churches, saying that since the 1917 Russian Revolution, when Serbian Orthodox Christians generously welcomed fleeing Russian believers, the two communities became profoundly interconnected, with the Serbian Church nurturing many Russian hierarchs and clergy in exile, including notable saints like St. John (Maximovitch) the Wonderworker. He also spoke of the numerous Apostles, martyrs, and ascetics who have also walked on British soil since Christianity’s earliest days, and including St. Nikolai of Žiča. He emphasized his desire to maintain this century-old brotherhood between the Russian and Serbian diasporas, offering his prayers and support for the new ministry.

Following his remarks, Bp. Irenei gave Bp. Nektarije an icon of St. John the Wonderworker that was blessed on the saint’s relics in San Francisco.

The hierarchs then attended a concert in honor of St. Sava featuring performances by the Serbian cathedral’s Sunday School students and guest artists, followed by a festive banquet shared with numerous parishioners.

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As a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church’s gospel choir, Trena Spurlock has sung the hymn “My Help” countless times.

But after the Eaton Fire, the words hit deeper.

Spurlock fled her home of 40 years with her dog, a Bible, and her late husband’s ashes before the blaze devoured her entire neighborhood in Altadena, home to a historically significant Black community.

While Spurlock copes with the tragedy, she finds herself repeating the words of the hymn, adapted from Psalm 121.

“It says, ‘I will lift up mine eyes to the hills’ and you know we are in the hills that burned,” said Spurlock. “Then it goes, ‘From whence cometh my help, My help cometh from the Lord.’ That means he’s not going to forget us. Beautiful.”

Even though the flames that killed at least 17 people in Altadena are no longer a threat, the loss of community lingers — particularly for the city’s African American residents, some of which are Catholic.

For decades, Altadena has been a diverse hamlet that boasted higher than average Black home ownership, thriving Black small businesses, and churches with ministries that specifically serve Black Catholics. But now, in the wake of such devastation, local leaders recognize Altadena faces a daunting challenge: retaining its identity in the face of a very real chasm between residents’ desire to stay, and the financial ability to stay.

Yet with faith there is hope, insists Deacon Charles Mitchell, who has been active in the post-Eaton Fire relief effort.

“Black Catholics are a strong group and we will survive this,” said Mitchell, who serves as a deacon of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Altadena and as treasurer of the Altadena/Pasadena Black Catholic Association. 

Still, Mitchell said, “we also know this isn’t going to be easy.” 

“The cost of housing has tremendously risen in the last 10 years … people may have to live nearby instead and that would really distort the history of Altadena,” said Mitchell. “We ask those not affected to do what you can to help, and as always we ask for the grace of God.”

Among those leading the drive is the LA Archdiocese’s African American Catholic Center for Evangelization (AACCFE). The nonprofit, which supports archdiocesan churches with predominantly Black parishioners, recently announced the launch of the Altadena Wildfire Victims Fund.

The idea arose organically at this year’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast, held the same week that the fires started, when someone picked up a vase and attendees started dropping in donations. By the time the event was over, $2,000 was raised. AACCFE leaders say they’re aiming to raise around $10,000 before offering grants.

“Once the quick relief money is gone and the insurance money comes up short, we want to help people,” said AACCFE director Anderson Shaw. “We want them to remodel, rebuild, and buy in Altadena. … If everyone leaves, the community structure starts to collapse.”

That’s a future that Spurlock said she cannot bear. Her family has been active in local Catholic circles since the 1950s. As a child, she attended both Sacred Heart Church and Primary School then went on to St. Andrew High School in Pasadena. Her two children, now adults, attended St. Elizabeth’s School. After much prayer, the retired educator said she’ll rebuild the home she shared with her son.

“Black Catholics are very rare,” said Spurlock. “So when you find a community that understands you, has the capacity to worship the way you’re used to, and has the same values, you want to stay connected, you want to go to church … I’m not walking away.”

Before the wildfire, Altadena had a Black population of 18% and a Black home ownership rate of more than 80%, about double the national average. The suburb grew in diversity following the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which banned racial discrimination in mortgage lending known as “redlining.”

Dr. Horace Williams remembers those days. The retired pharmacist fought for equity in housing as a member of the Catholic Human Relations Council. He’s concerned about losing what he so passionately fought for: middle-class neighborhoods for African American families.

“Real estate speculators are coming in with good offers and getting the properties. They’ll be turned into expensive homes,” lamented Williams. “The community will be changed. … We need to put people ahead of profits.”

Shaw is also concerned about bigotry from the very agencies that are supposed to protect homeowners.

“There is some bias in the system,” said Shaw. “People make it more difficult for [African Americans] to qualify for monies. Insurance companies specifically will try to find reasons to deny them everything they need.”

That’s where advocates like Edwina Clay come in. As President of the Altadena/Pasadena Black Catholic Association and The Knights of St. Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary, she’s providing friendship and guidance to her fellow evacuees.

“I’m calling people, asking them what they need, then sending them in the right direction,” said Clay, whose apartment was damaged by high winds. “We pray things are going to happen the way [officials] say they’re going to happen, but in all honesty, who knows? There’s some things we’re going to have to do on our own.”

Rebuilding the Black community is not only important for its members but important for the wider community including his parish, said Father Gilbert Guzman, pastor of Sacred Heart. 

“African Americans have a rich spiritual history,” explained Guzman. “They continue those traditions through Gospel music … by celebrating Black History Month and Kwanzaa. They make a unique contribution here and are very strong in their presence.”

Deacon Mitchell said that will never change.

“For those of us who remain, we will continue our traditions. Even if our numbers lessen, our faces, our activities, our involvement will be seen.”

To learn more and donate to the Altadena Wildfire Victims Fund, visit aaccfe.org.

    

It’s up to every man whom he will end up with, with God or not. And as the father of a sick child exclaimed in the Gospel: Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief (Mk. 9:24), so we cry: “Lord, help my unbelief!” And God helps. But still, you have the last word on where you go, whom you follow, whether you’ll hold onto the Lord or let Him go.

We’re approaching our last hour, we’re preparing for eternity, and in the last moment, it will be revealed to us how much we trust God, how much we fear death, how much we’re terrified and cowardly; or death is for us just a moment through which we’ll pass and enjoy Christ in the Kingdom of Heaven in fullness of our inner humanity…

Delight thyself in the Lord; and He shall grant thee the requests of thine heart (Ps. 36:4). Delight in the Lord in prayer, in Confession, in Communion, in reading spiritual books, at home, in church, at work, on the street—wherever you are, delight in the Lord. Don’t be afraid! Don’t just worship, don’t just fulfill the commandments, don’t just be a religious person, but delight in it. If you delight in the Lord, you’ll be a different person and you’ll understand what God is for you and what you are for Him. This delight in the Lord is the beginning of love.

A man who delights in God can no longer sin; he cannot and he does not want to lose God: He watches himself carefully and doesn’t allow thoughts of little faith, cowardice, doubt, anxiety, fear… Indeed, a fearful man is unreliable for the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, if we learn to lose ourselves in prayer, in the services, if we learn to open ourselves to God in some way, then everything will be for us as it was for the saints. Then we’ll be able to feel the angelic state and the Kingdom of Heaven, which is within us, and we’ll be able to experience completely different stages of our deification. This is a very important point.

You can read the prayer rule, canons and akathists, but still not understand that in prayer we first connect with God, and only then do we ask for all the rest. First we connect with God and then we thank Him. First we connect with God, and this connection itself gives us happiness and the fullness of being, to which we’re called. This is exactly what the Lord expects of us. This is spoken about in both the Old and New Testaments, and in the traditions of our Church, and in the lives of the saints. This is what the Lord says about it: “Be with Me and I’ll be with you. Love Me with all your heart and soul, because there’s no other way for you to exist, otherwise you’ll spend your whole life in vain.”

Help us, Lord, to know this, to remember this, to open ourselves to You, to dissolve ourselves in You, to delight in You and to doubt nothing.

“The horror of the extermination of millions of Jews and people of other faiths” before and during World War II “can neither be forgotten nor denied,” Pope Francis said.

After reciting the Angelus prayer Jan. 26 with visitors in St. Peter’s Square, the pope drew their attention to the following day’s commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

“Eighty years have passed since the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp,” the pope noted. Soviet troops liberated the camp Jan. 27, 1945. The Auschwitz-Birkenau camp complex was the largest of the Nazi work and death camps; an estimated 1.1 million of the more than 6 million victims of the Holocaust died there.

Pope Francis urged people to seek out and listen to the stories of the survivors of the Shoah, and he recommended Italians watch a program featuring his friend, the Hungarian poet Edith Bruck on television that night.

On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, he said, “I renew my appeal for everyone to work together to eradicate the scourge of antisemitism, along with all forms of discrimination and religious persecution.”

Pope Francis also remembered the many Christians, including martyrs like St. Maximilian Kolbe, who were killed at Auschwitz and other Nazi camps.

“Let us build a more fraternal, more just world, together,” he said. “Let us educate young people to have a heart open to all, following the logic of fraternity, forgiveness and peace.”

Pope Francis also used his Angelus address to appeal for an end to the fighting that began in Sudan last April as a power struggle between two generals.

The conflict, the pope said, “is causing the most serious humanitarian crisis in the world, with dramatic consequences in South Sudan, too.” The United Nations reported Jan. 21 that more than 1 million people fleeing the violence have crossed into South Sudan.

“I am close to the peoples of both countries, and I invite them to fraternity, solidarity, to avoid any kind of violence and not to allow themselves to be exploited,” the pope said. “I renew my appeal to those who are at war in Sudan for them to put an end to hostilities and to agree to sit at the negotiating table.”

Pope Francis also asked the international community “to do all it can to get the necessary humanitarian aid to the displaced people and to help the belligerents find paths to peace soon.”

Mt. Athos, January 28, 2025

Photo: offnews.bg     

The abbot of Zographou, the Bulgarian monastery on Mt. Athos, reposed in the Lord yesterday after a brief illness.

Schema-Archimandrite Ambrose, who had lived and labored on the Holy Mountain since 1981, had served as abbot of Zographou since 1997. He was 85 years old.

“Archimandrite Ambrose will remain in the Church’s memory as a zealous monk, a spiritually gifted clergyman, and a wise mentor to many on the path of faith,” writes the press service of the Bulgarian Patriarchate.

Fr. Ambrose was among those Athonite abbots who took an Orthodox stance on the Ukrainian question, Athos abbots refuse to serve with monks from monasteries that recognize Ukrainian schismaticsThe monks aren’t heretics, but Abbot Nikodemos considers that they have concelebrated with schismatics and so are not welcome to serve at Philotheou, he told them.

“>refusing to serve with the schismatics or even the Athonites who have served with them. In the Zographou Monastery (Mt. Athos) supports Metropolitan Onuphry and Ukrainian ChurchMost recently, the abbot and brotherhood of Zographou Monastery, the Bulgarian monastery on Mt. Athos, sent a letter of support to His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine.”>spring of 2023, he wrote a letter of support to the persecuted Metropolitan Onuphry of Kiev and All Ukraine.

A memorial Divine Liturgy for Fr. Ambrose was celebrated by the hierarchs of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church at the St. Nedelya Metropolitan Cathedral this morning.

May Fr. Ambrose’s memory be eternal!

***

Archimandrite Ambrose was born on November 10, 1939, in the village of Novakovo, Asenovgrad Province. He began his spiritual path from early childhood.

He graduated from a woodworking technical school, and subsequently completed the five-year course at the Sofia Theological Seminary.

In 1973, he entered Bachkovo Monastery as a novice, and four years later, in 1977, he took monastic vows. In 1981, he departed for the Zographou Monastery on Mount Athos.

On April 21, 1997, he was ordained a hierodeacon, and two days later a hieromonk. On the same day, he was enthroned as abbot of Zographou.

On August 7, 2007, he took the Great Schema.

During his time, Zographou Monastery developed its cultural and educational activities, and hundreds of Orthodox books were published, including saints’ lives, Patristic literature, and publications on current and contemporary issues. Thanks to the intensive work of Archimandrite Ambrose and the monastery brotherhood, part of the holy monastery that had been damaged by a severe fire was restored, a new building for pilgrims was constructed, and a new library was established.

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Over the past few days, a cult has sprung up at Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank.

At the base of the Big Boy statue’s feet is a shrine of sorts. There are the usual flowers and prayer candles nestled there, but also cans of Coca-Cola; packs of cigarettes, coffee mugs, stray donuts, owl figurines, and a few chocolate milkshakes to-go that are now rancid under the unforgiving Burbank sun. It’s a scene that at first glance might be mistaken for a pagan offering to appease the little cherub’s wrath. 

Clever readers (or at least those familiar with “Twin Peaks,” which is often the same thing) can tell by the offerings that this is a tribute to filmmaker/painter/general renaissance man David Lynch, who died at 78 on Jan. 15. Lynch was known for drinking a milkshake almost every day at this diner while he wrote, which explains its new status as a pilgrimage site. 

Lynch is a difficult man to eulogize: his fans already know whatever I could share, and there’s no quick access point for novices. Even for his fans, Lynch was an open book written in a handwriting we couldn’t decipher. In a famous exchange, he once told an interviewer that his debut film “Eraserhead” was his most spiritual film. When asked to expand upon that, he politely yet flatly refused. 

The easy, if incomplete, answer is to say Lynch was a surrealist. He had the privilege (or curse) of having his name immortalized as an adjective in his own lifetime, making it into the Oxford dictionary, which associates “Lynchian” with “juxtaposing surreal or sinister elements with mundane, everyday environments” and “compelling visual images to emphasize a dreamlike quality of mystery or menace.” This will have to do for now.

Lynch earned this reputation with films like “Blue Velvet” and his television show “Twin Peaks,” where the folksiness of small town America collided with utter depravity, beset by evils from both sides of the white picket fence. His so-called “Hollywood trilogy” (“Lost Highway,” “Mulholland Drive,” “Inland Empire”) follows a similar thesis, contrasting the celluloid dreams of Los Angeles with bitter realities and almost cosmic horrors lurking in the hills. Lynch was a man who spent most of his adult life in Los Angeles, something he never forgave himself for. 

It’s easy to presume that Lynch was cynic. But the most endearing aspect of Lynch was how pure he was in his oddity and how odd he was in his purity. He really did love Americana; blue jeans and slicked hair, soda fountains, Roy Orbison and, yes, milkshakes. In one video, Lynch mists up while analyzing a clip from “It’s a Wonderful Life.” What’s funny is that he chose the clip himself, even when he saw it coming he couldn’t help but give himself over entirely. 

Lynch also believed in such trifles like family and friendship, which is why he spent most of his films trying to destroy them. To Lynch, these things above all else held power, and threats to them were the only story that mattered. They were the bulwark against the forces of evil, and if they were broken (or, God forbid, infiltrated) then nothing stood in the path of destruction. A character in his “Twin Peaks” once said his greatest fear was that Love was not enough, a thought that haunts the rest of his work. 

I’ve attended screenings of his films where the audience, uncertain at how to respond to moments of such unblinking sincerity, resorted to laughter until the coast was clear. They munched popcorn throughout his violence yet shifted uncomfortably in their seats when the synth strings swelled in a love theme. There was another interviewer who asked Lynch what the frequent use of angels meant in his films. He refused to accept Lynch’s answer — repeated several times —  that they were just angels and that he believed in them. It was the quintessential Lynch experience: to be directly told the answer and still not comprehend it. 

Lynch’s belief in angels doesn’t mean he was a Christian. As with most things involving him, it’s rarely that simple. Lynch was a proponent of Transcendental Meditation, and even started a charity dedicated to it. Lynch always looked further east for his spirtual needs, favoring the dualist and indecipherable over the specifics of Abrahamic faith. 

His work could perhaps properly be understood as the marriage between Western kitsch and Eastern spirituality. At his core Lynch was a believer; it was an expansive theology which held space for angels, Tao, tulpas, llamas, astral projection, and the kitchen sink. He favored something over nothing, yet something meant everything. 

But amid all that indiscriminate dogma, he also found room for one of the most Christian scenes I’ve ever seen on TV. It takes place in “Twin Peaks,” where a military man runs into his delinquent son at a diner. Instead of fighting once more, the father invites his son to sit down. 

At the booth, he tells him of a vision he had the previous night, which he stresses is not the same as a dream. In it he saw a beautiful palazzo and his son inside it, finally joyful and free of what drove him from his true self. The son, up to this point the worst sort of lowlife, unexpectedly embraces this pure unadulterated grace, nearly in tears at his reprieve. His father then offers his hand, wishing him “nothing but the best in all things.” It is ridiculous, melodramatic, contrary to everything we knew about the characters before, absurd to its very marrow. I watch it on YouTube every two days. 

Before I departed the Big Boy shrine, I left two offerings of my own: an old Lenten palm cross I didn’t have the heart to burn, and a serenity prayer card. Serenity is a common cause for whatever direction your spirituality faces, whether East or West. In any case, I have good hope that the only direction Lynch is moving in right now is up.

    

This story happened not so long ago. My son had to take a biology exam to be admitted to college. We believed it would be in the fall; my son quietly took lessons with a biology teacher, but it turned out that the exam was scheduled for June 1. We learned about it too late, and my son did not have time to prepare well.

On June 1 Georgia celebrates the feast of The Life of St. Nina, Equal to the Apostles and Enlightener of GeorgiaSt. Nina was born in Cappadocia and was the only daughter of pious and noble parents—the Roman general Zabulon, a relative of the great martyr St. George, and Susanna, sister of the patriarch of Jerusalem. When St. Nina was twelve years old, she traveled with her parents to the holy city of Jerusalem.

“>St. Nino (also Nina), the enlightener of the country.¹ The day before and on the feast itself, the cross of St. Nino Equal-to-the-Apostles, with which she came to Georgia to preach Christianity, is brought out for veneration in the ancient Sioni Cathedral in the center of Tbilisi.

After running all day long collecting the documents for admission, at the last moment we decided to go to the cross to pray before it so that my son might pass the exam, and to pray for my mother, who has been bedridden for six years after a severe stroke.

The cross was supposed to stay at the cathedral until nine in the evening. It was late, and on account of heavy traffic in the city we would not have had time to get there by public transport. Besides, we were in a hurry: we couldn’t leave my mother alone for a long time. We decided to call a taxi, but it did not arrive. We tried to stop a car, but it didn’t work either. Taxi drivers understood our desire to travel to the cathedral on that day, as St. Nino is deeply venerated in Georgia, but no one wanted to go to the city center at that hour because of the terrible congestion.

Photo: Rutraveler.ru Finally, one taxi driver agreed to pick us up, but warned us that we wouldn’t make it in time anyway. Nevertheless, we resolved to go, thinking that even if we were late, we would just pray at Sioni Cathedral in front of St. Nino’s icon. And a miracle occurred—we were not stuck in traffic on the way and reached the cathedral so quickly that the driver himself was very surprised! “Saint Nino herself must have helped you today,” he said. We had arrived ten minutes before the shrine with St. Nino’s cross was closed for pilgrims, prayed and were even able to stand for a while at the prayer service that began later.

And when we returned home, I was so amazed to see that my mother was smiling at us so joyfully—a state I had not seen her in for ages! And the next day, after seeing my son off to the exam and still worrying about its result, I decided to go to the nearest church, two stops from the college, and pray more. The church stands on a small hill: I had always seen it, but had never been there before. As I started to walk up I asked passersby if it was active, but to my chagrin it turned out that the church was not completed and services were not celebrated in it yet. I ventured to go anyway, especially since I was already not far from it. When I was almost there, a huge figure of St. Nino suddenly appeared in front of me, standing with a cross against the background of mountains and clouds, as if blessing our city. I stopped, startled!

I had seen this sculpture² before, but from below it had seemed small to me and had not impressed me much; but here, just a few yards away from me, the saint stood as if alive, and seemed to be blessing not only Tbilisi, but also me! The church was closed—it could be seen even from below—but now I no longer needed to walk up to it. St. Nino herself told me who I should pray to on that day. Calm and confidence gradually appeared in my soul that everything would be fine. And so it happened. When I returned to the college, my son told me that he had passed the exam successfully.

All that time my spiritual sister Veronica had been praying for my dear son, and then she told me her story of St. Nino’s help.

In the 1990s, when she was just beginning to integrate into Church life, Veronica wanted to live in a convent, if only for a while. At that time she was a parishioner of the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Tbilisi, and an elder of Glinsk Monastery, Archimandrite Philaret (Kudinov; 1927–2017), who served there, blessed her for this, asking a choir member of this church to help her. Together they went to St. Olga’s (originally St. Catherine’s) Convent, situated near Mtskheta.

At that time, there were only a handful of elderly nuns left at the convent, who advised her to travel to Samtavro Convent where there were many pilgrims, and services were held regularly. So they both went there, but the abbess came out to them and said she could only accept Veronica with the Patriarch’s blessing. My friend was very upset. Then one nun, who came from Pyukhtitsa Convent, advised her not to worry, but to go to the Church of St. Nino, located on the territory of the convent, and ask the saint for help.

Photo: Tourister.ru     

This church is special. When St. Nino came to Georgia to preach Christianity, she stayed at this place, where a small church was built in the seventeenth century, which is considered to be the oldest in Georgia. It is called “Makvlovani” because of a blackberry bush that grew beside the church, since the Georgian for “blackberry” is “makvali”.

My friend went there and began to pray fervently, and St. Nino answered her petitions and helped her. Two weeks later Veronica was able to stop at the convent in the village of Foka (Poka), in Samtskhe Javakheti, on Lake Paravani, which was still under construction. There she was surprised to learn that the convent was dedicated to St. Nino and was built on the site where the saint stayed on her way from Cappadocia to Georgia. On this place stands the eleventh century Church of St. Nino. At that time, there were only four nuns living there, who welcomed the pilgrim and she was able to stay there for several weeks. During this time, my friend became very strong in her faith and subsequently became a true believer, an Orthodox Christian. Afterwards she often came there, bringing food and other help for the convent. And Veronica always cordially thanked St. Nino, who had answered her prayers and helped her!

Presbyter Branko Zelen Fr. Branko serves in Zemun at the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God. He spends most of his days preaching—his church receives many visitors. Sometimes he catches a little rest and has a chat with his parishioners. He may sound like he’s joking, but if you look in his eyes you know that despite his jolly demeanor he has bigger fish to fry…

It all started of course with smiles and mutual friendly teasing with Ivan: You know, when I die, you’d better make sure I have a coffin with speakers for music! And have a halo painted on my portrait, and… don’t you dare forget the wings, or I’ll just quit… What do you mean, you’re first in line to die? No way, that wasn’t the deal! And give me my coffee. Don’t you see that guy’s waiting?” Kind-hearted conversations with parishioners salted by a good dose of Serbian humor are a good thing, really! “That guy” is actually Ivan’s godson Alexander from Mongolia, who hasn’t been to confession for a while, and apparently he’s learned and seen a lot during his time spent with his godfather.

It is never late, even in adulthood, to learn that what is most important is in Christianity, and to be reminded about those things. And God obviously uses every opportunity to deliver such reminders. So, meeting someone like Fr. Branko, who seems so light-hearted and full of joy, is one such opportunity to remember.

“Little Christ”

Fr. Branko relates:

I am not from this area, I am originally from Herzegovina, I was born and lived not far from Mostar. What? You’ve been there? A beautiful town, isn’t it? I was born in a village nearby. We once had a telephone line finally installed there, a single line for the whole village. That was something, I must say! The villagers used it maybe once a week, but it would be the talk of the village. Because without it, it would be: “Hi, neighbor, how’s it going?” often shouted across the whole village—but with this phone you could talk to someone as far away as Belgrade. I tell you, a massive-scale event! Nowadays we can’t talk like normal people without staring at the screen; but before, we could openly talk and look into each other’s eyes; we even used normal language and not some lingo.

We had a wonderful life there: Orthodox, Catholics, and Muslim. We visited each other during our festivals, played football till we dropped and sang songs

All in all, we had a wonderful life there: Orthodox, Catholics, and Muslims. We visited each other during our festivals, played football till we dropped and sang songs. I served in the army, and I made the decision to become a priest while still serving in the army—but dear me, how one Captain had it in for me because of this! All sorts of insults, calling me a “little Christ”, and all that, especially when I refused to stay in the army any longer than was required of me. But yes, they promised much for that. Oh well! I became a priest anyway.

A walk to the execution site

Then came the war. Our country broke apart. The Serbs were slaughtered. I mean this literally. Do you know who threw us under the Croatian Ustase? Our dear fellow villagers—the ones with whom we sang songs, played football, and had birthday parties together! And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household (Matthew 10:36). They turned us in and we were shut up in a concentration camp. Well, it was more like a torture camp as there were about forty of us standing in a single cell. Awful stench. You don’t simply feel fear—it is verily imbedded in you. Slimy, disgusting fear. Once I came back to my senses one way or another, I said: “Brothers, let’s say east is that way. Let’s start praying now, got it?” At first, there were only a few who joined me, then there were more of us, and in the end, almost all present were praying, except for one or two. And I felt terribly sorry for those two, I tell you! One of them was a colonel of the Yugoslavian People’s Army, and so he simply couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that he is no longer being treated with due respect, and his former subordinates are jeering at him. How did this happen? It was only yesterday that they saluted him, bent double before him, caught his every word. But today—lo and behold: a “latrine,” a death row cell (that’s right, we ended up there!), shouts of “Kill the Serb!” And now some preacher is calling him to join in prayer… And so this wretch of a man died of horror.

We didn’t die, even though everything was heading in that direction. I was taken outside a few times—I mean, to be executed. Yes… But then Patriarch Pavle of Serbia Many already considered him a living saint, and after his repose, faith in the holiness of Patriarch Pavle is growing ever more and strengthening in the hearts of the faithful.

“>Patriarch Pavle, God bless his soul, managed by some miracle (although this was for him and Christ a way of life!) to make arrangements with the Croatians for a prisoner exchange. Do you know what the exchange rate was then? One Serbian priest to two Croatian pilots! So, they exchanged me. They took me to Belgrade, straight to the hospital. Naturally, I didn’t feel too well.”

Fr. Branko’s shame

There I was, lying in my hospital room, and at one moment I am told, ““I Should Kill You—You Know Communism Better Than Me!”Knowing about the veneration and love that the Orthodox faithful around the world have for Patriarch Pavle of Serbia, we invite readers to get acquainted with several recollections of this bright man, written by Archimandrite Jovan (Radosavlević), a contemporary, companion, and co-struggler with the late Patriarch.

“>Pavle himself is coming to see you, Fr. Branko.” Oh, I’m thinking to myself, here comes my chance to tell him everything I had on my mind. And I had a lot to unload after what had happened. So, I am preparing my speech. A fiery one.

The door opens, the Patriarch enters, small and stooped, but with clear eyes and a penetrating glance:

“Not all of us, Fr. Branko, are granted such an honor—to suffer for Christ’s sake. Not all of us my dear. Christ Is Risen!”

Inside the church where Fr. Branko serves He said it in such a way that my jaw dropped, and all my fiery words evaporated. In such cases every word languishes, with all the nouns, adjectives, pronouns and interjections. What else can I say! Many tears were shed on his shoulder that day, yes! But later on, when I was driving Pavle to church, I made sure to drive him the long way around because I wanted so badly to spend as much time as possible with him and ask him questions. The poor man humbly submitted to my driving style and answered all of my questions, mostly naïve, of course.

Finally, we arrived at the Patriarchate. There was a very old elevator, maybe a hundred years old. So, we entered together. I weigh almost a hundred kilos, and the Patriarch, a real faster, is light as a feather. Pavle goes inside, and the lights in the elevator turn off with a zap. I burst in next and the lights—zap! and turn right back on from fright. His Holiness says,

“Listen, Fr. Branko, something’s unusual here. A sinful Patriarch enters and the lights turn off. A penitent enters and the lights turn right back on again.”

I stood there turning red from shame while the Patriarch just laughed.

The best parishioners ever!

Serb Ivan Ivanov and his godson Alexander from Mongolia Then I was assigned to serve in the Republic of Srpska in Banja Luka. As a new priest, I went to meet my parishioners. Or, rather prospective ones. So, I was walking around the town and then I rang a bell at one house. An old man opens the door; a tough nut to crack, he stands at almost two meters, his door-wide shoulders block the entrance. He looks askance. I say to him:

“Hello, I am Fr. Branko, rector of the church. Do you have anything to say to Christ?”

The old guy takes my mug and spits right into it. I just stood there and let it flow. But what can you say in such case? But then I was given proof of Christ’s words: Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist (Luke 21:14–15). I heard myself saying:

“Alright, I understand, this was for me, and quite rightly so. But what about saying something to Christ?”

Something dropped to the floor behind the old man. It was his old wife, who had seen everything, and when she heard my answer she dropped to her knees. The old man changed color and backed away. Then, bam! he also dropped to his knees, grabbed my hand and kissed it:

“Forgive me, father! Forgive me, a fool!”

You know, I never had better parishioners at my church and I still remember them with love and gratitude. They always helped with everything they had, attended services, supported others, took care of our church—simply outstanding Christians. Such are our miracles. Or is this just ordinary Christian life? What do you think? I think that a miracle is actually a pretty ordinary thing, right? Ivan! Ivan Ivanov! So, where is that coffee, after all?”

An ordinary thing in our neck of the woods

Fr. Branko Zelen “Yes, now about the coffee. Do you remember the officer who was chasing me for being Orthodox? So, a zillion or more years later, I went to a bank in Belgrade. People were standing in line. I came up to the window and beyond it is the smiling face of a woman. I say my name, such and such, I want to receive my pension. She stares at me—no, she simply freezes.

“Wait, are you… a priest?”

“Well, yes, what’s the matter?”

“Father, like it or not I am not going to let you go! Do you remember so and so?” And she says the first and last name of that Captain.

“Sure I do.”

She shouts, “Wait a minute!”

Then she comes out and explains everything. It turns out that the Captain is her husband. He is, she says, on his deathbed. He’s a good person, but all his life he felt sorry about one thing: that long ago he chased away an Orthodox man named Branko Zelen.

“So now, father, I plead with you, and I am ready to do it on my knees: Go with me and see my husband—bring him consolation, please, and forgive him.”

Sure enough, I went with her. And the Captain simply lit up. He offered me coffee. He was lying on his bed, so full of joy. We spoke, of course. He asked me to forgive him:

“Forgive me, Fr. Branko!”

Of course I had forgiven him long ago. He confessed and received Communion:

“Now I am not afraid to die,” he said as he breathed a sigh of relief.

Soon afterwards he died, God rest his soul! A miracle is actually an ordinary thing. Especially in our Orthodox neck of the woods.

As I walk away from Fr. Branko I understand that the Sacred SerbiaIt would be difficult to express all my impressions of this “frontier” country, so I will provide only a brief summary of my “pilgrimage”.

“>beauty of Serbia isn’t necessarily all about its hills and mountains, rivers and waterfalls. The heavenly Serbia, like Holy Rus’, is truly real—you can see it if you look carefully. And I am sure that God will help you take a good look.

Photo: rg.ru Those who have read the Lives of holy martyrs know that they are often similar to each other, as if compiled according to the same plan. This is because during the era of persecutions a huge number of martyrs suffered for Christ, and it was impossible even for their contemporaries to collect information about the lives of each of them. Often the compiler of the Life of a particular martyr only knew that the person in question was a Christian, that he was arrested, demanded to renounce Christ, tortured and sentenced to death. In this the fate of all martyrs was similar. As a rule, other information simply did not exist, and therefore the biographies of the majority of Christians who suffered for the faith were written according to this plan.

In addition, often the only source where information about the life and especially the death of a particular martyr could be found was the so-called acts of martyrs—that is, records of Roman law enforcement agencies that tried and passed death sentences on Christians. Clearly, these acts were written in a dry legal language, written according to a certain template and did not differ much one from another. Consequently, it is another reason why the Lives of the martyrs that have come down to us are usually very similar.

By the way, there is another example in the history of the Church, much closer to our time. These are the Lives of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, who suffered from the godless authorities in the twentieth century. Their Lives are being compiled in our days, and they often have the same feature—they resemble each other and are built on the same pattern. First, their authors give brief information about the Life of a person, then they say that he was arrested, interrogated, sentenced to death, executed by shooting and buried in an unknown grave. The Lives of many New Martyrs are written according to this pattern. This happens for the same reasons—firstly, all the New Martyrs had the same fate as those repressed for their faith; and secondly, the source for their biographies is often the cases compiled by investigative authorities, which were always similar and of the same type.

The Life of the holy Martyr Tatiana, whose memory we are celebrating today, is also typical and similar to the Lives of many other martyrs of that era. We don’t know much about her earthly life. It is only known that Tatiana lived in Rome in the third century and came from a very noble family. Her father held the high position of consul three times. He was a secret Christian and raised his daughter in piety and the fear of God. From childhood St. Tatiana led a pure Christian life in prayer, Divine contemplation, studying the Holy Scriptures. When she came of age, she refused to marry, wishing to preserve her virginity and remain a bride of Christ.

After yet another violent change of power in Rome, the persecution of Christians was unleashed. They were seized, tried, tortured, and put to death. St. Tatiana was arrested among many others. She was ordered to renounce Christ and subjected to inhuman tortures and torments. Having endured everything with unparalleled fortitude, the holy martyr was beheaded by the sword. Her father suffered for Christ together with her, and before his execution he had been deprived of all his state titles, awards and property. That’s how the father and the daughter ended their earthly lives.

When we read short accounts of their lives, we wonder: Where did these people get the courage to be able to endure all the torments they were subjected to? Especially St. Tatiana, since she was still a young maiden from a wealthy and noble family, absolutely unaccustomed to the horrors of dungeons and tortures of executioners. How could she stand it?

Indeed, it is impossible to endure this with human strength—a trial like this is beyond human nature. However, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God (Lk. 18:27), and if He comes to the aid of His faithful suffering children, He gives them the strength to overcome their own nature. After all, God is the Lord of all created things, and the laws of all nature are in His hands. Can He not do what is considered impossible by natural laws? The grace of the Holy Spirit, touching the martyrs, enabled them not only not to fear the most terrible torments, but also to rejoice in them and desire them. It ensured that their fervent love for Christ did not fade from their agony, but flared up even more strongly. It was the sacred madness of love, a complete triumph and victory over the world and the laws of human nature. All the powers of darkness, and even death itself, fled far from the flame of this love, because it is known that the bodies of many martyrs remained incorrupt after their deaths—that is, unsubordinated to the universal law of decay and death.

Thus, the cause of the superhuman feat of the martyrs is in the help sent down to them from God and in the presence of the grace of God. However, one more question should be asked here: where did they acquire such great Grace, and why did God give it to them? The answer can be found in the previous lives of these people. Before their sufferings for Christ, the martyrs had led lofty Christian lives, and therefore they were worthy to receive extraordinary Grace, mercy, and help from God. That is, they had prepared themselves for the fiery ordeal they were destined for it in advance, long before it. The words of Christ about the house built on a rock were fulfilled on these people: Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it (Mt. 7:24–27). The martyrs built the house of their souls on the unshakable foundation of their holy and righteous lives, and therefore their house withstood when the storms of trials fell upon it.

Thus, brothers and sisters, let us learn an important lesson from the Lives of the holy martyrs: A person who leads a life according to the commandments of Christ attracts the grace of God and His help, and therefore, during trials, God gives him the strength to endure them. We don’t know what awaits us in the future. Times are changeable, and it is very likely that the persecution of the Church will be repeated. But even if it doesn’t affect us, none of us is immune from other tribulations—sorrows, illnesses, social upheavals, wars, and the like. If we have to go through them, do we have the strength to endure them worthily, bravely and as befits Christians? It is obvious that our strength alone will not be enough for us in great trials, but then we will need the all-powerful help of God. Whom is this help given to?

First of all, it is given to those who are close to God, who live according to His commandments. We know from the Gospel that God does not listen to sinners, but He listens to those who honor God and fulfil His will. Therefore, we can attract God’s help in our trials with nothing but our previous pure Christian lives. As St. Isaac the Syrian wrote: “When temptation overtakes the iniquitous man, he has no confidence wherewith to call upon God, nor to expect salvation from Him, since in the days of his ease he stood aloof from God’s will. Before the war begins, seek after your ally; before you fall ill, seek out your physician; and before grievous things come upon you, pray, and in the time of your tribulations you will find Him, and He will hearken to you. Before you stumble, call out and make supplication… Noah’s Ark was built in a time of peace, and its timbers were planted by him a hundred years beforehand. In the time of wrath, the iniquitous perished, but the Ark became the shelter for the righteous man.”¹

So, brothers and sisters, God’s help in the dark times of trials is given to those who were faithful to God when there were no trials yet. If you do not abandon God in time of prosperity, God will not forsake you in sorrows and adversity. In the Gospel Christ, warning people about the final fiery trial before His Second Coming, says: Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation (Mt. 26:41). To “watch and pray” means to lead a pure Christian life. Let us obey this instruction of our Lord and Savior. For if we fulfill it, we will be like a house built on an unshakable foundation, which no storms, floods, earthquakes, or other unavoidable troubles and trials in this world can harm. Amen.

    

This Sunday is called the Sunday After Illumination, or a Sunday on which we mustn’t be involved in any usual, mundane, or earthly affairs, but rather work on the salvation of our soul; after Illumination, that is, after the Baptism of the Lord, which was and is called Illumination because through Baptism God gives spiritual light to our souls, the light of knowledge of God and piety, which is signified by the lampadas or wax candles lit at the font and the candles burning in the hands of the Godparents.

This spiritual, incorrupt, eternal light communicated to our souls is Christ our God Himself, the true Light that enlightens every man that comes into the world. Spiritual darkness is sin—the culprit and author of sin is the prince of darkness, the devil, who darkens and seduces mankind with sin, teaches every sin, and draws man to eternal destruction.

In accordance with the meaning of this Sunday, the Gospel read at Liturgy is about the coming of Jesus Christ from the city of Nazareth, where He lived and was raised, to pagan Galilee, to people who were sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, and about their enlightenment, as foretold by the Prophet Isaiah 700 years before the coming of Christ into the world, saying: The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up (Mt. 4:15-16, Is. 9:1-2). Since spiritual enlightenment comes through sincere repentance of our sins, which are truly eternal darkness and eternal torment, the Lord Who settled in this land of darkness and the shadow of death began to preach, saying: Repent: for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand (Mt. 4:17).

Thus, true repentance drives away the sinful darkness, sin, and the author of sin—the devil—who lives and reigns in the hearts of sinners. And it establishes the Kingdom of Heaven in the hearts of believers and penitents—the kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, the Kingdom of Christ.

This is the content and meaning of today’s Gospel. It speaks about our spiritual illumination, about repentance of sins, about how, with the coming of Christ God to earth, the Kingdom of Heaven is close to us now—the kingdom of grace, which is the His Church; this kingdom of grace on earth, in which we’re given all Divine power for life and piety (2 Pet. 1:3). Therefore, today’s word should be about Christian enlightenment. Are we all enlightened Christians? Do we all live in constant, sincere repentance, like eternal sinners who are subject to God’s judgment, or do we add sins to sins? Do we diligently try to do the good deeds for which we were created, or are we vain and petty, chasing after the dreams of our heart?

I’ve asked myself and you these questions in order to show that true Christian enlightenment consists in knowing yourself, or in knowing who we are and what our purpose is, what we were in the beginning when we were created by God, what we became after sin, and what we absolutely must become. Further, true Christian enlightenment consists of sincere and active repentance and not empty, formal, and false confession, which many of us perform perfunctorily every year on the appointed days, unaccompanied by the fruits of repentance—which are an amended life, works of righteousness, mercy, temperance, purity and holiness, and zealous striving for Christian perfection, according to Scripture: Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father Which is in Heaven is perfect (Mt. 5:48).

Further, to show that true Christian enlightenment consists not solely in education or the study of various sciences concerning the earth and what’s on earth, or the heavens and celestial mechanics, and not even in the study of Christian theology proper. Because you can be both educated and a theologian yet not have true enlightenment in your soul. You can even be, as happens in practice, completely darkened by the passions. Christian enlightenment consists in the illumination of the eyes of the heart by the light of the Gospel of Christ; in distancing ourselves, with the help of the grace of Christ through repentance and prayer, from all the darkness of the passions; from guile, unbelief, self-love, conceit, malice, pride, anger, hatred, envy, condemnation of others, cruelty and greed; from idleness and vanity, or from the pernicious art of whiling away and killing time, in gambling and various spectacles like theaters and circuses, for example; from unrighteousness and covetousness; from an impure adulterous life; from reading empty books, which may contain a clever yarn, wordplay, and masterly language, but in their essence contain no edification and leave only regret over the time wasted on them.

Thus, Christian enlightenment, beloved brothers and sisters, consists in sincere faith in Christ, in self-knowledge, in sincere repentance and separation from evil, and in the constant pursuit of Christian virtue and perfection for the sake of eternal blessedness in and with God.

If you’ve come to know that you’re dust and ashes, that you’re the stench of sin, that you’re a sinner who’s always deserving of God’s punishment; if you’re gentle and simple-hearted, meek, humble in heart, peaceful and peace-loving, patient and self-denying; if you love the truth, if you stand for it despite unrighteousness; if you’re sincerely benevolent, merciful and compassionate; if you’re temperate, pure-hearted; if you respect purity and chastity; if you hate idleness and idle amusements and study the fulfillment of the Gospel day and night—that wise, life-giving, righteous, eternal science of sciences—then you possess an incorruptible Christian enlightenment and not an illusory, worldly one that disappears like a meteor; and you’re not far from the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of God is already within you (Lk. 17:21). May God grant that we attain this one day.

Amen.