Tag: Christianity

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order billed as “defending women from gender ideology extremism,” one that the White House says restores “biological truth to the federal government.”

Trump, who centered the transgender issue during much of his 2024 presidential campaign, signed the order on Monday, the first day of his return to the U.S. presidency.

“Across the country, ideologues who deny the biological reality of sex have increasingly used legal and other socially coercive means to permit men to self-identify as women and gain access to intimate single-sex spaces and activities designed for women, from women’s domestic abuse shelters to women’s workplace showers,” the executive orders states. “This is wrong.”

The executive order is sweeping in nature. Its application will include removing gender ideology guidance, communication, policies, and forms from governmental agencies. It explicitly affirms that the word “woman” means “adult human female.” And it orders that government identification like passports and personnel records must reflect biological reality and “not self-assessed gender identity.”

The order establishes a government-wide acknowledgement of the reality of biological sex, including the explicit assertion that there are only two sexes, male and female.

It also puts an end to the practice of housing men in women’s prisons and brings an end to the use of taxpayer money to fund “transitions” for prisoners.

Additionally, the order directs that the U.S. attorney general shall “issue guidance to ensure the freedom to express the binary nature of sex and the right to single-sex spaces in workplaces and federally funded entities covered by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”

At a rally in Washington, D.C., on Sunday prior to his inauguration, Trump told the crowd he also intends to “keep men out of women’s sports.”

Trump reverses Biden’s LGBT directives

The move is a stark reversal from former President Joe Biden’s directives on gender on his first day in office four years ago.

At that time Biden ordered the federal government to “review all existing orders, regulations, guidance documents, policies, programs, or other agency actions” in an effort to bolster transgender “rights.” Trump on Monday also formally rescinded Biden’s order.

Trump on Monday also rescinded rules set by Biden that withheld federal money from schools, including colleges, that failed to adhere to the government’s gender ideology.

The directives were hailed by conservatives on Monday.

“In a shocking return to normalcy, Trump’s first executive orders will rescind all of Biden’s orders promoting gender ideology and revert to regular human recognition of male and female,” wrote Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, on X ahead of the signing of the order.

Two senior administration officials framed the executive order in terms of protecting women, telling The Free Press: “Women deserve protections, they deserve dignity, they deserve fairness, they deserve safety. And so this is going to help establish that in federal policy and in federal laws.”

Trump made issues surrounding transgenderism central to his campaign, often remarking on the stump his desire to get “the transgender insanity“ out of schools and other areas of public life.

“Just take a look at the polling,” an administration official told The Free Press. “The public is broadly in favor of the president’s and of the Republican Party’s stance on gender. That there are two biological sexes is something that the public is supportive of.”

A New York Times/Ipsos poll, conducted between Jan. 2 and Jan. 10, found that 49% of respondents said that “society has gone too far in accommodating transgender people,” compared with 28% who believe society has struck a reasonable balance on the issue and 21% who believe society has not gone far enough.

Montgeron, France, January 21, 2025

Photo: mospat.ru     

The Russian and Serbian bishops of Western Europe concelebrated the Divine Liturgy on the feast of St. Seraphim of Sarov in a Paris suburb last week.

His Eminence Metropolitan Nestor of Korsun, Russian Orthodox Patriarchal Exarch of Western Europe and His Grace Bishop Justin of Western Europe of the Serbian Orthodox Church served the Liturgy at the St. Seraphim Church in Montgeron on September 15, reports the Diocese of Korsun.

Photo: cerkov-ru.com     

The hierarchs were concelebrated by the local rector Hieromonk Nikodim (Pavlinchuk) and other guest clerics.

The Liturgy was served in Church Slavonic, French, and Moldovan. At the end of the service, Met. Nestor addressed the congregation with a sermon dedicated to the life and veneration of St. Seraphim.

Photo: mospat.ru     

Then the archpastors, clergy, parishioners, and guests shared a fraternal meal.

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South Bound Brook, New Jersey, January 21, 2025

Photo: uocofusa.org     

Metropolitan Anthony of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA and Diaspora (Patriarchate of Constantinople), 77, has been hospitalized again.

He was previously hospitalized Metropolitan Anthony (UOC-USA) released from hospital on anniversary of his enthronementMetropolitan Antony, the Prime Hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA and Diaspora (Patriarchate of Constantinople) was released from the hospital on Friday, January 26, on the anniversary of his enthronement as UOC-USA primate.

“>last January and again Metropolitan Anthony (UOC-USA) hospitalized for second time this yearThe UOC-USA published a brief message from Archbishop Daniel of Pamphylion about Met. Anthony’s current hospitalization yesterday.”>in July in connection with an ongoing heart issue.

The UOC-USA’s Archbishop Daniel of Pamphylion issued a statement about Met. Anthony’s current hospitalization on Sunday:

It is with a pastoral heart that I write to you today to share the news that His Eminence, Metropolitan Antony, our beloved spiritual father and the Primate of our Holy Church, has been hospitalized due to heart-related health concerns. While his condition is stable, he remains under the care of dedicated medical professionals who are working diligently for his recovery.

As we face this moment together, I ask that each of us turns to the power of prayer, calling upon the Lord, our Divine Physician, for healing and restoration. Let us remember the words of the Apostle James: “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). United in faith, we are called to lift Metropolitan Antony in fervent prayer, asking God to strengthen his heart, body, and spirit.

Abp. Daniel also writes about how in challenging times, we must trust in God’s endless love and unite in prayer for Met. Antony, while encouraging the faithful to support one another and embody the same compassionate spirit that the UOC-USA primate has demonstrated throughout his ministry.

And the Archbishop calls on the UOC-USA flock to join in a prayer:

O Heavenly Physician, Lord Jesus Christ, we humbly beseech You to look upon Your servant, Metropolitan Antony, with Your merciful eyes. Grant him strength in body and peace in spirit, that he may continue to shepherd Your flock with wisdom and love. Guide the hands of those entrusted with his care, and may Your healing grace restore him to health. We entrust him to Your loving embrace, O Lord, for You are the source of life, hope, and peace. Amen.

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Photo: bigenc.ru Dear brothers and sisters, today we celebrate the second day of the most solemn feast of the Theophany

“>Theophany of the Lord. This day is called the Synaxis of the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John, because the first Christians would gather in church on the day after the feast of Theophany to praise the memory of St. John the Forerunner, who baptized our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. By his humility and zeal for the glory of God and the moral purity of his life he was vouchsafed to be the Forerunner and Baptist of the very Creator of Heaven and earth.

We know from Sacred Scripture that St. John the Forerunner was born miraculously by the prayers of the elderly Prophet Zachariah and Righteous Elizabeth, the Parents of St. John the ForerunnerSoon after the appearance of the archangel, Elizabeth conceived. At the birth of John the Baptist a miracle happened: Zachariah who had been stricken dumb after he questioned the archangel about this miraculous conceiving regained the gift of speech.

“>Sts. Zacharias and Elizabeth, who prayerfully implored God for a child. He was destined to pave the way for the coming Savior to be accepted on earth. During Herod’s massacre of the Bethlehem infants, St. John the Forerunner was hidden in the desert, where he remained until he turned thirty, when the voice of God called him to come forth with a call to repentance through baptism in the River Jordan. The people were baptized by St. John, confessing their transgressions. St. John called the people to repentance: “Repent,” he said, “for the Kingdom of God is at hand; it is with you; believe in the coming Messiah.” The purpose of his preaching and baptism was to reveal Christ the Savior to the people.

Therefore, today’s Gospel tells us that when St. John saw Jesus coming to him, he told the people: Behold the Lamb of God, Which taketh away the sin of the world. This is He of Whom I said, After me cometh a Man which is preferred before me: for He was before me. And I knew Him not: but that He should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from Heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him. And I knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon Whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God (Jn. 1:29–34). St. John the Forerunner calls Christ the Savior the Lamb, Who was imaged by the Old Testament lamb and the lamb foretold by the Prophet Isaiah. These brief words contain, in essence, an entire sermon, which is fully revealed in the Gospel. All Jews awaited the promised Savior, but they expected Him to be a great earthly king. Only St. John shows the people the true image of the Savior, Who has come to take the sins of the world upon Himself and to suffer for them. This image reminded the Disciples of the prophecy of Isaiah (Is. 33:1–7) where the Holy One of Israel is depicted humbly, as a lamb, grieving and suffering for our wickedness. Like the ancient prophets, St. John sees in the person of Jesus Christ both a King and sufferer, the ruler of the world and Redeemer of men by His blood…

    

The Baptism of The Lord

The Lord came to the Jordan and was baptized of John not because he was in need of that cleansing, but so that He might fulfill all that was attributable to human nature, which He had assumed, and to show that He had a true body and that he truly was an actual man. He did not want to transgress the law, and so answered: For thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness (Math. 3:15). It was for this reason that He entered into the waters of Baptism. But in so doing, He gave them incomparably more than He could receive from them, for he was in need of nothing. For with His light He illuminated those very waters, and gave them a certain special power by which those who believe on Him, entering the waters of Baptism, are clothed in this power, and are illuminated by Him.

Holy Hierarch Epiphanios of Cyprus

The waters of Baptism would never have had the ability to cleanse human sins, had they not been blessed by the touch of the Savior’s Body. Immersing Himself in the water, the Savior blessed the waters—the deep, and the source of all springs.

Holy Hierarch Ambrose of Milan

Why does the Church repeatedly bless water, when it has already been sanctified by the Baptism of the Son of God Himself?

We sinful people have been renewed through God’s grace, but until our death we continue to carry within us the seed of ancient sinful impurity. Thus, we remain capable of sinning, and thereby bringing impurity and corruption into the world around us. Therefore, our Lord Jesus Christ, having ascended to heaven, left us His living and life-giving Word: He granted believers the right to bring down upon earth the blessing of the Heavenly Father through the power of faith and prayer. He sent down the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, Which abides in the Church of Christ, so that the Church, despite the presence of the inexhaustible seed of sin and impurity in the human heart, might always have an inexhaustible source of sanctification and life.

Keeping this Commandment of the Lord, through the Holy Sacraments and prayer, the Holy Church sanctifies not only the person himself, but everything he uses in the world. In so doing, the Church puts a limit on the spread of sinful impurities and prevents the multiplication of disastrous consequences of our sins.

The Church sanctifies the earth, asking of God for the blessing of fertility, sanctifies bread which serves us as food, and water which quenches our thirst.

Without a blessing, without sanctification, would this perishable food and drink be able to sustain our life? It is not the growing of fruits that nourisheth man: but that it is Thy word, which preserveth them that put their trust in thee. (Wisdom of Solomon 16:26).

This is the source of the answer to the question of why the Church blesses water.

In sanctifying the waters, the Church returns to the element of water its original purity and holiness. By the power of prayer and the Word of God, the Church brings down upon it the blessing of the Lord and the grace of the Holy, Life-giving Spirit.

St. Thomas Aquinas was a champion of reason. He was a man whose philosophy was expressed in language precisely technical and ploddingly comprehensive.

For all this, however, he was not a rationalist. He was not Aristotle dressed up in priestly vestments. And he was definitely not a bore.

He was a priest of the 13th century, a member of the newly established Order of Preachers, the Dominicans. He was descended from the aristocracy of southern Italy. He was quiet and inclined to scholarly research and writing. For many years he taught theology at the University of Paris. He was a prolific writer, keeping multiple secretaries busy simultaneously with his dictation. He produced thousands of words per day of his adult life. His most famous work is his great, unfinished Summa Theologica (“Summary of Theology”), perhaps the most comprehensive systematic account of Christian theology ever attempted.

A quiet, humble man, he had epic and holy ambitions. In order to achieve them, he needed to observe the rigorous disciplines of philosophical theology. He had to be passionate about a language that very few people find exciting.

Still, I believe that Aquinas is fundamentally a biblical theologian. In fact, many of his biographers tell us that he would have described himself primarily as a teacher of Scripture.

As he himself said, “Our faith receives its surety from Scripture.” Why is Scripture so uniquely authoritative? Aquinas answers: “Because the author of Sacred Scripture is God, in whose power it is to accommodate not only words for expressing things, which even man is able to do, but also the things themselves.”

God “writes” the world, then, the way people write words. Thus, nature and history are more than just created things; they have more than just a literal, historical meaning. God fashions the things of the world and shapes the events of history as visible signs of other, uncreated realities, which are eternal and invisible. Aquinas says, “As words formed by man are signs of his intellectual knowledge, so are creatures formed by God signs of his wisdom.”

But because of sin’s blinding effects, the “book” of nature must be translated by the inspired Word of Scripture. Nature, since the fall, cannot be truly understood apart from Scriptures.

Consider his Treatise on Law. That treatise is interesting because, like many sections of the Summa, Aristotle is quoted often. But, when you total up the number of quotations, you find that 724 quotations are from Scripture and only 96 from Aristotle.

A contemporary and a fellow Dominican, Friar Bernard Gui, said in praising St. Thomas: “O happy soul whose prayer was heard by God in his mercy, who thus teaches us, by this example, to possess our questioning souls in patience, so that in the study of divine things we rely chiefly on the power of prayer!”

We honor him on his feast day this year, as every year, on Jan. 28.

I witnessed the fall
of one of the greatest empires
in the world.

Pierre Gilliard

Pierre Gilliard Pierre Gilliard, a citizen of Switzerland, served in the Court of Emperor Nicholas II for thirteen years as a tutor of French language to the Romanov Grand Duchesses and as a tutor to the Heir Alexei, thus living in close contact with the Tsar’s Family. He voluntarily followed the Tsar’s Family into exile, where he was one of its closest friends. He authored a book of memoirs called “Emperor Nicholas II and His Family”ⁱ where the personality of the Tsar, Tsarina, and the entire august family are portrayed in the extraordinary beauty of their nobility, loftiness, and humility.

“Peter Andreyevich Gilliard,” as he was called at Court, or—affectionately—“Zhilik,” was born on May 16, 1879 in Switzerland in the village of Fiez near Lausanne. His father, Edmond André David Gilliard, was a landowner and winemaker. His mother, Marie Milerb, a Frenchwoman, was born in Normandy and grew up in Switzerland. The couple had six sons and two daughters. In 1904, Pierre graduated from the Classical Literature department at the University of Lausanne and in the fall of the same year he accepted the invitation of Duke Sergei Georgievich of Leuchtenberg, an uncle to the Emperor Nicholas II, to go and teach the French language to his son in Russia. Being a young, strict, modest, and patient man, he proved to be a good teacher and a person of true integrity. The Royal family met Pierre Gilliard in Peterhof; the Duchess of Leuchtenberg and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna were close friends at that time, and at some point the tutor was introduced to the Royal family.

In September 1905, about a year after he took up an appointment as a tutor at the Duke of Leuchtenberg, Gilliard received an offer to teach French to the Emperor’s two eldest daughters, the Grand Duchesses Holy Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna Romanova (1895–1918)All those whose destinies crossed the paths in life of the Royal Family unanimously testified to the moral purity of the eldest Princess, her kindness, modesty, sensitivity, and sense of justice.

“>Olga and Holy Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna Romanova (1897-1918)“She is a Grand Duchess from head to toe; how aristocratic and royal she is! I feel without words that there is a whole closed and original world inside her.””>Tatiana. At the time, Olga was ten and Tatiana, eight years old. The Empress was present at their first lessons in order to check the quality of teaching. After several visits to the lessons, she was convinced that their new teacher was a talented pedagogue. Gilliard writes in his memoirs:

“As for my first few months there, I distinctly remember the extreme interest of the Empress, a mother fully devoted to her duty, to the upbringing and education of her children. To my utter surprise, instead of the arrogant, cold Tsarina I had heard so much about, I came to meet a woman who was genuinely devoted to her maternal duties.”

Pierre Gilliard with the Grand Duchess Olga in class   

Gilliard very quickly made friends with his eldest pupil Grand Duchess Olga who became his favorite. In his opinion, Tatiana was prettier than her sister, but she seemed rather absent-minded. Grand Duchesses Holy Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna Romanova (1899–1918)Maria spoke to her mother about faith and the Church more often than the other children and shared her religious experiences with her.

“>Maria and Holy Princess Anastasia Romanova (1901-1918)“She was so cheerful and so able to drive away frowns from anyone who was out of sorts, that some of those around her called her ‘Sunbeam’, recalling the nickname given to her mother at the English.””>Anastasia joined the classes later. Gilliard wrote that Maria was best known for her modesty, kindness and warmth. The younger one, Anastasia, was mischievous and funny. Despite her characteristic laziness, she made significant progress learning French and developed perfect pronunciation. Anastasia “played out miniature theatrical scenes with a real talent.”

Pierre Gilliard’s position so close to the Royal family offered him an opportunity to observe the life of this holy family not only in an official, but also in an intimate, day-to-day setting, as well as under the circumstances of their somber imprisonment later. An educated man and a master of observation, Pierre Gilliard carefully studied the characters of the Sovereign and all members of his family.

With the Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatiana   

Half a year after he began his service in the Alexander Palace, Gilliard met the one-and-a-half-year-old Heir to the Throne , Alexei:

“The Tsesarevich was a delightful baby boy… He looked at me sternly and shyly, not daring to stretch out his chubby hand to me. I noticed how the Empress was holding her son tight at her chest, as if guarding him or fearing for his life. This gesture and the accompanying look revealed an acute inner suffering that struck me deeply. Only much later did I realize the meaning of that look.”

When the Heir turned nine, the Emperor and Empress asked Gilliard to take over his education. Pierre agreed, and on October 2, 1912 he was officially appointed a tutor to the Grand Duke and Heir Holy Passion-Bearer Tsarevich Alexei (1904–1918). Part 1The Tsarevich had a very gentle and kind heart. He often exclaimed, ‘When I become the Tsar, there will be no poor and unhappy people. I want everyone to be happy.’”

“>Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich. It wasn’t easy to teach Alexei, because the boy wasn’t at all accustomed to discipline. The teacher knew perfectly well that Tsesarevich Alexei was a special child. Hemophilia left its mark on the character of this child, so kind, cheerful and sociable by nature. Gilliard wrote:

“That’s how terrible was the disease from which Alexei Nikolaevich suffers; it meant a constant and never-ending threat to his life: a fall, a nosebleed, a simple cut, usually so trifle for a normal child, could become fatal for him.”

Pierre Gilliard and Tsarevich Alexei aboard the Imperial yacht “Standart,” 1914   

As soon as he showed improvements in his studies, once again Alexei would be tossing about on the bed in unbearable agony and Gilliard would have to spend sleepless nights at his bed. His parents’ fear of provoking yet another injury and the onslaught of illness that followed was justified, but the tutor believed that Alexei must learn to control his behavior. He convinced his parents that this never-ending fear for the Heir’s health can negatively impact his character and make him a weak-willed or even a morally crippled man. After all, he was the future Tsar of Russia. Gilliard believed that Alexei should have more freedom. His parents agreed with the tutor’s opinion and expressed support. Soon this kind of education of this kind bore its fruit. Alexei shed his shyness and took to studies more seriously. He also became physically stronger, to the great joy of his parents.

Pierre observed in his student an acute and keen mind.

“He surprised me at times by asking questions beyond his years, which bore witness to a delicate and intuitive spirit… He never boasted about being the Heir of the Imperial family… In the young and capricious little creature I assumed the beginning to know, I later discovered a child with a heart genuinely loving and truly sensitive to suffering, because he had already suffered so much himself… I became more aware of the richness of his inner self…”

As a constant companion of the Tsarevich, Pierre Gilliard lived in close proximity to the Royal Family in Tsarskoye Selo, Livadia, and at the General Headquarters; he participated in their travels around Russia and to the front lines. At the General Headquarters, Alexei wore the uniform of a private, ate breakfast at the common table seated at the left hand of the Emperor, and always had dinner with his tutors. He received an award…

During the February Revolution, Pierre Gilliard was in Tsarskoye Selo and tried in every way to support the Empress and the children who had come down with the measles. The Empress instructed Gilliard to inform Alexei of his father’s abdication from the throne.

Alexei Nikolayevich with his tutor Gilliard on the pier of a pond near the Children’s Island. Tsarskoe Selo. Photo by Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna Alexei Nikolaevich

“reddened to the root of his hair and became anxious… But not a word about himself, not the slightest suggestion of his rights as Heir. Once again I was struck by this child’s modesty—modesty that equaled his kindness.”

Pierre Gilliard voluntarily followed the Royal Family into exile and stayed with them from March 21, 1917 to May 23, 1918. He morally supported the Royal Martyrs, enduring all the hardships with them. Along with Sidney Gibbs, an English tutor, he selflessly looked after the Tsesarevich during his illness, spending sleepless nights next to him.

When the Royal family was moved from Tobolsk to Ekaterinburg, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna went with the Sovereign, entrusting sick Alexei to the care of Gilliard. Upon arrival in Ekaterinburg, he was forcibly removed from the Royal Family by the Bolsheviks. Gilliard described the moment when he saw his charge for the last time:

“Sailor Nagorny walked by my window carrying the little patient in his arms; behind them went the Grand Duchesses, laden with suitcases and small packages. I wanted to go outside, but the sentry rudely pushed me back into the carriage.”

Pierre Gilliard took the death of the Royal family hard as they had become like family to him

In February 1919, Gilliard met with Nikolai Alekseevich Sokolov who informed him of the death of the entire family. Pierre Gilliard took hard the news of the death of the Royal family that had become like family to him. After the murder of the Imperial family he remained in Siberia, where he helped the investigator Nikolai Sokolov, and also exposed an impostor who pretended to be Alexei Nikolaevich.

In 1920 he returned from the Far East to Switzerland, and began teaching French at the University of Lausanne. He was awarded the Legion of Honor. On October 3, 1922 Pierre married Alexandra Alexandrovna Tegleva, a former nanny of the Romanov Grand Duchesses. In 1921, he published the book “Thirteen Years at the Russian Court: the Tragic Fate of Nicholas II.” He died aged eighty-four.

Pierre Gilliard’s close proximity to the Royal Family presented him with the opportunity to observe their life, including the time of their somber imprisonment, filled with abuse. During this period, he often spoke to the royal martyrs on a variety of topics, and in these conversations, they expressed their sincere and innermost thoughts and views on the ongoing political events.

Not associated with any political parties in pursuit of their own goals, Gilliard was free from their influence. As a noble, impeccably honest, and courageous man, Pierre Gilliard was guided only by his conscience and tried to be impartial in his judgments about people and events.

Pierre Gilliard tried to remain impartial and was guided by conscience in his judgments about people and events

In his memoirs, Gilliard writes that during his three-year stay in Siberia he was completely isolated from the rest of the world and had no information regarding the stories published in Europe about Emperor Nicholas II at that time. Upon his return to Europe in September 1920, Gilliard learned of the contents of these publications, where one such story even reported his own death. He wrote:

“As soon as I learned about their content, I was outraged; I was even more outraged once I realized that, to my surprise, these publications gained the approval of the general public. There was an urgent need to rehabilitate the moral image of the Russian Imperial Couple; a sense of justice and decency demanded this.”

Gilliard rightly believed that the majority of articles about Emperor Nicholas II and his family were nothing but “a collection of absurdities and lies, tabloid journalism that relied on worthless slander.”ⁱⁱ Pierre Gilliard’s memoirs are a reliable historical source.

Gilliard about the Emperor Nicholas Ⅱ

“The Emperor was endowed with remarkable personal qualities. He personified the noblest and best feelings of a Russian soul. He submitted to his fate and obediently accepted the superhuman labor entrusted to him by God. He loved his people and the Motherland with all the power of his soul. The Emperor loved even more dearly the common people and the Russian peasant as he wholeheartedly strove to improve their life. History will give him justice.”

On July 28, 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia. Gilliard noticed that the Emperor took this tragic time hard. He watched him during a church service:

“When I met the Emperor… I was astonished to find him in a state of extreme fatigue: his face was drawn and looked sallow, and the baggy skin below his eyes that he usually developed in moments of extreme fatigue looked even worse this time. He was praying now with all his might that God avert this war from his people, as he perceived it was drawing near and was inevitable… Next to him was the Empress, whose sorrowful face wore an expression of immense suffering…”

In 1914, the Tsesarevich, together with his tutors, visited the frontline’s sick quarters and hospitals. The boy was stunned at the sight of the suffering and groans of wounded soldiers. Alexei visited the wounded with his father. Pierre Gilliard writes:

“The Emperor approached all the wounded and spoke to them with great kindness. His sudden visit at such a late hour and so close to the front line was greeted with astonishment. One of the soldiers… lifted his only healthy hand to touch his (the Emperor’s) clothes, to make sure that what he saw was really the Tsar and not a spirit.”

In the most difficult time of the war, when the Russians were haunted by failures at the front, the Emperor assumed the role of Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Two months prior to that, the Emperor had a conversation with Gilliard.

“You can’t even imagine how much being present in the rear weighs down on me,” said the Tsar…”All they have here is intrigues and conspiracies… while back there, they fight and die for their Motherland. At the front, there is only one feeling that prevails among the soldiers: the determination to win…”

The Emperor accepted full responsibility for the future course of the war. He supplemented his order on assuming the Supreme Command with the following promise:

“With unshakeable faith in the goodness of God and unwavering conviction in the ultimate victory, We shall fulfill our sacred duty in defending our Motherland to the end, and We will never allow the Russian soil to be desecrated.”

After his abdication, the Tsar was arrested by the Provisional Government and stayed at Tsarskoye Selo, where the soldiers of the guard insulted him and caused him trouble.

“However,” writes Gilliard, ”the Tsar accepted these embarrassments with remarkable composure and amazing greatness of his soul. Not one word of reproach escaped his lips, and this was because only one feeling prevailed over his whole being, which was even stronger than his devotion to his family: love for the Motherland. You could sense that he was ready to forgive those who had caused him these humiliations, if only they could help him to save Russia.”ⁱⁱⁱ

The Emperor not only forgave his enemies’ offenses, but he also prayed for them. Here is Pierre Gilliard’s record of the Pascha celebration during imprisonment at Tsarskoye Selo:

“At half past eleven in the evening, everyone went to church for the midnight service… The service lasted until two o’clock and then everyone went to the library to exchange the traditional greetings. The Tsar, according to Russian custom, kissed all those present, including the Commandant of the palace and the officer of the guard who remained with him… I noticed that the Emperor crossed himself piously when the priest was reading a prayer commemorating the Provisional Government.”

Nicholas II and Pierre Gilliard cut wood for the winter during exile in Tobolsk   

Pierre Gilliard followed the Royal family into Siberian exile, supporting them morally and enduring all the hardships with them. It was a mere accident he didn’t share their tragic fate. Gilliard noted the nobility of feelings and moral greatness of the Royal Martyrs they displayed in the time of tribulations that befell them. He also writes about the manifestation of love for the Royal Martyrs on the part of the residents of Tobolsk:

“I saw that the people we met as we went to or returned from church would make the sign of the cross or fall on their knees when they saw Their Majesties. The overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of Tobolsk were deeply devoted to the Imperial family, and our guards had to take decisive measures against the people who lingered by the windows of our house, removed their hats or crossed themselves as they passed the house.”

Investigator N. A. Sokolov testified:

“I especially consider myself obliged to note the high degree of dignity and deep devotion to the Russian Tsar and his family of two men: the Swiss Gilliard, the tutor of Heir the Tsesarevich and Englishman Gibbs, the English teacher”

Gilliard’s book concludes with the following:

“Then came death. But it was loathe to separate those who were so closely united by their life, and so it took all seven of them, connected by one faith and one love… The Emperor and the Empress believed that they were dying as martyrs for their country—they died as martyrs for mankind. Their true greatness didn’t arise from their imperial kingship, but from their wondrous moral purity they developed over time. They became an ultimate power; in their very humiliation, they displayed the stunning vision of that glorious clarity of soul that disables every kind of violence and every kind of rage, and triumphs over death itself.”^iv

Vyksa, Nizhny Novgorod Province, Russia, January 17, 2025

Photo: nne.ru     

Yesterday, a diocesan center for women suffering from chemical dependencies opened in Vyksa, Nizhny Novgorod Province. The opening ceremony began with the consecration of the premises by His Grace Bishop Gedeon of Vyksa and Pavlovo.

The new center, under the patronage of St. Barnabas of Gethsemane Skete, is the first of its kind for the province, reports the Nizhny Novgorod Metropolitanate.

The event was attended by various Church, public, and social organization representatives.

    

After the consecration, Bp. Gedeon addressed those present with an archpastoral message:

This center is designed to support those who suffer from addiction that poisons their body, soul, and life. These people are in such a state that they can no longer get out of it on their own. They need help from specialists, psychologists, counselors—those who understand how to overcome this addiction and return a person to a full life. And, of course, they need spiritual support, without which this path would be incomplete.

The center’s key feature is allowing women to undergo addiction treatment while living with their children, both infants and school-age. Children will continue their normal activities like school while receiving psychological support alongside their mothers, recognizing the crucial importance of maintaining the mother-child bond during recovery.

The center also offers professional psychological counseling and spiritual support, welcoming women of all backgrounds who wish to overcome addiction while keeping their families intact. The facility was established through funding from the Timchenko Foundation and the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service, which covered renovation costs and equipment.

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Moscow, January 17, 2025

Photo: ibt.org.ru The Institute for Bible Translation, dedicated to translating Holy Scripture into the languages of the non-Slavic peoples living in Russia, continues its blessed work with a translation of the Pentateuch in the Karachay-Balkar language.

The new edition is the result of many years of work “and a careful approach to preserving and transmitting the cultural heritage of the Balkar people,” the Institute reports.

The Balkars are a Turkic people, indigenous to Kabardino-Balkaria. Being one people with the Karachays who live in the neighboring Karachay-Cherkess Republic, the Balkars speak the Karachay-Balkar language, which belongs to the Turkic language group. According to the 2021 census, 274,038 people in the Russian Federation speak Karachay-Balkar. This language has official state status in two North Caucasus republics: Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia.

“The translation of the Pentateuch into the Balkar language will make a significant contribution to the culture of the Balkar people and the development of literature in this language,” the Institute writes, “and will also provide an opportunity to become more deeply acquainted with Biblical texts for numerous speakers of this language who live not only in Russia but also abroad—in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan—and are descendants of Balkars who survived deportation in the 20th century.”

Previously, the New Testament (2000), Ruth, Esther, the Book of Daniel (2020), and the Book of Jonah translated into Turkic Karachay-Balkar languageThe Balkars are a Turkic-speaking people, living mainly in the central part of the North Caucasus in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, with a population of 112,924 according to the 2010 census.

“>Book of Jonah (2022) were translated into Karachay-Balkar.

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Pope Francis told U.S. President Donald Trump he hoped that the nation would prosper under his leadership and make no room for hatred, discrimination or exclusion.

The pope offered his “cordial greetings and the assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will grant you wisdom, strength and protection in the exercise of your high duties,” in a message marking Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States Jan. 20.

“Inspired by your nation’s ideals of being a land of opportunity and welcome for all, it is my hope that under your leadership the American people will prosper and always strive to build a more just society, where there is no room for hatred, discrimination or exclusion,” the pope wrote.

“At the same time, as our human family faces numerous challenges, not to mention the scourge of war, I also ask God to guide your efforts in promoting peace and reconciliation among peoples,” the message said.

Pope Francis also invoked “upon you, your family, and the beloved American people an abundance of divine blessings.”