Tag: Christianity

Moscow, January 20, 2025

Photo: voznessobor.ru     

His Grace Bishop Viktor (Pyankov), a retired hierarch of the Moscow Patriarchate, reposed in the Lord on Friday, January 17.

Over the years of his ordained ministry, he served in Russia, Latvia, and Estonia.

Bp. Viktor, 80, was consecrated as a hierarch in 1990 and retired from active episcopal ministry in 1999. He reposed in the city of Gelendzhik, Krasnodar Region, reports Patriarchia.ru.

May his memory be eternal!

***

Bp. Viktor was born on October 19, 1944, in Pervouralsk, Sverdlovsk Region.

In 1971, he was tonsured as a monk by Archbishop Leonid (Polyakov) of Riga and Latvia, ordained as a deacon, and then as a priest.

From 1971-1983, he served in parishes of the Riga Diocese.

In 1977, he graduated from the Moscow Theological Seminary by correspondence.

In 1980, he was elevated to the rank of igumen.

From 1980-1983, he served as dean of the Madona District of the Riga Diocese, and in 1982-1983, he also served as secretary of the Riga Diocesan Administration.

In 1983, he was accepted into the brotherhood of the Danilov Monastery in Moscow with the obedience of treasurer.

In 1986, he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite and appointed head of construction and restoration management at Danilov Monastery.

From 1987, he served as head of restoration and construction of the Leningrad Diocesan Administration. In August 1988, he was appointed rector of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn.

On February 20, 1990, he was elected Bishop of Tapa, vicar of the Tallinn Diocese. He was consecrated on March 25, 1990, in the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg.

On July 20, 1990, he was appointed Bishop of Podolsk, vicar of the Moscow Diocese, and Chairman of the Economic Management of the Moscow Patriarchate.

On April 21, 1994, he was relieved of his position as Chairman of the Economic Management due to health reasons. On July 18, 1999, he was retired at his own request.

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

    

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!

Today we have entered the feast of the Lord’s Baptism, or as it is called in Church lexicon, Theophany. Where did this name come from? When the Lord entered as a man into the waters of the Jordan, being baptized of John, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove. During the Baptism there was the voice of the Father, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17).

Christ entered the waters of the Jordan, having taken upon Himself, according to the words of many holy fathers, the sins of those who are baptized. The Holy Trinity was revealed in the Jordan, in order to reveal to every person first of all God’s will for that person himself—how he must live in order to enter into close union with God, in order to acquire grace, which descended upon each of us in the Sacrament of Baptism. And even after His Resurrection, when he appeared to His disciples in Galilee, the Lord said to them, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you (Matthew 28:18–20).

At the divine services we hear very many hymns, and we often do not think about the fact that those who composed them were people enlightened by that same Holy Spirit. These were people who abode in an ocean of grace, they theologized, moved by the Holy Spirit.

    

What do we hear in the kontakion of the forefeast, with which yesterday’s cycle of services began? “O Christ, Who in Thy compassion and infinite mercy takest away the multitude of all our transgressions, Thou comest as a man to be baptized in the waters of the Jordan, clothing me in the raiment of the ancient glory of which I was stripped bare.” What is this raiment in which the Lord clothes a sinful man? Besides taking away his sins (“the multitude of all our transgressions”), Christ clothes us in a garment of incorruption—He makes us gods by grace. Through communion with Himself, according to the Apostle’s words, As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Gal. 3:27). Christ leads us into communion with the Father and with His Holy, Good, and Live-Creating Spirit. This garment not only warms and protects us, but also arrays us in immortality, makes us participants in divine energies, divine grace. Truly, we are often not conscious of the great gifts by which God honored man in fallen Adam. He created the world and the crown of the world, a creation great and unfathomable to man—He created man himself. To each of us He has given temporal life. Here we were born, here we abide, and here we grow on this earth; and He gave us those gifts, which we are probably incapable of fully understanding. He has marked us with the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Chrismation. “The Seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit,” says the priest as he marks the person being baptized with holy chrism.

But how must we live so that this grace would remain inseparably with us, so that this raiment in which God has clothed us in the Sacrament of Baptism would not wear thin, not rot, not fall away from us? If we will mesh our will with God’s will, if we will burn with such love for our Creator and Provider that this love will spill over in abundance also upon our neighbors, if we will flee from evil in our thoughts and deeds, then the grace of the Holy Spirit, that raiment of salvation, will adorn us, instruct us, and invisibly work our salvation.

However, in speaking of grace, we need to speak also of caution with regard to that great gift the Lord gives us. In Constantinople there was once an amazing incident: Already occupied by the Turks, in Constantinople the Moslems permitted the Greeks to hold church services, albeit in a limited number of places. And so, the Turkish women, who were either Moslems or pagans, noticed that the Christian children grew to be more noble-looking than the Turkish children, were more intelligent, and an invisible light illumined their faces. So the Turkish women decided—without having faith in Christ—to take their children to church and have them baptized only so that they would be healthier and cleverer. And when the priests and bishops found out about it, they considered it sufficient reason to call a local council. At this council a resolution was passed that might shock many of us: to consider this baptism invalid, because it was done not for the sake of salvation of the soul, but for the sake of physical health.

    

We do the same thing when we come to Church forgetful about man’s great calling given to us by God, and asking for something insignificant. Each comes with his own vain problems and forgets about the most important thing—that this raiment spoken about in today’s hymns might warm our souls and bodies to the fullest. And then all else will fall away, because the greatness of the One to Whom we address our prayers implies the greatness of the petitions we raise to Him.

If a person comes with faith, with the sincere desire to acquire God, then God will act mightily in him. An example of this is St. Cyprian of Carthage. He writes of his life before Baptism: “Having been in the darkness of night, I sailed the sea of my life willy-nilly, without hope or support, not knowing the way, deprived of all truth and light.” He says, “Then, I considered the divine promise of mercy hard and impossible, that it was not possible to be born again, and while still alive in body to become a new man in spirit and heart. But after I had been washed clean of my impure past in the font of renewal, after I had received from on high the Spirit and become a new man, for me the doubtful became true, and the closed, open. I received the strength to do what before I thought to be difficult and impossible.”

May God grant that on this feast day each of us would commune of the grace of the All Holy Spirit! And that we might boldly say, in the words of the hymn sung on the day of the Holy Trinity-Pentecost: “Today the grace of the Holy Spirit has gathered us together.” This grace should give us the freedom that no human society can give; the strength that no physical exercises can cultivate. And we will not grow faint before the difficulties we meet on the path of salvation, because we have God as our helper, strengthening us on the path of virtue. Amen.

  

The Nativity of Christ is traditionally a favorite feast of Orthodox Rus’. Everyone, both adults and children, prepared for it. In high society, the holiday was celebrated lavishly, with many gifts and a feast with all kinds of dishes for the guests, while in the lower strata it was celebrated more modestly. But everyone was united by the joy of the Christmas holidays.

Preparations for Christmas in the family of the last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, began long before the feast. The family’s favorite place was Tsarskoe Selo. According to the recollections of Anna Vyrubova, there were three Christmas trees in the palace: one downstairs in the great reception room of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the second upstairs in the children’s room, and the third upstairs in the corridor, for the palace servants. They lit the tree in the children’s room first. The children especially delighted in the magnificent decoration of the tree and the gifts stacked under it. They had fun, forgetting about ceremonial rigidity.

The Grand Duchesses were accustomed to labor and prepared Christmas gifts for their parents, each other, and friends with their own hands. Empress Alexandra did needlework—one of her favorite activities was embroidering aers and other Church items. Emperor Nicholas II was a deeply pious man who spent a lot of time in prayer. The relations in the Royal Family were extraordinary: The children idolized their crowned parents, who in turn loved their children sacrificially.

    

It seemed it would always be that way. But February 1917 came to Russia, and then October. Events unfolded at lightning speed. After his abdication, Tsar Nicholas II and the family were sent to Tobolsk. They were destined to celebrate the last Christmas of their lives in this distant Siberian city.

Winter was very harsh that year. The Royal Family was put in the governor’s house on the second floor. The conditions were cramped, but they all tried to support each other. In a letter to Anna Vyrubova, the Empress wrote: “The family members are so brave and good and never complain. The little one is an angel. I have lunch with him, and breakfast too… Things have been taken away and spoiled. Everything is in God, and nature never changes… I feel like the mother of this country and I suffer as if for my child; and I love my homeland, despite all the horrors now and all the transgressions. You know that love can’t be torn from my heart, nor Russia, despite the black ingratitude toward the sovereign, which breaks my heart—but then, it isn’t the whole country. It’s an illness, after which it will grow stronger. Lord, have mercy and save Russia!”

    

Closer to Christmas, the frost intensified. The temperature in the house didn’t rise above 53°F (12°C), despite the heated stove. The room where the Grand Duchesses slept “turned into a real icebox.” However, everyone prepared for Christmas and made gifts within their means. The girls did needlework, to give their embroidery to those who were with them during the holiday. Tatiana’s works particularly stood out, inspiring universal admiration. She was a skilled craftswoman and had excellent taste. Alexandra Feodorovna “shivered, and with numb fingers barely holding the needles, knitted wool vests.”

The adult members of the family understood their situation perfectly well, but they had enough courage to remain calm in front of the children, who were enjoying the upcoming holiday. Olga wrote to her friend: “The feast is already here. Our Christmas tree in the corner of the hall smells wonderful… There are no decorations except for tinseland wax candles—Church candles, of course, since there aren’t any others here… We had Vigil at about 10 PM, and the tree was lit up. It was cozy and lovely.”

Tsarevich Alexei’s tutor Pierre Gilliard writes in his memoirs: “That’s how we lived till Christmas. Her Majesty gave out several woolen vests that she had knitted herself. Thus she tried to express her gratitude, with touching attention, to those who remained loyal to them. On December 24 (Old Style), a priest came to the house to serve the All-Night Vigil: Everyone gathered in the great hall, and the children were delighted to present the “surprises” they’d prepared for us. We felt like we were one big family; we all tried to forget our sorrows and worries to have the chance to enjoy these minutes of peace and spiritual closeness without holding back, in full heartfelt communion. The next day, on Christmas day, we went to church. With the blessing of the priest, the deacon proclaimed “Many Years” for the Royal Family. It was reckless… The soldiers from the guard demanded that the priest be removed, threatening him with death. This incident overshadowed the pleasant memory we could’ve had of that day. The incident caused new degrading restrictions for us, and they started watching us even more strictly.”

    

However, on January 1 (Old Style), they allowed the Royal Family to go to church for the morning service. A new priest was serving, a Fr. A. Vasiliev, as the culprit of the Christmas mishap had been banished to the Abalak Monastery.¹

We know what fate befell Emperor Nicholas II and his family. They accepted the murderers’ verdict without panic and without begging for mercy. “They had nothing to sacrifice except their lives. They preferred to give them up rather than submit to the enemy who had destroyed their homeland by stealing its honor. And death came. But it was loath to separate those whom life had bound so closely together, and it took all seven of them, united by one faith and one love”—this is how they were remembered by those close to them.

    

Today, standing before the icon of the holy Royal Martyrs, we entreat their prayerful intercession and thank them for their example of courage, faithfulness, and love. I would really like to wish that on Christmas, in every house, the whole family would gather at the table; that children, wherever they are, would go to their parents’ house and give their parents and each other attention and love. Then our long-standing Christmas traditions will be passed down from generation to generation and will be filled with their original Divine content.

St. Basil the Great     

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!

Today the Orthodox Church is commemorating one of the most wonderful teachers of the Church–St. Basil the Great—“Universal Teacher”Hierarch Basil the Great is one of the Church’s most remarkable theologians. His influence on the fortunes of the Church spread far beyond the borders of his homeland and is still felt in our days.

“>St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia. First of all, he is known to us as a theologian who made a significant contribution to the development of the teaching on the Holy Trinity.

But we can also call him a mentor of youth, which is evident both from his instructions and way of life, as well as from the way of life of his family. It is known that St. Basil was born in Caesarea, Cappadocia, in 330 A.D. into a very pious Christian family. His grandparents suffered during persecutions under Emperor Diocletian, and they studied under St. Gregory the Wonderworker. His mother became a saint and is now venerated as St Emilia, the Mother of St Basil the GreatSt Basil the Great’s mother St Emilia was the daughter of a martyr. On the Greek calendar, she is commemorated on May 30.

“>St. Emilia of Cappadocia. There were also saints among his siblings, of whom we should especially note his elder sister Venerable Macrina, sister of Saint Basil the GreatWhen all the children grew up and left the parental home, Saint Macrina convinced her mother, Saint Emilia, to leave the world, to set their slaves free, and to settle in a women’s monastery.”>Macrina, who in some sense was his mentor.

Thus, St. Basil lived surrounded by a large family, and there were nine siblings in his family in total (he was the second oldest). He lived among those who excelled in earthly wisdom, and most importantly–in Christian piety. The family was wealthy, they had plots of land in Cappadocia, Pontus, and Lesser Armenia, so they had the opportunity to give their children a good education.

St. Basil was sent to study in Athens–at that time a major center of pagan and secular wisdom. He had been awaited in Athens, because before his arrival there he had become known in Cappadocia as a capable student. In Athens the saint studied rhetoric, grammar, metric and philosophy. In addition, he excelled in astronomy, geometry, and arithmetic; he also studied the subjects that were not compulsory, but necessary to him due to his poor health: for example, medicine.

In Athens St. Basil met a man who became his lifelong friend–St. Gregory the Theologian the Archbishop of ConstantinopleSaint Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople, a great Father and teacher of the Church, was born into a Christian family of eminent lineage in the year 329, at Arianzos.

“>St. Gregory the Theologian, and subsequently he helped him assume an episcopal see.

After returning from Athens, St. Basil the Great remained a layman for some time and practiced in the spheres of rhetoric and law. As his friend St. Gregory noted, Caesarea fascinated him, and for a while he was engaged in worldly affairs more than in Church ones.

But already at that time St. Basil (he was between twenty-five and twenty-seven at that time) wrote Instructions for Youth. In this work he says that of all books the Holy Scriptures should be put first. But it happens that young people are not mature enough to comprehend the Divine truths expressed in the Scriptures, so they study by reading pagan books. But at the same time, young people should be like wise bees, which, flying to different flowers, collect what is useful, collect nectar, leaving untouched the flowers that give them no benefit.

Reflecting on music and poetry, St. Basil says that young people should be selective, since not all poetry has a wholesome effect on the soul, and therefore they should pay attention to what impression one or another piece of music or work of art leaves in their souls. He advised them to learn from the great heroes of the past, both Biblical and Antique, pointing out that before becoming a lawgiver and intermediary between God and man through the Law of Sinai, Moses had learned from Egyptian sages, and the Prophet Daniel learned all the wisdom of the Chaldeans in Babylon.

Hieromonk Irinei (Pikovsky)     

Firstly, St. Basil the Great recommends young people to watch over their appearance, especially it concerns men who should not stand out by some outward foppishness and take care of the body more than virtue requires. Secondly, he stressed that reading books should lead us to piety, because literature leaves a certain impression in the memory, and poetry should above all instill wisdom. Therefore, it is vital for young people to choose at the right time which poems will be their preferred reading. The same applies to music, which should not incite anger, but should calm us, leading us to a peaceful state when we are able to get to know God.

Later, after writing this work, following Eustathius of Sebaste, St. Basil made a long journey through Syria to Alexandria in Egypt, wishing to learn from people who had succeeded in ascetic life. There he absorbed the traditions of Syrian and Egyptian monasticism. On returning, he took up his residence in one of his family’s estates in Pontus, where he led a secluded ascetic life with St. Gregory the Theologian, reading the instructions of Origen and collecting them into the work that we know as Philokalia.

After that St. Basil returned to Caesarea, his hometown, and organized monasteries there that conducted extensive social activities. These were small monasteries compared to the cenobitic monasteries of St. Pachomius the Great of Egypt. Rather, they were small cenobia that were open to the world, while the requirements for each member of these communities were quite high.

Researchers note that ideally in Christian life for St. Basil the Great there was no significant difference between monastics and laypeople. Although monastics took the vows (they just appeared at the time of St. Basil the Great), at the same time the requirements for the laity were quite high. And when we read his moral instructions, we see that they are not really different from the ascetic rules designed for large monastic communities.

If we consider his ascetic and moral rules, we will see a certain unity of the ideal of Christ–something about which the New Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky) wrote to his friend. Of course, St. Basil the Great put first love for God and love for our neighbor. But his teachings have a purely Biblical nature, and therefore, in order to acquire the love of God the observance of all the biblical commandments comes first. St. Basil appealed to the New Testament’s Gospel Law, and, therefore, he believed that Christians who live in the world should strive to live according to the Gospel, not to be slaves of sin, but servants of virtue.

First and foremost, the path to good deeds is through loving God. But how can we come to love God? The following saying of St. Basil the Great is known: “God is good. Everything strives towards good, which means that everything strives towards God.” If God is the Creator of man, his first Benefactor, then the very fact of man’s existence obliges us to testify to our love and appreciation before Him.

In the Anaphora of St. Basil the Great, which is performed on his feast-day, we more than once find the instruction that a Christian should begin offering a verbal service with a pure heart. God does not need any external gratitude: He does not require any special material recompense, but is content with the love of those whom He did a great favor to. Love for God is expressed by love for our neighbor; in fact, the completion of love for God is love for our neighbor, and it is in the nature of every human being.

    

The following expression addressed to those living in a cenobitic community is known: “Man is a meek and social animal, not a solitary and wild one.” Therefore, we can conclude about the inherent qualities of man: according to Tertullian’s teaching, every soul is a Christian by nature.

Similarly, the conclusions of St. Basil the Great boil down to the idea that man is a social being; therefore, he shows himself as a virtuous creature who lives among his fellow human beings without retiring to the mountains or forests.

But, as we know, human nature is not only prone to goodness, but also to sin, and, therefore, we should educate it and cultivate virtue in ourselves.

“It is mutual love, and not the ability to perform miracles and extraordinary things, that is a sign of true disciples of the Lord,” St. Basil the Great said. And, therefore, we should try to rejoice in the joys of others and suffer with those in sorrow. Love is the true law of Christian life and of the whole society. This law must be observed not only in monasteries, but also in the daily life of every Christian. Whether we bring up children, teach, do needlework, care for the sick, engage in hospitality or some other social activities, we all should strive to fulfill the commandment of love. At the same time, in addition to loving our close ones, we are called to love those who hate us: to love our enemies, in accordance with the Gospel commandment.

And in order to acquire it we need to have the fear of God. The fear of God fosters our reverence towards the Creator. This is not so much the animal fear of punishment before Someone Who can punish you as the fear of losing the love of the Heavenly Father. That is why St. Basil says: “Remember God and have fear in your heart,” repeating it over and over again and pointing out that this fear must be instilled in our children, the younger generation. He does not mean the animal fear that creatures feel before an expected punishment, but the human fear of losing the Creator’s love.

St. Basil the Great understood humility in two senses. On the one hand, it is a virtue, the opposite of anger; and on the other hand, it is the opposite of pride and vanity. In a wider sense, it is a virtue that helps find our place among the living beings created by God. “Those who spiritually took advantage of humility put themselves last among all in order to be the first in the Heavenly Kingdom,” St. Basil the Great wrote. Humility is the path by which fallen man returns to God, departing from pernicious pride, moving through the longing for Divine glory, and guided by the example of Christ the Savior. A humble person avoids idle talk, speculation and arguments; shows prudent restraint in dress and behavior; he shows much love to his friends, is gentle towards his servants, lenient and merciful to the poor and the unfortunate.

The virtue that follows humility is obedience, and it is equally characteristic of both monastics and children who must obey their parents. Of course, obedience is rooted in a spiritual foundation. “There is nothing more preferable than obedience to God,” St. Basil the Great exhorted.

And how should we show obedience to each other? St. Basil answers this question by saying that the love of the spirit serves as a reason for serving each other. Divine love helps us get to know true obedience: it is the ability to heed, hear, understand, and follow another person out of love for the Creator.

    

Labor occupies a special place in the teaching of St. Basil the Great on moral virtues. At the same time, the toiler works not only for himself, but also for the glory of God, choosing certain professions. St. Basil recommends preferring the kind of needlework or agriculture that will not prevent a layperson or a monastic from succeeding in virtues. Therefore, it is vital to remain in the state of inner peace and avoid excessive amounts of cares and work.

Prayer. Prayer is not only a word addressed to the Heavenly Father—it is also the remembrance of God, a constant reflection on the Creator, a continuous remembrance that God is with us every moment.

Consequently, according to the teaching of St. Basil the Great, true prayer is performed beyond the boundaries of time and embraces a Christian’s entire life. And, according to St. Basil the Great, it befits us to perform prayers not in sounds alone, but more through the will of the soul and good deeds that accompany our whole lives. And it comes from this that with the help of good deeds a Christian acquires strong prayer.

St. Basil the Great’s significant contribution to the teaching on prayer is that he established a close connection between prayer and the remembrance of God.

Thus, we see how St. Basil the Great, through his teaching on the paramount importance of love for God, provides guidance for Christian life. And the main Guide for him is the Savior Jesus Christ.

In today’s Gospel reading, on the feast of the Circumcision of the Lord, we heard the story of the Teenager Jesus Who came with His pious parents to the Temple in Jerusalem for a feast. His foster-father, Joseph, who was called the “Betrothed”, as is known from the Gospel of Matthew, was a righteous man–that is, devout from the point of view of Jewish law. According to the Gospel, the family did not notice how Jesus, a twelve-year-old Boy, remained in the Temple. It wasn’t until the third day that His parents found Him speaking to the teachers and listening to them. And when His Mother Mary told Her Son that They had been looking and worrying for Him for a long time, He left everything and followed Her, being obedient to His parents.

From this short example, an episode from Jesus’ childhood, we see how He teaches us two of His virtues: wisdom and obedience. On the one hand, He seeks wisdom in His Heavenly Father’s house; and on the other hand, He shows obedience to His earthly parents.

K. Lebedev. The Boy Jesus in the Temple. A Bible illustration     

Guided by these and other Gospel extracts, such holy teachers of Christian life as St. Basil the Great direct us to build our entire lives according to the Biblical commandments without choosing those that “suit” or “do not suit” us. But, trying to be guided by the fulfillment of the whole Law of Christ, we are called to live as His disciples should live. And this does not prevent us from using earthly wisdom and modern technology that are given to us. But if a person has chastity and a longing for virtue, he will automatically choose the best and reject the worst and use both Christian and non-Christian literature, choosing, like a wise bee, what increases his knowledge of the world and gives him the opportunity to be virtuous.

May the Lord, through the prayers of St. Basil the Great, whose memory we are celebrating today, help both our parents and our children learn the most important thing that St. Basil teaches us: aspiration for love. And, having acquired the love of God, multiply our love for other people. Amen.

Photo: foma.ru     

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit!

Dear brothers and sisters, the commemoration of sacred events connected with the name of Jesus Christ is always salvific, edifying, and comforting for the faithful. The holy Church therefore tries to imprint as many memories of Jesus Christ as possible, as many of His holy commandments and miracles in our hearts and minds as possible in order to strengthen and deepen our faith in Him, because our salvation essentially depends on our faith in Him. The Lord Himself repeatedly says that whoever believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day (Jn. 6:40). The holy Apostle John the Theologian, enumerating various miracles of the Lord in his Gospel, further adds that everything is written so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and believing in Him, we might have eternal life.

Today, the holy Church celebrates the feast of the Circumcision of the Lord. It’s now the eighth day since the feats of the Birth of Christ the Savior, and on this day, according to the Old Testament Jewish Law, it was necessary to circumcise male infants. What was circumcision among the Jews and why was it established? Circumcision in the Old Testament Church was a sacred rite and at the same time a mystery, a means through which every newborn Israelite was brought into covenant with God as the supreme ruler of the Jewish people.

Circumcision was established by God Himself, Who commanded Abraham to perform it for the first time on himself and his family; it consisted in removing the foreskin of every male child and was performed on the eighth day after birth. As a result of circumcision, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob became the God of the circumcised infant, and at the same time, all the promises given to the forefathers of the Jewish people were assimilated to the him, just as the circumcised one assumed the obligation to fulfill everything that was prescribed to this people by God through Moses and the prophets. Not being circumcised was tantamount to renouncing Judaism. God Himself threatened to deprive such a man not only of all his rights, but of his very life. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken My covenant (Gen. 17:14), says the Lord. Sacred Scripture doesn’t say anything about why circumcision was chosen as a sign of the covenant with God, but according to the Holy Fathers, it signified the removal of the natural impurity of every man born, the sinful state of human nature, man’s determination and willingness to fight against the depravity of his nature, to crucify his flesh with its passions and lusts.

But the question is, why did Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, conceived and born without sin, having pure and holy flesh, submit to circumcision? First of all, the Lord accepts circumcision and the other Old Testament mysteries and rites to thereby give an example for men to obey the Law, and on the other hand, having accepted our nature, He also took upon Himself all our sins and unrighteousness. Early circumcision teaches us to begin the internal circumcision of our heart from any early age. According to the word of the Apostle Paul, in Christ Jesus we are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ (Col. 2:11).

The circumcision of the flesh was very painful, but beneficial. Similarly, the circumcision of the heart, that is, the cutting off evil inclinations, is sorrowful, but beneficial. We have to cut off the evil inclinations of the heart, impure thoughts, and vain desires that can hinder the successes of faith and piety, because from evil thoughts and desires are born evil deeds, and on the other hand, impure thoughts themselves make us unworthy before the Lord, Who knows our hearts. We have to cut off both spiritual and bodily passions to make our bodies and souls a fragrant temple of the living God. The second lesson we take from the present feast is that we must try to precisely follow all the ordinances of the Church, as exemplified for us by Jesus Christ, Who submitted to the Law of the Old Testament Church.

The Church also celebrates the memory of St. Basil the Great today. He was a mighty pillar of the Church, raised up by Caesarea of Cappadocia. He was born in 329 and died in 379. St. Basil was born and lived in the most troubled and difficult times for the Church of Christ, when the enemy of our salvation, after his unsuccessful fight against it for three centuries by the persecution and killing of Christians failed to achieve its goal, then gave rise to various heresies in the Church of Christ, such as Arianism, Nestorianism, Monophysitism, and others.

And at this time, in order to help the Orthodox Church, the Lord raised up the wondrous and tireless champion and universal teacher St. Basil the Great. He was a man of high and holy moral life, an ascetic, theologian, and the most educated of men of his age. He studied secular sciences in Alexandria, then in Athens, famous for its sciences, and then, upon returning home, he began diligently studying the Holy Scriptures and was often in prayer and fasting. In view of the Arians’ struggle against the Orthodox, he was ordained first as a presbyter, and then as bishop of Caesarea of Cappadocia, where he defended the purity of Orthodoxy to the end of his days.

When the wicked King Valens wanted to introduce Arianism by force, St. Basil was summoned to the court of the Prefect Modestos. He demanded that St. Basil accept the emperor’s will, pointing to the many bishops who had agreed to accept Arianism. Then St. Basil said: “My King doesn’t want the worship of a creature.” When Modestos, annoyed by the saint’s intransigence and bold answers, asked: “Aren’t you afraid of my power?” St. Basil replied: “What’s there for me to fear?” “I’ll order your estate to be seized for the treasury, and you’ll be sent into exile, tortured, and put to death,” said the king. “Threaten me with something else if you can,” answered St. Basil. “Those who have nothing have nothing to be seized. I have only a hair shirt and a few books. I don’t consider exile to be exile; the whole earth is God’s, and I’m a stranger and wanderer. Death is a blessing for me—it will lead me more quickly to God, for Whom I live, Whom I serve, and for Whom, for the most part, I have already died.” Marveling at these replies of St. Basil, Modestos and Valens left him alone…

  

Everything was ready for the feast at the end of the Nativity Fast. The cake was browned, and the sight of its well-toasted and oil-soaked crust alone made your mouth water; a fat piece of mutton spread an enticing smell throughout the log hut; thick steam was coming from a pot of burning hot shchi (cabbage soup) that had just been taken out of the oven. Almost everything was tidy in the hut. An icon lamp was burning in the holy corner with a blackened large “Joy of All Who Sorrow” Icon with some new icons in paper rizas.

The skies were darkening and almost no light was coming through the windows. Mikhailo was preparing the wood sledge in the yard.¹ It was time to get ready for the Vigil. They were not going to ride to the parish, but to the large village of Trekhbratskoye, which lay about twelve versts (about eight miles) away from their village. There was the patronal feast there. Mikhailo’s second wife Marya,² a nimble, tall and ruddy-faced woman, was adroitly completing the cleaning of the hut. Taking fried meat and cake out of the oven and putting them on the table, she covered them and shouted to her stepson Nikolka,³ a boy of about seven, to take the cat out into the inner porch and not let it inside the hut so that it could not treat itself to the dainties. After finishing the preparations for tomorrow’s festal dinner, Marya began to dress up. She came from a well-to-do family in Trekhbratskoye and loved to show off her best attire, so she didn’t want to go out in ordinary clothes on a day like this. And when she put on a colorful sarafan⁴ with puffed silver buttons, tied a red silk headscarf around her head and threw on a long sheepskin coat (tulup) covered with thin blue cloth, she became even more majestic and more attractive.

Mikhailo entered the hut, letting in clouds of frosty air behind him, and began to dress for the feast too. Only Nikolka didn’t have anything new to wear. Nevertheless, he put on a washed shirt and pulled on his patched short sheepskin fur coat, standing in the corner and carefully straightening his creased peaked cap (on ordinary days he would put it on his head without caring about its appearance). Mikhailo stole a few glances at his young son. Perhaps he was sorry that Nikolka didn’t have any new clothes for the feast. He might also have thought that it would have been otherwise if Nikolka’s mother were alive. As for Nikolka, he wasn’t thinking about his mother or new clothes. He was tryig his best to stand as still as possible so as not to anger his stepmother in any way. He was very glad that they were taking him to Trekhbratskoye, and he wanted to get on the wood sledge as soon as possible where there would be nothing to scold him for.

They were planning to spend the night with Marya’s family in Trekhbratskoye and return home after the festive Liturgy. Nikolka was really looking forward to all this. Having prepared himself, Mikhailo wrapped himself up more tightly in a wide armyak⁵ over his short sheepskin fur coat and belted himself up more tightly. Marya settled her one-year-old baby on her breast, turned off the light, leaving only one icon lamp burning, and everyone went outside: Mikhailo and Marya found room for themselves in front, and Nikolka lay down comfortably in the back. And so they set off.

The well-fed and strong horse ran merrily. The snow, gripped by the severe frost, screeched under the runners, and the wood sledge slid along smoothly. Nikolka felt warm on a thick pile of straw and covered with his father’s old kaftan. He gazed for a long time: now at the skies twinkling with countless stars that continued to appear, now at the lights in the huts of the villages they passed by, now into the dark distance that approached the wood sledge from the sides, from the front, and from behind.

Then Nikolka dozed off from the smooth ride and the silence around them. Through slumber he felt that the sledge was entering the forest and that if he were alone there he would be scared, but with his family he felt even better there than in the field. On either side, huge pines and sparse deciduous trees hugged the narrow road, and the previous tranquility gave way to a continuous strange and mysterious whispering. God alone knows what Nikolka was thinking about. Maybe he was dreaming of summer when in this very forest (in glades and in the grass) flowers blossomed, berries ripened and mushrooms rose by hummocks; or maybe he was thinking of his native village and the Church resplendent with lights, with loud singing and festive people; or maybe he just wanted someone to caress him. That evening it was sweet for Nikolka to doze on the sledge, in the middle of the forest, to the lulling screeching of the runners.

Suddenly something prompted him to look back. Freeing his head from under the kaftan, he gazed at the road. Not very far from the sledge something scattered and black was running, and out of this blackness, jumping lights were glaring. Nikolka was terrified. He swiftly got up on his knees and looked over his father at the horse. The horse was trembling, with its ears up—it was moving them with fright.

“Why are you tossing and turning? What’s up?” his stepmother asked him, displeased. There was concern in her voice though.

Nikolka turned back again: the lights were getting closer. The noise of the approaching mass could already be heard clearly.

“Daddy, wolves!” Nikolka shouted.

Mikhailo saw everything. He sensed danger immediately after the horse had pricked its ears up. Knowing that there was nothing to be done, he only prayed to God to save them from imminent death. His only hope was that there weren’t many wolves or that someone else was riding behind them and they would fight back together. As he urged his horse along, Mikhailo looked back: a whole pack of wolves was chasing them. The horse was galloping with all its might, but the distance between the pack and the sledge was getting closer.

“Hold on,” Mikhailo commanded. “Everybody sit together! God is merciful—maybe we’ll escape!” And, rising himself a little, he started whipping the horse frantically until it was bleeding. With its head thrown high, the horse seemed to be floating over the ground. Clutching the baby to herself in mortal terror, Marya stared ahead; Mikhailo kept turning around. Nikolka was kneeling behind Marya, facing the wolves. He could already hear the beasts’ breathing. The boy realized that when the wolves caught up with them, they would seize him first. He wasn’t crying, wasn’t screaming, or tossing about, but he froze.

“Nikolka, hold Nikolka!” Mikhailo shouted to Marya.

But Marya was sitting motionless. The wolves were closing in. The front wolf’s muzzle was already touching the sledge. A moment later it was running parallel to them. Soon the sledge would be in the middle of the pack. The horrifying lights of the wolves’ eyes were flashing from all sides, and the formidable beasts’ heavy breathing could be heard.

All of a sudden Marya rose and, still holding her baby with one hand, lifted Nikolka by the short sheepskin coat with a great force with the other hand and with a frantic scream flung him at the wolves.

“Daddy, daddy!” rang out in the air.

But the sledge flew on—the maddened horse carried it forward unstoppably. Whether Mikhailo’s mind was darkened, or he didn’t hear his son calling him, he kept whipping the now unruly horse. And there, behind them, the pack showed black against the white snow, surrounding the boy who had been thrown off the sledge.

When his stepmother flung Nikolka at the wolves, apart from the boundless horror that chilled him to the bone, he clearly realized, “I’ll be eaten by them.” And, closing his eyes, he was lying on the ground, not trying to get up. Meanwhile, everything was quiet. The fact that the wolves didn’t attack him right away made him feel even more scared. With an incredible effort, as if expecting to see his death with his own eyes, he brought himself to open his eyes. There were no wolves, and it was warm in the snow.

And suddenly something joyful, something he had never experienced in his life before, overwhelmed the boy. For some reason, it became clear to him that he was saved. Some power stood around him in the forest, amid the trees, streaming down from high heaven, caressing and animating him. This power had swept away the terrible pack of wolves and triumphantly filled the whole forest with benevolence and joy.

It was an ethereal power. It was darting over the ground and pouring comfort and joy around it. And wherever it approached, the mantle of snow shrouded whiter, the stars shone warmer and more welcoming from the skies, and everything greeted the descent of the wondrous Divine Infant with glee. The earth sensed this life-giving power. And before it the gray pines bowed their proud peaks, and under the mantle of snow the power did ineffable things. Living sap flowed up from the roots of trees, the snow was covered with green fresh grass, and flowers were blooming. A delicate snowdrop, a pure lily of the valley, a white chamomile, a blue forget-me-not, a violet full of fragrant moisture came up where frozen snow had been laying a minute before, and a thin cheerful little tinkle could be heard in the purple cups of the bluebells.… Swarms of light dragonflies with transparent wings and light butterflies circled over the blooming flowers around… Having lifted the instantly melted ice crust, bright brooks murmured, hurrying to reach the big rivers and the faraway warm sea by running… And wherever the power passed, there was triumphant everlasting life, with no death, no misfortune, and no sorrow… And this all-forgiving and victorious power marched over all this brightening and joy… Around it the soft flight of someone’s light wings could be heard, and there were echoes of the song that on the same night very many years before had been sung from Heaven to the poor and freed earth and first heard by several shepherds… In big cities those echoes were drowned out by the hustle and bustle, but in the forest its awakened nature listened to them, repeating them with the jolly murmuring of life, along with the village boy saved by that power.

And when it had passed, it became cold, tranquil and menacing in the forest again. There was no more murmuring spring, no more newly opening flowers, no more fluttering butterflies… Neither was the boy there… Only the tracks of the runners and the wolves’ paws were still visible in the snow, clear stars were blinking merrily from the skies, and old pines slowly began to talk incomprehensibly about what they had seen…

Having escaped from the wolves, Mikhailo and Marya found themselves in the most nightmarish situation. The dreadful empty place in the sledge where Nikolka had lain as they were leaving their home gaped menacingly and reproachfully before of them. They didn’t dare go back and rescue Nikolka. And it was frightful to ride forward and even think about the church. Their minds were in a mist, they did not exchange a single word and gloomily rode into the large village of Trekhbratskoye.

From afar, the tolling of the sonorous church bell could be heard in the frosty stillness of the night. Soon the church opened. It was located at a distance from the manor house on a high and prominent point. The space beside the church was buzzing with people who had not yet walked inside. Greetings and exchanged words, shouts at horses, the screeching of runners and footsteps on the snow were clearly audible in the air, which was frozen and motionless from the cold. The boys were dancing over the snow to get warm and blowing on their fingers; those who had come on foot sat down to rest on the ledge of the stone fence; those who were entering the church took off their hats on the porch with its high roof and made the sign of the cross. Through the wide glass doors, bright lights and a swaying crowd could be seen from inside.

Only Mikhailo and Marya went into the church without joy—with heavy hearts. In the village it had seemed to them that the fellow in the house of their relatives, to whom they handed over the horse, had been looking at them suspiciously. They could not answer anyone who greeted them; they did not dare look into anyone’s eyes; did not dare go ahead, and stopped not far from the door. The altar was right in front of them. Many candles were burning in front of local icons, and more and more were added to them, but they did not dare light a candle. Mikhailo was pining for his dear young son, and Marya was tormented by scalding remorse. She thought she saw another woman, Nikolka’s mother, and she was staring at her with her sad eyes, and in her ears Marya could hear a terrible whisper: “What have you done to him?”

The service was going on. The Six Psalms were read; then the royal doors opened; the clergy came out to the icon in the middle of the church and hymns of praise to the newborn Baby Christ were sung. Then they went to cense in the sanctuary, and the voices of the children from the village school began to repeat the words of the Magnification softly in unison.

At that moment Marya, who was staring ahead with wide opened eyes, pulled her husband: “Can you see?” she said, almost out of breath. “Nikolka’s soul is walking around the Church!”

“I see it,” Mikhailo replied.

Indeed, Nikolka was wearing an old short sheepskin coat and felt boots (valenki), holding an old peaked cap in his hands, apparently only for Mikhailo and Marya, walking around the church. He followed the priest into the altar, then came out and followed him through the church. And when the priest was not far from Mikhailo and Marya, Nikolka, who was still following him, looked in their direction and bowed low to them.

“Let’s go home. It is unbearable,” Marya whispered to her husband, and they left the church and rode back home another way.

Marya did not dare pray, but there was one thought in her mind: God is great and He could arrange it as if none of this had happened. With a contrite heart, realizing that she was the worst of the sinners, she entered the hut. The icon lamp was still burning in front of the “Joy of All Who Sorrow” Icon and the icons in paper rizas. Nikolka, safe and sound, was sleeping serenely on the bench beneath the icons in the short sheepskin fur coat, peaked cap and felt boots…

And all that night the great power of God walked all across the universe.

Photo: pravoslavie.ru     

Today is the feast of the Malachi, the “Seal of the Prophets”Malachi was the last of the Old Testament Prophets, which is why the holy fathers call him the “Seal of the prophets”. After him, until John the Forerunner whom he prophesized, for a whole 400 years there were no great prophets in the world.

“>Prophet Malachi, and what do we know about him? He’s the last prophet with a book in the Old Testament. He was the last of the prophets both in time and the writing of his book. He lived in the time of King Ezra and took part in the Jews’ exodus from Babylonian captivity.

His book contains a prophetic part that talks about how the Savior will soon come and we’ll be able to pray to God anywhere at any time, not only to offer sacrifices in the Jerusalem Temple. And the second part of his prophetic book, Behold, I will send My messenger, speaks about and foretells the Forerunner. The day of his death is unknown, as with all the prophets. I think it’s precisely thanks to the second prophecy, thanks to what Malachi said about the Forerunner that his feast is appointed for today.

Nothing else is known about him. What kind of man was he? What did he think? How did he speak? What did he suffer? Whom did he love? How long did he live? Nothing… How did he live overall? Like all those who were around him. But it shouldn’t be like that. It’s not for nothing that the holy Church tells us to remember him, to remember his day.

Let’s think about and let’s remember what this prophet means to us. A representative of a foreign nation, nothing in common with us. All those chastisements he writes, we just read in books. Okay, yes, he upbraids the Jews, but we’re not Jews—we live in New Testament times. Their sins don’t apply to us, we don’t offer sacrifices. He was a prophet. We know that the Lord sends these prophets to kings and princes. There are different prophets—there are those of royal descent, like Isaiah, and there are ordinary shepherds, like the Prophet HoseaThe Holy Prophet Hosea the first of the minor prophets, belonged to the tribe of Issachar.

“>Prophet Hosea, completely unadorned and uneducated. And they go to kings, to the powerful of this world, and speak right to their faces, fearing nothing, while they are feared. The kings feared them, hid from them, and sent them far away; they didn’t want to hear it. There was practically nothing they could do with them, save Isaiah, who was executed, and Jeremiah, whom the people stoned. But they were afraid and trembled.

But why? What is this prophetic ministry? St. John Chrysostom gives an example: Despite the fact that the Lord told the unrighteous King Ahab: “You will defeat the army. Execute them, do not let them live; they’re wicked and they will repeatedly attack and destroy your people, so execute them,” the king was as if he didn’t hear it, and he spared the captive Syrian king and put him on his chariot and honored him and released him with a reward. And then, Holy Scripture says, a certain man came and said to another man, “In the name of the Lord, smite me.” This doesn’t mean to just give a slap, but to strike hard. In other words, “Really hurt me.” This man was at a loss: “Why should I hit you? Why should I hurt you? No, I’m not going to do that.” And the prophet said to him: “Since you didn’t listen to the will of God, a lion will come and tear you to pieces.” Then the prophet went up to another man and said: “According to the word of the Lord, strike me.” So he struck him and maimed him so badly that he couldn’t even look at him. Half the prophet’s face had to be bandaged.

St. John Chrysostom asks: “What’s this about? How is this possible? The one who caused harm is praised, while the one who wanted to do good is punished and killed—what is this?” It’s what you and I, living in the world, very often forget—the simple truth that every prophet who lived before the coming of the Savior knew and remembered. They knew the same thing: truth, evil, lies, and goodness. They knew one thing about truth and evil, and lies and good–that these are all conventions. Good is only what the Lord has said, evil is everything that goes against God’s will. And they knew this and lived by this, and that’s why everyone feared them, even kings. They were fearful before this Divine truth, before these hearts, before these individuals who no longer lived for themselves.

So, what do we know about any of these prophets? What do we know about the Forerunner? The greatest prophet… What do we know about him? Practically nothing. They all dissolved, they all stopped being themselves in order to be the voice of God, to be agents of God’s will here.

This beaten, maimed prophet—why did he need this? It turns out that King Ahab’s conscience rebuked him and he ordered that none of the prophets be allowed to see him. But the Lord arranged it so that the guards didn’t recognize the mangled prophet with a bandaged face, and he went to the king and said what he had to say: “Because you spared the man of destruction, your soul will be instead of his soul, and your people instead of his people.” The Lord will find a means and a way by which the will of God for every man will be revealed to him.

Now, to be brief. Is today’s prophet really so foreign and incomprehensible to us? He’s a Minor Prophet. There are four major prophetic books of the Old Testament and twelve minor ones. He’s one of the Minor Prophets, and even the last. What’s in there for us? Well, we say, it’s for the Jews—let them read it. What’s it to us? But let’s not be lazy, let’s open it, and I think the first line will make us think: The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi (Mal. 1:1). If it’s the word of the Lord, it can’t be temporary, it can’t be local, for a certain nation or certain area. As the word of the Lord, by this fact alone, it’s important for everyone living in all times and beyond.

And how does this word begin? “I have loved My people,” says the Lord. “I have loved My people, but they say to Me, ‘How have You loved us?’” (Mal. 1:2). My God, isn’t this us? Isn’t this about us? When even a small misfortune happens in life—or even not so small, if it’s grief, if it’s illness—isn’t our first thought always: “Why me? Of all people…” It’s because the Lord loved you. And if a servant honors his master, if a son honors his father, as the prophet Malachi writes further, then “How can you call Me Father and not respect Me, call Me Lord and not revere Me?” How can this be? How do we live like this? How can we say Our Father… The Lord spoke to everyone through Malachi, and He spoke to the priests about those Gifts that the priest brings unworthily: And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? (Mal. 1:8) “I’m offering a sacrifice,” the priest answers.Okay, but your sacrifice isn’t pleasing. Look at yourself. As you are, so is your sacrifice.

I think we all need to make a very little effort, spend a little of our time to read it—and it’s very short, it’s only four pages. This is the Minor Prophet Malachi. This is what has come down to us from him. This is what remains from him in the memory of the history of this land. We won’t learn anything else about him anywhere else, but we need to listen. It’s not for nothing that today, on the day of his commemoration, the Lord tells us to read this. This concerns all of us. Don’t be lazy, because if you don’t want to do it, if you turn away, someone will have to be struck down, to be injured in order to come to us. Perhaps not in the literal sense—perhaps this person will be terminally ill, perhaps it will be an invalid, or perhaps it will be someone with a wounded soul, I don’t know. Someone will suffer so that we might feel compassion, so that we might want to hear God’s will for ourselves. Let’s not let anyone suffer, let’s not cause anyone harm, let us be reverent and prudent. Let us turn ourselves to the One Whom we call our Father and Lord.

  

Our yearning for renewal knows no limits. Even the seemingly mundane things can reflect, like in a drop of water, something truly great. Behind the seemingly superficial gaudiness of our New Year preparations: the decoration of the Christmas tree, the happy chatter of children anticipating their gifts, the joyful bustle of the lady of the house around the festively-laid table—behind it lies something truly profound. It is our yearning to renounce the old man and put on the life-transforming garments of the new man.

We anticipate the arrival of the New Year—as if in attempt to break through into a new era and leave behind all of our mistakes, sorrows, afflictions, anguish, and inner turmoil, to start life with a clean slate, because this is what, it seems, the first page of the calendar inspires us to do.

The Christmas tree and its string lights, the children dancing in a circle around it, the parties with family or friends—all of this is great as long as it stays within the limits of worldly pleasures allotted to us. However, once we have welcomed the New Year, let’s never remain satiated by the matters of everyday life. For he who is trapped in everyday cares will limit life to just that—dumping all hopes of his heart along with the emptied glasses, crumpled candy wrappers and burnt festive sparklers. Isn’t it obvious that jokes, laughter, fireworks, or food will never renew the inner man in us? The date on the calendar won’t bring the renewal either! Renewal is in the hands of Him Who renews life.

As it was said by the Prophet Isaiah,

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint (Isaiah 40:29-31).

An encounter with God always results in renewal. It has been this way for centuries, throughout the history of Christianity. Peter, who passionately cried out, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16), and Saul, who first became blind and then regained his eyesight through the action of that same uncreated Light—both of them bore testimony to the renewal at the dawn of the Christian era. Therefore, Paul, as he shared the innermost thoughts with his disciple Titus, knew what he was talking about:

For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another: But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour (Titus 3:3-6).

It is exactly the same in our days. The world seems hopelessly lost. However, anywhere the Mystery of Confession is being administered, another mystery, of renewal, also reigns supreme. Silent are they who participate in this Mystery, but they witness it, rejoicing in Christ and feeling thankful to God. Fornicators and robbers who have repented, godless people who have found faith, and cynics who obtained fear of God, sinners possessed by passions of all hues and those who found healing in Christ—these are all realities of our days, even though the path of renewal is agonizing at times. We can witness a wondrous change even some decades later, as if it were necessary to go through all the circles of hell to fully appreciate Paradise, or sometimes it happens all of a sudden, like in a fiery change of heart. Still, we keep wondering in either case: how is it ever possible at all? Well, everything is possible with God.

What is spiritual renewal? It is when you are no longer weighed down by the burden of past traumas and mistakes, your present is filled with joy, and you anticipate the future without fear. We are happy people, because we have Him, and it is before Him that we lay bare our past; He knows the present-day secrets of our heart and He is the One Who will arrange our future in the best way possible. For, Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him (Hebrews 4:13). The major testimony from the book of Revelation: God is all-encompassing and all-healing Love! Thus, let’s bare our hearts before Him. The easiest of prayers, yet spoken like a profound and sincere sigh of the heart, may be a prelude to spiritual renewal. That is why we pray, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Even the most typical of confessions, a simple one, but honest through and through, merciless to our inner self, can suddenly turn into a miracle of renewal.

There is also another amazing truth: Sin is an extremely exhausting thing. Your mind and heart, soaking filth like sponges, become heavy and stiff, while your thoughts and feelings get sluggish and earthbound, like birds caught in a net. It is as tiring as every other illness, because sin is an illness, yet man is a child of God and a child of Paradise. And this is the reason why our heart is languishing. The thirst for renewal is an unconscious longing for God and for Paradise lost.

Life in sin is always boring and languid, hard and hopeless, like the labor of Sisyphus—pulling a stone uphill knowing that it will inevitably roll back down. There is also the annoyance with ourselves and despair, because we cannot do it on our own. But God will take away the stone of sin from the penitent. And mountains will move anywhere there is faith, repentance and humility. They who have such experience know how the soul is soaring high above as if it has acquired the wings and regained freedom. What seemed unsolvable has been solved, the incorrigible has been corrected, the crooked has become straight.

This is the truth of life: it is boring and hard with sin, but with God—it is joyful and effortless. He said this Himself:

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30)

Then, there is also the experience of holy people that tells us: In God, there always exists something inexhaustibly new, unmatched and unexplored. There is a limit to everything in our world, and space also has limits, and even the most interesting book will bore you sooner or later. Yet, the Maker of the Angels, the people and the world knows no limits and so the paths of communication with God and of knowing Him are inexhaustible. This is a truly important matter. Once St. Seraphim of Sarov left his hermitage and was alight with joy, saying to everyone, “Christ is Risen!” By having renewed himself in the Holy Spirit, he shared this joy with others. It was just the same in ancient times, when St. Anthony the Great was seen as filled with joy in the silent desert. It was so in the Middle Ages with St. Sergius of Radonezh, and in our days with St. Paisios of the Holy Mountain and Father Hippolytus (Khalin), who all shone with light and joy.

There is always something new and unexplored in God. With God, there is neither boredom nor dullness. It is like a meeting of the two in love, always filled with unforgettable things that nourish the heart so that the day is gone as if in a heartbeat, as if time doesn’t exist in the presence of the loved one. In the same way, life in Paradise, which is the communion of a loved one with the Loving One—that is, of man and God—will never make anyone weary.

Our thirst for renewal that reveals itself in our earthly holidays (not only New Year’s, but also in our birthday parties) is our unconscious yearning for God. And every experience of thirst attests to the existence of the object of thirst. Thus, thirst for water means that one can find water. It is impossible to thirst for something that doesn’t exist. Thirst for love means that love exists, even if we have rejected it. In the same manner, thirst for renewal, transfiguration, and resurrection suggests that all this does exist. Renewal is impossible without Him Who renews life. He was born of the Ever-Virgin Mary, the star showed the way to the Magi, the Angel appeared to the shepherds, followed later by the heavenly host, to grant us new life. He became like one of us, born as a little Child, to grant us what He always had from eternity. In Him, there is our much-awaited renewal. Let us also hasten to Him! Greetings with the Nativity of Christ and the upcoming Theophany, dear brothers and sisters!

We spoke with regular Pravoslavie.ru/OrthoChristian.com contributor Dmitry ZlodorevZlodorev, Dmitry

“>Dmitry Zlodorev, a professional journalist of thirty years. Dmitry is currently working on a book about the reunification of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) with its Mother Church, the Moscow Patriarchate. Here are his insights as a Russian-American.

Signing of the Reunification document by Patriarch Alexiy II and Metropolitan Laurus     

—You are a long-time contributor to Pravoslavie.ru and OrthoChristian, being uniquely positioned in the United States. How long have you been working in the U.S.? Is it home for you now?

—My American journey started 27 years ago when I visited the United States for the first time. It was Boulder, a small town in Colorado, where I worked as an intern with the very local newspaper. That experience was great: after working in ITAR-TASS, the major Russian news agency and one of the biggest in the world, I had a chance to deepen into America’s local life, and that was interesting.

Then, I returned to Moscow, but as a journalist, I have returned to the U.S. several times for short business trips. My major trip began in 2006, and it continues to this day.

Yes, the U.S. became my home—along with Russia, of course. At least, this is the home for my kids, who were born and are growing up here. They are Russian Orthodox Americans, and we try to educate them in Russian traditions and add some appropriate American traditions.

Of course, I continue to be a Russian Orthodox person. However, at some point, I began to notice that in certain cases, I think as a Russian American, not just as a Russian or an American. This is a very interesting experience.

And by the way, perhaps we would not be having this talk with you on the OrthoChristian platform without America’s “interference” in the best meaning of this word. I became an Orthodox journalist only here.

—How did that happen?

—Nothing happens accidentally in an Orthodox believer’s life, as St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco would say. My oldest son was diagnosed with leukemia here, and Father Archpriest Victor PotapovPotapov, Victor, Archpriest

“>Victor Potapov, the rector of the Russian St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Washington, DC, came to baptize him directly in the hospital. Two months later we began coming to the church and found many interesting people around us. At one moment, I understood that I have a real “life treasure” here, and must share it with others. That was how I began listening and writing our parishioners’ and priests’ stories.   

—When did you become interested in writing a book on the reunification? What obstacles, if any have you met along the way of your quest?

—I am a news journalist who has worked in news agencies for over thirty years. I like anniversaries of any kind. As Julian Lowenfeld, an American translator of Pushkin and your godson, told me, “You Russians, like milestones.”

In 2022, when the fifteenth anniversary of the reunification approached, I decided to talk with people who participated in the process and combine their memories in a book. To tell the truth, some parts were published at Pravoslavie.ru and OrthoChristian.com as separate interviews.

Believe it or not, timing was the only obstacle I encountered. I wanted to complete a manuscript by the anniversary, May 17, 2022, but not everything was ready. However, the bitter comes with the sweet: I decided not to “clue” to any dates and do the book better. Now, I understand that I still have space that should be filled.

Metropolitan Laurus with a ROCOR delegation and Metropolitan Onuphry of the UOC, visiting an orphanage in Ukraine.     

—What do you mean by “space”?

—For example, many of my interlocutors advised me to talk with Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov)Tikhon (Shevkunov), Metropolitan

“>Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov), who was one of the major “engines” of the process from the Moscow Patriarchate’s side. I understand Vladyka is very busy, but I hope we can talk.

Then, I know many people close to St. John (Maximovich) of Shanghai and San Francisco

“>St. John of Shanghai, the hieraches Averkii (Taushev), Nikon (Rklitsky), Antonii (Medvedev), Bishop Mitrophan (Znosko-Borovsky)Mitrophan (Znosko-Borovsky), Bishop”>Mitrofan (Znosko-Borovsky), Basil (Rodzyanko), Archimandrite Cyprian (Pyzhov), and other elders of Russia Abroad who reposed well before the reunification. It would be interesting to learn what they thought about reconciliation.

It would also be great to speak with more American converts who came to the Russian Orthodox Church. So far, there are memories of Bishop Jerome (Shaw) and Archimandrite Tryphon (Parsons), the Igumen of All-Merciful Savior Monastery in the state of Washington. Now, I would like to expand this list.

Metropolitan Hilarion and Archpriest Seraphim Gan     

—Did you know Metropolitan Hilarion of blessed memory? Can you tell us what stood out the most about him, what most impressed you about him?

—Knowing Vladyka Hilarion was a blessing for me. And by the way, I received his verbal blessing to work on this book. It was at our last, as it turned out later, meeting in September 2021. Vladyka shared his memories related to the reunification. He spoke about how he was young and attended services in the Moscow Patriarchate church in Canada, how he wanted to study at the seminary in Leningrad, and how he came to the Holy Trinity seminary in Jordanville. Vladyka said that the reconciliation was a great achievement that allowed the Russian Church to become united.

That talk with Vladyka Hilarion occurred in the presence of the Kursk Root icon of the Mother of God. Sitting just two meters from such a great shrine was a great experience, and I cannot even describe my feelings. It was unbelievable to speak with such a great man near this icon.

Vladyka was a very humble person. I do not remember him denying even one of my requests for an interview despite his poor heald, fatigue, and busyness. He was always ready to serve God and his flock.

I still see Vladyka standing with the Cross after the liturgy. He would be tired after a long service, but people come to kiss the Cross and receive a blessing. And he humbly stands and blesses everyone.   

—When you lived in Russia, what did you know about the ROCOR?

—Oh, you cannot even imagine how far from the Church I was at that time. Yes, I was baptized, I attended services from time to time but it was a kind of “external interest.” My first “indirect” interaction with the ROCOR occurred in 1999 in Washington, DC. I asked my colleagues about the Russian church there, and was told that St. John’s cathedral is “not ours.” Now I am a parishioner of that “alien” church.

—Is there any schedule in place for your book’s release? Although you missed the anniversary in May, 2022, are you trying to tie it to any other date?

I would like to avoid being attached to anniversaries. Of course, sooner would be better. However, it is more important to do everything I can and acquire all possible materials. I already mentioned that I have ideas for including other people’s memories in the book. In other words, I am glad that I am no longer under time constraints.

—What language will the book be published in?

This is another example of why the delay in publishing was helpful. The manuscript is written in Russian. However, I have begun to understand that it is good to translate it into English as well, so that other people, not only Russians, can learn about the history of overcoming the schism in the Russian Church

Dmitry Zlodorev. Photo: roscult.org     

—Having interviewed the clergy who participated in the unification process, what is the most important conclusion or impression that you are left with? Have you found inspiration and a confirmation of the “rightness” of this reunification between the ROCOR and its Mother Church in Russia?

—I was blessed to talk with a dozen of ROCOR’s hierarchs and clergy—Metropolitans Hilarion and Mark of Berin and Germany, then-Bishop and now-First Hierarch Nicholas (Olhovsky), Archbishop Gabriel of Montreal and Canada, Bishop Jerome (Shaw), Fr. Victor Potapov, Fr. Victor Lochmatow, Fr. Tryphon (Parsons), Fr. Andrey Sommer, Fr. Stephan Pavlenko, Fr. Nicholas Artemov from Germany, and Archpriest George Larin of blessed memory. They all underscored that the decision the ROCOR made in 2006 and 2007 was the only right one, even though some of them had doubts in the beginning. For example, Vladyka Gabriel was very skeptical about the reunification but then, he understood that this is the only way for the ROCOR to survive.

Fr. Victor Potapov from Washington, DC, recalled how he served the first Liturgy after returning from the signing ceremony in Moscow without a deacon and had to read the litany and commemorate the Patriarch for the first time in his life. “I remember, having said, “and our lord, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’ Alexy II with all his flock,” I felt as if a huge, heavy weight had been lifted from my shoulders,” he said.

That was the main conclusion: There was no doubt that reunification and reconciliation were the only right moves.

Yes, unfortunately, we lost some people who did not accept this. Some still remain in schism, but many have come to understand it was God’s will and have returned to the Church. This is another triumph of Orthodoxy, and this is very important.   

—What do you feel the significance is of this reunification to non-Russian converts in the ROCOR?

—It so happens that now I attend English Liturgies in our church more often than Slavonic ones. More and more Americans come to us. They are interested in Russian Orthodoxy, have converted to our faith, and have been baptized. I see with what enthusiasm they read Orthodox prayers in English, how they commemorate the Patriarch. I feel that being a part of the united Russian Church is a blessing for them. And when priests and other guests from Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, and other countries come to us, and when we ourselves go to those countries, we can approach the same Chalice together. This is very important.

—Thank you, Dmitry, for this and all you other labors of love and journalism, and for talking with us about your current work in progress. May God bless the work. Please keep us updated!

—I will, thanks!

In the smoldering rubble of Rick and Tracy McGeagh’s Pacific Palisades home, a statue of Mary stands serene and unscathed amid mangled ruins.

Their son Jack, a psychologist, took many photos of their property after the catastrophic Jan. 7 fire that destroyed the entire community. There was much to weep over, but an image of the Blessed Mother moved the family to a different kind of tears: Mary prays near a charred tree reminiscent of the cross. High in the smoke-darkened sky, a bright sun casts a single beam of light toward the scene of devastation and of faith.

“It’s like Calvary Hill,” McGeagh said. “Mary is at the foot of the cross, as she was, and the sun is God, beaming down on them.”

He has shared the photo with everyone who contacted him to offer love and support.

“I find it a message of hope, that God is telling us that we are going to get through this as Mary did,” he said.

The fire was the second disaster that this statue of Mary has inexplicably survived. After the Northridge earthquake all but destroyed his grandmother’s Santa Monica home in 1994, the Blessed Mother remained on the patio when the family evacuated at 4 a.m.

“The home was red-tagged, but Mary survived,” he said.

The same grandmother had brought him to faith as a young adult. Though baptized Catholic, he had not been confirmed and had strayed in his youth. She prayed persistently for him and was his RCIA sponsor when he entered the Church in 1990 at age 27.

In 1998, the year after his grandmother’s death, McGeagh brought the statue to his young family’s new home in Pacific Palisades, placing her reverently in the garden. Twins Matthew and Jack and their sister, Mary, attended Corpus Christi School. McGeagh served on the pastoral advisory council for two decades.

The Corpus Christi church building was incinerated in the same fire that destroyed the McGeagh home.

McGeagh, a commercial real estate broker, intends to rebuild both his house and the church. He is grateful for good insurance and committed to both the neighborhood and the parish.

He trusts in Jesus and in the prayers of his mother.

“The fact that she survived, and our Viking stove melted is just a miracle to me,” he said.

Click here to subscribe to Angelus magazine.