| Briefly About the Main Decisions of Yesterday’s ROC Holy Synod Session Photo: mospat.ru – The Synod is concerned about the social conflict in the Republic of Belarus. The Synod considers it important that the authorities thoroughly investigate all cases of violence against both citizens and law enforcement officers and punish those responsible for violating the law. – The Synod sees the concern of people with “the possibility of further application of the methods that were used during the pandemic to ensure the necessary reduction of personal contacts between people” to be justified. The use of these technologies requires control by society and the Church. – Bishop Veniamin (Tupeko) of Borisov and Maryina Gorka has been appointed the patriarch’s exarch of all Belarus. His predecessor, Metropolitan Pavel, was appointed head of the Kuban Metropolitanate. – Archpriest Maxim Kozlov, Chairman of the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church, was appointed Acting Rector of the Sretensky Theological Seminary. – Hieromonk John (Ludishchev), a resident of the Sretensky Monastery, was appointed Abbot of the Sretensky Stavropegic Monastery in Moscow. – His Grace Bishop Thomas of Bronnitsk was appointed Abbot of the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius with the title “of Sergiev Posad”. – His Grace Bishop Theodorite of Skopinsky and Shatsk was appointed rector of the Moscow Theological Academy. – Metropolitan of Rostov and Novocherkassk Mercury has been appointed General Director of the Sofrino Art Production Enterprise. – Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov, known for his resonant statements, left the post of the chairman of the patriarchal commission on family issues, protection of motherhood and childhood, at his request due to health issues. Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable. For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir. If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life " s purpose, family and society. Also by this author Today " s Articles Most viewed articles Functionality is temporarily unavailable. Most popular authors Functionality is temporarily unavailable. © 2008-2024 Pravmir.com |
| Archpriest Maxim Kozlov advises " tight control of personal presence on social networks " Moscow, April 12, 2013 Participation in social networks is fraught with spiritual danger, believes Archpriest Maxim Kozlov, the First Deputy Chairman of the Education Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church. " Most of those who tend to give up social networks during Lent finally realize that most of what they find there is not beneficial, and not spiritual reading at all. And that their posts are not usually full of love for their neighbors but of showing off their lives and rushing for unnecessary information which burdens their consciences and minds, and at the same time is absolutely useless, " said the priest in an interview with the Kultura newspaper. In his view, " Informational junk from social networks fills not only people’s minds but also their souls " , and in Lent, when a Christian longs for purity and restriction in conversation, " it is a worthy thing to terminate this stream of information " . Fr. Maxim, who has himself removed his " Facebook " account, says that he knows from pastoral practice that some people’s participation in social networks creates a problem in their spiritual life. " One motive for such a pastime (and in this it is especially dangerous) is the illusion of creating " a different life " for oneself. Not the life which we live in reality but one which we create through our own will. If I want, I will find a new " friend " for myself, and if I want, I will delete him. I can seem bold, though in reality I am a coward, I can seem gentle, though in reality I am a boor, I can seem clever, though in reality I have simply learned to copy and paste, " said the priest. He believes that precisely this creation of an illusion, this feeling of comfort, is one of the most magnetic temptations of social networks. Father Maxim recommended tight control " or, to put it in computer language, " moderation " , of one’s presence on social networks " . " It is necessary in time and in essence (to cut off purely idle talk and contacts which are not connected with professional interests and of real benefit to others). And is it not necessary to check from time to time the results of one’s presence on social networks? And if no good comes from it, then you must say " stop " to yourself, " said the priest. Earlier, on the eve of Lent, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, the Chairman of the Synodal Department for Relations between Church and Society, called on representatives of virtual reality to observe an " information fast " , reports Interfax. According to the poll conducted by the Superjob site on March 12–15 among 3,500 respondents, 13% of Russian people who have internet access, are going to restrict or even give up communication on social networks. Pravoslavie.ru 16 апреля 2013 г. ... Комментарии Мы в соцсетях Подпишитесь на нашу рассылку |
| Archpriest Maxim Kozlov advises “tight control of personal presence on social networks” April 12, 2013 Participation in social networks is fraught with spiritual danger, believes Archpriest Maxim Kozlov, the First Deputy Chairman of the Education Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church. “Most of those who tend to give up social networks during Lent finally realize that most of what they find there is not beneficial, and not spiritual reading at all. And that their posts are not usually full of love for their neighbors but of showing off their lives and rushing for unnecessary information which burdens their consciences and minds, and at the same time is absolutely useless,” said the priest in an interview with the Kultura newspaper. In his view, “Informational junk from social networks fills not only people’s minds but also their souls”, and in Lent, when a Christian longs for purity and restriction in conversation, “it is a worthy thing to terminate this stream of information”. Fr. Maxim, who has himself removed his “Facebook” account, says that he knows from pastoral practice that some people’s participation in social networks creates a problem in their spiritual life. “One motive for such a pastime (and in this it is especially dangerous) is the illusion of creating “a different life” for oneself. Not the life which we live in reality but one which we create through our own will. If I want, I will find a new “friend” for myself, and if I want, I will delete him. I can seem bold, though in reality I am a coward, I can seem gentle, though in reality I am a boor, I can seem clever, though in reality I have simply learned to copy and paste,” said the priest. He believes that precisely this creation of an illusion, this feeling of comfort, is one of the most magnetic temptations of social networks. Father Maxim recommended tight control “or, to put it in computer language, “moderation”, of one’s presence on social networks”. “It is necessary in time and in essence (to cut off purely idle talk and contacts which are not connected with professional interests and of real benefit to others). And is it not necessary to check from time to time the results of one’s presence on social networks? And if no good comes from it, then you must say “stop” to yourself,” said the priest. |
| Archpriest Maxim Kozlov There are several theological visions of the Last Judgment, including a fairly popular opinion: at the Last Judgment you will be asked what kind of person you are, and not how many prayers have been read and how well you have fasted. How will the Last Judgment take place, what will be most important, how will the Lord measure our lives and how will we justify ourselves? Archpriest Maxim Kozlov reflects. In order to answer what the Last Judgment is, we should first try to answer: what is our salvation? There are two main reductions of the Christian doctrine of salvation, which patristic theology does not agree with and which it is not identical with. There is one view, perhaps not formulated anywhere as a confessional doctrine, but religiously and psychologically very widespread: salvation is what can be earned. This is something that you can deserve. Or at least you can collect some combination of bonuses, points, good deeds that can be presented, with the words: “Of course, I have sinned, but here is the list, here is the charter with which I have come, please consider it as a mitigating circumstance.” A similar attitude was common in Western Christianity in the Middle Ages, but it is sometimes found among Orthodox believers in various forms: “I’m a thief, but I’m building a cathedral”, “To pray for forgiveness of a sin, you need to visit 40 liturgies” and so on. The second reduction introduced by the classical Protestants is that the true believer is already saved, and the rest, in general, doesn’t matter. Because if you fall away from faith, you will show that you did not truly believe. If you seriously sin, you will show that you are not one of the selected. There is also a modern view, very widespread in the near-religious or para-religious consciousness, that absolutely everyone will be saved. This is perhaps the prevailing point of view, adjacent to such cliches as that all religions say about the same thing, that God, one way or another, is the same for all religions. In the framework of such a worldview, talking about the Last Judgment is something educational and pedagogical. Indeed, God is kind, he loves everyone, how can He not save someone? |
| Diagnosing Orthodox Cynicism Cynicism, of course, is most often a reaction: a reaction to problems and temptations that one experiences as unmanageable. Then, as a defense – just not the right defense – a bitter irony emerges that comes close to dismissal and even to what we call cynicism. What is cynicism? Is it a defense reaction of the sensitive? Or, to the contrary, a salient feature of hardheartedness and insensitivity? Pravmir.ru posed these questions to Archpriest Maxim Kozlov, Rector of the Church of St. Tatiana at Moscow State University, Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy, and First Deputy Chairman of the Education Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church. Cynicism, of course, is most often a reaction: a reaction to problems and temptations that one experiences as unmanageable. Then, as a defense – just not the right defense – a bitter irony emerges that comes close to dismissal and even to what we call cynicism. “Well, yes, I know all about that – all about bishops, monks, and priests. You can go on telling your fairy tales, but this is real life.” Archpriest Maxim Kozlov The main problem here, in my opinion, is that the cynical person is unable to draw a line between, on the one hand, the Church as a crowd of repentant sinners (although in our times, as I often repeat – adapting the words of Ephraim the Syrian – it is a crowd of unrepentant sinners) and the Church as the Bride of the Lamb, Holy and Immaculate. That is, one might make a theoretical distinction in one’s head, but not in one’s life and practical awareness. This is a problem, since all this obscures one’s vision. Second, and connected with this, is when one begins to perceive the Gospel as metaphor, as something that speaks about the beautiful and the ideal, about something that is praiseworthy, but that cannot serve as a guide to one’s own life. The Gospel is lofty, the saints are holy, the lives of clergy are spiritual –but life remains life. This is essentially a matter of spiritual defeatism. As long as someone is in such a state, even if he has reservations, he is drawing a conclusion: the Holy Spirit does not act sufficiently – in our times, in my life, in the people around me – for them to change; that is, for metanoia (co-repentance, in the proper sense of the word, i.e., a change of mind) to take place in them, in us, in me. |
| Evening dedicated to 10th anniversary of the parish of Holy Myrrh-bearing Women in Venice takes place in Moscow/Православие.Ru Evening dedicated to 10th anniversary of the parish of Holy Myrrh-bearing Women in Venice takes place in Moscow Moscow, November 22, 2013 On November 21, in St. Tatiana's Church at the Moscow State University the meeting, " Ten years. Russian home in the city of Saint Mark " , dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the parish of Holy Myrrh-bearing Women in Venice, took place, reports Sedmitza.ru . Archbishop Mark of Yegorievsk, rector of the Church of the Myrrh-bearing Women Archpriest Alexy Yastrebov, Archpriest Vladimir Vigilyansky, and Archpriest Maxim Kozlov were present at the event. Venice. Photo: Vladimir Asmirko The photo exhibition of works by Vladimir Asmirko in St. Tatiana's Church was dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the parish in Venice. His video, " Ten years and two centuries with God's people. Russian Church in Venice " , was also shown at the meeting. Launch of the book by Michael Talalai, Inspirer of our peace. The Russian necropolis in Venice , took place there as well. The evening finished with a performance by the Italian choir, " Coro delle cicale " ( " Crickets " ), conducted by Giuseppina Casarin, who performed folk songs of different parts of Italy. Also, at the end of the evening, Rector of St. Tatiana's Church at the Moscow State University was presented with the commemorative medal, made of Murano stone, with the founding date of the first Russian parish in Italy and of the parish of Holy Myrrh-bearing Women in Venice. 25 ноября 2013 г. ... Предыдущий Следующий Смотри также Icon of the myrrh-bearing woman Icon of the myrrh-bearing woman " O ointment-bearing women why have you come to the tomb? Why do you seek the living among the dead? Take courage for the Lord has risen! " Thus spoke the radiant angel. ‘Jerusalem,’ a tribute to the holy city, comes to the IMAX screen ‘Jerusalem,’ a tribute to the holy city, comes to the IMAX screen The newly released movie " Jerusalem, " filmed in 2D and 3D and playing on IMAX and other giant-screen theaters across the U.S. |
| Returning to our account of the historical background of the feast of the akathist, one must conclude that it, in accordance with the various arguments made by I. A. Karabinov, is connected not with the siege of Constantinople, but with Emperor Heraclius’ entire Persian war and, more precisely, with its successful finale for the Byzantines. It is no accident that this event almost coincides by date with the feasts of the akathist and Annunciation. The paramia [Old Testament readings] (from the Prophet Isaiah) read during the fourth and fifth weeks of Great Lent witness to this; they, in turn, are related in content to the readings of Wednesday and Friday of Cheesefare Week. Consequently, the historical memory of the end of the Persian war was celebrated along with the Annunciation: on the one hand, because the war ended on nearly that day; on the other, because the Theotokos was considered the Protectress of Constantinople, where this feast was first established. When the Council of Trullo resolved to establish the Annunciation on its own day, the commemoration of the war was allotted to the Saturday of the Akathist. Moreover, a shifting and restricting of the chronological strata took place over time, as a result of which the siege of Constantinople of 626 became current, inasmuch as it was the most memorable episode of the great war, which was conducted primarily outside the capital. The definitive establishment of the feast of the akathist on the Saturday of the fifth week of Great Lent took place quite late: only after the sixth century. Author’s notes: Kozlov, Maksim, protoierei. Akafist v istorii pravoslavnoi gimnografii//Zhurnal Moskovskoi Patriarkhii. 2000. No. 6. C. 84. [Archpriest Maxim Kozlov, “The Akathist in the History of Orthodox Hymnography,” Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. 2000, No. 6, p. 84.] Ibid. Karabinov, I. A. Postnaia triod’. Istorichesii obzor ee plana, sostava, redaktsii i slavianskikh perevodov. M., 2004. C. 63-64. [I. A. Karabinov, The Lenten Triodion: An Historical Survey of its Plan, Composition, Redaction, and Slavonic Translations. Moscow, 2004, pp. 63-64.] |
| In church present at the service were the chairman of the oversight committee of the Orthodox Russia public movement M.M. Ivanov and the president of the International Foundation of Slavic Literature and Culture and editor-in-chief of the Russky Dom magazine Alexander Krutov. The liturgical hymns were performed by the combined choir of the Orthodox Volunteers choir singers and the youth choir of the Tver diocese under the direction of Anna Golik. The TV channels Soyus and Spas, as well as the official site of the Russian Orthodox Church patriarchia.ru, broadcast the Patriarchal service live. At the Litany of Fervent Supplication special petitions were added and the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church read the prayer for Holy Russia. At the Liturgy His Holiness ordained deacon Dimitry Gatin, cleric of the Church of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker in Zelenograd, to the priesthood. Before communion the sermon was delivered by archpriest Alexander Ptitsyn from the Moscow Church of the Ascension by the Saint Nicetas Gates. After the Liturgy His Holiness the Patriarch, accompanied by hymns, said the prayer to the holy hierarchs of Moscow and venerated the relics of Saint Peter and Saint Philip of Moscow. The Primate of the Russian Church addressed the faithful with a sermon and then distributed the following church awards to: the metropolitan of Kaluga and Borovsk Clement for his diligent archpastoral service and the occasion of his fortieth anniversary of his episcopal consecration, who was presented with the Order of Saint Seraphim of Sarov (2nd Class); archpriest Maxim Kozlov, for his labours for the good of the church and the occasion of his thirtieth anniversary to the ordination of the priesthood, who was presented with the Order of Saint Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow (2nd Class); and Alexander Krutov for his contribution to the preservation of traditional spiritual and moral values in society and on the occasion of his seventy-fifth birthday, who was presented with the Order of Saint Daniel of Moscow (3rd Class). |
| The Supreme Church Council consists of: Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations; Metropolitan Dionisy of Voskresensk, chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate; Metropolitan Clement of Kaluga and Borovsk, chairman of the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church; Metropolitan Ioann of Belgorod and Stary Oskol, chairman of the Synodal Department for Mission; Metropolitan Merkury of Rostov and Novocherkassk, chairman of the Synodal Department for Religious Education and Catechization; Metropolitan Kirill of Stavropol and Nevinnomyssk, chairman of the Synodal Department for Relations with the Cossacks; Metropolitan Ignaty of Vologda and Kirillov, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Finance and Economic Administration; Metropolitan Mitrofan of Murmansk and Monchegorsk, chairman of the Patriarchal Commission for Physical Culture and Sport; Metropolitan Tikhon of Pskov and Porkhov, chairman of the Patriarchal Council for Culture; Metropolitan Antony of Korsun and Western Europe, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Administration for Institutions Abroad; Archbishop Feognost of Kashira, chairman of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism; Bishop Irinarkh of Krasnogorsk, head of the Synodal Department for Prison Ministry; Bishop Panteleimon of Orekhovo-Zuevo, chairman of the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Ministry; Bishop Foma of Pavlovsky Posad, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Administrative Secretariat; Bishop Serafim of Istra, chairman of the Synodal Department for Youth Affairs; Bishop Stefan of Klin, chairman of the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies; Archpriest Maxim Kozlov, chairman of the Education Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church; Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov, chairman of the Patriarchal Commission for Family and Protection of Motherhood; and Mr. Vladimir Legoida, chairman of the Synodal Department for Church’s Relations with Society and Mass Media. |
| It must be admitted that the akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos itself gives very scant and extremely contradictory information about the chronology and meaning of the feast. Its text does not even hint at the liberation of Byzantium from invaders. However, if one reads the akathist attentively, one cannot but notice that its thematic content, plot resolution, and subject reference are distinguished by an obvious duality. Archpriest Maxim Kozlov writes: “The historico-dogmatic content of the hymn is divided into two parts: the narrative, in which events connected to the earthly life of the Mother of God and the childhood of Christ are related, in accordance with the Gospel and Tradition (ikoi 1-12); and the dogmatic, which concerns the Incarnation and the salvation of the human race (ikoi 13-24).” In terms of appeal, beginning with the word “Rejoice,” the work is clearly addressed to the Theotokos. But many of its stanzas are addressed to Christ, for instance the eleventh (“Having become God-bearing heralds”), the twelfth (“By shining in Egypt”), and the thirteenth (“When Symeon was about to depart”). Moreover, the twentieth stanza strongly emphasizes that the akathist was composed for the glorification of Christ Himself: “Every hymn is defeated that trieth to encompass the multitude of Thy many compassions; for if we offer to Thee, O Holy King, songs equal in number to the sand, nothing have we done worthy of that which Thou hast given us who shout to thee: Alleluia.” In terms of its form, the akathist belongs to a particular kind of ancient hymn: the so-called kontakia. In modern liturgical books only two stanzas have normally been preserved from these hymns, known by the names kontakion and ikos. The stanzas of the kontakia or ikoi are joined by an acrostic. Thus, in the akathist the alphabet serves as an acrostic, with the letter “alpha” beginning the stanza “An archangel was sent.” Thus, the first introductory stanza (prooimion), “To Thee, the Champion Leader,” is outside the alphabetical structure, which means that it might have been composed not by the author of the akathist, but by someone else. As some researchers believe, the given prooimion should be correlated with the above-mentioned “siege of Constantinople in the summer of 626 by the Avars and Slavs, when Patriarch Sergios of Constantinople circled the city walls with an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos and the danger was averted.” |
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