| Metropolitan HIlarion of Eastern America and New York: War always leads to more war Source: ROCOR Epistle of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. We, the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, having convened a regular session of the Council of Bishops in the God-preserved city of San Francisco, hereby mark an important spiritual event in Church history. It was here, where by God’s will, the oldest cathedra of the Russian Church Abroad was established, and which is now the last hierarchal cathedra according to the world clock, once occupied by St John, Archbishop of Shanghai and then of San Francisco. We celebrate the 20 th anniversary of his glorification this year . Here also lie the holy relics of St John, here thousands and thousands of pilgrims gather. During these days, the All-Diaspora Russian Orthodox Youth Conference is convening, in which our hierarchs are also participating. Marking this anniversary on Sunday , June16/29, during Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow,” the nominee of the Council of Bishops, Archimandrite Nicholas (Olhovsky), was consecrated to the episcopacy as Vicar of the Eastern American Diocese, with the title of Bishop of Manhattan. The Council of Bishops congratulates His Grace Bishop Nicholas and wishes him Divine aid in his archpastoral service to the Holy Church, and asks the God-loving flock to remember the new Bishop Nicholas in their prayers. St John, the wonderful miracle-worker and Righteous saint of God was fated to become the first glorified Russian saint who shone outside of the borders of Russia, outside the borders of our Fatherland. The Lord manifested through him miracles of healing, here the love-filled heart of St John prayed for us with utter empathy, rejecting no one. The descendant of the southern Russian noble family of the Maximoviches, which had already given Rus a holy hierarch, Metropolitan John of Tobolsk, Vladyka John of Shanghai and San Francisco never forgot his earthly homeland—Kievan Rus. In his childhood and youth, he more than once visited Dormition of the Mother of God Lavra of Svyatogorsk, where in our days, almost within its very walls, blood is spilt by those who die in internecine war. |
| Patriarch Kirill: “Royal Passion Bearers from their Golgotha Entrusted Caring for Spiritual Life of People to Us” Photo: Press Service of His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill July 16, 2018. Pravmir . His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, officiated a Divine Liturgy at the Monastery dedicated to the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church in Alapaevsk. The monastery was build near the mine where the Holy Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna and Nun Barbara were killed. At the end of the service, His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill, delivered a sermon: Your Beatitude! Your Excellence and Your Eminence! Dear fathers, brothers, and sisters! I congratulate you all on the Lord’s Day! By historical circumstances, we had the opportunity to celebrate a Divine Liturgy here and consecrate the church in honor of the Theodore Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos which is associated with the Romanov dynasty: this church was built next to the site of the death of the Holy Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna, Nun Barbara, and other representatives of the royal family. Looking at this place, this nearly buried mine, it is hard to imagine that fear and terror that engulfed the innocent people who were brought to this precipice to be thrown down. And the executioners had no hesitation! But the people in front of them were not criminals, but people who did not violate any law and who did not pose any threat, because they refused all political struggle and any claim to power. The only reason Elizabeth Feodorovna stayed in Russia and did not go abroad where she would live safely with her relatives, is that she could not leave the country that had become her second Motherland. Having established Sts Martha and Mary Convent and having taught many Russians to unite their Orthodox faith with real good deeds, she could not leave the Russian Church which she served faithfully and loyally. Leaving Russia was beyond her strength. There was no politics in it, but only her strong religious feeling and love for the country that had truly become her second Motherland. |
| Impulsivity, Self-Control, and Relying on Christ Hieromonk Alexis (Trader) The 12th century Ladder of Divine Ascent icon (Saint Catherine " s Monastery, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt) showing monks, led by John Climacus, ascending the ladder to Jesus, at the top right. Resisting temptation , ignoring unwanted thoughts, and altering one’s emotional state when under the onslaught of impulsivity may seem to some as a fool’s errand. Yet, holy men and women have achieved success at just such endeavors for more than two thousand years. They have done so, not because they had iron wills, fewer thoughts, or a permanent smile, though in time their wills did become more conformed to the will of God, their thoughts became more centered on their Savior, and their joy in Christ could no longer be contained. The secret to their success was very simple: they were victorious through their day-to-day, moment-to-moment communion with God, the source of their strength, life, and love. With His help, human efforts at self-control are transformed into a collaboration or synergy between God and man, not to overcome a problem, but to become a child of light. As for the human side of the equation, psychologists have mapped out the areas in which self-control can be used to achieve goals and refrain from impulsivity. For example, Andrew A. Lubusko notes in his dissertation on the subject that there are four primary categories of self-control: “1) impulse control, resisting temptations and refraining from acting on undesirable impulses such as overeating, aggression, etc.; 2) thought control, concentrating, regulating one’s reasoning or inference process, or suppressing unwanted thoughts; 3) affect regulation, efforts aimed at altering one’s emotional and mood states (e.g., escaping negative mood or maintaining positive mood); and 4) achieving optimal performance and controlling performance through efforts such as persistence, optimal management of exertion, and balancing speed and accuracy (Baumeister & Exline, 2000).” Put simply, self-control is about how we react, how we think, how we feel, and how we focus. Our ability to shift the way we react, think, feel, and focus in turn translates into our ability to control our actions and hence deal with impulsivity. |
| I received an e-mail from someone asking advice on how to find a spiritual father. I had to tell him that finding a spiritual father, in one sense, is very difficult and may take a lifetime. In fact, if by finding a spiritual father he means that he is looking for a relationship with a spiritual mentor that is like what one reads about in the Philokalia or the Sayings of the Desert Fathers, or in the Ladder of Divine Ascent, then I would have to say that it is almost impossible to find a spiritual father. On the other hand, and in another sense, it is very easy to find a spiritual father or mother. Finding a spiritual mentor in this sense has mostly to do with the seeker’s humility and willingness to be taught, and much less to do with the qualifications of the potential mentor. Let me explain: In the writings of the Holy Fathers, especially the ancient Fathers, we are given as examples to be emulated the many stories of absolute and unquestioning obedience of novices to their spiritual fathers. We are told stories of holy men who submitted unquestioningly and with profound humility to spiritual fathers and who themselves became saints because of that humble submission. We are told of clairvoyant elders, full of love for their spiritual children, who unerringly guided their spiritual children on the path to godlikeness, and we are told of spiritual children suffering harsh consequences as a result of disobeying their spiritual mentors. This tradition of discipleship under a wise and experienced spiritual guide (father or mother as the case may be) is an essential part of our Orthodox Christian tradition and a necessary aspect of our growth and transformation into godliness. However, this way of spiritual fatherhood is much misunderstood these days and consequently–even if unintentionally–sometimes results in unhealthy relationships and even spiritual abuse. In such cases, instead of helping one grow in Christ, a inappropriate or misunderstood relationship with someone whom you consider to be a spiritual father or mother (or with someone who presents themselves as a spiritual father or mother) can result in prolonged spiritual infancy, years of confusion or anger, and even in one turning away from Christ completely. |
| Keynote Address By His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew To the Synaxis of the Primates of the Orthodox Churches Source: The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov Your Beatitudes and beloved Brothers in the Lord, Primates of the local most holy Orthodox Churches and venerable representatives of brother Primates precluded from participating in this Synaxis, together with Your honorable entourages. Welcome to this sacred place of our most holy Church of Constantinople, this Center dedicated to the service of Pan-Orthodox unity, which has for decades hosted and continues to host numerous Inter-Orthodox and Pan-Orthodox encounters hammering out and advancing the unity of the most holy Orthodox Church. We wholeheartedly pray that Your sojourn here may prove for each of You satisfactory and pleasing in every way, while our work may be guided by the breath of the Paraclete in order to bear abundant fruit for the love and edification of the body of the Church to the glory of God. As we know, this Synaxis of ours was to be held at our see, but extraordinary objective circumstances that prevented some of our brothers from traveling there imposed the relocation of our meeting here. We thank all of You for understanding the necessity of this change and for agreeing to come here in order to realize the sacred purpose of the present Synaxis. Indeed, every Synaxis that gathers us together, as entrusted with by God’s grace and mercy with the leadership of His most holy Church, is sacred. However, this particular Synaxis has a very special character because it is bound to the fundamental ecclesiological principle of the Church’s conciliarity inasmuch as it its primary objective is to prepare the forthcoming convocation, God willing, of the Holy and Great Council of our most holy Orthodox Church. Therefore, we have assembled here to perform a truly sacred obligation, which is precisely why we have an entirely particular need for the support and illumination of the Paraclete as well as of the favorable goodwill of each of us, beyond any other kind of interests, in order that our decisions may contribute to the realization of the Holy and Great Council, which we have already announced. For it is unto us that Divine Providence has assigned the great duty and privilege to give flesh and bones to the visions of our blessed predecessors, who more than fifty years ago conceived the notion of convening this Council. To us, then, belongs the great responsibility to reduce the time, which is already much detained, in order without further delay to transform the vision into reality. After all, this is expected of us not only by our late predecessors, but also by the faithful people of God, as well as even by Christians outside the canonical barriers of our Church. This is why every further postponement in realizing the Council will only satisfy the enemies of our Church and the Enemy that rejoices in evil. |
| Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk heads liturgy at Moscow representation of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch Source: DECR Photo: mospat.ru On 26 th July 2022, on the feast of the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel, celebrations took place at the metochion of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch to mark the patronal feast day. The Divine Liturgy in the Church of the Archangel Gabriel was celebrated by the Chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk and the representative of the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and dean of the metochion, Metropolitan Niphon of Philippopolis. Photo: mospat.ru Serving with the bishops were the representative of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the Patriarch of Great Antioch and All the East archimandrite Philipp (Vasiltsev) and the clergy of the metochion. Protodeacon Vladimir Nazarkin headed the diaconal part of the service. At the conclusion of the Liturgy a prayer service was offered to the archangel Gabriel in the open air in the courtyard of the church. The prayer service was attended by representatives of the diplomatic missions of Mexico, Belgium, USA, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Montenegro, Argentina, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Romania, Luxemburg, Poland, Portugal, Brazil, Tunisia, Columbia, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Yemen, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Iraq, Albania, Palestine, France, Greece and Denmark. Among those present was also the president of the International Foundation for the Spiritual Unity of Nations V.A. Alexeyev. Photo: mospat.ru At the conclusion of the prayer service, Metropolitan Niphon of Philippopolis greeted the chairman of the DECR and said: “It is a great joy for me today, Vladyka, to convey to all those present at this celebration the love, blessing, prayers and greetings of our Patriarch, the Most Blessed John, Patriarch of Great Antioch and All the East. |
| On Victory Day, Russian Orthodox Church parishioners abroad prayed for Great Patriotic War soldiers Source: DECR On the day of the 69th anniversary of the end of the Great Patriotic War, the faithful of the Moscow Patriarchate in various countries and various continents honoured the memory of soldiers who defeated Fascism. On May 9, 2014, the Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, Archbishop Justinian of Naro-Fominsk, celebrated the Divine Liturgy at St. Nicholas’s in New York, assisted by the cathedral clergy and guests including Archimandrite Zosima (Shenchuk) of the Diocese of Vladimir and Archimandrite Victor (Sayapin) of the Diocese of Tiraspol. Among the worshippers were Russian Federation Consul General I. Golubovsky and Ms. Golubovsky and staff members of the Russian embassy. With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, special petitions and prayers were voiced during the Office of Thanksgiving to the Lord God for having granted victory in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War. In his homily after the service, Archbishop Justinian reminded the faithful of the tragic war days, saying that “the people of the United States of America were a helper and ally of Russia in the war against fascist Germany, providing both arms and food and later opening the Second Front, when Russian and American soldiers forged together a truly hard victory. And it would be unpardonable for us to forget these pages of history because there is life ahead with its own trials which can again demand the common efforts and work of the USA and Russia. Remembering the glorious past, we should strengthen our mutual respect and love in the present so that we could cope together in the future with possible enemies and hardships”. Then a requiem service was said for “the ever-remembered commanders and soldiers who gave their lives at the battlefield for the faith and the Motherland, who died of wounds and starvation, for those civilians who were tortures and killed in captivity and at bitter works and for all those who worked for the victory”. |
| Relations of the Orthodox Church with the rest of the Christian world: Draft document of the Pan-Orthodox Council Source: DECR Draft document of the Pan-Orthodox Council, adopted by the 5th Pan-Orthodox Pre-Council Conference in Chambésy on October, 10-17, 2015. Photo: http://www.patriarchia.ru/ Published in compliance with the decision of the Synaxis of Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches, Chambésy, January, 21-28, 2016. 1. Orthodox Church, being the One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, in her profound ecclesiastical consciousness firmly believes that she occupies a central place in matters relating to the promotion of Christian unity within the contemporary world. 2. The Orthodox Church grounds her unity on the fact that she was founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ, as well as on the communion in the Holy Trinity and in the Sacraments. This unity is manifested through the apostolic succession and the patristic tradition and to this day is lived within her. It is the mission and duty of the Orthodox Church to transmit and proclaim the truth, in all its fullness, contained in the Holy Scripture and the Holy Tradition, the truth which gives to the Church her catholic character. 3. The responsibility of the Orthodox Church and her ecumenical mission with regard to the unity were expressed by the Ecumenical Councils. These, in particular, stressed the indissoluble link existing between true faith and the sacramental communion. 4. The Orthodox Church, which unceasingly prays “ for the union of all ,” has always promoted dialogue with those separated from her, both far and near, playing a leading role in seeking ways and means to restore the unity of believers in Christ, participating in the ecumenical movement since its inception, and contributing to its formation and further development. In addition, the Orthodox Church, due to the ecumenical spirit and love for mankind by which she is distinguished and in accordance with the divine dispensation to “ have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), has always fought for the restoration of Christian unity. Therefore, the Orthodox participation in the movement for the restoration of Christian unity does not run counter to the nature and history of the Orthodox Church. It is the consistent expression of the apostolic faith and Tradition in a new historical context. |
| Spiritual Guidance in Mount Athos and Russia and the Theological Notion of Person Скачать epub pdf Содержание The Theological Perspective The Purposes of Spiritual Guidance Eldership as an Ideal of Spiritual Leadership The Historical Overview: Kievο-Pechersky Monastery The Hesychasm Movement, St. Serge of Radonezh and His Disciples St. Paisios of Moldova and a Wave of Spiritual Revival in Russia The revival of Russian monasticism on Mount Athos Distinctive Characteristics of the patterns of Orthodox Spiritual Guidance Personal Relationship and its Dynamics in Spiritual Guidance Catholicity and the Person’s Embracing of other Persons Freedom in Spiritual Guidance Creativity and Uniqueness in Spiritual Guidance Humility and Morality in Spiritual Counselling Love, Integrity and Discernment in Spiritual Fatherhood We will consider the great importance in spiritual guidance of the theological notion of the divine and human person. Our main thesis is that it is only through the person and personal communion that the guidance patterns found in the Bible and in the Holy Tradition of asceticism can be understood. Various examples of the influence of the ascetic tradition of Mount Athos on Russian and European religious revivals are highlighted in the framework of personal guidance. St. Paisios Velichkovskiy, the Optina elders, St. Silouan and Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), all of whom derived a rich experience from the Athonite treasuries, are vivid exemplars of personal spiritual guidance in the Orthodox Tradition. Due to its personal character this guidance possesses unique characteristics which distinguish it from other guidance experiences and techniques used in various human activities. ‘Send me a man, who would know Thee’ Symeon the New Theologian. In this paper we aim to show that Mount Athos, as a living, natural part of the Orthodox Tradition, has given us an abundant experience of the importance of the personal character of the relationship between the one who aspires to certain spiritual achievements and the one who guides him on this way. |
| Stewardship as Creation Care Scripture and the Fathers When we think of the term stewardship, we frequently consider only matters related to financial support. The prevalent rendering of the term oikonomia as “stewardship” or “economy” is not very illuminating as it provides both a linguistic as well as conceptual reduction of this critical and originally scriptural word. In so doing, however, we have narrowed the scope of the Bible’s teaching and neglected the depth of our Church’s tradition about our place and role in the world, indeed at a time when such knowledge is more vital and critical than ever before. If we turn to the Church Fathers, we see that they attribute the highest importance to oikonomia (stewardship or economy), which in their eyes implied a broader and more inclusive concept of revelation and salvation, identified withGod’s vision and desire to save the whole world. For our great theological teachers and spiritual masters, economy in fact refers to our very salvation by the allembracing love of God for all humankind and to the universal compassion of the Creator for all creation. Somewhere along the line, we unfortunately shrunk the theme of “stewardship” to purely monetary terms that primarily include making contributions to philanthropic organizations – probably as a result of a narrow interpretation of scripture, and possibly as a result of the rigid focus of modern society. All of this invariably affects not just our understanding of the moral obligation that we have toward one another as human beings, but also inevitably distorts the worldview that shapes our moral responsibility toward creation. By limiting our attention to divine commandments for human compassion, we have invariably excised from scripture the clear mandate to creation care. Yet, these two dimensions of Christian life are integrally interrelated; one cannot envisage human progress without ecological preservation. The way we treat God’s creation in nature essentially reflects the way we respect human beings created “in the image and likeness of God.” The reality is that we should respond to nature with the same tenderness that we are called to respond to people. |
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