| St. Paisius Velichkovsky. Russia adopted Holy Orthodoxy and its world-view with unusual ease, yet with sincerity and open-heartedness. One can say without reservation that Byzantium itself, whence we received holy Orthodoxy, did not suspect that in Russia, in the Russian people, a worthy successor was being prepared. So it must be that Russia was brought to the Christian faith through Divine Providence in order to preserve the truth of correct theology, of genuine Orthodox Christianity. One can assume that it was through Divine Providence, again, that a great and mighty Russia arose just when its populace converted to Christianity, at the very time when Western Christians departed from true Orthodoxy, falling to heretical falsehoods, when the Eastern Orthodox world was threatened by Islam; Russia was just then being prepared by Divine Providence to become the keeper of the true teachings of divine revelation, becoming the new chosen people for the preservation on earth of the true Orthodox faith. In our early Kievan history, through the efforts of Holy Prince Vladimir and his heirs, Russia began to blossom spiritually, to gain strength, both politically and administratively. Yet with the onslaught of the Tatars and the havoc they wrought, one could say that this blossoming ceased. Then, despite the heavy losses and sorrows endured by Russia from heathens and the heterodox, the hearts of the Russian people became even more closely bound to the Holy Orthodox Church, and the authority of the Orthodox faith reached a higher level. A new epoch of spiritual loftiness and renewal came in the centuries that followed—the 14th and 15th centuries. This is the era of St Sergius of Radonezh and his ascetic followers who established monasteries throughout northeast Russia, with settlements growing around them. Thus did " Holy Russia " expand and grow. Once again, in the early 16th century, because Russia found itself separated from the Orthodox East and because Byzantium was under Turkish control, the character of the spiritual struggle in our Fatherland gradually began to shift. Troubles and conflicts arose between the " possessors " and the " non-possessors. " Then our monastics were met with a much worse period, that of the reign of Emperor Peter I. It reached the point where monastics were persecuted, especially when foreign figures surrounded our country's empresses. In the second half of the 18th century, a shift began, and Russian monasticism enjoyed a renascence. Of great significance for this rebirth and renewal of Russian monasticism was the Elder Schema-monk Paisius Velichkovsky. |
| Tweet Нравится The Holy Elders of Optina Commemoration October 11/24 Synaxis of the Saints of Optina Over the course of one century—from Elder Leonid's arrival in 1829 until the Monastery's forced closure by the Communists in 1923—Optina, with its Skete of St. John the Forerunner, was at the center of a tremendous spiritual revival in Russia. As a result of anti-clerical legislation during the reigns of Emperor Peter I and Empress Catherine II, a general decline in monastic life had taken place across Russia from the middle of the 17th century through the end of the 18th century. While several spiritually well-ordered monasteries still existed, such as Valaam and Sarov, the strict new regulations often forced those desiring to follow the Gospel commandments within the God-ordained monastic life to choose one of two alternatives: either to leave Russia in search of a monastery in one of the neighboring Orthodox countries, or to live this life in the depths of forests, hidden from view. The greatest example of those who chose the first path was St. Paisius Velichkovsky (+ 1794), who labored ascetically on Mount Athos and ended his days at the head of a vast monastic army centered in Moldavia, Romania. A number of his disciples later returned to Russia, bringing with them priceless patristic writings on the spiritual life which had been painstakingly translated by St. Paisius, and which became instrumental in bringing about a new blossoming of sanctity in Russia. An example of those who chose the second way was the community of ascetics who dwelt in the Roslavl Forest of the Bryansk Province in Russia. These ascetics were also nourished by St. Paisius by means of his patristic translations, which reached them through Elder Athanasius, one of St. Paisius' disciples. Elder Leonid (1768—1841) When, at the beginning of the 19th century, a more propitious time for monasticism arrived, and the run-down Optina Monastery was being restored, it was by these ascetics that true monasticism was instituted in Optina. From the Roslavl Forest came the Putilov brothers, Elders Moses and Anthony, who took the reins of the Optina Monastery and established the Optina Skete nearby. They, in turn, brought in Elder Leonid, a disciple of Elders Theodore of Svir and Cleopas of Valaam, both of whom were direct disciples of St. Paisius. |
| Optina Elders Elder Makary " s face was scarred by smallpox, he stuttered and was always poorly dressed, but he was distinguished by a very refined personality. He was born to a landed gentry family, loved music and was a talented violinist. (Reidman) Schema-Archimandrite Avraam 06 March 2007 The Startsi of Optina Monastery are holy fathers Moses, Antony, Leonid(Lev), Macarius, Hilarion, Ambrose, Anatolius I, Isaac I, Joseph, Barsanuphius, Anatolius the Younger, Nectarius, Nikon the Confessor, and Hieromartyr Isaac the Younger. Hieromartyr Isaac was shot by the Bolsheviks on December 26 1937. The holy Fathers made the Optina Hermitage (Pustyn) a focus for the powerful renewal movement that spread through the Church in Russia beginning early in the nineteenth century, and continuing up to (and even into) the atheist persecutions of the twentieth century. Saint Paisius Velichkovsky (November 15) was powerfully influential in bringing the almost-lost hesychastic tradition of Orthodox spirituality to Russia in the eighteenth century, and his labors found in Optina Monastery a ‘headquarters’ from which they spread throughout the Russian land. The monastery itself had been in existence since at least the sixteenth century, but had fallen into decay through the anti-monastic policies of Catherine II and other modernizing rulers. Around 1790, Metropolitan Platon of Moscow undertook a mission to restore and revive the monastery in the tradition set forth by St Paisius. By the early 1800s the monastery (located about 80 miles from Moscow) had become a beacon of Orthodox spirituality, partly through their publication of Orthodox spiritual texts, but more importantly through the lineage of divinely-enlightened spiritual fathers (startsi, plural of starets) who served as guides to those, noble and peasant, who flocked to the monastery for their holy counsel. The fathers aroused some controversy in their own day; a few critics (some of them from other monasteries) disapproved of their allowing the Jesus Prayer to become widely-known among the people, fearing that it would give rise to spiritual delusion (prelest). For a wonderful depiction of the deep influence of the Jesus Prayer on Russian life during this period, read the anonymously-written Way of a Pilgrim. |
| Patriarch Daniel urges Romanians worldwide to value and cultivate prayer Source: Basilica.ro Aurelian Iftimiu 19 August 2022 Photography courtesy of Basilica.ro / Mircea Florescu Patriarch Daniel has sent a message to the Romanian diaspora marking the Romanian Migrants’ Sunday on August 21, 2022. His Beatitude urges those who left Romania to remain united through continuous prayer with God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and, simultaneously, with their loved ones who remained in Romania. At the same time, the Patriarch urges the servants of the Romanian Orthodox Holy Shrines outside of Romania to intensify prayer and multiply missionary-pastoral activities, to preserve and cultivate the Orthodox Christian faith and the Romanian spiritual and cultural values. Prayer, the Holy Spirit’s presence and action in the human being The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church proclaimed 2022 as the Solemn Year of prayer in the Church’s life and the Christian’s life. Also, in the context of the 1000th anniversary of the repose in the Lord of Saint Symeon the New Theologian († 1022) and the 300th birth anniversary of Saint Paisius of Neam († 1722), the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church proclaimed 2022 as a Commemorative Year of the Hesychast Saints Symeon the New Theologian, Gregory Palamas and Paisius (Velichkovsky) of Neam. Prayer is the foundation of human life and spiritual growth. It is salvific and sanctifying because it fills us with the presence of the All-Merciful God. Holy Scripture is rich in countless exhortations to pray. In the Old Testament, in the book of Ecclesiasticus, the wise Yeshua Ben Sirach says about the praying person: “They set their hearts to rise early to seek the Lord who made them to petition the Most High; they open their mouths in prayer ask pardon for their sins.” (Sirach 39: 5) In the New Testament, we see the Lord Jesus Christ participating both in synagogue services (Mark 1: 21) and also praying in solitude (Luke 5: 16). The Saviour taught His disciples the Our Father prayer, the source of inspiration for all other prayers. |
| Tweet Нравится St. Callinicus of Cernica the Bishop of Rimnicului in Romania Commemorated on April 11 Photo: Pravoslavie.ru Our holy Father Callinicus (Calinic) of Cernica, who served as bishop of Ramnicu Valcea in Romania was born in Bucharest on October 7, 1787, near the church of Saint Bessarion. His parents, Anthony and Flora (Floarea) Antonescu, were honest and pious people. In holy Baptism he received the name Constantine. Constantine’s mother brought her son to church and taught him his prayers, instilling in him a deep love for the Most Holy Theotokos. When he was old enough, he was sent to school in Bucharest. In addition to the usual subjects taught at that time, he also learned Greek. After raising her children, Flora became a nun in the monastery of Pasarea, and was given the new name Philothea. Her first son became a priest, and later he received the monastic tonsure, taking the name Acacius. It is not surprising that the younger son, Constantine, became attracted to the monastic life and wished to follow their example. On Feast Days, Constantine loved to visit the monastery of Cernica. The igumen at that time was the most devout George, who was a disciple of Saint Paisius Velichkovsky (November 15). The Cernica monastery also followed the Rule of Saint Paisius. In 1807, when he was twenty years old, Constantine left his home and entered the monastery. He was given into the care of Father Pimen, a master woodcarver, and one of the Spiritual Fathers of the monastery. In a short time, Constantine surprised the rest of the monks by the way he fulfilled his monastic obediences, by his prayer and fasting, and by his exceptional love and innate goodness. At his tonsure, he received the new monastic name Callinicus, and was soon esteemed for his love of prayer, his humility, and his balanced spiritual life. Some of the less zealous monks, however, were ashamed when they saw his exceptional fervor. The young monk continued to fulfill his obediences, and amazed the brethren with his purity, knowledge, long-suffering, kindness, and unfeigned love (2 Cor. 6:6-7). Therefore, Father Pimen decided not to wait for the full three years of monastic trial for Constantine. On November 9, 1808, with the blessing of Igumen Timothy, Brother Constantine was tonsured with the name Callinicus. |
| Tweet Нравится Synaxis of the Saints of Optina Commemorated October 11/24 Synaxis of the Saints of Optina. Although the beginning of monastic life in Optina monastery dates to at least as early as the sixteenth century, it is most known for its tradition of spiritual eldership in the tradition of St. Paisius (Velichkovsky) of Moldavia, which flourished there in the nineteenth century—particularly in the monastery’s Skete of St. John the Forerunner. This pleiad of spiritual luminaries bears a significance to Russian Orthodox spirituality that cannot be overestimated. On October 11/24, we celebrate this Synaxis (Assembly) of the Saints of Optina Monastery. In their memory, OrthoChristian.com present this compilation of brief saints’ lives, and excerpts from their spiritual counsels. Hieroschemamonk Leo (Nagolkin) 1768–October 11, 1841 Eldership at Optina properly begins with Elder Leonid (Leo in schema) who arrived when he was already matured in this ministry. Outwardly his monastic path was unsettled. It began in Optina at the dawn of its revival, initiated in 1795 by Metropolitan Platon, then led him to White Banks Monastery where he was tonsured, to Cholnsk, the Roslavi forest, Valaam, St. Alexander of Svir monastery, Ploshchansk and the Briansk forest, before he " returned " to Optina in 1829 at the invitation Elder Moses. This transience was the result not of instability but of circumstance. The tradition eldership and hesychasm had become so removed from the Russian monastic experience of the 18th century that it was suspected of being an innovation and not infrequently aroused misunderstandings leading to slander, jealousy and outright persecution—something which Elder Leonid experienced at varying degrees throughout his monastic career, and particularly in his last years at Optina. Leonid's involuntary mobility did not, however, prevent him from developing a solid spiritual foundation. In his sojourning he was in constant association with Paisian disciples, and spent some twenty years in the company of Elder Cleopas and Elder Theodore (of Svir) who had lived with Elder Paisius. From them Leonid learned the art of unceasing prayer. |
| Metropolitan Hilarion sends message of greetings to participants in 21st International Ecumenical Conference on Orthodox Spirituality admin 06 September 2013 On 4 September 2013, the 21 st International Ecumenical Conference on Orthodox Spirituality on the theme “the Ages of the Spiritual Life” began its work in the Monastery of Bose, Italy. Taking part in the symposium are official delegations of Local Orthodox Churches, representatives of the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant communities, as well as prominent scholars and theologians. The delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church is led by Bishop Konstantin of Zaraisk, rector of the Kolomna Theological Seminary. Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, sent a message of greetings to the organizers and participants of the conference. The text of the message is given below. Esteemed Father Enzo Bianchi, Dear Participants in the Conference: On behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, I cordially greet all the participants in the 21 st International Ecumenical Conference on Orthodox Spirituality, organized by the Monastic Community of Bose and dedicated to the theme “The Ages of the Spiritual Life”. The notion of spiritual growth implying that a person goes through various stages in his self-improvement, appeared already in the works of the most ancient Christian writers. We can find this notion in the writings of the Cappadocian Fathers, St John Chrysostom and St Ambrose the Bishop of Milan. It became the cornerstone in the spiritual heritage of Evagrius of Pontus ad St John Cassian the Roman. In the 7 th century, St John of the Ladder systemized the idea of various ages of spiritual life, which he regarded as stages of gradual ascension to God through cutting off passions and gaining inner peace and true love. The experience described in the “the Ladder of Divine Ascent” became fundamental for Russian monasticism and gained a new momentum in the 18 th century thanks to St Paisius Velichkovsky and translators of the “Philokalia”. We can find this idea in the “Candid Narratives of a Pilgrim”, as well as in the ascetic feat of Optina Elders. |
| Patriarch Daniel explains why the Hesychasts were the most sought-after spiritual fathers and what is a prayerful reason Source: Basilica.ro Aurelian Iftimiu 18 August 2022 Photography courtesy of Basilica.ro / Mircea Florescu After investing thirteen priests from the Archdiocese of Bucharest as spiritual fathers, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel explained why today people need more than ever prayerful priests. “Prayer that enables the mind to descend into the heart brings us peace and sets the praying reason in opposition to the rebellious reason,” Patriarch Daniel said during a special ceremony at the St George Chapel of his patriarchal residence on August 10. “The Church has treated with great responsibility the mystery of repentance, confession of sins and receiving forgiveness for sins,” His Beatitude said, adding that “fasting and confession are the most concrete forms of deepening spiritual life.” That is why, in the past, there were only a few spiritual fathers in large monasteries, where many people went and confessed and who formed disciples through practice. Later, academic theological training for clergy was also considered necessary because, in Western Europe, the “Enlightenment, anti-religious and, later, atheist current” had just appeared. After the French Revolution, and afterwards, with the Bolshevik Revolution, unbelief, anti-clerical and even anti-Christian attitudes significantly spread in Europe,” Patriarch Daniel noted. Prayerful reason, a response to rebellious reason Along with the intellectual phenomenon of the Enlightenment, secularization also appeared, a phenomenon of a spiritual nature in which “the worldly spirit becomes stronger than the Christian spirit of spiritual feats,” the Patriarch of Romania noted. In this context, in the 18th century, the hesychast movement reappeared in the Orthodox East, which initially emerged in the 14th century as a movement against an intellectual phenomenon: Byzantine scholasticism. Hesychasm reappeared “as a renewal in the 18th century, especially in the Romanian Countries, under the coordination of St. Paisius (Velichkovsky) of Neam, who was originally from Ukraine, but who was trained by the spiritual fathers from the parts of Buzu and Mount Athos.” |
| St. Macarius of Altai: His Life and Mission Today the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of St. Macarius of Altai, about whom relatively little has been written in English. To help remedy this lack, we offer a brief biography of the saint, a short history of the Altai Ecclesiastical Mission, and a summary of the missionary principles it employed. Biography of St. Macarius of Altai Michael Glukharev was born on November 8, 1792, into the family of a priest who served in the Cathedral of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple in the city of Vyazma (Smolensk province). The saint studied in the Vyazma ecclesiastical school, the Smolesnk seminary, and then in the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, where he became a faithful disciple of St. Philaret (Drozdov), who was then Rector of the Academy. At age twenty-seven, Michael was tonsured into monasticism, receiving the name of Macarius. In 1821, Fr. Macarius was elevated to the rank of Igumen and later Archimandrite and appointed to administer the Kostroma-Theophany Monastery. At the end of 1825, he was released to the Kiev-Caves Lavra for reasons of health. In 1826, Archimandrite Macarius was transferred to the Glink-Theotokos Hermitage in the Diocese of Kursk to place himself under the spiritual guidance of Igumen Philaret (Danilovsky), Superior of the Hermitage. Fr. Macarius – who had brilliantly completed the Kiev Theological Academy, knew many languages, had been Rector of the Kostroma Theological Seminary and Superior of the Theophany Monastery; who was a Professor of Theology and Archimandrite – transferred to the poor Glinsk Hermitage to be under the guidance of the unlearned but spiritually experienced Fr. Philaret. The learned Archimandrite had always been under spiritual direction: first under his pious father, who was a priest; then at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy under its Rector, Archimandrite Philaret (Drozdov); and then in Yekaterinoslav, as the Inspector of the theological seminary, under the direction of the Elder Laurence, “a man of holy life and a disciple of the famous Paisius Velichkovsky.” |
| Ukrainian Orthodox Church tells about 1,000-year connection between Athos and Ukraine in nine European cities The Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the International Institute of the Athonite Legacy in Ukraine will present a large-scale spiritual-educational project dedicated to the 1,000-year legacy of Holy Mount Athos in nine European cities over the course of a month (November-December), as reports the Information-Education Department of the UOC. A series of academic and spiritual-educational activities on the theme of “Athos-Kiev: 1,000 Years of Spiritual-Cultural Ties” will be presented in Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and France. In particular, the project aims to present the traveling photo exhibition “By the Roads of Athos” in which will be showcased the work of Greek photographer Costas Asimis and pre-revolutionary photos of Athonite monasteries, with a screening of the documentary “A Thousand Years on Athos,” lectures of the director of the International Institute of the Athonite Legacy in Ukraine and editor of the anthology The Athonite Legacy Sergei Shumilo, a presentation of Athonite publishing projects of the UOC and the International Institute, and a live chat with question and answers. The event will be held in Warsaw, Karlovy Vary, Prague, Hamburg, Naples, Rome, Geneva, Milan, and Strasbourg. During the events, visitors will be able to touch the mysterious world of Mt. Athos, learn about spiritual-historical connections with Athos and its influence in forming the national culture and spirituality, about the presence of Zaporozhian Cossacks on the Holy Mountain, see the lost and forgotten Ukrainian monasteries on Athos, find answers to questions on various aspects of the life and activities of Athonite monks, and learn about the Athonite heritage and traditions. A book on Venerable Paisius Velichkovsky is to be published in Romania. Translated by Jesse Dominick Union of Orthodox Journalists 18 ноября 2016 г. Подпишитесь на рассылку Православие.Ru Рассылка выходит два раза в неделю: Смотри также Комментарии Мы в соцсетях Подпишитесь на нашу рассылку |
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