| –. The Sacred Books of the East. Vol. 39. Oxford University Press, 1891. Reprinted as The Texts of Taoism, Part 1: The Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu; The Writings of Chuang Tzu. New York: Dover Publications, 1962. The Life of Christ by Chinese Artists. Westminster, England: The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, 1938. 3d ed. 1943. Liu I-ming. Awakening to the Tao. Translated by Thomas Cleary. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1988. Lossky, Vladimir. The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church. Cambridge: James Clarke & Co., 1957. Lou Shibai. Selected Paintings of Lou Shibai. China: China Pictorial Publications, 1990. Lii Tung-pin [Lii Yen]. The Secret of the Golden Flower: The Classic Chinese Book of Life [T’ai i chin hua tsung chih]. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991. The Lost Books of the Bible. Cleveland, Ohio: Williams Collins/World Publishing, 1926. Mark, Archbishop of Berlin and Germany. «A Conversation with Elder Nikodim on the Jesus Prayer.» The Orthodox Word, no. 278 (2011), pp. 126–51. Masters, Roy. How to Conquer Negative Emotions. Grants Pass, Oregon.: The Foundation of Human Understanding, 1975. Revised ed. 1995. –. Secrets of a Parallel Universe. Grants Pass, Oregon.: The Foundation of Human Understanding, 1992. Maximus the Confessor, St. Maximus Confessor: Selected Writings. The Classics of Western Spirituality Series. New York: Paulist Press, 1985. Muggeridge, Malcolm. Something Beautiful for God. Garden City, N.Y.: Double day, 1971. Nektarios of Pentapolis, St. Christologia (in Greek). Athens, 1901. Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain, St. Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain: A Handbook of Spiritual Counsel. The Classics of Western Spirituality Series. New York: Paulist Press, 1989. «The Orthodox Church in China». Tscrkovnaya Zhizn (Church Life) (in Russian), nos. 5–8 (1986). «Orthodoxy Behind the Great Wall». Foma (Thomas) (in Russian), no. 12 (2001). Paisius Velichkovsky, St. Little Russian Philokalia. Vol. 4. Platina, Calif.: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1994. |
| Grigore Popescu, The Eastern Wall of the Altar Grigore Popescu, Christ in Glory, Porch Popescu is also the creator of a new iconographic cycle: in the porch of the new church of Lainici Monastery (south-western Romania) he composed a painted “chronicle of Romanian Hesychasm” in which a central place is dedicated to the history of the Philokalia. This painted narrative includes the Cappadocian Fathers with their Philokalia, St. Nicodemus of Athos with his collection printed in Venice, St. Paisius Velichkovsky and the medieval monastic scriptoria and concludes with the Romanian translation of the famous book in the twelve-volume collection carried out by Fr. Dumitru Stniloae. Grigore Popescu, Scenes from St. Paisius Velichkovsky’s Life, Philokalia Cycle Elena Murariu represents the middle generation. She worked as a fresco specialist who restored different mural assemblies of the fourteenth to eighteenth centuries and subsequently commenced painting her own icons. Murariu painted the iconographic models of the newly canonized Romanian princes by composing a historical narrative with scenes from their lives inspired from the Russian chronicle-type iconography of the sixteenth century. Very prolific, she is able to elaborate a certain topic, for example the martyrdom of the Brancovan Saints, in various media and techniques, from icons following the strict composition of the Byzantine canon to other artistic modalities such as graphics or tempera on wood panel. These remarkable skills allow her to insert within the classical iconographic language some of the techniques and ways of expression proper to other artistic media such as hatching, vibrant strokes and an emphasized dynamism. Elena Murariu, St. Stephen the Great Elena Murariu, Holy Brancovan (Brâncoveanu) Martyrs Gabriel Toma Chituc. Also primarily educated as a classical painter, Chituc is an original and gifted iconographer with a special artistic expressivity. In the last decade, he has become a prolific iconographer striving to find the mystery of the authentic icon inspired by the Holy Spirit. Influenced by the art of the Russian masters of Novgorod and Moscow, from whom he took over the transparency, grace and delicacy of portraits, he filters all into a personal style of delicate physiognomies, elegant gestures and movements, warm and desaturated colours and refined folds. He is original and very personal either when he rethinks a classical theme like icon of the Nativity or the Annunciation, or when he creates the portrait of a saint or martyr. |
| Prince Constantine Muruz wrote to the Elder saying that there was no larger monastery than Neamts, about two hours from Secul. On August 14, 1779, St Paisius moved to Neamts Monastery where he spent the last fifteen years of his life translating the writings of the Holy Fathers. He organized the community according to the Typikon (Rule) of Mt Athos. He gathered about a thousand monks in the monastery, instructing them in the unceasing prayer of the heart. Archbishop Ambrose visited St Paisius at Neamts in 1790, staying for two days to converse with the Elder. During the Sunday Liturgy, he raised St Paisius to the rank of Archimandrite. He remained two more days, then departed after blessing everyone. St Paisius fell asleep in the Lord on November 15, 1794 at the age of seventy-two. It is possible that God revealed the date of his death to him beforehand, for he stopped translating books. He only reviewed and corrected what had already been translated. He was ill for four days, but felt well enough to attend the Liturgy on Sunday. After the service, he asked everyone to come and receive his blessing. He said farewell to them all, then returned to his cell and would not receive anyone. A few days later, on November 15, he received the Holy Mysteries again and surrendered his soul to God. His funeral was conducted by Bishop Benjamin of Tuma, and was attended by multitudes of priests, monks, laymen, nobles and ordinary people. The holy relics of St Paisius were uncovered in 1846, 1853, 1861 and 1872, and were found to be incorrupt. St Paisius has had an enormous influence, not only in Romania, but throughout the Orthodox world. His disciples traveled to Russia, sparking the spiritual revival of the nineteenth century with Slavonic translations of the PHILOKALIA and the tradition of eldership which they had learned from St Paisius. This influence has been felt even in America through St Herman of Alaska (December 13). St Herman was taught by Elders whose spiritual formation was guided by St Paisius. He first met Fr Nazarius, who became his Elder at Valaam, at Sarov, then followed him to Sanaxar when St Theodore (February 19) was their igumen. |
| Other disciples began to join them, and their number continued to increase. Since they needed a priest and a confessor, they begged Fr Paisius to accept ordination. He did not want to hear of this, and repeatedly refused to consent. They did not give up, however. They asked him how he could expect to teach the brethren obedience and cutting off their own will, when he disobeyed the tearful entreaties of those who wanted him to accept. Finally, he said, “May the will of God be done.” In 1754 Fr Paisius was ordained to the holy priesthood and was given the Skete of the Prophet Elias, where he began to accept even more disciples. St Paisius remained on Mt Athos for a total of seventeen years, copying Greek patristic books and translating them into Slavonic. In 1763 Fr Paisius went to Moldavia with sixty-four disciples, and was given the Dragomirna Monastery near the city of Sochava and on the border between Bukovina and Moldavia. Here he remained for twelve years, and the number of monks increased to three hundred and fifty. His friend Hieromonk Alexius came to visit him from Vlachia, and Fr Paisius asked him to tonsure him into the Schema. Fr Alexius did so, but without changing his name. While at Dragomirna, Fr Paisius corrected the Slavonic translations of patristic books by comparing them to the Greek manuscripts he had copied on Mt Athos. The Russo-Turkish war broke out in 1768, and Moldavia and Vlachia saw many battles. Dragomirna and the forests around it became filled with refugees from the villages near the battlegrounds. Another catastrophe appeared in 1771 with the outbreak of plague. When Dragomirna and Bukovina came under the control of Austrian Catholics, St Paisius and his flock fled to Moldavia. In October of 1775, he went to Secu (“Beheading”) Monastery, which was dedicated to St John the Baptist, with many of his monks. Secul was too small for the number of brethren, who were crowded with three to five monks in a cell. In the spring, more brethren were due to arrive from Dragomirna, so new cells had to be built. After three years of labor one hundred cells were completed, and everyone had a place. Still, the numbers increased and they had to look for a larger monastery. |
| I was 21 at that time. I started to think everything over, and even now I haven’t stopped doing that. I had to realise that they were right on many issues even from the scientific point of view. There is nothing even to discuss as it is useless to defend something that can’t be defended in principle. The results of my reflections you can find in my book “Earthen Vessels” that has been translated into Russian. This book is about the practice of the Jesus Prayer according to the teachings of the Holy Fathers. And it is quite clear that the practice of the Jesus Prayer was the same both on the East and in the West. Fr. P.: It would be interesting to find out what is the Jesus Prayer in the Western tradition? Quite often we can hear that the specific character of Eastern Christianity is in the inner work that is absent in the West. How truthful is this point of view? Fr. G.: At first I would say that the Catholic Church is a huge organization that consists of billions of Catholics. Catholicism has different internal movements which can conflict with each other, even mutually exclude each other. Many note that, thanks to the discovery of Orthodoxy in the West, people are beginning to find renewed interest in their own spiritual origins. Often that sort of discovery takes place with the help of icons, songs, and books. There are many Russian Saints who are revered in the Catholic world: St. Silouan the Athonite, St. Seraphim of Sarov... We tonsure a lot of monks with the name Seraphim here. Seraphim of Sarov is even included in litanies for commemoration. But there are very strange things as well. And here I am talking as a monk first of all. The origin of western monasticism is from the East. It came to the West quite early: the life of St. Antony was written by St. Athanasius due to the request of Latin monks. If they hadn’t asked, his life wouldn’t have been written down. The original is in Greek, but the most ancient manuscripts are in Latin. So, the East has been the guideline for monasticism for many centuries. But you always have to rediscover this guideline for yourself… Once you lose it, you have to focus on it again. We could see over the centuries how the West periodically rediscovers the East. For instance, there are treatises in France that could find their place in “The Philokalia.” There is an interesting article about it written by an Orthodox historian Jean-Paul Bess called “The footprints of hesychasm on the West.” An interesting character whom I have discovered for myself is the Abbot de Rancé (1626-1700), the founder of the monastery of La Trappe. He was a contemporary of St. Paisius Velichkovsky, but his school, the Trappists, do not exist anymore in the original form in comparison to St. Paisius Velichkovsky. |
| Hearing of a hermit who lived on a river island, Peter hastened to see him. His name was Hesychius. He worked on transcribing the works of the Holy Fathers. Peter asked to be taken in as a student. Peter's face swelled up from tears and pleading, but the elder was unmoved: " Child, I am a sinful man and unworthy, and cannot even direct my own poor soul towards God, " he said to Peter. Leaving the hermit, Peter soon found a monastery, called Medvedovsky, which he joined. He had no skills, and the brethren often scoffed at him. He was given the chore of grinding wheat, but he cut his fingers. Then he was given the task of carrying water and clay, cutting bread in the refectory, serving food to the monks, and clearing and washing dishes. He was also assigned to the cliros. It was in this monastery that he was tonsured to the ryassa with the name Platon. His spiritual father went somewhere a few weeks later, and Platon was left without a pastor, " as a lost sheep. " He said of himself: " My soul in my youth was very conducive to obedience, but I did not receive the divine gift [of opportunity] because of my unworthiness. " After some time, this monastery was assaulted by Uniates and closed down. Fr Platon went to the Kiev Lavra and worked in the print shop there. Burning with the desire for ascetic labor and the life of a hermit, Fr Platon headed for Moldovlachia, where spiritual life was blossoming, since the monasteries there were under the influence of the Holy Mountain of Athos. He was at the monastery of St. Nicholas of Treistch, then went to Cyrkul Monastery. He spent some three years in the monasteries of Moldovlachia under the direction of the elders Fr. Vasilius, Fr. Mikhail and Fr. Onouphrius. Later, Fr. Platon undertook a voyage to Holy Mount Athos, hoping to find spiritual guides and assume ascetic labors. At the time, Fr Platon was twenty-four years old. The elder's biographer wrote of his move to Mt Athos: " Who can divine the ways of the Lord? And who knows His counsels? By His Divine Providence, He took him from his homeland, took him through many nations, so that he would gather for himself through spiritual purchase great treasures for his soul, and finally brought him to the Holy Mountain of Athos, so that he would continue to amass his spiritual wealth and then give it to all those who seek guidance from him. |
| Hearing of a hermit who lived on a river island, Peter hastened to see him. His name was Isikhii. He worked on transcribing the works of the Holy Fathers. Peter asked to be taken in as a student. Peter's face swelled up from tears and pleading, but the elder was unmoved: " Child, I am a sinful man and unworthy, and cannot even direct my own poor soul towards God, " he said to Peter. Leaving the hermit, Peter soon found a monastery, called Medvedovsky, which he joined. He had no skills, and the brethren often scoffed at him. He was given the chore of grinding wheat, but he cut his fingers. Then he was given the task of carrying water and clay, cut bread in the refectory, serve food to the monks, and clear and wash dishes. He was also assigned to the kliros. It was in this monastery that he was tonsured to the rassa with the name Platon. His spiritual father went somewhere a few weeks later, and Platon was left without a pastor: " as a lost sheep. " He said of himself: " My soul in my youth was very conducive to obedience, but I received no divine gift [of opportunity] because of my unworthiness. " After some time, this monastery was assaulted by Uniates and closed down. Fr Platon went to the Kiev Lavra and worked in the print shop there. Burning with the desire for ascetic labor and the life of a hermit, Fr Platon headed for Moldovlachia, where spiritual life was blossoming, since the monasteries there were under the influence of the Holy Mountain of Athos. He was at the monastery of St Nicholas of Treistch, then went to Cyrkul Monastery. He spent some three years in the monasteries of Moldovlachia under the direction of the elders Fr Vasilius, Fr Mikhail and Fr Onouphrius. Later, Fr Platon undertook a voyage to Holy Mount Athos, hoping to find spiritual guides and assume ascetic labors. At the time, Fr Platon was 24 years old. The elder's biographer wrote on his move to Mt Athos: " Who can divine the ways of the Lord? And who knows His counsels? By His Divine Providence, He took him from his homeland, took him through many nations, so that he would gather for himself through spiritual purchase great treasures for his soul, and finally brought him to the Holy Mountain of Athos, so that he would continue to amass his spiritual wealth and then give it to all those who seek guidance from him. |
| Is it not obvious what kind of humility and holiness, and which “Christ,” these romances describe? These romances were born in a church that taught these nuns this completely distorted understanding of the spiritual life. There is another example of the most authoritative Catholic saint, Francis of Assisi, who during his prayer, “ felt completely turned into Jesus. ” Then bleeding wounds appeared on his hands, feet, and his side – stigmata. Stigmata are a telltale sign of a state of exaltation caused by anything but a blessing. We can see this occurrence only in Catholicism. There is not a single saint of the Church, even the greatest ones starting from the Virgin Mary and the Holy Apostles, who was aware of this occurrence. Surprisingly, St. Francis said before his death: “ I am not aware of any sin on my part that I have not redeemed through confession and repentance. ” But how did all the saints of the Universal Church feel in the East and the West? St. Pimen the Great (forth century) said: “ Believe me, brothers, I will be thrown into the same place where the devil will be. ” St. Sisoes (fifth century) said dying: “ Honestly I do not know if I have even begun my repentance. ” Both of them resurrected the dead. Therefore, I am bewildered to see the reason for and the true goal of this active search for unity with the thing that is disastrous for each Christian and Orthodox Christianity. Indeed, the basics of the spiritual life of the Holy Fathers appear to be completely destroyed in Catholicism. The things that the Holy Fathers named a devilish delusion are considered to be a special way of holiness in the West. Thus, it was a complete and irreversible secession of Western Christianity from the only source of the true understanding of the Divine Revelation – the real religious experience of the Holy Fathers, which Orthodoxy still preserves and takes nourishment from. Therefore many Russian saints, such as Sts. Paisius Velichkovsky, Ignatius (Brianchaninov), Theophan the Recluse, Ambrose of Optina, and John of Kronstandt, wrote that the Roman Church had lapsed into heresy and delusion long before. |
| Seraphim of Sarov Helen Kontsevich As a beginning, Prokhor set off with five companions to the Kiev Caves Lavra, desiring to receive the blessing of the Kiev Elders. Among the ascetics of that monastery was the famous elder Dositheus (who was found to be a woman after she died). That clairvoyant elder had been in continual contact with the blessed Elder Paisius Velichkovsky, and with those monastics who were of one mind with him. Dositheus gave Prokhor spiritual instruction, counselled him to study the ancient Holy Fathers on the work of interior prayer, and directed him to go to Sarov Monastery and remain there until death, for there he would find salvation. Great in the Lord is Seraphim Father Seraphim and the American Heartland Great in the Lord is Seraphim Father Seraphim and the American Heartland In literally a few weeks, a group of Orthodox Christians established a parish in the Russian Orthodox tradition. This group included not only Russians but dyed-in-the-wool Americans. Today St Seraphim Parish also boasts Bulgarians, Serbs, Romanians and other Orthodox Christians. The Spiritual Path of St. Seraphim of Sarov The Spiritual Path of St. Seraphim of Sarov " He who truly loves God considers himself a wanderer and newcomer on earth, for in him is a striving towards God in soul and mind, which contemplates God alone. " Certain people emerge as standouts in the church. Their chief characteristic is the search to live in the presence of God with every fiber of their being, and to recognize God " s presence in creation and humanity. Such a saint was Seraphim of Sarov, author of the saying quoted above. St. Seraphim on Monastic Life From the book, St. Seraphim of Sarov, by Elena Kontsevitch St. Seraphim on Monastic Life From the book, St. Seraphim of Sarov, by Elena Kontsevitch Elena Kontsevitch “One distinguishing characteristic of the superior should be his love for his inferiors: for the true pastor, according to the words of St John Climacus, is shown by his love for his flock. |
| The city of Vladimir—and I was there for the first time—is a grand city, very beautiful. The successors and relatives of St. Vladimir—martyr Gleb, Andrei Bogoliubsky, Sts. Peter and Febronia, and many others are all a part of this city’s history. It is characteristic of the churches here to have frescoes by Andrei Rublev, and Rublev was from Volhynia. Thus, our peoples are one people, no matter what anyone says. Metropolitan of Kiev, St. Alexy, directed his steps north of Kiev to the city of Vladimir. It is interesting that St. Vladimir baptized this area. Therefore, we need to hold on to our historical ties, and relate to each other with understanding and love. —The Baptism of Rus’ and the 1000-year anniversary of the foundation of monasticism in Rus’. What influence did the saints of the Caves have on the spread of Christianity in those times? —There is testimony that the Lavra was founded in 1013; on Mt. Athos they believe it was in 1016, because St. Anthony was already laboring on Mt. Athos. I will say what I think: St. Anthony—according to the Athonite chronicles—talks about the death of Vladimir and of Boris and Gleb, which means that he saw this and had been on Mt. Athos more than once. Simeon, Bishop of Suzdal, writes that the Kiev Caves Monastery became the “Upper Room”. Many bishops proceeded from here—monks who received the tonsure from St. Theodosy and [his successor] St. Nikon. They brought the light of Christ’s teaching to the whole world and not only to Russia, because today we know St. Paisius (Velichkovsky) of Neamst, St. Basil of Ryazan, and many others. “Their sound has gone forth into all the world and their works unto the ends of the world,” and thanks to the ascetic labors of Anthony and Theodosy many people are being saved today. —Does modern monasticism in any way influence the situation in the country? Does it bring it benefit? —You know, ancient monks during the times of St. Basil the Great and St. John Chrysostom came from the desert in order to sell their handiworks—baskets they had woven and other things, in order to feed themselves. But they also came to the homes of wealthy people in order to enlighten them, as we can see from their Lives. Yes, they were desert dwellers, but when it was necessary to confirm the truth, as in the Seventh Ecumenical Council, they left the deserts and showed the steadfastness and purity of their faith. |
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