| Right-believing Prince Basil (Vasilko) of Rostov Commemorated on March 4 Holy Prince Basil of Rostov belonged in lineage to the Suzdal Monomashichi, famed in Russian history. The saint’s great-grandfather was Yuri Dolgoruky, and his grandfather was Great Prince Vsevolod III “Big-Nest” (+ 1212), brother to Saint Andrew Bogoliubsky (July 4), who had been heir to and continuer of Saint Andrew Bogoliubsky’s work. From Vladimir-on-Klyazma, which became the capital of the old Rostovo-Suzdal principality, Vsevolod “Big-Nest” single-handedly set the course of affairs of the whole of Great Rus. The “Lay of Igor’s Campaign” (“Slovo o polku Igoreve”) says that he could “splash the Volga with oars, and bail out the Don with helmets.” Saint Basil (Vasilko) was the oldest child of the “Big Nest”. The oldest grandson of Vsevolod from his oldest son Constantine, Saint Basil was born on December 7, 1208 in Rostov, where his father ruled as prince. He spent his childhood there, and in 1216, when Constantine Vsevolodovich became Great Prince of Vladimir, Rostov was apportioned to Basil (he was then eight years old) as his princely appanage to rule himself. Military valor, sacred duty of service to country, the sense of justice and the heeding of one’s elders, all these are traditional features of a Russian princely defender of the land, and all were present in Basil. The saint’s father, Great-prince Constantine, died on February 2, 1218, when Basil was not yet ten years of age. The guide of the young Rostov prince then became his uncle, the Great Prince Saint Yuri of Vladimir (February 4). For twenty years Prince Yuri ruled Vladimir, and for all these years Basil was his closest friend and confidant. The chronicles take note of the vibrantly handsome figure of Basil, his bright and majestic glance, his daring in trapping wild game, his beneficence, his mind and deep studiousness, together with his mildness and good-nature in relations with the nobles: “Whoever served him, whoever ate his bread and drank the cup with him, could never be the servant of another prince.” |
| Repose of St Alexander Nevsky Commemorated on November 23 The Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky was born on May 30, 1220 in the city of Pereslavl-Zalessk. His father Yaroslav II, Theodore in Baptism (+1246), “a gentle, kindly and genial prince”, was the younger son of Vsevolod III Large Nest (+ 1212), brother of the Holy Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich (February 4). Saint Alexander’s mother, Theodosia Igorevna, a Ryazan princess, was Yaroslav’s third wife. Their older son was the Holy Prince Theodore (June 5), who departed to the Lord at age fifteen. Saint Alexander was their second son. His childhood was spent at Pereslavl-Zalessk, where his father was prince. The princely tonsure of the lad Alexander (a ceremony of initiation to be soldier) was done in the Savior Transfiguration Cathedral of Pereslavl by Saint Simon, Bishop of Suzdal (May 10), one of the compilers of the Kiev Caves Paterikon (Lives of the Fathers). From this Elder-hierarch, Saint Alexander received his first blessing for military service in the name of God, to defend the Russian Church and the Russian Land. In 1227 Prince Yaroslav, at the request of the people of Novgorod, was sent by his brother Yuri, the Great Prince of Vladimir, to rule as prince in Novgorod the Great. He took with him his sons, Saints Theodore and Alexander. Dissatisfied with the Vladimir princes, the people of Novgorod soon invited Saint Michael of Chernigov (September 20), and in February 1229 Yaroslav with his sons departed to Pereslavl. The matter ended peacefully: in 1230 Yaroslav with his sons returned to Novgorod, and Saint Michael’s daughter Theodosia was betrothed to Saint Theodore, the elder brother of Saint Alexander. After the death of the bridegroom in 1233 the young princess went to a monastery and became famous in monastic exploits as the nun Saint Euphrosyne of Suzdal (September 25). From his early years Saint Alexander went along on his father’s campaigns. In 1235 he participated in a battle at the River Emajogi (in present-day Estonia), where the forces of Yaroslav totally routed the Germans. In the following year Yaroslav went to Kiev, “settling” his son, Saint Alexander, to rule independently as prince at Novgorod. In 1239 Saint Alexander entered into marriage, taking as wife the daughter of the Polotsian prince Briacheslav. Some histories relate that the day the princess was baptized was the Name Day of her saintly spouse, and she was named Alexandra. His father, Yaroslav, blessed them at betrothal with the holy wonderworking icon of the Theodore Mother of God (the father was named Theodore in Baptism). Afterwards, Saint Alexander constantly prayed before this icon. Later, it was taken from the Gorodetsk Monastery, where he died, by his brother Basil of Kostroma (+1276), and transferred to Kostroma. |
| Daniel Akst in his 2011 book on self-control wrote, “Exercising self-restraint can be depleting, yet it can also be ennobling.” The ennobling quality of self-restraint is something the fathers knew quite well. The Greek word for self-control, γκρτεια, means continence, temperance, or sobriety by containing, rather than releasing through impulsivity, whatever passes through one’s mind. Saint Basil the Great in his letter to Ourvikio, refers to self-control as “denial of the body and confession to God…, to yearn for nothing, to not be stirred to passion by what the eye sees and the ear hears.” He calls it “the health of the soul, a power that frees and heals, a grace from God .” Certainly, self-control is a great virtue whose presence can be seen in asceticism and whose absence can be seen in impulsivity . We can even frame impulsivity in the language of Saint Basil as a denial of God and a confession of the flesh, a yearning for something, an incitement by what the eye sees and the ear hears, a sickness of the soul, a power that enslaves and corrupts, a temptation from the devil. It is significant that, with the exception of some rare Saints like Saint Nicholas, few are born ascetics, but asceticism is something that can be learned for the sake of the love of God. This also suggests the possibility of changing one’s amount of self-control or conversely one’s impulsivity. Interestingly, today behavioral scientists have found that “there is a kind of self-control strength that people possess or can develop and that this strength can be used to help people attain personal goals or standards (Baumeister, 2001; Baumeister, Heatherton, & Tice, 1994; Muraven & Baumeister, 2000).” Behavioral scientists view self-control as analogous to a muscle of the mind and the failure of self-control as muscle fatigue. The term they use to describe the process of giving into an impulse after initial resistance is ego-depletion. The self is emptied of its resources for resistance and then follows the impulse to the very end. In his dissertation regarding impulsivity in those suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Andrew A. Lubusko notes that “the ego depletion phenomenon is important because it suggests that situational factors can influence self-control and that individuals may vary in self-control strength.” |
| I have been asked: “How do we accept individuals into the Orthodox Faith?” Should we “rebaptize?” Must everyone be “chrismated?” Is it enough “only to hear their confession?” Traditionally the Orthodox Church has three means of accepting someone into Orthodoxy: 1) Baptism, 2) Chrismation, and, 3) Confession. Naturally, in all cases, also Communion. Generally, people say: “Moslems and Jews should be baptized; Protestants are chrismated; and Roman Catholics and Armenians should confess.” This 19th Century formula is obviously outdated and was even incorrect. The second formula is: “non-baptized are to be baptized; those baptized by priests without apostolic succession should be chrismated; and, those baptized and chrismated by priests with apostolic succession should have confession.” A third formula proclaims: “those who were not fully immersed in water are to be baptized because sprinkling is not baptizing.” Others insist that there are “no sacraments outside of the Orthodox Church.” If the Church accepts without rebaptizing, she accepts just a “form” of a heretical or schismatical baptism and places this “form” in a “content of grace” at the moment when the individual is accepting Orthodoxy. Consequently, one may accept converts by any form — the Sacrament is performed and completed by the very act of admitting into the Church. The extreme position is to “baptize everyone.” All of these formula and interpretations are in essence far from Orthodoxy. The teaching and practice of the Church is based on the First Rule of Saint Basil the Great and on the original text which has served as reference to this rule: the message of St. Basil the Great to St. Amphilochius of Iconium. In this message, St. Basil outlines the theological reasoning for the practice of not to re-baptize those who were baptized outside the church and expresses it in the following words: “because they exist thanks to the Church” (“ek tis Ekklicias onton”). In other words, the reasoning for such practice of the Church is “ontological.” |
| St. Theodore the Prince of Smolensk and Yaroslav Commemorated on September 19 The holy right-believing Prince Theodore of Smolensk and Yaroslavl, nicknamed the “Black” [i.e. “dark” or “swarthy”], was born at a terrible time for Rus: the Mongol invasion of 1237-1239. At Baptism he was named for the holy Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates (February 8), who was particularly esteemed by the Russian warrior-princes. Prince Theodore was famed for his military exploits. The child Theodore was not in the city when, through the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos, the holy Martyr Mercurius (November 24) delivered Smolensk from being captured by Batu In the year 1239. They had taken him away and hidden him in a safe place during the warfare. In 1240 his father, Prince Rostislav died. He was a great-grandson of the holy Prince Rostislav of Smolensk and Kiev (March 14). His elder brothers as heirs divided their father’s lands among themselves, allotting to the child Theodore the small holding of Mozhaisk. Here he spent his childhood, and here he studied Holy Scripture, the church services and military science. In the year 1260, Prince Theodore was married to Maria Vasilievna, daughter of holy Prince Basil of Yaroslavl (July 3), and Theodore became Prince of Yaroslavl. They had a son named Michael, but Saint Theodore was soon widowed. He spent much of his time on military campaigns, and his son was raised by his mother-in-law, Princess Xenia. In 1277, the allied forces of the Russian princes, in union with the Tatar forces, took part in a campaign in the Osetian land and in the taking of “its famed city Tetyakov.” In this war the allied forces won a complete victory. From the time of Saint Alexander Nevsky (November 23), the khans of the Golden Horde, seeing the uncrushable spiritual and the military strength of Orthodox Russia, were compelled to change their attitude. They began to draw the Russian princes into alliances, and the khans turned to them for military assistance. The Russian Church made use of these providentially improved relations for the Christian enlightenment of the foreigners. Already in 1261, through the efforts of Saint Alexander Nevsky and Metropolitan Cyril III at Sarai, the capital of the Golden Horde, a diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church was established. In the year 1276, a Constantinople Council presided over by Patriarch John Bekkos (1275-1282) replied to questions of the Russian Bishop Theognostus of Sarai concerning the order for baptizing Tatars, and also for receiving Monophysite and Nestorian Christians among them into Orthodoxy. |
| A.V. Nesteruk Bibliography A. Classical and Patristic Writers (with the source for the English translation) Athanasius of Alexandria Contra Gentes NPNF, series 2, vol.4. De Incarnatione Verbi Dei On the Incarnation. Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1998. De decretis (P.G. 25.411c) Quoted in Torrance, “The relation of the Incarnation to Space in Nicene Theology.” Contra Arianos Quoted in Torrance, “The relation of the Incarnation to Space in Nicene Theology.” Augustine of Hippo Confessions NPNF, series 1, vol. 1; or The Library of Christian Classics. Vol. 7. London: SCM Press, 1955; or Saint Augustine Confessions. Trans. H. Chadwick. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. City of God Augustine. Concerning the City of God against Pagaus. Trans. H. Bettenson New York: Penguin Books, 1980. Lettes to Consentius A fragment in Lindberg, “Science and the Early Church”. On Christian Doctrine NPNF, series 1, vol. 2. Enchiridion The Library of Christian Classics. Vol. 7. London: SCM Press, 1955. Epistolae Goldbacher, A., ed., Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, vol. 34. Vienna: Tempsky, 1895. On the Trinity NPNF, series 1, vol. 3: or Bourke V. J., ed. The Essential Augustine. Indianopolis: Hackett, 1975. The Literal Meaning of Genesis Tailor, J.H. St. Augustine: The Literal Meaning of Genesis. New York: Newman, 1982. Basil the Great (of Caesarea) The Hexaemeron NPNF, series 2, vol. 8. Letters NPNF, series 2, vol. 8. Clement of Alexandria The Stromata, or Miscellanies ANF, vol.2. Diadochos of Photiki On Spiritual Knowledge Palmer et al., eds., The Philokalia, vol. 1. Dionysius the Areopagite The Divine Names C.E. Rolt. “Dionysius the Areopagite, The Divine Names and The Mystical Theology.” Trans. C.E. Rolt. London: SPCK, 1979. Some quotations are from V. Lossky, The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church. The Celestial Hierarchies The Mystical Theology and the Celestial Hierarchies of Dionysius the Areopagite. Godalming: The Shrine of Wisdom, 1965. |
| John Anthony McGuckin Communion of Saints MARIA GWYN MCDOWELL For Orthodoxy this signifies the ongoing participation (methexis, or koinonia – communion) in God by all of God’s holy elect. those still living on earth, those passed to the Lord, and the holy angels who also form part of the heavenly church. The letters to the churches of Corinth and Ephesians are addressed to the “saints” ( Eph. 1.1 ; 2Cor. 1.11 ) surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses” (Heb. 12.1). Aside from Scripture, the earliest attestations to a cult of the saints is the early cult of martyrs. Ignatius of Antioch asserts that true discipleship lies in the witness, the martyria, of a confessing death. The 3rd-century Life of Polycarp testifies to 2nd-century Eucharistic meals at the graveside of martyrs, and encourages the honoring of the saints by following their example. origen of Alexandria in the 3rd century emphasizes the singularly united life of the whole body of Christ, in which those in heaven continue in the struggle of faith through their sustaining love and intercession for the living. When St. John Chrysostom preached in the late 4th century, the cult of the saints was well established. In his sermons martyrdom is a powerful act of love; martyrs “speak” their faith through deeds and speak freely to God, their human lives encouraging imitation (Chrysostom 2006. 29–33). The martyr and saint has thus become an exemplar of virtue, a spiritual model. Chrysostom highlights the transition from martyrdom to asceticism as persecution gave way to peace and to an increasingly institutionalized Christianity. In part inspired by Athanasius’ Life of Antony, asceticism through bodily virginity, separation from the world, and a life of prayer was increasingly idealized. Ironically, often the greatest advocates of asceticism were active members of urban and ecclesial life. St. Basil the Great’s social programs inaugurated their own attendant form of monasticism, in which serving others was considered integral to an ascetic life. Contemporary studies of holy men and women emphasize their role as agents of change who ignored social divisions in order to serve the needs of all, rich and poor alike (Hackel 1983). |
| В.Я. Саврей Общая библиография Источники I. На древнегреческом языке и в переводе на европейские языки 1. В «Патрологии» аббата Ж.П. Миня: Basilius Magnus – PG 29–32. Gregorius Nazianzenus – PG 35–38. Gregorius Nyssenus – PG 44–46. 2. В издании Sources Chrétiennes: Basile de Césarée. Sur Saint-Esprit//SC. Vol. 17. 1947. Idem. Homélies sur l " Hexaéméron//SC. Vol. 26 bis. 1950. Idem. Sur l " Origine de l " homme//SC. Vol. 160. 1970. Idem. Contre Eunome 1//SC. Vol. 299. 1982. Idem. Contre Eunome 2–3//SC. Vol. 305. 1983. Idem. Sur le Baptême//SC. Vol. 357. 1989. Grégoire de Nazianze. La Passion du Christ//SC. Vol. 149. 1969. Idem. Lettres théologiques (Ep. 101–102)//SC. Vol. 208. 1974. Idem. Discours 1–3//SC. Vol. 247. 1978. Idem. Discours 27–31//SC. Vol. 250. 1978. Idem. Discours 20–23//SC. Vol. 270. 1980. Idem. Discours 24–26//SC. Vol. 284. 1981. Idem. Discours 4–5//SC. Vol. 309. 1983. Idem. Discours 32–37//SC. Vol. 318. 1985. Idem. Discours 38–41//SC. Vol. 358. 1990. Idem. Discours 42–43//SC. Vol. 384. 1992. Idem. Discours 6–12//SC. Vol. 405. 1995. Grégoire de Nysse. Vie de Moïse (De vita Moysis)//SC. Vol. 1. 1942. Idem. La Création de l " homme//SC. Vol. 6. 1944. Idem. Traité de la Virginité (De virginitate)//SC. Vol. 119. 1966. Idem. Vie de sainte Macrine//SC. Vol. 178. 1971. Idem. Homélies sur l " Ecclésiaste//SC. Vol. 416. 1996. Idem. Lettres//SC. Vol. 363. 1990. Idem. Discours catéchétique II SC. Vol. 453. 2000. Idem. Sur les Titres des psaumes//SC. Vol. 466. 2002. 3. Филокалия Оригена The Philocalia of Origen. A Compilation of Selected Passages from Origen " s Works Made by St Gregory of Nazianzus and St Basil of Caesarea/Transl. George Lewis. Edinburgh, 1911. II. В переводе на русский язык Библиотека отцов и учителей Церкви. Т. 4. Творения Григория Чудотворца и Мефодия, епископа и мученика. М., 1996. Св. Василий Великий . Собр. соч. Т. 1–5. М., 1993. Св. Василий Великий . О сотворении человека//Журнал Московской Патриархии. 1972. 1. С. 30–38; 3. С. 33–40. Св. Григорий Богослов . Творения. Т. 1,2. М., 2007. |
| Venerable Joasaph of Snetogorsk, Pskov Commemorated on March 4 The Holy Hieromartyrs Joasaph of Snetogorsk and Basil of Mirozh suffered under the Germans at two of the most ancient of the Pskov monasteries during the thirteenth century. Saint Basil directed the Savior-Transfiguration Mirozh monastery, founded in the year 1156 by Saint Niphon, Bishop of Novgorod (April 8), and by Saint Abraham of Mirozh (September 24). Saint Joasaph was igumen (and according also to some Pskov Saints’ Lives, the founder) of the monastery of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos on Mount Snatna. The ascetics devoted much labor and concern to both the outer and inner welfare of the monasteries. In accord with the strict rule of cenobitic monastic life, introduced into his monastery by Saint Joasaph, the life of the monks was filled with prayer, abstinence and work. (Almost ninety years after the death of Saint Joasaph, his monastic Rule was reintroduced in the new monastic Rule of the Snetogorsk monastery by Archbishop Dionysius of Suzdal). The Snetogorsk monastery traced its origins from the efforts of Saint Euphrosynus of Pskov (May 15) and Saint Sava of Krypetsk (August 28). Both these monasteries were outside the city walls and did not have any defenses. On March 4, 1299, the Germans fell upon Pskov and burned the Mirozh and Snetogorsk monasteries. During the burning of the churches, Saints Basil and Joasaph and the other monks endured an agonizing death. There was at that time much suffering in the city, and for the monks of other monasteries, and also for the women and children, but “through the prayers of the holy monk martyrs, the Lord preserved the fighting men.” Under the lead of the Pskov prince, Saint Dovmont-Timothy (May 20), they came out against the enemy and near the church of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, they defeated the invaders at the banks of the Pskova River. Saints Basil and Joasaph were buried with their fellow ascetics beneath crypts at the churches of their monasteries. The venerable head and part of the relics of Saint Joasaph were preserved in the open in a special reliquary in the church of the Snetogorsk monastery. Holy Prince Dovmont “out of his rightful inheritance” built a stone church at the Snetogorsk monastery in place of the one that had burned, and he facilitated the restoration of monastic life at the ruined monasteries. |
| Thousands join pilgrimage procession in Montenegro to celebrate St. Basil of Ostrog Moscow, May 12, 2017 Photo: balkaninsight.com The annual procession to Ostrog Monastery, near the town of Niksic, Montenegro, began on Wednesday, culminating in the liturgical celebrations in honor of St. Basil of Ostrog today. Around 2,000 people began the 25-mile trek from the capital of Podgorica on Wednesday, being joined by thousands more throughout the night and on Thursday, reports Balkan Insight . The monastery, perched high up on a Montenegrin mountain, is the most popular Orthodox pilgrimage site in the region, attracting hundreds of thousands of people ever year. Many come to pray at the holy site and at the miraculous relics of St. Basil which are kept in the monastery, seeking healing. Even non-Orthodox and non-Christians are known to visit the monastery, trusting in the saint’s prayers. St. Basil and his monastery are the pride and joy of Serbian Orthodox Christians in Montenegro. In a statement on the site of the Serbian Church in Montenegro, Fr. Predrag Specanovic stated, “Other cities in Europe may have their pilgrimage sites but only St Basil can gather such a large number of believers from different regions.” The monastery was founded in the seventeenth century by St. Basil of Ostrog, who died there in 1671. Two cave churches remain after a fire in the 1920s, which are the main areas of the monastery today. The upper church, dedicated to the Presentation of the Lord, sits nearly 3,000 feet up the mountainside. The lower church, of the Holy Trinity, dates to 1824. St. Nikolai Velimirovich writes about St. Basil in his Prologue from Ochrid : Saint Basil was born in Popovo Polje, a village in Hercegovina, of simple and God-fearing parents. From his youth he was filled with love for the Church of God and when he reached maturity he entered the monastery of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos in Trebinje and there received the monastic tonsure. As a monk he quickly became renowned because of his genuine and infrequently-found ascetic life. |
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