| Icons of Mt. Sinai There is at least one icon from Mt. Sinai that even people far from the Church know: the famous Christ Pantocrator, one of the most ancient iconographic depictions of Christ, painted in Constantinople in the mid-sixth century and given to the monastery at Mt. Sinai. There is at least one icon from Mt. Sinai that even people far from the Church know: the famous Christ Pantocrator, one of the most ancient iconographic depictions of Christ, painted in Constantinople in the mid-sixth century and given to the monastery at Mt. Sinai. What is generally representative of icons from Mt. Sinai? The art scholar Galina Kolpakova, in one of her books, notes: “In the icons of Sinai there is no canonicity, no dependence on examples. And this is not only because there were no examples. Their spontaneity and individuality came as the result of a sort of clairvoyance; they are witnesses to a strong and living faith that could not be translated onto the plane of a calculated system.” We offer a few examples of icons from Mt. Sinai for your attention. Compiled from open sources. Christ Pantocrator. Encaustic icon from the mid-sixth century Christ Pantocrator Christ Pantocrator. Thirteenth century The Theotokos between Sts. Theodore and George. Sixth century. (There is an interesting visual parallel with the icon of the Ascension: two angels gazing at heaven, but in place of the apostles two of the most famous warrior saints of the East; it is evidentially an icon turned to in prayer during the many raids and sieges of the monastery by Muslims.) Icons of Mt. Sinai. The Theotokos with Child Icons of Mt. Sinai. The Theotokos with Child Icons of Mt. Sinai. The Theotokos with Child The Theotokos with John the Theologian. Seventeenth century The Nativity. Seventh century Christ’s appearance to Mary Magdalene. Seventh century The raising of Lazarus. Twelfth century Icon of the Holy Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus of Antioch Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus of Antioch. Thirteenth century |
| The DECR chairman presented Metropolitan Georgy with a panagia, gave educational books of which he is a text writer to the seminary, and gave diplomas to the graduates. That same day he attended the festive evening celebration dedicated to the 300 th anniversary of the seminary at the Jupiter Concert Hall. Also dedicated to the jubilee there was a photo exhibition presented in the foyer. At the beginning of the event a hymn of the theological school composed by the graduates of 2021 was performed. Metropolitan Hilarion addressed the audience with congratulations on the 300 th anniversary and said: “We live in a favourable time. There is no comparison between our difficulties and those which previous generations of Christians had to endure. We have ample opportunities for developing religious education. I wish all the graduates and all of us never forget that Christ is the head of our Church. As we are beseeching the Lord to give us strength for our worthy ministry, He hears our prayers and responds. May He bless our Fatherland and our near and dear for many and good years.” The guests saw the film about the three centuries of the seminary and enjoyed the performance of the metropolitan’s choir of the diocese, choir of the seminary and of the “Pokrov” center, and the ‘Unity” choir from the Republic of Srpska, as well as of students of the Orthodox gymnasium named after St. Sergius of Radonezh and children from the kindergarten named after Sts Cyril and Maria, parents of St. Sergius. 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. |
| Majeska G. P. The emperor in his church: Imperial ritual in the church of St. Sophia//Byzantine court culture from 829 to 1204/ed. H. Maguire. Washington, 1997. P. 1–11. Mamboury E. Les fouilles byzantines A Istanbul: les sondages a l’int&ieur de Ste Sophie//Byzantion. 1951. T. 21, fasc. 1. P. 437–438. Mamboury E. Topographie de Sainte-Sophie//Studi bizantini e neoel- lenici. 1940. T. 6, N 2. P. 197–209. Mango C. Byzantine architecture. New York, 1974. Mango C. Byzantine writers on the fabric of Hagia Sophia//Hagia Sophia from the age of Justinian... P. 41–56. Mango C. Isaurian builders//Poly- chronion: Festschrift F. Dolger/ed. P. Wirth. Heidelberg, 1966. P. 158–165. Mango C. Materials for the study of the mosaics of St Sophia at Istanbul. Washington, 1962. Mango C. The brazen house: A study of the vestibule of the Imperial Palace of Constantinople. Kobenhavn, 1959. Mango C. The church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus at Constantinople and the alleged tradition of octagonal palatine churches//JOB. 1972. Bd. 21. P. 189–193. Mango C. The church of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus once again//BZ. 1975. Bd. 68. P. 385–392. Mango C., ErtugA. Hagia Sophia: A vision for empires. Istanbul, 1997. Mango C., Hawkins E. J. W The apse mosaics of St. Sophia at Istanbul: Report on work carried out in 1964//DOP. 1965. Vol. 19. P. 115–151. Mango C., Hawkins E. J. W. The mosaics of Saint Sophia at Istanbul: The church Fathers in the north tympanum//DOP. 1972. Vol. 26. P. 1–41. Mango C., Sev&nko I. Remains of the church of St. Polyeuktos at Constantinople//DOP. 1961. Vol. 15. P. 243–247. Mansel A. M. Side. Ankara, 1978. Maranci C. The architect Trdat: Building practices and cross-cultural exchange in Byzantium and Armenia I Journal of the Society of architectural historians. 2003. Vol. 62, N 3. P. 294–305. Marichal R. La construction de Sainte-Sophie de Constantinople dans l’anonyme grec (Xe siècle?) et les versions vieux-russes//BS. 1960. T. 21. P. 238–259. Mark R., Çakmak A. S., Hill K., Davidson R. Structural analysis of Hagia Sophia: a historical perspective//Transactions on the built environment. 1993. Vol. 3. P. 867–880. |
| hieromonk Damascene (Christensen) Bibliography Afanasiev, Victor. Elder Barsanuphius of Optina. Platina, Calif.: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 2000. Aleksiev, Archimandrite Seraphim. The Meaning of Suffering. Platina, Calif.: St. Herman Brotherhood, 1994. Allen, Reginald E., ed., Greek Philosophy: Thales to Aristotle. New York: The Free Press, 1985. Anderson, Ken. Bold as a Lamb. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991. Athanasius the Great, St. On the Incarnation. Centenary Press, 1944. Revised ed. Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, 1953. –. «Defense of Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria», «Against the Heathen». In The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 4. Reprint. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994. Augustine, Sr. The Confessions. New York: Collier-Macmillan, 1961. Barsanuphius and John, Sts. Guidance Toward Spiritual Life: Answers to the Questions of Disciples. Translated by Fr. Seraphim Rose. Platina, Calif.: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1990. –. Questions and Answers (in Greek). Volos, 1960. Basil, St. The Fathers of the Church Series, Vol. 13. New York: Fathers of the Church, 1958. Calciu, Fr. George. Father George Calciu: Interviews, Homilies, and Talks. Platina, Calif.: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 2010. Cavarnnos, Constantine. Meetings with Kontoglou. Belmont, Mass.: Institute for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 1992. Chang, Chung-yuan. Creativity and Taoism: A Study of Chinese Philosophy, Art, and Poetry. New York: Julian Press, 1963. Reprint. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1970. Chariton, Abbot of Valaam, comp. The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology. London: Faber and Faber, 1966. Chetverikov, Fr. Sergius. Elder Ambrose of Optina. Platina, Calif.: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, 1997. Christodoulos (Aggeloglou), Hieromonk, Elder Paisios (in Greek). Mount Athos, 1994. English version: Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain, Mount Athos, 1998. Cleary, Thomas, trans. and ed. The Essential Tao. San Francisco: Harper, 1991. |
| Календарь Материалы 22 мая 2007 г. [Встреча с Православием/Православная библиотека] Протоиерей Александр Шаргунов Господь заранее предупреждает Своих учеников, какие их ждут испытания, чтобы они не соблазнились Его Крестом и никогда не повернули назад от путей Божиих. «Изгонят вас из синагог, – говорит Он, – даже наступает время, когда всякий, убивающий вас, будет думать, что он тем служит Богу». Меч Синедриона и меч государственной власти будет поднят против идущих вслед Христу. [Встреча с Православием/Православная библиотека] На вопросы отвечает кандидат психологических наук, в прошлом профессор Магнитогорского государственного университета, монахиня Нина. [Встреча с Православием/Святые и святыни] Елена Лебедева В старой Москве в Кремле стояла замечательная церковь – в честь иконы святителя Николая Чудотворца, прозванной Гостунской. Церковь связана с многими славными страницами русской истории, однако судьба ее сложилась трагически: церковь стала редким, но печальным примером неподобающего отношения к памятникам старины, случавшегося и в дореволюционной Москве. [Встреча с Православием/Святые и святыни] Светлана Липатова Среди других православных святых мученик Христофор выделяется приписываемой ему преданием необычной особенностью. Считалось, что, будучи телом как человек, он имел голову собаки. В Константинопольском синаксарии указывается, что собакоголовый облик святого следует понимать символически, как состояние грубости и свирепости во время пребывания его язычником. [Встреча с Православием/Святоотеческое наследие] Тропарь святителю Николаю : Правило веры и образ кротости, воздержания учителя яви тя стаду твоему, яже вещей истина: сего ради стяжал еси смирением высокая, нищетою богатая, отче священноначальниче Николае, моли Христа Бога спастися душам нашим. [Поместные Православные Церкви/Болгарская/Святые и святыни/Святыни] Слава чудотворных икон Богородицы из болгарских монастырей распространилась далеко за пределы края, ибо святыни подают исцеление идущим к ним с верой: больные излечиваются, прокаженные очищаются, немые начинают говорить, а расслабленные – ходить. Каждому помогает Пресвятая Богородица в его бедах. Недавно три чудотворные иконы впервые были привезены из своих монастырей в столицу Болгарии Софию и выставлены на поклонение English Edition [Saints. Asceties of Piety. Church Holy Days ] Archpriest Zakaria Machitadze The biographies of Sts. Mikael and Arsen the Georgians have unfortunately not been preserved. It is known that they were contemporaries of Patriarch Sergius of Jerusalem (843–859). The following entry is recorded in the synodicon of Jerusalem’s Holy Cross Monastery: “Our Holy Fathers Mikael and Arsen, founders of Olympus.” Новости 22 мая 2007 г. |
| —The Church of Czechoslovakia is currently preparing for the sixty-year anniversary of its autocephaly. Why did the Church of Czechoslovakia receive its autocephaly from the Russian Orthodox Church? —The first contacts, which became the basis of the friendship between our Churches, go back to antiquity, in the tenth–eleventh centuries, when the recluse Procopius, like St. Sergius of Radonezh, founded a monastery in the forest wilderness not far from the Sázava river, which later became a large, famous monastery. During the time that the Sázava Monastery was active, the monks would go to Kiev, and the monks from Kievan Russia would visit the Sázava Monastery. Each time they would bring gifts of icons and manuscripts to each other… These gifts from the Sázava Monastery are still treasured in Kiev. The Kiev monks in their turn brought a piece of the relics of Sts. Boris and Gleb to the Sázava Monastery, where they were honored with great reverence. One of the monastery " s side altars was dedicated to these saints. In the eighteenth century, the Russian Orthodox Church also aided our country " s renewal of our Church. For nearly three centuries, Czechia did not have its own government, and was subject to the Austrian Hapsburg Empire. The people were Germanized, and had no rights. No one in the West wanted or was able to help us. Russia was a light, hope, and refuge for the Czechs at that time. Russian Slavophiles supported the Czech and Slovak patriot-renewers both ideologically and materially. With their help, in 1848 the first Slavic conference was conducted in Prague, which placed a beginning of the renewal in Czechia of Slavic culture and language. In 1867, the Slavic conference took place in Moscow, and on the streets of Prague people were singing, " God save the Tsar! " Russians helped the Czechs afterward, also. They sent money for the construction of Orthodox Churches, and Orthodox priests. One of these was, for example, the martyr for Orthodoxy and faithfulness to Slavicism Archpriest Nicholai Ryzhkov. The people of Czechia honor that man " s memory. The Czechs also received Russian refugees (during the years of the civil war in Russia and subsequent persecutions) as their own brothers. They helped them to establish themselves, to receive education… The young Czech government spent billions on that. |
| The Spiritual Geography of the Holiness of Rus 19th-century photo of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra in Kiev Of course, it is true that in the early eleventh and twelfth centuries, before the Mongol-Tartar yoke, Kiev was the centre of the holiness in Rus. Over eighty saints are listed from the Kiev Caves Monastery and over fifty of them lived in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Altogether over one hundred saints are connected with Kiev. However, the Church rapidly moved forward, progressing along the rivers, through the lakes and across the islands that provided means of communication for missionary work in Rus. Within a few years of the baptisms in Kiev in 988 new sees were founded. Already at the end of the tenth century holiness was advancing far to the north of Kiev, to Pskov and, 120 miles to the north-east, Novgorod, with St.Joachim († 1030) and over sixty other saints. Then holiness moved to the circle of towns north-east of the present Russian capital, to Rostov and Suzdal with St.Theodore († c.1030), to Pereyaslavl with St.Ephraim († 1096), to Vladimir and Vologda, to Kostroma and Yaroslavl, to Galich and Uglich, virtually all no more than 200 miles north-east of Moscow. These towns and the area around them were to produce over one hundred saints, among them the phenomenon of St.Sergius of Radonezh († 1392) and his dozens of disciples. From them, the missionary movement of Holy Rus was to move much further north to the shores of the Arctic Ocean and much further east across the Urals into Siberia. Most saints of Rus came to bear names that were Greek (Alexander, Anastasia, Andrew, Basil, Demetrius, Gregory, Hilarion, Macarius, Nicholas, Peter, Stephen, Timothy, Xenia), Latin (Clement, Constantine, Cornelius, Ignatius, Innocent, Laurence, Longinus, Maximus, Paul, Romanus, Rufus, Silvanus, Sylvester) or Hebrew (Anna, Barnabas, Daniel, David, Gabriel, Isaiah, James, Joachim, Job, John, Matthew, Michael, Timothy), thus reflecting the Cyrillic alphabet that is composed of Greek, Latin and Hebrew letters. However, some saints, as we have noted, bore Scandinavian names, like St. Olga († 969), St. Igor of Kiev and Chernigov († 1147) and St. Oleg of Briansk († 1307), and sanctified them for use in future generations. Others bore and likewise sanctified Slavic names, like Sts Boris and Gleb of Rostov († 1015), St. Vladimir of Kiev († 1015), St. Vsevolod of Pskov († 1138), St. Kuksha of the Kiev Caves († c.1215), St. Mstislav of Novgorod († 1180), St. Rostislav of Kiev († 1168) and St.Yaropolk of Vladimir in Volhynia († 1086). |
| Commemoration date July, 18 (July, 5 by the old calendar) Sister of Royal Martyr Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, widow of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich who had been killed by revolutionaries. After the death of her husband, Grand Duchess Elizabeth became a nurse and abbess of the Sts. Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy in Moscow that she founded herself. When the Bolsheviks arrested Grand Duchess Elizabeth, her cell attendant, Nun Barbara chose to come with her despite being offered to go free. Together with Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, his secretary Fedor Remez, Princes Ioann Konstantinovich, Konstantin Konstantinovich, and Igor Konstantinovich and Grand Duke Vladimir Palei, Venerable Martyr Elizabeth and Nun Barbara were thrown alive into a mine near Alapaevsk where they died in terrible agony. At the moment of death Grand Duchess Elizabeth was fifty-three, Nun Barbara was sixty-eight. Hieromartyr Benjamin (Kazanskii), Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdov Commemoration date August, 13 (July, 31 by the old calendar) Arrested in 1922 for resisting the Bolshevik campaign of confiscation of ecclesiastical valuables. The real reason for his arrest was his rejection of the Living Church (Obnovlenchestvo). Executed by firing squad alongside Hieromonk Archimandrite Sergius (Shechein) (52), Martyr Ioann Kovsharov (Lawyer, 44), and Martyr Yurii Novitsky (Professor of St. Petersburg University, 40) in the environs of Petrograd, allegedly on the Rzhev firing range. Prior to execution, all Martyrs were shaved and dressed in rags, so their executioners would not recognize them as clerics. At the time of death, Metropolitan Benjamin was forty-five years old. Hieromartyr John Vostorgov, Archpriest Commemoration date September, 5 (August, 23 by the old calendar) Well-known Moscow priest, one of the leaders of the royalist movement. Arrested in 1918 on the charge of intent to sell the diocesan house. First held in the inner prison of the Cheka, afterwards in the Butyrka prison. Executed extrajudicially at the beginning of the Red Terror. Openly executed along with Bishop Efrem and the former President of the State Council Shcheglovitov, former Ministers of Internal Affairs Maklakov and Khvostov, and Senator Beletsky on September 5, 1918 in the Petrovsky Park (Moscow). Following the execution, all the bodies (around eighty people) were robbed. |
| Here is the eleventh century, the first Russian saints. Who were they? Laymen, brothers and sisters. The Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb, and after them come the saints of the Kiev-Caves Lavra, headed by St. Theodosius, the spiritual head of this Lavra. Then we see holy princes and holy hierarchs. Then, finally, Muscovite Rus’. We see the saints of Moscow, who struggled near Moscow: St. Sergius of Radonezh, the Abbot of all Russia and Wonder-Worker, and finally our holy Northern Thebaid… Then Sts. Nilus of Sora and Joseph of Volokolamsk, who argued among themselves how about to organize monasteries and the monastic spiritual life. One says one thing, while the other says something else. And each one organized the monastic life differently, but both are saints and strugglers. After them come the fools-for-Christ, the blessed, and holy women: Euphrosyne of Polotsk, Anna of Kashin, and many other holy women who struggled in Russia. Finally, there are our near contemporaries, St. Seraphim of Sarov and St. Tikhon of Zadonsk. Here is a golden chain, stretching from our history’s very sources until our days. This gold chain has never been interrupted or broken. There was, is, and always will be in our land pure-hearted people who struggle in the holy struggle of our special Russian holiness and our special Russian piety. Let us peer into this golden chain, let us peer into this great past of the Russian Church, and what do we see? What features are characteristic of Russian holiness? We see above all, brother and sisters, we see the luminous dimension of life, that is, the absence of all kind of radicalism. There is no sharp deviation from the Christian ideals of monasticism bequeathed to us from antiquity, and we specially venerated, venerate, and will venerate monasticism. There are no cruel practices of some kind of special self-torture, there is no so-called austerity, but rather quiet labor and fasting, fasting and labor. So live our monasteries. Spiritual fatherhood appears in these monasteries. |
| Bardill J. Église Saint-Polyeucte à Constantinople: nouvelle solution pour l’énigme de sa reconstitution//Architecture paléochrétienne/textes réunis par J.-M. Spieser. Gollion, 2011. P. 77–103. Bardill J. The church of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus in Constantinople and the monophysite refugees//DOP. 2000. Vol. 54. P. 1–11. Berger A. Der Glockenturm der Hagia Sophia//Metin Ahunbay a armagan: Sanat tarihi defterleri. 2004. N 8. P. 59–73. Berger A. Die Hagia Sophia in Geschichte und Legende//Die Hagia Sophia in Istanbul: Akten des Berner Kolloquims von 21. Oktober 1994/hrsg. V. Hoffman. Bem, 1997. S. 11–28. Bertelli C. Le porte del VI secolo in S. Sofia a Constantinopoli//Le porte di bronzo dall’antichità al secolo XIII/a cura di S. Salomi. Roma, 1990. P. 109–119. Bertelli C. Notizia preliminare sui restauro di alcune porte di S. Sofia a Istanbul//Bolletino dell’Istituto Centrale di Restauro. 1958. Vol. 34/35. P. 95–115. Borrelli Vlad L. La «porta bella» di S. Sofia a Costantinopoli: un palinsesto//Le porte di bronzo dall’antichità al secolo XIII/a cura di S. Salomi. Roma, 1990. P. 97–107. Bouras L Byzantine lighting devices H JÖB. 1982. Bd. 32/3. P. 479–491. Bouras L., Parani M.G. Lighting in early Byzantium. Washington, 2008. Boyd S. A «Metropolitan» tresure from a church in the provinces: An introdution to the study of the Sion treasure//Ecclesiastical silver plate in sixth century Byzantium/ed. by S. Boyd and Μ. Mundell Mango. Baltimore; Washington, 1992. P. 5–37. Boyd S. Art in the service of the liturgy: Byzantine silver plate//Heaven on earth: Art and Church in Byzantium/ed. L. Safran. University Park, 1998. P. 152–185. Brubacker L. Talking about the Great Church: Ekphrasis and the narration on Hagia Sophia//Ekphrasis: La representation des monuments dans les literatures Byzantine et Byzantine-slaves: Réalités et imaginaires/ed. V. Vavfinek, P. Odorico, V. Drbal. Prague, 2011. P. 80–87. (BS; T. 69, N 3. Supplementum). Buchwald H. First Byzantine architectural style: Evolution or revolution?//JÖB. 1982. Bd. 21. S. 33–45. |
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