| Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko, Dean Emeritus of Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, NY, and noted Orthodox Christian priest, theologian, preacher, and speaker, fell asleep in the Lord on the afternoon of March 18, 2015. Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko, Dean Emeritus of Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, NY, and noted Orthodox Christian priest, theologian, preacher, and speaker, fell asleep in the Lord on the afternoon of March 18, 2015. Father Thomas was the beloved husband of Matushka Anne [Schmemann] Hopko. They were married on June 9, 1963. Together, Father Thomas and Anne are the parents of five children, sixteen grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Thomas John Hopko was born in Endicott, NY, on March 28, 1939, the third child and only son of John J. Hopko and Anna [Zapotocky] Hopko. He was baptized and raised in Saint Mary’s Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church and educated in Endicott public schools, graduating from Union-Endicott High School in 1956. Father Thomas graduated from Fordham University in 1960 with a bachelor’s degree in Russian studies. He graduated with a theological degree from Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in 1963, from Duquesne University with a master’s degree in philosophy in 1969, and earned his doctorate degree in theology from Fordham University in 1982. Ordained to the Holy Priesthood in August 1963, Father Thomas served the following parishes as pastor: Saint John the Baptist Church, Warren, OH (1963–1968); Saint Gregory the Theologian Church, Wappingers Falls, NY (1968–1978); and Saint Nicholas Church, Jamaica Estates, NY (1978–1983). Father Thomas was honored with the clerical rank of Archpriest in 1970 and the rank of Protopresbyter in 1995. Beginning in 1968, Father Thomas began his long service to Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. Over the years, Father Thomas held the following positions: Lecturer in Doctrine and Pastoral Theology, 1968–1972; Assistant Professor of Dogmatic Theology, 1972–1983; Associate Professor of Dogmatic Theology, 1983–1991; Professor of Dogmatic Theology, 1991–1992; Dean, Rector of Three Hierarchs Chapel, and Professor of Dogmatic Theology, 1992–2002. |
| Holy Prince Rostislav was the builder of the Smolensk Kremlin, and of the Savior cathedral at the Smyadynsk Boris and Gleb monastery, founded on the place of the murder of holy Prince Gleb (September 5). Later his son David, possibly fulfilling the wishes of his father, transferred the old wooden coffins of Saints Boris and Gleb from Kievan Vyshgorod to Smyadyn. In the decade of the fifties of the twelfth century, Saint Rostislav was drawn into a prolonged struggle for Kiev, which involved representatives of the two strongest princely lines: the Olgovichi and the Monomakhovichi. On the Monomakhovichi side the major contender to be Great Prince was Rostislav’s uncle, Yurii Dolgoruky. Rostislav, as Prince of Smolensk, was one of the most powerful rulers of the Russian land and had a decisive voice in military and diplomatic negotiations. For everyone involved in the dispute, Rostislav was both a dangerous opponent and a desired ally, and he was at the center of events. This had a providential significance, since Saint Rostislav distinguished himself by his wisdom regarding the civil realm, by his strict sense of justice and unconditional obedience to elders, and by his deep respect for the Church and its hierarchy. For several generations he was the bearer of the “Russkaya Pravda” (“Russian Truth”) and of Russian propriety. After the death of his brother Izyaslav (November 13, 1154), Saint Rostislav became Great Prince of Kiev, but he ruled Kiev at the same time with his uncle Vyacheslav Vladimirovich. After the latter’s death, Rostislav returned to Smolensk, ceding the Kiev princedom to his other uncle, Yurii Dolgoruky, and he removed himself from the bloodshed of the princely disputes. He occupied Kiev a second time on April 12, 1159 and he then remained Great Prince until his death (+ 1167). More than once, he had to defend his paternal inheritance with sword in hand. The years of Saint Rostislav’s rule occurred during one of the most complicated periods in the history of the Russian Church. The elder brother of Rostislav, Izyaslav Mstislavich, a proponent of the autocephaly of the Russian Church, favored the erudite Russian monk Clement Smolyatich for Metropolitan, and wanted him to be made Metropolitan by a council of Russian bishops, without seeking the usual approval from the Patriarch of Constantinople. This occurred in the year 1147. |
| After him, his son Saint David (+ 1321) ruled at Yaroslavl. The second of his sons, Constantine, had evidently died earlier. The Church veneration of Prince Theodore in the Yaroslavl region began soon after his death. During the years 1322-1327, Bishop Prochorus of Rostov commissioned the famous Theodorov Gospel, adorned with miniatures, in memory of Saint Theodore. Previously, Bishop Prochorus had been igumen of the Savior-Transfiguration monastery at Yaroslavl. Actually, he knew the holy prince personally, and witnessed his tonsure and public repentance before the people. Historians think that the fine miniatures sewn into this precious manuscript had come from an earlier Gospel owned by Saint Theodore himself, and which he had brought with him to Yaroslavl as a blessing from his native Smolensk. On March 5, 1463, at Yaroslavl the relics of holy Prince Theodore and his sons, David and Constantine were uncovered. The chronicler, an eyewitness to the event, recorded under that year: “At the city of Yaroslavl in the monastery of the Holy Savior they unearthed three Great Princes: Prince Theodore Rostislavich and his sons David and Constantine, and brought them above the ground. Great Prince Theodore was a man of great stature, and they placed his sons David and Constantine beside him. Their stature was less than his. They had lain in a single grave.” The physical appearance of the holy prince so impressed the eyewitnesses and those present at the uncovering of the relics, that an account of this was entered into the Prologue (lives of saints) in Saint Theodore’s Life, and also into the text of the Manual for Iconographers. The Life of the holy Prince Theodore the Black was written shortly after the uncovering of the relics, by the hieromonk Anthony of the Yaroslav Savior monastery, with the blessing of the Metropolitan Philip of Moscow and All Rus. Another version of the Life was written by Andrew Yuriev at the Saint Cyril of White Lake monastery. A third and more detailed Life of Saint Theodore was included in the “Book of Ranks of Imperial Geneology,” compiled under Tsar Ivan the Terrible and Metropolitan Macarius. |
| The fact that the Great Prince had changed his attitude toward Metropolitan Clement, shows the influence of the Kiev Caves monastery, and in particular of Archimandrite Polycarp. Archimandrite Polycarp, who followed the traditions of the Caves (in 1165 he became head of the monastery), was personally very close to Saint Rostislav. Saint Rostislav had the pious custom of inviting the igumen and twelve monks to his own table on the Saturdays and Sundays of Great Lent, and he served them himself. The prince more than once expressed the wish to be tonsured a monk at the monastery of Saints Anthony and Theodosius, and he even gave orders to build a cell for him. The monks of the Caves, a tremendous spiritual influence in ancient Rus, encouraged the prince to think about the independence of the Russian Church. Moreover, during those years in Rus, there was suspicion regarding the Orthodoxy of the bishops which came from among the Greeks, because of the notorious “Dispute about the Fasts” (the “Leontian Heresy”). Saint Rostislav’s pious intent to obtain the blessing of the Patriarch of Constantinople for Metropolitan Clement came to naught. The Greeks believed that appointing a Metropolitan to the Kiev cathedra was one of their most important prerogatives. This served not only the ecclesiastical, but also the political interests of the Byzantine Empire. In 1165 a new Greek Metropolitan arrived at Kiev, John IV, and Saint Rostislav accepted him out of humility and churchly obedience. The new Metropolitan, like his predecessor, governed the Russian Church for less than a year (+ 1166). The See of Kiev was again left vacant, and the Great Prince was deprived of the fatherly counsel and spiritual wisdom of a Metropolitan. His sole spiritual solace was the igumen Polycarp and the holy Elders of the Kiev Caves monastery and the Theodorov monastery at Kiev, which had been founded under his father. Returning from a campaign against Novgorod in the spring of 1167, Saint Rostislav fell ill. When he reached Smolensk, where his son Roman was prince, relatives urged him to remain at Smolensk. But the Great Prince gave orders to take him to Kiev. “If I die along the way,” he declared, “put me in my father’s monastery of Saint Theodore. If God should heal me, through the prayers of His All-Pure Mother and Saint Theodosius, I shall take vows at the monastery of the Caves.” |
| The wonderworking Theodore Icon of the Mother of God was constantly with Saint Alexander, and he prayed before it. After Saint Alexander Nevsky died on November 14, 1263 at the monastery founded by his father, the icon was taken by his younger brother Basil. Basil Yaroslavich was the youngest (eighth) son of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. In 1246 after the death of his father (Prince Yaroslav was poisoned in the capital city of Mongolia, Karakorum when he was only five years old) Basil became prince of the Kostroma appanage-holding, the least important of his father’s domains. In the year 1272, he became Great Prince of Vladimir. His four years as Great Prince (1272-1276) were filled with fratricidal princely quarrels. For several years he waged war against Novgorod with an unruly nephew Demetrius. In becoming Great Prince, however, Basil did not journey to Vladimir, but remained under the protection of the wonderworking icon at Kostroma, regarding this place as safer in case of new outbreaks of strife. He had occasion also to defend Rus against external enemies. In 1272, during a Tatar incursion, a Russian army came forth from Kostroma to engage them. Following the example of his grandfather, Saint Andrew Bogoliubsky (who took the wonderworking Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God with him on military campaigns), Prince Basil went into battle with the wonderworking Theodore Icon. A blinding light came forth from the holy image, and the Tatars dispersed and fled from the Russian land. The Chronicles say that the Great Prince Basil had a special love for the Church and the clergy. After the martyric death of Bishop Metrophanes of Vladimir during the storming of Vladimir by Tatars on February 4, 1238, the Vladimir diocese had remained widowed for many years. This grieved Great Prince Basil. With his help, a large cathedral was constructed in Vladimir in 1274. This was apparently in connection with the consecration of Saint Serapion (July 12) as Bishop of Vladimir. He was an igumen from the Monastery of the Caves. |
| ThQ 56 (1874). S. 1−70; Idem. Hymnenausdem Zweiströmeland. Mainz, 1882. S. 247−259; Bevan A. A. The Hymns of the Soul, contained in the Syriac Acts of St. Thomas. Text and Studies 5, 3. Cambridge, 1897; Hoffmann G. Zwei Hymnen der Thomasakten. ZNTW 4 (1903). S. 273−309; Medlycott A. E. India and the Apostle Thomas. Inquiry with a critical Analysis of the Acts of Thomas. London, 1905; Bousset W. Hauptprobleme der Gnosis. Göttingen, 1907. S. 276−319; Haase F. Zur bardesanischen Gnosis. Leipzig, 1910. S. 50−67; Rostalski F. Sprachliches zu den apokryphen Apostelgeschichten. Teil 1. Die casus obliqui in den Thomasakten. Programm Myslowitz, 1911; Dahlmann J. Die Thomaslegende und die ältesten historischen Beziehungen des Christentums zum fernen Osten. Freiburg im Breisgau. 1902; Zaleski L. M. L " apôtre St. Thomas et l " Inde. Mangalore, 1912; Martinez F. L " ascétisme chrétien pendant les trois premiers, siècles. Paris, 1913. P. 54−72; Burch V. A Commentary on the syriac Hymn of the Soul. JTS 19 (1917−1918). P. 145−161; Reitzenstein R. Ein Gegenstück zu dem Seelenhymnus der Thomasakten. ZNTW 21 (1922). S. 35−37; Baumstark A. S. 14−15; Väth A. Der hl. Thomas, der Apostel Indiens. 2 th ed. Aachen, 1925; Charpentier J. St. Thomas the Apostle and India. Kyrkhist. Aarskrif 27. P. 21−47; Panjikaran J. Christianity in Malabar with special reference to the St. Thomas Christians. Or. Chr. 6 (1926). P. 93−136; Mingana A. The early Spread of Christianity in India. London, 1926, Lietzmann H. Messe und Herrenmahl. Bonn, 1926. S. 243−247; Amann E. Apocryphes du N. Testament. DB SuPl. I. Paris, 1928. Coll. 501−504; Joseph Т. К. К Query, St. Thomas in Parthia or India? Indian Antiquary 61 (1933). P. 159; Idem. The St. Thomas Traditions of South India. Bull, of the Intern. Committee of Hist. Research 5 (1933). P. 570−569; Bornkamm G. Mythos und Legende in den apokryphen Thomasakten, Göttingen, 1933; Connolly R. H. A Negative Golden Rule in the Syriac Acts of Thomas. JTS 36 (1935). P. 353−357; Margoliouth D. |
| Крит. изд. готовится Д. М. Сирби в серии: Thomas de Aquino a Byzantinis receptus. Vol. 1: Demetrii Cydonis Defensio Sancti Thomae Aquinatis adversus Nilum Cabasilam. О соч. см.: Rackl M . Die ungedruckte Verteidigungsschrift des Demetrios Kydones für Thomas von Aquin gegen Neilos Kabasilas//Divus Thomas. Ser. 2. Freiburg, 1920. Bd. 7. S. 303-317 (анализ сочинения); Fyrigos. 2004. P. 27-72 (здесь: P. 60 sqq.); Podskalsky. 1977. S. 196-206. Фрагменты в нем. пер. см.: Rackl M. Der hl. Thomas von Aquin und das trinitarische Grundgesetz in byzantinischer Beleuchtung//Xenia Thomistica. Vol. 3: Tractatus historico-criticos continens. R., 1925. P. 363-389 (здесь: P. 380-389). Составлено против трактата Нилы Кавасилы (в 3 ч., изд. см.: ИАБ, 6. 1355-1356). Длинное опровержение этого сочинения К. написано Димитрием Хрисолором (PLP, N 31156) между 1425 и 1439 гг. в форме разговора Фомы Аквинского, Нила Кавасилы, К. и самого автора (о сочинении см.: Pasiourtides. 2012; Searby. 2012). Издание сочинения Хрисолора готовит В. Пасиуртидис в серии: Thomas de Aquino a Byzantinis receptus. Vol. 2: Demetrii Chrysolorae Refutatio operis Demetrii Cydonis «Contra Nilum Cabasilam» sub forma dialogi, in quo auctor ipse cum personis Thomae Aquinatis, Nili Cabasilae et Demetrii Cydonis loquitur. Предварительно текст опубликован в составе диссертации: Pasiourtides V. An Annotated Critical Edition of Demetrios Chrysoloras " Dialogue on Demetrios Kydones " Antirrhetic against Neilos Kabasilas: Diss. L., 2013. P. 189-397. 2. «К некоему другу об исхождении Святого Духа» (Ες τς λσεις τν παγομνων τπων τος παρ Πατρς κα Υο λγουσι τ Αγιον Πνεμα κπορεεσθαι; De processione Spiritus Sancti ad amicum quendam); не издано. Трактат с похожим названием (PG. 154. Col. 863-958), иногда приписываемый К., ему не принадлежит. Опровержение этого сочинения К. написано Иосифом Филагрием (PLP, N 29730; ИАБ, 6. 1610-1613). 3. «К господину Константину Асаню об апории, выдвигаемой паламитами, об ипостасных особенностях Троицы» (Πρς τν Ασν κρ Κωνσταντνον περ τς π τν Παλαμιτν προτεινομνης πορας π τος ποστατικος διμασι τς Τριδος; De personarum proprietatibus in Trinitate ad Constantinum Asanem); изд.: Candal M. |
| St. Daniel refused such a lifestyle and such actions. He never attacked anyone first, and even when he was attacked, he did everything possible to reconcile. From the point of view of medieval customs, he took unthinkable steps of self-humiliation. But it was these steps that led to him, as a prince, becoming a saint. But holiness is not a synonym for weakness, and holy Right-Believing Prince Daniel’s father, the holy and great Right-Believing Prince Alexander Nevsky is a beautiful example of this. He was also an affectionate, kind, and gentle man, but when it was necessary he took up his sword and protected his people. The same thing happened in the life of the holy prince Daniel. When the prince of Ryazan, desiring to expand his possessions at the expense of Moscow, decided to seize the Moscow princedom, holy Right-Believing Prince Daniel drew his sword and defended Moscow, soundly defeating the invader. And then what? Usually the winner would ride into the capital of the invader, capture the people, empty the treasury, and annex the land. Holy Prince Daniel never did this, and the Ryazan Princedom, having lost its opportunity to attack Moscow, peacefully continued its existence. The life of St. Daniel shows us an amazing example of how holiness can be realized at any level of human life, in any position, under any government or anarchy. Any man can become a saint—rulers, generals, simple soldiers, and secular people, whether scientists, government representatives, school teachers, hospital nurses, or cemetery caretakers—anyone can become a saint. And no external circumstances can prevent him if he does not prevent himself. Holiness is the realization of God’s law in our lives. It’s not a failure to overcome unrighteousness, human evil, and aggression; it is not a synonym for weakness. It is an expression of great inner spiritual strength, which helps to achieve success in earthly life, because before a saint not only do people’s hearts open, but also many doors—that to evil people are closed. |
| The Russian side in this historic debate, in turn, places the emphasis on state succession. The Vladimir and Muscovite principalities were able to preserve this, eventually creating the centralized Russian state with its capital in Moscow. Meanwhile, Kiev lost its statehood for many centuries. An independent state on Ukrainian soil did not emerge again until 1991. Vladimir in Moscow: Lying, sitting and standing The political and historical battles over the new monument were not limited to statements of officials, but predictably spread to social networks. Those who supported Poroshenko emphasized that the prince of Kiev’s ties to the current capital of Russia were tenuous at best. " What does Prince Vladimir have to do with Moscow? " wondered Facebook user Mikhail V. Petrov. He also cited another popular argument of supporters of Rus-Ukraine: The coat of arms of Vladimir depicted a trident, which is the modern emblem of Ukraine. Those who do not agree with the Ukrainian president, like, for example, Facebook user Valentyna Volkova, point out that Vladimir called himself Prince of All Russia, not mentioning Ukraine, which is a more recent term. Others, like Alex Korobov, said that originally Vladimir was a prince in Novgorod (which is difficult to somehow connect with present-day Ukraine), and only later ruled in Kiev. However, some chose to adopt a more humorous interpretation – Facebook user Andrei Lukachev made a tongue-in-cheek comment to the effect that the statue of Vladimir had completed a Moscow trio along with Russian President Vladimir Putin and founder of the USSR Vladimir Lenin. " As the saying goes, we now have a lying Vladimir, a sitting Vladimir and a standing Vladimir in the center of Moscow! Like it or not, but Vladimir is the fate of Russia, " wrote Lukachev. Prince Vladimir is honored by the Russian Orthodox Church as a saint and described as equal to the apostles for his special efforts in spreading the Christian faith. The prince, who ruled at the end of the 10th century in Kiev, and before that in Novgorod, is widely revered in Russia. During his reign, the ancient Russian state, Kievan Rus, significantly strengthened, expanded and adopted Byzantine Christianity as the state religion. |
| “The choice that the Holy Prince Vladimir made was prophetic, for it was revealed to him that the people entrusted to him by God would be enlightened by the Christian faith and would bring forth fruits that the Lord expected from them. “Had Prince Vladimir led our people in another direction, we would not have had the opportunity to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ and feel God’s closeness to us; had it not been for the choice made by Prince Vladimir, our people would not have had God’s abundant mercies and we would not have lived under the protecting veil of the Most Holy Mother of God. Perhaps, had it not been for Prince Vladimir, we would not have existed at all. That is why the celebrations in honour of the holy grand prince are being held all over our Holy Russia.” The DECR chairman thanked Metropolitan Ignaty of Khabarovsk and Priamurye for his missionary service in the Far East. “It is gratifying to see for me as chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, responsible for relationships between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church, what attention you pay to cooperation with China and Chinese diaspora in our country,” Metropolitan Hilarion said. That same day, the DECR chairman, in the presence of the administrator of the metropolia of Priamurye and in concelebration with the clergy of the Khabarovsk diocese, laid the foundation stone of a baptismal Church of the Holy Prince Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, in the territory of the Church of St Innocent in Khabarovsk and installed a memorial cross at the place of the altar of the future church. The DECR chairman also visited the Church of the Nativity of Christ in Khabarovsk. Metropolitan Hilarion first visited this church in 1985, when he was doing the military service in frontier troops. Back then it was the only working church in Khabarovsk. The same day the DECR chairman, accompanied by Mr. Dmitry Petrovsky and Mr. Alexander Yershov, DECR staff members, departed for Vladivostok. |
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