| 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). |
| Saints, Myths and Mineshafts The ancient Christian tradition of long processions has been revived in Russia in recent years, and the night-long marches from Yekaterinburg to Ganina Yama and from Alapayevsk to the scene of Elizabeth’s murder are by no means the longest. Some take several days. The procession is often associated with repentance. 07/23/2010 The Scenes of the Royal Murders Have Become Places of Pilgrimage, but the Church still Does not Recognize the Recovered Remains of the Romanovs, and Archaeologists are Fearful for the Future of the Historic Site Alapayevsk, Sverdlovsk Region – It’s 4.20 a.m. last Sunday, the Divine Liturgy in the Holy Trinity Cathedral of this old industrial town has just finished, and several hundred people, most of them women, but quite a few men and children as well, are stepping into the pre-dawn twilight to begin a 12-kilometer procession. “O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us, sinners,” sing the believers in time with their rather fast pace. The Alapayevsk procession is one of the annual events which mark what are known here as the “Royal Days.” In the early hours of July 17, 1918, the deposed Tsar Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra, their five children and four servants were shot in the mining engineer Ipatyev’s house in Yekaterinburg. The following night, in Alapayevsk, 150 kilometers north-east of Yektaterinburg, the empress’ sister and founder of the famous Convent of Martha and Mary in Moscow, Grand Duchess Elizabeth, her closest aide, Sister Varvara, and five dukes imprisoned with them, were thrown alive down an abandoned mineshaft. Today these dates are remembered with a host of church services and processions, and a “festival of Orthodox culture” including exhibitions, concerts and conferences. The fifth International Festival of Orthodox Christian Documentaries is also on the agenda. According to local police estimates, about 20,000 people walked in the early hours of Saturday morning from the imposing Church-on-the-Blood, which is built on the site of Ipatyev’s house, to the monastery at Ganina Yama 20 kilometers away. It was here that the Bolsheviks and Chekists attempted to destroy the bodies of the royal family in an abandoned mine. And although their remains have since been discovered about two kilometers away from Ganina Yama, in a place known as “Porosyonkov Log,” the vast majority of believers do not recognize this discovery, while Ganina Yama has over the past decade become one of the main holy sites in the region. |
| Venerable Joseph the Hymnographer Commemorated on April 4 Saint Joseph the Hymnographer, “the sweet-voiced nightingale of the Church,” was born in Sicily in 816 into a pious Christian family. His parents, Plotinos and Agatha, moved to the Peloponnesos to save themselves from barbarian invasions. When he was fifteen, Saint Joseph went to Thessalonica and entered the monastery of Latomos. He was distinguished by his piety, his love for work, his meekness, and he gained the good will of all the brethren of the monastery. He was later ordained as a priest. Saint Gregory the Dekapolite (November 20) visited the monastery and took notice of the young monk, taking him along to Constantinople, where they settled together near the church of the holy Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus. This was during the reign of the emperor Leo the Armenian (813-820), a time of fierce iconoclast persecution. Saints Gregory and Joseph fearlessly defended the veneration of holy icons. They preached in the city squares and visited in the homes of the Orthodox, encouraging them against the heretics. The Church of Constantinople was in a most grievous position. Not only the emperor, but also the patriarch were iconoclast heretics. At that time the Roman bishops were in communion with the Eastern Church, and Pope Leo III, who was not under the dominion of the Byzantine Emperor, was able to render great help to the Orthodox. The Orthodox monks chose Saint Joseph as a steadfast and eloquent messenger to the Pope. Saint Gregory blessed him to journey to Rome and to report on the plight of the Church of Constantinople, the atrocities of the iconoclasts, and the dangers threatening Orthodoxy. During the journey, Saint Joseph was captured by Arab brigands who had been bribed by the iconoclasts. They took him to the island of Crete, where they handed him over to the iconoclasts, who locked him up in prison. Bravely enduring all the deprivations, he encouraged the other prisoners. By his prayers, a certain Orthodox bishop who had begun to waver was strengthened in spirit and courageously accepted martyrdom. |
| On Sunday 6th December 2015 His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa conducted the ordination of His Grace Athanasios Bishop of Kisumu and West Kenya, at the Holy Patriarchal Church of St Nicholas in Cairo. On the evening before, he officiated at Great Vespers at the celebrating Patriarchal Church of St Nicholas and then the Great Messages of the recently elected Bishops of Mozambique Chrysostomos, Nieri and Mount Kenya Neofytos and Kisumu and West Kenya Athanasios. At the Eucharistic gathering on the feast day, as well as at the ordination of His Grace, His Eminence Elder Metropolitan Gabriel of Leontopolis, Patriarchal Vicar General, His Eminence Makarios Metropolitan of Nairobi, His Eminence Alexandros Metropolitan of Nigeria, His Eminence Nicholas of Ermopolis, His Eminence Nikodimos of Memphis, Patriarchal Vicar of Cairo, His Eminence Niphon Metropolitan of Pilousion, Abbot of the Holy Patriarchal Monastery of St. George in Cairo, His Eminence Metropolitan Ioannis of Zambia, and their Graces Chrysostomos Bishop of Mozambique and Neofytos of Nieri also participated. Many faithful came to the church for the celebrations from both the Greek and Arabic communities of the Egyptian capital. In his address, with deep emotion, His Beatitude said: Your Grace, elected Bishop Athanasios of Kisumu and West Kenya and beloved brother in the Lord, “My you be strengthened with all power giving thanks to the father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (Colossians 1:11-12). The hour of Missions in the vast and great country of Kenya “has indeed come.” The fullness of time has arrived, the time of sowing has come as has the time of reaping. At this sacred moment of your ordination as bishop, I wish to stand paternally opposite you and in a spirit of love and advice, to weave into your thoughts my expectations and visions for you, my beloved son Fr. Athanasios. Firstly I want to say to you that the theology of our Church is not only produced through the university desks and the amphitheatres of the theological faculties. The theology of our Church is not a double-headed theology. It is not academic. It does not begin and end in libraries and university laboratories. The theology of our Church begins at the Holy Altar! That is the greatest theological Table which produces the one theology – the theology of the Immaculate Lamb. On the Holy Altar is the sacrificial lamb. It is the broken, divided and never expended Christ. He is the centre “of the entire Church.” He is the lighting strength, the source of sanctity, from which all of creation, strengthened both in logic and intellect sends up the eternal doxology. |
| Holiness and Martyrdom in Our Times: An Interview with Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos Source: ORTHOGNOSIA Holiness, asceticism, discernment and martyrdom are great riches of our Church that move us, attract us, transform us and save us from the distractions and lies of this world in every era. In an interview with His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou, he gives answers to the questions of a journalist (George Theoharis from/Agioritikovima.gr/) on these issues, and speaks of other aspects of ecclesiastical life. – Your Eminence, many people are unsure if saints exist today.What do you say? – Of course there are saints. The purpose of the Church is to sanctify people, otherwise it should not exist. The Church, with the Mysteries and the ascetic life, aims to heal mankind from the passions and give them spiritual health, which is holiness. God says: “Be holy,for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:16). And it is written in the Apocalypse: “Let the one who is holy continue to be holy” (Rev. 22:11). Unfortunately,most Christians today perceive the Church as a religious, ethical or social organization with secular or worldly purposes. And they struggle together in the Church to produce social or ethical projects. Of course,the Church does such projects, but these are the result, a fruit of the union of a person with Christ. Thus, there are saints also today who lived and live within the Church,such as Bishops, Priests, monks and laypeople of all categories. Yet,the biggest problem is that we don’t have the Orthodox criteria to understand them, because they have an inner world that is hidden from the many, and many of us are not in the right condition to recognize them. What is particularly important is not whether saints exist today, but how we can become saints. All sciences have a particular method, and for one to be a saint they must follow this specific method, which is the purification of the heart, the illumination of the nous and theosis, in conjunction with the Mysteries of the Church. We encounter this in the/Philokalia/and in the teachings of the contemporary Fathers. Holiness is expressed through repentance, humility, and love for God and man. |
| The 150th anniversary of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission " s representation in Jericho was celebrated on the Holy Land The Russian Orthodox Church Department for External Church Relations The Russian Orthodox Church Department for External Church Relations Department History Contacts Documents Archive Insights News Patriarch DECR Chairman Social Accept The site uses cookies to help show you the most up-to-date information. By continuing to use the site, you consent to the use of your Metadata and cookies. Cookie policy Home page News The 150th anniversary of the Russian Ecclesiastica… The 150th anniversary of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission " s representation in Jericho was celebrated on the Holy Land DECR Communication service, 17.12.2023. On December 15, 2023, the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem solemnly celebrated the 150th anniversary of the founding of its representation in honour of St. Zacchaeus, the holy Apostle of Christ, former tax collector, Bishop of Caesarea in Palaestina, reports the REM press service. The land plot, acquired for the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission by its head Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin) in 1873, is associated in the Christian Tradition with the location of the house of Zacchaeus, the tax collector. The ruins of a Byzantine monastery and the mosaic on the tomb of Abbot Kiriak, located on the territory of the representation, are viewed as evidence for that claim. With the blessing of His Beatitude Theophilos III, Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine, the festive Divine service on a significant day for the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission was celebrated by Metropolitan Timothy of Bostra (Patriarchate of Jerusalem). His Eminence was accompanied by Archimandrite Vassian (Zmeyev), head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, Archimandrite Parthenios, rector of the Church of the Prophet Elijah in Jericho, Archimandrite Roman (Krasovsky), head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem within the Russian Church Abroad, Hegumen Nikon (Golovko), secretary of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission, Archimandrite Amfilohiy, clergyman of the Church of Saints Constantine and Helen of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem; Hieromonk Amvrosy (Ignatov), clergyman of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission " s representation in honour of the Holy Forefathers in Hebron, Hieromonk Innocent (Bespalov), clergyman of the Gorno Nunnery in Ein Karem, and Hieromonk Abraham (Romanian Patriarchate), resident of the monastery in honour of the Holy Prophet Elijah in Jericho. |
| John Anthony McGuckin Canon Law ANDREI PSAREV Canon law is the sum of ecclesiastical regulations recognized by church authorities; the discipline, study, or practice of church jurisprudence. The term derives from the ancient Greek word kanon, meaning “yardstick” or “standard.” It has been used since the time of the early church for the rule of faith (regula fidei) established by Christ and the apostles ( Gal. 6.16 ; Phil. 3.16 ). THE TASKS OF CANON LAW As a field, canon law deals with the following issues: the sources of canon law, church order, the foundation of new Orthodox churches, the canonization of saints, the ecclesiastical calendar, control for the execution of justice, the ecclesiastical court, marriage regulations, reception of converts from other confessions, the church’s relations with civil authorities, the correlation of church law with civil law, finances, and ownership relations. Canon law includes the subjects and methods of other theological disciplines: critical analysis (church history), doctrinal teaching (dogmatics), canons of the holy fathers (patristics), baptism, and reception into the church (liturgics). The New Testament is the disclosure of the essence of the “Covenant of the Law” contained in the Old Testament Pentateuch: “Not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” ( 2Cor. 3.6 ); thus, for Christian Orthodox: “In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but rather faith working through love” ( Gal. 5.6 ). The Decalogue and all the commandments of Christ and his apostles have received in the Christian Church the status of law. Every church regulation is supposed to be based on them as on a source. From the very beginning, Christian society had to deal with a diversity of opinions. In order to establish consensus as to whether or not the proselytes had to observe Mosaic Law, a council of apostles was convened in Jerusalem (Acts 15). This principle of conciliarity, the convention of church representatives for an open competition of views, became one of the main mechanisms that the Orthodox Church applied, and still uses, to establish consensus. |
| 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. |
| Sermon on the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia 2016 Source: Hermitage of the Holy Cross February 7, 2016 Today we celebrate the memory of the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian land. These are all the multitude of bishops, priests, monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen, and children who were killed or suffered gravely because of their faith and their refusal to compromise their faith, to cooperate with the new revolutionary government, or to renounce their faith in Christ. The experience of each and every one of these martyrs and confessors was unique. Even if their manner of death or suffering was similar in many cases, each of them brought with them to that moment of confession or martyrdom a unique soul, a unique set of experiences and circumstances. If we were to enter into the mind and heart of each one of these saints and observe the unique way in which they experienced their suffering and the knowledge of their coming martyrdom, we would see a wondrous tapestry of experience. And the thread which holds all this tapestry together is love, love for Christ. Bishops of this time faced a particularly complex assortment of temptations. Events were changing quickly from the time the revolution began. The revolution itself was disorganized and chaotic, with different revolutionary leaders taking power in various places and turning on each other when disagreements arose. Having lived until now under the God-anointed Orthodox Tsar, the bishops found themselves without the security of the support of the government almost overnight. And almost immediately the demands began to be issued from the revolutionaries: “You must turn over all the precious vessels and metalwork belonging to the church for the benefit of the poor and starving. You will cease to use the church building because it will be commandeered by the People and used for other purposes.” In many cases if the hierarchs even hesitated or sought a compromise, they were killed immediately. Even though many of them remained apolitical in their outward expression and accepted the abdication of the Tsar and the coming revolution as a form of chastisement from God for the apostasy of the people, the very fact of their existence was so distasteful to the God-hating new regime that they could not escape the accusation of “counter-revolutionary activity.” And for this they could be killed quickly, imprisoned, or sent into exile, depending on the will of God and the particular character of the local authorities. |
| On Saturday, February 8, 2020 in the Orthodox Cathedral in Prague, the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia canonized as martyr-saints several clergy and lay people who were martyred by the Nazis during World War II. The new saints include the priests Father Vladimir Petrek, Father Vaclav Cikl and the laymen Jan Sonnevend, Vaclav Ornest, Karel Louda and their families. All these Orthodox Christians suffered for Christ with their Bishop Gorazd Pavlik who had been previously canonized as a martyr-saint in 1987. (see acrod.org; Orthodox Reading Room, Lives of the Saints). The story of the new martyrs begins September, 1941 when Reinhard Heydrich was appointed as the Nazi Deputy Reich-Protector (Governor) of Bohemia and Moravia. Heydrich had a reputation as a violent, heartless Nazi. Adolph Hitler called him “The man with the iron heart” and others referred to him as “The Butcher”. Within five days of his arrival in Prague, 142 people were executed and it was Heydrich who was the architect and key organizer of the Holocaust which led to the extermination of over six million Jews and others. Today, as we look at the historical photos of piles of emaciated bodies in Nazi concentration camps, we ask: “Did anyone care? Why didn’t someone stop this evil? Why didn’t someone do something? In May, 1942 a group of courageous people did take action to stop this evil. The Allied forces had previously secreted into the region several members of the Czechoslovak army in exile. The code name for their mission was Operation Anthropoid and its goal was the removal and assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. On the morning of May, 27, 1942 Heydrich was being driven to his Prague office in an open top car. Stepping out into the roadway the Czechoslovak soldiers opened fire with a machine gun and a bomb which led to Heydrich’s death several days later. The Nazis unleashed a wave of terror in reprisal for Heydrich’s assassination. On June 9, in the village of Lidice 172 boys and men between age 14 to 84 were shot, women and children were deported to concentration camps. The same pattern repeated in the village of Leáky: all adults were murdered. In Prague the Czechoslovak soldiers took refuge by hiding in the Sts. |
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