The Orthodox Word No. 50

THE ORTHODOX WORD

A Bimonthly Periodical OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF SAINT HERMAN OF ALASKA


Established with the blessing of His Eminence the late John (Maximovitch), Archbishop of Western America and San Francisco, Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia PLATINA, CALIFORNIA 96076

1973, Vol. 9, no. 3 (50)
May - June

CONTENTS

89 The 50th Issue of The Orthodox Word

91 The Meaning of the Russian Diaspora by Archbishop John Maximovitch

95 Is Holy Russia Alive Today? (An Open Letter by Gennady Shimanov)

103 The Fall and Resurrection of Russia

105 A Treasury of St. Herman's Spirituality (XVI-XVIII)

118 Will These Human Bones Come to Life? by Archbishop John Maximovitch

123 The Great Mystery of Diveyevo

127 Conclusion

COVER: The original portrait of St. Herman, done at the direction of his spiritual son, Schema-Monk Sergius (Yanovsky) by the latter's daughter, Novice Elizabeth.

MICROFILM copies of all back issues and of individual articles are available from Xerox University Microfilms, 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI, 48106

Copyright 1973 by The Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood. Published bimonthly by The Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood.

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THE ORTHODOX WORD, PLATINA, CALIFORNIA 96076

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Saint Seraphim of Sarov
+ January 2, 1833. Canonized July 19, 1903
Icon-portrait painted from life by Serebriakov


The 50th Issue of The Orthodox Word


TEN YEARS AGO the Blessed Archbishop John Maximovitch blessed the modest beginning of the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood with these words: "Your intention is clearly good and the cause is good. You must exert all your effort for its realization. I am asking God for His almighty help. If it is pleasing to God, then it will go forward. May the Lord bless you. With love, Archbishop John."

And from that very day, as if to prove that the Lord had heard his prayer, the Brotherhood of St. Herman has experienced the abundance of grace which his blessing has given, which continues even after his repose. While blessing the Brotherhood he said: "Soon we shall canonize Saint Herman," when in fact there was scarcely any hope at that time for such a great spiritual event for the whole Russian Church Abroad which nonetheless did come to pass within a few years. Then, a few months after his blessing, precisely on the memorial day of St. Herman, December 13, 1963, the great "Mystery of Diveyevo" was revealed to the Brotherhood and entrusted to it for publication, which was accomplished just before the canonization of St. Herman, and it is presented in this jubilee issue for the first time in English.

When blessing the beginning of THE ORTHODOX WORD (the name which he himself gave to the Brotherhood's periodical), Archbishop John wrote the following:

"May the Lord bless the preaching of the Orthodox Word! Christ commanded His disciples, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. May this preaching serve for the strengthening of the Orthodox faith and Christian life in North America, with the help and the prayers of Blessed Father Herman of Alaska, whose sanctity was manifest on this continent, and the Aleut Martyr Peter, who suffered martyrdom in San Francisco."

And indeed, his words have been fulfilled with power. The "preaching" of THE ORTHODOX WORD, inspired by him, which now regularly includes the word of his own holy deeds and inspired writings, goes to the whole of North America and to forty countries throughout the world; the meek and simple monk of Sarov and Valaam, St. Herman, has been gloriously canonized as the first Saint of America in Archbishop John's Cathedral where his own relics repose; and the Aleut Martyr Peter, who was almost unknown to Orthodox Christians when Archbishop John spoke these words, is now widely venerated throughout North America.

Of all the outstanding aspects of Archbishop John's sanctity, there is one very striking one which has been little noticed up to now: he was a true prophet of Holy Russia, of its present significance for Orthodoxy in general and for Orthodox Russians in particular, and of its future resurrection by God's mercy. He spoke with great depth and insight on the spiritual meaning of the enslavement of Russia by the God-hating Communist Yoke and on the Russian Diaspora, its repentance and mission. And perhaps no one has seen so clearly as he that the future of Russia is inextricably bound up with the mystery of resurrection not with a merely metaphorical resurrection, but in some way with the actual resurrection of the dead which is the cornerstone of Orthodox Christian faith. His view of the Diaspora and the future of Russia in the following pages ends in a Paschal vision; and his sermon on the "dry bones" of Ezekiel and the Seven Youths of Ephesus binds Russia so closely to the mystery of resurrection that it in itself is already sufficient introduction to the revelation of the "Mystery of Diveyevo" which follows it.

This jubilee issue of THE ORTHODOX WORD Contains also the words of other God-inspired prophets of Holy Russia, and of a prophetic voice within Russia today it being understood that a prophet is not merely one who announces God's future dealings with man, but also accuses those sins which bring about God's chastisement and calls to the repentance which God rewards even in this life. But above all this jubilee issue is dedicated to the actual founder of THE ORTHODOX WORD, Archbishop John, a wonderworker of our own days whose words proceed from suffering and great ascetic struggle, seeming indeed like revelations given to him during his unbelievable vigils when, in his merciless warfare with the flesh and the natural desire for sleep, he would spend whole nights struggling in dark and empty churches, or in the deserted streets on his way to comfort the sick, the suffering, and the needy, or high in a church belfry, from which he would bless the sleeping world, his homeless and orphaned flock, penetrating with his inspired vision to the future of much-suffering Holy Russia...


The Meaning of the Russian Diaspora
BY ARCHBISHOP JOHN MAXIMOVITCH

THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE as a whole has performed great sins which are the cause of the present misfortunes: the specific sins are oathbreaking and regicide. The public and military leaders renounced their obedience and loyalty to the Tsar even before his abdication, forcing this latter from the Tsar, who did not desire bloodshed within the country; and the people openly and noisily greeted this deed, and nowhere did it loudly express its lack of agreement with it. At the same time there was made here a violation of the oath given to the Sovereign and his lawful heirs; and besides this, upon the heads of those who performed this crime fell the curse of their ancestorsthe Zemsky Sobor of 1613, whose decrees it sealed with the cursing of those who would violate them.

Those guilty of the sin of regicide are not only those who physically performed it, but the whole people which rejoiced on the occasion of the overthrow of the Tsar and allowed his abasement, arrest, and exile, leaving him defenceless in the hands of the criminals, which fact in itself already predetermined the end.

Thus, the catastrophe which has come upon Russia is the direct consequence of terrible sins, and the rebirth of Russia is possible only after cleansing from them. However, up to this time there has been no genuine repentance, the crimes that have been performed have clearly not been condemned, and many active participants in the Revolution continue even now to affirm that at that time it was not possible to act in any other way.

In not expressing a direct condemnation of the February Revolution, the uprising against the Anointed of God, the Russian people continue to participate in the sin, especially when they defend the fruits of the Revolution, for, in the words of the Apostle Paul, especially sinful are those who, knowing that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but consent with them that do them (Rom. 1:32).

But in chastising, the Lord at the same time also shows the Russian people the way to salvation by making it a preacher of Orthodoxy in the whole world. The Russian Diaspora has made all the ends of the world familiar with Orthodoxy, for the mass of Russian exiles, for the most part, is unconsciously a preacher of Orthodoxy. Everywhere that Russians live there are built small exile churches, or even magnificent churches, and often there are services in buildings which have been adapted for this purpose.

A consequence of the fall of the Russian State was the arising of the Russian Diaspora. More than a million people were forced to leave their homeland and be scattered about the whole face of the earth.

A significant part of the Russians who went abroad belonged to that intellectual class which in recent times has lived by the ideas of the West. While belonging to the Orthodox Church and confessing themselves to be Orthodox, the people of this class in their world outlook significantly departed from Orthodoxy. The chief sin of people of this class was that they did not build their convictions and way of life on the teaching of the Orthodox faith, but rather strove to make the rules and teaching of the Orthodox Church conform to their own habits and desires. Therefore, on the one hand they were but very little interested in the essence of Orthodox teaching, often even considering the dogmatic teaching of the Church as being completely unimportant; and on the other hand they fulfilled the demands and rites of the Orthodox Church, but only in so far as this did not interfere with their more European than Russian way of life. From this comes their disdainful attitude towards fasting, their visiting of churches only for a short time, and this rather more for the satisfaction of ;sthetic than religious feeling, and their complete lack of understanding of religion as the chief foundation of the spiritual life of man.

In the public realm this class likewise lived by the ideas of the West. Without giving any place at all for the influence of the Church, it strove to reconstruct the whole life of Russia, especially in the realm of State government, according to Western models. For this reason, in recent times an especially fierce battle was waged against State authority, and at the same time the necessity for liberal reforms and a democratic organization of Russia became as it were a new faith, not to confess which signified that one was behind the times. Making use in their battle with the monarchy of a slander against the Imperial Family which was widely spread throughout Russia, and likewise being possessed by a thirst for power, the intellectual class led Imperial Russia to its fall and prepared the way for the Communist power.

After the coming to power of Communism, the intellectual class was partially annihilated, and partially it fled abroad, saving its own life. At the same time the Communists showed their true face, and besides the intellectual class a multitude of Russians of other classes was forced to leave Russia, in part in order to save their own lives, and in part for ideological reasons, as they did not desire to serve the Communists. Finding themselves abroad, the Russian people suffered great spiritual shocks. In the souls of a majority there occurred a significant crisis which was marked by a mass return of the intellectual class to the Church.

However, this positive manifestation also had its negative side. By no means all of those who returned to faith accepted it in all the fullness of Orthodox teaching. The proud mind could not agree that up to now it had stood on a false path. There arose strivings to make Christian teaching agree with the previous views and ideas of the converts. Therefore there was a whole series of new religious-philosophical currents, often completely foreign to Church teaching. Of these currents, especially widespread was Sophiology, which is founded on the recognition of the value of man in himself and expresses the psychology of the intellectual class.

Sophiology as a doctrine is known to a comparatively small group of people, and very few actually subscribe to it openly. But a significant part of the intellectual class of the emigration is spiritually akin to it, for the psychology of Sophiology is the worship of man, who is no longer the humble slave of God, but is himself a small god who has no need to be blindly submissive to the Lord God. A feeling of refined pride bound up with faith in the possibility for a man to live by his own wisdom, is very characteristic of many people who are "cultural" in the modern sense, who place above everything else the conclusions of their own minds and do not desire to be in everything submissive to the teaching of the Church, looking upon it favorably in a condescending way. Thanks to this the Russian Church Abroad has been struck by a series of schisms which have caused it harm up until now and have drawn away into themselves even a part of the hierarchy.

In the future life the judgment will be most severe for those Russians who, being educated in supurb colleges, become the fiercest enemies of Russia. One is forced to foresee already that in the future the Diaspora will give many conscious workers against Orthodox Russia, who will strive to make it Catholic or spread various sects. and likewise those who, while remaining outwardly Orthodox and Russian, will secretly work against Russia.

But Russia was founded on and grew through Orthodoxy, and only Orthodoxy will save Russia.

To the Russians abroad it has been granted to shine in the whole world with the light of Orthodoxy, so that other peoples, seeing their good deeds, might glorify our Father Who is in heaven, and thus obtain salvation for themselves. But if it does not perform this purpose, and even abases Orthodoxy by its life, the Diaspora will have before itself two paths: either to be converted to the path of repentance and, having acquired forgiveness for itself through prayer to God and through being reborn spiritually, to become capable also of giving rebirth to our suffering homeland; or else to be finally rejected by God and to remain in banishment, persecuted by everyone, until gradually it will degenerate and disappear from the face of the earth.

And what of the Russian fatherland? Blessed are you, O Russian land, being purified by the fire of suffering. You have gone through the water of baptism, and now you are going through the fire of suffering, and you will yet enter into your repose. At one time Christians gathered with reverence sand from the Colosseum which was drenched with the blood of martyrs. The place of the sufferings and death of the martyrs became sacred and especially revered. And now the whole of Russia is an arena of passion-bearers. Her earth has been sanctified by their blood, her air by the ascent of their souls to heaven. Yea, sacred are you, O Russia. The ancient writer was correct who said that you are the Third Rome, and there will be no fourth. You have surpassed the ancient Rome by the multitude of exploits of your martyrs, you have surpassed also the Rome which baptized you [Constantinople] by your standing in Orthodoxy, and you will remain unsurpassed to the end of the world. Only the land which was sanctified by the sufferings and the earthly life of the God-man is holier than you in the eyes of Orthodox Christians.

Shake away the sleep of despondency and sloth, O sons of Russia! Behold the glory of her sufferings and be purified; wash yourselves from your sins! Be strengthened in the Orthodox faith, so as to be worthy to dwell in the dwelling of the Lord and to settle in His holy mountain! Leap up, leap up, arise, O Russia, you who from the Lord's hands have drunk the cup of His wrath! When your sufferings shall have ended, your righteousness shall go with you and the glory of the Lord shall accompany you. The peoples shall come to your light, and kings to the shining which shall rise upon you. Then Lift up your eyes and see: behold, your children come to you from the West and the North and the Sea and the East, blessing in you Christ forever.* Amen.

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1 Paschal Canon, Canticle 8.


Shanghai, 1938, and
Report to the All-Diaspora Sobor, 1938


Is Holy Russia Alive Today?

EDITORS' INTRODUCTION

The Russian Diaspora, in so far as it is spiritually alive, lives by the ideas which Archbishop John has set forth: repentance and genuine spiritual rebirth, belief in the cleansing of Russia by suffering and martyrdom, hope in the resurrection of Orthodox Russia. But what of suffering Russia itself, where a systematic attempt has been made for 56 years now to obliterate any and all such ideas and the very concept of Holy Russia?

It is obvious that the soul of suffering Orthodox Russia, having gone deeply underground, is not open to our view. However, in the past few years it has been possible to catch some glimpses of this soul in materials which have come to the West from Russia.

The text printed below is one of a number which speak of something which in itself is a miracle of God's grace: the survival of an awareness of "Holy Russia" in a land drunk with atheism. Much of this text deals with something with which Russians of the Diaspora are well acquainted: the attempt of the enemies of Orthodoxy, both open and concealed, to deny the mission and calling of Orthodox Russia and promote in its place a cosmopolitan "liberalism" without roots either in Russian history or in the human heart. As unpleasant as the task is, those who love Orthodoxy and Russia, both within Russia and abroad, must speak the truth about these enemies of Orthodoxy and expose the true nature of their two-faced intellectualizing.

In the Diaspora these enemies of Orthodox Russia, of whom Archbishop John spoke so forcefully, have taken root in the schismatic bodies which they have createdthe American Metropolia and the "Paris" jurisdiction – and here they freely spread their "broad" ideas, encouraging religious free-thinking and tolerating many "Christian" points of view save for that of traditional, "narrow" Orthodox Christianity. One of the chief organs of this so-called "liberalism" is the Paris Vestnik of the Russian Student Christian Movement, which publishes numerous samizdat materials from Russia-but only those that correspond to a tolerable degree with its own "liberal" prejudices, which include support of the Soviet-dominated Moscow Patriarchate and denial of the very existence of the Catacomb Church today. For obvious reasons, the Vestnik printed neither Boris Talantov's articles on "Sergianism" (The Orthodox Word, 1971, no. 6), nor the Catacomb documents "Russia and the Church Today" and "Church and Authority" (Ibid., 1972, no. 3), nor the following article.1

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1 All of these articles were printed in Russian in Nasha Strana, an excellent weekly which does not follow the lamentable "liberal" current of most of the Russian emigre press (address: Monroe 4219, Dep. 10, Buenos Aires 30, Argentina). See issues of May 9 and 23, 1973.


The following letter by Gennady Shimanov, who is known in the West through his "Notes from the Red House" describing his incarceration in a psychiatric clinic for his belief in God, was not printed in the Vestnik because of its "intolerably sharp and even crude tone," as the editor, Nikita Struve, has explained. A second open letter by G. Shimanov to the Vestnik (Nasha Strana, no. 1195, Jan. 16, 1973), was printed in the Vestnik (no. 104-105, p. 321), even though it contained some more "sharp" comments on N. Struve's patronizing of the 19th-century Westernizing Papophile Chaadaev, and the comment that the Orthodox Church has always anathematized heretics, not "respected" them; further, he rightly accuses the Vestnik's promotion of "disputes" about Russia, without a forthright defence of genuine Orthodoxy and of those who speak out of genuine love for Russia, as constituting an "endless flirtation" with un-Orthodox ideas. and he exposes the fictional "objectivity" of this "liberalism" as in reality an "objective treason." N. Struve's own comments on this second open letter indicate that Shimanov himself has fallen into "moral heresy because of "intolerance and an inquisitorial spirit"!

The spirit of the Paris Vestnik and its ideological companions is the very spirit of the rotten Westernized intelligentsia which brought about the downfall of Orthodox Russia and even now continues the same work, striving to obliterate the fruits of repentance even in suffering Russia itself by feeding it with "liberal" philosophies such as those contained in the three articles from the USSR against which Shimanov protests, which are based on what Archbishop John called "a feeling of refined pride bound up with faith in the possibility for a man to live by his own wisdom." This pseudo-Orthodox intelligentsia continues to do everything possible to deny the very existence of Holy Russia, the reality of the Russian mission to preserve and preach true Orthodoxy, and of course the future of Russia as Orthodox.

The present text contains only a few excerpts, relevant to the present topic, from a much longer letter, and constitutes first-hand testimony of present-day awareness of Holy Russia within the Russian homeland, and the undying hope in her resurrection.


AN OPEN LETTER TO NIKITA STRUVE, EDITOR OF THE VESTNIK OF THE RUSSIAN STUDENT CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT
By GENNADY SHIMANOV

(Nasha Strana, Buenos Aires, No. 1187, Nov. 22, 1972)

IN ONE of the issues of your journal (No. 97), under the title "Russia's Fate," there are several anonymous articles which you received from our country, and in which, under the appearance of a pitiless analysis of the historical past of the Russians and their present condition, a hostile slander is made against Orthodoxy and against our whole Russian people.... [These articles] comprise a very definite, clearly delineated anti-Orthodox and anti-Russian picture....

The first thing that astonishes one in the articles that you have published is the all but open spirit of hatred for everything Russian and for Russia as a whole....

It is essential above all to remember that Russia has always had not only flatterers but also enemies, and there were always incomparably more of these latter. True, these enemies of the Russian people as a rule did not love ner do they love to call themselves enemies, preferring to step forth under the mask of severe but honest accusers of Russia, under the mask of her judges and even, it seems, her physicians and deliverers. And behold, it is these very enemies, not open and apparent, but enemies who pretend to be friends, who sometimes even counterfeit themselves as Russians, and who are the most dangerous enemies it is they who paralyze the national feeling from within, disorient the Russian people, and thereby convert Russia the more successfully into a cosinopolitan swamp....

All the haters of Russia, open as well as secret, have a like desire to see the Russian people taken apart, made powerless, blinded, separated from their organic connection with their past and by this very fact from their great spiritual culture and submissively dissolved into a cosmopolitan society which would be only the corpse of a once living national organisma corpse in which only worms could flourish in reality, worms which of course also "love" and "value" Russia, but only as a filling and pleasant-tasting dish....

"If truth is crucified by the world, then can it be the truth?" and so it turns out according to the immortal betrayers' logic which renounces the Church that is mocked, martyrically covered with wounds, nailed to the cross following Christ. Now, in the age of atheism, almost the whole world has the right to mock Orthodoxy, because it is precisely in the Orthodox Church that there is the fullness of truth....

But who knows if the Church of Christ is not to experience in the future even incomparably worse times than now – when her death will be, even for those who love her, an apparent and bitter fact... And is it not then only, after these pages of a Golgotha, that the Lord will reveal before everyone her true holy nature, which is now hidden under the appearance of a downtrodden and crucified slave – hidden from the unseeing eyes of the mob which is bewitched by the quiet madness of a life that has been made atheistic....

The purpose of these articles is to convince the Russian Orthodox people abroad that the as it were immemorial Russian Orthodox Christians here have already become disillusioned in their Orthodoxy, cursed their past, and placed their hopes in the West and on the reorganization of their life according to the Western pattern. In connection with this I would like to assure all genuine Russian patriots who live in banishment that this is not true at all. The opinion of a handful of aliens is not the opinion of the Russian Orthodox people. There is no foundation whatsoever for the betrayal of Orthodoxy and our Motherland. Our faith in God and in His most wise Providence, for the world as a whole and for our Fatherland in particular, remains unshaken.

According to human logic, of course, our position at the present time is sufficiently tragic and, it may be, even hopeless; but we do not place our hopes in human logic. If the world is yet to live for long, then we believe that our Lady the Mother of God Herself, in the time known to Her, will raise the whole Russian people and deliver it from the demons who torture and blind it.

It is not in vain that the Russian people called their country not splendid, not great or free, but precisely Holy Russia. To believe that this Holy Russia can turn out to be some kind of phantom, some kind of specter which is capable of vanishing without a trace means to believe in the powerlessness of holiness altogether, it means to accuse before everyone one's own waning soul. Holy Russia cannot be buried, it cannot pass away; it is eternal and victorious, and it is precisely to it that the final word in the history of our people will belong...

Holy Russia went away only from the surface of contemporary life, but it continues to live in its hidden depths, germinating until the time, so that in the time pleasing to God, having survived the winter, it will again break through to the surface and adorn the face of the Russian land, which has been so cruelly lashed by fiery and icy storms.


The Fall and Resurrection of Russia

The Words of Nine Prophets of Holy Russia on the Destiny of Russia

EVEN WHILE ALLOWING workers of destruction to prepare the fall of Orthodox Russia because of the sins of the Orthodox people, God at the same time has raised up genuine prophets who both warned of the inevitable disaster coming upon Russia for her abandonment of her Orthodox foundation, and foresaw her ultimate resurrection through suffering and repentance. The prophetic visions related below contain the basic features of what has been revealed concerning the future of Russia. They are compiled almost entirely from first-hand sources, and the prophets themselves are all either recognized Saints or candidates for canonization.

SAINT SERAPHIM OF SAROV (From the Notes of Motovilov)

ONCE I WAS in great sorrow, reflecting on what would happen to our Orthodox Church if the evil of our time would continue to increase more and more; and being convinced that our Church was in an extremely lamentable condition, both because of the immorality of the flesh which was increasing, and likewise if not indeed even much more because of the impiety of spirit through the godless philosophies which were being spread everywhere by the newest false teachers, I very much desired to know what Batiushka Seraphim would tell me about this.

After having spoken in detail about the holy Prophet Elijah, he answered to my question, among other things, the following:

"Elijah the Tishbite, in complaining to the Lord against Israel that in its entirety it had bent the knee to Baal, said in prayer that he alone, Elijah, had remained faithful to the Lord, but they were already seeking to take away his soul also... And what, Batiushka, did the Lord answer him to this? – 1 have left seven thousand men in Israel who have not bent the knee to Baal. – And so, if in the kingdom of Israel, which had fallen away from the kingdom of Judea which was faithful to God, and had become completely corrupted, there remained still seven thousand men faithful to the Lord, then what shall we say of Russia? I suppose that in the kingdom of Israel at that time there were no more than three million people. And how many, Batiushka, are there now in our Russia?"

I replied: "About sixty million." And he continued:

"Twenty times more. Then judge for yourself how many we have now who are still faithful to God! So it is, Batiushka, so it is: Whom He did foreknow, He also did forechoose; and whom He did forechoose, He also did predestinate; and whom He did predestinate, He will also watch over and glorify. And so, what is there for us to be downcast about!... God is with us! (Rom. 8:29-31.) He that trusteth in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, and the Lord is round about His people (Ps. 124:1-2). The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth even forevermore; the sun shall not smite thee by day nor the moon by night (Ps. 120:6-8).

And then I asked him what this meant, and why he was saying this to me. "Because," Batiushka Father Seraphim replied, "in this same way the Lord will preserve, as the apple of His eye, His people, that is, Orthodox Christians who love Him and serve Him with all their heart and all their mind, both in word and deed, day and night. And such are they who preserve entirely all the rules, dogmas, and traditions of our Eastern Orthodox Church, and who with their lips confess the piety which has been handed down by the Church, and who act in very deed in all circumstances of life according to the holy commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ."

In confirmation of the fact that there remain yet many in the Russian land who are faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ and who live piously in an Orthodox way, Batiushka Father Seraphim said once to an acquaintance of mine -either Father Gurias, who was the guestmaster of Sarov, or Father Simeon, who was in charge of the Masleshchensky Yard that once, being in the Spirit, he saw the whole Russian land, and it was filled and as it were covered with the smoke of the prayers of the faithful who were praying to the Lord...

The Universal Luminary, St. Seraphim of Sarov by Archbishop Benjamin, Paris, 1932, pp. 116-8


The Seven Holy Youths, the Sleepers of Ephesus
Commemorated October 22 and August 4
16th century Novgorod icon showing the Youths asleep in the cave.


SCHEMA-ARCHIMANDRITE HELIODORUS OF GLINSKY HERMITAGE


Schema-Archimandrite Heliodorus
1795—June 25, 1879
A disciple of the renowned propagator of the Paissian Tradition, Abbot Philaret of the Glinsky Hermitage near Kursk, he himself was of such spiritual life that he was deemed worthy of prophetic visions and left a whole flock of disciples.


BEING STILL HIERODEACON with the name of Joannicius and being young, the Elder, Father Heliodorus, so completely cleansed his heart that remarkable visions were granted to him. This happened at the end of the reign of Emperor Alexander I, as related in the Elder's own words:

"Once late in the evening I was sitting in my cell alone reading the Epistles of the Apostle Paul, and I stopped on the second chapter of his Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, on verses 2 through 10. I stopped on these frightful verses of the holy Apostle and became deep in reflection, considering the appearance in the world of the man of sin, the son of perdition, whose very appearance would be according to the activity of satan, so that this frightful man would sit in the temple of God, giving himself off for God and demanding for himself Divine honors. What kind of frightful man this will be, I thought, and what a frightful time will that be for those living on the earth! At the same time, naturally, there came the desire not to see this terrible time, and therefore there was formed in my mind the basic thought of turning to God in such words: O Lord! Grant me not to see this terrible time! At this time I felt that someone behind me had placed his hand on my right shoulder and said: You yourself will see it in part.

"Feeling the touch on my shoulder and hearing a voice speaking, I looked around, but there was no one, and the door of the cell was locked. Again I looked around to be convinced, but there was no one. I was astonished and began to reflect what this might mean and who this invisible one might be who had spoken and answered my thoughts. Would I really see, even if only 'in part,' that frightful time, and how soon would it be? For a long time I reflected and thought in perplexity and fear, going from one reflection to another. Finally, trusting in the will of God, I performed my evening rule, lay down to rest, and had just forgotten myself in a light sleep when I saw the following vision:

"I was standing at night in some kind of high building. Around me there were many large constructions, such as there are in large cities. Above me was the vault of heaven, adorned with brightly shining stars, as happens on a clear, moonless night. Looking at the vault of heaven, I admired the beauty of the fixed stars. Then, turning my glance to the east, I saw there, coming up from behind the horizon, an oval of enormous dimensions; it was composed of stars of various sizes. In the middle of the oval in its upper and lower parts, there were stars of large size which gradually became smaller, and at the sides of the oval they became quite small. In the midst of the oval there was traced with large letters the name ALEXANDER.

"This oval rose in the east and went quietly, moving majestically and setting in the west. Looking at the magnificent beauty of the movement of the oval, I reflected and said to myself, How glorious and great is our Orthodox Faith, O Orthodox Tsar! Behold, his name also is so glorious and magnificent in the heavens.1

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1 Alexander I, reigned 1801-1825. (Ed. note.)


"Having followed with my eyes the oval of stars until it was concealed in the west beyond the horizon, I again looked to the east and I saw: There came out from there a second oval of stars, just as magnificent as and in all respects like the first one, and in its midst there was depicted another name in large letters – NICHOLAS. And an inward voice informed me that after Alexander I there would be, as the successor of his throne, Nicholas.1 And this was astonishing for me, for the heir of the throne was not Nicholas, but Constantine Pavlovich. This oval also went just as majestically along the horizon and, setting in the west, was hidden beyond the horizon.

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1 Nicholas I, 1825-1855.


"Having followed this oval also with my eyes, I again directed my gaze to the east, and again I saw there an oval of stars rising, in form like the first two in all respects, but considerably smaller in size and composed of stars of small size and, in addition, with the color of blood. In the midst of the oval there was depicted with bloody letters the name – ALEXANDER. And an inward voice informed me that after Nicholas the successor of his throne would be Alexander, whose days would be shortened by an evil deed.1 This oval went along the sky and was quickly hidden in the west beyond the horizon.

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1 Alexander II, 1855-1881, assassinated by anarchists.


"Then from the east, in the same way, there arose, passed along the sky, and was concealed in the west with great rapidity an oval like the first ones, but only of small size, with the name delineated on it weakly and as it were in the fog – ALEXANDER. And I was informed by an inward voice that the days also of this Emperor would be shortened, and his reign over the Russian people would be short.1

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1 Alexander III, 1881-1894.


"After this in the east, delineated palely and mistily, appeared the name NICHOLAS. There was no oval of stars around it; it moved along the sky as it were by jumps and then entered into a dark cloud out of which its separate letters separated in disorder.1 After this there came an impenetrable darkness and it seemed to me that everything was falling to pieces, like cardboard playhouses, at the moment of the end of the world. Terror seized me, standing at that time on an elevated place which was not connected with the world which was being destroyed."

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1 Nicholas II, 1894-1918, martyred by the Bolsheviks at the beginning of the present age of lawlessness.


On the Bank of God's River
vol. 2, pp. 175-177

SAINT JOHN OF KRONSTADT


Saint John of Kronstadt
Commemorated October 19 and December 20
A true son of Holy Russia, this pillar of Orthodoxy for the last times is one of the greatest saints of Christ's Church. Saint John embodied almost all phases of sanctity: he was an apostle, teacher, priest, preacher, ascetic, unmercenary healer, wonderworker, and prophet.


ONE SUNDAY in the Autumn of 1916 in the Monastery of St. John in Petersburg, where the venerators of Father John used to gather, the Liturgy was celebrated by Metropolitan Macarius of Moscow. After the Liturgy, in the quarters of the Abbess of the Convent, Abbess Angelina, there gathered a number of clergymen and military men. Metropolitan Macarius read for those who had gathered one place in the diary of Father John of Kronstadt, in which were described his visions and prophecies concerning Russia... It turns out that many years before the Great War Father John wrote absolutely precisely in his diary both the participants in the war and the outcome of the war. Father John likewise prophesied the military failures of Imperial Russia and the Revolution bound up with them. He indicated that the dominance of revolutionary ideas would be prolonged, that there would be innumerable casualties of the Revolution, rivers of blood, the woe and misfortune of the entire population. The deliverance of Russia from the Red yoke Father John prophesied as being from the East.

I. K. Sursky, Father John of Kronstadt (Belgrade, 1942), vol. 2, pp. 3, 23-24

"Russia, if you fall away from your faith, as many of the intellectual class have already fallen away, you will no longer be Russia or Holy Russia. And if there will be no repentance in the Russia people – then the end of the world is near. God will take away the pious Tsar and will send a whip in the person of impious, cruel, self-appointed rulers, who will inundate the whole earth with blood and tears."

Sermon of 1905, in Father John of Kronstadt 50th Anniversary Book, Utica, N.Y., 1958, p. 164

HIERO-SCHEMA-MONK ARISTOCLEUS


Hiero-Schema-Monk Aristocleus
August 26, 1918
A hesychast and man of Jesus Prayer, he was a highly esteemed spiritual director for many years in the St. Panteleimon Monastery on Mt. Athos, where he liturgized daily. His last ten years were spent in the Athonite metochion (podvorie) in Moscow, where he was known for his profound spiritual counsels and the gift of clairvoyance and prophecy.


ON THE 6TH OF MARCH, 1917, just after the outbreak of the Revolution, Father Aristocleus said that now there had begun the judgment of God upon the living, and there would not remain one land on the earth nor a single person whom this would not touch. The beginning would be in Russia, but it would continue from there. He said nothing whatever consoling, and yet the whole time he said: "But do not fear anything, do not fear. The Lord will reveal His miraculous mercy."

Later, before his death on August 26, 1918, he said, when he was told that the White Army had been formed and there was hope: "No, there is no hope, because the spirit is not right." He said that everyone had to suffer very much and deeply repent, and only repentance through suffering would save Russia. When he was told that the war was not over yet, he said: "And there will be another one. Only do not rejoice over this yet. Many Russians will think that the Germans will deliver Russia from the Bolshevik power, but this is not so. The Germans, it is true, will enter Russia and will do much, but they will depart, since the time of deliverance will not yet be. That will be later, later."

Now we are undergoing the times before Antichrist, but Russia will yet be delivered. There will be much suffering, much torture. The whole of Russia will become a prison, he said, and one must greatly entreat the Lord for forgiveness. One must repent of one's sins and fear to do even the least sin, but strive to do good, even the smallest. For even the wing of a fly has weight, and God's scales are exact. And when even the smallest of good in the cup overweighs, then will God reveal His mercy upon Russia. Ten days before his repose he said that the end would come through China. There would be an extraordinary outburst and a miracle of God would be manifested. And there will be an entirely different life, but all this will not be for long.

Orthodox Russia, 1969, No. 21, p. 3

HIERO-SCHEMA-MONK ALEXIUS OF ZOSIMA HERMITAGE


Hiero-Schema-Monk Alexius
September 19, 1928
The recluse Elder, who by his high spiritual life and guidance of laymen made the Zosima Hermitage near Moscow renowned. He was the Schema-monk who drew the historic lot from the urn before the Vladimir Wonderworking Icon of the Mother of God which indicated God's choice of Patriarch Tikhon.


AFTER THE OUTBREAK of the Revolution the Elder Alexius of Zosima Hermitage was in the Chudov Monastery. This Elder was always at Vespers in the church of the Chudov Monastery, and afterwards he would bless the people. And the people were confused, all were weeping and afraid. Father Alexius was standing once on the ambo before the Altar dedicated to the Annunciation, and the people were all around him and were speaking, asking, being simply overwhelmed with grief. And someone cried out loudly: "Then our Russia is lost, Holy Russia is lost!" And Batiushka was standing there, tall and magnificent and radiant. And suddenly with a loud voice he asked: "Who is it that is saying that Russia is lost, that she has perished?... No, No, she is not lost, she has not perished and will not perish – but the Russian people must be purified of sin through great trials. One must pray and fervently repent. But Russia is not lost and she has not perished."

Orthodox Russia, 1970, No. 1, p.9

HIEROMONK ANATOLE THE YOUNGER OF OPT;;;


Hieromonk Anatole the Younger of Optina
July 30, 1922
One of the very last God-bearing Fathers in the chain of the great Elders of Optina Monastery, Father Anatole was a disciple and a cell-attendant of Elder Ambrose. Thousands flocked for consolation to this clairvoyant healer of human hearts, to whom future mysteries were revealed.


ELDER ANATOLE was visiting Moscow on the 27th of February, 1917. Already everything had become very bad and uncertain. An unbridled mob was rioting in the streets and one couldn't make out what they were talking and screaming about. What was happening? What was to come? But Batiushka said: "There will be a storm. And the Russian ship will be smashed to pieces. But people can be saved even on splinters and fragments. And not everyone, not everyone will perish. One must pray, everyone must repent and pray fervently. And what happens after a storm?" Someone said that after a storm there comes a calm. "So it is," said Batiushka. "And there will be a calm." At this everyone said: "But there is no more ship, it is shattered to pieces; it has perished, everything has perished!" – "It is not so," said Batiushka. "A great miracle of God will be manifested. And all the splinters and fragments, by the will of God and His power, will come together and be united, and the ship will be rebuilt in its beauty and will go on its own way as foreordained by God. And thus this will be a miracle evident to everyone."

Orthodox Russia, 1970, No. 1, p. 9

ELDER NECTARIUS OF OPTINA

RUSSIA WILL ARISE, and materially it will not be wealthy. But in spirit it will be wealthy, and in Optina there will yet be seven luminaries, seven pillars."

I. M. Kontzevitch, Optina Monastery and its Epoch
(Jordanville, N.Y., 1973), p. 538

HIEROMONK BARNABAS OF THE GETHSEMANE SKETE


Hieromonk Barnabas
February 17, 1906
A clairvoyant Elder of the Gethsemane Scete of Saint Sergius' Lavra, he was a source of spiritual nourishment for the monks of his own monastery and for the nuns of the Iveron Convent on Vyksa, which he founded, and he became one of the most renowned and beloved spiritual directors for laymen.


THE CLAIRVOYANT Elder Barnabas spoke of the disasters coming upon Russia and the cruel persecutions against the Orthodox Faith. When in the women's monastery which he founded there was being built a great and magnificent church, one of the nuns was telling Father Barnabas about this with enthusiasm, but the Elder replied: "You will live until the time wnen not only will this church not be here, but even the very place on which it stands will be paved over." This nun told us this after the Revolution. The words of the Elder were fulfilled. Not only was this marvellous church destroyed, but the very place where it had been was paved over.

Elder Barnabas said: "Persecutions against the faith will constantly increase. There will be an unheard-of grief and darkness, and almost all the churches will be closed. But when it will seem to people that it is impossible to endure any longer, then deliverance will come. There will be a flowering. Churches will even begin to be built. But this will be a flowering before the end."

Some of the New Martyrs of Russia have likewise spoken similar things, using the words of the Holy Fathers that there would come such grief as the world has not yet seen, but then there would come a short flowering – before the end of the world. Truly, has there ever been a grief more bitter than the persecutions of the satanic regime which destroys and defiles everything holy-churches, icons, holy relics – with a purely diabolical rage, torturing old priests and monks, putting out their eyes, cutting off their noses and tongues, crucifying them, shooting them in the mouth while saying, "We are giving you communion"? But the persecutions evoked an unheard of flowering of faith. People have gone to tortures and death joyfully, with singing; there have even been children confessors and martyrs. And the general opinion in Russia has been that such a flowering could only be before the end of everything. Concerning this spiritual flowering Bishop Peter the New Martyr also spoke. He did not speak of an outward flowering. Those who live only by the world's standards cannot understand this; for this there is necessary a revelation to the heart.

From a private letter (N. Kieter)

ARCHBISHOP THEOPHANES OF POLTAVA


Archbishop Theophanes of Poltava
1873—1940
Former rector of the Saint Petersburg Theological Academy, a profound and precise theologian, an expert in patristics and a great ascetic himself, he was the compiler of a still-unpublished "Russian Philokalia." He was one of the founders of the Russian Church Abroad. His last years he spent in total seclusion, even living in a cave, like a second Bishop Theophanes the Recluse, for whom he had great love.


YOU ASK ME about the near future and about the last times. I do not speak on my own, but give the revelation of the Elders. And they have handed down to me the following: The coming of Antichrist draws nigh and is very near. The time separating us from him should be counted a matter of years and at most a matter of some decades. But before the coming of Antichrist Russia must yet be restored to be sure, for a short time. And in Russia there must be a Tsar forechosen by the Lord Himself. He will be a man of burning faith, great mind and iron will. This much has been revealed about him. We shall await the fulfillment of what has been revealed. Judging by many signs it is drawing nigh, unless because of our sins the Lord God shall revoke, shall alter what has been promised. According to the witness of the word of God, this also happens.

The Orthodox Word, 1969, no. 5, p. 194



A Treasury of Saint Herman's Spirituality

XVI
SAINT HERMAN'S ICON
(See cover)

A Letter of St. Herman's Spiritual Son to Abbot Damascene of Valaam

Most respected and highly honored Father Damascene!

I HAD THE HAPPINESS to receive your precious letter of the first of October. I have no words sufficiently to thank you for your great love and your sincere good will to me an unworthy sinner.

In order to save me, He in His limitless mercy sought me out at the end of the world, at the remote frontier of Russia – he sent me a holy elder, the recluse Father Herman, who after many labors and prayer brought me from error and free-thinking to the knowledge of the true God, taught me true faith brought me from darkness to light! And when I departed from this God-inspired instructor and many times was inclined away from the true path-the great mercy of God did not reject me entirely.

According to your faith and for the sake of your holy prayers, I did not hesitate to undertake the fulfillment of your desire: to sketch Father Herman! First of all I fervently prayed to God so that he would renew in my mind the image of the venerable Father Herman, and the Lord is so merciful that my memory was cleansed of remembrances and I remembered all the features of his face which shone with grace: the pleasant smile on his lips, the meek glance, the meek and quiet manner, the friendly word; his height, way of walking, attractive glance; the blue-gray eyes – everything the Lord renewed by your holy prayers! I, being an eyewitness of this holy elder, while the portrait was being painted was only the guide and director as to how to paint; but it was my second daughter, the novice Elizabeth, who did the painting at my instruction. She paints well, as is evident from this portrait. We took much time and ruined more than ten portraits none of them was a likeness. Finally the Lord helped us to depict a likeness of how I remember him, as if I had seen him just now! I am sending you, most venerable Father, this portrait.

I assume that you, either as a supplement to the Description of Valaam Monastery or as a separate brochure, will publish (which I also would wish) the Life of the Valaam monk Father Herman, a member of the Orthodox Mision on the shores of Northwest America, on the island of Kodiak, who labored in seclusion on an uninhabited island near Kodiak. One could add to this publication his portrait and the drawings which I have sent to you. It seems to me that this would be good.

...Therefore it seems, perhaps, that the Lord endured my life so that I might give information concerning the life of the holy Elder...

The most humble servant of Your Reverence, Monk Sergius (Yanovsky)

St. Tikhon of Kaluga Monastery December 12, 1866

XVII
SAINT HERMAN'S SPIRITUAL SON

SEMEN IVANOVICH YANOVSKY, who was converted from atheism to the Orthodox Church by St. Herman, later became the Schemamonk Sergius. His son, Schema-Hieromonk Alexander, also became a monk, and his three daughters became nuns. Here is how St. Herman spoke of him in a letter, foreseeing the subsequent righteousness of his spiritual son:

"The All-powerful God in His unfathomable Providence deemed me worthy to have for a short time an acquaintance with you, and that I should see the zealous and heartfelt disposition of your virtuous soul for holy eternity, and your love for God, and your knowledge of the Scriptures by which you can scatter every mist and darkness of ignorance and proceed on a straight path to the heavenly fatherland."

(From a Letter of St. Herman of August 10, 1821, New Valaam)

XVIII
SAINT HERMAN'S BISHOP

Separately I have written to His Eminence (Metropolitan Gabriel), asking him to send us as a bishop either Father Joachim of Sarov or Father Theophanes, the former cell-attendant of the hierarch.

ST. HERMAN OF ALASKA
(From a Letter to Abbot Nazarius, May 22, 1795)

METROPOLITAN GABRIEL (Petrov) of Petersburg and Novgorod, in whose diocese Valaam Monastery was located, was a heroic figure, M in actuality a confessor, when one realizes in what a crucial time he lived and what a responsible position he held in regard to preserving the purity of Orthodoxy. He also was directly responsible for the revival of Valaam, the publication of the Philocalia in Russia, and the formation of the first Orthodox Mission for Alaska, which brought St. Herman to America.

Two close friends of St. Herman bear witness of the Metropolitan's spiritual height. Monk Innocent of Valaam, during the preparation for the building of the new church of Sts. Sergius and Herman in Valaam, saw a vision of Metropolitan Gabriel triumphantly arriving for the laying of the cornerstone, accompanied by Sts. Sergius and Herman themselves; and Father Theophanes of Sarov related the following in his biographical notes:

"After the early Liturgy he never ate; at nine or ten o'clock he would go to the Synod, and at three he would come back – and until this time he never ate. He always went to Vespers and Matins. He was always in tears; if he would offend anyone, he would weep later. When he went to the Court, first of all he would always pray, bowing down to the ground. Once I came when he was making prostrations. He said: 'May God grant that the present day will pass well.' He was going then to a service, where the Archpriest Samborsky,1 whose beard was shaved off, was supposed to serve together with him. Seeing Samborsky, the Metropolitan said: 'What kind of a man are you? Our Church does not accept those who shave the beard. Get out! Pamphilov said to the Metropolitan: 'What are you doing? It is the will of the Empress!' '; do not wish that our Church should suffer; if I serve with him, this means to give scandal to the whole of Russia, I myself having allowed this.' Then Bezborodko came and said: "The will of the Empress is that he serve with you.' "Then report to the Empress: I cannot serve with him; our Church does not accept those who shave the beard.' Well, I thought, it's a carriage to banishment for him! But His Eminence did not serve, although Samborsky did. Later the Metropolitan was called to dine with the Empress, and Samborsky was not there, and no one saw him serving anywhere after that incident.

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1 Archpriest Andrew Samborsky was previously a priest at the Embassy in London, and after his return to Petersburg he continued to go about in lay clothing. This event took place in 1788. (See the Life of Metr. Gabriel.)


"A week before his death I visited him with Father Nazarius (Abbot of Valaam). He sat with us at the table and said: 'My end is close.' When the new year, 1801, had just begun, he said: 'Oh, what a frightful century begins! He received Holy Communion almost every day. He died sitting on the 28th of January, 1801."

Archimandrite Theophanes of the New Lake Monastery


Will These Human Bones Come to Life?

BY ARCHBISHOP JOHN MAXIMOVITCH

A Sermon given in 1948, when once again there seemed to be absolutely no hope for the deliverance of Russia from the Communist Yoke

THERE WAS NO LIMIT to the grief and despondency of the ancient Jews when Jerusalem was destroyed and they themselves were led away into the Babylonian captivity. Where are Thine ancient mercies, O Lord, which Thou swarest to David? (Ps. 88:50), they cried out. But now Thou hast cast off and put us to shame... They that hated us spoiled for themselves and Thou scatterest us among the nations (Ps. 43:10-12).

But when it seemed that there was no hope for deliverance, the Prophet Ezekiel, who was likewise in captivity, was made worthy of a wondrous vision. And the hand of the Lord came upon me, he says of this. The invisible right hand of the Lord placed him in the midst of a field full of human bones. And the Lord asked him: Son of man, will these bones live? And the Prophet replied: O Lord God, Thou knowest this. Then the voice of the Lord commanded the Prophet to say to the bones that the Lord will give to them the spirit of life, clothing them with sinews, flesh, and skin. The Prophet uttered the word of the Lord, a voice resounded, the earth shook, and the bones began to come together, bone to bone, each to its own joint; sinews appeared on them, the flesh grew and became covered with skin, so that the whole field became filled with the bodies of men; only there were no souls in them. And again the Prophet heard the Lord, and at His command he prophesied the word of the Lord, and from the four directions souls flew to them, the spirit of life entered into the bodies, they stood up, and the field was filled with an assembly of a multitude of people.

And the Lord said, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; and they say, Our hope has been lost, we have perished... Behold, I will open your tombs and will bring you up out of your tombs, My people, and I will put My spirit within you and ye shall live, and I will place you upon your own land (Ezekiel 37:1-14).

Thus the Lord God revealed to Ezekiel that His promises are steadfast, and that what seems impossible to the human mind is performed by the power of God.

This vision signified that Israel, after being delivered from captivity, would return to its own land; in a higher sense, it indicated the settlement of the spiritual Israel in the eternal heavenly Kingdom of Christ. At the same time there is prefigured also the future General Resurrection of all the dead.

Therefore this prophecy of Ezekiel is read at the Matins of Great Saturday, when by His death Christ, having broken down the gates of death, opens the tombs of all the dead.

Belief in the resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith. If there be no resurrection, then is Christ not risen; and if Christ be not risen, then is your faith vain (I Cor. 15:13-14). If there is no resurrection, the whole Christian teaching is false. This is why the enemies of Christianity fight so much against faith in the resurrection, and it is likewise why the Church of Christ affirms faith in the resurrection. Many times the waves of unbelief have risen high, but they have rolled back before new signs which revealed the reality of the resurrection, of God's bringing to life of what was acknowledged as dead.

In the 5th century, in the reign of the Emperor Theodosius the Younger, doubt in the resurrection of the dead was widespread, so that there were disputes about this even in the churches. And it was just at this time that a wondrous event occurred, the authenticity of which is confirmed by a number of historical writings.1

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1 Nicephorus Callistus; St. John Kolov (Life of St. Paisius the Great); St. Gregory of Tours (De Gloria Martyr., lib. 1, cap. 95); and others. (Tr. note.)


In the middle of the third century, in the reign of the Emperor Decius (249-251), by his decree seven youths were walled up with stones in a cave near the city of Ephesus. The son of the head of the city of Ephesus, Maximil ian, and his six friends – Jamblicus, Dionysius, John, Antoninus, Martinian, and Exacustodianconfessed themselves Christians and refused to offer sacrifice to the idols. They had taken advantage of the time which had been given them for reflection, and also of the temporary absence of the Emperor, and had gone away from Ephesus and hidden in a cave in the nearby mountains, [in a mountain called Ochlon]. When Decius returned and found out about this, he ordered that the entrance to the cave be walled up with stones so that the youths, deprived of food and air, might be buried alive there. When the command of Decius had been fulfilled, two secret Christians Theodore and Rufinus – wrote down this event on pewter plates which they hid among the stones at the entrance to the cave.

The youths who were in the cave, however, did not know what had happened. On the eve of this event, having found out about the arrival of Decius in the city, and having prayed fervently to God, they fell asleep in a powerful and unusual sleep which lasted for about 172 years. They awoke only in the reign of Theodosius the Younger, precisely when there were disputes concerning the resurrection. At that time the owner of that place was taking out the stones that walled up the entrance to the cave and was using them for a building, without suspecting in the least that the children of whom everyone had forgotten long before were still in the cave. The youths, having awoke, thought that they had slept one night, since they did not notice any changes in the cave, and they themselves had not changed at all. One of them, the youngest, Jamblicus, who had previously gone to the city for food, having prayed to God with his friends, likewise went to Ephesus to find out whether they were being looked for, and to buy some food for themselves. He was astonished at the change, seeing churches which, as it seemed, had not existed the day before, and hearing the name of Christ being pronounced openly. Thinking that by mistake he had come across some other city, he decided nonetheless to buy some bread here, but when for the bread he gave a coin, the bread merchant began to examine it carefully and asked where he had found the treasure. And when Jamblicus affirmed that he had found no treasure, but that he had received the money from his parents, people began to gather, and they tried to find out where he had found such old money. Jamblicus named the names of his parents and friends, but no one knew them, and finally Jamblicus heard from those present that he was really in Ephesus, that there had been no Emperor Decius for a long time, and that the Christ-loving Emperor Theodosius was reigning.

The head of the city and the bishop heard about what had happened, and in order to test the words of Jamblicus they went with him to the cave where the other six youths were, and at the entrance to the cave they discovered the pewter plates, and from them they found out when and how the youths had been in the cave. Concerning all this the head of the city immediately informed the Emperor, who personally came to Ephesus and conversed with the youths. During one of these conversations they lay down their heads and fell asleep in eternal sleep. The Emperor ordered that they be brought to the Capital, but the youths, appearing to him in sleep, commanded him to bury them in the cave where they had already slept for many years in a wondrous sleep. This was done, and during the course of many centuries their relics reposed in that cave; the Russian pilgrim of the 12th century, Anthony, describes how veneration was paid to them.

This miraculous awakening of the youths was accepted at that time as a prefiguration and confirmation of the resurrection. Everywhere the news spread about this; it is mentioned by several contemporary historians, and it was spoken of at the Third Ecumenical Council which was soon thereafter convoked in the same city. This striking miracle strengthened faith in the resurrection at that time. The power of God, which had preserved the bodies and clothing of the youths incorrupt for many years, was clearly revealed. And just as the Lord raised them from sleep, so will he gather the bones and raise the dead according to the vision of the Prophet Ezekiel.

This prophecy, which foreshadows not only the resurrection of the dead, but also the preservation from destruction of the people which keeps God's law, was manifestly fulfilled likewise upon the Russian land.

At the beginning of the 17th century, with the dying out of the reigning house, there came upon Russia a time of troubles. The Russian land was without a government, it was torn asunder by internal rebellion, it was subjected to the attack of neighboring peoples who seized many Russian provinces and even the heart of Russia, Moscow. The Russian people became fainthearted and lost hope that the Russian kingdom would continue to exist; many sought alms from foreign governments, others adhered to various pretenders and thieves who gave themselves off for crown princes.

When it seemed that there was no more Russia and only a few still hoped in her deliverance, then there resounded from a subterranean prison in the Chudov Monastery the last appeal of Patriarch St. Hermogenes who was starving there. This document, together with the epistle of Archimandrite St. Dionysius of the Trinity-St. Sergius Monastery and the cellarer Abraham Palitzin, reached Nizhni-Novgorod. There the Russian people were called upon to stand up in defence of the holy things of Moscow and the House of the Mother of God.

The document moved hearts and the citizen Cosmas Minin addressed his fellow citizens from the porch of the cathedral with a flaming appeal to sacrifice everything for the fatherland. Immediately contributions poured in and an army began to be gathered. The courageous general, Prince Demetrius Michaelovich Pozharsky, was called to lead it, even though he had scarcely recovered from wounds. But while acknowledging the infirmity of human power, the Russian people gave themselves over to the protection of the Champion General, and as the greatest treasure they took with the army from Kazan the miraculous Icon of the Mother of God which had once been brought out of the earth by the holy Patriarch Hermogenes when he was still the Presbyter Hermalaus.

The Russian army moved, trusting not in its own weak power, but in the almighty help of God. And in reality there was accomplished that which until then no force had been able to accomplish. In a short time Moscow was delivered, and on the present day of the commemoration of the Seven Youths of Ephesus (October 22), the Russian army entered the Kremlin with a triumphant procession, and from the Kremlin to meet it there came another procession with the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God which had remained in the captive city.

The Russian land was cleansed of the enemies and pretenders, the Russian kingdom was restored, and on its throne the young Michael Feodorovich Romanov ascended. Russia was resurrected, its wounds were healed, and it went from glory to glory. The Icon of the Mother of God with which Moscow had been delivered, and with it the whole Russian land, became the greatest holy object of the entire Russian people. Copies of it were placed in the capital city of Moscow, and later also in the new reigning city of St. Peter, and they likewise were glorified by a multitude of miracles. Kazan Icons of the Mother of God were to be found in every city, village, and in almost every house, and the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was celebrated in the whole of Russia as a great feast.

Today again the Russian land has been shaken to its foundation, and the waves of unbelief have risen high.

Grief takes possession of the heart, and in perils the Russian people is ready, like the captive Israelites, to call out: "Our bones are dry, our hope has been lost, we have perished." But the memory of the Seven Youths who arose from sleep, together with the Meeting of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, proclaims the almighty right hand of God, and the word of the Prophet Ezekiel thunders from the depths of the ages with the voice of the Lord: Behold, I will open your tombs, and will bring you up out of your tombs, My people, and will bring you into your own land, and you shall know that I am the Lord: I have spoken and will do it, saith the Lord (Ezekiel 37:12-14).

Shanghai
October 22, 1948


The Great Mystery of Diveyevo

IN 1903, JUST BEFORE the canonization of St. Seraphim of Sarov, the well-known "Conversation of St. Seraphim with Motovilov" was providentially discovered among the papers preserved by Motovilov's widow, who lived just until the canonization. Most of this "Conversation," dealing with the acquisition of the Holy Spirit as the aim of the Orthodox Christian life, was immediately published, and since then it has been translated into a number of languages;1 but one passage did not pass the ecclesiastical censor owing to its unusual and rather startling character, and it remained a part of the unwritten Sarov-Diveyevo tradition, known only to a small church circle, until our own days, when it was finally published in Russian, as it happened, on the eve of the canonization of a Saint so close to St. Seraphim in spirit and tradition, St. Herman of Alaska. Is this not an indication that St. Herman, even in "exile" together with the suffering Russian people, likewise participates in the destiny of Holy Russia? May the publication of this "mystery" now in English be for the strengthening of the faith of the true Orthodox Christians of these last times!

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1 English translation published by Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, N.Y.


MANY TIMES I heard from the mouth of the great God-pleaser, the Elder, Father Seraphim, that he would not lie in Sarov with his flesh. And behold, once I [Motovilov] dared to ask him: "Batiushka, you deign to say all the time that with your flesh you will not lie in Sarov. Does that mean that the monks of Sarov will give you away?"

To this Batiushka, smiling pleasantly and looking at me, deigned to reply to me thus: "O your godliness, your godliness, what are you saying! For why was Tsar Peter a king of kings and wanted to translate the relics of the holy pious Prince Alexander Nevsky to Petersburg, but the holy relics did not want this?"

"How did they not want it?" I dared to answer the great Elder. "How did they not want it, when they repose now in Petersburg in the Lavra of St. Alexander Nevsky?"

"In the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra, you say? But how can that be? In Vladimir they reposed openly, but in the Lavra they are buried why is that? Because," said Batiushka, "they are not there." And after speaking much in detail on this subject with his divinely-speaking lips, Batiushka Seraphim informed me of the following:

"Your godliness, the Lord God has ordained that I, humble Seraphim, should live considerably longer than a hundred years. But since toward that time the bishops will become so impious that in their impiety they will surpass the Greek bishops of the time of Theodosius the Younger, so that they will no longer even believe in the chief dogma of the Christian faith: therefore it has been pleasing to the Lord God to take me, humble Seraphim, from this temporal life until the time, and then resurrect me, and my resurrection will be as the resurrection of the Seven Youths in the cave of Ochlon in the days of Theodosius the Younger."

Having revealed to me this great and fearful mystery, the great Elder informed me that after his resurrection he would go from Sarov to Diveyevo and there he would begin the preaching of world-wide repentance. For this preaching, and above all because of the miracle of resurrection, a great multitude of people will assemble from all the ends of the earth; Diveyevo will become a lavra, Vertyanova will become a city, and Arzamas a province. And preaching repentance in Diveyevo, Batiushka Seraphim will uncover four relics in it, and after uncovering them he himself will lie down in their midst. And then soon will come the end of everything.1

___
1 On the Banks of God's River, vol. 2, 1969, pp. 192-193.


Another time St. Seraphim spoke to Motovilov concerning the spiritual state of the last Christians who will remain faithful to God before the end of the world:

"And in the days of that great sorrow, of which it is said that no flesh would be saved unless, for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut shortin those days the remnant of the faithful are to experience in themselves something like that which was experienced once by the Lord Himself when He hanging on the Cross, being perfect God and perfect Man, felt Himself so forsaken by His Divinity that He cried out to Him: My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? The last Christians also will experience in themselves a similar abandonment of humanity by the grace of God, but only for a very short time, after the passing of which the Lord will not delay immediately to appear in all His glory, and all the holy Angels with Him. And then will be performed in all its fullness everything foreordained from the ages in the preeternal counsel [of the Holy Trinity]."1

___
1 Conversation of St. Seraphim on the Aim of the Christian Life (in Russian), 1967, p. 82.


Saint Seraphim of Sarov
1759—1833

This portrait was painted in July, 1831, in Sarov Monastery, and was preserved in the home of Krupenikov in the city of Kazan. Two months after this Motovilov was miraculously healed by St. Seraphim, and another two months later occurred the wondrous "Conversation" on the aquisition of the Holy Spirit.


Nicholas Alexandrovich Motovilov
1809—1879

Saint Seraphim's spiritual son from early childhood, he became the closest man to the Saint, leaving to the world his priceless notes on the Saint and the Saint's teaching on the acquisition of the Holy Spirit.


Conclusion

And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
Apocalypse 8:1

THE FALL of Orthodox Russia in 1917 is an event which, beyond any doubt, changed world history and opened wide the gates of our present age of lawlessness. Even so, the future resurrection of Russia cannot but be an event of significance for the entire world.

We know something of the events which, if man's repentance responds to God's promises, will occur in Russia. These events by no means constitute a "new age" of history or a time of outward prosperity and ease, but rather a short flowering of Orthodox truth and holiness before the end of the world. Even though some few details about this flowering have been revealed, it remains a mystery whose full significance will not be apparent until it is present.

This mystery is even now at work in the depths of Orthodox Russia, just as another and opposed mystery the "mystery of iniquity" (II Thes. 2:7) is also at work throughout the world, preparing the apostate and godless peoples for the coming of Antichrist.

There should be no schism in the body; but the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ (I Cor. 12:26-27). All Orthodox Christians are called to pray for and suffer with their suffering Russian brethren – not only on the day of national mourning, the day of the martyrdom of the Royal Martyrs, July 4/17, but also every day. Just as the Orthodox Russian people in past centuries prayed daily for the deliverance of their Greek and other brethren from the Turkish Yoke, so now let every Orthodox Christian pray for the deliverance of his suffering Russian brethren, even as the Orthodox Russians of the Diaspora pray daily: "O Lord Jesus Christ our God, forgive us our transgressions, and through the prayers of Thy Most Pure Mother, save the suffering Russian people and all Orthodox Christians] from the yoke of the godless power. Amen."

And let all the Orthodox faithful await with the remnant of Holy Russia the Paschal revelation which, as God is merciful, is yet to come from Russia that which St. Seraphim himself prophesied, and which our own century has several times glimpsed in advance: the all-joyous PASCHA IN THE MIDST OF SUMMER. Amen.


100th Anniversary of the birth of Archbishop Vitaly of Jordanville
1873—1960

ON AUGUST 8/21, 1973, will be celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of the great 20th-century Missionary and Founder of the St. Job of Pochaev Brotherhood, and Founder of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary at Jordanville, New York.

HOLY TRINITY SEMINARY, founded by Archbishop Vitaly with the idea of raising future pastors in a strict monastic environment, remains today the only Orthodox seminary fully devoted to the ideals of Holy Russia.

A FULL five-year course of undergraduate studies is offered in the Russian language (three years for those having a college degree), leading to the degree of Bachelor of Theology.

IN ADDITION to their studies, seminarians have the opportunity to learn a trade in one of the monastery workshops, and they participate fully in the round of monastic services. Scholarships are available.

For information, write to:
ADMISSION COMMITTEE HOLY TRINITY ORTHODOX SEMINARY JORDANVILLE, N.Y. 13361