The Orthodox Word No. 69

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

1976, Vol. 12, no. 4 (69)
July - August

ISSN 0030-5839

CONTENTS

  99 Our Living Links with the Holy Fathers: Archpriest Nicholas Deputatov

  104 Awareness of God by Archpriest Nicholas Deputatov

  114 The Life of St. Gregory of Tours by Abbot Odo (Continued)

  121 The Typicon of the Orthodox Church’s Divine Services: Chapter Eight: The Magnification (Continued)

  126 The Orthodox Veneration of the Mother of God by Archbishop John Maximovitch (Chapter IV, concluded)

  COVER: Archpriest Nicholas Deputatov.

  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 1976 by The Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood.

  Published bimonthly by The Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood. Second-class postage paid at Platina, California. Yearly subscription $5, two years $9, three years $12. Office of Publication: Beegum Gorge Road, Platina, California.

  All inquiries should be directed to:

THE ORTHODOX WORD, PLATINA, CALIFORNIA, 96076, U.S.A.


 

OUR LIVING LINKS WITH THE HOLY FATHERS

ARCHPRIEST NICHOLAS DEPUTATOV

CHRIST OUR SAVIOUR has told us that in the last times, because lawlessness shall be multiplied, the love of many shall grow cold; but, He added, he that endureth to the end shall be saved (Matt. 24:12-13). In our time we see with all clarity that mankind, having lost love, has lost also the awareness of the Source of love, which is God. There is indeed almost no awareness today that God exists and that He manifests Himself in all things; and mankind runs to and fro as if in actual fact there is no God Who has created man and the whole universe. The whole of today’s "modern" life, possessed by corrupt vanity, has as its aim to suck even the elect into the whirlpool of passions, trivialities, and "events" which eclipse the consciousness of God’s Providence acting in all things. Therefore, the most important thing in our time, in order to be one who endures to the end and is saved, is to work out within oneself an authentic and creative awareness of God which can serve as one’s spiritual anchor in the stormy sea of contemporary life.

The vast majority of today’s "Orthodox theologians" — let us frankly acknowledge — neither has nor communicates this awareness of God. Today’s Orthodox "academies," under the strong influence of the Western academic environment, teach at best only the outward, formal side of Orthodox doctrine, which, even when it is technically correct, is spiritually powerless and not only does not lead to a greater awareness of God (which is surely what theology should do), but even gives rise, by way of reaction against its deadness, to the opposite extreme of "charismatic" movements whose feverish "life" is still more remote from true Orthodoxy.

The true Orthodox theologians of our day are not, as a rule, to be found in Orthodox academies, nor in pompous "theological conferences." They are to be sought in humbler places, and usually they will not bear the name of "theologian": They themselves would not presume to call their handing down the Orthodox theological tradition anything more than "faithfulness to the Holy Fathers" — but it is just this faithfulness and this humility that mark them out as bearers of the authentic tradition of Orthodoxy — qualities which are lacking in the most renowned "Orthodox theologians" today.

The Russian Church has known many such authentic theologians in the past century, even if in our time of spiritual barrenness it would seem that they are dying out. One such bearer of the Church’s traditional wisdom is a priest who would be astonished to hear himself called a "theologian": Father Nicholas Deputatov of the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Brisbane, Australia.

Now just 80 years old, Father Nicholas, after serving in the Russian Imperial Army, emigrated after the Revolution to the Far East and received his theological education in the 1930’s in Harbin, Manchuria — an Orthodox "backwater" far removed from the centers of theological modernism in Europe and America. His chief preceptor in his theological studies was Archbishop Dimitry, father of Metropolitan Philaret, present Chief Hierarch of the Russian Church Outside of Russia. But his love for spiritual wisdom dates from his childhood, when he was already an avid reader of Orthodox books and periodicals; and his love for true philosophy, which is to be found in the Church of Christ, was first awakened even earlier when, at the age of four, he first encountered the sorrows of life in bitter tears over the bewildering fact of the death of a young woman — an experience which has stayed with him all his life.

The Holy Fathers whose teaching is to be found most frequently in Fr. Nicholas’ writings are, in general, those who are most loved by readers of spiritual writings in Russian: the Fathers of the Philokalia, St. Isaac the Syrian, St. Symeon the New Theologian, the Elders of Optina, St. John of Kronstadt, Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov, and — his favorite of all — Bishop Theophan the Recluse, whom he found to be a recent Father in the ancient tradition and one who has been a help and support to him throughout his own life. The life and writings of Bishop Theophan formed the subject of Fr. Nicholas’ Candidate’s Thesis for his theological degree in 1938 (published in 1971 by Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, N.Y.).

Over the years, under the influence of his reflective reading of such spiritual sources, and with his experience as an Orthodox pastor since 1941, Fr. Nicholas’ thoughts have deepened and become clarified, and his heart has found deep peace; and so when, in his mature years, he was called upon to write articles for Russian religious periodicals in the Diaspora, the result has been a series of spiritual "pearls": articles which breathe the fresh air of true Orthodox wisdom, spoken from the heart and from a deep, unpretentious rootedness in age-old Orthodoxy.

There is not a single "theological problem" (as this is understood by today’s theological sophisticates) in Fr. Nicholas’ writings; everything he writes about comes from life and is intended to help Orthodox believers lead humble and fruitful Christian lives and attain salvation in the eternal Kingdom of Heaven. He sums up his own Orthodox philosophy of life in a very few words: "We live more an inward life. And it is given to each from Above to shed around oneself the fragrance of Christ, which comes from the thought of God and from prayer. In this is joy, happiness, blessedness. The soul that thinks on Divine things lives as in paradise, surrounded by Divine light, and burns with the fire of love. The remembrance of the Saviour cleanses the mind, and sanctifies the inward mind by Divine grace, by the power of the Holy Spirit."

In accordance with this mature Christian philosophy, Fr. Nicholas’ writings deal chiefly with the inward spiritual life and the means to it: humility, self-reproach, repentance, purification, endurance of sickness and trials, the necessity of spiritual reading, the Prayer of Jesus, living by the heart and not the head. One central thread runs through all his writings and has given its name to the collection of them just published by the Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood: AWARENESS OF GOD (Богосознание). This theme, like all he writes about, has nothing abstract about it; it is precisely and simply that living awareness and knowledge of God, virtually unknown to present-day "theologians," which characterize the true Orthodox believer. And despite Fr. Nicholas’ own simplicity and utter unconcern for theological "problems," what he has to say about this living knowledge of God is in a way an answer to those who have become confused by a theological "knowledge" which is abstract, filled with self-esteem, and does not at all bring the deliverance and freedom which our Saviour has promised to true knowledge (John 8:32). For Fr. Nicholas only transmits, as a living disciple of living Fathers, the Patristic teaching which is directed to all men in all times. Thus, his contrast between rationalism and mystical knowledge is a Patristic distinction so necessary to our own time, whose rationalism is different not in kind but only in degree from the rationalism of the ancients which the Fathers combatted. One must be careful, however, to read Fr. Nicholas’ words in a Patristic rather than a modern context; he, like the Fathers, writes from the heart and not from a narrowly logical mind, and where he may seem to be superficially "inconsistent" it is because the truth which the heart sees does not quibble over words. Thus, when he writes... of the necessity to "renounce thinking" in order to know God, one must of course understand this not in a modern "anti-intellectual" way but rather in the context of the traditional Orthodox non-rational means of knowing God...

Most of Fr. Nicholas’ articles in the past 25 years have been published in Orthodox Russia, the foremost Russian Church periodical of the Diaspora. These articles established for Fr. Nicholas a reputation as one of the leading ecclesiastical writers of the Russian Church Outside of Russia... This is all the more remarkable in that Fr. Nicholas is a married priest, with children and grandchildren — a convincing proof that the sources of true Orthodoxy, although they are primarily monastic in origin and inspiration, are the common treasure of the entire Church and not merely of some part of it.

But Fr. Nicholas' writings are not only for the Russians of the Diaspora. As the reader of the articles presented below (all translated from the new book, pages 140-143, 110-112, 269-271, and 29) will readily see, they are meant for all conscious Orthodox Christians, and especially those of the latter times in which we live, when those who cease to be conscious Christians will also cease to be Orthodox. And in a special sense they are meant for the Orthodox Christians of contemporary Russia, newly awakening now after the long sleep of the Communist Yoke. The following excerpts from the editors' introduction to Fr. Nicholas' new book will give the English-speaking reader a general idea of how he is being presented to the Orthodox Christians of Russia, who hopefully will soon begin to receive copies of the book.

"The book is written in a superb, exalted Russian language, in an elevated tone which is sober, vigilant, with Patristic depth, preciseness, and power. The topics here are down to earth, suffered through, wept through. There is a flaming love for Russia, but the hierarchy of values is not destroyed: Orthodoxy stands in the first place, and it is authentic Orthodoxy. And truly, here there is the fragrance of Holy Russia... In our time which has become dirtied and confused theologically, when in truth the salt of the earth has lost its savor, this work of a humble shepherd of Christ is the true spiritual creativity and is a clear proof that the Russian Diaspora has preserved this salt—which one can by no means say concerning the heretical Parisian 'theologians'."

"Yes, it has preserved it. It is precisely our Russian Church Outside of Russia which has preserved in its purity the great Russian spiritual culture by means of a difficult struggle, as yet unappreciated. It has not bartered Orthodoxy in order to become fashionable among men, to be recognized by the powerful of this world. No; in poverty and in the humility of its earthly banishment it has gone out over the whole face of the earth, singing of the heavenly calling of all peoples to the Kingdom of Christ not of this world. And now, being filled up with new tribes and generations, it bears the triumphant banner of the greatest value given to man on earth: True, undistorted Orthodoxy.

"Like the armor of a victor, this book is an offering to contemporary Russia from a Diaspora which has fulfilled its holy duty. May the sons of the fields and groves of Holy Russia, now awakening, be inspired by true AWARENESS OF GOD. Amen."


Awareness of God
BY ARCHPRIEST NICHOLAS DEPUTATOV FOUR CHAPTERS TRANSLATED FROM HIS NEW BOOK

I. "KNOWING EVERYTHING" VERSUS DEIFICATION

IN GREAT ANTIQUITY a certain disciple told his teacher ecstatically about a certain scholar. "How is he remarkable. and what does he do?" asked the teacher. "He reads all the time, day and night." "You say that the scholar reads all the time, but... when does he think?" The disciple was confused and did not know what to answer.

The same thing may be said also of the contemporary scholar. Much knowledge has been gathered over the centuries, and a scholar of today must know a great deal. Science has obeyed the evil counsel of the tempter: "Ye shall be as gods, knowing everything." To know everything this is the aim of science. Whether or not it is necessary, whether it is useful or harmful, there is no question of this; one must only know! Look at the immense libraries; these are the Egyptian pyramids of materialized thought. If men could collect all this into their awareness, would they not become like gods? But human awareness has limits, and knowledge becomes ever more fragmented. The curator of a museum, a scholar, was speaking with enthusiasm to visitors concerning the treasures of his field of knowledge. But when he was asked about the next compartment, with a dry voice he replied, "I do not know, that is not my compartment." There will come a time when you will go to a doctor to have him treat your nose, and he will say to you, "Pardon me, I cannot treat you; you have a pain in the left nostril, but I am a specialist in diseases only of the right nostril."

Knowledge becomes broader, but man becomes ever narrower... Oh, if only he who has tasted the fruit of the tree of knowledge would understand that he is naked...

We walk by faith, not by sight, said the Apostle Paul (II Cor. 5:7). We do not see the Lord with our bodily eyes, because the body separates us from the Lord. But nevertheless He exists and He is near, although we do not see Him. There will come a time when we shall see Him and be with Him.

The rational forms of knowledge are erected on the top of a building under which lies a mystical foundation. The mystical roots of our spirit can say to the scientific branches the same thing that was said in the fable: "Remember the difference between us, how that every spring a new leaf is born, but if the root will dry up there will be neither tree nor you!" What an absurdity may be heard in such words as: "Show us God in a telescope, or the soul in a microscope; give us some dogmatic formul; to put in a test tube and heat under a low flame..." "Give us some miracles for an experiment," cry out the soulless rationalists who are incapable, all the same, of believing. But neither thought nor history allow themselves to be experimented upon. If Christ and the Apostles must be subjected to experiment, then in the same way should Alexander of Macedon, and everybody all the Karls and Fredericks all should be subjected to experiment. Into the test tube with Them! However, this is all a conversion into nothingness nihilism. Rationally, no one has ever seen God. Rationally, "it is impossible for man to see God" (Irmos of 9th Canticle, Tone 6). For this there are other methods, other paths. The pare in heart shall see God: here is the sweet truth which is unchanging and precise. The spiritual is not obtained by rational thoughts, but is given by grace. It is essential to be purified for this by repentance. "Many, not understanding Divine things, philosophize about them; and being filled with sins, they theologize about God and everything concerning Him without the grace of the Holy Spirit which gives meaning and understanding. Myspirit trembles, is terrified, and in some manner comes out of itself, when it reflects that, whereas the Divinity is unattainable for everyone, still we, not knowing either ourselves or even what is right in front of our eyes, brazenly and without fear of God begin to philosophize about what is unattainable for us, especially when we are empty of the grace of the Holy Spirit which enlightens and instructs us in everything... We must first of all pass over from death to life, receive in ourselves from above the seed of the living God, be born of Him spiritually, become His children, receive in our souls the grace of the Holy Spirit and only then, under the action of the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, begin to converse about what touches on God, in so far as this is accessible to us and to the degree to which we are enlightened by God Himself" (St. Symeon the New Theologian, Homily 61).

The tragedy of theologizing is the very same tragedy of rationalism. Authentic theologizing is always integral. In it shines the Christian soul which has attained perfection to some degree or other. Adam wished to be a god, but he understood that he was naked from the self-will and self-assertion which had taken him captive.

How difficult it is for us now, after all manner of deceptions, as it were by force to conduct oneself to the idea of DEIFICATION and to become established in it. Deification is the true religious ideal. It has been carried through the ages by the Orthodox Church, together with the light-bearing Truth of the Divinity of her Founder, Who was incarnate for us, the Only-begotten Son of God. We have the commandment and have received the possibility to become like our God Himself by spiritual growth.

The Church, in so far as it has remained the Church in all its truth, has not lessened the beauty of its religious ideal. Right up to the present time, our psalm-readers sing in the Church's hymns about the same ideal of deification, concerning which St. Iren;us wrote in the second century, for which St. Athanasius the Great suffered in the fourth century, about which the greatest poet, St. John Damascene, sang in the eighth century. It is by this ideal also that our life should be defined. In the unique and indivisible organism of the Church, there continue to dwell the same Divine powers, which lead also to life and perfection. "The Church is the image of God," in the expression of St. Maximus the Confessor; "it, like God, unites the faithful."

Falling away from the Church leads to the cessation of spiritual life, the cessation of development, of the growth of moral personality, and leads to spiritual death. Only in the Church is it possible to have happiness and blessedness as the consequence of inward perfection. The Christian hope is a hope which is joyful and bright. And theologizing has as its aim and meaning that it serve for the development and preservation of Church life. Only in the Church is there possible a new, grace-given life, for the sake of which the Son of God came to this sinful earth. Only in the Church is possible the true progress of our spirit. The progress of which our proud age boasts has no value whatever in the eyes of a Christian. What benefit is there in it for eternity, for the salvation of the soul? Who is nearer to God and the Kingdom of Heaven: the proud conqueror of space and the planets, who goes about with a speed that makes the head swim, or a humble, God-fearing old woman who can barely drag herself to church, to a miracle-working Icon?... In this old woman there is the warmth of life, which is worth the whole earth!

Progress in the Church brings with it blessedness. But does the progress of man, torn away from God and the Church, bring with it happiness? In truth, it does not. It brings destruction... And if this is so, Then There is no other path for us in the world than the path of deification. Souls who are faithful to God and are seeking deification, in giving themselves over to Christ truly find it in the treasure which can be compared with none other in the most heartfelt and dedicated love for the Lord.

 

II. THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD.

THIS IS WHAT our pious ancestors were most of all concerned about, and to this they inspire us from a distant, gracious past.

The Lord, Who is invisible in His essence and grace, is visible for those who have become like to Him. In Christ has been given the most perfect self-revelation of God, a knowledge most accessible, one that is near, akin, understandable to the heart. No one knows the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him (Matt. 9:27). Christ is the perfect image of the invisible Father (Col. 1:15). Christ demands that we love the Father in Him. The Holy Spirit, the Continuer and Perfecter of the redemptive work of Christ, testifies of Christ (John 15:26), and glorifies Christ (John 16:14). We love the Tri-hypostatical God in Christ. Our salvation is inseparably bound up with knowledge of the Son of God, accepted with the whole heart and mind. For the knowledge of God, revelation has been given. But the Son reveals Himself not immediately, but through the Spirit of Truth, Who teaches all things and instructs in all truth (John 14:26, 16:13). The highest sphere of spiritual, Divine knowledge is revealed exclusively by the Holy Spirit. Knowledge of God without the keeping of the commandments, is a lie (I Jn. 2:3-4).

St. Isaac the Syrian acknowledges the extraordinary sweetness of the knowledge of God; and St. Maximus the Confessor considers the beginning and end of salvation to be wisdom, which in the beginning is manifested as fear, but in the end as love. The Fathers speak unanimously about the necessity for knowledge of God and, in general, for spiritual knowledge which is living, bright, and blessed. Of course, God cannot be the object of thought; thought presupposes division. Thought in its essence is a mutual activity of "one who thinks" and "that which is thought." But he who goes deeper within himself, renouncing what is external, unfailingly is exalted to the heavenly. Such self-forgetfulness of the external is already an immediate touching upon the Divine. Thus, in the soul there is no movement or activity of any kind, no kind of thinking. The soul is exalted above all thought, above all outward knowledge....

For the knowledge, for the beholding of God, a man must decisively renounce the very process of thinking. St. Isaac truly says that the Kingdom of Heaven is not acquired by study, but can only be instilled by grace (Homily 49). Spiritual knowledge is not acquired by the outward path of the natural faculties of the soul. No one can have this spiritual knowledge if he will not be converted and be like a child, that is, will place himself in an infant's manner of thinking (St. Isaac, Homily 49).

In the profound gnosiology of St. Symeon the New Theologian, "a Christian is called faithful because there are entrusted to him in faith from God mysteries which even the Angels did not know before us" (Vol. 1 of his Works in Russian, p. 330). "Christians are instructed by the Holy Spirit in all knowledge and understanding, and in every word of wisdom and mystical knowledge. That which the unbelievers do not know, we, having been vouchsafed to become believers, can know, can think and speak about, being instruc ted and enlightened by the grace of the All-Holy Spirit. In truth, the key to understanding is the grace of the Holy Spirit which is given for the sake of faith. The grace of the Holy Spirit opens up our closed and darkened mind, and communicates to it true knowledge and understanding of divine enlightenment" (Vol. 2, p. 59). "God is known by us to the extent that one can see the limitless ocean, standing at its edge at night, with a small lit candle in one's hands. Do you think that such a one will see much of all that limitless ocean? Of course he will see only a little part, or almost nothing. At the same time, he sees well the water and he knows that before him is the ocean, that the ocean is limitless, and that he cannot take it all in with his glance. So is it also with regard to our knowledge of God... Neither vigil, nor solitude, nor fasting, nor non-possession, nor physical labor, nor any other kind of virtue can, without the Holy Spirit, grant to us a word, or knowledge, or understanding; because all this is the path leading to the Light, but not The Light Itself. Without the Spirit no one can either learn himself nor instruct others; for how can He Who is above all mind and thought be known to our mind which was created by Him, if it will not be enlightened by Him and joined to Him?" (Vol. 2, Homilies 61 and 87.)

The mysteries of our Faith are unknown and not understandable to those who are not repenting. And those who are unbelievers or have little faith do not see them, and cannot see them. Therefore, let no one "ever mislead you by vain and deceptive words, saying that one may know the Divine Mysteries of our Faith without the instruction and enlightenment of The Holy Spirit' (Vol. 2, p. 343). The greatest Christian philosopher, St. Isaac the Syrian, in his grace-given spiritual experience has depicted the mystical procession and ascent of the soul which seeks God. "As it is with a fish out of water, so is it with the mind that has left off the remembrance of God, and is soaring in the remembrance of the world. To the extent that a man goes away from converse with men, to such an extent is he vouchsafed bold converse with God in his mind; and to the extent that he cuts off from himself the consolation of this world, to such an extent is he vouchsafed the joy of God in the Holy Spirit... And just as fish perish from lack of water, so also the movements of the mind which arise from God disappear in the heart" of the man who becomes established in the vain and worldly... (Homily 8.)

"Nothing can compare with the sweetness of the thought of God and glorifying Him" (Bishop Theophan the Recluse).

The heart which loves the Lord finds only here its sweetness and repose. Here is the Paradise of the heart, because it has as its God only the One Lord. Help us, O Lord! "Do Thou Thyself grant now the petition of Thy slaves for what is useful, granting us in the present age knowledge of Thee and Thy truth, and in the future, life eternal" (Third Antiphon, Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom).

Warm our hearts, O Lord, and turn them to Thyself, so that in striving for the knowledge of God we may always fill ourselves with unutterable joy and repose.

 

III. GO YE.

FROM THE PAGES of the Gospel the Lord calls out, "Go ye, go ye. There are few workers. Preach My Word."

 
Bishop Theophan the Recluse (his own self-portrait)


There is a picture: Christ is on a mountain peak. His face. filled with suffering, is illumined by a marvellous light. His large and beautiful eyes look into the distance with love; with their glance they embrace those both near and far. His outstretched hand, with the wound of the nails, points into the distance. Christ says, "Go ye." His whole image, His movements, the wounds, the eyes, the outstretched hand, all express one and the same thing: "Go ye"... And it seems that from everywhere, not from the distance only, but also from nearby, people are stretching out their hand toward us. From all regions; from the slums; from the streets; everywhere there are those who have lost Christ and are seeking Him. They are languishing, they are gasping without fresh air. As it is not possible to live without water, without food, so also is it impossible to live without Christ.

We have heard this parable: For more than thirty years, Christ wandered on the earth. And in Heaven they became lonesome for Him and could hardly wait for His return.. And behold, the hour came, and everyone was crowding around Heaven and could not get their fill of the desired Face. And the Father! How He greets His beloved Son, how He kisses His wounds endured for men wounds on the forehead, on the hands, on the feet! All the choirs of Heaven surround the Divine Bearer of the Cross, and the Angels and Archangels bow down before Him.

Suddenly a voice is heard. The Archangel Gabriel opens his mouth and asks: "Lord, did You die on the earth for the whole world?"

"Yes, for the whole world," replies Christ.

"Did You suffer much?" asks the Archangel further, looking into the Face which bore the traces of suffering.

"I suffered much," the reply is heard.

"And does everyone know about this?"

"Oh, no, only a few in Palestine and thereabouts."

"And what will happen further, O Lord? How will the world find out that You died for them? How will You inform men?"

"I have entrusted this to Peter. James, John, Andrew, and a few others," replied the Teacher. "I gave as My testament to them to lay down their lives so as to tell others, ever farther and farther away, until every man in the farthest region of the earth will hear the Good News and test its power."

But Gabriel knew what people were like. He did not trust them. He did not hope for success, and again he asked a question: "And what if Peter does not fulfill the assignment? What if John wavers and does not tell others? What if their descendants are so drawn away by various secondary matters that they will not tell anyone about this? What then?"

The firm, Divine voice of Christ replies: "My disciples cannot help but continue My work. They will not keep My treasure a secret for themselves. They will pass it on to all"...

Yes, the Apostles did not hide the treasure of Christ. They spread it about, through the whole world. In torments, in sufferings before the face of death, they told the good news of Truth, of Life, of Light, of the fount of salvation and the only way into the Kingdom of God. Without fearing death, bold, brave, they sowed everywhere the Divine seed. By means of miracles they strengthened its might and power. With what a fire their faith was burning! How great, how limitless was their love for the Saviour! In truth, they abandoned everything; more than father or mother, more than son or daughter they loved Christ and the glory of God. Therefore they received an incorruptible crown. The Kingdom of God is taken by violence. Without us, the Lord will not save us. Weapons do not help a soldier unless he takes them in his hands and knows how to use them. Thus also is it with the sacrifice of the Son of God, thus also is it with the Holy Spirit sent down upon us-without us, and without our striving, they will not save us.

We are like a man who, seeing pearls scattered about, is too lazy to get up, bend down, and become the possessor of a priceless treasure. We are like that senseless guest who, being invited to a luxurious exclusive feast, considered it a great labor for himself to stretch out his hand to the food, and he departed hungry.

What hardness of heart and what a profound lack of understanding of our great calling! There is a language of heaven and a language of earth. Our only purpose in this world is the firm walking, full of hope, in the will of God. This unfailingly will bring us to the desired final, blessed aim... The Apostles knew that he who does not himself confess and preach the Lord by his deeds and words is His betrayer. And the Son of Man will not acknowhim at His Judgment...

Flaming souls pass along the earth without fanfare, but, like splendid blossoms, everywhere they leave after themselves a fragrance. O my God! If even flowers when fading leave after themselves a kernel of fruit, then will not these striving souls produce imitators of themselves who will desire to continue their grace-giving labor of rejoicing? Increase, O Lord, the workers in Thy vineyard! Weeds and bushes harm Thy Divine vineyard, planted by Thy loving hand. Preserve it, O Lord, and lead into it yet more workers, who are full of care, who will unmurmuringly and sincerely desire its flourishing! Firm is the hand of the Lord which guards and guides the path of our life into His Kingdom. Help us! To Thee we go, O Son of God, our Saviour. For this Thou didst found Thine unvanquishable Church. And happy are we that we belong to it and love it with our whole heart.

 

IV. A MESSAGE FOR THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS OF THE LAST TIMES

IN THOSE DAYS the persecuted preachers of Christ will still find the opportunity to manifest their Christian worth and reveal the power and savingness of the teaching of Christ. They will boldly and openly reveal their devotion to the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ and with great power of inspiration will show the truth and savingness of His teaching.

The speech of these preachers will be profoundly effective, breathing power and grandeur, because the Lord Himself through the Holy Spirit will give them wisdom and the power of understanding; they will receive this gift in order to battle successfully against the increasing evil. Thus was it also in the first period of the existence of the Church of Christ, when the power of the persecutors threatened the destruction of the work of God. The history of the martyrs is filled with descriptions of miraculous manifestations of God's help....

The believers of the last times will have to be men of high spiritual exaltation. Their own spiritual powers and the gifts of God will give them the possibility of remaining firm in faith and piety amidst the corruption of the majority of men. But the power of evil will not weaken just because believers will stand against it with the help of God. Opposition can enkindle yet greater ill will and hatred on the part of the lost because of the good of men.

But even if it is thus how can the enemies harm believers, even if theywill commit outward acts of violence against them and even kill them? If the soul is preserved, the death of the body means nothing. Be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, said the Lord (Matt. 10:28). From this one may be consoled: if the soul has not perished, there is nothing to grieve over in the temporal destruction of the body: after the general resurrection it will again rise in complete inviolability.

May God grant us the strength to be courageous and not cowardly. Everything is in His power. He has said: But not a hair of your head shall perish, and in your patience ye shall win your souls (Luke 21:18-19). May God grant that we all may be God-bearers and Christ-bearers, temple-bearers and saint-bearers, being wondrously and unutterably transfigured into the new, heavenly man.


VITA PATRUM: The Life of Saint Gregory of Tours
By ABBOT ODO

21. AN ANGEL REPROVES HIM.

WE BELIEVE we must add to this account how God wished to reprove him so that he might not sin even as a result of the levity of others. As the blessed Martin had healed him of a hopeless malady, so that he could go the next day to church, still, in order not to weary himself during the ceremonies of the liturgy, he had ordered one of his priests to perform the celebration. But this priest pronounced the sacred words with I know not what crudity, and several of the assistants began to ridicule him, saying that he would have done better to be silent than to speak so crudely. That night, Gregory saw in sleep a man who told him that one should make no observation at all on the Mysteries of God. From this it resulted for him that he should not permit foolish or light-minded men to disparage the blessed solemnities in his presence.

22. ST. RADEGUND AND THE RELIC OF THE HOLY CROSS.

OFTEN THE MAN OF GOD, as a true guardian of himself and of his flock, would travel far, whether for the benefit of his people, or for his own salvation. Once, while going to pray at the tomb of St. Hilary,1 he turned aside in order to visit the holy queen Radegund.2 The two of them, like unto dwellers of paradise, were conversing of heavenly things, when the oil which ordinarily flowed drop by drop before the relics of the holy Cross became so abundant at the arrival of the bishop that in the space of less than an hour more than a pint of it flowed.3

___
1 St. Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, a theologian and spiritual father of St. Martin of Tours; † 368, January 13.
2 St. Radegund († 587, August 13), daughter of the king of Thuringia, was taken prisoner by the Frankish King Clotaire I and was forced to marry him. Later she took refuge with St. Medardus, Bishop of Soissons, became a nun and founded a convent in Poitiers under the rule of St. Caesarius of Arles.
3 The account of St. Gregory himself (The Glory of the Martyrs, ch. 5), being much more detailed, is here added to the text of Odo (within quotation marks).


“The Cross of the Lord, which had been discovered by the Empress Helen at Jerusalem, is venerated on Wednesday and Friday of each week. The queen Radegund, whom one might, both in merit and faith, compare to Helen, asked for a portion of this Cross and placed it with devotion in the monastery of Poitiers which had been established by her efforts. Then she sent again servants to Jerusalem and into all the East and they, going about the tombs, brought back the relics of holy martyrs and confessors, which she placed, together with this holy cross, in a casket of silver; and they produced a great number of miracles of which she was vouchsafed to be a witness...

“I had often heard that the lamps which burned before these holy relics would begin to boil by a divine power, and that they caused the oil to overflow to such an extent that a vessel placed underneath was filled most of the time. However, in the foolishness of a hardened spirit I could not decide to believe this, until this same power, which had already been manifested to others, acted in my presence and ended by triumphing over my brute indifference. I shall tell, therefore, what I saw with my own eyes.

One day, going out of devotion to visit the tomb of Saint Hilary, I had a meeting with the queen. I entered her monastery and, after greeting the queen, I went to prostrate myself before the precious cross and the sacred relics of the blessed ones. Then, having prayed. I got up. At my right there was a lamp which was lit. Having noticed that frequent drops of oil were issuing from it, I believed — God is my witness — that the vessel was cracked, all the more because underneath it there had been placed a dish in which the flowing oil was received. Turning then to the abbess, I said to her: ‘Are you so careless that you cannot prepare a lamp that is intact, in which the oil burns, in place of this one which is cracked and from which the oil is leaking?’ She replied: ‘My lord, it is not that, but the power of the holy cross which you see.’ Then, turning within myself and remembering what I had heard before, I looked at the lamp and saw it boiling in great waves and overflowing its edges, like a pot over a hot flame — a phenomenon which, as I think, in order the better to convince my unbelief, increased yet more and more, so that in the space of an hour the vessel, which held no more than a quart, had poured out a pint. I marvelled in silence, and from that moment I proclaimed the virtue of the precious Cross.”

When this blessed queen was on the point of being called before the King of Heaven, Gregory, the man of God, received the news that she was at her end; but she had already departed when he hastened to her, and he gave burial to her holy body. At the same time he solemnly blessed the altar erected over the grave, reserving, however, to the bishop of the place, who happened then to be absent, the care of closing the coffin.

23. HE IS SAVED FROM PERIL BY ST. ROMANUS.

THERE WAS a matter that obliged him to cross the river Garonne near the castle of Blaye; but this river had become so swollen that it inspired not a little fear, just to behold it. Not far from there reposed St. Romanus, the priest whom Martin had buried, as is related in his Life.1 As the gusts of wind on the one hand, and the mountains of waves on the other, placed the voyager in great peril, he raised his eyes to heaven, then beheld the church of this Saint Romanus, and the entire sea soon levelled itself out so completely that every ominous sound disappeared and he was transported to the other bank without incurring any danger.2

___
1 St. Romanus of Bordeaux, † 382, November 24.
2 The Glory of the Confessors, ch. 46, where St. Gregory states that those in danger of shipwreck on the Garonne are saved by crying out: “Have mercy on us, St. Romanus, confessor of God.”


24. HE GOES TO ROME.

HE HAD ALREADY completed sixteen years of his episcopate when his namesake, the great Gregory, was placed in the apostolic see.1 It is believed that they were for some time attached one to the other by a close friendship; and this feeling would only be natural, for Fortunatus compares this Pope to Gregory of Nazianzus2 and says that the latter was as a gift made to the East, Gregory of Rome a gift made to the South, and our Gregory a gift to the West. This latter having gone to the church of the Holy Apostles [in Rome], the holy Pope received him with great reverence; and having conducted him to the place where St. Peter had confessed Christ, he stopped at his side, waiting until he should arise. And while he waited, he considered with astonishment — for he was a profound genius — the secret dispensations of God with regard to the man whom he had before his eyes and who, small in stature, had received from heaven such an abundance of grace. The latter perceived this instantly by a Divine perception, and, arising after his prayer, he turned towards the Pope with the calm air which he always preserved and said to him: “It is the Lord Who hath made us, and not we ourselves; He is the same in small things as in great.” The holy Pope understood that these words were an answer to his thought and, all rejoicing at this observation, he began to profess a profound veneration for this grace which until then he had only admired in Gregory, and he honored the episcopal see of Tours with the gift of a chair of gold which was always to be preserved there.3

___
1 St. Gregory the Dialogist, Pope of Rome from 590 to his death in 604 (March 12).
2 St. Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople, † 390, January 25.
3 These lines of Abbot Odo seem to be the only historical mention of the journey of St. Gregory to Rome, and for this reason modern historians tend to doubt that it occurred. We do know, however, that St. Gregory greatly respected his namesake the Pope, and that his Deacon Agiulf had been in Rome in 590 when the latter was elected Pope, giving St. Gregory an eyewitness account of events in Rome, including the only remaining text of the address of the Dialogist to the people of Rome on this occasion. See The History of the Franks, Book X, ch. 1.


25. THE APPARITION OF MYSTICAL FIRE.

ALREADY SAINT MARTIN, glorifying everywhere his disciple Gregory, had manifested in many ways how much he favored him; but, desiring even to cooperate in his works, he deigned sometimes to be present with all the splendor which accompanied him, all the while remaining invisible.

Having the intention to consecrate an oratory in a hall which had served as an office for his predecessor, Gregory transported there some relics of Saint Saturninus,1 which he had taken with great respect from the basilica of the lord Martin. There was a considerable choir of priests and deacons in white robes, a noble assembly of citizens decorated according to their office, a numerous throng of people of the second rank; the tapers shed a majestic radiance, crosses were raised high in the air.

___
1 First bishop of Toulouse, martyred in the 3rd century, November 29.


When the door was reached, an awesome flash suddenly filling the room struck all eyes in a great outburst, and, being prolonged, sped here and there like lightning. All, seized by a mighty fear, prostrated themselves upon the ground. But Gregory, as if he had been admitted to the secret of this so great miracle, exhorted all with firmness and said to them: “Fear nothing. Remember in what manner a globe of fire was seen to come from the head of the blessed Martin and to ascend toward heaven,1 and believe that he is come himself with his holy relics in order to visit us.” Then all glorified God, and this venerable man repeated with the clerics: “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; God is the Lord and hath appeared unto us” (Ps. 117:26).2

___
1 While the Saint was celebrating the Divine Liturgy; see Sulpicius Severus, Dialogues, II, 2.
2 The Glory of the Confessors, ch. 20, where in St. Gregory’s much longer account he makes clear that he was bringing also some relics of St. Martin to the oratory. He also told the people: “It is the virtue (power) of the saints which you see,” and concludes the chapter with a theological explanation: “I think that this was a mystical fire, because it illuminated without burning.”

 
Above: St. Radegund’s wooden reading desk, preserved at her convent, Poitiers.
 Right: St. Radegund’s reliquary of the True Cross, before which St. Gregory prayed, as it survives today (see sketch of whole reliquary, overleaf).

 
The original reliquary of St. Radegund (6th century), with icons of the saints whose relics are contained in it (from an 18th-century drawing).

 
The Baptistery of St. John in Poitiers (4th century), much as it looked in St. Gregory’s time.

 
St. Radegund is tonsured by St. Medardus of Soissons (10th century manuscript).

 
SAINT GREGORY THE DIALOGIST (10th-century illumination, Regensburg)


THE TYPICON of the Orthodox Church’s Divine Services

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE MAGNIFICATION (Continued)

The most commonly used melody for the Magnification in the Russian tradition is that of Kievan chant; all the Magnifications are sung to the same melody as in the example here given, which is that of monk-saints.

(An explanation of the quadratic musical notation is given in The Orthodox Word, 1974, no. 4. Briefly: “Do” of the major scale, or “Middle C,” is located on the middle line, and there are no sharps or flats. In common practice, however, the “do” is sometimes sung as a sharp; in the present example all “dos” marked with an asterisk under the text are usually sung as sharps. This seems to be a concession to the modern ear; the more ancient chants, such as the Magnification in Znamenny chant which follows, are preferably sung with the “do” natural, not sharped.)

 

 

This melody is merely a slight modification of the more ancient Znamenny Chant:

 


 

The “Selected Psalms” are composed of verses, taken from various Psalms, which refer to or prefigure the feast or type of saint. The Magnifications are actually refrains which are inserted between the verses of the Psalm. The texts of the Selected Psalms, together with their Magnifications, are contained as one of the appendices in the Slavonic Psalter (the Magnifications being used in the Slavonic and Rumanian Churches, but not in the Greek) and also at the end of the Irmologion (a book containing the Irmosi of all canons in the Eight Tones); a few additional Magnifications may be found in other service books. The Magnification is also sung by itself (without its Selected Psalm) at the conclusion of a moleben served to the Theotokos or a saint.

Since the Magnifications seem never to have been printed in one place in English, we present here a virtually complete collection of those used in the Russian Church. New Magnifications, in principle, may yet be composed, but in general one may say that they, being dedicated most commonly to a “type” of saint, offer the least scope for originality in church hymnography; only when a service for a basically new “type” of saint or feast is composed is there actually need for a new Magnification.

One selected Psalm, that for monk saints, is here given in its entirety as a model; the other Magnifications are followed by only one verse (the first) from each Selected Psalm. As the beauty of the fullness of the Orthodox Church services is rediscovered by some even in our days of the decline of church life in general, one may hope that the Magnifications with their Selected Psalms may also be more fully used and valued. And perhaps at least once in the year — perhaps on the patronal feast — the Magnification will even be sung with all the verses of the Selected Psalm, thus showing clearly how the life of the Church and its Saints is the fulfillment and flowering of the Divinely-inspired prophecies of David.

SELECTED PSALM FOR MONK-SAINTS

First Choir (A): With patience I waited patiently for the Lord, and He was attentive unto me, and He hearkened unto my supplication (Ps. 39:1).
Second Choir (B): And He set my feet upon a rock, and He ordered my steps aright (Ps. 39:3).
A: Lo, I have fled afar off and have dwelt in the wilderness (Ps. 54:7).
B: I am become like a pelican of the wilderness (Ps. 101:7).
A: I have watched, and am like a sparrow that sitteth alone upon the house-top (Ps. 101:8).
B: My knees are grown weak through fasting,
A: And my flesh is changed for want of oil (Ps. 108:23).
B: With tears will I water my couch (Ps. 6:5).
A: For many dogs have encircled me, the congregation of evil doers hath surrounded me (Ps. 21:16).
B: They have bent their bow, a bitter thing.
A: That they may shoot in secret at the blameless man (Ps. 63:3).
B: I beheld the Lord ever before me, for He is at my right hand, that I might not be shaken (Ps. 15:8).
A: All the nations compassed me round about, and by the name of the Lord I warded them off (Ps. 117:10).
B: Blessed be the Lord Who hath not given us to be a prey to their teeth (Ps. 123:5).
A: Let all Thy works, O Lord, give praise to Thee,
B: And let Thy righteous ones bless Thee (Ps. 144:10).
A: Know also that the Lord hath made wondrous His holy one (Ps. 4:4).
B: He hath labored for ever, and shall live to the end (Ps. 48:8).
A: The Lord preserveth the souls of His saints (Ps. 96:11).
B: The saints shall boast in glory, and they shall rejoice upon their beds (Ps. 149:5).
A: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints (Ps. 115:6).
B: Chant unto the Lord, O ye saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness, and among all peoples His wonders (Ps. 29:4, 95:3).
A: Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
B: Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
A: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God.
B: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God.

Clergy: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God. We glorify...

Next: The texts of the Magnifications.


The Orthodox Veneration of the Mother of God
by Archbishop John Maximovitch

IV. THE NESTORIAN HERESY AND THE THIRD ECUMENICAL COUNCIL.
(Continued)

On the 10th of the calends of July according to the Roman reckoning, that is, June 22, 431, in the Ephesian Church of the Virgin Mary, the bishops assembled, headed by the Bishop of Alexandria, Cyril, and the Bishop of Ephesus, Memnon, and took their places. In their midst was placed a Gospel as a sign of the invisible headship of the Ecumenical Council by Christ Himself. At first the Symbol of Faith which had been composed by the First and Second Ecumenical Councils was read; then there was read to the Council the Imperial Proclamation which was brought by the representatives of the Emperors Theodosius and Valentinian, Emperors of the Eastern and Western parts of the Empire.

The Imperial Proclamation having been heard, the reading of documents began, and there were read the Epistles of Cyril and Celestine to Nestorius, as well as the replies of Nestorius. The Council, by the lips of its members, acknowledged the teaching of Nestorius to be impious and condemned it, acknowledging Nestorius as deprived of his See and of the priesthood. A decree was composed concerning this which was signed by about 160 participants of the Council; and since some of them represented also other bishops who did not have the opportunity to be personally at the Council, the decree of the Council was actually the decision of more than 200 bishops, who had their Sees in the various regions of the Church at that time, and they testified that they confessed the Faith which from all antiquity had been kept in their localities.

Thus the decree of the Council was the voice of the Ecumenical Church, which clearly expressed its faith that Christ, born of the Virgin, is the true God Who became man; and inasmuch as Mary gave birth to the perfect Man Who was at the same time perfect God, She rightly should be revered as THEOTOKOS.

At the end of the session its decree was immediately communicated to the waiting people. The whole of Ephesus rejoiced when it found out that the veneration of the Holy Virgin had been defended, for She was especially revered in this city, of which She had been a resident during Her earthly life and a Patroness after Her departure into eternal life. The people greeted the Fathers ecstatically when in the evening they returned home after the session. They accompanied them to their homes with lighted torches and burned incense in the streets. Everywhere were to be heard joyful greetings, the glorification of the Ever-Virgin, and the praises of the Fathers who had defended Her name against the heretics. The decree of the Council was displayed in the streets of Ephesus.

The Council had five more sessions, on June 10 and 11, July 16, 17, and 22, and August 31. At these sessions there were set forth, in six canons, measures for action against those who would dare to spread the teaching of Nestorius and change the decree of the Council of Ephesus.

At the complaint of the bishops of Cyprus against the pretensions of the Bishop of Antioch, the Council decreed that the Church of Cyprus should preserve its independence in Church government, which it had possessed from the Apostles, and that in general none of the bishops should subject to themselves regions which had been previously independent from them, “lest under the pretext of priesthood the pride of earthly power should steal in, and lest we lose, ruining it little by little, the freedom which our Lord Jesus Christ, the Deliverer of all men, has given us by His blood.”

The Council likewise confirmed the condemnation of the Pelagian heresy, which taught that man can be saved by his own powers without the necessity of having the grace of God. It also decided certain matters of church government, and addressed epistles to the bishops who had not attended the Council, announcing its decrees and calling upon all to stand on guard for the Orthodox Faith and the peace of the Church. At the same time the Council acknowledged that the teaching of the Orthodox Ecumenical Church had been fully and clearly enough set forth in the Nic;o-Constantinopolitan Symbol of Faith, which is why it itself did not compose a new Symbol of Faith and forbade in future “to compose another Faith,” that is, to compose other Symbols of Faith or make changes in the Symbol which had been confirmed at the Second Ecumenical Council.

This latter decree was violated several centuries later by Western Christians when, at first in separate places, and then throughout the whole Roman Church, there was made to the Symbol the addition that the Holy Spirit proceeds “and from the Son,” which addition has been approved by the Roman Popes from the 11th century, even though up until that time their predecessors, beginning with St. Celestine, firmly kept to the decision of the Council of Ephesus, which was the Third Ecumenical Council, and fulfilled it.

Thus the peace which had been destroyed by Nestorius settled once more in the Church. The true Faith had been defended and false teaching accused.

The Council of Ephesus is rightly venerated as Ecumenical, on the same level as the Councils of Nic;a and Constantinople which preceded it. At it there were present representatives of the whole Church. Its decisions were accepted by the whole Church “from one end of the universe to the other.” At it there was confessed the teaching which had been held from Apostolic times. The Council did not create a new teaching, but it loudly testified of the truth which some had tried to replace by an invention. It precisely set forth the confession of the Divinity of Christ Who was born of the Virgin. The belief of the Church and its judgment on this question were now so clearly expressed that no one could any longer ascribe to the Church his own false reasonings. In the future there could arise other questions demanding the decision of the whole Church, but not the question whether Jesus Christ were God.

Subsequent Councils based themselves in their decisions on the decrees of the Councils which had preceded them. They did not compose a new Symbol of Faith, but only gave an explanation of it. At the Third Ecumenical Council there was firmly and clearly confessed the teaching of the Church concerning the Mother of God. Previously the Holy Fathers had accused those who had slandered the immaculate life of the Virgin Mary; and now concerning those who tried to lessen Her honor it was proclaimed to all: “He who does not confess Immanuel to be true God and therefore the Holy Virgin to be Theotokos, because She gave birth in the flesh to the Word Who is from God the Father and Who became flesh, let him be anathema (separated from the Church)” (First Anathema of St. Cyril of Alexandria).

(To be continued.)

 
The Petrovskaya Icon

 
The Ilyin Chernigov Icon

 
The Feodorovskaya Icon

 
The MILK-GIVER


STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION

(Act of August 12, 1970: Section 3685, Title 39, United States Code)

1. Title of publication The Orthodox Word

2. Date of filing October 11, 1976

3. Frequency of issue: Bimonthly

3A. Annual subscription price $5

4. Location of known office of publication: Beegum Gorge Road, Platina, California 96076

5. Location of the headquarters or general business offices of the publishers: Same as above

6. Names and addresses of publisher, editor, and managing editor

Publisher: The Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, Platina, Calif.

Editors: Father Herman and Father Seraphim, both of Platina, Calif.

Managing Editor: Father Seraphim, Platina, Calif.

7. Owner: The Saint Herman of Alaska Brotherhood, Platina, Calif. 96076 (Father Herman and Father Seraphim, Platina, Calif. 96076)

8. Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders: None

9, 10. For optional completion: Not applicable

11. Extent and nature of circulation

Avg. no. each issue last 12 mos. Actual no. last issue
A Total no. copies printed (Net Press Run) 2497 2563
B Paid circulation
1. Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors and counter sales
2. Mail subscriptions



180
1712



180
1744
C Total paid circulation
1892
1924
D Free distribution, samples, complimentary



143


124
E Total distribution (sum of C and D)


2035


2048
F Copies not distributed
1. Office use, left-over, spoiled after printing
2. Returns from news agents




462


0




515


0
G Total (sum of E and F)
2497
2563

I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete (Signature) Father Seraphin.

 

A BIMONTHLY PUBLICATION
BY LAY MEN AND WOMEN
Of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia

NIKODEMOS
"...unless a man be born again..."
Fifth year of publication.

In recent issues many valuable articles have appeared, presenting for the first time in English basic Orthodox materials so needful for the develop- ment of a sound and authentic Orthodoxy on American roots, including:

-A 10th-anniversary collection of theological sermons by Archbishop John Maximovitch of blessed memory.

-A series on the Orthodox philosophy of Ivan Kireyevsky, lay disciple of the Optina Elders (soon to appear separately.)

-The Life of Father Clement Sederholm, convert-monk of Optina.

-A Pilgrimage to the Orthodox holy places of Britain.

Please direct all correspondence to:
NIKODEMOS
P.O. Box 372
Etna, California