Thursday, August 28, 2014
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Sermon by Saint John of Kronstadt on the Dormition of the Mother of God
“Magnify O my soul, the honourable Translation of the Mother of God from earth to heaven.” (Refrain for the 9th Ode of the Canon)
Let us be happy, beloved brothers and sisters, that we belong to the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church, worthily and rightly glorifying the Most Holy Sovereign Theotokos on this eminent day out of all the days of the year with special solemnity. There exists on earth many societies and entire governments that do not consider the need nor the obligation to call upon and glorify the Queen of heaven and earth, the Mother of Our Divine Lord Jesus Christ, and other saints and angels; to submissively serve Her lovingly, as the true Mother of God.
Today the Holy Church solemnly glorifies the honorable Dormition or translation of the Mother of God from earth to heaven. A wonderful translation – she died without serious illness, peacefully. Her soul is taken up in the divine hands of Her Son and carried up into the heavenly abode, accompanied by the sweet singing of angels. And then, her most pure body is transferred by the apostles to Gethsemane where it is honorably buried, and on the third day it is resurrected and taken up to heaven. You see this on the icon of the Dormition of the Theotokos. On it is represented the life-bearing body of the Theotokos laying on a bier, surrounded by the apostles and hierarchs, and in the center of the icon the Lord holding in His hands the most pure soul of the Theotokos. The translation of the Mother of God is a paradigm of the translation in general of the souls of Christians to the other world.
We say that our dead have “fallen asleep” or “passed away.” What does this mean? This means that for the true Christian there is no death. Death was conquered by Christ on the cross. But there is a translation, i.e, a rearrangement of his condition, i.e. his soul is in another place, in another age, in another world beyond the grave, eternal, without end, that is what is meant by “falling asleep”. It is as if it were a temporary dream after which, by the voice of the Lord and the fearful yet wonderful trumpet of the Archangel, all the dead shall live and come forth each to his place: either to the resurrection of life or to the resurrection of condemnation (John 5:29). This is what the Christian means by translation. We should be ready for this translation, for the day of the general resurrection and judgment, for this indescribable world event, recorded in the Holy Scriptures.
This preparation for the meeting of the heavenly Creator before the dread judgment seat, after death, is essentially the person’s preparation throughout the whole of one’s life. This preparation means a change in all one’s thoughts, and the moral change of all one’s being, so that the whole person would be pure and white as snow, washing clean everything that defiles the body and spirit, so that one is adorned with every virtue: repentance, meekness, humility, gentleness, simplicity, chastity, mercifulness, abstention, spiritual contemplation, and burning love for God and neighbor.
Our preparation for meeting the heavenly Creator, and for the inheritance of eternal life in heaven, should consist of these things. The heavenly Sovereign desires souls adorned with immutable virtue, souls prepared so that the Very Lord Himself could abide in them. Do not marvel that the Very Lord wants to live in us. In fact the human soul is more spacious than the heavens and the earth, for it exists in the image of God. And if one removes sins from the soul, the Lord of all will settle in it and will fill it with Himself. “We will come and make our dwelling” (John 14:23), says the Lord about the souls who love Him.
And so, ye participants in the Christian feasts, and especially the present feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, ye who are brightly adorned with every virtue and translated to the heavenly kingdom, to Her Son and God, proclaim to each and every one about preparing their souls to be the dwelling place of the Lord, about continual repentance, and about the incorruptible adornment of Christian virtue. Let your death also be unashamed and peaceful, serving as the pledge of a good answer at the dread judgment seat of Christ. Amen
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Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Seven-Arrow “Semistrel’na” Icon of the Mother of God
Upon the “Seven-Arrow” (“Semistrel’na”) Icon of the Mother of God is depicted a piercing by seven arrows. For a long time the icon was situated at the bell-tower stairway entrance of a church in honour of the Apostle John the Theologian (near Vologda). Turned face downwards, they mistook the icon for an ordinary board along which they walked, until a cripple in the city of Kadnikova had a vision; that he would receive healing after a prayer before this icon. They served a molieben before the discovered icon, after which the sick one became well. The icon was especially glorified in 1830 during the time of a cholera epidemic at Vologda.
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Monday, August 25, 2014
1714 – 2014. Love and Hate: Not Much Has Changed
Originally posted on The Orthodox Monastery of All Celtic Saints:
In 1714, just before Easter, Constantin Brancoveanu – the Christian ruler of the Romanian Kingdom for 26 years – was taken to Istanbul and imprisoned. His four sons were imprisoned with him. In a typical gesture, the Muslim rulers of the Ottoman Empire gave them the well-known choice: convert to Islam or die. Because they refused to deny Christ, on August 15th (the Dormition Feast), they were all decapitated – first the Christian king’s councillor was beheaded, then all his sons (Matthew, the youngest of them, was 11 years old). The King, his wife and daughters, were forced to witness the public executions. Western diplomats were present; the official representatives of France, England and Russia (among others) felt they could not refuse the Muslim ruler’s invitation. In the end, after the killing of all his sons, the King himself was publicly executed – it was his 60th birthday. Their heads…
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Sunday, August 24, 2014
Christian Minorities in Iraq by NCC*
The National Council of Churches USA grieves for the plight of Christians and other religious minorities, including Yazidis, Turkmen, and Shabaks, in Iraq. In the early part of the last decade, there were some 1.5 million Christians living in that country. Today, it is estimated that less than 400,000 remain, with the numbers dwindling in the midst of ongoing unrest. The evolving disappearance of the Christian community from that ancient landscape, as well as the displacement of neighbors of other faiths and traditions, is a cause for great alarm.
The suffering of the Iraqi people is not limited to religious minorities. Already long-oppressed by the harsh rule of Saddam Hussein, and still impacted by sectarian conflict after the misguided US-led invasion and war there, all people of Iraq are now suffering horrific violence caused by extremist elements, especially the “Islamic State in Iraq and Syria” (ISIS). There is absolutely no justification for this kind of extremist violence, and the NCC denounces it in the strongest possible terms.
In doing so, we condemn the killing of James Foley, the courageous journalist who was recently beheaded by ISIS. His killing demonstrates the utter depravity of violence motivated by corrupted religious fervor. We pray the captors will not carry through with their threat to kill another journalist still held, Steven Sotloff.
As Pope Francis has recently stated, this unjust aggression must be stopped. While the NCC commends the US Administration’s desire to end this aggression, it is hesitant to endorse the military campaign underway that is intended to do so. As NCC president and general secretary, Jim Winkler, said, “There is no true military solution to resolving the crisis in Iraq. But as it is necessary to halt the assault of ISIS on the Iraqi people, and to help the displaced return to their ancestral villages, it would be better for the United Nations to undertake this task. The world community is horrified by this violence; the world community must share the burden of ending it.”
Even with the present need to end this particularly insidious extremist aggression, moving forward the continual reliance on military action as the default solution to conflict must be called into question, and alternative, more far-reaching solutions to the vicious cycle of violence must be found. As we reflected on the war in Iraq eight years ago, “we believe that freedom, along with genuine security, is based in God, and is served by the recognition of humanity’s interdependence, and by working with partners to bring about community, development, and reconciliation for all.”
Earlier this year, in a pastoral statement the NCC reiterated its longstanding commitment to peace in Iraq and all the Middle East. Citing the instability and conflict throughout the region – including in Israel and Palestine, Syria, and Egypt – and the precarious situation of the churches in this context, we noted, “There are very few places in which such violence is more visible than in…the region where our faith began and all of our respective churches are ultimately rooted…And it is there that the churches of the Middle East, the heirs of those first Christian communities, continue to live in fellowship and ministry. It is these same churches…that the US churches and the US and worldwide ecumenical community have accompanied, through prayer, humanitarian assistance, and advocacy, for decades, and indeed longer.”
This solidarity is aimed at fostering a climate that will allow for the flourishing of peace and justice, not only for our Christian brothers and sisters, but for all. We offer prayers of gratitude for the life and faith of James Foley and for all victims of the current violence. Let us all continue to work for justice as we look with hope toward a new day of peace.
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*Since its founding in 1950, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA has been the leading force for shared ecumenical witness among Christians in the United States. The NCC’s 37 member communions — from a wide spectrum of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Evangelical, historic African American and Living Peace churches — include 45 million persons in more than 100,000 local congregations in communities across the nation.
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Wednesday, August 20, 2014
The Judgment of God is Hidden
“Fire and water do not mix, neither can one mix judgment of others with the desire to repent. If a person commits a sin before you at the very moment of one’s death, pass no judgment, because the judgment of God is hidden from humans. It has happened that persons have sinned greatly in the open but have done greater deeds in secret, so that those who would disparage them have been fooled, with smoke instead of sunlight in their eyes.” — St. John Climacus
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Monday, August 18, 2014
Feast of the Transfiguration
On August 6/19 of each year Orthodox Christians celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. The significance of this Feast became ever more obvious in Orthodox history as the idea of salvation as theosis became the predominant understanding in the Church. The monastic hesychasts especially after the 14th Century placed a lot of emphasis on this Feast in their own spirituality.
Orthodox author Jim Forest writes:
“The icon of the Transfiguration is not only about something that once happened on top of Mount Tabor or even about the identity of Christ. It also concerns human destiny, our resurrection and eventual participation in the wholeness of Christ. We will be able to see each other as being made in the image and likeness of God. We too will be transfigured. Through Christ we become one with God. The Greek word is theosis; in English, deification. ‘God’s incarnation opens the way to man’s deification,’ explains Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia. ‘To be deified is, more specifically, to be “christified”: the divine likeness that we are called to attain is the likeness of Christ. We are intended, said Saint Peter, “to become sharers in the divine nature.’” ( Praying With Icons, pp 102-103)
For the Orthodox Church the Transfiguration of Christ is more than a distinct event. It is more than a celebration of a past happening. The transfiguration premeates the worship and spirituality of the Church. For example, it is indispensable for understanding the place and the importance of the prayer of Jesus in the spiritual life of Orthodox Christians. This prayer is: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me, a sinner.”
As Jesus was praying on the mountain, according to the evangelist Luke, “the appearance of his contenance was altered and his raiment became dazzling white” (9:28-29); so also the transfiguring effect of this prayer has been attested in the life of the saints. The experience of the divine light of the Transfiguration has been made possible through the Jesus prayer for others. Saint John of Kronstadt, who constantly used the Jesus Prayer, wrote that “as long as we are praying diligently we are at peace and there is light in our souls, because then we are with God.”
The mystics of the Orthodox tradition spoke of finding the “Taborite light” within themselves. This prayer, for which a particular posture and controlled breathing are suggested by spiritual teachers, has been inseparably bound with sacramental mysticism. Those participating experienced an intensified interest in the sacramental life, which excluded an individualistic, subjective piety. Thus the spirituality inspired by the Transfiguration is both personal and corporate. The worshipper is constantly reminded of the presence of Jesus with himself by repetition of his name, but his presence is fully realized only in the sacraments of the Church.
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Beyond Torture: A Documentary on Romania’s Pitesti Gulag
Our Lady Joy of All Who Sorrow Monastery:
Archimandrite Roman Braga was my spiritual father during undergraduate studies at Youngstown State University. While in his presence, I sensed the grace of a saint in my midst. Părinte Roman recently transitioned to eternal life. May his memory be eternal. Memorie Veșnică!
Originally posted on lessons from a monastery:
“Beyond Torture” – though difficult at times to watch – is a documentary that gives us an all-important glimpse into the sufferings of our Romanian brothers in the awful communist prison camp, the Pitesti gulag. Brace yourself, the content is graphic at times.
O Holy New-martyrs of Romania, pray to God for us!
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Friday, August 15, 2014
Blessed Saint Vasilii (Basil), Moscow Wonderworker
Blessed Saint Vasilii (Basil), Moscow Wonderworker, was born in December 1468 on the portico of the Elokhovsk church in honour of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God, outside Moscow. His parents were common folk and sent their son for training in the cobbler’s (shoemaker’s) craft. During the time of teaching his apprentice the master happened to be a witness to a certain remarkable occurrence, wherein he perceived, that his student was no ordinary man. A certain merchant had brought grain to Moscow on a barge and then went to order boots, specifying to make them such and so, since he would not pick them up for a year. Blessed Vasilii uttered weeping: “I would thee leave them such, since thou will not wear them out”. To the perplexed questioning of the master the apprentice explained, that the man making the order would not put on the boots, but rather would soon be dead. After several days the prediction came true.
At age 16 the saint arrived in Moscow and began the thorny exploit of foolishness. In the burning Summer hear and in the crisp harsh frost he walked about bare-legged and bare-foot through the streets of Moscow. His actions were strange: here he would upset a stand with kalachi, and there he would spill a jug with kvas. Angry merchants throttled the blessed saint, but he took the beatings with joy and he thanked God for them. But then it was discovered, that the kalachi were poorly cooked, the kvas was badly prepared. The reputation of Blessed Vasilii quickly grew: in him they perceived a fool, a man of God, a denouncer of wrong.
A certain merchant was intent to build on Pokrovna in Moscow a stone church, but thrice its arches collapsed. The merchant turned for advice to the blessed saint, and he pointed him toward Kiev: “Find there John the Cripple, he will give thee the advice, how to construct the church”. Having journeyed to Kiev, the Merchant sought out John, who sat a poor hut and rocked an empty cradle. “Whom dost thou rock?” – asked the merchant. “My beloved mother I do beweep, long indigent for my birth and upbringing”. Only then did the merchant remember his own mother, whom he had thrown out of the house, and it became clear to him, why he was in no wise able to build the church. Having returned to Moscow, he brought his mother home, begged her forgiveness and built the church.
Preaching mercy, the blessed saint helped first of all those, who were ashamed to ask for alms, but who all the while more were more in need of help than others. There was an instance, where he gave away a rich imperial present to a foreign merchant, who was left without anything at all and, although for three days already the man had eaten nothing, he was not able to turn for help, since he wore fine clothing.
Harshly did the blessed saint condemn those, who gave alms for selfish reasons, not from compassion for the poor and destitute, but hoping for an easy way to attract the blessings of God upon their affairs. One time the blessed saint saw a devil, which took on the guise of a beggar. He sat at the gates of the All-Pure Virgin’s church, and to everyone who gave alms, he rendered speedy help in their affairs. The blessed saint exposed the wicked trick and drove away the devil. For the salvation of one’s neighbours Blessed Vasilii visited also the taverns, where he endeavoured, even in people very much gone to ruin, to see a grain of goodness, and to strengthen and encourage them by kindness. Many observed, that when the saint passed by an house in which they madly made merry and drank, he with tears clasped the corners of that house. They enquired of the fool what this meant, and he answered: “Angels stand in sorrow at the house and are distressed about the sins of the people, but I with tears entreat them to pray to the Lord for the conversion of sinners”.
Purified by great deeds and by the prayer of his soul, the blessed saint was vouchsafed also the gift of foreseeing the future. In 1547 he predicted the great conflagration of Moscow; by prayer he extinguished a conflagration at Novgorod; one time he reproached tsar Ivan the Terrible, that during the time of Divine-services he was preoccupied with thoughts about the construction of a palace on the Vorob’ev hills.
Blessed Vasilii died on 2 August 1557. Saint Metropolitan of Moscow Makarii with an assemblage of clergy made the funeral of the saint. His body was buried at the Trinity church, in the trench where in 1554 was being annexed the Pokrov cathedral in memory of the conquest of Kazan. The glorification of Blessed Vasilii was by a Sobor-Council on 2 August 1588, which His Holiness Patriarch Job proclaimed.
In a description of the appearance of the saint characteristic details were preserved: “All bare, in the hand a staff”. The veneration of Blessed Vasilii was always so strong, that the Trinity temple and the attached Pokrov church are to the present named the temple of Blessed Vasilii [i.e. the famous Saint Basil's in Moscow]. The chains of the saint are preserved at the Moscow Spiritual Academy.
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Friday, August 8, 2014
St. Mark the Ascetic
“Whoever with fear of God corrects and directs a sinner gains virtue for himself, that of opposition to sin. But whoever insults a sinner with rancor and without good will falls, according to a spiritual law, into the same passion with the sinner.”
- St. Mark the Ascetic, Homilies, 2.183
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Thursday, August 7, 2014
Saint Theodora of Sihla
In the second half of the 17th century and at the beginning of the 18th century, at Sihla there lived, for about forty years, the Righteous Saint Theodora of Sihla (Romania). Born in the first half of the 17th century, in the Vanatori–Neamt village, as the daughter of Stefan Joldea, governor of the Neamt Fortress, Saint Theodora was from childhood a model of holiness. She visited the monasteries in the Neamt region and especially the “Saint Nicholas” Church in the Neamt Fortress.
Her parents, against her will, forced her to marry a young Orthodox Christian man from Ismail. Nevertheless, her wish to follow a monastic life was very strong, and with the agreement of her kind husband, she went to the Nifon Hermitage (Varzaresti) in the Vrancea region. About two years thereafter, she entered the venerable monastic life. A Turkish invasion subsequently destroyed the hermitage, forcing the nuns to scatter.
Together with Schemanun Paisia and two other nuns, Saint Theodora lived in the Vrancea Mountains for about ten years. After the death of Holy Paisia, she returned to her homeland. The abbot of Neamt Monastery guided her to the newly built Sihastria Hermitage (1655). There, she confessed to the abbot her wish to continue to live as a recluse without anybody knowing about her. The abbot of the Sihastria Hermitage entrusted her to Saint Paul the Hermit (Cuviosul Pavel Sihastrul), the confessor of the hermits hidden in the Sihla forests, who took her to the secret place where Sihla Hermitage lies today. She lived there for about forty years, at first in the sanctum beneath the rock and then in the cave that today bears her name.
Saint Righteous Theodora of Sihla had reached the greatness of Saint Mary of Egypt, having the gift of clairvoyance and working miracles, being the greatest saint of Romanian monasticism.
Her end was miraculously announced to Abbot Varsanufie from Sihastria Hermitage, who sent confessor Hieroschemamonk Antonie and Hierodeacon Lavrentie to offer her the Eucharist. In the presence of all the monks from Sihastria Monastery who had come to see her, Saint Theodora confessed and then, after receiving the Sacraments, passed away peacefully, being buried in the cave. In the second half of the 19th century, Righteous Theodora of Sihla’s relics were taken to Pecherska Lavra in Kiev, where they remain to this day.
After Saint Theodora’s departure to Nifon Hermitage, her husband went to Poiana Marului Monastery (Buzau county) himself, becoming Righteous Elefterie. On learning of the death of Theodora, about whom he had heard nothing for decades, he also came to Sihla, where he lived for ten more years in the sanctum beneath the rock where Saint Theodora had first settled. At his death, he was buried in the clearing of the hermitage.
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Monday, August 4, 2014
St. Mary Magdalena
According to the Julian Calendar, the Orthodox Church honors today the holy memory of Saint Mary Magdalena – the woman called by the Lord Himself from darkness to light. Formerly immersed in sin and having received healing, she sincerely and irrevocably began a new life and never wavered from the path. Mary loved the Lord Who called her to a new life. She was faithful to Him not only then – when He having expelled from her the seven demons and surrounded by enthusiastic crowds passed through the cities and villages of Palestine, winning for Himself the glory of a miracle-worker – but also then when all the disciples in fear deserted Him and He, humiliated and crucified, hung in torment upon the Cross. This is why the Lord, knowing her faithfulness, appeared to her first, and esteemed her worthy to be first proclaiming His Resurrection. The Church honors her with the title “Equal to the Apostles”.
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St. Theophan the Recluse on Prayer
Bishop Theophan the Recluse* used to say that praying only with words written by another is like “trying to speak a foreign language using only scripted phrases”. Like many other Church teachers, he said that we must “find our own words in order to pray”. Such prayer most often occurs in moments of desperate need or extreme anguish, either for ourselves or for others. In such moments we do not “recite” prayers, we simply cry out to God with childlike trust and love: “Lord, please help and comfort!” Saint Makarios said, “Love gives birth to prayer.” Therein lies the mystery and the meaning of prayer.
We can recite endless litanies, we can endlessly finger our prayer ropes, we can do countless prostrations; but unless we have love and have learned to co-suffer with others, we have not even begun to pray. Abba Antony said, “Let’s learn to love sorrow in order to find God!” Please note that he did not say, “Let’s look for sorrow,” but “Let’s love sorrow,” because sorrow is a cup offered us by Christ, and drinking it, we begin to partake of prayer. Unless we truly empathize with the suffering of others, we are merely fulfilling an obligation, not really praying. To observe a rule of prayer is good and necessary for the spiritual life, but it is just a means, not an end in itself.
Imagine a person fishing from the shore. Everything is fine and peaceful: the brightly colored float bobs on the water’s surface. The person does not realise that there is no baited hook attached to the line. The float is just a pretense, so actually there is no fishing taking place. Far too often a person’s prayer rule is such a baitless float, for it is only the hook of co-suffering love for our neighbor that can catch authentic prayer.
*St. Theophan the Recluse (Russian: Феофан Затворник) was born 10 January 1815 and died 6 January 1894. He is a beloved saint in the Russian Orthodox Church.
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Uncovering of the relics (1649) of St. Anna of Kashin (1337)
Commemorated on July 21/August 3, June 12/25, October 2/15*
Holy Nobleborn Princess Anna of Kashinsk died on 2/15 October 1338. Her holy relics were uncovered on 21 July/3 August 1649. The solemn transfer of her relics from the wooden Uspenie-Dormition cathedral into the stone Resurrection church occurred on 12/25 June 1650. To the day of 12/25 June was appointed also the restoration of churchly veneration of Saint Anna.
The Holy Nobleborn Princess Anna of Kashinsk, a daughter of the Rostov prince Dimitrii Borisovich, in 1294 became the wife of the holy Greatprince Michael Yaroslavich of Tver, who was murdered by the Mongol-Tatars of the Horde in 1318 (commemorated 22 November/5 December). After the tormented death of her husband, Anna withdrew into the Tversk Sophia monastery and accepted tonsure with the name Evphrosynia. Later, she transferred to the Kashin Uspenie-Dormition monastery, and became a schema-monastic with the name Anna. On 2/15 October 1368 she expired peacefully to the Lord.
The sons of Saint Anna continued in the confessor’s deed of their father: Dimitrii Mikhailovich known as “Dread Eyes” (Очи Грозые) was murdered at the Horde on 15/28 September 1325; and later, Aleksandr Mikhailovich, Prince of Tver, was murdered together with his son Theodore (Feodor) on 29 October/11 November 1339.
Miracles at the grave of Saint Anna began in 1611, during the time of the siege of Kashin by Lithuanian forces. The saint appeared to Gerasim, the church-warden of the Uspensk cathedral, and said, that she would implore the Saviour and the Most Holy Mother of God for the deliverance of the city from the foreigners.
At the Sobor (Council) of 1649 it was decided to uncover her relics for general veneration and to enumerate the holy Princess Anna to the ranks of the Saints. But in 1677 Patriarch Joakim raised the question to the Moscow Sobor whether her veneration should be discontinued in connection with the problem of the Old-Ritualist Schism, which made use of the name of Anna of Kashinsk for its own purposes. In 1909, on 12/25 June, there occurred her second glorification and the universally observed feastday established.
* Dates are shown as: Julian (Orthodox) Calendar/Civil Calendar
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Sunday, August 3, 2014
The Sins of Others
“A brother asked an elder: ‘If I see my brother fall into sin, is it good to hide his sin?’ The Elder answered: ‘When, out of love, we hide the sin of our brother, then God also hides our sins; but when we reveal our brother’s sin before others, then God also makes our sins known to people.’” – from the Ancient Patericon*, 9.9
*A collection of short stories about strugglers for piety.
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Friday, August 1, 2014
Schema-Nun Sepphora
Schema-nun Sepphora, in the world Daria Nicholaevna Shnyakina, was a Russian Orthodox ascetic and eldress. She was born in 1896 and desired from her early years to dedicate herself to God in monasticism, but due to her father’s early death she was compelled by her mother to marry in order to help support the family. Daria did not wish to disobey her mother. She went through many trials during the much-suffering twentieth century — раскулачиваніе (confiscation of all property by the soviet authorities), famine, war, and persecution against the faithful. In 1967 she received the monastic tonsure in the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, but she continued to live in the world. Her move to Klykovo was foretold to her in 1993, when the monastery was just being built, and no one knew about its existence. Schema-nun Sepphora reposed in the Lord at age 102 in Klykovo Monastery. Many people found a in her a spiritual mother, consoler, and witness to faith in Christ.
Excerpt from Julia Posashko’s interview with Igumen Mikhail (Semenov):
Igumen Mikhail: …We had to restore the church having no money whatsoever for it—not a cent. So we went to ask the prayers of Schema-nun Sepphora.
How does one take a blessing from a woman?
Igumen Mikhail: Schema-nun Sepphora was waiting for us. It just so happens that in 1993, when Matushka (Mother) Sepphora prayed to the Mother of God to show her where she would end her days, the Heavenly Queen appeared to her and said, “Wait—the priests will come from Klykovo Monastery to take you there.” She waited for two years. At first there simply was nowhere to take her. We ourselves were living in very bad conditions here; we were building, and when we met her in 1995 it was half completed. Matushka Sepphora started hurrying us. “Build it faster, I am going to live with you.” We did what we could to finish the building and just before the Feast of the Nativity of 1996 we brought her here.
How did you meet Schema-nun Sepphora?
Igumen Mikhail: We met her in Optina. I had been there a month when one day I heard that an eldress had arrived, and everyone had a high opinion of her. They said that she was spiritual, clairvoyant, and a great woman of prayer… Naturally everyone was trying to see her; many of us had only begun the religious life, and we all had a great many questions. Well, I also went to see her. I was told, “Forget it! There are abbots waiting in line to see her. You won’t get in!” On the first night I did not get in, and I resigned myself to the probability that I would not see her. However, the next day I was leaving the Church of the Entrance of the Mother of God, and a laborer said to me, “Look, they are taking Matushka. Let’s go and get her blessing!” I thought, how does one get a blessing from a woman, and what is going on? But then I saw her blessing each person carefully with three fingers. I went up to her; she made the sign of the cross over me and asked, “Who are you?” I said, Sergei. She said with surprise, “And what are you doing here?” I said, “I am laboring in the steward’s department, helping the fathers.” She was silent, and then said, “But you and I are going to live together.” Her cell attendant whispered to me, “Listen to what Matushka says to you, she is an eldress!” We stood for a bit, were silent, and then Matushka patted me on the shoulder. “Well, run on, run on for now!” I, of course, walked away perplexed. Where are she and I supposed to live together? Then I just put it out of my head. I remembered that conversation only when we were bringing Matushka here to Klykovo. She lived in our monastery until her death. We do not do anything to “advertise” Schema-nun Sepphora. It all happens by itself. People know her, and she really does help people. Some people told me, for example, that she stood during an operation next to one woman… The Hermitage of the Savior “Made Without Hands” in the village of Klykovo.
But isn’t there a certain spiritual danger in people always coming to the monastery, to her relics, to pray by the grave of the eldress not because they are seeking God, but only to solve their problems of everyday life?
Igumen Mikhail: Yes, often people have a poor understanding of God, but when they come up against an obvious miracle from a specific saint it strengthens their faith. After that, God looks for action from a person. But in order to light the flame, a miracle is often needed. It is a little push, and the person begins a spiritual path. A person may not receive the same “advance pay” the second or third time—one can’t deceive God.
Did you have such a launching point?
Igumen Mikhail: I did not seek out miracles, and it was not my goal to pray one out. I simply lived my life with the thought that I wanted the Lord to do what was necessary in me. My sole desire was to learn from people of holy life. The Lord aided me in this—I knew many elders.
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