DOCSLIB.ORG

From the Fathers

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
From the Fathers FROM THE FATHERS “DO NOT be negligent about your salvation, making excus- es with pretexts for sins to justify yourself. For Joseph served in Egypt, assuming not only the care of one household, but for the whole of Egypt, and yet he did not flee from the true path, and the Lord glorified him.” Ven. Ephraim the Syrian, + c. 379 A.D. “THE DEMONS, as Saint Hilarion has said, are immaterial and sleepless, concerned only to fight against us and to destroy our souls through word, act and thought. We lack a similar per- sistence, and concern ourselves now with our comfort and with ephemeral opinion, now with worldly matters, now with a thou- sand and one other things. We are not in the least interested in examining our life, so that our intellect may develop the habit of so doing and may give attention to itself unremittingly.” Ven. Peter of Damascus, eleventh century. “THE WORK of our salvation depends on our volition, on God’s help, and on cooperation. But the latter will not follow if the first does not precede it.” Ven. Ambrose of Optina, + 1891 A.D. 1 Homily on the Ascension of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ Saint Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessalonica + 1360 A.D. THE JEWS celebrated the Passover according to the Law, their exodus from Egypt into the land of Palestine; and we cel- ebrate the Gospel Pascha, our crossing over in the being of Christ from death unto life, from corruption to incorruption. What word can describe the distinction between our festival and the ancient one or can portray the basis of our present celebration? Human words cannot worthily explain its provenance. The hypostatic Wisdom of the Most High God, the Pre-eternal Word of God above all Being, Who in love for man was united with us and lived with us, now by His deeds shows us the basis of the celebration and the measureless greatness of its origin. For we now celebrate not the crossing over of our nature from the subterranean world to earth, but rather from the earth to the heaven of heavens and even fur- ther - to the Throne of the One, Who reigns over all things. Now the Lord not only stands after the resurrection in the midst of His disciples, but He has departed from them and we see that He was taken up to heaven. He ascended and entered into the Holy of Holies, and is seated on the right hand of the Father, higher than all principalities and powers, above every name and eminence that is known and named in this present world or in that which is to come (see Eph. 1:21). Just as there were several resurrections before the resur- rection of the Lord, so there were several ascensions before His ascension: a spirit took Jeremias the Prophet and an Angel, Abba- 2 cum; and from among the others pre-eminently Elias is described as being taken into heaven in a fiery chariot. But the ascension of each one of them was, as it were, a kind of displacement, by which, although they were taken up from the earth, they did not entirely leave its regions. With Christ, however, as soon as He had risen from the dead, death had no more authority, and so when He as- cended and was seated in the heights, every exalted thing proved to be beneath Him, everything bearing witness that He as God is above all. This is, according to Esaias (2:2), the mountain of the Lord’s house, the Lord’s body, being established in the top of all the rational mountains. For neither an angel, nor a man, but the Lord Himself came in the flesh and saved us, being made for our sake like unto us, and without change remaining God. Just as He came down without being changed, while condescending to us, so He returned back, not ascending in his Divinity, but raising up our nature, which He had assumed; for, in truth, it was necessary to offer unto God the first-born from the dead of our nature, as a first-fruit of the whole race. For this reason, although several have resurrected and as- cended, we do not celebrate even one of them as we do the resur- rected and ascended Lord, because we do not participate and will not participate in those others. From those we will not receive any- thing more, as we do with the leadership in faith in the resurrec- tion and ascension of our Saviour, in Whom we participate, and in Whom all will participate inasmuch as His is the resurrection and ascension of human nature, and not simply of human nature, but of all who believe in Christ and by their deeds manifest that faith. For such as the Lord was made [i.e. man], He was made for us, being in His own Divinity uncreated. The life that He lived, He lived for us, showing us the path which leads to true life. What He suf- fered in the flesh, He suffered for us, healing our passions, and for our sins He was condemned to death; for us He rose and ascended, granting us resurrection and ascension unto the endless ages. 3 So then all those who are inheritors of that life, as far as they are able, emulate the way of His earthly stewardship. Holy Baptism serves us as the starting point of this emulation, being the image of the death and resurrection of the Lord; the middle is a virtuous life and undertakings in accord with the Gospel; and the end is victory over the passions with the aid of spiritual struggles, which yields life without pain, not subject to death, one that is heavenly, as the Apostle tells us: If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live (Rom. 8:13). Thus, those who live in Christ emulate His life in the flesh. Of course each of us dies in time, just as He also died in the flesh, but then they arise, as He did, glorified and incorrupt, if not now, then when the time comes, and at the end they are taken up, just as Paul speaks of this: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:17). Do you see that in this way each one of us, if he so desire, could be a participant in the resurrection of the Lord and the as- cension, an heir to God and co-heir with Christ? Wherefore we rejoice, celebrating the resurrection of our flesh [in Christ], its being taken up and its being established, as the beginning of the resur- rection and ascension of each one of the faithful, and presenting ev- idence of this we now have the Gospel words read concerning how the Lord after His resurrection stood in the midst of His disciples. And why did He stand in their midst, and accompany them on the way, as it is reported: He led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them (Luke 24:50)? In order to demonstrate that He Himself was completely whole and uninjured. His feet were healthy and sound and able to set off, even though they bore the marks of the nails, so as to show, for the verification of the saving sufferings, evidence of the wounds received by His being nailed to the Cross and pierced with the lance in His side. 4 Besides this, the words, stood in the midst of the disciples, manifest their confirmation in faith through the Lord’s being in their midst and His blessing them, for He not only stood in their midst, but He was found to be also in the heart of each one and therein strengthened their faith, so that each one of them could declare like the Psalmist: God is in the midst of him, he shall not be shaken (Ps. 45:5). From that time the Lord’s Apostles were made firm and unwavering. So it was that the Lord stood in the midst of the Apostles and said to them: Peace be unto you; this was for Him a loving, customary and characteristic greeting. Peace has a double signifi- cance: that, which we have in relationship with God and which mainly engenders piety, and that which we have in relation to each other, and which derives from the Gospel calling. Both the one and the other peace the Lord grants solely by His word. And just as He had enjoined them to work, when for the first time He had sent them forth, saying: Into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house (Luke 10:5), - He does the very same, when He appears in the house where they were gath- ered together. He immediately granted them peace. When He saw that they were fearful and disturbed by His unexpected and won- drous appearance (for they supposed, it says, that they had seen a spirit [Luke 24:37], that is they thought that what they saw was just a manifestation) then He, again revealing the thoughts of their hearts, and showing them that He is the One to Whom before His passion and resurrection they had said, Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee (John 16:30), He proposed that they be convinced by touching and feeling Him.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 'Cast Thy Burden Upon the Lord, and He Shall Sustain Thee': Consolatory Letter Practices at the Muscovy Tsar's Court in Th
    ‘Cast Thy Burden upon the Lord, and He Shall Sustain Thee’: Consolatory Letter Practices at the Muscovy Tsar ’s Court in the Second Half of the Seventeenth Century Anastasia A. Preobrazhenskaya National Research University Higher School of Economics Moscow, Russia Abstract: Consolation in Orthodox Christianity, tightly bound with the idea of death, was traditionally included within the scope of religious and church practices, and constituted a distinct consolatory discourse. Preachers and parish priests consoled relatives of deceased persons with their sermons, quoting verses from the New Testament (e.g. Matthew 9.24, Phil 1.23, Jn 11.25, etc.), and by engaging laity in oral consolation discourses in private conversations. Ecclesiastic authorities created consolatory epistles1 that functioned as a written substitute for spoken dialogue and were addressed to tzars and princes, sometimes to fellow clergymen, and in later periods — to laity. However, consolatory discourse was not solely a verbal practice, though the verbal aspect constituted a large part of it. In general, consolation encompassed icons (icons depicting the Virgin Mary, mainly of the Eleusa type, Ἐλεούσα), accompanying liturgical texts (kondaks, acathistoses, troparions), and corresponding parts of the Old and New Testaments, read during liturgies and included in sermons and literature. In the canons and decrees of the Sixth Ecumenical 1 Ceræ: An Australasian Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, 3 (2016) Council it was stated that, ‘Depiction is inseparable from the Gospel, and vice versa the Gospel is iconic […] What is communicated by a word through hearing, iconography shows silently, through depiction.’2 The verbal part of the discourse being the most powerful and the most commonly used was built upon three principal biblical figures and associated motifs: God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Virgin Mary.
    [Show full text]
  • Saint Herman Press Catalog
    Saint Herman Press Catalog Spiritual Counsels, Lives of Saints, and Theology in the Orthodox Christian Tradition Contents St. Herman Press ............................................................3 St. Herman Press New Releases ..................................................................4 The Writings of Fr. Seraphim Rose ...................8 or almost fifty years, the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood has Orthodox Theology .................................................14 Fbeen publishing Orthodox Christian literature. In 1965, with the In the Steps of St. Herman .................................... 16 blessing of St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco, the brotherhood Lives of Saints and Righteous Ones .............. 19 began its mission to bring the truths of Orthodoxy Christianity to the Optina Elder Series ................................................. 24 English-speaking world. Its beginnings were simple: only a storefront and The Sunrise of the East ..........................................26 a small, hand-operated printing press. Dedicated to the humble Russian Spiritual Counsels ....................................................27 Little Russian Philokalia Series .....................32 monk Herman—who, in 1794, was one of the first to bring the Orthodox Elder Paisios of Mount Athos ............................33 Gospel of Christ to North America—the St. Herman Brotherhood seeks For Young People .........................................................35 to combine the monastic life with the spread of spiritual
    [Show full text]
  • The Canon for the Departure of the Soul
    THE DEPARTURE OF THE SOUL According to the Teaching of the Orthodox Church A Patristic anthology Master Reference Edition St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery 2016 Contents Acknowledgments.....................................................................................8 Hierarchal Endorsements..........................................................................12 Foreword “On the Departure of the Soul” by Metropolitan Nikolaos of Mesogaia..........................................18 Introduction “The Trial of the Soul at the Hour of Death”.....................................24 Prologue “Many Dogs Have Surrounded Me” by Elder Ephraim of Arizona.........................................................42 Prolegomena “The Bearers of Our Sacred Tradition” by Kathigoumenos Archimandrite Paisios .....................................50 Chapter One Holy Scripture ...................................................................................54 Chapter Two The Liturgical Services .......................................................................92 Chapter Three The Writings of the Saints ...............................................................124 Holy Synods, Hierarchs, Elders, Clergy, and Theologians ............................................239 Chapter Four The Lives of the Saints .....................................................................310 Elders, Clergy, and Monastics................................................443 Revelations Bestowed upon Laity...........................................448 Chapter
    [Show full text]
  • The Revival of Political Hesychasm in Greek Orthodox Thought: a Study of the Hesychast Basis of the Thought of John S
    ABSTRACT The Revival of Political Hesychasm in Greek Orthodox Thought: A Study of the Hesychast Basis of the Thought of John S. Romanides and Christos Yannaras Daniel Paul Payne, B.A., M.Div. Mentor: Derek H. Davis, Ph.D. In the 1940s Russian émigré theologians rediscovered the ascetic-theology of St. Gregory Palamas. Palamas’s theology became the basis for an articulation of an Orthodox theological identity apart from Roman Catholic and Protestant influences. In particular the “Neo-Patristic Synthesis” of Fr. Georges Florovsky and the appropriation of Palamas’s theology by Vladimir Lossky set the course for future Orthodox theology in the twentieth century. Their thought had a direct influence upon the thought of Greek theologians John S. Romanides and Christos Yannaras in the late twentieth century. Each of these theologians formulated a political theology using the ascetic-theology of Palamas combined with the Roman identity of the Greek Orthodox people. Both of these thinkers called for a return to the ecclesial-communal life of the late Byzantine period as an alternative to the secular vision of the modern West. The resulting paradigm developed by their thought has led to the formation of what has been called the “Neo- Orthodox Movement.” Essentially, what the intellectual and populist thinkers of the movement have expressed in their writings is “political hesychasm.” Romanides and Yannaras desire to establish an Orthodox identity that separates the Roman aspect from the Hellenic element of Greek identity. The Roman identity of the Greek people is the Orthodox Christian element removed from the pagan Hellenism, which, as they argue, the Western powers imposed on the Greek people in the establishment of the modern nation-state of Greece in 1821.
    [Show full text]
  • The Golden Chain
    THE GOLDEN CHAIN The Lives of Archbishop Theophan of Poltava, Archbishop John of San Francisco, Archbishop Joasaph of Canada, Archbishop Andrew of Rockland and Metropolitan Philaret of New York Vladimir Moss © Copyright: Vladimir Moss, 2010 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................3 I. ARCHBISHOP THEOPHAN OF POLTAVA..................................................4 Early Years.............................................................................................................4 At the Theological Academy ..................................................................................6 Rasputin...............................................................................................................10 Bishop of Yamburg...............................................................................................12 Bishop of Astrakhan.............................................................................................20 Archbishop of Poltava ..........................................................................................23 The Revolution.....................................................................................................28 Exile in Serbia......................................................................................................31 In Bulgaria...........................................................................................................35 Dogmatic Disputes ..............................................................................................42
    [Show full text]
  • St. Gregory Palamas)
    2nd Sunday of Great Lent (Commemoration of St. Gregory Palamas) March 23, 2008 Saintly Notes St. Gregory Palamas (March 23) aint Gregory Palamas (Γρηγόριος Παλαμάς) (1296 - 1359) was a monk of Mount Athos in Greece and later Sthe Archbishop of Thessalonica known as a preeminent theologian of Hesychasm. He is venerated as a Saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Roman Catholic Churche. Some of his writings are collected in the Philokalia. He is commemorated on the second Sunday of Great Lent and on his feast day (November 14th). Gregory's father was an eminent official at the court of Emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus. The gifted Gregory, completing his secular studies, did not want to enter the service of the imperial court, but withdrew to the Holy Mountain and was tonsured a monk. He lived a life of asceticism in the Monastery of Vatopedi and the Great Lavra. He led the struggle against the heretic Barlaam and finally defeated him. He was consecrated as Metropolitan of Thessalonica in the year 1347. He is glorified as an ascetic, a theologian, a hierarch and a miracle-worker. The Most-holy Theotokos, St. John the Theologian, St. Demetrius, St. Anthony the Great, St. John Chrysostom and angels of God appeared to him at different times. He governed the Church in Thessalonica for thirteen years, of which he spent one year in slavery under the Saracens in Asia. He entered peacefully into rest in the year 1360, and took up his habitation in the Kingdom of Christ. His relics repose in Thessalonica, where a beautiful church is dedicated to him.
    [Show full text]
  • Holy Dormition Sisterhood Will Continue the Printing Activities Initiated by the Orthodox Monastery of the Archangel Michael the Lives of Saints Series
    Table of Contents Section 1 The Lives of Saints Series......................................................... 3 This series of Lives contains a cross section of saints: ancient and modern; apostles; ascetics; martyrs; confessors; royalty; married saints; those who were holy from birth, and sinners who repented; saints from all parts of the world - Greece, Russia, Serbia, Bulgaria, America, Georgia, Romania, Egypt etc. The diversity of the Church’s saints attest to the fact that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, and that the Lord makes no distinction: old or young, rich or poor, male or female, simple or educated. Our Merciful God looks at the soul and disposition of all. The Lives in our series are generously illustrated with icons, clip art and photographs. Where possible, selections of the divine services to the saints have been included. The saints of our Church serve as an inspiration, example, and strength for all Christians. Volumes are 44-80 pages each. Section 2 Other Publications on Various Topics .................................... 31 Topics range from: ecumenism; contemporary issues such as abortion, homosexuality, the Internet and UFOs; instructions for leading a Christian life; spiritual struggle; visions; miracles; death; lives and writings of modern day fathers and many more. Section 3 Bookmarks& Greeting Cards .................................................42 Section 4 Ordering Information & Price List .........................................49 With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Holy Dormition Sisterhood will continue the printing activities initiated by the Orthodox Monastery of the Archangel Michael The Lives of saints Series He that has not yet read the lives of the saints has not read much of value.
    [Show full text]
  • The ICON of the 100 YEAR HISTORY of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
    The ICON of the 100 YEAR HISTORY of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad Description of the Icon and the Vignettes Around It In the Center of the Icon On November 1, 1964 the ROCOR glorified John of Kronstadt, on September 24, 1978 Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg. On October 19 (November 1), 1981 the Church Abroad glorified the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia and the last Tsar of Russia Nicholas II and also the Martyrs of China The Individual Saints depicted around the Theotokos and the Cross Under the Cross against a red background are the words from the Synodicon of the Seventh Ecumenical Council (proclaimed every Orthodox Sunday): “This is the Apostolic Faith – This is the Patristic Faith – This is the Orthodox Faith – This is the Faith at the Foundation of the Universe.” 1. Holy Hierarch Jonah of Hankou Manchuria 2. Holy Hierarch Innocent of Irkutsk 3. Holy Hierarch Ignatiy Brianchaninov 4. Holy Hierarch Philaret of Moscow 5. Holy Hierarch Theophan the Recluse 6. Holy Hierarch Nicholas of Japan 7. Martyr Peter the Aleut 8. Ven. Thephilus of Kiev 9. Ven. Herman of Alaska 10. Righteous Fr. John of Kronstadt 11. Hieromartyr Juvenaly 12. Ven Ambrose of Optina 13. Ven, Paisy Velichkovsky 14. Hieromartyr Maxim of Sandovich 15. Hieromartyr Joseph of Petrograd 16. Righteous Theoore the Confessor Presbyter of Petrograd (Andreev) 17. Hieromartyr Dimitry of Gdovsk 18. Righteous Peter Krutitsky 19. Patr. Tikhon of Moscow 20. Ven Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna 21. Bl. Xenia of St. Petersburg First Hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and Others 22. Metr.
    [Show full text]
  • Icon of the Synaxis of the Holy Healers and Wondeworkers
    ICON OF THE SYNAXIS OF THE HOLY HEALERS AND WONDEWORKERS St John The Baptist Orthodox Church 1 1240 Broadbridge Ave, Stratford, CT 06615 www.sjoc.org ICON OF THE SYNAXIS OF THE HOLY HEALERS AND WONDEWORKERS Icon Key Row 1 1- St Cosmas & 2-St. Damian (of Asia Minor ) , 3. St Nectarios, 4.St Panteleimon 5- St Heromelaus Row 2 6. St. Hermione, 7. St. Paraskeva, 8- St Anastasia Deliverer from Poison 9. Sampson, 10. St Cosmas & 11- St. Damian ( of Rome ) Row 3 12. St. Athanasia of Aegina, 13 – St. John & 14 - St Cyrus , 15. Tryphon, 16. - St.Photios Row 4 (The brother physicians of Arabia) 17 - St. Anthimos, 18 – St. Eutropius,19 – St. Cosmas, 20- St. Damian, 21 – St. Leontius Row 5 22 – St. Seraphim of Sarov, 23 – St. Diomedes, 24 – St .Makios, 25. St. Tallaleos, 26. St. Ambrose of Optina Donated in Loving Memory of Michael Lomme – November 2016 2 ICON OF THE SYNAXIS OF THE HOLY HEALERS AND WONDEWORKERS Lives Of The Saints Depicted On The Icon 1. St Cosmas & 2. St Damian of Asia Minor (November 1/14) The Holy Wonderworkers and Unmercenary Physicians Cosmas and Damian and their mother Saint Theodota were natives of Asia Minor (some sources say Mesopotamia). Their pagan father died while they were still quite small children. Their mother raised them in Christian piety. Through her own example, and by reading holy books to them, Saint Theodota preserved her children in purity of life according to the command of the Lord, and Cosmas and Damian grew up into righteous and virtuous men.
    [Show full text]
  • The Case of Nineteenth-Century Russian Spiritual Elders
    DOI: 10.11649/a.1417 Article No.: 1417 Szymon Grygiel is a student reading history at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow. e-mail: [email protected] nr 9/2017 r. Szymon Grygiel The body and sanctity: The case of nineteenth-century Russian spiritual elders nspiration for the present study comes from a fragment of Dostoevskii’s Brothers Karamazov set in a nineteenth-century Russian monastery, where the monks and visitors assemble Iat the coffin of the venerable Starets Zosima (a spiritual elder who has just passed away) in eager expectation of a miracle about to happen. However, much to their disappointment, a smell of decomposition begins to come from the coffin and is taken by those present as God’s sign that the deceased is not a saint. Father Iosif’s argument to the contrary, that “the incorruptibility of the bodies of the just [is] not a dogma of the Orthodox Church” (Dostoevskii, 2009, p. 422), is not well-received among those assembled in the old man’s cell, and they begin to attribute negative features to the dead monk. It is astonishing that a somewhat similar situation should occur before the canonisation of Starets Seraphim of Sarov in 1903, only just over two decades after the publication of The Broth- ers Karamazov (1879–1880). The fact is confirmed by a statement from Metropolitan Antonii of St Petersburg on his remains, issued in view of the scandalous controversy whether the deci- sion to officially recognise his sainthood was right, considering the state of preservation of his relics seventy years after his death.
    [Show full text]
  • St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church
    . St John the Baptist Orthodox Church WeInterc pray for alle oursory fellow Prayers parishioners, and Birhday Greetings ORTHODOXORTHODOX CHURCH CINHURCH AMERICA IN A MERICA A PARISH OF THE DIOCESE OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY we pray especially for those who are incapable Happy birthday to Daniel Kary, who celebrates his 170 Lexington Avenue, Passaic, New Jersey, 07055 of being with us in church. Please keep in you birthday tomorrow; Elena Kibitelsky, this www.stjohnspassaic.org prayers our Brothers and Sisters in Christ: Wednesday; Anna Rozanovich, Michael Shaker, REV. FR. IGOR KSENIUK, Rector 973-473-1928 (Phone/Fax) Genevieve Bobenko, Mary Fechisin, and Ed Junda - this Saturday. May God grant all of 646-387-5494 (cell) Andrew Fabian, Edward Fedush, Mary you good health and happiness for Many Years! [email protected] Hadginske, Helen Kurnewitz, Margaret Lawler, Mnohaja Lita! Kathleen Lazorczyk, Marian Nagel, MaryAnn Rabakozi, Helen Rahnefeld, Anna Rozanovich, Nadia Sojka, Maryann Stagen, Eva Stashitsky, Ann Velebir. The Monk Dostoyevsky Most Admired Annoncements On October 10 we remember Saint Ambrose of Optina, In spite of this, however, he became the ✦ Next weekend, Saturday, October 15 & Sunday, who lived from 1812 to 1891. The Russian novelist Fyodor Elder of the monastery when the revered October 16, 2016, His Eminence Archbishop Michael Dostoevsky said that Saint Ambrose was the model for the Father Macarius died in 1860 without naming will be visiting our parish with Archpastoral visitation. character of Father Zossima in his novel "The Brothers a successor. By this time, Ambrose had Great Vespers on Saturday and Hierarchical Divine Karamazov." become well-known throughout Russia as a Liturgy on Sunday will be served at their usual times - spiritual guide, and so many people came to October 9, 2016 The Optina Monastery was frequented by pilgrims and seekers 6:00pm and 9:00am respectively.
    [Show full text]
  • Mother Russia by Luba George
    Click here for Full Issue of EIR Volume 15, Number 14, April 1, 1988 Mother Russia by Luba George Optina Pustyn monastery reopened a family that exerteda powerful influ­ It's part of the same preparations for 1988 millennium ence over czarist policy and the (KGB predecessor) Okhrana-promoted the celebrations, as the canonization of Dostoevsky's mentor. idea of "founding a new religion . Christianity purged of dogmas." He rejected theTrinity, the Resurrection, Last Dec. 21 the newspaper Mos­ Union. These sources stress what and immortality of the soul. Tolstoy'S cow News announced that the Russian EIR's historical research has other­ disciple, Maxim Gorky, shared Tol­ Orthodox monastery at Optina Pustyn wise demonstrated, that the elders of stoy's gnostic world view. After the will be reopened. The famous mon­ Optina Pustyn were the shadowy gu­ Bolshevik revolution, he defined astery, founded in the 14th century on rus of 19th-century Moscow. They communism as a transitional path to theMount Athos monastic model, and exerted almost singlehanded control establishing the "New Jerusalem . located near Kaluga, northwest of over Russia's literary-cultural life, up the one truepath to a Universal Fusion Moscow, played a central role in to 1917 directly, and beyond 1917 in­ (sliyanyie) for the sake of the great spawning anti-Western Russian liter­ directly. cause, the cause of universal god­ ature in the 19th century. It was the The most important was Starets building (bogostroitelstvo)." flagship of the monastic revival in Amvrosi (1812-91). Pilgrims came Another Optina Pustyn guru to be Russia, launched from Venice and Mt.
    [Show full text]