DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ST. JOHN, ARCHBISHOP OF SHANGHAI AND SAN
FRANCISCO
ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN WITNESS (USPS 412-260)
is published monthly by St. Nectarios American Orthodox Cathedral,
10300 Ashworth Avenue North, Seattle, Washington 98133-9410.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
OCW, 10300 Ashworth Ave. N., Seattle, WA. 98133-9410
Fr. Neketas S. Palassis, Editor Email: frneketas@stnectariospress.com
Telephone (206) 522-4471; (800) 643-4233 U.S. & Canada;
Fax: 206-523-0550
December, 2004, Vol. XXXVIII, No. 12, (1543)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. 2004 NATIVITY ENCYCLICAL OF METROPOLITAN MOSES
2. WHY I BECAME ORTHODOX
3. ST. COSMAS OF AITOLIA CHURCH OPENS NEW BUILDING
4. OUR RIGHTEOUS FATHER HERMAN OF ALASKA
5. NEW ITEMS FROM THE BOOK CENTER
The vain desires of this world drive us away from our homeland; love of
them and habit clothe our soul as if in a hideous garment. The Apostles
called it the external man. We, 0 in the voyage of this life and
calling on God to help us, ought to be divesting ourselves of this
hideous garment and clothing ourselves in new desires, in a new love of
the age to come, and thereby to receive knowledge of how near or how
far we are from our heavenly homeland.
- St. Herman of Alaska
1. 2004 NATIVITY ENCYCLICAL OF METROPOLITAN MOSES
Dearly Beloved in Christ,
Glory to God in the highest we hear in Bethlehem of Judea on this day.
The angels are in awe
struck wonder at the greatness of God's love and condescension. Today
is revealed even to them a deeper understanding of our
all-compassionate God. They learn along with us of the infinite love of
our God.
Creation is not eternal like God; creation is not God. It was created
out of nothingness, and its existence depends entirely upon God. It is
not self-existent. Everything created receives its exis
tence from God, and it exists only because God wants it to exist. Only
God is self-existing, only God is real existence. He said to Moses
that, "I AM He Who Is," that is Existence itself. Between God and His
creation there is an infinite abyss, an absolute distinction. We cannot
attain to a per
ception of Him by analogy. Nothing in creation can be compared to God,
for God is absolute otherness.
We cannot approach the knowledge of God on our own; this is one aspect
of the significance of the term "unapproachable." We can know God only
by His revelation. We can commune with God only when He overshadows us
with His uncreated grace.
On the feast of the Nativity we commemorate the awesome wonder that our
unapproachable God in His tender-hearted mercy has bowed down to us,
and without undergoing change crossed the frontier between uncreated
nature and creation, as it were, through taking flesh of the most holy
Theotokos; truly becoming man, manifesting Himself in our physical
nature in order to draw us unto Himself and make us His own.
As we hear in the hymns of the Church, "What He was, He hath remained,
True God; and what He was not, He hath taken upon Himself, becoming man
through love for mankind" (Vespers for the feast of the Nativity of
Jesus Christ, First Sticheron for Lord I have cried…).
As Saint Paul wrote to the Galatians, "But when the fullness of time
was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law.
To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the
adoption of sons" (Gal 4:4-5). It is our high calling to be sons of God
by adoption and moreover, what seems utterly frightening for one to
boldly say, the brothers of our Lord. As our Saviour Himself said to
Mary Magdalene after the Resurrection, "…but go to My brethren and say
unto them, I ascend unto My Father and your Father; and to My God and
your God" (John 20:17). In other words, He is My Father by essence,
your Father by grace and mercy, and My God because of My human nature,
that I have inseparably put on out of love for man.
How can one participate in this wondrous grace of adoption? Our Saviour
Himself declared, "Amen, amen, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God."
Elsewhere our Saviour referred to Himself as the Door, saying, "Amen,
amen, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the
sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a
robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the
sheep" (John 10:1-2). And later, "Amen, amen, I say unto you, I am the
door of the sheep. All that ever came before Me are thieves and
robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by Me if any
man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find
pasture" (John 10:7-9).
Nothing could be clearer than this. It is exclusively through the
Christ of God, the Messiah, that one becomes a son of God by adoption.
Anyone who contradicts this teaching denies our Saviour and the
significance of the Incarnation. Who could possibly contradict this
teaching and still call themselves "Christians?"
The following official statement from World Council of Churches
formulated by twenty-one Or
thodox, Protestant and Roman Catholic representatives stated:
"…that in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word, the entire human family has
been united to God in an irrevocable bond and covenant. The saving
presence of God's activity in all creation and human history comes to
its focal point in the event of Christ." But, they add, "because we
have seen and experienced goodness, truth and holiness among followers
of other paths and ways than that of Jesus Christ . . . , we find
ourselves recognizing a need to move beyond a theology which confines
salvation to the explicit personal commitment to Jesus Christ." (From:
Religious Plurality: Theological Perspectives and Affirmations,
Ecumenical Press Service, 16-31, Jan., 1990)
This is only one of many examples underlying the fact that all of the
self-styled orthodox members of the World and National Councils of
Churches have agreed to set aside the fundamental Orthodox Christian
dogma of Christ's saving Incarnation. How else is it possible to
understand the plain meaning of the astonishing departure from the
faith of the Church asserted in the ecumenist document just quoted?
They celebrate the feast of the Nativity of Christ, but deny the
mystery of its wonderful content. The hapless laity of these
neo-orthodox jurisdictions are led astray. But by the amazing mercy of
God, we have the example of Saint Philaret the New Confessor, our
Archbishop Auxentius and many others that were not confused by
ecumenism, nor beguiled by worldly power or by the false friendship
with this world. It is because of the teachings of the Holy Fathers of
old and these ex
amples of the preceding generation that our Bishops have not become
confused by the many teachers of falsehood of this age.
There is no ambiguity: union with ecumenism is separation from Christ
and is nothing less than the rejection of the true gift of adoption
given us through the Incarnation of the Son of God. And if anything is
clear, it is clear that membership in ecumenism's chief institutions,
those world and national councils of "churches" so-called, constitutes
union with ecumenist doctrines. These doc
trines preach a "christ" alien to the Christ of the Gospels 0 for two
millennia by the holy Fathers and Martyrs and by all the members of the
Church throughout the world.
The bloody persecutions throughout the Church's history failed to
accomplish the destruction of the faith of the Church that we see being
accomplished before our very eyes and in the full glare of publicity
and media coverage - and without so much as a whisper of protest by the
neo-
orthodox ecumenists of our own era. The faith of the Church is being
sold for less than the mess of pottage for which Esau sold his
birthright in the Old Testament. Without swords or torture, beasts or
gladiators, without guns or hangmen's nooses, ecumenist "Bishops,"
"theologians" and "Elders" - calling themselves "orthodox" - are
surrendering the faith once delivered to the saints, the faith that
established the world, the faith preached by the Holy Apostles
themselves that con
stitutes the biblical faith of the Church.
We are living in one of the most terrible times of corrupting heresy
that the Church has known in 2000 years and, for the most part, those
who are awake and alert to the soul-destroying poison undermining the
faith of millions are few and far between. And what has always been
true from the beginning of the Church is just as true today -
sustaining our Orthodox faith in the Incarnate, risen Christ is
accomplished in one, and in only one way - by preserving communion with
right-
believing Bishops who preach the orthodox faith in the midst of the
Church, rejecting communion with all others - period, pure and simple.
The great mystery of the Incarnation is the source of our salvation and
should ever be a source of gratitude, contrition and humility for us
all. We who are the offspring of Adam, the man of clay, through God's
great mercy and condescension become by adoption His true sons and
daughters. We are called to be heirs not of things of this world that
are for a season and then depart, but heirs of God and of the things of
God.
On this feast let us celebrate the love and mercy of God made manifest.
Let us cling tenaciously to the real significance of the Incarnation.
Christ is Born, glorify Him by worshipping Him in spirit and in truth.
Amen.
Moses, Metropolitan of Seattle
Holy Orthodox Church in North America
Given December 25/January 7, 2004/2005
2. WHY I BECAME ORTHODOX (A letter to Fr. Neketas)
As you requested, here are some of the reasons I am asking to become
Orthodox and some of what I have learned so far. Some of the books I've
read are: Once Delivered to the Saints, The Mind of the Orthodox
Church, River of Fire, These Truths We Hold, On the Incarnation, and
St. John Maximovitch's book on the Theotokos. Also, of course, the many
articles you've given me so far. I am afraid there are gross errors
hiding away in what I've written, due to misunderstand
ing or lack of comprehension on my part – please let me know whatever
needs correcting.
What drew me into the Latin catholic church (I was baptized there in
1979) was the Holy Eucha
rist, which I sincerely believed was to be found in fullness there.
Following what the Latin tradi
tion taught, I believed that the Holy Eucharist was also preserved in
the Orthodox Church, which had split off from the Latin church in 1054
for reasons that could be easily overcome if only trust and tolerance
were found. I believed that if only the Orthodox would come to accept
the papacy, true union of east and west would be very easy. However,
over the years, my faith in the Latin tradition eroded because many
things began to seem wrong to me, but I didn't know why. You see, I
tend to blame myself when things don't seem right, feeling that if only
I would try harder I would be able to accept what I found and be at
peace like everyone else. It takes me a long time to come around to the
idea that it might not be me at all, but that things might really be
wrong. So the worship seemed deficient, ecumenism seemed dangerous, it
seemed that certain things were said but the opposite was done – but
laboring under the feeling that it was really due to my faulty
perception, I thought things couldn't really be that way. I'll try to
outline some of the things in my experience of the Latin Church that
were negative to me.
The lack of reverence, of true piety, and of visible belief in the True
Presence of Christ in the Latin church, were a constant source of
amazement and scandal to me, especially when the Eucharist was
described as symbolic or as flowing from the gathering, from the
community of believers. The Latin mass left me in a state of either
spiritual flatness or active annoyance. The songs that were sung were
banal in the extreme and were presented in a manner I often found ir
reverent and out of harmony with the occasion. The choir (usually
accompanied by guitars) would practice during the time just prior to
the beginning of the service, so even on a solemn li
turgical occasion such as Holy Thursday, one would hear the sung parts
of the entire service from start to finish even before it began. I
think what was most annoying to me was when the congre
gation would applaud the choir as though they were performers in a
nightclub. Other points of irritation were women serving on the altar,
wearing heavy make-up, jewelry, dressed in pants and tight t-shirts –
true these clothes were covered during the actual service by a
liturgical robe, but often not beforehand when things were being
arranged in the altar area. Also, men and women attended the services
in shorts, tank-tops, jogging outfits, even serving in the altar area
as readers and Eucharistic ministers dressed this way. In short,
attending church was not a spiritually uplift
ing experience for me. Private devotional subjects such as the
"Immaculate Conception," the "Immaculate Heart of Mary," the "Sacred
Heart of Jesus," phenomena such as Fatima, didn't help because they
left me cold, they just seemed to have no meaning to me. (I understand
the prob
lems with these ideas better now and am thankful they did not appeal to
me.) Social action was talked about constantly and was seen as the only
viable path to God, and ecumenism was vaunted as the manifestation of
true Christian love. Loving God first and foremost and living for Him
alone was seen as selfish and not being in the spirit of brotherly
love.
Above all, though, I had come to believe that ecumenism was just
flat-out wrong and that that was where the greatest danger lay. I knew
for sure that the Latin church was on the wrong path when I attended a
weekend retreat in June of 2000, led by Franciscans, and the priest had
us, dur
ing the Sunday mass, face each cardinal point and "pray" to the
"spirit" of the (e.g.) north. I left that retreat knowing that I could
no longer associate myself with such a church. I had come to the
understanding that ecumenism and social action are twin paths that
together are flattening out the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and
rendering Christianity, and Christ Himself, meaningless. I had admired
Pope John Paul II, but I began to see him, too, as wrong and leading
the church wrongly. My vision was clearing and I didn't like any of
what I saw.
Taken all together, it seemed that I had nowhere to go! The Latin
Church was a farce, Protestant
ism (no more than a social club) could not even be considered. In the
late 80s I had attempted to become Orthodox (OCA), but the fasting,
which was not adequately explained to me, made me ill, and I had
afterwards the belief that I couldn't be Orthodox because I couldn't
fast (I am able to fast now with no problem). So I thought I would have
to try to go it alone, just praying in my own house, but then I thought
that it might be helpful to attend vespers at St. Nectarios, which was
near my home. One day in July 2000 I looked up St. Nectarios on the web
just to find out who he was, and was immediately brought to the parish
website. The first words that leapt out at me were "the heresy of
ecumenism," and I knew I would have to go talk to those people! And
that's what I did, the very next day. After talking with you and
experiencing the services, I knew I had found my home at last. I've
learned so much since that day in July and my resolve is stronger than
ever to become Orthodox. It is extremely saddening to me to learn that
huge chunks of Orthodoxy have fallen away to ecumenism, but God has
brought me by His Mercy to the Holy Orthodox Church in North America,
to the safe haven I have been seeking.
So, the positive side of all the negatives I listed above are the
reasons why I seek to enter the Or
thodox Church. Here I have found a depth of worship and reverence and a
deep and abiding faith in the Truth of the Holy Eucharist. I have found
liturgical worship that lifts my mind and heart to God, that leaves me
spiritually uplifted instead of flat. The music comes, not from secular
in
struments or from the pious ditties thought to be pleasing today, but
from the voices of the wor
shippers themselves, chanting the words of Holy Scripture and the
prayers of the Saints through these 2000 years. Each service is a
lesson in Christian history and Faith; in the meaning of the
Incarnation, Cross, and Resurrection of Our Saviour; the role of the
Blessed Theotokos; of the lives and witness of the Saints. There is so
much more I want to learn about the Saints, about how they witnessed to
the Faith and what their societies and times were like.
It's difficult to relate all I have learned in these months of studying
Orthodoxy. It's difficult be
cause it has meant an inner turning about, a metanoia (I hope that's
the right word), and such an experience isn't easily described. I
realize too that what I understand now is only the tiny tip of the body
of Truth that lies beyond my current capability to understand. For me,
Orthodoxy is the gold mine that is never exhausted, the mountain whose
heights can never be scaled, the sea whose depths can never be plumbed.
I learned in the Latin Church that everything culminates in the
Beatific Vision, but Orthodoxy teaches that in heaven we will continue
to grow in understanding and in love of and delight in God. Not a
static ending (looking at God), but an ecstatic beginning (journeying
into God), far beyond anything we can imagine now.
The Holy Icons are windows into this beatific ecstasy. By their very
"unrealism" they witness to Realities that are beyond our own
experience, while inviting us in to grow and to find our own level of
holiness. The pretty pious pictures of the west are like the pleasant
pious ditties – of no more spiritual depth than a rain puddle. The
icons have an otherworldly beauty that speaks to the soul even more
than to the eyes (and not even to the eyes of those who have no Faith).
For the iconic stillness witnesses to an Energy that only Faith can
perceive and that no artistic realism could ever convey. To worship in
an Orthodox Church, with icons adorning all the walls, is to worship in
God's home, in His living room, so to speak, with His family all
around. Being re
lated to the Saints through Faith and the Holy Eucharist makes one
aware of one's relatedness to the people in the parish, all of us
united and related through Faith and participation in the Myster
ies, a bond stronger than blood family ties.
In being allowed to remain in Church and be present when the Faithful
receive the Mysteries, I have come to realize that what I received in
the Latin Church, no matter my own personal belief, was not at all the
same thing. To put it very simply, I am now convinced that I have never
in my life received Our Lord's Body and Blood. In addition, having now
observed Orthodox infant baptism, I know that I was never baptized. The
baptism I was given was by sprinkling, and the infant baptisms I
witnessed in the Latin church took no more than 10 minutes and
consisted mainly of introducing the child to the community, although
they did dip the child in water, invok
ing the Trinity.
Following the Julian calendar is essential to Faith. Once I understood
that Orthodox liturgical life is also the liturgical life of God's
Kingdom, I realized that participating in the Liturgy is more than just
"being at church on Sunday." It is a participation in God's Time, a
merging or interpen
etration of the heavenly life with the earthly life. The train of God's
garment does actually fill our temple, the seraphim do actually sing
and hover there amongst us, the saints do really cele
brate with us. None of this is perceivable, of course, to someone like
myself, but by Faith I know it's true and is happening (I think of this
especially during the Cherubic Hymn and the Great En
trance, "invisibly escorted . . ."). God's Time permeates our
liturgical time, the two becoming one, and the more closely we live
within the liturgical cycle, the more our own personal time is so
permeated. Thus a change of calendar is impossible, since the Julian
calendar is God's calendar, created by Him through Julius Caesar just
prior to the Incarnation, and so was the one by which Christ was born,
lived, suffered, and rose, by which the Apostles and early Fathers
lived and taught, by which the Saints are honored. I am convinced that
the change in calendars in the 16th century by the roman pope created
an irreparable rupture between heaven and the church in the west (which
had already fallen into heresy), like the ripping of a piece of fabric.
The psalmist sings of foundations that have been destroyed, and this, I
believe, is an apt description of what happens when the Julian calendar
is thrown away as obsolete. The result of the rupture can be seen in
the kind of society we see around us today, Godless and materialistic.
One of my first questions to you was "Why the fuss about 13 days?" Now
I know that those 13 days are the dif
ference between heaven and earth, between the sacred and the profane,
the ecclesial and the secu
lar.
In Once Delivered to the Saints, Father Azkoul talks about Christology.
I need to go back and study it more, because I believe that Christology
teaches not only about the Incarnation of Christ but also about how
this has affected earth, time, worship, and many other aspects of our
lives here. It was in reading this book that I began to think about
God's Time and the liturgy.
What I accepted as facts, as taught by the Latin Church, have now an
entirely different meaning. Original Sin and inherited guilt? No, this
is a nightmare never dreamed of by the Church Fathers. Rather, a
transgression that brought illness into the race of Adam, an illness
that has infected all of us and that we have carried within us for time
out of mind, for so long that the state of illness itself is now seen
as the state of health, and death is seen as no more than an
unfortunate natural phenomenon. The view now is that bodily illness
(and therefore death) can and should, at any cost, be overcome through
the "miracles" of modern medicine and technology. The true spiritual
illness that has caused physical and mental illness and death is not
remembered or understood anymore. One result of the spiritual illness
is that reason takes precedence over faith (thus the heresies that gave
rise in the west to the Gregorian calendar, the Renaissance, the Age of
"Enlightenment"), and so western-style society worldwide (including
World Orthodoxy) is falling into total materialism, not just in the
frantic search for possessions, power, and sex, but also in the
obsession with youth, with bodily health, beauty, and longevity through
scientific "progress." Society today is like the woman in the Gospel
who was bent over, unable to look at anything but the ground. Society
must learn that there is no healing or health to be found in any of the
places where it now looks, for looking at the earth will not bring us
to heaven, and the sick cannot heal the sick, just as the blind cannot
lead the blind without both falling into the ditch.
Orthodoxy, on the other hand, teaches that our health is found in
deification, a word that is diffi
cult for me to comprehend. That is, I can comprehend it in the sense of
the Saints and Martyrs, but for me??? Well, but then all things are
possible to God, so maybe me too! At any rate, since I desire nothing
less than the fullness of life and eternity with God, the Church that
speaks of dei
fication and the healing of all that separates me from God is the only
place to be. One of my fa
vorite stories of Our Lord is the healing of the woman with the 12-year
issue of blood. I too sought healing in wrong places and spent all my
spiritual resources on those who could not heal me, but now I have been
brought to the right hospital and am confident that healing will take
place, because the witness of millenia is that healing is to be found
in this place. Our Saviour Himself, through His death and resurrection,
has become the medicine (the Holy Eucharist) that will heal us. Through
the Church, through Her liturgical services, we are able to catch hold
of the hem of God's garment and find the healing that each of us needs.
And how do we catch the hem (i.e., come to deification)? Through Faith
in Jesus our Healer, by taking the medicine of Holy Communion, through
asceticism (that is, by living our lives counter to the culture that
says that the way to health is to do whatever "feels good"), and
through diligently searching through the treasure trove of the Church
(Her history and liturgy) so that our Faith is fed and our minds and
hearts can be illumined by the Holy Spirit.
I have always enjoyed reading history, but when I first began studying
Orthodox Church history, I realized that even the map of the eastern
regions was a blank in my mind – I had never in all my previous reading
been exposed to the history of the Eastern Church or the secular
history of any of those countries, such as the Balkans, the Ottoman
Empire, Armenia. The only church history and really the only secular
history to be found in bookstores is that of the West, and I had found
that studying the history of the Latin west is a pretty discouraging,
even depressing, undertaking, what with the inquisition, the crusades,
the reformation, wars and persecutions between the Latin Catholics and
the anti-Latin protestants, colonialism, etc., etc. Well, it was
something of a revela
tion to discover the history of the East, because it presents quite a
different picture from that of the West. Not perfect Orthodox people or
perfect rulers in perfect communities or countries, of course, but
basically peaceful people trying the best they could to defend their
borders and live their Faith-filled lives, from the beginnings of the
"Byzantine" Empire through the centuries of subjugation, first under
the Turks and recently under the Communists. I have come to realize
that we are still under subjugation: to the yoke of materialism. It
takes a great deal of moral fiber to resist the new creed, the new
religion, which goes under the guise of bodily health, possessions,
ecumenism, tolerance ("political correctness"), equal (even enhanced)
rights for homosexuals, etc. Our bodies may not be at risk of martyrdom
at this time in the U.S., but our souls are, and Our Saviour warned us
specifically to fear only those who can kill the soul.
Well, I hope that what I have written here is helpful to your
understanding of where I am at this time in my study of Orthodoxy. Of
course, I'll keep on reading and studying, and I suspect that in fact
I'll be able to understand what I read better after I'm baptized. I can
only say that a new world has opened to me, one that I was able to find
only through the "summoning and illumining grace" (to quote from These
Truths We Hold) of God. No one could be more aware than I of the depths
of my own stupidity and denseness (like the beasts of the field, as the
psalmist puts it) and the kindness of God in helping me and leading me
and saving me. To have been brought to Faith, to the Orthodox Faith, to
the Holy Orthodox Church in North America, to the parish of St. Nec
tarios – these are miracles. Thank you for asking me to write this.
Sincerely in Christ,
December 16/29, 2000
3. ST. COSMAS of AITOLIA ORTHODOX CHURCH OPENS NEW BUILDING
The parish of St. Cosmas of Aitolia, serving the nation's
capital vicinity, has finally opened it's new church building and held
the first services there on the weekend of October 30-31 (n.s.). As
Matushka Anastasia wrote, "This was one of the best days in my life—a
culmination of all our hard work and our many prayers. Somehow none of
us can believe that this new building is really our church. It is so
beautiful! I can't stop thanking our Saviour, and now that everything
has come to fruition, it was worth waiting 23 years."
For years Fr. Seraphim Johnson and his flock have held services in
converted offices on the second floor of a small commercial building,
while the parish searched for property or a more suitable building in
an area with high real estate prices and very restrictive zoning.
Property was finally located about 7 years ago and the tedious task of
getting building plans, permits, etc. began. With much patience and
prayers over the innumerable delays and roadblocks, construction began
in 2003 and an occupancy permit granted in October of this year.
With a beautiful new iconostasion from Greece and icons from Holy
Nativity Convent in Boston, excellent acoustics for the two choirs, and
room to actually fit everyone in, it was an entirely new experience for
all. Having a church hall for coffee and fellowship, and room for the
many children to have instruction classes has energized everyone. With
visi
tors, there were 80 people at the first Liturgy.
On Sunday, November 25th (n.s.) Metropolitan Ephraim of Boston
officially "opened" the church, but a more elaborate celebration is
being considered for the spring...
Services are in English and Greek; Vespers are at 6 pm Saturday evening
and Divine Lit
urgy at 10 am Sunday Morning. For information, phone 301-776-3189.
The new St. Cosmas Church is located at 6315 Princess Garden Parkway in
Lanham, MD.
4.OUR RIGHTEOUS FATHER HERMAN OF ALASKA WHOM THE HOLY CHURCH
CELEBRATES ON DECEMBER 12.
Saint Herman (his name is a variant of Germanmos) was born in Moscow in
1765. In his youth he became a monk, first at the Saint Sergius
Hermitage near Saint Petersburg on the Gulf of Finland, while he dwelt
there, the most holy Mother of God appeared to him, healing him of a
grave mal
ady. Afterwards he entered Valaam Monastery on Valaam Island in Lake
Lagoda; he often with
drew into the wilderness to pray for days at a time. In 1794, answering
a call for missionaries to preach the Gospel to the Aleuts, he came to
the New World with the first Orthodox Mission to Alaska. He settled on
Spruce Island, which he called New Valaam, and here he persevered, even
in the face of many grievous afflictions in the loving service of God
and his neighbour. Besides his many toils for the sake of the Aleuts,
he subdued his flesh with great asceticism, wearing chains, sleeping
little, fasting and praying much. He brought many people to Christ by
the ex
ample of his life, his teaching, and his kindness and sanctity, and was
granted the grace of work
ing miracles and of prophetic insight. Since he was not a preist,
Angels descended at Theophany to bless the waters in the bay; Saint
Herman used the holy water to heal the sick. Because of uwearying
missionary labours, which were crowned by God with the salvation of
countless souls, he is called the Enlightener of the Aleuts, and has
likewise been renowned as a wonderworker since his repose in 1837.
From The Great Horologian by Holy Transfiguration Monastery, ©
1997.
5. NEW ITEMS FROM THE BOOK CENTER
Click here to
order the titles below
(VCAL) VATOPAIDI DESK CALENDAR FOR 2005 A beautiful gold-embossed cloth
covered desk calendar with ribbon marker featuring full-color
reproductions of icons, frescoes, monastery treasures, inte-
rior and exterior views of the monastery facing each weekly page. Greek
and English text. A lovely and unique gift. Cloth e$29.00 Quantities
limited.
(GIL) GOD IS
THE LORD: The Chosen People Prepare for the Saviour by Fr. Panagiotes
Carras. A work book on the Old Testament, similar to the two preceeding
volumes "The People of God" and "Treas-
ures of the Kingdom." 30 Lessons for middle school and older,
summarizing the important elements of the Old Testament. 85pp. Comb
Binding, e$10.00
(ECI) EARLY CHRISTIAN ATTITUDES
TOWARD IMAGES. Fr. Steven Bigham.
Addresses the issue that some scholars attempt to attribute to early
Christians an anti-iconographic stance. He fine rebuttal to those who
attempt to create the impression that early Christians opposed the holy
icons. 224pp Paper d$11.00
(AW) ANGEL IN THE
WATERS. By Regina Doman with pictures by Ben Hatke. Angel in the Waters
is a simple, non-controversial book that will make young children
decidedly pro-life long before they ever hear the word "abortion".It
will convince many mothers who are contemplating abortion, to keep
their babies. 48 full-color pages. Paper. d$7.00