Tuesday 22 October 2024

Regarding the Veneration of Archbishop Luke (Voyno-Yasenetsky)

With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Photii of Triaditza, Reader Constantine Todorov (later Bishop Victor of Nicopol d.2021) responds to the issue regarding the veneration of Archbishop Luke (Voyno-Yasenetsky). The text is compiled from talks by His Eminence to the faithful in 2016 during his pastoral rounds of the Bulgarian Orthodox Old Calendar Church parishes in Varna, Sliven and Stamboliyski. 

How should we regard the official glorification of Archbishop Luke (Voyno-Yasenetsky) by the Moscow Patriarchate (MP)? 

First of all, our Church (Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria) considers how Archbishop Luke is regarded by our Sister Church, the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCA).1 He was not among the martyrs and confessors glorified by the ROCA in 1981. Likewise, he is not included in our Menology and we do not treat him as an Orthodox saint. The basis for the ROCA’s decision was that Archbishop Luke was unambiguously involved with the church policies of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodskiy) d.1944 implemented to satisfy the Soviet authorities. It is important to explain why the ROCA desisted from glorifying clergymen involved with Sergianism. 

We know, from the history of the Russian Church in the period after the 1917 revolution, that the Soviet secret police frequently attempted to initiate schisms in the Church in order to destroy her. At first, the aim of the Bolshevik powers was to uproot all faith in God, to erase the name of God altogether. This ultimate goal was very explicit and was laid out officially in their party programme. The Bolsheviks commenced their war against the Church with ruthless repression against the clergy and the faithful.

However, they soon understood that this approach would not achieve the desired outcome of severing people from the faith. Instead, the repressions forged new confessors and martyrs, from among the clergy and laity, whom the faithful honoured for their struggle for piety, thus increasing the spiritual authority of the Church. The persecution, therefore, did not achieve its objective but rather the opposite.

Consequently, the Bolsheviks attempted to infiltrate the Church hierarchy by promoting collaborators to positions within the Church administration. The secret police instigated the so-called ‘Renovationist' schism by utilising a movement already in existence in the Russian Church before the revolution. This Renovationist movement consisted of people with liberal orientations who were in favour of married bishops, permitting priests to marry a second time, the weakening of the fasts and so on. These impious innovations, however, were rejected by the Church’s faithful. Only a small minority supported the movement. With the help of the authorities, the Renovationists seized control of two-thirds of the churches in Russia, but the faithful would not attend their services, and would only attend churches served by priests loyal to Patriarch Tikhon.2This schism did not succeed, although many priests and bishops did submit to the Renovationist hierarchy from fear of persecution. 

The Church became even stronger during this trial, because the weak, fainthearted or liberal-minded transferred to the Renovationists and the Body of the Church shook off those members who would have caused greater decay from within. As the schism was developing, Patriarch Tikhon was arrested and held under strict house arrest for one year. Following his release, and his First Exhortation to the Faithful, priests who had submitted out of fear began to return to the Patriarchal Church en masse and the Renovationist leadership was weakened.

Subsequently, the GPU3 tried to harm the Church in various ways by instigating schismatic movements, such as the Gregorian schism (an attempt to introduce the New Calendar into the Russian Church). These, however, met with failure because the Church hierarchy, which the Soviet authorities appointed and legally registered, did not receive the backing and recognition of the Church’s faithful.

The Orthodox flock rejected the Renovationists precisely because the latter unhesitatingly endorsed and collaborated with the openly atheistic Soviet government. Any faithful member of the Church naturally could not consent to be led by pastors who were collaborators with the secret police (who in turn were endeavouring to destroy the Church).

Of course, the bishops and priests who did not wish to submit to the Renovationist leadership, being unable to appeal openly to the government, reasoned thus: “we cannot accept the Renovationists because they are uncanonical and unlawful in the eyes of the Church.” However, on their part, the Bolsheviks simply changed tactics to achieve their goal. Eugene Tuchkov,4 the head of the GPU department concerned with the destruction of the Church announced the following: “Very well, I will give you your own canonical first hierarch, but after this there will be no mercy for those who don’t submit to him.” The Bolsheviks understood that it wasn’t enough simply to impose an  agreeable ecclesiastical leadership that they could control; these leaders would have to be canonical in order for the faithful to accept them.  

Patriarch Tikhon reposed in 1925. For the next two years, the government tried, without success, to break the will of those hierarchs who stood at the forefront of the Church’s leadership, or who had a canonical claim to receive the primacy. These were Metropolitan Peter (Polyansky) d.1937, Metropolitan Joseph (Petrovykh) d.1937, Metropolitan Agathangel (Preobrazhensky) d.1928, Archbishop Seraphim (Samoylovich) d.1937 and Metropolitan Cyril (Smirnov) d.1937. These hierarchs were removed, sent into exile, imprisoned or placed under house-arrest. 

Eventually, Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodskiy) accepted the GPU’s conditions and in the summer of 1927 he published his notorious Declaration of Loyalty to the Soviet government on behalf of the Church. He instigated a new ecclesiastical policy of collaboration with the Bolsheviks. This Church position and policy is known after him as “Sergianism”. It is important to understand what Sergianism is because, together with ecumenism, it is the main reason for our separation from official Orthodoxy. I will give an example to show the level of  treachery by this new project of the GPU.

When Tuchkov was trying to corrupt the Metropolitan of Kazan, Cyril, he told him the following: “I will give you a list of people with which you will form a Synod. Additionally, you are to cooperate with us in everything. Then we will allow you to exist legally. And what do we mean by ‘cooperation’? If a certain hierarch is unacceptable to us, we will inform you and you must remove him from his see.” But the “unacceptable” ones were the genuine hierarchs, the real shepherds, who defended the faith and were supported by the faithful. Metropolitan Cyril responded: “Very well, and what am I to do in such an instance? Do I summon him and tell him: ‘Brother, I don’t have anything against you, but the authorities don’t like you, they don’t want you, so I have to replace you.’” Tuchkov exclaimed: “Not like that! You have to find your own ecclesiastical grounds and remove him discretely, as if it were your own idea.” Metropolitan Cyril replied as following: “Eugene Alexandrovich, you are not the cannon and I am not the shell with which you’d like to demolishing the Russian Church.” For this response he immediately received a further three years of exile in Siberia. Using the Church pastors as a tool to destroy the Church is demonic treachery.  It buries the spiritual authority of the hierarchy in the eyes of the populace; the people realise that their pastors are starting to cooperate with the persecutors, having compromised their positions. In fact, such treachery breaks the spiritual moral strength of the faithful and crushes their firm resistance – not by depriving them of their hierarchs by slaughtering them as martyrs or sending them into exile as confessors – but through seeing them morally broken and betraying the Church to please the persecutors. As we can see, compared to Renovationism, Sergianism is a much more deceptive and difficult challenge for the clergy and for the entire flock.

Once it became clear that Metropolitan Sergius and his Synod had agreed to play the role the authorities had proposed, the most steadfast hierarchs, clergy and laymen severed communion with him. At one stage, this movement numbered around forty bishops, and these were the best part of the Russian Church. Even the Sergianists themselves admitted that the highest regarded hierarchs had separated from them. The aim of this resistance was to protect the freedom of the Church, because she is only able to truly prosper when she is free from within and when her leadership is not dictated to by external forces that seek her destruction. Metropolitan Joseph (Petrovykh) blessed the commencement of this movement in Petrograd and his followers become known as “Josephites”; they were also called “Tikhonites” (after Patriarch Tikhon) or “True Orthodox”.5

 However, the majority of hierarchs remained in submission to Metropolitan Sergius for a number of different motives. A large remnant stayed in administrative submission although they did not approve of his actions and protested against them. These “non-commemorators” refused to commemorate the Soviet authorities in church services — something which Metropolitan Sergius had ordered in an Ukaz.6  Before, the Tsar had been commemorated in the Church services but now the Sergianist hierarchs were demanding the commemoration of the Soviet government. During the litanies, the faithful would hear the priest praying for the success of the Soviet authorities, who were striving to destroy the Church. Some of the “non-commemorators” would not even commemorate Metropolitan Sergius, but only Metropolitan Peter, the Locum Tenens of Patriarch Tikhon.7 At that time, the authorities had exiled Metropolitan Peter, and Metropolitan Sergius was acting as his Locum Tenens.

Most of the hierarchs continued in submission to Metropolitan Sergius simply because they could not endure the repressions any longer. Father Michael Polsky relates the following concerning a bishop of his acquaintance who had lived through years of exile. He related to Fr Michael: “I know very well that all Sergius is doing is abominable, and I can’t stand him, but I’m exhausted and at long last I want to go home.” He had been sent from exile to exile. Some people felt they could not endure the giant wine-press of persecution any longer.

In addition, Metropolitan Sergius personally initiated aggressive methods against those who did not recognise his authority and who protested against his actions: clergy were prohibited from serving or defrocked, and he even forbade funerals to be served for laity who had separated from him. He did not hesitate to put under ban the most senior hierarchs of the Russian Church, beginning with Cyril Metropolitan of Kazan, appointed by Patriarch Tikhon in his will as first Locum Tenens. By this action, Sergius declared that anyone not in communion with him had fallen away from the Church. Of course, for the steadfast confessors, his sanctions and threats had no authority, but the majority of others stumbled: “Are we really going to fall away from the Church? Of course, what he’s doing is outrageous. However, on the other hand, he is lawful and is not violating the dogmas of the Church. Do we have a legitimate reason for separating from him?” Sergius himself insisted, “You can’t accuse us of anything, we are canonical. We are the legal Church authority, and moreover we aren’t breaking the Church canons or her dogmas. It is you who are separating yourselves from the Church.”

Meanwhile, the other Eastern Patriarchates, driven by their own ecclesiastical-political interests, recognised the Church authority of Metropolitan Sergius. He presented his question to the confessors as follows: “Who are you with? You are outside the Church! And not just because the Synod and I are your ecclesiastical leadership, but because we are in communion with all of the Eastern Patriarchates — Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem and Antioch — each one of them recognises our ecclesiastical authority.” This proved an enormous trial for the Russian faithful, demanding the highest level of spiritual discernment in order to navigate through such tempestuous times.

At the same time, Metropolitan Sergius declared to western journalists: “There is no persecution of the Church in Russia. It is true that many religious figures — hierarchs and laymen — are imprisoned, but these are not being punished for their faith, but for their political rebellion against the authorities.” Thus the martyrs for the faith were affirmed as political criminals. The confessors who separated themselves from Metropolitan Sergius all declared to him: “You pronounce blasphemies against the confessors and martyrs of the Church. You lay all the blame of persecution on us, on the Church herself, but you excuse the Bolsheviks.”

Despite all this, however, the Metropolitan continued to demand submission, maintaining his position: “The Church canons say that you can only separate yourselves from the church hierarchy if we break the canons and dogmas of the Church, but we haven’t broken them.” See here what the Sergianists consider to be “canonical”.  At this time, Joseph, Metropolitan of Petrograd wrote: “who is worse, the heretic or the murderer? The heretic thrusts a knife into the very heart of the Church, he surrenders the Church and her freedom into the hands of the atheists.” 

As I have said, the bishops and priests who remained in submission to Metropolitan Sergius had various reasons. Some of them, however, were not simply crushed, broken or confused, but active supporters of Metropolitan Sergius. Unfortunately, Archbishop Luke belongs to this category. He had a very hostile attitude towards the leading martyrs and confessors, and in his opinion they were simply “sectarians.” After the Second World War, Archbishop Luke became an open supporter of Soviet state policies, and he made a series of public announcements praising Soviet foreign policies as “fair”. In current hagiographies these things are passed over in silence. Many incidents which he includes in his autobiography are also not mentioned. For example, he actually renounced his ministry as a hierarch for many years, in order to be permitted to work as a doctor. We read in hagiographies that he too was in a prison camp, he too was persecuted. It is true that he was sent into exile three times and also declared himself against the Renovationist schism. But afterwards he declared himself against the Josephites and against the Catacomb Church, in support of Sergianism, and collaborated with the persecutors of the confessors.

As I have said, the bishops and priests who remained in submission to Metropolitan Sergius had various reasons. Some of them, however, were not simply crushed, broken or confused, but active supporters of Metropolitan Sergius. Unfortunately, Archbishop Luke belongs to this category. He had a very hostile attitude towards the leading martyrs and confessors, and in his opinion they were simply “sectarians.” After the Second World War, Archbishop Luke became an open supporter of Soviet state policies, and he made a series of public announcements praising Soviet foreign policies as “fair”. In current hagiographies these things are passed over in silence. Many incidents which he includes in his autobiography are also not mentioned. For example, he actually renounced his ministry as a hierarch for many years, in order to be permitted to work as a doctor. We read in hagiographies that he too was in a prison camp, he too was persecuted. It is true that he was sent into exile three times and also declared himself against the Renovationist schism. But afterwards he declared himself against the Josephites and against the Catacomb Church, in support of Sergianism, and collaborated with the persecutors of the confessors.

As I said, in the beginning the Bolsheviks wanted to destroy the entire Church, without trace. They had as much dislike for the Sergianists as for the Renovationists; they had no need of any Church whatsoever. Their policy was to “divide and conquer”, using either enticing promises or repressions in order to set  one part of the clergy — the Renovationists and the Sergianists — against those prepared to defend the freedom of the Church until the very end. Once the Soviets had dealt with the Josephites (Tikhonites), the Sergianists were next in line. The latter had been hoping that by their submission and collaboration they would receive recognition and be able to exist in a Soviet atheistic state, but those calculations were wrong. Since they no longer had need of the Sergianists, the Bolsheviks submitted them to the same mass oppressions as the genuine Orthodox.

The current Moscow Patriarchate (MP), the direct descendent of the Sergianist Church, today very cunningly erases any distinction, mixing truth with falsehood. It erases the difference between the steadfast and leading confessors and those who suffered as a consequence of communist repressions, whilst remaining  under Metropolitan Sergius. The MP has glorified many of the hierarchs who opposed Metropolitan Sergius, ranking them together with Sergianists who suffered persecution. The position of the MP is currently as follows: “Yes, at that time the two sides had their differences, but now, looking back we can say that both one and the other were right: One group took one path, and the other group took a different path; both paths earned them a crown as a confessor for the Orthodox Faith.”

 However, when glorifying the New Martyrs in 1981, the ROCA did differentiate between the two categories. She did not glorify those who embraced Sergianism because they had been used by the atheist government to repress the martyrs and confessors who, until their end, championed the freedom of the Church and her innate purity. This is the reason that she did not glorify Archbishop Luke. 

Here we need to clarify that the ROCA did not judge Archbishop Luke or proclaim how someone like him stands in the sight of God. God alone knows. By refusing to venerate him as a saint she demonstrated that the Church cannot promote his actions as exemplary for faithful Christians, i.e. he cannot be a role model for us. The position of Archbishop Luke is unacceptable in the eyes of the Church. Venerating him together with the saints signifies exactly the opposite: it means that he is offered to Orthodox Christians as an example to follow in our lives.

What about his miracles?

Whenever we consider contemporary testimonies of miracles we must be very careful. Generally speaking, there is a lot of  mythology in current hagiography. On reading accounts of miracles, the faithful are initially easily inclined to trust in them, and psychologically that is understandable and even natural. The very notion that an account of a miracle could be made up seems monstrous to the sincerely-believing Christian; this would be a horrible blasphemy and completely unthinkable. But the facts are staring at us; many things have simply been invented and a vast number of these incidents are now well known. In the 1990’s, after the collapse of Communism, Orthodox literature began to be published and a multitude of miraculous accounts emerged from the time of the Second World War.

We have read how, before the Battle of Kaliningrad, Marshal Zhukov ordered the Kazan icon of the Mother of God to be brought to the army’s headquarters and a moleben to be served before it. Subsequently, as the fighting commenced, all the guns on the German side were silenced periodically, and many German war prisoners later testified that they saw the Mother of God in the sky above the attacking Soviet forces. This story, which was publicised very broadly throughout the 1990’s, turned out to be false from beginning to end. 

Another popular legend, regarding Metropolitan Elias of the Antiochean Patriarchate, which was widely disseminated is also now known to be fictitious. Those who have read it will recall the story of how, during the war, Metropolitan Elias secluded himself in a cave, and after having prayed and fasted for three days the ceiling of the cave opened up and the Most holy Theotokos appeared to him. She supposedly ordered him to tell Stalin that he is to re-open all the churches, that he must release from prison and return from the front line all priests, giving them freedom to serve in the churches. Only with the fulfilment of her stipulations would they be victorious over the Germans. Apparently, Metropolitan Elias managed to deliver the message to Stalin. Stalin put his faith in this directive: his obedience to it and its subsequent fulfilment allegedly resulted in Germany’s defeat. Now it is very well known that these, and similar stories, are fairytales.

In the light of this, it behooves us to deal very cautiously with evidence of miracles, especially if we perceive in them some agenda. Having the aforesaid stories in mind, we naturally ask ourselves: why is it necessary to concoct miracles? Who gains from it? Is a particular motive being pursued by the admission and circulation of such legends? It is not hard to see, in my opinion, with these two legends, and a great deal many more like them, that there is an attempt to unify the mind of the Church with Soviet patriotism. Perhaps this is a consciously developed agenda aiming to manipulate the faithful? 

To many it may seem conspiratorial to even pose such a question. But let us remind ourselves of a real, documented and proven story from Soviet times in relation to Fr. Vsevolod Schpiller and his spiritual children, among whom are Archpriest Vladimir Vorobyov, the current rector of the St. Tikhon university in Moscow, the infamous Muscovite Priest Dimitrii Smirnov, the representative of the department of the Moscow Patriarchate for relations with the armed forces, and other well known archpriests and hierarchs.

At the beginning of the 1970’s,  Archpriest Vsevolod Schpiller, and many Muscovite Church intelligentsia and young people with him, entered correspondence by letter with Priestmonk Paul (Troytski). He had suffered a great deal, having endured Soviet camps, prisons and exiles. At this time he was in hiding, about 100km from Moscow. A woman who had been through exile with Fr. Paul and who had taken care of him for many years delivered the letters to and fro. The letters from Fr. Paul arrived frequently over a period of twenty years until his death at the end of the 1980’s, so nearly twenty years. Apparently, he was clairvoyant and in some of his letters he would relate to Fr. Vsevolod how he was present in the church in spirit while Fr Vsevolod was celebrating the divine services; he would relate specific incidents, which only a person who was there at the time could know.

Today, many of these then-young people hold positions of archpriests and even hierarchs. All of these testify how, through these letters, their elder guided them from a distance, in spiritual and even in practical matters; he counselled them when to accept ordination to the priesthood, what kind of home to buy, who to marry, with whom to associate, from whom to steer clear. He would also comment on Church affairs and give instructions on the correct attitude towards the Church dissidents of the times such as Fr. Dimitri Dudko and others, and political dissidents like the well-known Alexander Solzhenitzyn. His spiritual children, to this day, treasure his letters, many of them having been published, but none of them saw Fr. Paul in person. Contact was only made through the aforementioned woman whose name was Agripina. Bishop Panteleimon (Shatov) — a spiritual child of Fr. Paul — relates what occurred after they were notified of their elder’s death by Agripina in 1990. Based on the descriptions the elder had given in his letters, Fr. Vladimir Vorobyov and Bishop Panteleimon went to that village in which they deduced that the elder had lived. They did not find anything there: neither the house in which he had lived, nor any registration in the local council, nor a grave, nor anyone who had known a similar person, not even by a different name.

Shortly after this, Agripina announced that Fr. Paul had actually reposed before the end of the Second World War. The spiritual children of the “elder” plummeted into deep confusion. They questioned her on many occasions, but up until her death in 1991 she stuck to her story. They however, did not want to believe her. They buried her with much ceremony, having held her highly in honour as their eldress.

Afterwards they began uncovering records. The archives were opened in the 1990’s and among the camp documents was a record of the death of Priestmonk Paul (Troytski) in 1944; this was a huge shock for the elder’s spiritual children. After some time, however, the spiritual children of the “elder” — particularly Archpriest Vorobyov — started to propose a whole series of events, explaining the confusion, which they defend up until today.

Apparently, Priestmonk Paul had escaped from the concentration camp in 1944 and a different man was buried under his name; no doubt his relatives had bribed the camp administration so that he could be released in secret, or perhaps he was released simply from his sufferings owing to his ill-health, and so on. Archpriest Vladimir Vorobyov, who, by the way, is a member of the Canonisations Commission of the MP, more than once insisted on the glorification of Priestmonk Paul, but the Commission decided that that would not be possible.

The majority of contemporary researchers, amongst them being Abbot Damascene (Orlovsky) — a leading figure in the Commission of Canonisation and author of a large volume of Lives of New Martyrs —are of the opinion that everything indicates that the entire Priestmonk Paul story was a large scale operation by the secret police to establish control over the church dissident circles in Moscow during the 1970’s and 80’s. The letters of the “elder” were written by the collaborators with the KGB and through these letters the secret police not only monitored, but directed, to its advantage, the affairs of a very large circle of church figures. Hence, for example, in 1974, Fr. Vsevolod Schpiller sharply condemned the renowned author and dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn in an interview. (Solzhenytsin had actually belonged to the parish where Fr. Vsevolod served.) The authorities circulated the interview widely, particularly for the benefit of the West. There are also extant letters of the “elder” in which he would vehemently and haphazardly attack those who who criticised the shortcomings of the MP, for instance Fr. Dimitri Dudko.

Of course, I do not wish to say that the pseudo-miracles are fabricated solely by the secret police. In order to create a legend around a certain individual, it is necessary, above all else, for there to exist an unhealthy spiritual environment: a hunger for elders, for miracles, for saints. In other words, an inclination towards unhealthy mysticism, as Fr Seraphim (Alexiev) expresses it in his book Unhealthy and Healthy Mysticism. An unhealthy spiritual environment alone, without external influences, spontaneously generates myths and legends. In the presence of such phenomena there will always be found someone who cleverly takes advantage of them.

Among today’s official Orthodoxy, we observe the spread of a similar unhealthy spiritual life, unrestrained and uncorrected by the hierarchy. Sadly it is sometimes even encouraged. This, too, has to be considered in the case of Archbishop Luke. Of course, sufficient trustworthy information would be needed for one to evaluate every single witness account. However, on the internet you can see a vast number of videos in which certain people talk about miracles worked through the prayers of Archbishop Luke. I would say that, at first glance, many of these accounts are dubious. It is immediately very clear that we are talking about an entirely unhealthy spirituality. When a person really strongly wants to see something, he will see it. The logic behind superstition and prelest (spiritual deception) is impenetrable.

Again I will give an example from the story of Fr. Schpiller and his mythical “elder”. When “Fr. Paul” gave his blessing for someone to have an operation, and it was successful, this was received as proof of his clairvoyance. But in 1980, the imaginary “Fr Paul” counselled Fr. Schpillar to undergo eye surgery with the outcome that he lost his sight. Despite this, as his son testifies, Fr. Schpiller undoubtedly and unwaveringly trusted in “Fr. Paul” until the very end of his life. 

There is one final important point concerning the glorification of Archbishop Luke which needs to be considered, even if only briefly. For a hierarch to be glorified as a saint, it is imperative for his Orthodox faith to be without reproach. Unfortunately, this cannot be said about Archbishop Luke. Now we are no longer on the uncertain territory of hard-to-verify testimonies. Archbishop Luke laid down his theological viewpoints in two of his works: “Spirit, Soul and Body” and “Religion and Science”, which are still in print. In 2013, his book “Spirit, Soul and Body” was even translated into Bulgarian. Upon close examination we discover that this book promotes completely unOrthodox ideas about human nature. The ideas of Archbishop Luke differ substantially from the teachings of the Holy Fathers about human nature — about the spirit, about the soul, about the body, and the relationship between them. His analysis contains completely worldly and philosophical teachings inspired by the science of his time. These concepts and ideas are totally unChristian and are not acceptable from a Christian point of view. The credibility with which he treats the testimonies of the miracles worked in the “holy town of Lourdes” is very disturbing. The small town of Lourdes, situated in France near the Spanish border, is a famous pilgrimage centre of the Roman Catholic Church. In the 19th century, in Lourdes, a fourteen year old girl called Bernadette Soubirous supposedly received numerous visions of the holy Mother of God. According to her testimony, during a period of several months, the Mother of God appeared to her eighteen times.  In contrast we will recall that one of the greatest saints of the Russian Church, the venerable Seraphim of Sarov, of whom the very Mother of God testifies “this one is of our kind”, throughout his lengthy ascetical life had twelve divine revelations. In Lourdes, there have been over seven thousand witness accounts of miraculous healing but even the Roman Catholic Church disregards almost all of them and accepts only sixty-nine as genuine. Nevertheless, this does not sway the faith that Archbishop Luke has in the miracles which occur in “the holy town of Lourdes”. Perhaps, in this regard, the Archbishop’s background filters through; he was, as he states in his autobiography, of Polish extraction and his father was a devout Roman Catholic. It is also quite disturbing how Archbishop Luke seems to trust the credibility of spiritual sciences (occult practices of various forms), now referred to as ‘pseudoscience,’ which in the late 19th and early 20th century were very fashionable. Archbishop Luke regards mainstream scientists who dabble in the spiritual sciences as having an indisputable authority. But all this is another large topic that would require a more in-depth study.

1 In 2007, the majority of ROCA bishops submitted to the MP. Today, the Bulgarian Old Calendar Church is in communion with that part of the ROCA which did not unite with the MP.

2St Tikhon (Bellavin) d.1925 was the 11th and last genuine Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia. His feast day falls on the Great Feast of the Annunciation.

3 Secret police, forerunner of the NKVD

4Eugene Alexandrovich Tuchkov was a Soviet state security officer and the head of the anti-religious department of the Soviet OGPU. 

5 All these groups comprise what is commonly referred to as the Russian Catacomb Church. The ancient Christians under persecution by the pagan Roman Empire were restrained to worship underground in secret conditions. ‘Catacombs’ are a series of underground passages and rooms where, in the past, bodies were buried. 

6 Ukaz - a proclamation of the tsar, government, or patriarch that has the force of law.

7 Locum Tenens - a person filling an office for a time or temporarily taking the place of another. Tikhon, foreseeing the impossibility of a Church Council being summoned to elect a new patriarch, designated three leading hierarchs, one of which (whoever was not in prison or banishment) should become Locum Tenens (of the Patriarchal Throne upon his own death to safeguard the external unity of the Church.

Thursday 1 February 2024

Icon of the Meeting of the Lord

In the shadow and letter of the Law, let us the faithful contemplate a prefiguring: Every male child that openeth the womb is holy unto God. Therefore do we magnify the first-born Word, the Son of the Father Who is without beginning, the first-born Child of a Mother who hath not known Wedlock.

Irmos of the Ninth Ode*

On 1st January, we celebrate the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ on the eighth day after his birth. On the 40th day, Christ continues to fulfil the ordinances of the law being Himself the Author of the Law and is presented in the Temple by his parents. The Church this feast on 2nd February. This feast is called Ὑπαπαντή in Greek which means ‘meeting’, but is often referred to as the ‘Presentation in the Temple’. We hear the account of the Meeting in the Gospel reading of the Feast (Luke 2: 22-40):

When the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought Him to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord; (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him after the custom of the law. Then took he Him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word: For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people;  A light to lighten the nations, and the glory of Thy people Israel. And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which  were spoken of Him.  And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of Him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.  And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. And the Child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon Him.

The iconography of the Meeting was well established by the 9th century. Earlier icons are simpler in design and place Christ more centrally, but the principle figures shown remain the same. The Temple is represented in iconography by a canopy covering a Holy Table. In some icons the canopy is fitted with a curtain representing the veil of the Temple. In this icon, the sanctuary doors are shown closed.

Saint Symeon is shown descending the steps and receiving Christ in his arms with his hands covered by his garments out of reverence. The Theotokos is placed centrally in the icon, having handed the Christ-child to Saint Symeon.  In some icons she is seen still holding Christ, as Symeon opens his arms to receive Him. Saint Joseph the Betrothed is shown holding two young pigeons or turtle-doves which the Law commanded to be brought as an offering. These symbolise the Church and the newly-chosen people of the Nations, and also that Christ is the Author of both Covenants: Old and New.  

In some icons, a golden censer is depicted on the altar table, in others, a Gospel Book is shown. The golden censer is a type of the Theotokos, of which Saint Paul writes in his Epistle to the Hebrews (9: 1-4):

Even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary.  For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lamp stand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary;  and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;  and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. 

In this particular icon, the jar of manna is depicted on a pillar on the right hand side; it is possible that the structure forming part of the roof of the left-hand pillar is a representation of the Ark of the Covenant, which was carried using two wooden handles.

Saint Anna the Prophetess is shown behind the Theotokos, pointing to Christ. In her hand she holds a scroll, on which is written ‘this Child established heaven and earth.’ In some icons she is shown standing with the Elder Symeon, indicating Christ, whilst holding a closed scroll.

Saint Symeon, as we mentioned above, receives Christ with great reverence. He is shown with long, uncovered,  hair and feet shod with sandals - thus indicating his life of ascesis and his prophetic ministry. The feast of the Meeting, then, marks the necessary fulfilling of the Law, but is also a meeting of the two covenants. For, as we hear in the Service of Vespers, the Elder Symeon was granted to bear in his arms Him Whom even Moses was not granted to behold face to face, and reveals unto us Christ, the True Light of the Nations.

*Holy Transfiguration Monastery, The Great Horologion (Brookline: HTM, 1997) p.408

Friday 22 April 2022

Resurrectional (Paschal) Message for 2022

 And this is the will of the Father that sent Me, that every one who seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day” (St. John 6:40)

Beloved Fathers and Brethren in the Risen Lord:

Once again, the day of the Resurrection of the Lord, the day that brings joy to the world, the light-bestowing day of exceeding radiance, has arrived. It was, to be sure, not possible that our Savior Christ, Who authoritatively promised in His teaching that He would resurrect His faithful, would not have resurrected Himself by His own power. As man He suffered, was crucified, and was buried, but as God He arose and granted us life eternal, incorruptible, and unending.

He came to earth as God-Man in order to fulfill the will of God the Father and to reveal His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth(St. John 1:14). The Son and Word of the Father became Man so that upon all who willingly and of their own free choice accepted Him He might bestow adoption into Divine sonship, that is, to become “sons of God” (St. John 1:12). The will of the Father is that none of the faithful be lost, but that all should attain resurrection: that they should behold and believe in His Son, as “true God of true God,” so as to have eternal life and be raised up on the Last Day, the Day of Judgment (St. John 6:39-40).

All will assuredly be resurrected at the glorious Second Coming, righteous and sinners: the former “unto the resurrection of life,” the latter “unto the resurrection of damnation” (St. John 5:29), the former in order to be taken up into eternal fellowship and co-existence with God in His Kingdom, the latter in order to be condemned to eternal chastisement (cf. St. Matthew 25:31-46).

In this life we see the Son with the spiritual eyes of faith, which are opened through the struggle for purification from the passions and through good works; otherwise, they remain closed and incapable of receiving the dogmas of the Faith that transcend reason, not to mention meeting the needs of our neighbor, our fellow man, our every “least” brother, who is an image of God.

The “Fount of the Source of Life,” our Lord and God, in order to show us the means of His union and “mingling” with us, assures us that He is the “Bread of Life” (St. John 6:48), that “which cometh down from Heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die(St. John 6:50). And He continues in a revelatory vein: “I am the Living Bread which came down from Heaven; if any man eat of this Bread, he shall live for ever; and the Bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (St. John 6:51).

Christ the God-Man celebrated the Mystical Supper and was sacrificed on the Cross in order to give us this His very Flesh, united with the Godhead, so that we might become communicants and partakers of Divine life. He died in order to conquer death, and resurrected in order to grant us resurrection. But if we do not eat His Flesh and drink His Blood, we will not have true and eternal life: “Whoso eateth My Flesh, and drinketh My Blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For My Flesh is meat indeed, and My Blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My Flesh, and drinketh My Blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him” (St. John 6:54-55).

It is very clear that, in order to be vouchsafed eternal life and resurrection, it is indispensable that we receive the deifying Mysteries that bestow the Holy Spirit upon us in this life. Only in this way do we satisfy our spiritual hunger and thirst and yearn for the blessed life of eternity, whereof we have a foretaste within us already in the present life.

Children in the Risen Lord:

In order to participate in the Paschal Supper of our Church and to celebrate the true Resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of our existence, we must abide in a state of repentance and fear of God. This is our own contribution as a basic precondition for such participation. We have fasted and prepared ourselves to reach the radiant day of Pascha, but our striving does not stop; in essence, it has not come to an end. As long as our conscience remains good and uncondemned, our soul receives the pledge of our resurrection. To the extent that we draw near to God, to that extent we remove ourselves from the slavery of sin.

Our enemy the Devil does not cease constantly to create in us mountains of mental obstacles: that sin is, supposedly, a way of life, that it is something that we allegedly cannot overcome; that pursuit of the life in Christ is perilous, and occasions fear in this worldfear regarding well-being, regarding relationships and aspirations, and even regarding biological life itself, lest, that is, we become ill, lest we become hungry, lest we become embroiled in the menacing war that has now broken out, lest we be unable to move and work without hindrance, lest we not have time to realize our dreams and expectations....

However, even if all of these things are possibilities, as a rule they have no substantial force. No one can deprive us of faith, hope, and love. No one can separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35-39). They are merely deceptive intimidations. Let us not fall into the trap of doubt and compromise. Let us advance with patience and courage to where the Risen Lord summons us: to the Cross and the Resurrection, assured by the spirit of repentance alive in us. Then the joy and the plenitude of the Resurrection will raise us up to the divine joy of our expectation: to victory, to life, and to the eternal Kingdom. Amen!

The Archbishop

† KALLINIKOS of Athens

Christ is Risen! Truly, He is Risen! 

THE HOLY SYNOD

The Members

† IOUSTINOS of Euripοs and Euboea
† GERONTIOS of Piraeus and Salamis
† CHRYSOSTOMOS of Attica and Boeotia  
† GREGORIOS of Thessalonica
† PHOTIOS of Demetrias
† MOSES of Toronto
† DEMETRIUS of America
† AMBROSIOS of Philippi and Maroneia
† CYPRIAN of Oropos and Phyle
† KLEMES of Larisa and Platamon
† AMBROSE of Methone
† AUXENTIOS of Etna and Portland
† THEODOSIOS of Bresthena
† CHRISTODOULOS of Theoupolis
† MAXIMUS of Pelagonia

Monday 7 March 2022

The Situation in Ukraine

Metropolitan Agathangel, the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCA), has just posted the following:

"On Forgiveness Sunday, March 6, 2022, at 20:30 pm, Putin's troops shelled the city of Malin in the Zhytomyr region in Ukraine. Our Church of the Protection came under fire. The temple received significant damage - the roof was destroyed, the domes were damaged, frames, glass, and doors were broken. Inside, the iconostasis was demolished by a blast wave, etc. Only the walls remained of the temple. Rector Archpriest Georgy Storozhitsky, his mother Zinaida and one of the parishioners at that time were in the basement, where windows and doors were also torn out. Thank God, everyone survived. The military offer everyone to leave, as heavy fighting is expected in Malin."

Like the Fathers of Saint Edward Brotherhood, Metropolitan Agathangel opposed the union between the Russian Church Abroad and the Russian State Church (Moscow Patriarchate) in 2007. In this union, the free part of the Russian Church that was outside Russia submitted to the Patriarchate and now commemorates the Patriarch of Moscow in their services. 

It's not clear whether this church was targeted deliberately because of Metropolitan Agathangel's opposition to the actions of President Putin, or was hit as part of a general shelling of the town.

Please pray for Metropolitan Agathangel and his flock and especially the sisters of the Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco Convent, Odessa as the shelling and missiles edge closer to them. 

Photo from Internet Sobor

Friday 20 November 2020

Coronavirus and Conspiracy Theories

This article is based on our Sunday School lessons on the coronavirus pandemic which in turn were based on Protocols 3022 and 3026 issued by our Synod of Bishops. At the end of the article we have included a FAQ section which we hope to expand in the near future to take into account our Synod’s latest encyclical.

There is no doubt that this novel coronavirus exists. Our bishops have confirmed its existence, as have scientists across the world and the medical professionals in our own congregation who are working with COVID patients every day.

Our bishops have said that we should avoid any hysterical overreaction to this pandemic. This hysteria takes two forms: fear of the virus and fear of the measures that governments have introduced.

Many non-Orthodox people seem to live in abject fear of the virus. A non-Orthodox neighbour asked one nurse in congregation if she was scared about going to work. The nurse’s reply was that she prayed and trusted that God’s will be done. This is exactly the attitude that we should follow. Hysterical fear of the virus demonstrates a lack of faith in God.
 
The second form of hysteria is the belief that this pandemic is a trick to lead us into worshipping the Antichrist; this form of hysteria can lead to complete spiritual deception. One victim actually said: ‘I don’t care what the bishops say, I prayed to God and I received the answer.’

This hysteria is fuelled by Internet conspiracy theories promoted by people who hold beliefs that are completely anti-Orthodox. Immersing ourselves in these theories is a sin. Promoting them to others is a more serious sin because we are drawing people away from Orthodox truth by spreading lies. At this time, we should be redoubling our efforts to show love to our neighbour by comforting them through our quiet example of Christian faith and strength of soul and spirit.

To date, conspiracy theories have concentrated on two main areas: masks and vaccines. We will deal with both briefly.

Every successful conspiracy theory contains an element of truth twisted into a falsehood. It’s true that masks can’t protect us against coronavirus because the virus can be breathed in through a mask.  The aim of wearing a mask is to protect others. Wearing a mask reduces the spread of aerosol (the droplets of moisture that we emit when we cough or sneeze). This is why surgeons wear masks during operations. They're trying to protect the patient’s open wound from their aerosol – they’re not trying to protect themselves from the patient!

Scientists are still not exactly sure how effective masks are in slowing the spreading of coronavirus, but from an Orthodox point of view, there is no objection to wearing a mask in shops or on public transport. They are not ‘muzzles of the Antichrist’. If they were, then every mask wearer in history has unknowingly been a servant of the Antichrist including Orthodox surgeons, firefighters, paint-sprayers and monks who make incense! No one in the Orthodox world, to our knowledge, has ever raised a religious objection to wearing masks before 2020.

The vaccine conspiracy theory is somewhat older than the mask theory.  Opposition to vaccination is as old as vaccination itself but has reemerged due to Social Media. Nearly all medical treatments have a risk attached to them. With vaccination though, we have to consider the risk to others as well as ourselves. The Orthodox Church does not object to vaccination – She never has done.

Most anti-vaccination theories have something to do with microchips and Bill Gates. Some also include anti-Semitic elements. These theories contradict the Orthodox teaching concerning the acceptance of the Antichrist. Do we really believe in an all-merciful God who would let us be tricked into accepting the Antichrist through a medical treatment? No. This is a dangerous idea indeed. No wonder that believers in conspiracy theories often spiral into depression and loss of faith. The world becomes confusing and frightening because they can no longer trust God.

No Orthodox Christian should ever knowingly have a readable microchip injected. However, even if we were secretly or forcibly injected with one, it would not mean that we had accepted the Antichrist. Microchips are injected under the skin and are easily removed. Accepting the mark of the beast is a permanent spiritual mark that we acquire ourselves because we have conformed ourselves completely to the Antichrist rather than conforming ourselves to God.

The Bill Gates microchip conspiracy theory is obviously nonsense because there are so many different vaccines. The UK is considering approving five vaccines; Russia and China both claim to have a working vaccine. Does Bill Gates control all these governments and drug companies? Do all the vaccines contain microchips ­ or only some of them? How are we to know?

To get around this problem, conspiracy theorists assert that Bill Gates is only part of a secret group of people who, with the help of the world's scientists and medical professionals, control all the world’s governments. ‘They want to vaccinate us so that they can control us’ is a common theme. Who exactly ‘they’ are is never explained. Instead, conspiracy theorists advise people to ‘trust no one and question everything’. This is very dangerous advice. Even in our everyday life we trust people. We trust chefs, bus drivers and pilots without questioning them as to their competence. The idea that we have the knowledge to question everyone on everything is sheer conceit.
 
Doing ‘research’ on the Internet into these theories is time wasted. The only ‘they’ we need to be concerned about are the demons who unashamedly desire our destruction. We can identify their working in us by increasing our prayer and spiritual reading. Wasting time researching conspiracy theories is a victory for the demons because we’re not doing saving spiritual work.

These theories are nonsense, but this rush for vaccines is concerning from a safety point of view. The sheer size of the medical trials of these vaccines is unprecedented, but there is some concern that the trials have been too short to uncover long-term side effects. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to distinguish our legitimate safety concerns from conspiracy theories. Some are convinced that mandatory coronavirus vaccination is a sign of the Antichrist coming, but other vaccines have been mandatory in European countries such as France and Italy for some years.
 
This leads us to our last point. As Christians we are commanded to obey the government as long as their laws are not contrary to the Orthodox Faith. As we’ve already said, the Orthodox Church has never objected to hand washing, mask wearing or vaccination. 

Lockdowns, however, are different because they affect the life of the Church here on earth by stopping the faithful from worshipping freely. In the UK, the lockdown has been quite relaxed, with little police involvement. In other countries, however, the police have been much more aggressive particularly in regard to Orthodox Christian worship.

Many of us are deeply concerned about the whole idea of lockdowns. Even the scientists advising the government cannot agree about them. Some view them as a solution to stopping the spread, but others point out that lockdowns lead to more deaths from other health conditions.  We must not, however, seek solace or reassurance in lockdown conspiracy theories.  We must first place our trust in God and those He has appointed to shepherd us – our bishops.

It’s important to remember that each bishop speaks only to the people in his diocese. He is responding to the situation in his particular country. Some of our bishops might be more ‘anti-lockdown’ than others because of the situation in their diocese. This is why it’s so important to read and act on the encyclicals that all our bishops have signed together. These give us general guidance more country-specific guidance will come from our own bishop.

In the UK, at the moment, the government is not persecuting the Orthodox Church it is banning gatherings of people in pubs, gyms, shops and football stadia as well as in places of worship. Complying with the regulations in this country is not anti-Orthodox. We don’t enjoy complying, but we do it as our duty. Our everyday life might have changed, but one thing we will never change is our faith and worship. Our bishops have said: ‘the Church alone, and no one else is responsible for determining the rules for Her worship and good order.’

Our bishops have stated that what is happening today is probably the prelude to greater tribulations. We cannot prepare for persecution by researching conspiracy theories – persecution is not a childish game. We need to prepare ourselves for whatever God permits us to suffer by strengthening our faith, living a life of repentance and praying for God’s mercy.

 Frequently Asked Questions 

Taken from Protocols 3022 and 3026. Additional quotes from The Orthodox Church and Eschatological Frenzy by Bishop Cyprian of Oreoi.


Does coronavirus exist?

Yes. Our bishops say that coronavirus can kill people despite being ‘infinitesimal and invisible’. ‘Faithful who belong to at-risk groups, and especially those of advanced age and those with serious illnesses should avoid exposing themselves to the virus.’

How scared should we be of coronavirus?

‘Fear and panic have no place among our faithful, clergy and laity alike. What is needed is strengthening of faith, repentance, sobriety, responsibility and prayer.’

Should we wear face masks in shops and on public transport?

Yes, if the law says we should. Our bishops say: ‘If, as true Christians, we have love and concern for others, let us display it by refraining from behaving heedlessly, tiresomely, or even dangerously towards them.’

Does the wearing of a face mask prepare us to accept the Antichrist?

No. ‘This activity of the Devil that prepares the way for the Antichrist has always been going on. Satan, who labours methodically to make men antichrists, has no need of perceptible and visible signs to achieve domination. He quietly introduces worship of himself so as to find them instructed beforehand in his ways, and to recognise himself as already formed in them.' (Bishop Cyprian of Oreoi)

Isn’t ‘controlling the spread of the virus’ really only an excuse for governments to control the people?

No. Our bishops are aware of the ‘critical nature of the situation and the looming peril, on account of our sins, from the further spread of coronavirus. Hence, we cannot ignore the good and anguished efforts of all those responsible agencies that are striving to avert this evil and to safeguard public health’.

I’m protected by God. I don’t need to follow government rules.

‘When the human factor of imperfection or indifference intrudes, there the Grace of God does not automatically act to restrain or alleviate it. It abides and acts only where the conditions are suitable, where people diligently do what is expected of them, and especially when their hearts are pure.’

What if the government takes advantage of its new powers?

‘Our Risen Lord is the Judge also of the rulers of this earth, and the rulers and authorities of this world will give an account before Him of how they handled the authority He gave them.’

How does that answer help us here and now?

‘We should take comfort in the fact that [Governments] cannot do anything against us except what the Lord permits, and also in how every evil that occurs by God’s leave  eventu- ally proves to be for the good, since we are tested in order that we may become worthy of eternal glory.’

What about those who say that our Synod’s position is too ‘pro-government’?

‘The Church of Christ is not influenced by the modus operandi and practices of extra-ecclesiastical schismatic circles or heretical groups.’

Are our bishops recommending that we refuse a coronavirus vaccine?

No. Our bishops also say that the ‘assiduous, exhaustive efforts’ of coronavirus scientists are ‘praiseworthy’.

Are microchips something to do with the mark of the Beast?

‘Pious Orthodox Christians are not influenced by various newfangled theories concerning “marks” or “preliminary marks”. All fear and anguish either about a “mark” imposed through the use of identity cards and other technological systems, or in general about some visible “mark” on the human body, are a trick of the devil to deflect our attention and are wholly unfounded.’ (Bishop Cyprian of Oreoi)

What if they inject us secretly with a microchip when they inject the vaccine?

‘The mark cannot be understood as a mechanical procedure of imposing or receiving an outward sign, which turns us into Antichrists automatically and regardless of our spiritual condition.’ (Bishop Cyprian of Oreoi)

How can we avoid being deceived into accepting the mark ?

We must live a life of true faith in God and repentance: ’The mark of the Beast betokens an inward procedure and relationship, which means: to belong to, partake of, receive, be conformed to, and assimilated to Satan. (Bishop Cyprian of Oreoi)

Can you catch coronavirus from taking Holy Communion?

No. ‘Divine Communion is indeed intrinsically insusceptible to defilement.’

Do we have to accept everything the medical experts say?

No. ‘[The Church] does not await the suggestions of people outside Her, even of ‘experts’ who, if not under the sway of a hostile and anti-Christian spirit, are at best unqualified to offer proposals for her functioning, for the celebration of Her worship. The Church – She alone, and no one else – is responsible for determining the rules for Her worship and good order.’

Are things going to get worse?

‘All that is happening is probably the prelude to greater tribulations. Yet we emphasise that nothing should deprive us of the invincible joy of the Resurrection and the sure hope of victory.’

Wednesday 10 June 2020

Organ Donation

Most transplants are carried out whilst the donor heart is still beating. To make this possible doctors have invented the term ‘brain death’ - the idea that people are ‘dead’ even though their heart is still beating. We would say that people who are ‘brain dead’ are still alive. In fact, sometimes they wake up – even as doctors are getting them ready for the operation to have their organs removed.

Hearts are always taken from ‘heart beating’ donors, but there’s another reason why we shouldn’t have heart transplants. The heart is the centre of our existence and is mysteriously connected with the experiences of our soul.

We are taught at school that the heart is only a pump, but some heart transplant patients change personality and become like the donor. These changes in favourite foods, music and hobbies happen even though the patient knows nothing about the donor.

After receiving the heart of a seventeen year old black teenager, a white manual worker started listening to classical music. This is what his wife said about it:

He’s driving me nuts with the classical music. He doesn’t know the name of one song and never, never listened to it before. Now, he sits for hours and listens to it. He even whistles classical music songs that he could never know. How does he know them? You’d think he’d like rap music or something because of his black heart. 

Of course, this man and his wife didn’t know that the teenager had been killed on the way to a violin lesson - he loved classical music and died hugging his violin case.

Some people object to organ donation because the body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit and mustn’t be destroyed. This is true, but the aim of organ donation isn’t the destruction of the body – it’s to help other people. It’s not like cremation which deliberately burns the body like the pagans used to.

Most Orthodox Christians say that donating organs is OK as long as the heart has already stopped. We can give blood if we are able. We can also donate bone marrow, a kidney or part of our liver. Obviously donating part of our organs is a very serious matter and we need to discuss it with our relatives, doctors and our spiritual father.

However, it’s very important to keep our names off the donor register because it’s not possible to opt-out of ‘heart beating’ donation.

There is more information on Orthodoxy and organ donation in our book 'The Grace of the Spirit'.

Wednesday 27 May 2020

Explanation of the Ascension Icon

© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Christ ascended into heaven on the fortieth day after His Resurrection. By His ascension in the Body, Christ raised our corrupted human nature and glorified it. The Feast of the Ascension always falls on the Thursday after the Sunday of the Blind Man which is exactly forty days after Pascha. 

The Acts of the Apostles, written by the Apostle Luke, starts with an account of Christ’s Ascension:
The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen: to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God (Acts 1: 1-3).
We know from the account in the Acts of the Apostles that Christ ascended from the Mount of Olives. In this icon, the mountain is represented by the rocks and the stylized olive trees which appear to sway and point towards Christ. 

Christ is shown blessing with His right hand. We hear in the Gospel: 'He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven' (Luke: 24:51). In His left hand He holds a scroll which is a symbol of His teaching.

The concentric circles that surround Christ are called a mandorla in iconography. A mandorla portrays Christ’s glory, and in this icon also signifies the highest heavens to which Christ is ascending. Two  angels are shown supporting the mandorla. In some icons (see below) the angels are shown blowing trumpets recalling the verse in the Psalms: ‘God is gone up in jubilation, the Lord with the voice of the trumpet’ (Ps. 46:5). We greet each other with this psalm verse during the feast of the Ascension. The greeting is 'God is gone up in jubilation.' The reply is 'The Lord with the voice of the trumpet.'
  • The Ascension of Our Lord, Russian icon from the Malo-Kirillov Monastery, Novgorod School, 1543 downloaded from PBS LearningMedia, http://www.pbslearningmedia.org.
  • This work is out of copyright, with photographic rights held by the Bridgeman Art Library.
Christ is shown seated upon a rainbow or sometimes on a throne. He is seated because He was received up into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father. Christ the Son of God is one in essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit - and has never been separated from them. The throne and the rainbow refer to this verse in the Revelation of Saint John: 

Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald (Rev. 4:2-3).
The Theotokos stands directly underneath Christ, in the centre of the foreground. She does not look up, but looks peacefully toward us. She holds her left hand closer to her chest, with palm outward - as do the the martyrs in their icons. This signifies the faith of the Church. In contrast to the apostles, the Theotokos appears still and peaceful. She, unlike the apostles, has a halo around her head signifying that while the apostles waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit, she had been chosen by God and was already overshadowed by the Holy Spirit (see Luke 1:35). In some icons she stretches out her arms in prayer signifying the prayers of the Church.

Two angels stand either side of the Theotokos. They point to Christ  illustrating the account of the Ascension in the Acts of the Apostles: ‘Ye men of Galilee why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, Who is taken up from you into heaven shall come again in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven’ (Acts 1:11). In some icons, the angels hold scrolls with this verse on them. The Ascension icon therefore foretells the Second Coming of Christ. The Mother of God and the Apostles are an image of the Church waiting for the Second Coming.

The apostles are arranged either side of the Theotokos - six on the right and six on the left. St. Paul is on her right, and St. Peter on her left. In contrast to the Theotokos, the heads of the apostles are lifted up, and some hold their hands out in amazement or gesture towards Christ ascending. St. Paul shields his eyes with his right hand recalling his being blinded by the light of Christ on the road to Damascus. 

Christ ascended before St. Paul converted to Christianity, but he is depicted for an important theological reason. The Theotokos and the apostles in the foreground represent the Church awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit. At Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended not only on the apostles present, but also established the whole Church from among the nations of the world. St. Paul's presence signifies the completeness of the Church. He is also included for another important reason. Just before the Ascension, Christ commanded His apostles to ‘go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature' (Mark 16:15). St. Paul, by His preaching of the Gospel brought countless people to the Faith which is why He is called  God’s chosen vessel and  the Chief of the Apostles.

Christ foretold both His Ascension and the coming of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, at Pentecost when He told His disciples: ‘It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you’(John 16:7).  At this time, it is not possible for most Orthodox Christians to celebrate these important feasts by partaking of the Holy Mysteries and by venerating the icons in church. However, when we look on this icon, we should call to mind the conclusion of the oikos of Ascension matins: ‘The bountiful Giver of gifts distributed gifts unto His Apostles, calling to them as a Father, and strengthening them; He guided them like sons and said unto them: I am not separated from you; I am with you, and no one can be against you.'