Friday, March 27, 2009

Equal of the Apostles and Emperor Constantine with his Mother Helen The Church calls St Constantine (306-337) "the Equal of the Apostles,"


The Church calls St Constantine (306-337) "the Equal of the Apostles," and historians call him "the Great." He was the son o the Caesar Constantius Chlorus (305-306), who governed the lands of Gaul and Britain. His mother was St Helen, a Christian of humble birth.

At this time the immense Roman Empire was divided into Western and Eastern halves, governed by two independent emperors and their corulers called "Caesars." Constantius Chlorus was Caesar in the Western Roman Empire. St Constantine was born in 274, possibly at Nish in Serbia. In 294, Constantius divorced Helen in order to further his political ambition by marrying a woman of noble rank. After he became emperor, Constantine showed his mother great honor and respect, granting her the imperial title "Augusta."

Constantine, the future ruler of all the whole Roman Empire, was raised to respect Christianity. His father did not persecute Christians in the lands he governed. This was at a time when Christians were persecuted throughout the Roman Empire by the emperors Diocletian (284-305) and his corulers Maximian Galerius (305-311) in the East, and the emperor Maximian Hercules (284-305) in the West.

After the death of Constantius Chlorus in 306, Constantine was acclaimed by the army at York as emperor of Gaul and Britain. The first act of the new emperor was to grant the freedom to practice Christianity in the lands subject to him. The pagan Maximian Galerius in the East and the fierce tyrant Maxentius in the West hated Constantine and they plotted to overthrow and kill him, but Constantine bested them in a series of battles, defeating his opponents with the help of God. He prayed to God to give him a sign which would inspire his army to fight valiantly, and the Lord showed him a radiant Sign of the Cross in the heavens with the inscription "In this Sign, conquer."

After Constantine became the sole ruler of the Western Roman Empire, he issued the Edict of Milan in 313 which guaranteed religious tolerance for Christians. St Helen, who was a Christian, may have influenced him in this decision. In 323, when he became the sole ruler of the entire Roman Empire, he extended the provisions of the Edict of Milan to the Eastern half of the Empire. After three hundred years of persecution, Christians could finally practice their faith without fear.

Renouncing paganism, the Emperor did not let his capital remain in ancient Rome, the former center of the pagan realm. He transferred his capital to the East, to the city of Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople, the city of Constantine (May 11). Constantine was deeply convinced that only Christianity could unify the immense Roman Empire with its diverse peoples. He supported the Church in every way. He recalled Christian confessors from banishment, he built churches, and he showed concern for the clergy.

The emperor deeply revered the victory-bearing Sign of the Cross of the Lord, and also wanted to find the actual Cross upon which our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. For this purpose he sent his own mother, the holy Empress Helen, to Jerusalem, granting her both power and money. Patriarch Macarius of Jerusalem and St Helen began the search, and through the will of God, the Life-Creating Cross was miraculously discovered in 326. (The account of the finding of the Cross of the Lord is found under the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, September 14). The Orthodox Church commemorates the Uncovering of the Precious Cross and the Precious Nails by the Holy Empress Helen on March 6.

While in Palestine, the holy empress did much of benefit for the Church. She ordered that all places connected with the earthly life of the Lord and His All-Pure Mother, should be freed of all traces of paganism, and she commanded that churches should be built at these places.

The emperor Constantine ordered a magnificent church in honor of Christ's Resurrection to be built over His tomb. St Helen gave the Life-Creating Cross to the Patriarch for safe-keeping, and took part of the Cross with her for the emperor. After distributing generous alms at Jerusalem and feeding the needy (at times she even served them herself), the holy Empress Helen returned to Constantinople, where she died in the year 327.

Because of her great services to the Church and her efforts in finding the Life-Creating Cross, the empress Helen is called "the Equal of the Apostles."

The peaceful state of the Christian Church was disturbed by quarrels, dissensions and heresies which had appeared within the Church. Already at the beginning of St Constantine's reign the heresies of the Donatists and the Novatians had arisen in the West. They demanded a second baptism for those who lapsed during the persecutions against Christians. These heresies, repudiated by two local Church councils, were finally condemned at the Council of Milan in 316.

Particularly ruinous for the Church was the rise of the Arian heresy in the East, which denied the Divine Nature of the Son of God, and taught that Jesus Christ was a mere creature. By order of the emperor, the First Ecumenical Council was convened in the city of Nicea in 325.

318 bishops attended this Council. Among its participants were confessor-bishops from the period of the persecutions and many other luminaries of the Church, among whom was St Nicholas of Myra in Lycia. (The account about the Council is found under May 29). The emperor was present at the sessions of the Council. The heresy of Arius was condemned and a Symbol of Faith (Creed) composed, in which was included the term "consubstantial with the Father," confirming the truth of the divinity of Jesus Christ, Who assumed human nature for the redemption of all the human race.

One might possibly be surprised by St Constantine's grasp of theological issues during the discussions at the Council. The term "consubstantial" was included in the Symbol of Faith at his insistence.

After the Council of Nicea, St Constantine continued with his active role in the welfare of the Church. He accepted holy Baptism on his deathbed, having prepared for it all his whole life. St Constantine died on the day of Pentecost in the year 337 and was buried in the church of the Holy Apostles, in a crypt he had prepared for himself.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009


Holy Great Martyress Catherine of Alexandria

The Holy Great Martyress Catherine was the daughter of the governor of Alexandrian Egypt Constus during the reign of the emperor Maximian (305-313). Living in the capital -- the center of Hellenistic knowledge, and possessed of an uncommon beauty and intellect -- Catherine received a most splendid of educations, having studied the works of the finest philosophers and teachers of antiquity. Young men from the most worthy families of the empire sought the hand of the beautiful Catherine, but none of them was chosen. She declared to her parents that she would be agreeable to enter into marriage only with someone who surpassed her in illustriousness, wealth, comeliness and wisdom.

Catherine's mother, a secret Christian, sent her for advice to her own spiritual father -- a saintly elder pursuing prayerful deeds in solitude in a cave not far from the city. Having listened to Catherine, the elder said that he knew of a Youth, who surpassed her in everything, such that "His beauty was more radiant than the shining of the sun, His wisdom governed all creation, His riches were spread throughout all the world -- this however did not diminish but rather added to the inexpressible loftiness of His lineage". The image of the Heavenly Bridegroom produced in the soul of the holy maiden an ardent desire to see Him. Truth, to which her soul yearned, revealed it to her. In parting, the elder handed Catherine an icon of the Mother of God with the God-Child Jesus on Her arm and bid her to pray with faith to the Queen of Heaven -- the Mother of the Heavenly Bridegroom -- for the bestowing of the vision of Her Son.

Catherine prayed all night and was given to see the Most Holy Virgin, Who sent Her Divine Son to look upon the kneeling of Catherine before Them. But the Child turned His face away from her saying, that He was not able to look at her because she was ugly, of shabby lineage, beggarly and mindless like every person -- not washed with the waters of holy Baptism and not sealed with the seal of the Holy Spirit. Catherine returned again to the elder deeply saddened. He lovingly received her, instructed her in the faith of Christ, admonished her to preserve her purity and integrity and to pray unceasingly; he then performed over her the mystery/sacrament of holy Baptism. And again Saint Catherine had a vision of the Most Holy Mother of God with Her Child. Now the Lord looked tenderly at her and gave her a ring -- a wondrous gift of the Heavenly Bridegroom.

At this time the emperor Maximian was himself in Alexandria for a pagan feastday. Because of this, the feast was especially splendid and crowded. The cries of the sacrificial animals, the smoke and the smell of the sacrifices, the endless blazing of fires, and the bustling crowds at the arenas filled Alexandria. Human victims also were brought -- because they consigned to death in the fire the confessors in Christ, those not recanting from Him under torture. The Saint's love for the Christian martyrs and her fervent desire to lighten their fate impelled Catherine to go to the pagan head-priest and ruler of the empire, the emperor-persecutor Maximian.

Introducing herself, the saint confessed her faith in the One True God and with wisdom denounced the errors of the pagans. The beauty of the maiden captivated the emperor.

In order to convince her and show the superiority of pagan wisdom, the emperor gave orders to gather 50 of the most learned men (rhetoricians) of the empire, but the Saint got the better of the wise men, such that they themselves came to believe in Christ. Saint Catherine shielded the martyrs with the sign of the cross, and they bravely accepted death for Christ and were burnt by order of the emperor.

Maximian, no longer hoping to convince the saint, tried to entice her with the promise of riches and fame. Having received an angry refusal, the emperor gave orders to subject the saint to terrible tortures and then throw her in prison. The Empress Augusta, who had heard much about the saint, wanted to see her. Having prevailed upon the military-commander Porphyry to accompany her with a detachment of soldiers, Augusta went to the prison. The empress was impressed by the strong spirit of Saint Catherine, whose face glowed with Divine grace. The holy martyress explained the Christian teaching to the newly-arrived, and they in believing were converted to Christ.

On the following day they again brought the martyress to the judgement court where, under the threat of being broken on the wheel, they urged that she recant from the Christian faith and offer sacrifice to the gods. The saint steadfastly confessed Christ and she herself approached the wheels; but an Angel smashed the instruments of execution, which broke up into pieces with many pagans passing nearby. Having beheld this wonder, the empress Augusta and the imperial courtier Porphyry with 200 soldiers confessed their faith in Christ in front of everyone, and they were beheaded. Maximian again tried to entice the holy martyress, proposing marriage to her, and again he received a refusal. Saint Catherine firmly confessed her fidelity to the Heavenly Bridegroom -- Christ, and with a prayer to Him she herself put her head on the block under the sword of the executioner. The relics of Saint Catherine were taken by the Angels to Mount Sinai. In the VI Century, through a revelation, the venerable head and left hand of the holy martyress were found and transferred with honor to a newly-constructed church of the Sinai monastery, built by the holy emperor Justinian (527-565; commemorated 14 November).


Troparion in tone 4
Your lamb Catherine, O Jesus,
Calls out to You in a loud voice:
I love You, O my bridegroom,
And in seeking You, I endure suffering.
In Baptism I was crucified so that I might reign in You,
And died so that I might live with You.
Accept me as a pure sacrifice,
For I have offered myself in love.
By her prayers
save our souls, since You are merciful.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Orthodox chanting for Great Lent and Easter, Arabic and Greek

St. Seraphim from Sarov


The fourth and the last domain of the Virgin Mary is to be found at the Diveevo Convent of the Holy Trinity and of St. Seraphim (The Svyto- Troitsky Seraphimo-Diveevsky monastery). The relics of the Great Russian saint Seraphim Sarovsky are situated here. He is one of the few saints who attained the very highest level of spiritual perfection by the ascetic acts of living as a hermit spending hours in meditation on a column, taking vows of silence seclusion. The Virgin Mary appeared to the venerable Seraphim twelve times.

In 1778 Prokhor Moshin (who took the name of Seraphim in monastic life) became a novice in the then highly reputed Sarovsky Monastery which was 15km away from the village of Diveevo. It was here that he performed his spiritually ascetic acts and after finishing his period of seclusion in 1825 he took in all those in need of spiritual aid.

In 1903, on the basis of a large amount of evidence supporting the healing of the sick through the intercession of father Seraphim, the Holy Synod took the decision to canonize the venerable Seraphim. Tsar Nickolay II, the empress accomponied by numerous enyourage took part in the celebrations, devoted to canonizing of the venerable Seraphim, which were held in Sarov and Seraphimo-Diveevsky monastery. Nickolay was thought to be given a letter written by Seraphim, which greatly upset the tsar.

The Diveevo Convent of the Holy Trinity and of St. Seraphim was founded by a rich aristocrat Agatha Semenovna Melgunova(who took the name of Alexandra when she became a nun). At the request from the Virgin Mary, she ordered the area surrounding Diveevo to be cleared for the construction of a women’s religious community and 1767 began building a stone church in honour of the icon of the Mother of God at Kazan. As Sister Alexandra drew closer to the end of her life, she asked the elders of Sarov not to leave her fellow sisters without spiritual guidance. It was father Pakhomy who took it upon himself to look after the community of nuns and after his death the job was taken on by father Seraphim.

Under the guidance of father Seraphim a mill was built in 1827 and a separate community for those who had taken vows of celibacy was set up near the mill. The legend says that the Virgin Mary appeared to father Seraphim and in this way the religious community was blessed by her presence. By order of father Seraphim the nuns dug a trench along the path which the Virgin Mary had trodden. Seraphim explained its significance in the following way: it was the Queen of Heaven herself who measured out this trench. Whoever crosses this trench while praying and has read the 150 prayers to Virgin Mary that person will get all of Afon, Jerusalem and Kiev”. From that time on, the village of Diveevo has been considered as the fourth domain of the Virgin Mary on earth. In 1848 the Trinity cathedral was laid, but its building and blessing was put off till 1875. The blessing day coincided with the celebration devoted to God's mother's icon "Umilenie" ("Tender Emotion"). In 1861 the religious community in Diveevo was named a Third Degree Convent. Up until 1917, it numbered about 1000 nuns. Near the convent, an icon-painting workshop and print works were set up: painting and handicrafts workshops also appeared.

In 1927 the community was closed down, and the cathedrals were destroyed. It was only in the spring of 1900 that the main monastic church (the Trinity Church) was reconsecrated. It was the start of the community’s renaissance. In summer 1991 the miraculous relics of the venerable Seraphim Sarovsky, which had been found in the Kazansky Cathedral in St. Petersburg, were transferred to the convent.

Thousands of pilgrims from all over the world visit Diveevo to do homage to its holy ground and the relics of the great church elder, Seraphim Sarovsky. The church of the Birth of the Holy Mother of God is where the relics of the venerable nuns of Diveevo, Alexandra, Marpha and Elena lie. They have been canonized.

In the Nizhniy Novgorod region 9 monasteries were blessed by the venerable Seraphim. At the many of them are small and secluded monasteries of Diveevo Convent including Serafimo-Ponetaevsky (65 km from Diveevo), Kutuzovosky Bogoroditsky in Ardatov region, and one more situated on the spring of the venerable Serafim Sarovsky in the village of Khitry and others.