12 posts tagged “saints”
Today, Orthodox Sunday, is the 3rd anniversary of our being received into the Orthodox Church by Holy Chrismation and/or Baptism.
From Wikipedia, "The Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy is celebrated on the first Sunday of Great Lent. It is the celebration of the victory of the iconodules over the iconoclasts by the decision of the Seventh Ecumenical Council. Therefore, the service is to commemorate the restoration of icons for use in services and private devotional life of Christians.
Services often include the clergy or the faithful triumphantly processing around the church, holding icons of their patron or parish saints. In areas where multiple jurisdictions exist (such as the United States), Pan-Orthodox Vespers are also usually celebrated in the evening."
I'll repost the first icon I ever bonded with in memory of our son, Isaac.
Yesterday was the commemoration/feast day of the Holy Patriarchs and Matriarchs recounted in the Old Testament. Thus it was all of my children's namesdays as they were originally named for people, and a river, in the Old Testament. Jordan (who I'll add on Theophany) and Jeremy chose the Russian brothers, Boris and Gleb, Jared (who unfortunately doesn't have an icon, but is the father of Enoch, "who walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.", who was the father of the oldest living human, Mathuselah) chose Justin Martyr, and Ben chose the Russian Saint Vladimir when they entered the Orthodox Church, but Rachel and Rebecca kept the Saints they were named after. Isaac, who was stillborn, is also commemorated today. God grant you many years, and Memory Eternal!
LIFE OF
ST. HERMAN OF ALASKA
- (c.1756 - 1837)
- Feast Days: August 9th (canonization)
- & December 13th (repose)
In 1994 the 200th anniversary of Orthodoxy in America was celebrated — the bicentennial of the establishment of a Russian Orthodox mission on Kodiak Island, Alaska. On September 24, 1794, ten missionaries from the Valaam Monastery in the St. Petersburg (Russia) diocese, who had traveled for a year across 7,000 miles, finally reached their harsh new mission land in Alaska, or "Russian America," which had been a part of the Russian Empire until its sale to the United States in 1867. Only one of these original missionaries survived and remained in America—Holy Father St. Herman.
American Orthodoxy today owes a great
debt to these ten missionary monks, most especially to the simple and humble ascetic monk,
Father Herman. Truly the "North-Star of Christ’s Holy Church," and the last
survivor of the original 1794 mission, he worked among the Alutiiq people for 43
years, teaching them by word and by the example of
his holy life and great deeds. For most of those years he lived on Spruce Island—his
"New Valaam"—teaching and caring for the natives as his beloved children,
frequently defending them against the exploitation of the Russian fur traders. The people
quickly grew to love him and came to him with all their problems. He lived the most
ascetic life possible, eating and sleeping little, wearing the same ragged clothes
year-round, feeding the birds and wild animals (even bears), and in continual prayer with
his constant companions—God, the saints and the angels. When smallpox, brought by the
European ships, ravaged the native Alaskans, Father Herman personally ministered to them,
and brought all the orphans to his New Valaam, where he took care of them. He built an
orphanage, school and chapel. He grew food in his garden, caught fish and baked cookies
for the children. He taught them in his school, and showed them by his example how to live
a godly life. Indeed, the children and adults loved their dear Apa (grandfather),
and the native people have maintained their devotion to their beloved holy man until
today. (Most native Alaskans are Orthodox). St. Herman was a clairvoyant wonder-worker,
who saw into people’s hearts and into the future. Once, when a tidal wave (sunami)
threatened the island, the saint put an icon near the sea, and said that the water would
not come past the icon: it didn’t. Another time there was a similar experience with a
forest fire.
click here for the rest of the article
Today is my Namesday, so I'd like to post this icon.
Our Matushka let me preview the new Saints of North America Activity Book before it went to the presses. All six kids, 6-18 years old, enjoyed it as the stories, along with interesting and engaging icons (drawn by Matushka Christine!), maps, and puzzles, introduce the Orthodox Saints who helped evangelize North America. It's release is just in time to give us a historical background for our upcoming trip to Russian America - Alaska!
His father was away working on the Panama canal when he was growing up, and he was sent off at a young age to live atop a grocery store where he worked. He ran away to Mt. Athos when he was only 12 wanting to emulate Saint John the Hut Dweller - a hermit monk. I wonder if his upbringing contributes to his saying,
"There are often orphan children at a school. It's a hard thing to be an orphan. A child who's deprived of its parents, especially at an early age, becomes unhappy in life. But if it acquires spiritual parents in Christ and our Holy Lady, it becomes a saint. Treat orphan children with love and understanding, but above all bring them into contact with Christ and the Church."
from Wounded By Love
I chose this icon for my Wordpress blog and wanted to add it to this one too. I believe it, or one like it, is the icon that hung in St. Seraphim's monastic cell. Today I've been reading this conversation on the Intercession of the Saints. Somehow praying for the departed is one of my most joyful obediences. It doesn't feel like work. May they pray for me too.
This icon is one of the few in which the Theotokos is depicted without Christ. But her communion with Him in Spirit is still emphasized.
Hey Boris and Gleb (Jordan and Jeremy), I found a beautifully rendered account of your Saints' lives and icon on Mimi's blog:
Sts. Boris and Gleb, Proto-martyrs and Passion-Bearers of Old Russia
Boris
and Gleb were the younger and much beloved sons of Grand Prince
Vladimir, the ruler of Kievan Rus, who in 988 brought his subjects to
the waters of Holy Baptism. The two brothers were also baptized at
which time they received the Christian names Romanus and David. The
older of the two, Boris, was very gifted and learned to read and write.
He shared with his brother his knowledge of the Scriptures and the
lives of the Saints whom they both strove to emulate. Indeed, by the
time they came of age to rule their respective patrimonies, the
territories of Ryazan and Murom, they had already cultivated in their
hearts Christian virtues of mercy, compassion and kindness, traits
still rare in a land freshly converted from barbarous paganism.
Boris was particularly esteemed among the people and the soldiery. His
popularity provoked bitter jealousy in his eldest brother Svyatopolk
(known to history as "the Accursed") who scorned the laws of the newly
adopted Christian religion, so dear to his younger brothers, in favor
of satisfying his unbridled ambition. He saw Boris as a rival for the
position of Grand Prince, and when Vladimir died Svyatopolk wasted no
time in plotting his brother's murder.
Boris had been sent by his
father to fend off an anticipated raid by the Pechenegs. He was
returning to Kiev when he was met by emissaries sent by Svyatopolk,
from whom he learned of his father' s death and his brother' s
self-willed accession to the throne. The latter, knowing that the
people would rather have Boris as ruler and desiring to forestall any
opposition that this news might stir up, bade his messengers assure
Boris of his fraternal goodwill and his intent to increase Boris'
domain.
Boris was well aware of his brother's long-standing hatred
for him and recognized in this message the kiss of Judas. The young
prince knew that his life was threatened. His immediate concern,
however, was not the adoption of some military strategy--whether
offensive or defensive--but how to act in such circumstances as befits
a Christian. Reflecting upon the words of the Gospel: "If any man say,
I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar," and "Love thine
enemies," he firmly rejected the advice of his father's retainers who
urged Boris to oust the unpopular Svyatopolk, pledging their support to
such a plan, "Be it not for me," he replied, "to raise my hand against
my brother. Now that my father has passed away, let him take the place
of my father in my heart."
Knowing that armed resistance would only
provoke needless bloodshed, Boris sent away his soldiers and remained
alone where they had encamped on the bank of the Alta, together with a
few servants, it was Saturday evening and he retired to his tent to
recite the vigil service. As he read the Six Psalms, the cry of the
Psalmist echoed in his heart: "O Lord, why are they multiplied that
afflict me, Many rise up against me..." (Ps. 3:1). Informed that his
murderers were approaching, the Prince turned to an icon of the Saviour
and prayed beseechingly: "Lord Jesus Christ, Thou didst accept Thy
Passion on account of our sins; grant me al so the strength to accept
my passion. I receive it not from my enemies but from my brother, Lord,
lay not this sin to his charge."
As the murderers burst into the
tent, Boris' faithful servant George, a young Hungarian, placed himself
between the prince and his attackers in an attempt to save his master's
life. The servant was killed at once, while the Prince, grievously
wounded by the thrust of a lance, was bound up in the tent canvas and
taken on a cart to Kiev. But he never reached the city. When Svyatopolk
learned that his brother was still alive, he sent two Varangians to
consummate the bloody deed, which was accomplished when one of them
plunged his sword into Boris' heart.
Svyatopolk's next victim was
Gleb. He sent word to the guileless prince that his father was very ill
and was calling for him. Always obedient to his father, Gleb set off at
once with a small retinue. Near Smolensk, where his route took him by
boat down the river Smyadyn, he was met by emissaries from his brother
Yaropolk bearing a letter of warning from their sister Predislava: "Do
not come,' she wrote. "Your father has died and Svyatopolk has killed
your brother."
But the warning had come too late. The murderers
hired by Svyatopolk caught up with Gleb on the river. He knew that he
alone was the object of the pursuit and, like his brother, Gleb urged
his company not to offer armed resistance, as they were outnumbered and
all would perish. After a momentary weakness in which he begged his
assassins to spare his young life, he calmly accepted his fate in the
understanding that the voluntary suffering of the innocent is a direct
imitation of Christ. Gleb was killed by his own cook who, terrified
into compliance by Svyatopolk's henchmen, seized the headof the young
prince and cut his throat. His body was thrown onto the shore and
covered with brush.
Five years later, when Yaroslav finally
succeeded in overthrowing the treacherous Svyatopolk, the bodies of the
two royal martyrs, discovered to be incorrupt, were laid to rest
together in the church of St. Basil in Vyshgorod, Yaroslav' s residence
near Kiev. Their tomb immediately became a place of pilgrimage, and the
many miracles which took place before their relics persuaded Church
authorities to consent to Yaroslav's request and canonize the two
brother-princes.
Although Boris and Glob were not martyred for
their faith (they are properly called 'passion-bearers' rather than
martyrs), their voluntary and meek sacrifice for the sake of averting
the suffering of others and preserving the Christian ideal, had a
profound effect on the subsequent development of Christianity in
Russia. Whereas in Byzantine Christianity God was often depicted as
Pantocrator--stern and all-powerful, in Russia the emphasis was on
Christ as the sacrificial Lamb Who 'opened not his mouth before his
shearer'. Russian piety came to be characterized by a tender humility
and an acceptance of suffering following the example of Christ. In this
century Russia's New Martyrs offer a supreme testimony to the enduring
influence of this otherworldly orientation which that country first
witnessed in the exploit of the two youthful brother princes and
passion-bearers, Boris and Gleb. Life from Orthodox America
A beautiful icon is here."
And Vladimir (Ben), Vladimir, the Russian Viking by Vladimir Volkoff (cool, 3 Vlad's in a row), tells your Saint's life.
Probably my becoming Orthodox was largely influenced by the death of Isaac. I subconsciously needed to know where he is and that the maternal bond is still connected at the other end. Maybe it's like the shepherd who left the ninety-nine to find the one that was lost. I also knew in my spirit that Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist is an integral part of the Communion of the Saints, living and departed, in Christ.
This connection came at a price. Others can't tolerate the way the Orthodox view communion with the departed, but I wont leave him again. All I can do is pray for him and hope he prays for me.
It surprises me that I still cry over him. Especially when I'm alone it catches me off-guard. This time it was watching Mrs. Duggar on DHC give birth to her 16th child. I'm so jealous that that baby moved and cried when it was born! I'll never get over it I guess. And if that makes me a bad poster child for Christian joy, I'm sorry.
