Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh. Sermons and works of Anthony of Sourozh

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh (in the world, before entering monasticism: Andrei Borisovich Bloom), was born on June 19, 1914 in Switzerland, in Lausanne. His maternal grandfather belonged to Russian diplomatic circles; served as consul in various places. My grandfather met Metropolitan Anthony’s future grandmother, a native of Trieste (Italy), while he was there on public service duty. He taught her Russian. After they tied the knot, her grandfather brought her to Russia.

Their daughter, Ksenia Nikolaevna Skryabina (sister of the famous composer A. Scriabin), mother of Andrei (Antonia), met her future husband, Boris Eduardovich Bloom, during the holidays, when she went to Erzurum, where her father was serving at that time. Boris Eduardovich worked there as a translator. After things began between them serious feeling, They merried.

After Andrei was born, his family stayed in Lausanne for about two months, and then moved to Russia, to Moscow. Around 1915-16, in connection with B. Bloom's appointment to the East, the family moved to Persia. The future bishop spent his childhood there. For some time he had a Russian nanny, but mainly his grandmother and mother were involved in his upbringing.

Andrei's childhood fell on a turbulent time. Due to the First World War, revolutionary chaos and political changes in Russia, the family had to face the difficulties of a wandering life. In 1920, Andrei’s mother, he himself and his grandmother left their Persian home, while his father was forced to stay. The difficulties associated with endless travel, sometimes on horseback, sometimes in carts, were superimposed by the dangers of encountering robbers.

In 1921, everyone reached the West together. Having traveled many European roads and ending up in France, the family finally found the opportunity to settle down. This happened in 1923. There were many difficulties associated with the peculiarities of emigrant life. All this was aggravated by unemployment. The mother's employment was facilitated by her knowledge foreign languages, proficiency in stenographer skills.

In France, Andrei had to live separately from his family. The school where he was placed was located outside of Paris, in such a disadvantaged area that, starting in the evening twilight, even the local police did not dare to enter, because “they were slaughtering there.”

At school, Andrei, like many others, had to endure bullying and beatings from students. It can be said that during that period educational school served for him as a school of patience, survival, and courage. Many years later, when one day, while reading on the subway, he got distracted and glanced at the sign with the name of the station, and it turned out that it was the station, not far from which his school had once been located, he fainted from the rush of memories.

It should be noted that both the current difficulties and the forced life away from Russia did not deprive Andrei’s loved ones of love for her. Over time, this love was passed on to him.

First steps on the path of Christian, monastic and pastoral life

For a long time, Andrei’s attitude towards the Church, as he later noted, was more than indifferent. One of the immediate reasons for serious hostility was his experience of communication with Catholics. When, due to a lack of means of subsistence, the mother decided to take advantage of their offer of a scholarship for Russian children and brought Andrei to them for a “bride,” he went through an interview and received an affirmative answer, but here he was given a strict condition: he must convert to Catholicism . Considering this condition as an attempt to buy and sell, Andrei was indignant and expressed a strong protest that was not childish. At that time he did not yet understand the essential difference between the Western and Eastern Churches and, as a result, extended his indignation to the “Church in general.”

Andrei's conversion to Christ occurred only at the age of 14. One day he witnessed the sermon of Father Sergius Bulgakov. The sermon shook him up, but he was in no hurry to trust the preacher and upon returning home he asked his mother for the Gospel in order to confirm his mistrust and be convinced that he was right. However, the opposite happened: a careful, thoughtful reading of Scripture changed his attitude towards faith.

Gradually, Andrei became involved in Christian work and fervent prayer. In 1931, having received a pastoral blessing, he began to serve in the church at the Three Hierarchs' Compound (the only church in Paris at that time that belonged to the Moscow Patriarchate). It should be noted that from that time on Andrei did not violate fidelity and did not break canonical communion with the Russian Patriarchal Church.

After graduating from school, he entered the natural sciences and then the medical faculty of the Sorbonne. Student life did not prevent him from making plans to connect his life with monastic feat. He graduated from the Sorbonne in 1939, just before the war, and soon went to the front as a surgeon. But first he took monastic vows, which were accepted by his confessor, although he was not tonsured due to lack of time. He was tonsured as a monk only in 1943. Actually, it was then that he received the name Anthony.

During the occupation, Anthony participated in the French Resistance, then again ended up in the army, healing the wounded and sick. After demobilization, he found his mother and grandmother and brought them to Paris.

It is noteworthy that while carrying out medical activities, Anthony did not forget about the need for living sympathy and compassion for his patients, which, unfortunately, he could not say about some of the doctors he personally knew, hardened by the horrors of war. It is worthy of note that empathy and sensitivity to man, the ability to see in him not just a citizen, but a neighbor, the desire to contemplate in him the image and likeness of the Creator, contributed to Father Anthony throughout his pastoral activity.

In 1948, he was ordained a hierodeacon, and soon he was ordained a hieromonk, after which he took spiritual leadership over the members of the Orthodox Anglican Fellowship of St. Albanius and St. Sergius. As Metropolitan Anthony himself later recalled, this turn in fate was facilitated by a meeting with Archimandrite Leo (Gillet), which took place at the Orthodox Anglican Congress. Then, having talked with Anthony, the archimandrite advised him to leave the profession of a doctor, become a priest and continue serving God in England.

Since 1950, Father Anthony served as rector of the Church of the Holy Apostle Philip and St. Sergius in London. In 1953 he was ordained to the rank of abbot, and in 1956 to the rank of archimandrite. A little later, he accepted the position of rector of the Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God and All Saints in London.

In 1957, Father Anthony was installed as Bishop of Sergievsky. In 1962, he was consecrated to the rank of archbishop for the newly established Sourozh diocese in the British Isles. From 1966, upon his elevation to the rank of metropolitan, and until 1974, Anthony of Sourozh served as Patriarchal Exarch in Western Europe, after which he was relieved of this position by at will. Meanwhile, he continued to minister to his flock. It should be noted that during the period of his leadership, a clearly organized structure of parishes was formed in the diocese, with well-established educational work.

By that time, Metropolitan Anthony had earned well-deserved respect among Christians around the world and his ardent preaching was spreading everywhere: through numerous lectures and publications, translated into all kinds of languages; through radio and television.

In 1983, the Council of the Moscow Theological Academy awarded Metropolitan Anthony the degree of Doctor of Theology for a body of pastoral and theological works. In addition to this, in different time he was awarded the title of honorary doctorate from Aberdeen (1973) and Cambridge (1996) universities, and the Kyiv Theological Academy (2000).

IN recent months During his life, the bishop, due to deteriorating health, served rarely and appeared in public less often. He died on August 4, 2003. And on August 13, 2003, in the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Mother of God and All Saints in London, his funeral service took place. The funeral service was performed by Metropolitan Philaret of Minsk and Slutsk.

General directions of preaching and scientific and theological works of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh

Despite the existence of a large number of works published under the authorship of Metropolitan Anthony, many of these works do not actually represent the fruit of his writing. Most of the published works are reproductions of recordings of oral sermons and conversations delivered under different circumstances, in different audiences (see: Proceedings. Volume I; Proceedings. Volume II).

The Metropolitan did not always devote his speeches to a predetermined topic. Quite often, the subjects of his sermons were issues that interested specific listeners in a specific situation, at a specific moment. And these were the most diverse questions. This is partly what explains the wide range of topics covered by his teachings.

The general characteristics of the Metropolitan’s instructions are marked by several pronounced features. Firstly, a significant part of his works is composed in a clear and accessible language, and can be perceived directly by a wide range of people. Secondly, the theological context of the “works” is presented in close unity with spiritual and moral exhortations. Thirdly, many of his works are aimed not only at strengthening a person’s faith in God, but also a person’s faith in himself, as in the image and likeness of God (see:). Fourthly, much attention is paid to explaining the meaning and necessity of liturgical life (see:). Finally, the idea about the meaning and mission of the Church is revealed to him in such a way that every listener, every reader sees in the Church not just a Assembly of believers, but also sees himself, realizes his personal role.

1. We don't always trust that God believes in us; and therefore we are not always able to believe in ourselves. ("Man Before God")

2. Only he can teach and lead another who is himself a student and novice. ("Man Before God")

3. The neighbor, in the understanding of the Gospel, is the one who needs us. ("The Beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God")

4. ... demandingness in love is reflected, first of all, in inspiring a loved one, in assuring him that he is infinitely significant and valuable, that he has everything necessary to grow into a greater measure of humanity. ("Man Before God")

5. The job of a shepherd is to look at his flock, to look prayerfully, to look humbly, and to help them become what they are called by God. ("Shepherding")

6. When you are praised, do two things. First: remember why you are praised, and try to become one. And secondly, never try to dissuade people, because the more you dissuade, the more more people they will see humility in you, which is not in you at all... (“Pastoration”)

7. Question how the Gospel judges you. The Gospel does not condemn me, it calls me to eternal life. How do I answer this call to the eternal life of the gospel, and what prevents me from answering it? ("Shepherding")

8. We are all at the mercy of time, but through our own fault, time has nothing to do with it. The fact that time flows and the fact that we are in a hurry to get somewhere are two completely different things. Hurry is internal state; to act accurately, accurately, quickly - this is a completely different matter. ("Shepherding")

9. Haste lies in the fact that a person wants to be half an inch in front of himself: not where he is, but always a little ahead. And while a person lives like this, he will not pray, because the person who is not here cannot pray, and the one who is here does not pray. (“Pastoration”)

10. We forget that there is sin in our lives, we become insensitive to it, we forget it easily, we grieve for it little. And at the same time, this is the only misfortune of human life. (“Sermons”)

11. Sin kills. He kills our soul, making it insensitive and callous, he kills our relationship with God and with people; he kills our conscience and life in others, he kills Christ on the Cross. ("Sermons")

12. Eternity does not mean that sometime after death we will live endlessly. Eternity is our communion with God. ("The Beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God")

13. The miracle lies in the fact that God, through human faith, restores the harmony that previously existed and was disrupted by human malice, madness, and sin. ("The beginning of the Gospel...")

14. Repentance is about coming to your senses, making a decision, and acting accordingly. Crying is not enough, moreover, it is fruitless. ("The beginning of the Gospel...")

15. Loving always costs a lot; because to truly love means to treat another in such a way that your life is no longer dear to you - his life is dear, his soul is dear, his destiny is dear. ("Sermons")

16. Not only is dying difficult, living is difficult. Sometimes living is more difficult than dying, because it means dying day after day. Sometimes it's easier to die at once. ("Sermons")

17. Sin kills everything in life - and we least of all feel it as death. We cry about everything, we lament about everything, we grieve about everything, except that we are dying alive, that gradually an impenetrable ring of alienation is forming around us, both from the sinner, and from the righteous, and from God, that this ring cannot be opened even by love others, because we are the more ashamed and afraid the more we are loved... (“Sermons”)

18. Sometimes a small drop of warmth, one warm word, one attentive gesture can transform the life of a person who would otherwise have to cope with his life alone (Conversation on the Parable of the Good Samaritan)

19. Who is our neighbor? Who is the one for whose sake I must distract myself from the deepest experiences of the heart, from the highest interests of the mind, from all the best things that I experience? – then Christ’s answer is direct and simple: Everyone! Anyone who is in need, on any level; at the simplest level of food and shelter, tenderness and warmth, attention and friendship. (“Conversation on the Parable of the Good Samaritan”)

20. Everything in life is mercy, and everything in life can be joy if you equally perceive with a joyful heart what is given and what is taken away. (“Sermons”).

21. We must remember that every person we meet during our lives, even by chance, even while on the subway, on a bus, on the street, at whom we looked with sympathy, with seriousness, with purity, without even saying a word, can in an instant receive hope and strength to live.

    There are people who go through years without being recognized by anyone, go through years as if they do not exist for anyone. And suddenly they found themselves in the face of a person unknown to them, who looked at them with depth, for whom this person, rejected, forgotten, non-existent, exists. And this is the beginning of a new life. We must remember this.
    With sai

22. I suggest you now: sit in church silently for half an hour, without talking to each other, face to face with yourself, and ask yourself the question: is what was just said fair? Am I standing in my way? Am I not casting my shadow on everything that is bathed in the sun around me? Haven’t I lived my whole life, reducing all its scope and depth only to myself, thinking about what makes me happy, what’s scary for me, what’s useful to me, what I need? And if so, can’t I find in my circle, in the circle of my interests and people, several people or several objects on which I could, as an exercise, with effort, against all my habits, concentrate my gaze and attention so that put them at the center of my life? And ask yourself: who can I do good to? Who can I serve to benefit from the experience of my life - both the good and the bad experiences of life? (“Proceedings”)

23. How can you begin to pray in the face of the tomb with the words Blessed is our God? How much faith, trust, reverence for God, acceptance of His ways, humility - or at least the will to all this - is needed to bless God at the moment when everything dear to us is taken away from us... This is the moment of the ultimate, perhaps, sobriety of Orthodox worship. Bless the Lord - because the center is in Him, not in you, not even in that loved one who now lies dead in front of you. This man gathered us not by his death, but by his life, and brought us before the face of God to contemplate the ways of God, the mysteries of God, to worship in horror and reverence before God, who remains even in these terrible moments the God of love.

24. When we try to understand what value God Himself attaches to man, we see that we are bought at a price, that the price of man in the eyes of God is all life and all death, tragic death His Only Begotten Son on the cross. This is how God thinks of man - as His friend, created by Him so that he would share eternity with Him.

25. Each person is an icon that needs to be restored in order to see the Face of God.

26. I once had to stand waiting for a taxi near the Ukraine Hotel. A young man came up to me and said: “Judging by your dress, are you a believer, a priest?” I answered: “Yes.” - “But I don’t believe in God...” I looked at him and said: “It’s a shame!” - “How will you prove God to me?” - “What kind of proof do you need?” - “And here: show me your God in the palm of your hand, and I will believe in Him...” He extended his hand, and at that moment I saw that he had wedding ring. I tell him: “Are you married?” - “Married” - “Are there any children?” - “And there are children” - “Do you love your wife?” - “Well, I love you” - “Do you like children?” - “Yes” - “But I don’t believe in it!” - “What do you mean: I don’t believe it? I’m telling you...” - “Yes, but I still don’t believe it. Now put your love in the palm of my hand, I’ll look at it and believe it...” He thought: “Yes, I didn’t look at love from this point of view!...”

Prepared by Maria Khorkova

Annotation

This book is the most complete collection of conversations, sermons and dialogues of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh ever published. Metropolitan Anthony, a doctor by profession, is one of the most authoritative Orthodox theologians in the world, head of the diocese of the Russian Church in Great Britain. Substantial part texts are published for the first time. The book includes an extensive introduction, photographs, extensive commentary, bibliography, an annotated index of names, and a subject index. The book is intended for the widest circle of readers: not only Orthodox, but everyone who wants and is ready to hear what the Orthodox Church has to say to modern man.

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh

Preface

Curriculum Vitae

From the editor

Theology of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh in the light of Patristic Tradition

Main themes of this book

Abbreviated titles of biblical books

Matter and Spirit

Human values ​​in medicine(17)

Issues of medical ethics(21)

Death(25)

Back from the Dead(35)

Orthodox philosophy of matter(49)

Body and matter in spiritual life(50)

In the face of suffering(57)

Shepherd at the bedside(58)

About stigmata(63)

Questioning

Questioning and doubt(68)

Orthodoxy and the Western World(72)

Dialogue between an atheist and a Christian(75)

God in Question(82)

No notes(86)

About the true dignity of man(104)

Faith of God in man(105)

Self-knowledge(109)

Internal stability(114)

What is spiritual life(121)

Spiritual guidance in Orthodox Church{132}

Results of life(134)

Holiness(140)

About a person's vocation(146)

Reconciliation of all creation(149)

We must bring faith to the world(151)

About freedom(156)

Contemplation and activity(162)

Christian service in a secular society(171)

About the feat of love (174)

Mystery of love(176)

Marriage and family issues(182)

The Word of God

Thoughts While Reading Scripture(186)

Lessons from the Old Testament(192)

About the Gospel Gospel(193)

"The Beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (199)

Chapter first

Chapter two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

First Petitions of the Lord's Prayer(210)

The call of God and the way of salvation(216)

Reflections on the way to Easter(220)

God's ways

About the creation and salvation of the world (225)

Day Seven(231)

About the Resurrection of Christ(233)

Beauty and matter in their relationship with God (238)

Life and prayer are one (301)

Prayer and activity(302)

Courage to Pray(310)

About the Lord's Prayer(320)

Prayerful Intercession(335)

Evening prayer(338)

Sermons

“The preacher must speak of what is his experience of God” (339)

Shepherd's Word(342)

New Year's prayer service

Sermon for the week before Christmas (344)

Nativity

Presentation of the Lord(345)

Epiphany(347)

Transfiguration

Annunciation – Good Friday(348)

Palm Sunday

Holy Week

Annunciation – Bright Monday(354)

About Mary Magdalene(356)

About the joy of Christ(358)

Ascension of the Lord(359)

About the Ascension of the Lord and Pentecost (360)

Nativity of the Mother of God(361)

Dormition of the Mother of God

Feast of the Icon of the Mother of God “Unexpected Joy”(362)

Exaltation of the Holy Cross

About the fear of God(364)

About the Gospel(365)

About the meeting(366)

About a miracle(368)

Sermon to newlyweds(369)

About the body(371)

On the responsibility of Christians for the whole world (372)

About repentance(373)

About wars(375)

About the message of Patriarch Alexy to youth (377)

Memorial service for sailors who died on a submarine in the Barents Sea

Day of all saints who shone in the Russian land (378)

Day of New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia

Bibliography

Index of names

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh

Preface

Curriculum Vitae

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh (in the world Andrei Borisovich Bloom) was born on June 19, 1914 in Lausanne into the family Russian diplomat. Mother is the sister of composer A. N. Scriabin. Metropolitan Anthony spent his early childhood in Persia, where his father was consul. After the revolution in Russia, the family found itself in exile and, after several years of wandering around Europe, settled in France in 1923. Metropolitan Anthony's childhood and youth were marked by the severe hardships and suffering inherent in emigration, and by the firm determination shared by Metropolitan Anthony's loved ones to live for Russia. At the age of fourteen he turned to Christ and came to the Church. Since 1931, he served in the church of the Three Hierarchs' Metochion, the only church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Paris at that time, and since then he has always maintained canonical loyalty to the Russian Patriarchal Church. In 1939 he graduated from the biological and medical faculties of the Sorbonne. Before leaving for the front as a surgeon in the French army, on September 10, 1939, he secretly took monastic vows, and in 1943 he was tonsured a monk with the name Anthony by Archimandrite Afanasy (Nechaev). During the German occupation, he was a doctor in the anti-fascist underground. In 1948, he was ordained as a hieromonk and sent to England by the spiritual director of the Orthodox Anglican Commonwealth of St. Albania, etc. Sergius. In 1956 he became rector of the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God and All Saints in London and remains so to this day. In 1957 he was consecrated Bishop of Sergius. Since 1962 - Archbishop, ruling bishop of the Sourozh diocese created in the British Isles. Since 1966 - Metropolitan, in 1966-1974. - Exarch of the Patriarch of Moscow in Western Europe. In 1974, at his own request, he was relieved of his duties as exarch. Since then, he has continued to care for the continuously growing flock of his diocese, and through books, radio and television talks he preaches the Gospel throughout the world. He has many awards from the Russian Orthodox Church, fraternal Orthodox Churches, and the Anglican Church. Honorary Doctor of Divinity from the University of Aberdeen (1973, Great Britain) “for the preaching of the Word of God and the renewal of spiritual life in the country” and the Moscow Theological Academy (1983) “for the totality of scientific, theological and pastoral works,” as well as the University of Cambridge (1996 g.) and the Kyiv Theological Academy (2000).

From the editor

In the introductory article to this book, Bishop Hilarion points out the relevance of the theological teaching of Metropolitan Anthony as characteristic feature its rootedness in patristic tradition. Our deep conviction in the theological relevance of Metropolitan Anthony’s sermon forces us to talk about the need to publish his book in our current situation. One of the sections of the book is entitled “Questioning”. Doubt is inseparable from faith, as Metropolitan Anthony constantly says. In addition to those inevitable and beneficial questions and doubts about the meaning of life, about the beauty and meaningfulness of the created world, about injustice and cruelty human society which, through sometimes painful trials, lead a person to a deeper knowledge of God, there are doubts of a different kind. For a person who is outside the church fence, this is the question of whether it is worth entering the church, voluntarily placing the yoke of Christ on oneself; for a church person, the same doubt looks like a question about the correctness of the chosen path, about whether he is imprisoned in a church fence, like in a cage, behind the walls of which there is an easy and simple world, whether he should throw off the yoke of Christ. These questions and doubts, as Metropolitan Anthony also constantly and fearlessly talks about, are caused primarily by the unworthiness of Christians. Metropolitan Anthony often repeats the ancient monastic proverb: “No one can come to God unless he sees the radiance of eternal life on the face of at least one person.” In other words, the truth of Christianity is revealed to a person, first of all, not as reasoning, but as a personal example. Therefore, it seems to us that especially in our era, in which all words seem to have been spoken and devalued, the word of Metropolitan Anthony is needed, a word in which the depth of theological contemplation is completely inseparable from the example of Christian action.

Moving on to a discussion of the theological teachings of Metropolitan Anthony, we note that, firstly, his thinking was nurtured in reading the holy fathers and fruitful conversations with outstanding Orthodox theologians of the past century - Archpriest Georgy Florovsky and V.N. Lossky. In addition, its formation, in our opinion, was influenced by the philosophy of religious existentialism, mainly by the personalism of N. O. Lossky, N. A. Berdyaev’s thoughts on freedom and creativity and M. Buber’s central thought on being as an I-Thou relationship.

In the mature theology of Metropolitan Anthony, first of all, I would like to note three features.

Evangelism. This feature is expressed primarily in the fact that Metropolitan Anthony’s sermons and conversations are structured completely transparently: all the theological concepts of Christian and other religious cultures with which Metropolitan Anthony often argues or converses, all literary allusions about...

Quick navigation back: Ctrl+←, forward Ctrl+→

Your help to the site and parish

GREAT LENT (SELECTION OF MATERIALS)

Calendar - archive of entries

Site search

Site headings

Select a category 3D tours and panoramas (6) Uncategorized (11) To help parishioners (3,688) Audio recordings, audio lectures and conversations (309) Booklets, memos and leaflets (133) Videos, video lectures and conversations (969) Questions for the priest (413) ) Images (259) Icons (542) Icons of the Mother of God (105) Sermons (1,022) Articles (1,787) Requirements (31) Confession (15) Sacrament of Wedding (11) Sacrament of Baptism (18) St. George Readings (17) Baptism of Rus' (22) Liturgy (154) Love, Marriage, Family (76) Sunday School Materials (413) Audio (24) Video (111) Quizzes, Questions and Riddles (43) Teaching Materials (73) Games (28) Images (43 ) Crosswords (24) Methodological materials(47) Crafts (25) Coloring pages (12) Scripts (10) Texts (98) Novels and short stories (30) Fairy tales (11) Articles (18) Poems (29) Textbooks (17) Prayer (511) Wise thoughts, quotes, aphorisms (385) News (280) News of the Kinel diocese (105) Parish news (52) News of the Samara Metropolis (13) General church news (80) Fundamentals of Orthodoxy (3,779) Bible (785) Law of God (798) Missionary and catechesis (1 390) Sects (7) Orthodox library (482) Dictionaries, reference books (51) Saints and Devotees of Piety (1,769) Blessed Matrona of Moscow (4) John of Kronstadt (2) Creed (98) Temple (160) Church singing (32) Church notes (9) Church candles(10) Church etiquette (11) Church calendar (2,464) Antipascha (6) 3rd Sunday after Easter, the holy myrrh-bearing women (14) 3rd Sunday after Pentecost (1) 4th Sunday after Easter, about the paralytic (7) 5th week after Easter about the Samaritan (8) 6th week after Easter about the blind man (4) Lent (455) Radonitsa (8) Parents' Saturday (32) Holy Week(28) Church holidays (692) Annunciation (10) Entry into the temple Holy Mother of God(10) Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord (14) Ascension of the Lord (17) Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (16) Day of the Holy Spirit (9) Day of the Holy Trinity (35) Icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” (1) Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (15 ) Circumcision of the Lord (4) Easter (129) Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos (20) Feast of the Epiphany (44) Feast of the Renewal of the Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (1) Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord (1) Transfiguration of the Lord (15) Origin (wear and tear) of the Venerable Trees of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord (1) Nativity (118) Nativity of John the Baptist (9) Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (23) Presentation Vladimir icon The Most Holy Theotokos (3) The Presentation of the Lord (17) The Beheading of John the Baptist (5) The Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos (27) Church and Sacraments (148) Blessing of Anointing (8) Confession (32) Confirmation (5) Communion (23) Priesthood (6) Sacrament of Wedding (14) Sacrament of Baptism (19) Fundamentals of Orthodox culture (34) Pilgrimage (241) Mount Athos (1) Main shrines of Montenegro (1) Shrines of Russia (16) Proverbs and sayings (9) Orthodox newspaper (35) Orthodox radio (66) ) Orthodox magazine(34) Orthodox music archive (170) Bell ringing (11) Orthodox film (95) Proverbs (102) Schedule of services (60) Orthodox cuisine recipes (15) Holy sources (5) Tales of the Russian land (94) Word of the Patriarch (111) ) Media about the parish (23) Superstitions (37) TV channel (373) Tests (2) Photos (25) Temples of Russia (245) Temples of the Kinel diocese (11) Temples of the Northern Kinel deanery (7) Temples Samara region (69) Fiction preaching content and meaning (126) Prose (19) Poems (42) Signs and Wonders (60)

Orthodox calendar

St. Vasily Spanish (750). Sschmch. Arseny, Metropolitan Rostovsky (1772). St. Cassian the Roman (435) (memory moves from February 29).

Blzh. Nicholas, Christ for the Fool's Sake, Pskov (1576). Sschmch. Proterius, Patriarch of Alexandria (457). Sschmch. Nestor, bishop Magiddisky (250). Prpp. wives of Marina and Kira (c. 450). St. John, named Barsanuphius, bishop. Damascus (V); martyr Theoktirista (VIII) (memory moves from February 29).

Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts.

At the 6th hour: Isa. II, 3–11. For eternity: Gen. I, 24 – II, 3. Proverbs. II, 1–22.

We congratulate the birthday people on Angel Day!

Icon of the day

Hieromartyr Arseny of Rostov (Matseevich), Metropolitan

Hieromartyr Arseny, Metropolitan of Rostov (in the world Alexander Matseevich) was the last opponent of the church reform of Peter I. He was born in 1697 (according to other sources, in 1696) in Vladimir-Volynsky in the family of an Orthodox priest who descended from the Polish gentry.

Having received his education at the Kiev Theological Academy, in 1733 he was already a hieromonk. Soon he traveled to Ustyug, Kholmogory and the Solovetsky Monastery, where he argued with the Old Believers imprisoned there; regarding this controversy, he wrote “Admonition to a schismatic”

In 1734–37, Father Arseny participated in the Kamchatka expedition. In 1737, he was seconded to a member of the Synod, Ambrose (Yushkevich), who at that time occupied a leading place in the church hierarchy. This appointment led to a rapprochement between the two hierarchs and determined the future fate of Father Arseny. Ordained in 1741 as Metropolitan of Tobolsk and All Siberia, Bishop Arseny defended the rights of newly baptized foreigners in Siberia from the oppression of the governor, and the clergy from the interference of the secular court.

The harsh Siberian climate had a detrimental effect on the bishop’s health, and soon after the accession of Elisaveta Petrovna he was transferred in 1742 to the department in Rostov with an appointment as a member of the Synod.

Strict towards his subordinates, the ruler becomes in sharp opposition to secular power. He insists to Empress Catherine II on the removal of secular ranks from the Synod, claims that the Synod has no canonical basis at all, and concludes that it is necessary to restore the patriarchate. The bishop’s note “On Church Deanery” was the first protest of the Russian hierarchy against the synodal system.

The relationship between the ruler and the secular authorities became even more strained when, at the end of the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, then under Peter III and Catherine II, orders aimed at limiting monasteries in the management of their property caused strong indignation among the higher clergy.

On February 9, 1763, the Bishop in Rostov performed the “Rite of Excommunication” with some additions directed against “those who violate and offend God’s holy churches and monasteries”, “who accept the property given to those from the ancient God-lovers.”

In March, the Bishop submitted two reports to the Synod, which reported to the Empress that Saint Arseny was “an insult to Her Majesty.” Catherine brought him before the Synod, which lasted seven days; the bishop was convicted, demoted to the rank of a simple monk and imprisoned in the Nikolo-Korelsky monastery.

But even in exile, the saint did not cease to denounce the actions of the de-churched authorities in relation to church property, expressed doubt about the rights of Catherine II to the throne, and sympathy for Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich. The bishop’s case was given a political character, and at the end of 1767 he was deprived of monasticism and sentenced to “eternal imprisonment.” Under the name “Andrey Vral” he was kept in the Revel casemate, where he died on February 28, 1772.

For his humble enduring of sorrows and non-covetousness, as well as for his martyrdom for the Church, the saint is revered by the Russian people.

Canonized as a saint of the Russian Orthodox Church for church-wide veneration at the Jubilee Council of Bishops in August 2000.

Prayer to Hieromartyr Arseny (Matseevich), Metropolitan of Rostov

Oh, great saint of Christ, long-suffering saint Arseny! Have mercy on me, a sinner, and hear my tearful prayer. Do not abhor my nasty sinful ulcers. Accept my unworthy praise, which I offer you from the bottom of my heart. And be merciful to my petitions to you, my many-powerful intercessor before the Lord. Pray to my All-Good God to grant the spirit of contrition for my sins, the spirit of humility, meekness and gentleness, and also to fulfill all His commandments without laziness, to show love and mercy to one’s neighbor I'll take it out. Most of all, keep His sweetest name in your heart and mind and fearlessly confess it with your lips. May Christ our God, through your prayers, grant to all who call upon His holy name everything necessary for salvation, so that at all times and in all places the name of the All-Holy Trinity of the Father may be glorified with love and the Son and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.

Reading the Gospel with the Church

Hello, dear brothers and sisters.

In the last program we talked about the gospel of Zechariah in the Jerusalem Temple about the birth of John the Baptist.

Today we will look at the text of the same evangelist Luke, which tells about the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary.

1.26. In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee called Nazareth,

1.27. to a virgin betrothed to a husband named Joseph, from the house of David; The name of the Virgin is: Mary.

1.28. The angel, coming to Her, said: Rejoice, full of grace! The Lord is with You; Blessed are You among women.

1.29. She, seeing him, was embarrassed by his words and wondered what kind of greeting this would be.

1.30. And the Angel said to Her: Do not be afraid, Mary, for You have found favor with God;

1.31. and behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a Son, and you will call His name Jesus.

1.32. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

1.33. and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.

1.34. Mary said to the Angel: How will this be when I don’t know my husband?

1.35. The angel answered Her: The Holy Spirit will come upon You, and the power of the Most High will overshadow You; therefore the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

1.36. Behold your relative Elizabeth, who is called barren, and she conceived a son in her old age, and she is already in her sixth month,

1.37. for with God no word will be powerless.

1.38. Then Mary said: Behold, the Servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word. And the Angel departed from Her.

(Luke 1:26–38)

Both stories about the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel are built according to the same scheme: the appearance of an angel, his prediction of the miraculous birth of a child, a story about future greatness, the name with which he should be given; the doubt of the angel's interlocutor and the granting of a sign confirming the words of the messenger of Heaven. But still, there are also many differences in these narratives.

If Zechariah meets the messenger of God at the most majestic moment of his life and this happens in the house of God, in Jerusalem, during a divine service, then the scene of the appearance of the same angel to a young girl is emphatically simple and devoid of any external solemnity. It takes place in Nazareth, a run-down provincial town in Galilee.

And if the righteousness of Zechariah and Elizabeth is emphasized from the very beginning and the news of the birth of a son is given in response to intense prayers, then practically nothing is said about young Mary: neither about her moral qualities, nor about any kind of religious zeal.

However, all human stereotypes are turned upside down, for the one whose birth was announced in the clouds of incense will turn out to be just a forerunner, a herald of the coming of the One about whom it was told so modestly.

Evangelist Luke indicates that Elizabeth was six months pregnant when an angel appeared in Nazareth with good news to the Virgin Mary. In the case of Elizabeth, the obstacles to birth were her infertility and old age, while for Mary it was her virginity.

We know that Mary was betrothed to Joseph. According to Jewish marriage law, girls were betrothed to their future husbands very early, usually at the age of twelve or thirteen. The betrothal lasted about a year, but the bride and groom were considered husband and wife from the moment of their engagement. This year the bride remained in the house of her parents or guardians. In fact, the girl became a wife when her husband took her into his home.

Joseph, as we remember, came from the family of King David, which was extremely important, because through Joseph Jesus became legally a descendant of David. Indeed, in ancient times, legal kinship was considered more important than blood kinship.

With greetings: Rejoice, O Blessed One! The Lord is with you(Luke 1:28) - the angel addresses the Virgin Mary. The author writes in Greek. It is quite possible that the Greek word "hayre" ("rejoice") in Hebrew could sound like "shalom", that is, a wish for peace.

Like Zechariah, Mary is confused and full of confusion caused by both the appearance of the angel and his words. The messenger tries to explain to Mary and calm her down with the words: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God(Luke 1:30). He then explains what is about to happen. And he does this through three main verbs: you will conceive, you will give birth, you will name.

Usually the father gave the child a name as a sign that he recognized him as his own, but here this honor belongs to the mother. Jesus - Hellenized form Jewish name Yeshua, which most likely translates as “Yahweh is salvation.”

As Mary listens to how great her Son will be from the angel, she asks a natural question: How will this happen when I don’t know my husband?(Luke 1:34).

This question, dear brothers and sisters, is both simple and difficult to understand. Mary cannot understand the angel’s words, since she is not yet married (in the actual sense, although in the legal sense she already had a husband). But Mary will soon enter into marital intercourse, why is she so surprised?

There are several attempts to explain this question, and they are built on the words “I don’t know my husband.” Thus, some believe that the verb “to know” should be understood in the past tense, that is, “I have not yet known my husband.” From which it follows that Mary understood the angel's words as announcing to her her actual state of pregnancy.

According to another point of view, the verb “to know” comes from the word “to know,” that is, to enter into marital communication. The patristic tradition tells us that the Virgin Mary took a vow of eternal virginity and her words should be understood only as “I will not know a husband.” But some scholars argue that this was impossible, since in the Jewish tradition of that time, marriage and childbearing were not only honorable, but also obligatory. And if there were communities where people led a virgin life, then these were mostly men. And such statements seem logical. But let's not forget that God does not act according to human logic - He is above everything and can put a virtuous thought on the heart of a pure person and strengthen even a young girl in her godly desire to preserve her purity.

A clear confirmation that God does not act within the framework of the physical laws of nature is the answer of the angel to Mary: The Holy Spirit will come upon You, and the power of the Most High will overshadow You; therefore the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God(Luke 1:35). We often hear a distorted understanding of this moment in gospel history. People try to explain the Virgin Mary's virgin birth of the Son of God as a literary device taken from Greek myths, where the gods descended from Olympus and entered into relationships with women, from whom the so-called “sons of God” were born. But in this text we see nothing of the kind. And in the Holy Spirit there is no masculine principle, which is emphasized even by the grammatical gender: the Hebrew “ruach” (“spirit”) is feminine, and the Greek “pneuma” is neuter.

The Jewish Talmud also tries to challenge the purity of the Savior’s conception, claiming that Jesus was the illegitimate son of a fugitive soldier named Panther, hence the name of Christ in the Talmud - Ben Panther. But some scholars believe that “panther” is a corruption of the Greek word “parthenos,” which translates as “virgin,” and therefore the Talmudic expression should be understood as “Son of the Virgin.”

The Annunciation scene ends with Mary's response to Gabriel's message: Behold, the Servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word(Luke 1:38).

These words contain the great humility of a young girl, ready to fulfill any will of God. There is no slavish fear here, but only a sincere readiness to serve the Lord. No one has ever succeeded, and it is unlikely that anyone will be able to express their faith the way the Virgin Mary did. But we, dear brothers and sisters, need to strive for this.

Help us in this, Lord.

Hieromonk Pimen (Shevchenko),
monk of the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra

Cartoon calendar

Orthodox educational courses

OLD BUT NOT ALONE WITH CHRIST: Word for the Presentation of the Lord

WITH Imeon and Anna - two old people - did not see themselves as lonely, because they lived by God and for God. We do not know what kind of life sorrows and old age ailments they had, but for a person who loves God, who is grateful to God, such trials and temptations will never replace the most important thing - the joy of the Meeting of Christ....

Download
(MP3 file. Duration 9:07 min. Size 8.34 Mb)

Hieromonk Nikon (Parimanchuk)

Preparation for the Sacrament of Holy Baptism

IN section " Preparation for Baptism" site "Sunday school: on-line courses " Archpriest Andrei Fedosov, head of the department of education and catechesis of the Kinel Diocese, information has been collected that will be useful to those who are going to receive Baptism themselves, or want to baptize their child or become a godparent.

R This section consists of five cataclysmic conversations in which the content of Orthodox dogma within the framework of the Creed is revealed, the sequence and meaning of the rites performed at Baptism are explained, and answers to common questions related to this Sacrament are given. Each conversation is accompanied by additional materials, links to sources, recommended literature and Internet resources.

ABOUT course conversations are presented in the form of texts, audio files and videos.

Course topics:

• Conversation No. 1 Preliminary concepts
• Conversation No. 2 Sacred Bible story
• Conversation No. 3 Church of Christ
• Conversation No. 4 Christian morality
• Conversation No. 5 The Sacrament of Holy Baptism

Applications:

• FAQ
• Orthodox calendar

Reading the lives of saints by Dmitry of Rostov for every day

Recent Entries

Radio "Vera"

Radio "VERA" is a new radio station that talks about the eternal truths of the Orthodox faith.

TV channel Tsargrad: Orthodoxy

"Orthodox newspaper" Ekaterinburg

Pravoslavie.Ru - Meeting with Orthodoxy

• “Give me these crackers, I’ll eat them with tea.”

  God's help from communication with Fr. Tikhon was always noticeable, because the answers were supported by spiritual alms and prayer.

In the beginning, the word appeared... And it is the word that becomes for every believer the force that leads to God, opens hearts to love and kindness, care and creation. Sermons and conversations convert even those who consider themselves atheists to Christ.

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh is rightfully considered the voice of Orthodoxy in the twentieth century. It was his conversations that opened for many their path to Christ, into the bosom of the Orthodox Church.

Vladyka, in the world Andrei Bloom, was born in 1914 in Lausanne into a prosperous family of hereditary diplomats. For some time they lived in Persia, but after the Bolsheviks came to power in their native country, they wandered around the world until they settled in Paris. The reverend had a difficult childhood in exile. At the workers' school where he studied, he was severely beaten by his peers.

Metropolitan's appeal to God

In his youth, Andrei, who had just turned 14 years old, listened to lectures by his father Sergius Bulgakov. The boy felt deep disagreement, deciding to sincerely fight such “nonsense as Christianity.” The future Bishop Anthony of Sourozh, whose biography from that moment began to take a different direction, decided to pay attention to the primary source - the Gospel. As he read, the young man felt the invisible presence of the one he was reading about...

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh was a surgical doctor, which was the reason for his participation in the French Resistance. At the end of the war, he decided to become a priest and, by God's providence, went to England. It is in this country that the monk experiences one of the significant events of his life.

Poor command English language, Father Anthony gave a lecture on a piece of paper, which turned out to be very gray and boring. He was given advice to improvise more. Then the priest objected that it would be funny. “That’s very good, people will listen,” was the answer. It was from that memorable day that he always delivered sermons and lectures himself, without a previously prepared text. The teachings and instructions became a truly precious legacy of Anthony of Sourozh. He spoke sincerely, deeply and vividly, which helped convey Orthodox faith to modern people in all patristic purity, while maintaining gospel depth and simplicity.

The word of the lord

After some time, Father Anatoly becomes the primate of the Sourozh diocese. At first it was a small parish, open to a group of Russian emigrants. Under the leadership of the bishop, it became an exemplary, multinational community.

The word of the saint spread much further than the English believers, showing the richness of Orthodoxy to many Western Christians. In addition, his audio recordings, samizdat books, conversations and live sermons brought many Russians back to the path of God. This is exactly how the Monk Anthony of Sourozh remained in the memory of believers. The Metropolitan's biography ended in 2003; he died in London.

The shortest sermon

Bishop Anthony of Sourozh decided to talk about how he went to preach at one of the services. The Father said: “Just yesterday a woman came to the evening service with a baby. But she was dressed in jeans and did not have a scarf on her head. I don’t know who exactly reprimanded her, but I order this parishioner to pray for this woman and child until the end of her days, so that the Lord will save them. Because of you, she may never come to church.” Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh turned around and left. This was his shortest sermon.

Works of the Reverend

Anthony of Sourozh, whose works were never distinguished by pure orthodox theology, is known in many countries. His sermons and conversations always contain the unique Orthodox word of God. In the formation of such thinking, the Metropolitan played a significant role. First of all, he was interested in the doctrine of the opposition of personality and individuality, of being as a certain I-Thou relationship.

Features of theology

Three features can be distinguished in the mature, deep theology of Metropolitan Anthony.

1. Evangelism. This distinguishing feature his edification is that formally and stylistically, the metropolitan’s sermons, teachings, and conversations are structured in such a way as to be a strong link between the Gospel and ordinary listeners. They seem to shorten the distance that separates modern people from the living Christ. Every believer becomes a participant in the Gospel story; the life of Anthony of Sourozh is proof of this.
2. Liturgicality. With the help of the theology of the monk, the predominantly silent Sacrament of the Church takes on verbal form. This difference is inherent not only in any part of the rite or sacrament, but also in the totality of church communion. His word sounds like a sacrament and brings every believer into the church. The conversations of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh were always perceived by people with a special sense of grace and closeness to God.
3. Anthropological. The Bishop himself noted this feature of his lectures. His words are deliberately aimed at instilling in the frightened and stunned modern life contemporary true faith into yourself. Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh reveals the immeasurable depth of each individual person, its value for God and the always present possibility of communication between Christ and man.

Such communication is, in a sense, equal. People can turn to Christ by building their relationship to faith as one of love and friendship, rather than slavery and domination. It is precisely as a personal, unique and unique communication with the Lord that the Metropolitan understands prayer and describes this in his writings.

Everyone perceived the bishop’s word addressed to the crowd of parishioners as a personal appeal. Thanks to the focus on the individual in the fullness of his being, the sermons of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh to this day call on every believer to have a personal dialogue with God.

Father loved to repeat that the feeling of the Lord’s presence should be immediate, like a toothache. This also applies to the reverend himself. Anyone who personally saw him alone or in a crowded church will never forget that the special warmth of a true believer emanated from him.

The power of the pastoral word

Metropolitan Anthony is not a teacher, but a shepherd. He talks to everyone about what exactly a person needs at this moment. Personal communication with the monk helped many believers realize the fullness of the phrase “God is love.” He accepted each person, regardless of his own employment, ill health, exhaustion, as a lost son returned by a miracle of God.

Starce accepts and understands all the people who came to him for help and advice in a variety of situations. This may be a dead end of mental search, the last extreme of life. The Metropolitan carried his faith to everyone: Orthodox and non-Orthodox, non-Russian and Russian, atheists and Christians. It is as if he places on his shoulders a burden taken from every hesitant and exhausted person. In return, the monk bestows a little of his unique freedom, which manifests itself in small things: freedom from hypocrisy, bureaucracy, and narrowness. It helps you live freely in God.

Theological conversations

Conversations by Anthony of Sourozh are devoted to the main issues of Christian life and faith. Filled with understanding and love, the pastoral word has more than once become a real salvation for people who faced insurmountable stumbling blocks and insoluble contradictions. The monk knew how to heal with the wisdom and depth of his conversations.

The main questions that the clergyman covered answered what it means to be a Christian and how to stay with God in the modern world. The Metropolitan emphasized that man is a friend and disciple of Christ. This means believing in the people themselves, starting, first of all, with yourself, continuing with all others: strangers and neighbors. Every person contains a piece of the Lord’s light, and it always remains in him even in the most pitch darkness.

Metropolitan about love

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh's sermons were also dedicated to love. “Love one another as I have loved you...” - this is exactly what one of God’s commandments sounds like. These words should reach our hearts and delight our souls, but how difficult it is to bring them to life.

The Metropolitan noted that love for each person is revealed in several planes: this is the experience of ordinary, simple love between members of the same family, children for parents and vice versa; this is a joyful, bright feeling that arises between the bride and groom and permeates all the darkness. But even here you can encounter fragility and imperfection.

Anthony of Sourozh said that Christ calls us to love each other, he makes no distinctions. This suggests that every believer must love absolutely every person he meets, unfamiliar, attractive and not so attractive. He wants to say that each of us is an individual with an eternal destiny, created by God from nothingness to make a unique contribution to the life of humanity.

Each of us is called and placed by the Lord into this world to accomplish what others are unable to do; this is our uniqueness. “We must love any of our neighbors, as God loved us all, otherwise we reject Christ himself,” - this is exactly what Anthony of Sourozh believed. He always spoke about love as a special feeling that should be directed towards the whole world, towards God and towards himself.

About prayer...

The monk noted that for him the Lord’s Prayer was one of the most difficult for years. It is quite logical that each individual proposal is accessible and, most importantly, understandable to everyone within the framework of their experience, spiritual growth, depth of faith. “In general, many cannot find the most important key, because turning to God is the whole path of spiritual life,” said Anthony of Sourozh. He spoke long and thoughtfully about prayer, helping believers to realize the full power and meaning of our word addressed to Christ.

You can perceive any prayer in two parts. The first is the call: “Our Father.” Next are three petitions. These are the son’s prayer lines, because we are all children of our heavenly father. Then there are petitions that can serve guiding star to truly understand the depth of your own faith. The Heavenly Father is the source of our life, a teacher who acts on the power of boundless love for us. We are all brothers and sisters of Christ in humanity.

When praying, according to the monk, there is often a feeling as if we are calling on the Lord to do something. We pray as beggars extend their hand. And the Lord sent each of us into the world in order to build the Kingdom of God, the city of God, which should be together with the city of man. Therefore, in prayer we must ask to become faithful builders of this Kingdom.

The Lord will never forget us, he will give us material, material bread. Believers must seek in God a meeting with him, as with the word that is sent in the Gospel. It is there that the Lord shows us the way, the path to it and to the Kingdom of God.

Anthony of Sourozh spoke with all completeness and sincerity about friendship and the personality of man in God.

"Learn to be"

Discussion of the spiritual aspects of old age is a very important issue, as Anthony of Sourozh mentioned more than once. “Learn to Be” is a special sermon that reveals for believers the concepts of old age and the problems that are inherent in this age.

The Metropolitan noted that in old age or old age, those problems that were hidden in the past, are present in the present and, perhaps, will appear in the future, begin to come to light. We must not close our eyes to our past; we must have the courage to face it. Painful, ugly, wrong situations help us gain inner maturity and finally resolve, unravel these issues and become truly free.

Old age and solving problems of the past

Every elderly or old person must deal with the problem of the past, if there really is faith that God is the God of the living, that we are all alive in Him and exist for Him and for Him. It is impossible to simply say that there has been reconciliation with the evil that was caused to others, it is necessary to come to terms with the circumstances...

There is also the problem of the present. When time brings old age and takes away everything that constituted youth, people always face certain problems. Physical strength is weakening, and mental abilities are no longer the same... Most people try to kindle coals in a dying flame, wanting to become the same as before. But this is the main mistake, and the artificially fanned coals quickly turn into ashes, and the internal pain only becomes stronger.

Instead of completion

It is difficult to describe all the beneficial influence of the Metropolitan’s sermons on the modern world. First of all, this is the true, pure influence of the shepherd, who, by the power of his word, influences inner world people, on their cultural activities. The conversations of Anthony of Sourozh inspire hope, faith and love in souls and hearts to this day. Many Christians perceive the deceased metropolitan as a saint.