Matilda Bogner, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, called for greater efforts to spare and protect civilians.
The Mission has been in the country since 2014, when it began work documenting violations in the east stemming from the fighting between Government forces and pro-Russian separatists.
Ms. Bogner said the resulting escalation of the eight-year long armed conflict has brought more death, suffering, damage, and destruction.
“Every day, we speak with people affected by the war, and hear about and document violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including war crimes,” she said.
Since the start of the Russian invasion on 24 February, there have been 13,560 civilian casualties, with 5,614 deaths, including 362 children, and 7,946 people injured.
Most casualties, 92 per cent, were caused by the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas.
“We know that the actual figures are considerably higher. Each of these figures is a human being, whose life or health has been lost or damaged,” said Ms. Bogner.
The Mission has also documented 327 cases of arbitrary detention and forced disappearance in territory controlled by Russian forces and affiliated armed groups. While 105 victims were released, 14 persons – 13 men and one woman – were found dead.
Additionally, 39 arbitrary arrests were recorded in Ukrainian Government-controlled territory, and 28 other cases that may amount to enforced disappearance.
“Many of these victims, on both sides, have faced torture,” said Ms. Bogner, who underscored that “human beings, whoever they are, must be treated with dignity”.
She added that prisoners of war also must be protected, as guaranteed under international law.
While the Mission has access to prisoners of war and other conflict-related detainees in Government-controlled areas, this is not the case for those held in other locations.
“We call on the Russian Federation to grant independent monitors full access to all individuals detained in relation to the armed conflict by the Russian Federation, including those held by Russian-affiliated armed groups,” she said.
WFP food parcels are distributed to war-affected people in Kharkiv Oblast in collaboration with the Ukrainian Red Cross.
Food at home and abroad
Throughout the war, the World Food Programme (WFP) has been using every opportunity to assist people, both within Ukraine and beyond.
WFP has disbursed more than $200 million to internally displaced Ukrainians, while some 11,000 families in neighbouring Moldova are receiving cash transfers to cover additional expenses for hosting Ukrainian refugees.
Overall, nearly seven million people have found shelter in European countries, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.
WFP reported that within days of the start of the conflict, staff began serving ready-to-eat meals and distributing bread to people in Ukraine.
Kits containing items such as meat or beans, sunflower oil, pasta and rice, are also being provided to families wherever food is unavailable or difficult to access.
OCHA/Levent Kulu
The first shipment of over 26,000 tons of Ukrainian food under a Black Sea export deal was cleared to proceed today, towards its final destination in Lebanon.
Grain exports critical
Prior to the war, Ukraine was a major global breadbasket and produced enough food to feed 400 million people a year.
WFP has been working with the Government and partners to both push for and facilitate grain exports through key Black Sea ports, as well as alternative land river routes.
Last week, the first shipment of Ukrainian grain for the agency’s operations left the port of Pivdennyi in Odesa and is now on the way to the Horn of Africa, where the spectre of famine haunts more than 20 million people.
Amid the ongoing global food crisis, WFP explained that allowing the export of Ukrainian grain is critical to stabilize global markets and alleviate hunger, but it also has direct benefits for Ukrainians.
The agricultural sector is an essential component of the economy, and also a direct source of livelihood for many of the 13 million citizens living in rural areas.
At a hospital in western Ukraine, doctors managed to remove a four-centimetre-long fragment of shrapnel and save a 13-year-old boy’s life after he was seriously wounded by shelling in eastern Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners are preparing for a challenging winter ahead and have been taking stock of lessons learned so far.
“Six months of war have had a devastating impact on the health and lives of Ukraine’s people, but despite many challenges the health system has managed to survive and deliver care where and when it is needed most,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General.
More supplies expected
The UN has helped deliver more than 1,300 metric tonnes of critical medical supplies to Ukraine, in coordination with the Ministry of Health and partners.
More are on the way, including power generators, ambulances and oxygen supplies for medical facilities, as well as supplies for trauma and emergency surgeries, and medicines to help treat noncommunicable diseases.
Although Ukraine’s health system has been shaken, Tedros said it has not collapsed.
“WHO continues to support the Ministry of Health of Ukraine to restore disrupted services, displaced health workers and destroyed infrastructure, which is essential not only for the health of Ukraine’s people, but for the country’s resilience and recovery,” he added.
“But no system can deliver optimum health to its people under the stress of war, which is why we continue to call on the Russian Federation to end this war”.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia will not be able to meet Pope Francis in Kazakhstan. The reason is that he will not participate in the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, Metropolitan Antony of Volokolama, head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, told RIA Novosti.
“This year, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, the Russian Orthodox Church will be represented by an official delegation. His Holiness the Patriarch himself will not participate in the work of the congress. Therefore, his meeting with Pope Francis is not planned in Kazakhstan,” the Metropolitan said.
Earlier it became known that Pope Francis will not have a meeting with the Russian Orthodox Patriarch during his visit to Kazakhstan next month, Reuters recalled.
The Holy Father will be present from September 13 to 15 at a meeting of religious leaders in the Kazakh capital, Nur Sultan.
In previous interviews, Francis had indicated that he hoped to meet with Patriarch Kirill while in Kazakhstan.
The planned May meeting between Pope Francis and the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, was also canceled. It was reported that the meeting was scheduled to take place in Jerusalem, a day after the pope ended his trip to Lebanon.
The head of the Roman Catholic Church held a telephone conversation with the Orthodox Patriarch Kirill in the spring.
Basilians (Vasilians, lat. OSBM, Ordo Sancti Basilii Magni) is the common name of several Catholic monastic orders of the Byzantine rite, following the cenobitic charter, which is attributed to St. Basil the Great. All Basilian orders also have female branches.
The Basilians are:
• Order of the Italian Basilians of the monastery of Grottaferrata, Italo-Albanian Catholic Church (lat. Ordo Basilianus Italiae, seu Cryptoferratensis);
• The Basilian Order of St. Josaphat, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (lat. Ordo Basilianus Sancti Josaphat, Ukrainian ChSVV, Order of St. Basil the Great, also Ukrainian. Basilian Order of St. Josaphat);
• Melkite Orders of the Holy Savior, St. John the Baptist and the Aleppine Order, Melkite Catholic Church.
Monastery of Grottaferrata
Abbey of Grottaferrata
The first monasteries of the Byzantine rite appeared in southern Italy in the 8th-9th centuries. They were founded by Greeks who fled from Byzantium during the period of iconoclasm. In 1004, the monk Nil Rossansky founded the monastery of Grottaferrata, 18 kilometers from Rome. After the Great Schism, this and a number of other monasteries in southern Italy continued to practice the Byzantine liturgy and live according to the rule of St. Basil the Great, being in communion with the Holy See as part of the Italo-Greek (later Italo-Albanian Eastern Catholic Church). The practice of using the rule of Basil the Great in the Catholic Church was finally legalized in 1561 by Pope Pius IV. In 1579, on the basis of the Greek monasteries in Central and Southern Italy, Pope Gregory XIII founded a single order of Italian Basilians with a center in Grottaferrata.
The order was almost destroyed at the end of the 18th-19th centuries as a result of the secularization policy pursued in the Kingdom of Naples, all the Basilian monasteries, except for Grottaferrata, were closed. In 1937, Pope Pius XII raised Grottaferrata Abbey to the status of a territorial abbey with direct subordination to the Vatican, the abbey is currently an independent unit within the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church. The monastery has 25 monks, of which 15 are priests[1]
Basilian of St. Jehoshaphat
The Order was founded in 1617 on the basis of the monasteries that accepted the Union of Brest in 1596. Originally called the Order of the Holy Trinity. Confirmed by Pope Urban VIII in 1631.
The order became widespread in the eastern regions of the Commonwealth, where the majority of the population traditionally adhered to the Byzantine rite. The activities of the order contributed to the transition to Catholicism of the Eastern rite of the Orthodox population of the eastern lands of the Commonwealth. Subsequently, the order was renamed in honor of St. Josaphat Kuntsevich.
Since 1720, all Greek Catholic monasteries in the Commonwealth belonged to the Basilians. Until the end of the 18th century, almost all the Greek Catholic metropolitans of Kyiv were Basilians. In the middle of the XVIII century, the order consisted of 195 monasteries and more than a thousand monks.
Great emphasis in the activities of the order was placed on the education of young people, in this field the Basilians competed with the Jesuits, and after the dissolution of the latter they received several Jesuit colleges in their possession, so that at the end of the 18th century they were in charge of about twenty-six schools. The Basilians also owned 4 printing houses, the largest was located in the Pochaev Lavra.
The heyday of the order ended with the divisions of the Commonwealth. In the 19th century, the order effectively ceased to exist as a centralized organization, although independent Basilian monasteries continued to exist in Austria-Hungary. In the Russian Empire, Basilian monasteries outside the Kingdom of Poland were closed in the 1830s, and in the Kingdom of Poland thirty years later.
By 1882, the order was reduced to 60 monks in 14 monasteries, but then a new rise of the order began. In 1896, Pope Leo XIII approved a new constitution for the order. The Basilians began to actively establish missions in the New World, working primarily with Ukrainian and Belarusian emigrants. By 1939 the number of monks had grown to 650.
After the Lvov Cathedral in 1946 and the ban of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the activities of the Basilians in the USSR were illegal, and the monasteries of the order continued to exist only in the diaspora countries.
After the collapse of the USSR and the exit of the Greek Catholics from the underground, the order was restored in independent Ukraine and in other Central and Eastern European countries, including Belarus.
Currently, the order is actively involved in the revival of the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine and the spread of its activities in the eastern regions of the country. In Ukraine, the Basilians own 31 monasteries. In total, according to 2005 data, the order consisted of 609 monks, 310 of which were priests.[2]
Basilian-Melkites
There are three Basilian-Melkite orders, for which a single monastic constitution was created in 1934.
• The Basilian-Melkite Order of the Holy Savior (lat. Ordo Basilianus Sanctissimi Salvatoris Melkitarum) was founded in 1684 in Lebanon, approved by the Holy See in 1717. The residence of the order is located in the city of Saida (Lebanon). 18 monastic cloisters are located in Lebanon, Egypt, Syria and the Palestinian Authority. In 1998, the order consisted of 123 monks, of which 94 were priests.
• The Order of the Basilian-Melkites of St. John the Baptist (lat. Ordo Basilianus Sancti Johannis Baptistae Melkitarum), also called the Order of the Shuwayrites, was founded in 1712 in Lebanon, in the village of Shuwayr. Approved by the Holy See in 1757. The residence of the order is located in the city of Khonchara (Lebanon). All 6 monastic cloisters are located in Lebanon. In 1998, the order consisted of 56 monks, of which 38 were priests.
• The Basilian-Melkite Order of the Aleppines (lat. Ordo Basilianus Aleppensis Melkitarum) was founded in 1829 in Lebanon, branched off from the Shuwayrites. Approved by the Holy See in 1832. 13 monastic cloisters are located in Egypt and Sudan. In 1998, the order consisted of 37 monks, of which 29 were priests.
Following US Sanctions on Three Liberian Government Officials, State Minister McGill says he is innocent and welcomes President Weah fight against corruption.
According to a letter published in other news outlets, the Minister of State for Presidential affairs, Hon Nathaniel McGill has denied corruption allegations after he was sanctioned by the United States U.S. Treasury Department along with two senior government Officials for allegedly engaging in “corruption including the misappropriation of state assets, taking private assets for personal gain, or bribery”.
In a letter addressed to the President of Liberia, Minister McGill commended President George M. Weah for the “decision taken” to suspend him and two other senior officials as it demonstrates his unwavering fight against corruption.
The Minister further called on the President to set up an investigative committee with the assistant of foreign partners (The European Union, Africa Union and ECOWAS) as well as other competent Authorities to probe into the grave allegations levied against him by the U.S Department of Treasury to be afforded the opportunity to have his “day in court” as in keeping with the principle of due process, mentioning that he has “great faith in the American system and believe I will be given an opportunity for a review process”.
As per the sanctions, “all property and interests in property of the three officials that are in the United States must be blocked and reported to Treasury, while people who engage in transactions with the officials may be subject to sanctions themselves, the statement said”.
Peace, according to the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is revealed as a gift from God to man. God Himself is the God of peace (Gen. 26:4 – 28:14) and His blessing favors man with the gifts and benefits of a peaceful and peaceful existence, happiness and prosperity on earth.
• In the biblical wisdom of the Holy Scriptures, true and lasting peace is seen as the fruit of God’s justice, and Jesus Christ as Savior and Messiah is the “Prince of Peace” (Is. 9:6). The Messianic kingdom of righteousness is the kingdom of God’s peace.
• Peace (Hebrew shalom; Greek eirini Latin pax) is a state that derives from God, but also from justice – from God’s justice and human justice. It is based on the principles of justice, respect and regard for the natural rights of man and his legitimate interests and well-being.
• Violation of peace as a blessed condition in the relations between man and God and between man and other people leads to enmity and injustice, to evils and aggression, to violence and misfortunes for men, for society and for nations.
War as a consequence of the Fall
• War is a fruit of sin and enters the world together with the consequences of sin in man’s relationship with God and the destruction of the bonds of peace with his fellow men.
• War is an evil that is a manifestation, action and state of violation of God’s law of love and God’s justice.
• The war between men begins with Cain’s fratricide and the violence committed against his brother Abel.
• War is the result of enmity and lack of peace and is manifested by aggression and violence, which are enmity against God and neighbor and a violation of God’s law of love for God and neighbor.
THE PEACE OF CHRIST AS A GRACEFUL GIFT OF SALVATION
“Peace I leave you; My peace I give you; Not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27)
• The biblical concept of peace is much broader than the usual political or formal legal understanding of peace as the absence of war or enmity and the absence of conflict in interpersonal relationships.
• Peace is a great gift and blessing from God, which requires benevolence (benevolentia) – “good will” between people (Luke 2:14) and justice in its spiritual-moral, social and legal dimensions, which are the real and permanent basis for everyone true peace.
• lasting and stable peace in human relationships can only exist on the basis of the satisfied requirements of God’s justice and human justice. This applies to social, political and international relations as well as to interpersonal relations and the resolution of moral conflicts.
The Christian View of War and Peace
• Enmity and rivalry, envy and arrogance, trampling on the rights and freedoms, dignity and honor of an individual, or of a community, people and state as one of the parties in interpersonal or contractual-legal relations, regulated by the principles of justice or legality, lead to conflicts, fratricidal wars and international disasters.
• The gospel and the protection of peace on the part of the Church do not completely overlap with the causes of political pacifism, but have a wider value dimension, which in theological science is defined as “Irinism”.
• These principles of Christian ethics derive from the Savior’s words to His disciples: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you; Not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27).
Moral problems of peace and war in the history of Christianity and the tradition of the church
• The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments definitely talk about the possibilities of using force for the protection of peace, order or a just cause, and even about the need to defend sacred causes through the legal and morally justified use of force.
• The answer that St. John the Baptist gives to the soldiers who came to be baptized by him and seek spiritual advice about how to act and what to do in order to live righteously and godly in order to achieve salvation does not contain a command to prohibit the weapon and demand that they give up their ministry.
• Saint John the Baptist advised the soldiers not to give up the use of arms, but not to use their arms and power for injustice: “Do not trouble anyone, do not slander and be content with your wages” (Luke 3:14).
• war in Christian ethics and for the possibility of moral justification of defensive war and liberation war, which are related to the legitimate use of force to oppose violence, lawlessness and injustice.
The theme of “just war” in Christian ethics and church tradition
• The theme of peace and war, of justice and violence and the just use of force in Christian moral theology, as well as in the theory of international law, is considered in history and in relation to the theory of “just war” (justum bellum).
• Within the Christian ethical tradition, this topic has its historical development and significance for ethics, for the state and law, and for international relations.
• Christian ethical concepts are the result of centuries of discussion, development and improvement of the norms of morality and international law, both in the East and in the West.
• The doctrine of just war (justum bellum) in Christian ethics passes from antiquity and the legacy of the Ancient Church to the Medieval philosophical tradition and Western European culture, and in some aspects it is connected to the moral code of chivalry.
• Augustine’s views on just war were adopted in medieval theology through the writings of Isidore of Seville, who also provided one of the authoritative formulations embedded in the Christian tradition.
Just war and defensive war to repel armed violence with the lawful use of force
Lawful and just use of force
• Based on the examples from the Holy Scriptures and above all by carefully examining the teaching of Jesus Christ, it can be concluded that the use of force, in itself, cannot be qualified as an unconditional evil from a Christian point of view. Although Jesus Christ distinguished himself from his contemporary zealots, and taught about the peaceful change of social injustices and evils, the fair use of force is possible under certain conditions.
Defensive warfare and coverage of an armed attack
• Christianity does not absolutize the New Testament principle of manly bearing of evils and sufferings and not resisting evil and calls everyone to bravely fight against evil and wage a spiritual battle against it, and if it is armed evil and evil that uses weapons of violence and injustice, to use for the purposes of defeating evil and neutralizing its destructive action, and legitimate use of force.
Note: The text was presented within the framework of the international scientific conference organized on May 12, 2022 in Sofia by the “Pokrov Bogorodichen” Foundation on the topic: “The Church and War”, the purpose of which was to present a theological reflection on the topics related to war and peace , from the perspective of Christian tradition, history and anthropology.
In May 1944, the Bulgarian Synod granted the Russian community firstly the church “St. Great Martyr Ekaterina” at the cemetery in Kniazhevo, and after two months – the church “St. Petka Samardzhiyska” on “Maria Luiza” Blvd. in the center of Sofia. The deceased superior was replaced by Archpriest Georgii Golubtsov, well known to the parishioners. A common concern is the purchase of the necessary church utensils and liturgical books to replace the lost ones. From its Svetogorje brothers, the Russian parish received a priceless gift – a large enthroned Gospel and a set of silver Eucharistic vessels. In the small church on “Maria Luisa” Blvd., daily services and regular festive and solemn bishop’s services continue.
During the bombings in the spring of 1944, the “St. Nicholas the Miracle Worker” – the roof collapsed, the southern wing was completely destroyed, part of the frescoes was lost. Since, according to the Soviet-Bulgarian protocol of July 6, 1940, the Soviet side handed over the temple for free use to Bulgaria for 15 years, the costs of its restoration are borne by the Bulgarian government. BGN 8 million was allocated, then the amount increased to BGN 12 million. Repair work began as early as 1944. The damaged zography in the south nave was restored by the Russian émigré artist Mikhail Maletsky, who for the first time cleaned and strengthened all the frescoes. The famous Bulgarian artist Nikola Andonov also participated in the restoration, who 30 years before, as a student, contributed to the iconography of the temple under the guidance of Prof. Perminov.
The changed political conditions after the end of the Second World War lead to serious changes in the life of the Russian emigration in Bulgaria. The Russian clergy began to look for ways to reunite with the mother church in the homeland and to serve it with their experience and knowledge. In April 1945, Archbishop Seraphim appealed to the Russian Patriarch Alexy, declaring his readiness to accept the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. He asks that a patriarchal representative be left in Bulgaria, because he “was related to his flock, to his spiritual children, not only to the Russians, but also to the Bulgarians”. He also begs Moscow to accept under its omophorion all the Russian clergy that he rules in Bulgaria. The opinion of Pskov-Porhov Archbishop (later Lenigrad Metropolitan) Grigoriy, who in April 1945 came to Sofia to celebrate the restoration of full communion with the Bulgarian Orthodox Church after the overthrow of the schism, helped to resolve the issue positively. In his conclusions presented to the patriarch, he characterized Bishop Seraphim as an unconditionally spiritual person, enjoying great respect among the people. The Soviet Embassy also notes that Archbishop Seraphim is not compromised in his past and present activities and has authority among the Bulgarian clergy.
On October 30, 1945, the corresponding decree of the patriarch was issued, confirming the powers of Bishop Seraphim in the management of the seven Russian parishes in Bulgaria as a representative of the Moscow Patriarchate. In the spring of 1946, the Soviet government suspended the protocol granting Bulgaria temporary use of the Russian ambassador’s church and handed over the church to Archbishop Seraphim.
On June 4, 1946, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree granting Soviet citizenship to subjects of the former Russian Empire living in Bulgaria. Bishop Seraphim accepted Soviet citizenship, they issued him certificate No. 1 for a Soviet subject living in Bulgaria. Some of the staunchest opponents of Soviet power condemned his decision. But as a true shepherd, Bishop Seraphim is guided above all by concern for the fate of his flock, for its physical survival and salvation from communist persecution, and shows true “meekness of a dove and wisdom of a serpent.” The fact is that all questions related to the fate of the Russian emigration passed at that time from the hands of the Bulgarian government under the control of the Soviet representatives in the Allied Control Commission, who decided them in accordance with class principles and declared all emigrants and non-returnees to be ” enemies of the people”. Those who accepted Soviet citizenship acquire a new status, from “White Guards” they become Soviet citizens, equal in their rights with the citizens of Bulgaria. This means that many restrictions related to the “reactionary” stigma are removed from them, they have equal opportunities to find a job, get housing, can count on social security.
After the state decree of November 17, 1944 liquidated all organizations of Russian émigrés and prohibited any of their public activities, the Russian church is now the last and only place where they can freely profess their faith, communicate and help each other mutually. Archpriest Andrey Liven, who after the death of Archpriest Georgiy Golubtsov, became the head of the temple, has great credit for uniting the parishioners. He is characterized by true Russian hospitality, cordiality, kindness, he does a lot to attract young people to the church, organizes talks on spiritual topics, poetry evenings, at which he often reads his own spiritual poems and magnificent translations.
Courtyard of the Moscow Patriarchate
After the death of Bishop Seraphim, the management of the Russian church communities in Bulgaria was taken over by Archimandrite Panteleimon (Staritsky), who led them in the capacity of bishop’s deputy. In 1951, there were more than twenty priests on the territory of Bulgaria under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate.
At the end of May 1952, the Moscow Patriarchate sent Archpriest Sergius Kazansky, a cleric from the Baku Diocese, to Bulgaria as the new episcopal vicar of the Russian Orthodox parishes. On July 3, 1952, in a report to Metropolitan Nikolay of Krutitsa-Kolomna about the state of the episcopal vicarage in Bulgaria, the archpriest reported that the community of the Russian temple in Sofia numbered 500 people, there were two priests, a deacon and a psaltery. According to the opinion of Fr. Sergius Kazansky, only this parish “can be considered normal”, while the rest of the Russian municipalities “do not meet even the most minimal signs of a normal parish”. The “Pokrov Bogorodichen” virgin monastery in Kniazhevo consisted at that time of an abbess, two mantled nuns, four Rasophorian nuns and three novices, three of whom had Soviet citizenship, and seven – Bulgarian.
In his report to Moscow, Archpriest Sergius Kazansky claims that the existence of Russian parishes and priests causes some dissatisfaction among the Bulgarian clergy and incites unnecessary tension. As a result of his talks with the chief secretary of the Bulgarian Synod, Bishop Iona, and with Metropolitan Kiril, the future Bulgarian patriarch, Father Sergiy concluded: “Most of the higher hierarchs of the Bulgarian Church have nothing against the existence of a Russian episcopal vicarage in Bulgaria, but they would very satisfied if the Russian Church handed over the Russian parishes under their rule and left only one court to represent it in Sofia, as is the situation in Moscow…”. Bishop Yona directly stated to him that if Patriarch Alexy found it necessary and expedient to transfer the Russian parishes under the jurisdiction of the Bulgarian Church, it would be “a great manifestation of love for the Bulgarian Church and the Bulgarian Church will record this act on the tablets of its church annals “.
On November 10, 1952, by decision of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, the existing Russian Orthodox parishes, monasteries, clergy and monks in Bulgaria were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The Holy Synod decreed “to fraternally ask the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to extend its love and care to the listed parishes, monasteries and clergy, and to preserve, after accepting it into its jurisdiction, the Russian spiritual order and way of life in the Kokalyansky Monastery, for which his monks are asking… From the moment of the signing of the act of handing over the mentioned parishes, monasteries and clergy under the jurisdiction of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the episcopal vicarage of the Russian Orthodox communities in Bulgaria should be considered liquidated, while Archpriest S. Kazanski would remain the head of the Russian Orthodox Church “St. Nicholas the Wonderworker” in Sofia, which from now on will be called the courtyard of the Moscow Patriarchate”.
After a long hiatus from the end of 1973, the Moscow Patriarchate again began to send from the USSR superiors of the courtyard temple. In 1973-1975, this position was held by the cleric of the Vladimir Diocese, Archpriest Arkady Tishchuk.
In 1975-1985, the priest of the temple-courtyard was the cleric from the Vilnius-Litovsk diocese, Archimandrite Nikita Yakerovich. During his time, from 1975 to 1977, with the blessing of the Russian Patriarch Pimen and with the assistance of the Bulgarian Patriarch Maxim, cleaning and restoration of the frescoes in the temple took place. The restoration activities are financed by the Bulgarian Synod, the Committee on the Affairs of the Bulgarian Church, the Sofia City Council, from the funds of the temple and are carried out by a team of the Bulgarian National Institute for Cultural Monuments under the leadership of the artist Baeva. Unlike the restoration in 1945-1946, when they were washed with solvents, this time a different technique was used – rubbing with special erasers, which led to a significant fading of the painting. Again, the painting layer was strengthened, using a technique close to the author’s; the wooden elements of the exterior decoration and tiled roofs have been preserved. As early as 1970, with funds from the Moscow Patriarchate, the domes and cornices of the temple were again gilded, and in 1982 the iconostasis was again gilded.
In 1972, 1975, 1977 and 1983, the Russian Patriarch Pimen visited the temple.
After the departure of Archimandrite Nikita on January 25, 1985, a new superior arrived, the cleric of the Simferopol-Crimean Diocese Archpriest Nikolay Dzichkovski, a fourth-generation priest. He, like his predecessors, took care of the improvement of the temple. In the summer of 1987, the tombstone of Bishop Seraphim was lined with multi-colored marble. In the following year, the crypt was completely restored, where rooms for holding parish meetings, choir rehearsals, an office for receiving visitors, and a library were equipped. The temple is painted on the outside. The Bulgarian artist Angel Radushev restored the icons from the iconostasis. Father Nikolay obeyed for 10 years, and it was he who was destined to witness and participate in a new cardinal change in the life of the “St. Nicholas the Wonderworker” in the early 1990s.
On November 8, 1992, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the courtyard, a solemn prayer service was held, which was attended by the Bulgarian Patriarch Maxim, the General Secretary of the Synod of the BOC, Bishop Neofitus of Levki, and also numerous employees of the Russian Embassy headed by Ambassador Avdeev. And this is not just compliance with the diplomatic protocol on the occasion of the round date, but a reflection of qualitative changes in Russian society. Father Nikolay Dzichkovski and Father Simeon Minchev then baptized many adults and children, married both newlyweds and married couples who had lived in a civil marriage for many years. All the great Lord’s and Virgin’s feasts are celebrated together; the temple is full of people. Numerous Russian diplomats, led by Ambassador Avdeev and his wife, gather at these services. People feel a special sense of unity when they gather together to offer prayers for their Fatherland and for all Orthodox Christians.
The number of admirers of Bishop Seraphim among the Russians and Bulgarians, who have known from personal experience the extraordinary power of prayer to him, is increasing significantly. For many, books with his sermons and articles become a real discovery. At the bishop’s grave with the inscription “FROM MY MOTHER YOU ARE MY PROTECTOR” (Ps. 70:6) people bring more and more letters. After consulting with the parishioners, Father Nicholas established a sort of “mail box” near the bishop’s grave.
Thanks to the renewed contacts with the “White Guard” emigrants, the diplomats from the Russian embassy finally paid attention to the Russians living in the disabled home in Knyazhevo, created in the 1920s, to all the lonely, sick, disabled people. Donations are collected at the embassy to buy gifts for Christmas and Easter.
On May 19, 1994, the church solemnly welcomed the Russian Patriarch Alexy II, who arrived in Bulgaria to visit the Bulgarian Patriarch Maxim. The First Hierarchs were accompanied by numerous hierarchs of the Bulgarian Church, who participated in the celebrations in the Russian temple more than once. A funeral litany was celebrated together at the grave of Bishop Seraphim, who loved the Bulgarians and the Bulgarian Church so much. With the blessing of the two patriarchs, it was decided to proceed with the restoration of the Russian church.
By order of the ambassadorial committee, nun artists from the icon-painting studio of the “Pokrov Bogorodichen” Princely Monastery painted the crypt of the temple. Under the guidance of the talented sister Magdalina (Nacheva), they create murals that are astonishing in their beauty and depth. Several plots are united by the topic “Archbishop Seraphim – Patron Saint of Sofia”. With iconographic means, the artists manage to tell about the righteous life of Bishop Seraphim, and about his struggle for the purity of Orthodoxy, and about his boundless love for him. Thanks to the magnificent frescoes, the name of the untimely martyred Sister Magdalene (may God rest her in His heavenly kingdom!) has been united forever with the name of Bishop Seraphim. The restoration of the legendary Samara flag was entrusted to the skilled craftsmen from the Princely Monastery – they breathed new life into the priceless relic, a symbol of the Russian-Bulgarian brotherhood.
A great celebration for the whole parish is the solemn consecration of the Russian temple after the completion of the repair and restoration works. Ambassador Avdeev’s merits were marked with a high award – by decree of Patriarch Alexy II he was awarded the Order of “St. Righteous Prince Daniel of Moscow”.
Archpriest Nikolai was replaced by the energetic Archpriest Sergii Trukhachov, the father of a joint family with many children. During his time, the iconography of the crypt was completed, which, with this finished look, became a true decoration of the temple. The talented conductor Matushka Lyubov successfully leads the choir of the Russian Church, which is traditionally one of the best in Sofia. Father Sergius enjoys great love from the parishioners, he manages to create an amazingly benevolent and cordial atmosphere in the parish.
From 1998 to 2008, the head of the Russian temple was Archpriest Alexander Karyagin, a cleric from the Kostroma Diocese.
From April 2008 to March 2009, the abbot of the courtyard was Isidor (Minaev), a graduate of the Valaam Monastery. The short time of his ministry proved to be very fruitful. The life of the parish becomes both more active and more diverse. In connection with the 130th anniversary of the end of the Russian-Turkish war, the year 2008 has been declared the “year of Russia in Bulgaria”. Solemn religious services, festive events, concerts, artistic and literary exhibitions are organized throughout the country, including a photo exhibition dedicated to the 1020th anniversary of the Conversion of Russia, an exhibition “Temples of Moscow”, a week of Russian spiritual culture. In addition to the festive events, the traditional activities of the parish are not forgotten. A Sunday school is successfully operating, consisting of several classes for children of different ages. In addition to the catechism and church history lessons, there are also classes in church singing and arts and crafts. As part of the cycle “What do we know about Orthodoxy?”, the head of the courtyard gives monthly theological lectures at the Russian Cultural and Information Center.
The yard continues its many years of tradition in providing assistance to the elderly, the disabled and the needy. Constant work is also being done on the beautification and maintenance of the Russian cemeteries.
Since March 2009, Hieromonk Zotik (Gaevski) has been performing the duties of head of the courtyard. For Bulgaria, he is not a new and unknown person – he studied here and often served together with Father Isidore in the church “St. great martyr Panteleimon” at the Russian cemetery in Kniazhevo. The employees of the yard have serious tasks ahead: a new restoration of the Russian temple is ahead, and its centenary is not far away.
From the translator: Hieromonk Zotik managed the courtyard until May 2011, after which Archimandrite Philip (Vasiltsev) was appointed as the head. Archimandrite Philip is a man of extraordinary energy and determination. Despite some initial disagreements and ferments in the parish, Archimandrite Philip’s time will be remembered mostly for one of the most comprehensive restorations of the church “St. Nicholas the Wonderworker” throughout its existence, and also with the canonization of St. Seraphim, the Sofia Wonderworker, carried out in solidarity by the Russian and Bulgarian Orthodox Churches in 2016 – a unique event in church history. This canonization has been expected for many years by the faithful people, but only the will and energy of Archimandrite Philip, who organized the collection of numerous testimonies of miracles and prayer help, and put his heart and soul into this process, gave impetus to the canonization procedure.
From March 2018 until today, the head of the courtyard and representative of the Russian Patriarch in Sofia is Archimandrite Vasian (Zmeev). We wish His Eminence Fr. Vasian a successful and fruitful ministry, health, strength and help from above in his works, and may God continue to bless the importance of the Russian temple in Sofia as a unique living bridge and connection between the two brotherly countries and churches.
Will the temple “St. Nicholas the Wonderworker” is just a historical monument or it will continue to be a focus of the Russian Orthodox community in Sofia, called to serve the prayerful unity of the Orthodox people, Russians and Bulgarians, largely depends on us. Well, the church is not just a beautiful building with cubes and icons. It is a living organism, and it is made so by the believing people gathered together in the name of Christ; and that’s all of us.
Publication in Bulgarian: To remain human/History and religions by Olga Reshetnikova – In SVET, Issue 3/2022
In 1947, a Bedouin from the Taamira tribe walked around the Qumran hill, located on the western shore of the Dead Sea, looking for a lost goat from his herd. Since he did not find her, he assumed that she might have entered the cave on the hill. He went down the sheer cliff and decided to throw a stone at it, hoping that it would make the animal come out. However, instead of the noise of a frightened animal, the sound of broken pottery came from the cave, which caught his curiosity and made him enter the cave. There he found 45 clay vessels carefully arranged against the wall. Muhammad al-Dib’s disappointment must have been great when he removed from the jars only a few darkened, glued leather scrolls. Later, in the Bedouin camp, together with his fellows, they examined them carefully, but could not understand anything of the writing. After a few months, the Bedouins managed to sell their find for 250 dollars to the Archbishop of the Syrian Orthodox Church Athanasius (Monophysites). His attempts to read the scrolls are also unsuccessful. After a year, during his meeting with Dr. Trevor, he finds out what he actually acquired, as well as the price of this acquisition – the Israeli government buys the manuscripts for 1 million dollars…
This is how the greatest archaeological discovery of the 20th century was made – the Qumran manuscripts, also known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, were found. Over the course of several years, archaeologists discovered 11 caves in which they found over 900 handwritten documents. Documents found at Qumran are mostly written on leather, there are also a few on parchment, but one scroll is completely different from the rest. In 1952, at the bottom of the conditionally named cave number 3, a scroll made entirely of copper was discovered – (the scroll is composed of two separate copper pieces, parts). The Copper Scroll (3Q15 or 3QTreasure) does not fit into any of the other scroll categories. It contained no biblical text, was written in a language not found in any of the other scrolls, and reading it fired the imaginations of thousands of seekers of adventure and lost treasure around the world. Even the most exaggerated tales of the Wolf Lord’s legendary treasures pale in comparison to the contents of this scroll.
The 3Q15 Copper Scroll turns out to be a map listing the world’s greatest hidden treasure. It contains a list of 63 places where for hidden incredible treasures of gold and silver. Due to the specifics of the biblical units of measurement, it is difficult to determine the exact weight of the treasure, but it is probably about tons of precious metals, in monetary terms equal to at least three billion dollars, and in historical terms – priceless. But where did this treasure come from? King Solomon’s mythical legacy?
According to Stephen Pfan, one of the scientists involved in the reading of the manuscripts, it is an inventory of the hidden objects of the Jerusalem Temple before its final destruction: “This is an incredible historical testimony. To have a list of the temple treasures from the 1st century is a real miracle. We have nothing more eloquent than this scroll to tell us what was really there…”
According to him, the copper scroll was the work of the Zealots. This assumption fits perfectly into the historical setting from the beginning of the 1st century AD. in the Holy Land. Zealotism (Hebrew kanai, meaning “zeal for God”) became a political movement and led to the Great Revolt against Rome (AD 66-70). Josephus in his book “Jewish Antiquities” says that the Jewish sects were three – Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes. The Zealots, known for their intransigence towards Rome, became the fourth such. They appear on the political scene almost immediately after Rome declares Judea a Roman province, defend to the last the Temple and its wealth from the encroachment of the Romans. Before their resistance was finally broken and the Zealots were massacred, they managed to hide a large part of this wealth. The copper scroll map was composed just before the destruction of the temple, according to Stephen Pfan. In it, some of the places with hidden treasure can easily be found: Jericho, the Achor valley – north or south of Jericho, Mount Gerizim, the cave by the fountain of the House of Hakkoz – possibly the site of the second Jerusalem temple, etc.
However, there are also coded places that are difficult to locate such as “Solomon’s Channel” where a large amount of silver coins are hidden, “Milham” where the garments of the high priest are hidden, possibly with the stones “Urim and Thummim” and all the others priceless attributes described in the Bible, (see in detail Exodus 28:2-43). In a place called Mattia, over 600 gold and silver sacred vessels from the Temple are hidden… The instructions in the copperplate manuscript bear a striking resemblance to story lines from Indiana Jones or Lara Croft movies. It speaks of caves, graves, aqueducts, reservoirs, tunnels, etc., which are meant to serve as landmarks, followed by directions for the number of steps to be taken in a certain direction in order to find the hidden part of the treasure. The places are so described that a person must necessarily have been a contemporary of the era in which the objects were hidden to be able to find them today. The description includes details unknown to anyone today. These are local names of localities, buildings, streets, landmarks, which were known in ancient times to a certain group of people, but today they do not give us any idea in which direction to look.
The very language in which the copper scroll was written is a great mystery. Some passages in it are written in a kind of Hebrew (resembling the language of the Mishnah) which itself was in use 800 years earlier than the age of the scroll. Things are made even more confusing by the presence of Greek letters in the text of the scroll, arranged in no logical order. The last few lines of the scroll add further emotion to the confusion. They speak of an even greater treasure “in a dry well at Kohlit”… but unfortunately an explanation of how and where to find the well, as well as directions for discovering the rest of the treasures, is contained in a copy of the copper a scroll. This means that somewhere, perhaps in Kohlit, there is also a second copper scroll hidden, which is a supplement and a key to finding the objects described in the first. Joel Rosenberg believes the second scroll can still be found. According to him, it would also lead to the discovery of the “Ark of the Covenant”, which disappeared without a trace in 621 BC when Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem. Interestingly, the “Ark of the Covenant” is missing from the list of items that the Babylonian king took out of Jerusalem. Rosenberg refers to ancient Hebrew texts that indicate the fact that the temple treasures from the first Jerusalem temple and the “Ark of the Covenant” were hidden by the priests before the Babylonian invasion. Clues to where they were hidden were left on a copper tablet, the problem is that no one has any idea where this second tablet might be.
Steven Pfan, however, believes that a large part of the treasure was found and taken away by the Romans. They forced the secret of the copper scroll to be revealed to them, and as proof of this point of his, Pphanes cites the existence of a letter in which the emperor Titus states that the Coliseum at Rome was built with the spoils of Judea. “If any part of the treasure still exists, it will be small pieces left undiscovered by the Romans…”. Bearing in mind, however, the example of the last stronghold of the Zealots, Masada, and the heroic death of its defenders, we could hardly agree with Stephen Pfan’s hypothesis that by the power of the sword the Romans forced the Jews to reveal to them the places where the treasures were hidden. Yes, perhaps some portion, sufficient to build the magnificent edifice of the Colosseum, fell into Roman hands, but the great treasure is probably still waiting for its Indiana Jones.
The article uses materials from the books: “Deciphering the Dead sea scrolls”, “The Bible and The Dead sea scrolls”, “Wealth in The Dead sea scrolls and in The Qumran community”, “Historical perspective: From the Hasmoneans to Bar Kokhba in the light of The Dead sea scrolls”, “The Dead sea scrolls and the personages of earliest Christianity”, Biblical Archeology Review, from the CBN page, etc.
The famous missionary and theologian Deacon Andrey Kuraev was convicted on 23 August 24, 2022 in the Nikulin District Court in Moscow on a denunciation filed “by the citizen Sergey Chichin” for his anti-war publications.
All requests of his lawyer were rejected and Deacon Andrey Kuraev was sentenced to pay a fine of 30,000 rubles for “discrediting the Russian army”. A second such trial against him threatens him with a real prison sentence.
“I don’t know what the court considered a crime in my article. The reasoned part of the judgment was not read. There are also no specific words or quotes in the case file. Various lawyers are telling me in chorus that it’s time to evacuate: a second trial is already threatening me with a real prison sentence. I’ll be honest: I don’t want to leave. I will try to go on the path of correction. I have already said what I think about what should not be thought and talked about. And I paid the court for my words.
To make it difficult for future whistleblowers to do their noble work, I have deleted my diary for the period from February 23rd to August 1st.’
In the denunciation against deacon Andrey Kuraev, the citizen of Chichin says: “I am asking for an investigation into the fact of dissemination of unverified information by the citizen of the Russian Federation Andrey Vyacheslavovich Kuraev. Being a leader of public opinion (for a certain part of the population) through his blog, A. V. Kuraev regularly conducts open anti-Russian propaganda. In a post dated April 18, 2022 at 12:46 p.m., he wrote: “about the Rubtsov boys sending stolen appliances home.” The author then links to the Medusa site, without mentioning that it is on the “foreign agent” list, and urges it to be read via VPN (quote): “for the biographies of these guys, read the Medusa investigation”. Mr. Kuraev’s version comes out that the Russian military in Ukraine is actively engaged in looting household appliances from the local population and sending them to Russia.”
The repressive wave in the Russian state is becoming stronger and more unscrupulous, resembling the Soviet repressions in the 1930s (which Deacon Andrey Kuraev himself predicted at the beginning of the war – here).
As then, as now, whistleblowing is strongly encouraged in society, and almost all cases of “discrediting the Russian army” begin with a whistleblower – from parishioners (as in the case of a priest John Burdin), colleagues, readers.
Not long ago, the editor-in-chief of the free Orthodox encyclopedia “Drevo” was also convicted of denunciation and forced to take down his anti-war publications, as well as to stop the news column in his project.
The Lord taught in the synagogue of Capernaum, and everyone marveled at His teaching: for He taught them as having authority, and not as scribes (Matthew 7:29). This power is not an imperative tone, but the power of influence on souls and hearts. His Word went inside and subdued the human conscience, indicating that everything is exactly as He said. Such is always the word imbued with Divine power, the word from the Spirit. This was the case with the holy apostles, and after them with all influential teachers, who spoke not from learning, but from the way the Spirit gave them to proclaim. This is a gift of God, acquired by labors not only over the study of the truth, but more over the heart’s vital assimilation of it. Where this happens, the word penetrates with persuasiveness, because it passes from heart to heart; hence the power of the word over souls. Scribes who speak and write from learning are not given such power, because they speak from the head and pour their reasoning into the head. There is no life in the head, but only its tip. Life is in the heart, and only what comes from the heart can influence entire epochs of life. St. Bishop Theophan the Recluse (107, 271-272), (115, 455).
Proud and arrogant Jews, wishing to interrupt the conversation with the disciples, approached Him with the question: “By what authority do You do this?” (Matthew 21:23). Since the Jews could not humiliate His miracles, they blame Him for His action with the merchants in the temple. They asked the Evangelist John a similar question, although not in the same words, but with the same meaning: “By what sign will You prove to us that You have the authority to do this?” (John 2:18). And Christ answered them: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). And here He brings them into extreme difficulty. This shows that the incident described by John was at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, when He had just begun to work miracles, and that described by Matthew was at the end of His ministry. The meaning of the question of the Jews was this: have you received a teaching chair, have you been ordained a priest, that you exercise such authority? Although Christ did nothing that would show pride, but only established good order in the temple, yet, not having anything to say against Jesus, the Jews reproach Him for this. However, because of the miracles, they did not dare to reproach Him at the very time when He drove the merchants out of the temple, but they reproached Him only after they saw Him. What is Christ? He does not directly answer their question, showing by the fact that they could know about His authority if they wanted to, but He Himself asks them: “Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men?” (Luke 20:4). But how is that relevant, you ask? Directly. If they had said, “from heaven,” He would have answered them, “Why did you not believe him?” (Luke 20:5). Because if they had believed John, they would not have asked about it, since John said about Him: With Him “I am not worthy to untie the strap of my shoes” (Luke 3:16). And again: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). And also: “He who comes from above is also above all” (John 3:31). And again: “His shovel is in His hand, and He will clean His threshing floor” (Matthew 3:12). And if the Jews had believed John, it would not have been difficult for them to understand by what authority Christ does this. Since the Jews slyly answered Him: “We do not know” (Lk. 20:7), Christ did not say to them: “Neither do I know.” But what? “And I will not tell you by what authority I do these things” (Luke 20:8). If they really didn’t know, it would be necessary to teach them. But since they acted wickedly, and Christ rightly answered them nothing. Why didn’t the Jews say that the baptism of John was from the people? They were afraid of the people, it is said. Do you see the corrupted heart? God is neglected everywhere, but everything is done for people. For even John was feared for the people, respecting the holy man, not for his own sake, but for the people. For the people, they did not want to believe in Jesus Christ either. That’s where the source of all evil for them! Saint John Chrysostom (116, 371-372).
Power is a big cross
Any power for a Christian is not peace and honor, but a great cross, burdened with great and many labors, worries and constant patience, which no one wishes. For everyone must first make himself worthy of honor and expect God’s calling, by which the election of higher authorities is accomplished (104, 326-327).
Reason and a good conscience are necessary for a Christian leader. Without reason, the leader will, like a blind man, err; without a good conscience, he will ruin, and not build up society. Honor changes human disposition, but rarely for the better. Many would be saints if they were not honored. Think about it, Christian, and do not take on a burden greater than your strength. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk <104, 1200).
Perhaps someone will say that the Apostle Paul did not blaspheme those who wished to be bishops, for he says: if anyone desires the bishopric, he desires a good deed (1 Tim. 3:1); therefore, the desire for episcopacy is not a shameful desire.
He who speaks thus, let him heed the last words of the apostle: “He desires a good deed.” “Deeds” wants, and not power, labor, not honor, worries, not saturation. The apostle praises the desire, for the rank of hierarch was established by the Lord on earth not for peace and pleasure, but so that the saint always bears the greatest labors, caring for the salvation of all … revered by all, but in order to unhypocritically and always be the image of Christ’s humility, to be a champion of the truth, without hesitation, regardless of persons, to always be ready to lay down one’s life for Christ and Christ’s Church. The apostle did not blaspheme those who desired episcopacy precisely because in those apostolic times martyrdom followed episcopacy. And few of the apostles and bishops died a natural death. But many died as martyrs. For the impious tormentors sought first of all the bishops and Christian teachers as leaders. And therefore, if anyone desired episcopacy, he also desired martyrdom, he desired dishonor, spitting, mutilation and wounds, and not proud exaltation and honors; therefore, in those days, he who desired episcopacy desired a good deed. Now, however, the one who seeks the episcopal rank must be afraid that, having taken upon himself the care of the salvation of others, he may not destroy his soul. Saint Demetrius of Rostov (103, 786-787).
Lust for power
Lust for power is a great evil in man and the beginning of all evil… We know that the lawless Herod was not afraid to kill so many thousands of innocent babies, just not to lose his royal power. Oh, great evil – lust for power! Man wants to control others, but he cannot control himself. Flee from this evil so as not to destroy yourself and others. We must first learn to control ourselves, and then take power over others (104, 327).
When you feel anger in your heart against the subordinate, beware of punishing in anger and in word and deed, but wait until the anger is tamed. Since in anger you will not be able to punish like a Christian, but you will do a lot of obscene and indecent things, Christian, which, although you will regret later, you will no longer return what has been done or said. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk (104, 1201).
After the death of the hegumen-priest, the brethren of the monastery wished to elect one elder as hegumen, as a great and charitable man. The elder begged them to give it up. “Leave me, fathers, to mourn my sins. I am not at all the kind to take care of the souls of others. This is the work of great fathers like Abba Anthony, Pachomius, St. Theodore and others.” However, not a day passed without the brethren urging him to accept the abbess. The old man continued to refuse. Finally, seeing that the brethren were persistently asking him, he said: “Leave me to pray for three days. And whatever pleases God, I will do it.” It was Friday then, and on Sunday early in the morning the elder died. Spiritual meadow (75, 13).
Abba Orsisios said: “A damp brick laid in the foundation of a house, not far from the river, will not last even one day, but a burnt brick lies like a stone. So also a person who feeds carnal thoughts and is not imbued, like Joseph, with the fire of God’s fear, is crushed by power as soon as he receives it. For there are many temptations for such people if they live in society. And therefore, knowing the poverty of their strength, it is good to flee from the yoke of the authorities. However, those who are firm in the faith are unshakable. If someone would start talking about the most holy Joseph (Gen. 39), he would say that he was an unearthly person. What temptations he was!… But the God of the fathers was always with him and delivered him from every misfortune, and now he is in the Kingdom of Heaven with his fathers. And so let us begin the feat, having known in advance the measure of our strength: for even at the same time we can hardly escape the judgment of God. Memorable legends… (79, 182).
Archimandrite Zinon (Theodore) is the most famous icon painter of the Russian Orthodox Church and his works – murals, icons, miniatures are known throughout the Orthodox world. In 1992, he worked in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, and in 1993, he led the icon painting activities in the St. Danilov Monastery, related to the 1000th anniversary of the conversion of Russia. In 1995, he was awarded a state prize, thus becoming the first Orthodox painter to receive state recognition in Russia. Then he worked in Pskov, in the New Valaam Monastery, in the Sheveton Monastery in Belgium, in Vienna, in Batumi (Georgia) and in many other places. He writes the temple in the Moscow metro station “Semkhoz”, erected on the place where priest Alexander Men was killed.
In 1994, the Pskov Museum of Local Lore handed over the building of the ancient Spaso-Mirozhki Monastery to the Russian Church, with the condition that an icon-painting school be organized here under the leadership of archim. Zinon. Gradually, the small brotherhood rebuilt the monastery and the school began its activities. The fame of archim. Zinon attracts there icon painters not only from Russia, but also from abroad. In 1997, a group of Italian artists worked at the school, including Catholic priests. Archim. Zinon allowed the guests to celebrate a Catholic mass in one of the chapels of the monastery, which had not yet been consecrated, and at the end of the service he received communion from them. A little later, the case gained publicity and archim. Zenon was placed under interdiction (that is, he had no right to serve) by Pskov Metropolitan Eusebius, and two monks from his monastery were excommunicated. The banning of the famous icon painter caused a violent reaction in Russia – many admirers of his work spoke out in his defense. At that time, Father Zinon’s personality was already iconic in Russian society, and his influence on the theology of the icon considerable. The monastery was closed, the brotherhood dispersed, and some of his works in the Pskov temples and monasteries were destroyed. Archim. Zinon retired to a small village, right on the border with Estonia, where he continued to work actively. In February 2002, the Russian Patriarch Alexy II removed from him all disciplinary prohibitions, and above all the prohibition to work as a priest. In 2006, with the permission of the patriarch, he went to Vienna and worked in the diocese of Bishop Hilarion Alfeev, where he wrote the Nikolaev church until September of that year. At the moment archim. Zinon worked on Mount Athos, where, at the invitation of the Simonopetra monastery, he inscribed one of the monastery’s temples.
Besides icon painter, archim. Zinon is also known for his works in the field of the theology of the icon, and among his most famous books is the “Discourses of the Icon Painter”.
To understand the meaning of Orthodox icon veneration, it is good to see how each icon was born. Invaluable helpers in this endeavor are the lives of the saints. Today it is widely believed that the Church creates an icon of someone only after his canonization. In fact, the first official canonization in Byzantium took place only in the 14th century and it was about St. Gregory Palamas. He was declared a saint by Patriarch Philoteus Kokinos a few years after his death, and of course veneration for him was already a fact in Thessaloniki and the region. Which does not mean that the Church did not glorify saints before, nor that it did not inscribe them on icons. Until then, and for many centuries after, the only criterion for someone’s holiness was the unanimous veneration of the clergy and people, who testified with this unanimity to his orthodoxy and his pious life.
General information about the development of icon painting
Every saint has been subjected, at certain periods of his life, to persecution, challenge and denial, not only by secular authorities or open God-fighters (as perhaps we wish, to make it easier for us to find our way), but also by pious people, by ecclesiastical authority, and sometimes even by other saints.
After the death of the saint, whose sanctity was repeatedly demonstrated by miracles during his life and after his death, tropars for him appeared, included in the church service. The beginning of his ecclesiastical glorification are the so-called panagiri from Greek – great holidays dedicated to a deceased saint, which were annual and sometimes lasted a week… The more beloved the saint was, the more his images were on icons and murals.
There have been cases when a patriarch or other representative of the highest authority tried to ban someone’s veneration as a saint and, accordingly, to ban his icons, but they ended in failure. For example, in the 11th century, a senior official of the Patriarch of Constantinople tried to prohibit St. Simeon the New Theologian from organizing annual church celebrations in memory of his spiritual father, St. Simeon the Studite. The reason is that he considered St. Simeon the Studite to be a sinful man and not a saint. He managed to convince the patriarch and other senior church officials of this, and St. Simeon the New Theologian was subjected to persecution. Church holidays in memory of St. Simeon the Studite were banned, his icons and wall paintings were destroyed, and St. Simeon the New Theologian himself was exiled. They left him only the icon painted by himself, as a memory of his teacher, but deleted the word “saint” from it. After years of exile, when the prayerful reverence for St. Simeon the Studite did not decrease, but on the contrary, increased, St. Simeon the New Theologian was rehabilitated, and the church holidays in honor of his spiritual father were restored in Constantinople with even greater splendor than before .
Most icons were created spontaneously by grateful Christians during the saint’s lifetime or shortly thereafter. Here, for example, St. John Chrysostom, in his eulogy for Meletius, bishop of Antioch, delivered five years after his death, says that the believers in Antioch loved their bishop so much that they baptized their children with his name, Meletius. They invoked him in their prayers as an intercessor before God and thus removed every passion and sinful thought. His name was heard everywhere – in the market, in the square, in the field. But the Christians, continued St. John Chrysostom, loved not only his name, but also his holy body. Therefore they painted his image on the walls of their homes, stamped his face on rings, put his image in various places, so that they not only heard his name, but also comforted themselves with his image because of his sleep.
An example of a saint depicted during his lifetime is St. Simeon the Pillar, who lived in the 5th century in Syria. Theodoret of Kirsky, who wrote his Church History 15 years before the saint’s death (459), says that his fame was so great that people flocked to him from all over Christendom. And the artisans in Rome had hung small icons of him in front of the doors of their workshops to guard and protect them.
St. Simeon Novi lived in the 6th century again in Syria. He was known for his great miracles. Several instances of his depiction of icons are described in his biography. A woman named Theotecna separated from her husband and visited the saint to share her problem with him. Through his prayers, the couple got together again and had a child, which they brought to the saint for a blessing. When she returned home, she hung an icon of the saint in the inner rooms of her home. The biographer does not say whether she commissioned it to be painted or bought it ready-made somewhere. This icon was miraculous and through it many possessed and sick people were healed. Another case from the same life is that of a craftsman from Antioch who suffered for many years from demonic worries. Through the prayers of the saint, he was healed and out of gratitude hung his icon in a prominent place in the agora and above the door of his workshop. However, the saint was not loved in the city, because he had recently denounced its inhabitants for idolatry – therefore a commotion arose and many wanted to destroy his icon. Without explaining the details, the biographer says that the crowd dispersed after “a believing woman, a harlot, who at that hour was filled with the Holy Spirit” denounced them in a loud voice for their impiety and idolatry.
Saint Theodore of Syceot, bishop of Anastasiopolis, died in the early 7th century. Monks from his monastery, together with the abbot, decided to secretly paint his image on an icon in order to have it in their monastery as a memory and blessing. For this purpose, they called an artist, who observed and iconographed the saint through an opening. Before he left, the monks showed Saint Theodore his image. He joked if this was the most valuable thing they found to steal, smiled and blessed the icon.
And so behind the creation of each icon there was a personal story, a personal contact with a certain saint, whose sanctity was witnessed by the love and trust of the people… A woman receives help from a saint and because it is unlikely that she will ever be able to go to him again , orders his image to be painted to take to his home. Somehow, naturally, the prayer contact continued in the home and the believer did not even think that he was praying to the image, and not to the saint, the living memory of which he keeps in his memory… Naturally, everything can be profaned. This also happens with icons – in the later centuries, on the eve of the iconoclastic crisis, many believers began to look at them as amulets, having their power in themselves. The sense of a personal prayerful relationship in love with the depicted person is lost and replaced by a sense of awe at the supernatural powers of the icon as an object. The love between two persons – the person praying and the saint – is replaced by a consumer attitude towards the icon, from which the believer seeks some benefit that he could not naturally receive. This attitude gave birth to various non-Orthodox practices in spirit and, along with other political and cultural reasons, gave rise to the outbreak of iconoclasm disputes.
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