Today, January 2nd, the Orthodox Church celebrates the 18th century Saint Seraphim of Sarov.

Living many years as a hermit in the forest, his friendship with the local animals was often a source of wonder to visitors and fellow monks. One eyewitness speaks of how rabbits, foxes, lynx, bears, and even wolves would gather around the entrance to his hut at midnight to wait for him to finish his prayers, after which he would come out and distribute bread to all of them.

He was also known for his friendship with a huge bear named Misha. ‘On one occasion the Abbess Alexandra and a nun named Anna went to visit the Elder. “Without stopping at the Monastery we went straight to the hermitage, and on approaching it, we saw Father sitting on a log. Suddenly an enormous bear walked out of the wood on its hind legs. “Our hands became clammy, our eyes grew dim. Then Father said, ‘Misha, why do you frighten my orphans? Better go back and bring us some kind of consolation, as I have nothing to offer them.’ The bear turned around and went off into the forest. About two hours had passed with the nuns having a wonderful conversation with Father Seraphim in his cabin, when the same bear suddenly appeared again, and scrambled clumsily into the cell and growled. Father Seraphim went up to him and said, ‘Well, well, Misha, show me what you have brought us?’ The bear rose on its hind legs and gave Father something wrapped in leaves. The contents of the parcel turned out to be a fresh honeycomb. The Elder took the honey and silently pointed to the door. The beast seemed to make a bow and the Elder, taking a bit of bread out of his bag, gave it to him, and the bear wandered off into the forest.”’

As Olivier Clement says of him, he showed that “he who is sanctified lives in peace with all creation.”

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

A CHRISTMAS STORY by Richard Wurmbrand (1909-2001).

Richard Wurmbrand was a Lutheran minister in Romania who spent 14 years in Communist prison camps in the 1950's and 60's. He tells this story of an Orthodox priest and the Communist who tortured him to death:
"I was in a Romanian communist prison and fell very, very ill, close to death. At my right hand was 40 year old Fr. Iscu, an abbot of a monastery. He had been so tortured he was near death, yet his face was serene. He spoke about his hope of heaven, about his love of Christ, about his faith. He radiated joy. On my left side was the Communist torturer who had tortured this priest almost to death. He had been arrested by his own comrades. It happened that the Communist torturer who had tortured this priest nearly to death had been tortured nearly to death by his comrades. And he was dying near me. His soul was in agony. During the night he would awaken me, saying, “Pastor, please pray for me. I can’t die, I have committed such terrible crimes.”
Then I saw a miracle when the agonized priest called two other prisoners to help him walk past my bed, sit on the bedside of this murderer, and caress his head—I will never forget this gesture. I watched a murdered man caressing his murderer! That is love—he found a caress for him. The priest said to the man, “You are young; you did not know what you were doing. I love you with all my heart.” Then he went on, “If I who am a sinner can love you so much, imagine Christ, who is Love Incarnate, how much He loves you! And all the Christians whom you have tortured, know that they forgive you, they love you, and Christ loves you. He wishes you to be saved much more than you wish to be saved. You wonder if your sins can be forgiven. He wishes to forgive your sins more than you wish your sins to be forgiven. He desires for you to be with Him in heaven much more than you wish to be in heaven with Him. He is Love. You only need to turn to Him and repent.”

In this prison cell in which there was no possibility of privacy, I overheard the confession of the murderer to the murdered. The murdered—near to death—received the confession of the murderer. The murdered gave absolution to his murderer. They prayed together, embraced each other, and the priest went back to his bed. Both men died that same night.

It was Christmas Eve. But it was not a Christmas Eve in which we simply remembered that two thousand years ago Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It was a Christmas Eve during which Jesus was born in the heart of a Communist murderer."

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

“It is easier to measure the entire sea with a tiny cup than to grasp the ineffable greatness of God with the human mind”

† Saint Basil the Great

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

“It is not right to speak of the former years and to bless them and to curse our own age. We must know that in every age and in every place, people who actually seek their salvation, find it.”

Saint Luke, Bishop of Simferopol and Crimea, the Blessed Surgeon

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

Leave-taking of the Theophany

The Reading is from Matthew 4:12-17

At that time, when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth he went and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned." From that time Jesus began to preach, saying,

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

Amen

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Colossians 3:4-11

Brethren, when Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:
fornication,
impurity,
passion,
evil desire,
and covetousness, which is idolatry.
On account of these, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. In these you once walked, when you lived in them. But now put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old nature with its practices and have put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all, and in all.

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

GOSPEL READING: 12th Sunday of Luke Maximos the Confessor

The Reading is from Luke 17:12-19

At that time, as Jesus entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted their voices and said:
"Jesus, Master, have mercy on us."
When he saw them he said to them,
"Go and show yourselves to the priests."
And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus's feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.
Then said Jesus:
"Were not ten cleansed?
Where are the nine?
Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" And he said to him: "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well."

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

Sometime in 372 AD, the Roman Emperor Valens, who denied the divinity of Christ, sent the prefect Modestos to Caesarea to make Basil conform to imperial policies and accept Arianism or be removed from the episcopacy. Modestos, who bore the title Count of the East, possessed only a little less power than the Emperor. He summoned Basil before an imperial tribunal in Caesarea and fortunately, we have a record of their conversation.

"Basil," Modestos shouted, ignoring Roman protocol and omitting all of Basil's titles and honors, "how dare you defy imperial power? Do you know what I can do to you? Don't you fear my power?"
"What can you do?" Basil answered quietly.
"What! You dare say that to me! I can confiscate your possessions, banish you, torture you and put you to death!"
"Is that all?" Basil replied. "None of these things bother me. You cannot confiscate my property and possessions because I have none, unless you want to take the clothes that I'm wearing and the few books that I have. Banishment and exile – what have these to do with me? I am at home everywhere on God's earth. You cannot exile me from the grace of God! I am already a pilgrim and sojourner in this life. To be put to death is the only power you have over me. As for death, it is welcome to me, for it will bring me all the sooner into His blessed Presence, close to Him whom I already serve."

Startled, Modestos said: "No one ever spoke to me in such a manner until now."
"No doubt," retorted Basil. "You've probably never met a bishop until now."

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

Christians believe in the virgin birth of the Christ.

Materialists believe in the virgin birth of the cosmos.

Choose your miracle.
Choose your story, — but know that one is of self-giving love, only one of the miracles makes everything coherent.
Be Wise.
H/T Keiron Murphy

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

Elder Cleopa:
The Repentance of King Manasseh

Manasseh, the king of Judah in the Old Testament, committed more sins before God than anyone else. For 52 years, he forced the whole people to worship idols and devils and to renounce God. And they all abandoned God - himself, his children, all his family. And he would kill whoever refused to worship idols and bring sacrifices to the devils in the most terrible torments.
And so this king committed untold numbers of sins. But the All-Merciful God, to show the depth of His loving-kindness, and His unbounded mercy, brought Manasseh to repentance through His judgment. How?
This king, as evil as he was, was from a good family. His father, Hezekiah, a king well pleasing to God, lived in the time of the Prophet Isaiah. He prayed to God to bring back his son who had distanced himself from the Creator of Heaven and earth. How did God bring him back?
God saw the evil and lack of faith of Mannaseh; He saw that Manasseh’s mind was so darkened that not only he distanced himself from God, but also his whole nation was brought onto the path to destruction and forced to abandon God. Then God, Who knows how to bring all to repentance, set “a bit and a bridle” on Manasseh, as the Psalter says: “[they] must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you” (Psalm 31/32:9)

That is what happened to this king as well. If God had left him as he was, he would have never repented. But God sent commanders from the king of Babylon with a great army, and they conquered Jerusalem, taking king Manasseh as their slave. They tied him up and placed him in a cage where he couldn’t stand up. He was tied up like a hook, with his head bent to his feet, tied with two chains of bronze. And they put him in that cage, where he couldn’t even lift up his head, but only sit tied up as a rounded hook.
The king of Babylon thought Manasseh would only live one more week or a few more days, and he gave him food only twice a week, bread and water. The king kept asking his servants: “Has king Manasseh died?” And they were replying: “He hasn’t died, your Highness. He is still alive and moving in his case. It is remarkable!”

And Manasseh lived in that cage, tied in chains, not one week, not one month, not ten months, but more than seven years.
And it was a tremendous miracle to see a man tied with his head to his feet, getting only water and some bread twice a week, and still surviving. This king, from whom God didn't want to take the spark of life, was only skin and bones after all the torments and sorrows he suffered in his vicissitudes. Just think about what he was going through. Then he remembered God and said, "God has brought me into this torment and suffering because I angered Him. I turned away from Him and I forced God's people to sacrifice to idols!" He thought in his heart: "If God has kept me alive until now, what does He want from me? Surely He wants my salvation!"
Then, from the bottom of his heart, Manasseh sighed, shed tears, and prayed passionately to God:
“Lord, God of Abraham, of Isaac and Jacob, God of Heaven and earth! If You, Lord, had mercy on me, so I did not die after all these years, so I still have life in me after bearing my heavy chains - this means You are waiting for me to come back to You.
Lord, my God, I cannot bend my knees, I cannot bow my head to the ground because I am bound with heavy chains of bronze, which pull and keep me like a hook with my head to my feet, so I cannot pray to You.
I cannot make prostrations, I cannot fall with my face to the ground because I am tied up. Yet I pray to You, Lord, and I bend the knees of my heart: remember me, O Lord, because it is no miracle for You to have mercy on the righteous; You did not set repentance for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their righteous descendants, but You set repentance for the sinners.
And so, Lord God, if You have mercy on me, if You will look into my heart, if You will forgive me for my sins which are more numerous than the grains of sand by the sea, then Your unutterable mercy will be known, Lord, and Your unimaginable loving-kindness…”

This is how Manasseh prayed from the bottom of his heart, shedding tears with great suffering in his torments. The All-Holy God remembered him and put a thought into the mind of the king of Babylon to set Manasseh free from his chains and take him out of his cage. When they took him out, because he had spent so much time tied up like a hook, he was going around like a circle. His bones had become round and couldn’t be stretched anymore. Think about how terrible it was to see a man in the shape of a circle, all skin and bones, and pity him! Think about how awful it was!
The pagans from Babylon cried and said: “Is there still life in this man? Is this still a human being?” So they set Manasseh free and started to nourish him little by little, to take care of him, and in a few months, he was back on his feet. And not only he became whole and healthy again, but the king of Babylon said: “His God, Whom he worships, has forgiven him because of his great repentance!” And he sent Manasseh back as king to Jerusalem!
Manasseh became king again and brought his people back to the worship of God. He did good deeds as much as he could until the end of his life, and wrote the great prayer which we say at the Great Compline, called “Prayer of Manasseh, King of Judah.”

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

Did you see God’s wisdom? Did you hear what God can do? From a pagan king whose sins were more numerous than the stars in the sky and the grains of sand by the sea, He made a king and a saint, because Manasseh repented from the bottom of his heart, poured tears of fire and was tormented for so many years, with so much fasting and suffering and pain! And yet he didn’t lose hope in God’s mercy!
Translated from “Conversations with Elder Cleopa, vol. 2”

Prayer of Manasseh, King of Judah
From Great Compline
O Lord, Almighty, the God of our Fathers, of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and of their righteous seed; Who created the heaven and the earth with all their adornment; Who bound the sea by the word of Your command; Who shut up the abyss and scaled it with Your awesome and glorious name; Whom all things dread and before Whose power they tremble, because the majesty of Your glory is unbearable and the threat of Your anger against sinners is unendurable; yet the mercy of Your promise is both immeasurable and unfathomable, for you are the Lord most high, compassionate, long-suffering and all merciful, Who repents towards the wickedness of man.
You, Lord, in the multitude of Your goodness promised repentance and forgiveness to those who have sinned against You, and in Your infinite compassion appointed repentance for sinners that they may be saved.
Therefore, Lord, the God of the powers, You have not appointed repentance for the righteous, for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who have not sinned against You, but You appointed repentance for me the sinner, for I have committed more sins than the grains of the sand of the sea.
My transgressions have multiplied, Lord; my transgressions have multiplied, and I am not worthy to look up and see the height of heaven from the multitude of my iniquities, being weighed down by many iron chains, so that I cannot raise my head; there is no respite left for me because I provoked Your anger and committed evil before You, not having done Your will and not having kept Your commandments.
And now I bend the knee of my heart, beseeching Your goodness: I have sinned, Lord, I have sinned, and I acknowledge my transgressions; but I beg and ask of You: Forgive me, Lord, forgive me and do not destroy me with my transgressions; do not be angry with me forever and keep my evils in me, and do not condemn me to the depths of the earth.
For you are the Lord God, the God of those who repent, and in me You shall show all Your goodness; for even though I am unworthy, You shall save me according to the multitude of Your mercy, and I shall praise You without ceasing all the days of my life. For every heavenly power sings your praises, and Yours is the glory unto the ages of ages.
Amen.

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

GOSPEL READING: 15th Sunday of Luke

The Reading is from Luke 19:1-10
At that time, Jesus was passing through Jericho. And there was a man named Zacchaios; he was a chief collector, and rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way.
And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaios, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today." So he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully.

And when they saw it they all murmured, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner."
And Zacchaios stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost."

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова

This is what sin looks like, so be careful when you pursue your desires.

_________________
«Русскому человеку лучше всего удаётся невозможное!»
***
Только нашей земли не разделит
На потеху себе супостат:
Богородица белый расстелет
Над скорбями великими плат».

Анна Ахматова