Which teachings do we follow?

ST. LUKE OF CRIMEA

May the Lord help us always follow the way of justice...

*...We accept only those teachings that nourish our self-love and ego and help us follow our own way, the way of sin. We fight against anything that comes in contrast with our goals, anything that rebukes the futility of our erroneous path. We fight truth because we follow the teachings that we ourselves have created or that we have heard from others. The ones that are in agreement with our desire, to live well in this temporary life.

Whatever is in agreement with our goals and the path that we have chosen we regard as true. We unquestionably accept it and project it as grounds for defending our own convictions and the mistaken teachings we follow, which do not agree with what Christ taught and for which we know deep in our heart are incorrect...May the Lord help us always follow the way of justice within Christ's light. Amen.

Teachings of St Luke of Crimea
Published by 'Orthodox Kypseli'

Saint Savvas the New of Kalymnos (5 December)

Saint Savvas was born in 1862 in Herakleitsa, Eastern Thrace to Constantine and Smaragda, very poor and he was there only son. When he was baptized he was given the name Vasilios.

From a young age he had a calling for the holy monastic life and secretely left for Mount Athos at the age of twelve where he entered St. Anne's Skete. Along with the usual monastic duties, this is where he learned iconography and Byzantine music.
After twelve years, he traveled to Jerusalem for a pilgrimage to the holy sites. He arrived in 1887 and entered the monastery of St. George Hozevitou and lived there for seventeen years as a hermit in the deserted and rugged cliffs. After serving for a period as a novice, he was tonsured a monk and given the name Sava.
In 1890, he joined the brotherhood of the Abbott Kallinikos (from Alatsata of Asia Minor) and in 1902 was ordained a deacon. In 1903, a year later, he was ordained to the holy priesthood by Archbishop Nikodemos from Diokesaria. He spent almost 10 years in the desert by the Jordan where he led an austere life and occupied himself with prayer and iconography. His dwelling consisted of two cells which he reached by ascending up a rope ladder. This isolation was necessary for successful inner concentration and noetic prayer and he made great spiritual progress there.
Due to the irregularities caused by the raids of the Arabs in the Holy Land, and health reasons, Sava was forced to leave. He returned to Greece where he searched for a quiet place to continue his monastic life. He was attracted to the island of Patmos, where he lived for a while in the hermitage of Grava and later at the Monastery of St. John. [1]
He later traveled for three years, throughout Greece, looking for a suitable place to stay. He visited Mount Athos, then the Monastery of Phaneromenis, then Salamina and finaly the island of Hydra but in 1919, he was invited to stay at the Greek island of Aegina, by St. Nektarios, to serve as a priest at the Convent of the Holy Trinity, and stayed for six years at this convent (from 1919 until 1925). There he taught the nuns the sacred art of iconography and Byzantine music. This period was one of the most significant events in his biography due to his friendship with St. Nektarios; who was at the height of his spiritual development at this time. Sava had the opportunity to confess and receive counsel from the saint and the two held each other in high esteem and considered each a saint.
Savvas conducted the funeral service for Saint Nektarios and is also renowed for painting the first icon of the saint.
One day St. Savvas asked the abbess not to let anyone disturb him for forty days, during which he remained confined to his cell in which the nuns could hear constant conversation (between the living Saint and the reposed Saint). After 40 days, he came out of his cell holding an icon of the saint. He handed it to the abbess and asked her to place it in the church for veneration. The abbess was surprised since Nektarios had not been formerly glorified ("canonized") as a saint, and was afraid that the convent would get into trouble. Although Savvas was always meek and humble, he insisted, and told her in a commanding manner: "You must show obedience. Take the icon and place it on the icon stand, and do not scrutinize the will of God." He knew the holiness and purity of St. Nektarios.
After the repose of St. Nektarios, the number of pilgrims to the convent increased due to the growing reputation of the saint as a miracle-worker. This greatly disrupted the quiet life that Savvas loved and with the encouragement of Gerasimos Zervos [2], he departed in 1925 and went to the island of Kalymnos.
There, he spent the last years of his life as the priest and spiritual father at the Convent of All Saints. As a confessor, he combined leniency with severity. He was lenient on certain sins and severe to others. He remained an ardent spiritual striver until the end of life and practiced extreme forms of self-restraint with regard to food, drink, and sleep. St. Savvas became a shining example of virtue to all who came into contact with him. Many smelled a heavenly fragrance in his presence and some even saw him rising above the ground as he stood at prayer.
Towards the end of his life, St. Savvas was in a state of intense prayer and holy contrition. For three days he did not receive anyone and he gave his last counsels: requested love and obedience in Christ. When he was on the point of death taking his last breath, suddenly he received strength, brought his blessed small hands together, and clapped them repeatedly saying his last holy words: "The Lord! The Lord! The Lord!" then chanted the troparion for Evangelismos (which vespers were being celebrated at that exact time by churches which followed the Old calender). He went to the Lord in 1948 on the eve of the feast of the Annunciation according to the Patristic calender. One nun saw the soul of the saint ascending in a golden cloud towards heaven. After about 10 years when the saint's grave was opened in accordance to the Greek Orthodox custom, his body was found whole and intact-uncorrupt and a heavenly fragrance emanated from the grave which covered the whole island of Kalymnos, this phenomenon was witnessed by many, including the local bishop. This was a testament to the sanctity of the saint. Numerous miracles and healings have since been attributed to St. Savvas the New of Kalymnos.

Apolytikion
Let us faithful praise Holy Savas, the glory and protector of Kalymnos,
and peer of the Holy Ascetics of old;
for he has been glorified resplendently as a servant of Christ,
with the gift of working miracles,
and he bestows upon all God's grace and mercy.

Kontakion
Today the island of the Kalymnians celebrates your holy memory with a rejoicing heart;
for it possesses as truly God-given wealth,
your sacred body that has been glorified by God, O Father Savas,
approaching which they receive health of both soul and body.

Megalynarion
Rejoice, thou new star of the Church,
the offspring of Thrace and the beauty of Kalymnos,
O God-inspired Savas, fellow citizen of angels and equal of all the saints.

METROPOLITAN ANTHONY OF SOUROZH

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh was born in Lausanne in 1914. He spent his early childhood in Russia and Persia, his father being a member of the Russian Imperial Diplomatic Corps. His mother was the sister of Alexander Scriabin, the composer. During the Russian Revolution the family had to leave Persia, and in 1923 settled in Paris where the future Metropolitan was educated, graduating in physics, chemistry and biology, and taking his doctorate in medicine, at the University of Paris.

In 1939, before leaving for the front as a surgeon in the French army, he secretly professed monastic vows. He was tonsured and received the name of Anthony in 1943. During the occupation of France by the Germans he worked as a doctor and took part in the Anti-Fascist movement of the Resistance. After the war he continued practising as a physician until 1948, when he was ordained to the priesthood and sent to England to serve as Orthodox Chaplain of the Fellowship of St. Alban and St. Sergius. He was appointed vicar of the Russian patriarchal parish in London in 1950, consecrated as Bishop in 1957 and Archbishop in 1962, in charge of the Russian Orthodox Church in Great Britain and Ireland. In 1963 he was appointed Exarch of the Moscow Patriarchate in Western Europe, and in 1966 was raised to the rank of Metropolitan. At his own request he was released in 1974 from the function of Exarch, in order to devote himself more fully to the pastoral needs of the growing flock of his Diocese and all who come to him seeking advice and help.

Metropolitan Anthony is Honoris Causa Divinity Doctor: of Aberdeen University 'for preaching the Word of God and renewing the spiritual life of this country'; of the Moscow Theological Academy for his theological, pastoral and preaching work; of Cambridge University; and of the Kiev Theological Academy. His first books on prayer and the spiritual life (Living Prayer, Meditations on a Theme and God and Man) were published in England, and his texts are now widely published in Russia, both as books and in periodicals.

His Eminence, Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, died peacefully 4th August, 2003, at the age of 89

You can read sermons and talks of Metropolitan Anthony following this link:

http://www.metropolit-anthony.orc.ru/eng/eng_serm.htm

The Death of a Repentant Sinner.

Source: “On the Banks of God’s River,” by St. Nilus (translated by the St. Herman Brotherhood, 1969).From my birthplace where I had been occupied for nearly twenty years, it pleased the Lord to move me first to St. Petersburg and then to that blessed corner of the Novgorod province, to that quiet and God-fearing little town of Valdai, where only recently one could still hear the forlorn tinkling of the bell affixed to the arch of the coachman’s troika, (which has since given way, alas! to a new railroad). There my wife and I developed a close friendship with one of the local priests who also became our spiritual father. Once, during confession with my wife, he had occasion to say to her: “But you know, even in this day and age some people are bestowed the gift of seeing their guardian angel!”Our dear priest communicated no details and I decided to question him properly at the first opportunity. Here is what I discovered, as I recorded in my notebook.Today (April 25, 1907) I reminded our spiritual father about my wife’ s confession and asked: “Batiushka, what was it that you told my wife during confession about an angel appearing to one of your spiritual children?”“Yes,” he replied, “that actually happened, but I learned of it through the confession of one of my parishioners, and confessions are to be kept secret.”I wasn’t deterred and began to press:“But,” I asked, “is this parishioner still living?”“No, he died.”“In that case,” I said, “what can hinder you from making it known, especially if what you have to tell can serve to benefit us sinners?’’My spiritual father thought and thought, and then related to me the following:I had among my parishioners in the village a man by the name of Dimitri. He was a peasant and led a bad life; he stole, he cursed, he was a drunkard and a debauch. In short, he appeared to be at the bottom of the barrel. He had been living this way for a long time and there was no hope for any change. Then one day, as he was preparing to go to the fields to do some tilling, he came into the passage which led out from his dwelling, and suddenly he felt as though someone with tremendous force hit him on the back of the head. The blow was such that one minute he was standing upright and the next minute he was lying with his face smashed flat to the floor. There had been no one in the passageway at the time and Dimitri was perfectly sober. The swiftness of what had happened stunned and terrified him.“I arrived at the field,” Dimitri later told me in confession, “my face a bloody mess, I washed it in the stream, but couldn’t seem to get down to work; my mind was fixed on puzzling out what had happened. I sat at the edge of the field lost in thought; I recalled my wicked life. For a long time I sat, turning this over in my mind until finally I determined that I was done with my sinful habits and that I will begin a new life as pleases God and befits a Christian. In tears I stood on my knees in the middle of my field. Making the sign of the cross, I loudly cried out to God: ‘In Thy Name I vow to Thee that from henceforth I shall sin no more!’ And since then I have become a different man; I broke loose from my old ways: I stole no more, I stopped drinking, stopped swearing, ceased my wanton behavior...”“Do you mean to say,” I asked Dimitri, “that since making your vow you haven’t even met with any temptations?“How could that be! Of course I have, Batiushka. Often times I have felt a strong pull towards my old habits, but God has helped me and I have been able to resist. Once, however, it did happen that I gave in, the neighboring village was celebrating its parish feast and holding a fair. There I was making my way when what should I see lying in the road but someone’s wallet. It was stuffed tight and without thinking twice I snatched it up and into the pocket, l didn’t even stop to count the money—I was afraid someone might be watching. I had time only to see that the wallet contained a lot of bills and a lot of silver. I continued on my way, thinking to myself: Well, I certainly won’t return this wallet, and if I should meet its owner… Hey, but isn’t this a tidy sum that’s come my way! And suddenly… BAM! I was down flat against the stoney surface of the road. And just as before, my whole face was cut and bleeding, and I hadn’t been drinking. Getting to my feet, I saw—where the dickens!—a monstrous rock lying in the middle of the road where it had no business. I must have tripped over it. Here I let out with the blackest, most foul curse, and at that very moment, above me, directly over my head, something suddenly made a noise, like some gigantic bird. I glanced upwards and froze: over me, face to face, hovered an angel beating its wings. “Dimitri,” he said severely, “where is your vow to God? I heard you make it in your field, I saw you pray. And now you’re again back to your old ways?”My entire body was shaking when suddenly I found courage to cry out to him: “Who are you? One of hell’s demons, or an angel from heaven?”“I am from those above, not from those below!” replied the angel and became invisible.“It was awhile before I came to myself. When I did, I took from my pocket the wallet and flung it away from me as far as I could.I did not continue to the festival but returned home pondering what I had seen.”“That,” said Batiushka, “is what Dimitri told me in confession. And here is what later happened. To the amazement of all who knew him, reports began to spread of Dimitri’s goodness, his kindness. He became utterly transformed to the good down to the very soles of his feet. Ten years passed since the angel’s appearance. Dimitri remained true to his vow. In the eleventh year I was called to Dimitri’s village. ‘Batiushka! Dimitri has fallen ill; he asks that you come to see him.” I went without delay. Coming into his cottage I found Dimitri in bed, his eyes closed. I called to him and was startled when he suddenly sat bolt upright and thrust his arms towards me. I moved away, frightened, as I was carrying the Holy Gifts.“’Watch yourself!’ I said, ‘don’t you see, I have the Holy Gifts! I all but dropped them!’“’Batiushka!’ cried Dimitri gasping excitedly, ‘just now before you came I again saw the angel. He told me to prepare myself as I am to die this very night.’“What was he like?” I asked.“I was blinded by his light!” replied Dimitri in a tone of spiritual rapture.“Did you ask him if God will forgive your sins?”“God will forgive that which a spiritual father absolves ,” replied Dimitri firmly. “Whatever you loose here will also be loosed there!”I prepared to hear his confession.I gave him Holy Communion and, sinner that I am, I didn’t think he looked so very sick. He was still a robust peasant, not yet old. I left him fully persuaded that he would recover. About the angel—I didn’t know what to think.That night Dimitri reposed…This is what I was told, according to his priestly conscience, by the kind pastor of one of the churches in the peaceful town of Valdai.http://members.cox.net/orthodo

xheritage/index.htm

Dimissal Hymn of St. Nektarios of Aegina

First Tone
The offspring of Selyvria and the Guardian of Aegina. The true friend of virue who didst appear in the last years. O Nektarios we faithful honour thee as a godly servant of Chirst. For thou pourest (forth) healings of every kind to those who piously cry out: Glory to Christ who hath glorified thee; Glory to Him who made thee wondrous: Glory to Him who worketh healing all through thee.