Voices from Russia

Old Russian icon of the Mother of God “of Vladimir”

The Moscow Tretyakov Gallery, the Kievan Caves Historical and Cultural Reserve, and the Minsk National Arts Museum are engaged in an unprecedented project to display masterpieces of iconography from their collections in an exhibition called “The Orthodox Icon of Russia, the Ukraine, and Byelorussia”. According to Lidia Iovleva, the Tretyakov Gallery Deputy Director, the exhibition gives a clear picture of common cultural sources and the uniqueness of the iconographic schools in Russia, the Ukraine and Byelorussia. The project’s top agenda, she says, is to demonstrate the spiritual and cultural commonalities of the Slavs, who once lived in one state. All followed a particular path of development and witnessed a golden age at different times. But, the idea of the display is to appeal to common traditions, which manifested themselves in the Orthodox faith with icons as its artistic expression.

Iconography arrived in Russia from Byzantium shortly after Russia was baptised in the 10th century. Even though the icon remained under the influence of the Greek ascetic tradition for many years, it absorbed the images, colours, and traditions of Russia. The pinnacle of Old Russian church art was reached in the works painted by the 15^th century monk and iconographer St Andrei Rublyov, who enriched the traditional biblical scenes with a new spiritual and philosophical touch. His masterpiece, “Holy Trinity”, came to symbolise the consolidation of the Russian lands around Moscow and the strengthening of Russian statehood.

The Tretyakov Gallery is presenting masterpieces of the 14^th to 16^th centuries, a golden age in Russian iconography. The artworks illustrate the wide variety of medieval religious art schools in Yaroslavl, Suzdal, Novgorod the Great, Pskov, and Moscow. The Ukrainian and Byelorussian icons on display are of the 16^th to 19^th centuries, painted in different styles ranging from post-Byzantine to Baroque and classicism. By virtue of their historical circumstances, the iconographic traditions of the Ukraine and Byelorussia fell under the influence of Western European patterns. But, in the words of the exhibition’s curator, Nadezhda Bekenyova, these countries’ sacred painting grew out of the Old Russian tradition. The tall iconostas, which originated in Russia in the 14^th century, arrived in Ukraine and Byelorussia later. It’s interesting to compare the principal images depicted on Orthodox icons, which included Christ the Saviour, the Mother of God, and the saints.

Undoubtedly, the exhibition has attracted a great number of art historians, but, its significance goes much farther, said Vladimir Prokoptsov, the Director of the National Art Museum of Byelorussia. “This unique project has cultural, political, and religious importance. Culture is a way to show politicians how to work jointly to maximum effect”. The exhibition opens its doors for the first time at the Moscow Tretyakov Gallery at the end of May, during the Festival of Slav Culture and Alphabet. It will then travel to Kiev and Minsk. 

30 April 2008

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=26450&cid=62&p=30.04.2008 (in English)

Rodion Shchedrin and Maya Plisetskaya

Winners of Soul of the Dance national ballet contest to be awarded in Moscow

A ceremony to honour the winners of the 14th Soul of the Dance national ballet contest will take place in Moscow today. Composer Rodion Schchendrin, the author of numerous ballets composed for his wife, the legendary ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, was awarded the special title of “the Magician of the Dance”. A gala concert will follow the awards ceremony. 

29 April 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=26389&cid=51&p=29.04.2008 (in English)

A new version of the ballet Spartacus to be presented in St Petersburg

Tonight’s première of a new production of Aram Khachaturian’s classic ballet Spartacus at St Petersburg’s Mikhailovsky Theatre, which thus marks is 175th anniversary, is not just another opening of another show, but, it is an important event in the cultural life of St Petersburg. Aram Khachaturian’s 1954 score to the story of the leader of a slave uprising in ancient Rome is widely considered a modern masterpiece. The new staging aims to combine dance, music, opera, and choral singing to provide a theatrical epic worthy of its antecedents. There are two tigresses portrayed in the ballet, whose predatory and gracious movements are repeated by the tiger-like gestures of Spartacus and the other characters. There will be tough fights between gladiators and amazons with realistic weapons.

29 April 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=26367&cid=51&p=29.04.2008 (in English)

Annual Easter Music Festival launched in Russia

A concert by Russian and Serbian choirs at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow launched Russia’s annual Easter Music Festival. This should last two weeks and involve about 20 cities. The programme spans the musical heritage of four centuries. One regular feature is concerts by bell-ringers. 

28 April 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=26339&cid=51&p=28.04.2008 (in English)

Cherry Garden Art Festival opens in Moscow

A wonderful art exhibition, “In the Family Circle”, will be one of the most outstanding events of the Cherry Garden Art Festival, which is currently in progress in Russia. It will open today at the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum, at the entrance to which the participants of the festival planted cherry trees. On display at the exposition are old pictures glorifying family values and the works of the students of the art studio attached to the museum. Young musicians will give a concert on the opening day. 

28 April 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=26317&cid=51&p=28.04.2008 (in English)

International Book Salon kicks off in St Petersburg

The International Book Salon kicks off in St Petersburg today. The leading Russian and 12 foreign publishing houses arrived in the city to take part in the event. Hundreds of various events, seminars, and meetings with famous writers and actors will be held within “The Time to Read” programme. The jury will announce the laureates of “The Best Book of the Year” nomination and will announce the winners of the family competition “Books in My Family”. 

24 April 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=26199&cid=51&p=24.04.2008 (in English)

Voice of Russia World Service

Nicky and I went to services at the monastery for Holy Easter on Saturday evening. Again, we decided not to take the main motorway, for we felt that the time savings were minimal and did not justify the tolls. Not only that, but the motorway is a rather sterile place with nothing but the noise of the traffic about one. Instead, we were treated to the lovely sounds of God’s nature coming from the fields about us. We could hear the chirping of the crickets in the grass and the croaking of the frogs in the ponds. It was as though the natural world was praising its Maker… let everything that breathes praise the Lord! As there was minimal traffic on Route 20, we made very good time and we arrived at the monastery at 22.40 after leaving Albany at 21.15.

When we entered the main church, it was darkened and one of the seminarians was reading the Acts of the Apostles. I listened carefully… it was in perfectly accented SPANISH. This made my ears prick up, certainly. An older lady came in a wheelchair and was having difficulty in negotiating the crowd in the nave. Some of us helped her to manoeuvre about and held her chair for her so that she could light candles and venerate the plashchanitsa (the full-length icon of Our Lord Christ laid out in the tomb laid on a bier). Yes, one must show caritas to one’s fellow Christians on this night in particular. It is a concrete expression of the fact that we as Orthodox Christians believe that we rise and fall together as a body, not as atomised individuals.

Nicky and I got on line for confession, and the sound of the reading made my heart soar. This was an objective and concrete incarnation of the fact that our Russian Orthodox Church exists in many lands, it has many peoples in it, and it worships in many languages. None of us are better than any of the rest, and none are inferiors in this particular mansion of the Lord. In equal measure, all of us are banner-bearers of the Good News of the Russian Orthodox faith to all people in all places. Besides this, I heard some English in the service. “The ROCOR only serves Russian immigrants”… I call that slander, pure and simple.

As we were waiting to make our confessions and receive absolution the bells were tolled in a funereal manner at 23.00. The choir came out into the centre of the nave near the plashchanitsa and sang the midnight office. This took some 45 minutes to serve. It came my turn for confession, and I poured out my heart to Fr George, the priest on duty. His words reminded me of the fact that when an elder hears one’s confession, one meets the Lord Christ, for He uses all of us (sinful as we are) as his messengers. I cannot speak for anyone else, but, I always feel a sense of deliverance when the prayer of absolution is said over me. It is as though a weighty rock is rolled off my soul.

When the midnight office concluded, the church was silent. For some 15 minutes, from 23.45 to midnight, the church was in silence, and the only sound was the tolling of the bells in the funeral tone. The clergy removed the plashchanitsa from the nave, and generally made preparations for the procession around the church. It was raining slightly, and my knees were acting up due to a recent injury, so, I stood on the porch during the procession. Just prior to the procession coming to the church, one of the monks rushed onto the porch and rudely shouted at the people on the porch in a brusque manner. THAT was not necessary, but, it was the only spot on the evening, and one forgives such, for this individual certainly does not represent the entire brotherhood.

We re-entered the church and the Easter Matins began. The sanctuary was lit as bright as it could be, and the joyous shouts of Khristos Voskrese, Khristos Anesti, and Christ is Risen could be heard echoing about the church. The replies of Voistinnu Voskrese, Aleithos Anesti, and Indeed, He is Risen echoed in response to each proclamation. The chief celebrants were Fr George and Fr Luke (I stand under correction in this). There was the usual controlled and happy confusion of a Russian service, as was illustrated by the crowd pulling back instinctively from the clergy as they incensed the church and made the Easter proclamation. To be honest, one can see the same thing amongst all the traditional Orthodox nationalities. You see it in Greece, you see it in Serbia, you see it Rumania, in fact, wherever there are Orthodox Christians, you see it. This is what the recent converts lack. They are not comfortable being Orthodox. That is why they need time to take it all in, time they are not given in the OCA and AOCANA.

Well, my knees were close to collapse, so I sat for the remainder of the services, “for it is better to sit and think about God than to stand and think of one’s feet”. Of course, I stood for the Gospel and the consecration, for that is proper. A dear nun next to me was very kind. Although the church was packed, there was good order throughout it all. One observes the people about one, and it was a snapshot of all the types there are in the Church. There was the ill-at-ease affluent couple standing together (instead of being on their respective sides, as were all the rest of us). Young fathers had their hands full with toddler sons on the men’s side. Mothers sat with their infants. Iova the Fool was there. One fellow was wearing his Cossack ensemble. Grandmas and grandpas, moms and pops, kids and teens, we were all there for the feast. In fact, I would say that it was a youngish crowd, which, of course, is a very good sign.

Towards the end of the matins the clergy gave the Easter greeting one to another. There was an interesting little detail in this. The three acolytes serving were part of this, and it pleased me to see how the clergy reacted in a very spontaneous and paternal way to the smallest of the three, who appeared to be about five-years-old. From my vantage point, I could see their smiles and fatherly embraces of the tyke. It gave a special glow to the whole undertaking, and it reminded me of the Scripture saying, And a little child shall lead them. At 01.30, the service segued into the Liturgy proper. The Gospel was read in Slavonic, Greek, Latin, English, and German (what was that remark… “only serves Russian immigrants”… pray for such a person, they cannot see what is right in front of them). At 02.40, the communion of the laity began. There were two chalices, yet, it took some 20 minutes to commune all of the faithful. After this, the liturgy quickly came to a conclusion, ending at 03.15. I saw Nicky’s sister Christina and gave her the Easter greeting. That was good.

After the liturgy, the brotherhood gave the Easter greeting personally to all who were present. I remember a beaming monk from Russia who joyously and loudly said “Christ is Risen!” in a heavy Russian accent. You should have seen his smile! It bore the presence of God… I do not deserve such, yet, God gave it to me, gratis. This illustrates one of the changes that are going to happen at Jordanville. The folks from Russia are not obsessed with preserving “Russian culture”. If you want that, you need only hop a plane to the rodina. Of course, our ancestral culture IS important; it does mark us off from Anglo-Saxons. However, I believe that the MP wishes to use Jordanville in particular and the ROCOR in general, as a missionary arm of the Church. This change in the ROCOR’s calling is beginning to come into focus, and I believe that there are those who oppose such.

Such are few, though. There was a brightness in the church, amongst the clergy and on the faces on the people that I have rarely seen before. I believe that I was seeing the flame of the revival of Faith in Russia being brought to America just as Russian delegations flew the Holy Fire from Jerusalem to Moscow. This is why all Russian Orthodox Christians in the Americas belong in the MP. We need to be engrafted yet again onto the mother tree, which is bearing such sweet and abundant fruit. It is time to “leave childish things behind” as the Apostle told us. There shall be those who shall choose to not leave the sandbox. All that we can do is to pray that God sends them light.

What I saw on Easter in Jordanville is etched in my memory. To my Russian Orthodox brothers and sisters I say, “Come and see”. When you have seen, I know that you shall feel as I do. It is time for us to fulfil our Lord’s prayer, That they may be as one. It is the best gift that we can give our children.

KHRISTOS VOSKRESE!

VOISTINNU VOSKRESE!

CHRIST IS RISEN!

INDEED, HE IS RISEN!

Vara Drezhlo

28 April 2008

Easter Monday      

Leonid Tyagachev with President Vladimir Putin

Moscow, 28 April 2008 (Interfax):

Leonid Tyagachev, the President of the Russian Olympic Committee, shall transport the Holy Fire to the Olympics in Beijing. Mr Tyagachev was present in Jerusalem for the miracle of the Holy Fire and he is confident that its presence amongst the Russian sportsmen shall help them to win medals in the Olympic competitions, the newspaper Izvestiya wrote on Monday. He shared his impressions of his pilgrimage to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem along with a delegation from the St Andrew the First-called Foundation, which later brought the Holy Fire back to Russia. Mr Tyagachev related that this was the first time that he witnessed the miracle of the Holy Fire. “It was not what I had expected. Nevertheless, it is a holy place”, he said. He commented on the traditional crush of the crowd, the commotion, and the sporadic clashes between different groups of believers inside a church packed with some 10,000 worshippers.

The famous actor Nikolai Burliaev, Honoured Artist of Russia, also shared his impressions of the trip. For Mr Burliaev, it was also the first time that he witnessed the miracle. “I was surprised at the attitude of those about me, for almost no one was praying. There were shouts, pushing, attempts to seize a better vantage-point, and people dug their elbows into their neighbours. I thought, ‘Shall the Holy Fire descend to us sinners? Shall we leave the church and relate to one another just we did before?’” Mr Burliaev stated that he often prays in church, and that “I prayed some three times in five hours at the Holy Sepulchre. Everything was distracting. Is the miracle going to be sent to those such as us? But, it came! It means that we shall live further and be cleansed”.

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=24221 (in Russian)    

Moscow, 28 April 2008 (Interfax):

Viktor Khristenko, the Minister of Industry and Power Engineering, spoke of his special love of pilgrimage to holy places. “As I am Orthodox, the idea on going on pilgrimage is very personal. For me, it is extremely interesting and it is also very spiritual”, he said Monday in an interview published in the newspaper Vedomosti. Specifically, he spoke of his visits to one of the oldest Russian monasteries, the Staritsky Holy Assumption Monastery in Tver oblast. Mr Khristenko has assisted the restoration of this monastic house for some seven years now and he considers it an obedience.

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=24218 (in Russian)

A contemporary Russian Easter egg object d’arte from Sofrino

Moscow, 28 April 2008 (Interfax):

In the recent past, Patriarch Aleksei II of Moscow and all Russia says that he noticed a significant increase in the number of sincere believers in Russia. “We see a miracle of our Lord. The Faith of Christ revives amongst the ruins of ravaged churches and monasteries. However, the most important thing is that millions of people have returned to Faith in Christ”, the patriarch said after the vespers service in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on Sunday evening. This service completed the cycle of services on the first day of the Paschal season.

He drew a parallel between Russian history and the behaviour of the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the time of Christ. When He entered the city prior to his crucifixion, they met Him with honour and joy, yet, several days later, they shouted, “Crucify him, crucify him!” “Something similar occurred amongst our people. Over the course of a millennium, they loved God, they built churches, and they enriched their lives with prayer and faith. However, there came a time when they became strugglers against God, they destroyed churches and monasteries, and the authorities issued the decree that the name of God would not be spoken in the Soviet Union”, His Holiness said. However, in the opinion of the patriarch, during the Lent just past, many people “approached this special time of repentance and preparation for the bright feast of Christ’s resurrection consciously”. So, on Easter, the churches were full, which was “a miracle of the mercy of God”, he added.

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=24207 (in Russian)

Interior of Holy Ghost Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church in Manville NJ. Fr Matthew Moriak is standing at the left

Pascha, today’s Easter celebration of the Eastern Church, is a big deal in Manville because the small river town has two churches rooted in Russian orthodoxy. Ss Peter & Paul Orthodox Church on Washington Avenue is Manville’s oldest church, built in 1915. Two blocks down Seventh Avenue is Holy Ghost Orthodox Church, whose founders broke from the older, larger church about 20 years after it was built.

Today, the parishes and their spiritual leaders remain close, united by a shared faith that differs only slightly. “We’ve done things together”, said the Rev Matthew Moriak, pastor of the 100-member Holy Ghost Church since 2005. “For instance, for our parish feast day, which is the day after Pentecost, Fr James has come to help with the service. He’s even brought me gifts on that day, like incense and a bottle of wine”. The Rev James Parsells, archpriest of Ss Peter & Paul since 1978, added, “He’s been here for services. I’ve been there for very good spaghetti dinners. Fr Matthew makes the sauce”. “I make a mean sauce”, Rev Moriak added.

Interior of Ss Peter and Paul Orthodox Church with Fr James Parsells 

Like all Orthodox Christians upon greeting each other, the two priests kiss each other’s cheeks three times and then shake hands with both hands near each of their hearts. Although Fr James is old enough to be Fr Matthew’s father, they consider each other to be “brothers in Christ”. The split between the churches, they said, was mainly about the presentation of music during services. Russian priests came in who wanted to do away with the prostopinije, which means plainchant. But, the congregational sing meant so much to those in the church from the Carpatho-Russian Mountains (sic) that they formed a new church. “The plainchant is very much a part of what our people do”, Moriak said. “Everybody is going to be able to pick up the book and sing along. It’s something that we all grew up learning, and it was passed down from generation to generation.”

The churches’ calendars also differ, Parsells said. Like many Orthodox churches, Holy Ghost follows the Julian calendar, which is why Easter is later than on the Western church’s Gregorian calendar. In 1970, Ss Peter & Paul Orthodox Church switched to the Gregorian calendar, except for Pascha. All Orthodox churches throughout the world agree to celebrate their Easter on the same day.

Church service at Holy Ghost Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church Manville NJ

Outside of the calendar and the music, the two churches share the same Orthodox faith but within different dioceses. Ss Peter & Paul belongs to the Orthodox Church in America in Syosset NY and Holy Ghost to the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese in Johnstown PA. Both congregations are 85 percent Slavic, but 98 percent of their services are in English. Most of the parishioners have roots in Manville but come from as far as 30 miles away. “Now that they have families of their own and because of their work, they live in different areas”, Rev Moriak said. “It’s not so much that there’s so many Orthodox right in Manville, but, in the surrounding area (there are many) that come to the Manville churches. It could be that they drive 20 or 30 miles to the Orthodox church and there could be one closer to their home, but, a lot of them do travel because of their roots”.

Church service at Ss Peter and Paul Orthodox Church Manville NJ

At the same time Ss Peter & Paul switched to the Gregorian calendar 38 years ago, it dropped the word “Russian” from its name in order to widen its appeal, Rev Parsells said. While St Patrick’s Day is not a big deal in the Orthodox Church, he said, it is at Ss Peter & Paul because of the number of Irish converts, many of whom are from mixed marriages. “We want everyone, not just Eastern Europeans, to feel at home in the Orthodox Church”, said Rev Parsells, who said he knew he wanted to be a priest when he was a third grader in Belleville. He said he was surprised when John, his second of four grown sons, chose the priesthood. His parish is in Delaware. “I never pushed him”, Parsells said. “I never spoke to him at all about priesthood. He went to college and majored in computers. He told me that summer that he would like to go seminary. I’m very proud of him, but I didn’t expect it”.

Raised in a Central Pennsylvania congregation named St Clair, Rev Moriak also is the torch-bearer of a priestly father. The Rev Matthias Moriak serves in an Orthodox parish in Seaford NY on Long Island. “I always wanted to be a sports anchor on ESPN, but, somewhere in between my junior and senior year at Syracuse University, I was pretty sure I wanted to go to seminary and see if it was for me”, Rev Moriak said. “When I was in college, my mother was ill with leukaemia and eventually passed away. Church wasn’t my No. 1 priority while I was in college. I consider myself very blessed that I found my way back. I think part of that was my mother’s faith during her illness. It was like a rap on the head”.

Rev Moriak has been married to his wife, Jodi, since 2005. They are expecting their first child in July. Rev Parsells has been married to his wife, Daria, for 32 years.

27 April 2008

Bob Makin

Manville (NJ) Courier News 

http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080427/NEWS/804270383 (in English)

Editor’s Note:

If anything indicates the crying need for unity of all Orthodox Christians of the Russian Tradition in America, this article does. There are many traditions in church custom over the expanse of Great Rus, from the Rusyn lands of the west (the ancestral home of the people from these two parishes) to the Dalny Vostok in the east. Yet, all of these Orthodox Christians are united in one church, and all legitimate local usages are respected and honoured. Should we not be doing likewise? These two lovely particular expressions of our Russian Orthodox faith belong in one united Russian Orthodox Church in America. We are one Faith, one People, and one Soul. Don’t we belong together?

SLAVA to the people of Holy Ghost and Ss Peter and Paul parishes. NA MNOGAYA LYETA!

CHRIST IS RISEN!

INDEED HE IS RISEN!

President Vladimir Putin at Easter services at Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow 8 April 2007

Moscow, 26 April 2008 (Interfax):

President Vladimir Putin sent Easter greetings to all Orthodox Christians and to all Russians who are celebrating the bright festival of the Resurrection of Christ, the Presidential Press Service reported. “The Holy Easter is widely celebrated throughout Russia, bringing joy, love, and hope to millions of Christians. This holiday clearly shows that our ancestral traditions are important for our people, their intellectual values, and their ideals”, President Putin said.

“Today, it is gratifying to note, that the Orthodox Church and the other traditional Christian confessions of our country are not only an essential part of civil society, but, they are also an effective social force. Their work in education and enlightenment is directed towards strengthening the consciousness of all Russians by propagating high moral ideals, fortifying the authority of family values, and helping to solve pressing social problems”, Mr Putin emphasised. The president expressed his conviction that the state shall support in every possible way the positive activity of the traditional religions of Russia, and it shall work for the actualisation of the right of all Russians to freedom of religion.

President-elect Dmitri Medvedev also sent Easter greetings to all Russians. “The great holiday of Easter symbolises not only spiritual renovation, but, it is a celebration of high moral ideals. During these beautiful spring days, the hearts of our people are filled with a sincere love of neighbour, a desire to do good, and a resolve to bring help to those in need”, his message said, according to the Kremlin Press Service. According to Mr Medvedev, Russian Christians “work fruitfully in the field of education, participate in the implementation of social programmes, and they make a significant contribution to the strengthening of the traditions of friendly relations and mutual aid, and such activity deserves the deepest respect and support”.

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=24203 (in Russian)

Patriarch Aleksei Mikhailovich Rediger and President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin sharing the Easter Greeting 8 April 2007

Moscow, 27 April 2008 (Interfax):

Today, Orthodox Christian believers celebrate the Resurrection of Christ, “the Feast of Feasts, and the Celebration of all Celebrations”, symbolising the victory of life over death. At the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, the midnight Easter liturgy was served by Patriarch Aleksei II of Moscow and all Russia. A special chartered aircraft brought the Holy Fire to Moscow from Jerusalem, with the assistance of President Vladimir Putin and President-elect Dmitri Medvedev, both of whom attended the midnight service at the cathedral.  

The Easter liturgy was served in Orthodox churches all over Russia, with 700 parishes holding services in Moscow alone. In contemporary Russian society, sociologists have found out that Easter is a true national holiday. A poll conducted by VTsIOM revealed that only 6 percent of all Russians are not going to celebrate Easter at all. It is a significant fact that the poll data showed that the Resurrection of Christ is going to be celebrated not only by Christians, but, also by adherents of other faiths and the majority of atheists. According to the VTsIOM, over the last three years the number of those not celebrating Easter has dropped 50 percent. Over the same period, the number of people who planned to note the holiday in one form or another grew. In a related vein, the “Public Opinion” Foundation discovered that 10 percent of the Russian population intended to go to midnight church services on Easter.

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=dujour&div=313 (in Russian)

To all the clergy, monks, nuns, and lay folk in my radio audience, share in the joy of our Lord this day! He is Risen! After the seven weeks of Lent, the shining miracle of Christ’s Resurrection is again before us! Everyone is joining the myrrhbearers and the Apostles in beholding the Sepulchre that no longer contains the bodily remains of our Lord. He is Risen!

The faith in the Resurrection is a bottomless source of earthly fortitude for everyone. According to St Gregory of Nyssa, no person can be sorrowful enough not to find comfort on Easter Day. The Russian Church follows the behest of St Seraphim of Sarov to do everything in its power to make this comfort last. Compassion, charity, and prayer during the holy week of Easter should equip an Orthodox Christian for pursuing his or her Gospel mission throughout the entire year.

In Russia, the Christian vision of the family is particularly important for this. The family is a shrine of values, a citadel of pre-marital chastity, a fortress of marital fidelity, and a tender cradle for the Christian upbringing of our kids. St Gregory the Theologian teaches us that marriage boosts strength on both sides, and sharing burdens in it reduces trouble and enhances joy. The rebirth of faith returns this country to prosperity and accord. This return acts out the words of St Theodore the Studite about the heavenly joy of Easter. He described Easter is a gift of God that must be greeted with spiritual enlightenment and piety and taken as a relief from burdens and troubles through an unchanged faith in Jesus Christ. This faith stays the same despite changes in the material environment of the faithful.

I hereby extend congratulations to all my brothers and sisters in Christ on the day of our Lord’s miraculous and grace-giving Resurrection. May the glory and shine of this event stay forever with you and bless your families, neighbours, and friends. May the blessing of our Lord descend on your souls and hearts. The greetings this day inspire pious awe and invite renewed life. They are always the same:

Christ is Risen!

He is Risen Indeed!!!

27 April 2008

Orthodox Easter

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=26294&cid=59&p=27.04.2008 (in English)