The Divine Liturgy at the North Pole marked a new era of Russian Arctic exploration

Sunset at the North Pole

Archbishop Ignaty of Petropavlovsk and Kamchatka, who was the first to serve the Divine Liturgy at the North Pole, shared his impressions with Interfax-Religion correspondent Yelena Zhosul.

Archbishop Ignaty:

The North Pole has at all times attracted people. Nansen tried to reach it, but failed. Robert Peary sacrificed 20 years of his life on the Arctic ice altar, and could not reach the Pole. So many people, scientists, researchers, military men, have tried to reach the world’s most northern spot by all means, overcoming all kinds of challenges, both foreseen and unexpected, at serious risk to their lives, and some adventurers died in the attempt.

What overwhelming and powerful drive was rooted in the souls of these people, and what kind of mighty mechanism encouraged them to face these perils? Certainly, there are many answers to this question. Some dreamt of being famous, others were driven by the quest for scientific knowledge, some aspired to self-knowledge and self-esteem, and others were enraptured by the inherent deep call of the North, “the white silence”, in the words of Jack London. There may also be people who followed their lust for profits… I can testify that no one in our team had any of the above motives. What were our motives? What drove us to make this trip to the North Pole?

The main commitment of a priest is his service to God. The main service of the Orthodox Church is the Divine Liturgy. It is celebrated in the Far East in the city of the Apostles Peter and Paul (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky: Interfax), in the distant West, and at the southernmost point of our planet, Antarctica, which recently saw the building of a church and the foundation of a monastic community “fighting the good fight”. However, this salvific and holy sacrament was never before served at the North Pole.

How does the Psalter praise the exploits of the Apostles? Their sound has gone out into all lands, and their words unto the ends of the earth. The Divine Liturgy should also reach the northernmost point of our world. Again and again, the words of the Lord should sound many times at the most northern spot on our planet. Repeatedly, the Holy Eucharist must proclaim to the world the great Commandments of Christ, about the great exploit of Christ, which He, after being crucified and undergoing terrible trials for the sake of each and every one of us, about His Holy Resurrection, and how the road to Eternal Life is now open to every person. This task is worth any effort and labour. All the more so, a priest should be a servant wherever he goes. These are lofty words, yet, they are nothing but the oath that a man takes at his ordination to the clergy.

We believe that the Holy Spirit must descend upon this icy floating continent. God’s Grace shall descend here, upon the places where the brave and courageous Russian people we met during our expedition work and serve, and devotedly guard the borders of our Motherland.

A new large-scale stage of Russian Arctic exploration is under way now, after a long hiatus caused by perestroika and the hardships of the reconstruction period. But, let us remember the words of Christ, For without me, ye can do nothing. This means that it is impossible to commence any effort without a prayer to God, otherwise, it will bring no good results. Such results may be important for our mortal life, but, they will be lost to our spiritual life. Therefore, before we commence a new exploration of the “white silence”, Russian scientists needed to raise a prayer, the most effective prayer of Russian Orthodoxy, the Divine Liturgy.

I would like to draw special attention to the fact that this expedition was only possible through the support of the Aviation Department of the Federal Security Service and the personal involvement of its head, Nikolai Fedorovich Gavrilov, Hero of Russia, a wonderful man, an excellent warrior, and a deeply-believing Christian. This is yet another instance of the fruitful cooperation between the Orthodox Church and the Russian forces. There was a time when Russian Orthodox priests blessed our warriors to do battle for our Faith, our People, and our Motherland. Now, Russian soldiers help our priests to reach almost inaccessible locations to bring the word of God “to the ends of the earth”.

Of course, I had no chance before to serve the Divine Liturgy in such an environment. We put up our church tent in cold strong wind, in the snow, under the bright northern sun. It was -25 degrees Celsius (-13 Fahrenheit), and we had to serve in our full vestments, sing, and hold holy chalices. But, deep in our souls we believed firmly that everything would work out well. It was very cold at first, our hands were frozen. But, when we came to the Hymn of the Cherubim, and we approached the main event of the liturgy, the transformation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, even the slightest sensation of cold disappeared. We felt that way to the end of the Divine Liturgy.

For the first time in history, we performed five sacraments of the Orthodox Church at the very top of our planet, baptism, unction, confession, ordination, and the Eucharist. What a blessing of God! What a great joy to break new ground. But, we were not striving for this. We only carried out the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Aleksei.

7 April 2008

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=interview&div=179

A Little Otpust to Jordanville

Today, Nicky and I went out on otpust to Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville NY. We were on a mission, as it were. Our objective was to visit the graves of our departed loved ones and pray for them there. Liturgy was in progress when we arrived, so we silently took our places in the back of the church, each of us on the side proper to our gender. There are those who scoff at this custom, but, I find that it’s useful. It allows one to focus upon God, and that IS the reason we are at the liturgy, isn’t it? Of course, the church was less full than it had been for the funeral of Valdyki Laurus some four weeks previous, but, that was no surprise, was it? I noticed an air of EXPECTANCY in the church. That is, the era of Vladyki Laurus is now definitively over, but what shall replace it, no one knows for certain. I’d say that there was a certain hesitancy, a reliance upon rote and repetition. That’s no bad thing, mind you, for it allows one to get through awkward periods such as this with the least amount of fuss and bother. There was a definite difference in atmosphere, a true premonition of change and renewal. No, this doesn’t mean that we are going throw out our traditions and customs, far from it. Nevertheless, the union with the spiritual powerhouse of Moscow is going to transform us in ways that none of us realise yet.

For one, we are no longer a group of lonely émigrés keeping the light of Faith alive in a distant land. The rodina is free, the Church is awakening and growing there, and we’re now the overseas children of a great and powerful Church that is one of the most vibrant and vigorous religious bodies in the world. That is, we must adjust to being a small part of a larger whole. Some shall not care for this. Many have left for precisely this reason, I fear. This shall call for all of us to adjust our thinking, and that’s never easy. After the service, we left for the refectory for lunch, and, again, Nicky and I parted, as per custom. I can’t understand the rebelliousness of those who question such good and wholesome practises, for they’re the result of much hard practical experience with human nature. One noticeable fact is that there was more English spoken than in the past. True, the reading done during the meal was still in Russian, but, I noticed a slight hesitancy in the reader’s voice, and a non-Russian accent. If I noticed this, there is no doubt that the Russian visitors to the monastery over the past year noticed the same. In fact, the priest giving the blessing at the end of liturgy showed the same slight hesitancy in his Slavonic, and I feel this to be a telling fact. In short, the Russians from the rodina may tell us to stop our charade of pretending to be as Russian as they are. Yes, we’re of Russian blood; yes, we do speak Russian; yes, our heritage is indeed in the motherland. Nevertheless, we may be told that we must look beyond our current preoccupations. No, we shall NOT be told to imitate the silly notions of the OCA or AOCANA, for such aren’t Churchly. Our brothers in the rodina may indeed tell us that we are Russian Orthodox in America, and that our special charism is to bring the Russian Orthodox faith to those who shall listen on these shores.

Of course, like Topsy, this post has grown. Nonetheless, I don’t apologise, for these thoughts are a direct outgrowth of my experiences today. Yes, we did visit the graves of loved ones and prayed there. That’s a good and salutary thing, and if you do not do this, well… you should. It is a concrete expression of our love and respect. On the way to the grave of Nicky’s father, there is a little grave that I never miss to visit and say a prayer at. It for Matfei VIktorovich Potapov, born 27 November 1972, died 5 December 1972. I have laid flowers there, or sung the Vechnaya Pamyat. What sadness his parents must have felt… my heart breaks just to think of it now. There are truly no words to be said, for I know that their grief still lives, although they’ve learned how to deal with it, God willing. I saw a symbol of hope today at the liturgy. The acolyte assisting the priest at the end of the service when we venerated the cross was a cherubic little boy of about five. The combination of seriousness and innocence just floored me. Bring the little children unto me, and forbid them not, for unto such is given the Kingdom of Heaven… indeed.

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Sunday 13 April 2008

Albany NY

That’s What Suvorov Taught!

Marshal Aleksandr Vasilievich Suvorov (1729-1800)

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A soldier must be healthy, brave, firm, decisive, upright, and pious!

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Imitation is pitiful, emulation is praiseworthy… Emulation is the impulse of a noble soul who wants to prove his challenged advantage.

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Hard training makes for easy fighting.

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Hair powder isn’t gunpowder, curls aren’t cannons, a queue isn’t a sword, and I’m not a German… Russians have always beaten Prussians, so what would we want to borrow from them?

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Always fight with skill, not with numbers.

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A trained man is worth three untrained… that’s too little… six to one is too little… let’s call it ten to one. We’ll beat them all, roll them up, and take them prisoner!

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Large staffs make for small victories.

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Don’t fire repeatedly, but fire accurately when you do.

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Without the beacon of history, tactics gropes in the dark.

Marshal Aleksandr Suvorov

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“…Twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven…” Ten chipper young voices in chorus count the times the chin touches the bar. “Twenty-eight!!!” Dimitri Yakushin barely touched the cold metal for the last time, and breathing heavily, jumped down from the bars. Steam’s rising from his heated and steely torso. No small frost today… minus 23 Celsius (-9 Fahrenheit)! The boys of the Prince Dimitri Pozharsky military-patriotic club embrace their friend and shake his hand. It looks like they’ll be the winners today. On 16-17 February, in Vladimir Oblast, the fifth Interregional Suvorov Military-Patriotic Club competition was held, with many youth military-patriotic groups taking part. The choice of venue wasn’t accidental. Here, on the outskirts of the ancient Russian town of Lakinsk, once the location of the village of Undol, was one of Aleksandr Vasilievich Suvorov’s estates. The mansion itself was destroyed during the revolution. Now, there’s a birch grove here. The Kazan Church, where the great army commander often prayed and sang in the choir, was preserved and is now functioning again. Nearby is the village of Fetinino, where the estate of Suvorochka, Aleksandr Vasielivich’s beloved daughter, Natalia Suvorova-Zubova. Its buildings were also destroyed, but the church and bell tower that she endowed still stand. Over 250 boys participated in twenty-two teams from the central regions of Russia, the Central Trans-Volga, and Siberia. The youngest participant was eight, the oldest, seventeen. The event was organised by the Centre for Russian National Glory; the Foundation of Saint Andrew the First-Called; the Ushakov Group; the Orthodox Russia social benefit organisation; the military departments of the Moscow Patriarchate and Vladimir Diocese; and representatives of the local government.

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Instruction’s necessary; but  make it sensible and concise.

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One foot fortifies the other, one hand strengthens the other.

Marshal Aleksandr Suvorov

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The competition progressed quickly, precisely, and tightly, in true Suvorov style. The spirit of the great commander seemed to hover invisibly over all stages of the competition, including the morning molieben and Divine Liturgy, a service the Generalissimo himself always deeply revered. Of course, the most spectacular point in the competition was the “Suvorov obstacle course,” set up by real “blue berets”, veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Chechnya, officers and adjutants. It was a one-and-a-half kilometre long course, filled with slopes and rises, paths barely covered with snow, and surprises for the novices hidden all along the way. Just beyond the shroud of smoke from the wheels of a “stricken armoured personnel carrier”, the participants fall into a “mouse trap”, a cord stretched just over the ground, with little bells attached. They have to crawl very carefully underneath, one ring, and “You’re discovered!” and they lose a point. The enemy is near, behind the blown-out shell of a Soviet auto base. A play grenade flies in that direction. If they hit it, they get one point.

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Forward, my noble knights! The enemy trembles! 

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Be quick; but haste makes waste!

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Victory depends on the legs; the hands are only weapons. 

Marshal Aleksandr Suvorov

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They run deftly through the tire course. On the horizon is the “passage”. Two ropes are tied between two spruce trees, the upper rope for the hands, and the lower rope for the feet. It isn’t very high, but falling into the pit means you’ve “perished”. There’s no helping one another for the ropes will hold only one at a time. It’s just as it was in the Swiss Alps, when Suvorov’s men tied the officers’ mufflers together under enemy fire and passed over this “Devil’s Bridge!” The “passage” is behind them, and forward they go! Not a sound from the enemy, but, on the hill behind it, tough, demanding judges watch through field binoculars. The “survivors” climb onto the hill, only to fall under “enemy” fire, and the wounded must be dragged to safety through knee-deep snow. There’s the forest… safety! However, snowdrifts piled by saboteurs are blocking the way. Finally, they see the meadow where a campfire is burning, but there’s no time to rest. They just barely have time to warm themselves with a cup of “Suvorov tea” (hot water with a little sugar) when it’s time to run on. There’s another passage ahead, where they have to put on a safety belt. Below is “the pounding surge of icy water, an alpine mountain stream”. Fastening their safety belts to the line, the Suvorovtsy pass over to the other bank. Next, is a ladder made of birch branches and rope, swinging treacherously. Below is that same “icy stream”. At least, the enemy is not shooting! No time to rest, an instructor is standing there with a stop-watch, and the team must not be let down. We need a victory! Suddenly, a frozen pond. The two fastest team members go before on skates to cover the rear flank, while the rest must make their final dash for the hill over open space. They haven’t the strength to run, but they carry on. The victors who take the hill are met with a Suvorov “Ura!” brotherly hugs, and hot tea.

Besides the “Suvorov obstacle course,” there’s the ski race, the pneumatic rifle competition, rope-tying, taking apart and putting together of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, chin-ups, push-ups, weight-lifting, the old Russian game of “rolling logs”, and a military history quiz dedicated to the great commander. Of course, the goal of the gathering is not only to test the competitors’ mettle and knowledge of history. It’s much broader than that, to raise a citizen and patriot of his Fatherland. Meanwhile, the strategic task which the organisers set before themselves is to attract the government’s and society’s attention to the challenge of raising the young generation on the foundation of traditional Russian values, first of which are Faith, family, and readiness to serve their country.

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Time is more valuable than anything else.

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We’re Russians, we’ll overcome!

Marshal Aleksandr Suvorov

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The great commander was well-known for his deep religious faith. However, not everyone knows that he took great care not only for the piety of his people, but also of their families’ well-being. “The peasant’s wealth isn’t money, but children. Children also bring him money”, he’d say. When his peasants married and had children, Suvorov commanded that they be given financial aid from his own funds. “The aid from my estate is known, ten roubles to each… for it isn’t pleasing to God when people don’t multiply”, wrote Aleksandr Vasilievich in his letter to the village of Undol in 1785. Once again, in true Suvorov fashion, he helped to solve the demographic and social problems of Russia. For a long time, we haven’t been living as we should, and the result is not only the Orthodox commander’s destroyed estate, but, a demographic problem which is one of the country’s most serious problems. Today, we’re seeing some moves in the right direction, to the return of Suvorov’s commandments. Not only do these gatherings serve as a confirmation of this, but, there are signs that the government’s turning its attention towards the problems of family and demographics. Birth certificates and maternity grants are examples of these signs. In Russia, 2008 has been named the Year of the Family. Therefore, it’s particularly encouraging to see the participation of family teams in the competition. For example, there is Yuri Sazhnev, a Moscow businessman and the leader of the Sixth Battalion military-patriotic club. He has six children, four of whom participated in the competitions. Valentina Sidorova from Suzdal brought her daughter, goddaughter, and niece in the Tsarevich team. Ekaterina Klopova brought her three children with the Suvorovtsy team. They all received support from the organisers.

The winners of the competition were from the town of Raduzhny, Vladimir Oblast. Second place went to Consolation Command from the village of nearby Stavrovo. Third place went to a team from Siberia, the railroad cadets of the town of Taiga. “This year, like last year, there were no prize winners for ‘sacrificial service amongst us’”, Yuri Sazhnev of Orthodox Russia commented at the awards. “But, that isn’t really how it is. In our team, just as in the army, a new generation has arrived. The ‘youth’, kids aged ten to twelve, have come to take the place of the ‘old men’. Boys from last year’s Sixth Battalion have finished high school and begun adult life. Two of them entered military academies; two are honourably serving in the army. Two others are students in prestigious institutions of higher education in our capital. So, we haven’t ‘lost’; we’ve achieved the most important goal, to help these youngsters become real men, patriots, and citizens of their country. They’ve rightly learned the Suvorov science of victory. That’s what Suvorov taught!”

2 April 2008

Roman Iliushenko

Pravoslavie.Ru

http://www.pravoslavie.ru/enarticles/080402125419