Over two days in Tula over 8,000 people venerated the Relics of St Aleksandr Nevsky

Over 8,000 people in the Tula oblast venerated the relics of St Aleksandr Nevsky over two days, the St Andrew the First-called Foundation reported to Interfax on Tuesday. The Foundation is sponsoring a tour of the relics throughout central Russia and Byelorussia. The relics were brought to the All Saints Cathedral in Tula on Sunday. Vyacheslav Dudko, the governor of the Tula oblast, other regional and local government officials, the clergy of the diocese, and numerous pilgrims and servicemen solemnly greeted the reliquary at the doors of the cathedral.

Archbishop Aleksei of Tula and Belevsk led a molieben before the relics, then, he served an akafist before the faithful were allowed to come forward and venerate the relics. For two days, the cathedral was open from the early morning until late at night. Diocesan priests served moliebens and special buses brought pilgrims from the regional centres to Tula so they could venerate the relics of the saintly prince. The delegation from the St Andrew Foundation presented to the St Aleksandr Nevsky parish in Tula the icon of the saint that had been on the analoy behind the relics. They do this in every city in which the relics are set forth for veneration as a gift to the Church. From Tula, the reliquary shall be transported to Ryazan, Tambov, Lipetsk, Voronezh, Belgorod, Kursk, Orel, Bryansk, and Smolensk. Then, the delegation shall take the relics to Byelorussia so that pilgrims in Minsk, Bobruisk, Gomel, and Orshi can venerate them.

In the autumn of 2007, the St Andrew Foundation brought the relics of St Aleksandr Nevsky to cities that were connected in some way with the life and deeds of the Grand Prince, including Kaliningrad, Riga, Pskov, Novgorod Veliki, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Nizhniy Novgorod, and Yekaterinburg. The present tour of the relics is part of the charitable programme Aleksandr Nevsky, sponsored by the Foundation of St Andrew the First-called, the Centre for Russian National Glory, and the Moscow Patriarchate as part of the preparations for the celebration in 2020 of the 800^th anniversary of the birth of the saint. The programme shall include measures for strengthening Russian patriotism through the popularisation of the ideal of service to the Motherland and the formation of a new generation of the Russian national élite.

13 May 2008

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=24416

Editor’s Note:

This is where the rubber hits the road. Orthodoxy is INCARNATIONAL; it isn’t SPIRITUAL as the Western confessions are. The Faith comes to us in tangible form; it’s EMBODIED, precisely as Our Lord Christ was embodied. For instance, I received more from God in the mere minutes I spent before the earthly relics of Blessed Laurus than I ever received from all the books I’ve ever read. The latter are only scraps of paper covered with ink, the former is POWER. The Martyrs of the Butovo Field didn’t carry books; they carried the Faith engraved upon their hearts, just as the Martyrs of the Coliseum did. That is why I find the vapourings of some on the internet so obtuse. Quite frankly, if given the choice, I’d rather spend five minutes in the presence of a real elder, or relics, or as part of the faithful assembled for the liturgy than to read incessantly, as some do.

The faithful who came to venerate St Aleksandr’s relics did so knowing that they were in the presence of sanctity. That is something that can’t be described, it can only be experienced. I experienced such at the funeral of Blessed Laurus. I experienced such at Easter, at the liturgy, and having made a good confession and received absolution. I experienced such at the Unity Service in New York, being only one of hundreds of laity and dozens of clergy assembled together to praise Almighty God. Follow God. Love your neighbour. Make your Home in the Church. These are things that a child understands (perhaps, better than we do). I say it’s time to start looking for sanctity and stop looking for knowledge. The path of the intellectual isn’t only a dead end; it’s a detour away from salvation. I envy the people of Tula.

BMD

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C. S. Lewis Thought no “Mere Actor” could Adequately Portray Aslan, an Allegory for the Saviour

C. S. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, utterly opposed turning these books into screenplays, saying that any such attempt would be “buffoonery or a nightmare”, for he felt that the speaking animals would take over and become the heroes of the production. Lewis thought that the very possibility that the lion Aslan, an allegory for the Saviour, could be played by a mere actor would be blasphemous, according to the newspaper Trud (Labour) on Wednesday.

However, Douglas Gresham, the foster-son of Lewis, from childhood dreamed of making a film of The Chronicles. Since he owned the copyright to the books, he had the story made into a screenplay, and supervised both films that were made based on the series. Mr Gresham hopes that young people shall see the depth and profundity of the films, that they shall open up for them a path to the truth, and, maybe, lead them onwards to the Gospel. It is interesting to note that the Disney studios, which made the film, made a bow to the opinion of C. S. Lewis. Aslan the lion is not played by an actor; he is a computer-generated animation.

The first film in Narnia cycle was The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which appeared some three years ago, and it won an Oscar for Best Makeup.  The second instalment of the series was Prince Caspian, which arrived in Russian cinemas recently.

14 May 2008

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=24428

New First Hierarch of the ROCOR shall Visit Moscow in June

Archbishop Hilarion Kapral of Sydney, recently elected as the new First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), plans to visit Moscow in June. “God willing, the entire episcopate of the ROCOR shall come to Moscow to participate in the Archbishop’s Council of the Moscow Patriarchate to take place in June”, Vladyki Hilarion said in an interview broadcast on the TV-programme Vesti (The News) in answering a question posed by the presenter on whether he had any intentions of visiting Russia soon.

As was previously announced, the Archbishop’s Council shall take place in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow from 24 to 29 June. The official installation of Vladyki Hilarion shall take place in the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New York on 18 May. Archbishop Innokenty Vasiliev of Korsun (the MP ruling bishop in Paris) shall be entrusted with the gramota (letter of acceptance) and shall also convey His Holiness’ personal greetings at the ceremony. Vladyki Innokenty was the head of the MP Commission for Dialogue with the ROCOR prior to the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion.

14 May 2008

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=24435

Patriarch Aleksei Confirmed the Election of the New ROCOR First Hierarch

Archbishop Innokenty Vasiliev of Korsun, the patriarchal representative at the installation of Metropolitan Hilarion on 18 May

Patriarch Aleksei of Moscow and all the Russias and the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate confirmed the election of Archbishop Hilarion Kapral of Sydney, Australia, and New Zealand as the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), according to a statement posted on the MP official website on Wednesday. Earlier, Vladyki Hilarion asked Patriarch Aleksei to bless him to perform the duties of the new First Hierarch of the ROCOR. Archbishop Hilarion was elected Archbishop of New York and Eastern America at a meeting of the ROCOR Archbishops Synod in New York on Monday.

The official decree of the Holy Synod of the MP confirming the decision of the Holy Synod of the ROCOR was issued on 14 May, and Patriarch Aleksei elevated Archbishop Hilarion to the rank of metropolitan two days earlier, on 12 May. The official installation of Vladyki Hilarion shall take place in the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New York on 18 May. Archbishop Innokenty Vasiliev of Korsun (the MP ruling bishop in Paris) shall be entrusted with the gramota (letter of acceptance) and shall also convey His Holiness’ personal greetings at the ceremony. Vladyki Innokenty was the head of the MP Commission for Dialogue with the ROCOR prior to the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion. According to the provisions of that Act, the MP recognises the ROCOR as a self-governing body within the Local Church under the jurisdiction of the MP. The ROCOR is governed by its own Archbishop’s Council, which is its highest spiritual, legislative, judicial, and executive authority, and it selects it own First Hierarch according to its own regulations. Such an election is then confirmed in accordance with the canons by the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia and the Holy Synod of the MP.

14 May 2008

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax–religion.ru/?act=news&div=24438