Everything is in the Hands of God

An incident from the life of the Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II.

St. John of Kronstadt

The Revolution of 1905-1906 was a warning to the Russians that, if they did not return to Christ as a nation, and if they continued to work and fight against their anointed ruler, they could lose God's blessing. As St. John of Kronstadt said in 1905: “Our Tsar is a man of righteous and pious life. God sent him a heavy cross of sufferings, as to His chosen one and beloved child, as is said by the seer of the mysteries of God's judgment: As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten (Rev. 3:19). If the Russian people do not have repentance, the end of the world will be near. God will take the pious Tsar from them and will send a scourge in the persons of impious, cruel, self-proclaimed rulers, who will inundated the whole land with blood and tears.” It is to the great credit of Tsar Nicholas that he was able to keep this from happening for more than ten years.

A great insight into Tsar Nicholas' character can be gained from the following incident, which occurred during one of the most violent moments of the aforementioned revolution. At the imperial residence at Peterhof, near the naval base of Kronstadt, which was under siege by insurrectionists, artillery shelling could be heard. Nicholas' foreign minister, Alexander Izvolsky, was giving a report to the Tsar at the time, and later recalled the following:

Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II

“He listened attentively, and, as was his habit, asked questions now and then, showing his interest in the smallest detail of my report. Glance as I would in his direction, I could not detect the slightest trace of emotion in his countenance, although he knew well that it was his crown that was at stake at that moment, only a few leagues away…. When my report was finished, the Emperor remained a few moments looking calmly out at the open window at the line of the horizon. For my part, I was oppressed by profound emotion, and could not refrain, even at the risk of infringing the rules of etiquette, from expressing my surprise at seeing him so unmoved. The Emperor did not apparently resent my observation, for he turned to me with a look which has so often been described as one of extraordinary gentleness, and replied in these few words, deeply engraved in my memory:

'If you see me calm, it is because I have the firm, the absolute conviction that the fate of Russia, my own fate, and that of my family is in the hands of God, Who has placed me where I am. Whatever happens, I will bow to His will, conscious of never having had a thought other than that of serving the country that He confided to me.'”

From: The Royal Passion-bearers of Russia, Their Life and Service. St. Herman Press, p. 13.

Without Saints there is no Christianity

Saint. Sanctus. Agios. Svyatoy. Holy. We have journeyed through the whole drama of Christ's redemptive work, through which our very nature was hypostatically united to God, and through this union humanity is given to be united to God by grace: Theosis. We become participators in the Divine Life by grace. Even now from the right hand of God the Father the God-Man, the Theanthropos, Christ Jesus beckons to us: “Come follow me.” The journey, the life of a Christian is one of ascent from this fallen world to heavenly God-like living, an abiding in the Life. This is an ascent that begins here and now, it is an ascent of transfiguration. I have heard that the Greek word for saint, or holy one, agios, means not of this earth, not of this world. There is a subtle insinuation in much modern non-Orthodox theology: Christ has achieved everything (which is true) and now all a person has to do is mentally believe and confess Christ and His work and this brings about salvation. Salvation is primarily a complete transfer of status from “not saved” to “saved” via confession on the part of man and decree on the part of God. In some regard this passive faith brings about a slight apathy in spiritual life. Christ has achieved it all, all I have to do is believe it (and claim it)! In believing one is said to go from the total state of being condemned to the total state of having been saved. True personal transfiguration is not of primary importance, in fact it contributes very little to actual salvation. Of course there are moral standards that must be kept, but in many modern groups there is a strong impression that we, humans, cannot really live God-like lives. Theosis is impossible, and thus the whole phenomenon of saints.

The whole reality of saints, holy ones, in the Christian experience testifies against this new teaching, indeed it testifying to the fact that all of us today, in committing to be Christians, have committed ourselves to deepening our abiding in the Divine Life by grace.

I would conjecture that one reason why many western confessions do not have holy ones, saints, besides a very egalitarian take on the issue - we are all saints and there are no “special” saints - is the fact that to have men and women as examples of holy living is to challenge our current comfortable worldly standard. Our times are quickly losing any value or like for standards. Most things, from education to exercise are being dropped to a lower standard. Standards and challenge might make someone feel bad, so instead of helping people work to meet a higher measure society seeks to create environments of egalitarian “standards.” Now everyone can not be challenged and feel good about it! This is first and foremost a spiritual malady. What has been passed as Christianity in the Modern world has so lowered Christian living that now we can all be saints because there really are no saints! And if there is the off chance there are, their lives are most likely quaint mythical stories only meant to inspire (or possibly fantasy stories made up after the style of ancient legends that are intended to awe the uneducated). In other words, I do not really have to personally strive to emulate them, and thus, in the long run Christ. And so we are conveniently not spiritually challenged from the “status quo:” we can indulge our passions and be “saved” all at the same time! We can neatly pursue the obese acquisition of innumerable things, most of them unnecessary to life, to satiate our desires and attain to heaven too! We can live in comfort and easy, after all I worked hard to earn all this, and “pray to Jesus in our hearts.” Salvation is easy, anyone can be an armchair saint. The modern gospel has become: you do not have to be holy, you do not have to be ontologically not of this world (all you have to do is get a bumper sticker).

It is not pleasant to hear about fasting while our bellies are full; it is not convenient to hear about ascetical living while we live our life of ease. After all isn’t Christ suppose to make us feel good? All these examples of self-denial do not allow me to pat myself on the back and say “you are doing just fine.” Instead they say, “there is much that you have yet to do in Christ, arise work while it is day; repent for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

Christianity is always incarnational. And the saints are those flesh and blood epistles that prove Life in Christ is real. Without saints Christianity is a philosophical teaching of the mind. Saints are special in the sense that they have applied in a concrete and serious manner the teachings and life of Christ Jesus: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” (Matt. 16:24). Saints are those who have applied themselves to being true humans. Most of us are simply use to living in a state that is often devoid of true holiness. Yet in truth human nature is in God, in Christ. Thus the truly human manner of living is holiness, not the “norm” of enslavement to sin that we have become sadly accustom to. We are all called to be saints, to be holy in Christ; but we have not all fully desired this with all our heart. Mankind's true vocation is to be made God-like, and the saints prove this.

The New-Martyr Pavel of the Russian Far East

1886 saw a terrible cholera epidemic in the city of Kolyvan, Siberia when young Pavel (Paul) Lasareff was 6 years old. Days passed while the family watched wagons carrying many bodies to be buried. From the Orthodox Church, the sound of the mournful bells rang out day after day. On Trinity Sunday, young Pavel clung to his mother in fear, and that evening, he refused to eat.

He went to bed, but there was for him only restless sleep, as there had been for days. In his bedroom, he awakened to see his icon of the Virgin Mary illuminated by the hanging icon lamp. He could think of nothing else but the cholera epidemic and the endless bodies he had seen taken away. He jumped out of bed, knelt on the floor, and extended his hands toward the image of the Holy Mother. He prayed, imploring her help and salvation from the terrible death around him. He prostrated himself on the floor and then grew calm in silent supplication. “Save my beloved mother, father, brothers and sister; save our dear nanny and the whole city.”

Suddenly, he sensed a light, straightened up and stood on his knees. The amazed child fearfully looked at an unusual miraculous appearance. “Standing in place of the silver-clad icon, dressed in a light blue garment and bathed in beams of brilliant light, was the Holy Virgin Mary! “O Queen of Heaven. O most Holy Mother of God save us!” Pavel clearly remembers whispering this prayer with tears running down his cheeks, and he heard her say, “Child, your and others’ prayers have been heard by Almighty God. Do not be afraid and tell your mother that the epidemic of cholera will stop on Nikolaievsk Street.” “Thanks be to God,” he whispered, and the divine appearance disappeared.

This incident began the life of Pavel Lasareff. After a few days the epidemic stopped precisely at the spot that the Virgin Mary had predicted (barely two blocks from his house), and from that point on Pavel faithfully followed Christ. He sang in the church choir, became well educated, obtained a university degree, served in the Russo-Japanese War, married Claudia Sintsoff; and in 1916 was ordained into the priesthood of the Orthodox Church. All the while he remained mindful of the compassion shown throughout his life by the Virgin Mary. Father Pavel and his wife, Matushka Claudia, raised four children: Eugene, Leon, Barbara and Militina

Fr. Pavel & Mat. Claudia

But struggle marked the life of the priest’s family. Matushka Claudia became paralyzed on the left side of her body. Six months of medical attention proved to no avail. One night Fr. Pavel had a dream in which the Bishop who ordained him appeared and told him that the Holy Virgin Mother would soon visit, and that oil from the vigil lamp in the church was to be applied to the ailing parts of Claudia’s body. The visitation of the Virgin Mother came through the wonder-working icon of the Theotokos of Abalak, which was traveling from village to village. Again, the Virgin Mother took care of the family and Matushka Claudia was completely healed.

But soon the family was to experience the most horrible trial of all. 1918 brought the wave of the Russian Revolution across the land, and Fr. Pavel revealed to his Matushka that the time for martyrdom and death for Christ’s Church was approaching. He begged her to be courageous and to support him when the frightful hour would come. When Fr. Pavel was ordained, the Bishop prophesied to him that soon dark Satanic forces would persecute the Church. Before the Holy Gospel the Bishop asked if he was ready as a warrior of Christ’s Army not to betray the Temple of God. Fr. Pavel answered, “Yes!” The newly ordained Priest Pavel served in the Siberian village of Antonovka located in the Russian Far East (the closest major city was Vladivostok).

In the summer of 1918 severe drought plagued many parts of Russia. The villagers of Antonovka asked Fr. Pavel to serve a Moleben (Te Deum) service in the fields asking God in His mercy to send rain. Thousands of farmers formed a procession carrying the church banners, icons, and the Holy Gospel onto the fields after the Sunday Liturgy. Fr. Pavel prayed deeply and zealously while the villagers prostrated themselves in the grass. Suddenly lightning flashed followed by the violent roaring of Siberian thunder; then came a calm stillness along with mounting darkness. In the distance, the growing sound of heavy falling rain could be heard in the dense mass of the virgin Siberian forest. The people jumped up and began to run to the village. Only the priest, his eldest son, some banner carriers, and the choir remained until the end of the prayer service. Eugene, Fr. Pavel's oldest son, remembered, “Happy under the soaking rain, Father and I entered the main street of the village following the group of banner carriers.” The villagers joyfully lined up along the fences and crossed themselves, venerating the church banners as they passed by.

One day in early winter, 1918, Fr. Pavel solemnly came to the breakfast table and said in a very serious tone, “The bishop who ordained me appeared to me in a dream. He blessed me and put his bishop's stole (omofor) on my shoulders, then he pulled the sleeve off my arm from the elbow to my wrist. A blue line of vein stood out; along the vein six red round spots were marked. The bishop pointed to the six points and said, 'be ready to commit yourself into the hands of God: after six months the servants of Satan will kill you!'”

From this time forward Fr. Pavel became even more focused in the work given to him by God, and he would often show spontaneous affection for his wife and children.

He was overheard to tell his wife, “Do not be distressed nor be sorrowful; when it will be particularly painful, call to mind the dreadful suffering of the Most Holy Mother of God, Who witnessed the suffering on the Cross of Her beloved Son, of whose innocence She was aware.”

Fr. Pavel was a fearless defender of his flock. When asked to flee before the Communists he refused to abandon the church and the people entrusted to him.

After midnight in the dark early hours of June 7^th, 1919, the eve of Holy Trinity Sunday (Pentecost), a group of nine armed Bolsheviks came to arrest Fr. Pavel. The Communist killers appeared at the home armed and with bayonets fixed. When his hour came he was calm. He made a last sign of the cross in front of his icon corner and kissed the central icon. The holy image of the Heavenly Queen heard the last prayer of Reverend Father Pavel. Before he was taken away he blessed and kissed his wife and children telling them, 'Pray to the Queen of Heaven, and she will help, guide and save you all.'

Fr. Pavel was taken to a school building in the neighboring village of Nikitovka, which was being used as the Bolshevik headquarters. Eugene rode with a delegation of villagers the next day to obtain Fr. Pavel's release, but the mission failed. He was sentenced to death because he refused to renounce Christ and make a public announcement that he had deceived the people about the existence of God. This was the last time Eugene saw and embraced his father. Fr. Pavel asked about Matushka Claudia and the other children, then in parting he said, “Tell Mama that I will come home tonight and be with you until the end of your lives.” By this he meant that he would be martyred that evening. When his father was taken away, Eugene covered his face while hot tears ran down his cheeks. Some of the Bolsheviks then forced Eugene to a window saying, “Look, open your eyes, you snakish breed to see how we punish lackeys of capitalistic bloodsuckers.” Outside the window stood a family friend, the Roman Catholic priest, Ignatius from the village of Rakovka in front of a firing squad. When Eugene tried to look away, one of the men burned his neck with his cigarette, and he fainted. He later learned that his father, along with the Catholic priest had been shot and their bodies taken somewhere and either burned or buried. Reverend Father Pavel had become one of the New Martyr’s of the Russian Communist Revolution, standing for his faith in Christ and His Church. He was martyred on the Feast of Pentecost,  May 20th/June 2nd, 1919.

That young son of Fr. Pavel, Eugene Lasareff-Mironoff, fled later to the United States as a grown man and became one of the outstanding choir directors of St. Michael’s Orthodox Church in Pueblo, Colorado. The icon of the New Martyr Pavel hangs in St. Michael’s today, a gift from Helen, Eugene’s wife. Both are buried in Imperial Cemetery in Pueblo. 

Troparion to New-Martyr Pavel, Tone 4-

O Holy new-martyr Pavel/

Faithful priest and servant of Christ/

Willingly didst thou shed thy blood for Him/

And in the midst of godless apostasy/

Thou wast unshaken in the Orthodox Faith/

Therefore entreat Christ our God/

That we may faithfully endure to the end//

And that our souls may be saved!

Orthodox Vespers Service for the New Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth

Having been deeply moved by the life of the New-Martyr Elizabeth, I began searching for service material so that we may serve her feast day, but was unable to find it in English. Yet, with the help of a friend I was able to find it in Slavonic. The translation below is by my wife and me. Although there may be another translation out there somewhere, I hope this will enable others seeking service material in English to offer praise to God in His saints. New-Martyr Elizabeth pray to God for us!

The New-Martyr Elizabeth

Vespers Service to the Venerable-Martyr Elizabeth and Her Companions

July 5^th/18^th

Composed by a Hieromonk of Mt. Athos

Julian (Old) Calender rubric- if the Superior allows the service may be done in conjunction with that of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh

Lord I have called, Tone 1, on 6 -

melody: O Heavenly Ranks

O Venerable-Martyr Elizabeth, * Taking up the cross upon thy shoulders,* thou wast obedient even unto death * for the sake of thy Beloved, crying out * no one can separate me * from His love!

O Venerable-Martyr Barbara, * thou wast faithful to thy superior in this temporal life, * remaining steadfast until the end * according the word of Christ, the Leader and Judge of the contest, * the one who is faithful in little, * shall be faithful in much.

Grown from a blessed root, * subdeacon John, Constantine, and Igor, princes and patient passion-bearers, * and good sufferers for Christ. * O Lord, when the time of our testing comes upon us * may we bring forth spiritual fruit, * and also be crowned.

Today we celebrate the venerable Serge, * and the translations of relics, * O Grand Duke and passion-bearer Serge, * thou hast crossed over to eternity, * together with the faithful Feodor. * All these saints we magnify!

Glory … Tone 6

Lambs of the True Shepherd, and revealed passion-bearers, * O Venerable-Martyrs Elizabeth, and Barbara, * great princes John, Constantine, Igor and Serge, * patient sufferer Feodore together with Vladimir, * amidst the wild wolves you were unharmed, * you came to a good end and preserved your faith in Christ the Great Shepherd; * now you abide in the divine heavenly mansions.

Now and ever …

Theotokion or Stavrotheotokion in the same tone

Apostika

Verses from the Octoechos

Glory … Tone 8

O praised Martyrs of Christ, * subduing¹ all mortal inclinations, * you looked upon temporal death as nothing, * and arming yourselves with bravery * you went in courageous wisdom to battle, * and now are clothed in victorious glory, * counted together with the righteous, * along with all of them, * we praise and magnify you!

Now and ever …

Theotokion or Stavrotheotokion in the same tone

Troparion, Tone 4

Meekness, humility and love dwelt in thy soul, * Diligently didst thou minister unto the suffering; * O Holy Passion-Bearer Princess Elizabeth, * With faith didst thou also endure suffering and death * For Christ with the Martyr Barbara. * Together with her pray for all them that honor you with love.²

Kontakion, Tone 4

From the glories of an earthly kingdom, * through taking up the Cross, thou didst pass over into heavenly glory; * by praying for thine enemies, thou hast obtained eternal joy, * O Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth, * and the Martyr Barbara, * pray for the salvation of our souls.

Unless otherwise noted translated by Fr. Zechariah and Mat. Natalia

The original Slavonic may be found here

1Literally: persecute

2 Not our translation, from the book Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia. 

Solid as rock or quick like sand?

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does them, I will liken to a prudent man who built his house upon the rock. And the rain came down, and the rivers rose, and the winds blew, and fell upon the house; and yet it fell not, for it had been founded upon the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not do them, shall be likened to a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain cam down, and the rivers rose, and the wind blew, and struck against the house; and it fell. And the fall of it was great” (Mat. 7:24-27).”

“To master any art requires time and much instruction. Can the art of arts alone be mastered without learning? No one without experience would go in for farming; nor would someone who has never been taught medicine try to practice as a doctor. The first would be condemned for making good farmland barren and weed-infested; the second, for making the sick worse instead of better. The only art which the uninstructed dare to practice, because they think it the simplest of all, is that of the spiritual way. What is difficult, and the majority regard as easy; and what Paul says he has not yet apprehended (cf. Phil. 3:12), they claim to know through and through, although they do not know even this: that they are totally ignorant.”

St. Neilos the Ascetic

“In the world you live in … you must have seen how long it takes an artist to train for his art, and how much effort he must devote to it. Is it not natural that the art of arts should exact even more time and even greater effort? … No art is acquired easily or without much diligent study and practice. Could it be otherwise with the greatest art of all – the art of arts – the spiritual life, the soul's salvation?”

St. Macarius of Optina

“Usually, people prefer to remain silent concerning a matter which they know nothing about and do not understand. This, of course, is completely sensible. Let us imagine, for example, a person who knows nothing about chemistry but who, nevertheless, constantly insists upon interfering in the affairs of chemists. He corrects their scientific formulae which have been obtained with great difficulty, changing their order or replacing one with another. We would agree that such a person is acting with the highest degree of imprudence and that we can only have pity for him.

There is one field, however, in which too many people consider themselves to be complete masters, in fact, almost legislators; that is the area concerning the Christian faith and the Church. In this field also, clear and definite formulae have been established with a great effort of theological thought, spiritual guidance, faith, and piety. These formulae are established and must be accepted on faith. Regardless of this fact, a great many people enter into the questions of faith and the Church solely as bold and decisive reformers who want to remake everything according to their own personal desires. In cases where such people have insufficient knowledge or understanding, they are especially averse to remaining silent. To the contrary they begin not only to speak, but to shout. Such shouting on the questions of faith and the Church usually finds the columns of newspapers and the ordinary conversations of people who, in general, very seldom think of faith and the Church at all. If they do think of such things, they prefer to voice themselves exclusively in an authoritative and accusatory tone.

In such an atmosphere a great multitude of various perverse opinions are born which then become fashionable because no one will trouble himself to consider and examine them. In the prevalence of such opinions it can easily occur that they are unconsciously assimilated even by people who are dedicated in their souls to the faith and the Church.”

St. Hilarion (Troitsky) the New Martyr