☦️🌟 Story narrated by Fr. A. Preobrazhensky.
"In the village of Ch., Vetluzhsky district, in the Kostroma province, lived a devout peasant named Philip.
From an early age, this peasant loved the Church of God, and therefore, both in childhood and after marriage, he never missed a single church service, despite the fact that the village where he lived was ten miles away, for which
"In the village of Ch., Vetluzhsky district, in the Kostroma province, lived a devout peasant named Philip.
From an early age, this peasant loved the Church of God, and therefore, both in childhood and after marriage, he never missed a single church service, despite the fact that the village where he lived was ten miles away, for which
reason his neighbors soon nicknamed him a saint.
In gatherings of relatives and acquaintances, Philip was never the first to initiate conversation, but always loved to listen to the conversations of others. But as soon as the conversation inclined toward condemnation, the devout Philip, as if not hearing the beginning, would immediately begin the conversation on another subject, mostly religious, and thus often deflect others from further gossip.
Whatever task Philip undertook, he approached it only with an invocation of God's help — for which the Lord generously rewarded him with His gifts. Even if his diligent labors were sometimes unrewarded, even then Philip dared not utter a single word of complaint; he never envied others anything, and was always content with his lot.
But Philip's happiness was short-lived: Divine Providence, for His inscrutable purposes, was pleased to test Philip's patience, as they once had righteous Job, lest those who hated goodness say of him what their leader had once said of Job: "Does Philip worship God for nothing? Has He not blessed the works of his hands? But let Him stretch out His hand and touch him, and will Philip not deny him?" In his twenty-fifth year, Philip was struck by illness: his entire body was covered with sores that emitted an unbearable putrid odor.
Seeing Philip suffering in such a pitiful state, his haters taunted him: "Behold, our holier-than-thou is still rotting alive." Indeed, the unfortunate man's illness soon progressed to the point where worms began to infest many places under his skin, which, gnawing through the skin even in healthy areas, gradually spread throughout his entire body. In two years, his illness had multiplied to such an extent that at night they crawled out of his body in whole swarms and covered his entire bed.
The care of the sick man's bed and his needs rested with his wife, Theodosia, a woman of very obstinate character. She often told him that death had apparently forgotten him, to which the patient sufferer would usually reply, "Yes! Apparently, for my grave sins, the Lord has visited me with such a grievous illness, but what can I do? Apparently, the Lord, Whom I have served since childhood, knows that it is better and more convenient for me to approach Him not through the path of prosperity I have hitherto enjoyed, but through suffering: I must endure it."
After two years, this illness not only showed no sign of abating, but, on the contrary, was noticeably worsening with each passing hour, so much so that Philip, foreseeing the imminent end of his suffering, begged his wife to quickly invite a priest to administer the Holy Gifts to him. His wish was immediately fulfilled. And he, having been deemed worthy to receive this precious relic, said to his wife with a smile upon the priest's departure: "Feodosia! Oh, how much better I feel now, precisely from the moment Father gave me communion!"
In gatherings of relatives and acquaintances, Philip was never the first to initiate conversation, but always loved to listen to the conversations of others. But as soon as the conversation inclined toward condemnation, the devout Philip, as if not hearing the beginning, would immediately begin the conversation on another subject, mostly religious, and thus often deflect others from further gossip.
Whatever task Philip undertook, he approached it only with an invocation of God's help — for which the Lord generously rewarded him with His gifts. Even if his diligent labors were sometimes unrewarded, even then Philip dared not utter a single word of complaint; he never envied others anything, and was always content with his lot.
But Philip's happiness was short-lived: Divine Providence, for His inscrutable purposes, was pleased to test Philip's patience, as they once had righteous Job, lest those who hated goodness say of him what their leader had once said of Job: "Does Philip worship God for nothing? Has He not blessed the works of his hands? But let Him stretch out His hand and touch him, and will Philip not deny him?" In his twenty-fifth year, Philip was struck by illness: his entire body was covered with sores that emitted an unbearable putrid odor.
Seeing Philip suffering in such a pitiful state, his haters taunted him: "Behold, our holier-than-thou is still rotting alive." Indeed, the unfortunate man's illness soon progressed to the point where worms began to infest many places under his skin, which, gnawing through the skin even in healthy areas, gradually spread throughout his entire body. In two years, his illness had multiplied to such an extent that at night they crawled out of his body in whole swarms and covered his entire bed.
The care of the sick man's bed and his needs rested with his wife, Theodosia, a woman of very obstinate character. She often told him that death had apparently forgotten him, to which the patient sufferer would usually reply, "Yes! Apparently, for my grave sins, the Lord has visited me with such a grievous illness, but what can I do? Apparently, the Lord, Whom I have served since childhood, knows that it is better and more convenient for me to approach Him not through the path of prosperity I have hitherto enjoyed, but through suffering: I must endure it."
After two years, this illness not only showed no sign of abating, but, on the contrary, was noticeably worsening with each passing hour, so much so that Philip, foreseeing the imminent end of his suffering, begged his wife to quickly invite a priest to administer the Holy Gifts to him. His wish was immediately fulfilled. And he, having been deemed worthy to receive this precious relic, said to his wife with a smile upon the priest's departure: "Feodosia! Oh, how much better I feel now, precisely from the moment Father gave me communion!"
A short time later, his suffering returned, more intense than before, and a month later, completely weakened in body, he once again wished to invite a priest to anoint him with oil and once again honor him with the Holy Body and Blood of the Savior. But this time his request was not fulfilled, and his wife only responded angrily to his desires: "Well, well! How long has it been since you received communion?" To this refusal, the sufferer responded with loud tears, and spent the entire day in prayerful sighs and tears. When evening came, the sick man's wife left him alone, went to a neighbor's for the evening, and did not return before midnight. The sufferer, grieved by the refusal of his request, spent the entire evening in tears, and near midnight, while awake, he was honored with the following consoling vision: the room in which he, suffering from a painful illness, had lain without leaving for about two and a half years, was suddenly filled with an extraordinary light, and the Virgin, of indescribable beauty, appeared to him with two majestic youths. Approaching his bed, She said to him in a gentle voice: "Do not be afraid and do not be discouraged, Philip! You will soon see Me - I Myself will meet you." Then one of the youths, beautiful in appearance, also approached his bed, anointed his forehead and chest with something in the form of a cross and gave him something to drink. Another, more majestic in appearance, censed him three times from afar, and all three instantly became invisible.
When his wife returned, Philip said to her, "Oh, you silly thing—she's gone! And what guests I just had! I really have never seen such guests in my life," and he recounted to her, in as much detail as he could, everything he had seen, adding, "Oh, how relieved I am now! Just look, where are my wounds?" Indeed, his wife stood for a long time in great amazement, finding no trace of his previous wounds on his body. But the patient sufferer, honored to receive healing from unknown guests, gave up his spirit in peace that same night, folding his arms crosswise on his chest.
On the third day after his death, his body was brought to the church for the rite of burial. That very day, the priest of that parish had left his home fifteen miles away to serve a prayer service at the home of his spiritual son, second-guild merchant V.S., before the locally venerated Tolga Icon of the Mother of God, which was carried back and forth from the church amid a throng of people and the ringing of bells.
After the service, the priest and his clergy went home before the icons, and, finding the sufferer's body in the church, immediately began the burial rite, intending to complete it and have time with the same clergy to accompany the body to the cemetery before the icons were returned. But no sooner had they reached the church porch with his body than the bells began to ring, welcoming the icon of the Queen of Heaven as it was carried back. Thus, the body of the deceased sufferer Philip was carried with the clanging of bells all the way to the cemetery, a distance of one mile, and here, just then, those carrying the Tolga Icon of the Mother of God and the body of the deceased met. The prophecy of the Queen of Heaven (to whom, as many testified, the deceased prayed with particular reverence in life) had come true: that She, who had come two days before his death to console him in the guise of a beautiful maiden, would meet him, and that he would see Her.
At this unexpected meeting, those carrying the icon of the Queen of Heaven and the body of the deceased felt a special sense of reverence for the ways of God's Providence, and some of the relatives, overcome with emotion, shed tears. Others of those accompanying the icon of the Queen of Heaven and the deceased, seemingly unimpressed by the meeting, said: "What a holier-than-thou! How fortunate!" Look, no one has ever been escorted to the grave with a bell, but you were honored with it. (Orthodox "Pilgrim", 1984)
When his wife returned, Philip said to her, "Oh, you silly thing—she's gone! And what guests I just had! I really have never seen such guests in my life," and he recounted to her, in as much detail as he could, everything he had seen, adding, "Oh, how relieved I am now! Just look, where are my wounds?" Indeed, his wife stood for a long time in great amazement, finding no trace of his previous wounds on his body. But the patient sufferer, honored to receive healing from unknown guests, gave up his spirit in peace that same night, folding his arms crosswise on his chest.
On the third day after his death, his body was brought to the church for the rite of burial. That very day, the priest of that parish had left his home fifteen miles away to serve a prayer service at the home of his spiritual son, second-guild merchant V.S., before the locally venerated Tolga Icon of the Mother of God, which was carried back and forth from the church amid a throng of people and the ringing of bells.
After the service, the priest and his clergy went home before the icons, and, finding the sufferer's body in the church, immediately began the burial rite, intending to complete it and have time with the same clergy to accompany the body to the cemetery before the icons were returned. But no sooner had they reached the church porch with his body than the bells began to ring, welcoming the icon of the Queen of Heaven as it was carried back. Thus, the body of the deceased sufferer Philip was carried with the clanging of bells all the way to the cemetery, a distance of one mile, and here, just then, those carrying the Tolga Icon of the Mother of God and the body of the deceased met. The prophecy of the Queen of Heaven (to whom, as many testified, the deceased prayed with particular reverence in life) had come true: that She, who had come two days before his death to console him in the guise of a beautiful maiden, would meet him, and that he would see Her.
At this unexpected meeting, those carrying the icon of the Queen of Heaven and the body of the deceased felt a special sense of reverence for the ways of God's Providence, and some of the relatives, overcome with emotion, shed tears. Others of those accompanying the icon of the Queen of Heaven and the deceased, seemingly unimpressed by the meeting, said: "What a holier-than-thou! How fortunate!" Look, no one has ever been escorted to the grave with a bell, but you were honored with it. (Orthodox "Pilgrim", 1984)
You cannot conquer any passion, any sin without gracious help; therefore, always ask the help of Christ, your Saviour. It was for this that He came into the world, for this that He suffered, died, and rose from the dead, in order to help us in everything, to save us from sin, and from the violence of the passions...
St. John of Kronstadt
St. John of Kronstadt
⚡️☦️ One more exposition of the heretical nature of Constantinople papism was done by the renowned translator, expert and canonist Hegumen Dionysius:
The replacement of the single imperial principle with a single Patriarch of Constantinople has not passed and will not pass the conciliar reception due to the fact that, though condemning geopolitics and ethnophyletism, the Patriarch of Constantinople himself falls into the condemned subject, and his powers have not been confirmed by his presence in the capital city for a long time.
Hegumen Dionisyius' book will be published in many languages.
The replacement of the single imperial principle with a single Patriarch of Constantinople has not passed and will not pass the conciliar reception due to the fact that, though condemning geopolitics and ethnophyletism, the Patriarch of Constantinople himself falls into the condemned subject, and his powers have not been confirmed by his presence in the capital city for a long time.
Hegumen Dionisyius' book will be published in many languages.
🌟 The Grace of God is for us the fluid that runs from vine to the vine branch. On the part of man, saving and actualized faith is necessary, i.e. faith which worketh by love (Gal. 5:6). Without this contribution of mans, salvation is not held out for any man.
St. Cleopa
St. Cleopa
Yes, the churches are overcrowded... But there's little benefit from this, only a lot of noise: they come, jostle, burn tons of candles, and heap money on us, but what's the point? God doesn't need candles or money, but our hearts, softened by meekness, humility, and patience. That's what God needs. He needs peace of mind, peace with our neighbors.
Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov
Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov
Look ahead at circumstances and avoid all that is harmful and dangerous, confess immediately to your spiritual father, struggle to acquire humility by recalling your past and present failings, and the Lord will help you. You will become a tried and true warrior of Christ, one who will eventually be able to help others.
Abbot Nikon Vorobiev
From the Letters to Spiritual Children
Abbot Nikon Vorobiev
From the Letters to Spiritual Children