Dear faithful,
Greetings in Christ.
I recall visiting this Church outside Suzdal with the cemetery. The construction
was not quite finished to the Metropolitan's dismay, for it was his intention
that Vladyka Gregory should consecrate this Church.
The chuch is somewhat small, and if I remember correctly, it is in an isolated
area, with trees on one side a hundred feet off in the background, and on the
near side, a large expanse of gently rolling fields. To our left I seem to recall
a frozen river, with traces of children's sleighs on the steeper hill side.
It was very cold that day.
I'll take this opportunity to relate some more of our trip.
The day that Vladyka took us to this particular church was the day that he showed
us a substantial part of Suzdal from the car. I don't remember everything he
said, but I do remember that all the time we drove, he spoke almost continuously
about the history of Suzdal, the famous people of antiquity who had lived there,
and which churches their lives circled around.
Here is one edifying account, as much as I am able to remember.
The Father of Tsar Ivan the Terrible had married one woman who was barren. After
some time, he decided to divorce her, although the Church forbade it. But out
of human pride, he disobeyed, and put his wife in a convent. He then proceeded
to write letters to all the Patriarchates of the East, asking for their permission
to remarry. No one consented, and in fact, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, warned
him that if he were to disobey, the offspring of this illegal marriage would
make Russia flow with rivers of blood. That offspring was Ivan the Terrible.
Anyhow, the woman whom he forced to adibe in the convent was a hot tempered
person, and she did not receive this with any submission whatsoever. When she
was made a nun by the Patriarch himself, she was screaming in the Church that
she did not want to become a nun. An abbess answered in her place affirmatively
at each of the vows, and they had to physically restrain her to make her stand
through the service. Each time the Patriarch asked her one of the questions,
which are the vows, and the nun answered in her place, she would cry out loudly
that she did not accept that vow. It was a great scene.
Afterwards, they wisked her away to our Suzdal, and there, she was imprisoned
in one of the convents. Her life in this convent was not very difficult, as
all the people reverenced her, and she commanded respect from them, as the former
wife of the Tsar. In fact, she continued to live as the Tsar's wife, with *all*
due respect from her subjects.When the Tsar learned this, he sent her to another
convent, where the abbess was stricter, where she was treated like a simple
nun. From that time, she gradually began to accept with humility her monastic
state. In time, she fully dedicated herself to the monastic life, doing all
the lowly work any nun might do in the convent, and ultimately, she became a
true glorified Saint. Her love for her fellow man was exemplary, and she became
a light for the whole city. Unfortunately I've forgotten her name. Perhaps someone
from Russia can help me.
Let me return to that particular day now.
As we drove about the changing landscape of Suzdal, now hilly, now flat, we
came to a large expanse some distance from the center of the town, overlooking
most of the churches. It was a magnificent view of so many churches, glistening
in the fresh snow, most of which actually belonged to our Church. As it was
towards afternoon, the sunlight being cast gave the panorama a brilliant luminescence.
The image here was timeless, practically unchanged for centuries. Living in
Suzdal, its easy to think that you're living in pre-revolutionary Russia, and
in fact, the whole country is Orthodox. Of course, once you head out to Vladimir,
the closest large city, well, you're coming back to America...
As we continued on, we came across that type of Church found only in Russia,
which is contructed entirely from wood, without any nails, but with wooden pegs
instead. Even the fence around the temple had special interlocking joints to
secure it from post to post. I had seen so many of these churches in picture
books, that to see one right in front of me was like a childhood dream come
true. It was like a story book picture. Having participated in the construction
of our small Cathedral at the monastery, and knowing all the steps involved
in the construction, my appreciation was magnified, especially considering the
fact that when they built this church, they did *not* have power tools. :)
Now that I mentioned wood, I recall the careful style in which many of the residential
homes in Suzdal were constucted. You may recall earlier this year when some
arsonists attempted to destroy another building Vladyka Metropolitan built,
it was mentioned that only the trim wood was burnt off. I didn't quite understand
what this special trim wood was, since I had never seen it. But driving throughout
Suzdal, one sees this ornate trim wood on almost every house, around each window.
On some of the more fancy houses, it is hanging from the rise of the roof. It
is made from a thick piece of wood to endure the cold, and is scroll work cut
through in all sorts of flowerly patterns. I suppose this might be some indication
of what Suzdal is like in summer time. Hopefully I'll be able to confirm that.
Then Vladyka took us out of Suzdal, about a ten minute drive to a very small
villiage, where he had just taken possession of a small Church dedicated to
Saint George. I felt very at home here. :) But the events which transpired there
are more important.
This church was long and narrow, about 50ft long by 20 ft wide. It had a nave
section, with a tall coupola on top. It also had a narthex. The structure was
built from brick, with intricate designs on the outside, as you might see on
Mount Athos.
The problem was that the narthex had no roof at all. The windows were completely
smashed out of it. Cracks were visible everywhere, just waiting for summer to
appear to be filled with weeds and such. Since the narthex was in such a condition,
the only part of the church that was viable for services was the nave, which
by now was about 20 x 20, with a small sanctuary attached. The door was a large
steel door, green, I seem to recall, on the side of the nave.
Vladyka Metropolitan turned to us and said, "This is the condition that
we obtain the churches in."
When we brought to mind how beautiful the other churches we had seen that day
were, it gave us a clue as to how much work the Metropolitan has actually exercised
in building up the Church in Suzdal, not to mention in all of Russia. And with
his monetary means being so limited, its amazing what he has actually accomplished.
I think that Vladyka Metropolitan loves Suzdal very much. He has become an integral
part of its history, to which he has devoted a considerable amount of study.
I would venture to speculate that he sees himself as the inheritor of the glorious
history of Suzdal, and takes care to preserve that which he has received from
his forefathers. This would shed light on why he has endeavored to save so many
churches, and build several himself in the Suzdal style. Not only this, but
he continuously strives to preserve the Faith of his fathers, our beloved Orthodoxy,
in these churches. He has been the driving force behind a spiritual resurrection
in Russia, which has manifested itself in the churches he has built, and the
thousands of souls who are spiritually fed in them.
There was one phenomenon that occurred so often during our travels throughout
Russia, that I cannot pass it by in silence.
On our way out to see this church of Saint George, we passed two women, dressed
in their fur coats, walking arm in arm. I don't know where they were going,
or exactly where they had come from. We drove on our way out to the Church,
and then returned again. On our way back, we passed them again. A simple occurence?
Certainly, expect that the tempature outside was extremely cold, and here are
two middle aged women out walking in the middle of this freezing landscape,
walking a distance that took us 15 minutes by car, approxmiately 30 miles.
This didn't happen once, but many times we would pass people trugging along
out in the middle of nowhere, with only a fur coat, their Russian shapka (fox
hat), and some good boots. If we were not completely scrunched into the car
we had, I know Vladyka would have picked them up.
Life in Russia is not like life in America in many ways. For us to live in Russia
today, would feel like living on Mount Athos in many ways, 500 years ago, to
us. Most people do not have cars, and do not want one. They don't have all the
expensive stuff we have access to here; I wonder if they really care about it.
Mother Mariam once told me that in Greece on the islands, the people are not
in the race to acquire things. They are content to live in small homes, with
their neighbors, and at the end of the day, to sit down and talk with those
they love.
This is a big part of Russian society today.
Is this something particular to Greece and Russia, or is this something which
the Greeks transmitted to Russia through Orthodoxy? I think the latter is more
likely, as this characteristic is found in every Orthodox country I have ever
seen.
Well, let me go on to describe yet another Church, which I hope I have not already
mentioned.
On the opposite side of Suzdal, about a 5 minute drive from the Metropolitan's
residence, we found the modern section of Suzdal, where they had "authentic"
apartment buildings. They were unlike the skyscraper type in Moscow, in that
they were only two stories high, as regulated by the Suzdal city council. They
were all identical, in every way, gray in color, and somewhat melancholic.
As we drove, Vladyka Metropolitan explained that the believers in this area
had asked Vladyka to build them a church, because walking to Suzdal for the
older ladies was too far. So, he obliged their request.
About ten people asked for the temple, but when it was built, Vladyka found
that he had made it too small, because 50 people decided to come. So the church
was packed the following day when Vladyka Gregory served the Divine Liturgy
there.
It was a small white church, with a silver coupola on top. It was completely
frescoed. Many people had a hand in painting it, including most of the monks.
Vladyka happened to own this piece of property, and so it is here that he hopes
to be buried. If he were buried on public lands, the MP might do some vile crime
against his body, either desecration or vandalism.
Sadly, this church had already been vandalized by the enemies of our Church.
It had spray paint on the outside of the temple, if you can imagine. The church
had suffered a martyrdom, if you consider it carefully.
In the Gospel our Lord says that we don't light a candle, and then put it under
a basket. We put it on the lampstand, in order that those who behold it will
have light to guide them. This is what a bishop is: he is set before not only
the Church, but the entire world, as the shining example of the life in Christ.
As he reflects the light of Christ, his deeds are manifest to all.
If they have persecuted Me, they will persecute you also, our Saviour said.
Thus, the bishop must be ready to accept that not everyone in his diocese will
love him, and some will even actively persecute him. Such is the case of Vladyka
Valentine. Our prayers should not cease for him, as his prayers for us do not.
With love in Christ,
George, hieromonk
