SATAN IS NOT THE GOOD GUY

SATAN IS NOT THE GOOD GUY Looking ahead, the conference is set to hold further votes on centrally banning LGBT clergy and same-sex weddings as part of its laws and regulations - bound to attract more discussions. Still, Tuesday's momentous voting result signals what could potentially be the direction of the conference. So much so, these voting items were swiftly moved into the "consent calendar," generally assigned for non-contentious matters. Following a historic split in what was once the third-largest denomination in the US, about one-quarter of American congregations departed from 2019 to 2023. The exodus consisted mainly of conservative churches unhappy with the denomination's failure to uphold its long-standing LGBT prohibitions. With fewer conservative delegates present, who had previously dominated general conferences and consistently reinforced such bans, progressive delegates are now swiftly acting to overturn these policies. These changes may lead to further withdrawals by some international congregations, especially in Africa where conservative views on sexuality are widespread and same-sex relations are illegal in certain nations. The "United Methodist Church's: legislation still prohibits the ordination of "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" into ministry, a rule that is slated for reconsideration later in a week. Nonetheless, this Tuesday saw the General Conference vote to eliminate a related prohibition preventing church authorities from considering individuals for ordination who identify as LGBT. It also lifted bans on bishops ordaining LGBT individuals as clergy or consecrating them as bishops. Furthermore, it abolished compulsory penalties, established by the 2019 General Conference, for clergy who officiate at ceremonies celebrating same-sex marriages or unions. Additionally, it implemented a moratorium on any ecclesiastical judicial proceedings aimed at disciplining clergy for breaching rules related to maqking males into females and visa versa. The General Conference has taken significant steps towards being openly LGBT "affirming". They scrapped a traditional ban that prevented United Methodist entities from using funds "to promote the acceptance of homosexuality." This traditional restriction also stopped funding for any campaigns to "reject or condemn lesbian and gay members and friends" while it did support initiatives against the HIV epidemic. Now, the previous rule has been replaced with a clear prohibition on financing any actions that "reject any LGBTQIA+ (whatever that means) person or openly discriminate against such people." "It's a very "liberating" day for United Methodists who are actively involved with LGBTQ people," celebrated Rev. David Meredith, board chair for the Reconciling Ministries Network, which has been pushing for LGBTQ inclusion in the church for ages. This general conference is a breath of fresh air compared to the heated ones of the past, noted Jan Lawrence, executive director of the network. "Yes, we're going to have things we disagree on. But the vitriol that we saw in 2019, that is not evident at all." In addition, new rules have been introduced to ensure LGBT individuals are considered alongside other demographic groups when making appointments, aiming for diversity across church boards and bodies. The United Methodist Church (UMC) is holding its first legislative gathering since 2019, showcasing a notably "progressive" group of delegates after over 7,600 predominantly conservative congregations in the US left due to the denomination's relaxed enforcement of prohibitions on same-sex marriage and LGBT ordination. Between 2019 and 2023, these congregations took advantage of a period that allowed them to depart with their properties, which are usually held in trust for the denomination, under more lenient conditions than usual. Conservative factions are pushing for an extension of these terms to include international and US churches that disagree while General Conference's decisions. Rev. Rob Renfroe, president of the conservative advocacy group Good News, expressed his understanding of the UMC's desire to move forward but questioned the fairness of the disaffiliation process: "We get it, the United Methodist Church wants to be done with disaffiliation," he said. "They want to step into a so-called new day. They do not want to keep them from that. But how can disaffiliation be over when it never began for the majority of United Methodists?" Key votes are still spending weeks, including decisions on whether to lift the bans on LGBT clergy and same-sex marriage, as well as the potential replacement of a longstanding document that labeled the "practice of homosexuality ... incompatible with Christian teaching." These proposals received alleged strong support in recent votes recently. As a result many people involved have left the place.

HOW DOES ONE "LOVE" A CHILD AS MOM IS NOT A GOOD WIFE.

Divorce, Denial and the Death of God: How the West Really Lost God September 9, 2013 by Orthodox Editors Divorce, Denial and the Death of God: How the West Really Lost God by Elise Hilton – On Christmas Eve 2011, I opened our front door to find one of my teenage daughter’s friends, sobbing. Her parents had divorced months before, and her dad wasn’t around. Her mother started bringing men home regularly to spend the night. The girl told her mom that having the men around made her feel uncomfortable. Her mom kicked her out of the house. On Christmas Eve. This could be a single story of one young girl and the fall-out of one divorce, but it’s not. It’s becoming Our American Story: adults who do as they wish with little regard for the child, divorce, cohabitation, children with a revolving door of adults in their lives, no longer a family but a group of people with tenuous ties to each other.

The Mystery of God’s Silence

Fr. Charalampos Papadopoulos Part 1 We’re frightened and weak people, living in uncertainty and fear. And if you ask, no one will say: “I want to feel pain!” No one wants to experience pain. It’s normal, logical, but at the same time, spiritually immature. And if someone wants to spiritually change in his life, he must be realistic, as were the Fathers of the Church. They were realists, not soaring in the clouds. We have to understand that we’re asking the wrong question. We ask: “Do I want to feel pain or not?” It’s not about whether I want it or not, whether I like it or not, but that I’m going to experience pain. There is no life without pain. A life without pain is a life that’s dangerous for society. The body experiences pain and thereby informs you that something’s wrong. Your soul experiences pain and tells you: “Stop! You’ve crossed the line, you’ve crossed the limit of what you can endure.” What is grief? What is stress and all the rest? Pain “rings” the bell; it comes to notify you, to tell you: “Be careful, something’s not right with you.” A man who doesn’t feel pain is dangerous because he can commit evil. We feel pain, but we also feel the desire for revenge and hatred. Imagine what would happen were there no pain. Pain is a structural element, and we will experience pain. But the question also isn’t whether we will feel pain, but why it’s worth experiencing pain. The question isn’t whether I’ll experience pain—forget about it, there is no such question—but what is it worth experiencing pain for. What will I suffer for? Why did the saints endure all tortures, torments, and persecutions? Precisely because they answered this fundamental question: “For Whose sake will I experience pain?” And they chose pain for the sake of love for Christ. They gave everything for God’s love; they were ready to suffer for the sake of this love. Of course, they weren’t afraid of pain, because they knew that it’s a reality of life. Therefore, it’s very important for us to soberly understand: What is this value? Who is this person? What meaning do we put into our lives? And why is there meaning in pain? Who endured in the prisons? Who survived in concentration camps? Who endured during suffering, persecution, genocide, and famine? Those who had purpose. According to numerous studies, people in hospitals recover much quicker if they believe in a higher purpose in their life. Those who have meaning and values that they live for… It’s important for us to understand why we’re crucified in our lives. When you don’t take risks, when you’re afraid, when you have fear and uncertainty and you want to calculate, define, and control everything, then you’re not living in reality. You become a neurotic and cowardly person. Remember the Parable of the Talents. The man who hid his talent, who hid his charisma, hid from life—he was afraid to live. What do we do? We fear living. We’re afraid to be. We’re afraid of everything. And so, we don’t live, we don’t exist. This fear of not losing anything will not give you a peaceful life in the end. You’ll always have the fear of feeling pain, the fear that there will be difficulties. And the big trouble is that we raise our children the same way. We think the most important thing is to take extra care so they never feel pain and never want for anything. But if a person doesn’t feel a lack of anything, if he doesn’t feel pain, then he won’t be able to learn to withstand pain, difficulties, and trials. We’re helicopter parents. We constantly rush to help our children, and as soon as we see that something’s not working for them, we “fly” into their lives. All so our child won’t feel pain, so he’ll have everything, so he gets everything ready-made. It’s scary. Remember what happened to the young man on Syntagma. I don’t know if you heard about this. There were clashes on Syntagma Square. Anarchists fought with the police, throwing Molotov cocktails. And one mother from the outskirts of Athens saw her son in the crowd. What do you think, what did she do? She left her house and went to Syntagma to bring him a coat, because she saw that her son, who was throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails, didn’t have a coat on. It didn’t bother her that he was throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails—she was worried her son would get sick! You can read this story online. A man is already thirty, forty, fifty… not to mention someone who’s sixty… You ask him: “Why are you always so gloomy?” And he responds: “It’s my mother’s fault! My father’s fault! My parents’ fault!” Well, okay, but you’re an adult already! You’re sixty, and you’re still blaming your mother and father?! People don’t notice this syndrome, but it’s there. You can’t get away from it. One time in Crete, I went to a mountain village to hear confessions. Conditions are tough in the mountain villages of Crete. So during Confession, the door opened and in came a six-and-a-half-foot-tall Cretan, with a huge mustache, his shirt unbuttoned, in boots, with chains. He was more than six feet tall, and I’m short. I said to myself: “That’s it, I’m finished. He’s going to kill me. There are only mountains all around us; there aren’t many people in the village. Oh, what’s going to happen?!” So I asked him: “Did you come to confess?” “Yes!” And I thought to myself: “Something’s not right here!” “Have a seat!” He sat down, and I asked him: “Is there something you’d like to confess?” “No!” “No?” “No!” “Then why did you come here?” “My mama told me to come!” “Your mother asked you to come see me?”” “Yes,” he said. I immediately plucked up my courage. “How old are you?” “Forty-five.” “And your mother told you to come here for Confession?” “Yes.” “I see. Bow your head, I’ll read the prayer of absolution over you!” This is how someone can not grow up, not take his life seriously. So he torments himself and others. So the important thing isn’t whether we’re going to have problems. We’re going to have problems. Let’s put out of our minds the fantasy that somewhere there is the ideal marriage, the ideal life partner, the ideal children. You might say about Crete: “Crete is paradise!” In Crete we say: “Katerini is paradise!” In the world they say: “Everything is perfect on Mt. Athos!” On Mt. Athos they say: “You can labor ascetically in the world, too.” One time some friends and I went to a monastery. And we told the abbot: “Geronda, your monastery is paradise!” He told us: “Yes, but Adam and Eve sinned in Paradise!” It’s important to understand that there’s no point in looking for a trouble-free life, because no such life exists. The question is whether the problems you have will lead you to something, whether your suffering has meaning for you. And this is what gives us spiritual life in Christ—it makes sense of suffering, gives meaning to human pain, leads a man to Christ, to God, to his deep self, to his neighbor, and so on. So pain is an opportunity for human development. Just imagine: Behind the big and radical changes that take place in our lives, there’s always pain; behind charisma there’s a cross; behind achievements there’s human fatigue; behind success there are a thousand failures. For a scientist to succeed and create some kind of product, to come to a scientific conclusion, he endures hundreds of failures, he despairs, he experiences pain, he bangs his head against the wall. An athlete, a winner, achieving successes, gives up a lot. There’s always a trial, with pain. Thus, the pain in our lives helps us develop. It leads us somewhere, and it’s important to choose where we want it to lead us. Pain is an opportunity to see our values again, no matter how we lived before. Only pain, only a catastrophe will help do this. And therein lies the mystery of God’s silence. A few days ago, a woman told me: “I’ve been sad and sick for so long; my body hurts and I have no desire to leave the house and talk with anyone.” She was inconsolable. She also told me: “I pray to God for the Lord to come here, to this closed room, and help me!” I told her: “He’s not coming!” And He’s not coming because in reality, she, just like the rest of us, doesn’t look for God when she’s facing some difficulty. We just look for a crutch to lean on, but we don’t look for God Himself. God isn’t coming because the Lord wants you to go through this state, so you change your way of thinking, your outlook on life, your attitude towards life. If He would come, He would “destroy” you. That’s why He’s silent. But it’s not silence, rather it’s His answer. His silence is His way of speaking, to lead you somewhere and continue leading you throughout your life. As they say, the Lord doesn’t bring you a fish, rather He teaches you how to fish. God doesn’t want everything to be handed to you on a silver platter; He wants to teach you, He wants to make you mature, to bring you into a state where you learn the art of life. We need to understand and grasp this in adulthood. As St. Paisios said, the Lord will never give you what He has already given. You want God to give you a cup of water when He’s already given you a whole spring. Go head, get yourself some water from the spring. Elder Aimilianos says God has already given us what we need. You want to be happy, and God has given you the chance to be happy: Get to know people—live and be happy. This is what St. Porphyrios spoke about: We should rejoice in everything—in the sea, the mountains, swimming, food, relationships, so everything would be an occasion for life, a cause for rejoicing, a cause for glorification; so the simplest detail would become an occasion for glorification. God has given you this. That’s why St. Paisios says that if you don’t find any water in the desert, then the Lord won’t show you where the spring is—don’t expect it—He won’t show it to you until He sees that you’re striving for it, searching, digging, fighting. He won’t give it to you right away. He wants to see your energy, your desire to work, to see how your life pulsates, to see how you live—this is what He wants from you. He wants you to live, not just be a ghost, a pale shadow. We have to learn to live with the pain we’ve chosen. That means the joy and happiness in our life is a choice: I choose to be happy. Why do I say this? Because if you’re waiting for everything in your life to become perfect before you start laughing, then you’ll never start laughing. It doesn’t happen that someone has a perfect life without any problems. What are we always saying? We say: “How can everything be good with me, Father, if I’m sick, if I have no money, if my wife is difficult, if my husband is unruly, if I have problems with my children or at work with my co-workers?” But the words “if” and “why” are always present in our lives. You can always find an “if,” “maybe,” or “because,” that destroys the joy in your life; your whole life will pass you by and you’ll never be happy and never enjoy the pleasures of life. We have to follow our life’s path, although our life isn’t always perfect. Let’s not just stand around waiting for everything to be perfect on our life’s path, because we’re already walking along this path. We want to control and arrange everything, to have ready-made answers to our questions, and then live and have fun. But that will never happen; our whole life will pass, the best moments of our lives will be lost, we’ll destroy our lives. Our life and our daily routine will become a huge cemetery of lost moments, lost days, which the Lord gave us to live and be in a relationship with Him, with ourselves, with people; and we look for an imaginary perfection that doesn’t exist. Beauty is hidden in small things, which, with the grace of God, will become big; it’s hidden in simple things, in everyday life—therein is hidden the essence.

Those with no search for God are now hoping for Hostility to it.

Don’t Be Surprised by World’s Hostility to Orthodox Christianity June 14, 2021 by Orthodox Editors Dont Be Surprised by Worlds Hostility to Orthodox Christianityby Fr. Geoffrey Korz – … We should not ever, ever be surprised when the world responds to Orthodox Christianity with skepticism and hostility. We should not be surprised when the world tries to reinterpret the Bible, or the Church Fathers, or the lives of the saints, to fit some modern agenda. We should not be surprised when even so-called Orthodox people follow the example of the parents of the Blind Man, and try to make themselves friends of the world, and won’t say a word that might cause waves with the world. That’s the way it’s always been. Even since the time of Christ Himself. Even with the Apostles, when you think about it. … Spiritual truth, versus worldly thinking. It happened with the saints throughout the centuries, too. If the faithful wanted to quietly live out their lives as Christians, to pray, to go to Church, they would be mocked. Laws would be passed against them. They would be asked to conform to whatever the government told them to say or do – whether they lived under the Romans, or the Ottoman Muslims, or the Soviet Communists, or others. Eventually, they would face death for their faith in Christ.

THE MAN AND THE WOMAN CAN BECOME A FAMILY.

Pilgrimage Organizer, Speech Therapist, and the Mother of a Big, Second Family Priests’ wives talk about their service in the Church. Part 1 Lada Bayeva On the feast of the holy Myrrh-Bearing Women, which Russian believers sometimes call “Orthodox Women’s Day” (this year it fell on May 19), we asked the wives of some priests of the Vyatka Metropolia of the ROC to talk about their Christian service in the family, in the Church and in society. Many matushkas, as priests’ wives are usually called in Russia, perform their multifaceted labors in the sphere of education, developing pilgrimage itineraries, working as teachers, doctors, speech therapists, church choir singers or conductors, glorifying the Lord with their singing, meeting people in the church shop, instilling the gift of faith in children with special needs… And, of course, all of them see a special role of a woman in taking care of her family and helping her spouse. Talking about family traditions, their work and hobbies, these women have sincerely shared with readers what helps them overcome difficulties, what joy they feel when they observe the good fruits of their labors, and how happy they are in their service. “There are trips that combine my service as an organizer of pilgrims and the family” Nadezhda Shapoval, head of the “From Vyatka” pilgrimage service: Fr. John and Nadezhda Shapoval Fr. John and Nadezhda Shapoval This May, our pilgrimage service turned twenty. Its work is based on Christian service. Our priority is to familiarize people with our shrines and churches of the land of Vyatka1 of the Vyatka Metropolia. I think it is important for people to know the history of their churches, icons, and local saints. I never imagined that I would become a priest’s wife. I married an ordinary layman. Ten years later, at the age of thirty-five, my husband told me: “I want to enter the Vyatka Theological College [now seminary], full-time.” I understood the responsibilities that a future priest’s wife had—both the inward, spiritual, and the outward, in the public eye—but I had to accept his choice. Father John was ordained by Metropolitan Chrysanthos of Vyatka and Slobodskoy. He served as a deacon for six years, and then Metropolitan Mark of Vyatka and Slobodskoy ordained my husband a priest and sent him to serve in the village of Istobensk. And for about twelve years now, batiushka has served as rector of the ancient Holy Trinity Church, which has never been closed. Nadezhda Shapoval with pilgrims Nadezhda Shapoval with pilgrims There are trips that combine my service as an organizer of pilgrimages and the family. We have the following tradition: for several years in a row, on New Year’s day, I take pilgrims on a trip to the ancient monasteries and convents of Russia. We develop new, interesting itineraries every time. During our trips, we learn about locally venerated saints and attend services in the churches we visit. Fr. John Shapoval, who accompanies the pilgrims with me, supports people with spiritual advice. Among our pilgrims there are those who go regularly on our “prayer trips”, while others may be new to this. Recently, married couples have become more actively involved in such trips. ​Nadezhda Shapoval ​Nadezhda Shapoval Greetings to all female pilgrims, colleagues, staff workers, priests’ wives and all Orthodox women of Russia on this wonderful feast—the day of the Myrrh-Bearing Women, which falls on the Paschal days when we all greet each other especially joyfully with the exclamation: “Christ is Risen!” “My great-grandmother, grandmother and mother are priests’ wives” Priest Mikhail Pentin and his wife Galina Priest Mikhail Pentin and his wife Galina Galina Pentina, singer of the parish choir of the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos of Kirov and teacher of church singing at the Sunday school of the parish, wife of the rector of the Church of the Protection of the Mother of God of the town of Sovetsk, Priest Mikhail Pentin: Christian service is always about kindness, the ability to give, to sacrifice from the bottom of your heart, to bring joy to people. It so happened that I became a fourth-generation priest’s wife. My great-grandmother, grandmother and mother were all wives of priests. From childhood we had an awareness that a priest is the pillar in the church, and his wife is the pillar in the family, responsible for the microclimate and comfort at home. But a parish is a big family. A priest celebrates services in church and is engaged in organizational matters, while his wife creates a good atmosphere there, so that people can be drawn to church. For parishioners, she often acts as a guide, a connecting link to the church. I was born after my mother Tatiana moved from Kostroma to Sovetsk and had begun to arrange the life of the parish. Then Sunday school was born there, which turns twenty this year. Priest Mikhail Kovalsky with his wife Tatiana and little Galina Priest Mikhail Kovalsky with his wife Tatiana and little Galina My father was busy with his ministry and was responsible for many practical issues—churches always require attention—and my mother created an atmosphere inside the parish. There were regular parishioners and traditions—organizing Christmas and Paschal concerts. And if my mother devoted herself mostly to classes with children in the Sunday school, I inherited the cause from my father, Priest Mikhail Kovalsky, who as a priest paid great attention to choir service. My father dreamed of becoming a choir director, but he entered the seminary. But he loved sacred music from his childhood. He selected the repertoire for the services of the church cycle and held choir practices. Sharing his aspirations, I have served in the choir since the age of two. Now that I sing in the church choir, I remember that as a child I listened to this or that spiritual work. In my understanding, the church choir plays a huge connecting role between the priest and the parishioners. The prayerful mood the choir sets will be conveyed to the priest and the parishioners. ​Future Archpriest Peter and Grandmother Marina Bakhtina ​Future Archpriest Peter and Grandmother Marina Bakhtina A model of good Christian service in our family is my maternal great-grandmother Margarita. She has eight children, and she is a priest’s wife as well. When my great-grandfather, Archpriest Vladimir Stepanov, was transferred from parish to parish, the whole family moved with him. You must accept that your husband belongs to the Church, and you, his wife and children, are his family and cannot leave him. You should be wise and understand that this is your service—through him you should serve God. My grandparents, Grandmother Marina and Archpriest Peter Bakhtin, are also a model of Christian service. When it comes to life in general, it is important to do everything for God. Do any work that you undertake for God. This way it will be possible to perform it efficiently, and most importantly—according to your conscience. “Family comes first” Ekaterina Churakova with Father Dimitry and children Ekaterina Churakova with Father Dimitry and children Ekaterina Churakova, a speech therapist, wife of the priest of the Church of the holy Martyrs Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia in Kirov, Priest Dimitry Churakov: I see my Christian service in the life I live as a priest’s wife, combining raising the children with my job as a speech therapist. As an active and well-educated woman, I always wanted to do something for the good of society, while living exclusively for household chores is boring. Being a philologist by education, I received by qualifications as a speech therapist over a decade ago. When my children were small, there was no opportunity to take them to a speech therapist, so I decided to become one myself—first of all to help my children. Then I began to help others as well. And now that I’m busy with work, my children understand that their mother is a role model for them, thus she fulfils herself, and at the same time they are given more independence. They do some housework themselves, taking care of each other. Working as a speech therapist has become my vocation, because I love children. It is no coincidence that we have four of them, and I am able to help them and do my share in providing for the family simultaneously. Ekaterina Churakova with her husband, Priest Dimitry, a cleric of the Church of Sts. Faith, Hope, Love and Sophia in Kirov Ekaterina Churakova with her husband, Priest Dimitry, a cleric of the Church of Sts. Faith, Hope, Love and Sophia in Kirov But the family comes first, so I work four hours a day at most. I reserve energy for my children. Our two older daughters and son go to school, and the youngest daughter is a preschooler. Since weekends together are a rarity for us, because my spouse is a priest and celebrates services in church on weekends, we try to gather in the evenings in our family circle. My husband, Fr. Dimitry, and I try to support each other, and he takes part in raising our children. We have a family tradition of getting together on the major feasts—Christmas and Pascha. At Pascha, we always bake kulichi (Paschal cakes) according to the old Russian recipe for our family, friends and acquaintances. My eldest daughter Lisa and I baked over sixty kulichi this year. We want people to feel the taste of real pascha cheese, cooked with love from exclusively natural, good products: butter, raisins, candied fruits and nuts. We celebrate Victory Day with our family; we always place flowers at the eternal flame, sing military songs at home, and invite guests. In the summer we try to take trips together. For example to Diveyevo Convent or to Blessed Matrona in Moscow. For the children, a trip to another city is always an occasion for joy. We try to think about our trip ahead of time, and to make it merry, interesting and informative for the children (with visits to museums, zoos, puppet theaters; the Nikulin Circus in Moscow made a special impression on them). On the other hand, these trips educate them in patriotic and spiritual terms, since they familiarize themselves with holy and meaningful places. When planning my days, I keep a balance between my job, the children and myself, and my inner state. When there are many children, everyone needs to be given time and attention. You always keep your finger on the pulse so that you as a mother can provide support. And all this requires inner strength, so it is especially important for the mother of a large family to stay healthy, fit and balanced. “Family traditions are about being all together” ​Lyubov Boyarintseva with Fr. George and children ​Lyubov Boyarintseva with Fr. George and children Lyubov Boyarintseva, director of the Nika children’s church choir, teacher of the First Children’s Music School in Kirov, wife of the priest of the Church of St. John the Baptist, Fr. George Boyarintsev: I met my future husband when we were students of the conducting and choral college. In our last year of school we registered our marriage and got married in church. We had a student wedding: a male student quartet sang at the church; Vladimir Stromov—the bell-ringer of St. Seraphim’s Church, and then a second–year student who sang with us in the united student choir, rang the bells; and the cameraman was our classmate, now Priest Igor Shilyayev. The car for the newlyweds was provided by the then ruling hierarch, Vladyka Chrysanthos. It was very joyful, warm and sincere. Lyubov Boyarintseva and the Nika children’s choir at the service in the Church of St. John the Baptist in Kirov Lyubov Boyarintseva and the Nika children’s choir at the service in the Church of St. John the Baptist in Kirov I have been studying music all my life, and my choice of this profession was obvious. I started teaching from the age of nineteen, and so far my occupation has not changed. It had always been a children’s choir. However, three or four years ago I began to lead an adult mixed choir, which consists of parents and graduates. It’s an amateur choir of people who can’t live without music. A husband and a wife are a single whole, one mind and one vision of the world, and they complement each other. One other half always feels what is happening with the other and thinks about how to help him or her. Sometimes words of support are vital—it is very important that you are not alone in your vision of the world, that someone is ready to defend you with might and main. My husband is our choir’s father-confessor. He knows all my students, their interests and hobbies. He taught me how to edit videos of my students for competitions, type parts in computer programs, and write music; he also helps me organize concerts. Fr. George and Lyubov Boyarintseva with children Fr. George and Lyubov Boyarintseva with children My husband is a clergyman of the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist of our city, and as part of his duties he sometimes travels to serve in churches of the district, where there are often no singers. Then I always accompany him, and we sing the service with the children’s choir. Music is a subtle guide to the spiritual world. At the service, children feel their involvement in what is happening through music and spiritual singing, and it is easier for them to stand through the service and understand it. We so wanted our children to sing in church so that they could find friends and like-minded children in the choir. After all, who your children communicate with is very important. For us, family traditions mean being all together: at work, at services, at children’s contests or competitions, or just spending weekends together. If we manage to organize a family trip, it is a great joy. “For me the main thing is when love reigns in the parish and in the family” Elena Izhik. Celebration of the blessing of a new belfry in the village of Sredneivkino Elena Izhik. Celebration of the blessing of a new belfry in the village of Sredneivkino Elena Izhik, wife of the rector of the Holy Trinity Church in the village of Sredneivkino of the Verkhoshizhemye district, the Kirov region: For seventeen years now I have been Father Stephen’s wife and the mother of three wonderful daughters. For me the parish is a large, second family—not only in Sredneikino, but also in Verkhoshizhemye, Zonikha and Voronye. For me, life as a priest’s wife has proved to be very unique, yet difficult. Elena Izhik with Fr. Stephen and children Elena Izhik with Fr. Stephen and children I try to share in all the difficulties that Fr. Stephen has to face as a clergyman, and my daughters and I try to support him. I help my husband in the service (I sing in the choir), I am always involved in the preparations for church events, and support charity works organized at the parish. Father and I try to bring our children to God and kindle the fire of faith in their hearts. For me, the main thing is that love reigns in the parish and in the family. Because family is the most important thing in our lives. It is the most precious and valuable gift from God. I believe that a real family is built when the people dearest to each other support each other and do not abandon each other in difficult times, which motivates you to move forward and reach new heights. This makes them really happy for you. Faith in God and trust in Him help me overcome various difficulties in life. And family is a place where you can be real, yourself; it is a reliable support that helps you solve any problems in life; it is a strong home and harmony. “Church is a place where I sacrifice myself to God through singing” Natalia Pistsova with her youngest daughter Natalia Pistsova with her youngest daughter Natalia Pistsova, singer at St. John the Baptist Church in Kirov, wife of the cleric of St. Seraphim’s Cathedral in Kirov, Priest Vasily Pistsov: I started singing in the choir when I was a child. From the age of five I mastered singing and reading. I grew up in an Orthodox family—my parents raised me accordingly, instilling in me the most important ideas about God and my neighbor. Singing and Church are an integral part of my life, because as long as I can remember, I have always sung—this is my second self. The church is my home: it is a place where I offer myself to God fully through singing and serving Him. Batiushka and I are raising four children—three girls and one boy. The oldest is sixteen, and the youngest is three. Natalia Pistsova with her husband, Fr. Vasily, and children Natalia Pistsova with her husband, Fr. Vasily, and children The priest brings a moral element into raising children, instilling in them the most valuable concepts about God and people, and gives answers to their questions. I try to instill in them the right habits, the right approach to life and different situations, and most importantly, I help them learn how to make good decisions. It is a very interesting and complex process (because there is a struggle, free will is manifested, with each of them having his own). At the same time, it is important to understand that every child is an individual and needs an individual approach; and of course, I have the task of remaining a true friend and example for them. My hobbies are drawing, academic singing and sports. I also really like needlework. We love to relax together outdoors, which allows us to take a break from the fuss of life. The great Orthodox feasts greatly unite us, because each of us contributes to the creation and preservation of family traditions. The most important thing is to keep in mind that love, joy, humility and piety must accompany us along our life’s paths

WHAT ABOUT HOW WOMEN BRING LOVE ?

This Sunday is called the Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women; that is, women, bearers of myrrh. Having heard this phrase, “women, bearers of myrrh”, we can suppose that the profession or occupation of these women mentioned by the Holy Evangelists was to anoint the reposed with myrrh; that is, when someone died, they were to anoint with fragrances and aromatic spices the body of the one who had departed to the other world. But we are mistaken! This is not why they are called myrrh-bearers, but because they bore an entirely different myrrh in their hearts—they loved Christ. Thus, their occupation was not anointing the deceased with fragrances. We can say much more beautiful words about them: The myrrh-bearing women were bearers of the myrrh of love for Christ. And inasmuch as they were bearers of this extraordinary, fearless, beautiful love for Christ, the Church considered it appropriate to dedicate this Sunday almost immediately after the great feast of the Resurrection of Christ, called the Sunday of the Myrrh-bearing Women. Why have we called the myrrh-bearing women bearers of love? There are a few amazing virtues that we can learn by looking at their relationship to the Lord. Usually when we talk about this Sunday, we underscore the significance of women, and explain the meaning of this wondrous and blessed gift that is woman. And when we immerse ourselves in the stream of modern ideology, we even get the sinful desire to demonstrate woman’s superiority over man, proceeding from the Gospel reading for this Sunday, as if emphasizing these women’s heroism, courage, love, etc. And we would fall into this trap by wishing to prove that women are higher than men, in part due to the fact that they were the first to receive the news of the Resurrection: “Rejoice!” (Matt. 28:9). Perhaps there is a bit of truth in this, but we will never understand the Gospel in this vein. I think that the myrrh-bearing women attract our attention by other wondrous virtues. First of all, they are bearers of love, who had enormous love for Christ. They did not abandon Him when He was abandoned and left by all, including by the apostles, who knew in some measure just Who Christ was. They saw Him on Mt. Tabor, they knew that He is God, and that they must not abandon Him. They saw Him in all different situations, when Christ worked miracles and healed They saw how He spoke, and understood that no one could ever have spoken or could ever speak as Christ did. This means that the apostles had very weighty reasons why not to abandon the God-Man, their Teacher, when He needed them near Him more than ever. And Who accompanied Him when He was being insulted, when filthy words were being flung at Him, when people mocked Him and laughed at Him, when He hung alone on the Cross? The myrrh-bearing women. When love is beautiful, authentic, and true, it never abandons a person who has been left alone. To the contrary, a person who loves is ready to follow one who has suddenly found himself alone and in grief—no matter how heavy and dangerous the context of the real circumstances is—and think nothing of it. The myrrh-bearing women also did this amazing thing. When we meet lonely, abandoned, and unneeded people, let us also learn from the women, the bearers of this myrrh of love, and be close to them. The words I heard in an interview on a television program with the most worthy Metropolitan Bartholomew (Anani) seared my heart for life. He was asked, “What was the most painful thing in your life?” He replied: “The most bitter thing for me will always be that my parents died all alone, without comfort, because I was in prison and couldn’t be with them.” So, when someone dies, you need to be there with him, not leave him alone. You need to hold his hand, stroke his forehead, speak affectionately with him, and be attentive to his every move as he departs from this life. After all, he has become so important and precious to you that you cannot leave him at his moment of death. Death can also be emotional and spiritual when you are abandoned by all, when everyone is mocking you—deservedly or perhaps undeservedly. But there is another kind of death—loneliness. But if you have a person who truly loves you, you will not be alone. The second excellent lesson that we can learn from the myrrh-bearing women is that when we truly love God, we receive more than we expect. For here is what love actually means: receiving something of which, as you know in the depths of your soul, you are unworthy. Love is what you will never deserve to receive! You are so unworthy in comparison with the one who loves you so beautifully and abundantly, and you know that you do not deserve to be loved with such strong love as that with which he loves you. There have been many cases in our lives when each of us as felt conquered by the love we received. Perhaps we expected to be scolded, spat upon, but we received love instead. This is an extraordinary virtue. Why? Because such love possesses enlivening power. And love is always good and tender, and hides a delightful nobility. It never wounds. The souls of the myrrh-bearing women were torn apart by the sorrows of Passion Friday. They went to seek Christ the crucified, Christ the mocked, Christ the spat upon and tortured… They sought this Christ from early morning in order to perform the appropriate rite over Him Whom they loved. Otherwise, they would not have dared to go out in the dark—after all, at that time there was a patriarchal mentality. Women did not have the same freedoms as they do today. But these women, these bearers of the myrrh of love, ignored all danger. They could have thought that those guarding the grave would chase them away. But they didn’t think anything of the sort! They had only one thought: to take care of the crucified Christ. And to their great surprise and horror, as the holy evangelists write, they found the tomb empty (in fact, it wasn’t empty—it was filled with the light of Christ’s Resurrection) and they received the tidings that Christ was no longer there! The angel said to them: “Why seek ye the Living among the dead? He is risen! Go and tell the apostles that they will meet Him in Galilee, as He told them before.” How excellent, how wondrous is God when you love Him as these myrrh-bearing women did! They thought that they would see Christ dead, crucified on Great Friday. But to their great joy they met Christ resurrected; Him Who conquered death for our sakes and deified our human nature making it just as bright, beautiful, and filled with nobility and with His Resurrection. Only sin spoils and blackens each of us—and how horrible it is to bear the burden of sin. When you truly love, as did these women, these bearers of the myrrh of love, God always gives you more than you deserve; more than you expect. And the final thing that we can learn from the myrrh-bearing women, from Mary Magdalene who also goes out early in the morning and sees the grave empty. She meets Someone in the garden where the Christ’s tomb was. And she thinks He is the gardener. She asks Him from a soul darkened with pain: “Where is the Lord? Perhaps you have taken Him from there and put Him in another place?” And Christ answers her, but she does not recognize His voice. You see, when we love someone very much, we know every modulation and tone of his voice; these are distinguishing signs for us: “This is the person I love!” The person’s voice means so much to you that as soon as you hear it you feel at peace, and the muddy waters of your soul become clear. But Mary Magdalene did not recognize Him them. She only recognized Christ when He called her by name: “Mary!” And she answered with all simplicity: “Rabboni (Teacher)!” What can we learn from this? That every time God calls us by name, the name we received at Baptism, we are revived. In the Gospel of John it is said that the sheep know their shepherd by his voice (cf. Jn. 10). We can recognize the Shepherd by His voice only at the moment when He calls us: The Shepherd calls His sheep, He calls them to the Kingdom of God. When God calls you by name, only then will you recognize God, as it happened with Mary Magdalene. “And springs well up, sweetly calling us by name.”[1] This, I think, is what we learn from the women, the bearers of the myrrh of love: When we love, we do not abandon a person who is alone, sad, and abandoned, when he is experiencing the most acute need for help. When we love someone very much, we receive much more than we deserve. This is what happened to the myrrh-bearing women who sought Christ as dead, but met Christ Resurrected. The myrrh-bearing women became the first missionaries of the Risen Christ. When God calls you, you learn to recognize Him and delve more deeply into Him. May God help us to emulate these women, these bearers of the myrrh of love, so that each of us might become bearers of Christ’s love

How the Mercy of God, Not the Mongolian Mountains, Helped a Couple Become Parents After Twenty Years of Childless Marriage Alexandra Gripas Artist: Steve Hanks Artist: Steve Hanks It is not uncommon for people to come to the faith through sorrow or joy. I would like to share with readers a vivid story from my childhood, which made a strong impression on me and afterwards helped me come to the faith, get baptized and become a church-goer. Our family was on a business trip to Mongolia in the 1980s. It was in the small town of Erdenet. We had a lot of friends there who we would visit regularly. Among my parents’ acquaintances there was a married couple, both pediatricians—Mikhail and Lyudmila. They were a beautiful and interesting couple, but childless. One day Mikhail and Lyudmila invited some close friends to their home; they said they would reveal a secret to all of them… Everyone was intrigued. They imagined various things, but no one hit the nail on the head. Mikhail, an adult man who went in for sports, laughed and cried like a child. He now stood up, now sat down while sharing the secret with us: “Lyudmila and I have been married for over twenty years now. We got married in our first year at university. We have always dreamed of a big, closely-knit family, with both daughters and sons, with a lot of noise and fun at home. We so wanted to hear children's laughter! But the doctors diagnosed infertility. We went to various sanitariums, underwent mud therapy and all kinds of other procedures. We saw the most famous doctors, and my wife courageously did various tests, some of which were painful—but it was all in vain. “Three years ago we moved to Mongolia. Before that, there had been business trips to Latin America and Africa. And now Lyuda1 is in her first trimester. We didn’t tell anyone earlier because we couldn't believe it and were afraid it was a mistake. The first months of pregnancy are very sensitive and complicated. The gynecologist said that if we managed to get through the first three months, then we wouldn't have to worry anymore.” Silence began to reign after such a speech. Even we, the children, stopped joking and laughing, somehow feeling the importance of what had been said, intuitively realizing that we had come into contact with a miracle. After a few minutes the hospitable hosts were bombarded with questions. Lyudmila was shining with happiness: “I had never thought that I, a physician and the author of several scientific articles, would utter the word ‘miracle’. But I can't call it otherwise! I have a grandmother who is a long-liver. Twenty years ago she said that she would pray for me in front of an icon of the Most Holy Mother of God. She believed in the mercy of the Lord and His Most Pure Mother. I showed understanding, thinking that she was an elderly woman and these were remnants of the past… “But what has happened to us demonstrates that my religious grandmother was right: the mercy and love of the Lord are always with us. So many years of treatment and hope... Now we are both almost forty years old, and in six months we will become the happiest mother and father.” Everyone congratulated the couple, saying kind and beautiful words. Then the guests tried to “figure out” what exactly had helped Lyudmila get pregnant. They suggested many different explanations: One of them assumed that a change of climate had had a wholesome effect on the woman's body, another one supposed that the presence of mountains and a slightly high radioactivity level had played a role, while others believed that the treatment, albeit belatedly, had borne fruit at last. Lyudmila put a crystal glass of homemade fruit drink on the table and said seriously: “I see only one explanation: It’s neither the mountains, nor the climate, nor the Gobi Desert. It’s a miracle. My grandmother turned out to be much smarter than me. She always said that we would have a child, because the Lord and His Most Pure Mother are merciful. But until recently I stubbornly believed that since the doctors had diagnosed infertility, no prayers could help. Foolishly, I equated my grandmother’s earnest prayers with the spells of various psychics who ‘cure’ childlessness with a decoction of a cat’s tail or by sprinkling ashes on the bed! As soon as my pregnancy was confirmed, we immediately called my grandmother. I cried with joy and then, of course, I apologized for being skeptical about her words about God and faith. I thanked her. “But, nevertheless, my Komsomol upbringing affected me. At the end of the conversation, I asked my grandmother why the Lord had sent us a baby only twenty years later, if she had started praying earlier. My wise grandmother replied that I would understand it myself. Now I know that getting ready to become a mother at my age (over thirty-five), when all attempts to cure infertility did not help; when, according to all biological laws, the chances of getting pregnant even for a very healthy woman decline, is a miracle of God. This is the power and mercy of the Lord. I recall how my grandmother once told me a chapter from the Gospel about how the elderly holy Prophet Zachariah and the holy Righteous Elizabeth became the parents of the holy Prophet John the Baptist, and how the Archangel Gabriel announced the Good News to the Virgin Mary… Before confirming my pregnancy, the doctors had ruled out uterine fibroids and cancer, re-examining everything and repeating tests many times, and only then did they tell me the good news: ‘Believe it or not, but marvel—you will be a mother.’ When I asked them how it was possible, they smiled and said that such a phenomenon could only be called a miracle, as they could not explain it from a scientific point of view.” The whole town of Erdenet followed the events in their family. Everyone offered their help, gave children’s clothes and toys. Lyudmila’s husband walked with her before going to bed, bought groceries himself and cooked only healthy food intended for expectant mothers. After a while, the couple went to Moscow for the birth. In due time, a beautiful, healthy boy was born. Later, the happy parents sent us a long letter: after a month and a half, the baby was baptized with the name Zakhary (Zachariah). At that time, the authorities began to return monasteries and churches to the Russian Orthodox Church, and many people began to go to church for confession and Communion. Mikhail and Lyudmila converted to the faith as well. Alexandra Gripas Translation by Dmitry Lapa

Taylor Swift sings against God ?

Taylor Swift's new album draws criticism from Christian leaders who say it mocks God, Christians By Nicole VanDyke, CP Reporter Friday, April 26, 2024. Taylor Swift's new album, The Tortured Poets Department, has garnered criticism from faith leaders who have taken to social media this week to express their distaste with the lyrical content that they believe mocks God and Christians. Released last Friday, critics have voiced concern over lyrics that tend to suggest that Christians are both hateful and judgemental. In one song, Swift sings: "God save the most judgmental creeps/ Who say they want what's best for me/ Sanctimoniously performing soliloquies I'll never see/ Thinkin' it can change the beat/ Of my heart when he touches me/ And counteract the chemistry/ And undo the destiny/ You ain't gotta pray for me/ Me and my wild boy and all of this wild joy/ If all you want is gray for me/ Then it's just white noise, and it's just my choice." In the song "Guilty As Sin," Swift sings: "What if I roll the stone away?/ They're gonna crucify me anyway/ What if the way you hold me is actually what's holy." Eleven of the 31 songs contain an "E" under the album's description listing, which stands for "explicit." And several songs have the F-word included within the lyrics.

A Family Is A Small Church

Russia, 2024 has been declared the Year of the Family. The Parliamentary Gazette is asking famous politicians to talk about their family traditions and share their warmest and most vivid memories of their family and friends. Today we meet Vitaly Milonov, the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Family Protection, for Issues regarding Paternity, Maternity, and Childhood. ACLJ Member, I'm going to be direct and honest with you right now. What we see happening in America right now is nothing short of demonic. An 8-year-old kid just had a Bible taken away in school. Pro-lifers are getting their heads kicked in and stomped on the curb by abortion zealots. College campuses are being overrun by pro-Hamas radicals that call for violent genocide against Jews and anyone who supports Israel. There is a deep, deep spiritual rot infecting America right now – a spiritual war like I've never seen before. Last night, as I was praying about what we could do about it, I felt impressed by God to launch a special event – a multimedia event. The working title is For the Love of God: Save Our Country. This project will premiere on Oct. 31 – Halloween night – just 5 days before the election. It will be part revival, part film – exposing the evil power strangling America and showing a way to turn the country back to Jesus. No paywalls, no limits – I want this to go to every church in America. And I want you to be a part of it. We need to raise an ambitious $500,000. It's a big goal to further a God-inspired mission. Today is the final day of our Life & Liberty Drive. Midnight is our deadline. Not only will your gift be DOUBLED, but if you give TODAY, you will be named as a Founding Producer in the credits. Have Your Gift Doubled To Save Our Country. Logan Sekulow ACLJ Director of Media

Do people in Russia really go to church? (Yes they do!)

—What are the most challenging aspects of your role as a church accountant? What helps you overcome the difficulties? —There isn’t a notable distinction; professionalism is important whether you work in the Church or in secular organizations. We must apply the knowledge we’ve gained to serve the Church. Every task must be executed with precision, professionalism, and diligence, whether it’s serving in the altar, cleaning floors in the church, or working in the church store. Everything we do should be done for God. This includes correct and proper accounting. Accounting for a church is simpler than regular accounting, but the work is more multifaceted and accountants have to solve many organizational, personnel, business and even legal issues. They must grow professionally and learn new things. When working for the Church, we must be prepared to undertake any task and not consider any kind of work to be beneath us. And our faith and prayers will help us overcome any difficulties. Supporting the Church —Why is the tradition to light candles before icons so important and why have the Orthodox have kept it since ancient times? —We all know that the candle is a symbol of a sacrifice to God. Christ said, “I am the light of the world” (John, 8:12). In the Old Testament, the candle signified the presence of God. The worship services of early Christians were held at night and candles were used to illuminate the surroundings. Later on, candles began to be used in church, and now we light oil lamps and candles to symbolize our heartfelt prayer to God. The Church relies solely on donations for its support This symbolism also holds practical significance. The Church represents our collective endeavor, and it is essential for everyone to participate in worship services. Nowadays, we have lost a sense of community; when we’re in church, we often don’t know the people who are standing next to us. This shouldn’t be the case, as we should all take an interest in each other and come to church for the common cause of prayer and ministry. In the past, parishioners would supply flour and church wine for worship services. Now these tasks are carried out in an organized manner, including baking prosphoras and purchasing church wine, frankincense, oil, and other essentials. The Church relies on donations from parishioners to carry out these tasks. The Church building requires heating and lighting, so we need to pay for these services. The building is huge, so it requires ongoing repairs and incurs considerable expenses for maintenance. Many things are needed to make sure that worship services can take place, and this includes dealing with the commercial issues and payroll. So lighting a candle is a small contribution you make to support the Church, ensuring that the prayers go on and the Church continues to exist. The Church is not financed by the government and receives no allocations from the budget. It relies solely on donations for its support. The Church’s interests are not protected by the government, and there are people who sell candles and church wares without authorization. Not realizing that the Church relies on donations to operate, parishioners might purchase candles from beekeepers at the market. Then they would place the candles on the candlestands in the church without understanding that they haven’t made a donation to support the Church. We must be honest with God. If you think that you can’t afford to buy a candle or make a donation at the moment, it is better to pray and say, “God, all I have is a repenting spirit. Help others donate to the church to support its needs.” There is no point in bringing the candles bought in a market or in a commercial shop, because this supports businessmen who often do not share the Church’s values. —People might believe that God is above everything and everyone, so they simply don’t consider such nuances. —Benefactors are specifically mentioned during every Great Entrance in the Divine Liturgy: “the builders, decorators, donors of this holy church, you, and all Orthodox Christians…” For ages, the Church has been emphasizing the need for benefactors and donors, praying for them regularly. How could anyone overlook that? It’s important to be a part of the Church. Consider the word “счастье” (happiness)—its root is “часть” (part). This implies that we find happiness when we are a part of something meaningful to us. The word “Причастие” (Communion) also shares the same root “часть”. When we recite the Creed, we say “in One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church...” We must understand that we are a part of the Church headed by Christ. If we believe that we are a part of this Church, we must contribute by praying in churches and giving donations for their maintenance. It’s simple. —Please tell us about the economics of a large parish. According to the Charter, the church’s chief accountant’s title is Treasurer, i.e. the “holder of funds”. The treasurer’s responsibilities combine the functions of an economist and an accountant. In non-religious organizations, an economist handles planning and estimation, while the accountant works with factual data calculating the financial results once a business transaction is completed. In a parish, you have to be an economist and an accountant. The amounts of donations can vary greatly. We know that January typically sees the highest income, while February often brings lower donations coupled with higher heating expenses, so we always have to set aside some January donations for February to create a financial buffer. A parish is a business, just like any other legal entity. The church building has maintenance expenses that may not be immediately apparent, but when we walk into a church, we see church workers, clergy, and choir members, who, like anyone else, have utility bills, children and financial needs. Naturally, the church must pay their salaries. Vladyka, as a skilled manager, organized accounting in the Vyatka diocese administration office and parishes. Transparent and easy—to—understand accounting system has been implemented. All parishes of the Vyatka diocese have accounting and cash transaction procedures in place, including accounting for candles and requests for prayers and rites. A church is an employer, just like any other legal entity Of course, there are people who volunteer their time and efforts for the glory of God. These are great people and we appreciate their help. However, most parishioners, especially young people who have no other sources of income and need to support their families are paid for their services. The churches pay their employees without delay, deducting insurance fees from the salaries and withholding personal income taxes. A church is an employer, just like any other legal entity. We need to plan the allocation of our funds, prioritizing payroll and tax payments in the parishes. Once salaries and taxes are paid, we address utility bills, and only then do we allocate funds for necessary purchases and repairs, if there are any remaining funds. We always strive to live within our means to ensure that the parish does not accrue any debts. It would be wonderful to have funds for development, but maintaining churches, especially large buildings with numerous auxiliary offices, has always been challenging. We always hope that people would assist in the upkeep of these large church structures, as it involves a considerable amount of work that may not be immediately apparent. —What myths about “parish wealth” have you heard? How would you debunk them? —When people come to church on feast days and see parishioners making donations, they might assume that the Church has a ton of money. In such cases, we explain that we have to pay for utilities (heating, power, and water supply), security, video surveillance, Internet, garbage removal and many other services. Considering the church’s size, you can imagine the magnitude of our expenses. Think about your utility expenses in January—you know that they are not small. When we explain this to people, they understand the heavy burden we carry and start to wonder how we survive without government assistance. —What are people more inclined to donate for? Can you illustrate this with an example from one of the churches? —When additional donations are needed for maintenance, purchasing churchware, or painting the church, the parish council puts up a collection box with the information about the purpose of the collection. The information about the collection is also published on the parishes’ websites and bulletin boards. Since these are targeted donations, they are recorded separately and used strictly for their designated purpose. Parishioners are more inclined to donate to the repairs because they want their church to be beautiful. —Does the parish of the St. Panteleimon Church have any social projects? What difficulties does it face? —Parishioners of every church try to open a Sunday school to preach about the Resurrected Christ. God came to sow the Word, and we need pass this Word to our children, teach them how to live, foster their aspirations, and help them find faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ. However, finding a suitable location for the Sunday school always poses a significant challenge. The St. Panteleimon Church in Kirov has a two—storied administrative building housing the offices of the priest, superintendent, and accountant along with such facilities as the priests’ room, dining room, library, and children’s Sunday school that includes seven classrooms. This building also serves as a venue for the adult Sunday school classes, folk choir rehearsals, and youth gatherings. Naturally, this building is not enough for us, so the St. Panteleimon Church has been wanting to build another Sunday school building for many years. Such a project entails significant expenses, but discussions are underway, considering the available land owned by the parish for potential expansion. As for other churches, like the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God situated in the newly developed and densely populated Chistye Prudy microdistrict, there’s a pressing need for a dedicated administration building. Currently, their Sunday school sessions are conducted in cramped spaces unsuitable for children’s classes. While there is a high demand for Sunday school programs, the church struggles to fully accommodate it. Almost all parishes face similar problems. Hard Times —How do parishes help people in difficult situations? —During times of hardship, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, always calls for fundraising efforts. The churches of the Vyatka diocese have collected donations for the refugees from Donbass, the victims of floods in Khersonskaya and Zaporozhskaya provinces, large families, and victims of fires. The collected donations are then forwarded to the diocese, which channels the funds in a centralized manner to the designated accounts of the Social Services Department of the Moscow Patriarchate. —You’ve been working in the Church since 2011, that is you’ve worked there for more than nine years. When did you experience the most financially difficult period? What helped you overcome the difficulties? —The most challenging period we experienced was probably during the Coronavirus pandemic. The Dormition Cathedral was the first to experience the decline in parishioners and, consequently, donations. Starting from February 2020, there were insufficient funds to pay for heating, power and water, so the Dormition Cathedral published a plea for financial assistance on its website. I would like to thank everybody who donated, as their contributions enabled the cathedral to settle its debts with the utility companies. By May/June 2020, all outstanding debts for the winter season had been fully repaid. —Has the introduction of plastic cards simplified church accounting, or has it complicated the financial activities of the parish? Many people think that we still use abacuses in our churches, but that’s not the case —In terms of worshiping God, the Church has remained constant. For example, the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom has been performed for many centuries. The same worship texts have been used, and nothing has changed. In all other areas, such as maintenance, information management, legal matters, and accounting, the churches of the diocese are keeping pace with the times. Many people think that we still use abacuses in our churches, but that’s not the case. The Church pays taxes just like any other taxpayer. The church treasurers use 1C accounting software and e-document management systems. The churches entered into merchant acquiring contacts with banks and the use of plastic cards in the churches of the diocese has become commonplace. During the Covid pandemic, we had to install terminals in the church stores so that people could use their plastic cards to make donations. After using a bank terminal, parishioners receive donation receipts. This made church accounting more complicated, but the treasurers learned to handle the new tasks. —Do you need to provide reports to the donors detailing how their donations were used, or do they have complete trust in the parishes? —If someone makes a donation for a specific purpose, the funds must be used strictly as directed. Donors see the outcomes of the projects funded by their donations and don’t request formalized reports. The Vyatka diocese oversees the allocation of targeted funds. At the end of each fiscal year, parishes report their donation receipts and expenditures to the diocese. Thankfully, there have been no instances of mismanagement. A Beautiful Church in Chistye Prudy —You are also responsible for the accounting of the recently built Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God in Chistie Prudy microdistrict. Can you tell us what funds were used to decorate it? —The church construction began with the blessing of Metropolitan Mark of Vyatka and Sloboda. Kirovspetsmontazh construction company, headed by Alexey Semenovich Mironov, started the work in 2013 and completed the construction free of charge. Metropolitan Mark blessed the appointment of Vitaly Lapshin as the priest of the church and I assumed the role of the treasurer while it was still under construction. The parish of the Church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God was officially registered with the Ministry of Justice on October 31, 2014. Regular worship services were conducted throughout the construction phase, initially in a tent, then in a basement, and later in the antechurch, attracting a steady group of parishioners to the church. The donations started coming in, and we used the money to gradually acquire churchware. We knew that when the construction is finished, it won’t be easy to buy all the required church wares at once. That is why, while the construction was still ongoing, we purchased the 540-liter holy water tanks, baptismal font, shroud reliquary, Eucharistic sets, memorial candle rack, altar crosses, and liturgical vestments and books. The parish opened a current account in the bank, and donations were accumulated there for several years. When the building of the church was complete, these funds were used to install granite floors, paint the main dome of the church, and decorate the altar. A portion of the funds for this work was a personal donation from Metropolitan Mark. The construction of the church was finished in 2022, and preparations were underway for the dedication services. The altar, table of oblation, sanctuary lamp, altar Gospel, the Book of the Apostles, candleholders and other church utensils were purchased using the funds provided by the Vyatka diocese. The diocese also purchased the liturgical vestments of all colors, carpets and runners, wall—mounted oil lamps, and many other items. The painting of the western wall of the church and the wall pilasters is currently underway, financed by the parish funds. Additionally, contracts have been signed for mosaic work on the western wall at the entrance to the church, and an order has been placed for making the large church chandelier which will be covered by Kirovspetsmontazh construction company. Most importantly, daily prayer services are held in the church in Chistye Prudy, and new parishioners continue to join. The Tradition That Feeds Your Soul —You are attending the course organized in the Center for Training of Church Specialists by the Vyatka Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. What did you learn during the training? Who would benefit from attending such courses? We shouldn’t stop in our development. Instead, we should continue to know God as this journey is never—ending We shouldn’t stop in our development. Instead, we should continue to know God as this journey is never-ending. Naturally, we need to know about our saints. The courses organized for the lay people in the Vyatka Seminary are very interesting. The lectures are delivered by highly qualified teachers who are certified experts in their respective fields. The teaching team includes hieromonk Nikolai (Belev) M.Th,, dean of the Dormition Cathedral of the St. Tryphon Monastery and Natalia Viktorovna Krivosheina, D.A. Natalia knows everything there is to know about St. Tryphon! She has visited all the places where he labored and churches where he preached at. She knows all of this icons. N.V. Krivosheina defended her doctoral thesis on the decorations of the Dormition Cathedral in Kirov. Instructor N.V. Krivosheina with graduates of the course for lay people in the Center for Training of Church Specialists of the Vyatka Diocese Instructor N.V. Krivosheina with graduates of the course for lay people in the Center for Training of Church Specialists of the Vyatka Diocese Among other interesting instructors are Elena Vitalyevna Kustova, DHS (senior lecturer, renowned author of the History of the Dormition Cathedral of St. Tryphon Monastery in Vyatka), Olga Vladimirovna Krupina (head of the Science and Exhibitions Department of the Vasnetsovs Vyatka Arts Museum and Deputy Director, Science and Methodology), Vlada Anatolyevna Devonina, Cand. Phil. Sci. (head of Correspondence Department, the Center for Training of Church Specialists of the Vyatka Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church). During the lectures, students find solace for their souls. At the end of the day people may feel tired and reluctant to attend, but once they enter the classroom, they forget about their daily hustle and fatigue. I am providing this item because the very IDEA that people in Russian go to churches. But they do. As a matter of fact more than five million people attend church in Russia. Our time is unique in that the sermons of well-known missionaries are easily accessible. You can come home and listen to a sermon delivered in Optina Pustyn or on Valaam… However, nothing can replace the personal interaction people experience during the courses. Conversations with other students and the traditional interaction between teacher and students are essential, as they both educate and supports us. The teachers that deliver lectures are fountains of knowledge. On a pilgrimage to the sites associated with the life of St. Tryphon of Vyatka On a pilgrimage to the sites associated with the life of St. Tryphon of Vyatka —In September 2023, you joined the employees of the Holy Dormition Cathedral on a pilgrimage to the sites associated with St. Tryphon of Vyatka. Please tell us about this trip. Does your parish plan any similar trips?

—We decided to go on a pilgrimage after Elena Vitalyevna Kustova’s lecture on St. Tryphon of Vyatka. I met Nadezhda Feliksovna Shapoval, the head of “S Vyatki” pilgrimage service and asked her why there were no organized trips to the sites associated with St. Tryphon. She told me that they had struggled to find enough pilgrims to form a group. I proposed the idea of forming a group consisting of employees of our churches. Our staff members were delighted at the opportunity to participate in this journey. The pilgrimage to the sites associated with St. Tryphon of Vyatka was attended by forty—eight employees from the Dormition Cathedral, St. Panteleimon’s Church, and the Church of Nativity of the Holy Mother of God in Chistye Prudy. During this journey, we experienced profound spiritual fulfillment and gained a deeper understanding of the life and deeds of St. Tryphon. The pilgrimage was guided by Fr. Alexander Kossov and Fr. Alipiy (Storozhuk). Such pilgrimages should indeed become a tradition. We are currently planning to organize a similar trip in 2024. We need to know the saints from Vyatka and learn about the places associated with their lives and deeds. In Kirs, situated in the northwest of Kirovskaya Oblast, there is a Church of the Protecting Veil where special rites are performed to commemorate the new martyrs, as a Vyatlag (forced labor camp—Translator) was located in this area. The Church of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God has also established a Vyatlag museum. In accordance with the blessing of Kirill, the Most Holy Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, the feast commemorating the new martyrs and confessors of the Vyatka Metropolitanate is observed on a diocesan level. Many of these saints endured hardships at Vyatlag, so it is important for us to visit these sites and pay homage to their memory. St. Tryphon Monastery St. Tryphon Monastery

—What was the most memorable pilgrimage in your life? —My first pilgrimage. It was 2002. I went to Diveyevo with pilgrims from Izhevsk. Back then, Diveyevo, the monastery of St. Seraphim, lacked the grandeur it boasts today. Our accommodations were humble, consisting of large rooms furnished with bunk beds, and meals were served in an outdoor dining hall. In other words, the conditions were quite austere. However, the sacred atmosphere imbued with the grace of God had a profound impact on us. We felt as though we were in another world and didn’t want to leave this monastery. While modern—day pilgrims are often awed by the beauty and splendor of Diveyevo Monastery, in the 2000s, during its restoration, we were more captivated by unforgettable spiritual impressions. I met my first spiritual friends during that trip and we’ve been keeping in touch since then. —Do you have any time left for something that feeds your soul? How do you recharge and where do you find inspiration? Working in the church is what feeds my soul —I think that working in the church is what feeds my soul. Despite the weariness that may come from my daily routine, the constant stream of information, or the interactions with countless people, I never tire of working in the church. Work and prayer bring fulfilment to my life. Certainly, maintaining professional, spiritual and physical well—being is essential. That is why I make an effort to visit the women’s fitness club gym. For spiritual nourishment, I carve out time for reading; it’s always a refreshing activity. And, of course, the most precious to me is spending time with friends. Trips back home are always rejuvenating, providing an opportunity to reconnect with relatives and close friends. —With spring just around the corner, what can you say to inspire our readers? —I would like to emphasize that this is the golden age of the Church. Why? Because never have there been so much accessible information, such as patristic books and literature. We have the freedom to read whatever we desire, which is especially precious after the constraints of the Soviet era. The churches are now open, and we are free to attend worship services, and engage in reading, study, and reflection. A candle lights up brightly just before it goes out. So who knows how long this time will last? That is why we need to appreciate this and find time to serve God and feed our souls. We must be aware of the passage of time, and I pray that everyone has the opportunity to offer their sacrifices to God, both through their work and their prayers.

Lada Bayeva spoke with Elena Blinova Translation by Talyb Samedov Pravoslavie.ru 4/19/2024

SATAN IS REAL - READ THIS

Reading these and other similar testimonies, many are perplexed. How, they think, can we reconcile more acute senses of the soul with the impossibility for it to repent? The fact is that repentance is more than a mere feeling. Remorse is possible after death, as Blessed Theophylact writes in the above commentary—but it will be fruitless for those who did not repent in their lifetimes. The Venerable Ephraim the Syrian says the same: “There are tears of repentance, when the soul desires eternal good things, and they are very sweet and beneficial. And there are tears of remorse, where (according to the Savior’s word) there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt.8:12), and these tears are bitter and useless, because they are altogether fruitless.”1 The fact is that repentance is not only the awareness of your sins, but also the desire and opportunity to change, to be cleansed from them, to be spiritually transformed. Transformation is possible only by the movement of the human will and the work of grace, and “the time and place for the action of grace is here alone”, as the Holy Fathers wrote. St. John of Kronstadt said: “A terrible truth. Impenitent sinners after their death lose every possibility of changing for good, and therefore remain unalterably given up to everlasting torments (for sin cannot but torment). <…> Who does not know how difficult it is, without God’s special grace, for a sinner to turn from the way of sin that is so dear to him into the path of virtue?... But for the grace of God, what sinner would have returned to God? For it is the nature of sin to darken our souls, to bind us hand and foot. But the time and place for the action of grace is here alone: after death there remain only the prayers of the Church, and these prayers can be efficacious for penitent sinners alone—that is, only for those who have developed in their souls the capability of receiving God’s mercy or of benefiting by the prayers of the Church—that is, the light of the good works which they have taken with them out of this life.”2 Blessed Theophylact of Ochrid wrote: “The sinner is in darkness even in this life, as he has fallen away from the Sun of Righteousness. But as there is still hope of conversion, this is not yet the ‘outer’ darkness. But when he has died and an examination has been made of the things he has done, then the outer darkness in its turn receives him. For there is no longer any hope of conversion, but he undergoes a complete deprivation of the good things of God. While he is here in this life he enjoys to some degree the good things of God, I mean, the tangible things of creation, and he believes that he is in some manner a servant of God, living out his life in God’s house, which is this creation, being fed by Him and provided with the necessities of life. But then he will be altogether cut off from God, having no share at all in the good things of God. This is that darkness which is called ‘outer’ by comparison to the darkness here, which is not ‘outer’, because the sinner is not yet completely cut off from this time onward.”3 Reflecting on the same subject, St. Theophan the Recluse, wrote: “Now or tomorrow death will come, and it will end all that is ours, and will in itself be imprinted on our destinies forever, for there is no repentance after death. We will stand before the Judgment seat in that state death finds us.”4 “The law of life is such that as soon as someone plants the seed of repentance here, even at his last gasp, he will not perish. This seed will grow and bear fruit—eternal salvation. And if someone does not plant the seed of repentance here and passes over with the spirit of unrepentant persistence in sins, then he will remain there forever with the same spirit and reap forever the fruit of it according to its kind—God’s eternal rejection.”5 As we can see from these words, a salvific change after death is possible only for those who, according to St. John of Kronstadt, “have developed in their souls the capability of receiving God’s mercy—the light of the good works which they have taken with them out of this life.” All Orthodox Christians who died in repentance have hope of salvation from hell, even if they did not have time to bring the fruits of repentance sufficient for cleansing their souls and therefore did not attain Paradise: the prayers of the living can help them. Their painful state can be changed. Their “seed of repentance”, albeit small, can bring the fruit of eternal life through the prayers of the Church. The Epistle of the Patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Church on the Orthodox Faith (1723) reads: “The souls of people who fell into mortal sins and did not despair at death, but once again before being separated from the real life of those who repented, only who did not manage to bear any fruits of repentance (which are: prayers, tears, contrition, consolation of the poor and expression in actions of love for God and neighbors that the entire Catholic Church from the very beginning recognizes God-pleasing and useful), the souls of such people descend into hell and suffer punishment for the sins they have committed, without depriving, however, of relief from them. They receive relief by infinite goodness through the prayers of the Priests and the beneficence performed for the dead; and especially by the power of the bloodless Sacrifice, which, in particular, the clergyman brings for each Christian about his relatives, in general, for all, the Catholic and Apostolic Church brings daily.”6 That is, it is not that the love of God turns away from the sinner after death, but the soul itself changes after death, and if there is no “light of the good works” or “seed of repentance” in it, it will not be able to receive God’s help and be transformed by repentance. The Holy Fathers unanimously write about this. I will give just a few examples. St. Anthony the Great: “What do crying and sobbing mean, if not the boundlessness of cruel and terrible torments? and what is depicted by gnashing of teeth, if not the greatest regret for the sins committed? Then—and this will surely happen—we will begin to resent ourselves, to repent with gnashing teeth, when repentance will not take place, when there will be no benefit from it, when the time given for repentance will have passed.”7 St. Gregory of Nyssa: “After death no one will have a chance to heal the disease inflicted by sin by the memory of God, because confession has power on earth, but it does not exist in hell.”8 St. John Damascene states in his book, An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith: “You must know that the fall for the angels is the same as death for people. For after they fall they have no repentance, just as humans have no repentance after death.” Why does this happen? The fact is that the personality cannot change after death. Entering eternity beyond the grave, the soul begins to live according to the law of eternity. St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) teaches that after death a person begins a different way of existence, passing from a temporary life into eternity, immutability: “Death is a great sacrament. It is the birth of a person from this earthly, temporal life into eternity.”9 The things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Cor. 4:18), the Holy Scriptures say about what awaits everybody after this temporary life. The attribute of eternity is the qualitative immutability of phenomena. The qualitative state of the soul acquired during life on earth cannot change after passing into eternity. Therefore, after the death of the body the soul can only change within the limits of the quality that it acquired in earthly life: either to grow in virtue or degrade in sin. He who in his lifetime acquired a penitent spirit and striving for goodness will be perfected in goodness by the grace of God; and he who had no repentance in his soul, but wholeheartedly served his passions, will fall more and more into the abyss of evil. Archbishop Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) speaks about this in a brief yet very profound phrase: “The life of the brain and the heart and the combined, miraculously coordinated life of all the bodily organs are required only for the formation of the spirit and cease when its formation is completed or its direction has been fully determined10.” The Australian surgeon Pyotr Kalinowsky explained the deep meanings of these words of St. Luke: “These words of Archbishop Luke speak about the most important thing—what gives a person life on earth. Archbishop Luke, having spoken about the purpose of our life on earth, proceeds, saying that after the death of the body in the immortal human soul eternal life and endless development in the direction of good or evil continue. “The most terrible thing about these words of the archbishop is that at the moment of death of the body all further development of the soul in the direction of good or evil has already been determined. In the afterlife, two paths lay before the soul—towards the light or away from it, and after the death of the body the soul can no longer choose its path. The path was determined by human life on earth. <…> However, the sinner’s dark soul, which remains dark even after the death of the body, can no longer change. “This is what the Lord Jesus Christ Himself says: My Father is the Husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit (Jn. 15:1-2). “For a person who realizes that his life on earth is only a part of his life and that in the afterlife he will continue the development begun here, his entire temporary existence acquires a special meaning.”11 St. John Damascene writes about this attribute of eternity: “Further, everlasting life and everlasting punishment prove that the age to come is unending. For time will not be counted by days and nights even after the resurrection, but there will rather be one day with no evening, wherein the Sun of Justice will shine brightly on the just, but for the sinful there will be night, profound and limitless. In what way then will the period of one thousand years be counted which, according to Origen, is required for the complete restoration?”12 St. Theophan the Recluse explains the immutability of the personality in eternity as well: “You forget that there will be eternity, not time; therefore, everything there will be eternal, not temporary. You count the torments for hundreds, thousands and millions of years, whereas there the first minute will begin, and there will be no end to it, because there will be a never-ending minute. The counting will not go any further, but it will be in the first minute, and it will remain like that.”13 Monk Mitrofan explains this phenomenon based on the Word of God: “Today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise (Lk. 23:43), Jesus Christ said to the penitent thief. It means that every soul upon separation from its body will be either in Heaven or in hell. When? Today, the Lord Jesus Christ said. “How do we understand the word ‘today’? How can it be reconciled with the teaching of the Church about the third, the ninth and the fortieth days? There are days, nights and years on earth, but eternity is either light or dark. Thus, the word ‘today’ means time after death—eternity. The third, the ninth and the fortieth days are on earth, but there are no days in the afterlife. There is only ‘today’ and there is no other day. “The sacrament of death is the door through which the soul, having separated from its body, enters eternity.”14 St. Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky) writes about this as well: “The eternal bliss of the righteous and the eternal punishment of the sinners must be understood in such a way that the immortal spirit of the former, enlightened and powerfully strengthened after liberation from the body, receives the opportunity for unlimited development in the direction of goodness and Divine love, in permanent communion with God and all the bodiless powers. And the dark spirit of evildoers and those who fight against God in permanent communication with the devil and his angels will be tormented forever by being alienated from God, Whose holiness they will finally know, and by the unbearable poison that evil and hatred are fraught with, infinitely increasing in incessant communication with the center and source of evil—satan.