The Catalog of Good Deeds

An Interview with Archpriest Alexey Ohotin

During his formative years, mitred Archpriest Aleksei Ohotin (Dean of the first deanery of the Eastern American Diocese, rector of the Annunciation Church in Flushing, and spiritual father for the National Organization of Russian Scouts) set his sights on the examples of self-abnegation presented by Archbishops Vitaly (Maximenko) and Nikon (Rklitsky). Serving the flock of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, Fr. Alexei shared their daily hardships; he worked as a draftsman, a chauffeur and in many other capacities in order to feed his family. On January 18, 2013 Fr. Alexei stepped from his labors into the eternal life. May his memory be eternal!

When did you first arrive in Jordanville?

I first went to the St Vladimir’s “Gorka” celebration. This was in 1951, when I was 18 years old, and from there I went to Jordanville with Fr Kiprian and Fr Averky, and in general I had the desire to follow the spiritual life. I really liked Jordanville, but we had a disagreement at home: There were two jurisdictions then, ours and the American Metropolia. My elder sister’s husband was a teacher in St Tikhon’s Seminary in Pennsylvania, and he was an eminent figure there (Vladislav Maevsky). He said to me “Alyosha, come here to St Tikhon’s.” Jordanville was in the north, he said, it was cold and stormy. There was one monk there (later Archbishop Alypy), who had a bad cough and they decided that he had tuberculosis. They said “You will get sick, too, and they have no food.” But that’s where I wanted to go, and that was that.

Why did you feel that way?

I don’t know, I just did. So I went with Fr Kiprian and Fr Averky for a couple of days, arriving for Saturday evening service. I saw a young monk there, already wearing a monastic mantle. I bowed to him and saw two others walk in, also wearing mantles, and also young. Some forty people eventually gathered, and the service was very solemn.

When was this?

This was in the summer, after July 28. I was still in high school then. Later, visiting St Tikhon’s, I saw a monk walk out of the kitchen and light a cigarette. And they said “Today we’re having meat kotleti.” The church didn’t have many people at service. It just wasn’t my cup of tea. I went home and said that I am going to Jordanville, no matter what!

I moved there in 1953, in time for the feast of the Protection of the Mother of God, when the seminary school year began. That year a Council of Bishops convened. All the bishops gathered there to see how the establishment of the monastery was progressing. Fr Panteleimon was already working there in the fifties, and Fr Joseph was the choir director. After the war ended, the monks from Pochaev Monastery moved to Jordanville. Fr Panteleimon was very lucky to get the new workers.

When did you arrive from Europe?

In 1949, on the feast day of the Protection, we left Bremen. Ships were already carrying refugees. We left on October 14 and arrived on October 25. Thank God, we made it safely, because there was a hurricane then. We arrived in Connecticut. There were eight of us: my father and other, two sisters and three little nieces. We lived there until 1950, then we moved to Sea Cliff and settled there.

Were you the youngest?

Yes, I was the youngest. When I finished high school, I went to Jordanville during that Council meeting, where I met the bishops. I had remembered Vladyka Anastassy from my time in Yugoslavia.

What memories do you have of Vladyka Averky and Vladyka Anastassy?

I had seen Vladyka Anastassy in Yugoslavia, then in America, at the Synod. He was very weak, fragile, thin, but his mind worked brilliantly.

Did you have the same impression when he served in church?

Yes. His subdeacons would hold him up. He would tell them to get away, but they held onto him.

This was in the 1950’s?

He had already arrived in the late 1940’s and always lived at the Synod. Later, when I graduated from Seminary, in 1958, I went home and began to work as a draftsman. I met my wife during the wedding of my classmate, Fr Boris Kizenko. In 1960 I was ordained to the diaconate. That is, after I got married in June, I was ordained, and served under Fr Mitrofan (Znosko-Borovsky) in Sea Cliff. Our wedding was on July 31st. A week later, Metropolitan Anastassy summoned me and said “Okay, you’ve had your fun, now you will be ordained” [to the priesthood].

I said: “It’s only been a week that I am married.” He replied: “But how much time do you need?”

At the end of September, Protopriest George Grabbe telephoned me and said that Vladyka Metropolitan asked to tell me that the following Sunday I would be ordained to the priesthood and assigned as rector of St Nicholas Church in Poughkeepsie. So I came, and Vladyka Metropolitan himself ordained me.

Did he treat you like his protégé?

He would visit and ask how parish life was, what the conditions were, about my relationship with the parishioners. He asked how I served, and said that the Lord would bless me, not to worry. He was very busy and could not devote much time to me, but he immediately made me rector, while new priests are usually assigned as second or third priests for the first few years.

Did the priestly duties come quickly for you?

Yes, pretty quickly, although I had a difficult life, because even in Poughkeepsie I had to work. One person got me a job at IBM, but he was also the reason I asked to be released from the parish. The problem was that he was a Freemason, and tried to persuade me to join, that I had to be a member, otherwise I would lose my house, my job, etc. That very evening I called Vladyka Nikon, who was our Vicar. He said that a position at a parish in Jackson Heights, NY, was opening, and I would be transferred there. This was a parish of intellectuals: a commander of the personal convoy of His Imperial Majesty, he was a member of the closest security detail of the Tsar. There were counts, princes, generals. This was closer to my heart, and I felt at home there, where I was to spend nine years. By the time I left, there were only six people left.

What was the name of the Jackson Heights parish?

It was dedicated to St Alexander Nevsky.

Who among the bishops made the greatest impression upon you?

Vladyka Vitaly (Maximenko) was the most impressive, he was a monk, as they say, “to the marrow of his bones.” When I arrived in Jordanville in 1953, the cabbage was ripe for harvest, and Vladyka Vitaly himself was in the fields collecting it. I asked “Aren’t you a bishop?” He said that a monk must do manual labor. He was strict—very strict. He canceled one semester so that the students could finish building the new gateway. And so once I came upon Vladyka Vitaly and he said “Remember, Alyosha, that you enrolled in seminary. As long as you are in the monastery, you are a monk.” And he gave me a cassock, a belt, a skufia and prayer beads. He explained nothing, just blessed me to wear them. He said “when you finish seminary, you will make a choice to either stay with us or go into the world. But until that time, you are a monk, and there is nothing more important than obedience.” He gave me a few examples, and this stuck in my mind. Anyway, a few years later I became a cook.

How often did you work in the kitchen?

Every day except Saturday and Sunday, but before that I worked in the cow barn. I did my studies, then went to work on my obedience. When I was a cook, and Vladyka Vitaly was already sick and bedridden in his cell, I would bring him food, but he refused, saying he would go down to the refectory. All he had in his cell was a pitcher of water, a glass and his pills. He had a summer cassock and a winter cassock, and that was all, plus the icons in the corner. There was no television, no couch, no armchair, really nothing at all. He spent his life there. He was very severe with himself. He would inspect the other cells and make sure the monks were at work. If he found a monk lying in bed, he would poke him with his staff and say “Get up, monk, go to work.” I have to say—I loved him, but I feared him. Everyone did. But soon thereafter he got sick, moved to the Bronx, where he died. Vladyka Averky succeeded him. Even back in 1953, he had been ordained a bishop and he became Vladyka Vitaly’s assistant.

Then he was named Bishop of Holy Trinity Monastery and Syracuse. He was very intelligent. He was a social monk, very urbane. He taught me homiletics, and never spoke in the informal, but always addressed me as “Brother Alexei” and would say “You must remember that the ideal sermon should be no less than five and no more than seven minutes,” while his sermons were always a half-hour long, if not longer! He gave very good sermons, on the instructions of the Apostles, the Gospels. He spoke well and also wrote well. He would visit me at St Nicholas Church on our feast day. I worked in the Synod in 1962-63, excerpting newspaper articles, and received a small salary. I also worked as a chauffeur for Vladyka Anastassy. When I was called to take him somewhere, I would drive him in a giant Cadillac. I did that until he became too sick to conduct divine services. The young Vladyka Philaret was chosen to replace him.

Which teachers do you remember?

I remember them all. Vladyka Averky, who taught the New Testament and homiletics. Ivan Mikhailovich Andreev taught psychology. The history of the Russian Church was taught by Nikolai Talberg. Patrology, patristics and pastoral theology was taught by Archimandrite Konstantin (Zaitsev). It was difficult to understand him, but he was the spiritual father of many of the seminarians. He was also the editor of Orthodox Rus. Later, Fr Alexander Kalesnikov joined us, who had recently immigrated, and taught church law. He had a very strict system. Either you know something or you don’t. I also studied singing under Fr Joseph. That was my favorite pastime. My favorite subject was dogmatic theology. Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky taught that, plus Greek. He would say “Alyosha, Greek must be studied for eight years to know it well.” He was a very interesting teacher.

What about Ivan Mikhailovich?

Oh, he was very nice, and oh, how interesting he was! He would tell jokes, he would give all sorts of psychological examples. He would talk about all sorts of illnesses; the definitions of words like “idiot” and “degenerate.” That was interesting. He also taught literature.

And Nikolai Dmitrievich Talberg?

He was a good teacher, very interesting to listen to and then ponder his words.

Who was most loved by the students?

Nikolai Dmitrievich and Ivan Mikhailovich, but Nikolai Dmitrievich most of all.

When I enrolled, there were only three of us, Vanya Levinsky, a Serb and me. The Serb fled after a week. Vanya was taken away by his parents. I was the only one who stayed, so I can’t speak for the others.

Many left Fr Konstantin because he was very severe. My spiritual father was Fr Kiprian. He was a spiritual and straightforward man. He had a very narrow cell. He was a kind, amusing person, very hot-headed, but he could also ask forgiveness.

Whom do you remember among the bishops and priests? Are there any stories you can tell?

I remember many of them; Fr Michael Pomazansky… When I once went to Jordanville many years after graduating seminary, my cross chain broke, so I went to Fr Kiprian and said “My chain broke, Fr Kiprian, can I borrow one from you?” He said “Let’s go look for one.” He got Fr Michael’s old cross, and I asked if I could keep it. He had been one of my favorite teachers.

I didn’t maintain too many contacts, because I was a working priest. I worked five days a week, and Saturday and Sunday I served all-night vigil and Liturgy, then back to work the next day.

Two or three times I went to a clergy conference for a day, that was all I could afford to do. I couldn’t get time off work. Other priests had different lives; their matushkas would work while they tended to church life. But I felt sorry for my wife—I know from working how you have to endure pranks and difficult interrelationships and quarrels in the workplace, and I didn’t want to subject her to that. Vladyka gave me a blessing to have a job, and so unfortunately I didn’t have much time to socialize with other clergymen.

How can a priest manage with a civil job?

You use oikonomia. I was once a cab driver. Once I smelled something like burning hay, and when I dropped off the fare, I realized what they were smoking. Once I had to drive a drunk man, because cab drivers don’t have the right to refuse a fare for any reason, so I let him in the cab. Once a fare sat down in the front, next to me, not in the back. I began to pray, sensing that something was not right. He suddenly said “Stop!” He threw money at me and ran away; it seemed that he saw some cops. I had been praying to St Nicholas while driving, and I think he saved me.

I was a cab driver, but I also installed fire safety systems, I helped build the Lunar Explorer Module, for which I got an award. I had to adapt to working during holidays. I would serve all-night vigil, at least, if I couldn’t get the day off; that would happen sometimes. I had no other choice.

Do you remember Fr George Grabbe?

He was well-bred, very reserved. He was the product of a bygone age. One could say something rude to him, and he would react very calmly. He never once raised his voice. But try to cross him…

What do remember of Vladyka Nikon?

He looked like Santa Claus. A white beard, rosy cheeks, and he loved children. He was a nice, mild-mannered man. He published the Vestnik. I don’t remember him as a priest. He was restrained and peaceable; in fact, most of the bishops were like that.

I remember Vladyka Anthony of San Francisco. My brother-in-law attended the Cadet Corps with him. After my brother-in-law was killed by the [communist] Partisans in Yugoslavia, Vladyka Anthony visited his grave.

I remember Vladyka John of Shanghai. When Vladyka Anastassy ordained me, he said “Fr Alexey, come to my diocese in France.” He was a nice, charming man. He would walk barefoot or in sandals. His hair was always disheveled. He did not have the appearance of a bishop at all.

I was working at the Synod at the time they were electing a new metropolitan. Vladyka Savva had just two weeks earlier asked me to draft the ukase to consecrate Fr Philaret to the episcopacy.

I remember another spiritual father, Fr Adrian, later Archbishop Andrei Rimarenko.

They were all educated, well-bred, and they were all angels of the Church, princes of the Church. They cared for their Church, they helped priests. They would administer Communion, gave counsel when needed. This was their duty…

Source: http://www.rocorstudies.org/2013/10/14/fr-alexey-ohotin-i-am-going-to-jordanville/

CONVERSATION

Begin Everything with Prayer

Since we are reminded in Scripture to begin whatever we do with prayer, it has been the practice of Orthodox Christians for centuries to have new dwellings blessed either before or just after settling in. This has been extended to one's business or office, and even college dorm rooms. "The service performed by the priest to bless the new dwelling is somewhat similar to the consecration of a church [in the Russian practice] in that holy water, holy oil, and incense are used and a lesson from the holy Gospel is read. All the rooms of the house are sprinkled with holy water and each of the four outer walls are anointed with the sign of the Cross with holy oil, a candle placed before them, and after the censing of the house, the lesson from the Holy Gospel is read [in Greek practice the service of the Small Blessing of Waters is generally done]. At the conclusion of the blessing, the inhabitants are blessed with holy water: the husband first, followed by the wife and then the children - the oldest first. Relatives and friends present are then blessed." (Marriage and the Christian Home, by Rev. Michael B. Henning, p.24.)

Back to "The Fall"

From Scripture we know that whatever God created was good, but with "the Fall", evil entered the world, corrupting the creation. God the Father sent His Son Jesus to save it by effecting a "new creation". This is celebrated at Theophany, specifically with the Great Blessing of Water. "The consecration of the waters on this feast places the entire world - through its 'prime element' of water - in the perspective of the cosmic creation, sanctification, and glorification of the Kingdom of God in Christ and the Spirit." (The Orthodox Faith, Vol. II, Worship, by Fr. Thomas Hopko, p.127.) All the readings, hymns, prayers, and actions of the day speak of God's presence in our entire world and universe, His creation.

Through water all of the creation is once again sanctified by God, becoming good again, the way God had intended.

The Feast Of Theophany

The Feast of Theophany (or Epiphany) commemorates the Baptism of our Lord in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. We know from the troparion of the day that "the Trinity was made manifest" to us. But there's more to it than this. "When Jesus descends into the depths of the river, there occurs a profound upheaval. It is not the one baptized who is purified, for he is spotless; but it is the water that is transfigured and illumined. This water, which was believed to be transparent and purifying, is in fact polluted, inhabited by evil spirits, servants of the old gods. … By purifying the elements, by sanctifying matter, Jesus frees the cosmos from the powers of evil." (The Incarnate God, Vol. I, Catherine Aslanoff, French edition editor, translated by Paul Meyendorff, p.163.)

The Great Blessing of Water and the Home

The Great Blessing of Water takes place at the end of that day's Liturgy. Since our homes cannot be brought to the Church, the Church - through the priest and cantor - go to the homes. There the service of blessing, which began in the church, is finished with the sprinkling of water in the home. Traditionally, in most Orthodox parishes, the priest personally visits all his parishioners each year to pray with them in the place where they live, and to bless their surroundings with the newly sanctified water of Theophany (January 6/13). By sanctifying our living quarters, our private place, we extend the grace of God to our individual dwellings. (In very large parishes a yearly visit may not be possible. In areas of the country where the winter is harsh, I know of at least one parish where houses are blessed at the beginning of the ecclesiastical year in September.)

We also bring the blessed water to our homes to use throughout the year to bless our homes and to drink whether we are ill or as part of our daily prayer life. "There are many occasions in family life when a sip of holy water can help to remind us of the blessing that was given 'to bestow sanctification', 'unto healing of soul and body', 'to be a fountain welling forth unto life eternal', as the priest prayed in the litany of Epiphany day." (Little Falcons: Water, Vol. 5, No. 2, 1998, p.33.)

Weaving Christ into Our Lives

The blessing of homes by these holy waters maintains the spiritual association between the 'family church' and the parish, as well as again providing for the sharing of God's spiritual gifts. … This annual blessing is not as elaborate as the blessing of the new dwelling, but because of this it should not be overlooked, for it is in this way that the grace of God is extended to individual dwellings." (Marriage and the Christian Home, p.25.)

If the priest comes to bless the home when the children are present, they have the opportunity to see the parish priest in a different and personal situation. If the priest permits, they can lead the way through the house, or hold a candle. They can show him their rooms or pets or favorite toys. They receive a blessing with water. For children, the house blessing shows the connection of the Church to the home.

In Summary

What does it mean to ask God to bless something? All things in the world have been spoiled right along with us. God must bless His world again in order for it to be the way that He wants it to be. For this reason God sent His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit to the world: to bless everyone and everything that He made, to make all things good again. When the priest comes to bless our homes, he asks God to have mercy on the house, to rid it of every evil and to fill it with every blessing. What a wonderful way to begin the New Year!

By Phyllis Meshel Onest, M.Div.

Source: http://www.theologic.com/oflweb/inhome/homebl.htm

CONVERSATION

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Brothers and sisters, the Scripture is full of questions, commands, warnings, promises, and consequences for actions. All of these, every single one of them, applies to us. You must read the Scripture and answer the questions and listen to the commands and heed the warnings and realize they are for you.

Now, this reading today for the cycle, for the third Sunday after Pentecost, about the body and the eye and the light of the body being the eye, has two important questions in it.

Here is one: the Lord says: Is not life more than meat and the body more than raiment?” That question is a very important one to answer, and it’s one that actually is answered hundreds of times every day by every person, whether they are Christian or not, whether or not they believe in God.

And with it is the question that follows: “And why do you take thought for your clothing?” And then the Lord goes on to tell about the lilies of the field and some commands about how we should act and what we should do.

None of this makes any sense to anyone unless we answer this first question well. This question can be also stated: What is life all about? Most people get this question wrong, because the way to Hell is broad. The people that answer this question wrong think of life in terms of what is happening in front of them, what they will be doing or what they have done or what they are planning. They think in terms of being a good father or mother or having wealth or having insurance for their old age or whatever - worldly concerns. We’re not talking now about bad people, just earthly, worldly people. They are everywhere; the Lord speaks of them all the time. Remember the parable about the tares? That’s about worldly people. Remember the parable about the sower and the seed? It talks about worldly people also.

You must answer this question the right way if you are to be able to follow the Lord’s admonitions about not being worried for tomorrow and seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness. We can’t do it unless we truly believe that life is to know God and know Him intimately, and that is the only important answer to every question.

So, when the Lord says, is life more than food and the body more than clothing; of course this should be self-evident to us; life is ordered in order to know God. So everything you do should be to know God. And the way you think determines who you are. This is what the Lord is speaking of when He says, the light of the body is the eye; because the eye sees and desires. What you desire is who you are, no matter how much Scripture you know or anything else that you accomplish in life. What you see and desire is what you are, and it affects your soul. This is very critically important for us to understand. The eye determines where the soul goes. So your eye must desire to see God.

Now, the Lord gives many admonitions after He asks us these questions. Some of these are very hard. Maybe this particular day they’re not so tough, but tomorrow there will be something that’s really hard in your life, and it will be very hard to think only of God and to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, because you have got so much else going around you. You have got worries about this and concerns about that, and distractions, and everyone’s pulling you in different directions. All this stuff is going on, so it’s very, very hard.

So how is it that we can have such a mind that we would seek first His kingdom and His righteousness? Well, the answer to this question comes in two parts. The incorrect answer comes in a million different ways. But the correct answer is, first of all: All that matters is God. Life is to know God. But then the important second answer is: I must do everything I can to learn this and to become this and to be this. It doesn’t come necessarily easily to us, because we forget. This is why the Lord repeats over and over basically the same thing. He talks about the lilies of the field, and He talks about the grass. He’s saying the same thing. And He says, take no thought about what we should eat or drink or how shall we be clothed. It’s all the same thing. He’s saying: Don’t take thought for worldly things. Think of spiritual things. Why does He say it over and over? Because we forget over and over.

So we must cultivate in ourselves this thought that life is for God and life is to know God. It’s not enough to know this to be able to answer the question correctly. It is not enough even to believe it very deeply in your heart. You must cultivate this understanding over and over and over again, by how you live, by what you do.

This is why I as a pastor am grieved when I see that some of you don’t come to church often, don’t commune and confess often. I don’t just want to see a bunch of people in church. I want you to cultivate in your heart the love of God. And there are a lot of things competing against this love of God, not the least of which is your own flesh which turns towards evil quite easily.

So you must cultivate in yourself this love. You must force yourself, not only to say your formal prayers and to fast when you don’t want to fast and to come to church, but also to have in your life that the purpose of your life is God, is to know Him. And so whatever it is that you can do that you know Him better, that is a good thing. And anything that doesn’t help you know Him better, is a worthless thing and an evil thing.

And that’s why I as a pastor, like probably every pastor there is, asks his flock to come to church more frequently, to confess, to commune, to read the Scriptures, to fast - not because these things are on your checklist of things that you have to do, but because the purpose of your life is to know God.

How can you know God unless you strive to be like Him? Unless you pray to Him? Unless you order your life according to His commandments? It doesn’t happen. How can you know God unless you recognize that in your life, today, you will answer this question: Is not life more than meat? And the body more than raiment? A thousand times. And everything you do is a decision. Everything you do is a value judgment. There are no neutral things. There’s nothing that does not matter. Everything matters. The way you think, the way you talk, the way you are with people, your values, your judgments, your priorities, how you spend your time, what you read. Everything matters. And everything must be for the purpose of knowing God. This is what this Scripture is telling us today.

The Lord uses this imagery of the eye. He’s not talking about our human eyes. He is talking about our soul, and He is talking about our desire. The Lord gave us intense desire. We have this capacity in us to desire, that can be used for good or it can be used for evil. It’s easy to use it for evil. It is difficult to use it for good until you have become so accustomed to tasting the good and avoiding the evil, that it could not occur to you to do anything else. That’s what the apostle talks about in his letter that when we become such that we love God so much that we do not sin.

Brothers and sisters, answer this question all the time. Hear this question; look for this question in your heart. It’s happening all the time whether you know it or not, and you should know it. And then answer this second question: Why do you take thought for raiment, for food or troubles or the test that’s coming up or your job or whatever? Why do you take thought for these things instead of Godly things? The answer is simple: Because of lack of faith, because of weakness in your soul.

So do what you can to make yourself strong. Pray and fast and have in your mind’s eye what is important in life. There’s only one thing. There’s only one answer to every question, and that is to know Jesus Christ and God the Father. It’s the only answer. It’s all that matters.

May God help you to feel this question deeply in your heart every moment of the day and to answer it always: Lord, Here I am. May God help you. Amen.

Source: http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/pentecost-sunday-03_2010-06-13+answer-all-the-questions.html