St. Patrick - an Orthodox Saint?
This may
come as a surprise to many that St. Patrick was and is an Orthodox Saint
centuries before Rome split from the Holy Apostolic Church.
The rule
of thumb for Orthodox Christians is that a Latin Christian who lived after the
Great Schism of 1054, while they may have lived exemplary lives, are not saints
in the full sense of the Church’s understanding. But because he lived from c. 385 to 17 March
460/461 Patrick is considered part of the undivided Church and therefore is an
Orthodox saint.
St. Patrick’s Life
The name
“Patrick” is derived from the Latin “Patricius” which means “highborn.” He was born in the village of Bannavem
Taburniae. Its location is uncertain;
some scholars place it on the west coast of England, while others place it in
Scotland. His father was Calpurnius, a
Roman Decurion (an official responsible for collecting taxes) and a deacon in
the church. His grandfather, Potitus,
was a priest.
This
means that Patrick had a solid Christian upbringing and was well acquainted
with the refinements of Roman civilization.
But he lived on the edge of civilization at a time when the Roman Empire
was under siege by barbarians. When
Patrick was sixteen he was kidnapped by pirates, taken to Ireland, and there
sold as a slave. He was put to work as a
herder of swine on a mountain in County Antrim.
Looking
back on his youth, he recounts:
I was at that time about sixteen years of
age. I did not, indeed, know the true God; and I was taken into captivity in
Ireland with many thousands of people, according to our deserts, for quite
drawn away from God, we did not keep his precepts, nor were we obedient to our
priests who used to remind us of our salvation.
(Confessio §1)
Although
Patrick had a Christian upbringing, he took his faith for granted. This complacency would be shaken by the
calamity of being taken into exile. For
the next six years he spent much of his time in solitude and prayer which would
prepare him for life as a monastic. During this time Patrick also learned the
local language which would prepare him for his future work as a missionary
bishop.
But after I reached Ireland I used to pasture
the flock each day and I used to pray many times a day. More and more did the
love of God, and my fear of him and faith increase, and my spirit was moved so
that in a day [I said] from one up to a hundred prayers, and in the night a like
number. . . . (Confessio §16)
His
escape from slavery resulted from two visions.
In the first vision it was revealed that he would return home. The second vision told him his ship was
ready. He then walked two hundred miles
to the coast, succeeded in boarding a ship, and reunited with his parents.
Sometime
later Patrick studied for the priesthood under St. Germanus in Gaul
(France). Eventually, he was consecrated
as a bishop and entrusted with the mission to Ireland. Patrick had a dream in which he heard the
Irish people begging him to come back to them.
There were other missionaries in Ireland but it was St. Patrick who had
the greatest success. For this reason,
he is known as “The Enlightener of Ireland.”
Evangelizing
the Irish people was not an easy task.
The Irish populace regarded him with hostility and disdain. He was a foreigner and, worst yet, a former
slave. Despite the opposition, Patrick
persevered in his missionary calling and baptized many into Christ. This resulted in churches and monasteries all
across Ireland.
In his
autobiography Patrick described his motivation for doing missionary work:
I am greatly God’s debtor, because he granted
me so much grace, that through me many people would be reborn in God, and soon
after confirmed, and that clergy would be ordained everywhere for them, the
masses lately come to belief, whom the Lord drew from the ends of the earth,
just as he once promised through his prophets: ‘To you shall the nations come
from the ends of the earth. . . . (Confessio §38)
St.
Patrick’s missionary labors would result in a blessing, not just to the Irish,
but to humankind as well. How the Irish
Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill tells how Ireland became an isle of saints
and scholars, preserving Western civilization while the Continent was being
overrun by barbarians.
American
culture has been richly blessed by the presence of the Irish. In the US, March 17th has become something
close to a national holiday. While in
many instances St. Patrick’s day has become more of an excuse for partying, it
can also be made into an occasion for renewing our faith in Christ.
St. Patrick’s Faith
We learn
of his faith through the well known Breastplate of St. Patrick. It is also known as the Lorica (Latin for
‘breastplate.’). In the monastic
tradition a lorica is a prayer/incantation for spiritual protection.
Below are
some excerpts of the rather lengthy but powerful and inspiring prayer. There is a strong masculine and militant tone
in Patrick’s prayer that contrasts with the softer, more feminine quality of
later Christian spirituality.
I arise today
through a mighty strength,
the invocation of the Trinity,
through belief in the Threeness,
through confession of the Oneness of the
Creator of creation.
***
I arise today
through the strength of Christ with His
Baptism,
through the strength of His Crucifixion with
His Burial,
through the strength of His Resurrection with
His Ascension,
through the strength of His descent for the
Judgment of Doom.
Patrick’s
commitment to Orthodoxy can be seen in the third stanza which refers to the
fellowship of the saints and angelic hosts.
His was not the faith of rugged individualism but one marked by a
profound awareness of the interconnectedness with the spirit and biblical
worlds as expressed in the Liturgy.
I arise today
through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
in obedience of Angels, in the service of the
Archangels,
in hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
in prayers of Patriarchs, in predictions of
Prophets,
in preachings of Apostles, in faiths of
Confessors,
in innocence of Holy Virgins, in deeds of
righteous men.
In the
fourth stanza we learn of Patrick’s zeal for holy Orthodoxy and spiritual
warfare against the forces of darkness.
I summon today all these powers between me
(and these evils):
against every cruel and merciless power that
may oppose my body and my soul,
against incantations of false prophets,
against black laws of heathenry,
against false laws of heretics,
against craft of idolatry,
against spells of witches and smiths and
wizards,
against every knowledge that endangers man’s
body and soul.
Christ to protect me today
against poison, against burning,
against drowning, against wounding,
so that there may come abundance of reward.
Living in
dangerous times Patrick was keenly aware of the dangers all around him and
constantly invoked divine protection as he went about his missionary and
pastoral labors.
Honoring St. Patrick Today
One key
means by which the Orthodox Church honors its saints is by remembering them on
their feast day. Usually during the
Vespers and Matins service preceding the Liturgy, we hear a short summary of
the saint’s life and sing a hymn celebrating God’s work in that saint’s life. The Orthodox Church in America’s website
posted the two hymns for St. Patrick’s feast day:
Troparion — Tone 3
Holy
Bishop Patrick, / Faithful shepherd of Christ’s royal flock, / You filled
Ireland with the radiance of the Gospel: / The mighty strength of the Trinity!
/ Now that you stand before the Savior, / Pray that He may preserve us in faith
and love!
Kontakion — Tone 4
From
slavery you escaped to freedom in Christ’s service: / He sent you to deliver
Ireland from the devil’s bondage. / You planted the Word of the Gospel in pagan
hearts. / In your journeys and hardships you rivaled the Apostle Paul! / Having
received the reward for your labors in heaven, / Never cease to pray for the
flock you have gathered on earth, / Holy bishop Patrick!
Source: https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/orthodoxbridge/is-st-patrick-an-orthodox-saint/
"A Different Way of Life"
That week, an important event for St. Elisabeth
Convent took place - Metropolitan Pavel of Minsk and Zaslavl tonsured the
sisters of the convent as nuns. The tonsuring was held in the church in honor
of the Reigning icon of the Mother of God at the festal service.
After the Divine service, Metropolitan Pavel
congratulated all with the feast day or the Reigning icon of the Mother of God,
and the newly tonsured nuns – with the beginning of a different life.
March 15, 2017
St. Elisabeth Convent
The Role of Monasticism in the Byzantine and Ottoman States
With the development of Monasticism during the fourth century and thereafter, many monastics became involved with the various heresies, especially those concerning the Christological dogma. Most of the monastics were the defenders of the Orthodox faith. Still, Eutyches, an archimandrite from Constantinople, headed the heresy of monophysitism. On the Orthodox side, St. Maximos the Confessor (c. 580-662) played an important role in defeating the heresies of monothelitism and monoenergism. The Sixth Ecumenical Council (680) condemned monothelitism and reestablished the doctrine of Chalcedon. During the time of the iconoclastic controversy, the Studite monks, led by St. Theodore the Studite (759-826), played a very important role. In addition to organizing his monastery, the Studion, on the basis of the cenobitic principles of St. Pachomios and St. Basil, St. Theodore also wrote his three Antirrhetics against iconoclasm.
After the
condemnation of the iconoclasts, monasticism thrived even more. Many
representatives of the Byzantine aristocracy became monks. Monks were men of
letters; clergy received their education in the monasteries. Bishops,
metropolitans, and patriarchs were taken from their ranks; monks were involved
with the church affairs, at times for the good of the church, at times creating
trouble. Monasteries existed in almost every diocese, with the Bishop as their
head, planting a cross in their foundations. Since 879, the right was given to
the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople of planting a cross in monasteries
that were under the jurisdiction of other dioceses throughout the empire. They
were called "Patriarchal Stavropighiac Monasteries." This right
exists to our days.
With the Arab
conquest of Syria, Palestine and Egypt (during the 7th century), new centers
for monasteries were sought and founded, among which were Mount Olympus in
Bithynia and the Holy Mount Athos.
During the entire
Byzantine period, the monks took an active part in the life of the Church in
general. Still, spirituality was their strength. Concerning this tension in
Christian anthropology, two schools of thought were represented; that of
Evagrios ponticus (d. 399), who followed a Platonic and Origenistic doctrine
pertaining to the "mind," thus de-emphasizing the importance of the
human body and becoming dualistic, and St. Makarios of Egypt (or, better, the
writings attributed to him), present a more Christian, holistic anthropology;
for in this theology man is a psycho-physical entity, and, as such, being a
destined to deification. "Prayer of the mind," in the Evagrian
spirituality, becomes "prayer of the heart" in the Macarian
spirituality. The two schools of thought with the two different anthropologies
continue to find representatives throughout the history of the Church.
Saint Symeon, the
New Theologian (949-1022), marks an important development in monastic
spirituality. A disciple of a Studite monk, he left the Studion to join the
small monastery of St. Mamas in Constantinople, were he was ordained a priest
and became the abbot. He wrote several works, among which are the fifty-eight
hymns of "Divine Love," in which he stresses that the Christian faith
is a conscious experience of God. St. Symeon is the exponent of an intensive
sacramental life, which leads to this personal conscious experience, as we can
see in his Hymns. In this he is a predecessor of Hesychasm, which also shares
this personal experience of God in conjunction with intensive sacramental life.
Finally, the
spirituality of Hesychasm, as enunciated in the theology of St. Gregory Palamas
(1296-1359), is of paramount importance not only in the life of monasticism,
but also in the life of the entire Church. An Anthonite monk, St. Gregory took
it upon himself to defend the holy Hesychasts of the Holy Mountain in their
ways of praying and experiencing the presence of God the "uncreated
light" that they contemplated. Barlaam the Calabrian had led the attack
against the pious monks and their psycho physical method of prayer, and accused
them of "gross materialism," Messalianism, calling them "navel-souls"
(omphalopsychoi) and "navel-watchers" (omphaloskopoi).
The hesychastic
method of prayer consists of regulating one's breathing with the recitation of
the "Jesus prayer": "O Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have
mercy on me, a sinner." The prayer is repeated constantly until it
descends from the lips and minds into one's heart. At the end of the process,
the peace of Christ is poured into the heart of the worshipper, and the light
itself of Christ shines upon him and around him. This light, as that of the
Holy Transfiguration of Christ, may also be seen by our physical eyes.
After the fall of
Constantinople, the number of idiorrythmic monasteries continued to grow, a
fact which brought a further decline to monastic life. The 16th century was the
lowest ebb. In reaction to this problem, many of the monks themselves,
especially on the Holy Mountain, left the main monasteries and turned to
idiorrhythmic ones, establishing Sketai (dependencies) of the main monasteries,
with a more rigorous typikon (order). Also, Patriarchs Jeremy II of
Constantinople, Silvester of Alexandria, and Sophronios of Jerusalem led the
attack against idiorrhythmic monasticism, thus managing to counteract its spread.
Cenobitic monasticism prevailed for a while, but the tide soon went in its
original direction. Many monasteries of the Holy Mountain, including the mother
monastery, the Great Lavra, became idiorrhythmic. Today an idiorrhythmic
monastery may become cenobitic but not the other way round. Hopefully, this
will guarantee that organized monastic life will finally prevail, according to
the Basilian ideal of monasticism.
Monasticism played
an important role under the Ottoman Empire, as well. The monks not only kept
the faith alive, but they also kept the Greek culture and literature alive. Not
only did the education of clergy continue at the monasteries, but the
monasteries became the "clandestine school" (Krypho Scholeio) for all
the Greeks under Turkish occupation. The monks thus prevented the Christian
nations under Turkish occupation from being assimilated to them, and thereby
became the natural leaders of national ("ethnic") resistance against
the oppressors. It is no accident that the Greek Revolution started in 1821 at
a monastery in the Peloponnesos, Aghia Lavra, with Metropolitan Germanos of Old
Patras raising the banner of revolution and blessing the arms of the Greek
freedom fighters.
Illness and Prayer
Our Saviour has taught us: Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh, receiveth (Matt. 7:7-8).
Therefore, when we are in pain we must
pray for understanding of our malady, patience to bear it, and deliverance from
it, if such be God's holy will. We are also expected to ask for the prayers of
others and especially of the Church, for the effective fervent prayer of a
righteous man availeth much (James 5:16).
"Anyone who is sick should seek
the prayer of others, that they may be restored to health; that through the
intercession of others the enfeebled form of the body and the wavering footsteps
of our deeds may be restored to health....Learn, you who are sick, to gain
health through prayer. Seek the prayer of others, call upon the Church to pray
for you, and God, in His regard for the Church, will give what He might refuse
to you" (St. Ambrose, On the Healing of the Paralytic).
The great public prayer of the Church
for those who are ill is the Service of Holy Unction. This Service, which is
long and exceedingly rich in readings from Scripture, and contains numerous
allusions to biblical figures who were healed by the power of God, gives, in
concentrated form, the Church's teaching about healing.
Acknowledging that illness sometimes
comes through the activity of demonic powers, the priest asks: "Let no
interposition of malignant demons touch the senses of him who is marked with
Thy divine anointing." Showing that the Church also understands the
connection between sin and suffering, the priest prays that through this
anointing the "suffering of him who is tormented by the violence of
passions" may be washed away.
Many do not discover prayer until they
are on a sickbed. And those who have all of their lives piously participated in
the public prayer of the Church, discover during illness that they have sadly
neglected the treasures of private or interior prayer. St. Gregory Nazianzen, a
great man of prayer even when his health was good, exclaimed during his last
illness: "The time is swift, the struggle is great, and my sickness
severe, reducing me nearly to immovability. What then is left but to pray to
God?" (Letters).
Two incidents from the lives of the
saints show how simple yet incorruptible this prayer can be. In the life of
Elder Hieroschemamonk Parthenius of the Kiev Caves Lavra we learn that in his
final illness, even after he had been given Holy Unction, he continued to
perform his daily prayer rule of reading the entire Psalter. The day before his
repose he said to his spiritual children:
"Soon, soon I shall leave.
Yesterday I already could not complete my Psalter — only half of it."
"Is it possible, Father, that
until yesterday you said all of your customary rule?"
"Yes, the Lord helped me; after
all, I now do it by memory; I cannot do it with my lips; there is nothing to
breathe with; but yesterday I could not complete it even by memory, for my
memory is leaving me. Only to the Jesus Prayer and to the praises of the Mother
of God do I cling unceasingly" (Orthodox Life, no. 3, 1969).
"Dositheus, take care over the
Prayer; see that you be not deprived of it."
"Very well, Father," replied
the monk, "only pray for me."
When he had become still worse, St.
Abba Dorotheus said to him:
"Well, Dositheus, how is the
Prayer? Does it continue as before?"
He answered him: "Yes, Father, by
your prayers."
When, however, it became extremely
difficult for him and the illness became so severe that he had to be carried on
a stretcher, Abba Dorodieus asked him:
"How is the Prayer,
Dositheus?"
He answered: "Forgive me, Father,
I cannot keep it up any longer." Then Abba Dorotheus said to him:
"And so leave the Prayer, only
keep God in mind and represent Him to yourself as if He were before you"
(The Orthodox Word, vol. 5, no. 3).
"He suffered from sickness and
bodily pain. The time of my father's sufferings was the season of the holy and
illustrious Pascha, the Queen of Days, the brilliant night which dissipates the
darkness of sin. Of what kind his sufferings were, I will briefly explain: his
whole body was on fire with a great and burning fever; his strength failed him,
he could take no food, his sleep had departed from him, and he was in the
greatest distress. His whole mouth was so ulcerated that it was difficult and
even dangerous to swallow even water. The skill of physicians, the prayers of
his friends, earnest though they were, and every possible attention, were alike
of no avail. In this desperate state his breathing was short and fast and he
had no perception of present things.
"The time of Divine Liturgy was
come, when all due order and silence is kept for the solemn rites. At this moment
my father was raised up by Him Who quickens the dead. At first he moved
slightly, and then more decidedly. Then, in a feeble and indistinct voice, he
called a servant by name to bring his clothes and support him with his hand.
The servant came in alarm and gladly waited upon him while he, leaning upon the
servant as upon a staff, imitated Moses on the mountain and arranged his feeble
hands in prayer...
"He retired again to his bed and,
after taking a little food and sleep, his health slowly recovered so that on
the first Sunday after the Fest of Pascha he was able to enter the church and
offer thanksgiving...
The acknowledgment of oneself as
deserving temporal and eternal punishment precedes the knowledge of the Saviour
and leads to knowledge of the Saviour.
By Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov
Communion of the Taboric Light
There are
events seemingly out of season, but holy. Thus, St. Seraphim of Sarov foretold
that Pascha would be celebrated in the summer at the transfer of his relics.
And truly, bringing the saint’s relics to Diveyevo, the thousands of pilgrims
in the crowd could not help giving voice to the Paschal hymns filling their
hearts. Similarly, now, in the midst of March, we must move in thought to
August 19.
And while the crowd was proceeding,
All of a sudden, someone stirred:
It was the sixth of August, meaning,
—the Transfiguration of Our Lord.
We are
compelled by the memory of St. Gregory Palamas, celebrated on the second Sunday
of Lent, to reflect upon the Transfiguration. The life of St. Gregory can
attract interest by its various details and events. For example, he was elected
to the See of Thessaloniki by the direct intercession of the city patron—the
Great Martyr Demetrios. “I take him as archbishop of my city,” St. Demetrios
said to Great Martyr George, and the future archbishop was honored to hear the
conversation of the glorious great martyrs in a nighttime vision. St. Gregory
represented the part of the hierarchy that had more desire for a cell and books
than for glory and vanity. It is only out of obedience and for the good of the
people of God that such people take upon themselves with sorrow the yoke of
administering their flock and the responsibility for many. Archpastorship was a
cross all the heavier in that bishops, just as kings, were often deposed,
banished, and confined in prisons. St. Gregory had to spend a year in captivity
to Turkish pirates, where he preached to them the Gospel and came to the
conclusion that the Greeks must immediately (!) begin to convert the Turks to
Christianity. But all of this and many other sacred facts of his sacred
biography fade into the background when we become acquainted with the main work
of St. Gregory’s life—the dogma of the deification of man and the Taboric
light.
Nobody
specially prepared this question; it arose as if on its own, gradually
signifying the genuine chasm between the distinct goals of life within
Christianity and the various types of piety. It was precisely the feast of the
Transfiguration that became the point of focus and the shield upon which their
spears broke. What happened on Tabor? What did the Apostles see, and why did they
see what they saw? Gregory’s opponents said that the light seen by the apostles
is a special, enlightening light, but it is created light, like the sunlight
that gives life to all nature.
St.
Gregory, expressing the from thenceforth Orthodox dogma, and clothing in words
the previously accrued but unformalized experience, spoke of the Uncreated
Divine light. The Taboric light is not created, he said, but it is the light
and grace of God Himself, manifested so that those communing of this light
would not die, but be sanctified. Christ was not so much transfigured, says the
Church, as Christ transfigured the vision and senses of the disciples, that
they would be able to see Christ, as He is. This contemplation is a foretaste
of the future Kingdom, of which is said, The glory of God did lighten it [the
Heavenly Jerusalem], and the Lamb is the light thereof (Rev. 21:23). Therefore,
it was said before the Transfiguration that there be some standing here, which
shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God (Lk. 9:27). There is
nothing in all of created nature like the vision of the Kingdom of God that the
apostles saw on Tabor. And therefore Moses, from Sheol, and Elijah, from
Heaven, appeared to Christ, that the Law and Prophets would bow down to the
Word become flesh, and this flesh deified at that.
Thus, we
will see Him and will be like unto Him, changing because of this very vision
and feeding upon grace, just as the angels feed upon it even now. To bring this
feast to naught, to give it a private, local character instead of its semantic
value, is, it would seem, impossible. However, Western religious thought does
precisely that, not giving due deference to the Transfiguration and to the very
idea of theosis. The Transfiguration is barely noticeable in the Catholic
liturgical year, the teaching of St. Gregory is considered heretical, and the
abyss in worldviews, which we spoke of in the beginning, has become practically
impassable over time. The West tread the path of intellectualism. St. Gregory’s
opponent—Barlaam—said that the vision of God is a mental perception of the
Godhead, but in no way partakes of the eternal light or Uncreated energies. The
East and West took different paths from this point.
The West,
trusting the mind and for reasoning forsaking the main value, philosophized,
speculated, and pondered questions until it lost faith itself and replaced
grace with syllogisms. And we, being in a long Western captivity, absorbed and
embodied all its mistakes. We can criticize the West only as we rid ourselves
of the disease of the West. Otherwise, such criticism will be suicidal. For
centuries our seminarians and academics, priests and bishops neither heard nor
spoke about what St. Gregory taught. That his memory was regularly celebrated
on the second Sunday of Great Lent only emphasizes the bitterness of this.
Hesychasm and the prayer of the heart, not finding a place in academies and
seminaries, nestled into humble monasteries, where they continued to live the
apostolic experience of the Taboric contemplation. This often happened without
books, as the oral transfer of personal experience—that is, as genuine
Tradition. St. Job of Pochaev spent many days in prayer in the stone caves, and
the monks saw the tongues of flame, which did not burn, bursting forth from the
entrance to this natural cell. St. Seraphim, beloved of all, the transfer of
whose relics once brought Pascha in the middle of the summer, also partook of
the Taboric light. He revealed this grace, as the fruit of long prayers and
wise silence in God, to the eyes of Motovilov, and few are those Orthodox
Christians who have not heard about it. St. Sergius would stand at Liturgy as
if in fire, and fire would enter the chalice as he served, and of this fire he
would partake. The best sons of our Church were practical exponents and
fulfillers of Orthodox dogma, although few of them could theoretically
interpret this dogma.
In
conclusion, we can say that the divide between the East and West on the
question of salvation is the difference between intellectualism and human
righteousness on one side, and genuine holiness and a basic change in fallen
nature on the other. But let’s note a few dangerous traps.
First,
not all Orthodox participate in God’s grace in due measure. Confession of true
doctrine is only an indication of the true path. But we must walk this path,
not just point to it. Therefore, we do not need to boast. Second, the Western
path of mental speculation is not that of an absolute impasse. They have
discoveries and useful knowledge there. It is another matter that this path has
an end and boundaries, beyond which it is not within their powers to go, and
there begins the time for other labors and other podvigs. Just to disregard
their knowledge, books, and reflections is a sin. St. Gregory, expressing the
most exalted dogmas of the Church, was a very educated person. Those sciences,
which he did not take as salvific, were respected by him and he was familiar
with them to a due degree. In his youth he studied Aristotle, and at one of his
lectures, read at the court, shouts rang out, “Aristotle himself, were he here,
would not fail to praise it!” That is, it’s not rejecting external knowledge,
but pointing to its limits that is characteristic of Orthodoxy.
Therefore,
being at such a great distance from personal theosis, and in need firstly of
cleansing, correction, and learning, we still know that the final purpose of
human life is the transfiguration of our nature by grace and communion with the
Divine life. On earth it is partial, in seed form, but in eternity it is
different. Thus, to speak about it now is impossible.
An article by Archpriest Andrei Tkachev
Translated
by Jesse Dominick (Pravoslavie.ru)
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