The Catalog of Good Deeds

By St. John Chrysostom

And so having beforehand prepared the hearer to look for some ordinary piece of information, and by this laying hold of him, after all he amazes him by adding the marvelous fact, saying, "Before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit..." (Matt. 1:18). Proceed therefore no further, neither require anything more than what has been said. Neither say, "But how was it that the Spirit wrought this of a virgin?" For if, when nature is at work, it is impossible to explain the manner of the formation; how, when the Spirit is working miracles, shall we be able to express these? And lest you should weary the evangelist, or disturb him by continually asking these things, he has said who it was that wrought the miracle, and so withdrawn himself. "For I know," says he, "nothing more, but that what was done was the work of the Holy Spirit."

Shame on them who busy themselves touching the generation on high. For if this birth, which has witnesses without number, and had been proclaimed so long a time before, and was manifested and handled with hands, can by no man be explained; of what excess of madness do they come short who make themselves busy and curious touching that unutterable generation? For neither Gabriel nor Matthew was able to say anything more, but only that it was of the Spirit; but how, of the Spirit, or in what manner, neither of them has explained; for neither was it possible. Nor think that you have learned all, by hearing "of the Spirit." Nay, for we are ignorant of many things, even when we have learned this; as, for instance, how the Infinite is in a womb, how He that contains all things is carried, as unborn, by a woman; how the Virgin bears, and continues a virgin.

How, I pray you, did the Spirit frame that Temple? How did He take not all the flesh from the womb, but a part thereof, and increased it, and fashioned it? For that He did come forth of the Virgin's flesh, He has declared by speaking of "that which was conceived in her" (Gal. 4:4); and Paul, by saying, "made of a woman;" whereby he stops the mouths of them that say, Christ came among us as through some channel. For, if this were so, what need of the womb? If this were so, He has nothing in common with us, but that flesh is of some other kind, and not of the mass which belongs to us. How then was He of the root of Jesse? How was He a rod? How Son of man? How was Mary His mother? How was He of David's seed? How did he "take the form of a servant" (Philip. 2:7)? how "was the Word made flesh" (Jn. 1:14)? and how says Paul to the Romans, "Of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is God over all" (Rom. 9:5)? Therefore that He was of us, and of our substance, and of the Virgin's womb, is manifest from these things, and from others beside; but how, is not also manifest. Do not either then inquire; but receive what is revealed, and be not curious about what is kept secret.

From Homily on Matthew, 4:6.

Source: http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2017/03/the-secret-mysteries-of-annunciation.html

Can a person justify himself
not only by submission to a higher power,
but also with his own creative ascent?
Human creativity is not a human demand and a human right
but a divine calling and human responsibility.
God is waiting for a creative act by humans
as a response to God’s own creative act. (Nikolai Berdyaev)

Inclusive theatre nowadays is making attempts at getting into the spotlight and fitting into the general theatrical sphere. Specialists classify it as art brut (French, lit. raw, unrefined art). Currently, inclusive theatre is a noteworthy experiment that fuses together elements of naive theatre, symbolism, and personal creativity.

We talked about inclusive theatres in Moscow and Minsk, ProTheatre International Festival, everyday life of actors and worldwide theatrical tendencies with Alexander Zhdanovich, an actor of Gorky National Academic Drama Theatre.

Alexander, could you please tell those who might not be aware of it yet, what is an inclusive theatre? Is it in demand today and does it have its own audience?

Strangely enough, I heard the term ‘inclusive’ not long ago, although I have been working with the residents of the boarding home in Novinki for over a decade. There is a “Simple-Minded” Theatre in Moscow where people with special needs play. Its name is so spot on that all other terms seem superfluous.

People keep talking about inclusion in general, and inclusive theatre in particular. There were conferences during ProTheatre International Festival in Moscow – a festival that specialises in theatres for people with disabilities – where participants seriously spent several hours trying to figure out the proper name for this kind of theatre: whether it is ‘inclusive’, ‘special’, or ‘exceptional’… Is it really that important? I believe that life is stronger than our deliberations.

Inclusion means getting people with disabilities involved in social life. Inclusion means creating a society where there are no “unwanted” members. In fact, inclusive theatres have existed for a long time, at least in Europe, where actors with disabilities are fully integrated in professional acting careers.

You are the head of Joy Inclusive Theatre and the director of The Little Prince, a play performed by those who live in the boarding home in Novinki. How did you decide to launch this project?

As far as our theatre is concerned, there is also an eponymous theatre studio for children. I believe that we are one single whole. Unfortunately, currently the theatre lacks consistent methodology work, aside from rehearsals and staging of The Little Prince. First, my young actors were sent to multiple boarding home at one moment. Secondly, it is hard to meet regularly due to the fact that I’m always busy.

Of course, we desperately need a professional director and tutor who could work with children from the boarding home on a permanent basis. Although we have put our active collaboration on the back burner, sort of, we have been looking for new alternatives. The residents of the boarding homes take part in the performances of Joy Children’s Studio, which makes their appearances really inclusive.

This is the right way to go, useful for both parties. Children with special needs can hear normal speech and learn to interact with other children. Children without special needs who are wary of socialising with the young residents of the boarding home at first, because they are different, soon enough overcome the barrier, break the wall, and learn to make friends with them. This is where the real joy is!

Do you remember how you first met the children with special needs?

My late wife Ludmila took me with her to the boarding home for children with special needs. To be honest, when I first saw these kids, I wasn’t especially fond of them. I didn’t trust them immediately. I felt the distance but then I was constantly drawn back to them. I started thinking why a busy person and an ambitious actor like me would be so attracted to the boarding home? Suddenly it dawned on me: it was because these special kids accept you for who you are, and there’s no need to mask your true self.

We enjoy going to the woods or sunbathing by the river. Why? Because it is there that we are who we are. The endless stress of the city, the stress of constant communication, of having to adapt and to comply with certain requirements and norms, disappears. Who invented those rules, after all? Similarly, it is easy to be real with the guys from Novinki. They are closer to God, and you can feel happier around them.

I always recall the words of Father Andrew Lemeshonok who said that we need people with disabilities more than they need us. They help us rediscover ourselves. I am grateful to God for having the opportunity to work with such people and to learn from them. These children are just a sunny gift. It is not for no reason that they are called “sunny people”.

Your theatre has a sunny name, too – Joy Theatre.

Yes, our actors are not only sunny but also very talented. Each one of them is gifted differently, of course. Eduard Kovalets is one of the leading actors of Joy Theatre and The Little Prince, and he has amazing acting talents. I didn’t even need to explain to him such exercises as Public Loneliness or Actions with Imaginary Objects. He literally breathes with theatre. He has the courage and the desire to improvise. Not all professional actors possess such burning passion, such improvisation skills, and such an ability to be constantly on alert. The public always feels it.

Joy Theatre has existed for over a decade now. What are the most important, key factors that have to be taken into account when working with people with special needs?

Let me begin with a fact that shocked me: 90 per cent of pregnant women who discover during an ultrasound that they might give birth to a child with Down’s Syndrome terminate their pregnancies. I recall reading an article that explained why that was the right thing to do. This is bizarre. Yes, the parents of these children have a tough time dealing with them. These kids demand a lot more attention, time, energy, and patience. Perhaps, they won’t reach certain heights in our society. But it isn’t essential for happiness, is it?

There are successful actors, painters, and athletes among the less able. I even read about these people doing business! If one gives these children enough care and love, they will leave many developmental issues behind. Theatrical art can be very helpful on this road. Look at the actors of Simple-Minded Theatre – they develop verbally and physically to the extent that many of them become professional actors.

Naturally, I don’t have any ready-made recipes on how to work with the less able. I use trial-and-error approach. There are much more experienced specialists who use this method: Igor Neupokoev, the director of Simple-Minded Theatre, or Andrey Afonin, the director of Quadrat II Theatre Studio. One can learn a lot from them. Strangely enough, it is somewhat easier to work with special children than with regular kids. They are more loyal. To them, theatre is something greater than just a game.

Can you please tell our readers more about the directors you’ve just mentioned? Are the Simple-Minded and the Quadrat II a unique cultural phenomenon?

Igor Neupokoev began his career in Minsk as an actor in Cinema Actors Theatre Studio. Then he left for Moscow. Today he is well-known, so to say, in the movement of inclusive theatres. The Lord has led him to these people. There is a remarkable documentary titled Your Turn! about his theatre.

When they started, they faced many hardships. At present they have a place where they can rehearse but they don’t have their own performance venue even today. This is why their performances are usually staged in Courage Theatre. It seems that Igor Neupokoev uses his gut feeling to figure everything out. He simply sacrifices his entire heart and his entire soul to his actors. This is perhaps how they get such results.

The actors who play in Simple-Minded Theatre are mostly people with special needs who grew in families. Their mothers hugely support their children (although they are mature enough). Andrey Afonin, who is the head and the director of Quadrat II Theatre Studio, strongly opposes this approach.

Andrey Afonin is very experienced in dealing with special people. There are about a dozen professional drama teachers in his studio. They work systematically and thoughtfully: the actors rehearse and practise for several hours six days a week. I had the pleasure to meet his guys. They are unique!

Well, he is vehemently opposed to the presence of parents during rehearsals. He believes that excessive care makes their children dependent and turns people who are forty or fifty years old into toddlers. Indeed, the actors in his theatre become independent. They marry and create families. I asked him why he didn’t publish any books. “I’m going to, one day.” We’re still waiting…

Why don’t you invite Simple-Minded Theatre to Minsk?

In fact, not only have we invited them but we are also doing everything we can to find a way for this theatre to perform on stage here. It is going to happen very soon, on May 29, to give you the exact date. Cinema Actor Theatre Studio offered its performance venue to Simple-Minded Theatre. They will stage a performance based on Wrangle of Life and Death, a symbolist play written by Alexei Remizov, a fin-de-siècle author.

Inclusive theatre is not an amateurish undertaking but a serious theatrical subgenre. Best Moscow critics have discussed the development of inclusive theatre as an independent genre in its own right within the international theatrical movement. We may not know something in this world that the less able people do know. Such a theatre can convey hidden the mystical meanings and messages that no other theatre can.

I have watched many plays staged by inclusive theatres, including those from Europe (France and Spain). They emphasise miming and physical theatre approach. They have little in the way of drama. We would like our public to see what Simple-Minded Theatre is doing. The play Wrangle of Life and Death was highly acclaimed during ProTheatre International Festival. It is an interesting, valuable, and meaningful play. The actors really are simple-minded. They don’t act. Theatre is a part of their lives.

As always, money is the problem. Their company isn’t small. We are trying to find the funds for the Simple-Minded to get to the capital of Belarus.

Alexander, can you tell our readers about The Little Prince, the play staged by your theatre?

This performance is not just another interpretation of the famous story but a chance to look at the world differently. It is performed by actors with special needs. These wonderful actors, in spite of their age, will always be children. The children who will never grow up play for adults who used to be children. They want to be loved just as we do but most importantly, they want to love.

The Little Prince is a moving and profound story with a touch of self-irony, a plethora of subtle meanings, and Christian depth.

Interview by Maria Kotova

March 31, 2017

St. Elisabeth Convent

By the time we serve Vespers this evening at 7:00 p.m., Great Lent will have ended. We have just been through the "sacred forty days" that will prepare us for Holy Week following the two great feasts of Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday.

Looking back and assessing the recent past is not always that easy. What does it actually mean to have had a "good Lent?" What kind of balance did we maintain between the outward and inward? If we fasted from meat, did we also fast from sin? We can, of course, examine the patterns we maintained during Great Lent concerning our prayer, almsgiving and fasting. Was there a "lenten atmosphere" in our homes for forty days? We can also look back and ask ourselves about our participation in the lenten liturgical services. Did we make it to Confession and, if so, did we sincerely confess our sins? (And if we did not make it to Confession, then why not?)

Then again, perhaps we should look forward instead of backwards. Great Lent is over, but if, for the moment, we look beyond even Holy Week and the initial Paschal celebration, we will find ourselves in the post-Paschal season. What positive practices can we carry forward with us as we resume our Christian lives outside of the rarefied atmosphere of Great Lent and Holy Week? If, during Great Lent, we worked on overcoming a particular "bad habit," an unhealthy obsession, or one of the passions, are we determined not to allow that spiritual victory to lapse now that Lent is over? If we were less dependent upon food and drink; if we overcame this or that "addiction;" and if Great Lent was about acting in a particularly vigilant manner for forty days; are we to now act as if it never happened once we have our "Pascha bash?" I often wonder if Bright Week is all about forgetting what we may have learned in the "school of repentance" of Great Lent. As if we try and "catch up" with what we "missed" for Great Lent. In this way, Great Lent is reduced to being a pious interlude that brings to us a false sense of spiritual complacency because we more-or-less followed the rules.

I would encourage everyone to look precisely at those positive practices that were established with a bit of "blood, sweat and tears" during Great Lent, and try and carry them forward. We may no longer be fasting, but there must be some things that we have learned to live without - on the material, psychological and spiritual levels of existence - in a manner that was "good for the soul," to use that expression. Perhaps, with some serious reflection, we can make a choice about a new experience of freedom that we truly want to continue beyond Holy Week and Pascha. Great Lent is a time of recovery - beginning with a recovery of a sense of urgency in our relationship with God. An even greater struggle is now coming: with the "post-Paschal blues" that leave us rather empty and lacking in any vigilance toward the passions that undermine our recovery of God's loving and dynamic presence.

In short, I am hoping, on the one hand, to alert everyone to the danger of treating Great Lent as a limited season of abstinence that does not extend beyond the shaded areas on the church calender that represent "fasting days," and, on the other hand, to the great potential that those very fasting days revealed to us of focusing our lives on God in a serious manner, thus making Great Lent the entrance into a renewed and reinvigorated commitment to the life in Christ. We need to choose between mere formalism and the Gospel precept of placing God before all else. The choice is simple, though the "follow through" is challenging.

Source: http://orthodoxmeditations.blogspot.com.by/2010/03/at-end-of-great-lent-looking-forward.html

On the 15th of September in the year 1998 the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria sent out an apology. Here is what they wrote,

“The Holy Spirit has enlightened the gathered members of the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa, under the leadership of H.B. Petros VII, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa, more than a century since Saint Nektarios, the great Teacher and Father of the Holy Eastern Orthodox Church was expelled from the Church of Alexandria, to reach the following decision:

Taking into account the resolution of the Church to rank Saint Nektarios amongst the saints because of his innumerable miracles and his acceptance within the religious conscience of Orthodox Christians throughout the world, we appeal to the mercy of the ever-charitable God. We hereby restore the ecclesiastical order of the Saint of our Century, Saint Nektarios, and grant to him all due credits and honors. We beseech Saint Nektarios to forgive both us, unworthy as we are, and our predecessors, our brothers of the Throne of Alexandria, for opposition to the Saint and for all which, due to human weakness or error, our Holy Father, Bishop of Pentapolis, Saint Nektarios, suffered.” Petros VII Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa.

What led to this apology? Let’s find out…

Saint Nektarios, known for his countless miracles of healing, and as, “A Saint for our Time,” was born in 1846 in Thrace. When he was fourteen, he left his home and traveled to Constantinople in search of work and study. There, St. Nektarios lived a very modest life constantly praying to Christ and believing that He would provide everything he needed to live. Many acts of kindness were shown to St. Nektarios by his neighbors and townspeople, and it was through them, and by the grace of God, that St. Nektarios became an accomplished academic at the age of twenty-one. By this time, too, St. Nektarios was considered a theological scholar and a devout Christian. Upon completing his studies, he left Constantinople and entered a monastery in Chios.

Some time later, the Patriarch Sophronios of Alexandria, Egypt, offered St. Nektarios a scholarship to study theology at the University of Athens. Upon completing studies at the university, St. Nektarios was ordained to the priesthood to serve in Cairo, Egypt, where he became quite popular as a preacher and confessor. Within five months of his ordination, the Metropolitan of Nubia blessed St. Nektarios with the title of archimandrite, and two months later he was appointed to the high position of Patriarchal Trustee.

It was in January of 1889 that the Metropolitan Nilos suddenly passed away. As the seat was under the Patriarchate of Alexandria, Patriarch Sophronios nominated St. Nektarios to fill the vacancy. Therefore, on January 15, 1889, St. Nektarios was ordained a bishop and began to serve his congregation with humility and an oath to never succumb to the temptations of this world. He served as bishop until countless rumors and false accusations were brought up against him. Patriarch Sophronios became subjected to unbearable pressure regarding the rumors circulating about Metropolitan Nektarios (including the rumor that Nektarios wanted to become patriarch instead of Sophronios). Soon after, Sophronios stripped Metropolitan Nektarios of his authority and duty as bishop. Upon this humbling and confusing experience, St. Nektarios returned to Athens where he continued to serve God by preaching and teaching in its many churches.

In the beginning this was difficult because so many lies and rumors had hurt his reputation in the eyes of the people. But over time, love won. His popularity among the people in Athens again gained him popularity, and led to his appointment as dean of Rizarios Ecclesiastical School in Athens, where he dedicated fourteen years of his wisdom and loving care, until his body forced him to retire on March 24, 1908. Once a new dean was found and instated as his replacement, St. Nektarios retreated to the island of Aegina, to the monastery that he helped to establish years before.

With his return to Aegina, the monastery began to receive countless visitors who sought to be in the presence of St. Nektarios’ pious and loving nature. While there, St. Nektarios witnessed the completion of the building of the chapel on the grounds, which he first started in July of 1906. On June 2, 1908, the chapel was dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and he began to settle in and plan for the building of his simple home on the grounds. Throughout the years that he spent in Aegina, St. Nektarios wrote and published many theological treatises, guided the nuns of the monastery toward divine work, and performed many miracles of healing. It was also while serving at the monastery, that St. Nektarios endured many spiritual and physical tribulations, as well as witnessed the magnificent power of the Trinity and the Virgin Mary.

On November 9, 1920, St. Nektarios retired his spirit to the Lord. However, even in death St. Nektarios continues to perform miracles, the first of which occurred in the very hospital room in which he died. With the passing of St. Nektarios, a hospital nurse, assisted by a nun from the monastery, immediately began to change his clothes and threw his undershirt on the next bed. In this bed lay a paralytic, who once the undershirt landed upon him, was instantly healed and jumped out of bed, praising God for his miraculous healing. This was the first of many miracles that St. Nektarios began to perform in death. The stories of these miracles, along with his body remaining completely intact and emanating a magnificent fragrance for twenty years after his death, led the nuns at the monastery to venerate him as a Saint of the Church. Finally, in April of 1961, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople further blessed St. Nektarios with a proclamation of Sainthood.

What a worthy example of humility, patience, long-suffering, faith, hope and love. Holy Father Nektarios, pray for us!

Source: https://outofegyptblog.wordpress.com/2013/11/10/when-the-church-apologized/

The Uncut Icon of the Mother of God, also called the “Clouded Mount” (Ru: Tuchnaya Gora – Тучная Гора) is particularly associated with the Annunciation (March 25), as this icon was revealed as miracle-working on the eve of the feast.

In the 18th century, the icon was presented by the abbot of the Tver monastery to Cosmas Volchaninov, in gratitude for his fine work in the monastery’s church. Taken from the monastery, it was passed on from generation to generation in the Volchaninov family, until it came into the possession of one of Cosmas’ grandsons.

This grandson treated his wife harshly, and allowed his relatives to do likewise. Being impious, he hid the icon of the Clouded Mount away in an attic. It was in this atmosphere of worldly sin that the icon suddenly revealed the glory of God, in accordance with the words of Jesus Christ: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)

In despair over her marriage, the wife of this impious grandson resolved to commit suicide in a deserted bath-house. On the way there, on the Eve of the Annunciation, a monk appeared to her and said, “Where are you going, unhappy one? Go back, pray to the Theotokos of The Clouded Mountain, and you will live in peace.”

The agitated young wife returned home and revealed everything, including her intention to commit suicide. They searched for the monk, but they did not find him, and no one had seen him but her. However, they found the icon of the Mother of God in the attic. In the icon, the Mother of God stood full-length on a rounded mound, the mount, holding Christ in her left arm. Christ was leaning over to bless the small mountain held in Mary’s right hand; on top of the mountain were churches with many cupolas and crosses. Recognizing this as the icon the monk referred to, the family cleaned off the dirt and set it up in the house in a place of honor. In the evening, the parish priest served the all-night Vigil before the icon. From that time, Vigil was served in the house every year on the eve of the Annunciation, celebrating the joy that was brought to the house.

For more than 150 years the icon was in the family until Katherine, the last of the Volchaninov line, married George Ivanovich Konyaev, taking with her the icon of the Mother of God as a precious inheritance.

In 1863 near a cemetery church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God it was decided to build a chapel in honor of St Tikhon and St Macarius of Kalyazin. The then owner of the icon, George Konyaev, already 92 years old, wanted to donate the icon of the Theotokos to the church. He asked the clergy to build another chapel for the wonderworking icon of the Mother of God of the “Clouded Mountain.” He said:

I feel the very best place for it is the temple of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God, since the place on which the church was built, in former times was called a Mount, since it was the highest place in the city. The inhabitants took their possessions to the Mount and saved themselves from ruin during a flood. Let the icon, The Clouded Mountain, remain on this mountain with your blessing, and let all who are buried here be veiled with Her mercy.

Source: https://iconreader.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/the-clouded-mount-icon-of-the-mother-of-god/

By Father Andrew Lemeshonok

Repentance – is a certain grace, it is God’s love, which engulf a person’s heart. And the heart lives through this love and responds with its own love. The beginning of every sin – is deviation of our ancestors from God, which occurred in Heaven. Yet the first person who enters Heaven is a criminal, who is dying on the cross, who is suffering, a man who saw God next to him. As long as the Devine Liturgy is still served and God calls upon us to join Him in The Kingdom of Heaven, while the Church is alive, repentance will continue to occur. This mystery, this internal life of a person, which cannot be seen by the naked eye, gives a person spiritual strength and a new birth.

A person cannot be born without agony, suffering and repentance. But everyone has their own potential, their own abilities, their own limits. For example, for someone abstaining from fish during lent can be a true accomplishment. Perhaps we could not even imagine the struggle and suffering that this person might be going through to accomplish this small Lenten feat.

At our rehabilitation center for men I often say: “Everyone need to have repentance inside them. You didn’t just come here to find shelter, a roof over your head, but your main goal is to repent”. I see a person who did not do anything his entire life, lived by feeding his desires and then he takes a shovel and starts to dig. For 20 years he did not pick up anything heavier than a shot glass but here, he is shoveling manure… Maybe this is his level of repentance, and we do not even see it…

St. Mary of Egypt did not become a saint simply because she worked and struggled. She became a saint through God’s grace and love. I think that even when she walked on water and God’s grace had engulfed her to a visible extent, the repentance in her did not diminish, in fact, it only grew. When a person gets closer to God, feels God’s grace and actually lives it, then his sins are seen in a different light, one that is more agonizing and frightful.

Saints never called themselves saints, but referred to themselves as the last sinners on earth who are not worthy of anything and can only cry over their sins.

Before his repose to the Lord, Saint Sisoi the Great was tempted by demons with the following words: “You already repented, you’re already saved”. But he responded, “I have not even began to repent”. This is the true measure of realizing one's weaknesses and faults before God.

A person needs to constantly feel his dependence on God and our falsehood before God. Only the acceptance on God’s mercy and love and help a person develop spiritually. The is no limit to repentance on this earth. Not one person can say that he has fully and completely repented. God of course gives us time to work on ourselves, to right our wrongs, to change our life and to return to our Creator. Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. (Matthew 4:17)

April 3, 2017

St. Elisabeth Convent

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The Secret Mysteries of the Annunciation

The Theatre of Simple Hearted Actors

At the End of Great Lent and Looking Forward

When the Church apologized...

The History of the Clouded Mount Icon of the Mother of God

We Need to Feel our Falsehood before God

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