The Catalog of Good Deeds

A pious layman came to Abba Pimen. Other brethren who wanted to listen to the father’s stories were also there. The elder told to the layman, “Tell us something as a guidance”. The man wanted to refuse, but finally the elder made him speak: “I cannot retell the wisdom of the Scripture well, - the man said, - but I’d like to tell you a proverb. A man told to his friend: “I’d like to see the king. Come with me”. The friend answered: “I will go a half of the way with you”. The man spoke to his second friend: “Come with me and bring me to the king”. The friend replied: “I will bring you to the royal palace”. Then the man addressed his third friend: “Come with me to see the king”. “Let us go then, - his friend said, - I will bring you to the palace, we will come in and I will tell the king about you and introduce you to him”.

The brethren asked about the meaning of that proverb. The layman explained: “The first friend is asceticism, which shows you the right way; the second friend is purity, which reaches heavens; the third friend is almsgiving, which boldly brings you to the King Himself, Who is God.”

A man bought a new large and beautiful house. There was also a garden where various fruit trees grew. Everything was neat and nice there. However, next to him an envious neighbor lived, who always tried to bring the man down. Often he threw trash in front of the gates of the man’s house or tried to do any other dirt on the man. One day the man woke up in a good mood and came out on the porch. He saw a bucket of slops standing there. The man took the bucket, threw out the rubbish and washed the bucket until it shined. Then he gathered the largest apples from his garden in it and went to his neighbor. When the neighbor heard someone knocking the door, he thought gloatingly: “Finally, I’ve put him out!” The neighbor opened the door hoping for a quarrel, but the man handed him a bucked with apples and said: “Whatever one is rich in, one shares with others”.

Once the disciples came to the elder and asked him: “Why is it so that evil tendencies can easily enslave a person in contrast to good ones, which are difficult to stick to?”

- What will happen if we leave a good seed to lie under the sun, but bury a bad one in the ground? – the elder asked.

- The good seed will die without soil, while the bad seed will grow and turn into a weak sprout which will give bad fruits, – the disciples answered.

- People act in the same way. Instead of doing good secretly and grow good fruits deep in their soul, they reveal their good deeds in public and thus they spoil them. At the same time, people hide their sins deep in their soul so that no one can see them. There they grow and kill a person right in his heart. So, you should be wise and remember about this.

A woman complains to a priest:

- Father, different evil thoughts come to my mind all the time. I just don't know how to cope with them.

The priest smiles:

- If two people come to you – a good one and a bad one – then whom is it easier to make go away?

- The good one, - she woman replied.

- So, it is much easier to scare off a good thought, while it is rather difficult to get rid of bad ones. This is why we need to ask God: “Lord, help me!” And then they disappear…

I asked God to take my pride off, but God said no. He said that pride is not just taken off, but one must get rid of it.

I asked God to heal my bedridden daughter, but God said no. Her soul is in safety, while her body will die anyway.

I asked God to grant me patience, but God said no. He said that patience appears when one goes through sufferings – it is not given, but earned.

I asked God to make me happy, but God said no. He said that He only gives blessings, but it depends on me whether I will be happy or not.

I asked God to save me from pain, but God said no. He said that sufferings turn people from their secular problems and bring them to Him.

I asked God to help my spirit grow, but God said no. He said that my spirit must grow on its own.

I asked God to teach me how to love other people as much as He loves them. “Finally, - said the Lord, - you have understood what you need to ask for”.

I asked for strength, and God gave me sufferings to make me stronger.

I asked for wisdom, and God gave me problems, over which I had to break my head.

I asked for courage, and God gave me threats.

I asked for love, and God gave me unhappy people who needed my help.

I asked for wealth, and God gave me opportunities.

I got nothing I wanted to get, but I got everything I needed. God heard my prayers.

A disciple came to his teacher and asked him:

- How can I become supersensual enough to see God, hear Him and talk to Him?

The teacher said:

- You will hear God, when you manage to make yourself enter the place, where no living thing dwells, at least for a minute.

- Is it far or not? – The disciple asked.

- It is in you. If you manage to stop your thoughts and desires for a moment, you will hear inexpressible words of God, - the teacher said.

- How can I hear God’s speech, when I do not think or speak?

- When you do neither think on your own nor desire on your own; when your will and your mind become calm and passively give themselves to perception of the Eternal Word and Spirit; when your soul spreads its wings above what is temporal; when you lock your imagination and feelings with divert thinking – then Eternal Hearing, Sight and Speech will appear in you, and God will see and hear through you. You will become the organ of His Spirit, and avoid God will speak in you and whisper to your Spirit, and your Spirit will hear His voice. Blessed are you if you can avoid self-thinking and self-pitying, if you can stop the wheel of your imagination and feelings because there is nothing but your own hearing and desire, what prevent you from seeing and hearing God.

A pious and kind nobleman lived in Petersburg. He had a big house and a lot of friends. Unfortunately, he fell out of favor with the sovereign. He was slandered and brought to justice. He was about to be sent to prison. The poor nobleman fell sick because of his grief. All his friends turned their backs on him.

At that time, Fr. Nazarius, a strict ascetic from Valaam, came to Petersburg. He knew the unhappy nobleman and came to him to comfort him in his sorrows. The unhappy wife of the nobleman threw herself at the elder’s feet and prayed: “Father, pray for that my husband’s case has a favorable outcome”.

“Well, - the elder said, - of course, we should pray to God. But we also have to ask people close to the sovereign for their application. Give me some money and I will ask them for you”. They gave gold to the Elder: “No, - he said, - it doesn’t suit. Don’t you have coppers or silver?” They gave him both, and Fr. Nazarius left.

Later at night he came back to the nobleman and said: “All the people close to the tsar promised to ask for you. Be calm and wait for good news”. Indeed, the elder was still near the nobleman’s bed, when the man received a news: the case was favorably closed. The good news made the nobleman happy and he felt better then. He began to thank the elder and asked who of the close to tsar helped to solve that issue because he wanted to know for whom he needed to pray most. Then it revealed that Fr. Nazarius had not visited those people. Instead of that he had been walking along the streets of the city and gave money to poor people. “Thank God, - the elder said, - for He, Merciful, accepted the prayers of the poor and pleased the sovereign to examine your case once again. Do not forget about the nobles of the Lord – the poop, who are our benefactors. Their prayer can do a lot before the Throne of the Lord”.

Translated from: https://azbyka.ru/days/

Previous posts called What Makes an Icon Holy? and How not to be an accidental Iconoclast have, hopefully, explained why Icons are given such an exalted place within Orthodoxy. In short, icons are holy when they represent holy things: Christ and His Saints; it is the prototype that causes an image to be holy.

For completeness, if nothing else, this post addresses how religious images not depicting Christ and His Saints were regarded by the Church, using the testimony of her martyrs. Below, is a roughly chronological list of Saints known to have destroyed idols: i.e. the religious images and statues venerated by non-Christians, and considered holy by them. The list is by no means exhaustive.

King Hezekiah (+687 B.C.)

This king of Judah gives a scriptural precedent for the physical destruction of idols (2 Kings 18-20). King Hezekiah is glorified because, in order to restore true worship of God in his kingdom, he “removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made…”; and as Scripture explains, the righteous king did these things because “he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him, but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses.”

King Josiah (+609 B.C.)

In a similar way to King Hezekiah, Josiah also used his royal authority to “clean up” the faith of Israel, and destroyed idols and other objects related to the worship of Baal. Scripture describes his legacy thus: Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses. (2 Kings 23:25).

Josiah is included in the genealogy of the Evangelist Matthew and so is celebrated on the second Sunday before Christmas.

Flight into Egypt, showing the idols (white figures) falling from the city walls

The Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Mother (1st Century A.D.)

As part of the Church’s tradition, it is believed that during Christ’s flight into Egypt, statues to the native gods crumbled and fell at His presence; this led to the conversion of some of the inhabitants. This story is enshrined in the Akathist Hymn to the Mother of God, which contains the following stanza addressed to Jesus:

By shining in Egypt the light of truth, Thou didst dispel the darkness of falsehood; for its idols fell, O Saviour, unable to endure Thy strength;

The Apostle Paul (+67 A.D.)

As recounted in the Book of Acts (19:11-20), the miracles of the Apostle Paul led many pagan sorcerers in Ephesus to convert to Christ, whereupon they publicly burned their spell-books. Scripture concludes this episode with the words: So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

The Apostle Matthew (+ 1st century A.D.)

Some accounts of the Evangelist’s life state that in the place of his martyrdom the local ruler repented of executing the Saint and was baptized, taking the name Matthew. The newly-illumined king then proceeded to destroy the pagan idols in his temples.

The Apostle John (c. +97 A.D.)

Some accounts of the Life of John the Evangelist state that his exile to Patmos was a result of the Apostle causing pagan idols to fall through his prayers. In the Anglo-Saxon homilies from the 10th/11th centuries, there is an explicit mention of the Apostle John turning the idols to dust by the power of God (see here).

Twin-Martyrs Florus and Laurus (+ 2nd Century A.D.)

These Saints were stonemasons who settled in Ulpiana (in modern-day Kosovo) and were there employed by the Roman prefect in building a pagan temple. The Saints gave away all their salary to the poor. After the temple was complete, Ss Florus and Laurus gathered all the local Christians together, and then proceeded to smash all the statues of the temple before erecting a cross. The local authorities executed 300 Christians for this act, including the Twin-Saints, who were thrown down into a well.

Abercius of Hieropolis, Equal-to-the-Apostles (+ 167 A.D.)

After praying fervently for the conversion of the pagan-dominated Hierapolis, an angel of the Lord appeared to the bishop, and ordered him to destroy the pagan idols. Having done so, he presented himself to the pagans, who would have murdered him were it not for his miraculous healing of three demon-possessed youths.

Martyr Julian of Dalmatia (+ 160 A.D.)

This youth was mercilessly tortured over a period of days for not offering sacrifice to the idols. During this time, the temple of Serapis and all the idols within it were destroyed. The pagans attributed the destruction to St Julian’s “magic” and demanded his immediate execution. Of the idols, Julian said boldly: “Listen, accursed ones, do not trust your gods, which you have made with your hands. Know, rather, the God Who out of nothing, has created Heaven and earth.”

Virgin-Martyr Paraskevi (+ 170 A.D.)

This famous Orthodox saint was arrested for converting many pagans to Christ. After many tortures she meekly let herself be led to the Temple of Apollo to offer sacrifice. However, upon entering the temple, St Paraskevi made the sign of the cross and the statues in the temple were destroyed. The furious pagans ensured the Saint was condemned to death.

Holy Martyrs Speusippus, Eleusippus, Meleusippus and their grandmother Leonilla (+ 175 A.D.)

Triplets who lived in France, as youths they were converted to the Christian faith by their grandmother, Leonilla, and in their zeal destroyed the pagan idols in the area.

Saint Glykeria (+ 177 A.D.)

The daughter of a Roman official in Thrace, she was a secret Christian who was forced to attend a pagan high-festival at the largest temple in the area. During the service, overcome by having to witness the ministering to false idols, she toppled the statue of Jupiter and upbraided the pagans for their folly. For this she was executed.

Saint Charalampus (+202 A.D.)

When already 113 years old, St Charalampus was subjected to fierce tortures for refusing to offer sacrifice to the idols. Upon witnessing his steadfast faith, the daughter of the Emperor Severus – called Gallina – converted to the Christian faith and destroyed all her pagan idols.

Great-Martyr Christina of Tyre (+ 3rd Century A.D.)

The daughter of a pagan governor, Christina was instructed in the faith by an angel of the Lord, and afterwards she destroyed all the idols in her room and threw them from the window. When her father discovered the truth he had her cruelly tortured before he died. The next governor finished the job and executed St Christina by the sword.

Great-Martyr Tatiana of Rome (+225)

Secretly Christian, Tatiana was ordained as a deaconess, captured by the pagan authorities, brought into the sanctuary of Apollo, and forced to offer sacrifice. Through her prayers, the earth shook, toppling the statue of Apollo and causing some of the pagan priests to be crushed. As the statue fell, witnesses saw a demon flee from behind it. St Tatiana was cruelly tortured and beheaded.

Martyr Polyeuctus of Melitene, in Armenia (+ 255 A.D.)

A Roman soldier who confessed faith in Christ during the persecution by Emperor Valerian (253-259). In zeal he went to the public square and tore up the edict of Decius which required everyone to worship idols. A few moments later, he met a procession carrying twelve idols through the streets of the city. St Polyeuctus dashed the idols to the ground and trampled them underfoot.

Martyr Agatha of Palermo (+251)

Was also cruelly tortured under the edict of the Emperor Decius (see above) for refusing to offer sacrifice to the idols. During interrogations she openly mocked the idols as “not gods but demons”, and also mocked the city prefect who worshiped them. Before her final execution an earthquake shook the city destroying a number of the pagan temples, attributed to the prayers of St Agatha.

Martyr Heliconis of Thessalonica (+ 3rd Century A.D.)

Suffered under the governor Perinus for refusing to offer sacrifice to the idols. After many tortures the virgin-martyr appeared to relent and so was brought to the temple. After requesting to be alone in the temple, St Heliconis manfully tore down all the idols and smashed them to pieces. On returning, the enraged pagans demanded her execution.

Martyr Sozon (“Saved”) of Cilicia (+ late 3rd century)

A pious young shepherd who was foretold his martyrdom in a dream. Awaking he headed for the city of Pompeiopolis, where a festival to a golden statue was taking place. Secretly he broke off the hand of the statue and distributed the fragments to the poor. When persecutions began in order to find the culprit, St Sozon immediately presented himself to the emperor Maximian, confessing: “I did this, so that you might see the lack of power of your god, which offered me no resistance. It is not a god, but a deaf and dumb idol. I wanted to smash it all into pieces, so that people would no longer worship the work of men’s hands.” St Sozon gave up his life under pitiless tortures.

Saint Victor of Marseilles (+290 A.D.)

A Roman army officer in Marseilles, who publicly denounced the worship of idols. At the orders of Emperor Maximian he was brought before a statue of Jupiter in order to offer incense before it. Not only did St Victor refuse, he kicked the statue, causing it to fall and shatter. Crushed under a millstone.

Priest-Martyr Mocius of Amphipolis (+ 295 A.D.)

Overturned the altar during a pagan service to Dionysius (Bacchus) and exhorted those gathered to turn to Christ. Captured and forced to offer sacrifice to false gods, the Saint called upon the name of Jesus Christ and the idols shattered. He was finally brought to Byzantium and executed there.

Sainted-bishop Sisinios and Artemon, Presbyter of Laodicea (+303)

When the Emperor Diocletian ordered a persecution of the Christians in the late 3rd century, St Artemon was already an elderly and long-serving priest of the Church. Saint Sisinios, knowing about the impending arrival in the Laodiceian district of the military-commander Patricius, went together with the priest Artemon into the pagan-temple of the goddess Artemis. There they smashed and burnt the idols. Although arrested and tortured, St Artemon’s life was miraculously spared so that he could go on preaching until 303 A.D., when he was finally seized by pagans and murdered.

Martyr Blaise of Sebaste (+ 316 A.D.)

An old man living a life of prayer in a secluded cave, the pagans did not forget his earlier life as a zealous bishop for the Christians. Dragging him back to the city to face trial, St Sebaste fearlessly mocked the idols (as shown in this detail from a Russian icon) for which he was savagely beaten and eventually executed along with pagan women who had been converted by his words and miracles.

Great-Martyr Theodore Stratelates, or “the General” (+ 319 A.D.)

Was appointed military-commander in the city of Heraclea Pontica, during the time the emperor Licinius began a fierce persecution of Christians. Theodore himself invited Licinius to Heraclea, having promised to offer a sacrifice to the pagan gods. He requested that all the gold and silver statues of the gods which they had in Heraclea be gathered up at his house. Theodore then smashed them into pieces which he then distributed to the poor. After tortures, St Theodore was beheaded

Martyr Acacius of Apamea (+ early 4th century)

Holy Martyr Acacius was brought to trial for his belief in Christ. Sent from city to city enduring tortures along the way, the Saint publicly caused the toppling of pagan idols through his prayers… twice!

Saint George the Victory-Bearer (+ 303 A.D.)

Among the many stories relating to this great Saint, is one relating to the smashing of idols (and shown in the picture at the very top of this post). After being offered great riches and power, the Holy George was brought to the temple of Apollo to give sacrifice. St George made the sign of the Cross approaching an idol and turned towards it, as though it were alive: “You wishest to receive from me sacrifice befitting God?” The demon inhabiting the idol cried out: “I am not God and none of those like me are God. The One-Only God is He Whom thou preachest. We are of those servant-angels of His, which became apostate, and in the grips of jealousy we do tempt people.” “How dare ye to be here, when hither have come I, the servant of the True God?” – asked the saint. Then was heard a crash and wailing, and the idols fell down and were shattered.

Priestly-Martyr Erasmus of Ohrid (+ 303)

Born in Antioch and after living a life of prayer on Mt Lebanon, he was ordained bishop and sent into Ohrid to preach the Gospel. Through miracles and preaching he converted many pagans in Ohrid, and overturned their altars. Brought before Emperor Maximian, Erasmus was commanded to worship a copper statue of Zeus. St Erasmus through prayer caused a terrible-looking dragon to appear from behing the idol and, again through prayer, caused it to wither and die. Through this sign the demonic nature of idol-worship was revealed, and the power of Christ to overcome it, converting 20,000 pagan souls. St Erasmus was beaten and imprisoned, but later was released and died in peace.

Empress Helena (+ 329 A.D.)

The pious Christian mother of Constantine the Great, Empress Helena is best remembered in the Orthodox Church for finding the Holy Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified during a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. On the site of the finding she erected the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Less well-known perhaps, but no less significant, is that a temple to the goddess Aphrodite (Venus) needed to be flattened for the church to be built. St Helena probably also ordered the destruction of a temple to Zeus (Jupiter) in order to build a church dedicated to St. Cyrus and St. John.

The finding of the true Cross is commemorated on September 14, and is one of the Great Feasts of the Church.

Saint Nino (or Nina), Enlightener of Georgia (+ 332)

A native of Cappadocia, the Saint Nino is called “Equal-to-the-Apostles” for her evangelism of Georgia in the 4th century. One time, St Nino was traveling to Mtskheta with a group of Georgian pilgrims on their way to venerate the god Armazi. There she watched with great sadness as the Georgian people trembled before the idols, and prayed: “O Lord, send down Thy mercy upon this nation …that all nations may glorify Thee alone, the One True God, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ.” A violent wind began to blow and hail fell from the sky, shattering the pagan statues.

Achillius of Larisa (+ 330 A.D.)

The earliest recorded bishop of Larisa, St Achillius was present at the first Ecumenical Council, where he defending the Orthodox faith. In his city, the miracle-working Achillius embodied well the fuller Orthodox understanding of “religious images”: he was renowned for both tearing down pagan temples and adorning the Christian churches with icons. Reposed peacefully.

St. Nicholas destroying the idolsNicholas the Wonder-Worker of Myra (+ 345 A.D.)

One of the most celebrated Saints of the Orthodox Church worldwide, the wonderful feats of this miracle-working bishop abound. Among these acts is the destruction of all the temple of Diana and other pagan shrines in his city of Myra, after he was reinstated as bishop there during Constantine’s reign. Much of the demolition was carried out by his own hand, though he also had to struggle in prayer to overcome the demons that inhabited the temples. That this act of Nicholas is celebrated is evidenced in later church frescoes showing the event, and this account taken from his biography.

Martyr Mark, Bishop of Arethusa, in Syria (suffered 360 A.D.)

Under Constantine the Great St Mark, with the help of his deacon Cyril, had tore down a pagan temple and built a church in its place. When Julian the Apostate became emperor, idol-worship again grew, and the pagans wished to take revenge upon the now elderly bishop. Beaten, slashed with knives, his ears sliced off with linen, and with his hair pulled out, St Mark steadfastly refused to offer up any money in order to rebuild the pagan temple he had demolished. Even after the pagans kept lowering the price, St Mark refused to pay a single coin. Exhausted, and seeing that people were converted to Christ through his endurance, the torturers let St Mark go!

St Gregory the Theologian writes highly of St Mark, and uses his example in his writings against Julian the Apostate.

Saint Emilian of Thrace (+ 362 A.D.)

A servant of the governor of Dorostolon, in Thrace, during the reign of Julian the Apostate. When an imperial delegate arrived in Dorostolon to kill the Christians, he did not find a single one there. Delighted by this, he ordered a great feast in honour of the idols to take place the next day. That night, Emilian went throughout the town and smashed all the idols with a hammer. The next day, the outraged citizens grabbed a man, supposing him to be the culprit. Emilian said within himself: ‘If I conceal my action, what sort of use has it been? Shall I not stand before God as the slayer of an innocent man?’ He therefore confessed everything before the governor, explaining: ‘God and my soul commanded me to destroy those dead pillars that you call gods.’ The enraged governor ordered St Emilian to be flogged and burned.

Spyridon the Wonderworker of Tremithus, in Cyprus(+ 348 A.D.)

A shepherd who gave all his wealth to the poor, St Spyridon was made bishop of Tremithus after the death of his wife, under the reign of Constantine the Great. All the Lives of the saint speak of the amazing simplicity and the gift of wonder-working granted him by God. Through a word of the saint the dead were awakened, the elements of nature tamed, the idols smashed. At one point, a Council had been convened at Alexandria by the Patriarch to discuss what to do about the idols and pagan temples there. Through the prayers of the Fathers of the Council all the idols fell down except one, which was very much revered. It was revealed to the Patriarch in a vision that this idol had to be shattered by St Spyridon of Tremithus. Invited by the Council, the saint set sail on a ship, and at the moment the ship touched shore and the saint stepped out on land, the idol in Alexandria with all its offerings turned to dust, which then was reported to the Patriarch and all the bishops.

Great-Martyr Irene of Thessalonica (+ 4th century A.D.)

Born in Persia, Irene was the daughter of the pagan king Licinius, and her parents named her Penelope. Locked in a tower to keep her away from Christian influence, Penelope received instruction from her tutor, Apellian, who was secretly Christian. Baptized by a priest named Timothy, she took the name Irene (meaning “peace”), and then smashed all her father’s idols, urging her parents to be Christians.

Emperor Theodosius the Great (+ 395 A.D.)

As ruler of the western and eastern Roman Empires, St Theodosius was zealous in upholding the Orthodox confession of the Holy Trinity, and is honored with the epitaph: “Right-Believing”. He ordered the destruction of many pagan temples, outlawed the old Olympic Games, and successfully defeated numerous armed, pagan rebellions, which sought to re-establish worship of the pagan gods.

Julius the Presbyter and Julian the Deacon (+ 5th Century A.D.)

Natives of Myrmidonia, these two brothers visited many outlying lands of the Byzantine Empire in order to win converts to Christ. To this end, they obtained permission from the Emperor Theodosius the Younger (+450) to build churches over the sites of dismantled pagan shrines. The grave of St Julius, which lay within a church built by Julius himself, dedicated to the Twelve Holy Apostles, became a site of healing.

Porphyry of GazaSaint Porphyry of Gaza, Bishop and Confessor (+ 420 A.D.)

After many years as a monk, St Porphyry was elected Bishop of Gaza, a city where the Christian population numbered less than three-hundred, and idolatry was wide-spread. Discriminated against by the pagans, St Porphyry went to Constantinople and gained the support of Emperor Arcadius and the Archbishop, St John Chrysostom, to close down the idolatrous temples. Officials sent to close down the pagan shrines of Gaza were often bribed, and so after much labouring, St Porphyry undertook the destruction of the temples personally with his flock of Christians. Many temples were destroyed, including those dedicated to Aphrodite, Hecate, the Sun, Apollo, Kore (Persephone), Tychaion, the shrine of a hero, and the Marneion, dedicated to Zeus. In their place, Christian churches were erected. The pagan idols were burnt, and the marble from their temples were used to pave the way to the new Christian churches, so that all Christians on their way to worship would trample upon the remains of idolatry. These acts, along with much preaching, prayer, and humiliations suffered by St Porphyry, won the entire city of Gaza over to the Christian faith.

The Life of St Porphyry, recounting his struggles against the pagans, was written by the deacon Mark.

Saint Gregory the Great (+ 604 A.D.)

A Holy Father among the Saints, St Gregory is also known for sending, as the Bishop of Rome, the missionary St. Augustine of Canterbury to evangelize the English in the late 6th century. In a letter to Abbot Melitus, St Gregory writes:

Tell [Bishop Augustine] that I have decided after long deliberation about the English people, namely that the idol temples of that race should not be destroyed, but only the idols in them. Let blessed water be prepared, and sprinkled in these temples, and altars constructed, and relics deposited. For if these temples are well built, it is essential that they should be transferred from the worship of devils to the service of the true God.

We can be confident that St Augustine of Canterbury carried out faithfully the orders of St Gregory, and can also be counted among the list of those Saints which have destroyed pagan religious artifacts.

In another letter to Aethelbert, the first Christian king of England, St Gregory gives further exhortations to destroy the idols:

Almighty God raises up certain good men to be rulers over nations in order that he may by their means bestow the gift of righteousness upon all those over whom they are set… So, my most illustrious son, watch carefully over the grace you have received from God and hasten to extend the Christian faith among the people subject to you. Increase your zeal for their conversion; suppress the worship of idols; overthrow their buildings and shrines…

It should be noted that King Aethelbert is also revered by the Orthodox Church, even if he is not outrightly proclaimed as a Saint. Both these letters are found in full in St Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English people (Book I).

Edwin of Northumbria, King and Martyr (+ 633 A.D.)

A thoughtful king who took many years before finally accepting baptism by the hand of St Paulinius, despite his wife already being a pious Christian. After much deliberation, it was a miracle which finally convinced the king of Christ’s power, and upon making the decision to convert, his loyal lords and pagan priests were convinced too by his firmness of confession. The first thing St Edwin did, before even being baptized, was to order the “profaning” (according to Bede’s history) of the pagan altars and shrines. The chief-priest, Coffi, volunteered to do this, riding on horseback to the main pagan temple and throwing a spear at the altar, before tearing the whole edifice down (this happened not far from York, UK).

Saint Romanus (also Godard) of Rouen (+ 640 A.D.)

A sainted bishop of Rouen, before his consecration the faithful of the city asked Romanus to do something about the Temple of Venus in the Gallo-Roman amphitheatre. St Romanus entered the temple and tore the dedication from the altar, causing the temple to miraculously crumble and collapse.

From the parish church of Crediton, St Boniface's birthplaceSaint Boniface (+ 754 A.D.)

Born Wynfrith in Devonshire, England, St Boniface went on to spread the Gospel throughout the German lands. One of his most famous evangelic feats was the felling by his own hand of a sacred Oak dedicated to Thor, using the timber to build a chapel on the site where today stands the cathedral of Fritzlar.

Saint Michael, first Metropolitan of Kiev (+ 992 A.D.)

Possibly a native of Syria, St Michael was sent by St Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople to be the first Metropolitan (head-Bishop) of Kiev, after that nation’s ruler, Prince Vladimir, accepted baptism. Saint Michael spent the rest of his days tirelessly traveling the Kievan lands preaching, shepherding the faithful, establishing churches, and overturning the pagan shrines.

Holy Prince Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles (+ 1015 A.D.)

Previously a war-monger, fanatic idol-worshiper, and polygamist, the change in Prince Vladimir after his baptism in the year 988 cannot be more dramatic. Immediately after his baptism, the newly-illumined ruler also had his twelve sons baptized, along with many boyars. Prince Vladimir then went on to have the wooden idols he had erected, torn down and hacked to pieces, with a statue of the chief pagan God, Perun, cast into the River Dnieper. These acts of Prince Vladimir had such far-reaching consequences that they later became known as the Baptism of Rus’. Prince Vladimir spent the rest of his twenty-eight years establishing churches and Christian schools throughout his lands, supported in his efforts by Sainted Metropolitan Michael (see above).

Saint Abraham of Rostov (+ 1077 A.D.)

A pagan convert who became a monk and dwelt in the areas around Rostov, in Russia. St. Abraham prayed fervently before an icon of Christ that he may be able to topple the idol of the local’s chief god: Veles. In answer to his prayers, the Apostle John appeared to the monk, and gave him a staff. With this, St. Abraham went to the shrine of Veles and toppled the statue of him, smashing it into pieces. Abraham founded the monastery of the Theophany in Rostov, as well two parish churches.

Left: St. Abraham receives a staff from the Apostle John
Right: St Abraham uses it to destroy the idol of Veles (Fresco of the monastery St. John the Evangelist, Rostov)

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Some of the saints listed above are chiefly remembered for their fearless acts of destroying idols, though the majority are not. However, all the saints listed above are, among their other works, openly celebrated by the Church for their destruction of non-Christian temples, shrines, and statues.

What to take from this all? As with other miraculous deeds of the Saints, the destruction of the idols can be understood symbolically as the victory of right-believing Christians over all other idols, whether they be demons pretending to be gods or man-made constructs that lead our minds from the contemplation of God. This can be done without denying the historical fact of the Church’s Saints physically destroying non-Christian religious images. Of course, when considering other deeds of the Saints, we try to use their acts as an example for our own conduct. In the case of idol-smashing, most Christians today would shy away from literally following the Saints’ example, even though non-Christian idols abound. Perhaps this is wise, though the courage of these idol-smashing Saints is certainly something worthy of imitation. In striving for this, we can pray to Christ that we may emulate the martyr’s strength:

Thy Martyr, O Lord, in his courageous contest for Thee

Received the prize of the crowns of incorruption

And life from Thee, our immortal God.

For since he possessed Thy strength, he cast down the tyrants

And wholly destroyed the demons’ strengthless presumption.

O Christ God, by his prayers, save our souls,

Since Thou art merciful.

(General Apolytikion to a Martyr)

Source: https://iconreader.wordpress.com/2012/08/19/saints-who-destroyed-religious-images/

The Right Reverend Panteleimon, bp. of Orekhovo-Zuevo, the Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Ministry, and the spiritual father of the Miloserdie (Mercy) Orthodox Charity Service, which cares for twenty-seven social projects, told The Russian Reporter, Issue No.18 (435), how to help this service.

When a journalist interviews a priest, he can never be sure whether it is an interview or a confession. “I have always hated myself for being hypocritical: when I go on a business trip, I meet many strangers and I have to adapt to each one of them,” I said. The Right Reverend Panteleimon, bp. of Orekhovo-Zuevo, the Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Ministry, and the spiritual father of the Miloserdie (Mercy) Orthodox Charity Service asked me in response, “Why do you need to be hypocritical? Can’t you simply love people and be interested in their lives?”

— You can’t imagine what kinds of people I have to meet sometimes.

— You can love any individual, be they a villain or a saint. You can pity someone with love, and be amazed at someone with love. Most importantly, you should ignore the evil aspects and focus on the good ones. You should try and find something good in the person you meet: the bad traits don’t need to be discovered, they will eventually surface.

To be honest, this is the point at which I could have finished the interview. It looks like these two sentences characterized everything there is to know about life in general and human interaction in particular. However, apart from spiritual and exalted issues, we have to talk about earthly problems, such as how to stimulate giving to Miloserdie Orthodox Charity Service.

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— Your Grace, the projects of the Miloserdie Service require half a billion roubles (US $8,716,000) every year to continue functioning. How did you make it to this level?

— Don’t be surprised at the apparent greatness of this amount. Compared to all social activity of the government, it is but a meager drop. For us, it is always a headache to be able to collect so much money on a regular basis. We made it to this level very easily, it just happened.

Bishop Panteleimon of Orekhovo-Zuevo

— What do you mean?

— Well, we did not plan our projects in advance. We did not fathom elaborate concepts… There were people who wanted to do good. At the same time, there were people who needed someone to do good to them. When both parties came together, a new project was born. That’s all.

— What kind of maintenance does a project require?

— Some projects were unfunded in the beginning, but as they grew we started to realize that they need to be funded. For instance, our volunteers in their free time would visit people at home and help them. In the meantime, there were so many volunteers that we needed paid coordinators. That was how our staff came to be. We also visited orphanages but later we came to realize that it is hardly helpful, so we opened our own orphanage. That was how we accumulated about thirty projects in the course of twenty-five years, which cannot do without funding.

— Do you receive any grants or state subsidies?

— Yes, we do. But these subsidies do not cover all our needs. And again, it’s one-time support.

— Is there a way out of this situation?

— There is a way to deal with it, not exactly a way out. We have tested and tried it, and it works. It is called the Society of the Friends of Charity. We came up with this idea during the previous crisis, in 2008. It literally rescued us. Our financial support dropped by a third because many large donors left. We started saving money and even cut down on some of our projects but we still didn’t have enough money. What could we do? So we thought: why not ask middle-class people for help? They may not be as rich as our previous donors but we suggested that they donate one per cent of their income to us on a regular basis.

— One per cent, a kopeck out of a rouble…

— Yes, and it worked. Nowadays we have about ten thousand of the Friends of Charity and they account for one-fifth of the funding of all our projects.

— How does it work?

— Anyone can sign up for membership. A specified amount is withdrawn from their phone or bank account every month.

— Are people willing to help?

— We invited people to take part in this program last summer, and as a result, donations doubled. If we had three times as many Friends of Charity as we have now, all our financial needs would be covered.

If we distance ourselves from talking about money, it seems to me that these kinds of things are valuable for the donors, too. Of course, they can help the needy independently: they can buy food for the homeless or give money to a family with many children. Nonetheless, when we collect this money together, we can do a whole lot more. “A little help from many people” is our motto. And it really works and saves lives.

— Do I get it right that you want those people whom you call Friends of Charity to become a fellowship of some kind?

— I would like these people to become real friends who do not just send us donations every month. I would like them to learn and be interested in what we are doing, to help us with their ideas, with their participation, and with their prayers if they are believers. I would like them to make friends with the people whom they assist — by the way, we regularly provide assistance to approximately two thousand people. I would like our donors to know them, to love them and to be compassionate towards them. I am also ready to meet them and make friends — even on the social media. I plan to post some information about the Church, about spiritual life and God’s commandments, which are easy to understand for a contemporary person.

— It turns out that the rich donate less during a crisis and the middle class donates more, doesn’t it?

— Yes, that’s right. We say: we have a crisis now, so please help someone who is hit harder than you! It is during such trials that one’s true nature is made clear.

— Does it mean that you have switched over to small-scale donors?

— Not exactly. We are trying to get various social groups involved. Anyway, we still go begging for money. I send emails wherever I can. I had a birthday not long ago, and I asked everyone not to buy me any gifts but donate to our service instead.

— Aren’t you disturbed that in this case mercy becomes, er, somewhat automatic, with all those monthly remittances?

— I think otherwise. This kind of help is harder than one-time donation. Sometimes people donate money spontaneously. They see a miserable person and pity them, and that’s why they give that person money. On the contrary, here you have to part with one thousand roubles every single month. It’s harder, right? You have to remain true to your decision, which is especially vital because we live in a world where truthfulness and loyalty are rare… A guy who had lived in our orphanage went to a secular university. He told me how his room-mates discussed how many real lovers can one have in a lifetime. In my opinion there can be only one real love in a person’s life. It turns out that they believe there could be two or three lovers, if the first one becomes boring, and the second one grows old.

— In other words, you prefer getting up and doing exercises instead of throwing oneself into the heat under the influence of emotions?

— Exactly! Lack of faithfulness and persistence is a scourge of our times. In this case people are always loyal. It is especially important for a Russian. Perhaps, Germans have it easier.

— It must be some kind of spiritual labor, doesn’t it?

— It’s hard work. It means working with your own soul, with your own self. Few people want to perform this work nowadays. People like to get new experiences and extreme feelings. They live in bursts and flashes. It might be okay to a certain extent because it makes life fun, but you still need to be working and putting effort into what you do. The Lord says that the Heavenly Kingdom is taken by force.

— May it be a sign of our time, or “you don’t get to choose the time of your life, you can simply live like a man and die like a warrior”?

— I think we should follow the old motto, Do what you must and be what it may. Be loyal to the work that the Lord has called you unto. Do not judge others. Be careful, don’t go into extremes. During the Last Judgment, you won’t be asked at what time you lived, only how you lived. You’ll have to show what kind of environment you built for people around you, whether you shared your love, compassion, and kindness with them. You will learn a lot about yourselves during the Judgment Day, rest assured.

— There are so many charities nowadays. They claim to help a lot of people but if you start looking into what they really do, you’ll see that they simply pay salaries to their staff and don’t really help anyone else. How can one figure out if Miloserdie Service is a valid charity that really does its job?

— We are open and transparent. Our fund-raisers don’t get interest on the money they have raised. They have fixed salaries. It isn’t for this that they work for. We post our financial statements regularly, so a donor who gives us money can see where it goes. She can also visit any project run by our charity just by letting us know about it in advance. I’m sure that people will see with their own eyes that it is not a Mercedes Benz for a fat priest that their money goes to.

By the way, let me tell you a story. It happened when we raised funds for fire victims — remember the wildfires in 2010? We had a headquarters next to this church. There were many volunteers: some purchasing motor pumps, some sorting clothes, some bringing meals for the rescuers… A reporter of a large Moscow newspaper came to us and asked whom we were sending help to. Well, we replied: look at our report posted on the website and choose any of the beneficiaries. She picked ten beneficiaries and contacted them — and they confirmed that they did actually receive our help. We asked her if she was going to write about it. She said, I will write about it later. Seven years later, she hasn’t published that article about us yet.

— Did it hurt you?

— No, I was delighted. I thought, We must be doing things the right way.

— Your Grace, how did you personally came into this field of charity?

— I believe it to be God’s vocation. I came home after serving in the army. I was an un-baptized atheist and had a personality crisis. I was disappointed and skeptical about everything: art, politics… I needed a way out but I didn’t know what to do and how to live. So I remember that moment in detail: I was strolling down Bakuninskaya street near the telegraph building and tramways. All of a sudden the following idea pops up in my head: there are sick children in this world, so it must be good and meaningful if I help them. That was why I went to work as an orderly in a hospital. I didn’t manage to get a job in a children’s hospital but I finally found myself working in a TB hospital. It was there that I came to the faith. That was my decisive step towards God, expressed in a clear and short thought.

— Where did that thought come from — no one knows.

— Well, I believe that there is God up there, — the Right Reverend Panteleimon smiles kindly. I like it how he manages to bring the conversation back to earth without damaging the overall impression.

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Miloserdie Orthodox Charity Service is one of the top five charities in Russia, according to Rusfond list. Miloserdie Service runs twenty-seven social projects, including a mobile palliative service for children, St Spyridon’s Almshouse, Mother’s House Crisis Center, Salvation Hangar for the homeless, a service for helping HIV-positive persons, a visiting nurse service, a volunteer network that is one of the largest in Russia (over 1200 volunteers), and a kindergarten for disabled children.

Source: http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/5031917.html

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Seven Stories and Parables for the Week: Issue 5

A List of Saints Known to Have Destroyed Idols

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