The Catalog of Good Deeds

“Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house.” A godly heart feels God’s beauty and tries to multiply it and spread it around. Churches of God are under particular care. They are adorned by the grace-inspired labor of architects, icon painters, and skilled woodworkers. Metalworkers also have a vast field for applying their creativity, especially thanks to the fact that every church requires a number of items that are inevitably made of metals, e.g., censers, vigil lamps, candle holders, and a lot more. The shine of the polished metal resembles effulgent halos on icons because it goes well with sacred objects, such as crosses, worship books, and liturgical supplies. It reflects the grace that God pours down on the faithful flock.

The Non-Ferrous Metals Workshop of St Elisabeth Convent has been doing the Lord’s work for over a decade now. It brings together various specialists: artists, chemists, solderers, and jewelers. They make perfect and lovely sanctuary items. Our craftspeople combine ancient and modern technologies of metalwork in order to make high-quality products characterized by an original and distinct design. The workshop enjoys making both serial items and custom-made items: our artisans like to demonstrate their skills.

We would like to tell you about the primary methods that make outstanding church decorations. We hope you’ll appreciate the hard work and professionalism of our craftspeople.

1. Wrought Metal

This method allows to copy a drawing from a matrix onto a thin metal sheet. We get a homogeneous-looking relief ornament with smooth transitions. Wrought decorative elements are used for decorating icons, icon cases (kiots), reliquaries, and tabernacles. Wrought metal combined with wood looks fantastic.

2. Filigree

Filigree offers an unmatched delicate pattern made of small pieces of thin coiled brass wire, placed on a metal plate in such a way so as to form a drawing, which is then soldered into the decorative pattern with fire. This method is used to decorate vigil lamps, crosses, and reliquaries. An ingenious and capable craftsperson can make certain items using only filigree.

3. Casting

This technique is ideal for making solid items with complex curves and basic curved details. Initially, the piece is cut out from wax by hand to make an alabaster mold for the molten metal. It is the principal technology used for making pectoral crosses, bells, cast candle holders, and censers.

4. Etching

This method is used to furnish an iconographic or other image on metal. The item is covered with a protective acid-resistant ground. The artists scratches the drawing out on the item and then dips the item into a bath of acid, which dissolves the exposed parts and makes lines in the metal. Etching is a great way to produce the necessary image with well-defined contours on flat and convex surfaces. This method is well-suited for making inscriptions and patterns on especially thick items.

5. Electrotype

Electrotype is an electrochemical process, which makes an exact facsimile of any object having an irregular surface. There is a wire connected to a rubber mold coated with silver powder. The mold is dipped into a special chemical bath with a copper plate in it. The electric current makes copper enter the conducting surface of the mold and make up a layer of desired shape. It is thanks to electrotyping that we are able to make three-dimensional sacred images from metal and plant them in Holy Table Gospel covers and other worship book covers.

Our craftspeople typically make use of several methods at the same time. It makes it possible to fully implement their ideas, take into account the customer’s preferences, and make original items, which you can see and purchase in the Catalog of Good Deeds. Products made in our Non-Ferrous Metals Workshop are popular with many people and parishes around the world.

The Church always mentions those who bring offerings and do good works in this holy and all-venerable house in litanies during the Divine Liturgy. The history of this good work begins in the Old Testament Tabernacle, which was built according to God’s plan to serve as an example for the future generations of those who believe in His Holy Name. Centuries have passed and styles have changed but the principle of zealous commitment to making one’s faith visible by building and decorating churches, including the churches of our own souls, has remained intact. May the Lord bless everyone who works hard to achieve it.

By Vladislav Gurin,

the Master of Theology,

a PG student of the Minsk Theological Academy

The Catalog of Good Deeds, 2018

Parents are faith models for their children. The light of faith in a child’s heart is sparked by his or her environment, which should be full of faith and love, good thoughts, pious lifestyle, and supportive mutual relations among his or her family members. Schools have to help families in raising their children.

We send our children to school. What do we expect from the school? What do parents look for when they choose the school? Is it quality of education, comfortable surroundings, or sufficient equipment? Do they hope that seeds of Christianity will be sown in their child’s souls along with reading and writing skills? How to make a balanced choice of the right educational framework?

Competition is growing in the world in the recent decades. Sadly, schools are trying to build competitive and successful personalities but they often forget about the most important aspect, i.e., children’s souls.

History has preserved numerous vivid examples of good educational frameworks that haven’t lost their value even today. Some of these frameworks and approaches should be our beacons in the “sea of education”.

Sergey Alexandrovich Rachinsky, an outstanding scholar, teacher, educator, professor of Moscow University, botanist and mathematician, associate member of the Imperial Saint Petersburg Academy of Science, aptly called “the teacher of the century”, had his 185th anniversary in 2018. Emperors Alexander III and Nicholas II thanked him for his selfless work. Even his contemporaries called him the “school apostle”, “a teacher from God”. Pyotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky inscribed his First String Quartet to Prof. Rachinsky. His students achieved success in diverse fields. There were teachers, priests, scientists, and artists among them, including Archpriest Alexander Vassilyev, who was the spiritual counselor of Emperor Nicholas II family.

N. Bogdanov-Belsky, "The Portrait of Nicholas II", 1908

More than ten books were written about Rachinsky’s life and work during the pre-Revolution decade. His innovations were used in England and Japan.

Family upbringing and a traditional lifestyle based on Orthodoxy are key to understanding the educational concept of this scholar and practical teacher. Meanwhile, schools in Russia in Rachinsky’s time modeled themselves on foreign educational systems and were utterly secular.

The famous teacher believed that the upbringing of a true Christian is possible only through interaction of the school and the Church. The curriculum in his school incorporated religious practices, esthetical subjects, introduction to various sciences, and manual labor.

N. Bogdanov-Belsky, "In Church", 1939

Liturgy was the core of all learning in Rachinsky’s school. His school put an emphasis on teaching the God's Law, which was underpinned by practical participation of students in worship as singers and readers. Church services in the church were awe-filled and solemn. Singing was excellent. After church services, Rachinsky’s students had tea and spent their free time relaxing and visiting their families.

Prof. Rachinsky taught Church Slavonic. He entrusted the teaching of the God's Law only to a priest, insisting that the classes were to consist of an open and sincere discussion.

Prof. Rachinsky’s school had the same purpose as the Orthodox Church: it aimed at educating people, that is, restoring the Image of God in which they had been made. The God's Law and church singing, exegesis of the Holy Scripture and the Psalms, pilgrimages on foot to holy places were a natural and meaningful continuation of the children’s life and not something imposed on them.

N. Bogdanov-Belsky, "Symphony", 1920

Esthetic studies went hand in hand with religious and moral cultivation of the children’s feelings and self-discipline. Apart from well-organized church choir, the children learned to play the violin, the piano, and reed organ. They played the music on holidays and in the evenings.

There was a professional arts workshop in Rachinsky’s school. He taught graphics, painting, and drawing. It was there that would-be talented artists, such as Nikolay Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky (1868-1945) - an artist and an icon painter whose works are used in this article, Tit Nikonov, renowned for his portraits, and Ivan Peterson, known for his portraits and icons, got the initial inspiration for their future lifelong occupation.

Rachinsky’s school taught children to work hard. The students did all chores themselves: they would bring buckets of water, kindle fire in the stoves, wash the school floor, put everything in order, guard the school, and help in the kitchen. Teachers set examples for their students and passed on labor skills. The school was neat and clean thanks to the students working under Rachinsky’s supervision.

Festivals and celebrations were the most memorable parts of the everyday life in the school. Sergey Rachinsky thought that school had to be remembered for its festivities and not its routines. He penned scripts for a number of drama plays. The students’ favorite holiday events were Christmas celebrations around the Christmas Tree and the Feast of Slavic ABC dedicated to Ss. Cyril and Methodius, the great enlighteners of the Slavs. This holiday coincided with the end of the school year. There was a solemn service in the church, and then the procession with crosses and icons went to the school, where there was a festive meal for the students, teachers, and guests. All children received gifts.

N. Bogdanov-Belsky, "The Teacher's Guests", 1928

Sergey Rachinsky accumulated vast pedagogical expertise, which can be successfully used nowadays. This is especially true of spiritual and moral aspects of children’s upbringing and education thanks to the connection between the church and the school. The teacher wrote, “Truly educated people are produced only by those schools that are managed and run by churches.”

Classmates, teachers, and the school environment as a whole undoubtedly and objectively impact a child’s development. People are shaped by their environment. It is no accident that the Scripture states, [W]ith the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward (Ps. 18: 26).

Both in his time and now schools pay too much attention to “pure knowledge”, in spite of the fact that even the most advanced and strong knowledge will not benefit an individual without the proper disposition of his soul.

A child’s soul is like a clean slate: it will display everything that an artist draws on it, be it good or bad.

Let us ponder on what the school we send our children to should be like. What are the artists in whose hands we entrust our kids? What marks will they leave in our children’s souls?

By Michael Mironenko,

a Bachelor of Theology,

the director of the Sunday School at the Church
in honor of St. Prince Vladimir in Minsk,

a father of two children

The Catalof of Good Deeds, 2018

Question: "What does St Paul mean when he says "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law" (1 Corinthians 14:34)? Does this mean that women cannot direct or sing in the choir?"

Answer: Interpreting this passage is complicated by the fact that it is in the context of a discussion of how speaking in tongues and prophecy were to be handled during the services of the Church, and yet because of the abuse of these practices by those who were suffering from spiritual delusion, the Church ceased to allow such things to be done in the context of the services altogether. Furthermore, because women who claimed to have the gift of prophecy were very prominent in the Montanist heresy (which began in the second century), in many of the comments about this passage you find in the Fathers, they are using it polemically. And so it may be that polemics led some to take the view that this passage means that women should refrain not only from speaking in prophecy or singing audibly in the Church, but even from praying audibly. However, this view was not unanimously held.

St. Paul said earlier in the same epistle: "But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven" (1 Corinthians 11:5), and here he makes no suggestion that they should not pray or prophesy in Church... only that they should not do so without their heads uncovered. St. John Chrysostom points out:

"For there were, as I said, both men who prophesied and women who had this gift at that time, as the daughters of Philip, (Acts 21:9) as others before them and after them: concerning whom also the prophet spake of old: “your sons shall prophesy, and your daughters shall see visions” (c.f. Joel 2:28 and Acts 2:17 - from Homily 26 on 1 Corinthians).

In his 37th homily on 1 Corinthians (which covers 14:34), he says that the prohibition is directed against women speaking "idly," or "inconsiderately" (i.e. out of the proper order discussed earlier in chapter 14), but he does not suggest that the statement prohibits women who had the gift of prophecy from prophesying in Church.

The context of chapter 14 is about the proper order that should prevail when people either spoke in tongues or prophesied... and there is a previous instance in which St. Paul speaks of keeping silence:

"If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God (1 Corinthians 14:27-8).

Clearly in this case, St. Paul is not making an absolute ban on such a person speaking in Church - he is only forbidding him to speak in tongues if there is no one to interpret (in which case no one else would receive any edification). And so the silence is with regard to speaking out of good order.

Then St. Paul again speaks of keeping silent:

"Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints" (1 Corinthians 14:29-33).

When it speaks of letting the others judge, this suggests that after a person would prophesy, others would comment on it - most likely this would have been done by those who had charge of the Church (certainly an Apostle, if present, and the local bishop, presbyters, and deacons). Probably some would ask questions about what was said. It is in both of these respects that St. Paul is telling women to keep silence, and if they had questions to ask their husbands about it later -- but this meant keeping silence with regard to these specific things. And St. John Chrysostom's comments about refraining from idle talk were certainly also applicable here.

Of course, in our context, we would not allow either a man or a women to speak in tongues or prophesy in the context of a service, but the point is that the statement that women should keep silence was not an absolute prohibition against women praying audibly or singing.

St. Ephrem the Syrian actually formed women choirs in Edessa (see "Spoken Words, Voiced Silence: Biblical Women in Syriac Tradition, by Susan Ashbrook Harvey). According to Fr. Robert Taft (a noted historian of Eastern Liturgics), there was also a woman's choir in the Hagia Sophia (Interview of Sister Vassa Larin, "Orthodoxy is not a Religion of Fear").

There are also long standing traditions of congregational singing, such as among the Carpatho-Russians, which obviously included women in the singing. And those who have grown up in that context will tell you that this was one of the most powerful aspects of parish life.

Furthermore, women have been singing in mixed choirs and even directing choirs in the Russian Church for a very long time now, and saints, such as St. John of Shanghai have not only raised no objections to it, but have blessed it to be so. So while one may make a case against women singing on the basis of the comments of some Fathers, the fact that the Church has allowed it, and that this has been without any controversy, and with the blessing of many saints should restrain anyone from making dogmatic arguments against the practice.

It is also a fact that without women singers and choir directors, many parishes would be hard pressed to pull off a decent service, and so even if you could make the argument that in an ideal world, choirs would consist of only tonsured male readers, the problem remains that we do not live in such an ideal world, and have to use the resources that we have. St. Paul's concern in his first epistle to the Corinthians was that "all things be done decently, and in good order" (1 Corinthians 14:40). If our interpretation of his admonitions leads us to the opposite effect, then I would suggest this means we are misreading him on some level.

When a baby girl is baptized, she is Churched. And in that service, the priest brings her into the middle of the Church and says "In the midst of the church shall she sing praises unto Thee" (c.f. Psalm 21[22]:22). It is hard to imagine why we would say this if we did not intend that it should actually happen.

By Fr. John Whiteford

Source: http://fatherjohn.blogspot.com/2015/11/stump-priest-women-singing-in-church.html

Young children, especially from Christian families, are very curious about the invisible world, i.e., Angels and demons. We collected several such questions and asked Archpriest Alexander Elatomtsev, the rector of the Nativity of Christ Church in v. Rozhdestveno (Istra Raion, Moscow Oblast) and the spiritual father of Christmas Orthodox School, to answer them.

I want to see an Angel or the Mother of God. I keep praying about it all the time. Why doesn’t God let me see them?

It is because God wants you to trust Him, and not test Him. Right now, your prayer sounds like, “Lord, I believe that You exist and angels exist, too, but please let me see an Angel with my own eyes, and I’ll believe even stronger… you know, there might not be one?” The Lord keeps silent in response to this test. He is waiting for you to grow up and start to notice your Guardian Angel by his actions when he guards and protects you. The Lord teaches you to see with your heart and not your eyes.

As far as the Mother of God is concerned, the answer is even simpler. Take an Orthodox calendar and try counting saints, at least Russian saints. You’ll lose count pretty soon. See, the Mother of God appeared to just a couple of those saints: Saint Seraphim of Sarov and Saint Sergius of Radonezh. Work as hard as they did, and you can then ask for the Mother of God to visit you, too. Today, it’s too early. You can’t jump to the top of the ladder. You’ve got to climb it bit by bit. First of all, pray to God to be able to make your parents happy and never make them sad. The Mother of God always made her parents, St. Joachim and St. Ann, happy.

Can I see God while alive? Or is it possible only after I die?

Yes, you can, and you must! The word “see” is really strange. We use this word in various cases. There are farsighted people. They can see things that are too far for a regular person to see. You can say that they have “strong eyes.” There are people who are able to “see” the solution of a mathematical problem. They have “strong minds.” In order to see God, you need to have a “strong heart.” A strong heart is a pure and kind heart. It is a heart that keeps on working. It doesn’t just pump blood; it loves, cares, protects you from offenses and evil thoughts, cleanses itself with repentance (which is, by the way, especially challenging). If you train your heart, you’ll definitely see God in your heart. Furthermore, if someone didn’t see God in such a way, he isn’t actually a Christian. He didn’t even meet God. You have to meet God while alive because when you die, it’s too late.

What happens with the Guardian Angel of a certain person when that person dies?

Let’s be honest: I don’t know! I know that a Guardian Angel escorts the person to God’s Throne, to the tentative judgment, and asks God to have mercy on that person; but I don’t know what he does next. I don’t think the Angel will be laid off. He may become a guardian of a new person, or become the Guardian Angel of a new church or a new village. The word “Angel” means “a messenger”. He will do whatever the Lord sends him to do. Or perhaps, he’ll have a vacation and praise God in heaven.

I saw a UFO. Are they aliens or demons?

It must have been either a jet or a drone, that is, a remotely operated flying vehicle. There are plenty of them flying in the air day and night. Or it might be an atmospheric phenomenon. By the way, scientists in our country explored this UFO phenomenon very seriously, including experts in aviation and astronautics. Every time they dug to the core of a given case, they found a natural cause: an atmospheric phenomenon or a missile launch (not all launches are officially published).

So you shouldn’t think that a UFO, i.e., an unidentified flying object, is invariably made on another planet. In general, you should try and explain every strange phenomenon using natural explanations, and only if there isn’t any natural explanation, you can go out looking for an unconventional way to explain that stuff.

As far as aliens’ existence goes, it’s extremely dubious. Everything we know about them is based on science fiction but it’s just authors’ imagination. You shouldn’t think that everything printed in books exists in reality. Especially given the fact that there is no serious scientific proof of the aliens’ existence. Science fictions authors who write about aliens don’t believe in them. They use aliens as an allegory, as a way to speak about purely human problems from a different angle.

Perhaps, you suppose that the UFO that you saw was a demonic prank? Demons pretending to be aliens? Indeed, demons can use this tactic to fool people. They are familiar with mass culture concepts. They used to appear as goblins or witches in old times but nowadays, due to science fiction popularity, they pretend to be aliens in order to deceive spiritually ill people.

I’m sure it isn’t your case. The Lord protects us from demons and doesn’t let us see them, neither in their own, incredibly revolting image nor in disguise. You have to do something abhorrent before God for Him to take away His protection and for you to see the evil spirits.

Hence, the UFO that you’re talking about has nothing to do with aliens or demons. It’s either an aircraft or a rare atmospheric phenomenon.

Do saints always wear halos around their heads?

Of course, people are born without halos. The halo is the divine light, the light in which God dwells. Gradually, if one’s heart becomes clean, this light starts to shine through that person. If the Church canonizes a saint, She has his icons painted. Sometimes, those icons contain scenes from the saint’s life, where we can see the saint in his or her childhood but already with the halo. It doesn’t mean that he or she was holy since childhood. It means that he or she advanced toward holiness since his early days.

Interestingly enough, the icon of the Last Supper portrays the holy apostles without halos and Jesus Christ with the halo. That is the lesson that the icons teaches: we, like the apostles, are made holy because of Communion.

Where will Angels go after the Second Coming of Christ? Will they stay with people or in a different paradise?

Of course, they will stay in the same paradise where God dwells with the saints. Saints and Angels will talk with each other as friends, face to face. There cannot be a “different paradise.” The paradise is the place where God lives. It’s His garden. God is one: hence, there is only one paradise for everybody.

Should I believe in dreams when I see an Angel in my dream?

People want to believe in good dreams. The Lord sent prophetic dreams to his saints sometimes. Or rather, He sent an angel who appeared to people. You might remember how the Lord ordered Saint Joseph the Betrothed to escape to Egypt to save Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus.

However, we’ve got to be more cautious. We mustn’t accept our dreams at face value. Instead, we have to interpret them properly. Our souls are like deep and big coffers, and we don’t know what hides within. Dreams are like keys for those coffers. They can help us to make sense of our own emotions and feelings.

If you want to understand yourself better, you should ask advice from your dad, your mom, or a priest whom you trust.

Afterword for Parents

Our selection of children’s questions deals with the invisible world. A grown-up believer must be able to tell kids about this world. What do we know about it?

This world cannot be seen with human eyes. It has to be invisible. God made it to be invisible, and therefore, we must not look for a visual proof of its existence.

This world is revealed to us in sensations, feelings, and aspirations. Our invisible souls dwell in this world, too. Fyodor Tyutchev, a Russian poet, wrote:

O my prophetic soul!

O my excited heart!

You beat as if you’re torn

Between two worlds that stay apart.

The entrance to that world is located in the center of our human self—in the heart. There isn’t any impersonal entrance into that world. In other words, only a person who purposefully tries to get inside will enter that world. That is how the words of Christ The Kingdom of Heaven is within you are made true.

It might sound funny that a rural priest ventures to talk about the invisible and the unspeakable… Smile! Dear adults, please, enter that real but invisible world, where God dwells and where our souls ought to be, as often as you can. Our children will certainly ask us what that world looks like? They need firsthand experience of your communication with the invisible world. They are in need of your honest and sober experience of dealing with the invisible—free from false mysticism and superstitions, clear and convincing like the Divine Liturgy.

Prepared by Vitaly Kaplan

Translated by The Catalog of Good Deeds

Source: https://foma.ru/deti-sprashivayut-ob-angelah-besah.html

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Non-Ferrous Metals Workshop: How the Craftspeople of St. Elisabeth Convent Create High-quality Church Goods

What Should School Be Like? An Example of True Orthodox Education

"Let Your Women Keep Silence": the Qustion of Women Singing in Church

Children’s Questions About Angels and Demons

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