St. Luke

Divine Liturgy +++ Света Литургија
2027-12-05 10:00 - 11:30, 2027-12-12 10:00 - 11:30, 2027-12-19 10:00 - 11:30, 2027-12-26 10:00 - 11:30 (America/New_York) | MD

Holy Great-Martyr Catherine - Света Великомученица Екатерина
2027-12-07 | Saint Luke Serbian Orthodox Church of Washington, DC, 10660 River Road, Potomac, MD, 20854, United States
THE HOLY GREAT-MARTYR CATHERINE
Catherine was the daughter of King Constus. After the death of her father, she lived with her mother in Alexandria. Her mother was secretly a Christian who, through her spiritual father, brought Catherine to the Christian Faith. In a vision, St. Catherine received a ring from the Lord Jesus Himself as a sign of her betrothal to Him. This ring remains on her finger even today. Catherine was greatly gifted by God and was well educated in Greek philosophy, medicine, rhetoric and logic. In addition to that, she was of unusual physical beauty. When the iniquitous Emperor Maxentius offered sacrifices to the idols and ordered others to do the same, Catherine boldly confronted the emperor and denounced his idolatrous errors. The emperor, seeing that she was greater than he in wisdom and knowledge, summoned fifty of his wisest men to debate with her on matters of faith and to put her to shame. Catherine outwitted and shamed them. In a rage, the emperor ordered all fifty of those men burned. By St. Catherine’s prayers, all fifty confessed the name of Christ and declared themselves Christians before their execution. After Catherine had been put in prison, she converted the emperor’s commander, Porphyrius, and two hundred soldiers to the true Faith, as well as Empress Augusta-Vasilissa herself. They all suffered for Christ. During the torture of St. Catherine, an angel of God came to her and destroyed the wheel on which the holy virgin was being tortured. Afterward, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself appeared to her and comforted her. After many tortures, Catherine was beheaded at the age of eighteen, on November 24, 310 A.D. Milk, instead of blood, flowed from her body. Her miracle-working relics repose on Mount Sinai.
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СВЕТА ВЕЛИКОМУЧЕНИЦА ЕКАТЕРИНА
Ћерка цара Консте. По смрти оца живела с мајком својом у Александрији. А мајка јој беше потајна хришћанка, која преко свог духовног оца приведе и Екатерину вери Христовој. У једној визији св. Екатерина прими прстен од самог Господа Исуса, у знак обручења Њему. Тај прстен до данас стоји на руци њеној. Беше Екатерина врло даровита од Бога и врло добро школована у грчкој философији, медицини, риторици и логици, а при том беше и необичне лепоте телесне. Када злочестиви цар Максенције сам приношаше жртве идолима и наређиваше другима да и они то чине, св. Екатерина изађе смело пред цара и изобличи идолопоклоничку заблуду његову. Видећи је цар јачу од себе у мудрости и знању, позва 50 најмудријих људи, да се с њом препиру о вери и да је посраме. Но Екатерина њих надмудри и посрами. Разјарени цар нареди да се свих 50 мудраца сагоре у огњу. Ови мудраци, по молитви св. Екатерине, пред смрт сви исповедише име Христово и објавише себе хришћанима. Када мученица беше у тамници, приведе у веру праву војводу царског Порфирија са 200 војника и саму царицу (Августу-Василису). Сви пострадаше за Христа. При мучењу св. Екатерине јави јој се ангел Божји, заустави и изломи точак, на коме света девојка би мучена; а по том јави јој се и сам Господ Христос и утеши је. После многих мучења Екатерина би мачем посечена у својој 18. години, 24. новембра 310. године. Из њенога тела истече млеко место крви. Чудотворне мошти почивају јој на Синају.

Vespers +++ Вечерње
2027-12-07 17:00 - 18:00, 2027-12-08 17:00 - 18:00, 2027-12-11 17:00 - 18:00, 2027-12-12 17:00 - 18:00, 2027-12-16 17:00 - 18:00, 2027-12-17 17:00 - 18:00, 2027-12-25 17:00 - 18:00 | Saint Luke Serbian Orthodox Church of Washington, DC, 10660 River Road, Potomac, MD, 20854, United States

Saint Clement of Rome +++ Свети Климент Римски
2027-12-08 | Saint Luke Serbian Orthodox Church of Washington, DC, 10660 River Road, Potomac, MD, 20854, United States
THE HIEROMARTYR CLEMENT, BISHOP OF ROME
Clement was born in Rome of royal lineage and was a contemporary of the holy apostles. His mother and two brothers, traveling on the sea, were carried by a storm to different places. His father then went to find his wife and two sons and he, too, became lost. Clement, being twenty-four years old, then set out for the east to seek his parents and brothers. In Alexandria, he made the acquaintance of the Apostle Barnabas and, afterward, joined the Apostle Peter whom his two brothers, Faustinus and Faustinian, were already following. By God’s providence, the Apostle Peter came upon Clement’s mother as an aged beggar woman, and then found his father as well. Thus, the whole family was united, and all returned to Rome as Christians. Clement did not separate himself from the great apostle, who appointed him as bishop before his death. After Peter’s martyrdom, Linus was Bishop of Rome, then Cletus–both of them for a short time–and then Clement. Clement governed the Church of God with flaming zeal, and from day to day brought a great number of unbelievers to the Christian Faith. In addition, he ordered seven scribes to write the lives of the Christian martyrs who were suffering at that time for their Lord. The Emperor Trajan banished him to Cherson, where Clement found about two thousand exiled Christians. All were occupied with the difficult job of hewing stones in a waterless land. The Christians received Clement with great joy and he was a living source of comfort to them. By his prayer, he brought forth water from the ground and converted so many of the unbelieving natives to Christianity that, in one year, seventy-five churches were built there. To prevent his spreading the Christian Faith even more, the authorities condemned Clement to death, and drowned him in the sea with a stone around his neck in the year 101 A.D. His miracle-working relics were removed from the sea only in the time of Saints Cyril and Methodius.
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СВЕШТЕНОМУЧЕНИК КЛИМЕНТ ЕПИСКОП РИМСКИ
Рођен у Риму од царскога рода: савременик светих апостола. Мајка му и два брата, пловећи по, мору буду занесени буром у разне стране; отац му оде да тражи жену и синове, па се и он изгуби. Тада Климент, будући 24 године стар, пође на исток да тражи своје родитеље и браћу. У Александрији упозна апостола Варнаву, по том се придружи апостолу Петру, коме већ следоваху његова два брата, Фаустин и Фаустинијан. Промислом Божјим апостол Петар наиђе на мајку Климентову, као старицу просјакињу, а по том и на оца. И тако се опет састави цела породица, и сви као хришћани врате се у Рим. Климент се није одвајао од великог апостола, који га постави за епископа пре своје смрти. После мученичке смрти Петрове епископ у Риму беше Лин, потом Клит, – обојица за кратко време – па онда Климент. Са пламеном ревношћу управљаше Климент црквом Божјом, и обраћаше у веру Христову из дана у дан велики број неверних. Још одреди он седам брзописаца, да пишу житија хришћана мученика, који у то време страдаху за свога Господа. Цар Трајан протера га у Херсон, где Климент нађе око 2000 изгнаних хришћана. Сви беху запослени на тешком послу тесања камена на једном безводном месту. Климента примише хришћани с великом радошћу, и он им беше живи извор утехе. Молитвом својом изведе воду из земље, и обрати у хришћанство толики број неверних мештана, да за једну годину подиже се на том месту 75 цркава. Да не би даље ширио веру Христову, Климент би осуђен на смрт и утопљен у море с каменом о врату, 101. године. Мошти његове чудотворне извађене су из мора тек у време св. Кирила и Методија.

Divine Liturgy +++ Света Литургија
2027-12-08 07:30 - 09:00, 2027-12-09 07:30 - 09:00, 2027-12-12 07:30 - 09:00, 2027-12-13 07:30 - 09:00, 2027-12-17 07:30 - 09:00, 2027-12-18 07:30 - 09:00, 2027-12-19 07:30 - 09:00, 2027-12-26 07:30 - 09:00 | Saint Luke Serbian Orthodox Church of Washington, DC, 10660 River Road, Potomac, MD, 20854, United States

St. Alypius the Stylite – Св. Алипије Столпник
2027-12-09 | Saint Luke Serbian Orthodox Church of Washington, DC, 10660 River Road, Potomac, MD, 20854, United States
THE VENERABLE ALYPIUS THE STYLITE
Alypius was born in Hadrianopolis, a city in Paphlagonia. From childhood, he was dedicated to the service of God. He served as a deacon with Bishop Theodore in the church in that city. But, desirous of a life of solitude, prayer and meditation, Alypius withdrew to a Greek cemetery outside the city. This was a cemetery from which people fled in terror, because of frequent demonic visions seen there. Alypius set up a cross in the cemetery and built a church in honor of St. Euphemia, who had appeared to him in a dream. Beside the church, he built a tall pillar, climbed on top of it, and spent fifty-three years there in fasting and prayer. Neither the mockery of men nor the evil of the demons was able to drive him away or cause him to waver in his intention. Alypius especially endured countless assaults from demons. Not only did the demons try to terrorize him with apparitions, but stoned him as well, and gave him no peace, day or night, for a long time. The courageous Alypius protected himself from the power of the demons by the sign of the Cross and the name of Jesus. Finally the demons were defeated and fled from him. Men began to revere him and come to him for prayer, consolation, instruction and healing. Two monasteries were built beside his pillar, one on one side for men and one on the other for women. His mother and sister lived in the women’s monastery. St. Alypius guided the monks and nuns from his pillar, by example and words. He shone like the sun in the heavens for everyone, showing them the way to salvation. This God-pleaser had so much grace that he was often illuminated in heavenly light, and a pillar of this light extended to the heavens above him. St. Alypius was a wonderful and mighty miracle-worker in life, and also after his repose. He lived for one hundred years and entered into rest in the year 640 A.D., during the reign of Emperor Heraclius. His head is preserved in the Monastery of Koutloumousiou on the Holy Mountain.
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ПРЕПОДОБНИ АЛИПИЈЕ СТОЛПНИК
Рођен у Адријанопољу граду Пафлагонијском и од малена предан Богу на службу Као ђакон служаше у цркви при епископу Теодору у томе граду. Но жељан усамљеничког живота, молитве и богомислија, Алимпије се удаљи на неко јелинско гробље ван града, од кога људи бегаху као од страшилишта због честих демонских привиђења. Ту он пободе крст, и сазида храм у част св. Ефимије, која му се беше јавила на сну. Покрај храма подиже столп висок, попе се на њ и проведе на њему у посту и молитви пуних 53 године. Ни подсмех људи ни злоба демона не могаху га одатле удаљити нити у намери његовој поколебати. Нарочито од демона претрпе овај светитељ безбројне беде. Не само да га демони разним привиђењима устрашаваху него га и камењем удараху, и не даваху му мира ни дању ни ноћу кроз дуго време. Но Алимпије мужествени ограђиваше себе од демонске силе крсним знамењем и именом Исусовим. Најзад га побеђени демони оставише и побегоше а људи почеше поштовати и долазити му ради молитве, утехе, поуке и исцелења. Около његовог столпа подигоше се два манастира, с једне стране мушки а с друге женски. У женском манастиру живљаху и матер његова и сестра. Св. Алимпије руковођаше монахе и монахиње са свога столпа примером и речима и сијаше свима као сунце са небеса, указујући пут ка спасењу. Толику благодат имаше овај угодник Божји, да га често обасјаваше небеска светлост, и над њим се уздизаше до небеса стуб од те светлости. Беше Алимпије диван и моћан чудотворац како за живота тако и по смрти. Преживевши 100 година упокоји се 640. год. у време цара Ираклија. Од његових св. моштију сачувана је глава у Котломушком манастиру у Св. Гори.

St. Mardarije of Libertyville +++ Свети Мардарије Либертивилски
2027-12-12 | Saint Luke Serbian Orthodox Church of Washington, DC, 10660 River Road, Potomac, MD, 20854, United States
ST. MARDARIJE OF LIBERTYVILLE

Born in village of Kornet, Ljesani County, in Montenegro, on November 2, 1889, to pious parents Petar and Jela Uskokovic, he was baptized in his village church dedicated to St. George and received his baptismal name Ivan. His mother was from the well-known Bozovic family. Both of his parents were well respected in their community holding the office of leadership and particularly his father was a captain of their clan.
Considering his parents’ status, young Ivan was sent to further his education, first in Rijeka Crnojevic, Cetinje, and then in Belgrade, Serbia. While in Belgrade, young Ivan advanced his childhood desire to serve God and the Church, and so from there he headed to monastery Studenica where after a short period of novice life he gets tonsured to monasticism having received the name Mardarije. With the decision of the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church, now young hierodeacon Mardarije is sent to Russia where he spent twelve years (1905-1917) furthering his theological education and growing in wisdom. From there, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church sent him to the United States of America to organize the Serbian Orthodox Church. On December 1, 1923, now archimandrite Mardarije is appointed as administrator of the Serbian American-Canadian diocese with the see in Chicago and that same year he purchased around ten acres of land in Libertyville, Illinois, where later St. Sava monastery was built. He was elected by the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church as the first bishop for the newly established diocese in America on December 7, 1925, and his consecration took place on Palm Sunday, the Feast of the Entrance of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, on April 25, 1926.
From then on His Grace Bishop Mardarije, the first bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North and South America, labored tirelessly in building churches, St. Sava monastery in Libertyville, sowing Christian love, spread peace, preached and witnessed the Gospel of Christ throughout his diocese. In spite of inescapable wordly trends, he lived spontaneity of truth and a provision of grace, just because Life has dawned from the Tomb, and is dawning still. Having labored as bishop for a little over nine years he died peacefully on December 12, 1935, hospitalized in Ann Arbor, Michigan, while writing his last Nativity Encyclical to his beloved flock. His earthly remains were laid to rest at St. Sava monastery in Libertyville. The Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church during its regular session held from May 14-29, 2015 brought forth a decision that his name be added to the Diptych of saints of the Holy Orthodox Church.
From the Holy Hierarch Mardarije, we see how the grace of God reaches the heart of our cities, bringing to the confusion of the world the breeze of the Spirit and the serenity of the Age to come.
Source: https://www.easterndiocese.org/news_170706_1
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СВЕТИ МАРДАРИЈЕ ЛИБЕРТИВИЛСКИ

Од младости си Христа безгранично љубио, целог живота само Њему служио, једино си Бога Творца слушао, реч Љубави Божје свима проповедао, лепоту дома Господњег си заволио, Мардарије новојављени Просветитељу, Цркве Христове градитељу, зато те Човекољубиви Господ вечном славом Царства свога на земљи и на небу прослави.

Међу свештенослужитељима који су у прошлом, двадесетом, веку началствовали у Саборној цркви Светог архангела Михајла у Београду били су Јован Максимович, потоњи Свети Јован Шангајски и Санфранцискански; Николај Велимировић, потоњи Свети Николај Охридски и Жички; и Иван Ускоковић, потоњи Свети Мардарије Либертивилски и Свеамерички. Његове нетељене мошти обретене су у мају 2017. године у његовој задужбини манастиру Светог Саве у Либертивилу. Одлуком Светог Архијерејског Сабора Српске Православне Цркве на редовном заседању маја 2015. године владика Мардарије Ускоковић, први српски Епископ америчко-канадски, прибројан је Сабору светих и молитвено се прославља 12. децембра на дан упокојења.
Целокупан живот Светог Мардарија од дечачких дана, када је као средњошколац долазио у Саборну цркву као да је био одговор на литургијски возглас „Светиње светима“ којим се свештеник обраћа верном народу, и нама данас, позивајући да приступимо светој тајни причешћа. Позив на светост ради заједнице са Светим, на живот за Христа и у Христу одредио је његов живот.
Иван Ускоковић је рођен у побожној и угледној породици од оца Петра (Пера) и мајке Јеле у селу Корнет у Љешанској нахији у Црној Гори 1889. године. Крштен је у сеоској цркви посвећеној Светом Ђорђу у чијој близини је био манастир који по предању потиче из доба Немањића. Остаци манастирског утврђења постоје и данас. Иван је прве школе завршио у Ријеци Црнојевића и на Цетињу. Већ у једанаестој години је тражио од црногорског митрополита Митрофана да га закалуђери али није од њега добио благослов. Посета са школом Ловћену „том словенском Парнасу“ и гробу владике Његоша „јасновидог, бесмртног песника словенства“, како је владика Мардарије касније записао, „одредило је моју судбину“. Он је одлучио да оде у Београд на даље школовање што је за оно време била ретка прилика и прави подвиг. Мајка Јела је га испратила и благословила зато што није одлазио ради каријере и световних циљева него с жељом „да на један шири начин послужи духовним узорима нашег рода“.
Иван је као гимназијалац свако јутро на путу ка школи, као и свако вече по повратку из школе, одлазио у Саборну цркву и у њој се дуго молио с једном мишљу и жељом да се замонаши. „Још у то време, како је сам касније говорио, створио је навику да свко вече моли Бога да благослови службу Њему, Њему и Словенству – тако драгом моме срцу“. Митрополит Димитрије је услишио његову молбу и написао му препоруку за владику жичког Саву. Иван је убрзо потом, без знања родитеља пешице из Београда отишао у Студеницу. Било је то 1905. године на празник Ваведења Пресвете Богородице, уочи његовог шеснестог рођендана. После кратког периода искушеништва, као некад Свети Сава противно вољи родитеља Иван се замонашио у светој царској лаври Студеници добивши име Мардарије. У Студенци је боравио годину и по дана и одлуком Светог Архијерејског Синода Српске Православне Цркве шеснестогодишњи јерођакон одлази на школовање у Русију, за њега Свету Русију, у Москву.
Његов дванаестогодишњи боравак у Русији био је много више од обичног школовања и био је обележен, баш као што се молио, „служењем Богу и Словенству“. Као храбар и бескомпромисан војник Христов у току службе у Русији, и касније у Северној Америци, стекао је и много непријатеља који га нису могли зауставити ни поколебети. Похађао је и завршио семинарије у Житомиру (Украјина) и Кишињеву (Молдавија) и угледну Петроградску духовну академију и Правни факултет – црквено право. Веровао је у потребу јединства словенских народа, идеје пансловенства и по својим надахнутим беседама био је познат и радо слушан у Петрограду и другим местима у којима је боравио. На његове беседе су долазили и чланови царске породице Романов, он је служио у Царском селу. Имао је част да служи у Теодоровском господаревом сабору, Знаменској цркви кад је долазио и причешћивао се Свети цар страстотерпац Николај са својом породицом. Написао је, у току боравка у Русији, неколико књига међу којима су „Завет Руском народу“, „Зборник проповеди“ и „Христов тихи угао“.

Свети Мардарије је добро знао да је служење Христу неодвојиво од служења ближњем. У току школовања и пастирског служења у Кишњеву он је уочио присуство бројних етничких група и код свих присутног сиромаштва и немаштине којом су нарочито била погођена деца. Тада је настала и његова књига „Христов тихи угао“, тихи угао из кога Христос посматра свет и свакога од нас како се понашамо. Сав приход од продаје те књиге наменио је Прибежишту за немоћне старице које је било задужено за старање о немоћним старицама, бившим наставницама, свештеничким супругама и мајкама одрасле деце која о њима нису могла или хтела да се старају. Осим што је са оснивачем пуковником Иваном Георгијевичем Коваљаџијем сакупљао новац за његово Прибежиште прводио је са њим читаве вечери са тим несрећним старицама. „Моја лична радост због пружене ми могућности да им помогнем подстакла ме је да напишем омању књижицу „Христов тихи угао“. На њеним страницама позивао сам становнике Кишињева да материјално помогну овај подухват, а завршио речима о радости коју би свакоме од њих пружила сама свест о томе да су омогућили срећу овим беспомоћним старицама. Ја и данас, после толиких бурних година, још осећам свој удео у тој срећи“ записао је много касније владика Мардарије у својим мемоарима „Недокучива Русија“.
Већ прве године боравка у Кишињеву као млад јеромонах успоставио је контакт са представницима свих етничких и верских група и основао добротворну организацију под називом „Кап млека“. Он је видео да многа деца у Кишињеву, а ту децу је кришом ујутру пратио из предграђа у којима су живели сиромашни до школа у које су ишли, и видео и чуо да они гладни крећу у школу. То га је посебно погодило и онда је рекао и написао „ни једно дете у овом граду ако смо имало људи и у неког Бога верујемо не би требало да пође у школу без једног парчета хлеба и једне шоље млека“. Он је већ тада био прослављен и омиљен као проповедник и предавач, све приходе које је добијао, све је давао за „Кап млека“ и постао је изузетно поштован од свх етничких и верских група у Кишињеву. И кап по кап и та деца су имала бар оно што је најосновније. Мајке раднице су сваког јутра доносиле своје бебе, којима је била обезбеђена храна и целодневна нега. Људи у том граду нису то заборавили. Посебно је био дирљив опроштај када је јеромонах Мардарије по завршетку богословије напуштао Кишињев. Припадници свих етничких група су изашли на железничку станицу да испрате „нашег Мардарија, тог мудрог и лепог Црногорца“ тако су говорили о њему дарујући му сви заједно један златни свештенички крст у знак љубави и захвалности.
Као у Кишињеву јеромонах Мардарије је и у Петрограду „од убоге уџерице до Христовог храма, проносио реч проповеди скупљајући за бедне не једну стотину хиљада рубаља.“ Био је неуморан прегалац за словенску ствар и скроман друштвени радник у монашкој ризи. Обилазио је и мисионарио међу ратним заробљеницима словенског порекла. Брига о том најмањем брату, најмањој сестри, та харитативна, социјална нит без које нема делотворног хришћанства била је код њега увек присутна. Он је био, као што је за себе и говорио – Божји свештеник мира и љубави.
„Понижени и увређени“ су у његовом срцу имали посебно, тачније прво место. Дар милосрђа осведочено један је од највећих дарова које је он добио од Бога. Сав његов живот био је прожет милосрђем према потребитима које му је сам Бог слао и то у великом броју. Много тога ће заувек за нас остати тајна коју само Бог Свевишњи зна.
У исто време, цео свој живот у души је носио бреме своје отаџбине. На пример, успео је да прикупи око 300 хиљада рубаља за помоћ Црној Гори“ писао је о јеромонаху Мардарију лист „Јутро Русије“ из 1916. године. Када је на полоничком путовању са студентима духовне академије био у Светој земљи, у дану када је на Голготи служио свету Литургију, у току богослужања је сазнао да је Аустроугарска објавила рат малој Србији и бомбардовала Београд. Није се вратио у Русију са осталим студентима, одмах је отишао у Србију да послужи свом народу, да се придружи српској војсци као свештеник. Међутим кад му је речено колико би у Санкт-Петербургу значило његово присуство и наставак проповедничког рада о ослобађању Словена, вратио се у Русију и наставио свој рад.

По Божјем промислу јеромонах Мардарије 1917. године, која је за Русију била тако бурна и трагична, долази у Америку и у новој средини и „у новом добу које се рађало у бетону и челику“ наставља мукотрпан мисионарски, апостолско-пастирски живот и рад. Одлуком Светог Архијерејског Синода Руске Православне Цркве његово ново послушање је било да у оквиру Руске црквене мисије у Америци и Канади руководи српском мисијом. Убрзо је увидео колико је Србима који су већ почетком деветнаестог века почели да пристижу прво у Америку, а затим и у Канаду, потребно да се окупе и црквено организују и предано је радио на томе. Архимандрит Мардарије је од стране Светог Архијерејског Синода Српске Православне Цркве 1923. године прво постављен за администратора Епархије америчко-канадске, а 1925. године и за њеног првог Епископа, док је хиротонија обављена 1926. године уочи празника Цвети у Саборној цркви у Београду. У међувремену, од доласка у Америку до хиротоније, владика Мардарије је три године, од 1920. до 1922. године, био настојатељ манастира Раковице и управник монашке школе при манастиру.
Владика Мардарије је пожртвовано и неуморно радио на организовању епархије у Америци суочавајући се с многим проблемима међу којима су највећи проблеми били српска неслога, његова тешка болест и хронична несташица неопходних финансијских средстава. То се посебно односило на изградњу манастира у Либертивилу. Као велики духовник и визионар знао је да су манастири увек били средишта окупљања српског народа и да је један такав духовни свесрпски центар неопходан Србима који живе у Америци и Канади. Његовим великим напором купљено је у Либертивилу земљиште за организовање манастира, сиротиште, дом за стара, немоћна лица и део одређен за гробље. То је било време дубоке економске кризе и велике незапослености, но ипак, и у таквим околностима народ је давао, прилажући за манастир колико је ко могао.
Сам владика Мардарије је врло мало пажње посвећивао себи, слабо се хранио, много путовао а „сав свој новац од оскудне плате, такорећи до последњег цента, узиђивао у здање манастирског храма, чак и што је тражио и добијао од своје најуже родбине у жаркој жељи да до краја живота, који је сваког дана постајао све извеснији и очигледнији, сагледа завршено своје велико и свето дело, из силне неизмерне љубави за српски народ и Српску Цркву… Кад се налазио у Либертивилу, устајао би с првим знаком зоре и долазио на радилиште и заједно са радницима, уз велики физички напор, пословао на скелама око растућег здања храма…Кад није радио на здању он је по манастирском имању засађивао разно дрвеће, уравњавао постојеће стазе и правио нове, или прокопавао јарке за одвођење воде“. Дешавало се да од Чикага до Либертивила удаљеног око 68 километара на бициклу преноси цигле за манастир. „Да би се уштедело, јер није се имало одакле узети“ говорио је. До скоро је било живих сведока који су знали колико се њихов владика жртвовао због чега су за владику Мардарија говорили: „Цркву гради, умире од глади“. Но теже од свега падала му је неслога и непријатељство појединаца, међу којима је било и свештеника, тако да је у посланици за Васкрс 1934. године непосредно пред његову кончину болно завапио: „Остављен сам себи, у овој чемерној долини плача, нариче и данас, многи наш исељеник у Америци. А да ли да вам се пожалим, браћо моја, и ја, ваш Владика, на дан опште радости Ускрса? Да и за мене је данас Петак. Помоћи ниоткуда… Жалости од свију, радости ниоткуда. У манастиру Светог Саве у Либертивилу, на обалима реке Дис Плеин, као некад на обалама реке вавилонски библијски народ, седим и ја и горко плачем. Седамнаест година мога служења Богу и народу у Америци стрпљиво сам носио свој крст, некад лакши, некад тежи, али данас ми је тај крст тежи него икад, и некада пун идеала да вам послужим и нешто трајно за вас учиним, данас изнемогао, клецајући и падајући под теретом свог крста, ваш Владика обраћа се пастви својој широм Америке, и из све гласа болно виче: Људи, браћо, има ли међу вама човека који ће ми помоћи понети мој тешки крст? Или су ваша срца толико окорела, да, уместо помоћи, ви још тежа бремена товарите на моја изнемогла леђа“. Због оних који су, уместо да помогну његов племенити труд отежавали га и непријатељски се према њему понашали, владика Мардарије је патио, није их кажњавао ни осуђивао, већ се молио „Господе опрости им јер не знају шта чине“.
Манастир – сиротиште Светог Саве освећен је 6. септембра 1931. године. Том приликом у Американском Србобрану објављено је обавештење о свечаности следеће садржине: „На Лебор-деј 6. септембра ове године биће велика свечаност. Тог дана биће довршена манастирска црква, која ће бити посвећена нашем највећем просветитељу и учитељу Светом Сави. Тог дана у 9 сати пре подне почеће света архијерејска Литургија, коју ће служити Његово Преосвештенство господин Епископ Мардарије са свештенством. Све околне српске колоније овог пута спремају се да још у већем броју него ли прошлих година посете на овај дан наш једини српски манастир у Америци. Надати је се да ће наш народ не само из околних манастиру колонија него и из даљих места доћи у великоме броју да тиме докаже колико му је на срцу ова наша света народна установа. Поред састанка и виђења са својим Владиком наши људи ће имати прилику да на тај дан у манастиру виде своје старе познанике и пријатеље, које иначе можда у другом месту не би нигде у животу више видео“.
Владика Мардарије је уснуо у Господу 12. децембра 1935. године у 46. години живота и сахрањен је у својој задужбини манастиру Светог Саве у Либертивилу. Његове нетељене мошти сведоче да је Господ свог храброг и верног слугу „у новом добу које се родило у бетону и челику“ „вечном славом Царства свога на земљи и на небу прославио“, а нама дао пример за углед и опомену за малодушност и маловерје.
Чудесно и узбудљиво житје Светог владике Мардарија је посебно поучно и за децу, јер је он прави, стварни Христов јунак, а не лик из бајке. Зна се да је Владика за живота с амвона често молио „Васпитавајте младо покољење да вјерује Цркви и воли отаџбину, завјештајте им завјете јеванђељске и предака својих. Сејте у њиховим душама и срцима оно што је добро и разумно. Љубите једни друге као што Христос љуби нас“.
Православна издавачка кућа Orthodox Lighthouse је, с благословом Његовог Преосвештенства Епископа источноамеричког г. Иринеја, приредила је дивну књигу Житије Светог Мардарија у слици и речи и тако омогућила да се деца већ у раном узрасту упознају са једним савременим Христовим ратником, Христовим јунаком и родитељима олакша хришћанско васпитање деце у чему ће и сам Свети Мардарије помоћи ако му се за то буду молили.
Извор: https://www.tvhram.rs/vesti/vesti-iz-crkve/3182/sveti-mardarije-libertivilski-sveamericki

St. Andrew the Firstcalled – Св. Андреј Првозвани
2027-12-13 | Saint Luke Serbian Orthodox Church of Washington, DC, 10660 River Road, Potomac, MD, 20854, United States
THE HOLY APOSTLE ANDREW THE FIRST-CALLED
Andrew, the son of Jonah and brother of Peter, was born in Bethsaida and was a fisherman by trade. At first he was a disciple of St. John the Baptist, but when St. John pointed to the Lord Jesus, saying, Behold the Lamb of God! (John 1:36), Andrew left his first teacher and followed Christ. Then, Andrew brought his brother Peter to the Lord. Following the descent of the Holy Spirit, it fell by lot to the first apostle of Christ, St. Andrew, to preach the Gospel in Byzantium and Thrace, then in the lands along the Danube and in Russia around the Black Sea, and finally in Epirus, Greece and the Peloponnese, where he suffered. In Byzantium, he appointed St. Stachys as its first bishop; in Kiev, he planted a Cross on a high place and prophesied a bright Christian future for the Russian people; throughout Thrace, Epirus, Greece and the Peloponnese, he converted multitudes of people to the Faith and ordained bishops and priests for them. In the city of Patras, he performed many miracles in the name of Christ, and won many over to the Lord. Among the new faithful were the brother and wife of the Proconsul Aegeates. Angered at this, Aegeates subjected St. Andrew to torture and then crucified him. While the apostle of Christ was still alive on the cross, he gave beneficial instructions to the Christians who had gathered around. The people wanted to take him down from the cross but he refused to let them. Then the apostle prayed to God and an extraordinary light encompassed him. This brilliant illumination lasted for half an hour, and when it disappeared, the apostle gave up his holy soul to God. Thus, the First-called Apostle, the first of the Twelve Great Apostles to know the Lord and follow Him, finished his earthly course. St. Andrew suffered for his Lord in the year 62 A.D. His relics were taken to Constantinople; his head was later taken to Rome, and one hand was taken to Moscow.
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СВЕТИ АПОСТОЛ АНДРЕЈ ПРВОЗВАНИ
Син Јонин и брат Петров, родом из Витсаиде, и рибар по занимању. Најпре је био учеником св. Јована Крститеља, но када св. Јован указа прстом на Господа Исуса говорећи: гле, јагње Божје! (Јов. 1, 36), тада св. Андреја остави свога првога учитеља и пође за Исусом. По том Андреја приведе свога брата Петра ка Господу. По силаску Св. Духа паде у део овоме првом апостолу Христовом, св. Андреји, да проповеда Јеванђеље у Византији и Тракији, по том у земљама Дунавским, па у Русији и око Црног Мора, и најзад у Епиру, Грчкој и Пелопонезу, где и пострада. У Византији постави првога епископа у лицу св. Стахија; у Кијеву пободе крст на висини и прорече сјајну хришћанску будућност народу руском; по Тракији, Епиру, Грчкој и Пелопонезу преведе мноштво народа у веру, и постави им епископе и свештенике. У граду Патрасу учини многа чудеса именом Христовим и задоби многе за Господа, међу којима беху брат и жена царског намесника Егеата. Егеат разјарен због тога стави Андреју светога на муке, а потом распе на крсту. Докле год беше жив на крсту апостол Христов говораше корисне поуке хришћанима, који се беху сабрали око крста његова. Хтеде га народ скинути с крста, но он се опре томе. Најзад се апостол поче молити Богу, и при том нека необична светлост обасја га целог. То светлосно обасјање трајаше пола сата, и када оно ишчезе, апостол предаде своју свету душу Богу. Тако сконча свој земни век првозвани апостол, који први од 12 великих апостола позна Господа и пође за Њим. Пострада св. Андреја за свога Господа 62. године. Мошти његове беху пренете у Цариград. Доцније глава му је пренета у Рим, а једна рука у Москву.

Holy Great Martyr Barbara and St. John of Damascus +++ Св. Великомученица Варвара и Св. Јован Дамаскин
2027-12-17 | Saint Luke Serbian Orthodox Church of Washington, DC, 10660 River Road, Potomac, MD, 20854, United States
THE HOLY GREAT-MARTYR BARBARA
This glorious follower of Christ was betrothed to Christ from early childhood. Her father Dioscorus was a pagan and was renowned for his position and wealth in the city of Heliopolis in Egypt. Dioscorus locked up his only daughter Barbara, brilliant in mind and of beautiful countenance, in a high tower. He surrounded her with every comfort, gave her female servants, erected idols for worship, and built her a bathing room with two windows. Looking through the window at the earth below and the starry heavens above, Barbara’s mind was opened by the grace of God. She recognized the One True God, the Creator, despite the fact that she did not have a human teacher to bring her to this knowledge. Once, while her father was away from the city, she came down from the tower and, according to God’s providence, met some Christian women who revealed the true Faith of Christ to her. Barbara’s heart became inflamed with love for Christ the Lord. She ordered that a third window be cut open in the bath so that the three windows would represent the Holy Trinity. On one wall she traced a Cross with her finger, and the Cross etched itself deep in the stone as if cut by a chisel. A pool of water sprang forth from her footprints on the floor of the bath, which later gave healing of diseases to many. Learning of his daughter’s faith, Dioscorus beat her severely and drove her from the tower. He pursued her in order to kill her, but a cliff opened up and hid Barbara from her brutal father. When she appeared again, her father brought her to Martianus, the magistrate, who handed her over for torture. They stripped the innocent Barbara and flogged her until her entire body was covered with blood and wounds, but the Lord Himself appeared to her in prison with His angels and healed her. A certain woman, Juliana, upon seeing this, desired martyrdom for herself. Both women were severely tortured and with mockery were led through the city. Their breasts were cut off and much blood flowed from them. They were finally led to the place of execution, where Dioscorus himself slaughtered his daughter, and Juliana was slain by the soldiers. That same day, lightning struck the house of Dioscorus, killing him and Martianus. St. Barbara suffered in the year 306 A.D. Her miracle-working relics rest in Kiev. Glorified in the Kingdom of Christ, she has appeared many times even in our own day, sometimes alone and sometimes in the company of the Most-holy Theotokos.
SAINT JOHN DAMASCENE
John was first the chief minister to Caliph Abdul-Malik and later a monk in the Monastery of St. Sava the Sanctified. Because of his ardent defense of the veneration of icons during the reign of the iconoclastic Emperor Leo the Isaurian, John was maligned by the emperor to the Caliph, who cut off his right hand. John fell down in prayer before the icon of the Most-holy Theotokos, and his hand was rejoined and miraculously healed. Seeing this miracle the Caliph repented, but John no longer desired to remain with him as a nobleman. Instead, he withdrew to a monastery, where, from the beginning, he was a model to the monks in humility, obedience and all the prescribed rules of monastic asceticism. John composed the Funeral Hymns and compiled the Octoechos (The Book of Eight Tones), the Irmologion, the Menologion and the Paschal Canon, and he wrote many theological works of inspiration and profundity. A great monk, hymnographer, theologian and soldier for the truth of Christ, Damascene is numbered among the great Fathers of the Church. He entered peacefully into rest in about the year 776 A.D. at the age of 104.
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СВЕТА ВЕЛИКОМУЧЕНИЦА ВАРВАРА
Отац ове славне следбенице Христове, која се од раних лета уневести Христу, по имену Диоскор, беше знаменит положајем и богатством у граду Илиопољу Мисирском, а у вери незнабожац. Своју ћерку јединицу, мудру умом и красну ликом, затвори Диоскор у кулу високу, окружи је свим угодностима, даде јој слушкиње на службу, постави идоле за клањање, сазида јој купатило с два прозора. Посматрајући кроз прозор куле земљу доле и звездано небо горе, Варвари се отвори ум благодаћу Божјом, те познаде јединог истинитог Бога Творца, иако немаде никога од људи за учитеља у томе. А када се њен отац једном удаљи из града, она изиђе из куле и, по Божјем Промислу, срете се с неким хришћанкама, које јој јавише истину вере Христове. Срце се Варварино распламти љубављу према Христу Господу. Она нареди, те се просече и трећи прозор на купатилу, да три прозора буду символом Свете Тројице; на једној стени у купатилу прстом нацрта крст и крст се удуби у камен као гвожђем урезан; из њене стопе на поду купатила прокључа извор воде, која доцније многима причини исцељење од болести. Узнав Диоскор веру своје ћерке, изби је сурово, истера из куле и појури за њом да је убије. Стена се једна раступи и сакри Варвару од суровог оца. Када се поново јави, отац је одведе началнику Мартијану, коме предаде ћерку на мучење. Невину Варвару разденуше и шибаху, док јој цело тело не би покривено крвљу и ранама. У тамници јави јој се сам Господ с ангелима и исцели је. Видевши то, нека жена Јулијанија, и сама пожели мучеништва. И беху обе страшно мучене и с поругом по граду вођене. Одсекоше им груди женске, и крв многа из њих истече. Најзад их изведоше на губилиште, где сам отац закла ћерку своју, а војници Јулијанију. Тога истог дана удари гром у кућу Диоскорову и уби и њега и Мартијана. Пострада света Варвара 306. године. Мошти јој се чудотворне налазе у Кијеву. Прослављена у Царству Христовоме, она се много пута јављала до дана данашњега, понекад сама, понекад у пратњи Пресвете Богородице.

СВЕТИ ЈОВАН ДАМАСКИН
Најпре први министар калифа Абдалмелеха, а потом монах у манастиру Светог Саве Освећеног. Због ватреног заступања иконопоштовања у време иконоборног цара Лава Исаврјанина, оклеветан би Јован од овога цара код калифа, који му одсече десну руку. Он припаде на молитву пред иконом Пресвете Богородице, и рука му се састави и зарасте чудесно. Видећи то чудо, калиф се раскаја, но Јован не хте више остати код њега као великаш, него се повуче у манастир, где беше од почетка узор монасима у смерности, послушности и свима прописаним подвизима монашким. Испевао посмртне песме, саставио Октоих, Ирмологију, Месецослов, Канон пасхални, и написао многа богословска дела, с надахнућем и дубином. Велики као монах, и као песник, и као богослов, и као војник истине Христове, Дамаскин се рачуна у велике Оце Цркве. Упокојио се мирно око 776. године у стотину четвртој години свога живота.

Saint Sava the Sanctified +++ Свети Сава Освећени
2027-12-18 | Saint Luke Serbian Orthodox Church of Washington, DC, 10660 River Road, Potomac, MD, 20854, United States
THE VENERABLE SAVA THE SANCTIFIED
The unknown village of Mutalaska, in the province of Cappadocia, became famous through this great luminary of the Orthodox Church. Sava was born there of his parents John and Sophia. At the age of eight, he left the home of his parents and was tonsured a monk in a nearby monastic community called Flavian’s. After ten years, he moved to the monasteries of Palestine and remained longest in the Monastery of St. Euthymius the Great (January 20) and Theoctistus. The clairvoyant Euthymius prophesied of Sava that he would become a famous monk and a teacher of monks and that he would establish a lavra greater than all the lavras of that time. After the death of Euthymius, Sava withdrew to the desert, where he lived for five years as a hermit in a cave shown to him by an angel of God. Afterward, when he had been perfected in the monastic life, he began by divine providence to gather around him many who were desirous of the spiritual life. Soon, such a large number gathered that Sava had to build a church and many cells. Some Armenians also came to him, and for them he provided a cave where they would be able to celebrate services in the Armenian language. When his father died, his aged mother Sophia came to him, and he tonsured her a nun. He gave her a cell located at a distance from his monastery, where she lived a life of asceticism until her death. This holy father endured many assaults from all sides: from those who were close to him, from heretics, and from demons. But he triumphed over them all: those close to him, by kindness and indulgence; the heretics, by his unwavering confession of the Orthodox Faith; the demons, by the sign of the Cross and calling upon God for help. He had a particularly great struggle with demons on Mount Castellium, where he established his second monastery. In all, Sava established seven monasteries. He and Theodosius the Great, his neighbor, are considered to be the greatest lights and pillars of Orthodoxy in the East. They corrected emperors and patriarchs in matters of the Faith, and to everyone they served as an example of saintly humility and the miraculous power of God. After a toilsome and very fruitful life, St. Sava entered into rest in the year 532 A.D., at the age of ninety-four. Among his many wondrous and good works, let it at least be mentioned that he was the first to compile the Order of Services for use in monasteries, now known as the Jerusalem Typicon.
Saint Sava the Sanctified before his death prophesied that his staff ought to be given to a prince from a foreign land and who bears his name when he comes to visit the monastery. Centuries later, in a miraculous way it was revealed to the fathers of the monastery that the staff ought to be given to Saint Sava of Serbia. This staff is now kept in the Monastery Hilandar.

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ПРЕПОДОБНИ САВА ОСВЕЋЕНИ
Незнатно село Муталаск у области Кападокијској постало је знаменито по овоме великом светилу цркве православне. Ту се Сава родио од оца Јована и мајке Софије. У осмој години напустио дом родитељски и замонашио се у оближњој обитељи, званој Флавијанова. После 10 година пређе у Палестинске манастире, и ту се најдуже задржи у обитељи светог Јевтимија Великог (в. 20. јануар) и Теоктиста. Прозорљиви Јевтимије прорече за њега, да ће бити славан монах и наставник монасима, и да ће основати лавру већу од свих лаври тога времена. По смрти светог Јевтимија удаљи се Сава у пустињу, где у једној пештери, коју му ангел Божји исказа, проведе као отшелник пет година. После тога, када он поста савршен монах, почеше се, по Промислу Божјем, скупљати око њега многи желатељи духовног живота. Убрзо их се скупи тако велики број, да је Сава морао зидати и цркву и келије многе. Дођоше му и неки Јермени, којима он одреди пештеру, где ће служити на јерменском језику. Када му отац умре, дође му његова остарела мајка Софија, коју он замонаши, и даде јој келију даље од свог манастира, где се она подвизаваше до краја живота. Многе напасти претрпе овај свети отац од блиских људи, од јеретика и од демона. Но он све побеђиваше, и то: блиске људе благошћу и попустљивошћу, јеретике непоколебљивим православним вероисповедањем, а демоне крсним знаком и призивањем Бога у помоћ. Нарочито је велику борбу имао са демонима на гори Кастелу, где је основао други свој манастир. Основао је свега седам манастира. Он и Теодосије Велики, његов сусед, сматрани су највећим светилима и стубовима Православља на Истоку. Цареве и патријархе они су исправљали у вери, а свима и свакоме служили примером смерности светитељске и чудесне силе Божје. После трудног и много плодног живота упокоји се свети Сава 532. године у деведесет четвртој години живота. Између многих других чудотворних и добрих дела нека буде споменуто само то, да је он први уредио чин богослужења по манастирима, познат под именом чина Јерусалимске цркве.
Пре свог престављења, Свети Сава Освећени је прорекао да ће у манастир доћи принц из далеке земље који ће носити његово име. Том принцу треба дати његов игумански штап. После много векова, приликом посете Светог Саве Српског манастиру Светог Саве Освећеног на чудесан начин је било откривено да је то принц из пророштва светог. Игумански штап који је тада добио Свети Сава Српски се до данас чува у Манастиру Хиландару.

Great Vespers with the Blessing of the Loaves +++ Вечерње са петохљебницом
2027-12-18 17:00 - 18:00 | Saint Luke Serbian Orthodox Church of Washington, DC, 10660 River Road, Potomac, MD, 20854, United States

St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia – Свети Николај, Архиепископ Мирликијски
2027-12-19 | Saint Luke Serbian Orthodox Church of Washington, DC, 10660 River Road, Potomac, MD, 20854, United States
SAINT NICHOLAS THE WONDERWORKER, ARCHBISHOP OF MYRA IN LYCIA
This glorious saint, celebrated even today throughout the entire world, was the only son of his eminent and wealthy parents, Theophanes and Nona, citizens of the city of Patara in Lycia. Since he was the only son bestowed on them by God, the parents returned the gift to God by dedicating their son to Him. St. Nicholas learned of the spiritual life from his uncle Nicholas, Bishop of Patara, and was tonsured a monk in the Monastery of New Zion founded by his uncle. Following the death of his parents, Nicholas distributed all his inherited goods to the poor, not keeping anything for himself. As a priest in Patara, he was known for his charity, even though he carefully concealed his charitable works, fulfilling the words of the Lord: Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth (Matthew 6:3). When he gave himself over to solitude and silence, thinking to live that way until his death, a voice from on high came to him: “Nicholas, for your ascetic labor, work among the people, if thou desirest to be crowned by Me.” Immediately after that, by God’s wondrous providence, he was chosen archbishop of the city of Myra in Lycia. Merciful, wise and fearless, Nicholas was a true shepherd to his flock. During the persecution of Christians under Diocletian and Maximian, he was cast into prison, but even there he instructed the people in the Law of God. He was present at the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea [325] and, out of great zeal for the truth, struck the heretic Arius with his hand. For this act he was removed from the Council and from his archiepiscopal duties, until the Lord Christ Himself and the Most-holy Theotokos appeared to several of the chief hierarchs and revealed their approval of Nicholas. A defender of God’s truth, this wonderful saint was ever bold as a defender of justice among the people.
On two occasions, he saved three men from an undeserved sentence of death. Merciful, truthful, and a lover of justice, he walked among the people as an angel of God. Even during his lifetime, the people considered him a saint and invoked his aid in difficulties and in distress. He appeared both in dreams and in person to those who called upon him, and he helped them easily and speedily, whether close at hand or far away. A light shone from his face as it did from the face of Moses, and he, by his presence alone, brought comfort, peace and good will among men. In old age he became ill for a short time and entered into the rest of the Lord, after a life full of labor and very fruitful toil, to rejoice eternally in the Kingdom of Heaven, continuing to help the faithful on earth by his miracles and to glorify his God. He entered into rest on December 6, 343 A.D.
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СВЕТИ НИКОЛАЈ ЧУДОТВОРАЦ, АРХИЕПИСКОП МИРЛИКИЈСКИ
Овај славни светитељ, слављен и данас по целоме свету, би јединац син у својих знаменитих и богатих родитеља, Теофана и Ноне, житеља града Патаре, у Ликији. Као јединца сина, дарованог им од Бога, они опет посветише Богу, и тиме дадоше га Богу као уздарје. Духовном животу научи се свети Николај код свог стрица Николаја, епископа патарског, и замонаши се у манастиру Нови Сион, основаном тим истим стрицем његовим. По смрти родитеља Николај раздаде наслеђено имање сиромасима не задржавајући ништа за себе. Као свештеник у Патари беше се прочуо својим милосрђем, мада он брижљиво скриваше своја милосрдна дела испуњујући реч Господњу: „Да не зна левица твоја што чини десница твоја“ (Мт 6, 3). Када се предаде самоћи и безмолвију, смишљајући да тако до смрти проживи, дође му глас свише: „Николаје, пођи на подвиг у народ, ако желиш бити од Мене увенчан“. Одмах потом чудесним Промислом Божјим би изабран за архиепископа града Мира у Ликији. Милостив, мудар, неустрашив, свети Николај био је прави пастир добри стаду своме. У време гоњења хришћана под Диоклецијаном и Максимијаном бачен у тамницу, но и у тамници поучаваше људе закону Божјем. Присуствовао Првом васељенском сабору у Никеји, и, из велике ревности према истини, ударио руком јеретика Арија. Због тога дела би уклоњен са Сабора и од архијерејске службе све док се неколицини првих архијереја на Сабору не јави сам Господ Христос и Пресвета Богородица и не објавише Своје благоволење према Николају. Заштитник истине Божје овај дивни светитељ био је вазда и одважан заштитник правде међу људима. У два маха спасао је по три човека од незаслужене смртне казне. Милостив, истинит, правдољубив, он је ходио међу људима као ангел Божји. Још за живота његова људи су га сматрали светитељем и призивали га у помоћ у мукама и бедама; и он се јављао, у сну и на јави, онима који су га призивали, подједнако лако и брзо наблизу и надалеко, и помагао. Од његовог лица сијала је светлост као од лица Мојсијева, и он је самом својом појавом доносио утеху, тишину и добру вољу међу људе. У старости поболе мало и упокоји се у Господу, многотрудан и многоплодан, да се вечно весели у Царству небеском продужујући да чудесима на земљи помаже вернима и прославља Бога свога. Упокојио се 6. децембра 343. године.

Saint Herman of Alaska +++ Свети Герман Аљаски
2027-12-26 | Saint Luke Serbian Orthodox Church of Washington, DC, 10660 River Road, Potomac, MD, 20854, United States
SAINT HERMAN OF ALASKA

A spiritual mission was organized in 1793, made up of monks of the Valaam Monastery. They were sent to preach the Word of God to the native inhabitants of northwestern America, who only ten years before had come under the sovereignty of Russia. Saint Herman was among the members of this Mission.
Saint Herman came from a family of merchants of Serpukhov, a city of the Moscow Diocese. His name before he was tonsured, and his family name are not known. (The monastic name is given when a monk takes his vows). He had a great zeal for piety from youth, and at sixteen he entered monastic life. (This was in 1772, if we assume that Herman was born in 1756, although sometimes 1760 is given as the date of his birth.) First he entered the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage which was located near the Gulf of Finland on the Peterhof Road, about 15 versts (about 10 miles) from Saint Petersburg.
Miraculous Healing
At the Saint Sergius Hermitage there occurred the following incident to Father Herman. On the right side of his throat under his chin there appeared an abscess. The swelling grew rapidly, disfiguring his face. It became difficult for him to swallow, and the odor was unbearable. In this critical condition Father Herman awaited death. He did not appeal to a physician of this world, but locking his cell he fell before an icon of the Mother of God. With fervent tears he prayed, asking of Her that he might be healed. He prayed the whole night. Then he took a wet towel and with it wiped the face of the Most Holy Mother, and with this towel he covered the swelling. He continued to pray with tears until he fell asleep from sheer exhaustion on the floor. In a dream he saw the Virgin Mary healing him.
When Herman awoke in the morning, he found to his great surprise that he was fully healed. The swelling had disappeared, even though the abscess had not broken through, leaving behind but a small mark as though a reminder of the miracle. Physicians to whom this healing was described did not believe it, arguing that it was necessary for the abscess to have either broken through of its own accord or to have been cut open. But the words of the physicians were the words of human experience, for where the grace of God operates there the order of nature is overcome. Such occurrences humble human reason under the strong hand of God’s Mercy.
Life at Valaam
For five or six years Father Herman continued to live in the Saint Sergius Hermitage, and then he transferred to the Valaam Monastery, which was widely scattered on the large islands in the waters of the great Lake Ladoga. He came to love the Valaam haven with all his soul, as he came to love its unforgettable Superior, the pious Elder Nazarius, and all the brethren. He wrote to Father Nazarius later from America, “Your fatherly goodness to me, humble one, will be erased out of my heart neither by the terrible, unpassable Siberian lands, nor by the dark forests. Nor will it be wiped out by the swift flow of the great rivers; nor will the awful ocean quench these feelings. In my mind I imagine my beloved Valaam, looking to it beyond the great ocean.” He praised the Elder Nazarius in his letters as, “the most reverend, and my beloved father,” and the brethren of Valaam he called, “my beloved and dearest.” The place where he lived in America, deserted Spruce Island, he called “New Valaam.” And as we can see, he always remained in spiritual contact with his spiritual homeland, for as late as 1823, that is after thirty years of his life within the borders of America, he wrote letters to the successor of Father Nazarius, the lgumen Innocent.
Father Barlaam, later lgumen of Valaam, and a contemporary of Father Herman, who accepted his tonsure from Father Nazarius, wrote thus of the life of Father Herman.
“Father Herman went through the various obediences here, and being ‘well disposed toward every thing’ was in the course of events sent to Serdobol to oversee there the work of quarrying marble. The Brothers loved Father Herman, and awaited impatiently his return to the cloisters from Serdobol. Recognizing the zeal of the young hermit the wise elder, Father Nazarius, released him to take abode in the wilderness. This wilderness was in the deep forest about a mile from the cloister: to this day this place has retained the name ‘Herman’s.’ On holy days, Father Herman returned to the monastery from the wilderness. Then it was that at Little Vespers he would stand in the choir and sing in his pleasant tenor the responses with the brethren from the Canon, ‘O Sweetest Jesus, save us sinners. Most Holy Theotokos, Save us,’ and tears would fall like hail from his eyes.”
The First Mission to America
In the second half of the 18th century the borders of Holy Russia expanded to the north. In those years Russian merchants discovered the Aleutian Islands which formed in the Pacific Ocean a chain from the eastern shores of Kamchatka to the western shores of North America. With the opening of these islands there was revealed the sacred necessity to illumine with the light of the Gospel the native inhabitants. With the blessing of the Holy Synod, Metropolitan Gabriel gave to the Elder Nazarius the task of selecting capable persons from the brethern of Valaam for this holy endeavor. Ten men were selected, and among them was Father Herman. The chosen men left Valaam for the place of their great appointment in 1793. (The members of this historical mission were: Archimandrite Joseph (Bolotoff); the hieromonks Juvenal, Macarius, Athanasius, Stephan, and Nectarius; hierodeacons Nectarius and Stephen; and the monks Joasaph and Herman.)
As a result of the holy zeal of the preachers the light of the evangelic sermon quickly poured out among the sons of Russia, and several thousand pagans accepted Christianity. A school for the education of newly-baptized children was organized, and a church was built at the place where the missionaries lived. But by the inscrutable providence of God the general progress of the mission was unsatisfactory. After five years of very productive labor, Archimandrite Joasaph, who had just been elevated to the rank of bishop, was drowned with his party. (This occurred on the Pacific Ocean between Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands. The ship, Phoenix, one of the first sea-going ships built in Alaska, sailed from Okhotsk carrying the first Bishop for the American Mission and his party. The Phoenix was caught in one of the many storms which periodically sweep the northern Pacific, and the ship and all hands perished together with Bishop Joasaph and his party.) Before this the zealous Hieromonk Juvenal was granted the martyr’s crown. The others died one after another until in the end only Father Herman remained. The Lord permitted him to labor longer than any of his brethren in the apostolic task of enlightening the Aleutians.
The New Valaam — Spruce Island
In America, Father Herman chose as his place of habitation Spruce Island, which he called New Valaam. This island is separated by a strait about a mile and a quarter wide from Kodiak Island on which had been built a wooden monastery for the residence of the members of the mission, and a wooden church dedicated to the Resurrection of the Savior. (New Valaam was named for Valaam on Lake Ladoga, the monastery from which Father Herman came to America. It is interesting to note that Valaam is also located on an island, although, this island is in a fresh water lake, whereas, Spruce Island is on the Pacific Ocean, although near other islands and the Alaskan mainland.)
Spruce Island is not large, and is almost completely covered by a forest. Almost through its middle a small brook flows to the sea. Herman selected this picturesque island for the location of his hermitage. He dug a cave out of the ground with his own hands, and in it he lived his first full summer. For winter there was built for him a cell near the cave, in which he lived until his death. The cave was converted by him into a place for his burial. A wooden chapel, and a wooden house to be used as a schoolhouse and a guest house were built not too distant from his cell. A garden was laid out in front of his cell. For more than forty years Father Herman lived here.
Father Herman’s Way of Life
Father Herman himself spaded the garden, planted potatoes and cabbage and various vegetables in it. For winter, he preserved mushrooms, salting or drying them. The salt was obtained by him from ocean water. It is said that a wicker basket in which the Elder carried seaweed from the shore, was so large that it was difficult for one person to carry. The seaweed was used for fertilizing the soil. But to the astonishment of all, Father Herman carried a basket filled with seaweed for a long distance without any help at all. By chance his disciple, Gerasim, saw him one winter night carrying a large log which normally would be carried by four men; and he was bare footed. Thus worked the Elder, and everything that he acquired as a result of his immeasurable labors was used for the feeding and clothing of orphans and also for books for his students.
His clothes were the same for winter as for summer. He did not wear a shirt; instead he wore a smock of deer skin, which he did not take off for several years at a time, nor did he change it, so that the fur in it was completely worn away, and the leather became glossy. Then there were his boots or shoes, cassock (podrasnik), an ancient and faded out cassock (riasa) full of patchwork, and his headdress (klobuk). He went everywhere in these clothes, and at all times; in the rain, in snowstorms, and during the coldest freezing weather. In this, Father Herman followed the example of many Eastern Ascetic Fathers and Monks who showed the greatest concern for the welfare and needs of others. Yet, they themselves wore the oldest possible clothes to show their great humility before God, and their detachment from worldly things.
A small bench covered with a time-worn deerskin served as Father Herman’s bed. He used two bricks for a pillow; these were hidden from visitors by a skin or a shirt. There was no blanket. Instead, he covered himself with a wooden board which lay on the stove. This board Father Herman himself called his blanket, and he willed that it be used to cover his remains; it was as long as he was tall. “During my stay in the cell of Father Herman,” writes the creole Constantine Larionov, “I, a sinner, sat on his ‘blanket’-and I consider this the acme of my fortune!” (‘creole’ is the name by which the Russians referred to the children of mixed marriages of native Indians of Alaska, Eskimo and Aleuts with Russians.)
On the occasions when Father Herman was the guest of administrators of the American Company and in the course of their soul-saving talks he sat up with them until midnight. He never spent the night with them, but regardless of the weather he always returned to his hermitage. If for some extraordinary reason it was necessary for him to spend the night away from his cell, then in the morning the bed which had been prepared for him would be found untouched; the Elder not having slept at all. The same was true in his hermitage where having spent the night in talks, he never rested.
The Elder ate very little. As a guest, he scarcely tasted the food, and remained without dinner. In his cell his dinner consisted of a very small portion of a small fish or some vegetables. His body, emaciated as a result of his labors, his vigils, and fasting, was crushed by chains which weighed about sixteen pounds. These chains are kept to this day in the chapel. Telling of these deeds of Father Herman, his disciple, the Aleut Ignaty Aligyaga, added, “Yes, Apa led a very hard life, and no one can imitate his life!” (The Aleutian word “Apa” means Elder or grandfather, and it is a name indicative of the great affection in which he was held).
Our writing of the incidents in the life of the Elder deal, so to speak, with the external aspects of his labor. “His most important works,” says the Bishop Peter, “were his exercises in spiritual endeavor in his isolated cell where no one saw him, but outside the cell they heard him singing and celebrating services to God according to the monastic rule.” This witness of the Bishop is supported by the following answers of Father Herman, himself: “How do you manage to live alone in the forest, Father Herman? Don’t you ever become lonesome?” He answered, “No I am not there alone! God is here, as God is everywhere. The Holy Angels are there. With whom is it better to talk, with people, or with Angels? Most certainly with Angels.”
Father Herman and the Native Alaskans
The way in which Father Herman looked upon the natives of America, how he understood his own relations with them, and how he was concerned for their needs he expressed himself in one of his letters to the former administrator of the colony, Simeon Yanovsky. He wrote, “Our Creator granted to our beloved homeland this land which like a newly-born babe does not yet have the strength for knowledge or understanding. It requires not only protection, because of its infantile weakness and impotence, but also his sustenance. Even for this it does not yet have the ability to make an appeal on its own behalf. And since the welfare of this nation by the Providence of God, it is not known for how long, is dependent on and has been entrusted into the hands of the Russian government which has now been given into your own power, therefore I, the most humble servant of these people, and their nurse (nyanka) stand before you in their behalf, write this petition with tears of blood. Be our Father and our Protector. Certainly we do not know how to be eloquent, so with an inarticulate infant’s tongue we say: Wipe away the tears of the defenseless orphans, cool the hearts melting away in the fire of sorrow. Help us to know what consolation means.”
The Elder acted the way he felt. He always interceded before the governors on behalf of those who had transgressed. He defended those who had been offended. He helped those who were in need with whatever means he had available. The Aleuts, men, women and children, often visited him. Some asked for advice, others complained of oppression, others sought out defense, and still others desired help. Each one received the greatest possible satisfaction from the Elder. He discussed their mutual difficulties, and he tried to settle these peacefully. He was especially concerned about reestablishing understanding in families. If he did not succeed in reconciling a husband and wife, the Elder prevailed upon them to separate temporarily. The need for such a procedure he explained thus, “it is better to let them live apart, or believe me, it can be terrible if they are not separated. There have been incidents when a husband killed his wife, or when a wife destroyed her husband.”
Father Herman especially loved children. He made large quantities of biscuits for them, and he baked cookies (krendelki) for them; and the children were fond of the Elder. Father Herman’s love for the Aleuts reached the point of self-denial.
An Epidemic Strikes
A ship from the United States brought to Sitka Island, and from there to Kodiak Island, a contagious disease, a fatal illness. It began with a fever, a heavy cold, and difficult respiration, and it ended with chills; in three days the victim died. On the island there was neither a doctor nor medicine. The illness spread rapidly through the village, and then throughout the nearby areas. The disease affected all, even infants. The fatalities were so great that for three days there was no one to dig graves, and the bodies remained unburied. An eyewitness said, “I cannot imagine anything more tragic and horrible than the sight which struck me when I visited an Aleutian ‘Kazhim’. This was a large building, or barracks, with dividing sections, in which the Aleuts lived with their families; it contained about 100 people. Here some had died, their cold bodies lay near the living; others were dying; there were groans and weeping which tore at one’s soul.”
“I saw mothers over whose bodies cold in death crawled a hungry child, crying and searching in vain for its food…My heart was bursting with compassion! It seemed that if anyone could paint with a worthy brush the full horror of this tragic scene, that he would have successfully aroused fear of death in the most embittered heart.” Father Herman, during this terrible sickness which lasted a whole month, gradually dying out towards the end, visited the sick, never tiring. He admonished them in their fear, prayed, brought them to penance, or prepared them for death. He never spared himself.
Father Herman as a Spiritual Teacher
The Elder was concerned in particular for the moral growth of the Aleuts. With this end in mind a school was built for children-the orphans of the Aleuts. He himself taught them the Law of God and church music. For this same purpose he gathered the Aleuts on Sunday and Holy Days for prayer in the chapel near his cell. Here his disciple read the Hours and the various prayers while the Elder himself read the Epistle and Gospel. He also preached to them. His students sang, and they sang very well. The Aleuts loved to hear his sermons, gathering around him in large numbers. The Elder’s talks were captivating, and his listeners were moved by their wonderous power. He himself writes of one example of the beneficial results of his words.
“Glory to the holy destinies of the Merciful God! He has shown me now through his unfathomable Providence a new occurrence which I, who have lived here for twenty years had never seen before on Kodiak,” he wrote. “Recently after Easter, a young girl about twenty years of age who knows Russian well, came to me. Having heard of the Incarnation of the Son of God and of Eternal Life, she became so inflamed with love for Jesus Christ that she does not wish to leave me. She pleaded eloquently with me. Contrary to my personal inclination and love for solitude, and despite all the hindrances and difficulties which I put forward before accepting her, she has now been living near the school for a month and is not lonesome. I, looking on this with great wonder, remembered the words of the Savior: ‘that which is hidden from the wise and learned is revealed to babes’” (Matthew 11:25).
This woman lived at the school until the death of the Elder. She watched for the good conduct of the children who studied in his school. Father Herman willed that after his death she was to continue to live on Spruce Island. Her name was Sophia Vlasova.
Yanovsky writes about the character and the eloquence of the talks of the Elder thus: “When I met Father Herman I was thirty years old. I must say that I was educated in the naval corps school; that I knew many sciences having read extensively. But to my regret, the Science of sciences, that is the Law of God, I barely remembered the externals—and these only theoretically, not applying them to life. I was a Christian in name only, but in my soul and in reality, I was a freethinker. Furthermore, I did not admit the divinity and holiness of our religion, for I had read through many atheistic works. Father Herman recognized this immediately and he desired to reconvert me. To my great surprise he spoke so convincingly, wisely—and he argued with such conviction—that it seemed to me that no learning or worldly wisdom could stand one’s ground before his words. We conversed with him daily until midnight, and even later, of God’s love, of eternity, of the salvation of souls, and of Christian living. From his lips flowed a ceaseless stream of sweet words! By these continual talks and by the prayers of the holy Elder the Lord returned me completely to the way of Truth, and I became a real Christian. I am indebted for all this to Father Herman; he is my true benefactor.
“Several years ago,” continues Yanovsky, “Father Herman converted a certain naval captain G. to Orthodoxy from the Lutheran Faith. This captain was well educated. Besides many sciences, he was well versed in languages. He knew Russian, English, German, French, Italian and also some Spanish. But for all this he could not resist the convictions and proofs of Father Herman. He changed his faith and was united to the Orthodox Church through Chrismation. When he was leaving America, the Elder said to him while they were parting, “Be on guard, if the Lord should take your wife from you then do not marry a German woman under any circumstance. If you do marry a German woman, undoubtedly she will damage your Orthodoxy.” The Captain gave his word, but he failed to keep it. The warning of the Elder was prophetic. Indeed, after several years the Captain’s wife did die, and he married a German woman. There is no doubt that his faith weakened or that he left it; for he died suddenly without penance.”
Further on Yanovsky writes, “Once the Elder was invited aboard a frigate which came from Saint Petersburg. The Captain of the frigate was a highly educated man, who had been sent to America by order of the Emperor to make an inspection of all the colonies. There were more than twenty-five officers with the Captain, and they also were educated men. In the company of this group sat a monk of a hermitage, small in stature and wearing very old clothes. All these educated conversationalists were placed in such a position by his wise talks that they did not know how to answer him. The Captain himself used to say, ‘We were lost for an answer before him.’
“Father Herman gave them all one general question: ‘Gentlemen, What do you love above all, and what will each of you wish for your happiness?’ Various answers were offered … Some desired wealth, others glory, some a beautiful wife, and still others a beautiful ship he would captain; and so forth in the same vein. ‘Is it not true,’ Father Herman said to them concerning this, ‘that all your various wishes can bring us to one conclusion—that each of you desires that which in his own understanding he considers the best, and which is most worthy of his love?’ They all answered, ‘Yes, that is so!’ He then continued, ‘Would you not say, Is not that which is best, above all, and surpassing all, and that which by preference is most worthy of love, the Very Lord, our Jesus Christ, who created us, adorned us with such ideals, gave life to all, sustains everything, nurtures and loves all, who is Himself Love and most beautiful of all men? Should we not then love God above every thing, desire Him more than anything, and search Him out?’
“All said, ‘Why, yes! That’s self-evident!’ Then the Elder asked, ‘But do you love God?’ They all answered, ‘Certainly, we love God. How can we not love God?’ ‘And I a sinner have been trying for more than forty years to love God, I cannot say that I love Him completely,’ Father Herman protested to them. He then began to demonstrate to them the way in which we should love God. ‘If we love someone,’ he said, ‘we always remember them; we try to please them. Day and night our heart is concerned with the subject. Is that the way you gentlemen love God? Do you turn to Him often? Do you always remember Him? Do you always pray to Him and fulfill His holy commandments?’ They had to admit that they had not! ‘For our own good, and for our own fortune,’ concluded the Elder, ‘let us at least promise ourselves that from this very minute we will try to love God more than anything and to fulfill His Holy Will!’ Without any doubt this conversation was imprinted in the hearts of the listeners for the rest of their lives.’
“In general, Father Herman liked to talk of eternity, of salvation of the future life, of our destinies under God. He often talked on the lives of the Saints, on the Prologue, but he never spoke about anything frivolous. It was so pleasant to hear him that those who conversed with him, the Aleuts and their wives, were so captivated by his talks that often they did not leave him until dawn, and then they left him with reluctance;” thus witnesses the Creole, Constantine Larionov.
A Description of Father Herman
Yanovsky writes a detailed description of Father Herman. “I have a vivid memory,” he said, “Of all the features of the Elder’s face reflecting goodness; his pleasant smile, his meek and attractive mien, his humble and quiet behavior, and his gracious word. He was short of stature. His face was pale and covered with wrinkles. His eyes were greyish-blue, full of sparkle, and on his head there were a few gray hairs. His voice was not powerful, but it was very pleasant.” Yanovsky relates two incidents from his conversations with the Elder. “Once,” he writes, “I read to Father Herman the ode, ‘God,’ by Derzhavin. The Elder was surprised, and entranced. He asked me to read it again. I read it once more, “Is it possible that a simple, educated man wrote this?” he asked. “Yes, a learned poet,” I answered. “This has been written under God’s inspiration,” said the Elder.
The Martyrdom of Peter
“On another occasion I was relating to him how the Spanish in California had imprisoned fourteen Aleuts, and how the Jesuits were forcing all of them to accept the Catholic Faith. But this Aleut would not agree under any circumstances, saying, ‘We are Christians.’ The Jesuits protested, ‘That’s not true; you are heretics and schismatics. If you do not agree to accept our faith then we will torture all of you.’ Then the Aleuts were placed in cells until evening; two to a cell. At night the Jesuits came to the prison with lanterns and lighted candles. They began to persuade the Aleuts in the cell once again to accept the Catholic Faith. ‘We are Christians,’ was the answer of the Aleuts, ‘and we will not change our Faith.’ Then the Jesuits began to torture them, at first the one while his companion was the witness. They cut the toes off his feet, first one joint and then the other joint. And then they cut the first joint on the fingers of the hands, and then the other joint. Afterwards they cut off his feet, and his hands; the blood flowed. The martyr endured all and steadfastly insisted on one thing: ’I am a Christian.’ In such suffering, he bled to death. The Jesuit promised to torture to death his comrades also on the next day…. But that night an order was received from Monterey stating that the imprisoned Aleuts were to be released immediately, and sent there under escort. Therefore, in the morning all were dispatched to Monterey with the exception of the martyred Aleut. This was related to me by a witness, the same Aleut who was the comrade of the tortured Aleut. Afterwards he escaped from imprisonment, and I reported this incident to the supreme authorities in Saint Petersburg. When I finished my story, Father Herman asked, ‘And how did they call the martyred Aleut?’ I answered, ‘Peter; I do not remember his family name.’ The Elder stood up before an icon reverently, made the sign of the Cross and pronounced, ’Holy newly-martyred Peter, pray to God for us!’”
The Spirit of Father Herman’s Teaching
In order to express the spirit of Father Herman’s teaching, we present here a quotation from a letter that was written by his own hand.
“The empty years of these desires separate us from our heavenly homeland, and our Love for these desires and our habits clothe us, as it were, in an odious dress; it is called by the Apostle ‘the external (earthy) man’ (1 Corinthians 15:47). We who are wanderers in the journey of this life call to God for aid. We must divest ourselves of this repulsiveness, and put on new desires, and a new love for the coming age. Thus, through this we will know either an attraction or a repulsion for the heavenly homeland. It is possible to do this quickly, but we must follow the example of the sick, who wishing for desired health, do not stop searching for means of curing themselves. But I am not speaking clearly.”
Not desiring anything for himself in life, when he first came to America, he refused in his humility the dignity of hieromonk and archimandrite, deciding to remain forever a common monk, Father Herman, without the least fear before the powerful, strove with all sincerity for God. With gentle love, and disregarding the person, he criticized many for intemperate living, for unworthy behavior, and for oppressing the Aleuts. Evil armed itself against him and gave him all sorts of trouble and sorrow. But God protected the Elder. The Administrator of the Colony, Yanovsky, not having yet seen Father Herman, after receiving one of those complaints, had already written to Saint Petersburg of the necessity of his removal. He explained that it seemed that he was arousing the Aleuts against the administration. But this accusation turned out to be unjust, and in the end Yanovsky was numbered among the admirers of Father Herman.
Once an inspector came to Spruce Island with the Administrator of the Colony and with company employees to search through Father Herman’s cell. This party expected to find property of great value in Father Herman’s cell. But when they found nothing of value, an employee of the American Company, Ponomarkhov, began to tear up the floor with an axe, undoubtedly with the consent of his seniors. Then Father Herman said to him, “My friend, you have lifted the axe in vain; this weapon shall deprive you of your life.” Some time later people were needed at Fort Nicholas, and for that reason several Russian employees were sent there from Kodiak; among them was Ponomarkhov; there the natives of Kenai cut off his head while he slept.
The Temptations of Father Herman
Many great sorrows were borne by Father Herman from evil spirits. He himself revealed this to his disciple, Gerasim. Once when he entered Father Herman’s cell without the usual prayer he received no answer from Father Herman to any of his questions. The next day Gerasim asked him the reason for his silence. On that occasion Father Herman said to him, “When I came to this island and settled in this hermitage the evil spirits approached me ostensibly to be helpful. They came in the form of a man, and in the form of animals. I suffered much from them; from various afflictions and temptations. And that is why I do not speak now to anyone who enters into my presence without prayer.” (It is customary among devout laymen, as well as clergy, to say out loud a prayer, and upon hearing a response ending with Amen, to enter and go to the icon in the room to reverence it, and to say a prayer before greeting the host).
Supernatural Gifts from God
Herman dedicated himself fully for the Lord’s service; he strove with zeal solely for the glorification of His Most Holy Name. Far from his homeland in the midst of a variety of afflictions and privations Father Herman spent several decades performing the noblest deeds of self-sacrifice. He was privileged to receive many supernatural gifts from God.
In the midst of Spruce Island down the hill flows a little stream into the sea. The mouth of this stream was always swept by surf. In the spring when the brook fish appeared the Elder raked away some of the sand at its mouth so that the fish could enter, and at their first appearance they rushed up the stream. His disciple, lgnaty, said, “it was so that if ‘Apa’ would tell me, I would go and get fish in the stream!” Father Herman fed the birds with dried fish, and they would gather in great numbers around his cell. Underneath his cell there lived an ermine. This little animal can not be approached when it has had its young, but the Elder fed it from his own hand. “Was not this a miracle that we had seen?” said his disciple, Ignaty. They also saw Father Herman feeding bears. But when Father Herman died the birds and animals left; even the garden would not give any sort of crops even though someone had willingly taken care of it, Ignaty insisted.
On Spruce Island there once occurred a flood. The inhabitants came to the Elder in great fear. Father Herman then took an icon of the Mother of God from the home where his students lived, and placed it on a “laida” (a sandy bank) and began to pray. After his prayer he turned to those present and said,“Have no fear, the water will not go any higher than the place where this holy icon stands.” The words of the Elder were fulfilled. After this he promised the same aid from this holy icon in the future, through the intercessions of the Mother of God. He entrusted the icon to his disciple Sophia; in case of future floods the icon was to be placed on the “laida.” This icon is preserved on the island to this day.
At the request of the Elder, Baron F. P. Wrangel wrote a letter to a Metropolitan (his name is not known) which was dictated by Father Herman. When the letter was completed and read, the Elder congratulated the Baron upon his attaining the rank of admiral. The Baron was taken aback. This was news to him. It was confirmed, but only after an elapse of some time, and just before he departed for Saint Petersburg.
Father Herman said to the administrator Kashevarov, from whom he accepted his son from the font (during the Sacrament of Baptism), “I am sorry for you, my dear ‘kum.’ It’s a shame; the change will be unpleasant for you.” In two years, during a change of administration, Kashevarov was sent to Sitka in chains.
Once, the forest on Spruce Island caught fire. The Elder, with his disciple Ignaty, in a thicket of the forest made a belt about a yard wide in which they turned over the moss. They extended it to the foot of the hill. The Elder said, “Rest assured, the fire will not pass this line.” On the next day, according to the testimony of Ignaty, there was no hope of salvation (from the fire) and the fire, pushed by a strong wind, reached the place where the moss had been turned over by the Elder. The fire ran over the moss and halted, leaving untouched the thick forest which was beyond the line.
The Elder often said that there would be a Bishop for America; this at a time when no one even thought of it, and there was no hope that there would be a Bishop for America. This was related by Bishop Peter, and his prophecy was fulfilled in time.
“After my death,” said Father Herman, “there will be an epidemic, many people shall die during it, and the Russians shall unite the Aleuts.” And so it happened. It seems that about a half a year after his passing, there was a smallpox epidemic; the death rate in America during the epidemic was tremendous. In some villages, only a few inhabitants remained alive. This led the administration of the colony to unite the Aleuts; the twelve settlements were consolidated into seven.
“Although a long time shall elapse after my death, I will not be forgotten” said Father Herman to his disciples. “My place of habitation will not remain empty. A monk like me, who will be escaping from the glory of men, will come and he will live on Spruce Island, and Spruce Island will not be without people.” (This prophecy has now been fulfilled in its entirety. Just such a monk as Father Herman described lived on Spruce Island for many years; his name was Archimandrite Gerasim, who died on October 13, 1969. This monk took on himself the responsibility of taking care of the Chapel under which the Elder Herman was first buried. Metropolitan Leonty, soon after his elevation to the primacy of the Russian Orthodox Church in America, made a pilgrimage to Spruce Island, and the grave of Saint Herman.)
Prophecies for the Future
The Creole Constantine, when he was not more than twelve years old, was asked by Father Herman, “My beloved one, what do you think; this chapel which they are building now, will it ever stand empty?” The youngster answered, “I do not know, Apa.” “Indeed,” said Constantine, “I did not understand his question at that time, even though the whole conversation with the Elder remains vivid in my memory.” The Elder remained silent for some time, and then said, “My child, remember, in time there will be a monastery in this place.”
Father Herman said to his disciple the Aleut Ignaty Aligyaga, “Thirty years shall pass after my death, and all those living on Spruce Island will have died, but you alone will remain alive. You will be old and poor when I will be remembered.” And indeed after the death of Father Herman thirty years passed when they were reminded of him, and they began to gather information and facts about him, on the basis of which his Life was written. “It is amazing,” exclaims Ignaty, “how a man like us could know all this so long before it happened! However, no, he was no ordinary man! He knew our thoughts, and involuntarily he led us to the point where we revealed them to him, and we received counsel from him.”
“When I die,” the Elder said to his disciple, “you will bury me alongside Father Joasaph. You will bury me by yourself, for you will not wait for the priest. Do not wash my body. Lay it on a board. Clasp my hands over my chest, wrap me in my mantia (the monk’s outer cloak), and with its wings cover my face and place the klobuk (monastic head covering) on my head. If anyone wishes to bid farewell to me, let them kiss the Cross. Do not show my face to anyone….”
The Repose of Father Herman
The time of the Elder’s passing had come. One day he ordered his disciple Gerasim to light a candle before the Icons, and to read the Acts of the Holy Apostles. After some time his face glowed brightly and he said in a loud voice, “Glory to Thee, O Lord!” He then ordered the reading to be halted, and he announced that the Lord had willed that his life would now be spared for another week. A week later, again by his orders, candles were lit, and the Acts of the Holy Apostles were read. Quietly, the Elder bowed his head on Gerasim’s chest; the cell was filled with a sweet-smelling odor; and his face glowed, and Father Herman was no more! Thus he died in blessedness, he passed away in the sleep of a righteous man in the eighty-first year of his life of great labor the 25th day of December 1837. (It was the 13th of December according to the Julian Calendar, although there are some records which state that he died on November 28th and was buried on December 26th).
Those sent with the sad news to the harbor returned to announce that the administrator of the colony Kashevarov had forbidden the burial of the Elder until his own arrival. He also ordered that a finer coffin be made for Father Herman, and that he would come as soon as possible and would bring a priest with him. But then a great wind came up, a rain fell, and a terrible storm broke. The distance from the harbor to Spruce Island is not great—about a two hour journey—but no one would agree to go to sea in such weather. Thus it continued for a full month, and although the body lay in state for a full month in the warm house of his students, his face did not undergo any change at all, and not the slightest odor emanated from his body. Finally, through the efforts of Kuzma Uchilischev, a coffin was obtained. No one arrived from the harbor, and the inhabitants of Spruce Island alone buried the remains of the Elder in the ground. Thus the words which Father Herman uttered before his death were fulfilled. After this the wind quieted down, and the surface of the sea became as smooth as a mirror.
One evening, above the village Katani (on Afognak) an unusual pillar of light which reached up to heaven was seen above Spruce Island. Astonished by the miraculous appearance, experienced elders and the Creole Gerasim Vologdin and his wife Anna said, “It seems that Father Herman has left us,” and they began to pray. After a time, they were informed that the Elder had indeed passed away that very night. This same pillar was seen in various places by others. On the night of his death a vision was seen in another of the settlements on Afognak; it seemed as though a man was rising from Spruce Island into the clouds.
The disciples buried their father, and placed a wooden memorial marker above his grave. Father Peter Kashevarov, the priest on Kodiak, says, “I saw it myself, and I can say that today it seems as though it had never been touched by time; as though it had been cut this day.”
Having witnessed the life of Father Herman glorified by his zealous labors, having seen his miracles, and the fulfillment of his predictions, finally having observed his blessed falling asleep, “in general, all the local inhabitants,” Bishop Peter witnesses, “have the highest esteem for him, as though he was a holy ascetic, and they are fully convinced that he has found favor in the presence of God.”
In 1842, five years after the passing away of the Elder, Archbishop Innocent of Kamchatka and the Aleutians, was near Kodiak on a sailing vessel which was in great distress. He looked to Spruce Island, and said to himself, “If you have found favor in God’s presence, Father Herman, then may the wind change.” It seems as though not more than fifteen minutes had passed, said the bishop, when the wind became favorable, and he successfully reached the shore. In thanksgiving for being saved, Archbishop Innocent himself conducted a Memorial Service (Panikhida) over the grave of the blessed Father Herman.
O Holy Father Herman of Alaska, pray unto God for us!
Source: https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2016/08/09/102241-glorification-of-venerable-herman-of-alaska-wonderworker-of-all 12/24/2023
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СВЕТИ ГЕРМАН АЉАСКИ
У XVIII веку живео је у Русији дечак по имену Герман, који је чезнуо за Богом више него за било чим другим у овом пролазном свету. Када је имао дванаест година овај – за Бога већ опредељени – дечак отишао је у манастир. Духовник тог манастира је био чувени старац Теодор Санаксарски, пријатељ монаха Пајсија Величковског.
Једном приликом неки људи, у потрази за печуркама, зађоше дубоко у шуму и тамо набасаше на малену колибу. Из колибе изиђе дечак: био је то млади Герман који је већ у том узрасту подвижнички живео у беспутној руској дивиљини. Герман је читавим својим бићем волео тиховатељски живот у дивљини, јер је управо ту проналазио Бога. Док је још био сасвим млад, Герман се нашао лицем у лице са смрћу: оболео је од опасне и болне инфекције. И мада се – тешко болестан – већ растављао са животом, Герман није хтео да иде земаљскоме лекару, већ се закључао у келију и са сузама молио Богу своме за исцељење. После целоноћне молитве Герман је пао у несвест од исцрпљености и бесвесно лежао на поду. Када се ујутру пробудио, осетио је да је потпуно оздравио. Ове Божије посете Герман се, као свог највећег блага, сећао до краја живота.
После много година једноставног монашког живота, монах Герман се преселио у велики и чувени валаамски манастир који се налазио на острву усред језера. У то време игуман манастира је био праведни старац Назарије. Он је подучавао Германа духовном животу, пригрливши га као што би отац пригрлио свог сина. Назарије је овако говорио младом Герману:
„Монах мора неодступно испуњавати Господше заповести, чезнути за достизањем ангелскога стања и поретка, узрастати у богопознању и љубави према Богу и ближњима. Монах се у свему мора држати речи Божијих и не сме нимало обраћати пажњу на глас који га зове на порок. Монах мора просвећивати свој ум вишњом светлошћу,мора чувати своје тело неокаљаним, његова уста морају бити окована ћутањем, а његов језик – чист. Монах се мора непрестано сећати смрти, мора непрестано умирати за овај свет. Такав би сваки монах требало да буде, и то је темељ који би монах требало да положи за испуњење свог завета, е да би могао да принесе Богу не само дарове свог видивог подвига, већ и жртвени принос своје душе и свога духа”.
Назаријеви духовни савети и очинска љубав испуниле су монаха Германа огњеном ревношћу. Видевши то, Назарије допусти Герману да живи сам у дивљини. Ова стаза одвајања и одрицања од света је само за малобројне и изабране монахе, који су у стању да издрже такав тегобан и усамљенички живот. Монах Герман је био један од тих малобројних.
После много подвига и борбе у самоћи, дошло је време да Герман оконча свој отшелнички живот, јер је старац Назарије затражио од Германа да иде у далеку земљу и тамо мисионарски проповеда Христа. Герман је прихватио крст саможртвеног мисионарског подвига и, са седморицом монаха, напустио Отаџбину да би помогао људима који страдаху без Христа на туђој земљи. Њих осморица отидоше за Америку.
1794. мала група православних монаха стигла је у северозападну област Америке, звану Аљаска. После тегобног путовања кроз сибирску дивљину и опасне пловидбе преко океана, они стигоше до Аљаске где наставише своја мисионарска путовања. Они су учили обичаје и језик домородаца, живели са њима и никада се нису постављали као виши од домородаца којима су проповедали Христа.
Домородачка племена била су крајње дивљачког понашања, тако да су их Герман и његови монаси, уз велике тешкоће, учили Христовоме миру и састрадалној милости. Учили су домороце дугоочекиваној Истини Христовој, коју су многи домороци прихватили без оклевања. Аљаски домороци су сасвим природно прихватали Христа зато што су одавно већ чекали на откривење пуне Истине Божије, која је требало да буде објављена свету. Они су ту истину препознали у Христу.
Монах Герман се настанио на острву Спрус Ајленд (Острво смреке), близу Кодиака, док су остали монаси наставили своја мисионарска путовања. Герман је ту почео да живи истим пустињачким животом, којим је живео у дивљини своје родне Русије. Он је пронашао одговарајуће место у густој шуми и саградио своје ново станиште по узору на „барабара”-колибе (колибе које су аљаски домороци градили од стабала дрвећа које је расло крај мора и маховине) тамошњих домородаца. Он је свој нови дом назвао „Нови Валаам” по манастиру, који је оставио у родној Русији, јер му је Отаџбина много недостајала.
Тамо, у непроходној шуми, потпуно сам на пустом ос-трвцу, Герман се молио, постио и живео у миру и ћутању. Живео је у свом свету Светитеља Божијих и ангела, проливајући многе сузе љубави према Богу. Домороци, видевши његов саможртвени и богоносни живот, заволеше га веома и долажаху му у посету да слушају његове приче о Русији и о животима Светитеља и праведника Божијих.
У то време су на Аљаску долазили и тамо се насељавали многи Руси са намером да зараде новац на рачун аљаских домородаца. Герман је за те похлепне и агресивне досељенике дредстављао препреку тако да су они решили да га уклоне. Они су га често нападали због тога што је бранио домороце, као и нису могли да поднесу пример његовог богоугодног живота. Они су много пута покушали да га застраше, али Герман је знајући да тако мора да буде – истрпео све тешкоће са отменом хришћанском храброшћу.
Герман је видео да међу домороцима има много сирочади и ванбрачне деце, те почео да их доводи на своје острвце где се о њима бринуо као прави отац. Он се старао да их нахрани и телесно и душевно, приправљао им је переце и пите од лососа, подизао их у богопознању. Он је био њихов једини заштитник.
У писму Сергију Јановском, управитељу Руских колонија, чији су се становници ужасно опходили према домородцима, монах Герман пише: „Ја, најпонизнији слуга овдашњег становништва, стајем пред вас са крвавим сузама и пишем мој захтев: будите отац и заштитник наш! Утрите сузу беспомоћној сирочади, олакшајте жалост у напаћеним срцима, дајте нам да осетимо шта је утеха”.
Монах Герман је живео животом потпуног себеодрицања: подизао је сирочад, али – у исти мах – држао сва монашка правила о посту, молитви и тиховању. Носио је исту одећу и лети и зими, трпећи страшне крајности аљаског поднебља. Преко одеће је носио само кожу јелена, коју није скидао нити мењао читавих осам година.
Герман је спавао у мртвачком сандуку, да би се, на тај начин, и када спава сећао смрти. Камен који је користио уместо јастука био је прекривен јеленском кожом тако да посетиоци нису могли видети на чему стварно спава. Јео је врло мало, а своје тело подвргавао је најстрожим подвизима, одричући се сваке лагодности овога света која би одвлачила његову пажњу од Бога. Да би умртвио своје тело и подвизавао се још више, носио је око врата ланац са великим металним крстом који је био тежак око осам килограма. Нико те ланце никада није видео током његовог живота, јер их је Герман брижљиво скривао испод своје одеће – била је то тајна коју је знао само Бог.
Највећи део свог времена Герман је проводио као прави монах, молећи се у тишини своје колибице. Неко га је једном приликом упитао: „Како успевате да живите сами у шуми? Зар вам није досадно?”. На ово питање старац је одговорио овако:
„Не, ја нисам тамо сам. Тамо је Бог, јер Бог је свугде! Тамо су свети ангели! Како некоме може бити досадно са њима? Са ким је боље и угодније разговарати, са ангелима или са људима? Наравно, са ангелима!”.
Сергије Јановски, управитељ Руских колонија, почео је да долази код старца Германа да би разговарао са њим. Сергије, касније, пише о тим својим разговорима са Германом: „Био сам добро образован, познавао сам многе науке и много прочитао. Али, закон Господњи сам тешко разумевао. Био сам слободни мислилац, деиста. Када сам разговарао са Германом, он је – на моје изненађење – говорио тако силно, тако смислено да ми се чинило да се никакво образовање ни земаљска мудрост не би могли мерити са његовим речима. Разговарали смо о љубави Божијој, о вечности, о спасењу душе, о хришћанском животу. Тако сам се променио и вратио на пут Истине”.
Тај Сергије не само да је, касније, и сам постао монах, већ је и три своје кћерке и сина усмерио ка монаштву.
Једном приликом су старца Германа позвали на брод, који је допловио из Петербурга. На броду су га дочекали капетан и двадесет и пет официра. Сви они су били високообразовани људи које је поставио руски Царски адмиралитет. Био је то заиста призор: међу свима њима седео је монах маленога раста, у одрпаној монашкој раси, који је својим мудрим речима довео оне што су га слушали дотле да нису знали шта да му одговоре.
Монах Герман им је поставио следеће питање: „Шта је то, господо, што волите изнад свега и што би свако од вас пожелео као остварење своје среће?”. Једни су желели богатство, други славу, трећи лепу жену. „Није ли истина”, рече потом старац, „да би се све ваше различите жеље могле свести на ово – да свако од вас жели оно што он по сопственом мишљењу сматра најбољим и највреднијим љубави?”. „Да, управо тако”, одговорише сви углас. Тада им старац рече:
„Реците ми, онда, има ли ичега бољег и вишег, што надилази све остало и што је – уопште узев – вредније љубави човекове од нашег Господа Исуса Христа, Који нас је створио, Који нас је обдарио таквим савршенством, Који даје живот свему, Који све држи, Који о свему брине и Који све воли, Који је Сам Љубав и Који је неупоредиво бољи од свих људи? Зар онда не би требало да волимо Бога изнад свега и да изнад свега чезнемо и трагамо за Њим?”.
Они му одговорише: „Па, наравно! То се подразумева! То јасно само по себи!”. Тада их старац упита: ” А волите ви Бо-га?”. Сви углас одговорише: „Наравно да волимо Бога! Како ико може не волети Бога?”.
Тада монах Герман рече:
„А ја, грешни, више од четрдесет година трудих се да заволим Бога и још увек не могу рећи да Га волим савршеном љубављу”.
Затим поче да их поучава како би човек требало да воли Бога:
„Када некога волимо, онда непрестано мислимо на њега, трудимо се да му угодимо, дању и ноћу наше је срце заокупљено оним кога волимо. Да ли тако, господо, и ви волите Бога? Да ли Му се често обраћате, да ли често мислите на Њега, да ли Му се стално молите и испуњавате Његове свете заповести? Зато, за наше добро и нашу срећу, обећајмо себи макар ово – да ћемо се од овога дана, од овога часа, од овога тренутка трудити да волимо Бога изиад свега и испуњавати Његову свету вољу!„.
Било је случајева да је старац Герман говорио и као пророк. Једном приликом он је рекао да ће доћи дан када ће се један монах, оставивши славу овога света, настанити на Спрус Ајленду. То његово пророштво се испунило у наше дане, када се у напуштену дивљину Германовог „Новог Валаама” доселио млади јеромонах Герасим. Овај јеромонах је, сагласно древном пра-вославном обичају, ископао ковчег старца Германа, преместио његове свете мошти у кивот и пренео их у манастирску црквицу да би се на тај начин стално сећао колико су нам Светитељи и Царство Божије увек близу.
Без трунке страха пред онима који имају власт, монах Герман је радио за Господа ревносно до саме смрти. Непосредно пред своје упокојење, Герман је пророчки рекао једном од сво-јих сирочића: „Овде ће једнога дана нићи манастир”. У то време, те његове речи су звучале невероватно будући да је место на коме је живео било пусто острво, далеко од сваке цивилизације. Међу-тим, сто педесет година касније његово пророштво се обистинило, јер је на његовом Спрус Ајленду, у Монашкој лагуни осно-ван манастир чиме је испуњена његова света жеља.
Дошао је час да свети монах Герман напусти овај свет. Лежећи на самртној постељи, старац Герман је затражио од једног од својих сирочића да му запали свећу и, из Светог Писма, чита Дела Апостолска. Његови вољени сирочићи су, кроз сузе у очима, гледали небески спокојно лице свог упокојеног оца, које је светлело у ноћној тами…

Извор: https://svetigora.com/sveti-german-aljaski-apostol-pravoslavlja-u-americi/ 24.12.2023.
