LIVING WATER

VOL. I NO. 3-4 DOUBLE ISSUE PENTECOST & FALLING-ASLEEP 2001

THE DEMON OF NOONDAY St. John Cassian states that the Elders refer to this
sad and gloomy state as the "Demon of Noonday"
(Ps 90:6). It is something that attacks one, not at
In the days of sailing ships, when wind was the the beginning of the spiritual quest, but rather
main factor in movement, it was important for when one is already well on the road to the
navigators to stay clear of what are called the Kingdom (Institutes 10:1). The righteous one
doldrums, areas of unusual stillness, found continues: "When this has taken possession of
usually, but not always, near the equator. A ship some unhappy soul, it produces dislike of the
might be stranded in such a calm windless area, place, disgust with the cell, and disdain and
drifting aimlessly, for days, weeks or even contempt of the brethren who dwell with him...as
months as their drinking water and food supplies if they were careless or unspiritual. It also makes
dwindled. With today's modern methods of the man lazy and sluggish. It does not allow him
transportation travelers sail straight through, or to stay in his cell or even to read. He often
fly right over the doldrums without ever being
aware of their existence.
There is a spiritual state, similar to this
phenomenon of the doldrums, which the Fathers
call accidie, that is despondency. St. John of the
Ladder calls it, "One of the eight capital vices,
and moreover the gravest" (The Ladder 13:11).
Indeed, it is very grave because it brings all our
spiritual efforts to a halt. Persons smitten with
this spiritual malady are indifferent to the work of
salvation. They lack spiritual motivation and even
find discussion of spiritual subjects dull and
tedious, whereas previously they rejoiced at
hearing the Word of God. This venerable Father
describes this condition as "a paralysis of the
soul, an enervation of the mind, neglect of
asceticism, hatred of the vow made. It calls those
who are in the world blessed. It accuses God of
being merciless and without love for men. It is
being languid in singing psalms, weak in prayer,
iron in service..." (13:2).
Another St. John, this time St. John Cassian the
Roman, quoting from the Psalms of the prophet
David the king, has this to say about groans, for he feels that he can do no good while
despondency, "All the inconveniences of this he stays there, and complains and sighs because
disease are admirably expressed in a single verse he can bear no spiritual fruit so long as he is
where he says, 'My soul slumbereth from joined to that society. He dreams of distant
weariness,' (Ps.118:28) that is from despond- monasteries and describes such places as more
ency." Truly, when this illness attacks, the spiritually profitable and the relationship of the
spiritual eyelids of the soul become heavy, and brothers there as sweet and full of spiritual life….
one is overcome with drowsiness and boredom. Then the fifth or sixth hour brings him such
bodily weariness and longing for food that he
seems to himself quite worn out. Besides this, he
looks about anxiously this way and that, and
sighs that none of the brethren come to see him
and often goes in and out of his cell, and
frequently gazes up at the sun, as if it was too
slow in setting" (Institutes 10:2).
Often such unfortunate ones become sullen and
over-burdened when faced with their spiritual
realities, yet all of a sudden their interest arouses
and they find the energy for mundane and often
silly things. St. John of the Ladder relates that,
"At the third hour, the demon of despondency
produces shivering, headache, and even colic. At
the ninth hour the sick man gathers his strength.
And when the table is laid he jumps out of bed.
But the hour of prayer has come; again the body
is weighed down. He had begun to pray, but it
steeps him in sleep, and snatches the verse from
his mouth with untimely yawns" (13:8).
This devious demon suggests plausible
alternatives to our present state, not just the
"geographic alternative" mentioned above, but
also "pious activity" bolstered by Scriptural
quotes: "[The demon] reminds those standing at
prayer of necessary duties...he leaves no stone
unturned to find some plausible pretext to drag us
from prayer. Despondency is a pretext for
hospitality. He insists that by means of manual
labour, alms could be given; and he urges us
LIVING WATER QUARTERLY
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eagerly to visit the sick, recalling Him who said,
"I was sick and ye visited me." He puts it into our
heads to go out visiting the dejected and faint
hearted, and sets one faint-heart to comfort
another" (13:6-7).
"Despondency," says St. John, speaking of its
causes, "is one of the branches of talkativeness,
and its first child" (13:1). St. John Cassian
contemplating the origin of this vice sees it as the
final link in the chain of six of the eight major
vices or faults: "Gluttony, fornication, covetous-
ness, anger, dejection, despondency, have a sort
of connection with each other and are, so to
speak, linked together in a chain, so that any
excess of the one forms a starting point for the
next.… In the cases then of all faults, just as they
spring up from the growth of those that go before
them, so are they eradicated by getting rid of the
earlier ones" (Conferences, 10). This, of course,
can be an ongoing battle since despondency can
be acute, or a momentary event in the life of a
Christian, or chronic and lingering. It is not
unusual for Christians to become beset with this
vice from time to time, and when this happens it
is good to remember the words of St. Isaac the
Syrian, who counsels us thusly: "A small cloud is
want to cover the disc of the sun, but after the
cloud is passed the sun shines very brilliantly; so
a little despondency is wont to cover the soul, but
the joy that follows is great" (Ascetical Homilies,
48). This promise is given to those who do not
allow despondency to lead to despair but rather
struggle with it. St. John of the Ladder instructs
us that, "Spiritual heroes come to light at the time
of despondency, for nothing procures so many
crowns for a monk as the battle with
despondency" (13:12).
How then do we fight this demon? St. John of the
Ladder says, "Let this tyrant be bound by the
remembrance of your sins, let us buffet him by
manual labour. Let him be dragged forth by the
thought of blessings to come" (13:15). The words
of St. John Cassian give us further insight: "When
I was beginning my stay in the desert, and had
said to Abba Moses...that I had been terribly
troubled the day before by an attack of
despondency and could only be freed from it by
running at once to Abba Paul, he replied, 'You
have not freed yourself from it, but rather have
given yourself up to it as its slave and subject.
For the enemy will now attack you more strongly
as a deserter and a runaway, unless on a second
occasion when you join battle with it you make
up your mind to dispel its attacks not by deserting
your cell, or by the inactivity of sleep, but rather
learn to triumph over it by endurance and
conflict'" (Institutes 11:25).
Let us leave, then, these brief musings on the
calamity of despondency with some thoughts
from the Elder Joseph the Hesychast, a righteous
father closer to our own time, who wrote the
following to one of his spiritual children: "Arise,
my child, from the sleep of your indolence. Listen
to me and sleep no longer. Awaken and shake off
the drowsiness of your despondency. Take up
your weapons once again and stand bravely
against your enemies. Fight patiently. Do not turn
your back. Fight face to face. It is better to fall in
the battle victoriously, than to be defeated"
(Monastic Wisdom, Letter 32).
Archimandrite Nazarius
THE SEVENTY HOLY
MARTYRS OF PREVLAK
In Dalmatia, tradition holds that the Orthodox
Christian faith was brought to the lands to the
east of the Adriatic Sea by the missionary activity
of the holy Apostle Paul himself. There is good
reason to believe that this is true. We know for
certain that his disciple Titus was the first bishop
in that region. By the time of the Edict of Milan
in 313 AD, the Church was well established both
up and down the coast and deep into the interior
of Illyria. The ground there had long been
consecrated by the blood of countless early
century Christian martyrs, whose lives encourage
us to this very day.
It was to this most picturesque shore, this garden
place where rugged mountains come down to the
crystal clear waters of the Adriatic, that the first
monks from the East arrived in the third and
fourth centuries - a result of the great monastic
explosion in Egypt, Syria, and Palestine. Among
them was the famed disciple of St. Anthony, holy
Hilarion of Palestine (+372), who spent time in
these same coastal regions south of Ragusa
(Dubrovnik). Even at this early time there was a
diocesan see at Prevlak. So it is no wonder nor
coincidence that St. Sava of Serbia, in the early
13th century, commenced his archpastoral work
precisely here, with the appointment of another
Hilarion, a hieromonk from the monastery on the
Prevlak Islands, as the first Bishop of Zeta - with
his see on the island monastery.
Sometime in the midst of the 15th century, on the
monastery Feast day of the Holy Archangel
Michael and the Holy Archangels, the entire
brotherhood of the monastery, some seventy
monks, together with guests from other
monasteries met a martyric death by poisoning. It
was a beautiful autumn day, winter never touches
that region, and the monks had received Holy
Communion at the Divine Liturgy that morning.
From the church they proceeded to the refectory
where a festal meal of fish soup had been
prepared. The fathers took their places in order
around the tables according to the monastic
custom. The entire brotherhood was gathered for
the feast and all were present at the table.
In the monastery kitchen that morning a
fisherman by the name of Marin Drushko, a
recent but secret Roman Catholic proselyte, full
of zeal for his newfound faith and for material
gain, had poisoned the brothers' food. As the
meal progressed the symptoms of the deadly
poison began to manifest themselves. First there
was a fierce thirst. Soon the pain of unbearable
stomach cramps resulted in violent shaking, the
loss of consciousness and finally collapse. The
first martyr died after half an hour, the last in a
little more than an hour. The bodies of the fallen
monks were mutilated with axes, their skulls
pierced with sharp objects and spikes as can be
seen today from their holy relics.
We have the record of the names of some of these
blessed martyrs: Archimandrite Ruvim (Cheru-
bim), and the hieromonks Dimitrije, Maksim,
Vasilije and Mihailo. Archimandrite Ruvim, as
his title denotes, was the head of the Prevlak
Archimandria, abbot of abbots, a Great Schema
monastic and an instructor of monks. He was a
man of noted distinction, respected highly
throughout all of Zeta and Rashka. Hieromonk
Dimitrije, a missionary, was a zealous preacher of
Orthodoxy. Father Maksim, a great man of prayer
and deep spirituality, was a priest of the nearby
villages, where it was said of him, "In these lands
he did many good works." Hieromonk Vasilije, a
Synkellos by rank, was an instructor of young
men preparing for the priesthood, or for the
monastic life; and of him it was said, "He was a
faithful companion and follower of Metropolitan
Arsenius." Saint Mihailo (Charnojevich) was an
iconographer, who had beautified many churches
with his God-given talent.
The Latin aristocracy of the Kotor region had
long plotted against the righteous monks, since
firstly and most importantly, the monks were
mighty spiritual warriors and preservers of Holy
Orthodoxy against heresy. Secondly, and perhaps
of equal importance to this envious and greedy
clique, was the fact that the Archimandria of
Prevlak had over the years come to possess much
land and property. There were three large
monasteries, the Monastery of the Mother of God
- the Merciful One (Eleos), the Monastery of the
Holy Archangel Michael, and the Monastery of
the Holy Archangel Gabriel. In the aftermath of
the tragedy the monasteries were demolished,
destroyed together with a large number of parish
churches, only their numerous ruins remain to
remind us of what once was. Roman Catholic
writers, in the following centuries, relegated their
very existence and their tragic end to the realm of
myth and legend. Papism seemed triumphant, yet
Orthodoxy managed to survive in that coastal
region, and today flourishes there as the dominant
religion. The faithless family, Drushko, continued
its journey into apostasy; but its strength was
sapped by the nineteenth century. Today the
scattered remnant of that family are to found as
Moslems in parts of Bosnia.
All things, however, are in the hands of God. For
as long as anyone can remember the Island of
Prevlak has been called the "Island of Flowers",
but not because of the abundance of flowers to be
found there. All surrounding islands in this
Mediterranean area are covered with colourful
blooms. Rather the name is ascribed to the
unusual sweet fragrance that exists only there -
the fragrance of sanctity, the odour of holiness.
In November of 1996, after the commemoration
of the Monastery Feast Day of the Holy
Archangels, the holy relics, untouched since their
burial hundreds of years ago, were partially
removed from the crypt of the earth - the
hallowed ground of the ruined monastery. The
relics that were taken up were the colour of new
wax and exuded an unearthly fragrance
noticeable at great distances. Some also began to
glow with moisture, like heavenly dew which
dripped into the reliquary and was preserved and
collected into clean cotton cloth, later given to
faithful pilgrims as a special blessing. From that
day until the present the miracles of faith,
healing, and repentance have been innumerable.
God is truly glorified in His Saints.
The holy relics of the majority of the martyrs are
still in the sacred ground. They were for the most
part buried hastily where they fell, scattered
around the desecrated church. As proper places
are being prepared in the new church, the relics
will be lovingly placed there - a witness to the
triumph of Orthodoxy - the Church of Christ.
The brotherhood of our Monastery, here in South
Africa, made a pilgrimage to this holy site a few
years ago, while in Serbia, and was able to bring
a portion of the relics of these glorious martyrs to
this land. It is a great blessing, and their names,
known only to God, are commemorated here at
the end of all our Divine services.
O Holy Martyrs of Prevlak pray to God for us!
HIDDEN WITH CHRIST
IN GOD
Venerable Father Symeon, Elder of Dajbaba
The vastness of Holy Orthodoxy, both in time
and space, conceals and harbours many hidden
wonders and secluded habitations. Some of these
have become the battleground for genuine
spiritual warfare, as is the case of the great
ascetics of the Church. It is well known that for
every saint glorified by God, for the benefit of
our mortal souls, there are countless others whose
lives have passed our notice since their humility
has driven them to seek out just such secluded
places in which to work out their salvation. Their
endeavours and struggles, even their very
existence, often escape our notice and their lives
become "hidden with Christ in God."
Just such a place, harbouring just such a life, is to
be found on a small tree covered hillock just
outside the city of Podgorica in Montenegro. It is
known today as Monastery Dajbaba (pronounced
Die-ba-ba) and was established, in its most recent
birth, by the righteous Elder Symeon, just over
one hundred years ago. It was in this spot that the
righteous one spent most of his long earthly life -
a true beacon of Orthodox spirituality to the
peasants of the hills and valleys of that ancient
Serbian land, in the years before the Second
World War.
Many of our monasteries and other holy places
are contact points between heaven and earth
Monastery of Dajbaba
where the spiritual world has touched the
physical in an unusual and mysterious way.
Monastery Dajbaba is no exception, indeed there
remains a great deal of mystery about the place.
Let us begin, though, by relating the facts as
recorded by the righteous Father Symeon himself
some thirty years after the present establishment
of the monastery. At the time he was moved to
write about these things, Dajbaba had become
well known because of the many miracles of
healing that had been taking place there. People
who had visited and seen the monastery went
home with strange stories concerning its origin.
Some said that the monastery church existed from
an earlier time, and that it had remained buried
for years until a shepherd was told about it in a
dream. This shepherd, according to this story,
went and uncovered the completely appointed
church. Others, however, were of the opinion that
the church was a cave where the first Christians
celebrated their services in secret, in other words,
a type of catacomb. In order to set the record
straight, Father Symeon himself, in 1928, set
down the details of the founding of the
monastery. As we will see, though, a great deal of
the mystery remains. Fr. Symeon writes as
follows:
"True miracles are of great benefit for the
strengthening of the faith, such as the healing of
the cripple by Sts. Peter and John in Jerusalem; at
the same time false miracles damage faith in
salvation.
"I was born in Cetinje in 1854, into the Popovich
family. In Russia I completed, as well as High
School also studies at the Theological Academy
in Kiev. On completion of my schooling there,
being more well to do than most of my fellow
townsmen, I was sent to France to study
philosophy and in order to learn something about
the western world. Their fashionable ways,
however, and their worldly life style did not
satisfy my soul at all, and so I returned to Russia
where I was received at the renowned Lavra of
the Kiev Caves, and in 1887 became a monk with
the name Symeon, whereas I had been, until that
time, plain Sava Popovich.
"I returned to Cetinje on the very day of the Feast
of the Annunciation and on the following day, by
command of the late King Nikola, I was
appointed head of the monastery of Vranjine on
Lake Skadar. Since the climate there didn't agree
with me I was transferred to Monastery Ostrog.
"It was at this time that I was visited by a young
shepherd boy from Zeta, an orphan, called Petko,
who has since become Hieromonk Platon
(Ivezich), from the village of Dajbaba near
Podgorica. He told me of a vision he had in 1890,
a vision, mind you, not a dream.
"'I was tending,' he said, 'sheep on the hill by the
graves, eating bread and munching wild berries. I
noticed the smell of incense and saw, on one of
the gravestones, a grey-haired old man, all in
gold, and on his head a hat, wide on top and
narrow on the bottom with a cross on the top. By
his side was a staff with a golden apple and a
yellow cloth. He was accompanied by two
children. I thought they were evil spirits, and
looked to see if the toes on their feet weren't
facing backwards with their heels forward.
"'He lifted up his robe to show me his feet and
said, "I am not an evil spirit as you think. They
buried me here because of the Turks - I was a
bishop in this place and the disciple of a great
saint who lived before Kosovo. I want you to
build me a monastery." "But Father, I am poor!"
"We don't want the rich, we could find them if we
wanted to. In the beginning you will need a little
church. It will explain itself in time, dimensions
and all."
"The Saint led the shepherd boy underground into
some sort of cavern which was in the shape of the
church, which was yet to be. The walls and
ceilings were covered with wonderful images.
Here he heard many things concerning saints and
angels, how they are not all the same but differ
from one another in glory. There were many
other things that Petko learned from the holy one,
things impossible for anyone living in that
isolated place to know. Indeed, one would have to
have a good knowledge of theology, history, and
archeology to relate such things. Such
knowledge, I was sure, Petko did not have.
I, however, did know that the historians were
debating as to where the exact location of the
Metropolitan See of Zeta actually was. I knew
also that there was a disciple of St. Sava who was
a bishop, and a great and holy man. The monks
had hidden his holy relics with the arrival of the
Turks and to this day the place remains unknown.
I was convinced by the tale of the shepherd boy
that that place had at one time been a holy
cenobitic monastery. Zeta, after all, had in earlier
days been a bastion of the Orthodox faith and
boasted many monasteries, some long vanished.
So it was that I made up my mind to dedicate my
worldly goods (I had a small inheritance from my
parents) and my labour to that place since I was
convinced that I had been called by God to do so,
since every man is called by God to follow some
road to salvation. I asked the permission of the
late King Nikola and the blessings of
Metropolitan Mitrophan, which I received."
Here we end the quote of the account by Fr.
Symeon himself. Up until that time Fr. Symeon
had been living in the famous Ostrog monastery,
close to the holy relics of the great wonderworker
Saint Vasilije. Here he had gathered novices from
the various monasteries and had begun the first
"monastic school" in Montenegro. His zeal for
the spiritual life helped to produce an entire
generation of worthy monastics. At about this
time the thought came to him to withdraw to a
remote cave, as had St. Vasilije, his spiritual
guide, before him. As he was contemplating this
move he was visited by young Petko, and became
convinced that the Lord had shown him a
different path.
So it was in 1896 that the blessed Symeon went
to Dajbaba. There he found the remains of an
ancient church and a cemetery. With the
remainder of his small inheritance he purchased
the land. The first day he built a rough cell for
himself out of wooden boards. By evening he had
covered the roof with straw thatch and settled into
his new dwelling for his first vigil. From his
youth he had yearned to follow the example of
the great ascetics of the Church, and here he had
the freedom to do just that.
A contemporary describes the type of life he led
at the time. "He lived as if in a cave. On the dirt
floor a mat; in the corner a pot of water and some
Blessed Fr. Symeon
dry bread. Here he completed the entire monastic
daily rule of prayer and psalm reading. On the
Lord's day he went to serve Liturgy in a nearby
village. By the next year he had built and
consecrated a small church and had gathered
around himself the first novices. Together they
dug a small garden in the rocky soil and planted
not a few trees on the barren hillside. Around the
church he built two common rooms and three or
four cells. And thus a new monastery sprang up
in a land where once there had been many."
Now many pilgrims began to arrive. The life and
the example of the ascetic elder made a great
impression on all who came to him. His words to
them, full of prophetic strength yet merciful,
never flattered and never judged, but always
directed and urged the listener to the road of true
repentance. He warned them of the terrible times
to come as a result of the worldwide growth of
evil proceeding from the hearts of men defiled by
the passions. The horrors of the Second World
War were later to confirm this warning.
Father Symeon, whose very nature tended to
draw him in the direction of solitude and
prayerful quietude, did not wander far from his
cave, remaining in his cell on the very doorstep of
the town, close by to the surrounding villages and
families. He was aware of their spiritual needs
and was convinced that by his prayers, his
example and his word, he could be of benefit to
them. His cell, for the better part of the day and
the entirety of the night isolated him from the
world, but was never closed to the lament and cry
of the surrounding people. A strict rule of prayer
and his daily celebration of the Divine Liturgy
gave him the strength to guide both himself and
many of those around him on the path to
salvation.
In the monastery, the daily vigils began at
midnight and continued throughout the night
ending with the daily celebration of the Liturgy at
dawn. After this Fr. Symeon spent time painting
icons or writing spiritual works. Constantly
preaching the Word of God and teaching those
who were willing to listen he wrote and published
a great number of pamphlets and spiritual poems,
in this way reaching many people who were not
able to see him. He also wrote commentaries on
the Sunday and Feast Day Gospels.
Fr. Symeon showed a deep interest in the lives of
the peasants who lived in the area, helping the
poor materially as well as spiritually. The least
amount of his time was spent on his own comfort.
He slept little, stretched out on his thin doormat
on the ground, using his arm or a stone for a
pillow. His food was the most simple. On the
festivals of the Church he would break his fast by
indulging in a piece of cheese or other milk
products. In all of his asceticism, however, the
blessed one kept strictly to the Royal Way of
moderation in all things, and thus lived to a great
age, having freed himself from everything that
distracted him from his spiritual goal.
Thus it was that through this life of repentance,
the righteous one was granted the gifts of
prophecy and healing for the benefit of those who
came to him in need. And the numbers of those
were great indeed. As his fame spread they came
in droves from all parts of the land: Orthodox,
Latins, Moslems and Jews came to hear a good
word or to have prayers read for them. No one
left the monastery without some spiritual benefit
and many were healed of physical ailments.
And so the blessed elder reached his final earthly
days. When he could no longer walk, they carried
him to the new church that he had dug and
blasted out of the rock. The walls and ceilings
had been frescoed with his own hands in keeping
with the vision of Petko the shepherd boy. In this
church, in the hillside deep underground, Fr.
Symeon received the Body and Blood of the Lord
every morning at the Liturgy.
On the first of April, 1941, his righteous soul
departed to the heavenly realm at the first light of
dawn, just as the tragedy which he had long
foretold was beginning to unfold throughout
Europe. His holy relics were buried in the church
he had founded - his monastery remaining a
source of spiritual refreshment for today's world.
Blessed Father Symeon pray to God for us!
DIALOGUE WITH LOVE
(Continuation of A NEW COMMANDMENT)
Approaching Christ is a great mystery, even more
so when He comes visibly to us - how much
deeper is the mystery of God's love at that time!
How is it that He Who is totally satisfied in His
Divine essence empties Himself to share our
deprivation and to lead us into the privilege of
becoming sons of God through grace? Such was
the mystery that confronted the young seeker who
approached the Teacher, hailing Him, "Good
Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may
have eternal life?"
The fallacy of this poor man is clearly evident.
He has utterly failed to learn from life that only
God is good, and that no one has fulfilled the
commands of God save God Himself. Indeed God
is so good, that this poor man has no concept that
he is in fact speaking face to face with the
incarnate Son of God, as it is written, "For God
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not
perish, but have everlasting life." Truly, the work
of God is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, for
He is the only righteous One, and through this
faith we come into the way of everlasting life.
Love is only possible if it springs from true faith,
and thus the incarnate God calls us to love Him,
not by the test of the eyes, but by the examination
of the heart. St. Clement of Alexandria completes
our thought in this regard, by commenting on the
divine teaching of the holy Apostle Paul, as
follows, "'These three abide: faith, hope, and
love. But the greatest of these is love.' That
statement is true. For faith departs when we are
convinced by vision, by seeing God. And hope
vanishes when the things we hope for come. But
love comes to completion, and grows even more,
when that which is perfect has been given to us.
If one brings love into his soul - although he has
been born in sins, and has done many forbidden
things - he is able to retrieve his mistakes by
increasing love and by adopting a pure
repentance." Thus the Lord leads us, the seekers
of Good, by way of faith into the fulness of Love.
Let us now prove the depth of this mystery a
little, and probe it with the weakness of our being
- that is to say, let us test ourselves by it and may
God reveal to us what we lack in order that we
might be saved.
In the first part of the Lord's answer, He proves
His own Divinity, for only God truly judges
Himself before any other. His reply is, "Why
callest thou me good? there is none good but one,
that is God." Our Lord is certainly fearless in His
incarnation - if anyone doubts God's love, let Him
see that God has become truly man - if any man
doubts that Christ is God, let him see Christ's
love - for only God is Love, which is perfect
Good. Yet if the Lord has thus judged Himself by
this statement, He has in reality brought down
those who are high-minded against Himself. For
He asks, "Why do you call Me good? What is the
reason that makes you call Me good? Do you
perceive the mystery of My goodness or My
incarnation? Do you know My love? Do you
know that I am the God that made you? Do you
know God?" This is what the Lord asks the young
ruler in order to remove vanity and frivolity from
his lips - as it says, "Do ye indeed speak
righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge
uprightly, O ye sons of men? Yea, in heart ye
work wickedness . . . Break their teeth, O God, in
their mouth: break out the great teeth of the
young lions, O Lord," and elsewhere the Lord
bears witness, "They professed me with their lips
but their hearts were far from me."
The Lord then turns to the poor man and
challenges him, "Now judge yourself with your
statement," for He says to him, "If thou wilt enter
into life, keep the commandments." Here the
Lord has provided the true way to life, for He has
shown us that only God is good and then He
instructs us, "Keep the commandments." O what
a mystery this is! If only God is good, how shall
we keep the commandments but that the Lord
come and dwell in our midst and perfect the
commandments within us! Indeed, Thou art
Good, most excellently Good, and we are filthy
and unclean, not worthy to be in Thy presence -
depart from us, O Lord, for we are unclean! Yet
such was not the reply of the young man;
"Which?" he asks. In order to reveal to this man
the origin of his blindness the Lord commands
him, "Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not
commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt
not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy
mother, and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself." Let us pause here to perceive that the
Lord does not instruct him in any of the
commandments that relate directly to God, the
reason being that already in the beginning of the
conversation the Lord had revealed to him his
failure to love the Lord his God with all his mind,
with all his soul, with all his strength, and with all
his heart. So now He turns to the commandments
of loving one's neighbour, to ask, "If you don't
love God Himself, do you perhaps at least love as
God loves?"
Strange to the ears of the Lord, the young man
replies, "All these things have I kept from my
youth up: what lack I yet?" First this man has
blasphemed God by not perceiving the love of
God in the incarnation of the Son of God, and
now he reviles his neighbour for he has no
inclination to perform any more works of mercy,
as if to say, "I've already done enough of that to
satisfy my sense of righteousness; what more do I
need now?" What more can there be than the
commandment of love? If this poor man thinks he
already loves God and his neighbour, then truly
he lacks every hope of achieving salvation, for he
should already be saved. Thus in order to show
the young man his error, the Lord provides him
with a reasonable test, "If you have fulfilled love,
then it will be nothing for you to now be perfect,
to be like God Who is love. The perfect is love,
so let Me tell you something about love." The
man waits in suspense, for the conversation has
finally come down to the proof of his salvation.
The Lord continues, "If thou wilt be perfect, go
and sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and
thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and
follow me." The Scripture concludes this edifying
account as follows, "But when the young man
heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he
had great possessions."
Yes, dear brethren, he was a rich man, possessed
by many possessions. He had nothing left to own,
or to do, or to see, for he had it all, yet out of that
dissatisfaction of his empty and impoverished
soul he still did not yearn to be filled by the God
of Love, Who was inviting him to follow Him
into everlasting life. In striving for what was
"perfect" he lost the salvation of his soul, because
he had missed the truth of his own being, that he
was exceedingly poor - one who had not fulfilled
any of God's commandments, the greatest of
which is love. Here we see ourselves in the
position of that rich young man standing opposite
to Christ, "Who came into the world to save
sinners of whom I am first."
Let us return to St. Clement to illuminate us
further concerning godly repentance. He
continues as follows, "If someone is able to
escape the excesses of riches, and is able to
overcome the difficulties that riches cause in the
way of life, he can enjoy eternal good things. But
suppose that even though he is sealed and
redeemed, for some reason - because he doesn't
know any better or because of circumstances he
cannot control - he falls into sins and is quite
carried away. What happens? This person is
entirely rejected by God. But everyone who has
turned to God with his whole heart will find that
the doors are open. The Father gladly receives
His truly repentant son. And true repentance is to
be no longer bound in the same sins for which the
Saviour has denounced death against Himself.
Rather, it is to eradicate those sins completely
from our souls. When those sins are pulled up by
their roots, then God makes His home in you
again." True repentance thus leads us safely to
true love.
Possibly we have missed the depth of this
mystery - then we must attend to it still further,
lest we go away unedified. Let us not be led away
like this young man into thinking that salvation is
to sell all you have, give to the poor, and follow
Christ - the Fathers warn us concerning such a
conclusion. Rather the point that the Lord makes
is that the young man has not kept any of the
commandments of God, and his fault lies in this,
that he is unrepentant. His unrepentance fuels his
pride, and so he is thirsting for the great way to
salvation, over and above the petty commands,
and needless to say the Lord pricks him in his
heart by showing him that he is in no way ready
for the perfect way, and furthermore, he has
completely missed the way altogether.
The commands of God, from the least to the
greatest, are fulfilled by one command, to love
the Lord God with all one's being and to love
one's neighbour as oneself. All the Prophets and
the Law are hinged to this one command. God
Himself is the fulfilment of this command, for
being perfect in every way and satisfied entirely
in His perfection, nevertheless, "He emptied
himself, and took upon himself the form of a
servant, and was made in the likeness of men . . .
and humbled himself . . . even to the death of the
cross," as the Apostle Paul writes in the Holy
Spirit. As we spoke about previously, God has
opened His own nature to creation by taking on
the nature of creation, in order that it might
partake of His glory; and so we, likewise, are
called to enter into that glory of God, by
consuming our material gifts in performing the
works of God and thus becoming sons of God
and inheritors of the heavenly estate. As it is
written, "Sow in corruption and reap in
incorruption." No one can enter the kingdom of
God laden down by love for the world. No one in
the kingdom of God possesses anything of his
own - for all is the glory and grace of God. Thus,
while you can, while you still possess your own
bodies, turn them into workshops of righteous-
ness, and thereby one can lay up treasure in
heaven.
The treasure of God is the grace of God, which is
found abounding amongst men who fulfill the
commandments of God. Why does grace not
abound among sinners? Grace certainly does
abound everywhere, and especially where sin
once abounded. As we see in this story
concerning the rich young man, grace did come
through Jesus Christ, and grace upon grace, but
because he did not perceive his own spiritual
poverty, he himself turned away as grace invited
him to ever greater heights but found him
unwilling. There is no minimum of good work
that suffices for salvation. But since salvation
springs freely from the fountain of obedience to
the will of God, every man should take great care
not to convince the Lord that he is not far away
from perfection, lest the Lord require him to do
what is required of the saints, and thereby he lose
his own salvation.
Who amongst us could possibly love God with all
our being, or perhaps love our neighbours as
ourselves, especially when they do not even think
of us? Certainly none of us should dare to
approach Christ God, and ask, "What do I lack?"
Shall we then have boldness to come to God and
say, "I have not kept any of the commandments,"
that is to say, "I have not loved, and I have no
concept of what is actually love." Unfortunately
there is no escape for us here either, for the new
commandment of Christ is, "Ye shall love one
another as I have loved you." Where shall sin
hide now? Where can it justify itself in the all-
consuming love of God? On the one hand we
cannot hide the truth that we have not loved, and
on the other hand God has commanded us that for
our very salvation we must possess love as He
has loved.
Indeed, it is a mystery! Who can possibly resolve
the lawlessness of our hearts and bring it into
obedience to the Law of God? Lo, see the Lamb
of God, Who taketh away the sin of the world -
our Lord Jesus Christ - Who is the incarnate Love
of God. Run to Him and fall before His feet;
empty out the truth of your hearts; plead for
mercy; promise repentance. Thus if we truly
receive Him, then surely we can say, "Though I
have no works of mercy, and from my youth I
have not followed the way of Love, yet Love
Himself has taken up His abode within me." How
does Love deign to dwell in the filthy cave of my
heart, the dark crevasse of selfishness and
foolishness! How does He tolerate the sinner and
lawbreaker! Grace has deigned to condescend in
order to raise us up to His heavenly glory. He has
met us in the face of our sins, and increased His
grace to us, for the purpose of leading us into the
fulfillment of the Law of Love. Gradually He
takes us, and gradually as we obey His will we
are raised to the spiritual heights of heaven.
Here then is the narrow way to eternal life: let us
mourn for our sins until by the grace of God we
have driven them outside of the precincts of our
being; and God being a loving God will allow
trials to penance us until we are freed from sin.
This is how one preserves love, so that even if
one's heart is a cave of irrational animals, through
patience and godly repentance it can become a
temple of God. Thus Love is born within us, with
grace upon grace, and He begins His ministry of
leading us back to God.
Now let us advance in Love by acquiring what is
heavenly and eternal, by making unselfish use of
what is earthly and transient, and by this let us
reach that depth of spiritual poverty by which we
can also abound in the distribution of grace, and
grace upon grace. See this is Love, go and do
likewise.
QUESTIONS TO SAINT
VARSANUPHIUS
(641) Question: What should I give to the poor
who go from house to house?
Answer: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth" (Eccle-
siastes 9:10), or a little bread, or wine, or two
metal coins, or one bigger. Only strive to give
without sorrow and with the fear of God, since
God, the Lover of Mankind, is thereby glorified.
(642) Question: It happens that I have two
things, one better and the other worse, for
example, wine or bread, and a thought tells me to
give the better to the poor. However, I hesitate to
give them the better and to leave the worse for
myself. When the Fathers visit me, I consider that
they should be preferred to the poor, and that they
should be supplied with as much as possible. Am
I thinking correctly or not?
Answer: Concerning the poor (know this): if we
haven't reached the point to consider all of them
equal to ourselves, and to regard our neighbour as
our own self, then, knowing our weakness, we
should do what we are able, that is, to give them
that which is less valuable. As far as the Fathers
are concerned (who visit you), you should prefer
them to others because they are the servants of
God, as it says in the Scriptures, "Render to all
your dues . . . to whom honour - honour," (Rom.
13:7) for the Lord also prefers them to others.
 THE WISDOM OF THE
AFRICAN WINTER
It must be seen to be believed just how the
African winters of the Southern Hemisphere are
the converse of the European/American winters
in the Northern Hemisphere. Of course, everyone
knows that when its summer in the north its
winter in the south, and since its now the start of
summer in Africa, we can guess that it's probably
becoming winter in the north. But that's not what
I meant when I said that it must be seen to be
believed.
There is a condition of the soul which can be best
termed black and scorched - burnt by the flames
of the passions. Such a soul burns from the agony
of its corrupted nature, and appears from the
outside as a wasted, unnatural, and pitiful
landscape. The only problem that really prevents
healing from ever reaching such a soul, which
recognises its condition of blackness, is the lack
of God's life-giving grace. Such a one is simply
waiting for the Lord from the heavens to send
forth the latter rain of Life in Christ. A soul,
however, which fails to recognise its condition, is
eternally lost in the very entity of its being,
perpetrating that ultimate sin - refusal to repent as
the Holy Spirit beckons and invites it. Hardness
of heart is compounded and made everlasting by
the blindness of the eye, unable to bring in the
Light of Christ. How dark is such a darkness
without that Light!
So what does Africa in the south look like in the
winter? Pretty white snow covering a sparkling
landscape? I think not. If I may, let me paint for
you the image so that you can see for yourself
and so come to believe. Imagine the end of a
robust summer coming to a close with several
drenching downpours in the fall autumn season.
The coldness of winter begins gradually,
creeping-like. It's hard to recognise winter during
the day - in fact everyone pretends there is no
such a thing as winter, because the days are still
wonderful and sunny. It's just the nights and early
mornings that regrettably, for some reason,
become colder and colder, so cold that the
temperature actually drops below freezing. Now
such a winter, as I say, is hard to imagine, and no
wonder, since it seems to the inhabitants to be no
winter at all. The unfortunate result is that people
are perpetually cold during the winter,
complaining of how badly their homes are heated.
It's not surprising that they freeze at night as the
temperature does plummet from the warm sunny
afternoon to the cold, bitter darkness after
midnight. If people would simply recognise that
winters do exist in Africa, then they would better
insulate their houses against the cold in the first
place. But since they deny the very existence of
winter they build their houses for the everlasting
sun, and so they end up freezing and wearing
thick jerseys even indoors!
What a crazy world we live in, one might
surmise. Yet there is wisdom to be learnt in all of
this, if one might awaken to the reality of the
Holy Spirit. But people would prefer to spiritually
freeze, for the most part out of ignorance of the
divine truths, and to sleep off the chill reality in
the darkness of their ignorance. But let us
continue with our description of winter in Africa,
since we've only just begun to describe the
wonder of it.
This season called winter lasts as long as the
season called winter in the northern hemisphere,
if people would correctly recognise what winter
actually is and when it really begins and ends.
Winter continues on its path to its middle,
running its usual course as it has since the Great
Flood, I suppose. There are no new surprises.
What was happening at the beginning of winter is
still continuing to happen, namely the days are
beautiful, clear, warm, and endlessly sunny, and
the black nights are cold, hostile, windy, and
totally unwelcome - nevertheless civilisation
continues to pretend that there is no such a thing
as winter, or rather I should say that they refuse
against all proof to the contrary to recognise
winter. Such a state of the soul one could
consider to be blissful and heavenly. Just imagine
that - eternal neverending summer. The thought, I
must say, chills my bones considerably, and I The lack of moisture during winter time, while
must explain why. contributing to the pleasure of civilisation, strikes
a terrible blow upon the wild plains and
As I have been describing the paradise of winter,
mountains. The only respite to be had is the cold
especially as it is in South Africa, I should point
nights and the mildness of the day. If winter were
out that the gardens of private homes are
a continuation of summer, my goodness, the
gorgeously green, and wonder-upon-wonder
world would be burnt to a cinder - fried to a crisp
flowering! Yes it is true, flowers grow the entire
and baked into a brick. The natural world can be
year round, and in winter the garden is especially
truly grateful that winter is not summer, and that
bursting into colour of every variety of petal and
winter is somewhat colder, otherwise how would
leaf. As I have perhaps tried to make clear, but let
it bear the perpetual radiance of the sun and the
me repeat myself, the inhabitants of civilisation in
lack of water? This wonder of winter is
this land refuse to recognise that there exists such
sometimes, unpredictably, broken by cold fronts
a season as winter. It would seem that they have
rushing in from Antarctica, bringing buckets full
every reason to doubt the reality of winter since
of warm rain, and wind and more rain, and then
it's wintery chill only really manifests itself at
icy temperatures and blue azure skies and wispy
night, when everyone's asleep, warm in bed.
clouds. Then after a few days the norm of winter
Could anything be more ideal? Perhaps I
returns - clear, sunny, and even a bit hot in the
neglected to mention how sunny the days were?
afternoons.
No, I mentioned that. But think again about an
eternally sunny environment - it sounds Something, at sometime, must begin to drive
somewhat dry, doesn't it? home to rational man that it is winter, and winters
are harsh and enduring. What could that possibly
Here the crushing reality of winter does not dawn
be? What could possibly convince the tribes of
immediately on the blissful public, even those
Africa that winter is real? In the northern
that have lived here all their lives. Winter is the
hemisphere civilised man is well aware of winter
dry season, and the dry season is winter. It doesn't
because the snow makes itself obvious and
rain or even attempt to rain, not a drop. And still
obstructive - not that it bothers walruses and polar
it doesn't rain - and it keeps on going and going,
bears much. Nevertheless winters are obvious -
those dreadfully clear sunny days of winter. It
white and white and just so much of it. Here we
refuses to rain. Not that it can't rain - it refuses to.
live in the dream that summer lasts all year round.
Just as the world refuses to recognise that it's
Nevertheless, the winter season gets deeper and
winter, so the heavens refuse to drop down rain.
deeper, approaching its official end, I mean its
As I said, winters here must be seen to be
calendar date end, and the supposed beginning of
believed, and I mean seen spiritually, through the
spring to be followed by summer. Yet every day
eye of the soul.
during winter seems to be winter at night time,
The only part of the world that seems to be spring in the morning, summer in the afternoon,
prepared for winter is the vegetation - the green and autumn in the evening. This is apparently
world. The human world lives in its fantasy, and why people rely on the official dates of when the
constantly complains, it knows not why, of how seasons supposedly fall, in order to distinguish
cold it seems to be recently, especially at night them, and not because anyone really observes the
and before the sun comes up. The green world is distinction of those seasons, and I'm speaking of
more attuned to the reality of winter, how else the spiritual observation of Pascha and the
could it survive month upon month under clear Nativity and the rest of the spiritual seasons. We
skies of not a drop of rain? The thorn trees are are after all discussing something about the soul
coated by thick bark, and the grasses have learnt and about the Church calendar and about place,
long ago to dry up in the stems to preserve their not just about winter in Africa south of the
roots. I am amazed at the wisdom in irrational Sahara.
nature, and yet even more so perturbed by the
Winter deepens, becomes more severe, more
lack of it in rational nature. The green earth
wintery - that is to say it still hasn't really rained,
knows what it lacks, and comes prepared to wait
not properly. The grasses have become so dry,
and wait for its return. Mankind, however, has no
and the trees so bare and helpless in the drought,
idea what it lacks and what it is waiting for. It
one wishes to weep for the world, to beg God to
must be seen, or believed, yet amazingly it is so,
send rain, or else summer will come and destroy
and it is like that everywhere in the world.
everything. It is not hard to imagine that the
world can survive a long drought in the coolness rebirth will come and that the rains will fall on
of a mild winter sun, yet that terrible source of schedule? Truly if winter doesn't end, then the
energy is moving, moving in its cosmic position world will certainly be burnt to clay brick when
to a certain unavoidable rendezvous. In truth it is the sun meets us in his glory in the heat of
standing still, while the earth, the earth is moving January.
on its cosmic course, unknown to it of course. Woe to us if winter is eternal - and of course I
Yet I fear that nuclear explosion of pure energy speak of the winter of the soul, burnt and
called the sun, because I contemplate what will blackened by its sinful passions. What can release
happen when the earth reaches that season when the grace of God, and what hinders the life of the
the southern hemisphere will be thrust closest to soul, and how shall we be able to meet Christ at
its heat. What will happen when the sun grows that time appointed for us? Who will save us then
hotter and hotter, and the world now barely alive, from His blazing and terrible grace that
if not actually dead, faces the test of summer? consumed Sodom and Gomorra and burnt up sin?
How will it survive then? One thought begins to A soul that fears God and makes even a little
dominate my mind and trouble it. If it doesn't rain progress in Divine wisdom awakens to the reality
between the drought of winter and the heat of of the times and the seasons, and sets about
mid-summer, who or what will survive? How can making a fitting preparation for the drought of
it survive? If only winter would end - if only it winter and again for the heat of summer.
would rain. Just rain and rain. If only now at last
the spring rains could come and this cruel winter
end.
Looking pitifully at the dry landscape one
becomes fully aware of its plight when the grass
fires begin. Yes, winter is the season of Fire,
raging fire, and pillars of smoke that sweep
mercilessly through the dry grasses and barren
trees. The aftermath is the wonder and the sign of
winter - everywhere as far as the eye cares to
reach, the earth is black, tar black, and burnt
black. To the hard brown crust of the earth it is
black. The reality and proof of winter to the
inhabitants of this land lies in the natural world
covered by plains of rolling tar and powdery soot.
Oh, it's winter all right. Can there be any doubt in Let us learn a little lesson from the African
anyone's mind? grasses. While it is true that the fires of the
passions devour a man's heart, there is also
Stangely not. As long as water comes out of the
another Passion that consumes him, as the Bush
tap, no one really seems perturbed that water is
which burnt without being consumed. Now see
not falling from the heavens. Logically man could
Africa, covered by fields and fields clothed in
reckon that water from the tap ultimately comes
such black raiment consumed by such a Fire, that
from the heavens, but he reasons, somewhat
is the fire of Divine love. Is this not a fitting way
reasonably, that the water from the tap won't be
to recognise and make plain the wintery condition
immediately affected by the refusal of the
of the soul, and to await in a fitting condition the
heavens to rain. The gardens are lush and
fountain of abundant grace that must well up
bursting into perpetual flower - so why worry,
from within the soul and be loosed from the
summer's coming. My goodness, what if summer
heavens to give it life? Awake, O man, and
does come, how will this land survive summer if
behold the reality of your condition and the
summer does not bring an abundant supply of
devastation of your soul. There is a winter, a
rain? Summer is bound to come - the heat of
harsh winter bereft of God's grace in which
summer - because the earth is fixed on its course,
nothing can live, yearning for eternal life and life-
and the calendar dates are the sure signs that
giving grace. Now is the time to intercede for the
temperatures are rising and that it is getting hotter
God of heaven to nourish us with fountains while
in the world. Yet what about that other summer -
we still await the overflowing abundance of His
the so-called rainy season - that must end the
grace. The world is a desert - be not surprised the
winter? Who can guarantee that this summer of
creatures therein are vipers, spiders, rodents and
reptiles while the vegetation is thorny, hostile and
poisonous. We are in the desert of Sin,
somewhere between the fantasy of Egypt and the
reality of the Kingdom of God. Now is the time
to recognise and pay careful attention to the sinful
state of the soul. Repent today. Force yourself
and press violently towards that grace of
repentance. Without repentance you will not be
saved, and the Divine radiance of God's
judgement will meet you hypocritical and stupid
in so far as your sins are concerned.
When God comes to meet us, not in the cool of
the evening as He did with Adam in Paradise, but
in the heat of the soul's separation from the body
and at Judgement Day, will we be prepared to
give a wise answer for ourselves? Will we be like
Adam who pointed out Eve, given of God from
his own flesh, as the cause of his Fall? Poor
Adam, consumed by jealousy that Eve might
become like God and wiser than himself through
her disobedience, and so he became the first
amongst us fools in being unable to discern his
own sin and to know the wisdom that comes from
God. Will we blame the Church because of our
lack of jealous zeal for her purity and for our
salvation? Indeed, we ought to be zealous for the
House of the Lord, and not just for the Church,
but for the body also. Do you not know that the
body was made to be a Temple of the all-Holy
Trinity, that the eye was made to see God, the
mouth to profess the grace of God in the heart,
and the hands to perform the mission of God?
Woe, O man - your blindness is exceptional.
Admit now your blindness, your nakedness, your
devastated soul. Wake yourself, and rouse your
body into action - Divine action in accordance
with Divine wisdom. Repent and force yourself
yet more to repent - repent until there is nothing
left in you but a barren and bleak wilderness,
black and sooted, waiting for the spring rains of
God's grace.
Behold now the mystery of the African grasses.
When the proper preparation has been made, that
is to say the fields have been burnt down to their
roots, a mystery unfolds as the winter presses past
that supposed date when it was to end. The rains
have still not come, yet the grasses are able to
endure because they are burnt. They have saved
up their nourishment from the past autumn rains
in their roots. The blaze of the sun getting hotter
everyday seems to do no further harm to them.
They are truly dead to the winter, and the winter
has thus ended for them even before the rains
have come. The roots are resting in the earth,
waiting to be called to the surface by the
resurrecting power of the heavenly waters.
Behold the mystery of how the drought is
endured, now turn with wonder to the joy and
unbounded excitement that greets the true end of
winter.
The coming of the sun produces warmer unstable
conditions. The air becomes volatile and begins
rising. The very thing that threatens to destroy the
world by its heat now inspires it to produce the
unstable conditions necessary for thunder-
showers, as the woes sent by God on the world
urge us on to repentance. What a long expected
joy the rains bring - drenching, refreshing,
healing, and washing away. What a joy it is to
hear the heavens crack with the peal of thunder,
like the trumpet calling the dead back to life - and
O, behold what an extraordinary mystery. Shoots
of brilliant green, fresh as if first created just
yesterday, sprout up from the black earth. What
were once fields of soot and tar are now carpets
of vibrant green - green green, not just ordinary
plain green. Wherever the grasses were not
touched by the fires the green shoots barely
appear and those fields are still dead with dry
sticks called grass, but where the fires consumed
everything the black is converted wholly into
green life. The green only appears out of the
black - it is only the black that brings forth such
new life. What a lesson I should suppose.
That is the mystery and wonder of the African
winters - worthy to be seen and to be believed.
Yet I suppose everyone, anywhere, can grasp the
spiritual truths so obviously oppressing the senses
in the world around us. Much we have sinned,
much more are we sinning, and even yet more are
we going to sin - repent O man, your sins have
reached high heaven and have blocked the latter
rains of God's grace. Your sins have separated
you from God - is that not a good enough reason
to be concerned about spiritual matters?
Yet one cannot but be struck by the greater
mystery of rational nature, that is man, so
imperturbed by the wintery state of his soul, as if
there were no winter. A wonderful place it is to
live in this place, here in Africa, where there is no
real winter, yet more wonderful it is to recognise
the reality of the soul's winter, and to hunger and
thirst for the grace from heaven which must
satisfy it. May God grant us the wisdom to
repent, and to continuously make progress
repenting.

Faithful Friends gathered at the first
celebration of Pentecost in Africa for
the Fathers.
LETTERS
From Archbishop Hilarion of Australia,
Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.
Beloved in Christ, Fr. Nazarius,
It was a very pleasant surprise and joy for me to
receive your letter and the two excellent issues of
the monastery's publication "Living Water". So
many years have passed since we last met - as far
as I recall, it was when I was still living in the
monastery in Jordanville - and so many changes
have taken place in the world and in our lives. By
God's wonderful providence you are now serving
Him in Africa and I am in Australia.
I am very glad that you have been able to
combine monastic struggle and prayer with
missionary labours, bringing the light of holy
Orthodoxy to South Africa and other
neighbouring countries. So important is your
witness to true and unadulterated Orthodoxy in
the face of the rampant ecumenicity of the
Alexandrian Patriarchate.
By serving under the Synod of Metropolitan
Cyprian, you are preserving the royal safe path of
the Church, not inclining to extremes, neither of
the left nor of the right, as is occurring so
frequently in Orthodox religious circles today.
…I pray that God will shower you with many
blessings and the joy of witnessing the bountiful
fruits of your labours. Please remember me in
your holy prayers.
With love in Christ,
Archbishop Hilarion (11/24-Sept-2001)
YEARNING FOR HOME
As our readers are probably aware, this issue of
Living Water has emerged as a late double-issue.
We apologise for this tardiness. However,
circumstances have driven us a little from our
targets. We had hoped earlier to be able to
communicate with our supporters, but
unfortunately we are still waiting ourselves for
the outcome of our situation. It feels a little like
being at the bus-shelter and not being quite sure
which bus will take you home, but constantly
inquiring and waiting, hoping soon to depart . . .
A few of months ago we picked up and left our
monastery along the Hennops River, and have
since then returned to the country estate of friends
in Garsfontein, where we continue daily in the
liturgy. Circumstances it seemed had turned
against us. This turn of events must be considered
a righteous chastisement from God, as just
punishment for our sins. Nevertheless, knowing
that God is merciful we hope to be given another
chance to establish a monastery, the first of its
kind, here in our beloved African wilderness.
Since our migration began we have been looking
fervently for affordable property to purchase. We
are still very much drawn to the same
mountainous area of south-western Pretoria and
northern Johannesburg. Not only is this an ideal
location between the two cities in the heart-land
of South Africa, but it is also on the road to
Botswana, and to other of the neighbouring
states. Having found property in this area and
having drawn up a detailed site plan, we were
Fr. Panagiotis with the
Fathers
again thwarted, since the owner would not
concede to let us test for water on the property
before we purchased it. This we only learnt after
several weeks of waiting for the owner to sign the
agreement which we had already signed. Another
opportunity then presented itself in that same
region, and after signing the sale agreement we
discovered later in the day that it had just been
sold to someone else in that very hour. For the
third time it felt that we had been robbed of our
earthly habitation. What are we to do now? Our
monastic brotherhood needs an earthly home
where monasticism can be run according to its
own otherworldly regime. The estate agent
empathised with us to such an extent that he
offered to donate to us a refrigerator!
We thank God for these blessings since we need
to comprehend that heaven is our real dwelling,
and that the heavenly dwelling is built out of the
good deeds we offer God - deeds that arise out of
aromatic thanksgiving and praise. Just look at our
holy benefactor Paul, who rejoiced in every
season to suffer buffeting for the sake of Christ,
and learn from the righteous Job who said, "Shall
I receive only good from the Lord and not evil
also . . . naked I came, naked I go." The Lord also
taught our father Abraham that the blessing of his
inheritance would not be won carnally, through
either Isaac or Ishmael, but spiritually through the
Substitute of Isaac offered up to God - that is
through Christ Jesus. So it seems proper that we
should also offer up our bodies as temples for
God's Holy Spirit, Who has been driven out from
His world and from His home among men. God is
Marriage of
Symeon and Camilia,
of the Bulgarian Community.
Baptism of Luka
good and this chastisement is surely sent for our
purification to make us better.
Having given ourselves over to the mercy of God
and to His good-will, we are waiting to see what
the Lord will send for us. By the next issue of
Living Water we pray that we may be able to
report on the erection and transfer of our wooden
cells to our new home. Keep us in your prayers
also - pray for us to the saints who are our
benefactors - so that the Lord might have mercy
on us and shorten our trial.
The developments of the past few months have
not all been trying. A number of Serbian families
have begun to take an interest in our monastery,
and our presence in the Orthodox community has
somewhat grown. People have sought us out,
rather than us seeking them out. We have
performed a number of baptisms, funerals,
weddings, etc., for members of the Bulgarian,
Macedonian, and Serbian communities, while
Russian and Georgian friends have developed
deeper relations with us. A number of Greek and
Cypriote friends have also stepped forward to
help us and support our mission with donations,
including some printing equipment. We have
been and shall continue to be very pleased to
receive everyone with great pleasure, and to
encourage all in the Orthodox Faith. Ordinary
South Africans have also shown some interest
simply by seeing the signs we have placed along
the road. Hopefully we can be a benefit to all
those people who seek genuine Orthodoxy, and
may their numbers grow.
Three sisters in the Lord, Evgenia, Petka and
Elizabeth, have departed for Greece to make a
pilgrimage to our monastery in Fili, to receive a
blessing from His Eminence Metropolitan
Cyprian, and to visit other holy sites in northern
 A Printers shop donated 4000 covers for
four books planned by the Brotherhood.
The covers are shown below.

The Secretary of the Serbian Community,

Vladimir Mihajlovic, presents Fr. Nazarius
with a Gospel on behalf of the Community.

The distribution of Winter Jerseys that

had been knitted by Mrs. Billis.

Visiting with
Mrs. Penny Billis.

The Chapel of the Descent of the
Holy Spirit in Garsfontein, Pretoria.
Greece and the islands. We pray that the Lord
will inspire them through this pilgrimage.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a woman's monastery
in South Africa? God knows how this might be
realised one day.
Our African Orthodox Christian Church is now
an officially recognised organisation in South
Africa. The objects of our Church mission
include the spreading of Orthodoxy to all the
local peoples. St. John of Shanghai was a believer
that the Gospel must be preached to all the
nations before the end comes, and he specifically
meant the Orthodox Gospel and not any heretical
or wishy-washy version of it. One must obey God
and not men, for the will of Christ is that the true
Orthodox Faith be taught to all nations as a
witness to them.
Since our support is still sporadic and not quite
established yet, and while the battle is intense, we
must develop deeper roots in order to discover the
spiritual nourishment of grace from deep within
our souls, extracted by prayer and fasting. Those
who turn to listen to our word must likewise
strive to make progress in their faith, or how else
will one endure the temptations of the loveless
world? By the grace of God, we can only
fervently hope that the Lord will make up for the
great lack of faith within us, which is like an
abyss holding onto our ankles, by the intercession
of the saints and by the out-stretched hands of
Christ Himself.
The victory of Christ is rightly perceived from the
vantage point of Golgotha, looking by way of the
life-giving Tomb of Christ. Why do we suffer in
trying to do good? the Lord knows. For our part it
seems that the humbling trials contribute towards
“GO YE INTO ALL THE WORLD AND DISCIPLE ALL NATIONS . . .”
patience, and it seems that this cleansing
operation makes us vessels ready for Divine love.
How we wish the fire of this love would be
poured out and released over this Godless world.
How much one could be pierced to one's heart by
the lack of zeal and faithfulness among many.
How this seems to reflect upon ourselves as we
bear these burdens on the shoulder of the Lord,
yet He instructs us to rejoice in the midst of these
unpleasantries. Rejoice - yes, rejoice. Why?
Because our names are written in the heavens
where the Lord prepares a place for us, in spite of
what the devil attempts against us down below.
"Today thou shalt be with Me in Paradise." Isn't
that a good enough reason to be eternally grateful
to God?
HOW YOU CAN HELP THE MISSION
BECOME A FRIEND OF THE
BROTHERHOOD!
This missionary activity is the shared responsibility of
all Orthodox Christians. You can support it by your
prayers and financial contributions.
NEEDS OF THE BROTHERHOOD:
♦ Purchase of land, and construction of monastery
buildings, cells, guesthouse, bookstore, etc.
♦ Publications of various missionary materials in
various languages.
♦ Vehicle maintenance and travel expenses.
♦ Church necessities: oil, candles, etc.
♦ Charitable work. (The monastery has a program
of charitable work that can only be implemented
by your financial assistance).
All Friends will receive our quarterly publication
“Living Water”, which will keep them informed of the
progress of the Orthodox Church in Africa.
Make cheques out to:
THE MONASTERY OF THE
DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Or deposit directly into our bank account:
SWIFT No.: ABSA ZA JJ
BRANCH CODE: 63-29-05
ACCOUNT No.: 90 7903 8415