I am terribly far behind on the 40 Days of Blogging exercise, I guess that is what happens this time of year, we get extremely busy.
I have a dear friend, Brother Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourette who lives in a Benedictine monastery in upstate New York. Among other things, Brother Victor is the author of several cook books. My favorite of his books is Twelve Months of Monastery Soups. In this book, Brother Victor does an amazing job of presenting, as the title suggests, twelve months of soups, that he prepared right in his own monastery kitchen. I have made several in the past and I am going to share one recipe that I recently made, and I am still enjoying. I hope you enjoy this soup.
Saint Nicholas Soup
Ingredients
2 ounces of butter or margarine
2 leeks or onions
4 medium-sized carrots
3 turnips
4 Potatoes
half a medium-sized head white cabbage
1 tsp salt or more, according to taste
4 quarts water
croutons (Br Victor includes a recipe in his book to make your own)
1/3 cup minced chervil, chopped
1. Wash and peel the vegetables. Slice them into small pieces
2. Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add the vegetables and salt and stir a few times. Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let it rest for about 15 to 20 minutes. Add the water and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and allow the soup to cook slowly for about 30 to 40 minutes. Stir from time to time.
3. When the soup is done, blend all of it in a blender until it becomes creamy and even. Serve hot, adding some croutons to each bowl and sprinkling some chervil on top.
Well this is an interesting topic on out 40 Day Blogging experience. It seems that this topic come up during this time of year as well seem to spend money on things that we do not need but we continue to do it.
Funny how when we think of Idolatry we usually just think of money but anything can become an idol if it is not used appropriately. Even religion can become an idol, and that is when it is at its worst.
I was recently in a discussion with someone about religious fanatics. There are good fanatics and bad fanatics I guess but I lean towards the fact that any kind of a fanatic is not always good. Religion is one of those things where it is easy to fall into the trap of the rules being more important than anything, and I find that especially true in Orthodoxy.
So many people fall in love with the rules of Orthodoxy that they miss the spirit of it all. As an example, we are in a fast and abstinence period during Advent. We get wrapped up in the food part but forget about the rest of it, or we go so involved in the rules that we forget there is supposed to be a change in us that will take place if we are doing it right.
I try to take everything in moderation so as not to become too much of a fanatic and make an idol of out things in a bad way.
Today, December 13th is the Feastday of Saint Herman of Alaska the first Saint to be Glorified by the Orthodox Church of America. He was Glorified by the Church in 1970 and continues to be remembered for what he was able to accomplish in bringing the Orthodox faith to North America.
Herman was a Russian monk from the Valaam Monastery and left Russia in 1793 to travel to what was then Russian Alaska to bring the Gospel to the native Aleuts and Eskimos in the Aleutian Islands. His arrival marks the first arrival of Orthodoxy in North America.
One of the interesting parts of his life is he was never a priest but was able to minister to the congregation that God had given him in ways that a priest might not be able too. Following in the footsteps of Ss. Cyril and Methodios rather and force the native population to learn Russian, Saint Herman and his fellow missionaries learned the native language and translated the Liturgy into that language for the benefit of the people. Wow, we could learn something from that in America today!
The hymns of his feast truly tell his story:
Troparion Tone 7
Joyful North Star of the Church of Christ,
Guiding all people to the Heavenly Kingdom;
Teacher and apostle of the True Faith;
Intercessor and defender of the oppressed;
Adornment of the Orthodox Church in America:
Blessed Father Herman of Alaska,
Pray to our Lord Jesus Christ
For the salvation of our souls!
Troparion Tone 4
O blessed Father Herman of Alaska,
North star of Christ’s holy Church,
The light of your holy life and great deeds
Guides those who follow the Orthodox way.
Together we lift high the Holy Cross
You planted firmly in America.
Let all behold and glorify Jesus Christ,
Singing his holy Resurrection.
Kontakion Tone 3
The eternal light of Christ our Savior
guided you, blessed Father Herman,
on your evangelical journey to America
to proclaim the Gospel of peace.
Now you stand before the throne of glory;
intercede for your land and its people:
Peace for the world and salvation for our souls!
We need the intercession of Saint Herman today more than ever for our country!
I am blessed to have a Holy Relic of St. Herman on my altar here at Saint Michael in Southbridge. Each Liturgy I celebrate I feel as though he is standing there with me, along with Saint Alexis Toth and Saint Raphael of Brooklyn whose relics I also have on my altar.
We Orthodox in America owe a great deal to Saint Herman, and those who came with him to bring Holy Orthodoxy to North America.
Also on this day we commemorate the 30th anniversary of the falling asleep in the Lord of Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, Dean of Saint Vladimir’s Seminary and a leading 20th century Orthodox Christian theologian.
Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann
Like Saint Herman, Fr. Alexander came to America as a missionary and a teacher. He was born in Estonia and came to America in 1951 after teaching at the Orthodox Theological Institute of Saint Sergius in Paris. Keep in mind that in 1951 there were maybe a handful of books printed in English about Orthodoxy and Orthodox Theology. I recently heard an interview with Fr. Chap Hatfield from St. Vladimir Seminary in New York. In the interview he spoke about the move of St. Vladimir from Manhattan to its present location and that the entire seminary library was contained in a bath tub! That will give you some indication of the number of books in English.
Fr. Alexander, and others like him, is responsible for the publication of classics as well as new classics on the subjects of Orthodox life, theology, and spirituality. Just as Saint Herman brought Orthodox to North America, Fr. Alexander continued that mission and made Orthodoxy much more accessible that it ever had been to on the North American soil. And his mission did not end there. Because his work, Orthodoxy has spread to other English speaking places around the world.
We pray to Saint Herman and to Fr. Alexander for all Orthodox Christians and that their work will continue in North America and be blessed.
Fr. John has chosen the topic of monastics for the 28th day of our 40 day blogging exercise. I have written about monastics before on this blog, just do a quick search and you should be able to find them. I thought what I would do is post a couple of videos that showcase, if you will, the life of monastics.
The first video is just that a video, no words, or very few words are spoken, but through the video you will get a glimpse into the life of the monk.
The second video is from the CBS program 60 Minutes and their program a few years back on the monks on Mount Athos. I am sure by now you have seen the 60 minutes video but I thought I would post it again just in case.
On my Facebook page the other day, I wrote about the beauty of the Orthodox Vespers service. If my opinion matters, I do believe that the Vespers is the most beautiful of all of the Orthodox Liturgies that I have the honor of serving. There is something about standing in the center of the church, in almost complete darkness, praying “let my prayers arise as incense.”
Hanging in front of all of the Icons in the Church are lamps, ours are not oil lamps, but they are lit and illumine the faces of the Icons. Standing there in the darkness, with the flicker of the flame and the illumined faces staring back at you, puts you in the mind of prayer. All of the distractions of the world seem to melt away in that darkness.
Sure the lamps should be oil, and perhaps I am lazy, but candles seem to work better for us. I think part of the issue is we do not heat the Church during the week and, believe it or not, oil will get solid in the cold. We have a bottle of oil, the oil blessed at the Unction Service on Holy Wednesday that always gets solid this time of year so I can only imagine how the oil lamps would fair.
However, in my house, in my Icon corner, I have an oil lamp that burns most of the time. The oil lamp is a constant reminder that we have to be ready to receive the bridegroom when he comes, just as the wise virgins in Scripture were ready. Preparedness is the theme of this season of Advent, preparing for the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the Flesh. Keeping the lamps of our hearts and minds trimmed until He comes is what will keep us on the path toward Theosis.
I find it interesting that the topic up for discussion today on the Pastoral Blogging exercise is the Snowflake, because as I sit here and write this it is snowing outside my window. Well not really snowing as much as it is freezing rain, and that I do not like.
I am not sure what it is but there is something about falling snow that relaxes me, as long as I do not have to drive in it. I like to stand in the window, drinking a cup of tea or coffee, and watch the snow falling. As they fall, they all work together to form a pile, they cannot do it alone, they need each other. Just like all of us, alone we are just that, alone, but if we join with others it is amazing what we will be able to accomplish.
I know snow can be a big pain and eventually I have to go and move all of those individual snowflakes, but I still like to stand and watch as it falls. The white snow covers up the dead brown grass and leaves that the fall has left behind but it is only temporary.
Eventually that snow will melt and we return to the bleakness of the season. Our lives can be the same unless we have a life in the Church. Without Christ our lives are simply bleak and contain nothing, but if we know the Lord of Life then we have everything.
Some of my favorite childhood memories revolve around the Christmas tree. On Christmas morning my brothers and I would wake up be we could not come out into the living room until my parents, and my grandmother, were in their spots and ready to go. Then we would come running in to see what Santa brought us.
We used to have one of those silver Christmas trees; you know the one that looked like tin foil. We had this gizmo on the floors with a flood light in it and a color wheel in front of it so the tree would change colors. It was great!
The Christmas tree was the item in the house that we would all gather around and open the gifts. We would linger there all day, in the glow of that flood light, and just be with each other. Now, in this fast world we live in, things move so fast that we do not spend much time just sitting around.
I love St. Nicholas. I mean you have to love a guy that gives money so people can get out of slavery and also punch a heretic in the face during a Church Council. Unfortunately, when most people think of St. Nicholas they think of the guy in the red suit. How sad.
Not many people know the story of St. Nicholas slapping Arius in the ace during the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. Here is a synopsis of the story from the website of the St. Nicholas Center:
In AD 325 Emperor Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea, the very first ecumenical council. More than 300 bishops came from all over the Christian world to debate the nature of the Holy Trinity. It was one of the early church’s most intense theological questions. Arius, from Egypt, was teaching that Jesus the Son was not equal to God the Father. Arius forcefully argued his position at length. The bishops listened respectfully.
As Arius vigorously continued, Nicholas became more and more agitated. Finally, he could no longer bear what he believed was essential being attacked. The outraged Nicholas got up, crossed the room, and slapped Arius across the face! The bishops were shocked. It was unbelievable that a bishop would lose control and be so hotheaded in such a solemn assembly. They brought Nicholas to Constantine. Constantine said even though it was illegal for anyone to strike another in his presence, in this case, the bishops themselves must determine the punishment.
The bishops stripped Nicholas of his bishop’s garments, chained him, and threw him into jail. That would keep Nicholas away from the meeting. When the Council ended a final decision would be made about his future.
Nicholas was ashamed and prayed for forgiveness, though he did not waver in his belief. During the night, Jesus and Mary his Mother, appeared, asking, “Why are you in jail?” “Because of my love for you,” Nicholas replied. Jesus then gave the Book of the Gospels to Nicholas. Mary gave him an omophorion, so Nicholas would again be dressed as a bishop. Now at peace, Nicholas studied the Scriptures for the rest of the night.
When the jailer came in the morning, he found the chains loose on the floor and Nicholas dressed in bishop’s robes, quietly reading the Scriptures. When Constantine was told of this, the emperor asked that Nicholas be freed. Nicholas was then fully reinstated as the Bishop of Myra.
The Council of Nicaea agreed with Nicholas’ views, deciding the question against Arius. The work of the Council produced the Nicene Creed which to this day many Christians repeat weekly when they stand to say what they believe.
What I like about this story is that even though St. Nicholas was correct in his belief he showed repentance for his actions. He lost his cool, and he never should have done that. He was thrown into jail as a punishment where he found repentance.
This is a story that we all can grab on to for we have all done things we should not have and need to find reconciliation. I am sure that none of our sins were this public, but they are sins none the less and we all need to be reconciled to each other and to God.
Use this time of the preparation for the Nativity of our Lord in the Flesh to reconcile yourself like St. Nicholas did. Who knows, you might become a saint!
On any given day on the Church calendar there are a list of saints and feast days. Some are well known and some are not as well known. Grigol Peradze is just one of those saints.
Grigol Peradze was martyred in the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz on December 6th 1942. He had committed no crime, but like his savior Jesus Christ, he took the sin of another upon himself and was martyred for it.
Grigol Peradze was born on August 31, 1899 in the village of Bakurtsikhe, in the Sighnaghi district of Kakheti, in Eastern Georgia. His father, Romanoz Peradze, was a priest. He graduated seminary in 1921 and began to teach in the seminary but in November of 1921 he was sent to Germany to study Theology.
He eventually traveled to England where he studied in London and eventually entered monastic life and was ordained a priest. He was given pastoral care of St. Nino Georgian Orthodox church in Paris.
At the invitation of Orthodox Metropolitan Dionysius Waledinsky of All Poland in 1932, Grigol taught until 1934 at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of Warsaw University in Poland as a Professor of Patrology. In 1934, he also received the rank of archimandrite. I wonder if he knew of or even met the future Pope John Paul II while he was teaching in Poland.
Germany invaded Poland in 1939 and things started to get more difficult for him. On May 4, 1942, he was arrested by the German Gestapo for sheltering and aiding Jews and other victims of fascist persecutions. The priceless collection of Georgian manuscripts he had collected (in hopes of returning them to Georgia) disappeared a search of his quarters. Initially, incarcerated in Pawiak prison in Warsaw, he was deported to Auschwitz in November 1942.
At Auschwitz, a German officer was killed by one of the inmates. To get a confession, the guards drove everyone out of the barracks completely naked into the below freezing weather. To save the innocent prisoners from freezing to death, Archim Grigol chose to take the blame for the murder. Upon his admission the guards let loose dogs on the martyr, then poured gasoline over him, and lit him on fire.
Grigol Peradze was glorified by the Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church in 1995.
Like so many others he is almost forgotten because he shares his feast day with that of the more famous St. Nicholas.
There is the old axiom “It is better to give then to receive” but I prefer to receive gifts than to give them, not because I am cheap but because I hate shopping! But gift giving is important as it does show that we care.
I do hate to shop! When I go shopping I got to get what I need and get out as fast as I can. I try to make a list, know exactly where I am going, and “git her done” and move on to the next thing, unless I am going to Tractor Supply I do like to roam around that store.
It was decided a few years back, that the members of my family would not buy for each other. We would but gifts for my parents and my nieces and nephews but my brothers and I would not buy for each other. This lightened the load significantly.
I usually end up giving gift cards to various places. Why buy something they won’t like, to only have to return it after the holiday anyway, when I can give a gift card to their favorite store and give them the joy of shopping. I also wait for the last possible minute to go!
Gift Giving is a nice and thoughtful thing to do and it usually means a lot to the person getting the gift, so the tradition continues.
It is not the gift that really matters, it is the thought behind the gift that matters most.
