Hesychasm: The Principle Fruit (Conclusion)

On this subject of the fruit of hesychasm—as was stated in the first part of this article—we will now turn to the experience of St. Joseph the Hesychast and his disciple Joseph the Younger. In relating his Elder’s teaching on prayer he emphasizes the experience of love for God and neighbor as a characteristic of “the grace of true prayer”. I believe this emphasis had its source in the fruit he himself experienced in prayer. The seed of this was planted early in his monastic life through the prayers of St. Joseph as he has related.

In the summer of 1947 Joseph the Younger made a pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain. It was then that he met St. Joseph the Hesychast and asked to be received as a disciple. At first St. Joseph refused him, but when he continued begging with tears, the elder decided to pray about it and did accept him. Two years later, in August of 1949, one day after lunch St. Joseph said to him with a smile, “Tonight I will send you a little parcel. Make sure you don’t lose it!” Joseph’s fellow disciple, Elder Ephraim, recorded what he said about that night:

“I do not remember how I started off, but I know very well that I had just begun and had not pronounced the name of our Christ many times before my heart was filled with love for God. Suddenly it increased so much that I was no longer praying, but wondering in amazement at this outpouring of love. I wanted to embrace and kiss all people and the whole of creation, and at the same time I was so humble in my thoughts that I felt I was the lowest of all creatures. But the fullness of the flame of love was for Christ, whom I experienced as present.”1

The young Monk Joseph tells us what happened when he met his Elder after this:

As soon as he saw me he began to smile, and before I could make a reverence he said, “You see how sweet our Christ is? Do you understand in practice what it is that you keep asking me about? Now exert yourself forcibly to make this grace your possession, and don’t let negligence steal it away from you.” At once I fell at his feet and said with tears: “I’ve seen it Geronta; unworthy as I am of all creation, I have seen the grace and love of our Christ, and now I understand the boldness of the Fathers and the power of prayers.” 2

St. Joseph told his young disciple, “exert yourself forcibly to make this grace your possession” because such grace is received, “in earthen vessels” (IICor. 4:7) which are subject to sin and passions. It takes years even decades for one to be purified and then, to the degree that one is free from the dominion of sin over him, the grace one has received becomes manifest and active within. 3

Joseph the Younger writes about progress in prayer and the fruit thereof in the chapter, “On prayer”, in his book concerning his elder, St. Joseph the Hesychast. So he tells us:

“Protracted and Uninterrupted prayerful attention of the heart—which is the most difficult of all ascetic exercises and struggles—produces permanent sensation within the heart. In parallel, the mind with its incessant mourning also regains its natural illumination, becoming a ‘Christ-mind’ (cf. 1 Cor. 2:16); upon which the experience of God abiding and acting within him, transports the small and limited human being to the sphere of Godlikeness. ‘I say, You are gods and sons of the Most High, all of you’ (Ps. 82:6). In consequence, as an ecumenical totality (or “as an all inclusive completeness”) he contains his neighbor within himself and communes with him, ‘rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep’, as the Apostle puts it.” (Rom. 12:15) 4

Elsewhere he writes:

“The paternal quality (or “characteristic”) of the grace of true prayer experienced by the Elder was crowned by his communion with the suffering of all mankind, something that we saw him living out intensely and almost continuously. Many times we would see him immersed calmly in himself and he seemed not to be with us; then his expression would change, and in a sorrowful manner he would sigh gently. ‘What the matter Elder?’ we would ask out of youthful curiosity. ‘Someone is suffering children’, he would say. The confirmation of this would come a few days later, when we received a letter describing some incident that had occurred. ‘How does it happen Elder, that those who pray more are more communal that other people?’—because we could see that such people felt everyone to be their neighbor and communed with each person in a very practical way, despite the fact that these men of prayer are virtually hidden and unknown. He then gave us to understand, in his own words, the universality of prayer, the chief bearer of ecumenicity (this term is superlative in the Greek and implies the bringing together or connecting the universe). Through prayer the unity of all in God is realized in a more prefect way as everything is brought to unity with Christ and to communion with God. Perhaps at times he somewhat lacked the power to express himself in the subtle philosophical terms of theology when speaking of these subjects which he ‘underwent’.” 5

Although Joseph the Younger says, “at times he somewhat lacked the power to express himself” I believe, “the universality of prayer” is further explained in the following excerpt:

“The Elder used to tell us that the experience of love for one’s neighbor is revealed to him who prays in truth; and more specifically, ‘When grace is operative in the soul of someone who is praying, then he is flooded with the love of God so that he can no longer bear what he experiences. Afterwards this love turns toward the world and man, whom he comes to love so much that he seeks to take upon himself the whole of human pain and misfortune so that everyone else might be freed from it. In general he suffers with every grief and misery, and even for dumb animals, so that he weeps when he thinks that they are suffering. These are the properties of love, but it is prayer that activates them and calls them forth. This is why those who are advanced in prayer do not cease to pray for the world. To them belongs the continuation of life, however strange and audacious this may seem. And you should know that if such people disappear, then the end of this world will come.’” 6

Joseph the Younger concludes this Chapter as follows:

“Prayer alone can include within it and encompass what is far off and what is scattered, making them one (cf. John 17:22), and can bind together members that are at odds with each other, that they may recognize his neighbor as members of one another who nevertheless live separately. Prayer for human suffering in general shows love, as does prayer for the enlightenment of those who have gone astray and for their return and repentance and knowledge of God. But prayer for enemies is the climax of the rational perfection of beings in whom ‘what is mortal is swallowed up by life’ (cf. 1Cor. 15:54). Those who pray for their enemies, becoming and remaining deified, reflect in their godlike character that godly property of praying ‘if it were possible, to be accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of these brethren who have wronged me!’ (cf. Rom. 9:3). This also is the last word of our Lord on the Cross, as He prays for those who have crucified Him”. (cf. Luke 23:34)7

We can see a parallel between Saint Joseph the Hesychast and his disciple Joseph the Younger; and St. Silouan the Athonite and his disciple St. Sophrony the Athonite who reposed in Essex, England. Again and again, St. Silouan says that he was taught the love of God by the Holy Spirit, St. Joseph says, “When grace is operative in the soul of someone who is praying, then he is flooded with the love of God.” St. Sophrony affirmed that love for enemies and prayer for enemies is criteria for truth. Fr. Zacharias has further commented: “This shows that we are progressing properly in the spiritual life.” Likewise Jospeh the Younger verifies: “prayer for enemies is the climax of the rational perfection of beings in whom ‘what is mortal is swallowed up by life’”. Therefore we could conclude that love in a reason endowed creature in a fallen world takes the form of intercession. So let us examine ourselves to see what state we find ourselves in a life in Christ and ever strive for that which is higher. Amen.

1. My Elder Joseph the Hesychast by Elder Ephraim, p. 299
2. ibid. pp. 299-300
3. St. Sophrony explains this magnificently in the chapter “Grace and Consequent Dogmatic Consciousness” in his book on St. Silouan
4. Elder Joseph the Hesychast by Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi, 1999 The Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopaidi, p. 202
5. ibid. pp. 200-201
6. ibid. pp. 206-7
7. ibid. pp. 208

Hesychasm: The Principle Fruit

What is on our mind when we think of Hesychasm or someone we could call a hesychast? What do we imagine the fruit to be that a hesychast acquires? In the last post we read a comment of Archimandrite Peter: “The essence of Hesychasm lies in the guarding of the heart from all alien influence.” What does “guarding the heart from all alien influence” lead to? The Psalmist tell us: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psa. 45:11). If one “guards the heart from all alien influence” and “becomes still” then a place is made ready for God to manifest Himself and act within a person, within his heart. The person is then able to progress in acquiring knowledge of God, not through intellectual study but through a participation of God’s action within, again, within the heart. Such a man acquires “actual” not “factual” knowledge of God. For true theology is “the narration of important occurrence which is the encounter between the spirit of man and the living God.” 1 But what is the knowledge one will acquire? In short St. John the Theologian tells us “God is love” (I John 4:8).

What is it then, that comes to pass within a man who has “actual” knowledge of the love of God, who has come ‘to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge” (Eph. 3:19)? What is the content of his heart? In order to make an attempt to answer this we must refer to those who have had such an experience. So I will go on to refer to both Sts. Silouan the Athonite, his spiritual child, Sophrony of Essex, and—continuing this spiritual family line—his spiritual child, Archimandrite Zacharias. In addition I will also refer to St. Joseph the Hesychast his spiritual child Joseph the Younger—or of Vatopedi.

Over and over again in the writings of St. Silouan he tells us that he knows the love of God through the Holy Spirit. He experienced a vision of our Lord Jesus Christ early on in his monastic life and St. Sophrony relates of this, “the gentle gaze of the joyous, all-forgiving, boundlessly-loving Christ drew Simeon’s (St. Silouan’s name before his monastic tonsure) entire being to Himself.” St. Silouan experienced the “love of Christ which surpasses knowledge”. Concerning “the love of Christ”, Archimandrite Zacharias writes:

“It is this love that is expressed in hypostatic prayer for the salvation of the whole world, which follows the example of the Lord, the New Adam, which He prayed in Gethsemane before going to His voluntary and saving Passion. If, by the grace of Christ, man embraces the entire world in prayer and brings every creature before God in intercession, it is a sign that God’s pre-eternal plan has been accomplished in a complete and perfect fashion, and that he is now ‘in the image and likeness of God’.” 2

Based on his own experience of knowing Christ as a Person, St. Sophrony tells us something about Him, that is, the Person of Christ. Only a few days before his repose he stated:

“The content of the Person of Christ is His self-emptying love unto the end by which He accomplished the salvation of the world.

“Man likewise proves himself a person when he acquires love for God to the point of self-hatred,3 pure prayer which accompanies this, and prayer for the world similar to Christ’s prayer at Gethsemane.”

Fr. Zacharias comments on this as follows:

“In this state of hypostatic prayer or prayer for the world, the mind of Christ is transmitted to man and his heart is enlarged to embrace heaven and earth and to bring before God every creature. Thus the true calling of man is to become a true hypostasis, a true person in the image of Christ’s Person, a new Adam bearing in himself the whole of humanity and presenting it before God in intercession for salvation.” 4

So to become a true person or hypostasis in the image of Christ’s Person (or Hypostasis) is to acquire His self-emptying love unto the end. Hypostatic prayer then, is the prayer of a person who has lulled the passions, and undergone a divine transformation to the point that he is in the image of Christ’s Person, the content of Whom is self-emptying love unto the end. How does such a person pray? He bears in himself the whole of humanity presenting it before God in intercession for salvation. When he prays he holds all of mankind in his heart. St. Sophrony, of course, experienced this and so he used the term “hypostatic prayer” to express this experience of his. In St. Silouan we see a superlative example of this. Archimandrite Zacharias writes of him:

“There could be no distinction between enemies and friends for Saint Silouan, as the Lord imparted to him the ‘enlargement’ of His love when He appeared to him. Thus he could not bear that even one person, even one creature, be absent from his heart, in which case he would have considered his hypostasis mutilated and without any likeness to that of the Lord of Glory as he had known Him at the time of his vision. All the peoples of the earth, the whole Adam, from the beginning of time to the end of the world, were the content of his heart and their salvation was the entreaty of his unceasing prayer.” 5

Accordingly St. Sophrony in instructing his monastics has “said that even one evil thought against our brother ‘causes a crack in the wall of our spiritual stronghold.’” Fr. Zacharias comments on this: “Why is it that, as Elder Sophrony drew to our attention, one evil thought causes a crack in the wall of our spiritual fortification? It is because when we stir up negative thoughts about our brother and we remove him from our heart then we mutilate our being. Our unity is contained in this understanding: to hold all in our heart and avoid even the least negative thought for our fellows.” 6

In the teaching of St. Sophrony, as related by Fr. Zacharias, this should be our common aim: “each of us when we stand before God, should carry in our hearts all of our brethren.” 7 (to be continued…)

1. Man the Target of God, Archimandrite Zacharias, Mount Thabor Publishing 2016, pp100-101
2. The Engraving of Christ in Man’s Heart, Archimandrite Zacharias, Monastery of St. John the Baptist Essex, 2017, p. 61
3. Love of God is mentioned first and then “self-hatred” as its offspring. This is sometimes manifested in neglecting bodily needs or stricter asceticism. The utmost manifestation of this is what we see in the Holy Apostle Paul, “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen by race.” (Rom. 9:3) There is no longer a desire for one’s own salvation but one could wish (or pray) that he would be lost and another saved in his place.
4. Man the Target of God p. 147
5. The Engraving of Christ in Man’s Heart, p. 54
6. ibid. p. 20
7. ibid. p. 20

St. Gregory Palamas and Hesychasm

This Sunday our Church celebrates the memory of St. Gregory Palamas. He was a defender of our Orthodox faith. He is primarily known for expounding the Orthodox concept of deification. This was misunderstood and distorted by a Greek monk, Barlaam. Barlaam was well educated in the West, which considered knowledge of God a matter of intellectual reasoning. As Barlaam was perpetuating his error, St. Gregory came to the defense of the truth. He made a distinction between the unknowable Essence of God and His Energy, in Which we can participate and Which is uncreated. Through St. Gregory’s teaching we can understand the Apostle Peter’s words: “we have become partakers of the divine nature” (IIPet. 1:4).
Barlaam also misunderstood and attacked the hesychast tradition of the Church. St. Gregory again came to the rescue explaining how it assists in leading one to unite with God. So then, hesychasm is a path to the aforementioned, that is, the participation in the Uncreated energy of God, being partakers of the divine nature, which is deification. So today let us say a few words about hesychasm because by living it one obtains an entrance into the divine Life that God desires to pour out upon us.
In order to accomplish this I will refer to the “Foreword” of the book by Archimandrite Zacharias of St. John the Baptist Monastery in Essex: Hesychasm, The Bedewing Furnace of the Heart. Here the abbot of the Monastery, Archmandrite Peter writes about Hesychasm and its place in the Church as follows:

“The Lord Jesus Christ is the spiritual sun which illuminates the whole universe. In the light of His precepts, we come to know the unerring way to the Father. Through His Incarnation, He established on earth the holy Body of His Church and within her bosom He implanted monasticism as a holy root which from the first centuries of Christianity until our days has brought forth blessed fruits, our sacred and God-bearing Fathers, who have bequeathed to us the holy way of Hesychasm.
“Hesychastic prayer is the heart of the Orthodox ascetic tradition. Hesychasm is the ‘innermost body’ of the Body of the Church the ‘salt of the earth’ and the sustaining power that preserves the world.
“The essence of Hesychasm lies in the guarding of the heart from all alien influence, so that man can stand before God in ‘pure prayer’.
“In this arduous struggle, the Lord astounds the soul with the unexpected and luminous dawning of His grace in the wondrous place of the deep heart. Then it is that man is built into a temple of Divinity not made by hands, fulfilling his true destiny. By the union of mind and heart, every Christian truly finds himself in the innermost recesses of his soul and, as a God-like mind, as an immortal hypostasis, he invisibly beholds God. This contemplation enlarges the heart to embrace heaven and earth; and then the ‘true man goes out to his true work’, namely, hypostatic prayer and intercession for the whole world. Such a prayer is a sign that the image first given to man at his creation is restored in us.
“The world, the creation of our great God, is beautiful indeed; but there is nothing more marvelous than ‘the hidden man of the heart’, the true man, in the image and likeness of God.” (Hesychasm, The Bedewing Furnace of the Heart, pp.11-12)
Let us struggle then, to make this manifest within us, which is—as Archimandrite Peter continues to write—“the most desirable and sublime miracle in all creation, the union of the heart of man with the eternal Spirit of God.”
Amen!

The Veneration of Icons/Sunday of Orthodoxy

Beloved of God, in the second of the Ten Commandments we read: (Exo 20:4) “You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them.”

Both in the past and the present a literal interpretation of this, out of context, has caused many to reject the veneration of icons. During the eighth and ninth century there was a terrible persecution against those who venerated the icons. And today we celebrate the end of these persecutions and the restoration of the icons to the Church.

But let us carefully examine this commandment and see exactly what caused this problem and what was it that our Lord was prohibiting. If we want to understand this commandment it should be considered in its historical context and collated with a more detailed description which is found in the Book of Deuteronomy. Here the Lord warns:

“Beware lest you act corruptly by making a graven image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. And beware lest you lift up your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and worship them and serve them, things which the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.” (Deu. 4:16-19) If we consider the historical context, it is obvious that this commandment includes the prohibition of every variety of idolatry known to have been practiced among the Egyptians. Now let’s examine this step by step.

First the critical term which has caused much confusion: “graven image”. According to Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary (can be found at http://www.e-sword.net) the Hebrew term translated here is pesel; it is defined as, “an idol: -carved (graven) image”, the root word of this means “to carve”. In the Greek Septuagint text this word translated as “eidolon” which in English is idol. A question: Does pesel equal an Orthodox icon?

Let’s continue with a detailed examination of the prohibitions. Likenesses of male and female were mentioned. In ancient Egypt the people held a certain Osiris and his wife Isis as supreme divinities. Images of Orisis depict him as a handsome man in royal dress wearing a crown of an Upper Egypt headdress.
“The likeness of any beast that is on the earth”. “Among the Egyptians the ox was not only sacred but adored, because they supposed that in one of these animals Osiris took up his residence: hence they always had a living ox, which they supposed to be the habitation of this deity; and they imagined that on the death of one he entered into the body of another, and so on successively. This famous ox-god they called Apis and Mnevis.” 1

“The likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air”. Birds such as the stork, or crane, and hawk were objects of Egyptian idolatry. “The likeness of anything that creeps on the ground”. The crocodile, serpents, or beetle, were all objects of their adoration. “The likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth”. All fish were esteemed sacred animals among the Egyptians. One called Oxyrynchus had a temple, and divine honors paid to it. Another fish, called Phagrus, was worshipped at the city of Syene (modern day Aswan) on the Nile in Southern Egypt.

“In short, oxen, heifers, sheep, goats, lions, dogs, monkeys, and cats; the ibis, the crane, and the hawk; the crocodile, serpents, frogs, flies, and the scarabeus or beetle; the Nile and its fish; the sun, moon, planets, and stars; fire, light, air, darkness, and night, were all objects of Egyptian idolatry, and all included in this very circumstantial prohibition as detailed in Deuteronomy.” 2

Again let us hear the second commandment of our Lord:
“You shall not make for yourself an idol or graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them.”

Now when we put it into its historical context, is it at all possible to believe that the Hebrew term pesel is equal to an Orthodox icon? No, how could it be? To do so would be show a total lack of logic. So let us, with undoubted faith continue to do as today’s tropar says, “We venerate Thy most pure image, O Good One”.3 By reason of the fact that, “The uncircumscribed Word of the Father became circumscribed,…and He has restored the sullied image to its ancient glory, filling it with divine beauty. This our salvation we confess in deed and word and we depict it in the holy ikons.”4

May our Lord Jesus Christ, through the prayers of all the saints who suffered for the veneration of the holy icons have mercy on us and save us. Amen!

1. From the commentaries of Adam Clarke (British Methodist Theologian reposed 1832) on Exodus 20:4. Can be found on http://www.e-sword.net.
2. Ibid.
3. Translation as found in service books published by St. Tikhon’s Monastery.
4. The Lenten Triodion, p. 306

Abbot Niphont

In the meantime, Niphont reached an old age, having never neglected his monastic rule. And having renounced the world once, he no longer cared for things which were worldly and vain. He preferred the narrow, sorrowful way to the wide one. He came to love poverty and was an example of hard work, humility and especially non-possessiveness and chastity. He especially loved to talk to the brethren about the high merit of the last two, non-possessiveness and chastity. He exhausted his flesh with difficult feats, and his naturally weak health being exhausted by endless labors and struggle with circumstances, faded like a lantern. And the strength of his life was becoming depleted from day to day.
His simplicity tied with the spiritual wisdom and a life worth imitating, brought involuntary respect for him. He was friendly and affable in dealing with others, and along with complete non-possessiveness, he was merciful and compassionate to the poor. In a word he would not let anyone leave the monastery without having a good heartfelt memory of its Igumen. As a lover of the quiet desert life, in seeking greater progress in spiritual feats, he observed a strict fast; and prayer was his constant exercise.
He was especially loved by the Abbott of St. George Novgorod Monastery, Archimandrite Photius, who wrote admonishing, brotherly, letters to him on numerous occasions. A copy of one of these letters is offered here,

“Give me a blessing, Holy Father, forgive and pray for me a sinner with my brethren. I am asking blessings and prayers from all of your venerable brethren. I, for my part, a worthless monk, remember your love for Christ and keep it in my heart.”
“All learning is vanity, all knowledge is a dream and sorrow for the soul, if there is no piety. I have learned just one thing, that there is no better, higher life on this earth than the chaste monastic life. and that the cloisters and monasteries are in fact places of God….”
“I will also say that there is nothing sweeter and more nourishing for our souls and for the monastic life than the Holy books of the fathers and the lives of the saints.”
“St. Isaac the Syrian says that no one can learn about the kingdom of God from study, but only from the grace of the Spirit and from a life of piety.”
“Woe to us, the learned know-nothings – the teaching about Christ and a holy life – this is the treasure that cannot be stolen! Alas, just like in the beginning, so in our days the Lord prefers to catch the fishermen and simple folks into His nets, rather than the high-minded ones. Father, I know the insignificance of our scholarship, therefore I do not want to envy erudition. I have always had from the beginning of the monastic life love and advice of the elder-monks and continue with it till this day. The elders will teach me the art of life, and the art in life is most important. May you be saved, Father, rejoice, Christ is in our midst and always will be.”
“Your brother, friend and co-worker in Jesus Christ,
the unworthy monk,
Photius.”

Elder Niphont often, especially before the Holy Great Fast, admonished all of the brothers at mealtime in the spiritual endurance of all kind of sorrows. He taught how one should live at the monastery: to cut off one’s will, to pass the narrow path of the sorrowful monastic life. Sometimes in his cell he would humbly denounce one of the brothers in concordance with circumstances and the character of each.
In every possible way he tried to arouse zeal towards enduring monastic life, he genially convinced everyone to bear all of the coming afflictions. He advised everyone to have a spiritual father and engage in strict fast, and never turn back. He used to say, “If a person who is not doing any good deeds in life hopes to be saved only because he does not have grievous sins, he deludes himself. Because he, who does not care to acquire temporary blessings, justly does not get anything at all.”
The venerable elder, Igumen Niphont, having lived his life, being weighed down by the old age and illness, he felt his transition to eternity was close. Thus, he called for one or another of the brethren at times and gave them fatherly admonition from the Gospel to be zealous in monasticism, convicted to preserve bodily purity, have love for a fellow brother, to be adorned with humility, and to engage in prayer and fasting.
At the end of his life, even in his weakness. his constant occupation was prayer. He sanctified and strengthened himself with prayer. He expressed his readiness with humble boldness, to meet Jesus Christ, Who can come with glory at any time. With prayer, he passed away on March 8th, 1842, being 76 years from birth. The last farewell with the deceased Igumen, who was a true father for the brethren, was sealed with a loud cry of the monks, and all who were present at the funeral. The body was buried by the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos on the west side, next to the burial place of Abbot Ephraim, the spot, which he picked for himself. He resided at the monastery for 56 years.

Abbot Niphont (Abbot of Sarov Hermitage when St. Seraphim reposed)

The ninth Abbot of the Sarov Hermitage, Igumen Niphont was from the city of Temnikov, of a family of tradesmen. While still a youth he had a desire to devote himself to the ascetic life at the Sarov desert brotherhood. While yet a teenager he earnestly asked to be received, yet he was not permitted, because the rules of the monastery forbade the acceptance of young boys. Therefore, he unwillingly remained in the world until adulthood.
In 1787, upon reaching the age of twenty, he left the world and came to the Sarov monastery at the time of Abbott Pachomius, and was accepted into the brotherhood. From the very beginning he showed signs of complete devotion to the will of the Father Igumen by abandoning and rejecting his own will. Whatever he had acquired in the world, he put to the feet of the Superior Pachomius, surrendering himself along with it into obedience. That surprised Elder Superior, and he always paid special attention to this novice after that.
Having put on the monastic garb Basil (this was his name in the world) carried out the duties assigned to him at the monastery storeroom and on the church kliros with a special zeal, quietly and humbly. With the consent of the Abbott and the senior brethren, in respect of such a constant laborious and attentive life, Basil was tonsured a monk on June 19, 1792 with the name of Niphont. Soon afterwards, in 1793 he was ordained a hierodeacon, and a hieromonk in 1796, and was appointed a common confessor for the brethren. He bore this duty for the benefit of the brethren, giving the brotherhood a plentiful spiritual admonition.
While being a confessor he performed the services suitable for the rank of a hieromonk. In 1805 he was appointed a treasurer. In 1806 from among all of the brothers he was chosen to be Administrator by Father Superior Isaiah and confirmed by the diocesan authorities. In 1818, on March 12, he was chosen to be the Igumen of the monastery. In 1832 he was awarded a golden pectoral cross. In 1834 he was appointed a dean of two monasteries. In 1837 by His Majesty, the Emperor, following a petition of the Holy Synod he was graciously awarded a pectoral cross decorated with precious stones for the useful service for the church.
While administering the affairs of the monastery Igumen Niphont diligently followed the monastic rules conferred by the Founder. He had a special zeal for church services so that in spite of all duties of the superior in external matters there was not a single service to God conducted without him being present. His zeal for the church services to God was an example for all at the monastery. When increasing his zeal and diligence for the Lord God and His Holy Church, he added labors to labors. While wearying, he used the example of the Holy Fathers of the old to overcome fatigue as much as possible. In spite of his old age and the weakness of bodily strength, he was always the first and the last at church services—coming at the outset and attending till the very end with an ardent love for the glorification of the Most Holy name of the Lord.
Igumen Niphont himself followed strictly, and always demanded of the hieromonk on duty at the early and the late Liturgies, not to hurry into the hours, but wait until all commemorative lists for proskomedia1 were read to the end. When the commemorative lists read were close to the end, then the sacristan would come to the hieromonk on duty and ask a blessing to start reading The Hours before the Liturgy. At proskomedia several brothers would come daily and pray for the health or repose of the souls of the donors and benefactors of the monastery. On all of the days set by the Holy Church for remembrance of the reposed after the end of the morning and evening service a Litia2 for those fallen asleep would be served in in the narthex. The lists would be distributed to the chanters and the names of the souls written thereon would be quietly remembered. Additionally, every Saturday a Panikhida2 would be served for reposed brothers and benefactors of the monastery, and in general, for all those whose names were entered onto the lists for eternal remembrance.3 Thus, the commandment to pray for the reposed was always fulfilled unswervingly. Elder Niphont also set for himself a holy obligation to observe the love of wayfarers.
In thirty-five years of his administration, the Sarov cloister acquired many adornments for the churches, as well as additions for the monastery buildings, through the sole care of this Elder, with his zeal and much love for the house of God. The true sons of the monastery always found in him a father and a benefactor; and those who did not heed his fatherly voice suffered many temptations. (to be continued)

1. Proskomedia is a preparatory service before the Divine Liturgy in which the bread and wine are prepared to be sanctified. Names for commemoration are also read in this service.
2. Litia and Panakhida are services for the reposed.
3. This remembrance is done also during the unceasing reading of the Psalter, established at the monastery, with the exception of Sundays and feast days. Night and day the Psalter reading takes place for the health of the living and in remembrance of the reposed brothers and benefactors of the Sarov Hermitage. For that purpose 12 monks are selected, who read the Psalter taking turns for two hours, remembering the names of the brothers and the benefactors in between the sections of the Psalter as they are divided for Church use. If someone’s name is entered during their life, they pray for health and salvation, when a person passes away, and the monastery is informed about it, then a prayer is said for the repose.

Priest as Mediator between God and Man (conclusion)

Although I feel as though I may have said enough, and anything I add would be a counter climax, yet I will still continue and refer to St. Sophrony of Essex in England.
A short time before he reposed he expressed the following:
“The content of the Person of Christ is the self-emptying love unto the end, by which He accomplished the salvation of the world.
“Man likewise proves himself a person when he acquires love for God to the point of self-hatred, pure prayer which accompanies this, and prayer for the world similar to Christ’s prayer in Gethsemane.” (Man the Target of God, Archimandrite Zacharias, p. 147)
Fr. Zachariah comments on these words as follows:
“In this state of prayer for the world, the mind of Christ is transmitted to man and his heart is enlarged to embrace heaven and earth and to bring before God every creature. The true calling of man is become a true hypostasis, a true person in the image of Christ’s Person, a new Adam bearing in himself the whole of humanity and presenting it before God in intercession for salvation.” (ibid.)
What is it to “become a true person in the image of Christ’s Person? It is to acquire “self-emptying love unto the end” since this is “the content of the Person of Christ.” And what is “love for God to the point of self-hatred”? It is to no longer desire salvation but to “wish (or pray) that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brethren” (Rom. 9:3). Fr. Zachariah continues:
“Christ came to the earth with one desire in His heart; He prayed in Gethsemane, ascended onto the Cross and went down into the tomb so that the world should be saved. Of course, when He rose again, He rose again with the same content in His heart.” (ibid.)
As the Apostle Paul writes that God, “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (ITim. 2:4). And so, he who acquires the grace of the Holy Spirit cannot be otherwise. Let us continue with some words from the experience of St. Sophrony.
“When abundant grace touches the heart of the Christian, animated by the love of Christ acting in him,… following after Christ, becomes like Him.”
“In proportion to his strength man takes upon himself the burden of his brothers. The intensity of the pain endured in this life fills his heart with deep compassion for all who suffer. The love that feels for others is ready for sacrifice–total sacrifice–for the good of others, while at the same time sweeping the whole man up to God, mind, heart and body itself. The entire being is drawn to God in ardent prayer, weeping for people, sometimes for a particular individual, known or unknown, sometimes for all humanity since the beginning of time….
“‘To pray for the world is to shed blood.’”
“And we have seen and witnessed that Blessed Staretz Silouan, in praying for people, for the world, for all mankind, all Adam, did in this prayer lay down his life.
“Prayer like this is repentance for men’s sins, and as repentance for the whole world it means to a certain extent bearing the burdens of the world. But to have the audacity for such prayer one must first attain to a certain degree of personal repentance, since to continue to dwell in sin and passion, then instead of bearing the burdens of one’s fellow men, one lays a burden on them. To know the ‘fellowship of Christ’s sufferings’, to be a partaker with Him, we must ‘cease from sin’.” (Phil 3.10 Pet. 4.13, 4.1) St. Silouan the Athonite pp. 239-40
St. Sophrony and Fr. Zachariah are referring again and again to the same theme: Personal repentance leads to the acquisition of grace, the acquisition of grace leads to love and love leads to intercession and this intercession is universal repentance.
In a chapter in his book, His Life is Mine, titled The Prayer of Gethsemane, St. Sophrony interprets the aforementioned prayer. As he begins this chapter he writes:
“Christ’s prayer in the garden of Gethsemane is the noblest of all prayers by its virtue and its power to atone for the sins of the world. Offered to the eternal God the Father in a spirit of divine love, it continues to shine, a light that cannot be extinguished, forever drawing to itself souls that have preserved their likeness to God. Christ included the whole human race in this prayer, from the first Adam to the last man born of woman. We lack existential knowledge of such love and so its permanent significance is hidden from us. Victorious in eternity, Christ’s love in the earthly plane spells extreme suffering. No one has ever known such suffering as Christ endured. He descended into hell, into the most painful hell of all, the hell of love. This is sphere of existence, which can only be apprehended through spiritual love—how far we can penetrate the mystery depends on the measure of love that it has been granted us to know from on high. It is vital to have experienced, if only once, the heavenly fire which Christ brought with Him; to know with our entire being, what it is to be even a little like Christ.” (His Life is Mine, Archimandrite Sophrony, St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press 1977, p. 91)
In ending this chapter he concludes:
“When, as I have said, a shadow of a likeness to Gethsemane prayer is granted to him, man transcends the boundaries of his own individuality and enter a new form of being—personal being in the likeness of Christ. By participating in the sufferings of His divine love we too, in spirit, can experience a little of His death and the power of His Resurrection. ‘For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death’ (in deep prayer for the world and consuming desire for the salvation of all) ‘we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection (Rom. 6.5) When it is given to us from on high to enter this new sphere of Being, we arrive at ‘the ends of the world’ (I Cor. 10.11) and pass into the light of Divine eternity.
“And every man on whom God has bestowed the rare and dread privilege of knowing to a minute degree the agony of Christ’s prayer in the garden of Gethsemane1 will stumble on, slowly and painfully, to a cogent awareness of the resurrection of his own soul and a perception of Christ’s undeniable, ineluctable (irresistible or inescapable) victory. He will know ‘that Christ being risen from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him’ (Rom. 6.9) And his spirit within him will whisper: My Lord and my God… now, O Christ, by the gift of Thy love which surpasses understanding I, too, have crossed from death to life…” (ibid. p. 95)
This brings to mind the words of St. John the Theologian, “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren.” (IJohn 3:14) Then St. Sophrony ends with a rather bold, or we could say hyperbolic statement:
“Now—I am.” (Ibid. p. 95)

1. In his Homily 146 on the Gospel of St. Luke, St Cyril of Jerusalem similarly says that the great grief of our Lord in Gethsemane was “for Israel the firstborn, that henceforth He is not even among the servants”. (Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Luke, Studion Publishers, Inc., 1983, p.582) Likewise Gerondissa (Eldress) Makrina Vassopoulou believes that Christ suffered great pain knowing that through His Crucifixion all of mankind would not be redeemed because all would not accept him. (Words of the Heart, translation St. John the Forerunner Greek Orthodox Monastery 2018, cf. p. 323)

Priest as Mediator between God and Man (continuation)

We have talked a little about repentance, so let’s now move on to saying something about role of prayer in this. Elder Joseph the Younger (aka Joseph of Vatopeidi) in his book about his Elder, Elder Joseph the Hesychast: Struggles- Experiences – Teachings, categorizes his Elder’s teachings. In the chapter, “On Prayer”, he writes about these points I have brought up, and so he relates the following. (Note that in the quotations that follow – for the sake of greater clarity – I have paraphrased a few phrases for this particular blog. My clarifications are noted in brackets []. )
Elder Joseph writes:
“Protracted and uninterrupted prayerful attention of the heart—which is the most difficult of all ascetic exercises and struggles—produces permanent sensation within the heart. In parallel, the mind with its incessant mourning also regains its natural illumination, becoming a ‘Christ-mind’ (cf. 1 Cor. 2:16); upon which the experience of God abiding and acting within him, transports the small and limited human being to the sphere of Godlikeness. ‘I say, You are gods and sons of the Most High, all of you’ (Ps. 82:6). In consequence, as an ecumenical totality [as an all- inclusive completeness] he contains his neighbor within himself and communes with him, ‘rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep’, as the Apostle puts it.” (Rom. 12:15) (Elder Joseph the Hesychast: Struggles – Experiences – Teachings by Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi, 1999 The Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopaidi, p. 202)
In another place he relates:
“The paternal quality [characteristic] of the grace of true prayer experienced by the Elder was crowned by his communion with the suffering of all mankind, something that we saw him living out intensely and almost continuously. Many times we would see him immersed calmly in himself and he seemed not to be with us; then his expression would change, and in a sorrowful manner he would sigh gently. ‘What the matter Elder?’ we would ask out of youthful curiosity. ‘Someone is suffering children’, he would say. The confirmation of this would come a few days later, when we received a letter describing some incident that had occurred. ‘How does it happen Elder, that those who pray more are more communal that other people?’—because we could see that such people felt everyone to be their neighbor and communed with each person in a very practical way, despite the fact that these men of prayer are virtually hidden and unknown. He then gave us to understand, in his own words, the universality of prayer, the chief bearer of ecumenicity [this term is superlative and implies the bringing together of or connecting the universe]. Through prayer the unity of all in God is realized in a more perfect way as everything is brought to unity with Christ and to communion with God. Perhaps at times he somewhat lacked the power to express himself in the subtle philosophical terms of theology when speaking of these subjects which he ‘underwent’.” (ibid. pp. 200-201)

Although Joseph the Younger says, “at times he somewhat lacked the power to express himself” I believe, “the universality of prayer” is further explained in the following excerpt:

“The Elder used to tell us that the experience of love for one’s neighbor is revealed to him who prays in truth; and more specifically, ‘When grace is operative in the soul of someone who is praying, then he is flooded with the love of God so that he can no longer bear what he experiences. Afterwards this love turns toward the world and man, whom he comes to love so much that he seeks to take upon himself the whole of human pain and misfortune so that everyone else might be freed from it. In general he suffers with every grief and misery, and even for dumb animals, so that he weeps when he thinks that they are suffering. These are the properties of love, but it is prayer that activates them and calls them forth. This is why those who are advanced in prayer do not cease to pray for the world. To them belongs the continuation of life, however strange and audacious this may seem. And you should know that if such people disappear, then the end of this world will come.’” (ibid. pp. 206-7)
Here, Joseph the Younger continues:
“God as self-same consummate love [since He Himself is all love] communicates [imparts] and transmits a part of His consummate goodness to His creatures, in a manner and to a degree known to Himself. It follows as a consequence of this that the same should be done by His deified servants, who through their prayer and supplication also communicate something to the world [ impart “love”—the Greek text reads “love” in place of “something”— to the world]. The conclusion is that if love is the body, its energy and power is prayer; and the proof is that through prayer the fulfillment of love can be achieved with great success on a world-wide scale, where so many other means are powerless.”
“Abba Barsanuphius mentions in his discourses that in his generation there were three people who were able by their prayers to pacify warring nations and in general to keep the world from destruction. At other times we find that the Saints by their prayers have dispelled the threat of calamities, famines and pandemic plagues. What manner of practical contribution or personal service could bring such benefit to whole peoples and countries as does prayer? And again, the general practice of people asking others to prayer for them—is not this an indication of the priority of prayer, that prayer is the greatest surety of success?
“This also reveals the character of prayer as ecumenical [that is, it is available to all, all can participate in it, it is open to all]. Prayer alone can include within it and encompass what is far off and what is scattered, making them one (cf. John 11:22), and can bind together members that are at odds with each other, that they may recognize his neighbor as members of one another who nevertheless live separately. Prayer for human suffering in general shows love, as does prayer for the enlightenment of those who have gone astray and for their return and repentance and knowledge of God. But prayer for enemies is the climax of the rational perfection of beings in whom ‘what is mortal is swallowed up by life” (cf. 1Cor. 15:54). Those who pray for their enemies, becoming and remaining deified, reflect in their godlike character that godly property of praying ‘if it were possible, to be accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of these brethren who have wronged me!’ (cf. Rom. 9:3). This also is the last word of our Lord on the Cross, as He prays for those who have crucified Him”. (cf. Luke 23:34) (ibid. pp. 207-8)

Although Elder Joseph of Vatopaidi is speaking of a high spiritual state that few attain, we are still responsible to struggle according to our strength to advance in this direction. It is awesome and fearful to be faced with the reality of what is open to us. (to be continued…)

Priest as Mediator between God and Man (continuation)
We see some similar accounts in the life of Elder Haralampos the Abbot of Dionysiou Monastery on the Holy Mountain. He speaks of the benefit of the services of the Church and again especially the proskomedia in the Liturgy. A section of the book on his life is entitled: “The Elder as a spiritual father to clergy and to monks”. Here, it states:

“To married and unmarried clergy he imposed on them the performance of the set daily services of the Church, that is, Vespers, Compline, Matins and as far as possible more Divine Liturgies (during the week). To the excuse that people don’t go to church during the week, he answered, ‘The priest is a mediator, his work is to offer prayer and worship daily, for the flock.’” (Abbot Haralambos Dionysiatis by Monnk Joseph Dionysiatis, Athens 2004, p. 139)

Another section is headed, “The vision of the nourishment of the living—departed”. The following is related:

“Once a certain brother who was at New Skete fell into doubt, ‘We pray, keep vigil, this is well and good. But do we help others in this way, or only ourselves?’ Although he was preparing to confess this thought to the Elder, the Elder got in first and with a face that seemed deeply moved, said to the brother:

“Tonight, my child, God showed me the following frightful sight: As I was praying, it seemed for a moment that I was in a large refectory. I was standing in front of a door that looked similar to the Royal Gate of the Church. Inside, a never-ending line of people queued for food. I was like a food provedore. I could see you in that place; you were near me. You were cutting something like prosphora and bringing them to me. The other people came by in two lines, in one line were the living, in the other, the departed. I gave a piece of blessing to all and they left happy. I could see many people who were familiar to me, those who I had written both the living and the departed, on the paper for commemoration in the Divine Liturgy.”

The brother said:

“Elder, that was for me. You solved my query. Now I understand what benefit prayer has and the commemoration of names for all the people during prokomidi.”

“Since you are interested, my child, I will tell you something even more amazing about the prayer rope and my Elder’s life. My Elder had a cousin in the world. Even though she didn’t lead such a good life, the Elder loved her dearly. One day he was informed that his cousin had died and actually, not such a spiritually good death. She was pulling faces, swearing, and so on, and she was in such a state when she took her last breath. As soon as the Elder found out he started weeping. I found that strange, to have such a sensitivity and to be weeping so much. However, he understood my thought and pulled me up, ‘I am not weeping my child, because she has died, I am weeping because she has been damned.’ Nevertheless, from that day, the Elder gave himself to fasting and praying for his cousin. After quite a few days, I saw the Elder very happy and I asked him why. ‘I will tell you, my child. Having not rested all these days from praying and keeping vigil with fasting and tears for my cousin today I saw a happy and wondrous vision. As I was praying, I saw my cousin alive in front of me. She called to me with great joy, today is the day of my salvation. Today I have been saved from hell. Today I am going to heaven.’”

“Elder Joseph continued, ‘Suddenly I also saw the late Fr. George in front of me. He is a contemporary saint. I managed to meet him because he was still alive when I was in the world. He had put it in his mind, if possible to take out all the sinners from hell. Every day, he liturgized and commemorated thousands of names. Then he would go to the tombs and all day, read Trisagion prayers and memorial services for the departed. Now, I saw him in a vision and heard him saying to me with great amazement, “Well, well, until today, I thought that the dead were only saved with Liturgies and memorial services. But today, I saw and realized the damned are also saved with prayer ropes.” And again with amazement, “The people are also saved through prayer-ropes.” That vision informed me that my cousin had been saved. But God also showed me the power of the prayer-rope—that it can even take souls out from hell.’

“Elder Haralambos was deeply moved when relating this to the brother, gave the brother his blessing. Go with my blessing. See to it that you exert yourself, as much as you can, in obedience and the prayer, if you want to help yourself and others.” (ibid. pp. 136-8)

So a priest should be an intercessor for his people and really the whole race of Adam both in the services of the Church and in his private prayer. Now here is a good question to ponder: Do we automatically have this or is something we must develop? It is innate in all mankind because, as St. Sophrony recognizes, we, that is mankind, is an ontological community of being. In other words our manner of existence is communal. And it is because of this, on this basis that the more we develop love so much the more do we become intercessors.

St. Sophrony wanted his spiritual children to write on a number of subjects. One was “Development of personhood in Christ as a calling to pray for the world.” So then, we could conclude that love in a reason endowed creature in a fallen world takes the form of intercession. But we must acquire this, it becomes more manifest in us as the natural result of repentance and a strong life of prayer. So let’s first talk about repentance and then prayer. I want to start with what St. Joseph the Hesychast writes about 3 stages of grace. He writes in one of his letters:

“The spiritual life is divided into three stages, and grace acts in a person accordingly. The first stage is called purification, during which a person is cleansed. What you now have is called the grace of purification. This form of grace leads one to repentance. All eagerness that you have for spiritual things is due to grace alone. Nothing is your own. It secretly acts upon everything. So when you exert yourself this grace remains with you for a certain period of time. If a person progresses with noetic prayer, he receives another form of grace which is entirely different.”

“The second form of grace is called the grace of illumination. During this stage, one receives the light of knowledge and is raised to vision of God. This does not mean seeing lights, fantasies, and images, but it means clarity of the nous, clearness of thoughts, and depth of cognition. For this to occur the person praying must have much stillness and an unerring guide.”

“The third stage—when grace overshadows—is the grace of perfection, truly a great gift. I shall not write to you about this now, since it is unnecessary.” (Monastic Wisdom, 1998, St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery, Arizona, pp. 44-5)

So we should see that ongoing repentance is central to Christian life. We really have to admire those monastic saints who repent thoroughly and completely as described by St. Jospeh the Hesychast. And repentance in our Orthodox Church has various shades of meanings. The Greek word “metanoia” literally means a change of mind, implying what the holy Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans: “be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2). The equivalent word in Slavonic – “pokaianie” – implies to be wretched, to mourn and lament – to be filled with tears.

In conjunction with the disposition of one’s heart, and effort of free will, this “spirit of repentance” acts in varying degrees. In some people it acts temporarily according to the sins they have committed. There is confession, the resolve to change, remorse, and maybe some act of penance. However, in others this “spirit of repentance” acts systematically, remaining upon one, leading him from one degree of purification to another. Then, continuing on, this “spirit” – which is an action of the grace of God – leads one from one degree of enlightenment to another. So repentance really has no end when we consider that through it we do not merely draw near to God but we become like Him, for God is infinite.

Those who are being thus transformed become intercessors for the world. When I first came to St. Tikhon’s a young monk there made a very profound statement which could sum this up: “A monk is one who becomes like Christ so that he may become an intercessor for the world.”
(to be continued)

Priest as mediator between God and man

This was originally given as a talk at a deanery meeting of a small number of clergy. As interest has been shown to have it published. This is now being accomplished.

Priest as Mediator between God and Man

I want to begin by quoting a Greek-American priest who serves in the United States and had studied in Thessalonika in the early to mid 1980’s. While giving a talk he stated, “Here in America there is a lot of emphasis on various Church programs and external charitable works while in Greece there is stress on doing services especially the forty day liturgies that are requested.”

The programs for the edification of the faithful and charitable works certainly are needed and very good. We cannot deny that, but it is sad to see that the value of the intercessory aspect of the Church seems to be somewhat underestimated and neglected in America. This function of the Church is perhaps even thought to be non-essential, probably because most people like to see something palpable. This should not be. The Church is the Body of Christ and there are different members, with varying functions, we are all important and all are essential. All the members are needed and support one another and should respect each another.

And I believe this negligence of the intercessory aspect of the Church, points to a difference between Christianity East and West. Please bear with me as I illustrate and explain this comment: For 11 years I assisted in servicing a Greek parish 90 miles north from St. Arsenius Hermitage. There is a Western rite parish in the Antiochian Church whose property borders the Greek parish. I once went to a Vespers there and I have borrowed a service book. I look over the Liturgy which they serve and other sources of the Western rite Liturgy. One sorrowful thing is that there were no litanies either in Vespers or Liturgy and no proskomedia—this especially has great intercessory power; where we make remembrance of the living and the dead by name.
The Liturgy seemed to be an extended Eucharistic Canon with Scripture readings. The intercessory function of the priest and the whole Church at large is minimized and almost absent. Based on this, I once commented to someone: “I would feel like less than half a priest if I were to be in Western rite.” Why did I say this? Again, because the intercessory aspect of the priesthood is greatly minimized. In the Orthodox Church a priest is an intercessor and a mediator between God and the laity—specifically his parish. But here is something to think about: are we affected by the thought of the atmosphere we find ourselves in?

We can see how the intercessory function of the priesthood begins in the Old Testament with the Levitical priesthood. We read in the book of Exodus of the Lord instructing to Moses: “And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty (Exo 28:2) ….And you shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth. As a jeweler engraves signets, so shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel; you shall enclose them in settings of gold filigree. And you shall set the two stones upon the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for remembrance.” (Exo. 28:9-13)

And the Lord again commands or maybe we should say establishes the same intercessory function of the Levitical priesthood in a slightly different manner as Moses records:

“And you shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work; like the work of the ephod you shall make it; of gold, blue and purple and scarlet stuff, and fine twined linen shall you make it. It shall be square and double, a span its length and a span its breadth. And you shall set in it four rows of stones.” (Exo. 28:15-17)…”There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel; they shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes.” (Exo. 28:21)… “So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment upon his heart, when he goes into the holy place, to bring them to continual remembrance before the Lord. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.” (Exo. 28:29-30)

The apostle Paul points out the intercessory function of the high priests who inherit the position of Aaron in his epistle to the Hebrews: “For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.” (Heb. 5:1) It should be evident that it is not only Aaron, but all those of the Levitical priesthood had a calling to be intercessors for the people of Israel. We see this is the Gospel of Luke with Zachariah the father of St. John the Baptist “while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.” (Luke 1:9)

Now for us, the priesthood in the Church, is much more in that position. A few recent elders who were spiritual children of St. Joseph the Hesychast speak about this. In the book on St. Ephraim of Katounakia there is a section “About Priesthood” and this is what he says:

“When you celebrate the Liturgy you must keep in mind that you are a mediator. You remove pain, tears, illness and you lead to the throne of deity, the petitions from the congregation. You also bring consolation, cure or whatever each one has need of. God has rendered you a great office, my child. You should cultivate it. Always remember that God’s ear is the mouth of the priest.

The stole has great power. It intercedes between fallen man and his Father, his Creator. Therefore you ought to commemorate as many names as you can. As many as possible.

During the years of Turkish domination there were many priests going around from place to place. Yet there was a priest who collected names and commemorated them during Liturgy. When the Kaymakam, the Turkish officer, heard about this he said: ‘This priest is trying to incite people to mutiny.’ So he arrested the priest.

However, that very night the Turkish officer dreamed of all those people whose names the priest commemorated and they told the officer: ‘Listen to us, either you release the priest, because he prays for us and gives us comfort, or we take your first child’. This scared the Turk. Despite being the conqueror he said, ‘Go, priest go. I don’t want to lose my child’ and he set the priest free.
Great is the power the stole has my child. Great power indeed. Thus try to commemorate as many names as you can.

Fr. Arsenius, Elder Joseph’s spiritual brother, has given me some names from the time he was an immigrant from Russia and came to Greece. I commemorated them for many years. Later he said to me, ‘Elder, do you know what I dreamed? I dreamed about visiting one of the people whose name I gave you and I asked him how he was doing. “Not bad” he said, “but fortunately Father Ephraim comes and consoles us.” It was because I commemorated their names.

After this someone else said, ‘How are you doing?’

‘So-so, sometimes it rains for a while and I get cold but luckily Father Ephraim comes and comforts us’.

Then I said, ‘My brother, it is because I commemorate their names’.

Why do you think Priest Nicholas Planas became a saint? He used to commemorate lists of names. I once remembered some names; I scribbled them down and put the paper on the wall at the Proskomidi Table. After some time I dreamed of some elders of previous eras wearing old clothes. They said to me: ‘My child you wrote our names at the Proskomidi Table but the Elder does not commemorate us.’

‘Elder why don’t you commemorate these names?’ I asked him.

‘I could not see them clearly’, he replied.

‘Elder I dreamed of this: they complained to me that you didn’t commemorate their names’, I told him.

Ever since then I have always been willing to commemorate as many names as possible. The more names you commemorate the greater the reward from God. For this is the greatest charity of all: to unify man with God. It’s the greatest charity, indeed. And you can do that.” (Elder Ephraim of Katounakia, Holy Hesychasterion “Saint Ephraim” Katounakia – Mount Athos, pp. 243-5)

(to be continued…)