Scattered pine cones in the snow

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

"The devil does not hunt after those who are lost; he hunts after those who are aware, those who are close to God. He takes from them trust in God and begins to afflict them with self-assurance, logic, thinking, criticism. Therefore we should not trust our logical minds. Never believe your thoughts. Live simply and without thinking too much, like a child with his father. Faith without too much thinking works wonders. The logical mind hinders the grace of God and miracles. Practice patience without judging with the logical mind." -Elder Paisios (+1994)
For those who wish to bring peace to their hearts & minds after suffering through the storms of life: (and have speakers for their PC) http://www.abc.net.au/classic/audio/#ftgws
Go to : "For the God Who Sings" with Kay McLennan.
In Christ- Fr R

[Daniel Jeandet]

Thanks Father Raphael.

I needed that Elders Holy words right now.

I have been listening to music lately, and making some as well. Have you heard the music of Arvo Part? He is an Orthodox composer. He wrote a piece called "Fratres". When I first heard it I got tears in my eyes, not emotional tears or sad ones, tears like a person flying through space who has never seen stars before. I will get this track to you somehow.

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

From the Synaxarion for the Thursday of the Great Canon: Through the Canon, St Andrew of Crete, "encourages all Christians to have recourse to God through repentance, tears, and confession, and all else that is pleasing to Him. This Canon is so lengthy & melodious that it is able to soften even the hardest soul and to move it to take up good works again, if only it is chanted with a contrite heart & due attention.
St. Andrew composed the Great Canon at the same time that St. Sophronios (comm.March 11)- that great Patriarch of Jerusalem- wrote the life of St. Mary Of Egypt. This biography also excels in infinite compunction and gives much comfort to those who have erred and sinned, if only they wish to cease from what is evil.
Thus, these two compositions were joined together from the beginning as texts of repentance. They were ordained to be chanted and read on this day at Matins for the following reasons: Great Lent is nearing its conclusion, and lest people become lazy and careless about spiritual endeavours and cease entirely from exercising self-restraint in all things, the great St. Andrew, like an athletic trainer, prepares the weary to be more courageous and to forge ahead manfully to the end of the contest of the Fast."
As we attend this holy service tonight my dear brothers & sisters of the Monachos community, may we who are physically scattered to all points of this earth, be united in that true bond of Christ-like love.
In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Dear Daniel,
Thank you for your post- yes please let me know about Arvo Part and get the track to me if possible. The Holy fathers I have read somewhere said that music speaks closest to the soul. I find that when the mind and heart need to rest music(usually classical) is of great help.
But then there is your enigmatic question, "at what point does music fall short of its purpose?"
I guess it depends to begin with what was the purpose of the composer? But again just to try to repeat from the same book I was referring to about music & the Holy Fathers- music (ie: non-Church music) can be something that with its beauty leads us to the source of Beauty (God); but it still does not bring us before God Himself for only the Church can do that.
Fr R

[Matthew Panchisin]

Dear Daniel and Father Rapheal,

During lent while painting I often listen to Avro Part Kanon Pokajanen Canon of Repentence to our Lord Jesus Christ It is soul shaking shaking music that often leaves listeners with no words and no silence.

It seems you can purchase the CD at walmart online along with other Arvo pärt compostions. It is sung in Church Slavonic and the CD comes with a booklet with English, French and German translations. Here is a link that you can hear several track listenings at the bottom of the page.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=867908&cat=23005&type=4&dept=4104&path=0%3A4104%3A4124%3A5121%3A23005

Here is the text on part of the introduction.

On the Threshold to Paradise

The Kanon pokajanen by Arvo pärt is based on the canon of repentance, which already appears in the earliest Church Slavynic manuscripts. St. Andrew of Crete (c.660-740n AD), whose main composition is the well-known Great Canon, is also credited with having written this work. In the Greek-Russian Orthodox Church, the canon is part of the morning office, whose message is the appearance of Christ in the world. One rises to meet the coming of Light, which will later shine in full glory in the liturgy. In monasteries, the canon is still sung at the break of day; in parish churches, however, it is now sung the preceding evening.

The canon is a song of change and transformation. In the symbolism of the church, it inokes the border between day and night, Old and New Testament, old Adam and new Adam (Christ), prophecy and fulfilment, the here and the hereafter. Applied to a person, it recalls the border between human and divine, weakness and strength, suffering and salvation, mortality and immortality. The symbolic reference to borders is especially powerful what the canon is sung in church. We may picture it as follows: The canon is heard in the nave, barely illuminated by the flickering candles, while the door to the sanctuary still remains closed. As soon as the canon has come to an end, this entrance, the "door to paradise" or the "royal door", as it is called, opens. The church is filled with light, signifying the presence of Christ.

In the canon of repentance, the text is devoted to the theme of personal transformation. Repentance appears as a necessary threshold, as a kind of purification on the way to salvation in paradise. This borderline situation is a challenge to the human soul. The soul is underway, and the difficulty of following stanzas, that is, between the praise of the Lord and the lamentation of one's own weakness. The desire to find a link between these levels is expressed in the brief words of the refrain. Thus the canon of repentance becomes the lamentation of Adam, who is weeping at the closed door to paradise, repenting of his sins and imploring Christ for redemption, that is, for admission into the lost Paradise.

In Christ,

Matthew P.

[Melissa]

What beautifull music! Thanks to those of you who brought it to our attention.
Melissa

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Yes I became so curious abour Arvo Part I went to some websites about him and then purchased two CDs: Fratres & Passio. Did someone say he is Orthodox? None of the info I looked through stated this. However a lot of the material certainly is from the Orthodox Church.
Fr R

[Matthew Panchisin]

Dear Father Raphael,

Here is part of an interview pertaining to your inquiry.

After the rehearsal I was able to spend some time with Arvo and Nora Pärt. Pärt himself is as ‘present’ as his music; his deep, dark Slavonic eyes pierce you as sharply as any of his religious works. We discussed my intentions to write about the ‘philosophy’ behind his music. "‘Philosophy’? He has none", his wife cut in sharply in broken English, "he learns everything from the old Church Fathers." To really understand his music, she continued, you must first understand how this religious tradition (Eastern Orthodoxy) flows through him. Her husband agreed: I was therefore invited to spend a day with the Pärt’s at the Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist, Tolleshunt Knights, Essex the following week.

Mr Pärt met me from the station, and we spoke of my work on Nikos Kazantzakis (whom Pärt clearly disliked for being too ‘unorthodox’) whilst we drove to his house in Essex. For the first couple of hours we discussed my proposed book, eating strawberries and drinking tea whilst being watched closely by the numerous severe-looking icons that decorate his sitting-room.


One of the churches at the Stavropegic Monastery
of St. John the Baptist

Despite the obvious language barrier (I do not speak Estonian; Mr Pärt’s English is commendable but limited), it was also apparent that there were further barriers to overcome if my project was to be given the green light. We talked philosophy, theology and music, but Mr Pärt was visibly uncomfortable and nervous. Any book about him, he claimed, must begin with the substance of music itself - the arrangement of the notes. It is from this musical epicentre that everything else must radiate. "If anybody wishes to understand me", he continued, "they must listen to my music; if anybody wishes to know my ‘philosophy’ then they can read any of the Church Fathers; if anybody wishes to know about my life, then there are things that I wish to keep closed…unlike our friend John [Tavener]!" It was clear that my proposed project was running into difficulties before he suggested that we headed for the monastery.

The Stavropegic Monastery of St. John the Baptist is home to around 25 monks and nuns. It was established under the spiritual guidance of Archimandrite Sophrony, who died in 1993. Sophrony had arrived on Mount Athos in 1925 and entered the Russian Monastery of St. Panteimon where he began scribbling down the teachings of his elder St. Siluoan. Many of his works are to be found in the monastery bookshop. The monastery itself is a mixture of richly ornate old timber buildings that blend beautifully with newer, more modern constructions. The monks and nuns spend their day in prayer, icon-painting, and in the general upkeep of the monastery. A large section of land enables them to grow various fruits and vegetables, and thus remain largely self-sufficient.

When showing me around the monastery, Pärt’s demeanour visibly changed. He came to life again, like he was during the rehearsal of Miserere, prowling cat-like from one icon to the next as he explained to me their origin and symbolism. He was clearly relieved to have left the ‘intellectual’ atmosphere that we had created earlier, and to breath instead a more ‘spiritual’ and aesthetic air. I was even treated to a duet by Pärt and his wife in one of the Churches.

At 5.00 p.m. the bells called all the monks and nuns to eat (as it was Lent, this was their only meal of the day). After a monkish chant that seemed to be taken straight from one of Pärt’s works, we ate our simple meal of olives and pulses in silence, listening to a reading from the teaching of Johannes Climacus. Humbleness prevailed. Soon afterwards Arvo and Nora Pärt presented me with a gift: Archimandrite Sophrony’s spiritual biography of "Saint Siluoan the Athonite." We talked no more of my own proposed book; it just didn’t seem appropriate in the surroundings.

As I left the monastery and made my way slowly home, I recalled Pärt’s words and decided to put my book project on hold for the time being: "If anybody wishes to understand me, they must listen to my music; if anybody wishes to know my ‘philosophy’, then they can read any of the Church Fathers; if anybody wishes to know about my private life, there are things that I wish to keep closed."

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Sessional Hymns from Monday in the 6th Week-Matins (today):"Rolling away the stone of hardness from my heart, raise up my soul that is slain by the passions, O loving Lord, and count me worthy in compunction to bring palms of virtue to Thee the Victor over hell, So may I obtain eternal life, singing praises of Thy power and thy compassion, for Thou lovest mankind."
"As we set out upon the sixth week of the Fast, let us sing to Christ a hymn in preparation for the feast of Palms. He comes for our skae seated on the foal of a donkey, that as King he may subdue the wild & unruly nations to His Father. Let us all make ready for Him branches of the virtues, that with rejoicing we may see His Resurrection."
and finally this beautiful tropar from the Matins Canon (9th Ode): "Slain by my many sins, I am imprisoned in the tomb of negligence, and upon me lies the stone of despair. Remove it in Thy mercy, O Christ, and raise me up as once Thou hast raised Lazarus."
Also many thanks to M-A Jackson Roberts for your many & helpful musical suggestions.
PS: Do you or anyone else know if Sir Peter Ustinov who has reposed (whom I am told was a distant relation to Vladyko Vitaly Ustinov) was in any way faithful to the Orthodox Church?
PPS:As I was about to send this post hurtling thru internet space I was stopped by a message that read ERROR & told I (we ) are not allowed to use the word "A-S" on this discussion board. I thought Sir Peter would have found this quite humourous as the intended word referred to the animal that Christ rode into Jerusalem and not any of the two-legged variety (like myself) that are seen from time to time.
In Christ- Fr R

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

"Yesterday & today Lazarus is sick, and his sisters make it known to Christ. Prepare thyself with joy, O Bethany, to welcome as thy guest the Lord & King, and to cry aloud with us: O Lord, glory to Thee." (Sessional Hymn-Matins-Tuesday)
"See now, see that I am God, who when I was dwelling on the far side of the Jordan heard that Lazarus was sick, and I said: 'He will not die, but this is for My glory." (2nd Ode-Matins Canon-Tues)

[M A Jackson-Roberts]

Dear Father Raphael,

in response to yor query regarding the late Sir Peter Ustinov, I would hazard a strong guess that he was not an affiliate of the Orthodox church, as his grandfather was a Protestant and was exiled from Russia when he refused for that reason to take an Orthodox oath whilst in the service of the Czar.



seeker

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

"Today dead Lazarus is buried, and his sisters sing in lamentation: but Thou, in Thy divine foreknowledge, hast predicted what should come to pass. 'Lazarus sleeps', Thou hast prophesied to Thy disciples, 'but now I go to raise up him whom I created.' Therefore we all cry to Thee: Glory to Thy mighty power." (2nd Sessional Hymn, Matins- Wednesday)
"Roll back from my humble soul, O Christ the Word, the heavy stone of grievous slothfulness, and raise me from the tomb of insensitivity, that I may glorify Thee." (Matins Canon-Ode 8-Wed)

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

"Lazarus has been dead now for two days, and his sisters Martha & Mary shed tears of grief for him, gazing at the stone before his tomb. But the Creator has come with His disciples, to despoil death and bestow life. Therefore let us cry to Him: O Lord, glory to Thee." (2nd Sessional Hymn-Matins- Thursday)
"Seeing Thee draw near, O Christ, death begins to be afraid. For Thou, Who art Life, shalt banish him to the ends of the earth." (Ode 4- Matins Canon)
"O compassionate Lord, at the full completion of the Fast fill our hearts and minds with joy, through the prayers of Thine apostles who loved Thee with sincerity, O Saviour of our souls." (Ode 9- Matins Canon)

[Melissa]

Father Raphael,
Bless,
Thank you for guiding us through these days with the readings you post - I look forward to them.
Melissa

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

"Behold, Christ makes ready to enter Jerusalem. Let all who dwell as solitaries in the mountains and the desert assemble together and come to meet Him, sharing in the joy of the whole world." (Fri. Matins- Ode 5)
"Having completed the forty days that bring profit to our soul, we beseech Thee in Thy love for man: grant us also to behold the Holy Week of Thy Passion, that in it we may glorify Thy mighty acts and Thine ineffable dispensation for our sakes, singing with one mind: O Lord, glory to Thee." (Friday Matins-Aposticha;Glory)
The wording of this stichira is interesting, "Having completed the forty days..." If you count from the first day of Great Lent you will see that sure enough this day - Friday of the 6th Week- is the 40th day. In a sense from here we enter a different spiritual time & space: Lazarus Saturday which prefigures the general resurrection of mankind; then Palm Sunday which is Christ's Entry into Jerusalem.
The next three days (Monday-Wednesday) form a distinct "block of time" in which we hear Christ preaching to the people often about the End Times & about being prepared for the Kingdom; we can also see this liturgically: on these three days the Presanctified Liturgy is served & the Prayer of St Ephraim is said.
After the Presanctified on Wednesday at which the Prayer of St Ephraim is said for the last time there is a sudden change of tone- we are now beginning the events leading to Christ's Passion & Resurrection beginning with Matins on Thursday morning (or Wednesday night); this shift is also reflected in distinct liturgical practices for each day which differ from the previous three days.

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

"But aside from physical death there is also spiritual death. It happens thus: a sinful thought passes through our mind and incites in us a sinful feeling, but the soul comes to its senses, cries out to the Lord in repentance, and the Lord extends His hand as to the daughter of Jairus and says: O soul, arise! And once again life goes on joyfully. But it may also happen that we do not come to our sense in time, and sin enters our souls more deeply, but even then, through the prayers of the Church, our soul can still rouse itself, can repent, and the Lord will say to us as he did to the son of the widow of Nain: O soul, I say unto Thee arise! And our soul will come alive again and will be granted salvation.
But what is to be done if sin enslaves our soul completely, covers it as though with a huge burial stone, and turns into a passion which becomes sinfully malodorous as in the case of Lazarus? What do we do then? In this case we have great need of confession, the sacrament which has been established by the Lord Himself. Look at how it is reflected in the resurrection of Lazarus. Lazarus could not leave the burial cave by himself becase it was covered by a huge stone. He could not even walk properly, because he was bound hand and foot by the grave-clothes. And at this point Christ said to His disciples: loosen him. Applied to us this means that the Lord commands the clergymen, who have received the gift of the Holy Spirt in the sacrament of ordination, to absolve our sins which bind us hand and foot. What joy for us! For death is not the cause, but only the result or consequence of sin. And Christ is also the conqueror of sin, and together with it of death itself. Let us trimphantly proclaim: hosannah in the highest! Amen."
Homily for Lazarus Saturday from, "The One Thing Needful", by Archbishop Andrew of Novo-Diveyevo
(obtained from Orthodox church list)

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Synaxarion for Holy & Great Thursday: "Afterwards, Jesus revealed more perfect and sublime teaching to His Disciples, and when night fully came, in the Upper Room, He handed over the Mystery of our Passover. Thus, it is said that He reclined at supper with the Twelve. Notice that this was not the Passover of the Old Law, because He both reclined and gave a supper of bread and drink. Under the Old Law, the Jews stood, with girded loins and walking staffs in hand during the meal. There all things crumbled away through Fire, including the use of unleavened bread. Before He began to eat (thus says the divine Chrysostom), He rose from supper, laid aside His garments, and poured water into a basin in preparation for the Washing of the feet. He did these things both to shame Judas and to remind the other Disciples that it is not right to seek the first place. Similarly, after the washing, He exhorted them by saying that he who wishes to be first must be last of all, showing Himself as an example. It seems that Christ first of all washed Judas, who most presumptuously sat first in line, and last He came to Peter. Since Peter was more high-spirited than the others, he prevented the Teacher, but when at the same time he heard from the Lord that if Christ did not wash his feet he would have no part with the Lord, he yielded quite readily.
So our Lord Jesus Christ washed the feet of the Disciples and showed a paradoxical exaltation through humility. He took His garments again and leaned back and exhorted and entreated them that they love one another and not seek the first place."

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Synaxarion Holy Friday: "Then the ungrateful Jews, not being able to tolerate seeing the bodies on the crosses, since it was the great day of the Passover, asked Pilate that the legs of the condemned might be broken so that death might come more quickly. They broke the legs of the thieves, since they were still alive and, coming upon Jesus, as soon as they saw that He was already dead, they refrained from breaking His legs. One of the soldiers, doing a favor for the ungrateful ones, took his spear and pierced the right side of Christ, and immediately there flowed forth blood & water. On the one hand, the outpouring was as from a man, and on the other hand on behalf of mankind; that is, the blood, for the sake of the Holy Communion of the divine sanctified elements, and the water, for the sake of Holy Baptism. In fact, this two-fold fountain constitutes the foundation of the Holy Mysteries for us."