Lives of saints

[Ryan]

I'm wondering if folks here could recommend a good full-length hagiography or two for me to start with. Thanks!

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

I'm wondering if folks here could recommend a good full-length hagiography or two for me to start with. Thanks!

Actually a must-have for any Orthodox personal library is the 12 volume Lives of Saints (one for each month) put out by Chrysostom Press in House Springs, Missouri. So far volumes 1-6 (Sept- Feb) have been released.

Full length hagiography- many saints have the most full version in the volumes mentioned above. Otherwise just keep your eyes open at a decent Orthodox/Christian bookstore or online source like St Herman of Alaska Press. There are so many individual lives of saints available now. You just have to see over time what moves your heart.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Irene]

Hi Ryan,

Although I don't have access to many books I can recommend:
"Man of God, Saint John of Shanghai & San Francisco" Nikodemos Orthodox Publishing Society Redding California (c) 1994
"Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia, New Martyr of the Communist Yoke" by Lubov Millar,(c) 1991 pub Nikodemos also
"Beloved Sufferer, The Life and Mystical Revelations of a Russian Eldress: Schemanun Macaria" By Gennady Durasov publ: St Herman of Alaska Brotherhood St Xenia Skete (c)1995
"Elder Zosima Hesychast of Siberia" by Abbess Vera Verkhovsky publ St Herman of Alaska Brotherhood

Bishop Alexander's site has some good lives of the Saints much longer and more interesting than a lot that's online for example I clicked on the first Part of Saint John of Kronstadt's life and got up 43 pages of reading link to site here (http://www.fatheralexander.org/page12.htm) or here (http://www.fatheralexander2.org/page12.htm)

There is some Orthodox Books Online here (http://www.holytrinitymission.org/section.php?04_e#1) on various subjects such as Church history. I have to "highlight all" to read it because it the links show up as light yellow.

Hope there is something that'll interest you above :)

In Christ ...irene

[Irene]

Abba Moses's recommended reading list is available here. (http://www.abbamoses.com/readinglist.html)

[Ryan]

This is all very helpful, thank you.

[Kris]

Actually a must-have for any Orthodox personal library is the 12 volume Lives of Saints (one for each month) put out by Chrysostom Press in House Springs, Missouri. So far volumes 1-6 (Sept- Feb) have been released.


Just to add to what the reverend Father has said, there is another 12 volume Synaxarion available from the Holy Apostles Convent (http://www.holyapostlesconvent.org/HacWebStore/index.php?cPath=1_4). So far September to April is available.


I would also recommend the Life of the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos (http://www.holyapostlesconvent.org/HacWebStore/product_info.php?cPath=1_5&products_id=24), by the same publisher. It is simply brilliant.

The life of St. Seraphim, Wonderworker of Sarov (http://www.sainthermanpress.com/catalog/chapter_five/seraphim_book.htm), by Helen Kontsevitch is also well worth a look.

In XC,
Kris

[Christophoros]

One serious drawback with the Great Collection of St. Demetrius is it's age - it was written in the 17th century, and from what I'm told, hasn't been updated by Chrysostom Press (please correct me if I'm wrong). A different drawback is contained in Dormition Skete's Great Synaxaristes: it contains only the lives found in older Greek collections (meaning many Russian and other Slavic saints are missing). The only up-to-date and relatively comprehensive gathering of the lives of the saints in English is "The Synaxarion: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church", by Hieromonk Makarios of Simonos Petra Monastery, Mount Athos. It is a six volume work (two months per volume), with five volumes currently available. It isn't cheap, but still less expensive than Chrysostom Press' and Dormition Skete's offering.

In Christ,
Christopher

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

One serious drawback with the Great Collection of St. Demetrius is it's age - it was written in the 17th century, and from what I'm told, hasn't been updated by Chrysostom Press (please correct me if I'm wrong). A different drawback is contained in Dormition Skete's Great Synaxaristes: it contains only the lives found in older Greek collections (meaning many Russian and other Slavic saints are missing). The only up-to-date and relatively comprehensive gathering of the lives of the saints in English is "The Synaxarion: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church", by Hieromonk Makarios of Simonos Petra Monastery, Mount Athos. It is a six volume work (two months per volume), with five volumes currently available. It isn't cheap, but still less expensive than Chrysostom Press' and Dormition Skete's offering.

In Christ,
Christopher

I think these different collections work with different principles. Some try to keep as close as possible to the Slavonic or Greek original. Others like the Simonos Petra series collate from older editions and edit according to what are likely errors of mistaken identity or place.

Just a note about the Chrysostom Press edition. Upon comparison with the original it can be seen that certain changes were made.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Ryan]

The Holy Apostles Convent appear to be part of a "Genuine Greek Orthodox Church." What's the background on that?

[Kris]

The Holy Apostles Convent appear to be part of a "Genuine Greek Orthodox Church." What's the background on that?

Hi,

It is one of the many Greek Old Calendar churches, which broke away from the Church of Greece following the calendar reforms.

However, their lack of canonicity does not affect any of their works, and so everything they have is wholly Orthodox in its content.

In XC,
Kris

[Fr Seraphim (Black)]

Personally I find the reading of the lives of Saints to be one of the very best ways of spiritual nourishment. Whether ancient or contemporary, they inspire one to keep trying, to keep putting our shoulder to the plough.

The other, is prayer for others, and that is why, I personally find the Monachos 'prayer request' so important.

Regarding books on the lives of Saints, or saintly persons (eg. Joseph the Hesychast, Ephraim of Katounakia, etc) it can be often a personal selection which fits in with one's spiritual state at the moment and changes with one's own personal struggle.

In my own life I was lead to Father Sophrony and then Staretz Silouan (now canonized) by a circular route. The original English edition of Staretz Silouan ('The Undistorted Image') was loaned to me by the Abbot of a Syrian Orthodox (Jacobite) Monastery in India in the early '70's, who had shared a pilgrims' quarters with Father Sophrony in Jersualem in 1961.

Thus, for me, the most beneficial 'life' of a Saint is 'Saint Silouan the Athonite' by Archimandrite Sophrony.

By God's grace I have read, or during trapeza have listened to the vast majority of the books listed above.

The books recommended by Father Raphael and Irene deserve special notice.

I once had the book on St. John (Maximovitich) but an (overly) pious Romanian nun borrowed the book and never returned it!

For those drawn to the monastic life I cannot over-recommend the two volume set: 'Contemporary Ascetics of Mount Athos' by Archimandrite Cherubim (Karambelas), published by the St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood.

Truly, God is glorified in His Saints.

(I was hoping there would be a 'spell-checker', but alas I do not see one - please forgive any typos - to this date my health hinders my ability to properly participate in Monachos.)

[Olga]

Fr Seraphim

Which of the books on St John of San Francisco did you have which was never returned to you? Was it Blessed John, or Man of God?

[Fr Seraphim (Black)]

Dear Olga,

It was a volume published by the St. Herman Brotherhood, Platina, California. It began with a Vitae Prima by Fr. Seraphim (Rose) and then continued with accounts of miracles by his disciples - a most inspiring book. The middle section contained black and white photos.

Actually, I forget the title. But it was a marvellous account of a truly astounding Saint of our times.

I hope it has been a great blessing to the nun and her sister nuns who read English!

[Fr. Andrew Kencis]

I'm wondering if folks here could recommend a good full-length hagiography or two for me to start with. Thanks!

Another good start would be the following new series just published here is the message we just sent out and you can download a chapter for review on our site:

On November 1st of this year the Orthodox world will be remembering the 25th*anniversary of the Glorification of the New Martyrs of Russia. "With the appearance and consolidation of God-fighting Communism in Russia, there began a persecution of the faith unheard of in its cruelty and broad scale. As one Church writer has defined it, Orthodox Russia has been on Golgotha, and the Russian Church on the Cross ....The Russian Church and people have given an uncounted multitude of cases of the martyric endurance of persecutions and death for faith in Christ...not merely hundreds or thousands, but millions of sufferers for faith--an unheard of and shocking phenomenon!" (from the epistle of blessed Metropolitan Philaret*"Orthodox Russia" 6/14/81) (for the full epistle see*http://www.roca.org/OA/11/11d.htm)

Our present work was begun in 1993, with the goal to catalog*from every region of Russia as many lives of these New Martyrs as possible. It has been through numerous* revisions as new*information and sources have either added to or*confirmed previous material. Several of the lives have been printed over the years in various publications of the Russian Church Abroad. In 1999, the compiler Vladimir Moss had given the rights and materials to Monastery Press with the hope to see the entire work (which at present exceeds 6000 pages) published as a whole. During the entire process of getting this work to print the*compiler has been*sending updated information. Indeed, even the last week of pre-press work information was coming in... the result is the most complete and up-to-date collection in any language of the lives of the New Martyrs of Russia. As one reviewer has stated to the literary announcement lists:*

"The author, distinguished Orthodox Church historian Vladimir Moss, assembled this account of Russia's new martyrs from primary sources including interviews with relatives and acquaintances of the martyrs, and from the martyrs' own conversations and writings. Much of this material has never been published in English or Russian before.

The result is a moving and highly readable book that represents an historic event in the documentation of Orthodox Church history and the history of 20th-century Russia. The text includes an extensive introduction and explanatory footnotes for the benefit of readers who may not be intimately familiar with the historical background of the new martyrs' stories.

*For scholars, an especially valuable element of The Russian Golgotha is the extensive bibliography, which provides a much-needed listing of resources for research on the new martyrs and on Orthodox Christianity in Russia during the Soviet years."


http://www.monasterypress.com/russiangolgotha.html