We are glad to welcome you to the official website of the Transfiguration of our Lord Russian Orthodox Church, located in the city of Baltimore, the state of Maryland, USA. The church belongs to the original Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) and has as its goal the preservation of the spiritual traditions and the treasure of church services of ancient Russian Orthodoxy.

We invite you to acquaint yourself with our church and our parish, to see our small but wondrous iconostasis, to hear our modest choir. When visiting our online Orthodox library, you will be able to acquire deeper knowledge of the Orthodox faith through the spiritually-enlightening materials that are contained therein. These materials are printed in our church bulletins, which are issued monthly in both Russian and English. You are also very welcome to visit our church in person.

On the second Sunday after Pascha the Church commemorates the holy Myrrh-bearing Women – those extraordinary women whose burning love and devotion to Christ surpassed even that of His closest disciples, who fearfully sat behind locked doors while the women, bearing aromatic myrrh, fearlessly went out early in the morning, while it was still dark outside, to the tomb of Christ, where they were the first to hear the joyous news of Christ’s Resurrection and later to see the resurrected Christ Himself.

At first glance it may seem that this narrative concerning the myrrh-bearing women simply describes a historical moment in Christ’s life on earth, while the women themselves are presented to us by the Church as a symbol of love and devotion to Christ. But that is only partly true. In reality the holy women are a most concrete example to us of how to live and act in our own times.

You may well ask: what is there in common between our time and that of the myrrh-bearing women? Nearly 2,000 years have passed, and the world has seemingly changed to such an extent that it is unrecognizable: from a fairly simple life in the time of Christ we have evolved into a veritable maze of progress and technology. What can there be in common?

However, if we look closely, we will see that only the outward form of life has changed, while the inner form of our modern life is amazingly similar to those days of which we hear in the Gospel. Just as then, 2,000 years ago, Jerusalem was ruled by pagans, so now we see the whole world ruled by neo-paganism, which exhibits itself in all the manifestations of the human spirit: culture, morality, the arts, interpersonal relations. Just as then the scribes and Pharisees kept the Jewish people fettered and distanced from God by means of an elaborate system of rituals supposedly prescribed by the law of Moses, so now the descendants of these Pharisees fetter all people and keep them away from God by the force of so-called public opinion, which mocks and denigrates religion and morality.

Just as then the scribes and Pharisees abused, reviled, and spat at Christ, so now their descendants abuse and revile Christ through unspeakable blasphemy in the arts and literature, through mockery of Christ in print, through the brainwashing of young minds into godlessness and atheism. Just as then the pagan Roman soldiers crucified Christ, so now all peoples, having embraced neo-paganism, crucify Christ with their horrible sins, especially apostasy and sodomy.

Just as then the Apostle Peter renounced Christ “for fear of the Jews,” as the Gospel tells us, while the other disciples ran away and hid, so now many timorous Christians renounce their faith, while Christian churches, for the same fear of the Jews, betray Christ by becoming modernized and embracing ecumenism, where they give up their positions and negotiate with Christ’s persecutors and with the pagans.

Then, at the dawn of Christianity, small groups of faithful followers of Christ, who were the very first Christians, gathered in Jerusalem: these were all who had been healed by Christ; these were the newly-resurrected Lazarus with Mary and Martha and all who had witnessed the great miracle; these were all who believed in Christ as the Messiah. In our times, too, in the twilight of Christianity and human history, in our world lying in iniquity, there are similar small groups of Christ’s faithful followers: these are all true Orthodox Christians who have not embraced modernism, who have not perverted their faith, who have not entered into dealings with heretics and apostates.

And against this background we see before us the shining example of the myrrh-bearing women, indicating to us a specific course of action, indicating to us concretely how we – the last Christians – should live within the environment of apostasy which surrounds us.

Like the myrrh-bearers, we should not be afraid to step out into the darkness of the surrounding world, carrying with us the fragrance of good deeds, faith, love, and devotion to Christ. Like the myrrh-bearers, we should hurry to the tomb of Christ, which in our case is the church, and we should openly confess our faith without fearing mockery from those around us.

The myrrh-bearers were undaunted by the great stone which barred the entrance into the tomb; so should we cast off the great stone of worldly busyness which prevents us from going to church. The myrrh-bearers were undaunted by the thought of the Roman soldiers guarding the tomb; so should we disperse all our sinful passions, which tie us down to worldly vanities and bar our way to church.

In this manner, if we follow the wondrous example and the actions of the myrrh-bearing women, – we too, coming to church as they once came to the tomb of Christ, will hear the joyous news that…

This Sunday’s commemoration is dedicated to the paralytic in the Gospel, who was healed of his long-term illness by the Saviour at the pool of Bethesda.

For thirty-eight years this unfortunate man lay near the healing waters of the miraculous pool and sharply felt his bitter loneliness, since he had no man who could immerse him in the pool in the rare moments of the miraculous troubling of the water.

And now the Saviour of the world, Who had come to illuminate the world with the rays of truth and love, personally stretched out His mighty hand to the exhausted paralytic, healed him of his burdensome illness, and proved to be for him that “man” whom the latter could not find for such a long time.

The Gospel is the book of life that reflects our life on its holy pages. In this lies its power, its viability, its eternal and living instructiveness. Everything that is written in the Gospel has been taken from life. And especially significant in this sense is the story of the presently-commemorated paralytic at Bethesda. “I have no man…” How often, and particularly in the current conditions of our spiritually and materially exacerbated life, do we hear this complaint, this cry.

Man remains alone… Life has gone ahead in some other direction. Scientific progress and its practical application in life have not brought happiness to mankind. Naturally we see both children and stepchildren in life, – and there are more of the latter of course. At a time when serums and inoculations that are able to save mankind from physical ills and maladies are being created in the world’s laboratories, millions of people perish both morally and physically, abandoned by all, rejected by all, finding themselves outside the boundary of scientific benefits. Moreover, man’s creative genius has lost the comprehension of true good, and the hour is approaching when all human achievements will be used to wreak horror and destruction. (This was prophetically spoken on the eve of World War II.) Such is the world that has been left “without a man.”

And in these days, when the shepherds are being smitten and the sheep are being scattered, the holy Church firmly offers for our edification the image of the paralytic, who lived in bitter solitude for thirty-eight years and who finally found a “man” in the person of the Saviour of the world – the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ’s flock is not large or numerous, but it has remained faithful to the Heavenly Bridegroom and serves Him in spirit and truth. And it is these loyal sheep of Christ who today should remember the words of the Divine Lamb: “Fear not, little flock! For it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what ye have, and give alms. Provide yourselves a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:32-34).

Thus, O Christian, always try to be a man for other men and then, being loyal in small things, you shall be placed over many, and even here in life will enter into the joy of your Lord.

It was noticeable that all those who had come to seize Jesus were in the grip of an unusual kind of fear, for they knew with whom they were dealing – with the greatest of Miracle-workers! There had already been examples where fire from heaven burned up the military commanders and their detachments that had been sent to seize the prophet Elias; therefore, although they saw Judas’s kiss and knew well whom to seize, they were still bewildered as to how to proceed, – no one wished to become the first to be subjected to heavenly wrath, and so all stood immobile. Then the Lord Himself approached them and asked: “Whom do you seek?” – “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied to Him. “It is I,” the Lord said to them in a louder voice, and all those who stood before Him ran backward and fell to the ground. Such was the extraordinary power present in even the meekest words of the Lord! And it is not to be wondered at. If even His disciples sometimes felt such power within themselves that they once wished to bring down fire from heaven to burn whole villages for not accepting their Teacher, then what could not have been done to those who had come to take Him to His death, had not the Lord been merciful to His enemies. And now He simply wished to show them that He Himself was giving Himself up, and that without His will they could not have done anything to Him at all. For here was only a word from Him: it is I, – and all enemies were thrown down to the ground.

After that the Lord’s power, which had thrown His enemies down to the ground, left them, in order for them to be able to do what they wished. The armed soldiers, together with the more insolent servants, began to surround Jesus and His disciples, intending to seize them also. Then the Lord asked once again: “Whom do you seek?” – And again they replied to Him: “Jesus of Nazareth.” – “It is I,” the Lord again said them meekly; “if you are looking for Me, let them be, let them go.” And thus was fulfilled a prophecy that had been said on His behalf: “Of those whom Thou had given Me, I have not lost a single one.”

The Scriptures also mention the assembly of high priests and elders, who had apparently arrived some time after their servants. The Lord, holding out His hands to be bound, says to the high priests surrounding Him: “Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves to take Me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on Me, but now this is your hour and the power of darkness. All this was done that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled.” With these words the Lord, like a light shining in a dark place, still tried to illuminate with the light of God’s truth the hearts of those who were obscured by evil. And this shows how the Saviour was always concerned with the salvation of all, even His enemies. But the darkness of disbelief covered the hearts of those who hated the light of truth, and neither the power of the Lord’s words, nor His instruction, nor anything else made them come to their senses and instilled the fear of God in them.

The disciples, seeing their Teacher already bound, became frightened and decided to all run away. The soldiers and the servants then led their Prisoner into the city of Jerusalem, which had erstwhile slaughtered its prophets and was now preparing to add to the measure of its bloodshed.

Accompanying our Lord now in spirit, we must weep and thank Him Who so loves us and has given Himself up for us. For who can have greater love than the one who gives up his soul for his friends? Let us also think of His enemies, of why they, even seeing all the great miracles that He had worked before them, did not believe in Him? All those who think that the Lord establishing His kingdom on earth are far from His kingdom. The Jews serve as the foremost example of this, since their general belief about Christ was that He would be their Saviour not from sins and eternal torment, but from temporal misfortunes. They imagined Him as a king and a great conqueror on earth, who would rule over all the people on earth; they expected Him to shower the sons of Israel with immeasurable riches, endow them with grand estates, and make them the happiest people on earth. With such a false belief, what were they to think when the Saviour of the world arrived not with a sword in hand, but with great meekness preaching to them of repentance, of abandonment of sin, and at the same time of renunciation of worldly goods which lead people to sin? Could they accept as king the One Who brought comfort only to the poor, the weeping, the persecuted, Who taught endurance of insult, deprivation, and sorrow? This is why they began all together to reject the kingdom of Christ, as the Lord said to them in the parable. At the same time, their leaders decided to seize Christ as Someone Who taught people not in accordance with their concepts and Who destroyed the well-being of their earthly lives. Such was the source of their enmity towards God and His Christ!

Let us now direct our spiritual gaze toward the Divine Prisoner, Who was first brought to the old high priest Annas, father-in-law of Caiaphas, who headed the Sanhedrin at that time. The decrepit old man was pleased to see in fetters the One Whom for such a long time they had tried to capture. As though knowing nothing at all about His teaching, Annas demanded an explanation from Him – for what reason did He gather His disciples and what did He teach them? – wishing to condemn Him for this as an agitator and disturber of civil peace. But the righteous Lord replied to the unjust judge: “I spoke openly to the world; I always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort, and in secret have I said nothing. Why askest thou Me? Ask them which heard Me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I sad.” Such an answer, based upon absolute truth, should have served as the best response to the lawless judge; however, it was quite abhorrent to Him. Seeing this, one of the servants immediately struck Jesus on the cheek, saying: Answerest Thou the high priest so? But the One Who taught people to love their enemies could have endured an even greater insult, for our Lord is long-suffering and most-merciful, as the Scriptures say of Him. And here He showed this in reality, having refrained from commanding the earth to open up and swallow the iniquitous one, as the meek Moses had done in a similar case; nor did He destroy him with heavenly fire, as the prophet Elias had done many times. But – O, greatest of miracles – the Son of God endures being struck by His most iniquitous creation and merely asks the wicked servant meekly: why smites thou Me? If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil, but if well, why smites thou Me? – It would seem that such words, full of peace and truth, could have touched even petrified hearts, but here they had no effect whatsoever; after the interrogation Annas sent the bound Jesus to the high priest Caiaphas, where by this time the entire Sanhedrin had already gathered.

This iniquitous assembly of 70 members was looking for false testimony against Jesus that could serve to put Him to death, since the impious ones wanted to give their trial an appearance of lawfulness, and for this reason the hypocrites immediately began searching for perjurers who could say at least something against Him that would warrant His execution. At the same time, another event took place in the courtyard of the high priest Annas that was just as unpleasant for a soul which loved truth and abhorred lying. When the Lord was being led to Annas, Simon Peter and John followed Him from afar to the high priest’s courtyard. John was known to the high priest and therefore entered the courtyard, while Peter stood outside the gates.

Afterwards John came out and spoke with the gatekeeper, who let Peter into the courtyard, but asked him whether he was one of that man’s disciples? Peter replied simply: no, and quickly stepped away into the courtyard. There, at the back of the courtyard, the Jewish servants and slaves had a fire going, because the night was cold, and some were standing, while others were sitting at the fire and warming themselves. Peter then approached them, not only to warm himself, but also to learn of what was happening to his Teacher and how this entire affair would end. At this point he found himself in a rather dangerous situation: his timidity, curiosity, and troubled spirit soon made him an object of suspicion. Soon afterwards another of the high priest’s servants came up the fire, and seeing Peter warming himself, looked at him and asked: were you not also with Jesus of Galilee? Woman, said Peter, I do not know Him and do not understand what you are talking about. And he went out into the front courtyard; and the cock crowed. It was exactly midnight.

The Orthodox church marriage is a great sacrament: no wonder that in our times of apostasy it has been subjected to such terrible attacks and destruction, for it is the foundation of a morally healthy society existing within the framework of God’s commandments. The Orthodox marriage and the family which issues from it have always constituted the major impediment to the corruption of mankind for the purpose of preparing it to accept the Antichrist. All of us have personally witnessed the immense efforts which have been made over the past decades – and are still being made today – to destroy marriage and the family. In order for us – Orthodox Christians – to withstand this anti-Christian campaign, we must understand and come to realize the great significance of true Orthodox church marriage. To this end we would first like to bring to your attention a brief exposition of the Orthodox teaching on marriage, and then an excellent article by Father Alexey Young, which illuminates the subject from all sides.

Throughout our entire life we have with us an extraordinarily sacred object – holy water (“agiasma” in Greek, i.e. “sacred object’).

Holy water is the image of the grace of God: it cleanses the faithful of spiritual impurities, sanctifies and strengthens them for the task of salvation in God.

We first come into contact with it during our baptism, when we receive the sacrament by being thrice immersed in a font filled with holy water. In the sacrament of baptism, holy water washes away a person’s spiritual impurities, renews him, and makes him reborn into a new life in Christ.

The holy water necessarily accompanies the blessing of churches and all the objects used for church services, also the blessing of homes, buildings, and diverse objects of daily life. We are sprinkled with holy water during church processions and at the end of molebens.

On the day of Epiphany, every Orthodox Christian carries home with him a vessel with holy water, carefully preserves it as a most sacred object, partakes of this water with prayer in times of illness.

“Blessed water, – wrote St. Dimitri of Kherson, – has the power to sanctify the souls and bodies of all who use it.” Taken with faith and prayer, it heals our bodily ills. St. Seraphim of Sarov always gave pilgrims a cup of holy Epiphany water to drink after confession. St. Ambrose of Optina sent a bottle of holy water to a mortally ill person – and the fatal illness disappeared to the great amazement of attending physicians. Elder Seraphim of Vyritsa always said that there is no greater and more powerful medicine than holy water and blessed oil.

The blessing of the water which takes place on the feast of Epiphany is called great because it is permeated by the special solemnity of remembrance of the Baptism of our Lord, in which the Church sees not only a mystic cleansing of sins, but also the actual sanctification of the very essence of water through the immersion of the incarnate God into it.

The great blessing of the water is performed twice – on the very day of Epiphany and also on the eve of the feast. Some people mistakenly believe that the water blessed on these days is somehow different. But in reality, the same rite for the blessing of water is used on both the eve and the day of Epiphany. St. John Chrysostome often said that holy Epiphany water remains unspoiled for many, many years and is always fresh, pure, and pleasant to the taste, as though it were drawn just this minute from a natural spring. Such is the miracle of God’s grace which can be seen by all!

According to Church belief, the “agiasma” is not simply water with spiritual significance, but a new essence, a spiritual-physical essence, an interrelation of heaven and earth, of spiritual grace and material substance. For this reason the great agiasma is regarded by Church canons as second after Holy Communion: in cases where a member of the Church who has sinned heavily receives the penance of being excluded from communion, the following canonical proviso is made: “He may only drink the agiasma.” Epiphany water is an extremely sacred object which should be found in the home of each Orthodox Christian and carefully cherished.

Aside from Epiphany water, Orthodox Christians often drink water that has been blessed at molebens (the lesser blessing of the water) throughout the year. A lesser blessing of the water is necessarily performed by the Church on the day of the Procession of the Life-giving Cross (1/14 August) and on the day of mid-Pentecost, when the deeply-mystical words of the Lord, said by Him to the Samaritan woman, are remembered: “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14).

It is customary to take holy Epiphany water on an empty stomach together with a piece of prosphora, after morning prayers and with great piety. “Whoever partakes of a prosphora and holy water, – said the holy hermit George of Zadonsk, – is guarded against the approach of the evil spirit, his soul and body are sanctified, his thoughts are enlightened towards pleasing God, and such a person is inclined towards fasting, prayer, and all manner of virtue.”

Prayer for the partaking of the prosphora and holy water

O my Lord God, may Thy holy gift and Thy holy water be unto the enlightenment of my mind, the fortification of my spiritual and physical powers, the health of my soul and body, the subjugation of my passions and frailties, by Thy infinite mercy and by the prayers of Thy Holy Mother and all Thy saints. Amen.

The church candle is a symbol of our spiritual union with the holy Church. The candles which the faithful buy in the church, in order to place them on candlestands near icons, have several spiritual meanings: since the candle is purchased, it is a sign of a person’s voluntary gift to God and His temple; it is also an expression of his readiness to obey God (the softness of the wax), of his ardent prayer to God (the burning of the candle), and of his desire for spiritual renewal. The candle is also a testimony to faith and to man’s inclusion in Divine light. The candle expresses the warmth and the burning love of man for God, the Mother of God, the angel, or the saint before whose images the faithful place their candles.

The lighting of candles in church is part of the service and is an offering to God; for this reason one must not disrupt the service by belated purchases of candles and walking around the church to place candles when the service is already in progress. If you wish to place a candle – you must come at the beginning of the service.

The purchase of candles is a small offering to God and His church, a voluntary offering. Therefore, it is highly desirable to buy candles in the church where one has come to pray (and not bring them from elsewhere). There are no set rules concerning where and how many candles to place. However, it has become customary to first place a candle before a feast icon or the church icon, them place candles to the Mother of God and to venerated saints, also to one’s patron saint, and then for commemoration of the living and the deceased. Candles for the commemoration of the dead are placed on a special table before the Crucifix, while mentally saying: “Remember, O Lord, Thy departed servant (name) and forgive him his trespasses, both voluntary and involuntary, and grant him Thy Heavenly Kingdom.”

While praying for health or other needs, one usually places candles to the Saviour, the Mother of God, and also those saints to whom the Lord has granted the special grace of healing or helping with various needs. When placing a candle before a saint of your choice, mentally say: “O Saint (name), pray to God for me, a sinner (or the name of the person for whom you are praying).” Then cross yourself and venerate the icon of that saint.

It is important to remember: for our prayers to be successful, we must pray to the saints with faith in the power of their intercession before God, and with words coming straight from the heart. The saints always hear us and pray to God for us.

“And God remembered Noah… and the fountains of the deep were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. And the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat.”

Here for the first time in the holy pages of the Bible there is mention of a province which much later would be destined to be part of the Russian state.

This is an important region in other aspects, too. Here was subsequently formed an important and powerful nation which the holy Bible calls the land of Ararat and modern science – the state of Urartu. This state performed a great service to mankind in the sphere of culture: here for the first time, in the 11th-12th centuries B.C., was discovered the art of obtaining iron from ore, and the Iron Age began with the mass production of various objects out of iron. (Up to that time mankind had used only the rare meteorite iron, which was chemically more or less pure, and to the ancient Babylonians and Egyptians iron was more precious than gold).

The state of Urartu fulfilled another, more spiritual service. With the appearance and wide expansion of the militant Assyrian kingdom, Urartu took the strongest blows of the Assyrians onto itself, and it turned out to be the only state bordering on Assyria which did not submit to the brutal conquerors. Throughout several centuries Urartu fought with Assyria, thus diverting the attention and powers of this predatory state onto itself and in this manner saving other nations from terrible Assyrian slavery. Does this not remind us of the role that many-many centuries later was played by Russia, which saved the Christian world from Asiatic conquerors?

Thus we may rightly say that the land of Ararat is a blessed land.

“And it came to pass at the end of forty days that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made… and he sent forth a dove. But the dove found no rest for the sole of its feet… And he stayed yet another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove. And the dove came in to him in the evening, and lo, in its mouth was an olive leaf. And Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.”

From that time the image of the dove with an olive leaf in its mouth became a symbol of God’s goodness, God’s mercy, of peace with God.

We may suppose that the Holy Spirit, appearing at the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ “in the image of a dove,” thus reminded people of the hour of God’s mercy after the Deluge. Hence outwardly differently, but inwardly similarly, in both cases the Lord “drowned sin in water,” and a dove was present at both events.

And it is such blasphemy that in our times this holy symbol has become the symbol of a hideous caricature of peace, the symbol of lying propaganda by the enemies of God.

“By the first day of the first month the waters were dried up from off the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry… And Noah built an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.”

On the blessed land of Ararat, after the hour of God’s wrath there rose up to the Lord this first human offering in the hour of God’s mercy and blessing.

It is interesting to compare this short Biblical description of Noah’s offering after the Flood with the description, though the nearest one to the Biblical, but still a heathen narration, about the same event in the Babylonian epos.

The Babylonian Noah – Utnapishtim (or Noepishtim, which means “rescuer and savior of life,” whereas Noah simply means “rescuer”) narrates:

“When the seventh day came, I took the dove out and set him free, the dove flew away, flew in circles, there was no land, and he came back… I took a raven out and set him free, the raven flew and saw the water drying. He ate, cawed, and did not come back. I went into the four winds, and made a libation, I made a burnt offering on the peak of a mountain. I set up seven incense burners and spread under them reeds, cedar branches and brushwood. The gods sensed the odor, the gods sensed the fragrance, the gods, like flies, gathered above the altar… ”

We will disregard the repulsive image of gods, as flies, gathering above the altar. We understand that the Babylonians did not imagine their gods as flies, as we do not imagine the Holy Spirit as a dove. These are images. But what an attractive image is the one, and how repulsive is the other.

But in the very description of the offering of Utnapishtim our attention is drawn to the difference from the Biblical story. How many unnecessary details we see in the Babylonian story. They do not exist in the Biblical narration. Perhaps historically it happened the way Utnapishtim describes it: he put down reeds, cedar branches, and brushwood. But all these details do not serve the aim of the Bible to nurture human souls. And in this example, we can see how under the guidance of the Holy Spirit the hand of Moses, recording the history of mankind, purified the ancient legends, eliminating everything secondary and superfluous from them. When it is necessary, even for a limited historical period, the Bible is able to present the most minute details in its narrative, as, for example, further on, when recording the rules of Old Testament offerings. When this is not necessary, the Bible, passing over meaningless details, relates only the essence.

This example also clearly shows that we should not look in the Bible for anything that is foreign to its purpose or for any scientific, geographic, or ethnographic details, if such are unessential.

In this same example of the two narrations, close in their natural origin (let us remember that Abraham, an ancestor of Moses and the entire chosen nation, traced his ancestry from Ur of the Chaldees, i.e. Babylon), we see the difference between an account written under inspiration from the Holy Spirit and an account that is purely human.

“And the Lord said in His heart: I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake… While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

The Latin word for religion, translated into our own language, means “piety” and comes from the Latin verb religare, which expresses the action of tying together or joining something with something or someone with someone. Actually, the primary purpose of religion, issuing from the depths of human nature, is to join the creation with the Creator, bind the being which has been created to the Being Who has created. Thus the relationship with the Creator is the rod onto which all other aspects of spiritual life are threaded. In Christianity this relationship is customarily designated by the deep and warm word “prayer.”

The Orthodox concept of prayer sees it as the expression of a Christian’s personal contact with God as His Saviour and Consecrator. The well-known 16th century ascetic, St. Nilus of Sora, writes that prayer is “the conversation of the mind with God.” Prayer is specifically not a monologue, but a conversation in which the Lord answers the soul and illuminates it with the grace of the Holy Spirit. By sanctifying man’s inner world God teaches man to seek Him above all else: not the material and the temporal, but the eternal and the genuinely valuable. Man, conversing with God through prayer, realizes that God is the supreme and most powerful Being, full of love, but at the same time just, a Being before Whom one is filled with awe. He is the Father Whom one must obey. Such an experience of prayer aids the moral perfection of man and leads him to the highest good – the Heavenly Realm. It intensifies in man the feeling of repentance and the zeal for fulfilling God’s commandments. By following the path of penitence and perfection, the ascetic approaches a true knowledge of God. And the knowledge of God will become absolute when man reaches the height of loving God and loving his neighbors, for “every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God… for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8).

Having outlined the major contours of a prayerful contact with the Creator and the consequences of such contact, let us turn to an analysis of the practice of meditation and the consequences of such. In contrast to the Christian experience of meeting a personal God Who is a holy Being, the Oriental mystic experience of “illumination” gives a sensation of one’s consciousness dissolving in an ocean of the impersonal. Accordingly, such an experience will never lead to a feeling of penitence. On the contrary, there were numerous instances where it engendered a feeling of self-worth bordering on megalomania. Examining the yoga meditation as one of the mystic Oriental practices which supposedly serves as a means of attaining supreme knowledge, achieving super-abilities and power over nature and people, – we see that this practice uses only certain psychotechnical methods and certain restrictions of an earthly, human (as opposed to divine) nature: abstinence from meat, fish, games of chance, narcotics. There is not a single word about penitence, conscience, heartfelt remorse, fear of God, about a selfless love for God and other people, there is no appeal to bear the burdens of others and to put down one’s life for others.

In the world of yoga the universe is perceived as a certain amorphous mass from which anything can be created in accordance with the principle: “As I change, so I change the world.” Yoga adepts are taught to watch their moods with great attention. Not a single thought, deed, or external event must darken one’s mood or cause discomfort. Thus everything that disturbs the inner peace is considered to be negative. From the point of view of general human morality, the appeal to spiritual comfort as a spiritual goal is quite doubtful. The feeling of compassion, pain for others, protests against violence and injustice, – do all these spring from a striving for spiritual comfort? Is not such a position a manifestation of spiritual paralysis rather than spiritual ascent? “Rejoice with them that do rejoice and weep with them that do weep,” – exhorts us Apostle Paul (Rom. 12:15). Moreover, the attempt to achieve a state of pseudo-tranquility – rather, absence of feeling – leads to irreplaceable spiritual loss. “Numbness of the heart,” – says St. John of the Ladder, – “blinds the mind.”

Let us now turn our attention to the psychotechnical methods employed by the technique of meditation. First of all, this includes a manipulation of one’s attention. One must concentrate on an external object, i.e. attention is at first supported by a perceptible object. The next stage is for an active imagination to create a certain image. Subsequently the vision is substantiated and rendered concrete, and thus the fantasy’s creation achieves a certain material essence in another plane of being which replaces physical nature. In conclusion the adept attempts to merge with the object of his meditation, to dissolve his consciousness and his individuality in it.

Such a sensual and fantastic yogic concentration, bound to an image, is diametrically opposed to the concentration of the Orthodox ascetic – the prayer of the heart, which is spiritual and without any artificially created images.

A special place in Eastern spiritual practices is occupied by mantra-yoga – the method of Krishna worshippers, Tibetan Buddhism, transcendental meditation, and other philosophies. The goal of mantra-yoga is not simply the acquisition of knowledge and visions or the development of powers, but the direct sensual vision and contact with the “divinity of the mantra,” in order to supposedly attain a state of bliss.

The word “mantra” comes from two words: manum and tra – the liberation of the mind from the perception of images of the physical world. It has been asserted that if the mantra, which is the name of one of the divinities of the Hindu pantheon, is repeated persistently and at great length, one may become the lucky recipient of a visit by this deity. Although admitting that the mantra can summon a lower being, i.e. a demon, proponents of these philosophies nevertheless believe that higher beings, i.e. angels, may equally appear, since angels and demons supposedly emerge as a result of karma.

From a Christian point of view, such a belief in the organization of the spiritual world cannot but lead to demonic delusion. Christians have a clear indication of how to differentiate between the spirits: “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God (and the spirit of delusion): every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus is come in the flesh is not of God; and this is the spirit of Antichrist” (1 John 4:2-3).

Let us examine yet another spiritual practice – that of dynamic meditation, used by adherents of the Hindu guru Sri Rajnisha. The technique of this particular meditation is built upon the supposition that a disciple’s spiritual growth depends on his approach and attachment to the personality of the guru. It is explained that with the aid of such a spiritual practice “the consequences of all previous life experiences are erased, and energy is discovered.” Each s?ance of dynamic meditation begins with chaotic breathing accompanied by the beating of drums. The resultant hyperventilation of the lungs makes an individual drunk from an excess of oxygen. He is then advised to scream, roll on the floor, make any voluntary movements he wishes. The special state experienced by the individual during such a s?ance is explained as something mysterious, made possible only by a secret possessed by the guru. In reality, according to medical opinion this phenomenon is nothing more than a physiological trick.

Together with guru Rajnisha there were also professional psychotherapists working in the sect. They brainwashed people into believing that they themselves were responsible for their previous tortured condition. After a few days of “therapy,” a person lost the ability to reflect, became an individual without a personal biography. Now he was ready to encompass the new doctrine, accepting the guru within himself. In this state people remained without a jot of reason, they were way out of reality, out of context. As a result, adherents of this sect were later unable to return to normal life without reverse psychiatric help.

What does modern science say about such manifestations? The states into which seekers of the paranormal whip themselves can also be found in hypnotism, in somnambulism, in various mental illnesses, such as hysteria, epilepsy, etc. – in general, all the conditions which are bound up with the repression of the large hemispheres of the brain – the organ of our consciousness. In a state of meditation, many of the yoga’s life functions (pulse, breathing) are repressed, including the activity of the brain core. This is done by holding in one’s breath, squeezing the veins and arteries while sitting in unnatural poses, etc. Scientific research has shown that during meditation the basic rhythm of the brain is repressed and its epileptic activity comes to the fore.

As we already know, the right hemisphere is responsible for the formation of one’s emotional state. With its activity is connected, for example, the experiencing of different feelings. The left hemisphere is logical thinking. Experiments have confirmed that under the influence of meditational practices the asymmetry between the hemispheres increases and the right hemisphere begins to dominate. With such a change in the physiology of the brain, the psyche also changes. Infallible logic is combined with coldness of emotion, a harsh rationality – with the lack of pity and compassion. It is precisely an icy coldness which we feel emanating from those have risen to apparent spiritual heights by following the path of the occult. From the point of view of Christianity – this is a path of spiritual suicide.

In contrast to the occult path, a Christian, whose only goal is contact with God, always, at all stages of his spiritual life keeps his soul concentrated and active. A Christian does not cut himself off from his mind or his consciousness; he does not acquire another consciousness – it is impossible for the Spirit of wisdom to make a person lose his mind. There is no question here of a disintegration of the personality; on the contrary, there is a gathering of mental forces, their concentration. This occurs through a reciprocal action of God and man: to man’s effort and diligence the Lord responds with His grace.

Prayer transforms man’s entire being. Within the heart, cleansed of passions, love dwells and dominates. The mind is led beyond the boundaries of humanity and enters the province of the Divine, becomes liberated from distraction and attachment to earthly things. In the mystery of prayer the inner self awakens, the profound and intimate voice of the heart – usually drowned out by the noise of emotions, thoughts, and passions, – now becomes heard. The fire of love which warms the heart of the Orthodox ascetic becomes the source of joy and solace to all those around him.

Thus is transformed the individual who seeks and finds the Kingdom of God, which, as the Lord tells us, is within us (Luke 17:21).

We appeal to you with a heartfelt request to help our small parish cope with the great difficulty that has beset it.

Our church building – which houses our church and is the site of our entire parish life – is over 100 years old. Besides the constant repairs that it requires by virtue of its venerable age, several times it has demanded “catastrophic” repairs from us due to the negligence to which the building was subjected during a 12-year period in which the church had no rector.

Now we are faced with yet another catastrophic repair that surpasses all previous ones. It turns out that there have long been leaks in the roof and in the drainage system, which due to the ancient construction of the building were not immediately apparent. Gradually water from snow and rain poured under the roof and into two walls of the facade, until all the wood rotted and the very brick began to crumble.

The cost of the necessary repairs far exceeds the very modest funds that the church possesses. Moreover, our expenses for repairing the facade are greatly complicated and increased by the fact that the church building has been placed in the category of historic edifices, and city laws require all restorations to be done in keeping with its original style.

Our church store offers for sale a nice selection of small icons and tryptichs, decorative Easter eggs, greeting cards and various Russian art objects. All proceeds go towards church decoration and renovation. For more information please contact our head sister, Anna Ogora (phone 410-282-4861) or Matushka Natalia (phone 240-997-9838)