St. Herman of Alaska Monastery

New Book: Earthly Angel, Heavenly Man During the dark night of Soviet totalitarianism, holy men and women shone like stars throughout the many lands that comprised the U.S.S.R. One of these was Elder Vitaly (Sidorenko). (19281992). Born in the Russian region of Krasnodar, in his youth he was a novice monk at the Glinsk Hermitage in Ukraine, where he was spiritually formed under the guidance of holy elders. Due to Communist persecution he was compelled to leave Glinsk, becomi...ng an ascetic pilgrim and traveling from one holy place to another. Finally he settled in Georgia, which was also under Soviet rule, and in which the elders and some of the monks of Glinsk had made their home after their monastery had been forcibly closed. In Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, Fr. Vitaly served as a priest under Metropolitan Zenobius, a holy hierarch-elder who himself had been a monk at Glinsk. Living in obedience and humility, practicing strict asceticism combined with continuous prayer, and exercising his heart in the commandments of love for God and neighbor, Fr. Vitaly became a holy elder like his preceptors. Granted by God the gift of clairvoyance, he could see into people’s hearts and discern their past and future, in order to guide souls in the way of salvation. For decades he nurtured the people of Tbilisi with his enlightened, fatherly counsel. His love was truly sacrificial, for while enduring physical infirmities and deprivations he never spared himself in his pastoral labors. Living beyond this world, Elder Vitaly was truly an earthly angel and a heavenly man. Anyone who knew Fr. Vitaly, who had the joy of fellowship with him, knows what a holy life this great and wondrous elder led. An amazing and holy faith, boundless love, amazing and exemplary humility and obedienceall of this created that spiritual atmosphere which conveyed love to all who wanted to receive spiritual consolation from him. Brothers and sisters, he was indeed a holy elder. And I, in contact with him, repeatedly saw the sanctity that he imparted to all around him. We should always remember that Fr. Vitaly is ever with us and, as in life, he will always help us. His Holiness Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, at Elder Vitaly’s funeral, 1992 300 pages, paperback, illustrated. This book can be ordered from our St. Herman Press website here: https://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/product-p/eahm.htm

On the night of Tuesday, February 12, into the next morning, snow began falling in our part of California in amounts we have not seen in years. By the next day we were covered by 25 inches of fresh powder, making the simple act of getting to church a real challenge. We began the work of clearing paths, which continued most of the day. The county snowplows that usually clear our road were nowhere to be seen. As it turned out, a foot of snow had fallen in Redding, the closest city, and had contributed to a large power outage there. The snowplows were diverted in that direction. As a result, no vehicles could drive up or down the mountain to our monastery for several days. The plows arrived only on Saturday. As can be seen in the photos, our forest is remarkably beautiful in such weather.

Greetings with Vidovdan, the Feast of Great Martyr Lazar of Kosovo! On June 15/28, 2018, the St. Herman Monastery celebrated Vidovdan: the feast of Great-martyr Tsar Lazar of Kosovo. This feast commemorates the martyric death of St. Lazar at the hands of the Turks at Kosovo Polje (the Field of Blackbirds) in 1389. The nuns of St. Xenia Skete and many pilgrims were in attendance for the feast. Fr. Andrei Kovalev, the rector of the St. Gregory the Theologian Russian Orthodox C...hurch (Moscow Patriarchate) in Tampa, Florida, was present with sixteen of his parishioners. (Fr. Andrei is an old friend, having formerly been the priest of the St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in San Francisco.) Also among the pilgrims were two Serbs, Nikola and Stefan, who were inspired to be able to celebrate the great Serbian saint Lazar in a Serbian monastery in America. The Divine Liturgy was celebrated in honor of St. Lazar by Abbot Damascene, Hieromonk Paisius, and Priest Andrei. During the sermon, Fr. Damascene spoke of Tsar-martyr Lazar's sacrifice on Kosovo Polje, in which he chose the heavenly kingdom over the earthly kingdom, for himself and for his soldiers. During the meal in trapeza, the reading was from the book "Great-martyr Tsar Lazar of Serbia: His Life and Service," which the St. Herman Monastery published in 2001. After the reading, Fr. Damascene discussed the significance of Tsar Lazar as a confessor of the Faith. He called to mind all the Serbian hierarchs, clergy and faithful gathered for the celebration that day, and reminded everyone to pray for our Orthodox brothers and sisters who continue to suffer in the martyric land of Kosovo. The meal concluded with the singing of "Many Years!" for nameday celebrant Protopresbyter-Stavrophore Lazar Vasiljevi, the father of our bishop, His Grace Maxim. Through the prayers of St. Lazar of Serbia, may our Lord save His people and bless His inheritance, in Kosovo and throughout the world!

The Fourth Annual Retreat of St. Archangel Michael Serbian Orthodox Church of Huntsville, Alabama, took place this year from May 31 through June 3, 2018, at the Monte Sano State Park campground, located just outside the city of Huntsville. Monte Sano is part of the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and has an elevation of 1,621 feet above sea level at its highest point. It’s a beautiful setting, with forests, waterfalls, streams, and stunning views of the surrounding Ten...Continue reading

A NEW BOOK FROM ST. HERMAN PRESS: CANCER, MY LOVE, by Mioara Grigore This memoir of personal transformation has changed countless lives in Romania since it was first published there in 2014. Author Mioara Grigore describes how, as a self-absorbed religion teacher with thoughts of becoming a nun, she began an unlikely courtship with an atheistic math teacher. The math teacher found faith, the two were happily married, and within six and a half years five children were born to ...them, one with Down syndrome. Mioara’s life was full, her home brimming with love. Then came the devastating cancer diagnosis. With unflinching honesty, a keen eye for detail, and endearing humor, Mioara recounts her intense struggle with cancer. With the help of her husband and children, of her spiritual father, and then of new friends who sacrificed themselves for her and her family, she turned that struggle into a journey of spiritual self-discovery. In the agony of her cross-bearing, she found what it means, at the deepest level, to love and be loved by others and by God. Ultimately, hers is a story not only of growth but of indomitable joy and triumph. 280 pages, paperback, illustrated. Click here to order this book: https://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/product-p/cml.htm

Christ Is Risen! Pascha, the Lord’s Pascha! The Lord has led us from death to life by means of His Resurrection. And 'the angels in heaven hymn' this Resurrection, having seen in the countenance of the Lord and Redeemer the brightness of the deified human nature in the glory foreordained for it. All who truly believe in Him and cleave to Him with all their soul are changed into His image by the power of His Resurrection. Glory, O Lord, to Thy most glorious Resurrection! -- St. Theophan the Recluse. Here we present photos of this year's celebration of Holy Week and Pascha at the St. Herman Monastery.

From December 11 to 19, 2017, Abbot Damascene of the St. Herman of Alaska Monastery in Platina, California, in the capacity of Episcopal Assistant of Missions, visited the mission communities of the Western American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montana. He was accompanied on his trip by Alexey Selishchev, a postulant at the St. Herman Monastery. Fr. Damascene and Alexey flew into Butte, Montana, where they were greeted by Fr. Russell Radoicich, rector of Holy Tri...Continue reading

Christ Is Born! On the night of Dec. 24-25, 2017 (Jan. 6-7, 2018 new style), we celebrated the Vigil of the Nativity of Christ, with the Divine Liturgy. Afterwards we had a festal meal in our trapeza with the opening of Christmas gifts. Here we share some photos of the celebration.

Christ Is Born! Greetings with the Feast of the Nativity according to the Flesh of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ! On this joyous and grace-filled day, when we celebrate the Incarnation of God, we would like to share some inspiring words from our local Serbian Saint, the newly canonized St. Sebastian Dabovich of San Francisco and Jackson, from his "Address on Christmas Day" (published 1899): "Since we today magnify Christ, the Giver of life, Who now was born in the fl...esh for our sake of the unwedded and most pure Virgin Mary, we may most appropriately, as duty bound, consider the worth of our celebration. When we hear the teaching of Him who today was a little child seeking shelter with the cattle and sheep, and remember that He said, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life,' and also, 'The truth will make you free,' we are impressed with the exalted character of Him Whose mission it was and is to gather all mankind into the one fold of the Only Shepherd. And our Lord says that the truth will save us. We must study the truth to the full measure of our competency, and know our Lord Jesus Christ the Savior. We must use our God-given intellect and discern true doctrine from falsehood.... "The Church is the treasure house of God upon earth. I offer these precious gems to you, hoping you will take them away to your homes, safely guarded in a grateful heart, and earnestly ponder over them, seeking God in prayer accompanied by a pure life. For only then we may enter into the true spirit of this celebration and rightly comprehend the hymn we sing: 'Christ is born! Ye faithful, glorify Christ from the heavens! Oh, come to greet Him! Christ upon the earth, be ye lifted on high! Sing to the Lord, all the earth ! And in gladness praise him. O ye nations, for He hath been glorified!' Amen." (Illustration: Icon of St. Sebastian of San Francisco and Jackson, painted at the St. Herman Monastery Icon Studio.)

"The Orthodox Word" no. 311 is now available in both print and digital editions. This issue features a new chapter of the second volume of "The Northern Thebaid: Monastic Saints of the Russian North": the Life of St. Cornelius of Komel (1538). St. Cornelius was a great monastic founder of the Vologda region of Russia, about 250 miles to the northeast of Moscow. Like the renowned St. Sergius of Radonezh a century and a half before him, St. Cornelius was the spiritual father o...f many disciples who became founders of yet more monasteries. This Life, based on the original Slavonic version, is rich in historical details and appears here in English for the first time. St. Cornelius’ monastic Rule is one of the only four surviving written testaments of that era of Russian spirituality; his introduction to that Rule is included in this Life. Also in this issue is the "Orthodox Word" Index for the year 2016. The issue can be ordered from our St. Herman Press website here: http://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/category-s/1477.htm See more

On August 18-19, 2017, His Grace Bishop Maxim visited the St. Herman Monastery in Platina, California and the nearby St. Xenia Skete in Wildwood to celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. His Grace had made an episcopal visit to the monastery and skete less than a month earlier, on July 26-27, and it was a joy for the monks and nuns to welcome him back so soon. In the evening of Friday, August 5/18, 2017, the eve of the Feast, His Grace arrived at the St. Her...Continue reading

"The Orthodox Word" no. 310 is now available in print and digital editions. This issue features writings by New Hiero-confessor Nikon (Belyaev) of Optina Monastery in Russia. The closest spiritual son of Elder Barsanuphius of Optina, St. Nikon deeply assimilated his elder’s teachings, and was thus able to be a strong support for his own spiritual children during the turmoil that followed the 1917 Russian Revolution. He was arrested in 1927 and eventually exiled to Russia’s fa...r north, where he died of tuberculosis on June 25/July 8, 1931. During his initial period of incarceration he made notes, intended for his spiritual children, in the margins of a copy of volume 5 of the "Complete Works" of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov. This volume was eventually passed to his spiritual daughter, and has been preserved to the present time. These notes, Elder Nikon’s spiritual testament, have been published by Optina Monastery, and appear in this issue of "The Orthodox Word" for the first time in English. Also included in this issue is a homily by St. John Chrysostom, On the Word Cemetery, and on the Cross of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. This is one of three surviving sermons given by St. John on Great and Holy Friday. Delivered in the church of the great cemetery of Antioch in 392, the homily speaks movingly about Christ’s harrowing of hades and of His victory over death, hell, and the devil through His death on the Cross. It appears in English here for the first time. The new issue can be ordered at our St. Herman Press website here: https://www.sainthermanmonastery.com/category-s/1477.htm See more

Christ is Risen! Greetings with Bright Week, the Afterfeast of the Resurrection of Christ! Christ, being the incarnate God, is in the Apostle Peter’s words the "Author of Life" (Acts 3:15). Death, in His case, could mean naught but resurrection. "He loosed the pains of death," preached St. Peter, "for it was not possible that He should be held by it" (Acts 2:24). In the rising that followed inevitably upon His death, Christ became the firstfruits of the general resurrection (cf. 1 Cor. 15:20, 23), opening the way to the redemption of our bodies (cf. Rom. 8:23), which will be reunited with our souls in the future age of incorruption and deification. Here we are sharing some photos from our Holy Week, Pascha (April 3/16), and Bright Tuesday celebrations this year.