Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov)

The Lord is Waiting for us to Get Stronger in Our Trust in Him

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov)

For those who are still not at home in the Church, I would like to wish that they would feel and see for themselves how beautiful, good, and wondrously bright life is in Christ’s Church; how much goodness there is prepared in it for every person.

The Most Beautiful Place on Earth…

Metropolitan Tikhon’s farewell sermon to the brothers and parishioners of the Pskov-Caves Monastery

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Happy is the man who has a place on the earth that he loves more than anything, a place where his heart lies. A place, a land, that as the ancient tales say, gives him strength. And for me, this place on the earth is the Pskov Caves Monastery.

The Throne and Sacrificial Altar of the Lord

Homily on the Exaltation of the Cross

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

And today is one of those great days when we strive to comprehend and give thanks to God for this truly priceless, awesome, and beautiful gift, which grants us both the strength and ability to live in this world that lies in the evil of the prince of this age.

Christmas Greeting from Metropolitan Tikhon of Pskov and Porkhov

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

Sharing with you the joy of this Great Day, I congratulate you, your family, and friends with all my heart! Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

The Destruction of Grief

Sermon on the Sunday of the Widow of Nain

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

No one can ease the grief of a mother, no one can heal it. No one but God.

Betrayed by All and Blessed by God

A Homily for the Feast of the Royal Martyrs

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

No one has done so much so sincerely for Russia and earned such terrible ingratitude as Emperor Nicholas II.

The Holy Royal Martyrs

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

“His response to any attack or trial was kindness”

In memory of Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral)

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

“A rule of faith and model of meekness”—that is how this Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad will be remembered. He will be remembered as a gentle and quiet teachers of goodness.

The Third Week of Great Lent

Great Lent. Column of the Editor-in-Chief of Pravoslavie.ru

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

Who are we before people and who are we before God?

Behold Thy Mother

Sermon on the Dormition of the Mother of God, Holy Dormition Pskov Caves Monastery, August 28, 2021

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

Having adopted us, She has made her Son Jesus Christ our true, great and incomparable Lord and brother. This is how far-reaching were the Lord Jesus Christ’s brief words on the cross addressed to the Most Holy Theotokos and His disciples.

Sermon by Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov on the day of the “Chirskaya” Icon of the Mother of God, July 29, 2021

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

Today we remember the Chirskaya Icon of the Mother of God, through which Orthodox Christians 601 years ago were shown her intercession in the days of an epidemic.

The New Wine Given to Each Generation

A Sermon given on the commemoration day of St. John of Shanghai, Pskov Cave Monastery, July 2, 2021

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

We are called to accept the grace of this new wine through the spirit of discernment and faith.

Public Opinion, and How the Father Ran Out to Meet a Chinese Official

Sermon on the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, February 28, 2021, Sretensky Monastery

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

The translator phones me from the gates. Now, how long does it take to walk from the gates to the abbot’s quarters? Perhaps about five minutes. Five minutes went by and they had not arrived, then ten, then fifty. What happened? Then our Russian Zhenia and the Chinese man appeared with eyes wide open, absolutely astounded.

The Bond of Perfection

Sermon on the 34th Sunday after Pentecost, in the Church of the Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, Pechory, January 31, 2021

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

Today’s apostolic reading, from the epistle of the holy apostle Paul to the Colossians, is very important to every Christian. We need to attentively reread it from time to time and try it on ourselves for size.

Partaking of His Baptism Through Our Own Baptism

Sermon on the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in the Pskov Caves Monastery, January 19, 2021

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

Partaking of the Lord’s Baptism by having our own baptism, we fully immerse ourselves in the Life of our Lord Jesus Christ. We immerse ourselves also into His teaching, as well as His suffering and burial along with Him—out of our love for Him; because we have finally found the most beautiful and perfect being in this world and want to unite with Him in everything!

Thou shalt bless the crown of Thy year with goodness

A sermon delivered at the night Liturgy for the New Year and Martyr Boniface, in the Pskov Caves Monastery, January 1, 2021

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

This year we have met up against unfaithfulness, and betrayal, and human weaknesses. If there is anything an Orthodox Christian should ask of the Lord it is strength to fulfill the Commandments of Christ for the sake of the great blessedness that is under the heavens—the unification of our souls with God.

Be Responsible For Your Neighbors, Present and Future

Sermon given on the day of St. Alexander Nevsky, December 6, 2020

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

The most terrible sickness is irresponsibility, which can attack the human soul like COVID. Then all sorts of calamities and disasters befall our lands and our people.

Let’s Be True to God’s Calling

A Sermon delivered on the 25th Sunday after Pentecost, November 29, 2020, in the village of Piskovichi, Pskov Region

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

Where did he get such power that two thousand years on, his story should so enliven our hearts? A man who was not a writer, who two thousand years ago wrote only one book, did what all the professional authors in the world could not do.

A Mysterious, Invisible Conversation

Sermon on Luke 8:41-56 on the woman with the issue of blood. Sunday, November 22, 2020

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

We can converse with the spiritual world without pronouncing a word. This is the great gift of the soul’s communion with God.

How Individuals and Nations Become Demonically Possessed

Sermon on the Gospel reading about the Gadarene demoniac, November 15, 2020

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

We recall, “Serve ye the Lord with fear and rejoice in Him with trembling.” But there is no trembling here! Only terrible intoxication. Such people are stubborn; they do not obey the Church and reason. These people are suicides, who only later understand it. These people are involuntary murderers—they kill the souls and lives of many people.

A Parable of Missed Opportunities

A sermon on the rich man and Lazarus, delivered November 8, 2020

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

Perhaps the most serious mistake in human life is not realizing our potential. We are very smart when it comes to hindsight: “If only we knew, then when would have done it right. Then we would have had the strength to take the right direction…” How often do we have this late repentance… This parable talks precisely about missed human opportunities.

We Do All We Can, and The Lord Does the Rest

A Homily after the Liturgy on October 29, 2020

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

The Lord expects us to labor to our limits, to do everything we can. And only then will He come and help. Only then!

Spiritual Revelation and Self-Sacrifice

Sermon on the Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

So, people come to the Church, and during their first years are amazingly fruitful and strong in their spiritual life, getting to know God, coming to Church and beginning to live a new life. Why?

Rating: 10|Votes: 17

Christ is Risen!

Paschal greetings from Metropolitan Tikhon of Pskov and Porkhov

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

In this saving night, having united with Christ in the sacrament of Holy Communion, let us preserve the joy of the Resurrection and our God Who has resurrected us; the joy of the exultant triumph of the Heavenly and Earthly Church.

Rating: 9.8|Votes: 16

Sermon on the Remembrance of Adam’s Exile from Paradise

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

The Lord God bestowed free will upon Adam, as He also has upon you and me. This is a very great but also very responsible gift. As a test of free will, as a confirmation of faithfulness to the Father, in Paradise grew the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Of course it was also intended for man, but the Lord foretold that the time had not yet come for young Adam to know about good and evil.

Rating: 10|Votes: 30

“A True Christian Always Bears Fruit”

A sermon given in the Pskov-Caves Monastery on February 5, 2019, after the Liturgy on the anniversary of Archimandrite John (Krestiankin’s) repose

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

Whether ill or healthy, tired after many hours of receiving hundreds of people day after day, or filled with strength after a brief rest in prayer, Fr. John was transformed when he heard God’s voice telling him that he must fill people, strengthen them with the fruits of his spiritual life.

Rating: 10|Votes: 16

Ye are the Temple of God: Homily on the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

But it is extraordinarily important to also remember that every divine feast is a reminder and renewal of God’s promises for each person who is faithful to Him, for each person who believes in Him and strives to keep His commandments, for everyone who considers himself a disciple of Christ and lives as such.

Rating: 9.6|Votes: 31

Patriarchs in Times of Trouble

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

No matter what historic period the glorification takes place in, it always happens at a time when that spiritual paragon of life in Christ can give assistance from the triumphant Church of Heaven to our earthly, militant Church.

Rating: 9.9|Votes: 25

Opening the Fifth Seal

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

The desire to understand them and to somehow deeply feel their podvig was the basis for the appearance in our church of this icon, which we titled the Opening of the Fifth Seal.

Rating: 9.7|Votes: 32

The Mother of Each of Us

Homily on the feast of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

Rational people cannot understand this, and our Protestants can’t make sense of it. How could it be, and why? If a person has sinned it means that legally he should be punished; that is for his own good. And suddenly the Most Holy Theotokos intercedes for the Orthodox! Well, why on earth, this is not fair, it is not legal, not correct.

Rating: 9.7|Votes: 27

On Spiritual Life, True Heroes, and Higher Art

Selected quotes of Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Pskov and Porkhov

Today, July 2, 2018, is the sixtieth birthday of Metropolitan Tikhon of Pskov and Porkhov, the chairman of the Patriarchal Council for Culture, and editor-in-chief of the Russian website, Pravoslavie.ru.

Rating: 9.3|Votes: 27

On the Shattering of Human Hopes

Sermon on the Third Sunday of Pascha, the Myrrh-bearing Women

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Egorievsk

Our boldest hopes and dreams about human happiness, about our own selves, about our close ones, and about the future are all at best naiveté in comparison with what the Lord has prepared for us.

Rating: 8.1|Votes: 14

The Abbot of Sretensky Monastery Greets our Readers with the Bright Resurrection of Christ

Renewed by Paschal joy, let us bring the glad tidings of the Resurrection of Christ to our family and friends, not only in words but also in our deeds of Light and Life Eternal.

Rating: 9.4|Votes: 79

The Uncovering of the Relics of Patriarch Tikhon

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Egorievsk

In his popular book, Everyday Saints and Other Stories, Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) tells the amazing story of how the relics of Patriarch Tikhon were discovered in Donskoy Monastery, Moscow, where he was living as yet a hieromonk at the time. On this day we commemorate that epic event, and present an excerpt from the chapter, “The Relics of Patriarch Tikhon”.

Rating: 9.9|Votes: 17

To Become an Heir of God Himself

A Sermon on the Expulsion of Adam—Forgiveness Sunday

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Everyone should, if he makes an effort towards it, not just return to the first state, before the Fall, but moreover must become an heir of God Himself. This is what the Lord God created man for. It’s no wonder that Adam was seduced by the cunning promise to become “like God.” But this is God’s purpose in relation to man—the elevation to the infinite deity of a man filled with faith in Christ. This is the purpose of creation.

Rating: 9.4|Votes: 32

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov’s) Interview with Radio Liberty

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov)

The journalist asks rather provocative and uninformed questions about the Church’s past and present relationship with the Soviet and Russian governments, and Bishop Tikhon provides his views on the complex subject of “Sergianism”, dissidents, and the Church in Russian society today. Although the liberal journalist and the bishop generally aren’t on the same intellectual page, this interview reveals what the Church in Russia now faces—no longer from the communist but now from the liberal press.

Rating: 8.3|Votes: 13

(VIDEO): The Secret to a Happy Marriage

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Love is important, but it comes and goes...but what is at the core of a happy relationship is friendship, the insatiable interest in talking to the other person, discovering each other's depth. Oh, and of course, when the woman is the wise, invaluable helper of her husband.

Rating: 9.9|Votes: 31

Mathilde: Time to Reevaluate the History of the Royal Family

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Egorievsk

The story and screenplay of the film is built upon a lie. Many who have seen the widely-released trailer on the internet, or who, like me, have read the script, felt this untruth particularly acutely. Why?

Rating: 10|Votes: 6

Do You Recognize Him?

A Word Before the Holy Plaschanitsa in Christ the Savior Cathedral

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Egorievsk

The holy Church enjoins all Orthodox Christians to stand before this icon today, and ask ourselves, “Do I recognize Him?”

Rating: 7.6|Votes: 16

A Word on the Day of the Centenary of the Russian Turmoil (+ VIDEO)

A sermon at the Presanctified Liturgy at the Church of the Resurrection of Christ and the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church at Sretensky Monastery, March 15, 2017

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Egorievsk

God’s lessons are at times very heavy. God’s lessons lie in the fact that He endures the carelessness, cowardice, and infidelity of the people for a long time, but then comes the moment when the careless ones themselves and their descendants must settle their account with bitter but saving trials.

Rating: 8.4|Votes: 5

Liturgy in the New Church at Sretensky Monastery

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Egorievsk

In 2015, Sretensky Stavropegic Monastery in Moscow began construction on a new cathedral dedicated to the New Martyrs of Russia. The church is near completion, according to schedule, and will soon be consecrated at a solemn Liturgy. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill has finalized the date of the consecration, and the monastery abbot, Bishop Tikhon of Egorievsk, has made a formal announcement concerning this important event and another liturgical event scheduled next week, which will initiate the solemnities.

Rating: 6|Votes: 20

The Prodigal Son: The Only Aim of Great Lent

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Egorievsk

The prodigal son found the path away from his destruction. From the spiritual point of view the older brother has only one way out—the one that the holy fathers of the Church suggest to us.

Rating: 9.3|Votes: 4

The Repentance and Cross Bearing of the New Martrys

Homily on the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee, and of the New Martrys and Confessors of the Russian Church, Sretensky Monastery, February 2017

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Egorievsk

The whole country, its whole Orthodox part, was before the revolution studying the Law of God, and everyone went to Communion. But this means that there was something very wrong, something was the subject of an enormous mistake in the Church institution of that time. Legalism and formalism.

Rating: 10|Votes: 3

“The Best Great Britain Produces”

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) on the visit to Russia by students from Eton College

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Egorievsk, Anton Pospelov

Eleven students of Eton College, the most privileged English school, visited Russia on a personal, non-official tour that included Moscow and St. Petersburg. The students became acquainted with their Russian counterparts, and also met with President Vladimir Putin. Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Egorievsk, Father Superior of Moscow’s Sretensky Monastery, talked with a correspondent of Pravoslavie.ru about how the trip was organized, and gave his impressions of the young British men.

Rating: 10|Votes: 4

“Friend and Devil.” A Homily at Matins for Holy Wednesday

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Egorievsk

May God grant that no matter what our circumstances, no matter how badly we sin, we might always like the apostle Peter remember the one truth given to us by our only true teacher, our Lord Jesus Christ. May we remember that we can always return from our unrighteousness to Him, and that the Lord will always forgive us no matter what we did, if only in our heart would live not hatred but love for Him; not despair but sincere repentance.

Rating: 10|Votes: 1

The Fruits of the Spirit

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Egorievsk

Today we recall how when, as Jesus walked with His disciples, He warned them of one of the most difficult temptations of Christian life: fruitlessness. And along their path was a beautiful, green, blossoming fig tree. The tree was adorned with many leaves.

Rating: 10|Votes: 3

A Test of the Reasonableness of Our Faith

A homily given on the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Egorievsk

Today we have also run across two kinds of righteousness that people bring to church with respect to one and the same recent matter. Ten days ago an event occurred that has stunned and troubled millions of people: His Holiness Patriarch Kirill met with the Pope of Rome. However, this event also caused a large number of Orthodox people serious confusion—let’s call a spade a spade.

Rating: 4.3|Votes: 3

Greetings from Bishop Tikhon and Brothers on the feast of the Nativity

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Egorievsk

Dear Readers! We greet you with all our hearts with the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Rating: 8.7|Votes: 15

A Prophetic New Martyr: St. Seraphim (Chichagov)

Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Egorievsk

Today we commemorate a nearly unknown yet great saint, Holy Hieromartyr Seraphim (Chichagov) of Petrograd. He received a brilliant education, graduated from the Page Corps, became a well-known scholar, received a humanitarian as well as a natural sciences education, and was part of the upper echelons of society. He had a brilliant military career, having fought in several wars, but he left all this and became a priest. He did more than anyone else for the canonization of St. Seraphim of Sarov. Holy Hieromartyr Seraphim was not only a priest (later a bishop)—he was a true prophet.

Rating: 10|Votes: 5

“The Mother of God answers repentant tears.”

The Meeting of the Vladimir Icon

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

That is how Moscow was saved by a miracle of God; the house of the Mother of God—Russia—was saved. If Tamerlane had destroyed Moscow then as he had destroyed the Indian and Persian cities, who knows what would have happened to Russia.

The Divine Wisdom of Righteous Joseph

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

We often say: What is spirituality, where is it, how can we touch it? Here it is. This is that very wisdom, that very light of Christ that enlightens all.

The Abbot and brothers of Sretensky Monastery Greet our Readers with the Nativity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ

Christ is Born! Glorify Him!

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Let us not stray from the joy of our meeting with the Infant Child Christ, let us carry in our hearts the fire of saving grace to our friends and family, let us bring tidings of great joy to all the world.

Rating: 10|Votes: 1

The Fruit of Tribulation

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)
Translation by OrthoChristian.com

“We would see a sign from thee” and we will believe, they said. However, Christ did not accept that plan. He said, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.So, what is that sign?

Rating: 9.1|Votes: 15

Sermon on the Sunday of the Blind Man

Архимандрит Тихон (Шевкунов), Монахиня Корнилия (Рис), Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Perhaps today’s story of the healing of the blind man is especially important for us, for our generation. When the Savior walked near the blind man who was known throughout Jerusalem without asking him anything, not even about his faith, he passed by him and healed him. The blind man became a man who sees; the Pharisees began interrogating him, asking him who worked this great benefaction for him—something they themselves would never have been able to do.

Rating: 10|Votes: 3

A sermon by Arichimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), given after the pannikhida on Radonitsa

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Once an ascetic of the Kiev Caves Lavra went on Pascha day to the famous caves where hundreds of monks are buried, and, from his abundance of Paschal joy, exclaimed, “Christ is risen!” “In truth He is risen!” came a brotherly, jubilant response. It was a greeting from another world, from the reposed monks abiding in the coffins of the caves; citizens of the Heavenly Kingdom.

Rating: 9.2|Votes: 21

On Pascha We Receive an Invitation to Eternal Life

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), Valery Konovalov

The living feeling of the pulse of eternity, which responds in every Christian, is especially felt on the feast of Pascha, the Resurrection. Little children are aware until they grow up that death is something completely foreign, incomprehensible, and unnatural to man. We adults remember well this perception of the realty of eternity in our childhood as one of the constants of existence of a person only recently come into the world.

The Abbot Sretensky Monastery and Editor-in-Chief of Pravoslavie.ru, and the brothers of Sretensky Monastgery greet all with the Bright Resurrection of Christ.

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Rating: 7.8|Votes: 13

The sin of Ham

A sermon given at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, Fourth Wednesday of Great Lent

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

The Lord God does not look at a person’s actions, but at his heart. Despite the indignation in the heart of Noah’s son, if it were filled with sorrow over his father, if he had been contrite about himself also—because he himself, of course, is not without sin—if he, in grief over that sad incident had not gone and spread the word around, had not called his brothers and other people to take a look, then even that inner indignation he felt over another man’s impropriety would not have been a sin so severe as to merit a curse. But the sin of Ham was cursed by God’s word, as was Ham himself.

Rating: 9.8|Votes: 9

Homily on the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

“The Cross is the guardian of the whole world; the Cross is the beauty of the Church, the Cross is the might of kings; the Cross is the confirmation of the faithful, the Cross is the glory of angels and the wounding of demons.” The Church’s beauty lies in fulfilling the commandments and in being faithful to God.

Rating: 7.3|Votes: 6

Sretensky Monastery’s New Church

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

On March 25, Pravoslavie.ru posted an open letter from Archimandrite Tikon to the parishioners of Sretensky Stavropegic Monastery detailing the ongoing process of the monastery’s new church building. This is a process that all of Russia is following, because this will be the first church dedicated to the New Martyrs of Russia built within the boundaries of the capital city, where over 13 million people live.

Rating: 10|Votes: 2

Everyday Heroes: An Interview with Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Heroes are bearers of those important and eternal values—of nation, culture, and civilization—of which we were just speaking. But, more importantly, they are more than just bearers. Society assigns them a task that is beyond the strength of anyone else: to transmit these values effectively from generation to generation, from heart to heart. No moralizing, edifying sermons, seminars, or “Seliger forums” will accomplish this task without such genuine bearers of higher values. The pedagogical function of heroes lies in the continuation of their particular service even many centuries after their deaths.

Rating: 2|Votes: 1

Twelve Vital Questions, Part I. Archimandrite Tikhon at the Moscow Theological Academy

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Archimandrite Tikhon, abbot of the Sretensky Monastery, met with students of the Moscow seminaries at the Moscow Theological Academy in order to speak with them about contemporary monasticism and parish life and to reply to their vital questions.

"Everything has come into place"

An interview with Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), Anton Pospelov

It was all a very homey atmosphere. The head cowboy, for example, said, “We have with us today John and Mary. They are on their honeymoon trip. Let’s give them a warm welcome! Let’s be glad for them, that they are so beautiful and young, have had their wedding and are now travelling around our country. John and Mary, come on up!” This young couple comes forward and everyone shouts, “John and Mary, hello! All the best to you!” This was touching, what can I say…

Archimandrtie Tikhon (Shevkunov): “Seeing young Chinese Christian seekers is the most astounding experience I’ve had in a long time.”

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), Anton Pospelov

It all began when some Chinese people calling themselves Christians expressed the desire to make my acquaintance after one of them read my book, Everyday Saints in English. To tell you the truth, these new acquaintances of mine couldn’t really say what confession they are in—they just read the Gospels, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, pray to Him, and firmly and stubbornly consider themselves Christians. Some of them are not baptized at all, others were baptized by Protestants, yet others by Catholics…

Rating: 10|Votes: 2

Contemporary Monasticism, God’s Will, and Everyday Life: A Conversation with Archimandrite Tikhon

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), Anna Danilova

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), abbot of Sretensky Monastery in central Moscow and author of the best-selling Everyday Saints and Other Stories, spoke with Anna Danilova, editor-in-chief of pravmir.ru. Many of the questions concerning the state of contemporary monasticism are raised in the context of the ongoing discussion of the revised “Regulations on the Monasteries and Monastics,” submitted to the dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church for review by a commission of the Inter-Council Presence, of which Fr. Tikhon is a member.

Rating: 9.7|Votes: 3

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov): “Non-reading Readers” and Other Phenomena of Life

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), Elena Beilina

I had told these stories many times before to my students, friends, and brothers of the monastery. Some of those who heard them asked me to write them down, and since I have written many things before and am used to writing, at a certain moment the structure of the book took shape, and it looked interesting to me. You know, I think that every writer is really writing to specific people. The second no less important—although somewhat egotistical—element is that what you write must be interesting to you. Well, I felt that both of these elements were present.

Rating: 6.3|Votes: 13

Everyday Saints and Other Stories

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov). Everyday Saints and Other Stories. Translation by Julian Henry Lowenfeld. Pokrov Publications, 2012. $23. 504 pages, illustrated. ISBN 978-0-9842848-3-2, 978-0-9842848-4-9.

Rating: 8.5|Votes: 12

Sermon on the Ascension of the Lord

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

In this world, outward triumph means nothing—most important is inward triumph. Outward triumph will be given to Christ’s Church at the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our example of spiritual, inner victory is the life of our Savior. Outwardly He was defeated, crucified like an evil-doer and thief. But He accomplished the main thing for which He came into the world—His triumph over death; and any other triumph is meaningless in comparison.

Rating: 8.8|Votes: 5

Sunday of the Paralytic

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

In the lives of each one of us there will still be moments of weakness and failures, of what we call paralysis. They can last for many years, just as with the paralytic at the Sheep pool, of which the Gospel speaks. This paralytic lay for many years awaiting healing. But he believed that a messenger of God would come and heal him.

Rating: 9.2|Votes: 20

A Sermon on Great Thursday. On Thankfulness

April 8/21, 2011

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

The soul that is capable of gratitude to God will be saved. The soul that is incapable of gratitude to God—disregarding the life it has received from Him, disregarding all the blessings, and the trials that impart wisdom to that soul—condemns itself to the same fate as did the ungrateful spirits, the bodiless beings we call demons, condemn themselves. And the ungrateful person makes himself like the demons, and like Judas.

Appeal for Assistance to the Serbian Church in Kosovo and Metochia

Abbot of the Moscow Sretensky Monastery
Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Despite the enormous political and material hardships, the Serbian Church is caring for their people’s salvation. With its blessing, charitable organizations, medical centers, and free “people’s kitchens” are active in Kosovo. In these kitchens, people who have lost their jobs and food sources receive daily nourishment. No doubt it would be much safer to abandon these places and move to Central Serbia. But several thousand Serbian Christians remain in the homeland of their Orthodox ancestors, carrying on a daily ascetic struggle unknown and largely misunderstood by the world.

Rating: 10|Votes: 8

Let's Talk About Maslenitsa

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), Hieromonk Job (Gumerov), Priest Alexy Darashevich

It is the last week before the beginning of Great Lent—the week the Russians call "maslenitsa." In the West it is called "carnival," which had a similar meaning originally, but is now understood quite differently.

Rating: 10|Votes: 2

We shall uphold the candle of Orthodoxy in Kosovo!

Plea to parishioners and all who wish to help.

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Today, at the threshold of Great Lent, with the blessing of His Holiness Kirill, I would like to address you with a special sermon. You all know that that for two decades now, a tragedy is happening in the Serbian land. The Orthodox inhabitants of Kosovo and Metohija have been pushed out of their ancient, native lands. Many have lost their lives, not to mention their property.

Rating: 8.6|Votes: 11

Fr. John (Krestiankin)

Recollections of a spiritual son

Metropolitan Tikhon (Shevkunov)

One day my spiritual father, Archimandrite John (Krestiankin) of the Pskov-Caves Monastery, called me and said: "I am going to die soon. So please do me a favour, write down what you remember and what you want to tell people about me. Because afterwards you all are going to write something anyway, and you might come up with stories as ridiculous as they did with poor Father Nikolai, who “resurrected cats” and other fables like that. So I want to check everything myself for my peace of mind.”

Rating: 9.9|Votes: 12

Sermon of the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

We see how much injustice there is in our land, and we can look at it in two ways: coldly, or even angrily. Or we can show some concern for this sick vineyard and heal it, according to the measure of strength and possibility given to each of us by God. Some He has placed in authority over the whole vineyard, and much will be demanded of those people; some He has placed over a particular plot, and these people will be held responsible for their portion of the vineyard; some He has placed in charge of but a single vine—those are each one of us, and we will be held responsible for the health and fruitfulness of that vine.

Rating: 9.3|Votes: 3

The Sunday of the Blind Man, and Courage

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Today in the Gospel we heard a story about an exceptionally courageous man—the man born blind. This man, having come to know and having seen God, was not afraid of any of the trials, of any of the temptations that the spiritually blind Pharisees, who warred against the truth, who warred against Christ, were setting before him.

Rating: 8.9|Votes: 10

Fr. Abbakum and the Pskov Religious Affairs Commissioner

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

That is just how it was. From early morning, at his post by the Holy Gates, Fr. Abbakum, demanded that every person entering the monastery read the Nicene-Constantinople Creed, composed by the fathers of the first and second Ecumenical Councils in the fourth century. His calculation was ingeniously simple: every church-going Orthodox person knows this text by heart.

Rating: 9|Votes: 3

About our Guardian Angel

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

During those years, Nicholai Sergeyevich was just beginning to enter into the life of the Church, and he still had many questions. One of those questions he asked me was regarding the Orthodox teaching on the angelic world; about guardian angels. I tried very hard, but to my dismay, I still felt that he was disappointed by my artless explanations.

Rating: 10|Votes: 1

How We Left for the Monastery

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Suddenly the door opened wide, and at the threshold appeared a tall, young fellow, our age— around twenty-two—in "commercial" (as we use to say) blue jeans and an expensive jacket. "You know, I like it here! I think I'm going to stay!" he announced to us, without even saying hello.

Rating: 10|Votes: 2

Theologians

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Fr. John eagerly explained. "We know three theologians in the Church. The first is St. John the Theologian, the apostle and beloved disciple of the Savior. The second is St. Gregory the Theologian. The third is St. Symeon the New Theologian. These are the only ones the Church has named "Theologian" over its entire two thousand years of existence. You, then, are the fourth?"

About One Man's Christian End

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Of course our loved ones’ passing over to the next life is a sad event; but it is by no means a reason for despair. Death is not only our grief over the person leaving us. It is also a great solemnity for a Christian—passage into eternal life! We must help him in any way we can to prepare for this most important event.

His Eminence the Novice. Part 2

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Perhaps Vladyka so loved to travel also because in travels, amidst the unexpected, and even dangers, he felt a particular presence of God. There is a reason why we especially pray “for those who travel by sea, land or air” at every Church service. That is why there also many stories in this modest book that are bound up with traveling. How many amazing, and at times absolutely unique events have happened during travels!

His Eminence the Novice. Part 1

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

For instance, we are walking around Moscow. A rainy, nasty day. We are in a hurry to get somewhere. Suddenly, a babushka with a cart stops Vladyka. “Ba-atiushka!..” she says in her trembling, elderly voice, not knowing, of course, that standing before her was no simple batiushka, but a entire bishop—from America, no less. “Batiushka, at least you help me—bless my room!

Rating: 1|Votes: 1

Homily at the Liturgy, January 8, 2011—the second day of Christmas, and the 85th anniversary of the birthday of Metropolitan Pitirim (Nechayev)

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Today, on the second day of Christmas, the Gospel is read in church about how the Mother of God and holy righteous Joseph fled with the Christ Child from Herod to Egypt. But how many pious, good people remained in Israel then! How many innocent victims there were, beginning with the infants of Bethlehem, were slain by the evil wrath of King Herod!

On the Faith of Christ's True Disciple

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Probably we are speaking of the faith we read about in the Holy Scriptures and in the Lives of the Saints; the faith which healed, worked miracles, gave unshakeable courage to the martyrs, fed the desert dwellers, and carried humble ascetics into the heavenly realms. It is that great faith which is so mysterious and unfathomable to us; faith that, we must admit, disturbs us when we read Christ’s words in the Gospels, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out the demons!

Rating: 10|Votes: 5

Cynicism is an Illness

An Interview with Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

When the Orthodox encountered this sort of thing during soviet times, they understood that this was "from our enemies," "from the adversary." Now, lessons in contempt and arrogance are coming more and more from people in the Church. We know what the bitter fruits of these lessons are.

Rating: 10|Votes: 17

Mean Old Fr. Nathaniel

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

During those atheistic years, soviet workers who came to the monastery expected to find any sort of reactionary, sly money-grubber, ignorant and not quite human; what they did not expect was what they actually saw—slightly peculiar but very interesting, educated and clever, extraordinarily brave and inwardly free people who knew things that the guests had never even guessed. After but a few minutes it would be clear to them that they had never met anyone like these monks in their whole lives.

Rating: 10|Votes: 10

Archimandrite Seraphim (Rosenberg)

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

First of all, Fr. Seraphim spoke of the monastery with enormous, inexpressible love, as of a most great treasure: "You cannot even imagine what a monastery is! It is a… pearl, a wondrous diamond in our world! You will only appreciate and understand this later." Then he told me about the main problem with monasticism these days: "The trouble with our monasteries today is that people come to them with a weak will." Only now do I have an increasingly greater understanding of how deep Fr. Seraphim's remark was.

Memory Eternal to Hierodeacon Makary

On August 13, 2010, after a long and difficult illness, a monk of the Sretensky Stavropegic Monastery in Moscow, Hierodeacon Makary (in the world, Ivan Stanislavovich Lobodiuk) reposed in the Lord. Fr. Markary was fluent in English, and often served at the Moscow Podvorye of the Orthodox Church in America, the rector of which—Archimandrite Zacchaeus (Wood)—was Fr. Markary’s close friend. Memory eternal!

Augustine. Part 3.

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

I looked at Fr. Augustine, and understood directly that he had guessed what was going on, and that it was all true! I also understood that if I begin my story with investigator Porphiry Petrovich, the situation would unfold just as I had conceived it, even up to the final, “Why, it is you, Fr. Augustine!

Rating: 10|Votes: 1

Augustine. Part 2.

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

Nevertheless, the more I thought about all of this during that sleepless night, while gazing into the black, starry sky outside the airplane window, the clearer it became to me: I had been led from Moscow to that far away Siberian town by the almighty arm of God’s Providence! And nothing, nothing was accidental!

Rating: 10|Votes: 1

Augustine. Part 1.

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

But we were horrified at the very thought that this monk-ascetic who knew nothing of worldly life, this angelic jungle boy raised in the mountains on the writings of the holy fathers might end up, if not in prison, then in a temporary jail cell, or even in the army, where a healthy, twenty-two year old young man would end up in any case. And what if the worst thing should happen and he ends up in prison—this pure, sinless ascetic, who gave his whole life to God? We were shaken by this impending danger.

Rating: 9.4|Votes: 7

“The truth, even if bitter, will triumph with time”

Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)

“How can peoples having the same Christian Faith be on opposite sides of the battle line? Do the heads of the Orthodox Churches have the right to take a stand against the rulers of their national government? Can the Church make a mistake? Can an illiterate person be a good and responsible Christian? Has holiness become the exception rather than the norm?” These and other questions were answered by the head of Moscow’s Sretensky Monastery, Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov).