Rating: 10|Votes: 1
The elder's own humility was remarkable. He never ascribed anything to his own gifts, or considered himself a man of special prayer. The elder's day began at 2:00 a.m., when he did his cell rule, and then attended the services from beginning to end, after which he gave himself over to service of his neighbor
St Joseph devoted much attention to the inner ordering of the monks’ life. He himself led a strict cenobitic life in accordance with the Rule he compiled, to which all the services and obediences of the monks were made subject, and it governed their whole life, "whether in their comings or goings, their words or their deeds." At the core of the rule was total non-covetousness, detachment from one's own will, and constant work.
Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov)
Rating: 10|Votes: 16
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.
It was morning, but the inhabitants of Moscow were already on their feet and heading for the Kuchkovo field, where now stands the Sretensky Monastery. What happened then? Why had the people forgotten everything, disturbed to the depth of their souls, and come to such a movement? In Russia there is a saying: “Whoever has not been to sea or in a storm has never prayed to God.”
Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose)
Rating: 9,3|Votes: 26
The Apocalypse describes these events in a series of visions: some bright and positive, relating to the fulfillment of God's justice and the salvation of His chosen ones; and some dark and negative, relating to the terrible plagues that will come on earth for the sins of mankind. Sometimes we today emphasize the dark and negative side, seeing the increase of evil around us; but that comes from our faintheartedness and worldliness—we must look at the whole picture.