Quotes from 20th Century Saints
Lives of 20th Century Saints
100
"Give thanks to God for everything. Try to be manly. Pull yourself together a bit. Do you know what Christians are suffering in other countries? There are such difficulties in Russia! But here many exhibit indifference. There’s not enough disposition to kindness, love of devotion. You see, if we don’t begin to make war against evil, to expose those who tempt believers, then the evil will grow larger. If we throw aside fear then the faithful will be emboldened a bit. And those who wage war against the Church will have a harder time. In the past our nation lived spiritually, so God blessed her, and the saints helped us in miraculous fashion. And we were victorious against our enemies, who always outnumbered us. Today we continue to call ourselves Orthodox Christians, but we don’t live Orthodox lives."
St. Paisios of Mount Athos
100
Troparion (Tone 8)
O golden-tongued preacher proclaiming the risen Christ,
Everlasting guide of the cross-bearing Serbian people,
Resounding harp of the Holy Spirit, and dear to monastics who rejoice in you,
Pride and boast of the priesthood, teacher of repentance, master for all nations,
Guide of those in the army of Christ as they pray to God,
Holy (N.) teacher in America and pride of the Serbian people,
With all the saints, implore the only Lover of mankind
To grant us peace and joy in his heavenly kingdom!
Kontakion (Tone 3)
Born at Lelich in Serbia,
You served as archpastor at the church of Saint Nahum in Ochrid.
Taking your place on the throne of Saint Sabbas at Zhicha,
You taught God's people and enlightened them with the Gospel.
You brought people to repentance and the love of Christ,
And for Christ you endured suffering at Dachau.
Therefore we glorify you, a new (N.) well–pleasing to God.
St. Nikolaj Velimirović of Ohrid and Žiča
200
"I took this step only out of deep faith and I feel that I must appear before God with a pure and believing heart. […] You say that the outward brilliance of the church fascinated me. In this you are wrong. Nothing external attracts me, and not worship - but the foundation of faith. External signs only remind me of the internal.”
Grand Duchess St. Elizabeth the New Martyr
200
Apolytikion in the First Tone:
O faithful, let us honor (N.), divine servant of Christ,
offspring of Silivria and guardian of Aegina,
who in these latter years was manifested as the true friend of virtue.
All manner of healing wells forth for those who in piety cry out,
"Glory to Christ who glorified you; glory to Him who, through you,
wrought wonders; glory to Him who, through you, works healing for all."
Kontakion:
In joy of heart let us hymn with songs the newly revealed star of Orthodoxy,
the newly erected bulwark of the Church;
for, glorified by the activity of the Spirit,
he poureth forth the abundant grace of healing upon those who cry:
Rejoice, O Father (N.), model of patience and lover of virtue.
St. Nektarios of Aegina
300
"In the European West, Christianity has gradually transformed into humanism. For a long time and arduously, the God-Man diminished, and has been changed, narrowed, and finally reduced to a man: to the infallible man in Rome and the equally "infallible" man in London and Berlin. Thus did papism come into being, taking everything from Christ, along with Protestantism, which asks the least from Christ, and often nothing. Both in papism and in Protestantism, man has been put in the place of the God-Man, both as the highest value and as the highest criterion. A painful and sad correction of the God-Man's work and teaching has been accomplished. Steadily and stubbornly papism has tried to substitute the God-Man with man, until in the dogma about the infallibility of the pope—a man, the God-Man was once and for all replaced with ephemeral, "infallible" man; because with this dogma, the pope was decisively and clearly declared as something higher than not only man, but the holy Apostles, the holy Fathers, and the holy Ecumenical councils. With this kind of a departure from the God-Man, from the ecumenical Church as the God-Man organism, papism surpassed Luther, the founder of Protestantism. Thus, the first radical protest in the name of humanism against the God-Man Christ, and his God-Man organism—the Church—should be looked for in papism, not in Lutheranism. Papism is actually the first and the oldest Protestantism."
St. Justin Popović
300
Troparion (Tone 2)
O all-blessed Father (N.),
Flaming zealot of the seraphim's love for the Lord
And fervent imitator of Jeremiah who wept for the people,
Hearing the call of the Mother of the Lord of Hosts,
With wise courage you spewed out the sinful serpent
And withdrew from the snares of the world to the mountain of Athos,
Where in labors and prayer, joined with tears,
In abundance you acquired the grace of the Holy Spirit with which our hearts are enflamed.
Being strengthened by you, we cry out with compunction:
My Lord, my Life and the Joy of your saint,
Save the world and us from all cruel things!
Kontakion (Tone 2)
O (N.), beloved of God,
Truly amazing preacher of humility
And radiance warmed by the love for mankind of the Holy Spirit:
The Russian Church rejoices in your labors.
All monks on the Athonite mountain
And all Christian people are rejoicing as well,
Turning themselves towards God with the love of children.
Beseech Him for us, you who have seen God and are equal to the angels,
That burning with your love our souls may be saved.
St. Silouan the Athonite
400
"Thus, the Ecumenical Patriarch has become actually "ecumenical" [universal] in the breadth of the territory which is theoretically subject to him. Almost the whole earthly globe, apart from the small territories of the three Patriarchates and the territory of Soviet Russia, according to the idea of the Patriarchate's leaders, enters into the composition of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Increasing without limit their desires to submit to themselves parts of Russia, the Patriarchs of Constantinople have even begun to declare the uncanonicity of the annexation of Kiev to the Moscow Patriarchate, and to declare that the previously existing southern Russian Metropolia of Kiev should be subject to the Throne of Constantinople. Such a point of view is not only clearly expressed in the Tomos of November 13, 1924, in connection with the separation of the Polish Church, but is also quite thoroughly promoted by the Patriarchs. Thus, the Vicar of Metropolitan Eulogius in Paris, who was consecrated with the permission of the Ecumenical Patriarch, has assumed the title of Chersonese; that is to say, Chersonese, which is now in the territory of Russia, is subject to the Ecumenical Patriarch. The next logical step for the Ecumenical Patriarchate would be to declare the whole of Russia as being under the jurisdiction of Constantinople."
St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco
400
Troparion (Tone 1)
O herald of the way of salvation,
confessor and archpastor of the Crimean flock,
faithful keeper of the traditions of the fathers,
unshakeable pillar and teacher of Orthodoxy,
pray unceasingly to Christ our Saviour
to grant salvation and strong faith to Orthodox Christians,
O holy hierarch (N.),
physician wise in God.
Kontakion (Tone 1)
Like a bright star shinning with the virtues, O holy hierarch,
thou hast made thy soul angelic;
and, honored with the rank of bishop,
in exile thou didst suffer much at the hands of the ungodly.
Yet unshaken in the faith, thou didst cure many with healing wisdom.
The Lord hath therefore glorified thy precious body,
which hath been taken up from the bosom of the earth, that we the faithful may cry out to thee:
Rejoice, O holy (N.) our father,
boast and strength of the Crimean land.
St. Luke of Simferopol and Crimea
500
"With regard to your perplexities concerning Sergianism, I can say that the very same questions in almost the same form were addressed to me from Kazan ten years ago, and then I replied affirmatively to them, because I considered everything that Metropolitan Sergius had done as a mistake which he himself was conscious of and wished to correct. Moreover, among our ordinary flock there were many people who had not investigated what had happened, and it was impossible to demand from them a decisive and active condemnation of the events. Since then much water has flowed under the bridge. The expectations that Metropolitan Sergius would correct himself have not been justified, but there has been enough time for the formerly ignorant members of the Church, enough incitement and enough opportunity to investigate what has happened; and very many have both investigated and understood that Metropolitan Sergius is departing from that Orthodox Church which the Holy Patriarch Tikhon entrusted to us to guard, and consequently there can be no part or lot with him for the Orthodox. The recent events have finally made clear the renovationist nature of Sergianism. We cannot know whether those believers who remain in Sergianism will be saved, because the work of eternal Salvation is a work of the mercy and grace of God. But for those who see and feel the unrighteousness of Sergianism (those are your questions) it would be unforgiveable craftiness to close one’s eyes to this unrighteousness and seek there for the satisfaction of one’s spiritual needs when one’s conscience doubts in the possibility of receiving such satisfaction. Everything which is not of faith is sin.... I am in fraternal communion with Metropolitan Joseph, and I gratefully esteem the fact that it was precisely with his blessing that there was expressed the first protest against Metropolitan Sergius’ undertaking from the Petrograd diocese...”
Hieromartyr St. Cyril of Kazan
500
Troparion (Tone 4)
O righteous Father (N.),
Our heavenly intercessor and teacher,
Divine adornment of the Church of Christ!
Entreat the Master of All
To strengthen the Orthodox Faith in America,
To grant peace to the world
And to our souls, great mercy!
Kontakion (Tone 5):
Let us, the faithful, praise the Priest (N.),
A bright beacon of Orthodoxy in America,
A model of patience and humility,
A worthy shepherd of the Flock of Christ.
He called back the sheep who had been led astray
And brought them by his preaching
To the Heavenly Kingdom!
St. Alexis Toth of Wilkes-Barre