#st. sergius

[dramoor]

“Lord!  Give us weak eyes for things of no account, and eyes full of clarity in all your truth.”

~Bishop Albertini, 1845

(Art from The Life of St. Sergius)

[l-egypte]

December 29, 2019 | The Escape to Egypt (Matthew 2:13–18)

13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,    weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children    and refusing to be comforted,    because they are no more.”

_____

The Church of St. Sergius in Cairo is where it is believed that the Holy Family rested while in Egypt.

[Painting titled “Flight into Egypt” by Eugène Girardet (1853–1907)]

[postcard-from-the-past]

Monks of the Monastery of Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, Sergiyev Posad, Russia

Russian vintage postcard

[genntrygenntry]

jwd314: The close bond between St.Sergius and St.Bacchus has been emphasized since the earliest accounts, and recent scholarship has proposed their homosexuality. The oldest record of their martyrdom describes them as erastai (Greek for “lovers”). Scholars believe that they may have been united in the rite of adelphopoiesis (brother-making), a kind of early Byzantine Christian same-sex marriage. Worship of these coupled Saints was very popular amongst the Roman army. They were martyred in the 4th century AD

[dramoor]

Relics of St. Sergius of Radonezh, Holy Trinity Lavra

(Photo: dramoor © 2014 Sergiev Posad, Russia)

[canonizedandotherwise]

Russia's Politicized Patron Saint

The New York Times

Some historians and church figures are crying foul over what they say are the Kremlin’s efforts to reshape the legacy of St. Sergius to enhance political goals. Produced by: Natalia V. Osipova and Neil Macfarquhar Read the story here: http://nyti.ms/WX8MlF

[newstfionline]

Putin Strives to Harness Energy of Russian Pilgrims for Political Profit

By Neil MacFarquhar, NY Times, AUG. 2, 2014

SERGIYEV POSAD, Russia--The pilgrims tramped toward the storied monastery by the thousands--chanting prayers, singing and embracing the kind of nationalist fervor that President Vladimir V. Putin seeks to harness as his own.

The official reason for the trek to the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, the seat of the Russian Orthodox faith and the country’s original monastery, was to commemorate the 700th birthday of its founder and namesake.

But amid that tide of pilgrims--official estimates hovered around 30,000--swirled diverse political and religious currents related to Mr. Putin’s effort to cast himself as the defender of traditional values, a campaign that has become more pronounced since Russia’s involvement with Ukraine.

The birthday celebrations in Sergiyev Posad emphasized St. Sergius’s role in shaping a unified Russia, a narrative that dovetails with the nationalism and conservative morals that Mr. Putin espouses.

Some historians and church figures are crying foul, however, over what they say are the Kremlin’s efforts to reshape the saint’s legacy to enhance political goals, fostering what one critic called “an official cult.”

“They are creating a myth around St. Sergius, making him out to be an obedient servant of the Russian state, which he was not,” said Irina Karatsuba, a historian who often aligns herself with unpopular causes. “He is one of the important embodiments of what was and is the best in Russia. But the way they are trying to link him to the Russian state is nonsense; it’s political manipulation.”

“St. Sergius was the beginning not just of Russian monasticism or the Russian spiritual tradition,” said Vladimir Legoyda, the head of the information department for the Holy Synod. “In many ways he is the source of Russia itself.”

The saint has long been revered as a humble figure, content to spend his days in prayer and dressing like a beggar. He turned down the job of leading the church, but was given the unique title of abbot for all Russia.

“He is a great personality in Russian history,” said Margarita Popova, a 48-year-old English teacher who traveled 17 hours by bus with her teenage son from their home near Volgograd for the anniversary. “Russia before Sergei Radonezh and Russia after was perhaps two different Russias.”

Ordinary people, Ms. Popova said, do not have the time to pray for themselves, for Russia and for the world constantly. The monks who do so are following a tradition started in the Russian Orthodox Church by St. Sergius. He is often identified as the original staretz, a Russian word that means a monastic spiritual leader, one who has achieved tangible experience in the future kingdom of God.

Beyond spiritual matters, the crowd at the birthday commemoration at the monastery here, 45 miles north of Moscow, was unquestionably in the Putin camp. Many compared him to a czar, and meant it as a compliment.

“He has just not been anointed,” said Vladimir Bubelev, 60, an officer in the naval reserves wearing a brass pin showing the profile of Nicholas II, the last czar, on his lapel.

“But his powers are greater than those of Nicholas II,” Mr. Bubelev said. “On many questions he acts like a monarch--he makes correct, willful decisions. This is very good. Plus he is a believer!”

As it happens, the birthday of St. Sergius and the anniversary of the death of Nicholas II fall within a couple of days of each other in July. The church made Nicholas II and his immediate family saints in 2000. The czar’s 1917 assassination was for many Orthodox faithful the last time that a man anointed by God governed Russia.

When the czars ruled, Mr. Bubelev persisted, Russia evoked both nobility and morality. The Romanovs deeply revered both St. Sergius and a later, 19th-century monk, St. Seraphim of Sarov, also worshiped by the Russian Orthodox.

“They helped the czars rule Russia in the right way--they made Russia rich,” Mr. Bubelev said. The czars “went to their relics and asked for God’s help, and they succeeded. Thank God Mr. Putin is asking for their help now.”

But Ms. Karatsuba, the historian, pointed out that the Romanov rulers also tried to elevate the concept of Holy Rus as a national ideal in their campaign to stall political reform in the 19th century. That turned out badly for them in 1917, she noted.

Still, the Slavic nationalism prevalent among the faithful makes them a natural base of support for Mr. Putin’s policy that all ethnic Russians are worthy of protection wherever they are. That has been his stated reason for championing the cause of anti-Kiev insurgents in southeastern Ukraine.

“We are all one people, we are all part of Holy Rus,” said Dmitry Markov, 28, a buyer for a cellphone company who attended the St. Sergius commemoration. “Any person, regardless of where he lives, if he is Russian in spirit, he must be defended by his president, by his country, because he is an indivisible part of the nation.”

[pasionanimalblog]

Russia 2012. Trinity Lavra (monastery) of St. Sergius close to Moscow. After visiting the monastery, we were surprised with this amazing view of the pigeons. We joined the lady and fed the pigeons with part of a cake we had bought inside. 

This picture series continued after the lady was gone, (but I won't post that today, sorry ;-)). Soon I will publish two other wonderful sequences with two very different characters besides the lady... stay tuned!

Rusia 2012. Monasterio de Santa Trinidad y San Sergio cerca de Moscú. Una vez realizada la visita, al salir nos encontramos con esta imagen tan fabulosa. Nosotros también nos animamos y les dimos de comer un bizcocho que compramos dentro.

Esta serie no acabó con la señora y nosotros (estas no las postearé, lo siento ;-) ), próximamente publicaré otras dos secuencias maravillosas con dos protagonistas muy diferentes ademas de la señora. Estar atentos.