Fr. Seraphim Rose - Discovering Orthodoxy

All who have taken the name of Orthodox Christians are striving together for the same goal; and even in this life we have a foretaste of the perfect love that will bind us together in our Lord in the eternal Kingdom He has prepared for His faithful.

Orthodoxy is the preparation of souls for this Kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven.

The schismatic Churches have, in lesser or greater measure, forgotten this truth and compromised with the world; Orthodoxy alone has remained other-worldly.

The aim of the Orthodox life (of which we all fall miserably short) is to live in this life in constant remembrance of the next life, in fact to see even in this life, through the Grace of our Lord, the beginning of that life.

This is the meaning of the “joy” of which I just spoke, and which to me is the strongest proof of the truth of Orthodoxy. The saint lives always in this joy—I will tell you later some wonderful stories of some of our modern Russian saints and how this joy was expressed in them.

And Orthodoxy alone continues to produce saints—I mean real saints, not just “good men.”

The present Archbishop of San Francisco (he came here recently from Paris) is such a man. He leads a life of real crucifixion—the strictest asceticism (he never even lies down), a totally selfless giving of himself to others, Christian kindness and patience even in the face of the most evil and slanderous accusations (for Satan attacks our Church very strongly, in many ways); but always he is full of such love and joy that one is always happy and at peace in his presence, even in sorrow and in the most trying circumstances.

These are very difficult times. Most of the priests and bishops I know (the bishops of our Church are very close to their people, very warm, and very easy to approach) are convinced that these are the last days of the world and that the reign of Antichrist is at hand. This is of course a very easy subject to get carried away with; but our Lord has told us to be prepared for the signs of the end, and those who are not interested in them are only going to be seduced by them.

The faithful remnant of Christians in the last days, as our Lord has told us, will be very small; the vast majority of those who call themselves Christians will welcome Antichrist as the Messiah.

Therefore it is not enough to be a “non-denominational” Christian; those who are not true Orthodox Christians belong to the “new Christianity,” the “Christianity” of Antichrist.

The Pope of Rome and practically everyone else today speaks of “transforming the world” by Christianity: priests and nuns take part in demonstrations for “racial equality” and similar causes. These have nothing to do with Christianity: they do nothing but distract men from their true goal, which is the Kingdom of Heaven. The coming age of “peace,” “unity,” and “brotherhood,” if it comes, will be the reign of Antichrist: it will be Christian in name, but Satanic in spirit.

Everyone today seeks happiness on earth, and they think this is “Christianity”; true Orthodox Christians know that the age of persecutions, which began again under the Bolsheviks, is still with us, and that only by much sorrow and tribulation are we made fit to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

The heart of Orthodoxy is prayer; and I may truthfully say that before I found Orthodoxy I never had the slightest idea of what prayer was or what power it had. 

Often, of course, one is cold in prayer; but I have known times, both by myself and with others, of truly warm and fervent prayer, and of heartfelt tears of repentance: and I have known the joy of seeing my prayers answered. Thus encouraged I, feeble and unworthy, have been bold to speak to our Lord and to His Mother and His Saints (I have known no one who prays to the Saints with such faith and fervor as Orthodox believers), and their guidance in my life is as real to me as my own breathing.

Source: Fr. Seraphim Rose, Excerpt from Letter 2: "Discovering Orthodoxy", 15 July 1963

https://thoughtsintrusive.wordpress.com/letters-of-fr-seraphim-rose-1961-1982/

The miracle of the Crucified Christ in Hagia Sophia in the year 1200

 

The Crucified Christ is tradition of our Church

The presence of our Crucified Lord Jesus Christ behind the Holy Altar Table is tradition of our Church. This was ratified by the Orthodox Church of Greece with a relevant decision in 2025, while undoubtedly, as Orthodox Christians, we have received this tradition from our venerable holy fathers of our Church. Thus, we grew up with the sight of the Crucified Christ within the Holy Sanctuary.

To the glory of God, this centuries-old tradition is also sealed by the history of our Church, with two historical evidences that testify to the presence of our Crucified Christ behind the Holy Altar Table.

The presence of the Crucified Christ in Hagia Sophia since the 6th century

In the Holy Sanctuary of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, a large gilded Holy Cross was preserved from the 6th century until the Fall of the Polis by the Latins in 1204. The Holy Cross (i.e. the Crucified Christ) was located behind the Holy Altar Table and further behind was the Synthron. This historical evidence is described in the book by Eugenios Michael Antoniadis (1908) “Ekfrasis of Hagia Sophia” (pp. 125-126).

The miracle of the Crucified Christ in Hagia Sophia in 1200

The second historical testimony comes from Saint Anthony, Archbishop of Novgorod, on his journey to Constantinople in the year 1200, as a monk at that time and later elected Archbishop of Novgorod, Russia (1210-1229). This testimony, in addition to confirming the presence of the Crucified Christ behind the Holy Altar Table in Hagia Sophia, as the tradition of our Church, also recounts the remarkable miracle of the Holy and Life-giving Cross, which Saint Anthony himself and a multitude of believers experienced.

The miracle, as recorded by the Saint, with the Grace of the Holy Spirit, was accomplished for the glory of God within the Holy Sanctuary of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople in the year 1200, on May 21, the commemoration of Saints Constantine and Helen, Equal-to-the-Apostles, on Sunday of the Holy 318 Fathers of our Church. The Emperor was Alexios III Angelos (1195-1203) and the Patriarch of Constantinople was John X Kamateros (1198-1206).

Specifically, after the Orthros and before the Divine Liturgy, the small-sized Holy Cross of Justinian (1 ½ cubits), which was on the Holy Altar Table, was hovered and reached above the large gilded Holy Cross (with a height greater than two men), which was placed behind the Holy Altar Table, and further behind was the Synthron. After this miraculous hover, the Holy Cross returned to its place.

This historical reference to the miracle of the Crucified Christ in Hagia Sophia is included in various historical sources, two of which are: “Itinéraires russes en Orient (1889) p.94-95” and “The church of Sancta Sophia, Constantinople: a study of Byzantine building (1894) p.104-105”.

Epilogue

In our present dire time, of the lack of respect and fear of God, days of apostasy of the clergy and laity, days prophesied by many of our holy fathers, such as Patrokosmas (Prophecy 57) and Abba Pambo (Gerontikon A'), especially in such days, our Lord never abandons His faithful children and provides divine protection and consolation.

Thus, today it is confirmed that our Crucified Christ, already nine centuries ago, with this inconceivable divine sign of His within the Holy Sanctuary of Hagia Sophia, took care to offer us divine consolation and to seal that this present-day scandalous expulsion of the Crucified Christ from the Holy Sanctuary (which essentially began in 2022) is nothing other than a new misbelief.

May the Grace and protection of the Holy and Life-giving Cross guard us.

Amen!

Nikolaos Markou

Translation from the original article in Greek 

References

[1] Eugenios Michael Antoniadis (1908) “Ekfrasis of Hagia Sophia” (pp. 125-126), https://medusa.libver.gr/iguana/www.main.cls?surl=search&p=2cafc322-e6e4-433a-9fcf-b8b0e4d5c7da#recordId=3.1279&srchDb=3

[2] Bob Atchison, Antony of Novgorod Description of Hagia Sophia in 1200, https://www.pallasweb.com/deesis/anthony-of-novgorod-description-of-hagia-sophia.html

[3] W. R. Lethaby & Harold Swainson (1894), The church of Sancta Sophia, Constantinople: a study of Byzantine building, p.104-105, https://archive.org/details/gri_33125001110812/page/104/mode/2up

[4] Khitrowo, B. De (1889), Itinéraires russes en Orient, Société de l'Orient latin, p.94-95, Paris, France, https://archive.org/details/itinerairesrusse00khit/page/n3/mode/2up 

We hear of repentance but we see no repentance

The Holy Gospel is the Word of our Lord Jesus Christ. True and eternal Word for our salvation. We must study it with a pure heart and apply it with the fear of God, faith and love. (John 5,39; Psalm 1,2)

The modern scribes and Pharisees

Our Lord warned us to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy (Luke 12,1) and elsewhere He says the terrible “woes” rebuking the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites. (Matthew 23,13-16)

He spoke to the multitudes of the people and His disciples, that the scribes and Pharisees, that is, the teachers of the law, sat in the teaching chair (Matthew 23,1-2). Today, this pastoral responsibility and catechesis of the flock of our Church is carried out by hierarchs, priests, monks, theologians, people of God.

And He continued His word, whatever they teach you, follow and do. But do not do according to their deeds, as what they say, they do not apply them themselves. (Matthew 23,3). These deeds of hypocrisy and corruption in the Temple led our Lord to overturn the tables there, saying, My house is house of prayer, but you have turned it into a cavern of robbers. (Luke 19,46)

In our end times, things are turning out to be even worse, because the modern Pharisees, not only do not apply the Word of our Lord, but they have gone so far as to distort and adulterate the Truth, leaving the flock without catechism and defenseless before the devil’s traps.

“From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and bishops and scribes, and be killed, and be raised on the third day.” (Matthew 16,21)

Hypocrisy brings scandalism

Works and deeds of shepherds of our Church that are not in conformance with the Gospel cause great scandal in the flock. That is why the Lord warns us: “Whoever causes to stumble one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (Matthew 18,6)

Such actions come from the adulteration and distortion of the truth, blatant anti-Christian actions, omissions and impermissible condescension in all of these. Some of these modern anti-Christian issues are: the kolymbari, the ukrainian, compulsory vaccinations and masks, acceptance of sexual education in schools, removal of the Crucified Jesus Christ from the Holy Sanctuary, homosexual marriage and adoption of children, the rise of ecumenism, persecution of Orthodox hierarchs and clergy, digital slavery.

The attitude of the wolf-shepherds and their collaborators in all of this does not surprise us as Christians, as the Gospel already informs us that some people have crept in, who from ancient times were destined, due to their predestination, for this evil, that is, to be impious, who change the grace of our God into licentiousness, and deny our only Archpriest and Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 1,4)

The terrible "woes" to the scribes and Pharisees

The spiritual and moral degradation of those who hypocritically teach the Word of God is revealed by the terrible “woes” of our Lord to the scribes and Pharisees of yesterday, but also of today (Matthew 23,13-16):

• “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you devour widows’ fortunes, and then hypocritically make long prayers. Therefore you will receive a greater punishment.”
• “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you obstruct the kingdom of heaven for the people. Certainly, you yourself will not go in, but you neither allow to those, who are willing to enter, to go in.”
• “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel over sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is converted, you make him two times worse than yourselves.”

Lukewarm Christians are an object lesson

In the Revelation of John, the Lord sternly rebukes the Bishop of the Church of Laodicea: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” (Rev. 3,14-16)

Lukewarmness in faith represents a serious spiritual fall for a Christian, as it not only causes the individual to slide into delusion but also drags other souls toward perdition. There is no room for diplomacy in the Church of Christ. Christ is the Truth! No deviation from the words of our Lord is permissible under the guise of so-called diplomacy or the strategies invoked by some.

Our Lord reminds us to take a clear stand “you cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6,24), and our speech to be equally clear: “let your word Yes to be—yes or No to be—no, anything more than this comes from the evil one”. (Matthew 5,37)

Beware of wolf-shepherds

The Apostle Paul warns us: even if we ourselves, the Apostles or an angel from heaven should preach to you a Gospel different from the one we originally preached to you, let that person be accursed and cut off from God. (Gal. 1,8)

Saint Gabriel the Fool for Christ told his spiritual children that times would come where the Christian will be difficult to save onself—so then, what will happen to the unbeliever? Then, he referred to the end times and the hardships Christians would face, as well as to the spiritual fathers who, instead of saving souls, would destroy them. When asked by what criterion one should choose a spiritual father, he replied: “By his works.” [1]

Today, the words of our Lord—“even the chosen ones will be deluded” (Mark 13,22)—are being confirmed. We see fathers who, until recently, were notable people, gradually falling spiritually, one after another. Especially in these end times, blind obedience can prove spiritually fatal for careless and unprepared Christians.

Continuous spiritual vigilance is essential until the very end, so that with the help of the Holy Spirit, we manage to distinguish wolf-shepherds [2] from good shepherds and safeguard the true faith and the salvation of our souls, because "he who endures until the end will be saved". (Matthew 24,13)

Zacchaeus’s true repentance

“Then, Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, look, Lord, I give half of my fortune to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold” (Luke 19,8). Likewise, when we are mistaken before God and people, we have to repent through substantive deeds rather than mere words.

And while everything is now clear: from the irregular and unjust persecutions of clergy and laity, the demonic removal of the Crucified Jesus Christ from the Holy Sanctuary, persistence in unorthodox ecumenist alignments, the adverse effects of experimental vaccinations, acceptance of digital slavery, etc, all of this testifies to the fact that we remain unrepentant, without fear of God, lacking even a shred of will to rectify the bad faith and heresy that are methodically and fraudulently infiltrating in our Church.

To confess Crucified Jesus Christ

“Whoever confesses me before people, I will confess him before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10,32)

“We preach Christ Crucified, while Jews consider it a scandal and Greeks silliness.” (A' Cor. 1,23)

Saint Cyril (†387) warns us in his catechism: “Keep the Cross as the primary and unshakable foundation, and upon it build the rest of the faith. Do not deny the Crucified Christ. If you deny Him, there will be many who will reproach you for it. Judas the traitor will be the first to reproach you, because he betrayed Jesus Christ knowing that He had been condemned to death by the hierarchs and the elders.” [3]

“When morning came, all the hierarchs and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.” (Matthew 27,1)

Epilogue by a Holy Hierarch

Let us keep the epilogue, from the words of the ever-memorable Bishop Augoustinos Kantiotis (†2010): “My beloved, this is how Christ spoke to the scribes and Pharisees of that time. But did the Pharisees cease to exist from then on? They exist today—and they will continue to exist until the end of age. That is why, at the end of the New Testament, in the Revelation of John, we hear again, other “woes” (Rev. 8,13; Rev. 18,10) against the Pharisees of the end times. And if anyone wonders, "Is God bad and threatening?" the answer is—God loves and desires the salvation of all—he threatens with the "woes" in order to prevent evil and bring repentance and salvation.” [4]

With our humble prayers for the flock and the shepherds of our Church.

Amen!

N.M.

Source: https://tasthyras.wordpress.com/  

Translation from the original article in Greek

References

[1] Youth Office of the Holy Metropolis of Paphos, 17/1/2025 (from the spiritual work of the Metropolitan of Paphos Tychikos)

[2] St. John Chrysostom, Discourse on false prophets and false teachers (A’), PG 59.553-5, https://www.impantokratoros.gr/BAA6F00E.el.aspx

[3] St. Cyril Catechism XIII, The Cross, the Pride of the Church, Excerpt LH’

[4] https://www.augoustinos-kantiotis.gr/?p=52680 (St. Panteleimon of Florina, 2/5/1983)