new martyr valentine sventitsky
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New Martyr Valentine Sventitsky
St. Valentine Sventitsky is commemoratedon the traditional Church Calendar October 7th
(October 20 n.s.)A Spiritual Hero of the 2Oth century
Unfortunately, very little is known to us about this
zealous Church teacher of unadulterated, mystical Orthodoxy
in our modern times. Whatever little we do know about him
comes from his liberal contemporaries, who as a rule did not
deign to recognize the uniqueness and uniformity of patristic
philosophy, which to him constituted the very essence of life. In
this respect he was their enemy, one whom they could not
understand- evidently because of his genuine conversion
experience.
The divinely-revealed teaching of God and man, preserved
throughout the centuries and enriched within the saving
enclosure of the Orthodox Church, is a limitless ocean of
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wisdom and should be approached with fear and trembling so
as not to soil any aspect of it through our sinfulness and pride.
It can in no way be improved upon by the daring hand of our
intellectual worldliness. Fr.Valentine's inquisitive mind was inawe and wonder before the accessible reality of deification. Inthis respect he was not of this world, but remained in the worldas a pastor who guided people to the realm of sobriety,hesychasm, and otherworldliness.From the few details of his biography one can surmise that he
came from an aristocratic Polish family, received a good
education, and was an extremely talented and impressive
young man. His large eyes looked upon the world with
seriousness. At the age of 15 he could already debate Kant with
scholarly philosophers, and soon he started a crusade against
the vices of society, in which he advocated strict discipline of
body and soul. His talks produced a striking impression. He
published at least two magazines (Problems of Religion and
Living Life) dealing with Christian problems in a society
whose intellectual leaders were luring Orthodox Christians
through foreign tastes and fashions away from Christ.
In 1905 he left Moscow for Petersburg in order to findsupporters for a Christian Brotherhood of Struggle. Whilestill a layman, he recognized the value of the monastic ideal forall Christians and ardently defended monasticism against thedecadent free-thinkers of his time; thinly clothed in
conservative Orthodoxy, the latter were, in fact, making rapid
strides away from the sacred Tradition of the Church. His book,The Heavenly Citizens or My Travels Among the Anchorites ofthe Caucasus Mountains (Moscow, 1915) was inspired by hisvisit to the monk-ascetics of the Caucasus. Another book called
Anti-Christ had considerable success. His two available short
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works, Monasticism in the World(1921) and Against GeneralConfession (1926), give evidence of his importance as amodern apostle of genuine Orthodoxy in a time of rising
apostasy.
After the Revolution he married and was ordained a priest; he
was the head priest in a Moscow church known as St. Nicholas
the Big Cross on St. Elias St. There in the 1920 he attracted a
large congregation by his eloquent sermons, which were
eagerly received as rich food in the midst of the general
scarcity of genuine Orthodox spirituality in Russia at this time.
He went to Optina Monastery and became the spiritual son of
Elder Anatole (Zertsalov), to whom he dedicated hismasterpiece, Six Readings on the Mystery of Confession and
its History in which he dealt a blow to the practice of general
confession which had become fashionable among the liberalclergy of his day.
Father Valentine was an ardent proponent of the frequent
usage of the Jesus Prayer. He held that monastic discipline in
our day of universal lukewarmness among Christians was not
only possible but imperative in order to preserve the salt of
the earth, i.e., the Orthodox truths, in the hearts of men who
are being cunningly attacked by the spirit of secularization.
With this in mind, he con ducted a series of talks (from 1921-
1926) using the strictly monastic teaching of the Ladder of St.
John Climacus, where he strove to apply it to ordinary daily life
in the con temporary world which had become actually hostile
to Christianity.
One of his friends, S.I. Fudel, gives us a brief insight into the
spiritual world of this otherworldly pastor:
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Father Valentine Sventitsky on the one hand
seemed to be a regular priest with a family, and
on the other an experienced teacher of
continuous prayer. He did much for the generaldefense of the faith. But his main significance was
that he called all people to conduct ceaseless
prayer, an uninterrupted burning of the spirit.
Prayer, he would say, erects walls around ourmonastery in the world. It was also he whoresolved the complex problem of inward evil inthe Church. Any sin in the Church, he said, is a sinnot only of the Church but against the Church. Healso taught that one should not interrupt oneceaseless mental prayer while attending churchservices.
Once after I returned from exile to Moscow in 1925, I chanced
to be at Liturgy when Father Valentine was serving. I came in at
the end of the service and when he came out with the ambo
prayer, I was shocked to see his face. I cannot express my
impression other than to say that it was the face of a man
having just sacrificed himself as a burnt offering in truth andpain -, and now deeply shaken, was coming out to us, oblivious
to his earthly surroundings.
Another time I recall how, while in a crowded Butyrka prison-
ward in 1922, I was endlessly pacing amidst the prisoners
when I bumped into Father Valentine. In embarrassment I
asked for some stupid reason, Where are you going? All of a
sudden his face became remarkably light with some inward
warmth, and he said, 'I was coming to you. Usually he was so
estranged, closed up, stern and impatient, like his distant
relative, a Polish cardinal. But now he had the radiant and quiet
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beam of light of true Russian sanctity-the kind and all-seeing
sanctity of a holy elder. He was coming straight to- wards me,
towards my very soul which he was then probably protecting
against some evil. Thus, a prison can enlighten and illumine asoul and wondrously reveal something which at other times is
impossible to discover.
In 1927 Metropolitan Sergius issued his famous declaration
which essentially reduced the Church to a state-controlled
organization. This enslavement to the atheist authorities was
not tolerated by the true pastors and the faithful of Christ's
flock whose conscience would not allow them to agree to such
a cunning compromise. Many hierarchs and simple pastors
wrote open letters to Metropolitan Sergius, deploring his
action and refusing to follow him on such a ruinous path. In
December 1927 Father Valentine wrote such a letter,
announcing that he was breaking off canonical and prayerful
communion with Metropolitan Sergius and the council of
bishops organized under him. His clear spiritual discernment
at once identified the course taken by Metropolitan Sergius as
one of the most dangerous forms of renovationism, because
while renouncing ecclesiastical freedom, at the same time You
preserve the fiction of canonicity and Orthodoxy. This is worse
than the violation of separate canons.
Anticipating that his action of separation would be construed
as a breaking away from the Church, Fr. Valentine wrote:
I am not creating a new schism, and I do not
break the unity of the Church; I go away from, andI lead my flock out of, a subtle renovationist trap,
lest imperceptibly and little by little we lose
the freedom which our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Liberator of all Men, has given us as a free gift
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by His Own blood (8th Canon of the Third
Ecumenical Council).
We know full well what consequences were suffered by all
those who openly disagreed with the Declaration. LevRegelson, in his Tragedy of the Russian Church, states that
Metropolitan Sergius in 1929 pronounced all those who
opposed his Declaration to be counter-revolutionaries subject
to arrest; fifteen bishops were arrested right away. The arrests
were conducted very simply: a GPU agent would come to the
bishop and pose one question: How do you regard the
Declaration of Metropolitan Sergius? If the bishop answered
that he did not accept it, then the agent would conclude: That
means that you are a counter-revolutionary. And the bishop
would automatically be arrested. So perished all those who
raised their voices in protest. And the fate of Father Valentine
could be no different.
Thus did Father Valentine acquire a crown of victory from God,
for he preserved the flame of genuine Christian inspiration and
pinpointed the essence of the subtle temptation of the enemy
of our salvation, thereby leading straight into Paradise the flock
en-trusted to him by God, to Whom be glory and honor forever. Amen.
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With God, All Things All Things are Possible:On The Laitys Application ofThe Ladder ofSt. John Climacusby New Martyr Archpriest Valentine Sventitsky
In the Name Father and Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Lord said to His disciples:
Enter ye in at the strait gate, for wide is the gate, and broad
is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be
which go in thereat. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is
the way, which leadeth unto me, and few there be that find it.(Matt. 7:13-14)
When the disciples were afrightened by the difficulty of the
path of salvation and asked the Lord: Who then can be
saved? Christ locked at them and said: With men it is
impossible but not with God, for with God all things arepossible(Mark 10:27).
I am afraid that the reading of The Ladder of St. John will
arouse this fear, this confusion. Who can ascend the Ladder?
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my spiritual children will ask. With men it is impossb1e; but
not with God, for with God all things are possib1e.
Only by trusting in these words is it possible to enter upon the
path of spiritual life. The Lord expects from us an effortaccording to our human strength, in measure of our human
understanding; the rest is given to us by Divine grace, by God's
help.
For this reason, in approaching The Ladder of St. John, let usnot be so presumptuous as to set ourselves the task of scaling itsheights. The task of the ascetic is to labor his whole life for theLord. Whatever fruits are produced-these are the result of God'sGrace.The first step of the Ladder demands from us a proper
attitude towards the world. One must place it in opposition
to the self, to draw a certain line of separation, to renounce
it.
The first word of St. John is On Renunciation of the Worldwhile the next, the second step is On Dispassion.
In the very beginning of our renunciation, it is certainly
with labor and grief that we practice the virtues. But when
we have made progress in them, we no longer feel sorrow, or
we feel little sorrow. But as soon as our mortal mind is
consumed and mastered by our zeal, we practice them withall joy and eagerness, with love and with divine fire. (TheLadder)
We, must through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom ofGod, says the Apostle Paul. Certain trials await also those whoenter the path of spiritual life. The control of worldly life uponus is too powerful for us to be able to sever the internal chainswhich bind us to the world without pain, without regret, withoutsorrow. But the great experience of the ascetics instills in us ajoyous courage. This experience speaks to us of what lies ahead,of what awaits us when we do not stop midway, when, havingmade progress and conquered earthly wisdom, we risesomewhat above worldly life. Then this spiritual struggle of
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renunciation will fill us with joy. Divine fire and fervor will takehold of us...Those who have really determined to serve Christ, with the
help of spiritual fathers and their own self-knowledge, willstrive before all else to choose a place, and a way of life, and
a habitation, and exercises suitable for them. For community
life is not for all, on account of covetousness and places of
solitude are not for all, on account of anger. But each will
consider what is most suited to his needs.(The Ladder)
This injunction of St John pertains not only to those who strivespiritually in monasticism, but pertains equally to us, people inthe wor1d. Those who traverse the path of spiritual life in theworld, who renounce it inwardly, who do not leave formonasteries, deserts and reclusion, although under conditionsof a worldly life, nevertheless must inevitably make even anoutward change in their life. A specific external discipline of lifeis needed, which must be established by self-knowledge, butwith the knowledge, counsel, and the approval of a spiritualfather.The man who really loves the Lord, who has made a real
effort to find the future Kingdom, who is really pained by his
sins, who is really mindful of eternal torment and judgment,
who really lives in fear of his own departure, will not love. . .
anything at all on earth.
And how could he love it? That heavenly Jerusalem, that
eternal Kingdom-if it is revealed to the inner eyes-will
immediately illumine the life in the world with a special
radiance. That man will see how trifling and insubstantial are
the temptations of the world; how vain the concerns. The
temporal, the fleeting will become for him like a dream; howterrible then will appear to him sins against the Lord! What
great justice will he then be hold in the eternal torments
awaiting those souls who have come to love the temporal and
have renounced Christ! For the eternal, immortal human soul,
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which accumulates the temporal and perishable, itself plunges
into the power of eternal death.
The man who has come to hate the world has escaped
sorrow. But he who has an attachment to anything visible isnot yet delivered from grief. For how is it possible not to be
sad at the loss of something we love?(The Ladder)
At first it appears that to renounce the world means to choose
the way that knows no joy. Earthly happiness seems to him to
be the only joy in life. But that is self-deceit. It is the devil's
delusion. What passes for worldly joy devastates the soul; it is
the source of despondency, of dis-appointment and sadness.
Let us pay close attention to ourselves so that we are not
deceived into thinking that we are following the strait and
narrow way, when in actual fact we are keeping to the wide
and broad way. The following will show you what the
narrow way means: mortification of the stomach, all-night
standing, water in moderation, short rations of bread, thepurifying draught of dishonor, sneers, derision, insults, the
cutting off of one's own will, patience in annoyances,
unmurmuring endurance of scorn, disregard of insults, and
the habit, when wronged, of bearing it sturdily; when
slandered, of not being indignant; when humiliated, not to be
angry; when condemned, to be humble. Blessed are they
who follow the way we have just described, for theirs is the
Kingdom of Heaven.(The Ladder)
Here St. John warns us against delusion. It may seem to a man
that he has chosen for himself the narrow path, that he is not
walking along the broad, worldly highway, down which walk
the perishing multitudes. By distracting the inner
concentration, the power of darkness leads him away from thetrue, narrow path of salvation.
Pay heed to yourself! says St. John. Pay heed, lest you
succumb to this delusion. And here are the signs by which you
might verify on which path it is you are walking: the narrow
unto salvation, or wandering, rather, along the broad and
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spacious path to perdition. For, the outward signs: if you sub
due your belly wit~ fasting, if you are not lazy in rising for the
nocturnal prayer, if you drink less water and do not think of
clothing, if you are content to eat only bread- you are walking
along the narrow path While here are the inward signs: if youhave cut off your own will, and patiently and cheerfully carry
out obediences; if you bear dishonor, mockery, and offenses
without murmuring; if you are not angered by slander and
humble yourself when you are criticized-then you are going
along the narrow path. It is difficult, truly this path is difficult!
But blessed are those who follow it, for theirs is the Kingdom
of Heaven!
Some people living carelessly in the world have asked me:
'We have wives and are beset with social cares, and how can
we lead the solitary life?' I replied to them: 'Do all the good
you can; do not speak evil of anyone; do not steal from
anyone; do not hate anyone; do not be absent from the
divine services; be compassionate to the needy; do notoffend anyone; do not wreck another man's domestic
happiness, and be content with what your own wives can
give you. If you behave in this way, you will not be far from
the Kingdom of Heaven.(The Ladder)
This reply of St. John of the Ladder has a special significance in
our days. A desert-dweller of our time told me that anumber of desert dwellers had discussed the question
of
whether or not they should found a monastery for themselves.
After wards, as he was ascending a mountain, he was granted a
vision. An angel appeared to him and said, This is not the time
to build monasteries. He said this to me a few months before
the war with the Germans. Now is not the time to buildmonasteries!Truly this is so! It is time, however, to struggle in monasticasceticism! Today the outward form of monastic life is accessibleto very few. And the spiritual life of Christians must now be
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conducted under the conditions of secular life. They are facedwith the task of founding invisible spiritual monasteries withtheir lives primarily through the podvig of prayer. Few today areable to live behind the stone walls of a monastery which setapart that vain world from this the Christian world which is ofGod But does this mean that there are no walls which can bebuilt between that world and this?The inner renunciation of the world ------- here is the foundation ofthis monastery. By prayer, by fighting with the passions, by apure life, by cutting off one's evil will, by ascetic struggle andlabor for Christ-whole heartedly trusting in the help of God'sgrace- raise up the walls of this monastery which is invisible tohuman eyes. Do not judge, do not lie, love your neighbor, quenchall enmity in your hearts ------- and your inner life will become foryou a monastery. Build these invisible spiritual monasteries.Enter therein, leaving behind the vanity of this world. The timefor this has come, the favorable season of the Lord! Amen!
No one can approach God without withdrawingfrom the world. By withdrawal I do not meanchange of physical dwelling place, but withdrawalfrom worldly affairs. The virtue of withdrawal fromthe world consists in not occupying your mindwith the world.
St Isaac of Syria