The Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian is the youngest of the 12 apostles, but he was the only one remaining with the Saviour during the most difficult time of His suffering. And he was the only one of them whom persecutors failed to kill.
His gospel is also special – it speaks most clearly about the deity of Christ. Amazing, the passage from it – papyrus P52 – is the oldest extant manuscript of the New Testament, it is only 20 years younger than the original, ~130 AD. For comparison, the oldest copies of the texts of Homer, Plato, Tacitus are separated from the originals by about a thousand years (this is about the authenticity of ancient texts).
And, perhaps, one of the most mysterious events in the Holy Tradition is the death of St. John the Apostle. After living more than a hundred years, he retired from Ephesus and asked his disciples to bury him still alive, covering his face with a handkerchief. They did not dare to violate the teacher’s request. However, after a while, when the grave was opened, John’s body was not there. But every year, on may 21, a thin layer of ash (or “manna”) began to appear on the grave, bringing healing. In honor of this event, a spring celebration of the memory of the Apostle was established.
Many saints (Hippolytus of Rome, Andrew of Caesarea, and John of Kronstadt) believed that the Apostle John was still alive and would preach with Elijah and Enoch before the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In any case, the Holy Tradition recorded a change in the “order of nature” – corruption did not touch the body of the “Apostle of love”. This victory over corruption emphasizes his spiritual kinship with the most Holy Theotokos, who adopted John at the foot of the cross of the Lord.
Address of Exarch
on Sunday of Samaritan woman
… let’s greet our Good Samaritans from the Department of Charity and Social Ministry of our diocese, who never tire of helping all those in need in these difficult times. May the giving hands never be empty as charity covers all sins (see Matthew 25: 34-40)
Mid-Pentecost
In the middle of the journey from Easter to Pentecost, we begin to prepare for the feast of the descent of the Holy Spirit into the world. The visible symbol of His life-giving grace is water, the basis of organic life. Christ Himself compared It to living water that quenches thirst forever. Therefore, on this day, water is blessed in Orthodox churches, and the gospel stories of the 4th and 5th weeks after Easter are associated with water sources.
Covid19 defeated
Inspiring news from our diocese: Vietnam is the first after China to declare victory over Covid19. The country has lifted the quarantine. On Sunday, May 10, after a 2-month break, the Divine Liturgy was held again in the parish of the Intercession of the most Holy Theotokos in Ho Chi Minh city. Priest Eugeny congratulated the worshippers on the past holidays, namely, the day of the myrrh-bearing women and St. George, giving flowers to the female half of the parish, and pineapples to the male half. 16 people prayed at the Liturgy, all participating in the Sacrament of Communion.
Day of Victory
75 years have passed since the end of the greatest tragedy of mankind. Thanksgiving prayers and memorial services for 70 million of its victims are held in all parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church. In Ho Chi Minh City, Consul General of the Russian Federation A.V. Popov laid flowers at the memorial to Russian sailors at Laithieu cemetery.
This year, like reports from the front, we receive news of the Covid19 offensive. Famous people are hit daily, especially many of them among the priests and monks. We fervently ask the Lord to stop the epidemic and for the repose of its victims.
Aid distribution
With the blessing of the Patriarchal Exarch of South-East Asia Metropolitan Sergiy the poorest residents of Davao city (Mindanao island) received charitable assistance. Volunteers distributed food packages to the poor and disabled in the city’s slums.
Under the conditions of quarantine, many Filipinos found themselves without a source of income, because they do not have savings, and assistance from local authorities is not always sufficient, and sometimes even does not reach the recipients. The center for social service of the diocese will continue to help those in need in the context of the pandemic.
St George’s day
Russia has experienced many wars, but two are called Patriotic. And if the war of 1812 ended on Christmas day, the Great Patriotic war was to end on Easter, so that the two great national triumphs coincided with the two main Orthodox holidays, reminding us of the main Victory of Christianity – the victory over death. The fact that in 1945 Easter fell on the day of St. George (this happens 1-2 times a century) is also not a simple coincidence. St. George is the patron of Russia, Moscow, the Russian army and personally – Marshal of Victory Georgy Zhukov. Although his name in Greek means “farmer”, the Saint in his youth chose a heroic profession-to protect the Homeland. Having performed many feats of arms, St. George was called Trophy-bearer (Victorious) during his lifetime. But he performed his main feat for Christ’s sake, refusing to participate in the persecution of Christians. Instead of a brilliant career, he chose death in terrible sufferings (new style – May 6, 303). Since then, his name has been a symbol of spiritual victory, but Orthodox soldiers consider him their patron. He is also venerated in European countries, and in the Caucasus, where the whole country bears his name (according to tradition, the enlightener of Georgia equal-to-the-apostles Nina was a relative of the great Martyr).
Liturgies and molebens to St. George were served in our parishes
Message of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill on 3-rd Sunday of Pascha, the Myrrh-bearing Women
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Christ is Risen!
By God’s mercy, we have already reached the 3-rd Sunday of the Paschal feast that the Church has wisely dedicated to the memory of the feat performed by the myrrh-bearing women.
The myrrh-bearing women and the apostles are a kind of two ways of the faith. Resolute and ardent Peter, who is ready to follow the Saviour even to death, before his enlightenment by the Holy Spirit, turned out to be not so courageous and firm in the faith when a real danger to his life arose. And other disciples, too, afraid of their congeners, left the Lord at the most critical moment.
But the meek women who accompanied Christ in His earthly journeys stood silently at the Cross sharing in their hearts the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. They did not try to prove anything to anybody, nor did they demand for themselves the honour of sitting on the right or left hand of the Saviour in His Kingdom. They simply served Christ with meekness, patience and profound humbleness. And it might by for this reason that He vouchsafed them the honour to become apostles for the apostles themselves, to bring the good news to the Saviour’s closest disciples. A dangerous illness has befallen our people. It has already taken many lives, among them those of clergy of our Church. Dozens of thousands of people are suffering in hospitals. Even more people have to state at home in self-isolation, to endure restrictions in communications with their relatives and friends and sometime even to face an acute material need.
My dear ones, I am well aware of how hard it is for you today. I am commiserating with all of you. Believe me, you are not alone, the Patriarch is with you. All my thoughts and prayers are for you. Every day I pray to God for His mercy, that this ordeal may go past our people as soon as possible and that we may again unite with you in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist praising the Lord with one mouth and one heart.
From the very beginning of this situation it was clear to me that we have come to face a dangerous and insidious disease. The clergy and our elderly parishioners were to find themselves in the high-risk zone. And in the recent days, we have already lost several respected clergy and many faithful of the Church. As the Primate, I have always been aware of my responsibility for the clergy and the people.
It was with great grief that I had to make the decision to appeal to you not to come to church for a while. Without exaggeration it was the most difficult words in my life. I have never had to say anything like this. But it is the burden of responsibility that the Primate of a Church bears by assuming not only the honors of the patriarchal rank but also the entire mental anguish of the episcopate, clergy and flock. And I feel this pain in my heart every time when I think that millions of Orthodox people are thirsting for the Holy Mysteries of Christ but cannot cross the threshold of their dear church, when I think about the clergy who celebrate behind the closed doors and are deprived of material support today.
However, just as faith without love brings no benefit to a person, so Christian compassion should have visible fruits. And for this reason I have turned to well-off people who are benevolent to the Church with a humble appeal to give material support to our clergy. And thank the Lord, my entreaties have been heard. Of course, it may not change the situation radically but every one of us should do all that is possible to help our neighbor. I am sincerely grateful to those who, despite all the economic complexities that our country and the whole world are going through, have shown the truly Christian willingness to share what they have for the sake of the neighbors. May the All-Generous Lord reward you for you good deeds.
In spite of the fact that I, just as many of you, have to stay in a closed space, I keep receiving testimonies about dramatic cases taking place in various cities and villages because of the spread of the pernicious infection. And I try as much as I can to correct the efforts of our volunteers in their really selfless service. And to all the volunteers headed by Bishop Panteleimon, with whom I keep in contact every day and from whom I receive the necessary information, I express special gratitude, for it is directly to you that the words of Christ the Saviour may be applied: For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me Mt. 25:35-36).
I would like to express special appreciation to doctors as well. Medical workers today are in the front line of the struggle with the disease, showing true heroism and faithfulness to their vocation. All this evokes the most sincere admiration.
Despite the complexity of the situation, we in all circumstances are called to preserve mental peace, calm and good sense, not to burn with indignation and hate, nor to engage ourselves in an endless search for enemies and, the less so, God forbid, to damn anybody, which in itself is unthinkable for a Christian. We remember what the Saviour said to us: By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (Jn.13:35).
God will not abandon His Church and His faithful servants. I only ask you: do not despair, do not loose heart, I pray for you all and mutually expect your ardent prayers for me as your Patriarch.
By the mercy of Risen Christ and His omnipotence we will defeat this assault, too, for with God all things are possible (Mt. 19:26), if only we could be staunch in our present trials and faithful in our trust in the Lord just as the myrrh-bearing women believed in Him with patience and meekness, just as the secret disciples Joseph and Nicodemus stayed with Him. I appeal to you with the words of Holy Scriptures: Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong (1 Cor. 16:13) and the Lord will preserve us by His grace. Amen.
+ KIRILL, PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA
Myrrh-bearing women’s day
The feast of myrrh-bearing women is the day of all female Christ’s disciples who follow the Savior since His earthly life. Women served the Lord those days and did not leave Him even after His death; today they carry their heavy Cross with firm faith in the Risen Christ.
In the gospel, there is little information about their feat and life. It was really a ministry, since they constantly accompanied Christ, worked for the Apostolic community and donated their funds. Mary Magdalene, Salome, Martha and Mary, Susanna, Joanna, Cleopa’s Mary and others came to the Holy Sepulchre on the third day after His death and brought with them the precious myrrh to show their love to the Lord for the last time. The myrrh-bearers were not afraid of being arrested. They were afraid of not having a proper burial, and hoped to see the Saviour for the last time. This day is dedicated to such boundless Christian love of sisters, wives, and mothers, whose daily work and care make a basement of our Church.
