LENTEN ADDRESS
Of His Eminence Metropolitan Valentine of Suzdal and Vladimir, First
Hierarch of the Russian Orthdox Autonomous Church
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
“A heart that is broken and humbled,
God will not despise.” (Psalm 50)
Right Reverend Archpastors, Pastors Beloved-in-God, Monks, and Nuns,
Beloved Brothers and Sisters, Children of the Church of God,
These words of the Psalmist instill a grace-filled and trembling feeling in
our souls. As expressed in the penitential hymns which begin to be heard in
our churches in the weeks prior to the beginning of Great Lent, as if
anticipating its arrival, “trusting in the mercy of Thy kindheartedness,
like David I cry to Thee: Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great
mercy…”.
In the life of the Orthodox Christian, Great Lent is a special period of
spiritual joy and experiences, because light penitential sorrow and
cleansing tears act to refine the soul, alleviate the heaviness caused by
the burden of sin which weighs upon it and drags it down to the earth, and
makes even our breathing free and deep, promoting the unification of mental
prayer with the heart.
Praying is never so easy and joyful as in these great and salutary days,
when nothing should be allowed to hinder our ascent “from earth to Heaven,”
our return to the Father’s house. For this reason, I humbly beseech you,
beloved, if even for a short time, put aside your vain, worldly cares, offer
to God your spiritual tithe, and concentrate on prayer and repentance. For
it is precisely the reason, darkened by sin, which inspires in us the absurd
notion that the most important thing for a man is to seek his sustenance, to
be healed from all diseases, or to make arrangements for his earthly
condition. Listen to what Christ the Savior Himself has to say to us who are
weak in faith: “Take no care…, about what you shall eat or drink, nor for
the body, what you shall put on. Is not the soul more than food, and the
body more than raiment? Consider the birds of the air; they neither sow nor
reap, nor gather into barns, and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are you
not of much more value than they are?...”
And so, take no thought and say not, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we
drink?” or “With what shall we be clothed?” For all these things are sought
after by the Nations, and your heavenly Father knoweth that you need these
things. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all of
these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt. 6:25-33). Vain cares, the urge
to “sow” and to “gather into barns,” to which we sacrifice our spiritual
life and salvation, is a direct result of the falling into sin of the first
humans, the consequences of which we must overcome with the help of God. But
if one does not believe or take seriously the words of the Savior about the
vanity of sinful worldly cares, then there is no sense in his keeping Great
Lent, and he will not be able to comprehend the light of Pascha! This kind
of faith is futile and hypocritical!
Let us cherish these unique days which the Holy Church presents to us! If
we would but spend these days correctly—in strict accordance with the rules
of the Church, attending all of the Lenten services—there is much, very much
spiritual strength that we can draw from these soul-saving days of Great
Lent. In these salutary days, days of repentance and of softening the heart,
there are no bright lights in the churches, because in the quiet and softly
lit atmosphere, it is much, much easier to hear the beating of your heart,
and to feel the blessed and salutary minutes of eternity, and to come to
love this eternity with God, and in God, with your entire soul.
During the days of Great Lent, every Orthodox Christian—not because he is
duty-bound or required, but heeding the call of his own heart, with full
recognition of his sinfulness—comes especially often to the Mystery of
Confession, and then receives communion of the Body and Blood of Christ.
Some of our ancestors, who had departed from the ancient piety of the Church
and concocted a so-called “bureaucratic or formal Orthodoxy,” believed that
it was not permissible to receive Holy Communion any more than once a
year—during Great Lent. There even appeared in some places a “Confession
Register” in which notations were made that the servant of God, so-and-so,
has confessed and received Holy Communion for such-and-such a year. This was
an extremely blasphemous approach to the Mysteries of the Church, and was
one of the reasons for the downfall of Orthodox Russia and her replacement
by a satanic and atheistic pseudo-government. The holy Church calls us to
receive Holy Communion at each and every Divine Liturgy with the words,
“With fear of God, faith and love, draw nigh!” It is only out of extreme
condescension that the Church allows individual lay persons, who do not
manage to “prepare” for each Divine Liturgy, to receive Holy Communion from
time to time. Great Lent—as the most concentrated time of spiritual activity
and for dispensing with the cares of life—is the most favorable time to
begin our return to the God-ordained ecclesiastical practice of constant
reception of the Mysteries of Christ—ideally, at every Divine Liturgy, for,
according to the words of the Savior, whoever does not eat His Body, nor
drink His Blood, Which has been poured out for the sins of the world, will
not be saved.
Beloved children of the Church of Christ!
I call all of you to concentrated and ceaseless prayer of the heart,
through which you will come to a sincere understanding of your unworthiness.
Approaching the sacred labors of Great Lent, let us lift up to the Lord God
from the depth of the sighings of our hearts our small voice and say
together, “O Lord, according to Thy limitless mercy, engender in our souls a
spirit of love, compassion, righteousness, fervent and constant prayer, that
our souls might forever remain alive and receptive to all of Thine
innumerable gifts, which Thou hast given to us unworthy ones, through Thine
ineffable sufferings.”
Calling down God’s blessing upon you unto the accomplishment of the labor
of Great Lent, I most humbly beg your forgiveness and holy prayers.
Zealous together with you for your salvation,
Valentine
Metropolitan of Vladimir and Suzdal
Great Lent, 2004
Suzdal
