The Prayer of the Heart

[Unseen.Warfare]

Thank you = well this biography leaves more questions than it answers.

I don't remember any "elder Justinian" at Valaam - do you ?!

2nd - how would he have prophesied that Fr Theodore would repose in New Jersey, USA ?! The Abbey of the Holy Name did not exist at that time, needless to say, so if this Fr Justinian mentioned even New Jersey that would have been remarkable.

But it's not explained at all - hence the claim of a prophecy was tendentious at best ; that's my reading.

Surely more would have been said had this claim been even remotely accurate !

The Valaam monk's words could have been merely "You will repose in a far land among foreigners". But that doesn't speak to his joining the Monastery of the Holy Name specifically.

Well his grave is there, so I'm assuming he died there.

Instead of spreading misinformation why not contact the abbey or ask someone who would know? It’s not like Fr. Joseph doesn’t run this site or anything. Don’t you think Elder Theodore and we at the Abbey deserve the benefit of the doubt? Or do you want to inflame people’s passions and cause arguments for your lack of info on a topic. How many Saints in history have been slandered and people were scandalized by them? Why are you so sure of yourself when that article you brought up doesn’t even say what you said..

[haralampopoulosjc]

Thank you = well this biography leaves more questions than it answers.

I don't remember any "elder Justinian" at Valaam - do you ?!

2nd - how would he have prophesied that Fr Theodore would repose in New Jersey, USA ?! The Abbey of the Holy Name did not exist at that time, needless to say, so if this Fr Justinian mentioned even New Jersey that would have been remarkable.

But it's not explained at all - hence the claim of a prophecy was tendentious at best ; that's my reading.

Surely more would have been said had this claim been even remotely accurate !

The Valaam monk's words could have been merely "You will repose in a far land among foreigners". But that doesn't speak to his joining the Monastery of the Holy Name specifically.

Well his grave is there, so I'm assuming he died there.

Instead of spreading misinformation why not contact the abbey or ask someone who would know? It’s not like Fr. Joseph doesn’t run this site or anything. Don’t you think Elder Theodore and we at the Abbey deserve the benefit of the doubt? Or do you want to inflame people’s passions and cause arguments for your lack of info on a topic. How many Saints in history have been slandered and people were scandalized by them? Why are you so sure of yourself when that article you brought up doesn’t even say what you said..

"Prior to its entering into the Holy Synod of Milan, in 1997, the churches connected with the abbey constituted the Western Rite Exarchate of the Russian Patriarchal Church under Exarch William."

"The Blessed Elder (Schema-Bishop) Theodore (Irtel) of Old Valaam lived the last 7 years of his life at the abbey and reposed there on November 21, 1997."

There's the quote. It's from the abbey's own website: https://abbeyoftheholyname.wordpress.com/our-history/

The abbey was a part of the Moscow Patriarchate until 1997. Elder Theodore reposed in 1997. You know, we often criticize World Orthodox for appropriating our saints, maybe we shouldn't try to claim World Orthodox "saints" as our own.