True Nature of Fasting

'We waited, and at last our expectations were fulfilled', writes the Serbian Bishop Nikolai of Ochrid, describing the Easter service at Jerusalem. 'When the Patriarch sang "Christ is risen", a heavy burden fell from our souls. We felt as if we also had been raised from the dead. All at once, from all around, the same cry resounded like the noise of many waters. "Christ is risen" sang the Greeks, the Russians, the Arabs, the Serbs, the Copts, the Armenians, the Ethiopians one after another, each in his own tongue, in his own melody. . . . Coming out from the service at dawn, we began to regard everything in the light of the glory of Christ's Resurrection, and all appeared different from what it had yesterday; everything seemed better, more expressive, more glorious. Only in the light of the Resurrection does life receive meaning.'1

This sense of resurrection joy, so vividly described by Bishop Nikolai, forms the foundation of all the worship of the Orthodox Church; it is the one and only basis for our Christian life and hope. Yet, in order for us to experience the full power of this Paschal rejoicing, each of us needs to pass through a time of preparation. 'We waited,' says Bishop Nikolai, 'and at last our expectations were fulfilled.' Without this waiting, without this expectant preparation, the deeper meaning of the Easter celebration will be lost.

So it is that before the festival of Easter there has developed a long preparatory season of repentance and fasting, extending in present Orthodox usage over ten weeks. First come twenty-two days (four successive Sundays) of preliminary observance; then the six weeks or forty days of the Great Fast of Lent; and finally Holy Week, Balancing the seven weeks of Lent and Holy Week, there follows after Easter a corresponding season of fifty days of thanksgiving, concluding with Pentecost.

Each of these seasons has its own liturgical book. For the time of preparation there is the Lenten Triodion or 'Book of Three Odes', the most important parts of which are here presented in English translation. For the time of thanksgiving there is the Pentekostarion, also known in Slav usage as the Festal Triodion.2 The point of division between the two books is midnight on the evening of Holy Saturday, with Matins for Easter Sunday as the first service in the Pentekostarion. This division into two distinct volumes, made for reasons of practical convenience, should not cause us to overlook the essential unity between the Lord's Crucifixion and His Resurrection, which together form a single, indivisible action. And just as the Crucifixion and the Resurrection are one action, so also the 'three holy days' (triduum sanctum) - Great Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday constitute a single liturgical observance. Indeed, the division of the Lenten Triodion and the Pentekostarion into two books did not become standard until after the eleventh century; in early manuscripts they are both contained in the same codex.

What do we find, then, in this book of preparation that we term the Lenten Triodion? It can most briefly be described as the book of the fast. Just as the children of Israel ate the 'bread of affliction' (Deuteronomy 16: 3) in preparation for the Passover, so Christians prepare themselves for the celebration of the New Passover by observing a fast. But what is meant by this word 'fast' (nisteia)? Here the utmost care is needed, so as to preserve a proper balance between the outward and the inward. On the outward level fasting involves physical abstinence from food and drink, and without such exterior abstinence a full and true fast cannot be kept; yet the rules about eating and drinking must never be treated as an end in themselves, for ascetic fasting has always an inward and unseen purpose. Man is a unity of body and soul, 'a living creature fashioned from natures visible and invisible' , in the words of the Triodion;3 and our ascetic fasting should therefore involve both these natures at once. The tendency to over-emphasize external rules about food in a legalistic way, and the opposite tendency to scorn these rules as outdated and unnecessary, are both alike to be deplored as a betrayal of true Orthodoxy. In both cases the proper balance between the outward and the inward has been impaired.

The second tendency is doubtless the more prevalent in our own day, especially in the West. Until the fourteenth century, most Western Christians, in common with their brethren in the Orthodox East, abstained during Lent not only from meat but from animal products, such as , eggs, milk, butter and cheese. In East and West alike, the Lenten fast involved a severe physical effort. But in Western Christendom over the past five hundred years, the physical requirements of fasting have been steadily reduced, until by now they are little more than symbolic. How many, one wonders, of those who eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday are aware of the original reason for this custom to use up any remaining eggs and butter before the Lenten fast begins? Exposed as it is to Western secularism, the Orthodox world in our own time is also beginning to follow the same path of laxity.

One reason for this decline in fasting is surely a heretical attitude towards human nature, a false 'spiritualism' which rejects or ignores the body, viewing man solely in terms of his reasoning brain. As a result, many contemporary Christians have lost a true vision of man as an integral unity of the visible and the invisible; they neglect the positive role played by the body in the spiritual life, forgetting St. Paul's affirmation: 'Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. . . . glorify God with your body' (I Corinthians 6: 19-20). Another reason for the decline in fasting among Orthodox is the argument, commonly advanced in our times, that the traditional rules are no longer possible today. These rules presuppose, so it is urged, a closely organized, non-pluralistic Christian society, following an agricultural way of life that is now increasingly a thing of the past. There is a measure of truth in this. But it needs also to be said that fasting, as traditionally practiced in the Church, has always been difficult and has always involved hardship. Many of our contemporaries are willing to fast for reasons of health or beauty, in order to lose weight; cannot we Christians do as much for the sake of the heavenly Kingdom? Why should the self-denial gladly accepted by previous generations of Orthodox prove such an intolerable burden to their successors today? Once St. Seraphim of Sarov was asked why the miracles of grace, so abundantly manifest in the past, were no longer apparent in his own day, and to this he replied: 'Only one thing is lacking - a firm resolve'.4

The primary aim of fasting is to make us conscious of our dependence upon God. If practiced seriously, the Lenten abstinence from food - particularly in the opening days - involves a considerable measure of real hunger, and also a feeling of tiredness and physical exhaustion. The purpose of this is to lead us in turn to a sense of inward brokenness and contrition; to bring us, that is, to the point where we appreciate the full force of Christ's statement, 'Without Me you can do nothing' (Saint John 15: 5). If we always take our fill of food and drink, we easily grow over-confident in our own abilities, acquiring a false sense of autonomy and self-sufficiency. The observance of a physical fast undermines this sinful complacency. Stripping from us the specious assurance of the Pharisee - who fasted, it is true, but not in the right spirit - Lenten abstinence gives us the saving self dissatisfaction of the Publican (Saint Luke 18: 10-13). Such is the function of the hunger and the tiredness: to make us 'poor in spirit', aware of our helplessness and of our dependence on God's aid.

Yet it would be misleading to speak only of this element of weariness and hunger. Abstinence leads, not merely-to this, but also to a sense of lightness, wakefulness, freedom and joy. Even if the fast proves debilitating at first, afterwards we find that it enables us to sleep less, to think more clearly, and to work more decisively. As many doctors acknowledge, periodical fasts contribute to bodily hygiene. While involving genuine self-denial, fasting does not seek to do violence to our body but rather to restore it to health and equilibrium. Most of us in the Western world habitually eat more than we need. Fasting liberates our body from the burden of excessive weight and makes it a willing partner in the task of prayer, alert and responsive to the voice of the Spirit.

It will be noted that in common Orthodox usage the words 'fasting' and 'abstinence' are employed interchangeably. Prior to the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic Church made a clear distinction between the two terms: abstinence concerned the types of food eaten, irrespective of quantity, whereas fasting signified a limitation on the number of meals or on the amount of food that could be taken. Thus on certain days both abstinence and fasting were required; alternatively, the one might be prescribed but not the other. In the Orthodox Church a clear-cut distinction is not made between the two words. During Lent there is frequently a limitation on the number of meals eaten each day,5 but when a meal is permitted there is no restriction on the amount of food allowed. The Fathers simply state, as a guiding principle, that we should never eat to satiety but always rise from the table feeling that we could have taken more and that we are now ready for prayer.

If it is important not to overlook the physical requirements of fasting, it is even more important not to overlook its inward significance. Fasting is not a mere matter of diet. It is moral as well as physical. True fasting is to be converted in heart and will; it is to return to God, to come home like the Prodigal to our Father's house. In the words of St. John Chrysostom, it means 'abstinence not only from food but from sins'. 'The fast', he insists, 'should be kept not by the mouth alone but also by the eye, the ear, the feet, the hands and all the members of the body': the eye must abstain from impure sights, the ear from malicious gossip, the hands from acts of injustice.6 It is useless to fast from food, protests St. Basil, and yet to indulge in cruel criticism and slander: 'You do not eat meat, but you devour your brother'.7 The same point is made in the Triodion, especially during the first week of Lent:

As we fast from food, let us abstain also from every passion. . .

Let us observe a fast acceptable and pleasing to the Lord.
True fasting is to put away all evil,
To control the tongue, to forbear from anger,
To abstain from lust, slander, falsehood and perjury.
If we renounce these things, then is our fasting true and acceptable to God.
Let us keep the Fast not only by refraining from food,
But by becoming strangers to all the bodily passions.8

The inner significance of fasting is best summed up in the triad: prayer, fasting, almsgiving. Divorced from prayer and from the reception of the holy sacraments, unaccompanied by acts of compassion, our fasting becomes pharisaical or even demonic. It leads, not to contrition and joyfulness, but to pride, inward tension and irritability. The link between prayer and fasting is rightly indicated by Father Alexander Elchaninov. A critic of fasting says to him: 'Our work suffers and we become irritable. . . . I have never seen servants [in pre-revolutionary Russia] so bad tempered as during the last days of Holy Week. Clearly, fasting has a very bad effect on the nerves.' To this Father Alexander replies: 'You are quite right. . . . If it is not accompanied by prayer and an increased spiritual life, it merely leads to a heightened state of irritability. It is natural that servants who took their fasting seriously and who were forced to work hard during Lent, while not being allowed to go to church, were angry and irritable.'9

Fasting, then, is valueless or even harmful when not combined with prayer. In the Gospels the devil is cast out, not by fasting alone, but by 'prayer and fasting' (Saint Matthew 17:21 ; Saint Mark 9:29); and of the early Christians it is said, not simply that they fasted, but that they 'fasted and prayed' (Acts 13:3; compare 14: 23). In both the Old and the New Testament fasting is seen, not as an end in itself, but as an aid to more intense and living prayer, as a preparation for decisive action or for direct encounter with God. Thus our Lord's forty-day fast in the wilderness was the immediate preparation for His public ministry (Saint Matthew 4:1-11). When Moses fasted on Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:28) and Elijah on Mount Horeb (3 [1] Kings 19: 8-12), the fast was in both cases linked with a theophany. The same connection between fasting and the vision of God is evident in the case of St. Peter (Acts 10: 9-17). He 'went up on the housetop to pray about the sixth hour, and he became very hungry and wanted to eat; and it was in this state that he fell into a trance and heard the divine voice. Such is always the purpose of ascetic fasting - to enable us, as the Triodion puts it, to 'draw near to the mountain of prayer'.10

Prayer and fasting should in their turn be accompanied by almsgiving - by love for others expressed in practical form, by works of compassion and forgiveness. Eight days before the opening of the Lenten fast, on the Sunday of the Last Judgment, the appointed Gospel is the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Saint Matthew 25: 31-46), reminding us that the criterion in the coming judgment will not be the strictness of our fasting but the amount of help that we have given to those in need. In the words of the Triodion:

Knowing the commandments of the Lord, let this be our way of life:
Let us feed the hungry, let us give the thirsty drink,
Let us clothe the naked, let us welcome strangers,
Let us visit those in prison and the sick.
Then the Judge of all the earth will say even to us:
'Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you.'11

This stanza, it may be noted in passing, is a typical instance of the 'evangelical' character of the Orthodox service-books. In common with so many other texts in the Triodion, it is simply a paraphrase of the words of Holy Scripture.12

It is no coincidence that on the very threshold of the Great Fast, at Vespers on the Sunday of Forgiveness, there is a special ceremony of mutual reconciliation:13 for without love towards others there can be no genuine fast. And this love for others should not be limited to formal gestures or to sentimental feelings, but should issue in specific acts of almsgiving. Such was the firm conviction of the early Church. The second-century Shepherd of Hermas insists that the money saved through fasting is to be given to the widow, the orphan and the poor.14 But almsgiving means more than this. It is to give not only our money but our time, not only what we have but what we are; it is to give a part of ourselves. When we hear the Triodion speak of almsgiving, the word should almost always be taken in this deeper sense. For the mere giving of money can often be a substitute and an evasion, a way of protecting ourselves from closer personal involvement with those in distress. On the other hand, to do nothing more than offer reassuring words of advice to someone crushed by urgent material anxieties is equally an evasion of our responsibilities (see James 2: 16). Bearing in mind the unity already emphasized between man's body and his soul, we seek to offer help on both the material and the spiritual levels at once.

'When thou seest the naked, cover him; and hide not thyself from thine own flesh.' The Eastern liturgical tradition, in common with that of the West, treats Isaiah 58:3-8 as a basic Lenten text.
So we read in the Triodion:

While fasting with the body, brethren, let us also fast in spirit.
Let us loose every bond of iniquity ;
Let us undo the knots of every contract made by violence;
Let us tear up all unjust agreements;
Let us give bread to the hungry
And welcome to our house the poor who have no roof to cover them,
That we may receive great mercy from Christ our God.15

Always in our acts of abstinence we should keep in mind St. Paul's admonition not to condemn others who fast less strictly: 'Let not him who abstains pass judgment on him who eats' (Romans 14:3). Equally, we remember Christ's condemnation of outward display in prayer, fasting or almsgiving (Saint Matthew 6:1-18). Both these Scriptural passages are often recalled in the Triodion:
Consider well, my soul: dost thou fast? Then despise not thy neighbor.
Dost thou abstain from food? Condemn not thy brother.
Come, let us cleanse ourselves by almsgiving and acts of mercy to the poor,
Not sounding a trumpet or making a show of our charity.
Let not our left hand know what our right hand is doing;
Let not vainglory scatter the fruit of our almsgiving;
But in secret let us call on Him that knows all secrets:
Father, forgive us our trespasses, for Thou lovest mankind.16

If we are to understand correctly the text of the Triodion and the spirituality that underlies it, there are five misconceptions about the Lenten fast against which we should guard. In the first place, the Lenten fast is not intended only for monks and nuns, but is enjoined on the whole Christian people. Nowhere do the Canons of the Ecumenical or Local Councils suggest that fasting is only for monks and not for the laity. By virtue of their Baptism, all Christians - whether married or under monastic vows - are Cross-bearers, following the same spiritual path. The exterior conditions in which they live out their Christianity display a wide variety, but in its inward essence the life is one. Just as the monk by his voluntary self-denial is seeking to affirm the intrinsic goodness and beauty of God's creation, so also is each married Christian required to be in some measure an ascetic. The way of negation and the way of affirmation are interdependent, and every Christian is called to follow both ways at once.

In the second place, the Triodion should not be misconstrued in a Pelagian sense. If the Lenten texts are continually urging us to greater personal efforts, this should not be taken as implying that our progress depends solely upon the exertion of our own will. On the contrary, whatever we achieve in the Lenten fast is to be regarded as a free gift of grace from God. The Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete leaves no doubt at all on this point:

I have no tears, no repentance, no compunction;
But as God do Thou Thyself, O Saviour, bestow them on me.17

In the third place, our fasting should not be self-willed but obedient. When we fast, we should not try to invent special rules for ourselves, but we should follow as faithfully as possible the accepted pattern set before us by Holy Tradition. This accepted pattern, expressing as it does the collective conscience of the People of God, possesses a hidden wisdom and balance not to be found in ingenious austerities devised by our own fantasy. Where it seems that the traditional regulations are not applicable to our personal situation, we should seek the counsel of our spiritual father - not in order legalistically to secure a 'dispensation' from him, but in order humbly with his help to discover what is the will of God for us. Above all, if we desire for ourselves not some relaxation but some piece of additional strictness, we should not embark upon it without our spiritual father's blessing. Such has been the practice since the early centuries of the Church's life:

Abba Antony said: 'I know of monks who fell after much labor and lapsed into madness, because they trusted in their own work and neglected the commandment that says: "Ask your father, and he will tell you.'" (Deuteronomy 32: 7)
Again he said: 'So far as possible, for every step that a monk takes, for every drop of water that he drinks in his cell, he should consult the gerontes, in case he makes some mistake in this.'18

These words apply not only to monks but also to lay people living in the 'world', even though the latter may be bound by a less strict obedience to their spiritual father. If proud and willful, our fasting assumes a diabolical character, bringing us closer not to God but to Satan. Because fasting renders us sensitive to the realities of the spiritual world, it can be dangerously ambivalent: for there are evil spirits as well as good.
In the fourth place, paradoxical though it may seem, the period of Lent is a time not of gloom but of joyfulness. It is true that fasting brings us to repentance and to grief for sin, but this penitent grief, in the vivid phrase of St. John Climacus, is a 'joy-creating sorrow'.19 The Triodion deliberately mentions both tears and gladness in a single sentence:

Grant me tears falling as the rain from heaven, O Christ,
As I keep this joyful day of the Fast.20

It is remarkable how frequently the themes of joy and light recur in the texts for the first day of Lent:
With joy let us enter upon the beginning of the Fast.
Let us not be of sad countenance. . . .
Let us joyfully begin the all-hallowed season of abstinence;
And let us shine with the bright radiance of the holy commandments. . . .
All mortal life is but one day, so it is said,
To those who labor with love.
There are forty days in the Fast;
Let us keep them all with joy.21

The season of Lent, it should be noted, falls not in midwinter when the countryside is frozen and dead, but in spring when all things are returning to life. The English word 'Lent' originally had the meaning 'springtime'; and in a text of fundamental importance the Triodion likewise describes the Great Fast as 'springtime':
The springtime of the Fast has dawned,
The flower of repentance has begun to open.
O brethren, let us cleanse ourselves from all impurity
And sing to the Giver of Light:
Glory be to Thee, who alone lovest mankind.22

Lent signifies not winter but spring, not darkness but light, not death but renewed vitality. Certainly it has its somber aspect, with the repeated prostrations at the weekday services, with the dark vestments of the priest, with the hymns sung to a subdued chant, full of compunction. In the Christian Empire of Byzantium theatres were closed and public spectacles forbidden during Lent;23 and even today weddings are forbidden in the seven weeks of the fast.24 Yet these elements of austerity should not blind us to the fact that the fast is not a burden, not a punishment, but a gift of God's grace:

Come, O ye people, and today let us accept
The grace of the Fast as a gift from God.25

Fifthly and finally, our Lenten abstinence does not imply a rejection of God's creation. As St. Paul insists, 'Nothing is unclean in itself' (Romans 14: 14). All that God has made is 'very good' (Genesis 1: 31): to fast is not to deny this intrinsic goodness but to reaffirm it. 'To the pure all things are pure' (Titus 1:15), and so at the Messianic banquet in the Kingdom of heaven there will be no need for fasting and ascetic self-denial. But, living as we do in a fallen world, and suffering as we do from the consequences of sin, both ancestral and personal, we are not pure; and so we have need of fasting. Evil resides not in created things as such but in our attitude towards them, that is, in our will. The purpose of fasting, then, is not to repudiate the divine creation but to cleanse our will. During the fast we deny our bodily impulses - for example, our spontaneous appetite for food and drink - not because these impulses are in themselves evil, but because they have been disordered by sin and require to be purified through self-discipline. In this way, asceticism is a fight not against but for the body; the aim of fasting is to purge the body from alien defilement and to render it spiritual. By rejecting what is sinful in our will, we do not destroy the God-created body but restore it to its true balance and freedom. In Father Sergei Bulgakov's phrase, we kill the flesh in order to acquire a body.

But in rendering the body spiritual, we do not thereby dematerialize it, depriving it of its character as a physical entity. The 'spiritual' is not to be equated with the non-material, neither is the 'fleshly' or carnal to be equated with the bodily. In St. Paul's usage, 'flesh' denotes the totality of man, soul and body together, in so far as he is fallen and separated from God; and in the same way 'spirit' denotes the totality of man, soul and body together, in so far as he is redeemed and divinized by grace.26 Thus the soul as well as the body can become carnal and fleshly, and the body as well as the soul can become spiritual. When St. Paul enumerates the 'works of the flesh' (Galatians 5:19-21), he includes such things as sedition, heresy and envy, which involve the soul much more than the body. In making our body spiritual, then, the Lenten fast does not suppress the physical aspect of our human nature, but makes our materiality once more as God intended it to be.

Such is the way in which we interpret our abstinence from food. Bread and wine and the other fruits of the earth are gifts from God, of which we partake with reverence and thanksgiving. If Orthodox Christians abstain from eating meat at certain times, or in some cases continually, this does not mean that the Orthodox Church is on principle vegetarian and considers meat-eating to be a sin; and if we abstain sometimes from wine, this does not mean that we uphold teetotalism. When we fast, this is not because we regard the act of eating as shameful, but in order to make an our eating spiritual, sacramental and eucharistic - no longer a concession to greed but a means of communion with God the giver. So far from making us look on food as a defilement, fasting has exactly the opposite effect. Only those who have learnt to control their appetites through abstinence can appreciate the full glory and beauty of what God has given to us. To one who has eaten nothing for twenty-four hours, an olive can seem full of nourishment. A slice of plain cheese or a hard boiled egg never taste so good as on Easter morning, after seven weeks of fasting.

We can apply this approach also to the question of abstinence from sexual relations. It has long been the Church's teaching that during seasons of fasting married couples should try to live as brother and sister, but this does not at all signify that sexual relations within marriage are in themselves sinful. On the contrary, the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete - in which, more than anywhere else in the Triodion, we find summed up the significance of Lent states without the least ambiguity: Marriage is honorable, and the marriage-bed undefiled. For on both Christ has given His blessing, Eating in the flesh at the wedding in Cana, Turning water into wine and revealing His first miracle.27

The abstinence of married couples, then, has as its aim not the suppression but the purification of sexuality. Such abstinence, practiced 'with mutual consent for a time', has always the positive aim, 'that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer' (1 Corinthians 7:5). Self restraint, so far from indicating a dualist depreciation of the body, serves on the contrary to confer upon the sexual side of marriage a spiritual dimension which might otherwise be absent.

To guard against a dualist misinterpretation of the fast, the Triodion speaks repeatedly about the inherent goodness of the material creation. In the last of the services that it contains, Vespers for Holy Saturday, the sequence of fifteen Old Testament Lessons opens with the first words of Genesis, 'In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth... : all created things are God's handiwork and as such are 'very good'. Every part of this divine creation, so the Triodion insists, joins in giving praise to the Maker:

The hosts of heaven give Him glory;
Before Him tremble cherubim and seraphim;
Let everything that has breath and all creation
Praise Him, bless Him, and exalt Him above all for ever.

O Thou who coverest Thy high places with the waters,
Who settest the sand as a bound to the sea and upholdest all things:
The sun sings Thy praises, the moon gives Thee glory,
Every creature offers a hymn to Thee,
His Author and Creator, for ever.

Let all the trees of the forest dance and sing. . . .

Let the mountains and all the hills
Break forth into great rejoicing at the mercy of God,
And let the trees of the forest clap their hands.28

This affirmative attitude towards the material world is founded not only on the doctrine of creation but also on the doctrine of Christ. Again and again in the Triodion, the true physical reality of Christ's human nature is underlined. How, then, can the human body be evil, if God Himself has in His own person assumed and divinized the body? As we state at Matins on the first Sunday in Lent, the Sunday of Orthodoxy:

Thou hast not appeared to us, O loving Lord, merely in outward semblance,
As say the followers of Mani, who are enemies of God,
But in the full and true reality of the flesh.29

Because Christ took a true material body, so the hymns for the Sunday of Orthodoxy make clear, it is possible and, indeed, essential to depict His person in the holy icons, using material wood and paint:
The uncircumscribed Word of the Father became circumscribed,
Taking flesh from thee, O Theotokos,
And He has restored the sullied image to its ancient glory,
Filling it with the divine beauty.
This our salvation we confess in deed and word,
And we depict it in the holy icons.30

This assertion of the spirit-bearing potentialities of the material creation is a constant theme during the season of Lent. On the first Sunday of the Great Fast, we are reminded of the physical nature of Christ's Incarnation, of the material reality of the holy icons, and of the visible, aesthetic beauty of the Church. On the second Sunday we keep the memory of St. Gregory Palamas (1296-1 359), who taught that all creation is permeated by the energies of God, and that even in the present life this divine glory can be perceived through man's physical eyes, provided that his body has been rendered spiritual by God's grace. On the third Sunday we venerate the material wood of the Cross; on the sixth Sunday we bless material branches of palms; on Wednesday in Holy Week we are signed with material oil in the sacrament of Anointing; on Holy Thursday we recall how at the Last Supper Christ blessed material bread and wine, transforming them into His Body and Blood.

Those who fast, so far from repudiating material things, are on the contrary assisting in their redemption. They are fulfilling the vocation assigned to the 'sons of God' by St. Paul: 'The created universe waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. . . . The creation will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail until now' (Romans 8:19-22). By means of our Lenten abstinence, we seek with God's help to exercise this calling as priests of the creation, restoring all things to their primal splendor. Ascetic self-discipline, then, signifies a rejection of the world, only in so far as it is corrupted by the fall; of the body, only in so far as it is dominated by sinful passions. Lust excludes love: so long as we lust after other persons or other things, we cannot truly love them. By delivering us from lust, the fast renders us capable of genuine love. No longer ruled by the selfish desire to grasp and to exploit, we begin to see the world with the eyes of Adam in Paradise. Our self-denial is the path that leads to our self-affirmation; it is our means of entry into the cosmic liturgy whereby all things visible and invisible ascribe glory to their Creator.

Footnotes

1 Bishop Nikolai (Velimirovich),Missionary Letters:abbreviated from the translation inThe Journal of the Fellowship of St. Alban and St.Sergius, no. 24 (1934), pp. 26-7.

2 The Lenten Triodion is so entitled because on weekdays in the Great Fast the Canon at Mattins usually has only three Canticles, instead of eight as at other times of the year. To avoid confusion, we shall follow the Greek practice, reserving the name 'Triodion' to the volume for the Lenten period, and always referring to the volume for the period after Easter by the title 'Pentekostarion'.

3 Vespers for Saturday of the Dead.

4 See V. Lossky, The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church (London, 1957), p. 216.

5 For details, see below, pp. 35-6

6 Homilies on the Statues, iii, 3-4 (P.G. [Patrologia Graeca] xlix, 51-3).

7 Homilies on Fasting, i, 10 (P.G. xxxi, 181B).

8 Vespers for Sunday evening (Sunday of Forgiveness); Vespers for Monday and Tuesday in the first week.

9 The Diary of a Russian Priest (London, 1967), p. 128.

10 Mattins for Tuesday in the first week.

11 Vespers for Saturday evening (Sunday of the Last Judgement).

12 Compare what is said in Mother Mary and Archimandrite Kallistos Ware, The Festal Menaion (London, 1969). p. 16.

13 See below, p. 183.

14 Similitudes, V, iii, 7.

15 Vespers for Wednesday in the first week.

16 Mattins for the Sunday of the Last Judgement; Vespers for Sunday evening (Sunday of Orthodoxy).

17 Canticle Two, troparion 25.

18 Apophtheomata Patrum, alphabetical collection (P.G. lxv), Antony 37 and 38. The Greek term geron (in Russian, starets) means literally an old man - old, not necessarily in years, but in spiritual experience and wisdom. He is one endowed by the Holy Spirit with the gift of seeing into men's hearts and offering them guidance.

19 The Ladder of Paradise, Step 7, title.

20 Vespers for Monday in the first week.

21 All these quotations are from Mattins for the first Monday.

22 Vespers for Wednesday in the week before Lent.

23 Photius, Nomocanon, Tit. vii, c. I. Might not this rule be applied by contemporary Orthodox to television?

24 Council of Laodicea (c. A.D. 364), Canon 52. Dispensations from this rule require episcopal permission, which should not be granted except for grave reasons.

25 Mattins for Monday in the first week.

26 The liturgical texts, however, do not always conform to this Biblical usage, but sometimes employ the word 'flesh' as a synonym for 'body'.

27 Canticle Nine, troparion 12.

28 The Great Canon, Canticle Eight, irmos; Compline for Holy Thursday; Mattins for the Sunday of the Cross; Mattins for Palm Sunday.

29 The Persian Mani (c. 216-76), founder of Manichaeism, advocated an uncompromising dualism. He considered that there is no salvation for man's body or for the rest of the material creation; the particles of light imprisoned in man are to be released through strict asceticism, including vegetarianism.

HOLY APOSTLE ANDREW THE FIRST-CALLED

HOLY APOSTLE ANDREW THE FIRST-CALLED

NOVEMBER 30

He was the son of Jonah and brother of Saint Peter, born in Bethsaida and a fisherman by profession. He was first a disciple of St. John the Baptist, but, when John pointed to the Lord Jesus and said: “Behold the Lamb of God”(John 1:36), St. Andrew left his first teacher and followed Christ. After that, Andrew brought his brother Peter to the Lord. After the descent of the Holy Spirit, it fell to the lot of the first of Christ’s apostles, St. Andrew, to preach the Gospel in Byzantium and Thrace, then in the lands along the Danube, in Russia and around the Black Sea, and finally in Epirus, Greece and the Peloponnese, where he suffered. In Byzantium, he installed St. Stachys as its first bishop; in Kiev he raised the Cross on high and prophesied a Christian future for the Russian people; in Thrace, Epiris, Greece and the Peloponnese, he brought many people to the Faith and gave them bishops and priests. In the city of Patras he performed many wonders in the name of Christ and brought many to the Lord, among whom were the brother and wife of the imperial governor, Aegeatus. Aegeatus, infuriated by this, put Andrew to torture and then crucified him. While he was still alive on the cross, the Apostle of Christ taught the Christians who were gathered round him. The people wanted to take him down from the cross, but he would not let them. Finally, the Apostle prayed to God and a strange radiance surrounded him. This light lasted for half an hour and, when it disappeared, the Apostle gave his holy soul into God’s hands. Thus, the first-called Apostle, who first of the twelve Great Apostles came to know the Lord and followed Him, finished his earthly course. St. Andrew suffered for his Lord in the year 62. His relics were translated to Constantinople, but his head was later taken to Rome and one hand to Moscow.

Saints Adrian and Natalie

The Suffering and Martyrdom of
Saints Adrian and Natalie
and 33 companions of Nicomedia

Commemorated on August 26/September 8

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In the year 301 A.D. the impious Roman Emperor Maximian, a great persecutor of the Church of Christ, arrived in the city of Nicomedia, having tortured and slain a multitude of Christians wherever he had gone. Entering into a pagan temple, the emperor bowed down in worship before his abominable gods, falling down to the ground before the idols. While all the inhabitants of that city took part, he offered up his vile sacrifices. After this, he commanded that the Christians be sought out and handed over to be tortured. The emperor threatened with particular torments those who might have considered concealing the Christians; but he promised rewards and honors to those who, knowing where Christians were hiding, would inform on them or, finding them, would themselves bring them to judgement. Thus, neighbor began to betray neighbor, friend betrayed friend — some out of fear of the provisions of the emperor's dread edict, others for reward.

Certain of the impious informed their military commander that there were Christians hiding in a cave, chanting there all night long, and praying to their God. Straightway, soldiers were dispatched to that place, and they arrived at the cave and laid hold of all the Christians who were therein, to the number of thirty three. Securing them with iron chains, they led them back to the city to be brought before the emperor. At that time the emperor was riding in his chariot to a pagan temple, there to offer sacrifice. Encountering him on the way, the soldiers who were leading the fettered Christians cried out to him: "0 Emperor, behold them that mock the law, the blasphemers of our great gods!" Ordering his chariot to halt, and ordering those prisoners to approach nearer to him, the emperor asked them where they we from. "We are natives of this land, but are Christians by Faith." "Can it be that you have not heard what manner of torments await them that call themselves Christians?" continued the emperor. "We have heard," answered the saints," and have laughed at your foolishness and at Satan himself who works through his children who do not believe in God, whose leader you are!" Enraged, the emperor cried out: "You wretches! How dare you call me a fool and laugh at me? l vow by the great gods that I will break in pieces your bodies with the cruelest of tortures!" And he commanded his soldiers, saying: "Stretch them out and beat them without mercy with rods and clubs, and then we shall see whether their God will come to help them, and free them from my hands!" And the martyrs were savagely beaten by the soldiers, but while they were under going this torment, they said to the emperor: "You enemy of God, even if you set over us yet another three torturers; however many you will summon, whatever torments you devise, know well that by doing this you are but increasing the number of our crowns!" "0 you most wretched of men," cried the emperor, "I shall have your heads removed, and on what then will you place your crowns? Renounce your vain faith and don't bring destruction upon yourselves for your foolishness!" But the martyrs replied: "God will destroy you because without cause you do torment His servants, who have done no evil !"

Then the emperor ordered his soldier's, saying: "Strike them with stones about the mouth!" And immediately taking up stones in their hands, his servants began to strike the martyrs about the mouth, but they did not so much harm to them as to themselves, for they went insane, and with those same stones broke each others jaws. And the saints said to the tyrant Maximian: "0 iniquitous hater of God, without mercy you are beating us who are in no way guilty before you, but an angel of God shall kill you and shall destroy all of your impious household. You can not satiate yourself on the torments with which you are torturing us in the course of so many hours and with such brutality; yet incomparably greater torments await you yourself. Apparently you have not given thought to the fact that we have the same body as you do, with the sole difference that yours is befouled and impure, whereas ours is cleansed and sanctified by Holy Baptism." Angered all the more by such words, the tyrant Maximian cried out: "I swear by the great gods that I shall give the command for your tongues to be cut out, that others, seeing you, might learn not to contradict their masters!" But the martyrs of Christ replied: "Take heed, 0 impious tyrant! If you despise and torment those servants who oppose their earthly masters, then why would you compel us to oppose the Lord our God? Or would you want that those torments which are prepared for you should befall us as well?" "Tell me," said Maximian, "what torments are prepared for me?" "That which God has prepared for the devil and his angels," the saints replied, "He has also prepared for you, the vessels of the devil — namely: the fire which cannot be quenched, the worm which cannot be satisfied, unceasing torment, everlasting punishment, the damnation of hell, the outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, and many other tortures innumerable." "I swear, I will have your tongues cut out!" cried the tyrant. "You fool," replied the saints, "if you cut out those organs with which we glorify God, our breath shall all the more easily reach Him and our hearts shall cry out to Him with yet greater force, and our blood shed by you shall like a clarion raise its voice to the Master, proclaiming that we are suffering in innocence." Hearing the saints reply like this, the impious emperor commanded that they be put in iron chains and cast into prison, and that their names and statements be recorded in the minutes of the court. When they led the saints to the palace of the tribunal to record their names, one of the officers who worked there, a man of exalted station by the name of Adrian, an adherent of the Hellenic impiety, having witnessed the steadfast and courageous suffering of those martyrs, approached them and asked: "I adjure you by your God, for Whose sake you have suffered so much: tell me in good conscience, what awaits you from your God for such torment? I think that you hope to receive from Him something great and wondrous." The holy martyrs answered him, saying: "We cannot with our own lips describe to you, nor can you grasp with your hearing, nor attain with your mind unto those joys and most glorious honors which we expect to receive from our Master, the righteous Bestower of rewards." "Is this not known to you from the books of the Law, the Prophets and the Writings?" "Even the prophets themselves," replied the saints, "could not perfectly attain in mind to those everlasting blessings, in that they were men as we are; although they pleased God with good faith and good works and spake that which the Holy Spirit instilled in them; yet, concerning that glory and recompense which we hope to receive, it says in the Holy Scriptures: ‘From of old we have not heard, neither have our eyes seen a God beside thee, and thy works which thou wilt perform to them that wait for mercy' (Esaias LXIV.4.[LXX])". And hearing these words, Adrian walked out into the middle of the holy martyrs and said to the scribes who were recording the names of the martyrs: "Write down my name also together with those of these holy men, for I too am a Christian and shall die for Christ God in their company!" And immediately the scribes sent a message to the emperor informing him that Adrian had declared himself to be a Christian and was asking them to inscribe his name among those of the condemned.

On hearing this, the emperor marveled and was filled with rage; and, summoning Adrian into his presence, he asked him: "Have you taken leave of thy senses, 0 Adrian? Or do you also desire a wicked end?" "No, I have not taken leave of my senses," he replied. "But, on the contrary, l have left great insanity behind me and I have finally attained to true and full mental health." "Do not argue," cried the emperor . "It would be better to ask forgiveness, to acknowledge before all that you have sinned, and to cross your name from the list of the condemned." "From now on," replied Adrian, "I shall entreat the true God, that He forgive me the sins I committed as a pagan." Enraged all the more by Adrian's words, the emperor Maximian then commanded that he be weighed down with iron chains and cast into prison with the other martyrs, appointing the day on which he would give them all over to torture.

One of Adrian's slaves, hastening to his home with all possible speed, informed his mistress Natalie, Adrian's wife, that they had put his master in fetters and taken him to prison. Hearing this, Natalie was struck with a great fear. Weeping bitterly and rending her garments, she asked the slave: "For what crime have they imprisoned my husband?" The servant answered: "When he witnessed how certain people were tortured for the name of someone called Christ, and that they refused to obey the emperor's edict, or to renounce their faith and offer sacrifice to the gods, our master asked the scribes to enter his name among those of the condemned, for he desires to die with them." "Are you certain that you know why they were torturing those men?" Natalie again asked the servant. "I have told you," he answered, "that they were being tortured because of someone named Christ, and because they would not obey the emperor's command to worship the gods."

Then Natalie rejoiced greatly in spirit and ceased to weep; she cast off her torn garments and, arraying herself in her very best, made her way to the prison. The daughter of saintly parents who believed in God, Natalie had always been afraid to reveal her faith in Christ to anyone; she had kept it secret, for she saw the cruel persecutions and torture to which the Christians were subjected by the impious. But now, hearing that her husband believed in Christ and having had his name entered with those who were condemned to torment, she too resolved firmly to declare herself to be a Christian.

Entering the prison, the Blessed Natalie fell at her husband's feet and, kissing his fetters, said. " Blessed are you, 0 Adrian my lord, for you have found a treasure which you did not inherit from your parents, for thus is a man blessed who fears God. Truly, my lord, at such a young age you have by your faith in Christ acquired such riches as you would not have attained even in old age, had you remained in the Hellenic error . Now you shall depart to everlasting life and shall find a treasure such as they will not receive who attain great wealth for themselves and acquire estates. There, they will have no time to acquire anything, to lend or to borrow anything from anyone, when none can be delivered from eternal death in hell and from the torments of Gehenna; there, none shall help another — neither a father his son, nor a mother her daughter, nor shall great earthly wealth aid him that has gathered it, nor shall a slave help his master, but each will have to endure his own punishment. But all of your virtues, my lord, shall accompany you to Christ to obtain for you from Him that blessedness prepared for them that love Him. Go forth to Him with boldness, without fear of the punishment which is to come; for, lo! You have already vanquished the unquenchable flame and the rest of the torments! I beseech you, my lord, to remain steadfast in the calling to which you have been summoned by God's loving kindness. Let yourself not be turned from your good path neither by pity for the beauty of your youth, nor by love for your kinfolk, or friends, or servants, or handmaidens, or anything that is of earth, for all things continue to age and decay; but keep before your eyes one thing alone — that which is eternal; and cast not your gaze towards the corruptible and transient goods of this world. Do not be swayed by the deceptive discourse of your family and friends, lest they dissuade you from the Faith by their wicked counsel. Despising their flattering speech, reject their counsels and pay no heed to their delusive words; direct your eyes only at those holy martyrs who are with you; heed their words and emulate their patience without wavering. Fear not the anger of the tyrant and his diverse torments, for they shall all quickly come to an end, but there shall be an ever lasting reward from Christ in Heaven for His servants who suffer for Him."

And having said this, Natalie fell silent. Then Adrian said to her: "Get yourself home now, my sister, and sleep in peace; and when I learn the hour at which they shall lead us out to torture, I shall inform you, that thou may come and behold our end." And, arising from Adrian's feet, Natalie went to each of the thirty three prisoners. Falling down before them, she kissed their fetters, saying: "Servants of Christ, I entreat you: watch over this lamb of Christ; advise him to endure unto the end, pointing out to him the future recompense made ready for them that offer their blood to Christ God, like unto you who have offered your own blood, for which suffering you shall receive eternal salvation as a reward. Join his soul — to your souls, and be yourselves his fathers in place of his parents according to the flesh, who were impious; strengthen him with your holy counsel, that, possessed of unwavering belief, he might complete the course of his suffering."

Thus saying, Natalie turned again to Adrian, who was imprisoned in the deepest dungeon: "Mind yourself, my lord," she said, "take no pity on your youth and handsome good looks of face and of body: Your body of clay will be food for the worms. Take no heed of your possessions, of gold or silver or other forms of money, for none of this shall avail you at the dread Judgement. There, none shall be able to redeem his soul from ever lasting damnation by any gifts, for no one will accept the gifts; God will accept the good works of holy souls alone, instead of gifts."

When several days had passed, Adrian, hearing that the emperor wished to bring him and the other prisoners to trial and torment, addressed the holy martyrs with the following request: "Sirs," he said, "with your blessing I must depart to my home and summon your handmaid, my sister Natalie, that she might behold our suffering, for I have promised to call her when the hour appointed for our martyrdom arrives." The saints gave him their blessing and vouched for him, and Adrian, bribing the prison guards, went his way.

One of the citizens of the city, seeing him on his way home, hastened to Natalie with all speed and informed her that her husband was freed of his chains and even then was approaching his home. Hearing of this, Natalie did not believe it and said: "Who could have freed him? It is not possible that my husband has separated himself from the holy martyrs!" During this conversation, however, one of her servants came and said: "Do you know, my lady, that our master is freed, and draws nigh unto our house?" Thinking that he had renounced Christ to gain his freedom, Natalie was greatly troubled and lamented bitterly. Seeing through the window that he was approaching their home, she cast aside the handiwork on which she had been working and, rising up immediately, shut the door quickly and said: "Depart from me, you apostate who has deceived thy Lord! I cannot hold converse with one who has rejected God, and I shall not listen to your false words! 0 godless and most wretched of men! Who impelled you to undertake a task which you could not carry through to the end? Who has separated you from the saints? Who has enticed you to withdraw from their fellowship? What has put you to flight even before coming out to battle? You have not even seen the enemy, yet have already cast down your sword; his warfare has not even been started to work on you, and you are already wounded! I was amazed, thinking that perhaps something good might come from a godless generation and an impious city! Could it be that a pure offering might be made to God by an offspring of the tyrant? Can incense be sweet smelling to the Most High if offered by those who are guilty of innocent blood? What shall I do, wretch that I am, who have bound myself in wedlock to this impious man? I have not been accounted worthy to be called the wife of a martyr; no, on the contrary, I have become the wife of an apostate. Short lived has been my joy; it has become everlasting mockery. For a short time I was praised among women, but now I shall have to endure unceasing scorn from them!"

The Blessed Adrian, standing at the door and hearing Natalie speak thus, rejoiced at heart and was strengthened further for his contest, aflame all the more with a desire to fulfill what he had promised to Christ God. He marveled that his young wife, who had but lately married him, would speak in this manner, for they had been wed but thirteen months. Seeing his wife's great grief, Adrian knocked at the door, pleading with her: "Open the door unto me, 0 my lady Natalie! I have not fled from torment, as you think; no, l could not act that way. I have come to take you with me, as I promised, that you might behold our end." But Natalie refused to believe his words, and continued to reproach him: "Behold, how this transgressor would deceive me! Behold how this second Judas lies unto me! Depart from me, lest I kill you!" And she would not unlock the door. "Unlock the door and quickly let me in," pleaded Adrian, "for if I depart without seeing you, you will grieve over it, for I must very soon return. The holy martyrs have vouched for me, and if I do not return at the appointed hour, the guards will inquire after me, and if l am not there the holy martyrs will have to bear my torments as well as their own. Will they be able to endure tortures for me when they themselves are barely alive?" Hearing this, Natalie immediately and joyfully threw wide the door, and they flew into each other's embrace. "Blessed are you, 0 my spouse," said Adrian. "You alone have come to know God, that your husband might be saved. Truly, 0 my wife, you love your husband! Blessedness will be your crown because of this, for although you yourself will not endure torment, yet you will participate in the sufferings of the martyrs in your sympathy for them."

And taking his wife by the hand, Adrian departed to the prison with her. On the way he asked her: "How will we dispose of our property?" Natalie answered: "Set aside all care for the things of this earth, 0 my lord, lest it lead your mind astray. Concern yourself and be thoughtful only of winning the contest to which you have been called. You should forget all that is of this earth. Such things are corruptible and harmful to the soul. This will enable you to think solely about beholding and receiving the everlasting blessings prepared for you and those saints with whom you shalt walk the path of the Lord."

And, entering the prison, the handmaid of God Natalie fell down before the holy martyrs and, kissing their shackles, perceived that their wounds had festered and that maggots were falling from their wounds, and that due to the iron chains with which they were bound, their bodily members were parting one from another. Then immediately she sent out her attending and serving maids to her home to find fine linen and bandages. When all had been brought, Natalie bound up the wounds of the martyrs with her own hands and, as far as was possible, alleviated their unbearable sufferings, ministering in the prison seven days, until they left for trial.

When the day appointed for the trial dawned, the Emperor Maximian took his place at the tribunal and commanded that the prisoners be brought to him. His servants went immediately to the prison to inform them of the emperor's command. Seeing that they were so afflicted of body, due to their grievous wounds, that they could not walk, the servants bound all the martyrs together in a line with a single chain, like a herd of cattle. But they led Adrian behind them all, binding his hands behind his back.

When they reached the judgement hall, the emperor was informed that the prisoners had been brought in. "Bring them all in together," the emperor commanded, "that they might behold each other's torment; bring them forth stripped naked, ready for torture." But the warden of the prison told the emperor: "0 emperor, those who were tortured before cannot be brought before you for testing. Give the command that Adrian alone be brought forth, for he is yet strong and healthy of body, and can endure the various torments. But the bodies of the others have festered; one can see their bones through their wounds, and if we bring them to torture them again, they will die very quickly, without enduring the many tortures prepared for them. We do not wish them to die after a brief session of torment, like those whose guilt is negligible; therefore, give them a space of time to recover their health and grow strong, that they might later endure greater torments for their iniquity."

Then the emperor commanded that Adrian be brought directly in front of him alone. Stripping Adrian of his clothes, the servants handed him the instruments of torture, that he might hold them in his own hands. And the holy martyrs said to him: "Blessed are you, 0 Adrian, that you have been freed to bear your cross and follow Christ! Beware, and fear not! Do not turn back and do not lose your reward. Take care, lest the Devil steal your treasure. Be not afraid of visible torments, but direct your gaze towards the reward which is to come. Go forth boldly and put the tyrant to shame! Know that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us which we hope to receive in accordance with God's mercy". And the Blessed Natalie also said to him: "Direct your mind, my lord, to the one God alone, and may your heart fear nothing! The labor is short, but the rest is unending; the suffering is brief, but the glory of martyrdom is everlasting. Endure the pain but for a little time, and you shall shortly rejoice with the angels. If, serving an earthly ruler, you did take care to gather in the least tribute, and you did not spare your health and were ready to die in battle, then should you not now endure many different kinds of torments with yet greater valor, and die for the King of Heaven, with whom you shall yourself reign?"

When they brought Adrian before the impious Emperor Maximian, casting his gaze upon him he asked: "Do you still remain in your foolishness and desire to end your life?" "I have told you before," replied the holy martyr Adrian, "that I have not lost my reason, but have regained it and am prepared to die in this life." The emperor asked: "Will you not offer sacrifice and worship the gods, as I and all with me worship them and offer up sacrifice to them"? "You fool," answered Adrian, "if you are in error, for what reason would you also lead others into the same error? You would not only bring destruction upon yourself, but upon the whole nation which obeys you; you shall ruin it completely, advising and forcing men to worship inanimate graven images, forsaking the true God, the Creator of heaven and earth!" "Do you then consider our great gods feeble?" asked the emperor . "I call them neither feeble nor strong," replied Adrian, "for they are nothing."

Enraged, the tyrant then commanded that he be beaten with rods. The Blessed Natalie, hearing that her husband's beating was beginning, informed the holy martyrs of it, saying: "My lord has begun to suffer!" And the saints immediately began to entreat God on his behalf, that He might strengthen him during his torments. The emperor commanded the torturers to declare: " Do not blaspheme the gods!" And while they were beating the martyr, he said to the emperor: "If I am suffering because I blaspheme gods who are not gods, what torment awaits you for blaspheming the true and living God?" "Apparently, you have learned to speak so boldly from those liars." said the emperor. The martyr said: "Why do you call liars them that are guides to salvation, who lead us to everlasting life? You are yourselves great charlatans, for you lead the people to damnation!" Filled with wrath, Maximian commanded four mighty torturers to beat the martyr savagely with heavy clubs. And while they were beating Adrian, he said: "The greater the torments you devise for me, 0 tyrant, the greater the crowns I shall win for them!" And the Blessed Natalie conveyed to the holy martyrs all that passed between the emperor and Adrian.

"Take pity on your youth," the tyrant continued to exhort the tortured man, "and call upon the gods! Will you perish in vain, and of your own will? My gods are great, and I sympathize greatly with you, seeing how grievously you are suffering, and how your handsome face and body are being destroyed." "I am sparing myself," replied the martyr, "so that I will not perish completely." "Call upon the gods," the tyrant pleaded; "they will have mercy on you, and I will restore you to your former rank. You should not be compared with those who were with you in bondage, for you are a noble personage, the son of renowned parents; and, though young, you are yet worthy of great honors. But those other prisoners are paupers, of poor and inferior families , and are stupid ignoramuses." "I know that my lineage and generation are well known to you," answered the martyr, "but if you were aware of the generation of those holy men, and the rich rewards which await them, you would be one of the first to fall at their feet and ask them to pray for you, and you would with your own hands destroy your own inanimate gods!"

Angered all the more, the tyrant commanded four strong servants to beat the martyr's belly. And they beat the saint until his stomach burst and his entrails began to fall out. Seeing this, the tyrant commanded them to stop beating him. The blessed Adrian was a young man and lean of body, being only twenty eight years of age. "Do you see how I am sparing you?" the emperor said to him. "You have but to utter a single word invoking the gods, and immediately they will be merciful to you; and I will summon physicians to treat your wounds; and this day you shall be with me in my imperial palace!" But the martyr responded: "If you actually do promise me the care of physicians, and that I will dwell in your palace, and if you say that your gods will be merciful to me, then let them tell me with their own mouths what they wish to give me; let them say what benefactions they are promising me! And when I hear their words, I will offer them sacrifice and worship them as thou dost desire." "But they cannot speak," replied the emperor. "If they cannot speak," said the martyr, "then why do you worship them, dumb and inanimate as they are?"

In rage and wrathful anger, the tyrant commanded that Adrian be again chained to the other prisoners and locked in the dungeon, appointing the day when they would all be brought to trial. Then the soldiers, laying hold of the holy martyrs, dragged some to the dungeon; others, who were debilitated by their bodily sufferings, and unable to walk, they carried. The holy Adrian they led; and all were again incarcerated in the prison.

The Blessed Natalie encouraged and comforted Adrian. Embracing him, she said: "Blessed are you, my lord, that you have been vouchsafed the lot of the holy martyrs! Blessed are you, light of my eyes, For you are suffering for Him that suffered for you! Behold, now you are going to see His glory and become a partaker of the same, for he that shares in His sufferings will be a partaker of His glory!"

During this conversation, Natalie soaked Adrian's blood up in a cloth and anointed her body with it. And the holy martyrs rejoiced greatly at the valorous endurance of Adrian and, drawing close to him, they kissed him saying: "Peace be to you, brother!" And those who could not walk because of the severity of their wounds lay on the floor and crawled to him, so as to kiss him; and all told him: "Rejoice in the Lord, beloved brother, for your name has been entered among those of the glorious servants of God!"

"Rejoice also, you servants of Christ," responded Adrian, "for you shall receive crowns for your care of me! Because of this, pray unto the Lord for me, that He strengthen me, who am so painfully distressed of body; that the devil, who rises up as my enemy, may accomplish nothing against me."

"Trust in the Lord," said the saints; "Satan will not overcome you. You have driven him far away by your sufferings. At first we feared for you, thinking that you, as a man, would weaken; but now, seeing your steadfast endurance, we no longer have doubts concerning you, and we believe that with the help of God the enemy will be able to do nothing with you. Wherefore, fear not: Christ, the Vanquisher of the devil, is with you!"

With the Holy Natalie, there were also other pious women who ministered to the saints, applying healing salves to their wounds and fashioning bandages for them, having apportioned the martyrs among themselves, that each might minister to her own, tending him with all possible care.

Learning that many women were coming to the prison and ministering to the prisoners, applying salves to their wounds, the impious emperor forbade them further entry into the prison. Seeing that the women could no longer go to the martyrs, the holy Natalie sheared the hair from her head, dressed in men's garments and, entering the prison in the guise of a man, herself ministered not only to her own husband, but to all the other holy martyrs. Binding up the wounds of the martyrs, she sat at Adrian's feet and said: "I pray you, my lord, please remember our union, and my presence by your side during your suffering, and my desire that you should win crowns. Pray to the Lord Christ our God, that He take me with you, that as we lived together in this sorry life which is full of sins, so may we also live together inseparably in that blessed life. l pray you, my lord: when you stand before Christ the Lord, make supplication to Him first concerning me; for I believe that whatsoever you ask, the Lord shall give you, for your prayer pleases Him, as does your entreaty. But you know the impiety of this people and the godlessness of the emperor, and I fear that they will force me to marry another, an impious man and a pagan. Then would my bed be defiled and our union broken. I beseech you, preserve your spouse, as the Apostle teaches; grant as a reward for chastity that I might die with you!"

Having said this, she rose and again ministered unto the saints, giving them food and drink, and washing and binding up their wounds. The pious women, learning that Natalie was ministering unto the saints in male apparel, likewise sheared the hair from their heads, following her example, and, dressed in men's garb, entered the prison as before and ministered to the saints.

But when it became known to the emperor what the women had done, and also that the prisoners had weakened greatly as a result of their infected wounds and were barely alive, he commanded that there be brought to him at the prison an anvil and an iron hammer, that he might break the shins and arms of the martyrs, saying at that time: "Let them not die the violent death usual for such men!" And when the torturers and executioners came to the prison with the iron hammer and anvil, Natalie, seeing this and discovering the reason for their arrival, greeted the servants with the entreaty that they begin with Adrian, since she feared that her husband, seeing the cruel torture and death of the other martyrs, would become afraid.

The torturers assented to Natalie's request and went first to Adrian. Then Natalie, lifting up her husband's legs, placed them on the anvil; with a mighty stroke, the torturers shattered the martyr's shins and smote off his legs. "I beseech you, my lord, you servant of Christ," said Natalie, "while you are still alive, stretch forth your arm that they might break it, and you shall then be equal with the other martyrs who have suffered more than you have!" The holy Adrian stretched forth his arm to her, and she, taking it, set it upon the anvil. The torturer, striking the arm mightily, broke it off, and immediately the holy Adrian surrendered his soul into the hands of God, unable to endure further torment.

Having slain the Holy Adrian, the torturers went with the anvil and hammer to the other martyrs, but they themselves placed their arms and legs on the anvil and said: "0 Lord, receive You our souls"

After this, the impious emperor commanded that the bodies of the martyrs be burned, that the Christians might not take them up and remove them for an honorable and Christian burial. But hearing of the emperor's command, the Blessed Natalie secretly took her husband's arm and hid it on her person, so that it would not be burned. When the servants of the tyrant kindled a fire and carried the bodies of the holy martyrs out from the prison to be burned, the Holy Natalie and the other pious women followed behind them and gathered up the martyrs' blood in their costly garments and in bands of cloth. In this way preserving it, they anointed their own bodies with the blood. In addition to this, the women purchased from the servants of the emperor the martyrs' garments, which had been dyed with their blood. When the bodies of the saints were cast into the giant all consuming fire , the women cried out with tears: "Remember us, 0 our masters, in your everlasting repose!" But the Holy Natalie drew nigh even unto the fire, to cast herself upon it, desiring to offer herself up with her husband as a sacrifice unto God, but she was restrained.

Suddenly a tremendous clap of thunder was heard, lightning flashed, and a heavy rain began to descend, which flooded the whole site with water and extinguished the fire itself. Seized with fear, the impious torturers ran fast away and many of them fell dead on the road, struck down by the lightning.

When the servants of the tyrant had been scattered, those faithful men who were with the holy Natalie and the other women extracted the bodies of the holy martyrs whole from the ashes; they had not been harmed in the least by the flames, and even their hair was unburned.

A certain pious man and his wife, falling down before Natalie, began to entreat her and the rest of the brethren, saying: "We live on the outskirts of the city in a solitary place; we hate godlessness, and can no longer bear to look upon the cruel bloodbath brought about by the impious emperor; Because of this, we no longer desire to remain in this place and are moving to Byzantium. Give us the bodies of the holy martyrs, and we will take them aboard a ship, carrying them with us far from here; and there we will preserve them until the death of the impious Emperor Maximian. After his death, if we are still alive, we will return and bring the bodies of the saints back here, that they may be honored by all. All of us understand that if they remain here now, the emperor will order them burned, and you will be forced to betray the bodies which God has preserved from the giant and all consuming fire by this rain." All agreed, and the bodies of the martyrs were taken aboard a ship, to be conveyed to Byzantium; and the winds favored the departure of the vessel.

Meanwhile, the Holy Natalie dwelt in her home, treasuring the arm of her husband, the holy Adrian, which she, having anointed it with costly myrrh and wrapped it in a purple cloth, had placed in the head of her bed, a fact which none of her household knew.

When some time had passed, a certain prominent man, the commander of a thousand soldiers, desired to wed Natalie, for she was young, beautiful, and rich. He petitioned the emperor to permit him to take as his bride the spouse of Adrian and the emperor consented to this marriage. The bridegroom immediately sent eminent ladies to Natalie with the offer of his hand, but Natalie told them: "I am happy that such a man would have me to wed; but I ask you to wait for three days, that I might prepare myself, since I have not expected that anyone would wish to enter into marriage with me so soon." Thus saying, the Blessed Natalie made her plans to flee to that place where the bodies of the martyrs had been taken.

Having sent the women back to the commander and reassured them, she herself, entering into her sleeping chamber where the arm of St. Adrian was kept, fell to the ground and cried out to the Lord with weeping: "0 Lord our God, God of the sorrowful and contrite of heart: look down upon me Thine handmaiden, and do not permit the bed of Thy martyr Adrian to be defiled. Forget not, 0 Master, the sufferings of Thy servant, which he endured for the sake of Thy name! 0 merciful Lord, remember the breaking of the shins and the striking off of the arms of him and Thine other servants, which they endured for Thy sake, and let not their sufferings be in vain. For their sake, take pity on me, and permit me not to remain living with Thine enemies. 0 Thou Who didst deliver those saints from the fire, deliver me also from the intentions of this vile man!" And while she was praying in this manner, from exhaustion and from grief Natalie began to nod and fell into a light sleep; and lo and behold!, one of the holy martyrs appeared to her in a dream and said: "Peace be unto you, 0 Natalie, handmaiden of Christ! You should know that God has not disdained you, and we also have not forgotten the labors which you did show forth in nursing us during our imprisonment; standing in the presence of Christ, we are beseeching Him that He command you very quickly to come to us." The Blessed Natalie asked him: "Tell me, holy martyr, whether my lord Adrian stands with you before the Lord Christ." And the martyr replied: "He took his place before the Master even before we did! But now you must hurry to take ship without delaying, and sail to where our bodies are. There the Lord will appear to you, and He will lead you to us!"

Awakening from sleep, the holy Natalie immediately left all behind and, taking only the arm of the holy Adrian, departed from her home. Arriving at the shore of the sea, she saw a ship which almost seemed to be waiting for her, which was due to set sail for Byzantium. And, boarding it, she saw onboard people of both sexes, and all the Christians fleeing from the persecutions of the impious Emperor Maximian; and she gave thanks to God.

But the commander who had wanted to wed Natalie, learning of Natalie's flight, asked the emperor for the aid of some soldiers. Boarding another ship, he set out in pursuit. But when his ship had sailed but only a thousand stadia from the shore, the sea was blown with a contrary wind which drove the ship back to the shore, to the place, from where it had sailed; and it sustained much damage, so that many of those on board drowned. But the ship of the Christians, which had St. Natalie on board , sailed on without any problem what so ever. At midnight the devil appeared to the Christians of Natalie's ship. He took the form of one sailing on a ship out of the east, having with himself some others in the guise of sailors. And the devil asked the Christian sailors, calling to them as would a helmsman: "Where are you from and where are you going?" And the Christians answered: "We are from Nicomedia, and we are bound for Byzantium!" And the enemy said to them: "You have wandered off course; alter your course to port!" Thus saying, the devil wished to deceive them and bring about their destruction. And the Christians, believing this lying counsel and believing that those whom they had encountered were really sailing out of the east, began to turn sail and ship to port; but suddenly the Holy Martyr Adrian appeared to them, radiant with light, and he cried out with a loud voice: "Sail by the course you were following before, and do not listen to the words of the enemy who without any doubt is preparing destruction for you!" Thus saying, the martyr appeared to go before them across the water, and the devil vanished with his ship.

The Blessed Natalie, having risen up, beheld the Holy Adrian going before her ship, and she cried out loud: "Look! It is my lord Adrian!" And immediately the saint became invisible.

A favorable wind blew, and the voyagers arrived in Byzantium by sunset and anchored offshore, close to the site of the church in which the bodies of the holy martyrs had been interred; and the passengers disembarked with joy. Approaching the bodies of the martyrs in the church, St. Natalie fell down before them with ineffable gladness, kissing them and shedding tears of joy; and laying the arm of St. Adrian next to his body, she knelt down and prayed for a very long time. Then, when she had finished, she rose up and greeted the brethren and sisters who were there, for many faithful Christians were assembled in that place.

They received her with joy and took her into their homes, and tried to get her to to rest herself somewhat, for they saw that she was very, very tired from the long sea voyage. And while she slept soundly, the Holy Adrian appeared to her in a dream and told her: "It is very good that you have come here, 0 handmaid of Christ and daughter of the martyrs. You should come now to the rest prepared for you by the Lord. Come and receive your due reward!"

Awakening, the Holy Natalie related her dream to the Christians that were there and asked them to pray for her. After this, she fell asleep again. In an hour's time, the faithful came to wake her, but they found that she had reposed, for her holy soul had departed to ever lasting rest with the Lord. Thus, soon after the sufferings of the holy martyrs, the Holy Natalie also completed the course of her sufferings, even though without shedding her blood.

Much had she suffered with the martyrs, ministering to them in prison and watching their torture, and for chastity 's sake, she also forsook home and native land; and she stands even now amid the choir of the martyrs before Christ our Saviour, to Whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit , be honor and glory, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

The memory of Saints Adrian and Natalie and the 33 companions martyred with St. Adrian is celebrated on August 26(Church calendar)/September 8(Secular calendar) each year.

Sts. Adrian and Natalie

TROPARION; TONE 3
Thou didst esteem the saving Faith as wealth that cannot be taken away, O thrice blessed one / And didst abandon the ungodliness of thy fathers / Thou didst accept the words of thy spouse and wast made radiant by thy contest, O glorious Adrian, / do thou entreat Christ God for us, / together with the Godly minded Natalie.

KONTAKION; TONE 4
Having laid to heart the divine words of thy Godly minded spouse, / O Adrian, martyr of Christ, / thou didst run ardently to the tortures, / and, with thy wife, didst receive a crown.

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Translated from the slavonic consolidated in the 17th century by Saint Demetrius of Rostov in Holy Russia.

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ON THE HOLY ICONS

On The Holy Icons

One of the first things that strikes a non-Orthodox visitor to an Orthodox church is the prominent place assigned to Holy Icons. The Iconostasis is covered with them, while others are placed in prominent places throughout the church building. The walls and ceiling are covered with iconic murals. The Orthodox faithful prostrate themselves before Icons, kiss them, and burn candles before them. The are censed by the clergy and carried in processions. Considering the obvious importance of the Holy Icons, then, questions may certainly be raised concerning them: What do these gestures and actions mean? What is the significance of Icons? Are they not idols or the like, prohibited by the Old Testament?

Icons have been used for prayer from the first centuries of Christianity. Sacred Tradition tells us, for example, of the existence of an Icon of the Savior during His lifetime (the "Icon-Made-Without-Hands") and of Icons of the Most Holy Theotokos immediately after Him. Sacred Tradition witnesses that the Orthodox Church had a clear understanding of the importance of Icons right from the beginning; and this understanding never changed, for it is derived from the teachings concerning the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity "No one has ever seen God; only the Son, Who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known."(John 1:18), the Evangelist proclaims. That is, He has revealed the Image or Icon of God. For being the brightness of [God’s] glory, and the express image of [God’s] person (Hebrews 1:3), the Word of God in the Incarnation revealed to the world, in His own Divinity, the Image of the Father. When St. Philip asks Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father", He answered him: "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:8-9). Thus as the Son is in the bosom of the Father, likewise after the Incarnation He is consubstantial with the Father, according to His divinity being the Father s Image, equal in honor to Him.

The truth expressed above, which is revealed in Christianity, thus forms the foundations of Christian pictorial art. The Image (or Icon) not only does not contradict the essence of Christianity, but is unfailingly connected with it; and this is the foundation of the tradition that from the very beginning the Good News was brought to the world by the Church both in word and image.

St. John of Damascus, an eighth century Father of the Church, who wrote at the height of the iconoclastic (anti-icon) controversies in the Church, explains, that because "the Word of God became flesh" (John 1:14), we are no longer in our infancy; we have grown up, we have been given by God the power of discrimination and we know what can be depicted and what is indescribable. Since the Second Person of the Holy Trinity appeared to us in the flesh, we can portray Him and reproduce for contemplation Him Who has condescended to be seen. We can confidently represent God the Invisible--not as an invisible being, but as one Who has made Himself visible for our sake by sharing in our flesh and blood.

Holy Icons developed side by side with the Divine Services and, like the Services, expressed the teaching of the Church in conformity with the word of Holy Scripture. Following the teaching of the 7th Ecumenical Council, the Icon is seen not as simple art, but that there is a complete correspondence of the Icon to Holy Scripture, "for if the [Icon] is shown by [Holy Scripture], [Holy Scripture] is made incontestably clear by the [Icon]" [Acts of the 7th Ecumenical Council, 6].

As the word of Holy Scripture is an image, so the image is also a word, for, according to St. Basil the Great "By depicting the divine, we are not making ourselves similar to idolaters; for it is not the material symbol that we are worshiping, but the Creator, Who became corporeal for our sake and assumed our body in order that through it He might save mankind." We also venerate the material objects through which our salvation is effected--the blessed wood of the Cross, the Holy Gospel, Holy Relics of Saints, and, above all, the Most-Pure Body and Blood of Christ, which have grace-bestowing properties and Divine Power. Orthodox Christians do not venerate an Icon of Christ because of the nature of the wood or the paint, but rather we venerate the inanimate image of Christ with the intention of worshiping Christ Himself as God Incarnate through it.

We kiss an Icon of the Blessed Virgin as the Mother of the Son of God, just as we kiss the Icons of the Saints as God s friends who struggled against sin, imitating Christ by shedding their blood for Him and followed in His footsteps. Saints are venerated as those who were glorified by God and who became, with God s help, terrible to the Enemy, and benefactors to those advancing in the faith.

The Icons of the Saints act as a meeting point between the living members of the Church [Militant] on earth and the Saints who have passed on to the Church [Triumphant] in Heaven. The Saints depicted on the Icons are not remote, legendary figures from the past, but contemporary, personal friends. As meeting points between Heaven and earth, the Icons of Christ, His Mother, the Angels and Saints constantly remind the faithful of the invisible presence of the whole company of Heaven; they visibly express the idea of Heaven on earth.

Royal Martyr Tsarevich Saint Alexis

"The Tsarevich" Grand Duke Alexis Nicholaievitch
by
Major General
Sir John Hanbury-Williams

Compiled by
Father Demetrios Serfes,
Boise, Idaho. U.S.A.

Introduction by Father Demetrios Serfes (Now Archamindrite Nektarios)

Sir John Hanbury - Williams was Chief of the British Military Mission in Russia, from 1914-1917. Sir John himself met and had several discussions with the Emperor His Majesty Tsar Nicholas II on several occasions, during the war with Germany which began in 1914. These discussions took place on the grounds of the General Headquarters at Mohilev.

The excerpt "The Tsarevich" comes from the original text "The Emperor Nicholas II. As I Knew Him", written by the Major General Sir John Hanbury - Williams. Sir John had met the Tsarevich Alexis while he was with his father the Tsar at the General Headquarters, and his observations are presented in this presentation. The Tsarevich was with his father the Emperor during 1915-1916, at General Headquarters in Mohilev.

Like Sir John and many others it was noticed that Tsarevich Alexis was a respectful individual especially to all those in came in contact, and had many good qualities in his manners. The Tsarevich as well had respect for the soldiers, and they in return respected him, and enjoyed his company. Being at a young age (in 1915 he was eleven years old) the Tsarevich enjoyed playing games, and sports like any young person. It seems as well that the Tsarevich had deep respect for his father the Emperor, and carried himself in a honorable manner while in public. At the same time while the Tsarevich was with his father, he constantly too stayed in close contact by letters with his mother the Tsarina Alexandra. It was always a joy for the Tsarevich to get letters from his mother, as she constantly was concerned about his health. Whenever the Tsarevich wrote letters he always ended it: "May God protect you, your loving and beloved corporal", Alexei Romanov.
We now get to know the Tsarevich from the observations of Sir John Hanbury - Williams. I would like to humbly present to you "The Tsarevich". This publication was written in 1923.

"The Tsarevich"
Crown Prince
Grand Duke Alexis Nicholaievitch

Alexis Nicholaievitch was about eleven years old when I first saw him in 1915.
I had expected, from the many stories that had been afloat concerning him, to find a very delicate and not very lively boy. Delicate he certainly was, suffering as he did from an illness from which entire recovery was said to be impossible, but in the periods of what may be called his good health he had all the spirits and the mischief of any ordinary boy of that age.
On our first acquaintance he was as shy as one might expect on suddenly being thrown among a big crowd of strangers at the General Headquarters, not only of his own nationality, but of all of us - the Allied representatives.
The shyness soon disappeared, and gradually he became almost a spoilt child among us, if anything could spoil such an attractive and merry little fellow as he was.
On our first meeting he followed his father, the Emperor, round the circle which we made in the ante-room of the Government House at Mohilev, where he stayed, shaking hands with each of us in turn.
At meals he sat next the Emperor, opposite me, as I sat next to Count Fredericks as a rule, and opposite the Emperor. He wore khaki uniform and long Russian boots, and was very proud of himself as a soldier, had excellent manners, and spoke various languages well and clearly.
As time went on and his first shyness wore off, he treated us as old friends, and as he passed each of us to bid us good-day had always some little bit of fun with us. With me it was to make sure that each button on my coat was properly fastened, a habit which naturally made me take great care to have one or two unbuttoned, in which case he used at one to stop and tell me I was 'untidy again,' give a sigh at my lack of attention to these details, and stop and carefully button me all up again.
Tsarevich Saint Alexis

We then used to be invited by him to go into a small alcove room out of the dining room while the rest of the party were eating hors d'oeuvres which always begin a Russian meal at a side table. In that little room every conceivable game went on, a 'ray,' in fact, ending most likely with a game of football with anything that came handy, the Belgian general, of whom he was very fond, and used always to call 'Papa de Ricquel,' being a man of no mean girth, giving great opportunities for attack. The devoted tutor was almost in despair, and it generally ended by the intervention of the Emperor, by which time the small boy was carefully hidden behind the curtain. He then used to reappear with a twinkle in his eye and solemnly march in to take his place at table. There he would begin again by a bread pellet attack across the table and a game of what he called polo at me, with more bread pellets, which risked all the Imperial china and glasses pretty considerably. If, however, he had a stranger sitting next to him he had all the courtesy and charm of his father, talking freely and asking sensible questions. The moment, however, that we adjourned to the ante-room the games used to begin again, and went on fast and furious till either the Emperor or his tutor carried him off
.
Nagorny, the big sailor attendant, to whom he was devoted, was always about and somewhere handy - a great big cheerful and adoring servant of his little master. (His figure is no doubt well known from the frequent pictures that have appeared of him with the Tsarevich, and he is reported to have been murdered with the others in the beginning of June 1918. He would, we may be sure, have stuck to his post and to his charge till the last. His body was found on the scene of the execution two months later.)

In the afternoons the Emperor used to take his son out boating or to play in the sands, where he made little fortifications and enjoyed himself as any other small boy would do.
On some occasions he accompanied the Emperor to see the troops at the front, where he was as popular as he was everywhere else.He had a great love for animals, his chief companions being a spaniel and a big grey cat, shown with him in a photograph taken at Headquarters.

At times the illness from which he suffered got hold of him, and it was touching to see the way that everyone at our Headquarters felt for this cheerful and happy boy, who seemed as healthy as could be in ordinary times. He slept in his father's room at G.H.Q. - always went with him to the church services, turning round very often to see if his 'Allied' friends were there, and giving a wink of his eye as soon as he saw us.

When visiting troops on 15th November his tutor relates how the Emperor, when inspecting General Chtcherbatchef's troops, told every man who had served right through the war to hold up his hand. Among the thousands present but very few hands were shown, making a great impression the little soldier standing by his father.

His health was, of course, a continual anxiety, and certainly in the winter he would probably have been better at home than in a place like the G.H.Q., where for a boy of that age there was more or less continual excitement. Latterly this was arranged, and it was a mixture of the Empress's anxiety for him and her wish at the same time that he should be with his father, to whom his visits gave such pleasure, which finally ended in his leaving for Tsarskoye Selo, where also his education could be better continued.

He was bright and quick enough to appreciate, no doubt, the fact of revolution and abdication, but it is probable that his young age, added to the devotion of all around him, prevented the disaster of the end to the throne being a too marked impression. Almost up to the last, and when his already weak health was much overtaxed by discomfort and privations to which he was, of course, totally unaccustomed, his lessons seem to have been continued. Of the final tragedy which put an end to this little life in such a cruel and heartless fashion once prefers not to speak.

There is but one outstanding fact to keep before one, a doubt whether, had he lived, instead of being murdered, he would ever have had sufficient strength physically to occupy the throne should it have been open to him to do so.


(Source: "The Emperor Nicholas II, As I Knew Him" , by Sir John Hanbury - Williams, Chief of the British Military Mission in Russia, 1914-1917, New York, E.P. Dutton & Company., 1923., pp. 237-242).

For other web sites I have presented on the Tsarevich Grand Duke Alexis Romanov, please access to "The Royal Martyr Crown-Prince Alexis, & Grand Duke of Russia" and "Child-Martyrs".

For another outstanding web site on Tsarevich Alexis please access "The First Alexei Nicholaievitch Romanov Web Page".

I would like to thank John Wilson Smith for his kind assistance. And to Raymon David.

Holy Child-Martyr

Tsarevich Alexis,
Pray Unto God For Us!