* Forefeast of the Presentation of the Lord. * Martyr Tryphon (250).
Martyr Perpetua, Martyrs Satyr, Revokat, Satornil, Secundus and Martyr Filicitata (c. 202-203). Saint Peter of Galatian (429); Vendimian, the hermit of Bithynia (c. 512); Timothy the Confessor. Saints David and Simeon, confessors of Mytilene and miracle workers (after 820). Saint Basil, Archbishop of Thessalonica, Confessor (c. 870); Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov (1468). Fairyon Martyrs with 2 youths; Karion; Agafodora; Jordan (1650); Anastasia Navpliota (1655). Monk Martyr Gabriel of Constantinople (1676). Hieromartyr Nicholas (Mezentsev) Archpriest (1938). Conception for Great Lent.
Day of the holy martyr Tryphon
The Holy Martyr Tryphon (+ 250) was born in one of the regions of Asia Minor - Phrygia, not far from the city of Apameia, in the village of Kampsada. His parents were simple and pious peasants. As a child, he grazed geese and received no education. But Saint Tryphon, while still a child, received the gift of miracles from the Lord: he cast out demons, healed ailments and by his prayer did many other benefits.
Once the inhabitants of the native village of St. Tryphon were saved by him from hunger: by the power of his childish prayer, the saint made him leave harmful insects that destroyed crops. On the basis of this miracle, a special rite is established in the Church. prayer appeal to Saint Tryphon, which occurs when pests attack crops or plantations.
Saint Tryphon was especially famous for his exorcism from the daughter of the Roman emperor Gordian (238-244). A demon possessed the young, intelligent and beautiful Princess and severely tormented her. Once he shouted that only Tryphon can expel him. The emperor ordered to find the miracle worker and take him to Rome. At that time Saint Tryphon was 16 years old. When the saint approached Rome at a distance of three days' journey, the evil spirit could not bear his approach and left the daughter of Gordian. Saint Tryphon was brought before the emperor, surrounded by the court nobility. He begged the saint to show the demon with his own eyes, wanting to make sure that the young man had really healed the princess. After solitary prayer to God and strict fasting for six days, Saint Tryphon ordered the unclean spirit to appear visibly to the emperor and his entourage. In the Chetikh-Menaion of St. Demetrius of Rostov (+ 1709), this is narrated as follows: “Saint Tryphon is filled with this Holy Spirit, and look at the invisible spirit with clever stripes, say: to you, an unclean soul, in the Name of my Lord Jesus Christ, appear evidently to those here, and show them your stingy and cold-hearted image, and your weakness, your confession. And abie the devil appeared before everyone in the form of a black dog, having eyes like fiery, his head drawn on the earth ... ". To the question of Saint Tryphon how he dared to dwell in the creation of God, the demon replied that he does not have such power over Christians, but can only torment those "who follow their desires and do things that please us." Hearing this, many of those present left idolatry and believed in Christ. Generously gifted by the emperor, Saint Tryphon returned to his homeland. He distributed all the gifts he received along the way to the poor.
When the emperor Decius (249-251), a cruel persecutor of Christians, ascended the royal throne, it was reported to his eparch Aquilinus that Saint Tryphon boldly preached Christianity and led many to Baptism. Hearing that the royal servants were looking for him, Saint Tryphon did not take refuge, but gave himself over to the persecutors. Brought to trial before Aquilinus in the city of Nicaea, he boldly confessed his faith in Christ. Aquilinus could not intimidate young Tryphon with any threats. Then the diocese gave orders to bind the holy martyr's hands, hang him on a tree and beat him for three hours. During the beating, the torturer did not hear a single groan of the martyr. After this, Saint Tryphon was thrown into prison.
After a while, Aquilinus once again used threats and persuasion, and then, seeing the failure of his efforts, subjected the martyr to new tortures. They tormented the body of Saint Tryphon with iron hooks, burned the wounds with fire, hammered iron nails into his feet and led him through the city. And when the martyr was forced to follow the horse on which the diocese went hunting, Saint Tryphon sang the following verses from the psalms of the Prophet David: “Make my steps in Thy paths, so that my steps do not move ... Direct my feet, O Lord, according to the word Yours, and let not all iniquity possess me ”(Psalm 16: 5; 118, 133). He often repeated the words of the first martyr, the holy archdeacon Stephen: "Lord, do not charge them with this sin" (Acts 7, 60).
The Lord strengthened His chosen one, and he courageously endured all the tortures. During the torture, an Angel appeared before the saint with a precious crown in his hands. Seeing this, the tormentors were frightened, but Aquilinus became even more bitter. The next day he continued the torture, after which he sentenced the martyr Tryphon to beheading with a sword. Before his death, the saint thanked God, who strengthened him in suffering.
The Ancient Life conveys the following words of the holy martyr to God: “... Accept my soul in the world; them from Thy Holy Dwelling, giving them abundant and incorruptible gifts, as Thou alone art Good and the Generous Giver for ever and ever. " The saint departed to the Lord before his honest head was cut off.
The Christians wanted to bury the body of the martyr in the city of Nicaea - the place of his suffering. But Saint Tryphon in a vision ordered to transfer his body to his homeland, to the village of Kampsado. The will of the holy martyr was fulfilled. Subsequently, the relics of Saint Tryphon were transferred to Constantinople, and then to Rome.
The holy Martyr Tryphon enjoys great veneration in the Russian Orthodox Church.
There is a legend that under Tsar Ivan the Terrible (1533-1584) the beloved royal gyrfalcon flew away during the hunt. The tsar ordered the falconer Trifon Patrikeev to find the bird that had flown away and threatened him with death for not following the order. Falconer Trifon traveled around the surrounding forests, but to no avail. On the third day, tired of a long search, he lay down to rest, earnestly asking for help from his patron, the holy Martyr Tryphon. In a dream, he saw a young man on a white horse, holding a royal gyrfalcon in his hand. This young man said: "Take the missing bird, go with God to the king and do not grieve about anything." Waking up, the falconer saw a gyrfalcon he was looking for on a pine nearby. He immediately took him to the king and told about wonderful help, received by him from the holy martyr Tryphon. Soon, at the place where the saint had appeared, the falconer Trifon Patrikeev built a chapel, and then a church in the name of the holy martyr Tryphon.
At present, the head of the holy martyr is kept in the city of Kotor (Montenegro), in cathedral Saint Tryphon. Part of the relics was brought from there to Russia in 1803. In 1819, this shrine was put in three reliquaries in the icon of the holy Martyr Tryphon, which was located in the church built in his honor. Now this icon is in the temple in honor of the Sign. Holy Mother of God, at the Riga station in Moscow, not far from the place where St. Tryphon appeared to the falconer.
Martyr Perpetua and with her the martyrs Satyr, Revokat, Satornil and Secundus and the martyr Philicitatus suffered in Carthage in 203 g Perpetua, a 23-year-old woman, belonged to a noble and wealthy family, the rest came from the slave class. Perpetua was baptized secretly in the absence of her pagan father.
"I am christian!" - she answered her father. Filicitate had to give birth in prison, and during her torment she groaned. “Here, you could not bear even light suffering. What will happen when they throw you to be devoured by the beasts? " the jailer said to her. "Now I endured alone, and then Christ will endure for me, for whom I will suffer," answered the martyr. Sts. the confessors, all except Secundus, who died in prison, were given to be torn apart by beasts, and when they did not touch them, they were killed by the sword.
Orthodox and Church holidays in February.
The 14th of February(February 1 according to the "old style" - church Julian calendar). Wednesday cheese week, popularly referred to as "carnival"(the last of the three weeks of preparation for Great Lent, during all days of which fasting is canceled, but eating is no longer blessed meat dishes ). Today in the Russian Orthodox Church Forefeast of the Presentation of the Lord and the memory of 10 saints. Below we will briefly talk about them.
Martyr Tryphon... One of the most famous and revered early Christian saints, the martyr Tryphon was born in the Asia Minor region of Phrygia in the village of Kampsada near the city of Apameia. Still very young, the future Christian sufferer became famous for the gift of miracles, healing diseases and casting out demons. Once the young man even drove out a demon from the daughter of the Roman pagan emperor Gordian, who reigned in 238-244 years from the Nativity of Christ.
Thanks to Saint Tryphon, many people came to Christ and received Holy Baptism. Once, during the reign of the persecutor of Christians, the pagan emperor Decius, who reigned in the Roman Empire in 249-251 years from the Nativity of Christ, the saint was reported. After the interrogation, at which the martyr Tryphon showed courageous loyalty to the Lord and His Church, the holy sufferer was subjected to the most severe public torture and execution. This happened in 250 year from the Nativity of Christ.
The special veneration of the martyr Tryphon in the Russian Church is associated with the following tradition:
NSUnder Tsar Ivan the Terrible, during the royal hunt, the king's beloved gyrfalcon flew away. The tsar ordered the falconer Trifon Patrikeev to find the bird that had flown away. Falconer Trifon traveled around the surrounding forests, but to no avail. On the third day, tired of a long search, he stopped near Moscow, in a place now called Maryina Roscha, and in exhaustion lay down to rest, earnestly praying before this to his patron saint, the Martyr Tryphon, asking him for help.
In a dream, he saw a young man on a white horse holding a king's gyrfalcon, and this young man said: "Take the missing bird, go with God to the king and do not grieve about anything." Waking up, the falconer really saw a gyrfalcon on a pine tree nearby. He immediately took him to the king and told about the miraculous help he received from the holy martyr Tryphon. After some time, at the place where the saint had appeared, the falconer Trifon Patrikeev built a chapel, and then a church in the name of the holy martyr Tryphon. "
Martyr Perpetua, Martyrs Satyr, Revokat, Satornil, Seconds and Martyr Philicitatus... Carthaginian Holy Sufferers Who Received Crowns of Martyrdom for Faithfulness to the Lord and His Church about 203 from the Nativity of Christ.
Saint Peter of Galatian... Little is known about Saint Peter from the hagiographic literature. As a nine-year-old boy, he left the parental home and, striving for spiritual life, first went to the Holy City of Jerusalem, and then to Antioch, where he shut himself up as a hermit in a cave. Here Saint Peter for many years indulged in the exploits of prayer and the strictest abstinence, only every other day did he take bread and water.
The Lord honored Saint Peter with the gift of miracles, healing bodily ailments and casting out demons. The Monk Peter of Galatians departed to the Lord about 429 from the Nativity of Christ, being a ninety-nine-year old man. Out of so many years of his earthly life, ninety he devoted to the unceasing service of God.
Venerable Vendimian of Bithynia, hermit... Disciple of the Monk Auxentius, participant IV Of the Ecumenical Council held at Chalcedon in 451 year from the Nativity of Christ. In the mountain monastery founded by Saint Auxentius near Chalcedon, Father Vendimian performed spiritual prayer and fasting deeds, as well as wrestling with demons for 42 years in his teacher's cell in a crevice of a rock. For this, the elder was honored with the gift of healings. Peacefully departed to the Lord around 512 from the Nativity of Christ.
Hieromartyr Nikolai Mezentsev, presbyter. Orthodox priest, who accepted death for fidelity to Christ and His Church during the period of Soviet theomachic persecution in a bloody 1938 year... Glorified in the face of saints in the multitude of thousands of new martyrs and confessors of the Russian Church.
We congratulate Orthodox Christians on the memory of all today's saints! By their prayers, Lord, save and have mercy on all of us! We are glad to congratulate those who received names in their honor in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism or monastic tonsure! As they used to say in Russia in the old days: "To the Guardian Angels - a golden crown, and to you - good health!"
* Forefeast of the Presentation of the Lord. * Martyr Tryphon (250).
Martyr Perpetua, Martyrs Satyr, Revokat, Satornil, Secundus and Martyr Filicitata (c. 202-203). Saint Peter of Galatian (429); Vendimian, the hermit of Bithynia (c. 512); Timothy the Confessor. Saints David and Simeon, confessors of Mytilene and miracle workers (after 820). Saint Basil, Archbishop of Thessalonica, Confessor (c. 870); Tryphon, Bishop of Rostov (1468). Fairyon Martyrs with 2 youths; Karion; Agafodora; Jordan (1650); Anastasia Navpliota (1655). Monk Martyr Gabriel of Constantinople (1676). Hieromartyr Nicholas (Mezentsev) Archpriest (1938). Conception for Great Lent.
Day of the holy martyr Tryphon
The Holy Martyr Tryphon (+ 250) was born in one of the regions of Asia Minor - Phrygia, not far from the city of Apameia, in the village of Kampsada. His parents were simple and pious peasants. As a child, he grazed geese and received no education. But Saint Tryphon, while still a child, received the gift of miracles from the Lord: he cast out demons, healed ailments and by his prayer did many other benefits.
Once the inhabitants of the native village of St. Tryphon were saved by him from hunger: by the power of his childish prayer, the saint made the harmful insects that were destroying the crops to leave. On the basis of this miracle, a special rite of prayer was established in the Church to St. Tryphon, which is performed when pests attack crops or plantations.
Saint Tryphon was especially famous for his exorcism from the daughter of the Roman emperor Gordian (238-244). A demon possessed the young, intelligent and beautiful Princess and severely tormented her. Once he shouted that only Tryphon can expel him. The emperor ordered to find the miracle worker and take him to Rome. At that time Saint Tryphon was 16 years old. When the saint approached Rome at a distance of three days' journey, the evil spirit could not bear his approach and left the daughter of Gordian. Saint Tryphon was brought before the emperor, surrounded by the court nobility. He begged the saint to show the demon with his own eyes, wanting to make sure that the young man had really healed the princess. After solitary prayer to God and strict fasting for six days, Saint Tryphon ordered the unclean spirit to appear visibly to the emperor and his entourage. In the Chetikh-Menaion of St. Demetrius of Rostov (+ 1709), this is narrated as follows: “Saint Tryphon is filled with this Holy Spirit, and look at the invisible spirit with clever stripes, say: to you, an unclean soul, in the Name of my Lord Jesus Christ, appear evidently to those here, and show them your stingy and cold-hearted image, and your weakness, your confession. And abie the devil appeared before everyone in the form of a black dog, having eyes like fiery, his head drawn on the earth ... ". To the question of Saint Tryphon how he dared to dwell in the creation of God, the demon replied that he does not have such power over Christians, but can only torment those "who follow their desires and do things that please us." Hearing this, many of those present left idolatry and believed in Christ. Generously gifted by the emperor, Saint Tryphon returned to his homeland. He distributed all the gifts he received along the way to the poor.
When the emperor Decius (249-251), a cruel persecutor of Christians, ascended the royal throne, it was reported to his eparch Aquilinus that Saint Tryphon boldly preached Christianity and led many to Baptism. Hearing that the royal servants were looking for him, Saint Tryphon did not take refuge, but gave himself over to the persecutors. Brought to trial before Aquilinus in the city of Nicaea, he boldly confessed his faith in Christ. Aquilinus could not intimidate young Tryphon with any threats. Then the diocese gave orders to bind the holy martyr's hands, hang him on a tree and beat him for three hours. During the beating, the torturer did not hear a single groan of the martyr. After this, Saint Tryphon was thrown into prison.
After a while, Aquilinus once again used threats and persuasion, and then, seeing the failure of his efforts, subjected the martyr to new tortures. They tormented the body of Saint Tryphon with iron hooks, burned the wounds with fire, hammered iron nails into his feet and led him through the city. And when the martyr was forced to follow the horse on which the diocese went hunting, Saint Tryphon sang the following verses from the psalms of the Prophet David: “Make my steps in Thy paths, so that my steps do not move ... Direct my feet, O Lord, according to the word Yours, and let not all iniquity possess me ”(Psalm 16: 5; 118, 133). He often repeated the words of the first martyr, the holy archdeacon Stephen: "Lord, do not charge them with this sin" (Acts 7, 60).
The Lord strengthened His chosen one, and he courageously endured all the tortures. During the torture, an Angel appeared before the saint with a precious crown in his hands. Seeing this, the tormentors were frightened, but Aquilinus became even more bitter. The next day he continued the torture, after which he sentenced the martyr Tryphon to beheading with a sword. Before his death, the saint thanked God, who strengthened him in suffering.
The Ancient Life conveys the following words of the holy martyr to God: “... Accept my soul in the world; them from Thy Holy Dwelling, giving them abundant and incorruptible gifts, as Thou alone art Good and the Generous Giver for ever and ever. " The saint departed to the Lord before his honest head was cut off.
The Christians wanted to bury the body of the martyr in the city of Nicaea - the place of his suffering. But Saint Tryphon in a vision ordered to transfer his body to his homeland, to the village of Kampsado. The will of the holy martyr was fulfilled. Subsequently, the relics of Saint Tryphon were transferred to Constantinople, and then to Rome.
The holy Martyr Tryphon enjoys great veneration in the Russian Orthodox Church.
There is a legend that under Tsar Ivan the Terrible (1533-1584) the beloved royal gyrfalcon flew away during the hunt. The tsar ordered the falconer Trifon Patrikeev to find the bird that had flown away and threatened him with death for not following the order. Falconer Trifon traveled around the surrounding forests, but to no avail. On the third day, tired of a long search, he lay down to rest, earnestly asking for help from his patron, the holy Martyr Tryphon. In a dream, he saw a young man on a white horse, holding a royal gyrfalcon in his hand. This young man said: "Take the lost bird, go with God to the king and do not grieve about anything." Waking up, the falconer saw a gyrfalcon he was looking for on a pine nearby. He immediately took him to the king and told about the miraculous help he received from the holy martyr Tryphon. Soon, at the place where the saint had appeared, the falconer Trifon Patrikeev built a chapel, and then a church in the name of the holy martyr Tryphon.
At present, the head of the holy martyr is kept in the city of Kotor (Montenegro), in the Cathedral of St. Tryphon. Part of the relics was brought from there to Russia in 1803. In 1819, this shrine was put in three reliquaries in the icon of the holy Martyr Tryphon, which was located in the church built in his honor. Now this icon is in the church in honor of the Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos, near the Riga station in Moscow, not far from the place where St. Tryphon appeared to the falconer.
Martyr Perpetua and with her the martyrs Satyr, Revokat, Satornil and Secundus, and the martyr Philicitatus.
Martyr Perpetua and with her the martyrs Satyr, Revokat, Satornil and Secundus and the martyr Filicitata suffered in Carthage in 203, Perpetua, a 23-year-old woman, belonged to a noble and wealthy family, the rest came from the slave class. Perpetua was baptized secretly in the absence of her pagan father.
"I am christian!" - she answered her father. Filicitate had to give birth in prison, and during her torment she groaned. “Here, you could not bear even light suffering. What will happen when they throw you to be devoured by the beasts? " the jailer said to her. "Now I endured alone, and then Christ will endure for me, for whom I will suffer," answered the martyr. Sts. the confessors, all except Secundus, who died in prison, were given to be torn apart by beasts, and when they did not touch them, they were killed by the sword.
Today is an Orthodox church holiday:
Tomorrow is a holiday:
Holidays Expected:
12.03.2019 -
13.03.2019 -
14.03.2019 -
Valentine's Day is celebrated all over the world. And if you do not want to associate this holiday with Valentine's Day, then you can find a reason for Orthodox calendar... This day in our country is considered the day of Tryphon the Martyr. In Russia, on this day, girls prayed for good marriage and the health of the constricted.
Tryphon was born in Phrikia. This place belongs to Turkey today. The parents of the future Saint could not give the young man an education, and he spent the first sixteen years of his life grazing geese. During this not very burdensome occupation, the young man could meditate on God for many hours.
The young man loved his homeland very much. He helped neighbors and fellow countrymen. Once, in the village where the young man lived, a misfortune happened. To the fields where wheat grew, main product the peasants, thanks to which they could subsist, were attacked by locusts. Tryphon, with the help of prayer, was able to defend the crops and prevent hunger.
Emperor Gordian learned about this miracle, in whose beautiful daughter a demon possessed. He called the young man to his palace and asked to help his daughter. Tryphon was not only able to help the emperor, but also showed everyone that demon in the guise of a black dog with fiery eyes. After this event, many in the palace believed in Christ.
Decius Trajan came to power to replace Gordian. This emperor was famous primarily for organizing the persecution of Christians. Tryphon did not hide or diminish his pilgrimage mission. And Decius' servants quickly found him. In prison, Tryphon endured many tortures and died without waiting for execution.
But, even after his death, the young man did not stop helping people. There is a known case when Tryphon helped his namesake, the falconer Ivan the Terrible. Once, while hunting, the tsar lost his beloved falcon. He ordered the falconer Tryphon to find him or he would be killed. For a long time the servant of the king was looking for his favorite bird, but he could not find it. He had already said goodbye to his life, when Tryphon appeared in a dream with a falcon in his hands.
The falconer woke up and immediately saw the bird. A chapel was built on the site of Tryphon's appearance, and then a church. The young man began to be depicted on icons on horseback and with a falcon in his hands. There is a belief that it was Tryphon who was depicted on the first coats of arms of Moscow, and only then was George the Victorious took his place.
In the Russian Orthodox Church, the memory of Tryphon the Martyr is very much honored. He is considered the patron saint of hunters, prayers for the harvest are addressed to him, he helps girls to build strong family... 14 February is not only Valentine's Day, but also the feast of Tryphon the Martyr for all Orthodox Christians.
Memorial Day of the Holy Martyr Tryphon - February 14 - coincides with the so-called Valentine's Day (all lovers). About marketing technologies that oppose Orthodox tradition, reflects a professor at the Moscow Theological Academy, first deputy chairman of the Academic Committee under Holy Synod ROC, rector of the temple Venerable Seraphim Sarovsky on Krasnopresnenskaya embankment in Moscow, Mitred Archpriest Maxim Kozlov.
Father Maxim, today even in kindergartens they make valentines. What, in your opinion, is the reason for the popularity of this "holiday"?
There was also something reasonable in the Soviet past, in particular, the opposition to groveling before the West, which in this case it would be appropriate. There is nothing national, religious, or even reasonable in celebrating Valentine's Day.
In the Russian Orthodox Church, this day is very, very eventful: on the one hand, the eve of the Feast of the Meeting of the Lord, which, if we talk about innovations, is also declared the Day of Orthodox Youth. But most importantly, February 14 is the day of remembrance of the holy martyr Tryphon, who is very revered by church people, according to at least in Moscow.
I remember well the end of the 70s - 80s. of the last century, when on this day the Temple of the Sign on Rizhskaya, where miraculous icon Holy Martyr Tryphon, was a place of pilgrimage for all Orthodox Moscow - it could not accommodate everyone who was going to worship. On this day, as a rule, the ever-memorable His Holiness Patriarch Moscow and All Russia Pimen.
But in addition to February 14, twice a week, a prayer service with an akathist to the martyr Tryphon was served in the church. At this service there were always many people who came with their needs. They made, if not a heroic deed, then a certain effort - they traveled from all parts of Moscow, broke away from work - with a warm faith in this saint.
The reasons for this veneration are clear: the martyr Tryphon is perceived by the Russian Orthodox Church (starting with the miraculous appearance to the falconer Tryphon) as a saint who helps in extreme life circumstances, when there is no longer any rational hope of an exit. Such miracles of the era of Tsar Ivan the Terrible found a lively response in the soul of the Russian people. In this regard, one can recall the MonkMartyr Cornelius of Pskov-Pechersk, whose veneration was also very widespread at that time, and, of course, Saint Philip.
Thousands of people prayed to the Holy Martyr Tryphon during these centuries, and now many people know his help. We can be skeptical about the lists of saints who help in various vital needs, but I know many examples, and in my life they also exist, when the martyr Tryphon was solving the very housing issue that, as the writer said, spoiled many of our compatriots; helped in finding work, as well as in other needs - as a saint, as a bright, clear youth, a wondrous example of a saint of God.
Thus, it comes not about filling empty day- there is a displacement of one's own, dear, spiritual, primordial; betrayal of your good for the sake of not understanding why.
On February 14, the Catholic Church celebrates the memory of the early Christian saints Valentine of Interamn and Valentine of Rome, from the scant information about them it is known that these are holy martyrs who suffered for the faith. Where did the legend of the patronage of lovers come from and, in fact, Valentine's Day?
The Catholic Church, represented by its hierarchs, has repeatedly testified that it has nothing to do with this cult. Never in western tradition catholic church there was not and could not be the assignment to Saint Valentine - the bishop of one of the Italian cities and the holy martyr - the strange role of the patron saint of romantic love, and even more so of disorderly sexual relations.
It is possible to criticize our Catholic brothers for something else, but they have never engaged in this kind of exploitation of their own saint. Catholics do not have any unusual rituals in this regard. They have other unusual traditions for us, connected, say, with Francis of Assisi, prayers for animals. You can relate to these customs in different ways, but I repeat, relatively speaking, there is no rite of consecration of Valentine among Catholics.
Orthodox Church also celebrates the memory of the mentioned saints, but on a different day.
As for the origin of the holiday of lovers, in marketing textbooks the so-called Valentine's Day (or better to talk about it without the word "saint") is cited as one of the first examples of the success of commercial advertising. In the West, there was a long pause between sales - Christmas and Easter and pre-Easter, and the idea of this holiday was promoted solely for the sake of stimulating trade. So why be blindly guided by the commercial cult and sale idea of our lives? To encourage already Chinese manufacturers and retail chains in their pursuit of commercial gain?
Father Maxim, but there is beautiful legend that Saint Valentine was executed for marrying Roman legionaries with their beloved, despite the emperor's ban.
I don’t know how this legend came about. There is nothing of the kind in the canonical lives of the holy martyrs Valentine of Interamnsky and Valentine of Rome.
- And how to deal with this kind of fiction?
Fighting is pointless, we can never capture the commercial space in which we operate big business... But what more people in our country they will have at least the beginnings of a serious church worldview, the less leads there will be in commercial cults.
For many years you were the rector of the Church of the Holy Martyr Tatiana at Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov. What happened on February 14 at the temple? What about the morality and chastity of today's students?
When I served in the church at Moscow State University, I did not observe the flow of students that day, who would exact special prayers to Saint Valentine. With regard to chastity, the position of the Church against disorderly relationships has been known since the preaching of the apostles. And whoever wants to hear it, he hears, and who does not hear, he will act in accordance with his desires. I do not harbor any special illusions on this score. Even if we say about it 10 more times, even through the first channel, these people will not begin to live quietly and well in all piety. But once again to testify that the Church has nothing to do with Valentine's Day is useful so that, at least, the illusion of being able to sit on two chairs is not created: in the morning to pray to the Holy Martyr Tryphon, and in the evening to go on a spree on Valentine's Day.
- What do you say to young people who believe that close relationships before marriage is normal?
In my opinion, it is rather pointless to say anything about this given the general non-churchly worldview. Christian morality cannot be incorporated fragmentarily. What is the point of explaining to a person that it is bad to steal if he does not believe in eternal life and retribution? What is wrong, say, to push people aside with your feet and walk over their heads if he is convinced that without this he cannot make a career? In the same way, it is futile to instill the idea that Christian virtues are good, and there is no need to sin against the seventh commandment if a person lives according to the principle “take everything from life”, especially while you are young. It is necessary to preach the Gospel, eternal life and faith in the Risen Christ, and from this follows Christian morality. In my opinion, morality cannot be made the center of Christian preaching.
That is, it remains only to pray that the Lord will enlighten young people who believe that it is possible to cohabit before marriage?
Of course, pray that the Lord will enlighten the one who is trying to oppose the beliefs of a Christian. A person must believe in the Risen Christ and in eternal life, and then he himself, gradually, with the help of the Church, affirming the Gospel, draw some conclusions for himself.
