Sermons
From the publisher
In 1999, a collection of sermons and conversations by Abbot Hilarion, “The night has passed, but the day has approached,” was published. Almost immediately after publication, this collection, containing 22 sermons and several conversations, became a bibliographic rarity.
The collection now published contains sixty-two sermons, including twenty-two previously published. Almost all of the sermons currently published were delivered by Father Hilarion in the Church of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine in Vspolye, where he carries out his pastoral ministry.
Hegumen Hilarion (Alfeev) was born in 1966. Received a musical education. At the age of twenty, he became a monk at the Vilna Holy Spirit Monastery, and was ordained to the rank of hierodeacon and then hieromonk. In 1990-91 - rector of the Kaunas Annunciation Cathedral. In 1991 he graduated from the Moscow Theological Academy with a candidate's degree in theology. From 1991 to 1993 he taught homiletics, dogmatic theology at Moscow theological schools, New Testament at the St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Institute and patrolology at the Russian Orthodox University named after the Holy Apostle John the Theologian. In 1993-95 he studied at Oxford University, where he graduated with a PhD. Upon his return to Russia in 2009, by decree of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', Alexy II was appointed clergyman of the Church of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine in Vspolye. Since 1997 - Secretary of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations for Inter-Christian Relations, member of the Synodal Theological Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1999, he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Theology by the St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris.
Hegumen Hilarion is the author of more than ten books, including monographs dedicated to the Fathers of the Church, translations of patristic texts from Greek and Syriac. Father Hilarion's books enjoy well-deserved recognition from readers. They are highly appreciated by the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The publishers express the hope that this collection will serve the spiritual benefit of readers and strengthen their love for the Holy Orthodox Church, to whose service Father Hilarion devotes all his strength.
About meeting with Christ. Nativity
“Christ is born - praise! Christ from heaven - welcome! Christ is on earth - ascend! Sing to the Lord, all the earth!” Saint Gregory the Theologian began his Christmas sermon with these words, and since then, for sixteen centuries, they have been heard in our church services, asking us the same questions: what is the meaning of the Nativity of Christ for each of us; how we can meet Christ coming from heaven; how can we ascend from earth to heaven; How can we glorify Christ with our lives?
Many religions professing one God promise a person that he will be able to touch God to one degree or another, experience the feeling of His presence and closeness. But no religion, except Christianity, allows a person to know God as a brother, as a friend. Through the incarnation of the Son of God, according to the word of St. Simeon the New Theologian, we become sons of God the Father and brothers of Christ. God incarnates in order to be able to communicate with us on equal terms, so that by sharing our fate and living our lives, we can receive right to tell us about Himself and about us that last truth that could not be revealed to us in any other way. The truth that there is no abyss separating God and man; there are no insurmountable obstacles to a meeting between man and God - one on one, face to face.
This meeting takes place in our heart. For the sake of this meeting, the Lord came to earth, became a man and lived a human life: he was born in a den in Bethlehem, fled to Egypt, returned to Nazareth, was brought up in a carpenter’s house, was baptized, went out to preach, walked around Galilee, Samaria and Judea, preaching the Kingdom of Heaven. and healing human diseases, endured suffering and death on the cross, rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. All this is so that a mysterious meeting takes place, so that the barrier between man and God, erected by human sin, is destroyed. “The mediastinum of the city is destroyed, the fiery weapon gives splashes, and the cherub retreats from the tree of life, and I partake of the food of heaven,” is sung in a church song. The barrier is destroyed, and the sword of cherubim, blocking the entrance to paradise, retreats; the gates of heaven open, and man returns to the tree of life, from which he feeds on Heavenly Bread.
The story of Adam's fall is the story of all humanity and every person. Adam's sin is repeated in each of us when we turn away from God and sin. But Christ also becomes incarnate for each of us, and therefore the salvation of Adam by Christ is our salvation. “If bound Adam was released, freedom everyone given to the faithful,” says the canon, which is read at Compline on the forefeast of the Nativity of Christ. In Christ everyone people are restored to that God-like freedom that Adam and his descendants lost through sin and falling away from God.
Saint Gregory the Theologian calls the Incarnation the “second creation,” when God, as it were, creates man anew, taking on human flesh, the “second communication” between man and God: “The existing one begins to exist; The uncreated is created; The incomprehensible is embraced; The rich becomes poor through the perception of the flesh, so that I may be enriched by His Divinity... What is this new sacrament? I received the image of God and lost it, but He takes on my flesh in order to save both the image and immortalize me. He enters into a second communication with us, which is much better and higher than the first.”
In the incarnation of the Word, in the words of St. Ephraim the Syrian, an “exchange” takes place between God and man: God receives human nature from us, and gives us His Divinity.
Through the incarnation of the Word occurs deification person. “The Word became incarnate so that we might be deified,” said St. Athanasius the Great. “The Son of God became the Son of Man in order to make the sons of men sons of God,” said Saint Irenaeus of Lyons. The deification to which man was destined by the very act of creation and which he lost through the Fall was returned to man by the Word incarnate.
And therefore, it is in the Nativity of Christ that a complete renewal of human nature takes place. Not only in that one Christmas that took place two thousand years ago in Bethlehem, but also in that birth of Christ that occurs again and again in our souls. For the soul of man is a “cattle manger”, which God makes the container of His Divinity and His temple. Man in the Fall “became like foolish beasts,” but God comes to fallen man and makes his soul the place where a mysterious meeting takes place between Him and us.
"Woe is me if I do not preach the good news", says the Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 9:16). And this maxim applies to every priest, and even more so to the bishop of God.
Preaching is the most important part of the bishop's service, and it is not for nothing that all the saints of the Church of Christ, as a rule, were outstanding preachers: John Chrysostom and Gregory the Theologian, Gregory Palamas and Nicholas of Serbia, Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov) and Patriarch Tikhon (Bellavin). In the Ancient Church, the preaching ministry was even recognized as the prerogative of bishops, who could, in certain cases, if there were worthy elders, delegate to them the right of evangelism.
Nowadays, a remarkable example of preaching is provided by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, who once said that he chose the words of the prokeme as the motto of his life: “Teach the salvation of our God day by day.” It is obvious that the example of the Primate of the Russian Church encourages all the clergy to work more diligently in this direction, fulfilling the Savior’s commandment: "Preach the Gospel to Every Creation"(Mark 16:15).
This example is followed by the closest assistant of His Holiness the Patriarch, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk. Despite the abundance of the most important church obediences, Bishop Hilarion does not miss the opportunity to preach everywhere and in a variety of forms and formats: be it a weekly television show, a film about the holy places of Orthodoxy, a musical concert or a traditional liturgical sermon. The present collection belongs precisely to the latter, traditional type of sermon.
Moscow, Vienna, Budapest, Roman catacombs, Athos, Holy Trinity Lavra of Sergius, Zadonsk - this is the incomplete geography of the birth of these sermons. These are parish churches, monastery cathedrals, and university house churches. The time in the book is strictly subordinated to the Orthodox calendar: the year begins with the church new year (September 1/14), with the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and ends with the day of the Beheading of John the Baptist. Indeed, September seems to be the natural beginning of a new season (which is especially obvious, for example, for educational institutions), much more natural than the middle of winter, so the church tradition retains this important meaning.
This is the chronotope of the book, speaking in literary language. Now about the content.
The collection includes sermons on a variety of holidays: the twelfth, the great, and the days of remembrance of saints, such as St. Varlaam of Khutyn, or St. Philotheus Kokkin, or the Hieromartyr Seraphim (Chichagov). For some holidays, several sermons from different years are given at once.
Any priest knows how difficult it is, if you preach every year on the same days, not to repeat established formulas, but to find a new turn of thought, to see new depth in the familiar, to be able to ignite people’s hearts with eternal youth and the power of the gospel words. And Bishop Hilarion succeeds in this; he does not repeat himself in his homilies.
For example, on the Nativity of the Virgin Mary we find two completely different sermons. And each of them sounds very modern: “If earlier two people could have six children and twenty-five grandchildren, now ten people have six children and three grandchildren. This is a tragedy of humanity that we are witnessing.”
The red thread in the book is the idea of brotherhood, unity, a common ship of salvation - this is, first of all, the Church of God, but also the human family, and the monastic monastery. At the same time, Metropolitan Hilarion is not at all inclined to paint an exclusively benign picture; he is not afraid to call a spade a spade: “The example of St. John Chrysostom testifies that a person who strives to uncompromisingly follow the path of Christ can make enemies among people not only of anti-Christian sentiment , but also within the Church itself."
Related to this is the theme of martyrdom, which runs through the book as a counterpoint. But still, the main and cherished theme for the author is a reminder that the main treasure of the Church is not some earthly achievements, but the Divine Liturgy itself...
There is also a very personal sermon in the collection - on the day of remembrance of St. Hilarion the New, June 19, the day of the tonsure and namesake of Bishop Hilarion.
And this is not some kind of accident, but a deliberate action, because, in the words of the author, “each of us is a book that the Lord writes in collaboration with us. Every day and year of our lives are pages that we turn.”
God grant that, by reading the book of Metropolitan Hilarion, through it we will be able to better understand the book of our lives, and then correct in time what needs correction, and thank God for His great and constant blessings.
Archimandrite Simeon (Tomachinsky)
"Behold, the servant of the Lord"
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Vienna (Austria), Cathedral of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
The Nativity of our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary is the first great holiday of the church year. And throughout the year, the Church reminds us of the life, service and exploits of the Most Holy Theotokos: a great mystery is hidden in them, but what is hidden is edification for each of us.
The Most Holy Theotokos, as church tradition says, was born from the holy and righteous Godfathers Joachim and Anna. For many years they remained barren and asked the Lord to give them a child. They reached old age when their request was fulfilled and they became the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Joachim and Anna raised Mary in the fear of God and piety, and passed on to Her the main thing that parents should pass on to their children - faith in God and love for Him. Their whole life was dedicated to the Lord, and they dedicated their only child to God.
Among the ancestors of the Most Holy Theotokos there were both righteous and sinners. But for many centuries the human race has been preparing for the great mystery of the Incarnation. And this mystery, which transformed the world and changed the course of history, began with the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, for the Lord pre-elected Her from the beginning of time, so that She would become the Mother, the receptacle of the living God. And, as they say in the service of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, She became the door through which the Lord Himself came into humanity. Her womb became the most spacious of Heaven, for it contained God Himself.
And the Most Holy Theotokos prepared Herself for this with Her entire life, starting from early childhood, which she spent at the temple of God. The life of the Most Holy Theotokos was given to God - completely and without reserve.
We live in a time when rarely anyone puts faith in God in first place, not to mention the fact that many people generally live without God and without the Church. There are many people among believers for whom God is far from the main thing: for some, family comes first, for others, work, for others, career, for others, the acquisition of earthly goods. Such people often consider themselves believers and even churchgoers, but they devote to God only the time remaining from earthly life, maybe a few minutes a day or one or two hours a week, when they go to church to pray and light candles. The rest of the time they live like unbelievers.
The Lord does not expect this from us: He expects us to give our whole lives to Him. And the Most Holy Theotokos addresses to us the same wish that we hear in the litanies at the Divine Liturgy: “We will surrender our entire life to Christ our God.” This does not mean that we should abandon everything earthly - family, work - and completely devote ourselves only to prayer and religious life. But everything we do in earthly life must be imbued with faith in God and sanctified by a religious ideal. We must check our entire lives against the Gospel commandments and do everything we do for the glory of God.
From the first minute of communication, the Orthodox clergyman and theologian Metropolitan Hilarion attracts attention with his piercing and very deep gaze. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that he is a man of complex thinking, who knows something more, true and hidden, and who is trying in every possible way to convey his knowledge and thoughts to people and thereby make the world in their souls brighter and kinder.
The Metropolitan (his photo is presented just below) is a patrolologist and Doctor of Philosophy and the Theological Institute in Paris. He is also a member of the Synodal Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church, head of the Moscow Patriarchate Secretariat for Inter-Christian Relations of the Department of External Church Relations and the author of musical epic oratorios and suites for chamber performance. In this article we will trace the life path of this man, get acquainted with his biography, which contains many interesting facts.
Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk: biography
In the world Alfeev Grigory Valerievich was born on June 24, 1966. He was destined for a good musical career, since, having graduated from the Gnesin music school, he then studied at the Moscow State Conservatory. Then he served the required two years in the Soviet army, after which he immediately decided to become a novice at the Vilna Holy Spirit Monastery.
Family
The future Metropolitan Hilarion was born in the capital of Russia, into a very intelligent family. His date of birth is July 24, 1966. His grandfather, Markovic, was a historian who wrote a number of books about the Spanish Civil War. Unfortunately, he died in 1944 in the war against the Nazis. The Metropolitan's father, Dashevsky Valery Grigorievich, was a doctor of physical and mathematical sciences and wrote scientific works. He is the author of monographs on organic chemistry. But Valery Grigorievich left the family and then died in an accident. Gregory's mother was a writer who had the bitter fate of raising her son alone. He was baptized at age 11.
From 1973 to 1984, Hilarion studied violin and composition at the Moscow Gnessin Secondary Special Music School. At the age of 15, he entered the Church of the Resurrection of the Word on Uspensky Vrazhek (Moscow) as a reader. After graduating from school, in 1984, he entered the composition department of the Moscow State Conservatory. In January 1987, he left his studies and entered the Vilna Holy Spirit Monastery as a novice.
Priesthood
In 1990, he became rector of the Annunciation Cathedral in the city of Kaunas (Lithuania). In 1989, Hilarion graduated from the Moscow Theological Seminary in absentia, then studied at the Moscow Theological Academy, where he received a candidate's degree in theology. After a while he becomes a teacher at the St. Tikhon's Theological Institute and the University of St. Apostle John the Theologian.
In 1993, he completed his postgraduate studies at the Theological Academy and was sent to Oxford University, where in 1995 he received a Ph.D. Then for six years he worked in the department of external church relations. Afterwards he becomes a clergyman at the Church of St. Catherine on Vspolye in Moscow.
In 1999, he was awarded the title of Doctor of Theology by the Orthodox St. Sergius Institute in Paris.
In 2002, Archimandrite Hilarion became Bishop of Kerchin. And at the beginning of January 2002, in the Smolensk Cathedral, he took the rank of archimandrite and literally a week later he was consecrated bishop in the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
Work abroad
In 2002, he was sent to serve in the Sourozh diocese, headed by Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom, Russian Orthodox Church of Great Britain and Ireland), but soon the entire episcopate, led by Bishop Vasily (Osborne, who in 2010 was deprived of the priesthood and monasticism, took up arms against him, because he expresses a desire to get married). All this happened because Hilarion spoke somewhat accusatoryly about this diocese, and for this he received critical remarks from Bishop Anthony, in which he pointed out that they were unlikely to work together. But Hilarion is still that “tough nut to crack”; he gave a speech where he absolved himself of all accusations and insisted on the correctness of his opinion.
As a result, he was recalled from this diocese and appointed the main representative of the Russian Orthodox Church for work with international European organizations. The Metropolitan has always advocated in his speeches that a Europe that is tolerant of all religions should not forget its Christian roots, since this is one of the most important spiritual and moral components that determines European identity.
Music
Since 2006, he has been actively involved in music and has written many musical works: “Divine Liturgy”, “All-Night Vigil”, “Matthew Passion”, “Christmas Oratorio”, etc. This work of his was highly appreciated, and with the blessing of the second work it has been performed at many concerts in Europe, the United States, Australia and, of course, Russia. The audience stood and applauded these successful performances.
In 2011, Metropolitan Hilarion and Vladimir Spivakov became the creators and leaders of the Christmas Festival of Sacred Music (Moscow), which takes place during the January holidays.
Serving according to conscience
Between 2003 and 2009 he was already Bishop of Vienna and Austria. Then he was elected Bishop of Volokalamsk, a permanent member of the Synod, vicar of the Moscow Patriarchate and rector of the Church of the Mother of God in the capital.
At the same time, Patriarch Kirill elevated him to the rank of archbishop for his faithful and diligent service to the Russian Orthodox Church. A year later, he elevated him to the rank of metropolitan.
Metropolitan Hilarion: Orthodoxy
It should be noted that over the years he always represented the Russian Orthodox Church. Hilarion zealously defended its interests at various inter-Christian conferences, international forums and commissions.
Sermons of Hilarion
Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeev's sermons are very complete and well-constructed. It is very interesting to listen and read him, because he has enormous experience, which he conveys to us among a huge number of theological literary works that are extraordinary in their content. They advance us to great knowledge of the Christian faith of its followers.
Books on theology
One of his books is “The Sacred Secret of the Church. Introduction". In it, the reader becomes acquainted with the thoughts of some fathers and teachers of the church on invoking the name of God in practice and in worship. Here we are talking about understanding the church experience and its correct expression. For this, the author was awarded the Makariev Prize in 2005.
In his book “Reverend Simeon the New Theologian and Orthodox Tradition,” Metropolitan Hilarion presented a translation of his doctoral dissertation defended at Oxford University, Faculty of Theology. In it, he explores the attitude of the 11th century theologian St. Simeon to the Orthodox service, Holy Scripture, ascetic and mystical theological literature, etc.
Metropolitan Hilarion did not ignore Isaac the Syrian and dedicated the book “The Spiritual World of Isaac the Syrian” to him. This great Syrian saint, like no one else, was able to convey the spirit of gospel love and compassion, so he prayed not only for people, but also for animals and demons. According to his teaching, even hell is the love of God, which is perceived by sinners as suffering and pain, because they do not accept it and have hatred for this love.
Among his books is the work “The Life and Teachings of St. Gregory the Theologian.” Here he describes the life of the great father and saint and his teachings, which coined the dogma of the Most Holy Trinity.
Awards and titles
His activities did not go unnoticed, and therefore this priest has a huge number of awards in his arsenal - all kinds of diplomas, medals and titles, among which is the Order of St. Innocent of Moscow, II Art. (2009, America, Russian Orthodox Church), Order of the Holy Martyr Isidore Yuryevsky, II class. (2010, Estonia, Russian Orthodox Church MP), Order of the Holy Voivode Stephen the Great, II class. (2010, Moldova, Russian Orthodox Church), gold medal of the University of Bologna (2010, Italy), Order of Serbian Falcons (2011) and other awards.
Films of Metropolitan Hilarion
Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeev of Volokolamsk became the author and presenter of the following films: “Man Before God” - a cycle of 10 episodes (2011), introducing the world of Orthodoxy, “The Path of the Shepherd”, dedicated to the 65th anniversary of Patriarch Kirill (2011), “ The Church in History" - the history of Christianity, "Byzantium and the Baptism of Rus'" - series (2012), "Unity of the Faithful" - a film dedicated to the fifth anniversary of the unity of the Moscow Patriarch and the Russian Orthodox Church abroad (2012), "Journey to Athos "(2012), "Orthodoxy in China" (2013), "Pilgrimage to the Holy Land" (2013), "With the Patriarch on Mount Athos" (2014), "Orthodoxy on Mount Athos" (2014 .), “Orthodoxy in Serbian lands” (2014).
They represent a real base for those who want to know what icons are, how to understand holy works, films, the author of which was Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeev. Orthodoxy in them appears as a world that fills a person’s life with depth. Through his eyes we will see holy pilgrimage places and how Christianity is preached in other places alien to Orthodox people.
From the first minute of communication, the Orthodox clergyman and theologian Metropolitan Hilarion attracts attention with his piercing and very deep gaze. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand that he is a man of complex thinking, who knows something more, true and hidden, and who is trying in every possible way to convey his knowledge and thoughts to people and thereby make the world in their souls brighter and kinder.
Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeev (his photo is presented below) is a patrolologist and Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford and the Theological Institute in Paris. He is also a member of the Synodal Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church, head of the Moscow Patriarchate Secretariat for Inter-Christian Relations of the Department of External Church Relations and the author of musical epic oratorios and suites for chamber performance. In this article we will trace the life path of this man, get acquainted with his biography, which contains many interesting facts.
Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk: biography
In the world Alfeev Grigory Valerievich was born on June 24, 1966. He was destined for a good musical career, since, having graduated from the Gnesin music school, he then studied at the Moscow State Conservatory. Then he served the required two years in the Soviet army, after which he immediately decided to become a novice at the Vilna Holy Spirit Monastery.
Family
The future Metropolitan Hilarion was born in the capital of Russia, into a very intelligent family. His date of birth is July 24, 1966. His grandfather, Grigory Markovich Dashevsky, was a historian who wrote a number of books about the Spanish Civil War. Unfortunately, he died in 1944 in the war against the Nazis. The Metropolitan's father, Dashevsky Valery Grigorievich, was a doctor of physical and mathematical sciences and wrote scientific works. He is the author of monographs on organic chemistry. But Valery Grigorievich left the family and then died in an accident. Gregory's mother was a writer who had the bitter fate of raising her son alone. He was baptized at age 11.
From 1973 to 1984, Hilarion studied violin and composition at the Moscow Gnessin Secondary Special Music School. At the age of 15, he entered the Church of the Resurrection of the Word on Uspensky Vrazhek (Moscow) as a reader. After graduating from school, in 1984, he entered the composition department of the Moscow State Conservatory. In January 1987, he left his studies and entered the Vilna Holy Spirit Monastery as a novice.
Priesthood
In 1990, he became rector of the Annunciation Cathedral in the city of Kaunas (Lithuania). In 1989, Hilarion graduated from the Moscow Theological Seminary in absentia, then studied at the Moscow Theological Academy, where he received a candidate's degree in theology. After a while he becomes a teacher at the St. Tikhon's Theological Institute and the University of St. Apostle John the Theologian.
In 1993, he completed his postgraduate studies at the Theological Academy and was sent to Oxford University, where in 1995 he received a Ph.D. Then for six years he worked in the department of external church relations. Afterwards he becomes a clergyman at the Church of St. Catherine on Vspolye in Moscow.
In 1999, he was awarded the title of Doctor of Theology by the Orthodox St. Sergius Institute in Paris.
In 2002, Archimandrite Hilarion became Bishop of Kerchin. And at the beginning of January 2002, in the Smolensk Cathedral, he took the rank of archimandrite and literally a week later he was consecrated bishop in the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
Work abroad
In 2002, he was sent to serve in the Sourozh diocese, headed by Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom, Russian Orthodox Church of Great Britain and Ireland), but soon the entire episcopate, led by Bishop Vasily (Osborne, who in 2010 was deprived of the priesthood and monasticism, took up arms against him, because he expresses a desire to get married). All this happened because Hilarion spoke somewhat accusatoryly about this diocese, and for this he received critical remarks from Bishop Anthony, in which he pointed out that they were unlikely to work together. But Hilarion is still that “tough nut to crack”; he gave a speech where he absolved himself of all accusations and insisted on the correctness of his opinion.
As a result, he was recalled from this diocese and appointed the main representative of the Russian Orthodox Church for work with international European organizations. The Metropolitan has always advocated in his speeches that a Europe that is tolerant of all religions should not forget its Christian roots, since this is one of the most important spiritual and moral components that determines European identity.
Music
Since 2006, he has been actively involved in music and has written many musical works: “Divine Liturgy”, “All-Night Vigil”, “Matthew Passion”, “Christmas Oratorio”, etc. This work of his was highly appreciated, and with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II his works have been performed at many concerts in Europe, the United States, Australia and, of course, Russia. The audience stood and applauded these successful performances.
In 2011, Metropolitan Hilarion and Vladimir Spivakov became the creators and leaders of the Christmas Festival of Sacred Music (Moscow), which takes place during the January holidays.
Serving according to conscience
Between 2003 and 2009 he was already Bishop of Vienna and Austria. Then he was elected Bishop of Volokalamsk, a permanent member of the Synod, vicar of the Moscow Patriarchate and rector of the Church of the Mother of God on Bolshaya Ordynka in the capital.
At the same time, Patriarch Kirill elevated him to the rank of archbishop for his faithful and diligent service to the Russian Orthodox Church. A year later, he elevated him to the rank of metropolitan.
Metropolitan Hilarion: Orthodoxy
It should be noted that over the years he always represented the Russian Orthodox Church. Hilarion zealously defended its interests at various inter-Christian conferences, international forums and commissions.
Sermons of Hilarion
Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeev's sermons are very complete and well-constructed. It is very interesting to listen and read him, because he has enormous experience, which he conveys to us among a huge number of theological literary works that are extraordinary in their content. They advance us to great knowledge of the Christian faith of its followers.
Books on theology
One of his books is “The Sacred Secret of the Church. Introduction". In it, the reader becomes acquainted with the thoughts of some fathers and teachers of the church about invoking the name of God in the practice of the Jesus Prayer and in Divine services. Here we are talking about understanding the church experience and its correct expression. For this, the author was awarded the Makariev Prize in 2005.
In his book “Reverend Simeon the New Theologian and Orthodox Tradition,” Metropolitan Hilarion presented a translation of his doctoral dissertation defended at Oxford University, Faculty of Theology. In it, he explores the attitude of the 11th century theologian St. Simeon to the Orthodox service, Holy Scripture, ascetic and mystical theological literature, etc.
Metropolitan Hilarion did not ignore Isaac the Syrian and dedicated the book “The Spiritual World of Isaac the Syrian” to him. This great Syrian saint, like no one else, was able to convey the spirit of gospel love and compassion, so he prayed not only for people, but also for animals and demons. According to his teaching, even hell is the love of God, which is perceived by sinners as suffering and pain, because they do not accept it and have hatred for this love.
Among his books is the work “The Life and Teachings of St. Gregory the Theologian.” Here he describes the life of the great father and saint and his teachings, which coined the dogma of the Most Holy Trinity.
Awards and titles
His activities did not go unnoticed, and therefore this priest has a huge number of awards in his arsenal - all kinds of diplomas, medals and titles, among which is the Order of St. Innocent of Moscow, II Art. (2009, America, Russian Orthodox Church), Order of the Holy Martyr Isidore Yuryevsky, II class. (2010, Estonia, Russian Orthodox Church MP), Order of the Holy Voivode Stephen the Great, II class. (2010, Moldova, Russian Orthodox Church), gold medal of the University of Bologna (2010, Italy), Order of Serbian Falcons (2011) and other awards.
Films of Metropolitan Hilarion
Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeev of Volokolamsk became the author and presenter of the following films: “Man Before God” - a cycle of 10 episodes (2011), introducing the world of Orthodoxy, “The Path of the Shepherd”, dedicated to the 65th anniversary of Patriarch Kirill (2011), “ The Church in History" - the history of Christianity, "Byzantium and the Baptism of Rus'" - series (2012), "Unity of the Faithful" - a film dedicated to the fifth anniversary of the unity of the Moscow Patriarch and the Russian Orthodox Church abroad (2012), "Journey to Athos "(2012), "Orthodoxy in China" (2013), "Pilgrimage to the Holy Land" (2013), "With the Patriarch on Mount Athos" (2014), "Orthodoxy on Mount Athos" (2014 .), “Orthodoxy in Serbian lands” (2014).
They provide a real base for those who want to learn how to behave in church, what icons are, how to understand holy works, films, the author of which was Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeev. Orthodoxy in them appears as a world that fills a person’s life with depth. Through his eyes we will see holy pilgrimage places and how Christianity is preached in other places alien to Orthodox people.
