Една усмивка
и светът е светъл!
Една усмивка -
тегоби бледнеят!
Една усмивка -
в райско кътче -
и днес се вижда
като малко кръстче...
От 6 години
тя ни топли,
спасява ни
от страхове и вопли;
добрите трудове
благослови ни -
реколта да събираме
с туй сладко име!
"Че как ще падна!" -
я описва кратко!
И пак говори
кратко, сладко ...
19 май 2010 г. May 19, 2010
22:30 ч. (ст.ст.) 22:30 hr (O.S.)
Matushka Seraphima
Just one smile
and the world is bright!
Just one smile –
toils grow pale!
Just one smile –
in a paradise –
it is seen to date
as a little cross...
For 6 years now
she(it) has warmed us over,
she(it) has saved us
from fears and wails;
she(it) has been blessing
our good works –
harvest to collect
with this sweet name!
"How come I would fall?" –
describes her briefly!
And she speaks to us
brief and sweet...
LET’S CHERISH THE PRECIOUS BEQUESTS OF SAINT SERAPHIM
An address by archimandrite Sergiy (Yazadjiev) after the holy liturgy on Sunday of All Saints (2004) to the nuns of the «Shroud of Most Holy Theotokos» convent, Knyazhevo, Sofia.________________________________________
«Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.».
(Luke. 23:28)
With these cherished words our Lord and God Jesus Christ turned to the women who followed Him while weeping and crying for Him when He was wearing His heavy cross to Golgotha.
Now that lying before our eyes is the coffin of our dear deceased Matushka Hegumenia Seraphima, our hearts deluge of grief. But we clearly realize that in fact we are not crying for her but we cry for ourselves – we cry, because Matushka left us unexpectedly and we are orphaned. Who will now console our grief-stricken souls? Who will heal our ulcers of the soul with her sweet speech? Who will guide us and instruct us with her wise advices? – Indeed, we seem to have remained inconsolable orphans.
But look – even in her death our Matushka Hegumenia has begged out for us the weak a consolation from the Lord. For the Lord called her soul on the eve of the All Saints Sunday – on the day when the innumerable multitude of God’s pleasers – Martyrs, Apostles, Saints, Reverend, Silverless – triumph in heavens. It is in this general celebration of All Saints exactly that the triumphant Church in heaven was joined by a soul of the earthly, militant Church – a soul, which has worthily implemented and has fully defended the bequests of her elder – Saint Seraphim. And he, her abba in one with the entire host of the saints, has already welcomed her in the Heavenly abodes.
I want to remind you something, which I guess no one here remembers, but I was a contemporary of that event. Matushka Hegumenia Seraphima’s father – hieropriest Andrew Lieven of blessed memory, Saint Seraphim’s most faithful assistant in Church matters from 1926 till the end of his life – secretary of his diocesan council, was also taken out of the earthly life on the All Saints’ Sunday. This happened 55 years ago, on 6/19 June 1949. His demise was also surprising to many – because only a week before, on the Holy Trinity Day, at the Russian church (in Sofia) Father Andrew had taken part in the Holy Liturgy, under Saint Seraphim, in which I was fortunate to participate, too. Days after that Father Andrew was hospitalized and on the All Saints’ Sunday he passed away. Saint Seraphim of blessed memory outlived him by only eight months and seven days.
I'll dare also add the testimony of one righteous soul that years ago, in his Dying hours was honored to be visited and consoled [from] on high: appearing in light to it were the then late Saint Seraphim, accompanied by Father Andrew as a co-worker and participant in His heavenly glorification. Thus revealed to us was a consoling secret – spiritually akin here souls prove also akin in the afterlife and in eternity beyond the grave. There, in the heavenly abodes, interacting with Saint Seraphim are also the souls of Fr. Archimandrite Pantheleymon, Fr. Archimandrite Seraphim, 'Mat' Seraphima and other deceased sisters of ours who we mention every day in Holy Liturgy. We deeply believe that now they – all together – have welcomed the soul of Matushka Hegumenia Seraphima in the celestial spheres of the Lord, Whom she served so sacrificially and Whom she loved so selflessly.
But the hope that we can again be worthy to be together with Matushka further obliges us and urges us and gives us wings to keep the precious Saint Seraphim’s covenants; to execute also the spiritual advices that our dear Matushka has – for over half a century – taught us, because our allegiance to everything they passed on to us – this is the way on which in these difficult times we can preserve our loyalty to the Lord. Amen.
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