March 15, 2013
The Lenten Epistle of His
Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York, First
Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad
Eminent Brother Archpastors, Honorable Father-Concelebrants, Dear
Brothers and Sisters in the Lord:
As
we approach Great Lent, I hasten to ask forgiveness from you all, as
well as your holy prayers for my unworthiness. I earnestly call upon
all the children of the Russian Church Abroad to exert your efforts
toward self-contemplation, to examine your lives, to augment your
prayers, to attend all the edifying divine services of Great Lent
and to read spiritually beneficial books during these days of
salvation! Great Lent, with its divine services and
spiritually-moving church singing and readings, grants us abundant
nourishment for our souls. Let us not fail to take advantage of what
the Holy Church offers us during this beneficial period.
The special Cherubic Hymn that we sing during the Liturgy of the
Pre-Sanctified Gifts tells us that we should approach the Chalice of
Christ with faith and love if we hope to partake of the eternal
blessed life. Beloved ones, we are created for eternity. Therefore,
we must lift our minds and hearts to heavenly things, especially as
we prepare for the Sacraments; we need to leave behind all worldly
cares, pouring our souls out before God in praise, gratitude and
prayers of repentance.
True fasting consists not only of abstinence from non-lenten foods,
but of distancing oneself from impure thoughts, words and deeds.
"Those who abstain from food
yet behave badly," says St. Basil the Great (the author of the
Liturgy which will be celebrated on Sundays, on Great Thursday and
Great Saturday of this Lent),
"are like the devil, who, though he eats not, sins perpetually."
St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, this humble and loving saint of the Church of
our Fatherland, meanwhile, teaches us as follows about fasting:
"May your mind fast from
worldly thoughts; may your will fast from wicked desires; may your
ears fast from filthy songs and the whispers of slanderers; may your
tongue fast from slander, condemnation, flattery, lies and all sorts
of useless, decadent words; may your hands fast from violence and
theft of the property of others; may your feet fast from going
toward an evil deed. This is indeed the Christian fast, the sort God
requires of us."
Taking all this into account, let us strive to exhibit special
effort in prayer, fasting and frequent preparation for the
Sacraments, declaring war upon our weaknesses and zealously
performing good deeds with the aim of lightening the burden of the
cross borne by our neighbors!
I extend heartfelt greetings to all of you with the onset of the
"springtime of the soul" and prayerfully wish you blessed success in
the spiritual labor of Great Lent, so that on the "feast of feasts,"
with spiritual joy and piety, with the sense of Paschal elation and
new inner strength, you might bow down in adoration to the Lover of
mankind, our God Who rose on the third day, the Originator of our
faith and salvation! Amen.
With love in the Lord,
+HILARION
Metropolitan of Eastern America and New York,
First Hierarch of
the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
