Holy Russian Elder Isidore of Gethsemane Hermitage

I. Leaflets which Fr.Isidore handed out.  (23/5/2012)

A prayer, composed by Gogol, to the blessed Virgin. Fr Isidore loved to recite this prayer. It is not to be found in the Complete Collection of the Works of N.V.Gogol, yet according to Fr Isidore it was printed in Russian Archive, 1899, Book 8, by A.A.Tretyakov, and in the Moscow Gazette, 1909, No 65. Fr Isidore himself learned it from his own brother, who was a valet in the home of counts A.,P. and A.G. Tolstoy (Moscow, Nikitsky Blvd., presently the home of the Katkovs), where Gogol lived the last years of his life and died.

“No one who comes to Thee will ever depart from Thee still feeling deprived,

Most Pure Virgin Mother of God,

but will ask for grace and will receive this gift upon a worthy petition”.

Holy Mother, pure and blessed,

To thee I dare my voice to raise.

My face with tears is washed, caressed:

Attend the words my heart conveys,

Save me from misfortune, wrath,

Fill my heart with sweet contrition

And set me on salvation’s path.

May I be free, with Thy direction,

And be prepared to give up all.

Through bitter times, be my protection –

My death from utter grief forestall.

Thou refuge for all those in need,

Our intercessor with the Lord! –

O, shelter me when all pay heed

And judgement strikes all like a sword,

When ageless breaks into time,

The final trumpet wakes the dead,

And burdens of my every crime

From books of conscience shall be read.

Truth’s wall Thou art, its vindication!

With all my soul I pray to Thee:

Save me, O my consolation,

And with Thy love encompass me!

From the book "Salt of the Earth"

By St Paul Florensky

Υάκινθος

II . Leaflets which Fr. Isidore handed out  (16/6/2012)

The verses "Blessed art Thou", in the 5th tone, are sung in the Gethsemane Skete on the 15th of August - on the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God. Fr Isidore often repeated these verses and encouraged his disciples to sing them, both alone and together.

" Blessed art Thou, O Sovereign Lady;

enlighten me with the light of thy Son".

The assembly of angels was amazed, beholding Thee,

O Most Pure One, among the dead:

Thou who didst give Thy soul into the hand of God,

Thou Who in Godly glory didst depart with God into heaven.

"Blessed art Thou,O Sovereign  Lady;

 enlighten me with the light of  thy Son".

" Why, O you preachers of God, do you mingle joy with tears?

the Twin, enlightened from above,

arrived and unto the apostles did cry: "Behold the sash!

and understand that the Virgin has risen from the grave!".

"Blessed art Thou, O Sovereign Lady;

enlighten me with the light of Thy Son".

The disciple,O Sovereign Lady,

who believed not in the resurrection of Thy Son,

now does assure others of Thy rising,

saying: "The time for sorrow haw come to an end;

do not weep but announce the Virgin's ressurrection".

"Blessed art Thou ,O Sovereign Lady;

enlighten me with the light of Thy Son".

Unto the God - bearing disciples gathered,

weeping before Thy tomb, O Virgin,

Thomas did appear and speak out, saying:

"Why do you number the living among the dead?

For She has risen, as the birthgiver of God!"

"Glory to the Father, and His Son and the Holy Spirit:

the Holy Trinity, one in essence.

We cry with the Seraphim:

"Holy, holy, holy art Thou, O Lord".

"Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen".

Having given birth unto the Giver of Life,

Thou hast now gone unto ageless life.

Rejoice, O Virgin:

unto the disciples Thou didst give joy in place of sadness.

On the third day Thou didst rise from the grave,

O Virgin, just as did the Lord.

"Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God" (thrice).

From the book: "Salt of the Earth"

by St. Paul Florensky

Υάκινθος

13/2/2012
[...] Fr. Isidore spoke mostly of the Mother of God, the Church, and of the suffering on the Cross and the death of the Savior. This, by the way, did not pose any divisive questions for him, but somehow combined very well together.
He would often compare the "birth" of Eve-the mother of the human race who was taken from Adam's side - to the "birth" of the Mother Church, taken from the side of Christ. Fr Isidore equated Adam's miraculous sleep to the mysterious sleep of death of our Lord. The ribs taken from Adam were compared to the piercing of our Lord'side with a spear. The miraculous flowing of blood and water from the wounds of Christ he saw as being timed to coincide with the very birth of the church. And somehow this birth of the church coincided, in his way of thinking, with the wound in the heart of the Mother of God from the piercing of the weapon. For Fr Isidore, the suffering of the Mother of God was somehow connected with the grace of the Church. "Christ gave birth to the Church", he would sometimes interject, "and we became united together".
The peak of Fr Isidore's theology was his Prayer to Jesus, in which a hint of these thoughts could be found....
The Elder honored and loved God' Saints, and his feelings toward them were deep, heartfelt and alive. The Elder's heart was always with the Saints-he was close to them, as close as to his own dear ones, and even more. But Fr. Isidore had particular esteem for Saint Seraphim, the Miracle-worker of Sarov, for Monk George the Recluse,
for Tikhon of Zadonsk, and still others. He quite regularly reffered to these carriers of God's grace in his talks with others: the Elder didn't like to talk on his behalf.
Often, with deep affection, he would repeat the words of Saint Seraphim: "O my joy, my joy! χαρά μου! χαρά μου!Acquire the spirit of peace and thousands of souls will be saved around you".
If any conversation was filled with idle or angry words,
he pointed to the power of the word and often recalled the verses of George the Recluse:

The word is the spark of the soul in me.
Now rush, my soul to eternity.

In departing he would often say:

With soul shall I convince my soul:
If kept from idle words and wrath,
I'll find the theologian path.

And sometimes he would say the verses in another way, such as:

With soul shall I convince your soul:
If kept from idle words and wrath,
You'll find the theologian's path..[...]

From the book "Salt of the Earth"
by St. Paul Florensky

Yakinthos

20/2/2012   the five wounds
Holy Russian Elder Isidore of Gethsemane

[...] So here for you, gracious reader, is this last earthly gift from our aged Elder, Fr.Isidore. Read it then for the health of the body and soul, and teach it to those dear
to you, for the sake of the memory of the Elder, through whose prayers the Lord will have mercy upon you.

PRAYER OF THE FIVE WOUNDS OF THE SAVIOUR

which Elder Isidore taught his spiritual children to pray

Where does it hurt?

Placing the hand on the forehead, say:

LORD, Thou Who art crowned with thorns upon Thy head, to blood and marrow, for the sake of my sins;

Lowering the hand to the right foot, say:

JESUS, whose right foot was pierced with an iron nail for the sake of my sins;

Placing the hand to the right shoulder, say:

CHRIST, whose left foot was pierced with an iron nail for the sake of my sins;

Raising the hand to the right shoulder, say:

SON, Whose right hand was pierced with an iron nail for the sake of my sins:

Transferring the hand to the left shoulder, say:

OF GOD, Whose left hand was pierced for the sake of my sins; and Whose side was punctured by a spear; from Whose side flowed blood and water for the redemption and salvation of our souls;
Through the Mother of God, grant me understanding.

Turning one's face towards the icon of the Mother of God, say:

And through Thee Thyself, through Thy soul the weapon pierced, so that from many hearts will be revealed a spring of the repentant, thankful and heartfelt tears of all mankind.

From the book "Salt of the Earth"
by St. Paul Florensky

Note: The Holy Elder Isidore of Gethsemane Hermitage
was the spiritual Father of St.Paul Florensky.Yasemin C.

Υάκινθος