Patron Saint
St. Symeon the New Theologian and St. John of Kronstadt are the Patron Saints of Sumy Theological Seminary.
St. Simeon the New Theologian
Memory day 25th October, 12th March
St. Simeon the New Theologian was born in 946 in the city of Galata (Paphlagonia) and received solid secular education in Constantinople. His father was preparing him to court career, and for a while the young man was holding a high position at the royal court. But, having reached the age of 25, monastery life attracted him, and so he left his home and went to the Studion monastery, where he carried out his obedience under the guidance of a well-known monk Simeon the Pious.
One of the Saint’s achievements was ceaseless Jesus prayer as following “Lord, Have Mercy!” To get more concentrated on praying, he was constantly searching for privacy, even during the liturgy he stood separately from his brothers, often remained alone at night in the church; to get the hang of remembrance of death he spent nights at the cemetery. The fruit of his efforts was a feeling of special admiration: in these hours the Holy Spirit in the form of a shining cloud descended on him and closed everything that surrounded him. Eventually, he reached a constant high spiritual enlightenment, which was especially revealed when he served the church liturgy.
Approximately in 980 the Reverend Simeon was appointed a hegumen of St. Mamant’s monastery and he had held this position for 25 years. He brought ruined monastery property in order and established a temple on its territory.
St. Simeon the New Theologian combined compassion with strictness and observance of Evangelical commandments. For example, when his favourite pupil Arseniy killed some crows which had eaten soaked bread, the hegumen made him string a rope of dead birds, put this "necklace" on and stand in the yard. In Saint Mamant’s monastery a bishop from Rome who had killed his young nephew accidentally prayed for forgiveness of his sin, and St. Simeon constantly treated him with kindheartedness and attention.
The strict monastic discipline constantly enforced by St. Simeon led to strong discontent among the Brotherhood. Once after the liturgy the most irritated brothers attacked him and almost killed him. When Patriarch of Constantinople expelled them from the monastery and wanted to transfer them to the local authorities, St. Simeon begged for forgiveness and helped them in their secular life.
Approximately in 1005 St. Simeon handed the dignity of a hegumen to Arseniy, and he personally lived in the monastery during his retirement.
St. Simeon annually celebrated the memory of his mentor, Simeon the Pious; he composed words of praise, songs and canons in his honor, painted his icon. Patriarch Sergius Manuel having heard about it approved of Simeon, but Stephen, Metropolitan of Nicomedia, and some parish priests and laymen protested against this custom, finding it offensive to the church order and tempting.
To calm the minds and comfort the patriarch Stephen Synod decided to remove Simeon from Constantinople. He went to the shore of the Bosporus, to the area belonging to his disciple and devotee, patrician Christopher Faguru. Here the Monk established the monastery of Saint Marina, spent there 13 years and died peacefully in 1022
Even during his lifetime he received the gift of wonderworking. Numerous miracles were revealed after his death; one of them is a wonderful way of finding his image. His Life was written by his cell attendant and disciple, Monk Nikita Stethatos.
St. John of Kronstadt
Memory day 2nd of January
St. John of Kronstadt was born on October 19, 1829 in the family of a poor junior deacon Elijah Mikhailovich and Theodora Vlasyevna Sergievs in the village of Sura Pinezhsk county Arkhangelsk province. In his father’s family there were priests for 350 years. The boy had poor health, he was often sick. His mother prayed for his son, Vanya much. The boy, seeing his mother praying, learnt himself to pray sincerely. His father constantly took him to the church and fostered a special love for church service since his early childhood.
John studied badly at school affairs. He prayed for giving him a gift of learning, and the Lord heard him: one night, when John prayed especially sincerely, divine grace flashed upon him, and, according to his own words, “in the twinkling of an eye a veil fell from his eyes”. Since then, he began to make great strides in studying. After finishing the parish college, he graduated from Arkhangelsk Theological Seminary showing best results and St. Petersburg Theological Academy and got a degree of Candidate of Theology. He married the daughter of Archpriest Constantine Nesvitski, Elizabeth. The couple took the advancement of virginity. Upon his ordination the young priest was appointed sacristan of St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kronstadt.
At that time the government sent murderers, thieves and other criminals to Kronstadt. The young Kronstadt priest turned attention to these offcast people. Every day he came into their dugouts and cellars not for 5 - 10 minutes to perform any occasional service and to leave them; but he came to a living priceless soul, to brothers and sisters, spent hours there, talked to them, exhorted, comforted, cared for the sick, wept and rejoiced with them. He himself went to the shop for groceries, to the pharmacy for medicine, for the doctor, giving the poor all his money, clothes and shoes. He left them joyful, hoping that the Lord will send him means for further good deeds. Kronstadt residents saw him returning home barefoot and without his robe; and they brought his wife their shoes, saying: “Yours has given his shoes to someone, he will come barefoot.”
Giving the poor all his money, Father John soon became convinced that such charity was not sufficient to satisfy all those in need. He urged Kronstadt residents to help the homeless and the poor. People actively responded to the request of their pastor. The House of diligence with workshops, a school, a kindergarten, an asylum, a refectory, a library, a free hospital, and a night shelter was organized in Kronstadt owing to the efforts of Father John. Father John spent millions of rubles on charity a year. He said: “I do not have my money. I am donated, and I donate.”
Father John considered the temple of Christ a true health centre for grieving souls, and the Divine Liturgy the most effective means of healing. Father John fulfilled Liturgy every day. He said: “Christ the Savior established the sacrament of Holy Communion to purify us with the fire of His Divinity, to eradicate sin, to let us know His holiness and truth, to make us worthy of paradise and joy unspeakable." When Father John prayed, he seemed to see God before him and to speak with him fearlessly. He begged, pleaded and even insisted, as though grabbing the robe of Christ, and was ready not to let it go until he was heard.
Miracles began to happen due to Father John’s prayers; rumors about them started to spread in Kronstadt and St. Petersburg, they were published and discussed in press. People were drawn to him, first in dozens, then in hundreds and thousands. About 6 thousand people came to the confession, which lasted 12 hours. St. Andrew's Cathedral, that holds 7000 people, was always overcrowded. Nobody had such influence on Russian people as Father John. St. Theophan the Recluse († 1894) wrote: “Father John of Kronstadt is the man of God. His prayer reaches God due to his great faith”.
The strength of Father John's words poured out in his remarkable book, a spiritual diary, “My Life in Christ”. Thousands of letters and telegrams were sent to pastor of Kronstadt asking him to pray not only from Russia but also from Europe, India, and America. Father John said, “I'm not looking and never looked for fame, it comes to me itself. I give glory to the One who said: “for them that honour me I will honour”. Emperor Alexander III along with the entire Russian people honored Father John, and he asked the priest to come to Livadia before his death. Father John said later: “I raised the dead, but I could not beg Father the Tsar from the Lord. Let it be all His holy will”.
On December 9, 1908, Father John fulfilled his last Liturgy, and in the morning on December, 20 he quietly gave up his soul to God. He was buried in the lower church of St John’s nunnery which he founded in 1900 on the Karpovka River in St. Petersburg.
St. John of Kronstadt was canonized by the Church Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1990. His memory is celebrated on December, 20 (January, 2 New Style), on the third week after Pentecost at the Cathedral of St. Petersburg's Saints and on November, 19 (December, 1 New Style) in the Cathedral of Saints of Estonia land. Memory Day of St. John of Kronstadt is marked on his birthday and Name Day on October, 19 (November, 1 New Style) and on the day of glorifying the community of Saints on June, 1 (June, 14 New Style).