Metropolitan Tikhon greets Igumen Joseph, Abbot of the Moscow Podvorie of Valaam Monastery on patronal feast
His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon greeted Igumen Joseph, Abbot of the Moscow Podvorie of Valaam Monastery on the patronal feast of the monastery.
June 28 / July 11, 2020
Protocol 07/007
Igumen Joseph,
Christ is in our midst! S’prazdnikom!
With joy in the Lord, I greet you on this feast of the Venerable Saints Sergius and Herman, Founders of Valaam Monastery and patrons of the Valaam Podvorie in Moscow. May all the clergy, monastics, co-laborers, and friends of the Valaam Podvorie be granted many years!
Braving the cold, the ice, the wild beasts, and the tempests, the Holy Fathers Sergius and Herman traveled to the remote island of Valaam for the sake of Christ. Seeking union with the Savior of the World, they left behind the foolishness of the fallen world, trading it in for the Kingdom of Heaven which is found in the depths of the human heart.
The Holy Valaam Podvorie, as I have had the blessing to see firsthand, has a different calling than its mother monastery, yet one not wholly different. Rather than being in the icy wilderness, the Podvorie is surrounded by the megalopolis of Moscow, which is full of the temptations and trails of modern urban life. Yet, just as the Fathers Sergius and Herman found union with Christ in the wilderness, so too do their spiritual descendants find union with Christ in the “urban wilderness” through the work of the Valaam Podvorie. And so, may the Podvorie continue for many years as a lamp of Christ’s light, revealing Christ to all the citizens of Moscow, through the intercessions of its heavenly patrons Sergius and Herman!
I must add that our own patron, Saint Herman of Alaska, came from their same holy spiritual root. As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Saint Herman’s canonization this year of 2020, we especially remember the indebtedness the American Church owes to the spiritual heritage of Valaam Monastery and her holy founders.
Assuring you all of my Archpastoral blessing, and with love in Christ,
I remain,
+ TIKHON
Archbishop of Washington
Metropolitan of All America and Canada