40th Anniversary of Repose of Protopresbyter Alexander
Monastery of Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk
December 13, 2023
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
On a day-to-day basis, we go through our earthly lives with a sense of control and purpose. We feel in charge of our fate, that our decisions matter, that we can determine our own present, our own future. However, during times like these, when troubles and conflicts grip the world, the illusoriness of that sense of control can face a salutary challenge. We realize that we are powerless and small; the fate of the world does not rest in our hands. Our life is fragile.
This sense of smallness and powerlessness can be discouraging, but unlike the comforting illusion of control we normally experience, this realization of our fragility and dependency calls us to rely, not on ourselves, but on the one who is truly powerful, who alone is great, who reigns in the heavens and on earth, who laid the world’s foundations, who determines times and seasons in accordance with his eternal purposes, God almighty and everlasting, the Lord, Unity and Trinity, trihypostatic and undivided Divinity.
And God, in all his sovereignty and might and eternal splendor, has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and the weak things of the world to shame the strong. In his power and wisdom, he deems the least to be the greatest, and he removes the mighty from their thrones. The world looks for greatness in presidents and generals, the famous and the accomplished, the wealthy and the talented. But God sees greatness in the humble, the meek, the faithful; the poor, the empty, the silent.
Saint Herman of Alaska, whose memory we celebrate with splendor this day, is a prime example: he is, from the perspective of worldly history, an utterly obscure and unimportant person. He was not a man of power, wealth, or influence, shaping the destiny of Russian Alaska by worldly means. And yet, in the Church, in the assembly of the people of God, called to salvation in Christ Jesus, the memory of Saint Herman is eternal and radiant.
Saint Herman knew the truth of God’s words to Moses and the Israelites: “Be still, and I will fight for you.” He knew that the world and its splendor is passing away, and that true greatness is in the coming kingdom. That greatness is not the product of man’s efforts and struggles, but of Christ’s victory and God’s glory. In order to participate more perfectly in that victory and glory, Saint Herman abandoned all worldly things and committed his whole life to Christ in the monastic estate. He even abandoned the safety of his monastic habitation on Valaam when the Lord called him to missionary service in Alaska.
In obscurity, hiddenness, silence, Saint Herman’s prayers were shown, by God’s grace, to be greater, more powerful, and more important than any of the actions of men. Saint Herman was still and silent in his wilderness cell on Spruce Island, but the movement of the knots of his prayer rope cooperated with God in sustaining the very world. Now, in the radiance of heaven, his work of prayer goes on forever.
So it can be with you, too, the brethren of this holy habitation. Whatever is happening out in the world, your task and calling is even greater: the calling of prayer. St. Paisius the Athonite would liken monastics to radio operators, able to call in divine support from above. In times of trouble and conflict, like those the world is experiencing now, the smallness and fragility of the monastic vocation is more necessary than ever. The world needs your prayers; take heart, take up your prayer ropes, and pray.
Of course, it is not just the monastic brethren here at the liturgy this morning, and it is not only the feast of St. Herman of Alaska. It is also the fortieth anniversary of the repose of Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann. In his journals, Fr. Alexander notes the general scorn with which intellectuals regard middle class family life. In contrast, Fr. Alexander writes, when he sees the lighted windows of simple homes, he is filled with joy thinking of the warmth of the little worlds inside.
So, you who have families: do not be ashamed of the smallness of your domestic worlds; in those little worlds, Christ is born and appears to the little ones. In those little worlds, as man and wife give of themselves self-sacrificially, for the good of the other and their children, the cross is taken up and what is lacking in Christ’s sufferings is filled up. In these little domestic worlds, in these little churches, Christ’s Passion, death, and Resurrection are lived and proclaimed.
It was in a little world, a little church like this that Saint Herman was born and raised; the lofty vocation of Christian monasticism is built on the foundation of loving Christian family life.
And so, as we celebrate the great Saint Herman, asking his prayers, and as we ourselves pray for Fr. Alexander’s repose, we are reminded of the words of the Savior: “Fear not, little flock.” We are a little flock, but our Shepherd is great beyond greatness and good beyond goodness. If we commend ourselves and each other and all our life unto him, being content with smallness, humbleness, silence, our daily bread, then we have nothing to fear in this world or the world to come. Our life is fragile and contingent, but it rests in the loving palm of the hand of the Lord of the universe, a hand pierced with a nail for our salvation.
To our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, the King of glory, crucified in the flesh and reigning unto the ages, be all majesty and adoration, together with his Father and his All-holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Venerable father Herman of Alaska, pray to God for us!
Grant rest, O Lord, to the soul of thy departed servant, the protopresbyter Alexander!