Elder Iliodore of Glinsk

Vision of Elder Iliodore of Glinsk (1795 - 1879)

While still a young hierodeacon, Elder Iliodore, was given a vision.  Described in his own words thus:

Once late in the evening I was sitting my my cell alone reading the Epistles of the Apostle Paul, and I stopped on the 2nd chapter of his Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, on verses 2 – 10.  I stopped on these frightful verses of the holy Apostle and became deep in reflection, considering the appearance in the world of the man fo sin, the son of perditiion, whose very appearnace would be according to the activitiy of satan, so that this frightful man would sit in the temple of God, giving himself off for God and demanding for himself Divine honors.  What kind of frightful man this will be, I thought, and what a frightful time will that be for those living on earth!  At the same time, naturally, there came the desire not to see this terrible time, and therefore there was formed in my mind the basic though of turning to God in such words: O Lord!  Grant me not to see this terrible time!  At this time I felt that someone behind me had placed his hand on my fight shoulder and said: You yourself will see it in part.

Feeling the touch on my shoulder and hearing a voice speaking, I looked around, but there was no one, and the door of the cell was locked.  Again I looked aroung to be convinced, but there was no one.  I was astonished and began to reflect what this might mean and who this invisible one mught be who had spoken and answered my thoughts.  Would I really see, even if only 'in part,' that frightful time, and how soon would it be?  For a long time I reflected and thought in perplexity and fear, going from one reflection to another.  Finally, trusting in the will of God, I performed my evening rule, lay down to rest, and had just forgotten myself in a light sleep when I saw the following vision:

I was standing at night in some kind of high building.  Around me there were many large constructions, such as there are in large cities.  Above me was the vault of heaven, adorned with brightly shining stars, as happens on a clear, moonless night.  Looking at the vault of heaven, I admired the beauty of the fixed stars.  Then, turning my glance to the east, I saw there, coming up from behind the horizon, an oval of enormous dimensions; it was composed of stars of various sizes.  In the middle of the oval in its upper and lower parts, there were stars of large size which gradually became smaller, and at the sides of the oval they became quite small.  In the midst of the oval there was traced with large letters the name ALEXANDER.

This oval rose in the east and went quietly, moving majestically and setting in the west.  Looking at the magnificent beauty of the mvoement of the oval, I reflected and said to myself, 'How glorious and great is our Orthodox Faith, O Orthodox Tsar!  Behold, his name also is so glorious and magnificent in the heavens' (Alexander I reigned 1801 – 1825).

Having followed with my eyes the oval of stars until it was concealed in the west beyond the horizon, I again looked to the east and I saw: There came out from there a second oval of stars, just as magnficent as and in all respects like the first one, and in its midst there was depicted another name in large letters – NICHOLAS.  And an inward voice informed me that after Alexander I there would be, as the successor of his throne, Nicholas (Nicholas I, 1825 – 1855).  And this was astonishing for me, for the heir of the throne was not Nicholas, but Constantine Pavlovish.  This oval also went just as majestically along the horizon and, setting in the west, was hidden beyond the horizon.

Having followed this oval also with my eyes, I again directed my gaze to the east, and again I saw there an oval of stars rising, in form like the first two in all respects, but considerably smaller in size and composed of stars of small size and, in addition, with the color of blood.  In the midst of the oval there was depicted with bloody letters the name – ALEXANDER.  And an inward voice informed me that after Nicholas the successor of his throne would be Alexander, whose days would be shorted by an evil deed, (Alexander II, 1855– 1881, was assisinated by anarchists).  This oval went along the sky and was quickly hidden in the west byond the horizon.

Then from the wast, in the same way, there arose, passed along the sky, and was concealed in the west with great rapidity an oval like the first ones, but only of small size, with the name delineated on it weakly and as it were in the fog – ALEXANDER. And I was informed by an inward voice that the days of this Emperor would be shortened, and his reign over the Russian people would be short (Alexander III 1881 – 1894).

After this in the east, delineated palely and mistily, appeared the name NICHOLAS.  There was no oval of stars around it; it moved along the sky as it were my jumps and then entered into a dark cloud out of which its separate letters separated in disorder. (Nicholas II, 1894 – 1918, martyred by the Bolsheviks at the beginning of the present age of lawlessness).  After this there came an impenetrable darkness and it seemed to me that everything was falling to pieces, like cardboard playhouses, at the moment of the end of the world.  Terror seized me, standing at that time on an elevated place which was not connected with the world which was being destroyed.

source: Orthodox Word magazine #110 (May-June 1983)

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