St. John's Pigeon

http://www.urbanwildlifesociety.org/pigeons/SaintJohnsPij.htm

THE DOVE OF ARCHBISHOP JOHN

by Gleb Podmoshensky
(later, Fr. Herman)

St. John Blessing a Garden

When I came to San Francisco to be close to the saintly Archbishop John Maximovitch, I heard a lot of fascinating accounts of his ascetic life.  Frequently I visited St. Tikhon's Orphanage, founded by this Saint, and run then by his long-time assistant, Mrs. Maria Alexandrovna Shakhmatova (+1967).  Archbishop John was a very busy man, and I did not dare to be often in his presence.  I worked in another city, Monterey, and could visit San Francisco only on weekends, where we had opened an Orthodox Bookstore with the late hierarch's blessing.  Those were my formative years, and I recall them with gratitude to God.

The orphanage was no longer a place where children were sheltered.  They had all come from China a decade previous, had already grown up into young adults, and used St. Tikhon's Orphanage Church as their parish, and naturally it has remained their home up to today.  It is situated on the corner of 15th Avenue and Balboa Street in a quiet neighborhood.  Within its walls was Archbishop John's tiny office, which was so small that even a bed would not fit, where he both lived and had his prayer-room and office.  I would visit him there, and have long constructive talks that shaped my life.

One day I came to see Mrs. Shakhmatova, and she, as usual, insisted that I stay for tea, even though I never liked tea.  She would get me into her kitchen, almost next to Archbishop John's office, and ask, almost in the form of an interrogation, about my whereabouts, what I had done that week, what I had read, etc.  Usually she scolded me for not visiting her more often and not being closer to her "orphans," who by then were already leading their own married lives.

This particular day I noticed a white pigeon with a reddish pattern in its feathers, making pigeon noises outside the window on a specially built ledge. It was pacing back and forth, obviously not intending to fly away, but, as I assumed, waiting to be fed. As it seemed no stranger to her, I paid little attention then.

On that particular feast day of the Baptism of the Lord, I chanced to be in St. Tikhon's for the Blessing of Water.  The service was performed in the little courtyard right under the kitchen window, which had a separate gate from the street through which I had entered.  To my great surprise, as St. John was blessing the water, a dove flew right out into the courtyard.  It flapped its wings and actually soared over the basin of holy water, while all of us vigorously sang: "When Thou, O Lord, west baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest. For the voice of the Father bore witness unto Thee, calling Thee the beloved Son, and the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed His word as sure and steadfast ..."  I was amazed, as I had never seen such a service with a live dove hovering over this holiness.

The sight was unforgettable. St. John stood there with lifted hands, holding a huge golden Cross high above his mitered head, and the bird flew high about the building next door, and then with a swift graceful glide descended upon the Saint and sat on his shoulder.  Then, loudly flapping its wings, it flew way up into the air, only to descend again, to the utter joy of all there, and it did this several times.  St. John, apparently oblivious to the bird's spectacular maneuvers, continued deep in prayer.  It seemed so natural, as if it were all a standard part of the holy ceremony.  A similar event occurred in the life of St. Basil the Great, when a dove was seen by St. Ephraim the Syrian to be whispering holy words into St. Basil's ear.

After the service I was invited to drink a lot of the water inside St. Tikhon's Orphanage, and to partake of tasty treats.  Archbishop John was there, and the bird was outside the window on his ledge, apparently feeding.  There I learned the following touching story of Archbishop John's "heavenly bird."

Once Archbishop John came home to discover that a pigeon was hurt––his wing was damaged––and was sitting outside the window.  He opened the window and let it in.  The bird could barely flutter, and Archbishop John bound its wing and fed it.  That was enough to make it feel adopted.  The bird stayed around, especially when the Saint would arrive and would feed it.  Actually it remained a mystery how both of them conversed.  But one thing we knew: the pigeon reacted to the words of St. John as if it understood what he said.  I was told that both of them would sit facing each other, the man softly speaking and the bird making its pigeon sounds in agreement and peacefully walking to and fro, as if memorizing what it was taught.  This company Archbishop John kept for a long time, until his death.  The pigeon lived on that window ledge and would often fly around in the kitchen and the main visiting room, and in the little corner office of Mrs. Shakmatova in the northwestern corner of the house.  I saw the bird fly around, and wondered why they had no cage for it, as for a canary.  But I was told, "It is Archbishop John's friend and companion."  It was a friendly bird, often eating from his hands.

Once I came and saw Archbishop John sitting silently next to the window, his head in his hand, thinking, watching the bird; and the bird was sick. I never learned what was the matter, but there was silent contact between the dove of the Baptism of the Lord and John its "Baptist." (The altar boys said that, by sprinkling the bird during the blessing of the water, Archbishop John had baptized the pigeon, and that it was a "baptized" bird.) Mrs. Shakmatova later told me that the bird was a sort of messenger of mysteries for Blessed John, but I never pried for an explanation. On the day Archbishop John died, the bird began to pace the window and flutter in agony, as if knowing about its master.

One frequenter of St. Tikhon's Orphanage wrote: 

• "We all learned to love that little friendly bird, who became a close friend to man. It never flew too far from the house and never chased other birds, as if its little heart sought warmth from people; and it had no greater joy than to fly into the house and sit quietly on some corner of an armchair. Often when Archbishop John would drink coffee in the kitchen, the bird would knock at the window pane begging to be let in and then it would sit on the Saint's shoulder and watch his hands as he blessed the bird.   When the death knell announced the earthly end of Archbishop John, the bird was frantic.  It fluttered in agony, missing the Saint, and its little heart also stopped a few months afterwards, to our deep sorrow.  I remember how someone said firmly that one should not cry over a bird, it is sinful. How harsh this resounded in my ears! Why is it a sin when a quiet sadness touches a heart over the loss of the little ones given to us by the Lord Himself to protect, who also are capable of giving us love.  I remember Archbishop John's words to me when I used to complain that in some cities birds are removed from the streets: 'Yes, now throughout the whole world, attacks are carried out against all living beings that surround us."'*

*Orthodox Messenger, 1968, no. 5, p. 65

At that time there was a veritable persecution of pigeons in San Francisco, due to the assumption that they carried some disease, and hundreds of them were poisoned or shot.  I do not know these details.  But I do remember vividly the beautiful white-feathered creature flying about the little bentdown figure of the precious Saint, who not only loved this God-sent bird, but had some mystical contact with it.  The bird appeared in his life when he endured the greatest of his earthly trials; it forbade his ascent to the other world, and some other mysteries I was told about.  That feathered little creature of God was sent as a consolation to the sorrowing man of God, rendering him greater solace than men could do, who at that time were inflicting upon him his greatest pain.  Men who hate men cannot understand how animals could be truly God-sent consolers.

A spiritual daughter of Archbishop John, Olga Skopichenko, recalling this dove, even wrote a lovely poem, in which she hinted that the appearance of the bird, damaged by cruel men, was for our Saint a little window through which he gazed into heaven.

The above is from Orthodox Word magazine #191 Nov-Dec 1996.  When the article was written, there is a clue in the text: The orphanage was no longer a place where children were sheltered.  They had all come from China a decade previous, had already grown up into young adults, and used St. Tikhon's Orphanage Church as their parish, and naturally it has remained their home up to today. 

From this text we know that it is during a time when the Chinese orphans were still alive and considered St. Tikhon's their home.

From a brief summary of a Life of St. John 

. . . In the Fall of 1962 Saint John arrived in his last Diocesan See, and again, just as many years ago in his first Diocese, on the Feast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple. At first he came to assist the aging and infirm elder, Archbishop Tikhon and after his repose (March 17, 1963 o.s.) Saint John became ruling Archbishop of Western America and San Francisco. Again the Saint arrived to find an unfinished church, dedicated to the memory of the Mother of God, and once again, as in China, the Church was torn by discord.

Saint John’s first priority was to resume and complete the construction of the new Diocesan Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos “Joy of All Who Sorrow”, which had been entirely halted due to a lack of funds and sharp disputes as to the solution of the financial dilemma paralysing the church community. The Lord mercifully helped His Saint in this, who was suffering greatly as a result of this discord, yet continued both by prayer and by tirelessly overseeing the construction, to inspire everyone to sacrifice and work.

Saint John had to endure much at that time, even the necessity of appearing in an American civil court. The last years of his life were full of the bitterness of slander and persecution. Sometimes Saint John aroused envy, unfavourable criticisms, or bewilderment in people, when he dealt with them strictly adhering to church rules. At that time, someone asked who was responsible for the division in the Church. The Saint answered simply: “the devil”.

In 1964, construction of the largest church of the Russian Church Abroad in America, adorned with five golden domes, was essentially complete. The elevation of the magnificent crosses, the grandeur of which is visible when sailing in the San Francisco Bay, was proceeded by a solemn procession (over a mile) with masses of people participating. The procession was almost cancelled due to heavy rains, but the Saint, without any hesitation, led the procession with hymns into the drenched streets of the City. As the procession began the rain stopped. The crosses were blessed in front of the new cathedral and when the main cross was elevated, the sun broke through and a dove lighted upon the brightly shining symbol of Christ. This visible triumph of the elevating of Orthodox crosses, symbols of Christ’s victory, shining on the hills of a contemporary Babylon where satanism has been openly professed, was the crowning victory of the life of the Saint on earth. . . .

from a forum:

Today, (2001) a sign just across the street from the church where he once lived and is now buried displays a San Francisco city ordinance that prohibits feeding pidgeons.  If he were alive today, Archbishop John could have been fined for his act of kindness.  Curious irony.

Books Written by Fr. Seraphim Rose

Not listed in sidebar: parent post http://startingontheroyalpath.blogspot.com/2009/08/books-by-fr-seraphim-rose.html
This list is taken from Fr. Lawrence's blog, before he died in 2010

Books Written by Blessed Hieromonk Seraphim Rose 

Published Books by Fr. Seraphim
Unpublished Books by Fr Seraphim
Books translated, compiled and/or introduced by Fr. Seraphim
Unpublished books translated by Fr. Seraphim
Church services by Fr. Seraphim
Writings on Fr. Seraphim and his works

Published Books Written by Fr. Seraphim

Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future.  Platina, California: St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood (hereafter cited as SHB), 1975; revised edition, SHB, 1979 Pavoslavie i Religia Budushchago (Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future), Moscow, 1991. Pravoslavie i Religii Buduschchago (Orthodoxy and the Religions of the Future), Alma-Ata, 1991. The Soul After Death. SHB, 1980. Dusha Posle Smerti (The Soul After Death).  Moscow: Macaw & Co., 1991. Svatoe Pravoslavie XX vek (Holy Orthodoxy: The Twentieth Century). Donskoy Monastery, 1992.  Contains a brief biography of Fr. Seraphim, "The Orthodox World View," "The Holy Fathers: Sure Guide to True Christianity," "The Future of Russia and the End of the World," and Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future. Heavenly Realm: Lay Sermons of Fr. Seraphim Rose.  SHB, 1984. God's Revelation to the Human Heart.  SHB, 1987. The Place of Blessed Augustine in the Orthodox Church.  SHB, 1983. Weeping Icons of the Mother of God.  SHB, 1966.  Reprint of an article from The Orthodox Word. Father Gerasim: Guardian of St. Herman of Alaska.  SHB, 1983.  Reprint of an article from The Orthodox Word. The Holy Fathers: Sure Guide to True Christianity.  West Coast Orthodox Supply, 1983.  Reprint of an article from The Orthodox Word. Moje widzenie swiata (The Orthodox World View).  Translated into Polish by Jaroslaw Charkiewicz.  Bialystok, Poland: Fellowship of Orthodox Youth in Poland, 1993.

Unpublished Books Written by Fr. Seraphim

Nihilism: The Root of the Revolution of the Modern Age, and Other early Writings of Fr. Seraphim Rose.  Includeds Fr. Seraphim's chapter on Nihilism from The Kingdom of Man and the Kingdom of God, his essay "The Philosophy of the Absurd," his philosophical journal from 1960 to 1962, his letter to Thomas Merton, and other material. The Orthodox Patristic Understanding of Genesis.  Includes Fr. Seraphim's Commentary on Genesis, and his letter to the late Dr. Alexander Kalomiros on the Patristic refutation of evolutionism. The Orthodox World View: A Survival Course for the Last Christians. The course he gave at the St. Herman Monastery in 1975. Modern Links with the Holy Fathers.  Includes his writings about Archbishop Averky of Jordanville, Fr. Michael Pomazansky, Archimandrite Conastantine Zaitsev, Fr. Nicholas Deputatov, I.M. Andreyev, and Archbishop Andrew (Fr. Adrian) of New Diveyevo, together with Fr. Herman's biography of Ivan and Helen Kontzevitch. The Holy Fathers of Orhtodox Spirituality.  Includes the articles (The Holy Fathers: Inspiration and Sure Guide to True Christianity," "How to Read the Holy Fathers," and "How Not to Read the Holy Fathers." Aesthetic Theologhy: They Typicon of the Orthodox Church's Divin Services.  A series of articles he wrote in order to inspire Orthodox Christians to do the daily cycle of Church services.  Included practical guidelines and musical notation. Feasts and Holy Icons.  Includes his articles on the Weeping Icons of the Mother of God. Lectures of Fr. Seraphim Rose.  Includes "Raising the Mind, Warming the Heart," "God's Revelation to the Human Heart," "The Search for Orthodoxy Today," "Orthodoxy in the USA," "The Orthodox World View," "In Step with Saints Patrick and Gregory of Tours," "The Future of Russia and the End of the World," "The Orthodox Revival in Russia," "Signs of the Coming of the End of the World," and other lectures.

Published Books Translated, Compiled, 

and/or Introduced by Fr. Seraphim

Andrew of New Diveyevo, Archbishop.  The Restoration of the Orthodox Way of Life.  SHB, 1976.  Includes an introduction by Fr. Seraphim on Archbishop Andrew and Orthodox community life. Andreyev, I.M.  Russia's Catacomb Saints.  SHB, 1983.  Includes the Life of I.M. Andreyev and much more material by Fr. Seraphim. Averky, Archbishop.  The Apocalypse of St. John: An Orthodox Commentary. SHB, 1985.  Includesarticles by Fr. Seraphim on the Life of Archbishop Averky and on the intrepretation of the book of Apocalypse Barsanuphius and John, Saints.  Guidance Toward Spiritual Life.  SHB, 1990. Gretory of Tours, St.  Vita Patrum.  SHB, 1988.  Includes over 100 pages of introductory material by Fr. Seraphim on Christianity and monasticism in 5th- and 6th-century Gaul (France). John Maximovitch, Archbishop (now Saint).  The Orthodox Veneration of the Mother of God.  SHB, 1978.  Includes an introduction by Fr. Seraphim on the theology of Archbishop (now Saint) John. Kontzevitch, I.M.  The Northern Thebaid.  SHB, 1975.  Preface and Epilogue by Fr. Seraphim. Metrophanes, Schemamonk.  Blessed Paisius Velichkovsky.  SHB, 1976.  Introduction and Service to Blessed Paisius by Fr. Seraphim. Nazarius of Valaam, Elder.  Little Russian Philokalia, vol. 2.  SHB, 1983. Pomazansky, Protopresbyter Michael.  Orthodox Dogmatic Theologhy.  SHB, 1984.  Includes a Life of Fr. Michael, extensive annotation, and appendix by Fr. Seraphim. ——.  Dogmaticheskoe Bogoslovie [Dogmatic Theology] St. Herman Brotherhood Russian edition, 1992.  Includes an appendix: "Report of Hieromonk Seraphim Rose to Bishop Nektary of Seattle on the Danger of the Resurgence among Orthodox Christians of the New 'Dogma' [of Redemption]." Rose, Fr. Seraphim, and Abbot Herman.  Blessed John the Wonderworker.  SHB, 1987.  Includes the Prima Vita of Archbishop (now Saint) John by Fr. Seraphim. Sava, Bishop of Edmonton.  Blessed John: The Chronicle of the Veneration of Archbishop John Maximovitch.  SHB, 1979. Seraphim of Sarov, St.  Little Russian Philokalia, vol. 1.  SHB, 1980.  Includes a brief Life of St. Seraphim by Fr. Seraphim. Syemon the Theologian, St.  The Sin of Adam.  SHB, 1979.  Introduction by Fr. Seraphim. Theophan the Recluse, St.  The Path to Salvation.  West Coast Orthodox Supply, 1983; reprinted by Conciliar Press under the title Raising Them Righ, 1989. Verkhovsky, Abbess Vera.  Elder Zosima: Hesychast of Siberia.  Nikodemos Orthodox Publication Society, 1979; revised edition, SHB, 1990.  Introduction by Fr. Seraphim.

Unpublished Books Translated by Fr. Seraphim

Dimitry Dudko, Fr.  Resurrection Sermons. Dorotheos of Gaza, St.  Spiritual Counsels. John Maximovitch, Archbishop (now Saint).  The Sermons of Archbishop John Maximovitch.  Serialized in The Orthodox Word. Paisius Velichkovsky, St.  Field Flowers and The Scroll (Little Russian Philokalia, vol. 4.  Seralized in The Orthodox Word. Seers of the Other World.  The Lives of saints who saw into the angelic and demonic realms.  Serialized in The Orthodox Word. Theodore the Studite, St.  Instructions for Monks.

Church Services Written by Fr. Seraphim

Service to St. Herman of Alaska (co-written by Fr. Herman Podmoshensky). SHB, 1970. Service to Blessed Paisius Velichkovsky.  In Schemamonk Metrophanes, Blessed Paisius Velichkovsky, SHB, 1976. Akathist to Blessed John (Maximovitch) the Wonderworker.  The Orthodox Word, nos. 123-125, 1985. Service to the New Martyrs of Russia (co-written by Fr. Herman).  1981, unpublished.

Writings on Fr. Seraphim and his Works

Brigid McCarthy, Nun.  "The Last Chapter in the Short Life of Father Seraphim of Platina."  The Orthodox Word, nos. 108-109 (1983). "Dusha Posle Smerti" (The Soul After Death).  Nauka i Religia (Science and  Religion), no. 5. (may, 1991). Damascene Christensen, Monk.  "Fr. Seraphim's Search for Truth." The Orthodox Word, nos. 108-109 (1983). ——.  "Fr. Seraphim the Philosopher."  The Orthodox Word, no. 136 (1987). ——.  "The Literary Inheritance of Fr. Seraphim Rose."  The Orthodox Word, no. 104 (1982). ——.  "Otets Serafim Roz: Kratkaya Biografiya" (Fr. Seraphim Rose: A Brief Biography).  Russky Palomnik (Russian Pilgrim), no. 3 (1991). Derugin, Priest Vladimir.  "Ieromonakh Seraphim: Ukhod Pravednika" (The Passing Away of a Righteous One).  Fr. Seraphim Memorial Fund, 1983. "Pravoslavi i Religia Budusschago" (Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future).  Pravoslavnoe Obozrenie (Orthodox Digest) (1983). Rose, Fr. Seraphim, "From the Chronicle of the St. Herman Brotherhood." The Orthodox Word, no. 125 (1985). Rossi, Vincent, The American Acquisition of the Patristic Mind." The Orthodox Word, no. 119 (1984). "With the Saints Give Rest…" Orthodox America, no 22 (1982). Young, Fr. Alexy, "A Mighty Pen Is Stilled."  Orthodox America, no. 22 (1982).

back	email designers

About Fr. Seraphim by nun Theadelphi

This is the Introduction written by a nun for the book Letters by Fr. Seraphim.  She sees Fr. Seraphim from the perspective of a fellow-monastic – she sees him first as a monk.  She understands the inner life and struggle of monasticism, and recognizes Fr. Seraphim as one who truly took the yoke on his shoulders.

related post:  Book Review of Letters by Fr. Seraphim

  http://startingontheroyalpath.blogspot.com/2014/09/letters-by-fr-seraphim.html

Introduction

With the publication of this volume of letters written from 1970 to 1982 by the late Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose) to Fr. Alexey Young, the reader is given a partial glimpse into a relationship between a spiritual father and son, as well as a record of the growth of a working partnership between two men actively involved in English-language missionary work in the Orthodox Church.

There would be no point in publishing these letters were they no more than a remembrance of times past, no more than the memento of a relationship that, however significant to those involved, has little to say to a reader who has never met either of these men.  In fact, these letters may help us discern and apply a number of important principles of the Orthodox Christian way of life.  They also show us that Orthodox missionary work is the fruit, not of abstract theorizing, but of practical, applied spiritual struggle.  Ranging across more than a decade, covering a wide variety of topics, these letters provide a record of Fr. Seraphim’s carefully thought-out approach to helping a new convert to Orthodoxy move from the first “baby steps” of his new life in Christ, through the development of a growing faith and maturity, toward greater stability of soul and a desire to share the treasures of the Faith with others.

There is a timely relevance to these letters, almost as though they had been written today.  Although Fr. Seraphim addresses specific issues and events occurring in Church life twenty and more years ago, he does so in a way that provides the reader with a serene and mature viewpoint — a truly Christian way of evaluating people and events from the objective standpoint of history and spiritual principles rather than the gossipy and passionate approach so often found in Church circles.  This invaluable quality makes his letters as instructive today as they were when they were written.

Born Eugene Rose in 1934 and raised in a Protestant family, Fr. Seraphim was from his youth intellectually gifted and philosophically inclined.  By the time he reached college, the young Eugene Rose had rejected the Christianity he had seen in his childhood, turning instead to science and philosophy.  During his student years, like many young people, he continued to search for the meaning of life — a search pursued with passion and even torment of soul.  His longing to know why we are born led him along many paths, including several painful dead ends: scientific rationalism, Chinese classicism, Zen Buddhism, nihilism, atheism, aestheticism, hedonism. 

After finishing his undergraduate degree, he enrolled as a graduate student in the department of Oriental Languages at the University of California/Berkeley, where he submitted his master’s thesis in 1961. 

During the early 1960s, he began attending Russian Orthodox church services and soon realized he was finally within reach of the spiritual harbor he had almost despaired of ever finding.  His conversion to Christ and to Orthodoxy was complete and unstinting.  The sincerity of his repentance was matched only by the strength of his determination to submit his whole being to the will of God and the mind of the Church.

Thus began a remarkable living demonstration of the power of divine grace in human life.  The intellectual pride and intolerance, the anger and impatience, the emotional and psychological complicatedness that so often go hand-in-hand with such gifts as the young Eugene Rose displayed, were gradually corrected, healed, eased.  The Mother of God, to whom he developed a great devotion, helped strengthen his repentant spirit and encouraged his struggle.  When ill shortly after his conversion, he prayed ardently to her to grant him time to serve God.  No one who looks upon the remarkable body of work he left behind at his death can doubt that she heard his prayer.

While still a new convert, Eugene enrolled in the theological classes offered in San Francisco by Saint John Maximovitch.  As a reader at the cathedral, his piety was formed and developed by the cycle of Divine services into which he plunged his heart, mind, and soul, and he had ample opportunity to learn from the example and presence of Saint John himself, before the latter’s repose in 1966.  By 1966, Eugene was selling Orthodox books and icons from a small shop near the cathedral.  He and Gleb Podmoshensky (later named Fr. Herman in monastic tonsure), who were the first members of the Brotherhood of St. Herman, had begun an English-language missionary magazine, The Orthodox Word, making available lives of saints, patristic texts, and commentary on contemporary matters.  Their desire to move out of San Francisco to live a quiet “desert” life of prayer and labor was being realized as the correspondence published in this volume begins.

Once settled in the remote forests of northern California, near the small hamlet of Platina, Fr. Seraphim lived an intense life of prayer that nourished his work of translating and writing — work carried out amid much other labor.  Living with no electricity, running water, or telephones, even the simplest tasks required much time and effort, yet the very roughness of such a life lent a down-to-earth immediacy to all of his daily experiences.

Although the brothers had moved out of the city in search of quiet and solitude, over time they found themselves in the public eye to a degree they had neither anticipated not desired.  After Fr. Herman and Fr. Seraphim were ordained to the priesthood, they naturally became more visible than ever.  More people came to visit, more demands were made on their time, and Fr. Seraphim found himself increasingly involved in Church life and events outside his longed-for desert stillness.  From then until his death in 1982, his writing and translating work was conducted amid growing duties within the monastery and the English-language missions that sprang up around it, and under increasing pressure from some unhealthy factions within Church life in America.

Fr. Seraphim was not, by any stretch of imagination, a renegade who thought himself above the ties, realities, and obligations of church life.  He was from his conversion to his death a faithful son of the Russian Church Abroad.  While he was always receptive to all Orthodox Christians of good will and sincere heart, he was never a fanatic of any sort, and he found fanaticism in others sad and wearisome.  His own path was firmly linked to that of his first preceptors in the Faith, among them Saint John Maximovitch, Schema-Abbess Ariadna (of the Vladimir Mother of God Convent in San Francisco), and others.  Like Saint John, Fr. Seraphim was truly Orthodox and truly catholic, loving all that was best in each national Church, without making up some hodgepodge to suit his own taste. 

Obedient to lawful Church authority in the persons of his teachers in the Faith and his archpastors (including not least of all his immediate diocesan hierarch, the late Archbishop Anthony of San Francisco), Fr. Seraphim was always opposed to the creation of any factional or party spirit in church life.  He was keenly aware of the myriad dangers from the right and the left that surround the Christian struggler in our present age of spiritual enfeeblement and confusion, and constantly reminded others to keep to a middle or “royal” path in all things, trying always to keep solely to the line marked out by older, wiser guides, emphasizing the need for patience, balance, sobriety, humility, steadfastness, and deference to the counsel of trusted advisors.

During the first years of his Orthodox life, Fr. Seraphim had ample opportunity to see what it means wholly to subject oneself to Christ.  In Saint John Maximovitch he saw someone of whom it could truly be said that he no longer lived, but Christ lived in him.  In Abbess Ariadna, Archbishop Averky (of Holy Trinity Monastery), Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky, and others, he saw men and women who had truly become so imbued with a living spiritual tradition that it affected all they did and were.  He saw clearly that one who desires to walk the path of Christ cannot do so in company with rebellion, self-will, self-opinion, factionalism, condemnation of others, or any other impassioned notion to which the soul clings more tenaciously than to Christ.  His yardstick in such matters was a simple one: any impulse or action which feeds a spirit of calculation and cold-heartedness, and one‘s desire to be right, while weakening the feeling of self-reproach and repentance, is wrong, no matter how right it may appear logically.

Indeed, during the last years of Fr. Seraphim’s life, temptations from the right abounded in church life, so that he began to speak of the “correctness disease,” which attacked many people, making them [imagine themselves to be] instant experts in theology, ecclesiology, canon law, and other exalted matters.

Long before others, Fr. Seraphim identified a profoundly dangerous problem, which he called “the great conflict of our times—the Orthodoxy of the head vs. the Orthodoxy of the heart.”  He never denied the existence of serious issues in contemporary church life, but he felt, with growing alarm, that something was wrong in many “answers” to these problems, as we see in these Letters.

At the same time, “zeal without knowledge" was not the only pitfall facing Orthodoxy in America.  Orthodox Christianity was then, as it remains now, a numerically small presence in American life, surrounded by other faiths and philosophies often either indifferent or actively hostile to traditional Orthodoxy.  The Orthodox immigrants who came to America in the first half of the twentieth century were mostly poor villagers from Russia, Eastern Europe, and Greece, eager to fit as quickly as possible into their new home.  Few of them were capable of explaining their faith to their American neighbors; fewer still realized that their desire to fit in to American culture could pose grave spiritual dangers.  The sense of Orthodox tradition was eroding.

During Fr. Seraphim’s lifetime, this loss of the “savor of Orthodoxy” inevitably affected much of church life here, and he rightly warned of this dangerous watering — down of the priceless inheritance of Orthodox faith.  In church architecture, pews, organs, and choir-robes replaced the traditional atmosphere of Orthodox worship with a hybrid of Catholic and Protestant fashions.  In seminary studies, fashionable “higher criticism” and liturgical innovation replaced the “outmoded” methods of traditional Orthodox seminary training, as professors and students caught up to trends already becoming passe in heterodox theology.  Clerical attire common in the Old World was deemed unsuitable for the American scene, and was replaced by almost-beardless priests wearing Roman collars.  Among many of the hierarchs and clergy, there existed an overtly anti-monastic spirit.  The list could go on.  These temptations from the left — from the spirit of the world and the Prince of this world — proliferated along with those from the right — of false zeal and correctness.

All of these factors together produced an often-unstable church life, which was prone to easy infection by passing fashions of heterodox spirituality, theology and sociology, and not readily inclined to find its remedy in the monastic, ascetic, patristic ethos that had for generations anchored Orthodox life in the Old World.

Therefore, in these letters, as in his other writings, Fr. Seraphim not only warns against “zeal without knowledge.”  He also speaks, sometimes quite sharply, against the false liberalism that is equally dangerous to the struggle for salvation. 

One cannot deny that the years since Fr. Seraphim’s death have seen these tendencies toward polarization, fragmentation, and factionalism get worse, not better, both here and abroad.  When reading these letters we are sobered and warned.

Throughout these letters, Fr. Seraphim emphasizes several themes he thought essential for anyone learning to live in Christ and that are certainly preliminary to bearing any fruit for Christ.  These are also the indispensable hallmarks of the “royal path” of moderation between all extremes—spiritual, personal, or historical.

He often speaks of the need for “more heart and less head.”  Life in Christ is not an intellectual pursuit, but a deep, often painful process of repentance and renewal.  Fr. Seraphim was himself a good example of a complicated intellectual who had found in Orthodoxy the key to unlocking an ardent but often tormented heart, and uniting the powers of mind and heart to fruitful spiritual work, first on himself and then also on others.

Orthodox Christianity must be a way of life.  It is not a Sunday morning religion that we can toss into a corner as we walk out the church doors at the end of the service.  It must encompass our whole way of looking at ourselves, our brother, our world, radically affecting our daily life.

Life in Christ may often be difficult, but it is not complicated.  Humble self-reproach, attention to one’s own sins, not judging one’s neighbor, faithful participation in Divine services, regular prayer, frequent Confession and reception of Holy Communion, reading the Scriptures and spiritual books — all these small, steady labors, all part of a traditional Orthodox life, will gradually effect deep changes of heart and mind.

There are no shortcuts.  “There is no ‘instant theosis’,” he writes.  “We must have resolve.” 

Life in Christ is a process of growth and change, nourished by Divine grace and based on repentance.  We must grow into the measure of Christ and become responsible children of the Church, not only receiving but capable and willing to give.

Fr. Seraphim saw clearly the problems of contemporary man. Even more clearly he saw that the answers to those problems lie in God and that no obstacle is too great to be overcome by the mercy and grace of our loving Father in Heaven.

Prayer, ascetic labors, and experience gave Fr. Seraphim a solid faith in the Providence of God, and he never became too bogged down in passing matters.  He constantly reminded everyone that life passes quickly, that nothing worldly abides after death, and that we must always keep our chief goal in life — the Kingdom of Heaven — squarely in view.  His own life on earth was short — a mere forty-eight years — but once he gave his heart to God, he lived only for Him and worked tirelessly that others might find the same Truth Whom he had come to love.

Fr. Seraphim’s hope and prayer for all who read this book may be expressed in the words he once wrote to a tiny, unknown mission in Northern California, where a handful of people gathered daily in a homemade chapel to read the Divine services together:

May the joy of our Risen Saviour be abundantly with you on these bright and radiant days of Pascha, and may you ever preserve the grace which you have received as a free gift from Him!  Let no temptation overcome you, no darkness cloud your path, and no trial come upon you, in which you do not immediately turn to Christ our All-Merciful God, Who has trampled upon death and abolished the power of the devil.  Remain in Christ’s grace and He will guide you all to salvation.  Remember the end of your life, the never-setting Day of Christ’s Kingdom, and you will know why you are alive, and what you are striving for.

Christ is Risen!

Schema-nun Theadelphi 

H.M. of Apostle Paul

The Church of Christ in the Time of Antichrist

.post updated 11Dec2024

1st most important book:
Ray of Light, by Archimandrite Panteleimon, Jordanville
Instructions in Piety in the last times
http://bookstore.jordanville.org/9780884650478
The new edition, 2024, is not as good, but it's not that bad, either.  The new edition leaves out the editor notes and the illustrations.

2nd most important book:
Apostasy and Antichrist, Jordanville
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0zxZ_SEULRfSVZOdm5Ya2tLQXM/edit
(email me if this link goes dead)
also this is uploaded to Joanna's Shared Library

• https://tinyurl.com/joannassharedlibrary

A 3rd important book from Old Jordanville on this subject is:
Antichrist by Archpriest Boris Molchanoff 
look in Joanna's Shared Library pdf. Antichrist Boris Molchanoff
.          This one I have typed out in text online:


http://orthodoxlifemagazines.blogspot.com/2016/06/1980-34-antichrist.html


 

Next is the collection of other articles on Antichrist in the Orthodox
Life magazines, you are probably familiar with these:


http://orthodoxlifemagazines.blogspot.com/2018/05/1970-3-st-ephraim-syrian-on-antichrist.html


http://orthodoxlifemagazines.blogspot.com/2018/04/1985-2-antichrist-st-john-maximovitch.html


 

But maybe not familiar with this important one:


http://orthodoxlifemagazines.blogspot.com/2018/05/1986-2-on-coming-of-antichrist.html



 

Related article: (very important, also, we can pray to these saints now knowing
that they are returning)
http://orthodoxlifemagazines.blogspot.com/2016/08/1963-4-holy-prophet-elias.html

.

.

.

.

.

THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN THE TIME OF THE ANTICHRIST.

According to The Teachings of the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers.

By Hieromonk Ignaty

...And upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18).

“True is the word, firm is the promise. The Church is insurmount- able, even if hell itself was moved and the ruler of darkness summoned turmoil” (St Athanasius).

The Antichrist will appear immediately before the second coming of Christ, as attested to by the Holy Scriptures (Dan. chs. 7,11,12; Rev. chs. 12,13,17,20; Mt. ch. 24; Mk ch. 13; Luke chs. 17, 21; 2 Thess. ch. 2), and by the Holy Fathers of the Church. Saint John of Damascus says: “It should be known that the Antichrist must come before the end of the world.”

What means will this enemy of God use to establish his authority over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations (Rev. 13:7)? Will he be able to realize his wicked rule among people and overcome Christ’s Holy Church? How will the battle between the Antichrist and the Holy Church be fought?

2

Through the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers of the Church, we know, first of all, what battle plan the Antichrist intends to use against the Holy Church. His intention is to root out from among people faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the God-Man and Saviour, and to replace Christ with himself as the object of worship. He will try to overthrow Christ’s teachings and sacraments, and will openly promote himself as the only true Christ and God. To realize this end he will use not only deceit and false wonders, but will also fiercely persecute those who resist his reign. But even though he will establish his reign over many, he still will not overcome the Church of Christ.

The Saviour Himself says that the Jews will recognize the Anti- christ as their Messiah: “I am come in My Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive” (John 5:43). So we see that there cannot be faith in two Christs (2 Cor. 6:4,15). Therefore, those who have accepted the true Christ must shun the false one; and those who have accepted the false one must renounce the true Christ - the Messiah. From this, it is clear that the Antichrist must first openly renounce the true Christ in order that he himself be accepted as the Messiah. Thus, Saint Irenaeus of Lyons calls the Antichrist the apostate from Christ, who demands that he be raised up and be adored as God. The Apostle John writes: Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son (1 Jn 2:22). Therefore, according to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, the most substantial and evident sign of the Antichrist will be his rejection of the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In his first epistle, the Evangelist John plainly witnesses that the Antichrist will not secretly reject the Lord Jesus Christ who came in the flesh, but quite openly: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is the spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world (1 John 4:3).

The words “confesseth not” not only make manifest the hidden denial of faith in the divinity of Christ, but also show the open confirmation of his denial before others. These words are used by the Saviour with the same idea when He says: Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God (Luke 12:8; Matt. 10:32; Mark 8:38). Generally, in the language of the Holy Scriptures, the word

3

“confess” is used in terms of an open, vocal confirmation of a certain truth and is distinct from internal, hidden faith (compare Rom. 10:10; Tit. 1:16; 1 Jn. 1:9; 2 Jn. 1:7; Rom. 10:9). The Apostle John uses the term “confess not” to mean the same as an open rejection of the DivinityofChrist. Herehepointsoutanobviousindicationthrough which believers are able to recognize the Antichrist. Try the spirits,he says, hereby know ye the Spirit of God... every spirit that con- fesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God.

He foresaw that the Antichrist will openly reject the Father and the Son. He uses this warning precisely so Christians would not fall into the nets of the Antichrist when he appears.

Like Saint John, the Apostle Paul foretold that the last enemy of Christ will openly rise up against the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church. The hostile actions of all the heretics, which already began to appear in his time and continued to appear after his departure to the Lord (Acts 20:29), he calls “the mystery of iniquity,” (2 Thess. 2:7) because in a secretive manner they tried and are trying to bring harm to the Church of Christ.

Saint Paul calls the Antichrist the revelation of this mystery of iniquity, which follows after the final apostasy from faith. For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition....whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power.... (2Thess.2:3,9).

Thus, did the ancient ecumenical Church teach by the mouths of Her renowned Fathers and Teachers. Saint Irenaeus writes that the Antichrist will show himself to be impious, unrighteous, and iniqui- tous as an apostate. Saint Hilary testifies that through the Arians, the devil is trying to convince people that Christ is not the Only-Begotten Son of God, but is adopted as a son by grace. Through the Antichrist, however, he [the devil] will try to convince people that Christ is not the Son of God even by adoption, thus completely defaming the name of the true Christ. Blessed Augustine says that the Antichrist will hinder the baptism of infants, even though there will be pious parents who will decide to endure all tortures rather than to leave their children unbaptised. Saint Jerome foretold that the enemy of Christ will win over the trust of the Jews through rejecting the sacred ordinances of Christ, while according to Saint Ephraim the Syrian, “the beast will lay his mark, i.e. an evil inscription, ... on the right hand, so that it will be impossible for a man to make the sign of the Cross, and on the forehead, so as not to allow man to keep the holy name of the Saviour

4

in his mind. The serpent will inscribe his mark instead of the Cross of the Saviour. In order to do this, undoubtedly he will use a method so that the name of the Lord and Saviour will not even be allowed to be said during this time.” (See also “On Christ and the Antichrist” by Saint Hippolytus of Rome, and the Commentary on Revelation by Saint Andrew of Caesarea).

In addition to openly rejecting the Divinity of the Saviour, His relation to God the Father, and His teachings, the Antichrist will like- wise openly appropriate for himself divine dignity and will spread a new godless teaching, which will oppose the teachings of Christ. The Lord clearly refers to this – another shall come in My name (John 5:43), i.e., not in the name of God the Father, as came our Saviour, and not even in the name of Christ, but he shall come in his own name and will propagate a new teaching, not recognizing anyone’s authority above his own. “Seest thou,” explains Saint John Chrysostom, “that He everywhere declareth that He hath been ‘sent,’ that judgment hath been committed to Him by the Father, that He can do nothing of Himself, in order that He may cut off all excuse for their [the Jews] unfairness? But who is it that He here saith shall come ‘in his own name’? He alludeth here to the Antichrist, and putteth an incontro- vertible proof of the unfairness. For if as loving God ye persecute Me, much more ought this to have taken place in the case of the Antichrist. For he will neither say that he is sent by the Father, not that he cometh according to His will, but in everything contrariwise, seizing like a tyrant what belongeth not to him, and asserting that he is the very God over all. As Saint Paul saith, exalting himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, showing himself that he is God (2 Thess. 2:4). This is to ‘come in his own name.’”

The holy Apostle Paul offers an even more detailed teaching of how the Antichrist will pronounce himself God and openly demand of people reverence as such. And that man of sin, he says, will be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as god sitteth in the temple of God showing himself that he is God (2 Thess. 2:3,4). By these words, Saint Paul foretells that the Antichrist will preside over those Christians which used to belong to the True Church of Christ, but later fell away from Her, and recognize as their head the enemy of Christ and worship him. “In the temple of God he shall sit,” says Saint Irenaeus, “deceiving only those who worship him, as though he were Christ.”

5

Overseers [i.e. Bishops], ordained by the Holy Spirit preside in the Church of God (Acts 20:28), are entrusted with the guidance of Christians by the Saviour Himself, but nevertheless hold themselves as servants of the only Overseer, that is, Christ. In order to show that this will not be the way in which the Antichrist will preside over the Church, and that he will not hold the Lord Jesus Christ as his guide, the holy Apostle Paul says that he will seize the lordship over the Church as a usurper of divine greatness. For having said that he will raise himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, immediately he adds:showing himself that he is God. This shows that he will openly assimilate to himself divine reverence, that he will not only show himself like God, but that he is God, presenting himself as God.

Adhering to Holy Scripture, the Holy Fathers teach the following:-

Saint Irenaeus of Lyons: “The adversary will sit in the temple of Jerusalem, in order to show himself as Christ, he will demand that those who are captivated by him should worship him as Christ. The Antichrist will demand worship as if he were God.”

St Hippolytus of Rome: “Having filled himself with pride, the Antichrist will begin to set himself up and glorify himself as God, belching forth slander against Christ.” He will do this so openly that he will command that all those who do not want to serve him as God be killed.

Saint Ambrose of Milan: “A false prophet will prophesy concerning the Antichrist saying he is Christ, and he himself will try to convince everyone that he is Christ.”

Saint Ephraim the Syrian: “Many will believe the Antichrist and will glorify him as God,” and “many will worship the torturer with trembling crying out: ‘Thou are our saviour!’”

Blessed Theodoret of Cyrus: “The Antichrist will not only pro- nounce himself highest of the false gods, but will sit in the Temple of God, as if he were God....the Jews, who did not want to believe in the Lord, as though He were an adversary to God, will believe in the Antichrist who will pronounce himself to be the god of all.”

Saint John of Damascus asserts: “The Jews, who did not accept the Lord Jesus Christ as the true Son of God and God, will receive a deceiver who will call himself God.”

Thus, the entire ancient Christian Church believed that the ultimate enemy of Christ, who will renounce the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, will openly call himself Christ and God.

6

What means will the Antichrist use among people in order to weaken their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel?

According to Holy Scripture and the Holy Fathers, in order to carry out his devilish scheme, the enemy will, on the one hand, use constant and vicious persecutions by which he will try to extract Her weaker members from the midst of the Holy Church; on the other hand, he will try to use false wonders and signs to seduce, if possible, even the elect.

Our Saviour foretold that these very same calamities would befall believers before the end of the world. Thus, the Holy Apostles asked Him: “What will be the sign of Thy coming at the end of the world?”The Lord answered by explaining that the first sign will be the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and then added this description of the end: the appearance of false prophets, wars among nations, the increase of lawlessness, and a complete chilling of mutual love, so that many will grow to hate one another.

The Saviour drew exceptionally vivid images of various calamities as signs of the end. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened (Matt. 24:21, 22). At that time, salvation will be gained through hope in God and long-suffering patience. Our Lord warns His followers, when that time comes, not to believe the false prophets or the Antichrist (Matt. 24:23-26).

We find in the book of the Prophet Daniel (11:44; and elsewhere), and especially in the Book of Revelation (11:7; 13:7; etc.), references to the great calamities that will afflict the Holy Church in the last times.

The Holy Fathers are in agreement with the teaching of the Holy Scriptures when they say that the Church will endure cruel and constant persecution from the Antichrist from which the only deliver- ance will be the second coming of the Son of God.

Saint Justin Martyr says that the “man of apostasy” will not only utter blasphemy against the Most High, but will take up arms against Christians by means of persecutions.

Saint Irenaeus of Lyons calls the time of the Antichrist a time of cruelty and heavy persecution of the Church, which will be worse than any other time in history.

7

Saint Hippolytus writes that the Antichrist, arrogant with pride, will send out orders among all nations to punish with death all Christians who refuse to serve and worship him as God.
Having mentioned the Antichrist’s pretence earlier, Saint Cyril of Jerusalem continues: “He shall be known by his crimes of inhumanity and lawlessness, so as to outdo all unrighteous and ungodly men who have gone before him; displaying against all men, but especially against us Christians, a spirit murderous and most cruel, merciless and crafty” (Catechetical Lecture 15, ch. 12).

Saint Ephraim the Syrian, in particular, vividly expresses the last persecution of Christians by the Antichrist, saying, that he will deal with those who do not believe in him “in a severe, cruel, hateful, fierce, murderous manner,” that “in that time, infants will die on their mother’s lap, and the mothers will die over their children, fathers will die with their wives and children in the marketplace, and there will be nobody there who will bury them.”

“For the Antichrist will come for the destruction of men, and to injure them,” says Saint John Chrysostom. “For what will he not then work? He will change and confound all things, both by his command- ments and by the fear of him. He will be terrible in every way: by his power and by his unlawful commandments.’’

Blessed Augustine says that in the times of the Antichrist, the devil will be freed. So much more (uncontrollable) will be the violence of the freed devil than when he was bound, that the persecution of that time will surpass all previous persecutions in its cruelty. Thus, he will use all the power he has to persecute the Church.

We find similar thoughts expressed in the works of Saint Andrew of Caesarea and Saint John of Damascus. In addition to cruel per- secutions, the Antichrist will use deceit to seduce Christians. False wonders and signs will he work as the means to this, according to the Holy Scriptures.
The Lord spoke further about these wonders worked by the servants of the Antichrist. He said that they would seem to be true miracles if judged from their external appearance and by the effect they will have on people. The false christ and false prophets shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch, that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect (Matt. 24:24). The extraordinary character of the signs, according to the words of the Saviour, will be such that

8

the very elect will be open to the danger of deceit. “Then the deceit will be great because of the delusive signs,” notes Saint John Chrysostom.

Saint Paul has a specific idea concerning the wonders that the Antichrist will work. He says, He will come after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceit of unrighteousness in them that perish (2Thess.2:9,10). These words show the essential differences between the false miracles of the Antichrist and the true miracles of Christ. First, the Apostle said that the Antichrist will wield great power and will work wonders, but he warns Christians not to think that the enemy of God is able to work true miracles. Therefore, the Apostle calls the miracles of the Anti- christ false.

And, indeed, his wonders will be false. “Just as the Son of God, having been incarnate and having become man,” says St Ambrose of Milan, “proved His Divinity by signs and wonders, so will Satan open himself to man in order to show himself as God by means of false wonders.” They are false by their origin, for they will belch forth from the father of lies through whom will come the Antichrist. Thus, the Fathers of the Church taught, “Satan will use the Antichrist as a tool, acting himself through him.” The miracles will be false in their es- sence because they will not surmount the natural laws of nature, as do true miracles, worked in harmony with the will of God, which defeat the laws of nature. Being false in all respects, they will yet appear as true. Thus, Apostle Paul says that they will manifest great power. In addition, these words of the Apostle clearly show the difference between false wonders and deceit or treachery, which the Antichrist will use as a stumbling block for the weak in faith.

Saying that the enemy of God will come with every power and sign, he adds, and with all deceit of unrighteousness in them that perish (2 Thess. 2:10).

“One of the servants of the Antichrist,” says Saint John Chryso- stom, “having been before the Apostles, seduced many. ‘He will come,’ says the Saviour, ‘and will seduce many’; but others who are to appear before the second coming of the Saviour will be even more deceitful than the first: ‘they will work signs and wonders in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect.’ He refers not only to the Antichrist, but to those who will serve him.”

Expounding the words of Christ, wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth: behold, he is in the secret

9

chambers; believe it not (Matt. 24:26), Saint John Chrysostom writes: “See how Christ warns us. Do not go forth, He says, into the desert... He did not say: go aside and believe not; but go not forth and do not go aside. For in those days, the temptation will be great because of deceitful signs.”
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem teaches that the adversary of Christ will be “a sorcerer who is very experienced in the art of deceit, sorcery and enchantment.” He will conjure up “false wonders in order to tempt people so that they will think they see a resurrected man, when in reality he was not resurrected. They will see the lame who are walking, they will see people who were blind before suddenly start to see, when in fact, they were never healed.”

Having painstakingly taken into account the miracles of the Anti- christ, St Ephraim the Syrian says: “Mountains and islands will arise out of the ocean in plain sight for all to see, but all this will be deceit and an illusion and not real. In addition, he will seduce the world and will deceive all eyes. Many will believe and will glorify him.”

All of the references of Holy Scripture that we have cited, as well as of the Holy Fathers, show that the Antichrist will use cruelty and force, as well as trickery and false miracles, as means for rooting out faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

“The persecution of the Church,” observed Blessed Augustine, “when Christians were forced to bring sacrifices to idols by threat of exile, torture and death, was carried out by force. The second per- secution the Church endures is from false teachers and false brethren, and is carried out by means of craftiness and deceit. The third persecution will be from the Antichrist, and will be the most danger- ous of all because it will be accompanied by force, craftiness and deceit. His power will be used for enforcing his will, and his miracles will be used for deceit.”

The end result of the Antichrist’s insurrection against the Church will be that he will attract to his side those who received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved (2 Thess. 2:10). The Holy Church will not only not waver under the persecution of the Antichrist, but will be even more glorified in the face of her faithful followers who will suffer for Christ.

According to the Holy Scriptures, the Antichrist will reign not only over the minds and hearts of those who reject Christ, but will create an entire community with them, which will recognize him as their head and will follow his ordinances.

10

Scripture frequently refers to the Antichrist as contending and as a conqueror who will wage war with many kings and will defeat them, utter blasphemous words against God, and oppress the saints of the Lord (Dan. 7:23-25).

“All the ancient writers of the Church teach, that during the end of the world, there will be ten kings... and then there will arise an eleventh lesser king (i.e. the Antichrist), who will defeat three of the ten... and with the defeat of the three, the other seven will submit to his authority.”
In the Holy Scriptures, the kingdom of the Antichrist is described as a society in opposition, even in its external organization, to the Church of God. We find in the book of Revelation, that Satan will be permitted to act freely, then he will gather people from all nations under himself and with them he will surround the camp of the saints and the beloved city, (Rev. 20:7-9). In reference to this, Saint Augus- tine comments, “this will be the last persecution, which will precede the last judgement; throughout the whole world the Holy Church will be exposed to all the servants of the devil.”

Saint Irenaeus of Lyons says that the Antichrist will seduce a king- dom and will gather the unbelieving Jews under himself. “Christ is King, likewise, the Antichrist is a king. The Lord gathered together His sheep that went astray, and the Antichrist in like manner will gather his strayed people.”

Saint Ephraim the Syrian testifies: “Many classes and nations will develop similar thoughts, and with great happiness will pronounce the Antichrist as king.”

Likewise, Holy Scripture clearly indicates that all members of Antichrist’s kingdom will have a special mark, which will distinguish them from Christians. The Antichrist causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name (Rev. 13:16-17).

How will people reach such blindness that they will begin to consider a human being like themselves as God? Will mankind have lost its right reason?

This deception will occur at a time when the faith of man in the True God will have run dry, and thus God will give them over to a re- probate mind, to do those things which are not convenient (Rom.

11

1:28). He will give them up because of their countless offenses, their opposition to Truth, and the extreme corruption of their hearts. Thus, they will be stricken with blindness, and will become unable to differentiate lies from truth, and will change the truth of God into lies, and will worship and serve creation instead of the Creator (Rom. 1:25). Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Thess. 2:10-12). These people will forget the Creator and will serve creation.
At that time, when no visible creation will be in a condition to compare with the Antichrist, in power and might, nor wield such influence as he does by means of those things that blind and awe man, then they will worship and serve this unusual being.

Even though the Antichrist will spread his influence to every nation on earth, the Holy Church of Christ will exist on earth until the very time of the second glorious coming of the Lord. The Lord gave this promise to His Apostles concerning the Church: I will build my Church,and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matt.16:18).

Here the word “Church” should be understood as those faithful to Christ and following His teaching. With the words “gates of hell,” the Saviour points out every type of persecutor of the Church, for exam- ple, temptations, heresies, and all forces used by the devil, including the Antichrist.

Saint Athanasius the Great takes note of the promise of the Lord regarding the perseverance of the Church saying, “The word is sure, the promise holds strong: the Church is invincible, even if hell itself were raised and the rulers of darkness brought forth turmoil.”
Saint John of Damascus, teaches: “Even though the ‘gates of hell’ will rise up against the Church, i.e., the mouths of heretics, the tools of the demons, they will not conquer the Church; even though they will arm themselves, they will not defeat Her.”

The words ‘will not conquer’ mean, according to St John Chrysos- tom, that the Church will not be destroyed by any means. “That which the Lord has created, no man can destroy.”
Because the Saviour gave His promise about the unquestionable and uncompromising invincibility of the Church, we should firmly believe that no efforts of the enemies will ever destroy Her. No

12

persecutions of the Antichrist will destroy that which the Lord Himself has established.
“The enemies of the Church,” says [Saint] Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, in one of his sermons, “will rise up against the Church, but they will not crush Her. For how long? Undoubtedly, until the end of time. For, if they were able to overcome Her at some time in the future, then the Lord, the Seer of all time, would not have said so assuredly that they would never overcome.”
Before His Ascension, the Lord gave a similar comforting promise to His disciples. With the following words, He sent them forth for the preaching of the Gospel, strengthening their courage and patience so that they might endure the forthcoming struggles: I am with you always, even unto the end of the world (Matt. 28:20). “Do you not see the power of Christ? Do you not see the condescension with which He says this? He will not only be with them, He says, but He will be with all people who believe in Him. For the Apostles were not able to live until the end of time, but He, to all the believers, as if one body, says: I am with you, I tear down all barriers.”

In another place, the Lord says, And I will pray to the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever (John 14:16). Saint John Chrysostom asks: “What does it mean when He says, that He may abide with you unto the ages? And he answers: It means the same as when Jesus Christ says about Himself: I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” It follows from this promise that the Holy Spirit will always abide in the Church with His grace, regardless of circumstances, never leaving Her without His protection and safekeeping.
Along with stating that the Holy Church will endure until the end of time, Holy Scripture also tells us that there will remain an elect of God in the last difficult times. Speaking about His second coming, the Saviour said: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matt. 24:30-31).

These words clearly indicate that prior to the second coming, there will still be people who are pleasing to the Lord God, not only in one obscure place, but in various locations.

13

That Christian divine worship and the serving of the Holy Mys- teries will not be terminated during the time of the Antichrist, is confirmed by Saint Paul. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup (i.e., the Body and Blood of Christ), ye do show the Lord’s death till He come (1 Cor. 11:26). “Here we find an important truth,” says Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, “in the small word ‘till.’ In order to better understand this, I direct the speech of the Apostle to the question: will Christians eat the mystical Bread and drink of the Chalice of the Lord? We find the answer in the words of the Apostle: ‘till He come,’ i.e. the mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ will take place without interruption in the true Church of Christ till the very second coming of Christ, or till the end of time, which has the same meaning. Since this cannot be without the grace of the priesthood, and the grace of the priesthood cannot exist without the grace of an hierarchy, then clearly the grace of the office of bishop, according to the foresight of the Apostle, will be in the Church in all times and uninterrupted channels will flow even up to the brink of the approach of the kingdom of glory.”

The ancient Fathers of the Church express the same opinion. Saint John Chrysostom says: “Showing that the Holy Eucharist will be till the end of the world, the Apostle Paul said: ‘till He come.’” St John of Damascus and St Ephraim the Syrian concur with this view.
Faith in the insurmountability of the Church was generally accep- ted in the ancient Christian Church.

Tertullian teaches: “Christian society will never be depleted and will particularly become strong when in its appearance it will seem to wane.”

Saint Ambrose of Milan adds: “The Kingdom of the Church will abide unto the ages,” since God founded the Church and has fore- ordained to extend its existence unto the ages.
Saint John Chrysostom writes, “Do not leave the Church, for there is nothing mightier than She; She will never grow old and will always bloom; thus the Scriptures, showing Her durability and stability, call Her a mountain.” This holy Father adds in his Commentary on the Gospel of St Matthew that in the times of the Antichrist, the Church will become filled with Jews who have converted to Christ.

Saint John of Damascus teaches: “We firmly believe that the Church will never fall, will never waiver and will not be destroyed. For this is what Christ taught, by Whom the heavens were established and

14

the earth was founded, and stands firmly as the Holy Spirit says” (Ps. 32:6). The Antichrist will lure to himself “those who have a weak and feeble mind, will seduce and will tear them away from the living God.”

Saint Hippolytus confirms that even though the Church will be exposed to cruel persecution, it will not cease to exist.

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, supporting his homily on the Prophet Daniel (12:1-3), teaches: “God will allow persecution from the Anti- christ not because He cannot stop it, but because He desires, as usual, His strugglers to be crowned,” and for this reason, “the reverent ones among the living will be taken up into the clouds, receiving, as a reward of honour, that which is higher than any man.”
Saint Ephraim says: “Many people will be found pleasing to God, for whom it will be possible, in the mountains and in desert places, to save themselves by much prayer... for God, seeing their many tears and sincere faith, will have mercy on them, as a tender Father, and will keep them.”
Blessed Theodoret writes: “The Antichrist will not rule over all, but only over those who are worthy of perdition, who, even if he did not come, still would have deprived themselves of salvation.”
Saint Andrew of Caesarea teaches that the Antichrist will defeat only those whose names are not written in the book of life. Many of the faithful, because they have loved Christ with their whole heart, will defeat the enemy of Christ.

Thus, from the teachings of the Holy Scriptures and writings of the holy Fathers, we see that the Holy Church, with all its sacraments, will remain steadfast till the end of the world.

.......

“HOW TERRIBLE is the love of the world! It enters a person gradually and imperceptibly; but once it gets in, it becomes his cruel and absolute lord. Gradually men developed a disposition and acquired a state of soul capable of deicide; gradually they will develop a disposition and acquire a temper and character of welcoming Antichrist.”
Saint Ignatius of the Caucasus, + 1867 A.D.

http://www.metanthonymemorial.org/VernostNo54.htm

Another version of this article (which was originally in Russian)

THE CHURCH OF CHRIST

IN THE TIME OF THE ANTICHRIST

 

According to The Teachings of the

Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers

 

By Hieromonk Ignaty  (Trepatschko)

> 2/16/91 – 3/1/91

 

 …And upon this rock I will build

 my church, and the gates of hell

 shall not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18).

 

“True is the word, firm is the promise.

The Church is insurmountable, even if

hell itself was moved and the ruler of

darkness summoned turmoil” (St. Athanasius).

 

 

The Antichrist will appear immediately before the second coming of Christ, as attested to by the Holy Scriptures (Dan., chs. 7,11,12; Rev., chs. 12,13,17,20; Matt., ch. 24; Mark, ch. 13; Luke, chs. 17,21;  II Thess., ch.2), and by the Holy Fathers of the Church (John of Damascus says: “It should be known that the Antichrist must come before the end of the end of the world”). ⁽¹⁾

 

What means will this enemy of God use to build his authority over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations (Rev. 13:7)?  Will he be able to realize his wicked rule among people and overcome Christ’s Holy Church?  How will the battle between the Antichrist and the Holy Church be fought?

 

Through the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers of the Church, we know, first of all, what battle plan the Antichrist intends to use against the Holy Church.  His intention is to root out from among people, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the God-Man and Saviour, and to replace Christ with himself as the object of worship.  He will try to overthrow Christ’s teachings and sacraments, and will openly propagate himself as the only true Christ and God.  To realize this end he will use not only deceit and false wonders, but will also fiercely persecute those who resist his reign.  Even though he will establish his reign over many, he still will not overcome the Church of Christ. 

 

The Saviour Himself says that the Jews will recognize the Antichrist as their Messiah:  “I am come in My Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive” (John 5:43).

 

So we see that there cannot be faith in two Christ’s (II Cor. 6:4,15). Therefore, those who have accepted the true Christ must shun the false one; and those who have accepted the false one must renounce the true Christ – the Messiah.  From this, it is clear that the Antichrist must first openly renounce the true Christ in order that he himself be accepted as the Messiah.  Thus, St. Irenaeus of Lyons calls the Antichrist the apostate from Christ, who demands that he be raised up and be adored as God. ⁽²⁾ The Apostle John writes: Who is a liar but he denieth that Jesus is the Christ?  He is Antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son (I John 2:22).

 

Therefore, according to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, the most substantial and evident sign of the Antichrist will be his rejection of the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

In his first epistle, the Evangelist John plainly witnesses that the Antichrist will not secretly reject the Lord Jesus Christ who came in the flesh, but quite openly:  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is the spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world (I John 4:3).  The words “confesseth not” not only make manifest the hidden denial of faith in the divinity of Christ, but also show the open confirmation of his denial before others.  These words are used by the Saviour with the same idea when He says:  Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God (Luke 12:8; Matt. 10:32; Mark 8:38).  Generally, in the language of the Holy Scriptures, the word “confess” is used in terms of an open, vocal confirmation of a certain truth and is distinct from internal, hidden faith (compare Rom. 10:10; Tit. 1:16; 1 Jn. 1:9; II Jn. 1:7; Rom. 10:9).

 

The Apostle John uses the term “confess not” to mean the same as an open rejection of the divinity of Christ.  Here he points out an obvious indication through which believers are able to recognize the Antichrist.  Try the spirits, he says, Hereby know ye the Spirit of God….every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. He foresaw that the Antichrist will openly reject the Father and the Son.  He uses this warning precisely so Christians would not fall into the nets of the Antichrist when he appears.

 

Like St. John, the Apostle Paul foretold that the last enemy of Christ will openly rise up against the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church.  The hostile actions of all the heretics, which already began to appear in his time and continued to appear after his departure to the Lord (Acts 20:29), he calls “the mystery of iniquity,” (II Thess. 2:7) because in a secretive manner they tried and are trying to bring harm to the Church of Christ.  St. Paul calls the Antichrist the revelation of this mystery of iniquity, which follows after the final apostasy from faith. For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition….whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power….(II Thess. 2:3, 9). 

 

Thus, did the ancient ecumenical Church teach by the mouths of Her renowned Fathers and Teachers.  St. Irenaeus writes that the Antichrist will show himself to be impious, unrighteous, and iniquitous as an apostate. ⁽³⁾ St. Hilary testifies that through the Arians, the Devil is trying to convince people that Christ is not the Only-Begotten Son of God, but is adopted as a son by grace.  Through the Antichrist, however, he will try to convince people that Christ is not the Son of God even by adoption, thus completely defaming the name of the true Christ. ⁽⁴⁾ Blessed Augustine says that the Antichrist will hinder the baptism of infants, even though there will be pious parents who will decide to endure all tortures rather than to leave their children unbaptized. ⁽⁵⁾  St. Jerome foretold that the enemy of Christ will win over the trust of the Jews through rejecting the sacred ordinance of Christ, ⁽⁶⁾ while according to St. Ephraim the Syrian, “the beast will lay his mark, i.e. an evil inscription,….on the right hand, and on the forehead so that it will be impossible for a man to make the sign of the Cross and  on the forehead so as not to allow man to keep the holy name of the Saviour on his mind.  The serpent will inscribe his mark instead of the Cross of the Saviour.  In order to do this, undoubtedly he will use a method so that the name of the Lord and Saviour will not even be allowed to be said during this time.” ⁽⁷⁾  (See also “On Christ and the antichrist” by St. Hippolytus of Rome, and the Commentary on Revelation by St. Andrew of Caesarea).

 

In addition to openly rejecting the Divinity of the Saviour, His relation to God the Father, and His teachings, the Antichrist will likewise openly appropriate for himself divine dignity and will spread a new godless teaching, which will  oppose  the teach-ings of Christ.

 

The Lord clearly refers to this – another shall come in My name (John 5:43) i.e., not in the name of God the Father, as came our Saviour, and not even in the name of Christ, but he shall come in his own name and will propagate a new teaching, not recognizing anyone’s authority above his own.  “Seest thou,” explains St. John Chrysostom, “that He everywhere declareth that He hath been ‘sent’, that judgement hath been committed to Him by the Father, that He can do nothing of Himself, in order that He may cut off all excuse for their unfairness?  But who is it that He here saith shall come ‘in his own name’?  He alludeth here to the Antichrist, and putteth an incontrovertible proof of the unfairness.  For if as loving God ye persecute Me, much more ought this to have taken place in the case of the Antichrist.  For he will neither say that he is sent by the Father, not that he cometh according to his will, but in everything contrariwise, seizing like a tyrant what belongeth not to him, and asserting that he is the very God over all.  As St. Paul saith, exalting himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, showing himself that he is God (II Thess. 2:4).  This is to ‘come in his own name’.” ⁽⁸⁾

 

The holy Apostle Paul offers an even more detailed teaching of how the Antichrist will pronounce himself God and openly demand of people reverence as such.  And that man of sin, he says, will be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as god sitteth in the temple of God showing himself that he is God (II Thess. 2:3,4).

 

By these words, St. Paul foretells that the Antichrist will preside among those Christians which used to belong to the True Church of Christ, but later fell away from Her, and recognize as their head the enemy of Christ and worship him.  “In the temple of God he shall sit,” says St. Irenaeus, “deceiving only those who worship him, as though he were Christ.” ⁽⁹⁾

 

Overseers ordained by the Holy Spirit preside in the Church of God (Acts 20:28), who are entrusted with the guidance of Christians by the Saviour Himself, but who nevertheless hold themselves as servants of the only Overseer, that is, Christ; in order to show that this will not be the way in which the Antichrist will preside over the Church, and that he will not hold the Lord Jesus Christ as his guide, the holy Apostle Paul says that he will seize the lordship over the Church as a usurper of divine greatness.  For having said that he will raise himself “above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God,” immediately he adds: “showing himself that he is God.”  This shows that he will openly assimilate to himself divine reverence, that he will not only show himself like God, but that he is God, presenting himself as God.

 

Adhering to Holy Scripture, the Holy Fathers teach the following:

 

St. Irenaeus of Lyons: “The adversary will sit in the temple of Jerusalem, in order to show himself as Christ, he will demand that those who are captivated by him should worship him as Christ. The Antichrist will demand worship as if he were God.” ⁽¹⁰⁾

 

St. Hippolytus of Rome: “Having filled himself with pride, the Antichrist will begin to set himself up and glorify himself as God, belching forth slander against Christ.”  He will do this so openly that he will command that all those who do not want to serve him as God be killed. ⁽¹¹⁾

 

St. Ambrose of Milan: “A false prophet will prophesy concerning the Antichrist saying he is Christ and he himself will try to convince everyone that he is Christ.” ⁽¹²⁾

 

St. Ephraim the Syrian: “Many will believe the Antichrist and will glorify him as God,” and “many will worship the torturer with trembling crying out: ‘Thou are our saviour!’” ⁽¹³⁾

 

Blessed Theodoret of Cyrus: “The Antichrist will not only pronounce himself highest of the false gods, but will sit in the Temple of God, as if he were God….the Jews, who did not want to believe in the Lord, as though He were an adversary to God, will believe in the Antichrist who will pronounce himself to be the god of all.” ⁽¹⁴⁾

 

St. John of Damascus asserts: “The Jews, who did not accept the Lord Jesus Christ as the true Son of God and God, will receive a deceiver who will call himself God.” ⁽¹⁵⁾

 

Thus, the entire ancient Christian Church believed that the ultimate enemy of Christ, who will renounce the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, will openly call himself Christ and God.

 

What means will the Antichrist use among people in order to weaken their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel?

 

According to Holy Scripture and the Holy Fathers, in order to carry out his devilish scheme, the enemy will, on the one hand, use constant and vicious persecutions by which he will try to extract Her weaker members from the midst of the Holy church; on the other hand, he will try to use false wonders and signs to seduce, if possible, even the elect.

 

Our Saviour foretold that these very same calamities would befall believers before the end of the world. Thus, the Holy Apostles asked Him: “What will be the sign of Thy coming at the end of he world?”  The Lord answered by explaining that the first sign will be the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and then added this description of the end: the appearance of false prophets, wars among nations, the increase of lawlessness, and a complete chilling of mutual love, so that many will grow to hate one another.

 

The Saviour drew exceptionally vivid images of various calamities as signs of the end.  For than shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be.  And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened (Matt. 24:21, 22).  At that time, salvation will be gained through hope in God and long-suffering patience.  Our Lord warns His followers, when that time comes, not to believe the false prophets or the Antichrist (Matt. 24: 23-26).

 

We find in the book of the Prophet Daniel (11:44; and elsewhere), and especially in the Book of Revelation (11:7; 13:7; etc…), references to the great calamities that will afflict the Holy Church in the last times.

 

The Holy Fathers are in agreement with the teaching of the Holy Scriptures when they say that the Church will endure cruel and constant persecution from the Antichrist from which the only deliverance will be the second coming of the Son of God.

 

St. Justin Martyr says that the “man of apostasy” will not only utter blasphemy against the Most High, but will take up arms against Christians by means of persecutions.  ⁽¹⁶⁾

 

St. Irenaeus of Lyons calls the time of the Antichrist a time of cruelty and heavy persecution of the Church, which will be worse than any other time in history.  ⁽¹⁷⁾

 

St. Hippolytus writes that the Antichrist, arrogant with pride, will send out orders among all nations to punish with death all Christians who refuse to serve and worship him as God.

 

Having mentioned the Antichrist’s pretense earlier, St. Cyril of Jerusalem continues: “He shall be known by his crimes of inhumanity and lawlessness, so as to out do all unrighteous and ungodly men who have gone before him; displaying against all men, but especially against us Christians, a spirit murderous and most cruel, merciless and crafty” (Catechetical Lecture 15, Ch. 12).

 

St. Ephraim the Syrian, in particular, vividly expresses the last persecution of Christians by the Antichrist, saying, that he will deal with those who do not believe in him “in a severe, cruel, hateful, fierce, murderous manner,” that “in that time, infants will die on their mother’s lap, and the mothers will die over their children, fathers will die with their wives and children in the marketplace, and there will be nobody there who will bury them.”  ⁽¹⁸⁾

 

“For the Antichrist will come for the destruction of men, and to injure them,” says St. John Chrysostom.  “For what will he not then work?  He will change and confound all things, both by his commandments and by the fear of him.  He will be terrible in every way: by his power and by his unlawful commandments.’’ ⁽¹⁹⁾

 

Blessed Augustine says that in the times of the Antichrist, the devil will be freed. So much more (uncontrollable) will be the violence of the freed devil than when he was bound, that the persecution of that time will surpass all previous persecutions in its cruelty.  Thus, he will use all the power he has to persecute the Church.  ⁽²⁰⁾

 

We find similar thoughts expressed in the works of St. Andrew of Caesarea and St.  John Damascus.

 

In addition to cruel persecutions, the Antichrist will use deceit to seduce Christians. False wonders and signs will work as means to this, according to the Holy Scriptures.

 

The Lord spoke further about these wonders worked by the servants of the Antichrist.  He said that they would seem to be true miracles if judged from their external appearance and by the effect they will have on people. The False Christ and false prophets shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch, that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect (Matt. 24:24).  The extraordinary character of the signs, according to the words of the Saviour, will be such that the very elect will be open to the danger of deceit.  “Then the deceit will be great because of the delusive signs,” notes St. John Chrysostom. ⁽²¹⁾

 

St. Paul has a specific idea concerning the wonders that the Antichrist will work.  He says, “He will come after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceit of unrighteousness in them that perish (II Thess. 2:9,10). These words show the essential differences between the false miracles of the Antichrist and the true miracles of Christ.  First, the Apostle said that the Antichrist will wield great power and will work wonders, but he warns Christians not to think that the enemy of God is able to work true miracles.  Therefore, the Apostle calls the miracles of the Antichrist false.

 

And, indeed, his wonders will be false.  “Just as the Son of God, having been incarnate and having become man,” says St. Ambrose of Milan, “proved His Divinity by signs and wonders, so will Satan open himself to man in order to show himself as God by means of false wonders.” ⁽²²⁾  They are false by their origin, for they will belch forth from the father of lies through whom will come the Antichrist.  Thus, the Fathers of the Church taught, “Satan will use the Antichrist as a tool, acting himself through him.” ⁽²³⁾  The miracles will be false in their essence because they will not surmount the natural laws of nature,  -- as do true miracles, worked in harmony with the will of God, which defeat the laws of nature.  Being false in all respects, they will yet appear as true.  Thus, Apostle Paul says that they will manifest great power.  In addition, these words of the Apostle clearly show the difference between false wonders and deceit or treachery, which the Antichrist will use as a stumbling block for the weak in faith.  Saying that the enemy of God will come with every power and sign, he adds, and with all deceit of unrighteousness in them that perish (II Thess. 2:10).

 

“One of the servants of the Antichrist,” says St. John Chrysostom, “having been before the Apostles, seduced many. ‘He will come,’ says the Saviour, ‘and will seduce many’; but others to appear before the second coming of the Saviour will be even more deceitful than the first: ‘they will work signs and wonders in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect.’ He refers not only to the Antichrist, but to those who will serve him.” ⁽²⁴⁾

 

Expounding on the words of Christ, wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not (Matt. 24:26).  St. John Chrysostom writes: “See how Christ warns us.  Do not go forth, He says, into the desert….He did not say :go aside and believe not; but go not forth and do not go aside.  For in those days, the temptation will be great because of deceitful signs.” ⁽²⁵⁾

 

St. Cyril of Jerusalem teaches that the adversary of Christ will be “a sorcerer who is very experienced in the art of deceit, sorcery and enchantment.”  He will conjure up “ false wonders in order to tempt people so that they will think they see a resurrected man, when in reality he was not resurrected.  They will see lame who are walking, they will see people who were blind before suddenly start to see, when in fact, they were never healed.” ⁽²⁶⁾

 

Having painstakingly taken into account the miracles of the Antichrist, St. Ephraim the Syrian says: “Mountains and islands will arise out of the ocean in plain sight for all to see, but all this will be deceit and an illusion and not real. In addition, he will seduce the world and will deceive all eyes.  Many will believe and will glorify him.” ⁽²⁷⁾

 

All of the references of Holy Scripture that we have cited, as well as of the Holy Fathers, show that the Antichrist will use cruelty and force, as well as trickery and false miracles, as means for rooting out faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

“The persecution of the Church,” observed Blessed Augustine, “when Christians were forced to bring sacrifices to idols by threat of exile, torture and death, was carried out by force.  The second persecution the Church endures is from false teachers and false brethren, and is carried out by means of craftiness and deceit.  The third persecution will be from the Antichrist, and will be the most dangerous of all because it will be accompanied by force, craftiness and deceit.  His power will be used for enforcing his will, and his miracles will be used for deceit.” ⁽²⁸⁾

 

The end result of the Antichrist’s insurrection against the Church will be that he will attract to his side those who received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved, (II Thess. 2:10).  The Holy Church will not only not waver under the persecution of the Antichrist, but will be even more glorified in the face of her faithful followers who will suffer for Christ.

 

According to the Holy Scriptures, the Antichrist will reign not only over the minds and hearts of those who reject Christ, but will create an entire community with them, which will recognize him as their head and will follow his ordinances.

 

Scripture frequently refers to the Antichrist as asking and conqueror who will wage war with many kings and will defeat them, utter blasphemous words against God, and oppress the Saints of the Lord, (Dan.7:23-25).

 

“All the ancient writers of the Church teach, that during the end of the world, there will be ten kings…..and then there will arise an eleventh lesser king (i.e. the Antichrist), who will defeat three of the ten….and with the defeat of the three, the other seven will submit to his authority.” ⁽²⁹⁾

 

In the Holy Scriptures, the kingdom of the Antichrist is described as a society in opposition, even in its external organization, to the Church of God.  We find in the book of Revelation, that Satan will be permitted to act freely, then he will gather people from all nations under himself and with them he will surround the camp of the saints and the beloved city, (Rev. 20:7-9).  In reference to this, St. Augustine comments, “this will be the last persecution, which will precede the last judgement; throughout the whole world the Holy Church will be exposed to all the servants of the Devil.” ⁽³⁰⁾

 

St. Irenaeus of Lyons, says that the Antichrist will seduce a kingdom and will gather the unbelieving Jews under himself. ⁽³¹⁾  “Christ is King, likewise, the Antichrist is a king.  The Lord gathered together His sheep that went astray, and the Antichrist in like manner will gather his strayed people.”  ⁽³²⁾  

 

St. Ephraim the Syrian testifies: “Many classes and nations will develop similar thoughts, and with great happiness will pronounce the Antichrist as king.”  ⁽³³⁾

 

Likewise, Holy Scripture clearly indicates that all members of the Antichrist’s kingdom, will have a special mark, which will distinguish them from Christians.  The Antichrist “causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name, (Rev. 13:16-17).

 

How will people reach such blindness that they will begin to consider a human being like themselves as God?  Will mankind have lost its right reason?

 

This deception will occur at a time when the faith of man in the True God will have run dry, and thus God will give them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient, (Rom. 1:28).  He will give them up because of their countless offenses, their opposition to Truth, and the extreme corruption of their hearts.  Thus, they will be stricken with blindness, and will become unable to differentiate lies from truth, and will change the truth of God into lies, and will worship and serve creation instead of the Creator (Rom. 1:25).  Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness, (II Thess. 2:10-12).  These people will forget the Creator and will serve creation.  At that time, when no visible creation will be in the condition to compare with the Antichrist, in power and might, nor wield such influence as he does by means of those things that blind and awe man, then they will worship and serve this unusual being. 

 

Even though the Antichrist will spread his influence to every nation on earth, the Holy Church of Christ will exist on earth until the very time of the second glorious coming of the Lord.

 

The Lord gave this promise to His Apostles concerning the Church: I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18).  Here the word “Church” should be understood as those faithful to Christ and following His teaching.  With the words “gates of hell”, the Saviour points out every type of persecutor of the Church, for example, temptations, heresies, and all forces used by the devil, including the Antichrist.

 

St. Athanasius the Great takes note to the promise of the Lord regarding the perseverance of the church saying, “The word is sure, the promise holds strong: the Church is invincible, even if hell itself were raised and the rulers of darkness brought forth turmoil.”  ⁽³⁴⁾

 

St. John of Damascus, teaches: “Even though the ‘gates of hell’ will rise up against the church, i.e., the mouths of heretics, the tools of the demons, they will not conquer the Church, even though they will arm themselves, they will not defeat Her.”  ⁽³⁵⁾

 

The words ‘will not conquer’ mean, according to St. John Chrysostom, that the Church will not be destroyed by any means.  “That which the Lord has created, no man can destroy.”  ⁽³⁶⁾  Because the Saviour gave His promise about the unquestionable and uncompromising invincibility of the Church, we should firmly believe that no efforts of the enemies would ever destroy Her.  No persecutions of the Antichrist will destroy that which the Lord Himself has established.

 

“The enemies of the Church,” says Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, in one of his sermons, “will rise up against the Church, but they will not crush Her.  How long?  Undoubtedly, until the end of time.  For, if they were able to overcome Her in some time in the future, then the Lord, the Seer of all time, would not have said so assuredly that they would never overcome.”

 

Before His Ascension, The Lord gave a similar comforting promise to his disciples/  With the following words, he sent them forth for the preaching of the Gospel, strengthening their courage and patience so that they might endure the forthcoming struggles: I am with you always, even unto the end of the world (Matt. 28:20).  “Do you not see the power of Christ? Do you not see the condescension with which He says this?  He will not only be with them, He says, but He will be with all people who believe in Him.  For the Apostles were not able to live until the end of time, but He, to all the believers, as if one body, says: I am with you, I tear down all barriers.” ⁽³⁷⁾

 

In another place, the Lord says, And I will pray to the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever (John 14:16).  St. John Chrysostom asks: “What does it mean when He says, that He may abide with you unto the ages?  And he answers: It means the same as when Jesus Christ says about Himself:  I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”  ⁽³⁸⁾  It follows from this promise that the Holy Spirit will always abide in the Church with His grace, regardless of circumstances, never leaving Her without His protection and safekeeping.

 

Along with stating that the Holy Church will endure until the end of time, The Holy Scriptures also tell us that there will remain an elect of God in the last difficult times.  Speaking about His second coming, the Saviour said: “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And he shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matt. 24:30-31).  These words clearly indicate that prior to the second coming, there will still be people who are pleasing to the Lord God, not only in one obscure place, but in various locations.

 

That Christian divine worship and the serving of the Holy Mysteries will not be terminated during the time of the Antichrist, is confirmed by St. Paul.  For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup (i.e., the Body and Blood of Christ), ye do show the Lord’s death till He comes (I Cor. 11:26).  “Here we find an important truth,” says Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, “in the small word ‘till’. In order to better understand this, I direct the speech of the Apostle to the question: will Christians eat the mystical Bread and drink of the Chalice of the Lord?  We find the answer in the words of the Apostle: ‘till He come,’ i.e. the mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ will take place without interruption in the true Church of Christ till the very second coming of Christ, or till the end of time, which has the same meaning.  Since this cannot be without the grace of the priesthood, and the grace of the priesthood cannot exist without the grace of an hierarchy, then clearly the grace of the office of bishop, according to the foresight of the Apostle, will be in the Church in all times and uninterrupted channels will flow even up to the brink of the approach of the kingdom of glory.”

 

The ancient Fathers of the Church express the same opinion.  St. John Chrysostom says: “Showing that the Holy Eucharist will be till the end of the world, The Apostle Paul said: ‘till He comes.’” ⁽³⁹⁾ St. John of Damascus and St. Ephraim the Syrian concur with this view.

 

Faith in the insurmountability of the Church was generally accepted in the ancient Christian Church.

 

Tertullian teaches: “The Christian society will never be depleted and will particularly become strong when in its appearance it will seem to wane.”  ⁽⁴⁰⁾

 

St. Ambrose of Milan adds: “the Kingdom of the Church will abide unto the ages,” since God founded the Church and has foreordained to extend its existence unto the ages.  ⁽⁴¹⁾

 

St. John of Chrysostom writes, “Do not leave the Church, for there is nothing mightier than She; She will never grow old and will always bloom; thus the Scriptures, showing Her durability and stability, calls Her a mountain.”  ⁽⁴²⁾  This Holy Father adds in his Commentary of the Gospel of St. Matthew that in the times of the Antichrist, the Church will become filled with Jews who have converted to Christ.

 

St. John of Damascus teaches: “We firmly believe that the Church will never fall, will never waiver and will not be destroyed.  For this is what Christ taught, by Whom the heavens were established and the earth was founded, and stands firmly as the Holy Spirit says”. (Ps. 32:6)  The Antichrist will lure to himself “those who have a weak and feeble mind, will seduce and will tear them away from the living God.”  ⁽⁴³⁾

 

St. Hippolytus confirms that even though the Church will be exposed to cruel persecution, it will not cease to exist.  ⁽⁴⁴⁾

 

St. Cyril of Jerusalem, supporting his homily on the prophet Daniel (12: 1-3), teaches: “God will allow persecution from the Antichrist not because He cannot stop it, but because He desires, as usual, His strugglers to be crowned,” and for this reason, “the reverent ones among the living will be taken up into the clouds, receiving, as a reward of honor, that which is higher than any man.”  ⁽⁴⁵⁾

 

St. Ephraim says: “Many people will be found pleasing God, for whom it will be possible, in the mountains and in dessert places, to save themselves by much prayer….for God, seeing their many tears and sincere faith, will have mercy on them, as a tender Father, and will keep them.”  ⁽⁴⁶⁾

 

Blessed Theodoret writes: “The Antichrist will not rule over all, but only over those who are worthy of perdition, who, even if he did not come, still would have deprived themselves of salvation.”  ⁽⁴⁷⁾

 

St. Andrew of Caesarea teaches that the Antichrist will defeat only those whose names are not written in the book of life.  Many of the faithful, because they have loved Christ with their whole heart, will defeat the enemy of Christ.  ⁽⁴⁸⁾

 

This, from the teachings of the Holy Scriptures and writings of the Holy Fathers, we see that the Holy Church, with all its sacraments, will remain steadfast till the end of the world.

 

 

Hieromonk Ignaty

 

SOURCES

 

1).   St. John of Damascus, Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book IV, Ch. 26 (Footnotes 1, 15, 35); Oration on

the Transfiguration of the  Lord. (Footnote 43).

 

2).   St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, Book 5, Ch. 25.  (Footnotes 2, 3, 9, 10, 17, 31).

 

3).  St. Hilary, On the Trinity, Ch. 6. (Footnote 4).

 

4).  Blessed Augustine, The City of God, Book 20.  (Footnotes 5, 20, 30).  Commentary on Psalm IX.  (Footnote 28).

 

5).  St Jerome, Commentary on the Prophet Daniel, Ch. 11.  (Footnotes 6, 29).

 

6).  St. Ephriam the Syrian, Oration on the Coming of the Lord.  (Footnotes 7, 18, 27, 33, 45); Commentary of Psalm 43 and the Gospel of St. Luke.  (Footnote 13).

 

7).  St. John Chrysostom, Commentary on the Gospel of St. John.  (Footnotes 8, 38): Commentary on the Gospel of St. Matthew. (Footnotes 21, 24, 25, 35, 37); Commentary on 2 Thessalonians. (Footnote 19); Commentary on 1^st Epistle to the Corinthians. (Footnote 39);  On Eutropius.  (Footnote 42).

 

8).  St. Hippolytus of Rome, On Christ and the Antichrist.  (Footnotes 11, 32, 44).

 

9).  St. Ambrose of Milan, Catechetical Lectures, Oration 15. (Footnote 12);  Commentary on 2 Thessalonians. (Footnote 22);  Commentary on St. Luke.  (Footnote 41).

 

10).  Blessed Theodoret of Cyprus,  Commentary on 2 Thessalonians.  (Footnotes 14, 47).

 

11).   St. Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, a Jew, Ch. 137.  (Footnote 16).

 

12).  St. Cyril of Jerusalem,  Catechetical Lecture 15.  (Footnotes 23, 26, 45).

 

13).  St. Athanasius,  (Footnote 34).

 

14).  Tertullian,  In lib ad Scapulam, Ch. V.  (Footnote 40).

http://assumptionarticles.homestead.com/articles.html

Fr. Anatoly Trepatchk †2015  

RTOC