Sep 28 2009
Fr Arseny and St John of Kronstadt
The priest must be “dignified yet modest, impressive yet kindly, masterful yet approachable, impartial yet courteous, humble but not servile, vehement yet gentle.” He must be armed with “earnestness and constant sobriety of life.” [1]
In these extracts, there is a striking similarity between St John of Kronstadt and Fr Arseny, both of whom live up to St John Chrysostom’s description of what a priest should be. One almost gets the impression that the one in the other’s (very different) place would have fulfilled the priestly vocation in a very parallel way. St John of Kronstadt describes how in prayer, when fully convinced in true faith of God’s action in response, God will accomplish everything: “at such a time there is no interval between God and yourself”[2]. Similarly, when Fr Arseny, out of his love for his fellow prisoners and his great faith simply calls on God commanding the prisoners to stop fighting, God answers his call, the fighting stops and the wounded are helped.[3]
Fr Arseny continually centres himself with the Jesus prayer, and by calling upon the Theotokos. St John of Kronstadt says that to call with faith and love upon the name of God and the name of the Mother of God will “enliven, hallow and comfort”[4]. The prayers of the Church are seen as a great blessing. St John of Kronstadt admits the temptation sometimes to shorten or rush the public prayers “wishing to finish the holy work the quicker that we may hasten after worldly vanity.”[5] By so doing, we neglect what is the source of peace, joy and health for ourselves and for those praying with us – “enlivening, strengthening and healing our body as well as our soul.”[6] Fr Arseny understands the value of these prayers. Without access to a church, service books, vestments or any material thing that he was accustomed to using in his priestly work before his arrest, he would recite the matins service, the akathist to the Mother of God, to St Nicholas and to St Arseny all by heart.[7] In fact, so strong was the power of his prayer and so fully did his prayer represent that of the Church, that on one occasion, an officer in the camp saw in him suddenly not “an old man in a patched up vest and torn pants, but a fully vested priest, who was performing the sacrament of prayer to God.”[8]
St John of Kronstadt emphasises that during the celebration of the Liturgy, the whole Church – in heaven and on earth – is assembled around the Lamb of God. He sees this holy assembly, he sees his brothers and sisters in the Church gathered among the saints and angels, and he wonders at the fact that he too is there, celebrating for his neighbour as for himself[9]. The awareness of the tremendous grace of being permitted to share in such a gift opens his heart “to love all, to care for all, to seek the salvation of all.”[10]
This love and care for all is demonstrated in Fr Arseny’s constant care for the sick prisoners, sharing his own meagre ration with them, and persevering in this care despite the lack of gratitude (and even contempt and mockery) on the part of the sick.[11] This love goes along with humility as he quietly takes abuse and derision, which St John Chrysostom says can make even the most valiant ascetic lose his head.[12] This love is also demonstrated in Fr Arseny’s full use of all the gifts he was given for the benefit of the souls in his care: “It is essential that even the ‘silly priests,’ as you call them, understand the soul of Russian art and, being shepherds of souls, they must show their flock the truth as it is in reality.”[13] Especially in a world where truth has been subjected to ideology, the priest has a particular responsibility to try to understand the direction of the culture that surrounds the Church, and to communicate this understanding to his people, that they may understand true reality.
The world of Fr Arseny is strongly in contrast to that of St John Chrysostom, where a man might seek out the priesthood for worldly reasons. Who would seek out the kind of priesthood that Fr Arseny found himself serving in? St John Chrysostom says, “the weakest athlete can keep his weakness secret as long as he remains at home and pits himself against nobody; but when he strips for the contest, he is soon shown up.”[14] What kind of preparation is there for the contest that Fr Arseny had to face? Yet in all that he did and all that he experienced, Fr Arseny found that the root of his life was the same: “I had my faith in Christ out there in freedom and I have it here within myself.”[15] He lived his life so much in the light and presence of God, and in service to others, that even some of the most hardened criminals and atheists were able to say “but you… I trust. I know you won’t turn your back on me. You live in your God…”[16] Truly it was with Fr Arseny as St John Chrysostom said it ought to be with any priest: “the beauty of his soul must shine out brightly all around, to be able to gladden and enlighten the souls of those who see.”[17]
[1] Priesthood p93, p86
[2] Counsels p68
[3] Fr Arseny p22-23
[4] Counsels p71
[5] Counsels p64
[6] Counsels p65
[7] Fr Arseny p12
[8] Fr Arseny p26
[9] See Counsels p63
[10] Counsels p78
[11] Fr Arseny p10, 12-13
[12] Priesthood p83 – those who cannot “bear insult and abuse and vulgar language and taunts from inferiors” must be barred from the priesthood.
[13] Fr Arseny p19. Note that St John Chrysostom says that piety is not enough for a priest, he needs to combine piety with “considerable intelligence”, Priesthood p89. Part of this is manifested in the priest’s responsibility to teach (especially in the absence of miracles – p115), to which St John Chrysostom devotes most of Book IV of his Six Books.
[14] Priesthood p85
[15] Fr Arseny p15
[16] Fr Arseny p21
[17] Priesthood p85
