The Saints of the South II

Since the lives of blacks and whites have been and will continue to be intertwined in the South, we would be foolish not to venerate the African saints as well as the British and Irish.  Below are a few lists for your use.

List 1

List 2

List 3

The Saints of the South

‘The Church in The British Isles will only begin to grow when She begins to again venerate Her own Saints.’ -- (Saint Arsenios of Paros)

Dark times are upon us in the South, as elsewhere in the world.  A corrupt oligarchy of bankers, corporate executives, academics, et al. holds sway; most people are too enthralled by comfort and entertainment to care; and the Church generally is in too much disarray to confront these evils forcefully at present.

Yet as St Arsenios declares above, we can revive the souls in our beloved Southland if we are faithful to pray to and venerate our Saints.  But who are the Saints of the South?  Unfortunately, she is not known to have brought forth any (or else they remain unknown).  To whom ought we to pray then?  To the saints of Wales, Essex, Scotland, Cornwall, Ireland, etc.:  our ancestors - fathers and mothers - in the flesh and in the faith from the Irish and British islands. 

We are in very truth their physical and spiritual children.  Therefore, according to the words of Christ, ‘Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?  Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children . . . ’  (St Matthew 7.9-11)  If this is what we expect of our immediate, earthly parents, how much more will these heavenly parents of ours, the saints of Britain and Ireland, who have been sanctified by the grace of God, give us good gifts if we ask of them!

So, then, let us honor the saints of old, let us light the votive candles and pray before their icons.  Let us seek their intercessions every day for their sons and daughters in the South.  For we do not seek a great and powerful empire here on earth, but rather to build up a mighty nation in Heaven to the glory of God -- the Heavenly South.  Regarding such a country, St Nikolai Velimirovich writes

To the soul of the Serb the heavenly world was from time immemorial nearer and more present than the earthly world. He always saw many more relatives in the heavenly world than in the earthly. Therefore, he always took great care to remember the dead, to light candles and have their priests hold memorial services (pomens) for the repose of their souls.

And he prepared himself with service to Christ so that he himself might cross over to that higher world with faith, virtue and honor, and join his kindred before the face of Christ. There, only there lies the great Heavenly Serbia.

Ah, that Great Heavenly Serbia! It symbolizes that Great Serbia already realized long ago. We believe that there are well over a hundred million baptized Serbs there, who during their earthly life served Christ or suffered for Christ over the centuries, for ages of ages. And more of them are there in the light of paradise from periods of struggle, bondage, and suffering than from periods of freedom and easy living.

Those who are more like Christ are closer to Christ in the heavenly world. We believe in accordance with the Gospel, that some peoples, far greater than the Serbian people on earth, will be lesser in the heavenly kingdom. Even the Lord Himself said that the first shall be last, and the last shall be first. And the suffering Lazarus shall shine among the first in heaven, while the rich man shall sink among the last into the darkness of hell.

The Heavenly Serbia lies in paradise,
As fragrant and beautiful as a rose in May.
Here reside our holy fathers and forefathers,
Who attained their goal through the venerable cross.
Here reside the Serbian zhupans, kings, and tsars,
And the knights of the cross both recent and ancient.
Here the mothers of heroes and their sisters too,
Refined by suffering, shine as brightly as gold.
Here the ranks of those who keep the fasts and meek saints,
Live with a vast number of our dear relatives.
Here venerable monks and nuns, pale through fasting,
Cheerfully behold the eternal light of God.
Here live those who celebrate saints and found churches,
Strugglers and sufferers, both younger and older,
Sweet virgin maidens and tiny little children,
Who suffered as members of the flock of Christ,
Cut down by the sword, burned to death in tongues of fire,
Snapped off and blown down by the wind like tender twigs.
Here are the household masters, who in their own home,
Lit the vigil lights to the Pre-Eternal God.
Glorious master craftsmen, all skilled in their craft,
All of them are there, among the heavenly flock.
Prisoners from dungeons, patients from hospitals,
The suffering, the poor, the downtrodden on earth,
Are rejoicing in heaven around Saint Sava,
As sons of the King in the glory of the King.
The glorious Chetniks, the avengers of God,
Many "God-beseechers", many benefactors,
Widows in mourning, and mothers without children,
All have found their place in heaven among God's saints.
The peasant princes, and those who rose up with them,
And all of our other glorious ancestors,
Who lived in the most bitter and harshest of times,
Yet considered the impossible possible.
Many generations of the very best stock,
A people beyond number, the people of God
This is that eternal Heavenly Serbia,
Which shines for God like a constellation of stars.

(The Serbian People As a Servant of God, chapters 79-81, http://www.sv-luka.org/library/ServantOfGod.html)

An eternal Heavenly South, which shines for God like a beautiful arrangement of stars:  There is an end worthy of our devotion, of our time and ascetic toil!

But we must begin by looking to the saints who have gone before us, as examples to follow and honor and as helpers to beseech.  Only then will a Holy South begin to grow on earth and in Heaven.

Appendix 1 - Saints Associated with the South

(For English and Celtic saints)

http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/athlifea.htm

http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/natlocst.htm

http://www.oodegr.com/english/brit_celt_orthodoxy/brit_celt_orthodoxy.htm

http://www.oodegr.com/english/istorika/britain/British_saints.htm

  http://www.orthodoxchristianbooks.com/downloads/359_LIVES_OF_THE_BRITISH_SAINTS_2_.pdf

(For African Saints)

http://www.mosestheblack.org/home2.html

(For French, Spanish, and German saints)

http://www.oodegr.com/english/istorika/europe/orthodox_evangelists_west_europe.htm

Appendix 2 - Praying to Departed Christians

For those who may be uncomfortable asking the departed saints to pray for us, remember these things:

1. God is not the God of the dead but of the living (St Matthew 22:32).

2. Christ has one body, one Church (I Corinthians 1:13, 12:12, 13, Ephesians 4:4), not two - one for the living and one for the departed.  Since we remain united with them in Christ, we may therefore continue to ask our departed brothers and sisters to pray for and help us just as we ask Christians still on earth to do so.

3. The saints in Heaven remain concerned about what is happening on earth and bring those concerns before the Lord (Revelation 6:9, 10).

4. The prayers of the righteous avail much (James 5:16).

What Traditionalists Are Up Against

Alex Jones has posted a fairly good video explaining who our real enemies are and what they want to accomplish.

USDA Know-Nothings?

Since insulin resistance is causing so many problems, why does Big Government continue to insist we eat large amounts of grains, which cause the body to release loads of insulin?

A Short Note on Chick-fil-A

While Chick-fil-A has some commendable policies, it is worth pointing out that their food is full of ingredients that ought not be eaten.  No Southerner with an ounce of love in his heart for his family or neighbours would serve them food that included MSG, TBHQ, dimethylpolysiloxane, yellow 5, and so on.  Yet these (and more) are all in a regular Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich.  So praise their practices, but look elsewhere for your chicken.

Which Way Forward?

If 'returning to the Constitution' is not the proper response to today's troubles in the States, what is?  In another essay by Father Johnson, we find models in history to look to and learn from.  Below are a few of the more noteworthy passages from his essay, but the whole of it is worth the time to read.

Old Russia was and is represented by the Old Faith and the Cossack uprisings under Bulavin and Pugachev. In short, their programs were identical: a popular monarchy, the free peasant commune and the Old Faith: the three ancient pillars of justice. In opposition is the “Egyptian” rule of technology, centralization and oligarchy, the three pillars of injustice. Such as view is echoed in early medieval Ireland and medieval Serbia. Society was divided up into self governing communes, who elected their clergy and were loyal to local custom. Local monastics offered spiritual guidance and sainthood, not to mention education and social welfare. The state, if it can be called such, was represented by a monarch with a tiny retinue of supporters. His role was purely to defend the faith from outside influences, as he had little role in the functioning of the mir or rod.

...

Order exists through tradition and paternal authority. Decisions were taken by the sobor, where all needed to agree on a course of action. Mutual aid was at the center of the Old Rite, based on asceticism and the limitation of wants. Bothering with technology and money was viewed as involving the Orthodox faithful in the world of Satan, who, according to the Scriptures, controls all the states of the world. The Old Faith never had a modern state, nor do the Hasidic Jews or Amish in America, and yet order was maintained and a certain degree of prosperity and open displays of happiness were regular features of such communal lives. In addition, despite small numbers, the above groups all had an influence on their respective communal lives far out of proportion to any kind of traditional state power.

...

The free peasant commune was always at the forefront of the Old Faith and the rebellions against bureaucratism under Bulavin and Razin. The free commune, as is traditional, should elect its leaders and law enforcers, all should be represented in the capacity of heads of households, for the economy is based on the natural institution of the extended family, of which both the parish, commune, ethnos and labor association is a natural outgrowth. This was largely the case in medieval Serbia, Ireland and the Cossack host, and remains part of their nationalist heritage even until today. Kingship and commune and based on law, which itself is based on custom, ethnic tradition and the canon laws of the church, all of which are, in turn, based on experience, survival and suffering. The commune (or labor association/artel in a more industrial capacity) should exist in coordination with the local parish and monastery for instruction and social welfare measures. Forming a web of institutions that serve both for the worship of God and for the fulfilling of natural needs.

Is 'Returning to the Constitution' the Answer?

Or is the U.S. Constitution itself the very source of many of our political troubles?  Father Matthew Johnson, in his reading of the Anti-Federalists, is firmly in the latter camp.  Before joining the crowd chanting the former, I strongly suggest reading this essay.