Visit to the Academy by the Patriarch of Antioch

The thirteenth of May is a wonderful day in the life of the academy: on this day, His Beatitude, His Beatitude Gregory IV, Patriarch of Antioch 1, visited the academy and performed divine services in the academic church. At seven o'clock in the evening, His Beatitude the Patriarch arrived from Moscow and was met at the railway station by the Rector of the Academy, Bishop Theodore, and at the holy gates of the Lavra he was met by the Father Superior and the highest clergy of the Lavra. The monks came out to meet the patriarch with a cross and icons. Whole crowds of people occupied the entire place from the holy gates to the Trinity Cathedral. It was a touching sight when the patriarch, preceded by icons and the patriarchal cross, amid the deafening ringing of the Lavra bells, among two walls of people, walked along a path covered with red cloth from the holy gates to the cathedral. I remembered ancient Rus', with great animation and love, which often met ecumenical patriarchs and apostolic governors... After a prayer service at the shrine of St. Sergius and a short rest, already at eight o'clock, His Beatitude the Patriarch came to the all-night vigil in the academic church. The academic clergy, led by the Rector, came out to meet the patriarch in the academic garden. As soon as His Beatitude the Patriarch arrived at the academic garden and got out of the carriage, a robe was put on him, and His Eminence Theodore addressed him with a word of greeting. Speech by the Right Reverend Rector Together with other sons of the Orthodox Russian Church, we heartily kiss your shrine and accept your visit as God’s mercy to our spiritual heliport. There, to the East, from where you came to our country, our hearts constantly rush, our souls are invariably drawn, and our physical and spiritual eyes turn. Not only because the sun rises there, driving away the darkness of the night and cheering all earthly creation with its light, because, mainly, because the Sun of Truth has shone there - Christ our God, who dispersed the darkness of sin and shone for us with the light of eternal truth and life. Look, there, to the East, the Holy of Holies of our churches - the church altars - are always [facing], and our faces always turn there in prayer. In particular, our Moscow Academy has long had and still has a warm, heartfelt desire to see with its own eyes the shrines of the East and to kiss places consecrated by the memory of great sacred events. We sacredly preserve the memory of the love with which Your Beatitude received the pilgrim students of our academy, led by its former rector, the Right Reverend Arseny (now Archbishop of Novgorod). Now we are happy to host you and personally thank you for your hospitality. Accept us into your love, bless us and pray that our spiritual garden will always bear fruits worthy of the great and holy right hand of God, which planted it. Then the patriarch, again among the mass of the assembled people, preceded by the academic choir, went to the academic church, where he was met by the hieromonk with the holy cross. After the usual meeting, the patriarch ascended the pulpit and addressed those gathered with a speech. The Patriarch spoke Arabic, and his speech was translated into Russian by Archimandrite Ignatius, who accompanied him, who completed a course at the Moscow Academy. As the tree thirsts for springs of water (Ps. 41:2), so my soul yearned for this helicity of true science and true piety. And it is not surprising if my soul rejoiced when I listened to the speech of the rector, His Eminence Bishop Theodore, who outlined before me the image of the great Teacher Jesus Christ. His words were honey and milk to me - they were filled with love for Christ. I rejoice like a reaper, because from this spiritual helix I have collected and am collecting fruits - through written communication with the former rector of this academy, Archbishop Arseny, I also receive fruits from the person who translates my words to you from a foreign Arabic language into your native Russian. Today I plucked the fruit from the words of His Grace Bishop Theodore, the fruit and the spiritual joy that I see on the faces of the students about my arrival. As for the Right Reverend, the words apply to him: out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (see: Matt. 12:34). The words of the Right Reverend are sweet; for they come from his godly heart. Therefore, with what praise can I better adorn the forehead of the Right Reverend than if I liken him to the disciples of the Savior? How can I praise the students of this institution, if not by pointing out their love and reverence for the Primate of the Holy Church, which pleases me? And if I wanted to offer something from my eloquence in this helicopter city, then I would become like those people who would bring wheat to Russia, so rich in wheat. Bringing my gratitude, I pray to Almighty God for the health of the Reverend Rector, professors and students of this helicopter city and ask you to accept my words as the contribution of the evangelical widow. May the Lord give you strength and strength in your labors to acquire theological knowledge and good Christian skills, and may prosperity accompany you in all your paths, and may there be happiness in your life, and may the love between you be as strong as it was between me and your former rector, the Most Reverend Archbishop Arseny. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, through the prayers of the Patroness of this church, the Mother of God and the Venerables Sergius and Nikon, accompany you in life! Having made a speech, His Beatitude the Patriarch gave a general blessing and entered the altar through the royal doors, where the Right Reverend Rector introduced him to the academic clergy. At this time, the church was filled with many pilgrims. All the professors and students of the academy were here, many students of the Bethany Theological Seminary and up to a thousand outside pilgrims. The church was completely overcrowded. Immediately, the inspector of the academy, Archimandrite Anatoly, and the associate professor of the academy, hierodeacon Hilarion, began the all-night vigil. The litanies and exclamations were pronounced by the servants in Greek. The polyeleos were attended by His Beatitude Patriarch Gregory, His Eminence Bishop Theodore, rector of the Bethany Theological Seminary Archimandrite German, inspector of the academy Archimandrite Anatoly, rector of the Balamand 2nd Seminary Archimandrite Ignatius, rector of the Antioch metochion in Moscow Archimandrite Anthony, Exarch of Lebanon Archpriest Nicholas and a whole host of academic clergy. The extraordinary solemnity of the service and the presence of His Holiness the Patriarch created a gracious mood of spiritual delight and tenderness in the church. This mood was greatly promoted by the reverent service of the patriarch and the magnificent, involuntarily arousing sympathy, appearance of His Holiness. The worshipers looked with reverence at the primate of the distant Antiochian Church and were comforted by the common Orthodoxy. The patriarch read the Gospel in Slavonic, and then anointed the professors and students with holy oil. The all-night vigil is over. His Beatitude the Patriarch again entered the pulpit through the royal doors. The serving hierodeacon proclaimed many years to “Mr. Gregory, Patriarch of the great city of God of Antioch, Syria, Cilicia, Arabia and the whole East, shepherd of shepherds and father of fathers.” When the choir sang many years, the patriarch made the sign of the cross over those praying. His Beatitude expressed a desire to see the academic premises. Accompanied by the Right Reverend Rector, he visited the student canteen, where he blessed the meal, and visited some student premises, where he affectionately and lovingly blessed the students who joyfully greeted him, and at the request of one of the students, he gave him his saintly autograph. After that, His Beatitude the Patriarch proceeded to the chambers of the Right Reverend Rector, where a full corporation of professors and other employees of the academy was waiting for him. The Right Reverend Rector addressed the Patriarch with a word of gratitude for visiting the academy and for serving in the academic church. “We are very consoled,” said the bishop, “that we had the joy of not only seeing the patriarch, but also praying with him in our church. If we express our mood, we can say in the words of the apostle on the Mount of Transfiguration: It is good for us to be here (Matthew 17:4). Nowadays we have a holiday like Easter, even more so, because we experience Easter joy every year, and the Academy has the joy of seeing the patriarch for the first time in its entire hundred-year existence. The Academy is living out its first century and, entering its second, asks for the blessing of Your Beatitude for this second century of life and activity.” The Patriarch replied that he considered it his duty to pray for the prosperity of Orthodox theological schools. Following this exchange of speeches, His Beatitude the Patriarch and other guests were offered tea and fruit. The Academy Council immediately elected His Beatitude an honorary member of the Academy, and the Rector, on behalf of the Council, asked the distinguished guest to accept this honorary title. In response to this, the patriarch said that, due to the conditions of his pastoral activity, he stands far from science. His pastoral activity is aimed at preserving and defending his flock from non-believers. Through an interpreter, His Beatitude the Patriarch talked for some time on various issues with the Reverend Rector and with some of the professors. It was nice to see the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Antioch among the academic family. The connection of common faith, the unity of Christ’s Church scattered throughout the world was so vividly felt. But the patriarch’s presence also led to some sad reflections. Anyone who has had to speak through an interpreter knows how weak the communication between those talking with each other is felt in such cases. Nothing brings people closer to each other like a common language. Through it, an exchange of opinions, views, and ideas takes place. If the eyes are the mirror of the soul, then the tongue is the door through which one soul enters another. It was this door that was closed to us. Historical circumstances have created such a state of affairs that for representatives of science Western heretics are closer and more understandable than Eastern brothers in faith and the Church. If a Frenchman or a German came, we could understand him, there would be no need for a translator. With a Greek, we can no longer understand each other. And the Arab is dumb for us. Our ideological communication is closer with the West than with the East, while the East constitutes the Church, and the West has fallen away from it. Already at the end of the eleventh hour, His Beatitude the Patriarch left the academy. From the chambers of the Right Reverend Rector, he entered the assembly hall, decorated with greenery. Students met him there. Having given them a blessing and once again thanking everyone for the warm welcome, he headed to the royal chambers of the Lavra. In the book for honored visitors, the Patriarch wrote the following in Arabic: “Beautiful picturesque places with their beauty make it easier for people seeking knowledge to ease the difficulties of studying. Science-loving kings exalt the honor of their subjects. The Imperial Moscow Theological Academy enjoys the attention of His Imperial Majesty the Sovereign Emperor and has a beautiful location (= natural beautiful views) and therefore eases the difficulties of education for its students. May the Lord preserve His Imperial Majesty the Sovereign Emperor, his happy family, support for the sciences and those who study them, and may he preserve this academy, the source of learning, virtues and morality. And may the Lord help the Reverend Rector and professors of the academy in the performance of their duties, and may the students help them to be obedient, caring about their education and the acquisition of knowledge. This is what I wrote to the academy during my visit. And a hundred years have already passed since its foundation, and not a single patriarch has visited it. Here on the first page of this book may the memory of the Patriarch of Antioch’s first visit to this academy, located in the Holy Trinity Monastery near Moscow, be preserved under the patronage of the great venerable holy fathers Sergius and Nikon.” Gregory (Haddad), Patriarch of Antioch. On Monday May 13, 1913. The next day, His Beatitude the Patriarch, concelebrated by the Rector, celebrated the liturgy in the Trinity Cathedral of the Lavra, visited the monasteries, the Bethany Theological Seminary, and at five o’clock in the afternoon, escorted at the station by the academic and Lavra authorities, he left for Moscow. During the entire time the patriarch was in the academy and the monastery, it was impossible not to see how strongly the fullness of church beauty that the patriarch embodies in the East affects religious feelings. Not in vain were all these delights with which the Patriarch of Antioch, modest in appearance but great in ecclesiastical significance, was greeted in all parts of Russia, not only in golden-domed, primordially Russian Moscow, but also in bureaucratic, cold St. Petersburg. Not only the people, who are always moved at the sight of the saints, were delighted, but the intellectuals, who had lost interest in the Church, also felt uplifted. After everything we had seen and experienced, the hope became even more impatient that the treasure that had been taken from her would be returned to the Russian Church, that she would be crowned by His Holiness the All-Russian Patriarch. Published according to the publication: From academic life. Visit to the Academy by the Patriarch of Antioch. – Theological Bulletin. 1913. May. Signed: Hierodeacon Hilarion. Gregory IV (in the world Ignatius Haddad) - His Beatitude and Holiness Patriarch of the great city of God of Antioch, Syria, Arabia, Cilicia, Iberia, Mesopotamia and the entire East in 1906–1928. In 1913, he specially arrived in Russia for celebrations dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the reign of the House of Romanov and for the glorification of St. Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. During this trip, on April 28, in the St. Sophia Cathedral of the Novgorod Kremlin, Gregory IV led the episcopal consecration of Alexy (Simansky), the future Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' (1944–1970). – Approx. ed. The Balamand Seminary was founded in 1832 by Archimandrite Athanasius (Kasir) in the vicinity of the ancient Balamand monastery as the first school for clergy. Currently, the Theological Institute of St. John of Damascus and the Orthodox University, which has a theological faculty, are located here. – Editor's note