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I heard recently that the former First Hierarch of ROCOR Metropolitan Philaret of New York was recently glorified. Is that true?
I met him once and was deeply moved by the obvious holiness in the man. His mantia was old and ragged and I thought that here was a truly humble and Christ-like hierarch. His eyes sparkled as he smiled. An old monk once told me that many years ago there were golden hierarchs who wore panagias of wood. Now we have wooden hierarchs who wear panagias of gold.
Blessings, Silouan.

Metropolitan Philaret was strict about some things — he wouldn't let Copts serve at a chapel at Jordanville — but beloved by many. I checked the ROCOR site the other day but there was nothing about him being glorified.

http://oldworldrus.com

He was glorified by HOCNA in June or July, I believe (like HOCNA could really glorify someone, though....)

anastasios

Who is HOCNA?

Dear RCGuy,

HOCNA is the Old Calendarist "Holy Orthodox Church of North America."

I don't know about the validity of their sacramental acts, but their glorification of St Philaret was quite legitimate.

For example, Fr. Holweck in his monumental Lives of Saints includes anyone who was historically venerated as such by any faith community that held to the Apostolic doctrine of the veneration of Saints.

And that would include HOCNA, to be sure.

Mount Athos, the Kyivan Caves Lavra and the Monastery of Mt. Sinai have glorified Saints for their own immediate jurisdictions.

It was only in the seventeenth century when St Peter Mohyla of Kyiv extended the local monastic veneration of the 130+ saints of the Kyivan Caves to the Kyivan Metropolia and from there they were extended to universal Orthodoxy.

Even when a local Catholic has his memory sanctified by people in prayer and is called "Blessed" etc., the Catholic Church takes this into account when and if it wishes to formally beatify or canonize him or her.

It was on the basis of the strong local veneration of Kateri Tekakwitha that she was beatified, since her many miracles were never examined, nor could they be, at the time the Pope decided to beatify her.

ROCOR was in the habit of canonizing Russian saints by itself and then the Moscow Patriarchate often followed suit by glorifying the same saints e.g. Herman and Innocent of Alaska, John of Kronstadt, Xenia of St Petersburg, the Optina Fathers, the New Martyrs.

So in those cases if you don't accept that one jursdiction has the "grace" to glorify those saints, since the other did, then . . .

St John Maximovitch was glorified by ROCOR, yet his cult is now quite popular with many other Orthodox jurisdictions, including Ukrainian ones - after all, he was a Ukrainian saint from Poltava.

Alex

Has Elder Joseph the Hesychast of the Holy Mountain been glorified by Constantinople or Mt. Athos?
Silouan

Bless me a sinner, Reverend Father!

Yes, St Joseph the Hesychast was glorified a Saint by Mount Athos and I have seen an icon of him with halo et al.

Alex

Slava Jesu Kristu,

St. Joseph the Hesychast is a wonderful role model. His devotion to the Prayer of the Heart and Blessed Stillness is a great example in a world often enveloped in fear and confusion. Especially during this time of holiday commercialism, I find it helpful to think how much good can be done by a poor monk alone in his secluded cell.

Mir s Toboy,
Dmitri
(a future monk?)

Dear Dmitri,

Who knows? If you want to be a monk, may God bless you and grant you the Grace of unceasing prayer in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

There are two things I like about you most. You have veneration for one of my most favourite Saints, Dmitri Rostovski. And you live in New Orleans.

I am jealous . . .

Alex