I strongly encourage you to listen to the end. What St. Damascene says may be words you find yourself, as I have, reflecting on many times over. Please listen all the way through this short recording.
Of all the writings of the New Martyrs that have come down to us, this excerpt from St. Damascene of Glukhov is one of the most inspiring and hopeful. In the very midst of the height of uncertainty, division, and persecution, St. Damascene writes:
“Unite yourselves for grace-given guidance around one of the worthy pastors, and let everyone separately and all together prepare themselves for yet greater service to Christ … Just a few people united in such a life already makes up a small Church, the Body of Christ, in which the Spirit and the Love of Christ dwell … If we do not become members of the Body of Christ, the temple of His Life-giving Spirit, then this Spirit will depart from the world, and the frightful convulsions of the dying world organism will be the natural result of this.”
“Therefore, let it be that darkness has temporarily covered the earth (from the sixth to the ninth hour), let it be that the lamps of certain Churches are hidden under bushels so as not to be put out by the satanic whirlwind (as has occurred with the majority). After a short time of rest from the Lord (perhaps even the time when the darkness will imagine that its work has already been completed), the lamps will be revealed, will come together, will ignite a multitude of others which had been put out, will pour together into a great flame of faith which, when efforts are made to put it out, will burn more brightly; for many which have been put out and have felt the torment of the darkness and the cold of Tartarus will prefer to burn upon the bonfire of the flame of faith than again to be immersed in darkness.”
“With us is Christ, the Conqueror of death and hell. The history of Christianity shows us that in all the periods when temptations and heresies have agitated the Church, the bearers of church truth and the expressors of it were few, but these few with the fire of their faith and their zealous standing in the Truth have gradually ignited everyone … The same thing will happen now if we few will fulfill our duty before Christ and His Church to the end.
“The fearless confession of faith and of one’s hope and a firm standing in the Church’s laws are the most convincing refutation of the Sergian deviation and are an unconquerable obstacle to the hostile powers directed against the Church. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Read this text, and the entire “Russia’s Catacomb Saints” by I. M. Andreyev and Fr. Seraphim Rose here: http://russiascatacombsaints.blogspot.com/2010/12/9-bishop-victor-of-glazov.html
You can also find a wealth of lesser known info on St. Damascene and other Catacomb Saints here: https://catacombhistory.blogspot.com/2021/08/st-victor-of-glazov-when-worship.html
This channel is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!
Love in Christ eternal, immortal !
Thank you for reading these important writings brother. Your channel is a blessing to us all. ☦
At what point does the current Eastern Orthodox Church need to go to the catacombs?
I want to say thank you for making these recordings. I am not currently orthodox but am seeking and attempting to learn more about Orthodoxy. This work you are doing is immensely helpful for a poor soul such as me. God Bless you, sir!