REVIEW: Russian Ascetics of Piety, Vol. III: March

It was probably late January when I received a notification about a new listing by Old Paths Press in Waynesboro, VA.

Any time I see a new publication by Old Paths Press, I get excited. For one thing, their editing is surprisingly good for a small operation. Orthodox publishers in America are notorious for poor editing. Mind you, they're all aware that they're putting out texts with numerous errors. Some simply lack the resources, while others (such as SVS Press) simply don’t care much—again, this has been brought to their attention on more than one occasion.

But Old Paths has a great track record in editing from what I've seen. Since I've read their Earliest Lives of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, On True Christianity (six volumes) by St. Tikhon, and now three volumes of St. Nikodim’s Ascetics of Piety, I'd say that’s a pretty strong record.

But let's get to the point, as I doubt anyone is here to listen to a guy with a GED complain about grammar.

What exactly is the series?

Russian Ascetics of Piety is a twelve-volume set compiled by the Holy Hieromartyr Nikodemus (Kononov) of Belgorod, cataloging the lives of Russian ascetics—primarily from the 18th and 19th centuries. St. Nikodemus collected stories from all over Russia and, if I understand correctly, did a fair bit of traveling to compile some of these accounts. The series was originally published by the Russian Athonite Monastery of St. Panteleimon but printed in Moscow, as the Turks censored texts printed in Greece at the time.

Each volume contains dozens of accounts of incredible men and women of God. Many of those included have since been canonized as saints:

• Hierarchs such as Sts. Innocent of Alaska, Theophan the Recluse, Ignatius Brianchaninov, and Meletius of Kharkov.
• Monastics like Barnabas of Gethsemane, Parthenius of Kiev-Pechersk, Macarius of Glinsk, Joannicius of Svyatagorsk, and Basilisk of Siberia.
• Fools for Christ such as Xenia of St. Petersburg and Theophilus of Svyatogorsk—the list goes on.

There are housewives, soldiers, farmers, merchants—a saintly example for every walk of life.

What’s even more incredible, and what you really see in these volumes, is just how interconnected the spiritual world of Russia was in the 18th and 19th centuries. In nearly every life you read, you’ll recognize a name here and there, and you’ll start to build out this web of relationships. It seems that every village had a renowned ascetic.

Another thing that becomes apparent is just how many pious traditions have been lost—or at least have not yet been fully incorporated into the Orthodox life of the faithful in America. On one hand, these volumes make one realize the extent of our spiritual poverty; on the other, they set a higher bar for us all to strive for.

A Note on the March Volume

I want to say something about the March volume in particular. Like the February volume, it begins with an essay. But the March essay, I dare say, is particularly needed at this moment in the Church’s life in America. The topic? “Uncanonized Saints and the Issue of Their Ecclesiastical and Popular Veneration.”

This essay is especially important for us right now because, as a young Church—one with many recent converts who have not quite figured out the bounds of piety and often have a sort of zeal without knowledge—we know of a number of God-pleasers who lived pious lives, who are widely venerated and considered saintly, and whose supporters regularly lobby for their canonization.

Chief among them, of course, is the Blessed Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose) of Platina, but we could also add Met. Philaret (Voznesensky) of New York; Brother Jose Munoz, the Martyred caretaker of the Montreal Iveron Icon; Archbishop Andrei of Novo-Diveevo; Fr. Alexander Schmemann and Fr. Thomas Hopko certainly fall into this category as well. I myself, like most Orthodox Christian Americans, highly revere a number of these people. This essay is a welcome and timely guide for the faithful.

"It is not the earth or the bones of a buried man that our people revere when they visit the grave of a revered ascetic, no: in this pilgrimage, they revere God who glorifies His faithful servants. They revere the grave... which has been sanctified for us by their use of it... They revere the body, interred in the earth, as a tabernacle in which a pure and truthful spirit had dwelt, a tabernacle that shall rise and that also frequently emits wondrous healings." St. Nikodemus, p. 7-8

What St. Nikodemus does so well is explain the popular veneration of his time in a way that is both respectful and discerning. He champions pious devotion to our reposed God-pleasers, to be clear, and criticizes ecclesiastical and imperial authorities for, at times, coming down with an unnecessarily heavy hand. At the same time, he also discusses why certain forms of devotion can be problematic—regardless of whether or not we believe a person to be a saint. Case in point, here's a line from his commentary on iconographic depictions of uncanonized God-pleasers:

"There is no need to write an icon of an ascetic as a saint. We merely need to depict him in that image in supplication before the Savior or the Mother of God... In the old days, one could often see icons depicting Patriarch Nikon and Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich in supplication before the cross. Therefore, it is appropriate to depict the revered ascetics themselves, without a radiance around their heads, in supplication before an image [of the Savior, Mother of God, etc.. - Ed]." - St. Nikodemus, p. 10-11

Of chief importance, in my mind, is also the way he describes the progression of veneration and how it reveals a person's glorification by God—or not. This gets into the revelation of God's will through the popular conscience of the people (as I described in an article on Orthodox Political Theology). The entire article is really beneficial for the faithful right now in the American Church; frankly, it would be worth buying for this article alone.

But in addition to this article, there are a few hundred pages of edifying lives. Some of those I most enjoyed—and highly recommend—from the March volume are Archimandrite Gennadius of Borovsk; the Hermits in the Roslavl Forests; Saint Parthenius of the Kiev Caves; Saint Innocent of Moscow (and Alaska); and Saint Philaret of Glinsk, to name just a few.

In summary, Old Paths Press is knocking it out of the park with this series. Anyone who enjoys the Lives of the Saints and God-pleasers would do well to pick up a copy. Once you do, I can guarantee you’ll want the other volumes as well.

Small operations like Old Paths are doing a tremendous service to the Church. Translation work is neither cheap nor quick, and they deserve your support. Personally, I look forward to the rest of the series coming into print—as well as whatever other works they publish.

You can find their books on Ebay (they have a bundle deal for all three volumes currently in print), the Jordanville Bookstore, the St. Demetrius Monastery Bookstore, and Eighth Day Books. Stay up to date with their latest publications here.

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