Each year the journey to the radiant feast of Pascha begins anew, entering the season of repentance known as Great Lent. The homilies presented in this modest volume, from one of the spiritual giants of the Orthodox Church of Russia, can both encourage and inform in this struggle of the Fast. For the first time, a selection of St. John’s Lenten sermons is presented in English translation. They follow the thematic structure of the Lenten season in the Orthodox Church, from the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee through to Great and Holy Friday. A sermon for St. Thomas Sunday, which follows Holy Pascha, is offered as an epilogue.
John of Kronstadt was a Russian Orthodox archpriest and member of the synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was a striking and somewhat unconventional figure in his personality but was deeply pious and immensely energetic. He was one of the most internationally famous and beloved Orthodox Christian clerics of his time.
He was born as Ivan Ilyich Sergiyev. From 1855, he worked as a priest in Saint Andrew's cathedral in Kronstadt. Here, he greatly committed himself to charity, especially for those who were remote from the church, and travelled extensively throughout the Russian empire. He was a member of the right Union of the Russian People, but did not commit himself politically. He was already greatly venerated at the time he died.
He was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia in 1964 and by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1990. The second largest monastery of St Petersburg (by community size) is dedicated to John of Kronstadt.
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