from Mother Makrina

 2/14/2023: A Very Interesting Re-Sharing by a dear elderly Orthodox Christian Nun in her native Australia: Who once was a nun in the old ROCOR, in Jerusalem: Historical ROCOR photos and of St. John of Riga, Archbishop of Riga and Latvia  

  Time:  Tue, 14 Feb 2023 20:47:59 +0000    

  From: Dan Everiss <oregdan@hotmail.com>  

  Tags: 

  Attachments:  msg-13098-21.html (10k)

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AND, Greetings With The Feast Of The MEETING OF THE LORD!

From: M. Makrina

Sent: Monday, February 13, 2023 6:21 PM

Subject: Historical ROCOR photos and St John of Riga Archbishop of Riga and Latvia

Beloved in Christ Fathers, Mothers, Brothers and Sisters, bless!

Greetings for the Great Feast of the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple!

This month’s The Shepherd (from England), has, as usual, (see below) 

0223   PDF Document · 299 KB

https://www.saintedwardbrotherhood.org/the-shepherd/latestvol

[2023 February issue uploaded here:

https://app.box.com/s/bx5wa17e2g6rnfeimxrsw8k0w4c9zcho

Shepherd Archive folder

https://app.box.com/s/e7bhgxx1bm9e0vc2cdvfwu6tg5nkmq3u?sortColumn=name&sortDirection=ASC

Shared Library:

https://app.box.com/s/fidluwvb48ffrhzly22uq2zvvzb56byl?sortColumn=name&sortDirection=ASC

~jh]

promptly arrived in my inbox, and in reading the opening section “From the Fathers” there was a snippet from the ever memorable St. John, Archbishop of Riga and all Latvia. His hagiographer, Dr Liudmilla Keller (later Sr Joanna of Eleon whom some of us were privileged to know, and who was vehemently against any rapprochement with the MP) prompted me to google Sr Joanna of blessed memory;

along with her hagiography of St John available in Russian and English:

https://sjkp.org/collections/lives-of-saints/products/the-life-and-passion-of-st-john-pommer-of-riga-and-latvia

a site came up from the ROCOR [ROCOR-MP, ~jh] full of interesting historical photos from the 60’s:

     Historic Photos of St. Vladimir's Church

       eadiocese.org

Glory to God, Sr Joanna reposed shortly before the act of union was signed, and the Abbess of Eleon put out a box of her personal effects in trapeza for us to choose a blessing from the dear reposed Sister. I chose an original photograph of St (Patriarch) Tikhon and an old, battered, broken, tin priest’s pectoral Cross, both bearing the Seraph on them (me being Sr Seraphima at the time).

Sr Joanna told me herself that St John had been her Spiritual Father, and I like to think that maybe the Cross had been a blessing from the Holy Hierarch to her. With a small adaption, it is now a part of my Paramandyas.

Sadly, shortly after her repose, I discovered a huge pile of her personal and archival papers strewn in the lower section of Eleon near Fr Parthenius’ Cave, and I rescued a handful, all, of course, in Russian and beyond my understanding. What a loss to the archives of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad!

May the prayers of the Holy Hierarch John help us to repentance and salvation!

Please pray for the repose of Sr Joanna (Dr Liudmilla Keller)

and for the health and salvation of

Unworthy M. Makrina

Prov. 23:23  † Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.  

 

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posted by Joanna Higginbotham:  highlights are mine