Do you know that people don't just kill each other with guns, that murderers aren't the only ones we kill with guns?

Do you know that people don't just kill each other with guns, that murderers aren't the only ones we kill with guns?

Do you know that with a bad word you can kill your neighbor? And for this kind of murder many of you are responsible.

St. Luke the Blessed Surgeon

Our Bodies will be Resurrected

 

"According to the clear testimony of Revelation, our bodies will also be resurrected into eternal life and will be partakers of the bliss of the righteous or the endless torments of sinners. This is also a stumbling block for unbelievers and a deep mystery for believers.

They consider impossible the restoration and Resurrection of bodies completely destroyed by decay, or burned, turned into dust and gases, decomposed into atoms. But if during the life of the body the spirit was most closely connected with it, with all organs and tissues, penetrating all the molecules and atoms of the body, was its organizing principle, then why should this connection disappear forever after the death of the body? Why is it unthinkable that this connection has been preserved forever, and at the moment of the general Resurrection, at the sound of the Archangel's trumpet, the connection of the immortal spirit with all the physical and chemical elements of the decayed body will be restored and the organizing and form-creating power of the spirit will again manifest itself? Nothing disappears, but only changes" = St. Luke the Blessed Surgeon

Commemorating Uncovering of the relics (1996) of St. Luke, hierarch-surgeon of Simferopol (1961) March 18/ March 5.

 

Behold, the word of God is like this little leaven. Penetrating into human souls, God's word produces here a great and holy process, similar to that which takes place in dough. Everything changes, everything is permeated like bubbles of gas in the dough, by the graceful influence of God's Word. Everything changes so deeply in the soul, as in a dough. A person grows spiritually, rises like dough that sours.

You know that if you leave the dough in a cold place, the yeast will not work, the dough will not rise. It must be put in a warm place, only then this amazing process will begin in it. So it is in the human soul: only then does this amazing process of rebirth take place in a person, when the word of God is received by a warm, ardent heart, a heart full of love.

That's when this amazing process begins - the process of rebirth of the soul. When a seed is sown in the ground, labor is needed for it to grow. The cultivator or gardener takes on great cares: he must fertilize the soil in which the seed is sown, water the earth, dig in the sprouts when they appear. Many, many cares are needed to grow the seeds. Thus, we must put upon ourselves many and many labors, so that the word of God may grow in us. It is impossible to place all hopes on the grace of God, to hope that the Lord Himself will increase, He Himself will take care that the plant grown from the seed does not wither, that frost and cold do not destroy it, that under the influence of worldly life the thistles and thorns do not grow and drown out his.

St. Luke the Blessed Surgeon, Hurry to Follow Christ

The Saint's last words...

 

The Saint’s last words

 “My children, very much do I entreat you, arm yourselves with the armor that God gives, that you may withstand the devil’s tricks.

You can’t imagine how evil he is. We don’t have to fight with people but with rulers and powers, in effect the evil spirits.

Take care!

It’s no use to the devil for anyone to think and feel that he is close to him.

A hidden and unknown enemy is more dangerous than a visible enemy.

O how large and terrible is the army of the demons.

How numberless is their black horde!

Unchanged, untiring, day and night, seeking to push all of us who believe

in the name of Christ, to lure us on the road of unbelief, of evil and of impiety.

These unseen enemies of God have made their sole purpose, day and night to seek our destruction.

But do not be afraid, take power from the name of Jesus Christ.”

St. Luke the Blessed Surgeon

St. Luke the Blessed Surgeon

It is necessary that the cross of Christ be indelibly inscribed on your hearts, so that you never forget about the cross of Christ, never forget about His blood, by which all are saved. - St. Luke the Blessed Surgeon

From the Depths of Eternity

 

FROM THE DEPTH OF ETERNITY.

Author: N.N.Sidorenko, grandson and cell attendant of St. Luke of Crimea.

Grandpa invited us to Simferopol in 1946. Now that I have grown old, I can imagine what a feat it was: to live in close quarters with small children. At that time I was 10 years old, my brother was 6 years old and my cousin was 8. We made a lot of noise and played around quite often. And grandfather endured all this. Then the family grew even more, relatives moved in, almost every summer the grandfather's sons and his daughter with grandchildren visited. And with such a crowd, grandfather did not stop working until the last day. He dictated his memories, carefully composed sermons, wrote the book "Essays on Regional Anesthesia", tried to keep abreast of the latest achievements in medicine and political events in the world.

I was Vladyka's cell attendant for exactly 15 years. Seen his life from day to day. I am still amazed at the grandeur, calmness and steadfastness of his faith. He was a genius doctor and diagnostician: he just had to touch the sore spot to make a diagnosis. He treated famous people, was a laureate of the Stalin Prize for the book "Essays on Purulent Surgery" and a brilliant scientific career opened before him. But the main thing was to serve God.

The impression of how Vladyka Luke served remained for the whole life. He was standing before the Lord. He pronounced every word clearly so that it would sink deeply. He read the Great Penitential Canon of St. Andrew of Crete with particular inspiration. He read the Bible every day, and tried to accustom us to daily communication with the word of God. His stories from the sacred history sounded heartfelt, he experienced biblical events as his own life.

While he could still see, he tried to serve the liturgy every day, even if only two or three old women came to church. He continued to serve even when he was completely blind. I was amazed at this feat of the Vladyka: after all, not only blindness aggravated him, but also diabetes, from which he had a terrible weakness, so that even all Vladyka's clothes were wet, while having sore legs due to severe thrombophlebitis and gout. Before the service I had to bandage his legs. But he never cut services short and at home he always prayed for a very long time.

At each service, he tried to preach a sermon, for which he had been preparing for a long time at home. He dictated to the secretary, Evgenia Pavlovna, then she read what was written. The sermon was given even with an empty church. Sometimes you stand, listen to his deepest words, and even feel hurt for grandfather. But on holidays, of course, a lot of people gathered. At the all-night vigil, despite his weakness, Vladyka always anointed the parishioners with holy oil, did it slowly, clearly pronouncing over each one: "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."

Blind and weak, Vladyka Luke served the diocese until his death, was aware of all matters, listened to reports, examined everything himself, passed resolutions, if he could, visited distant parishes. Vladyka Luke attracted many people to the church, especially the intelligentsia, doctors. After all, he talked a lot with people outside the church, constantly gathered doctors at his place. In the bishop's house, when Vladyka was healthy, there was a sign about the reception of the sick.

In general, grandfather lived according to a strict schedule, tried not to lose a single minute: everything was calculated by the clock - getting up, prayer, work. When we arrived in Simferopol, he was working on the book Spirit, Soul and Body. On the table are photographs of his sons, to them in his mind he turned the evidence of the existence of God. Vladyka Luke's deep heartache was that his children, prominent scientists, smart people, grew up as unbelievers. After all, they spent their childhood and youth in camps and exiles.

The greatest pain for Vladyka was the widespread closure of churches in the diocese. In his office hung a map of the Crimea, where all active churches were marked with crosses. It was bitter to remove these crosses from the map.

I also remember how my grandfather often sighed: “I didn’t sleep all night - I thought, how can this authorized person give orders, where to serve which priest?” At every step one could feel how powerless our Church is.

From childhood I was surprised in my grandfather that he never pretended how difficult or bad it was for him, never got irritated, but was always even and calm with people. Let me give you an example. Grandpa was a passionate swimmer. At the age of 80, completely blind, every day from June to September he went to swim in the sea twice a day, even the cold water did not frighten him. Once, during such a swim, he was knocked down by a large wave, I tried to lift him, but nothing worked. And he calmly said to me: "Kolya, stand in front of me and give me your hand." I did so, and we made it safely ashore.

In all difficult circumstances, I remembered him as majestic, beautiful and always calm. We walk with him down the street, he is in a cassock, everyone bows to him, and he warned me: "When someone greets me, you gently push me so that I can answer."

Grandpa loved people very much and took care of many. Every day I took a bunch of translations to the post office - he sent a “pretty penny” to people with whom the Lord brought him together at different places of his ministry. He always thought of other people first.

I was with him in his last days. All week he lay with a high fever, but did not complain, but only said: "Here, I won't let you sleep." My grandfather blessed me with a rare icon made on silk - "Christ carrying the cross to Golgotha." He gave me his Bible, commanded me to read every day. Rare family photographs have survived. When I look at them, I return to that wonderful life that passed under the shelter of Vladyka. I have an icon of St. Luke, Archbishop of Crimea and Simferopol. There is an akathist for him and prayers that I try to read. But still, as in childhood, I still call him grandfather. Until now, I often dream that I am leading him by the arm and am afraid that he will only stumble, so that he does not fall. And when I want to remember my grandfather in a special way, I open the Bible he gave me, which he held in his hands every day, I look at his notes, I read the lines that he himself underlined. And the Lord again speaks to me from the suddenly revealed depth of eternity.

Internet digest "St. Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky)"

Kirof Avenue at the time of St. Luke's funeral. May 31 / June 13, 1961.

May 29 / June 11, 1961 It was quarter to seven in the morning when St. Luke breathed his last and his soul flew to heaven. The sad news spread like wildfire. For three days, thousands of people arrived by all means to worship his relics.

I will not forget the following amazing event. As the procession began togethe with the episodes, a swarm of countless pigeons appeared over the relics of the Saint. They circled over his remains, then flew along the boulevard to the cemetery. They would come back, make circles again, follow the procession, fly to the cemetery and come back again. And this was repeated over and over again.

When we arrived at the cemetery, they sat on the roof of the Church of All Saints and then disappeared. This made a big impression on everyone. Even atheists were puzzled. It was no accident. We had never seen so many pigeons.

Testimony of the Nun Nantiezntas    

From the book of the Metropolitan of Argolis Nektarios: '' Archbishop Loukas. A Holy Shepherd and a surgeon ''. "Porphyra" Publications.