Fr Ignaty gave
us his blessing to continue
First of all, due acknowledgements should go to a
special lady who requested that I write a few words about the great Igoumen of
Tears, Father Ignaty. A figure totally unknown to the West as well as to his
homeland. However, his seal approval on this undertaking was given in a rather
unexpected way. Having written my first book in Greek where the life and
miracles of Fr Ignaty saw the light of day,
I did not know whether I had been
heading in the right direction. Of course,I had always felt his presence during
my project but the clincher was an event that totally bowled over Mrs Sofia
Kouna from Athens who happened to know him personally and saw witnessed many of
his miracles while alive. When she bought my first book entitled “ MYSTICAL
EXPERIENCES IN THE HOLY LAND”, she headed home to curl up in her sofa and read
it. When she unlocked and opered the door of her house, she felt a light breeze
caressing her cheeks and heard something plop in the kitchen. She rushed to see
what it was that had fallen and, guess what? Of all things, it was an icon face
down. The icon of Father Ignaty she had framed to remember him. She immmediately
picked up the phone and called me to tellme the news. That was the green light
to an investigation we had launched to find out more abouthis parents and life
before serving in Israel.
It isour fervent wish that Father Ignaty, through hisintercession,
because he was a saint and lived arighteous life “ reveal himself to his
compatriots.
The glorification of saints in the Orthodox Church is
a recognition that God’s holiness is manifested in the Church through these
grace-filled men and women whose lives were pleasing to God.Can the Church
“make” a saint? The answer
is no.
Only God can do that. We glorify those whom God
Himself has glorified, seeing in their lives true love for God and their
neighbors. The Church merely recognizes that such a person has cooperated with
God’s grace to the extent that his or her holiness is beyond doubt. Are saints
“elected” by special panels or by majority vote? Again, the answer is no. Long
before an official inquiry into a person’s life is made, that person is
venerated by the people where he or she lived and died. His or her memory is
kept alive by the people who pray for his or her soul or who ask him or her for
intercession. Sometimes people will visit his or her grave or have icons painted
through their love for the person. Thena request is made, usually through the
diocesan bishop, for the Church to recognize that person as a saint.
A
committee, such as the Orthodox Church in America’s Canonization Commission, is
formed to research the life of the person who is being considered for
glorification and to submit a report to the Holy Synod stating its reasons why the
person should or should not be recognized as a saint. Then the Holy Synod
decides to number that person among the saints and have icons painted and
liturgical services composed. Thus, let us pray that Father Ignaty’s life be
researched
and be made a symbol of great heights of Asceticism
like Saint John Maximovich and Saint John of Hozeba. AMEN!
The book will be available next month at Martha
Psaropoulou's bookstore, at 14 Vas. Sofias
Street, Maroussi. tel :6972848891
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