General Polyanovskii, “New Israel”

The following is a short chapter from Establishment of Unity by Archbishop John (Shahovskoy). He had been taken as a seven year old boy, from a Jewish family of the Chernigov province, into the Cantonists[1] during the time of Nikolai Pavlovich [Nicholas I]. When he was a colonel at General Headquarters and a talented astronomer, [...]

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On St. Nikolaj (Velimirovic)

The following translation is an excerpt from the chapter “White Church” (a village in Serbia) from the book Establishment of Unity by Archbishop John (Shahovskoy). “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God … But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.” [...]

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New Idea for Church Discipline

Another selection from the reminiscences of Archbishop John (Shahovskoy). My pastorship was dynamic: I loved people and was not afraid of them. Here is a small example to help understand what I mean. I remember a characteristic incident from the beginning of my pastoral path. I noticed also in White Church [Serbia] a habit familiar [...]

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A Striking Symbol

I’ve been reading this book, which is a compilation of autobiographical writings of Archbishop John (Shahovskoy) of San Francisco, and came across the following little-known (so I asked two people who should have known and they didn’t…) story. I particularly closely knew Olga Alexandrovna [Romanova]. Of her remembrances, the biggest impression was made on me [...]

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