2023 marked the centenary of the founding of the monastery of St. Job of Pochaev in Ladomirová, Eastern Slovakia. I would not have known about this anniversary, had it not been for Dr. Daniil Černý, Director of the Slovak Institute in Rome, who invited me to speak at a conference dedicated to this centenary, an important cultural event for Slovakia.
Italy
Thus, on December 12, 2023, I attended a one-day conference in Rome at the Slovak Institute, which is financed by the Slovak Republic. Four papers were given. Dr. Černý spoke about the Roman Catholic view of missionary activity in Slovakia in the 1920s. Archpriest Peter Soroka (Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia) dedicated his presentation to the early history of the monastery and Deacon Daniel Galadza (Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome), explained the work done by Archimandrite Philip (von Grardner) in preparing for publication the Slavonic text of the Liturgy of St. James Ladomirová.
I made a presentation on the connection between Ladomirová and Jordanville, using materials from the archives of the Holy Trinity Seminary, focusing on oral and written comments left by Metropolitan Laurus (+2008). Participation in this conference gave me an understanding that, in the short period of its existence (1923-1944), the monastery brotherhood was able to achieve a lot – both in educating the wider Russian diaspora and in providing pastoral care for nearby residents in Slovakia. The monastery in Ladomirová became a “mothership” for surviving brotherhoods in Germany and the USA, and for brotherhoods in England, Brazil and Canada which no longer exist.Ladomirová became the prototype of the “turned-toward-people model” for the Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville.
Slovakia
Then Fr. Peter Soroka, who is Rector of the church-monument to Russian soldiers who fell in 1915 in Osadné, Slovakia, invited me to speak at the Theological Faculty of the University of Prešov, Slovakia. On December 15th Fr Peter made there a presentation about his newly published book, Maják pravoslávia, dedicated to the history of the Ladomirová monastery. At the book launch I delivered the same presentation which I had given in Rome. There it was good to meet the Dean of the Faculty of Theology, Archpriest Stefan Pružinský, and to discuss possible areas of cooperation between our seminaries. Also, it was touching to meet with relatives of Metropolitan Laurus, and to observe among the event’s participants devotion to the memory of the Ladomirová fathers, especially Abbot Savva (Struve, d.1949). Unfortunately, there has been no Orthodox monastery in Slovakia since the departure of the brotherhood in 1944.
Fr. Peter Soroka then kindly took me around Orthodox Slovakia. I visited the parishes of St. Nicholas in Bratislava, Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos in Varadka, St. Cyril and Methodius in Stropkov, and Ascension of the Lord in Osadné. In Slovakia I liked the congregational singing – the entire congregation participate during in liturgy (literaly public service). In the parish in Bratislava, the servant of God Michael showed me relics connecting the St. Nicholas parish with the first wave of the Russian emigration in the Czechoslovakia.
A visit to the church of St. Archangel Michael and Synaxis of the Heavenly Hosts in Ladomirová made an indelible impression on me, comparable to that of my visit in 2021 to Sremski Karlovci, Serbia. Looking at the high place of the altar which was frescoed by Archimandrite Cyprian (Pyzhov, d. 2001), I thought that I was at the All-night Vigil in the monastery at Jordanville.
Germany
My last presentation associated with the monasteries of the tradition of St. Job of Pochaev took place in Munich, Germany, at the annual conference of the German diocese (ROCOR). In 2023, in connection with the 75th anniversary of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (HTOS), the organizers of the Munich conference decided to devote it to the topic of spiritual education. Hence the invitation for me to speak about HTOS. At the conference, I was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere of thoughtful communication, when both clergy and laity talked about their experiences of participating in the sacrament of repentance.
On December 27, I gave a presentation on the history and present-day activities of HTOS. Preparing my report helped me to understand clearly how much the emergence and existence of the seminary is connected with the missionary vision of the St. Job of Pochaev brotherhood, which began in Slovakia and is continued in Jordanville. At the end of the presentation, I addressed the audience with a question: “Why does the Russian Church Abroad need a seminary in Jordanville?” Hopefully, the discussion stimulated by my question will become a prologue, leading to cooperation between the German diocese and HTOS.
I thank most sincerely Dr. Daniil Černý, Archpriest Peter Soroka, and Protodeacon Bartholomew Bazanov, Secretary of the German Diocese, for the warm welcome which they extended to me. I also thank the Seminary administration and the Constellation of Humanity Foundation for supporting my presentations in Europe.
Protodeacon Andrei Psarev
