«The Jesus Prayer and its application» by Elder Arsenios Katerelos

The Jesus Prayer and its application - Book Presentation

(NEW EDITION)

 Greek-Orthodox books Publications

Now in circulation: «The Jesus Prayer and its application»

by Elder Arsenios Katerelos 

The new book titled «The Jesus Prayer and its application», by the respected and beloved Elder, Arsenios Katerelos – a very familiar Spiritual Father, Preacher and author in our Homeland – constitutes an invaluable aid for a Christian’s introduction to the art of the precious “Jesus Prayer”.  The Archimandrite Elder Arsenios has deposited the sacred experiences and the teachings of the Elders, Saint Paisios the Hagiorite and Isaac the Lebanese, near whom he had learnt the monk’s way of life, enriched with the teaching of the holy Fathers, but also with the discretion that has been based on his own hesychastic experience.

Details>  http://www.greekorthodoxbooks.com/03F3E926.en.aspx

How John the fool of Christ saved a woman from adultery

Nicoletta then took a long sip of coffee and began to tell her story with Crazy John... 

"One evening" she said "perhaps ten or more years ago, I saw a young man wandering aimlessly in our neighborhood. I watched him purposely, because I thought he was a burglar. Suddenly, I noticed Crazy John coming out of his building in a hurry and quickly walking in the direction of the only ground-floor house in the neighborhood, where a four-member family was living as tenants.

The fool sat himself squarely on the steps of the front yard, and began to chant the hymns to the Panaghia out loud. He especially liked to chant  "O Virgin pure...."

Two hours went by, but the fool continued to chant hymns. I went out and told him to stop. Then I noticed the young man walk hurriedly away. The fool got up and went inside the house. I followed him out of curiosity, to see what was going on. I must admit that my mind went to something sinister. I rang the doorbell and a young woman opened the door.

Crazy John was seated at the kitchen table, eating something the young woman had served him.  Next to him stood her five year old son. Turning to the boy, the fool began to tell him that one of God's ten commandments is the one that says "Thou shalt not commit adultery".

--"You know Georgie, adultery is not something that God likes. Adultery opens a gate for Satan, who then enters the home and wreaks havoc. That's when families break up, and sicknesses and pain and hatred come in through the windows and drive out God's blessing that was given with the sacrament of Marriage.  Man and woman - like your daddy and mommy - become one flesh with marriage dear Georgie; one body. With adultery, it's like cutting off your arm."

I have to admit that made me very angry.... 

--"What on earth are you telling that poor child, you ungodly wretch?" I said.  The young woman burst into tears and said between sobs "He's saying it about me; leave him alone - don't scold him...."

But Crazy John quickly got up and left. The young woman then confessed that she had planned to cheat on her husband with a young man she had met in a cafeteria that she had been to with a friend of hers for coffee. She told her that the young man was supposed to meet her at her place, thus taking advantage of her husband's absence, as he was out of town on business, but God protected her and the young man didn't come.

"I narrowly escaped a huge disaster, dear Nicoletta.  I would have broken up my family and my marriage. When Crazy John knocked at the door, I thought it was that young man, and I wouldn't have had the strength to send him away.  Fortunately God saved me from committing a terrible sin...."

--"It was the fool who saved you" I said to her, "because the young man had indeed come this far, but the fool was sitting on your doorstep outside for hours, chanting incessantly, while the young man was pacing outside your door. Didn't you hear him?" I asked her.....

--"I had heard" - the baker interposed - "that John wanted to become a priest, ever since he was a child. But then came the German occupation, followed by the civil war, so he never managed to finish his schooling. He only managed to learn to read and write a little. Thus, while still relatively young, when he went to the Bishop and asked him to ordain him a priest, the Bishop had deterred him, and instead recommended that he first go to school. But now, with all these things that are being said about John, and with everything that I personally know about him, I can safely say that God may not have made him a priest, but He surely anointed him a Bishop in our neighborhood. These last words by Mister Apostoly were drowned in his sobs and his tears....

This excerpt was taken from the book about Crazy John, a modern-day  “Fool of Christ” of Athens, Greece

The Barracks - Father Arseny

                                             

The camp came alive as prisoners filed out of their barracks for roll call. The cold, freezing wind and the darkness were an agony to the people outside. Lining up by barracks, the prisoners received their meals and went directly to work.

The barracks had been emptied of its inhabitants, but the smell of dump clothing, human swear, excrement, and disinfectant filled it. It seemed as though the shouts of the supervisors, the sound of soul-shattering swearing, the suffering of people, and the cruelty of the criminals remained inside as well. This depressing feeling, among the naked benches and the rows of bunk beds, was counteracted by the warmth of the place, making it feel somehow lived-in, softening the feeling of emptiness.

At –27, the gusty winds today alarmed not just the prisoners who had gone to work, but even those dressed in their warm clothing who watched them.

The prisoners trudged off to their work in fear. They knew that their work was designed to be cruel to them, and that the requirements set forth by the camp’s chief officers were nearly impossible to fulfill. Everything was done to lead these people slowly to their death. Both political prisoners and common criminals whose crimes were punishable by death were sent to this camp. Few came out alive.

Father Arseny, whose name had been Piotr Andreyevich Strelzov before his prieshood, had been assigned the tittle of “zek” (prisoner) No. 18376. He had been sent to this camp six months ago and understood that there was no hope for him to ever leave it.

The night was transforming into a dark dawn, and then into a short half-dark day. Searchlights were still lighting the camp. Father Arseny was always on duty; he had to split logs near the barracks and then carry them into the barracks to feed the stove.

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!” he repeated constantly while doing his work. The logs were damp and half frozen and were difficult to split. As axes were not allowed in camp, he had to split the logs by hammering a wooden wedge into them with another log. The heavy, frozen log slipped and jumped from the weak hands of Father Arseny, and he could not hit the wedge properly. The work was slow. Exhaustion and the lack of food made it impossible to work properly. Everything was heavy and difficult. Yet the barracks had to be heated for the arrival of the workers. It had to be clean, tidy and swept. If it was not ready on time, the supervisor would send Father Arseny to the punishment cell and the other prisoners would beat him.

The political prisoners were beaten often: the supervisors beat them as punishment, the criminals just liked to do what they were used to doing, and all their hatred and cruelty came out this way. Someone was beaten every day, and beaten with pleasure for the criminals, it was a real distraction.

“Have mercy on me, a sinner. Help me. I place my trust in Thee, O Lord, and in You, O Mother of God. Do not abandon me, give me the strength”, prayed Father Arseny, almost falling from exhaustion as he carried bundle after bundle of logs to the stoves.

It was now time to light the fires. The stoves were cold and no longer gave off any warmth. It was not easy to light the fire for the logs were damp, and there was no dry kindling. The day before, Father Arseny had found some dry branches and put them in a corner near one of the stoves thinking, “Tomorrow I will be able to light the stoves very fast!”. When he went to get the dry kindling, though, he found that some of the criminals had poured water on it. He knew that if he was late in lighting the fires, the barracks would not be warm for the return of the workers. Father Arseny ran to try to find some dry bark or anything dry behind the barracks. And all the time he was praying, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God! Have mercy on me, a sinner”, but then he added, “Thy will be done!”.

He looked everywhere, and could find nothing dry. He did not know how he would light the fire.

While Father Arseny was looking for the dry branches, an old man working in the next barracks walked up. He was a criminal of immense cruelty and power. People said that even under the Tsar his name had been infamous all over Russia. He had committed so many crimes that he himself could not remember them all. Not much was known about the details of his crimes, so numerous were his exploits. Yet when he was brought to trial, the judge had knowledge of lots of his crimes to condemn him to be shot. His sentence was later commuted to internment in this prison camp, which for some criminals was much worse: if you are shot, you suffer a short time; in this camp death is slow and painful. Those who were released from the camp came out as invalids. Knowing this, many criminals became cruel, and their cruelty was expressed by beating the political prisoners and sometimes even other criminals, beating them to death.

This criminal was the boss of his whole barracks. Even the camp officers were afraid of him. It would take only a wink from him to have an “accident” occur. His fellow inmates called him “Graybeard”. He was in his sixties and his appearance was gentle. He would often begin by talking to people nicely, sometimes joking. Then, suddenly, he would start swearing horribly and punching with his fists.

Seeing that Father Arseny was looking for something he shouted, “What are you looking for, you silly priest?” 

“I had prepared some dry branches to start the fire today, and somebody poured water onto them, so I am looking for something dry. The logs are damp. I don’t know what to do.” 

“That’s right, silly priest, without kindling you are lost,” answered Graybeard. 

“People will come from work, they will be cold, and they will beat me,” mumbled Father Arseny. 

“Come, Pop (a name for priest in Russia), I will give you some kindling,” Graybeard said, leading Father Arseny to a whole pile of beautiful dry kindling. Father Arseny had a thought that perhaps this was a joke; he knew Graybeard only too well, and could not expect any help from him. 

“Take Father Arseny, take what you need,” the criminal said. 

Father Arseny began to quickly gather some dry branches, all the time thinking, “I will take some kindling and he will shout that I am a thief.” Then he realized that the man had called him Father Arseny. He prayed silently, crossed himself in his mind, and began to gather the kindling.

“Take more, Father Arseny! More!” Garybeard barked. Then he bent and started helping Father Arseny, carrying the kindling into the barracks and putting it next to the stove. Father Arseny bowed before him and said, “May God bless you!”

Graybeard did not answer, and left.

Father Arseny put the wood in the stoves and lit the fire. The logs began to burn. He had time only to throw more pieces of wood on the flame before he had to rush to clean the barracks, wiping off tables, sweeping, and getting more logs.

It was almost three o’clock. The stoves were red-hot and it was getting warm in the barracks. The smells became stronger, but because of the warmth, the barracks regained a familiar and almost cosy feeling. The supervisor came in several times as Father Arseny went about his work. As always, his words were angry and menacing. During one of his visits, he struck Father Arseny on the head with a piece of wood.

Carrying the logs and throwing them into the stoves tired Father Arseny to the extreme. His head hurt because he was so tired and weak, his heart beat irregularly, and his breathing was bad. His legs felt so weak that they could hardly support his tired body. “Do not abandon me, O God,” he whispered, bending under the weight of the logs.

An extract from the book "Father Arseny- 1893-1973 Priest, Prisoner, Spiritual Father

From the Life of the Elder Ieronymos of Aegina -­ The Good Turkish Judge (+1966)

                                      

Shortly before World War I, a Turk visited Fr. Iieronymos' humble hermitage. The Turk told the elder that his master, a judge, had sent him to invite the elder to his house.

The elder became a little worried. He was not accustomed to receiving invitations to "social receptions" and his mind began to suspect that he might experience some evil or temptation. However, he prayed to God and followed the Turkish servant.

On their arrival at the judge's large home, the judge himself welcomed him - with much warmth, as a matter of fact. They sat on a great divan and the judge began the conversation:

"Efendi papa, I am a Turk, a Moslem. From the salary I receive, I keep whatever is necessary for my family's support, and the rest I spend on alms. I help widows, orphans, the poor; I provide dowries for impoverished young women so that they can get married, I help the sick. I keep the fasts with exactness, I pray and, in general, I try to live a life consistent with my faith. Also, when I sit in judgment, I strive to be just, and never take a person's position into account, no matter how great he is. What do you say? Are all these things that I do sufficient for me to gain that Paradise that you Christians talk about?

The elder was impressed by all that the Turkish judge told him, and he immediately brought to mind the Roman centurion Cornelius mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. In the Turkish judge and the Roman centurion he perceived two similar lives. He understood that the judge was a just man of noble sentiments. "Perhaps," thought the elder, "my mission is like that of the Apostle Peter, who instructed the Roman centurion." The elder determined, therefore, that he would bear witness to his Faith.

"Tell me, efendi cadi[1], do you have children?"

"Yes, I do."

"Do you have servants?"

"I have servants also."

"Which of the two carry out your orders better - your children or your servants?"

"Assuredly, my servants, because my children - with the familiarity that they have toward me — often disobey me and do whatever they wish, whereas my servants always do whatever I tell them."

"Tell me, I pray thee, efendi, when you die, who will inherit your wealth - your servants, who executed your wishes faithfully, or your children who disobey you?"

"Well, my children, of course. Only they have rights of inheritance, whereas the servants do not."

"Well then, efendi, what you do is good, but the only thing your good works can is place you in the category of those that are good servants. If, however, you desire to inherit Paradise, the Kingdom of the Heavens, then you have to become a son. And that can be accomplished only through Baptism."

The Turkish judge was greatly impressed by the elder's parable. They spoke for a long time after this, and at the end he asked the elder to catechize him and baptize him. And thus, after a little while, the good judge was baptized and became a Christian. 

Translated from "The Elder Hieronymos, the Hesychast of Aegina," by Peter Botsis, Athens, 1991[2].

Taken from The Orthodox Christian Witness, Pages 5 – 6, Vol. XXV, No. 45 (1991)

“Where two or three are gathered in My Name” (Father Arseny, 1893-1973 Priest, Prisoner, Spiritual Father)

During one of the winters, young man was assigned to Father Arseny’s barracks. Aged 23, he was a student and had been sentenced to twenty years in the camp. He had no experience of camp life because he had been sent to this special camp directly from the strict Butirki Prison in Moscow. Still young, he did not fully understand what lay ahead for him. As soon as he entered the death camp, he encountered the criminals.

His clothing was still good for he had only been in prison a few months. The criminals, led by Ivan the Brown, decided to get hold of the young man’s apparel. They proposed a card game with clothing at stake. Everybody knew that this lad would soon be naked, but no one could do anything about it; even Sazikov dared not intervene. The camp rule was that whoever interfered would be killed. Those who had been in camp for a while knew only too well that if the criminals decided to play for your rags, to resist would be the end of you.

Ivan the Brown won all the young man’s clothes. Ivan approached him and said, “Take everything off, my friend.”

At that point things started to go sour. The young man, whose name was Alexei, thought that the game had been for fun and refused to hand over his clothing. Ivan the Brown decided to make an exhibition of it. He began with mocking kindness; then he started beating him. Alexei tried to resist, to fight back, but by now the whole barracks knew that he would be beaten until he could no longer move, or even to death. Everyone sat still and watched as Ivan bashed Alexei. He bled from mouth and face and was swaying. Some criminals mockingly urged him to fight.

Father Arseny had not seen the beginnings of the fight; he had been pilling up logs near a stove at the other end of the barracks. He suddenly saw what was happening. Ivan was going to kill Alexei. By now Alexei could only cover his face with his hands; Ivan was slamming him and smashing him repeatedly. Father Arseny silently put the logs down near the stove, calmly walked over to the fight, and before the amazed eyes of the whole barracks, grabbed the arm of Ivan the Brown. Ivan looked surprised, shocked! The priest had interfered in a fight. This meant he must die. Ivan hated Father Arseny. He had never dared touch him for fear of the rest of the barracks, but now he had a true reason to kill him.

Ivan stopped beating Alexei and pronounced, “OK Pop, it’s the end for both of you. First the student, then you.” A knife appeared in his hands and he lunged toward Alexei.

What happened? Nobody could understand, but suddenly the gentle and weak Father Arseny straightened himself up and slammed Ivan on the armso hard that the knife fell from his hand. Then he pushed Ivan away from Alexei. Ivan stumbled, fell, and hit the corner of a bunk with his face. Father Arseny went to Alexei and said to him, “Go Alyosha, wash your face, no one will hit you any more.” Then, as if nothing had happened, he went back to his work. 

Everyone was taken aback. Ivan the Brown stood up. The criminals did not say a word. They understood that Ivan had lost face in front of the whole barracks. Somebody discreetly wiped the blood from the floor with his foot. Alyosha’s face was completely smashed up, his ear was torn, one eye was closed, and the other one was dark red. Everyone was completely silent. They knew that it was all over now for both Father Arseny and Alexei. The criminals would kill them both.

But in fact things turned out differently; the criminals looked upon Father Arsney’s actions as bold and brave. Even though everyone feared Ivan, Father Arseny had not faltered when Ivan the Brown had held a knife, and they respected a man who showed no fear. They already knew Father Arseny for his kindness and his unusual ways; now they respected him for his courage. Ivan retreated to his bunk and whispered with his friends, but he realised that they did not really support him – they had not come immediately to his aid.

The night passed. In the morning everyone went to work; Father Arseny was busy tending the stoves, cleaning up and scraping dirt off the floor. In the evening the prisoners returned from their labor and suddenly, just before the barracks was locked for the night, the supervisor ran in with several guards.

“Attention!” he shouted. All the men jumped down from their bunks. They stood motionless while the supervisor walked along the line of men. When he came to Father Arseny he began to beat him. Meanwhile Alexei was dragged from his place in line by the guards.

“P18376 and P281 to punishment cell No.1, for 48 hours, without food or water, for breaking camp rules, for fighting,” shouted the officer.

Ivan had reported them to the authorities. To do so was considered by the criminals to be the lowest and most despicable act possible.

Punishment cell No.1 was a tiny house that stood by the entrance of the camp. In this hose were several rooms for solitary confinement; there was also one for two people which held a narrow board instead of a bed. This board was less that 20 inches wide. The floor and walls were covered with sheets of metal. The whole room was not wider than three quarters of a yard and two yards long. Outside it was –22 and windy, so that it was hard to breathe. You had only to step outside to become immediately numb. The occupants of the barracks understood what this meant; certain death. Father Arseny and Alexei would be frozen within two hours. No one had ever been sent to that cell in such cold. Occasionally, someone was sent to it when the temperature reached –21 or –22, but this only for 24 hours. The only one who stayed alive were those who could jump up and down the whole 24 hours to keep their blood from freezing. If you stopped jumping, you froze. And here it was –22, Father Arseny was an old man, Alexei had just been beaten up, and both men were exhausted.

The supervisors seized them both and started dragging them out of the barracks. Avsenkov and Sazikov ared to come out of the line and said to the officer, “Comrade Officer, they will freeze to death in this weather. You can’t send them to that cell!” The supervisor slammed them both so hard that they flew dazed against the barracks wall.

Ivan the Brown lowered his head. Fear gripped him as he realised that his own people in the barracks would kill him for this.

Father Arseny and Alexei were dragged to the punishment cell and shoved inside. They both fell, cracking their heads against the wall. It was pitch black inside. Father Arseny stood up and said, “So, here we are. God has brought us together. It is cold Alyosha and there is metal all around.”

They heard the outer door close, the locks click, the voices and the steps of the guards fade away. The cold seized them and constricted their chests. Through the small window with iron bars the moon shone its milky light into the cell.

“We are going to freeze Father Arseny,” moaned Alexei. “It is because of me that we are going to freeze. We are both going to die. We need to keep moving, to jump up and down, but it is impossible to keep that up for 48 hours. I already feel so weak, so battered. My feet are already frozen. There is no room here, we cannot even move. Father Arseny, we are going to die. They are inhuman, it would be better to be shot!”

Father Arseny was silent. Alexei tried to jump, but it did not warm him up. It was hopeless to try to resist such cold.

“Why don’t you say anything, Father Arseny?” Alexei shouted.

As is from somewhere very far away Father Arseny’s answered, “I am praying to God, Alexei!” 

“What’s there to pray about when we are going to freeze?” Alexei muttered. 

“We are here all alone Alexei; for two days no one will come. We will pray. For the first time God has allowed us to pray aloud in this camp, with our full voice. We will pray and the rest is God’s will!” The cold was gradually conquering Alexei and he was sure that Father Arseny was losing his mind. Making the sign of the Cross and quietly pronouncing some words, Father Arseny stood in the ray of moonlight. Alexei’s hands and feet were numbed by the cold; he had no strength in his limbs. He was freezing and no longer cared.

Father Arseny was silent now, and suddenly Alexei heard Father Arseny’s words clearly, and understood that this was a prayer. Alexei had been in church only once, out of curiosity. Although his grandmother had baptized him when he was a child, his family did not believe in God. They simply had no interest in religious matters. They did not know what faith really was. Alexei himself was a student, a member of the Komsomol. How could he believe?

Through the numbness and the pain from the blows he had received, Alexei could clearly hear the words that Father Arseny was saying: “O Lord God have mercy on us sinners! Ever-merciful God! Lord Jesus Christ Who because of Thy love became man to save us all. Through Thine unspeakable mercy save us, have mercy on us and lead us away from the cruel death, because we do believe in Thee, Thou our God and our Creator.” And so the words of prayer poured forth, and in each of these words lay the deepest love and trust in God’s mercy, and unconditional faith in Him.

Alexei started listening to the words of the prayer. At first he was perplexed, but gradually he began to comprehend. The prayer calmed his soul, took away the fear of death, and united him with the old man standing beside him.

“O Lord our God Jesus Christ! Thou didst say with Thy purest lips that if two or three agree to ask for the same thing, then Thy Heavenly Father will grant their prayer because as Thou didst say, “When two or three are gathered in My Name, I am among them.” Alexei was repeating these words after Father Arseny.

The cold had taken over Alexei completely; his entire body was numb. He no longer knew whether he was standing, sitting, or lying down. But suddenly the cell, the cold, the numbness of his body, his pain from the blows he had received and his fear all disappeared. Father Arseny’s voice filled the cell, but was it a cell? Alexei turned to Father Aresny and was stunned. Everything around had been transformed. An awful thought came: “I am losing my mind, this is the end, I am dying.”

The cell had grown wider, the ray of moonlight had disappeared. There was a bright light and Father Arseny, dressed in brilliant white vestments, his hands lifted up, was praying aloud. The clothing on Father Arseny was the same as on the priest Alexei had once seen in church.

The words Father Arseny spoke were now easy to understand, they had become familiar – they entered directly into Alexei’s soul. He felt no more anxiety, no more suffering, no more fear, only the desire to become one with these words, to understand them, to remember them for the rest of his life. There was no more cell: now they were in a church. Hoe had they gotten here? And why was there someone else here with them? Alexei saw with surprise that there were two men assisting Father Arseny. Both were dressed in the same bright vestments and both shone with an undefinable white light. Alexei did not see their faces, but sensed that they were beautiful.

Prayer filled Alexei’s being. He stood up and started praying together with Father Arseny. It was warm and easy to breathe, and happiness filled his soul. Alexei repeated everything Father Arseny was saying, yet he was not simply repeating, but praying together with him. It seemed that Father Arseny had become one with the words of his prayer, but Alexei understood that Father Arseny had not forgotten him and was helping him all the while, helping him to pray. The certainty that God existed, that He was with them, came to Alexei. He saw God with his soul. At time Alexei thought that perhaps they were both already dead, but the firm voice of Father Arseny and his presence kept bringing him back to reality.

How much time had passed he did not know, but Father Arseny turned to him and said, “Go Alyosha! Lie down, you are tired. I will keep praying, you will hear me.” Alexei lay down on the metal-covered floor, closed his eyes, and kept on praying. The words of prayer filled his whole being:”...will agree to ask anything, it will be given to them by My Heavenly Father...”In thousands of ways his heart responded to these words: “gathered in My Name...” “Yes, yes! We are not alone,” thought Alexei from time to time as he continued to pray.

All was peaceful and warm. Suddenly out of nowhere his mother appeared. She covered him with something warm. Her hands took his head, and she pressed him to her heart. He wanted to speak to her, “Mama, can you hear, can you hear how Father Arseny is praying? I’ve learned that God exists, I believe in Him.”

As if she had heard him speak, she answered him, “Alyoshenka! When they took you, I also found God. This is what has given me the strength to live.”

Everything that was awful had disappeared, his mother and Father Arseny were near him. Words of prayer which had been unknown to him now rekindled and warmed his soul. It was important not to forget these words, to remember them all his life. “I never want to be far from Father Arseny, I want always to be with him,” thought Alexei.

Lying on the floor at Father Arseny’s feet, Alexei listened, half-asleep to the beautiful words of the prayer. Father Arseny prayed, and the two others in bright garments prayed with him and served him. They seemed amazed at how Father Arseny could pray. Father Arseny no longer asked for anything, he only glorified God and thanked Him. How long all this lasted no one could say.

The only things that remained in Alexei’s memory were the words of the prayer, a warming and joyful light, Father Arseny praying, the two others in clothes of light, and an enormous, incomparable feeling of inner renewing warmth.

Somebody struck the door, the frozen lock squealed, and voices could be heard from the outside of the cell. Alexei opened his eyes. Father Arseny was still praying. The two in garments of light blessed him and Alexei and slowly left. The blinding light was fading and the cell at last became dark and, as before, cold and gloomy.

“Get up Alexei! They have come for us,” said Father Arseny.

Alexei rose. The head of the camp, the doctor, the main head of the special sector, and the Major were coming in. Somebody behind the door was saying, “This is inexcusable – someone could report this to Moscow. Who knows how they will look at this. Frozen cadavers – this is not the modern way.”

In the cell stood an old man in a patched up vest and the young one in torn clothes with a bruised face. Their faces were calm and their clothing was covered with a thick layer of frost.

“They’re alive?” the Major asked in amazement. “How did they survive here for two days?” 

“We are alive sir,” said Father Arseny. All looked at each other in amazement. 

“Search them.” 

“Come out!” shouted one of the supervisors. Father Arseny and Alexei walked out of the cell. The supervisors removed their gloves and started frisking them. The doctor also removed a glove, put it under Father Arseny’s and then Alexei’s clothing and, to nobody in particular, said, “Amaizing!” How could they have survived? It’s true, though; they’re warm.” The doctor walked into the cell, looked around it and asked, “What kept you warm?”

“Our faith in God, and prayer,” Father Arseny answered. 

“They are simply fanatics. Send them back to the barracks right away,” said one of the supervisors in an irritated voice. As he was walking away, Alexei heard somebody saying, “It’s amazing. In this cold they should have lived no more then four or five hours. It’s unbelievable, considering that it’s -22 out. You supervisors sure got lucky. There could have been some unpleasantness in store for you.”

The barracks met them as if they had risen from the dead. 

Everyone asked, “What saved you?” 

They both answered, “God saved us.” 

Ivan the Brown was transferred to another barracks within days. A week later he was killed by a falling rock. He died in terrible pain. It was rumored that his own friends had helped the rock fall.

Alexei became a new man, as if reborn. He followed Father Arseny whenever he was able to and asked everyone he could about God and about Orthodox services.

The story was told by Alexei and confirmed by several witnesses who lived in the barracks at that time.