Fall 2022 - Winter 2023 (#91-92)

Archpriest Artemy Vladimirov: The Pastoral Years

In this final issue highlighting the life, thus far, of Russian Orthodox Archpriest Artemy Vladimirov, we feature Fr. Artemy’s narrative as the founding priest of the Church of All Saints in the Krasnoye Selo district of Moscow.

Using small vignettes of parish life to portray thirty years of parish life, Fr. Artemy begins with the return of the ruined church at the end of the Soviet period, and the heroic efforts of believers to re-establish public religious life in the new Russia. He continues with a glimpse of the pastoral exchanges leading up to the 2007 reunion of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, and the increasing brotherhood among pastors on both sides.

This double issue also includes Fr. Artemy’s recollections of significant hierarchs, elders, priests, and laypeople from his decades as a pastor. His insight, self-reflection, and warm humor rank this as one of the most honest Orthodox memoirs ever written.

Spring-Summer 2022 (#89-90)

Cultures, Discourse and Grace: Remembering George Alexandrou

In over thirty years of publishing, “The Astonishing Missionary Journeys of the Apostle Andrew” by Greek journalist, political commentator and religious writer George Alexandrou has become the most frequently read and quoted interview in Road to Emmaus history. Two other articles by him followed: on the Greek and Orthodox legacy of Calabria, Italy, and a plea for the study and preservation of holy language.

Equally fascinating was George himself – a man of modesty and integrity, a rich and intriguing personality who was widely esteemed before his sudden death in 2014. In this issue we pay tribute to the writer and the man: the Orthodox journalist, colleague, brother, husband and father. Join us in this warm exchange of those close to this gifted and spontaneous “friend of all the world.”

Personal and Impassioned: Excerpts from the Writings of George Alexandrou

Short excerpts from Road to Emmaus readers’ favorite pieces by George Alexandrou. Articles that spanned a decade and inspired a generation.

I. The Astonishing Missionary Journeys of the Apostle Andrew

II. The Land that Gave Birth to Saints: 2700 Years of Greek Culture in Southern Italy.

III. Defending Old Languages: Cultures, Discourse and Heaven

Winter 2022 (#88)

Time, Incarnation and Eternity

In a remarkable interview, translator Jeremy Ingpen presents the work of the French Orthodox historian and theologian Olivier Clément (1921-2009), whose The Roots of Christian Mysticism: Texts from the Patristic Era with Commentary, has served for decades as a brilliant and readable introduction to the Church Fathers.

Now, we have an equally important volume: Transfiguring Time – Clément’s astonishing book on time and eternity in the Orthodox tradition. From Clément’s agnostic childhood in southwestern France to his search for spirituality in the Asian East and his contact with the best of mid-twentieth century Russian, Romanian, and Athonite spirituality, Ingpen guides us through Clément’s ideas on time and eternity in the light of the Incarnation. We promise an awakening.

Who Are You, Time?

Frederica de Graff, medical specialist at the First Moscow Hospice and author of Nothing Will Separate Us: Working Through the Suffering and Death of a Loved One, turns her attention to the subject of time and eternity in the Orthodox tradition, and how we participate in this post-Resurrection deified time. Frederica developed this popular talk in Russian for Muscovites, interweaving her own observations with notes of her conversations with Met. Anthony Bloom and quotes from his recorded sermons and lectures. Here she provides an English variant as a gift to Road to Emmaus readers.

Fall 2021 (#87)

Fr. Artemy Vladimirov: Ordination and the Early Pastoral Years

In the third of a five-part series, we continue with the engaging narrative of the life of Moscow Protopriest Artemy Vladmirov. As Road to Emmaus readers recall, in 1985 he began teaching Russian, Old Slavonic, and Church Slavonic at the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra Seminary and Theological Academy. Now, in 1987-1988 he would be ordained to the diaconate and the priesthood, embarking on his pastoral work just a few short years before the fall of communism and the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The decade that followed was one of joy, hope, and the greatest rebuilding of church life in the history of Christianity, as tens of thousands of churches and monasteries were raised from under the rubble and our young priest dedicated himself to the awakening of Holy Russia.

The Ordinations: 1987-1988

Spiritual struggle, hope, and grace in approaching the diaconate and priesthood.

The Early Pastoral Years: 1988 - 2000

Experiences of the newly-ordained Priest Artemy, his parishioners, and his spiritual mentors as they set out together on the path to salvation.

“As We Receive the Blessed Grace…”

Transcript of a 1990 film clip featuring Fr. Artemy Vladimirov at Moscow’s Church of the Resurrection of the Word on Nezhdanova Street.

Spring-Summer 2021 (#85-86)

Nothing Will Separate Us: Working Through the Suffering and Death of a Loved One

In a deep and wide-ranging narrative, Frederica de Graaf, medical care-giver at the First Moscow Hospice, shares her conviction that death is an entry into life, and shows how family, friends, clergy, and medical staff can support a dying person of any age, creed, or circumstance. A native of the Netherlands who trained in England and then came to serve in Moscow, Russia’s first hospice, Frederica was a spiritual daughter of the late physician and Russian Orthodox hierarch, Metropolitan Anthony Bloom, on whose teachings she bases her specializations in pain relief and the spiritual, psychological and emotional support of those departing this earthly life. 

Using many of Met. Anthony’s previously untranslated quotes from Russian-language lectures and sermons on the end of life, Frederica describes how we can respond to a patient or loved one facing death with all of our mind and heart, yet without trying to feel pain or emotions that are not our own. And finally, how to offer a creative response to suffering that is rooted in reverence and respect.

Winter 2021 (#84)

Protopriest Artemy Vladimirov: A Teacher’s Work

In this second of a three-part series, we continue with the life of Moscow Orthodox Protopriest Artemy Vladimirov. In 1983, following his university years and marriage, the youthful Artemy embarked on a teaching career, only to find that the Soviet educational system could not allow for even unobtrusive believers. This remarkable account highlights his close ties with his students; the complex and surprising relationships between teachers and administrators, believers and non-believers; and God’s providence in providing a way forward.