Стјеничанка: Venerable Mother Ephrosyne of Alexandria, the Namesday of Abbess Efrosinija of Novi Stjenik and 20th Anniversary of Persecution

понедељак, 9. октобар 2023.

Venerable Mother Ephrosyne of Alexandria, the Namesday of Abbess Efrosinija of Novi Stjenik and 20th Anniversary of Persecution

This year, on our Abbess’ namesday, 25 September OS/8 October NS, our sisterhood celebrated the twentieth anniversary of our persecution and exile from our monastery old Stjenik.

Icon of Venerable Mother Ephrosyne, work of the iconographic studio of Novi Stjenik,

with relics of the saint

Venerable Mother Ephrosyne of Alexandria, who was glorified through a very unusual and difficult podvig[i] of living the monastic life among monks, disguised as a man, is not just the patron saint of Novi Stjenik’s Abbess Mother Efrosinija, but also the saint on whose feast day is the day on which our sisterhood exactly twenty years ago at old Stjenik Monastery on Jelica mountain confessed True Orthodoxy and were violently expelled by the ecumenist Serbian Patriarchate. Since then St Ephrosyne has become our guide and protectress in these times of confusion. Just as St Ephrosyne teaches us to be strong in monasticism and uncompromising with sin through her example of strict preservation of purity in a sea of temptations, so does she also mystically shelter and strengthen us on the narrow path of preservation of True Orthodoxy and right living in the midst of many false teachings. On this day, twenty years ago, the representatives of the ecumenist, heretical official Serbian Church brutally cast our entire sisterhood out of our monastery, which we had entirely rebuilt from near ruin, onto the cold October fields with no shelter and no idea where we would go.

Looking back now, twenty years later, we are comforted and encouraged because we see that the Lord never abandoned us. He always provided enough of the earthly goods for us, no more nor less than necessary, while He brought delight and richness to our souls with the gifts of the true, holy Orthodox faith.

To our great joy, on this momentous occasion, many brothers and sisters in Christ made the great effort to come to our mountain wilderness, far from the world, to glorify Holy Orthodoxy and the memory of St Ephrosyne. The presence of the most reverend Abbess Ambrosia of Bulgaria and her sisters was a special honor.

Fittingly, two men, now pastors, Fr. Stefan Nikolic of the Nis parish and Fr Jovan Ristic of Uteshiteljevo, who had been with us on those very days of persecution twenty years ago, served the Holy Liturgy, which was sung by the entire sisterhood with great sincerity and gratitude. We were so glad to have them as well as our guests. At the end of Holy Liturgy they blessed the traditional Serbian Slava kolach (bread) and koliva.