Can there have been Two Annunciations?

I originally posted this article in 2013, which contrasts the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary, with what I term the 'second annunciation', to Muhammad. This is perhaps the most significant 'fact' about Islam, one which we should always keep in the forefront of our considerations.

by Ralph H. Sidway


March 25 is the Feast of the Annunciation, when we commemorate the Archangel Gabriel's appearing to the Virgin Mary, as described in the Gospel Reading for the day, Luke 1:24-38:

Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, "Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people." 

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin�s name was Mary. 

And having come in, the angel said to her, �Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!� 

But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 

Then the angel said to her, �Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 

"He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." 

Then Mary said to the angel, �How can this be, since I do not know a man?� 

And the angel answered and said to her, �The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 

"Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible." 

Then Mary said, �Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.� And the angel departed from her.

The icon for the Feast depicts this amazing scene, and the modest, reverent interchange between the young maiden and the powerful archangel sent from God. Notice how the Virgin Mary is traditionally depicted with her hand raised just a bit, with a posture which suggests a bit of reserve, a recoiling, for "she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was."


The Archangel Gabriel is likewise depicted in a dynamic manner, moving towards the Virgin Mary, his right hand blessing, but his knees bent in a posture very familiar to Orthodox Christians, that being one of veneration, such as we make when we venerate a holy icon, or ask a blessing of a priest. And the Gospel indicates Gabriel's assurances to the initially troubled maiden; he wishes to immediately reassure her, describing the ineffable mystery of the conception of the Son of God, as well as offering confirmation of the validity of his annunciation through the news of Mary's cousin Elizabeth, who is nearing the third trimester of her own miraculous pregnancy, "for with God, nothing will be impossible."

Liturgical texts for the feast expand the dialogue between the Archangel and the Maiden, the former saying such things as these to the Theotokos, "Why are you afraid of me, O undefiled one? I rather am afraid of you! Lady, why do you stand in awe of me, who stand in reverent awe of you?"

Then we are told of Mary's humble obedience to the will of God, depicted in the icon by Mary holding the spool of yarn, a visual reference both to the practice of working the loom (traditionally women's work), but especially to the spiritual reality of the Son of God taking flesh, being woven and knit together in the womb of the Virgin. As in all icons of the Theotokos (Greek for Bearer of God), three stars adorn the Virgin Mary's covering, on her shoulders and on her head, denoting that she was a virgin before giving birth, remained a virgin during childbearing, and continued in virginity after giving birth. Hence she is often referred to as the "Ever Virgin" (Greek: Aeiparthenos). A shaft of divine light from the heavens (usually with the form of a dove enveloped in a small nimbus in the middle) indicates the overshadowing by the Holy Spirit and the moment of conception of the son to be named JESUS. As we sing in the profound troparion for the Feast:

Today is the beginning of our salvation,

The revelation of the eternal mystery!

The Son of God becomes the Son of the Virgin

As Gabriel announces the coming of Grace.

Together with him let us cry to the Theotokos:

Rejoice, O Full of Grace, 

The Lord is with You!

Approximately six centuries after this powerful event � and after the saving acts of the Son of Mary, the Son of God, Jesus the Christ � his public ministry, the healings and miracles and signs he performed, (healing the sick, restoring sight to the blind, making the lame to walk, preaching the gospel to the poor, raising the dead), and ultimately his sufferings, his execution and death by crucifixion, his resurrection on the third day, and his ascension in glory into the heavens � followed by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples at Pentecost and the rapid growth (with persecutions) of the Christian Church, and that followed by centuries of continued growth of the Church even against incredible odds and frequent persecution until the advent of Constantine and the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity; and THAT followed by the age of the first six Ecumenical Councils, through which the Church articulated more precisely what it had always believed and taught from the beginning, repudiating every false teaching (heresy) about Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Triune Godhead � Six centuries after the Christian Faith was set in motion by the Annunciation of the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos, another annunciation is claimed to have occurred.

This second annunciation sought to sweep away the entire Christian Revelation, sought to nullify the first and true Annunciation.

This second annunciation sought to sweep away the entire Christian Revelation, sought to nullify the first and true Annunciation. The theological assault of Islam upon Christianity (what I term "theological jihad") has been treated quite thoroughly elsewhere. What I wish to focus on here, is precisely the character of this second annunciation, in which � according to the claims of Islamic source texts and dogma � the Archangel Gabriel came to Muhammad, setting in motion the religion of Islam.

Before we consider this "second annunciation," we should first note the correspondence between the Virgin Mary and Muhammad. The Virgin Mary bore the Word of God made flesh, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Muhammad claimed to have brought the words of God in book form, the Qur'an, which Islam teaches pre-existed in perfect form with Allah before all the ages, in what is called the "Mother of the Book." Thus, although we can rightly compare Jesus and Muhammad in considering the character and essence of Christianity vis a vis that of Islam, the actual theological equivalence is between Jesus and the Qur'an, and between the Virgin Mary and Muhammad.

But what is the nature of this second annunciation? How does it comport with the first? What was its effect upon the recipient? How did the spiritual being which came to Muhammad approach him? How did Muhammad respond? Can we discern anything from the answers to these questions?

Muhammad himself did not at first believe he was being visited by the archangel Gabriel, thinking rather that he was a victim of a jinn (from which we get the word �genie�) or demon.

The first �revelation� brought by the spiritual being (which Islam teaches was the Archangel Gabriel) was an overpowering, forceful and terrifying event, which occurred after Muhammad had spent many days and nights alone in a cave in Hira, worshipping Allah. The powerful spirit being which commanded him to �read and recite� was frightening: Three times, Muhammad related, "He pressed upon me so tightly I thought it was death" (Ibn Ishaq's Life of Muhammad, p106. cf. Hadith from Sahih Bukhari, 5:96:5).

Significantly, Muhammad himself did not at first believe he was being visited by the archangel Gabriel, thinking rather that he was a victim of a jinn (from which we get the word �genie�) or demon. He fled trembling back to his wife Khadija, fearing for his life, crying, �Woe is me, poet [that is, oppressed by demonic visions] or possessed!� (Ishaq, p106)

Muhammad became fearful and suicidal, but was eventually persuaded by his wife Khadija and her uncle Waraqa (a Nestorian heretic) that the messages were from God and that he was Allah�s chosen messenger.

Khadija is credited with being the first Muslim. That Muhammad then actively sought further encounters with the being which assailed him is testimony to his willingness to open himself up to the unseen realm. That he was so easily convinced by his wife and uncle (and the forceful �being�) that he was specially chosen by God and was not demonically oppressed or possessed shows that vainglory and satanic deception had totally seized control of his mind and heart.

After this harrowing initial visitation, there was a three year drought of �revelations,� during which Muhammad suffered from suicidal depression and self-doubt. By the time the "revelations" resumed, Muhammad was predisposed to accept them no matter the cost. He identified himself with the revelations, wholly placed his self-worth in being the recipient of them.

(This is an interesting point, as Muhammad's response to the spirit being and its fierce and deadly assault upon him closely parallels the experiences of today's UFO contacts and abductees. People who have seen a UFO, and especially those who claim a "close encounter," or to have been abducted, often suffer from severe psychological trauma, depression, suicidal tendencies, delusions and more. A very small number become acclimated to the monstrous experience they have had, and some of them, like the hapless Whitley Streiber, become bestselling authors promoting the demons' UFO myth.)

Even this brief study reveals the "annunciation" to Muhammad to be demonic in origin. Thus it is quite clear that Muhammad was worse than just a false prophet and a fraud, but rather became a willing and cooperative victim of demonic deception, if not outright demon possession. We know the rest of the story; the depraved life of Muhammad, the violent history of his successors, and the bloody and ruthless nature of Islam which multiplies its atrocities all around us � all this reveals precisely the nature of this second annunciation.

By their fruits you shall know them.

Commemoration of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, and the Deliverance of Moscow from the Muslim Warlord Tamerlane

Commemorated August 26/September 8.

(OCA.org) The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God was painted by the Evangelist Luke on a board from the table at which the Savior ate together with His All-Pure Mother and Righteous Joseph. The Mother of God, upon seeing this image, exclaimed, �Henceforth, all generations shall call Me blessed. The grace of both My Son and Me shall be with this icon.�

In the year 1131, the icon was sent from Constantinople to Rus' to holy Prince Mstislav (April 15/28) and was installed in the Devichi monastery in Vyshgorod, the ancient appanage city of the holy Equal of the Apostles Princess Olga.

The son of George Dolgoruky, St Andrew Bogoliubsky, brought the icon to the city of Vladimir in 1155 and installed it in the renowned Dormition cathedral which he built. At this time the icon received its name of �the Vladimir Icon.� The icon was first brought to Moscow in the year 1395. Thus, the blessing of the Mother of God established the spiritual bonds of Byzantium and Rus via Kiev, Vladimir and Moscow.

The festal celebration of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos occurs several times during the year (May 21/June 3, June 23/ July 6 and August 26/September 8). The most solemn celebration occurs on August 26, the Feast established in honor of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon upon its Transfer from Vladimir to Moscow.

In the year 1395, the fearsome conqueror Khan Tamerlane (Temir-Aksak) reached the Ryazan frontier, took the city of Elets and advancing towards Moscow he came near the banks of the River Don. Great Prince Basil Dimitrievich went with an army to Kolomna and halted at the banks of the River Oka. He prayed to the holy Hierarchs of Moscow and St Sergius for the deliverance of the Fatherland, and he wrote to the Metropolitan of Moscow St Cyprian (September 16), that the pending Dormition Fast should be devoted to zealous prayers for mercy and repentance.

Clergy were sent to Vladimir, where the famed wonderworking Vladimir Icon was. After Divine Liturgy and a Molieben on the feast of the Dormition, they clergy took the icon and brought it to Moscow. Along the way, on both sides of the road, countless people prayed kneeling: �O Mother of God, save the land of Russia!� At that same hour, when the people of Moscow were meeting the Vladimir Icon on Kuchkov Field, Tamerlane was sleeping in his tent. Suddenly, he saw in a dream a great mountain, at the summit of which were the holy hierarchs with golden staffs coming towards him. Above them, in a brilliant radiance, was a Majestic Woman. She commanded him to leave the domains of Russia.

Awakening in fright, Tamerlane asked the meaning of the vision. The experts answered that the Radiant Lady was the Mother of God, the great Protectress of Christians. Tamerlane then gave the order for his troops to retreat. In memory of this miraculous deliverance of the Russian Land from Tamerlane, they built the monastery of the Meeting on Kuchkov Field, where the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon took place. On August 26, the all-Russian celebration in honor of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God was established.

Very important events in Russian Church history have occurred before the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God: the election and elevation of St Jonah, advocate of an Autocephalous Russian Church (1448), and of St Job, first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (1589), and of His Holiness Patriarch St Tikhon (1917). The enthronement of His Holiness Pimen, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, occurred on a day of celebration in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God on May 21 (O.S.), 1971.

The historical days of May 21, June 23, and August 26, connected with this holy icon, have become memorable days for the Russian Orthodox Church.

Under the Protection of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God

On June 23 each year, the Orthodox Church commemorates Moscow�s deliverance from the hordes of Khan Ahmet in 1480 through the intercessions of the Most Holy Theotokos (Greek: 'Mother of God') and Ever-Virgin Mary:

In 1480 Khan Ahmet advanced upon Moscow and arrived at the Ugra River in Kaluga region, while John III, Grand Duke of Moscow, was waiting on the other side. Suddenly a strong and unreasonable fear came upon the Tartars; Ahmet did not dare to fight the Russians and retreated to the steppe. In honor of this event, an annual Cross procession was instituted, from the Dormition Cathedral to Sretensky monastery. To this day, the Ugra River is called the �Cincture of Theotokos.�

In commemoration this week of this beloved feast of the Protection of the Vladimir Icon, I thought it meet and right to re-post this special article. I hope it blesses and inspires you.

_______

Originally posted June 3, 2013 �

In my book, Facing Islam: What the Ancient Church has to say about the Religion of Muhammad, I devote a special frontispiece to the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God (celebrated August 26), which commemorates the retreat from Moscow and Russia of the fierce Muslim warlord Timur (Tamerlane) and his armies on August 26, 1395, after he had a powerful dream and vision of "saintly hierarchs with golden staffs descending from a high mountain, and a radiant Lady in the air above them, surrounded by unspeakable rays of purest light. A countless multitude of Angels with fiery swords encircled Her."

As the below article describes, there have been many instances where the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God (Greek: Theotokos) has protected the Russian Orthodox people. Indeed, Her protection of the Byzantine faithful is also well attested.

Significantly, the Muslim Tartars never permanently conquered the Russian land, in spite of centuries of repeated assaults and brief occupations. Now, after withstanding and being pruned by seven decades of merciless persecution by the militant atheists, the Holy Russian Orthodox Church has been resurrected, and is once again preaching traditional, Orthodox Christianity throughout the world. This renewed flowering of the Russian Orthodox Church is a dramatic historical event, prophesied by saints from St. Seraphim of Sarov (�1833) to St. John of San Francisco & Shanghai (�1966).

Such intercessions and interventions as described below are a mystery of the Orthodox Christian Church, and should encourage and inspire Christians to greater faith, repentance, prayer, and hope in the ultimate victory of Christ our True God, which will be accomplished and fully revealed at His awesome Second Coming.

For my non-Orthodox readers and visitors, please don't be scandalized by these forms of piety which perhaps seem very foreign to you. For us, the heavenly realm is quite close, and the saints, those who have led God-pleasing lives and have been recognized by the Church as being true and reliable witnesses of the Life in Christ, live with Christ, and never cease to intercede for us who are still struggling through our earthly journey. Just as you would ask your family or friends, or members of your church, to pray for you, so we unhesitatingly ask the prayers of those who "have fought the good fight, have finished the race, and have kept the faith" (2 Tim. 4:7). The Virgin Mary, we believe, is unique among the saints, as she said "Yes" to God and bore the Son of God, Jesus, in her womb. We do not think of her as an intermediary between us and Christ (see 1 Tim. 2:5), but as a powerful intercessor, and as Mother of all the Faithful, whom Jesus mystically instructs us to take into the abode of our hearts (see Jn. 19:26-27). Here is a good article on the Orthodox understanding of the Virgin Mary.

THE VLADIMIR ICON OF THE MOTHER OF GOD

The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God

Rejoice, our beloved Orthodox Russia;  Rejoice, for the true Faith is strengthened in thee... Rejoice, thou who prayest for us; Rejoice, our fervent Intercessor! Rejoice, O Most Pure, for from Thy icon mercy pours forth upon us. From the Akathist to the Most Holy Mother of God in honor of Her Vladimir Icon The histories of Moscow and of the icon of Vladimir Mother of God are eternally inseparable. How many times did the Mother of God save the capital city from enemies through the grace of her holy icon? This icon has linked Apostolic times to Byzantium, Kievan Rus� to Vladimir Rus�, and later to Muscovy, the Third Rome; as it is said, �there will be no Fourth.� The kingdom of Moscow was formed by divine providence and embraced the mystical ties of ancient empires, historical experience and traditions of other Orthodox peoples. The miracle working Vladimir icon became a symbol of unity and succession. Words cannot describe this icon; any verbal expression would be hollow compared to the gaze of the Theotokos from her image. This look contains everything � life and death; resurrection, eternity, immortality. According to ancient tradition, the Holy Evangelist, Physician, and Iconographer Luke painted three icons of the Theotokos. When the Most Pure One looked at them, she said: �May the grace of the One Who was born of me, and my grace, be with these Holy Icons.� One of these Icons is now known as the Vladimir icon. This depiction of Our Lady was kept in Jerusalem until 450 AD, after which it was taken to Constantinople. In the first half of twelfth century Luke Chrysoberges, Patriarch of Constantinople, sent the icon (together with the other image of Theotokos, known as �Pirogoschaya�) as a gift to Grand Duke Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky, who placed it in the Vyshgorod convent (near Kiev), an area once belonging to Equal-to-the-Apostles, Grand Duchess Olga. In 1155 Vyshgorod became a possession of Prince Andrew, son of Yuri Dolgoruky. When prince Andrew decided to return to his homeland in Suzdal, he took this Icon without his father�s permission. As he traveled, he continually served molebens before it. The people of Vladimir-on-Klyazma met their prince with joy. Afterwards the prince wanted to continue on to Rostov, but six and half miles from Vladimir their horses stopped near the Klyazma River, and refused to go any further. Even newly harnessed horses refused to proceed. The astounded Prince Andrew fell weeping in front of the Icon and prayed. Thereafter the Theotokos appeared to him with a scroll in her hand, and ordered to leave Her image in the city of Vladimir, and to build later a monastery on the place of her appearance in honor of her Nativity. Prince Andrew left the icon in Vladimir, and since 1160 it has been called the �Vladimir� icon. In 1164 Prince Andrew Bogolubsky took this Icon on his campaign against Volga Bulgarians. After the prince went to Confession and took Communion, he prostrated before the image of Theotokos, and said: �All who put their trust in Thee, Our Lady, will not perish!� All the soldiers followed their prince to venerate with tears the miraculous icon, and went to battle with trust in the aid of the Mother of God. The infidels were defeated. A moleben was served before the holy icon after their victory on the battlefield. A miracle occurred during the prayer of the Russian soldiers--a light from the icon and from the Holy Cross illuminated entire area. On the other side of Christian world, at the same time and on the same day, the Byzantine Emperor Manuel saw the light of Christ�s Cross, and, being encouraged by this sign, triumphed over Saracens. After Prince Andrew and the emperor of the Second Rome related their experiences to one another, the Feast of the Procession of the Precious Wood of the Live-Giving Cross of the Lord was established on the first of August. This feast is also called the �First Feast of the Savior� by the Russian people. Many other miracles were revealed through the wondrous icon. Icon of the Meeting of the Vladimir Icon at Moscow In 1395, Tamerlane with his Tartar horde approached Moscow. Christians had only one hope�in God�s help. The Grand Duke of Moscow, Vasiliy Dmitrievich, requested that the icon be carried from Vladimir to Moscow. The procession from Klyazma took ten days. People stood on their knees all along the road upon which the procession passed, and, stretching out their hands, begged: �O Mother of God, save the Russian Land!� The city of Moscow waited solemnly for the Vladimir Icon. All the city�s clergy took part in the procession. The Duke�s family, boyars, and common Moscovites came outside the city walls to Kuchkovo fields to meet and accompany the icon to the Dormition Cathedral in the Kremlin. This was on August 26. Later, a chronicler wrote, �The whole city came out to meet the Icon.� The Metropolitan, the Grand Duke, �men and women, youths and maidens, children and babes, orphans and widows, the little with the great came out with crosses and icons, with Psalms and spiritual hymns; everyone was in tears, and no person could be found who did not pray fervently with sighs and tears.� The Theotokos heard the prayers of those who had faith in her. At the same time when people were meeting the icon on banks of the Moscow River, Tamerlane lay sleeping in his tent. He saw a vision � saintly hierarchs with golden staffs descending from a high mountain, and a radiant Lady in the air above them, surrounded by unspeakable rays of purest light. A countless multitude of Angels with fiery swords encircled Her� Tamerlane woke up in fear. All the Tartar wise men, elders and fortunetellers explained that the Woman whom he had seen in the vision was the protectress of the Orthodox, the Mother of God, and that her power is invincible. After this, the �Iron Lame,� as Tamerlane was called, ordered his horde to retreat. Both the Tartars and the Russians were astonished by this. The chronicler continued, �Tamerlane fled, pursued by the might of Most Pure Virgin!� The grateful Muscovites built the Sretensky Monastery on the site of the meeting of the miracle-working icon which took place on August 26, 1395, �That the great works of God may never be forgotten.� After remaining for 242 years near the Klyazma River, the Vladimir Icon of Theotokos was taken to Moscow and placed in the Kremlin Dormition Cathedral. Thanks to its grace-filled protection, Moscow was spared in 1408 from Khan Edigey, in 1451 from the Nogay prince, Mazovshi, and in 1459 from his father Khan Sedi-Ahmet. In 1480 Khan Ahmet advanced upon Moscow and arrived at the Ugra River in Kaluga region, while John III, Grand Duke of Moscow, was waiting on the other side. Suddenly a strong and unreasonable fear came upon the Tartars; Ahmet did not dare to fight the Russians and retreated to the steppe. In honor of this event, an annual Cross procession was instituted, from the Dormition Cathedral to Sretensky monastery. To this day, the Ugra River is called the �Cincture of Theotokos.� In 1521, the khan of Kazan, Mehmad-Girey, advanced toward Moscow with Kazan and Nogay Tartars. Metropolitan Varlaam prayed with the people before the Vladimir Icon. Grand Duke Vasiliy Ivanovich barely managed to gather enough soldiers to meet the Tartars at the kingdom�s border, near the Oka River. He was slowly retreating to Moscow, trying hard to hold ranks. On the night of the siege, a nun from Ascension Monastery (in the Kremlin) saw the holy hierarchs coming through the closed doors of Dormition Cathedral, carrying the miracle-working Vladimir Icon. These were saints who had lived two centuries earlier--Metropolitans of Moscow Peter and Alexei. She also saw how their procession was met by Saint Varlaam of Hutyn (near Novgorod) and Saint Sergius of Radonezh, near the Tower of the Savior in the Kremlin wall. They prostrated before the icon and pleaded the Most Pure One not to abandon the Dormition Cathedral and the people of Moscow. The Intercessor then returned through close doors into Cathedral. The nun hastened to relate her vision to the citizens of Moscow, who gathered in the church for a heartfelt prayer. The Tartars again saw a vision of �a huge regiment in shining armor,� and ran away from the walls of the city. Thus, the people�s prayers before the Vladimir Icon have saved the Russian land many times. To commemorate these events, the following feast days were established: May 21, in honor of Moscow�s deliverance from Crimean Khan Mehmad-Girey in 1521; June 23, in honor of Moscow�s deliverance from the hordes of Khan Ahmet in 1480; and August 26, in honor of Moscow�s deliverance from Tamerlane�s army in 1395. One version of the Vladimir Icon bears the special name, �Tree of the Muscovite Nation.� The first of these Icons was painted during the sunset of ancient Russia, in 1668, by the royal iconographer Simon (Pimen) Ushakov, for the Holy Trinity Church at Nikitniki near Kitay-gorod. This icon depicts Saints Peter and Alexis watering a tree growing out of the Kremlin walls; the branches of the tree bear icons of Russian saints, and at center is an oval image of the Vladimir Mother of God. Another icon, called the �Laudation of the Theotokos� depicts Old Testament prophets with unfurled scrolls, upon which are written words of the Akathist to the Mother of God. The �Tree of the Muscovite Nation� icon similarly shows the heavenly protectors of Russia, who glorify and praise the Most Pure One, and pray to her to protect the Russian land. Troparion, Tone 4 Today the city of Moscow is radiant for it receives the sunbeam of thy wonderworking icon, O Lady. As we greet it we pray to thee and cry: O wonderful Mother of God, pray to Christ our God Who was incarnate of thee that this city and all cities and countries be kept safe from all enemy assaults and that our souls may be saved, for He is merciful . by Nadezhda Dimitrieva Translated by Anton Alexeyenko Source: Pravoslavie.ru