The Holy Fathers of the Church recognized that miraculous phenomena and experiences of the supernatural exist not only in the Orthodox Church, but also in other confessions. The attitude towards them was determined based on the biblical understanding, according to which not all miracles are from God, but there are miracles performed by the power of the devil, for in order to seduce people sometimes “Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14). Already in the description of the competition between Moses and the Egyptian sorcerers (see: Exodus 7:10-12) it is shown that the miracles of the pagans are not from God; it talks in detail about the miracles that the devil will perform during the Antichrist (see: Rev. 13:11-14).
St. John Cassian wrote that “very often people who are depraved in mind and opponents of the faith... cast out demons and perform great miracles, so that even the power of healing sometimes comes from the unworthy and sinful. Healings of this kind occur through the seduction and trickery of demons. A person devoted to obvious vices can sometimes perform amazing actions. Through this they are carried away to imitate his vices and wickedness, and a vast path opens up to humiliate and blaspheme the holiness of the Christian religion.”
The devil performs miracles in false religions and heretical churches in order to keep their adherents in these errors, and also, as far as possible, to attract Orthodox Christians to these errors.
The so-called Fatima miracles were critically studied by many Orthodox authors, in particular, Hierodeacon Macarius (Petanov), Deacon Alexei Staritsyn, V. Melnikov, and noted the extremely dubious nature of these miracles.
Indeed, this phenomenon strongly supports Catholicism, which is why it is not surprising that Catholics actively promoted the Fatima events. That “lady” who appeared to three Portuguese shepherdesses at the beginning of the twentieth century fully recognized the primacy of the Pope and his claims to worldwide spiritual power when she said that it was up to him to dedicate certain countries, in particular Russia, to the Mother of God, this “lady” directly professed the Catholic dogma of purgatory, spoke about the salvation of Roman Catholicism, supported and propagated the Catholic “Cult of the Immaculate Heart” and the practice of praying the Rosary, the “angel” who appeared communed the children with unleavened bread and expressed the blasphemous idea that children should make atonement sacrifices for the sins of unbelievers.
There is no doubt that, according to the prediction of the “Lady,” a real miracle took place, which in 1917 was seen simultaneously by several thousand people, including non-believers. But turning to the descriptions of eyewitnesses, in this massive miracle we will not see anything similar to the miracles of God. All true miracles described in the Gospel and the lives of the saints had a clear spiritual and moral significance. But what is the meaning, what is the edification, what is the spiritual benefit, what is the testimony of Christ in the fact that the sun turned pearlescent, the trees turned purple, and the people yellow, and that some luminous object moved quickly in the sky? What is Christlike about these undoubtedly unusual color and light effects? Nothing. It is not surprising that some Orthodox authors called this mass miracle of Fatima one of the rehearsals of the Antichrist miracles. It is noteworthy that at a certain period the children themselves doubted that it was the Mother of God and the angels who appeared to them; after the apparitions, they experienced severe physical and mental exhaustion, and sometimes despair.
As for the prophecies about the victory of communism in Russia and the persecution of Christians, which the “Lady” allegedly uttered, it should be borne in mind that they were first recorded in 1936, nineteen years after they were allegedly heard.
Inconsistencies associated with the phenomena of the "Lady" who for a long time did not call herself to the children in any way, there were so many that the Catholic priest, who was the first to hear about them, treated this story with great suspicion. But quite quickly (within two years in the person of the local bishop) the Roman Catholic hierarchy recognized these miracles and began to actively support their cult, because, despite some inconsistencies, in general this entire Fatima action encouraged local Catholics to be more zealous adherents of Catholicism (which was very important for Portugal at that time), and the Russian people should have been taught the idea that the Mother of God shows her care for Russia through the Roman Catholic Church, which was quite consistent with the Vatican policy pursued in the twentieth century.
As Father Tikhon (Shevkunov) noted, “the goal of the entire almost 100-year-old Fatima action... seems to be another attempt to subjugate Russia to the Pope. In any case, all interpretations of the so-called “Mysteries of Fatima” boiled down to this.”
History does not know many cases when the Blessed Virgin appeared to ordinary people. Apparitions of the Mother of God also occurred in the 20th century. Some of them were even captured on film or video camera. We have selected three of the most impressive stories that will not leave anyone indifferent.
History of the Painted Image on Mount Athos
September 3 in the Orthodox calendar is marked by the feast of the unusual image of the Mother of God, called the Light-Painted. On it the Blessed Virgin is depicted with a loaf of bread in her hands. The name “Light Painting” is no coincidence: “light painting” is a literal translation from the Greek word “photography”. And it is with photography that his story is connected.
The events that we will talk about took place in 1903 on Holy Mount Athos and are considered, perhaps, one of the most famous apparitions of the Mother of God of our time. The monks of the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery then had a tradition - every week they distributed alms to the nomadic monks on Athos, called Siromakhs, and others in need. The necessary provisions for these purposes were brought to them from the Russian farmsteads of the monastery.
However, this year the Holy Kinot, the main governing body on Mount Athos, decided to stop the distribution of alms, since it corrupts those asking. It was on this day, September 3, 1903, that the monks decided to distribute the last alms, after which they read out the resolution of Kinot.
At the time of the distribution of alms, a certain monk named Gabriel took a photograph with beggars who received alms in the form of flatbread - chereks. However, no one expected that during the development of the negative, the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary would appear in the photograph, standing with the poor and receiving alms. It is clear that after this, charity in the Russian monastery on Athos, pleasing to God and His Most Pure Mother, continued.
At the site of the described event in 2011, a chapel was built and a source was drawn to it, and a temple was erected in honor of the Illustrated Image. For a long time, the original negative of the photograph itself was lost due to many events that befell the monastery. And only last year it was found again in the archives of the monastery.
The longest apparition of the Mother of God in Zeitoun
Unfortunately, very little is known about this phenomenon in our country. The reason for this is that it fell on Soviet times, when atheistic propaganda tried to hush up such news. At the same time, the phenomenon in Zeitoun is the longest and most documented miracle, which was also witnessed by maximum quantity people.
The first phenomenon occurred on April 2, 1968 in the city of Zeitoun, which is considered a suburb of the Egyptian capital Cairo. That evening, two car park workers noticed a translucent luminous figure of a Woman on the dome of a temple belonging to the Coptic Orthodox Church.
At first, one of the workers thought that she had decided to commit suicide and began to shout, persuading Her not to do this. Soon they called the priest of this church and realized that this was not an ordinary woman, but Holy Mother of God. She prayed in front of the cross on the dome, which also glowed.
The phenomenon in Zeitoun repeated a week later, and then occurred at varying intervals until May 29, 1971. It lasted for different periods of time: from several minutes to two hours. During this time, crowds of thousands of people of different faiths and even non-believers gathered to see the miracle. Many of them subsequently converted to Christianity.
Also, this appearance of the Mother of God was marked by various miracles and healings. The first of these happened to the same car park worker who first noticed Virgo. The next day, his finger was supposed to be amputated, but the doctor stated that this was no longer necessary, since the finger was healthy.
How the Blessed Virgin looked and behaved was captured on many video and photo cameras. She was wearing long clothes with a covering on her head. A halo shone around the head, behind which it was impossible to distinguish facial features. Sometimes She was seen holding the baby Jesus in her arms. Sometimes She held an olive branch in her hands.
Glowing doves often appeared around the Most Holy Theotokos; it happened that they formed a cross, and then gathered together and seemed to melt into the air. Often the Mother of God turned and blessed people. Moreover, no projectors or lighting devices that could simulate this miracle were found.
However, one must understand that this miracle could also be a phenomenon of a different, opposite nature, as Professor A.I. Osipov, for example, treats it with caution.
The Blessed Virgin resurrected a Muslim in Damascus
The next story is very different from the previous two, as well as from everything you can imagine. Any novelist or screenwriter could envy her plot. But the most amazing thing in the story, perhaps, is that all this actually happened. And although the appearance of the Mother of God was witnessed by one person, himself a participant in the events, the incredible consequences of the miracle were confirmed by many, including medical staff.
This incident is best known as the “miracle in Syria.” Some Syrian media trumpeted about him, Saudi Arabia and Palestine in 2004, first on television, then on radio, through newspapers and magazines. Its participant and main character events - a certain sheikh from Saudi Arabia. Sometimes sources mention his name: Shahid D.
Shortly before the events described, he successfully married. The marriage of a young wealthy family was marred by only one thing: they had no children. The parents even advised their son to marry another woman, since polygamy is permissible in Islam, and to give birth to an heir from her. Instead, Shahid went with his wife on a trip to Damascus, Syria, to relieve his grief.
There they hired a limousine with a driver-guide who took them to all the sights of the city. The guide sensed their sad mood and soon learned the reason for it. Then the guide advised us to visit the Seidnaya Orthodox monastery, famous for its miraculous icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There existed interesting tradition: believers ate part of the wick from the lamp standing in front of the image of the Most Pure One, in front of which they prayed, and after that their useful petitions were fulfilled.
The sheikh and his wife, inspired by what they heard, immediately wanted to visit this place. At the same time, they promised that if their problem was resolved favorably, they would generously reward the driver with twenty thousand dollars and donate four times as much to the monastery itself.
And a miracle happened! Soon after returning from the monastery, the sheikh's wife became pregnant, and nine months later they had a son. But this was only the beginning of the benefits that the Most Holy Theotokos provided to the Gentile. Shahid did not forget about his promise and warned the driver that he would soon come to Damascus to thank him and make a donation to the monastery.
However, the guide decided to rob the generous Muslim and take all his money. To do this, he persuaded two more partners to meet the sheikh at the airport with him. On the way, Shahid tried to persuade the criminals, promised to pay each of them ten thousand, but, blinded by greed and anger, they took him to a wasteland and killed him, taking all the money and jewelry.
But the desperation of the attackers did not end there: they dismembered the corpse, cutting off the head, legs and arms. However, for some reason, they did not leave the body here, but put it in the trunk, intending to bury it in another deserted place. But then God’s providence unexpectedly intervened. On the way on the highway, the criminals' car broke down.
One driver passing by offered them his help, to which the attackers rudely refused. The driver was alarmed by their behavior. In addition, he accidentally noticed traces of blood pouring from the trunk. Therefore, soon the police were already at this place. After much argument, the criminals had to open the trunk...
But what was everyone’s surprise when a living sheikh came out of the trunk with the words: “The Most Holy Theotokos just gave me the last stitch here!” He pointed to his neck. The three attackers immediately lost their minds, which led them to admit that they had killed this man. They were placed in a prison for the insane.
Doctors confirmed an extraordinary incident: the stitches turned out to be completely fresh. Moreover, even the thinnest and most delicate vessels were connected, which was impossible to accomplish using conventional medical means. The sheikh, brought back to life, in gratitude for this, donated ten times more to the monastery than he had previously promised.
He himself said that he saw everything that happened to him, the appearance of the Mother of God and his healing, as if from the outside. After this incident, the Muslim sheikh and his entire family converted to Orthodoxy. The believer tries to talk about the miracle that happened to him in Syria as often as possible, although the Arab media try to hush up about it, fearing the conversion of even more Muslims to Christianity.
You will learn more about one of the described miracles from the video:
There is hardly a single person in the world who has not heard of Virgin Mary. From the first days after her dormition to this day, the Blessed Virgin Mary helps Christians. According to Holy Scripture, The Mother of God, appearing to the apostles on the third day after Her Dormition, told them: “Rejoice, I will be with you all the days.”
It is noted that apparition of the Virgin Mary most often coincide with some future catastrophes, wars and other large-scale disasters.
The Virgin Mary supposedly warns people of danger. Most often She appears in the form of a light female silhouette, as if woven from a haze. According to church scriptures, Jesus crucified on the cross entrusted His Mother to the care of John the Evangelist, his beloved disciple, and all humanity to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
There is an opinion that the Mother of God does not appear to everyone, but only to those who deeply believe and listen to her advice. Of course, this Divine miracle, like all other miracles, is subject to criticism and disbelief by skeptics. But be that as it may, there are known cases when Divine help contributed to the salvation of people.
SENORA GUADELUPE
In Latin America, the most revered shrine is the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. She is considered the patroness of both Americas and is called: “Our Lady Guadalupe.” It all started in December 1531, when 17-year-old Indian Juan Diego, walking to morning mass past Tepeyac Hill, heard someone singing from above.
Climbing the hill, the young man saw a young woman who looked more like his fellow tribesmen than a Spanish woman. The woman seemed to be inside a shining cloud. She introduced herself as the Mother of God. For four days in a row, the Mother of God appeared to Juan Diego, turning to the young man with a request that a church be built on this hill, where everyone could honor her Son, Jesus Christ.
However, the priests decided that the young man was simply fantasizing, because the Indians, as the Spaniards then believed, had no soul, which means that the Virgin Mary could not appear to them.
Then the Virgin Mary ordered the Indian to collect flowers on a rocky hill. The young man obeyed meekly, even though he knew very well that nothing grew there. And suddenly he saw a rose bush growing right on the stone. “Here is My sign,” said the Virgin Mary. “Take these roses, wrap them in your cloak and take them to the bishop.” This time he will believe you."
When Juan Diego unrolled his cloak in front of the bishop, everyone present fell to their knees: the image of the Blessed Virgin was imprinted on the fabric of the cloak. After this, six million Indians converted to Christianity. Thus the baptism of Latin America took place.
"I AM THE IMMACULATE CONCEPT"
The small city of Lourdes, located in southwestern France, became widely famous in 1858 thanks to the 14-year-old girl Bernadette Soubirous. It was she who was honored to witness as many as 18 (!) apparitions of the Virgin Mary. In the cold February of 1858, Bernadette and other children were collecting branches for kindling in the grove.
To get to the deposits of branches, they had to ford a stream. When Bernadette came out to the other side, she heard a noise similar to the sound of the wind, and near the grotto that opened to her gaze she saw a lady in a white dress, at whose feet were scattered yellow roses. Surprisingly, no one else saw anything.
This time the girl did not dare talk to the stranger; she decided that it was the ghost of a recently deceased village resident. Despite her fear, she was drawn to the grotto, and she came there again and again. Now the girl understood that the Virgin Mary was appearing before her, asking her to pray for sinners. During one of her apparitions, the Mother of God gave Bernadette an instruction: “Go to the priests and say: I want a chapel to be built here.”
But the priests took the stories as empty fiction, and the girl as completely crazy. Only her confessor asked to know the woman’s name. And Our Lady answered: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” When the girl conveyed these words to him, the priest was amazed to the core.
Bernadette could not know that shortly before the events described, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And the ministers themselves had previously used the expression “Sinless Conception.” And this meant that the girl really communicates with the Virgin Mary.
The Mother of God also showed Bernadette a miraculous source, to which millions of people subsequently began to flock. In the first year alone, five officially certified healings took place at this source. Bernadette later became a nun under the name Maria Bernarda and died at the age of 35. Already in 1933 she was canonized by the Catholic Church.
Before recognizing her as a saint, representatives of the Catholic Church opened the grave three times. Witnesses to the exhumation were not only priests, but also doctors and other respected members of society. And each time they were all convinced: the body of Bernadette Soubirous was not touched by decomposition. A temple was built at the site of the appearance of the Virgin Mary, and Lourdes is now visited by about five million pilgrims a year.
FATIMA MIRACLE
Perhaps the most significant and famous series of apparitions of the Mother of God began in May 1917 in the Portuguese city of Fatima.
First, the Virgin Mary appeared to three children: Lucie, Jacinta and Francisco, who were playing in a field not far from their house. She asked if they were ready to become the chosen ones of the Lord in order to atone for the insults and blasphemies inflicted on the Mother of God. They enthusiastically agreed.
When leaving, she ordered the children to pray daily for peace and the salvation of sinners and ordered them to come to the meeting place on the thirteenth day of each month. The boys told their parents about everything, and they, in turn, told their neighbors. And already on the 13th of the next month, about 60 people accompanied the children.
It must be said that no one saw the appearance of the Mother of God except these three guys, nevertheless, every month there were more and more people on the field.
Pilgrims began to flock to Fatima from all over the world. Two days before October 13, all the roads leading to the city were clogged with carts and pedestrians. Waiting for the appearance of the Virgin Mary, people, and there were about 70 thousand of them, slept on the ground, despite the cold October rain that had been falling for three days.
Everyone was soaked to the skin. At noon, everyone present knelt down, despite the mud and puddles. Lucia, seeing the Mother of God, exclaimed: “Here she is!”, and everyone saw how the children were enveloped in a light white cloud. It rose up three times and fell again on the children.
Then eyewitnesses said that the rain suddenly stopped, the sun came out, but its appearance was strange: a disk surrounded by a shining crown, which you could look at without squinting.
In front of everyone’s eyes, the sun first spun like a huge fiery wheel, scattering multi-colored bright flashes in all directions, then it seemed to separate from the sky and began to spiral downwards, radiating heat. This dance of the sun lasted at least ten minutes and was visible many kilometers from Fatima.
When it was all over, people were surprised to find that their clothes were suddenly dry. This was the last appearance of the Mother of God to children.
The Virgin Mary left them three predictions, the last of which was revealed only recently. The first and second were made public by permission of Pope Pius XII in 1942. One spoke of an impending war that would claim millions of lives (apparently referring to the Second world war). The second prophecy concerned Russia, which must devote its heart to the Virgin Mary so that peace and tranquility will replace the chaos in the country.
But the third message remained a sealed secret for a long time. Only in 2000 did Pope John Paul II lift the veil: it concerned an attempt on his life. Indeed, in 1981, John Paul II was shot by a Turkish terrorist.
But that's not all: presumably, the third message also contains information about the further tragic fate of the Catholic Church. It seems that church hierarchs prefer to hide it so as not to cause unrest among believers.
ON THE ROAD OF WAR
Immediately after the invasion of Hitler’s troops into the territory of the USSR, Patriarch of Antioch Alexander III accepted seclusion and retired to the dungeon in which the icon of the Mother of God was kept. Without food, water or sleep, he prayed for help for Russia.
Three days later, the Virgin Mary appeared to him and said: “Temples, monasteries, theological academies and seminaries should be opened throughout the country. Priests must be returned from the fronts and released from prisons. They must start serving. There is no way to surrender Leningrad! Let them take it out miraculous icon The Kazan Mother of God and will carry her in a religious procession around the city, then not a single enemy will set foot on his holy land. A prayer service must be performed in front of the Kazan Icon in Moscow, then it must arrive in Stalingrad. The Kazan icon must go with the troops to the borders of Russia.”
Surprisingly, Stalin heeded these words. He promised Metropolitans Alexy and Sergius all assistance. The icon of the Kazan Mother of God was taken from Vladimir Cathedral, it was carried in a religious procession around Leningrad, and the city survived.
According to some reports, the plane, controlled by Stalin’s personal pilot, flew around the defended Moscow with the miraculous Kazan image on board. Few people know that Battle of Stalingrad began with a prayer service. Then the icon stood among our troops on the right bank of the Volga, and the Germans were unable to cross the river, no matter how hard they tried.
PHENOMENON IN CHERNOBYL
The rector of the St. Elias Church, Nikolai Yakushin, says: “On a rainy spring evening in the sky over Chernobyl, many townspeople saw in an extraordinary radiance a female silhouette descending from the rain clouds. For a certain time, the rain completely subsided and there was an extraordinary silence. Witnesses of the phenomenon realized with fear that something especially important was happening concerning the city itself.
From the unclear silhouette, an image similar to the image of the Virgin Mary in the form of Oranta gradually became clearly visible.
The townspeople saw in the hands of the Mother of God a bunch of dry grass, which she dropped; the grass fell and scattered across the wet ground. In May, when everything everywhere begins to turn green, bloom and bloom, dried grass is practically not found.
And here on earth in large quantities It turned out to be dry stems of grass called Chernobyl. At one time, the radiance moved to the St. Elias Church, and the Holy Virgin blessed God’s temple with both hands. The vision left as suddenly as it appeared.”
Then the appearance of the Virgin Mary was interpreted in its own way: supposedly Mother of God blessed the temple, and dry grass most likely meant a bad year. Only 20 years later the meaning of the miraculous appearance of the Mother of God became clear. She warned of impending danger, because it was no coincidence that she dropped a bunch of dry grass, called Chernobyl, or wormwood, on the city of the same name.
“The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a lamp, and fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of this star is “wormwood,” and the third part of the waters became wormwood, and many of the people died from the waters, because they became bitter” (Revelation of St. John the Theologian 8:10-11).
The life of Saint Andrew describes the vision that opened to him: he was shown the beauties of paradise, but, not seeing the Mother of God anywhere, he asked his mysterious companion: “Where is She?” In response I heard: “She walks the earth and collects the tears of those who cry.” This is how the Blessed Virgin Mary walks to this hour and will always walk the earth, collecting the tears of the suffering.
One of the military men who took part in the assault on Konigsberg in 1944 said: “When the front commander arrived, there were priests with him with an icon of the Mother of God. After serving the prayer service, they calmly walked towards the front line. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, the shooting from the German side stopped, and our troops began the assault.
The incredible happened: the Germans died in the thousands and thousands surrendered! The captured Germans later said in one voice: “Before the Russian assault began, Madonna appeared in the sky, which was visible to the entire German army. At this time, absolutely everyone’s weapon failed - they could not fire a single shot.”
Everyone remembers the tragedy in Budennovsk in 1995, when Basayev’s gang captured the staff and patients of the central city hospital. During those terrible days, local residents several times saw in the sky the image of a grieving woman, dressed in dark clothes and standing at a cross formed by clouds.
Apparitions of the Virgin Mary occurred both before the terrorist attack itself and after the militants left the city. Many are still convinced that some of the terrorists were demoralized by Her appearance and this was the decisive moment for the release of the hostages.
FICTION OR REALITY?
There is still no consensus about the apparitions of the Virgin Mary. People react differently to such rumors. Those who were lucky enough to witness this miracle indignantly reject the idea of a hoax. Skeptics shrug their shoulders.
It must be said that scientists have not yet managed to solve this mystery. Some of them explain this by more familiar modern world reasons. For example, the French-American scientist Jacques Vallee is sure that aliens are actually involved in the Fatima miracle.
“The famous visions at Fatima are a striking historical example of the religious overtones of UFO encounters. The factual side of the events is quite well known, but I am willing to bet that few people know the true essence of what happened in 1917 near this small Portuguese town.
Even fewer people, I believe, know that the series of sightings of a creature believed to be the Virgin Mary began two years earlier with a series of classic UFO sightings,” wrote Valle in the book “Parallel World.”
Russian scientist V. Mezentsev explains that the sun dance, which was observed by 70 thousand pilgrims who came to Fatima on October 13, 1917, together with their children, was an optical illusion, a trick of light. Be that as it may, the Roman Catholic Church officially recognized the Fatima miracle and many other apparitions of the Virgin Mary.
Today, when the world is continually shaken by catastrophes, tragedies, confrontations, intolerance and wars, perhaps we should not break spears in meaningless disputes, but simply heed these warnings and hear the main call of the Most Holy Theotokos: “People, stop in your madness!”
And then there will be more goodness and less sorrow in the world.
Galina BELYSHEVA
FATIMA
The greatest miracle of the twentieth century was the appearance of the Virgin Mary to three shepherd children in Fatima (Portugal), from May 13 to October 13, 1917.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the miracle of Fatima is amazingly woven into all world history twentieth century (not only in religious terms) and, most importantly, now, on the threshold of the 21st century, it is acquiring special significance for the future of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, moreover, for the future of multinational Russia. There are three reasons why the miracle of Fatima had and still has to do with Russia.
1. The Revelation of July 13, 1917 concerned specifically Russia and the danger it faces from the power of atheist-god-fighters. By the way, this revelation was given immediately after the July events in Petrograd, when the Bolshevik uprising was crushed and no one perceived them as a serious political force. Let us also note that the last appearance of the Virgin Mary in Fatima was on October 13, 1917. It is striking to the Orthodox that October 13 is the eve of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos! More precisely, at the very time when Portugal was ending the last miracle Fatima, in Russia (due to the time difference) the liturgical day of the Intercession began, and all of Russia sang: “Today we brightly celebrate people of good faith, overshadowed by Your coming, O Mother of God...” As Maria Stakhovich (author of the only Orthodox book about Fatima) accurately noted, “THIS HOLIDAY OF THE INTEGRATION WAS THE LAST BEFORE THE SEIZURE OF POWER BY THE Atheists AND THE BEGINNING OF GOLGOTHA OF RUSSIA...” But although the Intercession is a holiday for all Orthodox Christians, it is a Russian holiday par excellence, since nowhere, as in Russia (and Serbia), is it celebrated, nowhere are there so many churches, cathedrals and monasteries of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos as in Russia.
2. Russia, which must undergo formidable trials in the twentieth century, must again be dedicated to the heart of the Mother of God, the Virgin Mary herself told the children of Fatima about this in her miraculous apparitions from May 13 to October 13, 1917, also telling them the entire future tragic history of the twentieth century. Since the summer of 1917, thousands of people have already witnessed the miracle in Fatima; on October 13, more than 50,000 witnesses saw miracles. Leading newspapers in Portugal, England, and other Western countries reported about him in the same 1917. It is known that in October 1917 (even before the Bolshevik revolution) in exile in Tobolsk, Nicholas II learned from the newspapers about this miracle and attached the highest importance to it... The Virgin Mary then repeatedly repeated this wish for Russia in new miraculous apparitions to the nun Lucia on throughout her life, until the 1980s 3. Surprisingly, one of the most revered icons in the history of Christian Russia - the icon of the Kazan Mother of God - was connected with Fatima. This icon was miraculously found in Kazan in July 1579, and then in 1612 it was the main revered shrine in people's militia Minin and Pozharsky, during the liberation of Moscow from the Poles. It was revered as the main shrine of Rus' by Peter I and all subsequent autocrats and military leaders of Imperial Russia. On the night of June 28-29, 1904, the shrine was stolen from the Kazan Mother of God Monastery. The thieves were found quickly, but there was no icon with them. In 1950, her revered list surfaced, the history of whose wanderings abroad we described above. In 1982, after an assassination attempt on the Pope, the shrine was transferred to the Vatican to John Paul II. It must be said that he connected his deliverance from certain death on May 13, 1981 precisely with the patronage of the Mother of God and the miracle of Fatima. Ali Agca shot in St. Peter's Square from a distance of just a few meters, the fourth bullet jammed in the barrel of the pistol he had checked the day before - it is truly a miracle that John Paul II was not killed then. He was also saved by the fact that a second before the shot, the pontiff leaned down to examine the medallion on the little girl’s neck. The medallion depicted three shepherd children to whom the Virgin Mary appeared in Fatima in 1917!…
Let us briefly recall known facts (according to the book "Fatima", Brussels, 1991). Those who wish to better understand the miracle of Fatima and the confusion that it brought to both Catholicism and Orthodoxy should also read the brochure by M.A. Stakhovich “Should we trust the Vatican?”(ed. Sretensky Monastery, 1997), published with the blessing His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus'. My book was published in 1998 "Russian Magi, Messengers, Seers", a separate chapter of which is devoted to the history of the miracle of Fatima. All dates in this chapter are given in the new style.
APPEARANCE OF THE VIRGIN
On Sunday May 13, 1917 ten-year-old Lucia and her cousins Jacinta (9 years old) and brother Francisco (7 years old) were tending sheep and playing in a field near the village of Fatima. It was a clear sunny day, when suddenly bright lightning flashed. The children thought that a thunderstorm was coming and began to gather the sheep. New lightning made them turn around... and freeze. Over a green oak tree in the middle of a field, they saw a shining vision. Subsequently, Lucia described him as shining in the light and standing on a light cloud almost on the branches of an oak tree, of indescribable beauty "A girl of about 18"(Lucia's words), or "Beautiful Lady"(Jacinta and Francisco), and She began to talk to the children. That first time, She calmed their natural confusion and asked if they agreed to become the chosen ones of the Lord and atone for the insults and blasphemies inflicted on the Most Holy Theotokos - the children agreed with fervor and delight. "Beautiful Lady" ordered the children to pray the rosary daily for the peace of the whole world and for the salvation and conversion of sinners; She told them to come to this field on the 13th of every month until October, and began to move away to the east, and soon disappeared in the rays of the sun. The phenomenon lasted 10 minutes.
Amazed by what they saw and heard, the children decided not to tell anyone what happened to them, but little Jacinta could not resist and told her family about everything, for the first time calling the vision the Blessed Virgin. Soon the whole village knew about this, but no one believed the children. Nevertheless, on June 13, the parents released the children to that field; Up to sixty curious people gathered at the scene of the vision. The Mother of God appeared to the children around noon. No one from the crowd saw anything, they only heard Lucia’s words. This time "Beautiful Lady" said that she would soon come for Francisco and Jacinta to take them to heaven, and as for Lucia, she would have to remain on earth to testify to the Virgin Mary and spread love for her among people. She promised Lucia never to leave her and to appear to her in the future. She also told the children to keep her future predictions about the fate of the world secret until she herself allowed Lucia to reveal them to the world... When this meeting ended, everyone present saw how the branches of the oak tree suddenly came together and bent down, as if under the weight of some cover. They, who had also heard Lucia's words, now believed the children.
Soon the rector of the church in Fatima became interested in the visions of the children. When July 13th arrived, five or six thousand people gathered in the field near the village. Exactly at noon, lightning flashed, and everyone noticed that the branches of the oak tree bent down, as if someone was standing on them. However, this time the children hardly spoke, but only listened to the words of the Virgin Mary. These words only became fully known from Lucia in 1942, when she received permission to publish them. This is what the children heard on July 13, 1917, after the Mother of God showed them a vision of the fiery sea of hell and sinners:
To save them, the Lord wants to establish veneration of My Most Pure Heart in the world. If people do what I tell you, many souls will be saved and peace will come. The war\1914-1918\ is coming to an end. But if people do not stop insulting the Lord, then under the next pope a new war will begin, worse than this one... To prevent this, I will come to ask for the consecration of Russia to My Most Pure Heart and for communion on the first Saturday of every month for the atonement of sins. If people obey My words, Russia will convert and there will be peace on earth; otherwise she will spread her false teachings throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions against the Church; many righteous people will suffer torment; The Holy Father will suffer a lot; some nations will perish. In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph: the Holy Father will entrust to Me the fate of Russia, which will be converted and the time of peace will be given to the world. Portugal will preserve the treasure of faith.
But all this became known only later, and on that day, July 13, people, although they did not hear these words, but, seeing the reverent attention of the children and the bowed branches of the oak tree, still realized that some kind of miracle was happening. However, soon after this, the children faced persecution from secular district authorities who were anti-religious. The children were interrogated with threats and partiality, they stubbornly stood their ground: it was the Mother of God and She did not allow them to reveal Her words to people. On August 13, when the miracle was about to happen again, the children were taken by deception and force to the district prison.
August 13, 1917. By noon, up to eighteen thousand people had gathered on the field. Everyone was waiting for the children to arrive, but they were not there. There were rumors that they were detained by force. Unrest and disturbances began. At exactly noon, a terrible clap of thunder rang out in the blue, cloudless sky, and bright lightning cut through the air. After this, a cloud descended onto the tree over which the Mother of God appeared to the children, stayed there for about ten minutes and then dissipated. A deep, reverent silence reigned in the crowd. The people dispersed peacefully, many left money, a lot of money, under the tree.
The next occurrence was on August 19, when there were only children in the field. They asked "Beautiful Lady" asked what to do with the money, and received the answer that they could use it to build a small chapel here. She also said that because of the proud resistance evil people who separate themselves from God, the great miracle She previously promised in October will be much less significant. Then She disappeared, as always surrounded by radiant light.
September 13, 1917 - fifth phenomenon. It was grape harvest time, but a crowd of up to thirty thousand people had gathered in the field. This time there were many visitors, many threw themselves on their knees in front of the children and begged them to bring their prayers to the Most Pure Virgin for healing and deliverance from other troubles. There is a lot of documentary evidence left about this phenomenon, including from people who did not believe, who came only out of curiosity, as well as from very famous people in Portugal. Arriving at the scene of the vision, Lucia asked everyone to pray. At noon the air took on a warm golden color. The Most Pure Virgin again appeared only to children, but everyone saw a sign of Her arrival: under a cloudless sky in the air, a luminous radiant ball slowly and majestically floated from east to west. When the Most Pure One’s conversation with the children ended, the same ball floated in the opposite direction. Then, in front of everyone, a white cloud enveloped the green oak tree, and the sky began to rain white petals, which slowly fell and melted in the air without reaching the ground. This latter phenomenon was observed several times later, during the pilgrimages to Fatima, and was photographed. At that time, the Mother of God promised the children a quick end to the war and a new meeting on October 13.
THE LAST APPEARANCE OF THE VIRGIN
October 13, 1917. "Dance" Sun. Already two days before, all the roads to Fatima were crowded with people and carts. Many slept on the bare ground. Lisbon newspapers sent their best reporters to the village. According to various estimates, by noon on October 13 there were from fifty to seventy thousand people on the field. It had been raining non-stop for three days, and everyone was wet to the bone. The children with difficulty made their way to the oak tree, of which only a stripped trunk remained: all the branches and leaves had long been torn off by people as precious relics... A lot of evidence and reports have been preserved about everything that happened then. At noon everyone knelt down in the mud and rain. Lucia shuddered and exclaimed: “Here she is!” Here She is! Those around saw how the children near the tree were enveloped in a white cloud, then rose into the air and dissipated. The whole time Lucia was talking to "Beautiful Lady", this phenomenon repeated three times. Now She, as she promised at the first meeting, revealed to the children her real heavenly name - Mother of God, [in the original Portuguese this phrase goes like this: "sou a Senhora do Rosario"- Madam "Rosary". The Rosary is an ancient Catholic prayer rule that briefly deals with the main events of the Gospel. approx. SE]- and confirmed what she had said earlier, that the war would soon end and the soldiers would return home. She was, as Lucia later recalled, completely imbued with deep sadness, and Her last words were: “Let people stop insulting the Lord. He has already suffered too many insults.”. Before hiding from the children, She spread her arms, and Her hands were reflected in the sun, as if She wanted to attract the children’s eyes there. And at the very moment when the Virgin Mary spread her hands, Lucia cried out: "Look at the sun!"
Many eyewitness accounts have been preserved, among whom were well-known people in Portugal, and not only from Portugal, believers and atheists, some of whom came to Fatima that day specifically just to "debunk" sensational newspaper publications about previous miracles on this field "Cova da Iria"(that’s what it was called in the village). What did they see? Everyone talked about it in approximately the same way, as follows.
Suddenly the rain stopped and the clouds, impenetrable since the morning, suddenly cleared. The sun shone overhead, but its appearance was amazing. It was like a silver circle that you could look at without squinting. At the same time, the disk was surrounded by a sparkling corona, so bright that the disk itself now seemed darkened, as happens during a solar eclipse. And suddenly the sun itself began to tremble, spinning like a fiery wheel, throwing sheaves of bright light in all directions, which alternately took on different colors. The sky, earth, trees, rocks, children, a huge crowd of people and each individual - everything was painted in turn in all the colors of the rainbow, becoming red, then yellow and orange, then green, blue, purple. This phenomenon lasted for several minutes. Believers threw themselves on their knees and prayed, others watched in silence, amazed at what was happening. Many cried and repented of their sins, thinking that the last hour had come... For a moment the heavenly body stopped, but then resumed its dance of light. It stopped again, and again the heavenly fireworks shone with extraordinary power. And suddenly everyone saw that the sun seemed to separate from the sky and rushed towards them in zigzag leaps, emitting intense heat. People shouted, prayed, cried out to God: “Have mercy on me, God!”, - soon this cry began to dominate. Meanwhile, the sun, suddenly stopping during its dizzying fall, rose in a zigzag pattern into the sky and, little by little, began to shine with its usual light among the bright sky. The crowd rose to its feet. "Sun Dance" lasted about ten minutes. Everyone saw it: believers and non-believers, peasants and townspeople, people of science and the ignorant, ingenuous witnesses and professional journalists...
An investigation carried out later by church authorities established that such an unprecedented movement of the sun was observed five or more kilometers from Cova da Iria. Another amazing fact was also established: people who were soaked to the skin noticed that immediately after the phenomenon ceased, their clothes turned out to be dry, absolutely dry! And so it was with everyone.
About the unprecedented "sun dance", which was witnessed by at least 50 thousand people, was published in all significant Lisbon newspapers, regardless of their direction. There are many photographs left of this phenomenon. It is interesting that those atheists and anti-religious people who observed the events at Fatima were at least swayed. while those representatives of the Catholic press who were not eyewitnesses continued to exercise extreme caution. However, in general, the general initial skepticism of many was broken... Lucia later said that during "sun dance" she (as well as Jacinta and Francisco) saw the Holy Family in heaven: the betrothed Joseph, and the Mother of God, and the Child Christ. Then Lucia once again saw the Mother of God, dressed in white, with a blue veil...
Here it is necessary to quote the very exact words of Maria Stakhovich from the brochure “Should we trust the Vatican?” mentioned at the beginning of this chapter:
If for Catholics it is important and convincing that May and October in their Church are months dedicated to the Most Holy Theotokos, then the Orthodox are struck by the fact that the amazing final day of October 13 is, after all, the eve of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos! More precisely, at the very time when Portugal was ending "miracle of the sun", in Russia (due to the time difference) the liturgical day of the Intercession began, and all of Russia sang: “Today we brightly celebrate people of good faith, overshadowed by Thy, Mother of God, coming...” THIS HOLIDAY OF THE INTEGRATION WAS THE LAST BEFORE THE SEIZURE OF POWER BY THE Atheists AND THE BEGINNING OF GOLGOTHA RUSSIA...
For another reason too Orthodox man cannot help but feel that the events in Fatima are the great mercy of the Most Holy Theotokos to Russia, which fervently prays to Her, a manifestation and confirmation of Her love and care, which She reminds us of before the beginning of the terrible trials of our homeland. After all, although the Intercession is a holiday of all Orthodox Christians, it is a Russian holiday par excellence, since nowhere, as in Russia (and Serbia), is it celebrated, nowhere are there so many churches, cathedrals and monasteries of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, as in Russia. And this despite the fact that the appearance of the Intercession of the Mother of God occurred in Constantinople in 910, when the Russians, pagans at that time, were on the side of the enemies of Constantinople... The Russians, shocked by the protection provided by the Most Holy Theotokos to the Orthodox, converted, did not receive this miraculous protection could have forgotten and began to celebrate it along with the twelve holidays. Wasn’t the Mother of God expecting a similar sincere approach, a similar manifestation of selfless love and joy from the Catholic West, appearing to defend "poor Russia"(Lucia's words) before attacking her "fierce atheists"? - these are the words of Maria Alexandrovna Stakhovich.
Did you read the newspapers about the Fatima events (not only the Portuguese press reported about the miracle) in 1917? in Russia, did the prisoner in Tobolsk know about all this? "Citizen Nikolai Romanov", former emperor? What did he think about it? - We will talk about this later, but for now we will trace the fate of Fatima’s children.
THE FATE OF FATIMA'S CHILDREN. NUN LUCIA.
In the fall of 1918, little Francisco fell ill "Spanish flu", which then raged throughout Europe, adding its countless victims to the ten million killed in that First World War. They tried to cure Francisco, to save him, but in vain. As Our Lady predicted to the children during the second apparition on June 13, 1917, Francisco and Jacinta were soon to go to heaven with Her. The boy died on April 4, 1919. His last words were: “Look, mom, what a wonderful light there is at the door!” The epidemic did not escape Jacinta either. She fell ill shortly after her brother. Just like him, she steadfastly endured the illness, because when saying goodbye to her dying brother, she gave him "order" to heaven: “Tell the Lord and the Mother of God that I will endure whatever They please.”. Jacinta even predicted - referring to her communication with the Virgin Mary - the course of her illness, transfer from one hospital to another and even predicted to the doctors that they would perform a successful operation on her, but she would soon die from "something else". And so it happened: in February 1920, she underwent successful surgery for purulent inflammation in the lung, but on February 20, for reasons unclear to doctors, the girl died. 15 years later, on September 12, 1935, by order of the Bishop of Leiria, the body of little Jacinta was transferred to the cemetery in Fatima in a small crypt built for her. Before this, the coffin was opened for a short time, and in the presence of many witnesses they saw Jacinta’s face completely preserved. A photograph of that miracle has been preserved. In May 1951, the small crypt was abolished, and Jacinta's body, again with her face intact, was solemnly transferred to the Fatima Cathedral. In April 1952, Francisco's remains were transferred there.
On June 13, 1917, Lucia was predicted by the Mother of God to have a long life. It wasn't easy. The clergy, soon after those events, decided to remove her from the places of vision: both benevolent and hostile people were too annoying with their curiosity. In 1921, she was sent to study in the city of Oporto, at the monastery boarding school of the Sisters of St. Dorofei.
Before leaving, the bishop called her:
- You will not tell anyone where you are going.
- Okay, Master!
- At the boarding house you will not tell anyone who you are.
- Okay, Vladyka.
“You will never talk to anyone about the apparitions in Fatima.”
- Okay, Master!
This silence lasted for fifteen years, and only in 1935 did the bishop allow Lucia to reveal who she was. Until 1931, the Catholic Church was very cautious about the miracle of Fatima; there were even attempts to ban "new cult", but the annual pilgrimage of ordinary people and the light of spiritual revival, miracles of healing and conversion of non-believers to God gradually broke the ice of mistrust of the clergy. On May 3, 1922, the local bishop began an official investigation into all the events that took place in Fatima. A special commission was appointed, its work ended only in 1930. On May 13, 1931, Portuguese bishops visited Fatima for the first time officially and conciliarly. There were three hundred thousand pilgrims! Then the episcopate solemnly dedicated Portugal to the Most Pure Heart of the Mother, - while the full revelation of the Mother of God to the children, Lucia still remained unknown - Lucia remained silent!
Meanwhile (as it became known much later), on June 13, 1929, this modest silent nun was honored with a mystical vision of the Holy Trinity on Calvary. The mother of Jesus stood at the cross with her Heart bleeding. She told Lucia: “The time has come when God willed that the Holy Father, in unity with all the bishops of the world, would consecrate Russia to my heart, promising to save her in this way.” Six years later, Lucia would write to her confessor:
I regret that this was not done, but the Lord himself, who expressed this wish, allowed everything to remain so /.../ I was given the opportunity to talk internally with the Lord, and recently I asked Him why He does not convert Russia without special dedication from the Holy Father. “Because I want,” answered the Lord, “that my whole Church recognize in this consecration the triumph of the immaculate Heart of Mary and spread this veneration along with the veneration of my Divine Heart.” “But, my Lord, the Holy Father will not believe me unless You yourself prompt him to do so.” - “Pray fervently for the Holy Father, he will do it, but it is too late, and yet the Most Pure Heart of Mary will save Russia. Russia is entrusted to Him. »
Of course, the question arises: why was she silent for so many years? If little Jacinta had not told everything to her parents, many of the words of the Virgin Mary would not have been known for a long time. But let us remember that the Mother of God told the children to keep Her words secret. She said she'll let you know when it's time to open. That's why she was silent and sought solitude herself. Therefore, for a long time the clergy did not know what was revealed by the Mother of God and were probably confused by everything that happened in 1917 in the village of Fatima. Lucia herself later wrote why she decided to reveal the old secrets in 1935\37:
It seems to me that I can say this because I received permission from above to do so. And God’s representatives on earth also allowed me to do this several times. In 1917, God commanded me to remain silent - and this command was then confirmed to me by those who - for me - were his representatives... It will be as God pleases. It would be great happiness for me to remain silent.
And still not everything written by Lucia has been published. But let's continue in order. In May 1936, fearing a godless revolution in Spain, where churches were being set on fire, the episcopate vowed to organize a national pilgrimage to Fatima if Portugal avoided the unrest. Two months later in Spain it began civil war. In 1938, the episcopate and many pilgrims gathered in Fatima and brought thanks to their heavenly Patroness, who protected the country from unrest. Meanwhile, only in 1940, from Lucia’s notebooks, did the bishops become aware of the Mother of God’s desire to dedicate Russia to Her heart.
Between 1937 and 1941 Lucia wrote several "notebooks" about the events of 1917, testifying to the remarkable accuracy of her memory. A letter written by her in early February 1939 said: “The war predicted by the Mother of God is approaching closely; Those nations who tried to destroy the Kingdom of God will suffer the most; Spain has already received punishment, but it is not quite over yet... Portugal will suffer a little from the last war, but thanks to the dedication of Portugal by the bishops to the Most Pure Heart of Mary, the Mother of God will preserve it.” In 1940, having asked for special permission from the Portuguese episcopate, Lucia Santos addressed a letter to the Holy Father (from March 2, 1939 he became Eugenio Pacelli, Pius XII) in Rome:
In 1917, with those words that we called “mystery,” the Most Pure One predicted for us the end of the war that was darkening Europe at that time, predicted another war and said that she would come again to insist on the dedication of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart./.../ In 1929, in a new appearance, She expressed the wish that Russia should be consecrated to Her Immaculate Heart, promising thereby to prevent the spread of false teachings from Russia and the conversion of Russia./.../ Through various secret suggestions, the Lord does not cease to insist on this wish, promising recently that If Your Holiness deigns to dedicate the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary with special mention of Russia, He will shorten the days of sorrow by which He was pleased to punish the nations for their crimes.
PILGRIMAGE OF MIRACLES AND THE FUTURE MIRACLE OF OVERCOMING THE SCHIPT
In May 1947, the world pilgrimage to the Fatima statue of Our Lady began, which Pope Pius XII later called "a pilgrimage of miracles around the world". Spain, France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Africa, Asia and Australia, then the USA, Canada, South America - everywhere, in all cities, crowds of hundreds of thousands greeted her. In France, Russian Orthodox emigrants worshiped her along with Catholics. Not only they, but also Protestants (who generally reject the veneration of the Virgin Mary) took part in all the celebrations. In many African and Asian cities, Muslims joined the worship of Christians - after all, Mohammed called Her "the holiest of all women in heaven" and the Koran speaks of a miraculous birth "the greatest prophet Isa from Miriam". Muslim choirs took part in processions, mosques and even entire Muslim neighborhoods and villages were decorated in a festive way...
Now is the time to briefly take a break from the history of Fatima and remember the beginning of our research, chapter (second) about the Baptism of Rus' and the previously identified historical sacred calendar rhythms, and the main cycle of 960 years. - Exactly 960 years have passed from the beginning of the history of Christianity in Rus', from the baptism of Princess Olga in 957 to the fatal year for Russia and Christianity in Russia in 1917. When we then looked at the baptism of Prince Vladimir (this is 987) and the Baptism of Rus' (989), did the question arise in your mind: how are these years related to the cycle of 960 years? Now we can answer it: after all, 987 + 960 = 1947 is the year of the beginning of the worldwide procession of the miracle of Fatima, the main Christian miracle of the twentieth century. We in the USSR knew nothing about this, and even now, in 2004, it’s unlikely that many Russians, even believers, know about it. Such is the sad power of the division of the Church in 1054, and only in 2013-2014 can we hope to overcome the almost thousand-year schism. But there is no doubt that a noticeable movement towards overcoming will begin soon, and in many ways this will be facilitated by the appearance of Fatima. Of course, two questions remain. Why was it in Portugal that the greatest Revelation was given to three illiterate children? Why should the head of the Catholic Church and its bishops dedicate Russia to the Mother of God with prayers? It seems to me that we can answer the first question only with the words of the apostle "The spirit breathes where it wants", - and we cannot know the will of God in its entirety. The answer to the second question, it seems to me, is this: nevertheless, it was the throne of St. Peter in Rome that was in time the first Church, therefore, first in Rome (in the Vatican) this dedication had to be made. It is possible that this order is also connected with the need for the Vatican to be the first to admit its guilt for the division of the Church in 1054. In 1996, John Paul II already did this. Now it’s the turn of the Russian Orthodox Church. After such repentance, she probably should also commit the consecration of Russia to the Heart of the Mother of God. Orthodox thinker Vladimir Zelinsky wrote about this: “We do not know all the hidden threads connecting the divided Churches, which at the depths remain the one Church, and Fatima for a moment reveals this unity to us... And through this revelation of the West of Russia, it is true that we should there will also be a counter revelation - from Russia to the West... Fatima is the news of a mystical and providential meeting that is still ahead of us and which will take place under the protection of the Mother of God.” ( "Russian Thought", May 17, 1991). Well, we will continue the story about Fatima.
In 1950, the question of consecrating Russia to the Most Pure Heart of the Mother of God was raised in Rome by a group of Russian Catholic pilgrims. They made this request to the Holy Father. Since ancient times, they wrote, Russia has been called the HOUSE OF THE HOLY VIRGIN, and the main Kremlin Cathedral is dedicated to Her glorious Dormition. They could add that the first main church in Rus' in Kyiv, consecrated in 996, was also the Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God. In 1950, the papal college supported this request, and Lucia, having learned about it in her monastic seclusion, also supported their request and wrote a letter to the Russian pilgrims. It said, in particular:
Our Heavenly Mother loves this (Russian) people... No one can and should fulfill this great calling better than the people of your country themselves... This is not a task for one day, but for many years of work and prayer. But in the end, the Immaculate Heart of Mary will triumph! Do not stop doing everything you can to save your people and your Fatherland.
Pope Pius XII heeded these urgent requests and ordered to study this issue. On July 7, 1952, on the day of remembrance of the first Slavic teachers, Saints Cyril and Methodius, he addressed a special apostolic letter to the peoples of Russia.
The message ended with a prayer of dedication of the Russian peoples to the Immaculate Heart of the Mother of God. However, we recall that in a revelation on June 13, 1929, Lucia was told that the Pope should do this "in unity with all the bishops of the world", - the Catholic bishops were not ready for this and many of them repeatedly expressed doubts about Lucia’s correct understanding of the words of the Lord.
VATICAN AND FATIMA
Pope Pius XII paid attention to this letter. Some mysterious connection existed between the apparitions of the Mother of God at Fatima and his ministry: he was consecrated bishop at noon on May 13, 1917, the very day and hour when the Blessed Virgin first appeared in Cova da Iria. On October 31, 1942, he read the prayer of dedication on the radio, addressing the Portuguese people, and on December 8 of the same year, in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the solemn dedication of the world to the Immaculate Heart took place - on the day of the celebration of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin by the Latin Church - however, words about Russia was not yet included in this dedication... Having learned about this dedication, Lucia was happy, but she again began to assert that the Blessed Virgin still desires a special dedication to RUSSIA, performed by the Holy Father in unity with all the Catholic bishops of the world.
One can imagine the confusion this statement caused in Catholic (and even more so in Orthodox) circles. Some prominent Catholic priests then began to doubt not only these words of hers, but also the reliability of other testimonies: since Russia is a non-Catholic country, they said, the Blessed Virgin could not express such a desire. Lucia probably did not understand her words well, not being sufficiently literate and knowledgeable in history, not knowing about the division of the Churches. But the future showed that their doubts were in vain.
In 1942, the veneration of Our Lady of Fatima received official approval from the Pope (Pius XII). It must be said that miraculous healings in Fatima continued every year: by 1942, there were more than eight hundred truly miraculous healings that had officially passed through the control of a very strict special commission! After the end of World War II, the miracle of Fatima became worldwide. At the beginning of May 1947, an international congress of Catholic women's youth was organized in Fatima. Sister Lucia turned to him with a request to pray for Russia. To fulfill her wish, a special prayer to Our Lady of Fatima for Russia was compiled. It was translated for pilgrims and read on the porch of the basilica. In May of the same year, a representative of the Catholic Youth of Russia received permission from the local bishop to meet Lucia Santos at the monastery in Oporto, where she had lived since 1921, when she was then about 40 years old. This is what a woman from Russia then said (I quote again from the book "Fatima", ed. Brussels, 1991):
I really want to know about the future of Russia, and she, as if guessing my thoughts, tells me that Russia will be saved thanks to her great love to the Most Pure Virgin; Russia must be dedicated to the Most Pure Heart of the Lady of the World; The Mother of God is waiting for this, and then the turmoil in the world will calm down. She talks about Russia with love, as if it were her homeland, and sometimes, when she talks about the suffering of our people, her eyes become moist... We still need to pray a lot, she says, we need to sacrifice ourselves to save the world and Russia. Tell this to the Russians who can understand you... they can save Russia, and if she is saved, the world will be saved with her...
Eugenio Pacelli, Pius XII, did a lot for Fatima. There were not only objective reasons for this (Fatima became a popular symbol of faith in Catholic countries), but also purely personal, one might say mystical. We have already mentioned that some milestones in his life were connected with Fatima, such as his consecration as bishop on the day and hour of the first appearance of Our Lady to children on May 13, 1917, at noon. 33 years later, in 1950, the Virgin Mary appeared to him four times in visions in heaven, he wrote about this; in December 1954, during his illness, he saw Jesus Christ at his bedside and talked with Him. In the last years of his reign, under the influence of Fatima, he gave great value the rise in the world of the image of the Virgin Mary. In 1950 he proclaimed the dogma of the bodily ascension of Mary, and in 1954 he proclaimed Her "queen of heaven" and crowned Her icon with the royal crown. Pius XII died at the end of 1958, at the age of 72.
Those who followed him, John XXIII (1958-1963), Paul VI (1963-1978) and John Paul I (reigned for less than a year), took less official part in the fate of Fatima, although, as can be seen from the letters and documents they left behind, they thought a lot over this, as well as over the fate of Russia in the Christian world. During the official visit of a number of Polish bishops to Paul VI in 1967 (among whom was then Karol Wojtyla, the future John Paul II), they turned to Paul VI with a request “on the collegial consecration of Russia to the Most Pure Heart of Mary” in unity with all the bishops of the world. But the Pontiff did not dare to do this, knowing that not all bishops were ready to take part in it. John Paul I, while still a cardinal, led a pilgrimage to Fatima in 1977 and had a long conversation with Sister Lucia in the Carmelite monastery in Coimbra, where she had been staying since 1948. In January 1978 he published an article "One Bishop's Thoughts on Fatima", where he convincingly answered various doubts that existed among Catholic bishops regarding the revelations given to Lucia Santos.
In October 1978, after the mysterious death of John Paul I, for the first time in the history of the Catholic Church, a Slav, the Pole Karol Wojtyla (born May 18, 1920), was elected to the papal throne, choosing the name John Paul II. He became the 265th Pope and the youngest in the last 150 years. The full title of the spiritual and temporal ruler is “Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Patriarch of the West, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Monarch of the Vatican, Servant of the Servants of God.” He inscribed the name of the Mother of God on his episcopal coat of arms in 1967. In 1981, exactly 64 years later (the full Avestan cycle) from the first apparition in Fatima, on May 13, 1981, a Turkish terrorist from the sect "Gray Wolves" Ali Agca, from a distance of several meters, shot three times at the Pope in St. Peter's Square, seriously wounding him in the stomach; the fourth bullet stuck in the barrel of his previously specially selected and tested pistol. In fact, the assassination attempt was planned for the next day, and on May 13, Agca carried out the first "reconnaissance" in the square, but, seeing that the circumstances allowed, Agca decided to shoot right away. However, the Pope survived and, convinced that only the intercession of the Mother of God saved him from an untimely death, he made a pilgrimage to Fatima in May 1982. At the liturgy on May 13, 1982, he said: “I arrived here on the anniversary of the day when an assassination attempt took place in St. Peter’s Square in Rome, which mysteriously coincided with the anniversary of the first apparition at Fatima on May 13, 1917. I came to this place, as if chosen by the Mother of God, to thank Divine Providence...”
On those same days, Karol Wojtyla met and had a long conversation with Sister Lucia, who came to Fatima for this occasion. This conversation and new petitions from many believers prompted the Pope to make a new dedication to the world and Russia on Annunciation 1984 together with all the Catholic bishops and in unity with the flock. The Vatican cardinals made known the desire of John Paul II to carry out this collegial consecration of all Catholic bishops, asking them to join with their flock on the day of the Annunciation (March 25) in the consecration of the world and Russia made earlier (July 7, 1952) by Pope Pius XII. It is known, however, that not all bishops agreed to take part in this dedication to Russia. In addition, in the prayer-dedication itself there was again no direct address about Russia, there was not even a word "Russia", but instead there were words about “the peoples most in need of this dedication”. However, this time, at least, all those praying knew for sure that we were talking about Russia.
Time passed. In 1988, for the first time in history, the Pope delivered an apostolic letter "Euntes in mundum" to the Russian Orthodox Church on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Rus'. In general, Karol Wojtyla, this first Slav on the Papal Throne, is doing many things for the first time in the history of the Catholic Church. Perhaps he made the main and most dramatic decision in 1995, when in his annual message "to the city and the world", then called "As we approach the third millennium", he, on his own behalf and on behalf of the entire Catholic Church, for the first time in its entire existence, brought repentance for its grave sins. John Paul II listed the four sins of the past as: "breaking the unity of Christianity"(in 1054), and also "religious wars", "courts of the Inquisition", "Galileo's case". This act of repentance, unprecedented in the history of not only the Catholic, but also all other Christian churches and denominations, opens, one might assume, a new history of Christianity on the eve of the 21st century, before the coming Apocalypse. Let us remember that "Revelation" John the Evangelist begins with a message to the seven churches, in which they are called to repentance for their sins: repentant churches and flocks will be saved during the judgments of the Apocalypse. Many scholars believe that this prologue to John's Revelation, a letter to the seven churches, represents the history and future of Christ's church on earth.
However, let's return to the story of Fatima (according to the book "Fatima", Brussels, 1991). Although the collegiate episcopal consecration of Russia took place on March 25, 1984, Lucia remained silent in the Carmelite monastery. Only her cousin Maria do Fetal visited her there, once a month. Devotees of Fatima began to contact her, wanting to know whether, in Lucia's opinion, this dedication was final, corresponding to the revelation of the Virgin Mary (the vision of Golgotha) on June 13, 1929.
In May 1991, John Paul II again, after 10 years, made a pilgrimage to Fatima. He called her "spiritual capital of the world". In March 1998, in a Rome newspaper "Il Messagero" An open letter from 20 bishops and 1,200 priests of the Catholic world to the Pope was published, where they ask their Head to reveal to the world the last, third prophecy of the Virgin Mary (the first was about the Second World War, the second about the collapse of the USSR in 1991). This third prophecy is still known to only two people on earth - the nun Lucia and from her - John Paul II... M.A. Stakhovich in the brochure “Should we trust the Vatican?” suggests that this third prophecy refers to a coming crisis within the Vatican itself - justifying this assumption by the fact that last words Mother of God on July 13, 1917, after the words about Russia, there were words “Portugal will preserve the treasure of faith”...
On May 13, 2000, in the Portuguese village of Fatima, John Paul II revealed to the world "the third secret of Fatima". According to him, "third secret" concerned events that had already passed: the attempt on his life on May 13, 1981. Many commentators, including some Catholics, immediately expressed doubts about the Pope's sincerity. It is known, however, from the words of the Turk Agji, who then shot at the Pope, that he allegedly shot "in fulfillment of the third prophecy". It is clear that before the shots were fired on May 13, 1981, the Vatican did not want to make this third secret public - it would cause too much unrest in the Catholic world. However, why did John Paul II not make the prophecy public for 18 years after the assassination attempt? There are other mysteries in the history of the Fatima miracle that still concern believers around the world. After all, the Vatican is in no hurry to reveal all its secrets: for example, the details of one of the most sensational predictions concerning the fate of Russia will remain secret, at least until 2014. In any case, according to the official statement of representatives "Holy See", access to the diary of nun Lucia, who witnessed the appearance of the Virgin Mary, who told her about the future, will be opened no earlier than this time.
As you can see, the history of the recognition of the miracle of Fatima and the steps in the West and East towards the embodiment of the call of the Mother of God is very complex. It is clear that revelations to Portuguese children in 1917 about the fate of the world and the future calling of Russia aroused great distrust in the Vatican; It was only in the 1930s that the fact itself was recognized miraculous phenomena and the revelations of the Mother of God about the destinies of the world (which had already begun to come true). But since the late 1940s, the movement of Fatima pilgrims has acquired a huge, international scope and remains so to this day. Hundreds of thousands of people take part in the Fatima pilgrimage every year. Alas, there are extremely few Russian Orthodox among them. Orthodox Church Until very recently, she believed that the appearance of Fatima was only an attempt by the Vatican on her independence. It appears that this attitude is beginning to change. But this is very important not only for Orthodox Christians, but also for Muslims in Russia, for better harmony between them.
It is very important to note that the miracle of Fatima is recognized and worshiped not only by Christians, but also by Muslims. The Muslim name Fatima, surprisingly preserved since the 12th century in Catholic Portugal, probably has some significance. But the main thing for Muslims is that the Koran in relation to the Holy Virgin Mary (Mariam) completely agrees with Her veneration by Christians. It can be said quite definitely that the Holy Mariam of the Koran, the Virgin Mary of Western Christians, the Most Holy Theotokos of the Orthodox are the indisputable object of veneration and admiration that reconciles and unites Christians and Muslims. Half a century of international experience in venerating the miracle of Fatima has shown that the Mother of God can and is gradually uniting believers of all faiths in the world.
Of course, it is difficult for the West to recognize the revelation about the chosenness of Russia (and until now, the request of the Mother of God for a joint prayer for the calling of Russia by all Catholic bishops has not been fully fulfilled). It is no less difficult for the Moscow Patriarchate to accept such a revelation from the hands of the West. The bad thing is that in Russia very few people still know anything about Fatima. In October 1991, our TV showed a teleconference "Moscow-Fatima", but it was an isolated action, soon forgotten by everyone in the prevailing still "the evil of the day". The miracle of Fatima is still waiting for its full recognition and deep understanding by Catholicism and Orthodoxy. It will have an impact not only on Christianity, on the removal of the schism between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, but also on the entire course of history at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries. Analysis of historical rhythms shows that the split between Catholicism and Orthodoxy of 1054 will be overcome in 2013-2014. These are 960 years from 1054 and 96 years from 1917 - the large and small systemic rhythms of history. The time has come in Russia to remember about 1917 not only what we knew until now, but also the miracle and call of Fatima.
NICHOLAS II AND THE MIRACLE OF FATIMA
Did they know about the miracle of Fatima in Russia in 1917? Did Nicholas II, who was in custody of the Provisional Government in Tobolsk that summer, know about this?
In 1975 in New York at English The memoirs of the former teacher of the royal children, Charles Sidney Gibbs, were published under the title "House of Special Purpose", prepared for publication by his great-nephew. Gibbs was with imperial family before its departure from Tobolsk to Yekaterinburg. Then he fled to the whites, then worked in Yekaterinburg with the investigative commission of Nikolai Sokolov; then returned to his homeland, England. There he converted from Anglicanism to Orthodoxy, became a monk under the name of Father Nicholas, and until his last days led the Orthodox community in Oxford. He died in 1963 at the age of eighty-seven. During his lifetime, he did not like to talk about what he had to endure in Russia, but after his death an extensive archive was discovered in his house. American journalist J. Trevin, with the help of relatives of his late father Nikolai, published this book. From Gibbs' memoirs it follows that Nicholas II received quite a lot of newspapers in Tobolsk, including foreign ones, but they arrived a month late. Below I present (with minor abbreviations) excerpts from the book (based on the publication of I. Bunich in his book "Dynastic Rock"):
“In mid-October, some newspapers that had been published in June and July arrived. His Majesty gave me a look at several newspapers, where under different headings a description of the Fatima miracle was given... All the newspapers spoke in detail about the extraordinary phenomena at the oak tree in the field of Cova da Iria, and at the same time noted that illiterate peasant children from a remote Portuguese village had some idea about Russia. It was simply incredible! - “THE LORD HAS FIRMLY DECIDED TO PUNISH RUSSIA, AND ITS DISASTERS WILL BE UNCOUNTABLE AND THE SUFFERING OF THE PEOPLE WILL BE TERRIBLE. BUT THE LORD'S MERCY IS LIMITLESS, AND ALL SUFFERING WILL COME TO A DATE. RUSSIA WILL KNOW THAT THE PUNISHMENT IS OVER WHEN I SEND A BOY TO ANNOUNCE THIS BY APPEARING IN THE HEART OF RUSSIA. YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO SEARCH FOR HIM. HE WILL FIND EVERYONE AND DECLARE ABOUT HIMSELF." - Looking ahead, I note that this was all the information about the Fatima miracle that we managed to obtain in Tobolsk. After the Bolshevik coup, the newspapers simply stopped coming. Most Russian newspapers were closed, and foreign ones were not allowed into the dying country... The Emperor, having read these messages, was shocked:
“It’s all God’s will,” he said. - The Lord cursed Russia. But tell me, Mr. Gibbs, for what? Is Russia worse than others? Is she more to blame for this war than Germany or France, who could not divide Alsace and Lorraine?
“If I were Your Majesty,” I noted cautiously, “I would not attach much importance to these newspaper reports.” You know newspaper men and their eternal penchant for exaggeration. In Catholic countries, cases like the Fatima miracle are far from uncommon. Over the past two hundred years, at least a dozen have occurred in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. And in Spanish America...
- Oh no! - The Emperor interrupted me. - Not a single Portuguese newspaperman would have thought of putting prophecies about Russia into the mouth of this girl. Why do they need Russia? I also know about similar cases in the past. But it all came down to this - if we deny the Divine essence of what was happening - to attract pilgrims to a certain place or to obtain subsidies and donations for some nearby monastery. In Portugal, not only this illiterate girl, but also the majority of newspaper owners know as much about Russia as we do about them, even less. Who could put words about Russia into the mouth of a girl, probably a future saint? Well, imagine, Mr. Gibbs, that in our country, say, Seraphim of Sarov would begin to prophesy about Portugal, France or your country? Who would have heard him?..”
***
In conclusion, I return to the question: why the Vatican does not want to open it to the world "prophecies about Russia" before 2014? Let me clarify that we are not talking about those prophecies that were published earlier (about the fate of Russia after 1917, and about the Second World War), but about the so-called. "The Third Secret of Fatima"- in the part that concerns prophecies about the fate of Russia in the 21st century.
On the one hand, the answer is almost obvious: probably because these prophecies contain something that, if published before 2014, could (according to the Vatican) affect the situation in Russia - and, obviously, the Vatican does not want to be accused of that he "trying to interfere" into the internal affairs of our country.
But the main question remains: what is written in these prophecies that the late nun Lucia, as she claimed (and as the Vatican admitted), received from the Virgin Mary?
