Saint Sergius Mechov On Spiritual Survival Translated from Russian by Adrian & Xenia Tanasescu-Vlas A Saint begotten by a Saint, a Staretz born to a Staretz: the Holy Martyr Sergius fully embodies the canticle’s words: “Out of good root, thou hast put forth sweet-smelling roses”. He was born in the family of Father Alexy Mechov, the most famous of old Moscow’s spiritual leaders of the times, and was nurtured with the teachings of both his father and the latter’s friend, Staretz Anatoly of Optina, and subsequently those of Staretz Nectary. After his father’s repose in the Lord, he took over the office of staretz until his church was closed down by the bolsheviks, then he bore the cross of faith confession in exile and prison camps, to receive the crown of martyrdom during the Second World War, as one who would take to the ultimate consequences his own preaching words: “All the present things shall pass, but it shall not be so with my soul and The Kingdom of God of which I partake here, on earth. It is our duty to prepare ourselves for the afterlife and to internalize the notion that death for Christ is the path to the true, genuine, real life. We ought to make use of all things, however not for our own benefit, we must not turn earthly goods into true values – and then faith will acquire for us a wholly different meaning from that it used to have. Thus, faith is a gift of God, for which we must pray; faith depends on the way we humiliate ourselves, and we reach faith by way of our remembrance of death, our detachment from earthly goods and even from the life in this world, our readiness to die for the faith in Christ.” Format: 13 x 20 cm; 200 p. ISBN: 978-973-136-049-2 “Russian Fathers” «« back