Archbishop LAZAR

October 6, 2010

I have heard many expressions of love and support for Vladika Seraphim from correspondents and telephone calls from all over America and Canada.
It is clear that he is one of the most well loved and respected hierarchs in the OCA, past and present.
(Vladiko Lazar)

October 9, 2010

In the Monastery in that Litany, both in Vespers and Liturgy, we add "For our Archbishop Seraphim, that the Lord may visit him with mercy, compassion and consolation." Presumably one can add such a petition in their own words. As much as possible, we should let Vladika know that our love and prayers are with him. In every circumstance, we should pray for healing. Only those whose hearts are seared and evil desire anything but healing in every case, in every matter.
(Vladiko Lazar)

October 10, 2010

Bureaucracy moves in strange and mysterious ways. Remember that the Church is a very, very political place. Focusing on the real mission of healing and the Gospel words is too frequently hindered by
the politics, fear and often malice that unfolds among the leaders and clergy. It is, one must resolve, part of the human condition. Much of the incompetence arises from fear, not from inability. At root, we
are all afraid of each other because we know that every mistake, both great and small, will be used as a weapon of malice, and the good that has been done will be quickly forgotten by many as the malicious mind seizes upon even clerical errors to bludgeon someone with. How can we resolve such stresses and problems?  How can we (all of us) become more compassionate, more desirous to see our brother healed rather than punished, restored rather than destroyed? It is not only
Vl. Seraphim that we should be praying for. We should be praying for ourselves as well, that the light of the Gospel might shine into our own hearts and make us more compassionate, more life-bearing, less rigid, more seeking to understand each other even when we (as I myself often am, difficult to deal with), less cold-hearted and less political. The mission of the Gospel is to build up, not to tear down, to heal, not to cripple, to lift-up and restore, not to destroy.

Your brother in our common Saviour, Vladiko Lazar.