FATHER JOHN OF KRONSTADT'S MORNING OF PRAYER

By Bishop Dmitri

Morning: as others like to indicate their preference for evening hours for prayer, so Father John in his writings considered the morning period as more suitable for it, when the inner man more freely looks out from under the bustle of the world and from under the gloom of his flesh, and from his spiritual eyes is removed that unhealthy film, which conceals from him at other times the true state of things spiritual and sensual.

However, in his own life, Father John, while he did rise at 4AM., was able to devote barely half an hour to this morning prayer. - Prayer for Father John always constituted great spiritual enrichment. He was able to obtain it already in church prayers, beginning with the most widely-used and well-known ones like: "Our Father", "Heavenly King", "Have mercy on me, O God", the revelation of whose vitality we find frequently in his diary. But he considered essential - and himself loved to pray in practice - also "in his own words", which is why we read a whole row of such prayers in the very same diary. "Creator and Master of the world!" he prayed before coming of day. "Mercifully look down upon Thy creature, adorned with Thy Godly image, in these morning hours: let Thine eyes - millions upon millions of times brighter than the rays of the sun - vivify and enlighten my soul, darkened and slain by sin. Deliver me from despondency and slothfulness, grant me joy and courage of soul, so that with a glad heart I may praise Thy mercy, Thy holiness, Thy boundless greatness, and Thy infinite perfections, at every hour and in every place. For Thou, Lord, art my Creator and the , Master of my life, and to Thee Thy reasonable creatures every hour ascribe glory and praise, both now and for ever and the ages of ages. Amen." Such prayer was what gave him that iron energy with which he amazed everyone, and he would leave his room alert, strong and cheerful.

After that, during the same fifth hour of the morning, he would accept visitors for a short time, and set out to serve Matins, which he served himself. He himself also read the canon at Matins, and of this reading, memory is retained by nearly all his callers, for he read - in a special manner. As he read, "it was as if he were conversing, speaking with the Saviour, God's Mother and the Saints, - as if they were here before him, and not somewhere out there, in heights beyond our vision, in astral worlds beyond the clouds ..." "Loudly, sharply and nervously, as if tearing each word out of his own heart, would he pronounce the holy prayer, and from these sounds, filling the restrained silence of the crowded church, indeed, winnowed something holy and lofty. - By all and each is forcefully felt that here is not a simple reading before a venerated icon, but precisely a living conversation with a visible and Extant Being .. . "Baptizer and Forerunner of Christ," resounds the familiar piercing voice: "straighten out my mind, ever submerged by pleasures of the flesh, and calm the waves of my passions, so that I may, remaining in Divine calm, sing to Thee."

Not a single word is read without sense and meaning. Certain words which are more important in content, Father John pronounces facing the people even, so that people may more deeply comprehend what is being read. He is himself completely absorbed into what he is reading. Nothing can distract his thoughts aside at this time. It is as if he is reliving all that he reads. He relives the victories over sin and evil performed by the Saints, relives human frailties and falls, relives the times of God's goodwill and mercy toward fallen and straying men. Much of what he reads - this is also somehow felt - he attributes directy to himself: Father John's soul is infiltrated to such an extent with the thoughts contained in the holy songs read by him, that lie is unable to restrain himself from making the most diverse gestures. While reading he is constantly as though worrying and as if agitated. Now as if a beatific smile lights up his face as he reads of the heavenly glory of God, of the Birth-Giver of God and God's Saints; then deep entreaty is heard from his lips when he reads of human frailty, sin and falls; then you hear as if holy anger, when he comes across the words "satan", "devil", in the canon; then a touching feeling, great exhaltation, as he reads of the great feats, victories over sin, performed by the holy martyrs and Saints.

After the sixth song and litany, Father John exclaims: "Kontakion", and reads it loudly, like a victory song of Christians over our defeated primordial enemy. Having finished the reading of the canon, he quickly enters the altar and falls into deep prayer before the Altar-table. Having strengthened himself by prayer, he again joins the choir and here reads the canticles. "I shall never forget" - writes the author of "Two Days in Kronstadt," "they began to sing the canticles. Father had by that time almost arrayed himself in priestly vestments so as to perform divine liturgy. Only the chasuble was not on him. Quickly, in a swift movement, running more than walking, he came out of the altar to the choir, joined the singers and began singing with them. He sang animatedly, with deep faith, himself acting as choir-master, again stressing individual words and slowing the tempo where that was required by the logical meaning of what was being sung. Experienced singers instinctively guessed these words, this tempo and this rhythm, and followed him with no small skill and animation. The singing, not very orderly at first, quickly became melodious, strong, sonorous, mighty, animating, flowing over the whole church, wholely filling the hearts of those who were praying. It was moving to look at the singers at that moment. It was as if some holy, early-Christian family, with its father at the head, was singing - singing its victorious, holy and great hymns."

After the Matins followed the liturgy without a break, which was even more solemn, full of Christian joy and animated.

Oblation already took on such an exalted and deeply significant character with Father John, which was regarded "with scant attention even by the clergy, not taking part in the actual performance." However, it was sufficient to have been present but once "during oblation performed by Father John, to understand the enormous importance of this part of the liturgy."

Father John approaches the altar of offerings: no matter how much even here in the altar those who refer to him distract him, he performs oblation himself, although he is always accompanied by many lower clergy as concelebrants. "He is full of triumphant joy. Already at this time he is gripped in a type of exalting, prophetic ecstasy. He removes the Host. Look, with what loving attention he straightens it, cuts it on all sides, and reverently places it upon the paten. "Look, look," he refers suddenly to his concelebrants, standing close by, in the middle of oblation: "Father Nicholas, look, Father Paul, - where else is there anything to compare with what we have ... Look. - Here He is, Christ. Here He is, here, amidst us and we are next to Him, around Him, like the Apostles."

Reverent awe and fear is produced by the inspired exclamation. One feels the hovering of angels' wings .. "Remember, Lord, Thy servants," reads Father John, and mentions the names of the living and the dead. often saving the names in full, with patronymics. Prosforas are carried in by the basketfull because there happen to be thousands of them, and Father John himself removes only a few prosforas out of each basket, as also he reads but a few of the lists of names out of the large number brought into the altar, while those lucky ones who stood in the altar, usually asked him to remove a prosfora for their relatives, so that he did not have a single spare minute during this period.