MANASTIR LEPAVINA - SRPSKA PRAVOSLAVNA CRKVA

Here, father Gabriel breaks the stone to collect the rain water made out of our tears. Interpretation of the emergence of spirituality on Facebook, could be done through the light of orthodox teachings about icons, the Trinity of God, the Holy Ghost, and through the spiritual leadership and missionary work. It is impossible to evaluate this occurrence without the subject familiarity, and spiritual understanding of the Church life, its order, and spiritual condescension.

Love is in the core of the faith. He is the God of the living ones. God materialized in a body, and an encounter with God is diverse according to the Holy Scriptures. GOD is trinity. God is joyfulness. It is when Archimandrite Gabriel says: “Rejoice the Merciful one…”, that refers to the God, the Holy Spirit, the mercy. When was the last time we rejoiced. Maybe the God was near by.

Two in love, man and woman love each other without fornication, and they only look at each other…look. We look at the icon of God in others, our loved ones, strong ones and weak ones. Sometimes we see, those, others on internet too. Wherever God is, and God is in others. The model of an icon is there. We noticed an example of perfection. How did the Spirit function?

When one meets with a parson, one also feels a similar, even bigger enthusiasm, which has nothing to do with a simple physical human nature such as the case, for example, when a man meets a woman. These are some miraculous spiritual movements; one meets a loving God-like being, a spiritual father, who reached high altitudes in Christ. God is there. Spiritual child rejoices; even the unborn one jumps. This get-together can be on Facebook too.

It happens rarely, but indicated by the Bishop, the priesthood is on Facebook. Do those, who are God’s knights, truly have a need to promote themselves in a form of worldly advertising and marketing; those who died so that they can love all people, and those who through the priesthood mark out the highest degree of Christ likeness. And not only that, do we recognize the spiritual volume of God’s episcopal hypersensitivity inside of us, after we take communion. Therefore, I believe that their path into unholy residence of individuals on Facebook is a type of a missionary sacrifice. Internet can also awfully tire one, and if one is familiar with any of orthodox spirituality, the sacrifice is apparent; it is not some promotion, and there is no worldly explanation of this. The Glory of God disperses here.

At the same time, this is a colossal sacrifice, only we do not see a blood which is being spilled, so that a space, such as internet, could be transformed, especially at its beginning when a result is not visible yet; some with stiff necks think that all this is some insane undertaking, but the first Holy Martyrs were similarly attacked because of the Christ.

The important thing is that a martial Church is present everywhere, and it is not up to the man where and how will the Spirit act, and where the God’s call will come from.  Spirit acts where and how the Spirit wants, through all windows, and even through the computer screens and icons that we click on with a mouse. Where from, and through who the Spirit procures, has been a topic through out all times; it is existing here too, just as it was through centuries before us, in some different historical contexts and in different technological circumstances. But that dilemma had been resolved long time ago; it just needs to be actualized. Here, the Creed should be read with understanding.

The space of internet is consecrated just as any other space, a whole universe, and the church are; these holy places radiate the blessings. And the one who cries will be comforted, the doors will open for the one who knocks. “Pray continuously, anywhere and in every place.” , says the one who was a stranger in all places. Oh, what has not been sacrificed and exalted. The way the skies ripped. Numerous tears of those who, with a passionate love of God, started to love the world. 

“Flowers will spring up from graves, for some future generations”, says Bishop Rade in Crown Mountain. During those times, he used the epic folk poetry, as their modern media; today, father Gabriel uses internet; he uses Facebook, Skype, and email. I am a bit surprised how he manages to do it all. This activeness on God’s field is fruitful.

Many years ago, I read the text on Lepavina’s web site in the filed of flowers planted, by father Gabriel, who is inspired by God. And I read, without knowing, and I felt, through the spiritual senses, that it represents the good and blessings; so, the years passed by, and nothing sprung up inside me. Then we had a spiritual tribune on our web site, and through the communication with other brothers and sisters, we created a group of people: a “community” or “commune”, a small communities under the leadership of father Gabriel, and with blessings from His Eminence, Metropolitan of Zagreb, Ljubljana and All-Italy, Mr. Jovan. 

Even then, one could feel that the virtual spiritual space of monastery Lepavina radiates in a specific and organized way. We met in person later, there and here, and there….incomprehensible.

Later, Father Gabriel started to read the akathist Hymn to the Holiest Virgin of Lepavina every night on Radio Blagovijesti; and we listened to that voice, those tones and those atonal vibrations which caused tears and washed our faces like a blessed rain. Everyone attended the Service in their own parishes analogously; it was also logical.  Without it, one can not possibly fully experience the undertakings on this web site or these pages.

Souls wander through the desert of internet. In that resting silence we find a bright icon of a parson and a Bishop, and we click on it, and suddenly, some new world opens up…We were dead, and now we are alive. Sometimes the process is slow and sometimes it is fast; sometimes the internet space is less or more blessed; but it is the same in the case of the newly formed Christian communities in the world. Ancient dioceses; how did they emerge; where was the seed planted; there, where nothing ever sprung up. These godly spaces are full of spiritual beings.

What you tie, it is tied.

Radomir Vucic
Belgrade, June 1st, 2009.