Poems by St. Philaret


LIBRARY:
"I will chant unto my God for as long as I have my being."
Poems written by Saint Philaret (Voznesenskiy).

Love righteousness, ye that be judges of the earth: think of the Lord with a good (heart,) and in simplicity of heart seek him.
Wisdom of Solomon 1:1

King of Heaven
O, King of Heaven, Father of the poor,
Defender of the weak and orphaned,
Have mercy on us and in days of gloom
Deprive us not of Thy bounty!
So hard to live! And so much pain
Around us... And our spirit fails -
Dog-tired of suffering in worldly tribulations
Among temptations and alarms...
You came into this world... The world You gave the word -
the Holy Gospel action word [verb];
But the world searched for a "leader" of another type,
And it failed to follow Thee...
No shine, no pomp, no purple
Didst Thou chose, no royal throne.
Such as Thee the world needs not,
Thou art too meek and humble.
Another will come - with his arrogance,
With treachery and falsehood, evil impudent,
With vicious sneering over holy high,
And over God's truth and goodness.

On the death of a friend
(In memory of hieromonk Methodius)
"With the saints give rest, O Christ, to the soul of thy servant..."
Life was cut... Long since that was
That he lived with us - and he died...
The tumulus took him to in,
And all is grief: "He’s gone from us”...
"He’s gone in full" ... In full ... True,
He is no longer in the bustle,
Amid a world full of injustice...
My friend, my brother – my co-pastor – where are you?
The grave keeps silent... O, silent tumulus...
The flowers only smell sweet.
O Lord! To the bereaved grant power
To endure the grief of loss!
Thou, in Whose hands the breath of life is,
Thou God of peace, of truth and love,
Thou King of the upper, sweetest homeland,
Doth hope revive in us!
Thou knewest the pursuits of his spirit -
To Thee he rushed with all his heart;
Doth accept him in Thine dwellings
And repose him with the saints.
   
Apocalyptic
(War of 1940-1945)
A time terrific! A time of test
Has come – as willed by the Creator;
Years pass – but the cup of suffering
We have not drunk up to the end.
In some strange form of sinister nightmare
People are dashing - but there’s no escape;
Kingdoms, and nations in bloody fallow
Are fighting to death, in search of "victories".
Words, doubts trouble the heart:
What happens next? What shall we live on?
In this grief and anguish who shall help
To soothe the soul and to strengthen the spirit?
So in these years of suffering and grief
The lighting lamp is shifted, and the torch is down;
Fiercely rages the sea of life,
All terribly rages - hour on hour.
God’s Truth – always unchanged,
All have forgotten, an idol erected
Peoples are dying, the universe trembles,
In its very foundations the World vacilates...
God Almighty! To Thee we lift up
Our mournful call: have mercy! Forgive!
In Thee Alone we put our trust
To find peace and joy for the soul...
Thy Word - unchanged for ever [and ever],
Thy truth and grace - know no boundaries,
Even in sufferings Thou nurture and save us,
And before Thee we prostrate flat.
Grant us Thy peace! Give us faith of the heart,
So that free from the heavy shackles
We may glorify Thy sweetness unending
Through generations - to generations to come.
For Thine is a state holy,
Thy mercy is a shrine for oppressed
And Thy kingdom, Thy power, Thy glory
Are now and forever and ever and ever! 

Source: "Pillar of Fire. Metropolitan of New York and of Eastern America Philaret (Voznesenskiy) and the Russian Orthodox Church (1964-1985)", - Sankt Petersburg, 2007. Compilation and commentary by nun Kassia (T.A. Senina) 
translated by Vladimir Djambov  2011/1/20

Vladimir Djambov, Eng
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En <> Bg translation, interpreting