Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia

Once Jesus Christ went to Caper’naum, as we heard in today’s Gospel reading, and stopped at a hospitable home. A large crowd immediately gathered to Him, so that there was not even room in the doorway. At the time, there was a man sick of palsy. Hearing that a great Miracle-worker had come Who could even raise the dead, he was swept with the fervent desire to see Jesus in the hope of being healed. But how to do this, when he could not even move?

And so some accommodating, compassionate people were found, thank God—there have always been people like this, and always will be—they took the sick man with his bed and took him to Christ. But another obstacle lay ahead: because of all the people, it was impossible to enter the house. The sick man was crestfallen, he was close to despair, but his helpers soon found a way. Knowing the building method in Jewish homes of the time, they took apart the roof and lowered the sick man with ropes right to the feet of Jesus Christ. Apparently, the sick man said nothing, but his gaze, expressing living torture, was turned to Christ with supplication. The Lord had mercy on him, and, seeing his faith, and that of those who brought him, said: Child, your sins are forgiven.

What does this mean? The sick man undoubtedly sought physical healing, but Christ heals his spiritual ills?! That is the point, that our sins are the source of all sorrows and ailments. Man was created for blessedness, and until his fall into sin, knew no sorrows. In the kingdom of the heavenly Father, where there will be nothing wicked, for ТThere is no sickness, nor sorrow, nor sighingУ (from the funeral service kontakion). Sin is a sort of spiritual poison, which completely overturns the soul, and if does not turn everything to ashes, then in any case, it muffles a person’s conscience, and he dies. Sin is like a fishing pole which draws a person close and he becomes its slave, just like a fish caught on a hook is under the control of the one who holds it. Sin is the cunningly-woven web of a spider which mercilessly tortures and kills his prey. Sin is the wall between us and God. And the more a person sins, the higher and wider this wall becomes. That is why Christ wished first to destroy the power of this poison, to bring the spiritually-dead man back to life, to painlessly remove the hook and tear the nets apart, so that the person would become free, so that the wall would come down, so that the sinner would stand face to face with God, the Source of all good. Only then did He say: Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. It is not difficult to guess, brethren, why the Church decided to read this Gospel on the miraculous healing of the sick man in Caper’naum almost at the beginning of Lent. We all, like this man, are in need of healing, and this is the appropriate time for it.

Go, Christian, to the house of the Lord, this spiritual Caper’naum, open your soul, cleanse it with tears and Тsay your sins to God.У Know that Christ is here not only at times, but always, and the path here is always open. Here your brothers in the faith will strengthen your prayers, here your spiritual father, with the power given to him by God, will say to you: ТI forgive you and release your sins.У Moreover, the sick man of the Gospel, thanks to God, went to his house, and you, receiving forgiveness for your sins, will be worthy to attend the feast of the Lord.

Do not deprive yourself of this supreme good, especially since there are no obstacles on this path, you do not need helpers and those who will carry your bed, you can come yourself. True, the time will come when we will need helpers, but not to receive healing, but in order that we may ask of them Тforgive me!У Lord, do not let death come before our hour of repentance!

Born September 22, 1871. Graduated from Tambov Seminary in 1897 and ordained to the priesthood. While the rector of a parish in Morshansk, worked in education, the building of schools and a teaching seminary. Transferred to the Imperial Estate of Oreanda in Crimea in 1905 and included in the ranks of Court clergy. Finished the correspondence course of the Moscow Theological Academy (1909). In 1918, transferred to Livadia. From 1920-24, served as a priest in Constantinople. Served in Paris for a time. Moved to Copenhagen, where he was rector of the parish and spiritual father for the widowed Empress Maria Feodorovna (1847-1924). Died June 7, 1944.

Ј First book on the Law of God, 96 pp.
Ј Mysteries of Life Beyond the Grave, Copenhagen, 1934, 58 pp.
Ј Sermons for Sundays and Holidays of the Church Cycle, restored St. Job of Pochaev Press in Vladimirovo, Czechoslovakia, 1935.
Ј Compendium of Sermons for Sundays and Holidays for the Year. Published by the author, Copenhagen, 1938.

(Compiled from Russkie pisateli emigratsii: Biograficheskiye svedeniya I bibliografiya ikh knig po bogosloviyu, religioznoi filosofii, tserkovnoi istorii I pravoslavnoi kul’ture: 1921-1972
[Russian Writers of the Emigration: Biographical Information and Bibliography of their Books on Theology, Religious Philosophy, Church History and Orthodox Culture: 1921-1972], N.M. Zernov, ed., Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1973.)

In his memoirs, Put’ Moei Zhizni [ТThe Path of My LifeУ], Metropolitan Evlogii (Georgievsky) wrote about Father Leonid:

ТI sent Protopriest N. Popov (from Po)Йand then I appointed the worthy, intelligent, reverend elder Fr. Leonid Kolchev (from Constantinople). The Empress thanked me for this appointment. When Denmark recognized the Bolsheviks and they sued to take possession of our church, Fr. Kolchev was able to defend it. In 1928, Empress Maria Feodorovna died. Fr. Leonid buried her. After her death I received a telegram: he invited me to the funeral. I went to Copenhagen and performed the rite of burial.У
In the book about the last Grand Duchess, Olga Aleksandrovna, the Danish writer Jen Vorres relates one interesting detail about the pannikhida [commemorative service] performed by Protopriest Leonid before the burial:

ТYet, grudgingly granting permission for the solemn burial, the king [of Denmark—Prot. A.L.] imposed a number of unpleasant conditions. One of them was that Fr. Leonid Kolchev, the spiritual father of the late Empress, could not appear in the cathedral in the vestments of an Orthodox priest, otherwise, ostensibly, those of the Roman Catholic faith would demand the right to conduct services in that cathedral, which belonged mainly to the Protestants. Nonetheless, this did not discourage the devoted priest. Fr. Kolchev was able to enter the cathedral, having donned a long coat over his vestments, and served the pannikhida in the Orthodox rite at the coffin of the late Empress, reposed in the Lord.У

(Jen Vorres, The Last Grand Duchess, Memoirs of Grand Duchess Olga Aleksandrovna, 1960.)Here is the foreword by the author, Fr. Leonid Kolchev, to the Compendium of his sermons:

For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of:
for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me,
if I preach not the gospel! (1 Cor. 9:16).

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. (2 Tim. 4:2).

My parishioners have long turned to me with the request to record my teachings, which I usually gave verbally according to a prepared outline. Acceding to these requests, I recently did in fact begin to write some things down, until I had enough to offer this compendium for the reader.

The basis of my sermons on Sundays I took from Gospel readings, on Holidays, their stories, and drew the corresponding edifying conclusions for the day.

While reading over my compendium, I once again became convinced of the words of the wise man: ТWhat to say is not as important (if you know the subject) as how to say itЙУ In any case, I will be very happy if my sermons, spoken from the heart, would remind the reader of the teachings they heard at one time, and my younger brethren preachers would use this material.

With God’s help, I did all I could, but those who have more powers than I, let them do better.