In the now closed topic, "Saint Therese of Lisieux and the Eastern Catholic Churches", there were a couple of forum members who were interested in knowing more about devotion to Saint Therese among Russian Orthodox Christians.
In her book, "Light Before Dusk: A Russian Catholic in France", the late Helen Isowolsky talks about devotion to Saint Therese among Russian Orthodox Christians in the chapter titled, "My Orthodox Friends".
She writes:
I was interested to discover that my visitor[a Russian neighbor -g.c.] had a special devotion to St Theresa. She had even witnessed a miraculous cure while nursing a sick child in a French family. After our first talk she came to see me often and borrowed books from me. She was especially attracted by the life of little St. Theresa, by the writings of St. Theresa of Avila, and by Father Bruno's voluminous work on St. John of the Cross. When she returned this book to me, I was distressed to find it in a damaged condition; the cover was torn, the pages crumpled. I later learned she had lent the book to a number of friends, and to a man sick in the hospital. "I was advised to do so by Father T.," she explained to me, naming a well-known Orthodox priest. "He said it would bring comfort to the invalid."
This is a good example of the interest by the Orthodox in Catholic books. I believe these books are exercising a considerable influence on Russian religious thought, as through them many Russian emigres have become acquainted with the great Catholic mystics and saints.
Among these saints, St. Theresa of Lisieux is perhaps the most popular. It is not only her writings, but her entire personality which attracts the Orthodox. Her picture is often to be found in their homes, piously placed beside the family icons. St. Theresa is said to have performed many miracles for the Russians, as if fulfilling the wishes of Pope Pius XI who chose her as the patron saint of suffering Russia. She
has been known to help refugees find jobs and to bring them unexpected sums of money when they are hard up. There is even the story of the Russian taxi-driver who ran short of gasoline on a lonely road, and after praying to St. Theresa found his tank miraculously filled.
I remember a priest who knew the Russians well complaining that they were always pressing St. Theresa for help. These prayers, he said, too often asked for temporal benefits and not for spiritual blessings. "And unfortunately," he added, "she always grants their prayers." I was asked by Father Bruno, editor of "Etudes Carmelitaines", to make an inquiry concerning devotion of Russians to St. Theresa. I visited many of my Orthodox friends and wrote to others about it. They readily answered my questions, and were pleased that an important Catholic review took interest in their religious sentiments.
Most of them declared that the "Little Way" of St. Theresa and her "Spiritual Childhood" appealed to Russian piety. It reminded them of their beloved Saint Seraphim who also preached the little way of humility.
While making my inquiry I visited the well-known Russian poetess and author, Zinaida Hippius, the wife of the late writer Merejkovsky.
...the poems which she had dedicated to little St. Theresa are not only beautiful but of admirable simplicity. I spent hours talking to her, and she told me of her pilgrimages to Lisieux.
I published translations of Zinaida Hippius' poems
in the "Etudes Carmelitaines", as well as many testimonials and letters from my other Orthodox friends. These testimonials were of great interest, but in spite of the explanations they gave of the reasons why Russians have a devotion to St. Theresa, it still remains a mystery to me. St. Theresa's writings are so typical of Western piety, and the entire life of this young French Carmelite is so unlike the lives of the Russian saints, that I can scarcely understand why she has been specially chosen by my compatriots. Even the resemblance to St. Seraphim is not sufficient to explain this attraction.
There must be another explanation, a supernatural one. St. Theresa's dream was always to pursue her apostolate in some distant country; but her health was too delicate for such an enterprise, and she was moreover a cloistered nun. Strangely enough, since her death she has become a favourite saint of the Russians and the patron of Union.
In her book, "Light Before Dusk: A Russian Catholic in France", the late Helen Isowolsky talks about devotion to Saint Therese among Russian Orthodox Christians in the chapter titled, "My Orthodox Friends".
She writes:
I was interested to discover that my visitor[a Russian neighbor -g.c.] had a special devotion to St Theresa. She had even witnessed a miraculous cure while nursing a sick child in a French family. After our first talk she came to see me often and borrowed books from me. She was especially attracted by the life of little St. Theresa, by the writings of St. Theresa of Avila, and by Father Bruno's voluminous work on St. John of the Cross. When she returned this book to me, I was distressed to find it in a damaged condition; the cover was torn, the pages crumpled. I later learned she had lent the book to a number of friends, and to a man sick in the hospital. "I was advised to do so by Father T.," she explained to me, naming a well-known Orthodox priest. "He said it would bring comfort to the invalid."
This is a good example of the interest by the Orthodox in Catholic books. I believe these books are exercising a considerable influence on Russian religious thought, as through them many Russian emigres have become acquainted with the great Catholic mystics and saints.
Among these saints, St. Theresa of Lisieux is perhaps the most popular. It is not only her writings, but her entire personality which attracts the Orthodox. Her picture is often to be found in their homes, piously placed beside the family icons. St. Theresa is said to have performed many miracles for the Russians, as if fulfilling the wishes of Pope Pius XI who chose her as the patron saint of suffering Russia. She
has been known to help refugees find jobs and to bring them unexpected sums of money when they are hard up. There is even the story of the Russian taxi-driver who ran short of gasoline on a lonely road, and after praying to St. Theresa found his tank miraculously filled.
I remember a priest who knew the Russians well complaining that they were always pressing St. Theresa for help. These prayers, he said, too often asked for temporal benefits and not for spiritual blessings. "And unfortunately," he added, "she always grants their prayers." I was asked by Father Bruno, editor of "Etudes Carmelitaines", to make an inquiry concerning devotion of Russians to St. Theresa. I visited many of my Orthodox friends and wrote to others about it. They readily answered my questions, and were pleased that an important Catholic review took interest in their religious sentiments.
Most of them declared that the "Little Way" of St. Theresa and her "Spiritual Childhood" appealed to Russian piety. It reminded them of their beloved Saint Seraphim who also preached the little way of humility.
While making my inquiry I visited the well-known Russian poetess and author, Zinaida Hippius, the wife of the late writer Merejkovsky.
...the poems which she had dedicated to little St. Theresa are not only beautiful but of admirable simplicity. I spent hours talking to her, and she told me of her pilgrimages to Lisieux.
I published translations of Zinaida Hippius' poems
in the "Etudes Carmelitaines", as well as many testimonials and letters from my other Orthodox friends. These testimonials were of great interest, but in spite of the explanations they gave of the reasons why Russians have a devotion to St. Theresa, it still remains a mystery to me. St. Theresa's writings are so typical of Western piety, and the entire life of this young French Carmelite is so unlike the lives of the Russian saints, that I can scarcely understand why she has been specially chosen by my compatriots. Even the resemblance to St. Seraphim is not sufficient to explain this attraction.
There must be another explanation, a supernatural one. St. Theresa's dream was always to pursue her apostolate in some distant country; but her health was too delicate for such an enterprise, and she was moreover a cloistered nun. Strangely enough, since her death she has become a favourite saint of the Russians and the patron of Union.
