Προσευχές στην λίμνη

by Nikolaj Velimirović, Άγιος Νικόλαος Βελιμίροβιτς, Justin Popović (Contributor)

Οι «Προσευχές στην Λίμνη», που εφέτος συμπληρώνουν εκατό χρόνια από την πρώτη έκδοσί τους, θα μπορούσαν να χαρακτηρισθούν ως σύγχρονο βιβλίο ψαλμών, ανθοδέσμη ποιητική ασμάτων που έχουν γραφή υπό την σκιά ευσκιόφυλλου δένδρου με θέα την απέραντη λίμνη της Αχρίδος ή έχουν ανυψωθή γονυπετώς ενώπιον του Θεού, του μόνου και ζώντος και αληθώς όντος Θεού, του Οποίου προσφιλής μέριμνα είναι να συνομιλή, εγκάρδια και νυχθημερόν, πρόσωπον προς πρόσωπον, ως φίλος προς φίλον, με το πλάσμα Του, τον κατ’ εικόνα Του πλασθέντα άνθρωπον, ο οποίος καθημερινώς προσκαλείται εις το «καθ’ ομοίωσιν»…

(Απόσπασμα από τον πρόλογο του Καθηγουμένου της Ι. Μονής Σίμωνος Πέτρας Αρχιμανδρίτη Ελισαίου που περιέχεται στο βιβλίο)


Περιτειχισμένη με το σώμα του λαού, αιώνες η λαϊκή μας ψυχή τραύλιζε και βασανιζόταν, αναζητώντας να βρει την γλώσσα που θα εκφράσει τους πόνους της, τις θλίψεις της, τις επιθυμίες της και τις προσευχές της. Και βρήκε την γλώσσα της, την βρήκε στον Δεσπότη Νικόλαο. Μέσω αυτού η τραυλή ψυχή μας μετετράπη σε θρήνο, που δεν έχουν δει τα μάτια μας, και σε εύγλωττες προσευχές, που δεν έχουν ακούσει τα αυτιά μας. Αυτός είναι η θεόσταλτη πύρινη γλώσσα, που στέκει πάνω από την ψυχή μας. Και αυτή η ψυχή φλογερά και με πόθο εξομολογείται στον «Τρισήλιο Δεσπότη των κόσμων». Αυτός είναι η έκφραση, η χαρισματική πολυτελής έκφραση της ψυχής μας. Αυτός μιλά, όπως ποτέ δεν μίλησε ένας άνθρωπος ανάμεσά μας. Αυτός προσεύχεται, όπως ποτέ ανάμεσά μας δεν προσευχήθηκε άνθρωπος τόσο εύγλωττα. Αυτός έχει χάρισμα λόγου, γιατί έχει το χάρισμα του παναισθήματος, το χάρισμα της συμπόνιας, της παναγάπης, το χάρισμα της προσευχής. Μέχρι να εμφανισθή αυτός, εμείς ήμασταν απεγνωσμένοι: είχε μουδιάσει η χριστονοσταλγία της ψυχής μας, είχε αποξηρανθή, είχε νεκρωθή. Χάρη σ’ αυτόν λάμψαμε από χαρά: Η χριστονοσταλγία της ψυχής μας ζωογονήθηκε μέσα του, αναστήθηκε, ανανεώθηκε...

(Απόσπασμα από την εισαγωγή του Αγίου Ιουστίνου Πόποβιτς που περιέχεται στο βιβλίο)

ΠΡΟΣΕΥΧΕΣ ΣΤΗΝ ΛΙΜΝΗ

Ποιος είναι Αυτός που με ατενίζει
Ποιος μ’ έβαλε
Υπάρχουν άραγε ημέρες
Μου μάθαιναν οι μεγάλοι
Ακόμη λίγο, λίγο
Στα γόνατα φυλές και λαοί
Να μπορούσα
Οι κόσμοι συνωθούνται γύρω Σου
Κύριε, πολυπόθητο μυστήριο
Στη σιωπηλή γλώσσα
Από τότε που συνδέθηκα με Σένα
Χρίσε την καρδιά μου
Εσύ δεν ζητάς πολλά
Τι αξία έχουν τα ρούχα
Οι άσπροι γλάροι
Σηκωθήτε, γιοί του Υιού του Θεού
Βαρετές μου είναι οι συμβουλές
Μετανοήστε
Καταμεσής στη φασαρία
Να θεωρείς τον εαυτό σου σαν νεκρό
Μητέρα Ουράνια
Υιέ του Θεού Μονογενές
Ο θάλαμος της ψυχής μου
Εσύ
Ψυχές κεκοιμημένων
Σηκωθήτε όλα τα δημιουργήματα
Τα πουλιά Σου με ξυπνάνε
Βουβός και άλαλος
Για όλες τις αμαρτίες
Σβήσε Κύριε, όλες τις μνήμες μου
Έχυσες φως στο σκοτάδι
Η πίστη μου
Η ελπίδα μου
Η αγάπη με κάνει Θεό
Μάρτυρες της αληθινής πίστης
Μάρτυρες της καλής ελπίδας
Μάρτυρες της μεγάλης αγάπης
Μέσα από τα πράγματα κάνεις θαύματα
Ξέρεις μήπως, παιδί μου
Με την προσευχή
Με την νηστεία
Η αγάπη μου αγρυπνεί
Κανένα κακό
Κατεβαίνω βαθιά στην καρδιά μου
Κατεβαίνω βαθιά στον νου μου
Κατεβαίνω βαθιά στην ψυχή μου
Πλησίασε κοντά μου
Όλοι οι προφήτες
Κρύψε, Θεέ
Με νωθρές τις ρόδες του σώματος
Πνεύμα Άγιον, δες
Ευφραίνου, ψυχή μου
Ας σκύψει ο ουρανός
Υιέ της Ζωής
Ποιος είσαι Εσύ
Πίσω απ’ την αλήθεια
Δεν είσαι άραγε εσύ Εκείνος
Με ρωτάτε για την οδό
Πόσες και πόσες φορές θρηνούσες
Λειώνουν τα χιόνια
Ακούω μια φωνή από τα βάθη
Στρατιώτες της Ζωής
Ποιος έφερε την αμαρτία
Πόσο υπέροχος
Από πού
Σας ικετεύω, Σεραφείμ
Μητρυιά είναι η γη
Ο Ινδός καταριέται το κάρμα
Αχρείοι δούλοι
Βοήθησέ με να γεννηθώ ξανά
Γέμισες με ειρήνη
Λύτρωσε την ψυχή μου
Οδήγησε την γλώσσα μου
Κοίταξε ο Πατέρας από τον Ουρανό
Ευλόγησε τους εχθρούς μου
Την αυγή, όταν ξυπνώ
Το μεσημέρι τα παιδιά
Το βράδυ η σκόνη των άστρων
Κάκιωσαν οι άνθρωποι
Πράσινο είναι το κυπαρίσσι
Ήμουν ποιμένας προβάτων
Κήρυξαν οι άπιστοι πόλεμο
Ανούσιες συζητήσεις
Εκείνοι που διαφωτίζουν
Όπου είναι ένας βασιλιάς
Το καλό θα είναι με τον δίκαιο
Θεοφόροι
Υψώνω τα χέρια μου
Προφήτεψε ο Υιός του Θεού
Θα σκοντάψουν πολλοί
Το αίμα του δικαίου
Ο Ανασταίνων
Ο Ποθούμενος ήρθε
Στην κοιλάδα του κλαυθμώνος
Τα παιδιά και οι άγιοι Σε κρατάνε
Κάθε πράγμα
Η επίσκεψή Σου
Βιβλίο είμαι
Ελάχιστοι είναι οι υπάκουοι
Δέξου την θυσία του λόγου μου

Genres: Christianity, Poetry, Religion, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Christian, Church

276 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1922

About the author

Sveti vladika Nikolaj Ohridski i Žički (svetovno Nikola Velimirović; selo Lelić kod Valjeva, Kneževina Srbija, 23. decembar 1880/4. januar 1881 — Libertivil, SAD, 18. mart 1956) bio je episkop ohridski i žički, istaknuti teolog i govornik, otuda je nazivan Novi Zlatousti. Nikolaj Velimirović je novokanonizovani srpski svetitelj.

Njegovo rođeno ime je Nikola. U mladosti je teško oboleo od dizenterije i zakleo se da će posvetiti svoj život Bogu, ako preživi. Preživeo je i zamonašio se pod imenom Nikolaj. Velimirović je školovan na Zapadu i u mladosti je bio velik zastupnik liberalnih ideja i ekumenizma. Takođe je primljen u sveštenstvo i brzo je postao važna ličnost u Srpskoj pravoslavnoj crkvi, posebno u odnosima sa Zapadom. U međuratnom periodu postao je predvodnik pravoslavnih bogomoljaca i okrenuo se antievropejstvu i konzervativizmu. Osnivač je desničarske političke ideologije svetosavskog nacionalizma. Smatra se duhovnim inspiratorom Ljotićeve organizacije ZBOR. Često je kritikovan zbog antisemitskih stavova. Kada su u Drugom svetskom ratu Nemci okupirali Jugoslaviju, Velimirović je stavljen u kućni pritvor i na kraju odveden u logor Dahau, gde je proveo tri meseca pre nego što su ga Nemci oslobodili da bi pomogao u obrazovanju objedinjavanju jugoslovenskih kvislinga protiv nadiruće NOVJ i Crvene armije. Po završetku rata, Velimirović je odlučio da se ne vrati u Jugoslaviju, u koju su na vlast došli komunisti. Umesto toga, 1946. otišao je za Ameriku, gde je i ostao do svoje smrti 1956.

Reviews

[Holy Cross · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are glad you are enjoying this wonderful book. We are the monks (of Holy Cross Monastery) who translated it into English.

[StefanP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Šta kad bi se sunce ugledalo na vas, susjedi moji? Kako bi malo svjetlosti slalo na zemlju, o vi tvrdice. Kako bi krvava bila njegova svjetlost, o vi krvnici. Kako bi pozelenilo gledajući veća sunca od sebe, o vi zavidljivci. Kako bi pocvrenilo slušajući hule odozdo, o vi gnjevljivci. Kako bi požutilo od žudnje za lijepotom zvijezda, o vi pohotljivci. Kako bi poblijedilo od straha, da mu neko ne zagradi put, o vi strašljivci. Kako bi potamnilo od brige, o vi brižni mnogobrižni. Kako bi se naboralo i ostarilo hraneći se jučošnjim zlom, o vi zlopamtila. Kako bi zalutalo sa pravog puta otimajući se o pravo, o vi telali prava. Kako bi se ohladilo i umrlo, i svu vasionu okružilo svojom smrću, o vi propovjednici smrti. O kakva sreća za svijet, što se sunce nikad neće ugledati na vas, sinovi i kćeri zemlje. Gle, sunce ne zna za mnogo stvari kao vi, ali zna vječito dvije stvari: da je sluga i da je znak. Da je sluga Onoga, ko ga je užegao; i da je znak Onoga, ko ga je postavio sebi na službu.

[Ryan Platte · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a treasure, one of my favorite books ever. The truth of the ancient Christian faith, up to the minute from a recently glorified saint. St. Nikolai is wise to all manner of modern topics and drops them directly, effortlessly into the context of the ancient church and points directly to true north.

My words fail. St. Nikolai's inspired words succeed in pointing us to God in profound ways.

[Cristina Colceru · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aș fi putut-o citi "pe nerăsuflate" datorită simplitații sale dar am ales să prelungesc dulceața pe care o dă, în timp. Se cere răbdare și luare aminte!
Pe drept i-aș putea spune "carte de rugăciune" pentru simplul fapt că Frumosul Se coboară în inimă cu fiecare rând citit. Încă nu știu dacă am citit sau m-am rugat, părtașă la rugăciunea Sfântului!
Prea frumos, și de recitit! :)

[Dimitris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Το πιο υπέροχο βιβλίο που έχω διαβάσει στη μίζερη ζωή μου.
Δεν φανταζόμουν ποτέ πως ένας Μητροπολίτης (μα μετέπειτα Άγιος) θα μπορούσε πριν 100 χρόνια στη μέση του πουθενά των Βαλκανίων να γράφει θρησκευτικά κείμενα - προσευχές - με τέτοιο βάθος μα και με μια γλώσσα τόσο λογοτεχνικά υψηλή και πρωτότυπη! Ποίηση πραγματική.
Εξαιρετική σκληρόδετη έκδοση, δέσιμο, μετάφραση, γραμματοσειρά, τονισμός. Θα παραμείνει για πολύ καιρό στο κομοδίνο μου.

[Janice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Saint Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich is one of my favorite Orthodox authors, but this book seems to be a collection of his *private* thoughts that were kept as seeds for future writing, and NOT intended to be published. The thoughts are scattered, disjointed, and at times, weird; most definitely not comparable to his wonderful work in the Prologue or other books. Wondering if this was published with his permission?

[Daniel Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and intensely insightful book, encouraging the looking at oneself through the lens of ones surroundings. A tool for deep contemplations. Organic, and inspiring. Externalizing self, so that self can be re-written by the grace of Christ, and the inner workings of the Holy Spirit. A vast treasure.

[Ioana Albu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cartea parintelui Nicolae Velimirovici îmbină în mod fericit rugăciunea și poezia de factură modernă. Citind-o, asculți venind din paginile ei un murmur, ca de izvoare adânci, glasul sufletului care vorbeşte cu Dumnezeu. De fapt, simbolistica apei apare frecvent în poeme, atât lacul, cât şi izvoarele. Lacul e un simbol al sufletului, in profunzimile căruia poetul îl caută pe Dumnezeu. Dar cel mai mult m-a impresionat unul dintre poeme, Rugăciunea pentru vrăjmași. Am incercat să insăilez acest review, pentru că poeziile parintelui merită să fie cunoscute mai mult, iar cartea merită, cu sigurantă, mai mult de un singur rating si un review.

[Božidar Mihajlovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iako nisam pravoslavne vjere uživao sam u molitvama Vladike Nikolaja. Nisam ih čitao kao ostale knjige, već sam svoje jutarnje vrijeme sa Bogom završavao jednom vladikinom molitvom. Bio mi je drag životni saputnik i mentor poslednjih mjeseci. On razumije ljudsku prirodu bolje i dublje nego savremeni psiholozi. Najveća vrijednost ovih molitvi nije kad se čitaju već molitveno izgovaraju. Nikolaj vidi ovaj svijet kao bolesnika koga molitvom treba iscjeliti. Od svih molitvi u ovoj knjizi jedna se uzdiže iznad svih: Bože blagoslovi neprijatelje moje, i ja ih blagosiljam.

[Branislav · Rating 5 out of 5]

Оно што ми се највише свидело у овој збирци од сто молитви, записаних у медитацијама крај Охридског језера, јесте начин на који је владика Николај спојио овоземаљско и узвишено, уносећи изразито поетски стил у теолошку садржину.

Ова књига истовремено представља критику човечанства које се отуђило од Бога, али и неуморну, искрену потрагу за миром, мудрошћу и љубављу. Ако бих јој тражио замерку, то би била склоност ка преоштром сагледавању људске природе – било кроз ауторов самопрекор, било кроз циничан поглед на човечанство.

"За слаба човека неподношљива је и најмања брига, а за Тебе је планина брига као грудва снега бачена у огњену пећ."

Поглавља су обликована као интимни дијалози душе с Богом, у којима се смењују покајање и вера. Свака молитва носи лично преиспитивање, али и универзалне истине о људској слабости и чежњи за узвишеним.

"Ранио си ме љуто, и рана ме пече као огањ. Сад видим, да ме је љубав Твоја пратила на свима обронцима и раскршћима живота."

Ако ништа друго, вреди је прочитати због њене поетске вредности – као химну Богу, позив на унутрашњи преображај и повратак исконској чистоти духа.

"Док ми послушност Твојој вољи, Господе, не постане једина сласт мојих дана и ноћи, до краја века."

[Sonja Milovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Before all creatures, and before all time and sorrow. You, O Lord, formed man in Your heart. You conceived of man first, even though You manifested him last in the rosaries of creation—even as a gardener thinks about the blooming of a rose all the time he is digging and planting the dry rose stems -even as a builder experiences the joy of the domes while planning a church, even though he builds them last."....

This is just one verse of many more in this beautiful treasury of prayers by St Nikolai Velimirovich, described as the modern day St John Chrysostom. The title, Prayers by the Lake, was authored in 1922 as St Nikolai, who was Bishop then, looked across the lake waters from his monastery on the shore of Lake Ohrid in Yugoslavia.

You will find in this treasure chest of prayers, 100 prayers to both uplift your soul towards our Lord but also verses that warn the vigilant Christian about the fruits of the Spirit we must have to stand before the mighty power of God. With humility, which we should all emulate, St Nikolai cries out in Prayer 11: " I see a fish expiring as soon as it is taken out of the water, and I say: "That is me! If they take me out of Your embrace, I shall die in seconds—like a fish tossed onto the sand." How true that is! Our spirit depends on Him Who created and formed us. Without Him, we are lost and dried out. Such vivid and rich descriptions will you find in this book.

This is not a book to listen to (or read) like others, since this is a prayer book and can be used for your daily reflections or devotions just as easily. There are references within also to biblical passages where relevant. I enjoyed this audible because I could listen to it where-ever I was, including whilst I was in the car. This means that families can also listen together and bring calm to our busy hearts, if only we can quieten our spirit for a few moments whilst out and about. This audible book can certainly help with that! I rate this Audible as a must have in your spiritual collection. Thank you to Ancient Faith Publishing for giving me this opportunity to have this beautiful book in mine.

I was asked to do an honest review of this book, and loved it before I heard it. The reading of this Audible version is very good, with Father L. Joseph Letendre narrating this book - excellent choice! From the title itself, and from reading the prayers, you can vividly imagine the serenity and stillness in which St Nikolai wrote these prayers, and certainly this comes across as you read and pray them. Such poetry comes can only come from the Lord!

To end, another quote I loved (and there are many more): "Your flame is a dew for the thirsty, who find refuge in Your embrace. But Your flame is a consuming fire for those who flee from it. Truly, You are paradise for the pure and hell for the im­pure." (from Prayer 14) Truth is truth, and there is only one, and that is in Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen!

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of one hundred prayers written by St Nikolaj from when he was serving as Bishop of Ohrid in Macedonia, with the Serbian Orthodox Church. This book was first published in 1922, and the prayers speak to the modern world. The Lake in the title is Lake Ohrid.

St. John Maximovitch called St Nikolaj a modern day Chrysostom (for my non-Orthdox friends, St John Chrysostom is a 4th Century saint known for his eloquence, the power and beauty and truth of his words).

The prayers here are wide ranging, and many are very modern. They speak to the struggles of remaining faithful in the face of ridicule from the modern world. When we know so much from our scientific endeavors, why bother with God? Why remain faithful?

From the 17th prayer-
They fly through the air and arrogantly say: "By ourselves we have created wings for ourselves, where is your God?" But I ask them: "Who gave you the idea of wings and flying if not the birds, which you did not create?"
Yet see what happens when You open their eyes to their own frailty! When irrational creatures show them their monstrous power; when their mind becomes filled with wonder at the starry towers, that stand in space without pillars or foundations; when their heart becomes filled with fear of their own frailty and insanity--then, in shame and humility, they stretch out their arms toward You and cry: "Holy Mighty!"
It's a beautiful and powerful collection. One that I'll be returning to, I am sure. The prayers here are full of great teaching on how we should orient ourselves in relation to God and the world around us.
Here is another line that particularly stuck with me, from the 41st prayer-


"False fasting accompanies false hope, just as no fasting accompanies hopelessness.

But just as a wheel follows behind a wheel, so true fasting follows true hope."

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. The author, on the cover, is billed as "one of the greatest Orthodox bishops of the 20th century, known as 'The New Chrysostom.'" I have not read any Chrysostom, yet, but I'm skeptical, after reading the book.

There are some really great prayers in this book, I will say that. And there are some pieces of prayers that are also worth pondering. I don't consider all of the one hundred writings to be exactly prayers, though. They could all be considered meditations, though.

And I might consider going through this book, at a later date, one meditation at a time, rather than reading the whole volume from cover to cover again. The problem is, though, that there are quite a few of the "prayers" that simply made me scratch my head and say, "Huh???" There are simply some things that seem to come completely out of left field and have no biblical basis, whatsoever.

But there are enough good ones for me to consider going through them again, and giving the book the star rating that I gave it. I'm not sure I would recommend it to someone else, though.

[Anam Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had planned to read a bit each day, but found some of it hard going. I found it especially difficult when he would make Islamic references or talk about Buddha. Those might have been fine, but they just didn't sit well with me.

But the jewels that were in the book were priceless! I read this book with a pencil in hand. I couldn't underline the things that touched me because so much of the book would be underlined. Instead, I would just pencil a line down the margin of the section that I found so helpful or thought provoking. For a couple of the 100 writings I just circled the number as the entire thing was worth going back and rereading many times.

I want to share many of the things I learned here. I just need to find the right method of doing that. I realize some of the writings will be as criticizing others (this book certainly found me wanting in many areas) and my only motivation is for others to make the changes in their lives just as I hope to be making in mine.

[Lidija Veličković · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Jedne noći odsuka angel pantljiku vremena, kojoj ni kraj ne mogah sagledati i pokaza mi na pantljici dve tačke jedna uz drugu. "Rastojanje izmedju dve te tačke to je dužina tvog veka".
- Moj vek je, znači, već prošao, uzviknuh, i treba da sam spreman za put. Treba da sam kao vredna domaćica, koja današnji dan provodi čisteći dom i spremajući darove za sutrašnju slavu."

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

As much poetry as these are prayers, they will astonish you, challenge you, and humble you. A book to be read slowly. Each of these 100 prayers could be contemplated for a long time before moving to the next.

Highly recommend.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is some self deprecation here (how dirty the earth/author is) but other than that the writing is beautiful (though it is not a book for me)

[Knjiškimoljac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knjiga nad knjigama!

[Corinne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect reading for Lent

[Nikola Jevtic · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Dati su ti samo trenuci sreće da te ožaloste sećanjem na pravu sreću, u nedrima neizmenljivo Srećnoga, i vekovi nesreće da te probude iz bunovne samsare obmana."

[Neoklis Lefkopoulos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Απίστευτα συγκλονιστικό βιβλίο. Σου ανοίγει τα μάτια σε νέες κατευθύνσεις και προοπτικές.

[Adriana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Divno! Svaka rijec je divna.

[Matthew Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of prayers, with a wide range of topics, from the nature of repentance, prayers for the departed, thanksgiving for creation, and reflections on the nature of man.

They are constructed in beautiful and moving language. While this is not a book of theology in the strict sense, there are many profound insights worth dwelling on. One that I have turned over many times is the notion that "man had the potential of an archangel, and thus he bears the responsibility of one."

Well worth reading, but it is to be consumed slowly and thoughtfully, not rushed through.

[Bocu Raluca Nicoleta · Rating 5 out of 5]

S U P E R B Ă

Te pune pe gânduri pagină cu pagină.
Îndeamnă la meditație.
Ține loc de pensée-ul zilnic și totodată de rugăciune (a altcuiva, a autorului, dar vă veți regăsi în ceea ce scrie negreșit, ca și cum voi ați fi cei ce ați scris acele rânduri).
Merită banii și autorul merită citit integral.
Plus de asta, cartea Rugăciuni pe malul lacului nu este una spre a fi citită de pe o zi pe alta. Luati-vă timp și răbdare :)

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book contains 100 prayers written by St. Nikolaj Velimirović of Žiča between 1921-1922 by Lake Ochrid.