Holy Trinity Publications: The Year in Review

The Official Website of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia – 7/1/18

By God’s grace, 2017 was another fruitful year for Holy Trinity Publications, the missionary-publishing arm of Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY.

With the blessing of His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York and under the direction of Archimandrite Luke, the monastery’s abbot, three new titles were released this year. In February, HTP published the first biography in English of the new martyr, St Alexander of Munich under the name, Alexander Schmorell: Saint of the German Resistance.

The translation of writings by the ever-memorable Archbishop Averky of Syracuse and Holy Trinity Monastery continued with the release of a second volume in his Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament — The Acts of the Apostles.

Finally, the monastery’s annual liturgical calendar for 2018, together with the accompanying church directory, was completed and distributed to parishes and individuals throughout the globe.

In addition to these new books, the monastery also prepared new and updated editions of several previously available titles. Among these were:

• The Great Canon: The Work of St Andrew of Crete
• Holy Trinity Monastery: Jordanville, NY (a souvenir book for visitors and pilgrims)
• The Rule for Holy Communion: Canons, Order of Preparation, and Prayers after Holy Communion
• and The Wonderworking Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God: Coloring Book.

Throughout the year, Holy Trinity Publications staff participated in gatherings both in the United States and abroad. New and classic titles were presented at the 53rd Biennial Antiochian Archdiocese Convention in Hollywood, FL, at two clergy conferences of ROCOR’s Eastern American Diocese. In October, two staff members travelled to Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany where Holy Trinity Publications was represented at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the largest annual gathering of the worldwide book trade. Meetings at the Fair opened up many new opportunities including Russian and Greek language editions of several of the monastery’s publications. In the final days of 2017, following a meeting at the book fair, a forthcoming translation was approved for a grant by the Transcript program of the Mikhail Prokhorov Foundation.

Later in October Holy Trinity Publication staff were able to present the 2016 publication Arab Orthodox Christians under the Ottomans 1516-1831 at a conference in Washington, DC, attended by Middle Eastern Christian leaders and foreign and US government officials, including Vice President Michael Pence.

The monastery’s publishing work will continue at full speed into the new year. To start, four new releases are slated for this spring. Among these are:

• The Romanovs under House Arrest: From the Diary of a Palace Priest

These selected excerpts from the diary of Archpriest Afanasy Beliaev open a window into the souls of the now sainted Royal Family and the struggles endured in their first five months of confinement following the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II in early 1917. Russian cultural historian Marilyn Pfeifer Swezey sets the diary in its historical context and offers an epilogue to complete the story of the Romanov’s journey to martyrdom at the hands of a Bolshevik firing squad in a Siberian basement.

Also included is a short life of Fr Afanasy and biographical information regarding the various persons appearing in the work. This anniversary edition has been copiously illustrated throughout with color and black and white photos (some rarely or never published before) as well as charts and maps.

• Commentary on the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament, Vol. 3: The Epistles and the Apocalypse

This third and final volume of Archbishop Averky’s New Testament commentary elucidates the moral and pastoral aspects of the Pauline and Universal Epistles and the Book of Revelation. Discussion of each New Testament book is preceded by an analysis of the authorship, time and place of composition, and major themes within. The final commentary on the Apocalypse, in which Archbishop Averky relies heavily on the ancient commentary of St Andrew of Ceasaria, is provided in the popular translation by Hieromonk Seraphim (Rose), together with the Scriptural text itself.

• Ordinary Wonders: Stories of Unexpected Grace, by Olesia Nikolaeva

The Deceitful Onion Bulb. A Blessing to Smuggle. The Conjuror of Rain. In this collection of stories as whimsical as their titles, award-winning author Olesia Nikolaeva poignantly recounts life for Christian believers in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia. In a manner reminiscent of the bestselling “Everyday Saints” these tales reveal a common theme – the subtle, sometimes imperceptible movement of Divine Providence at work in the lives of saints and sinners alike.

Olesia Nikolaeva has been composing verse since her early youth and was first published at the age of seventeen. Bishop Tikhon (Shevkhunov) called her “a trailblazer in Russian Orthodox prose.”

On behalf of our abbot and editor, Archimandrite Luke, the staff of Holy Trinity Publications thanks our readers, by whose continued prayers and patronage the monastery’s publishing work continues. These and many other titles are available worldwide from any good bookstore or online bookseller. Full ordering details may be found at the publisher’s website.

Source: