I Knew a Saint: Memories of Harbin & Metropolitan Philaret
For the generation of Russian émigrés who lived through the diaspora of the 20th century, many of the saints of recent decades were their pastors, confessors, and friends.
In this special audio recording, we share a rare oral history from Olga, the godmother of our Hieromonk Tikhon, where Olga talks about some of her vivid memories of life in Harbin, China.
Olga spent her formative years in the spiritual warmth of the Harbin enclave. More significantly, she spent ten years under the spiritual guidance of Saint Philaret of New York while he served as her parish priest in China, before he became the First Hierarch of ROCOR.
In this recording, Olga reflects on:
- The unique spiritual atmosphere of Orthodox Harbin.
- Her first impressions of St. Philaret and what it was like to hear his sermons.
- The struggles of the faithful in the face of political changes.
- Personal, miraculous details from her own family life.
It is our duty to preserve these testimonies of Holy Tradition that were lived and breathed by our forebears.
Watch the Video Below
(If the video does not load, you can watch it directly on YouTube here.)
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