Serge Hackel

This article by Serge Hackel presents a hagiographic study devoted to two canonized Orthodox martyrs: Mother Maria Skobtsov and her son George, members of the Christian house on rue Lourmel in Paris, who died in Nazi camps in 1945. Drawing on unpublished archives, testimonies from contemporaries, and the writings of Mother Maria herself, the author traces the distinct spiritual trajectories of these two figures. He shows how Mother Maria embodied a theology of active love, prioritizing service to the poor and the persecuted over formal piety, and how George united an intense liturgical life with concrete commitment to Jews who were being hunted down. The theological contribution of the article lies in the articulation between ecclesial freedom, "folly in Christ," and voluntary martyrdom, offering an Orthodox rereading of Christian witness in the face of totalitarian barbarism.

This article reproduces the address delivered by Father Serge Hackel at the funeral of Father Lev Gillet on 18 March 2000. It is a personal and commemorative testimony, translated from English, which traces the essential spiritual characteristics of this significant figure in twentieth-century Orthodoxy. The central idea is that of silence as a spiritual gift characteristic of Father Lev Gillet: an inner silence nourished by the Jesus Prayer, transmitted through his writings and his presence, and shared across confessional boundaries, notably with the Quakers. The contribution of this text lies in the light it sheds on the ecumenical and interreligious dimension of Father Lev Gillet's work, a discreet yet influential figure whose spiritual and literary legacy continues to speak to believers from various traditions.