The imminent canonization of Mother Maria Skobtsova is long overdue. Unfortunatly it's the same old story; with her strong will and determination she was seen by some people as a "troublemaker" and a nuisance. But happily that great churchman, Metropolitan Evlogy, Exarch of Western Europe, saw beyond this and recognized her as a woman of exceptional qualities. Living as a nun "in the world" she couldn't hide anything and didn't intend to. She fought her battles, often alone, but she brought love and comfort to many. She lived in Paris at the time Ernest Hemingway lived there too, but this is not the story of the "moveable feast". It's the story of those less fortunate whose goal of the day were to survive illnesses, epidemics, frost, and starvation. Two clean different pictures. By the grace of God, Mother Maria Skobtsova will be officially proclaimed a saint - a status she've had for many people since her horrible death in a Nazi KZ in Easter 1945. Now we wait for a broad presentation of her poetry; a subject only touched from time to time in this book. We are, though, grateful to the unselfish work of the author, Sergei Hackel. Pearl of Great Price: The Life of Mother Maria Skobtsova, 1891-1945
Mother Maria Skobtsova (aka St. Maria of Paris; St. Maria of Ravensbruck) was a Russian Orthodox nun of extraordinary compassion, courage, and insight. Sergei Hackel chronicles her life beginning from her youth when she was born Elizaveta Pilenko in southern Russia in 1891, through her years of disillusionment during the Communist Revolution, her escape to Paris with her husband and children, her spiritual rebirth and eventually becoming a nun committed to helping those destroyed by Communism and Nazism, and then to her final days in the Ravensbruck concentration camp. Mother Maria was a profound poet throughout her literary life and became a brilliant theologian as well. The remarkable story of her life comes full force of the impact just one person can make. Mother Maria also suffered the unspeakable heartbreak of losing all three of her children. The death of her father when she was a teen led her to denounce her faith. The death of her second child drove her to be a mother for all. She took upon herself the yoke of Christ's own words, that how we regard the least ultimately reveals the regard we have for Him who came to share in our humanity (Matthew 25:31-40). Mother Maria stood in solidarity with each person who came to her for help, seeing in each the living image and icon of Christ himself. This renewed awe for Christ gave her an indomitable spirit. She suffered the fate of those with whom she stood so fervently, refusing to abandon them even to the end. She, along with her priest and son, were all arrested by the Nazis for helping Jews to escape from Paris, including many children whom she hid in trash bins. She survived two years in concentration camps during which time she endured horrific torture. She was murdered in the gas chamber at the Ravensbruck concentration camp in 1945. Her feast day in the Orthodox Church is July 20th, along with her priest Father Dimitri, her son George, and their colleague Ilya Fondaminsky.
The Pearl of Great Price includes many of her poems, so imbued with her faith and spiritual struggle. Other extraordinary books are: "Mother Maria Skobtsova, Essential Writings" by Orbis Books and the children's story, "Silent as a Stone, St. Maria of Paris and the Trash Can Rescue", by Jim Forest and Dasha Pancheshnaya, and published by St. Vladimir's Press.
The Jews were not the only victims of Hitler's genocidal and homicidal policies. "Pearl of Great Price: The Life of Mother Maria Skobtsova 1891-1945" is her story of why this remarkable woman is canonized by the Orthodox church. An unconventional nun having two failed marriages, given birth to children, she answered the call to faith as World War II swept Europe. Supporting both the refugees of a battered and beaten France and the Jews, she soon found herself in the concentration camps with them. Even forced there, she continued her efforts to help people, eventually earning a tragic death for her efforts. A welcome and highly recommended addition to personal, community, and academic library Holocaust Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists, "Pearl of Great Price" is the true story of a truly remarkable woman, and an enduring testament to the human spirit. - Russia - The Holocaust - France'
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