Hiroshima: August 6, 1945
August 6, the Feast of the Transfiguration of Christ, was, almost 2000 years later, the day of the atomic destruction of Hiroshima in Japan, which instantly killed about 70,000 people. Since then, the world has lived in the shadow of "the bomb." Fear of the bomb has probably transformed the ways we look at life and death, at terrorism and military power. We hope and pray that this weapon - terrible beyond words - will never be used on human life again. We echo the words of Blessed Paul VI on Oct. 4, 1965, "No more war, war never again." The explosion of an atomic weapon produces a light brighter than the sun for the destruction of life. In contrast, on this day, the face of our Lord shines brighter than the sun on Mount Tabor, but for wisdom , love and life. New Skete wrote a troparion and kontakion for the day the first atomic bomb exploded in Alamagordo, New Mexico, July 16, 1945. We pray on this day:
Troparion, Tone 6: "Though we sorely deserve it by the way we live, O Christ, our God, do not rebuke us in your anger nor punish us in your fury, but teach us to know what is right and how to pursue it, and, by the Theotokos, have mercy on us all."
Kontakion, Tone 6: "Lest we destroy ourselves and all the world around us, O Lord, let not another day like those dawn upon the world, but in your goodness teach us justice tempered with humility and love, that we may find remission for our sins.