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Letter 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 Letter 204. New Year's greetings. Advice on treating the mentally ill Thank you for your congratulations. I congratulate you as well. May this new year be better than the last for you! What to do - when we live on earth, which is doomed to always be in mourning, and a place that wears mourning. Only grant, Lord, patience! - and the ability - in these always small sorrows, to find a way to avoid them - immeasurable and endless. Your consolation is your children. May the Lord preserve them for you, if necessary for them too. A special blessing to your clever questioner! I love childhood and children very much. Golden time and golden personalities. Where does it go next? and know that you won’t turn it back. Then, writing about one mentally ill person, that he sympathizes with that unfortunate person, the Eminence gives advice on how to heal him: Should I use reprimand? - After all, all passionate people are possessed. Every passion has its own demon, which feeds its passion, or itself, through a person. - Drive him out, and the support of passion will fall away. Then what is natural, for example a habit, can be dealt with very easily. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Pray to God for me. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. 1868 26th Gen. Letter 205. Regarding the anniversary of the Kyiv Theological Academy. About the book “Soul and Angel” God's mercy be with you! Thank you for the memory, for the well wishes and news. Bless you, Lord, for your kindness. The academic celebration was bright. I really regret that I didn’t have the opportunity to visit. May everything be for the good! The talkers spoke well. But the desired rapprochement between the academy and the university must be conditioned very specifically: something that no one has touched upon. And one strained to explain that there was no division between them: which was very curious. - Grant, Lord, that everyone studies, some at the academy, some at the university, and that while learning, they will not attempt to turn the truth of God into a lie. S.A. God bless you to serve with the fear of God. It is possible, after all, to live a monastic life without leaving the service. - Dispute about the soul. My entire book is aimed at proving that the nature of the soul and angel cannot be material. But nature is another matter, and the way of being is another. Who does not want to accept a soul without a shell; let him admit this shell, but ignore the nature of the soul, which should be spiritual. Having accepted the shell - thin, ethereal, it will receive a form and will be satisfied. In Home Conversation last year, the same article was reprinted in a corrected form. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Pray to God for me, a sinner. Blessings from the Lord to your spouse and children. Your zealous pilgrim, Bp. Feofan. 1869 Oct 28 (on the occasion of the anniversary of Kiev. Acad.). Letter 206. Regarding the spread of unbelief in society I greet you both with the New Year and with past holidays, the power of which is not bound by one day. There is nothing to say about the bitter state of God’s truth in society. Whatever you come up with, everything falls out of hand. What to do! - Everyone in your circle, do what you can. You can form a small society of zealots to print leaflets explaining the Christian faith and morals. And let someone distribute or distribute them throughout the city and villages. You will take charge of writing the articles. The simpler the better. In Moscow, this is done by a society of lovers of spiritual enlightenment. “And they say that things are going well.” Moreover, prayer remains with us. And that's it. Let us pray; Perhaps the Lord will send meaning and reason both to the workers and to those for whose sake the workers must do. I can’t print anything myself, especially letters that there is no one else to buy. – If only for the people, then it seems they need to be remade and simplified. And this is how you do it. I wish you all the best from the Lord. And God's blessing to your entire family. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. January 13. Letter 207. Good and bad news about spiritual mentors Most Reverend Father Nicholas! I would like to thank you for your congratulations on the occasion of the Holy Resurrection of Christ. Please accept my mutual congratulations. The celebration is still going on, although there are only a few days left. It is very comforting to see how successful you are in your humble feelings. Here is true evidence of standing on a good path. God bless you more and more humble yourself! How comforting it is to hear what you write about Rev. Alexandra, what you noticed about spiritual mentors is just as sad or even more sad. What are you going to do?! It's the same story everywhere. - Rise up! Write it off, Lord! - But the Lord sees - and who will set the measure of His long-suffering, and who will see into the plans of His world rule, incomprehensible?! “Our job is to act to the best of our ability to build up our neighbors, especially taking care to keep ourselves in good confession and in good rules of life. Society, it seems, has never been sacred as a whole. - Of the 12 closest, one was a traitor, another fell by renunciation, the rest fled. – Yes – and are we doing God’s work? – Doesn’t God Himself do it in us and through us? Let us offer ourselves to Him or surrender ourselves - as an instrument, if He wants to do something through us. You are right - heaven is warm. It’s cold here, and we can’t do without a firebox. The blessing of the Lord is upon you and your whole family. Your zealous pilgrim, Bp. Feofan. May 19. Letter 208. About his trip to Tambov for treatment. About children infected with unbelief Before I had time to answer your first letter, I receive a second one. Thank you for the memory and well wishes. God bless you and have mercy! I got a little sick and had to travel to Tambov due to difficulty to be treated at my Vysha. Now, thank God! You are embarrassed by the plight of your children. What to do? Almost the total tribute is now the same for all parents. - The air is bad and foul. But I have no means to help. There is only one prayer, but its acceptability is thwarted by the indignation of faith. It would be good if it were possible to arrange for children to say what confuses them and repels them from the faith; or somehow manage to extract from them what is stuck in their heads and hearts. Then it would be possible to gradually lead them to the wrongness of what they heard again and the rightness of what they had known from time immemorial. In my opinion, it doesn’t hurt parents from this side to touch upon the misfortune that threatens their children. Perhaps the Lord will bless their endeavors! God bless your work in the gymnasium. God's blessing to Mother Parthenia! And to Father Archpriest Daniil Maksimovich. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Pray to God for me, a sinner. Your zealous pilgrim, Bp. Feofan. Letter 209 encouragement to fight unbelief. Everyone has their own cross. Regarding the news of the death of Rev. Alexandra I owe you two letters in response. Laziness has taken over. Thank you for your well wishes for the new year. Please accept mine too. You write bitter news about the direction of our scientists. What to do? The mind is a two-edged sword - it cuts and trims the truth. What a wonder that our wise men began to talk. Will it happen?! These are still the beginnings. We will pervert everything. We will be more evil than the Protestants. When Protestantism was born, the feeling of the church was still strong, and the reformers were settled down by it. Now the Protestants themselves are far from what they were in the beginning, i.e. - a hundred times angrier. It is this worst anger that we now take away from them. And according to our sweeping nature: “know ours,” we will exhibit all sorts of rubbish, like the light of lights. Or maybe the Lord will send salvation to simplicity for our sake. Pervukhin sent me your articles. Strive, strive! The only means we have - and, to tell the truth, the only thing that should be is a strong word, refuting the positions of those who are mistaken. Look for something to refute your opponents with, and as soon as you find one, proclaim it publicly. This voice will find an echo everywhere. I partly understand your grief about the inconveniences of living in a foreign land. Have you heard Job's patience? - Well, then apply yourself to him. What to do? Everyone has their own cross. “You got this one, take it.” And your work will be the same as that of Simon of Cyrene! What is the purpose of life? - So that the Lord will put the labors we carry into something. Glory to Thee, Lord, that there is something to bear! Without this, how could we show at least something pleasing to God? Where everything is running smoothly, it is difficult to save your soul. Get inspired! To the Right Reverend Alexander, may the Lord do according to His will. Save him, Lord, and have mercy! There is something to grieve about when one departs one hour earlier and the other one hour later. Even if it’s a hundred years, it’s only one hour. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Bless you, Lord, and your spouse and your children. Pray more to the Lord and He will fix everything if necessary. Bow to those you know. Pray for me. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. January 24, 1873. Letter 210. When sending books. The Lord is always a ready comforter I owe you answers. Guilty! All laziness! Maybe she would still hold me; but the books arrived, and she gives way to my other mistresses, who force me to send books everywhere. I humbly ask you to accept. Give one copy to Father Daniel, one copy to Fr. Dimitri Zhdanov, one to Elder Pervukhin and one to Mother Abbess. In each hand of each message there was a book - there were two books. I am also enclosing your Job. All I had to do was look at him. Thank you for sending. I was thinking something about Job. But it's a tricky matter. There is no desire to dig around for a long time, and it is inconvenient far from libraries. Have you personally found solace for yourself anywhere? May the Lord comfort you! The Lord is the Father of joy. And how He is everywhere; then everywhere, therefore, consolation is ready from Him. It's up to the receivers, not the Giver. True, in order to accept, one must learn from Him. But He is ready to tell everyone this too. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted. The child keeps crying until he finds his mother's breasts. As soon as he finds it, he will immediately shut up. Let us, Lord, find - and be silent! Pray for my all-repentance. Laziness has taken over so much that I can no longer correct myself. But this madam is never alone. She is the singer, and the choir is with her. Lord, have mercy! I'm healthy, thank God! May you also be healthy and cheerful. Bow to everyone you know. Your pilgrim Bishop Feofan. September 13, 1873. Letter 211. About his labors in interpreting the Scriptures. Answer to the desire for the Saint to return to his old service Please accept my sincere good wishes for both the holiday and the new year. Help you, Lord, to work in the gospel of the word. If you manage to tune some of your listeners even just a little bit, then that’s already a lot. God rest in peace, the Reverend Alexander! Your Lord is already in St. Petersburg. Your desire for me to return to my old ways again is impossible to fulfill. Maybe the whole stop is up to me. For this life is paradise. Who wants to rush into hard work?! I work - and a lot. I hasten to finish the interpretation of the Epistles of St. ap. Pavel. Coming sixth - 1 Corinth. – Pray that the Lord will help you end this. If I finish, the Council Epistles must be interpreted. And if God helps us interpret them, we will have to take up the Gospels and write with a broad hand. What is needed about the Gospels cannot be completed in the next world. Is writing a service of the Church, or not?! If the service is at hand, but at the same time necessary for the Church; then why look for or desire another? The one who wrote about Athos certainly showed no great wisdom. But trouble from here is still not enough for God’s truth. After all, these are the kind of items that anyone wants. Now, if he goes further and starts talking, then - alas and ah! My health is nothing. O. Mitrofan wrote. He is in good spirits, even though the monastery is bad. Bow to those you know. Pray to God for me, a sinner. Your pilgrim. Bishop Feofan. P.S. It is a pity that Joseph was not accepted. He is a very good monk - sober, obedient, a singer. But he has one illness - he won’t find a place. I don’t know what’s in his spirit. Letter 212. About the interpretations of the book of Job and about his polysyllabic correspondence I received your leaflets. Thank you. They gave me a reason to read the article in the Works about Job. But it does not say that Job did not exist, but on the contrary, it is assumed that he was a real person; - it is argued that the book is inspired by God. Only the lifetime and the author are based crookedly. You write that the Most Reverend Agathangel wrote a book about Job. I haven't seen an advertisement anywhere. Describe it to me, what its nature is, so that I can compare it with the interpretations in Cursus and a Lapide and understand whether it is something native or occupied? I need to know this because I want to make an extract of these other people’s interpretations, saying that the extract is from such and such. But since this can be done, then there is no point in wasting time and effort in vain. May the Lord comfort you in your sorrows. Is it possible to think that the Lord would abandon His Church?! If not, then is it reasonable to ooh and ahh until you drop, seeing certain troubles revealed? It will blow and disperse all the fog. To everyone I know, a sincere bow. U o. prot. I apologize to Smolodovich for not writing. Let him put me in the column of unprecedented sloths. Only o. Lavrenty surpasses me in this. But no one can compete with him. Pray to God for me, a sinner. Your pilgrim Bishop Feofan. P.S. I apologize for writing so quickly. My laziness has brought me to such a point that now there is a whole mountain of unanswered letters. Letter 213. Encouragement for writing and bows Happy holiday and congratulations to you. May the most merciful Lord fill your heart with spiritual joy! Thank you for the good wishes and greetings sent from others. You are planning to write. God bless whatever you decide to write, write without delay. The angel of God says this. And labor gives, and together it outlines that no one else will do that thing better than you. You have little of everything in print – both moralizing and, most importantly, dogmatic. Work hard. The Lord be your helper! Please convey my best wishes to Fr. Daniel and others known. Thank you Fr. Archpriest for the congratulations. My bows to the Eminences Porfiry and Alexander. I ask all St. prayers for my many sins and incorrigible laziness. Bow to the Reverend Mother Abbess - and also Fr. archim. Arseny, in Vydubetsky. He was the secretary of the consistory in Tambov under me. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Pray to God for me. Your pilgrim. E Feofan. April 29 (no year). Letter 214. About the change of service God's mercy be with you! Christ is Risen! You are about to finish your service. Where should the energy go? If there is no invitation to continue the service, say, I will go to the monastery. - How to go to a monastery!? To become a monk? Where are the wife and guys? Is it possible to serve as a priest at a monastery again? Be good! Tell the Bishop, and he will be happy to assign you to some monastery, maybe even Kyiv. Or is there a church without a congregation somewhere? You have to serve in every way while your legs are moving. How to serve? - As God wills. Some differences in church orders are nothing to be embarrassed about. They have always been permissible, and in essence the matter is as follows. Sin is only lack of reverence, and the rites themselves can be changed, all except the essential in the Holy Order. sacraments. How did you criticize your service?! Illegal. But let it be. Therefore, we must try to correct it. The teachings were not correct; if you please sit and write the correct ones. The articles were not as they should be; please sit and figure out how they should be. That's all. Die? - This is not a special feature. And we have to wait. Like someone who is awake during the day waits for the night to sleep; So those who live must see the end ahead in order to rest. Only grant, God, to rest in the Lord, so that you can always be with the Lord! Father Mitrofan delved into the management of the monastery. Help him, Lord! This work fills time, and not without a price from the Lord. Just take our abodes in your hands; They will immediately stand on their feet, both internally and externally. Your Bogomolets. Bishop Feofan. May 7, 1875. Letter 215. Blessing for work in a new place. A request to advocate in defense of the translation of LXX and a complaint about the passion of our scientists for non-memory God bless you in your new place! And work on it as long as there is breath in your nostrils. What to make a wish for, or look around here and there. The elders have a law: watch your step and always walk as you should, so as not to slip, stumble or fall. This means: look at what the current circumstances of life require and always act in them according to the commandment of God. Now you have a busy whole day. And work, paying all your attention to doing every task in the best possible way. Here's a program for life. And all the riddles are on the side. Thank God for everything! I sent Fr. A small brochure for Mitrofan to send to you. Please, advocate in defense of the Bible according to the LXX translation against the Mazareth Bible. “Everyone was completely smeared and protested.” All the Germans were raised to their feet, and they were talking about what the world was worth. But they have no restraint; But we still have it: this is an everlasting belief. We must focus on it, and not like the Protestants, with their snouts raised, not knowing where. Lord have mercy on us! Orthodoxy is dying. You have Stundists there, the enemy is pressing from the north. Just look, faith will evaporate. Yes, I’ve already started tea. God bless you and your whole family. Bow to everyone you know. I ask everyone for prayers about my sinfulness. Your pilgrim, Bishop Feofan. November 23, 1875 Letter 216. Desire to visit Kyiv. On the history of the book “What is spiritual life.” On works of interpretation. Praise to the publishers of Athos. About the magazine “Sunday Reading” God's mercy be with you! Happy New Year! Guilty. I owe you a lot by not writing. I ask you to release this debt, because I have no strength to pay. I am very grateful to you that, despite my malfunction, you do not stop the conversation: for I read with pleasure everything you communicate. Kyiv is an expensive place. How I would like to visit it! But apparently it’s vain to be there, but incognito – you can’t figure out how to arrange it. You just have to mentally visit this shrine of the Russian land - and be spiritually consoled by the Lavra, and the Sophia, and the Mikhailovsky, and the Bratsky. I remembered the Brotherly miraculous icon. And I really wanted to have a copy of it, not in the same size as it is, but in a small form. Surely there are prints there. Please send it. If there are painted ones, of course, it’s better. I am sending you books - 2 Epistles to Corinth. and Letters on Spiritual Life - three copies each: one for you, one for Dimitri Afanasyevich, one for Fr. Daniel. An extra copy of the letters is for you to read. I have very few letters about the Christian life, and all the copies are broken. I’m sending you one: let’s read, but don’t tell me to read it out. Letters about spiritual life, or: what spiritual life is, written to Orthodox Christians. the girl, at the request of her parents. How something whole was formed from letters; then I decided to publish them, re-cleaning and adding maybe half of them. The good people of Athos printed it. What a great fellow they are to distribute books! I don’t publish myself, that’s precisely why the books sit on my shoulders. But they are at odds with each other. My laziness plunges me into doing nothing. However, I somehow disentangle myself from its chains and continue to dabble in the interpretation of the Epistle to the Colossians, which will be published in Soulful Reading. I hasten in the Spirit to finish all the Epistles of St. Pavel, but his legs are stubborn, and the matter drags on slowly. There are four more epistles – three Pastoral Epistles, and to the Hebrews. Pray that the Lord will help you to bring the matter to completion. You have the Academy again taking charge of Sunday Reading. Get in touch with the people there and write there. We need to restore this magazine in its former spirit. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Bow to the fathers to whom books are sent. I ask for prayers. Your pilgrim, Bishop Feofan. December 29, 1878. Letter 217. The Saint’s concern for readers of spiritual and moral books. News and reviews: about his sore eye, about the death of the Right Reverend, about Shipka and the new false teacher Redstock Most Reverend Father Archpriest! I congratulate you on this bright holiday and send you my full best wishes. May the Lord grant you peace of mind, contentment in life and a favorable course of your affairs. What you write about those who read books is pleasant to read, because you see that there are still people who love such reading. How many times do I regret that I don’t know how to write in a way that touches everyone. If only I could, I would compile such a book that everyone reading it would certainly decide to begin working out their own salvation. We have a big shortage of books of this kind. We have neither a brief, nor a complete and impressionable presentation of dogmas, nor an image of moral life so that everything can be seen at a glance. I began to go blind in one eye. A cataract is growing on my right eye. It’s bad, of course; but this problem is not great. Have you heard how much news? The Most Reverend Justin died. The Moscow ruler hurried after him. Tverskoy left not much before both of them. Do you see how they are selected? Now it’s Vyshensky’s turn. Somehow Gurko will take this Shipka and cross the Balkans? And Suleymanov’s entire army must be crushed so that not even its spirit can be smelled. Lord, have mercy on us! What have we come to? In St. Petersburg, a sectarian community is clearly and openly being formed - Redstockism. This is something similar to Molokanism, only foreign and noble. Just know this. You see, they don’t even want to see priests, not just hear and follow them. This is something to think about. In St. Petersburg there are fine priests who are ashamed to listen to; but there are also exemplary priests. And it’s like that everywhere. Alas and ah! Be healthy and cheerful. Bow to everyone you know. Your pilgrim Bishop Feofan. April 24, 1879 Letter 218. About my sore eye, books being sent, about the reduction of parishes and the impoverishment of faith God's mercy be with you! Most Reverend Father Archpriest! I returned from Moscow with gloomy doctoral definitions. It was decided that the eye should go blind, but I should remain blind. They only assured me that he would not go blind anytime soon as a consolation. Meanwhile, he is making good progress along this path. For that reason, the left eye is very good. Wouldn't the visual power of both eyes be combined into one? I am sending you an interpretation of the Epistle to the Ephesians. I am enclosing two identical books (the path to salvation and about spiritual life) for the great elders: Lawrence and Nikolaevsky - Macarius, Nikon, Hilarion and Jerome. Please St. their prayers for my many sins. I will attach the same books and Fr. Anthony, confessor of the Lavra, who once visited me at Vysha. I am also enclosing Fr. Dimitri Afanasyevich Epistle to Ephesus, Fr. Daniil and Semyon Afanasyevich - about prayer. Please distribute it. You rightly mourn the reduction of parishes and the closure of churches. What to do? Let us pray to God, may the Lord have mercy on St. His Church. And there’s nothing we can do about it. Faith weakens. In other places, not jokingly, they set fire to it. Something was built for this purpose in Saratov. A society is starting up in Vladimir too. But there are no actual persons, just like there are none. They will collect some money, buy books and begin to give them away for free or sell them at a cheap price. That's it. Dead. There are no living actors. And societies will not bring the expected benefits. Arsonists must burn themselves. Grief, walk everywhere - and in oral conversation set hearts on fire. That's what's needed! Where can we get this? Again, all that remains is to pray to the Giver of all gifts. Bless you, Lord, with every blessing! Save yourself and pray to God for me! Your pilgrim, Bishop Feofan. November 25, 1879. Letter 219. A humble review of yourself. Project for translating the Bible into Russian. Disadvantages of Spiritual Literature Guilty! I should have written to you long ago; but I put off everything from the post office - and have put it off until now. Thank you for your patience with my malfunction. From the most venerable Father Antipas I ask St. prayers for my sinfulness. His speech is good about having a bishop’s service in the Lavra; but the bishop he chose is worthless anywhere, not only in St. Lavra. It is impossible not to have the desire to be covered and protected by the Lavra shrine; but I’m not good for that matter. The only thing that suits me best is to sit, and if I could add to this, to cry, which my petrified heart does not allow. Regarding the translation of the Bible, I have exactly the same opinion as my dear mentor, the Most Reverend Demetrius. And it would be good to get down to business. Start translating. Form a society for publication. Let His Eminence Demetrius be the editor; publishers are society, and the busybody about this is S.A. Pervukhin. Start with the Psalter. Already started. It was published in the works of His Eminence Porfiry. Just change some phrases and add notes not to please the Hebrew text. S.A. let him write to N.V. Elagin, who, I don’t know where, turned around. He will find someone who will take over the printing. And things will work out. Publishing each book separately and as cheaply as possible. Well! - With God. Our spiritual literature has blossomed. Now, God willing, the new chief prosecutor will give a new impetus. He is very Orthodox and jealous. “You are closer to the people and hear complaints.” - Why don’t you declare? What you write to Vyshensky Lesok is in vain. Gather together all zealots and ask for correction. I really regret that your ruler looks at everything so condescendingly. But he is always silent. To Semyon Afanasyevich - my bow and God's blessing. Bless you, Lord, with every blessing. Your pilgrim, E. Feofan. Letter 220. Sending books to expose Pashkov. Advice to the Kiev brethren to pray for their sick Bishop I don’t know what word to start the letter with. Let it go without beginning. I am sending you a dozen letters to St. Petersburg. Distribute them to old acquaintances, or even around the city - non-spiritual ones, for whom, in your opinion, it is not useful to read them. This is against Pashkov, who is the worst Molokan and whip, who has no Church, no sacraments, no priesthood, no prayers, nothing. Repent, believe in the Lord and live well - that’s all. Everything else is on the side. He travels everywhere with this sermon. And he collects it at home, and has already confused many. The sect is about to be announced. Another, secondary sect to it, is the “apostolic community.” And that one in St. Petersburg is underway. Here you go. All this is your business - understand the current priesthood - to trouble and resist! But I didn’t mind my own business. My job is to sit and finger my rosary. Look, all the Kyiv saints. fathers, pray to the holy ruler for your health. If you want and are jealous, be sure to beg. If you don’t beg, it will mean that you didn’t want it and weren’t jealous. And then the entire Russian Church will reproach you. This task - to beg for the bishop’s health - is left to you; and you neglected him. Well, answer! What do you wish? Health, prosperity, good sense and everything that you can put good before. Pray to God for my sinfulness. To everyone we know, a sincere bow. Your pilgrim, E. Feofan. August 24, 1881 Letter 221. On the death of the Kyiv Ruler, about his successor. Bows Thank you that, despite my extreme laziness, you do not leave me with your goodwill and memory. Save you, Lord! I learned about the death of your late ruler long before your letter, and then I began to remember him in the sure hope that he, in due time, would remember both everyone who remembered him and me. Reverend To John, who instructed you to write to me about this, I testify to my sincere deep respect and ask for his prayers about my many sins. Congratulations on your new ruler. Behold, the energetic lord! It will give everyone cheerfulness. Help him, Lord! I ask everyone I know to convey my sincere bow: Fr. Demetrius, Fr. Daniil, Semyon Afanasyevich, Alexander Dmitrievich, Fr. Arseny Vydubetsky, Fr. Governor Hilarion, etc., etc. Not everyone by name, but everyone by name. I owe Semyon Afanasyevich an answer. I apologize. I wish him all the best. I will soon return the manuscript to Alexander Dmitrievich Ushinsky with an appendix. I ask everyone to pray for my damnation. Bless you, Lord, and your family and your children. Your pilgrim, E. Feofan. March 3, 1882 Letter 222. Good review of Ushinsky’s book against the Stundaists and encouragement to continue the fight against the Stunda Most Honorable Fr. archpriest! I am very grateful to you that, despite my immovable laziness, you write from time to time, informing me of new interesting news there. In your last letter you mention Ushinsky’s book. You are being unfair to this book. Its whole drawback is that it does not fully analyze the points being refuted. But the author does not hide this shortcoming, but directly admits that he is a bad theologian and publishes the book with the aim of irritating those who can write more fully and inducing them to immediately begin this work. It is therefore completely unreasonable to reproach him for insufficient refutation. He will answer you all: quot potui, teci, – faciant meliora potentes. He could be reproached for wrong-headedness; but it's not there. I re-read the manuscript and did not see anything wrong, and did not find any reason why I could say: do not publish. Your friend wrote to you: “I was leafing through it, and something seemed wrong to me.” - What jealousy! Oh, negliger! You yourself prescribe a prophecy about the possible harm from this book, namely, that now the Stundists will have a printed statement of their faith. “I don’t see what harm this can do.” If they didn’t have this presentation, it would be a different matter. But they have it and, of course, they correspond with each other. Ushinsky received notebooks from them and copied them for himself. But in notebooks it goes without a refutation, and in a book with a refutation. Whatever the refutation, it will always leave a trace and cause hesitation. There are points that have been strongly refuted. He who hesitates on a few points cannot remain calm on everything else. – There is benefit, not harm. The harm you assume would have been possible if the teachings of the Kosyakovites had all been published separately; but it is intelligently broken up and peppered with refutations. I'm not saying that the book is satisfactory; but I can’t think that it would be useless. It only turns out to be useless in relation to you, sleeping priests. Ushinsky hopes that he will wake you up. And I was wrong. This is my fault. He should have known you better and not deluded himself with dreams that you would pick up his singing in the same tone. You keep answering him: you’re naughty, brother! He attacked the wrong ones, so that we succumb to your awakening, go away! We want to sleep. Well, what can you say against this?! That's exactly how you turn out to be. And if you want to avoid being like that, please sit down and write right now. And here's the program! Ushinsky wrote a book to refute the wisdom of the Stundists. But he only made a start. Much more needs to be added to what he said. - This is a preface. Then, proceed to the position of each item separately. The first point of the Stundists reads like this. - Here's what I can say against him. The point has been made; but not everything has been proven. – I’m telling you... And start writing point by point and fill out the whole book. Now, this will be the case. If some are lazy; take two, three, ten - just fill out the book - and the shtunda will be exposed in all its details. Look, be sure to do it. You are given one month; another month for printing; third - all of Russia is already reading. “Then I will beat my palms, shouting: “Well done!” That's it, priests! Who published this under the editorship of Feofan?” – (This is strongly said: “I am re-reading the manuscript and – only...” But – this is far from the editor). Look, do what I ordered. Then, save yourself! God bless you! Your pilgrim, E. Feofan. October 9, 1883 Letter 223. When sending books to different persons I am very sorry that you have to change your place of ministry. May the Lord arrange for you, as He judges, what is best for you! I am sending you my words, recently printed by the people of Athos, about my conversion to God from the world. Give Semyon Afanasyevich, Father Dimitry Zhdanov, Olga Vasilievna Ushinskaya and your (acquaintance in absentia) Fr. John. I am enclosing for him a book on prayer and also an interpretation of Psalm 118. Bless you, Lord, with every blessing! Your good friend, E. Feofan. September 4, 1884 Letter 224. After greetings, a review is made of the works of Leo Tolstoy I express my gratitude that, despite my great malfunction, you do not forget me. Please don't be angry at my laziness. I received all your letters - and the book. Thank you. All is well. What you complement is also good. Help you, Lord! - I don’t know what to suggest to you for additions to the matter. See for yourself. You are not little, after all. About Fr. I'm very sorry to Mitrofan. May the Lord send him strength, a spirit of consolation and patience in the life that God has judged for him. I remember and will remember your mother and sister. I am sending you three copies of the 2nd volume of the Philokalia: one for you, one for Pervukhin and one for Olga Vasilyevna Ushinskaya. You mentioned sending books to the elders; but since I don’t know them, it’s inconvenient for me to do this. Our times are difficult. Work hard. May God help you! Have you heard about the gospel of Leo Tolstoy? Now I hear that he is also secretly distributing two more articles: criticism of the dogmas of the Church and - what is my faith. Here, you see, the treasures of wisdom are vomited out: blasphemy against the Church of God, against St. Fathers and even the Apostles, who all seem to be distorters of the teachings of Christ. He himself does not believe - neither in the Holy Trinity, nor in the Incarnate Economy, nor in the power of the sacraments. For him, the Son of Man is either the pan-human mind or the essence of humanity. Whether there is a God is not visible. But he remembers the beginning of life. So, what a joy! Manuscripts are secretly distributed among university students. It’s true that there is one in Kyiv too. He has no future life, and people continue to live only in posterity; then his whole concern is to draw up a program for happiness on earth. Listen. All points: 1) do not resist evil: let them beat, cut, rob; be silent and be patient; 3) no police, no gendarmes, no troops. These are all rapists of freedom. 4) Do not divorce your wife, even though she is unfaithful. He also has no marriage. 5) War is repugnant to God - and troops are not needed. The points are borrowed from Chapter 5. Matthew, where the Lord says in the Discourse on the Mount: “It was told to you... but I say” Rejoice, people of Russia! Evil is slowly spreading. The ugly plan for happiness will not take root, and all points of disbelief will not remain without followers. His Eminence Vitaly has not yet arrived. And the rector of Tambov, also a Kiev resident, was transferred to Bethany Seminary. Save yourself! God bless you! Your pilgrim, E. Feofan. June 1, 1885 N.B. On this letter, in the hand of the recipient, Rev. N.F. marked: “This is the last letter. From 1886 until the death of Bishop, there were no letters from him to me. But he wrote to other people in Kiev. Letter 225. When sending the book “Invisible Warfare”. Old people love to lie down. To the peasant Vladim. Mr. Job Ivanovich Shumov Most Honorable Fr. archpriest! I send you “Invisible Warfare”. Take it for yourself - give it to Semyon Afanasyevich and Olga Vasilyevna Ushinskaya. Two more - you talked about someone at the Lavra - I forgot. So it's for them. This plate of Usha may not be to everyone's taste. But there will also be those who will eat it, savoring it. And to your health. This book has long been known in Russian translation - from the time of Golitsyn. But there it is not so clear. The Athonite elder explained a little, and now on Higher he cleaned it up a little. And as if she began to seem pretty. But of course everyone has their own taste. It’s my fault that I don’t write to you much. Please forgive me. It seems like it’s time for me to become an old man. And old people like to lie down. And in this they show great diligence. I wish you all the best from the Lord. I ask for your holy prayers. Save yourself! Your pilgrim, E. Feofan. September 21, 1886 Letter 226. About teaching peasant girls to read and write. From the creations of the Saint for the common benefit “...We must pray,” writes the blessed saint, “so that the Lord will make parents understand their mistake (which is the peasants’ refusal to teach their daughters to read and write) and be jealous of their daughters’ education. In response to their (peasant parents') excuses, I will say something small. 1) They say that even though she learns, the master won’t take her: she will be the same as a peasant woman. - As if literacy is the only thing that gentlemen should do? Everyone deserves to be able to read. And everyone is learning everywhere - peasants, girls and boys. Why lag behind others? What's wrong with marrying a peasant? But boys can all read. They also need to prepare brides who can read, so that they are more even. When a husband and wife know how to read, then a holiday will come; they will read the Gospel, or the lives of the saints, or another good book at home. Either the husband honors it, or the wife. And time will pass soul-savingly. And the husband is more willing to sit at home during the holidays when the wife is also literate. Otherwise he will say: why should I sit with you, illiterate, and go... And it may happen that a literate wife is still reading in a book, and if her husband goes astray, she will know what to remind him if necessary. No, no... yes, God will give and He will bring you to your senses. - And when God gives children, the mother herself is literate and will teach them to read and write in between. So the literate people will go around the village, even if there are no schools. 2) An illiterate person, like an ignorant person, will sin, and will be punished less. - But it’s the same for boys, and for everyone who doesn’t know how to read and write. So what about driving literacy from the face of the earth? And the Gospel must be hidden so that it is not read in church. Otherwise it shows sin, which makes it more sinful. Is that true? And God sent prophets and apostles to earth, and He Himself came to earth with His own face and revealed His holy will to us, how we should live, be saved, and ordered all this to be written in the Divine Scripture so that all people could read and see what God wants from us. We all must know the will of God and what deeds are virtues and what sins. And whoever does not do this sins before God. And it turns out that whoever keeps himself in darkness and illiteracy sins twice – both in that he does not know the will of God, and in that he does not use the means to know it and deliberately keeps himself in the dark. And whoever keeps his children in the same darkness commits the third sin - he does not teach boys or girls. Parents themselves should quickly learn to read and write in order to read what the Lord says in the Holy Gospel and the holy Apostles on His behalf in the Apostle. But if time has passed, at least let them teach their children. 3) Learn, they say he’ll go to a monastery. What attracts one to a monastery is not a diploma, but a special calling from God. If someone has a daughter who wants to go to a monastery, why bother her? God calls, and let him go. He will save himself and pray for his parents. Otherwise it looks like something bad will happen if someone’s daughter wants to go to a monastery. This is the mercy of God both to the daughter and to the parents. But it does not happen at all that a literate woman will definitely go to a monastery. Otherwise, it will happen that a literate person will read good books and from them will understand better how to save the soul and, having understood, will begin to live like that and teach others to do so. They are saved in more than one monastery. And they are saved in family life, and in every rank and condition. But it is more convenient for a person who is literate or literate to be saved, because through reading it is easier to understand how to save your soul. Here is the answer to the fourth excuse - that you can be saved even if you are illiterate. How can you argue against this? And the literate perish, and the illiterate are saved. Everything is from good will, or wherever the heart lies. Look at it for yourself - literate and illiterate. But let’s ask them, what do they think is the salvation of their parents? The main thing in raising children well is to teach them every good way. Do mothers ever have little time, especially in the evening, when neither they nor their children do anything, especially around holidays and holidays? Father is not at home. The mother would say something, but she doesn’t know how. Children are naughty or sleeping. Time is wasting. And if she were literate, she would open the book and read, especially the lives of the saints. Everyone would be happy to listen. And they would teach themselves and their children. Here is the most convenient salvation! And many others from literacy and convenience lead to salvation. Just be careful not to get too proud and think too much about yourself. 5) They say that when she gets married, she will forget everything. Why should they stop reading once they have learned it? As soon as she learns, buy a book, there are many cheap ones, and make her read in the evenings, when she is free, or even on holidays. He won't forget. She will get used to reading like this from her father and mother, and when she is married she will do so, all the more willingly since her husband will also be literate. And I also think that it is difficult to forget a letter. Who will learn well how to forget her? After all, this is the same as skill. Anyone who learns a skill a little and gives up, of course, can be forgotten. And whoever learns well will not forget. So it is in literacy. 6) They say that she started spinning, but didn’t she stop? Anything to regret? Will the girl strain a lot? And they spin more so that they can learn how to spin. They can learn this by learning to read and write. Let them learn to read and write during the day and spin in the evening. Both will go side by side. And what will happen! What a craftswoman can come out. There are now books with all the skills: it is described what to do and how to do it. Then buy her such a book. She reveres and learns whatever it is – all women’s skills. You won't need much time for training. Girls are smarter than boys. They soon pick it up and learn to read. Pass all this and the like on to your parents. Maybe they'll come to their senses. If I were in your diocese, I would write a letter to them. And now it's none of my business. Pass on your thoughts. They will understand - good. If they don’t take it, the Lord will be their judge. Don’t be discouraged, keep working. When you teach all the boys - and, oh, if only the girls! - the leaven will be laid, and the diploma will no longer be transferred in the village. For what literate father would want to leave his son uneducated? Letter 227. Instruction on how to arouse a constant spirit of prayer in yourself. To one of those close in spirit The work of prayer is the first task in Christian life. – Prayer is the breath of the spirit. There is prayer, and the spirit lives; no prayer, no life in the spirit. Standing in front of an icon and bowing down is not yet prayer, but only an accessory to prayer; reading prayers - from memory, or from a book, or listening to them - is not yet prayer, but only an instrument of prayer or a way of discovering and inciting it. Prayer itself is the emergence in our hearts of one after another reverent feelings towards God - feelings of self-abasement, devotion, thanksgiving, glorification, petition, contrition, submission to the will of God, diligent prostration, etc. All our concern here should be that during our prayer, these and similar feelings fill our soul - so that our heart is not empty. When he has all these feelings, or any one of them, directed towards God, then our prayer is prayer, and when not, it is not yet prayer. Prayer, or the aspiration of the heart towards God, needs to be aroused and the excited one strengthened, or - which is the same - you need to cultivate a prayerful spirit in yourself. The first way to do this is by reading or listening to our prayers. Read or listen to the prayer book properly, and you will certainly arouse and strengthen the ascent in your heart to God, i.e. you will enter into a prayerful spirit. In the prayers of St. Fathers are moved by great prayer power, and whoever penetrates them with all attention and zeal will, by virtue of the law of interaction, certainly taste the power of prayer as his mood approaches the content of prayer. – In order for our prayer book to become a real means for us to pray in an educated manner, it is necessary to perform it in such a way that both the thought and the heart perceive the content of the prayers that make up the prayer book. Here are the three simplest techniques for this: do not start praying without proper preparation, - do not do it haphazardly, - but with attention and feeling, - and do not immediately after finishing the prayers proceed to ordinary activities. a) Preparation for prayer Whenever you begin to pray, wait a little, or sit, or walk, and at this time try to sober your thoughts, distracting them from all earthly affairs and objects. Then think about who is the One to whom you turn in prayer, and who you are who now has to begin this prayerful appeal to Him - and arouse in your soul the corresponding mood of self-abasement and reverent fear of standing before God in your heart. This is all a small, but significant, preparation - to stand reverently before God in the heart. Here is the beginning of prayer, and a good beginning is half the battle. b) The actual performance of prayer Having established yourself in this way internally, stand in front of the icons, cross yourself, bow, and begin the usual prayer. Read slowly - delve into every word - bring the thought of every word to your heart, accompanying this with bows - with a cross. – This is the whole point of pleasing to God and fruitful reading of prayer. - Delve into every word and bring the thought of the word to your heart, otherwise: understand what you read and feel what you understand. You read: “cleanse me from all filth,” feel your filth, desire purity, and with full hope ask it from the Lord. You read: “Thy will be done,” and in your heart you completely commit your fate to the Lord, with full readiness to graciously meet everything that the Lord sends you. You read: “and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors,” and in your soul forgive everyone everything, and thus ask yourself forgiveness from the Lord. If you act this way with every verse of your prayer, then you will have proper prayer. And in order for you to perform it more successfully in this way, here’s what you need to do: 1) have a well-known prayer rule - a small one, so that, during your ordinary affairs, you can fulfill it slowly; 2) in your free time, read the prayers of your rule, understand every word of the prayer and feel it, so that you know in advance what should be in your soul and heart with which word, so that - during prayer - it will be easy for you to understand and feel. 3) If your flying thought during prayer runs off to other objects, strain to maintain attention and return your thought to the subject of prayer; runs away again, return again: repeat the reading until you read every word of the prayer with understanding and feeling. By this you will wean your thoughts from distraction in prayer. 4) If any word of prayer has a strong effect on the soul, stop there and do not read further, stand in that place with attention and feeling, saturate your soul with it, or with the thoughts that it will produce, do not ruin this state until it passes on its own: this is a sign that the spirit of prayer is beginning to take root in you, and this state is the most reliable means of nurturing and strengthening the spirit of prayer in us. c) What to do after prayer? When you finish your prayer, do not immediately move on to any activities; but also, at least wait a little and think about what you have done and what it obliges you to, preserving after prayer especially what had a strong effect on you. The very property of prayer is such that if you pray well, as you should, you will not want to quickly worry about business: whoever tastes sweet will not want bitter; and tasting this sweetness of prayer is the goal of prayer, and through this tasting the sweetness of prayer, a prayerful spirit is cultivated in prayer. By following these few rules, you will soon see the fruits of your prayer work. Any prayer will leave a trace of prayer in the soul - its continuous continuation in the same order will root it, and patience in this work will instill a spirit of prayer. Here is the first - the initial way to cultivate the spirit of prayer in us! This is the performance of our prayers in accordance with their purpose. But that's not all; Here lies only the beginning of the science of prayer. We need to go further. Having become accustomed with your mind and heart to turn to God with outside help - according to prayer books, you must then make experiments and your own ascension to God - to reach the point where the soul itself, so to speak, with its own speech, enters into a prayerful conversation with God, itself ascends to Him, and reveals itself to Him and confesses what is in it and what it desires. And the soul must be taught this. What should one do to succeed in this science? And the skill of praying according to prayer books with reverence, attention and feeling leads to the same thing; for from the heart, through the prayers fulfilled by St. feelings, your own prayer to God will begin to flow out on its own. But there are also special rules for this that lead to proper success in prayer. The first way to train the soul to frequently turn to God is contemplation of God, or reverent reflection on the Divine properties and actions - reflection on the goodness of God, justice, wisdom, omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience - on creation and providence, on the arrangement of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ - on the grace and word of God, on St. sacraments, about the kingdom of heaven. Whichever of these objects you begin to reflect on, this reflection will certainly fill the soul with a reverent feeling for God: it directly directs a person’s entire being to God, and therefore is the most direct means of accustoming the soul to ascend to God. Having finished your prayer, especially in the morning, sit down and begin to think - now about one thing, tomorrow about another of God's properties and actions, and create a disposition in your soul corresponding to this. Talk to St. Demetrius of Rostov: “Go, St. thoughts of God, and let us immerse ourselves in meditation on the great deeds of God,” - thereby touch your heart and begin to pour out your soul in prayer. Little work; and there is a lot of fruit. All you need is desire and determination. For example, begin to reflect on the goodness of God - you will see that you are surrounded by God’s mercies both physically and spiritually - and you will fall before God in an outpouring of feelings of gratitude; - begin to reflect on the omnipresence of God, - you will understand that you are everywhere before God and God is before you, - and you cannot help but be filled with reverent fear; - begin to reason about the truth of God, - you will be sure that not a single bad deed will go unpunished, - and you will certainly decide - to cleanse all your sins with heartfelt contrition before God and repentance; - begin to reflect on the omniscience of God, - you will realize that nothing in you is hidden from the eye of God, - and you will certainly decide to be strict with yourself and attentive in everything, so as not to somehow offend the all-seeing God. The second way to train the soul to frequently turn to God is to turn every deed - big and small - to the glory of God. For if we make it a rule, according to the commandment of the Apostle (1 Cor. 10:31), to do everything, even eat and drink, for the glory of God, then we will certainly remember God in every deed, and let us remember not simply, but with fear, so as not to act wrongly and offend God in some way. This will force you to turn to God with fear and prayerfully ask for help and admonition. And since we are almost constantly doing something, we will almost constantly turn to God in prayer; and therefore we will almost constantly go through the science of prayerful lifting up to God in the soul. In this way we will teach the soul to turn to God as often as possible throughout the day. The third way of teaching the soul to turn to God frequently is to frequently, throughout the day, cry out from the heart to God in short words, judging by the needs of the soul and current affairs. When you start, say: Lord, bless! When you finish the job, not only with your tongue, but also with the feeling of your heart, say: glory to You, Lord! What passion rises, say: save me, Lord, I am perishing! The darkness of confusing thoughts finds itself - cry out: bring my soul out of prison! Wrong deeds are coming, and sin leads to them - pray: guide me, Lord, on the path, or - do not let my feet fall into confusion. Sins suppress and lead to despair, - cry out in the publican’s voice: God, be merciful to me, a sinner. So anyway. Or just say more often: Lord, have mercy! Lady Theotokos, save me! Angel of God, my holy guardian, protect me! Or in some other word, cry out. Just - as often as possible - make these appeals more often, trying in every possible way so that they come out of the heart, as if squeezed out of it. When we do this, we will partly make mental ascents from the heart to God, - frequent appeals to God, - frequent prayer; and this practice will give us the skill of intelligent conversation with God. So, in addition to the prayer rule - to teach the soul to ascend to God in prayer, there are three more ways to introduce one into the spirit of prayer. This is to devote some time in the morning to contemplation of God, to turn every matter to the glory of God, and to often turn to God with short appeals. When the thought of God is well accomplished in the morning, it will leave a deep mood for thinking about God. Thinking about God will force the soul to carefully carry out all its actions - both internal and external - and turn them into the glory of God; and both will put the soul in such a position that short prayerful appeals to God will often come out of it. These three thoughts of God, the creation of everything for the glory of God and frequent appeals are the most effective tools of mental and heartfelt prayer. Each of them lifts the soul to God. Whoever sets out to practice them will soon acquire the skill of establishing ascension in his heart to God. Having been torn away from the earth, the soul will enter its own region and will sweetly dwell in grief - here heartily and mentally, and there - and will essentially be honored to dwell before the face of God. Letter 228. Review of Count Leo Tolstoy. To Morshchansky Archpriest L.Ya. Voskresensky, a friend of the late saint at the Kyiv Theological Academy While our “intellectuals” listen with reverence to every word of the newly-minted false prophet, Count Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Orthodox Russian people with the deepest attention follow the contents of many letters appearing in spiritual journals - letters written by the pen of the great ascetic and luminary of our Russian Church, the deceased Saint Theophan in God. From his quiet retreat on High, this humble shepherd-elder tirelessly poured out the gracious light of the truth of Christ, and how many souls thirsting for this light, this gracious truth were filled with his word, truly gracious! Let us not forget that this saint gave us excellent, irreplaceable interpretations of the entire Apostle Paul, gave us a rich treasury of the saint’s writings in five huge volumes of the Philokalia, gave us the invaluable book The Path to Salvation, compiled a set of Gospel stories, for which he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Theology, and many many other creations. So the letters to various persons, which now, after his blessed death, poured out in an amazing variety on the pages of spiritual magazines, are the fruit, so to speak, of his leisure, if the relatively easy work of answering letters can be called leisure, after hours of labor devoted to book making. The review of such a holy man, such an expert on the human soul, such a highly enlightened, even in the scientific sense, man (he knew several foreign languages ​​and more than half of his library consists of foreign books) - the review, we say, of such a man about the false teaching of Count Tolstoy should be especially authoritative for the Orthodox: in it they should see a warning and, as it were, a menacing cry from the voice of the church itself. Let this cry be sharp and strong, but this is required by the very state of the matter, this is required by our frivolous frivolity in matters of faith, with which we meet every blasphemer of the Church. Let us listen to what the holy ascetic writes to one of his children who are close in spirit: You mentioned that many convert to another faith after reading Tolstoy’s works. Wonder! This Leo has no faith. He has no God, no soul, no future life, and the Lord Jesus Christ is a simple man. In his writings there is blasphemy against God, against Christ the Lord, against the Holy Church and its sacraments. He is the destroyer of the kingdom of truth, the enemy of God, the servant of Satan (italics throughout the original), as St. himself wrote. the apostle Paul to the sorcerer Ellim, who opposed his preaching on the island of Cyprus (Acts 13:8–10). This son of demons dared to write a new Gospel, which is a distortion of the true Gospel. And for this he is cursed with the apostolic curse. The Apostle Saint Paul wrote: “Whoever preaches a new Gospel, let him be accursed and accursed” (Gal. 1:8). And so that everyone would confirm this as good, he confirmed it another time (v. 9). In the Gospel of this blasphemer, the quotations are similar to ours, for example: John. Ch. 1st, art. 1st, but the text itself is different. Therefore he is a most dishonest forger, a liar, a deceiver. If any of his nonsense reaches you, reject it with disgust. In our spiritual journals, he is dismantled to the last bones, and is comprehensively convicted of madness and evil. But who reads spiritual magazines? And Tolstoy’s notebooks pass from hand to hand secretly, and secretly spread lies” (Tambov Diocesan Gazette, 1895. No. 32). This word of the great ascetic saint breathes with the zeal of Elijah. The image of another great denouncer of heresies involuntarily rises in the imagination - St. Anthony the Great, who moved from the deep desert and came to the noisy streets of Alexandria to expose heretical evil. For the Orthodox, the word is enough. Have ears to hear - let him hear! Letter 229. Witnessing remembrance and blessing I am very glad to see that you are nearby, my neighbor in those days. I have long been meaning to testify to you that the memory of you has not yet died away. But it’s my fault - it’s all tomorrow, yes tomorrow. I pray to the Lord that He bless you and your family. And I ask for your prayers about my many sins. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Here are the books! Would you like to take a look sometime?! Letter 230. Upon returning from Tambov, the Saint thanks for the reception, sends books and notifies about his eye Your High Blessing, Most Honorable Father Archpriest! Again and again I bring you my sincere gratitude for your warm welcome. I thank all of you, mother and children. May the Lord increase joy in your home all the days of its existence. We reached Vysha safely, on Friday morning at 6 o’clock. The first cab driver is truly a fine fellow, the second one apologizes for the inconvenience of the road. I am sending you books - all that I have on hand. There is no Psalm 33 or Galatians. But they will probably still be published; I'll send it then. I would like all your family members to have something to remember. That’s why I attached some books again. To Mother - Philokalia; for beauties - red books, not out of consonance, but because the letters were written to the beauty, one to Morshanskaya, and the other to Agishevskaya; gentlemen - The path to salvation, one for each. I ask you to humbly accept this as evidence of my sincere affection for all of you. I earnestly ask the Morshansk beauty not to throw my last speech to her behind my back. My eyes are as they were. But instead of blue and far-sighted glasses, I clothed them with smoky ones - huge ones, which do not add anything to vision, but moderate the impression of light. To Messrs. V. and I. bow and God's blessing. I apologize for not being able to talk to them. I wish them all well-being, and the aching old man’s head. That's passionate. Now is not the time to get down to business. And then there's Easter. We must be glad that homework poses great obstacles. I wish you health and complacency. Please do not forget me in your prayers. Your zealous pilgrim E. Feofan. March 25, 1879 Letter 231. About my sore eye Dearest Fr. archpriest! God's mercy be with you! Alas and ah! My eye is starting to bother me a little, but it doesn’t bother me a little. They explained to me in Tambov that cataracts do not cause pain, but mature calmly, and that pain in the eye is an indication of water. My eye was still calm, and I was calm. But then the ache began to appear from time to time, and on Wednesday evening and throughout the whole of Thursday it was almost non-stop. Although she was not strong, it still cannot be said that the eye was calm. This is what alarmed me. Well, I don’t have cataracts, but water? If you miss time, your eye will disappear. We must flee to Moscow. But, thank God! On Friday the eye calmed down; I also calmed down, attributing the former aches to some accident. However, I don’t think it’s superfluous to explain what kind of pain occurs in the eye when water forms in it. As you experienced this with pain in your eye, I turn to you with the most humble request - write for the Lord’s sake what kind of pain you had in your eye, I mean the feeling of pain... burning, scraping, aching, and the like. I often have a feeling of dry eyes. But if you look in the mirror, he seems all wet and teary. Please tell us the story of your eye - not complications, but liberties. On Holy Monday I sent you books and letters. Did you receive it? God bless you with every blessing, both mother and children. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. April 15, 1879 Your High Blessing, Most Honorable Father Archpriest! God's mercy be with you! What if this came out of anger at my silence? This worries me terribly." - On business. And you still need to add - the same amount, half as much and a quarter as much. I was about to write a complaint to the Dean of Morshansky, but, knowing what kind of strike you had with him, I stopped. This is a fable! It was like this. Everything was getting ready; but then questions came: yes, that’s enough, should we go? Further, and further, and finally it was decided not to go. What prompted me to undergo a new revision of my eyes was the fact that when you look at paper or a book with one right eye, a yellow tint falls on them. Well, I thought, yellow water! And he began to fuss. But then, instead of a yellow tint, a bluish tint began to appear, and now it seems whitish, as if milk had been spilled on paper. From this I concluded that these shades are the consequences of the natural maturation of cataracts. Therefore, there is no reason to go to Belokamennaya! Oh! How hard I am to lift! He sat down in his kennel like a spider and weaved his webs. And all laziness is my persistent missus, with whom I have been associated since childhood. I am sending you another book, which you have probably already looked through in parts from time to time. My sincere bow and full of good wishes to all of you. What about the eye? The smart guy's eye is meek and quiet, and it seems to me that he doesn't like progress, remaining as if he is still in the same position. Save yourself! God bless your journey to Moscow. Your zealous pilgrim E. Feofan. July 9, 1879 Letter 233. Information about his trip to Moscow for treatment of a sore eye Your Reverence, Most Honorable Father Archpriest! God's mercy be with you! Guilty! All around to blame! I'm sorry! Ever since my return from Moscow, I kept meaning to write to you, but out of laziness I put it off. It’s good that you woke me up, otherwise it’s no wonder that I would still be asleep now. Beauties came to the Assumption to pray to God. Evlampius started talking to them about how we were going to Moscow. A! both to Moscow and to us. We will take you to Sarai, and pick you back from Sarai. How could I refuse?! Here we go. And we went, August 16–23. We stayed in Moscow for two days from 10 am on Saturday to 5 1 2 pm on Monday. On Saturday evening there was a doctoral examination. Sunday morning is a pilgrimage. Evening - with the Bishop. Monday morning – getting ready. That's it. What doctor? I looked at it for an hour and decided that I had cataracts, but of some special kind, which are not treated, for which they do not even undergo surgery. So, he says, it will remain. I’m very glad that I didn’t have to do the operation; and that it remains this way should not be joyful. It's like the eye is going to go missing. But we'll see. – The doctor was Kryukov. The eye is weakening. Lord nothing - how to be, everything is as before. I stopped at Afontsev’s to hide and not bother anyone. But Vladyka said that his hut was also prepared. Vladyka was at his dacha, outside the city. I was also going to write to you because I have a need and a duty to thank your leader of the nobility, Mr. Ilyin. He got us a special cabin in Ryazhsk to protect us from the ghost, and then a special compartment in the carriages. I am very grateful to him, as well as to the station master and to that kind gentleman with whom we sat for an hour. I compel them to testify to my gratitude and for this I enclose three copies of “The Path to Salvation.” I ask you to give it to Mr. Ilyin, and I ask him to deliver it according to the book to my Ryazh benefactors. I’m also sending my neighbor a small plate – an interpretation of the Epistle to the Ephesians. My zealous well wishes to all of you. I ask for prayers. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. October 16, 1879. Letter 234. When sending books and handicrafts. About departing comrades and about the eye Thank you very much for your congratulations and well wishes. Save me, Lord! And I kept meaning to write to you to send you a new book - an interpretation of the Epistle to the Romans. I'm sending it now. I am enclosing with this three books “Interpretation of Psalm 119,” which I ask you to hand over to those people whom I saw with you. When you wrote after the seminary anniversary, then I answered you and sent you an interpretation of the letter to the Ephesians. I have attached a few more of my products. I want to quit making books and start making book cutters. The head is really becoming weak. Pockmarked book cutters - for those with gray hairs showing through; red ones for beauties, others for gentlemen - blond and brunette. Our comrades are retreating, and our turn will come. In the meantime, we will pray for them, and they will pray for us. Rev. Alexey had completely recovered; but he caught a cold while going to the synod and office. My eye prospers. He also sees a candle, for example, the way it is seen in the thickest steam. His end is determined; but there is no pain. The lens becomes clogged. Save yourself! I ask for prayers. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. March 15, 1880. Letter 235. Sending books, notifies about the poor condition of the right eye How many times have I been meaning to send you books? I collected it with great effort. Please accept. The eye was almost closed; but still does not give up his work, but does it very clumsily, only bothering his left eye. If everything goes like this, then there is no need to write elegies about the loss of an eye. I wish you all the best. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. June 13, 1880 Letter 236. Also, when sending gifts of your handicrafts Congratulations on the past holidays and the upcoming new year. Sorry for not answering for a long time. Laziness has taken over. And then came the desire to work something. Of the works - everything is turned - a small candlestick for the one who should pray the most; salt shaker for the nurse - mother; an unquenchable candle (hiding the needle case) and an open needle case for beauties whose duty is to work without waking up. The Cavaliers couldn't think of anything to work. I'll include two small book cutters. My eye sees this page covered in writing, almost white. The left one is still fine. There are no new books. Maybe they will come to the post. I ask for your prayers. It seems that my strength is already weakening, but there is still much to write. God bless you all. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. January 17, 1881 Letter 237. Health and Current Affairs Notice Congratulations on your safe trip to Moscow. However, I cannot hide my regret that my mother was not able to talk to the doctors there. May the Lord give her relief and consolation in her illness. I thank you and all of yours for your good memory, a witness to your undeserved kindness towards me. I am healthy, and my eyes do well. Since one of them is still working, I don’t see any great incentive to bother the doctors, and I put it off until the time when the other eye becomes clouded. I hear that over-ripeness is not appropriate in this disease. I am sending you a brochure and a book. Both Athonite publications. The words are old. But some are not in the book you have. I'm definitely very busy. But hardly anything will come of these activities. Between this and the collection of Philokalia, 2 volumes, it is moving slowly. It’s already at the tip. There would be a lot to do, but for laziness. You boast about your laziness. Where should you chase me? If you put me in the first category in this regard; then you will only have to hit the 25th and then to the tip. I wish you all all the best. Save yourself! Your pilgrim E. Feofan. October 1, 1881. Letter 238. The Saint’s zeal for opposing the Molokans and a request for delivery of an exposition of the Molokan teachings. Letter to... The mercy of God be with you, Most Revered Father Archpriest! I pester you with my most humble request. This is the case. In Eparch. Tambov. Led. in 84, with No. 15, responses to a written presentation of the teachings of the Molokans of the village of Rybnoye began - continued in 85, but so lazily that only 4 answers were given. In 86, not a single answer was given. Whether answers are written soon or not is up to those answering, but I would like to know: 1) How did it happen that the Molokans gave a written account, for in the Ved. the answers began without any preamble. 2) Can you get this written statement in its entirety? It is true that those who answer have it. And if you know who these are, then I think it won’t be difficult for you to get them. For God's sake, get it and send it quickly. A certain need forced me to look through Molokanism up and down, i.e. his history and teachings. History is not a very important matter, but teaching is very important. Meanwhile, the points of their teaching are not properly stated anywhere. Only thoughts are written, and mostly in their own words, not in the Molokan word. Book, Ave. Arseny compiled, perhaps, gives all the points, but not in detail. The teachings of Uklein are set forth in the history of Molokanism in the Orthodox Church. Interlocutor; but that presentation is no longer applicable to the Molokans at all points: other things have changed. The news about Molokanism in different villages published in Vedomosti only says that this, that, and that are not accepted. Very unfounded. So the presentation of the Rybinsk Molokans seems dear to me, although it may not be universal in some points. For the Lord’s sake, get it and find out for what reason this presentation was given by the Molokans. It would be a great favor. Please accept my best wishes - to you, and your children, and your deeds, and your entire city. God bless you! Your good friend E. Feofan. January 31, 1887 Letter 239. Gratitude for the troubles for the monks. A reproach to those who accuse monks of parasitism. Dream about the Right Reverend Ignatius and the Spiritualists The monks finally returned. Thank God, thank God! So the enemy did nothing when God covers. I am very grateful to you and especially to N.N., who worked hard. Save him, Queen of Heaven. The monk will now pray for him to the grave; even though he is a wolf monk. But the monk is a wolf of a special cut and a special price. I received everything you sent. Thank you very much. God bless you! Both the sulik and the towel were already in use during the week of Orthodoxy. If anyone wants to turn something out, I’ll be happy to prepare it. Choice N.N. tricky. How to guess the pen? After all, she adapts to print. I'll do it though. Let him fix it himself. You can sharpen it with a grinder. And fasting! God bless! Soon the tea will melt and you will find it difficult to walk. Sit at home and pray. You can get off with bows. Ours is already bottled. The monks howl. By the way. Tokarev says: parasites. You need to object to him that the word is not poisonous. We need something else. Because for a whole week we’ve had the dining room locked, the fire lit in the kitchen, and all they know is don-don... Where are the poisons? So is the last week. Yes, and you won’t be upset the whole post. Cabbage, radishes and the like. A kind of crazy nihilist fanatic. Give him some sense, Lord. Dream about the Reverend Ignatius - sophisticated. What the Reverend pleased God, there is no doubt about it. But is this dream from God? The evil one can take root here. It is especially doubtful that he advises reading his own works; and there are lies. The spiritualists used a letter from him. And this is not good. Spiritualists have demons at work. It is not for nothing that they recommend these writings. But it does not follow that death will be quick for the one who has seen it, for it is added: a thousand years. Get ready to die: this goes for everyone. Bows and blessings to all of you. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Pray to God for me, a sinner. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. February 22. Letter 240. General instructions on proper monastic life and an explanation of mental prayer and mental work. To the Sarov novice Theodore To the Sarov novice Alexander. Be a sincere child of the church and support all its contents. Be pure and blameless in life, and do not allow your conscience to convict you of anything, big or small; If you sin in any way, cleanse yourself with repentance. Carry out all monastic orders conscientiously, honoring every work that you are supposed to do according to these orders, as if sent to you personally from God Himself, and dedicate the work of monastic affairs to the Lord, as if He Himself stood before you and looked at you. All this will make up your active life. If you do everything indicated as you should, then your life cannot remain only external, but will always be internal; the inner will penetrate the outer; but it is possible that there will be no internal things, and your life will remain soulless. How to avoid this? We must put our heart into every undertaking, and a God-fearing heart. For the heart to be in a state of fear of God, it must be constantly overshadowed by the thought of God. Thinking about God will be the door through which the soul will enter active life. All work must now be directed towards constantly thinking about God, or in the presence of God. (Seek God... Seek His face, I will take it away). This is where sobriety and mental prayer come into play. God is everywhere: make sure that your thoughts are always with God. How to do it? Thoughts hustle like mosquitoes in their columns, and above the thoughts are the feelings of the heart. In order to stick a thought to a single thing, the elders had the custom of habituating the continuous pronunciation of a short prayer; from practice and frequent repetition, this prayer was so imposed on the tongue that it repeated it on its own. Through this, thought also clung to prayer, and through it to the incessant thought of God. After the skill, prayer connected the memory of God, and the memory of God linked prayer; and they mutually supported themselves. This is walking with God. Short prayers were used by different people: “God be merciful”; who “God help me here”; who “I, as a man of sinners, You, as God, have mercy on me.” But then everyone began to prefer one prayer to the Jesus: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner!” They learned to repeat it, and with it to cherish the memory of God. You see now where the Jesus Prayer stands and what its meaning is. In itself, it is not mental, but verbal, external, like all other written prayers, but is a means to mental prayer, when someone, standing with it before the Lord, prays to Him. In the same way, it is not a mental activity, but the same activity as church or home prayer according to prayer. Mental prayer is when someone, having established attention in the heart, from there lifts up a prayer to God. Smart doing is when someone, standing with attention in the heart with the memory of the Lord, cuts off every other thought that tries to penetrate the heart. Now I think you will resolve many of your misunderstandings yourself. By mental prayer you mean the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” But after these explanations, you see that this is not a mental prayer, but a verbal one, and you can learn it without fear, just as you memorized any other prayer. Whether you sit, walk, or do anything else, repeat this prayer, and that’s it, and you’ll get used to it and it will begin to repeat itself with your tongue. No troubles are expected here. Mental prayer is when you, standing in your heart with attention, cry out to the Lord and ask, or repent, or thank, or glorify Him. There is also no danger in this action; such a prayer serves as its own protection. For the Lord is here if you turn to Him with faith. Now you can actually try this. Create, create, and not only when you are sitting alone in your cell, but everywhere: in church, at meals, and when you walk. Just make sure that there is also a memory of the Lord here, and not just words. What Schemamonk Vasily said about putting aside singing for mental prayer applies to hermits and those individuals for whom mental prayer has developed and become unceasing. These can do everything, instead of church services and cell rules. But what is meant here is not the repetition of the Jesus Prayer, but the constant ascent of prayerful appeals from the heart. I read how it is said about one elder that he could continue his prayer only until the first glory (from the psalter), and then he entered into heartfelt prayer and prayed without words. The reading of the prayer then stops by itself. Thus, postponing singing does not apply to you and me; we need to stand up for church services, and fulfill what is determined for cell prayer. When unceasing heartfelt prayer is formed, then you will see what to do. If you ask to bless your inner work, God will bless you! But understand for yourself what the matter is here, get used to saying the Jesus Prayer so that it is imposed on your tongue, but always with the thought of the Lord. If, at the same time, you sigh from your heart to the Lord, this will be mental prayer, and not the words of the Jesus Prayer. If you pay attention to the Lord in your heart and say the Jesus Prayer, you drive away every other thought and feeling from your heart, this will be a smart act. Letter 241. Church prayer is the best way to discover heartfelt prayer. To the hieromonk of the Seraksir Monastery To the Sarov novice Theodore. Please read everything written by Fr. Alexander and understand everything according to what is written. I think that all your confusion will be resolved. All church services must be maintained. And I’ll tell you that there is no better way to discover heartfelt prayer than to be in church, at church services. In church services the spirit is prayerful. Anyone who sits through the service with attention to everything read and sung cannot help but warm up in a prayerful mood. If this is the case today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, etc., then the flame of prayer will finally light up in the heart. But when God gives it, then you will run to church as to a royal feast and nothing will stop you; just try to listen to church singing and readings, and without attention nothing will happen. Bowing must be done immediately during the Jesus Prayer, and the more, the better. If you are alone in your cell, then bow down more often and do them as much as you want with the Jesus Prayer. Put more of them in the morning and evening. Letter 242. Brief answers to questions about prayer, confession, etc. To the blind N.N.N. To the Hieromonk of the Seraksar Monastery. Answers to questions. 1. Regarding laziness during services, we must overcome the tension by concentrating our attention and praying to the Lord specifically about this ailment, and the Lord will help. How to behave while serving the Liturgy and at the Liturgy in general. To revive faith in the sacrament, to revive the fear of God, to revive the hope of salvation in vain of the Lord, who wants everyone to be saved and calls everyone to that, and is strict and merciful. You need to get used to these feelings and pray for their granting. 3. Follow to St. I think it is not a sin to take communion more than once, but it seems better at one time. But reading it out in church is not a good habit; church services require attention. 4. The enemy confuses you to run away from church in order to pray more fervently in your cell. And miss the church service and do not pray in the cell. We must observe church services and rules with attention and feeling. And pray special mental prayer at home. And church service must be idle with mental prayer. The service content is all smart. Listen, understand and feel what is being sung and read and this is mental prayer. 5. The schema, like the schema, will not give anything; the soul must be made a schema-monnitsa. – But the external schema alone will give rise to conceit. 6. About confession, you need to ask long-term confessors who have reverently undergone this ministry of God. “Whoever sincerely repents and makes a promise to abstain from evil, why not allow him to do an appropriate penance, which could be done unnoticed by others. 7. One is forced to go to confession by the monks both because of the worldly attitude and, perhaps, the desire for better edification. What's the point of finding out? He came, he repents... how do you push him away? The Lord says: son, give me your heart! Letter 243. About prayer. How to achieve unceasing heartfelt prayer. To M.G. Prayer should always be an uplifting of the mind and heart to God. When, ascending to God, we glorify God, thank Him and pray to Him to grant us spiritual blessings, with the consciousness and feeling of His greatness and His benefits to His generous mercy, then we pray, or are in a state of prayer. All our prayers, which are part of prayer books and church books, contain everything that has been said; and if, when reading these prayers, we not only utter words, but also have the same thoughts and feelings, then this is real prayer. If you pray like that, then it’s good. If, praying in this way both in church and at home, after a long period of practicing your prayer in this way, you reach the point where your prayerful thoughts and feelings become akin to your mind and heart, so that whether you stand in prayer or not, those feelings and thoughts do not leave your attention and always keep it attached to God, then you have ascended to the highest level of prayer, which can rightly be called mental-heartfelt. It happens in the soul and without words, when talking with others and when doing something. This continuous attention to God or walking before God is unceasing prayer. The Jesus Prayer is a great aid to this; it focuses the attention very strongly on God and makes it strong. From this you can see where the place of this prayer is and what is required for success in it. These are the degrees of prayer. 1. Getting used to regular prayers in church and at home. 2. The affinity of prayerful thoughts and feelings with the mind and heart. 3. Continuous prayer; The Jesus Prayer can go towards all of these, but its real place is in unceasing prayer. The main condition for success in prayer is cleansing the heart from passions and any attachment to anything sensual. Without this, prayer will remain at the first level or reading level. As the heart is cleansed, reading prayer will turn into mental-heart prayer, and when it is completely cleansed, then unceasing prayer will begin. How should you proceed? In church, follow the service and keep those thoughts and feelings that are suggested by the service. At home, arouse prayerful thoughts and feelings in yourself and keep them in your soul with the help of the Jesus Prayer. Letter 244. Special movements in the body and spirit from prayer. Graceful spiritual warmth and bodily warmth - blood. How to distinguish them. To Igumen O. Some special movements in the body and spirit come from prayer, but not all prayer books are the same, and some have such movements, while others have different ones; therefore there is nothing to dwell on them. Others have no peculiarities at all, but pray quietly, even with all their might. And this is the best and safest destiny! What is prayer? Mentally standing before God in the heart with praise, thanksgiving, petition and contrite repentance. Everything here is spiritual. The root of everything is the reverent fear of God, from which is faith in God and in God, surrender to God, hope, clinging to God in a feeling of love with oblivion of all created things. When prayer is in force, all these feelings and spiritual movements are present in the heart with corresponding strength. Read the prayers of the saints that have come down to us, delve deeply and see that all this in them is an outpouring of their complete prayerful mood. I repeat again: everything here is spiritual, it comes from God and ascends to God. How does this happen? The holy father enters the heart, deepens into the contemplation of the mysteries of faith or all in general, or one particular delight, sets in motion the above-mentioned feelings and pours them out in prayer. We read these prayers, come to a mood similar to them, either partially or completely, and we are in the proper mood. Through frequent repetition of this, constant spiritual prayer is cultivated in us and a constant prayerful mood is established, which is unceasing prayer. Everything here is spiritual, intelligent and comes down from top to bottom. How does the Jesus Prayer, which is a verbal prayer, relate to this? Just like the warmth that develops inside and around the heart from the action of this prayer. The skill of prayer is not formed suddenly, but requires long work and dedication. It is in this work of developing the skill of prayer that the Jesus Prayer and the warmth that accompanies it help best. Notice, father, that they are means, and not the thing itself. Perhaps there is the Jesus Prayer, and there is warmth, but there is no real prayer. Strange as it may seem, but it happens! When we pray, we must stand with our minds before God and think about Him alone. Meanwhile, various thoughts are constantly buzzing around in the head and distracting the mind from God. In order to teach the mind to stand on one thing, the holy fathers used prayers and learned to pronounce them incessantly. This constant repetition of prayer kept the mind thinking about God and dispersed all extraneous thoughts. These short prayers were different. Saint Cassian said that in Egypt everyone has this: God, come to my help, Lord, help me, strive. Saint Ioannikis continually wrote: My hope is the Father, my refuge is the Son, my protection is the Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, glory to Thee. Someone else: As a man who has sinned, You, as a generous God, have mercy on me. There is no doubt that other prayers were also used; Among us, the Jesus Prayer has especially become established and has become a common custom: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. So this is what the Jesus Prayer is. It is one of the short verbal prayers, like all other short prayers. It is prescribed to keep the mind on one thought about God. One who has become accustomed to this prayer and acts by it properly, indeed, is constantly in the memory of God. Since the memory of God in a sincerely believing heart is naturally accompanied by religious feelings of reverence, hope, thanksgiving, devotion to the will of God and others, all of which are spiritual, we call the Jesus Prayer, which produces and preserves the memory of God, spiritual prayer. And this is true when she is surrounded by those spiritual feelings. But when it is not accompanied by such actions, it remains verbal, like any other similar one. This is how you should think about the Jesus Prayer. Now, what does the warmth that accompanies the use of this prayer mean? In order for the mind to stay on one thing when using a short prayer, it is necessary to bring it together with attention in the heart; for, remaining in the head, where there is a crush of thoughts, he will not have time to concentrate on one thing. When attention descends into the heart, it will attract all the forces of soul and body there to one point. This concentration of all human life in one place immediately resonates there with a special sensation; This feeling is the beginning of future warmth. This feeling, at first light, intensifies, becomes stronger, deepens, and from the cold, as it is at the beginning, turns into a warm feeling and holds attention to itself. And it happens in such a way that at first attention is held in the heart by tension of the will; by its force, attention generates warmth in the heart. This warmth then holds attention without much strain. They then support each other and must remain inseparable, because distraction of attention cools warmth, and diminishing warmth weakens attention. Hence the law of spiritual life: keep your heart in feeling towards God, you will always be in the memory of God. It was expressed somewhere by Saint John Climacus. Now the question is: is this warmth spiritual? No - not spiritual! And ordinary, blood. But as it holds the attention of the mind in the heart and through this contributes to the development there of the spiritual movements mentioned above, then it is called spiritual, however, if it is not accompanied by lustful pleasure, even light, but keeps the soul and body in a sober mood. It follows from this: as soon as the warmth that accompanies the Jesus Prayer is not accompanied by spiritual feelings, then it should not be called spiritual, but simply warmth of the blood; and, being such, it is not bad if it is not in connection with lustful pleasure, although light; and if it is, then it is bad and must be expelled. This wrongness happens when warmth goes below the heart. The second wrong is when, having fallen in love with this warmth, you limit everything to it alone, not caring about spiritual feelings and even about the memory of God, but only about the existence of this warmth; this wrongness is possible, although not for everyone and not always, but from time to time. It is necessary to notice this and correct it, because in this case it will remain bloody warmth, animal warmth. This warmth should not be considered spiritual or gracious. This warmth can be called spiritual only when it is accompanied by spiritual, prayerful movements. Anyone who calls it spiritual without them is committing a mistake. Whoever calls it grace-filled is even more wrong. There is a special warmth of grace, and it is actually spiritual. It is detached from the flesh, and does not produce noticeable changes in the body, and is evidenced by a subtle sweet feeling. By these feelings, anyone can easily identify and distinguish warmth. Everyone should do this; there is no business or place for an outsider here. If sometimes there are bodily movements or sensations of any kind during prayer and warmth, do not pay attention to them; they do not relate to the essence of the matter and vary from person to person. Still, pay attention to spiritual actions and feelings. They will pass through your soul and body, like a pleasant morning coolness. Bishop Feofan Vyshensky. Letter 245. About the monastery charter Your Reverence, Most Honorable Fr. abbot! I thank you for your kind attention to me. I have heard about your desert; you have now confirmed everything good that I heard. Thank the Lord: monasticism is still alive in Orthodox Rus'. May the Lord keep him in constant good health. Congratulations on the monastery. It is the flower of monastic life, testifying that its fruits are also to be found here. May the Lord protect him and the true spirit of wandering in him. You sent me to look over the rules of the monastery and take notes. You are asking a blind man. I have not seen the general monastic life, and not just the monastic life, and from experience I do not know either one. However, I will say a word or two out of consideration. It is hardly possible to draw up a complete charter right away, so at the end there is a reservation: “if later it turns out that something needs to be added to this charter, or something to be abolished and limited, this can be done with the advice of the abbots and senior brethren - the hermitage and the monastery.” The first paragraph indicates the goal of the monastery - success in the inner life. Therefore, everything in the charter must be directed toward this goal—urgently. Your statute contains something inconsistent with this. This is the procession of the cross from the desert to the skete, and in the skete itself. There's no noise here. The hermitages will be shaken for a week. Even when reading the day-night psalter, numerous remembrances are unnecessary at each glory. Let this remembrance be done according to the rule - when making a commemoration - add your own there and that’s enough. Or, if desired, commemorate at the end of the kathisma, or when changing the reader. In the cell there is prayer, reading and handicrafts. So the angel determined. Handicrafts should be designated and troublesome activities should not be allowed, such as beekeeping and gardening. Better are those that can be performed without leaving your cells. Besides knitting, I don’t know anything else among us; the ancients wove baskets and matting. Painting is also busy and exciting. Quite a bit of weaving. It is varied. Opening your thoughts every day is fruitful and you need to make it urgent. A man can come as much as he wants. For what? There is a general service in the desert (monastery), and the liturgy is always there. For what? For advice?! Who is the advisor? If one is alone, it is difficult for him; if not alone, the monastery will resemble a bazaar. Isn't it better for men to lock the gates too?! Or, if this is undesirable, build a special reception room for those seeking advice, behind the gates of the gatekeeper. Is it possible to appoint a certain hour for edifying reading? Everyone is present and the abbot is here. He chooses what to read and to whom to read it. At the end of the reading, put a solution to questions and confusion and everyone listens. And the brothers - those who know - participate in the decision. Start your own library, little by little, and fill it exclusively with ascetic books. And determine how to use it. Allowing men to come whoever they want will not allow anything good to be established. Shouldn’t the fellowship of the brethren – hermits and hermits – also be defined by statute?! There may be something else that requires definition; this should be clearer to you. This is all that I, who do not know the rules of monastery service and life, came to mind to offer you. Make an effort to reject everything that could distract the brethren from their inner life. It's good that you linked N.N. He is in the monastery. Is he fit for a monastery? For a while - it goes. The worldly spirit will respond a little. But then, I think, it would be necessary to take him through all the obediences, starting with the lower ones, to familiarize himself with them, so that he knows what each one is, what temptations are in each, and what ways for the better. The main thing, I think, is that he needs this to acquire humility. If everything goes through, it will be a burnt brick, and if it doesn’t go through, it will be a raw brick. I thank you for what you sent. May the Lord help you in your efforts to educate the lesser brethren. If I manage, I’ll send you my books now, otherwise not much later. Please accept. God bless you with every blessing. I ask your saints. prayers. P.S. I forgot to say: I don’t have rheumatism, I have leg twitching and calf spasms. The books have gone: 4 and 5 volumes of the Philokalia and ancient statutes, also the Path to salvation, and What is spiritual life. Your regulations with books are laid down. Letter 246. Answer to various questions about the structure of skete life. A cherished word to the pastors of the church Your Reverence, Most Honorable Fr. Abbot. You are again asking me a bunch of questions about subjects that I don’t understand. And it would be better for me to answer you: arrange it as your experienced wisdom indicates; but for the sake of obedience, I will say what comes to mind, not as a decisive definition, but as an opinion for your further considerations and decisions. I will proceed from the idea that the monastery is assigned for the success of those monks who, after ordinary internal and external exploits, have reached the point that they feel a strong attraction inward to be there with the one Lord. 1. About the garden. - Why should we start it, but organize the gardening business in such a way that it does not occupy the hermits. Let the gardener manage it. 2. Skityans are not interested in gardening. In a well-established garden there is rarely a need for many working hands. Then send novices from the desert. The garden is separated from the monastery buildings, houses or cells by a special wall, behind which the work is not visible or heard. 3. Let the gardener's cell stand somewhere in a corner, especially in the garden. He himself and with his studies cannot in any way interfere with the hermits. The hut at the brick factory: let it be outside the fence of the monastery garden, further away. The garden fence is connected to the monastery fence. The hermitage buildings are separated from the garden by a special wall with gates. 4. Any gardener who can be found will live in the gardener’s cell. A hermit, a hermit, and even a layman who knows the business, and the hut is made of brick, who is fit for the job; maybe completely alien to both the monastery and the desert. 5. The apiary is easy to move. Move her as far away from the monastery as possible so that there is no thought about her. 6. “Isn’t it better to leave everything as it is?” Then it will be the same as a desert, only on a smaller scale, and there will be nothing to worry about about it. The hermits must primarily be novices, and already in years. The kitchen is simple, Monday, Wednesday and Friday - dry eating: a slice of bread and a mug of water at 3 o'clock. On other days, cabbage soup and porridge. Or just cabbage soup and porridge only on Saturday and Sunday. For such a table, two or three novices are enough. A succession of hermits can be formed for this purpose. There is no need for bread makers or prosphora makers. They will bring it from the desert. – Prosphora will be required only for the liturgy. There is no one to serve at the proskomedia. Never let anyone inside the monastery. All the elders are in the monastery, and there is no need to build special cells in a special courtyard. 7. Just as a special yard is not required, there is nothing to determine nearby or far away. 8. It's all the same, because everyone has the same business. Therefore, there is no need to build separate cells. 9 . I think the internal walls should be built as they are usually done in monasteries. It is only necessary that there be enough air inside for one person. Is it possible to fold thin capital walls? 10. Everyone in the monastery is novices. There are no more than two hierodeacons and hieromonks - two each. Each hermitage lives in a cell and is his own novice. To be assigned to a monastery, it is required that the applicant has been grounded and ground in the desert, and most importantly, has an inward gravitational pull. – The hermitages perform all church services, singing and reading themselves, whether vocally or silently. 11. To enter the monastery. The desire to act is a third-party matter. The main thing is to have a urge and inclination to stay inside. The abbot of the desert must find out this not from the words of the wisher, but through his own testing. The abbot determines whether the needs of the monastery should be preferred or subordinated to the desires of the person wishing to enter the monastery. 12. One who is tormented by passions cannot have the above-mentioned gravitation, and it is better for him to be cured among brotherhood. 13. Anyone who has developed the said attraction can be allowed to remain silent. But it happens after passions have subsided, and therefore is doubtful in the young. 14. Cell activities for the silent (Angel of God showed St. Anthony) prayer, reading and handicrafts. How to accomplish any of this is left to each hermit himself. Everything that I have written comes directly from the idea that the monastery is the abode of those who live exclusively an internal life. The hermitnik, as he fell over the fence into the monastery, should consider himself buried. Kelly is his window to heaven, just let him look there and keep his thoughts there. The only thing in the world is that he is God and brothers in God. I think their hair will stand on end after looking at my lines. But such people will not have access to the monastery. Only those who have long become accustomed to being inside will go there and by entering the monastery they will enter their own area. No strangers should be allowed inside, and the gates are always locked with a large bolt. Anyone who needs anything spiritually should go to the desert. Over time, when elders of high intelligence and understanding of weakness and mental health are formed inside the monastery, then they can be assigned to listen to spiritual needs and satisfy them with words. For this purpose, then build a special reception area near the gatekeeper. But we must wait for mature elders to form. When this happens, then an adaptation can be made. It may seem strange to you that I am writing. But I already told you at the beginning that I don’t know anything intelligently or experimentally. But I’m writing in the wind, and it’s unlikely that any of this will be good. What makes me say this is the thought that if the monastery is not organized this way, then it will be the same communal hermitage, only small. And it will not be visible why bother about arranging it. I would like to thank you for what you sent: books, honeycombs and a companion crutch, and even more so for your fatherly love. God bless you! Add to this a prayer about my many sins, for it is truly many. God bless you and your desert and monastery. Save yourself! Your well-wisher and prayer book E. Feofan. November 1, 1893 Letter 247. Conviction for the non-slothful preaching of the word of God. Letters to M.D. and her husband The memory of the righteous is with praise (Prov. 10:7); he lives forever (Wis.5:15). Our Archpastor of Tambov, Saint Alexander, when visiting the Vyshenskaya Hermitage on September 6-8 of this year, honored with prayerful worship the righteous man, saint and teacher of the wise Theophan, who died in God, living with Him: he served a requiem mass at his tomb with a council of many clergy; He also offered a bloodless sacrifice to the Lord God for the repose of his soul with the holy hierarchs of Bishop Theophan. We think and are sure that all pilgrims are shepherds of St. The churches of Tambov, not having many opportunities and leisure to pray personally at the tomb of St. Theophan, remember him in their holy prayers, especially when performing a bloodless sacrifice, as a mentor who spoke the Word of God in their ears (Heb. 13:7) and as their former archpastor. - Yes, and there is something to remember this saint for, it is salutary to pray for him who, throughout his righteous life, gave his heart to the Lord in the morning, before the Most High he prayed intelligently, opening his lips in prayers, supplications and unspoken sighs, peacefully raised his venerable hands, bringing to the Lord daily a bloodless sacrifice for his sins and for all his neighbors. He wished and sought salvation for everyone. They will praise and praise the mind that gave Saint Theophan his soul to understand the law of the Most High (Outline of Christian moral teachings), who studied the hidden meaning of the Word of God (Interpretation of Ps. 33 and 118, apostolic epistles, thoughts for every day according to the readings of the Word of God), who set forth the wise tales of the ancient holy men (Dobrotoll. 5 volumes), etc. The memory of this wise teacher will not be erased from anyone’s memory, who loves to learn in the law of God, and his holy name will live on for generations. His wisdom will be taught by Orthodox Christians and his praise will be confessed by the Holy Church (Sir.39:1-13; 2 Tim.2:2) of All Russia, for that invaluable treasure of heavenly wisdom, which St. Theophan bequeathed to her pious sons, and especially to her shepherds, in his numerous God-wise creations. This time, from the treasury of the teaching saint’s works, his brief and very saving cherished word to the pastors of the church is borrowed. The Lord Jesus Christ said: It is fitting for Me to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God, for for this I am sent (Luke 4:43). This, as I am sent for this purpose, must be accepted by our priesthood as an immutable law. And the Apostle commanded them, in the person of St. Timothy: Preach the word, be persistent in time of need and in season, reprove, rebuke, entreat with all longsuffering and teaching (2 Timothy 4:2). The Lord and the Holy Spirit, who filled the apostles on the day of Pentecost, brought the truth to earth, and it walks the earth. Its guides are the mouths of the priests of God. Whoever among them shuts his mouth (forgetting about the duty of evangelizing and the grief that awaits for unevangelism (1 Cor. 9:16), he blocks the path of the truth that asks for the souls of believers (Luke 11:52). Because of this, the souls of believers languish, not receiving the truth, and the priests themselves should feel languor from the truth, which, not receiving an outcome, weighs them down. Relieve yourself, priest of God, from this burden, release streams of divine words (John 7:38) for your consolation and for the revival of the souls entrusted to you. When you see that you yourself do not have the truth, take it: it is in the holy scriptures (John 5:39) and, being filled with it, forward it to your spiritual children: just do not be silent. Preach, for this is what you are called to do (See Thoughts for each day of the year according to church readings from the Word of God, Monday, 18th week to Friday, pp. 318:319). Lord Jesus, Light of the world (John 8:12), heavenly truth (14:6), shine the light of Your God-mind in the minds and hearts of Your disciples, laborers in Your harvest (Luke 10:1:3), may they be the intelligent light of the world, creators and teachers of Your words, teaching those they flock to guard all things that You have commanded them ( Matthew 5:14:19, 28:20). Open the minds to understand the scriptures (Luke 24:45) of evangelists, shepherds and teachers of the Church (Eph.4:11); make them all elders, practicing their calling and work well, laborers in word and doctrine (1 Timothy 5:17), Thy good servants, nourished by the words of faith and good teaching (4:6), teaching themselves and their flocks according to godliness (7), with every scripture inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for punishment, in righteousness, that God's people may be prepared for every good work (2 Tim. 3:17), able to teach salvation even to those they flock. Thy Word of God, O Lord, is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing to the division of soul and spirit, members and marrow, and judging the thoughts and thoughts of the heart, before which all things are naked and declared (Heb. 4:12:13), may it be for them a spiritual mirror, a lamp for their feet and a light for their paths (Ps. 119:105), practicing this day and night (Ps. 1:2) and doing the commandments of the Lord, so that they themselves and those who listen to them may be saved (1 Tim. 4:16). Letter 248. Answer to the question about the best place to raise daughters I can’t answer your question. A matter of prudence. Examine everything carefully and wherever you find a reliable upbringing, arrange it for your daughters there. But it seems that you shouldn’t go abroad for this reason. In St. Petersburg, I think it’s worse than in Moscow. The boarding house is good, better than state institutions and gymnasiums. I think that if, after collecting the necessary information, you place them in some Moscow boarding house, it will be better. And pray to God to give you good intentions. He is a constant hasten. May the Lord bless you and your spouse and children with every blessing. Your good friend E. Feofan. September 17, 1874. Letter 249. Warning against turning the prayer rule into formalism. It is possible to shorten the rule God bless and continue praying according to your rule. But never bind yourself to a rule, and do not think that there is anything valuable in having such a rule or always following it. The whole price is in heartfelt surrender before God. The saints write that if someone does not leave prayer as a condemned man, worthy of all punishment from the Lord, then he leaves it as a Pharisee. Another said: “while standing in prayer, stand as if at the Last Judgment, when God’s decisive decision about you is ready to come: “go away or come!” Formality and mechanism in prayer must be avoided in every possible way. Let this always be a matter of a deliberate, free decision and make it with consciousness and feeling, and not somehow. In case you need to be able to shorten the rule. Are there a lot of coincidences in family life? You can, for example, in the morning and evening, when there is no time, read only the morning prayers and those for bedtime as a memory. You can not even read them all, but several at a time. You can not read anything at all, but make a few bows, but with true heartfelt prayer. The rule must be handled with complete freedom. Be the mistress of the rule, not the slave. She is only a servant of God, obligated to devote all the minutes of her life to pleasing Him. I will accept your work with pleasure. But something small. Your labors should belong to the poor, except family ones. Your good friend E. Feofan. October 10, 1874 Letter 250. The Saint’s answer on everyday matters (about the distillery) and on the prayer rule I can’t resolve the issue about the plant. For all everyday affairs there is one solution, in order to adapt them to a single need, and not to lead them to the detriment of it. It seems to me that it would be better to sell the distillery out of hand. Vodka does a lot of evil. How would some of the responsibility not fall on its manufacturers?! And come on! What instead of it? Starchy will be better in every possible way. It occurs to me that if you can, by turning everything you have into capital, live comfortably and raise and house your children; then this will be best. I think so, based on your desire to be more with the Lord. But after all, you are the head of the family. See what is more convenient. When things do not allow you to fully complete the prayer rule, then perform it abbreviated. And you should never rush. God is everywhere. Say thanks to Him in the morning and ask for a blessing in your own words, a few bows and that’s enough! Never approach God haphazardly. And always with great reverence. He does not need our bows or our verbose prayers. A cry from the heart is short and strong, that’s what’s profitable! And this can be done casually. And therefore, pray unceasingly. Take care of this and direct everything here. They asked Saint Epiphanius: how should we set the clock? Watch?! There are no special hours for prayer: it must be all-hourly and all-minute. At St. Basil the Great was asked: how to pray unceasingly? He answered: have a prayerful disposition in your heart and you will pray unceasingly. Work with your hands, and lift your mind to God. The apostles walked around the whole earth, how much work?! Meanwhile, they prayed incessantly. And they wrote this commandment. The spirit of faith, hope and devotion to the will of God is what needs to be warmed in the heart. You can figure out the prayer rule yourself, judging by what I wrote to your wife. Memorize the prayers you read and read them from memory with understanding and feeling. Insert your own prayer here and there; The less you depend on the book, the better. Memorize a few psalms and when you go somewhere, or do something else, and your head is not busy, read them. This is a conversation with God. The rule must be in your free will. Don't be his slave. Letter 251. One must always expect death while remaining at one's post. We must pray and correct things. Measure of execution of one's rule Your parcel was received only on the 15th. Thank you very much. All things are very elegantly made. Golden hands! What prophet told you that you will die this year?! Did you believe it?! You should have said to this prophecy: “How is this year? I expect that on this day and even at this hour I will die. We need to expect death every minute and prepare for it every minute, and not alienate it from ourselves for years. Getting up, say: “This is my last day, I won’t see another.” When you go to bed, you say again: “I’ll lie down and not get up, and I won’t see the light of God.” It’s like that every day. And you will not be horrified by death. To the monastery for what? You have to die at your post. Your post is in the family. This is where you die. Handle your affairs properly - that’s all! As if all you do is pray? Prayer is one of the works, and cannot replace all works. And pray and correct your other affairs, everything as it should be. You need to get used to praying unceasingly with your mind and heart. This is the duty of everyone, this is also the memory of God. You can fulfill the prayer rule that you have chosen for yourself in full, half, or a quarter. Have freedom in relation to him. Be his mistress, not his slave. Call on God wisely and heartily, and stand in prayer as long as you can, stand as long as you can, without being at all embarrassed by the fact that you won’t read everything. A heartfelt appeal to God will replace everything. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. October 17, 1875 Letter 252. Easter greetings. Field of activity of a woman I congratulate you on this bright holiday! Here comes spring and bright days. - General joy! For some, spiritual and physical, and for others, only the latter. Manage to rejoice in both! The Lord delivered you from your illness. May He grant you that these infirmities will not be repeated at all, if it is beneficial for your salvation. Illness leads directly to mortal memory; but you can still manage to instill in your thoughts the memory of death. The elders of God contrived, as you certainly know. You did well to visit sick N. Of course, her condition is difficult, but I believe that it is necessary for her soul. She is a recluse - without a recluse. The Lord hid her inside. And I would like to be in communication with others, but I can’t. So sit alone with the One Lord! N. very high morality and Christian spirit, may the Lord keep the same spirit in you! Wife, mother, mistress - these are your possessions. Your ministers: head, hands with legs and soul with strength. Law codes are the commandments of the Gospel. Watch your ministers more closely; otherwise they are always ready to take advantage of the oversight of the ruler, and pull everything to their own benefit, and not to the common good. Be healthy and cheerful. – God bless you and your husband and children. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. April 28, 1876 Letter 253. Also a greeting to my husband and instructions on fighting anger and detachment from all my heart Please accept my full best wishes for you, for the sake of the brightness of the holiday that is still ongoing. In the village you expect trouble and worry about it. What to do? Condemned to eat their bread by the sweat of their brow. Pull this yoke as a well-deserved penance. Get along with the anger little by little. Fight as much as you can. Perhaps the Lord will have mercy and take away these infirmities. And he will leave it behind you and give thanks for it: it leads to humility. It’s not good to be angry, of course; but when this is a consequence of temperament, then guilt here only embraces that part in which the consciousness is indifferent to these impulses. Sigh and repent every time. This is one of the daily sins. Detachment from the whole heart is possible for everyone and, as can be seen from the Savior’s Discourse on the Mount, is obligatory for everyone; but renunciation by deed is not the property of everyone. Free your heart from love. Enough. These are the signs of this feat: if there is no hope in one’s own prosperity, if there is a readiness to calmly endure when the Lord would like to take everything; if the hand is pliable to help without stopping, coming from the heart, and the like. When it will be in search and feasible feat, that’s enough for us! Suddenly you can’t control your heart. God bless you! I wish you all the best from the Lord! Pray to God for me, a sinner. May the Lord keep your children and spouse in good health. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. April 28, 1876 Letter 254. Both together about moving away from noisy society. Everyday troubles and the work of salvation I congratulate you on the holidays and wish you new joys in the new year. May the Lord bless you with His all-generous blessing! You were right when you said that it is difficult in a noisy society to maintain attention to God and to protect yourself from words and thoughts, either empty or not kind. This is the way of social life. And your desire to stay away from this noise is very natural. If you both agree on this desire, then what else could stop you from fulfilling it? And God bless! Peaceful activities at home - what a pleasure! Here only you will be the real gentlemen. And there are slaves there, and we won’t be able to say whose?! It just shows that you have no control over your time, your activities, or yourself. Everything has been taken away and someone is pushing you around, and with such despotism that it is impossible to resist. Who is this prince there?! please sort it out. If you find yourself in the truth, make sure to thoroughly flee from the dark, dark light. God bless all your endeavors. You are a family man. You cannot help but worry about everyday things. This is not prohibited; on the contrary, it is commanded to work in order to have a living and help others. You just need to not torment yourself with worries and, while working, place all your hope in God, and return everything that God gives in excess to Him, through the poor, as the Lord’s dues. After all, it’s no wonder to be saved. You just need eyes and energy. It's simple. Be with God in thought and in body, do the deeds that are assigned to you according to the commandment. That's it! Is this too much? God bless you and have mercy! In my sinful prayer I remember you. I ask you to pray for me, a great sinner. Save yourself! Your pilgrim E. Feofan. December 29, 1876. Letter 255. Introduction to correspondence about life according to God. General instructions and warnings to one who is jealous of salvation (chemist husband). Recommendation to visit Vysha and a humble review of oneself You write that you would like to have a conversation with someone about life according to God. If you are not bored, I am happy to satisfy your need. It’s true that it’s difficult without advice, but it’s not all about advice. God begins life, God leads in it. Therefore, we must resort to Him and always resort and wait for a decision from Him. How He decides and how His decision reaches the heart cannot be understood, but it is certain that every deed pleasing to Him is aroused by Him and brought to completion by Him. “Without Me you can do nothing,” says the Lord (John 15:5). And so it happens. And none of those who please Him of their own accord does what pleases Him. Our relationship with God is all marked by prayer. It was all about prayer. Lean on it. Prayer is not just about standing in prayer. Keeping your mind and heart turned to God and aspiring is already prayer, no matter what situation one is in. The rule of prayer is in its own way, and this state of prayer is in its own way. The path to it is the habit of always remembering God and the last hour, with judgment following it. Get it right, and everything will go well. This will be: dedicate every step inside to God. And steps must be directed according to the commandments. You know the commandments. That's it! Each case can be brought under a commandment and one can internally dedicate one’s action in Him to God. In this way, your whole life will be dedicated to God. What else is required? Nothing. See how simple it is. You have zeal for salvation. It is marked by the care you express. This means that spiritual life is glowing within you. You should support it by supporting jealousy and inciting it. When there is jealousy, there will be life, and life never stands on one thing, therefore there will be prosperity. But you cannot notice it, just as you cannot notice the growth of children, who are always in front of your eyes. This zeal is the fruit of grace. The Lord has called you. Always confess this with full thanksgiving. If He called, He will not abandon Him, just do not shrink away from Him. For not everything is from the Lord, but some is also from us. What from us? All-powerful action to please God. It will be as long as there is jealousy. When there is jealousy, it is evidenced by a burning concern for salvation. You have to run in every possible way to cool down. Cooling happens like this: it begins with oblivion. The blessings of God are forgotten, and God Himself, and one’s salvation in Him, the danger of being without God, and mortal memory passes away - in a word, the entire spiritual realm is closed. This happens both from the enemy and from distraction of thoughts with affairs, worries, and many ways of dealing with people. When all this is forgotten, the heart becomes cold and its sympathy for the spiritual is cut off, and that is insensibility. And when it happens, a movement of negligence and carelessness occurs along with it. As a result, spiritual pursuits are postponed for a while, and then abandoned completely. And the old life, both careless and careless, went on in oblivion of God, to please only its own. Although nothing will happen carelessly, don’t look for God either. Empty life! If you don’t want to fall into this abyss, then beware of the first step - oblivion. Therefore, always walk in the remembrance of God, that is, about God and God’s things. This will maintain sympathy for them, and from both of them jealousy will constantly simmer. And behold life! God bless you! I hope well that by renting out your farm, you will get rid of the hassle. You have more time to devote your thoughts to God. Pray, read. What next? We need to do something. The best thing is charity. If you have something of this kind, do it every day, for the Lord’s sake, and not for foolishness, or know ours. If there is still time, you can come up with some kind of needlework - not entertaining. You are studying chemistry. Isn't it troublesome? As you are already used to, this activity may be more difficult for you. But I think it should be too entertaining. Try this activity to its fullest, i.e., isn’t it too entertaining? If yes, and yet there is no need for it, then you can choose something else. See for yourself. Relationships with others. How can we live without them? But it seems that everything that distracts from the life of God and in this regard must be eliminated as much as possible. But you have a duty to fulfill the word of the prophet: “I will teach the wicked in Your way, and the wicked will turn to You...” God converted you, wanting to save you; You, accepting salvation, must, out of gratitude, save others who are still perishing there, where you perished. Your word is stronger than any other. You are going to talk and seem to want to come to Vysha. Is this good? I think that when you arrive at a new place, you will only look around, satisfying your curiosity, and completely forget about the fasting and the purpose for which it is being undertaken. Fast where nothing can entertain you. There is no need to go to Vysha. Do you really want to see my shrine? Alas! how shameful and disgusting my shrine is, and it is much better for you never to see it and not to bother to see it. If you don’t see it, but only carry on a written conversation, something useful will appear in my words, and if you follow this, you will benefit. So, for your own sake, you don’t want to see me. You mentioned books to read. I am sending you what I have on hand to distribute the book - my product. Please accept. I wish you to find at least some benefit there. God's blessing to your wife. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. December 31, 1876 Letter 256. Moments of spiritual joy for those seeking salvation. Combining prayer with secular acceptance. The meaning of the prayer book. Various nervous phenomena during prayer. The need for humility to repel the enemy's machinations. About the external way of attracting heartfelt prayer. Tears. Books that guide you to life according to God. About weak children Last time, it seems, I decreed for you that He who began his work in you will complete it. To great consolation, I conclude from your words that He does. Glory to You, God! Glory to You, God! Glory to You, God! What happens in you is good. And this is the usual path of those who, having been called and having heeded the calling, follow the voice of the calling unswervingly, not allowing themselves anything that would be contrary to the demands of God, inspired and confirmed by their conscience. God is everywhere and as soon as He finds a heart that does not resist Him, He enters into it and makes it glad. It rejoices and, clinging to Him, does not want to leave Him. Imagine an empty ball. The air there is stale and foul. If you drill a small hole, then the fresh air from the outside, gradually being forced inside, will displace the old - spoiled. If you gave the ball a feeling, it would certainly respond: “Oh, how good I feel now!” Same with us. A heart plugged up by selfishness spoils inside, and everything goes wrong. We turn to the Lord, a hole is drilled in it by the labors of a new life, the unclean inner comes out, and something else comes in its place - something clean. This is the Divine spiritual element - the Lord Himself. Feeling this, the heart rejoices in the joy of life drawn from the Lord. The Lord is called the Visitor of souls. When he visits, the soul plays. This is the meaning of what happens in you! But this is not an exclusive benefit for you alone. This is the common road for everyone. And this is not from us, it is God’s gift! If it is a gift, you need to thank the Giver and humble yourself. Humility is the basis of everything! As soon as humility leaves, the heart will close and all the good in it will suffocate. May your heart always be contrite and humble. You have it. Don’t lose, but even more and more develop this feeling. Our normal attitude towards God is a painful falling into His heart with contrition, with appeals: “In the image of your destinies, save me!” We must place ourselves in the hands of the Lord, so that He can do in us and with us whatever His holy will pleases, just to save us. Now it comes to mind whether you did the right thing by getting away with the troubles of the estate. How to manage estates is a matter of indifference, as long as it does not go astray, but everything is turned to the glory of God. The Lord inspired that the hearts should not be burdened, not only with gluttony and drunkenness, but also with the sorrows of life (Luke 21:34). That you did the right thing, you have evidence of this in yourself: it’s as if your soul has received wings. And thank God! The work of prayer is not only the work of the silent, but of all Christians - and this is to its highest degrees. All degrees of God's prayer are the essence of the matter. With God, everyone is equal, and He looks only at the heart. As the heart is to Him, so He is to the heart, no matter whose heart it is. The Lord said: For You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us. This is about all Christians. The Apostle says: our life is hidden with Christ in God. Infancy in prayer, as in the whole spiritual structure in general, is the best mood; - and take care of it, and ask the Lord not to let you lose this feeling. Children come up to their father or mother and don’t say anything, they just hover around them - because it’s sweet for them to be with them. Conduct yourself in such a way that in the simplicity of your heart you will always hover around the Lord. The question is: “Should I, in many secular relationships, support prayer, or should I use it only during cell rule and in church, and the rest of the time, if not suppress it, then not support it.” We must always keep prayer. God is everywhere, and sees everything, and His brightest eyes are brighter than the sun. The memory of this must be implanted in the heart, or merged with consciousness. When the soul keeps consciousness of this, it cannot help but have the fear of God and reverence for Him, with care to please Him with everything - in word, in thought, in movement, and in deed. With this mood, meet and see off others and do every business, whether you are alone or in front of people. Convince yourself that God is testing you with every chance, and, having established His eye on you, is waiting to see how you act. And act as the student answers in the exam, and moreover, both externally and internally. Such a mood is prayerful, and can only be achieved through prayer. Prayer is a turning of the mind and heart to God. When this is there, that is prayer. Work hard. God will grant that you will accept everyone, and you will not retreat from Him with your mind. This is labor, and there is no division. Only at the beginning of the experiments. Don’t forget that this is the main thing, and the host’s hospitality to the visitor, and full attention, and cheerfulness, and at the same time the memory of God with fear and reverence. If you became incapable of continuing to live in the world, the damage would not be great. But prayer that follows the true path should not lead to this. She will only lead to glorifying God with her whole life, eliminating from it everything that is unnecessary, vain and feeding passions, and making it a silent sermon about what is worthy, however, without repelling anyone or cutting to the heart, but attracting everyone, and with the aroma of her life, disposing everyone to imitate her. Take the trouble to think it over according to your circumstances and get better. A sullen, repulsive, or grumpy life is not God's life. I hope that your prayer will not allow you to distort yourself in this way. However, it is necessary to think about it, experiment, and ask for God’s help. The root of everything is humility and warmth of heart towards everyone. God will give you a burning heart. Then whoever meets you will feel this warmth, and it will bind everyone to you and conquer everyone. Bless, Lord! “I became worse at praying in prayer books.” This is not damage. At least never pick up a prayer book. Prayer books are the same as conversations, for example, French. Until someone learns to express himself freely, he memorizes conversations, and when he learns to speak, conversations are forgotten. So are prayer books. They are needed until the soul begins to pray on its own, and when it is already praying, you can leave them. Only when your own prayer does not come, then, in order to stir it up, you need to start praying with printed prayers. And when your prayer begins to stir, leave them. This is what the great prayer books did. Some read one psalm, some read one glory, and then, having entered into a spirit of prayer, they left the psalms. You need to know several prayers for memory, as well as several psalms. But always, just as prayer is in your heart, you can pray without a prayer book - by turning to God, with bows. If only there was no laziness or indulgence. For the enemy will immediately come up and, as if by the hand, begin to pull you away from prayer. Understand his deceptions. The manifestation of a prayer attack is not the same for everyone. It’s like this for you: “some kind of pulse is beating in the heart, there is a urge in the mind to say a prayer, a tightness is felt in the throat, the mind soon runs away, but in the heart the matter continues.” Look: what is significant here and what is accidental? This pulse in the heart and tightness in the throat are nervous accidents, which in some people manifest themselves differently, for example: shaking, in others they do not happen at all. And I think that whoever has it may not give it a go, just as they can develop it to the extreme, as for example in Siberia someone fell into convulsions. All this is nervous, and can and should be stopped. For: “God’s present life expands and elevates our life,” without producing any discordance or unevenness. Follow this with attention. The essential thing here is: “the heart feels the call to pray.” There should be warmth here, and attention associated with warmth. That the mind runs away is wrong. It should be held and agreed with the heart, or enclosed in the heart. Pay attention to this in your heart, and, without starting from there, pray there to the Lord in whatever word you want, albeit without words, with one appeal to God - contrite and humble. So stay there without proceeding. When there is this movement in your heart, and you are alone, leave everything and pray, sitting or standing, just pray intensely there in your heart. So, until the feeling evaporates. This is what someone wrote, I think Climacus. And if this happens in front of others, then you still need to pray, but you shouldn’t show prayer. Know that attention should never leave the heart. But sometimes a matter in the heart is only intellectual, done with the mind, and sometimes also heartfelt, that is, both begun and continued with a warm feeling. This is the law not of hermits alone, but of all who must stand before God with a pure heart and work before Him, i.e. to all Christians. The mind gets tired of saying the word of prayer. Then pray without words, thus throwing yourself before the Lord mentally in your heart and surrendering yourself to Him. This will be the prayer itself, the word is only its expression, and it is always weaker than the prayer itself before God. In church, pray well and don’t notice how the service is going on. Be good! If you can, go to church as often as possible. It is the true House of God, even though it is made of bricks and mortar. The heart feels that it is in the Father’s house, and it is sweet to it. The best way to cultivate prayer is to go to church. At home laziness overwhelms, but there is no place for laziness: for what else can one do but pray. You rightly do not give much weight to what happens to you. The beginnings, where else to go! And in general, there’s no point in being too busy with yourself. The Holy Fathers say: “Do not measure yourself.” The best measure for yourself: “there is nothing.” Lord, let me make a good start! Lord, save me through fate! And drive away every thought about measuring yourself, and, forgetting the back, just as if it didn’t exist, stretch into the front. The enemy forces you to measure yourself in order to arouse your conceit and ruin the whole thing. Always tell yourself: “there is nothing, there is nothing to measure.” The fear of seduction is also true. There is mental charm, this is conceit, and sometimes it is external, these are lights, sounds, some figures. Don't give a damn about all this. There is an enemy. The demon appeared to one, and well, shout: “Christ is coming, Christ is coming!” He told him: “Get out, you wicked one!” Christ will not come to me: for I am an extreme sinner,” and the demon disappeared. “It seems that everyone would give up,” everything will come in due time, if God wills it. Wait. But do not wish for this, but how - the Lord. For your present is not contrary to the way of God. Prayer from the heart is never premature. She is the beginning of the matter. By establishing it in the heart, God’s work will be accomplished. It must be developed without sparing labor. God, seeing the work, gives what is sought. Real prayer does not happen on its own: it is the Gift of God. Seek and you will find. The fact that you used it as an artistic way of instilling prayer is no harm. That way is inevitable; It’s possible without it. It is not the position of the body that is important, but the internal structure. The whole point is: “stand with attention in your heart and look to God, or cry out.” “I have never met anyone who would approve of that artistic technique.” Eminence Ignatius and Fr. Macarius of Optina also does not approve of him. That you have repentant feelings in prayer and tears is a real thing. Without repentant feelings, prayer is not prayer. So write her as if she was not an ex. Prayer without these feelings is the same as a dead miscarriage. So at St. fathers And blow away your tears. Get used to howling over yourself as if you were dead – and with lamentations. For the main thought, or the place where one should keep oneself mentally, is the hour of judgment, or that moment when God is ready to say: “Come, or go away!” Oh, Lord, save me! And how not to cry, unable to say affirmatively that He will not say: “go away?!” I went through your letter, line by line, and it seems that I left nothing that the thought occurred to me to tell you. Didn't you understand something? According to the letter, you and I are brothers, but you are the eldest. I am not a legible niche, and you are even more indiscriminate. Would you like to repent of this - and with the fruit of repentance? Do you have Isaac the Syrian? If not, hurry up and buy a ladder. These two books will explain everything to you. And there are many other books. Ephraim the Syrian, Abba Dorotheus, Barsanuphius and John - answers. Memorable tales. I think you have them. And if not, get it. Ferapontov will deliver if you agree. Look for Rev. Hesychia on sobriety and prayer. The people of Athos published it in a Russian translation from the Philokalia as a special book. You would need her most now. Read it. Does O. T. have it? – I am very grateful to the Eminence Eusebius for the memory. If you write, convey to him my deep respect and request of his holy prayers. God bless you, your spouse and children. That the children are in poor health is nothing. There will be less haste, and they will be closer to the Lord. We must accept whatever God has given us. And give thanks for everything. Pray for my unworthiness. Your mantis Ep. Feofan. January 17, 1877 Letter 257. Encouragement to flow in a good way. About attention to God and the gradual liberation of the spirit from earthly attractions with the help of grace. The need for external labor I haven’t written to you for so long that I’m ashamed to even take up a pen. I apologize. Everything is going (or going) so well for you that you can only console yourself. Bless, Lord, your labors on yourself. Patience and constancy in what you started will finally lead to what you are looking for, and you will rejoice! After all, not much is needed, and even just one thing, just as the Savior said. Mary sat at the feet of the Savior and looked into His eyes, listening to His word. This is how we need to arrange ourselves. The Lord is everywhere and you can sit down to Him everywhere. The question is: how? Like the prophet David, so are we. I have foreseen, he says, I will make the Lord before me, as if he is at my right hand (Ps. 15:8). And we will anticipate. What's stopping you? It is not the onslaught of external impressions that hinders, but the inconstancy of the mind. So at St. fathers are written. The mind keeps running from subject to subject. How to tie it? You can't do anything but feel. When there is a feeling in the heart, it ties the mind to the object of the feeling. Therefore, whoever wants to tie the mind to God, so that it constantly perceives God, must revive the feeling for God. The feeling for God is natural to us: it constitutes the essence of the spirit of the highest side of our being. But after our fall, our spirit weakened and submitted to the soul; the soul, like Martha, is entirely occupied with earthly and worldly things and cannot live without it. How can this be? - You must lose your soul in order for your spirit to come to life, or to come to life in your spirit. So the Lord commanded. The question again: how? The grace of God comes and stirs up the spirit. The spirit begins to make its demands and torment a person with dissatisfaction: - give him God, and combine him with God, then he will be silent, having what he needs. Again we came to the same point: we must anticipate the Lord. We already have a start. The merciful God with His grace aroused the spirit. The spirit is excited; but the soul is alive; it hinders the spirit. We need to finish off the soul. Because the spirit is excited, her throat is already cut; but she is still breathing, she is still alive. How to finish off a soul is a long story. For the first time, let us be merciless towards her and her demands, or more simply: let us cut off our sympathy for everything spiritual, earthly, everyday, created and, on the contrary, we will try to form sympathy for everything spiritual, invisible, Divine. Without receiving satisfaction, the soul will become exhausted and closer to death; and the spirit, receiving saturation, will strengthen, grow, and mature. The whole power of this work lies in sympathy: to suppress some and raise others. The suppression of some is carried out by tension of will and energy of spirit, with the invocation of the powerful name of Jesus Christ; and the restoration of others is carried out by transferring consciousness and attention to their objects. This is prayer and contemplation of God, or reflection on Divine properties and deeds. Whoever stands in the sun for a long time warms up with his body; so whoever thinks about God and the Divine becomes warm in spirit. The further, the more. Finally the spirit will light up. When it lights up, then no lessons or instructions are needed. The spirit itself will sort everything out. This is the state of the anointed. This is the fire the Lord came to kindle on earth. Then the whole heart will be occupied with the One God, and behind the heart the mind. Here's the road. You walk along it. You'll get there. Don't be timid! But on paper it looks short. But things don't always get done quickly. Moreover, we represent only labor, and the Lord Himself does the work. We are the same as those who carry bricks, lime, sand, water, etc. Something else is being built by someone inherent in us from the time of baptism or repentance. But he doesn’t tell anyone how he builds, not even the one for whom he builds. Only after the completion of the building does He bring the man into the very face of the building, and he only groans, wondering where everything came from, how such a wondrous building came out of such nondescript materials - clean, and light, and beautiful, and magnificent. If we believe that this will happen in us, we will wait patiently and let it rain. However, while waiting, do not sit idly by, but tensely do everything that the commandment obliges us to do, according to our external position and internal state. You received the Philokalia. - Good! Take the trouble to understand especially what has been extracted from St. Macarius of Egypt, and partly Mark the Ascetic. Yes, and everywhere there are scattered fatherly instructions on the matter - the main thing. It is impossible to remain without activities or deeds performed by the body. You just need to turn them to the glory of God. The mental side is occupied with reading, the heart with sympathy for what is read and prayer, but the active side with what? Leave her alone and there will be emptiness, laziness and relaxation of the first two. The Egyptians never stopped handicrafts, even when someone came, they talked, talked, but did not stop working. Labor is a great thing. When chemistry gets in the way, quit it. Take something else. Why don't you start translating some good books? There are many good books in French, German and English. They would translate it and publish it. I have a library of apologists in French, and much more can be found. Where is your wife? Is everyone really abroad? I send her God's blessing! God bless you and have mercy! Pray to God for me, a sinner. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. July 9, 1877 Letter 258. Complete carelessness does not suit people bound by family ties and everyday responsibilities Thank you for finally remembering me. Keep to the Lord and His commandments, and everything will be fine. You cannot take upon yourself what only people who have renounced the world can do. Complete carelessness is their business; and you have business and business to do. You are a husband, father, owner, and maybe something else. Each of these titles imposes on you responsibilities determined by the commandments of God. Fulfilling them is your work for salvation. This is how God has judged you. Stay in this! One concern is that the motives in business are pure. Do everything for the glory of God. Read the Gospel and the Epistles and take lessons from there. I wish you all the best from the Lord. God bless you! Letter 259. On maintaining the spirit of prayer. About help from Mr. A. and about the Turkish war for the liberation of Bulgaria Thank you for your congratulations and well wishes. Please accept my wishes for all good things for you this year and every year. It has become easier for you to do housework. God bless! The best thing is to surrender everything to the Lord, and He will arrange it, and we can’t guess how well. Watch your prayer. If he gets away, you won't catch him. What you wrote about your faults will be a lesson to you on how to be in good working order. Look every time what is piled up; Think about what to do in advance so as not to get into the same problem again. But one should not indulge oneself and self-indulge in entertainment: for this kind of behavior is driven away by the grace of God. Why won't he come back?! It’s terrible how everything will go upside down. Save you, Lord, from this trouble! In general, every spiritual need for which your heart aches is to be handed over to the Lord, and He will help and sort out what’s wrong. I send you Psalm 118. Published in Home Conversation. The editor made several copies and sent them to me. This editor had a blow to the head and lost his memory. He's in a mental hospital. The wife and children have nothing to do with it and are in poverty. If you feel like helping, help her. It will be very useful. The address seems to be the same: Tatyana Vl. A., near the Izmailovsky Bridge, Weber's house. I don’t know if this letter will find you in the village? Sorry for being too lazy to respond quickly. May you, Lord, stay in Moscow for the good of your soul. There is a lot of everything there: you can get some good and bad. It seems that the war is over, but if the Turks are pliable. I'm afraid that our people will complain. It is necessary to completely alienate Bulgaria from the Turks, and only with great need to cede taxes, as Serbia does now. If this is not achieved, the war must be drawn out; otherwise it will be needed again in a year or two. I wish you all the best from the Lord. God's blessing to your wife and children. Pray to God for me, a sinner. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. Letter 260. About entertainment and chemistry studies in relation to the work of salvation. Results of the Turkish company The day of our salvation is the main thing! I congratulate all Christians with the common joy and wish you to partake of this joy! Moscow, you say, is a little entertaining. Yes, you have to be careful. However, know this that everything done out of necessity, without sympathy, does not harm the spirit. You need to protect your heart so that it does not get too close to worldly sweets. Eating these sweets extinguishes the fire of the spirit, while participation in anything without this taste only blows on that fire, but does not extinguish it. And your chemistry classes are not at all boring, but only blowing. And it occurred to me to tell you: why quit this activity? It can replace handicrafts. I remember that I wrote differently, not understanding your work properly. And judging by what you are doing, I don’t see anything contrary to spiritual life here. Only passion is ruinous; but it seems he can be calmed down. But the peaceful practice of chemistry cannot bring anything bad, especially if the various procedures here are interpreted in a spiritual sense, or see in them a reflection of manifestations of spiritual life. And chemistry is part of the book of God - in nature. And here it is impossible not to see God - the Wise and Incomprehensible. The Passion of the Lord is approaching, and then Easter. To join the former, and to taste the joy of the latter - I wish you with all my heart. The war that is over seems to still cause war. England, in its own sense, is rioting. You have to manage to hurt her. The conference or congress seems to blur. I think it's better. Nobody wants to say to what Russia has done: good, good! “And no one sees any reason to fight over this.” The best thing is to accept the news of the peace treaty and remain silent. Meanwhile, things will flow according to this treatise and come into force. And it will be a fait accompli. It seems this will be the best. God's blessing to your wife and children. – Be healthy and cheerful! Save yourself! And pray to God for us. Your pilgrim Bishop Feofan. March 25, 1878 Letter 261. When sending a book of letters about spiritual life. A warning against a sense of self-righteousness that harms prayer. A way to resolve the fate of a son For the offense of not writing for a long time, I am sending you two copies of the letters. One is assigned to your learned beauty if you find that what is written in the book can be useful to her. Letters were written to the beauty, then something was added and everything was aimed at keeping the beauties from interfering with the monkeys’ granddaughters, and as a result it is worse than being an ape. But there are a few handsome men here, and not only the young, but also the old. Whoever understands what strength is will no longer look at the ground and rummage in the ground. Only a general outline of the case is presented. Everyone will find the details themselves as soon as they get down to business. There is little that will be of use to you here. Because you have already gone through everything prescribed. Are you writing how to get on the road? And you, it seems, are already walking along it, and have walked quite a distance. God bless your path! Either way, take care of what you have been given. Without being lazy, put into circulation what you have received in order to add ten others, and then each of the ten by ten, and so on, because in the essence of the matter there is no end to this addition. I don’t remember if I wrote to you what you should be most afraid of. I repeat, since I wrote to you. Most of all, we need to be wary of deviations into righteousness. As soon as you start to dodge into it, know that you have started to walk crookedly. Then grab yourself by the feet and drag yourself mercilessly back into sinfulness. Of course, the feeling of righteousness and the feeling of sinfulness. The Lord only accepts those who come to Him with a sense of sinfulness. From the one who comes to Him in a sense of righteousness, he turns away. He came to save sinners, not the righteous. God will not despise a contrite and humble heart. The most evil thing is satiety. He's full, he's lounging around and puffing. Spiritually it happens. Never contradict the movements of prayer and do not prefer anything to it; on the contrary, always be ready to sacrifice everything to her. For she is a queen. And its fulcrum is a broken spirit. Someone had the custom of asking: when you go to prayer, are you going to receive a pension or to ask for alms? A very clear question. God bless you, your spouse and your children and all your affairs, especially spiritual ones. Happy holidays: Christmas, New Year, Epiphany. May the Lord send you every consolation. What should I do with my son? Both of you and your mother pray, and as your souls come together in prayer, do so! Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. Letter 262. New Year's wishes. Danger to the soul from entertainment. Characteristics of female students and measures of kind influence on them May God grant you all the best this summer. Man up your daughters and hide from the hustle and bustle yourself. What a mess you have! Visits, evenings, dinners, balls, theaters, celebrations, and is this really every day?! If yes, then trouble is not far away. For you, the main problem is that the fire in your heart would not go out. Oh, oh, oh! What a disaster if it goes out. And you are standing in a strong wind. Well, how will it go out! Did you light it yourself? No. And it won’t be your business to light it again either. And the One who lights is not merciful. Ask and pray, but He has one answer: He has already lit it. Why did you turn it off? And either it won’t light it at all, or if it does light it, it will let the ungrateful extinguisher know. God save you from this trouble. Keep your heart so that it is not involved in the sweets of this age - enchanting and stupefying. I am very glad to write to your daughters; but they must make the beginning. I will respond to their needs. Let them read that book and ask about it. Or let them imagine their own perplexities, just not by making them up, but by presenting those that exist. Assure them that I will be very attentive to them, just let them be frank and sincere. The eldest, you say, is cold. This means: God is driven away from the heart. How and by whom? Bad direction of science. Look, what is the program for women's courses?! All natural science. And our naturalists have completely ruined this most intelligible book about God. Starting point: self-education of the world. Further, and in all parts, everything is built by itself. So God is expelled from the world. Someone would look into the soul to listen to words about God. But the listeners drove out their souls, and were left like stranded crayfish. There is nothing to rely on. And they walk as if in a fog, without bright hopes, hanging their heads. I believe that your scientist is in this position. If she confessed everything and sought help, everything that exists could be illuminated, and she would joyfully see God and touch Him. They listen to a lot of nonsense and stick to it, but they don’t read anything that could enlighten them. After all, we publish a number of works that defend the truth. Someone gave money for this. Archpriest Zarkevich edits. The inscription of the collection: “Materialism, Science, Christianity.” Collection of essays by contemporary writers. More than 20 books, large and small, have already been published. They are sold mainly in the bookstore of the Public Benefit Association. In S.P.B. Bolshaya Podyacheskaya no. 39. So here it is. Write them out and get your daughters to read and re-read. Or read with them yourself. You should be comfortable with natural wisdom. It is a great pity that the German nebula is not banished from these useful books. You are telling the truth that you shouldn’t bother with religion. But you shouldn’t give up completely. On a holiday or Sunday, why not talk about this and that? On a holiday or Sunday, why not take everyone to church? Here, being bound by business is not permissible. Sometimes we can read a good book together. Look for the book: “lectures by Archpriest Golubinsky on speculative theology.” Read it for yourself first and get well into the spirit. Then with daughters... You need to hunt them down. I hasten to tell you this one thing as a guide for influencing girls; but he himself is ready to immediately take up the pen as soon as they begin to speak according to the needs of their soul. One more word. Good steward of God! If you had a clerk, and you gave him money, with the order: look, use it for one good thing. And he would start burning 50 rubles every day. on a candle, and before your eyes. Would you pat him on the head? This is exactly the position you are in in relation to God. I sincerely wish you to get out of this whirlpool as soon as possible. Thank you for your decision to send A. Sew God's blessing to your wife and daughters and son. God bless you all. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Letter 263. Congratulations and parcels Congratulations on graduating from the Church of God. I wish you to be richer and richer in good deeds. May the Lord arrange your path to Him. I ask you to accept Psalm 118, and the brochures against Pashkov, the first letter - two copies and the following - one. Maybe you will meet one of those who wisely philosophize, like him, and let him look through it. But for you, I believe, such explanations are not entirely necessary. I’m also including two book cutters (wooden knives made in-house): one for your wife (like the first brochure), and the other for you. Books are difficult to make, but book cutters (sharpening on a lathe) are very easy. So I'm going to replace the first with the second. Bless you, Lord, with every blessing, and your spouse, and all your children. I ask you not to forget about me in your prayers. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. 1880 Letter 264. Please describe the edifying event and provide information about the Pashkovites to expose them. A detailed presentation of the saint's worldview. The spirit of man. Soul of the world and animals I hasten to answer you, and most importantly, not only to bless, but also to impose a commandment to describe everything, like the transfer of the bodies of the servants of God (the Goldobin girls in the Troyekurovsky convent from their graves, to a new crypt under the church above the Holy Gates) in the sense and spirit as you announced. Work hard. And publish (a description of this incident), if not in some secular newspaper, then in Soulful Reading. It will be very edifying for many. I’ll wait to see what you say about the Pashkovites; I urgently need to know what they rely on, that they have fallen behind the church. Your few words: “they are zealous to enlighten the people and distract them from superstition (churchism) and idolatry (veneration of icons)” say a lot. It turns out: they are Molokans, as I exalted them. You didn't think about the letters as if I had said everything. It's just an attack. We must protect the entire Church of God, in all its splendor. And this will require a lot of writing. You should now write against it: “Nothing is needed.” So I would like to hear from their lips that this is not necessary? “Superstition and idolatry” - suggests the entire external structure of the church. Write and so on, what you know and what you learn. Some Turner wrote an objection to my “letters”, not understanding them, and with his final article he refuted the first. Something must be said against him. I did not write to you about not making suggestions that are contrary to the revealed truths about the spiritual world. This is how I think about the world. The basis of the material world is atoms. But atoms are not all the same - they are different, like different elements. However, they themselves have neither movement nor mutual connection. Everything produces forces acting in them. What are these forces? I admit a ladder of immaterial forces of a spiritual nature. Mutual attraction, chemical affinity, crystallization, plants, animals are produced by corresponding immaterial forces that rise gradually. The substrate of all these forces is the soul of the world. God, having created this immaterial soul, put into it the ideas of all creatures, and it instinctively, as they say, produces them, at the beck and excitement of God. The soul was created together with the word: let there be light! This light is ether, it is the shell of the soul. In the words: let it be - something new was happening. On the second day - the firmament. When God said: let the earth destroy, the soul of the world listened to Him and did what was commanded. She separated from herself all kinds of plant souls, which gave rise to diverse plants and then began to reproduce them according to their kind. Also, according to the word of God: let the earth bring forth every living soul, the soul separated the souls of animals, which produced different kinds of animals. When it was necessary to create man, the command was not given to the earth: let him bring forth, but in the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity it was said: “Let us create.” The body is especially created from dust. It was not a dead body, but a living one with an animal soul. A spirit will be breathed into this soul - God's spirit, destined to know God, to honor God, to seek and eat God, and to have all one's contentment in Him, and in nothing but Him. This spirit, uniting with the soul of an animal, raised it above the soul of animals by a whole stage, and we see in man that, to a certain extent, everything goes with him, as with animals, up to intelligence, and then a series of forces begins, although of a spiritual nature, but above the soul, reason, will, taste. Even further: fear of God, conscience, dissatisfaction with created things, desire for God. These are spiritual manifestations completely detached from the soul. You can also place soul-spirituality between soul and spirit: an idealizing mind, a will that rebuilds everything anew, and creativity (in the arts). This is genius, from the mental, practical and artistic side. Spirit in the soul, or soul in the spirit. These are all natural manifestations. They do not appear in their present form in experience, due to the breakdown of strength in the fall. Graceful actions reveal spirit and spirituality in their true form. Souls lower than spirit and man are immersed in the soul of the world. But a person’s soul cannot plunge there, but the spirit is carried away by grief—this is after death. I remember that Avsenev taught us lessons on this at the academy - first Pyotr Semenovich, and then Archimandrite. Feofan. Died in Rome. - So this is where your chemistry comes from. In some kind of chemical soul. In this soul there is an instinctively felt image of what needs to be made from the elements. She takes them and builds her own. The plant also has a chemical soul. But she is in the service of the plant soul. In an animal they both exist, but they serve in the service of the animal’s soul. Or this: the soul of animals, being able to act like an animal, is also able to produce that which is characteristic of the plant and chemical soul. The equally vegetative soul, knowing how to do its own thing, also knows how to do chemical things. - There is unity of nature here. I remember that Schubert’s geschichte des seele – the history of the soul – reveals these points in detail. Both the fall and the redemption are conveniently reconciled with this. What you say is true: we know less about the material world than about the spiritual. And God does not give and will not give, because it is not necessary for us. We will always remain on the surface in this regard. Mastery of the elements and forces operating on earth will expand; but this is not knowledge, but only the ability to use what is revealed by itself. The essence of the matter is forever hidden from us. I also remembered regarding the Pashkovites that it would be necessary to find out, namely: what do they mean by superstition? Idolatry is icon veneration, but what is superstition? After all, this should not be taken from them in a general sense, but in relation to church ranks. So they definitely would have expressed themselves, what do they mean by this in the church? Can't you find out about this? I don’t know how to understand why the authorities are weakly acting against the Pashkovites? After all, they can cut the whole of Russia in half, and then there will be trouble. Pashkov was driven out, but B-sky remained, who, as I heard, is much more eloquent and intelligent than Pashkov. By winter they will return to St. Petersburg, and the same story will follow. Meetings and conversations, with the possible difference that our church superstitions and idolatry will be exposed more clearly. Bless you, O Lord, with every blessing, your spouse and your children and all your affairs. Letter 265. Exchange of parcels and greetings Review of the event that plunged all of Russia into horror I received your parcel on the day of forgiveness. Thank you! Akathist is good! I am sending you and your husband a book: Interpretation of the Epistle to the Galatians. I have also attached a copy of the last three letters to S.P.B. I ask you to accept and admirer about the sinful scribbler. I always remember you in my sinful prayers. Your husband has faithfully returned from St. Petersburg. Did you bring anything new about Pashkov? Very desirable. But now everyone's attention is focused elsewhere. Alas and ah! What have we come to? And what will happen to us? It is impossible to remember without fear and squeezing of the painful heart. We sinned, and now the Lord punishes us. Let us pray that the Lord will admonish our new Sovereign to tighten the reins a little. They became liberal to their own detriment, so Mother Russia will pay the price! I wish you health and peace of mind. I wish you to spend your fast not only in the Orthodox way, but also to celebrate the Bright Holiday with health and a calm, non-blushing conscience. To your husband - success in your academic article, without harm to the spiritual side. Save yourself! Letter 266. Easter greetings. Signs of the power of the Resurrection of Christ. Science and scientists. Matter and force. Reasoning about the phenomena and forces of nature, leading to faith in God Almighty. Is evil eternal? The wisdom of the false mind about eternal torment I also greet you on the Bright Holiday: “Christ is Risen!” The holiday is now with clear indications of the power of the Resurrection of Christ: there you have the healing of a sick person, and in Zadonsk there are rumors about the discovery of relics. The relics are a shadow of the future resurrection. Both happen due to the Resurrection of the Lord. God bless! That Pashkov was not seen so be it. I'll wait until someone listens more and says. Did you smell that there is science? Alone, it is a matter of the soul; the spiritual does not understand the spiritual and crowds it out. On the contrary, the spiritual also crowds out the soulfulness. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to spiritualize the soul, to pass spiritual elements through it and make it a servant of spiritual interests. And please do this with the science that is in your hands. Science is not an independent mistress. It has become fashionable to present science as some kind of royal personage. This person is a dream. We don’t have a single science that is firmly established in its principles. Something has been obtained in all sciences. But all this is not such as to give the right to refer to science as a decisive authority. There is no science, but there are scientists who spin science as they want. Therefore, there are only guesses and suggestions from scientists. This is also what was said before: reason demands it. Since reason has proven itself poorly in the history of human wisdom, they stopped expressing themselves this way, and began to replace it with science - something impersonal. Women are now worshiped. And science was presented as some kind of beauty, they curtsied in front of it. From this you can conclude that your science is also your considerations. And you can dominate her and train her to your heart's content. There is something established about it; but these are external forms, but the essence of the matter is not given. Here is your freedom and together the side where a religious element can be introduced, both legally and in the interests of science itself. If you please, set up your science this way and it will be good. Then you will pray for science. You invite me to see what you will build regarding the solution to the question that interests you about the unity of matter and forces on the basis of chemical laws, with the goal of explaining everything through movement. Very glad to view it. Although I am not strong in the natural sciences, especially in chemistry, the general thing can be seen - whether it works or not from a Christian point of view. And we can say in advance that as long as you are going to educate the world on its own (bummer, a ship has sailed), then of course this is not legal. Even that is not legal if you limit yourself only to forces and laws, without showing where the forces came from and who is the receiver and guardian of the laws. For this too is a silent theory of the self-education of the world. Somewhere I came across talk about the unity of matter and forces and about the derivation or explanation of everything from motion. Everything there seemed dreamy and arbitrary to me. What is matter? – we don’t know. We know only the elements or indecomposable elements. They are composed and decomposed, as a result of which different things appear. Composition and decomposition are a chemical process. The visible side of the process is movement. Matter – inners – is immovable. For her to move, there is a completely legitimate requirement of strength. In this way you take away everything that inevitably appears in the material world. But see what can lead you to the heart of the matter. Movement is a completely external matter. It can't lead to anything. And I don’t understand how they present him as an actor when he is an action? Someone asked: “Explain to me how we walk?” And he received the answer: he doesn’t know! We shift from foot to foot and walk. Here the whole essence of the movement is expressed, that is, that it does not give anything except the visible side of the production of things. The force is not in the movement, but in the driving force. The direction of movement is addition and decomposition - a chemical process. This is true in the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms. But addition and decomposition are also external forms. Tell me: who adds and decomposes? And how? And why is that? This will give real knowledge of the form of addition and decomposition. Chemistry has brought it under the laws and is magnified: know us; This is what we've come to! In fact, they didn’t get anywhere. This is the same: we step from foot to foot and walk. What they say: this is akin to this and is connected to this, but this is not akin to this and is not connected, is also an expression only in a different form. So chemical decomposition and addition itself also does not explain anything, but requires explanation. Moreover, in addition to the composition of material things, the entire initial part of physical phenomena comes from the domain of chemistry. This is explained by other sayings, most of all by the laws of gravity. But that's not all. There is also a part of the weightless, for which something else is required. How can we now explain weight on the basis of chemical processes?! Is it possible to pose the question this way: in its own field, that is, in the composition of material things. This will be the case. But even here, is the chemical process independent and independent? The chemical process itself is the same everywhere. How does it happen that in one case a dead thing comes out of it, in another a plant thing, in a third an animal? Chemistry suggests that the chemical process consists of an external, higher power, which commands it, and it does so. In the formation of things of dead nature, the chemical process is under one power, in the plant kingdom under another, in the animal kingdom under a third. Therefore, you will be asked to go up to these authorities. Otherwise, everything will remain as it was before - not clear. Who are these authorities? Immaterial forces of a spiritual nature, with an instinct to produce this and that, according to the norm placed in them by God, accompanied by a certain dark instinct. These are Leibnizian monads. Subject to any such force are light, heaviness, warmth, electricity, magnetism and your chemistry, through which it brings the elements into motion as it pleases and builds a thing that can carry the norm within itself. Look here. On one inch of soil: grass, lily of the valley, some kind of bottle. Air, earth with elements and so on are all the same. How does it happen that from identical plants, using the same chemical process, different plants are produced, and then the boogers are also different? – Do not explain this without allowing for the forces of a spiritual nature he identified. By limiting yourself to one chemical process and not yet defined indications of the laws of nature, you will not explain anything. Recently, some German put will at the basis of all phenomena. And he didn’t indicate who the Willer is. And his theory was left up in the air. The will, for sure, is visible everywhere and the will is intelligent and does its job well. But without indicating who the Willer is, we are only indicating a fact without explaining it. And what I said also presupposes will. But there is also a willer - an invisible, immaterial force of a spiritual nature. But even this theory, if accepted, does not complete the matter. Where does this power come from? God created. There are countless of them. Just as every person has his own soul, so every thing has its own immaterial force, which forms and holds it, as it was intended by God when it was created. - That in every thing - in a plant, an animal, there is such an immaterial force that controls natural forces and elements, and through them builds things, and holds them to their due date, this is tangibly visible! Who is this force? Or fate, or God, or a force created by God? Fatum is a stupid thing. Among materialists it reigns; for their question is: why this and that, so and so? There is always one answer: “yes.” This is expressed by the phrase: these are the laws. If God is everything, pantheism is no less absurd. The last thing remains. And this is my theory. There are many of these forces. As they are not original, they need stands - a substrate on which to rest. A general guide is also needed. Both can be attributed to God like this: These powers are maintained by the will of God; God wants and they exist and act according to the norm embedded in them. They are guided by the same will; for having the ability of instinctual instinct, they can perceive the beckons of the all-ruling will of God and fulfill it. But I think it is much more convenient for them to put the soul of the world, also immaterial, of a spiritual nature as a substrate. It controls those small forces and directs them according to the norm put into it. God also comes here directly when according to His plans this is necessary. And lo and behold, a miracle! The world cannot stand without a miracle. This is also the law of industry. Everything goes as planned and under the influence of forces created by God. But God the Almighty holds everything, and enters everywhere when necessary through his actions and the direction of his forces. That's my philosophy! With it I explain everything that geology asks and everything that experience provides. There is nothing mental here. Everything is factual, like the very existence of the world. I was forced to write everything down by the desire to pave the way for you, so that you would go to the end and not give up your theory: hanging in the air. I told you all this yesterday in the heat of the moment. Now I was thinking about throwing it into the oven, but changed my mind, just to tell you that believers have every right to push the spiritual into the realm of the material, when materialists climb with their matter, without a twinge of conscience, into the realm of the spiritual. And on our side is rationality, and on theirs is stupidity. And this is not because every sandpiper praises his swamp, but on the merits of the matter. The material cannot be either a force or a goal. Both are outside of him. It is only a means and a field for spiritual forces, according to the actions of the spiritual principle (Creator) of all kinds. Turn from earth to heaven and easily to your favorite - chemistry; otherwise she has her nose buried in the ground and is digging around in it, like some creature with her snout. Is evil eternal or will it be defeated? – Read what is written in the Gospel. The second coming will come. The Lord will create judgment; He will lead the righteous into eternal bliss, and he will drive the sinners into hell, to eternal torment. Good will triumph; but evil will not turn into good and will receive its due reward. Since we cannot know anything about the future with our little minds, there is no point in meddling with it. God alone, the Lord of the ages, knows this. He says or will say: these go into eternal torment, but the righteous into eternal life. So God said; There’s no point in racking your brains. The issue has been resolved authoritatively. They cry out: how is it possible, eternal torment for those who have sinned temporarily? They want to be more philanthropic than God Himself, who suffered and died on the cross for sinners. If we humans invented such a doctrine, it would be appropriate to object. But when God Himself, who died for sinners, ordained it this way, we must humbly accept it and believe it, no matter how fidgety our minds may be. Freedom is given the will to do both good and evil. Decide whether this freedom can become embittered towards evil to the point that it will never agree to leave it behind, knowing that this is its destruction? What can, Satan is your example. Decide again, can human freedom become Satan? How many examples of unrepentant sinners?! What to do now with these demonic ones?! The wicked cannot be accepted into heaven, but they do not want to change. All that remains is to either remake them creatively or destroy them. There is no need to redo it. And without them there are many saints. In addition, the material is completely damaged. It remains to be destroyed. But God's gifts are not indestructible. He does not know how to destroy. I will also add that the angel said to St. Anthony the Great: Anthony! Pay attention to yourself, this is God’s work! How to understand the Epistle to the Romans - I am sending an interpretation. I am also enclosing the newly published book with additions. God bless you! Save yourself! Letter 267. On the glorification of the Kozelshchanskaya Icon of the Mother of God I congratulate you on the holiday of the Bright Resurrection of the Lord. I wish to send it to you in spiritual joys. Thank you very much for your description of the miraculous healing. It's already printed somewhere; but they said there that the healing took place in Moscow, during dinner at home, when the sick woman (the daughter of Count Kapnist) was with her nanny in her room. What a joy! May this be an inexhaustible joy for all sincere believers! Or it already is. Please write to me what position is the right and left hand of the Mother of God, what the vessel stands on, how and where the spoon lies, where the Savior’s face is turned. How the head of the Mother of God is tilted and where her eyes are looking, the body of the Mother of God, or her waist, is taken high, to the waist or more. Write everything down so you can draw it. I'll ask one of ours about this. It would be better if there was a photo. The Count should have taken the photograph and distributed it. If he didn’t do this, tell him to do it, even through his relatives and friends, if you don’t know each other. I would really like to have such an icon. God bless you with every blessing. Letter 268. Request for the publication of photographs from the Kozelshchansk icon of B. Mother. About the letters of the Saint against Pashkov and about the Society established to expose him I am very grateful to you for your message regarding the newly-minted miraculous icon “Kozelshchinskaya”. Now the time is coming for the Count to arrive in Moscow, and it occurred to me to repeat my most humble request. Persuade him to publish this icon metachromotypically. What a powerful refutation God sent to Pashkov’s wisdom! The Holy Synod published my letters against him in large quantities and distributed them freely. And they sent me a very pretty one for the same purpose. I believe that there will be people around you who would benefit from reading them. I'm sending you ten. Give it to anyone you find suitable and keep it for yourself if you don’t mind. A society of spiritual and secular people was formed in St. Petersburg to counteract this false teacher. I don’t know what they are doing for this; but one cannot help but rejoice that such a society exists. God bless you with every blessing! To your spouse, bows and full of good wishes. Your zealous pilgrim E. Feofan. Letter 269. About the same icon. To whom letters were written about spiritual life. Advising a married woman not to enter a monastery and admonishing her about her relationship to secular society and its customs I have just received the photograph you sent of the miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Kozelshchinskaya”. Very grateful. I thank you in advance for the book, with photographs of the same icon, which I have received through your kindness. God sent this to us against the Pashkovshchina, to shame this empty wisdom, which, however, as I hear, finds access elsewhere. I am very pleased to hear that the “letters” you mention are not useless. The person to whom the letters were written was very zealous and entered the monastery with a sincere desire to become a firm foot in monasticism. There, these monastery splinters immediately surrounded her, empty chatter (two or three) jabbered at her. I was horrified. She left the monastery and lives nearby. But she leads life in the strictest way, and then you will see how things are going smoothly for her. I haven't seen her. She began to write to me in front of the monastery, and continues. The grace of God acts tangibly in her. And you are off to the monastery. There is no way for you to go there now. Set up a monastery at home. This is very possible for you. After all, your husband also has monastic inclinations. Now it is absorbed by salts, acids, gases, etc. This part gives nothing: it is too mundane. But the infinite Wisdom of God, which has arranged everything in measure, weight and number, is here more tangible to even bodily eyes. Let him talk to God in the elements, and you remain in prayer and doing good. And your mother-in-law’s life will be good. Only society is made up of all sorts of sophisticated individuals. There is nothing to do. You have to be patient. Remember Lot. All around is Sodom, and it takes its course. He was tormented in soul, but this did not interfere with salvation. Avoid condemnation, thinking about others - awkward ones, that they only gave themselves privilege and space for a while. But they are about to settle down and go good to the Lord. I think many secular customs can be harmlessly abandoned, yielding at times only to the most inevitable. Ask the Lord for guidance and strength in every way. He is our Savior and wants to save everyone. Ask and everything will be given, only everything in due time. God bless you! God's blessing to your spouse. Letter 270. How to study chemistry without extinguishing your spiritual life Guilty. I didn’t answer your previous letter until the second one arrived. I apologize. I regret quite a bit that your activities distract you from your prayerful mood. This extinguishes spiritual life, but it is real life. You are doing a good thing by fighting this convenient (imposed by circumstances) sin. And continue. And express your pain in your heart to the Lord in prayer, asking Him to let your studies go on as usual and the spirit of prayer not to leave. The Lord will help. But we ourselves need to put in some work of this kind. Try to see the traces of God in the phenomena that you study, and having seen it, confess it to the Lord and mentally ascend to Him in the continuation of your work itself. Then your studies will be a little like reading a spiritual book. Another thing: acquire the skill of working on scientific studies only at certain hours; at the end of them, get out of your head and stay with the Lord alone; Don’t let earths, salts and acids get into your head. This skill will come, but you have to work smart. This will also help prevent health problems. For the last thing, don’t hesitate to take a walk in the fresh air every day: either in your garden or outside the city. Please obey what is prescribed and you will see how good it will be. Just don’t be kind and drive me away - you can’t! Your inclination towards certain activities is a gift from God. But God does not give anything that in itself would deviate from Him, but everything should lead to Him. This is your gift too. If acting according to a gift deviates from God, it is not God who gave the gift who is guilty, but the person who acts according to it is not guilty. You too. You have briefly described the result of your labors. The presence of living force under the material forms of beings is also my original beginning. But for you it goes somehow differently, which, however, I cannot understand. If you find a minute, take the trouble to write down in greater detail the entire course of the matter, as you imagine it. Letter 271. On the proper organization of educational matters in the orphanage When you wrote, you were busy and busy setting up a shelter. Now it’s probably all over and the shelter is in use. God bless this work. Try, without shame and without fear of the world, to give your children a true Christian education, imparting to them only Christian concepts in everything, teaching them Christian rules of life and kindling love for the Church of God and all church orders. Select such teachers and teachers, and especially such a boss. Nowadays they teach a lot without taking into account the Christian vows in baptism and without having in mind the Last Judgment. Thank you for the book you enclosed about Pashkov’s nonsense. She goes to the point (to expose Pashkov’s heresy). Letter 272. About farming and science and about the placement of children Congratulations on changing the order of your life. What has become better here, I rejoice with you, and what is worse, I regret. But trust that the Lord will help you fix everything and get back on track. The fact that you have everything in your hands again is very good. Work and patience - patience and work, and everything will go well. Just don’t struggle and get everything back on its feet right away, as if on command, don’t even think about it. "You don't know what to do." How can you not know? Host. That's it. Everyone has seen it! Well, make what is serviceable more serviceable, and what is faulty correct it. I don’t think you need to worry about how to do this. Just don’t put your whole soul into this alone. And for the first time half, and then a quarter is enough. Dedicate everything else to God. Manage to identify a certain part of the day when, having cut everything off, you talked with God alone, either through prayer, or meditation, or reading, or: now this, now another, now a third, at different moments of the day. “You’re giving up science.” Wonderful. For spiritual matters, it is like water for fire. And it will be even better if you never, ever toss and turn to him again. Children, as God arranges it, so it will be good. The upbringing is yours, but the placement is God’s work. If it is impeccable, and in relation to the latter you have not done anything sinful, then it is not a good idea to torment yourself because of this, although you cannot help but grieve. But hand over everything to the Lord, and cover everything with the believers’ appeals to the Lord: “Be holy.” Thy will, Lord!” And the years of life are in peace with the Lord. Yes, now you should be a “hero”! If you please, act heroically. May the Lord bless you with every blessing, and your spouse, and your children, and all your affairs. Your wife copied you (the letter due to the illegibility of his own manuscript) - she copied it, she got tired of it. And I didn’t add a bow on my own. Fine! But at the up. Paul was a scribe, so he rewrote the epistle, and then added all the bows at the end: I also send my bow to you, so and so, who wrote this epistle. I wish you every consolation. Letter 273. On the news of a miracle that had taken place. Economy may not interfere with spiritual work Glory to You, God! Glory to You, God! Glory to You, God! It is the Lord who comforts His faithful, and admonishes those who deviate. He says to the faithful by these deeds: do not look at the fact that such unsteadiness in faith has spread everywhere. There is an immutable truth in faith - and here is the proof. Just as in the beginning faith was implanted through preaching, I hastened the Lord and confirmed the word with subsequent signs: so after that it was supported and is still supported by the tangible presence of the power of God among the believers, in the holy church, testified by signs. “This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am with you,” as He promised to be with us until the end of the age. If the Lord is with us, who can be against us? God promised of old: I will dwell in them (those who believe His word), and I will walk, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. And we see this being fulfilled on us today. In our memory, there have already been many certificates of this. Glory to You, God! Glory to You, God! Glory to You, God! And the Lord inspires those who are mistaken: “Why are you blown about by every wind of doctrine? This is where the pillar and foundation of My truth is. Like a finger I show you the right and not lost path. Cling to the Church, in which I demonstrate My power, and get rid of the destruction into which your empty wisdom will plunge you.” I am very grateful to you for telling me such comforting news, and I will look forward to a detailed description of this event, as you promised. God bless the virgin Mary! I believe that the Lord wants to show His special mercy to her. Muretov is a high-ranking surname. Demetrius of Odessa, the kindest and wisest archpastor, a native of Ryazan. Isn't it relatives? Congratulations to your husband. “I wish him success in economic affairs, without, however, compromising his spiritual affairs.” What a master Abraham, Job, and other patriarchs were. And they are presented as models of faith, patience and all virtues. God bless him and have mercy! And you yourself, for being so untrue to yourself; stone and the like? God be merciful! He is everywhere, and being a fire, he boils everything. Open your humble heart to Him and you will be warm! Letter 274. Freedom from the bustle of the city promotes spiritual life I greet you on the occasion of the Nativity of Christ and send you full wishes for the best: mental and physical, everyday and civil. God has given you this winter to be free from the bustle of the city and enjoy solitude. Although worldly worries accompany everyday people everywhere; but solitude, when between all this you find a free moment and comfortable leisure, will give its effect, imbuing the soul with compassion for itself, and through it, as through an open mouth, putting into the thirsty soul the benefits akin to it. What you said about prayer is absolutely true. But since it is akin to our spirit, with a little attention and preparation we can always direct it to the proper course, although not in complete perfection. If you have my “Collection of Prayer and Temperance,” then read it; Little by little it can tune the soul to real prayer. I always remember you and your husband in my prayers at the liturgy. God bless you! Your husband will probably come for the holiday. Bow to him and complete good wishes! Save yourself! Letter 275. Housework is a general penance. How to act so that they do not drown out spiritual life. Description of the airs that should work for the Church of the Saint For your silence in response to your letters, I bow my head before you with the words: I’m guilty! Sorry! You complain about the hassle of housework that it distracts you from other favorite activities. What to do? This is already the business of the owner. There is nothing left but patience. This is what real life is doomed to do, to work hard and not to philosophize. This is our universal penance. But manage to ease this burden somehow. How? Sometimes with mental pursuits, sometimes with aesthetic pleasures, sometimes with the consolations of mutual brotherly communication with others. The most important thing is to satisfy religious needs and aspirations. Add to this the skill of occupying your soul with housekeeping, when some household business is in front of your eyes. And when he is not in sight, occupy your soul with something else, especially with something related to God. If you use a little effort, it seems that such a skill can be acquired. The greatest danger from tireless efforts is the suppression of religious feelings. It seems you are experiencing this. And it's a shame; It is very possible to become completely cold, as you fear. But this is not due to the nature of everyday affairs, but because of our oversight, due to which we allow ourselves to get bogged down: with thoughts, and feelings, and desires, and worries, in one everyday thing. But this may not happen. Begin everything with prayer, continue with hope, end with thanksgiving. Every deed will be shrouded in the Divine robe, and will not knock God out of the soul. Then, moving from task to task, at the transition, drive out everything worldly from your soul, and be with God with attention and feeling, or repeat some verse from the psalms. The suppression of prayer is a very sad thing. Whenever it is felt, do not ignore it. Take a book about prayer and read in depth. Little by little, the ascent to God in prayer will come to life. Remember to take care of this and pray to the Lord so that He does not deprive you of the consolations of prayer. Nothing in human affairs is achieved without labor. Spiritual endeavors require the most intense and continuous work. God bless you and prosper you in this. Why not take children to your village for the summer? And in winter you can sometimes run there for three days. I am very sorry that many things are weighing you down; but since I haven’t experienced all such hardships, I don’t know what to say. I will pray. And you pray, the Lord will better correct us as He pleases. Your wife offers to work hard - to do something for the church. Very grateful. If your zeal for this has not yet faded, work on the air - the most airy, lightest. The diameter of my chalice is two inches, three eighths. Make the top like this. The same measure, of course, applies to the covering on the paten. The large cover is three-quarters long, and the width is proportionately smaller, but I don’t know how to say. I think two quarters and an inch or an inch and a half would be good. Just please be more airy. Forgive me for the Lord's sake! God bless you with every blessing! Save yourself! I am sending you the book of Abba Isaiah. Letter 276. Those intending to visit Vysha are warned that the Saint will not accept any visitors You are N.N. going to Vysha. Good! Our monastery is not bad. May the Mother of God console you for the labor of visiting Her monastery. But I am afraid that you might not be deceived in some expectation. I'll tell you straight, don't you think you'll see me? It's not good for anyone to see me. That’s why I flatly refuse everyone, although sometimes it’s very bitter. It will be bitter to refuse you. Still, I will refuse you. By writing this, I am in no way constraining your actions. But I have one thing in mind, to warn you against setting expectations that cannot be fulfilled. I wish your spouse every success in organizing your everyday affairs, without, however, compromising, at least, what is essential for your spiritual life. Cry out to God for everything with pain in your heart, and He will do everything. God bless you all! Save yourself. Letter 277. Science is cold; how to maintain a prayerful mood God bless your new position and grant your son success in learning. As for the fact that your prayerful mood is not in order, I really regret it and I don’t know what to advise you. Any kind of science is cool. Even theological science is not excluded from this, although here the subject, chilling the way the subject is interpreted, may sometimes and accidentally fall on the heart by the subject itself. Science is of a spiritual nature, and prayer is of a spiritual nature. That's why they are at odds. And there’s nothing to say about everyday matters, especially those who unfortunately have a caring disposition. Can't you set aside at least half an hour in the morning and evening for detached contemplation and prayer? Force yourself to stand before God undistractedly, even without reading prayers, but with one cry: “Merciful Lord, have mercy on my soul!” And it’s good to bow. May the Lord make you wise! God bless you, your spouse and your children and all your affairs. Your zealous well-wisher E. Feofan. Letter 278. Thanks for the air. A kind word about a deceased priest Let troubles not eliminate prayer Got some air. Very good. Thank you. Some remained. But I think there is no time to be bored. If there is a need and desire to look after affairs, then of course you do not have much free time at your disposal. May God help you to conduct everything as it should. The spouse of your S.P.B. comforts or tyrannizes? Lord grant him patience. There he cannot do without the need for patience. May the Lord rest the soul of His servant, your good priest. These are all old-fashioned people. There are still quite a few of them. Will the priests of the current cut give something? It is certainly more difficult for you to pray now. Trouble! But since this is necessary, it is necessary in every possible way to arrange it in such a way that prayer does not allow itself to be removed from the circle of affairs. Blessed are the people who fall asleep and wake up with prayer and, in the midst of all their work, do not part with it. Their life is hidden with Christ in God. I earnestly pray to the Lord that He will always keep you in a good mood pleasing to Him. Save yourself! Letter 279. About remembering the Lord in all everyday troubles Thank you for your congratulations. Happy New Year to you too. May the Lord enrich you with every good thing this summer! You complain about chores that distract you and prevent you from remembering the Lord. Try to understand all your chores around the house and in other relationships, as if they were assigned to you directly from the Lord Himself; not only in general, but in particular, to understand every matter as such. Then, when starting a task and completing it, you can also keep in mind that you should complete it as it would be pleasing to the Lord. Through this, when doing it, the thought will be with the Lord. If at the end, recognizing God’s help, you thank the Lord, then here is the Lord at the end. If then, in the same order, perform the second - third and so on until the end of the day; then you spend the whole day thinking about the Lord. And this is what is required, that is, to walk in the presence of God. From here there will be a feeling for the Lord, a feeling of fear, reverence, devotion, gratitude. Feelings are prayers without words. May the Lord grant your spouse, in good health, to work in the work entrusted to him, and in the work to which he feels called. Letter 280. When sending an edifying book. The Saint's desire to write a refutation of Tolstoy's nonsense Thank you for your congratulations and well wishes. I apologize for the late response. I wanted to send you the book along with the answer; and the opportunity for this only recently opened up. So please accept. “You’ll find everything here if you want to look.” May the Lord give you the time and desire to search and find, and put it to work, even though you seem to have little time. I thank your husband for the letter and especially for the book or notebook he sent: I mean the nonsense of the superstitious N... Tolstoy, the enemy of God, the son of the devil. Your husband is writing to write notes on this emptiest of empty notebooks. If I find an opportunity to say something, I will certainly write. I’ll go through it all, line by line, take notes on everything, and then the general conclusion is praise for Tolstoy. I am not saying that I will definitely do this; but I want to do it. And I will do it if I can put my hands on it. God bless you and your spouse and children and your entire life. Save yourself! Letter 281. Works of the Saint on familiarization with the false teaching of gr. Tolstoy to expose this Lion roaring against the Church of God I hasten to send you the manuscript back. I was in a hurry to rewrite it. And just now I finished. Your husband didn’t write. It’s true that he has no time for that. Yes, now there is nothing left to write. But tell him this: my earnest request that he obtain and send this same criticism, or examination of the dogmas of the church. It is very necessary in order to better understand the manuscript that has just been copied. Here you can only see that he doesn’t believe in anything, worse than a Tatar. But why is not clear. This is known from him in the aforementioned examination or criticism of dogmas. Please beg him to get this thing too. Or maybe S. will get it. Then I will have all the nonsense of T-th. The correspondence was coming to an end when they sent me from Moscow the gospel of this Lion roaring against the Church of God. Here the quotes are taken from the Gospel and what is written against them is true. So I’m writing off these nonsense. Then, you need to write something. God bless you with every blessing! Save yourself! Letter 282. Efforts continue to familiarize ourselves with Tolstoy’s works in order to expose his absurd false teachings I received the air and am already using it. Thank you. But I thank you even more for the trouble of getting N.N.’s writings. Togo. Without his criticism of dogmas, much in his article - in which I believe - is unfounded, like repetition. And to denounce this without knowing the reasons why he thinks so is very inconvenient. That is why it is extremely necessary to have at hand his criticism of dogmas. He really does not like these dogmas, for he does not like churches. And why the church is not to his heart is not clear. One thing is clear: she is against his teachings. But this is not a reproach, but a praise, For his teaching is the most fantastic. It seems to me that he is close to madness. Everything about him is so ridiculous. And I marvel at the words of your husband, that many are offended. I’m thinking of writing something against him, but I can’t figure out who he is according to my system. Please take the trouble to get the aforementioned criticism and the last thing: what should we do? Full of good wishes to your spouse. May God bless his journey! I ask him, for his part, to use everything in his power to obtain the said works of T-th. Letter 283. The same efforts are made to expose other new false teachers. Instructions on pursuing science without damaging spiritual well-being Thank you for your kind attitude. Do you remember your conversations with G.B. I am collecting information about the thoughts of these newcomers of ours. Therefore, I turn to you with the most humble request to tell me everything that you have retained in your memory from your conversation, especially if you have preserved and remember what they rely on in order to lag behind the church, while what they interpret in the most perfect way is preached and acted in St. our church. I especially need to know this. Then you can quickly place a mine under them and blow up their fortress. And now there is shooting from afar. Another time, if you meet this talker (he, according to Pashkov, is the first and better than him, more eloquent and smarter), deliberately start a conversation about the same thing, and find out why they are lagging behind the church. Some Nechaev and his sister have appeared in Moscow and are holding their stupid meetings. And start a conversation with him. Please try them out and let me know. I still need to write. But there is even more of a stop because these particular points are probably unknown. You write that the prince of peace is giving you some salt in Moscow. He leaves no one unloved. No one can complain that he has been forgotten in this regard. Your academic studies, you say, both distract from prayer and cool it. This is par for the course. All spiritual pursuits of this kind and business enterprises of all kinds, and scientific work, and artistic works are all of the same nature. And about those who are even lower, there is nothing to say about them. There is one way to avoid this, this is to do everything on behalf of God, according to the principles of the truths revealed by Him, not allowing yourself any suggestions that are contrary to them, but, on the contrary, turning everything into confirmation of them. Try to come to your “Laboratory” with the thought of God, that you are walking into the work of His hands, to examine in more detail, so that, having seen the work, you can glorify His wisdom. Be in this mood during all classes. Maybe in this case, I think, the soul will not cool down so much. May the Lord bless you with every blessing and your spouse and your entire family Letter 284. The Saint’s attempts to write in refutation of Tolstoy’s nonsense, characterization of his false teaching. Economy and memory of God I congratulate you on the holidays and Happy New Year. I am sending you two copies of the Gospel Story. One for you, and take the trouble to send the other to your spouse. I ask you to tell him that, as I promised to write to him against T, I took up this several times and gave up, and now, although I haven’t completely given up, I’m unlikely to take it up soon, because I have something on my hands of a different kind and in a different area, which I really like. I am not strong against Th, because he is too cunning or stupid, there is terrible confusion everywhere in his speeches, now he says one thing, then something completely different about the same thing. Demons teach him deceit. Someone undertook to expose his deceptions, it seems successful. This will be N. T-stand turned on its face, for in its writings there is only its reverse side. These articles against him are published in the magazine “Faith and Reason”, published in Kharkov. Pass it all on. You are immersed in the household. And thank God! There is no time to be bored. You can always find a minute for the work of God. Farming is not a sinful business. They won’t miss much; but, once you get used to it, you can correct everything with a calm spirit and with the memory of the Lord and death, for who knows how it will approach. God bless you! I wish you to be healthy and cheerful. I wish your spouse among S.P.B. live like in the desert. May he be healthy and at peace. Letter 285. What is the criticism of the dogmas of gr. Tolstoy. Refutation of it in our magazines. Blessing for removal from worldly rumors Criticism of N.'s dogmas was finally sent to me. She is a critic of the “Dogmatics of St. Macarius” and examines the dogmas as this bishop portrays them. But still, the intention is to show the inconsistency of the teachings of the Orthodox Church. Of all T's articles, this is the most insignificant. He runs through Dogmatics like carriages on cast iron, and his notes are the most fluent and incorrect due to the speed of his flight. I even suspected that he deliberately blabbed nonsense in order to get rid of the insistence with which the person who brought me this article attacked him. I was going to write against it, but I didn’t. They began to pester him, in the “Orthodox Review” and in the magazine “Faith and Reason”, and in the Kiev Philosophical Three Months. However, in our time, unbelief and licentiousness of his mental and moral character, despite their inconsistency, can have disastrous consequences, especially for students. Whatever you say about your inner self, trust it all to the Lord. He is nearby and wants to save everyone and does not refuse His help to anyone. You find it best to withdraw from the midst of worldly rumors. God bless! There are strong souls who conduct their everyday affairs well and do not lag behind others in what is needed for salvation. But it's not for everyone. May the Lord make you wise in organizing your life. God bless you and your whole family and all your everyday affairs. Letter 286. About the “Invisible Warfare” being sent and about your health May the attentive Cover of God never be removed from you! I send you “Invisible Warfare”. Although this title smells of monasticism; but you will find everything here presented almost in such a way that no one should refuse this advice. I wish you edification from the spirit of St. Athos. mountains moving in this book. I wish you all the best in health and contentment in everything. My health is good; and the last eye is noticeably withering. Save yourself! God bless you! Letter 287. Approval of the recipient’s religious writing experiences and encouragement to compose prayers for various occasions. How to combine the necessary everyday worries with Gospel carelessness. Instruction on dealing with an unbelieving son I received your books. Thank you. They are very good. This is a gift from God! Don't leave it unused. Will you feel the urge to compose prayers for every everyday need and every spiritual need? If he comes, work hard. This will be a great blessing for the pious. You write that the worries of life weigh you down to the point that they don’t even allow you to pray. This is the enemy's obsession. As we need shelter, clothing, food and other things, we need to get them; That’s why you need to think about it and try. And there is nothing wrong with this. This is how God was pleased to arrange our lives. But the enemy, creeping up on this sinless one, instills a sinful thing, this constant concern, which burdens both the head and the heart. All the Savior’s instructions about neglect are directed against this disease: do not worry about the morning: the morning one worries about himself, etc. (Matthew 6:34). This does not mean that you should do nothing, but that, while doing everything, you should not be tormented by unnecessary worries, which do not add anything, but only languish. Over-concern is sinful in that it wants to arrange and obtain everything on its own without God, because after that it teaches one to rely on one’s own gains and other means solely without God’s providence, and through both of these, it incites one to consider the blessings of this life as the main goal and the present and final life, without extending thoughts to the future life. See what a God-fighting spirit moves in this multi-concern! Take from this the motivation to fight this evil, as you would fight if the enemy approached and inspired murder in you. If you don’t fight, worry will completely eat you up, but if you fight, it will go away like any other mental illness when you fight it. How to fight? Get started and learn. First of all, begin by praying to clear away this worry, and then cleanse all your affairs, so that your affairs will go on as usual, and there will be no worries. How can prayer be cleared of worries? As soon as worries come during prayer, drive them away; will come again, drive again. And so it always is. Never keep worries in prayer as soon as you realize that it has come. This is the struggle! And you will see the fruit. Even before prayer, decide not to succumb to worries if they come during prayer, and protect this, confirm this intention with various thoughts. You will see the fruit, just don’t give up, but fight! I won’t say anything more, and there’s no need to. The case will teach you everything later. However, if you want to talk, we’ll talk. Your other concern is your son. What to do? Satan unleashed all his hordes on Russia, because she alone is the power that contains the truth. And now we see what great success he has among us. We see, but we don’t know how to act against this, and we don’t know how to take on this matter and don’t even feel the desire. The head is bitter. However, this is no consolation for you! Even though her son dies along with others, the mother still cannot help but worry about him. - Be sick and pray! That's all I can tell you. You could reason with him. Give it a try. Only in private, so that no one is there, and speak directly to his heart. Then try, what reasons does he have for disbelief? And then slowly destroy these foundations. – Try one after another and ruin everything. They have nothing solid - solid, but the wind blew in, and the spirit persists like this (the evil one)! When, after destroying the fragile foundations of unbelief, he has nothing to do with it, then offer your reasons, and until then do not expose them, but only ruin him. And everyone pray. God will help and his soul will be enlightened. He hid the icon so they wouldn't see it. There is no reproach in this. Tell him that he can hide everything too, i.e. and pray to God and go to church, hiding this from others. And when it doesn’t succeed, let him do everything internally, let him turn to God in his soul and pray. And this will truly be a deed pleasing to God. And let him keep his faith. Let him review the symbol of faith every morning and evening, restoring in his heart all the dogmas of St. our faith. However, your heart, which loves your son and sincerely believes, will teach you everything better than mine. Letter 288. New approval of the compiled akathists and encouragement to compose prayers indicating the program. Advice regarding an unbelieving son I received your books. I offer my gratitude. I mentioned writing prayers in passing. And if your soul is more inclined towards akathists, then work on them. However, try composing prayers. There is more freedom of spirit here. A certain external form does not constrain. You ask: what prayers? Regarding all the various circumstances of life: spiritual, family and civil. A child was born, the child fell ill, and died. A good child shows promise. A widow, over her husband’s grave, alone or with the children he left behind. Prayer of the poor. Prayer of the offended, oppressed and unable to find a way out. A prayer for someone who is in contrition after a bad life. Deciding to work for the Lord who is tempted within. Disturbed by invisible enemies, and the like. Enter into the feelings of such persons, and your heart will tell you what to call on God! Here's the first thing for you, about your son. Your husband is returning. Good! Bow to him. May God bless his peaceful stay with you away from S.P.B. vanity. Pray for your son! Ask your angel to position the angel of your son to keep him (on the path of saving faith). And even there is a direct influence of soul on soul. Only pray if you have heart disease. Letter 289. The saint proposes to commemorate the 900th anniversary of the baptism of Rus' with a new translation of liturgical books and indicates the urgent need for this and the expected benefits. Feedback on good news about my son There was and is a need to say one word on the occasion of the proposed anniversary (900th anniversary of the baptism of Rus') next year, or not of it itself, but of what is being prepared to commemorate it. Such a big anniversary, and what is being prepared to commemorate it? Life of St. Vladimir and an akathist to him with pictures. Both are good: they just do not correspond to the greatness of the celebration. Here we need to do something that will influence the entire church life. And there is a thing of this very nature, an extremely necessary thing. I mean, a new, simplified, clear translation of church liturgical books. Our liturgical hymns are all edifying, thoughtful and sublime. They contain all theological science and all Christian moral teaching, all consolations and all fears. Anyone who listens to them can do without any other teaching Christian books. Meanwhile, most of these chants are completely incomprehensible. And this deprives our church books of the fruit that they could produce and does not allow them to serve the purposes for which they are intended and available. As a result, a new translation of liturgical books is urgently needed. Now, tomorrow, we must begin to do it if we do not want to bear the reproach for this malfunction and be the cause of the harm that comes from this. One of the reasons that inclined the Orthodox to shtunda is precisely the incomprehensibility of church hymns. Nemchura, the pastor who started the shtunda, chose several hymns and asks the Orthodox, as if out of curiosity, what do these songs say? They responded with misunderstanding. He said: go and ask the priest; but the priest could not indicate the meaning. This greatly shook the Orthodox. And he soon easily confused them. Someone tells something similar from his conversations with the Molokans, who said: “What are we going to do there in your church? The sexton mutters, you can’t understand anything; even if you take it apart, you won’t understand anything.” And you see that neither the Molokans nor the Stundists have a single church song, but all are new, often with empty content. From what? From the fact that they are understandable. So it would be a worthy commemoration of the anniversary if by that time they decided to begin a new translation of liturgical books. Let them do it, but now they will have to translate all the books again; and for the anniversary they will prepare one book, for example - Osmiglasnik - Octoechos. Translate not into Russian, but into Slavic. Experiments have already been done. In “Soulful Reading”, several services translated in this way have already been published. Both reverent and understandable. So let them translate the entire book. Please convey these thoughts to N.N. and convince him. No, no need to convince. Please beg us to begin the work immediately, to ask permission from the Holy Synod to arrange the translation and print it. That would be a commemoration on his part of his management of the printing house. And the life of St. Vladimir with an akathist would be as good as dessert and candy, but a festive meal would be a book. I accompany my speech with the desire that you will be able to persuade your friend to do this. Help you in this, Lord. What you wrote about your son is very nice to hear. Perhaps, God willing, our youth will return to the proper path, and the free spirits among them, now prevalent, will become a rare exception. Convey your regards and full of good wishes to your spouse. God bless and prosper all his deeds. I wish you all the best from the Lord! Save yourself! Letter 290. Regarding the case of translation of liturgical books I would like to thank you for your congratulations and well wishes, and even more so for the most graceful air. God bless you! The matter of translating liturgical books (speech) swept from East to North, and from there to Moscow, and dissipated in the air. It's really not the time! Will come someday. Your relative N.N. Worried about the difficulty of completing this task? Why worry? This will all be judged in the Synod and everything will be considered and everything will be taken care of to settle. Liturgical books can not only be updated by translation, but also changed in content. That's what the Greeks do. In the S.D. they are swamped with business and have no time to think about liturgical books; this needs to be suggested to them from the outside. And then things will go on their own. Bows and blessings to your spouse. Surely he has already returned. God bless his home life, if it is destined for him. God bless you and your whole family. Letter 291. Congratulations on family joys. Moscow life. Explanation of sweet feelings during prayer. Bodily labor. Life is active and contemplative. Food. Dream. Luxurious surroundings. Cleansing the soul and body from passions. Relaxation after prayer is not necessary. Review of reported miracle I congratulate you on your family joys and wish that they are repeated again and again as soon as possible, so that you can quickly achieve the desired peace of mind from everyday troubles. Moscow is ahead, frightening you with its disorderly order. But pray to the Lord, He will arrange everything so that these disturbances will disturb you less. Don’t ask for these kinds of accidents yourself, and those that impose themselves, endure them with patience, keeping your attention to the Lord and guarding your heart from attachment to anything; and do whatever is necessary more with your body than with your soul. As for your internal state, I don’t see anything improper in it. That there is sweetness and warmth, and a desire to get away from everything, and fear of what might interrupt such a state, all this is in the order of things. Are you afraid of falling into spiritual lust? How will it get here?! After all, prayer is not done for sweetness, but because it is a duty to serve God in this way; sweetness is a necessary accessory to true service. Moreover, in prayer, the main thing is to stand before God with the mind in the heart with reverence and fear, which sobers up and drives away every whim and implants pain in the heart before God. These feelings: fear of God and pain, or a contrite and humble heart, are the main features of real inner prayer and the test of any prayer, by which we must judge whether our prayer is proceeding in the proper order or not. When they are there, prayer is in order. When they are not there, it is not in order, and it is necessary to insert it into your rank. In their absence, sweetness and warmth can give rise to conceit, and this is spiritual pride, and this will be a destructive charm. Then the sweetness and warmth will go away; Only the memory of them will remain, but the soul will still think that it has them. - Fear this, and more kindle the fear of God, humility and painful falling towards God, always walking in the presence of God. This is the main thing! Take the prayer rule yourself, whatever you want: for the morning, for the evening, sometimes for the day. Lay it all down in bows, with a personal prayer, i.e. in your own simple words, present to God the needs of your heart. It is better not to determine the number of bows and the time. Pray, bowing down, as long as your heart requires it, and do not contradict it; for the enemy will approach, interpreting: it will be, he has already prayed a lot. Physical labor humbles, fills gaps, and does not allow thoughts to wander. It is good to replace it with bows; - this is the best work. But is this always possible? The Egyptian elders sat at work from morning to evening, in mental prayer and contemplation of God. The prayer rule was celebrated at night. And St. Isaac the Syrian does not favor work: he turns it away, he says, from God. It’s true when it’s hard work, but simple work is nothing. Active and contemplative life proceed this way: they are established in deeds and doings, and develop contemplation in themselves. But activity does not stop even after this, it only gives way to contemplation. In your situation, it seems to be both. And let him go. When you have settled the children, then give full rein to contemplation. Contemplation is higher: for it is the forerunner of future bliss, and we live here in order to prepare for the future life. Are you afraid that, as it intensifies, it will force you to break with the world? There is nothing to regret if this happens. But while the children are in your arms, they will not allow you to do this; and when they are built, who will force you to bother with the world and worldly relationships? Will you lose what you have? May the Lord deliver you from this! Beware, beware, and fall painfully to the Lord, begging Him to save you, and the message of destinies. Condemnation is definitely a difficult habit to break. Having recognized your guilt, condemn yourself every time and repent before the Lord; Learn to feel sorry for those who sin and pray to God for them; God willing, get used to not judging. Sleep a lot and eat a lot. How can one measure this much? Not for hours and weight, but so that food does not burden you and sleep does not relax you. Yes, not to have an addiction to them, but not to please the flesh, but to satisfy its needs. Flesh - this slave, you need to beat him with something, at least a little, but beat him all the time. What are your luxurious furnishings? What to do? Already such everyday orders. And so be it. - Just don’t put your heart into it; try to position him in such a way that if God were willing to take everything away, then you will calmly agree to walk in a coat and bast shoes and live in a wretched hut. So you will be a hermit among luxury and wealth. The Apostle wrote for Christians that those who demand peace should live as those who do not demand it. Body in the world, and spirit in God. If you know what is spiritual, then everything is different: either mental or physical. There is natural soulfulness and physicality, and there is unnatural one. The latter is all expressed in passions. By extinguishing and eradicating passions, you will cleanse your soul and body and return it to its natural order. She will then become spiritual. All this is built by God’s grace, with our efforts. The main thing: don’t feel sorry for yourself. And everything will begin to be re-purified, little by little. The fact that the action of internal prayer leaves your body relaxed, I attribute to what should not happen. During this time, as always, try to sober your heart with the fear of God, humility and contrition. Maybe this will stop. And together, pray to the Lord to stop. In Siberia there was an elder Zosima, who fainted and suffered convulsions. But his prayer was real. This, I think, is because he was not careful at first. It is very comforting to hear about God’s help, which is still being shown today. This is for the admonition of the superstitious. The miracle here is spiritual: the thought was put in to pull out the teeth, and then the suppression of the disease took place by itself. God bless you! Pray to God for me, a sinner - a vain mind and an empty talker. You congratulated me on the bright Resurrection of Christ; and I have to congratulate you on the glorious Ascension of the Lord! And congratulations, making a wish that your mind and heart will always be elevated to the Throne of the Living God! You are in such a state, as I conclude from your occupation of compiling akathists. - God bless your work! You say the truth that the entire life of the glorified saint should be consistently illuminated in the akathist, as well as in his canon. But it always comes to my mind that the form or image of akathists should be diversified. Sometimes we rejoice, sometimes we praise you, sometimes we praise you, or we pray, just a prayer and the like. And for each appeal, either assign a whole ikos and kontakion, or repeat them in a row in each ikos and kontakion, so as to transform the entire akathist into a song of praise and prayer for the one being praised. How many new akathists we have, but new prayers are invisible. I accept with gratitude your promise to send me a copy of your newly compiled akathist to St. to the blessed Prince of Vladimir George. Will wait. Your spouse is probably home now. Bow to him and good wishes. I congratulate you both on your son graduating from the artillery school. Help him, Lord, to remain healthy and blameless, so that good may fight for the glory of God. God bless you! Save yourself! Letter 293. Instructions on kindling prayerful feelings Sorry, late reply. And I had to congratulate you not on the bright holidays, but on fasting. May the Lord grant you to conform to the Rule of St. Church, not only in food and drink, but also in spiritual dispensation. You remind us of spiritual cooling in the matter of prayer. This is a lot of damage. Try to wake up. Household affairs can only be excused by not standing for a long time in prayer, and they cannot excuse the impoverishment of inner prayer. The Lord desires little, but at least a little from the heart. Raise your mind to Him and say with contrition: “Lord have mercy! God bless! Lord help! - there is a prayer cry. And if the feeling for God is reborn and there is in the heart, then it will be unceasing prayer without words and without standing in prayer. You, of course, have a book: “On Sobriety and Prayer.” Collection. Start reading it little by little. Prayer will begin to move. In your prayer rule, insert short prayers of St. Chrysostom: Lord, do not deprive me of Your heavenly blessings! and so on. You can skip any of the prescribed prayers, and say these 3-5 and 10 times. How the soul lies. Sometimes they can replace the entire rule. It’s good to read them during the day between times. You need to think about them and feel them. And then they will be like a lever. I am sending you the 3rd volume of the Philokalia. And here you will find something to read to warm up your prayer. God bless you! God's blessing to your husband and children. Letter 294. Blessing to the seeker of akathists. Feedback on the news of sore eyes and crop failure I express my sincere gratitude to you for the akathist, well composed and with warm feeling. May God's blessing be upon you for this! I am sending you 4 tons of Philokalia. Have the patience to accept it and look through it if you feel like it. There will be another 5th and then peace. I am very sorry about your husband’s cataracts. My comrade in this area. My right eye hasn't worked for a long time. The left one just started limping. But there are two types of cataracts: one does not allow surgery, and the other does. I have the first one, and blindness is ahead of me. I sincerely wish that your spouse has a second one. Nowadays the operation, no matter how sophisticated it may be, is performed without the patient feeling pain. Crop failure is God's work. Not now, but tomorrow it will be. God grant you this! May the Lord comfort you as He knows. Congratulations on your post. May God help you and your spouse to carry it through as soul-savingly as possible. God bless you! Letter 295. About the 5th volume of the Philokalia being sent I am sending you the 5th volume of the Philokalia. If you take the trouble to read, you will see not only what happens at the last stages of strict Christian living, but also how to achieve it. There are images of the entire path to God, written by persons of high rank and a detached and perfect life. Which of this is applicable to you in everyday life, you will see for yourself. Just don’t think that nothing is applicable. For all Christians have one goal - to be in living unity with God. And all such one form a body, and outside this body there are no people living in spirit. And this is the same work for everyone: to overcome passions and become pure, whether one lives in everyday life, or by moving away from everyday orders. God bless you and your spouse and children and all your affairs. Save yourself! Letter 296. Housework does not interfere with pleasing God. A guide to your son's prayerful attitude. A reminder about his retreat to Vysha, and about his eye disease You complain about chores that interfere with your internal well-being. You may be looking at these troubles too harshly. The entire economy rests with you. Farming is a necessary task in family life, but this life was established by God; then all the work on this matter is God-blessed work. God is displeased only by completely getting bogged down in these labors without need and out of addiction to covetousness - also by forgetting God and relying only on one’s own labors, without feeling the need for God’s help. You can work on the housework, remembering God, asking for help from Him for tea and immediately asking for labor and bearing labor as a duty due to Him. I think that by acting this way, you can please God even in troubles. You say that your son prays little, i.e. stands little and rarely at prayer and reads prayers? It may be inconvenient for the job. Tell him that you can pray not while standing in prayer, but inside, in your heart turning to God as your father, guardian, helper and all-round caretaker, and then ask, then thank. This can be done in any place and at any time, both alone and in community. Let him hear what the Lord says: “Son, give me your heart!” And let him give it back. May the Lord protect him! Say that your spouse wants to go to Above. Has he forgotten that I continue to not accept anyone? And I have strong reasons for this - not internal, but external, and for the benefit not of myself, but of others. Your spouse’s vision is weakening, not from reading and writing, but from his laboratory. Ask him to quit, or even give him an order. Remove cataracts. They do not remove, but completely remove the lens. There is nothing to be afraid of pain. Now they have found some kind of cocaine that dulls the feeling, and the person being operated on does not feel any pain at all. Letter 297. About his illness and about the illness of his eyes and the addressee’s. Should I leave the service? About Daily Scripture Reading You probably scolded me for not answering for so long. I confess that I am often a great sinner in this matter; but in the present case he is not a sinner. Your letter dated November 15 reached Vysha by 20; and at the end of that month, 4 weeks before the holiday, I caught a bad cold. Your cold immediately prevented you from answering. And now it’s week 7 and I’m getting sick. The cold is soon overcome; but at the very beginning the stomach was affected and completely abandoned its service: no appetite, no taste. At the beginning of the day, for three or four days I had an aversion to all food, then they forced me to sit down at the table and, at least by force, eat something. This lasted for three weeks and I was so weak that I spoke in a whisper. The doctor got down to business and began to fight the stomach. Despite all this, however, it was only three or four days before the urge to eat appeared. And I started on the road to getting healthier and getting stronger. Have you ever cried out: “Glory to Thee, Lord! I wanted to eat!” And I screamed. But you also have your own burden—closing your vision. We are comrades in this regard. My right eye no longer serves any purpose; and your left one is close to that. My left one still works, although it’s a little lame, but your right one remains faithful to you. Actually, we do not have vision pain, but an enemy attack on vision. Someone little by little clogs the lenses and blocks the path of the rays, and takes away the way of vision. I showed my eyes to a doctor in Moscow; and he mercifully decided that I had cataracts that did not allow surgery. It’s merciful because I’m really scared before the operation. But now I hear that they have found a way to destroy sensitivity in the parts being operated on and to cut without fear. Would you ask a doctor if surgery is an option for your eyes? He can tell this before the cataract matures. You will have confidence in what to expect ahead, and accordingly, manage yourself. To dispose, I mean, to leave or not to leave the service. As things go, your service is unsought and unsolicited. So, of course, I had to take her offer. The meaning of this is that God has entrusted your service to you. And it follows from this that you cannot refuse it. If you cannot have surgery on your eyes, loss of vision will be God’s permission to refuse service; and if possible, then please see in this God’s command to continue the service. It’s as if you are planning to have surgery on both eyes at once. But it can be done separately. When the cataract of the left eye matures, accept the operation, and you can continue to serve almost without interruption; even stay with this one eye without operating on the right one. I think that your cataracts are from your laboratories, and that if you give them up, your vision will not be so soon dimmed and will not become dim. Congratulations on “Stanislav and the star”, and on the promise of a pension. For suppressing readings from the Holy Scriptures, you are subject to penance. But it can be postponed, taking into account your desire to improve. After all, you don't need to read a lot. It is enough (for you) to read what is written in St. Churches, i.e. Gospel and Apostle for every day. Reading this will take no more than five minutes. It will take the same amount if you want to think about something you read or memorize a text. The synod shops sell the New Testament, with readings indicated for each day. There is a small format. Get it. I wish you all the best. God bless you with every blessing. Save yourself! Your good friend Bp. Feofan. 1891 Letter 298. About the new books being sent and about the health of yourself and the addressee’s husband I feel guilty before you for not writing for so long. Please excuse me and forgive me. Meanwhile, several books have been printed, not new, but in a new form. The former “Letters on Christian Life” in 4 editions have now turned into three books: 1) “Outline of Christian Moral Teaching”, 2) “The Letters Actually with an Addendum”, 3) “Collection of Fatherly Instructions”. And two more: Soul and Angel, not the body, but the spirit and Miterikon - were hidden in magazines. Now they have been extracted and will walk around the world. I am sending them to you and asking you to accept them. If you feel like reading, start with the last one - “Miterikon”, this is a collection of instructions to nuns and partly spoken by the saints. elders. Then pay attention to the Soul and the angel is not the body. This (spiritual) revolver is a toy. Every page is a shot. You can practice shooting and get used to shooting. How is your health and how are you doing? - Your husband, it seems, was planning to return to the village and then sit down to suitable activities. Did you fulfill it? If so, God bless his stay with you. Together, it will be more successful and easier to manage both everyday and spiritual affairs. God help you! My health is nothing. Dizziness is a common concern. The eye still serves, although his plans to abandon his position are obvious. We will have to submit to his will. Your husband was thinking about the operation. Is it Delana? And was it successful? We have one problem with him - cataracts. But I have one that does not allow surgery. And N.N. Which? If he admits it, but is not yet tested, I want to subject him to this and at the same time with complete success. God bless you with every blessing! Save yourself! Letter 299. About the Akathist to St. Ignatius the God-Bearer and handicrafts for the church on Vyshe I hasten to tell you what is necessary regarding the work you are undertaking to compile an akathist to the Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer. The ancient legends do not mention that the name of the Lord Jesus was written in the heart of this saint. St. Demetrius of Rostov did not insert a legend about this into the text of the biography of St. Ignatius; but at the end he added in a special font: netsyi narrate, and so on. This is what he usually does when the reliability of any legends is recognized by him as not being fully justified. And in the church service of St. Ignatius is not mentioned about this. Therefore, no matter how desirable it is for it to be so, not mentioning this in the akathist will not be a sin. Instead, manage to insert the expression two or three times that Christ dwelt in his heart, that he felt Him existing within himself and carried Him in his heart. To enrich the mind with thoughts other than the life of St. Ignatius in Chet-Minaion, read the church service for him in the Menaion of the Month and, if you find it, his epistles. They were published separately a long time ago. So, God bless you to work in this matter. May God help you to graciously spend the coming winter in saving solitude. However, you are very incontinent. Is it not enough work to compose an akathist? No, here's some more work. I don't want to be ruthless. But even if I turned out to be like that, I can’t find anything to tell you to do for my church, no matter how much I admire your work: both for the completeness of the decoration and for its elegance. And your work is enough for me: three beautiful airs. In addition, there are absolutely no other things near the throne and the altar, and in general during the service, to which embroidery work would go. Is that so! On my throne lies a cross with St. relics, under it there is a small veil that has already worn out. So I ask you to work and decorate such a shroud with embroidery: the size is half an arshin square, with a lining and braids or fringes. But at the same time I regret that I am burdening you. God bless you! Congratulations to your spouse and God's blessing. Help him, Lord, to get through the winter without harm in the stuffy S.P.B. Save yourself! Letter 300. Congratulations on the holiday. About the completed akathist to St. Ignatius the God-Bearer. Charity works. Mothers – participants in martyrdom I congratulate you on our bright holiday. In the beginning, this was truly the main thing of our salvation! Now the whole work of the economy of salvation is visible with all the abundant and immense fruits. What head can contain everything in one review and not be struck by amazement?! Congratulations on the completion of the akathist to Saint Ignatius the God-Bearer. – Why be afraid of censorship ordeals? Nowadays her doors are very wide. Before they were very cramped. However, what goes into church use is examined more strictly and, it seems, is forwarded to the Synod. You are doing charity work. God help you. This is the most difficult and anxious work, although it is always accompanied by deep consolation. They say about some paint that it penetrates so deeply and tenaciously into the substance being painted that it remains forever. This is how charity colors the soul! It reflects the light of godlikeness most of all. God help you! O son of woe! Sick. I always tell mothers to take care of their children. You are partakers of martyrdom, expect such a crown. May the Lord see this grief of yours and may he turn away the cause of it, granting your son strength and full health. May the Lord bless you and your spouse and all your children and all your affairs with every blessing. Save yourself! Letter 301. Blessing for the work for the benefit of the church of the addressee and her husband. Exemplary observance of the prayer rule. How to treat guests. Should we remember the strangled man? Advice to my son. Information about health. About the Akathist to St. Ignatius the God-Bearer I received the excellent shroud you made and have already assigned it to the task. Now the upper part of the throne is covered with a veil of your labors, and beautiful airs serve at the sacred vessels. God bless you! You have finished one task, you are preparing for another, no less important than before. May the Lord and the Mother of God be your constant helpers, may She overshadow you with Her cover and may the heavenly airs fill you and everything around you. Congratulations on the completion of your husband’s work of church building. How much you both work in matters pleasing to God and not small! But blessed are you. With all this, a kosht is prepared for you for an eternal meal in the kingdom of God. God bless you! Sh-ka did well that she did not cancel her rule even at a party. He will learn to pray and will successfully resist all temptations throughout his life. This immobility, despite changes in the external situation, in the rules of prayer is a great treasure for those who are zealous for spiritual life. The guests scattered you. I feel sorry for you. But try to accept them as God’s messengers and take care of their contentment and pleasure to be with you, as you see, as if you personally served the Lord Himself and you will always be with the Lord. You can acquire the skill to carry out everything required by the flow of affairs, as the service of God: for God sees everything everywhere and does not let any turning of thoughts to Him go unnoticed. What horror! 11 years old and strangled. Marvelous! What could have brought him to this? Remember - or not! As a matter of love, why not remember? Besides, what kind of intelligence does he have? God Himself, however, knows better than all of us everything that can diminish guilt and will forgive and have mercy if the truth does not interfere with mercy. The safest thing for us is to deliver him into the hands of God. However, I have always thought and still think that one can remember such people in private in one’s prayer. May the Lord bless your son both during his stay in the camp and when he comes to you. Only he would not forget the omnipresent and all-containing Lord. Congratulations to your wife that his vision loss has stopped. God grant that it will be like this forever. And I have the grace of God that the last eye is not hastily closed. Thank the Lord for everything! Akathist to St. It is better not to send Ignatius the God-Bearer. A waste of time. I know in advance that it is very good and will not be inferior to the previous ones, and I will have the pleasure of reading it even without this sending. However, if you find a preview necessary, send it. I will hasten to look through it and return it. God bless you and your husband and all yours. Letter 302. About the same akathist and about the book being sent “Ancient Monastic Rules” I looked through the akathist and corrected a few things. The akathist is very good. Life of St. Isn’t it better to write the God-Bearer in Russian? In case you would like to do this, I am enclosing a book about the apostolic men for your considerations. But even so, you’re fine if you don’t find the desire to redo it. Keep the book about the apostolic men with you. The good thing about it is that the writings of St. Dionysius the Areopagite are recognized as apostolic, which not all our theologians accept. I am sending you and your husband a book: “Ancient Monastic Rules.” Here the laity can also benefit from a lot, precisely where the matter concerns inner life, which is the same everywhere, despite the difference in the external order of life. But it is not useless to review what is not applicable to everyday people, making sure that in general our monastic life is the same as it was established and conducted from ancient times. And this is enough to calm us down when we see some deviations from the ancient in particulars in other places. Theory, after all, is always higher than its implementation in practice. I am also enclosing brochures and reprints from my previous printed books. Maybe I can take a moment to read it to you or your spouse or both together. God bless you! I wish you all the best. Your sincere well-wishing E. Feofan. Letter 303. Advice on influencing a blasphemer. About Fr. John of Kronstadt I hasten to answer you, especially regarding the blasphemer P. Read my words to him: about complete renunciation of everything and clinging to God - there will be no trouble; but one cannot expect any fruit from this. Apparently, he is deeply bitter, and only a strong, stunning influence of grace can correct him. Did he do good to his neighbors and those in need? I would like to incline him to this; this will perhaps give him a taste of the sweetness of fulfilling the commandments. And this will be a feeling from another world, and then, perhaps, the ray of God will illuminate his consciousness, and will allow him to see that there is the Most High, from Whom everything is and happens. Then whatever anyone tells him about the things of God will be acceptable to them. Lord help your husband to convert this darkened one, especially the demons, for they too believe and tremble. As for Fr. John of Kronstadt, then I am sure that he is truly a man of God. And you will not be wrong if you are convinced of the same. His books are good. And this one – the diary – is good. Here are the bright thoughts of the soul living in God. Read them, cross yourself. Maybe something else may not seem entirely clear. Then ask and I may be able to explain it to you. The late Metropolitan Isidore was deeply established in his inner man. And if he said that Fr. John, then of course according to the beginnings of inner spiritual life, and together with God’s permission. I consider blindness and healing to be a running rumor. Metropolitan Isidore is not of such a spirit that he would begin to speak to Father John out of nothing to do. And if, as a result of this, Fr. John continued to act, which means that they - (the Master) - did not find anything disapproving. There is no heresy regarding rituals. Heresy is a dogmatic error, stubbornly defended. And the rituals are the external side, which we honor and observe; but it’s not a big problem if for some reason you have to cut back on other things. This is also written in the “charter”: if the abbot pleases. Mrs. N. faithfully arrived as a commander. And o. John is always overwhelmed with work. And I recently received a letter from one, no less, who, having been in Kronstadt and seen how things were going with Fr. John, made peace with him spiritually. She is amazed when Father John sleeps?! I note that if through Fr. If the power of God did not act on John, the crowd and rumor would have long ago recoiled from him. And what else others don’t like about him is nothing to look at, because not everyone’s eyes are the same. (Even the eyes of the Lord Savior looked at each other differently). God bless you! Greetings from my husband to yours as soon as he arrives. Save yourself! Your good friend, Bishop Feofan. Letter 304. About the supposed akathist to the Mother of God of Kozelshchansk. About an old woman studying theology. More about Fr. John of Kronstadt I am not at all bored reading your letters, which are always practical, and answering them when I understand well what the question is about. – You ask: should I write an akathist to the Mother of God for the sake of her miraculous Kozelshchinskaya icon? I don't see any obstacle to writing. There are akathists for the sake of other icons; why shouldn’t there be an akathist for this one? In the image of honoring the Mother of God, this one is not small. It would be good to include in brief, wherever necessary, words everything related to this icon. How it was discovered. What miracles there were even after the first – initial one. It is best to ask Mother Abbess Agnia about this (address: along the Kharkov-Nikolaev railway to the platform - Kozelshchina). It would also be good to arrange appeals to the Mother of God according to our spiritual needs: repentance, struggle with passions and purity of heart, in which all spiritual perfection. You can collect this kind of appeal from the canons of the Mother of God, at Compline, which you will find in the Osmoglasnik - the book of repentance; and order the Osmoglasnik to be sent to you to your relative N. from Moscow. This book is also in the church; but there she is always needed for services. Sit a little longer on this matter, so that the akathist comes out like a complete moralizing book, and yet it reads easily and smoothly. God help you! Are you also asking about the old woman who took up studying theology? Isn't this unnecessary? Her question? I think it's too much. You need to know the dogmas; but they are all contained in the Creed. Understanding every word of the Creed is enough. It is better for an old woman to remain in prayer than to philosophize. And prayer is a science - and it is life-giving, not tedious, studied with the heart, and not with memory and mind. God bless Mother Abbess S-novskaya! I don’t remember the circumstances she’s talking about. Help her, Lord, to lead her monastery as she leads. I am very glad that you have reconciled in spirit, for the sake of Fr. John. He is worthy of all respect. He works for God, and by the power of God we strengthen him. May the Lord protect his soul from exaltation, which, God forbid, will immediately frustrate his actions. He was, or visited, the Reverend. Metropolitan Leonty, who described him as follows: “humble, meek and simple in heart.” Congratulations in advance to your spouse on your arrival. May the Lord strengthen Him. God bless you! Save yourself! Letter 305. Congratulations on the end of a troublesome civil service and a blessing for the restoration of a zealous life according to God I congratulate you on the completion of your work in the civil service, although not useless, but not giving scope for movements of the spirit, the satisfaction of which is higher than anything else in the world. I congratulate you on the distinctions for your service, which, although not absolutely valuable, nevertheless give courage to undertakings and labors, and on the higher side of our life, and can even serve as an incentive for this, so as not to lag behind others here, or to sanctify previous distinctions with these new successes. You rushed here like fir trees to the springs - your soul thirsted for God, the mighty living one. Behold, greetings to you on behalf of the Lord Savior: thirst, let him come to Me, and let him drink. Yes, the thirst that you felt cannot be satisfied anywhere and by anything except with the Lord and by the Lord. He Himself descends like rain into the spirit that thirsts for Him, and dissolving with it, it irrigates, and warms, and excites, and guides, and strengthens. Help you, Lord, from the first steps to begin the right to step in this, although not unknown to you, order of life, but a little, I think, shaken. Lord forbid you to think and hope that everything will go right away for the best. If you really come across this, then I can’t wish you anything better. But if it happens according to your aspirations, do not give up, but be inspired to do the corresponding work, to satisfy your spirit, although you will not find an attractive taste in everything related to this. Both taste and jealousy return. A little patience, self-government and self-force. The Lord be your Helper. Since this path is known to you, I do not find it necessary to indicate anything in particular. I’ll just remember one thing: practice the memory of God, walk in the presence of God, see the eye of God directed towards you; both you and everything that sees you. Hence the fear of God, an inexhaustible source of spiritual wisdom. Please accept my full best wishes to you and your wife. Your sincere well-wisher Bp. Feofan. Letter 306. Advice to the compiler of Akathist B. Mother. Praise for the article about Elder A. On printed extracts from the works of Fr. John of Kronstadt You wrote that you are making a selection from the canons of the Mother of God. Look also at services for holidays in honor of miraculous icons. There you will find instructions for chants and invocations to the Mother of God. Your article in praise of the Elder of God A. is very good and very edifying. It is written beautifully, and you needlessly regret that you don’t know how to write well. Then, perhaps, the article would not have been read with such warmth. Are you reading the sayings of Fr. John? How do they look to you? It seems to me that the extractors of these articles enjoy more freedom than they should. And o. John has no time to look after this. Letter 307. Upon receipt of the finished carpet for the church. More about the new akathist to B. Mother I received the carpet you sent, your handiwork is magnificent. Thank you. He will be given a place in my Church. The commemoration of God's servants N. and N. happens every day. May the Lord be merciful to all of you! The akathist is almost over?! Make him look good so that his speech flows smoothly without hesitation. But the main concern should, of course, be that every appeal contains a complete thought, worthy, briefly, clearly and effectively expressed. There are quite a few services to the Mother of God in our church books. There you can type magnificent phrases: deep, lofty, encompassing a lot in a little. And there are many akathists. May the Mother of God help you to include the best among them. The censorship will be more accommodating if they say N.N. for your work. Why wouldn’t it be better to send it to the Moscow censorship? The Holy Synod allows printing. Give this matter over to the protection of the Mother of God. To your spouse, bows and full of good wishes. God bless you all! Save yourself! Your well-witted and holy man, Bp. Feofan. Letter 308. Instruction on life in Christ to one freed from studies. Cataract Companion. Disapproval of the idea to organize a county charitable society. Letters to the dean of monasteries – You feel like a free bird, in a sense of freedom to manage your time. Now, Lord, grant you the freedom to dispose of everything in your inner world. I remember one old man from the ancients who once exclaimed in his circle: rejoice with me, I am now a king! How so? Reigned over passions. Although not everyone can proclaim so boldly, such a state in Christianity is in the order of things. That is the purpose of life in Christ. That is why it is written: if the Son sets you free, you will be free in truth. He does this every time he sees someone prepared. In this preparation, although He Himself is the main actor, He acts with authority only where He meets with complete surrender to Him as quick-obedient slaves. It is our joy that He does not despise the smallest beginnings of such a tradition, but as soon as the soul is moved to do so, He is there. You complain, feeling that you are weakened in spirit, that you lack sufficient sobriety, self-control and self-control. You are too demanding. You have just escaped from the whirlpool of P. and you want your soul to have such powerful tools for living according to God. Little by little everything will be restored. Did you notice? Now begin to little by little restore what has fallen. Language?! There is no more evil thing under heaven. It would be desirable to arrange it in such a way that for every impermissibility on his part, something would prick him (even a pin). Then he would have been more quiet, otherwise he’s like a machine that sings songs, when they started it up and started it up, it started to chatter. The late Metropolitan Isidore had a gift, and now he acquired such a skill that his tongue was always on a leash. Complaining of cataracts. If it’s more fun with a friend, then he’s ready for you in me. My cataracts are stronger than yours. Your left eye, and my right eye, has already given up service; but yours only has letters that merge, while mine doesn’t show anything, the room looks completely gray; especially the windows, which appear to be an oval spot of faint brown color. And my left eye still works, and I write and read, but the distance is becoming more and more obscured. Have you shown your eyes to ophthalmologists? What did they say? I showed it to Mr. Kryukov. He decided: the operation cannot be done - my cataracts do not allow this. But there are operations that allow and there are successful ones. Or maybe you have a permissive one. For this reason, thanking God, you can be sure that until the end of your days you will be sighted, and will avoid the sorrowful state of not seeing anything, and languishing as a result of severe boredom. They abandoned the laboratory for a while. Quit forever. Cataracts are caused by it, and are maintained by it, and completely take away vision. Agronomic work is healthy work. God help you! Charitable society. Nice word! Your wife is the chairman. And you added: I rejoice! Then they also wrote: but I’m afraid, and they indicated the reasons why you are afraid. Reasons are reasonable! They have not been eliminated, and through the efforts of the presidency they will not be weakened, but strengthened. Seeing or anticipating this, you should rise from fear to horror. Where is the place of joy here? Your wife, of course, is happy to sacrifice herself for the common good. But you on the side are a saver. An entire county? Horror! How much should you always have on your belt to satisfy everyone who presents their need? What foundation did the founders of the company use as the basis? You need at least five hundred thousand, and then an additional annual contribution obligatory for the founders, and, to it, arbitrary offerings. Then the chairmanship will act cheerfully within the wide range of its responsibilities. But if at the core there is nothing and everything is at random, then it will be boring, and society will not be strong. And most importantly, how to distribute charity so that it goes to those who are truly in need and according to at least some degree of need?! There was patronage and trickery, but the needy people started running on their lips and didn’t get into their mouths. There will be nothing from this society except the name, and the chairman will be named. Such a society is going on in the city and in the parish-village. Everything is clear here. In the volost it is no longer so successful; and then it’s better not to start. Who came up with this idea there? Make him the chairman, and save your wife from this burden. You said: I rejoice, but as I read it, I said: God forbid! May the Lord arrange all your affairs in the best possible way! Full of good wishes to your wife. And most importantly: may the Lord deliver her from such a fragile and difficult presidency. Letter 309. About the proper performance of the duties of a dean and about keeping monastic vows May God bless you to pass through the position of dean. We must act without fighting, slowly. There is nothing to dust. The main thing is to love the brethren, both great and small, and act in the spirit of love. The weaker someone is, the more you need to have love for him. If you act like this, love will teach you everything. Be afraid to act out of passion like fire. Where there is even a small shadow of passion, there is no use there. The enemy is hiding here and will mix everything up. When you have to demand discipline, avoid that movement of your heart that would cause the dean to consider certain indiscretion an insult to himself personally. How dare he when I ordered? How dare he do this in front of my eyes? “I” in all its forms must be discarded. The dean is not the superior, and must act in subordination to the greater. A dean will be good if he is the first to cause disobedience or inattention to the abbot - he will cause disorder. Let the dean not drown out the monk. That rank is accidental, but a monk will die as a monk by vow. So a monk must be watched over more than ever. The deanery can be reset, but where should the monk be reset? You have to think a lot, and every evening carry out judgment on yourself—judgment without mercy, and thus study and become a dean and become a monk. God bless you! Turn to the Lord with every need. The Lord is near and ready with help. Now you need to have more fear and humility. Save yourself, pray to God for me. From a letter to another person: “Power closes the door of the heart, and little by little it turns to stone.” O.M. let him work, humble himself more and more. And God will bless him with success. If he begins to think too much or attribute something to himself, everything will go upside down. Letter 310. Various advice and explanations to the dean on correcting his position and purifying his heart Movements of rage in the event of troubles must be driven away by prayer and meditation every time, until they completely disappear. And there will be no harm, otherwise there will be. One should not think about other obedience: for after all, there is one’s own will. When Fr. A. asks the boss with his eye, we must speak frankly as the matter is; this is your duty. You should not be embarrassed by this: for it is not good to act otherwise. How can the abbot know?! You must tell your confessor about everything that happens as a result of the confession of others and do as he orders. And without receiving permission from him, do not begin serving. Don’t ask for confession, but don’t refuse either when told and when the need is visible. Let the spiritual father decide on desecration every time. It's hard to stay awake. The service will be no good. You can try. If it works, you can continue. You have to work hard for this (so that there is no defilement in a dream). Add abstinence: do not eat at night, and drink less - the tea is weak. Writing is worse than being a dean: you should get rid of it. But since I don’t know what you have done there regarding this, I don’t say anything. Regarding change in general, stick to the rule: do not move yourself, answer neither yes nor no to the proposal, and move where, go without wincing, as if by God’s command. We must endure and endure everything without exception, accepting it as from the hand of God. You should not expect that as soon as you give an order, everything will go as desired, but on the contrary, expect opposition in everything and prepare to meet it without embarrassment, with reasonably devised means to counteract it. We must do everything with all diligence, and leave the success of the work in the hands of God. Why, when there is no success, not to be angry, but to reproach yourself for coming up with a bad idea and coming up with a new means. However, not everyone should think about it, but rather be constantly concerned with one’s soul. Let prayer always be in your heart. In the evening, the soul must be cleansed of everything and abolished, so that it remains free with the Lord alone. And so go to bed. Don’t leave without the same, but work on yourself. God bless you! Letter 311. Repetition of the main qualities befitting a dean. Answer about mastering mental prayer I think that you have now become accustomed to the works of your obedience. God grant that everything goes better and better. Wisdom is not great! Don’t waste time, be patient, gradually move everything forward little by little. The Lord wants this and there is always an all-powerful helper in these matters. Just you should never admit: “I want,” but the order requires it, I’m your servant. They wanted to learn mental prayer. Good! What kind of prayer did you have before?! Prayer is essentially a mental action, and if you didn’t pray smartly, then you didn’t pray at all. And I will tell you that there is no one who does not pray intelligently. Everyone is praying smartly. When everyone prays, they mentally imagine God as present and express their needs to Him. Even though they read prayers, everyone tries to mentally ascend to God. If anything should be said, it is that they do this not perfectly, not continuously, even during prayer, and most importantly, without feelings. Thus, your desire will be: how to achieve perfection in prayer, raised intelligently to God? The answer to this is: seek and you will find. How did you learn to write? With the labor of writing, with the desire to write correctly according to samples. Do this in prayer and you will learn. She won’t come on her own, she needs to study. 1) Learn to walk (live) in the presence of God, before the eyes of God with the corresponding feelings. 2) As soon as you are free, bow down in feelings of contrition and humility. 3) Read books all about prayer and meditate on it. 4) Above all: try with all your might to conduct church services in the memory of God, and then follow the rules at home. You need to rub your soul and get warm. When the warmth comes, then the thoughts will subside and the prayer will become pure. Still by the grace of God. That’s why we need to pray to the Lord to grant us prayer. Letter 312. Various answers and instructions to those who wish to establish themselves on the path of spiritual life I can’t give you a rule. What's the rule? Do the one thing given (the habit of the Jesus Prayer) and that’s it. To this we can only add: very few things upset and weaken the effect of attention to God, remove them without pity. Do only what helps to retain and strengthen it. To this end: reading, meditation, and bowing. Every type and order of occupation is good as long as it contributes to this (attention to God). There is no need to schedule classes. If one activity does not nourish prayer, you need to leave it and take up another. For example, they unfolded the book and began to read, but it didn’t work. Leave it, take another. If it doesn't work, take the third one. If this one doesn’t work either, stop reading and bow or meditate. You must have handicrafts that do not distract your attention. The ancient Egyptians sat at their needlework all day long, not giving it up even when someone came; From time to time they only bowed. The main prayer was performed at night. One says: pray in the evening for two hours, then sleep for six hours, and then get up and pray until light. When attention to God is alive and prayer occurs internally, then it is better not to start doing anything (at home), but to sit or walk, or better yet, stand in front of icons and pray; when it begins to weaken, warm it up with reading or meditation. Rules are needed for those entering the monastery, so that they become accustomed to the activities or activities of the monastery. Then, when they reach certain internal sensations and especially warmth of the heart, they don’t strictly need rules. In general, one should not be attached to the rules, but should be free in relation to them, with one intention, no matter how reverent attention to God does not depart. The body must be constantly kept in line, like a soldier on parade, without allowing oneself to loosen the limbs, not only when walking and sitting, but also when standing and lying down. Do all things - big and small - as if the eye of God were watching how things are done. Everyone who comes or everyone you meet must be accepted as a messenger of God. Let the first question be within yourself: what does the Lord want me to do with this or for this person. Accept everyone as the image of God with respect and desire to do good to him. When eating, reduce your nutrition a little; and also to take something away from sleep. Whatever, see for yourself. There is no need to bind yourself, but to act freely, sometimes this way, sometimes that way, keeping one thing in mind - not to please the flesh and not to be self-pleasing in anything. And you can also sleep or stay awake reasonably, having one measure - not to fall asleep soundly. God gave you tears. This is good. But temporary tears are not everything. There needs to be permanent ones. There are tears in the heart that are better than those flowing from the eyes. The flowing eyes feed the worm of vanity, but those of the heart are known to the One God. In public, it is better to hold back tears, remaining with heartfelt contrition. Read the teacher. Barsanuphius and John. All contingencies are defined there and you can find an indication of everything you need. Please keep in mind that the only teacher of all good is the Lord, our Savior. In an hour of meditation or while bowing, saving or guiding or explanatory thoughts will suddenly appear; you need to notice them and write them down. If you surrender yourself to the Lord whole-heartedly, then He Himself will teach you, or through the Guardian Angel, all Christian science. Learn a few psalms from memory, those that are more to your heart. And then, during bows, you can read them and from each verse make up your own prayer to the Lord. One person told me this, who began at the beginning of Matins: “God have mercy on me,” and did not have time to finish it (his prayer) until the end of Matins. This method develops the spirit of prayer more than anything else. Compassion for oneself, readiness for any service to others and surrendering oneself entirely to the Lord, with prayerful abiding in Him, these are the producers of spiritual life. Letter 313. How to behave in trouble with others I'm very sorry that some things aren't going well for you. But this is the usual course of human affairs. Those who undertake to please God must first accept everything calmly and endure complacently; and secondly, to be able to behave and act. The first one is easy. Gritt your teeth and remain silent; and the second is very difficult, especially because the restless spirit immediately creeps out, both through words, and through deeds, and through movement, and through mine; This circumstance spoils everything, as you can see. But if you have experience, please learn. The science is simple, but difficult to learn. It is precisely in unpleasant cases that have given rise to unpleasant feelings against others that one should neither speak nor act. You need to calm down first and completely remove the trouble from your heart so that there is no trace of it. Nothing more is required. Then both speech and business will go well. Then you can speak sternly and strictly, even scoldingly, and the speech will not produce a bad effect; for the spirit in her will not be irritable, but peaceful and loving. Let me now take a lesson from that incident. Sit down and look at what you need to think about in order to erase the unpleasant feeling, and then act on it. You think badly of those fathers. This is the source of unpleasant feelings towards them. Learn to think well of them and arouse in yourself feelings of respect for them. Be sure to do this, bring yourself to the same feeling for them that you have for any respected person, and keep this feeling and walk with it. Then there will be no troubles. That’s how you should be disposed. What do you care about their behavior?! The authorities are there and read. May the Lord make you wise for salvation! Letter 314. How to protect the warmth of your heart and avoid conceit. About memorizing psalms I am very glad that your troubles have passed. God bless! God grant that they don’t repeat themselves. The warmth of the heart that you write about is a good state. And we must guard and support it. When it becomes weak, warm it up as you do: gather yourself inside and cry out to the Lord. In order not to wander away, one must avoid dispersing thoughts and impressions into feelings that do not agree with this state, avoid letting the heart rest on anything visible and no concern absorbing all attention. May your attention to God be constant and your body’s tension unrelenting, in order, like a soldier in formation. The main thing is to pray to the Lord to extend this mercy. What does repentance do - is that it? then, once and for all, make it a rule to drive away such questions without pity as soon as they arise. This is the creation of the enemy. If you dwell on this question, the enemy will immediately give you a solution: oh, of course it is. You are great! “Then the young man will rise on stilts, begin to dream about himself, and put others at nothing. And grace will depart. But the enemy will keep him thinking that she is with him. And this is: to pretend to have, when there is nothing. St. the fathers wrote: “don’t measure yourself.” And to take and solve that question means to start measuring how much you have grown. So please run from this like from fire. May God's mercy be with you! It’s good to memorize psalms. Choose which ones are closest to you and memorize them. Then, as you walk, read them thoughtfully. From the Gospels it is good to memorize the words of the Lord word for word, and remember the rest. Everything - without fuss, so as not to undermine attention, that’s the main thing. And everything must be directed towards maintaining it. God bless you! Patience and work endlessly. Save yourself! Letter 315. Answer to various questions regarding the matter of salvation. How to represent the Lord in prayer. Reproof for those who have fallen into sin and instruction about true repentance. Penance I owe you an answer. Guilty! There was a case, I will answer in a row. (To letter dated January 8). “I wrote to you not to think: “this is it!” You write later: “I’m listening, is it warm? Maybe this isn’t necessary either?” Warmth must always be maintained, as much as we can. But there is nothing to listen or look closely at. This speaks for itself. Both external cold and internal cooling are felt directly. When this is felt, you need to warm yourself up by deepening your attention and intensifying your cry to the Lord: “do not forsake me, Lord, do not depart from me.” To this we must also think about amazing truths: the fall, the dispensation of salvation, death, judgment, retribution, etc. Real warmth is a gift from God; but there is also natural warmth, the fruit of one’s own efforts and free moods. They are separated from each other like heaven from earth. Which one you have, it’s not visible. Afterwards it will open. “Thoughts tire us and do not allow us to establish ourselves before God.” This is a sign that your warmth is not God’s, but your own. The first fruit of God's warmth is the gathering of thoughts together and their aspiration towards God without abandonment. The same thing happens here with bleeding. That one has a hundred blood flow, but here the flow of thoughts stops. What is needed? Holding your natural warmth, do not impute it to anything, but only honor it as a preparation for God’s warmth; then to be sick about the poverty of God’s action in the heart and in illness to pray to the Lord incessantly: “Be merciful! Do not turn away Your Face! Enlighten Your Face!” This can be aggravated by physical deprivation, in food, sleep, work, etc. Still, put the matter into the hands of God. “I sleep a lot, eat a lot.” Sybaritism, it turns out, is Mohammedanism. Have you seen an electric car? Near the wheel she has a copper cylinder into which electricity flows from the wheel through friction and accumulates in it in such a force that it can kill if touched carelessly. But if you put a chain from this cylinder into the ground, then there will be no electricity in it and the sign, because at the same time it enters the cylinder, it goes into the chain and goes into the ground. This is exactly the situation you are in, with your sleep and food. Whatever spiritual things you manage to collect, everything that dissipates through them goes away and you are empty. No, the body must be constrained by little sleep and little food and overexertion. Which of our fathers had success without constraint of the flesh? I think I wrote to you that the body must be kept in line, like a soldier in front. This is what I am saying now. While you are resting the body, do not expect anything good. “I would like someone to flog me with rods.” Execution of oneself by will is required, but this, what you want, will not be of any use. What St. Meletius told Simeon the Stylite when he was still young and chained himself to a stone? It suits you too. It doesn’t hurt, however, to have a rougher rosary in your hands, and as soon as your body desires indulgence, either to eat or sleep, or to lounge on an armchair and sofa, treat it with such rosary beads on its shoulders until it sobers up. “How to imagine the Lord,” whether sitting on a throne or crucified? When you think about the Divine, then you can imagine the Lord as required. But during prayer you should not hold any images. The Lord is everywhere. Stand in this conviction that He is everywhere, a trace. and in you, and not just around you, and sees and hears everything. Call upon Him, Omnipresent, All-Seeing, and Desiring our salvation, prayerfully, without any image, without imagining Him in any way. This conviction must be confirmed by constant thinking about it. And he will come. “Stand above the heart, become the mind in the heart, go from the head into the heart,” all this is the same. The essence of the matter is to concentrate attention and stand before the invisible Lord, but not in the head, but inside the chest, towards the heart and in the heart. When God's warmth comes, all this will become clear. “Sometimes attention goes to the heart; but I’m afraid to keep him here.” On the contrary, you need to hold on to it, and the longer the better, not allowing yourself to be entertained by any thoughts. “There is no humility and love.” Until they are there, there will be nothing spiritual. The spiritual is born and grows along with their birth and growth. They are also for the soul what constraint of the flesh is for the body. Humility is acquired by deeds of humility; - love by deeds of love. Please do so. (To letter dated March 7). You had a very unfortunate slip. But the whip is not torment, but forward science. This happened from the conceit that we were high enough, not like both of them. That's enough!! Conceit went along with vanity. Together they gave birth to laziness. Laziness says what to us? What have we become? We can give ourselves permission. And the Volka went. This whole path is written out for you: “Laziness has overcome me so much that I don’t want to look at anything.” If you have reached the clouds above, then what is the need to force yourself? “Vanity—whether to serve the camp, pray, or read teachings—overwhelms.” How can you and I not be vain? We know the smart prayer. And well, walk like a peacock. O.M. – chibez. Please call yourself that. Chibez is some kind of bird, proudly performing, but lousy, clumsy, powerless and cowardly. So call yourself that. Either you and I lounged on the sofa like a spiritual millionaire (laziness), then from the bell tower we began to look at everyone like small fry worth a penny (vanity with pride). And then, as soon as the enemy appeared, we went into the bushes, or even worse: here, take it. And they didn’t lift a finger. And now please see what a spiritual hero and rich man you are! This is why the Lord allowed this fall, so that you could clearly see how insignificant your strength and your firmness in goodness are. What happened should be considered a real fall. For at St. The fathers write that what the laity has to do, the monks have to do with lust and lust. Inside the sin is made. And repent of it, considering yourself to have fallen into fornication. You call it misfortune. Truly so; it's like breaking a wall. When the enemy breaks through a wall somewhere protecting a city, then, even though the townspeople repair it, the place cannot be considered strong, because the repair is only stuck to the wall and is not deeply connected to it. You confessed well. The hole is sealed. This seal is fresh and not strong. The enemy stands on the side and looks out. As soon as he sees some mistake, he will again shy away from his bombs. This is your position. But let him shy away. You can make all his attempts fruitless. The hole in the wall, so that it does not fall off again, is propped up from behind with pillars and more soldiers are sent to that place. The enemy then, seeing this, does not at all attempt to break through the wall here again, but retreats to another place. This is what you need to do too. Supports need to be made: this is an increase in the constraint of the flesh by deprivation of sleep, food, labor, especially some kind of humiliating work (throwing snow, etc.). And sending soldiers means getting more good, sobering thoughts into your head and sorting them out with your attention. The command over all this must be entrusted to zeal for salvation, with devotion to God, from Whom is all-saving power, with the determination not to succumb to such a whim anymore, even to die. Please be sure to arrange this. “He pulled his hair, hit his cheeks until he had bruises, etc.” And that will do. But it's not durable. There's a lot of selfishness here. How is this - so we are from the bell tower into the drill swamp... shame! And there is no mention of the fact that they insulted the Lord! You need to transfer the feeling of contrition to this side, and not stop it on yourself, and transfer it, and pray to God not to deprive you of your former mercy and help. And it won’t deprive you. But there will be penance. The Lord has His own penance imposed on every sinner, which consists in the fact that He immediately accepts the repentant into mercy, but does not return the former to him immediately, but waits for contrition and humility to develop. If someone mercilessly torments himself, he will soon return, but if he gives himself an indulgence, then not soon. There is a term (limit) when this happens. The soul will hear the voice of the Lord: “Your sins are forgiven.” Here's the program for you. Please keep all this in mind and work. Above all, hold yourself in humility and in faith and having surrendered yourself to the Lord. And everything will come to its order. The valet was at fault. The master kicked him out and drove him out of the yard. Then, when he burst into tears, the gentleman took pity on him and accepted him into the house, but not as a valet, but said: live in the kitchen for now. I’ll see how things work out for you, and then maybe I’ll take you on as a valet again. This is the situation you are in. If you please, manage and get down to business. “I gave up.” Don’t let your hands drop, but on the contrary, you need to roll up your arms and raise your legs. For the Lord is near and ready to give everything, only more labor and diligence must be applied. Letter 316. About self-indulgence and self-pity. Condition for the prayer to work “The self-pity you complain about is dangerous and destructive. If you have to indulge yourself due to illness, then that’s okay. And if under the pretext of illness, then this is bad. Here you can see deceit in front of yourself - the most evil of all deceits. You seem to look at self-pity very lightly, honoring cases of yielding to it through unimportant actions. You have a big mistake here. Cases of self-pity are definitely insignificant; but the presence of this self-pity in the soul is not insignificant. Because what does it mean? This means that self-pleasing in you and I is stronger than pleasing God. We decided to do this and that, realizing that it was necessary in the matter of establishing a saving life and, therefore, pleasing to God; and then we refuse this for no other reason than because this refusal is more pleasant for us - body or soul. So this time we are moving from pleasing God to self-pleasing. Conscience sees our wrongness and worries. She's right. I shouldn’t have tied myself down: I would do this and that in forms of asceticism when I didn’t have the confidence to overcome myself every time. For example: they decided not to drink tea, and then drank a cup. And you worry. It is not a great thing to drink a cup, but the great thing is that your conscience is offended, and that things are allowed to happen that violate your previous decisions. This destroys the internal structure and develops the habit of not listening to conscience when it indicates what is due. And then fearlessness will come, and complete indifference to pleasing God! It’s better not to tie yourself down to the smallest detail with rules; but have one thing in common: every time to act contrary to the demands of self-indulgence. And if we allow some kind of benefit to the body, then it is not out of indulgence, but out of awareness of the need for health. Not drinking tea is good and healthy. But as in other cases it gives vigor to the body, you can sometimes drink a cup. So it should be put: I will abstain from tea from time to time. Because sometimes it's very easy to get around. Otherwise, it’s best not to bog yourself down with such details. And keep the general thing: do not please the flesh; and act in this spirit, making decisions each time. I used tea as an example; but you need to act this way in relation to everything: food, sleep, walking, rest, and so on. Anything that interferes with the internal order should not be allowed under any circumstances. This is why you need to have an old man nearby. The best person for this is a confessor. Whenever you come across something, ask immediately. Your conscience will be calm. Otherwise she will legally demand it. “No success, you say.” And it won’t happen as long as there is self-indulgence and self-pity. Self-pity and self-indulgence directly indicate that “I” predominates in the heart, not the Lord. Self-love is the sin living in us, from which all sinfulness comes and which makes the whole person sinful, from head to toe, as long as it takes place in the soul. And when the whole person is sinful, how will grace come to him? It will not come, just as a bee will not go to where there is smoke. The presence of pride is a sign that the first decision to work for the Lord was not fully formed and was unsuccessful. This decision has two ends: one - let him deny himself, the second - let him come after Me. The first requires the complete suppression of egoism, or pride, and so on. avoiding self-indulgence and self-pity - neither big nor small. Therefore, in whomever they are, the solution was not complete. Such a decision makes a person similar to those persons about whom the Apocalypse says: neither warm, nor cold, neither this nor that. – I want to be saved, but self-resistance is not allowed. God and mammon cannot work. I bring all this to your mind, so that you censor yourself and carefully determine what is in your middle: “I”, or the Lord. Then sit down and judge - what to do? Ask me to pray to deliver you from self-indulgence. What should we pray about? God won't hear. He hears prayer only for those who are not self-pleasing. And God hears every man himself only when he does not suffer from these firstborn daughters of sin. For lack of self-pity and self-indulgence, the Lord will only give grace and prosperity. He does not give them himself, but demands that the person himself take them, as a deposit, for which he should be shown mercy. Letter 317. About relations with subordinates. About patience and self-pity I hear that you are having troubles there again, and again (because of them) hardship and sorrow. God willing, everything will be worked out, but you shouldn’t fight, but slowly, you shouldn’t do it like that: he said and so be it. People are free, but a team is not the right thing. But we must say and do everything that is required by duty and conscience, and expect success from the Lord. Therefore, when not, you just need to say: Thy will be done, Lord! But one should not give up, but should say and do everything, surrendering to the will of God. Being angry at a malfunction is pleasing one’s will, how dare you, because “I” said it. This is about what is according to your position. What you have (in the inner man), and here too, without fighting, you need to. You thought you had started, and immediately to the third heaven. You must first put in the hard work and sweat, then the fruits will begin to show. But the condition is not urgent - do not feel sorry for yourself. Do not feel sorry for yourself, do not mean heaping mountains on yourself, but drag on the same ordinary monastic life, not allowing any weakening in anything. They call in the morning. Self-pity says: lie down for a minute. Don’t listen, and that’s a blow to self-pity. Standing in church, you feel the urge to open your legs and lean against the wall. Refuse and stand in line, behold another blow. The thought came to me: let me go out and get some air; refuse and another blow. I came home from matins: let me go to bed, don’t let me. Give me a book while lying down to read, don’t let me sit down and read. That's all, and every step will be a blow to self-pity. And any excessive feats are not our business. The general rules of the monastery, if carried out properly, will provide an unceasing opportunity for the exercise of non-self-pity. And prayer does not suddenly come. You have to work, forcing yourself without indulgence, to pay attention and not wander in your thoughts, and the skill of sobriety will come. “We must not hang our hands and heads, and not bend our knees, but stand cheerfully.” Didn't get on the road. You have to take courage, you will get there. We have God the Savior. He speaks and everything will be! Letter 318. Encouragement and Instruction for the Sick God's mercy be upon you! This is your story! Blood in the throat. It’s bad, it’s bad. But there is nothing to be afraid of here. The danger is ahead, not here. This happens to many people. And they live for themselves. Please stick to the doctor (and not listen to others) and follow his advice exactly. And you are already planning to die. You'll still live. Think about how to live better after recovery. Because your anxiety means that there is something wrong. You need to get ready to die every day and hour, and always be in the same feelings as you are now. And whoever is going to die - whether he sees the proximity of death or not - must clear his conscience of all wrongdoings. What are the fruits of repentance now? Besides repentance, what else is appropriate now? Please repent, lament and cry. And promise that if God gives you health, you will continually cry and lament, and not allow anything bad to happen in the future: neither in thoughts, nor in words, nor in deeds. That's it. You can accept the schema without it. When you get healthy, and grow old, and all earthly feelings die: then the schema. She is the image of death to all earthly things and: no one lives, but Christ lives in me (Gal. 2:20). You can go all out with oil. This is the Lord's healing. And don't guess anything else. All trust is sure in the Lord. And rest in Him, crying out: have mercy on me! Letter 319. To a recovering patient about surrendering oneself to the will of God and about prayer I am very glad that your health is improving. God grant that I get completely better. Now you are at peace from all the troubles. And don’t torment your head and heart with anything. Commit everything to the Lord, both your life and death. How His St. whatever he pleases, let him do so. He will do as He pleases even without such a decision; but it makes a big difference for you to enter into this God-determined decision, with warm devotion, full of faith and hope, or without it. When you position yourself in this way, then your prayer will go more correctly. You should not do a prayer at all, as some fathers write, i.e. with strained attention to the heart and difficulty breathing. Leave it alone. But learn to walk in the presence of God and the memory of death, and this will lead to the same thing. And pray to the Lord to give you the prayer you desire. And bother the Mother of God. In the Philokalia it is written that one old man prayed to the Mother of God for two years, and the prayer (non-waste - burning in the heart) was granted in the blink of an eye. This is how God always comes. (But if the place is pure, the heart is undefiled). And it will happen to you too, you just have to cry out more diligently. Save yourself! God bless you! Rejoice, casting all your sorrow on the Lord. Above all I wish you peace of mind. Letter 320. About becoming accustomed to the Jesus Prayer and how to perform it. Her attitude towards contemplative (mind-heart) prayer “Do you want to learn the Jesus Prayer according to the model prescribed in this book.” (Athos manuscript: “Seeker of Unceasing Prayer.” There is also a printed book). Good! God bless! The prayer lesson must be done immediately. Start with a smaller measure. For example: two or three days at 1000, then two or three days at 2000, then a week or more at 3000. You can stay at 3 thousand for a longer time. Then add 1000 if the time is convenient and other services allow it. The wanderer (this is a pilgrim - a seeker of unceasing prayer, indicated in that manuscript) was not busy with anything, and did not go to services (he reached from 6 to 12 thousand Jesus prayers per day). It is better to say prayer while standing, as is the rule. If your legs get tired, you can kneel down. You can put it this way in order to fulfill the prescribed number of prayers, sometimes standing, sometimes on your knees. Say a prayer: now the whole time, then the first half, then the second. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!”, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner!”, “Jesus Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!” Just don’t change it too soon, but determine either a hundred for each, or something else, but not less than 10. Keep your attention in the chest, slightly below the hollow under the throat. Because your heart aches. But it won't happen like that. Then the warmth will respond in the heart without pinching. Speak the prayer words slowly, as if chanting. Bows should be made arbitrarily. If things go better without them, it’s better not to put them in, or only put them in occasionally. When performing this prayer addressed to the Lord the Savior, one must not lose sight of the fact that He is One of the Most Holy Trinity, inseparable from the Father and the Holy Spirit. Why is it impossible to bring into consciousness with those words: the favor of the Father and the grace of the Spirit. You can do this on a large rosary. There is no need to limit yourself to just words, but at the same time refresh the contemplation of God as omnipresent, all-containing, providing for everything, and so on. It is best to serve this lesson at night. The fruit of prayer is concentration in the heart and warmth. This is a natural action. Anyone can achieve this. And this prayer should be performed by everyone, not only by monks, but also by laymen. This is not some kind of lofty matter, but a simple one. And the Jesus Prayer (alone in itself) is not miraculous, but like any other short prayer, verbal and so on. external. But she can turn into smart and warm-hearted, all in a natural way. What is from grace must be expected, but it cannot be taken in any such way. What they wrote to you, that you must first purify passions, refers to high contemplative prayer; and this is a simple prayer, which can, however, lead to high prayer. In order for this activity to proceed successfully, each time you begin it, you must leave everything behind, so that your heart is completely free from everything, so that your attention does not stick out: not a person, not a deed, not a thing. Everything needs to be cleared out at this time. Having served this rule, you should not give up all prayer at any time, but as soon as freedom, now for it. During the service, one must listen to the service, standing with attention in the same place where the Jesus Prayer is being said. And when they read and sing something incomprehensibly, then do this prayer. External techniques (described in 5 volumes. Kindness): sit on a chair, bow your head, restrict your breathing, you can leave it. Stop all effort on concentrating your attention in the said place. You must always have the fear of God. Just as those closest to us are not so bold before the King, so much the more are we sinners before the Lord. If you are with God for your familiarity, then it’s bad, out of hand. You need to pray about fear and God will give it. Letter 321. Encouragement and explanation to those who are working on becoming accustomed to the Jesus Prayer. A case of lean bodily irritation. With a new rank Work hard. Good, good! Work hard and with humility. And the Lord will not abandon your labor. Do not forget that you should not limit yourself to mechanical repetition of the words of the Jesus Prayer. This will lead to nothing except the mechanical skill of repeating this prayer with your tongue, without even thinking about it. And this is certainly not bad. But it constitutes the farthest outer outskirts of this matter. The essence of the matter is conscious standing in the presence of the Lord with fear, faith and love. This mood is possible without words. It is necessary to restore it in the heart first of all. Words will then come in order to keep attention on this one thing and deepen those feelings and dispositions. The fact that there was lustful irritation is very bad. This might be accident; but this should not be allowed, but must be stopped immediately. Otherwise, the matter will turn out to be sensual instead of spiritual, and instead of good it will bear evil fruit. Read about this in the Philokalia, especially about how to keep your attention. Congratulations on your new rank. Do the work with humility and do not spoil it with pride, or vanity, or arrogance. Letter 322. Continued guidance for the worker to learn the Jesus Prayer What you wrote about prayer is all good. And the fact that sometimes there are blood movements during prayer, this will pass. There is no need to strain your hearts too much, but act in simplicity. Then whatever feelings God sends will not produce anything like that. When this happens, pray to the Lord and Guardian Angel for this movement, to calm it down and, if the enemy is instigating, to drive it away. There is nothing to be afraid of. It happens to those who are proud, who begin to think that since the warmth has gone into the heart, this is already the end of perfection. But this is just the beginning, and even then, perhaps, not a lasting one. For warmth and tranquility of the heart are also natural, the fruit of concentration of attention. But we must work and work, wait and wait until the natural is replaced by grace. Anyway, it’s best to never consider yourself to have achieved anything, but to always see yourself: poor, naked, blind and worthless. If you can, remember the Holy Trinity together without division: for there is One God. When you pray the rosary, on large knots, say: Most Holy Trinity, our God, glory to Thee, or have mercy on us! And that's not always the case. Act freely, without binding yourself, just to always be in feeling towards the Lord and with the Lord. Pray to Him and He Himself will teach you. Letter 323. Also to a successful prayer worker It is comforting to hear about your internal affairs. Warmth of heart during prayer is a very good sign. Watch out. Take the trouble to go through in your thoughts more often all our truths, according to the Symbol, or so, along their flow, starting from the divine properties and creation, to the universal judgment and the decision of the fate of all. This is especially good in the morning and evening before prayer. It will be like fuel. Of course, you need to pay attention to yourself relentlessly and consider the thoughts that appear, where do they come from and why? Letter 324. To the question about accepting money and things. Continuation of proper internal work I cannot confidently answer your question. It's about accepting money and things. There are rules for this. In your inner structure, keep what the Lord has given. Keeping this diligently will dispose the Lord to strengthen His gifts. Run away from anything that distracts attention and detracts from warmth. Corruption and appropriation of rights to benefits are the primary enemies, the destroyers of everything spiritual. Read more Holy Scripture, especially the Gospel. There the Spirit of God moves and drives away the spirits that oppose God and fight against God. P.S. You don’t need to restrict your breathing and don’t put pressure on your heart, but say a prayer with a free thought. Know that truly spiritual prayer is instilled by grace. Read in the Philokalia the legend about St. Maxim Kavsokalivite (Athos) and imitate him. For two years he prayed from the heart (to the Mother of God), without using anything special, and received what he was looking for in an instant. (A gracious warmth fell into my heart when I venerated the Mother of God icon). Letter 325. Love and law. Letters to Mrs. NN. Love for all laws and virtues, not only the Gospel, but also human - civil, is the basis; therefore, every action that is in accordance with the law is also in accordance with love, and every assessment of an action that is in accordance with the law or justice is in accordance with love. But love is higher and broader than the law. There are acts of love that are not determined by positive law, and they are not at all illegal; but actions determined by law and not performed by a person under the law are lawless and contrary to love, even if they tend to benefit someone. This is especially important in a legal sense. If a judge acquits a guilty person against the law or rewards someone unworthy of a reward, then, although good, apparently, he will do good to the guilty and unworthy, but will do more evil than good, violating the love of the common good, power and rules. Praise, you say, mercy in court. Thus, I will act commendably if I am able to show mercy without violating the justice of the court; otherwise my honor should be beaten with batogs. Mercy must be combined with truth. In a word: the basis and motivation and goal of justice must be love. Isn't the cross of Christ the best solution to this controversial issue? What infinitely great love there is, and together what infinitely great justice! Letter 326. To acquire collected and warm prayer, work is necessary. A pain in the heart Congratulations on performing the prayer service. May it be for salvation. We commemorated the departed saints: follow in the footsteps of their Christian life. Prayer that is not collected and the soul is cold should have no limit or end. Like the fallen, we have become cold and we need to rub ourselves for a long time to warm ourselves up. Labor is therefore inevitable. And if it continues constantly and wisely, then it is always crowned with success, not from us, but from the mercy of God, of which there is no end. Whether the Jesus Prayer or some other short prayer is a good thing if it sticks on the tongue. Just make sure to pay attention not in your head, but in your heart and be there, not only while standing in prayer, but at all times. Try to create a sore in your heart. Constant work will soon do this. There's nothing special here. This is a natural thing (the fact that a sore will seem painful). But this will also make you more focused. And the main thing is that the Lord, seeing the work, grants help and His grace-filled prayer. Then things will come to their own hearts. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. January 9, 1871 Letter 327. Blessing and instruction to a laywoman who is zealous for salvation God bless you on the path you are walking. The Lord is everywhere and sees everything, what anyone actually does for Him. He is always ready and with help to anyone who runs to Him for it. Thus, if you decide in your heart to always listen to the Lord who is inherent in you and in you, and direct everything to please Him alone, and then, with all bewilderment, with all spiritual need, turn to Him, with faith and complete devotion to Him; then be sure that all your affairs, both internal and external, will go in the most successful manner. It is a great thing to realize that we can do nothing without Him, and even greater is to only resort to Him with faith and undoubtedly expect help. Let your conscience always be clear. But the conscience must be enlightened by the word of God, otherwise it often worries about things that should not be stood up for. To do this, you need to read the Gospel and from there draw rules by which your conscience should then be guided. You are a wife, you are a mother, you are a housewife. Responsibilities for all these parts are depicted in the writings of the Apostles. Look through them and take it upon yourself to perform them. For it is doubtful whether salvation can be achieved apart from the fulfillment of the duties that are imposed by rank and fortune. For just as both are from God, both can be turned: either to please Him, if fulfilled by faith, or to insult Him, if not fulfilled. God bless you! I ask you to pray for my many sins. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. April 24, 1874 Letter 328. He who lives in a family and is saved by family virtues. About children in institutions. The meaning of privacy Whoever lives in a family receives salvation from family virtues. But the point is not to present everything in an excellent way, but to do everything possible. Once everything is done, there is no need to torture yourself. Of course, you shouldn’t act too carelessly; but there is no point in tormenting yourself, leaving everything to the Lord. That in institutions the children are no longer the same, what should we do? Time is tricky. With all this, one cannot think that everything (good) inspired by him is wasted or wasted. Everything remains and will bear fruit in due time. Don’t abandon yours, helping in any way you can so that they don’t completely go astray, and success is all from the Lord. Pray more, help those in need more, trusting your children in their prayers. This prayer is powerful. God bless you and have mercy! You mentioned the superiority of solitude. It's good. But you can sit behind the walls, but with your mind you don’t know where to be. Therefore, in itself it is an insignificant thing. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. January 9, 1875 Letter 329. How to use the moments of solitude for the laity. The Case of Laymen and Monks Here you are alone, but you’re bored. You’re bored because there’s a lot of distraction; and when you are left alone, you don’t know how to fill the time. Minutes of solitude must be used, turning them exclusively to the work of God - prayer and contemplation of God. These same classes, as long as they go at least a little correctly, will not let you get bored. For they exude spiritual consolation that nothing on earth can give. I mean when, when reading, for example. The Gospel gives birth to questions, and when, after proper deepening, the soul finds a satisfactory solution to them. There is a lot of spiritual consolation in this. And it’s all the more pleasant because one success irritates you even more, and then comes the skill for such activities. The soul will then become broad, fast-flying and thoughtful. God bless you for your work! The job of monks is to purify their thoughts, but for the laity, the main thing is to keep their intentions in order in their affairs, and where are they going to get to purity? And God will not punish you. This is not their order. Save yourself! And pray to God for me, a great sinner! Your pilgrim E. Feofan. February 6, 1875 Letter 330. About living in the world according to the Gospel That the Gospel cannot be reconciled with the world, the Lord knew this when giving the commandments; but nowhere did he say that it was possible to make concessions to the world. Concessions are betrayal of the Lord. It is only necessary to distinguish between an explicit commandment and what is not determined by the commandment, but is left to our freedom. In the latter case, the measure of concession is determined by prudence, which sometimes requires it. The struggle should not be stopped, but only the means should be used. One thing doesn’t work, come up with another, and even better pray to the Lord to admonish and give strength. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. May 20, 1875 Letter 331. The law of spiritual life is to make a beginning every day, forgetting the former except sins God bless your pilgrimage. I ask you to pray for me, a great sinner, before the shrines of God. Whether anyone succeeds in life and to what extent he succeeds is not possible to notice, because otherwise everyone would eat himself out of sight. This ignorance keeps people at bay and constantly renews jealousy, assuring them that nothing has been done yet and that therefore it is necessary to begin. Beginning again is the law of spiritual life. Every day must be considered the first day of life in the fear of God, forgetting everything behind except sins, which must always be repented of. Difficulties of the path, obstacles, relaxation, despondency, all these are accidents that come and go. There is nothing to pay attention to them. We must contrast them with the conviction that the goal ahead is true and that the means we have been given reliably lead to it. From this, all worries will go away, filling the soul with trustworthiness. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. June 13, 1875 It’s hard to endure everything, no matter what happens. But heaviness is felt only during times of misfortune or misfortune. After everything is smoothed out. What you now endure will also be smoothed out. Be inspired. Everything will pass. Meanwhile, strengthen your faith that everything is from the Lord. It’s not just a major misfortune, but every meeting is from Him. And He has one thing in mind – our salvation. Accept everything as life-giving medicine, although bitter, but useful. When the Lord strikes, isn’t it righteous to think that what is right is for a reason. So look at what it is, why it hits you, and correct it. Sorrows are sent to the righteous to test them, but to us rather as punishment and a call to repentance. If you believe that the Lord is a doctor and a doctor who will not waste medicine, then when the faulty is turned away - not in deeds, but in feelings and thoughts - then sorrows will cease. It is not difficult for me to write to you and it is not boring for me to read your letters. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. January 11, 1876 Letter 333. On abstaining from offensive feelings and speech when meeting others. About abstinence in food As soon as you see a wrong thought, feeling, or word, repent immediately. It's good the way you do it. Add to this an observation of how the fall proceeds, and from this inspection learn a lesson on how to overcome yourself in such encounters. Experiences of abstinence will give you experience in self-control and falls will be less and less frequent. God will help. We need more humility. Speeches or outbursts of words that are upsetting to others, are they not from the nobility? The consciousness of lordship is pride, a thing very displeasing to God and the most harmful in moral life. Delve into and pull out this root of grief and vegetate if it appears. God bless you! If you cannot abstain, eat fish, but not during fasting. And at other times, sometimes deprive yourself of this sweetness. Look, now all doctors abroad insist on eating plant foods for health. And they have been arguing for a long time that one can live with this food. Save yourself! Please pray. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. February 21, 1876 Letter 334. Divine consolation is invoked for the reader. The human heart is accessible only to the Lord He who consoles everyone in the trouble of existence, may he also console you and pour joy into your heart. The Feast of the Comforters is coming soon. May the movements of the gracious spirit within you warm up in your soul! While warmth comes inseparably with a ray of sunshine, consolation will also come with the movement of the spirit of grace. No one has the power to control the heart. It lives a special life. In itself it rejoices, in itself it saddens. And there's nothing you can do about it. Only the Lord of all, who contains everything in His right hand, has the power to enter into it and put feelings into it, without taking into account the natural currents of its changes. May the Lord make you wise in everything. My health is not bad. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. May 16, 1876 Letter 335. About swimming in the sea of life In the sea of life, those who go out need to take good care of their boat and steer it properly, avoiding shoals and pitfalls and destructive collisions. The storm will attack, you don’t need to lose your spirit and look at the lighthouse in order to quickly hide in the marina. All this you know exists. Here are two books by Saint Chrysostom. Your good friend E. Feofan. August 11, 1876 Letter 336. Congratulations on the post. How to get rid of resentment. Review of slave B. Magdalene and sister N. Congratulations on your post. Spend it soul-savingly, in tears of repentance and heartfelt contrition; speak well and take holy communion. Christ's Mysteries. It would be nice not just once. However, how do you arrange it! It seemed to me that you were coddling yourself like a child. It is best if you completely forget yourself and only think about how not to anger God by doing something that is not pleasing to Him in thoughts, words and deeds. If you are not careful and pay a lot of attention to people’s speech and gaze, you will make yourself (sorry) hard to touch - the boil is the most sensitive, even to air movement, and not just to touch. Look at both yourself. Here is the measure: he who is humble cannot see anyone treating him below his dignity; for he considers himself so low that no one can treat him lower, no matter how he contrives. This is wisdom. What kind of living soul was this Magdalene?! I won't hold back. God gave her such grace! And everything comes from faith and decision. For having once made up her mind, she did not turn back even in thought. I prayed for N. God bless her! The Lord is near and is ready to give everything to everyone, just stretch out your hands (to prayer) to receive and open your lips (to praise) to eat (since the Lord is good)! Come to the Lord with contrition in your heart. That's all! Be healthy and cheerful and may the Lord comfort your sister! Her salvation lies in patience. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. February 14, 1877 Letter 337. Explanation of the words: “Make a servant of the light of the son” Make a servant of the light of the son. The light of the son is salvation arranged by the Lord and given to all of us, for the sake of faith and life by faith. A servant of this light is one who diligently serves the Lord with faith and every good deed. The strength to be such is given by the Lord, in Whom we put on ourselves in baptism and with Whom we sincerely unite in the Holy Spirit. communion. “Make a servant of the light,” it will be: through holy communion, fill me with strength, and to believe and live, as the Lord and Savior has decreed, so that I may be worthy of salvation. God bless you! Pray to God for me, a sinner. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. August 13, 1877 Letter 338. Against grumbling. We must be consoled by future happiness What confuses you in your surroundings and what you are unable to remove, leave it to the will of God, humbling yourself, as you wrote from Peter of Damascus, before the finger of God, who does not allow anything for us from which we cannot derive spiritual benefit for ourselves. Therefore, in such cases, it is only appropriate to sit down and consider what the Lord would like to teach me with them, praying together so that He does not neglect to enlighten your mind and let it see tangibly the intentions of God. When this is achieved, then the cry will naturally come from the heart: Glory to Thee, Lord! and at the same time, all bitterness that has crept into the heart will disappear. Why is this and that not allowed, etc.? Because the Lord finds it unnecessary, useless, and maybe even harmful for you. Make sure this is the case. And calm down. The future happiness with which you are trying to console yourself, what is it? Here or beyond? If it’s here, then of course there’s nothing to expect from it. And if it’s the future, then I don’t understand how it can’t be comforting? Those who suffer and endure their sorrowful life with humility before God are also like martyrs, for whom such blessings are prepared, in comparison with which real sorrows are not worth anything. On the contrary, you will do better if you transport yourself there more often in your mind and heart, in the hope of finally being consoled there. For this undoubtedly awaits you if you do not allow grumbling and always cultivate humble submission to the will of God. awarding you this and that. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. October 31, 1881 Letter 339. On acquiring warmth of heart towards God. The meaning of the Jesus Prayer in this matter It’s good that you received Holy Communion. Christ's Mysteries. May this be your salvation! If your heart warms up when reading ordinary prayers, then in this way kindle the warmth of your heart towards God. The Jesus Prayer, if done mechanically, gives nothing, like any other prayer that is only spoken with the tongue. During the Jesus Prayer, try to think more vividly that the Lord Himself is nearby, standing before your soul, and listening to what is happening in it. At the same time, awaken in your soul a thirst for salvation and the confidence that apart from the Lord we have nowhere to expect salvation from. Therefore, cry out to Him, mentally visible before you: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me! Or: Merciful Lord, save me in the image of fate! It’s not a matter of words at all, but of feelings for the Lord. The spiritual burning of the heart towards the Lord is love for Him. It lights up at the touch of the Lord on the heart. Since He is all love, His touch on the heart immediately kindles love for Him. And from love - the burning of the heart towards Him. This is what you should be looking for. The creation of the Jesus Prayer is only a tool for this, or better yet, only a work that shows the strong desire of the soul to find the Lord. Let the Jesus Prayer be on your tongue, the contemplation of the Lord before you in your mind, and the thirst for God or communion with the Lord in your heart. When all this happens and will be constant, then the Lord, seeing how you force yourself, gives what you ask for. Please understand all this and take it as a guide, and read it often in order to refresh your memory of how you should act. And N. explain all this. My soul aches for her, in the desire for her to be more firmly established in the inner man. For then no waves can shake it like a solid rock! Your pilgrim E. Feofan. November 29, 1884 Letter 340. About unashamed trust and always being with God God's mercy was better than doctors for you. Blessed be God, who does not disgrace our hope! A change in spirit is our common destiny. You must endure, handing over your fate into the hands of God. Let us be concerned about one thing, to always be with the Lord. In all cases, turn directly to Him, reveal to Him the burdens of your soul and pray that He will deliver you if He wills. Joy and consolation are not the final evidence of a good mood. The main thing is determination and zeal to please God, a broken spirit and a contrite and humble heart, and surrender of oneself to the will of God. When this is there, it’s good. Your good friend E. Feofan. October 22, 1888 Letter 341. The beneficial meaning of fasting Congratulations on your acceptance of St. Christ's Mysteries. May this be for you a source of consolation, strengthening, admonition and inspiration for the exploits of the Lenten lifestyle according to your strength. I also congratulate you on the beginning of your soul-saving fast. This is a great good time. God through St. The Church beneficially established it for us who are weak, who cannot and do not know how to fast well all the time of our lives, although we realize that all of it, not excluding a moment, must belong to the Lord and be turned to His glory. This is due to the very creation of us, and even more so due to redemption, in which we are bought at a price beyond price, which is why we should not belong to ourselves, but to the one who bought us, who, by virtue of this, became our Master, legally demanding that we betray ourselves to Him and not bring other masters upon us, who, due to our oversight, are innumerable. God bless you! I wish you joy and encouragement in the Lord. Save yourself! Your good friend E. Feofan. February 17, 1892 Letter 342. The gifts of the Holy Spirit received at baptism are developed through prayer and exploits The grace of the Holy Spirit is with us from the moment of baptism and confirmation. Church prayers, home prayers, works of asceticism and good deeds develop this gift and give it scope to act in us. The best means for this is heartfelt prayer, which you yourself must consider as a fruit of the Spirit and at the same time as an attraction of the Spirit. In this sense, church prayer for the Holy Spirit is attractive to the Spirit. May the Lord comfort you with His consolations in what you have to endure. Letter 343. How to begin Holy Communion May God bless you to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. In order to avoid sin (holy communion), one must cleanse sins by repentance and, when approaching, approach with faith and fear, in contrition of heart, without dreams of any advantages over others who do not receive communion, but always with humble and self-abasing feelings. The main thing is to have a desire and zeal to please God, and not yourself. For by doing good you can please yourself. Letter 344. The best way to counteract earthly attractions Our spirit is restored by the grace of God in the strength to resist attractions to the earth from the soul and body. He has already been restored among Christians. But inattention to him and his work means that earthly things manage to captivate us and obscure the sky like a fog. The best way to strengthen our spirit, in its struggle with soul and body with attractions to earthly things, is the memory of the exodus and the subsequent judgment and predetermination of our fate. Take the trouble to put yourself in the state of someone dying now and now having to stand trial and at the same time arouse the corresponding feelings and see what happens? I believe that all earthly threads will be torn by this and only one cry will remain in the heart: “Oh, Lord! Save me!” Teach this to N. Nothing revives the fear of God, with all its fruits, more than putting yourself in this state and feeling it. You need to tease your heart with various stimulating thoughts. And if you leave it like that, it will become overgrown with thorns and thistles, insensibility, negligence and inattention. Letter 345. And we can thank God for Gehenna. To renounce the world is in our power Like St. did the father thank (God) for Gehenna? We realize how great a good it is for us in what God has revealed to us about Gehenna. Even if, knowing that Gehenna exists, we sin so carelessly, what would happen if we did not know about it? Now, nevertheless, someone else sins and sins and thinks about it. Is it in our power to renounce? In ours. If we want, we can do anything. For if we want, we will seek it; having sought, let us pray; having prayed, we will receive help, and with this help we can do everything. This is what the Apostle says: I can do all things, through Christ the Lord who strengthens me. But of course, one must not ask weakly and not somehow hope, but both strongly, deeply, whole-heartedly. God bless you and yours. Save yourself! Letter 346. On the perfection of patience. Explanation of the text about judgment of the righteous Patience is absolutely a matter of necessity, i.e. it must be maintained as it should, so that it is not lacking in anything. The perfection of patience is to endure complacently, and even more so with joy, and to thank God for the circumstances that force us to endure, as for a direct and essential good. Restore the faith that by suffering in vain, you become partakers of the rank of martyrs and rejoice in this. For it is so truly. And allowing grief and self-pity to seem closed, you beg for the price of what the Lord gives to you. The text you wrote is clear. There will be judgment for everyone; but for those who are worthy of justification, the judgment will be such that, as if it were not there, it will be joyfully greeted, as if it were not judgment at all, but the embrace of the Lord; joyfully passed, and joy after it. Those who believe in the Lord as they should and live according to His will will be honored with this. Not everyone says: Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom, but do the will of the Heavenly Father. Keep the Epistles to the Romans and Ephesians (interpretations). Guilty. And I thought that I had already sent them to you. Letter 347. Advice in case of illness In illness, learn: humility, patience, complacency, and gratitude to God. That impatience comes is a human matter. If he comes, he needs to drive him away. That's why there is a feeling of hardship, so that there is something to endure. If the burden is not felt, then there is no patience. But when a feeling of burden comes and is accompanied by a desire to throw it off; then there is nothing wrong here. This is a natural feeling! Sin begins when, as a result of this feeling, the soul succumbs to impatience and begins to incline towards complaining. A feeling has come, we need to drive it away, and thank God. Letter 348. The paths of Providence in the earthly destiny of everyone. Victorious thoughts. Salt. Advice about a sore head If you believe in the providence of God, which determines the earthly fate of everyone in the way that is most convenient for him to be saved; then you must also believe that your entire everyday environment is the most suitable for you to arrange your salvation. As far as I can see, she will give you complete freedom to pursue your soul. This is a big advantage. Convinced of this, thank God for everything, both pleasant and unpleasant. By graciously enduring the unpleasant, you get a little closer to some of the martyrs. Because if you grumble, you will not only be far from this part, but you will also give an answer. Be grateful. What's a winning thought? When someone turns to God, then a struggle occurs: self-love and peace on the one hand, and God’s truths on the other. A person goes through these thoughts and overcomes the self and the world; But not all of these truths have the same effect on everyone: on one, one has a greater effect, on another, another. But among them there is also one for everyone, which, as soon as it comes into consciousness, immediately inclines a person to the fear of God. This truth ends in victory in the first struggle, and in private struggles it also drives away enemies. What are these truths? Please, read the second part in the book: “The Path to Salvation”: about confession and repentance. And you will see. What is salt? A tributary word. As the Savior Himself did not give the interpretation; then everyone is free to understand this as he or she judges, for his own edification. I think this is love for God - ardent. Salt – drives away rottenness; and love for God destroys everything sinful and contrary to God. Salt penetrates what is salted, and love penetrates all components: mental, spiritual and physical, and imparts strength and integrity to everything. N. God bless the mother-in-law on the path she has begun. Let him think carefully about the last book of letters, and the one that is the path to salvation. In the morning it is good to read the Gospel and the Apostle - the day's ones: they are indicated in the Calendar of the Cross. And not just read, but come up with such a thought that you can spend the whole day with it. And the doctor does not interfere, and devotion to God is needed. Let both go. Didn't hit, change the medicine. Pray that the Lord will enlighten him. If it doesn’t bother you, it’s probably better to live with a headache. May the Lord bless you to speak for consolation and strengthening. Letter 349. To a mother crying about her dead daughter. Letters to various persons Cry, cry! There is nothing unnatural or reproachful in this. It would be a miracle if the mother did not cry about the death of her daughter. But at the same time, you need to know when to stop: not to kill yourself and not to forget those concepts about death and the dead that are given to us by Christianity. She died! She didn’t die, the body died: but she is alive, and lives just like us, only in a different way of being. She comes to you and looks at you. And, one must assume, she is surprised that you are crying and killed, because she is better. That way of being is higher than ours. If she appeared and you asked her to enter the body again, she would never agree. Why should you enter into such a disagreement with her? Want something that disgusts her? What kind of love will there be? You can’t help but regret that you didn’t have to look into her eyes for the last time; the last word to hear from her, the last to give her the embrace of motherly love. Well, go ahead and cry. Just a little bit of everything. Her bodily eyes are closed, but she looks with her spiritual ones: look at her with your soul. Don't imagine her in the grave. She is not there, her body is there; but she is outside, and now, perhaps, she is standing with you. Her tongue is silent, but she is not deprived of the ability to speak to you in her heart. Listen and hear: “Mommy, don’t worry and don’t kill yourself. I’m with you, and I feel very good!” You too answer her: “Well, thank God that you are better.” Her embrace froze and would not extend any more. But she, like a soul, can embrace your soul and just as warmly as ordinary hugs are warm. Answer, too, with a calm, undisturbed, warm memory of her. That's it! God bless you and comfort you. Letter 350. About the fast meeting Behold, the preparatory weeks for fasting began and at the very beginning Candlemas, which very significantly indicates that those who wish to meet the Lord can achieve this only through fasting labors, publican humility, sincere repentance, at the direction of the prodigal, in memory of the Last Judgment, crying about the fall in Adam and about their own sins and crying out: “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me!” Please stand at the beginning of this path, look all over it into the distance, and then decide, to the best of your ability, to walk it, as the Lord desires. Letter 351. To a sick young man about healing an illness and a blessing to the monastery May the Merciful Lord deliver you from the disease that besets you. But there are medical benefits for catarrh. Have they been used? And those benefits of God are the essence. May God bless you to enter a monastery (a young man of 18 years of age in poor health) (with the consent of your parents). Your pilgrim E. Feofan. September 2, 1892 Letter 352. According to the circumstances, it is advised to enter a monastery instead of the Academy Someone asked me about you, and I remember I wrote that taking an academic course would not hurt the matter. And now, judging by the circumstances you indicated, I find that successfully completing an academic course requires a long preparation for you, and some of it is not worth the bother. Therefore, I believe that it is better for you to go to the monastery now. If God blesses you with the goodness to begin and continue your monastic life, then a field of subjects will open up for you, knowledge of which does not come from science. So God will bless you in the monastery. Which?! Valaamsky came to mind. If, after discussing it, you and your friends do not find anything serious against this, then talk to God. Reverend Anthony knows the people there and can point you to a reliable elder. But in the monasteries the first mentor is the general order of monastic life. At first, it is enough for leadership, especially if everything done by everyone is done with good meaning and with the proper feeling of the heart. And the general confessor of the monastery can kindly indicate the rules for special cases. And then, if you look closely, God willing, you will find an elder or brother attentive to spiritual life, and in him is guidance. Pray about everything, surrendering yourself to God’s guidance. E. Feofan. November 10, 1891 Letter 353. To the Academician about monasticism So you're at the academy. May God bless you to complete this course with the desired success. But if your academic business is not going badly; then why do you have a question - should you continue to the end or stop? You should stop if you encountered anything there that would go against your good intentions about yourself. But nothing of the kind can be assumed. On the contrary, it is more appropriate to assume that in a day or two you will be tonsured. So you will be a monk without a monastery. So what is the question? If you decided to do what you are planning, would it be virtuous? If you can’t say that, then it’s better not to think about it. The second year is already coming to an end, and then the end of the whole course will not noticeably come. And you will emerge as a learned theologian. Congratulations. Knowledge doesn't work. You will see more clearly the path that you should follow further - and not only see the path for yourself, but also show others. And this is two times two - four. A better question for you: should you go to a monastery after completing the course? Then you will not be fit for the monastery. Get ready and get ready to accept whatever is assigned. Even though you are a free Cossack, it is safer to submit to the will of those in power. Ask: what about monasticism? monasticism can be observed and pursued in it to its highest degrees, in any way of life. It is not connected to the monastery walls. For now, delve into the power of it and what its essence is, and how it can be fulfilled in the purpose awaiting you, and confirm that, and then you will lead it in action. And everything is here for you; Don't bother your head anymore with this question. How many roads are there to Moscow?! Many. But whoever has entered one has no need to look at the others. Let him walk on his own. You have entered the learned path, and follow it. There is a monastery nearby. It doesn’t hurt to sometimes go there and defend some kind of service. Breathe the monastery air. But also do what is appropriate for a monk in your own life. Nothing prevents us from having the memory of God and the memory of death. It is also not inconvenient to warm contrition in the heart. Lenten abstinence is also in your power. It is inconvenient to stand for prayer and bow down if you are not alone in the room; and nothing can stop you from holding prayer in your heart, if you want, do so. Bishop Feofan. February 8, 1893 Letter 354. Instruction to a penitent about falling into carnal sin What a great misfortune has happened to you! And how did the enemy manage to darken your heart that it rushed so quickly into the pool from which the mercy of God plucked you and brought you into the light of God! This is bad and despicable, and most importantly, destructive for the moral system. You will experience it yourself. Now this is not visible. But take heart. The mercy of God did not withdraw from you, and gave you the desire and strength to repent and confess, due to which it accepted you into communion with itself in holy communion. The feeling of inner peace confirms this. Rise up, stand strong, look cheerfully and strictly adhere to everything that is required in the matter of pleasing God and salvation. And don't relax. The enemy is not strong: there is a greater one who is like you; but he is crafty and overcomes with flattery and takes captive. Stay vigil and pray. Look at the internal structure. For without the proper order here, everything saving that you have accomplished (confession and communion) may remain just an external rite of reconciliation without internal living communication. Evidence of being inside the proper order is represented by heartfelt contrition and a determination as firm as death not to indulge oneself, and strong jealousy to do everything required without self-pity. The flesh must be tormented by hunger, lack of sleep, prayerful labor, and avoidance of temptations and wine drinking. God has reconciled with you, imagine the documents of the world - this willingness to do everything that should be done without self-pity. May the Lord enlighten you and strengthen you. Your questions. Internal self-correction is accomplished by the grace of God, in a heart devoted to it. The external situation helps or does not help, but it is neither an urgent condition nor an insurmountable obstacle. Pull yourself together, and the academy will not be a hindrance, but a facilitator. If you don’t pull yourself together, then no monastery will deliver you. Build a strict monastery within yourself: pay attention to yourself and immediately suppress everything bad that arises inside, whether thoughts, or sympathy and desires, without the slightest concession, and restore and support everything good. You can do this if you want to be saved: for this desire is the driving away of all that is bad and the acceptance of all that is good. You are like a house shaken by an earthquake. Owner - when you saw this, you didn’t give up, you didn’t say “it’s all gone,” but you decided to restore it. The main thing is done; Now I need to finish finishing my house. The Academy won't hurt, just keep your ears open. The second question is about the priesthood. The ancient cathedral canons locked the door to the priesthood for those who did not maintain chastity. But since repentance, strictly completed and returning the first purity, places those who have completed this course among those capable of carrying out the work of this service in perfection, the hierarchy, taking this into account, opened the door of entry. This is how it is done now. But often without confidence in suitability, but by assumption of it. What should you do? It was in vain that you did not propose this question to the elders in the Glinsk desert. Those elders - oh. The abbot and confessor, as I hear, are experienced, and they would decide this for you according to God. You entrust this decision to me. Here is my decision for you: until you are established as you should inside and strengthened, do not accept monasticism, much less the priesthood. Tell me, when they offer monasticism, I’ll wait and serve a little, and then. In this way you will also alienate the priesthood. Now take on severe rigors until you drive out everything lustful. Look at how they wash the clothes, between other methods - they fry them in the oven, sprinkle them with ashes, then they rinse them on the river and beat them without mercy with rollers and squeeze them out with their hands. I invite you to do everything similar with yourself. During your previous rise from the sleep of sin, grace tangibly acted in you and did not allow you to notice the labors of restoration. Now it will be different. Your own labor must precede - without sympathy, despotically - and grace will manifest its action when you are tired of labor and do not know what to do. You have penance. Execute it exactly without omission. And adjust everything else to it. I can't tell you the details. I say one thing: take on uncontrollable zeal, and let it flow from the hatred of carnal pleasures as merciless enemies. When this hatred comes into force, then even a slight thought appears, and the soul roars at him like a lion, and he instantly runs away. St. ap. James writes: Resist the devil and he will flee from you, resist lustful rebellions, and they will not prevail. These resistances and rebuffs of lustful rebellions seem to be invisible, but they are noticed in heaven and immediately attract crowns. Not a single rebuff is left without a crown. Take courage and stand up for yourself. Ep. Feofan. August 9, 1893 Letter 355. To a visitor not personally received at Above - blessing and books Sent with you Fr. received by the abbot of the Glinsk Hermitage. Thank you for your work! When you write to Fr. Abbot, thank him on my behalf for his good gifts. You don't write anything about yourself. I conclude from this that your thoughts have settled into some form and are not bothering you. May the Lord bless the path of your life! You don't scold me too much for not accepting you. I can't do otherwise. I would give you books as a blessing; is it convenient for you to take them? I kindly ask you to accept the enclosed documents. On occasion, I think they will be useful to you to clarify any confusion. Ep. Feofan. August 24, 1893 Letter 356. To the woman Mary. Is it possible to bear the name of the Mother of God? A Lutheran woman should not be commemorated in church. About the rule for bowing This is the first time I hear about what you write. There is no prohibition in the church to bear the name of the Mother of God. And the troubles come from the fact that someone celebrates his name day on the day of the Nativity of the Most Holy. Mother of God, it cannot be. Trouble can only come from unkind feelings towards the Mother of God, from a lack of faith, reverence, and trusting refuge under Her roof, etc. Your painful condition, of course, has other reasons. And you have no need to do anything else in relation to him except to endure complacently and gratefully: for everything is from the Lord, and everything is for our essential good, namely in the matter of salvation. With complacent patience, you can pray that the Lord will deliver you from weakness, if that will be saving for you. Don't look at the temporary, but at the eternal. The goal of life is not earthly prosperity, but bliss after death in another life. He who bears any cross follows a reliable path to it. Move there with your desire and hope, and direct all your thoughts and concerns towards acquiring the prosperity there. A Lutheran Jew must be left to the good will of God. Only those belonging to the church can be commemorated in church. Since she does not belong to the church, she should not be remembered there. Regarding bows, you can act freely, as God puts it in your heart. The rules about this cannot be compared with the rule about fasting. Your good friend E. Feofan. March 2, 1889 Letter 357. When sending his photograph, the Saint gives instructions about the image of God in us. Explanation of the Holy Scriptures in letters Thank you for your kind location. Behold my office photograph for your prayerful memory of me before the Lord! You wanted words with this. Here. – God deigned to imprint His face on us, creating us in His image. Look closely at this face and restore it within yourself, in the light of God: for it is clogged and its features have become clouded and deteriorated. So that error does not creep in in this, you have the truest face of God in the Lord the Savior. Take it off and carry it within yourself, for He is the image of the Father’s hypostasis. Although not even though we accept the image as the result of life. Lord, deliver us from such a bitter incident, so that the Lord, when we stand before Him after death, will say: whose image is this?! For this is clearly with the one who tied him down. Bishop Feofan. July 8, 1890 Letter 358. Explanation of the texts of Matthew 9:5:16–17:24:40–41 Explanations of some passages of Holy Scripture given by His Grace Bishop Theophan in letters. What is easier to say: your sins are forgiven, or get up and walk? Why does the Lord ask this question? Answer. The Lord said to the paralytic: your sins are forgiven. Those who heard were offended, saying: Who can forgive sins except God? The Savior could say: yes, I am God. But that would be even more tempting. Why does He, instead of the word: I am God, do divine work; letting them do the guidance themselves. But let them connect this matter with their thoughts. He puts two works in a row: the remission of sins by the word, and the healing of the paralytic by the word, and asks which of these works is easier to do. That to forgive sins is a divine work, they knew, and to heal is also divine, this is in the general sense: when he healed, he made it known that whoever heals a paralytic with a word can also forgive sins. No one puts patches of unbleached cloth on old clothes, no one puts new wine into old wineskins. What does the Savior want to show with this comparison? With these comparisons, the Lord showed that strict exploits without the spirit of true life do not bring benefit to the moral system, but disorder and destruction. The repentant is given grace, which forms in him the determination to please the Lord, not sparing his life. He who has such determination will benefit from all his exploits. And whoever doesn’t, sometimes when he takes up, for example, a strict fast, he pulls and pulls and gives up. And his life gets even worse after this. There will be two on the field: one is taken and the other is left. In what sense are these words understood? This will happen at the end of the century, and it is difficult to understand where one will be taken and where the other will be left. But now the effects of grace are as follows: in the same circumstances, grace takes one from the bonds of sin, and leaves another, who is at his side. Remember Athens and the sermon of the apostle. Pavel. Dionysius believes, but others say: “What is this vain talker talking about?” Applying this to the end of the century, one must be taken into the kingdom, and the other is left to his fate. Or in general this is expressed, then something will happen to everyone that is not expected and what cannot be expected. Letter 359. Exposition Luke 20:18: 6:26:16:1–12; In.20 What do the words mean: whoever falls on that stone will be broken, and whoever it falls on will be crushed. An unbeliever, a blasphemer, a doubter will fall on this stone. As the Lord promised forgiveness to the blasphemer of the Son of Man, even though he is deeply upset, if he repents, he will be saved. So are all the same. And on whomever the stone falls, he who is worthy of the full wrath of the Lord is lost, there is no hope. Such are the desperate, the God-fighters, the satanically stubborn and the like. Woe to you when all people speak well of you. Why did the Lord say so, while we know that the fame of good people spreads far and there are those whom everyone bows to. Rep. That’s why he said so, that a true believer cannot achieve this. About such the Lord said: He chose you out of the world... for this reason the world hates you. For everyone to speak well, it is impossible without people-pleasing and concessions. What you say about the glory of some is true only about many, i.e. many speak well, or very many and very many. The meaning of the parable of the unfaithful steward. Confirm your thought in advance that in parables it is not necessary to look for meaning in every feature, but to keep only the main idea of ​​the parable, which is almost always indicated by the Lord Himself. For example, the Lord calls Himself tatem in the only sense that He will come unexpectedly and unnoticed. However, other features that distinguish Tatya should not be taken into account. So in this parable, the Lord had only one feature in mind to indicate, namely, how the unfaithful bailiff, having heard that resignation awaited him, did not yawn, but immediately got down to business and provided for himself for the future. The application is this: we, knowing for sure that deprivation of the kingdom awaits us, do not lead with our ears: we live as we live, as if no trouble awaits us. The Lord expressed this thought when he said: the sons of the age are wiser than the sons of light. We must confine ourselves to this thought, without trying to interpret other features of the parable, although something could be said. Why did the Savior, after His resurrection, say to the weeping Mary Magdalene: “Do not touch Me?” Rep. As this is not indicated, we are allowed to decide this: it was truly Mary’s mood that demanded it, either always, or at that moment. For touching itself is not forbidden, as the Lord showed with other wives. And we’ll limit ourselves to this. Letter 360. Explanation Matthew 11:11:12:31:32; John 16:7; Matthew 11:12. How do we understand the words of the Savior: “He who is the least in the kingdom of God is greater than John the Baptist?” Rep. All fathers by less mean the Savior Himself: for who among those born of women can be greater than all but Him? He called Himself lesser according to the degree of humiliation He suffered according to the incarnate economy. Why does the Apostle say: He humbled himself. Why is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit not forgiven, but against the Son of God will be forgiven? Rep. It is impossible to blaspheme God as God. This happens only due to the eclipse of the thought of God as God. The humiliation of God our Son for the sake of salvation can interfere with seeing God in him and blaspheme Him not as God, but as every person. When the Spirit of God revealed Himself, it manifested itself tangibly through divine deeds, and it is impossible not to see God in Him. Why does anyone blaspheme Him, blaspheme Him as God, and have no excuse for it? “The Lord spoke these words after healing a deaf-mute man, in which the finger of God is evident. And those who said: He drives out Beelzebub, blasphemed unapologetically. Why couldn’t the Holy Spirit descend during the Savior’s stay on earth, and why was it better for people that the Holy Spirit descended and the Son of God ascended (John 16:7)? Rep. This is the mystery of the economy of our salvation. And where can we understand it? It is better for us to reason this way: the Lord said so, it was so, and it cannot be true otherwise. In the Gospel of John, before this it was said: the Holy Spirit was not with him, for Jesus was not glorified (7:39). The descent of the Holy Spirit is dependent on the glorification of the Son of God. Why? This is how it is laid down in the advice of the Trinitarian God regarding the arrangement of our salvation. Let us bow before this sacrament! And that's enough for us. Why did the Lord say that from the time of John the Baptist the kingdom of God would be taken by force, but before John, was it not taken by force? Rep. Take by force - the translation is not accurate. For in the divine orders of salvation you cannot take anything by force. The Slavic translation is more precise: it is forced, with need, with self-coercion, with effort, it is sought. The Greek “needs” means that. The thought is: they are squeezing through to the kingdom, just as they are squeezing through a crowd. In practice, this is true: self-coercion and self-resistance are integral features of the search for salvation and the kingdom of God. And only those who are like this achieve the kingdom. It is not given to anyone at ease. Why this is from the days of John, or, as elsewhere, after the law and the prophets, one need not look for it, admitting one’s powerlessness to explain it. Letter 361. Exposition 1 John 5:16:17; Col. 2:16–23; Rom.9:11–16:18, 12:20; 1 John 5 What is a sin that does not lead to death? Rep. Mortal sin - which kills the soul, depriving it of grace. But there is a sin that does not lead to death, which does not kill, but torments or clogs the soul. It is hardly possible to determine exactly what sins of one or another kind. This is how it is necessary in life: as soon as your conscience denounces you, repent quickly and the destructive power of sin will be stopped. And there is no sin that could resist the action of sincere repentance. And be satisfied with that. How to understand the words of the Apostle in chapter 2. to Colossus, v. 16–23. Isn't this being said against monasticism? Rep. No. These were heretics who considered it a sin to eat meat, to marry, etc. And we have them: Bezpopovtsy, Khlysty, Skoptsy, Doukhobortsy, etc. The Lord says that “the kingdom of God is in need and the needy delights it,” and the Apostle. Paul we find that the matter of salvation does not depend on us at all (v. 16) and God determined one fate or another before our birth. What is the relationship between God's purpose and our free will? Rep. What the kingdom of God requires - this presupposes one’s own efforts. And when up. Paul says: this is not from us, which means our efforts do not give what we are looking for. We need to combine both: to strengthen ourselves, and to expect everything from grace. Neither their efforts reach the goal, etc. without grace, efforts do not go far, and grace does not give what is desired without effort, etc. grace works in us and for us through our efforts. Both move a person forward and lead him to his goal. Predestination is incomprehensible. It is enough for us to believe with all our hearts that in no case is it contrary to God’s grace and truth and does not violate human freedom. It is usually decided this way: God foresees how a person will freely act and determines accordingly, so that God’s determination is based on human life, and not life on determination. Wouldn’t it be cruel to do good to our enemies, knowing that by doing this we are heaping burning coals on their heads? Rep. We do charity not for the purpose of heaping coals on their heads, but according to the commandment. And this is the inevitable consequence of this. In order to avoid such a nuisance for evildoers, it is impossible to violate the commandment of God and put coals on your head for this violation. What is meant by the word “peace,” which should be fought against? Rep. The Tambov people also asked, I shouted at them: so you read my books and so on. and so on. Then he told them to find an extract from St. Isaac. Here, at the beginning of these extracts, it is said that there is a world. I'm telling you the same thing. Among my selected sermons on the Lord's Day, the Mother of God and the Tsar's days, there is one of the words on the Tsar's days, in which it is decided what peace is. Spoken in S.P.B. Letter 362. To one asking for prayers and advice in everyday needs Asking for prayers and advice? I pray that the Lord will arrange the life of His servants M. and P.! As for advice, it is difficult to find it for you. You have one human source of benefits - your uncle. Place him so that he doesn’t leave you. God's unfailing source, good providence for everyone. Run to Him. He will send you lessons and you will get ergot. God bless you and give you peace! Ep. Feofan. June 20, 1892 Letter 363. Advice in view of threatening helplessness Are you in danger of being left helpless? You are doing well to think ahead about that sorrowful time. And think, and in advance look for there, among your own, who would be willing to help, or all your relatives little by little. Cast your sorrow upon the Lord, and He will take care of you. Trusting in the Lord will not put you to shame. Finding your own means while trusting in God does not diminish the power of hope: for this search must be done with hope. Meanwhile, pray and pray. I have nothing more to tell you. God bless you and comfort you and help you! Ep. Feofan. June 4, 1893 Letter 364. Encouragement to Faith and Trust in the Lord You don’t mention anything about yourself and your spiritual needs. From this I conclude that everything is good with you, in your relationship to God and to the cause of salvation. God bless! May the Lord extend His mercy to you. You will strengthen your faith in Him and your unshakable trust. Endure in prayer, being watchful in it ( Col. 4:2 ). Stick to the path of self-sacrifice, and avoid all self-indulgence, and if any sneaks in, cut it off. Humble yourself more and more, so that the Lord will have reason to exalt you in due time (1 Peter 5:6). Avoid fuss and busy worries. Ep. Feofan. July 11, 1893 Letter 365. To a monk: explanation of the vision and instruction on fornication Everything he said does not mean or foreshadow anything bad. The Mother of God shows the mercy of God; crosses - call for patience with sorrows and hardships and feats; snakes and birds - enemy temptations and attacks. This is what every monk encounters on his way. So, stick to the path you have begun, believe that the Lord is near and is ready with help, and trust in Him, and all cry out to Him with a short prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner! And turn to the Mother of God, and to all the saints. Don't rely on yourself, and don't trust your mind. Ask your spiritual father about everything more often. The fact that you did not let go of the cross in the vision indicates that a storm of misfortune awaits you, but, by the grace of God, you will resist. Wait for misfortunes every minute, and when one comes, do not be timid, but greet it as an acquaintance, and gather strength to endure. One misfortune will pass, wait for another, and so on for the rest of your life. Think humbly of yourself. What you see in dreams is not great. They only point out things to do, and things need to be done, not arrogant thoughts. Try to overcome lustful passion in every possible way, and never enjoy it, but drive it away as soon as it appears. Drive away with the Jesus Prayer. When passion is fighting, eat less, sleep little and sleep soundly. Make more bows, and sometimes beat yourself with a whip or a rope on your shoulders. You asked for the Philokalia. Here's the second volume. It says a lot about passions. Save yourself and pray to God for me! Letter 366. Appropriate instructions for someone who is seriously ill In illness, what should you do first but cry out to the Lord and the Mother of God and all the saints! May the Lord send you the necessary consolation and complacent patience. Let your prayer to the Lord not be stopped in your mouth. Move your mind and heart into another life, and do not descend from there into the earth, into the bustle of your stay here. Looking back and seeing many things that are wrong, mourn them and, repenting before the Lord, ask for forgiveness. For every good - both spiritual and worldly - give thanks to the All-Bountiful God. The gates of death are in vain always before you, nourish Christian hope and, driving away the horror of death, rejoice as one entering the royal chambers. Christ the Lord gave us many promises, great and bright. His Word, as God, is not false. Our sinfulness, as long as all sinful things are cleansed by repentance and contrition, does not take away the hope of receiving the promises. I myself fulfilled your instructions for the prayer service. Letter 367. To a Convalescent: Corresponding Instructions about the Works of Tolstoy Congratulations on the great mercy of God. You yourself and your sisters begged. Such is the power of love! May God grant that your illness will completely evaporate. And what you have now received, take it as a beginning, and thank the Lord, and even more, pray that he who began this mercy will complete it. While sitting, pray to the Lord with short prayers. Memorize 24 prayers of St. Chrysostom, that between prayers for sleep are placed, and repeat them 3-5 times each, and get used to the memory of God. From my books I am sending you everything that seemed suitable for your current mood. Start reading from the book: “The Path to Salvation.” Then “What is spiritual life” and “Letters about spiritual life”, regarding the letters of Count Speransky, and then all the others. You mentioned that many convert to another faith after reading Tolstoy’s works. Miracle?! This Leo has no faith. He has no God, no soul, no future life, and the Lord Jesus Christ is a simple man. In his writings there is blasphemy against God, against Christ the Lord, against St. church and its sacraments. He is the destroyer of the kingdom of truth, the enemy of God, the servant of Satan, as St. himself wrote. The Apostle Paul told the sorcerer Ellim, who opposed his preaching on the island of Cyprus (Acts 13:8–10). This son of demons dared to write a new gospel, which is a distortion of the true gospel. And for this he is cursed with the apostolic curse. The Apostle Saint Paul wrote: whoever preaches the new gospel shall be cursed (anathema: Gal.1:8). And so that everyone could confirm this well, he confirmed it another time. (v.9). In the Gospel of this blasphemer, the quotations are similar to ours, for example: John. Chapter 1, Article 1, but the text itself is different. Therefore he is a most dishonest forger, a liar and a deceiver. If any of his nonsense reaches you, reject it with disgust. In our spiritual journals, he is dismantled to the last bones, and is comprehensively convicted of madness and evil. But who reads (spiritual) magazines? And Tolstoy’s notebooks pass from hand to hand secretly, and secretly spread lies. Letter 368. New Year's greetings and instructions on building a church for your soul May the merciful Lord look mercifully on your infirmities and give you health and strength of strength, so that you may enter the new year with new health, and with renewed health sing the glory of our Grateful God! Help you, Lord, instead of a church made with hands, in yourself and from yourself to build a spiritual church, a holy priesthood, so that in it you can offer sacrifices to God, living from the heart, acceptable to God, Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5). For this purpose there will then be no need (and sorrow, due to illness) to go (to the church); for everything will happen without external movements. (Lie down and pray with all your soul). We should all be churches according to our purpose, as St. ap. Paul: Don’t you know that you are the church of God, and not only does this affirm, but that the Spirit of God also lives in you (1 Cor. 3:16). The laity, fussing about, forget this or drown it out in themselves, but monks and nuns enter into a special kind of life for this reason, in order to reveal such an Apostolic definition about us. You personally are called to this in a special way; (a painful condition in which spiritual prayer must especially develop). Close your eyes, and your mind will have nothing to see except God, the Omnipresent and All-Seeing. So you will become a church where God dwells. The walls of this church of yours are patience, the throne is a heart grateful to God, the songs are all religious feelings towards God: faith, hope, devotion to St. His will and all prayer; The regent of this choir is a prudent spirit who composes songs and performs them in unceasing contemplation of God. I sincerely wish that you will be built into such a spiritual church. Letter 369. About smoking. The enemy's ridicule. Cunning observation. Feedback on the message about O. D-ne May God grant you such joy that there will be no end to it and no satiety in it. What they wrote about is the goodness of quitting smoking. It is not only empty, but also gradually undermines health, spoiling the blood and clogging the lungs. This is a gradual poisoning of oneself. But there is no advice for this and there is no advice, except to make a stronger decision. There is no other way. What happened to you is the enemy's mockery. To smoke or not to smoke is a matter of indifference, at least our and common conscience considers it so. But when non-smoking is bound by a promise, then it enters into the moral order and becomes a matter of conscience, the failure of which cannot but trouble it. So the enemy has spoiled you. It's true you had a good talk. The enemy advised you to make a decision, and then led you to break your word. That's the whole story! Please learn and continue to keep your eyes open. Why commit yourself to a vow? You have to say: “Wait, let me try to quit, God willing.” Did you meet at St. The elders' advice: don't commit yourself to a vow? This is exactly the kind of thing it concerns. As for your archpriest, what do you care about him? He answers to God for himself. And if you have cunning powers of observation, it should be in your hands. You can calm her down. The gossipers cannot have any justification, and for this reason you are in their rank. O. D-well God's blessing. I remember him. Grant him, Lord, the goodness to serve as a priest. The people need to be taught. But the priests of God are all silent, when - when they talk, and everything is somehow tricky and confused with wisdom. O. D., I suppose he’s not like that. God bless you all! You might be interested in: